GHOST Story is an adventure for a small group of children, aged from seven to twelve, who should be pupils at a boarding school on the Cornish coast, described in more detail below. They need have no spells or magical equipment, and any equipment that they own will probably be useless in this adventure. Animal adventurers are not recommended. Although no dates are mentioned, the adventure works best if it is set in the early twentieth century, with flashbacks to the 1850s or 1860s.

The setting is Aubrey House School, a country house on the Cornish coast which has been converted into a preparatory school. It's about two miles from the nearest village and ten from the nearest town. It is unusual in accepting girls as well as boys. Needless to say the dormitaries are separated, the girls in Baxter Wing are well apart from the boys in Pellew Wing. The summer term is three or four weeks old; the weather is warm and pleasant, and will remain so for the duration. A simple plan of the school is provided, but isn't essential for running the adventure.

If the children are already pupils of other schools (such as public schools) they are temporary pupils here; their school has been closed following a typhoid epidemic, and won't re-open until new drains have been dug and the building is thoroughly fumigated. Alternatively change the setting to the childrens' school, if that will be more convenient; provided that it is possible that the school was once a family home it can be used in place of Aubrey House.

To contents

Players' Information

TONIGHT'S the night for the big midnight feast in Pellew Wing; officially the teachers pretend that they don't know it's happening, but everyone else is going to be there, even some of the girls are planning to sneak from their dormitories in Baxter Wing to join the fun for a couple of hours.

By the time the party begins everyone's excited, and there are lots of giggles as you tuck into the plates of bloater-paste sandwiches, scones with strawberry jam and cream, lemonade, and lashings of ginger beer.

Things are getting a little noisy, and you're beginning to wonder if the teachers will start to pay attention, when you notice something unusual. There's a little boy, much too young to attend the school, sitting next to one of the bigger girls. Nobody else seems to notice him, and as you look you realise that he doesn't seem quite right somehow. He's wearing an old-fashioned sailor suit, not pyjamas or a night-dress, and there's a small poodle sitting in his lap. And he's semi-transparent...

To contents

Referee's Information

PREVIOUSLY in Forgotten Futures VI: Fifty years ago Captain Roderic Pellew DSO attempted to murder Tim, a foundling adopted by his parents, Professor John Pellew and his wife Norma. He had already succeeded in murdering his real brothers and sister when he was twelve, but this time his machinations were foiled by a combination of incredibly bad luck, the fortuitous presence of a plain-clothes detective, Thomas Fox, who was later discovered to be the Pellew's true son, and some supernatural intervention by the ghosts of Alan, Gwen, and David Pellew.

Now: Eventually Tim inherited Aubrey House and a considerable fortune from his adoptive parents; already a gifted teacher, he used the estate to found Aubrey House School. Currently he is Chairman of Governors for Aubrey House School and Chancellor of a teaching college; the children have never met him, although there is a large portrait of him in the lobby of the school. Sir Thomas Fox is co-founder of the school and until his retirement was Chief Constable of Loamshire.

Unfortunately there's a problem. Somehow time is changing. In one version of the past Captain Pellew succeeded in murdering Tim, went on to inherit the estate, squandered his fortune, and eventually sold the house to a crooked financier who set it up as a fee-paying school on austere lines. In another Captain Pellew was caught but escaped from justice, and by a quirk of fate is now headmaster of a brutally run hell-hole. There are many other possibilities, and the children may experience several before the adventure is over.

The real problem is that by trying to resolve this chain of events the children will cause it; time travel is like that. Things have to go from bad to worse before the status quo can be restored, and trying to make things better before they understand the problem will be a very bad mistake.

Tim's ghost doesn't know any of this, of course; all he knows is that he's lost and lonely, and has an idea that something very odd is going on. As a ghost he can travel back into the past and witness the events that led to his death, and even take others with him in their dreams, but he knows nothing of magic and can't affect anything in the past. The children unfortunately don't suffer from this limitation...

To contents

Setting The Scene - Now

Aubrey House Preparatory School
Founder Sir Timothy Pellew (BA, MA Cantab.), now Chairman of Governors, Chancellor of Loamshire Teacher's College
Headmaster Dr. Arthur Scott (BA, BSc. Oxon.)
Students: 150 boarding of whom 50 are scholars, 20 non-residential of whom 15 are scholars - 118 boys, 52 girls. 24 teachers, 18 other staff. Facilities include gymnasium, stables, laboratory, workshops, chapel, theatre, library, sanitarium.
 Since its foundation Aubrey House School has enjoyed an enviable reputation for academic excellence. It is one of Britain's few co-educational boarding schools, and it is felt that this is of benefit to both boys and girls; boys are exposed to a civilising female influence, while setting an intellectual standard which challenges the girls to higher achievements...
 The school is located on a country estate on the Cornish coast, formerly the home of the Pellew family; the building has been extensively modernised for its new role, with dormitory blocks, a gymnasium, and a chapel and theatre added at either end of the main structure...
 As well as the usual sports, there is a strong emphasis on outdoor activities such as riding, sea bathing, and rock climbing. Girls are encouraged to participate where it is safe to do so...
 The school is heavily oversubscribed; all places are full, and there is a waiting list for admission if places become available.

Extracts from A Guide To British Boarding Schools

To contents

Setting The Scene - Then

THIS section describes the situation in the past as it was before the adventurers become involved. Unfortunately there's an observer effect, even for spiritual time travellers, so as soon as the children go back in time (as described in the next section) things will go horribly wrong.

The description of events that follows is based on the outline in FF VI: The Wages of Sin, and reflects the actions taken by various test-players in that adventure. Some details have been changed to reflect the different viewpoint of the children, others have been omitted since they are irrelevant to this adventure.

Aubrey House was originally the private home of the Pellew family. In 18__ the members of the family in residence are Professor John Pellew and his wife Norma, his father Colonel Tom Pellew, then somewhat senile, and Norma's cousin Avril Baxter. The Pellews have one natural child, Captain Roderic Pellew, an Army officer normally serving in India, and one adopted child, Tim, a five-year-old foundling. Three other children died in a fire ten years earlier; a fire set by Roderic, although nobody else knows that.

Unknown to any other member of the family, Tim was Avril's child. She abandoned him on the Pellew's doorstep when he was a few weeks old, knowing that Norma wanted another child and sure that he would get a loving home. She later found an excuse to move in with her relatives and is reasonably happy with the situation, although she would like to tell Tim the truth when he is old enough to understand. She is also concealing a scandalous career on the music-hall stage, which has led to the acquisition of various conjuring skills. She intends to use these skills to fake the presence of friendly spirits at the seance, in order to relieve Norma of some of her grief.

There is another complication (see the article Accidents of Birth, on the FF CD-ROM and in the archives of Pyramid Magazine); Roderic isn't actually the real child of the Pellews, he is the illegitimate son of Potter the butler and a local farm girl who died in labour. The real Pellew heir is Detective Sergeant Thomas Fox (see below). The babies were born in the same cottage hospital, and somehow swapped a few hours after birth. Fox was bought up by his presumed aunt who lives in a nearby town. Fox has a distinctive birthmark on his back, which is common to most male members of the Pellew family; Roderic lacks this mark, and looks much like a younger version of Potter.

On the tenth anniversary of the fire Roderic is at home on leave; in debt, and sure that Dr. Pellew's will is going to leave half the estate to Tim, he plans to murder him. This will let him raise loans on the strength of his expected inheritance as sole heir to the Pellew fortune. To cover his intentions he has invited a young heiress, Lady Maureen Kincaid-Speller, to be his house guest. She is chaperoned by her Aunt Rose. Other occupants of the house at this time include various servants, Roderic's batman Gupta, and Dr. Pellew's secretary Thomas Fox, who is secretly a plain-clothes policeman. Detective-Sergeant Fox has been assigned to the house because there has been a series of country house burglaries in neighbouring counties, and the next robbery is expected somewhere in the area. His identity is a closely-guarded secret because it is suspected that servants have been helping the thieves. Only Dr. Pellew knows who he really is.

Another complication is the presence of the ghosts of Roderic's murdered siblings, who have been assigned by some Higher Power to protect Tim and save Roderic from himself. They are responsible for some or all of the "lucky accidents" that preserve Tim below.

The original sequence of events is as follows:

Wednesday: Roderic and his guests arrive in the morning and settle in. During this time Roderic makes sure that his parents have legally adopted Tim, and are not just treating him as a foster child, with no claim on the estate. Over lunch Mrs. Pellew mentions that she plans to hold a seance on Saturday evening, the tenth anniversary of the fire. Roderic decides that the seance will probably be an excellent diversion for an attack on Tim, although he will use any opportunity for an earlier attack if he thinks he can get away with it. Roderic briefly visits the nursery but has no opportunity to kill Tim. Lady Maureen and her aunt spend the early afternoon at archery practice; Roderic considers trying to arrange some sort of accident there, but both are excellent shots and an accident is unlikely to be plausible. Fox meets Lady Maureen and instantly falls in love with her. During this and every other day of the adventure Dr. Pellew is working on his Radium Ray, conducting a series of animal experiments with mice, rats, and frogs. Fox is expectd to be present for most of these experiments, take notes, and help with the animals, but is otherwise left to his own devices.

Thursday: Roderic takes a walk in the morning, meets his grandfather who is out shooting pigeons, and realises that the elder Pellew suffers from short sight and the early stages of senility. It might be possible to arrange some sort of shooting accident. Later he lures Tim to the beach, intending to try to drown him, but Tim innocently runs out over an unmarked patch of quicksand; he doesn't sink, but when Roderic tries to follow he sinks and is caught. Eventually he persuades Tim to run for help, and is rescued.

Meanwhile Fox notices some "bird watchers" (actually the crooks described below) who are looking at the house while pretending to study wildlife with binoculars. They seem to be more interested in the house than the birds, but since they stay on public land and aren't doing anything illegal they can't easily be brought in for questioning. Following his rescue Roderic bathes then spends the rest of the day with Lady Maureen. In the evening Fox warns Dr. Pellew that he thinks the burglars are in the area.

Friday: On another walk, with Lady Maureen, Roderic notices the marks left by a snake near a local stream. Later he returns alone with a thick cloth bag and a stout stick and captures the snake; a venomous adder. He skulks in the bushes until he sees Tim playing alone in the garden, then releases the snake nearby and beats a hasty retreat. Lady Maureen's poodle intervenes, fiercely keeping Tim and the snake apart. Roderic's batman Gupta is in his room tidying clothes; he hears the dog barking, looks out of the window to see what's happening, and throws one of Roderic's souvenir daggers at the snake, decapitating and killing it instantly.

After this incident Norma, Avril, and Nanny Scoggins all stay close to Tim, who has just seen his new "pet" killed and is in floods of tears. Roderic has no further chance to attack him. Later Dr. Pellew and Fox tell Roderic about the burglars, and reveal Fox's true identity to him, since he is obviously not a suspect in the burglaries. This makes Roderic realise that he must be much more careful. In the evening Fox makes several patrols of the house, frustrating another of Roderic's attempts to get into the nursery.

Saturday: Roderic goes out to shoot "vermin" with Captain Pellew, planning to shoot Tim and blame his grandfather if he gets the chance, but Tim is nowhere to be seen; one of the ghosts is talking to him, and he is too busy with the conversation to leave the garden.

Late in the morning there are unexpected visitors, two tough-looking "gentlemen", Mr. Brown and Mr. Green, who insist on seeing Roderic and won't go away without seeing him. They are debt collectors sent by a money-lender; Roderic owes him more than £2300 and can't pay. At this stage they are there to frighten and embarass Roderic, not to hurt him; that will come later. Roderic sees them outdoors and tries to keep them away from the house, but Fox overhears enough to realise that Roderic is in debt.

During the afternoon Roderic sees Fox and offers to take a turn patrolling the house in the evening, since he wants "..an excuse to get out of my mother's bloody seance. Morbid nonsense!" In fact he plans to disguise himself as Potter the butler, bring Nanny Scoggins a cup of tea laced with a sleeping draught (stolen from the laboratory), wait until she is unconscious, then smother Tim and make it look like burglars were responsible. Knowing of Potter's alcoholism, he also leaves four bottles of whisky where only Potter is likely to find them; Potter duly steals one of the bottles.

Later Norma asks Fox to participate in the seance and take notes. He is initially reluctant, but realises that Lady Maureen will also be present and agrees.

The Seance is set for Saturday evening in the drawing room. The participants are Norma Pellew, Avril Baxter, Lady Maureen and her aunt, Colonel Pellew (who dozes off before it actually begins), and Fox. The room is set up with a table and cloth, trumpet, tambourine, oiuja board, candlabra, and enough chairs for all the participants.

Avril waits several minutes after everyone joins hands before going into a fake trance. She moans slightly then falls back in her chair and says (in a childish voice): "Hello mummy, we're here", then tells Norma not to blame herself for the fire. "It wasn't your fault, mummy, it was an accident."

At this point a pair of sparks rises from the candle flame (or appears from nowhere if the room is completely dark) and start to spin very slowly around a common axis, like light reflected in someone's eyes as they slowly turn their head. A voice breaks in, apparently without source:

(a small boy's voice)	"He he! That wasn't us, mummy, that was cousin Avril."
	(two more sparks appear)
(a little girl's voice)	"She was pretending."
	(another pair of sparks appears)
(an older boy's voice)	"She wants you to be happy and stop worrying about us."
(girl)	"Well, she's right about that, but she shouldn't fib."
(older boy)	"Don't be rude, Gwen, I'm sure she meant it for the best."
(girl)	"Mummy, we're here and we love you. We're happy, and you must be too. We can't finish things while you blame yourself."
(older boy)	"Avril was right - it wasn't your fault. You didn't start the fire."
(girl)	"No, nor did poor old nurse. She's happy here too."
(little boy)	"Don't say too much, you know the rules."
(older boy)	"Look, we can't really say much. We just want you all to be happy and safe..."
(girl)	"But we have to tell you...
(young boy)	"No you can't, it isn't allowed..."
(older boy)	"They'll have to work it out for themselves..."
(all three)	"We've got to go. Goodbye!"

Any interruptions are ignored. The sparks vanish once they say goodbye.

The seance ends on this confusing note, but discussion of exactly what was said, and its implications, continues for some time. Avril admits that she was pretending at first, to set Norma's mind at ease; Norma forgives her. All four women are convinced that the children were really present, and Norma is comforted by what the children said. Fox isn't convinced and looks for speaking tubes, concealed phonographs, secret passages, and other trickery. He finds nothing.

Meanwhile Roderic makes his move. Having drugged Nanny Scoggins he goes through the nursery to Tim's bedroom - where, still disguised as Potter, he is attacked by the burglars who are coming in through the window! They leave him bound and gagged. The burglars accidentally knock over a vase as they finish the job, and beat a hasty retreat thinking that someone must have heard. They are wrong.

Roderic is still there an hour or so later when Tim wakes, hears him grunting through the gag, and says "Hello Roderic, why are you on the floor?" Roderic grunts and tries to get Tim to release him, but Tim can't manage the knots, and can't wake his nanny, so goes off to find an adult, arriving in the drawing room as the adults are finally preparing to adjourn.

Fox and Colonel Pellew get shotguns from the library and go to investigate, leaving Tim and the women in the drawing room. To their surprise they find Potter on the floor, not Roderic (neither sees through his disguise) and release him. As soon as he is freed "Potter" grunts something unintelligible (sounding vaguely like "urglus") points at the open window, and sneaks off as Fox and the Colonel investigate. Once out of the room he quickly gets to his own room, hides the disguise, gets his pistol, and fires a couple of shots out of the window, hitting nothing. He rejoins Fox and the Colonel, saying that he thinks he saw intruders outside. He is naturally "surprised" when they tell him what has happened. Eventually someone thinks of looking for Potter, finding him in an alcoholic stupor in his room. In the morning he remembers nothing. Meanwhile Tim is insistent that it was Roderic on the floor, not Potter, but everyone else thinks that he was dreaming.

Sunday: By now Roderic is desperate, but doing his best to hide the fact. The family and guests take carriages to church in the nearest village; Roderic joins the group, not out of any religious belief but because he wants to make sure that nobody is taking Tim seriously. After the service he lurks, hoping for another opportunity, but sees no opening.

In the afternoon there is a village cricket match, attended by most of the household. The visiting team springs an unexpected surprise; one of their players is Dr. W.G. Grace, the famous cricketer, who happens to be staying in their village! Meanwhile the home team is three men short. Fox offers to play, Roderic also volunteers (thinking that he might be able to hit or throw a ball in Tim's direction) and says that "my man is frightfully good". Gupta is summoned and hastily equipped with cricketing clothes, then proceeds to bowl a series of unnervingly good balls which devastate the rival team. This continues until Grace comes to the wicket and starts to score. Eventually Grace's team wins the match, but Gupta has scored 132, taken five wickets and twice come close to catching Grace out, Fox scores 53 not out and takes one wicket, and Roderic is out for 12 and never gets to bowl. Afterwards Grace and Gupta chat; Grace gives Gupta his card, and offers to help him get a job as a cricket professional if he ever wants one. Roderic doesn't get a chance to harm Tim.

Towards the evening Colonel Pellew goes out shooting rooks, and Roderic makes another attempt to arrange an accident. He conceals another rifle in the trees where the Colonel is shooting and goes looking for Tim, finding him in the garden. Roderic picks him up and gives him a "piggy-back" ride into the area where the Colonel is shooting. As he puts Tim down and gets the gun Lady Maureen arrives; she saw Roderic taking Tim for a walk and decided to join them. Unfortunately for Roderic, she sees him preparing to shoot Tim and starts to scream.

Roderic is startled and misses Tim, then tries to make her stop screaming by grabbing and shaking her. As he does so Aunt Rose and Fox arrive, and Maureen gasps out her story. Roderic goes for his gun, but Fox leaps at him and knocks it from his hand. A brawl ensues, during which Fox's shirt is ripped, revealing a birth mark on his shoulder. Attracted by the disturbance, Colonel Pellew arrives carrying another rifle, which Roderic grabs. There's another desperate struggle for the gun, ending in a sudden shot. Roderic has managed to put a bullet through his own leg.

Fox arrests him and everybody goes back to the house, where Professor Pellew attends to Roderic's wound in the laboratory. Norma Pellew sees Fox's birth mark and realises its significance; she remembers that her baby had such a mark when he was born, but it had "faded" a few hours later. In the confusion caused by this announcement Roderic breaks free and tries to escape through the window, slips, and falls to impale himself on the horn of the unicorn statue on the terrace below. Amazingly he is still alive, though fading fast, and the servants lift him from the horn and bring him back inside.

A Little Anachronism The radium ray is anachronistic in a Victorian setting; radium was identified as an element in 1898 and purified in 1911. Nobody has ever mentioned this to the author in the years since the original adventure was published!

Back in the laboratory, Professor Pellew readies his radium ray and uses it in a desperate attempt to heal Roderic's injury, at a higher power than he has ever tried before. It's a very bad mistake. Instead of healing him, the ray burns a searing path through Roderic's chest. His lifeless body crumples to the floor.

In the aftermath of these events the truth about Roderic and Fox is gradually determined, and he is recognised as an heir to the Pellew estate. By now he is engaged to Lady Maureen, and on the fast track to early promotion in the Loamshire constabulary thanks to her family's influence. Neither wants to live in Cornwall. When the Professor eventually dies his will leaves the mansion and its grounds to Fox, with a sizeable fortune split between Tim and Fox. Since Fox doesn't want to live there, and Tim has been thinking of starting his own school, they eventually decide to set up a company to build it in the mansion. Fox and his heirs retain ownership of the estate, but gain a sizeable income from the school and have no intention of ending the arrangement by turning it back into a private home. Timothy has the chance to put his educational theories into practice, and soon becomes well-known in academic circles. His eventual knighthood is almost inevitable.

To contents

Dream A Little Dream With Me

THERE'S something going wrong with time; some freak eddy in cause and effect, perhaps a result of the ghostly tampering that saved Tim. Whatever the reason, a ghost that shouldn't exist will appear in the children's dreams a few nights later.

After the children have seen the ghost, try to give them the impression that it may just be a freak occurrence, or a harbinger of something that hasn't yet happened. Describe a normal day at school, as detailed in an earlier section, with no hint of supernatural phenomena, and if time permits wait through two or three days before the children begin to dream of Tim.

In the meantime children may think of asking about a child who died somewhere near the school, and is associated with the school or the previous occupants of the house; they'll probably end up assuming that he's one of the three children who died in the fire. They won't identify Tim at first; in this time line (so far) he is still alive. Of course Sir Timothy Pellew's name is on the notice board at the school entrance and the school's letter-headed paper, and his portrait (as a fifty-year old man) is in the lobby, but these are things the children see every day, and if they are looking for a child they simply won't notice them. If they specifically say that they are looking for a living adult rather than a child they should eventually think of the teachers and headmaster; once they do so, identifying him as someone who was a child living in the house should be easy. Incidentally, Fox's portrait is also displayed in the lobby, as "Sir Thomas Fox, Co-Founder of the School".

Two of the maids are the only people at the school with links to the earlier occupants; their grandmothers worked in Aubrey House before it became a school. They have heard stories of Roderic's attack on Sir Timothy when he was a little boy, but don't feel it is a suitable topic for discussion with children. While there are several newspaper clippings albums in the library, containing stories about the school and Aubrey House, only a few of the earliest are at all relevant. They're all in the oldest and dustiest albums:

• 60 years ago: A report of the inquest into the deaths of Alan Pellew (aged 8), Gwen Pellew (7), David Pellew (5), and Matilda Briggs, a nurse (19). The cause is given as "A fire believed to have been started by candles used by Nurse Briggs." The coroner comments on the inappropriateness of candles in a nursery. The report mentions in passing that the eldest child of the family, Roderic Pellew (13) was sleeping in a separate bedroom and wasn't endangered by the fire.
• 51 years ago: A notice of the adoption of Timothy Pellew, "foundling", aged 4. There are no details of his antecedents.
• 50 years ago: An obituary for Captain Roderic Pellew; the obituary concentrates on his military career, but mentions in passing that he "fell to his death at his home" while on leave.
• 48 years ago: An announcement of the marriage of Detective-Inspector Thomas Fox to Lady Maureen Kincaid-Speller (of the Loamshire Kincaid-Spellers). It mentions that Fox is "one of the heirs to the Pellew fortune" but doesn't go into details.
• 44 years ago: An obituary for Colonel Tom Pellew, aged 71, who died in his sleep at home. The report concentrates on his military career in various far-flung corners of the Empire.
• 33 years ago: An obituary for Professor John Pellew and his wife, victims of a railway disaster. "They are survived by two sons: Sir Thomas Fox, Chief Constable of Loamshire, and Mr. Timothy Pellew, currently a student at Oxford." It doesn't mention their other children, Tim's adoption, or the reason why Fox has a different name.
• 29 years ago: A notice of Timothy Pellew's application for planning permission to convert the house into a school. A notice of the formation of a limited company which will own and administer the school; Timothy Pellew is named as director and principal, Sir Thomas Fox is another director.
• 27 years ago: Several stories about the opening of the school, mostly mentioning Timothy Pellew and the Pellew family's earlier occupation of Aubrey House.
• 12 years ago: Timothy Pellew is knighted for services to education, becoming Sir Timothy Pellew.
• 5 years ago: Sir Timothy resigns as headmaster to become Chancellor of Loamshire Teacher's College, saying that he feels it is time for the school to be run by a younger man. He remains Chairman of Governors of Aubrey House school. The new headmaster is Dr. Arthur Scott. Other governors include Sir Thomas and Lady Maureen Fox.

If the adventurers have some way of looking into the past independently of Tim they can see the events above. However, nothing should make it immediately obvious that they are looking for a child called Tim, or events fifty years ago.

Troubleshooting What if the adventurers have some means of travelling to the past when they are awake, such as the Amulet or another magical time machine? Let them! They will disrupt things even more if they are physically present, and sooner or later someone will throw them out as trespassers. They will also have trouble seeing the ghosts, and may be in the line of fire when Roderic executes his plans.

Eventually the children should be in bed asleep. It's time for their next encounter with Tim. It starts with a re-run of the party, except that this time everyone else looks ghostly while Tim is solid and opaque. The adventurers seem slightly less "real" than Tim, but more solid than everyone else at the party. Any magical equipment etc. that they would normally be carrying is still present in the dream, but has no real effect. Let the children ask a few questions; Tim is playing with "Muffin" (a dream memory of the real dog) and at first ignores them. They will also discover that they can't touch him or each other, and can't leave the dormitory where the party was held. As they get closer to the walls and door they seem to get further away, in the manner of dreams, and it should be obvious that the children are dreaming, or are somehow present in someone else's dream. Any spells that they try achieve nothing.

Eventually Tim notices the children and says "I'm Tim. Let's find Mummy". The dormitory seems to flicker, then is a bare room without beds or carpets, and with half-decorated walls. Again, and the children are standing in mid-air in a building that is only half-complete. Again, and they are drifting down towards a lawn. Although it seems to be a bright sunlit day, the colours of the scene are muted, like a lightly-tinted photograph. As the children look they see a second Tim sitting on the lawn, with a yapping poodle in front of him trying to protect him from a snake. As they get closer the poodle seems to hesitate and looks backward and forward between the living Tim, the ghost, and the other children. While he is distracted the living Tim reaches out to pet the snake, which bites his arm. As the children watch helplessly he shrieks; seconds later a thrown knife flashes down to impale the snake, but it is too late. The ghostly Tim looks at the scene, while the living Tim collapses. Adults gather around him, walking through the ghost and the adventurers without seeing or feeling them, and carry him inside. The ghostly Tim says "Bad snake!" and tries to touch the dead reptile; naturally his hands pass right through the corpse.

If anyone tries to leave the scene they will find that they can't move more than a few paces from Tim; as in the earlier dormitory scene, distances seem to stretch to prevent them leaving. Tim starts to cry, and the voice of another child says "Oh no! Gwen, I think Tim was hurt. You check him, Alan and I will stay here."

There's a shimmer, and two more ghostly children appear, boys aged 8 and 5 but somehow looking older and wiser than their apparent years. "Who are you?" asks the older of the two. A third ghost appears, a girl aged 7. "Tim's dead. That should never have happened."

Try to keep things as confusing as possible, while getting the adventurers to say who they are and what they are doing in the past. If anyone asks the three new ghosts who they are, David says "Don't be silly. We're ghosts, of course." Getting more information than this should be difficult, since they aren't supposed to discuss the nature of their mission, but given this emergency they're a little off-guard and will admit any of the following that seems likely to advance the plot:

• They're the children of the Pellew family, and have been dead (and happy in the afterlife) for ten years. They aren't prepared to answer questions on the nature of the afterlife, except to say that they are happy.
• Tim is their adopted brother, or would be if they were still alive. They have an older brother, Roderic, who is still alive.
• They were looking after Tim - exactly why he was expected to need their help, more than any other person, is something they can't or won't discuss - but it wasn't their main reason to return to Earth; rather, it was part of what they were doing, and their work has just become much more difficult. They can't discuss their ultimate goals.
• They can't affect much in the world of the living; they can make small things move, and can sometimes talk to people who are unusually sensitive. Cats and dogs can usually see them.
• They didn't expect the adventurers, and have no idea how a ghost of Tim could exist before he was dead.

Make it clear that the ghosts can't change things once they have happened; they can try to influence events, within the limits of their powers, but as far as they are concerned Tim is now dead, and there is nothing that can be done to change that.

In order to restore the status quo all of the following things must happen:

• Tim must survive.
• Roderic must be eliminated as an heir, by arrest, death, or insanity, or by repenting and confessing that he killed his supposed brothers and sister - the one crime the Professor and his wife can't possibly forgive.
• Fox must be identified as the real Pellew heir and marry Lady Maureen. If not, his organisational abilities and Lady Maureen's influence won't be available to Tim when the school is founded, and it will be an expensive failure.
• Colonel Pellew must die before Professor Pellew; Professor Pellew and his wife must die more or less on schedule. In practice this is automatic if Roderic is eliminated or confesses, but not if Roderic goes free.

It's possible to imagine sequences of events which bring about these results under very different circumstances; for example, Roderic might go insane under pressure from the ghosts and commit suicide, while Fox might is injured fighting the burglars, revealing the birthmark during treatment, which leads to his identification as the Pellew heir and eventual marriage to Lady Maureen.

Troubleshooting What if the adventurers aren't interested in restoring the status quo? There's no real problem, just continue "normal" school life in the new setting, and emphasise its disadvantages. Tim will continue to turn up in their dreams occasionally, and sooner or later they will probably decide to try to help. If not, the dreams eventually end, and the new setting becomes the norm. This isn't a situation where their belief (or lack of it) in magic can change things much, so it isn't necessary to start rolling for a loss of MAGIC immediately. However, the new school setting doesn't seem to give the children any opportunities for adventures, and may be actively unpleasant, and term does seem to go on for a very long time. Especially if the referee takes things a day at a time and describes nothing but lessons, boring meals, etc.... Eventually they will probably get bored and try to dream of Tim again, and the adventure can resume.

Thursday

• On the Beach: if the three ghosts (or the adventurers) don't support Tim as he crosses the quicksand he will drown. If Roderic drowns before help arrives his death will be regarded as a tragic accident; unfortunately Fox won't be recognised as the Pellew heir, and will never marry Lady Maureen.
• Fox and the Burglars: If something distracts Fox from his duties he won't be in a position to see the burglars, and (although nobody will ever know this) they weon't see him. In the original sequence of events they had planned to rob the house on Friday night, but decided to delay a day because they were worried that he might have seen their faces. If the house is burgled before the seance, Roderic will have a clear run at the nursery on Saturday night.

Friday

• Roderic and the Snake: A moment's carelessness (caused by e.g. the sight of a ghost) and he might be bitten. It probably won't kill him, but he will be ill for several days, and his plans won't mature until long after Fox and Lady Maureen have left. As a result Fox won't be recognised as the heir or marry her, and Roderic will have better chances to kill Tim without so many inconvenient witnesses around.
• Muffin and the Snake: We've already seen what happens if this goes wrong. Another possibility is that Muffin gets bitten, not Tim; he'll die in a few minutes, and the grief-stricken Lady Maureen leaves with her aunt. She never marries Fox, and with fewer witnesses around Roderic gets more chances to kill Tim.
• Gupta and the Snake: All sorts of ways this can go wrong - a delay (caused by seeing a ghost) that gives the snake a chance to kill Tim, possibly the knife hits Tim instead of the snake! If this happens everyone will assume that he did it deliberately, as part of some elaborate scheme to destroy Roderic's family and wreak revenge for Roderic's "heroism" in India.

  Fox on Patrol: if Fox sees a ghost he may be delayed or otherwise give Roderic an opening to kill Tim. If the burglars raid on Friday night, as described above, and Fox is on the case, this will keep him busy for some time and could give Roderic another chance at Tim.

Saturday

• Roderic Goes Shooting: Tim isn't present because a ghost has kept him busy, but if the ghost is distracted - for example, by seeing one of the adventurers - Tim could stray from the garden and might get into the line of fire. Another possibility is that Roderic might arrange an "accident" for his grandfather; the house party ends prematurely, and Lady Maureen leaves the family to their grief, never marries Fox, and gives Roderic more opportunities for murder.
• Roderic and the Thugs: Initially they plan to frighten and embarass Roderic, but things could easily turn nasty if Roderic has been unnerved (e.g. by seeing a ghost) and is carrying his gun. If things get out of hand Fox might break his cover to make arrests; this possibly furthers his romance with Lady Maureen, since he will look more heroic, but if Roderic is arrested or badly hurt she will leave early as above. Since word of Roderic's debt is sure to get out, there is another incentive to have nothing to do with him or his family.
• Roderic and the Tea: Roderic plans to drug Nanny Scoggins some time before the seance. If he is distracted and gets the drug wrong Nanny might be killed, or might notice the taste and refuse to drink her tea. She might also refuse if she sees a ghost, or is warned that the tea is drugged. Unfortunately this probably puts her in harm's way, since Roderic is gambling everything on this attack.
• Potter's Alcoholism: Roderic leaves four bottles of whisky; Potter steals one of the bottles. If he sees a ghost he might assume that he is getting DTs and throw the bottle away, or take two bottles and get completely plastered to get rid of the vision. If he's around and about during Roderic's attack he's another potential victim, but Roderic is more likely to postpone the attack if he knows this ploy hasn't worked. If he drinks two bottles he will pass out, choke on his own vomit, and die. Although he doesn't know it, Roderic will be responsible for the death of his own father.
• The Seance: This is another opportunity for the adventurers to intervene (and probably mess things up spectacularly). It's the crucial window for communicating with Norma and the other participants, and all rolls to do so should be made with +2 to the relevant skill or characteristic. One major way to mess things up is to reveal too much: If anyone claims that Roderic caused the death of his siblings, or is trying to kill Tim, the most likely result is that Norma will turn to laudanum or some other opiate to blot out her mental anguish and die of an overdose. There is no evidence to support such allegations, but Roderic will lie low for a while to be on the safe side. When he finally attacks Tim there will be fewer witnesses around, and Lady Maureen and Fox will have gone their separate ways. Another way to cause problems is to stop the real ghosts from manifesting, or to destroy the solemn atmosphere by playing the fool. This will change the reactions of all of the participants later in the adventure, and may lead to mistakes or accidents.
• Roderic Attacks Tim: The obvious possibility here is that the burglars will be delayed and arrive after Roderic has killed Tim; seeing a ghost will probably cause that delay.
• Roderic Bound and Gagged: Maybe he struggles a little more effectively and breaks free. Maybe Tim lets him loose, and is murdered for his trouble. Or he could always choke on the gag and die. This is another moment with multiple possiblities and consequences.
• Roderic's disguise is effective: Perhaps. With a little ghostly prompting someone may realise that he is the fake Potter, and Fox will be extremely suspicious. Roderic could claim that it's a joke or "a disguise to make the burglars think that I'm a harmless servant", neither is very convincing. But unless Fox can prove that he is up to no good, Roderic will get away with it, wait some time for suspicions to die down, then make his move. One side effect is that Lady Maureen leaves early, since she dislikes what she's seeing of Roderic; this unfortunately means no marriage to Fox.

Sunday

• The Cricket Match: Roderic doesn't get a chance to harm Tim - unless the adventurers do something to draw him onto the pitch while Roderic is batting. For example, if Muffin runs out onto the pitch Tim will follow him. Incidentally, children with any interest in cricket will want to watch the great Grace in action; this could distract them at a crucial moment.
• Colonel Pellew Shooting: If Lady Maureen is even slightly late Roderic will shoot Tim, unless the children do something to stop the gun from working or make it fire prematurely. If Roderic strays into the wrong area there may be a genuine accident, leading to his injury or death.
• Fox to the Rescue: If Fox doesn't arrive in time Roderic may attempt to kill Lady Maureen and Tim. However, Lady Maureen is a melodramatic Romantic Lead, and virtually unkillable; she will sweep Tim into her arms something will happen to save them both. This can be the result of intervention by the adventurers and the Pellew ghosts, or some bizarre coincidence. For example, Lady Maureen's aunt Rose is an expert archer, and might happen to arrive carrying her bow at the crucial moment. This probably ends with Roderic incapacitated or on the run, but the crucial revelation of Fox's paternity probably won't occur.
• Roderic Shoots Himself: Lots of possibilities here; he could escape unscathed, kill Fox, or kill one of the other participants. Lady Maureen still has Romantic Lead invulnerability, everyone else is at risk.
• Roderic's Escape Attempt: At this point Fox is probably already sure to be recognised as the true Pellew heir. Roderic may somehow escape - hitting the statue as he fell was an unlucky accident - but will go to ground. If Tim has been killed he'll content himself with revenge on all children, as described below; if Tim survives he'll go for a more focused attack on the family, such as setting fire to the house. This leaves much of the original structure in ruins; whatever else happens, the eventual school will be nothing like the mansion the children remember.
• The Radium Ray: If nothing happens to change the settings Proffessor Pellew uses it will kill Roderic. But if something changes the settings anything could happen. Maybe it works, and Roderic is instantly cured (and escapes to wreak some horrible revenge). Maybe it explodes, killing everyone in the room. Maybe the radiation somehow charges Roderic with power, or he is bitten by a radiactive hamster....

Dozens of outcomes are possible, all of them affecting the school one way or another; here are some more examples with varying degrees of likeliness, each with a brief summary of the school's status and reputation as described in the worldbook:

• Tim survives; Fox is identified as the true heir and marries Lady Maureen; Roderic survives, gives up his plans, but doesn't confess his sins:
  Professor Pellew revises his will to leave Roderic a third of the estate anyway; he's not going to disinherit someone he has always regarded as a son. Roderic's share of the eventual estate goes to pay his debts, and makes a huge difference to the success of the school. It is badly under-capitalised when it opens, and even in the present day it is still struggling to make ends meet; although it is still co-educational, and still has much of the ethos of the school the children remember, the staff and facilities are much more limited; the buildings need repairs, there are fewer instruments for the orchestra and music lessons, the food is much plainer (although still wholesome), there is a row of ugly villas between the school and the sea, built on land sold to pay off the debts, and so forth. It still has a good reputation, and its students have a better than average chance of gaining a scholarship to public schools or university. In other respects conditions are gradually improving though nowhere near as good as the children will remember. Roderic dies heroically (and penniless) in India.
  Academic Quality Good, Reputation Good, Sports Poor, Discipline Firm but Fair, Bullying Strongly Discouraged.

• Tim survives; Roderic is killed; Fox isn't identified as an heir:
  Tim isn't a businessman, and has to hire an accountant to act as bursar for the school. Without Fox's help the choice of bursar is bad, and school funds are diverted into unwise investments which eventually bring the school to the brink of ruin. In the present day things are still very tight as above. Without Lady Maureen's influence the school is also far less fashionable; fees can't be high, and the general run of students come from middle class families. Most people have never heard of the school, and its students have no special chance of scholarships or other advantages.
  Academic Quality Good, Reputation Indifferent, Sports Poor, Discipline Firm but Fair, Bullying Strongly Discouraged

• Tim is killed; Roderic is caught or killed; Fox is identified as an heir and marries Lady Maureen:
  Fox (and Lady Maureen) eventually inherit the entire estate, but Fox is Chief Constable of Loamshire and can rarely get down to Cornwall. He eventually decides to memorialise Tim and his real parents by founding a school for boys on the site. It's well funded and competently managed but much more authoritatian than the original school, with a "prefect's court" institutionalising limited bullying, frequent long detentions, and fewer deviations from the standard prep school syllabus.
  Academic Quality Good, Reputation Good, Sports Good, Discipline Harsh, Bullying Institutionalised.
  Since Aubrey House takes no girls, any female adventurers are students at a girls school a few miles away; this school was founded to meet the demand filled by Aubrey House in the original time line, and is a mediocre "Dame School" where pupils are expected to learn by rote and devote most of their attention to becoming "ladies".
  Academic Quality Mediocre, Reputation Indifferent, Sports Poor, Discipline Lax, Bullying Common but Discouraged.

• Tim is killed; Roderic is identified as the killer but escapes; Fox is identified as the heir and marries Lady Maureen:
  Roderic goes to ground in London, where (by some strange working of fate) he assumes the identity of a teacher. Already unbalanced, he gradually comes to hate and despise all children. Years later he hears that Aubrey House School (the version founded by Fox, as above) has a vacancy for a deputy headmaster and applies for the post, then becomes headmaster following the "mysterious disappearance" of his predecessor. Once in the post he gradually changes conditions at the school to make it a living hell for pupils. Lessons are long, conditions are Dickensian, the staff are abusive, the students are virtual prisoners. Now in his seventies, he still rules the school with a rod of iron, and is believed to have flogged at least one pupil to death.
  Academic Quality Very Poor, Reputation Notorious, Sports Poor, Discipline Strict, Bullying Common and Institutionalised.

• Tim is killed; Roderic gets away with it; Fox isn't identified as heir; Roderic's parents die before Colonel Pellew:
  Roderic should have paid more attention to checking his legal status before murdering people; Colonel Pellew's will left everything to Professor Pellew, but the residuary heir is Avril Baxter ("a damned attractive young filly, by thunder..."), not Roderic. With Roderic's parents out of the picture she inherits everything. Once news of this comes out Roderic's creditors start to pursue their debts, and he beats a hasty retreat to India where he eventually dies. Mourning Tim, Avril decides to found a charity school for orphans, foundlings and "the deserving poor"; any adventurers who can fit this mould (e.g. scholarship pupils at the original school) are still students, everyone else is now attending the "Dame School" above or an exclusive boy's prep school a few miles away. Under this regime the syllabus at Aubrey House emphasises "moral and spiritual values", and its academic and sporting reputations are mediocre.
  Academic Quality Average, Reputation Mediocre, Sports Mediocre, Discipline Firm but Fair, Bullying Very Strongly Discouraged

To contents

Characters

Characters in the Present

Unless stated otherwise all teachers are competent adults with skill [7] or better in their main subject, skill [6] or better in another subject or Athlete, and Actor (teaching) [5] or better as their skill in communicating their subject to pupils. Precise details of all statistics shouldn't be needed.

The table below lists some typical students who can be used in classes attended by the adventurers, or interact with them outside lessons. Each is listed with one skill and one trait; obviously they have more but the skill shown is the best, Skill [5] or better, the trait shown is the most obvious or most important to the child in question. Not all of the traits listed will be obvious at a glance! A few students are listed as having MAGIC [1] or better; usually they are untrained, or at best have some unconscious skill shown as Wizardry [1]. None of these pupils were present at the midnight feast.

Name              Main Skill                 Most Important Trait  MAGIC   Wizardry
Barnard, Annabel  Athlete (Tennis, Hockey)   Androgynous           0      0
Bell, James       Science (Chemistry)        Brave                 0      0
Bennett, Howard   Linguist (French, German)  Greedy                1      0
Bryant, Jennifer  Actor (Dance)              Beautiful             1      0
Bull, Roger       Linguist (German, Italian) Coward                1      1
Clarke, David     Scholar (History)          Vain                  0      0
Curtis, Peter     Athlete (Cricket)          Secret (illegitimate) 0      0
Dale, Jack        Science (Physics)          Daredevil             0      0
Edwards, Harry    Artist (Painting)          Sickly                0      0
Ferguson, Robert  Scholar (Religion)         Pious (prays nightly) 1      1
Gould, Rachel     Actor (Drama)              Gambler               2      1
Green, Albert     Actor (Singer)             Hobby (stamps)        1      0
Harrison, Stephen Brawling (Boxing)          Brave                 0      0
Henshaw, Diana    Riding (Dressage)          Beautiful             0      0
James, David      Actor (violinist)          Crippled (Lame)       0      0
Jenkins, Matilda  Artist (Cookery)           Lucky                 1      0
Jennings, John    Scholar (Geography)        Loner                 1      0
Keith, Ian        Athlete (Swimming)         Hobby (bird eggs)     1      0
Kurtz, Mabel      Science (Chemistry)        Androgynous           0      0
Lawson, Arthur    Mechanic (Metalwork)       Grubby                0      0
Lewis, Mary       Artist (Painting)          Stoic                 1      1
Maitland, Freda   Artist (Printing)          Grubby                0      0
Miller, Steven    Brawling (Boxing)          Bully                 0      0
Nicholls, John    Mechanic (Woodwork)        Greedy                1      0
O'Brien, David    Science (Physics)          Sickly                0      0
Price, Gregory    Artist (Dance)             Mercenary             1      0
Robinson, Elaine  Scholar (Geography)        Streetwise (Glasgow)  1      1
Sherwood, Anne    Scholar (Literature)       Brave                 0      0
Sullivan, James   Babbage Engine (Maths)     Prig                  0      0
Thomas, Larry     Athlete (Rugby, Cricket)   Androgynous           0      0
Wells, William    Linguist (Latin, Greek)    Charitable            1      0

Little Tim (a ghost)
BODY [-], MIND [3], SOUL [3], MAGIC [8], Wizardry [0]
Spells: -
Equipment: Accompanied by a ghostly toy poodle; it is his memory of the poodle Muffin (see below), and has been created by his imagination.
Quote: "I want mummy..."
Notes: This version of Tim is a ghost, although he doesn't really know it. He died knowing nothing of magic or the supernatural, and has no idea how to communicate with the living, but can travel back into the past and take the adventurers with him - see above.

Agatha and Dorothy (The housemaids - ages 19, 17)
Both BODY [3], MIND [3], SOUL [3], MAGIC [0], no game-related skills, equipment, or spells.
Quote: "Oi, none of your lip, young man!"
Notes: Two of several pleasant hard-working lower-class girls who look after the routine housekeeping of the school. Their grandmothers worked as housemaids in Aubrey House when it was a private mansion. They know a little about the earlier occupants of the house; they can answer any simple question about the Pellew family and their servants on a 2D6 roll of 5 or less.

Characters in the Past

See The Wages of Sin in FF VI for more detailed descriptions of these characters and some other NPCs. It should be remembered that the original adventure was supposed to be run in the style of a period melodrama, and that the characters were designed primarily for their melodramatic possibilities.

Little Tim (a foundling - age 5)
BODY [1], MIND [3], SOUL [3], MAGIC [8], Athlete (running, climbing) [2], Wizardry [0]
Spells: -
Equipment: Toys, worms, sweets, etc. Usually wears a sailor suit.
Quote: "This worm tastes howwid..."
Notes: Young Tim is a bit of a handful; bright and extremely fast for his age, with a habit of ducking between male legs or under skirts when evading Scoggins and other authority figures. He also has a vivid inner life; he thinks his teddy bear (Teddy) and stuffed giraffe (Gertrude) talk to him, so he doesn't think it odd that there are three children called Alan, Gwen, and David that he can see and nobody else can. He hasn't bothered to mention any of this because he thinks worms are much more important. He also likes Muffin the poodle.
Special Note: If anyone expects Teddy to be another version of Arnold (see the worldbook and other adventures) they will be disappointed. Arnold was created or summoned by the combined imagination of hundreds of thousands of children, which took a considerable amount of time. In this past era Teddy bears are still comparatively rare, and Arnold hasn't yet manifested.

Captain Roderic Pellew DSO (Indian Army - age 23)
BODY [5], MIND [4], SOUL [2], MAGIC [0], Brawling [7], Driving (carriage) [6], Marksman [7], Melee Weapons [8], Military Arms [7], Morse Code [5], Riding [6], Stealth [7], Thief [7], Wizardry [0]
Equipment: Service revolver, .303 rifle, ammunition, various souvenirs of his campaigns including knives and daggers, and a hideous bronze idol with a large green gem in its forehead, obviously far too big to be real. Disguise (see below).
Quote: "Fine fighter the Gurkha, brave as a lion..."
Notes: Apparently a hero, he is actually a murderer who despises his entire family and doesn't care if they are destroyed - provided he inherits. Ten years ago he set fire to the nursery and killed his little brother and sisters. He somehow avoided suspicion and has gone on to other crimes. Unfortunately he is currently several thousand pounds in debt. Recently his parents adopted a foundling child, Tim, who is likely to inherit a large share of the family fortune. His goal is to eliminate Tim without arousing any suspicion, and the rest of the family given a suitable opportunity. He has invited Lady Maureen home partly because he believes her an heiress, but mainly as a cover for his other activities.
 He is accompanied by his servant Gupta, but doesn't trust him to help with his plans.
 His Acting skill is used mainly to pretend to be a loyal son - however, he can disguise himself as the butler, Sylvester Potter. It won't fool anyone in a good light, but by candle-light or in the dark he can probably get away with it.
 Role Playing Note: Roderic is insane. He is also a melodramatic Villain (see FF VI) who engages in prolonged monologues about his cunning plans and villainy when he thinks he is alone.

Professor John Pellew (Humanitarian scientist - age 44)
BODY [3], MIND [5], SOUL [2], MAGIC [0], Business [6], Detective [5], Doctor [7], First Aid [8], Scientist (biology, physics) [8], Wizardry [0]
Equipment: A fully-equipped medical laboratory including chemicals and surgical tools, samples of radium salts, an experimental radium healing ray.
Quote: "Now if we bathe the wound in radium rays for about thirty seconds..."
Notes: A preoccupied scientist who hopes to find the secret of rapid healing via radium rays. He has a medical degree but no longer practices, except in emergencies. His prototype ray seems to heal animal injuries quite well, but is nowhere near ready for human experiments. He is disturbed by his wife's spiritualist interests but can see no easy way to discuss the matter without distressing her.
 For full details of the ray and its effects on normal people see FF VI.

Norma Pellew (John's Wife - age 42)
BODY [2], MIND [3], SOUL [3], MAGIC [0], Actor (sing lullabies etc.) [5], Artist (flower arrangement) [6], Athlete (Tennis) [5], First Aid [5], Medium [2], Ride [6], Wizardry [0]
Spells: -
Equipment: -
Quote: "...of course that was when the children were alive... (sob)"
Notes: Norma believes she caused the death of her children by leaving a candle in their bedroom. She has turned to spiritualism and other religions, and have found some solace there, but would dearly love to hear from the children once more, to put their memories to rest. She loves little Tim the foundling, who is now her adopted child, but isn't sure he will ever replace her lost children in her heart. She holds a seance every year in their memory. She has been stealing laudanum from her husband's surgery to help her sleep, and occasionally suffers short mood swings, which leave her angry with the world and hating Tim, who can never replace her children. They never last more than a few minutes.

Thomas Fox (Secretary - A.K.A. Detective Constable Fox - age 23)
BODY [4], MIND [4], SOUL [4], MAGIC [0], Actor (pianist) [7], Athlete (running) [6], Brawling [6], Business [5], Detective [5], Drive (carriage) [5], Marksman [6], Melee Weapons [6], Ride (Bicycle, Horse) [5], Stealth [4], Wizardry [0]
6 Bonus points - may be used to improve dice rolls or for luck ONLY.
Equipment: Handcuffs, police uniform, etc. (usually in locked case in bedroom), bicycle (in shed in kitchen garden).
Quote: (as secretary) "Should I end that 'yours sincerely' or 'yours faithfully'" (as D.C. Fox) "I must inform you, sir, that I am a police officer"
Notes: A hard-working detective assigned to the house in the belief that it will be targeted by country house burglars. Only Professor Pellew knows his real identity. He has fallen in love with Lady Maureen, but feels that his lack of social status makes any liason impossible.
Role Playing Note: Fox is a classic melodramatic Hero and will always prefer to use his fists to a gun or other weapons. He finds it almost impossible to hurt a woman, regardless of provocation.

Lady Maureen (a house guest - age 21)
BODY [2], MIND [3], SOUL [4], MAGIC [0], Actor (musician esp. violin) [7], Artist (watercolours) [5], Brawling [2], Linguist (French, German, Italian, modern Greek) [7], Marksman [4], Riding [5], Scientist (botany and natural history) [4], Wizardry [0]
Spells: -
Equipment: Fashionable summer clothing, fan, opera glasses (useful for bird-watching), parasol, sketch pad, pencils and paints, violin, bow and arrows (in trunk), Muffin (a poodle).
Quote: "Hello trees, hello flowers, what a wonderful day..."
Notes: The third daughter of a noble family, she has little money in her own right. She recently returned from a tour of Europe, where she met Captain Roderic Pellew, a handsome young Indian Army officer. She has accepted an invitation to visit his family home, accompanied by her aunt who is acting as chaperon. She isn't sure if she wishes to encourage Captain Pellew to continue his attentions, this visit should give her more of an idea of his personality.
 Lady Maureen is simply an innocent guest in the house, with no real knowledge of the Pellew family. She tends towards optimism and charming happiness, but can scream with the best given suitable provocation.
 Her chaperon, Aunt Rose, is a quiet middle-aged lady who secretly smokes cheroots and is Loamshire's archery champion.
Role Playing Note: Lady Maureen is a classic melodramatic Romantic Lead, inclined to swoon prettily, scream, or faint as suits the needs of the plot. She is useless in combat and almost always acts like a total wimp. However, she is protected by almost supernatural luck, and for the purposes of this adventure it can be assumed that all attacks, regardless of their severity, do no more than wind her or cause her to faint. For example, if she is shot at point-blank range the bullet will ricochet off one of the bones of her corset.

Muffin (Lady Maureen's dog)
BODY [1], MIND [2], SOUL [2], MAGIC [0], Brawling [2], Detective (scent) [3], Medium [4], Stealth [3], Wizardry [0]
Bite, Effect 2, A:B, B:F, C:F
Wounds B[ ] F[ ] C[ ] (any Injury result is critical)
Spells: -
Equipment: -
Quote: ""Yap! Yap! Yap!" "
Notes: Muffin is a miniature poodle, and is as cute as cute can be. She usually has a pink ribbon or some other decoration round her neck. Her main goal is to find something really smelly and roll in it for a while. She can see ghosts (and other spiritual entities such as the time travellers), and will respond by staring at them at first, then ignoring them when she gets used to them and realise they mean her no harm. She can't usually understand orders or get help etc., but she will fiercely defend Lady Maureen (whom she loves) and Tim (who often has sweets and occasionally smells disgusting).