TEXT: The Modern Dispatch
  Revenant
  Page 1
  Revenants are sometimes created when people die 
  while in situations of prolonged physical danger, such 
  as soldiers in battle or inmates in violent prisons. 
  Revenants are also created when a person who desired 
  that they be interred as a complete, undisturbed body 
  has their wishes disregarded. Still other revenants have 
  a devotion to a place or object and act as a guardian, 
  even after death. This location may be the revenant’s 
  own tomb, but it can also be a location or object 
  important to it in life.
  When a revenant is not active, its body returns to 
  its grave via magical transport. The body often has 
  evidence on it that it has been “out and about,” such as 
  grass or dirt on its feet, or blood on its hands.
  When active, revenants can transport their bodies 
  through an otherworldly dimension and cause them to 
  appear at the approximate location (within 1 mile) of 
  where they desire.
  Revenant spirits have the same general appearance 
  as the bodies they inhabit, and any damage to the corpse 
  is done to the lost soul as well.  However, revenant 
  bodies decay unnaturally slowly, taking centuries to 
  decompose. If a revenant’s corporeal body sustains 
  physical damage, that damage is permanent.
  Because of their innate connection to their bodies, 
  revenants can be damaged just as a zombie can. 
  Destroying a revenant’s body (reducing it to –10 Hit 
  Points) while it is animate also destroys the revenant 
  spirit. A revenant that is cut off from, or can no longer 
  animate, its body is just a spirit and becomes a weak 
  lesser manifestation. If the body is destroyed while 
  the revenant does not possess it, the revenant spirit 
  cannot possess another body and it remains a lesser 
  manifestation forever.
  Revenants
  Revenants are a type of lost soul that combines corporeal and incorporeal elements. It is essentially 
  a corpse animated by its own spirit. Revenants possess many of the powers of lost souls, but also 
  have some of the physical strength of a zombie. However, revenants are limited by these physical ties and can be 
  destroyed in the same manner as a zombie.
  “Howdy” from 12 to Midnight
  In case you are not familiar with us, 12 to Midnight 
  is a Texas-based RPG publisher specializing in 
  modern horror. You might not normally think “Texas” 
  and “horror” go together, but we are pretty sure you 
  will change your mind after spending some time in 
  Pinebox. 
  Pinebox, Texas, that is—a nice little rural community 
  smack-dab in East Texas. There is a university nearby, 
  a pine forest called the Big Thicket, and a mess of 
  beautiful wildﬂowers every spring. Unfortunately, it is 
  also the epicenter of a whole lot of bad mojo. We’re 
  talking dark magic, serial killers, haunted buildings—
  the whole ball of wax.
  If you want to learn more about Pinebox, just visit 
  our Web site at 12tomidnight.com. You can start using 
  the free campaign setting on our site right now, then 
  watch it continue to grow right here in the pages of 
  Modern Dispatch. Of course, Pinebox is our setting, 
  but all the material in these pages can just as easily be 
  dropped into yours.
  If you have any ideas for future issues, 
  or if you want to comment on what you 
  read here, please drop by the forums on 
  our website.
  Requires the use of the d20 Modern Roleplaying 
  Game, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  Author/Interior art: Neal.Hyde�
  editors: Jerry.Blakemore�
  Cray.Crouse
  ed.wetterman
  layout/editing: Preston.dubose
  #61
  So, what’s a Lost Soul?
  Lost souls are the spirits of those who die, but 
  are unable or unwilling to leave our plane of 
  existence—usually because of some unﬁnished 
  business, but in rare instances because of outside 
  intervention. The lost soul template may be 
  found in Green’s Guide to Ghosts, and includes 
  more detailed information regarding lesser 
  manifestations, poltergeists, ABEs, phantoms, 
  and dominating spirits.
  
  The Modern Dispatch
  Revenant
  Page 2
  d20 Modern and Wizards of the Coast are 
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  United States and other countries and are used 
  with permission. ‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 
  System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the 
  Coast, Inc. and are used according to the terms 
  of the d20 System License version 6.0.  A copy 
  of this License can be found at www.wizards.
  com/d20.
  Revenant
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  Revenants have the same Dexterity, Intelligence, 
  Wisdom, memories, and skills they possessed in life.
  Template Traits
  “Revenant” is a template that can be added to any 
  corporeal creature other than undead (referred to 
  hereafter as the base creature). It uses all the base 
  creature’s statistics and special abilities except as 
  noted here.
  Challenge Rating: base creature +1.
  Type: Undead.
  Hit Dice: d12.
  Speed: As base creature
  Defense: Natural armor bonus to Defense increases 
  to a value based on size (use the base creature’s 
  natural armor bonus, if it’s higher): Tiny +0, Small +1, 
  Medium-size +2, Large +3, Huge +4, Gargantuan +7, 
  Colossal +11.
  Attacks: As base creature. Slam.
  Damage: Slam damage depends on the revenant’s 
  size (use the base creature’s slam damage, if it is 
  greater): Fine 1, Diminutive 1d2, Tiny 1d3, Small 1d4, 
  Medium-size 1d6, Large 1d8, Huge 2d6, Gargantuan 
  2d8, Colossal 4d6. For purposes of Strength bonuses 
  to damage, a slam attack is considered a two-handed 
  attack.
  Special Qualities: A revenant loses all of the 
  base creature’s supernatural and spell-like abilities, 
  except for immunity/resistance to speciﬁc energy 
  types and SR. A revenant may retain any or all of the 
  base creature’s extraordinary abilities, at the GM’s 
  discretion.
  Animate Own Body: Revenants can animate their 
  own bodies.
  Transport Own Body: Revenants may transport their 
  own bodies through an otherworldly dimension and 
  cause it to appear within 1 mile of a location in the 
  mortal world.
  Allegiances: A revenant retains its previous 
  allegiances, and develops a fanatical devotion to 
  them.
  Saves: A revenant’s saving throw modiﬁers are 
  based on Hit Dice and given in Table 8–2: Creature 
  Saves and Base Attack Bonuses of the d20 Modern 
  Roleplaying Game.
  Action Points: none
  Reputation Bonus: +0
  Ability Scores: Str 18, Dex – as base creature, Con 
  -, Int – as base creature, Wis –as base creature, Cha 3
  Skills: As base creature
  Feats: As base creature, Toughness, Frightful 
  Presence.
  T
  here are as many different types of revenants as 
  there are personalities of the dead. Three different 
  types of revenants are discussed in this Modern 
  Dispatch.  
  Retriever Revenants
  Many revenants seek a missing part of their bodies, 
  one with which they were not interred. Such 
  revenants attack the living to retrieve their missing 
  parts. The most well-known retriever revenant is the 
  Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, a revenant of 
  a Revolutionary War soldier who was beheaded by a 
  cannonball. The Headless Horseman seeks to acquire 
  a new head and haunts a lonely stretch of backcountry 
  New England road.
  The Organ Retriever
  New medical technology has extended and improved 
  the lives of millions, but it has also created a new breed 
  of revenant—the organ retriever. At death, some people 
  have their organs harvested for transplant to people in 
  need. The deceased person must have arranged prior 
  to death to donate the organs, or the deceased’s legal 
  guardian may donate the organs. In rare cases, the 
  legal guardian donates the organs against the wishes 
  of the deceased.
  Creature Templates
  Personalities of the Dead
  
  The Modern Dispatch
  Revenant
  Page 3
  Organ retrievers haunt the people responsible 
  for the loss of their organs, such as the doctors, 
  family decision makers, and the organ recipients 
  themselves. Some revenants go so far as 
  to attack the recipients and reclaim the 
  transplanted organs, resulting in gruesome 
  and painful deaths for the new victims. 
  These horriﬁc crimes often perplex law 
  enforcement personnel, because the only 
  evidence they ﬁnd implicates someone 
  who is already dead.
  Organ Retriever Special Abilities
  Organ retriever revenants have the 
  following special abilities in 
  addition to those listed in the 
  revenant template.
  Organ 
  Location: 
  The 
  revenant can identify the 
  location and condition of any 
  of its missing organs. This 
  operates like the Locate 
  Object spell, with no 
  material requirement.
  Scalpel 
  Nails: 
  The 
  revenant 
  grows 
  long, 
  razor-like 
  ﬁngernails, 
  which it uses to remove the 
  “stolen” organs from the 
  recipient’s body. Counts 
  as armed attack, 1d6 
  damage).
  Pinebox Adventure Outlines
  The Repossession
  Jimmy Lee Wilcox was an unlucky criminal 
  from Austin, Texas. During the last of his many 
  stays in the county jail, a fellow inmate crushed 
  the back of his skull with a rake 
  handle. Wilcox’s common-law wife 
  allowed his organs to be harvested 
  as a last spite to the mean man. His 
  corneas went to an aging doctor in 
  Maine, his lungs went to a young 
  woman in Florida, his heart went 
  to a ﬁreﬁghter in Pennsylvania, 
  and his two kidneys went to a set of 
  twins in Pinebox, Texas.
  However, Jimmy Lee had been 
  raised in a religious sect that taught 
  that a person had to be buried whole, or 
  the spirit could not enter God’s celestial 
  paradise. Although he was not the religious 
  type while alive, Jimmy Lee’s spirit was 
  extremely angered by his wife’s decision to 
  donate his organs. He appeared to his wife on 
  the one-month anniversary of his death, chastised her 
  for her decision to donate his organs, and told her that 
  he was going to retrieve his missing parts.
  Exactly a month later, the revenant tore his eyes 
  from the aging doctor. The following month, he 
  attacked and killed the ﬁreﬁghter in Pennsylvania.
  When Wilcox’s wife learned of the deaths in Maine 
  and Pennsylvania, she tried to warn the woman who 
  had received his lungs, but her warnings were ignored 
  and Wilcox claimed another victim.
  The adventure starts with the twin girls who received 
  the kidneys getting strange phone calls from Austin. 
  The caller often doesn’t say anything (Wilcox’s wife 
  doesn’t know what to say), but ﬁnally she warns the 
  girls that they are in danger. Shortly afterward, they 
  receive an anonymous package containing newspaper 
  clippings detailing the horriﬁc murders in Maine, 
  Pennsylvania, and Florida. With some detective work, 
  the heroes can trace the phone calls back to Wilcox’s 
  wife, who admits to making the calls and repeats her 
  warning that Jimmy Lee is coming, and that the month 
  is about up.
  Wilcox appears near the twin’s home during the night 
  on the monthly anniversary of his death. The revenant 
  makes its way through the wealthy neighborhood 
  where the twins live and enters the house. If the heroes 
  don’t stop Wilcox, he kills both girls and retrieves his 
  kidneys. If the heroes do manage to stop Wilcox but do 
  not destroy him, they learn that his wife was murdered 
  the night of their conﬂict and her kidneys taken.
  Hook: The heroes can become involved if the twin’s 
  father, a successful criminal lawyer, asks them to 
  investigate the source of strange phone calls coming 
  to his house. He can pay the heroes or offer to assist 
  them in the future when they come into conﬂict with 
  the law.
  Alternative Hook: A doctor from the organ donation 
  organization that handled the Wilcox donation contacts 
  the heroes anonymously. He is aware that recipients 
  of the organs from Jimmy Lee Wilcox are being 
  murdered. He is afraid that it is a bizarre serial killer, 
  and asks the heroes to intervene.
  Alternative Hook 2: The twin girls are cousins or 
  little sisters to one of the heroes, and are creeped out 
  by the person who keeps calling them.
  Alternative Hook 3: Any hero who is in law 
  enforcement may become involved in the murder 
  investigations and realize that there are other donor 
  recipients who are now targets of the murderer.
  
  The Modern Dispatch
  Revenant
  Page 4
  Organ Retriever Revenant, Jimmy Lee Wilcox
  Tough Hero 3/Dedicated Hero 2 CR 6; Medium-size undead; 
  HD 5d12+5(+3 for Toughness); HP 43; Mas 12; Init +0; Spd 
  30 ft; Defense 16, touch 16, ﬂatfooted 16 (+2 size, +0 Dex, 
  +4 class); BAB +3; Grap +4; Atk +4 melee (Razor Nails 
  1d6+4, Knife 1d4+4), or +3 ranged; FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 
  5 ft; SQ See below; AL Recovery of his organs; SV Fort +4, 
  Ref +1, Will +4; AP 2; Rep +0; Str 18, Dex 10, Con -, Int 8, 
  Wis 10, Cha 3.
  Occupation: 
  Criminal 
  (Gamble, 
  Knowledge 
  [Streetwise])
  Skills: Climb +3, Drive +3, Intimidate +9, Listen 
  +4, Spot +4, Swim +3
  Special Qualities: Animate Own Body, Transport 
  Own Body, Scalpel Nails, Locate Organs at 
  will
  Feats: Athletic, Brawl, Conﬁdent, Frightful 
  Presence, Improved Brawl, Iron Will, 
  Personal Firearms Proﬁciency, Toughness 
  Possessions: Knife
  Talents 
  (Tough 
  Hero): 
  Acid 
  Resistance, 
  Fire 
  Resistance 
  Talents (Dedicated Hero): Empathy
  Jimmy Lee appears as a Caucasian 
  man in his mid-30s.  He wears torn 
  jeans, a ripped, soiled-white “wife 
  beater” undershirt, and has 
  a “Y” incision on his body 
  from the autopsy. Another 
  sewn incision circles 
  his head above the 
  eyebrows (the top of his 
  skull was opened in the 
  autopsy).  If the heroes 
  make a Spot (DC 10), 
  they notice that the 
  back of the revenant’s 
  head is caved in.
  Guardian Revenants
  Guardian revenants are tied to a special location that they cherished, protected, or were 
  summoned to guard. This location could be anything from a sacred place, a natural area, a 
  tomb or gravesite, to anywhere that would make a good, scary story. The revenant violently 
  defends its area against any who would disturb the sanctity of the place.
  Guardian Revenant Special Ability
  Location Teleport – A guardian revenant can freely teleport within the area it protects. This 
  power acts just like Greater Teleport, but is limited to an area of 5 miles around the protected 
  area. This is a standard action.
  Ancient Anger
  Hundreds of years ago, a Native American shaman lived in the area now known 
  as the Big Thicket National Forest of Texas. This shaman had been from one 
  of the local tribes, but was exiled for practicing dark magic that healed at the 
  expense of the victim’s soul.
  The shaman took up residence alone in a clearing of the forest, living without 
  shelter or ﬁre. He offered his services as a healer to the people in the area, but 
  only the most desperate made use of his power because the price was always 
  too high. After an unnaturally long life, the shaman erected his own burial 
  platform and gave up his soul to the evil spirits that had given him so much 
  power. But as he died, the evil that gave him his power twisted his devotion 
  into punishment and forced him to remain in his cursed grove, forever 
  wreaking destruction upon any who disturb it.
  The gnarled, twisted grove remained untouched for many years, and 
  over time the place became an animal graveyard. The burial platform and 
  the shaman’s body eventually disintegrated, and only four poles, each 
  topped with an animal skull, remain.
  The ﬁrst time the grave was disturbed was in 1933, when a Works 
  Progress Administration (WPA) work crew of twelve men entered the 
  Big Thicket to dig a series of canals through the area. The WPA crew 
  vanished after three months, killed by the shaman for disturbing his 
  grave. By the time a search party found the scattered remains of their 
  camp, another month had passed. No further evidence of what happened to the 
  work crew was ever found.
  Pinebox Adventure Outlines
  
  The Modern Dispatch
  Revenant
  Page 5
  In the present, ﬁve biology grad students from East 
  Texas University had the misfortune of entering the 
  clearing while hiking and disturbing the revenant’s 
  gravesite. Four of the students were killed by the 
  revenant, but a ﬁfth managed to escape. She emerged 
  from the forest in a catatonic state. Her body bore savage 
  wounds in addition to starvation and dehydration. 
  She currently remains in the Pinebox hospital in her 
  unexplained catatonia.
  Hook: The heroes are asked to join a search and 
  rescue party sent into the Big Thicket to ﬁnd the 
  missing grad students. They ﬁnd the clearing full of 
  animal bones and the four poles, just as a powerful 
  storm whips through the area. If they Search the 
  clearing (DC 15) they ﬁnd human bones from both the 
  WPA party and the missing grad students. However, 
  they also disturb the revenant, causing it to appear and 
  attack them.
  Alternative Hook: The heroes come into possession 
  of an account of a searcher who looked for the missing 
  WPA party in 1938. He describes ﬁnding a strange 
  clearing with four poles set into the ground. The 
  remains of animals were all around, and the clearing 
  had a very ominous feeling about it. The account states 
  that if there ever was a place that was haunted, it was 
  that clearing.
  Guardian Revenant, Shaman
  Strong Hero 7 CR 8; Medium-size undead; HD 
  7d12+7(+3 Toughness); HP 50; Mas 13; Init +2; Spd 
  30 ft; Defense 18, touch 18, ﬂatfooted 16 (+2 size, 
  +2 Dex, +4 class); BAB +7; Grap +9; Atk +9 melee 
  (1d6+4, Knife 1d4+4, spear 1d8+4), or +9 ranged 
  (1d6+0, spear 1d8+4); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ 
  see below; AL Burial site; SV Fort +5, Ref +2, Will 
  +2; AP 0; Rep 0; Str 18, Dex 14, Con -, Int 12, Wis 
  10, Cha 3.
  Occupation: Rural (Ride, Survival)
  Skills: Climb +7, Hide +4, Jump +5, Know (Tactics) 
  +4, Listen +2, Spot +1, Survival +5, Swim +4
  Feats: Archaic Weapons Proﬁciency, Athletic, 
  Attentive, Brawl, Combat Reﬂexes, Dodge, Frightful 
  Presence, Improved Brawl, Power Attack, Toughness
  Special Qualities: Animate Own Body, Transport 
  Own Body, Location Teleport; Talents (Strong 
  Hero): Extreme Effort, Improved Extreme Effort, 
  Melee Smash, Improved Melee Smash
  Possessions: obsidian knife, obsidian spear
  The shaman appears as a tall, thin Native American 
  with withered features and an almost mummiﬁed body. 
  His eyes are narrow, and glow with a ﬁery red evil. 
  The shaman wears deteriorated leather breeches, and 
  caries an obsidian knife and obsidian-tipped spear.
  Animal Revenants
  Animals can become revenants, too. Although rare, 
  these are frightening creatures to come across as they 
  often kill out of perverse instinct.  Like formerly human 
  revenants, some animal revenants guard a place that is 
  sacred or special to them, but others simply retain their 
  animal desire to hunt and feed.
  Pinebox Adventure Outlines
  The Pack
  In the late 1990s, feral dogs plagued the Big Thicket 
  National Forest. These were domesticated dogs that 
  had gone wild and joined together in a large pack. They 
  hunted down deer, livestock, pets, and even threatened 
  campers in the campgrounds. Receiving pressure 
  from local ranchers, the National Park Service hired 
  local hunters Bill and Joe Ray Mullins from Pinebox 
  to destroy the pack, and they performed their duty 
  with brutal efﬁciency. The pack was caught in traps, 
  tortured, and left to rot in the woods.
  The evil from the two men caused the animals to 
  seek revenge, and something in the thicket empowered 
  some of the dogs to be returned from the dead as 
  animal revenants. The pack of six undead dogs now 
  haunts and hunts the Big Thicket, looking for the 
  hunters who had a hand in their extermination. They 
  also attack inherently evil people who venture into the 
  Big Thicket, such as poachers, criminals, and those 
  people who kill animals for fun.
  Hook: Reports of a pack of wild dogs hunting on the 
  outskirts of Pinebox have locals in a panic. The sheriff 
  has requested help from anyone who can to hunt the 
  dogs down. Of course, this is just what the revenants 
  want, as many of those who volunteer participated in 
  the hunt during the 1990s. The Mullins brothers are 
  some of the ﬁrst to volunteer.
  Alternate Hook: A park ranger who participated 
  in the wild dog hunts of the 1990s swears that she is 
  being haunted by some kind of creature while she’s 
  in the Big Thicket. She comes to the heroes looking 
  for help to discover what it is that follows her in the 
  woods and why she feels so threatened by it.
  Animal Revenant, Dog
  CR 2; Medium-sized undead; HD 2d12+4(+3 
  Toughness); HP 21; Mas 15; Init +2; Spd 40 ft; Defense 
  15, touch 14, ﬂat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +1 Natural, +2 
  Size), BAB +1, Grap +3, Atk +3 melee (1d6+4, bite); 
  Full Atk +3 melee (1d6 +4, bite); FS 5 ft. by 5 ft.; 
  Reach 5 ft, SQ see below AL pack; SV Fort +5, Ref 
  +5, Will +1; AP 0; Rep +0; Str 18, Dex 15, Con -, Int 
  2, Wis 10, Cha 3.
  Skills: Jump +4, Listen +5, Spot +5, Survival +1 
  (+5 when tracking by scent), Swim +5
  Special Qualities: Animate Own Body, Transport 
  Own Body, Scent
  Feats: Frightful Presence, Toughness
  Six dogs are in the undead pack, including a Golden 
  Retriever, Chow, St. Bernard, and three mid-sized 
  dogs of mixed breeds. All have ﬁlthy, matted coats, 
  and some have obvious gunshot wounds. The Golden 
  Retriever, whose skull is half blown off, is the alpha 
  male.
  
  The Modern Dispatch
  Revenant
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  The Modern Dispatch
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  “Chewy” Attacks Two 
  Boys in Whiskey Creek
  By: Jan Vincent
  The decades-old myth of the grey alligator, 
  “Chewy”, was revived this past week when 
  two boys, Alex and Eli Mathers, experienced 
  a dangerous encounter with the legendary 
  creature. Alex and Eli, ages 15 and 14, 
  were using their father’s ﬂatbottom boat 
  to ﬁsh the Pirate’s Cove area of Whiskey 
  Creek, just east of Pinebox. 
  At approximately 2 pm last Saturday, 
  Alex spotted what he thought was a 
  twenty-foot grey log ﬂoating slowly down 
  stream toward their boat. The two boys 
  attempted to paddle the boat away from 
  the log, but were surprised when the log 
  suddenly submerged and then resurfaced 
  beneath their boat with enough force to 
  turn the craft over in the water.  
  The alligator attacked Eli, tearing his 
  right arm oﬀ just above the elbow. After 
  hitting the creature with his paddle, Alex 
  was able to wrestle Eli ashore. Authorities 
  were contacted, and Eli was life-ﬂighted 
  to a Lufkin hospital to undergo surgery. 
  He is reported to be in stable condition, 
  despite the loss of his arm.
  The Forestry Service and several 
  zoological specialists were contacted, but 
  were unable to locate the alligator, despite 
  an exhaustive search of the area.
  Sheriﬀ Butch Anderson has issued 
  a dangerous animal warning for the 
  southeastern area of Pinebox and the 
  surrounding vicinity of Whiskey Creek. 
  “Alligator attacks on human beings 
  are very rare, and this one should be 
  Community Calendar
  October 17
  Pinebox Theater Presents 
  Traveller’s Tale—A play by Roy 
  Taylor. Tickets $6.50 at the High 
  School box ofﬁce.
  Golan County Historical Society 
  monthly meeting—First State 
  Bank meeting room, 6 p.m.
  Fall Festival Planning 
  Committee—PHS, 6 - 8 p.m.
  October 18
  School Board Meeting—Travis 
  Elementary cafeteria, 7 - 9 p.m.
  Cont’d.
  October 17, 2005 
  Volume V, Issue 61
  pinebox news
   Police Break Blackburn
  Meth Ring
  By Theresa Lee
  Fall Festival Promises Fun and Fright for All
  The 
  Golan 
  county 
  Sheriﬀ’s 
  oﬃce 
  announced the arrest of Buddy Verner and 
  Kent Downes of the Blackburn community 
  for the creation and distribution of 
  controlled substances. Buddy’s residence 
  of 1110 Hope street had been converted 
  into a giant meth lab.  
  “This sort of lab is very dangerous to 
  the community, as accidents may cause 
  explosions and ﬁres,” explained Sheriﬀ 
  Butch Anderson. Several other men are 
  currently being sought in connection with 
  this drug ring, including Jose Escobar, a 
  known leader of the Razor Kings—an 
  Hispanic gang gaining prominence in the 
  Houston area. Escobar escaped the initial 
  police assault on the home and exchanged 
  ﬁre with several deputies before ﬂeeing 
  in a cream-colored, late model, Ford 
  Mustang.  
  County oﬃcials issued the following 
  warning: “Jose Escobar is a wanted 
  fugitive and should be considered armed 
  It’s that time of year again! Everyone in 
  East Texas loves to come to Pinebox’s 
  Annual Swap Meet and Fall Festival, and 
  the schedule of events would indicate a 
  great time for all. 
  “This year we are planning eating 
  contests involving chili and lemon 
  meringue pie, and several trail rides, 
  including a special midnight hay ride from 
  Pinebox to the Golan Indian Mounds 
  State Park. We will have several live bands 
  set up across from the City Hall, and the 
  entire downtown area is being closed to 
  allow only pedestrian traﬃc,” said Linda 
  Massey, this year’s Event Chairman.
  Last year Pinebox set a record attendance 
  of 18,000 people, but more are expected 
  this year. 
  “We should top out at almost 20,000 this 
  year, and it’s sure to be one grand party,” 
  said City Councilman Bud Garland. “Best 
  continued on page 2
  continued on page 2
  continued on page 2
  
  The Modern Dispatch
  Revenant
  Page 7
  The Modern Dispatch
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  Page 7
  considered an isolated incident,” said Dr. 
  Homer Bell, of the East Texas University 
  Department of Animal Science.
  The Chewy legend dates back to the 
  mid 1950s, with a series of alligator 
  attacks throughout Golan County. Each 
  witness claimed that the alligator was 
  unusually large and grey in color. During 
  the 1950s, former Sheriﬀ’s Deputy Bill 
  Wood began referring to the creature as 
  “Chewy,” and vowed to hunt it down. 
  He was never successful. Massive hunts 
  for the alligator took place in the summer 
  of 1956, and while many alligators were 
  killed, none matched the description of 
  “Chewy.”
  “Big leatherbacks the reported size 
  of Chewy are very rare”, said Terrance 
  Carter, owner of Alligator Run Farms. 
  Carter continued, “There ain’t no 
  monster alligator in Golan County. He 
  was probably a six-to-eight footer, which 
  can be dangerous in the wild. They rarely 
  attack humans, and we should be careful 
  not to start a panic that could result in the 
  destruction of these beautiful creatures.”
  The Pinebox Humane Society has called 
  for a “non-violent” search for the animal 
  responsible. Society spokesman, Ruth 
  Heller said, “Animals have rights too. We 
  must learn to share this planet with them. 
  Human destruction of nature inevitably 
  leads to accidental conﬂicts, as animals 
  react territorially to our transgressions.”
  GM Ideas:
  • The heroes are contacted by the boy’s 
  mother, who is upset that no one is 
  taking her son’s story of the giant grey 
  alligator seriously. She is willing to pay 
  a hefty sum to anyone who can capture 
  the animal.
  • Terrance Carter is actually a practitioner 
  of Voodoo magic, as well as the owner-
  operator of Alligator Run Farm. The 
  county is attempting to force him out 
  of business, as many people in Golan 
  County complain about alligator 
  attacks. He has summoned the spirit 
  of an alligator revenant to attack 
  several selected County oﬃcials and 
  their families–not the brightest move 
  he could make, but he is consumed 
  with anger and a desire to see his own 
  skewed sense of justice served.
  • A group of  poachers in 1948 managed 
  to capture, torture, and kill a huge 
  alligator. Just as they turned to bring the 
  creature in, a rare swamp waterspout 
  whirled around their boat, killing the 
  men and whisking the alligator’s body 
  away. The two boys were attacked 
  while killing animals with a .22 riﬂe, 
  and they were descendants of one of 
  the original poachers. The gator was 
  exacting revenge. Now that it has risen, 
  it continues to track the boys until 
  they are dead—including using its 
  “transport own body” ability to attack 
  in very public places.
  and dangerous. Anyone with information 
  regarding his current whereabouts should 
  contact Pinebox Crime Stoppers or the 
  Golan County Sheriﬀ’s Department 
  immediately.”
  This is the second such arrest and 
  investigation in the past three months. 
  Judge Rountree explained, “We are 
  cleaning up the Blackburn area. There are 
  lots of good people who live there, and 
  their children do not need to live in fear.” 
  GM Ideas:
  • Jose Escobar remains in the Pinebox 
  area and has called for help from several 
  of his gang-member friends who have 
  driven from Houston. He has declared 
  a war on all law enforcement oﬃcials.
  • The heroes are approached by a middle-
  aged 
  businessman 
  named 
  David 
  Martin. Mr. Martin is trying to recruit 
  young men and women to inﬁltrate the 
  Blackburn community to discover other 
  illegal activities. He promises a good 
  reward for the information. In actuality, 
  he is the leader of six men who call 
  themselves the “Peace Guard.” They are 
  a vigilante group who wants to identify 
  those creating and selling drugs in 
  Golan County, and then to kill them.
  • The heroes spot a broken-down mustang 
  on a small country road. Jose Escobar 
  attempts to ﬂag them down to help him 
  get to his “uncle’s” house.  If helped, the 
  heroes soon ﬁnd themselves in a very 
  awkward position as the police close in.
  of all, the Halloween costume party is 
  growing every year and the Festival has 
  become a great economic boom for our 
  city.”
  The Fall Festival began in 1892 as a 
  simple swap meet and farmer’s market, 
  but has grown every year and become 
  part of Pinebox folklore and culture. This 
  year’s bands include the Skinny Lizards, 
  Silverstrike, and local favorite, A Jury of 
  Robots. Several Greek organizations from 
  East Texas University are participating and 
  have arranged for special events, including 
  a strong man contest, a beauty contest, 
  and a ﬁghting championship.
  GM Ideas:
  The last few years have seen the 
  disappearance of several black cats and 
  dogs throughout Pinebox. The bodies 
  have never been recovered, though there 
  are rumors of some black magic rituals. 
  The heroes are hired by Dr. Don Reeves 
  to investigate the animal disappearances 
  and, if possible, to prevent them this 
  year. Dr. Reeves raises pure black labs and 
  his animals have been victimized in the 
  past. A cult led by an ex-gang member is 
  responsible for stealing the animals and 
  using them in dark rituals. Most of the 
  cultists are teenagers who are ﬁercely loyal 
  to their leader. On the night of the Fall 
  Festival in a warehouse only blocks away, 
  they plan on performing their next ritual. 
  However, this time animals aren’t enough. 
  This time the cult plans on kidnapping a 
  partier from the festival and draining her 
  life.
  “Chewy” Attacks (continued from pg 1)
  Meth Ring  
  (continued from page 1)
  Fall Festival  
  (continued from page 1)
  
  The Modern Dispatch
  Revenant
  Page 8
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  15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, 
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  Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002, Wizards 
  of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, 
  Charles Ryan, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, 
  Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, 
  John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.
  System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2004, Wizards 
  of the Coast, Inc.: Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip 
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  Modern Dispatch #61, 2005, 12 to Midnight, Inc.; Author: Neal 
  Hyde
  open gaming content
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