OSR Commentary On SURVIVE THIS!! What Shadows Hide: The Roleplaying Game & Nightshift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars rpg - What Shadows Hide Cthulhu Sourcebook - Session Five

 "Created by Eric Bloat & Josh Palmer, SURVIVE THIS!! What Shadows Hide  is a standalone roleplaying game and does not require any additional gaming material to play. However, as part of the SURVIVE THIS!! game line, What Shadows Hide is 100% fully compatible with SURVIVE THIS!! ZOMBIES!, DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS, VIGILANTE CITY, and SURVIVE THIS!! FANTASY, We Die Young, and can be used to mix and match to create your own custom play experiences."

We've been dealing with the horde of vampires that had been unleashed on The Tabitha Township from October 1st session. We picked up after sacrificing one of the blessed statues that we'd recovered from the vampire's lair. Explosives and holy water plus blessed shrapnel took out the rest of the swarm of vampires. We knew the head vampire was leaving these hordes to slow us down. But whom was his contact in town?

We looked into our local contact Irwin 'Patch' Ferrelli the local pawn shop & occult expert. When our party arrived we found the shop bathed in a harsh blue light and the front door open! Patch was no where to be found but we heard multiple demonic whispers coming from the walls and the ceiling. In the back of the shop we found 'Patch' floating above the floor with his black stone near by. 
We came face to face with the 'Architect' a supernatural entity wreathed in blue flayed skin and leather. 'Oh you've come from your friend have you? He's but a bit of bait to get you here' The game goes on and we continue to play' You may have your friend back for now after all he's used goods'. Patch fell to the floor in a heap covered in a multitude of cuts and scars that were already starting to fade?! 'Come East if you dare and your friend knows the way'. 

Patch, the Pawn Shop Proprietor

• Name: "Patch" (he rarely gives his real name)
• Appearance: A man in his late 50s or early 60s, with a gruff but kind face. He has a jagged, faded scar running from his left temple down across the bridge of his nose and over his right eye. He often wears a worn, leather-and-patchwork vest over a plain shirt and his hands show signs of hard work and a few old bullet wounds.
• Personality:
  • Quirk: He has a habit of polishing a small, smooth, black stone he keeps in his vest pocket, always seeming to talk to it under his breath.
  • Catchphrase: "Things ain't always what they seem, kid. Especially not in this city."
  • Disposition: Gruff and wary, but with a hidden sense of humor. He doesn't suffer fools but will help those he sees as genuine. He has a deep-seated respect for the supernatural, born of hard-earned experience.
• Role in the Game:
  • Information Broker: Patch's pawn shop is a hub for rumors and gossip. He can provide information on supernatural activity, strange occurrences, and people of interest, though he may require a favor or a trade for it.
  • Unique Gear Merchant: While his shop has a stock of ordinary goods, he often has bizarre and occasionally powerful supernatural artifacts or items he's acquired over the years. Some may be mundane but have a strange story, while others might be genuinely useful (or dangerous).
• Goals:
  • Survival: His primary goal is to survive another day, which he does by staying ahead of the supernatural world's dangers and trading to keep his business afloat.
  • Redemption: He carries a heavy burden of guilt from past mistakes made during the supernatural wars and might be looking for a way to atone for them.
• Connection to the Players: Players might seek him out for a rare item, a piece of information, or even to get rid of something they found. Patch can serve as an unexpected ally, a quest-giver, or an old friend who's seen it all. He can also provide an opportunity for the players to impact the world by helping him, getting him out of a jam, or using his knowledge to their advantage. 

Over the next few days we nursed Patch back too health and he gave us 

the Gaalvantic compass. This occult item belonged to the 'Flayed Hand' cult 

and always pointed in the direction of 'Hell's' influence. 

We packed up our kit 
& began the process of moving on knowing that the vampire horde 

were 'mercenaries' working for the greater supernatural threat. 

Time to move on.