MEMORIAL DAYBACKGROUND Stemming from the hardships of the Great Depression, the early 1930s saw an unparalleled wave of bank robberies in the American Midwest, perpetrated by the likes of Bonnie and Clyde, the Karpis-Barker Gang, Pretty Boy Floyd, Machine Gun Kelly and the infamous John Dillinger himself. And then there was Herman Sawyer, a particularly vicious outlaw who was as interested in taking lives as acquiring ill-gotten gains. He led a band of four other criminals on numerous occasions, making off with thousands of dollars and leaving plenty of bodies behind. Try as they might, J. Edgar Hoover’s G-Men never could capture or kill Sawyer and his crew, as Sawyer was as unpredictable as he was bloodthirsty. Who would have guessed that eventual downfall would come on Memorial Day at the hands of the citizens of a small, knock-about town in Indiana called Harper? On May 25, 1934, the Sawyer gang arrived at the Blue Club, a brothel located just outside of Harper. They stayed there over the weekend, slipping into town to take stock of the area. They planned to rob the solitary bank on Monday, completely forgetting that it was to be Memorial Day. Sawyer rarely made such mistakes, but sometimes all it takes is one flub-up to cost someone everything. This was one such instance. Over the weekend, one of the gang members, a slovenly fellow named Ezra “Buster” Dickson, drunkenly bragged about their scheme to one of the prostitutes. She ratted on him at the earliest opportunity, rousting the townsfolk and the two-man police force into action. When Monday came, the bank looked to be open for business, but that was just a ruse. Instead of customers, armed civilians (and the two police officers) occupied the building, taking the gang completely by surprise when they strolled through the door. A shootout entailed, felling most of the outlaws in a devastating hail of bullets. Herman Sawyer, despite being pumped with four bullets, managed to escape, desperately climbing into the getaway car, driven by Buster Dickson. The determined mob gave chase, shooting at the car several times in the process. One of the bullets struck Dickson in the head and killed him instantly. The car hit a tree. Inexplicably, Sawyer emerged from the wreckage, guns blazing, before fleeing through the woods and into an abandoned house near Pine Hill Cemetery. The posse caught up with him soon enough. Sawyer was trapped in the house and losing a lot of blood. Still, he wasn’t ready to give up. He always swore that he would never be taken alive… and that was a promise he aimed to keep. Just as the folks in the posse were deciding how to proceed, Sawyer took the element of surprise by charging out the front door and emptying his gun into them. Two of them were slain in this act of desperation before the others turned their guns toward the crook and mowed him down. As he laid on the blood-soaked grass, his dying words were, “I’ll kill everybody in this fucking town… if I have to come back from the dead to do it.” The following Memorial Day, every single member of the posse was brutally murdered. The only clue was a message written on Deputy Joe Bogner’s mirror in his blood. The message read: “I told you!” That spelled the end for Harper, Indiana. Almost every family packed up and moved away, leaving behind only a few souls who didn’t believe in the possibility of a vengeful bank robber coming back from the dead. Still, the town dwindled rapidly, as more citizens turned up dead every Memorial Day. Now, the town is nothing but a desolate monument of a tragic past.

HERMAN SAWYER For reasons that are never really explained (come on, it’s supposed to be a cheaply-made flick!), Herman Sawyer returns every Memorial Day evening to get revenge on the town responsible for his demise, all those decades ago. No one (with a single exception, explained later) has lived here for a long, long time, so there’s never anyone for him to murder. Today, however, is another story altogether. Little do the characters know, they’re about to have the worst holiday ever! Herman Sawyer is essentially a zombie. In a manner of speaking, at least. He doesn’t shamble around (though he does move rather slowly and deliberately), nor is he unintelligent. His mental faculties are in full effect, as is his legendary cruelty. The characters aren’t dealing with a mindless, groaning zombie… but something far more frightening. Sawyer is an efficient killer of the undead variety! He does look rather like a zombie though. His skin is rotten and maggots crawl in and out of his orifices. He still wears the 1930s-era blue-gray suit in which he met his earthly end. His black hair is still in place, styled short on the sides, long on the top and slicked back. Components: Fearful Visage (an undead bank robber is bound to look plenty terrifying), Hard to Kill (zombies tend not to go down easily), Miscellaneous Advantage (the undead don’t need to breathe or sleep), Mysterious Disadvantage (when hurt, he seems to melt away into the shadows), Signature Weapon (carries a Thompson submachine gun, though he prefers killing people up-close these days; he only uses this when he’s depleted), Superhuman Strength (capable of astonishing feats of strength) Damage Threshold: 4

BEGINNING THE FLICK The flick should begin with a cut scene that informs the viewers of what happened on that fateful Memorial Day in 1934. Keep the description snappy, exciting and not overly long. It might be best to begin with Sawyer and his gang walking up to the bank, but you could go back even further to give more insight on how vile Sawyer is.

A QUICK-FLICK BY CYNTHIA CELESTE MILLER

Then cut to the present. It’s Memorial Day and the characters are traveling together in one vehicle to go to a lake, go on a camping trip or simply to visit relatives. The particulars are up to you and your players to decide. As long as they are traveling a long distance, it doesn’t matter. Let them roleplay while on the road to give them a chance to get a better feel for their characters. In true slasher movie fashion, they get lost and the vehicle breaks down, causing them to pull off onto the side of the poorly-maintained dirt road. There looks to be a town up ahead a few miles. That town is, of course, Harper, Indiana. A storm is brewing. Let the fun begin.

THE TOWN Technically, Harper no longer exists as a town, which explains why it no longer shows up on maps. It was long since unincorporated. The buildings in the town are in a sad state of disrepair; many have simply collapsed under the weight of time, lack of maintenance and weather. The entire area is weed-choked and even the streets are mostly overgrown. See the map for details of what remains of the town.

EVENTS The following events can be inserted into the flick to add some spice. They are entirely optional. Old Sally: Sally is an elderly woman; the last citizen of Harper. Normally, she leaves town the night before Memorial Day and returns the day after. However, this year, her 1950s-era station wagon has broken down, rendering her unable to leave. She’s too old to walk to the next town, so she has decided to fortify her home, the old Blue Club, in hopes of getting through the night. Perhaps she’s the daughter of the Blue Club’s original madam. She can be used as a means to deliver the town’s macabre history to the characters. The Storm: There was mention of a storm brewing earlier in this flick, but it was mostly to instill a foreboding mood. However, you can make it a more integral part of the story by having the storm hit Harper hard! Subtract a die for any Brains checks that involve hearing or seeing while outside (or inside if the electricity goes out). Any Finesse checks involving running can also suffer a similar penalty due to the slippery mud. For added fun, the rain can quickly flood the outer roads, making escape from the town virtually impossible! New Arrivals: Somebody else gets stranded in Harper. It can be a vacationing family, a touring rock band, a ghost-hunting group looking for evidence of spectral activity in town or even a gang of on-the-lam criminals seeking a new place to hole up. More victims can only enhance the fun!

Misc. Abandoned BusinessesMisc. Abandoned HousesSpecific Building

Water TowerOld House

Pine HillCemetery

Lumber MillPolice/Fire Dept.

BankGas Station

Diner

Hotel

Blue Club

Berager River

N

Characters enter here

HARPER, IN.www.spectrum-games.com

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