Session Index — Welcome to Hole 1887
Campaign
Game: Monster of the Week
Setting: Hole, Nevada — 1887
Keeper: Kate
Sessions
| Session | Date Played | Mystery | Monster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | 5th April 2026 | Mystery 1, Part 1 | Howlers |
| Session 2 | 12th April 2026 | Mystery 1, Part 2 | Howlers |
| Session 3 | 19th April 2026 | Mystery 2, Part 1 | Red Algae |
| Session 4 | 3rd May 2026 | Mystery 2, Part 2 | Red Algae |
| Session 5 | 10th May 2026 | Mystery 3, Part 1 | Hatchett Gang (+ ? mine entity) |
| Session 6 | 17th May 2026 | Mystery 3, Part 2 | Hatchett Gang (+ ? mine entity) |
| Session 7 | 31st May 2026 | Mystery 3, Part 3 | Hatchett Gang (+ ? mine entity) |
| Session 8 | 7th June 2026 | Mystery 4, Part 1 | Farmswatter's Cacti |
The Party
| Hunter | Full Name | Player | Playbook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfie | Alfonso Achilles Bachmann | Sean | The Mundane |
| Cuthbert | Cuthbert Lockton-Lloyd | Duncan | The Explorer |
| Doctor Webb | Doctor Wilbur Webb | Brendan | The Healer |
| Ms March | Ms June March | Nat | The Wronged |
Characters Met
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph Cranfield | Homesteader, husband, father | Alive |
| Cathy Cranfield | Wife, mother | Alive |
| Artemis Cranfield | Their son, Ms March's pupil | Alive |
| Lilybelle Cranfield | Their 10-month-old daughter | Alive |
| Hamish Durgin | Durgin patriarch | Alive |
| Luke Durgin | Eldest Durgin son | Alive |
| Richie Durgin | Youngest Durgin son, 15 years old | Alive |
| Dan Randy | Randy Saloon owner | Alive |
| Inkwell Girtle | Mining company bookkeeper | Alive |
| Sheriff Coot O'Dougal | Narcoleptic sheriff | Dead — shot by Jed Hatchett (Session 7) |
| Bart Fletchley | Homesteader, widower | Alive |
| Earl | Stagecoach driver; Ms March's ex-husband | Dead — found in barn (Session 7) |
| PJ | Local child; Ms March's pupil | Alive |
| Belinda Barnberry | Madame at the Randy Saloon | Alive |
| Ellie Mae | Working girl at the Randy Saloon | Alive |
| Jed Hatchett | Outlaw; eldest Hatchett brother and leader | Dead — found in barn (Session 7) |
| Cord Hatchett | Outlaw; younger Hatchett brother | Dead — found in barn (Session 7) |
| Crystal Hatchett | Outlaw; Cord's wife | Dead — found in barn (Session 7) |
| Maxine "Max" Hatchett | Outlaw; youngest Hatchett sibling (~18) | Dead — shot by Cuthbert (Session 7) |
| Doctor Curt Hatchett | Former doctor of Hole; Hatchett gang uncle | Dead |
| Retta | Hatchett gang ringer; hired muscle | Dead — killed by Ms March (Session 7) |
| Merv Hatchett | Hatchett cousin; gang ringer | Dead — shot by Max (Session 7) |
| Hired Hand | Hatchett associate; older man; name unknown | Dead — died in unison with Retta (Session 7) |
| Fine Fairweather | Working girl at the Randy Saloon | Alive |
| Colin Whipsmart | Gun store proprietor | Alive |
| H.G. Farmswatter | Travelling snake-oil salesman | Alive |
| Maude Webb | Doctor Webb's mother | Alive |
| Buck Webb | Doctor Webb's brother (father role) | Alive |
| Colt Webb | Doctor Webb's brother | Alive |
| Mr Wrigglesworth | Acting Sheriff of Hole (a goat) | Alive |
| Rudy Haines | Orphaned boy from Goodspring | Alive |
| Righteous Arminhanmer | Mine owner (named, not yet met) | Alive |
Locations
| Location | First Seen | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hole | Session 1 | Current location |
| The Randy Saloon | Session 1 | Local saloon; Alfie plays piano here |
| Cranfield Homestead | Session 1 | North of Hole; neat homestead; paw prints found circling the house |
| Durgin Homestead | Session 1 | Large and dilapidated; animal traps every ten feet |
| Grunewald Forest | Backstory | Alfie's birthplace |
| Fletchley Farm | Session 3 | South of Hole; red algae organism in the cornfield |
| Hot Springs | Session 4 | Near Fletchley Farm; red algae source; six algae destroyed here |
| Sheriff's Tent | Session 5 | Pavilion tent; Earl held here; released after Ms March gaslighted O'Dougal |
| Assay Office | Session 5 | Inkwell's workplace; dynamite stored in the barn nearby |
| Schoolhouse | Session 5 | Ms March's school; closed for the day in Session 5 |
| Goodspring | Session 5 | Town west of Hole; scene of the Hatchett gang's stagecoach ambush |
| Gun Store | Session 6 | Colin Whipsmart's store (building #13); Ms March has a standing deal here |
| Mines North of Hole | Session 6 | August March vanished here; pulsating hum heard; "EVERYWHERE" presence sensed in Hatchett brains (Session 7); 11 months ago the miners sickened and vanished (Session 8); Rudy Haines retrieved from the caves nearby (Session 8) |
| The Market | Session 8 | Tents in a rough circle; traders, a drinks tent; H.G. Farmswatter's waggon parked within (the cacti's lair) |
| Miners' Shantytown | Session 8 | Settlement near the mine; home to the families of the missing miners (named in rumour, not yet visited) |
Monsters & Mysteries
| Mystery | Session | Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mystery 1 — The Howlers | Session 1–Session 2 | Resolved | Coyote-type beasts; long distended legs; mimic human voices; weak spot: knees. All three killed by the gang, the Durgins, and Joseph Cranfield |
| Mystery 2 — Red Algae | Session 3–Session 4 | Resolved | Hallucinogenic spore organism with mobile algae bushes; caused Bart's deterioration and family apparitions. Defeated Session 4 — mounds collapsed, algae destroyed with alcohol and Alfie's voice magic |
| Backstory — Mongolian Death Worms | Prior to Session 1 (recalled Session 5) | Unknown | Worms emerged from Alfie's piano one night; the whole party was present. Alfie believes it was his fault |
| Mystery 3 — The Hatchett Gang | Session 5–Session 7 | Resolved | All gang members dead by end of Session 7. Coot O'Dougal and Earl also killed. A presence in the Hatchett brains said "EVERYWHERE" — revealed in Session 8 to be the Hollowed Ones |
| Overarching — The Hollowed Ones | Session 7– | Active | The Order's name for the brain-controlling infection behind the Hatchetts ("stage one"); links to the vanished miners and August March; pulsating hum in the mine. Order ordered Cuthbert to stand down and is sending a warden |
| Mystery 4 — Farmswatter's Miracle Cure | Session 8– | Unresolved | H.G. Farmswatter sells a "Miracle Cure" from a waggon at the market. Inside: four small mobile cacti and an 8-ft cactus with a heart-like flower in a vat of offal. Tonic causes thirst, chapped lips, insomnia, and spikes under the skin. Ms March locked inside, Unstable |
Open Threads
Backstory Threads
Session 1 Threads
What made the paw prints around the Cranfield house? Investigate North towards the mountains(Resolved — Howlers)Follow up on the Durgins — session ended with a gunshot(Resolved — truce brokered)Was the Durgin whistling meant to summon the creatures back?(Resolved — howlers mimic voices, not the reverse)- Order message: Richie Durgin must never produce offspring — why?
Doctor Webb owes Inkwell Girtle a proper butt exam(Resolved — Session 5; Doctor Webb caught the rash in the process)- What happened to Hamish Durgin's other eight sons?
Session 2 Threads
- Order reply: "By any means necessary. Top priority." — what does the Order intend to do about Richie?
- Alfie's voice triggered an implosion and shattered the windows inward — what is this power?
- Luke Durgin's rash — Doctor Webb offered to examine it; Luke said he may seek him out
Session 3 Threads
What is the red spore/algae organism in Bart's cornfield? Where are the graves of Beth, Raya, and Robert — are the apparitions guarding something?(Resolved — organism was the red algae; apparitions were hallucinogenic, not spirits)A second dust concentration point remains in the field — what's there?(Resolved — second mound, collapsed by Cuthbert)- Doctor Webb and Ms March have vial samples of the red algae — what do they find?
What is the white-mucus "snake" creature from the cold open — and is it connected?(Resolved — confirmed same organism)- Alfie saw his dead father in the dust — others now know he saw someone deceased, but who and why remains open
- Cuthbert messaged the Order: "Don't worry. Not over. Still working on it." — what happens next re: Richie?
Session 4 Threads
- Alfie's voice magic — who is the monotone voice? ("that's it" / "very good") What is the nature of this power?
- Who is the name in Doctor Webb's little black book that both he and Ms March wish was still alive?
- Ms March's brother August (Augie) — how did he die? What were "the bad times"?
- Doctor Webb and Ms March's vial samples of the red algae — what do they find when analysed?
- Why does Alfie want to know about exorcisms? Ms March made a note to ask him later.
Session 5 Threads
Where is the boy from the stagecoach? Only Earl knows.(Partially resolved — Session 6: near the mines North of Hole, at the base of a mountain, crevice near a cave not inhabited by animals; not yet retrieved)The Hatchett gang arrived early — two members already at the Randy Saloon.(Resolved — Session 6: identified as Retta and Merv; Merv neutralised; Retta stormed out)- Does the Hatchett gang know Ms March has a problem with them?
- Are the Durgins chummy with the Hatchett gang?
- Cuthbert foresees something helpful but won't say what — +2 foresight forward remaining for Mystery 3
- Alfie has been running his whole life since his father died and his house burned down — what is following him?
Session 6 Threads
- What happened to August March in the mine? The Hatchetts heard a pulsating hum, chased him deeper in, emerged outside — August was gone
- What is the pulsating hum in the mines North of Hole? Is it connected to August's disappearance?
What is wrong with Merv's memory and eyes around the mine events? Not a spell or curse — something else; possibly a chunk of memory is simply missing(Merv is dead — Session 7)- The boy still needs to be retrieved — near the mines North of Hole
Retta stormed out heading right — where did she go? What does she do next?(Resolved — came back through the kitchen; killed by Ms March)Cuthbert is Unstable — needs healing(Partially resolved — healed with blood magic, Session 7)The clock struck noon — Jed, Cord, Crystal, and possibly Max are incoming(Resolved — all dead, Session 7)- Ms March aims to source semiautomatic guns for Colin Whipsmart — future thread
Session 7 Threads
The boy near the mines North of Hole still needs to be retrieved(Resolved — Session 8: Rudy Haines retrieved by Ms March)What is the presence that said "EVERYWHERE" in Max and the hired hand's brains?(Partially answered — Session 8: the Order named it the Hollowed Ones, an infection)- What is the pulsating hum in the mines? What happened to August March?
- What are the implications of the gang members dying in perfect unison — simultaneous deaths across separate locations?
Session 8 Threads
- The Hollowed Ones: the Order named the brain-controlling infection behind the Hatchetts — they were only "stage one." What are the later stages? Are the vanished miners and August March further along?
- The Order ordered Cuthbert to stand down and is sending a warden to collect — who/what is the warden, and will Cuthbert comply?
- The mine: 11 months ago the miners sickened and vanished, mirroring August; owner Righteous Arminhanmer's company covered it up. What is down there?
- Doctor Webb's recurring cave-and-hum nightmare matches the mine's hum; he feels skull pain near infected brains — premonition, infection symptom, or both?
- Doctor Webb's red algae mutates corn and seems extraterrestrial / underground — connected to the mine, the Hollowed Ones, or the cacti (which remind Ms March of corn)?
- Rudy Haines is now in the party's care, with a bag of money and jewels — what happens to him?
- Ms March is locked inside H.G. Farmswatter's waggon, Unstable, with the small cacti and the giant cactus — the rest of the party are outside
- What is in Farmswatter's tonic, and why does it cause thirst, chapped lips, insomnia, and spikes under the skin?
- What are the four small mobile cacti and the 8-ft cactus with the heart-like flower in a vat of offal? Can the cacti sense sentience?
- Why did the small cacti remind Ms March of "some corn she once saw"?
- Ms March sabotaged the waggon's axle to strand H.G. in Hole — does it work? What does H.G. do once the market ends?
- A human sheriff is yet to be assigned to Hole; the acting sheriff is a goat, Mr Wrigglesworth
- Ms March is still concealing from the team that Earl's toe was missing