Doctor Wilbur Webb
"Doc"
At a Glance
| Playbook | The Healer (reskin of The Initiate) |
| Player | Brendan |
| Notable Items | Magic balm (soothes illness and injury), extracted snake venom (for antivenom research) |
| Affiliation | Independent |
Background
A calm, measured presence — a doctor with a practical and scientific approach to both medicine and the supernatural. Has a soft spot earned from Dan Randy, who serves him and Ms March unwatered-down whiskey. Is attempting to develop antivenom from a rattlesnake killed in Session 1.
Has mentally noted to attempt a prank at some point.
Abilities & Items
| Item / Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Magic balm | Soothes illness and injury; used on Lilybelle Cranfield's cough |
| Snake venom (rattlesnake) | Extracted in Session 1; research project for antivenom |
| Poisoned scalpel | Used against a howler in Session 2; drove it in hard enough to take a leg clean off |
| Magic bag | Contains unexpected useful items — produced a matchbox in Session 2; further contents unknown |
| Red algae sample | Vial of diseased corn from the Fletchley cornfield — scraped in Session 3 for later analysis |
| Varmint rifle | Acquired from Colin Whipsmart's gun store in Session 6; familiar from his farming days |
| Phantom pain | When healing others, Doctor Webb experiences their pain himself and takes Harm |
| Luck | 2 points spent — Session 2 (dodge a howler's throat attack) and Session 7 (avoid accidentally killing Alfie during treatment) |
Notes & Loose Threads
- Owes Inkwell Girtle a proper examination of a rash on his butt (promised in exchange for a ride North)
- Successfully de-escalated the saloon brawl with calm reasoning ("there is room for everyone")
- Treated baby Lilybelle with magic balm — soothed her cough to coos; promised to check in again
- Extracted rattlesnake venom for antivenom — a personal research project
- Key logical argument in Session 2: both families cannot both be right that the other is circling their house at night; a third party must be responsible. If Joseph had been at the Durgins' last night he'd have triggered a trap — he hadn't. This broke the impasse and led to the truce.
- Discretely offered to examine Luke Durgin's rash; Luke said he may seek him out later
- Fully healed Joseph Cranfield; partially healed Alfie — each time taking on phantom pain and Harm himself; became Unstable at the session's end (stabilised by Ms March)
- Set two large fires in a dry field to illuminate the howler fight; howlers recoil from light
- His entry point into the supernatural: one of his patients was a werewolf. He understood it as a virus — one that renders the patient vulnerable to silver and moonlight. He could not save them.
- Would not withhold treatment from a bad man; his first priority above all else is to save the patient
- Cuthbert is now studying Doctor Webb's bedside manner and wants tips on how to speak calmly
- Keeps a little black book listing every patient he has failed to save — a reminder to be better, to never forget them. A complementary record of his successes is kept at his tent
- In Session 4, the cornfield spores surrounded him with every patient he has ever failed to save — he muttered "I'm sorry" repeatedly
- Ms March reminded him there is a name in his little black book that both of them wish was still alive — he said nothing; Cuthbert's question was ended by Ms March cocking Sunday Morning
- Doctor Curt Hatchett was his predecessor in Hole — the gang's uncle; drank himself to death; Doctor Webb suspects he did favours for the Hatchett gang; never met him
- Used magic balm on Inkwell Girtle's butt rash in Session 5 — mixed success; cured Inkwell but immediately caught the rash himself; he is now itching
- Posited that Hole may be the centre of a pattern of mysterious events (the worms were in town, the Durgins were North, Fletchley's farm is South) — needs more data
- Refused to promise he would withhold treatment from injured Hatchett gang members; accepted he would prioritise his own side during a fight
- In Session 6: retrieved the dynamite with Ms March; acquired a varmint rifle at Colin Whipsmart's gun store (familiar from farming days; Ms March handled the deal); helped board up windows at the Randy Saloon; refamiliarised himself with the new rifle while the saloon was cleared
- In Session 7: overturned tables for cover; convinced Retta to leave by reporting Earl wasn't there; burned a second Luck point (2 total spent); stabilised Alfie with Healing Balm; could not determine why Max and the hired hand died without direct attack; found Earl dead in the barn
- In Session 8 downtime, ran experiments on the red algae from Bart Fletchley's field (burnt, boiled, exposed to whiskey): it resembles lichen/algae but mutates corn cells and spores, likely originates underground (its source was a hot spring), and feels extraterrestrial
- Autopsied all seven Hatchett bodies to understand their simultaneous deaths — found no cause of death; whenever he neared their brains he felt a sharp pain at the base of his skull and a piercing ringing in his ears
- Suffers a recurring nightmare: a dark cave tunnel, total darkness, and a pulsating hum — matching the hum reported deep in the mine. He has been sketching it
- In Session 8, introduced the party to his family at the market: his mother Maude and brothers Buck (who has taken on the father role) and Colt
- Diagnosed Farmswatter's fluctuating tonic price as a classic addiction scam; canvassed prior buyers and assembled the tonic's symptom timeline (elevated mood and reduced pain → constant thirst, chapped lips, insomnia → bloodshot eyes, irritability, relieved only by more tonic); saw small spikes growing under one user's skin
- Cured Maude's arthritis with his magic balm — and his own arthritis has now begun as a result (his healing transfers the ailment to himself); separately, his week-long butt rash stopped itching at the market
- Rallied the Webbs to spread the word that the cure is a sham — some outside voices could help, as "not everyone trusts a doctor"
Session History
| Session | Key Moments |
|---|---|
| Session 1 | Talked down the Cranfield/Durgin brawl; treated Lilybelle with magic balm; extracted rattlesnake venom; agreed to examine Inkwell Girtle's butt rash |
| Session 2 | Taken hostage; sang "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain" in a round with Alfie; logical argument broke the Durgin/Cranfield standoff; healed Joseph and Alfie at cost to himself; set field fires to expose the howlers; burned first Luck point; dismembered a howler with his scalpel; ended session Unstable |
| Session 3 | Confirmed Lilybelle's croup cured; diagnosed Bart; revealed his werewolf patient backstory; teleported by the cornfield dust; speculated the particles are hallucinogenic (after Alfie's mask slipped); took a vial sample of the diseased corn; concerned about fire dispersing spores |
| Session 4 | Surrounded by all his failed patients in the hallucination ("I'm sorry"); brought round by Cuthbert beheading diseased corn; used logic to pull both Alfie and Ms March back to reality; produced hip flask to clear spores from the gang; burned fibrous trail with alcohol; revealed little black book; stabbed 3rd algae with poisoned scalpel; dragged into hot springs (freed by Cuthbert's moonshine); sap like acid on his flesh; was already running before Ms March called him; healed Alfie with magic balm |
| Session 5 | Posited Hole as the centre of a pattern of mysterious events; conducted Inkwell's overdue butt exam — cured him but caught the rash himself; identified Doctor Curt Hatchett as his predecessor and the Hatchett gang's uncle; refused to promise he'd withhold treatment from Hatchetts |
| Session 6 | Retrieved dynamite with Ms March; acquired a varmint rifle from Colin Whipsmart's gun store (familiar from farming days); helped Dan Randy board up windows; refamiliarised himself with the varmint rifle; not needed for Ms March's plan upstairs — found this acceptable as he didn't know what it involved |
| Session 7 | Overturned all tables in the bar area for cover; held with varmint rifle; convinced Retta to leave by telling her Earl wasn't there; burned a second Luck point to avoid accidentally killing Alfie during treatment; stabilised and partially healed Alfie with Healing Balm; examined Max and hired hand's bodies — no findings on cause of death; stepped in front of Ms March to give cover outside; unlatched the barn with Ms March; found Earl dead inside |
| Session 8 | (Downtime) experimented on the red algae (mutates corn, extraterrestrial, underground origin); autopsied all seven Hatchetts (no cause of death; skull pain and ringing near their brains); plagued by a recurring cave-and-hum nightmare. (Market) Introduced his family (Maude, Buck, Colt) at the market; corrected H.G. on "curing" wrinkles; called the tonic an addiction scam; canvassed buyers and built the symptom timeline; saw spikes under a user's skin; cured his mother Maude's arthritis with his magic balm (catching the arthritis himself); noticed his butt rash had stopped itching; rallied the Webbs to spread word the cure is a sham |
Quotes
"Gentlemen, we may be dealing with more than just wolves. It may be better if we team up."
— Session 2, to the Durgins
"They don't like light!"
— Session 2, after setting the field fires
"Should have known better. Could know better. Would know now."
— Session 4, muttering while surrounded by visions of his failed patients
"Even if that's true, they're still dead and it's probably my fault."
— Session 4, when Cuthbert suggested it was just corn
"I'm helpful here. I'm learning stuff. They like me."
— Session 8, declining his family's offer to return to the farm for Spring
"Not everyone trusts a doctor."
— Session 8, on enlisting the Webbs to discredit the cure