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 | 3 points spent — Session 2 (dodge a howler's throat attack), Session 7 (avoid accidentally killing Alfie during treatment), and Session 10 (Manipulate Someone — persuading Ms March the team is stronger together) |
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"
- In Session 9, made the same "very tall child" mistake as Alfie and followed him out of the market; used his biggest Bedside Manner yet to send the panicking crowd to Dan Randy's; handed the varmint rifle to his brothers Buck and Colt
- Drove his poison scalpel into Farmswatter's existing stomach wound and used him as a body-shield against a cactus ("You charlatan"); covered his mouth against the red mist in time (he had drunk the tonic, so was vulnerable)
- Opened the waggon, took Ms March's Winchester, and bullseyed the mother cactus dead
- Briefly froze with decision paralysis surveying the aftermath, then rallied to run mass triage across the marketplace with his family's help — directing Buck and Colt to question people (injuries; whether/when they took the tonic) and sending the uninjured for drinks
- Maude, coming round, told him "You are very good at what you do, aren't you?"
- In Session 10 downtime, gathered all remaining bottles of Farmswatter's miracle cure from around town and monitored everyone who had sampled it. Patients at the most advanced stage — cacti spines appearing under the skin — must flush their system: a water-only diet for three days
- Examined the cacti remains under a microscope and saw red cells in the cactus flesh and juice latch onto, and manipulate, other cells. He reads this behaviour as extraterrestrial — the same conclusion he reached about the red algae
- Maude told him to visit the family farm any time he needs a break. He acknowledged that he does need a break, but does not know when he will have the time to go
- Declined the suggestion that the party jointly share the sheriff's role with Mr Wrigglesworth — he is too busy to work as sheriff
- Completed his morning rounds and went to the saloon to check Alfie was healing up. Horrified that Cuthbert had done nothing to preserve Farmswatter's body in six days — he was on board for the resurrection, but wished Cuthbert had consulted him sooner about keeping the body fresh(er)
- Outed Cuthbert as a man from one hundred years ago in front of the 1983 contingent; calmed the saloon with his bedside manner when Ms March punched Cuthbert
- Assisted the resurrection ritual (Alfie, Cuthbert and Jacob cast; Webb and the trio assisted). Most of the team vomited from the smell
- When the reanimated Farmswatter demonstrated the hum he had heard at the cactus grove, Doctor Webb recognised it as the sound from his recurring nightmare and started sweating. He told Cuthbert afterwards that the tone was the same
- Challenged Cuthbert's plan to resurrect Earl — suggesting that if Ms March is in the process of grieving, it may be unfair to "fix" it by bringing Earl back — and questioned, with Alfie, whether the Order should play God on events unrelated to saving the world. Jacob clocked him as someone who asks tricky questions
- Asked Cuthbert why he sped the waggon up passing the Durgin residence; Cuthbert would not say
- At the hot springs, answered Ms March's "why do you believe him?" deliberately without Bedside Manner, sensing she was particularly wary of magic in that moment. He admitted he does not necessarily understand or believe everything Cuthbert says, but that the four of them are stronger as a team — working together is vital so they can solve problems and share knowledge towards their shared goal of keeping people safe and well. Brendan burned his third Luck point for the Manipulate Someone roll
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 |
| Session 9 | Made the same "very tall child" error as Alfie and followed him; used his biggest Bedside Manner yet to send the crowd to Dan Randy's; handed the varmint rifle to Buck and Colt; drove his poison scalpel into Farmswatter and used him as a body-shield ("You charlatan"); covered his mouth against the mist in time; took Ms March's Winchester and bullseyed the mother cactus dead; briefly froze with decision paralysis before rallying to run mass triage with his family |
| Session 10 | (Downtime) collected every remaining tonic bottle and monitored the users — prescribing a three-day water-only flush for advanced cases with spines under the skin; found under the microscope that the cactus's red cells latch onto and manipulate other cells (extraterrestrial); declined Maude's offer of a break at the farm for lack of time; too busy to be sheriff. (Thursday) Checked on Alfie at the saloon; horrified the body had gone six days unpreserved; outed Cuthbert as a time traveller; calmed the punch-up with bedside manner; assisted the ritual; recognised the hum Farmswatter demonstrated as the hum from his nightmares and started sweating; challenged Cuthbert on resurrecting Earl while Ms March is still grieving; at the springs argued the four are stronger as a team, deliberately without Bedside Manner (third Luck point burned on the Manipulate Someone roll) |
| Session 11 | Talked Jacob down off the sword by reasoning the initiates would not be sent back in time to protect a dead man; waited out the search with Alfie; explained the party's history with the Hollowed Ones and the Hatchett gang; convinced Jacob to share what he knows, at the price of everyone performing the Order's secret handshake — and became an officially unofficial member of The Order; reminded Ms March she has free will and was found more annoying for it, then apologised; partially healed Cuthbert with first aid, leaving him a crick in the neck; dug up the cacti root system at the grove and identified a plant hybrid infestation, roots covered in the red fibre from Bart's corn, attempting to alter the environment; walked alone into the boarded-up house and found the woman who grabbed his wrist and said "Get them out" |
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
"You charlatan."
— Session 9, driving his poison scalpel into Farmswatter
"Everything will be better if you have a drink. Everyone, go to Dan Randy's."
— Session 9, his biggest Bedside Manner yet
"I could eat."
— Session 11, to Alfie, once the timeline conversation had dwindled