102: Neighborhood Watch

Synopsis

The investigators continue their increasingly chaotic surveillance of their neighbor Mr. Corbitt, convinced something suspicious is happening at his house.

Earlier in the evening, Tallahassee Turner questioned the elderly neighbor Mr. Barber about Corbitt. Barber confirms Corbitt has lived in the neighborhood for many years and runs an import business inherited from his father. Barber insists Corbitt is a good neighbor who regularly shares vegetables from his garden.

The conversation becomes awkward when Barber reveals he witnessed someone throwing Corbitt’s outerwear out a window earlier in the day. Tallahassee hastily explains the incident away as “research” for a novel and blames it on kleptomania acquired during his travels. Despite the dubious explanation, Barber eventually lets the matter drop, though he clearly remains suspicious.

Later that night the investigators gather at Dr. Simeon’s house to spy on Corbitt.

Their infiltration plan immediately devolves into confusion:

They debate climbing the fence, digging under it, or using a tree branch.

The Major sets up on the roof with binoculars and a large period camera to monitor the operation.

Tallahassee loudly trips over patio furniture during the stealth approach.

Attempts to climb the fence produce mixed results:

Dr. Simeon vaults the fence with surprising athleticism.

Dom Druncard catastrophically fumbles his climb, falls off the fence, and injures himself.

After several failed attempts the group realizes they own a ladder and use it to cross easily.

Inside Corbitt’s yard they discover a large vegetable garden and greenhouse, known in the neighborhood for producing unusually good vegetables.

While searching the garden, Tallahassee notices patches of freshly turned soil.

The group jokes that Corbitt may be “growing hands,” but Tallahassee decides to investigate further. While digging in one of the disturbed areas, he finds a hard cylindrical object buried underground.

Just as he begins pulling it free, a light turns on in Corbitt’s upstairs window.

Panic erupts:

Dom hides against the house.

Tallahassee attempts to escape.

Dr. Simeon retreats into the greenhouse.

Meanwhile, the Major attempts to document events from the roof—but accidentally fires a flash photograph directly at Corbitt’s house, revealing their position.

Attempting to hide afterward, the Major fumbles a stealth roll and slides off the roof, crashing into the yard and injuring himself.

Corbitt emerges from the house, shouting that he has a gun and demanding to know who is in his yard.

The investigators scatter.

Tallahassee manages to yank the buried object out of the ground and throws it over the fence into Dr. Simeon’s yard before fleeing. Later, using a flashlight, he finds the object again and realizes it is a large bone, possibly human.

The discovery costs Tallahassee a small amount of Sanity, confirming that something deeply wrong may be buried in Corbitt’s garden.

Meanwhile:

Dr. Simeon searches the greenhouse, discovering numerous exotic plants not native to the region.

Dom remains hidden near the back door of Corbitt’s house.

Dom Breaks In

Dom discovers the back door is unlocked and quietly slips inside.

While sneaking through the kitchen and dining room, he overhears Corbitt speaking on the telephone, urgently reporting prowlers in his yard and asking someone to hurry.

Dom also hears a heavy thump from somewhere above.

Seizing the opportunity, Dom slips past Corbitt unnoticed and sneaks upstairs.

Upstairs Dom explores Corbitt’s bedroom:

The bed is unmade, suggesting Corbitt rushed out when he heard the commotion outside.

In the nightstand he finds a book titled Plants and Fungi of the Amazon Basin by Dr. P. D. Florence, hinting at Corbitt’s interest in exotic botany.

The dresser contains nothing suspicious beyond ordinary clothing.

Remembering the earlier noise, Dom investigates further and notices a pull-down attic hatch in the hallway ceiling.

Dom pulls the attic ladder down.

The stairs emit an extremely loud squeak, immediately alerting Corbitt.

Shining his flashlight upward into the darkness, Dom sees a woman’s face staring down at him from the attic:

long dark hair

lifeless eyes

mouth hanging open

The sight costs Dom Sanity, though he manages to keep his composure.

At that moment he hears footsteps behind him.

Turning around, Dom finds Mr. Corbitt standing in the hallway, staring directly into his eyes while chanting strange, incomprehensible syllables.

Dom attempts to resist whatever Corbitt is doing, but fails his POW roll, suggesting Corbitt’s influence may be supernatural.

While this confrontation unfolds upstairs, Tallahassee, Dr. Simeon, and the injured Major regroup outside Corbitt’s house.

They stand in the darkness examining the yellowed bone recovered from the garden.

In the distance, red lights begin flashing at the end of the street, suggesting authorities may be arriving.

Suddenly the quiet night is shattered by a scream from upstairs inside Corbitt’s house.

The episode ends on this cliffhanger.

Notable Running Gags

Tallahassee claiming kleptomania was “research for a novel.”

The group seriously debating whether Corbitt might be “growing hands” in his garden.

The Major’s disastrous surveillance operation involving a flash camera and a roof fall.

Dom attempting to substitute “handsome” for a POW roll.

The final episode disclaimer: “No psychologists were injured in the recording of this episode.”

Transcript

00:00: [Music] Welcome to The Arkham Files, a Call of Cthulhu actual-play RPG podcast featuring Seth Morrison as Tallahassee Turner.
00:33: “I think he’s dying… but if he does, are you available?”
00:39: Peter Morrison as Dominic John “Dom” Druncard.
00:42: “It was like I had a fair amount of spirits.”
00:46: Donovan Ballard as Dr. Simeon.
00:50: “I’m not a psychologist tonight.”
00:52: Sam Morrison as Major Frederick Aloysius Bakersfield.
00:56: “Still really into guns and ammo and… stuff.”
01:02: Evil Morrison as Officer Billings McConnell.
01:05: “You can’t do anything drastically illegal.”
01:08: “I blow up his business.”
01:10: And I’m your Game Master, the Keeper of Arcane Lore, Alex Morrison. Now grab your dice—and your sanity. Let’s roll.

01:24: Tallahassee: “So I run over to Mr. Barber’s and knock on the door real quick.”
01:28: The elderly Mr. Barber opens the door.
01:31: Barber: “Yes?”
01:34: Tallahassee: “Hi there, Mr. Barber. I don’t know if you know who I am—Tallahassee Turner.”
01:38: Barber: “The famous explorer?”
01:41: Tallahassee: “Oh yes. The adventurer.”
01:42: Tallahassee: “You seem very observant—that’s a good quality. I was wondering if you saw anything odd when Mr. Corbitt came home earlier with his packages. I thought I saw something.”
02:00: Barber: “I didn’t see him when he got home. I was inside with my wife—we were having dinner.”
02:07: Tallahassee: “Then how’d you know the clothes were thrown out the window?”
02:15: Barber: “Well… I was no longer having dinner.”
02:19: Dom arrives behind Tallahassee.
02:22: Barber: “Ah, yes, Doctor. We were having supper, then we came out onto the porch for a minute to enjoy the evening. That’s when I happened to glance over.”
02:33: Tallahassee: “How long have you known your neighbor, Mr. Corbitt?”
02:37: Barber: “Mr. Corbitt? Oh, a long time. He’s a great guy. I’ve been in this neighborhood about 25 years.”
02:46: Tallahassee: “Do you know what he does?”
02:49: Barber: “Yes—he runs an import company. I believe he took it over from his father after his father passed away.”
02:57: Tallahassee: “How long ago was that?”
03:02: Barber: “Maybe… fifteen years ago?”
03:08: Tallahassee: “Do you know what his mother died of?”
03:10: Barber: “I believe there was an accident. He died overseas on one of their trips.”
03:24: Barber: “But this is all old news. I don’t think you all should be bothering Mr. Corbitt. He’s a very nice man. Brings me fresh vegetables.”
03:38: Tallahassee: “Oh yeah, we just went over to see if he needed any help.”
03:49: Someone mentions their visitor from England—Dom Druncard.
03:53: Barber: “It was not enough to bake him some crumpets?”
03:56: Tallahassee: “Yes, but it also appeared someone was trying to steal his outerwear.”
04:00: Dom: “Oh yeah, that was me.”
04:01: [Laughter]
04:08: Dom: “Oh yeah, that was me. You know, in my travels I picked up a bit of kleptomania. Terrible habit—I’m trying to break it.”
04:23: Barber: “Especially in a nice old neighborhood like this. We don’t need kleptomaniacs making things dangerous around here.”
04:35: Dom: “Oh no, I’m three days sober.”
04:38: Barber: “Apparently not. Looks like maybe you fell off the wagon.”
04:42: Dom: “It just felt good to throw them out the window. I was going to bring them back when we left.”
04:47: The old man clutches his hat protectively.

04:53: Player: “What does my Fast Talk skill do?”
04:56: GM: “Fast Talk is for lying to someone—convincing them quickly. There are three main social skills: charm, persuasion, fast talk, and intimidate. Charm is being likable, persuasion is logical arguments, fast talk is quick lies.”
05:30: Player: “Okay, I’m going to fast talk.”
05:32: Player: “What does psychology do?”
05:35: GM: “Psychology lets you read people—see their mood or whether they’re lying.”

05:40: Dom: “Alright, Mr. Barber. I’m going to level with you. In my travels I’ve slowed down a bit, so I do research for my books. Sometimes I have to explore ideas like theft to understand my characters better.”
06:21: Dom rolls Fast Talk.
06:27: GM: “You’re going to need more than a regular success on this one.”
06:32: Dom: “I’ve got an 80 in Fast Talk.”
06:36: Dice roll: 39.
06:41: GM: “Ooh, that’s pretty good. I’ll give it to you with a hard success.”
06:47: Dom: “Nice.”
07:03: Barber: “Well… I suppose that makes sense in a nonsensical kind of way.”
07:07: Barber: “But if there’s nothing else, I’ll say good night. You’d better watch yourselves.”

07:28: Dom: “Just to smooth things over—I brought back a small coin from my journey to Africa. I’d like you to have it.”
07:42: Barber: “I don’t think I want anything from that terrible place full of heathens and witchcraft.”
07:49: Player: “India is a beautiful place.”
07:51: GM: “You said Africa.”
07:57: Barber: “Good night, sir.”
07:58: He shuts the door.

08:01: Players: “Mr. Barber’s kind of a jerk.”
08:10: GM: “From your experience with him in the past—yes, he’s kind of a jerk.”

08:14: Player: “Is it dark now? Can we go spy on Mr. Corbitt?”
08:18: GM: “If you don’t want to do anything else, we can move things forward to later that night.”

08:32: GM: “Time passes. The sun goes down. The street quiets. Lights go out in the neighboring houses.”
08:44: GM: “Where are you all gathering?”
08:48: Players decide to gather at Dr. Simeon’s house.
08:58: Someone notes the Major wasn’t invited.
09:00: The Major shows up anyway—with a cup.
09:09: GM: “Alright, you’re all here. Are you discussing your plans?”
09:14: Player: “I say, gents—we go from our backyard to his backyard.”
09:21: Player: “Does he have a fence?”
09:24: GM: “Yes, there’s a fence between your yards.”
09:26: Player: “So we climb the fence.”
09:28: Another player: “I want to dig under it.”
09:32: Someone: “That seems illogical.”
09:35: “Excuse me—are you questioning a psychologist?”
09:41: GM: “You’re in a fairly upper-middle-class neighborhood, so the yards are pretty large.”
09:49: GM: “Corbitt’s backyard is big. He’s got a vegetable garden and a decent-sized greenhouse back there.”

09:58: Player: “Do we have a tree where one of the limbs goes over his fence into his yard?”
10:04: Player: “Why can’t we just climb the fence?”
10:05: Player: “I don’t want to climb.”
10:07: Player: “I want to climb the fence.”
10:09: Player: “Let’s climb the fence.”
10:12: GM: “Yes, you can find a tree where one of the limbs hangs over.”

10:18: Player: “I’m going to climb the tree.”
10:19: GM: “Alright, roll me a Climb check.”
10:21: Player: “My Climb is 40… I rolled an 86.”
10:29: Players fumble with character sheets looking for the Climb skill.
10:35: GM: “Doctors can’t climb worth crap.”

10:38: GM: “Also, if you guys are moving over there quietly, you’ll need to make Stealth rolls.”
10:43: Player: “I’m going to be up on the roof with binoculars.”
10:46: GM: “His roof?”
10:47: Player: “No—Simeon’s roof.”
10:50: GM: “Okay, so you climb up there with binoculars.”

10:57: Player: “Do we all have to roll Climb?”
11:00: GM: “Yeah. Roll Stealth too.”

11:04: Major: “I don’t really do this kind of thing, but I have two cameras. I’d be willing to lend you one if you see anything suspicious.”
11:13: Someone: “Did cameras back then even take pictures in the dark?”
11:16: Major: “Not really. They also have a flash, though. Depends on the lighting over there.”

11:24: Major: “If I see anything, I’ll just wave like this—‘Come! Come!’ That means get out of his yard.”

11:39: GM: “The cameras are fairly big—about the size of a briefcase. The lens folds out with an accordion extension.”

11:54: GM: “Alright, are you set up on the roof with your binoculars and the camera?”
11:57: Player: “Yes.”
12:02: GM: “Okay. Roll a Stealth to get to the fence.”

12:08: Player: “I rolled a 49 out of 55.”
12:16: GM: “Nice.”

12:18: GM: “Tallahassee, what are you doing? Going with them?”
12:22: Tallahassee: “Yeah, might as well.”
12:30: GM: “Or you could hang back with the Major taking pictures.”
12:32: Tallahassee: “Nah, he can handle it.”

12:38: GM: “Alright, Tallahassee, what did you roll for Stealth?”
12:41: Tallahassee: “I got a 35 out of 20, so I fail.”

12:44: GM: “You guys make your way over.”

12:48: GM: “Dom, you’re quiet as usual—naturally stealthy and confident in your abilities.”
12:56: GM: “But you’re actually surprised at the doctor silently moving up behind you.”
13:04: GM: “Just as the doctor is surprised when the well-traveled explorer comes clumping behind both of you.”

13:15: GM: “Tallahassee trips over one of the chairs on Dr. Simeon’s back patio.”
13:21: GM: “He goes into a little ninja roll across the lawn and pops back up, following behind you guys as you reach the fence.”

13:35: GM: “Alright, are you climbing the fence?”
13:38: Players: “Yes.”

13:40: GM: “Roll Climb.”

13:47: Player rolls a 6.
13:49: GM: “Jeez—Dr. Simeon ninja-flips over the fence.”

14:00: Tallahassee: “Alright, I’ll climb.”
14:03: Tallahassee rolls a 66.

14:08: GM: “Dr. Simeon just vaults over like a special forces guy—climbs halfway and flips over the top.”

14:19: GM: “Tallahassee jumps, smacks into the fence, barely grabs the top, and slips back down.”

14:48: GM: “Dom, how did you do?”
14:54: Player reveals a fumble roll.

14:59: GM: “I believe that’s in the fumble range.”
15:03: Player: “He climbs fences like he bakes cookies.”
15:07: [Laughter]

15:11: GM: “Dom, you get almost to the top, lose your grip, and fall straight back to the ground.”
15:26: GM: “You take 1 point of damage landing on your shoulder.”

15:49: Dom: “If you find any alcohol, Tallahassee, I’m going to need some now.”

15:58: GM: “Okay, what would you like to do?”

16:03: Tallahassee: “Did I fail? I guess I’ll just walk around.”

16:07: Major (from the roof): “You guys could just use the ladder.”

16:23: Players realize the obvious solution.
16:25: Player: “I go get the ladder.”

16:30: Someone jokes about rolling for the ladder.
16:34: GM: “No, I’m just kidding. You put the ladder against the fence—it’s set.”

16:46: GM: “You can easily climb over now. Dr. Simeon is just sitting on the other side waiting.”

16:56: Players climb over the ladder.

17:03: GM: “As you land on the other side of the fence, you’re about ten feet from the edge of Corbitt’s vegetable garden.”

17:18: GM: “It’s a good-sized garden with rows of vegetables—lots of large tomatoes.”

17:27: GM: “He’s known for growing very nice vegetables. He’s got a bit of a green thumb.”

17:34: GM: “You wouldn’t even need to steal them—he usually brings baskets of them to his neighbors.”

17:45: GM: “Alright… what do you guys want to do?”

17:52: Player: “I think I want to look around in the garden a little bit. See if any dead bodies have been buried.”
17:58: GM: “Okay… how are you going to find this? Are you going to start digging in the garden?”
18:03: Player: “No, I’m just going to look. Like… limbs. Sticking out of the ground.”
18:10: [Laughter]
18:12: Player: “Just a femur lying in the grass.”
18:17: Player: “You know, like hills or little mounds of dirt.”
18:22: GM: “Okay. You see many hills and mounds of dirt, as it is a vegetable garden, and that’s pretty much what the entire thing consists of.”
18:32: Player: “Yeah, but it’s summer, so most of those should have stuff growing out of them. Are there any that don’t?”
18:41: Player: “What’s the farthest—pumpkin patch? Does he have a pumpkin patch?”
18:43: GM: “He’s got a couple pumpkins over on the edge. Why don’t you roll me a Spot Hidden?”
18:50: Player: “I have 75 Spot Hidden.”
18:52: Player rolls a 20.

19:01: GM: “As you’re going around the vegetable garden looking around, it does look like some sections have been overturned a little more recently than others.”
19:12: Player: “Maybe he’s growing hands.”
19:15: Another player: “Looks like it’s going to be a great year for hands.”
19:22: Another player: “Plants are coming along real nice. Leaves are really thick and green.”
19:28: Another player: “See some fingers just starting to poke out of the dirt.”
19:31: [Laughter]
19:33: Another player: “Gonna be a fine crop of hands this year.”

19:35: Player: “So I’m gonna start digging in the freshly overturned dirt.”
19:40: GM: “Okay, so you’re digging down. A few inches—nothing there. How much time do you want to spend actually digging?”
19:49: Player: “I’m whispering as I dig: ‘What’s in here? What’s in here?’ So… probably pretty deep.”
19:56: GM: “Okay. It’s going to take you a few minutes to get more than a few inches down.”
20:08: GM: “You’re plunging your fingers down into the wet, moist, soft soil.”
20:12: GM: “Your hand hits something hard and kind of cylindrical—”
20:26: GM: “—but just as you do that, you see a light come on in Corbitt’s upstairs window.”

20:31: Player: “I’m gonna hide.”
20:35: Another player: “I’m gonna go see the wall.”
20:36: Players scramble to hide.
20:40: GM calls for rolls.
20:51: The Major immediately starts calling from the roof next door.

21:00: GM: “Alright, who’s doing what?”
21:03: Dom: “I’m gonna run up and hide against the house.”
21:10: GM notes that the greenhouse and attached tool shed are across the yard, closer to the Barbers’ side.
21:18: GM: “Dom, if you’re running to the house, roll Stealth for me.”
21:27: Dom: “28 out of 80.”
21:30: GM: “Okay, you go very, very sneakily.”
21:40: GM: “You run back and slide up against the side of the house. You feel like you were pretty sneaky. You don’t know if you were seen or not.”

22:01: GM: “Tallahassee, roll me a Spot Hidden.”
22:12: Players joke around as Tallahassee clarifies he’s checking whether Corbitt is looking out the window.
22:26: Tallahassee: “I got a 37. Out of 75.”
22:29: GM: “He’s looking right at you.”
22:34: [Laughter]
22:40: GM: “But it is dark back there. Some light is spilling into the yard from his bedroom window.”
22:51: GM: “You are dimly illuminated, but you don’t know whether or not he can tell who you are.”
22:59: GM: “But he definitely sees you.”

23:01: Tallahassee: “So I close my eyes and start walking and muttering things as I stick the hard cylindrical thing in my pocket.”
23:06: GM: “Okay, so you close your eyes and vanish from existence, as always happens when you close your eyes.”
23:10: Tallahassee: “I’ve reached out in my sleepwalk.”
23:25: [Laughter]

23:34: GM: “You grab the cylindrical thing and start tugging at it, but it doesn’t really want to come loose.”
23:40: GM: “You’re pulling and tugging, but it’s not coming.”
23:45: GM: “Roll me a Strength check.”
23:50: Tallahassee: “Hold up—as I’m pulling on this thing, I’m wondering if there were sprinklers in the ’20s.”
23:54: GM: “It’s a little late now.”
23:56: GM: “Roll Strength.”
24:02: Tallahassee: “My Strength is 40.”
24:09: Tallahassee rolls a 41.
24:10: Tallahassee: “No!”
24:10: Another player: “Spend a Luck.”
24:11: Tallahassee: “I spend a Luck.”
24:13: GM: “You want to spend Luck to succeed at your Strength check?”
24:17: Tallahassee: “Yes.”
24:21: GM: “Alright…”

24:27: GM: “As you’re pulling on it, I was actually going to have you make a hard success to pull it all the way out. It’s like a foot down and feels longer than the hole you dug.”
24:39: Another player: “Can I come help him?”
24:41: GM: “Yeah, you can come help him if you want.”
24:46: Tallahassee: “You should’ve told me before I rolled.”
24:49: Another player: “Maybe before you spent a Luck.”
24:51: [Laughter]

24:53: Helper: “My Strength is 50.”
24:55: GM: “If he’s helping you, you get a bonus die. He doesn’t roll against his Strength—you roll twice against yours and take the better result.”
25:11: Tallahassee rerolls and gets another 41.
25:15: GM: “41 again?”
25:17: GM: “Okay, and you’re right—since I didn’t say what kind of success I wanted beforehand, if you want to spend the Luck, I’ll allow it.”
25:23: Tallahassee: “Perfect.”

25:26: GM: “With Dr. Simeon coming over and helping pull, you finally give it one last hard jerk and manage to get it out of the ground.”
25:41: GM: “It’s dark, so it’s hard to tell exactly what it is. You can’t tell if it’s a branch or a root.”
25:47: GM: “You do manage to pull it up. Are you going to stop and examine it, or make a break for it?”
25:53: Players: “We’re gonna make a break for it.”

25:57: GM: “As you guys are doing this, you notice Mr. Corbitt has left the upstairs window.”
26:03: GM: “Alright—where are you going?”

26:07: Tallahassee: “I’m running back to try to get over the fence.”
26:14: GM: “Give me a Climb.”
26:15: Another player: “Throw the thing over the fence.”
26:18: GM: “Okay, give me a Throw roll.”
26:22: Tallahassee: “My Throw is 20.”
26:26: Tallahassee rolls successfully.
26:31: GM: “Yeah, it soars over the fence.”
26:33: GM jokes that it hits the Major in the head on the roof and knocks him off.
26:40: [Laughter]

26:46: GM: “Okay, give me a Climb roll.”
26:52: GM clarifies Dom is still up against the house, so Tallahassee is the one running for the fence.
26:56: Tallahassee: “Yeah, I’m getting out of there.”
26:59: Tallahassee rolls a 69.

27:04: GM: “As you get to the fence, the light comes on in the kitchen.”
27:09: GM: “You slam into the fence and futilely try to climb the wooden slats, but it’s just not happening for you.”

27:19: Another player: “So I want to run to the greenhouse—or the tool shed.”
27:24: GM: “You’re running to the tool shed?”
27:26: Player: “Yes. To hide.”
27:28: GM: “Okay. I’d say you get there about the same time Tallahassee gets to the fence.”
27:38: GM: “You run to the tool shed. It’s not huge, but definitely big enough to hide inside.”
27:50: GM: “But when you get to the door, you see there’s a padlock on it.”
27:56: GM: “Just about this time, the light comes on in the kitchen.”
28:00: GM: “What do you guys do?”

28:04: Player: “Going to the greenhouse. I did the greenhouse.”
28:07: Player: “Okay, so where’s the kitchen?”
28:09: GM: “Just straight in the back.”
28:11: Player: “The kitchen’s at the back of the house, right?”
28:13: GM: “Yeah, the kitchen’s at the back of the house. There’s a door that goes out from the kitchen to the backyard.”

28:18: Tallahassee: “Okay, then I’m going to try to run down the side of the house to get around the fence back to Dr. Simeon’s.”
28:29: GM: “Okay, so you’re just making a break for it.”

28:34: GM: “Dr. Simeon, you’re going in the greenhouse?”
28:37: Dr. Simeon: “Yes.”
28:39: GM: “Okay, so you run back to the door of the greenhouse, and it is open. You step inside.”
28:49: GM: “It’s very moist in here.”
28:52: GM: “The air is just… moist.”
28:56: GM: “It’s very dark. Since it’s nighttime, there’s not really any light back here.”
29:12: GM: “You can kind of see plants everywhere, but it’s hard to tell exactly what’s in here or where you’re going.”
29:20: GM: “The greenhouse is pretty good-sized. Are you moving all the way to the back, or hiding near the door?”
29:28: Dr. Simeon: “Let’s go all the way back.”
29:30: GM: “Okay, so you’re kind of stumbling to the back. There’s a table running down the middle and counters along the sides.”
29:47: GM: “You rush all the way to the back and hide there. Roll me a Stealth roll.”
29:57: Dr. Simeon rolls a 9.
29:58: GM: “Wow. Nice. Excellent.”
30:03: GM: “You get all the way to the back and duck down among the leaves of the plants.”

30:10: GM: “Okay, so Tallahassee Turner, brave adventurer, you are running toward the front of the house.”
30:19: Tallahassee: “Yeah, figured it, you know.”
30:20: GM: “The back door to the backyard is on the back of the house.”
30:25: Tallahassee: “Yeah.”
30:26: GM: “So if you run this side, yes, there’s space between the fence and the house. It doesn’t attach directly to the house, so you can run all the way to the front.”

30:42: GM: “Just as you get to the corner of the house, the back door opens and a figure steps out.”
30:46: GM: “He yells, ‘Who’s there? Who’s back here? I have a gun!’”
30:55: Tallahassee immediately bolts.
30:59: [Laughter]

31:11: GM: “Dom, what are you doing? He steps out and is maybe ten feet from you as you’re pressed up against the back of the house, looking around in the dark backyard.”
31:29: Other players suggest punching him from ten feet away.
31:41: [Laughter]

31:47: GM: “Also, Major Bakersfield, are you doing anything during all this, or are you just watching through your binoculars?”
31:52: Major: “Oh! I’m taking pictures.”
32:00: GM: “You took a picture?”
32:03: Major: “Yeah.”
32:07: GM: “Did you use the flash bulb?”
32:09: Major: “Oh, I used the flash bulb.”
32:12: Major: “I totally flashed.”
32:15: GM: “When did you take the picture?”
32:17: Major: “As soon as he came out.”
32:21: Players: “That’s gonna make him look right at us.”
32:24: [Laughter]

32:27: GM: “A bright flash lights up the roof of Dr. Simeon’s house.”
32:34: GM: “Mr. Corbitt immediately turns toward the flash.”

32:45: GM: “Dom, what did you get on your Stealth roll again?”
32:49: Dom: “Me? I got a 28.”
32:52: GM: “A 28 out of 80?”
32:56: Dom: “Yeah.”
32:58: GM: “You were quite the sneaky dude.”

33:02: GM: “So yeah, he looks up toward the flash from the camera on Dr. Simeon’s roof.”

33:11: GM: “Where were you exactly on the roof, Major?”
33:14: Major: “Kind of toward the edge. Best overlooking spot of the yard.”
33:22: GM: “So are you hanging over the peak of the house looking down, or just lying near the edge?”
33:29: Major: “I’m kind of just laying on top, looking down.”
33:37: GM: “Okay… why don’t you roll Stealth anyway?”
33:47: Major: “Well, I laid down as soon as I had the flash.”
33:54: GM: “Roll Stealth.”

34:05: Major rolls a 98.
34:11: GM: “98?”
34:15: GM: “Whoa.”
34:21: GM: “Yeah, that is a fumble. A critical failure.”

34:28: GM: “As you’re kind of fumbling with the unfamiliar camera, the flash goes off.”
34:36: GM: “You immediately try to duck back down on the roof, but you lose your purchase and start sliding.”
34:47: [Laughter]
34:53: GM: “You drop Tallahassee’s camera as it rolls toward the edge of the roof, and you roll right off the house.”
35:05: [Laughter]
35:09: GM: “Yeah, you fall…”
35:18: GM: “You’re going to take 4 damage.”
35:23: Player: “That’s almost halfway.”
35:25: Major: “I have 10, so I’m down to 6.”
35:30: GM: “Okay, so it hurts a lot, but it’s not a major wound.”

35:38: GM: “You hear Mr. Corbitt yell, ‘What? What is going on?’”
35:47: GM: “He turns around and goes back inside his house, and you all lose track of him from there.”
36:00: GM: “So what are you guys all doing?”

36:06: Player: “Are any lights on in his house at all?”
36:08: Player: “Or… he’s still outside with the gun, right?”
36:11: GM: “He just went back inside after he saw the flash.”
36:16: GM: “So you guys are in the clear.”
36:17: [Laughter]

36:22: Players react to the chaos of the previous moment.
36:37: Someone references a clip of Rob’s character falling off the roof.
36:45: GM: “Okay, who’s going where?”

36:48: Player: “Are any lights on in his house?”
36:50: GM: “The kitchen light is still on, and as you’re watching you see another light come on closer to the front of the house.”

36:57: Dom: “I’m going to crouch down and try to sneak close to the kitchen window.”
37:06: Players joke about Dom’s accent.

37:10: Dom: “I want to see if I can hear him.”
37:13: GM: “You’re actually right below the kitchen window where you are.”
37:18: Dom: “Oh good, then I don’t have to sneak.”
37:20: Dom: “But I do want to hear him.”
37:23: GM: “It sounds like he moved away from the kitchen toward the front.”
37:25: GM: “Roll a Listen check.”

37:28: Dom: “My Listen is 60.”
37:30: Dom rolls a 69.
37:33: GM: “You heard him go back inside and move away from the kitchen, but you’re not sure where he went.”

37:42: Dom: “I’m going to peek in the window.”
37:44: GM: “The kitchen window is a little high for you to just peek in.”
37:49: GM: “There are stairs leading down from the back door, so the window is raised up from the ground.”
37:55: GM: “You can grab the sill, but you’d need to lift yourself up to really see inside.”

38:03: GM: “What’s your size?”
38:13: Dom: “55.”
38:22: GM: “Okay, standing on your tiptoes you can get a bit of a glance inside.”

38:29: Dom attempts to look in.
38:31: GM: “Roll Spot Hidden, but since you can’t see well you’ll need a hard success.”

38:41: Dom: “My Spot Hidden is 25.”
38:44: Dom rolls a 44.
38:48: GM: “You mostly just see the ceiling and maybe the back wall. He’s not in the kitchen.”

39:00: Dom: “I’m going to sneak to the back door.”
39:03: GM: “Alright, roll Stealth.”

39:12: Dom rolls an 87.
39:16: GM: “Do you want to push the roll?”
39:19: Dom: “Yes.”
39:24: GM: “How are you pushing it? What risk are you taking?”
39:30: Dom: “I’m jumping to the ground and crawling so if he sees me it’s harder to tell what I am.”

39:41: GM: “Okay, you dive toward the bottom of the steps.”
39:45: GM: “If you fail, you might crack your head on them.”

39:56: Dom rerolls a 42.
40:01: GM: “You dive forward and just barely avoid smashing into the steps.”

40:11: GM: “The steps go down to the left rather than straight out, so you have to circle around them.”
40:24: GM: “You crawl around, go up the steps, and reach the back door.”
40:32: GM: “There’s a window in the door looking into the kitchen. The door is shut.”

40:35: GM: “What do you want to do?”
40:37: Dom: “I want to peek through the window.”

40:39: GM: “Roll Spot Hidden.”
40:45: Dom rolls a 39 against 25.
40:48: GM: “You don’t see much.”

40:54: GM: “The kitchen is empty. The dining room lights are off, but you do see lights on in the front room.”
41:03: GM: “You don’t currently see him.”

41:10: GM: “Roll Intelligence.”

41:17: Dom: “My Intelligence is 75.”
41:22: Dom rolls a 100.
41:30: GM: “Critical failure.”

41:32: GM jokingly describes Dom’s brain shutting down from guilt over trying to steal the hat earlier.
41:54: GM: “You have no idea where he is or what he’s doing.”

42:07: Player: “I’m pretty sure that’s my third fumble tonight.”
42:10: Players joke about the earlier roof disaster.

42:20: GM: “Roll a Listen check.”
42:23: Dom rolls a 60 against 60.

42:30: GM: “You hear talking inside the house. You can’t make out what he’s saying, but it sounds like he’s talking to someone.”
42:39: Player jokingly suggests it might be Mr. Barber.

42:54: GM: “Dr. Simeon, are you staying in the greenhouse?”
42:58: Dr. Simeon: “I want to search the greenhouse.”
43:05: GM: “Roll Spot Hidden.”
43:09: Dr. Simeon rolls a 29 against 9.
43:14: GM: “You’re searching around, but it’s dark and it’s going to take a while.”

43:32: GM: “Let’s cut back to Tallahassee.”

43:34: GM: “Did you make it around the fence?”
43:36: Tallahassee: “Yeah.”
43:37: GM: “Where are you going?”
43:41: Tallahassee: “I’m going to go find the thing I threw.”

43:46: GM: “Okay, you run around the fence back toward Dr. Simeon’s yard.”

43:53: GM: “You see Major Bakersfield lying on the grass.”
44:03: [Laughter]

44:08: Tallahassee: “Major?”
44:10: Major groans in pain.
44:11: Tallahassee: “What did you do with my camera?”
44:14: Major: “It’s broken.”

44:30: GM: “What do you do?”
44:55: Tallahassee: “I walk past him to go find my thing.”
44:58: [Laughter]

45:01: Tallahassee complains the Major broke the camera he loaned him.

45:21: GM: “You threw the object over the back of the house somewhere.”
45:25: GM: “Roll Spot Hidden.”

45:29: Tallahassee mentions using a flashlight.
45:37: GM: “That will help—you just need a regular success.”

45:46: Tallahassee rolls a 16 against 75.

45:52: GM: “You’re searching around the grass for a moment until you see something dark brownish-yellow sticking out.”

46:09: GM: “You rush over and see it lying in the grass.”

46:14: GM: “When your flashlight hits it, you see what appears to be some kind of long bone.”

46:28: Tallahassee: “So I pick it up and look closer.”

46:45: GM: “Yes, this is definitely a bone.”

46:47: Tallahassee: “Is it a human femur?”
46:50: GM: “You’re not quite sure. Do you have Medicine or a Science skill?”

46:56: Tallahassee: “I have very high Intelligence and Library Use.”
47:03: Players joke that there’s no library in the backyard.

47:15: GM: “From the look of it, it’s a pretty big bone. You’re not well trained in anatomy, but your first suspicion is that it might be human.”

47:30: GM: “Make a Sanity check.”

47:35: Tallahassee rolls an 85 and fails.

47:47: GM: “Roll a D6 and cut it in half.”
47:59: Tallahassee rolls a 4 → loses 2 Sanity.

48:03: Tallahassee: “This is not normal!”

48:06: GM: “Yeah, and you do actually let out a little shout as you realize what it is.”
48:10: The camera zooms in on Tallahassee’s face.
48:16: GM: “Alright, we’re gonna cut back to Dom up at the back door of the house. What are you doing from there?”
48:21: Dom: “I’m going to open the back door.”
48:24: GM: “Okay. It opens. It is not locked.”

48:27: Player: “So is the light still on in the kitchen?”
48:29: GM: “Yeah, the light’s still on in the kitchen, and in the front room—the one with the curio cabinets and the little knickknacks on the shelves.”
48:35: GM describes the layout from the back door: the kitchen is to the left, the dark dining room is to the right, and beyond that is the front room and hallway toward the front door.

49:19: Dom: “Okay, I’m going to sneak toward the dining room.”
49:24: GM: “Okay. Roll Stealth.”
49:29: Dom rolls a 62.
49:30: GM: “Okay. Yeah, that’s a success.”

49:35: GM: “You creep into the kitchen and toward the dining room. You do hear a voice coming from the front room—near the wall that separates it from the dining room.”
49:59: Dom: “Okay, I want to hear what the voice is saying.”
50:03: GM: “Roll me a Listen check.”
50:08: Dom: “My Listen is 60.”
50:12: Dom rolls a 6.
50:16: GM: “You hear everything.”

50:22: GM: “As you sneak up into the dining room area, you hear Mr. Corbitt talking. He sounds like he’s talking to somebody.”
50:35: Corbitt: “Yes, yes, hurry, right away. There’s a prowler in my backyard. I don’t know how many—I think I saw two of them. They looked like they were coming toward my house. I don’t know—they’re trying to break in and steal and rob my house. If you could—please, please hurry. I don’t know where they’ve gone, but I’m afraid and they could be anywhere.”
51:06: GM: “From what you remember, the phone was on a table near that side of the room.”
51:13: GM: “And since you rolled so well, you also hear a thump from upstairs.”

51:52: Dom: “So how do I get upstairs?”
52:01: GM: “You’d have to walk past him. The stairs are beyond the front room, where he is.”
52:14: Dom points out that even with good Stealth, walking right in front of Corbitt would be risky.
52:20: GM: “Yeah. In a situation like this, depending on where he’s facing, you might need better than a regular success, and I’m not going to tell you how well you’d have to roll.”
52:44: Dom: “What if I went back out the back and climbed up the outside of the house to the second floor?”
52:54: GM: “There’s not really anywhere to climb up the back of his house. It’s pretty flat.”
53:02: Dom: “The problem is, if I sneak past him and get upstairs, there’s no way I’m getting back out.”

53:12: GM: “While Dom Druncard is debating what to do, Dr. Simeon is still searching around in the greenhouse.”
53:27: GM: “During this time, you hear a little scream from your house—from the backyard.”
53:34: Players clarify that this is Dr. Simeon’s house and likely Tallahassee reacting to the bone.
53:44: GM: “You’ve been back here a little while. Roll me another Spot Hidden.”

53:48: Dr. Simeon rolls a 60 against 25.
53:56: GM: “Okay, you’re digging around and mostly finding plants.”
54:03: GM: “A lot of them look exotic. Do you have any Botany or Biology or something?”
54:10: Dr. Simeon: “I do.”
54:12: GM: “Okay, roll Biology or maybe Natural World.”
54:19: Dr. Simeon: “I have 10% there.”
54:25: GM: “Alright, give me Biology. Maybe you recognize some of this.”
54:28: Dr. Simeion rolls a 48.
54:32: GM: “You don’t recognize much. Biology isn’t exactly focused on this sort of thing, but you see a lot of exotic-looking plants—some orchids, some big leafy plants. A lot of stuff that definitely doesn’t look native to the area.”

54:55: GM: “As you’re stumbling around in the dark, roll me a Luck roll.”
55:02: Dr. Simeon rolls a 72.
55:04: GM: “Okay. You’re searching, but nothing really jumps out at you. Just a lot of exotic plants and darkness.”
55:17: GM: “So what do you want to do?”
55:25: Dr. Simeon: “I want to get out of there.”
55:26: GM: “So you walk back to the front. Are you just busting out, or are you peeking out the door?”
55:32: Dr. Simeion: “I’m going to take the same route Tallahassee took, along the side of the house.”
55:38: GM: “Okay. You pop back out, look around, don’t see anybody in the backyard, and make a break for it back toward your house.”

55:56: Dom: “I’m going to try to sneak upstairs.”
56:07: GM: “Okay. Roll Stealth.”
56:11: Dom worries he’s going to blow it.
56:19: Dom rolls a 16.
56:20: Players cheer.
56:23: GM: “Dom Druncard is quiet as a mouse.”
56:28: GM: “Your Stealth is 80?”
56:29: Dom: “Yep.”
56:30: GM: “That’s an extreme success.”

56:37: GM: “You walk around the edge of the wall and peek over. You see Mr. Corbitt standing there with the receiver to his ear, holding the mouthpiece in his left hand as he talks into it.”
57:06: GM: “But he’s facing away from you as you come around, so it doesn’t look like he sees you.”
57:10: GM: “You move past him, head to the stairs, and start making your way up.”

57:17: GM: “You come up to the top of the stairs. There’s a door immediately to your right. There’s a wall ahead of you, then the hall opens left and turns around the corner toward the back of the house. The hall also goes left toward the front of the house. There’s another door across from the stairs and one right next to you on the right.”
57:49: Dom tries to clarify the layout.
58:18: GM re-explains: at the top of the stairs there is a door immediately to the right, and the hallway continues from there.

58:26: Dom: “I’m gonna try the door.”
58:28: GM: “The door to the right?”
58:30: Dom: “Yeah.”
58:31: GM: “Okay. The door opens—no problem. It’s not locked, and actually it wasn’t even shut all the way.”
58:39: GM: “As you push it open, you see this is probably the master bedroom. This was the room Mr. Corbitt was in when the light came on.”
58:46: GM: “The bed is unmade because he probably just jumped out of it when he heard people running into his fence in the backyard.”
59:00: [Laughter]

59:05: GM: “There’s a dresser to your right. The bed is up against the wall straight across from you. There’s a little stand to the left of the bed.”
59:21: Dom: “I’m gonna look under the bed.”
59:23: GM: “Also, right to your left there’s another door. Probably a bathroom.”
59:37: Dom opens that door.
59:42: GM: “Yeah, it’s a bathroom.”

59:44: Dom: “I’m gonna look in the nightstand.”
59:45: GM: “Okay. You walk over to the nightstand. There’s a lamp on it. You open it up.”
59:52: GM: “There’s a pen and a pad of paper. There’s also a book in there.”
01:00:00: Player: “Is it Tallahassee’s book?”
01:00:02: GM: “No. It looks like it’s a book on botany—plants and stuff along those lines.”
01:00:09: Dom: “I’m gonna open the book.”
01:00:12: GM: “Okay, you open it. It’s called Plants and Fungi of the Amazon Basin by Dr. P. D. Florence.”
01:00:24: GM: “Flipping through it, it does indeed look like a very interesting read about the plants and fungi of the Amazon Basin.”
01:00:34: Dom: “Okay, I put the book back and I look under the bed.”
01:00:38: GM: “Okay, roll Spot Hidden.”
01:00:47: Dom rolls a 73 against 25.
01:00:53: GM: “It is empty under the bed. There’s nothing there.”

01:00:59: Dom: “Okay, I’m going to leave the room.”
01:01:04: GM reminds him there was no closet there—just the bathroom—and points out the dresser on the right side of the room.
01:01:10: Dom: “Okay, I’m gonna search the dresser.”
01:01:13: GM: “Alright. Roll Spot Hidden.”
01:01:20: Dom rolls a 35.
01:01:22: GM: “You’re digging through everything. It’s clothes—pants, underwear…”
01:01:31: Another player: “Stop sniffing them.”
01:01:35: Dom: “Okay, I’m gonna leave the bedroom.”

01:01:37: Dom: “So I heard a thump upstairs earlier, right?”
01:01:42: GM: “Yeah. Well, it came from above this floor. Now that you’re up here, it sounded higher than this.”
01:02:02: GM: “Roll another Spot Hidden check out here in the hallway.”
01:02:08: Dom rolls an 8.
01:02:12: GM: “You come out of the bedroom. To the right, the hall wraps around what would’ve been the master bathroom and ends at a window facing the back of the house.”
01:02:28: GM: “There’s another door across the hall from you. The hall goes left toward the front of the house. Up toward the front, there’s another door on the right, then the hall curves left.”
01:02:53: GM: “But actually, as you look toward the front of the house, on the ceiling you see what looks like a pull-down hatch for an attic.”

01:03:02: Dom: “I’m going to open the pull-down hatch.”
01:03:12: GM: “Okay. Roll Listen for me.”
01:03:15: Dom: “My Listen is 60.”
01:03:20: Dom rolls a 63.
01:03:24: Dom: “I’m going to spend 3 Luck.”
01:03:25: GM: “Okay. You get a success.”
01:03:33: GM: “You no longer hear talking from downstairs.”
01:03:44: GM: “You hear a creak.”
01:03:48: Dom: “Do I hear where it came from?”
01:03:51: GM: “Sounds like downstairs, close to the bottom of the stairs.”

01:03:59: Dom: “Okay, I’m going to try for the pull-down and get up into the attic real fast.”
01:04:06: GM: “Okay. You’re just rushing for it?”
01:04:11: Dom: “Well, no, I’m worried about stealth.”
01:04:15: GM: “Okay, be stealthy about it. Roll me some more Stealth.”
01:04:28: Dom rolls a 77 against 80.
01:04:30: GM: “Alright. You do manage to move down the hall.”

01:04:35: GM pauses to clarify the house layout by compass direction: the back of the house is north, and as Dom moves south toward the front, he passes doors on the right-hand side.
01:05:19: GM: “You get about three-quarters of the way down the hall and reach up. You manage to get hold of the pull cord for the attic hatch.”
01:05:26: GM: “And you pull it down…”

01:05:30: GM: “Yeah.”
01:05:31: GM: “Okay, as you pull it, it’s one of those fold-down stairways that comes out, and as you pull it, it lets out this huge squeak…”
01:05:45: The attic stairs unfold downward until Dom can see up into the attic.
01:05:57: GM: “As you do that, you start hearing footsteps hurrying up the stairs from the noise.”

01:06:03: GM: “Do you have a light or anything on you?”
01:06:08: Dom remembers he has a flashlight.
01:06:12: GM: “Okay, because it is dark up in the attic.”
01:06:21: GM: “Actually, it’s still fairly dark up here too. There’s some light coming from the master bedroom, but where you are, it’s pretty dark—and you are pretty exposed.”
01:06:33: GM: “You hear the footsteps coming up the stairs.”
01:06:36: Dom: “Where?”
01:06:37: GM: “Just—thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.”

01:06:39: Dom: “Where’s the nearest door?”
01:06:42: GM: “There’s a door kind of behind you to the right, and another door in front of you to the right. You’re about equally distant from both.”
01:06:56: GM: “You hear the footsteps coming up the stairs, and as you look up into the attic…”
01:07:07: GM asks whether Dom is using his flashlight.
01:07:16: Dom: “Okay, I’m going to use my light and shine it up into the attic.”
01:07:20: GM: “Okay.”

01:07:22: Dom rolls Spot Hidden.
01:07:29: Dom rolls a 79 against 25.
01:07:38: GM: “It’s been dark up here. Dark in the hallway, dark in the attic—almost pitch black.”
01:07:46: GM: “But as you click the switch on your flashlight, the beam shoots up into the opening.”
01:07:51: GM: “And you see, just over the edge of the attic opening, a woman’s face staring down at you.”
01:08:06: GM: “She has long dark hair, dead-looking eyes, and her mouth is hanging open.”
01:08:15: GM: “She’s just staring straight down at you. You’re not even sure whether she’s really looking at you or just blankly staring.”
01:08:23: GM: “Roll me a Sanity check.”

01:08:26: Dom worries aloud about his bad Sanity.
01:08:34: Dom rolls a success.
01:08:39: Dom notes he has 45 Sanity.
01:08:41: GM: “Okay, success. You’re still going to lose 2 points of Sanity.”

01:08:49: GM: “And as you see that, you hear the footsteps stop behind you.”
01:08:58: GM: “You start hearing a voice. It’s talking, but you don’t understand what it’s saying—it sounds like weird nonsense syllables coming from behind you.”
01:09:10: Dom: “It’s nice knowing you guys.”
01:09:12: GM: “As you turn around, you look into the eyes of Mr. Corbitt as he stares directly into yours.”
01:09:19: GM: “I need you to make me a POW roll.”

01:09:26: Dom: “My POW isn’t good. Can I roll Intelligence or Handsome instead?”
01:09:33: [Laughter]
01:09:37: GM: “Yeah, no. Make me a POW roll.”
01:09:39: Dom: “My POW is 45.”
01:09:44: Dom rolls a 54.
01:09:48: GM: “Okay.”
01:09:49: Dom: “Can I spend Luck for this?”
01:09:53: GM: “To spend Luck for your POW roll?”
01:09:56: GM: “How much do you need?”
01:09:58: Dom: “Nine.”
01:09:59: GM: “You’d actually need more than that, because you’d have to beat his POW roll. You’d need better than a regular success.”

01:10:11: Players react as though this may be a death moment.
01:10:13: GM: “As you’re looking at him, you hear this strange chanting coming from him.”
01:10:21: GM: “As you look into his eyes and he looks back at you, you feel a coldness creep over your body.”

01:10:30: GM cuts back outside.
01:10:34: GM: “Dr. Simeon, you come back around to the back of the house.”
01:10:36: GM: “You find yourself standing next to Tallahassee Turner as the two of you examine this bone in his hand.”
01:10:50: GM: “Major Bakersfield has hobbled his way over too, leaning on Tallahassee’s shoulder as you all look down at this bone.”

01:10:58: GM: “You’re standing there in the darkness, looking down at this long yellowed bone in your hand.”
01:11:06: GM: “From around the edge of the house, down at the street, you start seeing red lights flashing.”
01:11:15: GM: “It’s quiet except for what suddenly breaks through the silence of the night—”
01:11:20: GM: “You hear a scream come from upstairs in Mr. Corbitt’s house.”

01:11:25: [Music]

01:11:40: Announcer: “Thanks for listening to this episode of The Arkham Files.”
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01:12:15: “No psychologists were injured in the recording of this episode.”