In early 1925, actress and secret crusader against supernatural evil Bessie Love stopped a monstrous scheme to spread madness and destruction throughout Los Angeles and beyond by infusing demonic spirits into coffee beans that would then be shipped throughout southern California. By going under cover in a coffee shop, she traced the origins of the demon-possessed coffee beans and put an end to the cabal of devil-worshipers behind it. She also made sure that any remaining coffee they'd performed their ritual on was destroyed.
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| Bessie Love, undercover and hunting for cursed coffee. |
As long-time visitors to Shades of Gray are undoubtedly aware, we reveal long-hidden secrets about silent movie star Bessie Love on an irregular basis. In those posts, we typically include some roleplaying game rules inspired by her adventures. We add to the series today, with something that's a little different: We're offering an RPG scenario idea inspired by Bessie's adventure.
THE MYSTERY OF THE DEADLY COFFEE
A Modern-Era Adventure Idea by Steve Miller
A sudden rash of violent murders against either random people, coworkers, or family members, is plaguing the city and slowly spreading across the nation. If the murderer is taken alive, he or she claims to have no memory of what happened. The only common thread is that Spirit-Infused Coffee (a medium-roast made from Arabica beans) has been found in the home or workplace of the killers. Standard analysis of the coffee shows no toxins or unexpected ingrediencies. Even if it is banned from stores, there's no way to stop the firm from offering it via mail order, and their legal team crush anyone who tries to interfer with the selling of the coffee. In fact, the claims that it might be driving people to murder becomes the motivating factor for TikTok Challenges.
WHAT'S GOING ON?
The coffee is literally infused with spirits. Demons are summoned during the roasting process, and they are literally cooked into the beans, and those who drink the coffee are extremely likely to fall victim to demonic possession.
EFFECTS OF DRINKING SPIRIT-INFUSED COFFEE
Roll 3d6 against the following table to determine what happens to those who drink the Spirit-Infused Coffee:
3. Nothing but a pleasant caffeine jolt.
4-5. Characters become overly horny and will be on a constant hunt for sexual partners. When advances are rebuffed, they must make successful Will saves (DC13) or attack the target of lust.
6-7. Characters constantly desire food and drink, and it has to be high quality. When denied, or served bad food, the characters must make successful Will saves (DC13) or attempt to kill anyone who is perceived as standing in the way of a desired meal.
8-9. Character must roll a Will save (DC13) whenever they are around cash or in shops. If the saving throw fails, they attempt to steal the money or some valuable item from the store. Anyone who tries to stop them is violently attacked.
10-11. Characters stop going to work and instead just lounge about their homes all day, sleeping whenever possible. If the coffee is consumed at work, they must make successful Will saves (DC13) or immediately stop work and just be lazy. Anyone who tries to get them to stop sitting around is violently attacked.
12-13. Once per hour characters must roll Will saves (DC13) or be filled with homicidal rage against the nearest, most obvious target. (If it's someone or something in some sort of media, the characters must seek that person or place out). The rage lasts until the target is eliminated, and will grow to encompass anyone perceived as being between the characters and their ultmate target.
14-15. Characters who see someone displaying obvious wealth, someone who is physically attractive, or who may simply just be enjoying a good time with friends, must roll Will saves (DC13) or violently attack that person. They will also attempt to steal whatever valuables the target is carrying. (This could be mugging, or a mass-killing, depending on the situation.)
16-17. Characters become extremely self-satisfied and filled with pride over everthing they they do. They will constantly brag about themselves and demand recognition and praise. They must roll successful Will saves (DC13) if anyone denies their greatness, or violently attack the offender.
18. Nothing but a pleasant caffeine jolt.
Roll 3d6 against the following table to determine what happens to those who drink the Spirit-Infused Coffee:
3. Nothing but a pleasant caffeine jolt.
4-5. Characters become overly horny and will be on a constant hunt for sexual partners. When advances are rebuffed, they must make successful Will saves (DC13) or attack the target of lust.
6-7. Characters constantly desire food and drink, and it has to be high quality. When denied, or served bad food, the characters must make successful Will saves (DC13) or attempt to kill anyone who is perceived as standing in the way of a desired meal.
8-9. Character must roll a Will save (DC13) whenever they are around cash or in shops. If the saving throw fails, they attempt to steal the money or some valuable item from the store. Anyone who tries to stop them is violently attacked.
10-11. Characters stop going to work and instead just lounge about their homes all day, sleeping whenever possible. If the coffee is consumed at work, they must make successful Will saves (DC13) or immediately stop work and just be lazy. Anyone who tries to get them to stop sitting around is violently attacked.
12-13. Once per hour characters must roll Will saves (DC13) or be filled with homicidal rage against the nearest, most obvious target. (If it's someone or something in some sort of media, the characters must seek that person or place out). The rage lasts until the target is eliminated, and will grow to encompass anyone perceived as being between the characters and their ultmate target.
14-15. Characters who see someone displaying obvious wealth, someone who is physically attractive, or who may simply just be enjoying a good time with friends, must roll Will saves (DC13) or violently attack that person. They will also attempt to steal whatever valuables the target is carrying. (This could be mugging, or a mass-killing, depending on the situation.)
16-17. Characters become extremely self-satisfied and filled with pride over everthing they they do. They will constantly brag about themselves and demand recognition and praise. They must roll successful Will saves (DC13) if anyone denies their greatness, or violently attack the offender.
18. Nothing but a pleasant caffeine jolt.
The evil spirit that has been infused into the coffee drinker remains in his or her body for six days, or until a Will save is failed. During that time, the coffee drinker cannot be possessed by other demons, no matter how much of the spirit-infused coffee they might drink. The coffee drinker will have only the haziest of recollections of the time he or she was possessed, and will remember nothing once he or she turns violent.
ENDING THE THREAT
It will be up to the PCs to discover the true nature of Spirit-Infused Coffee and stop the spread of evil! They will have to get into the roastery and destroy the ritual site, and kill the demonologist behind the scheme. If their IDs are discovered during this process, they will find themselves hounded by the law firm (who are literally devils' advocates), even if they avoid any consequences from the authorities.
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The section "Effects of Drinking Spirit-Infused Coffee" is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright Steve Miller 2022
Also in the general area of acknowledgements, we want to state that this post was inspired by real-world "spirit-infused coffee". When ad ad for coffee augmented with the flavors of various forms of hard liquor showed up in Steve Miller's Facebook feed, the idea for an adventure scenario popped into his head. (And if the roastery that was the inadvertent inspiration for this post comes along, recognizes the image of their product that we appropriated and modified--please don't us!)
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