Scenario IB Waking Nightmare

Scenario I–B: Waking Nightmare

Intro 1:
 It has been more than twenty-four hours since your companions fell asleep. Over the course of the past day, your curiosity has slowly turned to concern and then dread. The problems began when one of your friends started to toss and turn violently in their sleep. You snapped to attention and tried to shake them awake, but it was to no avail. You tried everything. Physical contact was no use, and water did nothing but soak their clothes and bed fruitlessly. Even opening their eyelids did not wake them, and in the process, you noticed that their pupils had fully dilated and their eyes were glazed over with a milky-white fog.
You have no idea what this could mean for your friends. Have they managed to find their way to the land Virgil Gray described in his writings? Or has something more sinister taken root within their minds and bodies? Just to be safe, you decide to take your companions to St.Mary’s Hospital. If something ails them physically, perhaps the doctors there can discern what is wrong. Otherwise, you will simply have to watch over them and hope that they return safely to the waking world.
St. Mary’s is the only hospital in the town of Arkham, and it is a fixture of its Uptown neighborhood. You explain the situation to Nurse Greenberg, the head nurse at the hospital, who instructs several other nurses to carry your companions into the emergency ward on stretchers.
She tells you with a warm, friendly smile that your friends will be examined by Doctor Maheswaran, but other than that, you are left entirely in the dark.
Hours pass. You hear nothing about the status of your companions.
You still have not met with Doctor Maheswaran, and you’re starting to grow impatient. You feel something crawling along your arm, and you instinctively brush it away, then wonder if it was an insect or a figment of your imagination. You begin to question whether bringing your friends here was the right choice after all. Eventually, you decide to take matters into your own hands.
It is late at night, and the receptionist who instructed you to stay in the waiting room is nowhere to be seen. In fact, there are eerily few people roaming the halls of the hospital. With nobody to stop you, you sneak off into the emergency ward to find your friends. It does not take long for you to find their room. Your companions lie asleep on clean, white cots,their sleep anything but peaceful. They are pale faced and sweaty. One of them tosses and turns in their sleep, their brow furrowed with pain or worry.
Doctor Maheswaran does not seem surprised by your intrusion.
“Shivani Maheswaran,” she introduces herself coldly, without looking up from her clipboard. “You’re the ones who brought them in, right?
Before you ask: no, I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life,” she says with a hint of dry impatience. You demand that she tell you everything she knows about their condition and not give you the runaround. With a sigh, she puts her clipboard down and addresses you frankly. “Listen, I may be new to Arkham, but I have seen enough inexplicable maladies in this town to fill entire careers in medicine.
I understand why you are concerned. Your friends…” She struggles to find the right words. “They are not simply asleep. It is as if they are hovering somewhere between sleep and unconsciousness, or even death.
They are not aware of anything happening around them but appear to be reacting to some kind of internal stimuli.”
Without hesitation, you ask if they are dreaming. “Dreaming?” Doctor Maheswaran replies. “It is unlikely, though it might account for their mannerisms. Honestly—and I know this is not exactly reassuring— none of this makes any sense to me, medically speaking.”
Just then, you see a large, hairy spider crawling on the chest of one of your friends. “Well, that is odd.” Doctor Maheswaran brushes the spider off, and several more emerge from the sheets to take its place. You and the doctor both take several steps back out of pure instinct. You hear heavy footsteps in the hallway outside the emergency ward, and then the lights begin to flicker. “Okay…that is more than simply odd. What in the world is going on out there?” Doctor Maheswaran asks anxiously.
For just a moment, you think you hear one of your sleeping companions whisper something. Are they indeed dreaming? And if so, what does their condition have to do with these strange events?

ÆÆThe investigators must decide (choose one):
==Convince Doctor Maheswaran to come with you while you investigate, for her safety and yours. Proceed to Intro 2.
==Convince Doctor Maheswaran to stay with the patients and keep them safe while you investigate. Proceed to Intro 3.

Intro 2:
 “Yes, I suppose that makes sense. There has been no change in their condition for the past few hours, anyway.” Doctor Maheswaran’s gaze shifts nervously to and fro, searching for more spiders. “Also, I’d very much like to get out of this room now, so…lead the way,” she adds.
You nod and venture back into the hospital’s waiting room.
ÆÆRecord in your Campaign Log Dr. Maheswaran joined the investigation.

Skip to Setup.

Intro 3:
 “Yes, of course. Their safety is paramount. But do come back and tell me what is going on, please.” She shivers. “I really hate this place after dark…” You nod and venture back into the hospital’s waiting room.

ÆÆRecord in your Campaign Log Dr. Maheswaran stayed with her patients.

Proceed to Setup.

Setup

ÆÆGather all cards from the following encounter sets: Waking Nightmare, Merging Realities, Whispers of Hypnos, Locked Doors, and Striking Fear. These sets are indicated by the following icons:
ÆÆSet aside each of the following encounter sets: Agents of Atlach‑Nacha and Spiders. These sets are indicated by the following icons:
ÆÆPut the Waiting Room, Emergency Room, Experimental Therapies Ward, and Records Office into play. Each investigator begins in the Waiting Room.
ÆÆCheck Campaign Log.
==If Dr. Maheswaran joined the investigation, put Dr. Shivani Maheswaran into play, under the lead investigator’s control.
==If Dr. Maheswaran stayed with her patients, set Dr. Shivani Maheswaran aside, out of play.
ÆÆSet each of the remaining locations aside, out of play.
ÆÆSet the following cards aside, out of play: Randolph Carter (Chained to the Waking World), all 3 of the Outbreak treacheries, and both of the Corrupted Orderly enemies.
ÆÆSet the double-sided The Infestation Begins story card aside, out of play. This story card has a different scenario reference card on its other side and will enter play during the natural course of the scenario.
ÆÆShuffle each of the remaining encounter cards together to form the encounter deck.

DO NOT READ until the end of the scenario

If no resolution was reached, and at least one investigator resigned:

With panic overtaking your mind, you run through the main exit of St. Mary’s Hospital, putting as much distance as you can between you and this accursed infestation. The moment you get home, you collapse from exhaustion.
The next day, you wake and check the morning papers, expecting to see tales of chaos at St. Mary’s and of an infestation of arachnids. However, there is no news regarding the hospital at all. Did last night’s events occur too late for the Arkham Advertiser to report on them? Was it all just a bad dream? You put on your coat and head back to the hospital to confirm that what you saw last night was real.
When you arrive at St. Mary’s, you expect to see the building—or perhaps all of Uptown—covered in spiderwebs.
But instead, to your surprise, it is perfectly clean. Patients, nurses, and doctors walk through its halls like none of last night’s events transpired. Before you can find your sleeping companions, however, a blond-haired man with heavy bags under his eyes approaches you and places a hand on your shoulder.
“Good morning. We should talk.”

ÆÆFor each location that was infested when the game ended, record 1 tally mark next to “Steps of the Bridge” in your Campaign Log.
ÆÆIn your Campaign Log, record Dr. Maheswaran’s fate is unknown.
ÆÆIn your Campaign Log, record Randolph escaped the hospital on his own. Any one investigator may choose to add Randolph Carter (Chained to the Waking World) (The Dream-Eaters card #79) to their deck. This card does not count toward that investigator’s deck size.
ÆÆSkip to Resolution 5.

If no resolution was reached because each investigator was defeated:

ÆÆFor each location that was infested when the game ended, record 1 tally mark next to “Steps of the Bridge” in your Campaign Log.
ÆÆSkip to Resolution 4.

Resolution 1:
 Before you depart from the hospital, Doctor Maheswaran announces that she is going to check on her patients, and you decide to join her. You head back to the emergency ward and find that your companions are still unconscious. Doctor Maheswaran checks their eyes, takes their pulses, and shakes her head. “It’s even worse than before. Whatever internal stimuli they are reacting to, they are causing the patients’ minds and bodies a great deal of stress.” She sits down next to one of her patients and shakes her head. “I’ll stay here. You go talk to that patient and get to the bottom of this, okay? Oh, and if you find any more spiders, squash one for me, please.” As you leave, you swear to your sleeping friends that you will get to the bottom of this and save them.

ÆÆIn your Campaign Log, record Dr. Maheswaran is alive.
ÆÆYour companions’ condition has worsened. If you are playing The Web of Dreams and The Dream‑Quest as an interconnected eight-part campaign, record in Campaign A’s Campaign Log the dreamers grow weaker.
ÆÆIn your Campaign Log, record Randolph escaped the hospital with the investigators. Any one investigator may choose to add Randolph Carter (Chained to the Waking World) (The Dream-Eaters card #79) to their deck. This card does not count toward that investigator’s deck size.
ÆÆSkip to Resolution 5.

Resolution 2:

 Before you depart from the hospital, you search high and low for Doctor Maheswaran, but she is nowhere to be found. You head back to the emergency ward to check on your companions and find that they are still unconscious. In fact, their condition seems to have grown worse. Their foreheads are covered in sweat, and blood drips from their closed eyes. One of them is whispering something in their sleep, a repeated phrase in a language you cannot understand. As you leave, you swear to your sleeping friends that you will get to the bottom of this and save them.
ÆÆIn your Campaign Log, record Dr. Maheswaran is missing. Perhaps you could have saved her. The lead investigator suffers 1 mental trauma.
ÆÆYour companions’ condition has worsened. If you are playing The Web of Dreams and The Dream‑Quest as an interconnected eight-part campaign, record in Campaign A’s Campaign Log the dreamers grow weaker.
ÆÆIn your Campaign Log, record Randolph escaped the hospital with the investigators. Any one investigator may choose to add Randolph Carter (Chained to the Waking World) (The Dream-Eaters card #79) to their deck. This card does not count toward that investigator’s deck size.
ÆÆSkip to Resolution 5.

Resolution 3:
 Before you depart from the hospital, you go back to the emergency ward to check on Doctor Maheswaran.
The door to the room where your companions are staying is sealed shut, so you knock on the door and ask if she is there.
On the other side, you hear furniture being shifted aside and knocked over. An exhausted Shivani Maheswaran cracks open the door and peers at you with bloodshot eyes. “Oh, thank goodness it is you.” She lets you in and collapses onto a nearby chair. “Those…things tried to get into the room. I had to barricade myself inside to stop them.” You inform her that the danger has passed and thank her for watching over your friends. “I’ll continue to keep an eye on them,” she says.
“Just please, tell me there are no more spiders out there, or I’m taking the first train out of this town.” As you leave, you swear to your sleeping friends that you will get to the bottom of this and save them.

ÆÆIn your Campaign Log, record Dr. Maheswaran is alive.
ÆÆIn your Campaign Log, record Randolph escaped the hospital with the investigators. Any one investigator may choose to add Randolph Carter (Chained to the Waking World) (The Dream-Eaters card #79) to their deck. This card does not count toward that investigator’s deck size.
ÆÆSkip to Resolution 5.

Resolution 4:
 With panic overtaking your mind and no idea how you can escape, you flee anywhere your feet will take you. Hideous monsters begin to close in around you, and you envision yourself wrapped in webs, waiting to be a spider’s meal. Eventually you come to a dead end: a room covered from floor to ceiling in thick, sticky webs. The skittering of spider legs follows close behind, and you realize you have no hope to escape unless there is a path behind the webs. There is no choice remaining for you. You run headlong into the webs, ripping and tearing at them with the ferocity of a cornered animal. It is tough work, but eventually you see a light behind the webs—perhaps an escape route.
Once you cross through the webs, you are no longer in the dark, sterile halls of St. Mary’s, but in a narrow, web-covered cavern. You dare not tarry or go back the way you came, so you run through the dark, cramped cave with no idea where it might lead. Glancing through the cobwebs to your left and right, you see not just hard rock, but the glimmering of lights, like a sea of stars looming beyond the silken threads.
Eventually, you emerge from another wall of webs, only to find yourself in an alleyway in Arkham’s Merchant District, near the Miskatonic River. You have neither the time nor the desire to analyze this, instead deciding to put as much distance as you can between you and the hospital. The moment you get home, you collapse from exhaustion.
The next day, you wake and check the morning papers, expecting to see tales of chaos at St. Mary’s and of an infestation of arachnids. However, there is no news regarding the hospital at all. Did last night’s events occur too late for the Arkham Advertiser to report on them? Was it all just a bad dream? You put on your coat and head back to the hospital to confirm that what you saw last night was real.
When you arrive at St. Mary’s, you expect to see the building—or perhaps all of Uptown—covered in spiderwebs.
Instead, to your surprise, it is perfectly clean. Patients, nurses, and doctors walk through its halls like none of last night’s events transpired. You ask the receptionist if you can see Doctor Maheswaran, but he shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think she’s here today. She left in the middle of her shift last night, and nobody has seen her since. Is there somebody else I can reach for you?”
Something is not right. None of this makes any sense. You are about to demand to see your sleeping companions when a blond-haired man with heavy bags under his eyes approaches you and places a hand on your shoulder.
“Good morning. We should talk.”

ÆÆIn your Campaign Log, record Dr. Maheswaran is missing. Perhaps you could have saved her. The lead investigator suffers 1 mental trauma.
ÆÆIn your Campaign Log, record Randolph escaped the hospital on his own. Any one investigator may choose to add Randolph Carter (Chained to the Waking World) (The Dream-Eaters card #79) to their deck. This card does not count toward that investigator’s deck size.
ÆÆProceed to Resolution 5.

Resolution 5:

 You depart from the hospital with the blond‑haired man in tow, and he introduces himself more fully. The man, whose name is Randolph Carter, tells you that he is a “dreamer,” like Virgil Gray and your friends: one with the ability to traverse the divide between the waking world and a parallel dimension that was created by, is sustained by, and dwells within the dreams of all living organisms on Earth—a realm he calls The Dreamlands. “It is a place of both dreams and nightmares,” he explains. “And I’m afraid your friends are trapped there as we speak.”
You ask if there is anything you can do to aid them. Randolph ponders this for a moment, then replies: “Normally, dreamers can return to the real world simply by willing themselves awake, but for some reason, your friends are unable to do so. If you truly wish to help them, you too must enter the Dreamlands and find them. But forcing your way into the Dreamlands is not easy. Such paths are usually accessible only to experienced dreamers, and only in sleep. Still, there are some places where the Dreamlands touch the waking world, and in those places, with the right tools, you may enter the Dreamlands in your physical body. I know of such a place, not far from here. However—” Before Randolph is able to finish his sentence, he is interrupted by a mysterious voice…

ÆÆEach investigator earns experience equal to the Victory X value of each card in the victory display.
ÆÆRemove the infestation bag and all infestation tokens from the game. (There is no need to keep or record them.)
ÆÆIf you are playing The Web of Dreams as a four-part campaign, proceed to Interlude I: The Black Cat.
ÆÆIf you are playing The Web of Dreams and The Dream‑Quest as an interconnected eight-part campaign…
==…and you have not yet played Scenario 1–A: Beyond the Gates of Sleep, proceed to that scenario.
==…and you have already played Scenario 1–A: Beyond the Gates of Sleep, proceed instead to Interlude I: The Black Cat.