The Horror
George's response to this was, "he's the rock of sanity for the others to lean on."
Nuh uh. Mind you, there's nothing wrong with a character being particularly sane and well-grounded than the others. But this is a horror game, and I refuse to allow any one character to float above the horror while the others spiral the sanity toilet.
So I started thinking about ways to really drive Hammer to the brink. Reviewing his background, I remembered he had a grandmother. So it was time to start threatening that weak link.
I started out small. I introduced it in casual conversation as the reporter in question tried to get Hammer to fess up, revealed a few choice tidbits in his background, and then mentioned she had a nice lunch with his grandmother. Reporters do this all the time.
Now, I didn't actually have some creepy villain threatening Hammer's poor grandma. I just had a reporter snooping around his private life. Thing is, I demonstrated how easily and vulnerable his beloved grandma was.
The reporter didn't do anything threatening, but violating Hammer's privacy was enough. He immediately responded by warning the reporter off and personally threatening her. Point made – and in an odd role reversal, a federal agent threatening a reporter seems more disturbing at face than a reporter taking someone's grandma to lunch.
On the other hand, simply having grandma disappear isn't particularly interesting either. She needs to be a more important part of the plot. So to ensure grandma's loss is felt more keenly, she will definitely need to make more appearances in the game.
Hammer also feels responsible for Agent Blade's widow and child, so there's another opportunity. Especially since the boy has a dog, and he's about to go off to camp…who better to look after a beloved pet?
In the end, grandma doesn't even have to be killed by a villain. She's old, after all. In Call of Cthulhu, there are fates worse than death …
Your Turn: How do you deal with the one character who never seems afraid of anything?
