All over Norfork we see moments: a doctor checks with their patients, a crowd leaves a club, a magician flips off the last buzzing fluorescent over a group of folding chairs, a clerk idles the hours of a new job away, a lawyer sits in a darkened office rubbing his eyes.

They feel what is coming, even if they can't put their fingers on it yet. The opportunity for change hangs in the air like smoke - and there's no choice but to breathe deeply and hold it, waiting.

The vote is about to begin.

(Content Warnings: hospital setting, general description of head/brain injury, spitting, infectious illness, police)

PLAYERS

Sam Richardson (@Laggardson, He/him)

William White (@kwilliamwhite, They/them)

Sam Darr (@mossyauthor, She/They)

Jonas Newhouse (@jonasnewhouse, They/them) 
Sam De Leve (@ChaiKovsky, They/them)

NPCs

Jillian Murphy (she/her) -  Norfork City Liaison, and Kelly's hookup. White woman in her early 30s, broader build, kind of tall, red hair that’s just past the shoulder. Sharper facial features. Major character. Power. Played by William White.
Leilah Amund (she/her) -  Woman with darker skin. Elio’s partner. Minor Character. Played by William White.
Dr. Roger Maricelli (they/them) -  Doctor hired to treat magical injuries at the City hospital. Short person with a Mediterranean complexion, curly short brown hair, and small horns protruding from their temples. Major character. Touchstone. Played by Jonas Newhouse.
Perry Commonlaw (he/him) -  Former proprietor of the failed "Hunter's Supply" in the Turntable Center. A craggy, shorter man in tennis shoes, loose jeans, and a polo shirt with a wide neck. A bald spot peeks through hair mid-transition between black and grey. Minor character. Played by Jonas Newhouse.
Tammana Hemming (she/her) - Egyptian woman with wavy dark brown hair and a mischievous smile. Member of the Myriad support group. Sphinx. Major character. Perspective. Played by Sam Darr.
Valentina (she/her) - Leader of theAgents of Dranja. On Earth, she presents as a tall white woman with long straight black hair and combat boots. Searching for something here in Norfork. Despises Nammi. Minor character. Played by Sam Darr.
Alexei Abramson (they/them) - A fairly small person with tattoos, a dozen various piercings, and a home-dyed purple pixie cut. Wheeler. Pippa of Anita. Major character. Perspective. Played by Sam de Leve.
Stanley Smithforshire (he/him) - Real estate developer. Minor character. Played by Sam de Leve.
Glymmer AKA Aina Steen (she/her)  - A white woman with short curly brown hair. Dressed in a ribbed black tanktop and selvedge denim shorts. Colorful bright jacket with an image or intertwined roses on the back, and a pair of aviator sunglasses nestled in her hair. Major character. Power. Played by Sam Richardson.
Almos Sumati (he/him) -  Werewolf. Damn good laywer. Dresses in an expensive blue suit that compliments his fur. Chooses to stay in wolf-form all the time. Helps organize the Norfork softball team. Trans-man. Single, in case anyone was wondering. Minor character. Played by Sam Richardson.
Anita Abramson (she/her) - Child of Alexei. Myriad, of some kind. Fan of Glymmer, and kind of over this whole thing.
Elio Amadi (he/him) - AKA the Drippy One.
Det. Ripley Adams (he/him) -  Police detective working for The City. Obsessed with bringing down the vigilante known as “The Cryptid”. White man with short brown hair and a small mustache. Wears his sunglasses on top of his head. Eyes that look at everything suspiciously.

ORGANIZATIONS

The City: A city founded near Norfork that has been aggressively expanding for the last 20 years. This faction includes the police force of the City, the City Council, and its various bureaucratic tentacles.

Norfork Town Council: An elected group of representatives that serves Norfork. Currently clinging to their role as bureaucratic arbiters, even as the City’s council attempts to cast them as a vestigial holdover. Colloquially referred to as “city council” (lowercase “c”), much to everyone’s consternation.

Norfork Parent’s Assemblage (N.P.A.): A group of mothers in Norfolk dedicated to improving the community of Norfork. They are often at odds with the City council. They are very powerful, but also often rife with internal conflict.

The Dread Ringers: A vampire “mob”led by the arch-vampire Carmichael. They run a network of clubs throughout the City. They have recently expanded into Norfork thanks to a combination of new construction and a “community watch”, which they use as a guise to carry out various unsavory activities.

Relegated Production Industries (R.P.I.): Officially, a City-backed construction management company. They have just developed the land inside of the Divot into a business park, where they are putting the finishing touches on their new headquarters. Unofficially… maybe something else.

The Star Society: A group of 15-20 amateur astronomers seeking out the clearest skies in Norfork. They are a mix of townies and City folk, but townies always know the best spots and for some reason
The City folk can’t seem to get images that are as clear from where they live…

The Dark Abbey: Fans of the 
influencer and fashion vlogger Glymmer AKA Aina Steen. Treated very seriously. Meetups are usually by invitation only, and they’ve begun to hold raves in the derelict mining tunnels beneath Norfork. Their symbol looks like a little cartoony black castle. 

Norfork Street Artists: A unofficial group of street artists that have been pushed underground after the City’s influence began to spread in Norfork. You can still find their elegant designs under the overpasses and in alleys, but it’s nothing like it once was.

The Midnight Bower: A drag and burlesque group in Norfork. Always in search of their next iconic performance.

Check out “Kingdom” by Ben Robbins!

Follow us!
Twitter: @pestcontrolpod
Cohost: @pestcontrol
Chat with us on Discord: discord.gg/qkDfdjrHuD

Check out the artist who did our cover art! https://www.instagram.com/_alejandroguarin/

Audio editing by Sam Richardson (@laggardson)
Audio Mixing by William White (@kwilliamwhite)
Original music by Jonas Newhouse (@jonasnewhouse) & William White (@kwilliamwhite)

Pest Control is an actual-play tabletop horror RPG podcast produced in association with Queuetimes (@_queuetimes). Our second season uses “Monster of the Week”, a Powered by the Apocalypse system by Michael Sands and Evil Hat Productions. You can pick up a copy here.

Season two, “Norfork”, follows a trio of friends living in the edge-city of Norfork as the community adapts to the open presence of Myriads and the encroachment of The City.