Hopital de la Charite
Overview
Hôpital de la Charité (Charity Hospital) is a medical institution in Lyon nominally dedicated to the care of the poor and sick. In reality, it serves as a cover for Doctor Émile Carreau’s occult research into “resonant anatomy”—the study of how harmonic frequencies affect the human body.
Location & Governance
- Location: Central Lyon (specific district unspecified; likely near Place Bellecour)
- Official Status: Legitimate charitable institution
- Director: Doctor Émile Carreau
- Reputation: Well-regarded; known for innovative surgical techniques
Structure
Public Areas
- Wards: General patient wards; mostly legitimate care
- Operating Theatre: Where surgical procedures are conducted
- Pharmacy: Preparation of medicines and compounds
- Administrative Offices: Records and patient intake
Hidden Areas
- Private Surgery: Separate facility for Carreau’s experiments
- Research Chamber: Where harmonic anatomy is studied
- Sound Chambers: Acoustically isolated rooms for testing frequencies on subjects
- Holding Cells/Cells: Where test subjects are kept
Operations
The hospital:
- Accepts a steady stream of poor patients from Lyon’s streets
- Performs genuine medical care on most
- Conducts secret experiments on selected patients
- Disposes of failed subjects discreetly (as disease deaths, etc.)
- Records false cause of death for victims
Carreau’s Research
Doctor Carreau uses the hospital to:
- Map the “resonance frequencies” of human organs
- Test musical patterns on living subjects
- Develop techniques for harmonic manipulation of flesh
- Condition Victoire Lenoir and potentially other performers
His methods are:
- Vivisection disguised as surgery
- Auditory torture (forcing subjects to hear specific frequencies)
- Blood rituals tied to musical performance
- Death by harmonic resonance
Discovery & Access
The investigators might discover the hospital through:
- Intelligence from Commissaire Delaroche
- Patients escaped from Carreau’s experiments
- Missing person reports from families
- Occult research into Carreau’s activities
Entering the hospital is dangerous:
- Carreau’s loyal staff will defend the operation
- Evidence is hidden or destroyed
- Patients are confused or traumatized
- The hospital’s legitimacy provides plausible deniability
Keeper Notes
- The hospital is a horrifying discovery but not a final confrontation site
- It should be encountered through investigation, not direct assault
- Evidence of Carreau’s crimes should be difficult to find and document
- The hospital represents the Choir’s integration into legitimate institutions
- Don’t make the hospital a typical “evil lair”—it is a real institution with real patients
Campaign Design Notes
Hôpital de la Charité demonstrates that the Choir’s corruption extends far beyond occultism into civic institutions. Carreau uses legitimate medical authority to conduct horrific experiments. This represents a new threat: the blending of the supernatural with the institutional.
Campaign History
Chapter 2 — Lyon
The investigators raided the hospital to rescue Delaroche’s children, held by Savarin as leverage. See Orphans_Hospital_Raid for the full event.
Augustus and Jacob entered from the front; the ladies, Moreau, his veterans, Thomas, and Adrien entered from the rear. In the basement, they found Carreau mid-surgery on a child — inserting steel rods into the boy’s throat. Five children in cages, two already operated on. Two of the three unmodified children were Delaroche’s.
Augustus_Bolt killed — mortal wounds holding off Blue Sash reinforcements, finished by Jacob’s critically failed First Aid. Jacob killed — shot by Marina in a bout of insanity. Dr. Carreau killed — shot by Emma, stabbed by Jacob. Georgiana took a cleaver to the shoulder. Over a hundred children freed from the wards above.
Connections to Other Files
- Doctor_Emile_Carreau — Director and experimenter
- Victoire_Lenoir — Known patient/subject
- Commissaire_Jules_Delaroche — Potentially knows about the hospital
- [Chapter_2_Lyon](…/chapters/Chapter 2 - Lyon/chapter-2-overview.html) — The hospital becomes relevant through investigation
Relationships
- Directed by Doctor Emile Carreau — Carreau serves as director
- Serves Mathilde Savarin — Hospital's resources used for occult experiments