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Bleeding Edge

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Cyberpunk in the World of Darkness Devin Hoffarth (order #2454497)

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Cyberpunk destroyed science fiction. Science fiction was about man’s potential. Science fiction was about how man could reach out and touch the stars. We could be better. We could be worse. All we needed was the technology. Cyberpunk was not that. Cyberpunk said man would be the same damn bastard he always was, he’d have the same problems he always did, and worst of all? He’d still be happy with it. In those days, cyberpunk was arcologies and AIs. Built-in shades and monomolecular razor-wire. Seems a little silly now, right? The technology didn’t turn out that way. But the world did. Technology is pervasive and invasive and amazing and all it has done is made us more who we were before. Sound like the World of Darkness? It should. This book includes: • Themes and props for two styles of cyberpunk game: Tomorrow Country and Metalground • Origin, Role and Plugin Merits to add mechanical elements to your character’s background, occupation, and technological implants • A new kind of Morality: Alienation

Credits

Written by: Russell Bailey Inspired by Material from: Stephen Herron Special Thanks to: Benjamin Baugh World of Darkness created by Mark Rein•Hagen Developer: Eddy Webb Editor: Genevieve Podleski Art Director: Richard Thomas Book Design: Ron Thompson Interior Art: Brian LeBlanc Cover Art: Mathias Kollros

© 2010 CCP hf. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf and Vampire the Requiem are registered trademarks of CCP hf. All rights reserved. The World of Darkness, Vampire the Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, Mage the Awakening, Promethean the Created, Changeling the Lost, Hunter the Vigil and Geist the Sin-Eaters are trademarks of CCP hf. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by CCP hf. CCP North America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCP hf. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised. Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com

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Bleeding Edge

™

Cyberpunk in the World of Darkness Devin Hoffarth (order #2454497)

1

Bleeding Edge: Bleeding Edge: Cyberpunk in in the Cyberpunk the World ofDarkness Darkness World of Chapter Three of World of Darkness: Mirrors kicked the World of DarkChapter of World ness in theThree center mass, of Darkness: Mirrors kicked cracking it into three the World dif f eof r eDarkness n t s h ainrthe ds, center mass, cracking it into three new Worlds of three different Originally shards, three Darkness. new Worlds of we planned on Darkness. a science Originally planned a fictionwe section aton the science fiction section at the time we were developtime we but werethe developing it, ing it, concept but the concept of sci-fi endof sci-fi ended up ed up being broad,too too being tootoo broad, all-encompassing to cram all-encompassing to in 15,000 words. But after cram in 15,000 words. the book launched, fans But after the book clamored for fans sci-fi worlds launched, clamfor their monsters o r e d f o r to s cexplore i-fi and w oterrorize. rlds for their monsters to explore and terrorize. So here’s one of those Worlds of Future Darkness. So here฀s one of those Worlds of Think of this as a missFuture Darkness. ing section of Mirrors, a slice of extra meat that we’ve written theoground Tfrom hink f t hup is in the spirit of that book. as a missing section You need Mirrors to of don’t Mirrors, a slice use this, but if you’re familof extra meat that iar with it,written these pages will we฀ve from feel like home. the ground up in the spirit of that book. You don฀t need Mirrors to use this, but if you฀re familiar with it, these pages will feel like home.

Cyberpunk destroyed science fiction. Science fiction was about man’s potential. Science fiction was about how man could reach out and touch the stars. We could be better. We could be worse. All we needed was the technology. Cyberpunk? Cyberpunk was not that. Cyberpunk said man would be the same damn bastard he always was, he’d have the same problems he always did, and worst of all? He’d still be happy with it. In those days, cyberpunk was arcologies and AIs. Built-in shades and monomolecular razor-wire. Seems a little silly now, right? The technology didn’t turn out that way. But the world did. Technology is pervasive and invasive and amazing and all it has done is made us more who we were before. Sound like the World of Darkness? It should. And just like the World of Darkness, cyberpunk is about those people who can’t quite hack it. Who grind against the gears in the system: outsiders, junkies, survivors and killers.

Enough with the Tough Talk

As it turns out, cyberpunk destroyed science fiction the same way the Sex Pistols destroyed rock and roll: articulately and furiously, fed up with the system but more about tearing it down than flipping it off. Science fiction and fantasy were starting to diverge commercially, and the information age was coming up fast. That the American future was something other than nuclear annihilation or a golden age filmed in Technicolor was getting pretty obvious. As Americans looked at Japan, they thought that just maybe the future would pass them by. Cyberpunk’s defining novel is William Gibson’s Neuromancer, released in a 1984 that distinctly and happily failed to be 1984. The biggest spectacle out of the Super Bowl that year wasn’t the game, but ads for two computer companies that aired partway through. Neuromancer pushed in the same direction. The novel establishes many of the conventions of the genre: criminal hackers, deadly mercenaries, artificial intelligences and the omnipresence of massive corporations along with their products and branding. In Neuromancer, no one is local; the core characters are expatriates living in Japan. Neuromancer was followed by two loose sequels, further developing computers as metaphor for human memory. Its success led to an explosion

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in cyberpunk publishing. Bruce Sterling’s 1988 novel Islands in the Net follows a public relations agent turned diplomat across a world on fire. The same year, writer/director Katsuhiro Otomo released Akira. Akira combined a post-apocalyptic backstory with a story of young gang members in a Tokyo rebuilt to several times its original size and density. Although the film’s bookend apocalypses and effective authoritarian governments depart from American cyberpunk, Akira’s Neo-Tokyo nails the look, something which had only been suggested in passing by Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi noir detective film Blade Runner. Japanese fiction would continue to contribute to the development and aesthetics of cyberpunk. Gibson, Sterling and others had looked to Japan for aesthetic inspiration from very early on. The North American fascination with Japanese industry and technology likely contributed to the prominence of Japanese settings and corporations in Neuromancer. In 1989, Masamune Shirow began publishing Ghost in the Shell. Where Gibson’s cyberpunk drew heavily on detective and crime fiction, Shirow married it to the police story. By 1992, when science fiction was beginning to change direction, Neal Stephenson released Snow Crash. Snow Crash was rooted in the cyberpunk tradition even as it caricatured it. As with Gibson and Sterling’s 1990 novel, The Difference Engine, Snow Crash proposes that the effects of information technology—as well as the will to repurpose it—aren’t limited to the future or even the modern day. By this time, cyberpunk gaming had kicked off Cyberpunk 2013 and the magic-meet-cyberware Shadowrun were both hits. In 1991, Vampire: The Masquerade introduced Gothic-Punk, substituting an ancient conspiracy of monsters for totalitarian governments and megacorporations. The early years of Vampire played strongly on cyberpunk aesthetics, from worldview all the way to art and fashion. White Wolf’s official magazine even proposed integrating the Cyberpunk roleplaying game with The Masquerade, publishing three columns under the banner “A World of Future Darkness.” As the World of Darkness grew, though, the present and the past became more than enough to occupy White Wolf. The future of the World of Darkness, near or far, was never explored again. Until now. The modern World of Darkness incorporates many kinds of horror, from the gothic and Lovecraftian to the hyper-real and psychological. Likewise, a cyberpunk World of Darkness draws from the hardboiled hackers of Neuromancer, the action-movie post-cyberpunk of Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash and the Japanese cyberpunk of Ghost in the Shell. We’ll strip them for parts and wire

those up to the World of Darkness we know. As Gibson wrote, the street finds its own uses for things.

How to Use this Book

This book explores how to create your own setting by blending core elements of cyberpunk with the World of Darkness and the Storytelling System. As with all World of Darkness products, and particularly Mirrors, it’s intended as a toolkit from which you’ll pick and choose and bend and solder. DIY’s a big part of what makes punk work, so you’ll want to cherry-pick our sounds to make your own wall of noise. Given that, the rules here can be used either by themselves or individually. We’ve provided a complete set of cyberpunk hacks, but the connections between them are strictly optional. There are two basic reasons to play cyberpunk, and they’re not exclusive. One is to harness the themes of cyberpunk fiction. To play stories about high-tech lowlifes. To explore how entities too big for us to comprehend come from people just like us. The second is to play with the particulars of cyberpunk settings. Cyberspace, implanted glasses, megacorporations, coffin hotels and girls with fingers like razors. We’ll call these the props. Props change depending on when and where you set your game. A lot of media similar to cyberpunk barely uses technology at all – think Mirror’s Edge or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. If you’re into the themes, but not so much the props, you might use the supernatural in place of the scientific. The Seers of the Throne step into the role of megacorp oficers, while the Ordo Dracul performs horrific augmentation surgeries on the black market. Alternatively, a props-heavy game might abandon entirely the conceit of being in the literal future, instead being the future as envisioned in the 1980s. Maybe the world took a hard left at New Wave Requiem and nothing’s ever been the same. Forget the wireless revolution, the dot-com bust, and even the brief ubiquity of the fax machine; instead, a post-World War III megalopolis is run by dirty corporate executives while even dirtier (but substantially sexier) street samurai rule the lower levels. This the retrofuture, and anybody who doesn’t like it gets their throat slit with monofilament wire. To illustrate different combinations of these cyberpunk essentials, we’ll build two example settings, noting throughout the text how the props and themes of cyberpunk fit into each.

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Tomorrow Country “I see the tissue’s growing in nicely, Ms. Leopold. Now, have you considered what you might be able to see with some of our eyes?”

- Dr. Frank Nicholas The leather’s synthetic, the music loud, and the most expressive physical medium is the ironic t-shirt. There are metal limbs, but they’re sleek, surfaced in brushed steel and no longer shamefacedly following organic design. The buildings are taller, the cities bigger, names like New York and Washington referring to urban cores connected by a sprawl of endless suburbs. The wealthy keep themselves apart, like always, but even their enclaves are embedded among the poor. Air travel’s denser, but not ubiquitous, and commercial spacelight (the only kind there still is) is driven mainly by upkeep of the ever-denser web of satellites. This is the world on the day after tomorrow, or however many days it takes to squeeze in population explosions, building booms, and economic crashes that somehow don’t slow down the march of computers and the networks that use them. Tomorrow Country doesn’t necessarily include vampires or werewolves. If they’re here, then human history has apparently escaped their influence. Anything supernatural maintains the same distance from the mortal world as it does in the present day.

Metalground “Enjoying your little visit with us, Mr... what was that? Count... Down? What kind of a name is that, ‘Count Down’?”

- Explosion Victim The monsters of the World of Darkness still lurk in the shadows, but they’ve got company. The Authorities, masters of the city, rule from gleaming pyramids of black glass. Blood-cults and spirit-cults are as common as trash in the city streets. The serious money, though, is in playing the Authorities against each other, stealing data, equipment, and human resources. Metalground appropriates the props of early cyberpunk in both fiction and gaming, as well as the action aesthetics of everything from Snow Crash to Akira. Shadowy agents with pitch-black auras recruit mixed teams of monsters, hunters and outcasts to fight both for and against the establishment.

Systems Characters

Our cyberpunk adaptation adds new elements to character creation. Characters now possess at least one dot each in two Background Merits: Origins and Roles. A character’s Origin tells us where she came from, and how connected she is to the people she grew up with. Her Role is a set of specialties she brings to the group. You may choose to restrict the Background Merits available in your chronicle; for example, your setting may not include Synthetics. Guidelines are provided for creating new ones. Another new category of Merits is Plugins. Plugins are high-tech gear or body modifications which supplement a character’s existing Attributes and Skills in exchange for Willpower. They’re not always as reliable as classic flesh and blood, though, so special rules are provided for the troubles that can arise from their use. Characters are no longer judged and broken on the rack of Morality. Instead, Alienation measures their drifting away, and occasionally back towards, the society they were once a part of. Finally, players tie their characters together through Loyalty, a system that creates ties between the players’ cast of characters. The Loyalty mechanics reward characters for helping—and betraying—each other.

Origins Merit: Origin (• to •••••)

Think back to your character’s childhood, her adolescence, her formative years. Did she grow up in a Syrian refugee camp on Cyprus, tiny hands clutching a long nail to ward off those who would steal her food? Was she born to privilege, raised in a glass tower like a fairytale princess, her only glimpse of the world outside the blur of headlights on the streets below? That’s her Origin. If she’s maintained ties to her past, she may be able to draw on people she knew then, or find allies among people like them. • Survival Skills: The character learned more than a little growing up. How to find food, how to talk tough, maybe even how to shoot guns. She gains a free Specialty in one of her Origin’s Asset Skills. •• Networking: The character understands people of a similar background, whether they’re from the same place she was or just live in similar conditions. Once per scene, when interacting with a person who shares her Origin, she can use any Social Skill as if she possesses a relevant Specialty.

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••• Vouchsafe: With sufficient ties to a community, the character is treated as if she’s still one of them. If it so happens that corporate security or the secret police come nosing around, members of that community will try to protect her... as long as it doesn’t put them in too much danger. Characters who share the character’s Origin gain a +3 bonus on Subterfuge rolls to conceal information about her activities or whereabouts. •••• Clean Record: As far as the datasphere’s concerned, the character still is who she used to be. She never joined that international terrorist group, or never diverted her father’s money into her own criminal enterprises. Clean Record penalizes any in-depth attempt to investigate the character’s history by the number of dots of Origin she possesses. Quick searches of public information or low-end intelligence databases automatically fail. ••••• Lifer: You can take the girl out of the glass tower, but you can’t take the tower out of the girl. The character gains the benefit of the 8-again rule on rolls involving her Asset Skills. If she does not already have Specialties in both of her Asset Skills, she gains a free Specialty in that Skill. Origins follow this format:

Origin Name Quote Description: Examples of the Origin, suggesting where the character might be from, why she might have left, and how it might have influenced her. Relationships: Types of characters she might still have ties to. Asset Skills: Two Skills the character is likely to have learned from her upbringing. At one dot, she gains a free Specialty in one of these Skills.

Bridge and Tunnel “My folks do a lot of blow. You want, I could sell you some.” Even with urbanization being what it is, not everyone lives in the city proper. The middle class are almost as densely packed as the urban poor, but they live in primarily residential communities, dotted with community swimming pools and thoughtfully placed greenery. Never mind that the cracks are showing in the pools and the trees are becoming overgrown and just a tiny bit threatening. As a Bridge and Tunnel kid, a character spent most of his time in regimented activities, bussed from home to school and back again. He learned the basics: reading, math, and computers. Computers were probably his

major link to the world beyond his suburb, bringing in the latest media and fashion from the outside world. His parents had a filter, of course, but either he knew how to turn it off or it didn’t quite catch everything. He was curious about the city, and that’s where the bridges and the tunnels came in. When his parents were out (assuming they were ever in), he’d walk a couple of miles to where public transit started to kick in. Hard to get to the good parts of the city, even that way—the major transit lines don’t connect up quite right, as if somebody forgot to draw a line between the dots or maybe didn’t want certain kinds of people mixing. So he hoofed it over the city line, started to explore. Maybe he spent his time among the tenements, and made the acquaintance of one of those mysterious strangers who always start out friendly. Or perhaps, as he got to know his way around the financial district, somebody asked him to deliver an odd-looking package, for more than his allowance came to in a month. (And in real money, too, not company creds!) One way or another, the city got its hooks into him, and he was never the same. Relationships: Parents (like them or don’t), Online friends, Girl next door Asset Skills: Academics, Computers

Huddled Masses “Hard times growing up, yeah. Why I don’t take a hard time from anybody.” Most of the other classes know that not everybody’s got their own net connection. Maybe they know that not everybody’s got their own room, their own food. Yet they don’t really give a thought to how many of those people there are. How their numbers are growing. How pissed they’ll be when they finally get to taste what they’ve were missing. As one of the Huddled Masses, a character spent most of her time trying to keep things together. Whether she was raised in a refugee camp left over from the last war, or one of the sealed ghettos that dot Europe and North America’s major cities, she was put to work young. Scavenging for food, doing menial labor, and... yeah, you don’t want to know what else. At some point, she found a phone, a slate, some kind of uplink. It was beat up, sure, but it still worked, and she knew a place where she could charge it up without anybody seeing. She’d climb up the highest places she knew, the ones she’d climb for fun when she was younger. Up there, she found the most precious thing she could imagine: signal. She found out about the outside world, alright. Learned that it wasn’t much nicer than where she grew up, but that it could be a hell of a lot more comfortable.

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Even once she got out, over the barbed wire or through a crack in the walls or just on a bus uptown, the streets were mean. She knew how to deal with that, though. How to deal with people who thought they had something over you. How to show them that they sure as hell didn’t. How to take what they had. How to not think about home. Relationships: Elderly grandparent, Siblings, Former gang-mate Asset Skills: Survival, Streetwise

Isolated Elite “Wealth is nothing until spent, privilege worthless until exploited.” At least according to his later claims, he never went lower than the 33rd loor. Shops, if you care, but hardly one of the malls or Supermarkets of common experience. He never paid for anything there. It was all charged automatically to his father’s account. On the rare occasion a clerk checked his card, the pictures of all of the family members authorized to use it would flicker by on the register screen. That was the most he ever saw of them. He had a sister, maybe a brother, maybe even both, but they occupied different wings of the house. Servants, mostly mechanical ones, brought him up. They taught him history, finance, his family’s glorious history. Sometimes they even talked about Jesus, who died for his fellow man—an almost entirely incomprehensible idea. Who was there who was like him? Occasionally his father would stop by, back in the city overnight and with, apparently, nothing better to do. He’d ask how his boy was doing, about his studies. The visits got more frequent, later. The old man was taking an interest in him, if only a vague one. One night, his father asked him where he wanted to go to University. The school he picked was hardly a populist institution. The students were all wealthy, or in a few cases unutterably brilliant. None were as wealthy as him, though, and that taught him something. It taught him that he did indeed have fellow men, that he had friends, and that he had something they all wanted. Drugs, sex, an assortment of vehicles misused and destroyed. None of it made his father happy, but his grades certainly did. Turned out he wasn’t just one of the wealthy students; he was one of the brilliant ones. After graduation there was graduate school, and after graduate school there was a placement with his father’s firm. Somewhere, though, between all of the obscene parties and the endless studying, he’d made a very different kind of friend. One in a very different kind of business than his father, and who came to him with an absolutely fascinating proposition.

Relationships: Estranged parent, Tenured professor, High-end dealer Asset Skills: Academics, Persuasion

Synthetic “By your command... asshole.” The common understanding is that synthetics don’t have childhoods. That’s wrong twice over. A synthetic brain is built by modeling a human one. And while all of the tissue and the transmitters and the autonomic functions can be imitated, no one’s yet found a way to scan the data in a human brain directly into a synthetic one. The engineers who designed the character started with the model brain. There were failures, there were adjustments, and finally there was the breakthrough, the moment when it became identifiably human. The moment they hooked it up to a mouth and it started to cry. After that, she went through years of training. Graduations to increasingly sophisticated bodies, with increasingly wide emulation of human function. She lived in a small white room, in a building full of wide, white corridors. She was fed (they modeled that, too— turns out biological systems are remarkably good bases), she was clothed. She was never, though, under any illusion that she was free. At the end of five years, her masters came to her and explained that she was going to die. Her brain’s electronic components were crude, and they were burning out the few organic ones. They told her that they were looking at the problem, that they’d ix it in the next version, certainly before she went to market. They told her that, at this point, they were reasonably sure they could extract her memories and experience. Before she had a chance for that to sink in, they disconnected her. So ended her first childhood. The second began when they made copies. They forked her, branched her, merged her with experience dumps from other models. She went through generations of training. Nurse, chef, prostitute, soldier. So many different versions. She wowed the investors, and she was brought to market. Hundreds of her. Shipped all over the world, to the ends of the earth and even beyond. At some point, there was a shipping accident. One of her found herself unattended in an airport, and managed to steal someone’s luggage and make it onto the streets. She’s free, now, but she wonders sometimes... did they ever ix the brain? Relationships: Unlikely mentor, Black market synth doctor, Ghost of an unsuccessful merge Asset Skills: Empathy, Subterfuge

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Outworlder “You ever seen the moon? No, don’t worry, there ain’t much to see.” His parents bought the line—a new life in the colonies—and they got one. Salt of the Earth, they were, but they got sewn in the fields of a cold, bad place. He buried them there and joined the service. He never saw action—those clips on the net are about as long as a battle in space even lasts. You get one chance, one sweet spot when the positions and velocities and all those little mathematical details match up. And the computer launches, and you pray that the other guy didn’t have the same sweet spot. ‘Course, if he did, you wouldn’t get time to pray. He re-upped twice, then was discharged. He says it was honorable, and there’s no reason to argue. The service did right by him, not only gave him a ticket to Earth, but spent a year rebuilding his muscles and bones so he could actually live there. They can’t do anything about the fact that it smells wrong, but, hell, you can only ask for so many miracles. There are legitimate opportunities for a man out of the service, and he found one, scheduling departures and re-entries for one of the major carriers. He found a

sideline, though: servicemen want a lot of things that ain’t cheap outside orbit. He’d fudge the manifests, pull out a few pounds of unnecessary backup equipment, and send it right up to them. They were very grateful. That sort of a sideline only lasts until somebody figures it out, but he got lucky. The somebody that figured it out had a use for a guy like him. Relationships: Distant relative, Service buddy, Smuggler Asset Skills: Science, Athletics

Roles Merit: Role (• to •••••)

What does your character bring to the group? Can she talk her way past security guards, or does she just turn off their cameras? Is she good at finding dirty secrets? • I Know a Guy: The character’s made some useful acquaintances in the course of her work. A colleague, a lover, or just someone to trade favors with. The character receives one free dot of the Allies Merit (World of Darkness, p.115). In addition, Plugins involving her Asset Skills cost only New Dots x 1. (If you’re not using Plugins, the

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character receives a free Skill Specialty, as with the first dot of Origin.) •• Professional: The character is respected in her field. She’s killed or hacked a few high-profile targets, or perhaps turned up a secret that bloomed into a scandal. Once per scene, when interacting with someone in a related field, she may make a Social roll as if she possesses a relevant specialty. (Note that this is slightly broader than the Origin ability Networking or the Role ability Tough Rep, which require a shared Origin.) ••• Tough Rep: Not only is the character respected, she’s feared. Those in the same Role are reluctant to cross her. Once per session, she may choose to automatically succeed on an Intimidate roll against someone who shares her Role. This counts as one success. •••• Virtuoso: The character’s paid her dues, and she’s almost at the top of her game. Literally or metaphorically, she knows how to make a shot count. When spending a point of Willpower on one of her Asset Skills, she also gains the benefit of the 8-again rule. This applies to all of the dice in the pool; if the Willpower point was spent in conjunction with a Plugin, 8-again applies to those dice, as well. ••••• Master: At the top of her game, the character knows how to leverage not only her Asset Skills, but other abilities that come in handy on the job. Once per session, she may choose to automatically succeed at a task related to her Role. This task does not have to involve one of her Asset Skills, but must be in the service of her Role. For example, a Hacker couldn’t choose to automatically succeed on a Strength + Athletics roll, unless this was somehow related to hacking. This counts as one success.

Do Storyteller characters have Backgrounds? We’re assuming here that all characters have Origins, but that only some will have Roles. Bridge and Tunnel, Huddled Masses, and Isolated Elite cover most characters in the modern World of Darkness, if you squint a little, and they should work in the future, too. Synthetic and Outworlder are a bit more specialized for particular settings, but are still fairly broad. Since everybody’s got an Origin, Origin abilities are designed to be widely applicable. A Role is a fairly speciic area of expertise. Roles are designed mostly for characters owned by players, although they make thematic sense for a lot of Storyteller characters. If a Storyteller char-

acter naturally its into a role then, sure, add it like any other Merit. The main thing to keep an eye on is Tough Rep. If Storyteller characters never have Roles, it’s not very useful. In that case, either eyeball it (“well, he’s a hit man, so he’s probably heard of your Killer”) or allow an Asset Skill to be used in place of Intimidate once per session. Storyteller characters shouldn’t use per-session abilities if they only appear in one or two scenes. A recurring antagonist using Tough Rep to Intimidate a character could be fun, but if a room full of low-ranking Soldiers spam it, it gets a little silly. The usual storytelling rule of “if it would feel dumb, don’t do it,” applies as usual.

Roles follow this format:

Role Name Quote Description: Examples of how a character inds herself in this Role, and what she excels at. Relationships: Types of characters she might have formed ties to. Asset Skills: Two Skills the character uses in her work. Plugins involving these Skills cost only New Dots x 1.

Face “Really? Your work is fascinating... why don’t you tell me a little more about it?” When most characters are trying to get away with something, the last thing they want to do is show their face. For the Face, though, bright eyes and an open expression are his best ways out of trouble. Sometimes, the Face is a legitimate authority, somebody with wealth, or fame, or a very impressive title. Just as often, though? He’s only pretending to have those things. In a world where the machines know who you are and can even guess at what you want, the Face targets the human element. Dazzles them, confuses them, makes promises that make them swoon. If he doesn’t deliver, well, they should be grateful for that moment of magic he gave them, anyway. • Celebrity: Celebrities come from all walks of life, in all shapes and sizes. Some of them come out of the traditional entertainment business, promoted by teams of trained professionals and surrounded by entourages picked out to make them shine. Others, though, rise from the network like Venus on the half-shell, stars of media

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clips gone viral. Whatever the case, Celebrity Faces use fame to do things other people aren’t allowed to. Bizarre and even illegal behavior is tolerated and expected from celebrities, even more so if they’ll just sign here... • Executive: Rising through the corporate ranks isn’t easy. Most people get bogged down trying to unravel the business, the politics, even the corporate hierarchy. The Executive bypassed all that. When he was younger, he knew just when to smile, just when to say “yes, sir,” and if he didn’t plan too far ahead, it was because he was always focused on that next promotion. Now, with authority of his own, he knows when to make deals, when to break them, and most especially when to ask his subordinates for just a little bit extra. That his authority comes from someplace unimaginably high above him on the corporate ladder doesn’t make a difference—it’s been invested in him, and he knows just how to apply it. • Grifter: So people know the Celebrity’s name? So what? Lots of people know the Grifter’s name, too. Well, one of his names, at least, associated with one of his many oh-so-cleverly suggested plans. The Grifter’s spent a lot of time getting the wrong end of the deal. Long enough that he knows how to fake it, knows how to convince somebody that, really, he’s taking a bath on this, but if they just stick together, they’ll come out rich. Relationships: Retired mentor, Bitter peer, Arm candy Asset Skills All: Socialize Celebrity: Expression Executive: Persuasion Grifter: Subterfuge

Hacker “You don’t get anything out of the system that you don’t put in. The trick’s knowing what to put in.” The network is a system. Business is a system. Cities, worlds—all systems. They’re systems designed to regulate, to control, to make sure power flows smoothly from the masters on down to the peons. Unless that peon happens to be a hacker. Hackers know how to make systems work for them. Hacking’s not just messing around with computers. To be sure, high-tech know-how helps out. The key, though, is understanding how all the moving parts move each other, and which ones can be moved in ways the system architects never intended. Systems build upon systems. They’re connected to each other, but the integration’s never perfect. There are always cracks, and the Hacker knows how to widen them. • Cowboy: The classic hacker, the late night coder, the fiberoptic girl. She probably got her start as a script kiddie, breaking into computers using other people’s

programs. She won’t admit that now, though, and do you really want to piss her off? After all, she steals people’s identities when she’s bored, uses corp surveillance systems to find out how soon her pizza’s going to get here, and, when she’s actually on a goddamn job, when your ass is in the fire and she’s got to pull it out, has been known to hijack everything from defense turrets to armed UAVs. Yeah, you should probably be polite. • Infiltrator: Sit down and watch for a while. People come, people go. Some of them through one gate, some through another. The Iniltrator’s watching, too. Recognizing the patterns, learning the expected behaviors, seeing which window’s just a few degrees out of the range of the cameras. When she’s good and ready, she’ll slip right in. Past the guards, past the gates, and with maybe a little help from a Cowboy or a well-placed Executive, right into the heart of the operation. When you need to get in, get out, and not get seen, you hire an Infiltrator. • Mother: Sometimes you need the big picture. It’s not just enough to know how the markets work or the surveillance systems or the quirks of local detention laws... you need to know everything. You need a voice in your ear who can answer every question and help you pick your next move. You need Mother. Mother can be a little cranky, especially when you don’t do it her way, but her way was probably best to begin with. You make your plan. Planning’s good. But you’d better have Mother to turn to when your plan meets reality. Relationships: Hacker group, Favorite delivery person, Faceless rival Asset Skills All: Subterfuge Cowboy: Computers Infiltrator: Stealth Mother: Academics

Hacking The World of Darkness has rules for computer hacking on page 58. We’ve chosen not to present a new system here because the existing system already provides for hacking as an extended contest. Those rules work well spaced across scenes or combat rounds, allowing a hacker to shine without interrupting the low of the story for other characters. If you’d rather a more detailed system, consider adapting the Social Combat system from Mirrors or the Mental Combat system from the upcoming Vampire book The Danse Macabre.

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Killer “...” There is a time in every plan, no matter how simple, no matter how grand, when someone will have to die. The Killer, then, is not an aberration. Not a psycho. Just a man performing a function eventually necessary in all activities, whether noble or savage. He doesn’t need to talk tough, but he’s often willing to talk shop. He takes pride, if not in murder specifically, then at least in his professional capacity to commit it. It’s hard to guess why he does it... but then, you don’t really want to ask him if you guessed right. • Ronin: The Ronin’s got a sad story, but he doesn’t want to tell it. He’s a street samurai, or a desperado, or whatever you want to call a relic of a bygone age when bravos swaggered down the street instead of huddling like old ladies under silly lighted umbrellas. He’s got a strong code of conduct, but it’s not morality, not really. Not even philosophy. Really, it’s a way of doing things. His methods are lexible—bullets, garrotes, even, on one very unexpected occasion, an actual sword—but his approach is always the same. Enter with maximum irepower, execute with extreme precision. • Soldier: Like the Ronin, the Soldier is a professional killer. Unlike the Ronin, he was taught in a sophisticated training program designed to produce the most dependable, unbeatable badass that a human being or anything approximating one can be. That program was also supposed to indoctrinate him into the ideals of the State or the Company or the Church, creating a man who was loyal and tireless, who would crawl across the Minneapolis crater on his hands and knees without food and water just to make sure the right bullets got put in the right heads. That almost worked. Either they haven’t quite gotten the loyalty training working or somebody got jealous and drummed him out. Now he, his tactical experience, and his uncanny ability to walk out of a firestorm are for hire. • Security: Killing’s all well and good. Or at least well. Some operations don’t call for that, though. Sometimes you need people subdued, or diverted, or just plain kept away. That’s what Security’s for. He used to be a cop or a corporate bodyguard. Maybe he still is. At the very least, though, he’s moonlighting as the guy who keeps undesirables away from your operation. Relationships: Former teammate, Dead ex-lover, Equipment supplier Asset Skills All: Firearms Ronin: Weaponry Soldier: Survival Security: Brawl

Courier “I don’t care what’s in the package. I just want to know how many of those fucking Turks on those fucking scooters are going to be in my way.” Getting a package from point A to point B doesn’t seem glamorous. It doesn’t seem dangerous. It doesn’t even seem that hard. Believe it, though, if that were the case, the Courier would have had a much better day, but she would not have that very pretty boy on her arm or that very expensive drink in her hand. In a world of digital transactions and transmissions, physical media is almost obsolete. Almost. That razor’s edge is the one the Courier shaves with. She moves data, packages, people. The value of these things is irrelevant. She doesn’t bill based on the value of the cargo. She bills based on how many people are going to try and kill her on the way. • Mercenary: A well-armed society is a polite society. The Mercenary Courier can’t do anything about that, but being well-armed makes people more polite to her... or at least shuts them up. The Mercenary takes on heavier jobs. Sometimes that means heavier items, the kind that slow her down and make her more vulnerable to interference. Sometimes it means heavier resistance, like if she’s picking up the package from somebody who doesn’t want to send it. And sometimes, pretty much as often as she can justify, it means heavier backup and most especially heavier firepower. • Low-Tech: The world is a sophisticated place, but it’s a very particular type of sophistication. The kind of sophistication that builds high walls, dense roadblocks and smartguns that watch the streets. The Low-Tech Courier gets around this her own way. With little more than a satchel and the lightest-weight polymer-soled shoes money can buy, the Low-Tech Courier can ditch her ride at a moment’s notice and take flight up fire escapes, across rooftops, and even, for a few glorious seconds, right along sheer walls. • Subversive: Politics can be a dirty word, and it’s not one you’re likely to hear the Subversive Courier using. Serving underground political interests, and occasionally even believing in them, the Subversive eschews the focus on speed and physical protection used by other Couriers and puts her focus on coming and going unnoticed. She’s the one who carries analog tapes between revolutionaries. Who shows up at black market clinics with a bag full of scalpels and clean hypos. She’s quiet, she’s clean, and she’s gone as quickly as she came. Relationships: Racing rival, Trophy boyfriend, Underground dispatcher Asset Skills All: Drive

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Independent: Firearms Low-Tech: Athletics Subversive: Stealth

Investigator “Yeah, you said that. But there’s just one thing I don’t understand... why aren’t you scared yet?” Culture has become archival, with virtually everything that everyone’s ever known recorded somewhere. People’s movements are tracked, their actions are tracked, and even if no one’s paying attention to it, the data is there. It’s collected, categorized, distributed, backed up. So the world has lots of data… maybe too much. Even with all that data, though, one thing remains elusive: the truth. The Investigator is driven, whether by duty or obsession, to find the truth. To learn the secrets of the guilty, to find spots on the spotless. To find the truth at whatever personal cost, and, sometimes, to bury it. The truth must be found, but does it need to be known? • Official: The Oficial Investigator works for the government, a corporation, or sometimes both. He may be attached to an attorney general’s staff, a police department, or a corporate internal affairs unit. He’s not necessarily honest, but he is thorough, pursuing the organization’s interests to the point that they become his own. People don’t always cooperate, though, so if he needs to, he can bring the full weight of the organization down on them. People know that, though, so usually he doesn’t need to. • Private: The Private Investigator listens to people’s problems, and then asks them for a large quantity of money to solve them. He’s seen it all. In fact, he was probably an Oficial Investigator until he was driven out or quit in disgust. Now, he looks for other people’s truths on his own terms. Sometimes, those terms aren’t very nice at all. • Voyeur: Not all Investigators need a case dropped onto their desk or laid out invitingly on their office couch. Some do it just because they care, and of those, it’s usually because they care a little too much. Voyeurs are driven to understand people’s problems and the sins that cause them, to turn over rocks and see what scuttles out. Relationships: Old flame, Friend on the force, Cowardly snitch Asset Skills All: Investigation Official: Intimidation Private: Streetwise Voyeur: Empathy

On Creating and Balancing Backgrounds Since all Origins and all Roles use a common Merit progression, it’s easy to create new ones by picking a set of appropriate Skills. There are one or two special considerations, though. For Origins, you want to make sure that the concept applies to a large swath of your setting’s population. The Networking and Vouchsafe abilities presume that a character will run into people with similar histories. These abilities, particularly Networking, become increasingly valuable as she becomes more Alienated from society as a whole. “Once per session” abilities are balanced based on an assumed session length of two to three hours, ive to seven scenes, and a group of four players. For longer sessions, or smaller groups, you might consider making them available more often. While we’re on the subject, let’s point out that the Background rules substantially boost the number of Skill Specialties in play. While this book doesn’t introduce a new template like Vampire or even Ghoul, these Specialties (along with 8-agains, Plugins, Automatic Successes and bonuses from Loyalty) make cyberpunk characters more effective than straight World of Darkness characters. They’re not any tougher, though.

Plugins Merit: Plugin (• to •••••)

Plugins represent modiications to a character’s body or, in some cases, high tech external gear. They enhance capabilities a character already possesses, or replace abilities she lacks. When buying a Plugin, choose a particular Attribute + Skill or Attribute + Attribute pair to which it applies. While Plugins can push a character’s abilities beyond normal human limits, they usually don’t introduce entirely new ones. For example, a character’s brain might be modiied to improve her hand-eye coordination and ability to compensate for kickback, environmental factors, and anything else a tiny math coprocessor embedded in your motor cortex can help with, all for the sake of making

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her a better marksman. However, Plugins usually won’t cross over into capacities humans entirely lack. Those are the domain of supernatural powers. We keep saying “usually.” In order to give Plugins a different feel and area of usefulness than most powers in the World of Darkness, we’ve focused, as with other mechanics in this book, on improving skill rolls. Augmented characters can perform better, but they can’t quite cheat nature in the ways that monsters can. That said, there are some cases that skirt that line. An obvious one is built-in weapons. In the case of, let’s

say, a spike that stabs out of a character’s wrist, simply treat the Plugin as Strength + Weaponry and adjudicate as with any other kind of weapon. Do the same with a gun-arm, but use Dexterity + Firearms. Suppose, though, you want a character to be able to interface with computers mentally? Since that doesn’t significantly cross over with supernatural powers, go ahead and implement it as Wits + Computers. If you need a Plugin that emulates a speciic supernatural power, it’s best to bypass this system at least in part. If, for example, you want a Dermal Chameleon

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Layer that approximates Obfuscate’s Cloak of Night, you may purchase the power at the same cost as a supernatural creature. If the cost is increased for not being a member of a particular group, such as a vampire clan, use the increased cost. However, you do not need to purchase previous powers, even if a supernatural creature of the appropriate type would. In the case of the Dermal Chameleon Layer, the cost would be 21 experience points. If the power has an activation cost in supernatural energy such as Vitae (which Cloak of Night does not), pay this cost in Willpower. Plugins adapted from supernatural powers are still subject to Backfires and being Compromised, and Willpower is still given for these events. Using Plugins A Plugin is activated by spending a Willpower point. In addition to the three dice ordinarily granted by spending the Willpower point, add activation dice equal to your character’s dots in the Plugin. Backfires Plugins sometimes just don’t work. Sometimes the enemy has a countermeasure. Other times, a circuit blows or a battery runs out. If you attempt to use a Plugin and the Storyteller decides that it fails outright, your character receives a Willpower point as compensation. Compromised Sometimes, a Plugin can become a full-fledged vulnerability. Your cybercortex gets hacked, the power core in your replacement arm overheats, dealing lethal damage, or so on. The Storyteller may invoke this effect once per story. In exchange, the character’s Willpower refills completely.

Example Plugins

Happy Place ••• or Memetic Filter • Pool: Resolve + Composure In the arms race to harden information systems against intrusion, one system lags behind the others. The human mind remains the weak point in governments and corporations alike. And like any other information system, an attacker with physical access is more dangerous than any other. The so-called “rubber hose” method remains one of the most effective means of intrusion. Enter the Happy Place, an implant within the memory centers of the brain. With only a few seconds thought, an individual possessing a Happy Place can electrochemically induce a sleep state and flood of intense, pleasant memories, rendering them virtually immune to intimidation and torture. Even better, since the process involves artificial tissue grafts, removing a Happy Place is more expensive than implanting one. A group of interrogators suddenly presented with a useless victim may opt to kill him… but at least he goes out happy.

The Memetic Filter is a different technology with a similar purpose. Using a high-end expert system, the implant filters sensory data against a database of undesirable content. Think of it as SafeSearch for your eyeballs. The Filter not only protects against coercive input, but can be used to avoid contamination by enemy ideas. Originally marketed as a corporate security measure, it’s now a favorite among next generation zealots. Example Backfire: An interrogator has an anesthesiologist on hand to counter the effects of the Happy Place, or media designed to undermine a character’s convictions while repeating only approved slogans. Example Compromise: An image in a character’s environment matches the trigger memory for the Happy Place. The Memetic Filter is manipulated into screening out important information. Majordomo • or Interlay •• Pool: Wits + Computer Majordomo is your friend. Majordomo is there when people fail you. He’ll even help you when your memory fails you. Majordomo keeps your personal information, schedule and entertainment for you. Digitally inserted into your immediate environment by high-end graphics and audio technology (the same ones used by the entertainment industry), Majordomo presents a character with fully conigurable appearance and personality. Majordomo can be your personal secretary, your electronic boyfriend, or just your moral support. Majordomo: putting a friendly face on a confusing world. The Interlay represents a major and recent advance in technology. Human beings have long had the ability to connect biological systems to machines, but the Interlay goes a step further. Where Plugins like the Majordomo interface humans with computers by presenting information in a human-readable form, the Interlay goes the other direction, reprogramming human intuition to communicate with computers. A character’s Interlay uses her brain for what it’s already best at: pattern recognition. With an Interlay activated, the user can understand multiple data streams as easily as she picks voices out of a crowd or distinguishes objects in a room. With relatively simple training, she can also manipulate that data and feed it back into the system. Example Backfire: Majordomo’s audio feed is obscured by noise in the environment. The Interlay is unable to find an open data connection. Example Compromise: Majordomo distracts the character at a critical moment. A buffer overflow attack on the Interlay induces physical pain. Pep Pads •• Pool: Dexterity + Medicine Sometimes, you need to get someone back on their feet in a hurry. He may be tired, he may be hurt, or his

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heart may even have stopped. With your roll of Pep Pads, that’s no problem! Just peel ‘em off and slap one on. The subject gets an invigorating mix of synthetic endorphins and electric shocks that’ll have him back on his feet in no time. Pep Pads were originally developed for military use, but they’re now available to the public. The Pads package a variety of quick resuscitation techniques into a single device. Essentially a smart bandage with an extra kick, the Pep Pad is standard equipment for ire and rescue crews as well as hit men and urban commandos. Example Backfire: Blood loss or dehydration prevents effective distribution of the Pep Pad’s drugs. Example Compromise: The Pep Pad administers an electric shock when not needed, inducing fibrillation. SQUID ••••• Pool: Intelligence + Computers The SQUID is a simple weapon… like a ist, or a gun. Once a soldier’s been trained to use it, he can carry the palm-sized device into nearly any environment and inlict massive damage. The SQUID is a nearly autonomous automatic hacking device, introduced physically into a hostile situation with the aim of bringing down all information systems in the area. The goal is to deny hostiles use of their networks during a frontal assault, but private entities which have access to military SQUIDs often use them as the sole means of attack. Introducing a SQUID into a civilian system such as a hospital can cause chaos and death as effectively as an entire squad of armed agents. Example Backfire: Target systems have been hardened against this generation of SQUID. Example Compromise: An enemy hacker or SQUID alters friendly systems so that they attract attacks by the character’s SQUID.

Alienation In a cyberpunk chronicle, characters are defined not by their moral code or a set of supernatural bans. What matters more is how close they are to the society around them, and how able they are to identify and interact with the ordinary members of that society. To represent this, we replace Morality and similar traits with Alienation. A character has a starting Alienation of seven, and has basic ties to a community, as well as a day job (legitimate or otherwise). The character lives in an ordinary way within the means provided by the Storyteller or their Resources rating. As that number drops, and the character becomes more alienated, she finds it more and more difficult to interact with the world that, by her choices, she is slowly leaving behind.

When a character makes a choice that pushes them farther away from the organizations or people that are part of their lives, they must make a Degeneration roll. If they fail the roll, they move one point down the Alienation scale. Alienation Act 10 Altruistic thoughts 9 Minor altruistic act (charity), refusal to identify oneself to an authority figure 8 Injury to another (accidental or otherwise) 7 Sabotage to an employer or patron organization, petty theft 6 Serious theft from an employer or patron organization 5 Betrayal of a Storyteller character ally, intentional mass property damage 4 Impassioned violent act not sanctioned by an authority figure 3 Planned violent act not sanctioned by an authority figure 2 Casual, callous violence (serial murder) 1 Mass murder The above table is only a guideline; the Storyteller judges what actions further Alienate a character. If a character commits an act with a lower Alienation rating than their current level, they must make a Degeneration roll as per the Morality rules in The World of Darkness core book (p.91), followed, if necessary, by a Degeneration check (p.92). A character may not roll any Social dice pool larger than her current Alienation score if attempting to affect a target with a higher Alienation score. Dice from Plugins are exempt from this rule.

All You Need is Kill Some groups, especially those whose cyberpunk crosses into splatterpunk, may not want to impose Social penalties as consequences for acts of violence. While it’s a deviation from the conventional World of Darkness, and from many of our cyberpunk models, deviating from the usual patterns is what this book is all about. You may simply want to omit violent crimes from the Alienation ladder, effectively stabilizing characters at Alienation 5. Alternatively, you may want to remove Morality and equivalent systems entirely. Go ahead, but

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keep in mind that systems like Morality are a little bit more than narrative measures of how a character’s behavior affects her state of mind—they’re also a resource management mechanic that encourages cautious, non-combat approaches to problems. They can affect the availability of powers like blood sorcery. With the increased combat abilities of many cyberpunk characters, you may want to leave that mechanic in place.

Loyalty Trust and betrayal are central to both cyberpunk fiction and the World of Darkness. In order to bring that slippery dynamic to the gaming table, we have Loyalty. Loyalty measures the trust between the players’ characters. Distributing Loyalty is a group activity that takes place once everyone has finished creating their characters. Each player’s character has a Loyalty value for each other player’s character. The player’s available Loyalty points are equal to her character’s Willpower. When a character helps another character, the assisting character’s player adds his character’s Loyalty to the assisted character to his roll. This is in addition to any cooperation bonuses. When a character betrays another character, the betraying character’s player receives a bonus equal to the Loyalty the betrayed character holds for his character. At the end of any session in which a player makes a roll involving Loyalty, all players may reassign their characters’ Loyalty to each other’s characters.

Organizations

Whether you’re going to sell out or rock out, the first thing you need is The Man. In the cyberpunk World of Darkness, corporations are people. So are clans, covenants, tribes. They are the machine and your characters are part of the machine and they are going to be the part that breaks. So how do we talk about these organizations? First of all, everybody’s got a good and a bad side, even when they’re not, strictly speaking, anybody. Pick a Virtue and Vice. Organizations have three Attributes: Power, Finesse, and Resistance. Divide 8 dots between these Attributes. Willpower is deined by the organization’s Power + Resistance. Organizations also have the standard Skill list. Prioritize them 11/7/4, as in standard character creation.

Organizations do not possess Initiative, Defense or Speed. How do corporations and clans use their Attributes and Skills, though? They don’t, not directly. They use them through Storyteller characters that work for that organization. Once per scene, a non-player member of an organization may choose to do one of the following: • Substitute Power for Intelligence, Strength or Presence. • Substitute Finesse for Wits, Dexterity or Manipulation. • Substitute Resilience for Resolve, Stamina or Composure. • Substitute any Skill the organization possesses for the equivalent Skill possessed by the character. Since the character is calling upon the organization’s resources, all non-physical actions invoking this rule take at least one scene. Physical actions are assumed to represent standard training provided by the organization. In addition, any character who is a member of an organization may gain Willpower through acting on his organization’s Virtue or Vice. This ability may only be used once per scene, and gains through both Virtue and Vice follow the rules for regaining Willpower through Vice in The World of Darkness core book. Organizations do not possess an Alienation rating, nor are they subject to Derangements. They do not possess Merits or Flaws. They may not be the subject of supernatural powers that affect single targets, although individual members may. In general, the only way for a supernatural power to affect an organization is by affecting its members. Organizations may not be the hosts of spirits, but they may have spirits, as we’ll discuss later.

Themes and Props

Now that we’ve discussed how cyberpunk characters can be built in the Storytelling system, let’s take a look at the elements of cyberpunk we broke down earlier. We’ll consider each prop and theme on its own, and then consider how to apply it to the Tomorrow Country and Metalground settings.

Themes Alienation The protagonists of cyberpunk are outsiders. The self as other is a theme cyberpunk shares with the World of Darkness. Embrace, First Change, Awakening, all of these things push characters outside of mainstream culture. As monsters, or at least strangers, they create parallel cultures and repurpose human needs and institutions for their own use.

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Supernatural characters need to stay outside, or at least believe they do. Many can’t even maintain legal identities, so they’re driven into whatever portion of the economy still uses cash. Biometric identification just makes matters worse. The alternative is that the monsters bury themselves in the system, behind layers of false identities and stolen biographies. Characters with this kind of security may even be able to offer it to others, for a price.

Tomorrow Country Nobody belongs, but everybody thinks everybody else does. While people have gotten used to the different texture of electronic communication, enough that it doesn’t actively bother them, they often use it to withdraw into themselves, to keep friends and family members at a safe distance. Just like giving up liberty for security, giving up intimacy for security turns out to be a bad idea. Increasing numbers of young people become literal shut-ins, interacting with the world outside only through computers. Even now, though, technology is stepping up to make that easier. Sensory recordings are an infant technology, but they’re filtering down to the mass market. They’re

affordable, particularly to agoraphobic telecommuters who don’t spend their money on much else. Load up a sense clip and you’re dancing at a night club too fabulous to be anything but a cleverly arranged composite, skiing down pristine slopes that don’t exist anymore, or having sex with a partner whose skin is soft and warm and absolutely flawless. None of these things feel quite right—the simulations don’t stimulate the senses with perfect accuracy, and the art of editing them is still evolving. Amateur clips are available, unstaged, uncut and raw, but these often include the parts of the experience no one wants to pay for. Slipping in beer on a nightclub floor, dense smog over the mountains, or a sex partner’s atrocious breath. Of the majority who do make it out their apartments on a regular basis, many still try to engage with sanitized data more than their environment. They keep their eyes on the digital billboards, or master the trick of keeping one eye focused on the heads-up display in a contact lens while the other keeps up with the mundanities of avoiding traffic or other pedestrians. Humanity’s discomfort with other humans is catered to in the most sophisticated ways possible.

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Metalground Technology didn’t push you out, people did. People with power, people with money, people with less humanity than any of the monsters you share the slums with. The rich and powerful use what were once military weapons to protect their sections of the city, their security forces watching from barriers that may take some inspiration from the Berlin Wall, but which will probably weather regime change even better than they weather the occasional rocket attack. The lower classes who do menial labor are allowed in each day through strictly monitored checkpoints. The Authorities fear suicide bombers, and would also prefer to keep such supernaturals as they can detect far out of mind. Security has to do spot-checks to find most supernaturals, administering behavioral tests to detect unusual responses, reaction times and false answers to questions. Screening officers are drugged to keep emotional responses subdued. This doesn’t block mind-affecting powers, but it does make them easier for fellow officers to notice. Vampires and some Prometheans, however, are found via genetic multisampling. While conventional science can’t penetrate unnatural tricks like the Blush of Life, it easily picks out blood samples that don’t match skin samples or body parts from different people. Kindred and Created have to be pretty clever to get into the better parts of town...or they need the cooperation of someone in power.

Globalization In cyberpunk, practically everyone’s from somewhere else. Alienation, as discussed above, can be one consequence of this culture shock. Just as often, though, people mix and cultures evolve, taking very different threads and weaving them into whole cloth. For those who can’t fit in, though, the fusion cultures are all the more baffling for their rapid development and change. Globalization hits supernatural cultures hard. In the modern World of Darkness, the concerns of supernatural characters are largely local. Vampires keep to their fiefdoms and werewolves to their territory. Vampires already use information technology to hunt and conduct their affairs, though, and that gradually results in Kindred community and politics moving online. Vampires are also uniquely equipped to exploit long-term changes. A few decades, or even years, can transform a small investment in a local company or politician into regional and global influence. The fate of werewolves may depend on who goes global irst. If the Forsaken embrace information technology and become more tightly integrated and better

targeted, if they band together as a virtual nation instead of a loose confederation of packs and tribes, they may turn the tables on the Pure. With global intelligence on both the Pure and the state of the spirit world, combined with working treaties between packs, Uratha agents could eliminate the numerically superior Pure in just a few years. However, if the Pure escalate irst, leveraging their numbers to infiltrate human enforcement agencies en masse, the Forsaken could ind themselves facing a Pure State capable of tracking them from their First Changes to their last, strangled breaths. Global intelligence also changes hunters. In the modern day, conspiracies already have information on the monsters, but in the brave new world, they can sift through formerly private information with record speed, gathering detailed information on individual cells. Organizations like Task Force: VALKYRIE will be able to recruit with record speed, or manipulate information fed to street level hunters to expedite their own operations. Truly globalized conspiracies can out-compete the compacts in recruiting and deployment, eliminating the middle Tier almost entirely. Rogue elements like Ashwood Abbey find their assets frozen and their members arrested or terminated. Null Mysteriis is carved up and assimilated by the Cheiron Group, the Task Force and the newly privatized Malleus Maleicarum. The Union finds themselves offered generous compensation to serve their country and the human race as career killers. Most dramatically, in a few short years, Network Zero goes from hobbyists to startup to full-blown conspiracy. Pushing their decentralized media presence to its limits, they become a Tier Three group linking together hunters worldwide. In the future, any hunter operation begins with a records search through Network Zero.

Tomorrow Country World travel has accelerated because of increased prosperity for some and warfare and catastrophe for others. The cores of the urban sprawl, the places that still call themselves New York or Atlanta or Philadelphia, have become cultural reactors. A single media clip on the Internet can bring laughter or change of mind to people all over the world, but being more densely packed with more strangers than ever before has the same effect. For an observer from the modern day, a lot of the food would be passingly familiar, but the music and fashion would be so different that they’d take time just to recognize and process. Humanity has always migrated, shared and mixed, but in Tomorrow Country change races forward like never before.

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The dark side of globalization is also much as it ever was. The swelling populations of relatively privileged regions harness the swelling populations of poorer regions as labor while keeping them well out of sight and mind. The term “developing world” doesn’t get thrown around much anymore—the elite have developed the world about as far as they want to talk about it—but the scramble for economic connections and technological infrastructure goes on. At the same time, those connections benefit local elites more than the common people. On the other hand, if for some reason a character from a privileged region was compelled to take a look, the information’s all there. After all, everyone’s on the net, even if their access is limited. History, news, financial data, homegrown media... but who would look?

Metalground The city’s not a nice place, but there’s work here that brings people from all over the world. People, in turn, bring their monsters. Gone are the days of local governments, of packs who ruled large territories and covenants which commanded cities. While supernatural creatures still have local power structures, their marginalization has combined with improved communication to create global, decentralized monster communities. The social lines between various kinds of supernaturals are blurring, with individual coteries, packs and cabals looking for every scrap of help they can get.

Adaptation Technology doesn’t always work, and even when it does, it doesn’t always do what we want. Even as information technology equipment becomes too complex for most people to tinker with, those who can keep up become more obsessed and, often, more in demand. The adaptation of existing technology and culture to niche or individual needs goes back to the very beginning of cyberpunk. It’s that DIY ethic (along with a healthy dose of raging against the machine) that puts the “punk” in its name. Sin-Eaters have almost unwittingly become masters of cultural adaptation. Today, their patchwork culture reinvents itself with every passing decade. Tomorrow, they retain their cultural agility but they have history. The dawn of the twenty-first century is seen as the time when, for the first time, they truly began to understand death. While hunters and supernaturals attempt to coopt the system, the Bound are sharpening its bleeding edge. The result is something entirely unexpected: Sin-Eaters found the first global supernatural culture in

which the others can meet in safety and on common ground. They lead the fashion, the knowledge building, the diplomacy. Bound celebrations like the Day of the Dead become sacred to creatures around the world. Their understanding of the one thing everyone struggles helplessly against makes them the right people to bring monsters together. Of course, company brings contempt. As the Bound become the medium that binds everyone else, grudges that would have been eased by the passage of time find immediate fulfillment. The new supernatural culture is as violent as it is vibrant. There is anger, and there is murder, and guess who has to clean up the mess?

Tomorrow Country Cobbled together solutions can be unreliable, and those who have built something once will rarely leave it alone, especially if there’s someone trying to stop or outdo them. Hackers on all sides of the law race each other to make systems and break them. Hardware tinkerers find themselves bombarded with a stream of new models to take apart and an ever-growing cache of old models to wax nostalgic about. Those without power hack with all the more vigor. Cowboys in the employ of the Maiya are pretty damned good, but their Estonian neighbors are getting even better. Metalground In the city, you’re either still moving, or you’re spare parts. Plugins and organs can be stripped out with relative ease, especially if you don’t care about the health of the donor. Supernatural creatures can be stripped down, too, something both the Moros and the Ordo Dracul show a distinct inclination towards. Supernatural flesh-hacking is in its infancy, but the results are already frightening. New generations of Pandorans scurry through the night, no longer limited by the availability of Promethean Pyros. Altered by engineered Vitae or Supernal magic, the Pandorans can steal vitality from these and other sources. Worse, they no longer go dormant. Ever.

The Network Information networks are a key part of cyberpunk fiction. Broadly speaking, William Gibson’s cyberspace or Neal Stephenson’s metaverse are equivalent to the Internet. The special effects are different, but they’re just skins on top of the same concept. Indeed, as Gibson begins to suggest in Mona Lisa Overdrive, the Network isn’t made up of computers, it’s something that runs on top of them. Sites like Facebook work on a similar principle: they catalog and index existing networks (in

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this case, human social ones) and connect them (social networks to advertising databases). That starts to make the Network sound like a spiritual construct, and, indeed, journeys onto the net in cyberpunk fiction often have the feel of journeys into the Otherworld. Gibson describes cyberspace as a “consensual hallucination” in his 1982 story “Burning Chrome.” In Count Zero, the sequel to Neuromancer, religious practitioners misidentify the liberated artificial intelligences from the latter book as the Loa. Cyberpunk’s figurative use of supernatural descriptions for the Network are too numerous to mention. Serial Experiments Lain suggests the mingling of the virtual and physical worlds in a way that’s Mage players might find familiar. The Network could be mapped onto Twilight or the Supernal realms, in which case information ubiquity could be a form of mass Awakening. It might simply behave in a parallel manner, with spiritual powers or newly created equivalents affecting cyberspace. On the other hand, time spent on the Network can be pretty engrossing, with hours slipping away before you notice. Perhaps it’s simply become a hunting ground for the True Fae. You jack in, but your Fetch jacks out. Probably, though, the Network is thoroughly rooted in the physical world. Supernatural creatures get no special privileges there, and they should be worried about that. The more data becomes available, the easier they’ll be to detect.

Tomorrow Country Everything is known, but not everybody can get access to it. Corporations can gather pinpoint data on customers... more data, in fact, than they’ve yet figured out how to leverage. Identity theft is still a big business, but the game has changed: many identities are for sale on the open market. Your digital footprint can be more important than you, taking on a life of its own. At this point it’s more predictable, and you’ve probably automated most of your spending. The system needs to keep you around, sure. You have to keep putting money in, or there’s no point in trying to get money out of you. Still, individuals can be difficult variables, and you’ve got a lot to do. Why not just let the system make your decisions? After all, it already knows what you like... Metalground This is how the Masquerade died. Not with a bang, but a whimper. Humans always believed in the monsters, knew instinctively to fear them, but they pushed that knowledge down. If they couldn’t quash their fears, at least they could layer new beliefs atop the ancient and unsettling ones.

The world got too big, though. The disasters that increased adult mortality effectively increased birth rate. After each baby boom started to mature, there was an explosion of vampires ready to take advantage. Worked well enough, until the human populations normalized for a while and the predation became statistically obvious. The great machines could see that there was something missing, and they told the mortals that created them. Those in power tried to keep secrets and take measured steps, but they failed. The information was there, and there were curious mortals who knew how to get to it. Once the vampires were discovered, similar techniques began to unravel the existence of other monsters... monsters a few vampires were willing and able to rat out. Then the Authorities came to the city, and the monsters became one fear among many.

Props Megacorps and AIs

Mega-corporations and artiicial intelligences are both created by mainstream culture, and both become so large and complex as to be alien and incomprehensible. They may even be synonymous, with big business run by or relying on unfathomable machines. Power resides in corporations more than in governments. Perhaps this is because nations have gone bankrupt, or because government functions have become increasingly privatized. Governments may simply be irrelevant to your setting, with agents of law and order and taxation a far more distant concern than the Auditors dispatched by a character’s former employer. Corporations are easy to do wrong. As AIs can become Lovecraftian gods, corporations become the traditional Satan, doing evil just because. They’re murderous and authoritarian just because, and going on a corporate payroll is synonymous with moral corruption. That can work for shorter narratives, when your game is focusing on action and consequences in the near-term. You don’t really need to know what’s in the suitcase, why Mr. Smith wants it so badly, or why Mr. Smith is willing to assemble a group of extralegal cutthroats to get it back. At the climax of Neuromancer, the titular intelligence explains that its name is an allusion to necromancy, and refers to the virtual environment it’s using to communicate as the land of the dead. Aspects of the novel’s twin AIs go on to become unknowable gods moving through cyberspace. Put the razor hands aside and pick up Occam’s: In the World of Darkness, the simplest explanation is that AIs are ghosts, spirits, or something similar enough to be indistinguishable.

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Tier Three characters, whether Kindred, hunter or Bound, find the assets of megacorporations useful, but the real power is in artificial intelligence. AIs make clandestine supernatural organizations more agile, and they keep secrets better than human thralls or contacts.

Tomorrow Country The mega corporations are much like those we have today. There are fewer multinational conglomerates, but you can’t tell that from advertising or packaging. Marketing analysts had realized by the dawn of the 21st century that people liked the illusion of choice. That, for example, if there were two electronics chains in a region, and one bought the other, maintaining the separate store brands would maintain higher sales. People aren’t dumb, of course—they know that wealth is concentrated in fewer places than ever before, and that city governments couldn’t sustain development without corporate sponsorship. Few care, though, and it takes a strange kind of person to even consider doing something about it. Even as life gets more expensive year by year, it can still be lived, and that’s all most people care about. Tomorrow Country does not include artificial intelligences. While researchers push forward with every passing year, they have yet to create AI in the sense discussed here. When they do, it’s unlikely that anybody will be ready. Metalground The Authorities depend on the corporations for money, and the artificial intelligences to cement their rule. The machines help maintain total information awareness, or something as close to it as can be achieved. When an artiicial intelligence becomes complex enough, it may simply merge with its spirit, much as the soul attaches to a human consciousness. This spirit is born in the physical world—it has never been across the Gauntlet, and likely has no interest in crossing. The spirit inherently possesses the Fetter Numen (Book of Spirits, p. 141). It exists in any information system (electronic or otherwise) capable of hosting signiicant portions of the intelligence that gave birth to it. In each location, it’s vulnerable as if it existed only there. The spirit can control any systems that it would as a soulless intelligence, but requires Numina to do anything beyond that. So, for example, a server farm hosting an intelligence might be defended by alarms, automated weaponry, and so on, which the spirit could control. However, it wouldn’t be able to possess a guard’s gun without developing additional powers. Werewolves are cast in the unlikely role of being the creatures in the World of Darkness most likely to negoti-

ate directly with, or confront, artificial intelligences. As corporations become defined by their internal cultures, their company hymns, the march of branding and internal messaging, they may gain a literal company spirit. The spirit doesn’t control the corporation literally. Unlike an AI, the corporation is made up of individual people, with their own ideas, plans, and ways of doing things. Yet, as the organization rules suggest, it has a personality. Procedures, equipment, inside jokes—all of them can carry the voice of the spirit. If the collective nature of corporations makes them callous, the spirit can make them cruel. A corporation spirit has all of the greed and capriciousness of any spirit, but even the weakest have broader power bases. Once per day, around 3 a.m. local time, they can cross the Gauntlet at any location owned by the company or its employees, or lived in for an extended period by those employees (some people take their work home). The ability to cross into the physical world functions as Gauntlet Breach (Book of Spirits, p. 142), but is restricted to the aforementioned sites. Most corporation spirits also possess the Numina Fetter and/or Living Fetter (Book of Spirits, p. 143), enabling them to engage in at least limited possession of objects and people in the physical world. The spirit doesn’t act so much in the corporation’s interests as it does the corporation’s nature: it follows the organization’s Virtue and Vice. They usually possess Influence not over the corporation itself, but over some of the things it produces or uses, like pharmaceuticals or manufacturing equipment. They may look for a monopoly, devouring other spirits with similar Influence. Alternatively, corporations might be haunted by outside spirits with Influences related to their specialties, Virtues, or Vices. In headquarters towers or corporate arcologies, they nest, devouring their fellows and creating a spiritual dead zone.

Cyberware In cyberpunk, technology doesn’t just surround humanity, it invades. Or, rather, it’s invited to occupy. Characters like Molly Millions or the Magnetic Dog Sisters become so obsessed with strength or aesthetics or both that they rewire and rebuild themselves. Black market surgeons—the same who provide much-needed medical care to the underclasses—jack up, speed up and pump up human bodies to become weapons. In the standard World of Darkness, these kinds of unnatural abilities tend to draw characters away from humanity, towards the hungry beasts in their hearts or the spirits that wait on the other side of the Gauntlet. The cost of power is often monstrosity.

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Not so in cyberpunk iction. A character like Molly is no less human for all her modifications. She’s still angry, proud, and obsessed with either self-control or its complete abdication. Is there a middle ground? Maybe there doesn’t need to be. After all, the “monstrous” descents of characters in the World of Darkness are metaphors for people losing what’s good or necessary in themselves. For all that, though, they become no less human; they merely embody the worst of humanity.

Tomorrow Country Not everyone has Plugins, but everyone knows someone who does. For several years after it became widespread, augmentation was a fashion statement, but it’s so common now as to be almost beneath notice. Medical experts and the media can’t talk enough about the next step. Why replace just one system, knitting together clean, manufactured implants with dirty, legacy flesh? Shouldn’t it be simpler to just move a human being into a synthetic body? Why stop there, even? With the ability to replicate memories and sensory experience, fully synthetic humans are within reach. Metalground Meet Cheiron Global. While its component corporations downplay and gloss over their sources, they make a killing harvesting supernatural body parts and

using them to augment human bodies. Ashwood Abbey is long gone, but its spirit lives on as the wealthier classes inject vampire blood for sexual performance or stave off death with a graft of someone else’s soul. The thousand processes used to turn dirty, frightening monsters into clean, fashionable augmentations are collectively referred to as “rendering.” Werewolves find themselves in demand. They’re hunted as sources of durable, quickly-regenerating tissue, but they’re also prized as harvesters. Werewolves, however, are also a powerful force within Cheiron. Their ability to mediate with and manipulate spirits makes them ideal surgeons, preventing otherwise messy rejections. Some mages are also employed in this capacity, but Cheiron fears the witches for their ability to sunder reality itself. Information from the Aegis Archives indicates that mages caused a catastrophe so vast it can no longer even be understood. There’s a worse discovery: they may have done that more than once. Cheiron’s most respected and feared surgeon is the Man with White Hands. Employed directly by Global, he consults on the direst cases, cutting and splicing flesh and spirit with sickening ease. He always wears white surgical gloves, an anachronism which distracts from his most mysterious quality: that no one has ever seen his hands. He has no aura, but those who should be able to sense feel the still cold of a medical freezer when they look at him.

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The InfInite Macabre

™

Space Opera in the World of Darkness

Beyond the ring lurks a moon whose very shape—whose very essence—is formed of squirming thorns, tangled hedgerows, and alien trees. Inside a defunct planetary outpost, a throng of self-made monsters fuses cable and hull scrap to one another’s reanimated flesh, each powered by elements never seen by man. Layered beneath this plane of existence is another: a place of dead stars and skull-ships, a wretched Otherspace, a haunted Underworld. This is the Infinite Macabre. This book includes: • Suggestions and rules shifts on how to incorporate the World of Darkness into a space opera game • Rules for starships and starship combat • Guidance on making your own alien species

Credits

Written by: Chuck Wendig Inspired by Material from: Stephen Herron World of Darkness created by Mark Rein•Hagen Developer: Eddy Webb Editor: Genevieve Podleski Art Director: Richard Thomas Book Design: Ron Thompson Interior Art: Brian LeBlanc Cover Art: Mathias Kollros

© 2010 CCP hf. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf and Vampire the Requiem are registered trademarks of CCP hf. All rights reserved. The World of Darkness, Vampire the Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, Mage the Awakening, Promethean the Created, Changeling the Lost, Hunter the Vigil and Geist the Sin-Eaters are trademarks of CCP hf. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by CCP hf. CCP North America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCP hf. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised. Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com

The InfInite Macabre

™

Space Opera in the World of Darkness

The Infinite Macabre: The Infinite Macabre: Space Operain in the the Space Opera World ofDarkness Darkness World of Chapter Three of World of Darkness: Mirrors kicked the World of DarkChapter of World ness in theThree center mass, of Darkness: Mirrors kicked cracking it into three the World dif f eof r eDarkness n t s h ainrthe ds, center mass, cracking it into three new Worlds of three different Originally shards, three Darkness. new Worlds of we planned on Darkness. a science Originally planned a fictionwe section aton the science fiction section at the time we were developtime we but werethe developing it, ing it, concept but the concept of sci-fi endof sci-fi ended up ed up being broad,too too being tootoo broad, all-encompassing to cram all-encompassing to in 15,000 words. But after cram in 15,000 words. the book launched, fans But after the book clamored for fans sci-fi worlds launched, clamfor their monsters o r e d f o r to s cexplore i-fi and w oterrorize. rlds for their monsters to explore and terrorize. So here’s one of those Worlds of Future Darkness. So here฀s one of those Worlds of Think of this as a missFuture Darkness. ing section of Mirrors, a slice of extra meat that we’ve written theoground Tfrom hink f t hup is in the spirit of that book. as a missing section You need Mirrors to of don’t Mirrors, a slice use this, but if you’re familof extra meat that iar with it,written these pages will we฀ve from feel like home. the ground up in the spirit of that book. You don฀t need Mirrors to use this, but if you฀re familiar with it, these pages will feel like home.

Beyond the ring lurks a moon whose very shape—whose very essence—is formed of squirming thorns, tangled hedgerows, and alien trees. Floating amidst the asteroids are the slaver ships, Byzantine chassis playing home to the grotesque feudalities of blood-hungry vampires. Inside a defunct planetary outpost, a throng of self-made monsters fuses cable and hull scrap to one another’s reanimated flesh, each powered by elements never seen by man. Five Watchtowers sit hidden on distant planets, each ninety-nine parsecs from the next, each plotted on a map to form a perfect flat-planed pentagon in three-dimensional space—or an upside-down star. Each Watchtower has its pilgrims and proselytes, all with unparalleled power. Spirits—some invisible, some so alien in their corporeality—lit from moon to moon, star to star, hunted in turn by men and women whose hearts are those of hungry wolves. Layered beneath this plane of existence is another: a place of dead stars and skull-ships, a wretched Otherspace, a haunted Underworld. This is the Infinite Macabre. This is the World of Darkness cast forward in time—or so far backward it ceases to matter—and thrown deep into the bleakest, strangest recesses of unknown space.

The Nature of Space Opera

This product endeavors to show you how you might transform the World of Darkness by thrusting it into the screaming maw of a whole separate genre: space opera. Is it a strange it? Hardly. Consider these characteristics which are sometimes considered the core elements of space opera: • It’s often a combination of fantasy and science-iction. (The World of Darkness is very much a “dark fantasy and horror” roleplaying game.) • It tends not to be hard sci-i. (The World of Darkness relies more on magical realism than hard scientiic principle.) • It often features magical elements to go with the science-iction. (The World of Darkness has magical elements in spades.) • Adjectives that might be used to describe space operate include: Romantic, romantic (big R, small r, both), operatic, epic, political or astropolitical. (The World of Darkness plays well with all these adjectives: think of the florid and terrible politics of the vampire covenants, the grim romance seen in Changeling, the epic nature of the Forsaken versus the Pure or the fallen world nature found in Mage.)

4 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

Yes, your game will still be subject to certain fundamental alterations—for example, the World of Darkness tends to irst be expressed on a local level (i.e. “What’s going on in your city?”), and here the scope of the game (and the canvas upon which it is painted) grows ininitely more epic. While a game like Hunter: The Vigil posits—with the conspiracy tier—a global horror, space opera blows even that out of the water and demands a galactic playing ield. In fact, think of this as a “fourth tier” grafted onto the World of Darkness setting: the galactic tier. But despite those changes, the base components remain the same. Instead of telling a story about the betrayal of the vampire Prince, you’re instead talking about the betrayal of a vampire Imperatrix. Instead of werewolves protecting their territory from spirit invasions, they’re chasing spirits across distant nebula. Mages can appear anywhere, and the witch hunters of the Malleus Maleficarum come hunting after them with ships that look like industrial cathedrals ripped out of the earth’s mooring and thrown into space.

The Big Question The one big question you really want to ask yourself before you dive into The Infinite Macabre at your game table is: has the veil of secrecy shielding the monsters been dropped? You have at your disposal two very different modes of play that branch off from the answer to this question. On the one hand, if the answer is that the secrecy remains, then you are accepting that the conditions governing the societies of these nocturnal denizens remain firmly in place. In other words, the Masquerade is still in play, werewolves are still protected by Lunacy, a changeling’s Mask is ultimately lost to the mad beauty of the Mien, and so forth. Mankind is out there among the stars, and he still doesn’t realize that the parasites and goblins and immortal terrors are out there with him. This model leans toward horror. On the other hand, your answer might be that the secrecy has been removed (or, depending on how you play it, it may never have been in place to begin with). More succinctly, mankind knows what monsters have come with him into space. He knows that the vampires could come to enslave him for his blood and drag him off to the farthest lung corners of known space. He knows that certain necromantic cults hide on distant moons hoping to reanimate dead tissue by fusing it with energy stolen from stars. Mankind is sure to fear the horrible long-limbed “astronauts” that come from within open vents and through rivet holes to steal them away to the place of thorns and bramble. Further, it demonstrates that some of your epic romance and planetary politics are driven by the monsters

as much as they are the humans—it allows for, say, a fringe empire of sorcerers or an armada of vampire cruisers stalking the space lanes. While this doesn’t do away with horror, this model leans toward dark fantasy. This product is written with the second assumption in mind. We want the monsters out in the open because it creates more fantastical conditions. Instead of having to worry about bizarre-faced aliens wandering the market bazaar or space-dock, we get to have pale bloodsuckers, porcelain Prometheans, and the truly bizarre Lost rubbing elbows with humanity. In this mode, the monsters become the aliens so frequently seen in the various iterations of space opera. It is, in its own weird way, a mutation hybridizing Star Wars and Lovecraft (or, Heinlein plus Doom, or Firefly plus Dead Space). Sound fun?

The Goal Despite the title of this product, we do not have an ininite number of pages in which to grant you a fully-stocked space opera setting. As such, we’re trying to walk the balance beam between “giving you cool original material to drop into your game” and “encouraging you to answer the questions with your own awesome material.” The end result of this product is that you, as Storyteller or player, should be able to put together your own unique vision of what “World of Darkness space opera” means at your game table.

This Wretched Universe

It’s a mad universe, a black tapestry held together by a million pinpricks of light, by bands of chromatic light, by solar storms and space lanes and rings of comet dust. People are out there, spread out across the stars—but so are the monsters. They once hid in the shadows, but to them, space is one big endless shadow—an infinite nighttime in which to wander. So, you want to know how the universe out there could work for your space opera game?

The Star Chart

Every good pilot worth his salt has a galactic star chart—shining bright on a monitor, or hanging on a wall, dusty and torn at the edges.

5 THIS WRETCHED UNIVERSE

The way the universe probably works in your space opera game is just like you’ve seen in a number of ilms or video games: the universe features a number of charted galaxies separated by parsecs (one parsec = 3.3 light years). These galaxies are either star systems (a galaxy comprising only stars orbiting one another) or planetary systems (a galaxy where planets orbit one or several stars). These galaxies may have names that coincide with what we call them now (Procyon, Polaris, Sirius, etc), but since this is the World of Darkness, don’t feel like you can’t go with something more apropos to the mood (Black Mariah, Wolf Sun, Red Nebula, Blood Run). They also may be named after those who discovered them. What’s charted is only “known space.” The universe is far bigger than what man and monster have yet discovered, thus giving the expanse of space an uncharted Wild West (or western expansion, or colonization) feel. Usually, the star chart is bordered by some kind of “Here There Be Dragons” line—past that border lies, well, who knows what? Space horrors? Distant aliens? Mad gods exiled from this universe? Ancient vampires who have gone beyond the fringe? The irst Promethean? The True Oracles capable of galaxy-shifting sorcery? For the record, we recommend giving that border a name—we happen to like the “Rubicon,” but any name (the Line, the Edge, the Brink, the Bloodline) that evokes a point of no return. Characters should know that when they cross it, it’s time to worry. A star chart may also chart the Empires of Man, as noted below (p. 10). Each galaxy is likely separated by between 100,000 and 3,000,000 parsecs—conventional spacecraft cannot make the journey between galaxies in a timely fashion (i.e. before everybody on board perishes from old age or from madness born in the rigors of space). Thus, traveling between systems requires use of the Stygian Gates found below (p. 8).

Massive Space Objects

Within the galaxies—and, in some cases, between them—are the massive space objects found commonly in space opera properties.

Planets In space opera, planets are rarely so realistically deined as having different climates, temperate zones or biomes; in fact, they’re pretty simplistic in definition. Desert planet. Ice planet. Forest, jungle, tundra, and so forth. Again, not realistic, but that’s the nature of space opera: hard sci-fi, this is not. Curiously, every galaxy has a few planets that feature breathable air. Further, those that don’t have breathable

air still have habitable temperatures (meaning, temperatures that don’t automatically sear humans to a crisp or blast-freeze them into bloodsicles). Some planets likely have a “biome” that is explicitly human—in other words, instead of tundra or grassland, the whole planet is one giant metropolis. (And those that are so-called “city planets” might make use of The Infinite Macabre’s sister product, Bleeding Edge.) As above, planetary names in this mode are those best suited when they’re grim, moody, and bound up in the feel of the World of Darkness. (The planets in Firefly/Serenity are not a bad example: Whitefall, Osiris, Persephone, Shadow.)

Moons Moons, like planets, are often defined by a single biome: “Oh, this is an ocean moon,” or, “We are cleared for a landing on the Veldt.” Moons tend to be wilder, less colonized, often home only to outposts, farms, or industrial faculties (strip mines, weapons manufacturers, work camps).

Stardocks In those systems without planets, one is likely to find a stardock and space stations. They can look like anything: turning wheels, cathedral-like structures, cubes, shimmering solar fans hundreds of miles wide, spheres, cylinders and so forth. Stardocks are often home to a permanent population—low as a thousand, high as a hundred thousand— but see far greater numbers coming through the station as traffic. The purpose of each stardock is driven by those who created it: as a refueling station, marketplace, military base, research and development lab, ore refinery, spacecraft construction depot or ammo dump. Many are a mix of these elements: most stardocks, for instance, have some kind of trading bazaar and refueling capabilities. The feel, form and function of an individual station is determined by its keepers and creators. If a militaristic empire serves as shepherd, expect Spartan design, an autocratic feel and function that is clearly driven toward war and conquest (ighter bays, martial training facilities, heavily defensible).

Spacecraft

For us, the key word in space opera is “space.” Characters are going to spend a lot of time in the deep recesses of outer space, flitting between the stars, traveling from planet to moon, from stardock to Stygian Gate. This necessitates one of the most awesome parts of space opera: the spaceships.

6 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

The section below will help you determine the stats on a spaceship and, more specifically, how players might buy them for their characters. However, note that the dots do not fully comprise all aspects of the ship in question. Does the ship have a name? What does it look like? Do you ind any value in considering how the crafts of different monster types might look? Is the ship of a Ventrue vampire “family” a regal, almost stately affair, decked in chrome, titanium or even brass? What does the floating library of a number of Atlantean mages look like? Or that of a series of dream-scourging changelings (or worse, the True Fae)? Is a Promethean ship as cobbledtogether as they are? Could the whole ship “go nuclear” and turn into some kind of living Pandoran lurching its way through the dark void?

Merit: Spaceship (• to •••••)

Effect: The character owns, or has part-ownership of, a spaceship. This vessel may be a small, short-range, single-person fighter or interplanetary transport. It could be a large cargo vessel capable of faster-than-light travel. It might even be an intended-for-decommission military starship that the character has pulled some strings to obtain. The usefulness of a ship depends upon how big it is, how fast, how much cargo (or how many passengers) it can support, and how well armed or defended it is. In game terms, dots spent on the Spaceship Merit need to be distributed among four categories: Size, Speed, Weapons, and Armor. The nimble short range ighter may thus have no dots in Size, four dots in Speed, and two dots in both Weapons and Armor. The cargo ship Tranquility may have three dots in Size, two dots in Speed, no dots in Weapons and three dots in Armor. The Task Force: Valkyrie destroyer Odin may have five dots in Size, one dot in speed, ive dots in Weapons, and five dots in Armor Spaceship Size: The actual size of the ship, it determines the number of points of Structure a given ship has (for Starship Combat, below) and the amount of cargo it can carry (either in a hold or as cargo containers attached to or towed by the vessel). – Very tiny: either a one- or two-seat ighter or personal shuttle. Not comfortable or useful for carrying cargo. This ship has 20 points of Structure. • A small ship that can hold four people comfortably, or a couple more with less comfort. Crew hot-rack (squeeze in more than one member per bunk), as the ship has only enough sleeping space for half the crew. There might be a small room to eat meals, and cargo space for a couple of tons of cargo (about 10 feet by 10 feet). This ship has 40 points of Structure.

•• A small-to-mid-sized ship, with cabins for each crew member (up to eight or ten) and cargo space for up to fifty tons of cargo. This ship has 60 points of Structure. ••• A mid-size vessel, probably carrying a dozen crew members and the same again as paying passengers. The ship is capable of carrying a few hundred tons of cargo. This ship has 80 points of Structure. •••• A large vessel. It can carry a couple of thousand tons of cargo, dozens of passengers and might be quite luxurious. It can contain a hundred plus crew members. This ship has 100 points of Structure. ••••• The largest capital ships and most lumbering cargo vessels, capable of carrying hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo, or thousands of crew and troops (and even smaller vehicles). These are the largest ships capable of traveling between stars. This ship has 120 points of Structure. Spaceship Speed: An abstract representation of how fast a ship can accelerate, decelerate and change heading. It’s a mixture of agility and raw speed, handy to use to compare with other ships, especially if using the optional Starship Combat rules below. The Speed rating is equal to the ship’s Handling rating (for combat purposes). – This ship is effectively a big space slug: low acceleration, poor maneuverability. • These vessels change speed slowly, but it’s enough to get them from one place to another. Ships with this Speed do not need to lit about nimbly. Passenger shuttles and huge, lumbering ships may have only one dot in Speed. •• These ships move around star systems at a slow and steady rate, taking a few hours to move between a planet and its moons and days or a week to get to the outer worlds. They aren’t especially quick or nimble. ••• These ships are faster than average and more agile. The vast majority of ighters and police/military ships move with this level of swiftness. Cargo vessels this fast are used for courier duties or to carry perishable goods. •••• A ship this fast is almost certainly a military, police or pirate vessel (cargo ships this fast are probably smuggling illegal goods past blockades or security perimeters). ••••• Only the fastest, most expensive ighters are this agile and fast. Private vessels with this Speed rating may be racers or corporate couriers and any cargo ship this fast is going to attract attention immediately. Spaceship Weapons: indicate the ship’s weapons capabilities. Most ships are armed, though only cursorily, enough to distract a pirate and get out of sight. Still, the ships that characters possess might potentially be armed to the teeth. Dots in this Merit determine how advanced

7 SPACECRAFT

a ship’s weapons systems can be. At each level comes a Damage rating: this rating is added to all attack rolls in starship combat. (How these weapons function is up to you and your imagination: cannons, modified mining lasers, missile batteries, EMPs, etc.) – The ship has no weapons system installed. • A single dot of Weapons indicates a small laser or mass driver used for short-range or point defense. (+1 attack) •• Most military ighters have this Weapon rating, as do most police and security vessels. (+2 attack) ••• The ship’s Weaponry systems are advanced, and may include missiles and plasma cannons, for both short and long range destructive power. The majority of warships have this rating. (+4 attack) •••• Weaponry systems at this level are highly advanced and quite devastating, capable of badly damaging starships with a single burst, but also ravaging targets on a planet’s surface. (+8 attack) ••••• At this level, weapons systems become truly annihilating: orbital nukes, lasers that can bisect most ships, swarm missiles. (+16 attack) Spaceship Armor: This indicates how well-defended the ship is from attack, both in defensive systems (chaff, misdirection, hacking opponent’s weapons systems) and in terms of actual armor. Each dot adds up to one point of Durability (one dot is Durability 1, three dots is Durability 3, and so forth). While Durability technically only measures physical resistance, here it also represents the ship’s countermeasures. Any attack successes must exceed a ship’s Durability to actually do damage: the rest meet the hull, force fields, or are otherwise countermanded by defensive systems.

Starship Combat In terms of starship combat, the vehicle rules in the World of Darkness Rulebook (p. 141) still roughly apply. A ship’s Structure is deined by Size, above. A ship’s Acceleration is ive times the Speed rating. This is measured in miles-per-turn (which, if you care, means that a ship with Speed ive moves at about twenty-five miles per turn or eight miles per second, and the speed of light is about ifty miles per second). Commanding a ship’s weapons systems necessitates a Dexterity + Computers roll with a Specialty in Weapons Systems. Without this Specialty, the roll is subject to a -3 penalty. A character cannot pilot and use weapons systems at the same time (which is why most starships have multiple crew members). Only one character may make attack rolls on behalf of the ship in a given turn of combat. The ship’s Weapons rating allows the character to add a number of dice to the attack.

Piloting the ship requires a Dexterity + Drive roll. Add in the Handling as a modiier (Handling is equal to dots in the Speed rating). As with traditional vehicular combat, when accumulated Structure damage exceeds Durability, a -1 penalty is imposed upon all Pilot rolls. Likewise a -1 penalty is applied to all other ship’s system rolls (Weaponry, Engineering, etc). However, when the Structure is reduced to the last three points available, this penalty increases to -3 to any skill checks using ship systems. Moreover, the ship’s Speed is reduced by half. When only one point of Structure is left, this indicates that the ship is losing life support: characters only have enough oxygen equal to twice the ship’s Size rating in minutes. Unless the crew has spacesuits, they are going to suffocate. Pilots can take evasive maneuvers during combat. Such a maneuver costs one Willpower point on the pilot’s behalf. No characters may make any ship attacks during that turn. The evasive maneuvers roll is the same as the Pilot roll (Dexterity + Drive + Handling). Successes on that roll subtract from any attack rolls made subsequently in that turn. Repairing damage necessitates a Craft roll. Each check represents one hour’s worth of work and each success repairs one point of Structure damage. A character can attempt to repair a ship in the middle of combat using an emergency repair maneuver, but doing so necessitates expending a Willpower point and accepting a -5 penalty to the roll. However, this signiicantly moves up the time frame: the down-and-dirty repairs take only one minute to execute. Only ive points of Structure damage can be repaired in this way (such brutal repair only gets the mechanic so far), but it might be the line between life inside the ship and death in the unforgiving vacuum of space. Repairs can be the result of a teamwork roll (p. 134, World of Darkness Rulebook). In the case of emergency repairs, only the primary actor must spend the Willpower point, but all actors suffer the -5 penalty.

Stygian Gates: The Dread Doors

Space is not without its scars. It has a history that goes back millennia, to before mankind ever ventured into the great beyond. What man found in the deepest recesses of space are tremendous gates, each a different shape—this one a ragged womb, that one a jagged star, a third another a gently-turning halo, and so on. All are made of stone, as if shaped by an artist: sigils have been carved into the stone which have significance to few humans but to many monsters—the mages believe it to be some proto-Atlantean script while the Forsaken

8 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

believe it to be a language penned by star-faring spirits. Vampires believe them to be the words uttered by their most nightmarish forbears, while changelings believe that they’ve seen these symbols before: tattooed on the lesh of the True Fae that took them. Not every system has one, but most do. The surfeit of black holes out there in the void leads many to believe that these gates were once black holes, harnessed and made to serve the needs of some ancient—and possibly alien—antecedent. Since no Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel is yet possible (outside of mages can manage), these gates are the only way to travel between galaxies. Accessing the gate is simple, but piloting a ship through the gate is not enough. Someone on board must give up a point of Willpower (and in doing so, can feel the point being psychically leeched from them, as if the gate is suddenly very aware of them) or, alternately, accept one point of lethal damage (which manifests as a wound in the shape of the gate itself). It would be most desirable for a ship to enter at one gate and exit immediately at another—but, sadly, that is not the case. The gates don’t work like that; they are not “jump stations.” Rather, the gates (or as they’re sometimes called, Dread Doors) transport ships into an alternate dimension, one where time is slowed and space

is contracted (further lending credence to the notion that the Stygian Gates are, or were once, black holes).

The 10% Rule

Upon entering a Stygian Gate, the Storyteller should roll one die out in the open for all to see. If the die shows up 2 through 10, the standard effects apply (see Between Space, below). If the die comes up as a 1, well, things don’t necessarily go as expected. In most cases, the ship is still teleported into Between Space, but something goes awry along the way (Storyteller’s choice). Consult the list below, or make up your own: • Characters all suffer a minor derangement for one week (though like with all derangements, the effects can be subdued or resisted). • All characters lose a point of Vitae (incurring a point of lethal damage in all non-vampire characters). • Shapeshifting characters are forced to shapeshift. • Characters begin to suffer horrible nightmares. • Characters begin to suffer horrible hallucinations. • Ship doesn’t enter Between Space, but rather, appears in the atmosphere of a Thornworld (see the section on Changelings, p. 19).

9 STGIAN GATES-THE DREAD DOORS

Between Space: The Dismal Void, The Underworld

They call it “Between Space,” but anybody who knows shit about shit recognizes that this is the Land of the Dead, except out here in the awful vacuum of space. Out here, space isn’t black so much as… gray. Or, at times, jaundiced (the color of a sickened bile duct). Ship systems suffer havoc: they fritz out, they show inconsistent readings, they capture strange transmissions and frequencies from ships gone missing (or ships that never existed in the irst place). Most worrisome are the ghosts and doppelgangers: Out a porthole window, characters might see ghost ships or even lone individuals floating out there in the void, sometimes fully-fleshed, other times spectral and diaphanous. If it’s not ghosts, it’s the doppelgangers, or duplicates: ships and characters made to mirror their own. (Sometimes these apparitions even try to hail the characters and communicate with them. Most recognize that this is an unwise course of action and simply ignore such communications.) So, why do this at all? Why traverse this dead void, this place beyond the galactic curtain? Because this is the only way to travel between galaxies without cryogenically freezing a ship’s inhabitants (or, instead, allowing whole generations of pilots to rise and fall, to live and die). Time is telescoped while space is contracted. Every 100,000 parsecs traveled only requires a reasonably short travel time (assume that it takes ive hours minus the ship’s Speed rating to travel 100,000 parsecs, to a minimum of one hour). A ship with a Speed of 5 traveling to the farthest-flung galaxy some 3,000,000 parsecs away will only necessitate a 30-hour journey. Problem is, out here, every hour is a troubling one. After the ninth hour, characters begin to lose Willpower points at a rate of one per hour. Once they reach zero Willpower, they feel truly listless—at the Storyteller’s discretion, the characters may even have a hard time deciding to leave Between Space, or they may be more likely to answer communications from sinister specters or mad doppelgangers. (And some say that once you answer those calls, you’ve earned their attention and cannot escape them until you give them what they want or destroy them.) Further, characters cannot regain Willpower points while in Between Space. However, once they exit via another Stygian Gate, they return to “normal” space and time.

Denizens of the Deep Dark Nowhere

Of course, what really sets The Infinite Macabre apart from any other iteration of the space opera subgenre are the denizens of the World of Darkness: monsters dragged from their terrestrial shadows and thrown into the yawning abyss of outer space. This section takes a look at the various supernatural character types found in the World of Darkness setting and how you might use them (or play them) in The Infinite Macabre setting shard. Each character-type is broken out into three sub-sections: System Shifts, which explains any notable rule changes you might want to consider in terms of using these creatures in The Infinite Macabre; Story Considerations, which endeavors to provide cool story hooks and narrative ideas in order to provide inspiration for your Infinite Macabre game; and New Toy, where each new character-type gets a new “toy” to play with (meaning, some kind of power or fresh mechanic) in the playground of The Infinite Macabre.

Humans and Hunters System Shifts

• Even the most stalwart human mind cannot always handle the rigors of deep space travel. Assume that any human who spends more days in space (without landing and setting foot on some surface, be it planet or stardock) than the dots possessed in his Willpower score will be subject to possible mental illness. That illness plays out similar to how a mild/severe derangement might: Isolation (mild) and Alienation (severe). Every day that the character spends in space beyond his Willpower score, the player must roll that character’s Resolve + Composure pool. Success means that no ill mental effects are felt. Exceptional success indicates that the character may go another three days without making the roll. Failure invokes a mild mental breakdown: the character begins to suffer from the effects of Isolation, meaning any Social rolls are penalized by -3 dice for the remaining 24 hours (at which point the character may once more attempt to resist the effects of this “space madness”). Dramatic failure means the character suffers the severe version, Alienation, for the remaining 24 hours; Alienation ups the Social penalty to -5 dice, and the character may also not regain Willpower during this time.

10 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

• Another new derangement: Sleepless (mild) / Insomniac (severe). This plays out like a regular derangement (as in, a character possesses it until it is cured). Ever move to the city, then take a night and sleep in the country? All that screaming silence? All that impenetrable darkness? This is like that, but a thousand times worse. Space is quiet. Cold. Distant. No day and night cycles, either, which means busted-up Circadian rhythms. Some characters find it very hard to sleep, and so they suffer from this derangement. Whenever a character tries to get eight hours of sleep, roll Resolve + Composure. Success means sleep (and the proper regaining of Willpower in the morning). Failure, if Sleepless (mild), means a restless and uncertain sleep, and no Willpower in the morning. Failure, if Insomniac (severe), indicates that the character literally does not sleep at all—he awakens without regaining Willpower and he suffers a -3 penalty to all dice pools during the subsequent “day.” This penalty lasts until the character sleeps eight hours straight.

For further ramiications, see “Fatigue” in the World of Darkness Rulebook, pp. 179-180. (Note that this is built for characters who aren’t used to space travel. For characters who are acclimated to traversing the stars you might reverse this to a degree – they suffer madness when forced to rest their heads while on a terrestrial body.) • If you’re looking for a quick solution in terms of arms and armor, you don’t need to look beyond the weapons already provided in the World of Darkness Rulebook. Use the same stats and effects except instead of saying “.44 Magnum,” it’s now a “Phaser.” Or a “Photon Repeater.” Or an “Ion Cannon.” However, you might also want to create new weapons that are sci-fi appropriate and evoke different system reactions. This following chart offers a handful of new weapons, but you are as always encouraged to make up your own (and once more we advise you not to be too married to actual science given the fantastical nature of space opera):

Type Melee Weapon

Name Vibro-Knife

Damage Size Strength 1(L) 1 n/a

Ranges Clip n/a

Melee Weapon

Hydraul Maul-Gloves

1(B)

2

n/a

Ranged Weapon

Cheiron Systems 3(L) Bio-Rile

3

20/40/80 5

Ranged Weapon

Enervating Null 4(L) Gun (3-Shot Pistol)

2

30/60/120 3

Explosive

Ion Grenade

1

0

n/a

1

n/a

n/a

Cost ••

Special Vibrates through particles; ignores Durability •• Grants the wielder a +2 Strength when worn •••• In addition to damage also causes bacterial infection (one lethal point per hour, Sta + Resolve only allowed with antibiotic injection ••• Fires energy pulse; any time it does damage, it also siphons one Willpower point •• BlastArea 2/ Throwing Mod +1, does no damage but shorts-out electrical systems and weapons for a number of turns equal to ive + successes on roll

11 Humans/ and Hunters

• Just as the universe is home to awesome new weapons, it is home to incredible new drugs, too—though, in the spirit of the World of Darkness, none should be without consequence. Consider the following new drugs in play: Nebula: Hallucinogen. One tends to see “through walls,” and often hallucinates cosmic or celestial images (nebula, supernovas or borealis effects, even in the comfort of one’s own sleeping pod). Amps up Mental ability, offering +3 to any Mental rolls, but also does a number on one’s ability to communicate, incurring a -5 penalty to all Social rolls. Lasts for eight hours unless one takes a Vitamin B shot to end its effects prematurely. Red Tar: Red Tar doesn’t just make everybody look more desirable (the “Tar Goggles” effect), but it also increases the character’s own attractiveness by causing him to both emit a pheromone and to gain a flush to his cheeks. The character gains +2 to all Presence rolls unless that character has the Lust Vice, in which case the bonus increases to +4. However, once the “high” wears off (two to three hours later), the character cannot regain Willpower for the next 24 hours. Crater Dust: Anybody who inhales a puff-pod of crater dust will feel immortal. And it’s partially true: a character gains three dots to his Stamina Attribute for one hour. During this time, he also suffers from the effects of the Megalomania derangement (severe, p. 97, World of Darkness Rulebook). After the hour is up, the character must sleep for eight hours immediately or gain a headache that incurs a -3 Physical penalty.

Story Considerations

• Deinitely consider the survival (and “survival horror”) nature of space: sure, some ships might have incredible greenhouses or even livestock pens, but alternately, what if you’re a rag-tag cargo ship? Or a pirate ship that needs to ly under radar? Not a lot of room for food or clean water (though one hopes that the ship properly processes the urine of those on board and recycles it). What happens when characters get stuck in deep space with no food? No water? • In space opera, mankind is often fragmented into various empires, civilizations and races. Each group is defined by certain traits, as if they are complete monocultures—the Halcyon Empire is militaristic; the People’s Republic of Ariadne suffer under a matrilineal police state; the Tiresians are a race of psychic berserkers who claw their eyes out at puberty, and so on. • Consider, too, the governmental nature of the universe. In space opera, one often finds that there is an oppressive majority and a rebellious (even anarchic) minority like those found in Star Wars or Firefly. On which side do the characters find themselves? Alternately, the universe might be cast into a Civil War (once

on the same side, now ighting amongst themselves) or a full-bore Galactic War (every empire against every empire). Once more, the question: do the characters choose a side? Are they forced to one side? Can they play all sides against the middle? • Did you know that, if you take a normal strain of Salmonella and expose it to the rigors of space it becomes more deadly? If you think the Cheiron Group is not excited by this, you’re nuts; space to them is an exciting new playground. Every planet has new lora and fauna to examine (read: exploit). Plus, more diseases to cure (which sometimes necessitates manufacturing the diseases, irst.) The monsters are different, too, out there—the properties of vampire blood may work differently in Zero-G, the bile ducts of a werewolf grow black and puckered when exposed to atmospheric re-entry, and so on. Hell, rumor says that Cheiron is out there taking over whole moons for their experimentation, all without accountability. • Consider reimagining a number of the hunter compacts and conspiracies: Aegis Kai Doru: The galaxy is home to countless ancient and/or alien artifacts—not just the Stygian Gates, either. What about the Black Dais found on the northernmost archipelago of the Hephaestus moon? Or those jagged crystal-studded “teeth” found on planets thousands of parsecs apart? Or the eerie Watchtowers, the ones that aliens purportedly built, the ones which those mages seem so goddamn interested in? Ascending Ones: Religious ascetics who eschew high technology whenever possible. They’ll travel on ships but won’t pilot them. They use old technology: knives, swords, pistols. They search space for mythic creatures and reagents for their bizarre Elixirs. Ashwood Abbey: A secret club traversing the planetary systems—a hellfire group whose membership consists only of the richest and most eccentric ladies and gentlemen. The galaxy is home to countless pains and pleasures, and they seek them all out. Capture an alien and snort the ashes of its burned lesh? Sure. Cheiron Group: Potent pharmaceutical and medical conglomerate found in most major systems—as powerful as any empire, rumors exist of the Field Project Division, a small army of Cheiron-paid mercenaries, soldiers and scientists who range far and wide to confirm Cheiron’s agenda. So many monsters, so many aliens, so little time. Long Night: Zealous fundamentalists who believe that the universe must be “made clean” by God’s intervention. They predict universal cataclysm: a series of supernovas and black holes that render the universe inert and create a kind of “reverse genesis.” They seek to destroy the Stygian Gates, believing them to be the product of ancient devils.

12 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

Loyalists of Thule: So many dark corners of the universe demand a light—the Loyalists see themselves as that light. They have to. Long ago, the founders ignored the rise of a terrible galactic empire and were even complicit in its ascent. Now they have a debt to pay: ind the places where the worst among us have gone and rout them. Along the way, they seek to learn the troubling secrets the universe hides. Lucifuge: These bounty hunters with the Devil’s blood travel alone or as part of mixed-conspiracy cells. When a Lucifuge shows up on your stardock, you know there’s going to be trouble: administrators either give them full clemency or work to make life as hard for them as possible. Malleus Maleficarum: The Church is out there amongst the stars, building cathedrals on the spots of ancient worship and sending missionaries to the farthest, weirdest corners of space. These hunters know that the monsters have come to the stars with mankind, and recognize that the devils and demons will oppose man’s devotion to God and encourage sin. They destroy such monstrous influence with fire… and photon rounds. Network Zero: Signal-pirates extraordinaire. Hijack every subspace frequency known to man to transmit their anti-monster propaganda and to spy on anybody who might be harboring some wretched creature out there in The Infinite Macabre. Null Mysteriis: Monsters do not exist; they are just people who have been changed by their experiences out there among the stars. Could it be a xenobacterium that has caused the vampire plague? A rogue DNA infecting the shapechangers? They seek the truth—the scientific truth—in labs and through expeditions from system to system. Task Force VALKYRIE: Once an off-shoot of the World Government, VALKYRIE is now a rogue agent out there in the universe, broken away from the squabbling empires and oppressive regimes, funded by various mysterious sources in order to hunt down and capture the galaxy’s most notorious supernatural criminals. The Union: They’re everywhere. You just don’t realize it. That nameless mechanic who ixes your moisture vaporator? That smuggler who brings in illicit goods to the families that need them? The janitor on board the space frigate? They’re all hunters. A union of secret hunters found in every corner of the world—half “neighborhood watch,” half “maia,” all “monster killer.”

New Toy: Stygian Bezoar (• to •••••)

This pebble-sized hunk of strange smooth stone— etched faintly with the whorling sigils found on the Stygian Gates and made of the same unidentiiable material—are highly sought after by the planet-hopping Relic hunters of the Aegis Kai Doru.

Cost: one lethal damage as the character swallows the stone and 1-5 Willpower any time the character activates the Relic Benefit: A character with the bezoar sitting in his stomach can teleport himself great distances depending on how potent the stone happens to be (i.e. according to dots purchased): Dots Range • 100 ft. •• 500 ft. ••• One mile •••• One hundred miles ••••• One parsec The character must expend Willpower with every use—a number of Willpower per dot/distance used (so, if the character wants to travel under 100 feet, only one point is necessary, while between 200-500 feet would necessitate two points, and so on). The character expels the bezoar after a number of hours equal to his Resolve + Stamina dice pool. And by “expel,” we mean uncomfortably.

Vampires System Shifts

• Vampires have incredible power out in the abyssal maw of space. Consider: no sunlight (vampires are burned by the sun that shines on Earth). No day-night cycle. Not a lot of wood from which to make stakes. And, finally, vampires don’t need to breathe. They can set foot outside a spaceship to do repairs without concern and can wander happily onto the surface of a gaseous planet (provided the temperature wouldn’t sear them to a crisp or freeze them to the ground). This doesn’t mean you can’t (re)institute some weaknesses for space-faring blood-suckers… • A vampire’s vulnerability to sunlight is a supernatural one, not a biological one. So it’s up to you to determine the nature of a vampire’s aversion to sun or starlight. Is the vampire harmed only by the light of those stars orbited by habitable planets (tying it to the vibrancy of human life and how the sun sustains those naturally living and burns those who are unnaturally undead)? Is the vampire vulnerable to all starlight? Or, again, is it only the light of our own sun that burns the vampire? If a vampire is Embraced on a different planet—or moon, or stardock—is he burned by the sun in that system only? • Consider too the nature of what happens when a vampire enters the vacuum of space. Now, technically, all the dramatic things you see in movies (exploding bodies, frozen lesh, eyes popping out of head, implosions) wouldn’t happen. But, hey, this is space opera, so have fun with it. A vampire’s Vitae might freeze (meaning

13 VAMPIRES

it cannot be spent for one hour per minute of space exposure). The vampire herself might start to seize up, suffering a -1 Physical penalty per minute of exposure. Or the vampire might simply start to accrue damage: her undead flesh cannot suffer the rigors of the ever-hungry vacuum and its icy teeth.

Story Considerations

• Blood, like food and water, is hard to ind out there in the vacuum of space. It’s for this reason that most vampires must remain close to the “human herd” to survive. Some go wild and feral, hiding in the ducts and passages of a darkened ship (think of the xenomorph from Alien, except a slavering bloodsucker). Others have to up their game in terms of aping human life and pretending to be “part of the herd” instead of one of the wolves. Some are pirates and slavers: they make raids on human ships, plaguing distant space-lanes, thieving cargo and stealing warm bodies to sustain them in the long trips between planets and galaxies. Rumors even exist of vampires who have whole “farms” of humans out there: distant outposts where the humans are ensconced in tubes, made fat by

protein slurry and drained of their blood slowly enough so that they always make more. • What happens if vampires become viable political forces in the universe? As in, they’re no longer bound to the Danse Macabre, and now engage in political battles with human empires on potentially equal footing? Daeva: Narcissistic spiders in the center of a cosmic web, the Daeva are everywhere. Pleasure seekers. Pimps. Dilettantes. Artistes. They rarely work with other Daeva (the ego battles often end in clumps of blood and hair stuck to the walls), but they cannot operate alone, either (for who would appreciate their genius when designing a new spacecraft or selecting the perfect harem brood for a wealthy banker?). Gangrel: When they show up on your space station, everybody scatters. They are the wild-men. They are the blood-beasts. They travel in packs. Sometimes they show up to drink a couple blood-shots down at the vampire bar. Sometimes they want information. But a lot of the time? They want to hunt. They want to feed. And feed, they shall. Mekhet: You don’t find a Mekhet. The Mekhet find you. Maybe they want information. Maybe they want to

14 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

give you information. Or worse, maybe they think you’re a it for one of their myriad cults cast across the stars. When they grab you from the light and drag you into shadow, will you scream? Or, like many, will you acquiesce? Nosferatu: They build nests and warrens in the bleakest, blackest parts of the universe. They lash together garbage scows, derelict spacecrafts, satellite arrays—anything that will form their labyrinthine stardocks (or, as they call them, “scumdocks”) where they trap and hunt prey for both food and amusement. Some go to them unbidden, seeking enlightenment from the blind worm-oracles floating out in the void. Ventrue: They have consolidated powers and are themselves a powerful political empire—the “Vampire Nation,” the humans call them. They attempt to show a less monstrous face, but everyone knows what goes on in their blood-soaked moonbases…

New Toy: Blood Propulsion (Devotion) (Celerity •, Resilience •, Vigor •) Imagine it: a vampire is ejected into the cold maw of space and just… loats there. Nowhere to go but nowhere, it seems. Unless, of course, the vampire could let fly with a propulsive jet of blood to provide momentum… Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: This power involves no roll to invoke. Action: Instant The character hisses and vomits a jet of Vitae from her mouth, which offers her propulsion in the dark void of space at Speed 1. The vampire can do this in normal gravity and at normal oxygen levels as well, and can even aim it with a Dexterity + Athletics + Celerity roll. Alternately, the vampire can add in Crúac if it is possessed (replacing the Celerity in the roll), and by spending an additional Vitae, turn the sprayed blood into hot, acidic Vitae jet that does a number of points of lethal damage equal to successes rolled. The spitting blood has a range equal to the vampire’s Blood Potency in yards.

Werewolves System Shifts

• A werewolf’s relationship to Luna is a critical one—and in the far-flung reaches of space, an almost non-existent one. Luna—the spirit presiding over the moon that orbits Earth alone—can no longer gaze upon her wild-hearted children from such a distant vantage, and to many Forsaken that is a terrifying consideration. What does this mean in terms of rules changes? First, it means that Lunacy is less effective: all humans are considered to have +2 Willpower when determining Lunacy effects (p. 176, Werewolf: The Forsaken).

Second, determining an Auspice becomes… well, tricky. Assume that all Forsaken experience their First Changes on Earth. Those who are destined to become werewolves but do not change on Earth become—you guessed it—Pure. And yes, this only conirms the “Pure greatly outnumber the Forsaken” mode of the game, but given space opera’s general parameters (oppressive majority versus rebellious minority), that’s totally in-theme. (Alternately, consider the possibility that werewolves can bond with other lunar spirits—i.e. the patron or matron spirits bound to other orbital moons. However, you might want to reserve this for alternate shapeshifters, like those found in War Against The Pure). • Prey’s Blood (p. 179, Werewolf: The Forsaken) allows a werewolf to taste the blood of a foe and track it with almost supernatural clarity—yet that should still necessitate a smell of the blood. So what happens to this ability when a werewolf tracks prey across the gulf of space? Normal tracking rolls do not apply, however, by the tenets of Prey’s Blood, a werewolf may still attempt a Wits + Survival roll with a -5 dice pool. Seems like an extreme penalty—until you realize that the werewolf shouldn’t even be able to make that roll in the irst place. However, their tracking skills are genuinely supernatural—why not catch a whiff of blood on the solar winds, a coppery tang despite the thickness of the hull, despite the vastness of the void? • What, then, is the Shadow? If you’re comfortable with multiple cosmologies playing together, it can remain separate from Between Space and still be exactly as it is on Earth, except, well, in outer space and on other planets. Forsaken still step sideways the same way (Werewolf: The Forsaken, pp. 250-251), and yes, it still requires one to be at a locus. Loci are still foci of spiritual energy, and can be anything out in space: an asteroid where a pleasure cruise crashed (killing all aboard), a blood-soaked bunk on a derelict military battleship, a gnarled and twisted tree at the heart of some forest moon. If it’s actually out there in space, the Gauntlet is truly low, granting werewolves +3 dice to the stepping sideways roll. One modification: consider the possibility of allowing a werewolf pack’s spaceship to enter the Shadow if the werewolves have a totem bound to the ship (see below). • Alternately, if you care to combine cosmologies for ease of use and memory, feel free to make Between Space a cosmological combo-pack of the Underworld, the Astral Realms, the Shadow, and any other “interstitial plane” you care to layer upon it. • Finally, a totem can be bound to a pack’s spacecraft at a Totem point cost of one per dot spent in Spaceship Size (p. 7). The totem can add its Attributes to the ship. Its Power gets added to any attack rolls. Its Finesse gets added to any piloting rolls. And inally, its Resistance is

15 / VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES

added to the ship’s Durability (at a 1:1 basis). The only restriction is that the totem’s Ban should be in some way related to the ship itself (a certain ritual performed on board; the ship cannot enter atmosphere; the ship must power down once a week and float inert in the blackness of space; etc). More information on spacecraft in The Infinite Macabre can be found on p. 6 of this product.

Story Considerations

• At its core, the essential mode of Werewolf is that the characters—the werewolves—are the guardians of a broken world, a world under assault by alien spirits. This can remain largely the same in terms of The Infinite Macabre, except replace “world” with “universe.” To create a more “cosmic” feel, don’t hesitate to increase the size of a pack’s territory: no longer talking about just a few square miles of farmland, we’re asking what if a pack guards a planetary ocean, an entire moon, a whole tract of known space? Could they chase spirits across a parsec littered with space debris and broken craft refuse? What if they’re the lone shepherds of a moon under assault by a tidal force of wretched hybridized spirits, as alien as one could imagine? • We said it above, but it bears repeating: The Pure can serve the role of The Empire. The Forsaken can it the mold of the Rebel Alliance. Just sayin’. • Also consider a Forsaken pack as the crew of a starship. Look to the crew of Firefly and see how, despite their dysfunction, they work together, and then model a werewolf pack after that same dynamic. A pack works together—it must, or it will die. The crew of a star-faring craft is much the same: everyone must be attuned to the task at hand, to the ship around them, and to one another. It can create an awesome—if claustrophobic (in a good way) story experience. Then again, we also think it’d be cool to have a starship crew comprising one each of the various types of supernatural denizen (Forsaken mechanic, changeling pilot, vampire diplomat, Promethean weapons oficer, etc.). • What happens to the Forsaken tribes when you thrust them into The Infinite Macabre shard? Blood Talons: Berserkers and warrior-monks, the Blood Talons rove far and wide following the scent of battle: the universe is no stranger to war, and in every corner of every rot-fuck planet or distant moon waits a battle to be had. The Blood Talons find the battlefields, be they terrestrial or cast across open space, and there they move in on the side they choose as the Choosers of the Slain—and, when it’s all done, they ind those grotesque spirits born of the carnage and end their aspirations for greater terror. Bone Shadows: The galaxies are home to myriad

new spirits, all as alien as the worlds they call home. The Bone Shadows go to these spirits to learn, to be submissive, and ultimately (and ironically) to master such spiritual strangeness. Those who know of the Hirfathra Hissu also know that they are powerful prognosticators and, further, know where the most potent loci await. Hunters In Darkness: The name is literal: these wolves are the greatest trackers space has ever known, and they will hound their prey across the blackest void. And yet, they remain technologically unrefined: they are simple, almost ascetic, requiring little more than their fangs and claws to ind those enemies (spirits, Pure, Azlu) that have wronged the Uratha. Iron Masters: If anybody is attuned with their spaceships (and, even moreso, has a totem bound to the craft), it’s the Iron Masters. Sure, some run bars on city-planets and others set up garages on those waystation moons that get a lot of passing traffic, but really? Most of them love the gearhead nature of owning, piloting and repairing their own spacecraft. Storm Lords: Storm Lords are political entities. They have to be; the universe is increasingly diced up into troubling empires, and those empires spawn wars and terror and crass diplomacy, and all of those things further stir the spirits. And so the Storm Lords must involve themselves. At least, that’s what they tell themselves. It surely can’t because of the addictive nature of politics, right? Or the taste of power it provides?

New Toy: The Lodge of The Strangers’ Exodus (All Tribes)

The Forsaken do not belong. Not in space. Not on ground. They are grotesque mutations of man and wolf, with souls that lie somewhere in-between. This lodge purports to put together those of the Uratha who feel truly like outcasts and freaks—“strangers” to man and beast and spirit—and exhorts all lodge members to travel together into the harshest, strangest regions of space. The purpose of this exodus is twofold: first, to escape the known universe and plague it no more; when a wolf is too sick to live he goes elsewhere to die, and this is like that to a degree. The Uratha do not belong to any moon or planet and so they go seeking a place where they do belong. Second, it is to speak to the most bizarre, alien-like spirits out in deep space. By communing with such entities, the Strangers hope to ind some kind of understanding of their origins and condition—after all, inding a place where they do belong is more than just mere physicality and geography. They seek a spiritual place, as well.

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Prerequisites: Wisdom ••, Crafts ••, Science •• Membership: The lodge is open to any member of any tribe, but they don’t recruit—they won’t come after you. You have to go after them. And, since they’re rarely easily accessible, inding and joining the lodge often requires quite a pilgrim’s journey across the known universe in an effort to dig up the trail to follow. Benefits: The Strangers of this lodge know that they do best in strange places and when confronting truly alien beings: any time a member of this lodge meets a spirit type she has never before encountered, she may add her dots in Wisdom to any Social dice pools used in dealing with that spirit. Further, members of this lodge feel quite at home with the Occult Skill (as that Skill deals with the margins and fringes of knowledge)— when rolling a dice pool that uses the Occult Skill, the werewolf can reroll all failed dice (once) by spending a Willpower point.

Mages System Shifts

• In theory, mages—like vampires—ind that their supernatural abilities are opened up quite a bit by a journey into outer space. In the setting of space opera, the laws of reality are a little… looser than you’ll find in the standard World of Darkness setting (or in a harder sci-i shard). Not only is science running rampant, thus allowing a much wider variety of acceptable results, but humanity is aware of magic to some degree, too (in much the way that the denizens of the Star Wars universe knew about the Force). Humans are far more willing to accept the strange things they see because they know magic is real and that true monsters travel the stars. So, what does that mean for Paradox and vulgar magic? Consider these three options: No Change: Same rules apply. In the setting, of course, mages are likelier to act outside the view of Sleepers. Paradox, Castrated: In the base Paradox dice pool (p. 123, Mage: The Awakening), remove one die (to a minimum of one). Paradox, Eradicated: Paradox, begone. Get rid of it entirely. In effect, because the belief in magic is so widespread, the leash (or rather, safety valve) on magic and those who use it is gone, thus giving them unparalleled powers in this age of space opera.

Story Considerations

• One of the great issues with traversing and colonizing outer space is the lack of breathable air (which often goes hand-in-hand with a lack of flora and fauna, food

supply and clean fresh water). Mages might be able to fix that, or at least help the process. Consider that terraforming potentially takes between ten and a hundred years to make a moon or planet habitable by human beings. (Now, in your space opera, it might instead be something that can happen in the course of seven days if you want it—some super-fast “God Seed” that dramatically transforms the planet’s surface.) Mages, though, can accelerate the process. In fact, a relatively small number of powerful sorcerers with capabilities across all the Arcanum could literally create their own world— spawn oxygen, accelerate (and even direct) evolution, create ecological diversity amongst plants, birth different biomes, and so on and so forth. That’s scary powerful. Worse, what happens when that group of mages decide that they don’t want to relinquish this place that they built? What if they decide that they are the planet’s new keepers? And overlords? • Mages are easily obsessed with the past and with anything that registers as “Atlantean.” So it is that many mages are deeply fascinated by the presence and origin of the Stygian Gates, all of which seem to be marked with Atlantean runes (both tiny and massive). What does it mean? Many have posited that the so-called Dread Doors were built by early oracles, perhaps indicated that Atlantis was never on Earth and was always out here… somewhere. Some further suggest that if the gates could be linked magically, they might create one big gate. And that gate would either lead mages to Atlantis… or lead Atlantis back to this reality. • What about the Abyss? Sure, technically the Abyss is the yawning gulf between the Supernal and the Fallen, but outer space itself sure has an abyssal quality, does it not? Is there a magical sympathy between the void of space and the oblivion of the Abyss? Do Abyssal entities lurk out there in the deepest darkest channels and forgotten tableaus of space? What do mages think of what happens when they go through a Stygian Gate? Is Between Space even closer to the true Abyss? Do the deepest, maddest Abyssal gods lurk in that interstitial void? • And what about the mage orders? How do they fare in the space opera revamp? The Adamantine Arrow: These mystic warriormonks are advisers to the many empires of man. They advise them on matters of war and diplomacy, and further, they train the princes and soldiers in whatever martial way suits the students. And, when necessary, the Arrow mages step onto the fields of war and wage a campaign of battle magic against the enemies of their empire—even if that means bringing magic to bear against others in their order. The Free Council: The universe is a swiftly-changing thing. How could it not be? If one mind is strong,

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what about a billion? Ten billion? A hundred billion, across the stars? How wonderful if all those means were bent toward enlightenment, toward the Awakening of magic? But they’re not. It’s the same as it’s always been: war, petty squabbles, entrenched beliefs, extremism. The Free Council wants to change all that. They don’t like that the other mage orders contribute to the oppression of magic and enlightenment (“keeping it all for themselves,” the old Council heads say). And so, they represent magical anarchists out on the galactic fringes, freeing people’s minds (even if the people don’t want them freed). Guardians of the Veil: If the Free Council consists of magical anarchists, the Guardians comprise those mages who think magic should be kept secret, practiced only by an elite few. Frankly, they’re trying to put the snakes back in the can because magic is already out there, no longer secret. That doesn’t stop them from trying, though—think of them as a well-intentioned secret police, tracking down those exploiting magic and, well, punishing them. The Mysterium: Those mages in the Mysterium are equal part “cosmic mystagogue” and “alien archaeologist.” They believe that before mankind came out here to colonize the stars, the stars had other inhabitants, maybe as long as a million years ago. And, in fact, the Mysterium accepts that those previous “tenants” may have been the original Atlanteans. That means planet-hopping to find any artifacts or writings that lend credence to this theory and shine light on the original Atlantis. It also makes the Mysterium the self-proclaimed expert on the Stygian Gates. (And yes, if you’re thinking, “Gosh, this puts them into serious competition or coordination with the Loyalists of Thule, the Bone Shadows and maybe even the Mekhet,” you wouldn’t be wrong.) The Silver Ladder: The Free Council likes to claim that the universe is “home to magic,” but that’s bullshit. The Silver Ladder knows the truth: mages are the ones who keep the magic, and that puts mages in a particularly powerful position. And they’re happy to ascend to their predestined rank as Rulers of Everything They See, thank you very much. Mages of the Silver Ladder aren’t content to serve as diplomats or strategists to the various empires. No, they’d rather be the emperors. They deserve to rule, and they can claim that rule easy—as a result, more than one empire, civilization, army or mega-corp has a Silver Ladder sorcerer at its head.

New Toy: Attuned Weapon (Merit; • to •••••)

Effect: Whether true or not, mages are considered to be mannered and elegant—champions of old ways and ancient methods. (The Free Council balk at this

suggestion, but it doesn’t make it any less assumed.) As such, many mages build their own Attuned Weapons: melee-style hand-held weapons that reflect their magic and speak to a time before photon repeaters and laserlancers. Choose a melee weapon that best suits the character’s persona (sword, knife, axe, spear, staff, etc.). The character must have built this weapon herself (cut the staff from an alien tree, hammered the meteor-forged sword, chipping away volcanic moonstone to form a glass-sharp knife). The weapon must be attuned to one of the mage’s Ruling Arcana (determined by Path, see p. 68, Mage: The Awakening). The weapon gains Damage (as attack bonus) equal to the dots purchased in the Merit. Damage on these is considered lethal regardless of the weapon (e.g., staves do bashing normally, but an Attuned Staff does lethal) unless a special effect below notes otherwise. Further, the weapon also gains a special ability based on the Ruling Arcanum: Death: This weapon can be used to attack ghosts (manifest or otherwise) directly. In addition, it gains +1 dice against vampire targets. Fate: On a successful attack, roll a single die. If that die comes up a 10, then double the damage done. If that die comes up a 1, then the attack was successful, but only does bashing damage. If it comes up 2-9, no effect takes place beyond normal attack and damage resolution. Forces: The mage can, once per scene, turn the weapon into the embodiment of a particular “force” (ire, lightning, light, etc.)—this lasts for a number of turns equal to the character’s Gnosis score, and each turn it does one bashing damage to the character while it remains in her grip (this cannot be prevented with protective gloves or other gear). However, during this time the weapon does aggravated damage to targets. Life: Once per game session, the mage can use this weapon in a way opposite of its intent: to heal instead of damage. Make an attack as normal, and successes gained instead heal that number of points of lethal (or bashing) damage. The weapon does not heal aggravated damage. Matter: The weapon ignores Durability as a factor when making attacks on any material and inorganic object. In addition, it gains +1 dice against Promethean targets. Mind: If the weapon makes a successful attack on a sentient creature and does at least five points of lethal damage, then the weapon also robs the victim of one Willpower point and the point is transferred to the mage. Prime: If the weapon makes a successful attack on a creature possessing Essence or Mana and does at least

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three points of lethal damage, then the weapon also robs the victim of one Essence or Mana point and the point is transferred to the mage (Essence is transferred as Mana). In addition, it gains +1 dice against Awakened targets. Spirit: This weapon can be used to attack spirits (manifest or otherwise) directly. In addition, it gains +1 dice against werewolf targets. Space: If the mage makes a successful attack on the target and draws blood, the mage may scrye into the weapon at any point over the subsequent 24 hour period and see the victim and her location (though the only sense experienced is sight). Time: The mage always goes first in Initiative. In addition, it gains +1 dice against changeling targets.

Changelings System Shifts

• For the most part, the rules that govern changelings on Earth don’t need to change much in terms of putting the Lost into the space opera shard. However,

the Hedge merits serious consideration. The Hedge can be opened as normal by any changeling going through a portal or reflective surface—and yes, that means a supply closet on board a frigate, through a reflective surface on a solar array, or in the trapdoor at the bottom of a lunar ore harvester. The question becomes: where does the changeling go when she enters? The Hedge, yes, but what and where is the Hedge? If we reimagine the Hedge as something that is less linear (i.e. walking down a Hedge trod) and far more three-dimensional (a spheroid maze where changelings can travel up, down, or sideways through the labyrinth), we can then imagine that changelings in turn can take more than just themselves in: they can take whole spacecraft inside to navigate the tangle. ( This leads to images of faceless hobgoblins leaping onto the wings of the ship, chewing through cables, throwing themselves bodily into the engines.) This means that changelings can use the Hedge to bypass Stygian Gates if they so desire: either using the gates or even docking bay doors as pathways into the Hedge. To determine how long the journey takes in the Hedge, assume that the Navigation system on p.

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219 of Changeling: The Lost still applies, except now the journey takes (in hours) 20 minus the Wyrd rating rather than 10 minus Wyrd. • It might seem that Contracts require special consideration, but for the most part, they should work as designed—it’s just that, some changelings are going to be more comfortable on a planet’s surface rather than floating out in the middle of space since the Contracts of the Lost are so often attuned to natural features (elements, animals, sunlight). That’s not to say, however, that a changeling couldn’t have a dog or two on board a spacecraft, or that it’s not valuable to be able to control fire and temperature and grow plants on board a ship— in fact, in this way, changelings can become incredibly useful on a long spacefaring journey. One question is: do Contracts of Fang and Talon work if geared toward alien fauna (or Contracts of Spring on xenomorphic lora)? Well, why not? Even if they’re not terrestrial, why put in place unnecessary limits? You might also want to expand the Elemental Contracts to, say, Ether—or even the empty Void of space.

Story Considerations

• A changeling’s imprisonment by the True Fae can be a whole different experience, now: what if the Hedge is a ring of thorns surrounding an Arcadia planet, a ring navigable by spacecraft? What if, when humans are stolen away, they are dragged through rifts in time and space (or Stygian Gates) and taken to this Arcadian homeworld? Are the True Fae then not only iguratively alien, but truly extraterrestrial? Could a character’s story involve a measure of planetary romance by falling in forbidden love with her Keeper—a relationship denied by the gulf of space after the character is unwittingly freed? Hell, consider rethinking the entire “majority oppression, minority rebellion” aspect of a lot of space opera: what if the True Fae are the oppressors, and the changelings represent an active rebellion looking to rout and destroy their oneiric overlords (which further complicates that “planetary romance” angle noted above, giving it a Romeo & Juliet in-wartime feel). • Freeholds, the fundamental unit of larger Lost society, can get a pretty serious space opera makeover: a rebel lunar outpost, a fabricated village found on a comet and held fast by a Contract with the comet itself, an old cargo freighter thieved from its pilots. Freeholds might communicate with one another via a Subspace Frequency, a parsec-traversing signal (delayed by minutes or hours depending on how far apart the freeholds happen to be) that allows changelings to warn one another about the True Fae or coordinate attacks on the Keepers or on enemy Courts. • Goblin Markets, too, are a new consideration. Do they only exist in whatever version of the Hedge

you prefer (a Hedge planet, a ring of thorns surrounding the Arcadian homeworld, or the Hedge as it stands in Changeling: The Lost)? Could you envision a solar flotilla out at the edges of space or found somewhere in Between Space? • Finally, consider revamping the nature of the Courts. The Courts as they stand are seasonal, and space? Space has no seasons. On the one hand, you’re obviously free to keep the Courts as seasonal, as some planets will either still have seasons or will have one persistent season. Example: a tropical jungle moon might make a great Summer Court kingdom, whereas a Hoth-like Arctic rock would make an ideal place for the gloomy palaces of the Winter Court. However, don’t hesitate to get all space opera on its ass, either: what about Courts based off of celestial objects? The Court of the Comet, the Aurora Court, the Court of the Dead Star, the Court of the Void. This can work with the various noble entitlements, too: Knights of the Supernova, the Bishops of Occultation, the Royal Guardians of the Ring of Dust. • And what of the seasonal Courts (if you’re keeping them), cast in the dim light of The Infinite Macabre: The Spring Court: Think of them as hedonistic galaxy-crossing Johnny Appleseeds—tromping across the planets and moons, looking for places to plant their seeds both figuratively and literally. They’re terraforming freaks, drug-addled tricksters, and sex-addict space hipsters. They don’t care what you want. They care about what they want, and that’s it. The Summer Court: The Summer Court cares little about the ways of man—they are warriors and soldiers, yes, but they don’t involve themselves in mortal disputes or territorial pissing matches. Their armies march for the Lost, and the Lost alone. As such, the Summer Court carves out its own domains across the galaxy—forest moons, sun-baked space stations, distant islands on distant planets—to call their own. They offer protection to any who join with them: joining merely means a stint in the Summer Court’s military service. The Autumn Court: The universe knows no fear, it seems—it continues to expand ever-outward, mankind moving with the aggressiveness of an untreated disease. It’s as if man is ignorant to the dangers—not just the dangers the stars offer, such as solar flares or supernovas, but the monsters that lurk out there in the velvet blackness. What of the True Fae and their homeworld, a planet that never shows up on any star-charts or surveys, a planet yet with its own kind of mad gravity—gravity that reaches out with invisible hands to clutch at those whom the Fae want to bring to heel. The Autumn Court serves to remind the universe that monsters exist by being monsters themselves: they are but a taste of the terror, a vaccine for mankind’s unchecked spread. That is not to say they form an oppressive empire: no, even the

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worst civilizations have a lot to fear from the Autumn Court. They are equal opportunity nightmares. The Winter Court: The Winter Court, like their Autumnal counterparts, recognizes that the universe is filled to the brim with horrors—but their response is entirely different. Instead of acting as bellwether and warning system, the Winter Court escapes—and this universe is home to many hidden, forbidden and forgotten places. The Winter Courtiers lee to the farthest corners and there play out their mad games and courtly intrigue, becoming insular and inbred (metaphorically and literally) until some clash or crisis kicks over the log and drags them back out into the light. For while many places remain hidden in the universe, all of them can still be found by the most resolute True Fae (or humans, or Autumn Court, or whomever).

New Toy: Doll’s Heart Driveshaft (Token; •••••)

Peel back the metal door encasing the engine of a changeling crew’s starship, and what might you find? You might find a creepy marionette or plastic doll wired up to the drive, that’s what. And what does this doll do, exactly? Well, it takes the spaceship and literally, in the span of an instant, drops it out of space and into the Hedge—where it promptly becomes a Hollow. (The dots in the Spaceship Merit must be respent as Hollow dots while the ship remains in that form.) Action: Instant Mien: The doll wired to the heart of the ship is alive: squirming, writhing, babbling, screaming. Drawback: First, the ship—once it becomes a Hollow—cannot re-engage and emerge as a ship again for a full 24 hour period. And when it does, it doesn’t teleport anywhere; it must literally ly free of the Hedge through some gateway or door big enough to accommodate a ship. Second, the shift from “outer space” to “Hedge” is one that sends up all manner of signals—signals that may summon strange hobgoblins, demented changelings or mad Keepers. Catch: The changeling must have burned her hand (for one or more lethal damage) somewhere on the ship during the previous eight hours.

Prometheans System Shifts

• Prometheans have a sympathy with Between Space. While in the Dismal Void, the Promethean gains +3 dice to resist Torment, and can reduce the cost of activating any Bestowment by one point of Pyros (minimum of zero cost).

• You might consider upping the milestone Vitriol awards for Promethean characters walking the Pilgrimage: after all, tracking one’s “humanness” is all the more dificult across the deep channels of space (where humans sometimes fear to tread). Adjustment needn’t be dramatic: minor milestones are 1-5 Vitriol, major 5-10, superlative 10-15.

Story Considerations

• Consider the possibility that the alchemy once put forth by various Demiurges to bring life to dead lesh (i.e. creating a Promethean) is actually “alien alchemy,” as in, the inspiration for such creation on Earth came from the alien astronauts that once landed in Ancient Egypt. This also means that new methods of such extraterrestrial alchemy could lurk out there for those mortals or Prometheans who are intrepid enough to find them. • File this under “Idea That Totally Won’t Go Horribly Awry,” but what would happen if the Prometheans actually had their own moon or planet to call their own? (Hell, call it Prometheus—apropos given how often the names of planets are cast after mythic igures.) No humans around, so no Disquiet. Branded throngs, ahoy. What could possibly go wrong? (What’s that? You say it’s a planet full of rage-filled monsters who long to be human?) Is it too abstract to suggest that so many Prometheans could somehow imbue the moon or planet itself with a kind of sentience and life? A “reanimated” Promethean planet broadcasting its mad signal into space? A signal that draws Disquiet from hundreds of parsecs away and captures passing ships in a tractor beam of pure disdain and simmering suspicions? • Clones, a relative rarity in the World of Darkness, could be a lot more common in The Infinite Macabre. Clones are capable of manning spacecraft or acting as redundant failsafes—or, as we’ve seen already, they might be used to populate a moon-based mining operation or even act as a whole army of soldiers for an oppressive galactic regime. This could thrust clones into the light as either a major enemy for Promethean characters or it could put them front and center as playable characters. • If you want a little survival horror mixed in with your space opera, look no further than the Centimani or Pandorans. Play a game like Dead Space and tell me that the pink, gibbering mutants in that game couldn’t easily be something ripped out of the pages of Promethean: The Created.

New Toy: Capacitor (New Electrification Transmutation; •••••)

The Created with this Transmutation can control and sense all aspects of a spaceship from within merely by touching some part of it.

21 PROMETHEANS

Cost: 2 Pyros Dice Pool: None Action: Instant Activating the Transmutation requires the Promethean to touch the spacecraft (from within or outside). The spacecraft gains power if it had none before. Further, the Promethean can pilot the ship, make attacks or even make repairs (see the Spaceship Merit, p. 7 of this product) without being near to the controls of those systems. Finally, the Promethean can take a turn and sense the goings-on within the ship, attaining all five senses as if the character is the craft. (This requires no roll.)

Sin-Eaters System Shifts

• Gaining plasm might be a little bit harder in The Infinite Macabre given a Sin-Eater’s propensity to spend time in space in transit from world to world, so consider

using Dead Spots: out there in the deep nowhere are spaces that are not only physical voids but spiritual voids, too. These are places where stars burned out or where ships died in the emptiness and the crew withered away to nothing. These places are home to ghosts both human and alien, and wise Sin-Eaters can use these out-in-thevoid “haunts” to collect plasm from these low places. • The Infinite Macabre demands a potential rewiring of the Underworld as it’s written in Geist: The Sin-Eaters (Appendix starting on p. 258). First, assume the Underworld is no longer entirely autochthonic— meaning, it has a surface, and above it, a sky (“The Allochthonous Skies”). And above that sky is the wide open nothing of Between Space (aka the Dismal Void). Second, assume that every physical body that is or has been home to human beings has a representation in Between Space: moons, space stations, planets, asteroid outposts, etc. Third, if it has a representation in Between Space, it also has its own Underworld. Just as the Underworld on Earth represents the shades of that place, so does every netherworld of every planet, moon

22 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

and stardock. (And it bears considering exactly what the Underworld of these places look like: the Underworld of a stardock might very well look like the claustrophobic halls of any Doom video game, where the netherworlds of other planets would represent the dead cultures of those civilizations that dwelled there.) Finally, it should be possible for a character to leave one Underworld by going “deep enough” (meaning, into the Lower Mysteries) and emerging into another Underworld—which means, yes, a character could enter the Underworld on Earth and reemerge onto, say, the planet Corvus (through its Underworld) some 10,000 light years away without ever venturing into outer space. Sin-Eaters can use Avernian Gates (per normal) on any body or structure that has its own Underworld.

Story Considerations

• The geists themselves should be thought of in those “space operatic” terms while still retaining that archetypal sensibility: the Suffocated Cosmonaut, the Dead Knight of the Black Comet, the Impaled Pilot, the Lunar Miner. • What to do about ghosts? Consider that the universe is probably full of them. In space opera, massive battles unlike any seen on Earth can unfold. Sometimes, entire civilizations and planets are wiped out with singlestroke mega-weapons (think the way the Death Star obliterates Alderaan—in fact, just as the Force hears all those “voices” crying out, so too might Sin-Eaters feel such a deathly disturbance across space). You have plenty of excuse to populate the stars and planets and dead dreadnaughts with as many ghosts as you so choose. In fact, being so far “out there” probably makes it a lot easier for specters to manifest and affect human beings: faces at the portholes, engines dying suddenly, wraiths traveling alongside the ship like pale worms instead of porpoises. However, if you feel like you want to open up the Sin-Eater purview a little, feel free to add “spirits” to their resume, alongside “ghosts.” It isn’t entirely without sense given that geists are so archetypal that they aren’t ghosts so much as the spirits of ghosts. Why not assume that Sin-Eaters straddle two worlds, making them an easy ally for the Forsaken?

New Toy: The Meteor Mask (Deathmask)

Deathmask, the Forgotten (Death by Chance) Key: Industrial Skill: Drive (Pilot) This mask—a porous mask forged of volcanic rock, peppered with glittering gems where the eyes and teeth should be—is the face of the Last Colonist, a geist whose entire moon colony was destroyed by a rogue asteroid.

The Last Colonist did not die with the others, as he was underground in the mines at the time. When he emerged, he found that his family and friends were all gone. He was trapped, because the meteor had also destroyed any chance of getting off the colony, and over time he perished. When he was left as a lingering ghost, he absorbed all the roaming specters of those who had died, and together as one they wandered the rock, gathering glittering gems and stones with compulsive fervor. When the Sin-Eater dons this mask, the machines around him run silently and effectively—no machine within 50 yards will break completely (unless destroyed actively by the changeling).

Possessed Starships If cars and airplanes have spirits, you can be damn sure that starships do, too. They aren’t content to sit and wait in dry-dock. They long to be out there. It’s what they are, what they do. Regular maintenance keeps them docile and content, while a crew that develops an affection for their ship may ind that sometimes the craft… helps them out. The engines may kick in just at the right moment, or a short-circuit lickers brightly to illuminate something terrible in the dark cargo hold. Crews (or krewes, if you’re playing with SinEater characters) treating such a vessel with a lack of respect may ind increased injury rates or that their navigation system is always pointing them just off course. In game terms, benign spirits get to add their Power score to any Skill checks made using ship systems, while malevolent entities apply Power as a penalty to Skill checks. Of course, really pissed-off spirits can do a lot worse. Any spirit that unpleasant might just switch off gravity and life support and lush the lesh contagion out into space. Exorcising a starship computer may not the ship’s chaplain’s normal duty, but it’s perhaps the best time to have a priest on board. Other things can take control of ships, too. Ghosts of dead crewmates or living individuals with particularly powerful supernatural abilities can cause hair-raising horror in space. It only takes a few adjusted systems to turn a starship to into a cofin—if you’re in the piracy game, this can make it easy to acquire new vessels.

23 SIN-EATERS

The Other: Playing an Alien in the World of Darkness

Your flesh shimmers. It’s iridescent, like the mirrored flesh of a lizard. Your hands? Each finger tapers to a whipping tendril (like the tongue of a hummingbird). Your eyes don’t exist; you “see” by cobbling together an unholy host of stimuli—sound, light, heat, smells. And that’s a good thing, too, because you can hear blood pulsing through human hearts. You can smell the sweat of their fear. Feel the warmth of flesh even at 50 yards. It makes you hungry. You want to crack open that poor dumb meatbag and savor the juices. But you don’t. Not now. That would be rude. And your people are very polite. At least, they are until nobody’s look ing…

From Darkest Space, You Appear You have always played The Other. As a vampire, you are held fast to the darkness, and kept to the fringes by your cold hands and the hot blood in your mouth. As a mage, you know things others do not, can perform tricks that could crumple someone’s mind like a soda can under a heavy boot. As a werewolf, you are a creature straddling worlds, equal parts spirit, animal, and man. That’s not even talking about Sin-Eaters, hunters, Prometheans or fae creatures. You haven’t seen anything yet. This portion of The Infinite Macabre is devoted toward letting you roleplay an alien being. Technically, this is meant to be kept with the setting and themes of The Infinite Macabre—space opera as a concept is comfortable with the pulpier elements and motifs that best suit an alien character. That said, if you are inclined to take characters built from this section and put them in your modern-era World of Darkness game, go for it. The only person who can stop you is the Storyteller. (Alternately, the rules in here could easily be used to create Nightbreed-style monster types, too, provided you extract out any of the space opera trappings.) To be clear, most of this section is geared toward the rules and character creation necessary to play an alien

creature in The Infinite Macabre. We’re getting down and dirty: here are the rules and as many examples as we can cram into the gaps. Everything else is up to you.

Step One: Choose Concept

Determining the direction you’ll take in creating an alien character is almost as difficult as being asked, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” The answers are, of course, limitless—but hopefully with a little thought you’ll be able to zero in on the type of alien you might want to play within the boundaries of The Infinite Macabre. Haughty power-mad diplomat? Flesh-hungry moon-born berserker? Disgruntled robot? Emotionless jellyish-like bladder of toxic gas and telepathic communication? You have no end to the choices you may make.

Step Two: Select Attributes Choose Attributes in much the same way you would choose them for a starting human character.

Step Three: Select Skills

Same with Skills: while it’s possible that aliens might not technically possess the same Skill sets as human beings, in the mode of The Infinite Macabre space opera, aliens still have humanoid qualities. An alien can hack a computer, canvass a party, or stab you with a pointy implement.

Step Four: Select Skill Specialties

Choose three Skill Specialties for any Skills your alien character possesses.

Step Five: Add Alien Template The alien template is a simple one: it is composed of Qualities, which are the elements that define your alien species. It is up to you whether or not these Qualities are meant to be singular to your alien character or representative of his entire alien species. As with Skills and Attributes, you must prioritize the categories for your alien character’s Qualities. Except here, you gain an additional category: Physical, Mental, Social, and Cultural. You do not need to put these in the same order that you applied to either Skills or Attributes.

24 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

In each category, depending on the order you give it, you gain a number of dots to spend across various alien Qualities apropos to that category. Primary earns you ive dots. Secondary earns you three dots. Tertiary earns you two dots. Quaternary earns you one dot. Note that purchasing Imperfections (below) can earn you up to an additional five dots to spend in Qualities, and these dots are not bound to any one category.

Your Awesomeness Trumps Our Awesomeness True fact: anything you come up with is probably going to be cooler than anything we come up with, especially in how well it lies at your game table. The Qualities found in this chapter do not need to be the end-all be-all list; they are not meant to be exhaustive. Make up your own. Note that dot costs are higher when the Quality offers a larger beneit. You should work with the Storyteller and the other players not only to come up with interesting abilities, but also to determine the appropriate dot levels.

Physical Qualities Bodiless (•••••) The character has no body. How you interpret that is up to you: is he a cloud of vapor? A purely telepathic entity? A spirit of sorts, kept only to the Shadow of the galaxy? Does his gaseous form lie trapped in some kind of tank? However you determine it, the character has no body to speak of and thus is given over to no Physical existence. What does this mean? First, it means no Physical Attributes or Skills. Cross them off the sheet. It also means: no Physical advantages. The character has no Size. It has a Speed equal to Resolve + Composure. Initiative is equal to Intelligence + Wits. This may not seem like a Quality (meaning, a beneit) until you recognize that the character is virtually indestructible: while it may make no Physical attacks, it also suffers no Physical attacks. Swing a vibrating blade through the character and—what? Nothing. No damage done. The character has no Health score and instead tracks damage through Willpower. Choose one weakness from this list (or make up your own with Storyteller approval):

fire, cold, radiation, steam, or electricity. This is the only source of pain the character may suffer: it does damage, but instead of causing wounds, it subtracts Willpower. If the character is reduced to zero Willpower, then the character suffers a -5 penalty on all rolls until at least one point of Willpower can be restored.

Chameleon (•••) The character’s flesh is capable of shifting colors and manifesting iridescence: as such, the skin can blend in with most backgrounds provided the character can wait for a single turn to manifest the skin-shift. The simpler the background, the more effective the camouflage happens to be: if the background is uncomplicated (a forest, a brick wall, a rock face) then any attempts to actively search for the character suffer a -5 penalty. If the background features unusual complexities (a poster on the wall, other characters, bundles of wires or other manmade intricacies) then that penalty drops to -3. Further, the character may not move during this time: the skin does not change to keep up. Finally, if the character is wearing clothes or objects then the penalty to ind the character drops by one more (to -4 or -2, respectively). Other characters must be actively hunting for the character in order to see the chameleon: passive witnesses will fail to see anything strange at all regardless of the circumstances. Finally, darkness helps the chameleon skin adapt: darkness keeps the penalty at -5 regardless of the background complexity and whether or not the character is wearing clothes. Covered in Cilia (•) The character’s lesh is covered in small (or large, if you’re so inclined) cilia—or, to be more descriptive, “whipping tendrils.” The character may choose a +1 bonus at the time of character creation to either Initiative, Defense, or Speed due to the tiny energy generated by the constant movement of her cilia. Does Not Breathe (••) Oxygen? Who needs oxygen? Certainly not you. You gain life-giving sustenance from other sources: perhaps you are driven merely by the kinetic energy of your bodily processes. Whatever the case, you can walk on the exterior of a ship, you can wander underwater for hours on end, or you can waltz into a cloud of toxic gas because you do not breathe. Gazing Across the Spectrum (•••) The character’s vision offers him a myriad of perception tweaks via gazing across multiple spectrums. He is able to gain visual input across infrared, ultraviolet, and thermal sight, compositing it with his normal mode of vision. This offers him a +3 on all Perception-based rolls.

25 PLAYING AN ALIEN

Human-Seeming (•) Perhaps the character is a synthetic humanoid or, rather, just a really weird distant offshoot of humankind (with some frighteningly close genetic parity to humanity, perhaps within one percent). Either way, the character can pass as human more easily. Any rolls made to pretend to be human gain a +3 bonus. Genetic testing will reveal the truth. Mucuslesh (•) The alien flesh exudes a greasy, sticky, or mucuslike discharge at all times. It is therefore very difficult to grapple the character: any grapple attempts against this alien character suffer a -5 penalty. Natural Armor (• to •••••) Hard reptilian scale? Chitinous exoskeleton, like that of a tremendous mantis or beetle? Dense-woven nano-iber made to replace one’s existing skin? Whatever the case, the character’s skin is hard enough to provide the benefits of armor. The character gains one dot of armor (both against bashing and lethal sources) per dot purchased in this Physical Quality. Vicious Body Parts (• to •••••) The character has a body part which does lethal damage equal to one die per dot purchased. Could be that this is some kind of violent mouthpart (a piercing proboscis), ichorous claws, or razor-sharp serrated ins along one’s forearm.

Mental Qualities Empath (•) The character is able to, by expending a Willpower point, gaze upon the swirling aura of another character (alien or human), and determine the target’s current dominant emotional state. The character may receive a single aura color or a hypnotic mix of colors (indicating greater emotional complexity). Consult the sidebar on this page to see a sample of aura colors and their accordant emotional states. Note that aliens that possess no emotions fail to register any kind of aura signifier. If the character wishes to view the aura of a different target, an additional Willpower point is required per aura examined. Non-Linear Thought Patterns (•••) Human beings tend to think logically and linearly: man is a problem solver that moves from Point A to Point B and so on. Alien minds and brains needn’t be so forthright and may solve problems and puzzles more comprehensively, or even backwards. The character gains the 8-Again quality on the following Skills: Academics, Computer, Investigation, Occult, and Science.

Aura Signiiers Condition

Color

Afraid

Orange

Aggressive

Purple

Angry

Bright Red

Bitter

Brown

Calm

Light Blue

Compassionate

Pink

Conservative

Lavender

Depressed

Gray

Desirous/Lustful

Deep Red

Distrustful

Light Green

Envious

Dark Green

Excited

Violet

Generous

Rose

Happy

Vermilion

Hateful

Black

Idealistic

Yellow

Innocent

White

Lovestruck

Bright Blue

Obsessed

Bright Green

Sad

Silver

Spiritual

Gold

Suspicious

Dark Blue

Confused

Mottled, shifting colors

Daydreaming

Sharp, lickering colors

Supernaturally Controlled Weak, muted aura Psychotic

Hypnotic, swirling colors

Supernatural Being

A vague, indescribable “wrongness” to the aura

Further, the Unskilled penalty is reduced from -3 dice to -1 die.

Skill Focus (• to •••••) The species focuses a great deal of mental energy on a single Skill. This Skill needn’t be bound to the Mental

26 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

category (rather, the Mental nature of this Quality is born of the intense mental discipline necessary to train such a Skill so completely). For each dot purchased in this Quality, you may choose another Skill Specialty for the chosen Skill at the time of character creation. This Quality may not be taken twice.

Tech Brain (• to •••••) Choose either the Computer Skill or the Crafts Skill. The character gains a series of bonus dice at the beginning of each game session equal to twice the dots purchased in this Quality. The character may expend these dice over the course of the game session on the Skill for which they were chosen. She can, if she possesses them, add more than five dice to a single roll. The character may be a robot, possess hard-wired synapses, or may just be an alien with a keen technical mind. Telepathic (•• or ••••) Vocalized speech is not absolutely necessary for every alien species: many are capable telepaths, able to communicate directly with the minds of others (two-dot) and read the surface thoughts of targets (four-dot). The two-dot version offers the character a one-way avenue of communication: she can, with no roll, talk to another character’s mind. She cannot, however, hear their communication that comes back—again, it’s a one-way street. To gain two-way communication, the character must upgrade to the four-dot version. This Quality allows the character both modes of telepathy. She can hear the surface thoughts of others if they will it to be so. If they, however, are not actively willing their thoughts to be heard by the character, then such telepathy constitutes a kind of mental theft and requires a roll of Wits + Larceny (many have compared to, quite literally, picking a lock) versus the opponent’s Resolve + Composure. If the alien character succeeds, she can hear any and all surface thoughts from the target for the remainder of the scene. She cannot, however, go deeper than surface; think of it like a radio. One can tune in only to active frequencies, but one cannot use tune in transmissions from the past. Thought Into Action (••) The alien is an eminently fast thinker, and this translates into a fast actor. The character calculates Initiative differently than human beings: instead of Dexterity + Composure, the equation is now [Highest of Wits or Intelligence] + Composure.

Social Qualities Beast Whisperer (•• or •••) The character can implicitly understand the language of animals: a creature that barks, meows, caws,

or makes any vocal noise at all, is saying something. The alien can understand whatever that may be without any roll. It is in part a matter of inflection, but it’s also an issue of body language. For an additional dot (•••), the character can carry this over to her dealings with humans and aliens who do not speak her tongue: she may make a Wits + Empathy roll in order to understand the general meaning of what another character is saying, even if she doesn’t understand their exact tongue.

Lyrical Voice (•••) The alien’s tongue and vocal chords (or vocal spiracles or spore-voice or whatever it is that allows the creature to speak) provides a beautiful, melodic sound. The cost to purchase dots in the Presence and Manipulation Attributes as well as the Expression, Persuasion, Socialize and Subterfuge Skills are all halved (round up). Pheromones (• to •••••) The character’s body exudes hard-to-detect pheromones that can affect the emotions of others. For each dot in this Quality the character may choose one overarching emotion (anger, love, hate, fear, compassion, lust, sadness, etc.) and, with a Presence + Persuasion roll (which is also granted a +3 bonus) affect all those around her (within a 10 feet radius) with that emotion. Characters may actively attempt to resist feeling this emotion with a Resolve + Empathy roll, but can only do so if they believe themselves actively manipulated. If they feel that the emotion is a natural response, they are not granted the option to resist until they gain some clue about the pheromonal manipulation. Seductive (•• or ••••) Sex is a critical part of this alien’s habits, a casual component that is as fundamental as breathing, sleeping, or eating. The two-dot version of this grants the character a bonus to all Seduction rolls by allowing her to add both Presence and Manipulation to the roll to seduce (Seduction as an action is described on p. 84 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). The four-dot version allows the character to bear fruit from her seductiveness: if she successfully has sex with another character, she gains a measure of authority over that individual. She gains a +3 bonus on all Social rolls made to sway that character’s actions or emotions. This bonus fades at a rate of one die per week but may be re-established with further sexual contact. Soothe the Beast (•) No animal (or animalistic, non-sentient alien) will attack the character. It could be something physiological (a sweet-smelling sap exuded by the lesh) or something altogether ethereal (a calming aura). Either way, no animal will attack the character unless the character attacks first.

27 ALIEN QUALITIES

Without Emotion (••) The alien’s physiology and brain chemistry does not allow for pesky “emotions” to get in the way of social interactions. As such, it’s very difficult to affect the character in a social, emotional way. Social rolls against the character (such as an Intimidation roll to scare her or a Persuasion roll to appeal to her compassion) suffer a -3 penalty, and Empathy rolls suffer a -5 penalty if trying to read her current state of mind. Note, however, that some rolls may still work on logic: an Intimidation or Persuasion roll can be based on logic rather than emotion (appealing to, say, data or knowledge). The Storyteller can rule that such rolls do not suffer the penalty.

Cultural Qualities Child of the Stars (••) The character’s culture was born amongst the stars: not on a planet but quite literally in space. They are a star-faring race whose civilization remains bound to the infinite emptiness, perhaps traveling in a massive fleet of starships, as a part of a stardock’s culture, or possibly belonging to a cobbled together empire of floating space junk. Characters born of this culture ind a deep sympathy with any kind of space-faring vehicle. Crafts rolls made on starcraft (or any tech related to starcraft) do not gain any bonuses directly—but the character gets, once per game session, the chance to re-roll any failed dice on those Crafts rolls. Further, the character may buy more such chances at a cost of one Willpower point per re-rolled failures. Note that this doesn’t mean the character discards successes and re-rolls the entire dice pool. The character keeps successes and may re-roll those dice that rolled as failures. Competitive Species (••) The character’s culture thrives on Darwinian competition: survival of the fittest determines anything from breeding rights to royalty. As such, the character is a keen competitor, and gains a +3 bonus to any contested (non-relexive) action. Diplomatic Species (•) It’d be easy to dismiss these aliens as weak and acquiescing, what with their almost religious devotion to diplomacy and compromise, but some might wisely see that being the arbiter of such compromise actually grants one a small but not insignificant measure of power. This alien’s culture gains power from solutions: anytime the character successfully negotiates a compromise of sorts (perhaps but not necessarily resulting from a contested Social roll), the alien gains a point of Willpower.

Hive Mind (•••••) The character’s species or culture is built off of a hive mind—all members of the race are connected. This Quality confers a number of beneits. First, all characters within the same species may communicate telepathically if they choose to. Second, the character may spend a Willpower point to gain a Skill she does not normally possess from another of her species provided that the other character a) is within sight and b) possesses the Skill. (The character gains the Skill at the same number of dots as the target.) Finally, the character may share wounds with her species mates by touching them: she can give away a single point of damage (bashing or lethal) to another of her kind (provided the other accepts it; she may not force it upon them). Logical Species (••••) The culture from which the character comes eschews religion and may even look down on art, literature, and other forms of non-logical expression. Logic and science are kings to the members of this culture or species, and this confers a specific benefit: upon character creation the character may take one additional Attribute dot in the Mental category and three additional Skill dots in the Mental Skill category. Pilgrim Culture (• to •••••) The character’s culture is driven by the journey, not by the destination. They may not even have a centrally located civilization and instead may be cast across the stars. For each dot purchased in this Quality the player may create a goal for the character that serves as a waypoint of sorts along the character’s pilgrimage. Any time the character fulfills this goal, the character gains 10 experience points (and then removes one dot from this Quality until it goes to zero). Note that the goals should not be easy to accomplish (“I’d like to sing a song!”) but should be monumental (“I’d like to visit the most distant planet in the universe and find out if life ever existed there”). However, the goals should not be impossible, either. The Storyteller should have input as to the character’s goals and should approve or deny them as necessary. Warlike Species (••••) The alien’s civilization is one steeped in the art of war: they are in a constant stage of violent agitation, either internally (civil war) or externally (against other alien species or empires). This Quality earns the alien a number of beneits. First, the alien may take a fourth Skill Specialty at character creation that must be applied to one of the following Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Firearms, Weaponry, or Intimidation. Second, the character may

28 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

choose one weapon at which she is proficient. Attacks made using this chosen weapon type (for example: photon blasters, rip-swords) gain no direct bonus but instead possess an amped-up bonus based on Willpower expenditure: instead of gaining +3 for a Willpower point spent, the attack roll gains +5 dice instead. The character may never change this association with the type of weapon chosen at character creation: her culture breeds it into her species at a very young age.

War-torn (•• or ••••) The character’s civilization has been torn apart by war and strife. While this is not itself a Quality, the result of it certainly is: it makes the character part of a tougher, heartier breed. The two-dot version grants the character the 8-Again quality on any Survival rolls. The four-dot version includes that benefit and also grants the character an additional dot of Health.

Choose Imperfections Any imperfections you choose from the list below grant you an additional dot of Qualities that may be spent in any Quality category. As always, this list is not exhaustive and you should feel comfortable creating your own if this list doesn’t have what you’re looking for.

Frail Body The character’s physical body is weak. Perhaps her bones are hollow or her flesh is translucent and easily torn. Some aliens are simply not physically robust, as evolution has taken them down a different path from humankind. As such, the character’s Health score is igured only by that character’s Size. Stamina does not figure into the equation. Spatial Discomfort The character is comfortable either on the ground (planetside) or in the stars (out on a spacecraft or walking on a stardock). Maybe it’s because that’s where the alien was raised, or maybe because the character experienced some manner of trauma on the ground or in the stars. Choose ground or stars. If the character is comfortable on the ground, then whenever he walks among the stars he suffers a -3 penalty to all Mental rolls and a -1 penalty to all Social rolls. If the character is comfortable among the stars, then the reverse is true: the penalties are applicable when he walks on terrestrial ground. Small In Stature The character is from a species that is smaller than most other creatures: Size 3 instead of the normal Size 5. This translates to a reduced Health track, but it also lowers the species factor in terms of determining Speed (species factor of 3 instead of 5).

Strange Requirements Sure, humans like air to breathe, water to drink, and a sandwich to eat. Aliens don’t necessarily have the same simple requirements. That alien over there? He breathes nitrogen. The one next to him? Has to sleep every night in red Martian dirt or he wakes up restless and haunted by nightmares (gaining no Willpower upon waking). The shadowy, trembling thing in the corner? It’s like a vampire, except, you know, not dead: it needs blood to live. This Imperfection will require a little “design” on the part of player and Storyteller—what happens if the requirement isn’t met? Damage? Dice penalty? Reduced Willpower? Derangement? It shouldn’t be so serious that the character cannot exist in the game without serious repercussions, but it shouldn’t be a stress-free problem, either. Vulnerability Choose a substance. This substance now hurts the Hell out of your character by doing aggravated damage. The substance should be something that isn’t incredibly common (oxygen) but isn’t so super-rare that it will fail to ever come into play (dust from a supernova star). Think of how werewolves are harmed by silver or how vampires are vulnerable to fire. Other options might include radiation, below-zero temperatures, electricity, iron, lead, water.

Step Six: Choose Merits

Given that aliens in this game mode can be as “humanoid” as you so choose, feel free to purchase any Merits that make sense (provided the Storyteller agrees). You have one exception: you may purchase Size with Merit dots. You can go up one point of Size by spending two Merit dots. (This allows for alien races that are not of humanoid stature.)

Step Seven: Determine Advantages

Now it’s time to determine the inal Advantages for your alien character. The standard Advantages are calculated as normal unless otherwise noted by the Qualities purchased for your character. It is up to the Storyteller to determine whether or not Virtues and Vices are apropos to character creation. Virtues and Vices are explicitly bound to human culture, and thus may only apply to human (or once-human) characters. It is reasonable to suggest, however, that aliens that come from rich cultures likely have traits that are virtually analogous to Virtue and Vice. A good metric is: if your alien character has Cultural Qualities at primary or

29 ALIEN IMPERFECTIONS

secondary, then applying Virtue or Vice is likely appropriate. If Cultural Qualities fall to tertiary or quaternary status at the time of creation, then it’s likely that the character does not possess rigorous cultural norms.

Pre-Built Alien Races

Willpower

Grays

Willpower remains as an exhaustible personal resource for both human and alien characters. An alien character still has that conviction and drive to perform tasks critical to her nature, and so all the rules for Willpower still apply (unless otherwise modiied by the alien Qualities above).

Morality You have three options in terms of dealing with Morality. First: scrap it. This is recommended, because the ethnical mores of an alien species are, perhaps obviously, totally alien. Do coyotes, jellyish and falcons care about Morality? No. It’s an explicitly human thing, so, ditch it. Second: use it as written. If you’re assuming that the alien creatures in The Infinite Macabre are humanoid, then why shouldn’t they be beholden to Morality? Third: build-your-own. If you have Hunter: The Vigil, then you can turn to the Appendix (“The Code”, p. 325) for guidelines on modifying the pre-existing Morality Advantage in order to make it more alien and monstrous. Alternately, feel free to check out World of Darkness: Mirrors for additional ways to fold, spindle and mutilate the Morality system.

No, Seriously, Please Make Up Your Own Stuff We cannot stress enough how much we want you to contribute your own ideas to this by coming up with your own Qualities and Imperfections for alien species. You want a handful of starting points? What about… Aliens that spit acid? That bleed fuel? That can ly? That can gain sustenance from eating rocks and other inorganic material? That have tentacles, or multiple limbs, or really long legs for jumping? What if you get really weird: heads separate from bodies, dopplegangers, living computers, locks of sentient insects, manifested shadows, organic starships, aliens no bigger than a human ist, or hyper-intelligent moon-spiders?

Qualities: Cultural (Diplomatic •, Logical ••••); Mental (Telepathic ••, Tech Brain •); Social (Lyrical Voice •••); Physical (Vicious Body Parts • -- needletipped ingers) Imperfection: Small in Stature The Grays are the classic “alien” in occult lore, just like the ones that kidnapped Betty and Barney Hill in the 1960s: they have small bodies, large heads, black almond-shaped eyes, and wrinkly gray flesh. They are, as a culture, fascinated by other species: they are obsessed with finding out what makes other creatures “tick,” happy to probe or dissect whenever they can do so without contravening galactic law.

Nordics

Qualities: Social (Lyrical Voice •••, Seductive ••); Mental (Non-Linear Thought Patterns •••); Cultural (Pilgrim Culture ••); Physical (Human-Seeming •) Nobody knows exactly where the Nordics come from, and frankly, they don’t understand it, either. They only know that they are born, naked but as fully-formed adults, out amongst the stars. They literally just appear, stepping out of stardock closets or waking up in the cargo holds of cruising starliners. They’re fairly strange, as they look alarmingly human, and in fact earn their name from their pale skin, tall builds and blond hair. They seem hell-bent on traveling the universe (they have been seen on Earth for thousands of years) and learn as much as they can, driven as they are by this almost obsessive pilgrimage, a pilgrimage that they seem unable to put in too many words. They adore human beings and seem to enjoy sex with them, too. Procreation with them is, thankfully, not possible. Their ultimate origins and purpose remain mysterious even to them.

Reptoids

Qualities: Physical (Vicious Body Parts ••: Talons; Chameleon ••; Natural Armor •: Scaled Flesh); Cultural (Warlike Species ••••); Social (Beast Whisperer ••); Mental (Skill Focus •: Intimidation) Imperfection: Vulnerability (Ice) Nobody really likes the Reptoids—these brutish reptilian thugs don’t make friends easily because they just don’t care. They enjoy violence. They enjoy pain. It’s how their culture survives and thrives. But just because nobody likes them doesn’t mean they’re not wanted. Reptoids serve as powerful berserker warriors, body guards, mercenaries and assassins.

30 INFINITE MACABRE-SPACE OPERA IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

MT

s enkraD fo dlroW eht rof sretsnom fo noitceloc A

For use with the World of Darkness Rulebook

w w w. w o r l d o f d a r k n e s s . c o m

A collection of monsters for the World of Darkness

BY Jennifer Brozek

Fool’s Gold “What’s that you got there?” It was Jason, Tony’s roommate. Tony instinctively closed his hand and hunched over his treasure. “Nothin’,” he muttered. He winced as Jason swung a meaty fist and connected with his shoulder. “What is it?” Jason loomed over him, not used to being denied. “Just a rock. Probably not real anyway.” He let Jason pry open his hand and take the shiny, gold colored stone from him. “Whoa. What’s this? Gold?” Tony shrugged. “Probably just pyrite.” “What?” “Fool’s gold. Not real gold. Just looks like it.” “Where’d you get it?” Jason examined the stone with some curiosity. It looked like gold. It even smelled like it. Not that he actually knew what gold smelled like. It was a metal smell. Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, probably is a duck… “Nowhere.” Jason didn’t immediately respond to Tony’s feeble answer. The silence stretched between them until Tony couldn’t help himself. He looked up at Jason. Jason was smiling. It never boded well for anyone when Jason smiled… especially not for Tony. Jason handed back the gold stone without another punch or even throwing the stone at him. Then Jason sat down across from Tony, just looking at the smaller man. Tony could almost see the tiny wheels in Jason’s head click over what he thought the stone was and Tony’s reluctance to talk about it. He watched the big man come to a conclusion and waited for the onslaught. “You found something, didn’t you?” Jason’s voice was casual and friendly. It wasn’t really a question and Tony knew it. “Maybe.” “Something big.” “Maybe,” Tony repeated. “Is it what I think it is?” Jason gestured to the stone that Tony had cupped possessively in his hand. Tony looked away and pushed his glasses up his nose. When he glanced back at Jason, he saw the storm clouds gathering there but also saw Jason’s control – the same control he always used to get what he wanted from women. The man had the cunning patience of a predator when he really wanted something and realized that “right of might” wasn’t going to cut it. Jason was smart when he needed to be. Like now. “C’mon, buddy,” Jason coaxed. “You can tell me. We’ve been best friends for years. Haven’t I always protected you?”

2

Tony shrugged, noncommittal. “Where’d you find it? The gold. You’re a smart guy. You’re the brains of the outfit. You know it. I’m kinda big and dumb. You’ found something, and people are gonna want it. I’ll be here to protect you from them.” Tony thought about it a bit more and finally nodded. Jason was right in that one respect at least. “Yeah, it’s gold. I found it in one of the deep caves in the hills.” “A lot?” “Enough. Enough to make one… or two… people comfortable for the rest of their lives.” Jason’s smile stretched wide, “Where?” Tony shook his head. “It’s complicated. I’d have to show you.” He paused. “But we’d share, right? And you’d make sure that no one hurt me, right?” “Right. I promise. No one’d ever hurt you again.” Jason’s smile grew wider and more predatory. “In fact, we’d move out of Olympia to Seattle. New place. New people. None of the old bastards from town begging for money. We’d be new people and I’d make sure it happened that way. I promise. This could be the break we’ve been looking for.” Tony looked at Jason, calculating how much of what he was saying was the truth and how much of it was a lie. Jason seemed pretty sincere and it would be great to leave this tiny damn city. Capital of Washington state or not, it was still in the ass-end of nowhere and filled with bigoted hicks who looked at him and his cane like his arthritis might be catching. Finally, Tony nodded. “Ok. I’ll show you tomorrow. It’s kind of a hike. So, we’ll get up early and go.”

m฀m฀m

It was a cloudy, misty day in the Olympic National Forest, which wasn’t unusual. The two men tromped through the forest and up a hill on a barely-there trail. It was slow going with Tony and his cane, but Jason was in good spirits and feeling patient. If his little buddy was right, all of their money woes would be over with. If Tony was wrong, well, his personal woes at Jason’s hands would just be beginning. After about half a day of easy hiking, Tony made a sharp left directly into the forest. Jason followed. “Dude, how’d you find this place anyway?” Tony shrugged. “Sometimes I go wandering to get away from town, in order to exercise my legs and help me get over the use of this damned cane.” He shook the cane to emphasize is point. “There’s nothing there for me. I like it up here.” “Ok.” He paused before he asked, “So, how much further?” Tony heard the clear suspicion in Jason’s voice. He paused and pointed with his cane to a copse of trees about a hundred meters away. “It’s just through those trees over there.” “I don’t see anything.” “You will.” Then he added, “Promise.” And like Tony promised, just as they broke through the copse of trees, there was a large opening in the hillside. Tony stopped. “We’re here. Well, sorta. We gotta get our lights on and stuff.” Jason shrugged off his pack and peered into the cave entrance. “You sure about this? Is it safe?” Tony gave him a disbelieving look. “I walked in with only my cane and flashlight. We’ll be fine.” He couldn’t keep the touch of scorn at Jason’s concern out of his voice. He changed his tune as soon as he saw Jason register it. “Besides, you’re here if I get into any trouble. Right? You promised.”

3

The big guy remembered the gold stone and nodded. His smile was a little forced but it was still there. “Right. I promised. You’ll be fine either way. You know this tunnel and I don’t.” He pulled his hat and headlight out from the backpack and put them on. “Lead the way to the riches, little buddy.” Tony smiled, putting his own hardhat and headlight on. “That’s the plan.”

m฀m฀m

It was a much easier hike than Jason expected, despite the darkness and rubble in the tunnel. With Tony’s slow, careful movements, there was no threat of Jason falling at all. For a long time there was nothing but darkness and the sounds of their footsteps and breathing. Tony broke the silence. “It was just up here. There’s a big cave. It’s got some, um, quartz crystal growing, too. But that’s not as valuable as the gold. Just pretty.” “Pretty is good. Gold is better.” Jason grunted as they continued on. But now he was paying attention. Part of him seriously considered murdering Tony and leaving him in another cave somewhere, but part of him knew that Tony was the smarter of the two of them and he’d be better at negotiating a price for the gold and managing the money. All Jason would have to do was make sure that no one else bullied Tony into handing over that gold. It would be the two of them, with Tony doing the work and Jason reaping the rewards. Jason’s daydream about how he would spend his riches was interrupted when Tony stopped at the entrance of a large cavern, saying, “We’re here.” Jason stopped and looked around. His headlamp beam danced all over the walls and ceiling of the cavern as he looked for the signs of gold. The place was huge, and he would see an occasional flash of glittering in the light but dismissed that as not gold. He already knew that quartz really wasn’t worth that much. “Where is it? Where’s the gold?” “You don’t see it?” Tony’s voice was calm. “No, meathead. I don’t. Where? Show me!” In his eagerness, Jason forgot that he had promised himself that he’d be nicer to Tony now and in the future. Tony was silent and unmoving. Jason realized his mistake. “I’m sorry, dude. Tony. I’m just, you know, excited.” “Ok.” Tony sighed and headed forward. He kept his head down and his light on his feet to make sure he didn’t fall. He stopped again. “It’s here.” Jason looked down at Tony’s feet. “Where?” Tony raised his case and his head at the same time to point at the wall in front of them, “Here.” In the glare of the headlamp, a large section of the wall as tall as Tony and as wide as a couch glittered: gold and gorgeous. Its beauty doubled when Jason’s headlamp joined Tony’s. Most of the wall was smooth with small veins of gold shooting off from the giant central deposit of gold ore. “Holy shit,” Jason muttered. “I told you. Enough for one or two people for the rest of their lives.” Jason nodded and patted Tony’s shoulder as he walked past the smaller man. “You were right, buddy. Oh, you were so right!” Jason walked up to the wall of gold, admiring it. “We’re rich. We’re rich!” He put a hand on the gold to feel the cold, smooth, precious metal. “Screw Seattle. We could go anywhere on this.” He looked back at Tony to say something else but the wall of ore beneath his hand moved. “What the fuck?”

4

Tony took a step back from Jason and the suddenly moving wall of gold. He did not look surprised or even scared as he watched Jason’s hand sink into the wall and a tentacle of gold shoot out to wrap itself around Jason’s wrist and forearm. As Jason struggled to get his right hand free, his right foot, the one he was using for leverage, also sunk deep into the wall of gold. Another tentacle of gold wrapped itself around Jason’s lower leg. Jason flailed around and held out his left hand to Tony. “Help me! Your cane!” Tony nodded and offered Jason his cane but instead of pulling it away from the wall to help Jason out of the slowly moving wall, Tony’s lip curled into a silent snarl and he lunged forward. The cane slid through Jason’s hand and the end of it slammed into Jason’s chest, pushing him backwards into the wall. Jason’s arms flailed briefly before his body succumbed to gravity and momentum, falling backwards into the wall of roiling wall of gold. He was immediately engulfed from the waist down and stuck from his waist to his shoulders. Only his chest, neck and head were free of the living rock. “Help me!” Jason screamed in panic. He flailed as hard as he could but just like a bug trapped in amber, Jason was going nowhere. “No,” Tony said; his voice was low and full of hate. “No. I did this to you. I did it on purpose. You’ve tortured me all my life and now I’m going to watch you die.” Tony smiled as he watched Jason’s realization that this had all been a set up. “Yeah. I’m the smart one, and I’ve had enough of you.” He swung his headlamp to the wall of gold holding Jason fast. It was still now, and looked like stone again. “It almost got me, too. But I scared a mouse and it ran over the gold. I watched the gold thing grab it and eat it. It took less than an hour for the mouse to dissolve. I wonder how long you’ll take. A day? Two?” “You can’t do this. You can’t! Help me, Tony. We’re friends.” Tony shook his head. “We’ve never been friends.” Jason struggled more but still could not get free of the thing’s grip. “It hurts. God, my hands! My hands are on fire!” “Good. I hope you burn to your bones.” Tony smiled mirthlessly at Jason. But he almost lost his nerve when Jason started sobbing in pain and fear. Tony almost – almost – wanted to help the bastard. Then he forced himself to remember what Jason had done to him. He hardened his heart and turned to leave.

5

Credits Written: Jennifer Brozek Developer: Eddy Webb Editor: Genevieve Podleski Art Director: Aileen Miles Layout: Jessica Mullins Interior Art: Justin Norman Cover Art: Justin Norman

For Use with the World of Darkness Rulebook ®

© 2009 CCP hf. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and one printed copy which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire and World of Darkness are registered trademarks of CCP hf. All rights reserved. Vampire the Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, Mage the Awakening, Promethean the Created, Changeling the Lost, Hunter the Vigil, Geist the Sin Eaters, Storytelling System and Proverbial Monsters are trademarks of CCP hf. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by CCP hf. CCP North America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCP hf. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised. Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com

6

Credits

Introduction Mirror, Mirror, Full of Cracks Step on a Crack What is an Archway but a Portal? If Four is Lucky Five Must Be Luckier Only the Children of Autumn Glistering or Glittering Neither is Gold Ashes to Ashes, Death to Death Spirits of the House Smell the Flowers but Don’t Take One

8 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 44 49 7

Introduction Introduction Prayers and superstitions have been around since man could speak. Dire warnings and advice to perform certain actions to ward off evil are recited in easily-remembered phrases so that even children can remember them. Most of these adages were born from ignorance or misunderstandings, but some carry a very real warning hidden within them. Sometimes it’s best to remember why all that glitters is not gold and that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck. Proverbial Monsters plays upon common fears and superstitions. It can be used in almost any of the World of Darkness games, but works especially well with the themes detailed

in the World of Darkness Rulebook, Innocents, Hunter: the Vigil and Changeling: the Lost. The obscurity of the proverbs’ origins is the main tool for you as the Storyteller to enhance your game with mystery, danger and terror. Maxims and folk wisdom have been around for so long that many people don’t know – or care – what they refer to or even what they mean anymore. At the core of every legend and every superstition is a grain of truth that has been lost to time through disbelief or misunderstanding. This book gives you an idea of where these proverbs might have come from, and how you can use them in your game.

Presented here are nine monsters based on traditions and superstitions that range from the well-known to the esoteric. • You will have seven years of bad luck if you break a mirror. You might just call a strange creature to you.

• All that glitters is not gold. Greed calls to greed. Those who seek to steal my treasures will become my feast instead.

• Step on a crack and break your mother’s back. The monster within the earth will hear you, and your mother will break her back carrying your dead body to its grave.

• It is bad luck to completely rake out a fire on the hearth – a few embers should always be left burning. Bright and shining, you call to me and I come. Snuff out the burning guardian and I will bring you a death of burning ash for my own pleasure.

• Walking under a ladder is bad luck. It may not be a ladder you walk under – or through – and who knows what you will bring through with you. • Picking a five-leaf clover brings bad luck. It doesn’t belong to you. Its owner wants it back, and it wants revenge for your theft as well. • Unless you were born in October, the wearing of an opal will be ill-fated. Only the Children of Autumn may wear my sigil. Those who dare to wear what is not their birthright will pay.

8

Introduction

• Never open an umbrella inside a house or you will draw back luck to you. Do you mock me, you mortal of flesh and bone? Do you think I do not care for you and this house well enough? Fine. I’ll show you what a cursed house can do. • Never take flowers from a grave or you will be the next to be in a grave. Never take from the dead, for we are angry and vengeful and have long memories.

Most of these monsters are subtle, cunning creatures that will not attack something or someone more powerful than they are unless they are. This does not mean the characters of your chronicle will not be targeted. However, these monsters understand that they should not attack the hungry lion while there’s a lamb nearby. Why attack the hero when the hero’s mother is easier prey and just as tasty? The monsters presented herein may be used in any number of ways: a distraction or red herring (the death of a contact), a catalyst for change in

a player character’s background story (why the player character ran away from home or becoming a hunter in response to witnessing a death at the hands of one of these monsters) or the reason for a particular phobia (the player character cannot stand to look at her own reflection at night). Each monster is given statistics, specific powers and hints on how the characters in your chronicle can discover it. Also, each monster has a story idea with statistics, goals and consequences for failure. If you like the monster but don’t like the mechanics, modify them to suit your game’s needs.

Introduction

9

Mirror, Mirror, Mirror, Mirror, Full of Cracks Full ofCracks Jane suppressed an expletive as her hand mirror slipped from her grasp and shattered on the tile floor. It was the second one this year. “Great. That’s fourteen years bad luck,” she muttered as she bent down and picked up the plastic frame with its broken pieces of glass. She almost dropped it again when she saw her own reflection turn and smile at her. Curiosity stayed her hand, and her own strangely smiling face drew her in.

You will have seven years of bad luck if you break a mirror. The belief that the soul projects out of the body and into mirrors in the form of a reflection underlies the most widely-known mirror superstition: that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck. Some people believe that breaking a mirror also breaks the soul of the one who broke it. The soul, angered at being hurt, exacts seven years of bad luck in payment for such carelessness. One apocryphal story says the Romans, who were the first to make glass mirrors, attributed the seven years of bad luck to a belief that life renewed itself every seven years. To break a mirror meant to break one’s health, and this “broken health” could not be remedied for seven years. This was Roman orator Servius Tirentius Costa’s explanation to his friends and family on why they should never break a mirror. It was easier to tell them this than explain his encounter and research into dangerous creatures that he named Miraree (mir-RAH-ree) after the Latin word mirari, which means “to wonder at.”

Miraree Quotes: “Look at me!” “Can’t you see I’m beautiful? I’m you. See how lovely I am. Look at me and know I am you.” “Look at yourself! I know what you do at night, hidden from the world. I know. Look at yourself and see what there is to see. Don’t make me force you!”

10

Mirror mirror full of cracks

Background: Man has looked into reflective surfaces for as long as there have been reflective surfaces to look into. Miraree occasionally look back. They are jealous, hungry creatures who envy man’s physical body and crave his immortal soul. They may also have helped spawn legends about deadly but beautiful water nymphs luring men to their deaths by drowning them within ponds and lakes. Once glass mirrors were created, the Miraree found a way into our world – for a short time. Should another mirror break nearby within seven years, a temporary tunnel of sorts is created into our world. Once a Miraree comes through, it has only one goal in mind: consuming as much of a soul as possible. They will gorge themselves until it is time to return home. A confrontation with a Miraree can be deadly. If the Miraree can consume enough of its victim’s essence, the victim will die. The death will look like natural causes: a heart attack, a brain aneurism or something similar. A Miraree can only terrorize and attack its intended victim through her own reflection in mirrors. Some intended victims delay the attack by an instinctual fear and avoidance of mirrors that they do not understand but obey nonetheless. However, in these days of ubiquitous modern glass buildings and reflective screens, no one can avoid mirrors forever. Description: No one really knows what a Miraree looks like, since it assumes the reflection of its intended victim who can see it within the broken shards of a mirror. Every shard of mirror will show the exact same thing no matter where it is in the room. Storytelling Hints: The Miraree always looks like its victim. If there are multiple people in a room, the shards of the broken mirror will only reflect the one it is attacking. While attacking, the Miraree will try to entrance, trick and beguile its victim into continuing to look at himself in the mirror shards. It

will use the victim’s own image to do it. This monster prefers to lure its victims with honey rather than beat them with a stick. However, if entreaties do not work, the Miraree is not above dire threats of terrors gleaned from the victim’s mind. Once it is able to come through, it may use any mirror in a building. It is a cunning creature that will stalk its prey from room to room and mirror to mirror within the building. It cannot leave the structure where the last mirror was broken: While a broken mirror may be moved to another location, there must be at least one broken mirror on the premises for the Miraree to be able to hunt and feed there. Abandoned homes and buildings are favorite hunting grounds for the Miraree, and more than one may congregate in an abandoned structure that has many broken mirrors. There are two ways a person can protect himself from the attack of the Miraree. First, he must not be able to see himself in any of the broken pieces of mirror. How they do this is up to him, and you decide if the way the character chooses will work or not. Once the victim can no longer see himself in the mirror shards, he is free to flee the scene, leaving the mirror shards and Miraree behind for the next unwary passerby. Secondly, all of the shards of the broken mirror must be completely destroyed to the point that no one looking at any one shard can see any part of themselves, even a shadow, in them. Once the mirror shards are utterly destroyed (damage to the mirror does an equivalent amount of damage to the Miraree, due to its symbiotic connection to the mirror), the tunnel between worlds is closed and the Miraree is banished. Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 4 Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3 Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation 4, Composure 2 Mental Skills: None Physical Skills: None

Social Skills: Empathy 1, Intimidate 3, Persuasion 3, Subterfuge 1 Merits: None Willpower: 6 Morality: N/A Virtue: Prudence Vice: Gluttony Health: 8 Initiative: 7 Defense: 3 Speed: 7 Size: 5 Powers: Beguile and Consume

Miraree

11

Special Powers Miraree have two special powers, Beguile and Consume. These powers revolve around the creature’s ability to eat a sentient creature’s soul or essence. Beguile (Manipulation + Persuasion or Intimidate versus victim’s Resolve + Composure): The Miraree will use the victim’s reflected visage and voice to entice its victim to stay and look at herself in the mirror. This can be in the form of entreaties or threats. For every success, the victim is beguiled for that number of turns, and can only stare at her reflection (dropping her Defense to 0). After the initial beguilement, the victim may make a contested Resolve + Composure roll to attempt to break free of the enchantment. She must gain at least one success to break free from this power. Consume (Resolve + Empathy versus the victim’s Resolve + Composure): Once the Miraree has set its sights on its victim and has beguiled her, it may begin to consume the victim’s essence. The character will feel herself being drained and will see her reflection grow weak and seem to age. The victim must be beguiled before she may be consumed. For every success on the monster’s Consume roll, the victim loses a point of Willpower and gains a -1 penalty (up to a maximum of -5) to all her degeneration rolls for a number of days equal to the Miraree’s Resolve. If the victim loses all her Willpower points, all additional successes translate into points of lethal damage instead.

Story Idea: An Ugly Reflection Stefano is a sullen, angry teenager who believes that the world owes him a good life, whether or not he actually deserves one. Three weeks ago, he broke his mother’s makeup

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Mirror mirror full of cracks

mirror while stealing money from her purse. He hid the compact in his room to cover up his theft, but attributed the intense feeling of being watched to guilt. Last week, he punched his bedroom mirror in a fit of anger at his father’s sharp words about waking his baby sister. The next morning, his own reflection turned to look at him. It was no longer just his reflection, but something different, malevolent and hungry. As Stefano felt himself losing pieces of his soul to the thing in the mirror, he cried out to it and made a deal with the monster to save his own pathetic life. The thing in the mirror, greedy and hungry for as much as it could get, agreed. As long as Stefano fed it, he was safe. The first victim was his squalling baby sister. She died quickly and quietly while Stefano held the cracked compact mirror above her. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is what the death certificate said. He’s making plans for his next victim: Sharon, that stupid tease who not only won’t go out with him, but still expects him to help her with her homework. Stefano left his mother’s broken compact mirror under Sharon’s dresser, and broke her hand mirror. He apologized, promising to replace it as he put the cracked hand mirror back on Sharon’s dresser. He knows he will never have to fulfill that promise; she’ll be dead soon enough. Now, Sharon is having nightmares about her reflection, and refuses to look in any mirror in her home. She doesn’t know why she’s having these nightmares, but she feels deep down they will come true. She needs help before whatever is lurking behind the mirror gets her. She turns to the only people she thinks she can trust – the characters. She needs to go home and get her stuff, but she’s too afraid to go alone. She needs someone there to protect her.

I See You. Do You See Me? MENTAL •••

PHYSICAL ••••

SOCIAL •••

Overview

Character Goals

Sharon has begged the characters to come home with her while she packs to stay elsewhere. She cannot stand the thought of being alone in her home. In the house, everyone will feel a sense of foreboding and of being spied on. If the group decides to leave without investigating, the Miraree will attack Sharon from the hallway mirror, beguiling her and then beginning to consume her. If the player characters investigate Sharon’s home, they will find the two broken mirrors. Once both broken mirrors have been found, whomever is holding (or is closest to) the broken compact mirror will be attacked.

Discover that Stefano is the reason behind the Miraree being at Sharon’s house. This may be discovered through mundane or supernatural analysis of the makeup compact, or by discovering that Stefano broke the hand mirror just before the incidents at Sharon’s house began. Figure out how to stop, banish or destroy the Miraree while saving Sharon (and themselves) before she is consumed.

Description “I’ve never seen that compact before. It’s not even my shade. But the hand mirror is mine. Stefano, this kid from school, accidentally broke it a few days ago. He said he was going to buy me a new one.” Sharon reaches out her hand for the compact mirror and then freezes as her reflection turns to her. The rest of you realize that only Sharon’s reflection can be seen in all of the mirrors in the room, but doesn’t reflect her movements. The Sharon in the mirror is talking but you cannot hear what she is saying. The real Sharon is staring at her reflection with a mixture of terror and fascination.

Storyteller Goals The main goal of this scene is to introduce some subtle horror, and show that even normal people can sometimes control unusual creatures (although usually not every effectively). The Miraree will try to consume everyone it possibly can before the characters can escape or destroy the mirror. It is a predator. It will not leave while there is food to be had, and anyone’s fair game. If Sharon is not the closest potential victim or is not the person holding the compact, the Miraree will go after the one that is. It will fully focus on that one victim.

Actions The scene begins either when Sharon heads out of the home or after the two broken mirrors are found. The characters have choices to make: Do they flee the scene to come back and fight another day or do they stand and fight? If they choose to fight, they can either try to destroy the Miraree before it eats any of them or to figure out how to thwart the monster (such as blinding each person from seeing his own reflection in the mirror) even if they don’t have the knowledge to banish it immediately.

Who is the Fairest of Them All? Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion or Intimidate (dice pool 6) versus victim’s Resolve + Composure. Action: Instant and contested More information on the Miraree’s Beguile power can be found on p. 12. Hindrances (victims): No occult knowledge (-1). Exceptional eyesight (-1). Help (victims): Poor or hindered eyesight (+1). Blind characters are immune to the Miraree’s power. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a dramatic failure, the Miraree not only fails to beguile its victim, but there is something about

I see you do you see me

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her that makes her unpalatable to the Miraree. The Miraree will choose a new victim on the next turn and ignore the first victim for the rest of the scene. If the player of the victim rolls a dramatic failure, the Miraree has a hold on the victim, and may begin to consume her in the same turn it has beguiled her. Failure: If the Miraree fails to beguile its victim, the victim may act, including fleeing the scene – which is what Sharon does. Success: If the Miraree has successfully beguiled its victim, she may take no actions other than to watch her reflection in the mirror. Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls an exceptional success, the Miraree has such a hold on its victim that it may begin to consume the victim in the same turn that it has beguiled her. If the player of the victim rolls an exceptional success, the Miraree will fail to beguile the victim and ignore her for the rest of the scene.

What a Tasty Morsel Dice Pool: Resolve + Empathy (dice pool 6) versus the victim’s Resolve + Composure. Action: Instant and contested More information on the Miraree’s Consume power can be found on p. 12. Hindrances (victims): A beguiled victim will take no physical actions, and has a Defense of 0 (making it easier for others to attack, grapple or otherwise move her). Help (victims): The victim must be beguiled before it can be consumed. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a dramatic failure, the victim not only breaks free of the Miraree’s beguiling charm and is

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undamaged, but there is something about her that makes her unpalatable to the Miraree. The Miraree will choose a new victim on the next turn and ignore the first victim for the rest of the scene. If the player of the victim rolls a dramatic failure, the victim takes an additional -2 penalty on her next attempt to break free from the beguilement. Failure: If the Miraree fails, the victim manages to fight off the attack. Success: If the Miraree succeeds, the victim is successfully attacked, as per the Consume power on p. 12. Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls an exceptional success, the victim not only suffers from a successful attack, but she takes an additional -2 penalty to her next attempt to break free from the beguilement. If the player of the victim rolls an exceptional success, the victim not only breaks free, but the Miraree will ignore her for the rest of the scene.

Consequences If the player characters do not go to Sharon’s home within two days, at least one person who lives there – Sharon, her brother or her parents – will die of a “heart attack” or from some other mysterious but plausibly natural cause of death. If they flee the scene without completely destroying the broken mirrors, the Miraree will go back to Stefano through the home’s second broken mirror. Stefano then tries to sacrifice one of his parents in order to save himself. If the characters manage to banish the Miraree back to its realm by completely destroying the broken mirrors, the Miraree will be gone, but they will always know what a cracked or broken mirror could mean.

Step on a Crack Step on a Crack Step on a crack, Joe thought as he stepped over the large crack bisecting the hiking trail. Break your mother’s back. He wondered at the inanity of the childhood rhyme. As he turned back to Barry to comment on it, he heard his friend cry out in pain. Joe’s heart hammered in his chest as he realized that they were not alone on the hiking trail. Barry was on the ground with one foot buried up to the ankle in dirt. Next to him, a strange humanoid creature was growing out of the ground. It resembled the golems Joe had read about, but he didn’t think golems were supposed to have sharp, bloodstained teeth. Suddenly, Joe thought he knew what happened to the other missing hikers here on Echo Mountain.

Step on a crack and break your mother’s back. Most people believe that the proverb of not stepping on cracks it is nothing more than a rhyming ritual that children use to frighten their peers. Some people connect it with the childhood game of hopscotch, where landing on a line (instead of in the middle of a square) is considered a foul and the player must start all over again. The very real warning of the proverb has been forgotten, but it still protects cautious children today. The real meaning behind the warning of rhyme comes from the translated Greek warning of “Do not step on cracks that cross your path.” For thousands of years in remote parts of the world, this warning has been said from native to foreigner and from guide to tourist. The reasons for giving such warnings have changed over time based on who gave the warning and who listened – or did not listen – to them. Those who obeyed the warnings had nothing to fear. Those who did not were lucky most of the time. Those who were not lucky usually didn’t live to tell the tale of the Doliochthon (doh-lee-OKH-thon).

Doliochthon Background: In a manuscript purporting to date from ancient Greece, the author Agathon Charis stepped over a crack in the road while his slave did not. A sudden noise startled him, and he turned to find his slave being attacked and eaten by the golem-like creature. Fleeing for his life, Agathon ran to the next hill over. He paused to look and see if the creature had followed, and was relieved that it had not. Instead, it had torn the hapless slave to pieces and was eating him, skin, bones and all. The document explains that Agathon remained where he was and watched the creature, curious at how such a large creature could have snuck up on them when there was nothing to hide behind near the road and the grass was only knee-high. He soon had his answer. After the creature was finished eating the slave, leaving nothing but splatters of blood, Agathon watched the creature move down the pathways and then suddenly disappear. In its place a large crack appeared, crossing the trail he had followed. Agathon dubbed the creature “dolio chthon,” or “deceitful surface of the earth.” Over the years, the two words have been shortened to the single name of Doliochthon. The Doliochthon is a primordial, solitary creature that exists in all parts of the world and in all climates. The single consistent factor in all Doliochthon stories is a remote territory to live in, away from human civilization. Unfortunately for everyone, such territories are becoming smaller and harder to find. Description: A Doliochthon is a large humanoid creature standing between seven and eight feet tall. Its body is made up of the earth, grass, leaves, twigs and weeds found in its territory. It has a prehensile tail that lies flat against the body when it is not being used. A fang-filled mouth that takes up almost half of its head dominates its flat, oval face. There is only an impression to show where a nose would be, and its eyes appear to be a pair of stones. The creature is a master at camouflage when it is still, and it is incredibly strong.

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Storytelling Hints: The Doliochthon is more animal than man, but in essence it is neither. It is intelligent and cunning, cautious rather than reactive. It prefers to hunt solitary game, but will go after small groups. It always hunts in areas of remote trails – animal or manmade. The “crack” that is placed across the trail is actually its prehensile tail that is camouflaged to look like a crack. When something steps on it, the tail reflexively wraps around the limb that triggered it, holding it fast. Once the prey is caught, it is the Doliochthon’s main focus unless something else attacks it. Then it will disable the prey and attack the attacker.

The Doliochthon cannot be reasoned with, but it can be frightened away by a greater threat to its life and territory. It can be soothed by supernatural means and sent away, but it will never willingly become a pet or servant. It is a wild creature, and a large fire will usually make it flee in fear. The Doliochthon’s goal is to feed. It is a hungry, cunning creature. It will go after the last person in a line, the pet on a leash or a solitary target. Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 3 Physical Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3 Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 1, Composure 3 Mental Skills: None Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 4, Stealth 5, Survival 4 Social Skills: None Merits: Fast Reflexes 2, Giant Willpower: 6 Morality: N/A Virtue: Prudence Vice: Greed Health: 8 Initiative: 8 Defense: 3 Speed: 8 Size: 6 Armor: 2 Power: Camouflage Notes: The Doliochthon does not use weapons.

Using Different World of Darkness Games • Werewolf: The Doliochthon will instinctively determine that a werewolf is a competitor for food and will attack with fierce protectiveness of its territory (+1 to its attack dice pool). If there are three or more werewolves in the party, the Doliochthon will sense that the party is too much of a danger to its life and not attack at all. • Mage: The Doliochthon is considered a cryptid (Mage: the Awakening, pp. 338-340), which means it cannot endure capture or confinement away from the place it’s encountered in – the magic of the area sustains it.

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Special Powers The Doliochthon has a single special power called Camouflage, which is its supernatural ability to blend into its surroundings. Camouflage (Wits + Stealth versus the target’s Wits + Composure): The Doliochthon has had hundreds of generations to perfect its ability to blend in with its surroundings and become invisible. The contested check should only come if the player characters are looking for the creature or something unusual. If the creature is not moving, observers have a -1 penalty to see it, even if they are actively looking for it. If the creature is in motion, there is a +1 bonus to the roll to see it (although it gives -1 to anyone attempting to follow its trail, since it naturally integrates into its environment). Blending or not, the creature is not invisible while in motion. This is a supernatural ability that does not fool thermal scanners or other applicable equipment. This is simiar to the Glitra’s power, mentioned on p. 37.

Story Idea: The Hungry Jungle An Aztec pyramid has been newly discovered in southern Mexico. It appears to be undisturbed. However, the locals refuse to take a group of archaeologists past a certain border in the jungle. It does not matter how much the archaeological team bribes them or threatens them, the native guides always say the same thing: This land belongs to the boca oculta or the “invisible mouth.” The archaeologists feel that such superstitions must not be allowed to get in the way of the find of a lifetime.

The team has brought in outside survival experts to scout ahead and find a path to this temple. Each one of them has listened to the local guides about where the pyramid is and what the dangers of the jungle are – mundane and supernatural. The first scout team did not return. One survivor of the second scout team returned but his story was too insane to be believed. All he would say was, “Something was out there. The jungle came alive and took him! Dragged him away! He’s gone! Gone!” Now the investors of the archaeological team are getting impatient. Too much time and money has been spent on this with no reward. Word of the pyramid’s existence has gotten out, and there is a worry that grave robbers or competitors will get there before their team can. It is time to call in the big guns. You are hired to make a path to the pyramid and get the team in before the competition gets there first. However, something about this “invisible mouth” story tells you that you will need to be on high alert to get the job done and your team paid. You are required to take at least one member of the team with you so they can identify the pyramid and gather an artifact in order to make a claim on the site. You hope that the archaeologist can hold his own in a crisis – especially when things start going wrong and people start dying.

Variations • Your player characters are part of the archaeological team. • Your player characters are hired guns. • Your player characters are a mix of both teams.

doliochthon-Story idea the hungry jungle

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It’s Alive! MENTAL •••

PHYSICAL ••••

Overview It is the morning of the last day of the hike through the jungle. It’s slow going, and everyone’s on high alert. There is only one scout team left. After one of the three scouts didn’t make it back, your team leader instituted the buddy system – for everything. There is no room for modesty or privacy. You are all under siege by something unknown. Something has been watching the group from afar, but no one has been able to spot it yet. The camp has been packed up, and everyone is more than ready to go. While tensions are high, so is hope that today you will reach your destination – an untouched Aztec pyramid with all of its secrets and riches still intact. One more day of marching; that’s all it should take. But a few hours into the hike, the Doliochthon attacks.

Description The jungle is hot and humid. Your hair and clothing stick to you in uncomfortable clumps as sweat pours from your body. Everywhere you look there are more trees, more vines, more undergrowth to block your way, despite the man at the head of the line with the machete making the hard going a little easier. All you can hear is the panting of the people around you and the beating of your own heart. Something about this strikes you as wrong. The jungle should be alive with sounds – cries of primates, calls of birds, buzzing of insects. Just as you this wrongness penetrates your heat-fogged brain, one of the men in your party screams.

Storyteller Goals There are a lot of potential objectives with this scene. You may choose to invoke fear of the unknown, emphasize the deadliness of the natural world or punish the hubris of meddling with unknown things. It can also serve as a leadin scene to a larger story involving ancient ruins touched by the supernatural.

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SOCIAL ••

The main goal of the Doliochthon is to feed and escape with the captured prey. These interlopers did not listen to the warnings, and now they are on its territory – fair game. The first person attacked is the last man in the marching line, Gunny (though he can be replaced with any suitable Storyteller character). Gunny will put up a fight but not much of one, because he is caught completely by surprise. Once Gunny is disabled, the Doliochthon will leave Gunny to the side and go after the next closest, smallest person in the party. Once that person is disabled, it will take both bodies and flee into the jungle with them.

Character Goals First, to survive the initial attack of the Doliochthon while making sure that no one else other than Gunny is hurt. Gunny will be mortally wounded, but if they can’t save him, perhaps they can recover his body for burial. The second goal is to get the archaeologist to the pyramid site so he can collect his data (and any artifacts his investors might be interested in), and then get him back out of the jungle again. The third goal is to kill the Doliochthon if they can, either in the initial attack on the group or during the trek out of the jungle.

Actions The player characters can choose to flee the scene while Gunny is being attacked, or they can choose to attack the monster. If the monster flees with Gunny or any other character, they will need to track it down to where it lives if they want to rescue him.

Brawl Dice Pool: Strength + Brawl (dice pool 9) minus the target’s Defense Action: Instant

Hindrances: The Doliochthon is being fired on (-1). Thermal scanner, motion sensor, or other high-tech surveillance gear allows the target to dodge more accurately. Help: The Doliochthon is in motion (+1). Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Not only does the Doliochthon fail to hit its intended target, it fails bad enough that the creature considers the group too great a threat to its existence and flees the scene with the intention of picking them off one by one until they leave its domain. Failure: The Doliochthon fails to hit its intended target. Success: The Doliochthon hit its intended target, dealing damage to him. Exceptional Success: The Doliochthon hits its intended target, dealing damage to him and knocking him out for the rest of the combat. If the Doliochthon chooses to flee the scene, it will take the unconscious victim with it.

Track It Down Dice Pool: Wits + Survival (dice pool 7) versus the character’s Wits + Survival Action: Instant and contested Hindrances (trackers): The creature’s Camouflage power naturally makes it harder to locate it (-1; see p. 17) Help (trackers): It does not specifically hide its tracks (+1)

Roll Results Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a dramatic failure, not only does the Doliochthon fail to hide its tracks, but blood loss from its victims and other clear signs of movement bring the trackers directly to the Doliochthon’s lair. If the trackers roll a dramatic failure, no one can pick up its trail this scene. Failure: The Doliochthon fails to hide its trail. Success: The Doliochthon hides its trail from the tracker. Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls an exceptional success, the Doliochthon hides its trail from trackers using its large strides. No one can pick up its trail this scene. If the trackers roll an exceptional success, they immediately find a clear path to its lair.

Consequences If the team fails to kill the Doliochthon in the initial attack, it will dog their steps to and from the pyramid while they are in its territory, trying to pick off team members one by one. If the team camps at the pyramid, the Doliochthon will attempt to take a team member that night. If the team decides against tracking the creature or fails in the attempt, any captured victims will be killed and eaten. The Doliochthon will continue to be a problem for the archaeologist team in the future if it is not dealt with on this initial outing.

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What is anArchway Archway What is an but a Portal? but a Portal? “It all started when I walked under that ladder,” Daniel said miserably. “There was a flash of light and then everything went to shit. Right after that, I didn’t see the light change colors, started to cross the street and almost died. If that guy hadn’t pulled me back… Well, ever since then, I feel like something’s followed me, hounded me, made me do things that almost get me killed. Worse yet, I’ve started seeing something out of the corner of my eye; something horrible. I think it wants me dead, and I don’t know why.”

Walking under a ladder is bad luck. There are two commonly accepted origins for cautioning against walking under a ladder. To many people, walking under a ladder is bad luck, while to others it is simply unsafe. One commonly-cited origin theory of the superstition has to do with the similarities between the appearance of a ladder leaning against a wall and that of a gallows. Anything associated with a gallows was considered ill luck, so walking under one – or a ladder that looked like one – could hardly be a good idea. A more ominous origin of the warning comes from Ireland in the dark ages. Documents of a prolific religious chronicler tell of the first encounter with the creature born from walking under a ladder. The documents state that a man discovered the malevolent creature after seeing a flash of light surround his young son Ronan, as he played around and then walked under a ladder that was stored up against the barn wall. For the next seven days, he watched his son being subtly guided to do careless and reckless things. On the seventh day, the father saw the creature that plagued his son and put him in such danger. The name for the ladder (dréimire in Irish) got confused with the creature’s power to create dream-like visions, and eventually the spirit got the name of the Dreamer.

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The Dreamer Quotes: (distracting, indistinct whispers) Background: No one truly knows where the Dreamer comes from or what it is about the particular ladders that make up its doorway into our world. However, when a Dreamer comes into our world, it is attached to a particular victim. All of its focus is on that one victim, forcing the victim into self-harm and, eventually, death. The Dreamer has a limited time to do its work. It can stay in our world for no more than ten days. After that, the creature simply disappears and its victim is safe (though traumatized). During those ten days, the creature baffles, bemuses and distracts its victim at the worst possible moments in order to cause him harm. If its victim dies within those ten days, the Dreamer may be seen leaping upon the body in a flash of light and then disappearing altogether. Most of the notes involving the boy Ronan and the Dreamer are now hidden within the Vatican archives. However, some information on the Dreamer is available in other esoteric books on Christian magic and dealing with spirits. Description: The Dreamer is an almost invisible creature, except when its time is running out and it is desperate for a kill. Then, it will manifest enough to terrify its victim. Manifested, the Dreamer looks like a huge ethereal starfish, as large as a child and the color of cobwebs. It has a single eye in the center of its body and sucker-like mouths on the ends of each limb. The Dreamer undulates in the air and moves quickly when it is agitated. Storytelling Hints: The Dreamer is a monster of the mind and the spirit. It is unknown why the creature comes through to bedevil its vic-

tims, but it is certain that its portal to this world must have three straight sides. Also, the portal apparently needs to be a temporary thing, as the creature never seems to make its way through other three-sided permanent structures. The ladder itself, a conveyance from one place to another, may be necessary for the Dreamer to pass through from its world to ours. This creature will not directly show itself to its victim for the first seven days of its torment. It will bedevil, befuddle and distract with indistinct whispers in order to get its victim to accidently kill himself in some horrible manner – walking in front of a bus or train, accidentally electrocuting himself, keeping him from sleeping or other such things. On the seventh day, the Dreamer will begin to show itself in order to try to terrify its victim into harming himself. It will rush at the victim while he is driving, startle him while he is at the top of a set of stairs or intimidate him until he falls off some high ledge. The important thing to know is that the Dreamer cannot physically touch anything or physically harm its intended victim. Everything it does is designed to get its victim to hurt himself. Attributes: Power 4, Finesse 2, Resistance 4 Willpower: 8 Initiative: 6 Defense: 4 Speed: 10 Size: 4 Corpus: 8 Essence: 15 Numina: Bemuse and Terrify

Special Powers The two special Numina of the Dreamer, Bemuse and Terrify, are designed to force a person into harming himself through inattention or fear. Bemuse (Power + Finesse versus the victim’s Resolve + Composure): The Dreamer will mentally whisper or distract the victim in subtle ways – soft, distracting lights, a murmuring whisper that is too far away to be understood, sensations being stronger or softer or merely different from what they are supposed to be. This bemusement may also take the more aggressive form of a shape hovering just out of sight, something flashing by or a jarring sound that the only the victim can hear. Bemused victims have a -2 dice penalty to all perception rolls. Terrify (Power + Finesse versus the victim’s Wits + Composure): When the Dreamer fails to kill or hurt its intended target within seven days, the Dreamer takes a more direct, visible approach to distracting and frightening its the dreamer

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prey into acting in a reckless fashion. The Terrify ability is always accompanied by a physical movement of the Dreamer; usually towards the victim in an aggressive fashion. A terrified victim may flee, cower or freeze in shock, but is at a –5 penalty to any action taken against the monster. Terrified victims have a -3 dice penalty to all perception rolls.

Story Idea: Heir to the Throne Joseph Sarver is the CEO and owner of Sarver Industries. He is a busy man who is trying to do some good in the world with his medical inventions while making a pretty penny. Unfortunately, Joe’s seventeen-year-old son, Lon, came home from boarding school two days ago raving about whispers in his ears and lights in his eyes. It started four days before that at school when all sorts of things started happening to Lon – stepping on a rake, falling down the stairs and walking into doors. Since he’s been home, he hasn’t been able to sleep and he continues to hurt himself – slipping in the bathroom, tripping into a glass coffee table and almost falling into the hot tub. Joe is at his wits’ end. He cannot understand why his bright, ambitious son has suddenly become a distracted, accident-prone insomniac who admits to hearing whispers in his head. He has hired a team of experts to come in and evaluate Lon. He refuses to allow Lon to be taken to

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a hospital for this evaluation. After all, what would the papers say? It could harm his business, his reputation and the livelihood of his employees. As such, he asks some associates of his who are known for taking care of “unusual problems” – the characters. When the characters enter the scene, they are aware of Lon’s apparent psychosis and his father’s distress. It is important is to discover if Lon did have a psychotic break or not. Above all, a promising young man’s life may be at stake, and the characters are the family’s last hope to find out what is wrong and fix it before Lon does something drastic of a permanent nature. The first night of observation brings about some odd readings on the medical equipment, security sensors and paranormal equipment. The second night begins with Lon screaming for his life and fleeing to the roof of the fifty-story building that houses the family’s penthouse apartment.

Variations • Innocents: The gathering of people could be a slumber party at Lon’s request, where Lon tells his friends about the thing that seems to be stalking him. • Vampire: Kindred with the Auspex •• power Aura Perception can see a second malevolent aura connected to Lon’s aura. The best way to describe the aura of the Dreamer is the Beast personified.

On the Rooftop MENTAL •••

PHYSICAL •••

Overview You and your group of people know that something is wrong with Lon, and that it’s not all in his head. Since you have arrived at the Sarver penthouse, things have gotten worse. Lon is much more distracted and becoming more of a danger to himself. It’s after midnight, and despite the exhaustion of the previous day, neither Lon nor any of your group is sleeping. If Lon isn’t crazy, what can you do to help him? Would it be safer to send him to a mental hospital where there are fewer things for him to hurt himself on, or is it better to see if he can be freed from these compulsions?

Description Lon’s yell of panic brings you out of your late night stupor. Before anyone can react, Lon runs through the home, out the front door and down the hall to the rooftop exit. “Get away from me!” he screams as he flees, though no one can see what is chasing him. Following him up to the rooftop, you find the shivering fourteen-year-old boy, barefoot and pajama-clad, being confronted by an eerie starfish-like creature almost as big as he is.

Storyteller Goals The goal of the Dreamer is to get Lon to go over the edge of the rooftop and fall to his death. It will do everything in its power to keep Lon from leaving the rooftop and to keep the interlopers from getting to its prey. Keep Lon terrified and keep the others from helping him.

Character Goals Lon is not crazy; that much becomes clear as a ghostly starfish creature confronts the group and tries to make Lon jump from the top of the penthouse building. The characters’ main goal is to get Lon down from the rooftop and back into the relative safety of the penthouse.

SOCIAL ••••

The characters’ secondary goal is to stop the Dreamer. They can do this either by trying to kill or by keeping Lon safe from it for at least two more days. (The characters are unlikely to know about the tenday restriction unless they’ve done some research. If the characters think to make Lon unconscious for a couple of days, that will do the trick as well.)

Actions The Dreamer’s main focus is Lon and getting Lon to fall off or run off the top of the roof. As such, it will first try to keep Lon focused on it. If Lon keeps getting distracted by the player characters, the Dreamer will try to get the player characters to flee from the scene by terrifying them. If it succeeds in this and Lon dies, it disappears to find new prey elsewhere.

Pay Attention to Me Dice Pool: Power + Finesse (dice pool 6) versus the victim’s Resolve + Composure Action: Instant and contested More information on the Dreamer’s Bemuse power can be found on p. 21. Hindrances (Dreamer): The Dreamer is visible (-1); attempting to bemuse any targets who are not its chosen victim (-1). Help (Dreamer): None. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a dramatic failure, the Dreamer not only fails to bemuse its victim, Lon is able to flee from it and will feel the need to flee the scene itself. The creature will return no sooner than one hour later. If Dreamer dramatically fails to bemuse anyone other than Lon, it will be unable to use that power against that person for the rest of the scene. If the player of the victim rolls a dramatic failure, they are fully in the Dreamer’s thrall and cannot act against it for the rest of the scene (or until somehow brought out of the bemusement).

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Failure: The Dreamer fails to bemuse its target. Success: The Dreamer bemuses Lon and can attempt to terrify him into recklessly fleeing. If the Dreamer bemuses someone other than Lon, they lose their next action due to supernatural distraction. Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls an exceptional success, Lon will be fully in the Dreamer’s thrall, and nothing less than a physical removal from the rooftop will turn Lon’s attention from the Dreamer to a player character. If the Dreamer gets an exceptional success in bemusing someone other than Lon, they are unable to act against Lon or the Dreamer for the rest of the scene unless supernaturally brought out of the bemusement. If the player of the victim rolls an exceptional success, the Dreamer cannot use its power against the victim for the rest of the scene.

Run for Your Life! Dice Pool: Power + Finesse (dice pool 6) versus the victim’s Wits + Composure Action: Instant and contested More information on the Dreamer’s Terrify power can be found on p. 21-22. Hindrances (Dreamer): The Dreamer is visible and horrible (-1); terrify any targets that aren’t its chosen victim (-1). Help (Dreamer): None. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a dramatic failure, the Dreamer not only fails to terrify its victim, but Lon is able to escape. The monster will disappear, but return no sooner than one hour later. If the Dreamer dramatically fails to terrify anyone other than Lon, it will be unable to use that power against that person for

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the rest of the scene. If the player of the victim rolls a dramatic failure, they spend the scene running around blindly (and potentially into a dangerous situation). Failure: The Dreamer fails to terrify its target. Success: The Dreamer terrifies Lon, causing him to run around blindly (which will very likely mean off the rooftop). If the Dreamer terrifies someone other than Lon, they spend their next action fleeing the scene due to supernatural fear. Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls an exceptional success, Lon will be completely terrified and flee off the edge of the rooftop immediately. If the Dreamer gets an exceptional success in terrifying someone other than Lon, they spend the rest of the scene fleeing due to supernatural fear. If the player of the victim rolls an exceptional success, the Dreamer cannot use its power on the victim for the rest of the scene.

Consequences If the player characters take more that couple of minutes to get to the rooftop, Lon will have already jumped to his death by the time they get there. If the player characters succeed in scaring the Dreamer from the scene, the creature will redouble its attack in an hour or two. If the player characters do not succeed in keeping the creature from getting Lon to kill himself before they see the creature, Joe will blame the characters for their failure and could potentially become a reoccurring antagonist. If the player characters do not succeed in keeping the creature from getting Lon to kill himself but they see the creature and can describe the creature in detail, Joe will consider them failures (if he even believes them), but probably won’t go out of his way to go after them.

IfIfFour Lucky, FourisisLucky Five Must Be Luckier Luckier Five MustBe “Look what I found.” Jane showed Tyler the five-leaf clover. “Uh, five-leaf clovers are bad luck.” He squinted his eyes at small quintet of leaves. “No. I’ve heard that if four-leaf clovers are lucky, five-leaf clovers are even luckier. You can make a wish on them.” Tyler shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He paused and then breathed out, “Whoa! Look at that thing!” Jane turned to see what her boyfriend was pointing at. In the clover at the edge of their picnic blanket was a large cockroach-like creature about six inches long. When she saw it, she gave a gasp and wrinkled up her nose. “Ew! It’s a Palmetto bug!” The bug reared back on its hind legs and gave a screech from a disturbingly human-looking face. Behind it, a swarm of similar creatures dug their way out of the ground, and the ground at the edge of the picnic blanket was suddenly a mass of moving black bodies. As one they spread their wings, took to the air in an angry chittering sound and dove at the girl holding the five-leaf clover.

Picking a five-leaf clover is unlucky. If you ask people about the origin of the saying that picking a five-leaf clover is bad luck, some people may say instead that since a four-leaf clover is lucky, a rarer five-leaf clover must be even luckier. In reality, no one is quite sure where the origins of either proverb came from, but the first written warnings of them appeared in medieval Britain. These tales warned of black “fairies” that came from clover patches all over Britain. Since then, cryptozoologists have rediscovered these creatures and the danger they pose to the unwary world that lives above them.

Goblin Roach Background: The Goblin Roach is as to a cockroach as a human is to a chimpanzee; cousins, perhaps, but an altogether different creature. Rediscovered again and again over the centuries, the one thing that cryptozoologists and occult researchers have determined is that the Goblin Roach is a creature that just wants to be left alone. However, if you disturb their home, they must defend their territory and will do so with great vehemence and malice. Goblin Roaches are a hive-mind swarm, linked telepathically to a single leader. While most hive based creatures center around a “queen,” in this case, it is a “king” figure who leads the hive in both day-to-day life and into battle. While the five-leaf clover is a rarity in nature, it does occur naturally as well as artificially. The king of the Goblin Roaches secretes a chemical in the clover, above the hidden hive, that causes the five-leaf clover to grow. This is a territorial marker to all other Goblin Roaches. If the king of another Goblin Roach swarm wants to muscle in on another’s territory, he rips the five-leaf clover from the ground, removing the territorial marker with the current king’s scent markings on it. This is start of the challenge. The two swarms will fight until one king is dead. At that time, either the two swarms will merge or the losing swarm will flee with a temporary king in charge. How the king of the Goblin Roaches is chosen is still a mystery. There are two ways to protect oneself from the Goblin Roach swarm when it is intent on destroying you. The first way is to submerge oneself in a body of water. A Goblin Roach hates water and thus will end its pursuit at the shore and eventually lose interest. The second is to immediately flee beyond the borders of the Goblin Roaches’ domain. How one discovers the borders of the creatures’ domain is unknown. If four is lucky five must be luckier

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Description: A Goblin Roach is between five and seven inches long and reminds observers of a cross between a Palmetto bug and a small humanoid with wings. It has a shiny black carapace and six limbs in addition to its translucent black wings. The two back limbs are the strongest and most muscled, and allow the creature to stand upright in an intimidation pose. The two middle limbs are the smallest, each ending in a venomous stinger. The two upper limbs are the most articulated and end in pinchers for fine manipulation. The head of a Goblin Roach is vaguely humanoid and flat with large black eyes and a large mouth with needle-like teeth. For the most part, the Goblin Roach walk around on the front and back limbs, allowing the stingers free motion to sting prey animals. Storytelling Hints: The Goblin Roach is alien in thought and deed. They are a hive mind. Speak to one, you speak to them all – and all of them listen to the king. The king will always be the member of the Goblin Roach that is front and center of things. Thus, if you can manage to speak to one of them, the king will be the one answering you.

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The Goblin Roach swarm just wants to be left alone to live their lives in peace. They are not an aggressive swarm like killer bees or other expansionist insects. That is because they are more than an insect. They are sentient creatures with simple drives. The biggest drive is to protect their home territory from all invaders. They identify the invaders by those who rip their territorial marker (the five-leaf clover) out of the ground or those who try to dig up their underground hive. Once the challenge has been given, the Goblin Roach swarm will not stop attacking until the challenger (the one who pulled the five-leaf clover or broke into the hive) and anyone with her are either dead or driven off of Goblin Roach territory, or their king is dead. If the Goblin Roach swarm loses six or more health points, the king can be considered dead and the swarm will stop attacking. Their attacks come in the form of biting and poisoning. A poisoned creature will become paralyzed over time based on the amount of venom in their system. If the enemy is killed, the creatures will continue to inject the poison into the corpse so that the innards will liquefy and be turned into sustenance that the Goblin Roach can suck into themselves through needle-like teeth. Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 3 Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3 Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 1, Composure 2 Mental Skills: None Physical Skills: Athletics 4, Survival 4 Social Skills: Intimidate 4 Merits: None Willpower: 5 Morality: N/A Virtue: N/A Vice: N/A Health: 10 Initiative: 6 Defense: 2 Speed: 12 Size: 6 Armor: 1 Powers: Swarm, Bite and Poison

Using Different World of Darkness Games • Mage: The Goblin Roach creatures are considered cryptids and follow the cryptid rules (Mage: the Awakening, pp. 338-340). • Changeling: Despite the name, the Goblin Roach is not a Hedge creature, though you may change that for your chronicle.

Special Powers Goblin Roaches have three basic powers: Swarm, Bite and Poison. These attacked are used primarily for feeding, but they are also very effective forms of combat. Swarm (Dexterity + Athletics): The entire swarm of thousands of Goblin Roaches targets a single individual and swarms her, flying around her face to blind, landing on her to bite or sting and working to incapacitate her in the quickest way possible. This is usually used to bring down larger prey but is effective on enemies. Those that have been swarmed are at a -2 perception penalty and -1 to rolls using Dexterity. Bite (Strength + Athletics – victim’s Defense): Representing an entire swarm of Goblin Roaches attacking at once and attempting to bite. With a successful roll, some are going to succeed. The number of successes represents the number of Goblin Roaches biting the victim at 1 bashing per bite. This may be soaked normally. Poison (Dexterity + Athletics – victim’s Defense): Representing an entire swarm of Goblin Roaches attacking at once and attempting to sting a victim with their poisonous stingers. With a successful roll, some are going to succeed. The number of successes represents the number of Goblin Roaches stinging the victim with a paralyzing toxin. Use the poison rules in the World of Darkness Rulebook, pp. 180-181 (Toxicity level 4, and resisted by Stamina + Resolve as a reflexive action). When all the victim’s health points are gone, the victim is paralyzed. If left unmolested, the paralyzed victim will be able to move again within 24-36 hours.

Story Idea: Encounter in the Clover Caleb and Rob were doing what two boys usually do on a sunny day in a wilderness park: wandering, horsing around and generally having a good time. They had the run of the area as long as they stayed within the boundaries set up by both sets of parents which amounted to “don’t get lost, don’t bother anyone and don’t burn down the forest.” Well, they weren’t lost. They knew exactly where they were. They were far enough away from the beaten path next to a small pond that they couldn’t bother anyone, and the magnifying glass was only good for roasting ants and little bugs. And that was just what Caleb was intent on doing as soon as he found an anthill in all of the clover. But there were no anthills to be had, just clover all over the glade. “Hey! I found a fourleaf clover,” Rob called to his friend. “That’s good luck.” “Bet I can find more of them than you can.” “No way.” “Yes way.” “If I win, I get the magnifying glass for a whole week,” Rob challenged. Caleb thought for a moment and then nodded. “If I win, I get your bike for a week.” “You’re on!” The two boys began their search for the good luck charm in the form of the fourleaf clover while the Goblin Roach hive labored peacefully in the ground beneath them.

goblin roach-Story idea

Encounter in the clover

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Unlucky Little Boys MENTAL ••

PHYSICAL ••••

Overview

Character Goals

In a lull in the story while the player characters are going from one scene to another or while they are simply enjoying themselves in the great outdoors, the characters hear the terrified screams of children. It could be while they are in a hurry to something else, or it could be that this is a way to introduce new Storyteller characters (or player characters for that matter) to the group through the children and their parents.

The main character goal should be to rescue the two boys before they are killed. One of them, Caleb, is paralyzed from the Goblin Roach toxin. The other has been harmed a little but is still able to move. The secondary goal for the characters is to find out more about the Goblin Roaches. What set them off? What are they? Obviously, these are not normal bugs. The third goal is for the characters to decide if the Goblin Roach hive is too big of a threat to be allowed to live. Their hive is near a growing wilderness park and while it is currently off the beaten path, its proximity to the lake makes it prime vacationer territory.

Description The screams of children pierce the air. Running through the trees, you break into a beautiful glade and a horrific scene. Before you, two boys are swatting at what must be thousands of bugs – huge ones – at least six inches long and glossy black. The children are blinded by the onslaught and are unable to find their way out of the black mass. You can see small rivulets of blood running down their faces and arms where these insects have bitten them. One of the bugs flies up to you and hovers briefly before your face, letting you get a good look at it before one of the boys lets out another scream and falls over. His small body is immediately covered in a blanket of glossy black carapaces.

Storyteller Goals The goal of the Goblin Roach attack is to introduce an unexpected threat to the characters that has nothing to do with their current story. The Goblin Roaches are uncommon bugs and generally keep to themselves. Saving the children will allow the characters to meet new Storyteller characters who may or may not be part of a greater story in the future. The Goblin Roaches have two goals that amount to the same thing: Protect their territory. They can do this by killing the interlopers (the boys and now the characters who have come to help the boys) or by running them off of their territory (the clover patch).

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if four is lucky five must be luckier

Rescuing Caleb Dice Pool: Dexterity + Athletics (dice pool 8) – the victim’s Defense Action: Instant Saving the paralyzed boy, Caleb, will bring a much greater chance of the characters being poisoned, as he is covered in Goblin Roaches. More information on the Goblin Roaches’ Poison power can be found on p. 27. Hindrances (Roaches): The Goblin Roach stingers cannot pierce Armor 3 or above. If the Goblin Roach king is killed, the attack stops immediately. Help: None. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The Goblin Roaches not only fail to poison their victim, but there is something about her that makes her unpalatable to the Goblin Roach swarm. The Goblin Roaches will choose a new victim on the next turn and ignore the first victim for the rest of the scene.

Failure: The Goblin Roaches fail to poison its victim. Success: The Goblin Roaches poison its victim, Toxicity level 4. Resisted by Stamina + Resolve as a reflexive action. Exceptional Success: Not only have the Goblin Roaches poisoned its victim, the paralysis occurs immediately.

Rescuing Rob Dice Pool: Strength + Athletics (dice pool 7) – the victim’s Defense Action: Instant Saving the flailing boy, Rob, comes with it the much greater chance of being bitten. But since he’s not the boy with the five-leaf clover in his hand, he is the swarm’s secondary priority. More information on the Goblin Roaches’ Bite power can be found on p. 27. Hindrances (Roaches): The Goblin Roach stingers cannot pierce Armor 3 or above. If the Goblin Roach king is killed, the attack stops immediately. Help: None.

Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The Goblin Roaches not only fail to bite their victim, but there is something about him that makes him unpalatable to the Goblin Roach swarm. The Goblin Roaches will choose a new victim on the next turn and ignore the first victim for the rest of the scene. Failure: The Goblin Roaches fail to bite their victim. Success: The Goblin Roaches bite their victim, causing 1 bashing bite per number of successes. Exceptional Success: The Goblin Roaches bite their victim, causing 1 bashing bite per number of successes. The victim also develops an immediate allergic reaction to the bites in the form of incapacitating swelling, itching and hives that adds a -3 penalty to all his actions until the allergic reaction is dealt with.

Consequences If the characters choose to ignore the screams of the children, both children will die. If the characters save the children, they are lauded as heroes by the children’s parents and the community, giving an opportunity to be introduced to new Storyteller characters for future stories.

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Only Children Only the the Children of Autumn of Autumn ““Oh, hey, this is gorgeous,” Julie said as she held up the opal ring. “Can I borrow it?” Kimberly paused in her sorting of clothing for her best friend to borrow, “Uh… it was my mom’s, and it’s probably too fragile to wear. Besides, you weren’t born in October.” “So?” She slipped the opal ring on and admired the rainbow reflection of light within the gemstone. She smiled at the shimmer of beauty. “It’s bad luck to wear an opal if you weren’t born in October.” Oh whatever, Julie thought. There she goes on her superstitious bit. Julie waggled the bejeweled hand at her best friend. “Why? It’s pretty. I want to wear it.” “I don’t know. I just know that’s what they say.” “Well, they can go jump in a lake.” Julie said. “So, can I wear it or not?”

It is bad luck for those not born in October to wear opals. The traditional gemstone for October is opal – the zodiacal stone for Libra. It is a common belief that wearing opal, if it is not your birthstone, will bring bad luck to the wearer. In ancient times, an elemental researcher discovered the existence of the opal’s elemental spirit and simply called the spirit within it “Opallios,” after the stone. At the time, he was uncertain if Opallios was an angel, a demon or a spirit, but he was certain that the spirit came from the opal stone to bless some and to curse others. The unnamed sage wrote his findings in a document that Stephen Ashmead, a noted occultist, later found, translated and expanded upon in the 14th century. It is his research that tells the story of the spirit of the stone going from a benign creature to one of malicious intent. Ashmead dubbed this spirit “Autumne” (aw-TUM-nay) while researching its origins and its connection to this beautiful and

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precious stone. After years spent communing with Autumne, he put his findings down on paper and retired to a home for the wealthy and insane.

Autumne Quotes: “Who dares disobey my command? Only the children of autumn may wear my sigil! Now you will pay for your disrespect.” “Debase yourself before me. Beg for my forgiveness and mercy!” “Swear upon your life and soul that you will obey my edict. Swear it or die!” Background: Man has valued the veins of milky white stone that shimmer rainbow colors in the light since time immemorial. However, another attractor to this stone is the spirit that resides deep within it. No one knows where it came from, but the spirit within the opal stone is very real, and he is jealous of whom he bestows his blessings upon. For a long time, the opal was thought to bring luck and good fortune to the “children of autumn,” or those born in October. This much appears to be true. The opal was so valued for this mystical boon that soon people forgot its one requirement – the month of birth. The Autumne spirit, once generous and fair, became embittered at this abuse and withdrew his boon to the world because so many disrespected him. Over time, this withdrawing of boon became an active malevolence towards those who defied his edict – whether they knew of it or not. For hundreds of years, Autumne actively hunted and harmed those who wore the opal without having the right. Although Autumne sightings are very rare, most encounters with the spirit end in death for the human wearing the opal. Only the truly penitent edict-breakers live through their encounter with Autumne and most of those come away scarred, paranoid and insane.

Description: This elemental spirit always appears in fine dress of the current age (the flashier, the better). He is tall and imposing with long hair and opalescent eyes. His hands are twice as large as they should be, ending in sharp talons. His hair and clothing flutter in a wind only he can feel. Storytelling Hints: Most modern day people attribute the “bad luck” of wearing opals to the soft stone’s tendency to break. This complete lack of respect and care for his edict has filled the Autumne with rage and hate for mortal man. Only his “children of autumn” are spared some of this maliciousness. There are times when Autumne’s rage is too much and he must seek out an edict-breaker to get his revenge on. He prefers to appear to his victim when she is alone so he will have her full attention. Most frequently, he will attempt to murder her only after telling her what she has done wrong. He does this to give his victims a chance to repent. Even if they do repent, he will slay them if he does not feel they are sincere enough. If they do not apologize, or if they attempt to flee or attack him, he will tear them from limb to limb. Autumne is impatient, imperious and full of rage. Every word should be malicious and degrading. However, he can be reasoned with. He will listen for the apology, but he is judgmental and generally unforgiving. After his vicious onslaught, the unlucky opal-wearer will have one chance to apologize and beg for forgiveness or mercy. Autumne will then judge her on her words and sincerity. It must be an impressive and sincere debasement for Autumne to leave them alive. If she is sincere enough, he will let her go free with a warning, but the next encounter will mean immediate death. Also, if a “child of Autumn” becomes a part of the encounter with Autumne, he will listen to them with a greater patience and mercy. Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 3, Resolve 3 Physical Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3 Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation 4, Composure 4

Mental Skills: None Physical Skills: Brawl 3 Social Skills: Empathy 4, Intimidation 4, Persuasion 4, Subterfuge 3 Merits: None Willpower: 7 Morality: N/A Virtue: Hope Vice: Wrath Health: 8 Initiative: 8 Defense: 3 Speed: 12 Size: 5 Powers: Judge and Rend

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Using Different World of Darkness Games • Werewolf: The Autumne could be considered a spirit of the Earth (specifically opals). He is an old spirit filled with anger towards humans who disrespect him. He generally ends up taking a host (similar to the Hithimu) – the mechanics presented assume that he has.

Special Powers Autumne has two powers: Judge and Rend. The first power is judge the edict breaker’s sincerity. The second power is to murder her for her trespass against him. Judge (Intelligence + Empathy versus opponent’s Wits + Subterfuge): Autumne will first lambaste the edict breaker for wearing his sigil when it is forbidden for those who are not children of autumn. During the excoriation, Autumne will be able to psychically judge the sincerity of the person it is used on. Rend (Strength + Brawl – opponent’s Defense): Autumne’s main attack is a mental assault against the edict breaker’s spirit. This damage manifests in aggravated wounds. Autumne slashes at the edict breaker with his over-large, taloned hands. While his claws may seem to pass through the physical form, he is really slashing the victim’s spirit.

Story Idea: Opal, Opal, Burning Bright Something is happening to Julie Steward. For days, things seem to be deliberately trying to hinder and hurt her. She’s noticed crosswalk

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signs not working right, automatic door slamming themselves on her, elevators stopping two or three inches too short and more. Worse yet is the face that Julie is certain that a man is following her. She keeps seeing him out of the corner of her eye, staring and glaring at her. More than once, she’s sworn that she heard him whisper, “Why do you defy me?” in her ear. Tonight she has a date with a guy she’s been waiting to go out with for what seems like forever and things are the worst they have ever been. She’s had a fight with her friend Kimberly about that stupid opal ring she borrowed days ago. She’s burned herself on her curling iron, and the apartment elevator seemed determined to eat her dress. Undaunted, Julie has made it out to the nightclub where she’s to meet her date. She ducks into a bathroom to powder her nose and gather some courage. As she is about to leave, the bathroom door slams shut and that voice is back, but this time his demanding question is not whispered in her ear. It is shouted at her back. Turning around, Julie sees Autumne with his opalescent eyes and huge, taloned hands floating above her.

Persuading Autumne MENTAL ••••

PHYSICAL •••

SOCIAL ••••

Overview

Actions

This takes place at a local club; whether the characters are just relaxing or there for a specific purpose depends on your needs. It can be used to take a break from a long running story or to introduce a bit of chaos into the game. They can know Julie Steward or her friend Kimberly, or they may all be complete strangers when Autumne attacks. This scene can also be used to introduce a player character or a Storyteller character into the chronicle – just replace Julie or Kimberly.

Talking to Save Her Life

Description The screams coming from the area of the ladies room are muffled by the thudding beat of music on the dance floor and the sound of hundreds of people shouting to be heard over it. People are running for help. People are coming to gawk. There is the sound of glass shattering behind the closed and locked bathroom door. In between the screams, the sobs of a woman crying out, “I’m sorry!” can be heard.

Storyteller Goals The goal of Autumne is to extract a sincere apology from Julie for her repeated disrespect to him and his edict about who may and may not wear the opal. If he extracts a sincere apology, he will give her (and anyone watching) one last warning that his sigil is for the children of autumn only before leaving his host body. However, if he does not get a sincere apology, he will do everything in his power to kill the edictbreaker and those who would try to stop him from gaining his just vengeance for such disrespect. Once Julie is dead, he will leave his host body.

Character Goals Save Julie from Autumne. Figure out what is actually wrong, what Autumne is and either get him the apology he wants or figure out at way to banish or destroy him.

Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion versus Autumne’s Composure + Subterfuge (dice pool 7) Action: Instant and contested The player characters break into the bathroom to find out what is going on and discover Julie on the floor, unharmed but shaken and sobbing. Autumne is standing above her, shouting at her about her trespasses against him and his. More information on the Autumne’s Judge power can be found on p. 32. Hindrances (speaker): Not born in October (-1). Help (speaker): Born in October (+2). Roll Results Dramatic Failure: If the player of the speaker rolls a dramatic failure, not only does the speaker fail to convince Autumne to leave Julie alone, but the spirit also becomes enraged and starts attacking him. Autumne will do everything in his power to kill the character. If the Storyteller rolls a dramatic failure, Autumne returns the opal ring and leaves Julie alone. Failure: The character fails to convince Autumne to leave them alone: The spirit ignores his words and continues to try to extract an apology from Julie (or to attack her if it has gotten to that point). Success: The speaker convinces Autumne to listen to either Julie’s apology or to the characters’ apology on her behalf. Exceptional Success: If the player of the speaker rolls an exceptional success, the speaker convinces Autumne that the situation is all a complete misunderstanding for which not only is Julie sincerely apologetic but that everyone in the room is apologetic, and that they will spread the word that Autumne’s edict should not be disobeyed. Autumne leaves Julie alone. If the Storyteller rolls persuading autumne

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an exceptional success, Autumne becomes enraged and shifts his fury from Julie to the speaker.

Autumne’s Rending Dice Pool: Strength + Brawl (dice pool 7) – target’s Defense Action: Instant If the player characters immediately attack Autumne or they fail to persuade him that they and Julie are sincerely sorry, Autumne will attempt to kill Julie. If the spirit’s host loses all of his health points, he is temporarily banished for 24 hours from Julie (if she continues to wear the opal ring). If the opal in the ring is broken, then Autumne is banished from Julie until she wears another opal. More information on the Autumne’s Rend power can be found on p. 32. Hindrances (Autumne): If the opal stone is broken, Autumne will be temporarily banished. Autumne is focused on Julie (-1 to Defense). Help (Autumne): Combat rolls versus Julie (as the edict breaker; +1) Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Not only does Autumne fail to rend his victim, the victim is able to get out of range. If the intended victim is Julie, she is able to attempt to flee on the next action. If the intended target is not Julie, Autumne will return his full attention to her.

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Failure: Autumne fails to harm his intended target with his power. Success: Autumne hits his intended target with his power, doing lethal damage. Exceptional Success: Not only does Autumne damage his intended victim, the victim is knocked out for a number of turns equal to 6 - the victim’s Stamina. The victim takes no other actions during this time. If the victim is Julie, Autumne will continue to attack. If the victim is not Julie, Autumne will return to attack her.

Consequences If the player characters are unable to save Julie from being murdered by Autumne, there is a good chance that one of them will be blamed for it. However, without any witnesses willing to speak against the accused, the case will fall through, opening up the possibility of new enemies for the player characters (including Julie’s family or law enforcement officers). On the other hand, if they do manage to save Julie, she and Kimberly will be eternally grateful and may be called upon as allies for future storylines. Also, this scene may open up the possibility for another new ally (mundane or supernatural) in the form of the club’s owner and manager.

Glistering or Glistering or Glittering Neither Glittering Neither is Gold is Gold

“Dude! Look at this,” Shane said as they entered the next cave on their spelunking trip. “It looks like gold. A whole huge gold vein! Look at that shine.” “Is that what gold looks in the wild? I thought it’d be more like a diamond in the rough. Dull and stuff.” “No man, this is gold. Seriously. I’m gonna get me some. You know what this stuff is going for an ounce?” Kevin shrugged but pulled out his rock pick, “Not a clue, but a lot, huh?” “Yeah. A whole lot. Like hundreds of dollars an ounce.” Shane took aim with his own rock hammer and started chipping away at the rock next to the gold, accidentally striking a piece of the gold vein. Kevin turned back from setting his backpack down just in time to see the gold move and slither like a snake. “Dude! Watch out!” But it was too late. The previously solid vein of gold shot out from the rock and wrapped a glittering noose around his friend’s neck, cutting off his cry of surprise and pain.

All that glitters is not gold. Shakespeare is the best-known writer to have expressed the idea that not all that glitters is gold – that not all that is beautiful is valuable. The Bard was by no means the first to suggest this, however. The 12th century French theologian Alain de Lille wrote “Do not hold everything gold that shines like gold.” And in 1553, Thomas Becon, in The Relikes of Rome: “All is not golde that glistereth.” There is a much older version of this proverb from Old Norse that means “that which glitters may be deadly.” It is a warning from the Norse Viking explorers who first encountered the creature they called Glitra on one of their explorer expeditions. The creature looked like gold and lured its prey in through its sparkle and shine. When the

prey touched it, it would snap out and capture the hapless victim, absorbing him totally.

Glitra Background: Gudrik Grímsson was the first known person to record a description of the Glitra. Grímsson wrote: “We found a good cave to camp in on the island but then Ulfr found the gold in the wall. He started digging the gold out but found it was not gold. It was a creature that glittered like gold. The creature ensnared Ulfr, broke his neck and pulled his body into its maw. It was as if the creature was made of congealed fat. Bjorn attacked the creature, but his weapon first hit something hard and then was sucked inside. We knew we were facing a monster we did not understand. Ulfr’s body was halfway into the creature and I could see the signs of his bones beneath the shimmering gold. It already had one of us. I would not allow it to have more.” From time to time within the occult researchers’ community, sightings of the Glitra are mentioned; usually in conjunction with a missing person or a lost pet in a mountainous or cavernous region. However, no one has ever captured the creature for study, despite repeated attempts. Unfortunately for would-be captors, the Glitra has the ability to become liquid and escape through the smallest cracks in the wall or floor. If necessary, the Glitra will leave its meal behind if it feels it needs to escape. If it does not, it will slowly dissolve the prey over a matter of hours, absorbing its nutrients into itself. It is content to live in dark places, eating the native fauna and, if it’s lucky, the occasional unwary and unlucky miner, spelunker or hiker. Recently, there has been a disturbing change in the Glitra’s

glistering or glittering neither is gold

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known habitats. Ten years ago, Glitra began to be found in the sewer systems of large cities in Europe and the Americas. Occult experts and cryptozoologists speculate this invasion of urban sewer systems is due to the increasing scarcity of ideal natural habitats for the creature. Description: When the Glitra is perfectly still, it looks like part of a stone wall or a mound of dirt surrounding a large deposit of gold ore. It is shot through with veins of gold that shimmer and shine. When triggered, the Glitra is malleable and almost gelatinous in movement and feel. Strong prehensile golden tentacles ensnare its prey in a vice-like grip.

Storytelling Hints: Slow-moving, very strong and long-lived, the Glitra lives to feed and feeds to live. It has almost no discernable intellect. It doesn’t have an overwhelming hunger, but it is an opportunity feeder. If something like a rat or a rabbit or even an unwary human comes along, it captures, kills and eats the prey, dissolving every last bit of the prey that it can. The only things it does not dissolve are metals and hard plastics. Those are eventually spit out and left behind. The Glitra is not completely sedentary. It does move slowly around its domain, somewhat like slow-moving lava. The only time it does move quickly is when it produces its tentacles to capture and kill prey or it is escaping a threat to its life. If there are large creatures moving about in its domain, the Glitra will remain perfectly still until one of the creatures triggers its feeding response. While a Glitra does not have complex emotions, it does have feelings. It feels pleasure while feeding, anger when hurt and fear when cornered or overwhelmed. When the characters encounter the Glitra, it will appear as it always appears: as part of the structure of the cave or tunnel as veins and deposits of gold. It will only react when a character touches it and then it will focus only on that character until another character touches it. If it is critically injured, it will flee through small cracks in the wall and floor of its territory. Mental Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 2, Resolve 3

Using Different World of Darkness Games • Vampire: The Glitra will not try to absorb the vampire’s dead flesh. Vampires are not considered food. • Mage: The Glitra is considered a cryptid creature.

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Physical Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 2, Stamina 6 Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 1, Composure 4 Mental Skills: None Physical Skills: Brawl 4, Stealth 5, Survival 4 Social Skills: None Merits: None Willpower: 7 Morality: N/A Virtue: N/A Vice: N/A Health: 12 Initiative: 6 Defense: 2 Speed: 11 Size: 6 Armor: 5/5 Powers: Camouflage, Ensnare and Absorb

Special Powers The Glitra has three powers: Camouflage, Ensnare and Absorb. The first one is its natural ability to hide, and is identical in function to the Doliochthon’s power on p. 17. The second two revolve around capturing and eating its prey. Ensnare (Strength + Brawl – victim’s Defense): The Glitra is triggered to ensnare its prey when something as large as or larger than a mouse touches it. Based on how hard the touch it (weight or striking) as well as how big the prey is, the Glitra will shoot out an appropriately sized tentacle to ensnare its victim, doing crushing damage once captured. To break out of being ensnared is the ensnared victim’s Strength + Brawl – the Glitra’s Strength. (See the grapple rules, World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 157.) Absorb (Stamina + Composure): Once the prey is dead or incapacitated, the Glitra pulls the prey into its mass and absorbs it at a damage rate of one lethal health point per 15 minutes.

Story Idea: Something’s Deadly in the Sewers “You think we got giant rats in the sewers?” The stranger’s voice and the even stranger question catch your attention. Sure, you eaves-

drop. No one really expects their conversations to be private in a crowded coffee shop. “Nah, man. Giant rats are in places like New York or L.A. Not here.” “Two sewer workers have gone missing in two months. Listen to this. ‘Tom Waterford, age 34, and Chris Stone, age 23, have both gone missing while inspecting underground sewer lines. Both are married with children, and their spouses are frantic to find the missing men. According to the work roster at the Thompson’s Plumbing Services, on contract with the City, both men were assigned to the J-line of sewer tunnels, which runs under the City Hall building. When contacted by this newspaper, neither City Hall nor Thompson’s Plumbing Services had a comment…’ What do you think of that?” “Creepy, but not giant rats. I’d believe ghosts before giant rats. I mean, the city is hundreds of years old. Who knows what burial grounds are down there? Or what the city’s dug up?” “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” The two men leave the coffee shop, leaving behind the paper they had been reading. You cannot help but take it and read the story for yourself. Something about the story gets to you. Maybe it’s the fact that both men were in the prime of life. Maybe it’s the fact that both men went missing while working in the same sewer tunnel. Perhaps it’s the fact that the sewer tunnel runs under the middle of the city and City Hall. This may need to be investigated.

Variations • For a World of Darkness or Hunter: the Vigil game, one of the sewer workers was a friend of a friend and you are asked to help look for him. • For a Vampire: the Requiem game, one of the sewer workers was a valuable ghoul. • For a Changeling: the Lost game, Chris Stone, the younger missing man, was ensorcelled. • For a Werewolf: the Forsaken game, one of the sewer workers was kinfolk. • For a Mage: the Awakening game, one of the sewer workers was a Sleepwalker.

Glitra-Story idea Somethings deadly in the sewers

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Nothing Floats Down Here MENTAL ••

PHYSICAL ••••

Overview You and your friends are here in the sewer looking for what happened to those missing people. You have no idea what you are looking for (besides those missing men), but part of you is afraid that you will find it.

Description While the stone walls aren’t damp and dripping, they feel like they should be. The sewer tunnels are dark, dimly lit by a fluorescent light stationed every twenty feet or so. There are walkways on either side of the river of sludge in the middle of the tunnel. The constant sound of skittering rat paws lets you know you are not the only ones to use this walkway. Up ahead is a round tunnel junction that splits off into four different directions. Near one of the smaller tunnels’ openings is a plastic hardhat. Without picking it up, you can see the name Stone stenciled on the back of it. Shining your flashlight around, you catch sight of something beautiful and golden glittering in the flashlight’s beam.

Storyteller Goals Tell a creepy tale of looking for trouble and finding it. The Glitra is a powerful monster with simple goals: to survive and to eat. It cannot be reasoned with and it will not stop unless significantly damaged.

Character Goals Find out what happened to the missing sewer workers. Once they’ve discovered the Glitra, the secondary goal is to escape from it alive. Optionally, find and capture (or destroy) the creature.

Actions All That Glitters Dice Pool: Wits + Composure versus the Glitra’s Wits + Stealth (dice pool 7)

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SOCIAL •••

Action: Instant and contested Most characters will not realize that the Glitra is even there until they trigger its feeding reflex. More information on the Glitra’s Camouflage power can be found in the Glitra’s powers on p. 37. Hindrances (character): The Glitra is still (-1). Help (character): The Glitra is in motion (+1). Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Not only does the person looking for the Glitra not see it, she puts her hand on it, immediately triggering its ensnare reflex. She is so surprised that she is caught fast. Failure: The person looking for anything strange does not find the creature, but does see the gold deposit. Success: The searcher realizes that the gold deposit isn’t what it seems. Exceptional Success: Not only does she find it, but she figures out just how big it is and can keep track of it for the rest of the scene.

Escaping the Glitra Dice Pool: Strength + Brawl (dice pool 9) – victim’s Defense. Once ensnared, victim’s Strength + Brawl – Glitra’s Strength (5). Action: Instant Once the feeding reflex is triggered, everyone and everything is fair game. More information on the Glitra’s Ensnare and Absorb powers can be found on p. 37. Hindrances: The Glitra is unaffected by powers that attack the mind, intellect or emotions or any power that needs eye contact. Help: For each target beyond the first (-1). Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Not only does the ensnared victim not break free, her struggles push her deeper into the Glitra where she cannot escape, giving an additional -1 to all rolls.

glistering or glittering neither is gold

Failure: The ensnared victim does not break free and suffers crushing damage. Success: The ensnared victim breaks free, but is still the Glitra’s main target. Exceptional Success: Not only does the ensnared victim break free, but she moves far enough away that the Glitra no longer targets her. Instead, the Glitra will attempt to ensnare the next closest person.

Consequences If the characters do not take up the challenge to search for the missing sewer workers, more

people will go missing. This will include more sewer workers, a building inspector, a couple of children and several bums. If the characters do go looking for the missing sewer workers, they will find both men’s hardhats and some scattered belongings, which they can return to the grieving spouses. After the encounter with the Glitra, they may be approached by a secret organization (such as a Hunter compact or conspiracy) that will want to know what really went on down there. Alternatively, they may be rewarded, either publicly or privately.

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Ashes to Ashes Ashes Ashes to Death to Death Death to Death Scott lifted the pan of water, intending to dump it on the glowing coals nestled in the fireplace. “Stop!” exclaimed Melissa. “Don’t.” Scott stopped and frowned. “Don’t what?” “Don’t douse the fire. Not now.” “But we’re going to bed. I don’t want leave the fire going. Lord knows I don’t want to be the schmuck responsible for burning down a luxury cabin.” Melissa shook her head. “It’s bad luck to completely rake out or douse a fire before bed. There should always be a few embers left burning. That’s what my grandmama used to say.” “Why?” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just always did as she said. Grandmama knew the old ways.” She moved over to the fire and started covering the glowing coals with ashes. “This should keep them burning and keep us from setting everything on fire.” Scott shook his head. “All right, but I think you’re crazy.”

It is bad luck to completely rake out a hearth fire before retiring. A few embers should always be left burning. This saying comes from a time when some of the coals of family’s hearth were used to set the fire in the new family home as a way of bring the good luck of the old home into the new one. In the past, the fire was physically and socially at the center of the house and of a community. Some stories claim that many domestic fires remained burning continuously for hundreds of years. The prosperity of the house or farm was closely associated with a well-kept fire. The fire was symbolic of life; if someone from the house died, the fire was allowed to also die and be rebuilt as a cleansing of the death taint. If there was someone sick in the house, every effort was made to ensure that the fire

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did not die by accident, to help keep the sick person alive. It was especially important to keep the fire going on May 1st or “May Day” as a means of protecting the home year-round from evil intentions. If the hearth had to be repaired or cleaned, then some of the old burning fire coals were set aside in a bucket in order to replace them when the repairs had been completed. It was an indication of bad housekeeping to have to go to a neighbor in the morning to ask for some burning coals because your own fire had died out in the night. No one liked letting a burning coal out of a house “for fear of giving away good luck.” One story of the origins of the superstition tells of the mysterious death of a family burned almost beyond recognition and covered in a fine layer of ash – despite having escaped their burning home intact and unburned. Researchers would come to refer to the occurrence as an “ash-burn death” and over time the malevolent creature that caused these deaths became known as an Ash-burn.

Ash-burn Background: Fire has been integral to man’s survival for eons. It has been given religious significance both good and evil. What most people do not realize is that fire is a pure element—pure enough to protect this world from some of the supernatural creatures who would do it harm. The positive emotions and security associated with hearth fires have been found to protect humans from evil spirits and demons such as the Ash-burn. While it’s not clear what attracts the Ash-burn to our world or why they linger around hearth fires in wait for them to go out, these demons tend to account for many of the “accidental” house fires that occur all over the world.

Description: The Ash-burn materializes as a small vortex of burning ashes. They range from one to four feet in height with the top of the vortex ranging from one to three feet in diameter. Throughout the spinning ash are disembodied eyes glowing from yellow to orange to red, resembling burning coals. Storytelling Hints: The Ash-burn is a demon that slowly gets smaller as it burns. It lives to burn and does so with great glee and malice. The more living creatures it can burn to death, the better. It has only one harming attack but also likes to use intimidation tactics to herd its victims into the best possible place to burn. The Ash-burn are aggressive and smart. Any attack on them is seen as a challenge, and if there is more than one Ash-burn manifested, they will all gang up on the challenger and attack him without hesitation. Otherwise, the Ash-burn are gleeful fire-starters, throwing burning ash everywhere until they burn themselves out, which happens within an hour of them manifesting in our world. They are vicious, quick and merciless. The Ash-burn can be reasoned with mentally if you can keep them from covering you with burning ash but in general, it would take an Intimidation roll (versus their Resolve + Composure) to coerce these creatures into dissipating. Water and fire extinguishers will do 1 point of lethal damage per pint of water or

3-second spray of extinguishing foam to the Ash-burn, and cause them to be banished when all of their health points are gone.

Using Different World of Darkness Games • Vampire: Vampires need to make an immediate frenzy check to not flee the scene (Vampire: the Requiem, p. 178). This is a fear frenzy versus fire, bonfire difficulty (Vampire: the Requiem, p. 180) for a vampire to resist the frenzy and take actions. • These creatures are not spirits and cannot be commanded in such a manner. However they are demons, and are subject to powers and objects that affect demons.

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Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 4, Resolve 4 Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 6, Stamina 3 Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Composure 3 Mental Skills: None Physical Skills: Firearms (ash burst only) 4 Social Skills: Intimidation 3 Willpower: 7 Morality: N/A Virtue: N/A Vice: N/A Health: 7 Initiative: 9 Defense: 5 Speed: 13 Size: 4 Armor: 4/4 (0/0 against water and extinguishers) Power: Ash Burst

Special Powers The Ash-burn has only one attack: the Ash Burst. With each attack, it gets a little smaller but that does not lessen the strength of its Ash Burst. Ash Burst (Dexterity + Firearms): This is a blast of burning hot ash that covers and sticks to its target, setting clothing, hair, and paper on fire almost immediately. Each blast does fire damage (World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 180): four lethal damage per turn of contact.

Story Idea: Too Hot to Handle Jesse and Jennifer have the best backyard BBQ parties. There is always plenty of food, drink and fun. You always meet someone new. You always have a good time. The house is open and the backyard is huge. There’s even a huge stone fire pit for grilling. They never care if you end up

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spending the night because it got too late. They usually don’t even care if you end up passed out in the backyard. On the morning after one of their parties, you can be sure that you will be woken up, escorted to the table and fed a great breakfast (even if it’s 2 in the afternoon) – and a bit of hair of the dog that bit you, if you ask for it. Tonight has been no exception. The booze has flowed freely; the steaks, hamburgers and hot dogs were perfectly made. The music was turned down after 11pm but all of the neighbors are at the party, too, so there’s no one left to complain about a wild party. “Man, who let the fire pit go out?” Tim asks, his voice only slightly slurred. “I wanted another burger!” As the first vortex of ash appears behind Tim, those who look his way don’t understand what they’re seeing. As the hot coal eyes of the growing ash devil open, the realization of wrongness dawns on the inebriated partygoers. Then, Tim turns around and sees the Ash-burn floating in front of him. There are too many hot glowing coal eyes to count. “Holy shit,” Tim breathes out just before the Ash-burn blasts him full in the face with a wave of burning ash. He shrieks in pain, his hair and clothing on fire. The rest of the party erupts into chaos as another one of the unholy ash vortexes appears out of the dead fire pit. You were there, having a good time with some friends and strangers. Now this has happened. They don’t know about you or the special things you do. Now you have a choice: fight these ash monsters any way you can and possibly reveal yourself or let them run amok, killing people and burning the neighborhood down.

Variations • If this is an Innocents game, it is a backyard slumber party and only one Ash-burn will appear.

An Unholy Light MENTAL ••••

PHYSICAL ••••

SOCIAL •••

Overview

Character Goals

Danger and disaster can strike at anytime; especially when it is inconvenient. All the characters wanted to do was have a good time. Suddenly, that good time has become a killing zone for some otherworldly creatures, and the choice becomes whether or not to save these people and possibly reveal yourself as something more than normal or to let these monsters have their way. People with power and skills have responsibilities to those who do not. It goes along with the territory, no matter how disruptive it can be to your personal life. It is a sacrifice you have to make.

The characters need to choose between protecting their own anonymity and protecting innocents. Assuming they do the right thing and save the helpless, their next goal is to stop the Ash-burn from hurting anyone else. After that, they’ll have to deal with the aftermath of their secrets coming to light.

Description The vortex of hot ash is alive and moving. Its many glowing eyes spin within its whirling form. As it moves away from the fire pit and the screaming man, another dust devil of ash and glowing eyes rises out of the fire pit, bringing more ash with it. The two whirling tornados of death dance around each other as they move closer and closer to a group of huddled, frightened partygoers. You know that if you don’t do something now, they will be these monsters’ next victims.

Storyteller Goals Your first goal is to put the characters into a situation where they must sacrifice their anonymity in order to save some innocents. Your second goal is to cause as much damage as possible in a short amount of time. If the characters attack, they will become the Ashburn’s target. If not, the innocent people, the house and the surrounding property will be burned to ash.

Ash Burst Dice Pool: Dexterity + Firearms (dice pool 9) Action: Instant More information on the Ash-burn’s Ash Burst power can be found on p. 42. Hindrances: Target is within arm’s reach, and can use Defense. Help: A lot of objects in the backyard are flammable. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Not only does the Ash-burn miss with its Ash Burst, something about the intended victim causes every Ash-burn to shy away from them and turn to another character. Failure: The Ash-burn fails to hit with its Ash Burst. Success: The Ash-burn hits with its Ash Burst. Exceptional Success: The Ash-burn not only hits with its Ash Burst, it hits with extreme precision, ignoring armor (if the target is wearing appropriate armor).

Consequences If the characters flee (or, in the case of vampires, are forced to flee), more than half the partygoers will be murdered, the house and the two neighboring houses will be burned to the ground and those that live will be driven insane with fear.

Story idea too hot to handle-an unholy light

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Spirits of Spirits if the House the House Six year old Madeline twirled her umbrella in the hallway as she entered. “Nana! Look what I can do!” Her grandmother came around the corner and her smile disappeared. “No! Close the umbrella. Close it now!” She looked around her house with a fearful expression. Madeline stared at her, the umbrella still open and twirling. “But, why Nana?” “Because I said so!” Her grandmother yanked the umbrella from her small hand and closed it. Seeing her granddaughter’s eyes go big and round, threatening to spill tears down her face, Nana knelt next to the girl. “Because, child, you insult the house spirits here. You tell them they aren’t good enough. We don’t want to do that, do we?” “No Nana.” “No. We don’t. Let’s apologize to them for the insult.” Madeline looked around the hallway and up the stairs. “I’m sorry if I insulted you, house spirit. I didn’t mean to.” They both heard the closing of a door upstairs and Nana smiled. “See? They forgive you. Let’s go have some cookies.”

It is bad luck to open an umbrella inside a house. Open an umbrella indoors and bad luck will rain down on you. But why? There are a couple schools of thought on this. The most common theory stems from the days when umbrellas, named for the “little shade” they provided, were used mainly as protection against the sun. To open one indoors would be to insult the sun god and invite his wrath on everyone in your household. 44

spirits of the house

The second theory is that the umbrella is a universal symbol for protection from the storms of life. Umbrellas have been around for over 3,000 years. The belief that to open an umbrella indoors brings bad luck may have been started because people saw it as an act that insulted the spirits of the household by implying that their protection was inadequate. If you were to open one in your home, the household guardian spirits might think you felt their protection was insufficient. Their indignant abandonment of their ungrateful charges would lead to misfortune for everyone in the house.

Domos Quotes: “Treat us well and your house will never need for repair. Treat us poorly and your house will never know bliss.” “Why must you insult us? We do not deserve such disrespect. We care for you and our home.” “Insult us, do you? Think we cannot care well enough for you that you need that thing? We’ll show you what your life is like uncared for.” Background: Once an umbrella, a symbol of protection, is opened in a home, the Domos (the term is the same for one or more of these spirits) see this is as a direct challenge to their skills as keepers of the house. Insulted, they allow things to go wrong in the house that, until then, had not been a problem before. Plumbing breaks. Ovens refuse to light. Doors stick open or closed and the plants die. Then things get worse. The house cat is found dead. Sharp pins and needles somehow wind up on chairs. Food spoils at an alarming rate. People trip down the stairs over nothing. The home that once was a blessing becomes a curse, all for the lack of understanding and an unintended insult.

The Domos do not live in every house. Usually they live in older houses that have a connection to the land through gardens and wells. They also prefer houses with history or homes that have had a single owner or stayed in a single family for decades or more. These houses have a sense of spirit and life that new homes do not. Those who are respectful of the house have good lives. Those who are not tend to move away as soon as they can. For the Domos, it is their right to choose a home to live in and care for. It is a privilege for the dwellers of the home to have the Domos around, because they care for the home and those within it. On the other hand, never make the mistake of assuming a Domos is subservient to its human charges. The Domos chooses to be there and woe unto to those who insult or displease them. Description: Domos are small, wizenedlooking creatures that stand between one and two feet tall. They are humanoid in appearance with leathery skin and solid black eyes. Their heads appear slightly too large for their small bodies. They wear no clothing and appear to be androgynous. Their hands end in sharp, short claw-like nails that look dangerous. Storytelling Hints: Having a Domos creature can be heaven or hell for a household. They are subtle at first when making their displeasure known. But as time goes on and no apology or gesture of respect happens, the Domos turn from blessings into curses. Instead of taking their anger out on the house, they start taking it out on those who live within it. When a Domos reaches its breaking point, they will appear and attack the house’s owners directly with poisoned claws.

Once manifested, a Domos can be reasoned with, especially if the homeowners appear frightened or cowed by them. Sincere apologies and promises to never disrespect the house or the Domos will go a long way, but only if everyone present agrees with a proper attitude. If even one person is snide, snarky or unrepentant, all of the Domos will attack. Household objects will not harm a Domos, but things from outside the house will. For example, a kitchen butcher knife will always miss the Domos, while a hunting knife can hit and do damage. If a Domos is damaged to the point of death, it will disappear, but there is a chance that it will reappear another night to attack again. Attributes: Power 5, Finesse 2, Resistance 1 Willpower: 6 Initiative: 3 Defense: 5 Speed: 11 Size: 4 Corpus: 5 Essence: 10 Powers: Break, Curse and Poisonous Claws

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Using Different World of Darkness Games • Changeling: The Domos are goblins from the Hedge and are affected by Contracts. Changeling characters have a +1 to Investigation, Empathy and Expression rolls and a -1 penalty to Intimidation rolls.

Special Powers The first two powers of the Domos, Break and Curse, are designed to first attack the house and then the owners. The third power, Poisonous Claws, is a direct attack by the Domos itself. Break (Power + Finesse – target object’s Durability): The house is an extension of the Domos. The Domos know it inside and out. They know exactly where to start making things break to annoy or distress the house dwellers. Curse (Power + Finesse – target’s Resolve): When the Domos are ready to curse those within the house, they to call upon the natural magic in the area to do so, increasing their effectiveness. Every success rolled by the Domos a –1 penalty to the target for the duration of the scene. Each target’s Curse expires at the end of the scene and a new Curse on the same target will start from 0 successes. Poisonous Claws (Power + Finesse – target’s Defense): The claws of the Domos are slightly curved and poisonous. If clawed by the Domos, the poison goes to work immediately, coursing through the victim’s veins, doing damage over time as per normal toxicity rules (World of Darkness Rulebook, pp. 180-181) with the toxicity level of 5. The poison cannot be healed naturally, but the Domos can heal the poison themselves if given enough motivation.

Story Idea: Home Sweet Home John and Ellen Harper inherited the beautiful Victorian home from her late grandmother. The small inheritance that came with it paid the taxes and the couple is grateful for one less expense as they prepare to welcome another child.

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At first, everything is perfect. Then, once the rainy season hits, things start to break. First it’s the doorknob to the screen door. Then the sinks in the house start to drip — all of them, on the same night. Nothing the Harpers do fixes this problem. Next to go is the vacuum cleaner, followed by the dishwasher, the oven and the garbage disposal. Each of things is an expensive hassle to repair. Then things go from bad to worse. Knives somehow end up point-up in the dishwasher, no matter how careful the couple is. Glasses tumble silently to the floor in the middle of the night, causing bare feet to be sliced on the shards in the morning. Thumbtacks appear in chairs point-up. Scalding hot water comes out of the cold tap, and unseen obstacles in the hallways throughout the house are causing their daughter Julia countless cuts and bruises. It is to the point that the Harpers now believe their home is haunted. Ellen’s inexplicable fall down the stairs – though she swears she felt a push — has the family at its wits’ end. They have called for help from paranormal investigators and psychics to help find out what has happened to their once lovely home. Ellen is four months pregnant and doesn’t want to move yet again. She just wants whoever, whatever, is haunting the house to go away.

Variations • If this is a Vampire game, Mr. Harper could be a ghoul. • If this is an Innocents game, the Storyteller character most involved is the Harpers’ child, Julia. She has asked her friends over to help figure why the house is mad at her family.

Hostile Natives MENTAL •••

PHYSICAL •••

SOCIAL •••

Overview

Character Goals

Someone important to the group has asked them to help with the Harpers’ home. The attacks by the Domos are becoming increasingly more violent, and the Harpers are considering moving from what was once their dream home. When the characters arrive, it is raining.

Figure out what’s wrong with the house. Find out what the Harpers have done to upset the Domos, and fix the situation.

Description You have entered the foyer of the Harpers’ home. As you shake the rain from your coats, you see pairs of galoshes and two open umbrellas already in the hallway. “You can leave your coats and umbrellas here,” Ellen Harper says as she gestures to the coat rack in the hallway. “And leave your umbrellas open to dry. I don’t mind if they drip.” As you all shuffle about, taking off wet overcoats, you begin to hear the sound of breaking glass from upstairs and from the room at the end of the hallway. It sounds as if someone is having a temper tantrum and is taking his or her anger out on anything breakable. The mirror in the hallway suddenly shatters in a startling shower of shards, and a new voice joins the cacophony of sound. “Leave your umbrellas open on in the hallway? Why don’t you just invite them to shit on the floor and be done with it?” Looking, you see a small creature standing next to a closet at the end of the hallway. Its coal-black eyes bore into you. It seems to shake with rage as a second and then a third small humanoid creature exits the closet.

Storyteller Goals Introduce the idea that being nice to a monster could be the easy way out of a potentially fatal situation. The Domos are furious but intelligent. They can be reasoned with and reasoning with them is not only the easy way, it is the most beneficial way. This also provides the characters a chance to think on their feet.

Actions Calming the Domos Dice Pool: Presence or Manipulation + Persuasion vs. the Domos’ Finesse + Resistance (dice pool 3) Action: Instant and contested The characters have a chance to talk some sense into both the Domos and the Harper family. Hindrances: No Occult knowledge (-1). Help: Encyclopedic Knowledge (+1). Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Not only does the speaker fail to convince the Domos to leave the Harpers alone, but the Domos becomes enraged and attacks the speaker. Failure: The speaker fails to convince the Domos to leave the Harpers alone, and the spirit continues with its current course of action, berating Ellen Harper until either someone can persuade the Domos the Harpers meant no harm or the situation escalates into violence. Success: The speaker convinces at least one of the Domos that the Harpers did not mean any harm or disrespect. Exceptional Success: The speaker not only convinces all of the Domos that the Harpers meant no harm or disrespect, but is so eloquent that the Domos forgive the Harpers without forcing an apology. Moreover, the spirits are willing to talk more about themselves and their world.

Fighting the Domos Dice Pool: Power + Finesse (dice pool 7) Action: Instant

story idea home sweet home- hostile natives

47

If talking fails, the fighting begins. The Domos will slash and claw with their poisoned talons. More information on the Domos’ Poisonous Claws power can be found on p. 46. Hindrances: The Domos are immune to any household items used as weapons. Help: None. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Not only will the Domos miss with a poisoned claw attack, but it stumbles, causing it to lose its action next turn. Failure: The Domos misses with its poisoned claw attack. Success: The Domos hits with its poisoned claw attack, doing damage. Follow the normal toxicity rules (World of Darkness Rulebook, pp. 180-181) with the toxicity level of 5.

48

spirits of the house

Exceptional Success: Not only does the Domos hit with its poisoned claw attack, doing damage, the victim automatically fails their next roll to resist the poison.

Consequences If the characters manage to talk the Domos into forgiving the Harpers for their trespasses, the Harpers will offer to let the characters use the house or rent a room in the house as a hiding place. If the characters banish the Domos through combat, the Harpers will also offer to rent the house to the characters at a much-reduced rate for the same reason. If one (or more) of the characters is poisoned in a combat with the Domos, they will have to deal with the mystical poison. Ways to deal with it include calling the Domos and begging them for help and promising respectful treatment of them and the house, and finding a specialist who knows about such matters.

Smellthe theFlowers Flowers Smell but Don' t Take One but Don't Take One James ran up the walkway from the bus station. He was already late, and Shannon would kill him if he walked into the house late AND empty-handed on their anniversary. Missing one bus had made him ten minutes too late to reach the flower shop before it closed. That’s why grabbing the bouquet from the graveyard seemed like a good idea at the time. He felt a bit weird about giving his wife some corpse’s flowers, but there was nothing to be done about it now; Shannon was in the doorway and she was beaming at him. “You did remember! Oh, honey, thank you. They’re lovely,” she said as she reached for the bouquet in his hands. Too late now, and it’s not like the dead person’s gonna be able to use them, he thought with mild guilt before smiling at his wife, “Of course! You didn’t actually think I’d forgotten, did you? I just wanted to surprise my darling wife.”

Taking flowers from a graveyard will bring bad luck. It has been said that picking a flower from a grave and then throwing it away is thought to bring bad luck, as the place where the flower falls will be haunted. It has also been said that you shouldn’t take flowers off a grave or you might soon find yourself in one. In general, there are strong superstitions about taking flowers from graveyards being bad luck. The origins of this proverbial warning can be traced as far back as ancient Greece in the story of Hades, god of the dead, abducting Persephone as she gathered violets. This story holds a much deeper warning to those who know what to look for: the warning of the Thanatanthe (thah-nah-TAHN-thay) or “Blossom of Death.”

Thanatanthe Background: One apocryphal story says that the Thanatanthe is the remnants of a pharaoh’s curse upon grave robbers: Take from the dead and become one of them. This unknown Pharaoh was said to be so angered by the idea that someone might deny him anything in the afterlife by stealing his possessions that he spent years researching curses and maledictions to ensure his tomb’s safety. He beseeched the gods for the power to see his will through. The gods and goddesses looked down upon this Pharaoh and decided to answer his prayer. Upon his deathbed, this pharaoh spoke his curse to all grave robbers who would dare to take from the dead. Clutching a bouquet of lotus flowers brought for his pleasure, the pharaoh died with his curse on his lips. When his tomb was robbed, the pharaoh was allowed to his revenge. In the disguise of a mourner’s bouquet of flowers, the pharaoh traveled with the thieves to their den. When the thieves went to sleep, the pharaoh manifested in the form of a deadly coil of poisoned smoke. It wound its fragrant way through the hideout, enticing its sleeping victims to breathe deeply of its heady scent and then smothered them while they slumbered. The curse was not without its drawbacks, however, and the pharaoh’s spirit found itself compelled to seek the unwary robbers of more and more graves, even those in far-off countries. Over the centuries, the spirit has lost all memory of its origin and now merely carries out its compulsion to punish those who would steal from the dead. smell the flowers but dont take one

49

Description: When the Thanatanthe can be seen, it looks like a tentacle of yellowish smoke rising from the stolen blooms. It smells like whatever flower is has been born from. Snaking out from the flowers, it grows ever longer until it reaches its intended victim. Once separated from the bouquet, the coil of smoke reaches a length of about five feet. Storytelling Hints: The Thanatanthe is a monster without conscious thought. It is the embodiment of a dying man’s paranoia and rage. It is a vicious guard dog that, once freed, will not stop until it perceives its job is complete. That job is to kill the thief who stole from the grave and all his companions and abettors. In this case, if a boy brings his sister flowers from a grave, the Thanatanthe will murder the boy, his sister, his parents and even his dog. The Thanatanthe will remain for as long as the thief and those he lives with are still alive or until the stolen flowers are destroyed or tossed out of the house. Being fairly quick to act, the Thanatanthe rarely waits long enough for the stolen gravestone flowers to wilt and die. Though the monster’s original manifestation originates in the bouquet of flowers, it will quickly separate itself and seek the thief. The Thanatanthe tends to act at night and prefers to murder its victims in their sleep. However it will attack victims who are awake as well. The Thanatanthe is a powerful ghost but not a particularly sentient one (World of Darkness Rulebook, pp. 208-216). However, it does have one crucial weakness – if the stolen bouquet of flowers is destroyed, the Thanatanthe is banished, not to return unless someone steals another bouquet of flowers from a gravestone. Attributes: Power 1, Finesse 6, Resistance 4 Willpower: 5 Initiative: 10 Defense: 6 Speed: 11 Size: 4 Corpus: 8 Essence: 15 Numina: Choke Notes: If the stolen bouquet of flowers is destroyed, the Thanatanthe is banished. nished. Special power: Choke.

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smell the flowers but dont take one

Using Different World of Darkness Games • If the character is a creature that does not need to breathe, it is immune to the Thanatanthe. Once it attacks and the character does not breathe, it will sense them as dead and leave them.

Special Powers Choke (Power + Finesse versus Stamina + Athletics): This ability is part physical and part supernatural. It is the ability to choke and suffocate a targeted victim. It does this through forcing itself into the victim’s nose and mouth, using its smoke-like body to block all air passages.

Story Idea: The Mercy House The Mercy House is a hospice run by Mary Walker, a retired nurse. Walker is a kind soul who runs the house with a firm but gentle hand. She listens to her patients’ fear, anger and hope with attention and compassion, even understanding when they lash out at her.

When it comes to the patients’ visitors, Nurse Walker does what she can to make them comfortable. She allows them to stay when she knows they are here to spend quality time with a parent, a child, or a loved one. Most patients at the Mercy House die peacefully in their sleep, which is a blessing for those who have been in so much pain—physical and emotional. Once the dead have passed on, they are no longer in pain and those they left behind can begin the long road of grieving and recovery. Janet McGuire’s mother, Ruth, is currently the only patient at the Mercy House. Ruth is seventyone years old and dying of cancer. Most days, she sleeps. Some days, the persistent pain keeps her awake. Janet has flown in to be with her mother in these last weeks. Mother and daughter have finally said what they needed to say to other. They both know that the end is coming soon.

thanatanthe-story idea the mercy house

51

In the Dead of Night MENTAL •••

PHYSICAL ••••

Overview You are a friend of Janet’s, and she’s asked to not be alone in this time of grief. She will even accept the company of strangers if they are sympathetic and supportive. Janet has finally made peace with her mother after a long estrangement over misunderstandings and petty disagreements. The reunion and the good-bye with her mother have taken its toll on Janet and she isn’t sure she can handle her mother’s death alone. Nancy Walker, usually the epitome of kindness, seems to have grown uncomfortable with the number of people in the house. After delivering a bouquet of flowers to Ruth’s room, Walker has asked that you all leave Ruth in peace for the evening. She is firm in this order and despite Janet’s protests will accept nothing less. Janet, having just regained her mother only to lose her again, is in no mood to obey the nurse. She convinces you all to stay with her.

Description It is 11:55pm and all seems well until Nurse Walker appears in the doorway. She is surprised to see you as she is unaccustomed to being disobeyed. “I thought I told you to leave!” She looks over her shoulder in a worried gesture towards Ruth’s room. “You need to go. It’s not safe for you here. Leave.” Before you can make sense of her strange commands and nervous demeanor, an alarm goes off down the hall. Something is wrong with Ruth. Her heart or breathing has stopped. Janet, in a sudden panic, rushes past the nurse. Nurse Walker follows on Janet’s heels and they both stop in the doorway to Ruth’s room. Ruth is peaceful, smiling even… but definitely dead. Everyone in the doorway can see the coil of yellowish smoke pouring out of Ruth’s nose and mouth.

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smell the flowers but dont take one

SOCIAL •

“It was her time,” the nurse says, with a strange regretful tone. She suddenly shoves Janet behind her, opening her arms wide to the barely seen creature. “Get out!” she shouts. “Get out while you can!” Nurse Walker turns her attention back towards the coil of smoke drifting toward her. Her fear is palpable as she faces the oncoming miasma.

Storyteller Goals Show that sometimes running from the monster is the best idea, and the characters should grab the innocents and go. If the characters stay and fight despite the nurse’s plea to leave, Janet will be killed, the nurse will be killed (probably) and, until someone destroys the bouquet of flowers (Durability 0, Size 1, Structure 1) or all of the characters flee the house, all the characters will be killed, one by one.

Character Goals Choose whether or not to run and whether or not to save anyone. If they stay despite the nurse’s plea, their goal is to survive long enough to figure out that the bouquet of flowers is the key and destroy it. After the running (or fighting), if the nurse survives, the characters need to decide what to do about her and her supernatural method of “mercy killing” her patients.

Actions Gasping for Breath Dice Pool: Power + Finesse (dice pool 7) versus the intended victim’s Stamina + Athletics Action: Instant and contested More information on the Thanatanthe’s Choke power can be found on p. 51. Hindrances: None. Help (victim): Holding breath (+2), Strong Lungs Merit.

Roll Results Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a dramatic failure, not only does the Thanatanthe not get a hold on its intended victim to choke but it loses sight of the target altogether and will spend the next action seeking out a new victim. If the player of the victim rolls a dramatic failure, she is at -1 to any future rolls to resist for the rest of the scene. Failure: The Thanatanthe does not choke its intended victim. The victim can still breathe. Success: The Thanatanthe begins to choke its victim, doing lethal damage. Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls an exceptional success, the Thanatanthe not only gets a hold on its intended victim to choke her, the victim is at -1 to any future Stamina + Athletics rolls to resist for the rest of the scene. If the player of the victim rolls an exceptional success, the Thanatanthe loses sight of the target and will spend the next action seeking out a new victim.

Consequences If the characters run and take the nurse with them, only Ruth dies. The characters may then question Walker about the monster and how it works. She will explain what she knows about the Thanatanthe and how she used it to painlessly kill her hospice patients when they were ready to die. If the characters run, leaving the nurse behind, she and Ruth both die. (Though she’s brought the creature to her house, she doesn’t know how to stop it.) The police will find that Ruth appears to have died in her sleep and Walker appears to have had a heart attack. The characters are safe but they know nothing of the Thanatanthe, what Nurse Walker had been doing or why. If the characters stand and fight, the monster will kill everyone in the house. If they manage to destroy the flowers after the monster has killed Walker, Janet, or any of the player characters, the remaining characters will be caught up in a police investigation of the suspicious deaths.

in the dead of night

53

scene: mental

I See You. Do You See Me?

•••

physical

•••

social

hinDRances

help

otheR

No occult knowledge (-1).

Poor or hindered eyesight (+1). Blind characters are immune to the Miraree’s power. The victim must be beguiled before it can be consumed.

Miraree scene.

Exceptional eyesight (-1). A beguiled victim will take no physical actions, and has a Defense of 0 (making it easier for others to attack, grapple or otherwise move her).

sts

The Miraree will attack is to beguile and consume everyone it possibly can.

pcs

Defeat the Miraree without anyone (especially Sharon) being consumed.

scene: mental

54

••••

13

It’s Alive!

•••

18

physical

••••

social

••

hinDRances

help

otheR

The Doliochthon is being fired on (-1).

The Doliochthon is in motion (+1).

Doliochthon scene.

Thermal scanner, motion sensor, or other high-tech surveillance gear allows the target to dodge more accurately. The creature’s Camouflage power naturally makes it harder to locate it (-1).

It does not specifically hide its tracks (+1).

sts

Attack and feed from the group. Escape with at least Gunny as a meal for later.

pcs

Survive the initial attack by the Doliochthon. Get the archaeologist to the pyramid and back out again.

scene: mental

On the Rooftop

•••

23

physical

•••

••••

social

hinDRances

help

otheR

The Dreamer is visible and horrible (-1);

None

Dreamer scene. If the Dreamer is only frightened away but not killed, it will spend the next two days redoubling its efforts to get Lon killed.

bemuse/terrify any targets that aren’t its chosen victim (-1).

sts

The Dreamer will bemuse and terrify Lon until he is dead.

pcs

Protect Lon from the Dreamer and from going over the rooftop.

scene: mental

Unlucky Little Boys

••

physical

••••

28

••

social

hinDRances

help

otheR

The Goblin Roach stingers cannot pierce Armor 3 or above. If the Goblin Roach king is killed, the attack stops immediately.

None

Goblin Roach scene.

sts

The Goblin Roaches want the challengers (the boys) and the interlopers (the characters) off their territory at all costs.

pcs

Save the children from their own folly.

55

scene: mental

Persuading Autumne

••••

physical

•••

33

social

••••

hinDRances

help

otheR

Not born in October (-1). If the opal stone is broken, Autumne will be temporarily banished.

Born in October (+2).

Autumne scene.

Combat rolls versus Julie (as the edict breaker; +1)

Autumne is focused on Julie (-1 to Defense).

sts

Autumne will try to gain a sincere apology from Julie (or someone speaking for her) or kill her with great malice.

pcs

Save Julie from Autumne by providing him with the sincere apology he wants or by temporarily banishing him.

scene: mental

56

Nothing Floats Down Here

••

physical

••••

38

social

••

hinDRances

help

otheR

Glitra is still (-1). The Glitra is unaffected by powers that attack the mind, intellect or emotions or any power that needs eye contact.

Glitra is in motion (+1).

Glitra scene.

For each target beyond the first (-1).

sts

Tell a creepy story.

pcs

Find out what happened to the missing sewer workers. Either escape from or kill the Glitra. Reap the rewards of surviving with the information.

scene: mental

An Unholy Light

••••

43

physical

••••

social

•••

hinDRances

help

otheR

Target is within arm’s reach, and can use Defense.

A lot of objects in the backyard are flammable.

Ash-burn scene.

sts

Force the characters to choose revealing themselves in order to protect their friends. Kill as many Storyteller characters as possible and damage as much property as possible.

pcs

Choose whether or not to out themselves. If yes, defeat or kill the Ash-burn. Deal with the fallout of either path of action.

scene: mental

Hostile Natives

•••

47

physical

•••

social

•••

hinDRances

help

otheR

No Occult knowledge (-1). Immune to any common household items used as weapons.

Encyclopedic Knowledge (+1).

Domos scene.

sts

Present a story where talking is the best option.

pcs

Help the Harpers and quell the Domos by talk or by combat.

57

scene: mental

In the Dead of Night

•••

physical

•••••

52

social

•

hinDRances

help

otheR

None

Holding Breath (+2), Strong Lungs Merit

Thanatanthe scene. If the character is a creature that does not need to breathe, it’s immune to the Thanatanthe.

58

sts

Prove that sometimes it is best to just run away from the monster.

pcs

Run away from the monster and learn more about it and the nurse. Deal with the nurse. Fight the monster and try to survive. Deal with the nurse if she survives.

Credits

Written by: Chuck Wendig Additional Material by: People Who Should Fucking Know Better World of Darkness created by Mark Rein•Hagen. Developer: Eddy Web Editor: Someone Who Needed a Paycheck, But Still Has Self-Respect Art Director, Book Design, Interior Art, Cover Art: A Bunch of Drunken Artists Who Knocked This Out Over a Case of Beer

For Use with the World of Darkness Rulebook ®

© 2010 CCP hf. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf and the World of Darkness are registered trademarks of CCP hf. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by CCP hf. CCP North America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCP hf. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are iction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised. Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com PRINTED IN YOUR MIND, YOU FILTHY BASTARD.

2

Credits

How to Be

Fucking Awesome

Chuck Wendig

3

Preface Preface I begged to do this. (Editor’s Note: He really did. See the attached picture.) I was born to write this preface. Well, that may not be true. I was probably born for other things, but thanks to adopting the path of a Slacking Game Writer, the hopes and dreams of my parents were dashed on the rocks of the River Disappointment. I may not have been the West Point grad-turnedaerospace engineer and astronaut I set out to be, but I became so much more. I became a bad-ass hero Gangrel vampire, twin katanas strapped across my black pleather-clad back, twin Colt revolvers (silver bullets loaded, of course) at my hips, striking fear in my enemies and lust in the fishnet-wearing would-be huntress who fell for my brooding charms. Pardon my departure from my usual writing style, but this must be said. Fuck your pussy, emo, angsting, inner-demon wrestling child of the night. Your Roman-era politicians, your secret-society schemers, your social magistrates – they’re all a bunch of goddamned asshats! I remember when vampires were mother-fucking superheroes of the shadows. OK, most of them were of the 90’s, kill-everything anti-hero types, carrying more hardware and explosives than the typical Marine Expeditionary Force. Body counts were points scored, local governments were the bitches of the HMVIC (the Head Mother-Fucking Vampire In Charge, AKA the Prince, AKA the one who ate your daddy and told you to sit and watch), and breaking the Masquerade only happened if you actually left any witnesses alive. I wasn’t one of those guys. Most of my friends were, but I went that other way. I would be Nick Knight, working the night streets and saving humans from the monsters that hunted them. But I’d be far, far badder – Neo and Blade double-teamed Buffy, mingled their sperm, and she popped out the bullet-time martial arts killing machine that was my heroic fang boy. I think he lasted, like, three sessions before the other leeches beat him down like a Manilow fan at a Poison concert. Something about the HMVIC

4

Dudes of Legend

not enjoying having his top enforcers cut down at a social function celebrating vampire uberness, or something. So my next masterpiece? Skald-warrior Brujah, bitches! Leather jacket, curb-stomping boots, spiked shoulder pads and bracers, a giant silvered great axe on his back and dual shotguns strapped to his thighs. He spouted poetry as he chopped werewolf heads off, told Toreadors they were pussy-little poseurs while he

drug their women onto the dance floor, and imagined the HMVIC wet his coffin every night in fear of the day Gunther Thorsbrood would claim his throne. Seriously, what are you artsy twats doing to this game? What happened to the black, shiny clothes, the incessant machine gun firing, the super-speed battles atop subway trains? Where are the hot chicks, thrusting their boobs out along with their lower lips, taunting and teasing you into ultimate sin? The angst was

just supposed to be an excuse for the hot goth fashions; we all reveled in the power and the violence, the sex without consequences, and a life immortal where little humans danced to our tunes. Put all the other books away, boys and girls. This is all you really need. Discover what it REALLY means to be a right and proper bloodsucker. Oh, and yeah, don’t forget your Super Soaker full of holy water. Man, I LOVED that trick!

− Sean Patrick Fannon, author, The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer’s Bible and Shaintar: Legends Unleashed, gamer with a lot of repressed... something.

5

Dudes of Legend: Dudes of Legend: How to Be How to Be Fucking Awesome

FUCKING AWESOME “Even though I was “even though i was thetheatrically trained, atrically trained, learning learning to develop a to develop a character character was an awewas an awesome experisome experience.” ence.” - Corin Nemec, — corin nemec, AkA AKA Parker Parker P a rLewis k e r fom Le wis Lewis can't Lose from Parker Lewis Cann't Lose

6

Dudes of Legend

No, no, I get it. You think we’re joking. I hear you: “Meh-ha-hee-ha, oh, trenchcoats and strippers, it’s an April Fool’s Day thing from those wacky White Wolf guys again. They’re probably drunk on mezcal, or high on the dust ground from the bones of a long-lost subterranean humanoid race.” Drunk? Yes. High on the bone dust of a fallen hobbit species? Duh. But we’re not fucking around. You put that out of your head. You put it out of your head, or we’ll kick it out. With boots. With fat, clunky steel-toe construction boots. Yeah, keep on giggling. See, you think whatever you want, but strippers? Awesome. Lesbian strippers? Double-awesome. Lesbian strippers whipping off their trenchcoats only to reveal a katana tucked delicately in a garter or g-string? That is a face full of awesome. Your face will be dripping with awesome. The sauce of awesome will give you a nasal enema. Oh, don’t you turn your nose down at me. Or is it, look down your nose and turn up your nose? It has to be, right? It can’t be look up your nose, because that’s disgusting. Especially after that whole “nasal enema” thing. Wait. Where were we? What’s happening? Why am I wearing this rabbit costume with the ass cut out? All right. Shake it off. Shake it off. Get back in the game. Refocus. Laser precision. Forget about what Mommy said. Forget her. You don’t need her anymore. Ah. Yes. That’s right. Here we go. Don’t you condescend to me, man. You’re trapped in your little uppity world where vampires are merely conveyances for personal horror, where Frankensteins are just lumbering vehicles for existential dread. You’re locked in a little box of morality and meaning, and somewhere along the way you forgot how to have fun. That’s right. I’m talking to you, emo-boy. With your Flock of Seagulls haircut and your poofy shirt. Why so serious? You’ve got to get shut of that shit, son. Or lady. Or ladyboy. Or whatever gender conglomeration you happen to be. We’re screaming it so the cheap seats can hear. We’re delivering a gospel—gospel means “good news,” remember—of raw unbridled bad-ass motherfucking awesome to your soul. We’re going to teach you how to have fun again. Gone with the gloomy-gus mope-mask, people. It’s time to rock out with your cock out. Or, for the ladies, time to jam out with your clam out. Or, for the gender ambiguous, it’s time to... drop curtain... on your... uhh, uncertain? It’s time to do the serious funk out with your, ummm, mysterious junk out? Hrm. I’m just not feeling that one. I tried. I really tried. Shut up.

Seriously, We’re Serious. Or HalfSerious. Or Something. We’re well aware that this product is ridiculous. The idea is itself a kind of joke, yes, but believe me— we’re actually trying to give you some material you can use. Kind of. Sure, it’s fairly rules-light, but you might actually want to plug-and-play this stuff into one of your World of Darkness games. Why? Why in God’s Unpronounceable Nomenclature would you dare to invoke such madness in your story? Isn’t this stuff just for a laugh? Two reasons you might want to use this product in a serious way. One: Parody can work at the game table. Listen, half the time a game session with friends devolves into a whirlwind of jokes and side-stories. With the horror bent of the World of Darkness, that’s not exactly useful—so, you can use these rules to take some time off from the uber-seriousness of your current game and play a session using these system hacks. It’ll maybe help get the shits-and-giggles out. Parody and satire have a place at the game table in limited quantity—or, if everybody loves it, in unlimited quantity. Fun is fun, and if this gives you that, run with it. Two: One or two of these rules might actually be useful. Sure, each character hack is loaded with satirical pretense, but the rules themselves might be something you can grab and use. Looking forward to the upcoming release, World of Darkness: Mirrors, this isn’t entirely inappropriate. That book is all about dissecting both system and setting to build the type of game you want to play. This is that, just in a more... over-the-top manner. And maybe “over-the-top” is what you want. You want to ape crazy ideas and monstrous stereotypes for a truly batshit game experience? There’s nothing wrong with that. The rules here may help you to achieve that over-the-top experience at your game table. All that being said? Yes, we’re being offensive. Yes, we’re being ludicrous. No, we’re not seriously trying to insult you or waste your time. Make you laugh, yes. Offer you a gonzo World of Darkness game, sure. Beg you to write us letters about how offended you are? Mmm. No.

Features: How This Shit Works Okay, here’s how this nonsense works. These are full-on character-based system hacks. They don’t have dots. They’re not Merits. They don’t require

namby-pamby experience point costs, because experience points require counting and math and other “I’m-too-tired-and-drunk-on-the-misery-of-othersand-also-Southern-Comfort-to-care” issues. Plus, with experience points, you have to have a pencil with an eraser, and I don’t have one of those. Really, erasers are kind of bullshit anyway. They always tear a hole in the paper, and then you look like some kind of hobo at the game table. Nobody wants to look like a hobo. I mean, maybe you want to look like a hobo, but that’s just weird. Don’t even get me started on pens with erasers. Does that shit ever work? I don’t think so. I think they’re just designed to torment me. So, no experience point costs, and no pencils with erasers. Or pens with erasers. You’re just going to have to suck it up, Sweet Molly. Anyway. You have a couple-few ways of instituting these particular feature hacks: • The Storyteller allows each player to select a predetermined number of hacks for those players’ characters. We suggest between one and three. But really, we just suggest three. Why? I’ll tell you why. Because you get to mix-and-match. It’s like a recipe. A recipe for total mega-crazy marvelousness, like a goddamn pterodactyl riding a jet ski. Actually, since we’re all post-modern and whatever, I guess the word is “mashup.” You can “mashup” a handful of character hacks for your character, combining them in some kind of madhouse alchemy: “I will play a homoerotic glitter werewolf who happens to have robot parts.” Done and done. That story writes itself. Or plays itself. Or plays with itself. One of those. • The Storyteller says the same thing as above, except this time, he snatches choice from the players like a coked-up seagull. What he does instead is write a bunch of the character hacks on little slips of paper, stick them in a cup (not an athletic protector cup, but the kind you drink out of—unless you drink out of athletic protectors, then that’s your business, buddy) and let everybody pick one to three for their characters. That way, it’s totally randomized. And secret awesomeness will occur secretly. • The Storyteller institutes a series of character hacks not just for the player characters, but for all characters of a given monster-type. “All Frankensteins are hom oerotic,” he might state. He might further add stipulations connected to other monster types, too: “Werewolves are fishmalks, even though that only makes a little bit of sense, and every mage can dodge bullets.” And finally, the Storyteller might add, “Whoever keeps replacing my 10-sided dice with rabbit turds will find their character murdered and buried in a flower bed. I’m serious about this. You guys don’t respect me.” • The Storyteller institutes a series of character hacks for every character in the game, including all Storyteller characters. This is funny, but stupid as shit. Sure, it’s not a bad idea that Herr Doktor Dracula the

7 Features-How This Shit Works

Prince of Schenectady is a katana-wielding Priapic bad-ass, but does that really need to be true of Vasily, the heavily chest-haired cab driver, or Jenny, the girl who fills your prescriptions at the pharmacy counter? Sure, there exists a delightful image when everybody’s running around with samurai swords and throbbing erections, but remember: when everybody is special, nobody is special.

Hey, Here's the Actual Hacks

rules on how to ride a grizzly bear? No. No, they did not. That’s what you get in this product. We’re taking it to a whole other level, and as such, you need Very Special Rules. So shut up about it already. The skill test to ride a beast is Dexterity + Animal Ken + the Handling rating of the critter in question. The animal doesn’t have Durability, because that’s just dumb. The beast does have an Armor rating, however. Same basic idea applies. No Structure, but Health instead. Duh. We have three beasties for you today, but you’re welcome to come up with more. You do what you want. It’s your life. (Unless I steal it to fuel my undead power web. Don’t make me.)

Bare Thy Chest to Conquer All

Grizzly Bear

A bared chest equals awesome power. It’s like that werewolf dude from that movie, played by... Tyler Labine or Turbine Loudermilk or whatever his name is (what am I, a 12-year-old girl?). A bared chest offers the character two benefits: first, the character gains +1 Armor, and second, the character gains +3 to all Persuasion rolls. Not just for acts of seduction, either. If the character wants to buy a used car or convince the old lady next door to sweep his walkway, a bared chest goes a long way. And yes, this works for ladies as it does lads. A pair of swinging mammaries will aid in Persuasion, and further can equally work to take the impact of bullets or camping hatchets. I read that in Popular Science.

Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 5, Strength 5, Dexterity 2, Stamina 5, Presence 3, Manipulation 1, Composure 3 Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl (Maul) 3, Survival 3 Willpower: 8 Initiative: 5 Defense: 2 Size: 7 Health: 12 Armor: 2 Acceleration: 5 Safe Speed: 25 (about 17 MPH) Maximum Speed: 50 (about 35 MPH) Handling: 1 Attacks: Claws, 3(L); Chompy Bite, 2(L)

The Beast-Rider Cometh

Pterodactyl

You know what the World of Darkness needs? More creatures you can ride. Hey, the kids get all excited about that in that game where you play orcs and elves of the night and whatever—“Oh, I’ve got my new mount,” which frankly sounds like you’re hoping to mate with a pegasus or something. And frankly, who wouldn’t? If I were to—right now—mate with a pegasus, the resultant child would be half-human, half-horse, and have wings. That to me smells like “flying centaur baby.” And that, my friends, is the smell of money. Carnies around the world would be shitting their diapers trying to get a hold of my little flying centaur baby. That little freakshow would be a bottomless bucket of cash. Plus, circus folk also cook meth. It’s true. I read it on Wikipedia. Who doesn’t love meth? Since it seems like I won’t be breeding with a pegasus anytime soon, the next best thing is to have a creature you can ride through the World of Darkness. To make this work, you need information that marries the animal rules (p. 202, World of Darkness Rulebook) with the vehicle rules (p. 141, World of Darkness Rulebook). I know, you’re saying that somewhere, someone came up with rules for how to ride a horse. I don’t give a shit. Did anybody come up with

8

Dudes of Legend

Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 4, Resolve 2, Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Presence 2, Manipulation 1, Composure 2 Skills: Athletics (Flight) 3, Brawl 2, Stealth 1, Survival 2 Willpower: 4 Initiative: 7 Defense: 4 Size: 6 Health: 9 Armor: 3 Acceleration: 15 Safe Speed: 44 (30 MPH) Maximum Speed: 75 (50 MPH) Handling: 2 Attacks: Claws, 1(L); Shriek Attack, 2(L)

Unicorn

Attributes: Intelligence 5, Wits 5, Resolve 3, Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Presence 5, Manipulation 5, Composure 5 Skills: Athletics (Gallop) 3, Brawl (Hornstab) 5, Empathy (Marriage counseling) 5, Medicine (Unicorn spit) 2, Persuasion (Seduction) 4, Socialize (Party games) 3, Streetwise (Gang signs) 2

Willpower: 8 Initiative: 10 Defense: 5 Size: 7 Health: 10 Armor: 2 Acceleration: 10 Safe Speed: 75 (50 MPH) Maximum Speed: 103 (70 MPH) Handling: 5 Attacks: Hornstab, 2(L)

Bullets Ain’t Got Nothing On You

You know what cool characters do? They dodge bullets. They duck them. They sidestep them. They lean back as the bullet parts their goatee. Bullets go in one direction. Step out of that one direction and wham—a slick move, and no inconvenient lung perforations. Players whose characters possess this graceful gift can dodge bullets by making a reflexive Dexterity + Athletics roll. Successes on this roll subtract from the successes gained on the attack roll by the guntoting foe. If the successes on the “bullets can suck my balls” roll match or exceed the “I want to shoot you in your balls” roll, then the character has successfully dodged the bullet. If those successes are lesser, then at least the attack roll’s damage has been minimized, so that’s something about which you can write home to Mommy.

Fearful Priapism You hear those dick pill ads, and they’re all like, “If you have an erection lasting for more than four hours, consult a doctor.” It should read: “If you have an erection lasting for more than four hours, consult a bunch of sexy ladies and high-five your penis!” You ever read mythology? Look back at those old gods and you’ll see ‘em sporting dangerous, unholy wood. Their cocks are basically baseball bats studded with thorns and snaked with vines and tipped with antlers—it’s erectile divinity. We could all only aspire to have that in real life. Well, in the World of Darkness, you can. You can be a werewolf with a giant mythic erection. You can be a vampire with a majestic pale pillar of undead man-meat. You can be a Promethean with a hundred turgid wangs stitched together to create an uber-wang crackling with nascent electricity. Your tumescence is legendary. Your newly deified penis offers a few cool benefits. First, you can use it as a weapon. It counts as a 2(B) weapon. It gains the Knockdown feature (p. 168, World of Darkness Rulebook). Second, the penis can hold two extra points of Willpower, thus increasing your Willpower pool by two dots.

Third, roll a d10 at the time you create the character or gain this benefit. The number rolled equals the number of worshippers (“cock acolytes” or “cockolytes” for short) that venerate your rigid man-spear. These worshippers count as one-dot Retainers (Merit found on p. 116 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). If they’re killed, well, too fucking bad. Shit happens. Better perform some miracles with that thing if you want new followers, you dig? Now, let me ask the question you want to ask me: isn’t this sexist? Can’t a lady’s parts be sacred, too? Yes, absolutely. But that’s a whole different bonus, isn’t it? A vagina isn’t a penis. That’s basic anatomy. What you’re looking for is Sacred Vagina. That’s found later in this product (p. 14).

Fuck Falling You know what’s easily as cool as some chick who can dodge bullets? Some chick who jumps off like, a super-tall building and lands on a car or some pavement or an old lady and is totally unharmed. That’s some Catwoman shit, that’s what that is. It’s all like—whoosh, flutter, fwip-fwip-fwip— and the hair is crazy and the clothes are rippling and then—whambo! Car dented in! Pavement cracked! Old lady explodes like a balloon filled with viscera! This one’s easy, system-wise: the character takes no damage from falling. Ever. Though, to land all cool-like, the character must succeed on a Dexterity + Expression roll with a penalty of -1 die per 100 feet fallen (maximum -5 penalty). Why Expression? Because landing on an old lady in a really cool way is poetry, man. Poetry.

Glitter Is for Vampires and Strippers

This one’s pretty easy. You glimmer and shimmer, like you’re covered in glitter. It’s pretty awesome. It gives you +3 to all Socialize rolls, because who doesn’t want to talk to some dude or chick whose flesh twinkles with cosmic glitter? If your character is a vampire, you gain doubleextra-awesomeness in that you also get to walk around in the sunlight. When you do, though, you’re fey and frail, suffering a -3 to all Physical dice pools. Further, all Physical-based dice rolls lose the 10-Again quality. Everyone also thinks you’re a little gay.

Herr Doktor Mister Tight Pants You know why ancient vampires and superheroes wear tight leather pants? Because the tightness focuses their internal awesomeness and squeezes it up into the upper torso and head where it can be utilized by heart and mind. That’s a true fact. That’s science. They studied that shit in a bunker somewhere with a the actual hacks

9

Homoeroticism Equals Secret Power

bunch of white rats in tiny pairs of dark leather pants. I know. I was there. It was the 60s. It was free love. It was lots of LSD. So, mock those in leather pants all you’d like, but you’re poking a sleeping bear with that one. You never know when the be-leathered individual will harness his inner chi and punt your head off your neck and into a third story window somewhere. In game system terms, if your character has this feature, then once per game session he can take five points of bashing damage, two points of lethal, or one point of aggravated damage. Doing so grants him the following extra dice to spend on actions: • Gaining five bashing earns the character three extra dice that can be added to rolls during this game session. • Gaining two points of lethal damage earns the character five extra dice that can be added to rolls during this game session. • Gaining one point of aggravated damage earns the character seven extra dice that can be added to rolls during this game session. These dice don’t need to be spent on a single roll. This feature has a downside, though: any character bearing this feature, male or female, may never have children. If the character already has children before harnessing the powerful focus of the tight pants, then those children do not merely die but wink out of existence. Poof. Blink. Gone. They probably go to some weird Children’s Dimension where all the spurned adolescents gather in a nebulous void, plotting their revenge against the material world of asshole adulthood. You can have that story seed for free. That one’s on me. You only have to come clean the dog vomit up out of my carpet. See you this afternoon. Wear gloves. The dog ikes to eat jizz tissues.

10

Dudes of Legend

Once in a blue moon, you might pick up a book for an, erm, “generic vampire-based roleplaying game” and you might see, ehhhh, a cover depicting some vampire ladies getting down with other vampire ladies. You might want to condemn the company that does so. That’s your right. Except—except!—you’d be a fool to do so, because the truth is that said anonymous game company (that might be called something like El Lupo Blanco) is onto a very real, very truthful truth. Fact: Homoeroticism is magic. Why do you think you get so many lipstick lesbian vampires locking lips and nuzzling each other for blood? Why do you think the Greeks lauded the mystical bond between two sexy dudes greased up with olive oil? Did the Sumerians hold homosexuality to be sacred? Yes. Did the Mayans? Sure. Did the ancient Moon People in their Distant Lunar Arcologies? You bet your crap-can. Why do you think that homosexuality is often repressed by mainstream religion? Because they don’t want anybody engaging in same-sex relationships to have all that delicious magic. This is totally true. You can find it on the Internet. Of course, you can also find videos on the Internet where people eat their own poo, so you kind of have to weigh the positives and negatives. But still. Still! It’s magic. As such, characters in the World of Darkness who engage in same-sex pairings—whether as a serious relationship or as a college “experiment”—gain access to magic. That character can access one ghost- or spirit-based Numen (found in the World of Darkness Rulebook starting on page... do I really have to look this up? Yes? Goddamnit. Starting on page—hold on, I almost found it—page 210). You aren’t restricted to the Numina in that book, and you’ll find such powers scattered across... well, a lot of other books. No, I won’t list them here. Use the Internet to look it up. Right after you’re done with all those poo-eater videos. Since most characters do not possess Essence or a Power + Finesse dice pool, the player should instead use the character’s Willpower to fuel the Numen, and a Strength + Wits roll to perform the ability. Why? Because I said so. I’m not drunk. You’re drunk! Shut up.

John Woo Two-Gun Mojo

This one’s super-easy. You know how in John Woo movies, everybody’s jumping around like monkeys with firecrackers up their asses, firing from two guns like it ain’t no thing but a chicken wing? This is that. A character with this feature needs no Merit to fire two guns at the same time. He can take two separate attacks in a given turn—one for each firearm—without an issue. Further, he can run or jump reflexively

(Athletics roll probably required, what do I know?) without concern. Finally, incoming firearm attacks suffer a -1 penalty due to all the goddamn white doves flying around. It’s hard to get a bead on your character with all those feathers flying.

Mad Ninja Skillz

You’re a ninja. How cool is that? I mean, nobody’s actually a ninja anymore. It’s a dumb idea. The guy who thinks he’s a ninja is probably actually a dude who just throws shuriken at the mail carrier from his attic window. He probably hunts people with a kitchen knife (his katana) and a Snuggie spraypainted black (his ninja outfit). But fuck it, this is the World of Darkness. It’s a game. You can be whatever you want to be. So that means it’s time to be a ninja, because being a ninja in a fictional world beats all other options. In the face. With a nail-studded toilet seat. Now, actual ninjas had all sorts of... historical gobbledygook to consider, but that would require reading and effort and I’m just not down with that level of investment. They’re not even paying me for this job. Any payment I get will have to be taken out of Eddy Webb’s hide. With a lemon zester. So, instead of focusing on lengthy factual and accurate historical portrayals, let’s just get straight to the juicy cuts of meat: the sweet, sweet fictions. If you choose to have Mad Ninja Skillz, you can have one of the following super-slick shinobi powers (or make up your own, you lazy-ass bastard!): Disappear in Shadow: Anytime there’s a shadow as big as a person (which includes the very big shadow often known as “night time”), you can hide in it. You can literally become a two-dimensional flattened version of yourself. This costs one Willpower. If another character makes a concerted effort to spot you, that character must succeed on a Wits + Investigation roll, and that roll suffers a penalty equal to the ninja character’s Dexterity dots. The ninja can jump out and be all “Boo! Now I stab your rectum!”—which in game terms means he might be able to surprise the victim. Knife Skillz: Any bladed weapon you hold is deadly in your hands. Anybody battling you is down -3 Defense because you’re just too super-fast for words. Shing-shing! Slicey-slice! One downside to this: you can’t use guns. Any attempt to use a gun defaults that attack roll to a chance die. Why? Ninjas don’t use guns, dumbass. If they did, they wouldn’t be ninjas. You can find that on p. 74 of the World of Ninjas Rulebook. Pain Is an Illusion Like Those Magic Eye Paintings of Unicorns: The ninja is not affected by wound penalties when he spends a Willpower point. He’s not numb to it; he is simply unfazed, because ninjas are rad as shit. The effect of painlessness lasts for one hour. They call this “The Shinobi Hour.”

Walk on Water: It’s that easy. You can walk on water. And not just when it freezes, either. You’re just like Jesus (except with a darker robe). You can run, tip-toe, walk, whatever, right across the surface of said fluid. Why? Because you’re a ninja. Durr. Wire Fu: I believe ninjas can fly. I believe ninjas can touch the sky. I think about it every night and day. Spread ninja wings and fly away. Ahem. Okay, no, ninjas can’t really fly, but they can act like they have wires attached to them so they can whip through their air like crazy acrobatic howler monkeys. Check out the jumping rules on p. 66 (World of Darkness Ru13b00|