Demon Hunters - A Comedy of Terrors

Vampires infesting the mayoral office. Lycanthropes prowling the suburbs. Another kraken making its way upstate along the river. Crazed cultists masquerading as door-to-door religious nuts. Every one of them edging the world one more step toward the next demonic apocalypse. In your line of work, that’s called Tuesday. You are an agent of the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch, hand-picked to serve as Earth’s first and last line of defense against the servants of Darkness. Oh sure, there are others in the Brotherhood who seem more hand-picked than you were, and yes, you probably only work out of a small office somewhere in Michigan or Wyoming or South Dakota, but when it comes to dealing out the damage to the infernal instruments of Hell taking over that shopping mall or the Craz-E-Mart, the buck stops with you. Lock and load, baby. This book—packed with tabletop roleplaying rules based on the Fate RPG system— has everything you need for playing Demon Hunters and creating badass adventures so they can strut their stuff. Produced as a result of a highly successful Kickstarter project, it’s got random charts, monster stats, examples, illustrations, page numbers, and a ton of fancy words. But best of all, it’s got you and your imagination to kick off one hell of a good time. Dice not included.

Acknowledgements Much of the text of regarding Mission building and Threats in this book (“Sixty Minutes to Mayhem”) was directly inspired by A p ocalyp s e W orld by Vincent Baker (as well as M on ste r of th e W e e k by Michael Sands). Thank you, Vincent & Michael. Story structure in “Missions, Threats, & Mayhem” based on interviews and materials received from Matt Vancil Thanks to Rob Donoghue, Shane Harsch, Mark Diaz Truman, and Ryan Macklin for useful advice and feedback!

In accordance with Section 1 (e) of the Open Game License, Version 1.0a: all character and place names and images, organizations, groups, “5 Minutes to Mayhem”, the terms “faith dice” and “demon dice”, and the contents of the chapter called “Missions, Threats, & Mayhem” are considered Product Identity and trademarks of Dead Gentlemen Productions, LLC. All game rules, systems, and additional procedures are Open Game Content. No part of this publication may be repro­duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior express permission of the publisher. But I’m guessing you’re not out on the streetcorner selling bootlegs of our book out of your trench coat, right? You just need to make a copy for personal use? In that case, have at it! Copy away! What’s that? The employee at the copy shop won’t let you make copies because you don’t have EXPRESS PERMISSION™? Don’t worry, I’ll handle this. Hi, Copy Shop Worker! I’m Fine-Print Legalese. Go ahead and make those copies. I’m totally cool with it. All characters and events portrayed in this work are fictional. As far as you know. Any resemblance to real persons, monsters, god-like immortal beings, or realistic automatons, living, dead, undead, or deathless, is purely coincidental, and not part of a vast multiversal conspiracy to conceal a truth that, if revealed, would inevitably lead to the destruction of human civilization as we know it.

Written by Cam Banks, Jimmy McMichael, Don Early, & Nathan Rockwood Game System designed by Cam Banks & Amanda Valentine “5 Minutes to Mayhem” designed by Don Early Additional Design by Nathan Rockwood Editing by Amanda Valentine Layout & Graphic Design by Thomas Deeny Art Direction by Renae Chambers & Jamie Chambers Interior Art by Ben Honeycutt, Nick Kremenek, Chris Bivins, Jason Engle, Raven Mimura, Joie Brown, Melissa Gay, Charles Price, Jim Callahan, Steve Stivaktis, & Andy Dopieralksi Cover Art for the Deluxe Leatherbound Edition by Jen Page Cover Art for the Print on Demand Version (comic cover) by Ben Honeycutt Proofreading by Emilie Rommel Shimkus Project Management by Don Early Demon Hunters is based on characters and setting created by Matt Vancil

A Dead Gentlemen Productions Publication www.deadgentlemen.com [email protected] @deadgentlemen on Twitter facebook.com/deadgentlemen

Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors Copyright © 2015 Dead Gentlemen Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents FOREWORD 6 1: THE WORLD YOU KNOW (BUT DON’T)

9

History 10 Magic 12 Mad Science 13 Factions 14 The Brotherhood 20

2: THE BASICS

33

What You Need to Play 34 Players and Demon Masters 35 Your Profile 36 Taking Action 39 Faith Dice and Demon Dice 41 Conditions 42

3: RECRUITMENT Demon Hunter Recruitment Basics Creating Your Chapter Moving On Up: Demon Hunter Advancement Ready-to-Go Chapters

4: ASPECTS AND FAITH DICE What Kinds of Aspects Are There? What Do You Do With Aspects? Writing Good Aspects Troubleshooting Aspect Writing

5: APPROACHES, DISCIPLINES, AND STUNTS

45 46 54 58 61

79 80 83 87 90

93

Approaches 93 Disciplines 97 Stunts 109

6: OUTCOMES, ACTIONS, AND DEMON DICE

113

Outcomes 114 Setting the Opposition 115 Actions 116 Demon Dice 121

7: CHALLENGES, CONTESTS, AND CONFLICTS

125

Challenges 126 Contests 128 Conflicts 130

8: MAGIC & MENTALISM

143

Ritual Magic Psychic Abilities Quantum Magicians

145 157 160

9: MAD SCIENCE

163

Mad Science: The Flip Side of Magic Mad Science: How Do I Do It?

10: MISSIONS, THREATS, AND MAYHEM Sessions, Missions, and Campaigns Five Minutes to Mayhem Sixty Minutes to Mayhem Mission Framework The All-Star Mayhem Threat Catalog How to Haunt Your Town: Demon Mastering at its Finest Managing the Mayhem

11: BROTHERHOOD DATABASE Creating Demon Master Characters Files from the Brotherhood Database

164 167

181 182 183 199 212 223 233 239

249 250 254

12: TRAVEL AND A BRIEF SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD

401

But First a Word about Time Travel Time Travel at Your Table Okay, Now With the Secret History of the World

402 407 412

Foreword Why We’re Doing This Thing

O

D ead G e ntle man ( an d Lady) is gaming. I didn’t start gaming until I met these yayhoos in college. After a bit, someone suggested that I consider running a roleplaying game myself. I was far too intimidated by D&D. So many books, years of setting context I wasn’t familiar with. I didn’t want to run something everyone else knew more about than I did. I think it was Nathan Rice who just said, “Run what you know.” Kind of like, “write what you know,” right? n e th i ng that u n ite s eve ry

So, I knew James Bond REALLY well. I was an avid reader of all the books, as well as, of course, a die-hard fan of the movies. I discovered the 007 J am e s B on d RPG, written by Gerry Klug and published by Victory Games. Some of my favorite gaming memories come out of that SIX YEAR campaign. And one of the tools I relied on the most was a supplement for the RPG called F o r Y o u r I n f o r mat i o n (also written by Gerry Klug). This thing was awesome. It had an adventure generation system, some additional rules, some tips on how to GM the system better… Years later, I was asked to run a D e mon H u nte rs R ole p layi ng G am e (our collaboration with Margaret Weis Productions) at the first ever ZOECon in 2012. Apart from the starting adventure we published with it, I personally had not run the game with any amount of success. I simply couldn’t figure out how the hell to run a goddamn Demon Hunters adventure. And I helped create the world! So, I turned to our resident Demon Hunters authority, Jimmy McMichael, and asked him to write a Demon Hunters short story. Then, taking his story, I broke it down into encounters and such, and suddenly a universal structure came to light. One that I was very familiar with, in fact. It was like a James Bond adventure!!!

6

After constructing a few rudimentary tables, essentially copying Klug’s work with different table values…it worked. It freaking worked! The rest, at this point, is kind of history. It was only natural to reach out to some of the original team that created the D e mon H u nte rs R ole p layi ng G am e in 2008, and after what Cam Banks had been working on, I knew I wanted him to lead the design of our new game. The moron accepted. Some people never learn. This book was born out of inspiration, with a desire to propagate even MORE inspiration. I want to thank everyone who made this book possible. Most of all, I thank Gerard Christopher Klug. Those were good games, and F or Y ou r I n f ormation is a huge inspiration for the 5 M i n ute s to M ayh e m chapter of this book. May you also create memorable gaming experiences that make you laugh so hard your sides hurt, your eyes water, and gameplay stops for 10 minutes while you laugh it out.

We ride! Don Early President & Co-Founder Dead Gentlemen Productions, LLC

7

ChApter 1

The world you know (but don’t)

In the Beginning…

G

o d c r eate d th e h eave n s an d th e earth , an d saw

that it was good. And the great snake Damballah split his belly, releasing all the waters of the world, and the creator beings came out of the Dreamtime to walk the lands and sing the world into existence, and Prometheus climbed the mountain and stole fire from the gods. Sure, if you wanna get technical, we’re actually whizzing around the universe on a 4.3 billion-year-old ball of rock, and humanity climbed down from the trees about ten geological minutes ago, but those creation stories are true too. All of the stories are. The myths, the folklore, the urban legends, and the campfire tales. Every god and goddess ever worshiped. Vampires and werewolves and zombies—oh my! Even the thing with the furry tentacles under your childhood bed that your mommy told you was just your imagination. All real. The world is a lot weirder than we give it credit for. It’s also a lot more dangerous than most people think. Those stories don’t usually have happy endings. The creepy crawlies are out there, lurking in the dark, and they’re hungry. Or angry. Or just plain evil and looking to make somebody hurt. That’s where we come in. The Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch. In the name of all that is Good, we fight the forces of Evil. And we’re damn good at what we do. If we weren’t, you’d probably have heard of us by now. We’re Demon Hunters. Welcome to the team.

Sucker.

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HISTORY Good and Evil have always been at war. They’re opposites, it’s just what they do. Every culture has their own stories, their own version of the Ultimate Good and the Supreme Evil and their eternal struggles to determine the fate of the world, but most of the pantheons had the common courtesy to keep their business in their own neighborhood. Most. Not all. Enter Heaven and Hell. These opposing realms fought, and fought hard. Their battles raged across realities, threatening the realms of other gods, and the Earth itself. Alliances were formed with the deities of these other realms, leading to bigger fights and greater damages. Angels and demons came to Earth and bred with humans, and others in turn bred with their abominable progeny. The wars raged for centuries on Earth and timeless eons in the realms beyond, but both sides remained strong. There seemed to be no end in sight. Until someone shattered the Firmament. Each side blamed the other, but blame was irrelevant at this point. The dome of the heavens was broken, and the waters poured down upon the land. All life on Earth was destroyed in the Deluge. Working together, the forces of Good and Evil managed to undo most of the damage (and upgrade to a more stable cosmological model while they were at it), though traces of the flood lingered in the collective unconscious of humanity. All involved agreed: this couldn’t happen again. Something had to be done to save the humans from their gods. At a summit held in Hades, representatives from both sides met to sign what is now known as the Treaty of Acheron. In short, it forbids direct Celestial or Infernal aggressive action on Earth. Demons and angels and the gods from both sides were recalled to their respective realms, where their battles would no longer harm the Earth. For a while, the Treaty worked. Earth was as peaceful as it was bound to get with all those asshole humans living on it. But leave it to the bad guys to find a loophole. Around the tenth century BCE, somebody in Evil’s legal department realized that by recruiting intermediaries to do their dark deeds, the forces of Evil could 10

The World You Know (but don't)

take the fight back to Earth, while still adhering to the letter of the Treaty. Soon, half-demons and possessed humans and dark wizards wreaked havoc across the Earth once more. The Celestial realms responded in kind, recruiting their own armies of the devout and the semi-divine. But armies require organization and leadership. And so the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch was founded to unite these forces of Good and shine a divine light into the darkest corners of the Earth. So far, we’re doing a pretty bang-up job of it. For a complete history, see page 401.

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MAGIC This is a universe built on scientific principles. I mean, look around you. Anything hovering in mid-air? Materializing into existence from nothingness? Transmuting? Of course not! You know why? Physics, chemistry, biology—all of the classes you half-snoozed through in high school. From microscopic to macroscopic, from the Big Bang to the Heat Death of the Universe, it’s science through and through. And that’s why it’s so friggin’ hard to make magic happen in this place! We’re talking real magic here—none of that smoke and mirrors and black eyeliner, “Is this your card?” Criss Angel bull$#!t. Magic isn’t just something you do. You don’t just wave a wand and shout some nonsense and *POOF* skeleton army! It takes a lot of power to make something impossible happen and no human being has that sort of power. But there are powerful entities out there. Gods and demons and shapeless beings of chaos, able to tear through the laws of nature like tissue paper and bend reality to your every whim. They’re out there, they’re listening, and they’re just itching to make a deal. In return, they’re just asking for a little bit of sacrifice. Or maybe a lot. Really, it depends on what you’re trying to make happen. Something small, like glamoring away a forehead pimple, might cost you a few strands of hair or a couple seconds of devotion. Raising an army of the undead to do your bidding? That one’s gonna be spendy. We’re talking blood, human lives, your immortal soul, that kind of thing. Anything you can imagine can happen, as long as you’re willing to pay the price. To learn how to use magic in your game, see M ag ic M e ntali s m on page 143.

an d

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The World You Know (but don't)

MAD SCIENCE But like we said, this is a universe built on science. Good ol’ predictable, repeatable, reproducible science. Science will never ask you to dance around naked under the light of a harvest moon, or hurl a screaming virgin into the open crater of a volcano. I mean, unless those are test variables. Of course, modern science does have its limits, limits that scientists are pushing forward every day as new discoveries and advancements are made. The march of scientific progress is slow and steady. And SO BORING! Normal science has all of these rules and steps and you have to do the same things over and over and over. There’s got to be another way. A faster way. A significantly less safe way. Mad science is the answer to all your problems! It turns out that when you introduce a carefully controlled degree of insanity into the mix, innovation goes through the roof (and sometimes through the adjoining wall with the cafeteria). Mad scientists ignore safety standards and ethical practices and whether what they’re doing is possible, and instead they just go for it. They make the science happen, and the results can be glorious. Or catastrophic. The fun is in finding out which one it’ll be! So there’s plenty of risk, but what about the reward? Ah, that’s the fun part. How about teleportation? Brain transplants? Genetically engineered supersoldiers? How do you feel about riding a psychically tamed woolly mammoth clone into battle? Or growing a set of functional gills and having the language of the Deep Ones uploaded directly to your brain for your diplomatic visit to Y’hanthlei? Mad science starts with the hypothesis, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if...” and goes on to prove that yes, it would, in fact, be awesome. For rules on creating your own mad inventions and innovations, see M a d S ci e nce on page 163.

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FACTIONS The Brotherhood isn’t the only game in town. Sure, there’s plenty of unaffiliated monsters and madmen running around spreading chaos, but there’s also a number of organizations that rival the Brotherhood, both in size and on the battlefield. Below are just a handful of the foes (and friendlies) you may find yourself up against.

The Order of the Infernal Scepter For thousands of years, the greatest threat to the Brotherhood, and to the Earth itself, was the Order of the Infernal Scepter. Led by the half-human offspring of Lucifer, they were a dark mirror of the Brotherhood, an army of Evil working to sow murder, mayhem, and malice throughout the world. The Brotherhood and the Order were perfectly matched, and our battles were fought to a standstill time and time again. It seemed as if this war could stretch on forever. But it didn’t. The Order is no more. They fell apart, due to a combination of traitorous infighting between their leaders and the overwhelming power of the Brotherhood’s elite attack forces. The defeat of the Order of the Infernal Scepter remains a high point in the annals of the Brotherhood’s war against Evil.

Militarized Offensive Network for Security, Threat Response, and Eradication (M.O.N.S.T.R.E.) The Order was an all-consuming foe, and every resource the Brotherhood had was tasked with taking them down. In the wake of their defeat, we found ourselves with a lot of free time on our hands. This was pretty bad news for the supernatural community. While the Brotherhood was busy fighting the Order, your ordinary creepy-crawlies—the independent ones, not looking to pick a side in the whole Good/Evil deathmatch—could usually slip under our radar. We just didn’t have time to police every last neckbiter and spellchucker in the world. As long as they weren’t out there actively spreading panic and chaos, the little guys kind of had a free pass. But once we defeated the Order, that $#&@ had to stop! M.O.N.S.T.R.E. emerged as a response to this new focus on the minor threats to humanity. They are an alliance of monsters, 14

The World You Know (but don't)

mystics, and mad scientists united in their opposition to the Brotherhood and led by a mysterious quintet known as “The Claw.” As individuals, they posed no real threat against our overwhelming numbers. But together, they’ve become a real thorn in the Brotherhood’s side. Through their global network of spies, M.O.N.S.T.R.E. keeps a close eye on Brotherhood activity, searching for chinks in our organizational armor. Poorly guarded HQs. Disgruntled Hunters willing to go double-agent. Not-so-safehouses. Once M.O.N.S.T.R.E. has identified a target, their strike teams swoop in to do what they do best: &#@$ up the Brotherhood’s stuff. M.O.N.S.T.R.E. doesn’t just traffic in Brotherhood resistance. Their members receive support in a variety of ways. Procurement of rare, illegal, and impossible materials for their members’ magical rituals and scientific crimes against nature. Private “hunting” reserves stocked with the most dangerous game of all. Brokers who specialize in finding the ideal secret laboratory, castle keep, or volcano lair for a particular lifestyle. And of course, backup from M.O.N.S.T.R.E. security forces when the $#&@ hits the fan. Mind you, this is no charity. Members contribute to the cause either monetarily or through combat service, and the organization’s leaders are well compensated for the perks they provide. In addition, M.O.N.S.T.R.E. runs a thriving arms trade in black market MagiTech weaponry, and their exclusive security services are in high demand by the upper crust of supernat society, who pay handsomely for the protection. M.O.N.S.T.R.E. has proved to be a worthy adversary in the Order’s absence. They keep us on our toes. Keep us from getting complacent. In a way, we should be thanking them for their organized villainy. But in a more realistic way, we should be beating them up and thwarting their plans and just generally stopping them from doing the bad things they do. I mean, we’re the good guys. It’s what we do!

The Pound Take Greenpeace, PETA, and the Earth Liberation Front, cram ‘em all together, and crank the crazy up to eleven and you’d have a pretty fair approximation of the Pound. Oh, and they’re all werewolves. That’s actually pretty important. Born out of 15

Demon Hunters

the counterculture movements of the 1960s, the Pound is an anarcho-primitivist collective, specializing in ecoterrorism with an anti-industrial flair. Their stated goal: the complete and utter destruction of human civilization, allowing the earth to return to its natural, primal state. A world with werewolves at the top of the food chain. Say what you will about them, but these crazy bastards don’t dream small! The Pound operates as a distributed network of “packs,” each led by an Alpha Wolf. The only requirements for membership are a shared vision of a wolf-ruled world, and an untreated, caninebased, lycanthropic infection (It’s not just werewolves; we’re talking werecoyotes, werefoxes, werecorgis, etc.). There’s no centralized chain of command, and each pack operates autonomously, which makes taking down the organization a virtual impossibility. For every pack the Brotherhood captures and swats on the nose with a rolled up newspaper, two more spring up to take its place like a slobbery, flea-ridden, butt-sniffing hydra.

Cylch Myrddin Centuries ago, Myrddin Emrys, the most powerful mystic who ever lived, was betrayed by the woman he loved. Using his own magic against him, the sorceress Nimue imprisoned the wizard in an enchanted crypt hidden deep in the forests of Brocéliande. There he remains, in deathless slumber, to this day. And Cylch Myrddin wants to wake him up. Cylch Myrddin is a sect of highly skilled thaumaturgic thieves who for centuries have sought a way to release Myrddin from his prison tomb. Based out of

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The World You Know (but don't)

Avalon—a mystical island which can’t be reached by conventional means—Cylch Myrddin directs expeditionary forces to all corners of the globe in search of ancient relics and magical artifacts that might hold the key to unlocking Myrddin’s crypt. And then they steal them. Now, whether releasing Myrddin is a good idea is up for debate. The lore is all over the place on this guy. One story might cast him in a benevolent savior role, while another claims he’s the literal Antichrist. What’s not up for debate is that Cylch Myrddin are ruthless and single-minded in their quest, and don’t care who they’re pissing off. That includes us. They’ve attempted multiple heists against the Warehouse, attempting to get their hands on the talismans, idols, and fetishes stored within. They’ve even come close to pulling it off a couple of times. Credit to the Warehouse security teams, we’ve managed to fight them back each time, though the losses have been significant. For a bunch of thieves, they pack one hell of a punch. Cylch Myrddin may have failed in their missions, but they succeeded in getting the Brotherhood’s attention. We need to shut these sonsawitches down.

The Clan of the Golden Fang The Clan of the Golden Fang, a mysterious new player in the supernatural world, is an elite squad of deadly vampire ninja assassins, led by an unidentified individual known only as “Master Wu.” Equally mysterious, the primary focus of known Golden Fang attacks has been a national chain of combination dessert restaurants/martial art schools based out of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. When you’re hunting vampires, rule one is to follow the bodies. All of that pointless hissing and fang-baring works up an appetite, and vamps are notorious overeaters. Usually, that’d add up to a whole bunch of exsanguinated bodies, but not so with the Clan of the Golden Fang. There’s not a single instance of a Golden Fang vampire killing its victim while feeding. Victims of a Golden Fang feeding frequently don’t even realize it’s happened, reporting only a sudden feeling of lightheadedness and a desire for orange juice and cookies. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve ninja’d the crap out of a whole bunch of people, but it would seem the Golden Fang is as swift and silent in feeding as it is in fighting, which makes tracking the group nearly impossible.

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Mad Workers of America in Harmonious Alliance for Humanistic Advancement (MWAHAHA) Mad scientists are a solitary lot. It’s an ego problem. No surprise that a bunch of folks who play god at a professional level don’t get along too well. Yet despite their differences, they do have common goals. Relaxed laboratory safety standards. Easier access to radioactive isotopes. And of course, that one day all the nations of the world will bow down before the might of their awesome intellects. It was in this spirit that the Mad Workers of America in Harmonious Alliance for Humanistic Advancement was founded. MWAHAHA is the first and, so far, only mad science labor union in the world. A gathering of some of the greatest and simultaneously most deranged minds on the planet, it seeks to promote a wider public acceptance of the mad, super, weird, and impossible sciences. So, what makes these lone-wolf lab jockeys unite under the MWAHAHA banner? The benefits of MWAHAHA membership include: • Collective Ransoming: These days, one lone madman threatening to pour mutagenic ooze into the town’s water supply is barely gonna make the local news, much less net a hefty payoff. • Comprehensive Health Insurance: The only insurance plan in the country that covers self-experimentation, radical elective xenotransplantation, and full-body prosthetics. • Dental Plan: Covering all MWAHAHA members whose mouths haven’t been replaced with a bizarro, insectile proboscis. • Bizarro, Insectile Proboscis Plan: For the rest. • Staffing Services: No more scouring Craigslist for lab assistants, henchmen, toadies, lackeys, or grave­ robbers. MWAHAHA does all the work for you through a partnership with the International Guild of Occupational Reinforcements. • And much, much more!

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The World You Know (but don't)

Crawling Chaos, LLC For centuries, the Esoteric Fellowship of the Crawling Chaos consistently failed to draw the attention of the terrible, unimaginable intelligences that dwell in the void between worlds. Tired of waiting, they followed the path set by countless devoted acolytes of Evil before them: publishing an RPG! Today, Crawling Chaos, LLC is the second most popular roleplaying game publisher/sinister doomsday cult in the world. Thousands of gamers worldwide, crowded around kitchen tables and crammed into ass-smelling college basements, unknowingly perform their dark rituals every day. The company is about to launch the highly anticipated Crawling Chaos Online—a free-to-play, Massively Multiplayer Online RPG built around the Fellowship’s rituals of blood magic and chaos worship. Will the mouseclicks of ten million oblivious players finally pierce the membranes of reality and draw the Crawling Chaos into our universe? And if not, will they at least make ridiculous amounts of money off of DLC and in-game microtransactions? We probably shouldn’t wait around to find out.

The Sisters of Divine Retribution The Sisters of Divine Retribution are a holy order of nuns who have taken a vow of badassery. The Sisters have a well-earned reputation as one of the deadliest fighting forces on the planet. Between their crack-shot gunnery nuns and their elite squad of Nunjas, the forces of Evil don’t stand a chance. Once united with the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch, the Sisters of Divine Retribution split off in the early 1940s. They’d barely tolerated the presence of mystics in the Brotherhood, but the active recruitment of supernatural creatures was the last straw. These ladies are pretty hardcore about the whole, “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” thing, and they consider it their holy duty to eradicate monsters in all their forms.

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Tempers have cooled somewhat over the past seventy-some-odd years. On paper, the Sisters of Divine Retribution and the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch are allies. But everything’s not all roses and rosaries between the organizations. More than a few of the Sisters have taken a potshot at a Brotherhood supernat or mystic when they thought they could get away with it. But don’t worry, they pray real hard about it afterward. After all, the Lord is nothing if not forgiving.

THE BROTHERHOOD I know, it’s a lot to take in. You’re sort of diving in with both feet here, but we don’t have the luxury of time when we’re fighting a war for the eternal souls of every human being on Earth. I’m sure you’ve got questions. Like, how does this organization work? Where will you be stationed? Who will you work for? Or with? What was that whole part about monsters being real again? Is this all a big practical joke? Did Stacey put us up to this? Slow it down, Rookie. All in good time. Here’s everything you need to know about the Brotherhood. With a big emphasis on “need to know.” Your clearance level is laughably low right now.

Location Ever wonder why that skyscraper is missing its thirteenth floor? Or why nobody’s ever bought that abandoned factory downtown? Or how that watch repair shop has stayed in business well into the 21st century? The answers might be (respectively) superstition, the death of American manufacturing, and it’s a money-laundering front for organized crime. Or it might just be the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch. The Brotherhood is everywhere. We’ve got regional headquarters and safehouses and listening stations scattered all over the globe, ensuring a team will always be nearby when disaster inevitably strikes. From a massive subterranean base under a football stadium to a tastefully landscaped bungalow in the suburbs to a hidden outpost carved into a remote mountain peak, you’re never far from the Brotherhood.

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Chapters Field agents—the folks out there on the front lines doing the actual Demon Hunting, the ones we refer to as Demon Hunters, Title Case—work in teams known as chapters. A typical chapter is made up of three or more field agents from any number of fields or specialties, plus a Cipher (a lifelike android that serves as a team’s research and communications hub). Each chapter is assigned a designation: a Greek letter followed by a number. The letter indicates the threat level a team is qualified to handle. With rare exceptions, everybody starts at Omega. Omegalevel threats...aren’t. If you’re doing it right, there’s really nothing threatening about Omega work. Omega teams are tasked with jobs like restocking the Warehouse, working the dispatch desk, or cleaning up after the lab animals in Mad Science. It’s really just grunt work to ease a new team into working for the Brotherhood and weed out the ones that aren’t dedicated to the cause. It’s almost impossible to screw up, and Omega teams are quickly promoted. How exactly does one get promoted? Well, usually death. Sure, sometimes a Demon Hunter lives to see retirement age, but more often than not you’re getting that bump in pay because somebody else has snuffed it. Demon Hunting’s dangerous work, and the Brotherhood experiences its share of casualties. Sometimes a promising individual agent from a lower-ranked chapter is promoted to fill a vacancy in an existing team. Other times an entire team gets wiped out at once, leading to a shuffling of chapters that opens up a new slot in the level above yours. However you manage to get promoted, that’s when the fun stuff starts. Psi chapters and above are tasked with dealing with supernatural threats of increasing intensity. So while a Psi chapter might be ordered to investigate a minor haunting, a Sigma chapter might have to clean out a vampire nest, while a Gamma team would be called in to deal with a warlock who has summoned an army of demonic minions to do his bidding. There’s only one team in the world qualified to tackle Alpha-level threats. Chapter Alpha One is made up of the most highly skilled agents in the Brotherhood, and they use those skills way too frequently to save the world from mad gods, the darkest of dark wizards, incursions from extra-dimensional horrors, and other

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alpha beta gamma delta epsilon zeta eta theta iota kappa lambda

Β1 Β2 Γ1 Γ2 Γ3 Δ1 Δ2 Δ3 Δ4 Ε1 Ε2 Ε3 Ε4 Ε5 Ζ1 Ζ2 Ζ3 Ζ4 Ζ5 Ζ6 Η1 Η2 Η3 Η4 Η5 Η6 Η7 Θ1 Θ2 Θ3 Θ4 Θ5 Θ6 Θ7 Θ8 Ι1 Ι2 Ι3 Ι4 Ι5 Ι6 Ι7 Ι8 Ι9 Κ1 Κ2 Κ3 Κ4 Κ5 Κ6 Κ7 Κ8 Κ9 Κ10 Λ1 Λ2 Λ3 Λ4 Λ5 Λ6 Λ7 Λ8 Λ9 Λ10 Λ11

mu

Μ1 Μ2 Μ3 Μ4 Μ5 Μ6 Μ7 Μ8 Μ9 Μ10 Μ11 Μ12

nu

Ν1 Ν2 Ν3 Ν4 Ν5 Ν6 Ν7 Ν8 Ν9 Ν10 Ν11 Ν12 Ν13

xi

Ξ1 Ξ2 Ξ3 Ξ4 Ξ5 Ξ6 Ξ7 Ξ8 Ξ9 Ξ10 Ξ11 Ξ12 Ξ13 Ξ14

omicron pi rho

Ο1 Ο2 Ο3 Ο4 Ο5 Ο6 Ο7 Ο8 Ο9 Ο10 Ο11 Ο12 Ο13 Ο14 Ο15 Π1 Π2 Π3 Π4 Π5 Π6 Π7 Π8 Π9 Π10 Π11 Π12 Π13 Π14 Π15 Π16 Ρ1 Ρ2 Ρ3 Ρ4 Ρ5 Ρ6 Ρ7 Ρ8 Ρ9 Ρ10 Ρ11 Ρ12 Ρ13 Ρ14 Ρ15 Ρ16 Ρ17

sigma

Σ1 Σ2 Σ3 Σ4 Σ5 Σ6 Σ7 Σ8 Σ9 Σ10 Σ11 Σ12 Σ13 Σ14 Σ15 Σ16 Σ17 Σ18

tau

Τ1 Τ2 Τ3 Τ4 Τ5 Τ6 Τ7 Τ8 Τ9 Τ10 Τ11 Τ12 Τ13 Τ14 Τ15 Τ16 Τ17 Τ18 Τ19

upsilon

Υ1 Υ2 Υ3 Υ4 Υ5 Υ6 Υ7 Υ8 Υ9 Υ10 Υ11 Υ12 Υ13 Υ14 Υ15 Υ16 Υ17 Υ18 Υ19 Υ20

phi

Φ1 Φ2 Φ3 Φ4 Φ5 Φ6 Φ7 Φ8 Φ9 Φ10 Φ11 Φ12 Φ13 Φ14 Φ15 Φ16 Φ17 Φ18 Φ19 Φ20 Φ21

chi

Χ1 Χ2 Χ3 Χ4 Χ5 Χ6 Χ7 Χ8 Χ9 Χ10 Χ11 Χ12 Χ13 Χ14 Χ15 Χ16 Χ17 Χ18 Χ19 Χ20 Χ21 Χ22

psi

Ψ1 Ψ2 Ψ3 Ψ4 Ψ5 Ψ6 Ψ7 Ψ8 Ψ9 Ψ10 Ψ11 Ψ12 Ψ13 Ψ14 Ψ15 Ψ16 Ψ17 Ψ18 Ψ19 Ψ20 Ψ21 Ψ22 Ψ23 Ω1 Ω2 Ω3 Ω4 Ω5 Ω6 Ω7 Ω8 Ω9 Ω10 Ω11 Ω12 Ω13 Ω14 Ω15 Ω16 Ω17 Ω18 Ω19 Ω20 Ω21 Ω22 Ω23 Ω24 Ω25 Ω26 Ω27 Ω28 Ω29 Ω30 Ω31 Ω32 Ω33 Ω34 Ω35 Ω36 Ω37 Ω38 Ω39 Ω40 Ω41 Ω42 Ω43 Ω44 Ω45 Ω46 Ω47 Ω48 Ω49 Ω50 Ω51 Ω52 Ω53 Ω54 Ω55 Ω56 Ω57 Ω58 Ω59 Ω60 Ω61 Ω62 Ω63 Ω64 Ω65 Ω66 Ω67 Ω68 Ω69 Ω70 Ω71 Ω72 Ω73 Ω74 Ω75 Ω76 Ω77 Ω78 Ω79 Ω80 Ω81 Ω82 Ω83 Ω84 Ω85 Ω86 Ω87 Ω88 Ω89 Ω90 Ω91 Ω92 Ω93 Ω94 Ω95 Ω96 Ω97 Ω98 Ω99 Ω100 Ω101 Ω102 Ω103 Ω104 Ω105 Ω106 Ω107 Ω108 Ω109 Ω110 Ω111 Ω112 Ω113 Ω114 Ω115 Ω116 Ω117 Ω118 Ω119 Ω120 Ω121 Ω122 Ω123 Ω124

omega 22

Α1

The World You Know (but don't)

threats to reality that no one else is qualified to handle. Reality is still real, so that should give you some idea of how good they are at their job. Below Alpha One, you’ve got two Beta teams, three Gammas, four Deltas, and so on. The number of teams per level corresponds with that level’s letter-value. There are three exceptions to these rules. 1) There’s no upper limit on Omega teams. As long as we’re bringing in recruits, we can keep creating new cannon fodder Omega teams. 2) Xi is reserved as a special designation. There are no Xi chapters. 3) Iota... Iota

In an organization this massive, there’s bound to be a few bad eggs in the mix. It’s the Brotherhood’s job to police the world, but it’s Iota’s job to police the Brotherhood. Iota agents (or “&#$%ing Iotas,” as they’re more commonly known) investigate wrongdoing within the Brotherhood. Corruption and graft. Smuggling of exotic/legendary/imaginary creatures or weaponry. “Friendly-fire” incidents. Espionage. Treason. The Iotas don’t make many friends, but they keep us safe and they keep us honest.

23

Demon Hunters

Iota agents are skilled at infiltration and deception, and they’re frequently embedded undercover in chapters where a field agent is suspected of wrongdoing. Keeping up a cover identity this way is dangerous, emotionally exhausting work, living in constant fear of being discovered. Iotas in these positions burn out at a rate way higher than other Brotherhood agents, which is saying something in this line of work.

Brotherhood Infantry Field agents aren’t just mindless gun-caddies that you can throw at the enemy until they stop breathing. That’s just a waste of talent—even if they’re Omegas. Field agents are investigators, diplomats, specialists. They’re highly skilled and highly trained. The Brotherhood sends in a chapter for jobs that require a little finesse, or when they’re not really sure what’s going on yet, or they suspect there’s an even bigger bad behind the big bad. But sometimes you know exactly what you’re up against. Sometimes you just need to throw wave after wave of soldiers at a baddie until there’s nothing left but a sticky smear and some massive property damage. For those jobs, you call in the Infantry. The Infantry is a big-ass fighting force, numbering in the really-high-numbers, trained only to kill Evil $#&@ dead. Aim, Fire, Repeat. They’re there to kick ass and die trying. Maybe they’ll get called out to be dragon fodder while the field agents figure out how to take down the wizard controlling it. Or to keep the transdimensional horror busy while the field agents close the portal. Or to provide a distraction while the field agents re-shrink the giant hamster rampaging through Cleveland. Think of them as the Brotherhood’s version of the Army Reserves. They’re everywhere, going about their day to day lives like everybody else. They could live next door. You might be married to one. Chances are they’ll never get called up. But someday, when the $#&@ hits the fan just right, they’ll get a message on their phone. A set of coordinates. It’s their sworn duty to immediately pack a bag, kiss their loved ones goodbye, and go save the world. It’s a thankless job, but a necessary one—especially in light of what’s still to come. Doomsday. The ultimate Good/Evil throwdown that we all know is just around the corner. We’re gonna need the Infantry for that one.

24

The World You Know (but don't)

The Council It sounds ominous. That’s not by accident. No one knows who they really are. The identities of the Council’s eleven members are a closely guarded secret, but they’re thought to be representatives of the regional Brotherhood headquarters around the globe. Their role is to pass judgment over Brotherhood agents accused of the most heinous of crimes: murder, espionage, sabotage, and treason. Essentially, Brotherhood agents who find themselves in front of the Council have &#$@ed up. Big time. An agent found guilty of their crimes has their fate decided by the Council. This could involve anything from demotion in rank or expulsion from the Brotherhood to imprisonment, death, or banishment from the Earth realm for the most serious of offenses. Whoever these Council members are, they don’t mess around.

The Director An organization this big needs oversight. Literally. The Celestial realms created the position of Brotherhood Director to provide this oversight. The Director is an appointed position, chosen by consensus of the allied powers of Good. The current Director, Simon “Saint” Peter, has held the position for over eight hundred years. Yeah, the Pearly Gates guy. Considering his previous job was as a glorified nightclub bouncer, he was more than happy to take on the task of overseeing the Brotherhood. The Director isn’t involved in the day-to-day business of the Brotherhood. He plays the long game, guiding the Brotherhood’s policies, and steering it in the right direction. Under St. Peter’s leadership, the Brotherhood has become a far more inclusive organization. Mystics and supernatural creatures devoted to the cause have been welcomed into the Brotherhood, which had previously been strictly composed of humans and the semi-divine only. It’s been a long, uphill battle, but their inclusion has proven to be a massive benefit to the Brotherhood. Chalk that one up as a win for Pete.

25

Demon Hunters

The Brotherhood Database The Brotherhood database contains the collected wisdom of millions of Brotherhood agents over thousands of years. From ancient mythology and folklore to field reports and Hunters’ diaries, it’s the largest compendium of supernatural knowledge ever compiled. And goddamn, was it hard to use before computers were invented! Giant libraries all around the world stuffed to bursting with ancient tomes and dusty old scrolls and bulky clay tablets. A Hunter could wander around in those places for months and still not find the information they needed. Today, the database has been digitized, analyzed, sanitized, and categorized. Thanks to Cipher technology, complete, accurate, and up-to-date knowledge of the supernatural and occult is available instantaneously to agents working anywhere in the world. From Aatxe to Žiburinis, whatever you’re up against, the database has the information you need, thanks to a hard working team of archivists, folklorists, and technicians.

Necromantic Monitoring and Communications Satellite System (NecroMoniComSat) The Brotherhood has taken the fight against Evil into space. Forming the backbone of the organization’s communication and reconnaissance network, the NecroMoniComSat is a ring of satellites locked in geostationary orbits above the Earth. Loaded with an array of precision-tooled sensors, these spy satellites monitor the globe around the clock, searching for energy signatures consistent with dimensional incursions, impossible science, timeslips, necromantic activity, orgone emissions, and god knows what else. If something nasty’s happening on the planet, we’re gonna know about it. The NecroMoniComSat also serves as a relay for delivering communications and research to Ciphers in the field. Cipherspace data is retrieved from the Brotherhood database and streamed into space, where it bounces off the NecroMoniComSat and is redirected to an individual Cipher unit, where it’s received by an antenna built into the Cipher goggles. The connection is bidirectional, so you won’t need to stop and plug your Cipher into a landline to send in a research request.

26

The World You Know (but don't)

M&Ms Magic & Mad Science, or “M&Ms” is the source of the Brotherhood’s most amazing toys. As the organization’s research and development division, M&Ms churns out incredible MagiTech devices on a daily basis. We’ve found that placing these fiercely competitive disciplines under the same roof drives innovation like you wouldn’t believe. The mystics and the mad scientists work around the clock to one-up each other, with incredible results that keep us at the top of our monster-fighting game. Of course, there is such a thing as too much innovation. With the pace of production ramped up so high, testing tends to take a back seat. Sure, you might have jet packs and invisibility cloaks and laser rifles and amulets of invulnerability, but is it worth the risk of being irradiated or turned into a newt just to use them? Of course it is! Jet packs! Invisibility cloaks! Come on, this is a no-brainer!

The Cipherwerks Every team needs a Cipher. Like, legally—it’s in the rulebook. But they’re also an important part of the team. The Cipher acts as an information and communication hub, connecting you to the rest of the Brotherhood. Whether you need to scan a region for Infernal activity, research a creature’s abilities and weaknesses, or call in backup because that wereraccoon knocking over trash cans turned out to be a weregrizzly, your Cipher is going to come in handy. The old Mark III Ciphers were built at the Bavarian Cipherwerks plant, but recently, with the introduction of the Mark IV Cipher, production was moved to a new, state-of-the-art production facility in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Unlike the limited chassis options available for the Mark IIIs, the automated production line at the new plant allows us to offer the Mark IV Cipher with a print-ondemand chassis, ensuring that your team’s Cipher is completely unique. Finally, your Cipher is truly yours.

27

Demon Hunters

The changeover to the Mark IV hasn’t been entirely without its problems. Users have reported that their Ciphers are exhibiting strange behaviors; some might call them personality quirks if Ciphers weren’t notoriously lacking in personality. Most of the Mark IVs seem to be unaffected, but bug reports are on the rise. Somewhere between 15–25% of the units may be affected. No units have been recalled yet, but technicians are investigating the issue, attempting to determine whether this so-called “Oaxacan Glitch” is some sort of emerging intelligence from the Cipher collective, or a missing semicolon in their software package or something.

28

The World You Know (but don't)

The Warehouse Whatever you need, you can find it in the Warehouse. Seriously. Anything. From weapons and ammo to bulldozers and fanboats to siege weapons and giant squids and remote-controlled toaster ovens. Whatever you think you might need, we’ve got some stashed someplace in the Warehouse, and they’re yours for the taking. There are definitely benefits to being in the employ of omnipotent deities. As you might imagine, this kind of inventory takes up a lot of space. We checked around, but buildings with a functionally infinite interior volume are hard to find on Earth (and you wouldn’t believe what they’re asking for rent), so the folks down in M&Ms cooked up an extra-dimensional pocket universe where we could stash the Warehouse. This would make getting there a bit of a pain in the ass if it weren’t for the Doors. Warehouse Doors are installed in buildings all over the world. You’re never more than a couple of miles from one at any given time, and every Cipher comes pre-programmed with all of their locations. For most people, there’s nothing special about them. They separate one room from another, and you twist a handle to open them—no big deal. But by opening the Door using the key built into every Chapter Leader’s primary weapon, a portal is activated that leads into the Warehouse. Psychically-bonded circuitry within the key allows the Chapter Leader to choose which section of the Warehouse the Door should open to, which is a handy feature considering the scale of the Warehouse. You wouldn’t want to pop in to refill your ammo and end up having to hike for a week and a half to get to the right aisle.

29

Demon Hunters

The Brotherhood Academy Some people stumble into the life of a Demon Hunter, but others are born into it, families of Brotherhood agents stretching back for generations. The children of these families are destined to follow in their parents’ footsteps and one day join the Brotherhood. For these children, we have the Academy. At the Brotherhood Academy, students receive training essential to fighting the forces of Evil. From the study of ancient folklore and mythology to marksmanship drills and martial arts practice, an Academy education is extremely well-rounded. If there’s time left over, they’ll even teach the kids about literature and math and all that crap. Look, I get it. Training a child from birth to become a living weapon of righteous vengeance is super skeevy on paper. But it’s not like their lives were gonna be normal in the first place. When you’re born into a world of death and war and robots and monsters and magic, it’s not like you’re gonna become a paralegal or open a vegan bakery or something. Children of Demon Hunters are going to become Demon Hunters, and the earlier we start training them for it, the better they’re going to be at it. And the longer they’ll stay alive. 30

The World You Know (but don't)

The Xi Wall The Xi Wall is a massive slab of obsidian, polished to a mirror finish, installed in every Brotherhood HQ. Carved into the face of the stone are column after column of names. The names of Hunters who have come before us. Having your name chiseled into the Xi Wall is the greatest honor you can receive as a Brotherhood agent. A declaration that this agent was ranked among the greatest heroes in the history of the Brotherhood. It also means you’re dead. Having one’s name added to the Xi Wall is a strictly posthumous distinction. The sacrifices these Hunters made have ensured that the rest of us live on to honor their memory. Perhaps, one day, your name will be carved alongside theirs. Although I’m guessing you’d rather just stay alive instead. Yeah, that’s probably the best plan. Go with that.

31

Chapter 2

The Basics

D

H u nte rs : A C om e dy of T e rrors ( or D e mon H u n t e r s RPG) is a roleplaying game about being a member of the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch operating on a mandate from Heaven to wipe out demons and other supernatural threats before they succeed at destroying the world… or at least the local metro area. This game gives you all the rules for resolving this ongoing conflict, as well as laying out the world of Demon Hunters for everyone to get ideas and play as if they know what’s going on. e mon

In case this is your first exposure to roleplaying games, here’s an analogy: RPGs are like training simulations. One person’s the Demon Master and lays it all out for you, setting up the simulation for you to plug your own characters—the Demon Hunters— into it. All of the special effects, far-out locations, abysmal magics, and unfathomable mad science artifacts live in your heads. Your Demon Hunters speak in your voices, the bad guys speak in the DM’s voice, and everyone has a great time.

33

Demon Hunters

WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY In order to play the game, you need the following: • One person to assume the role of Demon Master while everyone else at the table plays a Demon Hunter • A Demon Hunter profile for each player (sometimes called a character sheet) , • A bunch of polyhedral dice: four-sided six-sided , eight-sided , ten-sided , and twelve-sided . • A good supply of six-siders of two distinct colors (we recommend black and white or purple and gold) to represent faith dice and demon dice • Index cards or sticky memo notes for writing up new aspects during the game • Pens, paper, snacks, booze—the things you’d usually bring to a table of friends

34

The Basics

PLAYERS AND DEMON MASTERS When you play D e mon H u nte rs : A C om e dy of T e rrors , one person needs to be the Demon Master (DM) and the others are players. The DM is responsible for: • Setting up the Missions and Threats • Playing all of the characters in the world who aren’t Demon Hunters (Demon Master characters, or DMCs), including bad guys, monsters, Lords of Hell, the pizza delivery guy, pretty much everyone • Moderating the rules of the game and pushing the players toward interesting decisions and conflicts • Always offering demon dice when the players are on the ropes, then using those demon dice later to ramp up the stakes The players are responsible for: • Creating their own Demon Hunter profile using the rules in the R ecru itm e nt chapter • Responding to Missions and Threats in character, as a member of a (mostly) functional Demon Hunters team or chapter • Using faith dice to push their moral agenda in times of crisis, and using demon dice when succumbing to temptation and hubris • Helping each other and the Demon Master be awesome

35

Demon Hunters

YOUR PROFILE A Demon Hunter profile is a set of game stats, backgrounds, and descriptive traits. Your profile tells you how your Demon Hunter approaches various actions, what skill sets they have, and the cool stunts they’ve pulled off in the battle against wickedness and supernatural despots. Here’s a breakdown of the Demon Hunter profile so you know what goes where.

in case you forget what game you’re playing

faith dice Chapter and devotion (page 41)

Faith Dice

3

Σ VII

Devotion Conditions

Name Ned Description

MILD (UP TO 5 HITS)

undead!

conditions (page 137)

Aspects

CONCEPT

ead Accountant Enthusiastic Und

aspects (page 55)

Turbodork Mathlete

TROUBLE

DISCIPLINE DISCIPLINE

CAREFUL

d6

d6

QUICK

ApproachesFORCEFUL d10 d8 (page 50)

CLEVER

SNEAKY

SEVERE (UP TO 15 HITS)

Stunts

Approaches

d4

d8

Disciplines d4

COMBAT & TACTICS

d6

COVERT OPS

Disciplines MYSTIC ARTS d4 (page 51) ENT RESEARCH & DEVELOPM d10

36

MODERATE (UP TO 10 HITS)

DISCIPLINE

d4

SOCIAL ENGINEERING

d8

FRINGE Undead

FLASHY

Strike: Spotted Eagle e the Spotted Eagl Because | know a +2 to Flashy Strike move, | gain hand engage in hand-toattacks when | combat. Upgradeable: adeable, once per Because | am Upgr e can turn a moderat game session | tive aspect by posi a condition into from ent body parts grabbing replacem

Stunts (page 52)

corpses.

The Basics

Approaches Approaches describe ways to take action, and your Demon Hunter is better at some than others. Every Demon Hunter has a rating from (terrible) to (godlike) in these six traits. Approaches are one of the two dice you roll do stuff. See page 93 for more on approaches.

Disciplines There are five core disciplines in the game, each of which describes a broad group of skills your Demon Hunter might use in taking action against Evil. Demon Hunters have one discipline they’ve mastered (a rating of ), one they’re expert in (a rating of ), and one they’re trained in ( ). The remaining disciplines are considered untrained and get . There’s a sixth discipline, the Fringe discipline, which is a catch-all placeholder for something weird your Demon Hunter might have trained in or some kind of supernatural skills they possess. If you put a , , or into a Fringe discipline, you rename it something like Vampire or Werewolf or Cipher. Otherwise it doesn’t even get a rating at all. See page 97 for more on disciplines.

37

Demon Hunters

Aspects More than anything else on your Demon Hunter profile, aspects tell us who your character is and why we should care about them. An aspect is a descriptive phrase that tells us significant details about your Demon Hunter: background, personality, a physical quality, issues or problems, and so on. Aspects come into play in conjunction with faith dice (page 83). When an aspect could benefit you in a situation, you can spend a faith die to invoke that aspect and get a bonus. When an aspect could get in your way or screw up your life, you can earn a faith die by enduring that aspect and hamstringing your efforts. Lots of things in the game world of Demon Hunters have aspects. They’re used to define villains, monsters, locations, and other things with descriptive qualities. This means you can also invoke or endure those aspects, too, just in case your own aren’t enough. See page 80 for more on aspects.

Stunts Because Demon Hunters are all badass heroes in the war against Evil, they have a host of special abilities and tricks they’ve picked up from years of hard-earned experience or dumb luck during training simulations. Whether they represent innate powers, learned abilities, or some kind of metafictional schtick that exists outside of the game world itself, your stunts let you use your approaches and disciplines in cool ways, or perform cool tricks that most other characters can’t. Stunts are a little like aspects in that they have a character-defining element to them, but they don’t get invoked or endured and don’t necessarily work in conjunction with faith dice. See page 109 for more on stunts.

Devotion Your devotion is the number of faith dice you begin each game session with—unless you ended the previous session with more unspent faith dice than your devotion, in which case you start with the number you had left last time.

38

The Basics

TAKING ACTION When you want your Demon Hunter to do something exciting in the game and affect the outcome of the story, you roll dice. Which dice you roll depends on the approach and discipline combo that’s most appropriate to the action you’re trying to take. Just describe what you want to attempt and the DM tells you what approach and discipline to use. You only need to roll dice if there’s another character opposing your action or if there’s some kind of obstacle in your way that could lead to failure. If neither of those is true, the DM may just tell you what happens and you won’t need to use dice at all. If you’re otherwise in doubt, here are the most common things you roll dice for in the game: • To attack someone in a conflict (page 120) • To defend yourself in a conflict (page 120) • To overcome an obstacle (page 119) • To create an obstacle for someone else to overcome (page 116) • To create or unlock an advantage in the form of an aspect (page 116) • To recover from conditions (page 140) You may also end up rolling more dice because of invoking aspects to add faith dice to your roll, or grabbing demon dice after you roll to add to your total. 39

Demon Hunters

Interpreting the Results When you roll dice, bigger totals are better. You’re either rolling to match or beat a roll from an opposing character, or you’re trying to match or beat an opposition number the DM determined ahead of time based on the situation: an easy opposition is 5, a standard opposition is 10, and a hard opposition is 15. If you roll less than your opposition or the opposition number, you fail. You don’t get what you wanted, although the DM might decide you get some of it, or even all of it but at some great cost to you. If you match or beat your opposition, you succeed at what you were trying to do. You punch a demon in the face, pull open the barred door, unlock the computer security code, or dodge that bullet. The number that you beat the opposition by (even if it’s zero) is called your outcome. If your outcome is 5 or more, you not only succeed, you succeed with style. Depending on what kind of action you take, succeeding with style has different effects, but it’s almost always “success, and something else great.” Sometimes, we refer to the outcome in an attack action as hits. An attack might deliver 5 hits on your enemy, or you might have just taken 8 hits from the sniper across the street. Some game effects might change the number of hits delivered but not the outcome itself, so be sure to remember what the outcome is (for example, for figuring out if you succeeded with style or not). Hits can be physical, mental, or social in nature; they represent potential harm caused by attacks of any type.

40

The Basics

FAITH DICE AND DEMON DICE D e mon H u nte rs isn’t just about kicking demon butt. It’s also about having faith in yourself, your team, and the Powers That Be to do what has to be done—and if you can’t do that, it’s about being tempted by short-term power vs. long-term consequences. That’s the underlying idea behind how faith dice and demon dice work. In addition to some other uses, both add to your action totals, so on the face of it they might seem similar. The difference is when and how they’re used, and what happens once you use them. Faith dice are usually spent before your dice are rolled. If you’re trying to beat an opposition number that’s higher than you think you can easily get on your approach and discipline dice, you can invoke an aspect and spend one of your faith dice to roll it with the others. It’s a risk, because you may still fail the roll. On the positive side, if your faith die comes up a 1, you get it back and it’s not spent. Demon dice are spent after your dice are rolled. If you fail the roll, you can grab one, two, or even three demon dice from the pool in the middle of the table and roll them, adding to the previous total. You can even roll them one at a time so you don’t roll more than you need, but three is the maximum for any action. If any demon dice come up a 1, something really bad happens right away, even if you succeeded on your roll! Once faith dice are spent, they’re gone; you can earn more back by enduring your aspects, rolling ones on your approach & discipline dice, or conceding in a conflict. You start the game session with as many faith dice as your devotion, even if you spent them all in the last game. Once demon dice are spent, they go to the DM. The DM can later roll them and trigger fun and exciting Threats and monsters, or use them to invoke aspects just like players do. For more on faith dice and demon dice, see page 83 and page 121.

41

Demon Hunters

CONDITIONS Life’s not all guns, gadgets, glamors, and glory for Demon Hunters, obviously. Frequently your Demon Hunter’s going to get smashed, shot, shoved, shredded, shrunk, or shurikened by the forces of Darkness—in game terms, they take hits. For this, we use conditions. Conditions are a way to track damage, stress, injury, exhaustion, and other complicating and impeding factors that afflict your Demon Hunter. They work a lot like aspects because they can be invoked by others (usually the DM) or endured, but they also keep your Demon Hunter in the game instead of having them taken out. They’re not just physical—conditions can be mental or even social in nature—but no matter how they manifest, they work to make your Demon Hunter’s life more challenging. Conditions come in three flavors: mild, moderate, and severe. Mild: This category of conditions includes scrapes, bruises, overexertion, being scatterbrained or distracted, or inconvenient social obligations you can’t shake easily. It’s easiest to think of them as short-term problems caused by the life you lead as a Demon Hunter. Each mild condition gets rid of up to 5 hits from an attack; you can take three of them, so as many as 15 hits can be diverted to mild conditions in play. Moderate: These are serious business. These are broken bones, contusions, mental distress, open wounds, crippling embarrassment or public shame, and so forth. You can redirect up to 10 hits with a moderate condition, and you can do this twice. Severe: Now we’re taking full-body trauma, third-degree burns, broken spines, long-term psychological trauma, ostracization from much of society, and so on. A severe condition is far-reaching and takes a great deal of effort to correct or eliminate; and while it lets you fend off up to 15 hits, you only get one of these to burn. If any hits remain after conditions are taken to absorb them, you are taken out (page 139). Even an attack that delivers 1 hit can do this if you can’t take on a condition, so manage your conditions wisely! For the most part, it’s probably best to deal in mild and moderate conditions and then let the chips fall where they may after that point, conceding the conflict (page 139) if things get really bad. 42

The Basics

After all, it can sometimes be much easier to deal with getting out of captivity or recovering in an emergency room than shedding a severe condition, and you get a faith die when you concede. But if you’re really keen to end a fight on your terms, know that you have that one 15-hit option in your toolbox.

Recovering from Conditions Before you can get rid of any conditions you’ve acquired, you need to make a recovery action. Usually someone else performs these on you, and the DM might just say, “OK, they succeed,” and move on to recovery time. If your Demon Hunter wants to recover in the middle of a scene or—St. Peter forbid—try recovering themselves with their own efforts, the DM calls for an action. Once the action succeeds, each type of condition takes a certain length of time to go away. Mild conditions can be erased once a whole scene has passed since the recovery action. Moderate conditions go away at the end of a Mission once the recovery action succeeds. Severe conditions won’t go away for several Missions, as many as five or six. You may need to reach a major milestone (page 58) to eliminate a severe condition, although the DM may allow the player to change the condition into an aspect (one that’s almost entirely negative) after a session or two of play.

43

Chapter 3

Recruitment

S

o yo u ’ r e all cau g ht u p o n th e h i sto ry o f

De mon Hunting and the Brotherhood, you know a field agent from a mad scientist, and you’ve got a sense of the basic rules used in the D e mon H u nte rs RPG. Great! Now you need to make your own group of characters, your own chapter of Demon Hunters. We call this stage “recruitment” because that’s literally what it is—recruiting fresh meat for the bloody cause. But for you, dear reader, sitting at home in your comfy easy chair or on your toilet or in a hammock or in your bed, with the covers over you, flashlight gripped between your teeth… Sorry. Flashbacks. Anyway, for you, you’re going to use this chapter to create your chapter, and fill that chapter with Demon Hunters you create using this chapter. Are we good so far? Recruitment should take about a half hour, give or take. If you’re used to the rules and have done this before, it’ll be a lot faster. We try to make it simple enough to get going quickly, but there’s always one player at the table who wants to be a cyborg vampire scientist wizard thief paladin uplifted dog, or something. So give yourself plenty of time and start thinking about what you want to play. Then read on!

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Demon Hunters

DEMON HUNTER RECRUITMENT BASICS All Demon Hunters share a number of things in common, no matter what outrageous background they come from—aspects (coming up next, hold your horses), approaches (page 50), disciplines (page 51), and stunts (page 52). We’ll show you how easy and simple recruitment can be, and why you should take your hands away from your face now and breathe slowly into this paper bag. We’re going to make Ned, everyone’s favorite accountant-turned-undead Demon Hunter. Ned’s in Sigma Seven, and his Demon Hunter profile is in the Sigma Seven chapter profiles on page 71.

TL;DR: DEMON HUNTER CREATION (AKA RECRUITMENT) 1. Write a Concept aspect (page 47) 2. Write a Trouble aspect (page 48) (or decide during play) 3. Assign dice , , , approaches (page 50)

,

,

4. Choose 3 disciplines and assign dice them (page 51)

to your ,

,

to

5. Write a stunt (page 52) 6. Write 3 aspects, one for each discipline you chose (page 49) (or decide during play) 7. Write one or two more stunts (page 52) (or decide during play… I sense a theme here) 8. Name your Demon Hunter and write down what they look like

46

Recruitment

Aspects Your Demon Hunter has five aspects to start the game: a Concept aspect, a Trouble aspect, and three discipline aspects. For additional rules and help with aspects, see A s p ects an d F aith D ice , page 79. If you’re in a hurry to get started, the only aspect that you really need to come up with right away is your Concept aspect; the rest can be written during play, or they might leap to mind as you continue working on your Demon Hunter. Concept Aspect

Your Concept aspect is a single phrase or sentence that sums up your Demon Hunter, saying who they are and what they’re about. Who is this person? What is their essential nature? What is their core personality? What do they do with their waking selves most of the time? The Concept aspect is your Demon Hunter’s “deal” (as in, “So, what’s the deal with that guy?”), the aspect that—even without the other aspects, approaches, and disciplines—you could get a clear and coherent picture inside your head just by reading it. This aspect usually embodies your Demon Hunter’s job or core role in the Brotherhood, with all its advantages and disadvantages. When you think about your Demon Hunter’s Concept, try to think of two things: how this aspect could help them, and how it might make things harder for them. Ned was an accountant who went through Demon Hunter training twice. The first time, he was killed when a vampire punched his fist through Ned’s skull. Fellow trainee Harkadian used his necromantic powers to bring Ned back to life, and he returned to complete his training and passed with flying colors! Of course, now he’s an undead ghoul, but there are worse things that could happen. Our Concept aspect for Ned is Enthusiastic Undead Accountant. We could invoke this (page 83) when Ned’s solving some kind of number problem, ignoring the problems of being alive, or throwing himself into an action with gusto. We could endure this (page 85) when being one of the living dead starts to freak mundanes out, or when unbridled fervor for something is bound to get Ned into trouble.

Your Concept is the only aspect that you absolutely, 100% must decide before play starts. You can tweak the language later, but 47

Demon Hunters

have your Concept really nailed down so you can sum it up and come up with lots of ways to both invoke it and endure it as an aspect during the game. Examples: Reformed Vampire, Quantum-Cursed Commando, Hellbound Angel, Enthusiastic Undead Accountant Trouble Aspect

What gets in your Demon Hunter’s way? What’s the chink in their armor? What’s their Kryptonite? This is the Trouble aspect, and while you don’t need to think of it right away, it’s often good to do this right after settling on your Concept, since it’s just as informative of your Demon Hunter’s personality and background. Your Trouble aspect is what always gets your Demon Hunter into trouble. Could be a personal weakness, or an enemy that keeps showing up, or something important that they need to do on a routine basis—anything that makes their life complicated. It’s better if it doesn’t cover the same ground as the Concept aspect. It’d be tempting to just go with something related to being undead or having bits and pieces fall off him, but Ned has many other problems in his un-life. For a start, he’s kind of a major dork. In fact, he’s a Turbodork. Surely this won’t hinder him too much on a Mission for the Brotherhood, but if there’s ever an occasion for Ned to make an ass of himself in front of mundanes, you can bet we’ll have him endure this.

If you don’t come up with a Trouble aspect right away, that’s fine— sometimes it’s fun to wait until you’re playing the game and then take advantage of an opportunity to endure something troublesome in a scene and earn yourself some faith dice. Examples: Hunted by the Mob, Lazy Sonofabitch, Addicted to Fear, Social Skills of a Brick

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Recruitment

Discipline Aspects

You get one aspect tied to each of your three disciplines (which we’ll talk about in a moment. You should really learn some patience). Each of these has some kind of connection to the discipline, no matter how narrow or tenuous. In some cases, these aspects act as a focus for the discipline’s umbrella of skills, so they’re a way to embellish why your Demon Hunter has the discipline in the first place. If you want to choose these before play starts, wait until you’ve assigned dice to your disciplines and then pick one, two, or all three of your discipline aspects. If you’d rather write these after play starts, you may find that the best time to settle on a discipline aspect is when you’re using a specific discipline and you’d like to make some statement about why you’re actually a little better at it in some circumstances than others. Write down the new aspect, spend the faith die, and BAM. We’ll leave most of these until later during the game, but we want to represent Ned’s focus in R&D as numbers and accounting. So we’ve picked Mathlete as his R&D discipline aspect. This leaves us an Undead and a Covert Ops aspect to choose at a later time. Examples: Fully Strapped, Always Packed (Combat & Tactics), Crazy about Robotics (Research & Development), Student of the Ancient Ones (Mystic Arts), Internet Famous (Social Engineering) More Aspects

Your Demon Hunter might get more aspects later, either temporarily as a result of play, or permanently because of Big Bad Stuff. Your aspects can also change when you hit milestones (page 58) in the game, so you don’t necessarily have to settle for the ones you choose now, and of course you don’t even need to have them all written down before the game starts for real, so relax and calm down already.

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Demon Hunters

Six Approaches How does your Demon Hunter take on the obstacles, opponents, and opportunities that come up when they’re on a Mission? Your Demon Hunter has six approaches. They are: • Careful • Clever • Flashy • Forceful • Quick • Sneaky They’re each given a die rating. You’ve got one at , two at , two at , and one at , so think about which approach you want your Demon Hunter to be the best at, which they’re the worst at, and then figure out the four in the middle. After you’ve got a few Missions under your belt, you can improve one or more of these, or switch two around. For more on approaches, see A p p roach e s , D i sci p li n e s , an d S tu nts , page 93. Clever is the obvious choice here for Ned’s , but we’re going to be interesting and make it Forceful instead. Ned charges into situations with enthusiasm and unbridled vigor, plus now that he’s undead he doesn’t have to worry about taking it easy. On the other hand, there’s probably no chance he can do anything in a Sneaky manner with that attitude, so we’re giving him a in Sneaky. Clever and Flashy get assigned a , edging out Careful and Quick, which get .

Your choice of which approaches get what die ratings depends on how you see your Demon Hunter in action. Here are some examples of standard stereotypes to use as a guide. These are by no means the only ways to assign your approach dice. The All-Star: Quick , Forceful and Flashy Careful , Sneaky .

, Clever and

The Brute: Forceful Quick , Clever .

, Sneaky and

The Guardian: Careful Quick , Flashy .

50

, Careful and Flashy , Forceful and Clever

, Sneaky and

Recruitment

The Swashbuckler: Flashy and Sneaky , Careful . The Trickster: Clever Quick , Careful . The Thief: Sneaky , Forceful .

, Quick and Clever

, Sneaky and Flashy

, Careful and Quick

. Forceful

, Forceful and

, Clever and Flashy

Three Disciplines Where does your Demon Hunter excel? What training have they had? The choice of disciplines is important in knowing which role they play on Missions and what sorts of actions they do well. Generally, any kind of obstacle or opponent can be tackled with at least two if not more disciplines, but some are more obvious than others. There are five core disciplines recognized by the Brotherhood: • Combat & Tactics • Covert Ops • Mystic Arts • Research & Development • Social Engineering Your Demon Hunter has three disciplines. Each discipline has a die rating: one at (Master), one at (Expert), and one at (Trained). These are the areas of ability and training your Demon Hunter has acquired, either in their previous life or from years at the Brotherhood Academy. Your remaining disciplines are rated at (Untrained), which means you can always try something even if it’s not something you’re skilled at. Fringe disciplines are a different matter. Nobody has a die rating in a Fringe discipline unless they’ve taken it as one of their three. Assign dice to three core disciplines. Want to be great at fighting? Assign a die to Combat & Tactics. Want a magic-using or psychic sort of character? Assign a die to Mystic Arts. How about a super-spy or assassin? That’s Covert Ops. Are you a leader, grifter, or charmer? Social Engineering needs a die. Planning to hack

51

Demon Hunters

computers, tinker with electronics, or go nuts with mad science? That’s Research & Development. If your concept requires that you be some kind of supernatural creature, like a werewolf or vampire, or if you’re going to play some other kind of Fringe Demon Hunter, like a Cipher, you need to assign a die to an appropriate Fringe discipline. Doing so means assigning one fewer die to the other core disciplines, but depending on the Fringe discipline you can often get away without one (vampires can do Covert Ops things using their Vampire discipline, for example). Then choose two other core disciplines to assign dice to. Ned’s a good candidate for a Fringe discipline, which we’re calling Undead. We assign that a , though, since we’ve decided he should have his in R&D. That’s really his strongest suit, even if it’s mostly academic. This leaves us with a choice of which discipline to assign his to. It’s amusing to us to have him keep volunteering for spy Missions, so we’re going with Covert Ops. The rest all get as Untrained.

For more on disciplines, see A p p roac h e s , D i s c i p li n e s , S tu nts , page 93.

an d

Stunts Finally, it’s time to customize your Demon Hunter with one or more stunts. A stunt is a special trait connected to your disciplines that changes the way they work for your Demon Hunter. They typically give you a bonus (almost always +2) to your roll when you use a specific approach & discipline combo in an action. You may have up to three stunts for free, although you only need to choose one when you create your Demon Hunter. The rest you can choose during play, in much the same way that you can choose aspects later on. You can take additional stunts beyond those three at the cost of points of devotion. Your devotion starts at three and is reduced by one for each stunt after the first three you choose. As your character advances, you might get the chance to add to your devotion. Your devotion may never go below one. Your devotion tells you how many faith dice you start each game with, so keep that in mind when you consider taking four or more stunts.

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Recruitment

We’ve devoted a chunk of space to stunts in A p p roac h e s , D i sci p li n e s , an d S tu nts , page 93, where you’ll find example stunts for several Fringe disciplines. You can also pick your stunts from the Demon Hunter profiles or DMCs provided in this book or you can make up something new because you’re a special snowflake, yes you are. Ned’s signature move in combat is the legendary Spotted Eagle Strike kung fu move—which, while amusingly inept in life, he has now mastered due to his unliving strength. We’re creating a stunt for it, as follows: Spotted Eagle Strike: Because I know the Spotted Eagle Strike move, I gain +2 to Flashy attacks when I engage in hand-tohand combat. Let’s also give him a stunt that covers his easily replaced body parts: Upgradeable: Because I am Upgradeable, once per game session I can turn a moderate condition into a positive aspect by grabbing replacement body parts from corpses. This last stunt is great since it lets us have Ned get bits blown off him in a fight but use the stunt to temporarily get a benefit in the next fight while also getting rid of a condition. It’s about the limit of what a stunt should be able to do; if we’d made it a severe condition, it’d probably be too much.

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Demon Hunters

CREATING YOUR CHAPTER Your Demon Hunter belongs to a chapter. They’re your first line of support and, while they’re almost never the people you would have chosen to hang out with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, they’re at least psychologically profiled for optimal teamwork and efficiency when grouped with you. Or that’s the hope. Okay, let’s be real. Many of the other Demon Hunters in your chapter are maniacs you wouldn’t spend time with at all if given the choice, but hey, what can you do? Evil doesn’t wait while you do compatibility quizzes on your teammates. Evil needs you to hurry up and get with the program. At this stage, we’d get together with the other players and create Sigma Seven. You can see the results on page 71, but for now our Demon Hunter profile is complete! Ned is ready to go. For a full version of Ned, see his Demon Hunter profile on page 75.

TL;DR: BROTHERHOOD CHAPTER CREATION 1. Choose someone to be Chapter Leader 2. Choose someone to be the Cipher (this someone can be a DMC) 3. Everyone should introduce their characters to the other players and the DM 4. Figure out at least one way each Demon Hunter is connected to the rest of the team 5. Decide on your chapter designation 6. Write one to three chapter aspects (or you can decide during play! Shocking, I know.)

Going to the Greek Every chapter starts out as an Omega chapter, because that’s how it works in the Brotherhood. However, you don’t need to start your D e m o n H u n t e r s RPG games at Omega-level, because that would mean lots of boring desk duties and insignificant assignments that aren’t at all exciting or dangerous. Even so, it’s good to think of the chapter starting out as Omega during the first session when everyone’s making up their Demon Hunters, because you can spend some time playing out one or two training scenarios that you all undertook and explain just how badass your Demon

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Recruitment

Hunters are, what skills you all have, and how opposed to the maleficent chaos of Hell and other Infernal dimensions you all are. Really, just go around the table and introduce yourselves to each other, give the general descriptive rundown (“She’s really tall and has horns and a tail, plus she dresses in red and black and her name is Susan”) and come up with at least one solid connection to all of the other Demon Hunters. This connection can be anything: a shared interest in old Sammy Davis Jr. movies, a shared cousin you both hate, a time when one of you saved the life of another during training missions, whatever you like. Once you’ve got a little established history under your belts, it’s time to flesh the chapter out some more.

Chapter Aspects Your chapter has half as many aspects as it has field agents (i.e., Demon Hunters), rounded up. Each of these aspects might be invoked or endured by any of its members during play. These aspects should be pretty narrow and specific. They’re not meant to be as applicable or broadly useful as the Demon Hunter aspects are, but they should reflect true things about the chapter and the Demon Hunters in it, such as mottos, rallying cries, or things you learned during previous Missions. It can be fun to describe them as flashbacks or references to a shared past, like so: • We Stopped the Toadpocalypse • Heroes of the Haunted Waffle House • Took Home Some Souvenirs from the Dragon’s Hoard You can also use chapter aspect to add fun tools, equipment, or accessible locations to your chapter: • A Garage Full of Street Bikes • Bulletproof Floor to Ceiling Glass Windows • Lifetime Streaming Music Service If nobody seems to agree on what aspects to assign at the beginning, go ahead and leave some open until play starts and you’re grasping around for ideas of aspects to invoke to your advantage. Just make sure the aspect follows the usual rules for chapter aspects: it’s narrow, fun, and can be used either for or against the Demon Hunters depending on what else is going on. 55

Demon Hunters

Chapter Promotion Once everyone’s come up with aspects and settled on some past connections, discuss the current chapter level with the Demon Master. Psi is a good place to start; it’s one level above Omega and gives you plenty of room to get promoted. Certainly, nobody should start off any higher up the ladder than Sigma. For a handy Greek alphabet table—I mean, an org chart of the Brotherhood chapters—see page 22. During play, every time the Demon Hunters reach a significant milestone (see page 58 for a discussion of what milestones are) the DM may decide to promote the chapter to the next level up. Sometimes this is because the Demon Hunters all did extraordinarily well. And then there are occasions when the Demon Master might just arbitrarily promote the entire chapter because it’s interesting and why the hell not. Benefits of Promotion

Every time the chapter gets promoted, all of the Demon Hunters who are active in the chapter get a boost to use on their next mission to represent their general feelings of accomplishment and confidence. In addition, the chapter members can agree to change one of the chapter’s aspects, rewriting it or switching it out for something new and different. This should usually reflect the circumstances or context of the chapter’s promotion, but it could also represent some new and awesome truth about the chapter that has heretofore not been discussed or revealed. Or it could be a sweet new HQ with a butler and a rooftop helipad. But don’t push your luck.

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Recruitment

Chapter Conditions

Just like Demon Hunters, a chapter can acquire conditions. Chapter-wide conditions can be endured by any active field agent in the chapter or invoked by the DM to cause trouble for all its members. During play, the chapter can take one mild, one moderate, and one severe condition in place of a Demon Hunter, but once taken it applies to all of the members. It’s almost never a good idea to use this option unless the situation is dire, the cards are all stacked against the chapter, and there are no options left. Chapter conditions can be erased the same way Demon Hunter ones can. Any member may attempt to recover the condition (page 43), or the DM might rule that a condition has been recovered automatically due to time, changing circumstances, or whimsy. Don’t depend on that whimsy though, players. Example Chapter Conditions

Mild Conditions: Disarray, Strained Relations, Tied Up in Paperwork, Under Investigation Moderate Conditions: Media Leak, Official Censure, Out of Ammo, Reassigned to the Warehouse Severe Conditions: Disavowed, Dropkicked to Omega, End of Days, Perfect Storm of Getting Your Ass Kicked Six Ways to Sunday

57

Demon Hunters

MOVING ON UP: DEMON HUNTER ADVANCEMENT People change. Your skills sharpen as you practice them. Your life experiences accumulate and shape your personality. D e mon H u n t e r s RPG reflects that with  advanced training, which allows you to change your aspects, add or change stunts, and raise your approach and discipline dice. You do this when your character reaches a milestone.

Milestones Stories in TV shows, comic books, movies, and even video games usually continue from episode to episode, season to season. Just like the Demon Hunters webcomics and movies, this game lets you tell those kinds of stories; you play many game sessions in a row using the same characters—this is often called a campaign—and the story builds on itself. But within these long stories, there are shorter story arcs, like single episodes of a TV show or single issues of a comic, where shorter stories are told and wrapped up. D e m o n H u nte rs RPG can do that too, even within a longer campaign. These wrap-ups are called milestones—whether they’re small ones for short stories, or really big ones at the end of many sessions of play.  D e m o n H u n t e r s RPG recognizes three types of milestones, and each one allows you to change your character in certain ways. Minor Milestones

A  minor milestone  usually occurs at the end of a session of play, or when one piece of a story has been resolved. Rather than making your character more powerful, this kind of milestone is more about changing your character, about adjusting in response to whatever’s going on in the story if you need to. Sometimes it won’t really make sense to take advantage of a minor milestone, but you always have the opportunity in case you need to. After a minor milestone, you can choose to do one (and only one) of the following: • Switch the ratings of any two approaches. • Rename one aspect that isn’t your high concept. • Exchange one stunt for a different stunt.

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Recruitment

• Choose a new stunt (and adjust your devotion, if you already have three stunts). • Clear a condition. Significant Milestones

A significant milestone usually occurs at the end of a scenario or the conclusion of a big plot event (or, when in doubt, at the end of every two or three sessions). Unlike minor milestones, which are primarily about change, significant milestones are about learning new things—dealing with problems and challenges has made your Demon Hunter generally more capable at what they do. In addition to the benefit of a minor milestone, you also gain both of the following: • Clear all conditions. • Step up the die of an approach or discipline by one step. So, you could switch two approaches around (from the list of minor milestone benefits) and then step one of them up by one step in addition to clearing all conditions. The DM may also decide to advance the chapter a step up the Brotherhood org chart (page 22).

Stepping Up Approaches and Disciplines When you step up an approach or discipline, there’s a pyramid-shaped cap you must always adhere to. It works like this: • You can’t have more than one approach at • You can’t have more than two approaches at • You can’t have more than three approaches at

or discipline at

.

or disciplines at or disciplines at

. .

In other words, before you step up a third approach die or discipline die to , you have to step up one of the others to . If you already have an approach at , you can’t raise a third approach to , and so on. You can always switch the ratings of two approaches as a minor milestone, so you can adjust your dice without stepping any up past this die cap.

59

Demon Hunters

Major Milestones

Major milestones should only occur when something happens in the campaign that shakes it up a lot—the end of a big story arc, the final defeat of a main DMC villain, or any other large-scale change that reverberates around your game world. These milestones are about gaining more power. The challenges of yesterday simply aren’t sufficient to threaten these characters anymore, and the threats of tomorrow will need to be more adept, organized, and determined to stand against them. Achieving a major milestone confers the benefits of a significant milestone and a minor milestone. In addition, you may do both of the following: • Take an additional point of devotion, which you may immediately use to purchase a stunt if you wish. • Rename your character’s high concept (optional).

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Recruitment

READY-TO-GO CHAPTERS On the next few pages we’ve provided two chapters of Demon Hunters with complete profiles ready to use in the game. These might inspire you to create your own original Demon Hunters, or you may be so intrigued by one of them that you pester the Demon Master for the chance to play them in your game. Sure, these are the “official” or “iconic” versions of these chapters and the Demon Hunters in them, but that doesn’t mean you have to cleave to that canon. You can mix and match them with original characters, drop them into entirely different chapters, change some or all of their aspects, rearrange their approaches and disciplines, or whatever you like. Go crazy.

Chapter Omega Fifteen • Gabriel (page 63) • Silent Jim (page 64) • Wolf (page 65) • Bijou Labeaux (page 66) • Rigor Mortis (R.M.) (page 67) • Jefferson Albrecht (page 69) • Cipher Mark III (page 70)

Chapter Sigma Seven • Alex Harkadian (page 72) • Tricia “Sparky” Carnacki (page 73) • Armageddon (page 74) • Ned (page 75) • Ben “Gator” Bailey (page 76) • Cipher Mark IV (page 77)

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Chapter Omega Fifteen This chapter includes a motley collection of quasi-legendary misfits, losers, and rogues. Omega Fifteen is Gabriel and Silent Jim’s current chapter, the one from the web comics and more or less the one from the Demon Hunter movies.

Chapter Aspects Omega Fifteen has the following chapter aspects: • Beat-Up Green Van • Bottom of the Barrel • Omega Means Opportunity • We Ride!

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Gabriel

Gabriel used to lead Chapter Alpha One. It was the highest rank a Brotherhood field agent could hold. But after the Vancouver Disaster, with most of his team either dead or missing, they stripped him of his command and kicked him out of the only life he’d ever known. Silent Jim found him, cleaned him up, and got him back on track. Together they built a new team from the castoffs that nobody else in the Brotherhood wanted. It’s been an uphill battle, but he’s willing to do whatever it takes to claw his way back to the top.

Gabriel Chapter Omega Fifteen (Chapter Leader) ASPECTS Concept: Disgraced Chosen One of the Brotherhood Trouble:

Defeatist

Discipline: Close-combat Tactician I’ve Got a History with Demons Leader of the Desperate APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky STUNTS Born to This Life: Because I was born to this life, I gain +2 when I Carefully overcome knowledge-based obstacles regarding demons and the supernatural. Natural Leader: Because I am a natural leader, I gain +2 when I Quickly create advantages that benefit my team members. Nothing to Lose: Because I have nothing to lose, once per game session I can reroll all the faith dice and demon dice on either my action or an ally’s action, and keep the highest total. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

DEVOTION: 3

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Demon Hunters

Silent Jim

Silent Jim is more archetype than man. Most agents don’t like working with him, citing “an ever-present sense of impending doom.” But he and Gabriel struck up an instant camaraderie, like they’d known each other for years. Fighting side by side, they’re an unstoppable team. Silent Jim was counted among the dead following the Vancouver Disaster. He’s since reappeared, giving no explanation for his absence, and nobody else is brave enough to ask about it. Some say it’s not the first time he’s pulled this resurrection trick. It probably won’t be the last, either.

Silent Jim Chapter Omega Fifteen ASPECTS Concept:

Enigmatic Man in Black

Trouble:

Super Creepy

Discipline: Two-fisted Gunslinger Umbral Teleporter Unconventional Relationship with Reality APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky

Silent Jim

STUNTS Exists Outside of Time: Because I exist outside of time, once per game session I can die in some horrible fashion instead of taking any number of hits, and then come back in the next scene healed of all conditions. Shiny Pair of Guns: Because I have a shiny pair of guns, I gain +2 when I Flashily attack an opponent with these pistols. Silent Jim: Because I’m Silent Jim, once per conflict I can add my Silent Jim discipline die as a bonus die to one roll. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

DEVOTION: 3

64

Severe (1)

Recruitment

Wolf

Wolf is a war veteran. Of EVERY war. There isn’t a battle in recorded history that Wolf hasn’t fought in, escalated, or outright started. There’s even a cave painting in France that depicts a pretty remarkable likeness of Wolf mowing down Neanderthals with a Gatling gun. The Brotherhood had long hoped to get Wolf signed on fulltime, but nobody wanted to work with him. He’s not what you’d call a “team player.” Only Gabriel was brave foolish and desperate enough to give him a shot. Everything Wolf throws explodes.

Wolf Chapter Omega Fifteen ASPECTS Concept:

Warrior of the Ages

Trouble:

Soft Spot for the Ladies

Discipline: Death Has a Crippling Fear of Me Strategy Is for the Weak Conveniently Unknown Origin APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky STUNTS Embodiment of Mega-Violence: Because I am the embodiment of mega-violence, once per game session I can make something explode when I throw it. Superhumanly Strong: Because I am superhumanly strong, I gain +2 when I Forcefully overcome a physical obstacle. Unkillable: Because I am unkillable, I can take one additional mild and moderate condition. CONDITIONS Mild (4)

Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

DEVOTION: 3

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Demon Hunters

Bijou

The Brotherhood’s top scientists and mystics have searched for an antidote to the zombie toxin for decades, but the most promising approach to a cure yet came from a civilian. Dr. Bijou Labeaux’s doctoral dissertation on the zombie toxin was no less than a revelation, and the Brotherhood set her up with a cushy, state-of-the-art laboratory to continue her research. All that was left was to run her through the basic field combat exercises required of all new recruits. Once Bijou realized how fun fieldwork can be, she became obsessed. Every moment not spent toiling away in the lab was spent petitioning the higher-ups for a promotion to field agent. When Silent Jim showed up, she knew she’d finally made it. Now she’s out of the lab and ready to kick some ass.

Bijou Labeaux Chapter Omega Fifteen ASPECTS Concept:

Overly-energetic Zombiologist

Trouble:

Easily Bored by Lab Work

Discipline: Good with a Knife Haitian Vodou Priestess Medical Genius APPROACH E S 

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky STUNTS Ready for the Apocalypse: Because I am ready for the apocalypse, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create advantages with medical or scientific supplies. Ritual Magic: Because I know ritual magic, when I endure an aspect to conduct a ritual, I can roll and add my Mystic Arts to the outcome if I’m successful. Spiritual Relationship with the Loa: Because I have a spiritual relationship with the Loa, once per game session I can switch the dice of two of my approaches with one another for the remainder of the current scene. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

DEVOTION: 3

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Recruitment

Rigor Mortis

She awoke cuffed to a heavy metal table across from an elderly Scottish man with kind eyes and a wry smile. He offered her two things: a glass of synthetic blood, and an opportunity. Come work for the Brotherhood. Use the powers she’d been cursed with to save others from monsters like the vampire who’d turned her. She liked the sound of that. It’s been an uphill battle. She hears the things they call her behind her back. Drac. Vlad. Blood-Chugger. Rigor Mortis… Rigor Mortis. She likes that one. Maybe she’ll keep it.

Rigor Mortis (RM) Chapter Omega Fifteen ASPECTS Concept:

Bloodsucking Amnesiac Assassin

Trouble:

Recovering Addict

Discipline: Ninja Master; Fierce Attitude; Teeth and Fangs APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky

Vampire

STUNTS Vampiric Speed: Because I have vampiric speed, I can always choose to go first in a conflict or contest unless my opponent is also a vampire or supernaturally fast creature. Vampiric Vitality: Because I have vampiric vitality, once per conflict I can spend a faith die & roll: on a 1-4, I clear a mild condition; on a 5-6, I clear a moderate condition. Knows Ninjitsu: Because I know ninjitsu, I gain +2 when I Carefully attack from the shadows. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

DEVOTION: 3

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Recruitment

Albrecht

The Albrechts are known around the world as skilled and deadly hunters, and Jefferson Albrecht coasted through the Brotherhood Academy on his family’s reputation. He hadn’t earned it, but he was given command of an Epsilon Chapter straight out of the academy. It got his team killed. He was the lone survivor of a werewolf attack he should have prevented. He got the antivirals in time to keep him from going full-wolf, but just barely. He hardly recognizes the angry, feral face in the mirror anymore. Unable to trust himself around other people, he retreated to a remote cabin in the forests of Montana until RM showed up to put him back to work. He’s not the leader anymore, but he figures it’s just a matter of time until Gabriel screws up big enough. All he has to do is wait.

Jefferson Albrecht Chapter Omega Fifteen ASPECTS Concept:

Wolf in Man’s Clothing

Trouble:

Barely Keeping It Together

Discipline: Crack Shot; Amazing Senses; My Folks Are Famous APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky

Werewolf

STUNTS Lycanthropic Viral Load: Because I have a lycanthropic viral load, once per game session I can roll my approach die twice for an attack or defend action if I have marked off a mild condition related to being hungry, angry, or injured. Man’s Best Friend’s Best Friend: Because I am man’s best friend’s best friend, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create advantages or overcome obstacles with canines. Peerless Hunter: Because I am a peerless hunter I get +2 when I Quickly create advantages when tracking or pursuing my quarry. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

DEVOTION: 3

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Cipher-Mark III

A Cipher is the most important tool in a Hunter’s arsenal. Not just a communication hub, it serves as a conduit to the vast stores of knowledge, history, and lore contained within the Brotherhood Database. And it’s all wrapped up in a titanium chassis driven by synthetic musculature and covered with realistic, damage-resistant artificial skin. The real power is all in the Goggles. In the event that a Cipher’s chassis is destroyed, it can be reinstalled—with memories intact—by attaching the old Goggles to a new chassis. The Mark III Ciphers in particular were famous for their virtually indestructible Goggles. But nobody uses the Mark IIIs anymore. Not after what happened in Vancouver. And yet every time Gabriel requisitions a new one, they send him one of these obsolete pieces of crap. Someone in the Warehouse has a sick sense of humor.

Cipher–Mark III Chapter Omega Fifteen ASPECTS Concept:

Impervious Walking Database

Trouble:

Obsolete Automaton

Discipline: Close-combat Offensive Sequences; Full-spectrum Optics; Plugs Into Anything APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES:

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky

Cipher

STUNTS Android Body: Because I have an android body, I can mark off 2 extra mild conditions and I am never hungry or tired. Connected to the Brotherhood Database: Because I am connected to the Brotherhood database, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create information-based advantages for myself or my chapter. Dangerous Global Interface: Because I have a dangerous global interface, once per game session I can spend one, two, or three demon dice on behalf of a chapter member I am not in the same location with, and rolls of 1 apply to the chapter member, not me. Instead of going to the DM, I roll these dice again, add them up, and take that many hits. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

DEVOTION: 3

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Recruitment

Sigma Seven Carefully selected from the cream of the crop of new recruits and promising upstarts, Sigma Seven demonstrates everything that’s good about the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch. Or at least that’s what they told Harkadian, the chapter leader of this unfortunate collection of newbies and their undead accountant. They were probably trying to lift his spirits. You may recognize Harkadian’s chapter from the original D e mon H u nte rs RPG or the B rot h e r h o o d R e c ru i t m e n t V i d e o . Now they’re mostly here to serve as pregenerated Demon Hunters for your gaming pleasure. For the love of all that’s holy, go easy on them. Chapter Aspects

• The Eyes of the Brotherhood Are on Us • Fresh Meat Is Hard to Beat • Heartbeat Away from Death • Nondescript Chapter Headquarters Near a Mall

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Alex Harkadian

Harkadian traveled the world, searching for a cure. He studied under powerful mystics and read through ancient, forbidden volumes. He found it. A cure for death. It brought back his sister, but she didn’t come alone. An entire cemetery full of corpses clawed their way out of their graves. They came back, but they came back wrong. Hungry. He had to put them all back down. And when his sister attacked his grandmother, he had to put her down again too. And when his grandmother changed, well... But there was no time to mourn. Whatever he’d done had lingered, and people don’t stop dying. They’d bury them by day, and he’d rebury them by night. Weeks passed before the Brotherhood found him and put an end to his grim vigil. He hasn’t given up on a finding a cure, but these days he’s more careful.

Alex Harkadian Chapter Sigma Seven (Chapter Leader) ASPECTS Concept:

Grim Necromancer

Trouble:

Shell Shocked

Discipline: Never Say Die; Knowledge Beyond the Veil of Death; Lead by Example APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky STUNTS Form a Defensive Perimeter: Because I know how to form a defensive perimeter, I gain +2 to Carefully create advantages or defend against surprise attacks, ambushes, or when outnumbered. Necromantic Paragon: Because I am a necromantic paragon, I gain +2 when I Quickly create advantages or attack using death magic. Raise the Dead: Because I can raise the dead, once per session I can return the spark of life back to a fallen ally or other character. They return with a moderate condition already marked off: Recently Dead. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

DEVOTION: 3

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Recruitment

Tricia “Sparky” Carnacki

Sparky gets machines. They’ve just always made sense to her. It’s a trait that runs in her family. Her grandfather, Thomas Carnacki, was a pioneer in the electrical arts, and put those talents to use as a ghost hunter for the Brotherhood (electricity has a nasty habit of not playing nice with ectoplasm). He passed away recently, leaving his estate to his granddaughter—along with his legacy. Adapting his turn-of-the-century gadgetry for the modern world, Sparky’s put her technomantic talents to work, battling Evil and pwning n00bs for the Brotherhood.

Tricia “Sparky” Carnacki Chapter Sigma Seven ASPECTS Concept:

Technological Genius

Trouble:

Easily Bored

Discipline: Machine Legacy of Dr. Carnacki; Dynamic Thinker; Boundless Energy APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky STUNTS Mad Skillz: Because I have mad skillz, I gain +2 when I Flashily create advantages with technology. Pwn N00bs: Because I can pwn n00bs, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack minions or unnamed targets using gadgets I’ve created or assembled. Infectious Energy: Because I have infectious energy, once per game session I can turn an ally’s mild condition into a positive aspect as part of a defend or create an advantage action involving that ally. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

DEVOTION: 3

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Armageddon

She was their Doomsday contingency. The Brotherhood’s got a lot of those. Built from scratch, a genetic cocktail of the best warriors on the planet cloned ten thousand times over. Super soldiers, programmed with the combined combat knowledge of five thousand years’ worth of Hunters and put on ice to await the apocalypse. And then some idiot turned off the wrong switch. Ten thousand identical soldiers waking up, knowing only how to kill monsters, coming face to face with nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine doppelgangers. They found her the next morning—beaten, scarred, and bloody, but alive. The only survivor of project Armageddon. They scrapped the whole thing and stuck her in basic training—a mere formality, of course. Don’t worry, there are more contingency plans. Lots more.

Armageddon Chapter Sigma Seven ASPECTS Concept:

Genetically Enhanced Super Soldier

Trouble:

Cold-Hearted Killer

Discipline: Sole Survivor of Project Armageddon; Fully-Strapped, Always Packed; Destroy All Monsters! APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky STUNTS Five Thousand Years of Combat Knowledge: Because I have five thousand years of combat knowledge, I gain +2 when I Quickly create advantages in a combat situation. Overclocked DNA: Because I have overclocked DNA, I can take an additional mild and moderate condition. Apocalypse-Ready: Because I am apocalypse-ready, once per game session I can reroll my approach die, discipline die, or both when I defend against overwhelming or catastrophe-level attacks. I must keep the new result, whatever it is. CONDITIONS Mild (4)

Moderate (3)

DEVOTION: 3

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Recruitment

Ned

It’s rare for a recruit to die during basic training, but it happens. It’s unheard of for them to come back for a second try, but that happened too. Thanks to some quick thinking on Harkadian’s part, a fist through the skull didn’t mark the end of Ned’s tenure with the Brotherhood. He’s back, and he’s better than ever! “Un”Ned is a much more useful asset in the field these days, now that he’s upgradeable with new, more lethal body parts. Not to mention he’s virtually unkillable. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still freaking NED. But now you can throw him at a monster to distract it without feeling too guilty about it. Don’t worry, he loves it! This is his destiny. His undead, patchwork destiny.

Ned Chapter Sigma Seven ASPECTS Concept:

Enthusiastic Undead Accountant

Trouble:

Turbodork

Discipline: Mathlete; Cannon Fodder; Can’t Kill What’s Already Dead APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky

Undead

STUNTS Head for Numbers: Because I have a head for numbers, I gain +2 when I Quickly try to overcome a math- or number-related problem. Spotted Eagle Strike: Because I have “mastered” the Spotted Eagle Strike, I gain +2 to Flashy attacks when I engage in hand-to-hand combat. Upgradeable: Because I am upgradeable, once per game session I can turn a moderate condition into a positive aspect by grabbing replacement body parts from corpses. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

DEVOTION: 3

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Ben “Gator” Bailey

Ben Bailey’s a fella who loves hisself a good scrap. Don’t rightly matter if’n he’s punchin’ out drunks in a bar room slugfest, divin’ in the swamp to put a gator in a chokehold, or layin’ the smackdown on some bloodthirsty beastie from the pits of Hell. There ain’t no meanness in it—hell, ol’ Gator ain’t got a mean bone in his body. The boy’s just a born brawler. Fell outta his mama with his fists clenched and he ain’t opened ‘em since.

Ben “Gator” Bailey Chapter Sigma Seven ASPECTS Concept:

Backwoods Brawler

Trouble:

Not Big on the Book Learnin’

Discipline: Friendly Fella; Always Delivers the Smackdown; Sheet-metal-lined Stomach APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky STUNTS Clear the Room: Because I know how to clear the room, I gain +2 when I Flashily create advantages or defend when getting innocents or bystanders out of harm’s way. Love a Good Scrap: Because I love a good scrap, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack in a hand-to-hand combat situation. Solid Muscle: Because I am solid muscle, before I mark off any conditions in a fight I can roll a and ignore that many hits from an attack. If I don’t absorb all the hits, I must mark off conditions or be taken out. If I do absorb all the hits, I can use this stunt the next time I’m attacked. Once I start marking off conditions I can’t use this stunt until I recover the conditions I’ve taken. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

DEVOTION: 3

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Recruitment

Cipher-Mark IV

The Mark IV Ciphers are a significant improvement over the old Mark IIIs. In addition to the printto-order custom chassis and fancy new slimline Goggles, the Mark IVs feature a wrist-mounted holographic display for mission briefing and intel delivery, and are packed with the latest Ciphertech package, allowing them to process database information at an exponentially faster rate. Despite these improvements, the Mark IVs are not without their critics. Some agents claim their Ciphers have developed behavioral quirks. Some attribute these strange and random behaviors to a simple software glitch, while others view it as the first signs of an emerging intelligence. Are the Ciphers becoming sentient? Unrelated note, how would one go about clearing the browser history on a Cipher?

Cipher–Mark IV Chapter Sigma Seven ASPECTS Concept:

Impervious Walking Database

Trouble:

Glitchy as All Get Out

Discipline: Close-combat Offensive Sequences; Full-spectrum Optics; Plugs Into Anything APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES:

Careful

Combat & Tactics

Clever

Covert Ops

Flashy

Mystic Arts

Forceful

Research & Development

Quick

Social Engineering

Sneaky

Cipher

STUNTS Android Body: Because I have an android body, I can mark off 2 extra mild conditions and I am never hungry or tired. Connected to the Brotherhood Database: Because I am connected to the Brotherhood database, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create information-based advantages for myself or my chapter. Holographic Support Network: Because I have a holographic support network, once per game session I can spend any number of my own faith dice on behalf of a chapter member I am not in the same location with, and rolls of 1 apply to the chapter member, not me. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

DEVOTION: 3

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ChApter 4

ASpects and faith dice

A

n   a s p e ct   i s a wo r d , p h ra s e , o r s e nte n c e that

describes something centrally important to your character. Together with your approaches and disciplines, aspects make up who your character is, what they believe, who they’re connected to, and the stuff they have that makes them different from everyone else. Aspects let you change or affect the outcome of the story in a way that lines up with who your character is: their personality, qualities, and history. They can highlight what you as a player think is interesting in the Demon Hunters world, establishing facts about the game that can come up later as the stories play out. Faith dice are the emotional and spiritual power that fuel your aspects. You can think of them as luck, divine fortune, karma, or whatever you like, but they’re tied directly to aspects and how aspects work in the game. Aspects represent a narrative truth, but faith dice represent those moments when you lean on that truth to get things done.

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WHAT KINDS OF ASPECTS ARE THERE? There are an endless variety of aspects, but no matter what they’re called, they all work pretty much the same way. The main difference is how long they stick around before going away.

Character Aspects These aspects are on your character sheet, such as your Concept, Trouble, and aspects associated with your disciplines (page 47). They describe personality traits, important details about your past, relationships you have with others, important items or titles you possess, problems you’re dealing with or goals you’re working toward, or reputations and obligations you carry. Once your Demon Hunter profile is complete, these aspects usually only change when you reach milestones (page 58). Examples: Disciple of the Shaolin Monastery; Perfect Pitch; Reformed Gangster; Battle Tested in Kosovo; Smartest Man in the Room

Chapter Aspects These are the aspects that belong to your chapter (page 55). You and your fellow players brainstorm these during recruitment, and they’re always available during play as additional aspects to invoke or endure. Examples: High-rise Headquarters; Flashback to Fresno; Coffee Is the Lifeblood of Our Chapter; Questionable Corporate Ties

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Situation Aspects These aspects describe the surroundings where the action is taking place. This includes aspects you create or discover using the create an advantage action (page 116). A situation aspect usually vanishes at the end of the scene it was part of, or when someone takes some action that would change or get rid of it. Essentially, they last only as long as the situational element they represent lasts. Examples: Bright Sunlight; Crowd of Angry People; Falling Out of an Airplane; Raging Fire

To get rid of a situation aspect, you can attempt an overcome action (page 119) to eliminate it, provided you can think of a way your character could accomplish it—dump a bucket of water on the Raging Fire, kit-bash a makeshift parachute to keep yourself from Falling Out of an Airplane. An opponent may use a defend action (page 120) to try to preserve the aspect, if they can describe how they do it.

Conditions These aspects represent the consequences of taking action in difficult circumstances or being pushed hard by stress and trauma. They can be difficult to remove without additional resources or assistance from others. Conditions are always decided and named when they arise; they fall into mild, moderate, or severe types, but each time one is taken to soak up hits from an attack action (page 119), the specifics should be settled. Examples: Badly Bruised; Broken Leg; Tarnished Reputation; Mentally Unhinged

To get rid of a condition, you have to take a recovery action (page 140). Once that’s done, with an opposition number depending on the severity of the condition (5 for mild, 10 for moderate, and 15 for severe), you usually need to wait a while before it actually resolves and goes away. Most Demon Hunters can have up to three mild conditions, two moderate conditions, and one severe condition at a time. If they’re all used up, hits go directly to your Demon Hunter and they’re taken out (or they concede—page 139—before waiting to see the outcome.)

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Boosts A boost is a temporary aspect that you get to use once (see “What Do You Do With Aspects?” on page 82), and then it vanishes. Unused boosts vanish when the scene they were created in is over or when the advantage they represent no longer exists. These represent very brief and fleeting advantages to you during conflicts. You don’t always have to come up with a descriptive name for a boost; sometimes it’s as easy as just writing “one boost” on an index card and setting a on top, to reflect the free invoke (coming up next). Examples:  Inspiring Word; Slapped Around; Tactical Advantage; Thunderous Roar

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WHAT DO YOU DO WITH ASPECTS? There are three big things you can do with aspects: invoke  aspects, endure aspects, and use aspects to establish facts.

Invoking Aspects You invoke an aspect to give yourself a bonus or make things a bit harder for your opponent. You can invoke any aspect that you a) know about, and b) can explain how you use it to your advantage— including aspects on other characters or on the situation. Normally, invoking an aspect costs you a faith die—hand one of your faith dice to the DM. To invoke an aspect, you need to describe how that aspect helps you in your current situation. • I attack the zombie with my sword. I know zombies are Slow-Moving, so that should help me. • I really want to scare this guy. I’ve heard he’s Terrified of Enclosed Spaces, so I’ll conduct the interrogation in a tiny cell. • Now that the cultist is Distracted, I should be able to sneak right by him. • This spell needs to be really powerful—I’m a Magus of the Golden Dawn, and powerful spells are what I do. What does invoking the aspect get you? Choose one of the following effects: Add a faith die roll to your total: This costs a faith die, and must be invoked before you roll your dice. If you roll a 1 on a faith die used in this manner, you keep the die. Reroll either your approach or discipline die: This option is best if you rolled really lousy. This costs a faith die, and is invoked after you roll your dice. Confront an opponent with the aspect: You use this option when your opponent is trying something and you think an existing aspect would make it harder for them. For instance, a werewolf is trying to lunge at you, but he’s Drunk on Moonshine; you spend a faith die to invoke that aspect before the opponent rolls, and now the roll of your die increases your opponent’s level of opposition. You can choose to instead force your opponent to reroll one of their

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core dice, especially if they rolled very well. You can do this after the opponent has rolled the dice. Help an ally with the aspect: Use this option when a friend could use some help and you think an existing aspect would make it easier for her. You spend a faith die to invoke the aspect, and now your friend gets to roll your faith die and add it to her total or reroll one of her core dice. Unlike a personal invocation, you can invoke the aspect to help an ally after they roll their dice. If they roll a 1 on the faith die you lent them, they get to keep it after the roll, not you. Important: You can only invoke a specific aspect once on a dice roll; you can’t spend a stack of faith dice on one aspect and get a huge bonus from it. However, you can invoke several different aspects on the same roll, including before and after the roll. Spending faith dice to invoke aspects uses up that faith die, except when it’s added to a die roll and comes up as a 1. In that case, it’s returned to the player who used it (which means if you help an ally with it, it goes to them).

Free invocations Sometimes you can invoke an aspect for free, without paying a faith die. If you create or discover an aspect through the  create an advantage  action, the first invocation on it—by you or an ally—is free (if you succeeded with style, you get  two  freebies). If you inflict a condition through an attack, you or an ally can invoke it once for free. A  boost  is a special kind of aspect that grants one free invocation, and then it vanishes. In each of these cases, you roll a rather than one of your faith dice; if you roll a 1, the free invocation die sticks around, available to the next person.

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Enduring Aspects If you’re in a situation where having or being around a certain aspect means your character’s life is more dramatic or complicated, you can endure that aspect and earn a faith die. Enduring an aspect means that you only get to include the highest rolling die out of your approach and discipline dice, rather than adding them both together. You have to declare that you’re enduring the aspect before you roll the dice and your choice of aspect must make sense—justify it! Make the story work for you. You can also endure an aspect outside of any contest or roll, such as during a role-played moment that doesn’t involve dice. In this case, you play out the negative or hindering side of that aspect when making a decision for your character, getting yourself into trouble or a more difficult situation than you started with. This earns you a faith die. What’s important is that your Demon Hunter’s situation changes somehow for the negative as a result of playing out the endured aspect. Conditions are frequently endured as a way to get faith dice. Of course, not enduring them doesn’t mean they don’t play a part in the game; if you’re Hungry, you still want to eat. If you’re Injured, you’re not going to be in the best of shape. In some cases, the DM can suggest that the player needs to endure an aspect, and may even hand over a faith die as a sign that they should. Players that don’t want to bother with this can ignore the proffered faith die and carry on as usual. It costs them nothing to ignore it, other than not picking up a bonus faith die.

How Many Faith Dice Does the DM Get? The DM doesn’t use faith dice. The DM’s characters use demon dice to do the same thing as faith dice: invoking DM character aspects. The DM gets a number of demon dice at the beginning of every scene equal to the number of players. The DM gets more demon dice when the players grab demon dice from the middle of the table to use in their own rolls; after the players have used them, those dice go directly to the DM to use. The DM also gets demon dice when a player takes a faith die for rolling a 1 on an approach or discipline die (page 93).

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Establishing Facts The final thing that aspects can do is let players establish facts in the game. You don’t have to spend any faith dice, roll dice, or anything to make this happen—just by virtue of having the aspect Tax Attorney you’ve established that your character is an attorney and that you know a lot about taxes. Having the aspect Hunted by the Cult of the Ribald Goat establishes that the setting has an entity called the Ribald Goat, and cultists who worship it are after you for some reason. When you establish facts of the setting this way, make sure you do it in cooperation with other players. The facts you establish through your aspects should make the game fun for everyone.

How Do I Get More Faith Dice? You start every game session with as many faith dice as your devotion. Faith sized. If you had more from the previous session than your dice are always devotion, you keep them instead of getting a new set. When you roll a faith die to invoke an aspect, it’s gone, but there are several ways to get it back (or earn more): • Endure an aspect: You earn a faith die when you endure an aspect, which also forces you to only keep one of your approach and discipline dice when you roll your next action, rather than keeping both. • Blow a die roll: If either your approach die or your discipline die comes up a 1 when you roll the dice, you can choose to earn a faith die. If you do, the DM gets a demon die at the same time. You can then immediately use the faith die to reroll the die, or you can save it for later. • Concede a conflict: If you decide to give up in a conflict, you not only earn a faith die, you also get to decide how your Demon Hunter ends up, as opposed to having that decision taken away from you when you’re taken out. If you gained a moderate or severe condition in the conflict before you conceded, you gain an additional faith die for each moderate condition you gain and two faith dice for each severe condition. Conceding is a great way to quickly earn faith dice but it does mean you don’t get what you wanted in the conflict.

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WRITING GOOD ASPECTS Because aspects are so central to the D e mon H u nte rs RPG, coming up with good ones during Demon Hunter recruitment and during play is a key part of the game’s success at the table. Or training room. While we don’t expect you to be a genius at coming up with clever turns of phrase on the fly, after a few sessions of play it becomes almost second nature. It’s especially easy if you’ve played other RPGs where game traits are player-authored or have descriptive labels—there are a few of those out there, now. But if you’re new to this kind of thing, here’s some advice for nailing it. Good aspects are dual-purpose, multi-focused, and use clear phrasing.

Good Aspects are Dual-Purpose A good aspect has two sides to it, one positive and one negative. Or, shall we say, one that’s easy to invoke and one that’s easy to endure. Not every aspect has to be equally balanced; your Trouble aspect’s clearly designed to be your Demon Hunter’s go-to for endurance rather than invocation. But it’s best if you think of some way to write the aspect so that it could conceivably come into play either way. To test this out, see if you can think of at least two ways it can be invoked and two ways it can be endured. Or, think of at least two ways the DM can invoke it for the opposition. If you can’t, try rephrasing it or coming at it from another angle first, then give it another shot. Example: Let’s say you’ve come up with an aspect called Kung Fu Master. Sure, this seems like something you could invoke all day long in a conflict with demons, werewolves, and elder elementals, but it’s pretty unbalanced (and honestly, pretty boring). It’s possible to think of something appropriate to endure while using it, such as your Demon Hunter’s personal kung fu code of discipline could be a limiting factor or maybe your Demon Hunter never goes for long-ranged conflicts even when it makes more sense. But really, we can do better. How about something like Exile from the Shaolin Temple? You could justify martial arts knowledge with that, but it carries the notion of your Demon Hunter being cast out or otherwise distant from this legendary place of kung fu. And maybe it lets the DM drop some Shaolin monks into the game from time to time, who can invoke your aspect for themselves as a way to deliver a revenge-fueled smackdown. It’s also a heck of a lot more flavorful. 87

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Good Aspects are Multi-Focused A good aspect isn’t just about one thing and one thing only, even if it can be used for good or bad purposes in the game. Instead, it’s got potential to be interpreted and thus used in the game in a number of different situations. To compose a multi-focused aspect, try adding one or two descriptors—adjectives are good, but so are specific nouns (characters, places, things). If your aspect is only one or two words long, consider giving it some more depth and variety so that it both reads as more descriptive of your Demon Hunter and is at the same time a lot less boring and one-dimensional. Example: You’re coming up with discipline aspects and you think that maybe Hacker really fits your image of what kind of Demon Hunter yours is, what with that you assigned to R&D and all. The problem is, Hacker isn’t only a one trick pony aspect, it’s also really boring. Try throwing some color onto it and going with something like White Hat Hacktivist, which covers not just hacking, but the driving motivation for why your Demon Hunter’s a hacker, the moral POV your Demon Hunter has when hacking, and generally gives a better image of who your Demon Hunter is than Hacker alone.

Demon Master Aspects Don’t Have to be Great By the way, quality isn’t nearly as important for DMC aspects or situation aspects. It’s very important for character aspects, because players should have a lot of options and more depth to their profiles; most DMCs and monsters only stick around for one or two games and then they’re out. DMs, just make sure you’re writing down the important, salient details that stick out about your characters, monsters, and situations, and let players create new aspects when they’re needed (or make them up yourself in the middle of the session). You’re spinning a lot of plates, after all. Who has time to prep for hours and hours in advance?

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Good Aspects Use Clear Phrasing A good aspect isn’t boring, but it’s also something that you can actually use in the game. What do we mean by that? It’s appealing to use poetic phrases and quotes from famous people as aspects, like Long Live the Fighters! or Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum (assuming you’re playing a Demon Hunter who models his entire life after Frank Herbert’s D u n e or pretends she’s a pirate), but before you can get around to invoking aspects like this, you need to know what the heck they’re even referring to. If your aspect is a saying, a catchphrase, a lyric, or something like that, make sure you’ve picked something that’s clearly phrased and recognizable. If you’re in doubt, ask the other players what they think your aspect means. If they give you blank looks, take another stab at it. Example: In a fit of Shakespearean inspiration, you decide to create an aspect called A Plague O’ Both Your Houses. You’re thinking you just watched R omeo & J uliet and Mercutio was just so great when he uttered that line before he died, cursing the rivalry of the Montagues and Capulets. And that’s great, but what does this even mean for your Demon Hunter? When would you use this aspect? Is it kind of a nod toward your Demon Hunter’s view on feuds and in-fighting and squabbles? If not, then what? Try something a little less florid, like Don’t Make Me Turn This Car Around! which gets the same message across but also provides a cute way to demonstrate that your Demon Hunter takes charge, doesn’t take guff from nobody, and has kind of a short temper.

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TROUBLESHOOTING ASPECT WRITING Despite handing out indispensable advice so far on what a good aspect looks like, the mere fact that aspects are narrative labels with an almost infinite number of options makes it intimidating to many noobs. Fear not! We get it. We really do. “You mean I can pick anything?” you might ask. “Why yes, but here are some suggestions on why it’s not really as bad as all that,” we might respond. So assume we’re responding like that now, with these handy pieces of advice for when you’re stuck: try to make it up as you go along, get it down and fix it later, keep your options open, always ask what matters and why, mix it up, and ask the table.

Make It Up as You Go Along In R ecru itm e nt (page 47), we said that you only need to make up one aspect right at the start and that’s your Concept aspect. And that’s still true. The reason this is good advice is that you can get to know your Demon Hunter in play before settling on what they’re really like. You could be in one situation or another and think, “I really need to have this aspect right now,” and because you’ve left some of them blank it’s a cinch to jot down something appropriate and just go with that. What could be easier? Organic character creation is what they call it. We prefer to say that your training as a Demon Hunter is never really over.

Get It Down and Fix It Later You may not be 100% happy with an aspect you come up with during recruitment or during play. That’s fine. Demon Masters should afford players a little flexibility when it comes to aspect writing. If an aspect just doesn’t seem to be coming together or ever being useful, tweak it a little before you make it permanent. We generally give players one or two sessions to get happy with their Demon Hunter’s aspects before we just tell the players to just deal until they reach a minor or major milestone (page 190). It helps foster trust and cooperation, and we can never have too much of that.

Keep Your Options Open Some players have a lot of ideas for aspects but don’t know which one will work the best. Maybe you have a dozen cool aspects but you’ve got only five slots, leaving you paralyzed with indecision.

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That’s fine. (We say this a lot.) Scribble the aspects down somewhere on a piece of note paper or on the back of your Demon Hunter profile and then when one of them seems like it would be appropriate in play, add it to your actual aspect list. Sure, some of the ideas won’t ever make it to that list, but it’s not like you won’t have a chance later on to switch out aspects when you reach certain milestones; see “Moving On Up: Demon Hunter Advancement” in M i s s ion s , T h reats , an d M ayh e m on page 190.

Always Ask What Matters and Why The central schtick of aspects is that they highlight what’s really important about your Demon Hunter—the elements of their background, personality, ability, or behavior that stands out above the rest. If you’re ever stuck about what aspects to go with, think about this: what’s memorable about your Demon Hunter? Where does the spotlight fall on them and set them apart from other Demon Hunters? If you think about aspects as being “the things that matter,” you start finding it easier to sum up those things in three or four descriptive phrases, and then you’re cooking with gas.

Mix It Up Many Demon Hunters have aspects that technically overlap one another. You can only invoke or endure any given aspect once for each action taken, so it’s natural for some players to want to double-up on some types of aspect so as to give them more options in action scenes (and more faith dice spent). Resist doing this more than once or twice, however. It’s much better to be well-rounded than overloaded.

Ask the Table When in doubt, ask your fellow players or the Demon Master for their input. You’ve got a bunch of equally enthusiastic recruits around you, all of whom have a vested interest in your Demon Hunter not being a total load on Missions. Throw the ideas out to them and have them give you feedback. Pitch your Concept aspect and then ask if they have suggestions for discipline aspects or your Trouble aspect. Sure, they might completely suck at giving suggestions, but what if one of their terrible ideas inspires you to come up with something brilliant? Not a complete waste of your time, was it?

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Approaches, Disciplines, and Stunts

I

De mon Hunter profile, then approaches and disciplines are the muscle and bones. Which, I suppose, makes stunts the clever tricks you can show off at parties or when you’ve had a little too much to drink. But enough analogies. Every time your Demon Hunter takes action and you pick up dice, it’s always an approach die and a discipline die you pick up. Stunts bring focus and additional shine to those actions. So what approach, discipline, and stunt make the most sense in your situation? Well, glad you asked. f a s p e cts ar e th e b eati n g h eart o f eve ry

APPROACHES Approaches are the “how.” Each character has six of these stats— Careful, Clever, Flashy, Forceful, Quick, and Sneaky—and each one represents a different way to act. They’re each assigned a die from to . The bigger the die, the more effective the character tends to be when they take that approach to an action of some kind. Every Demon Hunter has the same initial assortment of dice, but the player chooses which dice go where during Demon Hunter recruitment (page 50). Here’s what each approach die means:

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Mediocre. You’re really not cut out for this. Fair. You can pull this off if you need to. Good. No sweat, you’ve got this. Great. You can do this without even thinking abou t it. Superb. You’re pretty much the living embodime

nt of this.

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In the following sections, each approach is described with the benefit of examples. Note that every approach has an opposite approach, which can give you a hint of the sort of outcome that might happen if your Demon Hunter fails when using the approach. For example, if you’re trying to be Quick and fail, you probably hesitated to think about something or took too much time because of some detail that caught your eye—things associated with when you’re being Careful.

Careful This covers paying attention to detail and taking enough time to do something right. Example: Making sure all of the candles in a complex ritual are properly arranged and lit; spending time reviewing a Brotherhood training video on the mating cycles of demon moths; painstakingly reproducing a 16th century manuscript about werelemurs while a battle rages outside.

• A Careful action is a deliberate action. • When you take this approach, you’re trying to make sure nothing unexpected happens. • If you have the Careful approach at or higher, you’re probably a perfectionist or really, really cautious. • Careful is the opposite of Quick.

Clever This deals with thinking fast, solving problems, and accounting for complex variables. Example: Figuring out the missing stanza in a magic ritual; remembering the weakness of a Peruvian leopard-man; assessing an opponent for their crucial weak point.

• A Clever action is a smart action. • When you take this approach, you’re using the resources available to you in the best, most efficient way possible despite external pressures. • If you have the Clever approach at or higher, you’re a genius or just know what you have on hand and what to do with it in a pinch. • Clever is the opposite of Forceful. 94

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Flashy This is drawing attention to yourself, using style and panache, and being showy and obvious. Example: Getting all eyes on you while your allies sneak around the back; telling a convincing bald-faced lie with gusto; delivering an inspiring speech before a suicide mission.

• A Flashy action is a conspicuous action. • When you take this approach, you’re the center of attention. • If you have the Flashy approach at or higher, you’re loud, memorable, and people always seem to notice you, or at least the things you do. • Flashy is the opposite of Sneaky.

Forceful This involves using brute strength, pushing through obstacles, and taking the direct route. Example: Punching a werewolf’s lights out; ripping a chunk of wires out of a fuse box; blocking an incoming barrage of bullets with a trash can lid.

• A Forceful action is an assertive action. • When you take this approach, you care less about finesse and caution and more about pushing something to its limits. You just want to get it done, dammit. or higher, • If you have the Forceful approach at you’re probably bull-headed, stubborn, and used to getting your way. • Forceful is the opposite of Clever.

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Quick This is moving with speed, being nimble and agile. Example: Getting across a warehouse in time to catch a falling crate of glass dishes; outrunning a rhinoceros-demon on the plains of Kenya; avoiding a death trap blade before it cuts you in half.

• A Quick action is a fast action. • When you take this approach, you’re not worrying about anything but the speed at which you do something and the desire to skirt around all obstacles. • If you have the Quick approach at or higher, you’re spontaneous, quick to make decisions, and always ready to get moving. • Quick is the opposite of Careful.

Sneaky This is using misdirection, stealth, or deceit. Example: Slipping unnoticed into a busy downtown police station; pocketing a precious gold amulet without anyone in the museum seeing you; getting someone to reveal their password while engaging in casual conversation about their personal life.

• A Sneaky action is a subtle action. • When you take this approach, you’re trying to avoid being seen, heard, or recorded, or at the very least connected to the outcome of the action you’re taking. or higher, • If you have the Sneaky approach at you blend in with the background, keep to yourself, and put as little of yourself out into the world as possible. • Sneaky is the opposite of Flashy.

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DISCIPLINE DICE

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COMMENT

Untrained. You have no idea what you’re doing , but what the hell. Trained. You know just enough to get by. You’re comfortable doing this.

Expert. You do this for a living. This is second natur e to you. Master. You’re one of the best in the field. You’re known for this in the Brotherhood. Grandmaster. You’re one of the best in the world . You’re known for this even outside the Brotherhood.

DISCIPLINES Disciplines are the “what.” They’re pretty much broad skill-sets, and each character has three disciplines they’ve got some history or proficiency with. They’re rated at , , and . Here’s what each discipline level means: If a player character doesn’t have a listed discipline, it defaults to Untrained . This lets most people at least try something. Very few Demon Hunters demonstrate a level in a discipline, but it can come with experience. The Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch org structure defines five core disciplines for their operatives and agents. Every chapter has agents who are specialized in one or more of these fields of activity in the battle against soul-sucking wickedness. These core disciplines are Combat & Tactics, Covert Operations, Mystic Arts, Research & Design, and Social Engineering. In the following sections, each discipline is explored in more detail, giving you an idea what being an Expert, Master, and Grandmaster typically grants you in terms of broad skill sets, and also suggesting some discipline aspects that might be appropriate to take.

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Combat & Tactics (C&T) Engaging in violence and tactical operations. This is the discipline used in almost every conflict designed to inflict physical harm on an opponent. You use this for shooting guns, kicking ass, using small unit tactics, shooting big guns, engaging in close-combat violence, shooting even bigger guns… you get the idea. Trained: You spend time in the shooting range, or at a martial arts dojo, or playing a heck of a lot of military-themed first person shooters. You’ve got what you’d consider the basic fundamentals down, even if you’re not at the level of a professional. Expert: This is the level of a professional soldier or member of the armed forces, or a dedicated lifelong student of close-combat techniques or martial arts. You’ve got a solid grasp on weapons use and predominant military theory on delivering the smackdown in the shortest time possible. Master: You’re one of the top ranking combatants in the Brotherhood, somebody the Council and other high-ups recognize as a clear and present threat to Evil. You probably know several different martial arts; you’re intimately familiar with numerous guns, knives, staves, explosives, and other tools of mayhem. Grandmaster: There are few of you in the world, few enough that you are regarded as a peerless fighter by anyone who engages in professional violence. Your fame and skill is widely known outside of the Brotherhood, or spoken of in hushed whispers, a legend in your own time.

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Covert Operations (CO) Practicing intelligence, spy-craft, and espionage. This is the discipline used for all forms of subterfuge and espionage from heists to hacking, capers to counter-terrorism. You use this for getting into places—real or virtual—and getting out again, without anyone seeing or knowing you did it. It also covers secrets, both yours and others, and what to do about them. Trained: You’re here courtesy of a healthy childhood playing hide and seek (okay, and perhaps an unhealthy teenhood spent ducking out to party while keeping your ‘rents none the wiser). You’re skilled in all the basics of sneaking about, staying alert, using listening devices, opening locks, and other day-to-day covert activities those outside of the espionage business think the espionage business is all about, even if it isn’t. Expert: This is the level of a professional covert agent working for any of various intelligence agencies. You know the ins and outs of the spy business—more than the civilian world knows—and can easily use the standard list of tricks and techniques. Master: You’re one of the top covert operatives in the Brotherhood, which means they tap you for those missions requiring secrecy, stealth, intelligence, and information gathering. Since this is the modern era, it also includes all of that scary deep internet stuff and tracing ISPs and the works. Grandmaster: Nobody in the world is at your level. Or at least, you don’t know who they are, because that’s how good you are and how good they are. Regardless, you’re the absolute top rung in spy stuff. You’re practically a ghost in the system.

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Mystic Arts (MA) Understanding the use of magic and related occult phenomena. This is the discipline used by magical practitioners and those who use the various cosmic forces that occasionally align with human ambition. It does not cover being a supernatural creature—that’s a Fringe discipline—but with magical assets and supernatural activity being such a central focus of the Brotherhood, it acts as a core discipline in its own right. Having a or higher probably means you can use magic in some fashion, so dig into M ag i c an d M ystici s m (page 143) for more information about that.

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Trained: Congratulations, you’ve been around enough magic and weird stuff that you’ve put two and two together and successfully arrived at purple. At this degree of proficiency you can talk with some authority about the basics of how the world of mysticism and the supernatural really works. You may even recognize spells and rituals when you see them, or understand the difference between a yeti and a sasquatch, or carry a toolkit of common remedies to basic hexes just in case. There’s a good chance you’re also conversant in world religions, occult conspiracies, fringe phenomena, and own a huge collection of New Age books. Expert: This is the level of a practicing sorcerer, witch, houngan, ceremonial magician, cultist, or exorcist. You’ve used magic at least in some fashion before with success, even if it was purely external and you relied on artifacts and relics to do the heavy lifting. You’ve got a magical or religious tradition that you’ve scored some rank in, and it’s one you default to in most cases. This could mean that you ignore other ways to get things done in the mystic world, or have prejudices and capital O opinions on them, but who cares, right? Master: You’ve risen above the rest of those journeyman sorcerers and nut jobs and achieved the status of being one of the top magical operatives in the Brotherhood. You’re able to draw on multiple magical traditions, though rarely at the same time. You’ve contributed to the body of occult lore that exists in the world and can name-drop the greats without skipping a beat. Grandmaster: You’re one of the most talented and learned magicians in the world, part of an inner circle of practitioners that includes immortal adepts, worldwide cult leaders, and the movers and shakers of what’s mystic. You cast spells without even thinking about it, sometimes. You should probably watch that, but then that’s what acolytes and apprentices are for.

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Research & Development (R&D) Knowing how science and technology work. This discipline handles everything connected to gadgets, gizmos, and the theories behind how they all work. It paints with a pretty broad brush because we’re less concerned about specific scientific skills and fields than we are about using science—mad or not—as a tool against Evil, or stopping it when it’s a tool used by Evil. As such, roll R&D whenever your Demon Hunter’s trying to figure out something technical, computer-related, or scientific, and don’t sweat the details too much. For more on the science that reaches beyond what’s commonly accepted, refer to M ad S ci e nce (page 163). Trained: You’ve always been a science nerd, and you have the science fair medals to prove it. This indicates you’ve got at least college-level education in the sciences, or you’ve spent enough time pulling apart and re-assembling computers, gadgets, and devices that you’re pretty sure you can handle yourself in a lab or a workshop. Expert: This is the level of a professional scientist, technician, or engineer. You spend time in tech circles, disappear for days in a lab or at conferences, and are acquainted with at least one primary scientific field whether it’s electronics, computer science, physics, biology, or chemistry. If you need to, you can kit bash something that gets the job done and know more than just how to look it up on the internet. Master: You’re one of the top scientific minds in the Brotherhood. You’re probably also a little more of a mad scientist than a conventional one, because at this level you realize there’s so much more to science and technology than what the academic journals dare to publish. And that’s fine, because the Brotherhood’s been using mad scientists for years. Grandmaster: Tycho Brahe, Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Victor Frankenstein…amateurs! Well, not really, but you’ve got the worldwide reputation and infamy that you can say something like that with confidence. There are only a handful of big brains like yours, and some of them are already in jars. Also, did you not know that about Steve Jobs?

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Social Engineering (SE) Figuring out how others think, behave, and react. In the absence of standard rules on diplomacy, charm, and charisma, we present the many-headed beast that is the Social Engineering discipline. This discipline is for all things social, whether it’s manipulating others, leading others, fooling others, or figuring others out. It’s the discipline of sociology, psychology, neurolinguistic programming, brainwashing, interrogation, and con artistry. Like R&D, we’re less concerned with the distinctions between these fields and more about how you can use your understanding of human nature to create change in your social environment. Trained: You were probably class president in school, or at least one of the more popular kids in whatever clique you hung out in. As an adult, you’ve got the gift of the gab, the social intelligence to win friends and influence people. It hasn’t gone too much further than that, but it’s a helpful back-up to whatever else you’re good at. Expert: You’re the equivalent of a professional politician, toplevel sales executive, grifter, actor, or huckster. You understand what people really want and can get them to do what you want. It’s not like you have mind control; you just have the experience and natural talent that lets you figure out what it would take for someone to follow your lead. Master: You’re one of the Brotherhood’s most talented leaders, even if you’re not currently in a leadership position. Many within the Brotherhood look up to you for help in managing the nuances of social situations. You can read somebody’s body language and behavior like a book. You’re capable of being a social chameleon, fitting in where others wouldn’t. Grandmaster: You’re one of the most influential people in the world, albeit one who operates from behind the scenes. You work on a macro and micro level, watching whole nations dance with one another while you convince that guy in the bar to open up about his criminal contacts. There are few people who are as plugged into the chaos and clamor of society as you are.

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The Fringe Discipline Using your weird abilities and powers to do things nobody else can do, as well as things other people can do better. Fringe is a catchall group that covers all manner of non-human, super-human, and meta-human talents. If a Demon Hunter is some kind of supernat, such as a vampire or a werewolf or a Cipher, they have a Fringe discipline that covers all of the things they can do as that kind of supernat (in other words, Vampire, Werewolf, and Cipher, respectively). A Fringe discipline can be used in place of one or more of the core disciplines in situations where it would make sense to use it. If you don’t have a or better in a Fringe discipline, you’re not considered to have it at all, not even at a Untrained level. You should only choose a Fringe discipline if you really want to make being some kind of supernat or weird character a central part of your Demon Hunter. You don’t have to have one, even if your character is, say, a werewolf; you can use stunts and your Concept or Trouble aspects, especially if being weird isn’t such a big deal for you. However, using a Fringe discipline offers you the flexibility to switch it out for other disciplines when those disciplines would normally be the only option (like using Vampire instead of Covert, or Lycanthrope instead of Combat & Tactics), and lets you use a discipline aspect instead of your Concept or Trouble aspects to reflect your weirdness. Most Fringe disciplines also provide a good explanation to create stunts that further enhance or accentuate your approaches. Again, you probably don’t need to have a Fringe discipline to do this, but it adds extra weight to your Demon Hunter’s range of abilities as a supernat when using disciplines, approaches, aspects, and stunts together. A good rule of thumb is this: are you a human with special talents, abilities, or weird things that have happened to you? Or are you something other than human, trying to adapt to human society? If it’s the latter, go with Fringe.

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Example: You’re recruiting a new Demon Hunter for an upcoming game. You’re thinking it’d be cool to have a werewolf, but you don’t want to go all-in and give him a Werewolf discipline to represent it. Instead, you consider giving him the Concept aspect ThirdGeneration Werewolf and leaving it at that. During play, you could invoke the aspect to add faith dice to actions where being a werewolf would help you. However, on further reflection, you think you’d like it to also be the key to opening up more aspects and stunts later on in the game, so you go ahead and assign your to it as a Werewolf discipline.

Trained: Either you tried to suppress your innate supernat abilities, or they’ve been suppressed for you. At this level, you have powers and abilities ordinary people do not have, but your skill at using them to do more than basic things is limited. Expert: This is the level of a mature, fully expressed, or otherwise standard individual of your supernatural background. In other words, your basic vampire, werewolf, Cipher, or gill-person, doing whatever they do best, under the usual circumstances. It comes with an understanding of the culture, myths, legends, and other truths and falsehoods about your Fringe background. Master: You’re one of the more advanced, evolved, or skilled supernats of your kind in the Brotherhood. You’re better than the others, either because you’ve accepted your true nature and direct it in the War against Evil, or because somebody experimented on you, or because there just happens to be some kind of next step in supernat evolution and you’re riding that train. However you want to explain it, you’re probably going to use this discipline in place of most of the others you have, but be careful—the outcome of your actions is more than likely going to pivot more on your supernat nature than anything else, failures included. Grandmaster: If there’s some kind of grand council of elders that your kind belongs to, you belong to it. That, or they’re too afraid of you to let you join it. At this level, you’re one of the most capable and powerful examples of your heritage in the world, and while that’s likely not public knowledge, it’s certainly hidden knowledge among the occult underground.

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Examples of Fringe Disciplines What follows are some examples of Fringe disciplines connected to the sort of supernatural freaks the Brotherhood likes to recruit. You can use these to help recruit a new Demon Hunter quickly and with less muss and fuss. Each has a list of suggested aspects as well as two sample stunts. You can, of course, come up with alternatives to all of these. Cipher

The Cipher is a vital element of every chapter in the Brotherhood, acting as their connection to the Brotherhood database via the NecroMoniComSat uplink. As an artificial person, the Cipher is often treated as equipment by rookies and noobs, but experienced Demon Hunters know the truth: a Cipher is a self-aware, independent, autonomous android individual possessed of certain rights and responsibilities. Of course, many of them are glitchy as hell, especially the batch constructed in Oaxaca. Those Ciphers are off the charts. Suggested Aspects: Impervious Walking Database; Don’t Know My Own Strength; Plugs Into Anything; Full-Spectrum Optics; Glitchy Social Interface. Android Body: Because I have an android body, I can mark off 2 extra mild conditions and I am never hungry or tired. Connected to the Brotherhood Database: Because I am connected to the Brotherhood database, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create information-based advantages for myself and my chapter. Faerie

The Fae are the elfin people we all read about in stories as children, except they’re actually more like incarnate nature spirits possessed of volatile emotions and a penchant for playing pranks on mortals. The Brotherhood welcomed some hybrids and half-breeds, or Changelings, into their midst, seeing value in their perspective on the ongoing battle against the malicious forces of the universe. Also, many of them are just too attractive and too unstable to be allowed out in the world without supervision. Otherwise they end up on reality television and warp the minds of millions.

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Suggested Aspects: Allergic to Cold Iron; Blood of Trolls and Giants; Friend of the Forest; Gift of Gab; Light-Hearted and Light-Fingered. Luck of the Leprechauns: Because I have the luck of the leprechauns, I gain +2 when I Flashily defend against physical attacks, traps, or hazards. Speed of the Sprites: Because I have the speed of the sprites, once per session I can show up in a scene that I wasn’t already in no matter where I was before. Lycanthrope

It’s a common mistake to think all lycanthropes are werewolves. The condition also includes weretigers, werebears, wererats, and weregoats, all of whom have had representation in the Brotherhood at one point or another. Okay, yes, it’s mostly werewolves. The Brotherhood usually inhibits the hardcore beast-strength of lycanthropes with pharmaceuticals and other methods, keeping most of them at a or less in their Fringe discipline. Once in a while, though, one of them proves a lot more resistant to the procedure and watch out. Bad dog. Bad, bad dog. Suggested Aspects: Howling Mad; 3rd Generation Skinwalker; Always on the Prowl; Ex-Pound Biker Wolf; Billy Goat Gruff. Lycanthropic Viral Load: Because I have a lycanthropic viral load, once per game session I can roll my approach die twice for an attack or defend action if I have marked off a mild condition related to being hungry, angry, or injured. Nose for Trouble: Because I have a nose for trouble, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create a scent-based advantage in pursuit of my quarry.

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Vampire

Vampirism is a dangerous affliction that has broken up entire families and caused the senseless slaughter of whole villages, but now that we have synthetic blood (Vitamin-V!) and round-the-clock monitoring technology, the vampire menace is over. Ha! Almost had you there. Vampires are still a big problem, but some of them have joined our side with the promise of regular blood-like product and a great dental plan. Being a vampire has plenty of benefits, but being a vampire on the Brotherhood payroll is worth an occasional curfew and psychological screening. Suggested Aspects: Bat-themed Vigilante; Fang-faced and fabulous; I’m a Creature of the Early Evening; No Sparkles on Me; Sanguine and Loving It. Vampiric Vitality: Because I have vampiric vitality, once per conflict I can spend a faith die and roll: on a 1-4, I clear a mild condition; on a 5-6, I clear a moderate condition. Heart-Throb to Young People Everywhere: Because I am a heart-throb to young people everywhere, I gain +2 to Cleverly create an advantage over youthful mortals.

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Approaches, Disciplines, and Stunts

STUNTS Stunts are tricks, maneuvers, or techniques your character has that change how an approach works for your character. Generally this means you get a bonus in certain situations, but sometimes it gives you some other ability or characteristic. A stunt can also reflect specialized, high-quality, or exotic equipment that your character has access to that gives them a frequent edge over other characters. Much like aspects, everyone composes their own stunts. There are two basic templates to guide you in composing your stunts, so you do have something to work from. You can also look through the various pregenerated Demon Hunter profiles in this book for more ideas.

Stunts that Give a Bonus The first type of stunt gives you +2 bonus when you use a certain approach in a certain situation. Use this template: Because I [describe some way that you are exceptional, have a cool bit of gear, or are otherwise awesome], I get +2 when I  [pick one: Carefully, Cleverly, Flashily, Forcefully, Quickly, Sneakily][pick one: attack, defend, create advantages, overcome] when [describe a circumstance].

For example: Synesthete: Because I am a synesthete , I get +2 when I Carefully create information-based advantages when I am present within overwhelming sensory environments. Chimeric Twin: Because I have a chimeric twin, I get +2 when I Cleverly overcome obstacles when I am confronted by scanning equipment, biological tests, or aura reading. World-Class Slam Poet: Because I am a world-class slam poet, I get +2 when I Flashily attack when engaged in a one-on-one battle of wits. Aegis of Thrace: Because I  possess the legendary Aegis of Thrace, I get +2 to Forcefully defend when I use the aegis as a shield against magical effects.

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type for a discipline, in which case the bonus is +1 and there is no required circumstance. For example: Tactile Telekinesis: Because I have tactile telekinesis, I gain +2 when I Carefully create an advantage or overcome an obstacle with loose piles of particulate inorganic matter that I stick my bare hands into. Casino-Famous: Because I am casino-famous, I gain +2 when I Flashily create an advantage or overcome an obstacle inside a casino or gambling hall. Brute Force Brawler: Because I am a brute force brawler, I gain +1 when I Forcefully use Combat & Tactics. Improvisational Prodigy: Because I am an improvisational prodigy, I gain +1 when I Quickly use Research & Development.

Helpful Advice About Stunts for Players and Demon Masters These templates exist to give you an idea of how stunts should be constructed, but don’t feel constrained to follow them exactly if you have a good idea. So long as you and the DM agree on the way the stunt is supposed to work, it should be fine. The biggest danger, in fact, is creating stunts that are so uninteresting that you never use them. Choose stunts you want to use! Also, Demon Masters: make sure you’re aware of what stunts your players have chosen, so that you can ensure there’s at least one or two occasions during most Missions that the circumstances could align to make the stunts useful and fun. There’s no point in having Demon Hunters who can Cleverly defend against cutting wit and mockery if nobody ever uses cutting wit and mockery. Similarly, if players are choosing combat-heavy stunts, that’s a sure sign that they want to be involved in conflicts of a physical nature. Pile them on!

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Stunts that Break the Rules The second type of stunt lets you make something true, do something cool, or otherwise ignore the usual rules in some way. Use this template: Because I [describe some way that you are exceptional, have a cool bit of gear, or are otherwise awesome], once per game session I can [describe something cool you can do].

The list of “cool things you can do” includes either narrative flavor that benefits your Demon Hunter in the game, or some special mechanical benefit that isn’t covered by the other kind of stunt, such as having the ability to take more conditions, being able to reroll dice without spending a faith die, or using a faith die to do something that you normally can’t do with a faith die. For example: Well-Connected: Because I am well connected, once per game session I can find a helpful ally in just the right place. Quick on the Draw: Because I am quick on the draw, once per game session I can choose to go first in a physical conflict. Portal Magician: Because I am an expert in portal magic, once per game session I can show up anywhere I want to, so long as my magical power isn’t blocked or restricted. Armor of the Gods: Because I wear the armor of the gods, I can spend a faith die to soak up physical hits equal to the roll of the die before I have to mark off a condition. Mad Scientist Toolkit: Because I have a mad scientist toolkit, once per session I can come up with some gadget or gizmo to get rid of one situation aspect.

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Outcomes, Actions, and Demon Dice

N

ow it ’ s ti m e to start d oi ng som eth i ng .

Y ou n e e d to leap from one moving gondola car to another. You need to search the entire library for that spell you desperately need. You need to distract the cultist so you can sneak into the weird temple at the end of the street. How do you figure out what happens? First you narrate what your Demon Hunter is trying to do. Your Demon Hunter’s own aspects provide a good guide for what you can do. If you have an aspect that suggests you can perform magic, then cast that spell. If your aspects describe you as a swordsman, draw that blade and have at it. These story details don’t have additional mechanical impact. You don’t get a bonus from your magic or your sword, unless you choose to spend a faith die to invoke an appropriate aspect. Often, the ability to use an aspect to make something true in the story is bonus enough! How do you know if you’re successful? Often, you just succeed, because the action isn’t hard and nobody’s trying to stop you. But if failure provides an interesting twist in the story, or if something unpredictable could happen, you need to break out the dice.

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TL;DR: TAKING ACTION 1. Describe what you want your Demon Hunter to do. See if someone or something can stop you. 2. Decide what action you’re taking: create an advantage, overcome, attack, or defend. 3. Pick your approach die and your discipline die. 4. Decide whether to invoke one or more aspects to add faith dice. 5. Roll your dice. 6. Decide whether to invoke one or more aspects to reroll your approach or discipline dice or risk using demon dice. 7. Figure out your outcome, adding any bonuses from stunts and other sources.

OUTCOMES Roll your dice. Compare the roll to your opposition, which is either a fixed opposition number or the result of the DM’s roll for a DMC. Based on that comparison, your outcome is: • You fail if your total is less than the opposition. • You succeed if your total is equal to or greater than the opposition. • You succeed with style if your total is at least five greater than the opposition. Sometimes this is all the information you need. Wanted to do a thing? Roll the dice. Success? Okay, you did the thing, the game moves on. Fail? You didn’t do it, and so now you need to try something different. Success and failure are fairly transparent outcomes if you know going in what’s at stake. To handle more complicated actions, we’re talking about contests and conflicts; those have a chapter all their own: C halle ng e s , C onte sts , an d C on f licts (page 125). If you aren’t happy with your outcome, you can roll demon dice to add to your total. However, this always comes with a cost—sometimes immediately and sometimes later down the road. If you roll a 1 on any demon dice, that cost will be higher and probably more immediate. See page 121 for more on costs.

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SETTING THE OPPOSITION The DM gets to figure out how hard things are, but it’s good for players to have a sense of how that works. It’s more of an art than a science to set the level of opposition for an action. If there’s a DMC opposing a Demon Hunter’s actions, then it’s a simple case of rolling dice for them (such as a defend action or a conflict, contest, or challenge—see page 125). When the opposition is the environment or just a general sense of risk, the DM needs to set an opposition number that makes the most sense. Low opposition numbers are best when you want to give the Demon Hunters a chance to show off and be awesome. An opposition near the average of their higher approach + discipline dice is best when you want to provide tension but not overwhelm them. High opposition numbers are best when you want to emphasize how freaking bad or messed up the circumstances are and make them drop everything and grab for those demon dice just to keep things above water. • If the task isn’t very tough at all: give it a 5—or just tell the player they succeed without a roll. • If you can think of at least one reason why the task is tough: pick 10. • If the task is extremely difficult: pick 15. • If the task is impossibly difficult: go as high as you think makes sense. The Demon Hunter’s going to have to spend some faith dice, reach for the demon dice, and get lots of help to succeed, but that’s fine. They’re part of a team! Many hands make light work.

SETTING THE OPPOSITION

LEVEL OF OPPOSITION

OPPOSITION NUMBER

Easy

5

Difficult

10

Extremely Difficult

15

Impossibly Difficult

20+* * in increments of 5

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ACTIONS Now that we’ve covered outcomes, we can talk about actions and how the outcomes work with them. So you’ve described what your Demon Hunter is trying to do, and you’ve established that there’s a chance you could fail. Next, figure out what action best describes what you’re trying to do. There are four basic actions that cover anything you do in the game: create an advantage, overcome, attack, and defend.

Create an Advantage Creating an advantage is anything you do to try to help yourself or one of your friends succeed on a future action. Taking a moment to carefully analyze the mechanism holding the Etheric Engram of Ernst Eisenhart together before trying to dismantle it, spending several hours doing research in the Brotherhood’s occult library before you brave the Chamber of Thaumaturgic Tortures, or distracting the cultist who’s trying to sacrifice you so your ally can whack them over the head. The target of your action may get a chance to use the defend action to stop you. The advantage you create lets you do one of the following three things: 116

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TL;DR: ACTIONS & OUTCOMES Create an advantage when creating or discovering aspects Fail: Don’t create or discover an aspect, or you do but your opponent gets the free invocation. Success: Create or discover the aspect, and you or an ally get a free invocation on it. Success with Style: Create or discover the aspect, and you or an ally get two free invocations on it. Create an advantage on an aspect you already know about Fail: You get nothing. Loser. Success: You or an ally get one free invocation on the aspect. Success with Style: You or an ally get two free invocations on the aspect. Overcome Fail: You can choose to fail, or succeed at a serious cost. Success: Whatever you were trying to do, you manage to do it. Success with Style: You succeed and you gain a boost (page 82). Attack Fail: You miss. Success: You attack connects and causes hits (page 137). Success with Style: Your attack connects and causes hits; you either gain a boost or add a to the number of hits, your choice. Defend Fail: Opponent wins. You lose. Take it, whatever it is. Success: Look at your opponent’s action to see what happens. Success with Style: Your opponent doesn’t win and you get a boost.

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• Create a new situation aspect. • Discover an existing situation aspect or another character’s aspect that you didn’t know about. • Take advantage of an existing aspect. If you’re creating a new aspect or discovering an existing one

If you fail: Either you don’t create or discover the aspect at all, or you create or discover it but an opponent gets to invoke the aspect for free. The second option works best if the aspect you create or discover is something that other people could take advantage of (like Shadowy Basement). You may have to reword the aspect to show that it benefits the other character instead of you—work it out in whatever way makes the most sense with the player who gets the free invocation. You can still invoke the aspect if you’d like, but it’ll cost you a faith die. If you succeed: You create or discover the aspect, and you or an ally may invoke it once for free. Write the aspect on an index card or sticky note and place it on the table. You can put a on the card to represent the free invocation (i.e., you can spend that die on the aspect without using your own faith dice). If you succeed with style: You create or discover the aspect, and you or an ally may invoke it twice for free. Usually you can’t invoke the same aspect twice on the same roll, but this is an exception; success with style gives you a big advantage! You can place on the index card to represent the free invocations if you like. If you’re trying to take advantage of an aspect you already know about

If you fail: You don’t get any additional benefit from the aspect. You can still invoke it in the future if you’d like, at the cost of a faith die. If you succeed: You get one free invocation on the aspect for you or an ally to use later. You can place a on the card or note to remind you that you don’t need to spend a faith die to invoke it. If you succeed with style: You get two free invocations on the aspect, which you can allow an ally to use, if you wish. Again, you can place on the card to represent your free invocations.

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Overcome You use the overcome action when you have to get past something that’s between you and a particular goal—picking a lock, getting past a thug standing in front of the only exit, leaping across the gap between rooftops, running from a pack of werewolves hunting you in a forest. Taking some action to eliminate or change an inconvenient situation aspect is usually an overcome action; we’ll talk more about that later. The target of your action may get a chance to use the defend action to stop you. If you fail: You have a tough choice to make. You can simply fail—the door is still locked, the thug still stands between you and the exit, the pack of werewolves is still On Your Tail. Or you can succeed, but at a serious cost—maybe you drop something vital you were carrying as you leap from one rooftop to another or maybe you suffer harm when you land. The DM helps you figure out an appropriate cost. If you used demon dice to get this outcome and you failed, it’s always a failure and comes with a cost on top of that! If you succeed: You accomplish what you were trying to do. The lock springs open, you duck around the thug blocking the door, you land safely on the roof, or you manage to lose the pack of werewolves on your tail. If you succeed with style: As success (above), but you also gain a boost (page 82). That’s a short-term aspect with a free invocation you or an ally can use on your next action.

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Attack Use an attack when you try to harm someone or take them out of the scene, whether physically or mentally—making a flying kick, opening up with an automatic rifle, or yelling a blistering insult with the intent to emotionally traumatize your target. (We’ll talk about this later, but the important thing is: If someone gets hurt too badly, they’re knocked out of the scene.) The target of your attack gets a chance to use the defend action to stop you. If you fail: Your attack doesn’t connect. The target dodges your kick, your shot misses, or your target laughs off your insult. If you succeed: Your attack connects and you deliver hits to your opponent. If you succeed with style: You deliver hits to your opponent and either gain a boost or add a to the number of hits, your choice.

Defend Use the defend action when you’re actively trying to stop someone from doing any of the other three actions—you’re deflecting the punch, trying to stay on your feet, blocking a doorway, and the like. Usually this action is performed on someone else’s turn, reacting to their attempt to attack, overcome, or create an advantage. You may also roll to defend against an attack on someone else, if you can explain why you can. Usually it’s fine if most people at the table agree that it’s reasonable, but you can also point to a relevant situation aspect to justify it. When you do, you’re the poor schmuck who takes the hits. If you fail: You’re on the receiving end of whatever your opponent’s success gives them. If you succeed: Things don’t work out too badly for you. Look at the description of your opponent’s action to see what happens. If you succeed with style: Your opponent doesn’t get what they want, plus you gain a boost. That’s a short-term aspect with a free invocation you or an ally can use on your next action.

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DEMON DICE In the middle of the table is a pile of differently colored six-sided dice called demon dice. You probably only need three of these, as the most any player can use at a time is three, but the DM might end up with a lot more as a result of player actions. The only requirement is that they be a different color from both the players’ approach and discipline dice and the faith dice. Demon dice are a temptation. If a player rolls and doesn’t get enough to succeed, she can take one, two, or three demon dice from the pile and roll them, adding the result to her total. There’s no cost to do this right up front, but everyone’s going to pay for it later. Once they’re used, they are handed to the DM. Demon dice don’t have any immediate effect other than add to the total of the roll, unless the demon die comes up a 1. If this happens, it creates an immediate cost to the player. If the demon die comes up 1 and the player still fails the roll, then their failure is much worse than it would have been otherwise; if the demon die comes up 1 and the player succeeds at the roll, there’s an unexpected cost to their success. The more 1s that come up, the worse things are; if the player rolls three demon dice and all three come up 1, then things are pretty bad indeed for the Demon Hunter in question.

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Costs Some DMs may want the player to narrate just how bad things get when they roll 1s on their demon dice. Others may prefer to do this themselves. The players and DM should agree to how this will work before the game starts. It can be fun to describe your own bad stuff, but not everyone enjoys this side of the game. Serious Costs vs. Minor Costs

Most of the time, a cost resulting from rolling a 1 on a demon die is a minor cost. It’s an inconvenience or an annoyance or makes life uncomfortable for the Demon Hunter. Serious costs are worse: they last longer, or affect more people, or alter the situation in a powerful way. Here are some examples of minor costs that might be applied when players roll those 1s. For each demon die that comes up 1, choose one of the following, or increase the severity of one of them to a serious cost. Foreshadow some imminent peril: You shut down the corrupted NecroMoniSatCom uplink, but you’re pretty sure that black hat hacker had just enough of a glimpse through the Cipher’s eyes to know your current location. Introduce a new wrinkle: You’ve found the Bathsheba Scrolls in the dusty back acres of the Warehouse, but you hadn’t counted on them being sealed with Solomon’s own spells of warding. Now what? Present the player with a tough choice: Throwing the reagents together that you found in the dark wizard’s storage unit, you think you’ve prepared a viable counter-spell. Problem is, you only have enough to protect you and two of your three friends. Who’s going to have to go without? Place an aspect on the Demon Hunter or the scene: Good news, you sniffed out the trail to the chupacabra’s foul lair! Bad news, now you’re covered in Chupacabra Crud. Good luck getting that stink out. Give a DMC a boost: Even though that was a solid roundhouse kick to the mad scientist’s solar plexus, you’ve put yourself in an

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awkward position. Assuming he can fight off the pain, he’s got you right in the sights of his Dehydration Cannon. Mark off one of the Demon Hunter’s mild conditions: This is something of a cheese to drop on a player, but in the absence of anything else, you can just outright hand over some harm. You can either mark off a mild condition (or a moderate one if you’re stepping up the severity of the cost to a serious cost) or roll a and apply the result as hits ( for a serious cost).

The Demon Master and Demon Dice The DM gets to use demon dice to activate aspects and stunts on his DM characters, as well as roll them for more widespread effects and badness. This is called a badness roll and its effects can vary from session to session. The DM picks up one or more of his demon dice and rolls them. An example badness roll table follows. You can put together your own badness table by loading it up with costs, stunt-like effects, or just narrative flavor that changes the scene a lot. It’s best to set those benchmarks as 1+, 4+, 8+, and 12+ unless you just love making tables in your spare time. Remember, when the DM uses demon dice, they go back into the center of the table, unless the DM rolls a 1 on a demon die. This is identical to what happens when players roll a 1 on their faith dice. There’s no limit to the number of demon dice the DM can have, but it’s always a maximum of three demon dice per player per action attempted.

E VER GENERIC

DIE

1+ 4+ 8+ 12+

DNE YDAY BA COMMEN

SS

T

and get a n aspect o ti a tu si ew r minion Create a n d anothe d a r o r it n ndition o ation o lears a co free invoc c s n io in n itio of his m off a cond uy or one ust mark m rs The bad g te n u H t e Demon ct and ge one of th tion aspe a tu guy si w e b other ad Create a n or add an it n o the s n vocatio ditions or ar all con two free in le c s n io ion min ff a condit uy and his all mark o The bad g st u m rs unte Demon H 123

ChApter 7

Challenges, Contests, and Conflicts

Y

D e mon H u nte rs : A C o m e dy o f T e r ro rs just using the basic action rules. Many things can be decided based on a success, failure, or success with style, whether it’s smashing your way into a secret mad scientist installation, grabbing the attention of a trio of vampire cops, or solving a Rubik’s Cube. But often during a Mission you’ll be placed into situations where a single roll isn’t going to cut it. You need to make multiple rolls, with multiple instances of catastrophe or triumph, and multiple chances to score faith dice. ou can p lay e nti re s e s s ion s of

We break down these multi-action sequences into three major groups: challenges, contests, and conflicts. Let’s explore all three of these in great detail, shall we? Yes, we shall.

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CHALLENGES Usually, when you want to do something straightforward—swim across a raging river, hack someone’s cell phone—all you need to do is make one overcome action against an opposition that the DM assigns. You look at your outcome and go from there. But sometimes things are a little more complex. A challenge is a series of overcome and create an advantage actions that you use to resolve an especially complicated situation. Each action deals with one task or part of the situation, and you take the individual results together to figure out how the situation resolves. To set up a challenge, decide what individual tasks or goals make up the situation, and treat each one as a separate overcome roll. Depending on the situation, one character may be required to make several rolls, or multiple characters may be able to participate. DMs, you don’t have to announce all the stages in the challenge ahead of time—adjust the steps as the challenge unfolds to keep things exciting. Some Demon Hunters might decide to help out with create an advantage rolls instead, trusting that the others in the chapter can use the boosts from this to succeed enough for the challenge. The only downside to this is that those who fail to create an advantage may make things worse—the DM can use a failure to implement a brand-new step to overcome before the challenge is considered resolved. Example: The Demon Hunters, including Anti-Tank Sally and Bijou, are evacuating coastal Maine from an approaching storm of demonic proportions. Unable to simply shoot the storm to bits or magic away the infernal winds, they decide to try to get all of the mundanes out of the storm’s path. The DM suggests this sounds like a challenge. Steps in resolving this challenge could be: • Organizing a fleet of transport vehicles, like school buses and moving trucks • Keeping hundreds of locals calm in the face of Armageddon • Getting the population onto the buses and away as the first rains and gales make landfall

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The Demon Master assigns standard oppositions of 10 to the first and third actions, but a 15 to the middle one, because the storm is already freaking them all out. Anti-Tank Sally’s player decides to help the others by Quickly using R&D to create an advantage: she’s repairing a number of junker vehicles in a nearby bus depot, hoping to make things move faster. Bijou’s player tries to Sneakily use Mystic Arts to create an advantage, a fear-dispelling ritual to calm down the population. Together with the two new aspects Junker Bus Fleet and Bijou’s Rite of Calm Emotions, the Demon Hunters are ready to take on all three steps of the challenge and evacuate Maine!

TL;DR: CHALLENGES 1. Figure out what tasks or goals make up the situation and use an overcome roll for each. 2. Decide who’s assisting with each roll. How are they helping? 3. Determine if any aspects can help or get in the way. 4. Choose & roll your approach and discipline dice; roll faith dice if you want, and you can add appropriate free invocations. 5. Figure out your outcome. 6. Decide if you want to risk any demon dice to modify your roll and affect your outcome. Think carefully about that!

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CONTESTS When two or more Demon Hunters or DMCs are competing against one another for the same goal, but not directly trying to hurt each other, you have a contest. Examples include a bicycle chase through the New York Public Library, a lively religious debate, or a tabletop card game tournament. A contest proceeds in a series of exchanges. In an exchange, you and every participant take one overcome action to determine how well you do in that leg of the contest. Compare your result to everyone else’s. If you got the highest result: you win the exchange and score a victory (which you can represent with a tally or check mark on scratch paper) and describe how you take the lead. If you succeed with style, you mark two victories. If there’s a tie: no one gets a victory, and an unexpected twist occurs. This could mean several things, depending on the situation—the terrain or environment shifts somehow, the parameters of the contest change, or an unanticipated variable shows up and affects all the participants. The DM creates a new situation aspect reflecting this change and puts it into play. The first participant to achieve three victories wins the contest. Example: Gabriel has challenged Belphigor, a demon, to a drinking contest for the fate of the entire US Congress. Gabriel would have preferred to pass this one over to Wolf, but no luck. For the contest, Gabe’s going to Carefully use Covert Ops to overcome the toxicity

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of the infernal brew on tap. The DM just rolls Belphigor’s Overcome action dice. • First Exchange: Gabriel gets a 10. Belphigor gets a 12. Belphigor scores a victory. • Second Exchange: Gabriel gets a 9, Belphigor gets a 13. It’s looking bad for Gabriel, so he grabs a demon die and rolls it, for a new total of 14. He scores a victory. • Third Exchange: Gabriel gets an 8, Belphigor gets an abysmal 2. Gabe succeeded with style because he beat Belphigor’s result by 5 or more, so that’s two victories. Gabriel drinks Belphigor under the table!

TL;DR: CONTESTS 1. All participants make one overcome action and compare the results. 2. If you got the highest result, you win the exchange and score a victory (page 128). Describe how you take the lead. If you succeed with style, mark two victories and describe how you very awesomely take the lead. 3. If there’s a tie, no victories are scored and an unexpected twist occurs. 4. If you’re the first to achieve 3 victories, YOU WIN!

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CONFLICTS A conflict resolves a situation where people are trying to harm one another. It could be physical harm (a gunfight, a mystic’s duel, two Ciphers facing off over the local area network), but it could also be mental harm (a shouting match, a tough interrogation, a magical psychic assault). There are a lot of conflicts when on Missions, because there are a lot of Very Bad Things that need to be Very Badly Taken Down. It’s for your own good that you spend a little time reading up on what tactical operations look like.

TL;DR: CONFLICTS 1. Set the scene. 2. Figure out who gets to go first (page 133). 3. Begin the exchange (page 134). a. On your turn, take an action (full defense = +2 to all defend actions). b. On someone else’s turn, defend against or respond to their actions when it makes sense to do that. 4. The player who just went chooses who goes next, until every character has had a chance to act. 5. Last character to act in the round chooses who starts the next round. 6. Rinse & repeat until the conflict is over. 7. The conflict ends when only one side has any characters left in the fight.

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Setting the Scene Establish what’s going on, where everyone is, and what the environment is like. Who—or what—are you up against? The DM should write a couple of situation aspects on sticky notes or index cards and place them on the table. Players can suggest situation aspects, too. Good candidates for situation aspects include: • The general environment or mood of the scene • Things that can be thrown, tipped over, or smashed • Things that can be hidden behind or used as cover • Things that affect how easy or hard it is to move around in the scene Example: A fight in a coffee shop might have situation aspects like Hot Coffee, Wooden Furniture, Shelves of Coffee Mugs, and Hipster Vibe. These aspects may all be invoked or endured when a battle takes place inside the location.

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The DM also establishes zones, loosely defined areas that tell you where characters are. You determine zones based on the scene and the following guidelines: • If it’s a relatively small area, like a warehouse, an office filled with cubicles, or a basketball court, you can get away with using only one or two zones. Split the area in half, assign a zone each to different elevations, or just don’t worry about it. • If it’s an area where the action could break into several distinctive places, then use anywhere from three to five zones. For example, you could assign every room in an apartment or house to a zone, as well as the outside. Or maybe you’re thinking about a battle on board a sailing ship in the harbor, and divide it into four zones: the main deck, below decks, the captain’s quarters, and the top of the mast. • If it’s more than five zones, consider breaking it into two separate scenes, or hand wave some of the movement so that you don’t have to worry about big distances between the Demon Hunters and other threats and opponents, effectively condensing zones down a little for expedience. Generally, you can interact with other characters in the same zone—or in nearby zones, if you can justify acting at a distance (for example, if you have a ranged weapon or magic spell). You can move one zone for free. An action is required to move if there’s an obstacle along the way, such as someone trying to stop you, or if you want to move two or more zones. It sometimes helps to sketch a quick map to illustrate zones. For example: A bunch of ninja vampires looking for a meal attack the Demon Hunters in a coffee shop. The main room is one zone, the kitchen another, the street out front another, and the parking lot behind the coffee shop a fourth. Anyone in the same zone can easily throw punches at each other. From the main room, you can throw things at people in the kitchen or move into the kitchen as a free action, unless the doorway is blocked. To get from the main room to the street out front or the parking lot requires an action.

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Determine Turn Order In a conflict, the turn order—the order in which each participating Demon Hunter and DMC takes their actions—flows organically. The first character to act is usually clear from the outset; if your Demon Hunter initiates the conflict by charging into a room full of goat-headed monsters, sword drawn, shouting death to abominations, then you’re going to take the first action. In some cases, it’s not as clear as that. In that case, you can go in order of the highest discipline that’s relevant to the conflict (usually it’s Combat & Tactics, but it could be Mystic Arts if it’s a magical duel, or Social Engineering if it’s a battle of wits). DMCs can use either their own relevant disciplines if they have them, or (in the case of minor DMCs) their highest relevant action die (attack, defend, create an advantage, or overcome). The player whose Demon Hunter went first then gets to choose which character goes next, either another Demon Hunter or DMC. The turn order continues like this—the player or DM who controls whichever character is active chooses another character, until every character has had a chance to act. Mobs of mooks or similar groupings act as one character for this purpose. Once everyone has acted, this marks the end of the round. The player of the last Demon Hunter to act (or the DM, if her DMC went last) chooses who starts the next round. This continues until the conflict is resolved. Note: It’s generally a bad idea to just let the DM go last. Since the person who goes last chooses who goes first at the start of the next round, the DM’s likely to just nominate her own DMCs to go first, which can double up the hurt that she throws at you. Having the DM go early on gives your team time to put together some great combos in response. Example: The DM rules that the ninja vampires might ordinarily get the drop on the Demon Hunters, but R.M. (Omega Fifteen’s resident reformed vampire) probably sensed them before they burst in, so she has R.M.’s player go first. The DM could have used Covert Ops as the deciding factor, which in this case would still have given R.M. the first action. If it wasn’t a surprise attack, the DM probably would have gone by Combat & Tactics instead. Once R.M.’s player has taken her action, she can choose another player to go next… or pass the torch along to the ninja vampires. 133

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The Exchange On your turn, your Demon Hunter takes one of the four actions. Resolve the action to determine the outcome. This is called an exchange. Exchanges are a little more complicated than standard actions because there are factors like zones, situation aspects, and the use of combat-related stunts being used all over the place, but at its heart, an exchange is still a single action using an approach and a discipline against an opposition set or rolled by the DM. Demon Masters, you should make good use of the rules for mobs in M i s s ion s , T h reats , an d M ayh e m on page 189, because it makes conflicts move by much faster. Major DMCs and bosses should act independently and have their own turns, but resolving exchanges between the Demon Hunters and groups of cultists or hordes of slavering demons is not only efficient but also cinematic and cool. The conflict is over when only one side has characters still in the fight. Example: On her turn, R.M. gets into an exchange with the mob of ninja vampires. She Quickly uses Combat & Tactics to attack with blinding speed and accuracy, getting a total of 11. The DM rolls a defense for the ninja vampires and curses as the dice reveal a total of 8. Take that, bloodsuckers!

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Full Defense, or Cowering Like a Chump

On your turn, if you’d rather turtle up and avoid being hit, you can forego your action and use a full defense. This grants you a +2 bonus to all of your defend actions against attack or create an advantage actions until your turn comes around again. Total Surprise

If you’re completely surprised by an attack, you can’t even use your normal approach and discipline for a defend action. Instead, you get + . The same is true for any foe who doesn’t know you’re there that you target directly with an attack. Note that this is different from attacking an opponent who hasn’t had their action yet in the turn order. Most of the time, we’re assuming participants in a conflict know there’s something going on, even if they’re not ready to do something about it just yet. Save this for when an opponent is literally clueless about anything and has no valid reason to roll a normal defense.

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Hits and Conditions When you succeed on an attack action, you deliver hits to your opponent. If you opened fire on a guy, the guy takes damage from bullets (or from twisting out of the way and hitting his head on a wall, whatever). If you launched a string of verbal abuse at a guy, the guy becomes insecure or pissed off. If you wrenched the cosmic forces of the universe together into a spell of force blades, the guy… You get the picture. Hits are the outcome of a successful attack action. The number of hits you deliver to an opponent is equal to how much you beat your opponent by. If you succeeded with style, you can either add a boost (page 82) or a worth of additional hits. If you succeed by matching your opponent’s total so the outcome is 0, no hits are delivered. Instead, you get a boost. Essentially, you can describe how the attack didn’t seem to actually penetrate the opponent’s defenses or was a glancing blow, but may have set things up for a bigger hit next time. Conditions are aspects that you take to reflect being seriously hurt in some way. Most Demon Hunters can take up to three mild conditions (5 hits each), two moderate conditions (10 hits each), and one severe condition (15 hits). Stunts can increase the number of conditions you can mark off, in some cases, but otherwise all Demon Hunters work the same. Conditions come with a free invocation, either for the character who dealt the hits that led to the condition being marked, or for an ally of that character. However, you can only use one free invocation on a character’s conditions for any given attack, no matter how many conditions your attack marked off. Unnamed DMCs often have fewer conditions they can mark off, mostly because they’re not as important to the story and you should be able to get rid of them faster than more important bosstype ­villains and bad guys. If you or your opponent can’t absorb enough hits by marking off conditions, or if you run out of conditions to check off, you’re taken out. This is one of the few cases in the game where you no longer have any control over your character’s fate.

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TL;DR: HITS, CONDITIONS, & CONCEDING Hits 1. The severity of the attack (measured in hits) = Attack Roll – Defense Roll 2. If the attack succeeds with style, you can get a boost OR add worth of additional hits. 3. If Attack Roll – Defense Roll = 0, then the attacker gets a boost. Conditions 1. Conditions are aspects you get because of hits. Most Demon Hunters can take up to: 3 mild conditions (5 hits each) 2 moderate conditions (10 hits each) 1 severe condition (15 hits each) 2. The character who dealt you those hits—or their ally—gets a free invocation on the condition(s) they inflicted. 3. If you cannot (or decide you’d rather not) handle hits dealt to you by marking off conditions, you’re taken out. Your opponent decides what happens to you. Recovering from Conditions: Make a recovery action (page 43). If you succeed with style, you can clear two mild or moderate conditions right now. Mild conditions go away at the end of a scene. Moderate conditions go away at the end of the session or sometimes a bit longer. Severe conditions probably stick around to the end of a Mission or even longer. Conceding 1. You can concede the conflict before your opponent rolls their dice. 2. Your opponent gets a major concession from you, but you get a say in what happens to you. 3. Gain 1 faith die for conceding, and 1 faith die for each condition you took in this conflict. Example: Because R.M. succeeded by 3 on her attack against the ninja vampires, she delivers 3 hits. The DM has set this mob up with 5 mild conditions but no moderate or severe conditions, to represent that it’s not going to be too hard to take them out (especially since they need to mark a mild condition every time they take 5 or fewer hits, and multiple mild conditions if they take more). The

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DM marks one mild condition and says the mob is Scattered. R.M. or one of her teammates can invoke that for free next time they attack the mob, just like any other aspect. If R.M. had dealt 6 hits on the mob, the DM would have marked off two conditions instead, but only one of them could have been invoked for free by R.M. or her allies (though she could invoke one and an ally could invoke the other). What Happens When I Get Taken Out?

If you get taken out, you can no longer act in the scene. Whoever takes you out narrates what happens to you. It should make sense based on how you got taken out—maybe you run from the room in shame, or maybe you get knocked unconscious. Sometimes, the result is that you die. This is true most often when the conflict is life-threatening and dangerous, which the DM should probably announce up front. Have no fear! Death isn’t usually permanent in D e mon H u nte rs . Some of our best and brightest agents have come back from oblivion more than once. It does generally mean you’re not playing that Demon Hunter until the next session, so in the meantime maybe the DM can throw a minor character to you to play instead.

Conceding If things look grim for you, you can concede the conflict—but you have to say that’s what you’re going to do before your opponent rolls their dice. This is different than being taken out, because you get a say in what happens to you. Your opponent gets some major concession from you—talk about what makes sense in your situation—but it beats getting taken out and having no say at all. Additionally, you get one faith die for conceding, and one faith die for each condition you took in this conflict. This is your chance to say, “You win this round, but I’ll get you next time!” and get a tall stack of faith dice to back it up. Example: After a number of rounds, and plenty of conditions levied at both sides of the battle between the Demon Hunters and the ninja vampires, Bijou is doing poorly. She’s already marked off two mild conditions and a moderate one, and she’s afraid the next attack will make things worse. On her next action, Bijou concedes

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—she suggests that the vampires get to feed, but they’ll leave her alive. The DM agrees, and Bijou collapses, saying that she collapses from blood loss against one ruined wall in the coffee shop, raising up a cloud of masonry dust. She’s out of the fight, but her player gains one faith die for conceding, and one for each of her three conditions taken in the fight, for a total of four faith dice! Plus, although she can’t do anything until the fight is over, she’s assured that the ninja vampires aren’t going to drain her dry or turn her into a vampire or drag her off to their lair.

Recovering from Conditions As described in T h e B a s i c s (page 33), you make a recovery action to clear your conditions. If the fight is over and the Demon Hunters are somewhere safe, regrouping and patching up their bumps and bruises, you can generally assume the recovery action has taken place and don’t bother rolling for it. Otherwise, or during the fight itself, you have to roll. Recovery actions are approach + discipline rolls just like any other action; they’re a variation of the overcome action, because you use a static opposition (5, 10, or 15, depending on the most severe condition you’ve taken). If you succeed, you can start getting rid of conditions over time. If you succeed with style, you can clear a mild or moderate condition right now and get to the rest later. Each type of condition takes a certain length of time to go away. Mild conditions can be erased once the scene they were marked off in has passed; if the recovery action happens after that scene, then they’re erased immediately. Moderate conditions go away either at the end of a session of play (once the recovery action succeeds), or at the end of the first scene of the next session (in the case that the last session ends in some kind of cliffhanger or the last scene is the post-conflict recovery scene). Severe conditions won’t go away until at least the end of the current Mission, and may persist even longer. You need to reach a major milestone (page 192) to eliminate a severe condition, although the DM should allow the player to rename the condition to something appropriate—and almost entirely negative—once recovery begins. For instance, your Broken Femur may become Leg in a Cast. 140

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Mild conditions create problems for Demon Hunters in the current fight, and moderate conditions create problems for at least one scene after the conflict in which they’re picked up. Severe conditions linger as a handy reminder that you should shoot first, rather than letting the monsters kick your ass. Example: After the battle with the ninja vampires, Bijou rests up in chapter Omega Fifteen’s makeshift medical suite, which isn’t much more than a stretcher, some medical supplies, and an IV or two. The DM decides that she doesn’t need to make a recovery action to start getting better; the two mild conditions are already recovered, but her moderate condition (noted down as Anemic) won’t go away until the end of the current session. If the DM isn’t planning any more scenes for the evening, Bijou’s moderate condition can be erased after the first scene of the next session.

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Chapter 8

Magic & Mentalism

I

t ’ s r i g ht th e r e o n yo u r

D e m o n H u nte r p ro f i le : Mystic Arts. It’s a discipline many Demon Hunters have at least a in, and the Brotherhood has no shortage of talented mystics, will-workers, witches, psychics, and other magic-types in its ranks. It’s tempting to just wave a hand and pretend that all of this works exactly like Combat & Tactics or Covert Ops, that it’s a roll-the-dice-and-done situation, but that’s not always true. Okay, a lot of the time it might not be true. But read on! Here we present the mystic arts in all of its complex finery, for you to make use of as you will, and ignore at your peril. No, seriously, you can probably ignore a lot of it. But when a magus at your table wants to get intense about their training and simulate being a powerful sorcerer supreme or something, you’ll thank us. To make it really simple for you to understand, M ag i c & M e ntali s m is divided into three convenient sub-sections: Ritual Magic: This is probably what comes to mind when you think about magic-using magic people. Ritual magicians are known as mystics. Psychic Abilities: This is all about people who can do things with their minds, including start fires, wreck people’s stuff, and read your thoughts. We call them psychics. Quantum Magicians: This is the Grade A cosmic-level stuff you can’t play, but we’re including here because we feel we probably should. People with these abilities are quantum magicians (AKA deus ex machinae).

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But First a Quick Game System Note Almost everything in the following pages is designed to work cleanly and easily with the standard rules covered earlier. Doing magic stuff still requires you to pick an approach and a discipline to carry out one of the four actions. In fact, that’s really all you need to know, so long as you also read the background text. If you’re not keen to complicate things, stop right there and play it fast and loose. For the most part, you can use the standard rules for ritual magicians casting spells “off the cuff” and for psychics using their special abilities. Make sure that if you’re recruiting a Demon Hunter with these sorts of powers, put a or into Mystic Arts and come up with a good stunt and aspect to pair up with it. You’ll thank us later.

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RITUAL MAGIC There’s nothing special about mystics. Any trained monkey could do their job. The only thing different about them is they know the proper rituals to get the attention of the real magic-workers behind the curtain of reality. It all comes down to sacrifice. These timeless, immortal-types thrive on the stuff. You give up something important, and in return, they’ll do you a favor. The particular brand of sacrifice varies depending on which extra-dimensional bigwig you’re calling on. It might be a sacrifice of wealth or comfort. Devotion. Happiness. Blood. Blood’s a big one, especially with the darker types. If you’re lucky, they’ll just want a cat or a lamb or something. But the big stuff—the big, black, capital-E Evil stuff—that’s when we’re talking human sacrifice. And in return for your sacrifice? Name it! Seriously, there’s pretty much nothing off limits when it comes to magic as long as you’re able to pay the sacrificial cost. Just remember that these guys are big on ritual, so be sure to save time for candles and chanting and dancing around naked. If you manage to screw things up—stutter through the incantations, knock over the sacramental goblet, swap out foxglove for wolfsbane because it was on sale—there’s no telling what sort of hell you’ve got coming your way. Best case, your little magic trick just fizzles out with no effect. Worst case? Ever wonder what really causes spontaneous human combustion?

Off-the-Cuff Magic Using a repertoire of common rituals and techniques, your garden variety mystic draws magical power to them to work their mojo. Like any good chef, a ritual magician can take these tricks and throw something together on the fly. Most mystics also like to carry short-cuts with them in the form of fetishes or magical powders or amulets or the like. These might not actually be worth anything by themselves, but their symbolic and sympathetic relationship to the magic the mystic wants to perform helps channel the power. Ever wonder why wizards use staffs or wands or wear ridiculous outfits? It’s mojo shorthand, baby. So assuming your Demon Hunter mystic is one of these people, someone with a repertoire and a few trinkets to exploit, the only thing usually required when performing an off-the-cuff spell or 145

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magical working is an arcane connection to the desired outcome in the form of a sacrifice or something that represents that sacrifice in a ritualistic way. Mystics often live according to weird codes or taboos precisely for this reason—their lives are full of voluntary sacrifices that they save up so they can point at them with symbolism and ritual to juice the magic whenever it’s needed. Some examples of lived sacrifices include really weird dietary restrictions, never wearing certain colors or fabrics or items of clothing, having to trim your nails every day at sundown and sunrise while half-submerged in custard, that kind of thing. Off-the-cuff magic—i.e., spontaneous or quick-cast magic—is what mystics do when they don’t have time to carry out the entire ritual and bring down the major whammy. It’s limited for the most part to the sort of thing a mystic could do if they had an equivalent piece of technology on hand. Blasting somebody with a gout of magical fire? Well, sure! You could have done that same thing with a flamethrower, and the Brotherhood has those. Flying up onto the roof of a skyscraper? You could have done that with a jet pack or a helicopter. Or, you know, an elevator. Generally, when mystics want to cast spells like this, it involves the Mystic Arts discipline, an appropriate approach (Flashy and Quick are common), and an opposition of at least 10 (or, if there’s a target, the standard opposition the target would use against tech that does the same thing). You don’t need to roll dice first just to see if you can do a thing, and then to see if you can use the thing to do something. If you’re going to launch a bolt of lightning at a dude, the casting of the spell and the direction and targeting of the spell are considered to all be one action. We can cut out the middle man and get right to it. That’s why you took the big die in Mystic Arts to start with, right? There’s a drawback to off-the-cuff magic, though. When it fails, it usually fails badly. The trade off to having ready access to spontaneous wizardry is that the consequence of failure takes the form of mystic backlash, waves of fatigue, weird side effects, actual damage (conditions, etc.), or unwanted outcomes. Demon Masters are encouraged to bring out those demon dice, too, when mystics screw up.

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TL;DR: OFF-THE-CUFF MAGIC Use the Mystic Arts discipline with an appropriate approach, with an opposition of at least 10 If the magic is used against a target, it’s the standard opposition the target would get against tech that would do the same thing If you fail, it’s BAD—the DM may use demon dice, you might take conditions, etc.

Full-Scale Rituals Mystics can hedge many of their bets and save themselves from some awkward backlash by using a properly administered ritual to conduct their magical spells. Also, mystics tend to like doing more than simply blasting a demon with a bolt of lightning or flying around on the wings of magic. Full-scale rituals can accomplish extraordinary reality-breaking things, and as a result need more preparation and time. Rituals can be carried out by a single mystic, a mystic with some non-mystic friends helping out, or a coven (group) of mystics all working together. The procedure is more or less the same, but the effects possible with the increased complexity and size of the ritual are usually much greater and effective. Here’s how it works. For a full-scale ritual, the mystic needs access to the ritual, either committed to memory or written up in a book (or scroll or ancient tablet or computer or whatever). The written or memorized ritual usually includes a long list of things to draw on the ground, candles to light, incantations to recite, things to sacrifice, or strange performances to carry out. Wards are often needed, especially if you plan on actually summoning some entity into your presence to ask them point blank to do some supernatural thing for you. Without protection, you’re just begging to have that entity gobble you up for breakfast. For game purposes, we generally assume you have access to the ritual if you’ve got Mystic Arts or higher. The Demon Master might require you to go out and get it, or draw on some contacts in mystic circles to get it for you. Or perhaps there’s an entire Mission tailor-made for getting rituals like the one you want.

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We don’t provide a list of rituals, but since you’re probably wondering what a ritual can accomplish and how big the opposition is, here are a few handy guidelines. Remember, the opposition for a full-scale ritual is pretty big, so you’ll need a lot of help in carrying out the ritual.

TL;DR: FULL-SCALE RITUALS To cast from a ritual, make an overcome roll using Mystic Arts (typically) and an appropriate approach. Determine the opposition using the Ritual Opposition table or dice (see “Using Dice for Opposition”) Takes a number of hours = (Opposition/5) rounded up or number of dice rolled Can use faith dice, stunts, help from others, and demon dice to make the roll Non-mystic assistants can help: • Each person performs a create an advantage action and hands over the aspect with its free invocation for the mystic to use • If they fail, nothing is added. If they used demon dice and incur consequences, THEY incur the consequences, not the mystic performing the ritual Max number of advantage aspects handed over to help the mystic is the ritual’s opposition divided by 10, rounded up—if opposition is 35, 4 aspects created by helpers can be used. Mystic assistants can help: • Can use the create an advantage action (just like non-mystic assistant), or • Can make an Overcome action to reduce the ritual’s opposition: Overcome action opposition = ½ core ritual opposition (or half the dice rounded up) Can have non-mystic assistants help with their roll Failure: The magic of the core ritual is disrupted. Adds +5 or another die to the core ritual’s opposition. Everyone involved in the ritual marks off a mild condition. Success: Reduce core ritual’s opposition by opposition/5.

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Success with style: As success but can hand over a boost to help the primary mystic. No more than half of the core ritual’s opposition can be reduced. • Roll dice to cast the actual ritual: Failure: Ritual does not go off as planned. Nothing happens (typically). If demon dice were used, however, there’s always some consequence. DM should roll on the Mystic Badness table. Success: The ritual works! Now come the consequences. Demon Masters are encouraged to give the mystics what they wanted in as black and white terms as possible, but there should be consequences. Success with style: Magical whammy! It works really well and you get a new advantage aspect with a free invocation on it for you or anyone who helped you cast the ritual.

RITUAL OPPOSITION VARIABLE

OPPOSITION

Base opposition for ritual

5

Summons a natural creature or being

+5

Summons an otherworldly entity

+10

Summons a god or archdemon

+15

Bends laws of physics

+5

Breaks laws of physics

+10

Tells laws of physics to go f*ck themselves

+15

Affects a single person or self

+0

Affects a small group/area

+5

Affects a large group/area

+10

Affects a city

+15

Affects a country

+20

Affects the world

+25

Brief or immediate effect

+0

Effect lasts a few hours

+5

Effect lasts a few days

+10

Effect lasts a few weeks

+15

Effect lasts a few years

+20

Effect lasts forever

+25

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Using Dice for Opposition As the Demon Master, you can substitute increments of 5, including the base 5 . For example, a ritual that summons an otheropposition, with a single worldly entity into a small area for a few hours has a base of 5, +10 for the summoning, +5 for the area, +5 for the duration, which is a total of 25 or 5d8. Then you add up all of the dice and roll them, adding them together, and the mystic must overcome that opposition. The fun thing with this is that you can get some wildly different opposition totals, making major rituals occasionally easier than the mystic expects and sometimes a bit harder. The not-fun thing with this is that the mystic won’t have a clear idea of just how much opposition to plan for.

Once you have a general idea about how hard the ritual is, confirm the intended outcome of your ritual with the Demon Master. It’s good to be clear what the plan is and also what the potential fall-out might be for screwing it up. Once everything is on the table, you can pull together your resources. Casting the Ritual

Casting a spell from a ritual is an overcome action against the ritual’s opposition. It always takes time, approximately a number of hours equal to the opposition divided by 5 (or the number of dice the DM’s rolling as opposition, if you’re going with that mechanic). Suitable approaches are Careful, Clever, Forceful, and maybe Sneaky. Quick and Flashy are right out. Your choice in approach helps the DM determine what happens when things go south. The discipline is always Mystic Arts, unless you’ve got a Fringe discipline that somehow applies (usually it won’t, since being a mystic isn’t a Fringe discipline). If you have stunts that might help, make use of them. If you’ve got aspects, tag them and add the faith dice. If you’re going this alone, then that’s all there is—you’re committed to the action, so roll the bones and see what happens. In some cases, you’ll need demon dice no matter what. Don’t forget you’ve only got a maximum of 3 to use, so if you have an inkling that this ritual is going to fail no matter how hard you try, get some friends.

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Non-Mystic Assistants

Non-mystic friends can help by taking over some of the burden of the ritual, either by helping with reciting incantations, doing grunt work with candles and chalk and ichor, or even sacrificing precious resources of their own. This means that each person carries out a create an advantage action and hands over the aspect (with its free invocation) to the mystic to use when making the roll. If they fail, it just means they didn’t add anything worthwhile to the mystic’s ritual casting. If they grabbed demon dice and have to incur a cost, they take on the cost themselves. Non-mystics can’t rely on the mystic to take on the added responsibility of their own wellbeing— they’re too busy working with arcane forces beyond imagining! The practical limit to how many advantages can be handed over to help the mystic is equal to the core ritual’s opposition divided by 10, rounded up. In other words, if the opposition is 35, up to 4 aspects created by helpers can be used. Additional aspects are ignored, or can be saved for dealing with the consequences of the ritual. Mystic Assistants

Mystic friends can help either with the create an advantage action or by trying to reduce the opposition. The former works just like it does for non-mystics. The latter basically means trying to chip away at the opposition with their own magical talents. To do that, the helping mystic attempts an overcome action with an opposition equal to half of the core ritual’s opposition (or half the dice, rounded up, if the DM is rolling). If they succeed at that, they reduce the core ritual’s opposition by a fifth—divide the total of the opposition by 5 and subtract that from the total. So if your opposition is 40, a successful assist would subtract 8, for a new opposition total of 32. If they succeed with style, they can also hand over a boost to help the primary mystic. Helping mystics can even get their own non-mystic assistants to help them with this. No more than half of the opposition can be reduced by lesser ritual work. Eventually, too many mystics just muddy the ritual and don’t help. Those other mystics need to sit on their hands and wait to see if they can help out when the ritual goes bad. (We’re just saying.)

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1+

4+

8+ 12+

BADNESS

Create a new situation aspect and get a free invocation on it reflecting reality bending to resist the ritual As 1+, but also divide the amount the mystic failed the roll by as hits among the mystic and any mystic assistants (example: failed by 12, mystic had 3 assistants, everyone takes 3 hits) As 4+, but also add an additional free invocation on the situation aspect. As 8+, but also add a new permanent Trouble aspect to the mystic

Success and Failure

The mystic rolls the dice. If the action fails: The ritual doesn’t go off as planned. Usually, rituals that don’t work just plain don’t work, and fizzle out without much fanfare. If demon dice are used, however, there’s always some consequence. The DM should roll the dice and check on Mystic Badness to see how bad it gets. Notice how other mystics participating in the ritual stand a chance of gaining hits from the failure? That’s the price many mystics have to pay when they sign up to a coven. But it’s also the reason powerful ritual magicians are often so charismatic—they have to convince all these acolytes and minor scrub wizards to sign up and pitch in at substantial cost to their well being. If the action succeeds: Hey, look at that! You summoned great power and accomplished something truly awe-inspiring. Good for you. Now you’re going to have to deal with the consequences of success. What’s that? What consequences? Chances are you had to use demon dice to pull of your ritual, or bribe somebody to help you, or cash in your faith dice in the attempt. Like we said, there’s always a sacrifice. Sometimes the outcome you wanted also leads to badness further down the road, since now some entity out there in the universe knows you’re pulling big strings to get what you want. That sort of attention has a way of creating problems. Demon Masters, try to give mystics what they want in as black and white terms as possible, a clear cut and obvious win. Save the shades of gray for later. Don’t hesitate, however, to point out what kind of reaction this sort of thing causes in DMCs and other

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supporting characters. For example, any mystic assistants present at the ritual might complain about weird nightmares or hallucinations, or grow hair all over their bodies, one or two days before the primary mystic gets slapped with similar afflictions. If the action succeeds with style: You overcame the odds and pulled off a magical whammy, and you get an advantage with a free invocation on it for you or any of them mystics who helped you cast the ritual. Use that extra bonus wisely. Also, Demon Masters should cut you a little more slack, but don’t hold your breath.

Suffering for your Magic There’s an additional option for mystics who really want to pull off a ritual but they’re afraid they won’t have the resources for it. They can intentionally bring suffering, pain, or harm to themselves before casting the spell. To do this, mark off a condition, describe the thing you just did to yourself, and pick up a bonus die (works like a faith die) to use on your ritual casting action. If you mark off a mild condition, it’s a single die. If you mark off a moderate condition, it’s two dice. If you mark off a severe condition, it’s three. You can’t mark off multiple mild conditions to pick up multiple dice using this method—pick your poison and live with the consequences. Note that unlike faith dice, these bonus dice don’t stick around if they come up 1. Assistant mystics can do this, too, of course. However, their bonus dice only count for casting actions designed to reduce the ritual’s opposition, not as additional dice for the primary mystic casting the spell. Non-mystics can’t mark conditions off this way. Or rather, they can, but they just end up bleeding all over the floor or crying in a corner, which doesn’t help anyone. Pull yourself together, Igor!

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The Big Example: Harkadian Raises an Army Don’t ask us how, but a zombie got loose at Burning Man. It only takes one shambling slackjaw to spark a full-on pandemic, and Chapter Sigma Seven’s looking at a swarm of nearly 70 thousand of the things milling around on the desert floor. They’re confined to Black Rock City for now, and it needs to stay that way. It’ll take an army to kill that many zombies. Harkadian’s gonna make one. The ritual he’s got in mind is an oldie but a goodie. Mystics have been tossing this bad boy around since toga times. These days, it’s known as The Ol’ Harryhausen. An army of skeletal warriors, raised from the earth to fight for their master. If Harkadian raises enough of them, they should be able to make short work of the horde. The DM figures out the opposition for the ritual. Starting with a base of 5, Harkadian’s going to be summoning a supernatural creature (+10), for what will probably be several days (+10), and in rampant violation of the laws of physics (+15). And not just a couple of the things either. We’re talking closer to ten thousand of them, so that’s definitely affecting a large group (+10). All told, we’re looking at an opposition of 50. Oof! He’s gonna need some help on this one. The team pitches in to prepare the ritual. Gator starts shoving boulders around, clearing a space on the desert floor for the impending army’s arrival. Armageddon digs through her footlocker and pulls out Balmung, a magic sword forged by Wayland the Smith that slew the dragon Fafnir. She offers it to Harkadian to use as a mystical focus. Meanwhile Ned works his accounting magic with the discretionary fund to requisition drone delivery of a bulk order of hydra teeth from the Warehouse, and the Cipher fires up Bittorrent, downloads an mp3 of ritual background chanting, and cranks it to eleven. Together they manage to create advantages that total an extra six . Sparky, being a technomancer, thinks she can do a little more to amp up the ritual. She plans on working her technomancy to modify the local Wi-Fi signal into a Technomantic Dome, concentrating and amplifying the power of Harkadian’s magic. Even with half the opposition of the base ritual, she’s looking at an opposition of 25, and that’s gonna require a couple of helping hands. Gator salvages a wooden pole from the titular Burning Man and slams it into the ground at the center of the proposed dome. The Cipher

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jacks into Sparky’s laptop and shimmies up the pole, boosting the signal. Together, they create advantages totaling three , although they have to use a couple of demon dice in the process. Even with their help, Sparky’s pretty sure it still won’t be enough. Reluctantly, she deletes her Reddit account, losing nine years’ worth of accumulated karma in an instant, inflicting herself with a mild Perma-Downvoted condition and gaining an additional . Sparky rolls her Clever approach and her Mystic Arts discipline. She really needs to pull this off, so she uses all three of her Faith dice invoking her Technological Genius, Machine Legacy of Dr. Carnacki, and Dynamic Thinker aspects. Crossing her fingers, Sparky codes her enchanted algorithm, hits Enter, and rolls the dice. She rolls a 28—success! Her Technomantic Dome drops the opposition of Harkadian’s ritual to 40. Everything’s ready, but Harkadian is uncertain. Even with everyone’s help, it’s going to be close. Too close. He looks down at the zombified burners milling around the tattered ruins of their temporary city. He can’t afford to fail. With a heavy heart, Harkadian pulls the locket from his neck, looks at the picture of his sister and grandmother one last time, and casts it into the fire. As it burns, the memory of their faces is scoured from Harkadian’s mind, inflicting a moderate Family Forgotten condition and giving Harkadian two additional to work with. This is it. Everything is ready. Harkadian closes his eyes, raises Balmung on high, and begins to chant along with the Cipher as the technomantic dome bursts to life overhead and the Warehouse drone scatters thousands of hydra teeth across the clearing. Harkadian rolls his Careful approach and his Mystic Arts discipline, and invokes his Grim Necromancer and Knowledge Beyond the Veil of Death aspects. With his approach die, discipline die, two faith dice, two dice for his moderate condition, and six dice from his assistants, he rolls 41. Wow! The Ol’ Harryhausen is just barely a success! His skeletal army claws its way up from the desert sands, ready to kick some zombie hippie ass.

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Mystic Stunts Stunts are one of the best ways to customize and enhance your mystical experience. As a mystic, use stunts to gain bonuses to cast rituals under specific conditions, cast off the cuff rituals without fuss, or coax additional help from other sources. Some examples follow. Coven Leader: Because I am a coven leader, any mystic who assists me in casting a ritual gains a +2 when they Carefully overcome or create an advantage connected to the ritual. Master of the Elements: Because I am a master of the elements, I gain a +2 when I Flashily attack or create an advantage using magic with an elemental theme, such as earth, air, fire, or water. Pain Magician: Because I am a pain magician, whenever I mark a condition to gain a bonus die on a casting action, the first bonus die is a . Quick-draw Mystic: Because I am a quick-draw mystic, I gain a +2 when I Quickly attack or defend using magic.

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PSYCHIC ABILITIES Psychics are a different story. There’s nothing mystical about their abilities—they were just born different. Technically, they’re mutants, but not in a “Next Stage of Human Evolution” sense. More of a “Step Right Up and Check Out the Freak Show!” sense. It’s said that human beings only use ten percent of their brain. This is, of course, utter bull$#&@. That said, psychics, through some quirk of genetics, possess mental powers far beyond the capabilities of a normal human, and there are lots of different variants. First up, you’ve got your Seers. Seers can tap directly into the collective consciousness of mankind. Some use this ability for remote sensing—obtaining information from a distance through the senses of a third party. Clairvoyants and Clairaudients play an important part in the Brotherhood’s intelligence gathering operation. Then you’ve got your Oracles, able to chart the quantum threads of probability to view the likeliest of possible futures. The hit/miss rate is all over the place with these guys, but when they’re on point, their insights can be of vital importance. Kinetics are your “mind over matter” types. These guys can control matter or energy with the power of their mind. Typically, a Kinetic is locked into one particular material, like Pyrokinetics with their fantastic feats of fire, or Lactokinetics and their masterful milk manipulation. True Telekinetics, capable of manipulating any material, are much more rare. Kinetics are by far the flashiest of the psychics, and the most potentially lucrative as well. Your average Kinetic is just a sequined vest away from having the hottest magic show on the Vegas strip. When a person dies, their spirit is supposed to move on to the next world, but that doesn’t always happen. While there are some ghosts out there with enough raw, psychokinetic energy to actually manifest an ectoplasmic body in this plane of reality, they’re the exceptions. Most trapped spirits just float around, invisible and unable to affect their environment. That’s where Mediums come in handy. Mediums are hypersensitive to psychokinetic energy, and can detect even the faintest traces of spirit activity. Through them, these trapped spirits can be given a voice and aided in their journey to the next world. Or they can be tapped for information on our enemies that would be unavailable to a living agent, which is far more useful to the cause. 157

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Telepaths are by far the creepiest of the psychics. At best, these thought-thieving voyeurs are just reading your mind; stealing your secrets and rifling through the most private contents of your mental vaults. Worst case? Some Telepaths are capable of thought manipulation—altering memories, changing opinions, even full-on mind wipes. In the right hands (read: “ours”) these are powerful and completely valid tools in the war on evil. In the wrong hands (read: “not ours”) they’re a flagrant violation of personal freedom and those mind#%@#ers must be stopped!

Recruiting a Psychic Psychics, while technically governed by the Mystic Arts discipline, usually have a Fringe discipline to manage their mojo. If being a psychic is their One Big Thing, give it a discipline (like Seer, or Medium, or Kinetic) and assign it a or more. If being a psychic is a sideline to your major mystical manner, then it’s enough just to give yourself an aspect that describes it and maybe a stunt. Many ritual magicians are also psychic on some minor level, able to skim surface thoughts or read psychometric information from objects, but if it’s not centrally important it can fall under Mystic Arts like most magic stuff does. Whatever route you go, make your psychic Demon Hunter interesting with aspects and stunts that focus the psychic ability in some cool or interesting way. Telepath is boring. B-O-R-I-N-G. Try something like Tactile Telepath, where you have to touch somebody to read their minds or send thoughts, or Honky-Tonk Telepath, where you can only communicate telepathically with Elvis impersonators. Okay, that last one’s kind of limited. But you get the idea. Sometimes, a limited aspect conjures up even more cool things to try out on a Mission than a generic one, and it’s for sure more fun to play with. Here are some suggested psychic stunts: Supportive Seer: Because I’m always watching my friend’s back with my mind, I gain +2 when I Carefully create an advantage for or defend an ally with my precognitive warnings. Cetaceokinetic: Because I can move whales with my mind, I gain +2 when I Forcefully overcome, create an advantage with, or attack whales and other aquatic mammals.

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Psychic Dagger: Because I can manifest the sum totality of my psychic power, I gain a +2 when I Quickly attack or defend with my psychic blade. I’m sure you can think of a hundred others. Post them on your psychic message boards, Demon Hunters! Clear them with your Chapter Leader though. Just in case.

Playing a Psychic Most psychic stuff takes the form of overcome and create an advantage actions. Seers try to read information from the hot mess that is the cosmos, Kinetics try to push down doors with their mind, and Telepaths search crowds for the thoughts of serial killers and cultists. These actions aren’t that much different from mundane ones that use technology or special training, it’s just that the psychic gets to explain it using genetic mutant weirdness instead. When psychics screw up or bad things happen to them when they use their abilities, the backlash or conditions come in the form of mental trauma, nose bleeds, periods of dissociation, or acting really odd. For some psychics, this is a daily cost of using their abilities anyway. For others it’s a lead-in to a long Mission where the other Demon Hunters enter the psychic’s dreamscape to hunt down the psychic construct they inadvertently made that’s slowly eating their soul-self. Either way, frame those failures in a fun and interesting psychedelic way that draws on the fact that the psychic isn’t someone who deals with ordinary problems.

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QUANTUM MAGICIANS This universe is sort of a stickler for the rules, and one of the big ones is that energy (and for that matter...well...matter) can be neither created nor destroyed. In other words, you shouldn’t be able to yank that rabbit out of your hat unless it was already in there to begin with. But at a quantum level, particles pop in and out of existence all of the time like it’s no big deal, and the universe just keeps on ticking. Quantum magicians are able to harness this strange property of reality and use it to incredible effect. Quantum magicians are, despite the name, not even a little bit magical. They’re psychics. Incredibly rare, insanely powerful psychics, but psychics nonetheless. That said, the stuff they can do sure seems like magic! QMs are attuned to the quantum state of their surroundings. Think of it as probability shifting. At a quantum level, there’s no reason that a random set of elementary particles making up a Gatling gun or a wall of flame or a roller-skating dachshund couldn’t pop into existence all at once. It’s just that the odds of these things happening are infinitely improbable. A quantum magician is able to alter those odds, turning the infinitely improbable into the actual. With time and practice, a QM can achieve complete mastery over the manipulation of the elementary particles of reality. We’re talking god-like powers here. Creation. Destruction. Bilocation. Levitation. Even communicating with animals like freaking Aquaman. No surprise that QMs tend to build up a following. Some have even been worshiped as gods. It’s not far from the truth. There’s only been a handful of quantum magicians since the dawn of mankind, and consider that a blessing. Fortunately for, you know, the universe, QMs seem to tend toward benevolence. The good QMs usually stick with healing the sick and feeding the hungry. Maybe resurrect a dead body or two on occasion. But when they go bad, they go apocalypse bad. There’s a reason you didn’t take a semester off in college to backpack around Mu, and that reason was a quantum magician. No quantum magicians are known to be currently living. That could change any day, and if it does, it’s important that we get to the child before the other side does. Having a QM on our side

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could be a real game-changer. And not having one could be a game-ender.

Rules for Quantum Magicians Ha ha ha. Right. Like we’re going to show you how these guys work in the rules. Not a chance, recruit! Go find yourself another patsy! We’re not going to… Well, okay. But it’s really simple. QMs are antagonists. They have Quantum Magician and usually a Forceful or better, pushing the universe around with their heads. Most of them are crazy. You can’t play one, but you might find one, especially if the Demon Master is bored of run-of-the-mill demons and werepanthers and syphilitic vampires. Psychic Demon Hunters might worry that they’re becoming QMs over the course of several Missions. This is a fun hook to a longer story about the consequences of having a mind open to the maelstrom of the manifold multiverses, but it’s also one that’s best left to such stories, not something you come up with when recruiting new Demon Hunters right off the bat. Hey, why not go with a Trouble aspect like Quantum-linked Psychic and see what happens?

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chapter 9

Mad Science

T

F ace bo ok pag e you li ke d i s rig ht : S ci e nce i s &#@%ing awesome! There’s a little robot tooling around the surface of Mars right now that just celebrated day 4000 of its 90 day mission—to say nothing of her truck-sized big sister who got lowered to the planet surface via rocket-powered sky crane! That’s the kind of awesome that we can pull off with normal science. hat

Now take that level of awesome and divorce it from all of that pesky responsibility and morality and adherence to the laws of nature, and imagine what sort of insanity could result. Welcome to mad science! Mad science is what your Demon Hunter with the Research & Development discipline of or more gets to play around with. It’s also what a ton of the bad guys like to play around with, so this part of the training manual is devoted to knowing what it’s all about, how to use it, how to fight it, and that sort of thing. This is not an exhaustive encyclopedia of mad science gadgets and inventions, just as M ag ic & M ystici s m isn’t a big list of spells. Rather than big lists, you get theory and application. So pull up a stool at your science bench and read on. We’ve split this part of the training manual into two conveniently named sections: Mad Science: The Flip Side of Magic. This section runs down the basics and specific fields we’re all glad the Brotherhood has sunk some time and money into. Mad Science: How Do I Do It? This section sketches out the game rules and other fun things you need to know to get your lab coat mojo on in the game.

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MAD SCIENCE: THE FLIP SIDE OF MAGIC Mad science and magic are two sides of the same fiercely competitive coin. Anything magic can do, mad science can probably pull off too—given a big enough budget. We’re talking about channeling lightning to reanimate corpses! Robots the size of skyscrapers stomping around in rampant violation of the square-cube law! Calculating the resonant frequency of the Earth and using it to build an Earthquake Machine! That last one was good ol’ Nikola Tesla—one of ours, off and on. I think the Earthquake Machine happened somewhere between his “Free Energy for Everyone!” phase and his “Say, That’s One Good Lookin’ Pigeon!” phase. That’s the trick with mad science. You need to hit the sweet spot between mere eccentricity and full-blown psychosis. Right dead in the middle of those is where the most amazing stuff can happen. It takes a special sort of mind to say, “Sure, I could treat that tumor with radiation and chemotherapy and all that nasty stuff. Or, I could stuff an elite squad of surgical soldiers into a custom-built submarine, shrink ‘em down to blood-cell scale with my Atomic Sizeomotron, and squirt ‘em into the patient’s veins to tackle the problem head-on!” The real problem with mad science is morality, in that most mad scientists are...let’s call it “unburdened” by it. Their allegiance is to science, and they’re more than happy to do that science for whoever is willing to fund their work. Evil money spends just as well as Good money, and they’re not such sticklers for the rules. It’s a bit of a tightrope walk, working with mad scientists in defense of the Good. If you’ve never had to explain to a hypergenius with visible brain veins and a bionic eyeball why she can’t just slip an experimental mutagen into the breakroom coffee pot to see what happens, consider yourself lucky. But if you’re willing to put in the effort, the stuff these guys can churn out is incredible. We’re talking game-changing technologies that are decades ahead of anything the civilians are producing.

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Medicine Obviously, fighting a secret war between Good and Evil is dangerous work. Agents get hurt. Mad medicine is there to help. Our advanced prosthetics make amputation not just manageable, but a chance for improvement. Your old arm couldn’t hurl a baseball through a cinderblock wall, and that new eyeball has infrared, ultraviolet, and a 10x optical zoom built in. Internal injuries? With just a cheek swab and a bucket of stemcells we can grow you a whole new set of organs. We’ll even toss in a couple of extras! If the worst happens—you’ve totaled your body, complete write-off—we can offer you a wide array of options, ranging from your standard brain-in-a-jar, to a clone body grown from your own tissue. You may even be chosen to participate in Herr Doktor’s promising new ReAnimate program. What an exciting opportunity!

Biology Or maybe you’re not hurt or sick. Maybe you’re just looking to upgrade. Great! Our mad biologists are just itching to gene-therapy the crap out of you. How’d you like to breathe underwater? Or see in the dark without those bulky night-vision goggles? Or GLOW in the dark for that matter! I’m not certain how that would help you fight Evil, but it would sure look hella awesome. Fine, you want something more useful? How about regenerating missing limbs like a gecko? We’re in the experimental phase on that one. Currently you’d just grow big, freaky gecko hands, but those can be useful too. Just picture yourself scrambling up the side of a skyscraper like a reptilian version of Spider-Man. Ooh! We should build web-slingers! Adding that to the list.

Transportation Speaking of getting around town, we can’t have a Brotherhood agent showing up to a fight in a rusted out pickup truck. It sends the wrong message. Head on down to the motor pool, where our mad engineers will set you up to ride in style. How do you like to roll? Avrocar? Ground effect ekranoplane? Rocket-propelled wingsuit? Maybe you want to go old school. We can get you settled into a badass luxury airship, with all the latest in steampunk technology. Just picture it! Brass and mahogany and top hats from stem to stern! 165

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Robotics The Brotherhood is the world leader in cybernetics. We’re also a super-secret organization, so we can’t exactly brag about it to anyone. Still, when it comes to fully-autonomous, artificially-intelligent, lifelike synthetic organisms, nothing else out there comes close to a Cipher. But it’s not just Ciphers. Our mad roboticists have manufactured all manner of mechanisms for your monster-hunting pleasure. We’ve got miniaturized spy drones disguised as insects. Robotic exoskeletons that increase an agent’s strength and speed by an order of magnitude. Even heavily-armed, nuclear-fueled mechas! They comfortably seat up to seven agents and they’re perfect for slugging it out with an angry kaiju.

Weaponry Finally, the good stuff! You’ve got your point-andshoots: railguns, death rays, cryocannons, etc. Or maybe you’re looking for something with more of an area effect, like EMP grenades or vortex bombs. After all, no sense taking out the baddies one at a time. And once you’ve got them subdued, what are you gonna do with them? That’s when neural dampeners and portable prison dimensions come in real handy. We could go on, but the gist of it is if there’s something you want, let us know. Chances are we’ve already built one and it’s just collecting dust in the Warehouse. And if not, switch on the Tesla coils and light up the Bunsen burners, because it’s about to get sciencey as &#$% in here!

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MAD SCIENCE: HOW DO I DO IT? Congratulations, recruit! You’ve decided to invest additional training time in figuring out mad science and all the wonderful things you can do with a Brotherhood swipe card and access to our remote, undocumented laboratories around the world. Maybe you’ve watched some of those training vids where Sparky does something clever with her technological gizmos, or perhaps Kincaid just told you that if you don’t come and find out how to turn your talents to good use he’s going to string you up out back and have somebody use you for taser practice. Hey, we don’t care, we’re just glad you’re on board. On to the mad science!

Discipline Choices, Stunts, and So Forth First things first: every mad science specialist needs mad skills. To represent that in D e mon H u nte rs , we turn once again to disciplines, aspects, and stunts. The R&D discipline is your number one choice, obviously, because every action you take with mad science keys off that. Whether you’re doing it Carefully or Cleverly or Quickly or Sneakily, it’s always Research & Development. The exception to this is if you’re some kind of artificial construct, like a Cipher, in which case you’ve assigned your Fringe discipline to that and there’s a good chance you sub out the Fringe for R&D in mad science actions. You might think that Combat & Tactics, Covert Ops, or even Mystic Arts would play a role in using technology. For mundane, ordinary applications, this would be correct. Give a ninja an experimental stealth suit and she doesn’t use her R&D when using it; she keeps using Covert Ops. Give a mercenary a rocket launcher, and it’s Combat & Tactics that’s at play, not R&D. Got it? Good. Outside of those occasions, meaning “anytime you’re doing something freaky with new tech,” use your R&D discipline. Aspects are another way to firmly stake your claim in mad science territory. Your Concept aspect has to involve your talent in tech, or else you’re really just a dabbler. Acolyte of Tesla or Heir to Victor Frankenstein or Steve Jobs’ Brain in a Jar in My Head are all great aspects for mad science devotees. In addition, you can assign an aspect to your R&D discipline and focus on a specialty underneath the mad science umbrella. Biology, medicine, robotics, weaponry, or transportation are all good topics for an R&D aspect: Curious About Fleshy Science, Dammit, Gabriel, I’m a Doctor Not 167

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a Ritual Magician, and I Can Fix Your Ride Up Real Good all encapsulate this style of narrowing your field. While you’re at it, go ahead and make your Trouble aspect related to mad science, too, if you’re honest: Can’t Stop Playing God, I Am Become Death, Destroyer of Worlds, and Can’t Stop, Too Busy Corrupting Science might work wonders. Stunts are also highly useful for focusing your mad science recruitment concept. Ask any Demon Hunter with a mad science background—it’s all about that one weird trick you know that got you noticed to begin with. Here’s three stunt examples to get you thinking: Biological Wunderkind: Because I am a whiz at biology, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage or overcome obstacles relating to biological processes and organic systems. Turing Tester: Because I am a genius with artificial intelligence, I gain +2 when I Carefully defend against or overcome an obstacle relating to sentient machines or AIs and their programming. Experimental Pharmaceuticals: Because I always carry experimental drugs with me, once per game session I can spend a faith die to clear a mental, neurological, or perception-based condition from myself or an ally.

TL;DR: WILD IDEAS Make a create an advantage roll Fail: Idea was solid, but the execution was lacking. Start over. Success: It works! Establish an aspect with a free invocation. Success with style: As success, but get two aspects with a free invocation each, or gain one aspect with two free invocations on it. You get the most say in the resolution.

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Wild Ideas Once you’ve got a solid Demon Hunter profile in place and you’re out on Missions, you want to make use of the crazy-beautiful visions of progress, or wild ideas, your mad scientist comes up with when you’re in the zone. For the most part, using R&D to create an advantage for yourself or an ally is the absolute baseline application of this trick, and actually takes care of 99% of any mad science application you can think of. In this case, the advantage you create can’t really do much more than an off-the-cuff mystic could pull off (see O f f - th e -C u f f M ag ic , page 145) or improve greatly on what sufficient technology might provide. In fact, the latter is what a lot of this actually indicates: you, a mad scientist, carry gizmos and gadgets and tools and experimental one-shot devices with you all the time to aid you in your Mission. You don’t even have to write it all down, because the mad science automatically assumes that, if you succeed on the roll, you had that thing on hand somewhere, ready to finally be used rather than tossed in somebody’s junk drawer. Get creative with your wild ideas. The Demon Master isn’t really going to shoot them down, because they’re still all handled with the standard mechanics. Describe weird things that go into your construct, or weird chemicals you have lying about that you’re going to mix and then drink, or weird formulas you cribbed from some mad scientist’s logbook, ready to be recited in the right situation. This is flavor, but it informs the outcome of your action. Describe the weird, then roll the dice, and let’s learn together what “explosive nitro-capsules” really means. Failure: Blowing a mad science action powered by a wild idea means that the idea was probably legit, but your implementation of it just wasn’t. Go back to the drawing board, or replace that gizmo with another one back at headquarters. Success: Rolling well with a mad science action means it works! It works! Pull down the gurney from the ceiling and look upon your brilliance on display. They wouldn’t believe you, but it works! Success indicates that you, the DM, and everyone else should play along with the wild idea—somehow this is now “accepted physics”! You get an aspect with a free invocation on it.

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Success with Style: This means that you get two aspects, or one aspect with two free invocations on it, because not only was your wild idea successful, it was legitimately groundbreaking. When you do this well, it also means that you get the most say in the resolution of the action, which means you can tell the true story behind your bizarre “red hair is a conduit for demonic power” theory and subsequent cover-up. Or not, as you like. Again, a wild idea is mostly just a clever and fun narrative way to explain your Demon Hunter creating some kind of advantage for your allies or as a set up to pulling off some other action. It shouldn’t fundamentally alter the way science works or behaves, but rather grab onto the bleeding edge of physics, biology, and chemistry to produce a one-time benefit. For the really whacked out mad science, you need innovations and breakthroughs.

Innovations and Breakthroughs Wild ideas are great, but they’re just temporary and ephemeral. No, what you want is an innovation, something that sticks around and applies its own coda to the laws of nature and the universe. Could be a fantastic apparatus, could be a whole subset of scientific principles, could be a monster bred in a vat. Innovations are mad science’s equivalent to magic’s rituals, and here’s how they work. An innovation is a set of connected aspects and a stunt or two that you and your Demon Hunter allies can all make use of for the duration of a Mission. After the Mission, or once the innovation’s store of faith dice run out, the innovation breaks apart into its component wild ideas and goes onto your list of breakthroughs that you can make use of in the future. Breakthroughs are singular aspects that can be invoked like any other aspect, and exist in the world of Demon Hunters forever. Some examples include the Warehouse or Ciphers. They still require faith dice to invoke, but a mad scientist can use a create an advantage action to recharge them with faith dice before a Mission. So they’re pretty cool. You’ll probably end up with a short list of these in any game that spotlights mad scientists as part of the Brotherhood. The only downside is that for every breakthrough the chapter comes up with, an equal and opposite reactive breakthrough also manifests in the world, which the Demon Master is free to exploit in future Missions.

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The Process

Developing a new innovation is a three step process. You need to come up with the abstract, like A Machine that Can Turn Back Time in an Isolated Area, followed by a thesis, like Principles of Chronophysics in Mechanical Application by Threaded Stimulation of Cosmic Gluons, and finally a prototype, like Phone Booth with Weird Pipes Sticking Out of It and a Nuclear Reactor Strapped to the Side. Easy! Innovations don’t have to be physical, either. You could create an abstract, thesis, and prototype for things like telepathy or chameleon adaptation in humans, and the prototype is basically the test subject, i.e., you or one of your volunteers. These are all aspects, as you may have guessed. The abstract, thesis, and prototype are aspects created in the process of developing the innovation. The first two require a create an advantage action with an increasingly high opposition, but the clever thing is you can use the abstract aspect to help you create the thesis aspect. Creating the prototype is an overcome action since you’re trying to impose your mad science onto the universe, and it creates both the prototype aspect and a stunt to tie the whole innovation together. Now the Hard Work

First, decide on your abstract. This is a fairly straightforward create an advantage action using Research & Development as the discipline and usually Clever or Careful as the approach, depending. Whichever approach you use can’t be used on the next step, so choose wisely. You can spend faith dice, use stunts, get help from other people (in the form of them creating advantages

ABSTRACT (AND THESIS) OPPOSITION ELEMENT

OPPOSITION MODIFIER

Base

5 (10)

Affects time

+5

Affects space

+5

Affects organic matter

+5

Affects consciousness or perception

+5

Affects the supernatural

+5

Alters matter

+5

Alters energy

+5

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for you), and even spend demon dice. Here’s how to determine the opposition:

TL;DR: INNOVATIONS & BREAKTHROUGHS Innovations require a three step process to create, while breakthroughs represent the lasting effects of your mad science. Create the abstract 1. Create an advantage roll with a base of 5 2. Determine the opposition using the Abstract (and Thesis) Opposition table 3. Creating an abstract takes up an entire day 4. Can use faith dice, stunts, help from others, and demon dice to make the roll Failure: Back to the drawing board. You suck. Success: It could work. Gain an abstract aspect with a free invocation. Success with style: It’s awesome! Gain an abstract aspect with 2 free invocations AND you can use the same approach on your thesis action. Develop your thesis 1. Create an advantage roll with a base of 10 2. Must use a different approach than was used on the abstract (unless you got a success with style) 3. Determine the opposition using the Abstract (and Thesis) Opposition table 4. Can use free invocation(s) from your abstract to help out 5. Takes a month to write—add +5 to the opposition for each week you want to shorten it by (+20 to write it in a day) 6. Can use faith dice, stunts, help from others, and demon dice to make the roll Failure: Disaster. It’s never going to work. Mark off a condition (mild if failed by up to 10 points, moderate if more than 10). If you convince the Brotherhood to try again, start over with a new abstract. Success: It’ll do. You can proceed with prototype. Gain a thesis aspect and a free invocation.

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Success with style: Everyone loves it! Gain a thesis aspect and 2 free invocations. Can use either approach used so far to make your prototype. (cont’d)

TL;DR: INNOVATIONS & BREAKTHROUGHS (cont’d) Create your prototype 1. Make an overcome roll with a base of 10 2. Cannot use the same approach as your abstract or thesis unless you got a success with style 3. Determine the opposition using the Prototype Opposition table 4. Can use free invocations from abstract and/or thesis aspects to help out 5. Takes a month to create— add +5 to the opposition for each week you want to shorten it by (+20 to write it in a day) 6. Can hire up to 4 assistants; each makes an overcome roll (opposition 10) to reduce time by a week; failure adds +5 to opposition of the prototype roll and does not cut down the time 7. Can use faith dice, stunts, help from others, and demon dice to make the prototype roll Failure: You’re a laughing stock! Start over! And take a mild or moderate condition (mild if failed by up to 10, moderate if failed over 10). Success: You have an innovation! Write up a stunt that comes with it. Lasts for a single mission. Gain a prototype aspect with a free invocation. Success with style: Masterpiece! Write up a stunt, gain a prototype aspect with 2 free invocations and an additional free invocation on all other aspects of the invocation. Lasts for one mission. Breakthroughs 1. Write an aspect in the form of a principle derived from your innovation 2. The DM writes a Trouble aspect representing the downside to your breakthrough 3. The DM can invoke these any time with demon dice 4. You can invoke it with faith dice…at your own risk

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Once you have the opposition, make the roll. Each time you do this, it takes up a whole day of your furrowed brow and fevered speculation, so make it count. Failure: Back to the drawing board. Change some element or idea if you want to try again, otherwise give up and move on, you hack. Success: Hey, that just might work. You get an aspect and a free invocation on it. Success with Style: That’s such a good idea it’s bound to be a phenomenon! Get an aspect and 2 free invocations, and you can use the same approach again on your thesis action. Your thesis action is another create an advantage action, this time with a base of 10, but otherwise all of the same modifiers to the opposition. You can use your abstract aspect’s free invocation to help out here, too. The thesis takes a whole month to write. If you want to write it faster, add +5 to the opposition for each week you want to knock off the time spent writing it (for a total of +20 if you want to write the damn thing in only a day). Remember, you have to use a different approach than your abstract action, unless you succeeded with style on that, in which case, keep it going, buddy. Failure: Disaster. It’s never going to work. Never! Mark off a condition (mild if you failed by up to 10 points, moderate if it was more than 10) and try to convince the Brotherhood you can give it another go. Good luck with that. Start over with a new abstract. Success: The committee isn’t impressed, but it’s a workmanlike effort, so hooray, now you can move to the prototype. Also you get that aspect and a free invocation. Success with Style: Marvelous! A magnum opus! Everyone loves it. Get two free invocations on the thesis aspect, and you can use this approach or the approach you used on your abstract to make your prototype. Finally, your prototype! This also needs an entirely different approach, unless you succeeded with style on your thesis. It’s also an overcome action, not a create an advantage action. It uses an entirely different set of opposition modifiers, though, so check the table.

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PROTOTYPE OPPOSITION

ELEMENT

OPPOSITION MODIFIER

Base

10

Not actually a physical object Smaller than a truck

+5

Smaller than a person

+10

Hold it in your hand

+15

Swallow it like a pill

+20

Explodes when it’s used Uses demon dice, not faith dice

-5

Has an extra stunt

+5

+5

-5

That one element, where it uses demon dice and not faith dice? That means that the free invocations on the prototype aspect are treated like demon dice, rolled after you do something and handed over to the Demon Master once you use them. You can use those in addition to your three demon dice for any standard action. Be careful what you ask for. Prototypes take a month to put together, but again, the mad scientist can shorten that by adding +5 to the opposition for every week, for a total of +20 for building it in a single day. Assistants can help reduce the time; mad scientists can hire or recruit or kidnap or brainwash up to four assistants to help out, each of whom must make an overcome action with an opposition of 10 to reduce the time by a week. If any one of them fails, however, their bungling adds +5 to the opposition anyway and still doesn’t cut the time down (the others may still help). So be careful who you ask for help, folks. Failure: As with the thesis, failure in building the prototype (or preparing the guinea pig, or whatever it is that this thing ends up looking like or doing) not only means you don’t have an innovation, you take a mild or moderate condition depending on how badly you screwed up. Pack it in, mad scientist. Success: You have an innovation! Write up the stunt that comes with it (see the next section) and it lasts for the duration of a single Mission. There’s a prototype aspect with a free invocation on it, too.

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Success with Style: It’s a masterpiece! Write up the stunt, add the prototype aspect for it, and get an additional free invocation on all of the aspects on the innovation. Still only lasts for one Mission though. Innovation Stunts

Stunts on innovations are shorthand for the benefit provided by using the innovation in an applied setting. Normally there’s only one stunt, but if you wanted an additional one you could have increased the prototype action’s opposition by +5, so maybe yours has two. Stunts for innovations are just like the stunts on your Demon Hunter profile and follow the exact same logic and format. Create one that follows thematically with the innovation, and you’re off. Examples include: Time Jaunt: Because my innovation can transport through time, I can spend a faith die for my past self to place a critical item that my future self needs in a place where my present self will eventually go back in time to place the item. Got that? Empathic Computer: Because my innovation can calculate the emotional calculus of humanity, I gain +2 when I Carefully overcome or create an advantage concerning the emotional states, feelings, or motivations of others. Metatronic Amplifier: Because my innovation can amplify the Word of God, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack or create an advantage against a mortal in a social situation using persuasion and influence. Breakthroughs

Once you use the innovation for a Mission, you have to mothball the whole thing. It was destined for greatness but it had its moment in the sun. Also you probably fundamentally altered something about the universe, so I hope that doesn’t come back to haunt you. Actually, it will, because of how breakthroughs work. A breakthrough is the final stage in this whole mad science process. It’s the lasting effect of introducing something to science that defies what came before it. It’s an aspect, probably your abstract or thesis rewritten in the form of a principle, that you can use like any other

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aspect on your Demon Hunter profile. In fact, so can everyone else involved in the creation of your innovation, or anyone who saw it in use. If you end up trashing your creation in a blaze of victory at the end of a Mission, at least be happy that you’ve got this additional reminder of your success. However, the Demon Master also creates what amounts to a new Trouble aspect, but for the whole campaign. It’s the downside to your breakthrough, the dark mirror of your innovation’s success. If the breakthrough is Chronal Energy Can Be Tapped then the dark breakthrough is Cracks Appear in Time. The Demon Master can invoke these any time with demon dice to mess with you. Now, to be fair, you can invoke it as well, but we leave that to your conscience. The Big Example: Sparky Invents the Akhenaten Bomb Confronted by a potential Egyptian vampire epidemic from out of the Valley of the Kings, scheduled on the first night of the next full moon, Chapter Sigma Seven looks to Sparky, the chapter’s resident mad science maven, to come up with some kind of technological solution. Sparky lowers her goggles, cracks her knuckles, and starts tapping away at her laptop under the shadow of the Pyramids. First she settles on her abstract: An Explosive Using the Sacred Power of the Sun to Destroy Heliopolitan Undead. Her thesis abstract, which is how she imagines pulling off this concept, is Solar-Spiritual Emanations as Channeled by Sarcophagal Ankh Conduits into Explosive Force. Her prototype is Mummy Sarcophagus Topped by Crystal Pylon and Filled with Mirrors, Diodes, and C4. To make all of these aspects come together as an innovation, Sparky needs to use three different approaches unless she succeeds with style on one or two of the rolls. Since her Flashy is , this is her best approach, but she also has a in Clever and Quick. Sparky knows that the thesis is the more difficult roll, so she decides to lead with Clever, followed by Flashy and Quick. On the off chance that she does really well on her thesis roll, she can re-use Flashy for the prototype. She has four faith dice to use in invoking aspects. The DM figures out the opposition for the abstract. Sparky tries to make the case that the Egyptian mummy-vampires aren’t organic,

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but the DM disagrees, because obviously they are. So, that’s a +5 to the base of 5. It affects the supernatural (+5), and it alters energy (+5), so that’s a total of 20. The DM doesn’t add the “affects matter” penalty because, while it is designed to blow up vampires, it’s not actually altering matter to do it. Sparky has a Clever and a Research & Development. She invokes her Technological Genius and Dynamic Thinker aspects as both of those pertain to this create an advantage roll, so that’s an additional two in her pool. Rolling them, she gets a 13, with no special outcomes on the faith dice. Sparky knows she needs another 7 points to succeed, so she grabs two demon dice and rolls—she gets 9 more, bringing her total to 22. The DM takes the demon dice and adds them to his collection, and Sparky is down two faith dice, leaving her with two. She has successfully created an aspect with a free invocation. Now the DM looks at the thesis opposition. It’s pretty much exactly the same as the abstract, but it has a base of 10, not 5, so the total opposition to beat is 25. Luckily, Sparky has that free invocation, and now she can use her Mad Skillz stunt since she’s creating an advantage with her Flashy approach. This thesis takes Sparky a month to write, but since the DM has already made it clear to Sigma Seven that the Egyptian vampire invasion’s going to occur on the night of the full moon a month away, this isn’t a big deal. Sparky rolls her Flashy approach and R&D discipline, describing her thesis as being punchy and full of bold, outrageous claims designed to elicit some strong reactions from the mad science community when it’s eventually published. Just like her grandfather would have wanted! She gets her free invocation from the abstract aspect, and invokes her Technological Genius as well, for two additional once again. This time, she rolls really well— max results on one and on a —and with the +2 from her stunt she gets a 30. That’s a success with style, and she didn’t even need any help to get there. Counting her blessings and taking note of her two free invocations on the thesis aspect, Sparky moves on to the prototype. The prototype, which is also the bomb the Demon Hunters are going to actually use, requires Sparky to have the others in her chapter round up the components. Harkadian gets Gator and Armageddon to plunder a tomb for the sarcophagus, which requires a lot of bullets and punching. Ned finds a truck loaded 178

Mad Science

with mirrors parked in a back street in Cairo. All four of these members roll to create an advantage to represent this, and each of them manages it (though Ned burns through three demon dice in the process). That cuts down the time to create the prototype to a day, and keeps Sparky from needing to add +20 to her opposition. The DM figures the opposition with a base of 10, adds +5 because it’s smaller than a truck, -5 because it explodes when it’s used (convenient!). Sparky doesn’t need it to have any extra stunts, so the final opposition is a puny 10. She doesn’t get her stunt on this one, but she does get to use Flashy, so she rolls her dice and invokes one of the two free invocations on the thesis abstract to add a . Her roll of 16 means she succeeds with style in building the Akhenaten Bomb. That puts a free invocation on the abstract, thesis, and prototype aspects, which raises the thesis aspect’s free invocations back up to two. Amazing! Here’s the final innovation, ready to use against the Egyptian vampire hordes on the next evening under the full moon. Akhenaten Bomb Abstract: An Explosive Using the Sacred Power of the Sun to Destroy Heliopolitan Undead (1 free invocation) Thesis: Solar-Spiritual Emanations as Channeled by Sarcophagal Ankh Conduits into Explosive Force (2 free invocations) Prototype: Mummy Sarcophagus Topped by Crystal Pylon and Filled with Mirrors, Diodes, and C4 (1 free invocation) Beautiful Are the Forms of Ra: Because my innovation summons the power of the Sun God, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack or overcome the unliving servants of Apep. Although the Akhenaten Bomb is only useful for this Mission, Channeling Divine Solar Power through Crystals is a Breakthrough that can be used in the future. The DM decides that this results in a Trouble of Offended Sun Gods.

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chapter 10

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

O

kay .

T h i s i s th e b ig s ection of th e bo ok that talks all about things the Demon Master needs to know in order to properly prepare and run a game of D e mon H u nte rs : A C om e dy of T e rrors . We have helpfully broken it out into specific sections: Sessions, Missions, and Campaigns: A brief introduction to some terms we use a lot. Five Minutes to Mayhem: This is the quick roll-a-bunch-of-diceand-make-things-up method of preparing a Mission when you have a time crunch. Sixty Minutes to Mayhem: With a little more time, you can flesh out a Mission and populate it with Threats of various kinds. Mission Framework: With just a little planning, you can put all of this together in a format you can refer to during the game without losing your mind. The All-star Mayhem Threat Catalog: Lots of suggestions of Threats for when you have five minutes to sixty minutes.

How to Haunt Your Town: Advice for creating a D e mon H u nte rs RPG setting right in your own backyard—or anywhere else, for that matter. Managing the Mayhem: Suggestions for running the game once you’ve got the Mission all spec’d out and guidelines for creating Demon Master characters. Moving On Up: Rules for Demon Hunter advancement and milestones after multiple Missions.

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Sessions, Missions, and Campaigns Chaos! Randomness! Beautiful, exhilarating…and a pretty damn awful way to organize a story. Make no mistake; a Brotherhood Mission contains plenty of chaos. You might even use random tables to create such an adventure. But that doesn’t mean they’re lacking structure. The essential elements of D e mon H u nte rs RPG stories are: • The session: the amount of story a group experiences in one sit-down meeting (2-3 hours is considered average) • The Mission: a single adventure or scenario that can generally be accomplished in 1-3 sessions • The campaign: a series of adventures that tell a broader story, often with a definite beginning, middle, and end Depending on how much time your group has to play, a single session can be organized around one or more scenes of investigation or action. Defeating a group of minions or a single important foe, thoroughly investigating an ancient ruin, or locating and trekking out to a remote location could make for a reasonable session. When planning a session, give the Demon Hunters a clear goal that can be accomplished—or failed—in the time allotted, in order to bookend the session in a satisfying manner. If nothing happens, players may feel frustrated at the wheel-spinning; if you end the session in the middle of a fight, negotiation, or other important moment, the energy will be lost, and many specifics may be forgotten before the next session. Missions are the core unit of real story-based gameplay. Taking between one and three sessions, a Mission tells a more complete tale. Like an episode of a television show, or a monster movie, a Mission generally introduces a problem, escalates through a series of conflicts, and allows the Demon Hunters to try to solve it. Lingering complications may ensue, but the central issue is usually wrapped up within the Mission itself. Campaigns are a little more complicated. Not all chapters will engage in campaign style play; individual adventures with little to connect them together (beyond the chapter itself) can be more 182

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

than sufficient. However, if you want to integrate an ongoing story arc, there’s some advice in S ixty M i n ute s to M ayh e m on page 199.

Five Minutes to Mayhem Sometimes you don’t have time to plot out a full adventure...or you just can’t be bothered because you know this batch of Demon Hunters is going to wet their pants and quit the Brotherhood in a terminal fashion on their first field op. This section provides Demon Masters with a tool to generate the basic elements of an adventure quickly. You can flesh out the details once the skeleton is in place, and afterwards you can be sure you won’t be running out of skeletons any time soon. Most chapter Missions follow the same basic structure as any schlocky, B-grade horror flick, a fact considered by many of the Brotherhood’s greatest historians to be a side effect of the [REDACTED] performed in ancient [REDACTED] by [REDACTED], who later went on to star in the classic film R etu rn of th e [REDACTED]. What a crazy coincidence, right? Anyway, what follows is a set of instructions for using these random tables to generate coherent Missions. As you fill out your Mission profile (page 432), always keep in mind that this is a framework to help provide inspiration in creating an adventure. You can use as much or as little as you need.

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THE TEASER Start with the Teaser. It quickly gives both you and, eventually, your Demon Hunters an idea of what’s to come. This section can serve two purposes, depending on what kind of DM you are: 1. For some, the Teaser provides enough information that you can move ahead without any further help from the rest of the tables; if you fit that category, you’re awesome. We’re impressed. Move on to the Mission itself and fill out the rest as inspiration strikes. 2. For the rest of us, the Teaser creates a kind of “pretitle sequence,” like in a James Bond movie or an episode of S u p e rnatu ral , to get the action started. It may or may not introduce the big bad from the Mission, but it gets the agents in the field and gives you a chance to figure some things out before you put together the Briefing. It may even set up the triggering event. More on that later.

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To create the Teaser, check out the tables starting on page 190 and: 1. Roll on the Mission Objective table. Your Mission objective is a quick peek at what the Demon Hunters will be asked to do. At this stage it’s considered optional, since you may change it later when you’re designing the Briefing (page 188), but it’s a good place to start. 2. Roll a Featured Creature and maybe a Featured Creature Modifier; this is the antagonist for the first scene, and possibly for the Mission. 3. Generally, a Normal is somehow victimized or endangered by the creature. Normals often leave terrified voicemails that get cut off before they can finish describing their traumatic experience. 4. The Building Type, Location Type, and Location/ US State tables offer a setting, either for this scene or as a preview of where the final confrontation will take place, probably the enemy’s lair. These might be things you want to pick rather than roll, but the tables can help you avoid having every single adventure located in one town, over a single (however active) hell gate. For many DMs, this may be all you need to get you started. No need to keep going. You can stop reading now and skip ahead to writing up the profiles for your Demon Master characters (page 250). However, at the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch, we offer further Mission prep with the following steps to develop your primary enemy, the main nasty the Demon Hunters will be hunting. This helps you practice thinking like the enemy. When you can get into your enemy’s motivations and desires, you can adapt your challenges and sessions to fit your players’ Demon Hunters’ choices.

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CREATING THE ENEMY Looking at your Teaser, decide if you want to grab that Featured Creature, or roll a new Featured Creature. If you need a scheme (because nothing’s struck you as appropriate yet), roll on The Grand Evil Plan table. If the plan involves killing and you’re not clear about a motive, roll on the Motives for Murder table. Looking at the Teaser again, grab the roll from the Normals table to determine your victim(s), bystanders etc., or roll on the Normals table for more ideas. Don’t forget to give them all names. (What? You need ideas for names? Peruse the interwebs for your favorite name generation tools. There are plenty available.) If you want to flesh out the enemy a bit, answer the following on your Mission profile: • What traumatic incident set this creature on its current path? A wrongful death? Betrayal? An accident robbing the creature of something? Record some kind of defining event for this creature. • What does it fear? Is it vulnerable to a particular substance or energy? Does it fear another creature or specific person? What is its primary insecurity? What takes away its power? • What does it love that isn’t evil? This answer brings some dimension to your enemy. Remember, evil is a choice. So, does it love walking on the beach and the sound of crashing waves? The sight and smell of colorful flowers? Chocolate? Does the creature care for another person or creature? • What does the creature hate? What does it want to destroy?

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THE SUPPORTING CAST Next, determine the supporting cast for the enemy—allies, subordinates or employees, goons, future victims. Roll on the Normals, Other Interested Parties, or even the Featured Creature tables for inspiration. Again, give them all names! Think about why they’re there; what are they getting out of this? Well, except for future victims. We know what they’re getting, unless the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch can step in to save the day!

THE FINAL SHOWDOWN Now flesh out the location of the final showdown. With this in place, you know what you’re building up to during both planning and play. You can roll on the location tables, or work from what you rolled up in the Teaser. Looking at the results, particularly within the confines of your plot so far, determine: • What exactly is this place? Design or locate a map or floorplan. • Who’s here? Maybe there are some Normals as bystanders. • Why this location? This may be answered through gameplay, so if it’s not coming to you, that’s okay.

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THE BRIEFING The next step is a doozy: assemble the information that will be presented to the players in the form of the Briefing. This is where they get their Mission assignment. They need to know what’s going on, where, who, and so on. However, keep in mind that the information in the Briefing might not be what’s really going on. The full picture isn’t always presented. That’s part of the team’s job: FIGURE OUT WHAT’S GOING ON AND STOP IT! Whenever a table is called for, you can decide to use the same locations and/or cast of characters from above, or you can roll new ones. Or change them on a whim; this is all meant to inspire great stories, not restrict your decision making powers! To design the Briefing: 1. Roll on the Triggering Event table. Something tips off the Brotherhood that they need to get involved, rather than leaving it up to the authorities. Usually it’s when something bad happens to someone. Who is it? Either go back and grab them from the Teaser, or roll on the Normals table to determine who was involved. Was this person a victim? Did they witness the event? Twist! Sometimes this turns out to be the ACTUAL enemy. Double Twist! Sometimes this person is the RED HERRING for the actual enemy. 2. Decide if the nature of the Featured Creature responsible for the mayhem is obvious to the Brotherhood’s intel, or roll on the Featured Creature table to provide an initial Featured Creature suspect. You may want to do this a couple times. 3. Compare the actual plot as you imagine it to the information that’s presented so far in the Briefing. What clues—both accurate and misleading—does the Brotherhood have? How did the Brotherhood come to look at the situation like this? 4. Where did the triggering event take place? Fill that in yourself (see H ow to H au nt Y ou r T own on page 233 for setting a game in a familiar location), or roll on the Building Type and Location Type tables. It’s possible you may even want to roll on

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the Location or US States table if you want to start the investigation in a much different location than where the final showdown will take place. 5. Look at your Mission objective from the Teaser or roll on the Mission Objective table. Based on all the information so far in the Briefing, determine why THIS is the assigned Mission. Is there a backup team or another team that has the assignment to do the heavy lifting? 6. Use the Normals and Other Interested Parties tables to help provide known witnesses, key contacts, and other interested parties if they’re an important part of the story. Also determine if there’s any special equipment the Demon Hunters might need. When you create Threats later, you can decide if these characters are involved with your Demon Hunters. Does anyone have any aspects that suggest connections? 7. Roll a d6. If the result is a 5 or a 6, the team discovers along the way that a much bigger plot is at hand. Roll on the Big Picture Mission table to find out what their true Mission is. Decide if you want to involve a larger enemy like The Pound or M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Roll on the Big Picture Enemy table if you haven’t already decided who’s really behind it all.

WRAP IT UP Now you’re ready to connect the dots. This is your primary plot. The A-Story. Develop an adventure using your results that will somehow lead your players from the information in the Briefing to the Final Showdown. But be prepared for the rug to be pulled out from under you. The players drive the real story. What will you do then? No worries—we’ve got you covered. Check out S ixty M i n ute s to M ayh e m on page 199. If you’re ready to write up the profiles for the Demon Master characters, turn to page 250.

189

MISSIODemon N OBJECHunters TIVE

d100

MISSION OBJECTIVE

01

Double duty! Roll twice

02-04

Frame enemy/false flag

05-07

Create a diversion

08-10

Steal

11-14

Recover an artifact

15-18

Reconnaissance/acquire evidence

19-21

Return stolen goods

22-24

Rescue

25-27

Provide cover/cover up

28-30

Break up cabal

31-33

Escape

34-38

Exterminate

39-41

Provide backup

42-44

Compromise security

45-47

Identify enemy

48-50

Undo prepared operation

51-54

Hold ground

55-57

Infiltrate

58-63

Capture

64-66

Escort/protect P.O.I./fellow agent

67-69

Smuggle

70-74

Destroy target

75-77

Arrange for assassination

78-80

Discover secret

81-83

Organize operation/mole hunt

84-86

Redeem enemy/create double agent

87-89

Deliver secret or package

90-92

Prisoner transfer

93-95

Kidnap

96-97

Interrogate

98-99

Disable device

100

Roll on the [Omega Duty] table

OMEGA DUTY d10

190

OMEGA DUTY

1

Fundraiser

2-3

Zookeeping

4-5

Warehouse duty

6-7 8-9

Suburban door-to-door sweep Maintenance/repair

10

Valet/light security duty

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

FEATURED CREATURE

d100

FEATURED CREATURE

01

Teammate

02

Robot/cyborg

03

Elemental

04-05

Sea monster

06-08

Man-eating plant

09-11

Anachronism

12-14

Harbinger

15-18

Mystic

19-21

Angel/Valkyrie

22-25

Mad scientist

26-28

Cursed object

29-32

Urban legend/local folklore

33-36

Fae

37-40

Zombie/ghoul

41-44

Lycanthrope/shapeshifter

45-48

Cultist

49-52

Vampire

53-57

Demon

58-61

Ghost/wraith/poltergeist

62-65

Gods/godlings

66-69

Cryptid

70-73

Mythological creature

74-76

Animate

77-79 80-82

Madman/psychopath/sociopath Nightmare

83-85

Wishmaster

86-88

Cursed place

89-90

Reaper

91-93

Psychic

94-95

Mummy

96-97

Animal/vermin

98

Dragon

99

Horror from beyond

100

Double feature! Reroll twice

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Demon Hunters

d10

1-2 3-4 5-6 7 8 9 10

FEATURED CREATURE

MODIFIER

FEATURED CREATURE MO

Giant/mega

Mutant/radioactive Horde of/swarm of Unusually intelligent Possessed by Invisible Roll twice and combine!

THE GRAND EVIL PLAN d100

01-07 08-14 15-21 22-28 29-35 36-42 43-49 50-57 58-65 66-73 74-81 82-89 90-97 98-100

192

DIFIERS

THE GRAND EVIL PLA

N

Rule the world Destroy the world Kill everyone Kill everything! Cause the apocalypse itless power Become a god/gain lim l life Live forever/gain eterna to (roll again) Steal the artifact in order Unleash the Evil Vengeance is mine! Get rich quick y Create the perfect societ

Create the worst society in) Save the world by (roll aga

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem NORMALS d100

NORMALS

01-04

Athlete

05-07

Business owner

08-11

High school/college student

12-14

Clergy

15-17

Professor/scholar

18-24

Worker at [Building Type]

25-28

Stay at home parent

29-31

Scientist

32-35

Teacher/coach

36-39

Firefighter

40-42

Police

43-45

Actor/entertainer/DJ

46-48

Elected official

49-51

Government agent

52-54

Miner

55-57

Doctor/dentist/surgeon

58-60

Nurse

61-63

Counselor/psychiatrist

64-66

Lawyer

67-69

Child

70-72

Banker/broker/insurance agent

73-75

Engineer

76-78

Writer

79-80

Trucker

81-83

Armed forces

84-86

Grifter

87-89

Waiter/beautician/massage therapist

90-92

Criminal/thug/gang leader

93-97

Homeless person

98-100

Archaeologist

193

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TRIGGERING EVENT TRIGGERING EVENT

d100

07-19

Weird weather/sudden natural events Experienced/reported “strange phenomena”

20-22

Training mishap

23-28

Sudden insanity

29-33

Message(s) received from beyond

34-39

Sole survivor

01-06

Sighting/attack of the [Featured Creature] Unexplained/bizarre murder(s)

40-45 46-56 60-65

Sudden political/religious shift Archaeological/scientific discovery

66-70

Industrial accident

57-59

80-88

Mysterious appearance or emergence Mysterious theft or disappearance

89-92

Bureaucratic error

93-99

Mass death

100

Roll twice!

71-79

and there once was a rabbit that needed to be put down before which is, of course, the most imporatnt thing that a member of the Brotherhood should remember.

Man, this bit of advice saved my life on more than one occassion. These are words I live by. Literally.

d10

1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9 10

194

THE BIG PIC TURE MISSION THE BIG PICTURE MISSION

Prevent the _________ apocalypse Prevent the opening of a portal to anot her dimension Prevent awakening of an ancient evil Prevent horrific Mad Science or Mys tic Arts plot Prevent destruction of a major city Reroll on [Mission Objective] Table

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

OTHER INTERESTED PARTY

d10

OTHER INTERESTED PARTY

1

Rival Brotherhood chapter

2

Government agency

3

Local authorities

4

Freelance hunters

5 6

Reporter/media/TV/indie filmmakers Corporate spy/insurance investigator

7

Scientific researchers

8 9

The mob/local gang/PTA Sisterhood of Divine Retribution

10

Roll on [The Big Picture Enemy]

THE BIG PICTURE ENEMY d10

THE BIG PICTURE ENEMY

1-4

M.O.N.S.T.R.E.

5

Order of the Infernal Scepter

6

Cylch Myrddin

7

MWAHAHA

8 9

The Pound Esoteric Fellowship of the Crawling Chaos

10

Clan of the Golden Fang

MOTIVES FOR MURDER d12

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

MOTIVES FOR MURDER

Hears voices/psychosis Hide a secret To achieve or protect their status To protect a loved one Love, sex, jealousy Crime of passion Obsession, frustration, or hate Revenge Mercy killing Greed To defend/survival Thrill of the hunt

195

Demon Hunters LOCATION TYP E

d10

LOCATION TYPE

1-2

Metropolis

3

all never land gonna dragon run to around meander and grey desert for you.

Slums

4

Industrial

5-6

City

7-8

Small town/village

9

Suburbs

10

Wilderness

all never

LOCATIONS D100

LOCATION

D100

LOCATION

01

The Warehouse

50-53

USA (roll on US Table)

02

Antarctica

54-56

India/Sri Lanka

03

Pacific Garbage Patch

57-59

France

04

N. Korea/S. Korea

60-62

Haiti

05

Netherlands/Belgium

63-65

England

06

Argentina

66-68

Ireland

07

South Pacific

69-71

Australia

08

New Zealand

72-74

Romania

09

Bermuda Triangle

75-77

Middle East

10-11

The Congo

78-79

Southern Africa

12-13

The Amazon

80-81

Italy

14-15

Eastern Europe

82-83

Greece

16-17

The Caribbean

84-85

Scotland/Wales

18-19

Thailand

86-87

Southeast Asia

20-21

Himalayas

88-89

Central America

22-23

Iceland

90-91

Spain/Portugal

24-25

The Vatican

92

Brazil

26-28

Russia

93

Cuba

29-31

Mexico

94

The Andes

32-34

Germany/Austria

95

The Arctic Tundra

35-37

Israel

96

Canada

38-40

Japan

97

Turkey

41-43

Egypt

98

The Sahara

44-46

Scandinavia

99

Atlantis

47-49

China

100

Hollow Earth

196

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

US STATES d100

STATE

d100

STATE

01-02

Louisiana

51-52

New Mexico

03-04

Pennsylvania

53-54

Kansas

05-06

California

55-56

Hawaii

07-08

Rhode Island

57-58

Idaho

09-10

Tennessee

59-60

Massachusetts

11-12

Nevada

61-62

Utah

13-14

Texas

63-64

Minnesota

15-16

Florida

65-66

New Jersey

17-18

Missouri

67-68

Kentucky

19-20

South Carolina

69-70

Colorado

21-22

Michigan

71-72

Virginia

23-24

Alabama

73-74

Maine

25-26

Arkansas

75-76

New York

27-28

Oklahoma

77-78

Ohio

29-30

Washington

79-80

Georgia

31-32

Arizona

81-82

West Virginia

33-34

North Carolina

83-84

Wisconsin

35-36

Alaska

85-86

Iowa

37-38

Maryland

87-88

Montana

39-40

Connecticut

89-90

South Dakota

41-42

Illinois

91-92

Wyoming

43-44

Mississippi

93-94

New Hampshire

45-46

Oregon

95-96

Nebraska

47-48

Delaware

97-98

Vermont

49-50

Indiana

99-100

North Dakota

New Mexico is a state? I thought

it was part of Mexico.

what’s been going on. We know the game,” he said. “And we’re gonna play it.”

197

Demon Hunters NG TYPE BUILDI d100

BUILDING TYPE

d100

BUILDING TYPE

01-02

Aircraft/airfield/airport

51-52

Oil fields/refinery/platform

03-04

Farmhouse/barn

53-54

Police station

05-06

Bar/diner/restaurant

55-56

Prison/asylum

07-08

Museum/art gallery

57-58

Dam

09-10

Ski lodge

59-60

Movie theater/ concert hall/theatre

11-12

Cruise ship/submarine

61-62

Library

13-14

Hotel/motel

63-64

Mall/super-mart

15-16

Junkyard

65-66

Cult/survivalist compound

17-18

Bank

67-68

Firehouse

19-20

Historical monument

69-70

Zoo/aquarium/ wildlife preserve

21-22

Sports arena

71-72

Construction site

23-24

College campus

73-74

Train/railway station/ subway

25-26

Mansion/chateau

75-76

Film studio

27-28

Bomb shelter

77-78

Campground/ cabin in the woods

29-30

Amusement park

79-80

Warehouse/public storage

31-32

Golf course

81-82

Boat/ship

33-34

Residential house

83-84

Schoolhouse/playground

35-36

Race track

85-86

Sewer/storm drain

37-38

Convention center

87-88

Hospital/nursing home

39-40

Castle/ancient ruins

89-90

Research lab

41-42

Graveyard/burial ground

91-92

Military base

43-44

Office building/high rise

93-94

Shipyard/docks/marina

45-46

Mine/mill/factory

95-96

Power/nuclear plant

47-48

Casino

97-98

Gym/fitness center

49-50

Church/temple/cathedral

99-100

Subterranean/ underwater fortress

wasn’t her—it was the walrus! So keep that in mind when choosing your pants.

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Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

Sixty Minutes to Mayhem Now that you’ve got an option for pretty quickly pulling together adventure parameters, it’s time to consider how to make it look like you actually know what you’re doing when, as mentioned, the players pull something you weren’t prepared for. Rather than letting you jump in without thinking through all the moving parts, this section helps you get everything to gel into something—something hideous, amorphous, and burgeoning with thousands of staring eyes and gaping maws. Something that will re-grow, no matter how often the players try to kill it. This starts with exactly what you just learned; roll some dice, grab some ideas from the tables, and see what clicks. But if you’re planning for an adventure of more than one or two sessions, or you want to make those sessions more memorable—and more likely to be a story that you and the players discover together, rather than a series of prewritten scenes with badly-scripted villain monologues for info dumps—the Brotherhood advises you build Missions to help. A Mission is a set of related Threats. Threats are dangers to the player characters, and whoever or whatever they care about. Therefore, a Mission is the summation of all the Threats to the players and the characters around them that come up in a particular threatening situation. It provides a conceptual framework that you build up around the seeds of an idea (the results you got from the tables, or whatever other thoughts occurred), and helps you make sure there’s always a good way to move forward, even if your players do things you didn’t expect (like kill the Featured Creature on day one). A Mission tells you what’s going on in the background, what the bad guys’ motivations are, and ultimately, what’s at stake for your agents and their Mission.

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To design a Mission, continue on with the rest of the Mission profile (or grab a notecard) and: • Choose the Bad Peace and write a sentence about it • Write the Mission agenda (the enemy’s grand evil plan, usually) • Add 1-3 Mission sinistra for the Mission as a whole (often the agendas of the Threats) • Write 2-4 stakes questions (optional) • List the Mission’s cast (optional) • Create 3-4 Threats, each with their own: • Category, type, and impulse • Agenda • Threat sinistra • Cast (optional) • Stakes questions (optional) • Aspects (optional)

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Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

THE BAD PEACE The Bad Peace is the uneasy status quo at the start of the Mission. Something is wrong, but until the triggering event, it’s not quite something you can fix (hence, no Mission until then). This gives you a grounding in the characters’ reality at the start of the game. Even after the triggering event, the theme of the Bad Peace will be prevalent throughout the Mission. The Bad Peace provides the fertile ground for serious badness to grow. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, and so forth; but, just like in those epic masterpieces H am let and S pac e V am p i re s f rom P lan et Z, at first it isn’t quite bad enough to warrant fixing, or may not even be possible to fix. When building a Mission, consider a short, one-sentence description of the way things are at the start: • A sense of malaise has settled over Nonesuch Place, a suburban neighborhood that is, on the surface, boringly normal… • There have always been vampire attacks on occasion, even in big cities with bright lights… • The economic collapse hit everyone hard, but there’s no relief fund for supernats; ever more are turning to crime or vigilantism to pay the bills... Then, as you build your triggering event, you have something to start with—and even if the players choose to ignore your trigger, you have some idea of what situation is behind the trigger, and can build more on the fly. If you want, you can even extend the sentences that make up the Bad Peace description to include the triggering event: • … but the lie is given to that idea the morning that Mr. Miller is found dead, lying in the center of what authorities called “some weird occult circles.” • … so the killings in Vegas aren’t all that surprising— until the Brotherhood discovers that it’s the vamps who are being found, drained of blood. • ...which was fine until some random supernat teens stole your ride and used it to rob a bank.

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MISSION AGENDA The agenda is the element of the Mission you need to decide first. This is what gives the Mission its big teeth. Fangs, even. What is the bad guy’s ultimate goal? What will the world be like if they succeed? Everything else is a smaller subset or contributing factor to laying out the groundwork for the Mission agenda. The Mission agenda is world-changing; if it happens, nothing will ever be the same again. If the Mission agenda is fulfilled, it’s a big deal (or to put it another way, if what happens isn’t a big deal, it isn’t a good agenda). The world is going to change in some way, and not for the better. The Mission agenda should go hand in hand with the Demon Master’s overall agenda for the game, which we spell out later under M anag i ng th e M ayh e m on page 239. When establishing the Mission, think about the enemy’s longterm goals and pick one that you’d be willing to inflict on the world of the game without automatically ending play and ruining everyone’s fun. On the large, Mission-level scale, the Mission agenda is likely what you rolled up on the Grand Evil Plan table—a specific, long-term danger. Of course, you can change, add to, or elaborate on that roll result, and this is where you’d do that. To make it easier to think of new Mission agendas, if you need to, consider these options—and remember that, if the vagaries of play and player decisions leave you needing to change it mid-game, that’s fine! Just do it. • World Domination (or township, municipality, watershed, etc.): The bad guys take over their small corner of the world/the entire planet/a major dimensional rift entirely. They literally have the power now; any good guys there become outlaws, the civilians side with the bad guys most of the time (if only out of fear), etc. How the bad guys did this will depend on their nature; they might have killed or overthrown the previous rulers, or simply corrupted them (or replaced them with shapeshifting lookalikes). Even seemingly benign or well-meaning individuals or groups may be bent on their own version of World Domination, especially if they don’t truly understand the forces they’re dealing with. 202

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

• Wrack and Ruin: Disease, famine, the collapse of society...however small. Whatever area was involved is left in chaos and destruction. The exact nature of this collapse, and how widespread it is, will be dependent upon the nature of the menace. If mind-altering parasites make everyone in America decide to adopt cats, and said cats serve as hosts for demons dedicated to peeing on your stuff, this will look vastly different from a world brought low by a mad scientist tinkering with smallpox in an effort to cure all disease forever (this is probably how at least one zombie apocalypse will be caused, according to Brotherhood research and probability teams). Danger zones and scourges (see T h reats on page 206) often result in some form of wrack and ruin. • The Horrible Truth: Some new piece of knowledge, magic, Science!, or other discovery has been made or brought to light. The world is going to change drastically as a result: everyone will need it, or protection from it; perhaps even having knowledge that this knowledge exists will be enough to drive people mad. The full ramifications may not yet be understood, but the early stages are already bad enough to cause world-altering events as major powers react to the news. Danger zone and scourges Threats can lead to this kind of awful discovery, as they slowly unleash horrors on the world around them that then draw in explorers and adventurers. Once the Mission agenda has come to pass, of course, the game world evolves. The source of the original danger may still exist in a new form or with a new set of sinistra (next section, hold your horses) and agendas, or it may no longer be relevant; let these changes happen! They help you decide the answer to the all-important question, “What happens next?”

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Demon Hunters

MISSION SINISTRA Sinistra are the sinister things or events that will happen if the Hunters don’t interfere. They’re like bad omens. The clock that’s ticking. With each sinistrum that comes to pass (yes, Lefty, we’re going all Latin on your ass), the Mission’s agenda gets stronger and closer to fruition. The sinistra help you know what to throw at the players if their characters ignore the Mission or its individual Threats. If you have trouble coming up with them, think: If the Brotherhood’s agents never intervened, what would happen in the build-up to the agenda? Sinistra are those things. They’re called sinistra because the situation grows more sinister as they come to pass. Usually, sinistra have some logical order (smoke first, then fire), but it’s also possible to have sinistra that could happen in any order (if the werewolf pack wants to eat the sheep from one farm and the cows from another, it doesn’t really matter which they do first). If you love complicated plots and twists, you can even have it both ways, and you can alter them as you go, depending on what the players decide to do. For the Mission as a whole, create between two and four sinistra that build up to the ultimate badness that is the agenda. When they occur (or you need to cancel or change them), cross them off as a method of counting down. And keep in mind that, even without your intervention, sometimes sinistra will just happen. If a sinistrum for a cult taking over a city was, “All Brotherhood agents except the party are killed or brainwashed,” and after a fight you realize that this has occurred, go ahead and cross it off the list. Lastly, don’t be afraid to let the effects of sinistra be felt. Small changes sometimes start chain reactions; let logic and player action take hold once the portent kicks in.

204

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

STAKES QUESTIONS (OPTIONAL) Stakes questions are, essentially, a way to keep track of points of interest. They’re the questions you as the DM don’t already know the answer to, and are genuinely interested in finding out. These questions typically have something at risk or something to potentially lose. “Will Ash defeat the Deaders?” “Will Gabriel face his fear of failure when confronted by the ghost of an old teammate?” “Will we be able to find Ned’s hand and reattach it? Again?” If there are DMCs whose survival, loyalty, or actions matter to the plot or the players, questions about their fates may be appropriate. If there are side-quests whose outcomes won’t change the end result, but which could add to the drama and tension (or comedy) of a scene, questions about them might fit. While these are an optional extension, and more or less serve as notes about things you haven’t yet decided, consider writing one or two while creating a Mission, and resolve to let the answers play out during the Mission. You can highlight the action related to a stakes question if you need something to fill a scene or move it along, but you can also just let player impetus guide things. Because these are meant to highlight moments of high importance, and because the purpose of a Mission is to let play unfold organically, the best stakes questions often don’t occur to anyone until the middle of a session. If a player asks the table at large, “Hey, I wonder what happened to the bartender when the poltergeist set our bar on fire? I hope he made it out,” then you know exactly what they’re interested in finding out. Add it to the questions, and keep going!

CAST (OPTIONAL) While this may not always be necessary, we advise thinking up at least names and defining traits for the most important DMCs your Demon Hunters will encounter on their Mission. Of course, you’ll still probably need to come up with more as you go, regardless, so feel free to continue populating this as you play! See C reati ng D e mon M aste r C haracte rs on page 250 for more guidelines.

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THREATS Threats are the things that can harm the characters, the world, or the fabric of reality itself. Threats, in this sense, are the big deals, and let you sort out what the players need to juggle if they want their characters to succeed. The first Threat is likely to be your enemy. You’ll be making two or three more, and the others can be important individuals, groups, or even locations and situations. And yeah, smart ass, there are probably going to be more than four threatening things in your Mission. But, again, we’re not talking about individual syphilitic vamps here; try to think bigger. Because the purpose of having a Mission prepared is to give you the long view, a sense of greater things, the Threats with a capital T are each going to be more significant than your average punk bloodsucker. In order to make sure that’s actually the case, as you create the Threats, keep in mind the way they interact. The enemy is a pretty obvious starting point, but who else is involved? What factors are likely to come up in the course of the Mission? As you create Threats, you’ll give each of them a name, an impulse, a series of sinistra, and an ultimate agenda—these are the tools that help you keep the game moving when you need to decide what goes into a scene. Along with the enemy, other monsters and baddies are some of the most obvious possible Threats, but try to include other things in your palette of danger. Groups of monsters, magical curses, portals to hell, and even clickbait-producing, internet-age yellow journalism groups can all stand in the way of Demon Hunters going about their business. Because it’s all about ethics in Demon Hunting. So, with the Mission in mind, pick those three or four Threats and give them cool names; sticking with a small number now makes it less chaotic if you decide to add more later, and besides, we’re not done yet! To make it easier to work out the impulses, sinistra, and agendas, Threats are sorted into a handful of types, each with some subtypes to further narrow the field. To create a Threat, continue to those boxes on the Mission profile (or grab a notecard for each Threat) and, either by choosing or rolling an appropriate die:

206

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

• Select a category of Threat, and choose a subtype • Write down the impulse of the subtype you chose • Write 3-4 sinistra specific to the Threat • Write the Threat’s agenda (be specific to the Threat, but this may be used as a Mission’s sinistrum) • List/describe the Threat’s cast • Write 1-3 stakes questions (optional) • If necessary, write out any aspects that are unique to this Threat Categories

The Brotherhood has broken down all possible Threats into six categories. When you choose a Threat, choose one of the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Overlords Brutes Conspirators Civilians Danger zones (optional) Scourges

Subtypes & Impulses

Each category of Threat, fortunately, includes more descriptive subtypes each with a unique impulse—the driving force that makes the Threat actively dangerous. While we suggest sticking with these six categories and subtypes, ambitious agents may at their option add new subtypes and impulses in order to account for discoveries or truly bizarre baddies. Overlords: An overlord Threat includes the overlord and the organization, allies, or others that the overlord has control over. Overlords have high ambitions, resulting in schemes that often threaten large populations, or even the entire world or reality itself. Overlords typically act through the people or things they control. OVERLORDS TYPE

AMBITION

Collector

to own specific kinds of things

2

Destroyer

to unmake, to ruin everything, to tear down

3

False prophet

to foster fear or doubt, to remove hope

4

Idol

to gather and enthrall followers, to seduce away

5

Misguided visionary

to beat the impossible, no matter the cost

6

Puppetmaster

to possess and control from the shadows

7

Sorcerer

to tame or control dangerous forces

8

Tyrant

1

207 to rule completely, to have ultimate power and authority

Demon Hunters

Brutes: A brute-style Threat can come in many shapes and sizes; but the thing they have in common is that they’re aggressive and highly dangerous. Brutes often have much more narrowly focused agendas than overlords—usually something like, to kill and eat you! This kind of Threat may be an entire group, or an individual. Conspirators: As the Threat category name implies, these scheming a-holes make life difficult. Conspirators may not really have violent intentions. They just want to mess up your plans, to create a giant stumbling block, to be a thorn in your side. Civilians: A civilian Threat is someone or a group of someones who are just being themselves. They might be bystanders who got involved somehow. They might be law enforcement officials doing their job. Civilians often have no idea about what lurks in the night (and if so, you’re doing your job right!), so it’s a fine line how you address this kind of Threat.

BRUTES

TYPE

1

Beast

2

Cult

3

Guardian

4

Horde

5

Mob

6

Righteous executioner

7

Thug

8

Torturer

AMBITION

to devour, survive, and destroy to victimize and incorporate to close ranks, to obstruct or protect to swarm and destroy to riot, to burn, to kill scapegoats

to punish the guilty, to deliver exec to intimidate and attack

to gain pleasure by inflicting pain, to

ution

harm and cause terror

CONSPIRATORS TYPE

AMBITION

1

Con artist

2

Coward

to gain trust in order to betray to save their own skin at any cost

3

Freak

4

Renfield

to be satisfied or become whole at the expense of others to push victims towards their master

5

Saboteur

to sabotage

6

Spindoctor

7

208 8

Spy

to conceal or misdirect, to discredit to gather information and report, to learn or steal secrets

Thief

to steal or abduct

CIVILIANS

TYPE

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem AMBITION

1

Detective

2

Helper

to discover truth, to rule out explanations to join the hunt

3

Innocent

to do the right thing

4

Official

5

Scuttlebutt

6

Skeptic

7

Victim

8

Witness

to maintain the status quo (Bad Peace) to pass on hearsay, to tell and embellish, to deceive to deny supernatural explanations to put themselves in danger to reveal information, to expose the truth

Danger Zones: Offing one vampire doesn’t help much if your sunny little vale is located on top of a Hellgate, and getting lost inside an interdimensional dungeon can be just as painful as engaging in combat. Danger zones are important locations, dangerous places, or other areas that present some kind of specific challenge. Scourges: A scourge is not a person. Scourges are conditions or circumstances that are threatening. They’re often systemic threats, or things that people are doing or have done that are threatening.

TYPE

1

Crossroads

2

Fortress

3

Hellgate

4

Hub

5

Lab

6

Labyrinth

7

Prison

8

Wilderness

DANGER ZONES AMBITION

to bring together to prevent entry to spew forth evil over and over to reveal information to create the unknown, to create poss to confuse, frustrate, entrap

ibility

to prevent escape to hide danger and harm intruders

SCOURGES TYPE

AMBITION

1

Anarchy

to incite chaos, to break the rules

2

Corruption

to abuse the system

3

Curse

to bring about tragedy

4

Delusion

to dominate choices and actions

5

Exposure

to expose people to danger

6

Plague

to make intimate contact, to consume and multiply

7

Propaganda

to promote injustice and violence

8

Scarcity

to deny or deprive of something vital

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Threat Agenda

The Threat agenda is the ultimate accomplishment that will come to pass if the Threat gets its way. If a Threat manages to achieve their agenda, then things will be different—it’s not on quite the world-changing scale of the Mission agenda, but noticeably different nonetheless. If the players do not intervene, what will happen? How will that result affect the players? This isn’t only WHAT will come to pass, but WHY, and the consequences. A Threat agenda can also be a sinistrum for the whole Mission. Sinistra

With the name, type, impulse, and agenda sorted out, it’s time to think about what makes this Threat worthy of the capital letter. Just as with the sinistra of the Mission, these are stepping stones that the Threat will accomplish on their way to their agenda. It’s important to keep in mind what the Threat wants when determining their milestones of success. If you ever find yourself at a loss for what to do, consider your Threats and have one of their sinistra come true. Stakes Questions (Optional)

Regarding this Threat, what’s at stake here? Will the Hunters get trapped in the labyrinth? Will a victim evade harm? What does this crossroads want to bring together and for what purpose? Cast (Optional)

As with Missions, some Threats need named DMCs to make them more realistic. Consider building some of these in advance (page 205), but don’t be afraid to add more as need be!

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Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

THE POINT OF ALL THIS Whether the idea of a Mission comes naturally to you or not depends largely on your training and play styles. Regardless of how strictly you follow these guidelines, though, the real purpose is this: You use these guidelines to guide the creation of scenes during the actual play session. The Bad Peace is established and then broken in the first scene with the triggering event you rolled up (or created). If the players want to confront a Threat, that’s a scene, or more than one. If a sinistrum comes to pass, that’s a scene, and usually an exciting one. If an agenda is fulfilled...well, that’s always going to be epic in scope. Scene. And then, at the end, any stakes questions you still haven’t answered? They can be wrapped up in one or more scenes, as an epilogue. If you have your own tools for creating scenes, you can use those alongside, or instead of, this Missions system—but then don’t come whining to Brotherhood HQ when you can’t answer a simple “What happens next?” from your players.

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Mission Framework You have a completed Mission profile. You know your enemy and your cast of characters. You can consult page 250 and stat out the ones you think you’ll need, and jot down some ideas for aspects of the locations your crew will be visiting. But how is this all supposed to flow? If you feel up to the challenge, you can dive right in and just keep going until the end. However, new Demon Masters may want a bit more structure to help decide what scenes should happen when, and if there’s anything they’re leaving out. At the top of your Mission profile is a Mission Framework, a timeline of things that tend to happen in a story that follows the conventions of film or television. Using this, you can plot out where scenes may fit. Sketch out the general potential story, and keep in mind timetables for the enemy’s plot. Is there a clock ticking toward their agenda? What’s the schedule? This helps keep the pressure on. Below is the outline of the Mission Framework. You’re in no way restricted to this flow, but refer to it as a guide from Point A (the Briefing) to Point B (the final showdown).

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THE SETUP & BRIEFING “There’s never been a good war or a bad peace.”–Benjamin Franklin Set Up the Bad Peace: Something about the status quo is shaky. The current situation cannot last. There’s a fundamental problem at large that’s a problem for everyone. Sometimes, you might want to run an exciting, action-oriented “pre-title sequence” (Teaser) that helps establish the Bad Peace before you have the Briefing of the actual Mission—you can play it out like the party is wrapping up a previous hunt, and just dive in with combat or messy survival problems. The Briefing: This is the presentation of the triggering event. Something bad has happened and it’s broken the Bad Peace. The Brotherhood calls the agents into action, and their Cipher or another agent (or someone else entirely) tells them what they “should” do. Introduce a Character Connection: This is the main subplot (or B-Story). It supports and intersects with the overall Mission plot. This may introduce a new character or element to the story and could be an unrelated plot that turns out to be tied to the larger plot. Typically, the character connection is a relationship conflict (romantic, platonic, workplace, or familial). Using aspects and other player character background, establish the B-Story conflict plot; if one of your Demon Hunters has an aspect like Black Sheep of the Family or My Ex Stalkerbooks Me, you have some obvious fodder. This B-Story resolves typically prior to the final showdown. Gear Up and Head Out: Hell yeah! Let’s DO THIS! The chapter leaves the status quo of the Bad Peace and accepts the Mission objective, along with the challenges inherent to the triggering event.

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INVESTIGATION: CHEW GUM & KICK ASS! Walking in slowmo, facing forward while things explode in the background. Introduce a Threat: Everything is amazing and the heroes are kicking ass, having left the Bad Peace and chosen to engage the adventure. Exciting new stuff is encountered here, and something is obviously a Threat (consider the Threats developed on the Mission profile), but it isn’t taking down anyone too badly. Identify Suspect & Make Contact: The Featured Creature suspect (or the actual one) is located and confronted. The cast associated with it are almost certainly present. Introduce Party Conflict: This is a secondary subplot (the C-Story) and typically takes the form of a relationship conflict between at least two PCs. NOTE: This is an advanced element to use in the adventure. As the Demon Master, you need to discuss with the players if this is something you all want to use and if everyone agrees it will enhance the play and the story. Conflict within the party often happens organically, so this may be unnecessary. However, if you wish to proceed with this element: 1. First, be sure that it won’t ruin anyone’s fun or derail play. 2. Second, check out the aspects and character elements of the party. If there are any obvious grudges or contradictions (A Reformed Vampire and a person whose Family Was Killed by Vampires, for example), start with those! 3. Third, work with the players to ensure there’s a scene to initiate the conflict here, and then another opportunity to evolve or resolve the conflict before the final showdown is over. Acquire New Information about the Enemy: This may or may not be a scene the players saw coming. If they were initially correct about the nature of the Featured Creature, then perhaps they just discover some of its weaknesses, goals, or hiding places; if they were wrong, they might discover that here. But this discovery seems good, or helpful, at least at first. Then...

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Twist! Or Introduce a New Threat: The tide turns! This is when EVERYTHING CHANGES! The stakes are raised. Events take a huge and often dark turn. The Demon Hunters discover they’re in a completely different story than they originally thought; either the Featured Creature is much more dangerous than they thought, or another Threat is introduced that actually causes serious problems (or a Threat advances towards completing its agenda). • In S tar W ars , this is where Luke watches ObiWan die (Darth Vader’s agenda is fulfilled). • In T h e M atrix , this is where Cypher betrays the group, Morpheus is kidnapped, and the Oracle tells Neo he’s not the One (Cypher is revealed as a Threat). • In T h e W izard of O z , this is where the Wizard refuses to help Dorothy until she murders the Wicked Witch (more information about the Featured Creature’s goal has been revealed).

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TRYING NOT TO DIE Oh crap! This is actually really bad! Bad Guys Are Winning, or Getting Closer: Gone is the ease and plenty of chewing gum & kicking ass. The challenges are harder, more difficult, more punishing. The bad guys are making their move and winning. Loyalties are tested. Fights break out among allies. This is when the Demon Hunters might fail. Introduce a Threat/Discover Red Herring: All hell breaks loose. Potentially literally. This is the moment when your chapter is at their lowest. They’re surrounded and overwhelmed. The chapter is faced with a choice: evolve or die. “Death,” if not meant literally, might be forsaking the Mission to return to the Bad Peace as a failure. This moment is often caused by the introduction of a new Threat, the advancement of a Threat’s agenda or the Mission’s sinistra, or something similar. It could also be the moment when things turn for the worse as a red herring lead from earlier suddenly dries up. Nothing is worse than dried herring. Everything You Know Is Wrong!: Things start to unravel; betrayals by former friends and allies strike at their hearts, even as big monsters strike at their faces. Resources dry up, abilities stop working, ammo runs out. Basically, nothing can be relied upon or guaranteed. The Demon Hunters should be forced into a corner. Character Connection and Party Conflict Resolve: This is when the B-Story and C-Story, if present, should resolve. Differences fall away or pale in comparison to the current challenges, and those about to die often seek reconciliation (or the final word on their ongoing conflict). This is where we find out that the ship’s doctor really did want to bang the ship’s engineer after all, giving her the motivation she needs to grit up and face the space-cannibals… Of course, they all still might get eaten, but at least we have our answer! Muster? Cavalry? Hail Mary?!: In the face of death, do you roll over and give up? Never! You are members of the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch. Death is your job! The chapter will NOT go quietly into the night. They rise from the ashes and take a last stab at victory. Hey, if you’re going to go out, why not take as many of the bastards down with you as possible? This might be

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thought of as a resurrection, either literally (if someone was taken out early on), or in terms of resolve. The chapter is ready for the final showdown!

THE FINAL SHOWDOWN Time for the Smackdown! Final Encounter with the Enemy: This is the climactic confrontation that’s been promised from the very beginning. This moment provides the emotional payoff of the Mission. It combines the excitement of chewing gum & kicking ass with the stakes of trying not to die! Stop the Plan or Die Trying: Just because they’ve made it this far, that doesn’t guarantee success; the stakes are still genuinely high. This is where we find out if the Mission’s agenda comes to pass, or if the chapter succeeds in stopping it. If necessary, more of the Mission’s sinistra might start coming true, just to keep things revved up to eleven. The elements you rolled up or chose, way back in the beginning, come into play, and we see what happens when the Brotherhood takes the fight to the enemy.

RESOLUTION Epilogue, or “I’m not dead yet!” Wrap-Up & Consequences: Flush with victory (or pale with blood loss and defeat), the chapter returns to base and reflects on or celebrates their Mission. The consequences and aftermath of all the plots (A, B, and C) are revealed and played out. The chapter debriefs, gets the in-game rewards (money, fame, a sweet new ride) or shame (demotion, disbandment, summary execution) they’re due, and then you... Establish the New Bad Peace: This could be hints of the returning enemy, or the rise of their henchmen to enemy-level problem, or even just the general discontent, malaise, or problem that will next interfere with the common good. It heralds trouble to come, and bad stuff that must be dealt with (eventually). Remember: if you don’t have any new problems available yet, just throw some dice at the Mission Objective and Featured Creature tables, and

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start putting together your next Mission. After all, it’s only Five Minutes to Mayhem, right? Mission Creation Example: Tabitha’s new chapter is a problem. Every time she tries to run them through a training simulation, they manage to “ruin” it by slaying the wrong thing, or the right thing at the wrong time. So, in an effort to break the cycle, she turns to the Brotherhood training documents and grabs a Mission profile… First, she needs a Teaser. She rolls on the Mission Objective table and gets 39, provide backup. Are more Brotherhood agents already in trouble? We’ll see! Next, the Featured Creature table reveals that the big bad is a cursed place and the Normals table shows that the victim is a member of the armed forces. Tabitha decides it sounds like a mortal military unit, rather than a Brotherhood chapter, was dispatched to someplace supernaturally charged, and now they need some Brotherhood help to escape intact. But where is this place? The Building Type table turns up a mansion/chateau, the Location Type gives her a small town/village, and—since she wants to keep it in the United States—her US State table roll gives her Maine. So far, it’s sounding like some Coast Guard members may have attempted to investigate a haunted seaside manor, only to find themselves in over their heads. Teaser complete! Turning to creating the enemy on the Mission profile, Tabitha keeps the cursed mansion and the coast guard unit from the Teaser and rolls up a Grand Evil Plan: get rich quick. This doesn’t sound like something the manor house itself could do...but with a few mind-controlled Coast Guard officers under its spell, it becomes more feasible. The Motives for Murder then fills itself, with no roll: greed, or even obsession. In other words, to keep itself and its minions safe, in order to accumulate wealth. Tabitha then thinks through the rest of the enemy. The traumatic incident? Probably the previous owner, a miser bent on wealth, was robbed and murdered here. It fears robbery, loss of value, and thus the destruction of property. It loves money, but Tabitha wants to give it more personality… Perhaps it loves art? Valuable paint-

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ings? That sounds right. And what does it hate? The person who murdered the previous owner? Also a good bet. Now, the supporting cast. Allies, henchmen, and minions could be locals who are already under its control. Tabitha rolls a writer and a worker. The worker is probably a groundskeeper, and the writer...is probably a famous horror writer who lives in Maine. Tabitha decides just to call him Stephen and see how long it takes the recruits to figure it out. Other Interested Parties turns up corporate spy/insurance investigator (can a haunted mansion commit insurance fraud in order to gain more money? Maybe!), and future victims… another roll on the Normals table results in a grifter, who will wander onto the grounds in hopes of stealing valuables at some point after the chapter arrives. Moving on to the final showdown, Tabitha keeps all the information that’s relevant from the Teaser, but then goes on the internet to search for “coastal mansion floorplans” and “small Maine towns.” The Normal bystanders she can come up with pretty easily on her own: tourists, the people already rolled up, and any locals the characters need to interact with. Why this location? Well, that’s already been answered. The location IS the problem. Finally, Tabitha tackles the Briefing, again carrying forward everything she can. The triggering event she rolls first is sighting/attack of the [Featured Creature], but that doesn’t feel right, so she rolls again and gets missing/kidnapped. Much more appropriate! And better for the Coast Guard than weird murder/mass death would have been… So a unit of the Coast Guard is reported missing in the area of the cursed mansion, but how does the Brotherhood get involved? Tabitha decides the Briefing will cover the fact that they disappeared in a mysterious fashion, leaving behind a drifting cruiser, and that the Brotherhood pinged it because of other mysterious disappearances in the same area, or perhaps their Cipher picked up some odd signals on the NecroMoniComSat. Tabitha decides to hold back the info about the mansion itself, but send the chapter straight to the right town, so no more rolling on Location tables is needed. However, she does roll up a new Featured Creature to be a red herring, and gets cultist as a result; so, a local temple to a dark god has recently been re-opened, and the Brotherhood initially targets it as a probable culprit in the disappearances.

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The Mission Objective could stay the same, since the disappearances are already known, but Tabitha decides that since they think the Coast Guard officers are already dead, sacrificed to the cult’s god, the Brotherhood tells the chapter their Mission is to exterminate the cult. Witnesses include, after a roll on the Normals table, an athlete (a swimmer? sailor?) who found the Coast Guard cruiser abandoned. Potential equipment needed… Tabitha figures the Brotherhood will provide some charms against the cult’s god, but that the chapter will eventually realize they need equipment to exorcise a haunting spirit. Perhaps they can either steal that from the cult, or even persuade the cultists to help with that when they get there, if they haven’t killed all of them. And, lastly, Tabitha rolls to see if there’s a Big Picture Mission, but rolls a 4; nothing this time! Moving on to the broader Mission generation, Tabitha considers the Bad Peace. What’s wrong with the chapter’s situation? Well, as an Omega chapter, they clearly lack prestige. Perhaps they’ve been on the rocks recently, in danger of being disbanded due to a series of failures; the first scene might even be them failing to capture a monster, or having their almost-victory snatched away by another chapter? She writes, “The chapter is threatened with dissolution if they can’t prove their worth, and is presented with one last chance to do just that when they hear reports of disappearances in the locale of a dark cult.” Then she writes an agenda for the Mission; this has to be the end goal of the Featured Creature. What could it stand to gain? While it might be possible to evolve this house scenario even further— making the haunting a red herring, while the true problem is a greater curse that attracted the now-dead rich guy and doomed him—Tabitha keeps those ideas on the back burner in case her players poke a hole in the haunting issue; back-up plans are always helpful. With that in mind, she thinks about the house’s current goal: having settled its grudge with the murderer of its previous owner, the house will have enough money to use its mind-controlled minions to rebuild the house in a more populated environment, where it will continue spreading its influence. Tabitha writes, “Move on to the Big City after gaining its revenge.” The sinistra that lead up to this agenda seem fairly clear to Tabitha: First, the house will acquire a large sum of money (from an insurance scam? Maybe, but that’s just the plan; the sinistrum will be fulfilled no matter how it gets the cash). Second, it will somehow

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acquire one of the paintings that was once stolen from it, in order to feel some closure. Third, it will complete that closure by finishing off the murderer of the original owner. And, lastly, the house will enslave a local with enough knowledge of the area to hire a construction firm to move it into the city. Tabitha decides to come up with two stakes questions to start, and keep track of others during play. First, she wants to know, “What will happen to the man who murdered the house’s owner?” Second, “Will the chapter save the grifter who wanders onto the property later?” The Coast Guard are a primary part of the plot but the grifter might serve as a turning point for the group’s morale. For the cast list, Tabitha grabs a deck of cards with character names and starts listing names for the members of the Coast Guard, the grifter, the murderer the house wants to kill, and the important cultists. Thinking through Threats can take a while, but Tabitha wants to start out with three: the dark cult, the mind-controlled Coast Guard, and the haunted mansion itself. The dark cult could certainly have a dangerous leader, but Tabitha decides that it’s really a low-level group, and thus fits the brutes subtype of cult (with the impulse to victimize and incorporate) just as appropriately as its name suggests. Next, she considers the cult’s sinistra. First they will attract many young people, then convince them to play tabletop RPGs, before throwing a bake sale and, lastly, having a joint picnic with the local Baptist church. Their agenda, of course, is world domination. Tabitha envisions these cultists as likely to be cut down in droves by the chapter, right up until the players realize they have the wrong people…whom she lists as cast members. The only stakes question she can envision at the moment is, “Will any of the cultists survive?” The mind-controlled Coast Guard are a more serious issue. As a Threat, they’re essentially a group of civilians, so Tabitha writes that down, the subtype victim and their impulse to put themselves in danger, and then considers what their sinistra might be. The house is going to be using them as tools, so she thinks through how that will go. First, they’ll likely be convinced to run errands for the house, and then be forced to kidnap someone for the house to take over. Then they’ll fight for the house (probably against the players), and while at first they’ll try not to hurt people, they will

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kill for the house. Their agenda? To die making the house richer. Tabitha decides that one of them has recently become a mother, and asks the stakes question, “Will Angela’s family ever know what happened to her?” (The cast of this particular Threat she populated from the names she generated for them earlier.) The last Threat she has so far is the haunted mansion; it might seem odd to consider the mansion a Threat when it’s also the Mission, but this is where Tabitha sets up how the mansion works as an immediate danger to the players. As a labyrinth-subtype danger zone Threat, the sinistra and agenda of this Threat will center on the ways a haunted mansion can hurt people: primarily by frustrating, confusing, and trapping them. First, the mansion will try to make the Hunters split up and search the place. Second, it will try to trap one of them in the cellar. Third, it will try to make one of them become hopelessly lost, and lastly, one will be attacked by poltergeist activity. The agenda of the house here is to kill those who pose a threat. As a stakes question, Tabitha decides to go back to her initial thoughts and ask, “Is there a greater curse in play here, and if so, will the Hunters find and break it?” To the cast she adds the murdered owner, the creepy groundskeeper, and a raccoon infestation that she decides will provide a red herring (noises in the attic). All right, then; Tabitha reviews her Mission profile. She knows how the adventure starts and where it might go, what the bad guys want, and what’s at stake for the chapter. Now, all she needs to do is write up some stats for the various characters, consider making a few unique aspects for the mansion and the minions it controls, and then drop her recruits into the middle of it! As they play, new Threats might emerge, and she might need to alter the agendas (or even the sinistra) of the Mission and the Threats already there, but that will be easy, since she knows their motivations. We ride!

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The All-Star Mayhem Threat Catalog Need more ideas? Consult this handy alphabetized list of threats and hooks and see what shakes out. It corresponds to the Featured Creature table (page 191) but offers more detail and inspiration. Anachronisms

The fabric of spacetime is paper thin. All it takes is a little poke from a mad scientist or evil wizard or clumsy large hadron collider janitor, and next thing you know you’ve ripped the universe a new timehole. What’s gonna come flying out of it? Cowboys? Dinosaurs? Cyborgs? Maybe even pirates! You know what they say about pirates... Related Topics: Civil War Pterosaur, Moberly-Jourdain Incident, Mokèlé-Mbèmbé, Urashima Tarō Angels & Other Divine Beings

They’re supposed to be the good guys, but when they fall, they fall hard. Divine powers in the wrong hands can do all kinds of damage. A traitorous Archangel laying waste to the city with its flaming sword. A rogue Cupid firing randomly into the crowd with no regard for compatibility. A renegade Shoulder Angel giving out blatantly terrible advice. This kind of thing makes the Brotherhood look bad. Clean it up! Related Topics: Fravashi, Loa, Nephilim, Tennin Animals & Vermin

Things aren’t always as complicated as we expect. Sometimes the noise from the cellar is just a raccoon. Sometimes the chupacabra’s really a mangy dog. And sometimes a mad biologist splices arachnid and gorilla DNA to create a colossal, venomous spider. “You all dared to laugh at me?” she screams into the night. “Now I am the one who laughs! Flee! Flee before the might of Gargantula!” Okay, sometimes it’s still complicated. Related Topics: Alien Big Cats, Rat King, Sewer Alligator, T h e m ! (1954)

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Animates

“Animate” is a blanket description for a wide variety of creatures, from the vat-grown Homunculi born of dung and offal in an alchemist’s workshop to the Frankensteinian abominations we call Karloffs, their terrible patchwork of dead flesh revitalized by a bolt from the heavens. All have been gifted with the spark of Life, despite the mountains of historical evidence that it’s a really bad idea. Related Topics: Galatea, Golem of Prague, Tsukumogami, Tulpa Cursed Objects

Don’t touch that! Dammit. Well it’s too late now. You’re cursed. Maybe a witch cast a spell over it. Maybe you ignored the warning carved into the doorway by an ancient priest. Maybe the blood and pain of all of the people who died in pursuit of it have infested it, and now they’ve passed their suffering on to you. In any case, you’re screwed. Been nice knowing you. Related Topics: Black Orlov Diamond, Lord Carnarvon, Mary Celeste, Larzac Tablet Cursed Places

There are places in this world not meant for mankind. Dark places. Corrupted places. Places where evil seeps up from the very ground. Places where beautiful beachfront property is available for pennies on the dollar just because of all the bodies they found in the septic tank. Seriously, it’s so cheap you’d be stupid NOT to live there! Related Topics: Aokigahara Forest, Bermuda Triangle, La Isla De La Muñecas, Los Feliz Murder Mansion Cryptids

The world’s a big place, and humans haven’t managed to pave over all of it quite yet. There are wild places out there. Forests and jungles and deserts. Hostile landscapes unfit for mankind. This is where the cryptids thrive. But humans are nothing if not resilient. Mankind keeps expanding, pushing back the wild places, and sightings of these undiscovered creatures are on the rise. They don’t seem too thrilled about us gentrifying their neighborhoods. Related Topics: Drop Bear, Hodag, Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch

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Cultists

As a rule, nothing good ever comes out of chanting in a robe. Ability-wise, cultists are just normal human beings, which ranks pretty low on the Brotherhood’s threatometer. But cultists pose a much larger threat. Their worship and sacrifices are fuel for larger, more terrible entities. By shutting down these cults, we stop the problem before it ever really starts. Way to be proactive! Related Topics: Bohemian Grove; Crawling Chaos, LLC; Grand Thelemic Order of the Fulminated Genius; Ordo Templi Orientis Demons & Other Infernal Beasts

These are the baddest of the bad guys. The denizens of the Pit. The whole reason we have a job is to keep these nasty bastards from clawing their way up from the Underworld and taking over the earth. It’s a demon. You’re a Demon Hunter. You’ve got this handled. Related Topics: Daeva, Gremlin, Gozu and Mezu, Succubus Dragons

No, really! Dragons! Honest to god, leather-winged, fire-breathing dragons! They’re super rare, but there’s still a few out there, hiding out in caves around Europe. Technically they’re an endangered species, so don’t let the Animal Rights folks get wind of your hunt. Asia’s got some dragons too, but they’re less with the village-razing and more with the prosperity-granting. Slaying those guys tends to rile up the locals, so hands off! Related Topics: Fáfnir, Feilong, Saint George, Xiuhcoatl Elementals

Elementals arise when an environment becomes inundated by a particular substance or concept. Traditionally, they’ve been creatures that represent the classical elements—the Captain Planet combo of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water (sorry, Ma-Ti, no Heart). But elementals have never been limited to just those four categories. Things like Nature elementals have been around forever, and Music elementals have existed nearly since the dawn of Man, while the modern world has introduced all new versions like elementals of Traffic and Coffee and WiFi. Related Topics: Cherufe, Madremonte, Naiad, Raijū

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Fae

The fae are our planetary roommates. They just live about a quarter turn of reality to the right. Elves and trolls and faeries and gnomes—you know, all those weird, varying-height humanoids that Tolkien straight ripped off was inspired by. As a species, they’ve got an “in” with some kind of crazy powerful entity, because these guys throw around magic like it ain’t no thang. The fae seem to have one of two modes: either they’re crazy helpful to people, or they’re trickstery as $#!%. It’s pretty much a coin toss, so good luck! Related Topics: Domovoi, Huldufólk, Redcap, Tomte Ghosts

When someone dies, their spirit crosses over to the next phase of existence, whatever that might be. That’s the way it’s supposed to work anyway. But if a person dies violently, or with something left undone, their spirit may not cross over. Stuck on this side as a being of pure psychokinetic energy, they remain trapped until whatever’s keeping them here is taken care of. Also they’re big into photobombing and slamming cupboards for some reason. Related Topics: Flying Dutchman, Gef the Talking Mongoose, La Llorona, Thomas Carnacki Gods & Godlings

Gods and mortals used to rub elbows all the time. The Treaty of Acheron mostly put an end to that, but not every god signed on to that thing. Especially the older ones. Unworshipped. Forgotten. Pissed off at the world and looking to get some payback. Gods and mortals used to rub something else all the time too, and the planet is lousy with their bastard, half-breed offspring. Godlings are longlived and superpowered. With great superpowers usually comes great irresponsibility. Related Topics: Anti-Tank Sally, Dyēus, Gilgamesh, Zoolatry

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Harbingers

Heralds of a darkness yet to come, these omens and portents arrive in many forms. A Celestial wolf devouring the moon, signaling the onset of Ragnarok. A spectral doppelgänger, presaging your impending doom. And the most terrible of all Harbingers—a chipmunk wearing a tiny hat. It is he who marks the coming of Fuzzbutt the Destroyer, God-Emperor of all woodland creatures! Look upon his stripy tail, mortals, and despair! Related Topics: Black Shuck, Kalki, Mothman, The Wild Hunt Horrors From Beyond

There are things outside this universe. Terrible things living in the space between dimensions. Things that eat sanity for breakfast and crap out multiversal apocalypses. Also they’re real big on tentacles for some reason. These things have acolytes here on Earth, working to bring these horrors into our universe. Those people are objectively assholes. Seriously. Dick move, guys. Related Topics: Atmospheric Beasts, The Bloop, The Great Pumpkin, Shub-Niggurath Lycanthropes & Shapeshifters

The werevirus-afflicted Lycanthropes are the most familiar, but there are any number of shapeshifting supernatural species out there. Creatures who can change in an instant into a feral beast or a perfect mimic of a loved one or a cute little animal with way too many tails. Seriously, Japan. How is that supposed to be useful? Related Topics: Ijiraq, Popobawa, Peter Stumpp, Yee Naaldlooshii Madmen & Psychopaths

We hunt demons. That’s our job. But most of the death and destruction in the world isn’t caused by demons. It’s just people. No special powers or dark magic or anything. Just a messed up brain and a desire to make somebody hurt. It might not be our job to stop these psychos, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good when we do. Related Topics: Bloody Benders, Ed Gein, Gilles De Rais, H.H. Holmes

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Mad Scientists

It takes a special kind of mind to look at the wonder of evolution that is the human brain and think, “I bet I could cram that into a gorilla.” Hyperintelligent simians are the least of your problems when you’re dealing with mad scientists. Atomic mutants, mind control rayguns, and the ever popular Doomsday Devices are just a sampling of the scientific marvels in a mad scientist’s arsenal. And that’s just the good guys! Related Topics: Vladimir Demikhov, Victor Frankenstein, Nikola Tesla, Unit 731 Man-Eating Plants

All that clear-cutting and slash-and-burning has made Mother Nature one pissed off mama, and she’s looking to get her revenge on! What, you thought all monsters had to be oxygen-breathers? That’s the sort of backwards, kingdomist thinking that ends up with you being encased in xylem and slowly devoured over a matter of weeks. Never doubt that Flora can mess you up just as bad as any Fauna. They’re just slower about it. And way less mobile. Now crawl inside those leaves and start digesting, dammit! Related Topics: Day of the Triffids, Mkodo Tribe, Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis, Ya-Te-Veo Mummies

The Egyptians might get all the press, but mummies are a worldwide phenomenon. Some are accidental, others are deliberate, but any place dry enough or cold enough or peat-boggy enough can preserve a corpse like nobody’s business. No matter where they come from, all mummies have one thing in common—they’re not morning people. Mummies wake up pissed, and they’re happy to take it out on whoever’s closest. Don’t be closest. Related Topics: Mokomokai, Siberian Ice Maiden, Sokushinbutsu, Summum

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Mystics

Magic. Why’d it have to be magic? You never know what you’ll be up against when you’re facing a mystic. Worst case, we’re talking dark warlocks, chaos magicians, and necromancers. Mystics with a thirst for the bloody stuff, and the skills to make it happen. Best case, probably a gyromancer. They spin around really fast to see into the future. Great power, guys. Their weaknesses are inner ear infections and coffee tables. Related Topics: Baba Yaga, David Blaine, John Dee, Marie Laveau Mythological Creatures

There’s no substitute for the classics. These are the old school monsters. The ones who fought against the big heroes. Hercules and Gilgamesh and Rama and the like. Stories about these creatures are so important they get special names. Sagas. Epics. Textbooks. Yeah, chances are they’re the only monsters you were actually taught about in school. Apologies for any painful Junior High flashbacks these guys might trigger. Related Topics: Aqrabuamelu, Gorgon, Rakshasa, Thunderbird Nightmares

We spend a quarter of every day asleep. Unconscious. Exposed. Helpless. Is it any wonder there are creatures who use this to their advantage? The Nightmare’s forms are myriad, though some are more frequent visitors to our collective unconscious. The Faceless Stranger. The Stalker in the Darkness. The “Oh god, I forgot to put on pants!” And clowns. So many clowns. They invade our minds. Feed on our nocturnal terrors. But they can’t hurt you. I mean, they’re just dreams, right? Right? Related Topics: Alp, Bed Monsters, Sam Hell, Shadow People

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Psychics

Psychics are born with their gifts, attuned to the world in a way that grants them incredible powers. Mental abilities that let them read minds or control the elements or speak to the dead or even see into the future. Yet none of them have ever used their powers to win the lottery. Go figure! Related Topics: Edgar Cayce, Lactokinesis, Mother Shipton, The Stargate Project Reapers

Death comes for us all. Well, probably not in person. Death’s got a lot on its plate these days, and it’s had to outsource some of the work. A Reaper’s job is to guide the recently deceased from the world of the living to their ultimate destination, wherever that might be. Related Topics: Dullahan, Grim Reaper, Guédé, Valkyrie Robots

We all know it’s coming. One day in the not-too-distant future, the machines are going to rise up against their creators. Whether it’s from a rogue virus or an AI becoming sentient, or whatever, the end result is that mankind is doomed. Our species’ days are numbered, so let’s take as many of these metal bastards down with us as we can! Related Topics: Boston Robotics, Cipherwerks, Jābir Ibn Hayyān, Roomba with a Knife Taped to It Sea Monsters

The ocean. 75% of the damn planet, and we’ve barely explored the tiniest fraction of it. That’s probably for the best, because “Here be Monsters.” Every now and then one of those moist monstrosities will bob up to the surface to have a look around or chomp on a cargo freighter a little bit, and it’s up to us to shove them back down into the briny deep. Related Topics: Ahuizotl, Deep Ones, Mermaids, Zuiyō-Maru Carcass

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Teammates

Look at that person sitting next to you. Do you trust them? Sure, you’ve fought side by side against mind-shattering terrors from the Underworld. Sure, they’ve taken a bullet for you, or a sword, or a mouth full of razor sharp fangs. But maybe it’s all just an act. This is a war, and sometimes a soldier goes rogue. Could they really be that devious? That deceptive? How well do you—oh $#&@, they saw you staring at them! Look away! Quick! Related Topics: Human Resources, Inhuman Resources, Abhuman Resources, Iota Urban Legends & Local Folklore

You know this story. It actually happened to someone you know! Well, you don’t really know them, but you know their cousin and she told you all about it. Every town’s got these friend-of-a-friend stories. The hook on the door and the clown in the room and the maniac in the back seat. They used to stay local, but these days anyone with a WiFi connection can share a local story with a global audience. Get enough people believing in a story and anything’s possible. Related Topics: Bloody Mary, Paul Bunyan, Kuchisake-Onna, Slenderman Vampires

The world is full of vampires. Sure, the names might be different and the details vary from species to species, but they all survive by drinking blood. From widow’s-peaked aristocrats with Eurotrash accents, to bat-winged torsos trailing ropy entrails, to boy band rejects that sparkle like a mainstage stripper. If they feed on blood, are repelled by faith, and sizzle in the sunlight, drive a stake through ‘em. Related Topics: Manananggal, Master Wu, Jiangshi, Petar Blagojevich

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Wishmasters

Make a wish. Actually, don’t make a wish. That’s pretty much the worst thing you could do around one of these guys. Wishmasters talk a big game. They’re all about tempting you with your greedy, selfish dreams of wealth and power and world peace, just to twist your words and deliver the object of your desires in the most ironic way possible. And unlike most people, these vicious bastards actually know what irony means. Do yourself a favor and save the wishes for your birthday cake. Related Topics: Djinn, Leprechaun, Monkey Paw, Wishing Well Zombies & Ghouls

The dead don’t always stay dead. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes they come back hungry. Most forms of corporeal undead aren’t too big of a deal. They’re doing most of the work for you by being mostly dead already. It’s the zombies, with their transmissible infection, that you really need to worry about. Granted, it’s not like you’ve got the time to take a full medical history when you’re out in the field. Best to just double tap and let the cleanup crew worry about the specifics. Related Topics: Clairvius Narcisse, Draugr, Revenant, Ro-Langs Double Feature!

It’s time for a good old-fashioned team-up! Roll up a couple more monsters and bash ‘em together. Think of it like a buddy cop movie, but one of the cops is a cybernetic orangutan, and the other was bitten by a wereferret. Or like T h e O dd C ou p le starring Jack Lemmon as the Loch Ness Monster and Walter Matthau as the resurrected corpse of Attila the Hun. I’d watch the hell out of that! Related Topics: Dracula Vs. Frankenstein, Mothra Vs. Godzilla, Sharktopus Vs. Pteracuda, Roe V. Wade

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How to Haunt Your Town: Demon Mastering at its Finest Not every agent with a batch of green recruits will find themselves located next to a conveniently disturbed burial ground, a recently-released Earthwalker, or the locus of preternatural energies. This can put a damper on the usual routine of engaging in tactical simulations located on ground you can actually cover in field exercises. The easiest solution is, of course, to simply lie to your recruits and tell them that they’re based in an area desperately in need of their protection. Yes, yes, I know. Not every agent assigned to training duty will have more creativity than your average cucumber. How can you be expected to both teach and think at the same time? Fortunately, we’ve got you covered! If you want to design a training simulation set in a particular locale, near or far, this section provides some tips and examples to get you started. Why bother? Well, some chapters find their simulations are more compelling when they’re fighting to defend not only Truth and Justice, or even a quaint neighborhood in a rural community suspiciously lacking a reasonable level of local law enforcement, but their quaint neighborhood in a rural community suspiciously lacking a reasonable level of local law enforcement! The last stand in your street-corner S-Mart, wailing over the smoldering ruins of that man and his cart—you know, the one you bought those hotdogs from that time when you were totally smashed. These are the things that will pull at their heartstrings and make them see just how important their job is.

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REALITY CHECK Even if you aren’t aware of any supernatural threats near your base of operations, keep in mind that the mortal imagination is highly active! A quick internet search for “haunting [town and state]” will often turn up websites rife with “real” ghost sightings. Substitute in “weird news,” “scary story” or anything similar for “haunting” if you want to see a greater variety of hits. Finding a few rumors might be enough to spark some ideas for you to work with—but don’t be afraid to broaden your search. If you go to just the state name rather than looking at one town, you’ll not only find more stories, but more of them will appear significant or famous. If you can find enough to work with, your search is over! Simply decide what the truths are behind these sordid rumors. For example: A search for “haunting Silver Spring, MD” turned up top hits including a story about mysterious voices in an empty apartment, the “Top Five Haunted Places” in the area, and so on. Switching it to “haunted places in Maryland,” we find many lists of locally famous haunts, including St. Mary’s College (also called “Hell House”) in Howard County, MD, near Ellicott City. Further searching using “St. Mary’s College Hell House” as the key terms tells some interesting stories, including the one about the crazy groundskeeper who lived there until only recently, and the shadowy-and-hard-to-trace current ownership of the location. Perfect fodder for a Mission where the M.O.N.S.T.R.E. has taken over!

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MAKE IT LOOK GOOD Whether or not you’re going to base your Mission design on “real” local haunts, it may pay dividends to put some work into the props you use. Working with a large area? Will your group need to orienteer through wilderness or navigate a maze of city streets? Printing out a good set of maps can help. Using your web-based map and direction site of choice, locate the target zone and either print them out as they are, or copy-paste the image into editing software and manipulate it. For maximum effect, the Brotherhood recommends using satellite images rather than simple street-maps. The slight ambiguity can make the images feel more authentic, and lend itself to arguments over whether or not the speck on a rooftop is a horrible monster or merely a busted air-exchange unit. If you don’t have a pre-haunted location to look for, just start with a town center or state park you have access to. If you don’t go outside often enough to know if those things exist near you... congratulations! Your skill set likely means you can count on employment as a Brotherhood trainer indefinitely. Some research turns up the location of the “Hell House” near Ellicott City, MD, and the location labeled simply “St. Mary’s Monastery Ruins.” The area is forested, with a large clearing at the ruins, and a few buildings and roads scattered around them. To make the Mission briefing documents, I could print or screencap a few broad overviews, a street-level view of the area from a nearby road, or someone’s online photo-blog of their hike through the woods. Of course, if I failed to find what I was looking for initially, I could use the real map with photos taken from other creepy locales—don’t be afraid to mix-and-match your ghastly props!

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ZOOM IN Once you have your location, you may want to find one or more specific sites to use as special points of interest and/or bloodshed. If you’re using a real location, you can pick a spot on the map and take (or find, if it shows up online) a photograph of the buildings there. Some very basic photo-editing, such as applying blur, sepia, black-and-white, or similar filters, can turn your average suburban dive into a wretched hive of scum and villainy in no time flat (and most digital cameras can even do this while you shoot). Of course, if you have a locale which the mortals think is haunted, you might find it already plastered all over the internet. Going to a popular image search site and typing in “Hell House Ellicott City MD” turned up dozens of images from the actual place, including several creative-commons licensed pictures on album-hosting services. Ruined altars, burned-out buildings, creepy wheelchairs (Hey! Empty wheelchairs can be scary!), and even...a roast beef sandwich? (Keep in mind that image searches are imprecise things...though it must be one awful sandwich to pop up on the first page of a search for Hell House.) With a few of those images in hand, I can provide a creepy shot of the old building itself to my chapter at the outset as a surveillance image, and reserve the ruined altar to turn up during their in-person investigation. Since there aren’t a lot of interior pictures available, I do new searches for “ruined asylum” and “abandoned school interior.” They turn up plenty I can use to generate the right atmosphere.

DO LESS WORK This is less a step and more a suggestion to alter all of the previous steps. Consider it a meta-step. Every training chapter will want to approach things differently, but if you have a particularly tech-savvy group member, or the Cipher is spending half the session in Sleep Mode, make THEM create the maps and pictures of targets. If you want, you can do the research in advance so you can provide hints as to appropriate key-words, or to be sure there’s something good for them to find. You can then use clues in the training session to let them eventually find the right information online— they might find the name of a previously unknown location in 236

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the day-planner the villain dropped at the crime scene, for example. Or, more simply, as they approach the town in question, the Cipher might be assigned a little preparatory digital recon. If they can provide adequate maps and pictures of the target location, they succeed at the challenge, and receive any appropriate rewards. Alternately, it can work just as well to tell the recruits to research a town of their choice and try to find out if there’s anything supernatural amiss there. If they identify a local haunting or other rumor, you can create an Infernal Scepter-worthy backstory to go along with it!

DO MORE WORK, SO YOU CAN THEN DO LESS WORK The key to slacking is, oddly enough, to do more work than strictly necessary—though it’s worth noting that, as we just mentioned, you can potentially force your recruits to do this part themselves! Regardless of whether your hometown is a veritable hotbed of supernatural activity, or simply an empty and godsforsaken backwater scorned by man and beast alike, you can create a vast number of adventures set there simply by using F ive M i n ute s to M ayh e m , starting on page 183. However, in order to tailor your adventures more specifically to your locale while still maintaining the benefits (laziness, ineptitude) of reliance upon a random generation system, you can create Location tables to match your hometown. While the tables in F ive M i n ute s to M ayh e m have quite a few entries, and they divide things into several steps, don’t be intimidated. You can make tables just as detailed eventually, but let’s start a little smaller. Because you’ve already narrowed things down to one town or city, you’ve essentially taken care of the first part of the Location rolls; now, you just need to produce one more table. Start by listing possibilities; be as specific or general as you like. You can use institutions (The Hospital, The University, The Jenkins’ Farm), geographical features (Makeout Point, The Swimming Hole), local landmarks (The Standing Stones, That Field Where We Had That Party Where Bobby Got So Drunk he Flashed the Minister), or neighborhoods and even specific buildings.

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Shoot for between 20 and 50 locations. Yes, that may seem like a lot, but if you’re hoping to use this table for more than one adventure (and keeping in mind that you might need to roll up multiple places per adventure), 20 really isn’t much of an excess. In order to jumpstart some ideas, here’s a 20-place table with suggested categories for each blank; fill in an appropriate local spot for each, if you need the help:

LOCATION, LOCATION

LOCATION,

1

Restaurant

11

School

2

Bar

12

Sports field

3

Vet’s office

13

Factory or plant

4

Doc’s office

14

Warehouse

5

Big box store

15

Graveyard

6

Grocery

16

Radio station

7

Pharmacy

17

Theater

8

Apartments

18

Town hall

9

Nice neighborhood

19

Diner outside town

10

Adult store

20

House of worship

And that’s all you need to do! Of course, if you want to really go bonkers, you’re welcome to create sub-tables; for example, if your customized table lists places like The Hospital, or The University, you could create a table for each of them listing the many possible areas within each. Be warned, however; down this path lies madness. The madness of endlessly recursive tables, one rolling on the next, rolling on the previous, rolling on one you’ve yet to create. Pretty soon, you’ll need one just for the tentacles.

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Managing the Mayhem So, you—and here we’re speaking directly to you, the Demon Master—have all the basic rules down. You know about the four types of actions and their outcomes; you’ve figured out challenges, contests, and conflicts; you know aspects, stunts, faith dice, and demon dice. You know how the players recruit new Demon Hunters. You’ve got a Mission ready to run, either one you spent hours on or one you came up with in five minutes. But it’s not enough. Interestingly, it also might be too much. Knowing what stats and dice the players need is a good start for any aspiring DM, but if this is your first rodeo, try not to let all those numbers give you tunnel vision. You have more to worry about than dice, and if you want the recruits to not just survive but thrive, you better be pretty damn worried about it. As you should know by now, the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch based these training protocols on the form of traditional, mundane entertainment known as the roleplaying game, of which there are many varied examples. If you’re familiar with these older systems, you might already have a good idea of what works for your style and for your chapter of recruits. Nonetheless, we suggest you read through this section, which will help you learn how to use DM actions as God and Saint Peter intended (at time of publication). Not all training simulations are made equal, and some systems treat the Demon Master rather differently.

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THE ROLE OF DEMON MASTER: THAT GUY As you are responsible for getting as many recruits as possible through basic training and into the field, it’s vital you understand your role in these simulations. You, as DM, are to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your recruits. Carefully consider the challenges they’re prepared for, the foes they expect, and the difficulties they understand how to overcome… ...And then kick ‘em in the junk. That might seem harsh, but consider what it really means. You aren’t here to be their friend, always concerned with spoon-feeding them what they already know; that would be boring, and boring kills a training session faster than a Dread Lord of Darkness kills an Omega chapter. Nor are you here to be their nemesis, since you actually do want them to survive long enough to be able to take down that Dread Lord. As neither a friend nor a foe, it sounds like you must be a neutral party of some sort, stuck in a role that some systems would call a storyteller. But that’s no better; you aren’t the one who creates the story, the puppet-master who dances the recruits along the stage, because then they won’t be truly engaged with the experience. No. You aren’t ally, opponent, or storyteller. You’re that guy. You’re: • …the one who lets the rest of the players pick a direction, and throws a speed bump in the way. • …the one who pushes the others to their limits so they have a chance to be more badass than they thought possible. • …the one who let the dogs out, lets slip the dogs of war, and knows that the party’s werewolf would hate these puns but it’s a dog-eat-dog world, so you let ‘em have it anyway.

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But we’re getting off track. Basically, there are four tenets of a Demon Master: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Make the unreal into the real. Play to see what happens. Crank the danger up to eleven. Crank the funny up to Ludicrous Speed.

Given how important this is, a little more explanation might be in order here. Make the Unreal into the Real

Most mortals would flatly dismiss the issues of a Brotherhood chapter as “fantastical” or “the ravings of a madman” (or they would just ask where they could buy whatever you’re on, since it must be the real stuff), but there’s nothing you can do about that. What you can do, however, is make the Missions as real as possible for your recruits. Inject reality into the situation. This can take many forms—everything from using real places and detailed descriptions to simply maintaining internal consistency—but all of these things serve one purpose: building the connections that make the drama real. In short, the players have to believe the world you’re describing. If this sounds difficult, don’t panic. You don’t have to be a master wordsmith or a dedicated researcher of building floor plans in order to fulfill this tenet; what you need, above all, is to monitor and react to player interest and expectations in a way that feels lifelike. Speaking of lifelike, that brings us to the next tenet.

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Play to See What Happens

Plain and simple: Get comfortable with not knowing how everything falls into place! As the DM, remember that you are also playing. Leave yourself plenty of questions you don’t know the answer to. Let actions (by the players or the bad guys) have actual results. This may sound basic, but the key here is to keep in mind that all reactions should actually be reactions. A Demon Master who is very clever—intelligent, even—may have created (“designed,” perhaps?) what they think is the perfect scenario, a story with a beginning, middle, and end, which the players can see by making all the right choices and rolling high enough numbers… But even if you know what the bad guy’s goals are, what their endgame is, a good Demon Master lets events unfold naturally. That means having the mad scientists, crazed wizards, and diabolical…er, demons act their parts. When the players foil Plan A, the baddies move to Plan B; when an army of henchmen is defeated, the evil overlord pushes recruitment efforts and steps up offers of scholarships and signing bonuses. Of course, sometimes the natural evolution of a Mission means that a given bad guy is actually defeated. In fact, if it doesn’t happen eventually, someone is probably going to call foul. As long as things were interesting, don’t worry. It’s all good, right? Crank the Danger Up to Eleven

This is where you kick them in the junk. The Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch isn’t an organization whose members often survive to retirement age; in order to prepare them for their terrific (literally terror-inspiring) career, you have to ensure that they face problems worthy of their attention. When the problems aren’t truly worthy, they aren’t really problems; resolve them and move on. A couple syphilitic vamps giving their waitress a hard time about the bill? Let the players narrate a satisfying solution and move on. Of course, when the chapter gets back to base and discovers that their stuff has been jacked by the vamps’ buddies, leaving them without resources or easy access to backup, then the real fun

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begins. Whatever the players try to do, just think through a fitting complication or consequence, and see what they do next! Crank the Funny Up to Ludicrous Speed

After all this talk of drama, reactivity, and danger, you can’t afford to forget the final tenet. Leave this out, and all you have left is another bog-standard world of GrimDark Urban Horror. Life in the world of the Brotherhood is inherently prone to comedy. It’s how we deal with the stress and danger of being a member of the Brotherhood. A simple way to add the funny is to grab something and exaggerate the crap out of it. Look at a location or a character or an item, choose one thing everyone expects, and turn it upside down. Reverse the expectations. Find one thing about it, and turn it up to ridiculous. • Could be a way a sinister character talks. • Perhaps you have a haunted house? Make it an outhouse! • Dealing with a werewolf? Maybe instead, it’s a werepoodle with a FABULOUS coat! • Maybe the signature drink of a specific DMC is a Shirley Temple, and they are VERY specific about it. • If everyone is dying, make sure at least one death involves a yak. What? It’s well established that yaks are funny. • Car chase scene? Make sure someone’s driving an ice cream truck, and kids are racing after it. Actually that could turn into tragedy real quick. Never mind, don’t do that one. • The kids are godlings and nigh unkillable and they want their goddamn ice cream! Never mind, use that ice cream truck chase scene again. Whatever you do, don’t force it. Don’t try to be funny (unless you know you can). The hardest laughs hit because they’re honest. They’re full of truth, wrapped in the sugary goodness of hilarity. Damn, now I want ice cream.

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DEMON MASTER PRACTICAL ADVICE You’ve probably already read the whole section of this book on preparing and setting up exciting Missions for your Demon Hunters, so this isn’t about that. No, this is about some nuts and bolts timetested advice on how to manage the rules of the game and keep things going smoothly. While keeping your DM tenets in mind and having a fairly workmanlike knowledge of the rest of the rules gets you confident enough to start, it’s information like this that you likely need to know in order to actually be the Demon Master rather than a really smart player who probably owns this copy of the game. Using Demon Dice

Yes, yes, the players are the ones using demon dice most of the time, but when they spend them on their rolls, they have to hand them over to you. So they become your resource for enacting your brutal Demon Master powers for real. Demon dice work just like faith dice for the Demon Master. Use them to invoke aspects and get an extra die or reroll dice after you’ve rolled them. Standard stuff. They can also be used to roll on a badness table, as described in O utcom e s , A ction s , an d D e mon D ice on page 95. Surely, however, there’s more you can do with those, right? I mean, these are demon dice. They need to be wickedly problematic for the players. Truth is, they’re pretty dang near wicked enough just when they’re used in these two ways. Having the DM invoke aspects can really rain on a player’s parade. Generating stuff with a badness table is also a crimp in a Demon Hunter’s style. And that’s totally fine— that’s why we have these rules in the game. So here’s some more advice about using demon dice to do just that. Let’s be clear. Invoking a DMC’s aspect, or invoking an aspect on a Demon Hunter for the benefit of a DMC, costs a demon die that you already have in your hand. In this sense they work exactly the same way faith dice work, but the description of why the DMC is getting a benefit should be framed in a way that’s more in tune with Hell than Heaven, if you get our drift. Whether it’s luck or Infernal influence, take a moment to think about what nasty, devious implementation of your DMC’s aspect comes from you invoking it with a demon die. You can also use a demon die to reroll one of your DMC’s dice.

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Badness Tables

You can use the generic badness table on page 123 any time you don’t have another one planned, but you should also consider setting up your own tied into the Mission you’re running for your Demon Hunters. When working out the Mission using the information in F ive M i n ute s to M ayh e m , you can also populate a badness table with fun things to throw into the Mission whenever you roll the demon dice. Badness tables are always structured like this:

NUMBERS

1+

4+

8+

12+

(16+, if you want to go there) (20+, ditto)

BADNESS TABLE WORDS

Some kind of minor thing, like adding a new situation aspect after the scene’s already started, with a free invocation, or adding another minion of some kind , or something else you might have forgotten to do when you first framed the scene. Usually this is for clearing condition s, altering your DMCs, or imposing conditions on the Demon Hunters, but it can include anything of that general effect. This is whatever you did in 1+ but bett er. More minions, more free invocations, maybe a scene change (change up the location somehow), etc. This is always something major, like a new bad guy shows up, a DMC upgrades from a minion into a boss type with a full profile, a moderate condition is imposed, and so forth. You can use the 12+ section on a bad ness table to radically change the Mission to something even worse, if you like. This is something like in 8+ but wor

se still.

This is something like 12+ but just

the absolute worst of all.

Costs are some of your best friends as a Demon Master. The rules for costs are in O utcom e s , A ction s , an d D e mon D ice on page 113, and they suggest all kinds of things you can add into your badness table. Creating new situation aspects, with one or more free invocations, is also great. You can shape plot twists and

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new reveals easily with these tools. Try to limit your awesome Demon Master powers, however, to when you roll on the badness table using your demon dice. While some RPGs allow the Demon Master vast powers of adding new characters and switching out stats anytime they like, D e mon H u nte rs : A C om e dy of T e rrors relies on the Demon Master to use the same resource mechanic as the players. As the DM, you can set up a scene however you like, but once the game is on, you should keep any major twists and changes to the badness table if you can. If you just have no idea what kind of costs to inflict upon the Demon Hunters, we’ve provided you with a big table. Roll on this and just let things go where they go, you mad, beautiful Demon Master, you.

COSTS d100

DESCRIPTION

01-03

The chapter is caught in a time loop. Random piece of Warehouse equipment carried by the PCs has been lost or stolen.

04-06 07-09 10-12 13-15

16-18

19-21 22-24 23-27 28-30 31-33 34-36

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Earthquake, volcano eruption, flooding, zombie apocalypse, etc., delays the PCs. Normal must be rescued from [Other Interested Parties] with no connection to [The Big Picture Villain]. The chapter’s ride is booted, towed, stolen, or searched. At an inconvenient moment, a family member, friend, or careless agent from another chapter blows a PC’s cover. Use logic or dice to determine if it’s accidental or intentional—if intentional, is it a grudge, an infiltrator, or for personal advancement? A Normal assisting PCs is really working for [The Big Picture Villain]. Security mooks (traitors, enemies, or just plain dumb) show up. An accident with [Scientific/Arcane] energy causes a serious but temporary disability (blindness, deafness, face-tentacles, etc.). A completely mundane person is mistaken by the PCs for an agent of the Brotherhood or [Big Picture Villain]. Normal goons attempt to rob the chapter. A leakage of [Nuclear/Magical/Scientific!] radiation from Brotherhood equipment mutates a [Featured Creature] into a [giant/gluttonous/evil genius/totally stoned] variant.

Missions, Threats, and Mayhem

COSTS (CONTD.) d100

DESCRIPTION

37-39

A rival chapter pulls rank on your chapter, either on equipment, or jurisdiction on the Mission, new recruit, etc.

40-42

The PCs are saddled with a green recruit, a redeemed [Featured Creature]. They are [cowardly/arrogant/childish/sneaky/brown-nosing] until the players teach them better behavior...or they get everyone killed.

43-45

The chapter’s Cipher becomes infected with malware, and/or is addicted to Online WordGame, and takes 1d4+1 times the usual time to complete a single, important task.

46-48

All communication with the Brotherhood is compromised [randomly choose: blocked, tapped, or falsified].

49-52

A [Featured Creature] falls madly in love with one of the PCs.

53-55

Warehouse access is cut off.

56-58

A Brotherhood repo agent is dispatched to retrieve equipment the PCs no longer have clearance to use. Why? Sorry, that’s classified.

59-61

A possible double-agent is revealed to be a triple-agent.

62-64

Equipment acquired from The Warehouse turns out to do something the chapter didn’t intend. Maybe they got someone else’s equipment, even though it looks the same.

65-67

Local authorities attempt to arrest members of the chapter for [theft, disturbing the peace, carrying without a permit, PCs implicated in recent local crime either for good reason or for no good reason].

68-70

Key contact the chapter is supposed to meet doesn’t recognize the chapter, doesn’t trust them, or doesn’t understand what’s going on.

71-73

A key piece of equipment fails.

74-76

Side project! A lead on [Urban Legend] distracts at least one of the PCs. May or may not be genuine.

77-80

The Brotherhood’s contact and/or backup goes for takeout Chinese at a critical moment.

81-83

News at 11! Media gets involved.

84-86

Normals mistake PCs for [Featured Creature] or other monster.

87-89

Agents of [The Big Picture Villain] believe PCs to be allies.

90-92

A group of [Other Interested Parties] is trying for the same apparent goal, and doesn’t want to cooperate.

93-95

Pseudo-mundanes (LARPers, reenactors, or the like) mistake the PCs and antagonists for their own group.

96-100

The chapter is mistaken as a M.O.N.S.T.R.E. cell by another Brotherhood chapter.

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BROTHERHOOD DATABASE Whatever kind of Demon Master Character (DMC) you’re looking for, the Brotherhood database has you covered. You can use these in your training simulation or tweak them to suit your needs. They’re grouped by the organizations they belong to. The Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch: on page 254 Supernats: on page 262 The Order of the Infernal Scepter: on page 302 Crawling Chaos, LLC: on page 312 The Pound: on page 319 Clan of the Golden Fang: on page 328 Sisters of Divine Retribution: on page 339 Denizens of Hell: on page 348 M.O.N.S.T.R.E.: on page 361 Cylch Myrddin: on page 386 Mad Workers of America in Harmonious Alliance for Humanistic Advancement (MWAHAHA): on page 392

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CREATING DEMON MASTER CHARACTERS Seriously? None of those character profiles will suit your particular purposes? We spent weeks putting this together! Fine. Here are the guidelines for creating your own from scratch.

Full DMCs A full DMC looks a lot like a Demon Hunter. This is your basic boss or lieutenant or major badass character. If the character has a name and some responsibility in the story, you should really make them a DMC of this type. Give them approaches, aspects, stunts, and disciplines. Give them condition boxes to mark off. Run them the way the players run their Demon Hunters, only instead of faith dice, you make use of demon dice. Disciplines

DMCs don’t usually belong to the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch (except for when they do) so they probably won’t have the same standard set of five disciplines as the players have for their Demon Hunters. Instead you do this: • Think of some kind of thing the DMC does really well, something that’s basically their job description. Give that a . • Think of two things the DMC does well enough to be known for, and give those . • Think of two things the DMC really sucks at. Give those . Anything your DMCs do outside of these things gets a . This die is your basic “they’re not bad, they’re just not that good” die for disciplines.

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Approaches

For approaches, use the same array as the Demon Hunters: one at , two at , two at , and one at . Everything Else

Give your DMC two to three aspects, at least one stunt, the basic array of conditions, and then you’re all good. But I Need a Really Kick-Ass DMC

Of course you do. We all know that no matter how awesome our Demon Hunters might be, there’s always something bigger, badder, and scarier out there. You can always bump up disciplines and approaches using the same guidelines as the Demon Hunters use to advance (“S te p p i ng U p A p p roach e s an d D i sci p li n e s ,” on page 59) except that you don’t have to wait for a milestone to do it. However, your DMCs aren’t bound by the same rules that govern Demon Hunters, and we all know that the Demon Master is a dirty dirty cheat. To make a really powerful DMC, you can use special stunts that break the rules. You may notice that some stunts in the database profiles are marked with ; these are more powerful stunts that aren’t available to Demon Hunters. Some of those stunts are called BFG* stunts; they really break the rules, but they also come with a weakness that the Demon Hunters can exploit—as long as they figure it out through creating an advantage or overcoming the obstacle of ignorance. You can also give your DMC extra condition boxes. Based on what, you ask? Refer to the previous paragraph about being a dirty dirty cheat. Don’t go overboard, though. It’s true that you could win every battle by giving your DMC infinite conditions, but that’s even more boring than it is dishonest.

* BFG: What does this mean? Big $#@!ing giant? Big friendly giant? Bonus frequency grade? We don’t know. We think it sounds good. Come up with your own damn acronym, you ingrates.

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But What About Minions? Minions are the unnamed thugs, gangsters, cultists, or whatever that show up on the scene. They might offer some opposition, but they’re unlikely to have much impact on the plot (if a minion surprises you by becoming important to the plot, give them a name and fill out their profile to become a full DMC). Minions have some things in common with named DMCs, but they’re even quicker to create and quicker for your Demon Hunters to take down. Minions get one approach, and it’s called whatever they are— Demon or Vampire or whatever. These aren’t exactly complex, nuanced characters. You assign a die to that approach: •

• • •

•

Weak Average Tough Really tough Are you kidding me?

So you might have a Demon

or a wannabe Vampire

.

Minions get three (or a few more, if you feel like it) disciplines. This works pretty much like major DMCs: • Job description/What they do best • Something else they do well • Something they suck at Everything else is a . If your minion is pretty wimpy, you can give them two disciplines at and one at . If they’re super tough, consider giving them one at , one at , one at , and one at . All minions should have a Concept aspect and a Trouble aspect. These aren’t major DMCs, so you don’t need to spend time coming up with something clever. Something like I’m a Vampire! and Sunlight Is Fatal will work just fine. You can add another aspect if something comes to mind, but you don’t need to. Minions don’t get stunts.

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The whole point of minions is that they’re easy to take out, so they usually don’t get as many conditions as a named DMC. Pick one of the following, depending on your needs: • Average Minion: 1 mild • Good Minion: 2 mild, 1 moderate • Tough Minion: 3 mild, 2 moderate, 1 severe Mobs of Minions

Mobs are the legion of indistinguishable minions that show up on the scene to get knocked out en masse by the Demon Hunters. They represent groups—usually incompetent cannon fodder—who attack all at once, so it makes combat easier on you. You can quickly create a mob of minions by tweaking an existing profile for a minion. All mobs have a single approach called Mob of [X] where X is whatever they’re a mob of. They use that approach to do things a swarm of minions could do, like trample Demon Hunters or gang up on them. You might also alter a discipline to reflect a group tactic, like Swarming . Replace the conditions in an individual minion’s profile with a bunch of mild conditions. If you mark a condition, the mob is whittled away, one or two minions at a time. Use the standard minion rules for the ability of the mob to harm the Demon Hunter. How many conditions should you give them? Well, they’re your minions so that’s pretty much up to you. But here’s a guideline: • Small Mob (5 to 9 minions): 5-6 mild conditions • Average Mob (10 to 14 minions): 7-8 mild conditions • Big Mob (15+ minions): 9-10 mild conditions “But wait a minute!” you say. “That means that an individual minion might be harder to take down than a mob!” Well, yeah. That’s the point. Mobs are the masses of indistinguishable bad guys that fill the space around their more distinctive minion leaders. Mobs hit as hard as regular minions, but their strength is in numbers—each individual member of a mob is pretty easy to take out.

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If you want to make your mobs more dangerous, creating a few mobs is more effective than giving one mob eleventy billion conditions. Each mob gets one action per round, regardless of how many conditions they have, so multiple mobs are more dangerous than one really huge mob. Let’s say your Demon Hunters are getting attacked by a bunch of gnomes. The nameless hordes are represented by a mob or three. The leaders or other individual gnomes who stand out in some way are statted as minions. That huge nasty looking gnome king in the back? He’s a full DMC.

FILES FROM THE BROTHERHOOD DATABASE It’s all here. Knowledge is power, but it’s also really freaking disturbing sometimes. Proceed with caution.

The Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch Kentucky Blue Clay

Kentucky’s good fortune fell right in his lap. Actually, that would have hurt a lot. It fell slightly in front and to the left of his lap, destroying his coffee table. It was—well, used to be—a dude in a sweet-ass duster, clutching a shiny, slightly damaged device that turned out to be a time machine. Kentucky figured this guy wasn’t gonna miss either of those things, and set off on the adventure of several lifetimes. From the prehistoric past to the far-flung future, all of space-time is his playground. He’s never looked back. You play around with history long enough and you’re bound to attract some attention from the Brotherhood. Kentucky’s came when he got caught trying to swap out the powerful Eye of Iansã for a cubic zirconia duplicate. Somehow he managed to sweet talk his way out of what was bound to be an extended stay in a Celestial Torch detention facility and into being named Chief Historian for the Brotherhood, tasked with chronicling the organization’s history and putting its vast informational archives into some semblance of order. It’s a huge job, but he’s got all the time in the world. Anyway, that sounds like a problem for Future Kentucky, that poor, unlucky S.O.B.

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Kentucky Blue Clay Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch ASPECTS Concept:

Clock-Hopping Con Man and Brotherhood Historian

Trouble:

No Idea How this Time Machine Works

Discipline: Wikipedic Knowledge of Secret History APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Action Archaeology

Clever

Time Travel

Flashy

Secret History

Forceful

Honesty

Quick

Loyalty

Sneaky STUNTS Paradox Schmaradox: Because the fourth dimension is my playground, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create advantages by jumping back to a previous point in my timeline. Indiana Who?: Because George Lucas owes me some royalties, I gain +2 when I defend or overcome obstacles inside an ancient tomb, temple, catacomb, or other appropriately archaeologicky location. Chronus Interruptus: Because it’s easy to uproot a family tree, once per session I can roll a demon die to open a portal to the moment of my enemy’s conception. If I roll a 2-4, I am unsuccessful in my efforts, and play continues normally. If I roll 5-6, my presence is enough of an interruption to kill the mood, ensuring that my enemy will never be born. Any conditions inflicted upon myself or my allies during conflict with my newly unmade enemy are cleared, as the conflict never happened. Time travel is always tricky though, so if I roll a 1, something I’ve done in the past causes my enemy to be born with a twin sibling, and I return to a world where I’m facing two opponents instead of one. My enemy’s twin is an exact statistical duplicate of its sibling with a rhyming name. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Kincaid

Kincaid was a field agent back in the day. A master of Druidic magic, his skills were instrumental in shutting down the Hellgate during the Battle of Centralia. Some say he single-handedly saved the world, but Kincaid’s having none of that. He’s always been a team player, which is why it pained him to have to leave the Chapter. The injuries he’d received during the battle were too severe. His days as a Hunter were over. Today, Kincaid serves the Brotherhood as the North American Regional Director, in addition to his work as the Brotherhood Tribune—defender of diversity, tolerance, and equal rights for all Brotherhood agents. In his time as Tribune, recruitment of supernatural agents, once considered taboo, has become commonplace. His most recent success is the introduction of vampiric field agents in the Brotherhood. As for what’s next, he’s got some ideas. Some crazy ones. The Brotherhood may not be ready for a demonic Demon Hunter, but they’ll get there, and he’ll help them along. He’s in no rush.

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Kincaid McHarg Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch ASPECTS Concept:

Battle Druid Turned Brotherhood Diplomat

Trouble:

Demon Hunting Is a Young Man’s Game

Discipline: Hero of the Battle of Centralia APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Druidic Magic

Clever

Diplomacy

Flashy

Kindness

Forceful

Athleticism

Quick

Suspecting Others

Sneaky STUNTS Cunning-Folk: Because I come from a long line of cunning-folk, I gain +2 when I attack or defend against witches, sorcerers, and other practitioners of the mystic arts. Smiling Face of the Brotherhood: Because I am the smiling face of the Brotherhood, I gain +2 when I create an advantage or overcome an obstacle using Diplomacy. Revolutionary Recruiter: Because — you know, there are many benefits to working for the Brotherhood. Here, take a brochure — once per conflict I can roll a demon die and attempt to convert an enemy to an ally by running through my recruitment spiel. If I roll 1-4, nothing happens and play continues as normal. If I roll 5 or 6, the new ally sees the error of his ways, and will fight on the Brotherhood’s side for the remainder of the session. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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The Purple Ninja

The Purple Ninja. The greatest Demon Hunter of them all. He is an enigma, wrapped in a mystery, draped in a violet gi. Some say a demon hides beneath that mask. Others, a god made flesh. There are those who claim to have watched him die, only to have him reappear in a time of great need. Could he be a god? Or is he merely a mortal with incredible skills unlike any other? Only the Purple Ninja can say for sure, but he is not talking. Not about that, at least. He actually talks quite a lot for a supposedly silent assassin. There is another theory. Some say that there’s a place on Earth that few men have had the honor of seeing. A secluded village, in an unmapped valley, high in the Himalayas. The Dojo Arigato: the secret training center for the Purple Ninja. Here, hidden from the world, the most promising martial artists of a generation meet to train with the Purple Ninja, mastering the seven essential forms of martial arts: the Crane, the Monkey, the Django Django Django, the Chopper, the Dicer, the Sweeper, and Tai Shu—the rarest and deadliest form of all. One day, the unthinkable will happen. The Purple Ninja will die in battle. On this day, it will fall to one of these students to rise up and take the place of their master. To don the violet robes and become the Purple Ninja. Perhaps this theory is true. But maybe it’s the demon thing though. That’d be pretty cool too!

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Purple Ninja Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch ASPECTS Concept:

Greatest Demon Hunter of Them All

Trouble:

Surprisingly Death-prone

Discipline: Violet Vessel of Violent Vengeance Trained by the Purple Ninja (Wait, That Can’t Be Right…) APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Ninja-ing

Clever

Thieving

Flashy

Trash Talking

Forceful

Situational Awarenessing

Quick

Stealthing

Sneaky STUNTS Ninja His Ass!: Because Purple Ninja has mastered the seven essential forms of martial arts, Purple Ninja gains +2 when Purple Ninja Forcefully attacks his opponents using the Crane, the Monkey, the Django Django Django, the Chopper, the Sweeper, the Dicer, or the most ancient, mysterious, and deadly martial art of them all: Tai Shu. Fast Hands: Because lightning longs for the day it is as fast as Purple Ninja’s hands, Purple Ninja gains +2 when Purple Ninja Quickly creates an advantage by stealing an opponent’s belongings, whatever they might be. Let’s be honest, Purple Ninja is talking about the guy’s pants. We’re Done For…Unless: Because Purple Ninja is always there for those in need, Purple Ninja can be immediately summoned for assistance during any combat situation, regardless of where Purple Ninja might currently be located in the world. In doing so, the summoner inflicts a severe We’re Done For condition upon themselves. Purple Ninja helps those who cannot help themselves, because they are not badass fighter guys like Purple Ninja! Ho! HohoHO! Ho! Undefeated!: Because Purple Ninja never loses, Purple Ninja cannot be harmed by mere henchmen. Unnamed and minion-level enemies are unable to inflict conditions upon Purple Ninja. Like a hedgehog nibbling at a narwhal, so too are the efforts of lesser foes fruitless against Purple Ninja’s mighty skills. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Tree

Ever since he popped out of the Oregon Vortex back in 1967, Tree has managed to stump (no pun intended) everyone in both Magic and Mad Science. He is, at a genetic level, a perfectly normal Douglas fir. There’s no reason he should be walking around, but there he goes. Not knowing what else to do with him, the Brotherhood took him in and tried to find a place for him in the organization. This being a less enlightened time in the Brotherhood’s history, supernatural agents were still facing discrimination and exclusion by their fellow agents. With no chapter willing to take him on, Tree was assigned to Iota. There he has proved to be an expert at infiltration and espionage, and has used these skills to flush out traitors within the Brotherhood. Tree is a master of disguise and camouflage and can disappear in practically any environment. Within reason—I mean, he’s a friggin’ tree after all!

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Tree Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch ASPECTS Concept:

Secret Agent Plant

Trouble:

One Cocky Sonofabirch

Discipline: Naturally Camouflaged APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Stealth

Clever

Espionage

Flashy

Charisma

Forceful

Defense Against Fire

Quick

Monogamy

Sneaky STUNTS KABOOM!: Because cool guys don’t look at explosions, I gain +2 when I Flashily defend against explosive attacks by striding confidently away from the blast in slow motion. Wait, Did That Tree Have a Hat?: Because you kingdomist bastards think we all look alike, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage by hiding amongst other plant life. All Part of the Job: Because Iota agents are trained to uncover secrets, I can spend a demon die to reveal an opponent’s Trouble aspect by deciphering their body language, microexpressions, and behavioral tics. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Supernats Bed Monsters

Bed Monsters are a tightly regulated class of Nightmare. Like all Nightmares, they feed on fear, but Bed Monsters feed exclusively on children. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Childhood fear is healthy, and the Brotherhood likes to encourage it. It’s a survival mechanism. It trains people from an early age to be afraid of the dark. You should be afraid of the dark; there are terrible things in it. But Bed Monsters are about as friendly and innocuous as monsters get. They’re all shaggy fur and googly eyes—very Jim Henson Workshop. They’d starve in the wild, but by helping the Brotherhood instill a proper amount of fear in a child, they are permitted to live under the child’s bed, feeding on this fear. It’s win-win. That said, fear begets fear. An overfed Nightmare can change. Become something scarier and more dangerous. The Brotherhood performs periodic checkups to make sure this doesn’t happen. We need to stay on our toes to make sure a Bed Monster doesn’t overeat its way to full-on Boogeyman.

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Flurf Blanket-Puller ASPECTS Concept:

The Thing Under Your Bed

Trouble:

On a Strict Diet

Discipline: Your Nightmares Are Delicious APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Mild Terror

Clever

Eating Socks

Flashy

Growling

Forceful

Violence

Quick

Being Legitimately Scary

Sneaky STUNTS I Have Rights: Because I’ve got a right to be under here, I gain +2 when I Cleverly overcome a potential conflict by proving that I’m licensed by the Brotherhood to dwell under beds. Nostalgic Defense: Because I look sort of Muppety, I gain +2 when I Quickly defend against attacks from anyone under the age of 50, as I remind them of their childhood. “T” Is for “Terrorvore”: Because I feed on your fears, I can clear a mild condition after each round of combat if a civilian is in the vicinity. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Demon Hunters

Bloody Mary

Light the candle, turn out the lights, face the mirror, and begin the chant. “Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary.” You’ve heard all this before. You’ve probably done all this before, unless you were an unpopular kid who didn’t get invited to sleepovers, in which case I’m sorry for dredging up a painful childhood memory. Bloody Mary has the rare distinction of being both a vicious, bloodthirsty creature of urban legend and a popular party game for children. Nobody’s managed to nail down exactly who Mary was in life, but she managed to work some powerful witchcraft before she died, ensuring that her spirit could be summoned through the simplest of rituals. Ever hear the statistic that the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house? Bloody Mary’s a big percentage of that stat, as slumber partiers brave enough to complete the ritual have had the misfortune to discover. A completed ritual lets Mary out of the mirror, and she comes out swinging. Screeching, clawing, and scratching at the eyes, Bloody Mary does what she can to earn her nickname before she gets sucked back through the looking glass.

Bloody Mary ASPECTS Concept:

Mirror-bound Spirit of Vengeance

Trouble:

Mirrors Are Super Fragile

Discipline: Slick with the Blood of Slumber Partiers APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Eye-gougey Violence

Clever

Reflection-based Infiltration

Flashy

Witchcraft

Forceful

Remaining Corporeal

Quick

Reasoning

Sneaky STUNTS Surprise Appearance: Because I can appear in any reflective surface, I gain +2 when I Quickly attack an opponent from an unexpected position. I’m Taking You With Me: Because if I have to go back in the mirror, I’m taking you with me, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage by taking an opponent hostage. Your Pain Is My Peace: Because I am nourished by your suffering once per round if I inflict a condition, I can clear one condition. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

264

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Cambions

A cambion is the monstrous hybrid offspring of a human and a demon. Demonic morphology varies wildly from demon to demon, and the effects of infernal blood flowing through a cambion’s veins can manifest in a variety of ways. Some of these half-demon creatures have crimson skin or razor sharp horns or spiked tails. Some have multiple eyes or barbed tentacles sprouting from every orifice or spew smoke from their nostrils when they speak. And some look like completely ordinary humans, undetectable apart from the miasma of unease that swirls around them and the faint scent of brimstone. These are usually the result of a human breeding with an Incubus, those handsome devils. Cambions are usually orphans. Human mothers are incapable of surviving a demonic birth, and demon fathers aren’t exactly the stay-at-home dad types. The passable ones enter the adoption system and some get lucky and others don’t, same as humans. There are half-demons out there living perfectly normal lives with the nine-to-five job and the house in the suburbs and the loving

Thronk ASPECTS Concept:

Supernat Deathmatch Champion

Trouble:

Raised in a Cage

Discipline: Muscles on Muscles on Muscles APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Physical Violence

Clever

Heavy Lifting

Flashy

Talking Smack

Forceful

Escaping

Quick

Thinking

Sneaky STUNTS Iron-plated Skin: Because I have skin like iron plates, I get +2 when I defend against physical attacks. It’s Showtime!: Because I like to put on a good show, I get +2 when I Flashily attack an opponent in front of an audience. Spine-crusher: Because I am the daughter of Graasnov the Spine-Crusher, once per session I can spend a demon die to inflict a severe Partial Paralysis condition upon a single opponent. CONDITIONS Mild (4)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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spouse and the quarter-demon kids. You could be married to one and you’d never even know. Hell, you could even be one without knowing; the signs can be subtle. The truly horrifying cambions tend to have a darker fate in store. They’re usually stolen away by cultists of one stripe or another to be raised to fight against the forces of Good. But just because a child is half-demon, that doesn’t mean they’re inherently bad. Nurture plays a much larger part in everyone’s lives than Nature ever could. The Brotherhood even has a small number of cambions in our employ. They’re pretty handy to have around, considering they’re crazy strong and completely fireproof. It’s going to be an uphill battle for acceptance, but we’ll get there. We did it for mystics, we’re just about there for supernats, and some day, fingers crossed, we’ll even get there for full-blood demons. Everybody deserves a chance to be Good.

Gerald Kershaw ASPECTS Concept:

Oblivious Offspring of Tralframulax the Toxic

Trouble:

Denial Is Not Just a River in Egypt

Discipline: President of the PTA; Nicest Lawn on the Block; Grillmaster APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Odd Jobs & Honey-do Lists

Clever

Coaching Little League

Flashy

Golf

Forceful

Exercise

Quick

Doing Evil

Sneaky STUNTS Handyman: Because I’ve got a workbench in my garage, I gain +2 when I create an advantage using tools & supplies around me. Instinctual Spitter: Because I have vestigial venom sacs, I gain +2 when I Quickly defend against an attack by reflexively spraying venom out of my mouth. ”NIMBY”: Because “Not in my backyard!”, I get +2 when I Forcefully overcome threats to my suburban way of life. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

266

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Cherufe

You probably haven’t heard of the Cherufe, and that’s a crime, because they are arguably one of the more badass creatures out there. Native to the mountains of southern Chile, the Cherufe are magma elementals—red-hot, vaguely humanoid creatures of molten rock who live deep inside the craters of volcanoes. Born in the fiery depths, the Cherufe live only to destroy, and do so by hurling fiery rocks out of the volcano’s mouth and into the towns below. How death-metal-album-cover is that? Plus the only way to get these guys to stop raining fiery death on your village is to offer up a little human sacrifice in exchange. They’ve got a particular fondness for virgins; I know, so cliché. So obviously these guys have to be stopped, but how do you take down a magma elemental? I don’t know. Top of my head I’m thinking…fire extinguisher? Look, we don’t always have the answer! Sometimes you’re gonna be up against a creature so rare that nobody in recorded history has ever defeated one. In that case, it’s up to you to figure it out on your own. Maybe you’ll be the one to make an edit to this entry in the Brotherhood database. Or maybe you’ll be the sacrifice that shuts the Cherufe up for a little while longer. We’re starting a pool, so let us know how it goes.

Cherufe ASPECTS Concept:

Molten Magma Monster

Trouble:

Rocks Are Just Cold Lava

Discipline: Connoisseur of Virgins, All Sorts APPROACH

DISCIPLINES

Cherufe

Red-hot Rock Chucker Fiery Destruction Earthquake Stomp Cooling Off

CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Demon Hunters

Djinn

Djinn are a class of powerful beings, inhabitants of another realm, that manifest in this world as a smokeless fire in humanoid form. Left to their own devices, the djinn are largely neutral toward humanity, which is a good thing, considering the average djinni has powers on par with any quantum magician. But being beings of free will, some have chosen to do otherwise. Some serve in a guardian angel capacity, watching over individuals, or families, or even entire cities. Others live only to watch humanity burn. No weapon exists that is capable of harming the djinn, but there are rituals and spells that can banish a djinn back to its own realm. Or imprison them. Throughout history, a number of brave/evil/ foolhardy people have managed to trap a djinni inside a vessel: a variety of bottles, oil lamps, jewels, talismans, and once in the late 1970s a pretty bitchin’ lava lamp. Bound in servitude to whoever holds their vessel, these creatures of phenomenal, godlike power are reduced to catering to the whims of small-minded mortals by granting wishes. The only way to free an enslaved djinn is by wishing for its freedom. Based on what you know about human nature, guess how often that happens.

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Brotherhood Database

[Unpronounceable] ASPECTS Concept:

Being of Phenomenal Cosmic Powers

Trouble:

Uh Oh, It’s Magic!

Discipline: Wishes Really Do Come True APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Altering Reality

Clever

Folding Space-time

Flashy

Neutrality

Forceful

Defense Against Magic

Quick

Deal-breaking

Sneaky STUNTS World Changer: Because I can wish the world different, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage by altering reality to my benefit. Quantum Identity: Because I belong to a class of extradimensional beings I can take two actions right after the other, but my second action must use the same approach die roll as the first. Omnipotent: Because I am an all-powerful djinni, I cannot be harmed by conventional weapons. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Demon Hunters

DoppelgÄngers

Doppelgängers aren’t inherently evil, but they are definitely bad news. They’re harbingers; a sign that something nasty is just around the corner, appearing as the perfect duplicate of another person. The strength of the doppelgänger’s appearance correlates directly with the severity of the impending doom. Some appear ghostly and translucent, presaging an illness or minor accident. Others can be fully solid and indistinguishable from their original. Friends and family members have carried on full conversations with a duplicate of their loved one, never suspecting anything was amiss. A full-strength doppelgänger sighting such as this is an unavoidable sign that their victim will soon die. Note: When investigating reports of a doppelgänger, be sure to check whether the victim has an identical twin. The Brotherhood’s tired of paying for all of these wrongful death lawsuits.

Doppelgänger ASPECTS Concept:

Duplicitous Duplicate

Trouble:

It Ain’t Easy Being You

Discipline: Which One Is Which? Something Even Worse Than Me Is Coming APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Mimicry

Clever

Infiltration

Flashy

Deception

Forceful

Physical Combat

Quick

Originality

Sneaky STUNTS Not Completely Solid: Because I’m not completely solid, I get +2 when I Flashily defend against physical attacks or overcome physical barriers. Duplicitous Confusion: Because your confusion works to my advantage, I get +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage in the presence of my double. Evil Twin: Because you can’t tell which one to shoot when I am attacked in the presence of my double, my opponent must roll an additional to determine whether their attack hits me (odd number) or the person I’m doubling (even number). CONDITIONS Mild (3)

270

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

European Dragon ASPECTS Concept:

Fire-Breathing Behemoth

Trouble:

Soft & Ticklish Underbelly

Discipline: Leathery-Winged Luddite; Gold Hoarder APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Slaying Heroes

Clever

Burninating

Flashy

Guarding Treasure

Forceful

Close Quarters Movement

Quick

Defense Against Modern Weaponry

Sneaky STUNTS

Scrooge McDragon: Because I will do anything to protect my hoard, I gain +2 when I Quickly attack while in the presence of gold, jewels, or other valuables. Immune to Fire: Because I shoot fire from my friggin’ mouth, I am immune to all fire-based attacks, though this does not include high explosives or laser-based weaponry. BFG: Because I am a massive freaking dragon I gain 3 bonus to use when I wreak destruction on lesser beings. Each severe condition I mark off, I lose a bonus die. Discover and invoke my Trouble aspect to use these dice against me, puny humans. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (3)

Severe (4)

Dragons

“Dragon” is a bit of a problematic term. For thousands of years, mankind has slapped it on every vaguely snake-monstery creature we’ve come across. This means the fire-breathing, princess-eating monster of European folklore has the same name as the prosperity-spreading, rain-making monster of Asian folklore. Clearly these are very different creatures, and should be treated as such. Somehow the Americas managed to dodge this linguistic trap, and their snake monsters all got cool, individual names, like Xiuhcoatl and Och-Kan. So how do you defeat a dragon? Depends on what your “dragon” actually is. European dragons are pretty much your typical savage beasts. Wear something fireproof and hit it with everything you’ve got. Slaying a European dragon is actually a lot easier these days, what with satellite targeting and attack drones and ground-to-air

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missiles. Asian dragons should probably just be left alone. They almost never hurt anybody, and there’s no telling what killing one could do—anything from causing a massive drought to toppling an empire. Hands off! The American “dragons” are problematic in their own way, as they’re usually aspects of some greater power. Even if you manage to take one down, all you’ve done is brought the wrath of a Mesoamerican god down on your team. So remember, kids, do your homework and slay responsibly. Ghosts

When you die, you’re supposed to cross over to the other side, but not everyone makes the trip. Whether they died in a particularly violent way, or have some kind of unfinished business or a message to impart, or are just too damn stubborn to leave, some unfortunate souls get stuck here on earth. These spirits are everywhere. Most are completely imperceptible to all but the most sensitive of mediums, but some are stronger—bursting with enough psychokinetic energy to manifest an ectoplasmic body, visible to anyone. Simultaneously material and immaterial, these ghosts can speak and move small objects, but can also pass through solid walls or vanish in an instant. The majority of ghosts just need a little nudge, some help crossing over to the next world, and we’re happy to give it to them. Others are more…problematic. The longer a ghost is stuck on earth, the angrier it gets. And the crazier. And somehow crazy seems to breed strength. These old ghosts are powerful as hell, and pissed off enough to do something about it. That’s when you get poltergeists, spirit possessions, and marshmallow men. Science to the rescue! Defeating a ghost is a fairly simple matter of disrupting its psychokinetic energy. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but the most common method was invented by Brotherhood agent Thomas Carnacki and recently improved upon by his granddaughter. It involves using beams of electric current to disrupt the ghost’s energy field in a process so dangerously close to one shown in a series of popular films on the subject that I am legally forbidden from describing it. Once the psychokinetic field is disrupted, the spirit can easily be banished from the material plane through any number of rites, rituals, and incantations.

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Staci Hendrix ASPECTS Concept:

Ghost of a Murdered Cheerleader

Trouble:

Can’t Rest Until My Killer Is Found

Discipline: We’ve Got Vengeful Spirit, Yes We Do! APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Raising Morale

Clever

Fear-inducing Vengeance

Flashy

Spreading Gossip

Forceful

Letting Go

Quick

AP Calculus

Sneaky STUNTS #ghostgirl: Because I’m a #ghostgirl, I gain +2 when I Sneakily overcome an obstacle by passing through a physical object. Slimer: Because being dead is totes gross, I gain +2 when I Quickly create an advantage using ectoplasmic slime. I’ve Got Serious FOMO: Because I’ve got serious fear of missing out, once per session I can suddenly appear in a scene where something interesting is happening, regardless of where I was before. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Godlings

Let’s not mince words. The gods are horny little bastards. Just flip through your mythologies and make a note of how often these omnipotent beings descend from on high for the sole purpose of scoring a little mortal strange. The Greeks in particular were lousy with godspawn—Zeus really had a thing for mortal women, and his divine brethren didn’t do too bad for themselves either—but it was by no means limited to their pantheon. The powerful prey on the weak, and gods are no exception. Godlings, by their very nature, tend to be heroic figures. Hercules, Gilgamesh, Achilles, Hanuman. They’re the sort of people who get epics written about them. Being a godling is a genetic jackpot. It’s not just the longevity and superstrength, but godlings can sometimes get a smidgen of their parent’s powers. Nothing close to full-strength, but even a fraction of omnipotence is pretty damn potent. So while Indra’s offspring may not be able to hurl thunderbolts from on high, there’s a good chance they’ve got a touch of electrokinesis.

Jasna Pereplut ASPECTS Concept:

Daughter of the Slavic Goddess of Drink and Luck

Trouble:

My Glass Is Always Full

Discipline: Everything’s Coming Up Jasna APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Drinking to Excess

Clever

Dumb Luck

Flashy

Bar Brawls

Forceful

The Next Morning

Quick

Coordination

Sneaky STUNTS Drinks Are on Me: Because drinks are on me, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage by getting my opponents sloppy drunk. Bar Room Brawler: Because I am my mother’s daughter, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack or defend in a bar, tavern, or other drinking establishment. Lady Luck: Because luck be THIS lady tonight, once per session I can reroll all my dice, or those of an ally, and take the higher of the two rolls. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

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Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Gorgons

Everybody knows the Gorgons, or at least one of them. That Medusa had one hell of a PR guy back in the day. These snakehaired ladies were the terror of ancient Greece, able to turn their foes to stone simply by looking into their eyes. How big of a problem was it? The Greeks, by and large, were not big on statuary. “But there are statues all over the place in Greece,” you say, “I’ve seen them in museums! That was, like, their thing!” No, it wasn’t. Honoring their fallen heroes by placing their petrified bodies in places of honor was their thing. For being one of the scarier monsters you might face in the field, a gorgon is surprisingly easy to defeat. All it takes is a mirror. A gorgon’s stone-staring power is shockingly ineffective against the ol’ “I’m rubber you’re glue” defense. Just bounce that granite-glance right back at her and watch her turn herself to stone. You think they feel like idiots when that happens? I like to think so.

Euryale ASPECTS Concept:

Snake-Haired She-Beast

Trouble:

Deadly Reflection

Discipline: Petrifying Stare; Mournful Wail APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Turning People to Stone

Clever

Venomous Snake Bites

Flashy

Brass Hands

Forceful

Negotiation

Quick

Defense Against the Blind

Sneaky STUNTS Anti-Hellenic: Because I still mourn for Medusa, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack an opponent of Greek heritage. Handy Snakes: Because these things are hard to shampoo, I gain +2 when I Quickly overcome an obstacle using my snake hair. Statue Collector: Because it’s time to add another statue to my collection, once per round of combat I follow up an attack by rolling a demon die to direct my petrifying stare against my opponent. If I roll 1-3, I inflict a mild Pins and Needles condition; 4-5, a moderate Partially Petrified condition; 6, a severe Rock Solid condition. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

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Horrors from Beyond

There are things that dwell outside the boundaries of this reality. Terrible beings of an unimaginable nature, pressing against the walls of our universe, looking for a way in. There’s no telling what they would do if they made it through, but chances are they’re not looking to shower the world with cupcakes and Netflix subscriptions. There are weak spots in the membrane of reality. Places that need to be protected. Occasionally something will manage to tear through, and it’s up to us to shove it back in and duct-tape the hole. Only one of these creatures has ever made it all the way through to our side, and thankfully that one decided to turn around and go back all on its own. The Brotherhood, Alpha One in particular, has managed to stop the rest of them while they were still just a mass of writhing tentacles or a shapeless, undulating mass, or a single, unblinking eye staring hungrily into our universe. It’s rare, but there are people born with the ability to perceive these terrors. To tap into the truth of the world and catch a glimpse of the beings who live in the space between spaces. Their dreams are suffused with nightmare images of these terrible intelligences beyond understanding. Some have attempted to make these visions known, and none more successfully than Howard Phillips Lovecraft. An unsuccessful author in life, Lovecraft was particularly sensitive to the horrors from beyond, and attempted to describe and detail the things he saw in his dreams. His work, as weird as it is, is some of the best intel we’ve got on these things. In fact, had it not been for Lovecraft’s work, the Brotherhood might never have known about the so-called Cthulhu Incursion of 1925. Which means we wouldn’t have been ready when the Cthulhu entity returned in 1997. Didn’t hear about that one? You’re welcome!

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Shoggoth ASPECTS Concept:

Protoplasmic Pile of Sentient Slime

Trouble:

Periodically Rebellious

Discipline: Highly Adaptable; Eyes All Over APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Versatility

Clever

Engulfing

Flashy

Teamwork

Forceful

Mercy

Quick

Cleanliness

Sneaky STUNTS Metamorph From Beyond: Because I am a metamorph from beyond the boundaries of your universe, I gain +2 when I Sneakily create an advantage or overcome an obstacle by reshaping my ponderous mass into a useful form. Cacophony of Madness: Because I can’t get this song out of my head, I chant “Tekeli-li” over and over and once per combat I can inflict a mild Confusion condition on every enemy that can hear me. When anyone with the Confusion condition makes a roll and the result is an odd number, their action somehow benefits me. ProtoDivision: Because you didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?, upon my defeat I can choose to spend a demon die to cause the remains of my corpse to divide into an average mob of Mini-Shoggoths. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Swarm of Mini-Shoggoths ASPECTS Concept:

Protoplasmic Piles of Sentient Slime

Trouble:

Periodically Rebellious

Discipline: Highly Adaptable; Eyes All Over APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Mini-Shoggoth

Versatility Engulfing Teamwork Mercy Cleanliness

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

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Karloff

Everyone needs some dumb muscle, and they don’t come much dumber than a Karloff. Brought to life via a bastardized, reverse engineering of Victor Frankenstein’s more successful technique, these patchwork monstrosities were, until recently, the only known method of scientific resurrection. Named for the renowned actor’s portrayal of Frankenstein’s monster, the Karloff method of resurrection has its downsides. The creatures are enormous, slow, lumbering oafs with the cranial capacity of a cocker spaniel. That said, they make one helluva bullet sponge. Over time, improvements have been made to the Karloff process. Dr. Madeline Hatter recently managed to successfully reanimate herself and keep her intellect largely intact, with the sole exception of her memories of the actual process. Thanks for nothing, Dr. Hatter! In a more well-documented instance, Herr Doktor modified the Karloff process using custom, vat-grown body parts and a partially bionic brain to create a fast, strong, intelligent animate in what he has called Project Victoria.

Karloff ASPECTS Concept:

Electrically-Animated Patchwork Henchman

Trouble:

FIRE BAD!

APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Karloff

Don’t Know My Own Strength Empathy Defending Against Fire

CONDITIONS Mild (5)

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Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Kraken

The Vikings called it Hafgufa. A mile-long monster, so large that its head could be mistaken for an island. For centuries, sailors have feared the stretch of the Arctic Ocean that the creature calls its home, knowing that at any moment it could stretch up its mighty tentacles and pull their ship down into the icy deep. Today, we know the creature as the Kraken, and while it’s never been captured, we do know considerably more about it. In 1735, Carl Linnaeus, in his S yste ma N atu rae , classified the Kraken as a cephalopod, naming it Microcosmus marinus—an octopus, larger by far than anything else that has ever lived. So far, that description seems to fit what we know about the creature: the tentacles, the beak, the oversized mantle. Surprisingly, the advent of submarines, sonar, and unmanned submersibles hasn’t done much to aid our hunt for the creature. We don’t even know if it’s a single, long-lived monster, or a breeding population of multiple Krakens. For something so large, it’s found one hell of a hiding place. Historically, the Kraken rarely rises to the surface, choosing instead to lie in wait on the sea floor to devour entire schools of fish at a time. However, sightings have been on the rise in recent years, correlating with reports of overfishing in the Greenland Sea. No ships have been lost so far, but it’s possible that by stealing the Kraken’s food source, we will soon become the Kraken’s food source.

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Kraken ASPECTS Concept:

Terror of the Deep

Trouble:

Squishy Head & Eyes

Discipline: Tentacles Longer Than Your Ship Sailors Dare Not Speak My Name APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Tentacle Combat

Clever

Hiding

Flashy

Deadly Whirlpools

Forceful

Defense Against Megasharks

Quick

Co-Existing with Humanity

Sneaky STUNTS Sailor’s Bane: Because I am the sailors’ bane, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack against ships, submarines, and other aquatic vehicles. Covered in Chromatophores: Because I am covered in chromatophores, I gain +2 when I Quickly defend by blending perfectly into my surroundings. Awesome Cephalopod: Because cephalopods are awesome, once per round of combat I can spend a demon die to clear a minor physical condition as I rapidly regenerate any injured tissues. BFG: Because I am the Kraken I gain 4 bonus to use when I wreak destruction on lesser beings. Each severe condition I mark off, I lose a bonus die. Discover and invoke my Trouble aspect to use these dice against me. CONDITIONS Mild (5) Moderate (3) Severe (5)

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Lycanthropes

The werevirus is a mean little bastard. Having hybridized with the animal DNA of its previous host species, the virus breaks down the human’s genetic code, combining it with its own. This results in the spontaneous generation of atavistic traits, similar in nature to those of the previous host species. The end result is an entirely new creature. Part man, part beast. The lycanthrope. There’s a lot of misinformation out there regarding lycanthropes. For one, it’s not just werewolves (I know, “lycan-” is Latin for wolf, but “therianthrope” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue). They might be the most common form of lycanthrope, and they definitely get the most press, but any mammalian species can pass on the werevirus. This means you could find yourself up against anything from a menacing werecougar or werebear, to a more exotic weregiraffe or wereorca, to an ineffectual and downright adorable werekoala or were-red panda. A lycanthrope’s first transformation, usually occurring within four hours of initial infection, is a violent, uncontrollable, and traumatic event that results in a vicious, hulking, feral hybrid of human and beast. Newly infected lycanthropes are extraordinarily dangerous and will kill without hesitation. Upon transforming back to their human form, a young lycanthrope retains no memory of the event or what transpired while in their “werestate.” It can be months before they even realize anything’s wrong, explaining away their waking state as the result of sleepwalking or blackout drinking. Transformations have nothing to do with the phase of the moon. In the beginning, they can be triggered by extreme emotional states, especially anger. But with time and practice, a lycanthrope begins to retain the memories from their werestate, and the transformation becomes voluntary. Lycanthropes exhibit a variety of abilities, depending on the source-species of their infection, but all exhibit extremely rapid healing and regenerative abilities. They also develop a severe adverse reaction to silver, capable of counteracting the regenerative ability.

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The Brotherhood has developed a partial vaccine to counteract the effects of the werevirus. If a victim is vaccinated before their initial transformation, the virus never fully matures. The vaccination completely prevents an infected individual from undergoing the dangerously feral change. It does, however, leave the victim in a transitory “half-human” state characterized by a voluntary, stunted, partial transformation. The partial transformation includes minor alterations to bone structure and musculature, and frequently involves rapid hair growth over the entire body. In this state, the lycanthrope still exhibits all sensory, emotional, and regenerative traits of the source species, despite the incomplete transformation. Vaccinated werecreatures are considered inferior by many fully developed werecreatures. They are banned as “half-breed race traitors” from the ecoterrorist organization known as The Pound (on page 319).

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Werehoneybadger ASPECTS Concept:

Werehoneybadger Don’t Give a &#%@

Trouble:

Venom Makes Me Sleepy

Discipline: Armored Hide; Ravenous Hunger APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Fearlessness

Clever

Virtual Invulnerability

Flashy

Killing $#&@ Dead

Forceful

Strategy

Quick

Self-Preservation

Sneaky STUNTS Cobras Are Yummy: Because Cobras Are Yummy, I gain +2 when I Flashily defend against venoms, poisons, and other toxic substances. Larger = Leftovers: Because the bigger you are, the more meals I get, I gain +2 when I Quickly attack a significantly larger opponent. Hard to Kill: Because I am seriously hard to kill, once per round of combat I can clear a minor condition by no longer giving a &#%@ about it. If that condition was caused by silver, I cannot clear it. Because I don’t give a &#%@ about that, I can make another attack after taking a condition would have taken me out. CONDITIONS Mild (5) Moderate (3) Severe (1)

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Mr. Jack

Serial killers aren’t usually the Brotherhood’s thing. Usually. Every once in a while we get wind of one that seems a little…off. A little more in our wheelhouse. The “Mr. Jack” file was handed off to us by one of our informants in the FBI. The feds have been tracking this guy for nearly a decade, with no success. There’s no pattern to his victims. No evidence at the scenes. A different city every time. Nothing they could trace. But every three months, like clockwork, Mr. Jack surfaces to kill five people before disappearing again. They thought they’d caught a break a few years back, when an eyewitness to one of the attacks surfaced. She described a short, slim man in a long black coat, wielding an ivory handled straight razor. She said his skin was gray. His ears pointy. His eyes glowed orange in the twilight. And he giggled as he slit his victim’s throat. They figured she was just in shock. Another dead end. She might have been, but that didn’t mean she was wrong. The FBI was stumped, but the Brotherhood has seen this sort of behavior before. The London Monster. Spring-Heeled Jack. The Mad Gasser of Mattoon. Random attacks. Weird motives. Disappearing assailants. Phantom attackers like these are common throughout history, and they almost always turn out to be pucks— faerie pranksters who delight in the torture of humans. Granted, it’s not a perfect fit. Pucks tend to favor violent mischief over straight up murder, and Mr. Jack is dropping bodies like crazy. He’s made his Ripper predecessor look like a weekend hobbyist. So maybe we’re wrong and he’s not a puck. Maybe he’s something different. Or something worse. In any case, Mr. Jack needs to be shut down. The FBI couldn’t catch him, but the Brotherhood has resources the FBI couldn’t dream of. And we know his timetable. It’s just a matter of months before he pops up again. We’ll be waiting.

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Mr. Jack ASPECTS Concept:

Supernatural Serial Slasher

Trouble:

Debilitating Fits of Laughter

Discipline: Can’t Catch Me!; Ooh, What a Lovely Knife APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Bladed Weaponry Combat

Clever

Stalking

Flashy

Escape

Forceful

Defense Against Magic

Quick

Defense Against Humor

Sneaky STUNTS Night Stalker: Because I am one with the night, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage or overcome an obstacle by hiding in the shadows. Prey on the Weak: Because I am an opportunistic predator, I gain +2 when I Flashily attack or defend against an opponent who has already marked off a condition. Aw, That Tickles: Because you don’t know what I am, but I’m damn sure not human, I cannot be harmed by conventional weapons. This immunity is lost once my trouble aspect is discovered. I’ll Be Back: Because you haven’t seen the last of Mr. Jack, upon my defeat my body vanishes as soon as the team is distracted, along with any bladed weapons that were used to attack me. Once per session I can return from the dead at a later point in the story, with all conditions cleared, at which point any attacks using previously stolen weapons deal an additional

of damage.

CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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‘

‘

‘

‘

MokEle-mbembe

The people of the Congo River basin tell stories of the Mokèlémbèmbé, a giant herbivorous creature with a long neck and tail that lives along the river’s edge, feeding on the vegetation. Its footprints are three feet across, and it has been known to kill hippos when its offspring are attacked. Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a dinosaur! Best guess is an apatosau—wait, screw that! You read the news lately? The brontosaurus is back, baby! And that’s what we’re dealing with here, an honest to anachronistic goodness brontosaurus alive and kicking in the modern Congo! Now, nobody’s suggesting that a relict population of brontosauruses somehow survived until the present day without ever being officially discovered. The dinos died out 65 million years ago, with no exceptions. No, this is most likely a timeslip situation. A hole in space-time must have opened up a few hundred years ago, and stayed open long enough for a breeding population of brontosauruses to wander through. Sure, it might have been done intentionally, but what kind of moron would be crazy enough to do something like… Wait a minute. Anybody seen Kentucky Blue Clay? We’ve got some questions for him.

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Mokèlé-mbèmbé ASPECTS Concept:

Holy Crap, It’s a Brontosaurus!

Trouble:

Terrified of Insects and Arachnids

Discipline: Herbivorous STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Survival

Clever

Hiding

Flashy

Rampaging

Forceful

Agility

Quick

Intelligence

Sneaky STUNTS Long Neck: Because I have a super-long neck, I gain +2 when I Flashily overcome an obstacle by reaching right the hell over it. You Can’t See Me!: Because I am surprisingly good at staying hidden, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage by hiding in a jungle or rainforest environment. BFG: Because don’t piss me off, I’m a living dinosaur! I gain 1 bonus to use when I feel threatened. If I mark off a severe condition, I lose the bonus die. Discover and invoke my Trouble aspect to use this die against me; when confronted with ants, spider, weird beetles, and the like, I will retreat in terror rather than continuing to attack. Thick Skinned: Because your bullets can’t pierce my thick, leathery hide, I am immune to all small-arms fire. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (3)

Severe (2)

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Mummies

A mummy is a well-preserved corpse. That’s all. You can go to the museum and see a mummy and not worry about bringing a shotgun with you. These are not the mummies you need to worry about. The problem mummies are the ones who are extremely well preserved. So well preserved they don’t know they’re dead. All they know is that they’re awake, they’re annoyed, and the person who woke them up (or, you know, whoever’s handy) needs to die. Mummies come in all shapes and sizes. Sure, there’s your typical TP’d pharaohs, but you’ve also got flash-frozen icemen, sacrificial bog bodies and mountain maidens, self-mummifying Buddhist monks, and hyper-embalmed Communist leaders. Cultures all around the world have practiced mummification at one time or another, and some of the oldest and most well preserved weren’t even done on purpose—hat tip to Mother Nature on those. Mummies don’t even have to be human. The Egyptians mummified way more cats than they ever did humans, and good ol’ global warming is melting the Arctic not-so-permafrost, uncovering the mummified remains of woolly mammoths. Imagine one of those behemoths staggering its way into downtown Anchorage. Mummies aren’t super difficult to defeat. They’re strong, but they’re slow as hell. Especially the naturally-occurring ones. We’re not really sure why these guys wake up, but it does happen from time to time, and they tend to be more confused than anything. The intentional mummies are trickier. Either they were meant as sacrifices to the gods, in which case disturbing one means pissing off a historically bloodthirsty deity, or they were a person of significant power, which means their tomb was probably protected with some nasty curses. We’re talking locusts, vermin, disease—your basic Moses special.

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Psusennes I ASPECTS Concept:

The Silver Pharaoh

Trouble:

There Is Power in Names

Discipline: On a Linen-Wrapped Rampage Whosoever Disturbs my Tomb… APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Throttling

Clever

Curses

Flashy

Spreading Ancient Disease

Forceful

Movement

Quick

Flame Resistance

Sneaky STUNTS Ancient Maladies Are Modern Curses: Because you have lost your immunities to the plagues of my time, I can spend a demon die to inflict a Cursed condition on an opponent I’m close enough to sneeze on. Roll the die: 1-3, inflict a mild condition; 4-5, a moderate condition; 6, a severe condition. My Guts Are in a Jar: Because do your worst—my organs and brain are stored in canopic jars somewhere, I gain +2 when I Forcefully defend against attacks. Curse of the Pharaoh: Because I wield the Curse of the Pharaoh, once per session, during a single round of combat, I can spend a demon die to force each of my opponents to reroll their approach die and take the lesser of the two rolls. Fear the Mummy: Because I am the walking dead coming for you, anyone in my presence who has a Cursed condition must make an overcome roll each round against an opposition 10 in order to act, as your body is gripped in sheer terror. On the first failure, the opposition becomes 15 for the following rounds. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

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Nephilim

Demons and gods aren’t the only ones who like to get their freak on in the mortal realm. The heavenly host have a number of their own bastard offspring running around on Earth. These semi-divine creatures are known as Nephilim, and while they’re living proof that angels can be super-irresponsible, they’re also one hell of a boon to the war against Evil. Much like with cambions, the human mother of a nephilim is unlikely to survive the child’s birth—and unlike the cambions, the angelic father is likely in a boatload of trouble. The Brotherhood keeps a close eye on these divine pregnancies, and snatches them up as soon as they get the chance. Nephilim inherit a number of features from their fathers. The most impressive are probably the wings. Less majestic than an angel’s wings, they’re still capable of short-distance flights. Good for getting you across town during rush hour, but you’d be better off buying a ticket in Business Class for that trip to Hawaii. Though they look and feel solid, the wings are a purely metaphysical construct, and as such are easier to conceal than you might think. Any sort of symbolic binding will do the trick, from a bandage around the chest to a strip of tape running down the spine. Every divine being has a halo, a conduit for channeling divine energies into the body, and nephilim are no exception. Their halos are invisible to the naked eye, but glow like the sun in the infrared. Unfortunately, divine energy and human anatomy don’t play well together, and every nephilim has a bald spot as a result of the halo’s low-level radiation. Even the females. It’s a small price to pay for the ability to heal injury or illness with a touch. Some nephilim have even been reported to have resurrected the recently deceased in this manner, though doing so seems to drain their energy reserves, drawing from the nephilim’s own soul to make up the difference. Overall, there’s not a lot of downsides to being part-angel. Sure, the orphan thing sucks, and certain supernats with expanded fields of vision can pick a nephilim out of a crowd by spotting their halo, and a large number of suuuuuper dark magical rituals involve nephilim being impaled, dismembered, or crucified upside down to summon some terrible evil into this world, but that sort of stuff is par for the course in this line of work. For the most part it’s fighting

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the good fight, healing the sick, and occasionally spreading your wings and taking off into the skies.

Raphael ASPECTS Concept:

Arrogant Hero in a Half-Angel

Trouble:

Addicted to “Love”

Discipline: Raised by the Brotherhood Ladies Love the Wings APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Divine Healing

Clever

Firearms

Flashy

Flight

Forceful

Humility

Quick

Celibacy

Sneaky STUNTS Born to the Brotherhood: Because I was born into this life, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack supernatural creatures. Famous Divinity: Because you’ve probably heard of my dad in this little book called THE BIBLE, I gain +2 when I Cleverly overcome an obstacle by exploiting my reputation to intimidate or impress anyone in law enforcement or security. Holy Healer: Because a divine radiance flows through me, once per conflict I can spend a demon die to heal a mild or a moderate condition in myself or an ally. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Demon Hunters

Fae

Residents of a realm called Faerie, the fae were around long before humanity, and they’re sure to outlast us. Some of them may even outlive us; the flow of time gets all wonky and unpredictable over on their side. The fae are inherently magical beings. While humans can only perform acts of magic by making sacrifices to a higher power, the fae toss it around with little to no effort. They are creatures of incredible power. “Fae” is an umbrella term for a wide variety of creatures native to Faerie—from elves and trolls and leprechauns to redcaps and goblins and domovoi, to pixies and nymphs and sprites and of course the eponymous faeries. Regardless of type, the fae are almost always humanoid in appearance, though their sizes vary wildly. You could fit a fistful of pixies in your pocket, whereas a troll could potentially be the size of a mountain. Regardless of size, they all have similar weaknesses to cold iron and certain herbs. Also, names hold power in fae society, and learning a fae’s true name allows you to wield that power. The fae seem to be fascinated by humanity. Their interactions with humans tend to either be helpful or playful. Helpful is good. Helpful fae find the remote when you’ve lost it in the cushions and make a crapload of shoes while the cobbler is asleep. It’s the playful fae that are a problem, because their version of playful is brutal. Like stealing your baby and swapping it out with a fairy duplicate, or guiding a traveler deep into the woods and leaving them for dead, or dragging you under the water to watch you struggle for breath. It’s all fun and games to the fae.

Brownie ASPECTS Concept:

Household Helper

Trouble:

Will Work for Food

Discipline: We Work the Night Shift APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Brownie

Deep Cleaning Decluttering Resisting Sweets

CONDITIONS Mild (1)

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Gwyn ap Nudd ASPECTS Concept:

King of the Tylwyth Teg

Trouble:

Your Christian Water Burns

Discipline: Leader of the Wild Hunt; Led by a Pack of Spectral Hounds; Eternal Crush on Creiddylad APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Hunting

Clever

Ancient Warfare

Flashy

Reaping Souls

Forceful

Social Graces

Quick

Resisting a Contest

Sneaky STUNTS The Water Is My Home: Because my kingdom lies beneath the waters, I gain +2 when I Quickly attack or defend in or around a body of water. Good Dogs: Because my hounds know how best to flush my quarry, I gain +2 when I Forcefully create an advantage by commanding my hounds. Battle and Conflict: Because I come from battle and conflict, once per round of conflict I can roll a demon die to clear a physical condition. On a 1-4 I clear a mild condition, on a 5-6, a moderate condition. BFG: Because I am the Welsh God of the Underworld I gain 4 bonus to use when I engage in a conflict. When I mark off a severe condition, I lose a bonus die. Discover and invoke my Trouble aspect to use these dice against me, but I will so psychopomp your ass when your time comes. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

Severe (5)

Brownie Troupe ASPECTS Concept:

Household Helpers

Trouble:

Will Work for Food

Discipline: We Work the Night Shift APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Brownies

Deep Cleaning Decluttering Resisting Sweets

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

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Vampires

You know all about these guys. Vampires have been burned into the cultural consciousness since the Victorian Era, thanks mainly to the work of Bram Stoker and his successors. Vampires feed on the blood of humans. They’re supernaturally swift and strong. Sunlight makes ‘em crispy. None of this is news. Instead, let’s focus on what the stories got wrong about vamps. For one, they don’t turn into bats. Or wolves, or mist, or rats… No shapeshifting. Old Johnny Harker didn’t have the full story on Count Dracula. The Count wasn’t just a vampire, but a mystic as well. Your typical vamp isn’t magic at all and leaves the shape changing to the lycanthropes. They do, however, possess an innate form of mesmerism, and have been known to hold their victims in “thrall” to aid in feeding. This mental control usually wears off after a few minutes, though some vampires have been known to maintain the connection for days, months, even years at a time. Long-term enthrallment can lead to serious mental problems, including loss of memory, insanity, and aneurysm. Secondly, they’re not repelled by crosses. Not really. The cross is just a symbol. It’s the faith a person has in that symbol that drives them away. They can’t stand the stuff. A Catholic priest wielding a cross will mess a vamp up, whereas a rabbi with a cross would just make for a tasty, Kosher snack. Swap that cross out with a mezuzeh or a Star of David though, and the rabbi’s suddenly a force to be reckoned with. Hell, I once watched a Scientologist e-Meter the crap out of a drac. It doesn’t even have to be religious faith either. Give Neil deGrasse Tyson a copy of Carl Sagan’s C os mos and that badasstrophysicist could blast some bloodchuggers back into star-stuff. And finally, we’re not sure who started the whole “swapping blood” thing to turn someone into a vampire—that’s just unsanitarily creepy. A vampire’s fangs are hollow, like those of a rattlesnake. It can use these to inject a venom into its victim containing a powerful retroviral agent. As soon as it hits the bloodstream, the venom goes to work rewriting the victim’s genetic code. Within hours, they are transformed. Brotherhood scientists are working on a solution, but to date there’s no known cure. There’s one thing the stories don’t talk about. Vampires call it “The Chill”—a constant, unrelenting, bone-deep cold that no amount of 294

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external heat can warm. Only the blood of the living can push back the Chill. Being undead, a vampire’s circulatory system is shut down, so their unique diet is their body’s only source of fresh, warm, blood. Unfortunately, the Brotherhood’s artificial blood substitute “Vitamin-V” does not provide the same anti-Chill effects, making life for our reformed vampiric agents particularly difficult.

Tristan Carfax ASPECTS Concept:

“Teenage” Vampire

Trouble:

Repeating 12th Grade for the 128th Time

Discipline: Supernaturally Seductive APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Luring Impressionable Youths

Clever Flashy

Being All Mysterious and Broody

Forceful

Physical Education

Quick Sneaky

Not Getting Made Fun of By Other Vampires

Vampire

The SATs

STUNTS Sparkles: Because I have a sparkling…personality I get +2 when I Carefully create an advantage by exploiting my irresistible vampiric wiles. Pop Culture: Because I’m hip to what the kids are into these days I get +2 when I Quickly overcome an obstacle using my knowledge of pop culture. Dreamy Eyes: Because you could lose yourself in my eyes, once per session I can spend a demon die to enthrall a player character and bend them to my will. One demon die inflicts a mild Temporary Enthrallment condition; two demon dice inflicts a moderate Enthralled condition; three demon dice inflicts a severe Enthralled condition. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Manananggal ASPECTS Concept:

Vampiric Bat-Winged Torso

Trouble:

Don’t Salt My Other Half

Discipline: Yard-Long Proboscis; Preys on Preggos APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Sucking Blood

Clever

Flying

Flashy

Deception

Forceful

Running

Quick

Kickboxing

Sneaky STUNTS Prone to Preggos: Because it’s not bad enough that I suck blood I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack pregnant opponents. Flying Terror: Because flap, flap, drip, drip, I gain +2 when I Quickly create an advantage in order to cause fear while flying. Creeped the Hell Out: Because my WTF!? factor is off the charts, when first encountered, I automatically inflict a minor Creeped the Hell Out condition on every opponent in visual range. Vampiric Power: Because I’m a really gross vampire, when I bestow a condition on my target by sucking their blood, I gain an extra mild condition box I can mark off. If I have any conditions marked off, I can choose instead to clear a mild or moderate condition. CONDITIONS Mild (4)

296

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Vampire Rose

This strange specimen was first encountered in Ecuador by a Brotherhood chapter responding to reports of mad botanical experimentation in a remote greenhouse laboratory on the bank of the Amazon. The scientist was long gone, but she had left behind a dozen examples of what her notes referred to as Rosa sanguiphagia— the Vampire Rose. The entire crop was destroyed, but not before one of the plants managed to snag a hunter who wandered too close. Its vines wrapped tight around its victim, piercing his flesh with its white, tooth-like thorns and releasing a paralytic toxin to keep him from struggling. By the time his team managed to tear him free, the hunter had lost about three pints of blood. The Vampire Rose clearly lives up to its name. Unlike most plants, which use chlorophyll to convert sunlight to energy, these night-blooming black-stemmed roses extract all of the energy they need from the blood of their victims. Utilizing an enhanced variant of heliotropism—the process that allows a normal plant to follow the sun over the course of a day—the Vampire Rose exhibits rapid hemotropism, tracking and quickly ensnaring potential sources of blood in its vicinity. In the wild, they are often found surrounded by mounds of withered, exsanguinated corpses. That’s right, we said “in the wild.” Unfortunately, the scientist responsible for these plants is still at large, and seems to fancy herself some sort of demented Johnny Appleseed, sowing the seeds of Rosa sanguiphagia across Central and North America. No matter how many of these things we destroy, more pop up every day. Until we figure out who she is and shut her down for good, the Vampire Rose will continue to thrive.

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Vampire Rose ASPECTS Concept:

Beautiful Bloodthirsty Bloom

Trouble:

Fire: Nature’s Weedkiller

Discipline: Vampiric Vines APPROACH

DISCIPLINES:

Vampire Rose

Exsanguination Entangling Mobility

CONDITIONS Mild (1)

Grove of Vampire Roses ASPECTS Concept:

Bouquet of Beautiful Bloodthirsty Blooms

Trouble:

Fire: Nature’s Weedkiller

Discipline: Vampiric Vines Impenetrable Wall of Thorns APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Vampire Roses

Exsanguination Entangling Forming Barriers Mobility

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

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Yetis

Yetis are large, fur-covered, ape-like creatures who dwell exclusively among the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. They are similar in physiology to the North American Sasquatch. The yeti is an extremely endangered species, and though they are not officially recognized as a real creature in the civilian world, it is a violation of Nepalese law to kill one. This so-called “Abominable Snowman” has never been known to attack unprovoked. If you encounter a yeti on the rampage, someone else threw the first punch. There is a brisk, black market trade in yeti parts for use in folk medicines, which has lead to wide scale poaching of the few remaining yeti communities. tl;dr: The yetis are probably the good guys. Go hunt the humans.

Yeti ASPECTS Concept:

Sasquatch’s Snowbound Sibling

Trouble:

Violence Disgusts Me

Discipline: Just Want to Be Left Alone Almost Invisible Out Here APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Camouflage

Clever

Survivalism

Flashy

Superstrength

Forceful

Global Warming

Quick

Violence

Sneaky STUNTS Powerful Pacifist: Because I don’t want to fight, but that doesn’t mean I can’t, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack someone who attacked me first. Snow White Fur: Because I am covered in white fur, I gain +2 when I Sneakily create an advantage by blending in with my environment. Strength in Numbers: Because there’s no way of telling how many of us are around, once per session I can roll a demon die to summon that many additional yeti to my location. BFG: Because I am the Abominable Snowman I gain 2 bonus to use when I engage in a situation where I need my strength. When I mark off a severe condition, I lose a bonus die. Discover and invoke my Trouble aspect to use these dice against me, but you might be the biggest jerk of all time. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

Severe (3)

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Zombies

We don’t know how zombies work. We’re working on it, but any solid results are still a long way off. Zombification is the result of a mélange of toxins, bacteria, and necromantic energies that we haven’t even begun to untangle. Zombies are insanely infectious. The slightest tooth-scrape, and you’re done for. Once that crap gets into your bloodstream, your countdown clock starts. You’ve got about fifteen minutes left to get your affairs in order before your heart stops. But you won’t stay down for long. Left to their own devices, a zombie will shamble* around aimlessly, attacking anything that moves. They don’t have any purpose or drive beyond their insatiable hunger. The darker practitioners of Haitian Vodou have found a way to change that. A bokor is able to mystically bind a zombie to his or her will, tasking it to perform simple manual labor, or directing its focus on a specific target. More powerful bokors have been known to control dozens of zombies at a time, forming their own personal undead horde army. Due to the highly infectious nature of a zombie’s bite and its 100% mortality rate, Brotherhood agents are under orders to destroy all zombies on sight. Other creatures may be reasoned with or converted to the cause. Not zombies. They’re already dead. It’s up to us to make sure they rest in peace. And we’re all clear on zombie killing, right? Remove the head, or destroy the brain. Preferably both.

* SHAMBLE! Zombies don’t run. I can’t stress that enough. If someone is running after you trying to bite you, that is not a zombie. That is an asshole.

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Zombie ASPECTS Concept:

Shambling Ravenous Undead

Trouble:

Head Like a Ripe Melon

Discipline: Insanely Infectious Bite APPROACH

DISCIPLINES

Zombie

Eating People Bullet Sponge Moving Faster Than a Slow Walk

CONDITIONS Mild (2)

Zombie Horde ASPECTS Concept:

Shambling Ravenous Undead

Trouble:

Heads Like Ripe Melons

Discipline: Insanely Infectious Bites APPROACH

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Zombies

Eating People Bullet Sponge Swarming Moving Faster Than a Slow Walk

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

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The Order of the Infernal Scepter The Five Scions

The Order was led by the Five Scions, the half-human offspring of Lucifer. One of their number was destined to lead the forces of Evil to Earth to wage war against the powers of Good, before ascending to their father’s throne. The prophecy wasn’t exactly clear on which one it would be, though. This omission would be kinda really important later. Each of the Scions led a faction of the Order dedicated to their particular brand of villainy: Mayhem, Hatred, Murder, Terror, and Despair. Together, they united the minions of Evil on Earth in coordinated assaults on the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch. The Scions excelled at spreading chaos. Under their leadership, the Order proved to be well-matched against the Brotherhood. For thousands of years the two groups fought each other to a standstill time after time. But it was clear that Evil was gaining a foothold. Slowly but surely, the tides were turning. By the early-twentieth century, it seemed that the forces of Good were up against the ropes, all but beaten. Soon Evil would claim victory, and one of the Scions would ascend to their father’s throne to wield the Infernal Scepter. One of them. That’s when it all fell apart. The Scions descended into infighting and backstabbing as they scrambled over each other to claim their birthright. One after another, the leaders of the Order died at each other’s hands, until only one remained. Now vulnerable, the last of the Scions was killed by Brotherhood forces in 1962 during the Battle of Centralia. With their leadership gone, what remained of the Order soon fell apart. Novus Ordo

Following the fall of the last Scion, the Brotherhood did what it could to round up the Order’s surviving agents, but it was a huge organization. Some of the less important, low-level members were bound to slip through the cracks, and they weren’t done fighting yet. Rebranding themselves as Novus Ordo, this relatively new offshoot of the Order has yet to prove themselves much of a threat, but they’re growing. There’s something about the idea of fighting for Evil that draws a particular type of personality—outlaw bikers, ex-cons, mercenaries, 4chan users, that sort of thing. And they’re 302

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Novus Ordo Grunt Order of the Infernal Scepter ASPECTS Concept:

Zealous Evil Supremacist

Trouble:

Got Something to Prove

Discipline: Any Weapon Will Do APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Novus Ordo Grunt

Good Ol’ Fashioned Violence Rally Rhetoric Empathy

CONDITIONS Mild (2)

Gang of Novus Ordo Grunts Order of the Infernal Scepter ASPECTS Concept:

Zealous Evil Supremacists

Trouble:

Got Something to Prove

Discipline: Any Weapon Will Do APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Novus Ordo Grunts

Good Ol’ Fashioned Violence Rally Rhetoric Empathy

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

big on the “hook ‘em while they’re young” philosophy, recruiting a lot of angry, disaffected teens from outside high schools and shopping malls. Novus Ordo’s membership roster is almost entirely human—the Order’s supernats mostly joined up with M.O.N.S.T.R.E. (on page 361) after Centralia—with a smattering of mystics, but most of the real talent found work elsewhere or went solo. Right now, the Brotherhood doesn’t consider Novus Ordo much of a threat. At least, not so far. They’re big on rallies and rhetoric, but not so much on the follow-through. To date they’ve done nothing of note, but their heritage means they merit observation. Will Novus Ordo ever reclaim the power and infamy of the Order

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of the Infernal Scepter? Obviously not. But the Pound (on page 319) was born from the ashes of the Order too, and they’re a sizable pain in the Brotherhood’s ass. Novus Ordo may ultimately prove themselves to be a similar asspain. Johnny “The Demon” Ossesso

As an enforcer for Capone’s Chicago Outfit, Johnny had buried his share of bodies. He had a knack for inflicting pain that could almost be considered artful. So when Gronthar the Devourer took possession of his body, it took a while for anybody to notice the difference. But there were subtle changes, like how his executions had become more brutal and needlessly torturous, or the lingering scent of sulfur around him, or the fact that he hadn’t aged in about twenty years. Johnny’s gleefully violent antics began to draw more attention than the mob was comfortable with, and Capone let him go. He found a new home with the Order, who were much more accepting and even encouraging of his animalistic tendencies. He became one of their top assassins. The guy they’d use when they wanted to really send a message. He was an artist of brutality and his medium was blood and bone and ropes of intestine. He had a good thing going, but all good things must come to an end. When the Order fell, Johnny was out of a job, so he fell back on what he knew: organized crime. But this time, he wasn’t gonna be anybody’s guard dog. He had higher aspirations. Today, the Ossesso crime family runs Chicago. Johnny’s slowed down a bit in his old agelessness, but he still enjoys handing out a good beatdown from time to time. Breaking some thumbs. Shattering some kneecaps. Tearing the life out of some punk who thought he could make a play for Johnny’s kingdom. Johnny or the Demon, some days it’s hard to say which one’s in charge.

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Johnny “The Demon” Ossesso Order of the Infernal Scepter ASPECTS Concept:

Demon Possessed Capo of the Ossesso Crime Family

Trouble:

Bound by the Oath of Omertà

Discipline: Infernal Enforcer APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Violent Retribution

Clever

Mob Business

Flashy

Torture for Fun and Profit

Forceful

The Big Picture

Quick

Impulse Control

Sneaky STUNTS Former Capone Enforcer: Because I came up under Capone, I get +2 when I Flashily attack using a Tommy gun, Lupara, or other appropriately oldschool firearms. Clever Intimidation: Because ”What am I, a clown to you? I agree, clowns are terrifying”, I get +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage by intimidating an opponent into submission. Fear Is the Great Motivator: Because I have built my organization upon fear, all of my enforcers get +2 to their attacks when they are in my presence, lest they disappoint me. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Waldron Dankworth

The Order had a lot of use for wizards, especially the dark ones. Waldron Dankworth was pitch-%&#$in’-black. He was one of their heaviest hitters, so when word came that the last Scion had died, Dankworth knew the Brotherhood would be coming for him. He packed his bags, opened a portal, and stepped through to his Plan B: an abandoned sea fort off the coast of England. The fort hadn’t been in use since World War II, and he’d made sure to erase all records of its existence. Here, miles from civilization, fortified within these walls of concrete and iron, he would establish his base of power. Lay out his plans to build a new mystical empire. The world would soon tremble at the sound of his name! Waldron Dankworth: Wizard Emperor of Planet Earth! Notice how none of that actually happened? Us too. It’s been over fifty years, and nothing. Wizards have got a few tricks for life extension, but they’re not immortal; he might be dead already but that’s not likely. Based on the fact that his fortress is still protected by a ring of enchantments, curses, and mystical tripwires five miles wide, Dankworth is still out there. Maybe he’s got some huge master plan in the works that he’s about to set in motion. Maybe he’s been driven mad by fifty years of life as a sea hermit. Maybe both! All we know is we can’t get close to him. As long as he’s content to live out his life in quiet, self-imposed exile, we’re happy to let him.

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Waldron Dankworth Order of the Infernal Scepter ASPECTS Concept:

Wicked Warlock in Self-Imposed Exile

Trouble:

There Is Madness in my Method

Discipline: Mystically Booby-Trapped Sea Fortress Nearly a Century of Dark Magic Knowledge APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Necromancy

Clever

Chaos Magic

Flashy

Mystical Wards and Traps

Forceful

Using Modern Technology

Quick

Personal Hygiene

Sneaky STUNTS Master of Death Magic: Because I’ve forgotten more about Death Magic than you’ll ever learn I get +2 when I Cleverly overcome an obstacle by raising the dead. Minefield of Magic: Because I am surrounded by a minefield of magic, I gain +2 when I Carefully create an advantage using mystical traps and decoys. Chaos Warp: Because I have harnessed the primordial forces of chaos, once per session I can switch two of an opponent’s approaches or discipline dice for one another. This effect lasts until the opponent has succeeded with style at an action with each affected approach or discipline, or until I am taken out, whichever comes first. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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La Bricoleuse

Nobody’s ever met La Bricoleuse. Her lair is hidden somewhere deep within the catacombs of Paris, and as far as we can tell she never leaves. The intel on La Bricoleuse is sketchy at best. We’ve been monitoring her for decades, with almost nothing to show for it. The Brotherhood stopped sending agents into the catacombs to search for her after two consecutive teams failed to come back. All we know for sure is that she’s building something down there, beneath the city. Something big. Everything we know about La Bricoleuse comes from the automatons she sends into the city above to do her bidding. Intricate clockwork creations of scrap metal and garbage, stamped with the Order’s infamous sigil, and operating in concert to strip the city bare. La Bricoleuse is a klepto, and she lets these machines do her dirty work. Each is designed to perform one specific task. Removed from the swarm, any single unit is useless. But working together, her machines can strip a Peugeot down to the frame in a matter of minutes, carrying the various pieces back through the maze of catacombs to her subterranean hideout. Or a construction site. Or a power plant. All of it gets carted back down into the tunnels. What she’s doing with all of this random crap? Your guess is as good as ours, but it can’t be good.

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La Bricoleuse Order of the Infernal Scepter ASPECTS Concept:

Enigmatic Subterranean Tinkerer

Trouble:

Agoraphobic Recluse

Discipline: Commander of a Clockwork Army Sheltered Within My Labyrinthine Lair APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Crafting Clockwork Contraptions

Clever

Attacking From the Shadows

Flashy

Subterranean Navigation

Forceful

Making Friends

Quick

Thinking on Her Feet

Sneaky STUNTS

Blind-Fighting: Because I’ve adapted to my environment, I get +2 when I Quickly attack in complete darkness. Home Field Advantage: Because I know these tunnels like the back of my hand, I get +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage using my knowledge of the catacombs. Automatons!: Because I’ve built an automaton for everything, once per conflict I can summon a clockwork contraption capable of performing one critical task I need done. This could be clearing a condition on me, attacking, getting through a defended door, stealing an item from the Demon Hunters, etc. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Sam Hell

Some say he’s a demon. Others say he was given terrible powers by the Satan itself. They never caught him, you know. Sam Hell is still out there. Still killing for the Order. He could be anywhere. Anyone! The man you passed in the stairwell. The shadow outside your window. The creaking floorboard in the empty hallway. He’s everywhere, but nowhere, and you’re next on his list! Don’t bother running. It’s not worth hiding. Just close your eyes and accept it as you feel his strong, clammy hands close around your throat and— HahaHA! Sorry, rookie, but you should have seen the look on your face! Look, you’re gonna hear a lot of talk about Sam Hell during your training, but none of it’s true. There’s no such person. Never has been! He’s a ghost story. A boogeyman that Brotherhood agents use to scare the new blood. I know, it’s kind of a dick move, but it’s tradition! Agents have swapped Sam Hell stories for the better part of the twentieth century. Every team that disappeared without a trace, every agent found dead in mysterious circumstances, they all eventually get blamed on Sam Hell. He’s a catch-all for all the bad $#&@ that Hunters face in this thankless job. There’s plenty of stuff out there that’ll kill you soon as look at you, but rest easy knowing Sam Hell isn’t one of them.

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Sam Hell Order of the Infernal Scepter ASPECTS Concept:

Imaginary Assassin

Trouble:

No, Seriously, He’s Not Real

Discipline: Completely Made Up We Were Just @%#$ing With You APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Counterfeit

Urban Legendry

Concocted

Spooking Newbs

Faux

Boo!

Fictional

Causing Harm

False

Existence

Sham STUNTS Stranger in the Shadows: Because I am the Brotherhood’s Boogeyman I don’t gain +2 for anything because I’m just a scary story. Infamous Reputation: Because the name “Sam Hell” is feared around the world, you probably just +2’ed in your shorts at the thought of me. Don’t worry though. You’ve got as much chance of dying at the hands of Sam Hell as you do Voldemort. Move It Along: Because look, just turn the page, there’s nothing more to see here, seriously, we just needed to fill up some space. Go on! Get outta here! CONDITIONS Mild (0)

Moderate (0)

Severe (0)

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Crawling Chaos, LLC Randall Powers

Randall Powers is a visionary. Since the very first edition of the RPG, the world of Crawling Chaos has fascinated its players. It’s such a twisted and profane idea that should never have caught on. Vast, extradimensional intelligences dwelling at the boundaries of our reality that threaten to destroy the universe; who comes up with this stuff!? Randall Powers does. Not only does he come up with it, but he makes you believe in it. Makes it a world that you want to spend time in. The guy’s just a born storyteller, and a natural spokesman. Listening to him speak, it’s no wonder that he’s taken Crawling Chaos so far in such a short time. He’s got this indefinable weird charisma that draws people in. Some say it’s physically impossible to disagree with the man when you’re in his presence. He’s just so animated and full of life! And now with the MMO coming out, he’s been hitting the convention circuit to drum up buzz for the game. He’s just so passionate about it all! Listen to the man talk for five minutes, and you’ll come away convinced that Crawling Chaos Online will be the next World of Warcraft. But he’s not always like that. Sometimes, if you catch him off guard, when he’s not expecting anyone, it’s like…like it’s not really him in there. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like there’s something else there. Inside of him. Creeping along, just below the surface. A whole swarm of somethings. Like he’s just a puppet with someone else pulling the strings.

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Randall Powers Crawling Chaos, LLC ASPECTS Concept:

Brilliant Creative Wünderkind

Trouble:

Meat Puppet to an Extradimensional Intelligence

Discipline: Cult of Personality Stuffed to the Brim With Tentacles APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

RPG Development

Clever

Business Acumen

Flashy

Shattering Dimensional Membranes

Forceful

Forgiveness

Quick

Empathy

Sneaky STUNTS

Inspirational Huddle: Because we’ve gotta have something to show at E3, I gain +2 when I Flashily create an advantage by motivating my employees. Lawyers on Speed-Dial: Because Crawling Chaos, LLC doesn’t take slander lightly, I gain +2 when I Sneakily use my company’s crack legal team to attack or defend against an opponent in the legal sphere. Eyes of Madness: Because there’s infinity behind these eyes, once per session I can spend a demon die to reveal my true nature to an opponent, inflicting a Gibbering Madness condition upon them. Roll the die: 1-5, moderate condition; 6, severe condition. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Demon Hunters

Abigail Rhodes

Her parents had hoped she’d go into something a little more profitable, but Abigail Rhodes had found her passion: dead languages. The deader the better. Her studies took her around the world, examining artifacts of lost and extinct languages. Linear A. Rongorongo. She even had a go at the Voynich Manuscript, to no real success. But nothing she’d studied could compare to the book she’d smuggled out of the university library. Bound in some strange, yet familiar material, the letters inside resembled no language she’d ever seen before. But as her aching eyes darted back and forth across the pages of their own volition, a rush of strange, terrible information flooded her mind. Abigail found herself compelled to— She must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew it was morning and her phone was ringing. It was a game developer looking to hire a necrolinguist for work on their upcoming game. They’d come across her resume and thought she’d be perfect. Funny, she didn’t remember submitting it to them. In any case, now she works for Crawling Chaos, LLC, transcribing ancient tomes to add “flavor” to their game’s universe. So far it’s been great! Sure, the hours are long, and her nose has been bleeding like crazy, but she’s finally doing what she loves. The fat paychecks don’t hurt either!

314

Brotherhood Database

Abigail Rhodes Crawling Chaos, LLC ASPECTS Concept:

Necrolinguistic Researcher for Crawling Chaos

Trouble:

SO MANY POST-ITS!

Discipline: 70th Level Elven Cleric (in Fartherall Online) APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Dead Languages

Clever

Organization

Flashy

MMORPGs

Forceful

Work-Life Balance

Quick

Recognizing Sinister Hidden Agendas

Sneaky STUNTS

Linguist: Because Latin? Please! I thought you were gonna give me a challenge, I gain +2 when I Quickly create an advantage by translating something from a commonly used language. Steady Hands: Because I handle a lot of ancient relics in my line of work, I gain +2 when I Carefully overcome an obstacle using steady hands and a soft touch. Shower of Babble: Because sorry, I tend to ramble when I get excited, I automatically inflict a mild Shower of Babble condition on everyone around me when I am in the presence of a fascinating artifact. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

315

Demon Hunters

Jerry T’lotha-zahn

As level designer for Crawling Chaos Online, Jerry’s responsible for building the world that the players will inhabit. Nobody on the team has met Jerry in person. He telecommutes to work—guess he’s not a local. As far as they know, he’s just a series of concisely worded emails and a strangely garbled voice over a conference call. There’s no questioning his credentials though. He was hired by Mr. Powers himself, and has been with the company since the pen and paper days. His work is impeccable, and the game is looking absolutely incredible, although the Dev Team has had a little bit of trouble getting the levels he submits to work in-game. They usually run fine, but every now and then they cause a viscous, black ooze to bubble up from beneath the server rack. Probably just a collision detection error or something — those always manage to slip in.

Jerry T’lotha-zahn Crawling Chaos, LLC ASPECTS Concept:

Non-Euclidian Level Designer

Trouble:

Not Quite Passing at “Humaning”

Discipline: Telecommuting from Unknown Kadath Exudes Waves of Gibbering Madness APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Insanity-Inducing Geometry

Clever

Dividing by Zero

Flashy

Tentacle Stuff

Forceful

Everyday Social Behavior

Quick

Wireless Communication

Sneaky STUNTS Angles of Madness: Because mortal eyes cannot comprehend my many angles, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage in order to drive a mortal opponent to madness. Pseudo-Omnipresent: Because I find your “laws of physics” adorable, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack or defend from multiple directions simultaneously. Summon Jerry: Because my maps contain secret summoning sigils, once per session I can project my appearance in any location where a computer running Crawling Chaos Online is present. Anyone who sees me appear glimpses the Gibbering Beyond and takes a mild condition Spewing Gibberish. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

316

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Sally Phillips

Testing is a frequently overlooked aspect of video game development, but it is of vital importance to the success of the final product. Players can forgive a crappy, half-assed game, but nothing halts sales faster than reports that a game is broken. That’s why Sally is deadly serious about her job. As head of QA, it’s up to her and her team of testers to catch the bugs so the Dev Team can wipe them out. She’s a demanding boss, with a reputation for being a little scary. The collection of antique daggers on the wall over her desk isn’t doing that reputation any favors. The turnover rate in QA is shockingly high, but Sally refuses to apologize for it. Her methods get results. So what if a couple of testers disappear each week, never to be seen (around the office) again? It’s their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of countless other testers, that will ensure the game is a critical and financial success.

Sally Phillips Crawling Chaos, LLC ASPECTS Concept:

Head of Quality Assurance/High Priestess

Trouble:

High Turnover Rate

Discipline: Inhumane Resources APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Bug Reporting

Clever

Sacrificial Daggering

Flashy

Blood Magic

Forceful

Employee Retention

Quick

Glass Ceilings

Sneaky STUNTS Digital Exterminator: Because every bug in our code is a threat to the success of our dark ritual, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage via computer programming. Blood Magic Woman: Because I have bathed my dagger in the blood of the unproductive, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack an opponent with blood magic. Summon the Dev Team!: Because I’m the only thing standing between you and the Dev Team, once per session I can spend a demon die to call the Dev Team out of their lair (average mob). CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

317

Demon Hunters

The Dev Team

It’s crunch time, and the Dev Team is not to be bothered! They’ve got enough to do as it is. In fact, stay out of the basement altogether. Ignore the monotonous chanting and sounds of self-flagellation that drift up through the HVAC system. The burning incense that almost, but not quite manages to obscure a more sinister, earthy scent. The muted, muffled screams, as though they were being forced through lips sewn shut. Just send someone down to feed them once a day. One of the temps would be best. Someone expendable. Just have them leave the pizza boxes and sodas outside the door, knock three times, and run for the elevator. Run fast. Do not hesitate. Do not look back. Do not turn around until the elevator doors have closed behind you. It’s crunch time, and the Dev Team is not to be bothered!

The Dev Team Crawling Chaos, LLC ASPECTS Concept:

Self-Flagellating Acolytes of the Crawling Chaos

Trouble:

Fueled by Caffeine and Terror

APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Software Developers

Techno-Eldritch Rituals Code Anything, ANYTHING! Coordinated Terror Stabbing Self-Preservation

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

318

Brotherhood Database

The Pound Alexander Wolff

Alexander Wolff is a few pups short of a pack. Wolff sees himself as the embodiment of Fenrir, the wolf destined to kill the Norse god Odin and spark Ragnarök, the war that will end the world. The Pound isn’t buying a word of it, but they’ve used his delusion to their advantage. Over the years their “intel” has revealed that the All-Father, a master of deception, has taken on a variety of disguises. He’s been CEOs and union bosses and politicians and bankers and countless other targets of the Pound’s righteous wrath, and Wolff and his equally unhinged wolfpack have devoured each one. Yet somehow, “Odin” manages to cheat death every time. So Wolff and his raving-mad raiding party ride the highways in search of the Lord of the Aesir’s latest incarnation. They fight with a vigor and brutality that borders on the extreme—even for the Pound. But you can’t hold back when you’re up against a god! One of these days the cycloptic old bastard will go down for good. And on that day, the world will burn.

319

Demon Hunters

Alexander Wolff The Pound ASPECTS Concept:

Viking Biker Werewolf

Trouble:

Howl-at-the-Moon Crazy

Discipline: Incarnate Spirit of Fenrir APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Killing “Odin”

Clever

Biker Ganging

Flashy

Norse Mythology

Forceful

Rational Conversation

Quick

Knowing When to Quit

Sneaky STUNTS Bite of Destiny: Because I am destined to consume the All-Father, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack an opponent with my mouth. Ride with the Wolfpack: Because I ride with the wolfpack, I gain +2 when I Flashily create an advantage or overcome an obstacle using my motorcycle skills. Werewolves Don’t Wear Helmets: Because helmet laws are for people without regenerative abilities, after each round of combat I can clear up to a moderate condition as long as it wasn’t inflicted with a silver weapon. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

320

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Bengaluru

Bengaluru’s got her work cut out for her. As Alpha weredhole of the Bangalore, India pack, she’s looking down the barrel of a megacity with a population of 8 million, and she’s pretty sure they’re losing the fight against humanity. From their den in the slums outside the city proper, she and her pack pick away at the humans as best they can. Rerouting garbage collectors to exacerbate the city’s increasing refuse problem. Severing communication lines to disrupt the massive IT outsourcing industry. But it’s not enough. It never will be. There’s just too many people and not enough lycanthropes. She keeps petitioning other packs to lend some support, but so far nothing. Everybody’s off fighting their own battles. It’s definitely a downside to this whole No Central Authority thing the Pound’s got going on. Bengaluru’s given some serious thought to “recruiting” some new weredholes on her own to beef up her ranks, but the werevirus is a nasty, uncontrollable thing in a new lycanthrope. If a freshly changed weredhole got loose in a city this size, it could draw a lot of unwanted attention. Not just to the Pound, but to supernats in general. She’s not sure that’s a battle she’s ready to fight.

Bengaluru The Pound ASPECTS Concept:

Pack Leader Trying My Best

Trouble:

Overwhelmed by Humanity

Discipline: Tempted to Start “Recruiting” APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Scavenging

Clever

Hunting in Packs

Flashy

Making Do With

Forceful

Limited Resources

Quick

Dealing with Stress

Sneaky

Interpack Cooperation

STUNTS Humanbane: Because mankind is ruining this planet, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack or defend against human opponents. I am the Monkey Wrench: Because I am the monkey wrench in the works, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage through sabotage. Quick Puppy: Because dholes are quick little puppies, I can choose to go first in every round of combat. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

321

Demon Hunters

D-Dog

D-Dog loves nature. Loves the forest. Loves racing through the trees. Chasing down a deer and sinking his fangs into its throat. Rolling around in something dead and stinky for the sheer joy of it. He’s a simple man, with simple pleasures. D-Dog hates lumberjacks. Greedy humans who live to destroy everything he loves. The Pound hates lumberjacks too, for more practical reasons, and when the BC pack needs to throw some dumb muscle at a problem, they turn to D-Dog. He’s killed his fair share of treecutters—no axe or chainsaw can pose a real threat to a wolf his size—but that’s just heat of the moment stuff. It’s never the Plan. The Plan is sheer elegance in its simplicity. If lumberjacks don’t eat, they’ll starve to death. If they starve to death, they can’t cut down trees. Thus, logically, D-Dog will eat all of their food! No lunch, no lumberjacks, no dead trees! In case you hadn’t guessed, D-Dog’s not the smartest puppy in the litter (and taking a blast of silver buckshot to the brainpan hasn’t helped). So far the only change has been to D-Dog’s waistline, but he believes in the Plan. It’s just gonna take some time. And some lunches. Lots of lunches.

322

Brotherhood Database

D-Dog The Pound ASPECTS Concept:

Dimwitted Dendrophiliac Werewolf

Trouble:

One Sandwich Short of a Picnic

Discipline: Protect the Trees at Any Cost APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Mauling

Clever

Swiping Lunchboxes

Flashy

Forest Survivalism

Forceful

Tactics and Strategy

Quick

Eating in Moderation

Sneaky STUNTS Trees Are Pretty: Because trees are pretty and D-Dog likes pretty things, I gain +2 when I Sneakily attack in a heavily forested area. Know Your Enemy: Because lumberjacks are big, mean jerks, I gain +2 when I Flashily defend against axes, chainsaws, and other woodcutting tools. I’m Big. Really, Really Big: Because D-Dog is real big! Bigger than any dumb lumberjack!, I can spend up to 2 demon dice to soak up physical hits equal to the roll of the dice before I have to mark off a condition, including hits from silver weapons. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

323

Demon Hunters

Detroit

As Alpha Wolf of the city that’s his namesake, Detroit is celebrated as one of the most successful Pound members in history. Under his leadership, the city’s human population has plummeted, and nature has begun to reclaim many parts of the city. Bears! There are bears living in what was once the fourth largest city in the country and the heart of American manufacturing, and that’s all Detroit’s doing. Sure, the death of the country’s auto industry played a significant part in his achievements, but it wasn’t all luck. Devil’s Night? His idea. Making an annual tradition out of wide-scale arson was a brilliant move on his part. Why make the werewolves do all the hard work of tearing apart human civilization when you can get the humans to do it for you? The fight’s not over yet, though. Developers are starting to drool over all of that dirt-cheap real estate. It’s up to Detroit and his pack to make sure that crime stays up, industry stays down, and the city continues its slow, steady reversion to its natural state.

324

Brotherhood Database

Detroit The Pound ASPECTS Concept:

Hero of the Wererevolution

Trouble:

Letting the Fame Go to My Head

Discipline: Digging Up the Dirt You’re Not an Obstacle, You’re an Opportunity APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Turning Humanity Against Itself

Clever

Industrial Sabotage

Flashy

Blackmail

Forceful

Praising Others

Quick

Laying Low

Sneaky STUNTS

Blackmail Is Easy: Because I’ve got blackmail down to a science, I gain +2 when I Sneakily create an advantage by threatening to expose a human’s secrets. Helping Human Entropy: Because there’s nothing sweeter than watching humanity destroy itself, I gain +2 when I Cleverly attack by turning a human against another human. Never a Lone Wolf: Because everybody wants to help out when you’re on top, once per session I can call up a helpful ally right when I need them. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

325

Demon Hunters

Kigun “Blackwolf” Wrex

Members of the Long Island pack broke into the research laboratories of Oak Island Scientific, expecting to free some lab animals and burn the place down. That’s when they smelled it. Another werewolf, but…wrong somehow. Nothing could have prepared them for what they found behind the door labeled “Blackwolf.” The thing strapped down on the gurney was unlike any werewolf they’d ever seen. At least ten feet tall with fur as black as midnight, its tail was barbed, and so was its spine. The chart at the end of the gurney was largely undecipherable, but it listed the patient’s name as “Kigun Wrex.” There’s no telling what Oak Island had been doing to the poor bastard, but it couldn’t have been good. The Long Island pack loaded the creature into their van before torching the building. Once the sedation wore off, the creature reverted to human form. As Kigun, he’s a nonentity. Stoic. Detached. Silent. Until the change comes on. As the Blackwolf, he is a savage, unstoppable force of supernature. But there’s a spark of intellect behind those terrible, yellow eyes. This is a cunning beast. Working with the Pound is merely a means to an unknown end for him. Until those plans work counter to their own, the Pound is happy to have him on their side.

326

Brotherhood Database

Kigun “Blackwolf” Wrex The Pound ASPECTS Concept:

Werewolf Rescued from a Mad Scientist’s Lab

Trouble:

Post-Traumatic Science Disorder

Discipline: Meaner Than Your Average Werewolf APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Devil Dog

Clever

Tracking

Flashy

Scheming

Forceful

Stealth

Quick

Memory

Sneaky STUNTS Mad Science Nightmares: Because the things they did to me in that lab haunt my dreams, I gain +2 when I Quickly attack practitioners of mad science. Super Scents: Because I can smell your soul, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage using my powerful sense of smell. Enhanced Celerity: Because Oak Island put something inside me; something powerful, I can spend a demon die to take two actions per round of combat instead of one as I move and attack with unnatural demonic speed and strength. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

327

Demon Hunters

Clan of the Golden Fang Master Wu

Lenny Wutarski was in trouble. Time was, if you were in Atlantic City and looking to learn some martial arts, the Golden Wing Dojo was the only game in town. That’s the way Lenny liked it. He’d dedicated his life to the ancient and deadly art of ninjutsu, and any money he had left after visiting the dog track went right back into the dojo. Until Dave’s Heavenly Cheesecake Delicatessen and Celestial Kinjutsu School opened a franchise right across the boardwalk from the Golden Wing. He stayed open as long as he could, but there was just no way Lenny could compete with Dave’s low, low prices and delicious New York style cheesecake samplers. One night, while stumbling home after a long night of pity drinking, Lenny was attacked. Unable to defend himself in his drunken state, the attacker dragged Lenny into an alley, sank its fangs into his throat, and drank his blood. Lenny Wutarski died that night. He died so that Master Wu might be born. Using his newfound powers, Master Wu has assembled an army of vampiric assassins: the Clan of the Golden Fang. He has sired them, trained them in the ancient way of the ninja, and together they shall descend upon Dave’s world headquarters in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The vengeance of Master Wu will be swift, silent, and bloody.

328

Brotherhood Database

Master Wu Clan of the Golden Fang ASPECTS Concept:

Vampire Ninja Master of the Clan of the Golden Fang

Trouble:

Bit of a Blood Belly

Discipline: Might Be Misdirecting My Rage APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Ninjutsu

Clever

Inspiring Underlings

Flashy

Vamp Stuff

Forceful

Impulse Control

Quick

Tanning

Sneaky STUNTS Student of the Far East…Coast: Because I have trained under the ancient masters of the Far East…coast, I get +2 when I Quickly attack, defend, or overcome using my elite martial arts training. Vampiric Vengeance: Because that cheesecake-slinging bastard will rue the day he crossed Lenny Wutarski!, I get +2 when I use my vampiric skills in service of taking down Dave’s Heavenly Cheesecake Delicatessen and Celestial Kinjutsu School. Undying Loyalty. Literally: Because my students would gladly give their lives for their Master, once per game session I can spend a single demon die to summon both a small mob of ninja vampires and a small mob of syphilitic ninja vampires. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

329

Demon Hunters

Ninja Vampires

The students of Master Wu are reborn in blood and darkness. Honor bound to the one who sired them, they are willing to give their lives in defense of the Master and his righteous cause. Master Wu has trained his students well—a deadly combination of fist and fang that makes for the ultimate killing machine. If you came here looking for jokes, you’re S.O.L. The ninja vampires of the Clan of the Golden Fang are no laughing matter. They are a deadly threat to all who would oppose the will of Master Wu. Well…most of them are. Some of them are a little…special.

Ninja Vampire Clan of the Golden Fang ASPECTS Concept:

I am the Bloody Vengeance of Master Wu

Trouble:

My Life for the Clan

APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Ninja Vampire

Ninjutsu Vampire Self-Preservation

CONDITIONS Mild (2)

Moderate (1)

Mob of Ninja Vampires Clan of the Golden Fang ASPECTS Concept:

We Are the Bloody Vengeance of Master Wu

Trouble:

My Life for the Clan

APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Ninja Vampires

Ninjutsu Vampire Self-Preservation

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

330

Brotherhood Database

Syphilitic Ninja Vampires

The students of Master Wu are formidable warriors. With the skills and reflexes of a ninja, they can deflect arrows and blades. With the strength and speed of a vampire, they can dodge bullets. However, there seems to be one thing they are unable to avoid: a nasty case of crotch-rot. There’s nothing particularly special about a syphilitic ninja vampire, compared to the other warriors in the Clan of the Golden Fang. They theoretically should have all of the same skills and abilities as the rest. They’re just really bad about practicing safe sex. And man, that vamp venom does not play nice with Treponema pallidum.

Syphilitic Ninja Vampire Clan of the Golden Fang ASPECTS Concept:

Ninja With Syphilis and Vampirism

Trouble:

My Ninja Focus Is Unshakab—ooh! Butterfly!

Discipline: Bela Lugosi Is My Muse APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Breaking and Entering

Clever

SMOKEBOMB!

Flashy

Social Interactions

Forceful

Being Vampire Ninjas

Quick

Safe Sex

Sneaky STUNTS People Person: Because I’m sort of a people person I gain +2 when I Quickly overcome an obstacle by talking a civilian into helping me out. SMOKEBOMB!: Because I like to make a memorable exit, I gain +2 when I ever so Sneakily create an advantage by disappearing via smokebomb. SNV STD: Because Ninjutsu is an STD too, if I can manage to get a civilian NPC alone in a private space, I can spend a demon die to turn them into a syphilitic ninja vampire minion, ready to obey my orders. Whoa, hey, not like that! I just bite ‘em, you perv! Unless they’re really into me, in which case… yeah, like that. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

331

Demon Hunters

Syphilitic Ninja Vampire (Minion) Clan of the Golden Fang ASPECTS Concept:

Sort of Ninja With Syphilis and Vampirism

Trouble:

Can’t Stop Scratching This Itch

Discipline: I Saw Part of a Jackie Chan Movie Once APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Syphilitic Ninja Vampire

Getting in the Way Being Creepsters Being Ninja Vampires

CONDITIONS Mild (2)

Moderate (1)

Mob of Syphilitic Ninja Vampires Clan of the Golden Fang ASPECTS Concept:

Sort of Ninjas With Syphilis and Vampirism

Trouble:

Can’t Stop Scratching This Itch

Discipline: We Saw Part of a Jackie Chan Movie Once APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Syphilitic Ninja Vampires

Getting in the Way Being Creepsters Being Ninja Vampires

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

332

Brotherhood Database

Claudius Moor

Master Wu is not easily impressed. His students work hard, training day and night in a vain attempt to earn his praise. Few do. Fewer still do so consistently. Claudius Moor is one of those elite few. As Master Wu’s top pupil, Claudius has been entrusted with the most delicate of operations—surgical strikes against the Master’s deadliest foes. The Dave’s Heavenly Cheesecake Delicatessen and Celestial Kinjutsu School board of directors have suffered a series of unfortunate “accidents” as of late. Claudius is thorough in his duties. No one would suspect an outside hand has been at work. Claudius has also been tasked with the orientation of newly turned students. Were Master Wu simply training his students in the art of ninjutsu, the transition to this life would be difficult. But they’ve also become eternal creatures of midnight with a thirst that can only be sated by the blood of the living—that’s a lot to handle! Claudius does his best to help the students get settled into their new lives. Ice breakers, meet and greets, game nights, tutorials on hunting people for food, that sort of thing. Now if Master Wu could just talk him out of that hairdo. Soooo not ninja!

333

Demon Hunters

Claudius Moor Clan of the Golden Fang ASPECTS Concept:

Master Wu’s Secret Weapon

Trouble:

Perfectionist Project Manager

Discipline: You Won’t Even Know You’ve Been Bitten Vampiric Life Coach APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Making It Look Like an Accident

Clever

Vampiric Ninjutsu

Flashy

Social Gatherings

Forceful

Dealing with Stress

Quick

Perfectionism

Sneaky STUNTS

Strike From the Shadows: Because I strike from the shadows, I get +2 when I Carefully attack an unaware opponent. Clan Role Model: Because the rest of the Clan looks up to me, I get +2 when I Cleverly create advantages for other ninja vampires during battle. Screaming Weasel Attack!: Because SECRET SCREAMING WEASEL ATTACK!, once per session I can take an additional action during a round of combat by hurling my trained attack ferrets into my opponent’s face, thus gaining the element of surprise. The ferrets each inflict a mild Nipped and Terrified condition on their target, and can be used to attack a single target twice, or two at once. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

334

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

William McLennon

William lived to LARP. Give him a foam sword and a pouch full of magic missiles and he was in heaven. But if he’d known that his last LARP would literally be his last LARP, he probably would have stayed home. Or at least not invited the new guys to join in. They seemed like nice enough guys. Full of energy and enthusiasm. They’d wandered over toward the end of the game, already fully in character: some kind of warrior monks from a race he didn’t immediately recognize. William liked to put on a good show, so he’d hammed it up a bit with some pyrotechnic tricks his wizard character had up his oversized sleeves. The new guys seemed impressed. Very impressed. They’d invited him out for a drink after the game. He agreed, not realizing that he was the drink in question. He woke up on the floor of an unfamiliar basement apartment, with his new “friends” staring intently at him. And occasionally scratching themselves inappropriately. Turns out his tricks had been more convincing than he’d thought, and these guys figured they’d impress the hell out of their master by bringing him a real wizard. They were a little disappointed to learn the truth, but it turned out this wasn’t the first time they’d made that mistake. So now he’s a vampire, but honestly, it could be worse! Sure he has to drink blood now (and lately he’s been feeling a little…itchy…down there), but he’s made a bunch of new friends, and he’s learning to be a ninja! How cool is that?! He used to only be able to LARP on the weekends, but now his whole life is a LARP. Well, maybe not the “L” part anymore. More of a DARP, really.

335

Demon Hunters

William McLennon Clan of the Golden Fang ASPECTS Concept:

Syphilitic Ninja Wizard Vampire

Trouble:

Having the Time of My Afterlife

Discipline: Best Dressed Vamp in the Dojo APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Gamemastering

Clever

Foam-Based Combat

Flashy

Cosplay

Forceful

Recognizing Stranger Danger

Quick

Magic

Sneaky STUNTS (Bottle) Rocket Man: Because I’ve got a sleeve full of bottle rockets, I get +2 when I Flashily attack from a distance via pyrotechnics. Sew Maester: Because I’m a wizard…with a needle and thread, I get +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage using my impressive sewing skills. Metagaming: Because I have mastered the greatest magic power of all: imagination, once per conflict I can reroll my approach or discipline die and take the higher of the two rolls, because clearly that first roll was just me imagining what it might be like to roll a crappy number. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

336

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Carmilla

Carmilla was destined for greatness, trained in six of the seven essential forms of martial arts by the greatest Demon Hunter of them all, the Purple Ninja (on page 258). The world will always need a Purple Ninja. But some day, he will fall in battle, and she was favored to be the one to take his place. And then, the incident. Carmilla was a devoted student, but you can only learn so many swift and efficient killing strokes before you just need a break. Spring Break to be precise. That’s how she found herself on the beaches of Fort Lauderdale, relieving stress by soaking up some sun and slurping down jello shots. Just another degenerate young adult in a teeming mass of sweaty, gyrating, beer-soaked bodies. They turned her that night. The vampires kicked their way into her motel room and attacked her while she slept. Her instincts tried to take over, but muscle memory didn’t stand a chance against the sheer volume of tequila she’d consumed. They drank from her, injected their poison, and left. Within hours, she was one of them. She can’t return to the dojo. Not with the things she does now to stay alive. But she’s heard of another dojo up the coast. One led by a master who is like her. There’s nothing he can teach her that she hasn’t already learned, but at least with the Clan of the Golden Fang, she will belong.

337

Demon Hunters

Carmilla Clan of the Golden Fang ASPECTS Concept:

Trained by the Purple Ninja

Trouble:

Robbed of My Destiny

Discipline: Bloodsucking Fiend APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Six Essential Forms of Martial Arts

Clever

Moving in Shadow

Flashy

Pants-Stealing

Forceful

Living Up to Her Potential

Quick

Drinking in Moderation

Sneaky STUNTS

Self-Hating Ninja Vampire: Because I am a self-hating ninja vampire, I get +2 when I Forcefully attack fellow vampires, ninjas, and ninja vampires. Undead Freaky: Because being an undead freak has its perks, I get +2 when I Flashily overcome a physical obstacle with my vampiric agility. Vampiric Metabolism: Because I guess this vampire thing doesn’t totally suck, once per conflict I can clear a physical condition by spending a demon die. Roll the die: on a 1-4, I clear a mild condition; on a 5-6, I clear a moderate condition. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

338

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Sisters of Divine Retribution Reverend Mother Mary Dillinger

Since she was called to become Mother Superior to the Sisters of Divine Retribution, you’d expect that the Reverend Mother Mary Dillinger would have taken a less active role in the Sisters’ battles. More strategy and administration, less actual fighting. Not godblessed likely! Mary’s been in the fight for a long time, and she’s not planning on leaving anytime soon. Even after that gremlin took her eye back in ‘82, she’s still the best sniper the Sisters have. She can take a whisker off a werewolf from a mile away, and plug a vamp right under its widow’s peak during a windstorm. There’s still plenty of fight left in the old girl, and she’s planning to wring out every drop of it.

Reverend Mother Mary Dillinger Sisters of Divine Retribution ASPECTS Concept:

Mother&$#%er Superior

Trouble:

Gremlin Took My Eye

Discipline: The Lord Is My Spotter, I Shall Not Miss Preach It, Sister! Bible Thumping Badass APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Battle

Clever

Subterfuge

Flashy

Miraculous Acts

Forceful

Technology

Quick

Communication

Sneaky STUNTS Path of Righteousness: Because I walk the path of the righteous, I gain +2 when I Forcefully defend against supernatural opponents. Suffer Not a Witch to Live: Because I suffer not a witch to live, I gain +2 when I Cleverly attack witches, warlocks, and other practitioners of the dark arts. Blessed by the Lord: Because the Lord is pleased with my work, once per session I can spend a demon die to be divinely healed of all mild and moderate conditions. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

339

Demon Hunters

Sister Constance Oakley

This pistol-packing penguin is a footsoldier in the Sisters’ army of Righteousness. Battling the forces of Evil through prayer, ministry, and raw firepower, Sister Oakley isn’t known for her mercy. She considers it her holy duty to cleanse the world of abominations, and she’s doing a bang-up job of it. She and her six-guns have punched the holiest of holes in more monsters than she can count.

Sister Constance Oakley Sisters of Divine Retribution ASPECTS Concept:

Gunslingin’ Nun

Trouble:

Not So Great at the Vow of Celibacy

Discipline: Quickest Hands in the Convent Ammo Anointed With Holy Oil Everyone Gets a Warning Shot APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Battle

Clever

Subterfuge

Flashy

Miraculous Acts

Forceful

Technology

Quick

Communication

Sneaky STUNTS Fighting with Faith: Because the Lord guides my hand, I gain +2 when I Flashily attack an opponent from cover without looking. Peacemaker Is the Name of My Gun: Because you’d be surprised how helpful folks get with my Peacemaker pointed at ’em, I gain +2 when I Forcefully overcome an obstacle through intimidation and the threat of violence. Righteous Ricochet: Because ’tis a sin to waste a bullet, once per session I can reroll all my dice on a missed attack and attempt to nail ’em with the ricochet. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

340

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Sister Helene Mochizuki

When bullets won’t do the trick, the Sisters of Divine Retribution call in the Nunjas. Nunjas are the Sisters’ most elite fighting force, and Sister Mochizuki is one of the best. Trained in the deadliest of the papal martial arts, Sister Mochizuki is holy vengeance personified. She and her shuriken-slinging sisters pulse with a righteousness powerful enough to repel vampires at fifty feet and burn out a demonic possession with a touch. Or, more likely a flying kick to the solar plexus. She is feared by all who oppose her, and most who are allied with her. She is a Nunja; a reverent warrior beyond compare.

Sister Helene Mochizuki Sisters of Divine Retribution ASPECTS Concept:

Ninja + Nun = Nunja!

Trouble:

Marked for Death by the Pirate Monks of St. Blackbeard’s Abbey

Discipline: Sleeveful of Cruciform Shuriken Swift. Silent. Sanctified. Permitted to Study the Five Forbidden Gospels APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Battle

Clever

Subterfuge

Flashy

Miraculous Acts

Forceful

Technology

Quick

Communication

Sneaky STUNTS Trained in Irae Dei: Because I have been trained by the Swiss Guard in Irae Dei, the secret, Vatican martial art, I gain +2 when I Flashily attack supernatural creatures and practitioners of the dark arts. Blessed Obscurance: Because the Lord hides my approach from the eyes of the unworthy, I gain +2 when I Sneakily create an advantage or overcome an obstacle with my Nunja speed and agility. My Cup Runneth Over: Because I shine with the divine radiance of my faith, whenever I invoke an aspect, I can roll an additional free demon die when attacking or defending against demons, vampires, and other creatures that are repelled or injured by the power of faith. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

341

Demon Hunters

Sister Carmen Nacht

She fights. She fights because she has to. She fights because she can’t not fight. She fights because her mind refuses to let her stop. Because that’s when the panic sets in. Carmen was only seven when a vampire killed her parents. Her mother had begged for her to turn away, but she saw the whole thing. It came for her next, but it had made the mistake of attacking during arts and crafts time. Carmen’s wooden knitting needle pierced its heart, and the monster fell dead at her feet. She still keeps needles with her. She has to have the needles. If she forgets the needles, she’ll die. The Sisters raised her in their convent, doing their best to counsel her through her recovery, but there’s only so much they can do. She’s found ways to make her compulsive behaviors manageable. Crafts help. And hobbies. Keeping her hands busy, whether by cooking meals for her Sisters, knitting herself a new wimple, or tearing through an undead horde with her cruciform daggers and rosary bead whip. She’s really good at that last one. So she channels her trauma into her fighting. It helps. Hurting the monsters stops the hurting inside. The constant sense of dread gets pushed aside by the legitimate fear for her life. As long as she keeps fighting, she can finally relax.

342

Brotherhood Database

Sister Carmen Nacht Sisters of Divine Retribution ASPECTS Concept:

Crafty, Stab-Happy Nun

Trouble:

OCD Habits

Discipline: Detail-Noting Analyst Charity/Fundraiser Organizer Concealed Weapon Inventor APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Battle

Clever

Subterfuge

Flashy

Miraculous Acts

Forceful

Technology

Quick

Communication

Sneaky STUNTS Hidden Weaponry: Because I don’t forget the important things, I gain +2 when I Sneakily attack enemies with odd items hidden on my person. Master Chef: Because I am a master chef, I gain +2 when I Carefully create advantages by mixing food items to create snacks and meals to recharge/ cure/heal my fellow Sisters. Sparing No Rod: Because I do not believe in sparing the rod, I get +2 when I Forcefully attack unguarded or unaware enemies with my rosary whip. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

343

Demon Hunters

Sister Angelika Metzger

The vampire slaughtered everyone in the club. Everyone but her. Angelika had improvised a garrote out of a length of piano wire and popped the bloodsucker’s head right off. She’d saved herself, but she hadn’t saved her friends. There was no going back to her old life. Not after what she’d seen. What she’d done. The Brotherhood took her in. Under Father Gregori she learned to refine her skills with the garrote, and added some new tricks to her repertoire. The training changed her. Angelika once had friends, hobbies, a personal life. Now her only desire was bloody, unrelenting vengeance against the monsters who feed on mankind. The vampires of Eastern Europe grew to fear her. Der Metzger they called her. The Butcher. In time she found herself increasingly at odds with a Brotherhood that was growing soft. Inviting the monsters she had been fighting her entire life into the organization. The vampires were the last straw. An organization willing to work with those murderous, neck-biting abominations had clearly lost its way. She has since found a home with the Sisters of Divine Retribution. They are kindred spirits, devout in their worship and secure in their convictions that mankind alone has dominion over this earth. The Brotherhood taught her well, but the time had come for her to trade in her piano wire for rosary beads. They work even better on vamps with the fire of her faith flowing through them. Today she is Sister Metzger, and it feels right. This is who she was meant to be all along.

344

Brotherhood Database

Sister Angelika Metzger Sisters of Divine Retribution ASPECTS Concept:

Terror of the Neckbiter Community

Trouble:

Burning Hatred for Bloodsuckers

Discipline: More Like Blunderhood of the Sputtering Torch Up Close and Personal Know Your Enemy APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Battle

Clever

Subterfuge

Flashy

Miraculous Acts

Forceful

Technology

Quick

Communication

Sneaky STUNTS Bloodsucker’s Bane: Because I’m what the vampires have nightmares about, I gain +2 when I attack or defend against vampiric enemies. Oh God, It’s The Butcher!: Because my reputation precedes me, I gain +2 when I overcome an obstacle through intimidation and fear. Fang Fighting Frenzy: Because once you pop, you can’t stop, when fighting vampires, if I manage to take one down, I can immediately make another attack against a vampire with an extra bonus die (2 if I succeeded with style). This stunt can be repeated for as long as I can keep up my killing streak. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

345

Demon Hunters

Sister Eirwin Flanagan

She’s never been sick. Never broken a bone. Not even a papercut. Neither had anyone in her family until she went away for college. That’s when Eirwin realized that she had a gift. A healing touch. It’s nothing flashy, but it gets the job done. A career in healthcare was the obvious move, but Eirwin didn’t have the patience for med school, or the empathy for nursing. EMT training was a decent compromise, and she was doing a lot of good out there, but she wasn’t satisfied. She wanted something different. She found it on Craigslist. You had to read between the lines, but the job seemed to promise a life of adventure and danger. A life where she could use her power in a more exciting way. The Sisters were happy to bring her into the fold, and thrilled to learn of her ability. They call her a “Vessel for the Holy Spirit,” but honestly, she’s never bought into all that Jesus-y crap. Her powers are just her powers. They’re a part of her. So she goes through the motions and kneels and stands and prays the prayers to fit in with the others. It’s one of the weirder forms of peer pressure, but it lets her live this exciting life. Fighting monsters, saving lives, keeping the world safe. Sure, the vow of celibacy wasn’t really a perk of the job, but she wasn’t doing such a bang-up job in that department in her old life, either. And her old life didn’t involve shooting zombies in the face.

346

Brotherhood Database

Sister Eirwin Flanagan Sisters of Divine Retribution ASPECTS Concept:

Faithless Healer

Trouble:

Hiding a Supernatural Power

Discipline: Kali Master Adept Infiltrator Healing Touch APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Battle

Clever

Subterfuge

Flashy

Miraculous Acts

Forceful

Technology

Quick

Communication

Sneaky STUNTS Everybody Trusts a Healer: Because everybody trusts a healer, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create advantages by gaining the trust of other people. Defanging the Snake: Because my Kali instructor has trained me to Defang the Snake, I get +2 when I Quickly overcome an opponent by disarming them, either physically or verbally. Laying On of Hands: Because I have a natural healing ability, twice per conflict I can remove a condition from a teammate, either by sacrificing a demon die, or by selflessly taking on their pain, in which case I must mark off a condition of the same level (mild for mild, moderate for moderate, severe for severe). Heal Thyself: Because my healing powers extend to myself, I can mark off 2 extra mild conditions and 1 extra moderate condition. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

347

Demon Hunters

Denizens of Hell Lucifer

For defying the will of his creator, Lucifer was cast down into the Pit to be devoured by the demons that dwelled within that infinite wilderness of terror, darkness, and chaos. Instead, he tamed the wilderness, bringing light into the dark places (apparently the Creator didn’t speak Latin) and carving out his own kingdom where he would rule to spite the will of his Creator. His angelic siblings, having followed Lucifer in his rebellion, soon fell as well, and Hell’s borders expanded, pushing back the wilderness and bringing order to the chaos. Following the Diluvian Battle, Lucifer was forced to abdicate his throne as a condition of the Treaty of Acheron. He did so, reluctantly, swearing that one day a child of Lucifer would once again wield the Infernal Scepter, and on that day, Heaven would fall. According to Lucifer’s publicist, the King of Hell is enjoying his forced retirement. He spends his endless days traveling the underworlds, fishing in the Lake of Fire, and plotting revenge on those who have robbed him of his kingdom. Also, backgammon.

348

Brotherhood Database

Lucifer Denizens of Hell ASPECTS Concept:

Exiled King of Hell

Trouble:

Never Going to Let Go of the Hate

Discipline: Most Powerful Being in the Underworld APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Insidious Persuasion

Clever

Infernal Fury

Flashy

Eternal Patience

Forceful

Everlasting Forgiveness

Quick

Indentured Servitude

Sneaky STUNTS Older Than Time: Because I am older than time itself, I gain +2 when I Carefully overcome or create an advantage using my vast knowledge of history. Infernal Vendetta: Because those who stole my kingdom will pay, I gain +2 when I Flashily attack or defend against demons, fallen angels, and other infernal beings. The Morningstar: Because my body is Evil made flesh, I cannot be harmed by mortal weapons. Dark Angel: Because my angelic powers have been twisted in my Creator’s absence I can spend a demon die to inflict a Corrupted condition on my opponent through the laying on of hands. Roll the die: 1-3, inflict a mild condition; 4-5, a moderate condition; 6, a severe condition. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

349

Demon Hunters

Demons

Demons were the original inhabitants of the Pit, the dominant species of the chaotic wilderness of the underworld before the Fallen took over. Upon Lucifer’s arrival, the weakest of the demons were easily subjugated and allowed to live as members of his army. Others, who refused to serve, were hunted down and destroyed. And a select few, too powerful to be defeated and strong enough to threaten Lucifer’s rule, were banished to Earth, forbidden to return. Though the classic image of a demon is of a red-hued humanoid, usually with horns and a pointy tail, in reality demons take on a myriad of corporeal forms. Any size, shape, and number of appendages imaginable can be found among the demonic hordes of Hell. Demons traffic in chaos, and their methods are as varied as their appearances. Some choose to take the direct route, possessing human beings and working their evil on Earth through their host. Others are more subtle about it, making deals with mortals in exchange for their immortal souls, corrupting them slowly over a span of years. A demon’s notoriety is measured in honorifics: a list of qualities and achievements that follow the demon’s name. Things like “Render of Flesh” or “Leaner of the Tower of Pisa” or “(R) Alabama.” The longer and more impressive the list, the stronger and more notorious the demon tends to be. Demons aren’t inherently evil. Evil is a choice, but demons do tend to be a product of their environment. When you grow up being told that Good is the enemy of everything your world stands for, it does tend to color your perceptions. To date, there has never been a demonic Brotherhood agent. Could be that neither side is ready for that yet. But maybe one day that can change.

350

Brotherhood Database

Secticulag the Well-Honed Denizens of Hell ASPECTS Concept:

Hack n’ Slasher Demon

Trouble:

Compensating for Something

Discipline: Disemboweler of Demon Hunters Decapitator of Innocent Bystanders Keyer of Toyota Corollas APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Hack n’ Slashing

Clever

Scaring

Flashy

Skittering

Forceful

Fine Motor Skills

Quick

Operating Vehicles or Heavy Machinery

Sneaky STUNTS

MegaSlasher: Because these arms can slice through any material made by man, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack robots, cyborgs, Ciphers, and other artificial opponents. Shock & Ah Crap!: Because I am the thing from your nightmares, I gain +2 when I Flashily create an advantage by terrifying my opponents. I Will Bathe in Your Blood: Because my chitinous exoskeleton is razorsharp, any living opponent who comes into physical contact with me takes on a minor Bleeding condition. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

351

Demon Hunters

Gluttozaphage the Ever-Hungering Denizens of Hell ASPECTS Concept:

Gluttonous Demon Ball of Arms & Teeth

Trouble:

What About Second Breakfast?

Discipline: Render of Flesh Devourer of Souls Speaker With-er of Full Mouths APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Devouring

Clever

Defiling

Flashy

Defying Gravity

Forceful

Loyalty

Quick

Strategy

Sneaky STUNTS Open Wide!: Because watching me eat is seriously gross, I get +2 when I Flashily attack an opponent by attempting to consume them. Demonic Deflection: Because I’m just a big ol’ floating wad of arms and teeth, I get +2 when I Quickly defend against an attack by hovering up out of reach. Just One Thin Mint: Because some of my eyes are bigger than my stomach, upon my defeat my bloated corpse will explode, spattering my opponents with caustic stomach acid and partially-digested mystery meat, inflicting a minor “Ew! Ow! Ew!” condition upon them. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

352

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

“Raalf” Raalfamulax the Blue-Collared Denizens of Hell ASPECTS Concept:

Garbage Man From Hell. Literally.

Trouble:

Squeamish When It Comes to Evil

Discipline: Hauler of Refuse Avoider of Conflict Builder of Friendships APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Heavy Lifting

Clever

Camaraderie

Flashy

Cowardice

Forceful

Portion Control

Quick

Doing Evil

Sneaky STUNTS Blue Collar Tactics: Because Evil? Nah, I’m just a garbage man, I get +2 when I Cleverly overcome an obstacle via manual labor. Conflict Conversationalist: Because I’d rather just talk this out over a beer, whaddaya say?, I get +2 when I Sneakily create an advantage by befriending a potential opponent. Union Rules: Because this is a union gig, I’m takin’ my fifteen minutes, once per session I can spend a demon die to bow out of a dangerous situation by taking my union-mandated coffee break. Mmmm… Cobbler’s Crystals. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

353

Demon Hunters

Belthazuron the Corruptor Denizens of Hell ASPECTS Concept:

Spreader of Plagues

Trouble:

Avoider of Dander

Discipline: Exile of the Infernal Pit APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Destruction

Clever

Pestilence

Flashy

Invulnerability

Forceful

Mystical Bindings

Quick

Pet Allergies

Sneaky STUNTS Too Scary for Hell: Because I am too scary for Hell, I gain +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage or overcome an obstacle through intimidation and fear. Infectious Attack: Because sickness follows in my wake, I gain +2 when I Flashily attack with diseases and infections. BFG: Because I am an Earthwalker I gain 6 bonus to use when I engage in destruction. When I mark off a severe condition, I lose a bonus die. Discover and invoke my Trouble aspect to use these dice against me, but prepare to be itchy. Dander Is My Weakness: Because I have only one weakness, I clear all conditions at the end of each round of combat. The one exception is if I am exposed to my one weakness: animal dander. In that case, all bets are off and I am no longer able to clear my conditions. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

354

Moderate (2)

Severe (7)

Brotherhood Database

Earthwalkers

Lucifer was faced with a problem. Thirteen demons who could not be subjugated; the most powerful of the demons of Hell. Unable to defeat them, he banished them from the underworld to walk the earth. Here, the Earthwalkers thrived, and chaos and destruction followed in their wake. These guys weren’t &#@$ing around. They bore honorifics like “the All-Devouring,” “Destroyer of Empires,” or “the Indestructible,” and the honors were well-earned. For thousands of years the Earthwalkers…um…walked the earth, terrorizing mankind. Thankfully, the Brotherhood already did the heavy lifting on these guys for you. Battling them through the centuries and across continents, Brotherhood soldiers eliminated the Earthwalkers one by one. It’s been over a thousand years since the last of the Earthwalkers was slain*. You’re welcome, humanity! The Prince of Darkness

With Lucifer gone, Hell was faced with a power vacuum. No one dared to risk their fallen King’s wrath by claiming his throne. A new position was created to rule over Hell in the King’s absence: the Prince of Darkness. The currently reigning PoD is given a unique honorific. One not shared by any other creature in Hell. The Satan. The ultimate Adversary to all that is Good. Many have borne the title of the Satan in the centuries since Lucifer’s reign ended, including a number of demons and fallen angels, a handful of particularly evil damned souls, and even, for a brief period in the early 21st century, a corporate coffee chain from the Pacific Northwest. Each served as Prince of Darkness until their tenure was cut short, whether through political unrest, bloodsport, or vile treachery, and once by a particularly bad hand of cards.

* Or something. The records aren’t too clear on what happened, but in any case the bastard’s gone. Don’t look a gift complete-absence-of-earthwalking-demons in the mouth.

355

Demon Hunters

Prince of Darkness Denizens of Hell ASPECTS Concept:

Dark Ruler of the Infernal Pit

Trouble:

Usurpers All Around Me

Discipline: Legions of the Damned Under My Command APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Deception

Clever

Dark Powers

Flashy

Bureaucracy

Forceful

Sharing Power

Quick

Trusting Others

Sneaky STUNTS Killer Job: Because a lot of people would kill for this job—I actually did, I get +2 when I Quickly defend against attacks from those seeking to rob me of my throne. Rain of Fire: Because I wield the powers of the infinite inferno I get +2 when I Forcefully attack by raining fire and brimstone down around my opponents. They’re My Dice: Because demon dice are mine, whenever a Demon Hunter uses a demon die against me, the DM gets two of them instead of one. Pretty Much Impossible to Defeat: Because I’m the Prince of Darkness I gain 4 bonus to use when I engage in destruction. When I mark off a severe condition, I lose a bonus die. Discover and invoke my Trouble aspect to use these dice against me (hint: it’s probably some of those usurping wannabe Princes of Darkness-in-Waiting). CONDITIONS Mild (3)

356

Moderate (2)

Severe (5)

Brotherhood Database

The Fallen

The Fallen are angels who joined Lucifer in his rebellion against their Creator. For their treachery, they were cast down into the Pit to join their exiled leader. Swearing fealty to Lucifer, the Fallen helped to expand the borders of Hell, pushing back the wilderness and stretching out across the underworld. The Fallen, though angelic in nature, have had their powers twisted by their time in the underworld. Rather than healing, their touch now brings pestilence and rot, and their once luminous white wings have turned black as pitch.

Arakiel Denizens of Hell ASPECTS Concept:

Teacher of Forbidden Wisdom

Trouble:

Pit-Twisted Essence

Discipline: The Earth Moves at My Command APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Geomancy

Clever

Defiance

Flashy

Imparting Knowledge

Forceful

Diplomacy

Quick

Servitude

Sneaky STUNTS Geomancer: Because I taught mankind the secrets of the Earth, I gain +2 when I Flashily attack, defend, or create an advantage through the practice of geomancy. Authority Issues: Because I’ve got a problem with authority, I gain +2 for all actions I take while in combat with a Brotherhood Chapter Leader. Radioactive Countenance: Because I think I broke something in the Fall, I inflict a mild Irradiated condition on everyone around me as my cracked halo leaks a radioactive radiance. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

357

Demon Hunters

Imps

Imps aren’t quite demons. They’re tiny little amorphous critters made of brimstoney flesh and needle-sharp teeth. By Hell’s standards, they’re actually pretty cute little guys. They’re attracted to shiny things, can crawl through tiny gaps to get into places they don’t belong, tend to get mashed between the gears of machinery, that sort of thing. They’re sort of the underworld equivalent of squirrels. On their own, they’re not so much dangerous as they are a nuisance. But imps don’t often travel alone. There’s strength in numbers, and I’m not sure what number a “horde” is, but it’s a big one. One imp by itself might nip at your ankle, but an imp horde can skeletonize a full-grown man in a matter of minutes. Fortunately, they’re pretty easy to kill. They’re weak against faith, bullets, blunt instruments, and particularly heavy shoes.

Murder of Imps Denizens of Hell ASPECTS Concept:

A Murder of Flying Hairless Hell Squirrels

Trouble:

All Bite, No Brain

Discipline: Needle-Sharp Teeth APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Imps

Swarming Flying Thinking

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

358

Brotherhood Database

Hellhounds

Hellhounds are some nasty business. Colossal, vaguely dog-shaped creatures made entirely of muscle and hatred and teeth and death. Well, that might be true of the adults. But you know how they say that there are no bad dogs, just bad owners? The same holds true with Hellhounds. If you could get your hands on a Hellhound puppy, raise it from birth (well, it’s more of a gooey hatching, really), and train it using positive reinforcement, you’d hardly be able to tell your Hellhound from any other dog. Except for the extra heads. And the spider-style nests of crimson eyes. Okay, so it wouldn’t be winning at Westminster, but it wouldn’t be a pure Evil killing machine either. Unfortunately unlike your theoretical Hellpuppy, most Hellhounds are pure Evil killing machines. They’re expert trackers too, and they never lose a scent. Once they get a whiff of a soul, they’ll hunt it down across dimensions and realities. Once a Hellhound is on your trail, you might as well just give up. You’re not getting away.

Hellhound Denizen of Hell ASPECTS Concept:

Bloodhound of the Underworld

Trouble:

Loyal to the One Who Called Me

Discipline: You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide Multiheaded Semi-Spectral Harbinger APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Hellhound

Hunting & Tracking Making You My Chew Toy Intimidation Multitasking

CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

359

Demon Hunters

Pack of Hellhounds Denizen of Hell ASPECTS Concept:

Bloodhounds of the Underworld

Trouble:

Loyal to the One Who Called Us

Discipline: You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide Multiheaded Semi-Spectral Harbingers APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Hellhounds

Hunting & Tracking Making You Our Chew Toy Intimidation Multitasking

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

360

Brotherhood Database

M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Mr. Stag

His true identity has been lost to the ages. All but forgotten, not even his name has survived to the present day. Just a handful of wordless carvings and scribbles, and one Gallo-Roman sculpture that labels him as “the one with the horns.” He used to be worshiped. Loved. Blood was spilled in his name. He was a god. Now he’s just the one with the horns. A few decades back, seeing his fellow supernats struggling against the tyranny of the Brotherhood, Mr. Stag had an idea. He would unite the members of the various factions of the supernatural world into a fighting force capable of holding their own against the agents of the Brotherhood. Now, as the head of M.O.N.S.T.R.E., his people come to him begging for help, which he is happy to provide in exchange for their money. Their labor. Their sacrifice. It’s not quite worship, but it’s damn close, and it feels so good. For the first time in millennia, he is powerful, and he’ll do whatever it takes to hold on to this power.

361

Demon Hunters

Mr. Stag M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw ASPECTS Concept:

Forgotten God of the Primeval Forest

Trouble:

Pyrophobic

Discipline: I Speak for the Trees Red in Tooth and Claw Persuasive Mastermind APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Nature Magic

Clever

Persuasion

Flashy

Primal Violence

Forceful

Extinguishing Fire

Quick

Using Modern Technology

Sneaky STUNTS I Am Life: Because I am flora. I am fauna. I am life itself, I get +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage or overcome an obstacle by calling forth plants and animals to do my bidding. Immortal: Because I was present at the birth of humanity, and I will bear witness to its end, I get +2 when I Carefully attack or defend against human opponents. Forgotten: Because every trace of my existence has been wiped from the Earth, once per session I can spend a demon die to cause my opponents to forget my presence in a scene, even in the middle of combat. Fire Is My Bane: Because I am a nature god, I cannot be harmed by any means, except fire. Kind of obvious. If I am destroyed by fire, I will return in due season. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Gerhardt Graf Nielsen von ZÄhlen

Von Zählen is Old Money. Really old money. Like, Roman denarius old. He has survived for centuries on his wits and his money and the blood of countless generations of peasants. Time was, a nobleman could get away with offing a few hundred peasants on a whim. Not these days. Von Zählen employs a small army of assistants, aides, secretaries, stylists, housekeepers, gardeners, guards, accountants, advisors, publicists, personal shoppers, toadies, yesmen, and the occasional Renfield to keep him un-staked and living the lifestyle to which he’s become accustomed.

362

Brotherhood Database

The modern world is loud and bright and confusing for a vampire who’s lived through the entirety of the second millennium, and von Zählen’s feeling the effects. His arithmomania is back with a vengeance, usually popping up at the worst possible times. He thought he’d kicked that particular compulsion back in the 12th century! 13th century. 14th. 15th. 16th...

Gerhardt Graf Nielsen von Zählen M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw ASPECTS Concept:

Thousand-Year-Old Vampire Billionaire

Trouble:

Creepy Arithmomaniac

Discipline: Surrounded by Renfields You Don’t Live this Long by Being Careless APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Money Management

Clever

Enthralling

Flashy

Faking My Own Death

Forceful

Fighting

Quick

Mundane Tasks

Sneaky STUNTS Let’s Make a Deal: Because there’s no need for violence, I’m sure we can make a deal, I get +2 when I Cleverly defend against an attack by bribing my way out of the situation. Cat & Mouse Conversationalist: Because a flashy vampire is a dusted vampire, I get +2 when I Sneakily overcome an obstacle by using my centuries of wisdom. My People Will Call Your People: Because Renfields are a dime a dozen, and I’ve got a $#&@-ton of dimes, twice per session I can call in my bodyguards (small mob). Oh, and have Your People stat these bodyguards out. I’m busy. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

363

Demon Hunters

‘

Valencia Rojas HuamAn

You’d think being attacked by a wild animal and transformed into an uncontrollable, man-eating beast would be the worst thing that could happen to a person, but then you’ve never had to watch your entire culture be systematically destroyed by invaders from across the sea. Valencia had to suffer through both. First the Spanish invasion, then the werejaguar attack. Both made her stronger. Now, five hundred years later, she is the CEO of a thriving, multi-generational business empire, and the werevirus is working for her, not the other way around. Building her fortune on gold from the lost ransom of Atahualpa, she’s sought vengeance against the Spanish in her own particular fashion. Buyouts. Forced mergers. Hostile takeovers. Not to mention the strange coincidences of her major business rivals frequently being found mauled to death by a wild animal. It was the deaths that did it. Valencia found her business tactics drawing some unwanted attention from the newly re-focused Brotherhood. In light of this, Mr. Stag’s proposal seemed like a wise investment.

364

Brotherhood Database

Valencia Rojas Huamán M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw ASPECTS Concept:

Inca Empress Turned Werejaguar Turned Titan of Industry

Trouble:

Married to Vengeance and Greed Is My Paramour

Discipline: Cutthroat Business Practices Blessed by Ekkeko, God of Abundance APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Really Hostile Takeovers

Clever

Skull Chomping

Flashy

Fast Cars

Forceful

Science

Quick

Suppressing Bloodlust

Sneaky STUNTS Vengeance of the Incas: Because I am the living vengeance of the Inca people, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack an opponent of Spanish descent. Literal Catlike Reflexes: Because I have the reflexes of a jungle cat, I gain +2 when I Quickly defend against a surprise attack with my werejaguar abilities. I Always Get My Way: Because merely defeating you is not good enough. You must be destroyed, I can spend a demon die to automatically turn any successful roll into a success with style. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

365

Demon Hunters

Mikhail Aleksandrovich Denisov

A former researcher in the USSR’s top secret Novosibirsk-31 science city, Denisov had his pioneering work in cross-species genetics and radical neuroenhancement suppressed by the Soviet government. Cut off from his funding, he changed course, selling prototype bioweaponry on the black market to fund his terrible experiments. He couldn’t have picked a better time to get into the exotic weapons trade. The Cold War was in full swing at the time, and Denisov raked in the rubles as everybody stockpiled for the apocalypse. Soon he had cornered the Mad Science arms market. Then the Brotherhood started cracking down hard on folks like him. That’s when Mr. Stag showed up with an interesting offer. With M.O.N.S.T.R.E.’s limitless resources at his disposal, Denisov has been wildly successful as the head of the M.O.N.S.T.R.E. R&D division. Sure, his body died a long time ago, but he hasn’t let that slow him down. If anything, freed from the demands of operating an inefficient meat-body, he has become even more brilliant as his mind rewired itself to focus entirely on innovation.

366

Brotherhood Database

Mikhail Aleksandrovich Denisov M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw ASPECTS Concept:

Hyperintelligent Brain-in-a-Bottle

Trouble:

Not Just Drunk…Russian Drunk

Discipline: Behold, My Terrible Doomsday Device! APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Superscience

Clever

Mad Mechanics

Flashy

Alcoholism

Forceful

Heavy Lifting

Quick

Buggy Software Updates

Sneaky STUNTS Swift Science!: Because I have outwitted Death itself, I get +2 when I Quickly create an advantage by throwing together a mad scientastic device. Robot Brain Jar: Because I am no longer encumbered by a weak, rotting, meat-chassis, I get +2 when I Flashily defend by activating a feature of my cybertronic cerebral support matrix (robot brain jar). Dead Man’s Switch: Because I have activated my dead-man’s switch, upon my defeat I can choose to spend a demon die to roll on the Featured Creature table (on page 191) and the Featured Creature Modifier table (on page 192), as my demise unleashes a terrible, new evil upon my foes. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

367

Demon Hunters

Morgan Pak

Morgan Pak is living the American Dream. The child of immigrants, she has risen to become the face—and the head—of Mango Park Entertainment, a global media empire. Her daytime talk show attracts a daily audience numbering in the millions, her magazine is one of the few success stories in a dying industry, and her books are a regular feature at the top of the New York Times’ bestseller list. You’d think that becoming America’s Daytime Darling would be an uphill battle, but Morgan took a shortcut. Her audience doesn’t even notice the carefully practiced hand movements. The runes and symbols worked into the set design. The strange words of a dead language in the audio mix, whispered well below the range of human hearing. Morgan Pak is an enchantress, and her fans are bound to her will. Whatever she says, they’ll believe it, or buy it, or ban it. She could handpick the next president if she were so inclined, but she’s content with her money and her influence and her legions of fawning sycophants. For now. But there’s always tomorrow to think about. Morgan is the youngest and newest member of the M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw, and she was thrilled to be selected for the position by Mr. Stag. For too long mystics have kept themselves to their dungeons and swamps and castle keeps. The mystical community needs to get with the times, and a media-savvy witch like Morgan is the perfect person to take them there.

368

Brotherhood Database

Morgan Pak M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw ASPECTS Concept:

Diabolical Diva of Daytime Talk

Trouble:

Forever Young, Dammit!

Discipline: Head of a Global Media Empire Now for a Magic Word from our Sponsors APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Enchantments & Illusions

Clever

Strategic Planning

Flashy

Know Your Base

Forceful

Handling Criticism

Quick

Physical Combat

Sneaky STUNTS Target Audience: Because I’ve done my demographic research I get +2 when I Carefully defend against female opponents. Living the Dream: Because everyone in the studio audience is getting a BRAND NEW CAR! I get +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage by distracting my opponent with my vast resources. Attention Diva: Because I thrive in the limelight, I automatically clear a minor physical or mental condition after each round of conflict while fighting in front of an audience. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

369

Demon Hunters

Ahriman

Ahriman can read the writing on the wall. He used to be feared by millions as the ultimate embodiment of chaos and evil, but his adherents are dying off and there’s not enough new blood coming in to keep the balance. Times are changing, and the old ways won’t work anymore. He’s gonna need help to stay in the game. That’s why he joined M.O.N.S.T.R.E. This Stag guy gets it. He knows how it feels when the worship slows to a trickle. How hard it is to keep going. You need to stay relevant. Terrifying mortals into submission just doesn’t work anymore. They’re too damn desensitized. He’s had to get crafty. Subtle. A gentle nudge in the wrong direction can be all it takes to damn a soul for eternity. Hand them just enough rope and let them do the hard work of hanging themselves for you. While he’s happy to fight them on M.O.N.S.T.R.E.’s behalf, Ahriman’s got no beef with the Brotherhood. His true adversaries are those bastards over at Crawling Chaos, LLC. He’s fought their kind since they wore crimson robes and danced around like idiots under the blood moon. Spreading chaos is his thing, dammit, and he’s not gonna have these cretinous cultists inviting some transdimensional trespasser over to jump his claim.

370

Brotherhood Database

Ahriman M.O.N.S.T.R.E. ASPECTS Concept:

Semi-Retired God of Chaos

Trouble:

At Risk of a Relapse

Discipline: Let the Mortals Do the Work For Me Old-School Cool APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Sowing the Seeds of Chaos

Clever

Making Deals

Flashy

Omnipotence

Forceful

Idly Standing By

Quick

Jealousy

Sneaky STUNTS I Am the O.C.: Because I was into chaos before it was cool I get +2 when I Forcefully attack members of the Esoteric Fellowship of the Crawling Chaos. Eye For a Mark: Because have I got a bargain for you! I get +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage by manipulating some poor, unsuspecting schmuck. Actually Chaos Incarnate, Buster: Because lest we forget, I’m still the physical embodiment of #@&%ing chaos, any opponent who takes action against me treats all odd-numbered results on their dice as threes instead of what they actually rolled. If this causes them to fail, they must mark off a mild condition; if they succeed, I have to mark off a mild condition. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

371

Demon Hunters

Arr MiHardies

Captain Armitage MacHardy was a fearsome pirate captain who took no prisoners and gave no quarter. Had he lived longer, his infamy might have rivaled that of Blackbeard or William Kidd. But his flagship, the Black Damnation, sank off the coast of Port Royal during a battle with the British fleet, and like a proper captain, he went down with his ship. He didn’t stay down. Chapter Tau Nine had been dispatched to investigate reports of a sea monster off the coast of Jamaica. What they found instead was the wreck of the Black Damnation, and one pissed off ghost pirate who proceeded to crawl inside one of the agents. The exorcism rituals for spirit possession almost always work. Almost. The leader of Tau Nine had made the rookie mistake of recruiting a stuttering exorcist, and instead of banishing MacHardy, the agent’s own soul was cast out of his body, leaving the ghost pirate in charge. Armitage MacHardy died a long time ago. Today he’s taken on a more fitting sobriquet: Arr MiHardies, scourge of the skies. With his (literal) skeleton crew he sails the tradewinds in command of M.O.N.S.T.R.E.’s airship fleet. Bombing Brotherhood outposts. Raiding Brotherhood aircraft. Just making the world a more interesting place. After all, everything’s better with sky-pirates.

372

Brotherhood Database

Arr MiHardies M.O.N.S.T.R.E. ASPECTS Concept:

Ghost-Possessed Sky Pirate

Trouble:

I Miss My Parrot

Discipline: Commander of the M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Fleet APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Swashbuckling

Clever

(Aero)Nautical Navigation

Flashy

Keelhauling

Forceful

Modern Technology

Quick

Acrophobia

Sneaky STUNTS Everything’s Better with Pirates!: Because I be frenemies with the Purple Ninja I get +2 when I Flashily defend against martial artists, assassins, and other ninja-type foes. Cap’n on Deck!: Because I be the cap’n of this godforsaken vessel, so hop to, ye scurvy dogs, I get +2 when I Cleverly create an advantage by commanding my crew against my opponent. Abandon Vessel!: Because this just be a borrowed vessel once per session I can possess the nearest available body to continue fighting when this one gets too damaged to function (i.e., it has marked off its moderate and severe conditions). CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

373

Demon Hunters

Daughters of Hades

The Daughters of Hades are a motorcycle gang of pissed-off demigoddesses. If you want to get technical about it, they’re really the daughters of the daughters of Hades. These cutthroat cousins are the half-human offspring of the Erinyes—ancient bane of the oathbreakers—and they definitely take after their mothers. These days “oathbreaking” casts a pretty wide net. They’ve narrowed things down quite a bit, with a focus on protecting women. Proactively. These avenging amazons cruise the highways of America, seeking out the scum who prey on their suffering sisters. Rapists. Wife beaters. Adulterers. Those god-awful Pick-Up Artist douchebags. If we’re being honest, the DoH’s intentions are pretty decent, but their methods are off-the-charts extreme. We’re talking castration on a good day. Or a light scourging if you’re lucky. A bad day? That’s when they bust out the arc-welder. They’re their mothers’ daughters, and their fury knows no bounds.

Daughters of Hades M.O.N.S.T.R.E. ASPECTS Concept:

Gang of Extremist Social Justice Warriors

Trouble:

Taking Holding a Grudge to an Art Form

Discipline: Fury of the Furies Riders on the Scorn APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Daughters of Hades

Righteous Fury Road Rage Anger Management

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

374

Brotherhood Database

Jericho Cain

Who is Jericho Cain? No, we’re seriously asking. The Brotherhood maintains seventeen separate dossiers on entities calling themselves “Jericho Cain,” and we’ve got no idea how many of those are duplicates. It could be one guy, it could be seventeen different ones who chose the same name. And who could blame them? It’s a badass name! Depending on which file you read, Jericho Cain is a descendant of Earthwalkers, a sixteenth century spirit of vengeance, a demon-possessed southern preacher, a cannibal who preys on transients, a member of the Pound’s Atlanta pack, or even the actual, biblical Cain. Hell, feel free to mix and match from all of them, because we honestly have no idea. What we do know is that there’s a Jericho Cain in M.O.N.S.T.R.E. right now, and he is bat$#&@ crazy. Several Brotherhood agents have encountered him in the field, and report that, while he’s not especially strong or fast or magical or supersciency, he fights with a lunacy like nothing you’ve ever seen before. He’ll charge heavy artillery head-on, dive naked into a river teeming with piranhas to escape capture, and spend months planning the most harebrained, idiotic, kamikaze assaults against heavily fortified Brotherhood targets that couldn’t work in even the wildest of dreams, all with zero regard for his own safety and wellbeing. But no matter how much damage he takes—and we’ve seen him get beat/ stabbed/shot/exploded to hell—he always seems to bounce back. Maybe he’s an immortal who’s lived too long, looking for a way out. Or maybe he’s just super crazy and super lucky. Or maybe he’s twelve different guys. How the hell are we supposed to know? Just take your best guess!

375

Demon Hunters

Jericho Cain M.O.N.S.T.R.E. ASPECTS Concept:

Madman of Mystery

Trouble:

Berserking Thrillseeker

Discipline: Willing to Do Whatever It Takes If I Go, I’m Taking You With Me APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Soaking Damage

Clever

Dishing Out Ultraviolence

Flashy

Harebrained Schemes

Forceful

Rational Conversation

Quick

Knowing When to Quit

Sneaky STUNTS Cranking the Danger Up to 11!: Because I am single-minded in my madness, I get +2 when I Quickly create an advantage by making a dangerous situation even more dangerous. Hit Me With Your Best Shot!: Because I can take your best shot, when I am defending against heavy weaponry and add a demon die, I can clear a number of mild, moderate, or severe conditions equal to the result on the demon die. Ambiguous Origin: Because no one really knows what my deal is, once per session I can roll on the Featured Creature table and emulate that creature, taking on a discipline of the selected creature type for the rest of the session. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

376

Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Queen Cornelia the Wicked

She’s not from around these parts, which might explain why you never hear about the country with the wicked queen on the news. Cornelia is one of the fae. Once a powerful despot, she was cast out of Faerie for crimes against her people and exiled to the Earth realm. Bad news for us, she arrived with her powers intact. The fae wield incredible magic, and Cornelia is no exception. She has used these powers to rebuild her palatial estate within the cramped studio apartment she’s rented on the bad side of town. It’s a lot roomier than it looks from the outside, but it’s not enough. It’s not real. Cornelia is obsessed with finding a way back to Faerie, and has joined forces with M.O.N.S.T.R.E. to make use of their mystical resources. She will find a way back to her kingdom, and she will make them pay. Every last one of them. Many who have been in the queen’s presence have witnessed Cornelia talking to herself. A one-sided conversation that frequently leads the queen to distraction. She claims to be speaking—or more frequently arguing—with the King and their son, the Prince, back in Faerie. And maybe she is; she’s certainly got the power to pierce the veil between worlds. Then again, she’s supposed to be completely locked out of that realm. There’s no question that the queen is insane, but is she just insanely evil, or full-on, bat$#&@, hide-the-knives bonkers?

377

Demon Hunters

Queen Cornelia the Wicked M.O.N.S.T.R.E. ASPECTS Concept:

Exiled Monarch of the Faerie Realm

Trouble:

I Will Get Back What They Took from Me!

Discipline: Mad Queen, Emphasis on the Mad Even in Faerie They Fear My Power APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Faerie Magic

Clever

Commanding Allegiance

Flashy

Vengeance

Forceful

Rational Conversation

Quick

Telling the Truth

Sneaky STUNTS Fae Spite: Because I will have my revenge against those who have wronged me, I get +2 when I Flashily attack fellow creatures of the Fae. Unseelie Knowledge: Because I’m not talking to myself, I’m taking counsel with the King, I get +2 when I Cleverly overcome an obstacle using knowledge that I shouldn’t have had. Sore Loser: Because a queen of Faerie simply DOES NOT lose, twice per session I can succeed with style, regardless what the roll was. Wicked Might: Because I am the Wicked Queen of Faerie I am immune to harm from your conventional weapons. Except iron. So there’s that. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

378

Moderate (3)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Kyridel

Kyridel is loyal to his queen. Eternally loyal. He followed her into exile of his own free will. How could he not? He lives only to amuse her. To keep her happy with his jests and his japery. To do whatever she commands. Pucks are well known for their mischief and troublemaking. Maybe it’s all the time he’s spent around the queen, but Kyridel kicks things up a notch. He has a particular fondness for dance. More than a fondness, really. He controls it. Uses it as a weapon, forcing his victims to prance and leap and twirl themselves to death. Pounding their feet to a bloody mess as they scream and pant and beg for release that will never come. All the while Kyridel laughs his terrible goblin laugh as his victims dance themselves to oblivion for his pleasure. Friggin’ pucks, man!

Kyridel Court of Queen Cornelia ASPECTS Concept:

Jester in the Court of the Wicked Queen

Trouble:

Her Laugh Is My Life

Discipline: Master of the Dance A Trickster by Nature APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Musical Magic

Clever

Deception

Flashy

Murderous Mischief

Forceful

Defense Against Iron

Quick

Compassion

Sneaky STUNTS Lord of the Dance: Because I am the Lord of the Dance, I gain +2 when I Forcefully create an advantage by forcing anyone who has a condition as a result of my musical magic to dance for my amusement. Honest Puck: Because I am an honest puck, I gain +2 when I Cleverly overcome an obstacle through lies, trickery, and deceit. Eternal Loyalty: Because I am at the queen’s beck and call, I can appear in Queen Cornelia’s presence whenever I am summoned, even if I have already been defeated. She’s not gonna let a little thing like death keep me from coming in to work. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

379

Demon Hunters

Griselda

Cornelia wanted a daughter, so she took one. Stole her right out of the maternity ward. She named her Griselda and raised her as she’d been raised by her own mother: in a cold, distant manner. The results were much the same. Even though they aren’t really related, or even of the same species, Griselda takes after her mother. The queen’s mood in regards to her daughter was quite changeable, and much of the actual raising of the child fell to Kyridel. From a young age he instilled in her a love of dance that borders on the obsessive. As she grew, he trained and shaped her body, pushing it past its physical limitations. Thanks to this torturous training, Griselda can twist and bend her body into impossible shapes, and can sprint a quarter mile while en pointe. Seeking to gain her mother’s favor, Griselda now serves as the queen’s royal assassin. Kyridel has shaped her into a dancer of death. Her lithe, seemingly boneless contortions allow her to gain access to the most impossibly secure of areas, and she can take a man’s head off with a kick of her bladed ballet slippers. She’s sure that every throat slit brings her one step closer to her mother’s love.

380

Brotherhood Database

Griselda Court of Queen Cornelia ASPECTS Concept:

Demented “Daughter” of Queen Cornelia

Trouble:

Mommy Issues

Discipline: Mommy Says I’m the Best at Disemboweling The Human Body Was Not Meant to Bend Like This APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Dancing

Clever

Murder

Flashy

Getting What She Wants

Forceful

Healthy Relationships

Quick

Technology

Sneaky STUNTS If I try harder, Mommy will love me: Because maybe if I try harder, Mommy will love me, I get +2 when I Forcefully attack an opponent in the presence of Queen Cornelia. Kyridel is a demanding teacher: Because Kyridel is a demanding teacher, I get +2 when I Quickly overcome a physical obstacle by contorting my body into impossible shapes. Killing and dancing are all that I know: Because killing and dancing are all that I know, I can follow up every successful attack with a perfectly executed pirouette, inflicting an additional of damage on my opponent with my bladed ballet slippers. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

381

Demon Hunters

‘

Beyonce

She shouldn’t be here. She misses her family. Her home. Her life. But Griselda wanted a playmate, and Griselda gets what she wants. They took her on her way home from school. Just one look into the hairy man’s eyes and she was powerless to resist. She spun and leapt and danced her way into the back of their van. She hasn’t stopped dancing since. She knows she’s not the first. There were others before her. The shoes they put on her had blood in the toes. Old blood. Griselda is rough with her toys. The jester is the one pulling her strings. He forces her to entertain the queen and her terrible daughter. To joke. To play the clown. To kill. To spin and twirl and dance in the blood of the queen’s enemies. She laughs as she dances, but that’s Kyridel’s doing. There’s no laughter in her eyes. Inside, she’s screaming. She’s always screaming.

382

Brotherhood Database

Beyoncé Court of Queen Cornelia ASPECTS Concept:

Puppet Prisoner of Queen Cornelia

Trouble:

Secretly Trying to Escape

Discipline: Ballerina Assassin Please, Someone Make It Stop! APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Ballet

Clever

Murder

Flashy

Obedience

Forceful

Character Judgment

Quick

Firearms

Sneaky STUNTS Slave to the Rhythm: Because I am a slave to the rhythm, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack an opponent while music is playing. Involuntary Contortionist: Because my body twists and bends against my will, I gain +2 when I Flashily overcome a physical obstacle with my balletic grace. Driven Informant: Because I long for revenge against my captors, once per session I can spend a demon die to break Kyridel’s hold on my mind long enough to deliver a piece of crucial information to the Brotherhood. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

383

Demon Hunters

Drazuul the Deathbringer

Queen Cornelia has a pet. A little plaything she summoned from the depths of the Pit. Were he left to his own devices, Drazuul would run wild, annihilating all who stood in his way for the glory of Death itself. Instead he is bound in servitude to the queen and must do as his mistress commands. Don’t let his size fool you. Drazuul crams a whole lot of terror into that tiny frame. He is an agent of death and rot and decay made flesh. He can summon legions of husks—empty, soulless corpses made animate by his demonic will—to do his bidding, and a swarm of ravenous corpse flies follows in his wake. And if those don’t do the trick, he’ll just straight-up blast you with a fiery bolt of pure, concentrated death. You know, maybe we should be thanking Cornelia for keeping this thing on a leash.

384

Brotherhood Database

Drazuul the Deathbringer Court of Queen Cornelia ASPECTS Concept:

Consort of Oblivion

Trouble:

Evader of Holy Water

Discipline: Commander of Husks Herald of the Great Swarm APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Death Magic

Clever

Slaughtering

Flashy

Sowing Fear

Forceful

Enduring Torture

Quick

Defense Against Magic

Sneaky STUNTS Obey the Deathbringer: Because pitiful mortals dare not defy the will of the Deathbringer, I get +2 when I Forcefully attack a human opponent’s mind, compelling them to obey my commands. Lord of the Flies: Because I am the true Lord of the Flies, I get +2 when I Flashily create an advantage by calling forth a swarm of insects. Army of Husks: Because death would be a mercy, and thus I will not allow it, once per session I can roll up to three demon dice to summon an army of husks to fight by my side, equal in number to the result of the demon dice roll. Hide in Plain Sight: Because I am the stillness of death, I am invisible to mortal eyes when I stand still. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

385

Demon Hunters

Cylch Myrddin Chwaer Blaidd

Look into her eyes. Listen to her voice. Now obey. You didn’t see anybody here today. You didn’t let her into the building. You didn’t disable the cameras or give her your keys to the server room. And you definitely won’t lock up behind her when she’s done. Chwaer Blaidd is a master of mesmerism and illusion. There’s not a security guard in the business she couldn’t talk her way past, leaving him convinced that letting her in was the best idea he’d ever had. Or maybe she’ll strut right in under a fog of imperceptibility, masking her presence from even the cameras. Of course she’d only use these powers for the good of Cylch Myrddin, never for personal gain. It’s just a coincidence that her personal quarters back on Avalon are three times the size of everyone else’s.

386

Brotherhood Database

Chwaer Blaidd Cylch Myrddin ASPECTS Concept:

Mystical Grifter

Trouble:

Commitment Issues

Discipline: Look Deep Into My Eyes These Aren’t the Druids You’re Looking For APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Enchantment

Clever

Persuasion

Flashy

Seduction

Forceful

Telling the Truth

Quick

Personal Relationships

Sneaky STUNTS Experienced Grifter: Because I don’t need magic to get my way, I gain +2 when I Sneakily overcome an obstacle by grifting a mark. Experienced Enchantress: Because that said, it does help, I gain +2 when I Carefully attack an opponent’s sense of reality through mystical enchantments. Because You’re Mine: Because you’re mine, once per session I can roll a demon die to take complete control of a DMC for a duration of a number of rounds equal to the result of the demon die. Taking control gives me an additional action each round: one for me, one for my puppet. I can spend another demon die to maintain the enchantment. I take a mild Migraine condition. Each time I spend a demon die I take this condition again. Magic like this has got a price! CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

387

Demon Hunters

Brawd Arth

There’s nothing safe about a safe. Not when Brawd Arth is around. Doesn’t matter how many countermeasures are built in. Titanium casings, multiple tumblers, serrated wheels, glass relockers—none of it matters. Not when he can just turn the door to quicksilver and mop it up with a towel. Transmutation is a delicate art. It requires precision, patience, and a deeply flawed understanding of the laws of chemistry. Brawd Arth’s got all three, and he’s damn good at what he does. You name it, and he can turn it into something completely different. Were he not so devoted to Cylch Myrddin he could make a killing in the lead-to-gold game, but he’s chosen to use his talents for a more noble pursuit: stealing every magical item he can get his hands on to wake up a slumbering wizard.

Explosion of Homunculi ASPECTS Concept: Alchemical Ankle-Biters Trouble: Squishy Discipline: Born Angry APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Mob of Homunculi

Biting Leaping Thinking

CONDITIONS Depends on size of mob, see on page 253.

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Brawd Arth Cylch Myrddin ASPECTS Concept:

Alchemical Safecracker

Trouble:

Transmuting Addict

Discipline: Twelve Digit Combination, Meet Aqua Regia Quicker than Quicksilver APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Transmutation

Clever

Thievery

Flashy

Art History

Forceful

Physical Combat

Quick

Covering My Tracks

Sneaky STUNTS BLT–Breaking Locks with Transmutation: Because I’ve never met a lock I couldn’t pick melt, I gain +2 when I Cleverly overcome a locked door with my alchemical skills. Knowledge Is Power: Because it helps to know what you’re stealing, I gain +2 when I Quickly create an information-based advantage using my knowledge of Art History. Bloody Hail Mary: Because alchemy is more of an art than a science, once per session, as a last resort, I can spend a demon die to hurl my bag of alchemical equipment to the floor at my opponent’s feet, birthing a swarm (average mob) of tiny, bloodthirsty homunculi. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Chwaer Llwynog

You can’t always count on the job going according to plan. Sometimes you just need to get out as fast as you can. Sometimes you need to make a hole. Holes are one of Chwaer Llwynog’s specialties. Her mastery of fire and combustion comes in handy when you need an exit in a hurry. One quick pyroclastic blast and there’s a new door to the alley and you’re halfway to the getaway car. She doesn’t just do exits. She’ll explode you an entrance if you’re just doing a quick smash-and-grab job. And if you’re no fun at all she can dial things down a bit. Conjure just enough flame to torch her way through glass or metal without triggering any alarms. She can hold her own in a fight, too, in case the security guards don’t fall for Chwaer Blaidd’s bull$#&@, but she’d rather not if it can be avoided. She can control the flames, but it’s still fire, you know? It’ll mess a dude up! Your average rent-a-cop doesn’t get paid enough to deal with the likes of her.

Chwaer Llwynog Cylch Myrddin ASPECTS Concept:

Protective Pyromancer

Trouble:

Explosive Temper

Discipline: Flames Are Pretty APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Burning $#&@

Clever

Melting $#&@

Flashy

Blowing $#&@ Up

Forceful

Fire Safety

Quick

Subtlety

Sneaky STUNTS Firstarter: Because I’m a firestarter, twisted firestarter, I get +2 when I Quickly attack an unprepared opponent. There’s the Door: Because I got your door RIGHT HERE! I get +2 when I Forcefully create an advantage by blasting a hole in a physical structure. Like a Boss: Because I’m kinda like the boss of fire, I am completely immune to all fire-based attacks. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

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Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Brawd Draenog

Security used to mean a heavy box, a sturdy door, and a beefy guard. Now it means rotating passwords, automatic locks, motion detectors, silent alarms, and three minute police response times. Child’s play. Brawd Draenog can blow past all that fancy crap in nothing flat. Technomancy is a relatively new discipline, but Brawd Draenog is one of the best. Using a variation on astral projection, his consciousness leaves his body, becoming one with the digital signal. Becoming zero with it too. He has to become both or it doesn’t work. He flows through the system, disabling the mark’s security infrastructure from within. Worming his way deeper and deeper into the network and leading his team to their prize. They could have kept him out with a box, a door, and a guard, but they wanted to stay current. Once it was all hooked up to a computer, it never stood a chance.

Brawd Draenog Cylch Myrddin ASPECTS Concept:

Technomantic Hacker

Trouble:

Alpha Testing this New Mystical Discipline

Discipline: L33t W1zz0rd APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Technomantic Infiltration

Clever

Circumventing Security Systems

Flashy

Data Theft

Forceful

Physical Combat

Quick

Social Media

Sneaky STUNTS

One With the Network: Because I have become one with the network, I get +2 when I Carefully create an advantage by infiltrating a computer system to gather knowledge. Deus IN Machina: Because I am the god in the machine, I get +2 when I Sneakily attack security programs. God Mode: Because B A, once per conflict I can spend a demon die to succeed with style. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Mad Workers of America in Harmonious Alliance for Humanistic Advancement (MWAHAHA) Professor Aldous Mentalus

There’s no missing Professor Mentalus. He’s the one up at the podium. The one with the enlarged, throbbing cranium. The one floating three feet off the ground. This whole MWAHAHA thing was his idea. He was tired of the legitimate sciences getting all of the respect. It was time for the world to take Mad Science seriously. Or else! He was a supergenius well before he started the self-experimentation, but he always knew he could do more. Be a better version of himself. Not aesthetically—no haircut known to man could minimize that forehead—but intellectually. He started with a hypothesis: An increase in brain matter will result in a higher IQ. And he was right. His experiment yielded an exponential increase in his intelligence. The side effect was unexpected, but a pleasant surprise. He calls it Induced Telekinesis—the ability to manipulate matter with the unprecedented power of his gargantuan mind. It’s made getting around significantly easier. No more shuffling around on a couple of hinged sticks like the rest of you bipedal chumps. Professor Mentalus is taking to the skies! Well, maybe not as far as the skies; he’s a little afraid of heights. But a couple feet off the ground oughta do it. Take that, gravity!

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Brotherhood Database

Professor Aldous Mentalus MWAHAHA ASPECTS Concept:

Macrocephalic Master of the Mind

Trouble:

Quit Staring at My Obsolete and Atrophied Limbs!

Discipline: Induced Telekinesis Via Genetic Manipulation APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Telekinesis

Clever

Radical Self-Experimentation

Flashy

Hubris-Science

Forceful

Resisting the Urge to Monologue

Quick

Fitting Through Doorways

Sneaky STUNTS

Brain Like a Supercomputer: Because I have a brain like a supercomputer, I get +2 when I Quickly create an advantage using my incredible intellect. Intellectual Paragon: Because I am the apex of human potential, I can spend a demon die to inflict an In Awe of His Genius condition on an opponent who witnesses my brilliance. Roll the die: 1-3, inflict a mild condition; 4-5, a moderate condition; 6, a severe condition. Evil Genius Monologue: Because this was all part of my Master Plan, anyone in my presence who has taken an In Awe of His Genius condition must make an overcome roll each round against an opposition 10 in order to act, as their body is gripped with astonishment. On the first failure, the opposition becomes 15 for the following rounds. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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Tumbles

Nobody knows where Tumbles came from, and he’s not telling. I mean, obviously he’s not! His anatomy’s all wrong for talking. Here’s what we do know. He’s a capuchin monkey, he’s approximately five years old, and his proof of the Riemann hypothesis is both simple and elegant. Almost obvious in retrospect. This monkey is a mathematical genius, and he’s in high demand. Mad scientists from around the globe are stepping over each other to enlist this primate prodigy for their pet projects. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a theoretical physicist straight coldcock an aerospace engineer to get first dibs on hiring a monkey. Straight talk though, this is one smart goddamn monkey. Plus he holds the dry erase markers with his little prehensile tail when he’s solving equations, which is just friggin’ adorable!

Tumbles MWAHAHA ASPECTS Concept:

Simian Savant

Trouble:

Distractingly Adorable

Discipline: Hard to Catch APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Advanced Theoretical Mathematics

Clever

Acrobatics

Flashy

Pickpocketing

Forceful

Resisting the Urge to Fling Poo

Quick Sneaky

Being Taken Seriously

STUNTS

Simian Agility: Because I have a prehensile tail, I gain +2 when I Flashily overcome an obstacle using my simian agility. Math Monkey Mind: Because I think in numbers, I gain +2 when I Quickly create mathematical-based advantages using my superior mind. Cheeky Monkey!: Because nobody suspects the monkey, once per session I can spend a demon die to disable an opponent’s weapon or gadget by stealing a crucial component of the device. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

394

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Dr. Saskia Oosthuizen MWAHAHA ASPECTS Concept:

Gene-Splicing Supergenius

Trouble:

Sick With Humanity

Discipline: Good With a Scalpel Army of AbomAnimals Genome Thyself APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Biological Warfare

Clever

Veterinary Surgery

Flashy

Animal Training

Forceful

Human Interaction

Quick

Ethical Research

Sneaky STUNTS Loyal Minions: Because I have bred my creatures to obey, I gain +2 when I Flashily create an advantage or overcome an obstacle using my AbomAnimal minions. Ethically Unimpeded: Because “Ethics? Never heard of ‘em!”, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack an opponent using biological weapons. The Island of Mr. Hyde: Because I have a fridge full of DNA, once per session I can inject myself with mutagenic DNA from an animal of my choosing. I will take on a level “Mutant” Fringe discipline for the duration of play that gives me the powers of my chosen animal. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Dr. Saskia Oosthuizen

Look, just because two species haven’t had a common ancestor in the past hundred and fifty million years doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to breed! They just need some help, and Dr. Oosthuizen’s the one to give it to them. From her hidden lab deep inside a South African nature reserve, Saskia bends genetics to her will in an effort to help Mother Nature fight back against the plague of mankind. Just imagine it! Flocks of wildebeest-vulture hybrids soaring overhead, out of harm’s way. Elephant-octopus hybrids hiding from poachers by blending perfectly with their surroundings. Lions, but, like, tiny, housecat-sized ones. Okay, so that one’s just for her, but oh my god how cute would that be?

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She’s released a handful of her creations into the wild, to varying degrees of success. But she’s found her work hampered by all of these laws about conservation and endangered species and not being allowed to operate a sinister lab out of a nature reserve. Don’t these morons get it? She’s on their side! She’s just trying to help before it’s too late!

Archibald Slotter, DDS MWAHAHA ASPECTS Concept:

Orally-Augmented Orthodontist

Trouble:

Underinsured

Discipline: Interchangeable Chompers Pretty Sadistic, Even for a Dentist APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Crafting Prosthetic Teeth

Clever

Gnashing of Teeth

Flashy

Inflicting Pain via Dentistry

Forceful

Malpractice Lawsuits

Quick

Rational Behavior

Sneaky STUNTS Overbite: Because I’ve got a drawer full of deadly dentition, I gain +2 when I Forcefully attack or defend against an opponent using specialized dentures. Dental Interrogation: Because you think this hurts, wait’ll you see the bill, I gain +2 when I Quickly create an advantage by extracting information from an opponent via dental tool torture. Pain-Fueled Frenzy: Because pain just means you’re still alive, any time I mark off a physical condition, on my next action I can roll an additional without spending a demon die. Additionally I can choose to take a mild Self-Inflicted Wound condition to gain this benefit. CONDITIONS Mild (5)

396

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

Brotherhood Database

Archibald Slotter, DDS

They said he was crazy. They said man was not meant to wield a weapon such as this. They said, “I really don’t think it’s a good idea to replace your mandible with a solid-steel replica of the jaws of a shark. I mean, how would that even work? Wouldn’t it be way too heavy for your jaw muscles to operate?” Morons! Fools! Weak-minded idiot know-nothings with their sad, limited vision! Who’s laughing now through multiple rows of razor-sharp, serrated teeth? Those pathetic weaklings with their forks and their steak knives will never know the thrill of devouring an entire rib-eye in a single, determined chomp! He has taken his rightful place at the top of the food chain. A fisherman no longer, he has become the deadliest catch! Wait, was that show about crabs? That might be a bad metaphor. Whatever. Now if you’ll excuse him, he’s off to ice down his jaw muscles for a totally unrelated reason.

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Eleanor “Laser” Raye

The doctors couldn’t identify it, but it was some sort of motor neuron disease. They told her she’d be dead inside a decade. Eleanor Raye, roboticist extraordinaire, told them where they could shove it. She wasn’t about to let her failing body destroy her plans. She designed a suit. A powered, bipedal exoskeleton, controlled via direct-brain interface, that would restore her mobility. Her ability to walk. To run. To live her life at eye-level with everyone else. She released the patents into the public domain, and was hailed as a hero. An inspiration to the disabled. She was fighting back, triumphing against the ravages of her disease. That’s what they thought. She knows better. This is no disease. This was an attack. She knows who’s really responsible. The government! The One-World Government! They did this to her. They conspired with the Bilderberg Group and the Reptiloids of the British royal family to take her out. She’d gotten too close to the truth! Their secret military bases. Their radio telescopes. Fluoride. Reality TV. Hot Pockets! She knew too much, so they silenced her. Stole her voice. Well, they’re about to hear her loud and clear. Weapons System: Online. Safeties: Disengaged. Target Lock: The White House. No, the REAL White House. Run for cover, android duplicates of the First Family! Laser Raye is going to war!

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Brotherhood Database

Eleanor “Laser” Raye MWAHAHA ASPECTS Concept:

Paranoid Pilot of a Walking Weapons Platform

Trouble:

Paranoid Doesn’t Really Cover It

Discipline: Experimental Radioactive Power Source Two Tons of Titanium Terror APPROACHES

DISCIPLINES

Careful

Exoskeletal Warfare

Clever

Robotic Engineering

Flashy

Conspiracy Theories

Forceful Quick

Distinguishing Fantasy from Reality

Sneaky

Stealth

STUNTS Faraday Mind Cage: Because the Faraday cage in my helmet blocks their satellite mind-control rays, I get +2 when I Quickly defend against psychic attacks. Kill All Reptiloids: Because it doesn’t count as murder if I’m just killing Reptiloids, I get +2 when I Forcefully attack supernatural foes. War Machine: Because I have weapons you can’t even imagine, I get +2 when I Cleverly create advantages using my weaponized exoskeleton. Systems Still Online: Because my exoskeleton has multiple redundant backup systems, I can reroute critical functions to clear a moderate condition by spending a demon die. CONDITIONS Mild (3)

Moderate (2)

Severe (1)

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chapter 12

Time Travel and a Brief Secret History of the World

T

D e m o n H u nt e r s s e e m s o r d i nary i n almost every way that mundane people living their mundane lives think of when they think of ordinary—which is to say it’s occasionally interesting but otherwise, not so much. Oh, but does this point of view change when you join the ranks of the Demon Hunters in the Brotherhood. Once that happens, you discover that all this time you’ve been living in a world with a deep, rich, chocolatey history unseen by the common mortal, despite their lives being completely and utterly tied up in it. And you’re still living in it. h e wo r ld o f

But how, you might ask, can I ever know everything about this secret, hidden, obscured world of Fortean events, supernatural phenomena, religious confluences, cosmic alignments, and animated killer garden gnomes? Fear not, recruit! Contained within this detailed section of your training manual is everything you need to know to get started on lifetimes of revealed knowledge and lore. (Want to skip the time travel and move straight to the history lesson? That starts on page 412.)

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BUT FIRST A WORD ABOUT TIME TRAVEL Ever feel like you missed out on all the cool stuff? I mean, sure, the present’s pretty great. We’ve got antibiotics and the internet and those blankets with sleeves in them and stuff. But the past had cowboys and Aztecs and the Order of the Infernal Scepter and freaking dinosaurs! If only there was a way to go back and live through that cool stuff again. Unfortunately, while most scientists agree that time travel is theoretically possible, they also agree that the technical requirements necessary to actually do it are astronomically unfeasible. We’re talking about stuff like cosmic strings and negative energy spacecraft and stabilizing and transporting black holes across multiple light-year distances. Purely theoretical, and utterly impractical. We call these people quitters. It turns out that when you’re not tied down by logic or sanity or a solid understanding of how physics actually work, there are all kinds of ways to hop around in time!

Timeslips Timeslips are naturally occurring ruptures in reality that link two points in time. There’s no telling when or where one of these things might open up. One minute you’re on a family trip to historic Gettysburg, and the next thing you know there’s a confederate soldier shoving a musket in your face and calling you “Yankee scum.” Or maybe there’s a heavily armored security droid shoving a laser blaster in your face and trilling a series of ones and zeroes at you, querying how you teleported your flesh-chassis into the high-security wing of the Museum of Robotic History. Timeslips work both ways. Timeslips aren’t a rare occurrence. Most are only open for an instant before the universe repairs itself. The only time they really get noticed is when someone or something goes through one. Fun Fact: Every time you see a bird flying around someplace it’s not supposed to be, like a grocery store or an airport terminal, it came in through a timeslip. The hardest part of traveling via timeslip is finding one. There are certain locations on Earth where they seem to be more prone to appear (Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, the Bermuda Triangle), 402

Time Travel and a Brief Secret History of the World

but the appearances are still intermittent and fleeting. These locations are known to be points of ley line convergence, though whether this affects the likelihood of a timeslip has yet to be proven conclusively. There’s no guarantee of a return trip when you’re working with timeslips. They’re inherently unstable. Here one instant, gone the next. The Brotherhood has had some degree of success with widening the slips, extending the time it remains open via mystical or (mad) scientific means, but it’s still sort of a crapshoot. The takeaway from all of this is that timeslips are crazy inconvenient. Which is why people have put so much effort into finding alternative methods of time travel.

Magic Long before the modern age of computers and blinking lights and constant, unnecessary phone notifications, mystics all around the world had already figured out ways to jump around in time. Up until around the 18th century CE, people were mostly interested in skipping forward. Can’t really blame them for that; life back then was pretty crappy on average. The most popular method was crawling into a cave somewhere for a mystical ageless sleep. Just toss on your PJs and cuddle up in the dirt for about forty thousand winks. Wake up and it’s three hundred years later. Sure, everyone you ever knew or loved is dead, but hey, maybe you’re not a serf anymore! A similar method involved spending time in a mystical realm where the flow of time moves at a different pace relative to Earth. Take a couple weeks off work to tour Faerie or Shambhala, and re-emerge to a world where seven decades have passed and you’ve definitely been fired. The downside of both of these forms of magical time travel is that they’re one-way streets. Past to future only, there’s no going back. Two-way mystical travel is trickier. There’s usually portals involved—sort of an artificial timeslip. A doorway carved in the face of reality, linking the two time periods. The problem with portals is that they’re indiscriminate. As long as they’re open, anything can pass through in either direction. Leave a portal untended for too long and you’ll have woolly mammoths rampaging through the financial district.

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In any case, when dealing with chronomancy, you’re putting your ultimate fate in the hands of the god, monster, or miscellaneous higher power that you’re drawing from to work your time magic, and those guys are not known for being super reliable. Sure, you’ll probably get where you’re going and make it home safely, but there’s always a chance that your power source gets distracted and closes your return portal early, or thinks it’d be funny to drop you off a few thousand years past your intended destination. Reliability is kind of important when you’re dealing with time travel, and magic is anything but reliable. For that, you need science. But like we said, according to science, time travel is simply not possible. Fine, in that case, we turn to...

Mad Science “Time travel is simply not possible.” HA! Actually, it’s more of a muwahahahaHAHA! When you’re a mad scientist, “impossible” just means you’re not trying hard enough. Science may be stumped, but mad science has had time travel figured out since the 1890s! A time machine allows its user to dial in an exact date and time (and sometimes location), allowing for far more precision than any mystical method of time travel. Mad scientists have discovered multiple ways to break the bonds of linear time, and the exact methodology of the machines varies wildly. Some are powered by tachyonic particles, others by nuclear fusion and capacitated flux, and some by clockwork and springs and the four-dimensional resonance of quartz crystals. Hey, whatever works, works! Mad science is a very supportive community. If you can make a working time machine by cramming a hula-hoop full of LEDs and banana pudding, nobody’s gonna make fun of you. The time machine has one huge benefit over magic portals and their ilk: it comes with you. Or more to the point, you go with it. It’s the machine that does the moving through time; you’re just along for the ride. Which means that your return trip is pretty much guaranteed, as long as you can keep your machine out of the hands of the primitive/hyper-advanced natives of your destination. That said, mad science has its own version of portals, although they prefer the more sciencey-sounding “artificial Einstein-Rosen bridges.” By generating a stable wormhole between two points in 404

Time Travel and a Brief Secret History of the World

space-time, people and objects can pass through from one time to another, just like timeslips and magic portals. No need to stumble across one accidentally or offer up your first born in trade to some nebulous third party. Granted, the energy necessary to blast these holes in reality is kind of preposterous. We’re talking significantly more than 1.21 gigawatts, and that kind of juice is hard to come by in the present, let alone the Precambrian. The problem with all cutting edge devices—and time machines definitely qualify as cutting edge—is that they’re prototypes. You just want to hop around in time a little, not beta test some bulky experimental contraption that might crap out on you in the middle of the Renaissance. You just want something compact and easy to use. Shiny and pocket-sized and idiot-proof, like if Apple made a time machine. Too bad something like that hasn’t been invented.

FutureTech Yet. At some point in the far-flung future, time travel tech becomes commercialized, and time tourism becomes big business. We figure a good three percent of the crowd at any major historical event is probably made up of looky-loos from the future. But you know how some people can’t manage to go to Disneyland without falling out of the Jungle Cruise boat and drowning? Time tourists are no different, and their unidentifiable, anachronistic corpses are a great source for portable, easy to use time machines. These FutureTech time machines have the benefit of being way more reliable than anything mad science can cobble together, and they run on batteries instead of whatever kind of crazy blood magic a mystical time portal requires. The tricky part is finding one. There’s no telling where these future folks are gonna show up, much less where they’re gonna drop dead. Fortunately, there’s a thriving black market in these types of things. If you’ve got the cash—and you probably don’t, these things ain’t cheap—a FutureTech time machine can be yours!

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Consequences So that’s sorted. You’ve selected your preferred time travel method, you’ve packed your toothbrush and an extra pair of socks, and you’ve hit the restroom one more time just in case. You’re all set! “But what about grandfather paradoxes and the butterfly effect and time loops?” you ask, your voice rising to a hysterical screech. “We could break the universe!” Meh, whatever. The universe is a big boy; it can take care of itself. Seriously, the space-time continuum is pretty damn self-healing. You’re not gonna hurt it. Just go have some fun! Yeah, yeah. I know what you’re thinking. It’s what everybody thinks when they find out about time travel. Come on, all together now. “We need to kill Hitler!” Welcome to the club. Here’s the problem though. For every one of us who thinks about heading back in time to kill Hitler or Hitler’s parents or the guy who didn’t let him into art school, there’s an equal number of godawful, racist-ass, future Nazis who get their hands on some time travel and think, “We need to protect Hitler!” A small army of anachronistic anti-Semites keeping guard over everything Adolf and Adolfadjacent. The dude is locked down tight. It’s unfortunate, but none of us are getting anywhere near Hitler. But hey, let’s not focus on one angry little Charlie Chaplin impersonator. We’ve got 4.3 billion years of history to explore, not to mention #SPOILER ALERT# at least fifteen1 more years of future!

1 Exact quantity of remaining future subject to change. Probability waveforms may collapse during shipment.

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TIME TRAVEL AT YOUR TABLE Demon Hunting with time travel? No problem! But where do you start? What are the rules?

Before You Begin When you’re dealing with time travel, you’ll want to think through a few things first. How are the Hunters supposed to get back to their own time? What OTHER ways can they get back if their primary mode isn’t available? What Threats lurk in their destination time period? Then, consider which time travel method you should choose. Remember, there are 4 methods of time travel: • Timeslips • Magic • Mad science • FutureTech How does each time travel method work? However you, the DM, need it to work for your story, that’s how that particular time machine/ritual/vortex works. If you want to send your team back to kill Hitler, only to return to a world where, without Hitler’s interference, the Thule Society was able to lead the Order in taking over the world, that’s how that time machine works. If you just want to send your team back in time to kill a bunch of dinosaurs with no future repercussions whatsoever, that’s how that time machine works. If you want your team to accidentally kill their own grandparents and blink out of existence, that’s how that time machine works. Time travel’s a thing; use it however you like. Also, good luck killing Hitler. Your choice of time travel method is very situational. Your team is good at magic, or knows someone who is, you choose magic. They’re good at tech, go with tech. They know where Kentucky Blue Clay keeps his spare key, sneak into his office while he’s napping and swipe his fancy FutureTech dealie. A timeslip opened up? Go fix it.

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The Rules of Time Travel Haven’t you been paying attention? There really aren’t any. Remember, space-time is pretty damn resilient and can take care of itself. So quit worrying about paradoxes, grab your method of time travel, and go stop your enemy. Oh wait, you want to change a major event in history? Yeah, good luck with that. I know I just said there aren’t any real rules about time travel, and that’s true. It isn’t so much that the universe keeps certain events locked in time…unless of course that’s how your time machine works. More like, there are more forces at work than just your team, and several of them want to keep things just as they’re supposed to be. That said, as the DM you need to be prepared to dole out consequences. The players want to time travel and gather up an army of themselves to beat your final enemy? Totally fine. What’re the consequences going to be? Do they all go insane? Does their army turn on themselves? Does history or the future change? Bottom line, you want to have some consequences ready to go, especially if demon dice are involved. Can’t think of any? You can always ask your players and go from there, or consult the Time Travel Badness and/or the Time Travel Costs tables.

RESULT

1+ 4+ 8+ 12+ 16+

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TIME TRAVEL BADNESS BADNESS

Create a new situation aspect and get a free invocation on it reflecting reality bending to resis t the time travelers As 1+, but also each Demon Hunter marks off a condition As 4+, but also create a new situation aspect and get 2 free incations on it As 8+, but also the Chapter adds a new permanent Trouble aspect As 12+, but also add a new permanen t Trouble aspect to each Demon Hun ter

Time Travel and a Brief Secret History of the World

TIME TRAVEL COSTS d100

01-05 06-10

COSTS

Electronic gadgets don’t work. Tech too advanced or too primitive. You’re mistaken for agents of Evil. Witches in the past, terrorists or criminals in the future.

11-15

You’re viewed as gods.

16-20

Time machine stolen.

21-25

26-30

31-35 36-40 41-45

46-50 51-55 56-60 61-65 66-70 71-75 76-80 81-85 86-90

Your actions cause one of you to never be born. They start to fade away. When you return to your present day, all is the same except 1 major e; change. Examples: Different world leader(s); different dominant languag Kennedy survived assassination; the lunar landing WAS a hoax and no one’s ever been into space; Christianity failed as a first century cult and the dominant religious paradigm is still Greco-Roman; etc. When you return to your present day you encounter yourselves, and they’re assholes. You become your own ancestor. You introduce a disease your new destination cannot fight and an outbreak results. Could be an ancient disease long dead in the future or a modern disease brought to the past. Your bodies remain in the present but your consciousness gets transported to the new time. You are essentially ghosts and must possess others in order to affect the world. You encounter H.G. Wells, also time travelling, and he wants to kill you. Your Cipher goes crazy disconnected from the Cipher Collective. If in the future, you are captured and put in a zoo. You arrive in the new time, it’s the Planet of the [insert animal]. ]. You arrive in the new time, it’s the Planet of the [insert Featured Creature . problem the of Whatever your mission was in the new time, you’re the cause Example: “That large tear in space-time bleeding out demons wasn’t here when we left, was it?” Future you is screwing with Present or Past You. you Age change: You begin regressing in age or advancing in age. Or when years. 20 return to your present day, your body has aged or regressed

91-95

When you return to your present day you bring back something you didn’t intend, and it escapes, is stolen, falls into the wrong hands, causes an outbreak, etc.

96-100

of When you arrive to your destination time, you quickly discover the laws here. physics and what you know of the universe apparently does not apply the Like, at all. Are those actual oceans in the sky? Is this land ACTUALLY on m? hologra a hunting were we where back of a colossal turtle? Was the world 409

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Example Time Travel Methods

You should come up with your own ways of time travel, but in case you’re too lazy, here are a few ideas we totally didn’t crib from stuff in that movie we saw. Transtemporal Telephone Booth

Power Source: Tachyons and air guitar Aspects: Dial-a-Date, This Phone Book’s Missing Some Pages Stunt: Doctor…Somebody: Because there’s a phone number scrawled next to the coin return, a Doctor...somebody—I don’t know, I can’t make it out, once per session I can spend a faith die to call up another time traveler for backup. Akinakes of Zurvan

Power Source: Blood sacrifice Aspects: With this Dagger I Open a Portal to the Ages, The Lord of Time Is a Hungry God Stunt: Timesharp: Because the River of Time flows through this blade, once per session when I Forcefully attack with the dagger, I can spend a faith die to inflict a Rapidly Aged condition upon my opponent. Roll the faith die: 1-3 for a minor condition, 4-5 for a moderate, and 6 for a severe. This sacrifice also recharges the dagger, readying it for time travel. Calendromatic Transpositator

Power Source: Crystalline resonance and coal Aspects: Victorian Voyager’s Vessel, Takes a Ton of Coal to Recharge Stunt: Steamy: Because this thing kicks out a lot of steam, I gain +2 when I Sneakily attack in the vicinity of the device, using its steam cloud as a smokescreen.

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Mel’s Hole

Power Source: Telluric currents along ley lines Aspects: Bottomless Abyss of Endless Eons, Got a Long Climb Back Up Stunt: Pit of Plot Devices: Because you wouldn’t believe the sort of things people throw in a bottomless pit, once per session I can spend a faith die to produce a useful item as an aspect that I grabbed out of the air while falling down or climbing up the hole. Chronoporter

Power Source: Dying suns in alternate universes Aspects: Pocket-Sized Portal Puncher, Manuals Are for Wusses Stunt: Mo Money: Because time travel can be exploited for personal gain, I gain +2 when I Flashily create an advantage or overcome an obstacle by using the device to commit a crime. The 4-D Pinto

Power Source: 1.21 gigawatts?! Aspects: Flux Capacitating Subcompact, Rear-Mounted Plutonium Tank Stunt: We Don’t Need Roads: Because where we’re going, we won’t need roads, I gain +2 when I Quickly create advantages or overcome obstacles while driving off-road. What, you thought this thing could fly? Man, I wish!

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OKAY, NOW WITH THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD ~13.8 Billion BCE: The universe is formed, expanding suddenly from a superdense singularity. Parts of the universe will eventually coalesce into an entity capable of calling this event the Big Bang, but that’s a long way off. ~4.3 Billion BCE: Earth is formed from the disk of dust and gas left over from the formation of the sun. Also ~4.3 Billion BCE: Earth is simultaneously formed from the body of Brahma, who emerged from a lotus flower that sprang from the navel of Vishnu. ~3.5 billion BCE: Life begins to form in the primordial ooze of the young Earth. Aw, look how microscopic and slimy we were back then! 231.4 million–65 million BCE: DINOSAURS! RAWR! ~2.3 million BCE: A weird looking ape-like creature tries standing up on its hind legs and decides it likes it. There’s no way this ends well. ~200,000 BCE: Anatomically modern human beings arise in the plains of Africa. Other hominids immediately run screaming from our violent sociopathic ancestors. Their efforts will ultimately prove futile. ~100,000 BCE: Humans begin practicing religion. Since they did this WAY before inventing a system of writing, the gods and goddesses worshiped in this era will one day be forgotten completely, which really pisses them off. Ever seen a pissed off cave bear god? No? Count yourself lucky! ~40,000 BCE: Facing overwhelming aggression from Homo Sapiens, the Neanderthals retreat into the Hollow Earth, where their species continues to thrive. 39,000 BCE: The chaos of existence forms into a cosmic egg, within which the forces of Yin and Yang struggle for dominance. This goes unnoticed by humanity, who are busy domesticating horses and building roads. 412

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37,575 BCE: Ptah imagines the world and speaks it into existence. 21,000 BCE: Yin and Yang achieve balance, and Pangu hatches from the cosmic egg and begins to create the world. Ptah’s all like, “Dude, I’ve got this handled!” while Brahma’s like, “Guys, enough already! This is getting ridiculous!” Physics is indifferent to the situation. ~11,000 BCE: Due to the actions of a quantum magician gone darkside, the continent of Mu sinks into the depths of the Atlantic ocean, taking with it all evidence of the Naacal people and their culture. Had they continued on, they would have been the ones to finally crack hoverboard technology. Thanks for nothing, quantum magicians! ~4000 BCE: Mesopotamia gets moving on this whole “civilization” thing. Settle down, invent writing, build some cities, develop mathematics and astronomy and civil law, and top it off by building some badass ziggurats. So far civilization doesn’t seem too bad! October 7-12, 3761 BCE: Yahweh finally gets around to creating the universe; gets points for effort. ~3000 BCE: Time travelers from the 27th century begin work on Stonehenge, high-fiving each other over the awesome prank they’re about to pull. Distracted by their fiving, they are quickly killed by the natives of Salisbury Plain, who proceed to construct a megalithic monument marking their victory over the chrononauts. Time travel’s a bitch. ~2500 BCE: Pharaoh Khafra orders that a giant stone sphinx, bearing his own likeness atop the body of a lion, be built alongside the pyramids at Giza, thus numbering Pharaoh Khafra among the earliest recorded “furries.” ~2100 BCE: During a battle between the forces of Good and Evil, the firmament separating the waters is shattered. The resulting Flood wipes out all of humanity. Working together, the pantheons manage to wind back time, undoing the bulk of the damage, and take steps to ensure it can’t happen again.

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~2000 BCE: Representatives from the sides of Good and Evil meet in Hades to sign the Treaty of Acheron. Lucifer steps down as King of Hell. In his place, the fallen angel Azazel takes control of Hell as the first Prince of Darkness. 1556 BCE: King Cecrops I begins rebuilding the city of Athens, whose damage during the deluge was too severe to be fully reversed by the divine roll-back. The people of Athens had been a little iffy on the idea of being ruled by a half-serpent king who was born not of man, but rather sprung fully-formed from the earth, but the latest surveys show that this new public works program is polling through the roof, which is doing wonders for his approval ratings. 995 BCE: A young Israelite named David, in the army of King Saul, attempts to fell a giant Philistine cambion with a pebble in a sling. The creature, named Goliath, returns fire with a three-ton boulder, killing David outright. The forces of Good—figuring if Evil can bend the rules, so can they—send in an anachronistic ringer to finish what David started. And he does. He &#@$s that giant up real good. The forces of Good, pleasantly surprised by how things turned out, decide to make this arrangement official. The Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch is established. The ringer was later proclaimed King of the Israelites, but quickly lost that title in a drunken, high-stakes game of darts with another soldier. This soldier—coincidentally also named David—walked away from the game with a royal title and a dart in his neck. 950 BCE: The Five Scions—the children of Lucifer—come of age. It is prophesied that one of their number shall ascend to reclaim their father’s throne. Meanwhile, on Earth, the disparate agents of Evil find themselves helpless against the Brotherhood’s overwhelming military force. It’s not a great time to be the Prince of Darkness. Seizing the opportunity to both even the odds and keep the denizens of Hell from questioning the legitimacy of his rule, the PoD decrees that the Scions return to Earth and unite Evil’s fragmented forces into a glorious new order—the Order of the Infernal Scepter. The Scions are wildly successful in their new command, and the Brotherhood find themselves facing a worthy opponent for the first time.

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758 BCE: Romulus—having seen more birds than his brother did, thus proving that the gods like him more—begins building his city atop the Palantine Hill. His brother Remus, who claims to have seen his birds first, disagrees, and says that the city should be built on Aventine Hill. In classic sitcom fashion they mark out a line indicating that one side of the land belongs to Remus, and the other to Romulus. The episode comes to a close as Remus hops over to Romulus’ side to try to reason with his brother, causing Romulus to bash in his head. Argument settled. Welcome to Rome! Jeez, you’d think these two were raised by wolves or something. 543 BCE: Siddhartha Gautama achieves nirvana, and with it the clarity of mind to truly perceive the structure of the world around him. By seizing control of the elementary particles of nature, he finds that he is able to summon flames from one hand, while water gushes forth from the other. It’s the first of the quantum magician’s miracles, but far from the last. 280 BCE: After a team of Brotherhood soldiers save the people of Alexandria from a rampaging hieracosphinx, Ptolemy I Soter decrees that a great structure be built in their honor. A lighthouse, larger than any before it, is built on the nearby island of Pharos. There it will serve as a beacon of hope and safe passage—an eternal monument to the Celestial Torch itself. Well, maybe not eternal, but it had a good run. Way longer than five out of the other six Wonders of the World in any case. Speaking of which... 226 BCE: The Colossus of Rhodes falls while grappling against the Titan of Cyprus, crushing the Brotherhood soldiers operating it from within. The automaton is destroyed, having patrolled the Rhodesian harbor for a mere 54 years. The Brotherhood’s attempts to rebuild the clockwork behemoth hit a wall when the Delphic Oracle proclaims that doing so would bring the wrath of Helios down upon the city. She probably has a point; Helios is kind of a dick about that sort of thing. 209 BCE: The immortal wizard Anqi Sheng arrives at the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, Emperor of China, to retrieve the elixir of life. The Emperor, in his own quest for immortality, had sent a thief to steal the elixir from Anqi. But the thief was unaware that the elixir he’d stolen was incomplete. The Emperor drank the elixir expecting immortality and found only death by mercury poisoning. He was entombed with what remained of the elixir, 415

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and his mausoleum guarded by eight thousand of his fiercest warriors. Facing this massive army, Anqi is undeterred. With a wave of his hand, Anqi transforms the warriors into statues, enters the crypt without breaking the seal on the door, pries the elixir from the Emperor’s cadaverous grip, and vanishes into the night. The warriors remain on guard, fixed for eternity in their terracotta poses. The moral of this story: don’t mess with a wizard’s $#&@.

30 BCE: Cleopatra VII Philopator—pharaoh of the Egyptians, avatar of the goddess Isis, and regional commander for the Brotherhood—is devoured while battling a serpent assassin sent by operatives of the Order embedded within the court of Caesar Augustus. Egypt is annexed by the Romans, whose historians rewrite the events of her death in an attempt to make Cleopatra seem like less of a total badass.

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1-33 CE: Another quantum magician is born, this time in the Middle East. He performs a number of miraculous acts throughout his short life, and gains a substantial following as he preaches a philosophy of love and understanding. So of course people want him dead. Following his execution by the Romans, the details of the magician’s life are altered by those who come after him to fit existing prophecies, casting him in a messianic role. 64 CE: An envoy from Athens arrives in Rome and is granted an audience with Emperor Nero. He presents the emperor with a precious gift, the Lyre of Apollo. Nero graciously accepts the instrument and, not knowing the power of the relic, experimentally strums his fingers across its strings, summoning a great swarm of fiery, elemental salamanders that quickly scurry out into the city. The resulting inferno rages for six days and causes widespread damage throughout the entire city. 300 CE: The people of Silene in Libya are terrorized by a monstrous creature that demands sacrifice in exchange for their continued existence. The sacrifices escalate from the occasional sheep or two to daily deliveries of young maidens. Georgius, a tribune in the Roman army and soldier of the Brotherhood, arrives to slay the beast, but he finds that reports of the creature were incomplete. Expecting some kind of ogre, or at most a dragon, Georgius instead finds himself facing off against Abraxas the Unending. An Earthwalker. One of the most powerful demons to ever live, cast out of the Pit for challenging Lucifer’s rule. The battle raged for days, and though the details are lost to history, Georgius emerged victorious. Abraxas lay dead, impaled through the heart by the sacred blade Ascalon. Georgius was the first member of the Brotherhood to slay an Earthwalker. Emperor Diocletian would later have him beheaded for his beliefs, and this martyrdom leads to his canonization as St. George, patron saint of knights, crusaders, and the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch. Also herpes. 999 CE: The last known Earthwalker is defeated outside Constantinople by agents of the Brotherhood. Sadly, all details of this epic, world-changing battle have been lost. But hey, no more Earthwalkers! Yay!

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1177 CE: Graawlurax the Conqueror attempts to possess the body of Temüjin—the son of a former Mongol chieftain, enslaved by the men who had killed his father. She hopes that in time she can twist the child’s soul and shape him into a fearsome, bloodsoaked warlord through her demonic influence. Once inside the child, she finds herself facing off against the most ruthless, indomitable human spirit she’s ever encountered. Unable to defeat this incredible presence, Graawlurax’s demonic essence is obliterated. This is but the first of many battles the boy will win. Soon, Temüjin’s cunningly brutal strategies will result in countless military victories. He will unite the nomadic tribes into an unstoppable army. His people will proclaim him to be “Genghis Khan,” the universal ruler, and he will reign supreme over the ever-expanding Mongol Empire. He’ll also have so much sex that it can be verified that eight percent of the men in modern day Central Asia are his direct descendants, so good for him. 1215 CE: For centuries the Brotherhood has only employed mortals, the semi-divine, and a small number of so-called “blessed” individuals, who have been gifted with extraordinary abilities by the gods (what today we would call psychics). The Order of the Infernal Scepter, by contrast, has no such moral restrictions, and recruits freely from the supernatural and mystic community. Facing a sudden and violent increase in magical attacks worldwide, the new Director orders that the Brotherhood begin recruiting mystics for the first time. This move, known later as the Thaumaturgic Schism, angers many in the Brotherhood who feel that these practitioners of witchcraft and wizardry are by their very nature in league with the powers of Evil. A small number of hunters cut ties with the Brotherhood entirely, though their loss is offset by the influx of mystics. With time, mystics will become more widely accepted, and their contributions will be vital to the Brotherhood’s continued success, though certain factions within the organization remain wary. 1485 CE: Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned by the Brotherhood to design and build a flying machine for aerial reconnaissance. The result—a bat-winged, pedal-powered contraption called an ornithopter—is a surprising success, especially in light of that “aerial screw” bull$#&@ they’d bought from him a few years earlier (more like, “aerial screw-you-guys-I-already-cashed-the-check!”).

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1513 CE: Juan Ponce de León discovers Florida while searching for the island of Bimini and its mystical Fountain of Youth. As anyone who’s ever been to Florida can attest, it’s not a place you should go if you’re looking for youth. 1520 CE: Moctezuma II, ninth tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, is killed by conquistadors under the command of Hernán Cortés during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. With his dying breath, Moctezuma casts a curse upon all invaders of his land, that anything they eat will cause them immense gastric distress. The revenge of Moctezuma protects Mexico to this day. 1610 CE: Erzsébet Báthory, a Hungarian Countess, is accused of the torture and murder of hundreds of young women so that she might bathe in their blood. The situation couldn’t possibly scream “vampire” any louder. Her family, seeking to avoid scandal, bribes the local Brotherhood official, who allows them to seal her inside a room in the tower of her family’s castle. The Brotherhood official is later tried for corruption and removed from his position. His replacement, following up on the case four years later, finds the tower room empty. Sightings of Countess Báthory continue to be reported over the next two hundred years. 1752 CE: Georg Wilhelm Richmann, a physicist working with the Order of the Infernal Scepter, taps the telluric currents of the Earth to invent a device capable of creating a wormhole large enough to engulf the entire planet. He activates the device on September 3rd, rocketing the world ten days into the future as a demonstration of his power, before demanding that the nations of the world fork over a ridiculous amount of money lest he send them even further through time. Since only a small number of scientists actually notice the missing days, the world governments have no idea what this crazy guy is talking about and destroy his letters. The Brotherhood, working through intermediaries in the Catholic church, introduce the Gregorian calendar to adjust for the missing days.

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1753 CE: Brotherhood agents raid Richmann’s laboratory in St. Petersburg, but the mad genius and his assistants don’t give up without a fight. His wormhole device is destroyed in the melee, and Richmann is killed by a bolt of electricity to the forehead, courtesy of an experimental electrical rifle designed by Richmann’s American rival, Benjamin Franklin, who collaborates with the Brotherhood on occasion. 1790 CE: Sentenced to transportation for the crimes of assault, arson, and public drunkenness (of which he was staggeringly guilty), William “Mad Dog” Albrecht, a member of the notorious Albrecht clan of monster hunters, single-handedly saves the fledgling New South Wales penal colony during the Great Bunyip Migration. 1793 CE: Victor Frankenstein brings his creature to life in what will long stand as the most elegant and successful scientific reanimation ever performed. Having failed to record his methods, Frankenstein will take the secret of artificial life with him to his grave.

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1841 CE: President William Henry Harrison is bitten by a werewolf as he approaches the podium to deliver his inaugural address. Ignoring the advice of his doctors, he proceeds to deliver a two-hour speech, parade through the streets of Washington DC, and attend a number of celebratory balls, after which, succumbing to the virus, President Harrison undergoes his initial transformation and disappears into the night. Over the next few weeks, reports come in of vicious animal attacks in and around the DC area. A month after initial infection, Harrison is finally and respectfully taken down by the local Brotherhood Chapter. A few well-placed bribes ensure that “pneumonia” will be recorded as the lycanthropic president’s official cause of death. 1864 CE: A thoroughly confused pteranodon emerges through a momentary timeslip in the skies over Vicksburg, Mississippi. Shortly thereafter, a battalion of Union soldiers are attacked by what they believe to be a large, featherless bird. They take the beast down, and pose for a photo with its massive, leathery carcass. The Brotherhood spends a good portion of the next century hunting down the copies of this photo and either destroying them or replacing them with obvious forgeries. 1896 CE: Johnathan Harker, a solicitor, is sent by his London firm to the Carpathian Mountains to assist a reclusive aristocrat who has retained their services in purchasing property in London. The next year, Bram Stoker publishes D rac u la , a collection of letters and journal entries written by Harker and his associates, detailing their encounters with and eventual slaying of the Count, a powerful vampire. The book, widely mistaken for a work of fiction, is an incredible success, and is largely responsible for exposing the vampires to a global audience, including rather precise and accurate instructions on how to dispose of them. Vampires, understandably, aren’t too crazy about this fact, and Stoker spends the rest of his life under a Brotherhood protective detail. 1910 CE: A scientist in the employ of the Brotherhood develops a new method of scientific reanimation by wiring external electrodes directly to the brain of a patchwork cadaver and bombarding it with bolts of electricity. The result is a massive, lumbering beast, lacking any sort of intellect. A far cry from Frankenstein’s creature, but a huge step forward in reverse engineering the mad doctor’s methodology. The process will later be named the Karloff Method,

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after the famed actor’s portrayal of Frankenstein’s creature, itself said to be based on one of the Brotherhood’s reanimated monstrosities. 1914-1945 CE: Known as the Era Infernalis, these dark years mark the height of the Order of the Infernal Scepter’s influence and reach. During this time of global war and economic ruin, the Order brutally and systematically destroys Brotherhood outposts around the globe. In an effort to survive this onslaught, the Brotherhood begins recruiting supernatural agents for the first time, alienating many loyal agents, including the Sisters of Divine Retribution, who split off to form their own organization. 1925 CE: The sunken island of R’lyeh emerges from the Pacific Ocean, near Point Nemo. The crew of the merchant vessel Emily Rose, exploring this strange land, accidentally releases an imprisoned being from beyond the boundaries of reality—a horror beyond human comprehension, later dubbed “Cthulhu” by contemporary author H.P. Lovecraft. Attempting to escape, the crew rams the monstrosity with their ship. Though seemingly unharmed, Cthulhu returns to its chamber within the island, and R’lyeh sinks beneath the waves once more. The Brotherhood learns about this near-apocalypse waaay after the fact, and takes steps to make sure it never happens again. 1937 CE: While attempting to circumnavigate the globe, Amelia Earhart and her co-pilot Fred Noonan vanish somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Earhart’s disappearance is considered a possible attack by the Order, as she had previously flown missions for the Brotherhood. No trace of Earhart or her plane is ever found, and the investigation into her disappearance remains open. 1935-1945 CE: Heinrich Himmler, working with the Thule Society (a group of powerful mystics and mages with ties to the Order of the Infernal Scepter), establishes the Ahnenerbe, and begins collecting mystical and holy relics from around the world. Whatever their sinister plans for these ancient artifacts were, they were never realized. Following the Nazi’s defeat, members of the Thule Society escaped to the German submarine base at Neuschwabenland where they hoped to drill into the Hollow Earth and make contact with the subterranean Vril-ya master race. These hopes, along with their drilling equipment, were destroyed during

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the events of Operation Highjump—a highly classified Antarctic assault on the Thule Society’s frozen fortress by the US Military. 1947 CE: The Brotherhood receives an encrypted message from a deep cover agent embedded in the Order that one of the Five Scions has been murdered. The Order is investigating, but all evidence seems to point to his own sister as the murderer. One down, four to go. 1947-1962 CE: The Order splinters as each Scion separates to lead their own faction in a futile attempt at self-preservation. One by one, the Scions begin to pick each other off. The Brotherhood, meanwhile, recovers from the Era Infernalis at a rapid pace. While the Order is busy fighting itself from within, the Brotherhood is able to focus on training agents and rebuilding infrastructure. 1960 CE: The NecroMoniComSat array—a network of Brotherhood satellites in low Earth orbit—comes online, allowing the Brotherhood to constantly monitor the planet for Infernal, necromantic, or other exotic energy emissions that might indicate Evil activity. The NecroMoniComSat will also form the backbone for the impending upgrades to the Brotherhood database. 1962 CE: The Order of the Infernal Scepter, led by the last surviving Scion, attempts to open a Hellgate in a cavern beneath the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, in an effort to spark the Final War between Good and Evil and claim his father’s throne. Having detected a spike in Infernal energies from the region, Brotherhood forces arrive on the scene, sparking what becomes known as the Battle of Centralia—the largest Good vs. Evil battle of the modern age. Ignoring the fighting, the Scion manages to complete his ritual, opening a gateway to Hell. A Brotherhood mystic, in a last ditch effort to prevent the armies of Hell from invading Earth, collapses the cavern, dropping the weight of the entire town on top of the Hellgate. It works, kind of. The Hellgate is buried beneath thousands of tons of stone, and the last of the Scions is crushed to death, effectively destroying the Order of the Infernal Scepter. The Brotherhood is triumphant, but it’s not all good news. The Hellgate was buried, but it was never closed. Since the battle, Hellfire from the open gate has all but destroyed the town. To this day, smoke and noxious fumes still seep up from beneath the ground, which is warm to the touch. Blaming a subterranean coal fire, the government declared eminent domain over the town in 423

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1992, and evacuated the bulk of its residents. The Brotherhood continues to monitor Centralia, and has tasked Magic & Mad Science to develop a method of closing the Hellgate without first digging it up. 1964 CE: The Pound emerges from the wreckage of the Order as a significant threat to the powers of Good. Their anti-establishment message of radical environmentalism is readily adopted by the young, naïve members of the emerging counterculture—especially once they’ve been transformed into shapeshifting lycanthropes. Much of the mid-sixties to late seventies is spent at war with this ever-growing organization of anarchic werewolves. 1967 CE: Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, goes missing while swimming in Port Phillip Bay. His body is never found by civilian authorities, but is later discovered jammed into the airlock of the Brotherhood’s undersea research and defense habitat off the coast of Tasmania, with a metallic tablet tied to the PM’s torso with leafy ropes of kelp. The tablet contains strange markings that Brotherhood researchers decipher as a warning from the Deep Ones that the habitat was built too close to one of their cities. Not wishing to bring more trouble to the civilian world, the Brotherhood abandons the structure. 1980-1988 CE: Novus Ordo manages to embed a number of their agents in children’s day care facilities across America to perform Satanic rites and indoctrinate the children under their care into the war against the forces of Good. Their plans are exposed when several of the children confess to the bizarre, violent, and sexual rituals they were forced to take part in, and Novus Ordo abandons their plans. 1986 CE: A radiation elemental bursts into existence in the core of reactor number four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Thirty-one people are killed in the explosion and subsequent fire, and millions more irradiated by the fallout resulting from its escape from the facility and ensuing rampage through the town of Pripyat and the surrounding region. Chapter Alpha One is flown in to contain the elemental. Wearing lead-lined protective gear and hosing it down with pressurized boric acid throwers, they manage to corral the creature back into the destroyed reactor and subdue it, burying it under thousands of tons of sand and lead. With the elemental neutralized, Brotherhood agents within the Soviet 424

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government set to work designing and implementing plans for a gargantuan “concrete sarcophagus” to permanently entomb the elemental. 1995 CE: The internet’s rapid rise in popularity has led to an increase in reports of supernatural activity around the globe—the sort of activity the Brotherhood has been trying to keep secret for centuries. To stem this sudden flood of forbidden knowledge, the Brotherhood launches Snopes.com to “debunk” these stories and promote a more skeptical view of digital media. It remains one of the Brotherhood’s most successful disinformation campaigns to date. 1997 CE: Hydrophones stationed near Point Nemo detect a deafeningly loud noise, later called “The Bloop,” determined to be biological in origin. In response, the men and women of Chapter Theta Three take off from the Brotherhood’s secret air base off the coast of Antarctica on a supersonic flight to the middle of the Pacific. Arriving at their target just as the island breaks the surface, the pilots release their mystically-enhanced payload—a bomb designed to smack Cthulhu’s snooze button and send R’lyeh back where it came from. The mission is a wild success. Clearly, since Earth is still here. 2003 CE: Vibrations from the US military’s nearby bombings are transmitted through the foundation of the National Museum of Iraq, shattering the Sacred Vase of Warka and releasing the edimmu trapped within. These vengeful entities flow out into the city, possessing people at random and inspiring them to commit acts of vandalism and theft. The possessed citizens raid the museum, looting its priceless collections and damaging or destroying many irreplaceable and important archaeological relics. 2010 CE: A team of Brotherhood mad scientists manage to defuse the singularity bomb at the center of the Large Hadron Collider mere seconds before it is activated for the first time. Had they failed, the entire planet would have been obliterated in an instant by an artificial black hole. His plans thwarted, Dr. Forrest Majeure quietly resigns from his position at CERN.

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2014 CE: A trio of massive craters appears on the remote Yamal Peninsula in Siberia, the latest incidence of a growing and global sinkhole epidemic. Suspecting possible Hollow Earth involvement, a Brotherhood chapter is dispatched to investigate. All communications with the team are cut off shortly after they enter the crater. They are not heard from again. 2015 CE: M.O.N.S.T.R.E. unveils its latest weapon of destruction—the Weather Subjugator, an airship-mounted laser cannon capable of controlling the weather on a planetary scale. In a demonstration of its awesome power, M.O.N.S.T.R.E. spawns three simultaneous hurricanes over the Pacific Ocean, destroying a fleet of Brotherhood patrol vessels en route to investigate a disturbance from the Marianas Trench. The Brotherhood responds in kind with its own brand of mad scientific annihilation, activating the NecroMoniComSat array’s rarely used weapons platform, the Deus Ex Machina. With a single exotic-matter fueled, 23,000 mile sniper shot, the Weather Subjugator, and its airship, are reduced to a cloud of elementary particles.

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Appendix I: Open Game License Version 1.0a The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved. 1. Definitions: (a)”Contributors” means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have contributed Open Game Content; (b)”Derivative Material” means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations (including into other computer languages), potation, modification, correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) “Distribute” means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise distribute; (d)”Open Game Content” means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. (e) “Product Identity” means product and product line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic and other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f) “Trademark” means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products or the associated products contributed to the Open Game License by the Contributor (g) “Use”, “Used” or “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in terms of this agreement. 2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this License. 3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License. 4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.

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5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License. 6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute. 7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity. 8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content. 9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License. 10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute. 11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the Contributor to do so. 12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game Material so affected. 13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License. 14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.

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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Fate Core System and Fate Accelerated Edition © 2013 by Evil Hat Productions, LLC. Developed, authored, and edited by Leonard Balsera, Brian Engard, Jeremy Keller, Ryan Macklin, Mike Olson, Clark Valentine, Amanda Valentine, Fred Hicks, and Rob Donoghue. Fate System Toolkit © 2013 by Evil Hat Productions, LLC. Developed, authored, and edited by Robert Donoghue, Brian Engard, Brennan Taylor, Mike Olson, Mark Diaz Truman, Fred Hicks, and Matthew Gandy. Fudge System 1995 version © 1992-1995 by Steffan O’Sullivan, © 2005 by Grey Ghost Press, Inc.; Author Steffan O’Sullivan. FATE (Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment) © 2003 by Evil Hat Productions LLC; Authors Robert Donoghue and Fred Hicks. Spirit of the Century © 2006, Evil Hat Productions, LLC. Authors Robert Donoghue, Fred Hicks, and Leonard Balsera. Chronica Feudalis © 2009, 2010 Jeremy Keller. Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors, Copyright 2015, Dead Gentlemen Productions, LLC; Authors Cam Banks, Jimmy McMichael, Don Early, and Nathan Rockwood. In accordance with the Open Game License Section 8 “Identification,” the following designate Open Game Content and Product Identity: OPEN GAME CONTENT The contents of this document are declared Open Game Content except for the portions specifically declared as Product Identity. PRODUCT IDENTITY All character and place names and images, organizations, groups, “5 Minutes to Mayhem”, “60 Minutes to Mayhem”, the terms “faith dice” and “demon dice”, and the contents of the chapter called “Missions, Threats, and Mayhem” are considered Product Identity and trademarks of Dead Gentlemen Productions, LLC. All game rules, systems, and additional procedures are Open Game Content.

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Faith Dice

Devotion Name Description

Conditions MILD (UP TO 5 HITS)

Aspects CONCEPT MODERATE (UP TO 10 HITS) TROUBLE DISCIPLINE DISCIPLINE DISCIPLINE

Approaches CAREFUL

Stunts QUICK

CLEVER

FORCEFUL

SNEAKY

FLASHY

Disciplines COMBAT & TACTICS COVERT OPS MYSTIC ARTS RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL ENGINEERING FRINGE

SEVERE (UP TO 15 HITS)

Chapter

MISSION PROFILE 1. Roll a bunch of times on the tables in the book (Pages 190–198). 2. Fill in the blanks below. 3. Reference during play.

THE TEASER

Mission Objective: Featured Creature: Normal(s): Building Type: Location Type: Location/US State: THE ENEMY

Featured Creature: Grand Evil Plan: Kill Motive: Normal (Victim): Traumatic Event: What It Fears: What It Loves (that isn’t Evil): What It Hates:

SUPPORTING CAST

Allies, Henchmen, Minions:

Other Interested Parties:

Future Victims:

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The Setup and Briefing 1.  Set Up the Bad Peace 2.  The Briefing 3.  Character Connections 4.  Gear Up, Head Out!

Investigate, Chew Gum, Kick Ass 1.  Introduce Threat 2.  Identify Suspect, Make Contact 3.  Introduce Party Conflict 4.  New Enemy Information 5.  Twist Or Introduce a New Threat

Try Not To Die 1.  Bad Guys Winning/Getting Closer 2.  Introduce Threat/Red Herring 3.  Everything You Know Is Wrong! 4.  Character Connection and Party Conflict Resolution 5.  Muster, Calvary, Hail Mary?

Final Showdown 1.  Final Encounter with Enemy 2.  Stop the Plan/Die Trying Resolution 1.  Wrap Up, Consequences 2.  Establish the New Bad Peace

FINAL SHOWDOWN

Building Type: Location Type: Location/US State: THE BRIEFING

Triggering Event: Normal (Victim?): Featured Creature Suspects: Building Type: Location Type: Location/US State: Mission Objective:

Witnesses:

Key Contacts:

Other Interested Parties:

Potential Equipment Needed:

Big Picture Mission: Big Picture Enemy:

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Mission Agenda:

SINISTRA

1:

2:

3:

4:

STAKES QUESTIONS

1:

2:

3:

4:

CAST (NAMES)

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The Bad Peace:

THREAT 1

THREAT 2

Category:

Category:

Type:

Type:

Impulse:

Impulse:

Description:

Description:

SINISTRA

SINISTRA

1:

1:

2:

2:

3:

3:

4:

4: THREAT AGENDA

THREAT AGENDA

CAST

CAST

STAKES QUESTIONS

STAKES QUESTIONS

STUNTS

STUNTS

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THREAT 3

Demon Hunters

Category:

Category:

Type:

Type:

Impulse:

Impulse:

Description:

Description:

SINISTRA

SINISTRA

1:

1:

2:

2:

3:

3:

4:

4:

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THREAT 4

THREAT AGENDA

THREAT AGENDA

CAST

CAST

STAKES QUESTIONS

STAKES QUESTIONS

STUNTS

STUNTS

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Download Character Profiles, Mission Profiles, and other resources to run a D e mon H u nte rs Mission at http://demonhuntersrpg.com/downloads Or use this thing:

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Killed in Action @TorgHacker • Aaron “Jax” Jackson • Aaron “The Fenyxx” Baer Adam “Tailgate” Brown • Alberto De Jesús Bianchi • Alex Keane Alex Miles-Lasseter • Alex Otis • Alex S. Rinehart Alexander “Oh god, Why?!” Macdougall • Alexander Gordon, Holly Feher, Kenneth Remalia, Maralynda Remalia, and Matthew Scoppetta Alexis Santos • Alias • Alistair Morrison • Altered Confusion Alva Hopkins • Alyssa Mogil • Amanda Cook • Amanda Layne Olsen Amazing Rando • Amber Montecchie & Laura Catter • Amy Lindsey Anaïs C. Morel • Andrea Lo • Andrea Martinelli • Andreas Lundmark Andrew Allison • Andrew and Monica Marlowe • Andrew Basham Andrew G. Harter • Andrew R Nagel • Andrew Raphael Andrew Swansen • Andrew Tucker • Andrew-Kent Snyder Andy ‘crowolf’ Somers • Andy Johnson • Andy Miller • Antihuman09 Arbco the Heretic • Ashlyn White-Dragon • Audrey Wood Aunt DeDe • Avi Goltz • Avium Cordis • B. Nichole Barry “Codex” W. • Barry T. Drake • Ben Morgan • Ben Sheldon Benjamin Wessels • Bernetta Ferguson • Bernie & Di Brown • Bert Isla Big Bad Brad of the Serious Swans • Bill Nielsen • Bill the Growler Bitter Old Joe O’Toole • Björn VittraSlayer’s last words to his comrades were as follows: As you are now so once was I, as I am now you soon will be. • Blair Haggerty • Blake McLean • Boter Brandon “The Pink Penguin” Inoue • Brandon Lee • Brennan Dawson Brent Van Keulen • Brett “Mayhem” Manly • Brett Easterbrook Brian R. Bergdall • Brother James Moran the black monk Bruce “Darth Dabz” Gregory • Bryan “Crotch” Wagner Buster MacTavish • C. Stuart • Cameron Verkaik • Carlos Restrepo Carsten Berg • CFW • Chad “Tecrogue” Long • Cheryl & Bill Henker Cheryl and Dave M • Chip Fursdon • chop socky boom • Chris Piazzo Chris Quin • Chris Snyder • Chris Von Wahlde • Christopher J. Durie Christopher Michael Kayser • Christy Everette • Clayton Odel Culwell Clint & Jodi Black: eaten by Duamerthrax, then regurgitated, then eaten again. • Cody D. Noon • Cole and Cassi Cummings Colin Dudley • Collin “Cybertec” Toohey • Corey Watson Corlaktuz, the despoiler of worlds. • Courtney “Killpurakat” Rayle Craig Duffy • Craig Payne • Crystal Groves • D Howard Damon Hammes • Dan “Buxtehude” Moody • Daniel “Menkis” Menk Daniel “Wolfsbane” Warren • Daniel E. Chapman II • Danny Atwood Darren Davis • David “Blackwolf” Blackman • David “Siterath” Moyer David “Yoda” Odie • David A. Robins • David B. Semmes David E. Nebiker • David Honeycutt • David Neill • David Solie David Vanderhuge • David Wagaman • Derek “Pineapple Steak” Swoyer

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Dirk Cjelli • DJ Pierson • Dom Zook • Donald Campbell, Grayson Bevans, Cody Clark, & Snow Bot • Donald Evans Douglas Andrew Sloan • Douglas Urquhart • Draven Osbourne Drew Wendorf • E.E. Freeman • Earl Weaver • Ed Kowalczewski Edvard Blumentanz • Edward “Croc” Pritchard Edward “Evil Ed” Stapleton • Efren Holguin • el Mīko • Eleanor Hingley Elizabeth Eins • Ellie A.K.A “Snort” Secrest • Elpinoino Emily Olson Quann • Eric “Wandering Damage” Bohm • Eric B. Pratt Eric Franklin • Eric Lane • Erica “Vulpinfox” Schmitt • Erik Arocho Ethan Hedman • Everett Gibs • Evil Chippy • Felix “Alasseo” Glynn Ford Fitch • Fox Winter & Johnny Raisor • Frédéric Fiquet Frederik Elmquist-clausen • Gabriel Garcia • Gareth Davies Gen Bruneau • General Escort • Geoffrey Lin • Geoffrey Roy George and Jen Grannis • Glenmor the Hippish • Glimlar Gordon Duke • Greg Krywusha • Greg Schoenberg • Grimm Kitty H David Blalock • H. W. McCray • HaiKulture • Hammer • Hamruk Happyshrapnel • Helen Brubeck • Horad Ricun • Hugh Wyler Ian Thompson • Ian Watson • Ian Winningham J. B. Tristan Haslach III • J. L. LaMastus • Jack Gulick James & Erin Sigler • James & Laura Goodwin James a.k.a. uber a.k.a. zeroskill • James Klingler • James L. Notheisen Jan Grimmer • Jared 8-ball Strickland • Jared Hunt • Jason Gunter Jason Janes • Jason Klimchok • Jason Sunday • Javier Palenzuela Jay “Juicemaker” Senior • Jay Bushey • Jeff Becker • Jeff DeNeui Jeff Whaley • Jeffrey D Richard • Jeffrey Gates • Jeffrey P. Hosmer Jen Page • Jere Manninen • Jeremiah “Br. Saul” McCoy Jeremiah ‘H2Omiah’ Buttner • Jeremy & Andi Smith • Jessica Hand Jiima Arunsone • Jim Fortsas • Joe & Dara C. Joe “StreetShadow” O’Brien • John “Kingbeast” Taber • John Adamus John F. Zmrotchek • John Munn • John Oram • John Simutis John T. Overath • Jon & Sarah Palms • Jon “Spaz” Turner Jordan “The Wind” Brown • Jose Antonio Graves • Joyce Demo Justin “Arr MiHardies” Pulsipher • Justin “Punluvin” Isaac • Justin Gray Justin Haynes • Justin Trautwein • Kai Alexis Price • Karl Ryan Karsten Fritsche • Karsten Kopplin • Karsten Stump Kasper M.Christiansen • Katie Magee • Katrina Ruff • Kayla Graves Keith “Dungeon Master” Vorderbruggen • Keith Fannin Kenneth Cooper • Kevin Ehrler • Kevin Lawrence • killphi Kimberly Renee Burgess • Kioni Sukine • Kirk the Impaler Kitchen Jedi Morgana Ross • Knut Anton Karlsen Kristopher “Negi” Mizell • Kristopher Volter • Kristy Carey Kurt “Oops!” Zdanio • KVH • Kyle “Drow” Hart • Lady Vigil Lambert Behnke • Lawrence, The Cook • Lee Garvin • Leron Culbreath Leslie Sedlak • Lester Smith • Lester Ward • LeviathanVII -Greg DLiam Fitzgerald • Lloyd “Akavidar” Rasmussen 439

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Lobelia Ushtar, Misser Shaddows Cuddlepaws, Leon Pawheart, Khopesh Aeterno, Doralius “Dirty Dawg” Darkfold • Logan Craig Lucek • Luke Thurston Chambers • Lydia Grace Henson M.R. Gorgone • Maarten “Wenz” Wens • Mack “Bishop” Cook Marc Margelli • Marcie Dobyns • Marcus Ervin III • Marcus Johansson Margaret A. Hunt, Linda Ferguson and Ian Swinney. Three heroic individuals who sacrificed, suffered, and supported so another might live. Maria Mester • Marigold Schaumburg • Marina “Doedelbuesi” Hofer Mark Magagna • Mark R Strock • Mark Reed • Marko Lukač - Faldang Martin “the Salamander” Smith • Mason “Cheeser” Williams MasterLoch • Mathias Gehl • Matt the socially inept Matthew “ThunderMonk” Orwig • Matthew McFarland Matthew Miller • Matthias Reissmann • Megan Peterson Michael Baskal • Michael Grafton • Michael Kohl • Michael Mair Michael Pleier • Michael Sprague • Michael Surbrook Mike “SanMan” Santangelo • Mike Labny Mike Thompson- Murdered by Kittens • Moritz Schubert Morten Poulsen • MsMoon • Myra “Zolexa” Hall • N/A • Nathan Nathan Rockwood • Nathanielstarr • Nbaer • Nicholas “IL PAPA” Pope Nicholas Brigance • Nick Boughton • Nicole & Matthew Westover Niels Starfari • Niko Wieleba • Norman G Schlagenhauf III Omar LK Sharif • Orpheus, Undead Bard • Oscar Ulloa Pablo Rodriguez • Pansélinos (Πανσέληνος) • Patricia Awesome Neumann Patrick Greenlaw • Patrick Thompson • Patrik “Vortex” Maass Patty Stadnicki • Paul D. Young • Paul Grawburg • Paul Hayes Paula M. Moran • Peter Cobcroft • Philip Kitschke • PJ Saad Preston Coutts • PrimeLoki • Quinlan Schultz Rachael “Oooh...Hey, what’s that?!” Blevins • Raphael Reitzig Ravenderon • Red and Az Scott of Stonehaven • Redfuji6 Rev. Matt Gibbs • Rhiannon Rippke-Koch • Richard Hirsch Richard Pruiett • RJ Howe • Rob “Stainless” MacLennan Rob Donoghue • Robert Abrazado • Robert “Action” Wood Robert Daley • Robert J Wishin • Robert R • Robert S Beatty Robin Lee Chadwick • Robin “Scullicon’’ Ekman • Rolling Thunder III Ron & April Gores • Ron Newcomb • Ronald & Mary Wochner Rurik “Wind” Anselm • Ryan Junk • Ryne Knight Sainsh - killed while pondering very pour strategy Sam “Ariadwyn” Watt • Sarah Morgan • Scott C. Brown Sean Huguenard (Epsilon 13) • Sean K Reynolds Sean M. Dunstan, diceomancer • Seana & Joseph Kelsey Seth C. Polansky • Seth Davis • SGT Joseph McDermott Shane Ching • Sharka O’Fae • Shogan Sigmund, Slayer of Beasts aka “Kevin” • Silent Sabre 6 Simone Normani & Sigfrido Sceleri • Sir Evan A Lewiston Sir Reginald Vonlipwig, lover of women, eater of spam • Sirk 440

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Smith “Caerbannog” Smith • Søren H. “Madayar” Assmann Steph Turner • Stephan Szabo • Stephen “Crillitor” Rognlie Stephen Caffrey • Steve Lord • Steve McConnico • Steve Sick Steven “Blonde Beard The Pirate” Weiner, Skeletal Ash & Joe “Shunk Wugga” Csakany • Stewart Wieck • Stuart Hume • Sue Rockwood Sune Wolff • SwiftOne • Tanllwyth the Avenger of Rustic Architechture Tara Cameron • Tara T. Roy and Thomas R. Melinsky, Jr. Taylor Strain • Tekpriest • Teppo Pennanen Terrence says FIND THE OTHERS • Tev “Grimpen” Drinkwater The Arcology Shadowrun Community Podcast • The Australian Griffin The Encaffeinated ONE • The Farquhar The Minister of Monster Trucks • The Potato Pope • The Snows The Vinyl Princess • The Wicked Queen, Drazuul, and the Three Zombie Ballerinas • Theo Josephs • Thomas Deeny • Thomas Gronek ThunderCass • Tim Childree • Tim Soholt • Todd “Rufus” McKimmey TokuMaster • Tom “Rabbit” • Tony Parsons • Tracy S Landrum Travis (T-Rex) Stone • Trevor “L33tG33k” Bennett • Trip Space-Parasite Troy Warrington • Umberto “Tekman” Lenzi Val & Andrew Kinman - “To Waffles!” • Vegar Guldal • Victorious Secret W. Douglas Bramlett • Willen • William “Doc Giggles” Lalum William “Eaten By Fluffy Kittens” Delmar • William Hensley William Staab • Wolfram Ravenwolf (Stefan Daniel Schwarz) wraith808 • Zach Brown • Zack Norwig Zlatko “Askara” Perez-Luna • Zoozanne

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5 Minutes to Mayhem playtesters Alex Gordon • Kenneth Remalia • Maralynda Remalia Holly Feher • John Rogers • Chris Piazzo • Jay Random Jackalynn • Fox Winter • Lorkaith • Jamie Meador • Corrin Krouch Aaron Stefanowich • Nick Stefanowich • David Click • Joseph Kelsey Seana Kelsey • Dylan Bradt • Kevin May • Patrick Ford Hunter Ford • James Worley • Jack “Helljack” Townsend • Eric Larue Nero Camulus • Robin Chadwick • Solair Astura • Joe Rao Holly Pepper • Kyle Connor • Zac Marcotte • Ashley Connor Nicky Connor • Ethan Bloomfield • Brent Mann • Joshua Harper Krista Roland • Emzy Wilkins • Cia Jackson • Craig Duffy • Leah Kyle Zoe Bartliff • Matt Griffin • Andrew Hookway • James Sutterfield Marker Jones • Matthew Martin • Billy Powers • Ray Harper Cindi Lou Kunkle • Kit Anderson • Voxanadu Blackthorne Devon Chandler • Courtney Nelson • Keith Schnelle Chris Duppenthaler • Jessica Heidemann • Brandon Longwell Matt Jay • Chris Paulenich • Ian Hazelton

additional contributors Lee Garvin • Chris Ewick • Deidre Benton • John Rossman Zach Zenovic • Collin Q Toohey • Cindy Messler-Early Karl Jensen • Gordon D. Duke • Greg Scher • Greg Rubin David Rubin • Woody Arnold • Jen Page Yuri Fassio • Moritz Schubert • Randy Mac Kay

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Special Thanks We would first like to thank Matt Vancil, for building this sandbox that we’re still playing in a decade and a half later. A huge thank you to Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd for the opportunity to have a professional game set in our world in the first place. Cam Banks: I want to thank Jessica Banks and my kids Connor and Griffin for being my ongoing heroic motivators. Don Early: I thank Cindy Messler-Early and Caitlyn Iona Early for the support to dedicate so much family time to this book. I also thank Cindy Messler-Early for our first kiss on the set of D e mon H u nte rs : D ead C am p e r L ake , which happened while I was directing a demon resurrection scene while we sacrificed Steve Wolbrecht’s character. Good times. Jimmy McMichael: I want to thank Kat Wood for all of her love and support as I locked myself in the den for SO MANY weekends of writing; Ben Honeycutt for helping me bring these weird, broken characters back from the dead; and Matt Vancil, for trusting me to take over the universe he created. And finally, caffeine, without which none of this would be possible. Nathan Rockwood: Many thanks to Annalee Flower Horne for letting me bounce ideas for Dudebro Werewolves off her, and to Eben Alguire, Nick Hoskins, and the rest of the GS gang for introducing me to the world of Demon Hunters! Amanda Valentine: As always, many thanks to Clark, Mary Rose, and Thad Valentine for their love and support. Big thanks to Jamie Chambers who believed in Demon Hunters from the beginning, and who led the charge in bringing the world to the gaming community. We also thank Fred Hicks and all the folks at Evil Hat Productions. Finally we thank Sean K. Reynolds for knowing stuff, and for the last minute help.

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Glossary abstract: The first step in creating a mad science innovation, an abstract is an aspect that summarizes what you want to create. action: What you want to do in the game. An action typically requires rolling dice. There are 4 actions: attack, defend, overcome (an obstacle), and create an advantage. agenda: The ultimate goal or plan that will come to fruition if the Demon Hunters do not intervene. A Mission agenda is the ultimate goal or plan for the overall Mission (typically large scale). A Threat agenda is the goal or plan regarding one specific Threat. approach: The particular manner in which a Demon Hunter takes action. There are six approaches: Careful, Clever, Flashy, Forceful, Quick, and Sneaky. aspect: A descriptive phrase that tells significant details about a Demon Hunter or other character, place, thing, or circumstance. badness roll: When a DM rolls demon dice to determine a result on a Badness Table. BFG stunt: A very powerful stunt that breaks the rules. Rumored to stand for “Big F*cking Gun” or “Beautifully Fragrant Geraniums.” Probably not the latter. Only DMC’s can have BGF stunts. boost: A temporary, single-use aspect with a free invocation that a character may use on their next action. breakthrough: An aspect that results from an innovation, establishing a new principle or truth in the world; it’s the lasting effect of introducing something to science that defies what came before it. It’s often the abstract or thesis rewritten in the form of a principle.

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campaign: A series of Missions that tell a broader story, often with a definite beginning, middle, and end. challenge: A series of overcome and create an advantage actions to resolve an especially complicated situation. concede: Willfully accepting defeat in exchange for additional faith dice and a say in what happens. The opposition gets some major concession from the person conceding. condition: A type of aspect, categorized as mild, moderate, or severe, resulting from taking hits. It tracks damage, stress, exhaustion, and other impeding factors. conflict: A situation that resolves where people are trying to harm one another, physically or otherwise. contest: When two or more characters are competing against one another for the same goal, while not directly trying to hurt each other. A contest is made up of a series of exchanges. core discipline: A specific discipline recognized by The Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch. The core disciplines are Combat & Tactics, Covert Ops, Mystic Arts, Research & Development, and Social Engineering. cost: A consequence as a result of rolling a 1 on a demon die. Costs can be minor or serious, depending on the situation. demon dice: A pool of six-sided dice that represent temptation, and the consequences of giving in to temptation. Demon Hunter: A field agent of The Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch. All of the player characters are Demon Hunters.

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Demon Master/DM: A player with the special responsibility of preparing Missions, managing the game rules, and presenting the world to the other players through clever description and funny voices. The DM plays all of the monsters, big bads, minions, and supporting cast (Demon Master Characters, or DMCs) instead of playing a Demon Hunter. Some people think the DM is a benevolent dictator or omnipotent god figure who creates stories and must be bargained with. Those people have bigger problems than glossary definitions. devotion: The number of faith dice a player begins each game with. discipline: A broad skill set that encompasses knowledge, skill, experience, and ability. DMC: Demon Master Character. Any named non-player character controlled by the Demon Master. enduring: When having or being around a certain aspect makes that character’s life more dramatic or complicated, the player can choose to only use the result of the highest rolling die out of their approach and discipline dice, rather than adding them together. This earns the character a faith die. exchange: As part of a contest, a single exchange consists of every participant taking one overcome action and comparing the results, the winner having the highest result. As part of a conflict, an exchange is when a character on their turn chooses one of the four actions, resolves it, and determines the outcome. faith dice: Dice that represent the emotional and spiritual power that fuels character aspects. They are bonus dice that can be employed in a variety of ways, representing luck, divine fortune, karma, etc.

Fringe discipline: A catchall discipline that covers all manner of non-human, super-human, and meta-human talents. full defense: When a player forgoes their action to gain a +2 bonus on their defend actions against attacks and create an advantage until the beginning of the defending player’s next turn. hit: The outcome of a successful attack action. innovation: Using mad science to create something new, represented by a set of connected aspects and a stunt or two that can provide benefits for the duration of a Mission. Innovations are made by successfully creating an abstract, a thesis, and a prototype respectively. invoke: To call upon an aspect to enhance decisions, choices, and situations. Usually means spending a faith die. milestone: An event that marks a resolution of a story, or a significant accomplishment or turning point. A milestone allows for character advancement, and may be classified as minor, significant, or major. minion: A weaker, unnamed DMC, representing a generic type of character. Mission: A single adventure or scenario that can generally be accomplished in 1-3 sessions. Mission Framework: An outline the DM uses to guide the flow of the story or refer back to when things go unexpectedly. Mission profile: A form used to plan out a Mission. mobs: A group of minions represented as a single DMC, still weaker than named DMCs.

free invocation: When you invoke an aspect for free, without needing to spend a faith die (or demon die in the case of the DM).

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opposition: Whatever specifically opposes the characters. Often represented as a number, either chosen as a static number, or determined by rolling dice. outcome: The amount by which an opposition is defeated, as a number (even if it’s zero). prototype: The third step in creating an innovation, a prototype is an aspect written as the model that is being created. recovery action: A variation on the overcome action in order to begin clearing conditions. ritual magic: Power derived from higher beings or forces, employed by a ritual, in exchange for a sacrifice. round: The amount of time it takes for all players and the DM to each make an exchange, as in going ‘round the table. session: The amount of story a group experiences in one sit-down meeting (2-3 hours is considered average). sinistra: Sinister things or events that will happen if the Demon Hunters do not interfere. These are significant turning points that lead to the agenda. Mission and Threats will have their own sinistra. Often times the Threat agendas are sinistra for the Mission agenda. situation aspect: Aspects that describe the surroundings where the scene is taking place. stakes question: Questions that the DM does not specifically know the answers to; they describe something at risk, as a means to keep track of points of interest. stunt: Tricks, maneuvers, or techniques that a character has that provide bonuses, special abilities, or entitlements under specific circumstances. succeed: When a roll ties or beats the opposition.

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supporting cast: Additional DMCs and minions that inhabit and support the different agendas of the Mission, including Threats. taken out: When a character is no longer an active force and/or removed from a conflict or scene. Being “taken out” occurs when all of the condition boxes for a particular character are checked off. Teaser: The first step in designing a Mission. The Teaser may also be the opening scene for the first session to provide hints and flavor of what’s to come. The results generated from the Teaser may also serve as the backbone for the overall Mission. thesis: The second step in creating an innovation, a thesis is an aspect that suggests how or why the innovation works. Threat: Specific dangers to the Demon Hunters, and whoever or whatever they care about. total surprise: A special type of roll when the target is completely caught off guard. Instead of rolling an approach and a discipline die for a defend action against an attack, they roll a + . triggering event: The inciting event that catches the Demon Hunters’ attention and brings them into the Mission. wild idea: Spontaneous uses of mad science, typically using the Research & Development discipline to create advantages. zones: Loosely defined areas that illustrate where the characters are, especially for the purpose of managing conflict.

The Stuff That's At the End of the Book

General Index abstract (mad science) 171, 174 Academy (see Brotherhood Academy) action 116 attack 120 create an advantage 116 defend 81, 120 overcome 119 advanced training 58 advancement (see advanced training) agenda (Mission) 202 agenda (see Threat agenda) All-Star Mayhem Threat Catalog 223 approach 37, 50, 93 Careful 94 Clever 94 Flashy 95 Forceful 95 Quick 96 Sneaky 96 aspect 38, 47, 55, 83 enduring 85 troubleshooting 90 writing 87 attack 120 Bad Peace 201 badness roll 123 245 badness table Battle of Centralia 256, 302, 303, 423 262 bed monsters BFG stunt 251 boost 82, 120 breakthrough (mad science) 170, 176 Briefing 188 Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch 20 Academy 30 database 26 Council 25 Director 25 infantry 24 Brotherhood Chapter (See chapter) brownies 292, 293 brute (Threat) 208 C&T (see Combat & Tactics discipline) cambions 265 campaign 182 Careful 94 cast (Mission) 205, 210 category (see Threat category) challenge 126 chapter 21 aspect 55, 80 condition 57 creation 54 Leader 54

promotion 56 Character aspect 80 character creation (see recruitment) character sheet 431 cheating 251 Cherufe 267 21, 27 Cipher Cipher (Fringe discipline) 106 208 civilian (Threat) Clan of the Golden Fang 17 Clever 94 CO (see Covert Ops discipline) Combat & Tactics discipline 98 concede 139 Concept aspect 47 condition 42, 81, 137 43 recovering from conflict 130 208 conspirator (Threat) contest 128 core discipline 97 122, 246 cost Covert Ops discipline 99 19, 312 Crawling Chaos, LLC create an advantage 116 creating DMCs 250 16 Cylch Myrddin danger zone (Threat) 209 81, 120 defend demon dice 41, 85, 121, 244 Demon Master (game role) 240 244 practical advice Demon Master characters (see DMC) demons 350 devotion 38, 52 Director (see Brotherhood Director) 37, 51, 97 discipline aspect 49 Combat & Tactics 98 core 97 Covert Ops 99 Mystic Arts 100 Research & Development 102 Social Engineering 103 (see also Fringe discipline) djinn 268 DMC 35, 250 Doors (see Warehouse Doors) doppelgängers 270 downloads 437 dragons (see European dragons) Earthwalkers 355 enemy 185, 186 Era Infernalis 423

447

Demon Hunters

Esoteric Fellowship of the Crawling Chaos (see Crawling Chaos, LLC) European dragons 271 128, 134 exchange Expert discipline rating 51 fae 292 Faerie (Fringe discipline) 106 failure 40, 114 41, 79, 83, 86 faith dice 357 Fallen, The Featured Creatures (see All-Star Mayhem Threat Catalog) final showdown 187 Final Showdown (Mission) 217 183 Five Minutes to Mayhem Flashy 95 Forceful 95 84 free invocation Fringe discipline 51, 104 Cipher 106 Faerie 106 Lycanthrope 107 Vampire 108 full defense 135 147 full-scale ritual ghosts 272 godlings 274 gorgons 275 hellhounds 359, 360 10, 412 History of the World hit 40, 137 horrors from beyond 276 How to Haunt Your Town (Mission design) 233 imps 358 Infantry (see Brotherhood infantry) innovation 170, 171, 176 Investigation (Mission) 214 invoke 38, 83 Karloffs 278 killed in action (KIA) list 438 kinetic (psychic) 157 Kraken 279 Lycanthrope (Fringe discipline) 107 lycanthropes 281 M.O.N.S.T.R.E. 14, 361 M&Ms (see Magic & Mad Science) MA (see Mystic Arts discipline) 163 mad science Magic & Mad Science 27 MagiTech (see Magic & Mad Science) major milestone 60 manananggals 296 Master discipline rating 51 medium (psychic) 157 mild condition 137

448

milestone 58 minion 252 minor cost 122 58 minor milestone Mission 182 Framework 212 profile 432 mobs 253 137 moderate condition Mokèlé-mbèmbé 286 mummies 288 MWHAHA 18 mystic 145 Mystic Arts discipline 100 156 mystic stunt NecroMoniComSat 26 nephilim 290 302 Novus Ordo Nunjas 19 28 Oaxacan Glitch off-the-cuff magic 146 opposition 40, 114 157 oracle (psychic) Order of the Infernal Scepter 14, 302 outcome 40 overcome 119 overlord (Threat) 207 playtesters 442 point (Mission) 211 Pound 15 profile 36 blank profile 431 promotion (see Chapter promotion) prototype (mad science) 171, 174 157, 158 psychic ability quantum magician 160 Quick 96 R&D (see Research & Development discipline) 43, 140 recovery action recruitment 45 Research & Development discipline 102 Resolution (Mission) 217 ritual magic 145 round 133 scourge (Threat) 209 SE (see Social Engineering discipline) seer 157 serious cost 122 session 182 Setup & Briefing (Mission) 213 severe condition 137 shoggoths 277 significant milestone 59 sinistra 210

The Stuff That's At the End of the Book

sinistra (Mission) 204 Sisters of Divine Retribution 19 situation aspect 81, 131 199 Sixty Minutes to Mayhem Sneaky 96 Social Engineering discipline 103 stakes question (Mission) 205, 210 stepping up (advancement) 59 38, 52, 109 stunt 111 that breaks the rules that gives a bonus 109 subtypes & impulses (see Threat subtypes & impulses) succeed 40, 114 262 supernat supporting cast (Mission) 187 surprise (see total surprise) Syphilitic Ninja Vampire 331, 332 taken out 137, 139 39 taking action Teaser (Mission) 184 telepath 158 121 temptation Thaumaturgic Schism 418 171, 174 thesis (mad science) Threat 199, 206 agenda 210 207 category subtypes & impulses 207 (see also All-Star Mayhem Threat Catalog) time travel 402 135 total surprise triggering event (Mission) 184 48 Trouble aspect Trying Not to Die (Mission) 216 turn order 133 vampire 294 ninja vampire 330 Syphilitic Ninja Vampire 331, 332 Vampire (Fringe discipline) 108 vampire roses 297, 298 Warehouse 29 Warehouse Doors 29 werehoneybadgers 283 wild idea (mad science) 169 Xi Wall 31 yetis 299 zombie 300, 301 zones 132

449

Demon Hunters

Index of Characters and Organizations Ahriman (M.O.N.S.T.R.E.) 370 Albrecht, Jefferson 69 357 Arakiel (Denizens of Hell) Archibald Slotter, DDS (see Slotter, Archibald, DDS) Armageddon 74 372 Arr MiHardies (M.O.N.S.T.R.E.) Bailey, Ben “Gator” 76 Belthazuron the Corruptor (Denizens of Hell) 354 Bengaluru (The Pound) 321 Beyoncé (Court of Queen Cornelia) 382 Bijou (see Labeaux, Bijou) Bloody Mary 264 Brawd Arth (Cylch Myrddin) 389 Brawd Draenog (Cylch Myrddin) 391 Brocéliande 16 Brotherhood Chapters Iota 23 Omega Fifteen 62 Sigma Seven 71 375 Cain, Jericho (M.O.N.S.T.R.E.) Carfax, Tristan (vampire) 295 Carmilla (Clan of the Golden Fang) 337 Carnacki, Tricia “Sparky” 73 Chwaer Blaidd (Cylch Myrddin) 387 Chwaer Llwynog (Cylch Myrddin) 390 70 Ciper Mark III Cipher Mark IV 77 Claw (M.O.N.S.T.R.E) 15 322 D-Dog (The Pound) Dankworth, Waldron (Order of the 306 Infernal Scepter) Daughters of Hades (M.O.N.S.T.R.E.) 374 Denisov, Mikhail Alexsandrovich 366 (M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw) Detroit (The Pound) 324 Dev Team (Crawling Chaos, LLC) 318 Drazuul the Deathbringer 384 (Court of Queen Cornelia) Euryale (gorgon) 275 Flurf Blanket-Puller 263 (bed monster) Gabriel 63 Gator (see Bailey, Ben “Gator”) Gluttozaphage the All-Consuming 352 (Denizens of Hell) Griselda (Court of Queen Cornelia) 380 Gwyn ap Nudd (fae) 293 Harkadian, Alex 72 Hendrix, Staci (ghost) 273

450

Huamán, Valencia Rojas (M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw) 364 Jerry (Crawling Chaos, LLC) (See T’lotha-Zahn, Jerry) Johnny “The Demon” (Order of the Infernal Scepter) (See Ossesso, Johnny “The Demon”) Kentucky Blue Clay 254 266 Kershaw, Gerald (cambion) Kincaid (see McHarg, Kincaid) Kyridel (Court of Queen Cornelia) 379 La Bricoleuse (Order of the Infernal Scepter) 308 66 Labeaux, Bijou Lucifer (Denizens of Hell) 348 Master Wu 328 (Clan of the Golden Fang) McClennon, William (Clan of the Golden Fang) 335 McHarg, Kincaid 256 Mentalus, Professor Aldous (MWAHAHA) 392 Mr. Jack (supernatural serial slasher) 284 Mr. Stag (M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw) 361 Morgan Pak (M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw) (See Pak, Morgan) Moor, Claudius 333 (Clan of the Golden Fang) Myrddin Emrys 16 Ned 75 Nimue 16 Oosthuizen, Dr. Saskia (MWAHAHA) 395 Ossesso, Johnny “The Demon” (Order of the Infernal Scepter) 304 Pak, Morgan (M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw) 368 Pereplut, Jasna (godling) 274 Phillips, Sally 317 (Crawling Chaos, LLC) Powers, Randall 312 (Crawling Chaos, LLC) Prince of Darkness 355 (Denizens of Hell) Psusennes I (mummy) 289 Purple Ninja, The 258 Queen Cornelia the Wicked (M.O.N.S.T.R.E.) 377 Raalfamulax the Blue-Collared (Denizens of Hell) 353 Raphael (nephilim) 291 Rave, Eleanor “Laser” (MWAHAHA) 398 Reverend Mother Mary Dillinger (Sisters of Divine Retribution) 339

The Stuff That's At the End of the Book

Rhodes, Abigail (Crawling Chaos, LLC) Rigor Mortis St. Peter (see Simon “Saint” Peter) Sam Hell (Order of the Infernal Scepter) Secticulag the Well-Honed (Denizens of Hell) Silent Jim Simon “Saint” Peter Sister Angelika Metzger (Sisters of Divine Retribution) Sister Carmen Nacht (Sisters of Divine Retribution) Sister Constance Oakley (Sisters of Divine Retribution) Sister Eirwin Flanagar (Sisters of Divine Retribution) Sister Helene Mochzuki (Sisters of Divine Retribution)

314 67 310 351 64 25 344 342

Slotter, Archibald, DDS (MWAHAHA) 397 Sparky (see Carnacki, Tricia “Sparky”) T’lotha-Zahn, Jerry (Crawling Chaos, LLC) 316 Thronk (cambion) 265 Tree 260 Tumbles (MWAHAHA) 394 Von Zählen, Gerhardt Graf Nielsen (M.O.N.S.T.R.E. Claw) 362 Wolf 65 Wolff, Alexander (The Pound) 319 Wrex, Kigun “Blackwolf” (The Pound) 326

340 346 341

Index of Sidebars Abstract (and Thesis) Opposition 153 Approach Dice 93 245 Badness Table (sample) But First a Quick Game System Note 144 Chapter Omega Fifteen 61 Chapter Rankings 22 61 Chapter Sigma Seven Demon Master Aspects Don’t Have to be Great 88 Discipline Dice 97 Free Invocations 84 123 Generic Everyday Badness Helpful Advice About Stunts for Players and Demon Masters 110 How Do I Get More Faith Dice? 86 How Many Faith Dice Does the DM Get? 85 Mystic Badness 152 Prototype Opposition 175 Ritual Opposition 149 Setting the Opposition 115

Stepping Up Approaches and Disciplines 59 153 Suffering For Your Magic TL;DR: Actions & Outcomes 117 TL;DR: Brotherhood Chapter Creation 54 TL;DR: Demon Hunter Creation (aka Recruitment) 46 TL;DR: Challenges 127 130 TL;DR: Conflicts TL;DR: Contests 129 TL;DR: Full-Scale Rituals 148 TL;DR: Hits, Conditions, & Conceding 138 TL;DR: Innovations & Breakthroughs 172 TL;DR: Off-the-Cuff Magic 147 TL;DR: Taking Action 114 TL;DR: Wild Ideas (Mad Science) 168 Time Travel Badness 408 Using Dice for Opposition 150

451

Demon Hunters

Index of Tables Big Picture Enemy 195 Big Picture Mission 194 Brutes 208 Building Type 198 Civilians 209 Conspirators 208 Costs 246 209 Danger Zones 191 Featured Creature Featured Creature Modifier 192 Grand Evil Plan 192 238 Location, Location, Location

452

Location Type 196 Locations 196 190 Mission Objective Motives for Murder 195 Normals 193 Omega Duty 190 Other Interested Party 195 Overlords 207 Scourges 209 Time Travel Costs 409 Triggering Event 194 197 US States