Wheels of Darkness V

Originally published December 2, 2013

The World of Darkness is full of many mysteries and many twisted things lurk in the shadows. While the default focus is on local events and urban locations, people still need to get around. In this series of blogs, I will present some of the cars, bikes and other vehicles that have appeared in my World of Darkness Chronicles.

The Enchanted Car

Treven crouched behind the car. The gun felt heavy in his hand, slippery with sweat.

He glanced at TJ. The thug's skin blended into the night except for a slight glint of bling around his neck. The tall man jerked up and fired his gun rapidly over the car at the other side of the street.

As the shots rang in his head, Treven moved around to the front of the car to get a shot. He stopped only once. When he passed the bloody mess that had been Ty.

This was supposed to be a simple drive-by. A message that we controlled this turf. Where did it go wrong?

As Treven crouched at the mess of steel and plastic that was the front of their car, he cast his mind back.

They had pulled up in front of that creepy dealer's house. As they waited for Necro, the dealer, to exit the worm-eaten building, a car drove by. They knew whose it was. They knew they'd been made. The black Dodge with the big supercharger on top. That was Djinn's, Necro's boss.

Ty tried to get them out of there but it was too late. Djinn's car smashed into Ty's Pontiac like it was made of tissue paper. Red went through the windshield. Treven could see his crumpled body from here. Ty broke his head on the steering wheel.

TJ's shots were answered by a shot from the second story of Necro's house. Treven glanced back to see TJ slump and slide to the asphalt.

A bright light appeared behind Treven. Looking back he saw the car coming back at him. The paint wasn't even scratched.
The Free Council has no monopoly on enchanted technology. Any willworker with a bit of mechanical knowledge and the occult skill can create vehicles that exceed what is normally possible. The Enchanted Car is another example of this. Owned by the leader of a cabal of Apostate, or orderless, mages, this vehicle serves as a symbol of his authority both to the cabal and to outsiders who might interfere with the renegade group: the Dragon's Teeth.

Learning More

Here are some mundane skills that could help in learning more about the Enchanted Car:

Drive or Crafts: A Dodge Charger. Look at the blower on that thing. We're going to need a faster car to catch it. Someone who knows about vehicles can easily identify the vehicle and speculate on its mundane enhancements.

Occult: Based on my observations that car has never been refueled. Maybe it has a Stanley Meyer Water fuel cell. Unlike many Mages, Djinn does not adorn his vehicle with Atlantean Runes (partly because he was never formally taught them). So the car lacks many of the common occult signs one would expect. Instead those who get a closer look see something more like a jumble of engine parts that shouldn't work but do.

Streetwise: That car? Yeah it belongs to Djinn. He runs a gang, they call themselves the Dragon's Teeth. Don't mess with them. They think they got magic. They certainly got guns. Using Streetwise allows a character to learn the local rumors about the car's owner and his affiliations.

Secrets

This 1970 dodge charger has been heavily customized over the years by its owner Djinn. The suspension and engine have been overhauled resulting in a vehicle with excessive acceleration and speed. Meanwhile the exterior has been given loving attention that gives it some cachet with the local gangs. Given the mundane attention, it is no surprise that he has applied the same focus on the car magically.

In addition to a bottomless fuel supply, the car is magically warded. It imposes a -2 penalty to spells directly targeting the vehicle. It costs 1 Mana to counter a spell and is typically imbued with 6 Mana. The chassis is magically strengthened to point that bullets ricochet off of it. It counts as a 9 dot Enhanced item.

Durability: 7, Size: 12, Structure: 19
Acceleration: 39 (52 mph/turn), Safe Speed: 110 (75 mph), Speed: 286 (195 mph)
Handling: 4, Occupants: 1+3

The car gives a +1 bonus to Socialize and Streetwise rolls when dealing with the local gangs. +2 bonus to identity or track the car.

Djinn

Concept: Gearhead Mage

Background: Leroy Eaves's parents moved to Norfolk supposedly to escape the inner city crime. In reality, his mother, a newly Awakened mage, had been recruited by the local Conslium. Taking the shadow name Laksmi, she and her cabal, the Restless, investigated the mysteries of the area while their mortal lives separate.

In Norfolk, the young man who would become Djinn found some relative peace despite the racism and his own family's poverty. He became a mechanic despite barely passing high school.

Then in 1983, a stranger came to town. His mother's cabal, the Restless, capture the stranger after the man escaped police custody. But the stranger wasn't human. Slowly it drove them insane, driving them to fight each other as well as neighboring cabals.

Leroy was still living at home at the time. As his mother's growing insanity wrecked his home life, it also began the process of his Awakening. Perhaps if he hadn't Awakened when he did things might have been different. As it was, he experienced the touch of the Supernal when a young member of the Guardian of the Veil came to put down the dangerous mage his mother had become.

He never forgave the Consilium for that.

The Seers of the Throne attempted to recruit him but he could see that behind their promises of power there was nothing but oppression and control. So he became an Aposate, gathering a few others who had Awakened during the destruction of the Restless. Uniformly poor African-American, the Consilium left them to their own devices. They came to be called the Dragon's Teeth since the few attempts to eliminate them always resulted in new members joining.

Djin uses the alias Jay Gin in day-to-day life. He has a Sleeper girlfriend named Rita Natale. She has two children, Brian (age 6) and Dennis (age 3). Dennis is his. As far as he knows Rita doesn't know about his real past but assumes he had some trouble with the law.

Description: A burly black man wearing work overalls covered in grease stains. A green bandanna holds back his graying hair. He can often be found smoking at his shop, Solo Automotive.

Storyteller Notes: Djinn presents himself as a defiant hard ass. But he can comprise when needed and is protective of his adoptive family, the Dragons Teeth. He despises the Guardians of the Veil and reacts poorly to members.

Dedicated Magical Tools: Silver Car Mirror
Nimbus: When Djinn uses magic dust swirls around him and time seems to slow to a crawl.

Real Name: Leroy Eaves Age: 43
Path: Acanthus Order: Aposate

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Composure 2

Mental Skills: Crafts (Automobiles) 2, Investigation 1, Occult 2
Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl (Dirty Tricks) 2, Drive (muscle car) 2, Firearms 2, Larceny 1, Stealth 1, Weaponry 2
Social Skills: Intimidation 2, Persuasion 1, Socialize 1, Streetwise (Gangs) 2, Subterfuge 1
Merits: Hallow (shared) 1, High Speech, Occultation 2, Resources 2, Sanctum (shared) 2

Willpower: 5 Wisdom: 4 (Suspicion)
Virtue: Fortitude Vice: Pride
Initiative: 4 Defense: 2 (Armor 4)
Speed: 10 Health: 8

Gnosis: 3
Arcana: Fate 2, Matter 3, Prime 2, Time 4
Rotes: Matter: Alter Accuracy; Prime: Supernal Vision, Counterspell; Time: Temporal Dodge, Acceleration
Gear: knife, Beretta Model 92

Apocalypse World: the other guys

Originally published November 27, 2013

There's a section in Apocalypse World where they talk about the world from the point of view of the Hardholder playbook (highlighting for emphasis):

There is no government, no society, in Apocalypse World. When hardholders ruled whole continents, when they waged war on the other side of the world instead of with the hold across the burn-flat, when their armies numbered in the hundreds of thousands and they had fucking boats to hold their fucking airplanes on, that was the golden age of legend. Now, anyone with a concrete compound and a gang of gunluggers can claim the title. What other authority is there?

And again later they talk about terminology and how the player characters (PCs) are special in the world of the Apocalypse:

Your characters are unique in Apocalypse World. There are other medics, and they might even be called “angel” by their friends, but you’re the only angel. There are other compound bosses and warlords who might be called “hardholders,” but you’re the only hardholder.

This got me thinking. Clearly these terms mean something in the setting. People refer to brainers or the brainer. They might mean a PC if one has that playbook or they might mean a non-player character (NPC) who superficially resembles that playbook.

So what if you took the playbooks of Apocalypse World and turned them around? What does an NPC gunlugger look like?

Obviously the PCs are the focus of the game so as the game master or MC, these NPCs should never outshine their opposite number. This goes back to the basic principle of being a fan of the player's characters. In fact I'm not sure I'd use them in a game that had their opposite number, except perhaps to act as a foil, to show how the Gunlugger is different from and exceeds the abilities of 'gunluggers'.

In this article I'll be looking at the necessary traits for each group (i.e. what makes a gunlugger) as well as some possible custom moves for them. The distinguish between PC and NPC version we will capitalize Playbook types and use lower case for NPCs.

angels

This is a guy or gal who can bandage wounds and patch up a gunshot wound. He probably can't bring back someone who just passed 12:00. The dead remain dead. If the PCs need him to bring back a comrade, that poor sap should be picking out their debility instead.

So how to handle the character mechanically? Since stock is separate from the character, you could probably just have the PCs pay for stock used (maybe even having the patient roll +stock) and add some surcharge for the doc's time (1 or more barter, depending on the level of trouble the patient causes).

There should definitely be some downside to going to an unqualified angel. Here are some possible custom moves to represent that:

• Past Expiration Date: when treated by the angel with drugs (like chill stabs or chemostabs), roll+weird as if you opened your mind to the psychic maelstrom. In addition to the normal effects the MC will ask you a question. Anyone present will hear you mumble the answer in your delirium.
• Poor Sanitation: when you are treated by an angel even if a stock roll wasn't made, choose an additional option from the angel kit stabilization move.

battlebabes

The attractive but dangerous folk of Apocalypse World, the big differences between Battlebases and battlebabes is that the latter can't back up their violence and that their icy demeanor is more for show. When the shit hits the fan, they lose their cool. Still battlebabes can screw with one's head and put nasty metal things inside you all the same.

Mechanically, I'd treat them as any other NPC. To give them some edge perhaps add:

• If Looks Could Kill: when meeting the battlebabe for the first time roll+Cool. On a 10+, no problem. On a 7-9 the MC holds 1, On a miss the MC holds 3. Hold can be expended to make you flinch, hesitate, or swoon. Take -1 forward each time hold is spent as you are distracted by the image of the battlebabe.

brainers

The psychic freaks of apocalypse world, brainers are the group most calling out for more support as NPCs. Given that deep ear plugs explicitly stop brainer moves, not including them in a game using that item would be a terrible loss of an opportunity.

Obviously brainers have some sort of talent with the psychic maelstrom or other unusual power. Here are some custom move ideas. No one NPC should have them all and even one should be enough:

• In My Head: when interacting with a brainer or in the same room as one roll+Cool. On a 10+, your thoughts are your own. On a 7-9, the MC gets 1 hold. On a miss, the MC holds 3. Hold can be spent as if the NPC was using Read a Person.
• Brain Control: when a brainer has time and physical intimacy they can implant a command in your head. If you fulfill the command mark 1 experience circle. If you resist roll as if Acting Under Fire.
• Psychic Sword: the brainer is always armed with his or her mind. Treat it as a weapon (2-harm ap close loud-optional).

choppers & drivers

In both of these cases the difference between them and their playbook equivalents is that they just have the crap. The Driver is incredible behind the wheel. drivers just have car and a good knowledge of how to use it. choppers have a gang with motorcycles, while the Chopper is leader among outlaws.

gunluggers

gunluggers are similar to choppers and drivers, they are defined by the access to high-powered weaponry to some extent. On the other hand to differentiate them from the common mass of violent thugs, you might make them just a bit stronger and tougher than the rest.

Custom moves for gunluggers are simple things. These are not complicated people:

• Ultraviolent: the gunlugger deals +1 harm when inflicting harm.
• Tough As Nails: the gunlugger can take more harm than most. It takes 4-harm for them to die.

hardholders

Much like the previous entries, hardholders are people who happen to own something. In this case that something is a fortified compound of humanity. They might be weak or they might rule with an iron fist. Fundamentally they are in charge. Until the PCs change that.

hardholders tend to have more money than most which makes the following custom move appropriate:

• Money Talks: when a hardholder drops a large amount of jingle for you to do something, roll+Cool. On a 10+ you can walk away. On a 7-9 the MC holds 1. On a miss the MC holds 3. You can spend this hold by doing what the hardholder wants. The MC can spend it to have you take -1 forward.

That is it for now. I hope to put up the rest of the playbooks (as well as some of the limited edition player books) in the next few weeks. Let me know what you think of these write-up and the custom moves as well as your own experiences using NPCs based on the existing playbooks.

Wheels of Darkness IV

Originally published November 25, 2013

The World of Darkness is full of many mysteries and many twisted things lurk in the shadows. While the default focus is on local events and urban locations, people still need to get around. In this series of blogs, I will present some of the cars, bikes and other vehicles that have appeared in my World of Darkness Chronicles.

Jaguar Wolf

From the Minutes of the 2004 Great Lakes Convocation:

In evidence against the Legacy known as the Neocologists, we present the case of the Jaguar Wolf spirit sent to hunt a member of the Chicago Consilium, one Mammon of the Silver Ladder. This unnatural merging of a wolf and car spirit was created expressly to murder a Mage in good standing for deed unrelated to him. Then this spirit was allowed to run free, propagating its "kind" in the wild.

In the creation and release of spirit abominations merging the natural and artificial kingdoms of spirits, the express goal of this Legacy, the Neocologists have contributed to the dangers facing Mages and Sleepers alike. In light of this and the evidence of their actions in Toronto, we ask that they be declared Nephandi.

Testimony by Officer Thomas Woods:

I was headed south on Route 90 east of 94 when I came across the accident site. One vehicle, a white Lincoln Town Car, had crashed into the guard rail. The other vehicle, a gray Jaguar, was being jacked up by the owner of the first vehicle. It had also collided with the guard rail but was facing north.

The skid marks and damage to the Jaguar, they didn't make a lot of sense. There were clear skid marks about 50 yards down the highway. It looks like the car had made a sharp turn or perhaps lost control and ended up facing the opposite direction of traffic.

The car itself ended up only 10 yards away from the other car with broken glass from the headlights deposited only 25 feet away. There must have been a third vehicle present, though I can't see how I missed it or how it failed to leave any residue on the Jaguar.

When I arrived, the occupants of the town car had exited their vehicle and had jacked up the other vehicle. I'm not really sure why. It was already a total wreck. There were skid marks under the vehicle. I have no idea what had been holding it in place.

When I stopped to help out...I'm not sure what happened. For a moment I was sure the car was intact, battered but functional. Then suddenly it was like the car crumpled up like it was being crushed by some force, like it was a towel being twisted dry. There was glass everywhere.

I tried to talk to the other driver but I really can't recall what he said. Something about a trick of the light.

We still haven't found the driver of the other vehicle.

<Asked about what he thought the car had looked like>

The car well it was a Jaguar. I was sure of that. I don't know how I could tell afterwards. It was gray with weird large side mirrors, sort of like ears. The grille was broken with sharpened edges. I got this strange predatory feel from it.

Learning More

Here are some mundane skills that could help in learning more about the Jaguar Wolf:

Drive or Crafts: That's a Jaguar XKR but someone has ruined it. Look at those outsized mirrors, they look like ears or something. In addition to the make and model, someone who knows about vehicles can easily identify the custom work to the car.

Occult: Did you see how the chassis flexed in that turn? That's not metal or plastic, that's like flesh. That things is alive. You ever hear about a book called Christine... Occult can turn up stories of similar possessed vehicles. If the car is stopped, they might even be able to attempt an exorcism.

Animal Ken or Empathy: That driver is crazy! Either that he is hunting something. The Jaguar Wolf acts like an animal, racing along the highway hunting for something or someone and then running them down.

Unseen Sense (Spirits): This clearly shows that the car is possessed. A spectral fur coat covers the car and its headlights swivel like eyes as it races down the road.

Secrets

As the above information suggests, the Jaguar Wolf is less a vehicle and more a twisted spirit. In fact it is a magath, or a blending of two incompatible spirits types. Part wolf and part sports car, this tormented and mad creature is driven by its natures to drive fast and hunt.

While magath sometimes develop "naturally" when a spirit devours the wrong kind of spirit, Jaguar Wolf is the result of a misguided effort to restore nature to areas of human civilization. A Legacy of Mages known as the Neocologists (which can be found in the Tome of Watchtowers) believe that reality is out of balance due to humanities displacement of nature spirits by the spirits of artificial objects. As part of their crusade to restore "balance", they create magath by transplanting features of nature spirits, like trees, rivers and animals to artificial spirits like buildings, roads and vehicles. At extreme levels this leads to a magath, driving the resulting spirit mad.

As Possessed Car:

Durability: 3, Size: 10, Structure: 12
Acceleration: 28 (38 mph/turn), Safe Speed: 117 (80 mph), Speed: 249 (170 mph)
Handling: 4, Occupants: 1+1

Drive Pool: 9
Abilities: Bite (pool 15, deals Lethal damage), Iron Treachery (1 Essence, pool 15 - user's Resolve, if successful an object within 30 yards goes haywire for a number of turns equal to successes)

As a Spirit:

Quote: <<Speed kills. Awooo!!>>
Description: This sleek gray Jaguar XKR100 convertible sports large modified swept back side mirrors and a shiny grille that opens into an all-devouring mouth.
Storytelling Hints: Jaguar Wolf exults in its speed, and enjoy chasing down its spirit prey and wearing it down before moving in for the kill.

Rank: 3; Essence: 20
Attributes: Power 5, Finesse 9, Resistance 5
Willpower: 10; Initiative: 14; Defense: 7; Speed: 40 (This represents normal combat speed; over extended chases or out of combat, the spirit defaults to the speed and acceleration of the car)

Size: 10; Corpus: 15

Influences: Cars 1, Speed 1, Wolves 1
Numina: Chorus (wolves), Claim Machine (as Claim but for a machine), Fetter, Iron Treachery (1 Essence, pool 15 - user's Resolve, if successful an object within 30 yards goes haywire for a number of turns equal to successes), Gauntlet Breach, Material Vision, Mechanical Possession
Bans: Jaguar Wolf loses 1 Essence each turn if is it forced to remain still.

The Price Recap: McQueen's New Girl

Originally published November 22, 2013

We are near the end of the World of Darkness: Innocents section of my Changeling: the Lost Chronicle The Price. A full index can be found here. The theme of this session is love. We have new love, doomed love, and betrayal of love. Everyone wants something but only the Darkling really gets what he wants.

Our cast:

• Marco McQueen: 12-year-old Wizened Oracle and former bully. Now he seeks to reconnect with his father and protect him from Ruzena, a Changeling resembling a Rusalka, or river fae. They drown their victims.
• Miroslav "Mir" Callaghan: 13-year-old Palewraith Darkling who has joined the Guild of Shadows to learn real magic.
• Nicole "Nikki" Callaghan: sticky fingered 10-year-old sister who traded her emotional attachments for the gift of artistry. She is a Flowering Fairest but also possesses something like the Artist Kith.
• Rocco McQueen: 10-year-old genius hacker and Levinquick Elemental who was crippled in childhood accident. Now able to walk again he is slowly taking control of his life. Now he has to save his father.

When last we left our protagonists, they had just learned that Mrs. McQueen, the woman they thought was the mother of Marco and Rocco, was really a fetch. Their real mother is the Queen of Shadows.

This revelation was originally suggested by the player of Nikki. Of course I always intended there to be some association between the two. Evelina McQueen => Evil Queen => Queen of Shadows

McQueen's New Girl

As February drags on, Miroslav and Rocco start researching Ruzena Yezhov, the Changeling seeing Mr. McQueen. Miroslav learns a little bit about the mythology of the Rusalka, a mermaid-like river spirits, that Ruzena strongly resembles. What he finds isn't reassuring. It is their nature to lure men to their doom.

Miroslav rolls Intelligence + Occult to learn some information.

Rocco meanwhile uses some the magic he has learned to manipulate his father. He stays up late one night and looks in on his dad as he sleeps. He plants a nightmare in his father's mind of his girlfriend drowning him. The effect seems to work too well. In the coming days Mr. McQueen wakes up tired and unsettled. Rocco decides to back off on the nightmares.

Rocco uses the second dot of the Dream to plant a nightmare. I decided he needed to roll Manipulation + Persuasion + Wyrd to convinces his father in the dream. He got 2 successes, opening 1 Door to convince his father to break up with Ruzena. We discussed possible Clarity rolls but held off for now.

Marco meanwhile mundanely signals his displeasure at this intruder into their lives. He sulks and complains like a normal teen in this position.

Marco separately works on his father. He rolls Manipulation + Empathy to communicate his feelings. He also get 2 successes.

Outside of this project, the children attend school as usual. Marco hangs out with his friends Chris and Ryan, while Nikki teams up with her friend Maeve to convince Amanda Kelly to help Maeve with her homework. Maeve knows Amanda always gets good grades. Nikki mainly tries to tag along with a person she sees as one of the stronger and more popular girls in her class.

Nikki is trying to build a clique of "friends". She lacks real emotional attachments so this is more for show and social advantage. She rolls Wits + Empathy to help Maeve (and also open Doors with Amanda). She succeeds.

At recess on Monday, Miroslav notices Jennifer Conner intently reading a book on hauntings. He approaches the quiet teen and tries to impress her with his knowledge of ghosts. He stammers however and she only chuckles at his awkwardness. Brushing back her dyed black hair, she asks if he knows about the haunted house on Elm Avenue. Miroslav knows the stories about the child specter who people say lurks in the abandoned Victorian home. He screws up his courage and ask if she wants to go investigate it with him. Surprisingly she says yes though she sarcastically asks if he is going to bring his Ouija board. She tells him to meet her there after school on Thursday.

Impressing the Goth girl and speaking to ghost are both Aspirations for Mir. He first rolls Presence + Occult to impress her but fails. When he tries to convince her he rolls Manipulation + Persuasion + 3 for Willpower, getting two successes.

Rocco is very aware of another strange phenomena in the area. The school computers have been down all week and no one seems to be able to figure out what is causing it. Every time he passes by the computer lab, he can hear the gremlins inside jabbering to each other. He takes a look at the problem but unless he can take the computers apart he can't see an easy way to rid the system of the gremlins. He keeps an eye out for the IT person, but it looks like the man is spending this week at one of the other three schools he takes care of.

Rocco rolls Intelligence + Computers to judge if he can fix them. Based on that he decides he needs to make a Pledge with the IT guy.

Later in the week, Nikki convinces her brother to cover for her as she sneaks out of the apartment after bedtime. She slips through the Hedge to the Night Market to work on her mural for the upcoming Equinox Ball. While various Changelings argue about the preparations for the Ball, she focuses on the broad strokes of the massive artwork.

Nikki is involved in an extended Wits + Empathy roll (including her bonus for Drawing). Each roll takes 1 hour but she needs 10 successes to complete the mural. She only has a limited time to work on it. Between school and home, she only has several hours free of parental supervision a week. She accrues 1 success for her night's work.

Wednesday afternoon rolls around. There is a knock at the Callaghan's door. Miroslav answers it to find Charlie Cobwebs there. The Venombite Beast asks if he and his sister could help her. She is trying to build a home in the local Hedge. As they discuss this Rocco hobbles down on his crutches to join them. She offers to help them with anything they need and Rocco asks if she can help him get some barter for the market. She agrees and the group says they will help her on the coming Saturday.

Before Rocco leaves with Charlie, he asks the others for help with finding out more about Ruzena. Miroslav relays what he has found and Nikki offers to ask her contacts in the Court of Jewels about the woman the next time she visits the Night Market. As Charlie leads Rocco into the Hedge, she asks if he can invite Marco to help as well. Rocco agrees and they go searching for something to trade.

After an hour of exploring the nooks and tangles of the Hedge, Charlie comes across a noose hanging from a tree. She offers it to Rocco and they head back.

No mechanics here but technically Charlie failed her search roll. She activated a Goblin Contract she had which yields some success at the cost of some later bad luck. We'll see that later.

Elsewhere, Marco and his father are getting dinner ready. Mr. McQueen is making some spaghetti sauce while a pot of water reaches a boil. Marco decides to bring up a subject he has avoided for a long time. He asks his father if he recalls the time his mother left. Mr. McQueen becomes very quiet but says yes. Marco continues, explaining that he said things to him that he now regrets. He apologizes for blaming his father for what happened with his mother. Mr. McQueen silently thanks him by giving him a tender hug.

No rolls here. Marco reconciles with his father by admitting he was wrong. He earns a Beat for satisfying his Aspiration.

Soon another day has passed. As school lets out, Miroslav makes his way to the haunted house on Elm. He finds Jennifer leaning up against the rusty fence, her black clothes standing out against the patches of grayish white snow on the ground. Miroslav clumsily carries some supplies: a candle, some crystals and a board for communicating with the spirits.

Jennifer smiles and laughs. "You really did bring your Ouiji board."

The two approach the decaying house. Black holes gape where glass once was and the roof is beginning to sag. Inside they find signs people were here recently. Ash scars the living room floor while damp mold climbs over the rest of the furnishings. Miroslav leads the way up the creaky stairs. Partway up he announces to the building that they are here to speak to the spirits.

The catch for Spellbound 2, which allows one to speak to ghosts, is if the ghost is willing to speak. Miroslav is hoping to improve his chances.

They find a dry spot upstairs and set up the Ouija board. Holding hands across it, Mir concentrates on his magic. The air grows colder and Jennifer's hands tighten on his. He can feel her fear welling up as he spots the ghostly child over her shoulder. He tells her what he sees and pulls the fear tinged Glamour off of her.

Miroslav rolls Manipulation + Intimidate to soak some Glamour off of Jennifer. He gets one point. He also activate his Contract. The ghost is willing so he pays no Glamour. He also get 2 Beats at this point for impressing Jennifer and talking to a ghost.

Miroslav talks to the ghost, asking why it is here and what it knows. The child relates a strange tale. It claims it was abducted, taken away to a tower perpetually cloaked in night. His captor was a tall slender man whose arms stretched and twisted impossibly. The man kept horrific gardens about his tower where he turned women into water, binding them to the streams that ran through the garden. The ghostly boy shivers in his nightgown. He says he was trapped there for a long time. Then suddenly he was here with no idea how.

Miroslav explains where here is and the boy realizes he is home. He asks where his parents are. Miroslav is able to learn that the boy was born on the 9th of October, 1893. He was only 8 years old when he was taken. The ghost wanders off in search of his long dead parents.

This is a bit of a cameo from a Keeper in my previous changeling game. It is also a bit of foreshadowing. There are Keepers in this world.

And yes this one was the Slender Man.

Miroslav relays what he learned to Jennifer. She in turn fills in some gaps based on her own research. There was a boy named Thomas who was kidnapped from this house. He was never found. The pair leave and both plan to learn more about the disappearance and this slender man.

That evening Mir talks to Rocco about his 'date' over the walkie-talkie. Nikki tries to drown out the noise with a pillow but fails.

Rocco meanwhile pulls up some more information on Ruzena Yezhov using her license plate information. Hacking some DMV records, he learns she was married twice but was widowed each time. One was out swimming when he drowned. The other slipped in the bathtub.

Rocco hacks the DMV with Intelligence + Computer +1 for Hacking and - 4 for difficulty. He still succeeds.

The weekend arrive and school lets out. Chris and Ryan catch up to Marco as he exits the school. He has seen less of his friend Chris since they moved him to another class. Strangely though Chris remarks to him how much of good time they had yesterday night playing video games.

Marco never went over to Chris's yesterday.

Chris takes his friend's confusion as a sign that he has been studying too hard. Marco agrees with him and hurries home.

While Marco worries over this new development, Nikki spends Friday evening time with her "study group". In addition to Maeve and Amanda, she hangs out with Amanda's friend Melissa Murphy, a skilled soccer player. The four of them seem to get along well.

Nikki's goal of forming a clique seems to be working. She earns a Beat for fulfilling her Aspiration to make "friends".

Saturday morning, the children meet with Charlie to help her with carving out a home in the Hedge. She leads them to a muddy section of the Hedge where a rusty bus is sinking into the muck. Peering in through the back door, they can see the skeletons of Hobs still resting in their seats. The interior is mostly dry but could use some scrubbing. Charlie lowers a rope ladder down the center of the tilted vehicle. She shows them that the front end of the bus, buried deep underground, breaks into the Under-Hedge. "This way I have two ways out."

The group divides up the work and begins moving the bones and dirt out of the bus. Between the five of them, they finish most of the work in only a couple of hours. Nikki in particular keeps an eye out for anything strange among the bones and jacket pockets. On the corpse of a Hob dressed as a conductor, she finds two tickets, each punched once, with the destination labeled "Nowhere". She gives the tickets to Rocco for his investigations. For his part, the young Elemental discovers that the engine is salvageable. Marco gets to work on repairing it.

I decided 20 successes would be necessary to make this location livable The clean up work required Dexterity (to account for the weird geography) + Stamina rolls from all of them. Most of them accrued 1 or 2 successes but Rocco got 5 for an exceptional success. Thus he found a free power source.

Nikki meanwhile made a Wits +Investigation roll, getting 2 successes and finding two tickets to nowhere.

Another hour of work sees the lights turn on and the place become mostly livable. Rocco and Nikki excuse themselves and head for the Night Market while Mir decides to look for Hedge. Miroslav hopes to trade an introduction to the time traveler to the Queen of Shadows for a favor.

Marco rolls Dexterity + Crafts + 2 for his tools and gets 4 successes to get the engine going.

Nikki and Rocco soon arrive at the Night Market. This time the Freehold has set up their brightly colored tents in Mo-Hedge. Crushed cubes of cars mark the boundaries of the Market and a single block in the center blares out 50s tunes. Nikki takes Rocco to the Sisters. She finds her patrons engaged in an argument with a beautiful black man dressed like a rap star. The man, MC Arcadia as Nikki recalls, tries to explain why including mortals at the ball would make it better. While two of the sisters point out the dangers, the third notices the little girl.

Nikki asks if they need help but the Syzygy sister tells her it is just an old argument. Nikki asks if she knows Ruzena. As she describes her, the sparkling woman recalls the river fae. But she isn't a member of the Court of Jewels. She belongs to the Guild of Shadows.

Rocco thanks them and goes looking for more information.

Nikki meanwhile gets back to work on the mural, filling out the night sky and dark waters of the canals. Adding a spark of magic, the art takes on an inspired quality.

Nikki spends a couple of hours on this and rolls two more times. The first Wits + Expression roll gets 3 successes. The second gets 4.

I modified her "gift" and "curse" a bit from her deal since last time. Thanks to her Seeming and Kith most of her bonuses cancel out the curse of her lack of empathy. She still gets 9 agains on Subterfuge and does not lose 10 agains on Manipulation rolls. She does not get 10 agains on Empathy. Additionally from her "Artist Kith" we changed how she can use Glamour with art. She no longer can spend a Glamour to reroll an Expression roll but instead can use it to make a normal success into an Exceptional Success. This allows her to speed the crafting time or make her art especially impressive.

She spends a Glamour for that now.

As she works, another argument breaks her concentration. Lady Sidereal, a silver-haired woman dressed in finery that glows like the moon is in a heated discussion with Duke Opal, a gemstone Elemental. They are discussing whether to decorate the ball with the moon and stars or hanging crystals. Nikki decides to try to defuse the argument, pointing out that the stars are like jewels of the night sky. Duke Opal seems somewhat mollified while Sidereal becomes entranced by Nikki's incomplete but still beautiful painting.

Nikki rolls Presence + Persuasion to defuse the situation, getting a sound 3 successes.

She offers the young girl tutelage in the art of hedge spinning in exchange for a portrait. She explains that this will allow her to make magical paintings in addition to other items. Nikki agrees to the deal once she has completed her mural.

Nikki earns a Beat for the Aspiration 'Be sought out for my art'.

Out in the real world, Miroslav scours the neighborhood for Hedge. Despite his best efforts however he is unable to find him. He does recall that the strange Darkling has been not as visible lately. Miroslav makes plans to visit the Goblin Market that night.

Meanwhile Marco helps Charlie finish cleaning up the bus. Charlie thanks him for his help but despite her shy hints, he fails to pick up that she might be interested in more than friendship. They discuss getting a door to real world, one tied to the Reichardt apartment building, so she can pop in. As they finish up, Marco asks Charlie what she knows about weird doubles of people like fetches. She admits not knowing too much about it but promises to find out more.

Marco's player is aware of Charlie's crush. But the character isn't.

At the Night Market, Rocco looks for someone from the Guild of Shadows. He is unable to find the Queen but does encounter a tall freakish looking woman named Erin Cobblflesh instead. The patchwork woman has been mixed with fish parts rendering her hideous. Rocco begins hesitantly, by asking what the real rules of the Market are. Specifically he is curious if it is a crime for someone to mess around in another Changeling's mundane life or to endanger mortals. Erin guardedly answers that it isn't necessarily, unless it endangers the Market. She presses him to get to the point.

Rocco swears her to secrecy and then reveals Ruzena's murderous past. He points out the mortal authorities may be able to put this together. Erin seems to take the threat seriously but remains hesitant. She explains that Ruzena owes the Queen of Shadows favors and might working for her. However she agrees to discuss it with the Queen.

Rocco rolls Manipulation + Persuasion to convince Erin to Pledge not to speak of this to Ruzena.
Later that night, Mir talks the others into going to the Goblin Market to track down Hedge. Rocco asks his friend to do his own digging within the Guild of Shadows on Ruzena. Nikki meanwhile decides to stay home, choosing to wipe her slate clean by covering for Miroslav this time around.

The three children creep out to the crack house. Passing under the crow covered power lines, they see the lights turn on as the clock strikes midnight. Inside they encounter the usual menagerie of rejects and dark deals but no Hedge.

Instead they find his stall mostly empty, except for a scattering of papers. Miroslav searches the room. There is nothing that indicates where he went. Based on the water damage from a cracked window, Miroslav guesses he has been gone a couple of days. He looks at the papers: a drawing of a man with inhumanly long flexible arms, another of a tower surrounded by gardens, a single phrase "I sealed it all away."

Miroslav rolls Wits + Investigation to figure out how long Hedge has been gone.

The children decide to ask the other merchants. Through the next door over, a one-eyed freak in a garbage bag is selling broken twins. They manage to learn from her that Hedge left town a few nights ago. He felt he was being watched. With no business left here, the motley heads home.

Once back, Rocco again invades his father's dreams. This time he crafts a pleasant dream of Mr. McQueen and his father talking about the matter of his new girlfriend. Despite the more positive medium, the experience still weighs on his mind.

Rocco rolls Manipulation + Persuasion + Wyrd and opens a second Door. However we agree that messing with people's minds like this is a Breaking Point for Rocco. He succeeds on his Clarity roll and gains the Guilty Condition.

As Sunday afternoon arrives, Miroslav slips out into the Hedge to research the slender man in the library of the Guild of Shadows. Flipping through a series of books labeled Hedgepedia, Mir uncovers an entry on the Slender Man. But it is mysteriously blank.

Looking through some historical records however he uncovers sightings, mysterious disappearances, and folklore. But no hard facts. He spends hours digging until he uncovers a journal by a knowledgeable occultist looking into disappearances from 80 years ago. This person, who Mir isn't sure was a Changeling, claims that children and adults taken by the Slender Man vanished not just from their homes but also the Hedge. Where they went is a mystery.

Miroslav's initial research roll is Intelligence + Occult and mostly uncovers an absence of information. The Changelings of Detroit somehow don't know about Keepers. He decides to dig through the historical records with an Intelligence + Occult roll as a - 2 penalty. He spends Willpower and succeeds.

Having hit a dead-end, Miroslav turns his mind to Hedge. Where did he go? From the history the crazy time traveler provided him, Miroslav determines one thing. Hedge has no direct knowledge about anything from the 1980s to sometime in the future. That period is the gap where he was elsewhere. Not that it helps Miroslav find him now.The teen considers his options. Hedge is tied to Rosebriar, New York. He is supposed to return there at some point.

Miroslav rolls Intelligence + Investigation to see what he can learn about Hedge from his notes.

Rocco meanwhile spends Sunday surfing the internet. He finds some message boards on conspiracies and disappearances. He leaves posts pointing people to Hedge hoping that they can find him. He comes across some material that suggests others know about the fae: descriptions of gates into the Hedge, strange kidnappings, and sightings of things that might be Changelings. They call themselves the Network.

Rocco rolls Wits + Computer to do some networking. He also intersects with some posts belonging to people that will come to form Network 0, the hunter organization.

Nikki spends Sunday completing her mural.

Nikki gets 4 successes, easily reaching her goal.

The children return to school the following week. While homework and class keep them busy, Nikki finds some time to talk to Lady Sidereal. The platinum haired woman leads her through the Hedge to the home of an associate of hers: Eman Janni. The sand Elemental lives in what looks like a massive bottle turned over on its side. From the conversation between the two of them, it seems Eman owes Sidereal a favor. She agrees to teach the young Fairest the art of hedge spinning.

Later that evening as she slips back home, Nikki's mom corners her. She wants to know what has happened to change Nikki. Not interested in struggling to convince her, Nikki reveals her blackmail: that her mother was lying to her earlier about why her father left so suddenly. Shocked, her mom lets the matter lie.

Nikki resolves her Condition: Caught in a Lie, getting an automatic success in a social roll with her mother and earning a Beat.

A couple of days later, there is a knock at the door of the Callaghans. Miroslav opens it to find a smiling man in suit waiting there. The man asks if this is the Callaghan residence. Mrs. Callaghan comes out to talk to him. The man calls himself Elias Brown and is interested in Aiden "Lucky" Callaghan. Their mother quickly shoos Nikki and Miroslav from the room. They choose to retreat to their room and listen at the door.

Elias reveals that he is a private detective looking into a series of con jobs done by their father. He says Kelly and the Kid have already turned over evidence against him. He tries to press their mother into also helping him. Vadoma resists, even when Mr. Brown hints that he will turn her in as well.

Elias tries to sweeten his deal, asking just for some information on Aiden's accomplices. He names several but Mrs. Callaghan either refuses or claims not to know who he talking about. One of these names, Alice Ruby, sticks in Miroslav's mind. He saw that name in the Hedgepedia. But it was listed as Alice of the Ruby something.

Miroslav rolls Intelligence + Composure to recall where he saw this name before.

As Elias winds down, he tells their mother that he will be back. The children however can tell he is bluffing. He doesn't sound like he has anything solid against their mother. They emerge after he leaves and their mother tells them it will be alright. But she doesn't sound convinced.

Nikki and Mir roll Wits + Subterfuge to see through his bluff. The players make comments about how all of their parents are in trouble and they will become orphans. I point out their parents are not in danger of dying (other than Mr. McQueen) so they would become wards of the state.

Friday afternoon Rocco gets a phone call after school. It is from Everett downstairs. In a shaky voice the young boy asks him what really happened to his sister Yvett on New Years Eve. He explains that since then things have gotten very strange. Something keeps moving in the walls and recently a creepy doll appeared in her room. Everett whispers that the doll talks to him.

Creeped out himself, Rocco invites the boy up to his apartment. Everett hesitates but Rocco assures him that Marco won't be there. A minute later the small African-American child enters the McQueen apartment. Rocco and Everett talk and the Changeling hints at what is really going on.

They decide to look at the mysterious "gift". They find the porcelain doll sitting on a chair. Rocco can see through its Mask to the cracked and worm-eaten reality. A single eye rolls madly in its head as it giggles at them. Rocco takes Everett back out of the room and tries to convince him to work with him to destroy the doll. He explains it is evil.

Honestly I wouldn't ask for a roll here but Rocco wants Everett to trust him. Given the craziness he was spouting, this was a challenge. Rocco rolls Manipulation + Empathy - 4 for his Madness + 3 for Willpower spent. He succeeds and earns a Beat for his Madness Condition.

The two children take the doll to the basement furnace and throw it in. It laughs as it burns and twists in on itself. Rocco shivers.

A talking doll is literally one of Rocco's breaking points. He rolls for Clarity, succeeds and gains the Spooked Condition. He earns another Beat for achieving his Aspiration of learning more about Everett.

After their ordeal, Rocco tells Everett to keep quiet about this and that he and his friends will help put an end to this. Everett says he can't deal with both this and Marco though. Rocco is furious that his brother is back to bullying Everett and says he will talk to him.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Marco muses that his Uncle Angelo has been much better disposed to him recently. It occurs to him that it isn't natural. The only way that could happen is if he was helping Angelo with his crimes. But he hasn't. Also the school kids are treating him with respect again. Like he was a bully. Something isn't right.

Marco earns a Beat for the Aspiration "get my cred back."

Suddenly Charlie stumbles out from behind a fence. She's crying and a light bruise is spreading across her face. As she leans on his shoulder, she explains she was coming to tell him about fetches when a double of Marco, a fetch, attacked her. She escaped but not before he hurt her. Marco consoles her and then they go to find others.

And her bad luck catches up with her.

Marco and Charlie head to the apartments. He finds his brother and before he can start shouting, explains the situation. Rocco realizes that Marco's fetch would likely go after Mir or Nikki next. They hurry downstairs.

But shortly before they arrive, Miroslav gets a phone call. From Marco.

Marco tells him that he spotted Hedge nearby. He gives him an address and says he will wait.

By the time the others arrive Miroslav is already gone. Mir quickly makes his way to the intersection. After stealthily scoping the location out he finds Marco and asks him where Hedge went. Then he realizes Marco looks like he used to, like a normal boy.

Then Ryan steps out of the bushes behind him.

Meanwhile blocks away, Nikki hangs out with her new friends on her "study session."

So a nice cliffhanger to end on. Marco's double returns from the Witch-House to resolve some loose ends like Uncle Angelo and the bullying. The group was somewhat thrown by Ryan rather than Chris showing up. I felt that battle had been fought and Marco had pushed his friend Chris on a better path.

Experience Time. Everyone earned at least 2 Beats with Nikki getting a third. I awarded two roleplaying Beats and a Session Beat. Each player earns an Experience.

Conditions

As I mentioned last week, I really love the Condition mechanic for the updated rules for World of Darkness. I thought this week I'd share some of the ones I've created as well as my thoughts for using them in game lines that have yet to be given the God-Machine Chronicle treatment.

In most cases coming up with a new Condition is fairly easy. They should have some minor game effect, like adding or subtracting up to two dice, restricting rolls, removing 10-agains or adding 9-agains, or interacting with the sub-systems of the game. There is also some precedent for giving automatic successes under specific circumstances.

Here are some examples from my current Chronicle:

Like a Ninja/Rigged for Silent Running

Gained through an exceptional success on a Stealth roll, these two Conditions both give a one time +2 bonus to Stealth rolls. under specific circumstances.

Examples Skills: Stealth

Resolution: the character makes use of their superior ambush location (Like a Ninja) or the well oiled nature of their wheelchair (or other vehicle) (Rigged for Silent Running).

Backdoor Access

Through a mixture of skill and luck, you gain access to an important database, such as the local police or the DMV. You can use this access at a later date to help with future Computer rolls gaining a +2 bonus.

Examples Skills: Computer

Resolution: the character makes use of their access. This use is likely flagged and the backdoor closed.

Caught in a Lie

Somewhat similar to Leveraged but turned around, you've managed to determine that someone has been lying to you. You can use this knowledge to stop their arguments in their tracks, using it to turn a failure into a success. If the roll would have been a chance die, then you can reroll it as if you had a single die.

Examples Skills: Empathy, Investigation, Subterfuge

Resolution: the character brings up the lie in an argument, suing it to win an exchange.

Conditions for Philosophies

I've enjoyed reading the unfinished text for Demon: the Descent which Onyx Path has released for their kickstarter. One of the interesting things I've found are their use of Conditions as the mechanical component for Agendas, or that game's philosophical access. I think this concept could be useful for emphasizing similar groups in Geist: the Sineaters and Promethean: the Created.

With that in mind, here is a stab at Conditions for Promethean. Each of these include a Resolution mechanic that can be used once per session. As always you can earn a Beat for a condition once per session.

Aurum: Observer of Humanity

The Refinement of Gold is about understanding what it is to be human. Through hours of watching and interacting with people, the Promethean is able to imitate them thoroughly.

Beat: Gain a Beat by meeting new people, getting to know a person, or spending an hour or more in a crowded location.

Resolution: the Promethean is able to mimic human behavior and put people at ease. They gain a +3 bonus to a Social roll to blend in. This could include Socialize or Streetwise rolls to gather information, Persuasion or Subterfuge rolls to make a mortal believe you are someone or something you are not, or Empathy rolls to create an emotional connection.

Cuprum: Refined Senses

The Refinement of Copper focuses on the Self and Sensation. Through meditation and quiet reflection they gain a better understanding who and what they are.

Beat: Gain a Beat by spending time in the wilderness or Wasteland, or traveling just to avoid people.

Resolution: the Promethean's senses are refined through long periods of isolation. Gain a +3 bonus to a Wits based perception roll.

Ferrum: A Perfect Body

The Refinement of Iron deals with perfecting the body. With training and physical struggle they work to make their physical forms ideal receptacles for the souls they seek.

Beat: Gain a Beat for overcoming or failing a physical challenge, getting into a fight to prove oneself, or risking discovery to learn more about the inner workings of the human body.

Resolution: the Promethean's physique is without equal. Gain a +3 bonus to a roll involving physical skill or strength.

Mercurius: Divine Insight

Students of the Refinement of Quicksilver deal in Pyros, the raw stuff that powers Prometheans. By exploring this mystic substance that brings life and change to the dead and inert, they hope to learn how to forge souls.

Beat: Gain a Beat by pursing Qashillim, investigating Pandorans, or involved in a Firestorm or other Pyros fueled phenomena.

Resolution: the Promethean's researches give them a form of insight. Gain a +3 bonus on a Mental skill roll involving the Pilgrimage or the Promethean condition.

Stannum: Tormented Rage

The Refinement of Tin is one of Torment, Disquiet and revenge. Dealing with the dark side of the Promethean condition, these Prometheans learns to accept what they are and thus live with it. It is an easy path to take, one fueled by revenge and a desire to strike back at the world.

Beat: Gain a Beat by getting revenge on someone or giving in to Torment.

Resolution: the Promethean's understanding of its darker nature gives it an edge. Gain a +3 bonus to rolls to enact revenge on someone who wronged you (or that you imagine wronged you).

That is it for now. I'm still thinking on some more options for Conditions for Integrity rolls as well as ways to represent the downsides of some of the supernatural types (like Promthean's Torment). Let me know what Conditions you've used.

Wheels of Darkness III

Originally published November 18, 2013

The World of Darkness is full of many mysteries and many twisted things lurk in the shadows. While the default focus is on local events and urban locations, people still need to get around. In this series of blogs, I will present some of the cars, bikes and other vehicles that have appeared in my World of Darkness Chronicles.

The Enchanted Motorcycle

Surveillance Report by Crash Override, Hoplite of the Panopticon pylon the Disciples of Alhazen:

Target: Vespa, Libertine and Herald

With the "help" of our clueless local government and assorted paranoid companies, I patched together the feeds from 109 security and traffic camera to produce a video diary of the target's day. See the attachment. Pretty boring. Drive across town, deliver message, drive across town, deliver package, etc.

Anyway, that's not what you wanted. If you had bothered to say what you wanted. You want to know about her defenses. No one contracts the Eye just to know where someone is. Especially not the Praetarian.

So anyway back to what you are paying for. Vespa's not anything special, just another Obrimos with a bit of tech fetish. Disciple level of Prime at best, though probably not with Forces. Seems to be gifted with Matter. Probably a Disciple of that as well.

Her bike is something special. Matter enhanced, tough as steel and with acceleration boosted all to hell. If you don't pick off her or the bike off fast, she'll be out of there. Given what I've seen I'd favor sniping the girl.

The bike's warded against magics and seems to have usual enhancements: platonic mechanisms and an endless gas tank. Don't expect luck to be on your side. Don't expect to be able to chase her down. Just shoot her.

But then who am I to tell you what to do. You're the ones with the guns.

The Free Council love their technology as much as they do their magic. Mixing modern science and ancient magics comes naturally to them. So it is no surprise that they have a collection of enhanced and enchanted vehicles at their disposal.

The Enchanted Motorcycle is common example of this. Owned by the Herald of the city of Chicago, this sleek motorcycle moves with almost supernatural grace and surprising speed. Thanks to a mix of mundane engineering and magical enhancement, it can outrun almost anything on the ground.

Learning More

Here are some mundane skills that could help in learning more about the enchanted motorcycle:

Drive or Crafts: That's one well made machine. The way it moves it is clear it has custom suspension work. That acceleration is crazy. Someone who knows about vehicles can easily see that this bike has been modified. They might be puzzled however at how it shrugs off bullets and never seems break down. Or need gas.

Occult: Those squiggles along the edge of the bike's chassis, those are not artwork. Notice how you can't quite focus on them. No it isn't the blurriness of the image. Those are magical runes. This bike is enchanted. Occult reveals the outward signs of the motorcycle's supernatural nature. Disrupting those runes might cripple its powers somehow.

Under Mage Sight, the motorcycle clearly shows signs of magic. An extended Wits + Occult roll at a -2 penalty reveals the following information:

• 1 success: the resonance of the creator: a blurring of objects at the edge of your vision.
• 3 successes: the Arcana used on the motorcycle: Matter and Fate.
• 6 successes: the mage who created this item was of medium level of enlightenment (Gnosis).
• 8+ successes: the mage is a Disciple of the Arcanum of Matter and an Initiate of the Arcanum of Fate.

Secrets

The Enchanted Motorcycle is a modified Yamaha YZF-R1. Its body has been magically reinforced to protect it from crashes or mundane attacks. A potent Matter spell has been placed on the gas tank to ensure it always has plenty of fuel. The engine, tires and drive train has been enhanced to give it a blisteringly fast acceleration. Just as importantly Fate magics have been worked on it to ensure that no mundane glitch will cause it to fail. Its parts don't wear out, they don't fail, and the weather never slows it down.

Enchanted Item: 9 dots
Durability: 3, Size: 6, Structure: 7
Acceleration: 63 (86 mph/turn), Safe Speed: 117 (80 mph), Speed: 335 (228 mph)
Handling: 6, Occupants: 1+1

Additionally the current owner, Vespa, makes use of the Atlantean runes inscribed on the chassis to hang a spell for magically shielding the motorcycle. Typically this is inflicts a -3 penalty to spells used on the vehicle if she spends a point of Mana. Vespa typically invests the vehicle with 3 Mana.

Vespa

Herald of Chicago, Disciple of Arcana of Matter and Prime, Minuteman in the Free Council

Background: Vespa was always an activist, fighting those in authority for what she saw as the right reasons. Unfortunately she fell in with the wrong crowd and things got violent. She Awakened when she unsuccessfully tried to stop the firebombing of some SUVs. Though the burns marred her face, inside she gained insight into what really needed to be done.

She joined the Free Council and worked to fight the Seers and move Mage society forward. While socially she has advanced considerably, she has become somewhat unfocused magically and has yet to take a legacy.

Description: A nasty burn scar mars the face of this blond-haired young woman. Despite the visible reminder she is recklessly sure of herself plunging into danger without a second thought.

Storyteller Notes: Vespa is driven but friendly and helpful. She believes in the power of communication and works to open channels between the various Orders in the city. At the same time she can't take it slow and hates it when people are late.

Path: Obrimos Order: Free Council
Virtue: Faith Vice: Lust
Arcana: Death 1, Fate 2, Forces 2, Matter 3, Prime 3, Spirit 1, Time 2

Review: Psi-Run

Originally published November 13, 2013

Last weekend, I finished my first game of a role-playing game called Psi-Run. Written by Meguey Baker, this game focuses on the story of a group of escaped psychics as they flee mysterious chasers and attempt to recover their lost memories.

It is a very focused game story-wise though it gives the gamemaster (GM) and players a lot of leeway in defining the nature of the powers involved and the figures chasing the player characters (PCs).

Mechanics

The game mechanics of the game are fairly simple. You roll a number of six-sided dice equal to the number of items at risk plus one. Things that might be at risk include the success of your current goal, the possibility of triggering a memory, the chance the chasers get closer or capture you, in some cases the chance of getting hurt, and if you are using them, the possibility of your powers going out of control and harming others.

You then assign the rolls to the relevant categories which determine how successful you are. This can lead to some interesting choices. Do you put a low roll on harm (and get hurt) but achieve your goals? Do you let the agents get closer to avoid hurting people with your powers? Do you choose to remember something even if it means capture?

The other main "mechanic" is how the Chase, or story line, is constructed. As your PCs flee they move from scene to scene with each scene being recorded on an index card. So you start at the Crash, where the psychics escape their captors. When they leave the crash site, you create a new card for that scene. Then you add the agents at the crash site. As the PCs move to the next card, the agents may follow and catch up. Once they do, then the PCs will risk being captured or even disappearing forever.

Along the way the PCs are trying to escape but they are also trying to remember who they are. Each PC has six questions on their sheet that can cover everything from their real name to the importance of key in their pocket.

The game ends once a PC remembers the answers to their questions. At that point they remember their past and now know how to escape. At that point you enter the purely narrative section of the game called the Crossroads. Here the players determine what their characters ending is. They might turn the tables on the chasers, find a refuge, or make an important discovery about their abilities.

Gameplay

This might be easier to understand with a brief example. For my game I had three PCs: Daisy Star, JC, and Sandra Grey.

Daisy Star is a heavily tattooed woman in tight jeans and velvet top. A petite blond, she possesses the power of clairsentience which takes the form of greatly enhanced senses. She can track a scent like a blood hound or hear a heartbeat from a block away. Her questions include: who is she really? Why she was captured and for how long? Where does she live?

JC seems to be an old man with a surprising resemblance to the late George Carlin. Wearing a tutu for unknown reasons, he has the ability to travel back in time about 5 seconds. He started with only four questions: what is his real name? Why is he wearing a tutu? Why are they after me? How did I gain my power?

Sandra Grey, unlike the others, is dressed in a black suit, like the agents who were after them. She is a mover, able to accelerate objects and strike with telekinetic force. Her memories are fragmented with gaping holes: why is she in a dark suit? Why do men in glasses make her angry? Sandra isn't her real name but she has ID on her. How deep is her cover?

I started the chase with a helicopter crash in the woods near a large city. The PCs are remarkable unharmed, despite the fact that JC somehow ended up outside the helicopter. I lay out what they know about the Agents: they dress in dark suits and sunglasses and use high-tech surveillance and unethical cybernetics to pursue their targets.

As they climb out of the smoldering wreckage, Daisy grabs the med kit. Grey checks on the pilot and the agent on board. Both are very dead with the pilot leaking computer chips from the back of his head. JC tries to recall why he is here.

He rolls 4 dice: one for his goal, one for a randomly triggered memory, one for the agents getting closer, and one extra for being a Runner. He gets a good roll and is able to trigger a memory without letting the agents get closer. Since he put a 6 on memory, he chooses the memory. He chooses to learn why he wearing a tutu, recalling the Agents busting in while he was teaching his granddaughter to do ballet.

Sandra and Daisy also try to trigger some memories before pushing on. Sandra recalls being an agent who went rogue. She might have caused the crash. Daisy was a quisling, a psychic used to catch more of her kind. In both cases the die they placed for the memory wasn't high enough to let them decide their memory. Instead it was up to the other players to decide what they recalled.

The PCs made their way to a nearby highway, checking their pockets along the way. I laid out a card for the next scene: the Highway. Sandra finds a slip of paper with an address in New York, someplace called Rhine Tower. JC finds a note in someone else's handwriting: "don't let Sandra look at Monitors." Daisy has a matchbox for a place called Red Star and a key to a lock.

They follow the highway to the city of Portland, Oregon. I add another card. Daisy recalls living here and also recalls an ex-boyfriend who she broke up with shortly before her capture. Careful to avoid cameras taken, they visit his apartment. As they do, I have the agents arrive at the crash site. A towering figure called Agent Red talks with a tall brunette, Agent Gold, about their next step. They use a mysterious device in a large briefcase to begin to track the PCs.

At the boyfriend's house we had our first use of a power. Daisy used her ability to detect who was in the house based on their heartbeats. Unfortunately the player rolled poorly and Daisy was distracted by the numerous sounds of the neighborhood. She did realize it was Sunday though based on an overheard radio 2 blocks away.

Later after a botched attempt to convince John McCubbin, the boyfriend, to cooperate peacefully, JC has to deal with John's new girlfriend who is sleeping upstairs. It goes poorly when she screams at the intruder in the house. This time a player uses his power successfully as JC turns back time to handle the situation more delicately.

In the end Daisy comes out of it with many of her questions answered but not many leads of where to go. The group does a bit of car shuffling, taking John's to take a bus to a quiet lot where they steal another car. Daisy remembers some of her criminal past as they make their way east to the Tri-City area.

As they plot their next move at an isolated motel, they start to wonder if they are being tracked through something other than camera. Sandra and Daisy find surgical scars on their heads. JC doesn't have any scars but does find a note on his back in sharpie: Rhine. They decide to extract whatever chips the agents put in them. Then they will hit an ATM using Sandra to break it open and JC to grab the money and rewind time to before it was damaged. Money from nowhere.

Sandra's surgery goes easily. It seems that Daisy somehow is a skilled surgeon. When Sandra operates on Daisy the process is tougher. As some of the chips are pulled there is damage and her medical knowledge vanishes. In mechanical terms, the player rolled poorly and decided to place a low value on harm. Daisy will be injured for the rest of the session.

JC takes the chips to a truck stop while the women rest. Then suddenly outside agents fold out of nothing in the parking lot. Since the players were in different locations I added two side by side index cards for the two scenes. The agent markers moved to both cards.

This was where we broke up for the first session. Daisy recovers from her harm and we picked up at the next session with the agents arriving to capture the PCs.

As Sandra and Daisy try to escape, rolling poorly with each attempt and slowly getting injured and captured, JC escapes his attacker and heads to the rescue. And we get to see what a bad roll on power control looks like.

By the time JC gets the motel, Sandra is on the ground stunned and handcuffed. Daisy has suffered a concussion trying to ram a car into Agent Red. JC decides to rewind time to grab Red's stun gun and zap him with it. We've previously learned that JC is actually from an alternate time line, one where George Carlin is alive and has psychic powers. When he shifts in time, he sometimes brings things from those other timelines here.

When the alternate version of the motel collides with its counterpart, the explosion rocks the everything for blocks. JC is standing over Sandra holding a stun gun as bits of Red and the motel rain from the sky.

The group escapes east, eventually shifting to an RV. Along the way they have more tussles with the agents, carry out their daring ATM theft and make their way toward Rhine Tower, a refuge for their kind as Sandra remembers. She was sent by them to infiltrate the psychic hunters.

Eventually in Champaign, Illinois JC remembers the answer to his last question: why the agents are after him specifically. They are after his power, his ability to travel between timelines. With that they could become all-powerful.

At this point they have reached the cross roads and describe how their character stops running. JC chooses Turning the Tables. He forms a team with the psychics at Rhine Tower to counter the agents when they come for a psychic. Sandra finds herself Home at Rhine Tower while Daisy chooses to Hide herself there.

Conclusion

Like many free form games Psi-Run leans more heavily on the GM and players in order to deliver an enjoyable experience. The players need to be willing to take the narrative reins and the group needs to trust each other as well as respect each others boundaries.

As long as that is the case, this can be a really fun game. I think the GM's main task (other than delivering interesting descriptions of locations and action) is maintain the pressure. Give them leeway so they'll start risking harm or damage to others but be ready to bring the Agents into the scene to deliver tension.

In my game people quickly got a sense of the gameplay and created some very cool and zany action. I was a bit worried about bad dice rolls causing serious troubles but generally speaking the odds are good that 1 or even 2 sets of bad results won't eliminate a PC. I think a GM might actually need to encourage players to take more risks.

I definitely recommend giving the game a chance.

Wheels of Darkness II

Originally published November 11, 2013

The World of Darkness is full of many mysteries and many twisted things lurk in the shadows. While the default focus is on local events and urban locations, people still need to get around. In this series of blogs, I will present some of the cars, bikes and other vehicles that have appeared in my World of Darkness Chronicles.

Streetsharks

From the files of Agent White:

Field Report: Day 8 of tracking the Driveby Killer.

Today we got our first real break with the 14th confirmed victim. As with all earlier cases, victim was found on the side of a road. The victim, a Caucasian man in his early 40s, showed signs of blunt force trauma consistent with an impact with a vehicle moving at high-speed. Additionally the body exhibited bites consistent with a large predator. The techs are still looking at the body but I suspect we will find the same metallic traces in the wounds.

Our break is a consequence of the ENE's movement into more populated areas. A security camera at a nearby gas station captured the incident. As per protocol I've confiscated the evidence and am attaching it with this report. As you can see it was nothing like we expected. I thought we might be dealing with a shapeshifter, perhaps some cryptid or just a lunatic with a fetish for vehicular manslaughter.

The video however shows an older model full-sized car collide with the victim and then bite him.

The car seems to be the Driveby Killer. Though it resembles a '59 Cadillac, the size and proportions of the suggest substantial customization work, in particular with regards to the grill and headlights. Visual distortion in the film at the moment of impact suggests some sort of cloaking effect like we encountered with the ENE code-named Community. A single frame on the video (still also attached) shows the creature to be some sort of monstrous mix of car and shark. Note the dorsal fin and the chrome covered teeth consistent with the tech reports.

I've alerted the local authorities to look for the car's more mundane description. We've blocked off all roads it might have taken out of the area but given our experiences in Lewisburg, I don't have much hope that we will catch it this way.

Given that we now know that it is the car we are looking for and not the driver, I'm requesting a larger more powerful vehicle for further pursuit. A high powered weapon for taking down a large armored target would also be greatly appreciated.

A common tale told in Mo-Hedge (Detroit):

A long time ago back when Mo-Hedge was all asphalt and humming factories, gigantic cars cruised the Trods that crisscrossed this country. Some say they were the Hedge's reflections of the elaborate cars of the 50s with their tail fins and massive steel bodies. Others say they were crafted by Changelings seeking a quick way to traverse the Hedge.

But the real story is that they were crafted by a Keeper called the Emperor Machine, a member of the Gentry who sought to claim part of the Hedge as his private domain. Maybe even some of the real world.

He started by building a massive factory on the border between the Hedge and the real world. Right here in Motor City. There he worked captured Changelings and Hobs to death, slaving away on ever more elaborate cars.

His finest creations were the Streetsharks. Massive cars half again as long and wide as a Cadillac with blazing headlights for eyes and a grill made up of chrome-plated shark's teeth. These terrors would cruise the highways of the real world snatching up anyone who came across their path. Some they would carry off into the Hedge, Arcadia or the Emperor Machine's factory. Others, the lucky ones, were just eaten, their blood used as fuel by the ravenous automobiles.

What happened to them?

Well the Emperor Machine was constantly upgrading himself, adding new mechanisms and tools to his body of gears and oil. One the workers at the factory, an Ogre by the name of Sam Steelskin, forged a gear of cold iron and managed to slip it into his next upgrade.

The cog took time to do its damage. It started as a burning from an internal motor, then spread as the cold iron shattered internal gears, sending slivers of oil caked metal through the Emperor's systems. By the time Emperor managed to pry the toxic part from his heart, he was mortally wounded, bleeding oil and bits of metal from the wounds he had inflicted in his struggle to save himself.

His former slaves turned on him, slaying their Keeper and burning down the factory. They hunted down the Streetsharks and any other Loyalists one by one. Soon the survivors had fled to the farthest edges of the Hedge, there to die of rust and neglect.

The Emperor might have had the last laugh though. With his dying curse he doomed the fledgeling Freehold and his killers. Within a few years they had all died or taken back to Arcadia, their achievements turned to dust. You can see it work today. Detroit is poisoned by the curse as well, crumbling into ruin and poverty.

Don't mess with the Gentry.

Occasionally a tale will be told about a monstrous car which chases down hitchhikers and lonely drivers on the empty roads of the American West. Huge hulks, their headlights cracked and with rust crawling up their sides, these terrors seem implacable and out for blood. The bodies they leave in their wake are horribly savaged like they were attacked by a wild animal instead of the subject of a hit and run.

Learning More

Here are some skills that could help in learning more about Streetsharks:

Drive: The car moved with like it had a mind of its own. You swear something was messing with your perceptions. You could have sworn you had a couple of feet of clearance before it sideswiped you. And the scratches...it looks like something took a bite out of your car. Drive could reveal the Streetshark's low maneuverability as well as the fact it doesn't match any real car's chassis.

Investigation: A dozen victims across 5 states. The weird thing is you had the tunnels and bridges covered. There is no way it could have gotten away. Unless it can teleport. Using traffic cameras or a network of agents, a character could try to track the car. Investigation would reveal the car's ability to vanish without a trace and reappear miles away.

Medicine: Based on the trauma, the victim was struck by a large fast moving object. That would explain the traces of rust and chrome in the wounds. The cuts suggest a serrated weapon but the pattern combined with the indents on the ribs tell us the damage was concurrent with the moment of impact.

Occult: This could easily reveal either of the stories above, perhaps distorted or altered depending on the source. Perhaps the character obtained a file with Agent White's reports, with critical information blacked out. Or perhaps they heard a distorted version of the Changeling's tale.

Unseen Sense (Fae): The thing chasing you isn't a car. You check the odometer. 70 and climbing. It might be a relief if a cop pulls you over before this thing catches you. Unseen Sense (Fae) or another ability to see past the Mask reveals the Streetshark for what it is. Unfortunately Streetsharks seem to realize this.

Secrets

The primary secret of the Streetsharks are that they are not all dead, though only a few members remain. Another secret is that some Changelings have managed to rebuild their "carcasses" as magical vehicles, in essence potent Tokens.

Attributes (As a Car):

The Streetsharks dwarfed the largest cars of the 1950s. Fixing up a Streetshark to run again would be a massive project involving an Extended Crafts roll (35 successes required) and the procurement of a new engine (since the old engine of magic and glamour has long since decayed away). If it was able to run it would have the following stats.

Durability: 4, Size: 17, Structure: 21
Acceleration: 14 (19 mph/turn), Safe Speed: 103 (70 mph), Speed: 176 (120 mph)
Max Handling: 1, Occupants: 8

While the Mask would make it look like an older model car, the Streetshark is not street legal and is much wider than normal cars. Driving it is difficult, represented by its low handling. In traffic it gains a further -2 penalty to drive.

However it also acts as a 5 dot Token. It never needs gasoline subsisting on magic. It also allows one to jump from the real world to the Hedge and back, but only onto Trods. Each transition requires an activation roll and can only happen while on a road or Trod and when not actively watched (in the real world) and no direct light is falling on it.

Action: Reflexive.

Drawback: the Streetshark remembers something of what it was. At some point in the trip, use the stats below for a turn. The Streetshark wants to maim or kill the driver but will settle for anyone in its path.

Attributes (As a Hob):

A live Streetshark would be a terror on the roads and trods, chasing down Changelings and anything else in its path and swallowing them whole.

Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 4, Strength 7, Dexterity 2, Stamina 7, Presence 4, Manipulation 2, Composure 4
Skills: Investigation 3, Brawl 3, Drive 5, Stealth 1, Intimidation 4, Subterfuge 3
Defense: 3 (Armor 2), Size: 17, Health: 24
Initiative: 7, Willpower: 7

Virtue: Prudence. A surviving Streetshark would have needed some sense to survive what ever ended its kin.
Vice: Wrath. The Streetsharks live to murder those who trespass on their domain: the Road.

Acceleration: 14 (19 mph/turn), Speed: 176 (120 mph)

Wyrd: 4
Contracts: Darkness 1, Dream 1, Smoke 2

Abilities:

• Bite: Roll Strength + Brawl after colliding with the target. Inflicts 2 Lethal.
• Swallow Whole: After a successful bite, roll Strength + Brawl on the following round to swallow the target. The Target may be kept trapped or fed into the engine (suffering 3 Lethal per turn).
• Where There is a Road: The Streetshark can exit or enter the Hedge from a Trod or street as long as it is unobserved (in the real world) and no direct light is falling on it.

The Price Recap: Lords of the Under-Hedge

Originally published November 8, 2013

Major plot developments happen in this week's recap for my Changeling: the Lost Chronicle The Price. A full index can be found here. As we continue to move to the end of the World of Darkness: Innocents section of the game, we now begin to see how long the Hedge has infected the children's lives and those around them. We also get even more familiarity with Social Maneuvers.

Our cast:

• Marco McQueen: 12-year-old Wizened Oracle who used to be a bully. Now he seeks to reconnect with his father and protect him from Ruzena, a Changeling resembling a Rusalka, or river fae. They drown their victims.
• Miroslav "Mir" Callaghan: 13-year-old Palewraith Darkling who has joined the Guild of Shadows to learn real magic.
• Nicole "Nikki" Callaghan: sticky fingered 10-year-old sister who traded her emotional attachments for the gift of artistry. She is a Flowering Fairest but also possesses something like the Artist Kith.
• Rocco McQueen: 10-year-old genius hacker and Levinquick Elemental who was crippled in childhood accident. Now able to walk again he wants to confront his absent mother.

Also with them is Charlie Cobwebs, a young runaway and Venombite Beast. She's a bit skittish but owes the motley for saving her. She might also have a thing for Marco.

When last we left our protagonists, they had become separated. Some had been "captured" by the brownie servants of the Under-King while the others lurked in the darkness, trying to figure out how to help. They had just been led before the King and his bride-to-be...

Lords of the Under-Hedge

Charlie glances anxiously to Marco as they are brought before the Under-King. The tiny figure stares down at them with his single baleful eye. Nikki's attention is on the young girl beside him. 7-year-old Yvette is quiet, clutching her black cat, Mr. Soot, for dear life.

Nikki waits for Marco to take the lead while she takes in the root lined chamber where the king holds his court. Two flame filled braziers barely extend their light into the shadow filled space beyond, where thousands of roots reach from floor to ceiling, like twisted columns.

Marco eyes the five brownies assembled around them. He wets his lips as he takes in their small but menacingly sharp spears.

He greets the King and explains they are here because they want to see his lost princess, Yvette. They were worried when she vanished so suddenly and wanted to make sure that she was alright.

After a brief discussion, Marco leads the negotiation as the largest member of the group. He rolls Presence + Socialize to make a good impression.

The Under-King seems mollified and invites them to join him and his bride-to-be in a meal. Several of the brownies leave to retrieve wooden chairs and a table for the meal.

As the four brownies wrestle in a wobbly old table, Nikki watches Yvette carefully. The little girl's only movements are to cringe when another brownie appears. If anything her cat looks more relaxed.

Nikki rolls Wits +Empathy to read Yvette's body language.

Meanwhile hiding in the shadows, Rocco decides to secure an exit if they have to leave fast. He stumbles about in the dark trying not to attract attention. Moving clockwise from the entrance way, he finds an lit tunnel where the smell of cooking food emanates.

Rocco rolls Wits + Stealth to both hide and search.

Hurrying past the kitchen entrance he makes his way almost halfway around the vast chamber before finding another tunnel. A cool breeze comes down this gravestone walled exit. His fears getting the better of him, Rocco stumbles away. As he makes his way back to Mir, he spots another possible exit, a wooden board laden with rocks sealing off a tunnel in the floor of the chamber.

Rocco carefully pulls the rocks off one by one and slides the board aside. A musky odor wafts up to him. Not willing to risk a light here, he slides down the tunnel a ways. His passage stirs up some stick like objects on the floor of the tunnel. He lights his flashlight, illuminating a narrow passage lined in the bones of hundreds of rats.

Rocco rolls Dexterity + Stealth to move the rocks without attracting attention.

Miroslav meanwhile focuses on the scene enfolding in the small lit area. As the meal is brought out, a gray furred cat walks up beside him and rubs against his leg. It looks up at him with bright green eyes and then looks at the Under-King.

As Mir tries to make sense of this, the cat pantomimes pouncing in the direction of the King. A pair of cats join the one in front of him. Miroslav asks if the cats want to attack the King. As three more cats approach, Miroslav gets a strange sense that the cats are offering to attack the Hobs for a later favor. Mir tells them to wait. He watches the scene hoping violence won't be necessary.

Back in the throne room, Nikki sits next to King at the newly set table while Marco places himself next to Yvette. As Charlie sits down between them, a plate of Goblin Fruits is placed before them. In addition to a pair of murples, there are several waxy white fruits and a bunch of orange-brown tubers.

Nikki asks what these things are. The Under-King explains they are cheese melons and peartatos. He cracks open one of the waxy spheres, revealing a soft cheesy center.

Cheese melons have no special effect other than being like cheese but peartatos grant a +1 bonus to Study (for child characters) or Academics (for adults).

As Nikki bites into a sweet and juicy tuber, she recalls who Yvette's teacher should be. She asks the little girl if she is looking forward to going back to Mr. Matthew's class. The Under-King's lopsided face twists in displeasure but Yvette haltingly says yes.

Nikki rolls Intelligence + Study to recall which teacher Yvette has and then Wits +Socialize to gauge what the diners think of this topic of conversation.

Marco meanwhile leans over to grab a murple. As he bites into the purple flesh, he casts his thoughts to Yvette's desires. He can feel her curiosity about this strange place boiling just beneath the surface.

Marco refills his Glamour pool with the Murple and then uses Fleeting Spring (rolling Wits + Wyrd) to read Yvette's surface desires.

Marco starts to tell the little girl what he knows of Hedge. The Venombite to his left adds tales of her own explorations. Gradually Yvette becomes more animate and talks more freely.

Satisfying Yvette's Aspiration to know more about the Hedge opens a Door should they need to convince her of something.

A few minutes later the main course is brought out. The roast beast is the size of a cat but with a trunk and a long skinny tail. Its savory smell contrasts with its odd appearance. Nikki asks what kind of animal this is. The Under-King proudly says that the best roast rodelephant was cooked for this meal. Nikki then turns to Yvette and remarks on how much food has been prepared. She asks if Yvette has eaten since she was brought to the Under-Hedge.

The Under-King supplies that Yvette had asked for a candy bar and some of his brownies have procured some to be baked into the desert. Nikki offers her Skittles to add to the final course, informing the King that they taste like rainbows. The King accepts her gift graciously and lets the cooks take the slightly crushed candy to the kitchen.

As the group puts Yvette at ease they open a door for the Under-King as they fulfills his aspiration of making Yvette comfortable. Also Nikki gets to share fulfilling Yvette Aspiration of getting lots of candy with the King.

Out in the darkness, Miroslav realizes he hasn't seen Rocco in a while. He looks at the spot he last saw him. A faint glow comes from a hole in the ground.

It was around this point that Miroslav asked where Rocco went. I had him roll Intelligence + Composure with a - 2 penalty due to the distraction of the cats and Rocco's own stealthiness.

In the hole, Rocco freaks out about the bones and scrambles back up. He regains his composure though and carefully replaces the plank. He leaves the rocks where they are though, they may need to flee this way.

Rocco still has the Condition Madness which we've determined is tied to death and being underground. It is around this point that I awarded a group Beat for roleplaying.

At the dinner table, Nikki leans over to the King and quietly asks him if he really is going to marry Yvette. The King lets it slip that his connection to Yvette is deeper than marriage. She is his lost twin. They were separated when they were but infants. Now they can be together again.

Nikki rolls Manipulation + Socialize to get the Under-King to open up about his secret. The other people in the room roll Wits + Composure -2 to overhear it. Only Mir succeeds.

Nikki's thoughts flick back to a rumor she heard about the little black girl, that Yvette was born deformed. In the darkness, Mir also hears the Under-King's the secret. He thinks back to an episode of the X-files, the one with a parasitic twin. The Under-King must have been a twin fused with Yvette at birth.

Mir rolls Intelligence +Occult to recall what he knows about conjoined twins. The group's reaction was a hearty ew.

Mir relates what he heard to Rocco. His friend seems unbothered by the King's plan to merge with his twin, pointing out he himself has merged with lightning. Disturbed Mir asks for the password to make sure he really is Rocco.

Dessert comes out. On a large plate is a confection made from melted chocolate wrapped around redberry jelly and decorated in molten Skittles. As they dig in, Charlie uses the distraction to ask Marco what their next move is. The boy replies that he isn't sure, he gestures for her to ask Nikki's opinion.

The Beast leans over to the 10 year old and asks. Nikki confides that she is trying to learn everyone's goals here. Charlie passes the message and Marco tries to read the Under-King's desires. He gets a murky vision of complicate plots but no details.

Marco tries Fleeting Spring again, spending willpower, but the Under-King's Composure + Wyrd roll equals his total. I give him a hint but not enough to go on.

Nikki reads Marco's head shaking as a failure. She turns to Yvette and asks if she misses home. Reluctantly the little girl says she would like to go home. The King tries to convince her that she has everything she needs here. Nikki points out she has to go to school and see her family. The King offers to bring the best tutors but his argument carries no weight with the scared little girl.

Getting Yvette to reveal she wants to go home is easy at this point. Nikki rolls Presence + Persuasion to counter the Under-King's argument.

Marco takes this opportunity to argue that the king should let Yvette return home. Charlie touches him on the shoulder as he launches into his speech. He points out that if the King wants to win Yvette over to his plans, he should give her freedom to chose.

Charlie blesses Marco with Hearth 2. So when he rolls Manipulation + Persuasion he gets a + 4 bonus to counter the - 2 penalty for the remaining Doors he has to open to convince the King (base 3 Doors for the Under-King's Composure 2 + 1 for opposing an Aspiration). He gets two successes.

The Under-King listens to Marco dourly but reluctantly tells Yvette she is free to return home. He does provide her with an honor guard, sending his most faithful brownie, Ulf, to guide her home and watch over her.

The children make their way back, reuniting with Miroslav and Rocco along the way. Returning to the dirty mirror they first enter this strange world through, they return to the basement of the Reichardt house. Ulf disappears at this point, slipping through a small hole in a wall.

Rocco gets back into his wheelchair. Marco pulls Yvette along as they head to the old elevator. Rocco tells the little girl not to let anyone know what they saw. As they ascend, they can see their parents through the elevator's grill conferring with some police officers. The adults notice the children and hurry up the stairs to intercept them. There is a clamor of voices as everyone Mr. McQueen, Mrs. Callaghan, Ms. Gambol, and the cops try to find out where the children had wandered off to.

Rocco sourly rebuffs them, claiming he and Marco discovered Yvette while playing in the basement. He manages to convince the police that this fuss was all just a case of overprotective parents. They leave in a huff. Once out of earshot, Ms. Gambol scolds Yvette and hurries her home for some punishment.

Rocco rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge gaining a + 2 bonus from Marco's assistance and a further + 1 from Yvette. He gets 3 success. He also gets a Beat for standing up (figuratively) against an authority figure thus satisfying an Aspiration.

Later that night once things have settled down and Ms. Gambol has gone out drinking, Rocco calls the Gambols. His classmate, Everett picks up. Rocco talks to him a bit about the day's events and hints that if he wants to learn where his sister disappeared to, he should talk to him later.

Rocco has a long term goal to rescue Everett from the gangs. He rolls Presence + Empathy to establish a good impression so he can begin manipulating him.

Mir spends the rest of the evening researching cats. That night however, he sneaks out into the Hedge and down to the Night Market. There a gathering of black robed figures waits for him.

Silently they lead him to a worn wooden door just outside the Market. Inside there is only blackness. One by one they disappear inside. Mir hesitates for moment before plunging inside.

The darkness breaks and he finds himself in a portion of the Hedge where the walls are huge stacks of books. Every so often another book or pamphlet flutters down from above. The cloaked figures walk down a narrow path between two huge stone minotaurs.

Mir follows them into a large chamber with a pentagram in the center. A lectern sits within the pentagram and atop it lies a massive book. As he passes by he recognizes its glimmering dusty pages: the Book of Ages.

The Queen of Shadows emerges and addresses the assembled members of the Guild of Shadows. Miroslav is led to her and she shows him the book. He can see his entire life up to this point written within its margins. Even now another line is being added. The Queen introduces him to the Guild as a new member and he is given a ceremonial draught of shadows and asked to swear to the Guild's ethos: to protect the shadows, keeping the mortal realm separate from it, and to gather occult lore.

Once the ceremony ends the cloaked figures throw back their hoods and mingle. Mir joins in the gossip. He asks one member, a fellow with one eye scarred white, about the restriction on no cats in the Night Market. The withered figure doesn't know all of the story but explains it is part of a powerful pledge that protects the Market from dangerous Hobs and mortal witch hunters. The founders of the Guild swore it less than a decade ago. He also warns Mir not to trust cats.

Mir rolls Manipulation + Streetwise to pick up some more rumors.

He learns from another member that the Book of Ages itself was retrieved by the Guild founders. He is surprised to learn how recently it came into being: less than 7 years ago. As he takes this in, the Queen of Shadows looms over him. She smiles as she asks what he wants to know about the book.

Mir asks a few questions, some of which she tells him and others of which she warns will have to wait until he has advanced further in the Guild. She seems confident he will. He learns the Guild seeks the Quill of Fate, an artifact that will allow them to rewrite the Book of Ages and alter reality.

Mir earns a Beat for learning more about the Book of Ages and the Quill of Fate.

Miroslav mentions he has met someone who may have altered history already: a madman named Hedge. The Queen is intrigued and offers to trade a favor for an introduction to this time traveler. He says he will think it over.

Days later he discusses this with Rocco. The 10-year old says Mir should push for something more permanent in his deal. Like having the Queen as a mentor.

In the meantime, school starts up again. While the teacher's try to the student back to the task of learning, the thing on everyone's mind are the rumors about Chris Allen. The schoolyard bully is missing and conflicting stories are circulating. Some people say he was in a car accident, others that he was a victim of a hit and run. Ryan says he was attacked by a mugger.

While Miroslav is happy with this turn of events, Marco worriedly arranges to visit his friend at home. His father drives him over to Chris's house. The stylish home sits on the nicest part of their school district. Chris's stepfather, Dr. Allen, greets Marco at the door and shows him to his stepson's room.

He finds Chris stuck in bed with a back brace and shoulder cast. The teen smiles as he enters and eagerly explains what happened. It was a bit after midnight, about a week ago when his step-dad yelled at him to take the garbage out. As he pulled the can to the curb, someone came up behind him and clubbed him across the back with a metal pipe. As he collapsed the ground he was hit again.

Marco swallows hard as he realizes the dates and details match when he took down Chrome-Tooth, the ogre of Mo-Hedge. Chris fails to notice his friends discomfort and ask Marco for his help in getting revenge. The boy seems convinced that either Mir or Eric is to blame. Marco resists his friend's entreaties but says he will ask around at school to see if anyone heard about the attacker.

Marco resists Chris's Social Maneuvering pool of 4 with some misdirection. He rolls Manipulation + Persuasion to misdirect him. Marco wins this round.

The next few weeks pass quickly. The children's routine returns to an ordered schedule of schoolwork and play.

Rocco begins to fake his recovery, slowly revealing the sensation in his legs and gradually showing he can move his legs to a limited extent. It is hard but he restrains himself to only being able to get by on crutches. The doctors are amazed and his father overjoyed, but he is just waiting until he can run again.

The computer genius makes use of his spare energy by examining the disk the mysterious person, Troll, sent him. Wary of viruses, he first opens it on the school computers one cold January afternoon. The disk is filled with scraps of odd useless code and lists of email addresses and webpage links. Looking closer at the files, he sees some signs of malicious code but nothing that should actually run.

Suddenly the fan rattles on the desktop he is on. Leaning over to see what is the matter, he realizes that tiny voices are coming from the computer. Something is moving inside the case. He's just infected the computer with gremlins.

Rocco rolls Intelligence + Computer to find the "viruses". This is my beginning of introducing the Hedge-Net, a weird internet of Hobs and broken code. Where gremlins rattle from the inside of electronics and digital fairies manipulate an unaware public.

More intrigued than scared, he jots down all the code by hand. It takes days, but he isn't going to risk his own computer.

Nikki meanwhile concentrates on getting her art behind the teacher's desk. She spends hours focused on making a beautiful picture of her home to impress Mrs. Connor. At the same time she begins to spend more time with Maeve, helping the other girl with her homework and winning her over.

Nikki makes about 7 rolls on an extended Wits + Expression roll to create some great art (each increment taking about 15 minutes) . She finally gets her art behind the teacher's desk and earns a Beat for her Aspiration.

At the same time, she wants to become friends with all of the popular girls. Maeve is a lazy conniver and as such it is easy to open a Door by doing her homework for her (fulfilling Maeve's Aspiration) and then get in her good graces with a Presence + Persuasion roll. A few more friends like that and she'll have the Heathers.

Marco engages in his own social manipulations as he tries to dissuade Chris from seeking revenge. His friend finally returns to school in the second week back. Marco tries distracting him with video games, playing with him every day after school. When that wears thin, he indulges his friend's complaining and lets him vent.

Finally towards the end of the month, Marco tries to point how futile this quest is. The culprit must have been some gang member and not someone from school. Chris concedes to his friend's logical argument and lets it drop.

Marco is trying to get Chris to give up on an Aspiration. So he needs to open 3 Doors (2 Doors for Chris's Composure + 1 for going against his Aspiration of revenge). In week 1, he rolls Presence + Persuasion to distract him. The following week he rolls Presence + Empathy to listen and help him get over his anger. Finally, he rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge to get him to drop it. Each roll opens a Door and finally Chris gives up.

Then Marco gets a Beat for fulfilling his Aspiration of helping Chris let go of revenge.

Miroslav spends his spare time researching cats, fairies and magical quills. After the second week of school, his mother asks him what is wrong with his sister. He can tell she realizes Nikki has changed. He decides to bend the truth. He tells her that Nikki is cursed.

It takes a while but Nikki notices that her mother is placing lots of charms around her and the apartment. She mistakenly concludes her mother is warding off fairies.

Nikki's mom is a believer in superstitions and knowledgeable about the occult. Nikki isn't. She tries to guess what she is doing but fails on her chance die. She chooses to make it a Dramatic Failure and makes a incorrect assumption. At least she earns a Beat.

By early February, Rocco decides it is time to confront his mother. The others agree to help him and join Marco and his brother in their trip across town. They take a bus on a chilly Saturday in February. Rocco's crutches get some odd looks as does a bunch of children going across town on their own but no one stops them.

They soon reach a stretch of empty shops and once glamorous apartments. Most of the names are missing on the buzzer to the building she lives at, but Rocco knows number. As he reaches up he hears someone go "psst!"

Glancing back, they see Feral Tom poking his head around the corner of the building. The mangy Beast beckons them over. He tells them they can't go in there. As they confront him, he explains that she is not their mother.

Marco casts his vision to the future. He sees a maze of paths before him. In some they walk away, leaving the matter of his mother behind them. No one is hurt but also nothing changes. The other way, pursuing their mother, shows a chance for danger but also much reward.

He tells the others they can't walk away.

Marco uses his Oracle power to ask what is the worst choice here. He rolls Wits + Composure and succeeds. The worst choice is to leave the matter of his mom alone.

Nikki meanwhile brings up the fact that Feral Tom abandoned them when the Ogre showed up in Mo-Hedge. She tells him that she will tell the Queen of Shadows unless he promises to reveal all he knows. Faced with having his cowardice revealed he caves.

He apologizes for abandoning them earlier, making a pledge with Nikki for her silence. He tells them that the thing in there was left in their mother's place six years ago when she ventured into the Hedge and never returned. Rocco's true mother is the woman now called the Queen of Shadows. She left after her son's accident, hoping to repair the damage she did. Feral Tom told her of the Book of Ages and how it could be used to rewrite her history. But obtaining the book cost Mrs. McQueen her memories.

Rocco reacts bitterly to this revelation, upset that his mother abandoned him. Mir meanwhile is curious about this double. Feral Tom knows a bit about these things, which he calls a fetch. They are made of magic, sticks, and odd junk. Some Changelings can make them and sometimes they spontaneously appear. There is a rumor that some come from the Witch-House.

Marco meanwhile realizes they are on one of the better paths he saw. Visiting the thing in the apartment up above is unnecessary. Rocco also realizes it is pointless. He has already seen his mother. She just doesn't remember him.

Rocco earns a Beat for "seeing" his mother. Its not the literal form of his Aspiration but its close enough. The group as a whole earns a Beat for roleplaying.

The children discuss their next move. Marco and Rocco feel they need to do something about their father's new girlfriend, Ruzena, river faerie. If she is going to try to kill him, they need to stop her. Nikki points out that her mother is making charms against faeries. Maybe they can use those to repel Ruzena. Mir keeps quiet.

Mir can't lie (its part of the motley pledge) so I expect this to add some fun to next session.

Experience time. I awarded 2 Beats for roleplaying plus another for the session. Rocco fulfilled two Aspirations for Beats. Everyone else fulfilled an Aspiration and Nikki earned another Beat for a Dramatic Failure. We average that to 2 Beats. The total is an Experience.