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.
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.
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: 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:
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.
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