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.