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