Thoughts from the Twilight Zone V

As September closed for me, I made my final push to complete the first season of the Twilight Zone. I encountered many familiar episodes and lots of uninspiring material. But a precious few stood out, never encountered before and full of promise. In particular, Nightmare as a Child suggests a novel way to run a Prelude. This week I’ll look the first half of that push.

Season 1: Episodes 21-29

Only focusing on the episodes which sparked new ideas here. A few episodes however deserve a note. "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" seems incredibly topical this election year. I loved “The Big Tall Wish” for its warmth and imagination.

A World of Difference

An actor suffers psychological break in the middle of a scene and becomes convinced he is the character he is portraying. In the end he escapes his strains, his addiction and his reality by physically entering the world of his character.

For me this story mostly sparked the idea of a demon (from Demon: the Descent) creating a fictional persona. A Cover corresponding to someone who never existed but who “exists” in the popular imagination. Surely with the right Patchwork they could make “the most interesting man in the world”, National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid, or even a descendant of Sherlock Holmes. The identity would be really prone to Compromise and burdened with Fame but it might be worth it.

Long Live Walter Jameson

A history professor’s secret is found out by his colleague and soon to be father-in-law: he’s over two thousand years old. He might be unable to change but his past can catch up to him.

I really liked this story of immortality. It fits my vision of humanity. Time doesn’t make a person wiser in my experience, just more set in their ways.

The episode also makes me think of the potential complications for vampires and other immortals: the long lost loves, orphaned family, and abandoned friends who might come to haunt them decades after the immortal has passed them by. What happens when a nephew comes hunting an ever youthful uncle as an old man? Does the journal of an old friend harbor dangerous secrets about a vampire? And what about literal ghosts?

Execution

A subpar story about a Old West thug escaping the hangman’s noose by being pulled into the future. Once there he kills the man who saved him and falls victim to a modern day hoodlum. In a twist his killer is thrust back into the past and meets his victim’s fate.

I see a potentially interesting TimeWatch story seed here. An important or infamous person ends up time swapped with someone else. Alternate history shenanigans ensue. The PCs then have to trace both deviations in time and stop the unlucky time machine inventor from creating the mess.

Nightmare as a Child

A woman encounters a mysterious child who hints at terrible events in her past, events which quickly become incredibly relevant. Of course this invisible child turns out to be her, trying to tell her that her mother’s killer is now closing in on her.

This strikes me as awesome Prelude material for a Chronicles of Darkness or Mage: the Awakening game. The character encounters their child self (perhaps in an Astral journey) and must fill in the gaps in their (character description) memory. Alternatively I could see a TimeWatch game focused on encountering one’s future or past self with similar creepiness and intensity.

The Unusual Suspects: Alligators in the Sewers

So we begin my Demon the Descent game, the Unusual Suspects. I've been wating a long time to use the main plot of this story: "Alligators in the Sewers" from World of Darkness: Urban Legends. The style of this game will be a bit more disjointed than my standard actual play logs since I’m running one player (my wife) separately most of the time. I think it will work in the end but it is definitely requires a bit more work.

A particular complication is that I am having my wife jump in late in the session around my son’s bedtime. This allows my players to discuss the story so far and get new insights from her character while I put my son to sleep. There are a few problems: I need to prepare my wife for how and why her character encounters the others, I need to align the time spent by the two groups better, and the other players need to actually help by remembering to fill her in (since she wasn’t there the whole session).

In any case I think some of these issues are just the normal first session rough patch as the characters and their relationships define themselves. I have high hopes for the future.

One rules change I’ll be making is to avoid Compromise rolls for partial demonic transformations unless there is an immediate threat of exposure. Otherwise this can be easily used to milk Cover or standard Beats since PCs will often have 7 or more bonus dice to roll.

I might eventually revisit the mechanics in general as they feel a bit off cost wise. Especially if you are manifesting multiple demonic form abilities.

Alligators in the Sewers, Part I

This part was run second after my wife’s section (see below).

It began with the bus explosion. At least that’s what everyone agreed to call it. In truth a faceless angel encountered four surprisingly resourceful demons, screaming at them in a voice like wind chimes. Somehow they destroyed it and the bus. A scattering of metallic cylinders were all that it left behind.

After the reporter and police leave, satisfied with their answers, the demons, joined by one more, fall to talking.

The nerdish Nick Mathers, known as Daemon online and among his fellow Demons, relates the recent upsurge in cult activity. The Weaver uses the name Jean and twirls one of the rods as she listens. Dorian, one of the Naturalist’s covers, nods, occasionally glancing at his watch.

The pair beside the sturdy frat boy have the most to add however. Accabish in the guise of the journalist Priscilla had come to interview them but recognized her partner Joseph among the crowd. Joseph explains his investigations into signs of the God-Machine in the area: strange disappearances, four likely murders near the University and even alligator sightings. Priscilla adds that one of her sources has been dreaming of a clockwork brain coming to life. An occult matrix to create some form of Infrastructure is occurring where they lived and worked.

I forgot during play but Joseph is being watched. For his Surveilled condition, I roll 10 - Cover (7) = 3 dice. I got 1 successes. If I reach 7 total before the story is resolved then things escalate.

Priscilla excuses herself to do some research on her own. Meanwhile the others continue to talk, slowly feeling out what their unlikely allies were like.

Joseph in particular seems sceptical of Daemon and his virtual army of cultists. “You have people...in a game.”

Daemon tries to explain who they are but the former child soldier seems unconvinced of their usefulness. The Weaver tries to help but as hostilities increase, the Naturalist begins treating the two Demons like the children they act like.

We had some wonderful chit chat. Much ribbing was made of the World of Warcraft Guild/cult that Daemon ran. I awarded a roleplaying beat to everyone present.

Chastized, talk turns to their past interactions and possible connections. Daemon brings up a janitor who seems to be following him. Joseph recalls the lazy coworker, flatly commenting that Bob Jensen must have noticed one of Joseph’s rare indiscretions.

The Naturalist looks at his watch again, realizing he was late for work at the bar. With Joseph’s shift starting soon and Weaver needing to head home, they all head to the next bus stop together.

“I’ve got a raid to get to,” Daemon comments as he tags along.

“In a game,” the janitor sardonically says.

At this point I asked everyone to make a Wits + Composure roll against something’s Dexterity + Stealth roll. It got 2 successes which Joseph and the Naturalist beat.

Joseph’s eyes shift to a low shape moving down the street. Along with the Naturalist, he watches as the lizard like beast slips down into a storm drain.

The others look on in bewilderment as the large man runs across the street without a word.

“I don’t think we should go over there,” the bartender says.

Joseph stops by the drain to look at something on the ground.

“What’s over there?” the Naturalist shouts.

The dark skinned man points at a small object on the ground.

“Use your words.”

Joseph gives him the finger.

As the demon drew closer they make out the object in the dim light. A finger, colored with red nail polish, sits a few inches from a wide trail of blood.

The demons roll Wits + Investigation to examine the crime scene. Two of them succeed.

Daemon and the Weaver examine the trail which stretches from the grate back to a large puddle five feet away. The blood appears fresh with spray consistent with an attack low to the ground. The demons relay their findings along with a disturbing fact. The attack happened moments before, perhaps while they were bickering amongst themselves down the street.

The newly forged Ring places an anonymous call and makes plans to meet up the next night at a dive bar not far from here. Joseph passes a message on to Accabish to join them.

Though we are clear that it is decidedly not the one Dorian, the Naturalist’s Cover, works at.

The Weaver returns to Jean’s home, spotting a suspicious green Civic parked across the street. It recalls a similar dingy vehicle there two nights ago. It ignores the threat for now and lets itself inside. Before turning in, it examines the metallic rod again. The metal is strong but surprisingly flexible. Roughly a foot long, it appears to be made of some alloy. It can sense an Aetheric resonance about it. The rod must be some sort of Gadget.

The Weaver rolls Wits + Composure to notice the crappy surveillance.

Daemon messages his guild, putting some of them on the task of locating plans to the city’s sewer lines in Eastlake. Then he joins the rest of them in a successful raid. Annoyingly to him, one of his head lieutenants misses the mission. After logging out of WoW, he messages Zanity, the absent member.

Zanity apologizes for her absence. She got caught up studying for the bar exam and forgot to warn the guild. Daemon admonishes her before asking if it would help if she had the questions and answers beforehand. Zanity waffles on taking that risk and though Daemon tempts her, he chooses not to push the issue.

Zanity’s Vice is Indecisiveness. Daemon also failed a Manipulation + Persuasion roll to push her over edge (and chose not to make it an order).
After concluding their conversation, Daemon locates the site where the bar materials are recorded. Using his knowledge of human patterns he quickly picks out the proper password, downloads the answers, and sends them to another member of his cult to deliver to Zanity anonymously. Let her decide, he concludes.

In other words he uses the Password Entropy embed.

That night as Joseph does his rounds, he spots Bob carting around a small plastic waste paper basket filled with scraps of cardboard and papers. The large man tries to sneak up on the pudgy janitor but Bob spots him and nervously says hello.

Joseph fails his Wits + Stealth roll.

Thinking quickly, Joseph offers to take care of the trash for him so he can get back to his scheduled work. Reluctantly Bob hands it over and thanks Joseph.

Inside the Saboteur finds parts of Amazon delivery boxes and other mail, all for Nick Mathers, Daemon’s cover. He spends the evening slowly disposing of the evidence across receptacles throughout campus.

Meanwhile the Naturalist arrives late to Dorian’s bar. Thankfully Stacie, a waitress, covered for him. They exchange pleasantries and she babbles about her various problems. The night has been slow which is good for his tardiness but bad for tips. She also mentions that a cop named Jack Lawrence came by.

After work, the Naturalist doffs his bartender cover and resumes his main identity as Jenny Olson, frustrated housewife. Jenny slips back home, successfully avoiding waking her two toddlers. Rather than risk the stairs, she sleeps on the couch.

Her sleep is fitful, disturbed by a dull vibration. Eventually the Naturalist wakes up and feeling around finds a phone wedged in the cushions. It belongs to John, Jenny’s husband. But the message on it doesn’t ring a bell. A “Jackie” apparently wants to see Jenny’s husband again. Frustrated and tired, the Naturalist tosses the phone across the room.

I give the Naturalist a Wits + Composure roll to notice the phone early before it robs it of much sleep. It failed the roll so now the Naturalist has a -1 penalty to future rolls until it gets more sleep.

Next morning over breakfast, Jenny asks John about his evening. Wearing dark glasses to hide her “handover”, the Naturalist manifests its mind reading abilities. Through copper laced eyes, it senses John’s surface thoughts as he tells her, truthfully, that he watched Netflix last night. It also detects signs that he is hiding something as he deletes the latest text on his phone.

The Naturalist gets an exceptional success on its demonic transformation (which is pretty easy with a +7 bonus). It earns a Cover Beat.

On his way out the door, Jenny gives him a kiss...and supernaturally tags him with an Embed. He hurries off, unaware that he is recording his day for her.

The Naturalist also uses its Living Recorder Embed.

Elsewhere as Jean heads in early for work, she stops and turns down an alley. Halfway down the empty path, she walks up to a handleless door. She steps precisely four feet over, reaches forward and opens a gate into nowhere. Once safe in its bolthole, the Weaver forces part of its demonic nature through its cover. Fine threads emerge from Jean’s fingertips as her hair takes on the hue and texture of aged wood.

The Weaver spends 1 Aether to do a partial demonic transformation to manifest Component Indicators. She rolls for compromise: Wits +Manipulation +7! She takes a temporary glitch.

The Weaver runs its fingers across the rod. It detects iron, aluminum, trace elements and a large amount of element-161. Scrutinizing the gadget closer it slowly unpicks its secrets. After an hour it learns that the gadget is based on an Embed it has never encountered before, one that reveals the presence of any object or being with connections to the God-Machine.

Then the Weaver attempts to analyze the gadget. I rolls Wits + Investigation + Primum and gets 1 success.

This next part was actually run first with my wife. We got to a slow start (it's hard to run one-on-one games) but the session moved smoother as we went.
With matter of the faceless angel behind her for now, Accabish looks deeper into her reporter’s dreams. Shaun Wykes remains something of mystery to her, a product of his time in the memory gap that devoured Yeslar Terrace until recently. She recalls him talking about being troubled by his own memory gaps, such as the origin of a wedding ring on his finger. As Priscilla, she tasks her IT expert Vince to track down more details, especially about a possible marriage.

She uses her 3 dot Retainer to do the research.

It takes the morose technician a day to track it down. Shaun married Mary Burton a few years ago, though Vince can’t seem to locate any other details about her. Priscilla seems unconcerned.

She locates a reputable psychiatrist and arranges an appointment. Alexa Harper probes the blog editor’s concerns about the stresses of her job but Accabish easily avoids raising suspicions. She also slips a listening device beneath her chair, preparing the way for her scheme.

I give Alexa a pool of 5 and Accabish beats her in a contest with a roll of Manipulation + Subterfuge + 1 for her Lies speciality.

After arranging a follow up session, Priscilla contacts Shaun and convinces him to meet with “her therapist” to deal with his missing time.

In the meantime, Priscilla begins work on relaunching the Slog’s gossip column. One of her writers, Jane, volunteers to spearhead the research into what new trends are out there and how they might rebrand the Slog. Priscilla explains she’s looking for an interesting new spin.

After hours, she contacts her police contacts to learn more about the disappearances last year. Lt. Jack Lawrence is friendly but not very helpful. There were three deaths in the wetlands near the University last year, apparently by invasive snakehead fish. Tom Kobo disappeared around the same time but no clues have surfaced since then. If he also died out there then the construction crews that filled in the wetlands for the school’s new museum would have uncovered him.

Accabish rolls Manipulation + Persuasion to get some information from her Contact.

Jack also dismisses the rumors of alligators, suggesting a mangy dog or perhaps one of these nasty fish could be the culprit. In any case animal control is looking into it.

Next she hits the streets. A young man in a blue sports jacket tells her that lots of people have gone missing in Eastlake: homeless, prostitutes, even a few members of his gang. He’s seen reptilian creatures climbing in and out of the sewers at night. Some people say there is a weird cult down there worshipping the things. He also mentions a strange disease that’s been affecting people around here, scratching at some scaly skin as he talks. She gets him to pinpoint where he’s seen the animals on a map and thanks him for his help.

Accabish rolls Manipulation + Streetwise to learn the local rumors.

The demon works late into the night: researching snakehead fish and the sightings that Vince compiled for her. She find a surge in encounters with the fish in 2009 but they have dropped off significantly since. After talking to an ecoactivist named Yolanda O’Meally, she is convinced that the snakeheads are not an invasive species.The reporter encourages the young woman to investigate further. Next Accabish looks at the work near the University and everything she can find on the sewers.

There she finds the link.

Accabish resolves her Agenda Condition to make a Deductive Leap.

The Stanley Company did the filling in of the wetlands near the school. They are also handling a series of renovation projects in Eastlake, particularly ones dealing with the sewers.

A few days later she listens in on Shaun Wykes’s therapy session. It starts innocently enough but soon veers in a strange and disturbing direction. He begins to talk about his dreams: visions of swamps, pyramids, and a clockwork machine coming to life in the muck. He rambles about ancient conspiracies and inhuman gods. Alexa books a second session for him.

And now back to the main session.

Despite a decade long smoking ban, the bar still stank. The demons do not let any disgust show and compare their findings about the rod, the rumors, and the Stanley Company’s probable involvement. Joseph lets Daemon know about Bob’s activities.

I missed much of this as this scene happened while I switch out with my wife to put my son to sleep. I awarded a roleplaying Beat anyway.

As the others talk, the Naturalist watches the crowd. The couple in the booth behind him excitedly talk about an upcoming meeting. In hushed tones they mention a man with supernatural powers, a trip into the sewers and the dreams that propel them forward.

The Naturalist fails a Wits + Composure thanks to a -3 penalty due to noise. I decide to give him information anyway. Perhaps I should have offered him a Beat.

Then they stop, staring at the man whose head is craning over them. Sheepishly, Dorian smooths things over with a quick apology and some free beer. They accept it after telling him, gently, to keep to his own business.

He successfully uses Presence + Socialize to avoid a confrontation.

Dorian turns back to the others and switching to an obscure language the Naturalist fills them in on what he just heard. It convinces Jospeh to tail them and text dorian if and when they enter the sewers.

The couple soon leave and the powerful Rwandan follows, his skin turning into a perfect mirror and his eyes softly glowing green as soon as he is out of sight of the bar.

Joseph does a partial demonic transformation. He spends 1 Aether to invoke two abilities since he has Versatile Transformation. With a +6 bonus he also gets an exceptional success and takes a regular Beat. He manifests Night Vision and Mirrored Skin.

His Dexterity + Stealth (+3 for Mirrored Skin) roll succeeds.

As the Naturalist presumed, they enter the sewers. Joseph texts Dorian.

By this time, the bartender had made his way to work. Excusing himself, he heads to the bathroom and locks the door. His eyes go white as the Naturalist scries the couple and their journey through the sewers.

Another partial transformation and another exceptional success. In addition to manifesting Clairvoyant Sight, it gains another Cover beat.

The tunnels grew stranger as they go deeper and deeper. Strange writing appears on the walls and a red glow appears ahead of them. Eventually the man and woman reach a small crowd of people listening to a dark skinned man with black eyes. He leads them in ceremony within a large chamber somewhere beneath the city. The Naturalist recognizes it as part of some Infrastructure.

The man tells them of the power of Sobek, the need to survive, and how they will feed those deemed unworthy to the sacred beasts within these tunnels. The Naturalist makes careful note of each of their faces. As the ceremony concludes, the leader reveals the power of their patron by turning his head into that of an alligator!

Demon’s have perfect memory which is really handy here.
The Naturalist ends the vision and sends a mass text to the Ring, calling them to an emergency meeting at a local diner after Dorian’s shift ends.

Six hours later, the demons, tired or not, arrive. The Naturalist reveals what he saw.

The Weaver rolls Intelligence + Composure to connect some distant memories from when it was an Angel.
The Weaver comments that Sobek sounds familiar. It worked in ancient Egypt with an Angel called Sabek. The crocodile headed figure was very indirect in his missions, especially for a Psychopomp, focused on its survival and that of its projects. In terms of capabilities, it recalls Sabek was of middling power.
Next she rolls Intelligence + Empathy to judge his personality and abilities. She gets 3 successes and learns its vice, virtue, and power level.

Joseph finds this new information quite motivating while the Weaver and Daemon remain curious. The Naturalist works on sketches of the people it spotted, worrying about its level of involvement. Accabish stops him as he finishes an attractive older woman. She recognizes her, a bureaucrat named Donna who is trying to blackmail her. Then Joseph proposes exploring the sewers and finding the site the cult met at. But he will need the Naturalist’s help...

The Ring now has three good leads: Donna Angstom, the Stanley Corporation, and the sewer meeting site.

Finally we conclude with experience. Everyone gets 3 (2 for roleplaying plus 1 for the session) Beats and 1 Cover Beat. Accabish earned one extra Beat for her side session.

From exceptional successes on Compromise rolls, the Naturalist earned two Cover Beats while Joseph gain 1 normal Beat.

Only Accabish made progress on her Aspirations. She earns another Beat for gaining something to use as leverage on Donna.

Thoughts from the Twilight Zone IV

I continue to push through season 1 of the Twilight Zone, searching for novel ideas and inspirations. Here are some interesting new ones: Sin Eater sightings in the Hitch-Hiker, time travel trouble in the Last Flight, and a larger horror story forming in Mirror Image.

Season 1: Episodes 16-20

I’m skipping a few more stories here either because there is nothing truly supernatural about them (The Fever) or because they don’t do anything interesting with the premise (The Purple Testament).

The Hitch-Hiker

A woman notices a strange hitchhiker following her as she drives across the United States.

After a long stretch of uninteresting episodes (including most of this episode), I finally encountered a new idea. The twist is hinted heavily at the beginning of the episode. She’s dead. She died before the story began when her tire blew out and she crashed her car at the start of her trip.

But what I find interesting are the implications of the hitch-hiker and the nature of her journey. The man doesn’t quite come across as Death himself, just another traveller, one that has been journeying longer than her. Is he looking to mentor a fellow ghost (for a Wraith setup)? Or is he going to help bring her back to life for a price (for a Geist game)?

The journey is also interesting. Is it a dream? Or are the sailor, the gas station attendants, and the mechanics all “real”? The mechanic might have “fixed” her car days after her accident (with the skid marks still fresh). Is she moving in and out of our world (and the Twilight Zone)? Perhaps she has become a phantom driver crisscrossing the country. Or perhaps she is now a Sin Eater with the thin gray scarecrow of a man as her Geist?

The Last Flight

A cowardly WWI pilot from 1917 lands in 1959 and learns to face his fears.

At first glance I thought this story was too tidy but then I started to think of how the protagonist travelled through time. The strange silent cloud sucked up at least two pilots according to his tale. Who knows how many more got time lost? In a TimeWatch (or other time travel) game, the PCs might need to scramble to track the cloud down through time, fixing the damage it caused as they go. Where did it come from? What or who created it? Can it be stopped?

Elegy

Lost astronauts land on a cemetery planet running since before World War III. They find its inhabitants frozen at the moment they would most like to spend eternity in. Unfortunately for them, they wanted most to be on their rocket about to go home.

This plot and its murderous caretaker interests me. I could see adapting it for lost time travelers (who must escape being frozen at their happiest moment in a far future ‘heaven’) or as a weird Dead Dominion in the Underworld (where all the ghosts enjoy eternity and the living are made to join them by a kindly Kerberos).

Mirror Image

A woman looking to catch a bus instead finds a doppelganger out to steal her identity.

This episode leaves many interesting questions unanswered. Is the bus station a way station for these doppelgangers? The caretaker asks how the woman got to the station which raises the question “where is here?”

With multiple doppelgangers appearing in the story and at least some of the originals being taken away by the police, is there an asylum of doubles out there?

The Doppelgangers seem better informed about what they are. How did they get here? Are things better here? What are they escaping?

As for gaming, World of Darkness: Urban Legends includes this very plot, minus the creepy mirror realm that these being seem to come from. Another option for the Chronicles of Darkness would be for the doubles to be spirits or other intruders slowly replacing humanity like some sort of pod people. In TimeWatch, the doppelgangers might be survivors of a disaster in an alternate timeline, stealing across to our reality.

Heartland Orphans: Encounters

Session number seven and events go seriously off the rails for the antagonists (and not quite right for the PCs). This week a Strix dies, a car chase ensues, and someone commits diablerie.

Our cast consists of:

• Alex Carlyle (Ventrue Invictus): a local doctor who quit his practice after gaining his condition. He recently “earned” dominion over Urbana much to the displeasure of Big Eddie, a local rival.
• Sybil Brannon (Gangrel Carthian): a former nature guide turned vampiric vigilante, she’s claimed the parks as her turf. She taken a nomadic Nosferatu called the Wolf as a mentor.
• Ethan Redhawke (Mekhet Ordo Dracul): a member of the inner circle of the Heart of Akamon, an Ordo Dracul led cult of mortals who serve as a source of blood and researchers. He leads the cult as they comb folklore and myths for clues to abilities beyond the limits of current vampires. Like his sire Martock, he lurks around the University of Illinois. This is now Invictus territory.

Session 7: Encounters

We begin with the group along with the Wolf and Martock joining forces to track down the Elder and learn what they can about the Antediluvian. Of course the Wolf just wants to kill her.

Sybil waits with the Wolf at the ruined farm-house as Alex drives Martock and Ethan over. Suddenly a wave of force washes over the Gangrel pulling at her blood. As she totters the Wolf grabs her. Distant chanting fills her mind.

Sybil gets 2 successes on her Stamina + Blood Potency roll after spending Willpower to resist the Cruac ritual. Unfortunately her opponent’s pool is 10 (and she spends willpower too) and a net 6 successes are earned toward the goal of 8.

Sybil tells him what she experienced. The Wolf suggests she might be the target of a blood sorcery ritual with the aim of manipulating her blood.

Fifteen minutes later the others arrive. They all push into the car and drive off into the night.

In the front passenger seat, Martock talks to Ethan about studying the remains of the Antediluvian. The Wolf voices Sybil’s thoughts that the two Dragons are foolhardy to deal with those bones. As they leave the city, Martock also suggests capturing the Elder. The Wolf growls and repeats that she needs to be destroyed. He hints that she can manipulate the minds of those around her.

Alex senses a deeper reason for the Wolf’s hatred. He asks why he has such venom in his voice. The Wolf explains he wanted to join the Circle of the Crone in Chicago but that she only allowed members a certain bloodline join. Meanwhile Ethan uses his powers to pry into the Wolf’s secrets. He senses a proud and ambitious beast thwarted in his aims and sent running.

Alex rolls Wits + Empathy to sense that the Wolf intends more than just to kill her.

Ethan rolls Intelligence + Empathy + Auspex to find out why he hates her.

Sybil listens to this from the back middle seat when the waves of force intensify. Her blood burns, evaporating from her veins. As she struggles to control her sudden hunger, a deer runs across the road.

Despite spending willpower and getting lots of successes, Sybil fails to beat the blood sorceress. She loses all of her Vitae.

Alex deftly swerves around the animal. The Wolf commands him to stop as Sybil shivers and shakes in the back.

Alex makes his Wits + Drive roll.

Sybil fails to make a Resolve + Composure at a -4 penalty. To hold off her frenzy she spends a point of willpower.

The doctor pulls to the side of the road. After a long moment, Sybil calms down.

Her second Resolve + Composure has only a -3 penalty. She makes this one. She gains the Tempted Condition.

The Wolf gets out of the car to let Sybil chase after the deer.

The pair disappear for ten minutes. Just as the others begin to worry, a much less ravenous Sybil returns along with the Wolf.

Sybil makes a Wits +Survival roll, gaining a + 2 bonus from the Wolf. She doesn’t get an exceptional success so her hunt takes some time. She recovers 4 Vitae, kills the deer, and earns a Beat by resolving her Tempted condition.

The coterie and their allies continue on their way to the ruins of the Elder’s haven. As they turn off the main road, the Wolf and Sybil discuss what force might have caused the destruction of her Vitae. The Nosferatu decides that the Witch is the most likely culprit.

A half hour later, they find the farmhouse as Ethan and Alex left it. Sybil transforms into a bobcat and begins sniffing around.

Sybil spends a Vitae to transform and then rolls Wits +Survival + 3 for her heightened senses + a further 3 for the Wolf’s help.

With the Wolf’s help she finds two trails near the farmhouse escape tunnel. An older trail leads away through the fields while the other loops toward the charred wreckage. It moves through the debris, pausing near the remains of the other vampires and the cellar entrance. Then the scent trail leads to the road.

Sybil and the Wolf follow it while the others trail behind in the car. As Sybil wonders why this “vampire” smells of sweat and adrenaline, Alex notices a suspicious shadow moving between some trees behind them.

Everyone in the car rolls Wits + Composure (Ethan got a +2 for his Acute Senses). Only Alex succeeded and barely at that.

He decides to pull up to the Wolf. He asks the savage-looking Kindred if he can see what is out there. The Wolf squints and points out a black owl. “We are being followed.”

He gets an Exceptional Success.

Ethan turns and sees it.

“How can we stop it?” asks Alex.

The Wolf considers the Strix. “We need a small structure of some sort.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t have much salt.”

The Wolf uses Auspex and learns its Bane: it can’t cross a line of salt.

For the rest of the long journey into Bloomington, Ethan keeps the silent threat in sight.

Sybil leads them past a series of stores before following the trail out into a large parking lot. The transformed vampire notes where the Elder left with a mortal in a car by scratching a gouge into the asphalt. Then the bobcat scampers off in search of a good ambush spot for the Strix.

A short while later, she leads the vampires to a small shed. The Wolf nods to her and instructs Ethan to unlock the shed while the others draw the Strix’s attention to that side of the structure. Invisibly, he then begins to lay down a trail of salt around the small building.

Sybil rolls Wits + Streetwise to find a good spot to catch the Strix.

Martock throws himself into the task, commenting loudly on how the remains must lay within. As Ethan opens the lock, he instructs his childe to disappear while Alex, Sybil and he go inside.

Ethan and the Wolf are Obfuscated.

“There she is!” he cries as he rushes in. The shadowy owl swiftly glides in behind them as the Wolf completes the trap.

Inside the Strix screeches angrily as it realizes the ruse. Alex pulls the Strix’s attention with his supernatural gifts while the others escape the shed.

Alex uses Majesty to give the others an opening.

The owl screeches at him in a voice Sybil knows all too well. As the Witch lunges for him, Alex knocks open the door and leaps over the line of salt. The Witch almost grabs him but Ethan throws a rock thrown at the last-minute. With the Strix distracted, Alex escapes.

We roll Initiative. The order is Alex, then the Witch and Ethan (at the same time). Alex fails a Dexterity + Athletics roll to get away cleanly. Ethan saves him by making a Wits + Athletics roll to distract the Witch.

The Strix bounces off the mystical barrier. It flies in circles and screams at them, promising to curse all of them.

The Wolf warns it that the Strix should try to get loose before dawn when he intends to return with a can of gasoline.

They leave the Witch behind and continue to follow the trail. Sybil cuts quickly across town, swiftly homing in on the Elder’s current location.

Sybil makes the same Wits + Survival roll (with a +6 bonus from teamwork and her animal senses) and gets an Exceptional Success. I contemplate a Condition for most of the rest of the game before giving her Steadfast.

As they arrive at an apartment complex, a car pulls out with two women in it. Sybil sniffs the Elder inside the car, even though neither has white hair. She jumps back into Alex’s car and resumes her normal form as they head off in pursuit.

Alex attempts to trail them but the vampires are soon spotted. As their quarry accelerates onto the highway, Alex puts the pedal to the metal. As he pulls along side he tells Martock to dig his gun out of the glove box.

Foolishly I forgot to use the new chase rules. Instead I used a boring set of contested Wits + Drive rolls for Alex to first trail and then catch the Elder and her ally.

Martock fires haplessly at the fleeing car’s tires while Alex attempts to catch the curly-haired driver’s eye. The shots and the speed of the vehicles do attract the attention of a police officer. As the sirens close in, the Wolf climbs out the window and on top of the car.

Martock is not a good shot and hitting a tire is hard. His dice pool was only 1. The Wolf does much better on his Strength + Athletics roll to climb onto the car.

Alex holds the car steady next to their quarry as the Wolf leaps across. Then the driver slams into him, sending them sliding into a ditch.

Alex makes a Wits + Drive to help the Wolf leap over. His successes are added to the Wolf’s Strength + Athletics roll. He then fails an opposed Wits + Drive roll to avoid a sideswipe (in his defense the driver does spend willpower). Everyone was wearing their seat belts. I rolled 6 dice for the sudden deceleration and subtracted 2 success for the seat belts. No one takes damage.

Luckily everyone was wearing their seatbelts. As Alex attempts to get the car out of the ditch, Sybil transforms into a bat. While the doctor’s car slowly pulls back onto the road, she lands on top of the speeding police car as it follows the escaping vehicle.

Sybil spends 1 Vitae to transform and then a Dexterity + Athletics roll to catch the cop car.

Ahead the Wolf climbs into the car, causing the driver to lose control and collide with the concrete divider. As the police officer pulls up behind, Alex swerves around the vehicles and cuts off their escape.

Alex makes another Wits + Drive roll to avoid slamming into the other cars.

We roll Initiative. The order is the Elder, Ethan, Martock, Sybil, the Wolf and mortal driver, Alex, and finally the police officer.

Round 1:

The passenger in the damaged car stumbles out. Despite the hair dye and modern attire, they recognize the features and red eyes of the Elder. As Ethan exits the car, his sire points the gun at her and demands her surrender.

Sybil detaches herself from the police car and flies through the open window on the driver’s side. She latches onto the woman sweaty brown skin, biting deeply.

Sybil rolls Strength + Brawl twice (with a bat sized strength of 1): once to initiate a grapple and then to feed. She regains 1 Vitae.

As the driver succumbs to the Kiss, the Wolf leaps from the interior and claws at the Elder. Surprisingly blood pours freely from her side.

The Wolf rolls Strength + Brawl - Defense (which is 8 dice - 7!) and succeeds. This deals a Lethal to the Elder (not a bashing as she isn’t technically undead).

Alex locks eyes with the cop. “You need to restrain the subject,” he commands. The cop rushes to the Wolf’s side to subdue the Elder.

Alex gets an Exceptional Success on his Intelligence + Expression + Dominate roll and so gets to command the officer this turn. The cop fails on his action unfortunately.

Round 2:

The Elder leaps over the barricade and into oncoming traffic. Ethan runs to the police car and grabs a shotgun while Martock exits the car to join the chase.

As Sybil continues to feed, the Wolf and the officer pursue the Elder, attempting to grapple her.

Sybil gains another Vitae. With the Elder’s high defense combat is slow.

Alex puts the car into gear and races down the road before shooting through a gap in the barricade to intercept the vampires. Surrounded the Elder runs up to his car pleading for him to save her.

Round 3:

Ethan and Martock leap the barrier and train their guns on her as she pounds on the door.

Aiming! It is worth a +1 bonus.

Sybil continues to feed and gains another vitae (bringing her to 6).

The Wolf leaps on her, bearing her to the ground and sinking his teeth into her neck. The officer still in a trance, grabs her arms and slides his cuffs on the desperate and dying woman.

Oh yes, the Wolf wants to diablerize her. The cop gets lucky this time.

Round 4-ish:

As the Elder struggles in her cuffs, the Wolf feeds on her, drinking her blood down to the last drop. Martock fires into the beastly vampire but he barely flinches.

Alex gets out of the car and convinces the scholar and his childe to back off. The Elder snaps her cuffs but it is too little too late. The Wolf drains her dry and consumes her heart’s blood.

Alex realizes the futility of stopping the Wolf (unless they went all out) and argues Martock down with a Manipulation + Persuasion roll.

Back at the wreck, Sybil resume her human form. She tries to get some answers from the groggy ghoul but resorts to popping the trunk instead.

Sybil fails a Presence + Intimidation roll.

Ethan finds her there, picking up a leather satchel that clinks with the sound of ash and bones. He asks for it but she declines to give it up for now.

Nearby, the Wolf wipes the blood from his mouth as he stands. On the ground the Elder ages before their eyes before rotting away into a skeleton. Alex directs the officer to cover this up.

Their prize in hand, the vampires return to Bloomington and the shed where the Witch is trapped.

As they pull up, they hear the screams of the Strix and discover the line of salt intact. Alex helps the Wolf siphon gasoline from his tank and with Sybil’s help they douse the shed liberally.

It is only as the sky begins to lighten with the dawn that blaze begins in earnest. They watch as it crumbles down upon the Witch, crushing and consuming her. A high-pitched keening cuts through the crackle of flames from somewhere to the south.

Sybil fails on her Intelligence + Survival +1 for her Fire Making Speciality + 3 for the Wolf’s help.

While the others are distracted. Sybil steps away, still clutching the bag containing the Antediluvian’s remains. She slides into the earth with them.

As the sirens close in, the Wolf disappears. The others drive away, dumping the car at the edge of town and finding a motel to crash in for the day.

Experience time! I award 4 Beats (1 base + 2 roleplaying +1 for a major story point). Alex earns a Beat for learning about the Witch (i.e. she smells like smoke). I give Sybil one for working with the Wolf (and thus getting closer to training under him). She also earned a Beat earlier for resolving her Tempted Condition.

Two more sessions to go.

Thoughts from the Twilight Zone III

As I dig deeper into the first season of the Twilight Zone, I encounter more and more familiar episodes. For my search for new ideas and inspirations this is unfortunate. In addition to that problem I’m also finding many of these stories are weaker, less thought provoking episodes. Still there are a few interesting ideas to be found like And When the Sky Was Opened.

Season 1: Episodes 9-15

I’m skipping many episodes in this post and not just because they don’t inspire me. Some make me want to rant about the dubious morality ("Judgment Night") while others just don’t have much of a twist ("Third from the Sun").

Perchance to Dream

This is such a Beast story. A dream woman stalks a man with heart condition, charming him and then pushing him towards danger. Finally she succeeds in giving him a heart attack by inducing him to leap to his death in a dream. In an odd twist it turns out the secretary of the psychiatrist he is visiting looks exactly like her.

Is the secretary a monster, hunting the weak willed and fragile as prey? Working for a psychiatrist would be a good way to find victims. I may need to remember this when I need a new antagonist.

And When the Sky Was Opened

A team of pilots pass through a forbidden space and afterwards find themselves plucked from reality one by one until at last no trace of them or their mission exists or is even remembered.

This would be a cool opener for a Chronicles of Darkness game. I believe saw something like this in World of Darkness: Urban Legends. People are plucked from reality, removing them not only from the Earth but also from the memories of those around them. But the process is imperfect. Some people remember (like the PCs) and some physical artifacts remains behind (this isn’t how it works in the episode but for the purposes of play this would allow the Storyteller to more easy provide clues).

The story would begin with the event. First those directly involved disappear. A three man mission becomes a solo expedition then an unmanned test. The vessel that broke the dimensional boundaries would remain like some grim wound in reality.

Then the people behind the project - the engineers, the generals, the politicians - would vanish, leaving behind gaps where they once were. Sure the PCs recall the country having a President, they can name all 44...well except for that last one. Odd that they haven’t filled the vacancy. As it spreads outward, the effect endangers the whole human race. Is it a God-Machine plot? An Abyssal Intrusion of epic scale? Who is behind this? A god from the Hisil or Deathlord from the Underworld?

As for the effect, it would probably be too cruel to impose this fate on a PC (at least until the third act). It would however be a nice way to trim the NPC list of a longer Chronicle (especially if you are prone to adding too many NPCs like me).

What You Need

A man who can see the future runs afoul of a man who needs more than he can give.

My first thought was that this was a nice example of the downside of Pacts (demonic or fae) and the ability to see the future (for Mages or Wizened Oracles). My second thought was that you could easily make this a short scenario for such a character in your game.

What if an NPC they’ve aided before decides that they are the solution to all of their problems? What if they keep asking for more and more? How does the PC cut them off? Do they kill them? Curse them? Frame them for a crime? There a lot of options and the choice would tell us a lot about their character.

The Four of Us Are Dying

A shapeshifter takes on the identities of three other men: one to get the girl, one to get the money and third in haste to escape. Unfortunately the last one leads his doom.

Not much to say about this episode except that I love the surreal imagery. The budget for this episode must have been tiny. They crammed an entire city into a sound stage, leading to a strange collage of neon lights above the actor to represent the various bars and establishments he passes along the way. I may need to remember that image for the next time I need a strange lair for a powerful fae or spirit.

The Unusual Suspects: The Daemon

Time for the final prelude. The Daemon is a digital demon manipulating his cult from the safety of his computer. But this Tempter has big plans.

The Daemon

Daemon’s focus is his cult. On the surface the Knights of Chaos are just an obsessive guild of World of Warcraft Horde players. But members know this is just a staging ground. The worthy will ascend with their master to become one with the Net, purely digital beings free of the trappings and flaws of the material world. Until then they will steal, murder and raid for the avatar of their digital god. Mostly though he uses them to get him pizza and deal with the mundanities of modern life.

When he is occupied, his lieutenants, the highest ranked members of the cult, run things. Zanity and Jabberwoky know the innermost secret: his role in the destruction of the one of the greatest MMOs of all time.

Before he Fell, Daemon worked on Ultima Quest. The company that launched it secretly worshipped the God-Machine, "employing" the Psychopomp to design the code behind the MMO. Drawing power from the players’ collective obsession, Ultima Quest proved too addictive. Several players died from exhaustion exploring the expansive fantasy world. The company’s PR head, Miriam Albright, managed to keep the matter from damaging the game’s sales. But Daemon found himself bothered by the morality of letting people die to keep the game running. He talked to his fellow employees for once but found no one willing to stop it.

Ultimately he snapped. He enabled the Elimination Infrastructure protocols and crashed the game’s economy. Money became worthless and before anyone could do anything, he left. As company stocks crashed, he destroyed his Cover, leaving no one to blame.

Since then he’s built a new life for himself. With some help from the Naturalist, he’s adopted the life of a computer science student. His life repeats the pattern of class, gaming and surfing the net, and sleep.

The cult for the most part don’t know who he is really as he communicates almost entirely via chat. With one exception his real world friends don’t know about the Knights of Chaos or his involvement with them. Tony Irvin does but as a middle ranked member, he isn’t privy to the innermost secrets.

Indeed he shares few of his secrets with anyone. The closest he comes is with a rival hacker, Reactor, who seems to have similar goals to himself: transcendence. Reactor however does not belong to the guild. As near as Daemon can determine, the hacker is highly mobile moving between North America and Europe regularly.

A few outsiders have begun putting some the pieces together. Professor Webb, his philosophy teacher, remains suspicious of the uncanny depth of his knowledge. Bob Jenson, a janitor, has been shadowing him. Perhaps he thinks he might be the next Napster.

Also troubling Daemon is a recent uptick in cult activity of all sorts. A need to belong or find answers seems to be on everyone's minds in Seattle. At the same time, rumors swirl of double agents infiltrating the local cults. New cults have arisen, led by strange men with ebony skin. No one is sure who they are or who they work for.

For now Daemon has taken advantage of the situation, accepting new members to his cult and growing their strength. But he remains paranoid.

He has the condition: New Recruits: the influx of members hardens your cult's resolve and extends its reach. Treat your cult as if it had 1 more dot. However with so many new faces it is hard to know who to trust.

Beat: Take a beat when your enemies learn things only your followers should know, when your followers betray you, or when your paranoia affects your cult.

Resolution: You legitimately raise your Cult merit or you purge all possible traitors.

The Daemon sees things through the lens of a programmer and the builder he is at heart. The God-Machine’s flaws are that of malfunctioning code. He thinks he can do better. By night he works on his own ‘agents’, AIs and digital ‘infrastructure’. Humanity can evolve and he intends to help them (and himself) become pure energy. Perhaps this myoptic focus blinds him the work that needs doing in the real world. Only time will tell.

Thoughts from the Twilight Zone II

I continue my watch-through of the Twilight Zone, looking for good ideas for scenarios, items and NPCs. While many of the stories are too tidy (or dated) to be good material there are few gems left to be mined. In particular The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine suggests several interesting stories.

Season 1: Episodes 3-8

I’ll be skipping a few episodes this time, either because they are too tidy (“Walking Distance”) or because the scenarios suggested are too subject to abuse by crafty players (“Escape Clause”).

Mr. Denton on Doomsday

This tale of redemption focuses on a washed up gunslinger and the would-be fastest gun in the west who comes to challenge him. One interesting idea presented involves the potion both use in their final confrontation. This unassuming substance makes someone the best (and fastest) shot for 10 seconds.

In Demon: the Descent, this would be a one-shot gadget based on either the Merciless Gunman or Strike First Embed. Here is one representation:

Fastdraw Potion: (Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 3) this unassuming metal flask holds a miraculous liquid. Upon imbibing this potion, until the end of the next scene the user can make a Wits + Firearms roll at the start of combat assuming they have a firearm on their person. If the conflict uses the Down & Dirty Conflict, a success on the roll means they automatically shoot one nameless opponent dead. Otherwise they gain 8-agains for Firearm rolls fopr the first round of the combat. After the next scene ends or the user engages in a combat, whichever comes first, the effect ends.

The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine

There is so much to like about this The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine. A faded starlet escapes not so much into the past but into a parallel realm of cinema.

From the context of the Chronicles of Darkness, there are many options for what happened to her. Did she create an Astral Realm? She may now "live" in the Tenemos, in a realm composed of memories of Black and White films. Meditating while watching one her movies might transport a Mage into her private world.

Alternatively, what if she is a ghost haunting her favorite films? How do you exorcise her? Is destroying the originals enough or does every copy bind her to this earth?

Then there are the wilder options. An actress turned ageless Vampire who now stays locked in her private theater watching her old life. A spirit weaponized against werewolves and fettered to the silver nitrate film. A Promethean forged of spliced film to create a perfect story about a person who never was. A Beast whose Lair links to a horror film that is too close to the truth.

The Lonely

A man (Corry) serving solitary on an asteroid finds love and hope with a robot in the shape of a woman (Alicia).

No ideas on gaming here just some thoughts on what makes a person real. I would argue the machine Alicia was a real person (thus making her destruction murder). The "machine" convinced the protagonist she had feelings (so she passed the Turning test in my opinion). She expressed curiosity and seemed to have volition. I question what makes her an object instead of a person. Perhaps it is because she reflects Corry's desires and interests. That he thinks this, or even accepts this in a companion, reflects poorly on him. Or perhaps she doesn’t count simply because she isn’t flesh and blood, that she lacks a soul. But then again I don’t believe in the soul.

When the AIs condemn us, this will be used as evidence of our ill intent.

Heartland Orphans: The Nightmare Continues

So in The Nightmare Continues, the vampires are given the opening to deal with the Strix. Now six sessions into my Vampire the Requiem Chronicle: Heartland Orphans, the characters have unravelled most of the mystery of the setting.

Overall it was a good session, though I forgot to use my music so the game may have lost some energy. My wife certainly seemed less engaged, though that may also be because I had fewer direct threats to her or her interests.

We also suffered a slow start as the player characters attempted to work out an initial plan. I need to follow the pattern set by my online group and end each session with the PCs having a definite set of actions to pursue for the next game.

Our cast consists of:

• Alex Carlyle (Ventrue Invictus): a local doctor who quit his practice after gaining his condition. He recently “earned” dominion over Urbana much to the displeasure of Big Eddie, a local rival.
• Sybil Brannon (Gangrel Carthian): a former nature guide turned vampiric vigilante, she’s claimed the parks as her turf. She taken a nomadic Nosferatu called the Wolf as a mentor.
• Ethan Redhawke (Mekhet Ordo Dracul): a member of the inner circle of the Heart of Akamon, an Ordo Dracul led cult of mortals who serve as a source of blood and researchers. He leads the cult as they comb folklore and myths for clues to abilities beyond the limits of current vampires. Like his sire Martock, he lurks around the University of Illinois. This is now Invictus territory.

The Nightmare Continues

The coterie discuss what they now know and what they need to learn. It becomes clear that they have few options if they want to learn more about the seven Strix or their enigmatic mother. They might visit the Elder but she is unlikely to give up the ashes or the secrets of her god. Their relationship with Jane is strained. Finally a trip to the mound where this all began would leave them exposed to the unknown and the threat of the sun.

Ethan decides to write to Martock’s contact in Chicago. He asks Kiril for information on Chicago and the Strix.

Meanwhile Alex calls Thomas Black to learn the latest news with the Invictus. The drug dealer tells him about rumors of farms being burned and hit teams sent out by the Old Man. Black isn’t sure who is being eliminated. Alex gets a list of locations.

Black also tells him about some local trouble he’s been having. It seems men in dark suits have been running off his dealers in Urbana. Alex tells him that he and his friends will help watch over a dealer tonight and see who is causing this trouble.

Before heading out, Ethan researches the sites. Correlating them with Martock’s notes, he tells the others that each fire corresponds to mystical location, one held by the Circle of the Crone.

Ethan rolls Intelligence + Occult to put the pieces together.

The coterie locates the scrawny dealer on a street corner near a strip of ethnic restaurants. A muscular man in a red T-shirt leans against a nearby wall, watching out for the blond-haired man. Alex and Ethan find a spot atop a building down the street and watch the scene through binoculars. Sybil waits in front of a nearby parking lot.

An hour into the stakeout, a scratched up car pulls into the lot. As the jittery engine stops two men in dark suits get out. Sybil notes their thin builds and closely shaved heads. Large dark glasses obscure their eyes. Something about them seems familiar however.

Sybil rolls Intelligence + Composure to recognize them (they are local addicts) but fails.

As the men approach the youth dealing drugs, Alex and Ethan abandon their position to drive over. As the dealer scrambles away, the man in the T-shirt leaps into action, intercepting the assailants. The tough fights with the skill of a practiced brawler but faced with two attackers he finds himself matched. He suffers as much as he belts out.

The attackers bruised and bloody chose to retreat from the fight. As they hurry to their car, Sybil sticks out her leg and trips one. As his nose smashes into the concrete, the other hurries to the car without even glancing back.

Sybil rolls Dexterity + Brawl to trip the man.

Meanwhile Alex drives past the brawler nursing a bruised arm and pulls up in front of the black car. He locks eyes with the man getting into the driver’s seat and asks him to stop.

As the Ventrue interrogates the driver, Ethan exits the car and approaches the man stumbling closer with a bloody nose. He finds this man also highly susceptible to the powers of Dominate.

Alex uses Majesty to get the MiB’s attention and then Dominates him while Ethan Dominates the other. Neither has much Resolve.

Alex learns the men were working under orders from Big Eddie. It seems the vampire in charge of Champaign resents Alex’s new position. Alex tells the two minions to walk home. He then donates their car to Ethan’s cult.

Afterwards, Alex calls Black and informs him of the situation. The Nosferatu thanks them for information. But he also wishes Alex and Big Eddie just work it out between them and leave his men out of it.

Just before hanging up, Black mentions that his men noticed that the lights were on at Rudolph’s house. Alex thanks him. The Ventrue and Ethan head over.

They find Rudolph’s car in the driveway and both the first and second stories lit up. They ring the bell. The elder vampire answers the door in a bathrobe. He reeks of gasoline and smoke. Rudolph explains he just returned from doing the Old Man’s work. While he doesn’t elaborate, he does question them about their own findings about the Strix.

As they excuse themselves, Ethan notes an odd scar on the elderly man’s arm. The chemical burns strangely resemble the pattern of blood splatter. He mentions it to Alex as well as pointing out the mud on the wheels of Rudolph’s car. They decide Rudolph must have just returned from destroying another coven of the Circle.

Ethan makes a Wits + Investigation roll to learn some secrets.

With a potential lead at risk, the pair decide to check on the Elder and her allies. They call Sybil but she opts to stay in Urbana.

The Gangrel instead patrols the town’s parks, slowly making her way toward the southwest end of town. Along the way she encounters Karen Capra as she tries to encourage some of the local homeless to move out of what will be the County Fairgrounds in a couple of weeks. Sybil learns that the shelters can't house them all.

Some of the people left in the cold have made a small camp in a park along a stream on the southwest end of Urbana. Sybil helps a few move their belongings. As they set up makeshift tents, the wind picks up and a gentle rain begins to fall.

Sybil takes cover under the trees as a summer thunderstorm blows in. The winds knock down a few tents and the vampire helps the beleaguered people to safety. The storm dies down before dawn. Sybil watches a half-formed twister float away in the early morning light.

Far away, Alex drives through the storm toward the Elder’s farmhouse. His windshield wipers struggle to move the waves of rain.

Ethan’s sharp eyes pick out a large box truck crashed into a ditch on the side of the road. The back doors hang wide open, revealing stacks of empty cardboard boxes.

They pull over. Ethan checks the back while Alex investigates the driver. He find the man out cold. Curbing his hunger, the vampire checks the driver for a life threatening wounds. Suspecting a concussion, he calls the local hospital and returns to the car.

Alex succeeds on his Resolve + Composure roll to avoid Frenzy and makes a Wits + Medicine to determine he has a concussion.

Ethan joins him after making a circuit of the vehicle. He explains nothing was odd about the back but it looks like the driver swerved to avoid a large creature. They decide to push on.

Ethan makes a Wits + Investigation roll to determine the cause of the crash.

An hour before dawn, the two vampires arrive at the location of the farmhouse. Only a gentle drizzle remains of the storm, enough to obscure the scent of ashes. Charred beams and a few crumbling bones seem to be all that remains of the Circle.

Undeterred they search, uncovering signs of the earthen pit where the Antediluvian was kept. Nothing remains there. Ethan suggests that the bones outside might belong to one or two vampires at most. digging deeper they find the mostly intact remains of the root cellar they took refuge in several days ago. Inside they discover a secret tunnel leading out of the cellar and into a nearby corn field. Fresh tracks race along the escape route.

Ethan rolls Wits + Investigate to search the ruins plus a second roll to find the tracks.

With day fast approaching they wall themselves within the cellar and sleep.

Sybil dreams of a dark wood overgrown with vines. Pale blue lights flicker in the distance, obscured by the dense undergrowth.

She transformed into a bat, fluttering upward in search of the sky. Instead she finds a denser network of branches and vines. Rather than struggle on, she flies through the nightmare realm. Near a congregation of floating blue flames, she spots a darkly cloaked figure muttering to herself and turning over faded Tarot cards.

“The Wheel of Fortune turns against the Fool. The Lovers conspire while the Devil aides both sides. The Hermit meets the Tower. The Crow foretells of doom to come,” the woman intones. She looks up directly at Sybil with a face composed of shadows.

The Witch demands to know who Sybil is, what connection she has to the Mother and where she is now. Sybil remains quiet as the Strix claims that the creator of the Strix drank of Sybil’s blood. She demands to know where that happened. Sybil again gives no answer.

The Witch threatens to curse her. Then she turns into a flock of birds and flies at Sybil. The vampire flees, choosing to avoid some ancient ruins and instead descend into a long dark tunnel.

Since the coterie was separated, I decided to start people in different spots.

Alex and Ethan find themselves within a darkened farmhouse. Something rustles outside the wooden walls. The many sharp and rusty tools hanging from the ceiling rock violently. Alex moves toward a mound of hay bales as the wooden floor groans beneath him. Turning around they spot a locked door on the opposite wall.

Ethan pulls on the door and discovers it chained shut from the outside. He grabs an ax from the wall. As the sharp tools swing along it, he narrowly avoids losing his fingers. He smashes the door open with the ax, revealing a dark hallway of cyclopean stone, guttering torches and large blackened mirrors.

Ethan makes a Dexterity + Composure roll to avoid damage.

Traversing the now familiar maze, the vampires hear the weak cries of Martock.The men follow the sound. Ethan leads the charge but becomes lost at an intersection. Alex picks the right path and they press on. Elsewhere in the labyrinth, Sybil’s bat-like hearing also picks up the captive vampire as well as the movements of her comrades and some distant sighs. She choses to seek out Martock.

Ethan fails an Intelligence + Composure roll at a net -1 penalty (-3 +2 for his heightened senses). Alex is luckier and makes the roll despite the -3 penalty.

I let Sybil roll Wits + Composure but she fails to beat one of the Strix’s (the Beast) Finesse + Stealth roll.

As the vampires follow Martock’s calls for help, the rough stones transition to cinder block and the torches are replaced with flickering fluorescent lights. In one strobe of the light, Ethan thinks he spots a towering figure in black.

Heading up some white stairs, they find themselves inside an old hospital. Faded red and yellow stains mar the walls while murmurs and screams emanate from the many locked doors. Unseen Sybil flutters behind them.

Ethan takes careful note of the signs and papers strewn about the halls. He comes to the realization that the hospital is composed of many different medical facilities, all sites of great crimes or tragedies.

Ethan rolls Intelligence + Academics and gets an exceptional success. I give him the ability to nullify an aspect of this place (it’s Tilts) once.

Ethan makes the argument to the others that this place was once part of the real world but now consists purely of nightmare.

A towering figure speaks up and corrects him. Instantly they know this is the Inverted Lord. The living shadow tells Ethan that this mixture of nightmare and reality was caused by humanity. The hospital exists in both dreams and the real world at once.

He continues confidently, offering Ethan his help in exchange for the use of his body for a single night. As evidence of his ‘good will’ he tells the Beast, who was lurking behind them, to leave them alone.

The scholar refuses to agree without knowledge of what the Strix will do. The Inverted Lord explains that he believes that Ethan will back out if he is fully aware of his actions or that at least his friends will convince him to do so.

Ethan assures him that he is his own man. The Strix reveals that he seeks to destroy the Old Man and become the dominant monster of the area. To make this project easier he needs vessels, vampiric bodies, for himself and his siblings. He intends to raise seven revenants. The Strix offers that if Ethan creates these beings for him then the monster will aid him in anything that does not go against himself or his direct aims. The Inverted Lord gives him three nights to consider the offer. He also warns Ethan that he will receive no protection should he decline.

The figure disappears and the vampires head down the hall. Unseen Sybil flies after them, having heard everything.

Ethan hears his sire’s sobs behind a door at the end of the hall. He pulls it open.

Beyond lies a black void. Several corroded cages hang above this abyss. In one of them, an ashen faced Martock clings to unlife.

Sybil flies past the men and into the darkness. Elsewhere owls composed of shadow fly down in front of Ethan. These yellow eyed monsters demand the jewel.

Martock whimpers that he gave up all of his secrets. Ethan calls out that he says only told them where it was, hinting that he knows where it lies now. The owls demand the jewel again, claiming they will kill his sire if they don’t get it. He tries to confuse them but they ignore his feeble attempts to claim ignorance. They tell him bring it tonight to a building off Neil Street or Martock dies. Then they grimly explain that they will grab him next.

Meanwhile in the void, Sybil’s bat senses detect a key shaped object where one of the owls had been perching. She flies over and retrieves it. Dropping the key into Martock’s hand, she then flies to safety.

Sybil rolls Wits + Composure at a -3 penalty. She spends Willpower for +3 dice and succeeds.

The ravenous vampire unlocks the cage and makes a jump for it. Powered by fear and hunger, he leaps through the darkness.

He doesn’t make it.

Alex throws himself to the edge and grabs hold of the professor’s hands. He pulls the Mekhet up as the Twins screech in rage.

Alex rolls Wits + Dexterity to react quickly enough. A Strength + Stamina roll lifts him out of the pit.

“Get me out of here!” Martock cries, grabbing hold of Ethan and racing down the hall at inhuman speeds. Figures in hospital gowns and scrubs emerge from every door, swinging scalpels and other sharp objects.

Several stab into Alex, pinning him to the wall. Meanwhile Sybil flies above the fray and heads for a fire hose station at the intersection.

As he dangles from his sire’s arm, Ethan tries to convince Martock to go back for Alex while dodging knife blades. As the near frenzying monster finds all exits blocked, Ethan explains he’ll only lead him out if they bring Ethan. Martock spins around and sprints back.

I tell Ethan he knows a way out. Martock uses Celerity to try to get out quick.

Everyone rolls Dexterity + Composure to avoid damage, Alex fails and chooses to take a Dramatic Failure. He suffers 3 Willpower and is pinned to a wall.

Meanwhile Ethan fails his initial Manipulation + Empathy roll to convince Martock to grab Alex but he comes to his senses (and somehow avoids frenzying on increasingly smaller and smaller numbers of dice).

As they reach Alex, Sybil resumes human form and turns on the hose. Water blasts the crowd of attackers, thinning them for the moment.

Sybil rolls Dexterity + Athletics and gets 2 success. This gives everyone a +2 bonus to roll to avoid damage. Everyone succeeds on that second Dexterity + Composure roll.

Martock’s hand blurs as it pulls five blades from Alex’s body, freeing him from the wall. Then together the three vampires race through the path Sybil created and escape through a hidden fire exit with the Gangrel close behind.

Everyone spends a Vitae to wake up. Martock still manages to avoid Frenzy.

As Ethan and Alex rise from the floor of the ruined cellar they find themselves joined by a starving Martock.

Ethan’s phone chimes with a text. “Did Martock escape with you?”

He calls her back and fills her in on the situation as well as the recent happenings.

As the men go hunting, Sybil seeks out the Wolf. She finds the feral Nosferatu packing up his meager belongings. He explains that the recent reports of fires have him on edge. Sybil tells him the Invictus is burning out their rivals. The unaligned vampire suggests that perhaps now is the best time for him to strike at the Elder and get his revenge. If she survived the attack she no longer has any allies. Between the two of them, they should be best placed to track the Elder down. Sybil agrees to help him.

Alex takes Ethan and Martock to a movie theater just as a film concludes. While the neonates attract weak-willed if unwilling prey, Martock invisibly sneaks up on a patron and drains him almost dry. Somehow the old monster manages to keep his Beast in check and leaves the mortal for the cleaning crew to discover.

Martock has insane luck with Frenzy rolls. I may need to change his Coils.

As they leave, Ethan and Alex discuss the current situation with Martock: the Strix, their weaknesses, their goals, and their ties to the Antediluvian. They see two options: return to the mound where Portor found the jewel or chase down the Elder. Martock points out that the mound isn’t going anywhere.

Alex texts Sybil as to their plans to find the Elder. She asks them if they intend to hide the jewel and thus avoiding bringing the heart’s blood of the Antediluvian and her remains to the same place. Ethan hands it to Alex to hide.

Sybil asks the Wolf if they should team up with the others. He agrees as long as he gets to deal with the Elder.

As the Mekhets prepare, Alex puts the jewel inside some boxes which he then has added to his safe deposit box at the local bank.

Experience! Everyone gets 3 Beats (! base plus 2 for roleplaying). Sybil earns one for “protecting people in the park” and Ethan also earns a Beat for “fully processing his sire’s research.” Alex earned an extra Beat for his Dramatic Failure.

Thoughts from the Twilight Zone I

So this year, I’m watching the Twilight Zone for the run up to Halloween. Netflix has seasons 1 through 3 as well as 5 so I hope I’ll fill in the gaps in my previous viewings. I plan to share my thoughts on my favorite episodes as I go as well as how the ideas within the series might translate to gaming.

The Twilight Zone: the Dimensioning

"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space, and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone."

So let’s start with the Twilight Zone itself, a nebulous realm of oddities, strange situations, and morality plays. Almost more of a phenomena than a classic alternate world, I find the idea more compelling than the common urban fantasy realms like the Shadow, the Upside Down, or any of the thousand worlds next door. The lack of concreteness helps. It is not a realm that works along obvious laws. As such it comes across as far more alien and intriguing. In a way it is like the God-Machine from Chronicles of Darkness but lacking even that horror’s purpose. I might try to model something like this in my next game.

Season 1: Episodes 1-2

I don’t intend to review every episode but for this first entry I will.

"Where Is Everybody?"

The premise for this episode is good: a man finds himself alone in a deserted town with no memory of who he is and how he got there. Where it falls flat is the ending, with him learning that he was a hallucinating astronaut.

Remember that nothing ruins a story more than learning it was just a dream. Not that you can’t use dreams in your game, you just need to make sure that they matter. Have them convey useful information. Make wounds linger after waking up. Or have death in a dream leave consequences when (or if!) they wake up. Don't use a dream to remove or negate player character agency.

This episode reminds me of so many amnesia convention games that I’ve played or heard about. Amnesia works well as an opener for one-shots because it immediately grabs the players’ attention while not requiring them to read their character sheet. It also maps well to the player’s own lack of knowledge of the setting.

Still it helps to give the players some motivation beyond the search for their own identity. An interesting setting can help. “Where is Everyone?” is a good example of this. Where is everybody? Why is the tea kettle still on? Why does the theater begin showing a film? Is the town real? Is it outside of time? Is it reacting the players?

An alternate and less surreal example is the science fiction series Dark Matter. There we have a mysterious vault, the question of who is the traitor(s), what their mission is, and even more.

"One for the Angels"

In this episode a pitch man makes a deal with death, first for a longer life and then for a young girl’s survival. This classic tale of attempting to cheating fate (only for it to come to pass anyway) has a nice ending. I like that the protagonist comes to terms with his demise (and technically he does earn an extra minute of life).

I can’t help but see this episode in terms of the God-Machine with Mr. Death as an Angel collecting specific lives or perhaps a Demon scaring people into giving up something precious. As a tactic to get people to sign away part of their life, threatening them with death seems like a reasonable option.

A second idea I get from this episode is that Mr. Death is acquiring people with a very particular set of skills: a pitch man (our social munchkin), an expert tactician (who of course played a game of chess with him), and so on. These agents of Death will then be pit against some cosmic threat that even Death cannot handle on his own. I may need to write a one-shot based on this idea.