Hunter: The Vigil PROJECT: Tallow Welcome to Project: Tallow, the United States Civilian version of TASKFORCE: Valkyrie. You are one of the selected members of the population who have had the veil ripped from your eyes and can now see into the shadows of The World of Darkness. You know Vampires stalk your streets, Werewolves hunt in the forests and fields, Evil Fairies steal away children from their cradles, Witches really do call down evils upon those whom they hate, and the dead really do rise from their graves to haunt the living. What your first encounter was varies, perhaps one night you and your girlfriends had one too many at a particularly shady bar and on the way home one of the guys followed you. You thought it was just some creep trying to pick up on you. That was until he grabbed your friend and ripped her throat out with its fangs. After the screaming and running was all said and done, you remember what really happened that night even if your friends claim it was just a mugging gone bad. You never went to the police, instead you went to a gun shop and a priest. Now you spend your nights frequenting the same bars with a high caliber pistol, a big knife and a wooden stake. Searching for others like the thing that killed your friend. Or perhaps you’ve been searching for ghost your whole life. You’ve got a website and a few thousand followers. But it all changed when you and your crew went into THAT house. You thought it was another bust; until the door locked itself, the walls started bleeding and the old brick fireplace grew teeth. You don’t know how the hell you made it out. Let alone caught it all on tape. The next night you made sure that the house mysteriously burned to the ground. Now you have a 100,000 followers and a new crew as the old ones didn’t make it out. You know where to go looking. Everyone on the website thinks its fake, but you know its all too real. Or perhaps you were a member of a force recon unit stationed in the middle east. You were told the town was empty, it was gonna be an easy ride through, but it wasn’t. The thing was wrapped up like a mummy and it just wouldn’t go down. Your platoon hit it with everything they had and it still managed to kill half of them, flip over a truck and make a run for it. Your commanders think it was an insurgent raid. You and the rest of your platoon covered it up. They don’t talk about it, some of them believe the story. You however put in for the weird assignments, go poking your nose into the dark corners. Searching for other things that don’t add up. However you came to be one of the enlightened few, you’ve taken it upon yourself to protect the world from the monsters. Your candle has been lit and your Vigil begins. Through blade, guns, fire or knowledge you will protect those around you who are blissfully unaware of the things that go bump in the night. Hunter the Vigil- For those of you new to the World of Darkness: DON’T FREAK OUT. This is all easier than it sounds. The World of Darkness is more or less similar to the world you and I live in (Who knows maybe we do live in the world of darkness and we’re blissfully unaware). The difference is here there be monsters. And your character is going to be someone who hunts them. If you are keen on finding out more about the World of Darkness as it is a publish role playing game with dice and all that fun stuff please feel free to PM me I’ll see about pointing you in the right direction if you want to find copies of the books to read. IF YOU JUST WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME- you don’t need any of the books as we won’t be rolling dice or using the official character sheets. I’m just using some of the setting. IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE WORLD OF DARKNESS- most of the information I’m giving out should sound pretty straight forward. If you are an old world of darkness person. Great. I love ya. This is New World of Darkness, just so you’re aware. Now that, that is out of the way time to talk turkey. Your characters should be already familiar with the fact that there are infact monsters out there. Maybe they’ve only encountered a specific type, or maybe they are a grizzled old veteran. Whatever the case may be you will need to make sure that they can be recruited to work as part of Project Tallow. Q&A Q: Can I play a…….? A: NO!.......well maybe. Please refer to my list of monsters Q: Does my hunter have to be a badass gun toting monster slayer? A: No, infact I would prefer to have a cast of characters that are diverse as the plots that I have in mind will be about finding things out about the monsters, planning, hacking, talking to people, sneaking around, and generally preparing for a final confrontation with the monster. Q: If so much of the plot is focused on preparation what will my gun toting badass do? A: Why, help kill the monster of course! Part of this game will be focused on a climactic confrontation so you’ll get to shoot/stab/incinerate/decapitate/obliterate something. I promise. Q: What kind of Monsters are there? A: See my list of monsters Q:What is a compact/conspiracy? A: Both of the above things are groups of monster hunters that are interspersed throughout the world and may occasionally come into conflict with one another. I encourage you to play as ex-members of these groups as it will allow you access to some neat little Endowments for fighting the monsters. Q:What Compacts/Conspiracies can I use/exist? A: See my Compacts and Conspiracies list. Q: What’s an Endowment? A: An Endowment is some sort of pseudo supernatural ability. Maybe you’re a catholic priest that knows a few rituals that really do work, maybe your previous employer gave you a new eye. Only this one lets you see through solid walls, or maybe you have a little demon blood in your veins and it lets you pull so pretty handy magic off. I have a list of them included with their Compact/Conspiracy that grants them. Keep in mind typically you can’t keep them when you leave a group but in this case I am interested in seeing a variety of characters so if we can work out a reasonable reason for you to still have them then I’m very happy to help you do that. Q: How many Characters can I play? A: How many can you reasonably play? (Typically I find 2-3 is a good number if you want more than one) Q: How many Players are you taking? A: As many as impress me with their Characters. Q: I have another question. A: NO!....I’m just kidding leave it in the comments or PM me. I love questions Monsters- This section will give you a brief overview of some of the potential monsters your hunter could have faced/will face. It will also include a Can I play it? section which will detail the reasons why (or more likely why not) you can play as a monster as opposed to a hunter. Vampires- These a blood sucking undead that have returned from the grave without a soul (Well maybe no one actually knows) They are nocturnal because sunlight turns them to ash in a matter of seconds (Mostly). Other than that, Vampires seem to vary significantly. What effects one may not affect another in terms of weakness. Some have super strength and super speed, others don’t even look human. Can I play it? No, simply because Vampires are at their core predators. They prey on humans regardless of any moral qualms they may have about doing so. And few have even that. The whole idea of Hunter is to destroy beings like this. What about members of VII? No don’t even go there. If you don’t know what that is don’t worry about it What about Ghouls? Possibly. For those of you who don’t know what a ghouls is. It is a human that drinks vampire blood and gains enhanced life span and abilities however it also causes the human to be more susceptible to the vampire whose blood they drinks requests. Its also highly addictive. So if you can pitch me an awesome idea for a ghoul then yes. Werewolves- These are beings that appear human but can transform into wolves of hybrid wolf human beings. They prey on animals and humans alike, are highly territorial and seem to be tied to the phases of the moon in some way. They are also hurt severely by silver. There also appear to be a variety of these beings as well. Each with different abilities but no apparent rhyme or reason to them. Can I play it? No, for the same reason you can’t play a vampire these creatures prey on humans. Additionally werewolves are highly territorial and unyieldingly loyal to their packs. What about a Wolfblooded? sure, however Project: Tallow will still require you to hunt werewolves, even if you are related to one. Infact you may find yourself faced with killing a family member. For those of you who don’t know what a Wolfblooded is it is someone with a Werewolf in the family tree who is immune to the unnatural fear that werewolves project in humans when they shift forms. Fairies- Don’t laugh. I’m not talking disney fairies I’m talking about creatures that steal (and eat) children. Beings that lead travelers astray into deadly swamps or cut bad deals with humans that leave them totally insane. These are the vicious goblins, the human eating ogres and the unearthly beautiful Fae whose touch drives mortals mad. These creatures come in a variety of shapes and sizes. What about a changeling? Possibly. This one I’m very wary of because a human that has been warped by the Fae is a problem as most hunters don’t view changelings as okay. Additionally Changeling Contracts are VERY powerful. So if you wish to play a changeling, lets talk but no promises. Witches and Mages- These are people who has power, maybe they can astral project or conjure fire or raise the dead. Whatever the case may be these people are often the most sinister kind of predator as they appear to be almost completely human. Infact there is almost no way to tell the difference between a mage or a witch and a normal human. Lucky for us bullets do a very good job of killing them (Mostly). Can I play it? Maybe. These are very dangerous waters as mages have a very broad selection of powers (See Mage the Awakening) and we are not limiting them with a rule set so a mage character in this setting could easily be way too powerful. I’d have to be thoroughly convinced by the character if you wanted to play a mage. Geist/Ghost/Spirit- The ethereal come in a variety of flavors. Geists and Ghosts are the spirits of the dead while Spirits are the Ethereal form of natural and manufactured objects and occasionally more abstract things. They are very hard to kill as normal weapons do not damage them, only sanctified objects or Etheric rounds to hurt them. Can I play it? No, Geists, Ghosts, and Spirits don’t have the are typically flat static characters as they are almost always specifically associated with a place, emotion or memory. And walking through walls is cheating. What about a Sin-Eater? Yes, Of all the “Monsters” out there I would be most okay with letting someone play a Sin-Easter. A Sin-Eater is a mortal who has bonded with a Geist at the moment of their death, while potentially a very powerful character they are the closest to human and typically not predatorial in anyway. In fact many of them may appear simply to be Hunters that a very good at dealing with Ghosts. Let me know if you want to play a Sin-Eater however I will be keeping a tight reign on them since this is a Hunter game. Probably no more than one or two. Prometheans- One of the stranger beings in the World of Darkness and probably one of the minority groups. Prometheans are creatures that have been given artificial life. Creatures who are unnatural. They come in a few different flavors including golems and creatures similar to frankenstein's monster. (Maybe Mary Shelley was on to something? Was Victor Frankenstein an early Hunter?) Can I Play it? Absolutely not, and not for the previous reason. Prometheans don’t play well with anyone as their unnatural aura causes any other beings around them to distrust them, additionally prometheans staying in one place for too long will cause it to become uninhabitable in some way shape or form. As a result the US government has sanctioned their extermination when found as they are simply unnatural and too dangerous to be dealt with in any other fashion. Mummies- They are exactly what they sound like ancient, sacred, walking corpses with the power of dead gods on their side. They are all but indestructible and when they are destroyed they return with a vengeance. These beings are to be avoided at all costs and their cults are to be exterminated in one operation. Any survivors are too likely to bring about the wrath of their masters. Can I Play it? No they are simply too powerful, additionally Mummies are not characters that remain playable for long periods of time as their descent ends very quickly and they fall into a sleep of sorts. Can I Play a Witness? Yes! Absolutely you may play a witness. A Witness is a reincarnated friend, lover, family member etc. of a Mummy and as such they react accordingly. Keep in mind you may still be required to fight the Mummy in question however it can provide interesting story elements and possibly an advantage when fighting the Mummy you are a witness to as you are not affected by their terror when they use their abilities Slashers- These beings are an uncategorizable group of supernatural killers who target humans often in the guise of twisted serial killers. Their powers are vast and varied. Engage with caution. Can I play it? No these the total opposite of a hunter and are the featured Bad Guy of the Hunter the Vigil game. Infact crazed hunters sometimes become Slashers. Conspiracies and Compacts Ashwood Abbey- A british born Compact of Hunters who relish the Hunt for the sake of the hunt and to “Try new things” Typically members are rich kids with a taste for sadism and strange perversions. The Long Night- Members of this compact are typically hardline christians and bible thumpers as well as stoic Catholics. Its members believe that they must fight the armies of Hell which are here on earth before christ can return to save them The Loyalists of Thule- A group of knowledge seekers that research monsters and use the knowledge to help other hunters fight the monsters. The group has origins in the Nazi party of Germany but has since revised its views to be in atonement for its past crimes Network Zero- The definition of a conspiracy group Network Zero disperses “Evidence” of monsters to the public but more often than not it is viewed as a fake or something of that nature. Typically members of network zero are hackers and investigators seeking knowledge and to bring monsters into the light. Null Mysteriis- A group of scientists who believe that the supernatural is explainable by science and that anything can be explained by science if enough research is conducted. These individuals typically focus exclusively on research and often horde knowledge refusing to share with other groups. The Union- This group is the Blue collar workers group for the working monster hunter. They provide support and assistance to their members and do their best to disseminate information. Aegis Kai Doru- Greek for the Shield and Spear these hunters are an enigmatic group of greek relic hunters who claim to have the head of john the baptist in a cave somewhere. The Aegis kai Doru focus on destroying shape changers as well as collecting relics to forward their cause. Ascending Ones- The Ascending ones were originally an Islamic sect who discovered a powerful Elixir which allowed them to take the fight to the demons and creatures of the night. The problem was the Elixir was so powerful that only the mighty could use it. Those of lesser will and fortitude died from consuming the Elixirs. Currently the Ascending Ones are also affiliated with much of the drug trade in the middle east. Cheiron Group- The Cheiron Group is a world spanning medical and research based conglomerate with its members being tasked with acquiring subjects for research. Many of its members have enhancements derived from the supernatural beings that they capture and conduct experiments on. The Lucifuge- This Hunters are the children of the Arch Dukes of Hell and have been hunted down by a woman who calls herself The Lucifuge converting them to soldiers against the darkness. Most of the members were forcibly recruited but they posses strange powers and are very adept at dealing with demons. Malleus Maleficarum- The vatican branch of monster hunters are typically ordained priests. They have experience with vampires and are very good at killing them. They also have access to very powerful religious rites which help them combat the darkness. Taskforce: VALKYRIE- The united states sanctioned monster hunter group typically their members are typically military members or civilian Law Enforcement that has been inducted into the organization. They operate out of a variety of bases across the US and in other countries across the globe. Typically in the guess of disaster response teams. Endowments Advanced Armory- The Advanced armory is typically the purview of Task Force Valkyrie and includes a variety of advance pieces of equipment and weaponry. These pieces of equipment run the gambit from scopes that can see through walls to guns that fire lightning. Benediction- The Catholic Rites of the Malleus Maleficarum are powerful tools for fighting the darkness. They are the gifts of the orders home where all of the Rites of Benediction are stored. The rights tend to benefit or buff their users and their allies. It is even rumored they can return people to life. Castigation- The infernal powers of the bloodlines of hell. Castigations are rituals that the Lucifuge use to fight the night allowing them to call demonic familiar, conjure hellfire, cast out and command demons among other things. Elixirs- The purview of the ascendings ones these potent (and occasionally deadly) Elixirs grant the ascending ones enhanced speed, strength and other supernatural powers. Relics- Supernatural items collect by the Aegis Kai Doru these items are talismans and weapons with supernatural powers that give their wielders an edge in their ceaseless vigil. Thaumatechnology- Magic tech upgrades courtesy of the Cheiron Group these “Upgrades” are given to their agents in the field to assist them in their mission of capturing supernatural beings for further development. More often than not these Upgrades come at the cost of wondering who the real monsters are A note on endowments. I specifically left them vague, there are specific endowments listed in the Hunter the Vigil book if you need inspiration but I encourage you to be creative when it comes to them. Any Questions Team? Character Sheet Name: (Your Characters name and nickname if they have one) Operational Code name: (Ever wanted to have a cool code name? Here is your chance) Virtue: (What is your characters best trait in one word, Hope, Charity, Justice Etc.. attempt to avoid things like intelligence or strength) Vice: (What is your character's flaw Greed, Anger, Gluttony Etc…) Appearance: (Pictures are good, descriptions also work. combinations of the two are better) Age: ( I feel like I don’t need to explain this) Biography: (Tell us about your characters life and history, include personality details if you would like but I prefer to see these manifest in your posts) Skills: (What is your character good at generally, fighting monster related stuff should go in Edges but there is the potential for them to go in both categories) Equipment and Resources: (These include equipment, contacts, safe houses, non supernatural weapons, Etc…) Edges: (This is where any sort of unique abilities go but are not necessarily endowments, Wolfblooded, Ghoul and other things of that nature should go here. Additionally any sort of monster related abilities should go here such as being good at hunting a specific type of monster.) Endowments: (This is where hunter specific endowments go. Advanced Armory, Benediction, Castigation, Relics, Etc…) Mortal tie: (What links you to the everyday world? maybe its a kid? a spouse? a best friend? whoever or whatever it is this should be some unenlightened person or thing)

 **Name:** Jason Stonebow **Operational Code name:** None yet. **Virtue:** Vision/Hope **Vice:** Despair **Appearance:** I wish I’d had the chance to get some more rebellious clothes to fit my new image, like those fingerless gloves or the pagan hoody of the other kid at Eden had. At least that way I could have symbolically ended my old life as the sugarcube of the flock. Instead I’m stuck with the only dark clothes I could find in my closet – a plain v-neck T-shirt and a grey collared jacket, way too elegant for this. My formal shoes could almost make me laugh but I had nothing else. I wish I could at least have dyed my hair – it's still blonde and makes me look too young. Of course, I'm no longer as pristine as I used to be. Eden has left its harsh imprint on me and Alex both and I think you can tell we've been through a bit and not just by our tattered clothes and shabby shoes. **Age:** 19 **Biography:** I was born in Mirria, a small town in the deep Texan south-west. We were cut off from civilization and I don't think it was entirely by accident either. Our town was a highly religious patriarchal society where the word of the church is law. Beating up your children was a good thing – after all it teaches them to take a beating and they'll need to know that when they come face to face with all the monsters. That's what the True Faith is all about, at the core of it – discipline and ways to ward of the evil that lurks in the dark. A beautiful concept on the surface. I bought into it at first too – I advocated it and brought so many rebellious young people around. After all, I was young myself and the preacher's perfect son and that made it ever so easy to inspire trust in a small town like that. It took something drastic to open my eyes. It was a break-in – an assault you might say. Silly thing was, the thug didn't have a firearm. Those were rare in our town anyway – only a few had them and were very protective of them. So the guy broke through our porch window in the middle of the night, armed with nothing more than a knife and some sharp words. My father didn't have much trouble dealing with him, he had a gun after all. I was fifteen at the time and when they started talking, weapons pointed at each other, I still believed my father will bring the guy around and convince him he's being stupid, then forgive and bless him and send him on his way. It didn't turn out quite like that – the guy was rambling about the “outside world” and called our faith fake and I don't remember my father being angry but he did pull the trigger despite. The guy went silent in an instant – all that remained was the ringing of the shot and his voice in my ears. I'm sure now that my father had recognised him as Lucas, one of our flock. I'm sure he didn't give a shit when he shot him. Actually, maybe he did. He ordered mom to start cleaning up the mess and searched his body. He found a notebook there, full of pictures and scribbles of Lucas' blasphemous ideas. The fireplace was handy – it was on as well – but my father didn't toss the book there. He tossed it to me – said Lucas must have friends in our flock and that I need to identify them and straighten them up. Or he would. I had the Sunday school at my disposal to do that. And I did, in a way. I found our who they were but by that time I had read too much of the book myself. My father was blissfully unaware that I wasn't working to root the blasphemy out – I was preaching it now. I shouldn't have. People died because of me. Next thing we were in “Eden”, Alex and I. It's one of the madhouses built to control us blasphemers. As you can tell by the name, they don't see it that way. It's a holy place for them, somewhere where we find out beliefs again and get reintegrated into society. I can tell you what they do to reintegrate us. I can, but I won't. I'd rather forget. **What was their first encounter with monsters:** I think it was the initiation. I can't quite remember. **Skills:** I used to be good at inspiring people and giving them hope. Now look where that got them. **Equipment and Resources:** None. **Edges:** I've had some experience with the old revolver my father had so I know I have a good aim but I'm yet to perfect my skills in that regard. **Endowments:** I'm good at the Benedictions of the True Faith – although Issac claims they're originally from Malleus Malificarum, whatever that is. **Mortal tie:** Everyone at Mirria. Part of me still naively thinks I can save them. They are my flock, I owe them that. -------------  **Name:** Alex Qinn **Operational Code name:** Sieg [Zeeg] **Virtue:** Temperance **Vice:** Ruthlessness **General appearance:** I don’t care about my looks anymore. I put on whatever I have at hand and don’t even bother combing my hair. I used to look like a little doll but now I don’t. Now I probably look like the ghost of a doll that should have collapsed long ago. I feel drained most of the time due to the worries and lack of sleep and I’m sure if shows on my passive face and in the shadows under my eyes. **Age:** 17 **Biography: ** To talk about my history seems rather pointless as it was mostly the history of everyone else in this town. I was brought up believing in something foul, something that said it’s right to punish your own children for enjoying what life they were bestowed with. I was a good girl and my dad was proud of me so he only beat me up rarely. My mom must have also been proud as after each one she would smile brightly at me and braid my hair – she was proud I was realizing my mistakes and atoning for them, surely. And I was happy. Can you believe that, to be happy to get a beating after coming home late only because a storm caught you with no umbrella at hand? Well, now I can see it was crazy to believe that to be parental care and affection. The person who showed me actual kindness was Jason. I first met him in church, during one of the services when we both sensed something unusual about each other. He was the son of the preacher and I’ve always gotten a weird vibe off of him but I was unsure what it was until that day. It’s when he was handling out the leaflets with the new songs that he looked at me and his look lingered for a second too long before moving on. I knew there was a secret hidden behind those eyelids and I was right. It was night and I was alone in my room when I finally got the courage to open the leaflet and see what he had undoubtedly scribbled inside. It wasn’t much but it was enough. It was a simple “come”. It was right under the information about the Sunday school. The Sunday school his father had recently entrusted to him. But… it wasn’t a Sunday school. Or maybe it was, because it was so much holier than anything the True Faith had to offer. It was simply the Truth. The truth about human connections, about real relationships, real love, real friendship. About the world outside Mirria. Jason was very cautious who he shared his secret with – we were a small group of seven who were carefully selected by him after long observation and consideration. He didn’t force us to believe what he said but we had no doubt that he was indeed telling the truth. Our hearts knew it and our scars confirmed. We were… we were relieved from the True Faith. Saved, I dare say. I cried like a baby that time, I remember. Everyone thought I was cute and fragile after, though that’s not true. They just thought so because I was so relieved and they mistook it for something else. They were all so kind to me after that, like a real family should be. We became really close and what bond us together, more than anything, was Jason. Because he was our Faith, our Hope. He was the one who believed, more than any of us, that there was salvation, not just for us, but for everyone. He believed that Mirria could be saved. But he was broken. His faith and hope were broken that day, when he publicly announced in front of everyone in the Sunday service, that the True Faith was fake. That it should disappear. We… we tried to stop him. We knew his father would kill him, so we jumped on our feet and went to shield him. I can’t forget the looks on everyone’s faces as we did. The shock growing to burning hatred still haunts me at night. As do the screams that followed – the screams of the only people I ever truly cared about. We were quickly overpowered, captured, sent to different camps… Kevin wasn’t so lucky. His death… This event changed us. It broke our faith and our hope. It broke Jason. He’s not the same anymore, he keeps blaming himself and grew cold and distant, even to me. I’m sure he’s keeping me at a distance because he’s afraid he’s only going to get me in more trouble, but this distance is killing me. His empty stare is killing me. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that we’re the only ones from our little group who got set up in the same camp. I’m sure it’s his father’s doing because he knows me being here will be the worst punishment for Jason, because he knows I’m not going to give up on him, even if he already has given up on himself. Whether us being freed from there was a coincidence or not, I'm not so sure. One thing I do know, though, and that is that I'll get Jason through project Tallow, even if I have to push him forward with a dagger in hand. Sometimes you can only achieve your goal by hurting others and I’m ready to hurt my friend as much as I need to, but I will get him back. **When they first came in contact with monsters:** I couldn't tell you how young I was, but I was young, that much I remember. My mother made my hair and put makeup on my face and looked really proud – I thought it was something like a birthday. I suppose in some sense it was – it was an initiation (a word I didn't know back then). Apparently all the kids in town went through it at some point. It was supposed to be safe too – the pastor blessed me and drove me to the old dairy factory. It's been abandoned for years and we all know it's haunted but it's never been demolished as it was still useful to some. I was supposed to make it out and go back home safe., by myself. I think the spirits enjoyed this tradition too because they didn't manifest until the car drove off. And after... Well, they had to come get me the evening of the next day. I'd done all I could to get out but the factory just wouldn't let me. That's how I failed my initiation. My father beat me up that night (it hurt more than what the spirits managed to inflict) and I had to repeat the ceremony later that year. **Skills:** Pretending and playing the part. I can assume any role and play it well while never losing track of my goals or herself. That makes me a good spy and sometimes a pretty unnerving ally. **Equipment and Resources:** None. My wits are all I've ever had, and Jason's support, if that accounts to anything. **Edges:** I'm good at being Slasher-bait. Or any bait, really, as long as the target is sentient. **Endowments:** Toxins. I've been taught how to mix herbs and enhance my hearing or sight, as well as to heal wounds or infections. Talismans. Did you know certain gemstones and metals have properties you can utilise? I do – my mother taught me. I'm not the expert she is, of course, but maybe I've had some practice and with time I'm sure I can get better. **Mortal tie: ** My friends back in Eden. And Jason. I want to help them both but I don't know if it's possible. I'm also starting to think I'll burn myself out before either of them is saved. **Other:** I don’t sleep much. Not only because I have nightmares but also because I worry about Jason. I fear that if I let my eyes off him for too long he’ll do something horrible to himself.

Reserving a spot as well. I have an interesting priest in mind.

(This ended up super long, mostly just her Bargain backstory. Character sheet at the bottom!) ### **Biography:** She sat in front of the computer screen, one hand on her chin, the other idly clicking links, scrolling slowly as she read. The forum was slow, just the usual shitposts and half-interesting repeat threads. Some decent creepypasta. No sign of the expedition thread she'd been looking for. **“Burning Sage & Vade Retro Satana Reading—Livestreamed Cleansing! Starts@8PST”** Great. Another stoned spirit-hunter who'll burn plants they've mistaken for sage, probably set off the smoke alarm, and never actually do anything worth watching. **“Guys how do I summon a succubus?!”** Trolling or not? Doesn't matter, shit thread anyway. **“Art dump: Bosch, Geiger, Kago. Requests welcome.”** Open in new tab; she likes this poster's art dumps. **“REAL VAMPIRES caught IN PICS. HOW IS THIS NOT ON THE NEWS YET”** How indeed. Looks like bad CGI, or maybe just a couple of meth addicts in a poorly-lit alley. She sighed and tried to find something else to do, but couldn't convince herself to get off the chair. Must be worries, must be tired, must be must be. She poured another glass of wine and continued to neglect her studies. He'd promised to post a follow-up today. She's been pretending to study, watching Netflix, trying to do anything but obsessively checking for this guy to post. She's been following the threads since he started posting a couple years ago, a wandering sort of surreal travelogue of caving expeditions across the Americas, North and South. Haunted caves specifically, the ones that were the focuses of local legends. She watched the first one, ready for all kinds of amateur awkwardness at first, and was pleasantly charmed by the way he sat in front of each cave and read a printout of the urban legends that cave supposedly housed before grinning bravely at the camera and strapping it to his helmet. She knew it was all just ghost stories, semi-urban legends and teenage spook rumors. There was too often the overly-salacious dark twist—a smuggling tunnel was the site of a police-led massacre of bootleggers, a cave where horny high-school students made out was also a serial killer's body-dumping ground, or a particularly deep natural chasm had a terrifyingly large collection of child-size skeletons at the bottom, a collection that had grown over the past few decades as disappearances in the area caused town panic. Sensational bullshit, mostly, but entertainingly sensational bullshit, and he was charming in a slightly gloomy sort of way. So she watched the whole thing. Then another, and another. It was an excellent way to waste time. The first video had led her to his main site, where everything was neatly categorized. Even more thorough in its documentation of local legends than the videos, too. She'd read the whole site library, a couple times, and watched all the videos, but a new addition had caught her eye a couple months ago. He was announcing the next leg of his cave-tour, and there was a list of planned stops. She scrolled through, checked for her state. There. Her town—also there. Well now. Wasn't that something? He was going to a site just a few miles outside her town. A ten minute drive from the dorms. She typed up a message, then deleted it, re-typed it, then reworded a what might be seen as a too-suggestive invitation that they “go caving together and see what we can find,” and sent it. No response. She waited until that night. Still nothing. The next morning, two days before he went into the cave, and he had responded. He went alone, safety reasons, an inexperienced partner was a danger all in itself, maybe sometime in the future, he hoped she wouldn't mind and maybe they could get a drink or something while he was in town if she was interested in hearing about the trip. She'd smiled, replied, and willed the weekend to come faster. ~~~ Now it was Sunday, and nothing. His post was due Saturday, and he hadn't given her his number—he had hers, but not the other way around—so email was the only thing she could focus on, will into being, make bargains with. She daydreamed through classes, trying not to imagine him with a broken leg at the bottom of a shaft. When she was free she scuttled into her dorm room, checked his site, sighed in frustration and went to burn off anxiety at the gym. After her workout, before dinner, she checked her email. One message. From: spelunkadunk@gmail.com No subject. Five words: Help me get me out She froze, the workout high vanishing as her brain ground into gear. She charged back to the dorm room, ignoring tired legs, mentally listing all the things she should bring. Boots, sweater, water bottles, energy bars, a first aid kit. Two flashlights. No rope, why didn't she have any rope?! Dammit. She took twine—maybe she could tie herself a long line back to the mouth of the cave if she had to go in. Like Theseus. Ten minutes after she began throwing supplies into her duffel bag she was on the road to the cave mouth, the sun plunging behind the ridge and setting tiny, passionate wildfires through the crowns of trees, shining against the crimson-purple bruise of a sky above. She flipped on the headlights and pushed her little sedan's gas pedal deeper. ~~~ By the time she was there the sun had set. She flipped on one of the flashlights, facing the entrance of the cave. Something felt wrong about it. It felt the same way her grandmother's cellar had felt when she was a child, as if some half-there face would thrust itself up from the darkness, looming above her before unleashing some nameless horror upon her. She swallowed hard, knuckles white around the flashlight. What was she even doing here? She had no practical experience with caves. Geology major aside, it wasn't like she actually knew anything more than watching his videos would show her. But he needed her. She toyed with the idea of calling the police, maybe. But what if he was just a bit lost? Best to investigate briefly, then respond. She stretched, more to relieve stress and tension than to loosen up her muscles, and put one foot in front of the other, following the bobbing distorted pool of the flashlight's beam into the dark mouth of the earth. ---- “Um... Hi, everyone. I'm Lauren, usually I post on here as Luciferin. I'm sorry I'm such a mess, I haven't had a chance to clean up since... Fuck. Sorry. I, um. I don't know where to start, really. “You all know CaveCrawler, Ted Crownish, he's been a regular contributor on this board for way longer than I have. I'm not even sure if this video is posting right. Anyway. He's, um, he's like a legend around here, you know, and everyone knows him so I thought I should... Well... I don't know. “He... He's dead now, I think. I... “Okay. I'm back. I'm done crying now. Um. So. I found out that he was going to be doing a cave a few miles away from my school, and I figured I'd say hi, you know, do the whole awkward real-life meetup thing and, you know, actually know in real life another person interested in, um. I don't know. Creepy stuff like we talk about here, I guess. “So I talked with him a bit and he said he'd update me when he got out of this cave, right, but I never got the update. Instead I just got this email, here, see, I've got it on my phone and—there you go. It just says 'Help me get me out.' So I, you know, I panicked a bit, and then I got some stuff together and headed to the cave and... “He's dead, he's really dead. I found his hand sticking out of this pile of huge fucking rocks, before the cave started coming down on me. I don't know how to explain any of it, it was just... it was like the ground was ANGRY, you know? Like it wanted to kill me. Like, I know that's hella stupid, I'm a geology student and I just spent a whole semester learning about that kind of stuff, but it was like this—this voice in the earth, or something. “I, um, I remember falling, and the earth sort of growling around me and then my light broke, and then just this huge weight slamming into my chest and my neck and my face and pinning my arms... I thought I was dead. I remember thinking, oh shit, you know, I'm never going to see anyone again. I left my room a total mess and my parents are gonna see my dirty clothes everywhere in my dorm room and I'm never going to tell them I love them again, and, you know, then I couldn't breathe anymore and I guess I passed out. I'm pretty sure I died, though. “I don't want to talk about how I got out. I... I think I might regret it. There's a lot of people that post on here about making deals with... things, you know, not-human things with powers and bargains, and usually it turns out pretty bad, right? Well, I really hope mine doesn't turn out that way. “I don't know if anyone will believe this, or just think it's some stupid ARG or some, like, performance piece or some shit like that. Um. I don't really care, I guess. I just... I needed to tell someone, and the Creep Network seemed like the only place that would care, I guess. So... Talk to me if you want. “I'm listening. Please, just say anything. I don't want to be alone with *it* right now.” ---- ### Character Sheet **Name:** Lauren Ponnegrass **Operational Code name:** Luciferin. From a primary component of bioluminescence. **Virtue:** Fortitude. I can take anything. I've lived through a lot, and I'm still living hard. Life is mine, I've taken it. **Vice:** Pride. I can do it all myself. It might be hard but I can handle it. It's better and easier than asking for help. **Appearance:** I guess I wear a lot of jeans and sweaters. When I get dressed up it's usually black (so goth, I know). I've never been too into makeup, especially on the road, but it's fun when I want to go out for a nice night with friends or something. Tall, brunette, brown eyes. My first boyfriend called my nose 'pointy' and I've never really gotten over it. I've been into body mods lately, lots of piercings and a couple new tattoos, all cool occult stuff from different places I've been. It distracts from the bruises that haven't gone away in the six months or so since the... what happened in the cave. Usually I've got a backpack or something.  **Age:** 23. **Skills:** I read a lot. Like a lot, a lot. The librarians at my college asked me if I was making copies of books because I returned so many of them so quickly. It's really useful when I was studying for something, so I guess I'm kind of a know-it-all about a lot of things. What else? I guess I'm sort of athletic, but not like rugby status or anything, just in shape. When I talk about something I'm passionate about I get really into it; I love explaining things. My geology professor told me I have an eye for details, and not just with rocks. Also I make really fantastic pancakes! Also I'm really good at talking to people about their problems. I can tell when someone has some heavy stuff weighing on their mind. **Equipment and Resources:** I know more than a few people who are 'experts' on the supernatural through the forums I'm always on. Someone invited me to be a part of some kind of crowd-based documentation project, something he called Network Zero. Sounded like it might actually be a legit group. One of the guys there says he can photograph ghosts, which would be awesome. Stuff-wise, I don't carry much. Makeup kit, pocketknife, small flashlight, bottle opener. I always carry a climbing rope these days, too. It's the... the one I pulled off his body, in the cave, trying to get him out. I don't think it was Ted's, it looks much older. My 'passenger' says it's his, something he calls his Keystone, but I'm not sure exactly what that means yet. It feels... important, somehow. **Edges:** *Sin-Eater.* I guess that's what I am, now. Nice way of saying I've got a monster-ghost riding shotgun in my head. There are some neat tricks that come with it, though. It turns out I'm really, really, really hard to kill now. Also I can see ghosts, which is really fascinating. And also I can sort of 'eat' ghost-essence, which is really disgusting if I think about it too much, but it satisfies a kind of hunger. I guess it's sort of part of the whole sin-eater thing, but I've also always been... a bit weird, I guess. I've always been able to tell how people will die. Ever since I was a little kid. Not everyone, but most people, it's like seeing it written on their faces. Like, "Oh, wow, you're totally going to die of old age, happy and ready to leave." I wish it was always that pleasant, but you know. Anyway. I'm what the other sin-eaters call a Pilgrim. I've been to hell and back, literally, and I guess studying seemed really pointless when I came back. So these days I wander around, sometimes with a destination, but mostly just kind of backpacking wherever my passenger thinks will be interesting. He's been underground, literally, for a long time, so it's kind of fun, in a weird creepy way. I like to pretend I'm sort of an amateur Ghostbuster. **Geist:** He calls himself Rocky, which I think is supposed to be a joke. He won't tell me any other name. He's sort of... I don't know. Not really solid, like you'd imagine a person would be, more like if a ghost took a bunch of rocks and made them into some weird knobbly body for itself. Mostly I'm glad nobody else can see him, because it's really unsettling watching him move sometimes. He's quiet, but hard to argue with. **Threshold:** The Prey. **Keys:** Grave-Dirt and Stillness. **Manifestations:** The Shroud and The Curse. **Endowments:** None. **Mortal tie:** My family, naturally. They don't see me too often, though. Mostly there's this girl I've been dating lately—Jade—and I guess she'd be the closest thing I have to a romantic interest these days. I move around a lot, though, all across the country, and sometimes she comes along with me but sometimes my, um, 'passenger' thinks it'll be too dangerous.

Depends, I have a Malleus Malificarum Knight of the cross underway but if you two want to play members of the long night, lucifuge or Malleus Malificarum you are welcome to it I will move on to my Aegis Kai Doru or Cheiron Group characters. And if you want to play a sin-eater we can talk about that too since I'd love to have at least one black sheep.

I'd love to talk about a sin-eater. Geist's probably my favorite splat. For a rough background, how do you feel about a young college student who spends a lot of time on the net, looking up the creepy and paranormal, and ends up stumbling onto a forum that gets maybe a little too real for safety? She decides to investigate, see if the last poster who said they were going into the cave at the south end of <Town City> actually made it out alive, and finds herself in rather far over her head. Bargains get made, she stumbles out of the cave a couple days later, and holy shit does she have one hell of a follow-up post to write--assuming anyone will believe her.

sounding good

Awesome. I'll fiddle with it tonight and post something a bit more fleshed-out tomorrow!

Okay, I assume you're familiar with Sin-Eater. So I'll leave you to it. I just read your interest check post so I figured I'd answer your questions real quick. As far as posting goes it will vary a bit since I know Wind, Synth and I all have some other things going on but I'd like to see something once a week however that's like my dream circumstance because I know i probably can't even manage that time line, I should hope to posting wont take more than like 3 at max but I would assume that some where in between those two extremes is where it actually will be (God Willing). As far as conflict resolution, in my mind the answer in terms of non dice rolling games is: Whatever makes a good story. I personally will sacrifice character after character on that altar so long as it makes a good story. Obviously I think that its important to have them stick around for development but I tend to just go with it and if I need to make a decision on who lives and who dies we can always take it to the dice if its necessary but I don't think that will occur that often (if at all) I think that answered all of the questions??

Quite! Although I should ask, what are my guidelines for supernatural abilities? Should I have things like my archetype and keys/manifestations, or will a more freeform approach work?

Whatever you feel comfortable with, although it would be nice to list the keys and manifestations you do have just for reference but obviously it will just be something like Keys: Phantasmal Stigmata Coldwind Manifestations: The Caul The Curse Obviously this is just a ballpark estimate of the powers since they dont have an associated number or dice based effect

Posted my sheets~!

I have an old Changeling from V:tM/WoD hailing from Yahoo! Chat. I think it would be an interesting thing to look into.

Is it a changeling the dreaming character? Because we don't have a changeling yet, but I'm going to be picky about the power scaling of any changelings we play with since Changeling the Lost gives them quite a bit of power and I know that the Old World of Darkness stuff tends to be even more powerful. (I'm a V:tM guy myself)

I have no problem scaling it down. I will go back into my old sheets and hammer down information for you immediately. A lot of the Yahoo! roleplaying was much like this: a bit freeform mixed with White Wolf history. Give me a little bit of time and I will provide you with more in depth information.

Changeling: The Dreaming. Of the Seelie Court witha Pooka Kith. The first two Arts you most likely won't have any issue with as they relate directly to the Pooka: Primal and metamorphosis. The third, however, may be a little tricky. It is Autumn Way. When I played it in chat, I used it gently, which I would do here, if at all. The character relies mostly on the first two, though.

So not to harsh your mellow. But I am actually unfamiliar with a lot of the Old World of Darkness stuff. Other than V:tM. And maybe Wraith. So if you wanna write the character I can take a look at it and let you know what I'm good with and what will need to be changed since I only have Changeling the Lost as a reference

Ignore this.

I'm going to ramble for a moment. That character may seem overpowered, but when the mechanics of the powers are explained, the limit of the use of his individual abilities becomes quite reasonable. For the purpose of ease, lets suggest that he has a base pool of 10 Glamour. Each skill requires a different amount of Glamour. Transformation into his animal form requires 0 Glamour. Level 1 cantrips require an expense of 1 Glamour. Level 2 requires 2 and so on. Each Art (Primal, Metamorphosis, and Autumn Way) has 5 skill levels. As an example, lets say Mordecai has infiltrated a Vampiric Coven. To do so, he used Hidden Form. That costs 1 point. He now has 9. He encounters a group of vampires that sense his footsteps. He changes into his animal form, costing 0 points. He still has 9. However, he uses Go Ask Alice and Oakenshield to gain the advantage over the foes. Each costs 3 points. He now has a pool of 3 points. He can no longer use any level 4 or 5 abilities, limiting what he is capable of doing. When his base pool reaches 0, Mordecai can use no skills other than his ability to transform and Insufflation (it uses 0 points). In order to "recharge", Mordecai must sleep and enter the Dream World, where he can enter the dreams of others and collect more Glamour. As he grows and becomes stronger, his pool will increase. I am a fair player and won't cheat my own rules. I think that is fair and creates balance.

I'll read it and make my call tomorrow. I just got in from work so i'm letting you know I've seen it. And I shall pass judgement when I have more sleep lol