Eternal City

 

Inscription [4]
Return Locus: <Vixen at Sanctuary [Hacker Alias]>
Received By: <Emissary; Talitha at Sanctuary>
Language: Latin [translation provided]

Subject: Rumours and Revelations
Summary: An artefact from the Court of Fate is stolen

Keyword Search: Court of Fate, Court of Life

Date: Year of the Pale

Message As Follows:
Hi out there in dreamy dream land. Earlier I speculated that there was a theft of an important artefact from the fortress of the Court of Fate, and tonight that was confirmed. My sources tell me there is a fleet of ships combing the country looking for the thief, supposedly a female. I hear she stole a very important artefact of great power. My sources suspect it has something to do with changing the future. Considering how many resources have been mobilized to return it to the Court’s crèche, I’m dying to know what is so special about this artefact. Let me know if you learn anything at all about the thief or the artefact   Love and life      Vixen   --,--‘---<@

 

Inscription [Cipher]
Return Locus: <Weaver at Sanctuary>
Received By: <Trapdoor at Tapestry at Sanctuary>
Language: Oneness [Dialect]

Subject: Pandora’s Vox
Summary: The Court of Fate must secure this artefact at all costs

Keyword Search: >suppressed<

Date: Year of the Pale

Message As Follows:

Trapdoor,

We have analysed the threat to our Court’s security and the repercussions represented by the threat of Pandora’s Vox. Important data follows, so remember it.

Capture of this artefact is not only vital to the security of the Court of Fate, but to all of our immortal society. If it falls into the hands of the Beast or its minions, all hope for the future is lost. The war, such as it is, will be finished. The sanguinary knows this and will attempt to find it as well. While artefacts such as the Femme Darkle represents death and annihilation for us, Pandora’s Vox could be our salvation.

I have learned that the Shadowen have sent two of their best killers to apprehend this thief. You and your pantheon must get to her first. Her dossier is included as a separate file. We do not trust the Shadowen nor do we trust the artefact to fall into their hands. You and your Pantheon are chosen because of your long history together and your many successes for your court as well as your resistance to the temptations of the beast. Be wary. The Beast Itself, if It does not already have Moon in Its service, will do Its utmost to claim Pandora’s Vox from her. This will put you in grave danger. Our prophets will converge all the luck we can toward your mission.

 

Inscription [7]
Return Locus: <Babylon at Sanctuary [Maker Code Verified]>
Received By: <Emissary; Talitha at Sanctuary>
Language: Telepathic Inscription

Subject: Help us please
Summary: Please please help is

Keyword Search: Mantle, Droves, Guardians, Sanctuary, Babylon

Date: Year of the Pale

Message As Follows:

Someone, please help me. My sovereign mantle has been invaded by droves of the Sanguinary. All Immortals have perished. My guardians have either perished or fled. I am alone and wounded. If I don’t receive help, this part of the Sanctuary will shatter. I am losing control of this place because of my pain. Please if you receive this come into Babylon and help us. I am badly wounded. I need hel >end of transmission<

 

Inscription [7]
Return Locus: <Catspaw at Sanctuary>
Received By: <Emissary; Talitha at Sanctuary>
Language: Atrana-Cant [Voxtongue]

Subject: Re. Help us please
Summary: Forget it, they’re gone

Keyword Search: Sanguinary, Babylon

Date: Year of the Pale

Message As Follows:

Anyone who tries to enter Babylon now is a fool. It’s been claimed by the Sanguinary; It’s poison to us all. It’s suicide to go in for a single survivor, even if she is a Maker.

 

Inscription [7]
Return Locus: <Whisper at Sanctuary [probably alias]>
Received By: <Emissary; Talitha at Sanctuary>
Language: Atrana-Cant [Voxtongue]

Subject: Re. Re. Help us please
Summary: You are obviously a coward, Catspaw

Keyword Search: Himsati, Maker

Date: Year of the Pale

Message As Follows:

A single life is worth any effort, Catspaw, you coward. It’s people like you that has given the Sanguinary many of its victories in the past. Your Himsati form must be that of an ostrich. Why don’t you turn back into your true shape and go hide your head in the sand? I for one am willing to take the risk. I will liberate the Maker.

 

Inscription [7]
Return Locus: <Semiramis at Babylon>
Received By: <Emissary; Talitha at Sanctuary>
Language: Atrana-Cant [Voxtongue]

Subject: Dispelling rumours
Summary: Babylon is not under attack.

Keyword Search: This hoax has gone far enough

Date: Year of the Pale

Message As Follows:

I am Semiramis, Regent of Babylon. The rumours of Babylon’s fall are completely false. Unfortunately the Maker of our Mantle took ill with a fever. This not only caused her to hallucinate and destabilize the reality of her creation, but disrupted our communication as well. You all know what happens when a Mantle becomes locked from within. Apparently it was an allergic reaction. She is now resting peacefully and the Mantle has returned to a stable reality. Babylon is now open for visitation, and we hope these erroneous reports do not prevent you from visiting our magnificent hanging gardens, gambling facilities and sacred pleasure temples. My advisors fear we will lose much of our tourism commerce but I have faith that all of you will put this hoax behind you and come visit us very soon. We look forward to welcoming you. = -)

 

 

Introduction

The Mantle of Babylon, a large Sanctuary inhabited by Immortals, is under attack by mysterious forces. By the hour, Babylon becomes more separated from reality and drawn into a dark dimension where the Sanguinary lairs like a spider in a web. Lost in a world both familiar and yet alien, the Cast Members may come to realize their true natures as Immortals and become the targets of a cat-and-mouse hunt that seeks to prevent their escape with the truth.

 

Chapter Summary

Introduction presents these opening lines, a chapter summary, and resumed information on the adventure.

Overview provides the Chronicler with some info on the background of the adventure.

Act One: Into A New Dimension details the opening scene in which the Cast Members suddenly find themselves witnessing their unexpected performance in a movie trailer, which acts as a doorway to some unknown place.

Act Two: Walking In Babylon details the several places of the razed city the characters will visit, including their first meeting with Shade.

Act Three: Song and Claw describes the meeting with Moon, the Maker, and the fight against the Droves, as they try to reach the safety of her palace, as well as their first meeting with the Twins.

Act Four: Battle Inside The Palace covers the final confrontation with Shade, where everything can be gained… or lost.

Act Five: The Return leads the Cast into the final scenes where they witness a strange prophecy and finally manage to return home.

Supporting Cast and Adversaries. Details a number of characters that the Cast Members might encounter.

Cast Members lists six individuals who were brought to enter the Mantle of Babylon, even if not knowing what they would find within.

 

 

Running Eternal City

 Cast Members: The adventure is set for a Cast of 3 to 6 of both “Immortal: Millennium” characters, and a mixed Cast of Gifted, Inhumans and other types, as long as at least one of them is an Himsati Immortal. The Chronicler can take the opportunity to make one of the Mundane Cast Members an Immortal, as this adventure allows both fully aware Immortals, and others who still ignore their true powers. In the end of the adventure there are 6 pre-made Cast Members ready to use.

Location: Eternal City can occur in any city in the world, independent of size, since most of the action will happen in the Mantle of Babylon.

Time: The conquest of the Mantle of Babylon will take a few hours – if by 9:30 p.m. (the last showing of the trailer of “Immortal Babylon”) the Cast Members are not inside the Mantle, then the portal will close, and the story will be solved without the Cast’s intervention. At 3 a.m., the Cast Members will find themselves back into their city.

The Setting: There are small hidden worlds, beyond the perception of mankind, called Sanctuaries. Some of these Sanctuaries were created by powerful Immortals, and now they are home to other Immortals and their worshippers and allies – these are called Mantles. In most cases, Mantles are entered through cleverly hidden doorways, created by the will of a half-human, half-Immortal hybrid known as a Maker. Using her telepathic communion with a mystical shard, a Maker refocuses reality into a shape of her own choosing. A Maker is the ally of Immortals who live in her Mantle and are protected by its artificial reality. Ancient temples, fortresses, cities, and other marvels are preserved here from the cruel march of time. The famed cities of old, such as Atlantis, Babylon, Olympus, Knossos, Camelot, Heliopolis, Ife, Alexandria, Sodom and Gomorrah, Carthage, and ancient Rome exist in all their stately glory, even as the ruins of their earthly counterparts are picked over by archaeologists in the real world.

These Sanctuaries lies at the border of the real world. Sometimes a person can stumble into it through one of its gates. A gate can exist anywhere: a rock, a black cat, a waterfall, even a trash dumpster can provide entry into a Mantle once it is touched.

While a Maker is alive (they live for many, many human lifetimes) the Mantle she creates thrives. As she ages and grows senile, a replacement is rigorously trained to take over the control of the reality. If a Maker is killed before a replacement can be fully trained, the reality of the Mantle breaks down and bleeds out into the real world.  In the last few centuries such exposure has been carefully avoided through the vigilance of the Immortals, who send guardians to protect the Makers.

 

Overview

The Sanguinary, trapped in the collective mind of humanity, lives as a malevolent personality in the world of dreams, moving from mind to sleeping mind, elusive and invisible. As it does this, it seeps away the life force of those with no will to resist it, or those tempted with power or other carnal pleasures of the world. The Mantles are a hunting ground for the Sanguinary, and Its servants endlessly toil to expose gates and to get at the Makers of the various Mantles. When the Sanguinary successfully captures a Maker, the reality of the Mantle the Maker controls shifts to favour the Beast and Its servants, thus, all Immortals living in the Mantle are trapped and become the prey of the Sanguinary.

The dark minions of the Sanguinary have made a strike on Babylon, a Mantle which has one of its gates hidden within the Main Cast’s home city. The Maker of the Mantle, a young woman named Moon, is running for her life, staying just ahead of her hunters, but is wounded to such an extent that her control over her Mantle is tenuous at best. With all of her guardians dead and without her controlling the Mantle, Moon’s hunters are influencing its now malleable nature, creating a labyrinth around Babylon from which she cannot escape.

 

Pandora’s Vox

Long ago, during the age of myth when humankind and Immortals lived side by side, when the world was filled with magic and wonders beyond description, Pandora was created. She was a perfect human female who was chosen by the Court of Fate to go on a very sacred task. They joined a large, powerful shard to her flesh and made her Immortal. Pandora’s mission was one of utmost secrecy. A consummate thief, her anonymity was protected by the Court of Fate at a great expenditure of power, resources, and fanatical mortal priests. Her alias, Thief of Wonders, was well earned, considering her theft of precious objects, people, even Mantles she stealthily entered. The Thief of Wonders became the most hunted Immortal in all history. Pandora was eventually caught and quietly slain by the very Court that made her. Her Vox was kept in a vault, filled with the Wonders she stole through her long career which exist as patterns of energy ready to reform into solid matter. The Court of Fate surrounded this priceless artefact with incredible security.

Aided by a member within the Court known as Phoenix, Moon penetrated the defences surrounding the Vox and stole it. Because of Phoenix’s arcane power, the prescient seers of the Court were tricked and did not foresee Moon’s coming. They were thus unprepared to prevent the theft.

 

The Cast Members are brought together – whether they know each other before or not – when they decide to go to the movies. As the preview trailers begin, they find themselves depicted there, wielding powers they could not possibly have. During the trailer, a young boy, dressed as a commando, walks straight into the screen and disappears inside it.

If the Cast follows, they find themselves in the city depicted in the trailer – and everyone is dead. As they walk throughout the city, they start to believe they are not the only ones alive – which can be both a blessing and a curse.

At a given time, they find Moon, the wounded Maker, and fight against uncountable enemies just to get at her place of power where she’ll be able of regaining control over the Mantle… only to find Shade waiting for them. Another climatic battle ensues, and Moon can either survive or die, depending on the Cast Members’ actions.

 

Dramatis Personae

The following characters are important to the development of the adventure. Detailed stats and description are included at the end of this adventure.

Moon – Maker of the Mantle of Babylon
Cutter – Slayer of the Court of War.
Joker – Guardian of the Court of Secrets and Moon’s protector
Shade – Renegade Scourge of the Court of Shadows
The Twins – Shade’s fellow Triad members, also renegade Shadowen

 

Cast Members

Players may wish to use these pre-generated characters. Their stats and description are included at the end of the adventure.

Hannah Torres – Junior Arts Student; formerly Tactician of the Court of War (unawakened Himsati Immortal)
Marcus Sanders, PhD – Ancient and Medieval History Professor, Mentor of the Court of Fate (awakened Himsati Immortal)
Michael “Mike” Muller, Esq. - Dilettante and Philanthropist; Lesser Gifted Rosicrucian.
Randy Schneider – Junior Engineering Student, formerly Slayer of the Court of War (unawakened Himsati Immortal)
Theresa Bishop – Proud Daughter of the Highlands Waitress, Gifted Wicce.
Sir William Frame – Writer and overall Bon Vivant; Solitaire Vampyre

 

 

Act One: Into A New Dimension

The Opening of the Gate

The last remaining gate into Babylon is found in a movie theatre near the PCs. In fact, on this particular night the PCs happen to be at this theatre watching a highly anticipated film. Before feature films, a trailer of other upcoming attractions are run to whet the appetites of the audience. Many trailers are poorly done these days, showing all of the plot points in the film and leaving very few surprises. Four trailers are shown before the start of the feature. The last and final one, promoting a film called “Eternal City,” is different in many ways. It is exciting, fast-paced, and full of visual effects that defy imagination. The PCs will find it riveting to the point that it overpowers their anticipation for the movie they came to see. In fact, the trailer for Eternal City is a gateway into the Mantle of Babylon. As long as the trailer shines on the movie screen, the gate is open and anyone can walk through the screen into the hidden dimension.

The characters witness a boy, appearing about 13 years of age, enter the theatre during the previews and walk up to the movie screen, dressed as a commando and carrying a leather satchel. He checks his gear during the first three trailers. The other patrons in the theatre do not seem to notice him, but to the PCs, he is clearly revealed by the moving images on the screen.

When the final trailer comes on, the boy (Cutter) stands up, hoists the gear, and steps into the screen, leaving a rippling effect of blue energy cresting across it. The characters, if they don’t follow him by the ending of the trailer, will have to wait another three hours for the main feature to end and for the trailer to come up in the next showing of the film. This is when the gate opens again. There will only be one other showing of the film and the Eternal City trailer after that, at 9:20 p.m. The trailer does not appear the next day when the film shows again, for Babylon will have been conquered by then without the Main Cast’s intervention.

The Movie Trailer

The trailer is not only a gateway but an oracle of sorts as well. It shows the future of what could occur in the Mantle of Babylon in the next 24 hours. This means the Cast Members will see themselves as the characters in the trailer, exhibited in flashy cutaways. The Chronicler should read the entire adventure to get a feel of what will happen. It will help fill in the pieces of what the trailer should look like.

An example description of the trailer: (a sweeping shot of Babylon on a stormy night – with towering temples and statues all around.)  A deep voice utters:

“There is a world hidden from human eyes, a city protected from time itself. It has stood for ten thousand years, a haven for the last of an Immortal race…” (The camera pans in, revealing bodies sprawled everywhere, many of which died gruesomely.)

“Tonight it will be invaded by the servants of darkness…”(image of the Twins walking hand in hand, dressed in black, wearing sunglasses, while in the background, monstrous creatures scuttle along the vertical walls of the buildings. The shadows of the twins precede them, black growling beasts on leashes held by the twins.)

“…and destroyed by a creature whose lust for power can never be quenched.” (the silhouette of Shade is shown, standing on a hill, arms thrown wide, hair and luminescent gown fluttering in the wind as, in the background, a massive explosion rocks the city and fires burn out of control.)

“For the few brave enough to oppose her…” (An image of all the PCs looking around the deserted, haunted city.)

“…time is running out.” (An explosive montage of quick, dramatic cutaway scenes follows, emphasized by quick-paced music. It shows the characters exploring the city, witnessing the chase of the Maker by the droves through the bus. The battle with the twins is shown, as well, together with scenes of the frozen people in the hanging gardens of Babylon. An image of one of the Immortal Cast Members screaming as she inadvertently uses her Vox to produce a serenade. The force of the serenade ripples through the scene, tearing the drove apart, flipping cars over, electrifying the rain as she stands there, screaming. The camera then shifts to show one of the Gifted whispering, her arms wrapped around her, when she suddenly opens then, and a wave of fire rolls over several Droves, submerging them in cleansing flames. At her side, another Gifted focus and from his fingers is released a burst of blue energy, which sends another drove tumbling).

Visible Essence

In Babylon the Essence is visible, even to the non-Gifted, therefore, the Chronicler should check beforehand what powers the Cast Members will have, in order to make truly memorable descriptions.

“This summer, Babylon Pictures presents a film that will make you question what is real and take you to a world where dreams can kill.” (Close up on a drove, all fangs, glowing spines and eyes, and rending claws. It charges the viewer until its gaping fanged maw fills the scene, into its dark throat surrounds the screen until it goes utterly black.)

(A few tense seconds elapse, and the logo for “IMMORTAL BABYLON” is revealed as searchlights probe through the darkness. Out of this darkness, as the logo fades, the beautiful face of Shade emerges, staring into the eyes of the viewers.) “Come and get me.” she whispers with a sexy, defiant smile.

 

Act Two: Walking In Babylon

The Razed Temple

(Note: Even if the Cast Members followed Cutter through the screen, he will not be present in the razed temple when the players arrive. He has raced ahead and will encounter the Cast later.)

On the other side of the movie screen is the interior of a huge, razed temple. The Cast Members emerge from a wall, coincidentally the size of the movie screen, painted with a mural. The mural is defiled, blackened with fire. The only visible detail is part of a beatific face with glowing eyes, painted in a luminescent tincture, which smiles sadly from the ruin. The angelic face seems to stare at the Cast with a pleading expression. One of the characters hears, telepathically in her mind, “Help me.” It seems to be the voice of a young girl and seemed to emanate from the mural. The plea is not repeated.

In front of them are the shattered remains of the temple’s main atrium. There are tall pillars, statues of hawk-headed gods and clusters of once-decorative trees, all burnt. The roof has fallen in, the huge marble slabs lying on a number of crushed people, all human, all dead. Those who did not die immediately appear to have been finished off by having their throats bitten out.

There is a huge statue of Semiramis, the famed queen of Babylon. The statue has been toppled and is covered with viscous, oily saliva. The saliva is slowly transforming the stature into a hideous parody of the beautiful queen. Within hours it will assume the spidery shape of one of the lesser aspects of the Sanguinary. The main altar in this atrium has a number of people clinging to it, as if in desperation and their heads look to have been bitten off. A raven, the only living thing other than the characters, hops from slab to slab, watching them. This is actually Joker in his Himsati form. The rest of the temple is composed of meditation chambers, beds where the sacred prostitutes of the temple shared their bodies for donations to the temple, and a number of pools and saunas. There are dead people everywhere: on the beds, floating in the water, lying on the stairs. The brutality of this scene is acute. One of the sacred prostitutes of the Temple, devotee to the ancient goddess Ishtar, is found dancing in one of the rooms. Dazed with madness, she offers her body to any Cast Member willing to have her, hoping in her dementia that this sacrifice will restore her temple to its former security. Her name is Nirani, she is extremely beautiful and any Cast Member who wishes to drain Essence from her, finds her willing. Nirani constantly says that Ishtar and her Moon have fallen from the sky.

 

The Blood Fountain

Outside the razed temple there is a number of smaller shrines. They are roofless, open-air platforms with altars and fountains. All been similarly razed. One fountain in particular dominates the scene, shooting water 50 feet into the air. The water is red from the blood of several people who made a stand here and were massacred. Their bodies, however, are gone and only the blood remains (the slain defenders were Immortals, and once overcome, their Vocci were torn from their throats, thus disintegrating their bodies). The fight was so mystically powerful that the images of it, along with the blood of the fallen, are permanently etched onto the surface of the rippling pool. Should the Babylonian Mantle be saved, the fountain will become a cherished monument.

 

Visions in the Blood Fountain

The fallen Immortals were here defending the shrines and the humans who came to them beseeching their aid.  Their last stand is recorded in the red waters of the fountain and can be reviewed by staring into them: the figures show in the water move with amazing strength and animal grace, unfettered by gravity or the clumsiness of muscles, and their combat is a dance, both beautiful and terrifying to watch. A few Immortals actually run up the side of the falling water of the fountain, diving over the top and falling on a drove wading in the other side. One Immortal moves her hand to touch, with a single finger, the forehead of a drove in a gentle caress, and when the tip of her finger brushes it, snaps the monster’s head back as if from a brutal blow. Despite the elegance of this fight, however, the droves are simply too numerous. The characters will see as each of the defenders is finally brought down.

Surrounding the temple district are a number of houses similar to those one would expect to see in an ancient city, judging from the archaic architectural style, with an emphasis on step-pyramids incorporated into the overall design. The houses themselves have obviously been invaded by troops, and many are little more than smoking ruins. Dogs lay dead in the yards, slain while trying to defend their masters’ houses. And on an even more unpleasant note, all of the bodies have been looted.

 

Charnel Houses

Inside the houses, the characters will find strange webbing strung everywhere, with corpses of humans cocooned inside, completely drained of all fluid. The web, when touched, fluoresces a sickly green, sending luminescent tremors along the greater structure of the web, warning Shade and her forces of the character’s presence. The web and gruesome deaths are the work of the Twins, who exist in the form of two large, translucent, black spiders. Having sensed the tremor of the web, the Twins will stalk the characters from a distance to ascertain their power level.

Downtown

Eventually the characters find a larger street that takes them toward a beautiful city skyline. It is huge and it is obviously the heart of the city, for as they get closer they notice the immense amount of columnar temples and huge statues of Babylonian sphinxes, bearded men with lion bodies, bull legs, and folded wings. In spite of the archaic feel, everything is perfect, polished, millimetricaly correct, making the most modern city in the real world look crude by comparison. The sidewalks are white instead of concrete grey and beautifully inscribed with cuneiform that is inlaid with glowing blue glass. There are bodies scattered about here as well, fresher than those in the outskirts.

As the characters move through these areas, explain that they can’t escape the feeling that objects such as statues, carved friezes, mosaics imbedded in the plazas, etc, are all staring at them. Nestled among the temples is a large plaza with a marketplace whose roof is open to the sky, and in it can be found a variety of tents and shops selling food, jewellery, clothes and anything else the Chronicler wants, as well as a weapon shop filled with all kinds of archaic weapons from bows and crossbows to swords and daggers, but that look ready for the wear. Characters with the penchance for combat will fill strangely drawn to the weapons and might find out, suddenly that they can wield one sword like master swordsman (the Chronicler may start handing out Memory Points at this point and allow the Cast Members to buy/increase their Hand Weapon skills).

Among all of this splendour is silence. Many of the shops and tents have been looted, and the characters will find, in what seems an elegant tavern, bodies trapped in the same fluorescent webs found in the subdivision. The webs disappear down the drain of a sink in the kitchen like micro-thin fibre-optic cabling. This conduit leads to the Hanging Gardens.

The Theatre

There are many dead people in this large building, sitting in their stone seats, and the place is so cold the characters will see their breath and frost drifting on the air. On the stage there is a dried husk of a man lying with a scream frozen on his once-youthful face.

The Statue

There is a huge statue dominating the downtown area. The statue is that of a Virgin Mary with two faces, one peering from either side of the head, but only a single body. If the character takes a closer look, he will notice that the statue if in fact of the Twins, standing back to back, the drapes of their stone dresses barely concealing the multiple legs underneath them. The Narrator may wish to allow the Cast Members to make a Difficult Perception roll to realize that the Statue is actually watching them. In fact, the Statue is the eyes of the Twins in this particular area. Now, the feeling of being watched by columns, mosaics and the like, increases, as should the paranoia of the Main Cast.

The Watcher

The characters will see a woman standing on the very top of one of the immensely tall and decorated columns at one of the central intersections of downtown Babylon. This is Shade, who is watching the Main Cast. Before they get a clear look at her face, she takes a single small step away and is seen standing on the top of the next column, and then the next, until she moves out of view. But even without seeing the details of her face and form, all the Cast Members (females included) will find her mesmerizing, for some strange reason.

 

Act Three: Song and Claw

Drove Attack

The eerie quiet of the area is shattered by a woman’s scream. The characters see Moon dart out of an alleyway, pursued by dark creatures that are at once beautiful and bestial. All are black and glowing with luminescent spines, eyes, horns, claws, and fur. They look like a melding between mythological beast and bioorganic technology. Three of these creatures, leaping from wall to wall of the alley with supernatural agility, pursue the Maker as she runs. In front of her is fallen a large slate of marble. She heads for it, holding her hands crossed in front of her face as if she is going to slam into it, but instead the side of the slate seems to liquefy. She bursts through the watery walls of the rock, spraying water out the opposite side. The Cast Members notice that the water, as it hits the ground, becomes shards of splintered marble. This startling effect closes behind her, causing the pursuing Droves to crash headlong into the rock, leaving large dents in both the marble and the creatures.

Only momentarily deterred, they leap high into the air onto the top of the rock and peer around, suspended in the air almost in slow motion. Quickly they catch sight of Moon and drop at accelerated speed back down to the ground. By this time, Moon has reached the Main Cast, limping from a bad wound that stretches from her waist down her right leg. The characters are almost certain to be drawn into battle with the Droves. The monsters are charging headlong toward the characters at fantastic speed and are nearly impossible to evade or escape. The battle should start badly and quickly get worse as characters get injured. When things look really bleak, Cutter shows up and joins the fray. Use as many droves as you need to give your PCs a real challenge.

Helping The Maker

Moon is a lovely woman with a distinct trait: her entire body is covered with pale, subtle tattoos.

She does not give her name but will beg the characters to get her to her sanctuary, which lies within the Hanging Gardens. Once in her sanctuary, she is safe. She can heal herself and turn the tide on this invasion. She leads the way.

Moon should be injured quite badly after the fight, and characters may consider her more of a liability than an asset. Cutter is a balancing element. The Chronicler can adjust his power to whatever level is necessary to keep events in synch. He, too, should be injured after the fight with the droves. At one point, Moon will use the power resident in her tattoos: she lifts up her shirt to reveal her bare stomach, revealing a glowing around her pierced navel a sun tattoo. The light from the tattoo shines out into the eyes of the Droves, blinding them. This prevents the Droves from taking any action this turn. When Moon activates the tattoo, the characters will actually feel as if they are looking at the light from an ancient sun from a long lost age, trapped in this Immortal woman’s skin. In its radiance, they see mist, hear the sound of a waterfall, singing birds, and something large and beautiful flapping through the air. They feel they have glimpsed, through her navel, into another world. Any questions about this amazing experience are ignored, as Moon quickly urges the characters to help her move on.

The Park

Finally the characters find a park. It is lush and green and filled with streetlights. A light mist swims through the air. As they go further into the park, they find that it becomes more and more a garden. The garden becomes even more spectacular the further the characters move into it. Now there are huge statues, pools on the ground like mirrors, and the scent of flowers thick in the air. In the centre of the park is the Hanging Garden of Babylon. In the park the characters encounter a man, dressed in tattered black street clothes. He is badly wounded, which is explained by the huge bite that has been taken out of his stomach. He stumbles through the park in stark terror, screams when he sees the characters, and falls dead. This is one of the Babylonian guardians, a key-keeper of the imperial palace. He carries a signet of identification and a key that opens secret entrances in the palace. The Key-keeper also carries a locket around his neck with a picture of Moon inside it. This particular guardian died of heart failure because he fled his comrades’ last stand at the palace. Seeing Moon injured, his guilt crushes him to death.

The Hanging Gardens

The park leads to the Hanging Gardens, a monolithic step-pyramid built of white marble inscribed with glass-filled cuneiform writing. The structure covers an entire city block and soars about 20 stories high. Large crystals thrust from the surrounding grounds, shining like spotlights on the white marble.

Before reaching the structure, the characters will see Droves crowded around it, and will hear the sound of furious fighting. Babylon’s mortal keepers, sleek heroes dressed in black like the clothes worn by the dead man in the park are fighting with all they’ve got against the fanged terrors, that simple just keep coming.

Encounter With the Twins

The Twins, who have been stalking the characters, choose this moment to strike. It is important to note that the Twins would slaughter the characters easily if the Cast Members actually fought them. This is an opportunity for the Chronicler to show the Main Cast how powerful the Twins are. Let them get knocked around and inflict some negligible damage to the Twins. The Twins are in their beautiful female forms, dressed in black leather and lace. Only their shadows, amorphous and seething, give a hint of their monstrous, spider-like natures.

This confrontation is much different from that of the Droves and the Babylon keepers. It will involve the Twins shaping reality against the characters while the Maker counters with her own powers. Here are a few special effects to employ to describe this interplay:

1) The grass sprouts needles, gleaming like syringes in the light of the garden.

2) One of the combatants kicks her feet through a puddle of water that changes into shattered glass spinning toward her opponent. The opponent holds her arms out and the glass flutters past as transparent rose petals.

3) A rock is nudged with a foot and becomes a snarling, rolling thing with fanged mouth and teeth that shatters with a scream against the opponent’s foot.

4) One of the Twins slashes her own wrist with a fingernail, causing shadow to flow out of the wound and transform into a swarm of biting flies. They freeze around the Maker and drop to the ground, trapped in amber.

5) A combatant spits up into the wind, and the globule spins itself out into a black thunderhead that sends lightning ripping through the sod. The opponent grabs the bolt and yanks the cloud down from the sky; it falls around the characters like cotton candy before dissolving away.

 

The Maker barely holds her own in this fight and ultimately fails, getting knocked unconscious by the Twins. Cutter takes this moment to step forward, throwing himself at the Twins and yelling for the Cast Members to get the Maker into the palace. The keepers, seeing their precious Maker, redouble their ferocious defence of the Hanging Gardens. The characters will have to force their way through until they enter the palace. The last thing the characters see as they enter the palace is Cutter being wrapped up in a glowing green cocoon.

 

Act Four: Battle Inside The Palace

 

The Wilting.

Once the Maker is inside the Hanging Gardens, she comes conscious and begins to heal at an accelerated rate. The interior of the palace is lofty, rich, and elegant, with vegetation so alive it is radiant. The sound of combat is heard elsewhere in the palace, the sound of gunfire, the screams of the inhuman droves, and the mystic shouts of serenades.

Suddenly the temperature in the area of the characters begins to plummet. Soon their breath can be seen, and the shiny white marble floor clouds over with sparkling frost. The plants frost over, turn black, and wilt with cries that the characters can hear in their minds, a melancholy, musical sound. Rich tapestries on the windows become starved, thinning out before the character’s eyes until they are gauzy pale things moving against the broken windows like ghosts. In fact, gaunt, dark, angelic indentations emerge from them to challenge the characters, but the drapes are easily destroyed.

 

The Questors

The characters make their way toward the throne room, fighting their way through the occasional drove that rears its head out of huge vases or from the ceiling on which they cling.

Their tranquil cooing noises chill the characters, reminding them of deep-seated memories of being held, as infants, by their mothers. Engaging them in combat turns this tranquillising effect into a nerve-shattering roar that shatters rigid objects.

Most of the droves here, the Questors, are weaker than what will confront the characters later in their careers as Immortals. Little more than animals, they lack the deviousness of their greater brethren.

Encountering Shade

The throne room is quiet and covered in frost. Everything sparkles like a fairy-tale winter. Huge crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling, set with candles and icicles. The flames of the candles are still visible but are frozen solid as ice. So are the candles on freestanding sconces around the room. Still giving dim light, they nevertheless shatter into slush if touched. The throne is occupied by a dark figure, silhouetted. Her shadow paces catlike along the floor in front of the throne, cast by the candlelight.

She leans forward and speaks. This is Shade, and each time she speaks, a golden gem affixed in a collar encircling her throat glows dully, as if capturing the power of her voice. She welcomes the characters and tells them how impressed she is with them. There is, in fact, room in her organization for them if they wish to join her, and boundless rewards of money and power to be had. Anyone that takes her up on this must demonstrate loyalty by handing over Moon to Shade.

Play Shade as sexy, charming, intelligent, and sympathetic. She is not some dark, gloating villain perched on the throne. She will tell the characters that they are special, Immortal, and being used by the other Immortals, just as she was. Now she’s a free spirit and in control of her own fate. So why not join her? The Maker, of course, will counter that Shade is psychotic, that she was banished for abusing her power, and that the collar she wears is a punishment for crimes too bizarre to even describe.

Moon must sit on the throne to finish healing and regain full power over the Mantle of Babylon.

This means someone must drag Shade off of the throne. Doing so is going to be surprisingly easy if the characters can get through the Twins who arrive to defend her in their shadowy spider forms. The collar binds Shade’s powers, and she really has only her wits, her skills and her seductive powers to rely on.

The characters will have a real chance to fight the Twins now. Because they are in the sanctuary of the Maker, they gain a +2 bonus to all rolls, which should even the odds a bit. The Twins cannot control the interior reality of the palace, so they must rely on brute force.

Shade is delighted to see Moon here. Given the opportunity, she will trace her fingernails seductively across Moon’s tattoos with a look of absolute greed in her eyes. “Such power, such mysteries and wonders! I will have a gown made of this magical skin!” she breathes.

Shade Defeated

Since the Main Cast will have a bonus of +2 in every roll, courtesy of the Maker, they will be tougher to deal with. The Twins will only fight until one is badly injured, then will try to retreat – but will never abandon the other.

If the characters get past the Twins and subdue Shade, the Maker becomes the trump card when she ascends the throne, healing completely and having complete power over the Babylonian Mantle. At this point, Shade and the Twins are weakened to the point where the characters can make anything they want of them.

If the Twins are killed, Shade will seethe with rage and swear revenge on the Cast Members but will not show it: as her Vox is trapped in her collar, should she be killed, it won’t be able of creating her a new body, effectively causing Shade to perish for good – so, if she ends this story alive, the Cast will have earned a very determined and resourceful Adversary who will hunt them to the ends of the Earth, if needed be. If the Twins are captured, the Maker will ask the Cast to hand them over to the Immortals outside the Mantle. She gives the Cast Members an email address to contact and promises to put in a good word for their help.

Shade Triumphant

Another possible ending is that Shade, in the midst of the battle between the Twins and the characters, will produce a dagger and bury it in the throat of Moon, if she it not stopped. The dagger growls and the sound of sucking blood is heard in the throat of the Maker. The dagger will slowly extract the Vox of the Maker and when it finishes, she disintegrates in a spray of red light. Anyone watching the dagger sees the stolen Vox slowly emerge on the blade as a gemlike barb. The dagger now contains the wonders of Pandora’s Vox. The characters will have other chances to steal this artefact back from Shade. Moon was the primary target of Shade, but she will also claim the Mantle for her master, the Sanguinary. Whether the characters opposed her or not, Shade has them subdued and prepared as sacrifices. She then leaves to prepare herself for the summoning of an avatar of the Sanguinary to enter this Mantle.

The characters escape their fate by the timely arrival of Joker, who has been watching them, and frees them from their prison. He also frees Cutter, who seems to both know and dislike him. Together, they lead the Main Cast to the razed temple.

 

Act Five: The Prophecy

 

 

An Ominous Prophecy

When the characters return to the razed temple, they see the statue of Semiramis, coated with the viscous saliva of the droves, has undergone its complete transformation into a scorpion-spider-serpent-mantis thing. As the characters prepare to depart through the burnt mural, the statue moves, turning its head and facing the Immortal characters directly. In a soft voice, so overpoweringly beautiful that the characters must make a Difficulty Willpower roll (with a penalty of –3 to Himsati Immortals) to avoid weeping, it says: “You run away from your true destiny, my children, from the tender embrace of your mother, your father, your one true god. But there is still redemption even for those such as you. Sooner or later, you will return to the womb of your creator and rest forever in the warm, silent arms of oblivion.”

Wrapping Things Up

No matter what happens, the Main Cast should escape. They arrive back in the same theatre that provided the gate. Cutter thanks them for their help and tells them that Phoenix will send for them when the time is right, if they are not afraid of fighting the one true evil known as the Sanguinary. All arrive in the same movie theatre in the real world. All walk out into a deserted parking lot. The world is normal and it is 3 a.m. As a dark sedan pulls up, Cutter gets in, and there seems to be other people sitting in the car, watching them. The Cast Members will catch a faint glimpse of glowing eyes as the door that admitted Cutter closes. The final impression should be that Cutter changed into something as he entered the dark car, something shiny and deadly. Unfortunately, the Cast didn’t get a clear look to make sure. The car will drive away, and even if it followed, it will lose them.

 

 

 

 

Adversaries

 

Shade

Leading this assault into the Mantle is Shade, a bitter Immortal who was exiled from her people, the Shadowen, and was collared with a mystical artefact that prevents her from using the power of her voice. Shade has found a way around this inconvenience by allying herself with the Sanguinary, who has promised her greater power if she successfully captures Moon. She wears the Skinwalker, the skin of the Sanguinary itself that gives her mystical power. The Skinwalker’s abilities are detailed in the section dealing with Shade’s characteristics. Shade is a clever and strong-willed villain, motivated by hatred and a deep-seated feeling of betrayal by her own people. Her glaring flaw, exploited by the Sanguinary, is her lust for power. Through her mysterious servants, the Twins, Shade has learned that Moon possesses Pandora’s Vox, and she knows well the history of the Thief of Wonders and the priceless hoard of power contained inside the Vox. She secretly plans to betray the Sanguinary when she is in possession of the Vox and its Wonders.

Shade is a beautiful woman with red hair and mismatched eyes (one is blue, the other green).

She wears a Collar of Silence to stop her powers, but she makes up for this liability with cleverness and protection by the Twins.

 

Court: N/A (formerly Court of Shadows)

Calling: Scourge

Himsati Form: Shadow (Shadow Elemental)

Strength: 4                    Intelligence: 7
Dexterity: 6                   Perception: 5
Constitution: 4               Willpower: 5

Life Points: 55               Endurance Points: 44

Speed: 20                      Essence Points: 56

Drawbacks: Covetous (Power) 3, Cruel 2

Qualities: Attractiveness +4, Charisma +3, Himsati Immortal, Situational Awareness

Skills: Smooth Talking 6, Seduction 7, Hand Weapon (Dagger) 5, and others as deemed necessary by the Chronicler.

Weapons: The Sanguinary’s Fang (Damage: D8 x Strength): this deadly dagger will drain the Life Points of anyone else it wounds, 10 LP per turn (as long as it remains in the wound), until the rating has fallen below a 0. Five turns after that, the Vox of the victim is sucked out through the wound, travelling the entire length of the body if necessary. The Vox is added to the dagger, increasing its power. If the dagger kills Moon, it inherits the wonders of Pandora’s Vox and retrieving it in the future becomes vital. The powers of the Fang are unusable by any Cast Member.

Items: The Skinwalker-This creature is made from the skin of the Sanguinary. Seven of them exist, each one with great power over one of the deadly sins (sloth, greed, envy, lust, gluttony, anger and pride). This Skinwalker commands the power of lust, allowing Shade to seduce anyone she desires. Among its many abilities, the Skinwalker gives Shade a bonus of +5 to her seduction skill.

The Collar of Silence

The Shadowen, enforcers of the law of the Immortals, created these artefacts to effectively mute an Immortal’s Vox, cutting them off from their powers until the collar is removed. Only a Scourge of the Court of Shadow can remove these items once they are placed on the throat of an Immortal. The collars appear like Victorian dog collars with a protruding ring inset in a shard of dark stone.

 

The Twins

Exiled with Shade are her two “sisters,” the Twins. Members of her Shadowen triad, they share her dishonour, banishment, and hatred of Sanctuary and all its inhabitants. The Twins are inhuman, silent and patient stalkers, unmoved by mercy or remorse. They believe in Shade’s cause and are unswervingly loyal to her.

The twins appear as identical giant spiders in this story. In human form both are very beautiful and are always dressed in black fabric created from their own shadows. They wear sunglasses (also made from hardened shadow) to cover up their frightening eyes. The characters will not see their eyes under any circumstances during this story.

Court: N/A (formerly Court of Shadows)

Calling: Slayer

Himsati Form: Shadow (Shadow Elemental)

 

 
Strength: 7                    Intelligence: 4
Dexterity: 6                   Perception: 6
Constitution: 5               Willpower: 5

Life Points: 75               Endurance Points: 56

Speed: 22                      Essence Points: 58

Drawbacks: Cruel 2

Qualities: Attractiveness +3, Himsati Immortal.

Skills: Brawling 6, Hand Weapon (Sword) 6, and others as deemed necessary by the Chronicler.

Weapons: Broadsword (Damage: D8 x Strength).

Powers: The Twins can travel through any shadow – this power works exactly like the Major Invocation Walkgate. Their normal method is to rise up out of shadows on the ground, trapping their prey. They cast shadows, which can congeal into animal forms and fight for them, usually spiders, biting with a Dexterity and Brawling of 4, and damage of D4 x 2.

 

Droves

These are mortal creatures that serve the Sanguinary. Their spirit is drained to nothing, and they thus burn with a tiny spark of the Sanguinary’s immense consciousness. They are always in a Himsati form that shares the attributes of many creatures. No two are identical, although there are numerous subgroups. This makes them look alien and contributes to their deadliness. The Narrator can assign additional Himsati natures to customize these dangerous foes.

Droves (Ragers)

Strength: 5                    Intelligence: 2
Dexterity: 3                   Perception: 2
Constitution: 5               Willpower: N/A

Life Points: 50               Endurance Points: 29

Speed: 16                      Essence Points: 17

Skills: Brawling 3

Weapons: Claws (Damage – D6 x (Strength +1)), Bite (Damage – D8 x (Strength + 1)),

 

Droves (Questors)

Questors are less exotic looking than their many horned, barbed, alien superiors, looking more like normal animals with a few incongruous traits. They can be any colour.

Strength: 3                    Intelligence: 1
Dexterity: 2                   Perception: 2
Constitution: 2               Willpower: N/A

Life Points: 30               Endurance Points: 20

Speed: 8                        Essence Points: 13

Skills: Brawling 2

Weapons: Claws (Damage – D4 x Strength), Bite (Damage – D6 x (Strength + 1)),

 

 

Allies

Moon

The choice of this Mantle for invasion is no accident. In this case it is Moon herself that is the prize, and the invaders want her alive at all costs. Having stolen an artefact known as Pandora’s Vox from the other Immortals, Moon has merged physically with this Vox, an action forbidden by Immortal law, and has inherited its powers and the wonders it contains. She is now Immortal. The invaders of the Mantle of Babylon want to possess Moon and the Vox within her throat.

 

 

Cutter

Cutter is a Slayer from the Court of War, sent by Phoenix to rescue Moon. He’s efficient, lethal and combat-savvy. Unfortunately for him, his Vox awakened very early, and he is now trapped in the body of a blond, cherub-like 13-year-old. He doesn’t let that bother him too much, however, and uses it to his favour, by making his opponent underestimate him.

Court: Court of War

Calling: Slayer

Himsati Form: Wolf

Strength: 6                    Intelligence: 4
Dexterity: 7                   Perception: 5
Constitution: 5               Willpower: 6

Life Points: 70               Endurance Points: 56

Speed: 20                      Essence Points: 58

Drawbacks: Humourless, Charisma -1

Qualities: Attractiveness +3, Charisma +3, Himsati Immortal, Fast Reaction Time, Nerves of Steel.

Skills: Hand Weapon (Sword: Broad Sword) 8, Shian Rhi 3, Brawling 6.

Weapons: Broadsword (Damage: D8 x Strength).

 

 

Joker

Only one of Moon’s guardians escaped the genocide at Babylon. He fled rather than face the fatal odds. He has managed to elude capture thus far and is hiding inside the razed temple. The characters are unlikely to meet him in this story, but he will watch them from afar. Later, he will return to Phoenix and report to him about the characters and their performance in this crisis.

 

The Others

Moon has allies who she is friendly with, particularly a mysterious figure known as Phoenix who orchestrated her successful theft of Pandora’s Vox and who leads the pantheon Joker is a member of. Noting that Joker has not reported in, Phoenix has dispatched a Slayer from the Court of War named Cutter to see to Moon’s safety. Phoenix wants to preserve Moon at all costs—she is vital to his future plans.

 

 

Cast Members

Since two of the pre-made Cast Members here are unawakened Immortals, their stats are not final: the number to the left represents the final value after their Vocci awaken.

 

Hannah Torres

Junior Arts Student and unawakened Himsati Immortal

When Hannah’s former Avatar went to Lethe, she delivered herself to a family of Custodians who had always served her faithfully – and faithfully they watched over the new incarnation of their Goddess, raising her as their true daughter and oblivious to whom she really is… and was.

Since a while, though, Hannah has began having strange dreams, and her parents have noticed it and kept a closer surveillance around her, expecting her to awaken soon. In the meantime, they contacted another friendly Immortal whom they know for a few years who is also keeping an eye on her, when her parents are not able of doing so: with the help of his Court, Professor Marcus Sanders has secured a place as her main lecturer, and, strangely, they hit it off quite well. She can be found quite often in his office talking or playing chess (which has started some nasty rumours about the origin of her grades).

Hannah is a small-framed, slender raven-haired girl, with a pretty, but slightly too serious face, with deep, intelligent hazel eyes surrounded by large eyelashes.

Known Avatars: Athena
Court: N/A (formerly Court of War)
Calling: Tactician

Himsati Form: Owl

Strength: 2                    Intelligence: 3 / 5
Dexterity: 3 / 5              Perception: 2 / 5
Constitution: 2               Willpower: 3 / 6

Life Points: 26 / 35        Endurance Points: 26 / 35

Speed: 10 / 14               Essence Points: 25 / 50

Drawbacks: Humourless, Emotional Problems (Fear of Rejection), Honourable – 1.

Qualities: Attractiveness +4, Fast Reaction Time, Increased Essence Pool (2 levels), Himsati Immortal, Nerves of Steel.

Skills: Acrobatics 2, Computer 2, Dodge 3, Humanities (History) 3, Language (French) 3, Language (German) 2, Martial Arts (TewKwonDo) 1, Notice 2, Research 2, Smooth Talking 1, Sport (Fencing) 3.

(Memory Points Skills: Shian Rhi 1, Trance 1, Hand Weapon (Swords) 4)

Unspent Memory Points: 2

Natures: Beauty, Deafen, Flight, Natural Weaponry.

Powers: Abbadon 4, Cantabile 3, Memoir 3.

 

 

 

Marcus Sanders, PhD

Ancient and Medieval History Professor, and Mentor of the Court of Fate

 

Professor Sanders has only years awakened to his immortal self 5 years ago – before, he was another normal scholar, with a deep love of both gathering knowledge and distributing it. But then he was discovered – a group of Droves attacked his home searching for him. Seeing his wife and children slaughtered drove him into a fit of rage, causing his Vox to awaken and destroy the unholy creatures. He was timely rescued by the Society, who helped him escape the police and the mundane neighbours who wanted to know what had passed. Since then, he dedicated himself to learn as much as he could with the Perpetual Society – but recently he received the task of accompanying the awakening of a new Immortal. The Professor has become rather fond of the girl and spends as much time as he can with her, no doubt due to his Mentor Calling. However, he still has nightmares of what happened to his family – and when he wakes up, he remembers every single moment.

He is a tall man, with greying hair, in his early 40s. He moves with a grace and majesty that would be more suited to a ruler than a simple scholar, and his deep green eyes are truly mesmerizing. Overall, he gives the impression of still being who he once was: a master of knowledge.

Known Avatars: Taliesin

Court: Court of Fate

Calling: Mentor

Himsati Form: Serpent

Strength: 4                    Intelligence: 6
Dexterity: 4                   Perception: 3
Constitution: 4               Willpower: 4

 Life Points: 55               Endurance Points: 41

 Speed: 16                      Essence Points: 50

Drawbacks: Honourable 2, Recurring Nightmare.

Qualities: Attractiveness +1, Charisma +4, Himsati Immortal.

Skills: Dodge 2, Hand Weapon (Sword) 3, Humanities (History: Ancient) 4, Humanities (History: Medieval) 4, Instruction 4, Language (German) 2, Language (Latin) 3, Language (Gaelic) 3, Language (Ancient Greek) 2, Myth and Legend (Himsati Immortal) Notice 3, Occult Knowledge 4, Research / Investigation 3, Storytelling 1, Smooth Talking 3, Writing (Poetry) 2.

Unspent Memory Points: 0

Natures: Commune with Species (Serpents); Terrible Countenance, Camouflage, Mesmerize Poison

Powers: Brio 2, Cantabile 4, Memoir 3, Nostrum 1.

 

 

Michael “Mike” Muller, Esq.

Philanthropist and Lesser Gifted Rosicrucian.

Michael Muller could have it all. And he did. But instead of letting himself be spoilt, he used what he had to help others. He walked in the higher circles of society, but he found things too false and too boring. Until one day, he helped a strange girl who he nearly ran over. She was quite wounded, but before he could ask what was going on, he saw it: it was hideous, all claws and teeth and it jumped to get at the girl. Acting by instinct, he pulled her into the car, stepped on it, and ran the creature over. Without knowing where he had got the cold blood from, he ran it several times over, just in case. The girl was very wounded and gave him an address for him to take her.

Several months later, his Gift manifested and he joined the ranks of the Rosicrusians – he can be often found throwing large parties, where he flirts with danger, for he uses them to lure possible members of the Sere Rose into the open, who are known to enjoy walking in the highest social circles to better indulge themselves. During one of those parties, his good friend William Frame, the famed writer, was killed during a confrontation with strange creatures unlike any he had seen before – and he found himself fighting side by side with a professor, who managed to wield a sword like he was straight out some fantasy film. After the return of his friend as a Vampyre, the three became close allies and friends and will run to each other aid, no matter what the situation.

Strength: 2                    Intelligence: 4
Dexterity: 3                   Perception: 3
Constitution: 3               Willpower: 5

Life Points: 30               Endurance Points: 29

Speed: 12                      Essence Points: 35

Drawbacks: Honourable 2

Qualities: Charisma +2, Essence Channelling 2, Gift, Increased Essence Pool 3 levels, Resources 3,

Skills: Computers 1, Driving (Car) 2, Fine Arts (Painting) 2, Humanities (History) 2, Language (Latin) 3, Language (German) 2, Magic Theory 3, Notice 3, Play Instrument (Piano) 1, Rituals (Rosicrucian) 3, Seduction 2, Smooth Talking 3, Storytelling 3.

Powers: Consecration 1, Shielding 2, Soulfire 2, Spirit Mastery (Elementals) 1.

 

Randy Schneider

Junior Engineering Student and unawakened Himsati Immortal.

 

 

Life is good for Randy Schneider: loving (and wealthy) parents, his own car, and several girls begging for him to take them out. Well, life would be perfect if he hadn’t to put up with Lil’ Miss Perfect Torres – they had grown up together, and she had always been his most hated rival – every plan he made to pick on the neighbourhood girls would be foiled by her, or if it hadn’t, she would exact a terrible revenge (like that time she managed to steal his mother’s bras and hide them in his tree house – he got grounded for two weeks because of that). And, of course, no-one would believe that her could have done it – not with her serious little face, which the grown-ups liked so much. And then she ruined it all: she suddenly stopped having time to yell at him from her bedroom window when he deliberately strips with the curtains open, nor does she seek revenge when he opens his sprinklers on her when she returns home in the evening – and she never ever returned to the treehouse. She spends most of her time with some lecturer in college… if he didn’t know her better, he could have sworn she was blowing for her grades. The only place he can find her alone now is at the Pub, where one of her girlfriends works. Until now the Professor hasn’t shown up, and it better stay that way, or things might get a lot ugly. Love does indeed suck.

Randy is a handsome young man, in a sort of predatory, dangerous way. He dresses in good clothes, chosen to better enhance his body and looks. His hair is dark brown, with a few tints of auburn, and he wears it by the middle of his back, often tied in a ponytail.

Known Avatars: Ares

Court: N/A (formerly Court of War)

Calling: Slayer

Himsati Form: Hound

Strength: 3 / 5                Intelligence: 2 / 3
Dexterity: 2 / 4              Perception: 2 / 4
Constitution: 3 / 4           Willpower: 3

Life Points: 34 / 60        Endurance Points: 32 / 41

Speed: 10 / 16               Essence Points: 15 / 50

Drawbacks: Cruel –1, Reckless, Showoff.

Qualities: Charisma +2, Himsati Immortal, Nerves of Steel, Resources +1.

 

Skills: Brawling 3, Computer 3, Dodge 2, Driving (Car) 2, First Aid 1, Engineering 3, Science (Chemistry) 2, Intimidation 2, Seduction 2, Smooth Talking 2, Streetwise 2.

(Memory Points Skills: Hand Weapon (Sword: Broadsword) 5, Dodge +2 Bonus, Intimidation +1 Bonus).

Unspent Memory Points: 0

Natures: Armour, Natural Weaponry (2 levels), Terrible Countenance.

Powers: Abbadon 5, Gremlin 3, Brio 4.

 

Theresa “Tessa” Bishop

Proud Daughter of the Highlands and Gifted Wicce.

 

Theresa was young when she left her natal Scotland, but she still yearns for it. The mountains call to her, and she feels suffocating in the city. She discovered her Gift almost instinctively, as, one day, she unconsciously followed an Essence flow that lead her to a Wicce gathering. Since then, she has been part of the Covenant, and since her parents died, she finds the mountains calling for her louder and louder. The only reason she hasn’t returned is that knows she’ll miss her friends at the Covenant, as well as her best friend, Hannah. So, for the time being she waits patiently, waitressing at the “Irish Spirit Pub”, where she is quite popular with the patrons, although she abhors being mistaken for an Irish lass, when she is, actually, 100% Scottish. Her fire-red mane, cascading in large waves down to her waist and her green eyes help people make that erroneous assumption, as does her impressive height (6ft. tall.) – which makes her resemble the ideal Celtic warrioress that lives in the imaginary of many.

Strength: 2                    Intelligence: 3
Dexterity: 3                   Perception: 3
Constitution: 2               Willpower: 4

Life Points: 26               Endurance Points: 29

Speed: 10                      Essence Points: 41

Drawbacks: Emotional Problems (Fear of Commitment) 1.
Qualities: Attractiveness +2, Essence Channelling (4 levels), Increased Essence Pool (4 Levels), Gift.

Skills: Brawling 2, Crafts (Cooking) 2, Driving (Car) 2, First Aid 3, Humanities (Wicce Theology) 2, Occult Knowledge 3, Rituals (Wicce) 2, Smooth Talking 2, Stealth 1, Survival (Mountain) 1.

Powers: Elemental Air 2, Elemental Fire 2, Healing 2, Mindsight Strength 2. Mindsight Art 2.

 

Sir William Frame

Writer, Bon Vivant and unaffiliated Vampyre.

Sir Frame was a well renowned writer, and it was indeed a loss to the world when he died during a party, not due to drug abuse, but instead, by the claw of a monstrous creature. However, the British gentleman had decided that his time had indeed not yet come, perhaps because there were still so many new sensations to experiment and to write about. And so his soul refused the entrance to the Land of the Dead, and returned to his body instead.

If in life he had been an epicurist, he hadn’t changed in death – and that shows by his most favoured method of gathering Essence: that of inducing sexual ecstasy, although he also resorts to feed on the emotions he creates with his work.

Being a Vampyre doesn’t bother him at all – he is a gentleman, after all –and since his long-time friends are respectively an Immortal and a Magician, he does not feel dislocated at all.

Sir William Frame is a clearly British man, in his 40s, with dark blonde hair and light blue eyes. He always dresses correctly and amuses himself secretly by exaggerating his britishness.

Strength: 5                    Intelligence: 5
Dexterity: 6                   Perception: 3
Constitution: 6               Willpower: 4

Life Points: 54               Endurance Points: N/A

Speed: 24                      Essence Points: 49