Wicked Words 2 PDF

WICKED WORDS
A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER
ISSUE #2
Play Dirty:
Kick in Your Heels
How to Make Your Players
Love to Hate Your Villains!
Page 4
The Story
Engine
A New Little Game!
co-written with
Jessica Kauspedas
Page 7
Houses of
the BloodeD
SLUMMING:
The Second Chapter
cover art by Mauro Mussi
Secret
A Modern Magic Setting
Powered by The Story Engine
MARCH 3, 2014
John wick Presents

Magazine
Welcome Aboard!
Hello and welcome to the
second issue of Wicked Words
Magazine! Our goal (and by
our, I mean, my) is to
provide players and game
masters tools that enhance
your gaming experience. This
issue has four articles for your
perusal.
The first is our standard
Play Dirty column, providing
you with unorthodox GM
advice. This time, were taking
a look at villains. Except were
not. Villains are boring. No, sir
or madame, what you want are
heels. Take a look on page 3
and Ill explain the difference.
Next, over on page 6,
Jessica Kauspedas and I
present you with a brand new
RPG system called The Story
Engine. Just following that is a
setting for that system thats
been burning my brain for over
a decade. Its called Secret, and
its a game about magic.
Finally, we have the second
part of a three-part series for
Houses of the Blooded fans. Its
the second chapter of the
Slumming Sourcebook. Here, we
take a look at how to make
Veiled characters and
unblooded characters. If you
dont own a copy of HotB, dont
worry, you can get it from this
link.
http://
rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/
61061/Houses-of-the-Blooded
Ive set it up as a Pay What

You Want product, so
download it for free if you like,
then if you enjoy it, drop us a
few pennies for our effort, eh?
Finally, I want to hear
from you!
Let me know how the issue
works out for you. The best
part of modern technology is I
can hear directly from my
subscribers and make changes
to the magazine based on what
they want to see. So, if you
have any suggestions for future
articles, please let me know.
Hope you enjoy the issue.
Please let us know!
Take care and KEEP
GAMING!
Wicked Words
Magazine Issue #2,
Volume #1
Wicked Words Magazine is
published by John Wick
Presents, LLC and is and
2014 by John Wick. Logo by
Jessica Kauspedas.
You can find out more at
www.johnwickpresents.com.
This Magazine is made
possible by pledges made by
contributors via
www.patreon.com.
As always, we want to thank
all those who helped us reach
our goals and hope that if you
find this magazine useful, youll
spread the word. Thank you, and
lets get on with the show!
CONTACT US!
Email: johnjwick@gmail.com
Website:
johnwickpresents.com
Facebook: facebook.com/
johnwickpresents
Twitter: @wickedthought
THIS ISSUE!
Page 3: Play Dirty: Kick in
Your Heels
Page 6: The Story Engine
Page 14: Secret
Page 30: Houses of the
Blooded: Slumming (Chapter 2)
PAGE 2
MARCH 3, 2014
Play Dirty:
Kick in Your Heels
In this installment of Play Dirty, our editor-in-chief answers one of the most common questions folks
ask him at GM seminars.
How do I make villains my players will hate?
Heel is a term from the very strange world of but the heel shows signs that he has no intention
professional wrestling. As most everyone knows,
of getting in the ring with the face. As the match
pro wrestling is filled constellations of good guys
starts, some of the heels bad guy buddies come
and bad guys. A good guy is the babyface, (or
out and walk around the ring, distracting the
just face), the guy we cheer for.
babyface. They shout at the face and the audience
both, getting the
The villain, on the
crowd shouting back.
other hand, is the heel.
And just when it
His job is simple: make
looks like our hero
the audience hate him so
may conquer the
much that theyll pay
villain, the heels
money to watch him get
friends jump in the
his ass handed to him.
ring and ruin the
Thats how
match.
professional wrestling
They all jump on the
works. It uses TV to
hero, and while he
introduce us to both the
holds them off for a
heel and the babyface.
short while,
The babyface wins his
eventually, the
matches because hes an
numbers are too
awesome wrestler. The
much, and it takes
heel wins his matches
other babyfaces
because hes a cheater, a
running from the
liar, a bully and he relies
back to save our
on his friends to distract
hero.
the referee so he can pull
off villainous
Then, after the
shenanigans.
commercial break, we
see our reliable
As you watch
announcer
wrestling on TV, you see
interviewing the hero.
the heel cheat and
He has blood on his
swindle and lie and
face and hes pissed.
The
Grinning
Man
insult you and the
Weve never seen the
by Aaron Acevedo
audience. He thinks hes
babyface like this
better than you. He brags
before. He points at
about how much money
the
camera, his face
he has and all the women
who want him. Meanwhile, the babyface just talks red with anger and blood. He swears hes going to
get revenge on the heel and challenges him to a
about how he wants to keep getting better and
match at your local sports arena. Just below his
entertain the fans who pay money to watch him
face, words flash on and off, telling you the phone
wrestle.
number and website address where you can buy
Then, the heel and the babyface meet for the
tickets and watch the hero get his revenge on the
first time. They are scheduled to have a match,
dastardly villain.
PAGE 3
MARCH 3, 2014
This is how professional wrestling works. Its

simple. Use TV to convince the audience that they
want to pay money to watch someone get beat up.
And this, my friend is how you and I are going to
convince our players that they care about your
game.
Were not going to give them villains.
Were gonna give them heels.
of The Flux (which is available for Pay What You

Want at Drivethrurpg.com) know that certain
NPCs re-occur in my games. Mister Finger is one
of them. He goes by different names, takes on
different aspects. Hes The Grinning Man in
Schauermarchen. Hes Ahvril in Houses of the
Blooded. In my novel, No Loyal Knight, he makes
an appearance as well. And, in Curse of the Yellow
Sign, you get a sense that he just might be
something a lot more dangerous than just a
NASA And The Grinning Man
monster.
Whenever I run a World of Darkness game for
Dont get me wrong: this guy is a monster. A
my friends, one of them always spends
horrible creature that epitomizes evil. I played him
Background points for a contact at NASA. I know
for a Camarilla larp as a Sabbat vampire for a
it sounds strange, but its true.
while (in this incarnation, he was a Tzimisce) and
I got honest-to-Discordia requests to please keep
The reason? A gentleman by the name of
Mister Finger away from me.
Mister Finger.
I took that as a compliment.
You see, if my players ever catch Mr. Finger,
theyre going to use those contacts at NASA to fire
But why, you ask, why do people hate him
the bastard into the sun.
so?
No joke. This was their plan.
Well, it isnt because hes evil. I mean, plenty
of villains are evil. And it isnt because of how
Now, theres a looooong history to this fellow
that begins when I was about four years old. I saw creatively evil he is.
him under my bed. That pic, right down there on
No, friends. The reason people hate him
the right, is damn near close to what I saw. (Aaron enough to buy contacts at NASAis because
Acevedo did an amazing job catching the bastards Mister Finger isnt just evil, he gets personal.
likeness.) Needless to say, he scared the crap out
of me.
Make It Personal
I ran downstairs to my grandfather (both
He doesnt kill heroesoh no!he kidnaps
myself and a mad Inish King inherited his name)
them. Then, he cuts off a finger and sends it to
and told him what I saw. I remember that he was the other PCs with a note that says, One a day!
watching professional wrestling and, even to this
(He did that in the Changeling: the Dreaming
day, I remember the smell of his pipe. He took one
game
I ran for my wife and a few friends.)
look at me and in his deep Irish accent, he said,
Well, wed better do something about that, then.
When my friend Steve had to take a two
He grabbed a baseball bat, put it in my hands month break from another WoD game I was
running, Mister Finger used fleshcrafting (a
and walked me back up the stairs to my room.
Then, he told me to sit on the edge of the bed and Tzimisce power) to mold Steves character into a
wait. And if the bastard shows his face, he said, ball of flesh, put it inside of himself and went
you hit him. Then, he left me alone in the room. around pretending to be Steves character. The
reason? He wanted to get busy with another PC
I woke up the next morning with my feet off
who shared the True Love merit with Steve, and
the edge of the bed and that baseball bat in my
since Steves PC was inside the villain, her true
hands. When I came downstairs for breakfast, my love radar said, Yes, this is your lover.
grandfather asked, What happened?
Yeah, hes that kind of jerk. He makes it
I told him the man under the bed never came
personal. He doesnt kill PCs, he hurts them in
back out.
very specific ways. And thats why my players hate
Mister Finger with the passion of a thousand
Grandpa nodded. Ya killed him ta death, he
suns. They know that when he shows up,
said, cause you werent afraid.
Ive told that story a million times, but its the someoneone of themis gonna get hurt in the
most intimate way possible.
origin of that right evil bastard.
Thats why they buy contacts at NASA. To
The man in the hat and the grin. That bloody,
shoot
the bastard into the sun.
toothy grin.
And this is how you, my fellow Game Master,
And so, hes shown up in a ton of my games.
can
introduce villains into your game that your
Folks who have read and understand the nature
PAGE 4

players will hate. Because if you think of all the
villains in literature, TV, film, comic books, etc.,
the ones you hate the most are the ones who did
permanent damage to the hero. Something that
can never be taken back or healed. And they did it
with a smile.
Even after Vader permanently disfigured Luke,
the young Jedi Apprentice still had the will to
fight. It wasnt until Vader told him the truth
about his father that young Skywalker lost all
hope.
In The Usual Suspects, Kayser Soze doesnt
make generic threats about murdering you. His
agents make warnings like this:
If I see you or any of your friends before then,
Miss Finneran will find herself the victim of a most
gruesome violation before she dies. As will your
father, Mr. Hockney. And your Uncle Randall in
Arizona, Mr. Kint. I might only castrate Mr.
McManus's nephew, David. Do I make myself
clear?
Meanwhile, in David Finchers movie, Se7en,
John Doe makes things very personal for Brad
Pitts character, David Mills. While I dont think
theres any danger in giving away spoilers to a
movie that was released in 1995, its safe to say
that nobody wants to know whats in the box.
In Ladyhawke, the Bishop of Aquila arranges
for the Best Curse in Movie History. And its the
Best Curse in Movie History because of how
personal it is.
The character of Max Cady has shown up in
both versions of Cape Fear. Hes a diabolical
bastard who spent his time in prison learning how
to get revenge. Years. With nothing more to do
than gain strength and gain knowledge and feed
that hate in his belly. The ways he gets at Sam
Bowdens less-than-scrupulous lawyer are worth
seeing, but incredibly difficult to watch.
Before he became cool, Hannibal Lecter was
a terrifying boogeyman who could reach out
through the glass wall of his cell and peek around
in your soul. Why was Lecter so terrifying?
Because he committed the most intimate crime of
all: he ate you. To demonstrate that you were
nothing more than a cow or a chicken to him. You
were just a meal. A cheeseburger. Fast food.
Something you put into your mouth then forget
about for the rest of your life. And the most vulgar
insult of all was a few hours later when he flushed
the toilet
One way to do this is through contempt. The
feeling that a person or a thing is beneath
consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn.
Your villains dont even consider the heroes
worthy of that much consideration. Theyre
MARCH 3, 2014
playthings. Tissue paper you use once, then throw

away. This is the Hannibal Lecter method. Of
course, when shows up who is worthy of their
attentionsuch as a Will Graham or a Clarice
Starlingthats when the real horror begins.
Someone worth notice. A challenge. And what
happens when our heroes fail to meet our villains
expectations? Oh, dear.
Another way of handing this is what I like to
call the Joker Approach. M. Night Shamalan
took this approach in Unbreakable: the villain
sees himself as the ultimate outsider, his
existence only justified by the existence of
another.
I always saw the Joker as a man who was on
the edge of suicide and the only thing that kept
him from pulling the trigger was Batman. Why?
Because if theres a Batman, its okay that Im
here. Hes just as screwed up as me and that
means Im not alone.
This is why so many published adventures
feel well, like they were written for someone else.
Thats because they were. The person writing the
adventure generally has his or her own gaming
group in mind. How will Bill react to this? How
about Sharon? Steve will jump at this part
The reason we write this way (yes, Ive written
my fair share of generic adventures) is because
our own groups are the only reference we have to
go on. We trust that the people in our groups are
like the people in your groups. At least, thats
what I do.
Yes, its true that every party is different, but
its also true that gamers are gamers. Youve got a
rules lawyer and Ive got a rules lawyer. Youve got
a pair who are always in a romance with each
other and I do, too. So, in order order to get your
players to care, I try to write adventures that can
be tailored to your group. The best adventure
writers do this. We know every group is different,
but we play on the similarities. And we use those
similarities to get your group to care about whats
actually going on.
We make it personal.
Play Dirty
Play Dirty was the most controversial
column in Pyramid Magazine history and
remains a keystone of GM Advice. You can get
your own copy of the collected columns (and
bonus stuff) at DrivethruRPG:
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/85816/
Play-Dirty
PAGE 5
MARCH 3, 2014
The Story Engine:

A Little Storytelling Game
The Story Engine is a Little Game designed by Jessica Kauspedas and myself. It came from a
desire to make a game Jessica wanted to play. We wanted to ditch as many of the hold overs many
RPGs keep from their miniatures games roots.
This is a simplified version of the bigger game; just enough to get you started.
Welcome to The Story Engine!
Jessica and I designed these rules to help you
and some friends tell cooperative stories together.
The worlds and characters you make are up to
you. You and your friends are both the authors
and the audience. You decide what happens to
your characters and throw twists and turns in the
story. You use dice, cards and tokens to negotiate
disagreements and introduce new elements to the
fictional world.
What kind of world? Well, any kind of world
you want, really. Its all up to you. Do you want to
tell the story of a farm boy who becomes a great
hero who saves the world? You can do that. Or a
soldier fighting through a blasted wasteland,
trying to make his way home? You can do that.
How about a princess of an interstellar kingdom
trying to rescue her parents from an evil overlord?
You can do that, too.
The only limits here are your own
imaginations. You can create any kind of story
you want. The rules we present in this book are
designed to help you tell stories.
Weve divided this game into chapters for ease
of use.
1: The Basics
This chapter covers the basic concepts of the

game. Youll learn how to use The Story Engines
rules and how they interact with basic storytelling
themes.
2: The Heroes
This chapter shows you how to use the rules

to make heroes. Youll learn how to use character
cards, dice, and tokens to tell the other players
what is most important about your character.
3: Example Setting
1: The Basics
Before we begin, lets talk about how the game

works. This chapter covers the basic rules.
Rule #1: Talk About It
Before the game begins, you and your friends

should talk about what kind of story you want to
tell. Is it a heroic story or a tragic story? Or would
you all play villains? Is your story epic fantasy or
science fiction?
Sit down for a few minutes and talk about
what kind of story you want to play. Or, the
Narrator can present a setting and offer it up to
the players for suggestions.
Once youve decided what kind of story you
want to tell (and what kind of characters the
players will be making), youve got the basis for
everything that follows.
Rule #2: Story Points
Story Points are the key to playing The Story

Engine. The more Story Points you have, the more
say you get in how the story goes. Every Story
Point allows you to add a new detail or plot or
world element to the game. You want Story Points.
And the way you get them is by telling the kind of
story you and your friends agreed to tell.
You also get Story Points by acting in
character, playing up your characters weaknesses
and overcoming plot obstacles. There are a lot of
ways to earn Story Points, but all of them have to
do with you contributing to the story.
Rule #3: Say Yes Or Roll Dice
Whenever your character wants to take an

action in the game, the Narrator can offer you a
Story Point so he can Narrate the outcome of the
action.
Finally, a chapter illustrating how to use the

game. But I cant tell you what it is. Its a secret...
PAGE 6

If you say, Yes, the Narrator gives you the
Story Point and gets to say what happens to your
character.
If you say, No, the Narrator can keep her
Story Point or force the issue by calling for a roll
to determine who gets to say what happens. If you
roll higher, you get to say what happens. If the
Narrator rolls higher, she gets to say what
happens.
Likewise, the players can offer a Story Point to
the Narrator to have a say in what happens in the
story. If the Narrator says, Yes, the player gets to
say what happens. If the Narrator says, No, the
player can force a roll to see who gets to say what
happens.
Rule #4: Scenes
The Story Engine breaks down gameplay into

Scenes. Generally, a Scene takes place in a fixed
geographical location or occurs during a specific
amount of time. Some Scenes can cut between
characters in different locations.
In The Story Engine, we find it useful to say
that a Scene begins when the characters discover
a new obstacle to overcome. There may be some
establishing action before that obstacle occurs,
but once the characters encounter trouble, once
the real action starts, thats when the Scene
begins. Generally, a Scene ends when said trouble
has been resolved, either in the characters favor
or otherwise.
For example, a private eye walks into his office
one morning. He looks over his phone messages
and mail, slumps into his chair and sips coffee,
hoping to get rid of the pounding in his head.
Technically, this is the beginning of a scene,
but nothings really happened yet. Theres no
interaction with any characters or any sign of plot
or danger or anything else. This is establishing
action. We know where the Scene is happening,
who the protagonist is and some other important
details.
But then, a muscle-bound man in a suit that
barely fits his wide shoulders bursts into the room
with a gun in his hand.
Now, weve got the beginning of a Scene.
How the Scene resolves is up to the Narrator
and the players involved.
Complications
Each Scene has at least one Complication:

something that the characters in the Scene must
overcome or deal with in some manner. In the
example above, our private investigator has to
deal with the gorilla in the suit with a gun in his
MARCH 3, 2014
hand. How does he deal with that? Hold up his

hands and hope the mug doesnt riddle him with
bullets? Does he dodge behind the desk or jump
out the window? Does he pull his pistol from
under his jacket and fire before the bad guy does?
Or, is this even a bad guy? We dont know.
How players and their characters deal with
Complications is up to them, but the
Complications that get introduced into the game
come from the Narrator through Complication
Cards.
When the Narrator introduces a Complication
Card, he writes down the problem on the Card
and puts it in the center of the table. The
Complication Card--and its effects--remain until
the end of the Scene. Generally, a Scene closes
when the Complication resolves.
Complication Rank
All Complications have a rank: the higher the
rank, the more difficult it will be for the
characters to successfully overcome the
Complication. When confronting a Complication,
both the Narrator and players roll dice. If the
Narrator rolls higher, she decides what happens. If
the players roll higher, they decide what happens.
Complication Difficulty
Easy

1-3
Difficult
4 - 6
Hard

7-9
Legendary
10+
Overcoming Complications
Players have two ways of overcoming

Complications.
First, they can offer a number of Story Points
equal to the Complications rank. Each player
must offer up a number of Story Points equal to
the rank of the Complication. Anyone who does
not offer up Story Points to overcome the
Complication suffers the Consequences of the
Complication.
Players can use excess Story Points to add or
modify details in the Scene as well, negotiating
with the Narrator. Any Story Points spent
overcoming a Complication go to the Narrators
Story Point Pool.
Second, players can roll dice to overcome a
Complication. Each character involved must roll
equal to or higher than the Narrators roll. If a
character does not overcome the Narrators roll,
he suffers the Consequences of the Complication
(see below).
PAGE 7

So long as one character overcomes the
Complication, he can Narrate the outcome of the
Scene. However, for each character who does not
overcome the Complication, the Narrator says
what happens to that character.
Players can give away dice to other characters
in hopes of helping other characters. When one
player gives another player one or more dice, the
second player must keep the number rolled on the
dice; he does not re-roll them.The first (helping)
player must narrate how their character helps the
other character.
Adding And Escalating Complications
During the course of a Scene, a Complication

may become more difficult to resolve than it was
at the beginning of a Scene. Also, characters
actions during the Scene may cause a new
Complication to arise.
The Narrator may add a new Complication to
the Scene by spending a Story Point. However, the
new Complication must be the result of character
actions. In other words, the Narrator cannot
introduce a new Complication that begins with the
phrase, And then Instead, he must use the
word, Because to introduce a new
Complication.
Likewise, character actions can cause a
current Complication to grow in danger and
depth. If this occurs, the Narrator can escalate a
current Complications rank.
MARCH 3, 2014
characters actions. A player can narrate one fact

about the outcome of an action.
If a player does not have appropriate dice for a
significant action, the Narrator describes the
outcome of the action.
For example, if a player says, My character
wants to pick the lock on the front door of the
Thieves Guild, thats a pretty significant action.
Or, if he says, I want to treat this mortal wound
so my friend does not die, thats also a significant
action.
Players can narrate the outcome of their
significant actions if they have appropriate Trait
Cards. If they do not, the Narrator tells him how
his action turned out.
In other words, if you can roll dice, you get an
automatic success and can narrate one detail
about the outcome of your action without having
to roll.
An Example
My character is a medic in a war on a distant

planet. One of the soldiers gets hit by an alien
weapon. I tell the Narrator, I want to treat his
wound so it doesnt get worse.
The Narrator asks me, Do you have dice for
that?
I nod. I do. I get dice from my Medic Trait.
The Narrator nods, Very well. Tell me what
happens.
I say, Im able to stabilize the injury.
Actions & Risks
Another Example
Sometimes, characters need to take actions
that have nothing to do with resolving the Scene.
Jessicas character is a wizard in a fantastic
Some actions are mundane: simple and without
kingdom with elves, dwarves and little people with
risk. They dont have a large impact on the story
furry feet. She says, My wizard summons magical
or the characters. For these actions, players
energy to throw a ball of fire at the enemy.
control the narration of the outcome. In other
The Narrator asks, Do you have dice for that?
words, the player says what happens when his
She nods. Yes, I have the Wizard Trait.
character takes this action.
The Narrator says, Okay, tell me what
For example, if a player says, My character
looks through his sock drawer for socks, thats a happens.
good example of a mundane action.
She says, I successfully summon the magical
Likewise, if a character boots up his computer, energy and throw eldritch fire at the undead
unlocks a door with the right key, fixes a lightbulb hordes.
or sets up an ID on his Xbox, were talking about
Again: as long as you have dice, you dont need
mundane actions.
to roll them. Just having dice for a significant action
means your get to say how your characters action
Significant Actions
succeeds or fails.
Significant actions are those that have an
impact on the story or the characters.
Narrator Additions
Whenever a player narrates the outcome of his
If a player has appropriate dice for a
characters action (significant or mundane), the
significant action, he narrates the outcome of his
PAGE 8
MARCH 3, 2014
Narrator may offer him a Story Point to add a

detail to the outcome.
For example, if a player says, I treat my
friends mortal wound successfully, the Narrator
can offer him a Story Point and add, but the
wound is infected.
Or, if a player says, I successfully pick the
lock, the Narrator can offer him a Story Point and
add, but you break your pick in the lock.
The player may or may not accept the Story
Point. If he accepts the Story Point, the Narrators
addition enters play. Yes, the wound is healed,
but it is infected. Or, the character picked the
lock, but his tool broke inside the lock.
If the Narrator offers a player a Story Point and

the player declines, the Narrator may offer
additional Story Points to convince the player to
accept the Narrators offer. For example, if a player
says, No, to the Narrators offer, the Narrator may
offer two, three or even four or five Story Points.
The amount is up to the Narrator and how
important he feels the detail is.
Another Example
Trait Cards
Risks
If a player wants to add more than just one

detail to the outcome of an action, he may make a
risk.
When a player makes a risk, he rolls dice,
counting any dice that roll evens as successes. All
dice that roll an odd number are nulls.
An Example
At the same time, the Narrator rolls a number
Back on that science fiction world where my
of
dice
equal to the difficulty of the risk. He also
character is a space marine medic, the Narrator
offers me a Story Point and says, You successfully counts successes and discards the nulls.
treated the soldiers wound, but you need to get
Each success counts as an additional detail
him out of here to a MASH unit if hes going to
the player may add to the outcome of his action.
survive.
Remember: he automatically gets one free detail
(because he has dice) and each success he rolls
I look at the Story Point and consider the
adds another.
Narrators addition.
Every success the Narrator gets is a detail she
Then, I nod. Sure, I say.
adds to the risk. The player gets to add the first
The Narrators addition enters play. The soldier detail then, she and Narrator take turns adding
is healed for now, but he needs to get evac ASAP.
details to outcome of the risk.
In that fantasy kingdom, Jessicas wizard
successfully summons enough magical energy to
throw fire at the undead hordes approaching her
friends.
The Narrator offers her a Style Point. You
throw the fire, but it gets out of control and sets
everything on fire with it.
Jessica considers this and nods. All right, she
says.
The Narrator gives her the Story Point and now,
the trees around the party are on fire.
Narrators can offer additional Story Points to
add more details to the actions outcome. For
example, a Narrator can offer an additional Story
Point to say, The wound was healed, but it is
infected and the medicine you need to heal it is not
here. Or, he can say, Yes, you picked the lock,
but your lockpick broke inside and there is no way
to get it back out.
Each and costs the Narrator an additional
Story Point. The player may accept one or more of
the Story Points, but is not required to accept any of
them.
Each character has a number of Trait Cards

that help define who your character is and what
she can do. Trait Cards also give you the dice you
need to roll for risks and overcome challenges.
Well go over the different kinds of Trait cards
later. Right now, all you need to know is that if a
Trait is appropriate to a significant action or a
risk, you get a number of dice the Trait Card says
you get for that action or risk.
An Example
One of my cards is Thief 4 which gives me

four dice to roll for an appropriate risk. Meanwhile,
Surgeon 2 gives Dan two dice to roll for an
appropriate risk.
Or, lets say Jessies character finds himself in
a plane thats on fire and plummeting toward the
Earth. Fortunately, he has the Trait, Pilot 4. The
player spends a Story Point and can roll four dice.
Campaign Cards
Campaign Cards represent themes and truths

about the story that the Narrator wants players to
remember and invoke. He does this by playing
PAGE 9

Campaign Cards on the table, face up, and
players can get bonus dice by invoking them.
For example, if the Narrator plays an Action
Campaign Card, the players can get bonus dice
when they try solving problems with physical
action. Pull a gun, jump through a window, start
a fist fight these are solutions to problems and
the players can get bonus dice for doing them.
On the other hand, if the Narrator uses the
Mystery Campaign Card, he tells the players he
wants to remind them that sorting through clues
and interviewing NPCs are an important element
of the game. Thus, if they do so, they can earn
bonus dice.
Each Campaign Card has a rankusually
between 1 and 3indicating the bonus dice
players receive when they invoke a Campaign
Card.
Players can invoke a Campaign Card by
spending a Story Point. Doing so gives you a
number of bonus dice equal to the rank of the
Campaign Card for your next risk.
Story Points
Both the players and the Narrator have Story

Points. Each of them gets Story Points different
ways.
At the beginning of the game, each player gets
3 Story Points. The Narrator gets a number of
Story Points equal to the players in the game
(including herself).
Whenever a player spends a Story Point, he
gives it to the Narrator. That Story Point is now
hers to use as she wishes.
When the Narrator spends a Story Point, she
gives it to the player most affected by the addition
she made. If her addition affects more than one
character, she must give a Story Point to each
player.
Narrator Insist
If the Narrator makes an offer to a player and

the player refuses, the Narrator may insist. If a
Narrator insists, both he and the player roll dice.
The player rolls dice based on his Trait Cards.
The Narrator spends her Story Points for dice.
Every Story Point the Narrator spends gives her
up to three dice.
If the Narrator spends dice for an NPC, she
may use that NPCs Traits instead of spending
Story Points from her own pool.
MARCH 3, 2014
Complications
At any time during a scene, the Narrator may

put a Complication Card into play. This is an
obstacle the characters in the scene must
overcome or pay the consequences for not
successfully overcoming it.
The Narrator picks a blank Complication Card
and writes down any details on the Card. Note
that on a Complication Card, weve included a line
that reads: Consequences. This is what happens
to the characters if they do not overcome the
Complication. The Narrator puts the Card in the
center of the table so everyone can see it.
Complications have ranks, just like Traits, and
the ranks indicate how many successes the
players need to overcome the Complication or face
the consequences. If the players cannot generate
enough successes to overcome the Complication,
they must face the Consequences.
Conditions
After an action or risk, especially if the

characters do not overcome a Complication, the
Narrator may assign one or more Conditions.
Conditions modify the subject of an action or
risk. For example, a door could have the
Condition, Locked. A thief picking a lock could
change that Condition to, Opened.
Putting a torch to a hay bail adds the
Condition, On Fire.
Thrusting a sword at an enemy could add the
Wounded Condition to the enemy.
Using Conditions
During a risk, a player, or the Narrator, may

activate a Condition by spending a Story Point. By
activating the Condition, the player or Narrator
adds two dice to their roll.
Down
The Down Condition indicates a character

has been injured, knocked unconscious or
otherwise incapacitated.
A player or Narrator may add the Down
Condition to any character or NPC with five
successes.
Once a character is Down, the character is out
of the action until rescued by other characters.
Thats It!
You now know pretty much everything you

need to know to run The Story Engine. Sure, we
still have to talk about making characters, but
were just about to jump into that--and, trust me--
PAGE 10
MARCH 3, 2014
its gonna only take a second. So, turn the page

and lets get on with it!
Examples Of Strength Cards
2: Making a Character
The Story Engine uses cards to help you make

and define your character. From the deck, each
player needs a set of Story Cards:
(1) Character Card
(1) Strength Card
(6) Trait Cards (2 in History)
(1) Flaw Card
(1) Character Goal Card
(1) Group Goal Card
(1) Contact Card
Get a pencil, one of each card and well walk
you through the rest.
Step 1: Character Card
The Character Card has spaces for three

things: your characters name, gender and
moment of change. Name and gender are pretty
self explanatory, but lets talk about that last one
for a moment.
Your moment of change is an event (or string
of events) that transformed you, turning your
normal life upside down, putting you on the heros
path. Its the knock on the door that throws you
from security to danger.
Luke Skywalker was a simple farm boy living
on a backwater planet. His uncle bought two
droidsa seemingly inauspicious event. But that
one purchase changed his entire life. After his
aunt and uncle were killed by the Empire, he
could have told Ben Kenobi, No, Im staying here.
Take the droids and leave, but then Imperials
arrived me and murdered his family. He chose to
leave his home and learn the ways of a Jedi.
John McClane is just a New York cop who
accepts an invite from his wife to visit her on the
West Coast for Christmas. After the long plane
ride (and a brief argument), he takes off his
shoes and hears gunfire. He didnt want the
terrorists to take the tower, but he was thrust into
the situation and now has to deal with it as best
he can.
Neo took the red pill. He could have chosen to
remain asleep, to remain numb to the world, but
he didnt. Driven by a need to know, he chose the
dangerous path. A few moments later, everything
he thought he knew about the world was wrong.
He was thrust into understanding the world was
Prodigal Assassin
Magician
Soccer Mom
Gamer
Green Thumb
Carpenter
Plummer
Electrician
Politician
Magician
Astronaut
RPG Designer
Priest
Thief
Thief-Priest
Pit Fighter
Genetic Engineer
Painter
Radio DJ
Computer Engineer
All Around Nice Guy
Empathetic
Professional Wrestler
Sailor
Pirate Captain
Starship Navigator
The Ultimate Bad Ass Zombie Killer
Intelligent, Magical Cat
Curious Heroine
The Baddest Man on the Planet
poisoneda literal wastelandand told he was

the only one who could heal it.
In Shawshank prison, life goes on as normal
for Red. One day after another, resigned to be the
guy who gets you things. Then, one day, a tall,
skinny man who looks like a walking ghost arrives
and changes everything.
All heroes have this defining moment.
Something changes their lives, making it
PAGE 11

impossible to go back. Your character has such a
moment. What is it? Figure it out.
Step 2: Strength Card
The Strength Card lists your characters

primary characteristic. When people think of your
character, they think of your Strength first. Or, a
Strength can be something very private,
something you know about yourself that nobody
else does.
Your Strength Card is always worth 3 dice and
always stays in your hand. Your Strength Card
cannot be cancelled by any effect. You may use
your Strength Card once per action or risk.
Step 3: Trait Cards
Trait Cards are exactly like Strength cards,

except they are not defining characteristics that
they can lose or grow out of. If a Trait Card is
appropriate to an action or risk, you gain one die
from that card. A Trait Card can only be used
once per action or risk.
Your character starts with four Trait cards in
your hand and two cards in your Past.
Step 4: Flaw Card
Ever character has a flaw: a dangerous

weakness that others can exploit or even an
element of the characters personality that leads
him to self-destructive behaviors.
Okay, wait a second. Its true that not every
character has a flaw. Every interesting character
has a flaw. You want your character to be
interesting, so you should carefully consider what
your characters Flaw might be.
Your Flaw card remains face-up on the table
for everyone to see. If any other player (including
the Narrator) invokes your Flaw, a few things
happen.
Invoking The Flaw
A Flaw can only be invoked when the Narrator

introduces the Complication for the Scene. When
your Flaw gets invoked, you cannot roll dice or
spend Story Points for the rest of the Scene.
Well, you may ask. How do I get something
done when my Flaw Card gets invoked? The
answer is, you have to rely on others to help you.
Your Flaw card has five check marks at the
bottom. When someone invokes your Flaw, check
off one of those boxes. When you have checked off
all five boxes, the Flaw goes into your
When a Flaw returns from your Past, it has
only four of its five boxes left. Every time you face
MARCH 3, 2014
your Flaw, it has one less box. When you have

checked off all five boxes (when you have faced
your Flaw five times), it remains in play, face-up
and you check off the Conquered box. A
Conquered Flaw gives you two bonus dice
whenever it comes up after youve conquered it.
Step 5: Goal Cards
The Story Engine has two kinds of Goal Cards:

Goal Cards for characters and Goal Cards for the
entire group.
Your Goal Card represents the most important
achievement in your characters life; the one thing
she wants to accomplish more than anything else.
The Group Goal Card represents the current goal
the group is pursuing.
A Goal has a number of steps you need to take
to accomplish. For example, some Goals need five
steps while others need only one or two. Write
down the steps you need to meet to accomplish
your goal.
Whenever you are taking an action or risk that
would directly accomplish a step toward your
goal, you get a number of bonus dice equal to the
number of steps you have already accomplished.
Thus, if you are at Step 1 and have accomplished
no other steps so far, you gain no dice. But, if you
have accomplished two Steps and are working on
Step 3, you get two dice.
Step 6: Contact Cards
Contact Cards represent people you know or

have known in your Past. A Contact is someone
you trust or someone who trusts you or both, even
if that trust is frayed or damaged.
Each Contact Card has a rank from 1 to 3; the
higher the rank, the more the Contact will do for
you, whether it is because they owe you, love you,
etc.
If you do something your Contact wants, their
rank goes up by one to three depending on the
favor. A simple favor may earn you a single rank
while a dangerous favor may earn you up to 3. A
Contact cannot have a rank higher than 3.
If you ask your Contact to do a favor thats
dangerous or risks them in any way, their rank
goes down by one. A Contact with no ranks goes
back into your Past and cannot be retrieved until
you do a favor for them first.
Step 6: Your Past
Every character has important moments in

their past that define who they are today. They
may not always be evident, but they are
important.
PAGE 12

Your character has a history. The Story Engine
reflects that history with what we call, Your
Past.
Your Past is a stack of face down cards that sit
near you. Think of them as a deck you draw from.
Your Past isnt as important as your present
(reflected by the cards in your hand), but it can
come into play from time to time.
Your character starts two Trait Cards in her
Past. You cannot have Strength Cards in your
Past.
Each Trait Card in your Past can be brought
into your hand at the cost of one Story Point.
When a Trait card is in your hand, it can be used
for actions and risks.
At the end of each game session, you must roll
a number of dice equal to each Traits Rank for
each Trait card in your hand that you have not
used during this game session. If you do not roll
any evens, that Trait goes into your Past.
Creating New Trait Cards
MARCH 3, 2014
characters history. Like all cards in your Past,

you must spend a Story Point to bring it from your
Past and into your hand.
If you want to add an Trait or Contact Card to
your Present, you can only do so at the end or
beginning of a game session. This represents your
character spending time to learn a new skill or
make a new contact. Spend two Story Points and
add the new card to your hand.
Story Points
Each player has 3 Story Points. Players use

Story Points to buy dice during actions and risks.
(See Actions & Risks, below.) You can use
whatever kind of tokens you want to represent
Story Points.
The Narrator starts with a pool of Story Points
equal to the number of players in the game
(including himself).
3: Example Setting
You can create new Trait Cards, but doing so

costs you Story Points.
At any time during the game, you may add a
Trait or Contact Card to your Past. Spend a Story
Point and explain how that card is a part of your
Okay, so now youve got the basics of the

game, but how do you use it?
I told you Id include an example setting. Well,
youre getting it in spades...
Creative Commons License
JWP hereby licenses The Story Engine under a

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
License.
You are free to:
Share copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt remix, transform, and build upon the material
for any purpose, even commercially.
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the
license terms. For more details, please use the link above and/or contact the
publisher.
PAGE 13
compel
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unlock
unlock
unlock
unlock
Used
Used
GOAL
Used
GOAL
compel
compel
unlock
unlock
Used
Strength
Used
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compel
unlock
unlock
Used
Used
Name
Used
Flaw
Flaw
Gender
What started this story
compel
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ignored
Story
Points
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Conquered
Conquered
Secret
A Little Game About Magic

Powered By The Story Engine
Secret is a game Ive had in the back of my

head for over a decade. I had the foolish notion that
I could create a kind of Universal Magic Theory
that would bind together all the different kinds of
magic mankind has invented over the years.
Such is the way of folly and failure.
I finally realized that magic systemsreal ones
are messy and inconsistent. Sure, they make a
kind of internal sense, but once you start looking at
them, all of it starts to fall apart.
Once I got that in my head, I understood the
way to make the game I wanted to play. Dont
make a Universal Magic Theory, but let the
individual systems stand on their own. Let them be
inconsistent with themselves and each other. Make
each system a kind of skill in and of itself, and
players can learn different systems like they learn
different skills.
Of course, magic systems are more than just
skills, but with The Story Engine, I could make
them Trait Cards. Also, Id let the players
themselves define what their own magic can and
cannot do and what kind of price they have to pay
for it.
The Shadow World
Shhh. Dont say a word. Just keep reading

and pretend you dont see the woman watching
you from the corner. Dont look up. Dont look at
her. Then, shell know. And we want to keep her in
the dark as long as possible.
See, I have a secret to tell you.
Its a secret I learned from RAW when he
pulled the Cosmic Trigger right next to my ear.
Come close and Ill whisper it to you
Reality is not a singular noun
its a plural verb.
Everything you think you know about the

world isnt wrong. Its right.
There are shadows that live and breathe.
There are cats who protect us from monsters we
cant see. There are warlocks and wizards. Magic
is just as real as science. Its all real. Everything
youve imagined. Anything you can imagine.
Its all real.
But heres the trick, my friend. You have a
choice now. You can close the pages and believe
all of this is pretend or you can continue on.
If you stop here, the Shadow World will be
closed to you forever.
But if you continue on, you will become a part
of it and you can neverevergo back.
So, what will it be?
What will it be ?
So youve come this far. Good.

Then let me tell you a deeper truth.
Your choice has enlisted you in a war, my
friend. A shadow war. There will be no
monuments built to the fallen. No recognition of
their sacrifice. Your cloak is clandestine.
What is Secret?
Secret is a game about magic. Not only

magicians and magical creatures, but magic itself.
Players take the roles of agents in a clandestine
organizationa secret societyattempting to
protect the world from supernatural danger.
The society is called Ordo Quinque: the Order
of the Five. It has a long history of successes and
failures beginning in the 16th Century in
England
The mirror indeed allowed him to

communicate with spirits. It opened a doorway
into another world: a world of darkness, fear and
terror. But in the beginning, Dee did not
understand what he had done. He believed the
spirits he spoke with were angels: divine spirits
who guided him toward celestial truth. But those
angels were only using Dee to widen the thin
portal he already opened.
It took years, but eventually, the Doctor
discovered the truth, and it horrified him. He
sought to close the doorway he opened, but it was
too late. It was too strong, and he did not have the
ability or knowledge to close it.
Order of the Five
The war began centuries ago when Queen

Elizabeths master spy, John Dee, created a secret
cabal to protect Her Majesty from supernatural
threats. Using his knowledge of alchemy, he
forged five rings each with its own properties
and gave one to each of his agents. He called them
Ordo Quinque: the Order of Five.
Until Dees death in 1609, the Five protected
Britain from numerous occult plots. After his
death, the Order expanded from Englands shores.
The Five also known as the Secret Lords
took control of the Order, expanded their duties,
and sought to bring an end to the horrors of the
world.
In this section, we take a look at the Order,
beginning with its origins in the 16th century,
stretching on to modern times.
Dee fled England, hoping to find an answer

elsewhere, knowing that every day he was not
back in England, the horrors he unleashed would
grow in strength. Finally, he gained the knowledge
he needed, but he still did not have the magical
power necessary to close the doorway. He
Origin
gathered five fellow magicians and gave them the
Doctor John Dee spy, alchemist, magician for ritual to close the doorway. He also gave each of
them a ring, made from orichalcum, to strengthen
Queen Elizabeth looked into his obsidian mirror
their already incredible powers.
and found that something was looking back.
The five ringbearers returned to England and
The good Doctor was first introduced to the
faced the darkness. The ritual took two days, and
obsidian mirror (belonging to the Aztec God
much blood was spilled, but in the end, the
Tezcatlipoca) when it was brought back from the
New World. He was told it would allow him to scry doorway was closed. John Dees five magi
survived, but only barely. Dee himself was sorely
and speak with spirits. Dee had no idea how
wounded and near death. He used his last bit of
correct and incorrect that was.
strength, passing his knowledge and power into

the rings the five magi possessed. Then, he
perished, leaving them alone to guard England.
The five spent the next years forming a secret
order to carry on John Dees final instructions:
they were to protect England from the darkness.
Dee knew the mirror he used to open the portal (a
mirror that was now missing) came from the New
World, and thus, the evil was deeper and older
than any of them could have suspected. They
enlisted the help of other men and women to
investigate the origins of the darkness and made
frightful discoveries. The darkness had been
present in this world as long as men and
perhaps longer. The ancient civilizations of Mu
and Atlantis had both fallen, and discoveries
hinted that the darkness may have been
responsible for their demise.
Each of the ringbearers enlisted companions
to assist them in their struggle. The secret order
slowly grew. Each of the ringbearers became
responsible for specific duties: Stranges Men
investigated and brought back information, while
Actions Men served as teams of fighters, doing
direct combat with the darkness, and so on.
It was also during this time that the first of the
ringbearers was killed on an expedition. Jordanna
Bramson, Lady Fate, met her end while
researching claims of a vampire in Cairo. The ring
was returned and a new Lady Fate was chosen.
More specifically, the ring seemed to choose the
new Lady Fate.
Later, when Edward Derby, Lord Strange, was
killed by a strange wolf creature in Moscow, his
ring was lost. It was two years later when
Stranges grandson, George Derby, found the ring
in his grandfathers house while investigating
strange sounds in the attic.
The rings seemed to find their way to those
who were destined to wear them. Often, the rings
passed along the bloodline of the original wearer,
but not always. In the case of Lord Action, who
often dies in perilous situations, the ring has
vanished for months (or even years) at a time, but
shows up in the hands of another.
The order expanded its activities, creating
headquarters on the continent and the Near East.
But it wasnt until the following century that it
would find its way out of Europe and into the
unknown West and Orient.
1700s
During the 18th Century, the Order greatly

expanded its influence. The century began with
new headquarters in Russia, Egypt, and Poland.
The Master Chamber in London remained the
chief headquarters of the organization. All diaries,

journals and other records providing evidence and
explanation of the darkness were sent to the
Master Chamber to be collated by scholars in
hopes of expanding the organizations knowledge
and understanding.
While the Order suffered many setbacks, it
also enjoyed its share of victories. By the
mid-1700s, the Order claimed seventeen chapters
in total. They ranged from England, Scotland and
Ireland to Russia, China, Egypt and the American
Colonies. Rings were passed on to new Lords and
Ladies who expanded their ranks, and thus, the
influence of the Order. The first North American
chapter opened in Boston, Massachusetts
following the Witch Trials of the earlier century.
The Order also opened a chapter in Peking,
although it was destroyed in 1742 by a mysterious
blue flame.
As the 1700s drew to a close, the Order
boasted nearly one hundred agents, all serving
under the five Lords and Ladies. But it was the
nineteenth century that saw the greatest growth
for the Order.
1800s
For many, the 1800s represents the greatest

rise in interest of spiritualism. For members of the
Order, it meant many undisciplined and
untrained practitioners opening doorways to the
darkness. The Order found itself under constant
attack. Many helpless victims were possessed by
the darkness. New doorways were opened,
allowing further attacks and possessions. The
Order simply could not keep up. They needed a
new strategy. They needed a new way to deal with
the darkness.
Recruitment had always been a risky business
for the Order. Rigorous testing for potential agents
meant only the best and bravest were chosen, but
with the rise in supernatural incidents, the Order
felt they needed more manpower, and quickly.
Members were chosen from various occult
societies from across the world, such as the
Golden Dawn, the Freemasons and the Theosophy
Society. While previous members were given full
disclosure of the Orders mission, these new
members were only shown the truth gradually,
allowing the Order to draw in new members, but
test them for eventual full membership.
The Order grew in strength, but attrition was
high. Agents were recruited and lost at a
staggering rate. At the same time, the Order
expanded its libraries in London and gathered
more information in two decades than the
previous two centuries.
But many argued the cost was too high. Some

blamed the attrition on the rise of darkness
incidents. Others complained the new agents
were not properly trained and sent on missions
without enough information. Some even claimed
initiates were sent on missions rather than fully
trained agents to spare the agents any degree of
danger.
In 1864, the Master Chamber released an
official training procedure for new agents. They
hoped this procedure would train initiates quickly
and efficiently so they could engage the darkness
with (relative) safety. The attrition rate fell and
many initiates became full members. For the last
half of the 19th Century, the Order truly grew.
More chapters were opened than ever before,
spreading to every continent in the world. This
was the golden age of the Order, a high moment
before the fall.
1900s
The century began with the greatest crime

against humanity in modern history: World War I.
It was a time of terror where the darkness spread
its influence across the world with unprecedented
speed. As it was in the beginning of the previous
century, the Order was unprepared. Many of its
agents had joined the war effort and could not be
dispatched on missions. The war also claimed
many lives of the members or wounded them so
gravely, they could no longer be considered
active. In 1915, the Council of Five declared the
Orders activities suspended until the resolution
of the Great Conflict.
Even though official investigations were
suspended, many members of the Order
continued their own private investigations. For
two years, agents looked into such phenomenon
as battlefield angels, occult activity in Germany
and the black monk of Russia, Gregory
Rasputin.
The War also decimated many of the Orders
chapter houses in Europe. Private funds were
raided, buildings and records were destroyed.
Much of the Orders organization on the continent
was simply gone. A vast rebuilding effort began,
but progress was slow. Just as it seemed the
Order was about to recover, Adolf Hitler invaded
Poland. World War II had begun.
Again, the Order was struck helpless by the
massive conflict. A previous generation had been
lost, and now, it looked like a second would be
thrown to the wolves of war as well. The Order
focused on the occult activities of Hitlers SS and
the Thule Society, who had thrown their arms
open to the darknesss promises of power. As the
War raged Europe, the Order operated a secret
war against an invasion from the dark dimension

itself. In the end, Hitlers agents were defeated, his
Thule Society was cast down, and many of the
doors opened during the conflict were closed. But
not all. Now, more doorways to the darkness were
open than ever before. It seemed Hitler was only a
front to establish a permanent link between the
darkness and our own world. And while it did not
succeed, the damage had been done.
In the wake of the War, the Master Chamber
was temporarily moved from London to the United
States. All the ancient records, journals,
photographs and other information was locked
away in Boston and kept secure by Patrick Henry
Walker, the Orders current Lord Strange. The
Order used the relative peace following the War to
rebuild, but again, progress was slow.
Recruitment was down as public interest in the
occult fell by the wayside.
The 1950s was a dark time for the Order in
the United States. The Communism Scare forced
the Order to move even deeper underground as
the US government focused its attention on
secret organizations. Many wanted the Master
Chamber moved back to Europe. The matter was
set to a vote, and in 1955, the Order moved its
Library back to London.
During the 1960s, the Order was seemingly
born again. Recruitment was higher than ever
before and during the time between 1964 and
1972, agents carried out more successful
investigations than unsuccessful ones; a first in
the Orders history. Information on the darkness
came in like a waterfall and a concerted effort to
collate all the data in one place was initiated.
During the 1980s, personal computers made
a profound impact on the Order. The Master
Chamber in London opened a virtual library,
available to any member or agent. As information
on the darkness moved between chapters, the
various members could compare notes, facts and
falsehoods. Knowledge of the darkness its
methods, its motives and its weaknesses
spread at an unprecedented speed.
The Order carried out even more
investigations and missions, arming their agents
with information, tools and weapons previously
unavailable. It seemed for the first time that the
Order had the advantage. Perhaps John Dees
vision of closing and locking the final door was
within reach.
December 13th, 1991
On December 13th, 1991, in the London

Master Chamber was the visiting Lord Strange
(Patrick Henry Walker), Lord Action (Charles
Whittier) and Lady Fate (August dWinter). Both

Lord DArque was on an investigation in The
Ukraine and Lady Justice was in Jamaica. At
approximately 3:12 AM, an explosion rocked the
Chamber. Lord Action was killed in the blast. Lady
Fate and Lord Strange were both severely
wounded. They managed to escape the burning
building, but once they reached the street, they
were attacked and killed by a small mob.
Witnesses say the mob used knives.
In Jamaica, Lady Justice was found in her
hotel. The room was covered in black ash with the
word Croatoan written on the walls in her own
blood.
Lord DArque was attacked on the street by a
group of men wielding knives. He was injured, but
escaped. He vanished shortly thereafter.
All around the world, between the hours of
3:00 and 5:00 AM, nearly every major chapter
house suffered an attacked. Within two hours, the
Order lost fifty percent of its chapter houses and
seventy percent of its membership. The library in
London was destroyed. Four of the five Lords were
dead. One was gone. All of the rings were missing.
The Boston chapter house sent out the
Evanish Agenda order: all members abandoned
their posts, taking whatever they could with them.
For the rest of the 1990s, the Order struggled to
survive. The Order went completely underground,
knowing the darkness was waiting for them.
It was a long, dark decade. With no central
authority and no resources, the Order became a
number of individual cells operating alone and
without communication or direction. All the while,
the darkness grew in power.
The entire decade was lost. With agents
operating blindly, hacking at the limbs rather
than the root, with no organization, no funding,
no plan everything seemed lost for the Order. It
teetered on the edge of extinction. It seemed the
darkness had finally won.
was transformed as well. He was not entirely a

vampire, but the blood was in his veins. He was
contacted shortly after by a strange gentleman
calling himself Mr Dark. He gave Walker a ring.
An orichalcum ring. Welcome to the Circle, the
figure told him.
Meanwhile, in Africa, a woman named Ashe
Adesia returned home after studying abroad. She
was a scholar and a fighter, having learned many
martial arts styles on her journeys through
America, China and Japan. But something
happened to the plane: two of the engines failed
and it plummeted toward the ocean. Ashe was one
of the only survivors, escaping with barely any
injuries. Alone with ten others on a desert island,
Ashe comforted the others, promising them they
would be rescued. But there was something
dangerous on the island. Something dark. It killed
three of them on the first night. Two more on the
second. Eventually, Ashe was the only survivor.
Using tools and equipment she salvaged from the
plane, she eventually killed the beast, but not
after three days and nights of exhausting cat and
mouse.
Eventually, she was rescued, but not by the
airlines or the military. A helicopter landed on the
islands shore. It took her to a boat adrift just
south of the island where she was met by a Mr.
Dark. He gave her a ring and called her Lady
Action.
In North America, college student Elizabeth
Kincade returned home from her Myth & Epic
class to find her father brutally murdered and the
killer still standing over his body. She tried to
rush from the house, finding the doorway blocked
by another man. She ran upstairs, locked herself
in her bedroom and tried to get out the window.
She could jump and risk breaking her legs or face
the killers. She looked around the room, finding a
glass bowl of coins. She wrapped the bowl with a
skirt lying on the floor just as her attackers got
through the door. She swung the bowl, smashing
it against their faces. She then took one of the
knives and killed the intruders.
Return Of The Five
Elizabeth Kincade didnt remember any of this.
In Los Angeles, an American ex-cop/private
detective named William Walker was notified of his Her other personality, Mary Salange, did all the
work. It was also Mary who met the man who
grandfathers death. Walker never knew his
grandfather and the inheritance was in dispute for called himself Mr Dark. And it was Mary who
took the ring when he called her Lady Fate.
nearly a decade. When it finally resolved,
everything went to him. He traveled to London to
That made four: Strange, Action, Fate and
examine his inheritance. After a peculiar dream,
DArque. But the fifth was missing...
he investigated a secret panel behind a bookcase
and found his grandfathers journal. He learned of
the Order and his grandfathers role in it: the role
And that, Dear Reader, is the core element of
of Lord Strange.
Secret. Ill let you in on the rest while we discuss
the Campaign Cards on the table...
While studying the journal, he was attacked
by a vampire. While he survived the attack, he
Campaign Cards
I want to show the players exactly what the

meta rules of the game are about. So, these are
the Campaign Cards I use.
Magical: 1
To paraphrase Alan Moore: The ultimate

secret of magic is Any idiot can do it.
I want that to be one of the rules of Secret.
Anybody who knows how to do magic can do it.
Therefore, I put this Campaign Card on the table.
I give it only a single rank because while it is
true that anyone can do magic, not everyone does.
Thats because magic demands a high price for its
power. Also, its difficult to do.
Spending a Story Point allows any player to
get a bonus die for any magical act. Also, in order
to use magic, you must spend a Story Point.
Danger: 2
I want the game to also have a strong sense of

physical danger. Therefore, whenever the
characters are in physical danger, they can spend
a Story Point to gain 2 dice to their actions.
Who Is The Fifth?

There are many questions about
the missing fifth ring. Some say it
was given to Lord Justice. Others
think it was given to Lady Synn.
I leave this open to the Narrator
and the players to explore. I have
the answer for my own campaign,
but lets leave it a mystery for now.
Something for the players to
discover
for better or worse.
Creating Characters
To make a character in Secret, follow the rules

from The Story Engine. Ive just added a few
specifics here.
Ring Traits
You must decide which ring you serve in the

Order. We have four choices for youfour because
the fifth ring is missing. Your ring is a Trait Card.
Heroic: 3
You can choose to make it your Strength if you
I also want the players to be taking the roles of like, but every character gets this Trait Card for
heroes. Yes, Ill have morally grey problems for
free.
them to solve (what Jesse Heinig calls The John
Generally, when the Order sends a team, the
Wick Social Meat Grinder), but theyre supposed
team contains at least one member of each ring.
to be playing characters who help other people
Actions Men serve as the Orders point
and put themselves in danger to protect those
guards. They are generally men and women of
who cant protect themselves.
physical skill, the heavies of any operation.
Therefore, I give them this Campaign Card. I
Being one of Actions Men means you can use
also give it a huge bonus: three dice.
the card for three bonus dice for any physical risk.
Stranges Men are the most scholarly of the
Mystery: 2
This is also a game about mystery. Heroes are bunch. They have the background information
and the knowledge to understand the mystery the
in a world of dark mist, always surrounded by
team is about to encounter.
things they dont quite understand. The world of
Secret is filled with profound mysteries and
Being one of Stranges Men means you can use
enigmas for the heroes to discover.
the card for three bonus dice for any knowledge
risk.
Sacrifice: 2
Fates Men are most in tune with magic itself.
Another big theme in Secret is sacrifice.
While all agents can use magic, they are the true
Heroes are always paying a price for victory, and
magicians of the Order.
its never cheap.
Being one of Fates Men means you can use the
Whenever a hero makes a sacrifice to achieve
card for three bonus dice for any magical risk.
his or her goals, she can spend a Style Point to
DArques Men are the infiltrators and
gain two bonus dice.
assassins of the Order. When something sinister
must be accomplished, send one of DArques

Men.
Being one of DArques Men means you can use
the card for three bonus dice for any stealth action.
Magic Traits
Magic Traits describe the kind of magic your

character uses. If you are a Hermetic magus, that
should be your Magic Trait.
A character can study multiple magics, and
thus, have multiple Magic Traits.
If your characters Strength is a Magic Trait,
that means he is a full-time practitioner. If it isnt
his Strength Trait, it means he is a casual
practitioner.
Can We Play The Ringbearers?
Yes. In fact, if you have a group of four, make

them the ringbearers. Or, you can have a group
who may become the ringbearers. The choice is
yours.
Magical Creatures
Can I play a faerie?

How about a vampire?
How about a ghost?
Yes, yes and yes. You can play all those things
because theyre all magical, and since this is a
game about magic, you can play them.
Just decide on which rules apply to your
vampire, faerie or ghost or selkie or whatever, get
them approved with the Narrator, pick Trait Cards
that match and youre set.
Ive got a section further on this article about
playing magical creatures, but finish reading how
humans work first.
Magic Items
Of course, youll want magic items and, if you

havent figured it out yet, theyre Trait Cards.
Work out the rules for your magic item, talk it
over with the Narrator, then put them in your
hand or your Past.
An Example
Walker has command (somewhat) of chaos

magic (more on that in a moment).
However, Chaos Magic is not his Strength
Card. His Strength Card is LA Cop, making
Walker a casual practitioner.
Another of Walkers Traits is Grieving Father.
His daughter was kidnapped and murdered, the
crime never solved.
He also has the Vampire Blood Trait. Walker
was attacked by a vampire, but he survived the
experience. Unfortunately, her blood is still in his
veins and she is out there somewhere.
Walker has a Connection Card with the
wielder of the Lady Fate ring. Lord Strange and
Lady Fate are always connected in some way.
Finally, Walker has the Lord Strange Trait.
This represents his membership in the Secret
Circle of those who own orichalcum rings. Every
once in a while, he is called upon to act in that
regard.
William Walker
Strength: LA Cop
Trait (Hand): Lord Stranges Ring
Trait (Hand): Chaos Magic
Trait (Hand): Grieving Father
Trait (Past): Connection: Lady Fate
Trait (Past): Vampire Blood
Trait (Past): Lord Strange
Defining Magic
Each player chooses what kind of magic their

character knows and can use. When creating a
magic, the players or the Narrator must answer
five (a magic number) important questions. These
questions define the magic and give it narrative
shape.
My character is William Walker, a magic cop in

What Can It Do?
Los Angeles. Walker has one of the four
Here is where you put the nuts and bolts of
orichalcum rings designed and enchanted by
your
magic. What can a practitioner accomplish if
John Dee in the 16th Century, making him the
they
know
how to use it.
official Lord Strange. The ring keeps his life
interesting and counts as a Magic Item he keeps
What Do You Need?
in his hand.
Do you need something to perform your
magic? Most magicians do. A book, a candle, a
fetish stick, blood, bones, whatever. Most magic

requires some kind of physical material to
perform.
You may also need a sacred place to perform
your magic. Or, at least, you need to draw a magic
There are as many definitions of chaos magic
circle, spend all night in the desert, ingest
as there are practitioners. My character, Detective
consciousness-altering materials, etc.
Walker, is a chaos mage, and thus, he has his own
definition.
What Cant It Do?
Chaos Magic manipulates chance. Imagine
Most magics also have things they cannot do.
racing through a city, hitting every single green
They also have things you should not do. Figure
light on the way. Thats chaos magic. Or, winning
those out.
every scratcher you play at the convenience store.
You just happen to be in the right place at the
What Is The Cost?
right time to stop a robbery. What are the odds?
Magic always has a cost. Always.
Now, some players may see this as an
What Can It Do?
opportunity to min-max the system and apply a
Chaos Magic allows Walker to change the odds
wimpy cost to an awesome magic.
that affect him. He becomes a coincidence
vortex. He makes lucky shots, stumbles across
Dont worry; we know who you are. Theres a
fortunate situations and serendipity follows on his
list, weve all got a copy and your name is on it.
heels.
No matter how powerful or weak the magic
Walker can change the odds of any risk in his
may be, the cost is always great. Magic is power
favor, no matter how long the odds may be.
real powerand you cant use it without paying
However, the more he changes those odds, the
the price.
bigger the cost will be down the road.
In voodoo, to summon the spirits, you have to
Whenever Walker uses chaos magic, he gains
let them ride you. You have to surrender your
will and allow someone else to take over your body one point of payback. The Narrator can use
for a time. Think thats a small cost? Oh, Im sure payback to force Walker to fail at any risk.
you do. But one morning you wake up and there
are scratches all over your body. You taste blood
What Do You Need?
and whiskey in your mouth. Your hair smells of
Walker needs the orichalcum ring. Without it,
expensive cigars. And theres a woman in the
these things just dont happen.
corner of the room, naked and shaking, terrified of
you. And she calls you a name you dont
What Cant It Do?
recognize.
Walker cant control the fortune that follows
Magic always costs something. You may not
others; he can only alter his own chances.
like the costin fact, you probably wontbut
thats the price you pay for real power.
What Is The Cost?
Chaos Magic
Why Do You Use It?
This is a bigger question than, What can it

do? Thats an easy question. I want to know why
your character uses magic. Is it a tradition passed
on from mother to daughter? Did you learn it to
get back at someone and now cant leave it alone?
A quick path to power? Or, was it like cigarettes:
all the cool kids were doing it. Was it the forbidden
fruit you werent allowed to touch?
Why is your character using magic?
And now for some examples...
Reality may be elastic and chaos magic may

bend the rules, but sooner or later, that rubber
band is going to snap.
At crucial moments, reality compensates for
all the bending the ring has been up to. Thats the
payback we were talking about, above.
Voodoo
There is no true voodoo. Its a tradition that

has as many flavors as ice cream. But, for the
purposes of this game, lets look at the kind of
voodoo one of my players wants (that would be my

wife, Ro) and make a magic out of that.
Voodoo As An Example
What Can It Do?
The example I used for voodoo is a

I asked Ro what she wanted to do with voodoo.
great way to make a magical
She said, Everything. Well, thats a lie. Granted,
tradition.
Each of the big effects of
voodoo is huge thing, so we talked a little more
a
magic
could
be a separate Trait
and I discovered what she really liked was the
Card
united
by
a single theme.
Loa. She loved the Catholic influence on the
When
a
player
proposes
a magic
ancient African god/spirits and how they were
that has many effects, think about
transformed.
breaking it up into different cards.
So, I decided to make each of the Loa a
separate card. She could ask each of the Loa a
favor and the Loa could give her blessings (or
curses) based on their themes. But, she needed to
have a Trait Card for every Loa she had a
relationship with.
The Loa can give you charms, which are
magically imbued items that have specific effects.
Einstein famously said, God does not play
The famous voodoo doll is a good example, but
dice.
Plato believed that as well, but went a step
so are bracelets and necklaces that ward off
further.
He believed that God used math
specific kinds of evil and misfortune.
specifically, geometryto design the universe.
Discovering the formulas the Creator used gives
What Do You Need?
us clues how to master the universe around us.
In order to appeal to each Loa, she needs the
This is the Great Secret of sacred geometry.
things that Loa wants. For example, some Loa like
The art is an ancient one, but more
cigars and whiskey while other Loa want wine or
importantly,
it is everywhere we look. In our
pearls. I let Ro write up her own Loa (and looked
libraries,
our
state houses, city squares and
over them) because she knew them much better
parks.
It
creates
holy sites infused with power.
than I did.
Link them with other sitesusing the same
So, in order to appeal to her different Loa, she mathematicsand you double, triple and
needs what those Loa want. And, she has to ask.
quadruple that power.
Politely. Or, shell get hexed.
Because this magic invokes the power of
creation itself, many magicians use it to increase
What Cant It Do?
the power of rituals, moving them from spells that
Voodoo doesnt give you pocket spells (effects enchant individuals to spells that enchant entire
you can throw off at whim), but rather, gives you
cities. In other words, you can use sacred
spirits from whom you ask favors. Therefore, in
geometry to influence the zeitgeist of an entire
order to make magic, Ro has to ask for them.
city. Using the power of symbols of obedience,
building structures that feed those symbols, then
linking them together, makes an entire city
What Is The Cost?
The Loa always make demands. They dont do population more obedient. Change those symbols
do disobedience and youve changed the people
anything for free. So, if Ro wants something,
theyre going to ask for something in return. What as well. Thus, this particular magic has a
tremendous cost in both time and resources. But
that is depends on how the Loa feel, the way she
what can you do with it?
asks and what shes asking for. Most commonly,
they ask for a ride for the night. That is, the Loa
get to possess you and do what they want. That
What Can It Do?
usually involves getting drunk, dancing and other
Creating structures built with sacred geometry
nocturnal activities.
creates an aura of a particular symbol. Standing
in the shadow of such a building (within sight of
it) puts one under the sway of its magic.
Pick a symbol. The Sun, the Moon, the Heart,
the Cross, the Scythe, etc. Then, pick a theme
Sacred Geometry
based on that symbol. You can pick hope, dread,

love or any other appropriate theme.
Anyone standing in the shadow of that
structure gains three bonus dice for that theme (if
appropriate).
Hiding your name is a long process. No living

man can know your name. Thats a start. The
ritual makes all who know you forget you. Your
friends, your family, your enemies everyone.
(One might interpret this as tossing out all the
Trait Cards in your Past.)
What Do You Need?
Well, to begin with, you need a lot of

concrete...
What Cant It Do?
Sacred geometry is restricted by geography. In

other words, you cant carry it with you. You cant
just pull it out of your pocket and cast spells with
it. Using sacred geometry requires being in the
presence of holy buildings.
What Is The Cost?
Well, to begin with, you need to buy all that

concrete
Heka
Heka is the Egyptian name for an ancient

power more commonly known as name magic. It
derives from the name of the Egyptian god of
magic, and the powers those ancient people
believed he bestowed upon the faithful.
What Can It Do?
If a magician knows the art of heka and he

knows the full, true name of a target, he may
make commands of that target. The command
cannot include the words but, and, or any
other conjunctions.
What Do You Need?
All you need is the full, true name of the

target. For most modern folks, thats their first
name, middle name and last name.
What Cant It Do?
You cannot use heka to command someone to

kill themselves or otherwise physically harm
themselves. You can inconvenience them, demand
money from them, and even perform actions that
would be disadvantageous (Go tell off your
boss!), but nothing physically dangerous.
Creatures of Darkness
The doorways to darkness that John Dee

accidentally opened allow all sorts of awful things
through. Not all of them have names.
But some of them are familiar to us. It seems
the darkness knows how to tap into our collective
unconscious and craft horrors specifically
designed to terrify us.
Listed below are a few examples of creatures of
darkness and how you build them with The Story
Engine.
Vampires
Vampires have been a part of urban fantasy

for a long time. Whenever it seems they slip out of
fashion, some author comes along and makes
them cool again.
Vampires seem to be one of the most
adaptable of archetypes. Authors transform them
into whatever they need to communicate their own
stories of doom, lust, hunger and longing. Or,
sometimes, they glitter in the sunlight.
But one element about vampires that never
changes is blood. Vampires need blood to survive.
Without it, they wither and die. No matter where
you go, blood is always the key.
The other details, however, are a bit more up
for grabs. Wooden stakes through the heart,
exposure to sunlight, chaining a vampire in his
grave with roses, tricking him with straight lines...
these things are part of different vampire legends
throughout the world. The big question here is:
What are your vampires like?
Powers & Vulnerabilities
When you create vampires for your world, take

a moment to consider what powers and
What Is The Cost?
vulnerabilities your vampires have.
I have a few ways to handle the cost of this
Powers are just that: what supernatural traits
powerful magic. My favorite is hiding your name. do vampires have? Can they climb up walls? Can
they turn to mist? Can they transform into

animals? Can they bend the will of men with just
a gaze and a command? What powers do your
vampires have?
Vulnerabilities are the opposite of powers:
these are the things that hurt vampires. One
vulnerability that all vampires have is the
Bloodlust (its first on the list). Vampires need
blood; thats one thing you just cant get around.
Each power and vulnerability is a Trait Card.
In order for a vampire to have a power, he must
couple it with a vulnerability.
As usual, these lists are not comprehensive. If
you come up with a new power or vulnerability for
your vampires, figure out how to make it a Trait
Card. Like all Trait Cards, activating powers
requires a Story Point.
Powers
Hard to Kill
Whenever a vampire takes damage from any
mundane source (something that is not a
vulnerability), he ignores it completely.
Climbing
Vampires can climb any surface, even walls of
glass.
Flying
Vampires can fly through the air.
Senses
Vampires have heightened senses. They can
see beyond the usual colors humans can see, can
identify other characters by scent, etc.
Vulnerabilities
Bloodlust
All vampires require blood. The blood of living
creatures. In some vampire stories, the creatures
can drink the blood of animals. In others, the
blood of humans is the only way to sate their
thirst. In order to avoid the penalties of Bloodlust,
a vampire must completely drain its victim of
blood, thus killing them.
A Rose Covered Grave
A vampire can be paralyzed in a grave covered
with roses. If you are chained in a rose-covered
grave, the vampire is locked in his grave until the
roses are removed and the vampire is dug back up
again.
Fire
Vampires are vulnerable to fire. If heroes use
fire against a vampire, it cannot spend Story
Points.
Holy Symbols
If your vampire is vulnerable to holy symbols,
it cannot spend Story Points while the holy
symbol present.
Speed
Garlic
Vampires are quick, almost faster than the
Vampires are affected by the presence of
human eye. When making a contested risk against garlic. A garlic wreath or necklace protects any
another character, vampires always act first.
character from any vampiric powers.
Strength
Vampires are strong, capable of supernatural
feats of strength. Whenever making a contested
risk against another character, the vampire
always succeeds.
Mirrors
The presence of mirrors disturbs vampires
because they cannot be seen in them. When a
mirror is present, an enemy gains three bonus
dice in any risk against the vampire.
Sight
Vampires can see invisible things.
Sleep
In many vampire myths, vampires must sleep
during the day. A sleeping vampire is helpless and
cannot spend Story Points during the day if
awakend.
Command
A vampire can look into another characters
eyes and give him a single command. The subject
must follow that command to the letter. A
character may refuse the command by spending a
Style Point.
Sunlight
Sunlight causes damage to vampires. While in
sunlight, a vampire cannot use Story Points. Also,
he dies in 3 rounds if he does not remove himself
from sunlight.
Wooden Stakes
A wooden stake is a deadly weapon against a
vampire. A successful strike with a wooden stake
immediately kills the vampire.
Therians
They arrived with the vampires and the ghouls

and the rest. Some transformed into wolves every
full moon, some changed into cats and still others
found themselves twisted into squids whenever
they approached salt water. And while many
called their condition, lycanthropy, the proper
term is therianthropy. And thus, the Order
eventually came to call them the therians.
As with everything else in Secret, how therians
appear in your world depends on your own
decisions. But before you go any further, you
must make one very important choice: disease,
choice or curse?
Therian Traits
Listed below are the various Traits a therian

may have, depending on their form. The more
Trait Cards the Narrator gives a therian, the more
powerful it is.
Claws
Your therian form has sharp claws capable of
ripping through flesh. Every rank of this trait
gives you one die for melee risks and contests.
Flight
Your therian form can fly. Every rank you put
in this trait gives you one die to add for any
movement-based risks. You can also fly.
Helpless
When you transform into your therian form, it
makes you appear helpless to others. This allows
you to gain surprise during a fight scene. See
Fight Scenes for more details.
Hide
Your therian form has a thick hide that
protects you from physical harm by making
Disease
weapons harder to hit you. When others try to hit
If you choose disease, therianthropy is
you, they deduct one die for each rank of this trait
transferred from one victim to another through
biological transfer. In other words, if you get bitten your therian form has.
by a werewolf, theres a chance you can get the
disease. Usually, therianthropy is passed through Ink
saliva, blood or some other exposure to bodily
Your therian form can spray ink, blinding your
fluids.
opponents. For every rank you take in this trait,
you get one ink die. Ink dice replace your regular
dice. Every ink die you use for effect (rather than
Choice
beating the challenge) blinds one opponent for the
If you choose choice (awkward sentence; I
remainder of the fight scene.
apologize), therians have gained their condition
from a decision they made. Either they underwent
a shamanistic ritual binding their spirit to the
Paws
animal or read a spell from an ancient text or
Your character can move quietly and quickly,
undertook some other action to gain this ability.
giving her two bonus dice for stealth risks.
Unfortunately, you lose two dice for dexteritybased risks.
Curse
If you choose curse, therians inherit their
abilities from a magical curse placed on their
Poison/Venom
heads. The curse can sometimes be removed (as is
Some therians have forms that can spit or
often true of curses) but only under very specific
inject poison or venom. Every rank of this trait
means.
allows you to add a poison die to any attacks or
to increase the toxicity of your poison.
Silver
Poison dice do not add to the success of your
All therians have one weakness: a
attack, but if they roll a 9 or a 10, your enemy is
vulnerability to silver. Some speculate this is
poisoned. At the beginning of the next round, they
because silver does not exist in the darkness, and lose one die from all actions. Every subsequent
thus, is anathema to them. Others hypothesize
round, they lose another die.
the power of the symbol of silver (purity, holiness,
Adding toxicity to your poison increases the
etc.) is what undoes the therian. Whatever the
chances of poisoning your target and quickens its
case may be, any weapon made of silver can kill a passage through your targets system. Each rank
therian with only one strike.
of toxicity decreases the number you need to roll
(instead of just 9 or 10, an addition rank

increases the range from 8-10). Also, each level of
toxicity increases the number of dice your
enemies lose per round. For example, one level of
toxicity increases the range you need to roll from
9-10 to 8-10 and increases the die penalty from
one die to two dice. Three ranks of toxicity
increase those numbers from 7-10 and three lost
dice.
Like other therian traits, you may only invest
five dice in poison.
Teeth
Your therian form has sharp teeth that can
break through bones. Every rank of this trait gives
you one die for melee risks and contests.
Senses
Your therian form provides you with enhanced
senses. For every rank of this trait, you add one
bonus die to any perception-based rolls.
Each time you add a rank from this trait, pick
one of the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste
or smell. You gain one bonus die in that sense.
You may add more dice to each sense, but no
sense may be greater than five.
Celestials
Toughness
Your therian form is tougher than the average
human. For every rank you invest in this trait,
add one Injury rank to your normal Injury ranks.
Gaining & Losing Obedience

Celestials are the servants of their divine
masters, and as such, they must perform duties
their masters put upon them. When a celestial
obeys, he gains obedience. When he disobeys (or
fails), he loses obedience.
Webs
Your therian form can spin webs capable of
trapping large enemies. Every rank of this trait
gives you one die to roll for a web attack. If
successful, your opponent is trapped for a
number of rounds equal to the rank of the webs.
Celestials are the servants of divine powers.

The most common celestials are demons and
angels, although there are celestials from other
cultures as well. For example, Norse valkerie are
celestials, as are jinn from Islamic folklore. Just
what celestials exist -- and what their powers are
Shell
-- is up to your group as they define their own
Your therian form is protected from attacks by urban fantasy world. This chapter gives you a list
a thick armored shell. Deduct one rank of Injury
of options, but there is one thing that unites all
you receive for every rank of this trait your therian celestials. One thing that gives them their power,
form has.
regardless of which culture they come from or
what deity they serve.
Speed
That one thing is obedience.
Your therian form is faster than the average
add one die to your normal dice for speed-related
Obedience
risks.
The key to a celestials power is obedience.
Celestials serve a deity -- good or evil -- and their
Strength
obedience to that deity determines their power. If
Your therian form is stronger than the average a celestial obeys commands, his power is great. If
he disobeys commands, that power is diminished.
add one die to your normal dice for strengthEvery celestial begins the game with three
related risks.
ranks of obedience. She may gain or lose
obedience during the game, depending on her
Tail
actions. The more ranks of obedience she has, the
Your therian form has a prehensile tail. You
greater her power. The fewer ranks she has, the
can use it as an additional limb to grasp objects.
lesser her power.
Whenever a celestial takes a risk, he adds his
Tentacles
obedience in dice to any dice he would normally
Your therian form has tentacles, allowing you
to grasp multiple opponents. Each die you take in roll.
this trait gives you one tentacle that can grasp
Obedience also gives a celestial additional
and immobilize an opponent during a fight scene. powers (see below).
But a celestial doesnt just gain obedience for

every little thing he does. If a god commands him
to jump, a celestial doesnt gain obedience
because he asks, How high? A celestial only
gains obedience for performing great tasks that
make an impact in the world and further the belief
of their divine patron. When he does that, he
gains one rank of obedience.
On the other hand, when a celestial is given a
direct command by his divine patron and disobeys
or fails to perform the command, he loses a rank
of obedience.
Changing Divine Patrons
A celestial may change which divine patron he
owes obedience to, but only under very specific
circumstances.
To change his obedience from one patron to
anther, he must perform an act of disobedience
against his current patron that is also an act of
obedience to another. Again, this cannot be a
simple act, but a significant one that affects the
influence of both divine patrons.
Once he does so, he loses half his current
ranks of obedience. This represents the celestial
beginning a new relationship with a new divine
patron; a relationship that must be built almost
from scratch.
The celestial also loses any powers he may
have gained as a result of his obedience (see
below) and may only acquire powers that are from
his new divine patron.
Changing Obedience
A celestial may change obedience from a
divine patron to something less divine. In other
words, a celestial may change his obedience from
a god to a mortal. But doing so results in the
same loss of obedience (lose half). While you still
gain bonus dice for your obedience ranks, you
also lose any powers you gained from those
obedience ranks. Whats more, you can gain no
further powers -- a mortal cannot provide you
with powers to reward your obedience.
On the other hand, a celestial who has
declared obedience to a mortal can no longer lose
obedience ranks for disobeying direct commands.
Thus, he may gain no new powers, but he also
cannot be stripped of any further obedience
ranks.
have less specific duties such as Protect

Humanity. Others have duties like Corrupt
Humanity or Make Sure the President Launches
the Bomb.
As a celestial, you must decide what your
duties are. Youll be using those for miracles (see
next section).
Miracles
Miracles are actions that defy the physical

laws of the universe. Celestials can use miracles
to perform their duties.
A celestial gets a number of miracles per game
session equal to his obedience. He can use
miracles to heal, harm, walk on water, walk
through walls, change water into wine, grant
wishes or perform just about any other kind of
action that qualifies as a miracle.
All celestials have miracles, but some have
additional powers (and vulnerabilities) as well...
Powers & Vulnerabilities
Because of their Obedience, celestials can call

upon many powers and have many vulnerabilities.
Exactly what powers those are is up to you.
A celestial gains a number of free powers
equal to his obedience. For each additional power,
he must take a vulnerability. For example, a
starting celestial has an obedience of 3. That
means he gets three powers. If he wants four
powers, he must take a vulnerability to match it.
If a celestial ever loses obedience, he must also
lose a power. If he gains obedience, he may choose
an additional power.
Heres a list of typical celestial powers from all
over the world. The celestials serving under
different divine patrons will have different powers
and vulnerabilities. Choose which powers are
given by your divine patron to their celestials.
Powers
Beauty
Celestials are incredibly, even painfully,
beautiful. They make hearts ache wherever they
go, filling souls with desire. Hiding celestial
Duty
beauty is difficult at best: even if you put a
A divinity grants his celestials with particular
celestial in a dirty hairshirt and cover his body
duties. These are the roles the celestials play out. with filth, everyone can still sense his beauty.
Some celestials have specific duties such as
Celestials can invoke this beauty, filling all
Guard the Garden of Eden, while other celestials
who watch him with a sense of awe. When a
celestial invokes his beauty, all who are looking

upon him at that moment must pause whatever
action they were taking. All they can do is stare.
Everyone watching the celestial is considered
helpless.
Wings
Celestials may also have wings. A celestials
wings are not entirely physical: they are also
symbolic. A celestial may hide his wings or reveal
them as he wishes. Wings allow a celestial to fly,
although he does not need to show his wings to do
so.
Demeanor
Celestials have a true form, but they can hide
Wings also allow a celestial to travel anywhere
it in many ways. A celestial can appear as any
in the world in a heartbeat. He cannot take
sentient creature (human, ape, dolphin, octopus)
anyone with him (he can carry mortals as he flies),
and have the traits and abilities of that creature.
but in a single moment, he can move from one
He may even appear as different individuals (a
place to another.
different kind of ape, a different kind of man, etc.).
Wings also count as a vulnerability (see
A celestial may remain in this form as long as he
below).
If you take the wings power, you must also
wishes and change as often as he likes.
take the wings vulnerability.
Mercy
A celestial is the living embodiment of its
divine patrons mercy. With a single touch, a
celestial can cure any illness, heal any injury. A
celestial may even be able to heal madness. A
celestials touch can also remove anger and
hatred. But mercy cannot remove or hinder an
individuals freewill: that is beyond the power of
even a divine patron. If a man is about to commit
murder, a celestial cannot stop him with the
power of mercy.
Intangible
Celestials can make themselves unable to be
seen or heard or touched. They are present, and
can hear and see everything thats going on, but
no-one else can see them.
Note: some mortals may be able to see angels
when in this state, but under normal
circumstances, they are completely intangible.
Invulnerable
A celestial is immune to mundane (manmade)
weapons. He cannot be harmed in any way by any
weapon forged by mundane means. A celestial can
only be harmed by a magical weapon.
Prowess
Angels fight for their divine patron, wielding
savage weapons. Celestials are warriors and can
use weapons with deadly ease. Put a weapon in a
celestials hands and he can kill an army of a
thousand men.
Strength
A celestial can use his divinely-powered
strength to lift, move, push or pull just about any
freestanding object. He cannot move a building,
but he can move large stones, cars, anvils or
anything else he can get his hands around. And
thats the rule: if a celestial can get his arms
around it, he can move it.
Wrath
A celestial is the physical (and spiritual)
embodiment of his divine patrons wrath. When a
celestial delivers his patrons wrath, the target in
question gets a number of wrath dice equal to the
obedience of the celestial.
Wrath dice should be a different color than
normal dice. When you roll them, they supplant
your normal dice. In other words, if you have
three wrath dice, you must switch out your
normal dice for wrath dice.
Whenever you roll wrath dice, subtract the
total on those dice from the total of your other
dice. This keeps up until you win the favor of the
deity in question... or perhaps find another deity
who is willing to take away your wrath.
Vulnerabilities
Distant
Because they are not human (some may even
say inhuman), celestials have difficulty
understanding human behavior and emotion.
They are immortal, powerful and spend their
existence devoted to the service of another.
This is not to say that celestials have no
emotions. Celestials love their patron and may
even have love for mankind in general (agape), but
a connection to individual humans is not possible.
Certainly, exceptions exist, but such a
relationship would jeopardize a celestials
obedience. There is only enough room in a
celestials heart for love for the patron. Therefore,
in any emotional or social risk or challenge, a
celestial has no dice.
Mortal Vessel
Celestials can only visit the world if they have
a proper mortal vessel. That is, they can only
enter the world by possessing a human body. In
this case, celestials are concepts, holy words or

pure magical energy with no physical existence.
To enter the world, a celestial must possess a
body, or, must manifest a body when entering the
world.
If a celestial must use a human body to enter
the world, the human body is just as fragile as
any other mortal body. The celestial can still use
many powers, but it cannot use powers that
protect the body from physical harm. If the
celestial loses that body, it returns to wherever it
came from and may not be able to return until it
wins the favor of its patron once again.
Some celestials may also be able to switch
bodies by touch, moving through different bodies,
leaving no memory of its time occupying the host.
If a celestial manifests a body to enter the
world, it is not limited in the powers it can use.
However, if it loses the body (through magic or
otherwise), the wrath of its patron is even greater.
Technology
You have a hard time understanding
technology. In fact, you cannot use it at all.
Technology is a thing of men and you are no man.
You cannot drive a car, turn on a radio or
television set. You cannot operate a computer or
take pictures with a smart phone. No technology
at all. Not even pistols. The only technology you
can use are devices created 1,000 years ago.
Anything after that is just science fiction to you.
The Heart
Injuring a celestial is hard, but in many
stories, if you remove a celestials heart, its over.
This is the case for you. You cannot be injured by
any mortal weapon, but if your heart is removed,
thats it. Youre destroyed, once and for all.
True Name
If any mortal (or immortal) creature learns
your name, they can command you. You must
obey their wishes. Theres no getting around it.
The only way to get free is to kill the person (or
thing) that knows your true name. Good luck.
Truthfulness
A celestial cannot lie. Even those dedicated to
evil cannot lie. Cannot lie by omission, cannot lie
any other way.
Wings
If a celestial loses his wings, he also loses his
divinely granted powers. He does not lose his
obedience, only the powers. Even if a celestial has
the invulnerable power, his wings are not.
A Parting Shot
Ive been thinking about Secret for more
than a decade. Inspired by Joseph
Campbells monomyth concept, I wanted to
make a universal system for magic. All
these magic systems were united by
common beliefs, I should be able to find a
common denominator and make them work
together.
Boy, was I dumb.
Each culture defines magic in their
own way, and theres a reason for that.
Magic is our first attempt at science. Its our
ancestors trying to make sense out of a
mysterious world. They did it ad hoc,
throwing together ideas that seemed to
make sense as they went. In other words,
we build the rules of magic on intuition and
simple observation.
Then, in the 1700s we started to figure
out this whole science thing. Testing,
falsification, re-testing, double-blind
testing, etc. And this, my friends, is no way
to study magic. Thats because science is
the best method we have to differentiate
between how we want the world to work
and how the world actually works.
Ive seen other game systems try to
hammer round magic systems into square
holes and I wanted to avoid that. Fitting
voodoo with mana, for example just
doesnt work. It makes voodoo work in your
game, perhaps, but it isnt how voodoo
actually works. Magic is messy. It doesnt
always make logical sense. The rules for
magic are more like dream-logic: they make
sense until you wake up.
Because of that, making Secret was
incredibly difficult for me. It wasnt until I
realized how much I was fooling myself that
I woke up and understood how to do it.
I have a ton more ideas for Secret
(including more magics, playing magical
creatures, other organizations, etc.) and
youll see them in future issues.
Until then, keep dreaming.
Houses of the Blooded:
Slumming
The second in the series, this section includes the second chapter of the Houses of the Blooded:
Slumming sourcebook.
If you dont have a copy of HotB, you can get the PDF (pay what you want) at this link:
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/61061/Houses-of-the-Blooded
Character
We have two procedures for creating
characters here: the Veiled and unblooded. Well

deal with the Veiled first, then the unblooded.
Well also talk about incorporating the two veiled
Virtues.
Now, instead of making you reference the
Houses of the Blooded main book, Ill reprint the
character creation process here so you wont have
to swap between books. Ill also show you any
differences that you will have to deal with.
Step 1: Background
Your characters younger years are important:

building the foundation for the rest of his life,
helping him into adulthood. This step determines
his Family (not something you have a lot of choice
in, Im afraid), his Name (a powerful influence on
his life path), and which House he belongs to.
An unblooded character does not have a Family
Name, but she does have a Trade Name: the
profession she was trained in. Cooper, Carpenter,
Bookmaker, Taylor, etc.
Step 2: Virtues
This step determines your characters Virtues

and his weakness. All ven have a weakness and
your character is no exception.
Veiled characters may choose to swap out one
of their Virtues for one of the Veiled Virtues.
Unblooded characters do not gain a +1 rank to
their House Virtue.
Step 3: Phases
The ven measure their lives in Phases, based

on the four Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn,
and Solace (Winter). Phases determine the
number of Aspects your character has and how

many Contacts hes gained.
Veiled characters go through Phases just like
their unfallen cousins.
Unblooded characters also go through Phases,
but gain a bonus Contact per Season or may turn a
Contact into a Friend.
Step 4: Devotions
The sleeping ven, the Suaven, wait for your

reverence. They have blessings to give you. All you
must give in return is your Devotion.
Both the Veiled and the unblooded revere the
Suaven in the same way the Blooded do.
Step 5: Influence
The Veiled and the unblooded do not have

lands, and thus, do not have Domains as the
Blooded do, but they do have Influence: a degree
of control, power and sway in a City.
A Veiled character has one Barrio under his
control. From this Barrio, he extends his Influence,
further cementing his power. Each Barrio may have
up to five Buildings; each with its own bonus. Find
the list of Buildings available at character creation
in a nearby sidebar.
Unblooded characters have no Influence; they
must purchase Influence with bonus points.
See the Influence chapter for more information
on Barrios, Buildings and Influence.
Step 6: Bonus
A Veiled character has five bonus points to

spend.
An unblooded character has ten bonus points
to spend.
Done And Done!
it a rank 5 Virtue. Note that Shyvar does not have

Once youve done all five steps, youre ready to Bears Strength.
play. So, lets start at the beginning. Lets talk

about your characters past
Veiled
Characters
Your familys name disgraced, you have left
politics and intrigue behind, finding shelter with

the dirt. Making a Veiled character is very similar
to making a Blooded character but with a few
exceptions.
Step 1: Background
Hiding. Hiding from Revenge, hiding from

Romance. The Veiled are hiding from something.
What is your character hiding from?
Example: Jyvan was born under the shadow of the

Spider. Because his family and House are in
disgrace, under the veil, he may not claim his
Blooded heritage. He is one of the unwashed, one
of the unclean. He is dirt. Unprotected by the Law,
he must survive as his ancestors have done: in the
dirty streets of the City.
Step 2: Virtues
You may, if you wish, change out one of your

Virtues for one of the Veiled Virtues. Change out
Strength for Patience, change out Cunning for
Speed.
Your character still only has a total of five
Virtues. No more, no less.
Example: Shyvar, one of the Blooded of the Spider,

chooses to swap out one of his Virtues for Spiders
Patience. He chooses to drop Strength. Now, using
the same rules from the main book, I assign Virtue
ranks like this:
Elks Cunning: 3
Falcons Courage: 2
Foxs Beauty: 3
Serpents Wisdom: 2
Spiders Patience: 4
Wolfs Prowess: 2
Step 3: Phases
For a Veiled character, follow the exact same

steps for Phases as a Blooded character.
Two Aspects and a Contact for a Spring
character.
Four Aspects and two Contacts for a Summer
character.
Five Aspects, a Solace Aspect and three
Contacts for an Autumn character.
Six Aspects, two Solace Aspects and four
Contacts for a Winter character.
Example: Shyvar is a Spring character, so I give

him two Aspects (Swordsman and Streetwise) and a
Contact (Lady Shara).
Step Four: Devotions
Determine Devotions in the same way as a

Blooded character. Five points to spend on
Devotions; no more than 3 Devotion to a single
Suaven for a starting character.
Veiled characters may choose to revere one of
the Hidden Suaven. You can find them in the
chapter of the same name.
Step Five: Influence
This is the biggest difference between Blooded

and Veiled characters. Without title, the Veiled
have no land of their own. Instead of a Domain of
Provinces and Regions, the Veiled have Influence.
Influence reflects a Veiled characters sway and
authority in a City. His Influence extends to the
Gangs and Neighborhoods of the City, reflecting
the pull he can call upon.
As a starting character, you control a single
Barrio (neighborhood). A Barrio contains up to five
Buildings. Unfortunately, you havent completely
secured the Barrio yet. This means you control
three of the five Buildings in the Barrio.
(In other words, a Barrio is a lot like a
Province. Provinces have up to ten Regions and
Barrios have up to ten Buildings.)
See The City for more information. For now,
here are the Buildings you can control inside your
Barrio.
Because Shyvar was born under the shadow of the Buildings In A Neighborhood
Spider, I add one rank to Spiders Patience, making
Slum
Shrine
Temple
Marketplace
Docks
University
Middle Class
Outlands (farmlands just outside the City)
An unbloodeds Trade Name lists just that:

what his profession is. If his Trade Name is
Cooper, he makes barrels. If his Trade Name is
Baker, he bakes cakes and pies and bread. If her
Profession Name is Tailor, she sews clothing. See
the sidebar nearby for unblooded Family Names.
Your Trade Name gives you two bonus dice for
any risk related to your Trade Name. If your
character is an Ackerman (a farmer), he gains two
Guild
bonus dice for any risk that involves knowing how
Thieves Guild: Assists you in controlling crime to farm, plowing the fields, knowing the weather,
in the City
etc. Remember: thats two bonus dice, not just
one.
Mayors Office: Allows you to manage
And, if youre curious, if you have a Trade
Fire Gang
Name and an Aspect for your trade (Aspect:
Merchant Guild
Farmer, for example), you get at least five dice for
Street Gang (Shuvalay)
that risk: two from your Trade Name and three
from the invoke on your Aspect.
Unblooded
Characters
The rules for making an unblooded character
Trade Names
Ackerman: a ploughman or a farmer

Baker: bakes bread, cakes, pies, etc.
Barber: cuts hair, trims nails, maintains basic
hygene
Step 1: Background
Brewster: makes beers and ales
With the details from Chapter 1, think about
Buckman: a peasant educated enough to serve
what kind of character would grow up in such an
as a scribe
environment. Adverse poverty. Subjugation.
Terror. Grime and filth. The Blooded dont care
Butcher: a workman who cuts and sells meat
about you. They call you dirt. You beg them not
Carpenter: builds flooring, roofing, furniture
to murder you. Murder isnt even a crime for
them. Your death may give someone else the right
Carter: drives carts carrying heavy loads such
to win a favor or some other advantage.
as stone and lumber
Think about that. A noble murders your sister
Chapman: a cheapman or seller; a hawker of
and someone else has the right to claim
goods
recompense. Not you, not your father, not your
Clarke: clerk, one who maintains records or
mother, not any of your siblings. Someone who
keeps track of material costs and wages on large
probably doesnt even know your sisters name.
jobs
At the same time, the nobility are the key to
Cobbler: a craftsman who makes shoes
unlimited wealth and success. Win a nobles favor,
Cook: a servant who roasts and broils food
and you could be blessed enough to be a member
of the house staff. Perhaps even serve on the lady
Cooper: makes and transports barrels
herself! Perhaps even win enough favor to become
Cottar: peasants who work jobs nobody else
Blooded!
wants; swine-herds, digging latrines, etc.
Perhaps
Crocker: also Potter; one who makes ceramic
This is the background you hail from.
pots
Consider it carefully when creating your
Diamantaire: diamond cutter
character.
Ditcher: digs moats, vaults and other
underground foundations
Names
Dyer: a craftsman who dyes cotton, wool, etc.
The unblooded do not have Secret or Family
Names. Instead, an unblooded character has a
Ewerer: the servant in charge of hot water in a
Trade Name.
nobles house
are very similar to making a Blooded or Veiled
character, but a few exceptions apply.
Falconer: trained in the art of handling,

feeding and caring noble birds
Fletcher: trained in making and repairing
bows and arrows
Fuller: works with cloth
Gardner: a servant in charge of the gardens
Glazier: a craftsman skilled in working with
glass
Hayward: a servant under the gardener in
charge of trimming hedges
Hooper: a craftsman who makes metal hoops
for casks and barrels
Mason: a craftsman specializing in erecting
stone buildings
Mercer: a merchant who deals in textiles
Messenger: a trusted servant who carries
receipts, letters and other important paperwork
for his lord or lady
Miller: a peasant who runs a mill
Parker: a gamekeeper, usually employed by a
lord or lady
Porter: a house servant in charge of doors;
making sure they are all locked and maintaining
sets of keys
Potter: also Crocker; one who makes ceramic
pots
Reeve: a house servant who keeps track of
time and how the servants use it
Sailor: skilled in sailing ships
Sapper: unskilled diggers
Sawyer: a workman who cuts down trees
Scullion: servants who wash dishes
Shearmen: servant who trims cloth
Shepard: a workman who tends flocks
Smith: a craftsman who works with metals
(usually a specific metal; ironsmith, silversmith,
etc.)
Spinster: usually a woman who spins thread
Sueller: one who maintains a small Suaven
shrine
Sumner: summoner; a servant employed by
a local magistrate in charge of making sure
witnesses appear in court
Tanner: a craftsman who tines hides and
makes leather
Vinter: a craftsman who makes wine
Walker: another name for a fuller; someone
who cleanses cloth
Webster: a worker who weaves cloth

Woodward: a ward of the wood, a peasant
entrusted with keeping the woods free of dangers
Wright: a craftsman who makes tools from
wood: a wainwright, cartwright, etc.
Example
Jocob Buckman is the son of a scribe. He

learned to read and write when he was very young
so he could continue in his fathers trade.
Unfortunately, his father and mother were killed
by the Barons personal guardhe never learned
whyand he was thrown out to the Street.
There, Jocob did what he could with the skills
he had: he joined a gang and became a forger.
Step 2: Virtues
As listed in the main book, you may only have

ranks in five Virtues: one is your weakness. You
have the same ranks as a noble: 4, 3, 3, 2, 2. One
difference: because you are not Blooded, you do
not receive the bonus rank in your Houses Virtue.
No +1 Beauty because you were born under the
Shadow of the Fox. No +1 Strength because you
were born under the Shadow of the Bear. Just
your basic ranks and a weakness.
Example
Jocob was always very small. Not a muscular

fellow at all. He gained a small bit of schooling
while living at the Barons manor but all of that
ended a bit too fast for him to claim to be an
educated ven.
I put Jocobs 4 in his Beauty because I want
him to be highly skilled in making beautiful lies. I
put a 3 in Cunning so he can think quickly and
improvise. His second 3 goes to Courage. Hes
small, but hes no coward. His pair of 2s go to
Strength and Wisdom. That makes his weakness
Prowess. He cant fight to save his life; thats why
he joined a gang.
Step 3: Phase
For the unblooded, Phases work almost the

same. You are probably a Spring character with
two Aspects but you have more Contacts than a
noble. Each Phase, an unblooded character
receives two free Contacts. Because the unblooded
live in the sprawling mess of the cities and the
isolated villages of the wilderness, they find
themselves forced to rely on each other more than
their noble counterparts. Again, unblooded
characters receive two Contacts per Phase.
Example
Jocob is a Spring character. He has two

Aspects and two Contacts. (Remember, he gets a
bonus Contact as an unblooded character.)
His first Aspect is Forger. The Invoke gives him
bonus dice for making and spotting forgeries. The
Tag penalizes him for any physical confrontations.
Hes just not physically threatening. The Compel
forces him to lie if it benefits him. Hes so used to
itand hes so good at itthat it comes naturally
to him now.
His second Aspect is Fast Noble. The Invoke
gives him bonus dice for impersonating a servant.
He knows enough about noble life that he can
fake it. The Tag gives an enemy bonus dice if they
see through Jocobs tough exterior and figure out
just how soft he really is inside. The Compel
forces him to act snobby to his fellow dirt. He
knows hes better than them and every once in a
while, he shows it.
His first Contact is the head of the Broken
Knife gang. The gang knows his value and they
protect him. His second Contact is a maid still
living in the Barons manor. She lets him sneak in
through the kitchen from time to time.
Step 6: Bonus Points
Unblooded characters receive ten bonus points

(instead of the regular five). Anything that isnt
mentioned here cannot be purchased by an
unblooded character. In other words, if you dont
see it below, you cant buy it.
New Aspect: You can purchase a new Aspect
for your sheet just like a Blooded character. The
same limit applies: only a number of bonus
Aspects equal to your Wisdom divided by two
(rounded up).
New Contact: You can also spend a bonus
point to get a new Contact.
Make a Friend: You can turn a Contact into a
Friend. The same rules apply.
Influence: You may buy a rank of Influence in
a Building with a bonus point. You cannot put
more than three points into a single Building. See
Seasons for more information.
Membership: You can join one of the Guilds
or Gangs of Shanris cities. Each point invested
gives you an additional rank of membership. See
Gangs & Guilds for more information.
Wealth: You can increase your characters
personal Wealth. See Seasons for more
information on Wealth.
Step 4: Devotions
Unblooded characters receive three points of
Suaven Devotion: You may purchase new or
Devotion to allocate to their chosen Suaven. The
additional ranks in Devotion to a particular
unblooded revere different Suaven than the
Suaven. See Suaven for more information.
Blooded, so be sure to check them out in the
I look at Jocobs sheet and decide I want to
Suaven chapter.
spend my bonus points this way:
Jocob puts all three of his points into Ythaday,
(1) Membership: Hes a member of the Broken
the Maiden in the Window. You can find her
Dagger gang.
description and Blessings in the Suaven chapter.
(1) Aspect: Nimble Fingers. Invoke: dexterity
risks.
Tag: delicate hands. Compel: kleptomaniac
Step 5: Domain
(2) Wealth: Jocob has some cash he got from
For the Blooded, this step determines a
characters Domain. The unblooded have no lands a secret panel in his fathers old room in the
manor house. He found it when the maid let him
to speak of, so skip this step.
in through the kitchen door last Summer.
(1) Influence: He also has some pull at a Red
Sidebar: Significant Differences
Door (brothel). Hes a regular customer there and
An unblooded character does not receive the
they appreciate his patronage. Also, he forged
+1 Virtue bump from his Blooded House. That +1 some documents for the owner.
bump comes from the Blooding Ritual.
(1) Influence: He has some pull with one of
Peasants are not allowed to carry any
the Mayors Magistrates. The man was drunk in
weapons, nor are they allowed to commit violence the wrong part of town and Jocob talked a few of
against each other or against the Blooded.
the Broken Dagger gang out of gutting the guard.
Especially the Blooded. Raising a hand to a noble Now, the guard owes him a favor.
will get you killed, your wife killed, your children
(1) Influence: Uvil Blacksmith owes Jocob a
killed and just about any other unblooded in the
vicinity killed. And no noble in all of Shanri will do favor as well. Blacksmiths daughter got caught
carrying a parcel of Swords. Jocob drew up papers
anything about it.
from Lord Caven authorizing the weapons. The
Mayor approved the purchase (after a little

greasing of the palm) and the girl was set free.
Veiled
Virtues
We present to you two of the veiled Houses:
the Spider and the Rat. Their heraldry is hidden

from sight, their veils shrouding their shame and
disgrace. To be a member of a veiled House is to
be little more than dirt. Unprotected by the Law,
unrecognized by the Senate, they live in shadow.
Spiders Patience
Patience represents your characters

persistence. The ven are impulsive creatures,
jumping at every opportunity for advantage. But
you have the ability to wait. To allow things to
happen around you. To snatch tiny bits of
advantage as they pass by, knowing they build
toward a greater goal. Because Patience is a veiled
Virtue, it is not as potent as the dominant Virtues,
and thus, has a limitedbut importantbenefit
for those who are born under the shadow of the
Spider.
If you choose Patience as one of your Virtues
you may bank wagers. Whenever you make
a contested risk, you may bank one of your
wagers, keeping it for a later date. You may bank
a total number of wagers up to your Patience
rank. You may not use these wagers one at a time,
but must use all your banked wagers on a single
risk. When you bank the wager, you must declare
what risk you are waiting to use it for. When I
duel the Duke, When I serenade the Duchess,
When I betray the Falcon.
Rats Intuition
Intuition represents a characters innate sense

of danger. Unlike Cunning, it is a gut reaction to
the situation. Not relying on perception, but on
pure instinct. Because Intuition is a veiled Virtue,
it is not as potent as the dominant Virtues, and
thus, has a limitedbut importantbenefit for
those who are born under the shadow of the Rat.
If you choose Intuition as one of your
Virtues
you may add your Intuition rank to your
strike rank in contested risks. If your Intuition is
rank 3, add three dice to all strike bids. In other
words, if you use two dice for your strike rank,
add three ranks to the bid, making it a total bid of
5 (even though you added only 2 dice to your bid).
If you do not choose Intuition
you may not add any ranks to your strike
bid during contested risks.
New Aspect: The Streets
You know the secrets of the Streets. The ins

and outs, the twists and turns, the dead ends.
You know how to get what you want, where to
sleep and where you should never go.
Invoke: Gain three dice for knowledge of the
City.
Tag: Constant contact with the Streets taints
your demeanor. If another ven knows this tag, he
can spend a Style Point to gain two bonus dice in
polite situations.
Compel: You must hold yourself a certain way
on the Streetsa nonverbal code for Dont mess
with me. The unblooded call this posturing
illtavna. Never back down. Another player (or the
Narrator) can spend a Style Point to make you act
like a stand up man, full of bravado and
attitude.
NEXT ISSUE!
Over on the Weird Tales Facebook Page, they
offered a challenge. Write a novel title and plot
for this picture. John Curtis made a suggestion
for a story involving me, the drink, the woman
and poison. I liked the idea, and Ive written a
story called One Last Drink Before I Go (title
also suggested by Mr. Curtis). Seems appropriate
for Paddys Day.
Ill also be including the third (and last) chapter of

Slumming which focuses on gaining influence in the City.
Of course, Ill have another episode of Play Dirty.
And, finally, Im bringing back an old favorite. Beginning in
Issue #3, Ill introduce the first chapter of
Return to Orkworld!
Ive got a whole ton of new anthropological info, a new
system and new Bashthraka Stories!
(Remember: If Bashthraka kills something, you have to
drink!)
See you in thirty days!
art by Mauro Mussi
Wield
A Little Game about Powerful Artifacts
ER
T
R
A
T
!
S
h
K
c
KIC mar
in
Type to enter text
Gillian Fraser
John Wick
featuring art by
Storn A. Cook

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WICKED WORDS

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

cover art by Mauro Mussi

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

John wick Presents

Ive set it up as a Pay What

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

This is how professional wrestling works. Its

of The Flux (which is available for Pay What You

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

playthings. Tissue paper you use once, then throw

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

The Story Engine:

This chapter covers the basic concepts of the

This chapter shows you how to use the rules

Before we begin, lets talk about how the game

Rule #1: Talk About It

Before the game begins, you and your friends

Rule #2: Story Points

Story Points are the key to playing The Story

Rule #3: Say Yes Or Roll Dice

Whenever your character wants to take an

Finally, a chapter illustrating how to use the

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

Rule #4: Scenes

The Story Engine breaks down gameplay into

Each Scene has at least one Complication:

hand. How does he deal with that? Hold up his

Players have two ways of overcoming

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

Adding And Escalating Complications

During the course of a Scene, a Complication

characters actions. A player can narrate one fact

My character is a medic in a war on a distant

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

Narrator may offer him a Story Point to add a

If the Narrator offers a player a Story Point and

If a player wants to add more than just one

Each character has a number of Trait Cards

One of my cards is Thief 4 which gives me

Campaign Cards represent themes and truths

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

Both the players and the Narrator have Story

If the Narrator makes an offer to a player and

At any time during a scene, the Narrator may

After an action or risk, especially if the

During a risk, a player, or the Narrator, may

The Down Condition indicates a character

You now know pretty much everything you

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER

its gonna only take a second. So, turn the page

Examples Of Strength Cards

The Story Engine uses cards to help you make

Step 1: Character Card

The Character Card has spaces for three

poisoneda literal wastelandand told he was

A MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING GAMER