Contents

PART ONE: BASIC GAME 2

WHAT�S DEMON CITY? 2
WHAT�S A ROLE-PLAYING-GAME? 3
Example of Play 4
PLAYERS AND HOSTS 12
DICE 13
Making A Character 13
MOTIVES 14
OCCUPATION 17
CHARACTERISTICS 17
STARTING CONTACTS 19
SKILLS 19
WHAT THE CHARACTERISTICS MEAN 22
THE SYSTEM 24
BASIC TASK RESOLUTION 25
ACTION ROUNDS AND CLASHES 28
ACTION CHEAT SHEET 35
RULES FOR COMMON SITUATIONS 36
DAMAGE 36
PANIC AND INSANITY 39
RULES FOR OTHER THINGS IN AND OUT OF COMBAT 42
The Horror�s Deck 50
Cards As Rewards: 52
Other Uses Of the Horror�s Deck: 53
Downtime 54
Working/Training 56
Being social (along with a Contact) 56
Volunteering or being helpful 57
Reading 57
Other Hobbies 57
Exercise 58
Isolation or Meditation 58
Visiting Your People 58
Cooking 59
TV/Internet 59
Therapy 59
Drinking 60
Drugs 60
Field Medicine 61
Detox 61
That�s It 61
PART 2: HOST SECTION 62
You Are The Host 62
Introduction To The Nature of Reality 64
Building A Horror Investigation: The Basics 66
Building A Horror Investigation: Some Adventure Formats 74
How To Run A Horror Investigation 86
After The First Adventure 101
The Importance of Shock 101
How To Deal With Shock-Fatigue 102
Mapping The City 102
Things To Know About Cops & Crime 104
Things To Know About Research By Richard Granville and Zak Smith 106
Demon City International�The EU 109
Demon Country (by Evan Elkins) 111
Recommended Reading 113
Recommended Viewing 116
PART 3: SKETCHES 118
The Medical Suite 119
The Poison Cabinet 120
Demon Country Sketches( 122
PART 4: THE LIBRARY 125
(Resources for Demon City) 125
HORRORS 126
KINDS OF HORRORS 128
Demons 128
Ghosts 130
Living Dead 131
ALIEN LIFEFORM 131
Narth 132
ARTIFICIAL LIFEFORM 133
Player Character Artificial Life 135
CHOKING GHOST 136
CULTIST 137
CURSED ARTIFACT 139
DEATHLESS ONE (Living Dead) 141
THE DEMON OF THE FIRST ORDER�That Which Opposes 142
DEMONS OF THE SECOND ORDER �Those Who Crawl To A Godless Place 144
DEMONS OF THE THIRD ORDER�Those Concealed From The Light 147
DEMONS OF THE FOURTH ORDER�Those Who Devour 149
DEMONS OF THE FIFTH ORDER�Those Who Swim The Sea Of Night 151
DEMONS OF THE SIXTH ORDER�Those Who Dwell In Tears And Disputation 152
DEMONS OF THE SEVENTH ORDER�Those Who Bring Piercing Weapons 155
DEMONS OF THE NINTH ORDER�Those Who Are Obscene 158
DEMONS OF THE TENTH ORDER�Those Who Bring Strife 159
DEVOURING PLASM 161
DROWNED WOMAN GHOST 162
FETCH (Ghost) 164
FOETAL GOD 165
HAUNT (Ghost) 168
HAUNTED DOLL (Ghost-inhabited object) 169
HORDE CREATURE 171
HORROR VACUI 174
HUNGRY GHOST 182
LEXICON DEVIL (Ghost) 185
LYCANTHROPE 187
THE MACHINE 190
NECROMANCER 191
PART-DEMONS 192
PC Part-Demons 196
PSYCHIC 196
Player Character Psychics 198
REVENANTS (Living dead) and DRONES 200
SERIAL KILLER 201
STAIRWAY GHOST 203
STRANGERS 204
Swarms 206
Swarm Golem 207
VAMPIRE (Living Dead) 208
WITCHES (also WITCH-CHILDREN and WITCH-LORDS) 212
ZOOMORPH 215
ANIMALS 217
Supernatural Abilities 231
Amnesia (Ritual, Psychic, Spell) 233
Animate Object (Spell) 233
Banish Another (Psychic, Spell) 234
Banish Object (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 234
Bleed (Spell) 234
Bind Soul in Matter (Ritual) 234
Bind Soul in Flesh (Ritual) 235
Blind (Psychic, Spell) 235
Cage of Flesh (Spell) 235
Channeling (Psychic, Ritual) 235
Chill (Psychic, Spell) 236
Circle of Warding (Ritual) 236
Colossal Hand (Ritual) 236
Compel Demon (Ritual) 236
Consecrate (Ritual) 237
Crush The Soul (Ritual) 237
Curse (Ritual, Spell) 237
Cursed Phrase (Ritual) 238
Delude (Psychic, Spell) 238
Detect Entity (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 238
Devil�s Hand (Spell) 239
Dim and Darken (Spell) 239
Disintegrate Object (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 239
Disorientation Field (Spell) 239
Dissolving Touch (Spell) 239
Dominate Animals (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 240
Dominate Human (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 240
Dream Trap (Psychic, Ritual) 241
Electrocute (Spell) 241
Emerge from the Darkness (Spell) 241
Emotion Control (Psychic, Spell) 241
Empathy (Psychic) 242
Empathic Illusion (Psychic) 242
Exorcism (Ritual) 242
False Selves (Spell) 243
Forbid (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 243
Frenzied Process (Spell) 243
Garble (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 243
Giant Vermin (Ritual, Spell) 244
Guilt Apparition (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 244
Hand of Glory (Ritual) 244
Haywire Aura (Spell) 244
Heal the Flesh (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 245
Heal the Mind (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 245
Homicidal Shadows (Spell) 245
Humunculus (Ritual) 245
Hunger (Ritual, Spell) 246
Hydra Beast (Spell) 246
Infantilize (Ritual, Spell) 246
Infectious Touch (Ritual, Spell) 246
Lie (Psychic, Spell) 246
Manifest Object (Psychic) 247
Matter-Energy Transfiguration (Ritual, Spell) 247
Memory Meld (Psychic) 247
Message (Ritual) 248
Mutation (Ritual, Spell) 248
Mutilate (Spell) 248
Necromantic Control (Ritual, Spell) 248
Object Reading (Psychic, Spell) 248
Pain Aura (Psychic, Spell) 249
Pain Effigy (Ritual) 249
Paralysis (Spell) 249
Portal (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 249
Possession (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 250
Precognition (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 250
Psionic Drain (Psychic) 251
Pyrokinesis (Psychic, Spell) 251
Quiet (Spell) 251
Raining Blood (Spell) 251
Redirect Gravity (Spell) 252
Reflect Attack (Ritual, Spell) 252
Rule Mob (Spell) 252
Selective Visibility (Spell) 252
Sending Box (Ritual) 253
Shriek (Psychic) 253
Sixth Sense (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 253
Sleep Field (Psychic, Ritual, Spell) 253
Slow Motion (Psychic, Spell) 254
Snare (Spell) 254
Speak to Animals (Spell) 254
Summoning (Ritual) 254
Telekinesis (Psychic, Spell) 254
Telepathy (Psychic) 255
Thirst Trap (Ritual, Spell) 255
Time Travel (Ritual, Spell) 255
Torch of Revelation (Ritual) 255
Transformation (Ritual, Spell) 256
Traumatic Illusion (Psychic, Spell) 256
Voice on the Aether (Ritual) 256
Warp Surface (Spell) 256
Warp Flesh (Psychic, Spell) 257
Wave of Mutilation (Ritual, Spell) 257
THE STORE (equipment) 257
ITEMS OF NOTE 259
WEAPONS 259
OTHER NOTABLE ITEMS 266
VEHICLES 270
CARS 271
MOTORCYCLES 272
TRUCKS 274
BOATS 275
PART 5: TABLES 276
DEMON CITY TAROT 276
PANIC SYMPTOMS 282
CRIME AND THE CITY 285
Problem, Puzzle and Mystery Set-Ups 288
Clues? 294
Murder Motives 295
Crime Lord Schemes 295
Cultist Schemes 296
Occupations 296
Random Trait* 307
Relationship to next NPC 309
Cop Quirks 311
Organized criminals 312
Buildings * 312
Good Place for a Fight 314
Building Feature* 315
Exploitable Room Feature 315
Building Style* 315
Interpersonal Conflict* 316
Store* 316
Bar/Club* 316
Obstacles In The City* 317
Vehicle Damage 318
Obstacles In The Woods (by Evan Elkins) 322
RITUALS 325
OTHER SUPERNATURAL DETAILS 338
Horde Mutations 338
Curses 341
Breaking Curses (Add Ritual Times or Condition from the tables above if you like)
343
How a Spell Effect Is Carried 343
The Menace Is Drawn To 344

Hello readers!

This the post-playtest text of Demon City. It�s a playable game, it�s got lots of
clarified and expanded content since the midsummer draft, including the integration
of the Tarot Card rules.

What isn�t in here:

-Pictures, obviously, still working on those.

-Anything that�s a response to the publisher edits and you after reading this (from
typos and �Hey, could you clarify this...?�).

-Diagrams that our graphic designer and I will whip up.

-Bonus content from collaborators�those will be brought on and integrated mostly as

Kickstarter stretch goals unless the Patreon hits the point where I promised that.
This should include stuff that will make Demon City a truly Fat Game Tome like
random content for aliens, new creatures and adventure hooks plus samples of
specific monsters (not just �witches� but �here�s a specific witch�), more real-
world crime details index, more details about cities outside the US, glossary,
extended example of play and other stuff from a wide variety of creators both
inside and outside the RPG sphere.

-The table which integrates backer names into the random NPCs (I gotta wait until
the end, when I have all the backer�s names)

If you got feedback, let me have it.

����
(GRAPHIC DESIGNER: All this copyright Zak Smith 2017

Front endpaper: Tarot cards & meanings

Back endpaper or front if they�ll fit: Action cheat sheet, Downtime options, d100
Panic Symptoms

FRONT MATTER, CREDITS TABLE OF CONTENTS ETC)

�
In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.
�
Isaiah 24:12
(GRAPHIC DESIGNER: ALL QUOTES LIKE THIS ABOVE WITH NO OTHER TEXT ON THE LEFT SIDE
PAGE)

PART ONE: BASIC GAME

�
Just as there is no formal difference between play and ritual, so the 'consecrated
spot' cannot be formally distinguished from the play-ground. The arena, the card-
table, the magic circle, the temple, the stage, the screen, the tennis court, the
court of justice, etc, are all in form and function play-grounds, i.e. forbidden
spots, isolated, hedged round, hallowed, within which special rules obtain.
�
-Johan Huizinga

��������

WHAT�S DEMON CITY?

Murder, corruption, death, whiskey, hate, night, darkness, noise, summoning,

possession, car chases, claws, disorder, firearms, glass shattering, bathtubs
filled with blood, devoured corpses, tentacles, neon, broken men, fear.

The city is no longer itself. Everything represents something else, unseen forces
responding to an unknown and underlying order�not rational or even psychological,
but symbolic. Things are not the things they claim to be.

Demon City is Rome, Tokyo, Los Angeles, anywhere, but coming to pieces. No-one gets
enough sleep, everyone has three jobs or hasn�t worked in months, the trucks never
seem to get where they�re going, the sky always has something in it, elevators
creak, children strain at the end of their parents grip pointing at everything,
cell service sucks, police cars are black, streetlights burn the way an eye burns
against an eyelid after staring too long.

A Demon City game can take place anywhere the Host can imagine something terrible
happening in the dark, and Demon City players can play anyone doesn�t want it to
happen again.

WHAT�S A ROLE-PLAYING-GAME?

This is the section for people who have never played a traditional tabletop role-
playing game�with character sheets, pencils and paper and dice.

First: if you come across a word you don�t know, check the Glossary, if that fails,
check the internet.

The easiest way to get a general idea of how these kinds of games work is to watch
a video. Since Demon City�s new there aren�t any videos of people playing it, but
here�s one of my friends and I playing the original role-playing game, Dungeons and
Dragons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b6qI5BzwjI&index=8&list=PLPXBot2-
dQsb01ErSvhlyrtNHGippAmP-
RPGs go like this: friends convene at a table (you can play with strangers but I
don�t recommend it, enemies is right out).

One is a Host (or game master ) and the others are players.

Each Player controls a single character, like actors in a play.

The Host controls the people and things in the imaginary world that are not a
player�s character (or PC for short) and describes the situations the characters
find themselves in.

The rules describe what happens when the players� characters interact with these
people and things.

At the beginning the Host introduces a fictional problem or problems to be

cooperatively solved by the characters. The problem will be contrived such that
solving it will create more fictional events (�The priest begs you to find out why
children are disappearing near the Beechwood Hotel� etc). These events can last
several game sessions�even years�like a TV drama, in which case it is called a
�campaign�, or they be solved in one session, which is less common, in which case
it�s called a �one-shot�.

Like any party, everyone there is responsible for keeping things fun�but also, like
any party, the Host has a little more control and a little more responsibility than
the other people. At a party, the Host knows where the scotch is, and the band-
aids, in this kind of game, the Host knows where the monsters and the cops are, and
is expected to have a reasonable grasp of the rules. It helps if players know
rules, but they don�t need to know all of them or know them consistently�part of
the Host�s job is to remind them. In fact, a Host should be able to run a game for
players who have never read the rules.

The players say what their characters will do�they can act out the dialogue parts
if they like, or simply describe them. In movies and television shows about role-
playing games people sometimes wear costumes but in real life this is very rare.

In any task where a player�s character failing might make the story interesting, or
when any element of randomness would increase the interest in the unfolding events,
dice are used to determine outcomes instead of a direct decision by someone at the
table. The players have character sheets for their characters which explain many
things their characters are good and bad at, usually described with categories or
numbers that affect these die rolls (called throws). Likewise, the Host will have
the other important things in the game (buildings, non-player characters, monsters,
etc) described with categories and numbers which likewise influence the throws.
Sometimes the Host�s information is secret, as it�s part of a mystery story.

In Demon City, hosts can use tarot cards instead of dice, though mostly in the same
way.

What unfolds is a bit like a sport (there is winning and losing and challenges and
the end is not written in advance) and a bit like improv theater (it has imaginary
characters who do things that more or less string together and make sense)�it is
driven forward by the players, the Host, the game rules and the dice�each of these
elements contribute at different times and in different ways, described in this
chapter.

In the case of Demon City, the thing that unfolds will be about crime or horror or
both.
Example of Play
(GRAPHIC DESIGNER�At first, this example will run continuously filling up the right
hand pages in the intro section in a different font/color etc, so it�s clearly a
separate thing. However, once the main text of the rules gets to �Action Rounds and
Clashes� let the rules take up both sides of the spread. Then after that, let the
example of play take up both sides of the spread until other wise indicated. In
general, try to get the Example of Play to line up with what�s being explained in
the main text.)

Everyone sits down around a table, with their dice paper and pencils�

Parker: What are these?

Host: (sitting down) They�re veggie straws, they�re like chips but maybe marginally
healthier? Anyway is everybody done making a character?

Parker: Uh-huh. (Eating straw) These are good.

Ellen: Yes�Should we introduce our characters?

Host: Good idea. You first. Also everyone tell me your Agility and Perception

Ellen: Ok I�m playing Morgan, an actress. Agility: 2, Perception: 3.

Host: What�s your Motive?

Ellen: Ah, it�s Victim.

Parker: I�m Harry, a maintenance man. My Motive is Investigator Agility 3,

Perception 3. Uh, is there dip?

Host: Yeah, here.

Kane: I�m a hotel clerk and petty thief named Mick. My motive is Friend�I�m
Parker�s Friend, he like fixes my refrigerator I guess. Agility 4, Perception 1.

Host: (writes down all these names in ascending Agility order). Alright, you�re all
beginning to wake up�you smell old rubber, feel cold metal at an angle against your
face. You see light going past, over other people in the dark�you�re moving. It
looks like you�re in the back of a van, you don�t remember how you got here.

Kane: What�s the last thing I remember?

Host: Mick was talking to his mom and having a drink.

Parker: Was I talking to his mom?

Host: No you were at work, refitting a gasket. None of you remember anything out of
the ordinary. There are two men up there, they�re quiet right now. It looks like
you�re on a freeway. The side and back doors seem to be welded shut and the windows
back here are like portholes too small to fit through.

Kane: Well Mick is going to get up.

Host: You notice your hands are cuffed�in fact you all do.

Kane: Well I'm going to try to pick the lock on my cuffs.

Host: Do you have Sleight of Hand skill?

Kane: Yes.

Host: Well it�s little bit difficult with just your fingers, but I suppose you
could just try to dislocate your thumb and slide your whole hand out of the cuffs�

Kane: What if I used a pen?

Host: That would certainly make it easier, you�d get an extra throw for that.

Kane: Does anyone have a pen?

Host: Are you asking that out loud?

Kane: Oh no, probably we�re being kidnapped, so�

Parker: Ya think? Arms tied up in a van�

Kane: Ok�I�m just going to quietly look around and see if there's a pen�

Host: Alright, it�s a big van, it�s possible there�s a pen rolling around.

Parker: If I was changing a gasket I�d have a pen to fill out my hours, I�m just
saying�

Host: They might�ve taken it off you but there might be a pen in the van, that's
pure luck so I'm going to say there is on an 8 or 9, roll it, Kane.

Kane (rolls a 10-sided die, gets an 8)

Host: Alright there's a pen, in the slots in the steel floor next to Parker you
find a ballpoint pen. Now: getting out of handcuffs�I�d say the Intensity for
someone with Sleight of Hand is a 4 out of ten. What�s Mick�s Sleight of Hand
skill?

Kane: 5.

Host: So your Sleight skill is higher than the Intensity number. So you get an
extra throw�that�s two throws, plus you have a pen, that�s another Throw , so
that�s three throws. Roll three dice and if any of them is higher than 4, it
worked.

Kane (rolls 2, 3 and 7) I�m out! I�m going to put my hand to my lips like Ssssh and
start letting everyone else out of their cuffs.

Host: Ok, that�s probably not too difficult for someone who managed to get their
own hands out while they were cuffed, but the main thing now is to do it quietly
enough that the guys up front don�t hear you. Do you have Stealth?

Kane: I don�t.

Host: Ok, so having no special training you�ll have to rely on Mick�s Agility
alone�and you�ll be throwing versus the guys up front throwing Perception. This is
the first time the bad guys have thrown, so I�m going to consult the enemy�s cards.
Your Agility is 4, their perception is 2, so you get one extra throw for having the
higher stat�that�s 2 throws total for you, they each throw once. So roll and tell
me your highest.
Kane: 6.

Host: Ok, and they roll�I got a 2 and a 4, you quietly get everybody of their
cuffs!

Ellen: What are the guys up front doing?

Host: Still driving, talking�(goon accent) �So I said �Put the meat under the
stereo, and Carl is like �What are you nuts?���

Ellen: Are they armed?

Host: The one on in the passenger seat has a leather shoulder holster. The one on
the right it�s hard to say without moving.

(GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Here or in the next three lines, this example should stop
running parallel with the main text, and pause to let the Action Rounds And Clashes
section fill both spreads. After that is finished, the example should pick up
again, filling both sides of the spread, until you see the words, FULL SPREAD END)

Parker: I�m gonna grab that gun.

Ellen: Parker!

Host: Are you trying to stop him? If so we�ll move to Action rounds with Morgan and
Harry throwing to see who goes first.

Ellen: (sigh) Nah. Let�s see what happens.

Host: So does Harry have the Stealth skill, Parker? Sleight of Hand?

Parker: Nope.

Host: Alright, then we�re doing you�re Agility versus their Perception again. You
get 2 throws for having the higher stat, they each get one throw.

Parker: (Rolls a 5 and a 2).

Host: Driver gets a 2, the passenger gets an 8! You�ve been spotted! Since they
noticed you we�re in Action Rounds now and we have to take turns. Ellen, Morgan is
announcing first because she has the lowest Agility.

Ellen: I�m gonna try to hide in the corner so he can�t shoot me and brace myself in
case we crash.

Host: Ok, since you�re acting only defensively you�ll get an extra die to throw
this round. So if anyone targets you, remember that when you throw to get out of
the way. If it turns out nobody�s shooting at you, don�t roll. Harry?

Parker: I�m still going for that gun!

Host: Now that he knows you�re there it isn�t pickpocketing anymore, it�s not
pickpocketing, it�s just grabbing the gun before he shoots. Do you have Hand to
Hand skill?

Parker: Yep�5.

Host: You�re targeting him and he�s, on his turn to announce, targeting you right
back. He�s got a Firearms of 6 to shoot, you have Hand to Hand of 5 to grab the gun
away, he gets an extra throw for having a better skill and another for being armed
when you�re not. He gets three throws you get one. Kane what�s Mick doing?

Kane: I�ll try to grab the gun as well. Mick has no Hand to Hand though.

Host: Then that�s Toughness.

Kane: Only 1.

Host: Ok, however, you get an Extra Throwsince the passenger is already engaged
with someone else�

Kane: Since I�m Parker�s Friend�like Friend is my Motive�do I get an extra throw to
help him not get shot?

Host: Good point, take a third throw. So: Ellen doesn�t roll since Morgan�s not
being targeted, Parker throws one die for Harry, Kane throws three dice for Mick,
passenger throws three. Go!

Host: 10!

Parker: My high Throw is 8.

Kane: My highest is 9.

Host: A bullet bites into Harry�s shoulder as the van banks right! Blood sprays all
over Mick�s face. Harry�s Toughness is�

Parker: 4.

Host: So I roll 4 Throws and pick the lowest for damage�10, 7, 6 and 6�6 points off
your Toughness.

Parker: So I�m dead?

Host: Maybe not, for now you�re just down. You�re at Negative Toughness�it doesn�t
matter how far negative in this game. You�re gonna lose at least one turn though.
Everybody Throw Calm at seeing Parker get shot like that and getting blood all over
you. It�s only a 3 Intensity so if your Calm is better than 3 you get an extra
throw, and Kane you will get minus one throw�minimum one throw�because Parker�s
your capital-F Friend.

Parker: Made it.

Kane: Made it.

Ellen: 8, I�m fine.

Host: Ok, so�

(GRAPHIC DESIGNER: FULL SPREAD END)

Kane: Uh in real life I think there�s someone at the door.

Host: (gets up) Oh, ok, hold up�

Parker: Down already.

Ellen: Had to be a hero.

Host: (coming back to the table) Hey I got my new tarot cards in the mail, so I can
use them. (Host begins going through the cards, building a deck of about a dozen
cards and laying the rest aside) Ok, so it�s a second later, the van is pulling
across traffic toward the shoulder, Harry is down. What�ll Morgan do?

Ellen: Is the passenger wearing his seatbelt?

Host: Yes.

Ellen: I�m gonna pull down on the seatbelt from the other side�you know, from
behind the seat to throw his aim off while he�s trying to twist around int he seat.

Host: Fair enough, that�s Toughness�what�s your Toughness?

Ellen: 3.

Host: Ok, his is 2 you get an extra throw. Driver�s still trying to get off the
road, passenger�s now trying to shoot Mick, with his Firearms beating your stat
unless you�re doing something I don�t expect. Three throws for him.

Kane: Still trying to take his gun.

Host: Ok, 2 throws for you, he is still facing a second opponent�Ellen�but you no
longer have the �protecting a Friend� bonus. Everybody throw. (Lays down three
cards: 2 of Cups, 8 of Wands, 3 of Swords) 2, 8, 3. Meaning he throws an 8.

Ellen: 6 to pull him back against the seat.

Kane: High Throw is 10!

Host: So he�s trying to bend in his seat to hit Mick, but he�s getting messed with
from both sides and Mick leans in and yanks the gun away! The van pulls toward the
shoulder of the bridge and the driver�s freaking �Get the gun back you moron!�.
Morgan, what do you want to do?

Ellen: I assume the seat has one of those things you can use to adjust the back of
the seat, I�m going to pull it so the seat goes all the way back and I can get at
the passenger or maybe climb out his door next round.

Host: That�s an Agility Throw�your Agility sucks�one throw plus another because
he�s obviously going after Mick with the gun, not you. Parker you get to throw to
get up now. The Intensity of the thing that hurt you�in this case the passenger�s
Firearms skill�was 6, so you need to throw over 6 to be able to move right now.
Your Max Toughness is under 6 so one throw�roll now.

Parker: 7!

Host: Alright, you�re at 0 Toughness�so minus one throw�and on the floor, but you
can act this round.

Parker: I�m gonna try to climb over and take the wheel from the driver.

Host: I�d say that in this case that�s Hand to Hand, which is 5. He�s going to try
to shoot you�Firearms 4�so you would get an extra throw but you�re at 0 Toughness
so minus one Throw putting you back at the minimum, one, he has two for being
armed. The passenger�s going to try to grab the gun back with one throw, Mick?

Kane: Can I move away and shoot him?

Host: Yep, you can move up to thirty feet and still act, so that�s more than the
whole length of the van. Also he still has his seat belt on and is already at the
minimum of one Throw , so I�ll give you an extra throw to shoot him. You�ve got no
Firearms, your Agility is 4 though so that�s one extra throw for being over his
Hand to Hand, also you�ve got a gun, so that�s 4 total throws. Ellen isn�t quite
engaging him in Hand to Hand yet so we aren�t yet at shooting into Hand to Hand
combat, but we�re close. Also, this is two separate clashes�one with the driver and
Harry, one with the passenger, so there�ll be at least two things that happen.
Everybody throw.

Ellen: 10

Kane: 10

Parker: 10

Host: (puts the cards laying on the table back in the deck, throws two new cards: 9
of swords for the passenger and Ace of Cups and 10 of swords for the driver) Nine
for the passenger and 10 for the driver. So�Mick and Morgan you both succeed and
your actions don�t interfere with each other so Morgan pulls the seat down the
passenger tumbles back as the bullet cuts through him. Throw two times and pick the
lowest for damage, Mick.

Mick: 4.

Host: Ok, so he�s down. Mick you�ve never shot anyone before, make a Calm check
against a�he was a jerk anyway�a 2?

Mick: Made it.

Host: Ok now over in the other clash, Parker and the driver tied, meaning neither
side gets the upper hand but things get worse�so as you�re trying to get the wheel,
Parker and he�s trying to shoot, you both get tangled and the van begins to slide
against the railing on the side of the bridge�sparks are flying up against the
passenger window. Ellen?

Ellen: I want to get out!

Host: How? The door you�d get out of is pressed up against the guard rail.

Ellen: I�m just going to hold on then�so if there�s a crash I get an extra throw to
be ok?

Host: Yep, Parker, you�re still bleeding everywhere from your shoulder�

Parker: I�m still trying to take the wheel from him.

Host: And he�s still trying to shoot you, one throw for you, one for him. Kane,
what�s Mick doing?

PLAYERS AND HOSTS

Duties and privileges of the player include:

Invent their character (with possible guidelines from the Host).

Invent some parts of the world related to their character.
Decide what their character does.
Roll die throws for their character when the outcome of an action is in doubt
(usually).
Mutiny if the Host�s judgment calls are so unfair or dull that the game ceases to
be more fun than the other options.

Duties and privileges of the Host include:

Invent most of the gameworld.

Create events that move the adventure along.
Describe events.
Decide how things in the world react to players� characters and their actions.
Decide when die Throws are needed for characters, including players� characters, to
act.
Declare when Action rounds have begun and ended.
Make card or die Throws for non-player characters (and sometimes for player
characters if the result of a throw needs to be a secret).
Change rules and make judgment calls, with the consent of the players.
Talk to players if they�re making the game less fun.

Everyone should:

Make sure the rules are followed.

Discuss any rule changes or judgment calls that might be controversial.
Try to create and distribute maximum fun.

In addition to these, there is an optional additional job, variously called The

Kitchen Servant, the Butler, Igor, the Handmaid, etc�this is a player who, in
addition to the ordinary duties and privileges of a player, agrees to handle
getting food, drinks, ringing phones, spare pencils or anything else nearby for the
Host and other players during a given session in exchange for the ability to re-
Throw any one disastrous Throw. They may use this re-Throw during the session, or
save it for later.

����������

_____________________

DICE

Demon City uses 10-sided dice or �d10s� as they�re called. Get a bunch. The �0� on
a d10 means 10. There is also the �d100� which is where you roll a pair of 10-sided
dice, with one die being the ones digit and the other being the tens digit, decide
which die goes first before you roll. So rolling a 5 and then a 6 would be 56. On a
d100 roll, the �0� is read as 0, unless both dice come up zero (00), which
indicates �100�.

The Host can use tarot cards instead of dice, in a way that�ll be described later,
and doing so makes the game a little more interesting�but in a pinch the Host can
use dice, too.

Making A Character

The default Demon City game is set in the present, in a terrible version of some
modern city. Players can play any sort of person, from any walk of life: a
depressed high school student, a bank robber, a forensics expert, even a werewolf.
Sometimes it can be fun to play a game with a limited scope�every character is a
detective on the homicide squad, or a part of a crew of bank-robbers out to make
one big score, or a clique of plucky high school kids trying to find out who killed
their drug dealer�if the group decides to go in that direction, make sure everyone
agrees to it and knows before making a character.

Making a character basically requires making some decisions and writing down some
terms and numbers�some of these terms and numbers you won�t understand right away,
don�t worry, they�ll be defined soon enough.

There are two ways to make a character: totally random and custom. A random
character gets a set of characteristic scores and then the player decides what
occupation and motive fits that set of characteristics. A custom character allows
the player to decide what kind of character they�d like to play first, then they
can assign the scores that come up based on that. Random characters will, on
average, have slightly higher Characteristics than custom characters.

To make a custom character, simply read through this section in order and follow
the directions.

To make a totally random character:

1. Go down to �Characteristics�
2. List each Characteristic in order on a piece of paper vertically
3. Roll 1d10 divided by two (round up) for each characteristic (Calm, Agility,
Toughness etc) in order�write that number next to the Characteristic
4. Characteristics scored at 5 are rare�they indicate a character is among the best
in the world at a given thing. If any of the rolls is a 9 or 10 (resulting in a
halved score of 5) roll again: if the second roll is 9 or 10, that Characteristic
is indeed 5, if that second roll is any other number mark the characteristic as 2
(average).
5. Then go up to Motives�pick or randomly roll a Motive (keeping in mind each group
can only start with a maximum of one Problem and must include at least one non-
Friend)
6. Adjust your Characteristics (points over a maximum for a given Motive are lost)
to match the Motive
7. Then follow the directions for Occupation, Starting Contacts, Skills, and The
Rest.

MOTIVES

Motives are kind of like classes in other games, but instead of jobs, they describe
your relationship to the corruption and horror that Demon City characters
investigate when the session starts. Characters can grow out of their original
Motives over time, but this is why they start investigating.

Some Motives restrict or augment a character�s Characteristics (the seven

stats�Calm, Agility, Toughness, Perception, Appeal, Cash, Knowledge�that all
characters have), Skills (special trained abilities or aptitudes) or Contacts (non-
player characters the PC can rely on for help).

All have a Panic Mode�a way of behaving that takes over when the character is at 0
Calm or less, and gripped by fear. If a character begins a campaign at 0 Calm (ie,
they are generated that way), the special mechanical effect that applies in the
first round after they fall to 0 Calm does not apply.
Pick a Motive and write down any changes or limits on your character the Motive
entails:

Curious

The Curious character is motivated by fascination. Typically an academic or a

former paid Investigator, the curious character wants to know what�s causing the
horror, where did it come from? And maybe even�can it be controlled?

-The Curious character�s Calm Characteristic is treated as 2 lower for the purpose
of any test which might allow the character access to hidden knowledge. Make a note
of that on your character sheet.

-The Curious character gains the Research Skill at Perception+2 or Knowledge+2,

whichever would be higher.

-The Curious character gains 2 extra Knowledge Skills (ranked at the associated
Characteristic +1 as usual).

Panic mode:
The curious character's panic will come in the form of wanting to know more. In
addition to this general role-playing prompt, in the round after they hit 0 Calm
they must try to find out something new about the situation they're in.

Friend

The Friend doesn�t know what all this is about and doesn�t want to guess. But the
friend is loyal to someone else on the case and that�s what counts.

-At the beginning of the game, the Friend picks another PC they are devoted to.
-Every party must include at least one non-Friend.
-The Friend gains an extra throw (see Getting Things Done In Demon City section)
when protecting whichever character they are devoted to from direct physical harm.
-The Friend maintains a sense of detachment and perspective, giving them a +1 to
their Perception Characteristic or the Calm Characteristic, free. Maximum of 5. The
rule for re-rolling to confirm 5s does not apply.
-If a Friend�s friend dies, their Maximum Calm goes down by one, and they select
another PC as their new pal.

Panic mode:
When in a panic, the friend character's loyalty will override everything and
they'll try to get whichever character they are most loyal to (or one of the
characters they are most loyal to) out of the situation. In addition, they must
spend the next round after they hit 0 Calm trying to get/keep their friend out of
or away from the situation�even if they aren�t there.

Investigator

Someone wants to get to the bottom of this, and they�re paying the Investigator to
do it. The Investigator is typically a private detective, or--up until the
supernatural gets obviously involved and the department decides it's bullshit--a
cop, but they can also be a journalist, an insurance adjuster, or almost anything
else. There are lot of reasons to pay a private citizen to sort out a sticky
situation.

-The Investigator starts with either 2 extra Skills (at Characteristic+1 as usual)
and 1 extra Starting Contact, or 1 extra Skill and 2 extra Starting Contacts.
-The Investigator wouldn�t have been hired if they didn�t have Knowledge or
Perception of at least 2�if they don�t, as rolled, raise at least one of these
Characteristics to 2. Yes, this means if you roll a completely random character and
make them an investigator, you can get rid of one of your low numbers by making
them an investigator.
-The Investigator cannot start with a Cash Characteristic higher than 3.

Panic mode:
Used to relying on method, the investigator in a panic is simply less effective. In
addition, the must spend the next round after they hit 0 Calm either fleeing or
acting with only 1 throw.

Victim

They say victimhood doesn�t define you--well, for The Victim it does, at least at
the start of the game. Something terrible has happened to the character or one of
their loved ones and it�s left a scar.

-Victims� earnestness is manifest�they automatically gain the Persuasion skill

equal to their Appeal Characteristic plus two.
-The Victim is privy to special information, the victim was there�the Victim gains
an extra Perception Characteristic Throw when in the presence of any clue
associated with the crime or kind of crime they were witness to.
-The Victim gains an Extra Throw in combat with any entity they believe to be
responsible for the crime that has traumatized them.
-If the initial crime is solved and avenged, the above bonuses apply to
investigating and fighting all supernatural threats.
-A Victim�s cannot start with a Calm Characteristic higher than 4.

Panic Mode:
The victim in a panic is energized. In the round after they hit 0 Calm they will
act with 1 additional throw and will keep that Throw for that purpose until the
menace is defeated or driven off (again: only in combat).

Problem

Like the Victim, the Problem starts the game having already come into contact with
the enemy�only for the Problem, the scars are not just mental, but physical and
even spiritual. The Problem is manifesting strange abilities and aversions. The
Problem may have demon blood, they may have dawning psychic abilities, they may be
turning into something more than human.

-There may only be one Problem PC at a time. If the game group has players that
regularly pop in and out of the campaign, have players who want to play a Problem
make an additional non-Problem PC in case two players with Problem characters show
up to the same session.
-The Problem�s player can choose the kind of Problem they are or they can let the
Host pick.
-The Problem gains abilities specific to the brand of Problem they are.
-So far Artificial lifeform, Vampire, Lycanthrope, Psychic, and Part-demon
characters are supported by this book (see the Horrors section in the Part 4: The
Library for specifics on each). Hosts are officially encouraged to make more if
these aren�t enough.
-If the player chooses, The Host must state which kinds of supernatural creatures
(and which kinds of PC Psychic abilities) they wish to allow before the player
makes their choice.
-If the player chooses the type of Problem their character will be, their maximum
starting Calm Characteristic is 3, any roll above that is wasted.
-If the Host chooses the kind of Problem they are, they gain a +1 to Calm up to a
starting Calm of 4 (no more).

Panic Mode:
The problem will revert to instinct when in a panic. In the round after they hit 0
Calm they must use their special abilities

OCCUPATION

Any modern occupation or job is fair game in Demon City. There�s a list of 500-odd
modern occupations in the back of the book if you�re not sure. This can determine
what your Occupational Skill is (see below) and affect your Contacts, but it
doesn�t directly impact anything else in character generation, including your
Motive. You can be a wealthy night clerk at Circle K in Demon City if you really
want to (maybe your rich uncle just died).

CHARACTERISTICS

Characters in Demon City have two kinds of stats: Characteristics and Skills.
Characteristics are broad descriptors and things that every person generally has to
come degree (Appeal, Cash, etc), skills are things which require specific training
or experience that not all modern humans can be expected to possess (knowledge of
Firearms, Biology, etc).

Some common learned aptitudes like swimming, driving and using a cell phone are so
common that they do not have a specific skill associated, but the lack of that
ability will be noted separately.

To make a new custom character, roll 1d10 divided by two (round down, unlike a
totally random character) seven times, then assign the numbers to the
characteristics below as you see fit. Characteristics scored at 5 or 0 are
rare�they indicate a character is among the best in the world at a given thing, or
barely functional, respectively. If any of the rolls is a 9 or 10 (resulting in a
halved score of 5) roll again: if the second roll is 9 or 10, that Characteristic
is indeed 5, if that second roll is any other number mark the characteristic as 2
(average). If any of the rolls is a 1 (which rounded down would be 0) then roll
again�if they get a 1 again, that characteristic is indeed 0. If any other number
is rolled the second time, mark the score as 2.

If you decide your character has a major disability not covered by a low Toughness
score�they can�t, for instance, see or can�t hear or can�t walk without assistance
or have only one arm or one hand�they gain 2 extra points to put into
Characteristics of their choice up to the maximums for their Motive.

Characteristics for humans are ranked 0-5

0: Terrible
1: Bad
2: Average
3: Good
4: Very good
5: World class
These are:

Calm
Agility
Toughness
Perception
Appeal
Cash
Knowledge

(CATPACK for short)

Characteristics can go up and down�these scores are, right now your �Starting
Calm�, �Starting Agility� etc. They are also, for now, your Maximum Calm, Maximum
Agility, etc.

Calm and Toughness can go down easily, but then come back up again. Next to Calm
put �Current Calm� and �Maximum Calm� and mark them all the same number as you Calm
score. Also put �Current Toughness� and �Maximum Toughness� on your sheet and give
them all the same number as your Toughness score.

STARTING CONTACTS

The number of Starting Contacts you have when the game starts is equal to your
Appeal or Cash, whichever is higher.

Contacts are people you know and are guaranteed to help you if it�s within their
field or area of expertise. You don�t have to decide who your Contacts are until
you feel the need to call on someone in the game�however, if you want to have a
contact in a specific field right away, you can write in one now�without having to
make any checks (see below).

If you let a Contact slot float, when you want a Contact you make an Appeal check
against a Host-chosen number (depending on how likely your character as-played-up-
until-that-point would know such a person) to see if you happen to know someone in
that field. Once you�ve filled up all of these Starting Contact slots you have to
meet new people in-game or through special rewards from the Host and cannot simply
add Contacts at will by making Appeal checks.

If you fail the Appeal Throw, you don�t know anyone you trust in that field, and
you can�t make a new Contact in the same field that way (though you could try to
know someone in a related field�if you don�t know a chemist you may know a
pharmacist).

Once established, a contact exists�they need a name. Losing a Contact after they
are invented costs a Calm point�so be good to them.

Here�s a rule for the Host: you can�t just say a Contact died (or went insane, or
betrayed you). If a Contact is threatened, that means the characters have a chance
to save them. Finding out a Contact is threatened is a hook for an adventure and
the Contact can only be taken away permanently if the characters fail to meet some
in-game challenge.

SKILLS
Skills are specialized abilities not everyone has. Skills are associated with a
Characteristic�they are ranked 1-9 for humans and always start at least one point
higher than the associated Characteristic score.

Assign skills as follows:

1. New characters start with one Occupational Skill�this is a skill associated with
their job (or school or lifestyle of indolent wealth or whatever) there are two
ways to do it:

-Create a custom skill at Perception +1, which is not on the list below but
represents what they know from their own job. A plumber with Perception: 3 could
have Plumbing: 4.

-If your PC�s job substantially involves a skill already on the list, like, for
instance, you�re a burglar so your job is basically Burglary or if you�re a used
car salesman and so your job is basically Deception, or you�re a wrestler so your
job is basically Hand to Hand combat you may choose to take that listed skill at
(associated characteristic)+2 instead of taking the separate extra Occupational
skill.

The job-specific Occupational Skill is generally broader than the skill on the
list, so it can be a difficult choice: if you�re a stage magician you can choose
�Stage Magician� at Perception+1 and be good at performing, choosing costumes,
assume a familiarity with how theaters work, plus know some magic tricks, or you
can choose a job-related skill off the list�say �Sleight of Hand��at Agility+2 as
your Occupational Skill, which is possibly a higher number, but means you�re only
especially good at the actual tricks and you probably let your assistant handle the
rest.

2. Some PC Motives grant additional Skills, as noted under the Motive description.

3. New characters also get additional skills from the list below: 5 Skills at
(whatever the associated Characteristic is) +1. Some of the skills, like Athletics
or Humanities, allow you to pick a bonus skill afterward. Others, like Exotic
Weapon, require you to specify a concentration.

4. Specialization option�if you give up one of your skills, you gain 2 skill points
that you can add on to the rating of any other skill you already have. Maximum rank
of 9 for any skill. Spend them all now. Characters cannot trade in the skills they
got because of their Motive.

5. Hyperspecialization option�If your character can�t swim, drive, read, or use a

cell phone/computer, you get 2 extra skills or 3 points to use on existing skills
for each of these limitations you have.

Skills can be improved later, so don�t freak out if they�re low.

The Skills and their associated characteristics are:

Agility
-Burglary
-Driving (it�s assumed you can drive, this is fancy driving, and also general car
trivia)
-Exotic Weapon (this includes pre-modern things not covered under melee or firearms
like bows, throwing knives, whips, etc. You have to pick one category specifically
like �Exotic Weapon: Bows�, but you get it at Agility+2)
-Firearms
-Pilot/Drive Other (anything not a car that requires training: motorcycle, boat,
helicopter, plane--pick one)
-Sleight of Hand
-Stealth

Toughness or Agility, whichever is higher

-Athletics (in addition to Athletics at the normal score you also get to choose a
specific sport or kind of training: swimming, triathalon, tennis, mountain
climbing, etc. and you get that at +2. Additional specific sports chosen after that
are also at Toughness/Agility +2. If your sport is wrestling, boxing, martial arts
etc you have to take Hand To Hand instead�it comes up a lot.)
-Hand to hand combat (also includes using most melee weapons like swords, clubs,
brass knuckles, knives, etc)

Perception
-Occupational (soldier, student, truck driver, etc�this represents your current
job)
-Outdoor Survival/Tracking
-Streetwise
-Therapy (talking other people down from disturbing incidents, but can also be used
to see if someone�s lying, etc)

Appeal
-Deception (this includes both ability to disguise yourself, and acting/lying
generally)
-Persuasion (this is mostly just what Appeal is used for, but it�s a skill because
otherwise a character with Deception would always be better at lying than telling
the truth)

Knowledge
-Electronics
-Explosives
-Forensics
-Hacking
-Humanities (in addition to Humanities at Knowledge+1, you get to choose a specific
subject�Literature, Anthropology, History, etc�you get that free, at Knowledge+2.
Additional specific Humanities subjects chosen after that are also at Knowledge
+2.)
-Law
-Local Knowledge (this is for wherever the campaign starts unless you specify
otherwise)
-Mechanics
-Other Languages (Pick one at Knowledge+2 or a number of languages equal to your
Knowledge score each ranked at Knowledge minus 1)
-Paranormal/Occult
-Science (in addition to Science at Knowledge+1, you get to choose a specific
subject�Biology, Chemistry, etc�you get that free at Knowledge+2. Additional
specific Science subjects chosen after that are also at Knowledge +2.)

Perception or Knowledge, whichever is higher

-Forgery
-Medic
-Research

Knowledge, Perception or Cash, whichever is highest

-Well-traveled (a successful check means you can add Local Knowledge of a place
other than where the campaign began at Knowledge/Perception/Cash minus 1�minimum of
0. You can use this any number of times.)
THE REST

Looking at the details you�ve got, tie it all together. Figure out why they have
this mix of aptitudes and weaknesses. Give your PC an age and a name and decide
what they look like and you�re ready to go. Height, weight, eye color, etc can be
decided now or when they come up.

A NOTE FOR THE HOST

Once the characters are made, you want to think about how they�re related to The
Horror and how you�ll get them involved in the first investigation.

Also: at the beginning of each session, write down player characters' names in
ascending order of Agility with some space in between. Decide ties randomly. The
reason will be clear soon.

Also note each character�s Perception stat, in case you need to secretly determine
if they�re surprised or notice something and don�t want the players to know
something�s up.

WHAT THE CHARACTERISTICS MEAN

(Graphic Designer: put this facing the Characteristics page in character
generation)

Calm:
-Chill, Cool, Self-Control.
-Sanity too, for most people. Though psychopaths can be very Calm.
-Current Calm goes up and down but Throws are made using your Maximum Calm score.
-Used to resist and sometimes use paranormal powers and magic that mess with your
mind.
-0 Calm means you�re off in some clear way.
-Negative Calm means you�re maybe going insane, see details under PANIC AND
INSANITY.

Agility:
-Flexibility, ability to dodge stuff, fine motor control.
-This is your dodging punches stat if you don�t have Hand To Hand skill.
-�and your shooting stat if you don�t have Firearms.
-Also good for getting out of the way of explosions, gouts of blood, etc.
-Decides who announces when in a fight, high Agility characters get to decide what
they�ll do after low Agility ones announce.

Toughness:
-Strength and health.
-Current Toughness goes up and down but Throws are made using your Maximum
Toughness score.
-This is your punching & kicking and general melee stat if you don�t have Hand To
Hand skill.
-Someone with Toughness 5 might backlift up to 2 tons, something Toughness 10 can
backlift up to 50 tons.
-O Toughness means you�re debilitated in some clear way.
-Negative toughness means you�re maybe dying, see details under DAMAGE.

Perception:
-Senses plus ability to notice things in general.
-Used to resist delusions and illusions.
-Used to find clues.

Appeal:
-Overall charm, due to appearance, manner, or both.
-Includes lying and convincing people you�re telling the truth�get the Deception
skill to get better at the former, the Persuade skill to get better at the latter.

Cash:
-How much money you have.
-Cash can go up and down�Throws are made using your current score.
-Cash 0 doesn�t necessarily mean you have zero dollars, just that you�re borderline
homeless in general.
-You can never purchase anything more than 2 Intensities above your Cash level.
-More details about buying things are in The Store in the Library section of this
book.

Knowledge:
-How much useful information you have in your head.
-This isn�t logic or deductive reasoning, the players have to do that themselves.
Figuring out a tall building would cast a shadow pointing west in the morning is,
for example, a deduction the players would have to make without a Throw.

________________

THE SYSTEM

Your character sheet represents the main differences between your character and
you. Other than that: they�re a person, they can do anything that people can do,
and the game is about them doing those things. They can call a friend on the phone,
talk while punching, eat a burrito, etc. The game system tells you how to handle
things when success is in doubt.

A large part of the Demon City system is based on simulating the kinds of struggles
that characters typically experience in horror movies and other horror fiction. In
those struggles, it�s usually important who is better, but how much better is less
important. For example, a 90-pound weakling is likely to fail to dodge a
supernaturally puissant tentacle from the Ninth Archon of the Black Dimension and
be knocked off a roof into a dumpster, but the 90-pound weakling�s about equally
likely to fail to dodge a punch from the school bully and end up in the same
dumpster. How much better, faster, stronger, smarter matters in military
simulations and superhero games, but only which side is better matters much in
horror. In horror, fights are relatively quick and decisive�as are many other
contests.

As in most tabletop RPGs, Demon City proceeds according to a simple scheme: the
Host describes the situation(s) the characters are in, the other players say what
their respective characters try to do. When an outcome is in doubt and failure
might have interesting consequences (not necessarily more interesting than
success�just interesting at all), the rules and dice and cards get involved. (DIce
and cards also can get involved whenever someone�usually the Host�thinks letting
the dice or cards pick something would be more interesting than picking themselves,
but we�ll touch on that later.)

Simple example: Marty might come home late and drunkenly fumble at his apartment
door lock before getting the key in, maybe even dropping the keyring in the
process. But eventually he'll get it open, so there's no need to throw a die�

...unless (whether or not Marty knows it) Marty's brother is lying on the other
side of the door about to bleed out. If he gets through right away he�s saved his
brother in the nick of time (interesting) and if he doesn�t, his libertine ways
have heartbreakingly, if indirectly, brought on the death of his brother (also
interesting)�that's when you'll want to make a Throw.

You might well ask what happens in situation where failure would be interesting but
success couldn�t. For example: a player uses a psychic power to �read� a bullet and
discover who killed the victim in the first scene�and the murderer turns out to be
someone in the room. Success here would mean the adventure is over before it even
begins and the Host set up the adventure poorly (see: The Fudging Talk in the Host
Section).

BASIC TASK RESOLUTION

Basically, for most tasks which have their final outcome decided by a Throw of the
dice or cards, either:

-the player whose character is acting throws vs an Intensity number, or

-the player and Host each throw

�and if the player gets a higher Throw than the Intensity or Host�s Throw, the task
gets done, if not, it doesn't and some potentially interesting consequence of
failure ensues.

The Host should decide the Intensity number based on how hard the task would be for
anyone on a scale of 1-10. Tasks within what a person (or a person with a given
Skill) would be expected to do are ranked 1-5. Tasks that are supernatural or
extreme�that even a very fast, smart, strong etc person might very likely fail at
are ranked in the 6-9 range.

Having the Host use an opposed Throw even for the difficulty of dealing with
inanimate objects (opening a lock on time, locating a file, climbing a wall) tends
to personify the environment--the electronic lock is programmed by someone and
Marty's attempts to crack it are against the skill and effort put in by that
programmer. It also�for mundane tasks which are ranked 1-5�makes the task harder.
When there is no way to imagine any animate force actively resisting or if it just
seems like it shouldn�t be too much of a thing�like in the example of Marty
drunkenly scrabbling at his own lock with his own key--the Host can just assign a
static Intensity number 1-9 to be rolled over (player must Throw over a 3, for
instance).

Throws that aren�t opposed are also called �tests� or �checks�.

There are some hitches, though:

Only Your Highest Throw counts

There are many cases where the sides throw multiple dice or cards (see below). The
only Throw that matters on each side is the highest one. So if you throw a 6 and an
8, your result is 8, the 6 doesn�t matter. Ignore the 6. If the opponent gets a 5
and a 9, the 5 doesn�t matter. The opponent got the highest result�a 9, so wins.

There are a few exceptions (for example, when rolling damage you usually take the
lowest Throw) but those will be dealt with later.

Extra Throws

If a task has some factor introduced that makes it more likely one side will win
(if someone has a head-start in the footrace, for example) then that side gets
another d10 or (if an NPC controlled by the Host) another card is thrown. This is
called the Extra Throw. You can have any number of Extra Throws representing
distinct advantages (ie advantages that would, individually, still be advantages
without the benefit of the other advantage--like: a head-start in the footrace plus
your opponent is running over uneven ground? That�s 2 Extra Throws). Roll more dice
or, for the host, throw out more cards.

Extra Throws do not normally represent the scale of an advantage: each distinct
advantage is worth one Throw, it doesn�t matter how big your head start is, it�s
still one Extra Throw.

There are certain kinds of situational advantages that come up so often, it�s worth
checking for them every time:

Higher Stat Throw

All character stats (Characteristics and Skills) are ranked from 0-9 (or possibly
more if the supernatural is involved), high numbers are good. If two characters
(player's characters or a player's character and an NPC) are competing at a task
(say, in a footrace) then whichever has the higher stat gets to throw an extra die
or card.

Overlap Throws

If a character has multiple skills (at any rank) that would apply to the same
situation�for example, trying to find out if a corner store is a drug front
(Streetwise) in a city where the character has Local Knowledge�the Host may allow
the character an Extra Throw for each additional skill that would apply. Again:
may. The Host doesn�t have to allow this in every case.

This only applies outside combat situations and you can�t use a specialized and
general version of the same skill on the same task�you can�t use Athletics and
Volleyball on the same Throw, for example, or Science and Biology, or Humanities
and History, etc.

Distraction Throw

If a task targets someone who is distracted (pickpocketing someone who is watching

a car crash happen, for instance) or doesn't know they're there the perpetrator
also gets an Extra Throw..

Lost Throws

Generally, external problems which make the task harder (like Marty being drunk
while trying to open the door) are worked into the Intensity number of a task, but
if there is some reason they can't be or haven't been already (Marty then tries to
do it left-handed), the Host may subtract up to two Lost Throws (down to a minimum
of one Throw ) to account for problems. The most common problem is the Lost Throw
for Injury (below).
If, in an opposed Throw, an asymmetry can be represented by giving Extra Throws to
one party or taking Lost Throws from the other, default to giving the Extra Throws.

If one party in an opposed Throw is at minimum Throws (one Throw ) and distinct
disadvantages keep piling on, add Extra Throws to an opponent�s Throw.

Be careful not to give and take Throws to represent the same asymmetry. Like if
Marty (drunk) is racing to open the door before Nena (sober) don�t give an Extra
Throw to Nena and take a Lost Throw from Marty.

Lost Throw for Injury

If your maximum Toughness is more than 0 and you have been reduced to 0, you lose a
Throw to physical actions until you have at least 1 Toughness. You do not lose
additional Throws for additional injuries.

Ties

In the case of a tie (around 10% of the time or more, depending how many Throws are
involved) the Host must think fast: the situation becomes more complex, but not in
a way that immediately decides the contest. The task can be attempted again in the
new situation. For example: if Marty and the Host tie as he's trying to open his
door then the Host might declare that blood has begun to seep out from under the
door and one of Marty's passing neighbors has noticed it.

Critical Successes and Fumbles

In uncontested Throws, if a character rolls a 10 and wins (ie not a tie), they have
a critical success, if their best Throw in an uncontested Throw is a 1, they
fumble. Criticals mean the task goes about as well as it possibly could have (for
example if Marty critically opened the door then the Host may say he definitely
gets to his brother in time without having to make an Extra Throw to find him in
the dark apartment.) Fumbles mean the task goes so poorly a new, unexpected problem
is introduced (Maybe Marty drops his keys and can�t find them.) Critical successes
and Fumbles require that the Host improvise fast.

Raising Intensities vs Lost Throws

Hosts may wonder how to know whether a task�s Intensity should be represented by a
high intensity (ie Throw 6 or better) or by lost Throws (like Throw 5 or better
with one Lost Throw ). Broadly: Intensity is a measure of �Who would find this
easy?� everyone with a Stat above the Intensity would find it easy, everyone with a
Stat below the Intensity would find it hard. Lost Throws are about modifiers to
that situation specific to that moment or the person trying.

Intensity 0

If the target Intensity is 0 (and it�s not an opposed test) then it�s an auto-
success.

Simultaneous Action

This all gets more complicated in situations when different characters are trying
to do different things that all affect each other at the same time. Combat is the
most common situation like this but it could also apply to, say, trying to fix a
radio antenna before a metastasizing Crysoloth destroys the building it's in. Like
most games, Demon City has special rules for that, coming up next�

ACTION ROUNDS AND CLASHES

Like in most RPGs, special rules are used to resolve Action�that is, simultaneous,
urgent, overlapping activities involving multiple parties all trying to act before
some terrible thing happens. A footrace isn't "action" as defined here because the
competitors usually aren't interfering with each other. A car chase can be, though,
because cars can cut each other off, knock each other off the road, etc. And combat
is always action.

This combat system has some specific characteristics in play, distinctive to this
game�characters get knocked out of the fight and then get up again a lot (often
unnoticed by their enemies, who have gone on to menace other characters), sometimes
characters try but don�t get to do anything for many rounds at a time, and it�s
chaotic and hard for players to coordinate their attacks. These things are on
purpose. If you don�t like them or would like to adapt the Demon City system to a
different subgenre, you might want to tweak the rules. I encourage it.

Rounds

If you�re not familiar with traditional RPGs: Action is measured out in things
called Rounds. Think of it like a comic-book panel or a shot in a movie--the Round
exists to establish what happens in that panel. Each character tries to be the next
to successfully do something, playing out the Round decides who that is and how it
happens.

If you�re familiar with traditional RPGs: there's no �initiative� in Demon City but
there are rounds. Action's generally going to be over in fewer rounds than you
might be used to.

In Demon City, each participant in the action typically competes to get their thing
done first and often only one thing happens per round.

From the character�s point of view, a round represents a slice of time up to six
seconds but possibly less, for players it will likely take longer to play out a
round.
The actual length of a round in seconds in the game world is determined by how long
it would take to perform the action that �wins� the round.

For example, if Billie is trying to shatter the Burning Fiend�s glass eyes with a
hammer before the Fiend can scald Billie�s face and Billie wins the round, then the
round takes a split second: the split second it would take for a hammer to collide
with a head.

Clashes

This Action system is based on "Clashes��a competition between people (or living
corpses, or whatever) trying to act at the same time. The most important thing
about a Clash is only one side in a conflict can succeed at a time. You shoot or
are shot, punch or get punched, etc. If you're shot, you don't get to shoot back
until the next Round (assuming you live).

Everyone announces what they're going to do before making any Throws to actually do
it. It�s slightly counter-intuitive but there's a payoff in that it more closely
reflects the fast-but-tense way combat works in horror and crime fiction. Oh here
comes the car! Oh here comes the bullet! Oh here comes the eel-faced girl!

WHEN THE HOST ANNOUNCES YOU'VE ENTERED ACTION ROUNDS:

1. Slowest Character Announces What They Want To Do

Remember how the Host was supposed to write down PC�s names in ascending order of
Agility? Look at the top: Whatever entity involved in the Clash has the lowest
Agility (ties are decided randomly and stay in that order for the session)
announces what they plan to do. This can't be an �if-then� and they can�t wait to
see what other people are doing, they gotta decide. Actions can normally only
target one foe at a time--exceptions will be noted when we get around to specific
abilities and weapons. You can also move up to 30 feet and perform an action, or
perform an all-movement action moving you up to 60 feet.

Everyone will notice this slowpoke getting ready to do whatever they're going to
do. Higher Agility characters will have their choice of action informed by what the
slower ones do.

If a character is Out of the Fight or in a Panic at the beginning of the round and
needs to throw to regain their Toughness or Calm, they throw before announcing
their action. If they fail, they might not get an action this round�or ever again.

2. Figure Out How Many Throws They Get

As with non-Action tasks, you start with one Throw and gain (and then maybe lose)
more based on what�s going on. These Extra Throws are a little more complex in
Action than in normal contests:

EXTRA THROWS

If a character has a situational advantage (high ground, etc) over whoever they're
directly facing off against they get an Extra Throw.

If the character has any other distinct situational advantages on top of the first
one�like their target is both tripping and is handcuffed�you can get another Extra
Throw for each advantage.

As in non-Action tasks, Extra Throws do not normally represent the scale of an

advantage: each distinct advantage is worth one Throw , it doesn�t matter if you
have 10 feet of high ground or 20 feet of high ground, it�s still one Throw .

However: in a situation where opponents on different sides have the same kind of
advantage over their targets (probably because one of them has a different target)
the one with the ultimate advantage gets one more of that kind of Extra Throw than
the inferior foe. So Hiram has high ground advantage to attack Lois but if Max is
even higher up the hill attacking Hiram, Max would get two Extra Throws for high
ground on Hiram. This is relatively rare.

Note on the Extra Throw : Combat in Demon City may involve a lot of players and
Hosts discussing what does and does not constitute a situational advantage. This is
good. This is what the players should be doing: talking about the fictional
situation as if it were real so everyone is imagining the same events as much as
possible and making interesting decisions about how to use what�s going on to their
advantage.
There are some commons kinds of Extra Throws you should check for every time:

Higher Stat Throw

If an enemy you target is targeting you back (they should say this once an action
targeting them is announced), then whoever has the higher stat gets an Extra Throw.
You also get it if the enemy is not targeting you back but your stat is higher than
the stat they�d use to resist or avoid your attack (usually Agility, although in
some cases it�s Toughness and in the case of paranormal or magic attacks it could
be any stat).

It doesn�t normally matter how many points you outclass them by, you still only get
one Higher Stat Throw .

Close combat actions (kicking, punching, knifing) rely on the attackers� Toughness
or Hand To Hand skill if they have it�and target the foe's Agility or, if they have
it, the foe's Hand-to-Hand combat skill. (If you want your Agility to matter in
hitting people, you need to get Hand To Hand, which can be Agility-derived).

Shooting relies on Agility (or Firearms or Exotic Weapons if applicable) and the
target�s Agility.

Distraction Throw

If your target�s not focused on you, you get an Extra Throw. This can be given if
your target is attacking someone else, if they are trying to activate a garage door
while you attack, or if they are in any way not set to defend or attack you back.

It doesn�t normally matter how distracted they are, you still only get one
Distraction Throw in a round.

Defense Throw

If you are only actively defending in a round (dodging, running away, etc), you get
an Extra Throw.

If you successfully use a defensive action to dodge, or block, parry an attack in

the previous round, you can be anywhere you could normally move (ie not on the
ceiling) within 60 feet of your last position, including behind the enemy or behind
cover if you want.

Weapon Throw

If someone is attacking (or parrying) with a weapon that is better in the specific
situation than the one their opponent is attacking back or parrying with, that is
worth an Extra Throw. For example, if two characters are fighting under a twin bed,
the combatant attacking with a knife or claws will get an Extra Throw against a
target using a longsword (which needs more room to maneuver), but in most
situations it'd be the other way around because the sword has better reach. This is
the main way weapons are differentiated in Demon City (and in horror films)--by the
situation in which they are most useful. An armed opponent will get a Weapon Throw
over an unarmed one pretty much every time, unless the weapon is unusually
cumbersome (like a bow at a range of 3 inches).
LOST THROWS

If there are difficulties in the situation not otherwise accounted for (by, for
example, someone directly opposed already having gained an Extra Throw) they can be
accounted for by Lost Throws. The most common types of Lost Throw is the Lost Throw
For A Called Shot and the Lost Throw For Injury (below).

Lost Throws do not normally represent the scale of a disadvantage: each distinct
disadvantage is worth one Throw, it doesn�t matter if you are kinda drunk or really
drunk�it�s still one Throw .

If you already have 2 Lost Throws you cannot lose any more

If you have only one Throw you cannot lose any more�you always get a minimum of one
Throw.

If you have only one Throw and voluntarily choose a maneuver which would lose you a
Throw �like shooting someone in the eye�then you Throw two Throws and pick the
lowest. So, no, if you are bad at shooting you can�t game the system and do a
called shot every round.

Lost Throw for a Called Shot

If you�re trying to hit a specific spot on a foe, that loses a Throw.

Exception:Trying to disarm a foe will not result in a lost die if you also elect to
cause no damage or harm with the attack.

Lost Throw for Injury

If your maximum Toughness is more than 0 and you have been reduced to 0, you lose a
Throw to physical actions until you have at least 1 Toughness. You do not lose
additional Throws for additional injuries.

DEFAULT TO GIVING, NOT TAKING THROWS

As in non-Action, if, in an opposed Throw, a tactical asymmetry can be represented

by giving Extra Throws to one party or taking Lost Throws from the other, default
to giving the Extra Throws.

And, as in non-action, if one party in an opposed Throw is at minimum Throws (one

Throw ) and distinct disadvantages keep piling on, add Extra Throws to an
opponent�s Throw.

Be careful not to give and take Throws to represent the same asymmetry. Like if
Laura has the high ground and Bailey has a the low ground and they�re 10 feet
apart, give Laura an Extra Throw, don�t also subtract one from Bailey.

TIP: LEAVE YOUR THROWS ON THE TABLE

Often after actually throwing and playing out a round, you�ll likely end up in a
situation somewhat similar to the one you were just in, so remember how many Throws
you�re throwing even after they hit the table. Leave the dice or cards there so its
clear how many you threw. The next round, if you want to try the same action again
you can re-Throw the same Throws without recalculating, or easily add or subtract
one to represent a slightly changed situation.

3. Resolved Any Uncontested Actions

If nobody wants to stop the character from doing what they announced and nothing
they�ll announce will interfere with them, assume it is happening during the
round�make any Throws necessary, as in the Basic Task Resolution section.

4. Other Characters Announce, Collect Throws, Resolve Uncontested Actions

Second-least Agile creature goes through steps 1-3 above, then the third-least
Agile, etc. until all characters have announced and any uncontested actions
(including just moving) are resolved.

5. Throw For A Clash

Everyone performing a contested or overlapping action now collects their dice or

cards and Throws along with anyone else whose action could affect theirs�this group
of competing attempts to do things first is called a Clash. Everybody involved in a
Clash Throws at once.

If there are multiple confrontations that don�t overlap: it�s possible for a fight
with characters squaring off against multiple opponents to be actually made up of
multiple clashes, so long as none of the personnel could interfere with each other.
So Alfred and Bebe could be fighting Ceelo and Didi and Eve could be fighting Fifi
and that would be two clashes you�d resolve separately. If, however, Fifi was
trying to pickpocket Alfred it would then all be one Clash.

If there are competing drivers/pilots in a chase there�s an exception� drivers

always count as being in a separate Clash with each other, even though each
driver's actions could theoretically influence everyone in either car/boat/plane
etc. So: each round, unless there's a tie, one or the other driver gets to pull a
maneuver each round. This is because your vehicle keeps moving forward even if a
character in it acts first.

6. Host Announces the Enemy�s Highest Throw In The Clash

7. Players Announce Their Throws In The Clash

8. Highest-Rolling Action Happens

If the successful action involves damaging another character the attacker then
Throws damage (See DAMAGE below).

If something disturbing happens one or more characters may have to throw Calm
checks (See CALM CHECKS below)

If a tie for first occurs, then one of two things happens:

-If it's a tie between two characters on the same side (ie, two PCs who are getting
along or two hostile NPCs with the same goal at the moment) then the PCs can decide
who will act.

-If it's a tie between characters on opposing sides the situation stays mostly the
same as it was before the Clash and the contest stays undecided, but the Host
changes something in the situation that affects everyone in the Clash, like: the
roof could begin to collapse from the weight of the combatants.

9. Nonconflicting Actions On The Same Side Happen If They Beat Their

Targets/Intensities

Note only one attack can succeed per Clash�the highest-rolling one on the winning
side. This includes grabs, disarming attempts, psychic abilities, targeted
spellcasting, etc. This is true even if the attacks aren�t directly conflicting.

If, say, Ann successfully kicks Bill (highest-throwing action) and Cassie just
wants to dive out of the way of a cannibal ghoul and get her gun she can do that.

Any dodge or escape on the winning side succeeds if it rolled higher than the
enemy.

10. Other Clashes Resolved

If the round involved multiple Clashes, resolve them as in 5-9

11. Start Over

Often only one thing happens per round. If characters are still involved in Action
after all that, start over at 1 above.

-----

ACTION CHEAT SHEET

Action Cheat Sheet

1. Slowest Character Announces What They Want To Do (make Calm and Injury Checks
first if necessary)
2. Figure Out How Many Throws They Get
3. Resolved Any Uncontested Actions
4. Other Characters Announce, Collect Throws, Resolve Uncontested Actions
5. Throw For A Clash
6. Host Announces the Enemy�s Highest Throw In The Clash
7. Players Announce Their Throws In The Clash
8. Highest-Rolling Action Happens
9. Nonconflicting Actions On The Same Side Happen If They Beat Their
Targets/Intensities (Only One Attack Can Succeed Per Clash)
10. Other Clashes Resolved
11. Start Over

Extra Throws
1 Throw to start
Extra Throws, including:
-Higher Stat Throw
-Distraction Throw
-Defense Throw
-Weapon Throw
Lost Throws including:
-Lost Throw for a Called Shot
-Lost Throw for Injury
�if you can act at all, you always get a minimum of 1 Throw.

RULES FOR COMMON SITUATIONS

Rules for a few special things (magic, psychic abilities, how the Host uses tarot
cards, etc) will be dealt with later, but here are the rest of the rules for things
that will come up in a game of Demon City that aren�t covered already.

DAMAGE

Standard Damage

If an action involves damaging another character the attacker Throws damage as

follows:

They take a number of dice/cards equal to the target's base Toughness, Throw and
take the lowest. The target subtracts that number from their Current Toughness.

If the target is at 0 Toughness the target acts at minus one Throw (unless the
target�s Maximum Toughness is 0�like a baby, or someone with a severe connective
tissue disease).

If a target�s maximum Toughness is 0 and they get hit, they will die without
medical attention after two rounds.

If the target�s Current Toughness goes below 0 they are unconscious or otherwise so
hurt they can�t act�they are Out Of The Fight for now, at negative Toughness. It
doesn�t matter how far into negative Toughness they are in this game. Out of The
Fight is a specific thing described in more detail below.

Example: So if you have Base and Current Toughness 3, someone successfully shooting
you would then Throw 3d10, take the lowest, and subtract that from 3.

Everything�from fists to flamethrowers�that does damage inflicts Standard Damage

unless otherwise noted. The advantage of a weapon is in adding Throws to the attack
roll, not usually to damage.

Massive Damage

Some unusual weapons (supernatural abilities, high explosives at close range, etc)
do Massive Damage. In this case you Throw one Throw for each point of the
attacker's stat used to attack�Toughness, Firearms, Hand to Hand, Agility, etc�and
take the highest and subtract that from the target�s Toughness. These weapons will
be noted in the Store Section of the book in the Library.

Damage to an unresisting target (like one asleep) is always Massive.

Minor Damage

A few weapons (like a paintball gun) only do one point of Toughness damage no
matter what. These are all noted in the Store Section.

Armor

Kevlar and other protection raises your Base Toughness for the purpose of deciding
damage. The exact amount is noted in The Store Section.

Out Of The Fight

If a character is reduced to less than 0 Toughness they are unconscious or so hurt

they can�t take any action. It doesn�t matter how far below 0 you are. If you
weren�t in Action rounds before, you are now.

Anyone reduced to negative Toughness will miss at least one round�even if they
immediately receive medical attention. Then it�s time for Recovery Throws:

Physical Recovery Throws

Once someone at negative Toughness has lost their turn, before announcing an action
in the next round, they Throw a Maximum Toughness check (ie whatever their
Toughness usually is) vs the Intensity of the attack that dealt the last wound
(unless their Maximum Toughness is 0�see below). This is usually the attack stat
(Toughness, Agility, Hand-to-Hand, Firearms, etc) of whoever dealt the blow, though
inanimate objects (explosive traps, poisons etc) can also hurt people and that
Intensity, if not otherwise noted, will have to be estimated by the Host. This
means injured players are going to be constantly referencing whatever it was that
hurt them in order to get that Intensity number�this is a good thing, it reinforces
the reality of the story we�re telling��That scorpion venom was a�.7 Intensity, so
roll over 7, Priscilla�.

A success means they have dragged themselves together and can act again in that
round. They are at 0 Current Toughness and probably Knocked Down though (see
Knocked Down below).

A failure means they have to do this again next round (unless they have Maximum
Toughness 1, in which case they just blew their chance and they are dead or in
critical condition.

If a PC fails this recovery Throw a number of times equal to their Maximum

Toughness, they are (players� choice) dead or in critical condition.

A character whose Maximum Toughness is 0 will immediately end up dead or in

critical condition if they don�t receive medical attention in the next 2 rounds
after being successfully attacked. They get no Toughness Throws (see below) of
their own and must rely entirely on someone�s medic Throw.

If anyone successfully attacks a character while they�re Out of the Fight, they
will instantly die.

If a PC dies, that player�s next PC in the same campaign will gain a +1 Toughness
so long as that would not make it 5. If it would, the PC may add 1 to any other
stat so long as it does not make that stat 5.

If the PC is in critical condition, they will not return the same--the character
may be hospitalized at the end of the session and they return after 1d10 sessions,
but at -1 Toughness (minimum 0) and with a permanent disability:

Throw d10:
1. Lost an eye (Perception for visual checks: -3, minimum 0)
2. Blind
3. Deaf
4. Nerve damage�sense of touch gone (Reroll Agility, rounding down, until you get a
lower result than before)
5. Sense of smell and taste gone
6. Vocal cord damage�mute
7. Requires cane or walker (move at half speed, Reroll Agility, rounding down,
until you get a lower result than before)
8. Requires wheelchair (quarter speed, Reroll Agility, rounding down, until you get
a lower result than before)
9. One arm (Reroll Agility, rounding down, until you get a lower result than
before)
10. One hand (Reroll Agility, rounding down, until you get a lower result than
before

If a character who returns to play this way is hospitalized in critical condition

again and rolls the same disability a second time, they are dead.

If the player elects to play a new character anyway once the character gets out of
the hospital, they do not get the Toughness bonus to their next PC, but can have
the old PC as a free Contact, not taking up a slot.

Medic Skill

If someone is Out Of The Fight an ally can try to help them. If they have Medic
skill they can Throw on that vs the Intensity of the injury in addition to the
normal Physical Recovery Throw in each round the PC is entitled to a Physical
Recovery Throw�or they can throw alone if it�s the first round after the damage
occurs (they can help the patient recover that round though the patient will still
spend that round out of the fight).

If they succeed, it is as if the Character had made their Toughness Throw.

A Character may use Medic on themself if they make a successful Calm check against
the Intensity of whatever caused the injury.

Outside a hospital, anyone with Medic skill can gain up to 1 Extra Throw if they
have a helper who can remain calm (make a Calm check vs the Intensity of the
injury)�the helper does not have to have Medic skill to grant the medic this bonus
Throw.

Untrained Medics

If no-one nearby has the Medic skill, untrained allies aren�t necessarily
useless�if the untrained character�s Knowledge is higher than the victim�s
Toughness, the patient may use that score instead to make the Toughness Throw to
recover, though they still only Throw for a number of rounds equal to the patient�s
Toughness.

Hospitals

During Downtime (see below) a character at less than Maximum Toughness can go to a
hospital. They will regain Toughness at 1 point per week up to their Max. In the US
and other underdeveloped countries they will have to throw a Cash check vs the
Intensity of the Injury or lose a point of Cash.

PANIC AND INSANITY

If something disturbing happens one or more PCs may have to throw a Calm Check or
else lose a point (or more) of Calm. Calm, like damage to Toughness, doesn�t have
extreme mechanical effects until you reach 0.

What counts as disturbing depends on the PC�for most people, being shot (or even
shot at) for the first time triggers a Calm check, as does getting hit and even
successfully shooting someone else. Supernatural creatures always trigger Calm
checks the first time a character sees them.

Non-supernatural shocks generally have an Intensity of 1-5.

At 0 Calm, a character is obviously not mentally well. A Motive�s characteristic

Panic Mode is engaged occur when a Demon City character falls to exactly 0 Calm.
(Not negative calm--at that point total ineffectiveness kicks in, but since you
usually lose 1 Calm point at a time, you will usually pass this point on your way
to negative calm.)

How a PC behaves when they panic depends on their Motive. In the first round after
falling to zero Calm, there is a special mechanical effect that takes place.

If a PC starts the entire campaign with 0 Calm, they do not spend a round enduring
the special mechanical effect described when their Motive�s special Panic Mode
begins, but Panic Mode should guide their roleplaying. Also the mechanical �first
round� effect doesn�t take place in the round where a character at negative calm
rises to 0 Calm.

Even if you regain Calm afterward, you�re still going to strike people as a little
unusual.

As soon as character drops to 0 Calm or below, Throw d100 on the Panic Symptom
table at the back of the book�use that to guide their role-playing. If the Throw
doesn�t make sense with the character�s Panic Mode or the situation, Throw again or
make something up that does.

At 0 Calm, the symptom will not be severe or consistent enough to prevent the
character from trying to take useful action.

Mental Recovery Throws

At less than 0 Calm, a character is Panicked. It doesn�t matter how far below 0 you
are. If you weren�t in Action rounds before, you are now. They are not behaving
helpfully or rationally at all and the Host may take control of the character�s
actions if they judge the Player is not using the character to cause enough
entertaining mayhem.

They will spend at least one round acting in an unhelpful way�even if someone
starts using Therapy on them immediately.

At the beginning of each round afterward, the player Throws a Maximum Calm check vs
the Intensity of the thing that pushed them over the edge (If not otherwise noted,
the Intensity will have to be estimated by the Host). This means injured players
are going to be constantly referencing whatever it was that shocked them in order
to get that Intensity number�this is a good thing, it reinforces the reality of the
story we�re telling.

A success means they have dragged themselves together and can act semi-rationally
again in the next round. They are at 0 Calm.

A failure means they have to do this again next round if they can.

If a PC fails this Throw a number of times equal to their Maximum Calm, they have
gone Insane (see below).

Characters whose maximum Calm is 1 only make this Recovery Throw once, and those
whose maximum Calm is 0 go Insane as soon as they lose a Calm point (unless someone
can use Therapy skill�see below).

At negative calm, symptoms rolled on the Panic Symptom table will be severe enough
to prevent the character from doing anything to help their party or the case.

Therapy Skill

If someone is Panicked an ally can try to help them. If they have Therapy skill
they can Throw on that vs the Intensity of the shock in addition to the normal
Mental Recovery Throw in each round the PC is entitled to a Mental Recovery
Throw�or they can throw alone if it�s the first round after the shock occurs (they
can help the patient recover that round though the patient will still spend that
round acting irrationally no matter what).

If they succeed, it is as if the Character had made their Calm Throw.

Insane PCs

Once a PC goes insane, the player has a choice: they can immediately turn the
insane PC over to the Host permanently and start on making a new character or the
player can elect to Cause Mayhem.

Causing Mayhem means the PC cannot do anything helpful to the other PCs for the
rest of the session, and must, in fact, behave poorly. If they do so until the end
of the session or until another character kills them, then the player�s next PC
will get a +1 Calm (or +1 to any other stat if this turns out to be a 5). The rule
for re-rolling to confirm 5s does not apply.

If the insane character is alive at the end of the session after Causing Mayhem,
there is another option: they may choose the Therapy option for Downtime.

If the Throw is successful, the PC is back in action next session with 0 Calm.

If the Throw is unsuccessful, the player may elect to make a new character and
institutionalize the Insane one. Institutionalized PCs are not necessarily gone
forever�if at any time in the future the player elects to forgo a usual Downtime
Throw and instead Throw Therapy for the institutionalized PC and that Throw
succeeds, that PC can come back (at 0 Max Calm). However, this will deny the
current PC a Downtime Throw that session on a success or failure.

Hosts should note that PCs Causing Mayhem is a very delicate situation because not
only can they upset other players but they can, if they�re not careful, make the
game too silly to be scary. The Host has the right to veto any Mayhem action
immediately and should not be afraid to use it.

RULES FOR OTHER THINGS IN AND OUT OF COMBAT

Actions

In combat, you get one action per round�some single thing that would take six
seconds or less, plus you can move. See Movement below for how far.
Armor

See �armor� under �Damage� above.

Called Shots and Disarming

Trying to hit or stab a specific place on an enemy results in a Lost Throw . If

someone with only one Throw otherwise tries a called shot, they Throw two Throws
and pick the lowest.

Claws, BItes & Pincer Attacks

Some kinds of creatures have claws, bites or powerful pincer attacks (like bear
hugs or tiger jaws) that inflict standard damage plus grapple at the same time. Not
all claws are like this�a domestic cat�s claws don�t work like that on people, for
instance.

Contact Creation

You can add a helpful Contact at any time, using the rules up in character
generation under �Starting Contacts� as long as you have a slot open. If you don�t
have any open you have to actually meet an NPC during the course of the game and
talk them into helping you, or acquire the Contact through a special reward like a
Card�these will be described when they come up.

Contacts And Other NPCs� Stats

If it comes up and you have no other guidelines established, throw these randomly
like any PC. When it comes to their area of expertise, Contacts chosen specially
for that expertise are going to have at least a 4 in the Skill and at least a 3 in
the associated Characteristic�rethrow the characteristic until you get a result
that fits. If necessary, the dice determine the Contact�s other Characteristics (as
if a custom PC with no Motive) and the Host chooses 4 other skills for the Contact
at Characteristic+1.

Contacts Getting Back To You

Just because you call a Contact doesn�t mean they�re available immediately. If you
need them right away, assume there�s a 50% (1-5 on a d10) chance they�re get back
to you (or answer the door) right away during hours they�d normally be up and
about, and 30% (1-3 on a d10) chance during hours they wouldn�t. Otherwise they�ll
get back to you in 2d10 hours. If so, the Host should mark down how long it�s been
since players got in touch with a contact.

Contacts Vs People You Know

There�s no reason you can�t just meet an NPC and get along and call them later for
help�a Contact is special, however: they will always be willing to help with any
reasonable request within their area of expertise or sphere of influence, and if
they are killed or otherwise have their lives destroyed the PC will lose a point of
Calm.

Cops
You drove into a newsstand, killed three girl scouts, broke a water main and now
you�re being chased by someone with a claw for a face. Did anyone with a badge
notice? The simplest way to do this, barring any other prep, is for the Host to
throw in the first round and have cops arrive on a 10, then again in the second
round and have them arrive on a 9 or 10, then again in the third round and have
them arrive on 8 or 9 or 10, etc.

Unless they�re personal contacts, cops will generally find reasons not to help and
will do more harm than good, either accidentally or because they are actually
corrupted by the horrors you�re facing. This is true in the game as well.

Diseases

On the one hand, diseases are an important element in keeping horror staples like
packs of rats scary, on the other hand, diseases are really boring in play (�Week
2: you�re sicker�). You can treat them like poisons and venoms (below) but there
are no separate rules for diseases�if the Host is putting them in the game, they�ll
need to handcraft them to fit the adventure and make sure they play an interesting
role.

Drowning and Suffocation

If you begin suffocating or drowning,Toughness Throw vs a 1 each round to avoid

taking 1 point of Toughness damage. The intensity goes up by 1 each round.

Falling

An unbraced fall does standard damage at an Intensity equal to 1 per every 10 feet
you fall. After 50 feet it does Massive Damage. If you�re prepared for it, a person
can drop up to 20 feet before taking damage by making a successful Agility or
Athletics check.

Fire

Fire does standard damage at Intensity 3 to anyone who fails to avoid it (usually
an Agility check). Someone on fire can spend a round to stop, drop and roll and put
it out. If they keep doing things while on fire (popular strategy among monsters
and unhinged sorcerers) the fire will naturally go out after a round where it does
1 damage or 10 damage.

Grappling, Grabbing, and Restraining

Grappling covers two situations with slightly different rules�it starts with
Grabbing and can escalate from there into Restraining.

Grabbing is a physical attack that does no damage�taking someone�s wrist, leg, etc.
However, if someone is successfully grabbed, all attackers (including the grabber)
get an Extra Throw against the grabbed target the next round. Breaking out of a
Grab (on your next turn) is a Hand To Hand, Agility, or Toughness Throw in most
cases (whatever stat is higher) vs the enemy�s Hand to Hand or Toughness (whichever
is higher). The target loses a Throw to do most other things, assuming they�re ever
possible with a body part grabbed.
Restraining is a notch harder to do can be achieved by successfully winning a clash
and scoring a second physical attack on an opponent already Grabbed (by you or an
ally). Again, this attack does no damage. Anyone within melee range targeting a
Restrained character (including the grappler if they have fangs or some other
weapon easily capable of doing damage to the target) not only gains an Extra Throw
but does Massive Damage if they want�as if attacking a helpless foe. Breaking out
of Restraint (on your next turn) is a Hand To Hand, Agility, or Toughness Throw in
most cases (whatever stat is the best) at minus one Lost Throw vs the enemy�s Hand
to Hand or Toughness (whichever is higher). The target loses a Throw to do most
other things, assuming they�re even possible while held tightly.

Hostage situations generally involve Restraining.

If a grappler is hurt by someone else during a grapple they need to make a Calm
check to maintain the grapple.

Bad guys grapple people a lot�probably more than most games give them credit for.

Hidden Intensity Numbers

Sometimes the Host may not want a player to know how difficult a n Intensity umber
is, or whether they�ve gotten all the information they can out of a given
situation. In this case the Host should make the Throw secretly for the player.

Intimidation

Intimidation is trying to scare someone into doing something. It�s an Appeal vs

Calm Throw with an Extra Throw if the potential intimidator is usefully armed or
has a higher Toughness than the target or both. The intimidator may use Persuasion
instead if the threat is one they are willing to carry out or Deception if they
won�t carry through.

Knocked Down

If a PC is on the ground during Action Rounds, they need to take a round to get up.
There are lots of thing you can do while on the ground, but most of them will incur
a Lost Throw .

Luck

Is there a nail clipper in your jacket? Is there a flashlight in your car? This
kind of thing can be left up to straight chance: the Host assigns a number
according to how likely it seems and the player rolls a d10.

Lying

If a character wants to see if another one is lying by studying their affect,

that�s Perception or Therapy vs Appeal or Deception.

Movement

If it�s necessary to know, a human can basically run 60 feet in a round (10 feet
per second) if they�re not doing anything else or 30 feet plus do something (like
attack). If it�s a chase or a race, then the winner is a contest of Agility or
Toughness, depending on conditions (if it�s about obstacles, that�s Agility, if
it�s simply a flat out dash, thats Toughness), or Athletics if that�s better. You
can dodge and move up to your maximum movement at the same time, and that counts as
acting only defensively, giving you +1 Throw.

When it comes to vehicles, they have maximum speeds, usually starting at 6 (a

bicycle or a Cheetah). If you need to compare long-term speeds of running
characters, use their Toughness score as a speed.

Owning Things

Do you have a gun already? Buying things is a Cash check based on the price (see
The Store for many specific item Intensities)�owning them already is a Cash check
modified by how likely your kind of character is to have one of those�the Host can
give Extra Throws based on what�s likely. Like: Laptops are expensive but someone
who works even a sucky white collar job likely has one. There are more details
about this under The Store in the Library section.

Poisons and Venoms

There are two kinds of these things: instant and normal. Instant ones are rare and
will be noted�they do damage right away and work like any other kind of damage.
Normal poisons and venoms kill you slowly�unlike regular damage, they cause a
character to Throw Toughness every half hour against the Intensity to avoid taking
standard damage again until they receive an antivenom or other treatment. Most
hospitals have antivenoms for most poisons and venoms, assuming they can identify
the source. Outside a hospital, a medic may help with the Throws as usual.

Random Intensities

Sometimes the Host has no idea what an Intensity should be (for example, a car
careens off a bridge�how high is the bridge?) in which case, the Host can go ahead
and Throw to decide the number.

Shooting Into Hand to Hand Combat

This is a terrible idea. If you win the Clash but don�t have Firearms skill, you
have a flat 50% chance (or whatever chance if there�s multiple combatants or one
really big combatant like an undead bear) of hitting the wrong character. With
Firearms skill, instead of a 50-50 chance, you make a second check against an
Intensity of 4 (or higher if there�s more than 2 brawling) and hit the right
combatant if you make the check.

Stealth and Deception In Combat

Obviously beginning a round hidden from an opponent grants the attacker an Extra
Throw. Using Stealth to get away from an opponent that already sees you or to
suddenly attack an opponent who thinks you�re non-hostile or subdued is a little
trickier:

First, there must be some plausible way the Stealthy character could do this. For
example: they appear dead, they�re in a dark room, they�re in a crowd or a series
of mazelike corridors. Stealth and deception need conditions that allow them to
function.

Second, it is possible to try to deceive a foe while acting in some other way
(aided by the stealth or deception)�appearing wounded then lashing out, for
instance. In this case, if a Stealth or Deception Throw is necessary, it is made as
soon as the character announces and it�s resolved immediately, then, if it�s
successful, Throws are added to the attack itself, which is resolved as a normal
part of the Clash.

Talking In Combat

Talking in combat usually doesn�t take up an action, however, there�s an exception

if the character is actively trying to persuade, deceive, bribe a target or
otherwise use talking to change a hostile person�s behavior�generally if it�s a
Throw-worthy attempt it�s definitely going to take an action.

The Host may allow a character to try to make a simple argument or appeal while
taking an action�there�s no reason a character can't dodge a kick while going �I�m
not Barbara, you idiot! Do I look like Barbara?�.

Teaming Up On A Task

Helping out in a Medic situation or in combat have already covered, but if

someone�s helping out in any other kind of task, the general rule is: help that
would be significant adds an Extra Throw to the Throw of the character with the
highest Stat, but multiple helpers do not always add multiple Extra Throws. Use
your judgment to avoid �spamming� tasks that wouldn�t yield to a mass effort (each
new PC trying to charming a busy bouncer after the first failed would likely only
make them less well-inclined toward the party).

Touch Attacks

Some effects (like magic) require only touching enemies rather than hitting them.
If you�re just trying to touch someone, you get an Extra Throw .

Tying Someone or Something Up

Once someone is restrained (see �Grappling, Grabbing and Restraining� above) an

accomplice can tie the victim up without even having to throw if nobody tries to
interfere. Note the person grabbed can normally only try to resist one foe at a
time.

Unskilled Use of Skills

No matter how high your Knowledge you won�t know if there�s a Dennys on the corner
of Ocean and 53rd in a neighborhood you�ve never been to without Local Knowledge.
However, you might know whether Denny�s has many outlets in this city. Whether
something usually achieved with a skill can be used by someone without that skill
using only an Ability check is up to the Host. Since Demon City is set in the
present, the simplest way to evaluate an action is by imagining a real world
example�are you trained at burglary? If not�could you disable an alarm system using
only common sense?
Vehicle Agility/Maneuverability

Vehicles, like characters, have an Agility rating. This is actually a number you
subtract from the driver�s Agility or Drive skill. This number is only important
when the driver is dueling with another thing that has an Agility score (a
pedestrian, another car, a swarm of bats, etc) when you need to compare them for
purposes of seeing which gets a Higher Stat Throw. If these numbers go into the
negatives, that�s ok�you just need to see who is better. So, if Harley (Drive: 1)
on his motorcycle (Agility: -2) = -1 is trying to dodge Mac (Drive: 2) in his semi
(Agility: -4)= -2 then Harley has the Higher Stat Throw.

When you�re not comparing scores like this, just use the driver�s Drive or Agility
score.

Vehicle Combat

Driving (or, without Driving, Agility) is the stat you use for most attacking and
defending in vehicle combat.

When a vehicle intentionally and successfully hits another, or when a vehicle gets
hit in any way by something capable of hurting it, the driver of the target car
rolls d100 on the Vehicle Damage table in the Tables Section at the end of the
book.

The table is set up mostly just for cars and trucks�if the result you get doesn�t
make sense for your vehicle, just throw Standard Damage. Most other vehicles you�d
be using are more fragile than cars and trucks anyway.

Waiting, Aiming, and Ambushes

Declared actions cannot be conditional, that is: they cannot be �if-then��the

character has to declare how they are spending the next round using the information
given them by the initiative order up until that point.

However, it�s perfectly legit to say you�re �Waiting to see who comes through the
door� or otherwise preparing for something that you suspect will happen. For these
purposes, spending a round waiting or someone (hostile) to move to a given
position, aiming a ranged weapon, or setting up an ambush are all the same
action�they grant the attacker an additional Throw to their attack in the next
round, assuming all goes as the waiting/aiming/ambushing party suspects it will.

Which Stat?

If 2 stats could apply equally, use the higher one. Skills are generally higher
than the Characteristic they�re derived from, so usually a Skill beats a
Characteristic when it�s the same character.

The Horror�s Deck

Rather than dice, the Host of Demon City typically uses a specially prepared deck
of tarot cards. In most situations, the cards in the deck are used exactly like
rolls of the dice�throwing a 6 of Wands is equivalent to rolling a 6, for example,
as is throwing the card The Lovers�which is marked with a 6 at the top.
However, there are a few important differences.

Before each adventure, after the Host has decided what the ultimate creature or
creatures will be lurking behind the events in the adventure, the Host should take
the full tarot deck and extract from it a smaller deck to be used during that
session�The Horror�s Deck. The Horror�s Deck should be used by the Host in every
session until the Horror that formed that particular deck is defeated.

The Horror�s Deck should include:

-A few (typically 1-4) cards specifically associated with the major horrors that
will ultimately feature in the course of the adventure�even if it may not appear in
this session. For example, if the adventure includes a werewolf, the deck would
likely include The Moon (18) and possibly Strength (8). The associations of cards
with specific horrors is detailed in the Horrors section.

-A few cards associated with specific places or NPCs that are important in the
adventure. For example, if a rich woman features prominently in the adventure, the
Queen of Pentacles would appear in The Horror�s Deck, if an abandoned factory was
an important location, an 8 of Cups might be in the deck. The connections of cards
with specific ideas, kinds of people and kinds of places are noted on the endpapers
of this book and in more detail in the Tarot section in the Host�s section of the
book.

-Enough other cards that the deck contains at least one card worth every number one
through ten. So: One card worth One (any of the four Aces�Wands, Cups, Swords, or
Pentacles, or the Magician�the card marked 1 at the top), a single card worth two
(two of Wands, Cups, etc or the High Priestess, the card marked 2 at the top), a
single card worth 3 (3 of Wands, Cups, etc or The Empress�the card marked 3) etc
all the way up through ten�so, ten cards allowing a random Throw of 1-10. These
other cards should be chosen with an eye to making them as consonant with the ideas
you want to include in the adventure as possible�if indulgence, passion and
drunkenness feature heavily, feature the suit of Cups prominently, if violence and
pain, then feature Swords, if money and power are important, use Pentacles, etc.
Again, these meanings are detailed in the Host�s section. Note court cards�Pages,
Knights, Queens and Kings�are worth 10.

When used in resolving action, The Horror�s Deck has a few kinks:

-The deck will often be slightly unbalanced�a deck including the Wheel of Fortune
and the Knight of Swords has at least two tens in it. This is fine�sometimes
horrors have an advantage, that�s why they�re horrors.

-The deck may also include cards worth more than 10 (like The Moon). Outside Action
rounds, these cards are worth 10. In combat these represent two Throws�the first
Throw is a 10 and the next round the same card stays on the table, representing the
Host�s first throw for the next round and is now worth the second digit on the
card. So the Moon (18) is a ten in the first round and then an 8 the next. Note
this doesn�t necessarily represent the very next card�if the Host needs to throw 3
cards to stab and the first is the Moon, the Host still throws two other cards
after as usual. If the Host wins the Clash (likely, they threw the Moon, worth 10
that round) and does damage, they still throw other cards as usual to determine
damage. However�in the next round, when the Host declares an action, the first
Throw they lay for that Clash will be 8. Everyone at the table will know this when
deciding their actions�these high cards represent extraordinary efforts and all-
out, committed attacks�they are likely to succeed, but leave the foe reeling,
possibly open.

-Note that Judgement is worth 10, then 0 and The World is worth 10 then 1.
-If more than one of these high cards is thrown in the same Clash, they all stay on
the table for the next round and the higher one represents the first Throw, the
next highest the second (if there is one), etc. Unused cards stick around and are
used in the following round.

-After each throw, as usual, the cards should be left on the table until the next
Throw. If a foe is defeated, whatever cards are on the table when the threat that
threw those cards is ended (captured, killed, otherwise defused) can be distributed
among the players as rewards (see below), starting with whoever dealt the final
blow or made the decisive move. Note that while the major horrors of an adventure
decide what is in the deck, this rule for collecting cards can be applied to any
foe faced along the way.

-It is possible to meaningfully defeat a hostile NPC without combat (for example,
discovering evidence of their guilt and making it public) or meaningfully defeat a
foe that isn�t a creature as such (like, say, a complex trap). In both cases, if
the achievement is significant, the group should be eligible for a reward from
among whatever cards are on the table when the achievement occurs.

Cards As Rewards:

-Players don�t actually �get� the cards, they just write down on their character
sheet that that card is now involved with their fate. The Card remains in the
Horror�s Deck and continues to function until the adventure ends and the party
takes on a new case.

-Players don�t use cards like the Host does and vice versa. The rules are
different.

-The specific PC reward associated with each card is listed on the endpapers.

-Players can use cards when the situation described in the reward (�Gain a Throw vs
Calm loss at the sight of violence or death�) occurs, or, if a specific situation
is not described, at any other time it would physically be possible, including
Downtime (see below).

-The card rewards represent chance favoring a PC, not supernatural intervention�the
card cannot make something otherwise physically impossible in the game world
possible.

-Some cards allow a PC to Throw a number higher than 10. This means the card always
wins in a Clash unless facing some unusual magic or a high card thrown by (say) an
insane PC.

-It�s obviously hard to collect a card worth 10 as a reward�if a 10 is on the table

when the enemy lost, how did they lose? It is possible, though:
The PCs can enact a crushing and earned victory�a PC uses a card reward that grants
them a Throw higher than ten to deliver a coup-de-grace.
The foe can be humiliated: the enemy throws 10 in with a damage Throw and then, in
the next round, seeing they are in danger, runs away unopposed (requiring no
Throw). The party lets them flee and collects the reward.
Surprise: the enemy, after leaving a Ten on the table in some past venture, thinks
they are safe and are killed in a round where they are distracted in the middle of
performing an action requiring no Throw on their part.
Trickery: The PCs can get the foe to enact their own ruin in a scheme requiring no
Throws on the foe�s part�such as tricking a vampire into drinking holy water.
-A player may only have one card ruling their fate at a time�so if they have a card
when they defeat a foe, they must decide whether to switch it out or not�they
cannot use the reward on the old card immediately just to hog both benefits.

-Players are free to review what the cards mean before making a choice.

Other Uses Of the Horror�s Deck:

The Host can use the cards in their Horror�s Deck in many other ways:

-Some foes will have specific attacks or effects that activate when a given card or
combination is Thrown, noted in the Horrors section.

-Cards can be used to generate random NPCs and locations during the adventure, like
any other random table. Using cards from the Horror�s Deck ensures a range of
results in line with the ideas the Host wants to emphasize in that adventure�like a
carefully built Random Encounter Table in a dungeon game.

-The Host can create specific events that will be triggered when a given card or
combination appears in a given situation.

-Supernatural abilities allowing precognition or divination can allow a character

to read the Horror�s Deck to gain insight into what is to come�depending on the
precise method used, this will allow a general reading (what the cards broadly can
imply) or a specific one (what the cards signify in this particular adventure) or
both.

Downtime

There are gruesome sights in the city and, if you're playing the game right, the
player's characters will see them. They'll see mutilation and terrible hybrid
things that should not have been and yet were. If the characters survive, they'll
get to take a break.

Downtime happens when the party (in-game) finishes a significant, major

confrontation (for example, after getting through an hours-long assault on a hotel
by a besieging army of eyeless ghouls or after almost dying on a suspension bridge
during what video gamers call a boss fight) and then everyone has at least 24 hours
(in game) to rest afterward at the same time as the game group is winding down a
game session (in real life). Downtime is the main way that characters improve, and
the main way they regain lost Calm points.

No matter how much time passes in-game between adventures you only get one Downtime
between sessions.

When the Host announces Downtime...

-First: everybody gets the following option--turn one of the (non-hostile) people
they met during the adventure into a Contact (this does not use up a slot) or try
to gain one skill point to spend on a skill. This must be a skill the PC failed
when attempting to use. In addition, the PC must make a successful Perception check
vs the Intensity of their old skill rank to gain this skill point (that is, they
grasped what they were doing wrong or how to fix it).

-Second: if a major menace was defeated, they will all regain a point of Calm
unless they were Insane (less than zero Calm) at the end of the session (in which
case they can only regain Calm by successfully choosing Therapy during Downtime).

-Third: A character at less than Maximum Toughness can go to a hospital, assuming

they are in a position where that�s feasible. They will regain Toughness at 1 point
per week. In the US and other underdeveloped countries they will have to throw a
Cash check vs the Intensity of the Injury or lose a point of Cash.

-Fourth: Gain/use the reward associated with a Card if they have it and if it�s the
appropriate time to use it.

-Fifth: Each players should announce what their main Downtime activity will be
while they're recovering and then throw on the appropriate table below to see how
it went.

Each Downtime activity has its own potential risks and rewards, detailed below.
"Other Hobbies" is a catch-all category for anything not covered, but Hosts should
feel free to make up tables for their own Downtime activities following the general
risk-reward scheme of the ones below.

No characteristic can drop below zero due to a Downtime roll, so risky activities
become less risky once you have nothing left to lose. Note also that many Downtime
activities allow you to regain lost points but relatively few allow a PC to simply
gain higher stats.

Downtime, like other activities, includes opportunities for PCs to gain Extra
Throws, and�as always�pick the highest. In the case of Downtime, the tables give
better results for better throws:

1. The Pal Throw

Having a buddy is better: If multiple party members agree to do the same Downtime
activity�read the same book, go to group therapy or the same therapist (unethical
but whatever�if you find a therapist you can talk to about the ether shadow that
caressed you into oblivion, you tell people), drink together, etc�Throw an extra
Throw, take the better result, and apply that to everyone who participated. Note
the party only gains one Extra Throw for that particular joint activity even if
three or more members are participating. Isolation and meditation can�t be done
together (hippie group meditation is ineffective in the harsh urban reality of
Demon City), though two PCs may choose it and do it separately.

2. Motive Throw

PCs with certain Motives get an Extra Throw for certain activities, this is noted
in the activity description. This Throw is only added to the Throw for the PC with
that Motive even if there�s a Pal Throw, too. They Throw this Throw after the Pal
Throw and take the highest of those results for themself.

3. Card Throw

Some card rewards allow additional Downtime Throws. This Throw is only added to the
throw for the PC with that Card even if there�s a Pal Throw, too, unless noted in
the card description. They Throw this Throw after the Pal Throw (and possible
Motive Throw) and take the highest for themself.

4. Addict�s Throw

If any of the participants in the activity are addicts (see below) they must Throw
a separate Drugs or Drinking Throw as described below, and take the lowest of all
the Throws that apply to them. If there�s a Motive Throw the addict must make it
and select the lowest.

Contacts gained during downtime do not take up slots.

Hosts should make a note of what happens to characters during Downtime, as these
events can provide seeds for the next adventure.

The actual Downtime can be thrown at the end of a session or the beginning of the
next�doing it at the beginning of a session provides a great opportunity to work a
description of how the next mystery begins into the description of PCs doing their
Downtime activity.

Here are the options, in ascending order of chance of regaining Calm, with a few
specialist options at the end�

Working/Training

There are things out there and now that you've seen them you refuse to take a
break� Unlike the exercise or reading options, this is using all your time between
cases pushing toward learning a specific skill rather than doing anything that
could be regarded as recreational. It is almost always a bad idea. Curious-Motive
PCs do not gain an Extra Throw if they work/train with another PC (ie they don�t
benefit from the Pal Throw) but they do get an Extra Throw if they work/train
alone.

1-5 You need a vacation, -1 Calm.

6-9 You managed to tire yourself right out. Luckily you also managed to sleep.
10 Obsession has its benefits, add two skill points to an existing Skill.

Being social (along with a Contact)

Making an effort to hang out with new people can be nerve-wracking, so isn't too
likely to result in regaining Calm, but you stand a good chance of learning
something. In order to make a new friend, choose a Contact--you'll be hanging out
with that Contact and their friends. The other player characters in the party don't
count as Contacts. Investigator-Motive PCs do not gain an Extra Throw if they bring
with another PC along (Ie they don�t benefit from the Pal Throw) but they do get an
Extra Throw if they hang out with their contact and their people alone.

1 Ok that was just weird, lose a point of Calm.

2-7 Hey look, they accepted your friend request
8 Oh, I always wondered how you did that...gain a Skill point in any skill the
Contact has that you don't, or one that they have at a higher level than you.
9 What was her name again? You gain a Skill point in any skill the Contact has that
you don't, or one that they have at a higher level, plus meet another Contact in
the same field.
10 You really hit it off, regain a point of Calm and gain a Skill point in any
skill the Contact has that you don't, or one that they have at a higher score than
you.

Volunteering or being helpful

This includes any kind of broad act of altruism toward strangers or community
participation, from doing hospice care to booking a festival for a DIY venue to
going to church. Ask the player what the specific act will be. No risk, but only a
slight chance of reward--that isn't the point, right? Victim PCs gain an Extra
Throw.

1-8 Well you've got that warm inner glow

9 This is real right here, not that thing in the kitchen with the teeth like
icepicks. Regain a point of Calm. If you lost any points of Appeal, you regain one.
10 You're genuinely connecting with people. Regain a point of Calm plus if you lost
any points of Appeal you regain them all, or gain a random Contact.

Reading

This doesn't including reading case files or obscure Gnostic texts, just
recreational reading. Reading is one of the safest Downtime activities but also one
of the least likely to completely distract you from the horrors you've experienced.
Ask what the PC is reading.

1-8 It was ok, the last chapter was a little weak.

9 Oh man, it's already 1 am? Regain a point of Calm. If you lost any points of
Knowledge you regain one.
10 I didn't want it to end! Regain a point of Calm and gain 2 points in any
Knowledge or Perception-based skills. If you lost any points of Knowledge you
regain one.

Other Hobbies

This is any niche thing not covered by the other categories, like tabletop role-
playing games, fixing cars, or building dollhouse miniatures (always ask what the
hobby is). They can be calming but they also isolate you from people not into the
hobby which, by definition, is most people. PCs with the Friend motive gain an
Extra Throw (on top of the Pal Throw) if they do this with their Friend.

1 You're getting weird. Lose a point of Appeal or Cash�50-50.

2-7 You did that? Cool.
8-9 It's good to get away from all this craziness and build a world of your own,
regain a point of Calm.
10 You entered a contest or somebody bought one or something, regain a point of
Calm and gain a point of Cash.

Exercise

You throw yourself into disciplining you body. This includes lone exercise,
basketball, yoga, whatever. Clean living can be calming, but it's not as much of an
easy fix as indulgence. Always ask what the exercise is. PCs with the Friend motive
gain an Extra Throw (on top of the Pal Throw) if they do this with their Friend.

1 You're starting to bore anyone who doesn't want to talk about squats or sprouts.
Lose a point of Appeal.
2-7 Good job, get dressed.
8-9 You're a finely-tuned machine, regain a point of Calm, Agility or Toughness. If
your Agility or Toughness is zero, you can add a point�past your original score if
necessary.
10 Hey it worked!
Gain a point of Agility or Toughness�past your original score if necessary (up to
5).
or
Regain a point of Calm, Agility or Toughness plus gain a skill point in any
physical skill.

Isolation or Meditation

Getting away from other humans and their concerns�out on a cliff somewhere or just
on a ricepaper mat in your apartment. Always ask what exactly the PC is up to.
Victim and Problem PCs gain an Extra Throw. This cannot be done with a Pal Throw.
Similar to exercising in terms of Risk/Reward.

1 You can�t relate to these idiots. Lose a point of Appeal.

2-7 That was refreshing, but then so is pretty much any day you�re not getting shot
at.
8-9 Seriously you needed that. Regain a lost point of Calm, Appeal or Perception
(if meditating)
10 The quiet brings an icy clarity to your thoughts. Regain a point of Calm, Appeal
or Perception plus gain a skill point in any Perception-based or Appeal-based
skill.

Visiting Your People

This can be hanging out with spouse and kids at home or visiting the extended
family--including via vidchat or phone, or friends who have absolutely nothing to
do with investigating occult atrocities (yet). Ask the player who these people are.
It carries some chance of regaining Calm, and a slim chance of losing more.

1 Tyler did what?--lose a point of Calm.

2-6 Nobody forgot anybody's birthday, nobody lost any teeth.
7-10 Mild-mannered board games and domestic bliss, regain 1 point of Calm.

Cooking

Not just feeding yourself, this indicates immersing yourself thoroughly enough in
cooking (or baking or microbrewing or any other gustatory activity) involved enough
to be a therapeutic activity. Ask what the PC is making and who for. It's fairly
low-risk/low-reward as Downtime activities go. PCs with the Friend motive gain an
Extra Throw if they do this with their Friend.

1 You're too good at this, you're getting out of shape--lose a point of Toughness.
2-6 Congratulations, it was delicious.
7-10 All that recipe-researching and dough-rolling took your mind off your
problems. Regain 1 Calm.

TV/Internet

You're watching more Netflix and cat videos than you probably should. Ask what the
PC is watching.

1 You haven't been out much and you're losing perspective. Lose a point of
Knowledge or Perception (50-50 chance)
2-6 I liked the first season better.
7-9 Yeah, it's boring on this couch, but you could use a little boring right now.
Regain 1 Calm.
10 Sucked down the BBC rabbit-hole. Regain 1 Calm and gain 1 Knowledge-based skill
point.

Therapy

Therapy won't smother the horror quite as fast as liquor or heroin but leads to a
lot less getting screamed at by people you don't know in bathrobes. Host should
name the therapist.

1 This brought up some...stuff. Lose a point of Calm and a point of Cash.

2 We need to meet more than once a week, lose a point of Cash.
3-5 Ok, well hold off on that, time's up for now.
6-9 Well, I'm just glad I could help, regain 1 Calm.
10 I think we've really isolated what's been holding you back--return Calm to
maximum and get a Skill point.

Drinking

Drinking works like drugs but less: decent but slightly smaller chance of regaining
Calm, decent but slightly smaller chance of ruining your life. PCs with the Friend
motive gain an extra throw on drinking Throws (only for themselves) if they do this
with their Friend. Hosts should name the bar.

If you become an alcoholic, during each subsequent Downtime you must Throw a
separate Drinking Throw along with any other Downtime Throw and take whatever
result is worse. The only way to stop once addicted is to start taking Detox during
Downtimes--in which case you only have to throw once on the Detox table.

1 You're sad and sloppy and rock-bottom, lose a point off a random characteristic,
lose a random Contact, and if you aren't addicted already, you are now.
2 You should've quit while you were ahead--if you aren't addicted already, you are
now. If you already are, lose a point of Calm or a Contact (50-50 chance).
3-4 Hey that was a crazy night.
5-9 That took the edge right off. Regain a point of Calm.
10 People like you better drunk--Regain a point of Calm and a new random Contact.

Drugs

Drugs will almost certainly help you regain Calm, but they have a good chance of
inflicting all-new trauma. PCs with the Friend motive gain an Extra Throw (only for
themselves) if they do this with their Friend.

If you become addicted, during each subsequent Downtime you must Throw a separate
Drugs Throw along with any other Downtime Throw (and take whichever result is
worse. The only way to stop once addicted is to start taking Detox during
Downtimes--in which case you only throw once on the Detox table.

1 Yeah, sorry, you're a mess, lose a point off a random characteristic, lose a
point of Calm, and if you aren't addicted already, you are now.
2 It's never quite enough: regain a point of Calm but lose a point off Cash or lose
a random Contact (50-50 chance), and if you aren't addicted already, you are now.
3 This is really good stuff. Regain a point of Calm, but if you aren't already an
addict, you are now.
4-7 Well it does the trick, regain a point of Calm.
8-9 You woke up in a bathtub but it was ok. Regain a point of Calm and a criminal
Contact.
10 Drugs are great because you Throwed a 10! There was this big house, and there
were these guys... return Calm to maximum and gain a new random Contact.

Field Medicine

This is only an option for PCs who end the game at less than Maximum Toughness, and
only needs to be an option if they don�t have access to a hospital or other normal
medical care during the period the Downtime covers. In this case the Medic (this
can be a PC or allied NPC) Throws vs the Intensity of the last injury, with
possible Extra Throws for the quality of the facility (do they have at least
bandages? Clean water?) or help. On a success, the PC regains all their Toughness,
on a failure they regain 1 point. On a fumble, their Maximum Toughness is
permanently reduced by 1 (minimum 0).

Detox

Only necessary for alcoholics and drug addicts, this is the arduous process of
drying out. This Throw covers any number of methods from 12-step to things therapy
to doing some other Downtime activity but done as a way of getting clean. At best,
you get back where you started.

1-8 You're still craving, try again next time.

9 You kicked! Next Downtime you can go back to choosing from the usual list.
However if you choose whatever you just kicked, you'll be immediately re-addicted.
10 You kicked and managed to network in the process. Gain a random Contact and next
Downtime you can go back to choosing from the usual list. However if you choose
whatever you just kicked, you'll be immediately re-addicted.

That�s It
Those are the basic rules. The Library contains some more for specific rules for,
say, using paranormal abilities and magic, what specific creatures can do or what
the game-mechanical difference between driving a pickup and a muscle car is, and
the Tables section contains things like what happens if you crash one of those
bikes but the rules above should get you through 90% of situations you encounter.

�����������

PART 2: HOST SECTION

�
Give me just enough information so that I can lie convincingly.
�
? Stephen King
You Are The Host

1. You are a cordial Host�you invite everyone to a table, make sure they are
comfortable, like the Host of any party you have more information and therefore
more responsibility than other guests. Know where things are.

2. You are a mighty Host�while the Players represent one character each, you
control a vast Host of potentially billions of imaginary lives.

3. You are a Host to the parasite of horror. Outwardly benign, the extending
awfulness must ripen inside you until it ruptures forth into waking life.

4. You are a Host of the horrorshow�like Elvira or the Crypt Keeper, you elucidate
and curate horrors.

5. You are a sacred Host, through you the base simplicities of human companionship
are transubstantiated into the blood and the flesh of terror.

Will It Be Hard?

Should I encourage a potential game master by telling them anyone can do it? Or
flatter and prepare them by explaining how clever a person must be to run a game?

The fact is: Hosting well requires intelligence and talent, and definitely some
work, but, on the other hand, if it goes wrong there�s not much at stake,
especially if your friends have a sense of humor. Lots of people learn to drive,
and that�s much harder and the stakes are much higher.

As you read this section, not all of it will sink in at the same time or to the
same depth (I am still shocked by paragraphs I missed in the first RPG I
read)�that�s ok. It�s my job as designer to put as much that is helpful in this
book as I can, it�s not your job to know it back to front, just know it�s here if
you need it.

The Basic Job Description

If you�ve never played a game like this, the easiest way to conceptualize the job
of the Host is to imagine the Players are playing a video game, and instead of the
computer responding to their commands to look around the corner or fire a pistol,
you are. You describe out loud what the characters notice and how they notice it.

While the computer has graphics, animation and infallible math, you can handle a
much wider range of decisions from the players�if the players, presented with two
doors, decide they want to climb up to the ceiling, they can, there�s no need for
the game to be pre-programmed to have that option.

You create the bulk of the world and describe the impression it makes on the
players� five senses, you are the speakers, screen and CPU, too.

In terms of how you challenge the players, you�re neither or their side nor against
them, you�re kind of like the manager or coach sending your team through an
obstacle course�you are designing it to be hard enough to test them, but not
impossible.
In addition:

-You take point on helping players understand the rules and making sure they know
enough of them to make their characters do what they want�for example, making sure
a player knows they can move and shoot in the same round, or that they can try to
use a skill in any situation it�s needed.

-You decide what the initial challenges (or range of challenges) the characters
face will be. This is called �Writing the adventure��though just as no plan
survives contact with the enemy, no adventure will go the way you expect it to once
the players get involved. So you also improvise action and characters when that�s
required.

-You invent menaces, environments and non-player characters.

-You control the flow of the game�when it starts, pauses and ends, when it moves
from regular time to action rounds, when a scene is ended and it�s time to move on.
You say when it�s time to use dice and cards and remind people what Throws to make.

-You solicit actions from the players when they need to respond to a situation.

-You make judgment calls to say whether a rule applies.

-You may initiate conversations with the players about whether a rule needs to be
changed to fit what your group needs more closely.

-You manage the room and they game socially, or at least you�re the default to do
that, since everyone will be looking to you anyway to see what happens next in the
game. Try your best to make sure everyone�s having fun.

Introduction To The Nature of Reality

Many forces menace and propel Demon City.

Imagine a laid-flat brick of black gelatin. Pick a spot on the left wall and,
imperfectly, at a diagonal, and along the long axis, slide a soda straw in until it
sticks out the right side.

The left side of the brick represents the second you were born, the right the
second you die, the brick itself all you might've experienced. The path of the
straw all that you did experience.

This tunnel through the gelatin is the path of your life. Now imagine a second
tunnel, shaped like a crazy straw--carving likewise broadly left to right but
looping and wild, intersecting and sometimes overlapping the path of your life, but
rounding off and taking its own route at many places. This tunnel is the life of
someone else you know.

Your story and another person's only have to agree when these paths overlap. Only
if you both witness the same event will your stories need to be alike in order to
maintain a sense of an objective and sensible world. If your father was alone in a
field and says he saw a length of rusted wire lying on a rotting coffee filter,
this cannot threaten your sense of reality if you were a thousand miles away at the
time. Why wouldn't your dad have seen a wire?
Your exact position in any given space and at any given time, like your experience,
is unshared and unique to you. You experience the look of your favorite picture and
the taste of your favorite food in ways that do not match the experience of any
other creature that ever was or will be.

Imagine now further, that due to your unique pattern of shape, mass, and velocity,
the precise physical laws that govern your existence are also unique to you. You
move in a reality envelope where the air is generally 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen
and free-falling objects where you are gain speed at 9.8 meters per second squared
and fireflies glow golden with a darkening around the edges and people, when you
ask for directions, are generally kind.

The truth is this: it is not necessary that everyone share these rules, all that is
necessary for the gears of reality to mesh cleanly is that the rules of the
subrealities experienced by everyone in the one greater reality look the same when
and only when they intersect.

Having a cigarette on the train platform at 10am, you tell your sister there's no
such thing as ghosts--and your sister says there is. You are both right--by the
rules governing your tunnel through the gelatin there can be no ghosts, and by the
rules governing your sister's tunnel there can be, but so long as you both agree
there are no ghosts to be seen right now on this train platform at 10am, reality
holds.

The key, then, to inviting ruptures in the ordinary face of life�to accessing the
vast distortions of what we think of as natural which might be possible if free-
falling objects gained speed at .00000000000000000000001 meters per second squared
more than they should or if an effect might in some circumstances precede a cause
or an action not have a precisely equal and opposite reaction�is isolation.

The farther from things with which one might interact, the farther the unique curve
of an individual's unique set of laws might bend from the norm. This isn't because
things change as you move away--it's because this is always how it was going to be.
Like a carnival spook-house, the universe is organized in such a way as to provide
a consistent experience, no matter what�s happening behind the cobwebbed walls and
under the painted puppet skin. Your father was always going to be alone when he saw
the rusted wire, and your sister was always going to be the last one to leave the
office when she heard the voice that wasn't a voice from the bleached face pressed
against the far window.

Divagations from the understood are less likely the more bystanders appear whose
subrealities the larger reality needs to satisfy. This is why the greatest wonders
and terrors are witnessed on lonely hills, in basements, on dead streets when the
background music of life seems to have dropped away and a sneakered footstep sounds
as clear as a nail being clipped...or in the presence of severe ranks of disciples
who have trained their souls to know only a single and common path. And, likewise,
this is why such events will never be believed or understood in the wider world--at
least until the final human generation uncovers the true implications of whatever
rules they earned that position by ignoring.
-
-
-
True transformation�changing into something essentially other, that is: magic�is
always coincident with a life of complex isolations. Just as the good work of the
rules-as-written Calvinist Protestant does not earn a place in Heaven by doing good
but rather doing good demonstrates she always was predestined to be in Heaven, the
other worlds that interpenetrate the familiar world are not formed by the desperate
and the strange but rather their desperation and strangeness are part of that same
offshoot from the mainstream of life that allows such eddies to jell and pool and
develop their own ecosystems.

By this token the many systems of supernatural and metaphysical wisdom recorded
across human history are not so mutually-exclusive as they might first appear. What
the Babylonian heresiarch inscribed on a tomb wall, what the Han dynasty sculptor
cast in impure bronze, what the Elizabethan witch-hunter printed and circulated--
these things are as real as anything in a life that we have not lived can ever be,
as are the declarations that these things are not possible. They are simply rules
for tunnels that never intersect.

Intersections are deep in the nature of the 21st century, and of the city. The
Demon City is in flux. Realities quietly vie for the right to dominate.

What then is necessary to summon demons and metamorphoses is to observe carefully

the reality you are in, and look for the rules that have always been there--as a
character in a book might guess the ending by discovering the genre he's being
written in.

Once these rules begin to be found, the initiate will grasp that all activity has a
second meaning. Gestures, decisions, echo forward in ways not previously
understood--for the adept, and for anyone who will encounter the adept. Even your
words are a dialogue in a performance judged by new gods.

The performance has no plot or moral�we know how things end: we will die and then
the universe will. Heroism is simply the style with which you delay these
inevitabilities. Some choose to fight over the right to place the deck chairs
before the great wreck. To know these things, the research must be done, the books
read, the practices observed, but most of all: experiments must be conducted. And
what will be unleashed is what was meant to be and what is then wrought can only be
no more than what should have been.

Building A Horror Investigation: The Basics

1. YOU DON�T NEED MUCH

The fathers of the modern crime story, like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett,
were masters of plotting. They also had to fill 200 pages, didn�t get to rely on
disturbing descriptions of facial wounds and creepy villain monologues, didn�t have
15-minute fight scenes in the middle of their novels, and didn�t have 3-6 semi-
distracted amateur detectives who probably enjoy talking to each other as much as
solving the crime. The point is: horror plots can be thin, and horror game plots
can be even thinner.

This is the chain of clues in Silence of the Lambs, movie or novel: the murderer
has a number of victims identified, the pathologist report straight up tells the
investigators the earliest victim lives in a certain town, asking around in her
town reveals that she used to work for an old woman, going to the old woman's house
reveals the murderer is still there.

That's it�the whole rest of the story is just what happens on the way. Even talking
to Hannibal Lecter is really a sideshow�what does he reveal? A few clues that
basically suggest it�s a good idea to check out where the first victim used to
work, because she�s in the sewing business and so was Buffalo Bill.

That�s the core of the most popular modern thriller franchise in history. So relax.
Just as Clarice Starling nearly drove herself insane worrying about Hannibal
Lecter�s creepy advice (the story is named after something he says to her), give
the players any amount of rope and they�ll make things complicated enough to fill a
session�then you�ve got a week or whatever to come up with more.

The real difficulty is not in devising the original structure, the real difficulty
is paying enough attention to what�s going on as you run it that you can turn
situations that players create toward horror. We�ll talk about that in due time.

All that being said: if you�re nervous, overprepare for your first session. It
isn�t about you needing all that stuff in the game, it�s about you feeling
comfortable. So make as many notes as you feel like you need to in order to get to
that point.

2. THE NATURE OF CRIME

Successful crime is about being undetected. Being undetected is about taking

advantage of things you know that other people don�t.

Therefore anything the criminal knows about that other people don�t is a good
canvas for crime--anything known and grasped by the general public is a bad canvas
for crime. Any subject you, the Host, know better than the average citizen is a
place ripe with opportunity for criminal exploitation. Dick Francis knows more
about horse racing than you�so he wrote like forty books about crime and horse-
racing.

I know a professional autograph hound. Here�s what he does: he looks on the

internet for restaurants where celebrities hang out, he tells parking attendants
and waiters at those restaurants he�ll pay them for a tip if they see a
celebrity�they call, he rolls up, he tries to get an autograph. If he does: he
sells it online for more than he paid the waiter.

There are 100 crime stories in there, easy. In one, maybe a murderer pretends to be
a celebrity to catch an autograph hound? In another, maybe the apparently-
suspicious waiter isn�t really the murderer, he just didn�t want to admit he snuck
off to call the hound? In another maybe it�s just the best way to figure out where
a dead celebrity was before they died was to ask the hound where the autograph came
from?

Whatever your little world is, there�s a crime story in there. You know where the
security tape goes at 7-11 at night? You know how a book goes from a warehouse to a
book store? You know where the teachers go to smoke? You have secret knowledge�you
can start to build a crime.

3. THE NATURE OF THE OCCULT

There are three things about the occult:

First, it�s about symbolism�but in an unusual way. The symbol does not just
indicate the thing, it affects the thing. A regular symbol is like: the eagle
represents America. If hurting the eagle hurt America, then you�d be moving toward
the occult.
Second, while the system of symbols is (this is literally the meaning of the name)
hidden�the symbols themselves are often hidden in plain sight. This is perhaps most
purely expressed in the sentence from Twin Peaks �The owls are not what they seem�.
The occult indicates a series of secret connections between seemingly mundane
things�it doesn�t just involve esoteric words and phrases, it uses ordinary words
and phrases as if they had a significance we don�t give them.

It is, in this way, simply a parallel alternative to scientific explanations.

Science claims that a pencil lead and a diamond have a secret connection (they are
both carbon), the occult merely claims a different correspondence: this eye-shaped
window over here has a hidden connection to that man�s eye over there�what goes on
in front of the window is seen by that eye, no matter how far away. Once the system
of connections is understood, the whole world looks different: the investigator is
living in a world full of new levers to push and knobs to twist.

Third, the system of symbols is old. It has been hidden (occulted) for a long time.
In order to charge, say, an inverted triangle with occult flavor you don�t have to
immediately give it a sinister meaning�just give it a meaning that goes back to
ancient Babylon.

4. THE ECOLOGY OF MURDER

The silver ant of the Sahara can survive about ten minutes in the mid-day sun,
which is longer than many animals. Platoons of them crawl up from their ant hills,
skitter away in a wide search pattern, then, when prey's found--a small dead
lizard, a beetle carcass�ant teams quickly re-swarm and rush the corpse back to
their nest.

Sometimes it's hard to drag the irregular corpses back over the rock and debris
while time runs short in the killing sun, so they go to work with their mandibles,
sawing off legs and arms to make the dead thing easier to roll home.

Scale this drama up: If you were a detective and you came upon this scene after the
fact what would you see? Arms and legs hastily chopped off, maybe drag-marks, no
torso or head.

A Host could reskin the ants as anything smaller than their victim--sun-sensitive
albino cannibal children, packs of wild dogs afraid of detection. The point is, in
their collective haste to get back where they came from they left a distinctive
trail of limbs--and that's the first scene of your campaign.

To make a horror adventure you usually start with the horror--the murderer or
monster--and game masters are used to thinking of horrors only in terms of their
appearance and their abilities: it looks like this and it does that. In a classic
adventure game you can often get away with it: the green ooze may have a life cycle
but the main thing is it's eating your foot and then there's some other monster in
the next room--in an investigation, though�which relies on squeezing every ounce of
story-potential from a single monster�the horror needs an ecology.

It doesn't just have that strange look and strange power, it has specific
methods�every killer has a niche, a consistent way of doing things. In an
investigation, knowing the ecology doesn't just provide flavor or depth if needed--
it generates the whole adventure. Before you begin, you run the horror through its
horrible day and its more horrible night, and imagine what would be left behind--
that's what the players then find, and what they must back-engineer the nature and
location of the creature from.
Dracula has his puncture wounds, Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs had his
strangely skinned corpses (because he's making a suit out of women), the Murder at
the Rue Morgue has ear-witnessing neighbors with conflicting reports of the
murderer's language (because it was actually an orangutan), each of these opening
clues comes not necessarily from what makes the horror horrible, but from what
makes it distinctively itself.

Often this can involve the creature's weaknesses--the silver ants saw off those
limbs not because they have some special ability to move their prey but because
they don't, and they are hustling hard before the sun kills them. Imagine a
creature that could only move when things were totally silent�the players might
find identically slain corpses off lonely roads and in recording studios (which are
soundproofed, yes, but how long before they make that connection?).

Nearly the entire plot of the film Get Out is just the slow revelation of a
specific ecology, despite not starting with a murder: (Spoilers) The daughter
brings unwitting but able-bodied black victims to the house, the parents auction
off the victims to aging friends, and--aided by hypnosis and surgery--the brains of
the villains end up in the bodies of the victims. The "house servants", rather than
a rotting corpse, are the first clue.

There is no way to mechanize the process of inventing these ecologies: horror needs
mystery, mystery needs the unknown and the unknown means you'll need to think up at
least some details of this ecology on your own. But you'll be surprised how much
mystery and horror you can get out of a very simple ecology--grab one at random and
try it:

The pitcher plant? It has a sweet nectar on the rim, but in order to get at it,
insects inevitably slip down the inner walls and then slowly dissolve in the acidic
pool at the bottom. Translate this to a horror scenario in the most literal terms
and maybe we have an opening scene with an acid-scarred lunatic roving the streets,
smelling like candy, who, it turns out, narrowly escaped a sticky-sweet acidic vat.
Investigation might reveal a pattern of disappeared children who never came back
from school, clustered around a warehouse district...

The Horror Vacui in the Horrors section of the Library is a good example of a
creature that produces different adventures based on the ecology you give it.

5. THREE SHADOWS (ESCALATING INVENTIONS)

Fantastic genres usually work via escalating inventions: they show you a star
destroyer at the beginning and the Death Star in the middle and a multi-starship
fight on the Death Star at the end.

In sci-fi and fantasy settings the inventions right up front. The inventions here
are often things you could make a toy out of --they are objects, creatures,
building: a wizard, a Hobbit hole, a starship. They are things.

Horror typically does not work that way. A lot of game masters who are very
comfortable with sci-fi and fantasy aren't sure how to do horror and one reason is
the inventions are more ephemeral, and rely more on techniques specific to the
medium they are in (word choice, pacing, lighting, etc) and depend less on invented
things than invented situations.
Simply: a dragon puts you firmly in fantasy. A vampire doesn't quite get you to
horror without some other stuff. And you don�t even need a vampire for horror�a
camera angle could put you there if it had to.

There are basically three kinds of inventions in horror and they generally appear
in a strict order.

First: Unsettling Things

The first strange invention in a horror story is usually unsettling, but that's it.
It's not gory, elaborate, or necessarily supernatural�it's just off.

The camera pans across a burned district, every home a pile of incinerated trestle-
work, bent crosses and blackened furniture, and then, somehow, in the middle of all
of this, one lone home utterly untouched--green lawn, painted shutters.

The unsettling thing is usually the intimation of a problem (like Jack's manuscript
in The Shining), a clue (the way the old Count refers to the wolves howling as
music, the lights flickering in Stranger Things) moody symbolism (the repeating
vision of a blood tide in The Shining), or some combination (a full grown man in
clown make-up standing in a storm drain sewer) but the players don't know which at
the time. The unsettling invention makes you go: what happened here? The ambiguity
adds to the mystery.

The more unsettling things you can think of, the more it becomes a psychological
horror story (Rosemary's Baby barely moves past The Unsettling, David Lynch's films
live there). The more of them actually end up being explained by the resolution the
more satisfying it is as a mystery story.

In game-mastering terms: it is good to think of an opening unsettling image. That

is--as much as a monster or NPC�something you have to invent before you begin
running your players through a scenario. If you can't think of anything better, a
bizarrely-injured corpse (arms removed and replaced with long twigs?) is as durable
a standby for horror as meeting in a tavern is for fantasy.

Speaking of corpses...

Second: The Effects

This kind of invention is often the Big Moment in a horror movie, and frequently a
place for body horror and/or gore. Whatever the menace is, it's gotten to a victim
and, more importantly, gotten to them in a distinctive way. The chest-burst in
Alien, the head explosion in Scanners, the swimming pool in Let The Right One In,
the various gurgling lunatics in Lovecraft stories.

The important idea here is: the terrifying display of the menace's effect on the
world is in itself a horror and a thing to invent, as much as the creature itself.
If they can see it before you actually see the menace, you ratchet up the tension.

You don't need many of these--one good one will get you all the dramatic juice you
need. But you can do more--the more you do, the more story becomes a gore or
survival-horror type situation. Scenarios which emphasize panic but don't spiral
toward any specific monster image--like Suspiria or Carrie--can rely a lot on
these.

Try to think of something original�if players immediately recognize the image from
a source they can distance themselves and it has less impact.
Third: The Menace

This invention is the most similar to what you'd get in any game--this is the
monster. It can also be a person, a group of people (like a cult), a place, or even
(in the case of Carrie) a special effect. Whatever, the point is the whole
situation has been building toward this and it better be scary.

The best advice I can give a Host on this score is that the menace at this point
has to have some kind of unexpectedness about it even after all the foreshadowing
has pointed to it. A typical heroic tale can get away with a final showdown with a
heavy you knew would be trouble all along, whereas in horror there has to be some
sort of element of reveal to it. The dad turning out to be a vampire in Lost Boys,
the impossible rooms in The Shining, the full scale of the creature in Alien.
Withhold something until that last scene.

6. HORROR STATS ARE EASY

A cop with a revolver and 2s in everything and can devastate a party. Describing
things and make them horrible and keeping them around just long enough that
awfulness has time to happen while the players are encountering them is the key. In
general, monsters have lots of Toughness and don't dodge because they are
implacable. But whatever works, really. Unlike fantasy or sci-fi monsters, horror
creatures don't have to actually be that mechanically tough for players to register
them as dangerous or that mechanically interesting for the players to register them
as interesting because it's often the only monster in the game and you have
essentially spent the whole game creating an environment which makes them feel like
a dangerous and interesting threat behind a variety of events.

You can save the monsters with the bizarre weaknesses or unusual attacks for when
the players get used to the basics. That�s advanced stuff.

7. USE PC DETAILS TO CREATE ADVENTURES

The first session is the hardest, because you�ll have a group of who-knows-what PCs
entering a situation you�ve got to custom-fit them into. After that, however, the
players start telling you about their characters and you can build off that.

Occupations are an obvious place to start�use PCs jobs to bring them closer to the
crimes and victims. Downtime activities are also a great place to start getting an
idea of where horrors can be introduced, and Contacts make great potential victims.

8. IF ONE OF THE PCS IS THE PROBLEM CLASS, MAKE THE FIRST SESSION ABOUT THEM

Like the Victim, they got that way somehow, or they have been like that all along
and there may be consequences they don�t know about. Either way: you get at least
one player personally invested, pus you don�t have to worry about whether them
trying to eat people or set them on fire derails the game�it is the game.
9. TRY STARTING WITH A PICTURE

Find an image online, print it out, say �Here�s the crime scene, a murder in a
kitchen� or �The suspects are the people in this photo�. It gets the PCs right into
the scene and gives them the feeling there is something concrete to investigate.
The photo gives you a lot of details without you having to describe each one while
trying not to verbally lampshade the right detail by drowning it in a series of
irrelevant details. Also, if you don't feel like you'll have words to describe The
Horror when it comes, you can try to find a picture of that.

With a crime scene or other evidence-filled photo you can decide ahead of time what
all the details in the scene mean (�What happens if you look behind that microwave?
� �Is there bleach in that bleach bottle?�) then hand it to the players. Rely on
the players� skill, only have them Throw Perception in this case to notice
something in the picture that their character might have a specialist�s
understanding of (like if a player is playing a chef and the wrong knife is on the
restaurant chopping block).

10. TRY STARTING WITH THE CHARACTER SHEETS

Look at the players� character sheets. Look at all the skills they have. Sit down
for an hour and try to think of challenges that each skill would be useful for�from
biochemistry to driving to hacking�and set yourself the challenge of weaving them
into an adventure. The game sessions, as they actually play out afterward, don�t
have to involve all of these skill tests, but the effort to integrate them will
help you create a rich environment for the investigation to play out across.

Building A Horror Investigation: Some Adventure Formats

Many games recommend starting with a published scenario. (or �module�) This is bad
advice. Scenarios are usually poorly written and, worse, over-written�they make the
prospect of running a game seem much harder than it really is.

Yes, you�ll probably make a few mistakes if you build your own adventure from
scratch but then you will probably also make a few different and more boring
mistakes if you use a pre-written scenario. However, you�ll learn a lot more from
the mistakes you make while writing your own adventure.

Every Host and group will be naturally good at some things and need help with
others�and despite their authoritative tone, few modules can prepare a group for
the variety of problems they might have with packaged content and even fewer are
written so as not to waste your time with details you could�ve and maybe should�ve
just made up to fit the group and the interests you have.

Here are some formats for writing your own crime/horror adventures, choose one you
like or combine them:

1. HUNTER/HUNTED

The idea is simple and comes from about a million horror and cop stories: sometimes
a scene happens because Sam Spade has found out about a baddie and sometimes a
scene happens because the baddie has found out about Sam Spade. And, there, aside
from a few stops for bourbon and kissing, is the plot of everything from Lost Boys
to Blade Runner to It.

Most investigative scenarios advise breaking things up into "scenes"--the idea is

you have a scene, find clues in it, these clues lead to the next scene. However,
this tidy structure is impaled the second the party misses the pointing them up the
chain, or decides on a way of investigating the crime that�s as good or better than
the way you assumed they�d go.

Not so here. Or not exactly: Basically we keep the "scene chain" structure. If the
PCs go from clue to clue in a timely fashion like the Host expects they follow the
scene chain. However, we also give each scene a twin situation, this twin is what
happens if the PCs don't follow a given clue, get distracted chasing a red herring,
or otherwise take too long (in-world game time) to follow the clues. In this twin
situation, typically, the PCs have taken long enough to figure out what's going on
that the enemy has noticed their efforts and started hunting them.

In the twin situation, the GM decides how long it will take (in-world) and what
circumstances would be necessary for the enemy to be able to track the PCs (see
�The Machine� in the Library section for an example of how even a non-supernatural
agency could do this)�and starts the clock running. The idea is to build an
adventure so that there�s an enemy that has tracking abilities where it makes sense
within the game that it could catch up to the party (whether this be psychic powers
or enhanced smell or because Twitty says she saw Mac D talking to a cop next to the
sub shop)�this should not just be a contrived coincidence or a trail that the party
can literally do nothing to hide. To allow the party this opportunity, the Host may
drop clues as to their hunted status along the way.

In the original scene�s situation, the PCs are investigators of horror or violence,
in the twin scene, they are victims of it. This matches rather nicely the twin
roles nearly all horror protagonists have in these kinds of stories. So at each
stage of the adventure you have a �sleuth� (s) version and a "victim� (v) version
of each scenario.

[GRAPHIC DESIGNER: stick a version of this chart in, redraw it to match the design,
also change 1i, 2i, 3i to have an �s� instead�we�re using �sleuth� instead of
�investigator� here) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-
_XD2hon0OM8/TzAUp_QJUMI/AAAAAAAADd8/FZ9_956Wtho/s1600/hunter_hunted.jpg ]

Some basic assumptions of the Hunter/Hunted format�

The enemy has a locus: usually in physical space. Like: that island Cthulhu is
under or a gangster's safe house.

At each "Investigator" stage, you move closer to the locus (or finding out where it
is). At each "Victim" stage, the enemy sends someone or something out from the
locus to get you.

Usually the enemy comes in a different form at each stage. You don't meet actually
Cthulhu or actually Al Capone until the last stage. The first few stages feature
their agents or otherwise indirect confrontations.

Also important: at each stage, a clue is left. The clue leads to the "i" version of
the next scenario.

Example:

Opening: PCs are on their way to England on a boat to investigating the Proverbial
Mysteriously Dead Uncle

1s�The nurse is clearly a disturbed woman (in the cafe) you don't know why.

1v�Terrifying dreams of faceless people (wherever you are) that might make you lash
out at your fellow PCs (dream anagram of a doctor's name).

2s�The doctor's office is full of strange specimens (Calm check!) and tomes.

2v�A(nother?) nurse is following you and attempting to drug you(wherever you are)
(has distinctive uniform from a certain lab).

3s-The doctor's laboratory is filled with horrific creatures (and the doctor's in
here).

3v-The doctor appears (wherever you are), a strange creature emerges from his
featureless face (wherever you are) --a decent add on here is a chance that the
doctor drugs a victim and drags him/her back to the lab or, if injured, runs back
to the lab, leaving a blood trail. Either way the encounter at the lab--if it
happens--is significantly different than if the PCs had just gone straight there
and surprised him.

The "victim" role may seem passive, but in a sense the victim has more freedom than
the investigator in terms of defining the terms of the conflict. Let's say we have
the simplest scenario available--the PCs are being stalked by a werewolf. Even if
the PCs don�t switch to the offense�they have the entire planet to walk around on.
Will the werewolf attack them in a taxi, on a plane, in a hotel room, underwater?
Depends entirely on where the PCs themselves go. You could even say to them: "The
sun has gone down, according to what you've seen, the werewolf will be active
within half an hour�". If the party is in, say New York City, the number of
resources they can bring to bear or changes they can make to the battlefield are
infinite.

Victim scenes require you to think like the monster: you are an insane doctor bent
on injecting people with a "sacred" serum that makes their faces come off. You've
discovered a dancer, a librarian and a drug addict are trying to interfere with
your plans, What Do You Do? Where are you? What tools do you have access to? What
information on them did they--via their actions to date--give you access to? Use
it.

In many adventures, there is no reason this system should not be transparent--

making it clear through events and other characters that "it is vital to find
Whatsitsnuts before it finds you".

Broadly, any structure which has meaningful choice works like this: there are
interesting choices leading to events, each event gives the players a unique
resource or unique problem they did not have before--even if they all lead to the
"same" place in the end, players end up there in the Final Chamber with different
tools, perspectives, advantages or disadvantages.

How do you avoid even the appearance of unfairness or �railroading�? Just remind
players how they got where they are. Go ahead and tell them where they'd be had
they done otherwise.

2. INVESTIGATION-AS-DUNGEON
[GRAPHIC DESIGNER: this needs (nicer) versions of the diagrams here to make sense:
http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2017/06/investigation-as-dungeon.html )

This combines the idea of the Hunter/Hunted investigation set-up above with the use
of a criminal-conspiracy organizational chart.

It visualizes the possibilities in an investigation as a �dungeon�, like in a

fantasy game:

(IMAGE)

So, first, you have The Horror--this is the final boss, the supernatural or at
least bizarre thing that is revealed after all the investigating is done. You
probably already have in mind what that is. Imagine it as occupying a room in the
center of a dungeon.

(IMAGE)

Around that you have the "Gatekeeper"--this is the NPC or the building or whatever
that you encounter right before the final horror. This could be the crime boss who
keeps the werewolf in his basement or the cultist wizard that summons the demon or,
yes, like Dana in Ghostbusters who brings forth Gozer.

The point of the Gatekeeper is they are a mundane front that, once encountered,
triggers the appearance of the horror.

Picture the Gatekeeper as occupying a set of halls around the Horror. You can move
through those walls when investigation reveals new information. Think of
information as literally the key. You unlock the adjacent "room" with information.

Don't worry about those little rooms in the corners yet, they'll be explained in a
second.

(IMAGE)

So outside the Gatekeeper's room we have other connecting rooms that the PCs have
to get through before they have enough information to get to the boss.

I put some examples: a pawn of the boss, their lawyer, etc. You can also move
laterally, like investigating the boss' lawyer might lead the PCs to the sub-boss,
etc. This is fine. The point is whatever they're doing be fun, not that it be
efficient. As long as the group is doing things that interest them, there�s no
reason to hustle the investigation along any faster than it is naturally moving.

You can wrap the center in as many layers of these adjacent "buffers" as you
want�enough to fill a whole year of adventures if you like.
(IMAGE)

The outer layer of "buffers" are the first things the players can do when
investigating the situation. Imagine the PCs beginning outside and moving inward.
In this example, the players can interview the victim directly, search the crime
scene, do research on the place where the crime took place (like in the library or
on the web), or ask their contacts about it.

Different "entrances" lead to different parts of the conspiracy.

(IMAGE)

The outermost ring is the "room" where players start--discovering there is a crime
to solve.

(IMAGE)

I haven't yet talked about those little boxes in the corners. These are kind of
"secret rooms".

These are where the dangerous people and things associated with the crime lurk.
They do two things:

A) They attack the investigators if they get stalled in their investigation. This
keeps the game moving.

B) Their attack brings the investigators closer to the center of the investigation.

Here's an example:

(IMAGE)

Our investigators start out having heard of the suspicious decapitation of Carlo
Monrovia, cherished family friend.

(IMAGE)

They begin to comb through the internet, looking for information about Carlo�s
work and possible enemies he might've made in the experimental entomology business.

(IMAGE)

They figure they'll interview Carlo wife, Vanna Monrovia (victim), she tells them
Carlo best friend was Sweetwater Baize, a kindly fellow who helped Carlo out and
always brought Jelly Bellies for the twins.

(IMAGE)

Sweetwater Baize warmly welcomes the PCs into his abode.

They can tell he's hiding something but don't manage to question Sweetwater's
suspicious butler, much less sneak upstairs and find the hideous mantis creature
that once was Sweetwater's sister or figure out anything much about Sweetwater.

Dinner seems to drag on, the Host is getting restless.

(IMAGE)

So out of the "attack" box the Host conjures the Mantis Cultists, who Sweetwater
calls in to deal with these meddling kids. They strike hard...

(IMAGE)

...but not hard enough. The players defeat them, learning in the process that the
mysterious butler was actually the head of the mantis cult.
The players can now confront him (the Gatekeeper) and he can unleash the hideous
beast (The Horror).

(IMAGE)

To walk you through the analogy with a dungeon a little clearer, I made the actual
investigation more complicated than it needed to be.

This "dungeon" is the same structure but a little simpler for a Host to write--it
has 3 initial methods of investigation and only 3 kinds of buffers between the
crime and the Gatekeeper.

To create a whole campaign, imagine this is the top view of a stepped pyramid seen
from a helicopter--all you have to do is add more "steps" to the pyramid.

3. INVISIBLE DUNGEON

In the Invisible Dungeon, the trick is the players don't know they�re in a
�dungeon�.

At the beginning of Alien, the Company has just woken up the crew to go investigate
a distress call which the Company knows is dangerous ("crew expendable" according
to the secret orders) and, as I�ve noted before, when Get Out opens the
photographer is already on his way to the girlfriends' country house which will
lead to the party which will lead to him being auctioned off. From the main
characters' POVs these are, at the beginning, more or less ordinary situations.

In practice, starting the players in a situation where they don't even know they're
in trouble is different by just a hair, in terms of preserving meaningful choice,
from being told "Hey we're running this module so you want the gold from
Blastoskull Manor, but once the set-up is done, the Host should respect player
choices and the scenario should be designed so that any player choice thereafter
fuels the adventure.

Dungeons offer choices, but they also have walls: likewise, the Invisible Dungeon
should be designed ahead of time with some barriers to escape the villains'
dastardly scheme. If the crew of the Nostromo decided to leave the alien planet
without going into the egg chamber what would happen? Well the Host would've had
Ash (the Company's secret android) secretly try to kill whoever made that decision
and/or somehow get the crew back to the planet to investigate--possibly by
sabotaging the ship. If, near the beginning of Get Out, Daniel Kaluuya had decided
to, well...get out, the family would've tried a combination of physical force and
hypnosis to prevent it (which they do, later in the film).

Now these prevention schemes wouldn�t automatically work--I recommend you not run
things like that. Let the situation play out however it plays out--and if the party
escapes the Invisible Dungeon you made early, you switch to a story of pursuit.
Even dead bad guys have friends. It's easy to imagine a continuation of the
truncated Alien story above where the Company tries to hunt down the crew who've
seen its robot go berserk and it's easy to imagine a sequel to Get Out where the
police are asking around about this photographer kid who was apparently around at
the old country house when that family got killed.

However, the point of prepping an adventure is to prevent having to do all that

improvising of new scenarios all at once, and to have players encounter things as
well-thought-out and complex as your preparation time allows. To get that to
happen, it's as important to promise "treasure" inside the "dungeon" as it is to
build walls around it. In mass media, this is less necessary than it is in a game--
unlike players, movie characters don't know they're in a movie and will walk right
into the heart of darkness if the screenplay demands it. Hosts have to be smarter
than screenwriters.

A simple way to do this is to turn an avenue of investigation into a trap. For

example: a witness (secretly a villain or villain's pawn) tells the players they
saw the gunman flee into a warehouse. The warehouse is fiendish and Saw-like. The
(evil) clerk tells the players the records they need are kept at the country
courthouse, upon entering, the guards lock the doors and the cell phone tower is
sabotaged.

Another way is to build a breadcrumb trail out of things the players will want to
follow even if it has nothing to do with the investigation. The sexy lifeguard with
the big blue eyes invites you down to the (wereshark-infested) island for a
weekend. You have to know your players and their playstyles pretty well in order
for this to work, though.

What not to do is simply decide, after the fact, that whatever the players felt
like doing will turn out to be the trap--this creates a situation where you've
artificially removed players' choices, and in the long run they�ll realize you have
a tendency to do that� this makes them think about their decisions less, and makes
a game of decisions and investigations less fun. If the witness is a pawn of the
villain, there's always a chance a clever player could find that out, if a clerk is
evil the players theoretically might find a way to discover that before heading to
the courthouse. If you respect the rules of the imaginary world, the players will
learn to investigate it with care, and it will yield more surprises for all of you.

If you want the Invisible Dungeon to last longer than a single session then it
helps to have the villains have some plan for the party besides just killing them.
A horror bent on seducing the party members, quietly grooming them for membership
in a cult, driving them insane or showing them to prospective buyers can maintain a
ruse of harmlessness and mystery far longer. The players will know something is
wrong (they're playing Demon City, after all) but they won't know who the danger is
and who's a harmless NPC.

And there should be, occasionally, harmless NPCs, even in an invisible dungeon�not
just to throw off the players, but also because friendly non-player characters are
part of the advancement system.

4. WALLET, KEYS, PANTS

This is a very easy and effective adventure format for the beginning of a campaign
or a one-shot.

In this kind of format, you wake up missing your wallet, your keys and your pants.
Or something equally valuable. You may also wake up far from home. Unlike the
Invisible Dungeon, the players immediately know something's wrong. The Invisible
Dungeon works by luring the PCs in with something they want, Wallet, Keys, Pants
works by taking away something the PCs want back.

The advantage of this format is it's easy to add obstacles (the characters were
asleep, you can surround them with challenges and terrors) and easy to motivate
players to face them (they need to find their stuff or escape or both).

The Wallet, Keys, Pants option is a good adventure format for starting a campaign
in an exciting way, or if you finished the last session with all the heroes knocked
unconscious.

However, it's no fair just deciding in the middle of a campaign that last time they
slept this happened, you have to have the bad guys creep in--Throw to see if the PC
notices--inject the benzodiazapines--Throw to see if the party wakes up with the
pain--and sneak them away to the getaway vehicle.

Aside from the beginning, the Host also has to answer a few questions: why did the
horror leave the PCs alive? Did something go wrong mid-kidnapping? Does the horror
have only an animal intelligence, and so left the party alone at the wrong moment?
Do they want something more complex from them than just their flesh? After that,
the W,K,P adventure consists of the same kinds of clues, hazards and a fights as
any other adventure--just put these things between the party and whatever it is
they want.

5. MY FIRST CONSPIRACY�

Here is a �fill in the blanks� style exercise you can use to start a Demon City
campaign.

Characters and Set Up

1. Look through the library and choose a mastermind horror: a witch, a vampire, a
cult leader, a demon, whatever�the only requirement is they need minions. We�ll
call this the Villain. Who are they? Write it down.

2. Think of something the Villain would demand: sacrifices, food, information,

money, etc and something their minions can continuously do to help the Villain get
it�something that isn�t a major crime in itself, but that�s suspicious: buying up
rare manuscripts or gems of a given type, aggressively proselytizing a new faith to
children, obsessively photographing activity on certain street corners, running
something that�s probably a drug front�and a reason the Villain wants them to do
it. These are the Minions and their Task. Write down what the task is and name at
least 5 Minions, in order of importance: Lowest Minion, Minion, Trigger-Puller
Minion, Trigger-Puller Minion 2, Lieutenant Minion. Choose cards to describe them
if you like.

3. There�s a murder or suspicious death. It�s one of these Minions. It was while
they were in the process of their Task. Or a witness to the Minions going to
extreme (perhaps criminal) lengths to perform the Task. This is the Murder. Write
down who got killed, where and what they were doing when it happened.

4. The police didn�t realize the Minion involved in the murder was a Minion. They
assumed the murder was random. They are aggressively uninterested in pursuing it
further. But someone near the Task or the Murder victim�a rare book dealer, a city
council member, someone who lives in the neighborhood, a victim�s family
member�wants to know who is ultimately behind it all. Not who pulled the trigger,
but who ordered it�maybe even evidence they can bring to the authorities. They have
some status in the community. This is the Patron. Write down their name and
occupation.

5. Unbeknownst to anyone else, the Villain has influence over officials in Demon
City, who in turn have influence over the police. These are the Corrupted. Write
down at least two names and some city job titles for them.

6. There is a fortune teller. Her demands are elaborate (Like: cut off your foes'
bottom lips, thread these lips onto a wire, douse the lip-wire in oil and set it
alight.) These rituals will produce accurate, useful information (she will read the
cards)�but only once. Thereafter the rituals will produce accurate, useless
information that the party already knows. This is the Oracle. Write down her name
and method of divination.

7. There is a cop. This was his/her case, it�s down and s/he doesn�t want it back
up again. This is the Detective. Write down their name.

8. The party will have to meet Contacts, tail suspects and people of interest, find
bodies, and may eventually confront the Villain. These things should happen in
interesting places. Write down 6 interesting places for these kinds of things to
happen. Give the Villain a headquarters.

Timeline

These things happen unless the party does something to make them not happen.

Day 1: Patron calls up the party and tells them there was a Murder of someone they
know was connected to a lot of people all performing the Task. Connect the Patron�s
desire for justice to the PCs various motives. If there�s an Investigator, tell
them they�ll get paid.

The day after the PCs begin their investigation: Unless they are extremely low-
profile the Detective approaches at least one of the party to tell them to stop
nosing around the case, especially since s/he�s put it to bed�murder is dangerous
and a lot of paperwork and s/he doesn�t want another body to write up. On the other
hand, if they already have any information, s/he demands they give it up.

The day after that: The Oracle approaches the Party and tells them she can help.

Random Events

These events happen at a rate of one per day, starting the day after the Oracle
approaches the party, unless the party does something to make them impossible�

Throw:

1. If the party have interacted with any NPC since they began other than Minions or
NPCs named here (that is random bureaucrats, shopkeepers, etc) one of these people
(whichever one who would have heard the most about the PCs' activities by now) is a
spy for The Corrupted. S/he will shadow the PCs with Stealth 3 and report all of
their activities to The Corrupted. If no such NPC has been met, keep this event in
your pocket until one is met.

2. Another person connected to the Task has been murdered. If the means of death
can be discovered, the party will find out it was the same as the first Murder,
with the same Trigger-Puller Minion (1). This was a former intimate of the Villain
who threatened to leave and tell people, and had to be silenced.

3. Another person connected to the Task has been murdered. A rival trying to outdo
the Villain at the Task, and so interfering. A Minion reported it (likely via phone
or email) to the Lieutenant Minion, who then assigned the murder to Trigger-Puller
Minion 2.

4. The PC of the highest social standing (or Appeal, if their social standing is
equal) is invited to a party attended by Demon City mid-elite (s/he may bring
guests). The Patron and The Corrupted are present as well as a (perhaps disguised)
Minion who seems to, in passing, know one of the Corrupted. This Minion has no idea
who the Party are and is drunk enough to let slip information in casual
conversation.

5. The Minions are nowhere to be found today. Astrological investigation (Intensity

3 Occult or asking the right people) reveals it�s an auspicious day for a ceremony
of the kind most plausibly associated with the Villain. It will be either at night
in a public place fit for the ritual or at a Minion�s home.

6. Trigger-Puller Minion 2 kills the Lowest Minion (or any other Minion who has had
contact with the PCs) on orders from the Villain. They know too much and have
outlived their usefulness.

7. A Minion offers to sell the party information about the Villain. They know very
little (they have only been spoken to indirectly) but offer to collect information
in exchange for protection. Depending on the nature of the Villain, s/he is either
an honest defector or setting the party up for a double cross (the Minion may even
pretend the Villain they are �informing� on is a regular criminal of some kind).
If the defection is real, the Villain will know and one of the Trigger-Pullers will
try to kill them before they can do any harm.

8. The Patron reports they�ve been visited by one of The Corrupted. The Patron has
been told to stop investigating and is scared.

9. The Detective turns up a suicide. The police (influenced by the Corrupted) don�t
seem to care. The Detective�s home and/or car are full of new clues to the nature
of the villain.

10. (Write your own event here.)

6. THE HORROR SANDBOX

A sandbox is a kind of game defined by two characteristics: first: players can, to

some degree, pick their objectives and, second: the world responds somewhat like a
real one would to their actions, possibly on a very large scale.

The classic sandbox is a fantasy game trope: a great map is spread out, with
tantalizing rumors about treasure and dangers in various places and the players
decide which sound fun�exploring any one of these options creates a cascade of
consequences, changing the world and then the players need to decide again what to
do in this changed world. The appeal of the sandbox is it offers a great deal of
player choice, and unpredicted player actions have unpredictable consequences.

It�s relatively unusual to have a pure sandbox in a horror game, partially because
having multiple objectives at once (a werewolf in Warsaw, a ghoul in Ghana) can
lead to horror fatigue or a loss of a sense of mystery, but even moreso because a
typical investigation scenario requires a Host to essentially give the PCs an
objective (solve the mystery) and then do a certain amount of work to make
achieving that one objective interesting and full of interesting choices. Also:
giving the players lots of objectives makes it seem like the horrors can�t be much
of a big deal�if they handle the werewolf and not the ghoul well�the world is still
spinning after they ignored the ghoul.

However, with discipline and planning, it is quite possible to make a horror

sandbox if that kind of game interests you and your players. Essentially it just
means taking the kind of choice presented in the Investigation as Dungeon and
scaling up.
The way that most cleanly respects the horror and investigative genres is this:

1. There�s a conspiracy of some kind

2. Near the beginning of the sandbox campaign (or the sandbox phase of a larger
campaign) the characters discover a more-or-less explicit list of separate
conspirators�a dossier or file.

3. (Unbeknownst to the investigators but likely suspected by the players) the

conspirators each have some connection to a horror of their own. Or they each are a
horror.

4. The list of conspirators makes clear some interesting and at least slightly
juicy fact about each conspirator: their neighborhood or city, their job, crimes
they may be suspected of, etc.

5. The list also makes clear they are interconnected�exposing/killing/locating one

will cause the others to change in some way or ways. Perhaps it is a cult and they
all must sacrifice a creature on a given night�and if one doesn�t it is known that
another must recruit a new member to take their place. Or perhaps it�s a smuggling
organization, and getting rid of one link in the chain means operations will shift
to somewhere else. Give the players as much information about these mechanisms as
you can without spoiling a mystery you want them to solve�it will make the decision
and planning more interesting for them.

6. Treat the investigation of any given conspirator as basically one adventure to

design, but with one important additional emphasis: whatever happens to this
conspirator affects the others in some interesting way.

How To Run A Horror Investigation

1. WHAT DO WE WANT?

Plato held that the perfect forms
inaccessible realm of ideals, and
forever from them, and could only
seamless numinomena. But, one, it
two, Plato was wrong a lot.
of all things were forever suspended in an
that we in this sublunary reality were sundered
experience failed and piecemeal versions of these
helps to start with a clear ideal in mind and,

What might Someone's Perfect Game of Demon City look like?

It might start with half-assed urban-situation-comedy but--after the strange poem

in the diary is discovered�it shades by degrees into a series of confusing but
tense incidents. For perfection, the details then aren't important but the ending
is.

The ending would have to look like this:

-Every single PC--except the new player's PC--is unconscious (though only for a
round or two--we don't want the dead players getting bored)--having been
accidentally shot by the new PC in a panic of bad aim and worse Throws.

-The remaining newbie PC is down to 0 Toughness and lying on the floor�

-...and has also just hit 0 Calm so now has got a brand new insanity to deal with.

-Meanwhile, of course, a grotesque wet thing (brimming with health) oozes

inexorably forward in the uncanny dark.

-The player of the remaining PC is wide-eyed and frantic and performing luck
rituals and madly soliciting dice advice.

-The pistol runs out of ammunition, but the second pistol--after having, in perfect
Checkhov's gun style, been a source of controversy in the first act "Why would an
anthropologist wander around London with two loaded pistols?""I've been in the
bush--I'm paranoid."--is unholstered.

-The first Clash Throw with the Thing is a tie.

-The second Clash Throw with the Thing is a tie.

-Finally the new player wins, throwing ten damage and the gibbering obscenity is
annihilated...

...and in shuffle the cops�"What's all this then?�, and they go to work shoveling
bits of heart-stopping terror off the wall.

So: keep an idea of perfect in mind as you run. Learn what is and isn�t getting you
there.

2. SOME TIPS ON RUNNING THE ADVENTURE

You are not always going to get fear.

Some players are capable of genuine fear while gaming. Many aren't. If you can't
get fear immediately, don't worry about it. Fear is nice, but there is also just
sublime panic, with sudden discontinuities and mayhem and chaos. I once ended a
session with a player�s character gently escorting a screaming cop into a hotel
suite while another was fondling the toothed bosom of the Wolfmother, another was
on a bed with 3 dead naked teenage boys and another was throwing a 10 to fire
completely blind ("I'm not looking, I'm not looking") at the First Lady and save
the world. Maybe no-one was afraid�but it was beautiful.

Build The Session Around The Way The Players Act and React

Horror is, basically, about a person with a personality and then a Horror that
personality faces. Ripley and the Xenomorph, Mina and Dracula, The Torrances and
Jack, the kids and the death-clown. Everything between them (the physical set up,
the plot) is just there to help dramatize that conflict. If the players reactions
are giving you so much to work with that there isn't time for some structural
device the adventure-as-you-wrote-it gives you, that's ok. Just let that happen. So
long as you fit something horrible in before everybody goes home, it's all good.

A Horrorless Session Is Ok

Sometimes you'll run that game�especially the first session-and it won't be scary
at all even for a second, it won�t have any horror in it. This is fine. This
establishes a baseline of normality where you can freak the players out next
session because they think everything's going to be okay.
Do try to get an emotion.

Disgust is pretty easy. You don't necessarily get emotions by thinking up brand new
ideas as much as by describing whatever idea is there in enough sensory detail that
people are actually imagining it. Telling your players �hey zombies are eating
brains� is one thing, having them picture skull shards at the crown of their own
heads cracking away and red clutches of wet brainpath quivering between spidered
yellow fingernails is another. Just one emotion all night is ok�you can build to
fear once people are invested in something.

If you have someone capable of fear:

Run the game and start with any emotion you can get. Attachment to an object,
liking an NPC, pride in the PCs� accomplishments, whatever. If the emotion is
negative (disgust, etc.)--good, make it worse. If it is positive, sour it--have the
enemy ruin it, brush it aside: "Your machines, your knowledge, they will not save
you, your hope is hopeless" Most negative emotions are adjacent to fear. Just push
them until they are fear.

And, of course, if you have someone truly psychologically fragile: then stop. Don't
be a dick.

Alienation

A scary thing: the familiar or otherwise comfortable thing suddenly being alienated
from you�suddenly not how you�re used to. Your friends don't know you, your dog has
no eyes, the human is no longer acting like a human, your cabinet is full of
someone else�s things, etc.

The Tactile

The skin is part of our immune system. Our first and most visible barrier. It is
The Horror Threshold. Things that get past the skin, are beneath your skin or push
through it, disrupt it, these things are horrible. If you can make players think
about The Body it'll get you into The Mind pretty quick.

There's the old statue and then there's You run your hand across the surface and it
feels like--Have you ever run your hand across someone's skin in the morning? Like
that--only also stone, like unaccountably warm. And bulbous, like stretched tumors
emerging.

The Classics

The basics of horror never stop working: bad weather, dilapidated places, not
knowing what�s going on, being cut off from help, darkness, the sudden realization
that what you thought was a victory was just falling into a trap. Use them when you
can.

Funny Is OK

A lot of new Hosts think they need to control the mood all night to have a scary
adventure�candles, darkness, mood music�this isn�t necessary.
Funny is good. Funny is great. In fact, let yourself laugh. Like sometimes if you
are Hosting you try not to laugh because you've got this adventure to run here but
seriously, be a fan of your players, and their jokes... When people are laughing it
means they like something in the game, it amuses them�which means they are attached
to it and you can get a lot of mileage later out of threatening to destroy it.

Humor also helps Hosts overcome one of the main challenges in a horror game�in a
horror movie, the characters don�t know they�re in a horror movie, so they make bad
decisions, in a game, they do (or the players controlling them do)�so let the
players laugh, let them start not taking things seriously, let them think this is
not the part with the monster yet. Then pull someone�s lung out in strips through
their ribcage.

Broadly: the players are in charge of keeping things fun in the short term, this
book is in charge of keeping things fun in the long term, and the Host is in charge
of everything else. So this book is going to be relatively serious so we can have a
useful structure for a game about horror, the players are going to be a little
goofy because they are players enjoying being together, and you need to be
somewhere in between. Make things serious enough to be a challenge and to have real
stakes�but recognize when there�s any kind of fun going on and don�t cockblock it
unnecessarily.

If You Have An Actor, Use Them

It helps to have at least one person who will roleplay-as-in-act at the table. This
lets other people know its ok and will be fun and not superfluous. If you have a
cop who was like: Well, I understand you have your traditions of your people and
you got your, uh, trbal medicine understanding of this, uh, Old Medicine kinda
thing and all I know is there's like a baby goat coming out of this guy and if
you're telling me it's some kinda spiritual thing I'm with you because I ain't
never seen that before. And then everybody sees that that's fun when the player
acts and it lets them know its ok to do that and then they relax a little.

Recognize Coolness

If there is a phrase or image or line or idea the players come up with that is just
perfect, say that. Stop the whole game and say that. In general: when anything cool
is produced by players, notice it. This has two effects: encouraging the player and
showing everybody that its ok to go ahead and try things�this activity will be
rewarded.

Try To Remember Who Is Insane

This can be hard, especially when the full mayhem is running:

Me: "Alright, the man with the jackal face leans in, putting his jaw completely
around your face and trying to sort of kiss you"
Guy playing a character based on his alcoholic faith-healer uncle: "Well, I'm still
hallucinating from last round, so..."
Me: "Yeah, right, so you are looking into his gullet and you see you are looking
down into the coils of the great snake from which all of the world emerged in the
time of the kicking rabbit and the blood clot boy and..."
Guy: "Well then I'm going to try to get _further in there_ "
Me: "Ok, so you grab it by either side and push your face into its mouth..."
And to think I would've missed it had he not reminded me...

Likewise: Try To Remember Who Is On Fire

Calm Check A Lot Before The Horror Shows Up

Calm checks for seeing monsters and what-all are gonna happen, but remember to run
Calm Checks for just mundane badness like seeing dead bodies and accidentally
shooting civilians and suchlike sundry minor devastating incidents. Lose a few here
and there once in a while. You only lose one Calm point for seeing a Demon of the
Third Order--but of it's built on a bed of disturbing events...

Use The Rules To Emphasize What Matters To You

Demon City�s rules emphasize who has a situational advantage�but just as different
advantages matter to different authors (reasoning matters most to Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle�s Sherlock Holmes, persistence in Stephen King) it is, around the edges, up
to the Host what counts as an �advantage�. Feel free to split hairs you think are
important�if you think the Sykes Knife is a superior combat weapon to the Mark 1
Trench Knife and that�s what the two opponents are dueling with, feel free to give
the Sykes wielder a +1 Throw in that situation. Your group�s decisions create the
subgenre that he game is in.

Don�t Point Outside The Box

If you don�t want to run a game in Mexico, don�t put important parts of the plot in
Mexico. Everything attached to the horror should be set in places where you want to
run an adventure.

Try Starting NPCs With A Voice

You don�t have to know everything about an NPC before you start performing them.

Once you begin to talk in a voice, a personality that goes with that voice will
start to suggest itself�ideas and responses come out on their own. If you can't do
a voice just start with an actor in your head who would play that role. Make their
choices based on what feels right from there.

Everything Is Normal Except The Stuff You Added In

In fantasy and sci fi you can
with a little more effort you
there. In a horror set up you
creepy way�focus on that. The
rusting in the sun�
beat yourself up for your lack of inventiveness�Oh
could've put something weird there and there and
just need a normal world. Just describe it in a
air conditioning units thrumming, their nameplates

Supernatural Horror Is Pervasive

Psychic emanations or dream echoes or what-all can pretty much account for any
weird thing happening in the vicinity of the Horror. You don't need too much of a
reason to have something strange happen all of a sudden. Let the paint peel, let
sounds echo in reverse. Give the players dreams and visions whenever you like.
Villains Are Impulsive, Use That To Help You

While you�re free to come up with a Machiavellian supervillain who covers their
tracks perfectly, bad guys� imperfections can help write and run an adventure.
Human criminals forget to kill witnesses, leave (literal) crumbs at crime scenes,
panic when shot at, have fits of remorse or mercy (or their minions do) and make
imperfect tactical decision�and inhuman menaces driven by inscrutable hungers are
even worse.

In a fight, there�s no reason to assume these enemies will go after the PC it would
make most sense to target, or take care that a downed foe is really dead. Make the
situation more tense and chaotic by making the villain unpredictable.

�When in doubt have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand�

Raymond Chandler did not offer this as serious advice�he was satirizing himself
when he said it. But he wasn�t a Demon City Host. If you are really stuck or the
game seems to go nowhere then go ahead and attack the PCs�this is the basis of the
Hunter/Hunted structure and it works.

Injury and Calm Loss Can Disrupt An Investigation: Let Them

This is a horror game, not a race to the finish line. If a character is wounded and
needs to be rushed to the hospital or the rich surgeon�s mansion in the isolated
hilltop: that race through the streets is the story for now. If a character in a
panic refuses to get in the car because they think it�s the womb of the black lamb
of chaos: getting them sedated or talked down or even defeated is the story for
now. Pain and madness are the genre: work them.

Learn How To Pace A Split Party

Sometimes different party members are in different places�just as they are in the
kind of fiction that inspired Demon City. This is bad for them, but great for the
game�it�s way scarier. Treat a split party as you would any other game where
players take turns�spend some time in one place, then switch to the other
regularly. The best time to switch is at a moment of peak tension or
curiosity�right before a door is opened, right before a fight starts, etc. It takes
some practice to balance the imperative to give people regular turns with cutting
at a tense moment, but learning is worth it.

Support The Reality of Players' Inventions

When someone establishes a thing about their character�constantly casually

acknowledge it in how you talk. If someone mentions their PC is wearing a scarf
slip that in fifteen minutes later like �It�s cold in here�Tina�s comfortable in
her scarf, the rest of you are shivering�.

The only consistent difference between hanging with your buds and playing one of
these games--the only reason we chose to do the second thing instead of just the
first--is whatever it is we get out of a shared imaginative space. Simply reminding
them "Oh you imagined that? I am now imagining it too" deepens what we get out of
that.
You Only Have So Much Energy And Attention

I could give you endless advice about what to do but here's the thing: sometimes
you're going to not do an accent because you've got eight players to wrangle and
sometimes you're going to forget about a player because you're busy doing an
accent.

Hosting isn't about always doing the right thing every time. It's about trying to
figure out what's most important at any given moment and paying attention to that.

3. ELIDING TIME

Learn this phrase: �Does anyone want to do anything before we skip ahead to�?�

And then if someone says �I want to stop in at the taxidermist�s office when it�s
open� then go �Ok, does anyone else need to do anything before we skip to that?�

The idea here is: in any adventure, but especially in a crime investigation,
there�s going to be stretches of dead time. You want to skip past them to the next
interesting scene while preserving player choice.

So: feel free to elide time, but get the players� consent.

Here�s another thing to remember�if an investigator has pretty much vacuumed up all
the clues you left, don�t be afraid to eventually say �You get the feeling you got
what there is to get here�. Don�t do it right away, and maybe wait for them to
scoop up some red herrings, but it�s ok to do it if the investigation is dragging.

4. WHEN TO USE THROWS

If an outcome is not in doubt, don't use Throws.

"The door is locked."

"I have the key."
"Oh right! I forgot--the door opens."
?
If an outcome is in doubt but failure could not produce any result with interesting
consequences, don't use Throws.

"The door is locked and, like we said before, you're really drunk."
"I have the key but maybe I dropped it?"
"Sure, but you get in there eventually and get to bed before your phone goes off at
7 am the next morning when you hear your brother's been murdered."
?
If an outcome is in doubt, and success and failure could both result in different
interesting consequences, use Throws.

"The door is locked, like we said before you're really drunk, and behind the door
you hear your brother--'Marty, Marty, I've been shot!"
"I open the door!"
"It's not so easy since you're drunk--Throw!"
?
If an outcome is in doubt, and success and failure could both result in the same
interesting consequences, use Throws but only if you want to ratchet up the
tension--and only do this sparingly and to point out something strange is going on.

"The door is locked, like we said before you're really drunk, and behind the door
you hear your brother--'Marty, Marty, I've been shot!"
"I open the door!"
"It's not so easy since you're drunk--Throw!"
"Success!"
"THE LOCK HAS BEEN CHANGED! You're too late!"
"Why has the lock been changed?
"Why indeed? That's part of the mystery."

If an outcome is in doubt and success could not produce any interesting

consequences, the Host probably set up the adventure wrong.

"The door is locked, like we said before you're really drunk, and behind the door
you hear your brother--'Marty, Marty, someone's trying to kill me and ps this whole
adventure is going to be about figuring out who killed me!'"
"I open the door. 10! Door's open, who's killing my brother?"
"Oh, damn, umm..."

If an outcome is in doubt and failure means the adventure goes nowhere, the Host
definitely set up the adventure wrong.

"The door is locked, and behind it your brother is tangling with a demon who will
destroy the world!�
�I fail.�
�Oh I hadn�t thought of that. The world ends.�
�But we just started?�
?
If someone at the table thinks using Throws would be more fun than just making a
decision normally alotted to them, use Throws

"The door is....Throw Throw....locked"

"I have the key, I open it."
"Behind it is...(rolls on a table)...holy hell it's your brother, he's bleeding out
on the floor!"
"I...(rolls on a table)...tell him I never liked him anyway."

5. FUDGING THROWS AND MAKING RULINGS

I don't know whether you've been fudging AND you don't have to tell me. If you
really don't know what it is, I'll tell you: it's when a Throw result tells
everyone one thing happens and instead you do a different thing.

Now it's traditional at this point to tell you either one of two things:

-Don't ever fudge in this house! We have provided you all the tools to have fun and
you don't need to go having extracurricular deviant fun by messing with the rules
we gave you. Follow the rules and you will receive the exact amount of fun that is
your due and such due that is appropriate to your players.

-Hey, you fudged? That's, like, cool, little pal. If the story is going to come out
better if you fudge, go ahead and do it. Fudge all over the table.
The first piece of advice is just straight-up inaccurate: there is literally no
game in the history of RPGs which has not been profitably fudged by some group
somewhere.

The second piece of advice is just lazy, and leaves the Host with questions: If the
rules don't always apply, why are we following them ever? What's the point? Is
there a downside?

Well, yes, there is a downside: if you fudge enough then the players will realize
that certain outcomes--like dying in an early scene if they're not cautious, or
escaping enemies even though the plot seems to want you to be captured for a scene
or two--are off the table. This means they don't have to try as hard or think as
hard as they would if the odds of things happening were what they were used to from
using the rules all day. It's like telling the players that they only have to try
to make the best choices sometimes. And that makes for a less nerve-wracking--and
therefore less exciting--game. There are people who like a game that doesn't make
them worry all the time--nothing in this book is for them.

Well what's the good advice then?

First, some clarifications:

No RPG Book is Gospel

This ruleset is very likely not ideally suited to your group's ambitions, just as
the items of my game group�s wardrobe are very likely not suited to your group's
various frames. These rules are a starting point for people who believe their
ambitions for a game might be similar to ours--and any RPG author who claims
different is stupid or lying to make money off you. Despise them.

This book isn't infallible, it's just the closest I could get to infallible for the
version of the game I want to play. That means I might've made a mistake but--even
more likely--I probably made at least one rule that works for the game I want to
play but not quite for the game you want to play.

This is to be expected, as humans are different. If you're constantly finding RPG

rulesets perfect for your ambitions you're probably a really boring person.

So point is: some rules might not work the way you need them to. It�s ok.

Fudging Isn't The Same As Making A New Rule

Fudging is different than making a new rule (or �Making a ruling� or �Hacking� as
we sometimes say�see below).

Fudging is different�it�s just ignoring a rule's demands on the spot, but re-using
the rule after that.

Fudging Isn't the Same As Ignoring A Convenient Randomizer's Result

If there's a table for an NPC's name (like the ones at the end of this book), and
you throw on it and don't like the name you got and pick another--that's not
fudging. The NPC name table isn't really a "rule" --it's a tool you use to help
think up ideas. The players are not relying on that table to make their own
decisions, they may not even know that table exists and won�t feel cheated if you
change a Bartholomew to a Freddie.
Fudging happens when the rules which determine the way the gameworld actually works
are temporarily vetoed after making a contribution.

So What's The Good Advice?

Treat fudging like declaring bankruptcy: try hard not to, but if you really feel
have to, learn something so you don't have to do it ever again.

Fudging means that either:

A-You invoked a rule when it wasn't appropriate and realized too late
or
B-I wrote the rule wrong for that situation
or
C-You wrote the rule wrong for that situation

A is like: You have someone Throw on their maxxed-out Local Knowledge and it turns
out they don't know what street they live on.

B or C are like: If you have an 8 year old PC from Siberia with 2 Knowledge and
they Throw high enough to instantly know how to field-strip a WW2 Mendoza 7 rifle
and nobody at the table can think of a reason why that makes sense on the spot
without feeling the whole game is implausible and so are now they are taking the
game less seriously. In this case maybe my Firearms rule is not detailed enough for
the game you want to play and you should change it for next time. (Personally I'd
be like "Ok, Olav's grandfather owned a gun-shop and made him strip antique rifles
on the cinder-block furniture in the basement and hit him on the head with a ruler
if he did it wrong. Cool." but maybe your childhood was less depressing than mine.)

Either way: fudging should be as rare as you can possibly make it, but if it
happens, treat it as an opportunity to fine-tune either the way you play or the
tools you use to play with.

7. HACKING THE RULES

�Hacking� is a general term for changing the rules�this isn�t just making a ruling
(clarifying or changing a rule mid-game) but changing the rules at any time. There
are lots of good reasons to change the rules, including:

-Your game focuses on a subgenre of horror or crime that is focused in a slightly

different place than the default Demon City

For example: if you have an all-police game you might want to give every PC skill
with their service pistol but then have a separate skill for other kinds of guns,
or if you want to include a heavy martial arts theme, add more options than simple
�Hand to Hand� or if you want to do an academic-centered campaign, separate
relatively broad sciences like Biology from narrower ones like Zoology.

-The people you�re playing with aren�t the kind of people I wrote the game for and
so need more/less/different guidance

For example: if all your players always default to combat and constantly design
character solely for fighting, you might want to change Downtime rules so they
don�t just pick Exercise over and over.

-The rule is wrong and I messed up and it has a consequence I didn�t expect and
don�t want

If you notice something like this, again: tell me. Your change might make it into
the errata, or the next edition.

In all cases: go ahead and do it, just:

A) You�re sure you know why the rule was there in the first place (so you don�t
accidentally knock over something load-bearing), and

B) Make sure your players are ok with the change

8. HOW TO DO A CREEPY VOICE

Don't breathe through your nose while talking.

Flatten your tongue.

Place the tip of your tongue about a half inch behind your upper teeth, try to
touch your upper teeth on either side with the sides of your tongue.

Speak slowly

You want to get metal "vocal fry" (there are youtube videos) the idea is you make a
continuous sound out of your throat and pull the muscle at the base of your tongue
inward toward the back of the throat as much as you can.

Try not to use the whole range of movement of your mouth when you talk, stick to
just moving your lips and the tip of your tongue. Try to keep your mouth relatively
closed.

The overall idea is you are channeling a relatively loud sound through a relatively
small opening.

9. DETAILS, CHALLENGES AND CONSEQUENCES

This game is designed to provide challenges not just for the imaginary character a
player represents but for the player. Just as basketball is for people who want
their ability to jump, throw and catch challenged and Super Mario Bros is for
people who want their button-mashing reflexes challenged, part of this game is
oriented toward challenging the players to not just make up interesting ideas about
characters in a fiction, but solve puzzles and problems. The game should be just
hard enough that you worry it might be too hard.

The character�s Agility, Toughness, Cash are unrelated to the player�s, but the
character�s other stats will to a greater or lesser degree be hybridized with those
of the player�as will many of a character�s skills.

If a player is flustered by the thought their character might die and makes a bad
decision, their personal Calm is affecting the character�s Calm, if a player thinks
to check the ceiling for a clue�they�re doing more than the PC�s Perception score
alone would indicate, if a player thinks to offer an NPC something they�ve figured
out the NPC genuinely would want in exchange for information, their PC�s is not
relying on their Appeal number alone, if a player knows that insects usually fly
toward a decaying body, the character is not relying on their Knowledge alone.
These things are good: they are part of what make Demon City fun.

When preparing, create as may challenges that test the players wits as you have
energy for, and only use character stats when testing something that you don�t have
a simple way to offload onto the player. For example: you pretty much have to use
the Perception stat to see if a character hears footsteps, but you don�t have to
rely on it to test if someone notices an NPC said �Our house� when he supposedly
lives alone.

When it comes to specialized skills the player possesses that the PC doesn�t (the
player is an Anarchist Cookbook fan who knows how to make a pipe bomb, the
character is a straight-arrow doctor who doesn�t) I�d lean toward letting the PC
carry out any character plan that requires only information the player has (nothing
that requires a special physical feel or intuition the player has, like cleanly
separating egg-whites from yolks, or accurately matching a paint color), but try to
create situations where the player can�t do this kind of thing all the time.
Solving problems with the disadvantage that you�re not entirely yourself is itself
an interesting puzzle.

The point of many rules and details in the game is to keep things consistent. The
reason isn't primarily realism or drama�it�s to give the players an understandable
sets of tools to solve problems with: gravity works like this, bullets work like
that. The point of many supernatural things that create inconsistencies in the way
things work isn�t just to make them spooky�it�s to change the kinds of solutions
players can bring to the table to create new challenges �What do you do if gravity
goes up now? What if bullets don�t work on the witch?

Also: failure has to be an option. The exciting part of challenges is the anxiety
of players agonizing about whether their decision is right or not, if players
realize many of their decisions don�t matter, this tension goes away. However,
never create a situation where characters will die (or go forever insane) solely
based on chance�death must be at the end of a chain including at least one bad
tactical or strategic decision on the players� part.

10. STYLE

Perusing the art, you may have noticed there appear to be no naked men in Demon
City. Also no-one wears brown, empire-waist dresses or crocs, buildings never have
red bricks and the Coachella-headband thing never caught on. That�s how the Demon
City I imagine looks, because that is a city I prefer to think about�but it�s your
game now.

After The First Adventure

The Importance of Shock

Shock is an important part of horror and I don't mean that in a vague way�I mean
specifically being surprised about something and that something is bad is an
important part of what defines the horror genre versus other genres. In horror
either the audience is shocked or the characters are, or both.

If there's a criminal with a knife that's a crime thriller, if the audience knows
that when they stab a person with the knife it's going to be gory or just
terrifying in a way they can�t anticipate that's horror.

If a character is scared because there�s a werewolf that's fantasy, if they�re

scared because there's a werewolf and because they didn't know werewolves were a
thing that's horror.

So in horror, it�s not just a bad thing is happening, someone is surprised at the
bad thing happening.

In horror, the fact shock (a species of surprise) is part of the genre can actually
limit the protagonists. After they�ve seen a certain number of horrors, they are no
longer shockable. Walter and Jesse can keep getting into sticky situations with
armed gangsters each week on Breaking Bad and it�s a thriller every week, Conan can
keep fighting wizards and it�s fantasy every month, but you�ll notice the X-Files
or Hellboy stop feeling like horror at a certain point, despite the presence of
horror elements. This is one reason American Horror Story changes its set-up every
season and why series� about �Vampire hunters� or the like tend to feel more like
fantasy or superhero stories than classic horror and why George RR Martin writes 7
books about the same people and Shirley Jackson doesn�t.

There is also the question of mystery: defeating a horror usually involves

answering a lot of �Why?� questions�and once these are answered, a mythology
develops (�Vampires fear holy water�) and it ceases to be mysterious, you climb
more toward simple noir (without the supernatural) or fantasy (with it).

How To Deal With Shock-Fatigue

There are a few ways to deal with shock fatigue and loss of mystery in an extended
campaign:

-Go full gore: Make the mortality rate so high that new characters are a near-
constant presence, and total party kills are frequent. You have to have a certain
kind of player for this.

-Live with it: Hellboy is a fine comic, even if Hellboy isn�t usually scared and
neither is anyone else. Allow your characters to adopt the jaded mien of seasoned
monsterfinders.

-Ascending scale of supernaturalness: This requires some planning and discipline on

the GM�s part. The first adventure is about a hitman, the second is about a serial
killer, the third is about a necromancer, the fourth about a demon, the fifth is
about Satan. The key is each threat is not only bigger than the last, but, more
subtly�breaks the rules of �normal� more fully.

-All the horrors have a common source: Again, this requires planning and
discipline. In this scheme, the idea is that the investigators eventually find that
all the horrors are part of one larger horror, like the Ascending Scale,the horrors
get worse, but the idea is the surprise comes from how many new things the larger
horror is capable of. Like in the story Call of Cthulhu, the titular monster is
responsible for a psychic�s nightmare, for an artifact, for a cult ceremony, and
then appears itself. The Horror Sandbox format above is one example of how to do
this.

-Allow the campaign to spend most of its time with investigation and crime, but
then remind players it�s horror at intervals: This is probably the easiest�make the
sessions about crime and detection for a a few sessions. But then, just when they
thought they were dealing with a nice, simple kidnapping for once�
Mapping The City

Sometimes you need to know exactly where things are�and sometimes you don�t. There
are basically smart people alive right now who spend their whole lives just going
where Siri tells them.

You only need a detailed map when crawling. Crawling, as in the game design terms
�dungeoncrawling� or �hexcrawling� basically happens when you are moving through
territory and fighting, or potentially fighting, at any moment. At that point, you
may need a local map.

Crawling happens a lot with revenants or drones (crawling across the city or
through the subway tunnels) with haunts (crawling around corners, over rooftops)
and, at ironically high speed, with car chases. It often occurs under the sign of
The Tower.

When crawling somewhere other than around a PC�s home or work (or school), make
Local Knowledge checks (or Perception checks at higher Intensity numbers) to avoid
getting lost. If PCs are lost, feel free to put them somewhere interesting, and
assume they remain lost until they find a clear way to remedy the situation (get
directions from someone who�d know, recharge their phones and spend five minutes
carefully orienteering, etc) or until at least one interesting thing has happened.

If you have time to prepare encounters in the city as set-pieces there are not only
hundreds and possibly thousands of resources online for generating gaming maps, but
also a limitless well of real-world resources for getting city maps and
architectural plans. Taking phone pictures of interesting places to have people
fight while you travel (public squares with strange stepped fountains, complex
overpasses, spiral stairs where you don�t expect them, etc) is often better than
all of these.

However, if you still need a last-minute battlespace that isn�t unconsciously

tilted toward letting the heroes or villains win, here are a couple methods�

For exteriors:

Drop two dice on a piece of paper, draw a line between them and extend it off the
paper in both directions. Drop two more, draw another line. Drop two more, draw
another line. The lines are roads�if there isn�t yet a way to drive from any one
place on the map to any other using these roads, keep dropping pairs of dice until
there is.

For interiors:

Drop a handful of d10s on a piece of paper�using the edges of the paper as the
edges of the floorplan, draw a rectangle (at the same orientation as the paper)
around each one, placing doors on the walls wherever the tips of the d10s are
pointing.

Or:

Lay cards face down on a piece of paper with �corridors� in between until the paper
is full. The cards are rooms.
Things To Know About Cops & Crime

The best way to deal with the law is: wherever your personal knowledge of real life
legal procedure ends, that�s where the horror begins (again). If you don�t know
what happens after someone gets to Central Booking and don�t want to look it up
then, of course, that�s when the corrupt police or cult-infested gang members show
up. If you can�t figure out how a party�s trial would work and don�t want to read
up on it, have a zombie eat their lawyer.

In general, legal procedure in Demon City is conducted not under the sign of
Justice (11) or even Judgement (20) but under the sign of the Hierophant (5), the
figure of orthodoxy, changelessness, and the lies that feed illusions of
continuity. Police think anything strange is drugs, juries resent being asked to
care, and neither prosecutors nor defenders want to ruin their records taking cases
they might lose.

That having been said, crime is pretty fun, so here are some things about it you
can use, straight from our world:

Courts can take forever even to do simple things. If your PCs get arrested, they
probably won�t be in court�or necessarily even in jail�the next day.

Desperate people selling babies is weirdly common, even in the US in 2017. It�s a
good origin for a Problem or Victim PC.

Estate sales are a bonanza for horror and crime scenarios�they�re full of things
left behind by people who nothing left to hide any more.

It can be really hard to get good fingerprints or physical evidence even if the
criminal doesn�t actively try to prevent it.

In the USA tracing a gun to its original purchaser is actually hard on purpose due
to laws preventing not just name-searchable databases but even computers being
involved in the process. All gun traces are done through a handful of Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms employees in one office in West Virginia looking
through boxes and microfilm and calling gun stores that may or may not still be in
business. There�s a 65% chance they�ll find whoever bought your gun.

Faking your own death in 2017 costs about 5000$. That�s a Cash 3-4 Intensity.

Police k-9 dogs work with basically one handler�they have a relationship that isn�t
easily transferrable. Many police German shepherds worldwide were literally trained
in Germany and take directions in German.

There is no rule in the US about how long you can be in Immigration Detention. You
can be there for years.

Things that can be in a cop car: first aid kits, fire extinguishers, prisoner cage,
laptop, small toolkit, flares, life buoys, barrier tapes, ED panels (Automated
external defibrillator).

Running a license plate can go wrong�you often have to type it in manually.

Cities have different rank systems but usually captain�s higher than lieutenant
which is higher than a sergeant which is higher than a random cop on the street.

Big city police are often working multiple murders, 9-5pm or 8-4, it�s easy to just
run out of time on one murder if another has better leads to follow up.

Even petty criminals who don�t know much about the internet do about a billion
things on the dark web, like buy drugs.

Art theft and rare book theft often go wholly uninvestigated by police, even when
the goods are relatively valuable�it�s a good way to bring in amateur sleuths like
PCs.

The thing they use to collect evidence from sexual assault victims is called a
Physical Evidence Recovery Kit (PERK kit).

Forensic scientists boil bodies to get at the bones�they boil disconnected small
pieces like fingertips in crockpots.

Decay of bodies:
-First: Rigor mortis
-Second: Bloating, which takes 3 days to weeks depending on climate and local flies
and maggots
-Third: Organs liquify, releasing a black liquid called �purge fluid�
The corpse�s skin will turn dark at some point and the purge-fluid is so nutrient
rich that plants will grow well where a body has died.

The private prison system and prison overflow has made prisons in the US a mess.
Coed prisons are not unheard-of and there are many anomalies like Sistersville�a
white-collar minimum-security prison that was also the last residential center for
people with Hansen�s disease (leprosy), the prisoners mixed with the patients.

When police need translators, they may get them from any other unit or even from
outside the police force. The person may not be a professional.

Other random police often have interviewed everybody they think is connected to a
murder before homicide gets there.

Police on the scene can and regularly forget pretty much anything�they can miss
used needles and bullet casings, they can even forget to seal off crime scenes.

In important investigations, the FBI and Homicide really can have turf wars�both
sides want the information the other side has, but both sides often think the other
guys will mess up the collar (or just steal credit) if they give them too much
information.

Getting something special like a helicopter up or a scuba unit to look for evidence
in the water is largely a matter of logistics and luck�sometimes people are
available, sometimes they�re not.

Murder detectives can be promoted up to that position from any other unit.

Hardly anyone uses lockpicks�bump keys are far more common and faster.

Police try to interview the least important people first in order to build a
background of minor details they can use to catch bigger fish when they�re lying.

City police departments can be organized in a million ways. Homicide Special, in

Los Angeles, handles any murder deemed important (12-15 cases a year) and has no
receptionist�so if you call them, you�re talking to a detective.

At least in LA, the binder containing all of a homicide case information is called
�the murder book�.

Detectives come in different grades and different departments do it differently�in

New York the entry is 3rd and the highest is 1st.

Organized criminals from Europe often get Mexican tourist visas then come into the
US that way.

Things To Know About Research By Richard Granville and Zak Smith

Unless they�re right there in a library or the embezzler�s office, that initial
Research Throw just means looking on the Internet. When that fails, you should go
�Ok, nothing�s coming up on the Internet immediately. Do you want to try digging a
little deeper?�

Digging deeper can involve a few different things:

-Have a Contact try it.

-Spend more time (maybe a week?�search variant spellings, leave requests on some
forums, etc).
-Go to an archive.

�the third is the most exhausting, gameable, and has the greatest chance of
success. Only 5% of archived information is even on the Internet�feel free to set
Research challenges that simply can�t be done any other way (feel free to tell the
player �you�ll need to go to an archive or something�), and what is archived is
often eccentrically indexed by barely-overlapping generations of underpaid staffers
and unpaid volunteers into obsolete, proprietary paper and computer filing systems.

If you know a little about how archives work you can do two things: add some
roleplaying color to an investigation that fleshes out your Demon City, and, once
in a while, have an adventure about getting to the archive or�shudder�the depot
before someone else does.

Archives

Storage formats get old and/or go out of fashion. Microfilm, fiche, photographic
slides of unusual sizes, glass plate negatives, etc. Photo negatives and prints are
kept in deep freeze storage � you have to order them 48 hours ahead to warm up, and
the archivist will want to know which photos beforehand because they can only be
warmed up so many times. And you won�t know which photos ahead of time because
nobody describes photos in the metadata.

There are materials that are hard to scan/photograph because they�re big
(blueprints) or fragile or mildewed or reflective. There are attempts to digitize
materials that failed to capture the important details (microfilms can usually be
scanned but only in 1-bit colour (like a fax) �so you can see the data but can�t
record it, except with a camera pointed at the preview screen.

Who cares? It�s all old stuff. We are concerned with the new.

Well, most infrastructure is old - buildings average 20-50 years, even if the
computer system inside them is new, so if you want to know about the plumbing or
air vents, that�s not online. Roads, foundations, geological surveys, city plans,
interstate highway plans, birth and medical and education records � it�s all more
than 20 years old and first recorded in systems that were antiquated then.

Requesting these things from the staff takes forever or charm or both. After that,
the main challenge is that you might have to be a little stealthy about
photographing the documents. Or the fact they might not be there. Then you have to
go to the depot.

The Depot

There are the open stacks � that�s where the 5% that�s been digitized is kept. Then
there are the closed stacks, which you can get into by charming the librarian. That
has the stuff the chief archivist keeps on hand. Then there�s the depot.

The depot isn�t anywhere near the archive�s main building. It�s in an industrial
wasteland where the buildings are cheap and truck access is bumpy but not crowded.
Or it�s on a rented corner of the Navy yards, or �temporarily� housed on barges.

The depot is supposed to be double-sealed from the outside world � that�s supposed
to mean a building inside a building, with its own electrical and heating and
humidity control system and ideally slight positive pressure compared with the
outside. In fact that kind of treatment is usually reserved for one room � the rest
of the depot is a damp, leaky, badly lit concrete building with wire racks and
cages where the artifacts are piled high on an organizational scheme known only to
one person and their short-lived acolytes. You�re not supposed to be let into the
depot unless you have special clearance � from the institution, possibly from the
military, depending on where it�s located. Sometimes an archivist can let you in,
sometimes clearance takes months to arrive.

All the doors in the depot auto-close (fire regulations � to keep the stuff inside
safe, not you the visitor). All the lights auto shut-off after 3 minutes. The depot
guy (or, less often, depot lady) carries a flashlight. Air conditioning units are
loud. Leak locations are known and avoided.

If the depot crank gets into it, they�ll start finding stuff on their own to show
you. You will learn stuff about them and the institution that makes it hard to work
with either.

If you ever need to steal anything from the depot, request stuff that�s in the same
cage or stored behind it. Chances are, the whole cage will be trucked out for the
one item, so it�s not the depot crank�s fault if the other stuff in there gets
damaged. The truck has no security beside obscurity.

Where else?

Maybe you�ve done all that and the thing just can�t be found. Maybe someone already
stole it, suppressed it, or more likely just misfiled it. Maybe it�s actually on
public display in the museum but nobody knew that.

All is not yet lost: The old, disgruntled archivist who nobody listens to will tell
you to look in financial or insurance records. It�s amazing how much is reproduced
in the insurance company�s archives.

Each department of a big institution keeps own records, often double-entered and
cross-indexed with head office, so Head Office�s copy may be firewalled/redacted,
but Plumbing's might not be.
People hide things in ancestry records. Like, literally in the archive box. Their
own notes, books belonging to the ancestor. If you go to the town where they grew
up, you might find their diary, unindexed, with the immunization forms and
diplomas.

Finally, quid pro quo works. Gifts are welcome, time spent chatting is maybe more
so and if you can remember their grandkids� names, less suspicious. Archivists and
curators don�t have enough time to do a better job or know their archives better -
they will ask you to share your research and photos, because you�re the only person
to request that record in 50 or 100 years. Share what you can, because 6 months
later they�ll find that other thing you needed and it�ll be your little secret.

Demon City International�The EU

By Richard Granville and Zak Smith

Demon City can be any city, of course, but much of what�s written above assumes the
US as a setting. If all goes well, eventually there will be Demon City material
covering adventures all over the world�in the meantime, here are some notes on
running Demon City in some other western locations:

In many countries there are several kinds of police. In France, for example, there
are Military Police armed with submachine guns to �suppress terrorism� with no law
enforcement duties/powers in airports and tourist areas, Gendarmes, who enforce
traffic and counter-terrorism and investigate crimes everywhere except for (most)
towns over 20,000 inhabitants, and the Judiciary branch of the Police
National�which handles the larger towns.

Nobody stops you for speeding in much of Western Europe � there are just cameras,
speed traps, zones where you have to maintain a specific speed to within 5mph.
Fines are sent direct to the vehicle owner�s home. Surveillance on main roads is
very common (although most visible camera boxes are empty).

In France you may see �les coyotes� (traffic police) with radar/binoculars hiding
in the woods or behind signs but they never chase you down the road. You can buy a
networked radar detector box and warn other drivers of the presence of speed traps.

Most British police are unarmed, truncheons are rare for regular service. Those few
that are issued guns keep them in their cars.

London has the highest density of surveillance cameras of any city except Beijing.

In rural Britain there is a massive shortage of police: 6 stations serve all of

Devon and Cornwall and not all are staffed at the same time � if you call the cops
they could take 1-2 hours to arrive. The same is true of the coastguard � Cornwall
is still a big smuggling area because police are hours away. Lifeboat rescue is
mostly volunteer based and if the lifeboat gets into trouble there�s little backup
� military aircraft can be called out to rescue a lifeboat crew.

Many cities in Europe, east and west�including Berlin, Athens and Copenhagen�have
small anarchist-dominated areas close to the city center where police simply do not
go.

There are also very few police patrols/beat cops in the Netherlands, instead,
surveillance and transaction reporting is used to track criminal behaviour. The
police are notified when a marked criminal uses their credit card or public transit
card and wait to pick them up at their presumed destination. You can see this
working on a train from Amsterdam to France: just before the train leaves a team of
3 officers and a dog board the train, they go straight to the seat reserved by the
person they�re looking for and escort them off the train. The dog identifies bags
belonging to the arrested person. Standard procedure is to track criminals
invisibly for hours or days and then arrange a sting point with a concentration of
force, usually on the road. For this reason, private security is used a lot but
hardly ever confronts burglars - they just turn over their surveillance to the
proper authorities.

Everyone knows about the system of �toleration� of drugs and prostitution in

Amsterdam. Elsewhere in the Netherlands there are special Tippelzones (by the sides
of highways, outskirts of town/ring road) with government-built facilities for safe
operation of officially illegal but tolerated activities. Prostitutes outside
Amsterdam and Rotterdam recently went on strike for bigger garages in these
facilities, because old, small parking facilities plus the growing market for
larger cars were slowing down their trade.

There�s a massive state-of-the-art forensic and chemistry lab in the basements of

the Louvre. It includes a particle accelerator. Ostensibly for spotting forgeries,
it�s also used in many other investigations because it�s better appointed than
state labs.

In addition to the sewers, underground canals, catacombs and church crypt tunnels,
all of which are open to the public, Paris also hosts several spelunking clubs that
search for connections between the Metro, wartime bunkers, and other official and
unofficial tunnels. The whole Paris basin is chalk and riddled with ancient and
medieval tunnels � including, not limited to, the hundreds of miles of Champagne
caves of Riems and Epernay.

Interpol has no dedicated policemen of its own, it�s just a co-operative effort
between national police departments.

Police forces have different reputations in different parts of Europe, but in Demon
City it�s safe to say they are all corrupt and useless unless the Host needs them
not to be.

Border crossings

In any part of Europe where tourism is common airport security is sunday brunch
compared to the US or Canada. Just coming from someplace western while looking like
a tourist or student gets you past passport control in seconds.

There are persistent rumours that you can end-run around EU immigration by going to
certain countries but whenever you hear them, �that loophole just closed� � the
rumours often represent anti-immigrant feeling more than reality. There are
immigrant chanty towns in places like Normandy and southern Germany that grow and
shrink with changes in EU policy and local enforcement. Internal migration for
white EU citizens is trivial but human trafficking for purposes of migration
remains a big issue...

Ski stations in the Alps cross national borders and into and out of the EU (France,
Italy, Switzerland, Austria). It�s easy to cross from one to another and ski into
town. There�s no surveillance.

The canals and barges network is another poorly-policed transit system. It

stretches from France to Russia but not into Spain, which has its own system (the
same is true of rail: if crossing the Pyrenees between France and Spain you have to
wait some hours at Port Bou to transfer from one system to the other). Canals
connect the Atlantic, Baltic, Med and Black seas � you can get to any of them
without leaving the land mass. Most of the major rivers (Seine, Loire,
Maas/Moselle, Rhine, Danube) and connected and have significant freight traffic.
Most also have no flood control (consider a game set in a storm/flood where a small
boat with a strong motor could connect across all sorts of unpoliced boundaries).

Demon Country (by Evan Elkins)

Sometimes a Demon City investigation might not stay in the city. Here�s some notes
on how to handle an adventure way off the beaten path�

There are �small towns� in America that are part of a great suburban sprawl. This
sprawl blankets entire states, and though the towns pretend to have meaningful
identities and borders they are ultimately just one continental suburb. This is
not about them. There are also places in the United States where you leave one
town and if you don�t refuel there you will end up stranded on the side of the
road before you reach the next one. Signs barely poke out of the woods to
announce other towns, but you can�t see them and they certainly don�t have gas
stations. This is about those places.

Even in the wildest parts of rural America most woods are new growth and thus have
a larger percentage of underbrush to hide bodies in.

Ambulances can take 30 minutes to an hour to arrive and the same to get you to a
hospital in an actual town.

Many records available online in urban areas will only be available in the county
courthouse in rural areas.

Some small towns still have taxi services but you would have to call the company to
get one.

In some small towns there are so few lawyers a judge may ask a lawyer passing
through to do some service outside their specialty or work temporarily as a public
defender.

Not all towns have a 24-hour police force.

Most items you would need (including firearms) can be purchased at Walmart. If an
army base is nearby an army surplus store is also an option. Some specialty gun
stores may have dynamite if you are in the right state.

Small towns may have a bus service that goes between them and a city once a day.
Same with trains.

Firearms discharges are too common to notify the police or to interrogate neighbors
about. Even at night.

Forensics equipment of the CSI variety is almost certainly not in the hands of your
local sheriff. Even state troopers will have to send stuff to the state capital or
beyond for such services. Most police work is done by interviews.

Both the sheriff�s deputies and state troopers will likely be obsessed with traffic
crimes, setting speed traps, because of their effect on funding. You will be
pulled over for speeding. You will never be arrested for firing a gun unless it�s
at somebody.

Even in towns of ~10,000 people, you will still be recognized in almost every
public place if you have a public job.

Many rural areas and states have �castle laws� where killing someone on your
property is de jure not illegal.

There really are places without cellphone reception, and rural housing styles (such
as metal roofs) will exacerbate this.

Most communities will have access to high speed internet but houses in the boonies
often will not physically be able to get it.

In poorer communities people will buy smartphones because they�re cheaper than a
computer and using data avoids the no-internet problem.

If you can�t get internet to your home and you don�t have data you need to go to a
library to look something up online. There will at least be a county library.

If you have a non-American or non-Japanese made car you will need to take it to a
city to get it worked on.

Classism and racism are often extremely strong but are outweighed by the in-
group/out-group thing of local vs city slicker.

Recommended Reading

While lists of other media to check out are extremely helpful in RPGs, you're often
given so much to read that you end up no better than where you started. So what
follows is not an attempt to cover every jewel of the horror and crime genres--this
list is just about the most broadly useful texts and starting places, it's assumed
the motivated Host can chase down the rest once they find out where their interests
lie:

How Crime Works

None of these books are world-class well-written, but they get the job done:

David Simon's book Homicide is a fast read and a good primer on how murder
detectives do their jobs--fans of Simon's TV shows The Wire and Homicide: Life on
the Street will recognize many anecdotes borrowed from the book, but it's all
fleshed out in more detail here. Also a good resource on just how extreme modern
crime can get without even dipping in to the supernatural.

A Burglar's Guide to the City by Geoff Manaugh is full of real-life examples of how
criminals get in and out of summer homes, armored cars and bank vaults. It also
does an excellent job of outlining the surprising variety of things a PC party can
get away with in the city without attracting police attention. Did you know master
criminals really do build scale models in their secret hide-outs? Did you know cops
create completely fake "trap houses" to catch burglars? Read the book.

The Ice-Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo is a case study
of the infamous Richard Kuklinski. Conveniently for detail-hungry Hosts, he was
both a meticulous assassin-for-hire and an omnicidal maniac driven by chaotic inner
turmoil. The tedious film featuring Wynona Ryder contains absolutely none of the
most interesting bits--like Kuklinski's unhinged autobiographical prison drawings
of rats eating his victims, his killing of dozens of homeless men on his way to
work just for practice, the way he used every kind weapon on the job from piano
wire to crossbows to keep the police from noticing a pattern, or how he'd get so
frustrated he'd punch himself in the head until he fell unconscious.

Death Scenes: A Homicide Detective�s Scrapbook edited by Sean Tejaratchi with text
by Katherine Dunn�the photos give you a gory and impressive array of real crime
scenes you can use to start out an investigation, and the hand-written captions
offer a window into the mind of an LAPD homicide detective.

If you like podcasts, the Criminal podcast is good for procedural details�each one
zooms in on one story in a nicely digestible half-our format�thisiscriminal.com

Modern Horror In General

Kier-La Janisse's magnificent House of Psychotic Women is essential to anyone

interested in psychological horror. Beginning Hosts will never starve stealing
plots and characters from the alphabetized summaries of horror and exploitation
films that fill out half the book while experienced ones will learn a lot from the
rest: an extended autobiographical essay, in a smart and perceptive style, where
the author describes why and how these stories resonated with her during her own
troubled childhood and teen years.

The aggressively minimal short stories making up Dennis Cooper's Ugly Man are so
far out on the arty cutting edge of the urban and suburban gothic that they still
get filed in the literature section. Casually brutal about drugs, abuse, boredom,
atrocity and existential terror, they're very modern, very disturbing and--perhaps
refreshingly for the kind of Host who tires of femme fatales and mutilated women--
very gay. Hosts in search of raw material should appreciate the fact they're almost
nothing but plot and voice. If you're worried, go to the store, turn to page 43 and
read the surprisingly representative nine-line story Santa Claus vs Johnny Crawford
and decide whether it's too weird or too real.

The Alien Quartet by David Thomson is a deep dive into the first four films of
horror's greatest franchise. Though the Alien movies take place out in space, smart
Hosts will find Thomson's nearly shot-by-shot analysis of pacing, characterization,
source materials, world-building and imagery shows how minor details conspire to
give a horror story a distinctive shape.

Batman--Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (not the video game, the
fully-painted graphic novel by Dave McKean and Grant Morrison, named after a line
in Philip Larkin) is more horrorish--though perhaps less horrifying--than Brian
Bolland and Alan Moore's slightly more famous Killing Joke. Gotham has always been
a city of psychopaths but in terms of density and lovingly-rendered variety of
lunacy-per-page nothing in the Bat-catalogue matches Arkham, largely because the
creators ditch story mechanics in favor of a giving us a kaleidoscopic view of the
most demented members of the hero's rogues' gallery mixed in with the memoir of the
asylum's mentally deteriorating founder.

Although Bill Sienkiewicz's Stray Toasters takes place in more than one building,
it manages to be even more claustrophobic than Arkham. Told in gorgeously-painted
fragments of image and overlapping first-person dialogue, a Host won't learn much
about when to do what, but in terms of setting a mood of urban paranoia this 200-
odd page bad trip can't be beat.

Mike Dringenberg and Neil Gaiman's Sandman issue #6 contains absolutely none of the
vague positive story-worship and humanism that creeps up around the edges of
Gaiman's other work--it's just wall-to-wall brutality. A man who can do everything
shows up in a diner and makes the diners do, well, everything. It's a raw and
disgusting tale of bad things happening to good people. Hosts note: it's made
powerful not so much by the victims' fates, but by how clearly the characters are
realized before being destroyed.

The Classics

Although Demon City is about the present, there has always been room for archaic
imagery in every kind of horror--Euripedes The Bacchae is arguably the first horror
story, and the tale of murder and zeal still has eminently stealable lines: "Now
through the shattered skull the blood smiles". Other Googleable sources for Hosts
keen on internalizing the rich and rigid cadences of cultist-speak include The
Lesser Key of Solomon and, of course, the King James Bible (particularly the books
of Job and Revelations).

If you don't know HP Lovecraft, the short story Nyarlathotep contains the most of
what's original in his work (the stunning and stunned turns of phrase, the
intimations of a colossal, nihilistic mythology) and the least of what's familiar
from his more conventional works and their imitators. It takes up about a page and,
like the rest of his work, is in the public domain--the best place to start if
you're wondering whether to plunge in to the longer stuff.

If you've seen Carrie, The Shining and It and want to get further into Stephen
King's world of horror in parking lots and office blocks, the short story
collection Skeleton Crew is a good survey, with the stories The Mist and Nona
giving the best idea of what the novels are like.

Shirley Jackson is the missing link between the fevered mythography of Lovecraft
and King's horror-as-wound-in-the-modern in terms of both era and style--her short
story The Lottery is easy to find on the web.

Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs is not only the best of his Hannibal Lecter
books, but probably the best-written popular example of the overlap of crime and
horror--rich in procedural and psychological detail, well-paced, thoughtful, and
stylish enough to have caught the attention of literary types like Martin Amis (who
gave it a rave review) and David Foster Wallace (who put it on his syllabus).

Japanese Horror-Manga K-Hole

Of the delights and terrors of Toshio Saeki, Junji Ito, Kazuo Umezu, Suehiro Maruo,
Shintaro Kago, Hideshi Hino and their ilk Google knows far more than any human
should. Type in a name and image search until you get a good idea for a monster or
become too ill to continue. Trigger warning for basically everything.

As to actually diving in to the stories, Suehiro Maruo's Mr Arashi's Amazing Freak

Show is a decent (ok, profoundly indecent) introduction to the depraved body-horror
and pitiless psychology typical of both the plots and "NPCs" in the genre and is
available in official English translation.
Recommended Viewing

Film is the deepest well in terms of horror ideas and images, and if I started
talking about great horror movies we'd be here all day, but a few stand out as
being particularly relevant to the specific tasks of a Demon City Host:

Robert Wiene�s silent classic of moonlight and hypnotized lunatics The Cabinet of
Dr Caligari has been called the first horror movie, but it�s especially important
here because the city�depicted not through ordinary photography but through
expressionistically painted sets whose black outlines merge with the contrastily
photographed actors�is itself a compelling character. In RPGs, there are no
pictures, so if you say �the roofs slant diagonally toward a moon bisected by
eerily thin smokestacks� then that�s what the players see in their minds�and that�s
great.

John Boorman's Point Blank is neither horror nor quite modern (it's from 1967) but
it's a collage of neo-noir images and characters--black-eyed men, stiff drinks, car
crashes, revenge, corruption, nightclubs, stylish dames, long shadows, guns,
airports, and perfect sets full of reflective surfaces--and an extremely efficient
one, because the movie doesn't do anything except follow Lee Marvin as he hunts
down his enemies. A vision of the city as isolating-by-day-crowded-by-night crime-
playground that builds on classic crime movies like The Big Sleep and echoes
forward through everything from Chinatown to Grand Theft Auto.

Dario Argento's Suspiria--a luridly-colored girls-school witchcult flick--is

notable because, over and above suspense or even shock, this film emphasizes panic�
the easiest horror emotion to sustain during RPG-style combat. Keep an eye on how
he uses escalating revelations and dramatic swerves in pacing to keep the audience
on edge.

Though Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie's recent The Void draws on a lot of
older films, its efficiency and narrow, low-budget focus on a small cast dealing
with a single problem (they're trapped in a hospital where something horrible is
going on) makes it one of those rare films whose set-up could be lifted whole hog
for an RPG scenario with almost no changes. It has a handful of frantic fight
scenes, a variety of bad guys, improvised weapons, ticking clocks, tense choices
and even that old RPG standby: the party tossing a captured NPC down the stairs
ahead of them to check for traps.

George Romero�s original 1978 Dawn of the Dead is, likewise, a two-hour RPG set-
piece adventure: the party is trapped in a shopping mall and the zombies are trying
to get them. Like true PCs, they have to build defenses, think as a team, move in
bursts and use everything in the environment to their advantage. And, like a good
Host, Romero�s chosen a setting that�s interesting as both architecture and
content�it�s got escalators to run down, glass walls to watch zombies from behind,
and an implied critique of consumerism.

Similarly, Jordan Peele�s recent and excellent Get Out also combines social
commentary with a structure Hosts can steal wholesale: the villains draw the main
character into what, for them, is a usual modus operandi and the plot consists
almost entirely of him bumping into eerie side-effects of it that make no sense�at
least until the big reveal, and then it�s all about survival. Also addresses
perennial Host problems in this sort of Invisible Dungeon plot like: Why don�t they
call the cops? and Why don�t they use their cell phones?

The sleazy Abel Ferrara�s Ms .45 is a sleazy tale of one woman�s rape-revenge on
the sleazy men of the sleazy New York of the sleazy 1970s (inexplicably released in
1981). The scenes of the initial crimes and her final revenge both evoke a perfect
nightmare vision of the city and the mute vigilante main character is a very
precise depiction of a player staying both in the game and in the spotlight at 0
Calm.

Possession by Andrzej ?u?awski is probably the best, or at least most interesting,

depictions of the various effects of Calm loss. A good chunk of this gorgeously
photographed urban horror/psychodrama is just a couple freaking out at the world
and each other. Isabelle Adjani won Best Actress for her frenzied performance and
Sam Neill should inspire a shock of recognition in gamers everywhere as, acting
opposite, he swings from wooden, amateurish delivery to genuinely harrowing mania
and focus in the course of a single scene.

Takashi Hashimoto's animated show Mononoke (not to be confused with Princess

Mononoke--the word just means "spirit" or "ghost") combines genius neopsychedelic
animation with classic ghost-story themes. Easily findable on YouTube as of this
writing, the typical episode starts out with incomprehensibly eerie visual poetry
that gets resolved when the Medicine Seller (a traveling exorcist) explains or
guilt-trips the episode's murderer into confessing the details of a ghost-spawning
crime with almost Columbo-like efficiency. A wonderful place to steal creature
visuals and simple supernatural plots.

If you like anime but lean less toward avant-surrealist art-horror and more toward
car crashes resulting from decapitations during blowjobs, Hideki Takayama�s
Urotsukid�ji II: Legend of the Demon Womb is your next first-date movie. Yes, it's
a sequel but seriously you're not here for the plot, you're here for the glowing
cityscape squirming with nudity, tentacles and the way they animate breaking glass.
Even the uncensored version isn't recommended for anyone who is offended by
anything.

28 Days Later by Danny Boyle is famous for the introduction of fast zombies, but
the main point here is: the first half�s scenes of desperate pursuit and combat
through a contrasty, widescreen London are platonically ideal Demon City action
sequences.

Beyond The Black Rainbow by Panos Cosmatos is a creeping hallucination of polished

retrofuturistic geometry and impossible id-plasm rotating around some kind of story
about a psychic research facility. Worth a look to see how much can be done with a
simple story (psycho traps a victim, tortures her, she escapes past a few weird
hazards), a handful of evocative images, and a single creepy NPC.

The first season of Nic Pizzolatto�s True Detective not only combines elements of
horror and crime procedural (rarer than you�d think), but, perhaps more importantly
for Demon City, it elaborates an idea of corruption in every direction. The
investigation of corrupt rituals by arguably corrupted cops (one of of whom has a
strong sense that human existence itself is corrupt) runs afoul of a corrupt power
structure in a corrupt place where the corruption is practically written on the
landscape.

���������

PART 3: SKETCHES
�
I do not love men: I love what devours them.
�
? Andr� Gide

���������

Some places and people you can use in Demon City. We�ve left some empty spaces so
you can make them your own, but given suggestions for other tools you can use or
modify to flesh them out�

The Medical Suite

A thick unreality hangs over the Medical Suite, it always feel bland and detached
from human time. You remember: Nothing much happens or happened there, nothing much
gets remembered but clipboards and the tin skin of balloons.

Colors plays across the dark, you are hooked up to tubes waiting out your migraine
forever. There's a toy piano for dogs in the Medical Suite, it's amusing--also:
magazines.

Through the nice glass and over the unoccupied terrarium of the Medical Suite's
central well, you can see the awesome parking lot.

Sometimes they have scones. They're dry. Your friends can visit you, but they have
to have one on a shitty white plate.

A nurse might say "Thanks for coming back to the Medical Suite. We have a tube we
can put through your neck and into your mom".

You'll come back to your bed to a note saying "Don't worry your pretty little head
about that. Focus on getting well within like your thoughts. PS we hate you signed
the Medical Suite�.

You'll begin to notice something's wrong, but by then the exits won't be where they
were before.

It's not true that, in the Medical Suite, no-one cares. Everyone cares about
everything: you, pencils, grandmothers, milk, Sesame Street murals.

Care is precisely and exactly evenly distributed. Let's get you in the best shape
you can be in, also let's get this slightly creased paper cup in the best shape it
can be in.

The Medical Suite is a Borgesian, encyclopedic project--it contains every single

possible mistake you could make in generating a human. They're not proud but they
are thorough.

They understand that they're failing you. But there are so many priorities.

They have a swimming pool in the Medical Suite. It is full of tears.

The doctors arrive with a high-pitched keening. They do their best. It's very bad.

See also: Host Section�Building A Horror Investigation: Some Adventure

Formats�Invisible Dungeon, Library�Horrors�Cultist, Library�Horrors�Serial Killer,
Library�Horrors�Artifical Life, Library�Horrors�Haunt, Tables-Crime and the
City�Random Trait

The Poison Cabinet

Smartly with oxblood briefcases and polished patent-black shoes that echo
tennislike down well-lit halls, the communicants of the Poison Cabinet come,
unidentified. In their overt lives, their character is international, professional,
high-level, consulted. We have certain standards they say, and it�s true, standards
articulated at the Reichsparteitag in 1935 and again at the opening of the Grosse
Deutsche Kunstausstellung in 1937:

Art must be good; but beyond this it must be responsible, professional, popular
and aggressive.

-Joseph Goebbels

In the final rooms, while gouging your prying eyes out and spreading your family's
stretched and skinless faces across the walls with high-carbon filleting knives,
Cabinet ministers might concede their passion for the elimination of modernistic
and Judaizing influence on world culture (it turns out pretty much anything that
would have raised a stir had it been shown in, say, 1890, is �modernistic� and
�Judaizing�) could strike some as petty at this late date, but they come by it
honestly�being products of a highly efficient synthetic alphavirus developed in
1939 in the Spandau Citadel which floods the human prefrontal cortex with the
conscious and unconsciously held value system of any one of 8 volunteering experts
on the theory of Degenerate Art and loyal members of Committee for the Assessment
of Inferior Artistic Products.

The core ideals of art historian and archaeologist Ulrich Dietrich (1902-1967) for
example, are, as of May 2017, currently hosted in five separate nervous systems
with 70-95% penetration�-those of Belgian journalist Elise Verstraete, New England
philanthropists Walsh Clark and Pipi DiAndrew, British parliamentarian Oliver
Redpool and Austrian tire magnate and television personality Tobias Moritz. The
carriers of these conscience-grafts have been seen, some days, in cocktail lounges
gesturing as if wanting very badly to stare into their drinks, but trying not to.

It is not the function of art to wallow in dirt for dirt's sake, never its task to
paint the state of decomposition.

-- Adolf Hitler

When threatened with discovery, the Cabinet moves decisively, as the surgeon
approaches the infected cyst, but as the members' are aware their moral vision will
transcend a single human lifetime, they have adopted a subtlety not afforded in the
frantic and slapdash years of the late Reich. In pursuit their long-term agenda,
the patience of these idealists is near-geological. Well-known figures in music,
art, film and television are imperceptibly sterilized, medical records altered in
ways that only tell on targets� health decades later, trends are suggested and
encouraged by the targeted replacement of key personnel, scandals are engineered.
Their inroads are quiet and disparate: biographers of Franz Kafka die in
unremarkable accidents, Japanese games go untranslated, comedy and horror never win
Oscars and the estate of Diane Arbus is slowly drawn into legal disarray. The
ministers seek an art, literature and film of clarity, heroism, strengthening myth,
deep spirituality, simplicity, open spaces, simple realism and a popular culture
that distracts and entertains without neurotic darkness, pathology, marginality,
ambiguity, deformity, strangeness, sexuality, tortured invention, argument, irony,
socialism, criticality, cynicism, experimentation and intellectualization.

Parallel to the training of the body a struggle against the poisoning of the soul
must begin. Our whole public life today is like a hothouse for sexual ideas and
simulations. Just look at the bill of fare served up in our movies, vaudeville and
theaters, and you will hardly be able to deny that this is not the right kind of
food, particularly for the youth. Theater, art, literature, cinema, press, posters,
and window displays must be cleansed of all manifestations of our rotting world and
placed in the service of a moral, political and cultural idea.

--Adolf Hitler

These changes to a brave new civilization are, they'd be the first to admit, just
beginning-�but a few lifetimes are a small price to pay for a ten-thousand year
Reich, and all great enterprises begin somewhere.

Think in the long-term, they will say, with the rims of their glasses reflecting
the fallow red thing they've made of what was--moments before--someone real and
alive.

See also: Library�Horrors�The Machine, Library�Horrors�Cultist,

Library�Horrors�Lexicon Devil, Library-Horrors�Demons of the Third Order (Those
Concealed From The Light), Tables�Crime and the City�Random Trait, Tables�Crime and
the City�Method of Death

Demon Country Sketches(

by Evan Elkins)

The Devil lives in the Woods. The puritans knew that. They built their insular,
superstitious communities as a bulwark against the Woods. In Demon City the
unnatural uses the anonymity and panic of hyper real man-made spaces to hide its
name. In the woods and in small towns it is not anonymity that is scary but the
nomen itself.

The thing about small towns is they know about the Devil in the Woods. They do
little shit to accommodate it or placate it every damn day and don�t even know
they�re doing it. What they don�t know about is you. You are a Stranger. You are
from Outside. They don�t like the Devil, but they sure as shit don�t like you.

Relationship maps (write a name, draw an arrow to other names, write the nature of
their relationship�see Tables: Relationship to Next NPC if you need a list�above
the arrow, write another name) are of the utmost importance in running a horror
game set outside the city. Everybody knows something about everybody. However in
Demon City these relationships, even when hostile, are always stronger than their
relationship to the PCs. Those in the town will be unwilling to give up their
secrets to city folk without great cajoling and even then they�ll usually keep a
few cards close to their chest.

In the event you�ve made a relationship map but later happen to invent an NPC on
the spur of the moment, use this handy chart:

Relationship to Evil
1-5 Is acquainted with the people involved but is not aware of the Evil. Does not
believe you.
6-8 Is intimately familiar with the people involved but is not aware of the Evil.
Is mad at you.
9-10 Is In On It.

The Animal

A PC is taking a walk down a rural road at night, perhaps because they�ve gone out
into the country to regain some Calm, perhaps due to more unfortunate
circumstances. They arrive at crossroads at, what they realize, is exactly
midnight (or 3:00 AM if your players are more into the occult than the average
person). Behind them on their left side a crow kaws.

If the PC runs then it does not pursue, but should they turn around the crow will
shift into the form of a man. This is the Devil in the Woods, and now he is in a
talking mood.

See also: Library�Horrors�Horror Vacui, Library�Horrors�Demon of the First Order

(That which Opposes), Library-Horrors-Fetch, Tables�Crime and the City�Obstacles in
the Woods

The Restaurant

The PCs have just seen the Devil in the Woods (for example). They escape in a
panic but found the bright soothing lights of a small town strip-mall and cheap
ethnic or Chinese food. They decide to go in and hopefully regain some Calm.

When they enter the place everyone stares at them - almost like in an old Western.
What had previously been lively conversation has stopped dead. Once the PCs are
seated, assuming they don�t leave, the conversations return to normal. It�s at
that point they notice the discussion at the table behind them. A man is informing
someone who seems to be his wife about the astonishing abilities of their pastor.
The man claims the pastor can bring back the dead and has done so in front of his
very eyes on no less than three separate occasions. The man is loud. If the PCs
attempt to discuss anything with him the restaurant again falls silent, looks of
shock or disdain flying across the faces of those seated. The PCs are asked to
leave. If they don�t the owner may threaten them with violence or the police.

The PCs, perhaps unknowingly, have broken the ultimate taboo: sticking their nose
where it doesn�t belong.

See also: Library�Horrors�Cultist, Library�Horrors�The Inhabited,

Library�Horrors�Part-Demon, Tables�Crime and the City�Random Trait

The Cult and the Cop

Some people prefer the Woods, even those with lots of cash. They especially do if
they want to do something outside the scrutiny of a small town. This doctor and
his family are of this sort. As the PCs are driving through the Woods, they find a
lone but well furnished house by the side of the road. In the woods around the
house a fire is burning in the shape of a great snake. It�s head and tongue are
too obvious, even if created by flame, to be accidental. The family stands outside
in dark clothing watching the fire.

If the PCs try any kind of aggressive action the Cult will simply call the Cop.
The Cop knows what they�re doing is strange, but �controlled burns� are common this
time of year, and what were you doing in their yard anyway?

If they drive away a truck appears and attempts to ram the PCs off the road. If
the PCs manage to get away, a few minutes later a sheriff�s vehicle appears, lights
flashing. After pulling the PCs over he informs them of a strange call he just got
about them vandalizing a house and running someone off the road.

If the PCs then play it �smart� and understand the small town environment, they
will say it must be a misunderstanding and mention that they were just driving
around the person�s house they were investigating. If phrased properly (or with a
successful Throw) the cop will �understand� because the person is his cousin. He
may not know about the Evil, but he knows that his cousin is secretive and can be
violent in his attempts to defend his property. He lets it go and the PCs can
drive on.

If the PCs are in any way interested in justice and the truth, however, then they
are in deep shit. The Cop cannot believe the accusations made against his cousins
and may think these obvious criminals need to spend a night in the cooler.

See also: Library�Horrors�Cultist, Library�Horrors�The Inhabited,

Library�Horrors�Part-Demon, Tables�Crime and the City�Random Trait, Tables�Crime
and the City�Cop Quirks

����������������

PART 4: THE LIBRARY

(Resources for Demon City)

�
As the biggest library if it is in disorder is not as useful as a small but well-
arranged one, so you may accumulate a vast amount of knowledge but it will be of
far less value to you than a much smaller amount if you have not thought it over
for yourself; because only through ordering what you know by comparing every truth
with every other truth can you take complete possession of your knowledge and get
it into your power.
�

? Arthur Schopenhauer

�
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind
to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst
of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The
sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but
some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying
vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go
mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of
a new dark age.
�

�HP Lovecraft

���������������

HORRORS

A horror game would be really hard to run without horrors, so here they are. Most
of their stats should be self-explanatory, but there are a few things to note:

-Balancing creature stats against PC capabilities is a thing�but it�s probably less

a thing in horror than any other genre. The typical horror scenario goes,
combatwise: the PCs fumble through an investigation, occasionally running into
more-or-less normal people with knives or guns and then, at the end, run into
something they�ve never seen before that either will kill them right away or force
them to think of something clever like discovering its true name via anagrams or
driving an 18-wheeler into it. If a monster is �too strong�, that�s ok�it�s
supposed to be scary and make for a desperate situation, if a monster is �too
weak��well, the players don�t know that, it�s just a half-snake half-rat that�s
eating their sister and they�ve never seen that before, which is pretty freaky even
if they manage to just shoot it. You can always bring in another one, only bigger.

-All supernatural threats have, more or less, an unholy aura�The Host should feel
free to invent cosmetic disturbing effects in the presence of these creatures�wind
picking up, dogs howling, sounds echoing painfully, etc.�that have no real game-
mechanical effect.

-Some Horrors are available as playable options for Problem players: The rules are
different for PCs than NPCs�the effects are noted.

Demon City supports Problem versions of artificial life, lycanthropes, part-demons,

psychics, and vampires. These particular kinds of Problem characters were chosen
(along with the restriction of one Problem per group) as being the least likely to
throw Demon City out of the kind of desperate urban horror the game is centered
around and toward another subgenre, however there is no other reason. An ambitious
Host who would like to invent rules for, say, PC witches should go ahead and try it
if the players are game.

-Design notes: Most of these entries for horrors are accompanied by advice on how
best to build an adventure around them. Feel free to ignore it if you�ve got a
better idea.

-Calm for Horrors: Villains and other NPCs have Calm scores, too. However: if they
go into negative Calm or Panic, they don�t necessarily act in a way that�s
counterproductive to their aims. They just become less rational and calculating
about it (like they might be goaded into attacking someone right in front of them
instead of paying attention to the dozen carefully-selected and prepared
sacrificial victims being lead out the back door by the other PCs.) A serial killer
is, for instance, always �insane� but if they are at negative Calm they are also
not thinking long-term or using all the judgment that allowed them to evade capture
for so long.

-Appeal for Horrors: Obviously if you see a ghoul you�re probably going to swipe
left. However, if you don�t know it�s a ghoul yet, and, say, you�re trying to see
if the strangely pale woman with the glistening lips is lying about why the
playground is suddenly so quiet, the Intensity number the Host might set for your
Perception or Therapy check would be based on the Appeal score.

Superhuman appeal (over 6) indicates that a character who fails a Calm check can be
induced to do terrible things beyond what even the most attractive or persuasive
human would be able to convince a minion to do.

-Skills for Horrors: Instead of combat skills like Hand-to-Hand, the creatures have
usually been given an Agility or Toughness score high enough to compensate for the
lack of any skill because combat is usually when those scores are going to be
used�so you don�t need to give a werewolf a hand-to-hand skill on top of the listed
Toughness to make it a fierce enemy. This is for convenience, a �realistic�
description of a werewolf might well describe it as having skill in Hand to Hand.
Otherwise, if it comes up, horrors often have more skills than are listed here (for
example: a witch certainly has Occult, a vampire probably has all the skill they
had in life, plus a few more they�ve picked up since then), with human horrors like
serial killers, only ones very likely to come up are listed in order to keep the
stats simple and easy to read. If it seems like a Horror should have a specific
non-combat skill the way you�re using them in a game, go ahead and give it to them
and rank it at +1 more than the associated characteristic. If it�s within their
specific area of expertise, give it +2. Maximum of 9 as usual.

-Horrors have a stat that PC�s don�t: Calm Check. Not to be confused with just
Calm�this is the Intensity of the check a PC has to make to avoid losing a point of
Calm when they merely see that Horror. This is a passive Throw�the PC tries to roll
higher than that number. Throwing once does not preclude having to throw another
Calm Check if the thing does some new horrible thing but after the initial Throw
PCs do get an Extra Throw . A couple creatures have a Calm Check of 10, meaning
under any normal circumstances if you see them you�re shook. Period.

-Cards: The cards listed will usually appear in the Horror�s Deck of any adventure
where that creature is the major villain. The specific cards need not appear in the
deck simply because the creature does (it could be a minor player in a larger
drama, and the lack of an associated card is a clue). If the listed cards are not
appropriate to how you�re using a creature, feel free to choose others. Remember
putting a lot of high cards in a creature�s deck (along with the usual 1-10) will
make it harder to defeat.

-Special abilities: Horror needs to have mystery and mystery needs surprises. Even
if you�re trying to run a totally canonical Demon City game, feel free to have
second, third or fourth individual creatures have slightly different abilities than
the first example a party meets. In addition to the special abilities listed in
each of these entries, there is a whole section of Supernatural Abilities later in
the Library to draw on. Note that some horrors will have special abilities that are
similar to the ones in that section, but the specific details described in the
creature entry may be different. This is on purpose�creatures often create similar
effects but draw on different sources of power.

-Weaknesses: You may very well be wondering how anyone could possibly figure some
of the listed weaknesses without help. They don�t necessarily have to�a staple of
the horror genre is making a challenge of hunting down an old manuscript or kindly-
but-doomed monseigneur who will tell the investigators how to defeat the horror,
(or, better yet, gives them a few clues which lead to some obvious things to trial-
and-error about) but only after one or two harrowing initial encounters. Players
should learn to run away when they need to and do their research when they need to.
KINDS OF HORRORS

Certain types of horrors have things in common. If creating a new creature in one
of these classes, it helps to have the commonalities laid out so that characters
with knowledge of the occult in general can learn things about one creature which
applies to the next.

Demons

Demons come from the negative universes and their variety is infinite. Their ranks
have numbers and the numbers are woven into the meaning of them and into the
meaning of the city and the means by which they traverse the way between their home
and our own. They desire first always to tempt and then to deprave and then to
destroy. They prize most that prey that takes to bait.

They have common attributes�demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and
are immune to poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psychic
abilities. All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Technological contrivances like firearms and explosives do not necessarily have

predictable effects on demons.

Most animals will avoid demons in any form and become agitated in their presence.

The holy symbols of any faith generally cause a demon to make a Calm check or flee
until they are out of sight of it. The intensity of the Calm Check is equal to the
degree of religious fervor of whoever is wielding it (Host, rate it 1-9 based on
the character�s previous role-playing, or, if there are no clues, throw it randomly
and stick with it�that character is now that religious). In the case of an
incidentally encountered symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the
intensity is 2.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage to a demon as an ordinary
physical attack with an Intensity equal to 1 per round of contact (cumulative) or
the stat of whoever hit them with it.

Speaking the true name of demon causes it great pain, and the creature must make a
Calm Check against the speaker�s Calm each round to avoid obeying the attacker.

The summoning and banishment of demons is a matter of ritual and careful timing,
requiring great premeditation. They can be controlled only by mortals who know
their true and individual names, and even then any demon will follow the letter of
a request while perverting the spirit toward goals of their own devising. The
rituals that summon and banish demons appear in a later section of the Library.

The ten orders of demons of the Tree of Life�the Q�lipoth�are discussed below.
There are many more thousands of demons, and the way of enumerating them is
infinite.

Design Notes:

Demons always appear attached in some way to some NPC. They are personifications of
sin and, as such, are not being fully utilized unless they, in some way, emphasize
the sins of ordinary humans. Most demons named here are quite powerful and so
should only be sprung on the party once they have thoroughly investigated the more
mundane corruption that the demon�s presence invites and cultivates.
The chaos caused by the influence of demons may at first appear to be the work of a
serial killer, or a mass delusion�there will be repeated themes and symmetries, and
things to look up in occult texts.
The first encounter with the actual demon may go quite poorly for the party (some
are essentially invulnerable) and the Host should design the adventure such that
there is at least one way s/he can think of that the party could escape (whether
they think of it, or a better solution, is up to them). One way or another,
however, it should be made clear that these things can be defeated, or at least
driven off�and the adventure should also be designed so that its clear a second
encounter with a more prepared party might go better. Be generous with occult
information from Contacts and other NPCs�even with it, the fight will be a
challenge. There are more details on how exorcism rituals can work in the
Supernatural Abilities section of the library.

Ghosts

Anthropologists theorize that ghosts are instinctive folkloric metaphors developed

by societies to permit them to process and heal communal and personal anguish
arising from memory of-, and attachment to-, the deceased. They�re wrong. Ghosts
are remnants of traumatized souls whose agonies have clotted the lucid movement of
transition from this coil into the places of the dead.

Being outside physical contingency, the ghost is not an opportunistic predator, the
pattern of a ghost�s victims is always limited and categorical�formed by the
circumstances of its death. A ghost may only haunt a specific place, a specific
person, a specific profession, those who touch a specific object, perform a
specific task, etc.

There are a wide variety of ghosts because the kind of spectre created after death
is the result of both the circumstances of death and the culture (especially the
religious culture) that the ghost lived (or died) within.

The ectoplasmic substance from which spectral bodies form allows ghosts to interact
with material objects and forces in unusual ways. Many can only be harmed by
paranormal means�each specific to the individual ghost.

Ghosts can usually be dispatched by rituals of exorcism specific to the soul in

question or by satisfying some element of the specific trauma which ties the dead
soul to the sphere of the living�for example, locating and burying the lost soul�s
body or bringing its murderer to justice.

Design Notes:

The first essential step in an adventure with a ghost is to make sure the players
know the thing they�re encountering while investigating the crypt or abandoned
school is actually a ghost. This book is thick and there are a lot of other
options, so emphasize the moaning or the intangibility or the resemblance to the
dead or whatever you need to in order to get that specific information across. The
second step, assuming the initial ghost encounter is survived, is usually to
discover how the soul died and what traditions ruled the society to which it
belonged. This plus some clever play and/or lucky rolls should reveal some
folkloric information on what kind of ghost the players are dealing with. If you
don�t know anything about a real sect within a larger religion that might be
responsible for a ghost, definitely make one up�the sect of the Octites believed
the soul has eight manifestations, etc. Once the information on the kind of ghost
is uncovered, the actual ritual or action (finding their murderer, for example)
that the players need to perform to get rid of it should be clear, if not easy. As
with demons, there are more details on how exorcism rituals can work in the
Supernatural Abilities section of the library.

Living Dead

These are creatures animated and once living but not truly alive. Their experience
is various: some are mindless, some are intelligent, all resent the living. Their
curse is such that they can be manipulated by necromancers and the practices of
necromancy.

Like ghosts, their variety is cultural: different occult traditions result in

different varieties of living dead, and�like ghosts�if you�re not inspired by
research into real religious rites and practices you should go ahead and make some
up.

They don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to poisons, venoms
and toxins, and cannot be controlled with psionic abilities.

As the living dead are various, Design Notes are given in their individual entries.
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ALIEN LIFEFORM

Aliens are, above all, alien. Their homes�when they have homes�are not known to us,
their minds�when they have minds�are not known to us, their bodies�when they have
bodies�defy the laws we understand.

The variety of alien lifeforms in terms of ability, anatomy, and motivation defies
easy generalization, so instead of describing the characteristics of alien forms as
a whole, we�ve simply provided some examples.

Design Notes:

The fundamental character of an alien lifeform in horror is that it somehow echoes

human cultural and biological ideas (this one is like an idiot child, this is like
a terrible pregnancy) but with that thing detached from any real connection to
human ways of thinking or feeling. In alien adventures, the biggest surprises and
twists are how the creatures are surprisingly like or surprisingly unlike life as
we know it. Also: In order for this to be effective, the players have to have some
clear idea of what the alien looks like when it does finally appear. This is
tough�using comparisons (�it�s like a monkey but green and with spines and a
narrower face�) risks making the creature seem familiar. When inventing an alien,
it�s often based to find a way to use a picture�concept art, deep-sea photos and
scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures are good sources of exotic creatures�to
give the creature some solid associations in the players� minds.

Calm Check: 7-9

Cards: The Star (17)

Examples:
Narth

Extruding across the barrier separating their dimension from our own as if between
panes of sliding, shattering glass, the limbs of the Narth penetrate our space as
if across a fold or crack in the geometry of thin air. At present they are only
experimenting�the humans they take are frequently returned to our space, but
inscrutably reassembled. A man in Shanghai can hear anything but names, a priest in
Nairobi has a copy of two-thirds of his own torso on his back and another man�s
left arm, a mother of five in Marseilles can only move at right angles to lines of
latitude, a teacher in Wales only exists at dawn. They have begun to experiment
with communication, but lack a concept of grammar, linear time or pain: many human
subjects have been returned only able to speak the 38 words that form the Narth�s
message, but with no awareness that the words are important, that they go in any
specific order, that this was done on purpose or that they shouldn�t have been
committed to the hospitals they�re in for these hallucinations. If decoded, the
message appears to be offering 8 nucleic acid analogues and 3 new prime numbers in
exchange for 582 higher quality test specimens.

Calm: 9
Agility: 7
Toughness: 4
Perception: 3
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 7 (though they lack many basic human ideas)

Calm check: 8
Cards: The Star (17)

Special Abilities:

Insinuation: The Narth emerge from bends in spacetime, appearing as if stepping

around straight, invisible corners in mid air. For practical purposes, this is
teleportation with unlimited range, although the majority of any Narth�s body will
remain in its home plane, effectively anchoring it to one spot until it retracts
and extrudes somewhere else, like a giant squid reaching out from a sideways sea.
The limbs themselves are between 3 and 15 feet long.

Gestural detection: Due to the way Narth space intersects our space, while the
Narth are in their own space they can detect continuities of gesture but not of
space, time or visual appearance on ours. Essentially what this means is that their
field of view onto our dimension can only take in individuals moving exactly the
same way on the same planet at any given time. If the Narth focus (for example) on
a woman in Iowa making a fist with her left hand, the observing Narth will not see
anyone near her or the environment she stands in, but they will see anyone else
making a fist in the same way at any time anywhere on Earth throughout history.
(Their experiments are therefore biased toward dancers, soldiers, those fluent in
sign language and the clergy.) It is very easy for the Narth to detect identical
machines this way. When extruding into human space they operate only by touch.

Dimensional Gap: If a human is pulled into Narth space after an insinuation, they
will experience it as an excruciatingly slow-moving collage of dissolving black
abstractions punctuated by electric bursts of pain. The Narth generally return a
subject within 50 hours, but the victim will experience it has having taken years.
Check against a 9 or lose a point of Calm and Check vs a 4 or lose a point of
Toughness.

Weaknesses:
Although the Narth can be bludgeoned or punctured like your or I, closing off the
actual junctures to Narth space is probably impossible. It might be possible to
make our dimension seem too dangerous, confusing, or unprofitable to continue to
invade however.

ARTIFICIAL LIFEFORM

These creatures are unique results of technological innovation and are never fully
understood, even by their creators. Though many appear human, they may be partially
or wholly constructed of mechanical, biomimetic, cloned or artificially reanimated
components. They encompass androids, cyborgs, vat-grown-creatures, frankenstein-
like blasphemies and constructs from other worlds.

Design Notes:

First, decide who created the artificial lifeform and why. Unlike alien lifeforms
and many other monsters, these creatures were usually created for a reason.
Offering the party avenues for discovering, exploring or exploiting that reason is
often the most interesting way to address artificial life-forms if you�re looking
to use them as more than just a one-off villain. The creature�s abilities will
likely be built around that reason, the creature�s creators will be obsessed with
that reason, the creature itself may even wonder about that reason. The adventure
featuring an artificial lifeform is often about how society uses people (or
animals) to accomplish that purpose in real life�for war, for money, for sex, for
biomedical experiments�or, if the motive is simply to create life, about the grave
responsibility inherent in bringing life into the world�the creature desires
things, but has it been given the means to acquire them or has it been born a
broken thing from the start?

If the reasons it�s alive aren�t horrible yet, move on to what it eats.

Another pre-eminent theme in any story involving artificials is a sort of bipolar

effect�they are better then human in so many ways�.and worse in so many others. As
horror villains the easiest way to exploit this is to begin by unsettlingly
demonstrate the many ways they�re superior, and then hint at the ways they are
inferior, so players can discover them and bring the creature down. As PCs, the
most effective way to use this is to simply bring it up a lot �As soon as she takes
off her sunglasses, the clerk keeps darting looks over at Cathy�s eyes�they don�t
catch the light the way he expects. You can tell he�s a little put off.�

Calm: 0-9
Agility: 0-6
Toughness: 0-6
Perception: 0-7
Appeal: 0-5
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 0-9

Calm Check: 6 (when it becomes clear they�re artificial)

Cards: The Wheel of Fortune (10), Possibly also The Hermit (9), The Lovers (6),
Page of Swords (10), Page of Cups (10)

Possible Special Abilities:

Inorganic digestive/respiratory system: Constructs without ordinary lungs, stomachs

or other organs will not breathe and will be immune to poison and other ordinary
toxins.
Recall and Calculation: Undamaged constructs with cybernetic brains will retain the
kinds of information that can be easily preserved in digital format and will be
able to perform calculations like a computer.

Mutilated Life: The severed extremities of many forms of artificial life can
continue to attack even when separated from the main body. These parts have -1
Agility and -3 Toughness. To keep life interesting, the Host should interpret any
attack that could have reasonably severed a limb as having severed a limb until the
combat gets too confusing to keep track of.

Other abilities: Artificial Lifeforms can have a variety of other abilities as the
Host sees fit. For example, electronic terrors might have an ability like the
Frenzied Process spel, biological mutants might be able to Warp Flesh or cause
Mutation with a touch (see Supernatural Abilities section later in the library for
these).

Possible Weaknesses:

Interpretive Disfunction: If the construct has an artificial mind its Knowledge

score will reflect a high degree of recall and calculating ability, but many
constructs lack the basic social experience to understand what pieces of observed
information mean. They might, for example, not understand the difference between a
child dragging a child-shaped doll behind it along the ground and a parent dragging
a child along the ground. This is often what makes the creature a horror rather
than just an interesting anomaly.

Power source: Artificial beings may not necessarily eat or breathe but they do need
to run on something�electricity, photovoltaic cells, chemosynthesis,
photosynthesis, nutrient slurry, etc. The power source may be external, internal or
(as in the case of rechargeable batteries) both.

Short-circuit: Electronic artificials will generally be built water-tight but will

take standard damage each round that liquid reaches their internal systems.

Processing damage: Any time an artificial with an electronic brain goes into
negative health, they must make a Calm check vs the Intensity to avoid also losing
a point of Calm. �Mental� disorders picked up by these artificials will be strange
and repetitive.

Player Character Artificial Life

Problem-type player characters may elect to start the game as an experimental

construct. In this case they may elect to trade any number of points of Appeal
(they are often socially awkward or physically distorted, though PC artificials
will appear basically human at the start) for any number of points to spend on
Agility, Toughness or Perception up to the maximums above.

In addition, Artificial PCs conversant in the skills that created them (whether
these are biochemical, mechanical, etc) may attempt to improve themselves during
Downtime. To do so, the character cannot throw for a Downtime activity. Note many
Downtime tables won�t work for certain kinds of artificials anyway.

To improve Agility, Toughness, Perception or Appeal, roll a d100 on the following

table. A PC artificial can gain abilities up to the maximums above this way.

1-Disaster! Something disturbing has occurred. Lose 1 point in the characteristic

you were attempting to improve and a point of Calm permanently. (Minimum 0.)
2-69 No results yet�try again later.
70-93 You realize this isn�t going to work early on in your modifications, choose
an ordinary Downtime activity you can perform and roll there instead.
94-95 You can�t leave this half-done but you�re missing something important�lose
one point of Cash and gain one point in the characteristic you�re attempting to
improve. If your Cash is already zero you can�t make this modification until you
get more Cash and are at -1 to the stat you were attempting to improve. If you do
get more Cash the improvement is automatic at the next Downtime.
96-98 Gain a point in the characteristic you�re attempting to improve and make a
Cash check vs a 4 or else lose a point of Cash. If your Cash is already zero and
you lose Cash you can�t make this modification until you get more Cash, but if you
do, it�s automatic at the next Downtime.
99-00 Gain a point in the characteristic you�re attempting to improve.

CHOKING GHOST

A choking ghost coalesces around the dead soul of a victim whose belly has been
sliced open. They kill by strangling victims with their spectral entrails.

Choking ghosts can include: ghosts that kill each member of the conspiracy to
murder them, ghosts who kill obstetricians who are negligent when performing
caesarian sections, ghosts that haunt the lonely places where they died and
disguise strangled trespassers as suicides by hanging.

There are righteously angry choking ghosts that can be satisfied by taking their
vengeance for them or by bringing their enemies to justice, but there are wicked
ones who cannot. Choking ghosts cannot be exorcised by ritual.

Design Notes:

See �Ghosts� in �Kinds of Horrors�, above.

Typical Choking Ghost

Calm: 0
Agility: 4
Toughness: 6
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 2

Calm Check: 8
Cards: Justice (11), Hanged Man (12), Judgement (20)

Special Abilities:

Ectoplasmic Form: Choking ghosts can touch their victims but neither their victims
nor most physical forces can touch them-they cannot move through walls and floors,
however. They can be touched by blood from the bellies of their victims and by
anything coated in it.

Intestine Strangulation: By throwing its guts over the victims head the ghost
simultaneously grapples the target and inflicts Standard Damage. A victim that does
not escape automatically takes damage again each round.

Manifestation: The choking ghost appears wherever its next victim is at 2am,
usually appearing behind the victim or behind a door. After manifesting, it must
move normally and will disappear before sunrise.

Weaknesses:

A white or bone-colored cat can keep a choking ghost at bay.

They can be touched (and harmed) by anything covered in blood from the bellies of
their victims.

CULTIST

There are belief systems which demand devotion to principles not rationally
discoverable, to unelected leaders who claim to speak on behalf of an otherworld
which lies elsewhere and beyond the one available to the senses, and which demand
fealty to only arguably extant entities whose ends may or may not be congruent with
our best interests while living. Characteristics that make these belief systems
interesting include�

-Rigid hierarchies with charismatic leaders (and often their family members) placed
in a position above the others
-Members given exotic titles to define their place in these hierarchies
-Eccentric rules regulating appropriate forms of sexual behavior
-Encouragement of a personal or group-mediated relationship to supernatural beings
or mundane beings believed to be supernatural
-Veneration of otherwise ordinary objects
-Regular meetings in consecrated buildings
-Special status conferred on members conversant with specific esoteric lore
-Complex rituals inexplicable to outsiders granting special metaphysical status to
different members
-Extensive use of unique symbolism
-Constant, often subtle, attempts to recruit new members
-Deep, unexamined integration of members into public institutions (government,
finance, medical etc)
-Concentration on interpreting sacred texts or other obscure artifacts of nature or
culture
-Attempts to control or alter the outside world through mass action, often covert
and/or violent

�such belief systems are called �religions��unless they�re unpopular, in which case
they�re called �cults�. In game terms, �cult� simply means any religion that causes
its adherents all do creepy things in the game�or at least try.

The easiest way to understand a cult is to listen to the song �Children of God� by
The Swans.

Design Notes:

When creating a new cult, examine the list of characteristics above and try to
think of disturbing ways they could decide to do those things. Adventures involving
cults can work in a variety of ways�in The Wicker Man and Rosemary�s Baby the
protagonists comes to discover at the end that everyone they talk to about the
crisis at hand is part of the cult, in The Void the cult is quickly established as
a menace responsible for summoning a far greater menace, in many crime stories the
cult only appears at the end, to give a murderer a motive.
Although on paper they are just people, cultists are useful and fun as ways to
introduce unsettling behavior and esoteric lore into the game without revealing the
ultimate threat too soon. Also, since they are usually lead by con artists with
checkered pasts and consist largely of desperate and easily-lead people, they
usually generate quite a paper trail�giving investigators lots of leads to follow
up. Google a real cult like the Process Church of the Final Judgment to see the
kinds of things a cult�s existence might leave behind.

Average Cult Member

Calm: 0 (when alone) up to 5 (when surrounded by their group)

Agility: 2 (Firearms or Hand to Hand: 3)
Toughness: 2
Perception: 1
Appeal: 2 (Deception: 4, Persuasion: 3)
Cash: 1 (they gave it all to the cult)
Knowledge: 1 (Paranormal/Occult: 3, Local Knowledge: 3)

Calm Check: 4 (when it becomes clear they�re a cultist)

Cards: 3 of Pentacles

Average Cult Leader

Calm: 4
Agility: 2
Toughness: 2
Perception: 4
Appeal: 5 (Deception: 7, Persuasion: 8)
Cash: 4
Knowledge: 3 (Paranormal: 4, Local Knowledge: 4)

Calm Check: 4 (when it becomes clear they�re a cultist)

Cards: Ten of Pentacles, Page of Pentacles (10), and High Priestess (2) or
Hierophant (5)

CURSED ARTIFACT

Statues heretical to even behold, grimoires of lore unspeakable, footage of what

should not be filmed, musical scores made by inexplicable processes, gems that
reflect unhallowed light, simple lab notes or diary entries documenting a self
dissolving after contact with ideas it was too frail to master.

Horrors but not creatures, these blasphemies are united not by a common origin but
by a common effect: a casual examination is disturbing, and detailed inspection
invites lunacy.

Calm Check: 3-6 (a quick look) 6-9 (careful perusal)

Design Notes:

Designing artifacts is very much a case of �the more you put into it, the more you
get out of it��crafting an object with care can mean it is important in the game
for a long time and in many ways. This doesn�t mean giving them lots of powers, but
getting lots of information about the adventure into them, such as�

Explicit forensic information: Sometimes the artifact spells out case-relevant

pieces of information you can just give the players after they�ve seen it.
Addresses, dates, incriminating records of comings and goings, etc can all be in
the thing. Diaries generally tell you when they were written, and by whom�and often
much more.

Encoded forensic information: Anything the object can tell you about the past that
it doesn�t explicitly spell out. If a statuette is from Venice in 1432 and a
chemist tells you it�s painted with true mummy yellow pigment, you know the artist
or someone in their supply chain had access to a mummy.

Background information: Complex artifacts like films or allegorical paintings often

offer a window into the mythology, psychology, pathology or philosophy of the
occult sources that spawned them, and grimoires and visionary occult texts always
do. In this case, allow anyone who�s examined the object closely enough to have to
make a �careful perusal� Calm Check to add a throw to any Occult or Research check
related to the object�s milieu. This abstractly represents the mass of information
the researcher receives without having to have them write it all down�basically, if
a question about the subject comes up, the Throw represents whether the PC caught
that while reading.

Ritual instruction: Inscriptions or descriptions in a text can contain explicit

instruction on how to perform specific rituals�they may contain an astrological
calendar used by the creators to plan rituals, a list of deities to be placated, or
complete rituals in themselves.

Special abilities:

Some artifacts are frightening for what they record (thus the Calm Check) but are
not in substance supernatural, while others have been made actively unholy by years
of obscene veneration or deliberate acts of unhallowed craft.

(Possible) Subtle Return: These artifacts will return to the possession of a victim
as soon as both the item and what the item considers its proper �resting place� are
unobserved.

(Possible) Fascination: The artifact plagues the mind of anyone who loses Calm to
them�the victim must touch the item or have it in their home at all times. (Curious
PCs have only one Throw to resist this effect). The victim must throw against the
item�s Calm Check any time they are separated or else do anything to get it back.

(Possible) Invulnerable: The object cannot be physically harmed in any way. Damage
can be innocently inflicted while the things appears to be inert (for example: a
musical score might be scissored apart, or a ring might be melted) but it will
repair itself completely as soon as it is unobserved.

(Possible) Initiation Required: There are books that can only be opened, sounds
that can only be heard, bracelets that can only be worn, etc if the user has been
branded with a certain sigil, tattooed with a given phrase, reached a certain
degree in an occult order or otherwise fulfilled some ritual condition. The Tables
section in the back of this book contains some examples.

(Possible) Aura effects: Some of these objects have strange effects on the outside
world. Throw, pick one, or invent your own:

1 Pictures will not hang straight in the same room as the thing.
2 It begins to rain whenever the thing is taken outside.
3 Animals attack the thing instinctively or howl in its presence.
4 Each observer is sure the thing has a different shape, sound, text, etc.
5 Water becomes saltwater in its presence.
6 Some small accident befalls any who come in contact with it.
7 Shelves begin to very slowly decay or melt at their touch, over months.
8 Observers lose all appetite.
9 Babies cry in thing�s presence.
10 Flies attracted to the thing as if it were fruit.

DEATHLESS ONE (Living Dead)

The deathless are once-mortal beings who have extended their lives far past that
which was ordained. Imperfections in the preservative necromancies give them an
impossibly aged and gaunt appearance. Regardless of whether they were once mummy
kings, damned sorcerers, unwillingly embalmed virgins�they are now all utterly
insane.

Design Notes:

Deathless ones are schemers and will appear at the top of a pyramid of catpaws and
lesser beings�though the initial stages of an adventure involving a deathless might
be a smuggler, museum owner or cult attempting to acquire (and perhaps control) the
(temporarily) inert body of a recently unearthed deathless.
The most important step in creating an adventure around a deathless is paging
through the Supernatural Abilities section and deciding which magic abilities you�d
like to have appear in the game�either as part of the crimes and atmosphere which
lead the party to the deathless or �in the holster� for when the party meets the
villain face-to-face.

Typical Deathless One

Calm: 0
Agility: 1
Toughness: 6
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0
Cash: 4
Knowledge: 7 (Paranormal: 9)

Calm check: 5-8 (depending how decayed)

Cards: Magician (1), Hermit (9) Possibly: Empress (3) or Emperor (4), Lovers (6),
Hermit (9), King/Queen of Pentacles (10)

Deathless vary wildly according to the method of their resurrection, their

Knowledge and Toughness can be as high as 9.

Special abilities:

Living dead: The deathless don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are
immune to poisons, venoms and toxins, and cannot be controlled with psionic
abilities.

Necromancy: Any deathless will have at least 10 necromantic spells prepared to cast
at any given moment with an Intensity equal to their Knowledge stat. (See:
Supernatural Abilities later in the Library).

Cyclical Regeneration: Deathless regain a point of Toughness when they throw the
King or Queen of Pentacles.

(Possibly) Essence Drain: Some forms of deathlessness require the creature drain
the vitality from living creatures to extend their own. This is done either by
touch (causing damage as an ordinary weapon�Toughness Intensity�and adding it to
the deathless one�s own) or by more complex elaborate rituals resulting in a
liquified soul the deathless one then drinks (the Host should invent some
elaborate, grotesque and time consuming ritual that presents interesting
possibilities for escape).

(Possibly) Invulnerability: Some forms of deathless hide the infested remains of

their preserved souls in obscure objects (sapphires, books, snail shells at the
bottom of the sea, etc), can only be slain via powerful counter-necromantic
formulae, or under certain conditions (at midsummer with a black bone knife, for
example). At negative Toughness these creatures are injured but will not fall until
the object is destroyed, the countercurse cast, or the condition fulfilled.

(Possibly) Diminished Form: Some deathless consist of only a preserved head, a

mouth, an eye, or a hand, and these usually employ necromantically dominated
creatures to move them when necessary. All of these forms are capable of casting
spells, their other limits are left to the Host�s common sense.

(Possibly) False Skin: Some deathless that do have bodies use magic to appear to be
ordinary humans�this guise rapidly recedes when they begin to use their necromantic
abilities.

THE DEMON OF THE FIRST ORDER�That Which Opposes

That Which Opposes, The Agonarch, The Star of Mourning, The Other God, Antichrist,
the True Demogorgon, The Anticreator is peerless, a fierce demon and agent of every
aspect of woe. This one delights in great contests, and seeks division and to
divide.

It is said his heir will climb from between the legs of a mortal in birth, and he
will be thus his own child�and in this semblance will he conquer.

He will appear in response to only the highest necromancy or the most obscure chain
of dark coincidence and often will begin in disguise. His coming will bring
portents and birth defects.

To drive him back to the antiverse requires specific and obscure ritual magic. He
can be stymied but not ever defeated. He will return.

Design Notes:

One does not conjure Satan lightly. The principle question for the Host to ask is
�Why here?� �Why now?��either events have naturally transpired such that the Evil
One himself has taken notice (it�s the millennium, there�s been a genocide, the
city has finally reached peak corruption, a unique alignment of planets has
occurred, etc) or someone has worked very hard to bring him here. If the latter,
why did they succeed where so many others failed?
At any rate, an adventure featuring the genuine actual Devil should feature a lot
of atmospherics and disturbing scenes long before his hooves hit the pavement.
See also �Demons� in "Kinds of Horrors", above.

Calm: 10
Agility: 6
Toughness: 9
Perception: 9
Appeal: 9
Cash: 9
Knowledge: 9

Calm check: 10
Cards: Devil (15), Emperor (4), King of Pentacles (10), The Magician (1)

Special Abilities

Demonic: Demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psionic abilities. Animals will
avoid demons in any form. Technological contrivances like firearms and explosives
can hurt but never kill The Agonarch�he cannot be brought below 0 Toughness by
these means.

Sixth Sense: All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Aura of Adversity: When undisguised, the Agonarch�s presence is accompanied by

constant minor disasters and disturbing phenomena of any kind�rain erupts, floors
become swallowing pools, doors between Him and his victims lock, newborn goats with
6 legs drag themselves from the engines of cars, etc. Generally these will occur at
a rate of one phenomena per round in addition to whatever He is doing otherwise.
The Intensity of these effects is usually 6.

Domination of the Wicked: This One�s has psychological, biological and telekinetic
control of any being proportional to its sinfulness. A target who wishes to resist
must Throw Toughness or Calm (as appropriate) vs an Intensity equal to their
sinfulness (Host: estimate on a scale of 0-9).

Near Omnipotence: There is little This One cannot do, if he decides to. He can
mimic nearly any magical ability in the Supernatural Abilities section at an
Intensity of 9. The limits on this ability are: He will only take one action per
round (outside the Aura effects above), He cannot directly affect the body or mind
of any mortal except within the limits of the Domination of the Wicked ability
above, and he is, above all, fond of torture, temptation and play�he much prefers
to abuse, pervert, transform and debase than to merely destroy.

Near Invulnerability: This One can only be harmed by magic, or by one who is
without sin.

Unspeakability: Unlike most demons, the Agonarch�s true name can never be known,
consisting of a single unholy sound in a unlanguage so blasphemous its suppression
is itself the fragile spindle which binds into one whole all the living universe.

Weaknesses

The holy symbols of any faith causes a demon to make a Calm check or flee until
they are out of sight. The intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

Unlike most demons, touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does not damage
to This One�though it will cause Him to pull back.
DEMONS OF THE SECOND ORDER �Those Who Crawl To A Godless Place

The Chagidel are Insect Demons�their goal is to obscure, becloud and misinform and
to thereby inculcate misrule. Enormous compounded scrapyard hybrids of insect and
human, shaped as if by an art movement holding a impatient hatred of all that is as
intended as an indelible virtue.

They come always as advisors. They ensconce themselves in the offices of the
mighty, when the low hirelings and janitors have gone, and whisper to them in
shredded voices, promising wealth, counsel, and companionship. Their minds are
laboratories of effective fallacy and convincing invention. Their goal is chaos in
every discourse, and the elevation of the unworthy. To this end they will serve the
wicked, they will slay the living, they will skulk, they will whisper strategems
and secrets to those in high places.

They cannot acknowledge any fact that exposes a lie they have told, and to do so
would destroy them�if they say a man is a thief and another confesses, they can say
nothing, not even to deny it, for to do so would acknowledge it has been said and
they would then be undone and fucked beyond measure.

Their true names have two parts of two syllables each, such as Or�qvi Ein-et. They
can only be summoned by one who has acquired two gifts due to two separate lies
told in two separate homes to two separate souls in the last two days and the
summoning requires a sacrifice of twins exactly two years old with two separate
blades made from two separate substances on a night when the planet under which
they were born is at its maximum distance from the one which the necromancer was.

Design Notes:

See �Demons� in "Kinds of Horrors", above.

Calm: 9
Agility: 2-6 (see below)
Toughness: 8
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0
Cash: 5
Knowledge: 8

Calm Check: 8
Cards: King of Pentacles (10), King of Cups (10), The Tower (16), Two of Swords

Special abilities:

Demonic: Demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psionic abilities. Animals will
avoid demons in any form. Explosives do not harm Chagidel but firearms do.

Sixth Sense: All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Babel Effect: In the presence of Those Who Crawl (within 100� and they can see the
demon or it can see them), all earnest communication is distorted. To simulate
this, Players can only announce their characters� actions�not words�no questions,
no clarifications can be voiced out loud. Players must whisper or write down
anything they wish their character to say directly to the Host, and the Host then
relays this to the other players, but must change two words. If the player violates
this rule, their character mishears something (Host: invent something) and acts on
it, and to enact this, the Host takes control of the Player�s character for one
round. Players may talk normally only if announcing a specific nonverbal action
their characters are taking.

Climbing: The Chagidel can climb across any surface at a normal speed.

Minions: Chagidel are served by insect Swarms (see Swarms below)�these most often
appear near the scenes of crimes committed by the demon or its pawns in order to
harass those who later investigate.

Invertebrate Parts: Those Who Crawl appear in a variety of hybrid invertebrate

forms, their bodies can include maggot torsos, caterpillar limbs, antennae,
insectile eyes, spider legs, leech faces, the wings of moths butterflies or flies,
scorpion stings, etc. Their agility should be based on their appearance�a demon
with a slug belly will probably be a 2, one with a flylike physiognomy could be a
6. If they have a sting or venom sacs, assume this attack does Massive Damage but
can only be enacted after a successful grapple. Wormsilk or webs should have a
strength of 6. Some also may be coordinated enough to enact attacks which effect 2
targets per round. Feel free to stat up anything you can envision.

(possibly) Vile Larva: Those Who Crawl are loathsomely fecund and are often
summoned when pregnant with repulsive young. The first successful attack on a
Chagidel that pierces the skin (interpret any successful attack that could do this
as having done so) releases 1-10 misshapen spawn and 1-10 more emerge each round
thereafter until a maximum of 10 emerge.

Chagidel Spawn

Calm: 1
Agility: 1
Toughness: 1
Perception: 1
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 0 (but born able to speak and knowing the names of anyone it meets)

Calm Check: 8

Note the spawn can climb and have invertebrate parts but have none of the
Chagidel�s other special abilities.

Weaknesses:

The holy symbols of any faith causes a demon to make a Calm check or flee until
they are out of sight. The intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage to a demon as an ordinary
physical attack.

Speaking the true name of demon causes it great pain, and the creature must make a
Calm Check against the speaker�s Calm each round to avoid obeying the attacker.
If Those Who Crawl lie and it is not believed, they cannot by any means acknowledge
the reason.

DEMONS OF THE THIRD ORDER�Those Concealed From The Light

The Sathariel, Those Who Go Unseen, The Shadow Demons come in threes and in the
night. Their work is to obscure and make that which is true not known. The eat only
records and memories. They appears as dark shapes, disturbingly articulated.

They are summoned to conceal crimes and will advise ignorance in all things. They
go oozing through the dark, stealing records, erasing files, their claws dripping
with the blood of witnesses.

Their true names have three syllables or three letters, like Abnegate, Ar�ath�an
and Gat. They can only be summoned by three working in concert for three nights,
sacrificing three victims during the third New Moon of the year while another
planet is in trine to Pluto (120 degrees from it).

Design Notes:

See �Demons� in "Kinds of Horrors", above.

Calm: 7
Agility: 6
Toughness: 7
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 6

Calm Check: 7
Cards: The Fool (0), Three of Swords

Special Abilities:

Demonic: Demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psionic abilities. Animals will
avoid demons in any form. Technological contrivances like firearms and explosives
can hurt but never kill shadow demons, except those noted below.

Sixth Sense: All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Shadowed Skin: Unless they are attacking at the moment, these demons require a
Perception Check vs an Intensity of 8 to see at night. 6 during the day.

Amnesiac Touch: Demons of Shadow cause selective amnesia with a touch. A target who
fails a Calm check vs a 9 will forget a given word forever and if they took damage
from the demon�s claws they also forget the entire concept the word represents. In
a pitched battle, they will use this ability to disorient a victim, making them
forget their weapon, position or the demon itself.

Regeneration: The flesh of Those Who Go Unseen forgets all harm. Any harm done to
them will be completely healed whenever they draw The Fool.

Weaknesses:
The holy symbols of any faith causes a demon to make a Calm check or flee until
they are out of sight. The intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage to a demon as an ordinary
physical attack.

Speaking the true name of demon causes it great pain, and the creature must make a
Calm Check against the speaker�s Calm each round to avoid obeying the attacker.

Creatures whose primary sense is hearing or smell rather than sight can detect the
Sathariel normally.

Lithium-based flares and lights (though not ones merely using lithium batteries)
expose Demons of the Third Order�their skin glows for 10 minute after exposure.
Their flame also does damage that will not heal.

DEMONS OF THE FOURTH ORDER�Those Who Devour

Those Who Devour, The Luxurious Ones, Disturbers, Odalisques, The Astaroth, are
creatures of wealth and taste. They are ugly and vain and so fond of guises: they
may take the form of a cat with four claws on each foot, and can in this form crawl
into the mouth of a corrupt but desirable soul, and by this means wear that
mortal�s skin for many years.

In these forms, The Disturbers are charming, and encourage those around them to
comfort and spoil them, though they are, in any form, arbitrary, capricious and
destructive. They teach sloth, skepticism of any strong belief, and the
rationalization of any wretched action. They aim to ruin through a philosophy of
decadence, and to enjoy the spoils thereof.

When alone with a pure and unsuspecting mortal, they will attempt to eat them.

They are summoned to couple with witches and become familiar to them using a
perimeter with sides facing exactly north, south, east and west when Mars squares
Uranus, but many persist on Earth at any given moment, appearing to all the world
as imperious pets, quotable fops or formidable divas. Their true names contain 4
syllables�such as Infestation and Null-Qin-Qor-Sa.

Design Notes:

See �Demons� in "Kinds of Horrors", above.

Calm: 8 (0 when alone with a mortal of pure soul)

Agility: 6
Toughness: 8
Perception: 9
Appeal: 9
Cash: 9
Knowledge: 8

Calm Check: 7
Cards: King or Queen of Cups (10), Four of Pentacles
Special Abilities:

Demonic: Demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psionic abilities. Animals will
avoid demons in any form. Technological contrivances like firearms and explosives
can hurt Those Who Devour but never kill the demon�s true form.

Sixth Sense: All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Fascination: The gaze of the odalisque can hold the weak-willed fascinated,
unmoving, drooling. Calm Check vs the demon�s Appeal each round. 10 failures means
the target stands frozen for an hour before checking again.

Shape Change: These demons may transform into a beautiful purebred cat (each
individual demon may only become a specific cat) and also may, in this form, crawl
into the mouth of a corrupt human and effectively become them. NPCs may not resist,
PCs must make a Calm Check against an Intensity equal to how corrupt they are (Host
estimate 0-9).

Shedding Skins: Each body (host human, cat, true appearance) of a Disturber has
Toughness 8. It will only abandon an attractive form if its health is depleted or
its face is made ugly.

Enervating Word: The Disturber can, with a word, dissuade a victim from any action.
The victim must throw a Calm Check vs an Intensity of 8 or be unable to take action
against the demon�s wishes for 2 rounds.

Devouring Maw: In any form, these demons may open their mouth into a hideous
consuming orifice lined with teeth, possessing a strong and prehensile extending
tongue. A successful attack inflicts standard damage and grapples the target. A
creature of any size may be eventually swallowed this way.

Invulnerability: Disturbers can be harmed by ordinary weapons, but its true form
cannot be slain on our plane of existence.

Weaknesses:

The holy symbols of any faith causes a demon to make a Calm Check or flee until
they are out of sight. The Intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage to a demon as an ordinary
physical attack.

Speaking the true name of demon causes it great pain, and the creature must make a
Calm Check against the speaker�s Calm each round to avoid obeying the attacker.

The Disturber is proud and vain�if the human face a Disturber wears is damaged, it
will escape as a cat, if the cat is made ugly, it will change into its true form,
if the face of that form is made more hideous, it will flee the mortal plane.

In any form, the Disturber has terrible breath, which it will go to great lengths
to hide.
DEMONS OF THE FIFTH ORDER�Those Who Swim The Sea Of Night

The fifth kind of demon, the Ajjimadaeva, The Searing Ones, are native to a plane
pressed to the belly of our own. They are destructors, they come to eradicate
humanity and its works, and to consume them in fire.

They are summoned indirectly�the five-year long ceremony concluding during a

transit of Jupiter causes five children to be born to five mothers, 25 years old on
five continents, at the points of an unseen but equilateral pentagram on the earth.
These �Gate Children� have an ability they rarely suspect�under unusual lighting
conditions (in the light cast by certain rare kinds of boron or boron nitride lamps
or flares) they cast shadows which form gates to the realm of liquid burning black
where the Ajjimadaeva swim and spawn, from which gates up to five named demons will
emerge.

Their names are five syllables, like Ashimodeus, Ishtavarta�ia and Throne Of Five
Thousand.

Nothing in these creatures� behavior is complex: shrieking, they reach up from

their shadows and claw at anything in their reach, dragging the living down into
the tarlike blackness of their home dimension, to burn and drown.

Design Notes:

See �Demons� in "Kinds of Horrors", above.

Calm: 3
Agility: 8
Toughness: 7
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 2

Calm Check: 8
Cards: Queen of Swords (10), Five of Swords

Special Abilities:

Demonic: Demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psionic abilities. Animals will
avoid demons in any form. Explosives cannot harms these demons but firearms can.

Sixth Sense: All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Burning Portal: However a Gate Child�s shadow in boron light falls it forms a gate
to these demons� dimension in the shape of that shadow which burns everything it
touches as if an iron had been laid across it�standard damage with an Intensity of
8. A mortal touching the liquid takes standard damage on a failed Toughness Check
(vs Intensity 6) each round, a mortal submerged will face an Intensity of 8.

Scalding Claws: The Ajjimadaeva claws allow them to inflict standard damage and
grapple in the same attack.

Weaknesses:
The holy symbols of any faith causes a demon to make a Calm check or flee until
they are out of sight. The intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage to a demon as an ordinary
physical attack.

Speaking the true name of demon causes it great pain, and the creature must make a
Calm Check against the speaker�s Calm each round to avoid obeying the attacker.

These fin-tailed demons are not well-adapted to life in our world, if they fully
emerge from the shadow-pools where they are summoned out onto dry land, they inch
forward like worms on their bellies, moving at half the speed of an ordinary human.

DEMONS OF THE SIXTH ORDER�Those Who Dwell In Tears And Disputation

The Demon in the Sixth Order is a parasite�it comes in unseen places, summoned by
slow steps, extruded from the antiplane, a growing thing. Resentments make it
strong in this world, and when it is large enough it will speak.

It eats ironies and destroys through a council of inversion: this must become that,
tenderness into contempt, desire to disgust, generosity to jealous protection of
the self. The decay into antithesis will seem reasonable--to protect this child you
must keep it safe from other children, obviously.

The demon drinks the distance between the purity of the intention and the grief it
inculcates. It runs its fingers down the necklines of its pawns. Their movements
are impossibly fluid.

Their true names have six letters, such as Xith'Ix and Hollow or else
10,000,000,000,000,666,000,00,000,000,001 letters and require entire languages to
express. They are summoned when a sufferer curses in earnest the names of six
comrades respectively on six successive moonless nights, or else in a ritual
requiring the tumors of six diseases from six creatures from six creatures of land-
dwelling species, each dropped living into six successive baths of six compounds
containing six ingredients each, and eaten by six unloved souls.

These demons can be detached from their victims via exorcism after slaying the
entity's physical form (the thing will begin to re-grow if only one of these steps
is taken). The rituals of exorcism (from any culture) inevitably take 6 hours and
the incantations must be spoken by six virgins. The corpse of the slain demon must
be encased in six successive shells, each encompassing the last, and buried 6 feet
below the earth.

Design Notes:

See �Demons� in "Kinds of Horrors", above.

Calm: 10
Agility: 4
Toughness: 1-9 (see below)
Perception: 7
Appeal: 0
Cash: 7
Knowledge: 9

Calm Check: 7
Cards: Hanged Man (12), Six of Cups

Special abilities:

Demonic: Demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psionic abilities. Animals will
avoid demons in any form.

Sixth Sense: All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Immunity: Only physically hurt by weapons made of diamond, graphite, or some other
allotrope of pure carbon. High-carbon steel won't do it.

Parasitic Permeation: The demon generally begins its manifestation on Earth in the
home of the summoner--with Toughness 1, and all special abilities at Intensity 1
and mentally attaches itself to a host (the host must be present at the summoning
but after that distance is irrelevant). Both stats grow by one point each time the
host harms an innocent in any way, up to a maximum of 9.

Selective Visibility: A victim that unwittingly summons a Demon of the Sixth Order
will be unable to detect it until it harms a friend.

Despoiling Touch: The demon intensifies the target's most basic positive trait and
forces it to dominate their personality until it becomes unwholesome. The target
may make a Calm check to resist vs the Intensity once per minute if allies are
around, and once per day if alone.

Envelopment: Any victim who can be made to destroy the person they love most can be
enveloped into the body of the demon one round after a successful grapple check,
becoming a part of it.

(Possibly) Necromancy: Those Who Dwell In Tears And Disputation may have access to
any number of necromantic spells (see Supernatural Abilities), which they will use
at Intensity 9.

Weaknesses:

The holy symbols of any faith causes a demon to make a Calm check or flee until
they are out of sight. The Intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage to a demon as an ordinary
physical attack.

Speaking the true name of demon causes it great pain, and the creature must make a
Calm Check against the speaker�s Calm each round to avoid obeying the attacker.

DEMONS OF THE SEVENTH ORDER�Those Who Bring Piercing Weapons

Those Who Bring Piercing Weapons, The Ravens of Dispersion, The Bringers of Murder,
The Seven Catastrophes lie in wait in high places. When called, they come
seeking�gathering in the periphery of the life of a luckless victim, their curse is
to slay those with whom that pinion soul has had some one chosen contact. They may
be summoned to slay all with whom the victim speaks, all with whom the victim lies,
all with whom the victim engages in commerce, any who (as in the case of Cain) harm
the victim, etc�the necromancer or curse which summons them decides the nature of
the forbidden act to be punished.

The summoning takes one week, and requires the Necromancer (a seventh son of a
seventh son or a promiscuous woman who has witnessed a crime) devote a day to lust,
a day to wrath, a day to envy, a day to pride, a day to gluttony, a day to greed,
and the final day to sloth, playing each day a single pure note from the diatonic
musical scale while passing through seven gates.

The names of these crow-headed beings have seven syllables, like Swallowtail
Catastrophe, or seven letters, like Umbilic, Locust or Abaddon.

Design Notes:

See �Demons� in "Kinds of Horrors", above.

Calm: 7
Agility: 7
Toughness: 7
Perception: 7
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 7

Calm Check: 7
Cards: Knight of Swords (10), Chariot (7)

Special abilities:

Demonic: Demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psionic abilities. Animals will
avoid demons in any form. Technological contrivances like firearms and explosives
can hurt but never kill The Ravens, except for those noted below.

Sixth Sense: All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Immunity: The Catastrophes can only be physically hurt by magic, by their own
weapons (any of them), or by weapons derived from nitrogen (such as nitroglycerin
or liquid nitrogen).

Flight: These demons can fly as crows or ravens.

Seven Weapons: The Ravens of Dispersion forge and wield weapons of seven metals:
one carries arms of gold, one silver, one copper, one iron, one tin, one mercury
and one lead. They are often thrown and cause standard damage. The lead weapon
causes the victim to save or lose a point of Knowledge over 7 days. The mercury
weapon is a kind of liquid web which coats the demon�s beak and claws and causes
the victim to check Toughness vs and Intensity of 7 or lose 1 Knowledge and 1 Calm.

Weaknesses:

The holy symbols of any faith causes a demon to make a Calm check or flee until
they are out of sight. The intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage to a demon as an ordinary
physical attack.

Speaking the true name of demon causes it great pain, and the creature must make a
Calm Check against the speaker�s Calm each round to avoid obeying the attacker.

Can only be physically hurt by magic, by their own weapons (any of them), or by
weapons derived from nitrogen (such as nitroglycerin or liquid nitrogen).

DEMONS OF THE EIGHTH ORDER�Those Crowned In Bone

The Angels of Death, The Samael, The Wailing Ones, The Divine Poison, Handmaids of
the Eighth King are summoned to enforce contracts. Their aspect is impersonal,
implacable. Once activated, they cannot be recalled. Plants grow strange and
curling black shoots in their wake. Their faces are bone.

They may be summoned by impaling eight victims from three directions at right
angles with iron rods such that they can be and are then placed at the vertices of
a large cube of these rods set within an octagonal ritual perimeter. Their names,
such as Destroyerannihilator and Destructorexterminator have eight syllables.

Design Notes:

See �Demons� in "Kinds of Horrors", above.

Calm: 10
Agility: 8
Toughness: 9
Perception: 9
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 9

Calm Check: 9
Cards: Death (15), Emperor (4), Justice (11), Eight of Swords, Two of Swords

Special abilities:

Demonic: Demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psionic abilities. Animals will
avoid the demon in any form.

Sixth Sense: All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Flight: These Demons move at running speed in the air.

Sword: Those Crowned in Bone carry swords which do Overwhelming Damage.

Invulnerability: These demons can only be harmed be directly harmed by magic.

Weaknesses:

The holy symbols of any faith causes a demon to make a Calm check or flee until
they are out of sight. The intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage to a demon as an ordinary
physical attack.

Speaking the true name of demon causes it great pain, and the creature must make a
Calm Check against the speaker�s Calm each round to avoid obeying the attacker.

The Samael cannot see anyone except their prey�those who have failed to fulfill
their side of a contract.

These demons come only at night.

DEMONS OF THE NINTH ORDER�Those Who Are Obscene

These demons, also called Gamaliel, Obscene Ones, and divided into the succubus
(female) and the incubus (male) are capable of assuming an impossibly attractive
appearance and seek thereby to tempt humans, and thereby spawn half-demonic
children tainted by dishonest congress.

In order to attract a succubus or incubus, a human must be willing and the prospect
of intercourse must involve the mortal in a lie or broken promise. As the act
progresses the creature becomes ever more monstrous. The true and final form of a
succubus is a horned woman 15� tall, its many bellies awrithe with polluted
offspring, the true form of the incubus is a curled and clutching abomination with
skin like an eel.

Their true names have nine letters�such as Onivistin. A succubus can only be
summoned to a place on days when the number of births in that place is precisely
nine times the number of murders, an incubus can only be summoned when nine genuine
accidents have resulted in nine deaths of nine lovers in nine days. The summoning
involves nine atrocities, nine virgins and nine weapons�one of mercury dedicated to
the first planet, one of copper dedicated to the second planet, one of graphite
dedicated to the third planet, one of iron dedicated to the fourth planet, one of
tin dedicated to the fifth planet, one of lead dedicated to the sixth planet, one
of lapis lazuli dedicated to the seventh planet, one of aquamarine dedicated to the
eighth planet, and one of ice that melts as it is used dedicated to the planet that
is not a planet.

Design Notes:

See �Demons� in "Kinds of Horrors", above.

Calm: 9
Agility: 4
Toughness: 9
Perception: 6
Appeal: 9
Cash: 5
Knowledge: 6

Calm Check: 9
Cards: Lovers (6), Nine of Swords

Special abilities:
Demonic: Demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psionic abilities. Animals will
avoid the demon in any form. Technological contrivances like firearms and
explosives can hurt but never kill these demons�they must be manually decapitated,
have their hearts cut out, or be dealt with by magic.

Sixth Sense: All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Shapeshift: These demons can appear to be ordinary humans, though always with a
missing finger.

Emerge from the Darkness: If unwitnessed, Gamaliel may step into any shadow in the
city where they are summoned and reappear through any other in the same city.

Corrupt Eye: A single look from one of these demons will cause a pregnant woman to
give birth to nine children in total over nine years. Each will despise the others.
If she has more than nine already, the others will die�if she has nine precisely,
she will serve the demon for nine years.

Weaknesses:

The holy symbols of any faith causes a demon to make a Calm check or flee until
they are out of sight. The intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage to a demon as an ordinary
physical attack.

Speaking the true name of demon causes it great pain, and the creature must make a
Calm Check against the speaker�s Calm each round to avoid obeying the attacker.

Those Who Are Obscene are always missing a finger in any form.

DEMONS OF THE TENTH ORDER�Those Who Bring Strife

The Nephthyd or Nehemoth, The Daughters of Night, The Demons of the Tenth Order
come twisting on their long bellies, igniting strange passions. Their bodies have
the appearance of beautiful women and of strange beasts. They can be summoned but
will also call to lost souls in the night, unbidden. They whisper secrets and
advise rash action. Their aspect is pleasant and immoral, their goal universal
discord.

Their true names have ten syllables, like Agratma�hlat�li�lit�naama�heish�eth and

She Whose Voice Is Red Rich And Merciless. They may be summoned when the semiplanet
Eris conjoins the Moon by inspiring ten equidistant suicides in a decagonal
pattern.

Design Notes:

See �Demons� in "Kinds of Horrors", above.

Calm: 6
Agility: 7
Toughness: 8
Perception: 6
Appeal: 9
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 8

Calm Check: 9
Cards: Moon (18), Empress (3), Queen of Cups (10), Ten of Pentacles

Special abilities:

Demonic: Demons don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be mentally controlled with psionic abilities. Animals will
avoid the demon in any form. Explosives cannot harm these demons but firearms can.

Sixth Sense: All demons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural.

Shapeshift: These demons can appear to be ordinary women, serpents, or nocturnal

birds of any kind. In any form they will have red specs on their bellies.

Emerge from the Darkness: If unwitnessed, Nephthyds may step into any shadow in the
city where they are summoned and reappear through any other.

Claws: These allow the Nehemoth to inflict damage and grapple in the same attack.

Kiss of Frenzy: The kiss of these demons allows the creature to select one of the
target�s desires and force it to dominate their personality. The emotion must be
one that the target already feels in some capacity. The target may make a Calm
check to resist vs Intensity 9 once per hour.

Ten Plagues: The Nehemoth often offer to afflict the enemies of the mortals they
prey upon. They may inflict each of these effects once every ten days: Turn up to
1000 gallons of water to blood, cause a rain of frogs to afflict a 100 foot radius
for 10 minutes , give up to 10 targets lice for ten days, cause a distract halo of
flies to surround up to 10 targets for 10 days, cause anthrax in up to 10 cattle,
afflict a target with painful boils (-1 Toughness), cause hail in a 100 foot radius
for 10 days, cause locusts to swarm a 1000-foot radius for 10 days, cause darkness
over a city-sized area for three days, cause the death of a target�s first-born.

Seduction: Any one who lays with a Demon of the Tenth Order must serve her for 100
days.

Weaknesses:

The holy symbols of any faith causes a demon to make a Calm check or flee until
they are out of sight. The intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage to a demon as an ordinary
physical attack.

Speaking the true name of demon causes it great pain, and the creature must make a
Calm Check against the speaker�s Calm each round to avoid obeying the attacker.

These demons delight in the red glow of true neon light, and must make a Calm check
vs an Intensity of 9 to move out of its light should they see it.
DEVOURING PLASM

A quickly-metastasizing amoeboid lifeform; possibly�hopefully�of extraterrestrial

origin. Its vast body can be of essentially any size the host wishes, from a
crawling oddity like a jarful of spilled jam to a tsunami of churning goo. As it
eats it grows larger�and all it does is eat.

Design Notes:

Blobs are best as a surprise and a late-in-the-story climax to a story otherwise

about humans (�You mean to say Master Orma is�that?�). Once discovered, the PCs
will probably just try to run rather than defeat the creature, so if you want to
keep the menace in the game, have them find out it threatens a person or place that
they are obliged to care about. Think of the plasm like a slightly more charismatic
natural disaster: you want to have maps on hand, as well as few things along the
way that will explode or spill or electrocute people if the creature oozes across
them.

Calm: n/a
Agility: 1
Toughness: 7 (up to 9�see below)
Perception: 2
Appeal: n/a
Cash: n/a
Knowledge: 0

Calm Check: 8
Cards: The Star (17)

Special abilities:

Asphyxiation: The plasm can swallow a creature, depriving it of air, causing damage
as a normal attack each round until the victim is freed.

Dispersed form: The plasm can only be hurt by weapons or tactics that move large
parts of its body away from the main mass or by area effects. Firearms are useless,
though explosives can work.

Wave attack: If the plasm is of sufficient size, the Host may allow the ooze to
attack as an area effect, delivering damage to any target near the wavefront on a
successful attack.

Renerating metabolism: Any time a plasm eats a living creature it gains Toughness
equal to the creature�s Toughness up to a maximum of 9.

(Possibly) Intelligent: It is possible a plasm is an alien intelligence or was once

human and has now been unimaginably translated�in this case it has Negative Calm
and Knowledge equal to the original host -2, but can only be communicated wth
telepathically.

(Possibly) Acidic: Merely touching the Plasm causes Standard Damage at 8 Intensity.

Weaknesses:
Use of massive amounts of weak bases (alkaline compounds) like ammonia can
neutralize or drown acidic plasms, causing Standard Damage each round if the volume
is at least 1/10th the size of the plasm. In general, defeating plasms can be an
opportunity for clever uses of chemistry by PCs.

DROWNED WOMAN GHOST

These lonely ghosts of female suicides have fish hooks hanging in the long wet hair
that obscures their hopeless faces. They come only at night and near the places
where they died: isolated lakes by joyless summer-homes, bouldered seasides, vast
abandoned houses where celebrated overdoses died in swimming pools decades before
the algae reclaimed them.

The choice of victim depends on the source of the ghost�s loneliness. Those who
lost lovers drown those who have hair or eyes like their lovers, those who lost
children drown children, etc.

Drowned woman ghosts can never be satisfied and can only be exorcised by combat.

Design Notes:

See �Ghosts� in �Kinds of Horrors�, above.

Typical Drowned Woman Ghost

Calm: 0
Agility: 6
Toughness: 6
Perception: 6
Appeal: 5
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 2

Calm Check: 8
Cards: Justice (11), Judgement (20), Queen of Cups (10)

Special abilities:

Ectoplasmic Form: Drowned woman ghosts can touch their victims but neither their
victims nor any other physical force can touch them-they cannot move through walls
and floors, however. They can be touched by tears and by anything coated in them.

Subtle Movement: On any given night, a drowned woman ghost can appear for the first
time anywhere within 500� of her body of water. When seen, she walks normally, if
slowly, but if totally unobserved, she can appear anywhere else within her
territory until sun up.

Hook Attack: By spinning, the drowned woman can ensnare victims using the fish-
hooks in her long hair. This attack counts as a grapple and also inflicts damage as
a standard attack�it can be made at two nearby targets at once.

Weaknesses:

A drowned woman ghost cannot stray more than 500 feet from the body of water where
she died.
A weapon washed in tears can harm her.

FETCH (Ghost)

A fetch is the ghost of a lost soul that takes a form identical to its victim in
order to replace them. Being bound to a given location until they can successfully
bring about the death of a human and take its place (at which point it can take
over any territory they�ve moved through), the fetch searches for the weakest
mortal it can find and attempts to sow fatal confusion.

Friends of the victim who are unaware of the nature of the fetch take psychological
damage as if they'd just seen their friend commit whatever atrocity the fetch just
has or just seen their friend take whatever wound the fetch has appeared to take.

Design Notes:

An adventure using a fetch can be simple or complex: in the simple version, the
party enters a claustrophobic area (a building, a wood, a scrapyard) and the fetch
proceeds to imitate them and sow panic. In the complex version, this scene might
still occur but only after a more complex series of events caused by the fetch,
unseen, committing crimes out in the world�imitating suspects, Contacts or PCs. The
complex version can result in an interesting and noir-ish crime story�especially if
you add in the fact that the fetch can only move in very specific ways.

Either way, with any prolonged physical confrontation with the fetch it�ll help to
have a map (so you can track what PCs the fetch can imitate) and to Host very
carefully (�You all see suddenly that Marguerite is standing next
to�.Marguerite��Is the doppleganger to my left or to my right?� �Uh�it�s next to
you, but I won�t say which�).

See also �Ghosts� in �Kinds of Horrors�, above.

Typical Fetch

Calm: 2
Agility: as target
Toughness: as target (but see below)
Perception: 2
Appeal: as target (Deception: 7)
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 3

Calm Check: 5
Cards: None

Special abilities:

Serial Ectoplasmic Form: Fetches condense into bodies that are identical to those
of their victims in most ways (voice, mannerisms, etc) and are vulnerable to
mundane attacks. However, if this body is slain, the Fetch�s invisible and its
incorporeal soul remains until exorcised and can imitate another. In combat, the
fetch is usually indistinguishable from the victim.
Weaknesses:

A fetch is always bound to the specific geographical location where it died (a

building, a graveyard, a lake, a hospital, a neighborhood, etc) and cannot leave
(If dragged away it simply will hang in space as if hitting an invisible wall)
until it brings about the death of a victim and thereby replaces it. At that point,
it can go anywhere the new victim has gone.

A fetch cannot directly physically harm the target it has imitated and must usually
employ deception to cause it to be killed by some other party. Its most common
tactic is to use the new form to kill one of the victim�s friends, get �caught� by
other companions, then flee and conceal itself until these companions kill their
�dangerous� friend.

A fetch cannot adopt a new form or become incorporeal until its current target has
left the area the fetch haunts or that body is "killed".

Most fetches cannot bear the sound of bells due to association with church bells�in
some cases, the feared sound is different and is associated with the way the
creature died (for example, a victim of a drunk driving accident may not be able to
stand the sound of a beer can opening).

If a fetch is tricked it into imitating a form with a spell of banishment written

or tattooed onto it, its ectoplasmic skin will begin to dissolve and the ghost will
be exorcised.

FOETAL GOD

It would require an effort on an industrial scale and layers of orchestrated

deception within that effort, great vats, sacrifices that would beggar cemeteries,
coordinated acts of rogue archaeology, postmodern mathematics, and multinational
teams of experts in the deadest languages. All the more remarkable as it could
serve no conceivable purpose.

The young god will stagger, unviable, seething, needlessly empathic, feeling
everything, bending quantum fields to the edge of rupture, shrieking in ultrasonics
whose sublime recursions and architectonic structures echo out in depthless potency
and ignorance.

Thinking nothing, reactionary, capable of anything, exposed and nihilistic--why

would anyone bring such a thing about?

Design notes:

The Foetal God is best kept for a campaign finale�not just because it�s powerful
and strange but because the god itself isn�t a very complex threat. It simply
blunders through the scenery until it or the party are destroyed. The Host should
put their effort into designing the conspiracy or cult responsible for birthing it
(see: Cultist, The Machine).

Calm: (Always insane)

Agility: 2
Toughness: 12 (Though it throws based on its Current Toughness, not always this
maximum)
Perception: 1
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 0

Calm check: 10
Cards: The World (21), The Fool (0)

Special Abilities

(Wallowing newly and unwilling in the morass of being, the Foetal God telegraphs
its every move--these are all initially Thrown as Agility-based actions.)

Physical Attack�The God is strong enough that anything outright grappled, thrown or
crushed in its hands or jaws takes Massive Damage (make Throws equal to the
attacker's stat--in this case 2--and take the highest).

Transmuting Touch�The God can reform matter with a touch, but does so as an infant
with no talent or focused intention. Each hand merely begins to transmute touched
things into the last thing touched with that hand, so if it was a sidewalk, part of
the target becomes smeared with a line of jagged concrete, if it was a dog, part of
the target becomes a chaotic web of fur, organ, and fang. Aside from any other
common-sense effects treat this as standard damage.

Scream�When wounded or frightened, the protogod screams, causing a storm of

ontological static to ripple across an area extending from Foetal God in a 50'
radius. An unsuccessful Scream action still indicates a scream has happened, just
that a number of random nonvital objects in the area are affected (Host: describe
something disturbing), a successful one indicates an important object or character
is included along with this background damage--decide randomly. The Scream's
effects on any given object or character are (roll d10)

1 Target is horrifically scarred or deformed. Damage is gruesome but cosmetic.

Characters lose 2 points of Appeal, to a minimum of 0.

2 Target becomes its own shadow. Unable to affect the physical world until the God
is dead.

3 Target briefly nonexistent and devoid of relativistic movement, sinks 2 inches

into ground or whatever is supporting it. Will have to be cut out.

4 Target begins to melt into a plasm of primordial constituents. Standard Damage.

5 Target begins to dwindle out of existence. It does not exist next turn, then
returns for one turn, then ceases to exist for two turns, then returns for one,
then three turns, then returns for one, etc. until the Foetal God is destroyed or
the effect is negated by some exotic means. During nonexistence no-one remembers it
ever existed.

6 Target appears to be destroyed but reappears out of sight 100 feet-1 mile
elsewhere. Host's choice.

7 Target is perfectly cloned. Clones of characters will become disturbed NPCs.

8 Target continues to exist but is ignored by all sentient life. This continues
until the Foetal God is destroyed or the effect is negated by some exotic means.

9 Living targets (only) briefly share the mind of the Foetal God. They lose a point
of Calm if they fail a test against a 9, but on a successful test they can control
the God's action for one turn. Getting this result twice and succeeding at least
the second time allows the target to imprint their will on the protodeity long
enough to reverse the effect of a single previous action by the God.

10 Target reverts in time to a noticeably earlier state--for, say, a car, this

might turn it into molten metal and unprocessed rubber, for a character this
usually means dialing back to a time before the acquisition of some current
skillset or acquired knowledge, etc. When in doubt how bad to make it, make a
Random Severity Throw (1-10, 10 being the worst result, in this case something
short of death).

HAUNT (Ghost)

A haunt is a ghost that possesses an entire building as if it were a body, and it

has no separate form. Its power is proportional to the number who have perished,
terrified, within its walls. It seeks to expand these powers. That is: it
terrorizes for the sake of increasing its ability to terrorize for the sake of
terrorizing. It is in that way very human.

Exorcisms performed on haunts require an understanding of the nature of the

violence which began the cycle. The haunt�s soul will be housed on the premises in
some innocuous and fragile thing present during the originating trauma (a jewelry
box, a portrait, a housefly), and this must be destroyed in order to exorcise the
house. If the building is destroyed without exorcism, whatever else is on the land
will be similarly haunted.

Design Notes:

The basic adventure design for a haunt isn�t too complicated�the party is sent to
investigate the building and it can �win� by research into its origins leading to
the haunt�s soul, by crawling randomly around the premises until they stumble on it
and items relating its significance, or by merely escaping and giving up after a
session or two�s worth of amusing abuse.
However, in fine detail it requires some preparation�the Host should either
mentally picture a large building they know well enough to describe room-by-room or
prepare a map. In both cases, you�ll need to devise traps and effects that could
happen in each room�the more variety the better.
Also�Hosts wishing to devise a HAL-like technological artificial intelligence that
controls a building or starship should note that such a creature could work,
mechanically, very similarly to a haunt�with the (hidden or difficult-to-access)
central processing unit taking the place of the soul.
See also �Ghosts� in �Kinds of Horrors�, above.

Calm: 0
Agility: 4 (represents the agility of creatures inside and the ghost�s ability to
act before its victims)
Toughness: n/a (the building material is ordinary, but only destroying it will not
destroy the ghost)
Perception: Within the building�n/a, they perceive everything. Outside it they
perceive nothing.
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 4

Calm Check: 7
Cards: The Tower (16)
Special Abilities:

Disembodied: The haunt itself cannot be harmed except by an exorcism and

destruction of the small vessel where its soul is.

Manipulate Architecture: The ghost can control its building in various ways. The
object of these manipulation is always to extract as much fear out of its victim
before killing it�
-Open or close any door
-Lock or unlock any door
-See and hear everything in the building
-Sense the fears of anyone in the building
-Add a repeating room behind a closed set of doors
-Create disturbing audible and visual illusions (usually requiring a Calm Check on
the victim�s part)
-Double or halve any dimensions of a room
-Telekinetically move any object that is �native� to the house (striking with an
Intensity of 4)
-Animate any dead in the house as a Drone (see Revenant/Drone)
-Turn patterned surfaces into 100� deep pools
The ghost may only enact one of these changes per round. The ghost cannot prevent
keys from opening locked doors�though it may close and lock them in the next round.

Weaknesses:
The ghost can sense nothing outside its building.

HAUNTED DOLL (Ghost-inhabited object)

Haunted dolls are children�s toys, puppet or other effigies into which an
(inevitably omnicidal) inhabiting spirit has been bound. The possession renders the
doll itself animate and indestructible. They might be found in the backs of
neglected toy shops, mixed in with the effects of dead relatives or abandoned,
rotting, under porches.

The haunted doll murders children, adults, and pets indiscriminately but will only
begin to move when alone or in the presence of a lone victim it intends to
kill�though if the victim resists other witnesses may walk in on it moving in the
middle of the struggle. At that point its primary motive will be to kill all
witnesses immediately so that it can remain undetected and continue to stagger
along its murderous path.

Exorcism is never an option with a haunted doll�the spirit they house was trapped
in the doll specifically because it was too troublesome to deal with otherwise.
Likewise, the spirit is too monomaniacal to satisfy by any earthly action.

Some are haunted by suicidal souls and weep when alone. Many are cursed with an
echolalia-like effect and, when active, will repeat the last word(s) of anything
anyone around them says�(�Did you hear a rattling noise?��Rattling noise?�).

Design Notes:

The haunted doll can be used for a simple, claustrophobic, chaotic adventure about
inflicting mayhem on the party and anyone else around or it can start with a
murder mystery. A locked door, no exits, a short list of suspects in a respectable
(or not so respectable) home, how did it happen?
The Host should also give some thought to the kind of home the doll will ravage�a
spacious suburban one rife with gadgets for it to exploit? A labyrinthine mansion
full of places to hide? An downtown building, where the doll crawls from apartment
to apartment?

Calm: n/a�unshakeable
Agility: 3
Toughness: 6 (indestructible)
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 3

Calm Check: 7
Cards: Page of Swords (10)

Special Abilities:

Invulnerable: The doll cannot be physically harmed in any way. Damage can be
innocently inflicted while the doll appears to be inert (for example: a child
giving the doll a haircut or a dog ripping an arm off) but it will repair itself
completely as soon as it is unobserved.

Aura effects: Even when not moving, haunted dolls have strange effects on the
outside world like other cursed artifacts. Throw, pick one, or invent your own:

1 Pictures will not hang straight in the same room as the doll.
2 It begins to rain whenever the doll is taken outside.
3 Animals attack the doll instinctively.
4 Each observer is sure the doll has a different expression.
5 Water becomes saltwater in its presence.
6 Some sharp detail of the wood or plastic regularly pricks anyone who touches the
doll.
7 Doll falls over whenever propped in a sitting or standing position.
8 Observers lose all appetite.
9 Babies cry in doll�s presence.
10 Flies attracted to doll as if it were fruit.

Unnatural Balance: When animate, haunted dolls can manipulate objects in ways that
would be difficult for a living being of their size and weight�so while a straw-
stuffed doll might weigh less than a pound, it could lift a bread knife without
overbalancing.

Subtle Movement: If totally unobserved, a haunted doll can escape nearly (see
below) any attempt to entrap it.

Weaknesses:

Although it cannot be destroyed, a haunted doll can be immobilized if it is placed

in a box with a silver lock engraved with the doll�s name�however, this only works
so long as the key to the lock is never destroyed. The doll can also simply be
trapped in any construction too strong for it to escape and constantly observed.
HORDE CREATURE

The phrase refers to any kind of misshapen patchwork supernatural

grotesque�generally found swelling the ranks of demon armies, drooling in
unwholesome laboratories, and populating other dimensions.

Horde creatures can be designed by hand or created using the random tables.

Design Notes:

Grotesques of the horde appear in a game to say chaos has been unleashed�this is
actually quite different from many more classical horror creatures which are often
embedded in a kind of complex mythological order, if an alien one. With vampires or
werewolves, there is something to figure out�whereas these kinds of creatures are
just a way of signalling all Hell has broken loose, definitely figuratively and
possibly literally. The only thing to figure out is how to find the hole to
wherever they came from and close it. They aren�t designed to be that tough
physically, but try to make the visual description have an impact. They should
inspire a lot of Calm Checks, if nothing else.
The horde mutations can also be used as inspiration for designing other kinds of
foes.

Typical Horde Creature

Calm: 0
Agility: 2
Toughness: 4
Perception: 1
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 0

Calm Check: 8
Cards: The Devil (15), Strength (8) possibly The Wheel of Fortune (10)

Special Abilities:

Some horde creatures will have special powers derived from their bizarre anatomy.

Horde Mutations (roll 5 times or until disgusted)

1, Extra head
2, Extra arm
3, Second torso, head, arms
4, Spider legs
5, Extra leg
6, Shrunken head
7, Massive head
8, Lobsterlike claw hand
9, Mouth the size of a head
10, Massive eye
11, Extra pair of arms
12, Face in chest
13, Headless
12, Armless
13, Legless
14, Eye instead of mouth
15, Mouth instead of eye
16, Mouth instead of ear
17, Mouth instead of hand
18, Covered in eyes
19, Clawlike fingers
20, Prehensile tail
21, Scorpionlike tail (poison intensity=Toughness)
22, Fangs
23, No eyes
24, Snake tail instead of legs
25, Batlike wings
25, Hole through chest
26, Cavity in chest from which smaller creatures spill
27, Froglike legs
28, Cat eyes
29, Goat eyes
30, Goat horns
31, Goat face
32, Goat legs
33, Snake heads for hands
34, Asymmetrical body
35, Rotting body
36, Intestines hanging out
37, 5 foot-tongue
38, Tentacles
39, Crow head
40, Covered in spines
41, Skull head
42, Heads for arms
43, Just a head with 4 tiny legs
44, Gazelle horns
45, Gaunt, starved appearance
46, Cavities throughout body
47, Covered in boils
48, Tusks
49, Translucent skin
50, Crawling with maggots
51, Covered in ooze
52, Giant foetus with umbilical cord
53, Lower body is a giant hand
54, Massive chest cavity lined with teeth
55, Insect head
56, Insect legs
57, Mantis arms
58, Fly wings
59, Insect eyes
60, Insect mouth
61, Arms so long they drag
62, Mandibles
63, Joints up and down extremities
64, Serpent head
65, Membranes between arms, legs and torso
66, Left or right half only
67, Eyestalks
68, Eye on tip of tongue
69, Crawls on all fours
70, Hunchback
71, No mouth
72, No features
73, Scales
74, Mane of fingers
75, Webbed fingers
76, Cyclops
77, Half size
78, Leech mouth
79, Leech head
80, Patterned skin
81, Covered in mouths
82, Mouth full of tentacles
83, Crablike carapace
84, Birdclaw feet
85, Mantalike head
86, Wolf head
87, Multiple animal heads
88, Tail with head on it
89, Tail with animal head on it
90, Wolf heads for hands
91, Bat face
92, Stag head
93, Claw-tipped probes for arms
94, Upper body only, drags organs behind
95, Tentacles from head
96, Obese beyond conception
97, Mouth across stomach
98, Arms for legs
99, Crab head
00, Courses with electricity

HORROR VACUI
(by Scrap Princess)

The vast dark mass of human history is one where we were hunted. All those
panicked times leading, all leading up to here; a stark concrete peak, rising out
of the food-chained ocean. Now lions, tigers, wolves, they barely exist outside
cages. We have plenty left to fear though: War. Strangers. Violence. Inadequacies.
Inevitabilities.

And yet, it's not enough. We first learned to think, back when we were prey, and we
still all dream the-can�t-run-fast-enough-dream. All this phantom-pain calls out,
and Horror Vacui are what answer. A chimeric, catacryptic ectopredator.

They aren't real though, not yet. They will build themselves up from glances and
impressions. Ancestral memories and might-of-beens .
Then when they are real enough to kill, they do so.

Its first attack is always followed by a glimpse (Row 2-3), a sighting (Row 4).
Then when the attack happens, the last of its details are confirmed (Row 4).

So as Host, don�t treat the Horror Vacui as physically existing until the first
attack. After then treat it like a real animal, with unpredictable intelligence,
and uncanny speed and stealth, and one �impossible� ability (Row 6).

Its physical capacities are equivalent to a methed up bear. The mental capacity,
less consistent. Mostly a beast, with jags of insight and cruel cunning.

The people attacked might not be the same people who first sighted it. There is a
criteria to the selection:

- To be in particular location. Sometimes this one defined by a homogeneity

continuity (e.g "woods but not the suburb beside it, "industrial district until it
becomes housing", "a desert area in a national park, but the rivers or copse
there"), for others it can be heterogenic but geographically defined ("the area
contained by state highways 1 and 2 and Packers pass, nicknamed the Corpse
Triangle�).

-To be a heightened or focused emotional state. This can be bliss, dread, terror,
despair, jubilation, anger, euphoria , ennui etc.

-A seemingly arbitrary criteria (see Row 1) actually informed by some weird quirk
of the Horror.

If there's multiple possible prey, the following preferences will determine who
sees and/or attacked:

-Isolated, or in a group of 2-3

-Lost or disorientated
-In poor lighting or bad visibility (mist, dust-storm)

The Horror Vacui will continue this pattern until it�s killed (only possible after
it has attacked at least once) or its appearance and attacks are established and
known to at least 150 people. At that point it will no longer appear in the
terrain, though there's a 2 in 10 chance that this particular Horror Vacui (with
that appearance and power) will reappear somewhere else (drop a knife on a map).

However, 3 entirely new Horror Vacui will form somewhere else in the world.
Prophetic dreams will be had by those who encountered it (See Row 8.)

If it�s killed, its body will break down rapidly into mundane and conceivable but
unlikely things; a mangy bear with barbed wire grown into its snout, a deer with an
unprecedentedly large facial teratoma, a wolf carcass surrounded by old farm tools.

It is possible to save and preserve notable and significant parts of Horror Vacui
without them degrading into mundanity, but only if they are quickly hidden and
protected by occult means. The �occult means� can be those extrapolated from
religious or cultural practices, or from an idiosyncratic belief system if it's
followed with enough intensity.

Any documentation of it or samples taken will always be vague , damaged or

inconclusive.

Design Notes:

Aside from the adventures design implied in the tables to describe it, the best way
to get mileage out of a Vacui is to have players or NPCs who recognize the traces
as things left by an actual creature that can be understood (somewhat)
ecologically. It has behaviors and tendencies, and can be found using them. What
none of the rows on the table tell you is where the thing lairs�that juicy detail
is left to the Host�perhaps based on the information the other tables provide. The
first row should give the Host a lot of information about how to begin setting up
the adventure, what the party hears about first, etc.

Calm: 0
Agility: 5
Toughness: 8
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 8
Cards: Wheel of Fortune (10), Strength (8)

Special Abilities:

Bite or �hug� inflicts damage and grapples simultaneously.

(GRAPHIC DESIGNER: TRY TO PUT ALL THESE ROWS INTO ONE 2-PAGE SPREAD�NUMBERED
COLUMNS 1-10 ALONG THE TOP EDGE, 1-4 LEFT PAGE, 6-10 RIGHT PAGE, EACH ROW HAS
TITLE, THE RESULTS GO ACROSS THE PAGE HORIZONTALLY. LET ME KNOW IF THE RESULTS NEED
TO BE LESS WORDY. FEEL FREE TO USE A SMALLER/more compressed FONT�PDFs WILL EXIST.)

Row 1: Connections between all the victims/witnesses:

1 In process of learning and practicing something new to them. (Uncertain,

distracted movements. Like a foal trying to walk. It will avoid confidence,
certainty or familiarity)

2 Smelling like several people, either due to close physical contact with others
(fucking, prolonged fight, contact sport), wearing someone else's clothing/clothes,
using someone else's old towel. (From its far-outside-perceptive, smelling like
more than 1 person made the victims seemed like �larger� people, and more
significant as prey. It�s trying to maximize the result of a hunt.)

3 Strongly allergic to something (bees , cats, gluten etc) (Its presence triggers
mild allergy attacks. This attacks are always accompanied by unusually sweating and
smell. The Horror can follow this smell through closed and sealed doors.)

4 Significant body part replaced (artificial leg, glass eye, false teeth, organ
receiver) (It�s drawn to the mix of flesh and other. Either as an echo of nutrition
seeking or weakness. Or people like this seem to occupy more liminal states and
appear more vivid to the Horror )

5 Recently travelled overseas. (The different �smell signature� makes the victims
stand out to the Horror. The less someone smells like their environment, the more
they stand out to the Vacui.)

6 Recent contact with or often exposed to pungent/fragrant chemicals. (This Horror

Vacui is too cautious. It will only approach when comforted and slightly drugged by
chemical reek.)

7 All wearing a recently dry cleaned item of clothing. (Some chemical in this
process causes the clothing to luminize under u.v in a particular tantalizing way.
To a lesser degree, anything that glows under U.V, attracts the Horror Vacui )

8 All the victims were well off, but more specifically had large properties. (The
Vacui will actually be concealed on their property for a number of days before
attacking them elsewhere)

9 Cat owners and/or people with cactus gardens (The Vacui needs to eat something
gravel like to grind up the body inside it. It will swallow large amounts of washed
gravel or cat litter after consuming someone.)

10 Motorcyclists and a pizza franchise mascot (Actually anyone with their face full
obscured. The less it can see of a face the more sure it feels of an attack.)

?
Rows 2 and 3 Glimpse ��Looked like a..
but��
1-A hunched man, knuckle walker though, an ape?
1-But too big

2-Stilted walking, head snapping around, a crane? Stork? How big do they get?
2-But jaw was weird, hooked. Too muscular

3-Muscular slunking, a big cat, a jaguar?

3-But a few too many legs, never can count them, twisting movement

4-A mass until it stood up like man, a bear?

4-But seemingly no head

5-Even though I was looking right at it, didn�t realize it was there till it
moved..a deer..
5-But snout too long, didn�t look it would eat plants with that jaw

6-I haven�t seen that dog before..

6-But eyes glowing

7-Seen the bushes shake first, then it slips out in view, eels travel overland, but
too big, too cold for pythons right?
7-Hurts to look at, like someone pushing on your eyeball

8-Belly dragging; crocodile, lizard, salamander?

8-Things sticking out of , like a spears or arrows

9-Long necked..like a giraffe did have it have a snake tail? Plodded

9-Musculature swelled and rippled like film blistering in a fire

10-Some kind of shelled, many legged , clicking thing, beetle or scorpion?

10-Moved like it barely touched the ground

Row 4 Sighting �The thing about it that stayed with me..�

1 Limbs narrow to points or hooks

2 Deep bassy breath or bone humming whine.

3 Alternates between bipedal and polypedal movements and/or hops, jumps

4 Smoke or steam begins to rise off it.

5 Is it .. imitating you ?

6 Glistening, wet

7 Weird bursts of speed like speed up footage or being pulled suddenly by string

8 Pressure drop, eyes pop, became hard to breath

9 Teeth jutting all over it

10 Mouth opened and shut like it was talking or eating the air
Row 5 Attack �Details reported before expiring�

1 Its eyes and mouth are located somewhere else on its body, what you thought was
its head is a deceptive mimicry due to colouration or growths.

2 It has such kind eyes.

3 Mouth opens absurdly wide.

4 Eye watering chemical reek.

5 Hair, scales or feathers short and hard like wire, independently undulating like
seeking leeches.

6 Asymmetrical; placement and size of its body parts doesn't mirror bilaterally.

7 Human teeth, various , crudely attached in mouth.

8 Obvious state of arousal. Engorged, dripping, etc.

9 Very little fat on it, �Shrink-wrapped� look. Bones look like they could rip
through skin at any moment.

10 Eyes and/or nose replaced with twitching distended wart like growth.

Row 6 Impossibility

1 It�s either far away or very close, and can seemingly instantly alternate between
these distances.

2 Speed matches any other being (including if travelling in vehicle) it can see, as
long they can't see it.

3 Can pour itself like a liquid, but only when it�s too dark or too bright to see.

4 It can appear anywhere out of direct sight but near a previous witness/prey. Very
likely to do this if no-one else matches its selection criteria.

5 It can choose to overload the senses of all but one person, everyone else being
able to only have awareness of nothing but its smell/sound/ or one visual aspect.

6 Can change the weather, from clear skies to raging storm, in about 10 minutes. If
weather already bad, it can make it locally extremely bad.

7 Disappears behind things too slight for its size, can compress itself down to a
tenth of its size.

8 Can short out electrical devices if its near and discussed openly.

9 Can make anyone nearby unable to read or understand other visual information like
maps or interfaces.

10 No sound made within 10 meters can be heard outside that 10 meters.

Row 7 Spoor/ Signs You Are Close

1 Food starts tasting metallic when it becomes aware of you.

2 Domestic animals that appear to be hit by a truck, found no-one where near roads.

3 Stolen clothing, reeking of piss.

4 Single powerpoles pushed off kilter, always about 20 degrees.

5 Vehicle dragged far off road, partially buried or up tree.

6 Teeth and skull fragments embedded in tree or other solid material.

7 Black tarry stool, in long rope like strands. Clumps of hair and teeth.

8 Depictions of human faces on signs or billboards scratched or chewed off.

9 Ripped open and partially eaten biohazard bags, sharps containers or other
medical waste.

10 Animal calls, but wrong time for them (day animals at night, etc), or too loud
(a cat meow but carrying for kilometres) , or unlikely for area.

Row 8 OH THE DREAMS YOU�LL HAVE

1 A family pet approaches on 2 legs, it suddenly decays and coughs forth 3 ripe
maggots . You wrap them in newspaper and they emerge as butterfly. As the fly away
the sky bleeds after them.

2 Everyone is reading bleeding newspapers. Someone runs down the street, a screen
has bitten off most their hand, no-one reacts, they hold up the remaining 3 fingers
to you and scream and scream and scream.

3 The shitting out teeth, so much teeth. It hurts so. You go into 3 restaurants,
but they are empty, you cannot ask to use the toilet.

4 You trying to tell a story, you try 3 times, but each time every time you speak a
bite is taken out of your friends face and you must spit out the meat. They don�t
seem to mind.

5 Something is chasing you but you open the doors to 3 houses without going inside,
to trick it. The trick works. You are no longer pursued. A radio tuned to a foreign
language is heard inside the houses and it gets louder and louder and louder and
lo..

6 Something has bitten off your hands, you ask for directions to a hospital, but
the person asks doesn�t understand you and keeps trying to get you try and point
out where you got bitten on these large maps of the world. When you look up their
face is blank except for 3 stump prints

7 You are very hungry and you begin to eat this meat someone was going to cook for
you raw. Then they come home and you try and hide the meat inside books. They enter
the kitchen and smile at you. When they go to open the fridge the fridge gobbles
them up in 3 bites. You open the fridge and the raw meat is there again. (This
dream repeats 4-5 times before dreamer forces themselves awake.)

8 You are at your parents house. They are back from vacation. They can�t get the
lights to work. You discover the light bulbs are full of blood. You replace one 3
times , but it fills up with blood each time. Frustrated, you set the house on fire
and force your parents outside in the cold night. The dream ends with them huddled,
naked and afraid while you warm yourself by the house.

9 You are being interviewed on TV! The microphone doesn�t seem to work though, then
it's a sausage . The interviewed holds it out to you and you slowly and carefully
take it in your mouth. When you talk with your mouth full of sausage , everyone can
understand you, and is very interested and pleased, even though blood and meat are
falling out of your mouth. You turn at look at the cameras. They have eyes for
lens, a snake, a cat and a dog. Sudden it�s raining and you realize everyone is
outside.

10 You have had brain surgery and they gave you a pig brain. It works fine but you
can�t write. Someone tells you to try writing with a knife on this child. The child
has hair like a sheep and is trying to squirm out of your grip .You keep trying to
reassure the child that it�s only 3 chapters, it�s only 3 chapters.

HUNGRY GHOST

Some hungry ghosts are pathetic, some are scornful, all feel they are owed
something�by their living descendants or by others who failed to acknowledge them
properly in life.

Hungry Ghosts are ugly fiends and come creeping on their bellies, smiling, eating
trash. They want to make the living join them in hell by committing suicide, and so
do awful things. They will molest anyone until they cry.

Hell makes them so bad they can never be satisfied. They can be exorcised through
complex chants in a chalked circle while burning special contracts that send them
back to their homes.

Design Notes:

See �Ghosts� in �Kinds of Horrors�, above.

Typical Hungry Ghost

Calm: 0
Agility: 2
Toughness: 4 (can only be hurt by cold things)
Perception: 2
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 1

Calm Check: 7
Cards: King/Queen of Cups (10)

Special abilities:

Ectoplasmic form: Hungry ghosts can touch their victims but neither their victims
nor any other natural physical force can touch them. The only exception is ice and
things chilled below freezing.

Climbing: All hungry ghosts can move across walls and ceilings at normal speed.

Infinite mutilation: If a hungry ghost slices or bites off a part of a creature,

the victim will never bleed out�simply remain alive and maimed at 0 Toughness.
Devouring: A hungry ghost can chew through any substance as if it were meat.

Mutant physiognomy: Hungry ghosts come in many shapes�spheres with bloated faces,
serpent-centaurs, bizarre concatenations of limbs and heads, massive eyes for heads
on distended necks with teeth down either side. If a ghost has a strange shape, it
may add some minor extra ability. They are never flying creatures, however.

Weaknesses:

Ice and things chilled below freezing can hurt a hungry ghost as can sorcery.

Hungry ghosts cannot kill a living being, only torment it until it wants to kill
itself.

Hungry ghosts are greedy but cannot tell the difference between real and fake food
or money.

Hungry ghosts are also confused by patterns, and patterned wallpaper or carpets
will disorient them.

The Inhabited (Ghost or Demon or something else)

Many demons, psychics and sorcerers and certain kinds of ghosts may oust a living
soul from its body and transferring their own being into its flesh.

Inhabitation by a ghost or human (known as Spirit Possession) is a relatively

simple matter�the afflicted human or animal takes on a new and usually malevolent
personality, obsessed with redressing a past wrong. The specific spirit may or may
not be capable of imitating the personality of the original creature or even
speaking its language.

Demonic possession is similar, but grants the possessed body the demon�s
supernatural abilities. The demon will pursue the same goals it otherwise had.

Unless the possession is the result of a ritual, spell or psychic power, in order
to become possessed, the victim must generally handle or engage with an object in
which the inhabiting being�s soul is held�wear a given necklace, look at a haunted
painting, sleep in a bed where a demon�s body was slain, etc. In some cases the
creature is only possessed while wearing/touching/using the object.

Design Notes:

The idea of demonic possession is a strangely generous and humanistic concept:

rather than punishing a person for their crimes, the village elders attribute their
wrongdoing to an evil force outside of them. It was a way of acknowledging the
wrongness of a crime without (necessarily) destroying the person responsible. A
good adventure featuring an Inhabited character exploits the distance between the
character of the possessed and the possessor. Tactically, it�s a hostage situation.
If the hostage is someone nobody cares about, it�s not much of a story or much of a
challenge.

Design Notes:

See �Ghosts� and �Demons� in �Kinds of Horrors�, above.

Typical Inhabited Human

Calm: 1 (ghost) or, for demons, as demon type

Agility: 2
Toughness: 2 (ghost) 6 (demon)
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2
Cash: 2
Knowledge: 4 or, for demons, as demon type

Calm Check: 4
Cards: The Chariot (7)

Special Abilities:

Serial Form: The possessing ghost or demon can attempt to possess any creature
coming into contact with the reliquary object where its soul is housed and, unless
the possession is limited to those wearing/touching/using the object, the
possessing soul can also attempt to possess anyone touching the posessee�s body.
When contact occurs, the victim must make a Calm Check against an intensity of 6 or
the attacking ghost or demon�s Knowledge stat, whichever is higher, or else become
the new host.

(Demon possession only): The possessed creature may use any abilities the demon
itself had, save those that rely on the demon�s physical shape (flying with wings,
or extra attacks due to tentacles).

Weaknesses:

Possessed creatures have all the fears and psychological weaknesses of the
possessing being.

(Demon possession only) Demons do not like the taste of human food and must make a
Calm Check against an intensity of 2 every time they eat a meal to maintain their
composure.

(Spirit possession only) Ghosts become extremely hungry while they wait for new
bodies and must make a Calm Check against an intensity of 5 to avoid eating
ravenously whenever food is present.

LEXICON DEVIL (Ghost)

Scientists will tell you a ghost is no more than a memory and a memory is no more
than a series of linguistic signifiers indicating some absent arrangement of
sensations. What they do not know is that the language itself can become
malevolent. The lexicon devil is a ghost composed of language, like a computer
virus rewriting the codes of real life.

These incorporeal, invisible and untouchable ghosts are summoned when a violent
soul does violence to language and those forms of language do not die with it�when
the shape of the departed�s vocabulary and the particularity of their word choices
is still powerfully active in the world: Dictators whose regimes carry on, mass
murderers whose diaries are published for mass consumption, and self-serving
philosophers of injustice whose philosophies still influence the living can give
birth to lexicon devils. So long as language is used in such a way as to make, for
example, an immigrant �an illegal�, fascist death squads �freedom fighters�, or
life-and-death facts into �nitpicks�, a lexicon devil may be loose. They seek to
encourage in death the forms of iniquity they invented in life.

The soul of the devil is contained in a text, and that text will be the earliest
still-extant physical text that expresses the violence of their creator�s
intentions against the world�a diary, a speech, a private letter, even a note
scrawled on a wall. The devil�s first act, once summoned, will be to take whatever
steps necessary to hide at least one version of the text away and alter copies
(including, if necessary, online and digital versions). Destroying the text will
only cause the ghost to bond to the next-oldest copy. The ghost can be exorcised
only by finding the text and reading it aloud before witnesses in a room containing
the devil. Beginning the recitation text paralyzes the devil until it is finished.

Design Notes:

The lexicon devil is fairly meaningless unless at some point someone figures out or
explains to the party what it is. Otherwise the best sleuthing in the world will
turn up no more than a series of inexplicably altered documents. The adventure will
require a psychic PC or NPC to divine that the activity is the work of a genuine
presence and/or or a trove of parapsychological information that turns up to
explain what the devil is and how it can be stopped.
The adventure doesn�t have to be just an exercise in killing time until the PCs get
to that reveal, however. Once the nature of the lexicon devil is understood, the
PCs will then have to grapple with the problem of just how much of the world can be
thrown at them via altered documents and messages alone until they finally hunt
down the source manuscript and read it where the devil can hear.

Calm: 0
Agility: 9
Toughness: n/a
Perception: 9
Appeal: n/a
Cash: 7 (via manipulation of online accounts)
Knowledge: 8

Calm Check: 6
Cards: The Devil (15), The Fool (0)

Special Abilities:

Incorporeal and intangible: The lexicon devil has a physical location and moves at
normal speed, but it cannot be touched or touch anything.

Sabotage language: Each round, the devil can transform one word per sentence of
spoken or written language of any text in its presence, or one sentence alone on a
given page of written text. It uses this ability to create false orders, requests
and information in order to cause various unknowing pawns to carry out its plans.
For instance it might change the address of a DEA raid to target an investigator on
its trail, instruct a librarian�via email�to misfile the text containing its soul,
or cause friends to offend each other with their choice of words. The ghost may
(and will) alter texts in closed books in rooms it occupies but cannot operate a
computer on its own�it can only change a text if in the presence of someone who
accesses a page or file (the alteration will, however, affect the source code of
that page, causing it to forever be altered whenever that page is brought up).
Speakers and writer�s who�ve had their words changed will not know it.

Garble: Once per round, the devil can renders written or spoken communication
impossible for chosen targets. The devil may make a target unable to be understood
(including objects, like books, computers or phone) or unable to understand. Lasts
one hour.

Weaknesses:

The devil cannot speak or touch anything.

The devil cannot move so long as the text containing its soul is being read aloud
within earshot. Reading it fully in front of witnesses exorcizes it.

LYCANTHROPE

Cruelly afflicted, the lycanthrope, or werewolf, is unfit to mix with our society.
The stricken creature twitches and bends, staring into thin air, bestial even when
adopting an ordinary shape. They make their dens in blood-streaked rooms with
broken windows, alone or in wretched, hierarchical packs, or�worse�are caged and
used for sinister purposes by weird malefactors. The condition lasts 7 years. Their
malady synchronizes the shape of their lives with that of the moon.

Only during the night of the new moon and the day after can the werewolf wear a
complete outfit of clothes, use human language, or imitate the selves of their
former life�or at least drunk, forgetful, distracted versions of those selves. Some
even manage, during these 24 hours, to provision their dens with mounds of steaks
or pay rent. Calm: 1, Knowledge: as former life -2 (minimum of 0).

During the 7 days and nights when the moon is waxing crescent, clothes become
intolerable, and speech becomes increasingly difficult. It becomes irritable,
growling at any presence like a guard animal. Its memory of the previous month�s
murders returns over the course of the day and it will begin to hunt animals. Calm:
0, Knowledge: Animal.

On the night of the first quarter the werewolf schemes, looking for human victims
for the coming feast days. It will be capable of both memory and forethought until
the moon wanes gibbous. Calm: 0, Knowledge: 1.

As the moon waxes gibbous for a week the creature�s demeanor is casually criminal
and cunning. It will prowl by night, crawling along the rims of rooftops, eating
fellow citizens. Calm: 0, Knowledge: 2.

During the night of the full moon the lycanthrope is ravenous, eager for flesh and
homicidal beyond all reckoning, she also physically transforms in the night, taking
the form of a wolf with 45 teeth until the sun rises. Calm: Negative, Knowledge:
Animal.

The week the moon wanes gibbous the subject is amnesiac, but filled with an
inchoate remorse. It will avoid the light and whimper in corners. Calm: 0,
Knowledge: 1.

On the night of the third quarter the werewolf lies unable to eat moaning with a
pain it cannot describe. Calm: 0, Knowledge: Animal.

As the moon is waning crescent, the beast becomes anxious and obedient. It will
begin to bathe and groom itself to the degree it is able, some simple words and
phrases come back to them during the 7 days. Calm: 0, Knowledge: 0.

Design Notes:

In wolf form, the lycanthrope is simply a predator much like any other monster�the
pathos and interest generally comes from the human that the creature is or was. The
more these two sides of the coin can spark off each other, the better. A werewolf
whose former self was a violent drunk probably won�t produce as interesting a case
as one that�s a Buddhist monk or a child actor�and the NPCs surrounding the
werewolf should be used to play up the strangeness of the transformation. The
grotto of the werewolf, once discovered, should be as shocking as the Host can
possibly manage.

Typical Lycanthrope

Calm: See above

Agility: 5
Toughness: 8 (Starting toughness is always at least 7 for lycanthropes)
Perception: 7
Appeal: 1
Cash: 0
Knowledge: See above

Calm check: 4 (if the character only sees signs they�re dealing with a strange
cannibalistic human or murderous wolf) 8 (if the character realizes they face a
werewolf)
Cards: The Moon (18)

Exceptional lycanthropes can have Agility as high as 6, Toughness as high as 9 and

Perception as high as 8.

Special Abilities:

Invulnerability: Lycanthropes can�t be reduced below 0 Toughness by ordinary means,

including firearms, crushing, falling, fire, etc.

Bite: When in wolf form on the full moon, this bite does damage as an ordinary
physical attack and also grapples. Anyone bitten while the lycanthrope is a wolf
will begin to take on the characteristics of a lycanthrope. A dose of wolvesbane
will stop the transformation (and induce nausea and vomiting) if it is administered
before the victim eats human flesh.

Weaknesses:

The lycanthrope fears silver as an ordinary animal fears fire. Weapons made from
silver harm a werewolf as easily as they might harm a normal human.

The herb known as wolfsbane (aka Aconite, monkshood, devil's helmet, etc) repels
lycanthropes and swallowing it causes Massive Damage to the werewolf as an
intensity 9 attack.

Player Character Lycanthropes

Problem-type player characters may elect to start the game while in the process of
becoming a werewolf.

-Calm is 0 and the creature is hungry until the new werewolf feeds on a living
human, at which point it has a Calm of 1 (or the PC�s maximum, whichever is
higher).

-They cannot eat ordinary food, prey must be eaten alive.

-They will lose 1 Toughness per day until they feed.

-Their canines will enlarge.

-They do not gain any other werewolf�s special abilities until they kill a living
human and drink their blood, at which point they will regain all Toughness and Calm
will rise at a rate of 1 per day to whatever their rolled starting score was.

Once they kill, the PC will gain the werewolf�s Invulnerability and will begin to
follow the lunar cycle above�except they keep their original Calm and Knowledge
scores and may wear clothes when human. When hungry or angry or losing Calm, a
werewolf PC may only take actions inconsistent with the other behavior prescribed
by the moon on a successful Calm Check vs a 3. They still must hunt and feed.

Werewolf PCs roll on this table each Downtime, and gains this benefit (or new
problem) in addition to ordinary Downtime activities:

Roll D100

1 You must behave as the moon dictates the next night.

2-6 No benefit is gained.
7-9 You will be able to survive on only animal blood this full moon.
10 Calm +1 up to a maximum of 3. If you�re already there or at 4, roll another
d10�on a 9 or 10 another werewolf has been attracted by your self-possession and
dominance. It probably wants to eat your friends though.
11-60 Toughness +1. This benefit can be gained 6 times, maximum score 8. After
that, if you get this roll d10 on this table.
61-90 Perception +1. This benefit can be gained 5 times, maximum score 9. After
that, if you get this roll d10 on this table.
91-00 Agility +1. This benefit can be gained 3 times, maximum score is 7. After
that, if you get this roll d10 on this table.

If no possible benefit can be gained, don�t roll.

THE MACHINE

The Machine is not a creature, though it helps to think of it as one. The Machine
is a nickname for any conspiracy of criminals, government officials, police, or
businesses that does not want the crime the PCs are investigating to be
investigated or otherwise has designs against them.

Any Machine�s defining stat is Cash�it will have Knowledge equal to its Cash and
its specialist members will have their specialist Skills equal to its cash. It has
about 1 less Cash than its most powerful member. Some examples:

Single corrupt cop�s network: 1

Local drug dealers: 2
Corrupt district government: 2
Local police force: 3
Major local gang: 3
Corrupt big-city mayor or major city official�s network: 4
Multinational or major organized crime conspiracy: 5
Large national government: 6

Some iterations of The Machine also have Hacking or Research at +1 to their Cash
rank.

The Machine basically works like this: Each time the PCs leave their homes to
investigate the crime, throw the Machine�s perception against an Intensity
corresponding to how careful the PCs are. The Machine generally is allowed to make
this Throw once a day and it represents the aggregate of the Machine�s ability to
dig through records, surveillance footage, bribe people into spying, etc. Here is a
guide to those Intensities:

Interacting with machine agents, left them alive or left clear evidence of their
location: 1
Did something that might attract attention in a public place: 2
Interviewed someone in a private place within The Machine�s jurisdiction, did
research in a public facility: 3
Some effort to be discreet: 4
Using technical security protocols and constant caution, using Tor, Signal, etc: 5
Pro-actively trying to hide their tracks, including disguises: 6
Using spy-like discipline plus proactive hacking and/or working outside Machine�s
jurisdiction: 7
Total paranoia while outside the Machine�s jurisdiction: 8

�if the Machine picks up what the PCs are doing, it will try to subtly stymie them
if it can, through channels, or send someone to kill them if it can do so easily
and with plausible deniability. The most common instruments of this are machine-
controlled police or professional criminals.

Design Notes:

The Machine is essentially a way of turning the entire city/neighborhood/etc into a

haunted house. Creepy things will happen all the time. The trick for a Host is to
make sure the operations of The Machine are scary while making it clear that The
Machine is not infallible and the party is not simply trapped no matter where they
go or how they go about it (if they start feeling this way, they may just run away,
which is often the least interesting outcome). Don�t be afraid to simply point out
how they got found after the fact��Maybe next time don�t park the stolen police car
outside your sister�s home address?�.

Cards: The World (21), King or Queen of Pentacles (10), Possibly: The Tower (16)

Typical Machine Operative

Calm: 3
Agility: 2 (Firearms: 3, Stealth: 4, Burglary: 4)
Toughness: 3
Perception: 3 (Streetwise: 4)
Appeal: 2 (Deception: 4)
Cash: 4 (for bribes)
Knowledge: 2 (Local Knowledge: 4)

Calm Check: 2 (when it�s clear who they represent)

NECROMANCER

Seekers after occulted and suppressed information on a left-hand path which

circumvents the limitations of both conventional morality and physical law. This
pursuit engages practices and texts which offer power while demanding more than the
righteous could willingly give: they violate and injure, they breathe in contempt
and drink from the cup of iniquity.

The word �necromancer� encompasses any adept or neophyte of sorcerous formulae from
anywhere in the world that stops short of physical communion with demonic
forces�that is, genuine witchcraft�though the necromancer is often well on the way
to becoming a witch or witch-lord.

Design Notes:

The true villain in an adventure featuring a necromancer is rarely the sorcerer

themself but the forces which they unleash. Though hopelessly corrupt, the
necromancer (unlike the Witch or Deathless) is fundamentally in over their head, at
least for now. The forces from beyond with which they seek to consort want, at a
very minimum, to consume them. This makes the necromancer a very flexible tool in
the Host�s hand�with a truly masterful villain, the Host must think of reasons why
the party should be able to defeat them at all, or why they�d tip their hand,
whereas the necromancer will make mistakes�creatures will be released in the wrong
place, or agains the wrong target, curses will strike not just My Hated Foe The
Professor but all professors, clues will be left, witnesses will need to be
murdered to cover sloppy planning. The necromancer may even seek help from the PCs
once whatever it is is finally summoned.

Typical Necromancer

Calm: 0
Agility: 2
Toughness: 2
Perception: 3
Appeal: 2
Cash: 3
Knowledge: 5

Calm Check: 4
Cards: Magician (1), Hermit (9), Death (13), Page of Wands (10)

Special Abilities:

Necromancy: Any necromancer will have at least one necromantic spell prepared to
cast at any given moment (see Supernatural Abilities later in the Library). Three
is a typical number. These will generally have an intensity equal to the caster�s
Knowledge stat.

PART-DEMONS

Also called Semidemons, Cambion, Those Lit By Borrowed Light, or Nephilim�these

creatures appear to be human but bear tainted blood. Persisting for long years
intermixed with a mundane world upon which their lineage yearns to prey, they are
wracked with unwholesome desires. They instinctively enact the designs of their
kind�a child of the line of the Ninth Order will seek to seduce, a child of the
line of the Seventh Order will find friends but murder rivals for their affection,
a child of the line of the Second Order will ally themself to the ambitious and
corrupt, etc.

They cannot be exorcised or summoned, but do suffer pain if their true name (often
unknown even to them) is spoken.

Their true names are anagrams of the names of their demonic forbears.

Design Notes:

A Host may play a part-demon as a pure villain (like in The Omen) or as a character
struggling against wicked, poorly understood impulses. The Host also has the option
to introduce the demonic ancestor as an even greater threat after their scion is
overcome or pacified. In order for the part-demon to be distinctive and not just
read as one more enemy, the PCs should meet or at least learn about them fairly
early in the adventure�preferably as one of a handful of important NPCs. This is
also the kind of horror offering interesting opportunities for spooky research into
family trees and birth records (�Who is this Lord Nicholas? There�s no mention of
him before 1666�), but only if you can find reasons the party would want to know
why an NPC was doing this or that rather than just whether they were. The Cambion�s
demonic origin should be something that fuels the adventure, not something that
just appears at the end.

Typical Semidemon

Calm: 1
Agility: 3
Toughness: 6
Perception: 3
Appeal: 4
Cash: 5
Knowledge: 4

Calm Check: 7 (when revealed)

Cards: The Devil (15), Temperance (14)

Special Abilities

Semidemonic flesh: These creatures gain an Extra Throw to avoid sources of harm
that their demonic ancestor would be immune to, including poison, mental control,
etc.

Sixth Sense: Semidemons are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of
past trauma or the supernatural, though they are not necessarily able to interpret
their sense of alarm correctly.

Stigmata: Semidemons will bear a strange mark beyond the limits of a common birth
defect: two tongues, an eye in the palm, teeth lining orifices where teeth do not
belong, etc.

Unique Ability: Those Lit By Borrowed Light will have at least one supernatural
ability. This may be an ability associated with their specific lineage or one of
the following abilities (treated as psychic abilities or spells if there�s an
option, Hosts choice)

Amnesia
Animate Object
Banish Another
Banish Object
Bleed
Blind
Cage of Flesh
Channeling
Chill
Compel Demon
Crush The Soul (not available to PCs)
Delude
Detect Entity
Devil�s Hand
Dim and Darken
Disintegrate Object
Disorientation Field
Dissolving Touch
Dominate Animals
Dominate Human
Dream Trap (not available to PCs)
Electrocute
Emotion Control
Empathic Illusion
Empathy
ESP
Forbid
Frenzied Process (not available to PCs)
Garble
Giant Vermin
Guilt Apparition
Haywire Aura
Homicidal Shadows
Humunculus
Hunger
Infantilize (not available to PCs)
Infectious Touch (not available to PCs)
Lie
Manifest Object
Memory Meld
Message
Mutation
Mutilate
Necromantic Control (not available to PCs)
Object Reading
Pain Aura
Paralysis
Portal
Possession
Precognition
Psionic Drain
Pyrokinesis
Quiet
Raining Blood (not available to PCs)
Reflect Attack
Rule Mob
Selective Visibility (not available to PCs)
Shriek
Sleep Field
Slow Motion
Snare
Speak to Animals
Summoning (not available to PCs)
Telekinesis
Telepathy
Thirst Trap (not available to PCs)
Transformation
Traumatic Illusion
Warp Flesh
Warp Surface

Weaknesses

Holy symbols of any faith are disturbing and disorienting to semidemons. They lose
1 Throw to any activity if they are aware of one nearby and can see it.

Those of the 1st line actually scream in presence of holy symbols.

Those of the 2nd line lie compulsively and cannot admit the reason a lie is not
believed.
Those of the 3rd line are allergic to lithium.
Those of the 4th line are vain and have awful breath.
Those of the 5th line dislike dry air and will seek dark, damp places.
Those of the 6th line are allergic to diamonds and graphite.
Those of the 7th line require a low-protein diet.
Those of the 8th line have bad vision (-1 perception) and 10% are blind.
Those of the 9th line are born missing a finger.
Those of the 10th line are dazzled by neon and will seek out places bathed in its
glow.

PC Part-Demons

Problem-type player characters may elect to start the game as part-demons. The
nature of the demonic ancestor should be determined. Their basic stats are
unaltered, but begin with all the special abilities and weaknesses of a part-demon
as listed above. Each time their Unique Ability is used, they must Throw a Calm
Check and risk Calm loss as if they were a Psychic (whether or not the ability is
Psychic in nature), if the ability would not require the caster/psychic to choose
an intensity, assume the Intensity of the Check is 6. At 0 Calm they will begin to
obsess over the destructive goal written in their blood and must make a Calm check
in order not to obey it whenever an important decision needs to be made.

If the player allows the Host to pick their Unique Ability, they gain +1 Calm up to
a maximum of 4 (exceeding the normal maximum for Problem PCs).

During Downtime, roll d100 here in addition to the ordinary table�6 is the maximum
score in all cases:

Roll D100

1-10 No benefit is gained.

11-60 Toughness +1. This benefit can be gained 4 times. After that, no benefit is
gained on this roll.
61-90 Perception +1. This benefit can be gained 1 time. After that, no benefit is
gained on this roll.
91-95 Agility +1. This benefit can be gained 1 time. After that, no benefit is
gained on this roll.
96-00 Appeal +1. This benefit can be gained 1 time. After that, no benefit is
gained on this roll.

If no possible benefit can be gained, don�t roll.

PSYCHIC

The term �psychic� refers to any otherwise ordinary human who, through mutation,
experiment or accident, has developed one or more telepathic or telekinetic
abilities.

Although they can be any age or walk of life and can have a wide variety of
abilities psychics generally have a few things in common:

-They all have at least a low-level passive Sixth Sense making them supersensitive
to danger, hostile emotions and signs of trauma or the supernatural.
-Any use of their abilities causes them to make a Calm Check.
-Consequently they are highly prone to paranoia, PTSD and other forms of mental
illness, especially (since this is a horror game) the violent ones.

Design Notes:

Typically quite fragile, the psychic is often not the true villain in the story,
but may be manipulated by unscrupulous individuals (parents, doctors, criminals
etc.) or organizations (cults, treatment centers, pharmaceutical conglomerates,
governments, etc). A psychic rarely appears in an adventure without some
surrounding scientific or social context, and often this context is as important as
the abilities the character possesses. Just as magic implies thousands of years of
obscure tradition, psychic abilities nearly always imply some kind of conspiracy to
cover-up, control, or cultivate them. Make the surrounding institutions as
interesting as you can and the adventure writes itself from there.

Typical Psychic

Calm: 0
Agility: 2
Toughness: 2
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2
Cash: 2
Knowledge: 3

Calm Check: 6
Cards: The Moon (18), The Page of Cups (10)

Special Abilities:

Sixth Sense: All psychics are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs
of past trauma or the supernatural.

Psychic Abilities: A psychic usually has one and only one other psychic ability
(see Supernatural Abilities later in the Library), but more are possible.

Weaknesses:

NPC psychics are less complicated than PC ones�assume any use of their abilities
causes the psychic to make a Calm Check against a 2. Any use of those abilities at
a level of intensity they�ve never tried before loses them a point of Calm
automatically. If the psychic is at negative Calm, assume any use of abilities at
greater than typical intensity loses the psychic a point of Toughness.
Player Character Psychics

Problem-type player characters may elect to start the game while in the process of
discovering psychic abilities.

All PC psychics have Sixth Sense and Precognitive Dreams (see Precognition later in
the Library).

In addition, a psychic player may choose their primary ability or leave it up to

the dice or Host. If the Host or a throw picks, the Psychic gains an extra +1 to
Calm (up to a maximum of 4).

Telepathic Group
1-2 Channeling*
3-5 Delude
6-8 Dominate Animals
9-11 Emotion Control
12-13 Empathy*
14-16 Empathic Illusion
17-18 Forbid*
19-20 Garble*
21-23 Guilt Apparition
24-26 Heal the Mind
27-29 Lie
30-31 Memory Meld*
32-34 Possession
35-37 Psionic Drain
38-40 Telepathy
41-43 Traumatic Illusion

Neurokinetic Group
44-46 Blind
47-48 Chill*
49-50 Forbid*
51-52 Garble*
53-54 Pain Aura*
55-56 Shriek*
57-59 Sleep Field
60-61 Slow Motion*

Detection Group
62-63 Channeling*
64-66 Detect Entity
67-68 Empathy*
69-71 ESP
72-73 Memory Meld*
74-76 Object Reading

Telekinetic Group
77-78 Chill*
79-81 Disintegrate Object
82-84 Heal the Flesh
85-86 Pain Aura*
87 Portal
88-90 Pyrokinesis
91-92 Shriek*
93-94 Slow Motion*
95-97 Telekinesis
98-00 Warp Flesh

Note that not all psychic abilities are available to PCs. PCs characters may be
able to develop additional abilities in the same group�entries marked with a *
appear in more than one group�the player must choose which group they will focus on
at character creation.

Attempting to gain a new ability happens during downtime. If so, the character must
choose to skip any other Downtime benefit that time around (they do not
automatically gain a new contact or skill, they do not regain an automatic point of
Calm, they do not throw on any of the ordinary Downtime tables, etc. The only
exception is if they must make an Addict�s Throw.). Instead they must concentrate
and practice.

They throw a d100 on the following table. A PC psychic can gain a maximum of two
extra abilities (other than the ones s/he had at character generation) this way.

1-Disaster! Something disturbing has occurred. Lose a point of Calm permanently.

2-89 No results yet�try again later
90 You are confident in your abilities. Gain a point of Calm up to a maximum of 5.
91-94 You realize this isn�t going to work early on in your meditations, choose an
ordinary Downtime activity and roll there instead.
95-99 Gain a new ability in the same group as the original of your choice.
00 Gain a new ability in the same group as the original of the Host�s choice.

REVENANTS (Living dead) and DRONES

Revenants are any form of living creature brought back to mindless life by
witchcraft or other blasphemous agency, often en masse�they include the zombies of
Haiti, ghouls (first known in the Middle East), animated skeletons, dead animals
that yet live and other kinds of walking corpses.

Drones are still-living creatures transformed into unthinking automata by any

number of causes including exotic diseases, drugs, demonic possession or parasites.

Revenants always subsist on the flesh of living beings, drones may or may not.
Depending on the method of transformation, both kinds of creature can be either
torpid�moving in a trancelike state, or frenzied�possessed with manic energy.

Their abilities vary slightly, Hosts should build specific creatures from the
options below to fit the campaign�s needs.

Design Notes:

Adventures involving zombies and their ilk�from George Romero films to Resident
Evil to Biomega�are nearly always about navigating the environment they�re set in.
The individual monsters aren�t that much of a threat alone, but there are typically
so many of them that the adventure is about dodging through subway tunnels, finding
fire escapes, creating barricades, etc. They are the kind of creature most amenable
to the classic dungeon-crawl treatment: draw or find a map, figure out where the
players are on it, and either place clumps of drones or revenants around it or make
an encounter chart where you throw to see if they appear and how many every few in-
game minutes or when the players give away their presence with light or noise.
Human Revenant or Drone

Calm: Negative (always insane and hungry)

Agility: 1 (torpid) or 3 (frenzied)
Toughness: 3
Perception: 0
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: N/A

Calm check: 8 (or more if the creature was once a friend)

Cards: The Fool (0), Two of Swords

Animal Revenant or Drone

Calm: Negative (always insane)

Agility: 1 (torpid) or base creature+1 (frenzied)
Toughness: 3 or base creature+1 whichever is higher
Perception: 0
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: N/A

Calm check: 8
Cards: Strength (8)

Special abilities

(Revenants only) Undead: Revenants don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and
are immune to poisons, venoms and toxins, and cannot be controlled with psionic
abilities.

(Revenants and some drones) Mindless: Most of these creatures are mindless and
cannot be mentally controlled. Some drones are produced via mental domination and
so this domination can be countered.

(Possibly) Infectious: The bite of a revenant or drone produced by disease causes

the target to become a drone in 2 rounds�Toughness is increased by 1 or becomes 3,
whichever is higher.

(Possibly) Mutilated Life: The severed extremities of some forms of revenant and
drone can continue to attack even when separated from the main body. These parts
have -1 Agility and -3 Toughness (minimum 0). To keep life interesting, the Host
should interpret any attack that could have reasonably severed a limb as having
severed a limb.

(Possibly) Invulnerability: Some forms of revenant and drone cannot be brought

below 0 Toughness unless a successful killing attack is aimed at the head or, in
other cases, the heart (called shots usually incur a Lost Throw ). This form of
invulnerability is mutually exclusive with the Mutilated Life ability. However,
some fearful, invulnerable forms of revenant and drone with the Mutilated Life
ability cannot be killed at all unless a specific action is taken, for example if a
countercurse is enacted or a psionic control frequency is disrupted.

SERIAL KILLER
There are souls for whom all mantras fail�they should not believe in themselves,
they should not make it happen, they should definitely listen to that voice that
tells them to quit, and they should definitely definitely not manifest their
dreams�for their heart�s true and incurable appetite is for ruin and for death.

Usually men, usually isolated, usually abused as children, usually with a history
of bed-wetting and animal abuse, usually nondescript, usually underemployed,
usually involving some kind of sexual contact, usually hunting within a group
fitting a pattern, usually demonstrating a wide variety of warning signs to anyone
paying attention, usually no-one is paying attention.

Design Notes:

Serial killers are interesting precisely to the degree they are, as a class of
human, atypical and implausible, and it is their atypicality and implausibility
that is interesting. Much has been written about the motives and methods of serial
killers in general�little is conclusive and even less is useful to a Host. Studies
show these killers can come from any walk of life and be any kind of person�take up
something very unlikely and run with it.

To prime the pump:

-In Demon City, a serial killer�s method (Hannibal Lecter�s cannibalism, for
instance) and/or motive (the killer in Seven following the deadly sins) must be
exotic enough that it competes with the transcendental horrors players might be
expecting to be behind the atrocities they�re investigating.
-In game terms, the theme of the serial killer�s irrational obsession with pattern
is extremely useful. An obsession with puzzle-logic and symmetry allows the
investigator to become a puzzle-solver.
-If you can casually introduce a variety of NPCs without the players really paying
much attention, having the killer turn out to be one of them is often deeply
effective and satisfying.
-Aside from being homicidal, the killer often will have some other, more benign,
mental disorder.
-A serial killer can be what they are because of the influence of some greater
supernatural threat�so uncovering the serial killer is a good opening act for a
campaign that later escalates to include even more bizarre creatures.

Typical Serial Killer

Calm: 1
Agility: 3 (Burglary: 4, Stealth: 4, Firearms or Hand-to-Hand: 4)
Toughness: 2
Perception: 2
Appeal: 2 (Deception: 5)
Cash: 2
Knowledge: 2

Calm Check: 4
Cards: Fool (0), Hermit (9), Death (13), Judgement (20), Possibly: Lovers (6)

STAIRWAY GHOST

The stairway ghost haunts a stairwell in a single large building�it is simple and
compulsive: it was murdered by being dropped down a stairwell and wants to do the
same to you. The ghost has subtle but total control of doors and windows in the
building. It will attempt to lure or frighten victims�one at a time�into the
stairwell, at which point it will trap them there and then its shadowshaped
humanlike form will begin to slowly and implacably approach from far above or
below. When the victim looks back in the other direction the stairwell will be
infinite. The doors will all be locked, the windows will not open.

The ghost cannot be stopped by any ordinary means�either every stair must be
demolished or the ghost�s murderer found. In deeply haunted buildings, the stairway
ghost may be only one of many ghosts on the premises�they are often accompanied by
haunts (see Haunt elsewhere in the Horrors section).

Design Notes:

Hosts using a stairway ghost should use a building they know well as a template, or
else one they have mapped out in advance. Otherwise see Haunt and Ghosts in �Kinds
of Horrors� for more details.

Calm: n/a�unshakeable
Agility: 3
Toughness: 10 (indestructible)
Perception: Within their building�n/a, they perceive everything. Outside it they
perceive nothing.
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: n/a

Calm Check: 7
Cards: Tower (16)

Special Abilities:

Ectoplasmic Form: Stairway ghosts can touch their victims but neither their victims
nor any other physical force can touch them.

Manipulate Architecture: The stairway ghost can control its building in various
ways, regardless of its physical location. The object of these manipulation is
always to separate groups and lead or frighten each member individually into the
stairwell�
-Open or close any door at any time
-Lock or unlock any door at any time
-See and hear everything in the building
-Add repeating rooms behind closed doors
-Create audible and visual illusions of pursuers or victims in the next room
The ghost may only enact one of these changes per round. The ghost cannot prevent
keys from opening locked doors�though it may close and lock them in the next round.
The walls, floors and doors, etc of the building can be destroyed as usual �burned,
sawed open, etc.

Manipulate Stairwell: Within its well, the ghost�s abilities are more specific:
-The ghost will appear above the victim if they are headed down or below if they
are headed up
-The ghost can lock the doors but only on the inside (that is: friends outside
might save the victim by opening a door into the stairwell)
-If the victim looks away, the ghost can make the stairwell infinitely long when
the victim looks back (however, doors into the well from the rest of the building
will still lead onto the stairwell just far enough away that the victim has a
fighting chance of getting to them).

Weaknesses:
The ghost can sense nothing outside its building.

STRANGERS

Strangers feed on the anonymity of the city. Literally. Any residential building
containing only occupants who do not know each others� names and with at least five
units will begin to attract Strangers. They put in applications like anyone else,
generally have acceptable credit and provide each other with references.

In public, they appear entirely human, but cannot go out in the same skin twice.
The physical characteristics, style and demeanor of theses skins, which rot off
like peach peels after a day�s errands, cling to the local average.

Incapable of direct violence, but driven�like all species�to occupy as much space
as they can, they spend their time attempting to quietly make human life nearby
unpleasant so that real people will move. They make anonymous noise complaints,
vote in favor of real estate developers, drive cars with piercing and
hypersensitive alarms, cook meals they never eat solely to fill halls with
inscrutable humid smells, interfere with cell towers, give 20s to only the violent
panhandlers and call the police on the rest. At home they sag shedding onto Ikea
chairs, buying credit default swaps, writing computer viruses, leaving drive-by
comments on social media and masturbating to the worst porn.

Strangers avoid any interaction which might cause someone to ask their name�they
have none. If engaged in any remotely intimate way, they make an excuse and flee.
There are whole buildings, districts, perhaps even cities occupied only by
Strangers.

Design Notes:

Strangers create an off-beat mystery story, heavy on investigation: Someone follows

a person who goes into an apartment building and never comes out, or catches a
Stranger in a minor act of irritating sabotage, or breaks into an apartment to
discover nothing but a pile of J Crew and a headless face on the carpet. The party
must then find a way to understand the nature of the infection, how far it�s
spread, and do something about it.

Calm: 1
Agility: 1
Toughness: 1
Perception: 4
Appeal: 2
Cash: 3
Knowledge: 3

Calm Check: 7
Cards: Tower (16), Hermit (9)

Special abilities:

Isolationist metabolism: Strangers do not need to eat or breathe�they live off the
alienation produced by creatures passing one another with no acknowledgement.

Skinchanging: Strangers grow a new skin in their sleep, different than any they�ve
worn before.

Weaknesses:

Strangers cannot commit violence or speak names. Their ability to lie or create any
kind of convincing narrative is very limited.

Swarms

A swarm is any group of rat-sized or smaller animals that attacks en masse, usually
due to some paranormal agency. The statistics indicate how the group fights as a
whole before being dispersed, not the qualities that determine the life or death of
an individual creature within the swarm.

Design Notes:

Swarms rely heavily on the descriptive powers of the Host. It�s easy to say
�thousands of locsts�, it�s much harder to picture the living layered carpets of
carapace and jeweled faces and noises, seeking your eyes and ears and the spaces
between clothing and flesh. Every time the party attacks or even moves through the
swarm the Host should try to keep the images, sounds, feelings and smells of moving
through mounds of animals alive in their heads. As Stalin allegedly said �Sometimes
quantity has a quality all its own�.

Typical Swarm

Calm: 1
Agility: 6
Toughness: 4
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 0

Calm Check: 4
Cards: None (Though they often operate under the cards of a creator/controller)

Special abilities:

Mass attack: A typical swarm can attack up to 3 targets at once.

(possibly) Flying: If it�s birds, flies, etc

(possibly) Aquatic: Piranha, jellyfish etc (Toughness 5)
(possibly) Climbing: If it�s spiders, roaches, etc
(possibly) Venomous: If it includes scorpions, vipers, jellyfish etc�a successful
attack forces the victim to make a Toughness check, see individual animal for
effects.
(possibly) Repulsive But Harmless: Some swarms (like most insect swarms) can
inflict no real damage but are just intensely disturbing. These force a Calm check
each round.
(possibly) Diseased: If it�s rats, mice, sparrows�in addition to normal damage, a
successful attack forces the victim to make a Toughness check or else contract a
disease�treat as a 3 Intensity Poison.

Swarm Golem
Swarm golems are human-shaped creatures which dissolve into swarms on contact with
anyone investigating closely. They are created by demons or through necromancy and
are employed as spies, they have no ability to think independently and can only
record what they see and repeat it in strange voices back to their masters.

Design Notes:

The swarm golem should be good for a disturbing moment, especially if you can find
a suitably unlikely NPC��The waitresses� cheek caves in, warping into an avalanche
of maggots, they hit the floor tik-tik-tiktik�. Its not meant to sustain a whole
adventure on its own, but one good shock is sometimes all you need to carry off the
tension in the rest of the adventure.

Typical Swarm Golem

Calm: 1
Agility: 6
Toughness: 4
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0
Cash: 0
Knowledge: 1

Calm Check: 7
Cards: None (Though they often operate under the cards of a creator/controller)

Special abilities:

Once the creature dissolves it is identical to a swarm (see above):

Mass attack: A typical swarm can attack up to 3 targets at once.

(possibly) Flying: If it�s birds, flies, etc

(possibly) Aquatic: Piranha, jellyfish etc (Toughness 5)
(possibly) Climbing: If it�s spiders, roaches, etc
(possibly) Venomous: If it includes scorpions, vipers, jellyfish etc�a successful
attack forces the victim to make a Toughness check, see individual animal for
effects.
(possibly) Repulsive But Harmless: Some swarms (like most insect swarms) can
inflict no real damage but are just intensely disturbing. These force a Calm check
each round.
(possibly) Diseased: If it�s rats, mice, sparrows�in addition to normal damage, a
successful attack forces the victim to make a Toughness check or else contract a
disease�treat as a 3 Intensity Poison.

VAMPIRE (Living Dead)

The vampire�s curse is manifold, but the overarching principles are:

-Like addiction incarnate, the vampire is first of all drawn to despair�as carrion
birds to an open wound. Absent despair, it will not�and need not�feed.

-The vampire can do nothing to alleviate despair in a living being other than
murder it.
A dead thing but animate, the taste of hopelessness borne in blood gives the
vampire such life as it has. Some do nothing but sleep in windowless basements in
ruined factories or dying warehouse districts, emerging when wrong turns bring
misery seeping past the baseboards, others leave the city, bury themselves beneath
lonely fields and do nothing for decades. Some�especially the youngest�alleviate
the tedium of immortality by mixing with the living from whom they�ve seceded�and,
unavoidably�given the ubiquity of despair�must kill every night. Some whisper of a
colony in the deepest Antarctic, spawn of a single fatal 19th century expedition,
undiscovered by anyone, hungerless, unkillable, never feeling the cold, content to
forever explore the bright ice, sophisticated now, with a language grown their own.

Joining them, if they do indeed exist, would be complex�the vampire cannot cross
open, moving water while awake, restricting most to either hunting in the districts
in which they were created, or relying on enslaved humans.

Design Notes:

There are three phases to the typical vampire adventure: investigating a crime or
crimes, meeting and interacting with the creature, and puzzling out how to destroy
it. The second part is the hardest to extend but often the most interesting and
distinctively vampirey (�Come in, the night air is chill, and you must need to eat
and rest�.�). The trick is to have the vampire want something other than just to
kill or avoid the party (to seduce a party member, to acquire an abbey in southern
England, etc.)�and to have the party need to know or do something they can�t
accomplish just by staking the creature on sight (Where are the still living
victims? Are there more vampires? Must they lure the vampire into a trap?).

Typical Vampire

Calm: 1
Agility: 4
Toughness: 7 (Starting toughness is always at least 6 for vampires)
Perception: 5
Appeal: 3
Cash: 0 (if isolated) 4 (if social)
Knowledge: 3

All vampire stats can go as high as 9 as the vampire ages.

Calm check: 8
Cards: King/Queen of Cups (10), 5 of Cups Possibly: Lovers (6)

Special abilities common to all vampires:

Invulnerability: Vampires can�t be reduced below 0 Toughness by ordinary means,

including firearms, crushing, falling, fire, etc.

Undead: Vampires don�t need to breathe or digest, don�t age, and are immune to
poison, etc. and cannot be controlled with psionic abilities.

Sense despair: Range is 100x the vampire�s perception score in feet, though the
detection is imprecise if the potential victim isn�t seen, like hearing a sound
without knowing the source. Range is doubled if it is the despair of a virgin.

Bite: Does damage as an ordinary physical attack, best delivered on a sleeping,

grappled or willing target.

Create spawn: If a victim is so despondent as to welcome the vampire�s bite, the

vampire can create a new vampire by draining the victim completely.
Weaknesses common to all vampires:

Sunlight causes damage to vampires as an ordinary physical attack.

The holy symbols of any faith causes a vampires to make a Calm check or flee until
they are out of sight. The intensity of the calm check is equal to the degree of
fervor of whoever is wielding it (1-9). In the case of an incidentally encountered
symbol (a glimpsed church steeple, for instance) the intensity is 2.

The smell of garlic works the same way.

Touching a holy symbol, including holy water, does damage as an ordinary physical
attack.

Vampires may not cross running water open that is to the air, no matter how narrow
the stream. For these purposes �open� means �the fixed area where the water runs
has been exposed to open air through which sunlight or moonlight could penetrate�
(the water stores the essence of the light which harms vampires) thus a vampire
could walk on a sidewalk that had a sewer beneath, but not over a bridge, and can
cross frozen rivers. The distinction between a very wide bridge and an open-ended
tunnel through which water flows is relevant here�if the inner reaches of the
tunnel never see natural light, the vampire may cross it.

A vampire may be killed by a wooden stake through the heart. Aiming specifically
for the heart in combat would typically lose the attacker a Throw unless the
vampire is restrained.

Vampires cast no shadow, have no reflection, and cannot enter a human�s residence
without being invited.

In the presence of a despairing human of any gender the vampire is attracted to,
the vampire must make a Calm check vs the target�s Appeal to avoid immediately
biting them. The vampire must check each round the target can be sensed in any way
and if it does not feed it will lose a point of Calm.

Vampires at 0 Calm frequently contract Arithmomania in addition to any other

psychological problems�causing them to pause and count any spilled quantity of
rice, balls bearings, nails, etc dropped in their path.

A vampire cannot willingly alleviate the suffering of a living being, except by

killing them.

In addition, elder vampires may possess some or all of the following abilities:

Enslavement: Vampires with Appeal of 6 or higher can essentially control any human
or less powerful vampire (Calm check to resist). They can also force them to forget
any stretch of time. The victim is allowed another Calm check each time the
vampire�s request is more extreme or violates a new boundary (for example, a victim
would be able to check if asked to harm someone, then again if asked to kill, then
again if asked to harm a friend, then again if asked to kill a friend).

Animal Enslavement: As Enslavement above, but with animals.

Shadow movement: The vampire can move without a sound in dark or shadowy places,
and requires a perception check against at least a 6 to be seen before it strikes.

Transformation: The vampire has an alternate animal form which it can take at
will�but the transformation can only take place when the creature is unseen. The
animal form has the agility, toughness, perception and appeal of whichever is
higher�the animal form or the original. Typically any given vampire only has one
alternate form and typically this is a bat, wolf, rat, scorpion, spider or firefly.
There may be a breed of amphibious vampires that can cross heavily polluted water
which can change into a manta ray. These alternate forms all have pitch black eyes
and are eschewed by genuine animals unless the vampire exerts an Animal Enslavement
ability.

Player Character Vampires

Problem-type player characters may elect to start the game while in the process of
becoming a vampire.

-Calm is temporarily reduced to 0 until the new vampire feeds (or Calm goes
negative if it was already 0), at which point it has a Calm of 1 or its Maximum
score whichever is lower.

-They cannot eat ordinary food.

-They will lose 1 Toughness per day until they feed.

-They will be irritated by the sun.

-They grow fangs.

-They will begin to Sense Despair.

-They do not gain any other vampire�s special abilities until they kill a living
human and drink their blood, at which point they will regain all Toughness and Calm
will rise at a rate of 1 per day.

Once they do, the PC will gain the basic Undead abilities (doesn�t breathe, etc),
Invulnerability, and all of the vampire�s weaknesses. There is one exception: a PC
vampire may alleviate the suffering of a fellow party if they succeed in a Calm
check vs a 6.

Vampire PCs roll on this table each Downtime in addition to the usual Downtime
roll.

Roll D100

1-40 Toughness +1. This benefit can be gained 5 times, Max 7. After that, no
ability is gained on this roll.

41-61 Perception +1. This benefit can be gained 3 times, Max 6. After that, no
ability is gained on this roll.

72-82 Appeal +1. This benefit can be gained twice, Max 6. After that, no ability is
gained on this roll.

82-93 Agility +1. This benefit can be gained twice, Max 6. After that, no ability
is gained on this roll.

94 Gain the ability to Lie as the necromantic spell, at an Intensity equal to

Appeal. When used, the vampire must check Calm vs an Intensity of 6 or lose a point
of calm. If this is rolled a second time, no ability is gained on this roll.
95 Gain the ability to create spawn. When used the vampire must check Calm vs an
Intensity of 6 or lose a point of Calm. If this is rolled a second time, no
ability is gained on this roll.

96-00 Result in no ability being gained unless all other abilities on the table
have been gained up to the maximum benefit. If they are, then:
96-97 Animal Enslavement ability. The vampire must check Calm vs the creature�s
Appeal to use this ability or lose a point of Calm when using this ability. If
this is rolled a second time, no ability is gained on this roll.
98 Enslavement. The vampire must check Calm vs the victim�s Appeal to use this
ability or lose a point of Calm when using this ability. If this is rolled a
second time, no ability is gained on this roll.
99 Shadow movement. The vampire must check Calm vs an Intensity of 6 or lose a
point of Calm when using this ability. If this is rolled a second time, no ability
is gained on this roll.
00 Transformation. The vampire must check Calm vs an Intensity of 6 or lose a point
of Calm when using this ability. If this is rolled a second time, no ability is
gained on this roll.

WITCHES (also WITCH-CHILDREN and WITCH-LORDS)

Witches (usually female), Witch-Lords (usually male) and Witch Children are mortals
who have given over their bodies and souls to demons in exchange for necromantic
power. These contracts gnarl their bodies and distend their minds into scheming
caricatures. They also eat infants.

Their lives are tragic and their motives always have some petty element�to ruin a
past rival in love, to avenge themselves on the authors of a long-ago mockery or
humiliation�but the scope of their retributions is vast: whole cities, bloodlines,
professions, might be made to pay for the trespass of a lone constituent. Even the
mountains of hate that would drive a witch to bring forth all the legions of all
the damned to devastate a continent will inevitably have first clotted around some
clouded cataract of distant pain.

These depressing creatures might be found leading cults of ordinary sociopaths,

swelling the ranks of small or quite extensive and networked covens with fellow
practitioners of necromancy, or operating alone, in places nearly as lonely as they
are.

Design Notes:

Like demons, witches generally appear to punish victims for something. Unlike
demons, this is often something with no meaning to anyone else. The victims are too
curious, too naive, too confident, too pretty, too lustful. The witch sees an
underlying order to things and gleefully informs the trespassers they have broken
it, and will suffer. Witches are also associated with homes�unless the
transgression they come to punish is something very specific, the witch is usually
content to occupy some dark place (a hovel, a corner suite, a tent by the methadone
clinic) and wait for parties to come to her (which is, itself, often considered a
crime to be punished).
Moreso than the necromancer (who relies on books) or the deathless (who conjures
with ancient gestures) the necromancy of the witch is characterized by ingredients.
The witch needs to collect things: tears from a spurned lover, hairs from the
family cat, etc. This can create a mystery with no corpse: why are all the left
shoes missing from the closet?

Typical Witch, Witch-Child or Witch-Lord

Calm: 0
Agility: 1
Toughness: 1
Perception: 6 (Can range up to 9)
Appeal: 0
Cash: 4
Knowledge: 6 (Can range up to 9)

Calm Check: 4 (Can range up to 9)

Cards: Queen of Wands (10), Queen of Cups (10), The Devil (15), The Moon (18)
Possibly: The High Priestess (2)

Special Abilities:

Necromancy: Any caster/psychic of witchcraft will have at least 7 necromantic

spells prepared to cast at any given moment, at least one of which will be a Curse
and one of which will be Dim and Darken. These will generally have an intensity
equal to their Knowledge stat.

Sixth Sense: All users of witchcraft are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions
and signs of past trauma or the supernatural.

Cyclical Regeneration: Witches regenerate all damage when they Throw any of their
special cards.

Haywire Hex: Electronic detection devices and gunpowder firearms simply do not work
on witches. They jam or break.

(possibly) Familiar: Familiars are animals bound by witchcraft. The master can
control the creature completely (or it controls them? Either way: their will is
unified) and see through its eyes�it may be any creature dog-sized or smaller,
usually an ordinary animal, but occasionally something stranger.

Marks of Witchcraft:
In addition to any obvious deformities, there will be at least one other mark�throw
or pick one
1 Forked tongue
2 Warts
3 Facial features transposed or missing
4 No neck�head simply floats
5 Looks preternaturally attractive�appeal 6�until touched
6 Jagged teeth�bite inflicts damage as a standard attack
7 One withered hand
8 Followed by rats, spiders, other vermin (this is not a proper swarm, just a
subtle cosmetic effect)
9 Appears to be an animal when asleep
10 Two left feet

Witch Gifts :
Constant traffic with witchcraft alters cause and effect around the damned
creature. Throw or pick one
( �Presence� means for these purposes within 100� and the Witch/Lord/Child can see
or be seen by the character.)
1 Immune to metal
2 Transmits a curse via sexual intercourse
3 Food spoils in the witch/lord/child�s presence
4 Disorienting presence causes blurred vision and minor hallucinations�everyone
must Check Calm vs 3 or act intoxicated
5 Married people forget their spouse�s names in Witch/Lord/Child�s presence.
6 Animals obey witch/lord/child
7 Emerge from the Darkness: If unwitnessed, witches (etc) may step into any shadow
in the city where they are summoned and reappear through any other in the same
city.
8 Burning touch (Gains a bonus Throw to hit with a physical attack since
witch/lord/child doesn�t have to hit very hard)
9 Kiss causes target to sleep (Calm Check each round to avoid or wake)
10 Induces panic in nuns on sight

Weaknesses:

No practitioner of witchcraft can move through a door with a pointed arch.

A virgin�s touch will reveal a disguised witch or lord for what they truly are.

ZOOMORPH

These are hybrid creatures that, through necromancy or unknown science, have the
characteristics of both a humans and an animal�hunched maggot-people, children with
the heads of lizards, jaguarmen, etc.

Though there is nothing inherently wicked in their make-up, rejection due to the
prejudices of humanity or the circumstances of their creation may lead them down
furtive, dishonest or violent paths.

Design Notes:

Generally the animal part of a zoomorph expresses some emotional aspect of the
human that civilization suppresses: the tigerwoman is vicious, the man-toad is
repulsive.

Zoomorphs created by science often exist in an ironic relationship to these

traits�they may be quite ordinary people or animals underneath (and they are
essentially like artificial life-forms, so see the Design Notes there for some
useful info on how to run them). Zoomorphs created by magic or which are part of a
hidden race that has been on Earth all along follow a more symbolic logic�the
jackalmen will indeed be clever and skulking.

As with swarms, the Host should emphasize the sensory strangeness of the hybrid
form as much as possible and not allow the players to become comfortable with the
creatures as simply a fantasy-style �other race��zoomorphs are closer to the
sources of magic and disorder than the party (except perhaps The Problem PC), and
their movements, ideas and speech will reflect it.

Typical Zoomorph

Calm: 2
Agility: As animal
Toughness: (Animal�s Toughness divided by 2) + 2
Perception: As animal
Appeal: 0
Cash: 1
Knowledge: 2

Calm Check: 5+animal stat

Card: Often Strength (8) or The Hermit (9)

Special Abilities:

As animal, plus: hybrids with small animals may have natural

abilities/characteristics which go unnoticed at their original size but become
meaningful when scaled up�like an ant�s scissoring mandibles.

Examples:

Camazotz (the man-bats of meso-america)

Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 4
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0
Cash: 1
Knowledge: 2

Calm Check: 9
Card: Strength (8), The Hermit (9)

Special Abilities:

Echolocation: Camazotz can �see� in the dark using echolocation (normally too high-
pitched to hear).

Shriek: Standard attacks on everyone in hearing range at Intensity 4.

Flying

Claws: Cause damage and grapple in the same attack.

Maggot Women (a larva-like body with a human head)

Calm: 2
Agility: 1
Toughness: 2
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0
Cash: 1
Knowledge: 6

Calm Check: 7
Card: The Hermit (9)

Special Abilities:

Prophecy: Maggot women can read a target�s future by rubbing the target�s face
across their belly�in addition to conveying any details of the future the Host can
reasonably guess, choose 3 cards for the target and describe what each means. The
numbers of the cards will be the first Throws to come up when they encounter the
people, places or situations depicted. Once the situations are encountered, one of
the cards will be given as a reward.

������������

ANIMALS

ANIMALS

Animals can become menacing in many ways�as familiars to witches, as drone slaves
to necromancers or demons, as revenants come back from the dead�and its also
possible that they could simply decide on their own they�ve had enough and begin to
kill us all.

Statistics for some horror-friendly animals are listed here: All animals have Cash
and Knowledge at 0�Appeal scores indicate how likely the average naive observer is
to approach the animal. Insects, rats and other vermin attacking in groups together
are covered under �Swarms� above. Supernaturally intelligent or controlled animals
which are not normally dangerous like birds or housecats will generally attack a
target�s eyes first, which results in the creature getting a Lost Throw (for a
called shot).

Like Horrors, animals have a Calm Check score�in cases where there�s a / the first
number is for merely seeing the thing outside a controlled environment, the second
number is for if it attacks.

Stats given are for a high-average specimen. Animals usually don�t have their own
Cards, but they may act with the Cards of some entity that controls or influences
them. Major menaces may have Strength (8).

Design Notes:

In a world of Werewolves and Choking Ghosts it�s easy to see plain old animals as
spooky wallpaper, but most cultures have stories about mythic animals as disturbing
as anything you�ll hear about the dead returning to life. What animals lack in
exoticism they more than make up for in imaginability: its easier to picture what
waking up with a toad the size of a watermelon on your chest might feel like than
what it�s like to wake up with a gargoyle looking down at you. Each animal here has
at least one situation or environment in which it is terrifying�try to imagine that
image, then build a scenario that puts the creature in it.

(GRAPHIC DESIGNER: SEE IF YOU CAN�T FIT THIS ALL ON ONE EXTENDED TABLE FILLING A
FEW SPREADS)

Alligator/Crocodile
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 6
Perception: 2
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Notes: Amphibious, bite grapples & inflicts damage simultaneously, can�t open their
mouths if held closed.

Baboon/Mandrill
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 4
Perception: 5
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 0/3 only if attacking

Notes: Climbing, opposable thumb, smart enough to throw rocks

Bat
Calm: 1
Agility: 4
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 2/4 if attacking

Notes: Echolocation, Flying

Bear
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 8
Perception: 6
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Notes: Bite or �hug� inflicts damage and grapples simultaneously.

Boar/Wild Pig
Calm: 2
Agility: 2
Toughness: 5
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 1/4 if attacking

Bobcat/Lynx
Calm: 1
Agility: 5
Toughness: 2
Perception: 6
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 3 only if attacking

Cat
Calm: 1
Agility: 5
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 3

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Chameleon
Calm: 2
Agility: 5
Toughness: 0
Perception: 3
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 1 only if attacking

Notes: When hidden, requires a Perception Check against a 6 to find

Cheetah
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 4
Perception: 6
Appeal: 3

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Notes: Can run 40 mph over sprint distances (Speed: 6), bite does damage and
grapples simultaneously.

Coyote/Jackal
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 2
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 1/3 if attacking

Crane
Calm: 3
Agility: 3
Toughness: 0
Perception: 2
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Notes: Flying

Crow/Raven/other small birds

Calm: 1
Agility: 7
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 1
Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Notes: Flying

Dog
Calm: 3
Agility: 3
Toughness: 0-3
Perception: 6
Appeal: 3

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Eagle/Falcon/Hawk
Calm: 1
Agility: 7
Toughness: 1
Perception: 7
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Notes: Flying

Electric Eel
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 0
Perception: 3
Appeal: 3

Calm Check: 2/3 if attacking

Notes: Aquatic, its only attack is a painful shock�failing a Toughness check vs a 1

causes damage as an ordinary attack.

Elephant
Calm: 2
Agility: 2
Toughness: 9
Perception: 4
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 0/5 only if attacking

Notes: Running trample attack is made at Agility 1 but causes Massive Damage

Fish�Poisonous
Calm: 2
Agility: 1
Toughness: 0
Perception: 1
Appeal: 4 (lionfish, scorpionfish) 1 (stonefish)

Notes: Including the beautiful scorpionfish and lionfish as well as the not-
beautiful stonefish, touching these creatures results in Intensity 7 poison attack.
Fox
Calm: 1
Agility: 5
Toughness: 1
Perception: 6
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Frog/Toad
Calm: 2
Agility: 5
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 1 only if attacking

Notes: Some are amphibious, the only ones that can effectively attack humans are
poison arrow frogs, which range from mildly to immensely toxic (like the tiny
Golden Poison Frog)�Intensity 1-9.

Goat
Calm: 3
Agility: 2
Toughness: 1
Perception: 3
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Gorilla
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 7
Perception: 5
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 0/4 only if attacking

Notes: Climbing, opposable thumb, smart enough to throw rocks, �hug� does damage
and grapples simultaneously.

Hare/Rabbit
Calm: 0
Agility: 3
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 1 only if attacking

Notes: Lagomorphs ordinarily have no effective attack against humans. Hares can run
up to 30mph for short distances.

Horse
Calm: 1
Agility: 4
Toughness: 7
Perception: 5
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 4 only if attacking

Notes: Can run up to 25-30 mph (Speed 6)

Hyena
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 4
Perception: 6
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Notes: Bite does damage and grapples simultaneously.

Insects/Spiders
Calm: 0
Agility: 1 (land) 7 (flying)
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0-3

Calm Check: 0-2

Notes: Some amphibious or aquatic or amphibious, some fly. Most have no effective
attack alone, except venomous ones (including bees, wasps, harvester ants,
caterpillars, scorpions and spiders) which can vary wildly, from Intensity 1-9. The
most dangerous ones are spiders, including Brazilian Wandering Spiders and
Australia�s Northern Funnel Web . The more dangerous scorpions�like the
Deathstalker (from the Middle East) and the Indian Red deliver an Intensity 3
venom.

Jaguar/Leopard/Panther
Calm: 3
Agility: 5
Toughness: 6
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Notes: Can climb trees, bite does damage and grapples simultaneously.

Jellyfish
Calm: 2
Agility: 1
Toughness: 0
Perception: 1
Appeal: 0
Calm Check: 0/3 if attacking

Notes: Aquatic. Jellyfish stings range from harmless in some species to intensity 9
toxicity. They have no other effective attack alone. Australia�s Box Jellyfish is
toxicity 9 as are tiny Irukandji Jellyfish�no bigger than a thumbnail. The massive
(8 ft diameter) and eerie Lion�s Mane Jellyfish has an Intensity 1 toxin.

Komodo dragon
Calm: 2
Agility: 2
Toughness: 4
Perception: 1
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Notes: Komodo dragon�s mildly toxic bites cause the victim to make a Toughness
check vs intensity 1 or lose 1 point of Toughness, however this toxin alone can
never bring an adult below 0.

Leech/SlugSnail/Worm/Maggot
Calm: 5
Agility: 0
Toughness: 0
Perception: 1
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 0/3 if on the character

Notes: Some are amphibious, normally have no way of attacking humans, though
leeches can spread infections.

Lemur
Calm: 1
Agility: 6
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Notes: Climbing, semi-opposable thumb allows some ability to manipulate objects

Lion
Calm: 4
Agility: 5
Toughness: 7
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Notes: Bite does damage and grapples simultaneously.

Monkey/Chimp
Calm: 1
Agility: 7
Toughness: 0-1 (monkey) 2-3 (chimp)
Perception: 5
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 4 if attacking

Notes: Climbing, opposable thumb, smart enough to throw rocks

Octopus/Squid
Calm: 4
Agility: 6
Toughness: 0-4
Perception: 3
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 3 for giant squid only, 4 if attacking

Notes: Aquatic, eject obscuring ink clouds (Perception vs 3 to find your way
through), chameleonlike coloration (5 to find a hidden octopus), the only ones with
an effective attack against humans are the blue ringed octopus (Poison Intensity 7
or suffer total paralysis for 1-10 hours and die within 1-10 minutes if not given
cpr) and, possibly, the giant squid.

Owl
Calm: 1
Agility: 7
Toughness: 1
Perception: 7
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 0, 2 if attacking

Notes: Flying, night vision

Peacock
Calm: 1
Agility: 1
Toughness: 0
Perception: 2
Appeal: 5

Calm Check: 0 only if attacking

Notes: No effective attack against humans unless their face is already very close
to beak or claws

Piranha/Barracuda
Calm: 1
Agility: 4
Toughness: 0
Perception: 3
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 4 if recognized

Notes: Aquatic. Piranha are only dangerous in Swarms. Barracuda bites do exactly 1
pt of damage.

Raccoon
Calm: 3
Agility: 4
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 1/4 if attacking

Notes: Climbing

Rat
Calm: 0
Agility: 4
Toughness: 0
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 2/4 if attacking

Notes: Climbing, sometimes disease-carrying, treat as Poison Intensity 2

Reindeer/Stag
Calm: 1
Agility: 4
Toughness: 7
Perception: 5
Appeal: 3

Calm Check: 4 if attacking

Rhinoceros
Calm: 3
Agility: 3
Toughness: 9
Perception: 2
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 1/4 if attacking

Notes: Running trample attack is made at Agility 2 to but inflicts Massive Damage.

Shark
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 7
Perception: 3
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Notes: Aquatic, bite does damage and grapples simultaneously.

Snake�constrictor
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 1-3
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Note: Amphibious, the largest pythons are technically capable of killing an adult
human but in practice it�s incredibly rare, in most cases the constrictor is
frightening and perhaps an impediment but not a real danger.

Snake�venomous
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 0-1
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Notes: Amphibious, snake venoms vary wildly in toxicity by species as well as

amount of venom delivered per bite�Intensity 1-9. Intensity 9 snakes mostly come
from Australia including the Inland Taipan, the Dubois Sea Snake (widely
distributed there and in Southeast Asia), and the excitingly-named Eastern Brown
Snake.

Stingray
Calm: 3
Agility: 3
Toughness: 1
Perception: 3
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 0/3 if attacked

Notes: Aquatic, most stings are merely painful, but if the victim fails a Toughness
check vs 1, the embedded spine can cause standard damage

Swan

Calm: 2
Agility: 2
Toughness: 0
Perception: 2
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 1 only if attacked

Notes: Flying, floating, swans usually have no way of hurt adult humans.

Tiger
Calm: 2
Agility: 5
Toughness: 7
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Notes: Bite does damage and grapples simultaneously.

Tortoise/Turtle
Calm: 4
Agility: 0
Toughness: 1
Perception: 1
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Notes: Amphibious, shell provides protection equal to Toughness 1-4 against

incidental damage, they�re normally harmless, other than snapping turtles, which
can bite off a finger�treat as an Agility 3 attack that does 1 damage and is never
fatal.

Vulture
Calm: 2
Agility: 2
Toughness: 1
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 3 only if attacking

Notes: Flying, harmless normally

Wolf
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 4
Perception: 6
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Notes: Bite does damage and grapples simultaneously.

Wolverine
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 3
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 2/4 if attacking

Notes: Climbing

������������������
Supernatural Abilities
(Rituals, Psychic Abilities, Spells)
Although ritual formulae, necromantic spells and psychic abilities all draw power
from different sources, their effects on the world are often similar. This list
exists to accommodate Hosts who would like to use necromancers, witches, deathless,
psychics etc as antagonists, give some additional menace to demonic enemies, create
Problem PCs developing psychic abilities and describe how characters can use
rituals to banish, summon or control various kinds of Horrors.

Psychic abilities are used instinctively by the psychic and the effects are
scalable. PC psychics handle things this way:

-The first time the character encounters life-threatening stress in the game, the
Psychic PC must makes a Calm Check against a 6 or else use the ability at Intensity
6.
-Thereafter each time the ability is used the psychic must choose an intensity�then
make a number of Throws equal to that intensity�if the ability is not directed
against something that has its own resisting Stat, then the psychic Throws vs their
own Calm to activate that ability when at rest and Throw vs everyone else trying to
act in a Clash in combat (as if taking a physical action) or in any other urgent
situation.
-Success indicates the ability works as intended, failure indicates nothing happens
or a merely cosmetic or useless strange effect occurs.
-However if they Throw a 1 on any of the Throws, a point of Calm is lost (only one
point, no matter how many 1s are thrown.
-So: the more reliable you want the power to be, the more dangerous it is.
-Psychic abilities usually have �Typical� parameters listed, going beyond these
automatically loses the Psychic a point of Calm, possibly more.

All psychics have Sixth Sense and Precognitive dreams (see Precognition below).

Ritual formulae are difficult to find, however, once learned, they are usable by
anyone but are long and involved, requiring preparations usually of at least
fifteen minutes and more typically several hours. Practitioners can learn these
formulae orally from established masters, from occult texts or may derive them from
years of intense study, meditation and experiment. Each formula has a specific,
nonscalable, effect�magic brought about by ritual cannot have its parameters
adjusted�it gives you what it says on the box, like a tv dinner. You cannot use a
ritual designed to annihilate Vrinnatgorit The Annihilator on Esau-Kau�fre the Man-
Beast.

While the effects of rituals can be described here, the rituals themselves are
individual and different occult traditions have different ways of achieving the
same effects.

Participation in a ritual does not normally require a Calm Check per se but
witnessing the effects it has on the world may require one, particularly as the
participant will know they are implicated. Most exorcisms (ie good guy magic) would
be performed as rituals.

Rituals are less tools for players to collect and deploy at will than plot devices.
Since there may be only one or two rituals in a whole adventure, writing the exact
ritual is a job for the Host during adventure design. Here is a simple, well-
designed ritual everyone knows: collect something old, something new, something
borrowed and something blue and have them at a wedding�the marriage will succeed.
Following the directions completely literally still leaves the people involved lots
of options�the blue thing could be a balloon, a Ford Fiesta, or someone�s eye.
There are more detailed suggestions for rituals at the end of the book in the
Tables section.
Necromantic spells are available to practitioners of the dark arts and generally
also require research, preparation, and intercourse with an occult tradition to
learn, and again, each version of a spell has very specific effects that are not
alterable or scalable.

However�in theory, a witch knows a precise spell, like �Ninth Charm of Flesh into
Bark� and it turns a person into a tree. In practice (ie, in game) a witch has
�Transformation� written in her stats and whichever specific transformation she
needs and the Host thinks up happens to be exactly what the one she memorized is.
The list of spells is the list of categories of spell she can use. This is the kind
of flexibility you can have when generally only the villains use spells.

Once learned spells can usually be used at will simply by speaking a short
incantation (The ancient Sumerian words for �Drown In Flames� for instance). No
spell may be used twice in the same day by the same mortal practitioner (demons
probably can do it but they consider it bad form, plus it�s boring in the game).
Magic-using foes will usually have memorized versions of spells that work at an
Intensity equal to their Knowledge stat.

There is technically a cost to both soul and inner Calm to using necromantic spells
but, again, in practice the only people in the game who will be using them most of
the time are already totally corrupt and criminally insane anyway. If a PC is put
in a situation where they will repeat a necromantic incantation and it works this
will require a Calm Check against at least a 6 and will always enact some Faustian
price. For example, if speaking an incantation successfully cripples the witch the
PC is fighting, it will also cripple the opposite leg on the last friend the PC
touched, etc.

Unless otherwise noted, supernatural abilities:

-Can generally affect any single target the caster can see (or otherwise accurately
sense�if they have ESP, for instance)�any variation on this will be noted.

-If damage-causing, inflict damage as a standard attack at an Intensity determined

by the specific ritual (the Host writes rituals ahead of time) or spell (usually
equal to the caster�s Knowledge stat) or at an intensity determined by the psychic.
Using a psychic ability to cause Massive Damage always costs 2 points of Calm.

Many of these abilities have cool, spooky names in the literature (like making
objects disappear is apportation) but I�ve chosen descriptive names here for the
sake of making it easy to figure out what�s available when setting up or running a
game. Like, Dominate Human allows you to dominate a human. A specific ritual or
spell formula for it might be called �Subordination of the White Vortex� or
something.

Tomes of magic and formulae passed from generation to generation will likewise
contain the kinds of very specific spells and rituals described above.

Amnesia (Ritual, Psychic, Spell)

Causes target to forget all incidents in a given span of time or to forget a

specific person or thing.

At Intensity 1-5 the effect is imprecise (dreams and vague memories intrude) and
affects a number of targets equal to the Intensity of the spell and can be used to
cause them to forget approximately 24 hours of incidents. The target may make a
Perception check every 5 minutes vs effect Intensity to recover.
At higher Intensities, the effect is specific to a given person or thing, and there
is no Perception check. So, for example, at Intensity 9 it allows the caster or
psychic to cause everyone on the planet to forget one specific person or thing.

Animate Object (Spell)

Brings inanimate objects to malevolent life to attack the caster�s foes or

otherwise carry out their wishes. The object must be human-sized or smaller. They
have a Toughness equal to the strength of the material they�re made of and Agility
and Perception equal to the Intensity of the spell. They maintain any
characteristics or properties of what they�re made from/can do. An animated
electrical cord can still shock someone, for example, but an animated snake from a
painting would still be made of canvas. The spell lasts one hour or until the
caster or object is slain. The spell only works on objects that would be creepy if
they came to life rather than just dumb.

Banish Another (Psychic, Spell)

Instantly sends a living human-sized mortal target to another place�they melt into
a wall or floor, apparently turn to ash, etc. (Demons and ghosts can only be sent
away via Exorcism, moving yourself is Emerge from Darkness.) The other place will
be out of sight and determined by the Host, at least 3 rounds of movement away for
the target. Unwilling victims may make an Agility check against the Intensity to
leap away before the spell takes effect. The new place will be in contact with the
ground or other surface (ie you can�t banish them into the sea or the air).

Banish Object (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Instantly sends an inanimate object to another place. The other place will be out
of sight and determined by the Host but at least 100 feet per point of Intensity.
Typically nothing larger than a bread box.

Bleed (Spell)

Target begins to bleed copiously from the eyes, ears, or mouth. This inflicts 1
point of Toughness damage every round. The target may make a Toughness check to
stop the bleeding each round after the initial damage is taken. If these are failed
the bleeding continues until the caster is unconscious or stops the spell.

Bind Soul in Matter (Ritual)

Entraps a possessing spirit or demon in an object. During the days-long rituals,

the object must be engraved with various runes, marinated in sacred unguents or
otherwise specially prepared to prevent the escape. Unlike Bind Soul in Flesh the
ritual does force the creature to inhabit the object if it is incorporeal and in
the caster�s presence when the final commands are spoken�however it also allows the
possessing spirit or demon to inhabit any creature that comes into contact with the
item or uses it in some specific way�looks at the portrait, wears the bracelet,
eats from the tree, etc.
Bind Soul in Flesh (Ritual)

Prevents a possessing spirit or demon from leaving a body. During the hours-long
rituals, the body must be tattooed with various runes, bathed in sacred unguents or
otherwise specially prepared to prevent the escape. The ritual does not force the
creature to inhabit the body only keep it from leaving.

Blind (Psychic, Spell)

A single target becomes blind. Lasts one round per point of Intensity.

Cage of Flesh (Spell)

Entraps the victim in a cage of thick and twisting skin. The Cage can entrap a
number of adjacent adults equal to the Intensity of the spell and has a Toughness
equal to the Intensity. Any victim other than the main target is allowed an Agility
Check vs the Intensity to leap out of the way as the cage erupts from the earth or
from a nearby source of inert flesh.

Channeling (Psychic, Ritual)

Even in the ritual version of this effect, a Psychic must be present.

In the non-ritual version, a psychic establishes limited contact with the dead or
with another being on another plane of existence and begins, unconsciously, to
write or type messages from them. The message can only be about things the entity
itself is concerned with on the earthly plain. Even the recently dead will not
speak in a familiar way: As language does not function equivalently in all
modalities of existence, the words may be cryptic or couched in metaphorical
language, but will always be better than nothing. Typically a minute or less of
language will be transmitted. Information about a specific subject can be acquired
on a successful check.

The ritual version is a seance or similar ceremony (such as the spirit-possession

ceremonies in west Africa) requiring at least 4 other participants where the spirit
answers some specific questions demanded by the group, speaking through the psychic
in its own voice. It usually lasts about half an hour and is, similarly, couched in
strange language.

Chill (Psychic, Spell)

Drastically lowers temperatures. This can manifest as an Intensity-level cold aura

which inflicts standard damage at Intensity level feet from the necromancer or
psychic or as a directed effect which freezes a given human-sized target (again,
standard damage). The directed effect begins to move toward ambient temperature
immediately, the aura effect lasts Intensity number of minutes.

Circle of Warding (Ritual)

A chalk circle or other line creates a zone demons and ghosts cannot pass. The
ingredients are always a mixture of the mundane (salt, for instance) and the exotic
(powdered skull from someone who died defending a grave, perhaps). The maximum
radius of the circle is Intensity x 10 feet.

Colossal Hand (Ritual)

A caster places their hand into a specially prepared pool or bowl and the hand
emerges monstrously enlarged from a ritually-consecrated area within line-of-sight.
The wrist is attached to the ground but the hand may move anywhere within the
consecrated area. The enlarged hand itself is 10� tall and has Toughness 9 and
Agility equal to the caster�destroying it destroys the caster�s real hand. Spilling
the bowl cancels the spell. Yes, I stole this from that movie Your Highness.

Compel Demon (Ritual)

Uses a demon�s true name to force it to provide a specific service. One of the most
complex rituals to perform, Compel rituals are specific to the demon in question
and the demon will carry out the task with legalistic precision, taking any
ambiguity in wording to twist the task to its own ends.

Consecrate (Ritual)

These lengthy ceremonies bless buildings, graveyards, etc, so that ghosts and evil
spirits cannot penetrate their boundaries. They take twenty-four hours per point of
Intensity of the spell to perform. Only creatures who have at least one stat higher
than the Intensity can pass the threshold.

Crush The Soul (Ritual)

The target�s day-to-day life becomes increasingly worse by slow steps. Each day
some foundation of their sanity and connection to society is removed: a job is
lost, they are expelled from school, a trusted employee quits, a friend betrays
them, a humiliating secret is discovered. This curse lasts a number of days equal
to the Intensity of the ritual.

Curse (Ritual, Spell)

Curses saddle their victims with a specific ongoing misfortune. Although they can
be agonizing in many ways, curses never result in instant death. There are two
kinds:

-Temptation curses are attached to forbidden objects or actions, they can be very
simple, essentially embedding a baleful spell into them�like changing the victim�s
species if they enter a hidden room or giving them leprosy if they touch a sacred
object, or they can be complex, like transactional curses
-Transactional curses are granted personally by spellcasters, tailored to the
individual and have a complex nature. They are always metaphorically linked to the
relationship between caster and victim and always involve a pattern of punishment
for a specific category of future action. For example, if the victim stole a book
from the caster, the curse might be that one object disappears from the victim�s
home each time they leave.
Transactional curses can usually be expressable in the form �Each time you ______
you will find ______ has happened� but the creation of interesting, resonant and
gameable curses can�t be mechanized, so I�ve listed some example at the back of the
book in the Tables section.

Curses last until broken by some weirdly specific condition, again, there are
examples in the back of the book.

Cursed Phrase (Ritual)

Causes any baleful spell effect to be attached to a given phrase in an ancient

language. The phrase must be one impossible to utter accidentally. After a
successful casting, anyone, anywhere who speaks the phrase will fall under the
chosen spell�s effects. These rituals take one year to enact per level of Intensity
of the ritual. Virtually any harmful spell may be attached to the phrase�Delude,
Transform, Infantilize, etc.

Delude (Psychic, Spell)

Cause a target to see and hear things that are not real. Typically works in one of
three ways, in any case, if it�s used on a PC the Host should try to mislead the
player and note the target�s Perception score:

-The victim sees one specific object or person as something else of the caster or
psychic�s choice, and translates any sounds they make into or words they say into
sounds and words consistent with that delusion. Host should make a Perception check
vs the Intensity for them every in-game 10 minutes.

-Everyone sees an actually strange, horrific or supernatural thing as ordinary

except those who make a Calm check against the Intensity of the spell.

-The victim glimpses a more complex illusory scene or set of details designed by
the caster or psychic (such as seeing a room as being full of snakes). The Host
should make a Perception check for the target vs the Intensity every round.

Detect Entity (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

The direction toward-, and approximate distance from-, an object of the

caster/psychic�s choice can be viscerally felt. The thing may be living or
otherwise. The effect lasts one day. Magic-wielding being can make a Knowledge
Check vs the Intensity to avoid being detected.

Devil�s Hand (Spell)

Caster causes one of the target�s hands to rebel. It will obey the caster�s
commands or simply attempt to interfere with and/or kill the target. The hand has a
Strength and Agility equal to the target�s own. The spell lasts Intensity rounds.

Dim and Darken (Spell)

Light sources gradually disappear. Each round one source of light stops working or
becomes darker to the degree superficially consonant with normal
physics�flashlights lose batteries, torches and cigarettes burn out and won�t
relight, clouds obscure the moon. The sun will not eclipse, but will become
overcast.

Disintegrate Object (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Destruction of inanimate objects. Typically nothing larger than a bread box.

Dematerialization of a magical object requires a specific Spell or Ritual designed
for that object alone. Check the object�s Toughness vs the Intensity.

Disorientation Field (Spell)

Turns a singe room or 60� x 60� area into a confusing hallucinatory zone, difficult
to navigate. This can be simply by creating a blur effect, by filling the area with
a thick fog, by turning it into a hall of mirrors, etc. All characters other than
the caster must make a Perception check to move or target through the area the way
they intend to�otherwise the Host decides where they end up.

Dissolving Touch (Spell)

Caster�s hands become capable of eating away any substance, given time. Touch
inflicts standard damage (with an Extra Throw to hit, since all the caster need do
is touch), and the spell lasts a number of rounds equal to the spell intensity.

Dominate Animals (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

All animals of a specific type (wolves, spiders, etc) within one mile obey
unquestioningly. Unseen creatures within the radius will come if requested. The
kind of animal is specific to the ritual, spell or ability�one spell only controls
rats, one only controls dogs, etc. The effect lasts one hour or until the dominator
is unconscious. Groups of small creatures can be treated as Swarms (see Horrors
section).

Psychics have the option of a different manifestation: they can control one animal
at a time but that animal will continue to act in their best interest even if the
psychic is unconscious.

Hostile animals may Calm check against the Intensity once to resist.

Dominate Human (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Total control of the will of a mortal human. The target is allowed a Calm Check vs
the Intensity of the effect each round to resist�failing five times in a row allows
the caster/psychic to dominate the target with no further Calm Checks for 24 hours
so long as they remain in line-of-sight and or within 50�. The target is allowed an
additional Calm Check if asked to do something in violation of their essential
nature (kill a friend, for instance). The dominator may command the dominated to
forget any part of what they�ve done.
Psychics with access to telepathy can also see through the slave�s eyes, hear
through their ears, etc. at will without a separate check.

Ritual and Spell versions of this effect allow the dominator to send the slave on
distant tasks out of sight.

Ritual versions of the spell will require a specific part of the person to be
dominated (a lock of hair, a fingernail, etc) and control them for one hour with no
chance of resistance.

Dream Trap (Psychic, Ritual)

Allows the caster/psychic to possess a living being by entering their body while
their soul is distant and dreaming. The caster/psychic�s original body lies inert
and soulless�they may choose a victim anywhere on the planet, so long as they�ve
seen them in life. The victim will be offered a choice in a dream, usually with a
moral component (ie to help a drowning friend or a stunningly attractive
stranger)�the wrong choice allows the caster or psychic to enter the body. Unlike
regular Possession, there is no Calm check�the original soul is lost in the
dreaming until the possessor is somehow ousted. This power can be used by a caster
or psychic on the point of death with a successful Calm check vs the Intensity of
whatever caused the death.

Electrocute (Spell)

Shocking touch. The caster�s hand begins to spark or pulse�on a successful touch
(with an Extra Throw to merely touch) does standard damage and the target cannot
move in the next round.

Emerge from the Darkness (Spell)

Subtle teleportation�the caster steps out of the light and re-emerges out of the
darkness somewhere far away. Distance is unimportant, but this spell only works if
both areas are unobserved.

Emotion Control (Psychic, Spell)

Caster/psychic intensifies one of the target�s emotions and forces it to dominate

their personality. The emotion must be one that the target already feels in some
capacity. Not as powerful as Dominate Human, but much harder to resist�the target
may make a Calm check to resist vs the Intensity once per hour.
Empathy (Psychic)

Reads the emotions of one creature. Probing deeper than the surface allows the
target to make a Calm check. Supernaturally powerful creatures and fellow psychics
may make a Calm check vs the Intensity of the spell to resist or to feed the
psychic a false reading.

Empathic Illusion (Psychic)

Broadcasts hallucinations into the minds of others based on the psychic�s mental
state. This ability is unusual in that it requires effort not to use at high
intensity. The default is the ability effects everyone within 60 ft with a 6
Intensity illusion (Calm check vs 6 to resist/ignore, but the target only gets a
check if they are somehow aware that the possibility of an illusion exists). Using
it at any other Intensity or directing it toward a specific target or targets
requires the Psychic make a Calm check against a 6. If successful, the psychic may
broadcast the illusion specifically into Intensity-number of targets.

ESP (Psychic, Ritual)

Also known as clairvoyance, or, when magical, scrying: the ability to see and hear
events around a chosen target remotely, similar to a live video feed. The target
must have been seen in person (or �in object�) at least once.

Psychics will typically get an Intensity-length (in seconds) �feed� of whatever the
target is doing.

The ritual version requires a scrying device�a reflective object like a pool,
mirror or television that is specially prepared for the purpose. The scrying can
last up to an hour per day.

Exorcism (Ritual)

Causes ghosts or demons to melt back into the anti-universes where they dwell.
Research must be undertaken to ensure each exorcism ritual is tailored to the
specific creature in question.

False Selves (Spell)

Similar to Delude but more limited�the caster creates independent copies of

themself that have no true substance. These false selves are as strong as if made
of cardboard (Toughness 0) and can obey the caster�s commands or act independently.
They collapse into a pile of empty clothes or loose skin when touched. The number
of false selves created is equal to the Intensity of the spell.

Forbid (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

The target becomes unable to perform a specific action (such as harm the psychic or
caster or enter a given door). As a psychic ability, the victim gets a Calm check
vs the Intensity every minute. Ritual and spell versions last a number of hours
equal to the intensity. The forbidden act must be expressable in one sentence of
ten words or less and cannot be something the target does every day (like breathe,
walk, eat, etc).

Frenzied Process (Spell)

Processes involving nonliving devices speed up to dangerous levels. Pots boil over
sending scalding water across kitchen floors, rain intensifies into a torrent,
packed snow melts causing avalanches, overproducing engines send cars speeding
wildly out of control. The variety of effects is vast but proportional to the
Intensity of the spell, thought indirect damage can be much greater. The effect
lasts a number of rounds equal to the spell�s Intensity. Machines will sputter out
after a number of rounds equal to the Intensity.

Garble (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Renders written or spoken communication impossible for chosen targets. The

psychic/caster may make a target unable to be understood (including objects, like
books, computers or phone) or unable to understand, and may chose a number of
targets equal to the Intensity (all must be in sight when the spell is cast,
however). Typically lasts one hour.

Giant Vermin (Ritual, Spell)

Transforms a small creatures such as rats, insects, etc. into repulsive and massive
mockeries of themself under the control of the caster. Any creature rat-sized or
smaller can be affected. The Intensity of the spell can be divided however the
caster likes among the number of vermin chosen�1 point of Intensity on one creature
creates a 1 foot long creature with Toughness 1, 6 points of Intensity creates a
creature 6 feet long with Toughness 6, etc. So

Guilt Apparition (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Causes a mortal murderer to see the faces of all those they�ve slain. In the spell
version, these are actual ghosts visible to anyone present, in the psychic version
only the murderer can see them. Forces a Calm check vs an Intensity equal to 1 per
victim, max 9.

Hand of Glory (Ritual)

Enchants a five-fold candle made from a severed murderer�s hand such that its light
can only be seen by the caster. Otherwise they work like normal candles.

Haywire Aura (Spell)

Electronics fail to function around the caster or a designated target. Radius is 1�

per level of intensity. Optionally, the effect may be restricted to devices
attempting to record the caster (cameras, microphones, etc)�in which case there is
no range. Effect lasts 10 mins per point of intensity. In some of these spells the
affected device is permanently damaged in others it simply begins working again
once the caster has passed.

Heal the Flesh (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Restores temporarily lost Toughness points by taking them away, one point per round
at a time, from another living being�willingly or unwillingly. Both creatures must
be touched by the caster/psychic simultaneously. Psychics must use the power at an
intensity at least equal to that of the most powerful force that damaged the body
to begin with. Can only be attempted once per wound. Typically does not heal
disease or mutilated limbs.

Heal the Mind (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Restores temporarily lost Calm points by taking them away, one point per round at a
time, from another living being�willingly or unwillingly. Both creatures must be
touched by the caster/psychic simultaneously. Psychics must use the power at an
intensity equal or greater than that of the most powerful force that damaged the
mind to begin with.

Homicidal Shadows (Spell)

All shadows (besides the caster�s) come to life and attack their owners. This
occurs in a radius equal to the Intensity x 10�. The shadows must be clear in the
existing light in order for this to work. Shadows have the same stats as their
owners, however they cannot hurt anyone who is not attached to their shadow
(hanging from a rope, for instance) and disappear if lighting conditions don�t
permit shadows. Lasts rounds equal to the spell�s Intensity.

Humunculus (Ritual)

Caster uses a piece of their own soul to mold a small mindless servant creature out
of mud, congealed blood, clay or flesh or any other soft substance, no bigger than
a cat, in any desired shape. The points of Intensity of the spell may be
distributed across the creature�s Agility Toughness and Perception as the caster
sees fit, so a 7 Intensity spell could create an Ag-3 T-2 P-2 creature or an A-0 T-
4 P-3 creature etc.. Their Calm Check is usually 6. Humunculi can climb or swim but
not fly. Killing the humunculus inflicts a standard wound on the caster.

Hunger (Ritual, Spell)

An image or sigil is enchanted such that anyone who sees it other than the caster
becomes famished. Victim must drink a number of pounds of food equal to the
intensity of the effect or lose a point of Toughness for each minute since eating.

Hydra Beast (Spell)

Transforms an ordinary animal into a guard creature under the command of the caster
with the ability to become more powerful each time it is hurt. Any wound to the
creature adds the amount of the damage to its Toughness rather than subtracts from
it, and any wound doing more than 3 pts of Toughness damage causes it to grow a new
head/leg etc. Extra forelimbs or mouths allow the creature an Extra Throw on any
physical attack�one per limb. The creature will return to normal if the caster is
unconscious or dead.

Infantilize (Ritual, Spell)

Transforms adults into children and children into toddlers. The new age is 1/5 of
the target�s original age. Last a number of hours equal to the spell intensity,
number of targets is equal to the spell Intensity.

Infectious Touch (Ritual, Spell)

Caster transmits a supernaturally virulent and communicable disease at a touch.

Causes vomiting (as well as, in some cases, an effect similar to a single iteration
of the Warp Flesh spell (see below)) and, in addition, pustules grow on the target
and explode every 1-10 rounds, spreading the disease to anyone within 5 feet. Can
only be healed by magic or by killing the caster.

Lie (Psychic, Spell)

Victims believe whatever the caster/psychic says. The Intensity is the number of
lies that can be told unerringly before re-casting. At Intensities of 5 or less,
the lies must be within the realm of possibility as the target understands them, at
higher Intensities, they can be completely impossible like �That gun is a cake,
taste it�.

Manifest Object (Psychic)

The creation of an inanimate object from nothing. Requires at least one day of
obsessive thought or meditation and the object will appear while the psychic is
looking somewhere else (in a drawer, in a closet, etc). The object cannot be
something requiring technology that does not exist in the present or which, itself,
has special supernatural powers (although it can be a class of ordinary object
which has supernatural qualities, like a crucifix). It can only have stats,
abilities or Toughness equal to the Intensity. Typically nothing larger than a
bread box. This ability can sometimes activate accidentally or only through
unconscious thought.

Matter-Energy Transfiguration (Ritual, Spell)

Changes any form of energy or inanimate matter into any other inanimate substance
or form of energy. Iron to oak, oak to sound, sound to rain, rain to fire, fire to
sand, sand to meat, meat to plastic, plastic to electricity�whatever. The area
affected is typically a 20� x 20� x 20� cube. The direct end effect on anyone hurt
aor otherwise impacted can be no higher than the Intensity�though indirect damage
could be much greater if, say, a corner of a building was turned to paper. Each
spell or ritual effects a specific kind of transformation.

Memory Meld (Psychic)

Psychic duplicates a target�s memories and now can read them or implants one of
their own memories in the target. The psychic must touch the target.

When reading, one discrete memory (lasting approximately a minute) can be �read�
using the ability per point of Intensity. The psychic can read a random memory or
search for a specific subject. Psychics who lose Calm while attempting to read a
memory will be disoriented and confuse their identity with that of the target until
they make their Calm Check.

When implanting a memory, the target (if unwilling) makes a Calm check against the
Intensity to prevent contact.

Message (Ritual)

A message the length of a fortune cookie is sent to any given creature without the
use of technology. The creature may find the message written on a wall, hear it
mumbled by a passing addict, see it spelled out in magnetic poetry, write it in a
dream, etc. The receiver will not witness the message forming but will know the
message has a special meaning for them when they see it. Of course everyone else
might say they�re crazy�

Mutation (Ritual, Spell)

All creatures besides the caster in the spell radius transform radically and
grotesquely. Radius is 10� per point of Intensity. Victims are transformed into
random horde creatures (see Horde Creature under Horrors) and can Check Agility vs
the Intensity to leap out of the way and receive only one minor mutation. Effect
lasts until the caster is slain.

Mutilate (Spell)

A small part of a target�s body melts away and is amputated. Spells may be specific
to the tongue, finger, eye, or ear, or an equivalent structure on an animal or
other creature.

Necromantic Control (Ritual, Spell)

Summons undead residing on earth (raising them from the grave if necessary) and
binds them to the caster�s control. This includes the living dead such as vampires
and zombies as well as ghosts, although only one kind of undead can be raised and
controlled by any given version of the spell. The term of service is also
determined by the individual iteration of the spell. All versions of the ritual and
spell require the caster maintain contact a specific talismanic object in order to
keep control. Intelligent undead may make a Clam check vs the Intensity to avoid
service.

Object Reading (Psychic, Spell)

Also known as psychometry, this is essentially a clearer and more specific version
of Sixth Sense. It requires touching the object in question and it reveals things
that have already happened to it. At first it reveals�in clear detail�the most
important event since the object�s creation. For each additional minute the object
is read the object will reveal one event in the chain of events linking it to the
reader. (For instance: the moment the murderer the reader is tracking bought the
van being read.). Typically a reading can last a number of minutes equal to the
Intensity.

Pain Aura (Psychic, Spell)

Anyone approaching the caster suffers. The aura extends Intensity number of feet
and causes damage as a standard attack with that Intensity in the form of near-
crippling pain�however it cannot kill or permanently damage a target.

Pain Effigy (Ritual)

Allows the creation of a �Voodoo Doll�, painted portrait or similar likeness that
the necromancer can use to inflict pain on a distant mortal the artifact resembles.
The image need have only a superficial resemblance to the target (it can be an
animal dressed as them wearing a crude mask, for instance) but the spell requires a
DNA sample from the target of a size visible to the naked eye�saliva, hair, etc.
The pain does no Toughness damage but stuns the character during the round it is
inflicted, allow them to take no action except defend themselves with one Lost
Throw. One pin may be inserted every 15 minutes.

Paralysis (Spell)

Freezes a creature in place. The target is allowed a Calm Check against the
Intensity each round to resist. Some versions of the spell transform the target
into a statue of stone, crystal, metal etc.�these versions are permanent if 5
checks are failed.

Portal (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Opens a doorway to an antiuniverse which then attempts to pull the closest being
through it (regardless of which side of the portal it is on or which side that
would be to). The portal must be opened within 50� and is typically the size of a
standard doorway. Unless the players somehow know different, there is a 3-in-10
chance that whatever is on the far side of the portal is closer to the portal than
whatever is on the caster/psychic�s side and some being from the antiuniverse will
be brought through instead of whatever is here being pulled through. The strength
of the pull is equal to the Intensity of the effect, and the range of the pull is
the intensity of the effect x 10 in feet.

Psychics must Throw each round to maintain the effect, those using the ritual or
spell versions need not and may cancel the effect at will.

If you don�t have an antiuniverse ready, simply creating an infinitely dark, cold
Shadow Dimension is fine.

Possession (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Allows the caster or psychic to transfer their entire consciousness into another
body. The caster/psychic�s original body lies inert and soulless. The victim may
make a Calm check vs the Intensity each hour to resist. This power can be used by a
caster or psychic on the point of death with a successful Calm check vs the
Intensity of whatever caused the death.

Some ritual and spell versions of this effect allow for the possession of up to
five multiple targets simultaneously�but the caster�s original body must be dead
for this to work.

Ritual and spell versions also allow the caster to transfer their consciousness
into an object that will possess whoever touches it.

Precognition (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Reading the future. Ritual versions of this include Tarot cards, pyromancy (reading
flames), casting runes, etc. Spell and psychic versions require touching the object
or person whose future is to be read. The sorcerer or psychic will see an inchoate
collage of sound and image surrounding the subject, but, as with Channeling, it
will be better than nothing. The image seen will be what happens if the most
powerful or currently ascendant party currently influencing relevant events remains
on their current course (as it intersects the subject) �so, in games terms, it
usually reveals to a PC some aspect what the villain is planning. A PC will be able
to see a number of cards off the top of the Horrors� deck equal to the Intensity,
along with a clue to any meaning in them relevant to the adventure.

If the precognitive method is specifically focused on a PC and the fortune is

desirable, the PC gains +1 Throw once per day that would enable that future to
occur.

All psychics will also have precognitive dreams when they are knocked unconscious
in combat (to give them something to do in the game) and pretty much whenever the
Host feels like it.

Psionic Drain (Psychic)

The psychic can feed off another�s mind, increasing their own power. The psychic
must touch the target�s head and the target must fail a Calm check vs the Intensity
of the effect. If the target fails, the psychic can drain one point of Calm,
Knowledge or Perception from the target and add it to their own Perception or
Knowledge stat (up to a maximum of 9), though it only works if the stat the psychic
is feeding on is higher than the psychic�s current same stat (it doesn�t matter if
it�s higher than the stat the stolen point is then added to or not).

Pyrokinesis (Psychic, Spell)

Ability to mentally generate heat and control fire. Including but not limited to:
causing water to burn, creating and throwing fireballs, lighting specific targets
on fire, etc. Fireballs can hit a number of targets equal to the Intensity of the
effect and hit with that Intensity. For psychics, putting a fire out requires an
effort of Intensity equal to the one that created the fire.

Quiet (Spell)

Caster causes one of two effects:

-No creature can hear the caster, or

-No sound is made within Intensity x 10� of the caster

Effect lasts a number of rounds equal to the Intensity of the spell.

Raining Blood (Spell)

A torrent of blood-rain fills the air and flash-floods the area. The flood tide
reaches a number of feet equal to the Intensity. It does nothing water wouldn�t
except gorily stain things, but anyone present must make a Toughness or Agility
Check (if it�s higher and there is something to grab) to avoid being knocked over,
taking standard damage from being slammed into something and being dragged 60 feet
away. The area covered is one room or 30x30 area plus 100 x the Intensity in feet
radius around it. Probably forces Calm Checks as well.

Redirect Gravity (Spell)

Caster makes gravity for everyone except themself pull sideways or (indoors only)
up. The exact direction (north, south east, west, somewhere in between) is up to
the caster. The spell operates in a radius equal to the Intensity x 10�. Those
affected can make an Agility check vs the Intensity of the spell to grab on to
something if there�s anything to grab on to.

Reflect Attack (Ritual, Spell)

An incoming attack (magical, psychic, or physical) is turned back on the attacker.

If the Caster wins a clash, treat this as if the incoming attack of their choice
had succeeded, but against the attacker themself.

Rule Mob (Spell)

Like emotion control, the caster intensifies a crowd�s emotions and forces them to
dominate their personalities. The emotions must be ones that the targets already
feel in some capacity (or can be made to feel via a rousing speech the caster
delivers). Not as powerful as Dominate Human, but much harder to resist�the targets
may only be NPCs but the spell always works. The number of victims equals the
Intensity of the spell times 10. Unenchanted crowd members may go along with the
crowd out of garden-variety idiocy.

Selective Visibility (Spell)

Makes the caster invisible to all humans except a given category. The exact
category (murderers, virgins, women, possible victims, etc) is determined by the
specific spell.

Sending Box (Ritual)

Enchants a pair of identical receptacles with doors/drawers etc in disparate

locations such that any inanimate object placed in one will be teleported to the
other. Both doors must be closed for the sending to work and no-one can witness the
actual disappearance or reappearance of the object. Each receptacle must be
closeable and no larger than a standard elevator, though they may be
anything�closets, puzzle boxes, perfume bottles, etc.

Shriek (Psychic)

A piercing scream infused with psionic energy echoes out from the psychic. Everyone
within Intensity x 10 feet takes damage as a standard attack (including allies but
not including the psychic) at the Intensity level.

Sixth Sense (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Makes the user supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of past trauma
or the supernatural for one minute (or see below). The read is general and
impressionistic�the user will sense a colored shadow, a taste on the tongue or
other metaphorical expression of an object or creature�s unusual qualities.
Psychics, witches and demons always have this ability active.

Sleep Field (Psychic, Ritual, Spell)

Causes every mortal around the caster to fall asleep. Radius typically equals the
Intensity of the effect x 2 in feet. After the first round, sleepers are allowed a
Calm check vs the Intensity each round to awake�they get an Extra Throw if someone
is actively trying to wake them.

Slow Motion (Psychic, Spell)

Causes everything other than the caster/psychic to move slower (though other
effects of physics, like falling, take place at normal speed). Lasts 1 round per
point of Intensity and extends in an aura of 10� per point of Intensity. Victims
may only make one Throw in any Clash where they compete with the caster until the
effect ends. A victim may Calm check vs the Intensity to prevent the effect.

Snare (Spell)

Objects in the immediate environment extend and grow to grab a specific target or
to make an area (up to 20� square) difficult to move through. This can be trees,
weeds, kitchen appliances�whatever is available. Escaping requires a Toughness
Check against the strength of the materials or an Agility check against the
Intensity of the spell.

Speak to Animals (Spell)

A specific animal will tell the necromancer anything they need to know about what
they�ve seen�though not necessarily obey commands unless offered something of
value.
Summoning (Ritual)

Brings a specific creature from the negative universes to this plane. Summonings
are among the most complex rituals�the more powerful the entity the larger the
outlay of time and resources required to summon them and each ritual only works on
one creature (or one variety of creature). The length of time the creature is on
this plane varies according to the specific ritual formula used.

Telekinesis (Psychic, Spell)

Move an object or objects by will alone. Typically at a range of up to 50�. Can

also be used to block incoming attacks.

For a psychic, the spell mimics a Toughness and Agility score equal to the
Intensity chosen.

For a necromancer the standard version of this spell usually achieves nothing they
could not have accomplished by physically lifting and throwing or carrying the
object, that is, if they can�t lift a refrigerator, neither can their telekinesis.
However telekinesis can mimic the effect of multiple arms�so a necromancer could
direct 1 dozen knives at a target from a dozen directions.

Telepathy (Psychic)

Projects messages, as if spoken, directly into the mind of a distant target. The
target need not be seen. Typically the message is one that would take Intensity
seconds or less to speak aloud casually. The telepath can also receive messages of
a similar length back and detect the approximate distance (but not the direction)
of the other mind.
Thirst Trap (Ritual, Spell)

An image or sigil is enchanted such that anyone who sees it other than the caster
becomes ravenously thirsty and must make a Calm check vs the Intensity to do
anything but drink or seek something to drink. Victim must drink a number of
gallons of liquid equal to the intensity to end the effect.

Time Travel (Ritual, Spell)

Sends target or caster through time. Unwilling targets are allowed an Agility Throw
vs the Intensity of the effect to find cover before being transported. The effect
typically sends targets to the recent past (within the last 50 years) or near
future (within the next 5 years) because otherwise you�d be in a whole new period
or sci-fi setting and I haven�t written those books yet. But, hey, it�s your
campaign do what you want. Those affected remain in the alternate era up to a
maximum of the spell-Intensity in hours though the caster can recall them faster.
Changes in the past will affect the present in whatever ways the Host can
extrapolate.

Torch of Revelation (Ritual)

Enchant a flame so that its light reveals true forms. Shapeshifters, possessed
beings, invisible creatures, fetches, enchanted items, etc are revealed for what
they are. The rituals to prepare the torch are usually short (less than an hour)
but the flame lasts no longer than an ordinary one and can be put out by wind,
water, etc.

Transformation (Ritual, Spell)

Change a target wholly or partially into something else. These various spells
include everything from giving the caster claws, to allowing them to hide as a
tree, to turning a target into a frog or their own uncle. Unwilling victims get to
make a Calm Check against the Intensity of the spell. Only physical abilities
change due to the spell�in addition no ability may be raised (or created) by the
spell to a level higher than the Intensity. The transformation typically lasts a
number of rounds equal to the Intensity.

Traumatic Illusion (Psychic, Spell)

Reaches into the target�s mind and creates a heart-wrenching illusion (fully
sensed) based on the subject�s past. Lost lovers, schoolyard humiliations,
nightmares, etc are all fair game. If the victim knows the situation cannot be real
or that there is a possibility of an illusion, they are allowed a Calm Check vs the
effect�s Intensity each round to ignore the illusion�failing the check means the
victim loses a point of Calm and reacts to the illusion that round as if it were
real.

Voice on the Aether (Ritual)

Allows two distant creatures to hear one anothers� voices without technology. These
rituals are simple and usually involve materials that can be arrayed on a tabletop,
but each participant must perform the same ritual (though not necessarily at the
exact same time) such as an ashtray or a piece of shell held to the ear. The
materials used are slowly destroyed by the ritual, which lasts a number of minutes
equal to the Intensity.

Warp Surface (Spell)

Deforms any 10� x 10� or smaller area of continuous nonmagic material�metal, wood,
plastic, etc.�just enough destroy a wall, wrench a door, shatter a laptop screen,
ruin a sharpened stake, etc.

Warp Flesh (Psychic, Spell)

Catalyzes mass cell division causing grotesque transformations of parts of the

target�s body. Hands grow into clubbed masses, mouths melt shut, hostile arms grow
from spines and attack the target, superfluous eyes and teeth appear, etc. Each
specific change requires a separate action to enact. The target is allowed a
Toughness check for vs the effect Intensity to resist the changes. Ripping the new
flesh away does Standard Damage if not done by a medical professional under proper
conditions. You may use the Horde Mutations table if you like.

Wave of Mutilation (Ritual, Spell)

A four-foot high flood of foul acid erupts from the caster, severing body parts of
anyone it comes into contact with. Agility check vs the Intensity to avoid the
wave, Toughness check vs Intensity to avoid losing a body part. Inflicts damage as
a standard attack. The wave propagates at running speed and disperses after
everyone in line of sight has been hit. Throw the body part randomly:
1-Left hand
2-Right hand
3-Left foot
4-Right foot
5-Left eye
6-Right eye
7-Tongue
8-Left ear
9-Right ear
10-Nose

__________________
THE STORE (equipment)

There are two kinds of horror game players: the kind that will immediately run out
and get a bulletproof vest and the kind that won't because that's not the kind of
thing their character would do. If you have a lot of the first kind of player, just
remember to have them occasionally face threats a bullet proof vest can�t do
anything about and NPCs who are suspicious of them because they wear a bullet proof
vest all day.

For new purchases made during a session, the Intensity of a Cash Check is roughly
equal to the number of digits in the purchase.

1: 1-9 dollars
2: 11-99 dollars
3: Hundreds of dollars
4: Thousands of dollars
5: Tens of thousands
6: Millions

If you fail a Cash Check at a given intensity for during-session purchase, you
can�t make any other Checks at that level or higher until your PC either gets more
money in-game or conceivably could have during elided time (like if you are home
for 4 hours and a paycheck could�ve cleared).

You can never purchase anything more than 2 Intensities above your Cash level.

Illegal things require a Streetwise Throw (or an Appeal Throw w/1 Lost Throw ).

Legal firearm purchases are one step more expensive for same day purchase in cities
(as opposed to mail order) because of various restrictions on sales.

If you have access to a savings or bank account and a week to get it (for example,
you�re not stuck in the middle of the desert), you can always purchase any single
legal thing 2 Intensities or more below your Cash level.

You do not have to list every possession a PC owns�the rules for stuff a PC has if
they need them are as follows:

For things the character already might have on them or in their car, like a lighter
or a swiss army knife, the Intensity is always as if the thing cost one slot higher
than a new purchase, and possibly more if it is rare. If something is within the
character�s price range but it would be strange to be carrying it, like �Do I have
fresh terragon in my car?� then that has less to do with Cash than chance and the
Host should just set a random chance (1-in-10 or whatever) and throw.

For common items already owned, the Intensities are:

1: Things a homeless person commonly has�clothes appropriate to local weather,

blanket, possibly a burner cell phone, etc.
2: Things a working class person commonly has�similar to middle class possessions
(below) but less of them are new or reliable.
3: Things a middle class person commonly has�things a supermarket magazine assumes
you own�apartment, small house or part of one, 1-2 year old cell and home computer,
car or transit pass depending on location, things needed to maintain that home
and/or do their job, one nice set of formal clothes.
4: Things you might go �Oh, fancy� if a friend had or an average person might read
a lot of articles about before committing to buying�newest tablet, a nice espresso
machine, a new handgun, a speed boat, a concrete pool, a summer cabin, breast
implants.
5: Things only rich people have casually and, if normal people have them it�s
because they�re obsessive about that particular thing�a yacht, a large second home,
a butler, a machine gun.
6: Things only companies and governments usually own�a fighter jet, an island, a
robot.

ITEMS OF NOTE

There are lots of things not here, it's because we assume, say, the cost and game
function of a modern backpack is self-explanatory.?
?
WEAPONS

Note many �Nonlethal� weapons can actually kill a target if used repeatedly or if
the target�s maximum Toughness is 0 to start.

Axe, Wood
Cash Check: 2
?
Axe-Hatchet/Throwing Axe:
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Can be thrown up to Toughness x 10 feet. At extreme close range, add an
Extra Throw to hit against any weapon except a knife, otherwise an opponent with a
longer weapon has an Extra Throw vs the hatchet-wielder.
?
Baton/Hammer/Heavy Stick/Crowbar/Iron bar/Baseball bat/Sap/Sack of Pennies, other
blunt weapon
Cash Check: 0-3 (expensive telescoping batons are concealable)
?
Blow torch/Welding torch
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Requires a fuel tank and some require an external spark to get started.�
?
Bows
Cash Check: 3
Range: Lose a Throw to hit beyond 1500 ft.
Notes: Including modern hunting bows, crossbows, etc. Quieter than guns but in a
stand-up fight a gun gets an Extra Throw vs someone using a bow.
?
Cattle Prod, Stun Baton or Stun Gun
Cash Check: 2
Range: Touch
Notes: Nonlethal, no damage. Make a Toughness check vs a 5 to take any action each
round after being hit. No effect on anything above Toughness 5.
?
Chain Weapons (heavy chain, nunchaku, morningstar, etc)
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Extra Throw vs any attempt to block or parry. Lose a Throw if used without
Hand to Hand skill.
?
Chainsaw/Circular Saw
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Toughness check (once) vs a 2 to use effectively in melee. Does Massive
Damage to an unarmored target. Seeing an enemy inflict a wound with a power saw
triggers a Calm Check of at least 4 in any witness. A power saw that hits a solid
unmoving object, like a wall, will lose some teeth, and will probably fly out of an
unskilled user�s hands. An untrained user who rolls only 1s to hit has hit
themself.
?
Explosives in General (Dynamite, TNT, Pipe bombs, C4, Mines etc)
Cash Check: 3
Notes: Do Massive Damage in a radius determined by the amount used and the
Explosives skill of the person setting them up (precision requires a higher check,
as does a particularly large or quickly-activated explosion). If the victims know
it�s coming they�re allowed an Agility Check (usually vs the opponent�s Agility if
it�s thrown).
?
Garotte/Piano Wire etc
Cash Check: 0
Notes: Any stout strangling wire. Successfully grapples any target it hits. Only
effective from surprise or vs a target who can�t stop you (restrained, etc).
?
Grenades�
Cash Check: 3 (damage-causing ones are illegal)
Range: 25 feet per point of thrower�s Toughness
Notes: If the targets are aware of the grenade and mobile, they all get a Agility
check vs the thrower�s Agility score to avoid being in the blast radius.
�There are several styles�

Concussion: Massive Damage within a 6 foot radius.

Flashbang/Stun: Targets disoriented and deaf for the first round and until a
Toughness check vs a 5 is made. 10� radius.

Fragmentation: Does Massive Damage to anyone within 50� radius.�

Gas: Can be anything but a typical gas grenade requires a Toughness check vs a 5
each round to avoid disabling nausea. 20� radius.

Smoke: Obscures vision within 20� radius.

Stingball: Full of hard rubber balls, Standard Damage within 10� radius, nonlethal.
?
Guns
Guns have an Extra Throw over most other distance weapons as well as, like all
distance weapons, over melee weapons and the unarmed at most distances greater than
arms length. They do Massive Damage to unresisting targets within 5 feet. Regular
guns have an effective range of about 10 feet underwater before the short cartridge
length gets pulled off course by the water.

Ammunition capacities for specific models of gun are easy to find online. Just type
in the name and �capacity�.�

Legality: When you decide where your campaign is set, you can check online for laws
regarding high-capacity (over 10 shots for handguns) magazines (always changing,
especially in cities) and concealed carry for that place, but practically speaking
the main thing is getting noticed brandishing a gun in public in a city for any
reason will probably attract police attention and they�ll probably think up a
charge if they want to (threatening, reckless endangerment, disturbing the peace,
discharging a weapon in city limits, etc). Assault rifles and submachine guns are
quasi-legal (it depends when they were made and whether the full-auto setting is
enabled, its complicated) and machine guns are illegal for civilians to own (long
story).

Characters who would have a concealed carry license (bounty hunters, cops,
detectives, gun nuts) can go ahead and have one, other characters who want to
already have one have a 1-in-10 chance of having one already if they have Firearms
skill.

These are the most common kinds:

Handgun/Pistol
Cash Check: 3
Range: Lose a Throw to hit beyond 300 ft.
Ammunition:� Most revolvers hold 6 rounds, a policeman�s Glock will hold 13-17
rounds and is typical for modern automatics, the highly concealable and very cute
Russian PB-4 Osa holds 4 rounds. Unless its known the gun is fully-loaded, after
the first shot a revolver will have d10 divided by 2 rounds left and a typical
automatic will have 2d10 rounds left.

Notes:� Handguns have an Extra Throw over long guns at ranges up to 15 feet. More
concealable, too.�

Shotgun
Cash Check: 3
Range: Lose a Throw to hit beyond 300 ft.
Ammunition: Shotguns typically hold 2 (old hunting rifles) to 10 (combat shotgun)
rounds and are often subjected to magazine-size restrictions.

Notes: Shotguns can be fitted with nonlethal shot rounds (bean bags, rock
salt)�these function like normal damage except you can�t die from it. They have an
Extra Throw over other non-automatic long guns when in their preferred range of
less than 75 ft.�
?
Hunting Rifle
Cash Check: 3
Range: Lose a Throw to hit beyond 1500 ft.
Ammunition: Typically 3-10 rounds.

Notes: Hunting rifles have an Extra Throw over shotguns, machine guns and handguns
at long ranges�75 feet or more.�
?
Sniper Rifle
Cash Check: 4
Range: Lose a Throw to hit beyond 2200 ft.
Ammunition: Typically holds 3-10 rounds.
Notes: Essentially a really nice hunting rifle. They have an Extra Throw over any
other gun at long ranges�75 feet or more.�
?
Assault Rifle (M-16, AK-47 etc�standard army guns)
Cash Check: 3 (quasi legal)
Range: Lose a Throw to hit beyond 1000 ft.
Ammunition: Typically 30 rounds

Notes: Shooters with Firearms skill can fire at a number of targets per round equal
to their Skill or can do Massive Damage to one target. They will end up using d10
bullets per round (unless they make a point to use a specific number: 1 or 3, in
which case they lose a Throw against other guns) with a minimum of 1 per target.
Have an Extra Throw over any other handheld guns at ranges of 15-75 feet.
?
Submachine Gun (Uzi, Mac 10, Thompson �Tommy gun�, etc)
Cash Check: 3 (quasi legal)
Range: Lose a Throw to hit beyond 300 ft.
Ammunition: Typically 30 rounds

Notes: Submachine guns are like assault rifles but smaller and less powerful.
Shooters with Firearms skill can fire at a number of targets per round equal to
their skill or can do Massive Damage to one target. They will end up using d10
bullets per round (unless they make a point to use a specific number: 1 or 3, in
which case they lose a Throw against other guns) with a minimum of 1 per
target.�Have an Extra Throw over any other handheld gun except an assault rifle at
ranges of 15-75 feet.
?
Machine Gun
Cash Check: 4 (quasi legal)
Range: Lose a Throw to hit beyond 1000 ft.
Ammunition: 30-100 rounds in a portable magazine�though they�re often belt-fed.

Notes: These are heavy fully-automatic military weapons, illegal to buy, often
belt-fed and used with a tripod or mounted on a vehicle. Lighter machine guns can
be fired without a tripod but they require a Toughness check vs a 2 or else the
shooter loses a Throw. These do Massive Damage to all targets, and can hit a number
of targets per round equal to the shooter�s Firearms score (No firearms skill?
You�re at -2 Throws). They use d10 bullets per round (minimum of 1 bullet per
target hit).�

Nonstandard guns:

Air Rifle/BB Gun:

Cash Check: 2-3
Range: 450 ft
Ammunition: 30
Notes: Non-lethal to anything over 0 Toughness, useless against armor and anyone
hit can make a Toughness Check against a 1 to avoid taking any damage.

Flare Gun
Cash Check: 2
Range: 30 ft
Ammunition: 1 shot
Notes: Lost Throw to hit, the flare itself will likely bounce off and start a fire
in a random place within 20 feet of the target. Non-lethal, a result causing damage
indicates a face hit, the cartridge penetrating a soft area, or the flare lighting
up and scalding the target. Non-lethal to anything over 0 Toughness, useless
against armor and anyone hit can make a Toughness Check against a 1 to avoid taking
any damage. Also can, like, be used the way it�s supposed to be to light up an area
with a signal flare.
?
Tranquilizer Gun
Cash Check: 3
Range: Lose a Throw beyond 100 ft (for pistol version), beyond 300 (for rifle
version)
Ammunition: 1 shot
Notes: One thing few people know about tranquilizer guns is they kind of suck. It�s
very difficult to know how much and what kind of drug to give a human to knock them
out without killing them or inflicting permanent damage. In-game, this essentially
means that�when used on a person�a tranq gun might as well just be a gun. A hit
that does damage but doesn�t kill inflicts its damage in the form of nausea and
disorientation rather than putting holes in you. Doesn�t penetrate armor like a
real gun though.
?

Harpoon Gun
Cash Check: 2
Range: Underwater�Lose a Throw beyond 20 ft, On land�up to 50 feet but lose a Throw
immediately
Ammunition: 1 shot
Notes: Regular guns are useless beyond 10 feet underwater because of the short
cartridge length. Pneumatic or rubber-band-driven, harpoon guns are hard to control
on land because the lack of resistance gives them wicked recoil�rolling only 1s
above water indicates the recoil hit you in the face, which loses you a turn.

Paintball Gun
Cash Check: 3
Range: 100 ft
Ammunition: 200+
Notes: Paintballs do 1 point of non-lethal damage but someone with can hit an
opponent in the face to blind them if they fire with a Lost Throw (for a called
shot) to the head. They can also be loaded with marbles which have an effective
range of 50 ft�they are non-lethal to anything over 1 Toughness, useless against
armor and anyone hit can make a Toughness Check against a 1 to avoid taking any
damage.

Zip Gun
Cash Check: 0-4
Range: 100 + (100xCash Check) ft
Ammunition: Usually 1 shot
Notes: �Zip guns� encompass a variety homemade firearms usually made from salvaged
parts and/or other gunlike objects (like cap guns, paintball guns and air rifles).
Essentially the more work and skill that�s put into a zip gun the more it behaves
like the real thing. They are rare in the US because real firearms are so easy to
acquire, but they are more common among criminals and insurgents in other countries
and they look cool.?
?
Heavy Things (refrigerators, walls, giant crates, etc)
Things heavier than a person that must be tipped over onto-, dropped on-, or shoved
into enemies attack at -2 Throws but do Massive Damage.
?
Improvised Weapon (awkward)
Notes: Lamps, chairs, umbrellas, thrown rocks, etc�things used as weapons in a
pinch but neither designed to be nor well-suited to it. Like most weapons, these
grant an Extra Throw vs unarmed opponents but opponents armed with real weapons or
more easily weaponizable objects will give an Extra Throw vs the improvised-weapon
wielder.�
?

Knife/Dagger/Letter Opener
Cash Check: 1-2
Range: 5 feet per point of agility/hand-to-hand skill (untrained throwers get are
at 2 Lost Throws), Lose a Throw when throwing for knives not designed for it
Notes: an Extra Throw vs nearly any weapon at extreme close range. Otherwise an
opponent with a distance weapon or longer melee weapon has an Extra Throw .
Survival knives (Swiss Army, etc) often have compasses, screwdrivers, etc built in.
?
Knuckledusters/Brass Knuckles
Cash Check: 2 (quasi-legal)
Notes: Like other weapons, an Extra Throw vs an unarmed opponent. Also a lot easier
to break glass, etc without hurting yourself.
?
Molotov Cocktail
Cash Check: 2 (to get ingredients)
Range: 20 feet per point of thrower�s Toughness
Notes: If the targets are aware of the grenade and mobile, they all get a Agility
check vs the thrower�s Agility score to avoid being in the blast radius. Does
standard damage to anyone within 15�.
?
Pepper Spray/Mace
Cash check: 2
Range: 2�
Notes: Nonlethal, no damage. Make a Toughness check each round vs a 4 to take any
action, you can stop once you succeed.� No effect on anything above Toughness 5.
?
Slingshot
Cash Check: 2
Range: 150 ft to damage a person, 500 ft to merely deliver a projectile
Notes: Slingshots do non-lethal damage to anything with more than Toughness 0. They
can also be used to send messages, rope lines, etc
?
Sword/Machete
Cash Check: 3
Notes: If user is trained in hand to hand: an Extra Throw if used to block or parry
a melee attack and an Extra Throw vs other melee weapons when at a distance of 1-5
feet.
?Taser
Cash Check: 3
Range: 35� (legal civilian version: 15�) �they don�t work at less than 5 ft.
Ammunition: 1 shot
Notes: Nonlethal, no damage. Useless against armored targets and people in heavy
coats. Make a Toughness check vs a 5 each round to take any action, once you
succeed you�re fine. One failed shot requires two rounds of reloading.� No effect
on anything above Toughness 5.
?
??
OTHER NOTABLE ITEMS

Note on scientific, chemical and medical equipment: There are acids that will eat
your face off, there are chemicals that will make your eyes roll back in your head,
there is equipment that will stop the acid from eating your face off and drugs that
will roll your eyes back to where they should be, there are cutting-edge drills
that will cut a pinhole in your eye and pull out a bullet-fragment the size of a
fingernail. The important thing about stuff like this in Demon City isn�t so much
which thing does what or how much it costs, it�s whether your character is smart
enough to know which solvent, acid, pill, rebreather, mask, industrial waste
outfit, etc, is right for which task. In general, assume such specialist equipment
has a Cash Check of 1-3 and can do what you want it to do if the purchasing
character makes their Knowledge, Science, explosives etc. roll at the moment it�s
actually used (wait until then, it�s more fun).

Airline TIckets
Cash Check: 3-4
Notes: Most flights are Cash Check 3. Last-minute ones or ones to far-flung or
unusual locations are 4. Flights within Western Europe are often as low as 2.

Angle Grinder
Cash Check: 3
Notes: Can be used as a weapon with 1 Lost Thro . Cordless models need a battery
pack.

Auto Theft Kit

Cash Check: 3
Notes: Includes a Slim Jim (thin piece of sheet metal that trips a door lock), a
long arm to reach in and flip lock switches, auto wedges (force open a gap between
door and car using compressed air, just enough to let in a long arm). Adds 1 Throw
to an attempt by someone with Mechanics or Burglary to steal a car.

Bicycle
Cash Check: 3
Notes: Allows movement at a Speed of 6 and an Extra Throw if racing vs a skateboard
or roller skates/blades.

Binoculars
Cash Check: 2

�Bug�/Listening Device
Cash Check: 2-4
Notes: Bugs trying to catch anything subtle require a Perception check or an
Electronics check (whichever is higher). Bugs that cost 2 add 1 Throw to the check,
bugs that cost 3 add 2 Throws to the check. The cost also modifies how hard they
are to find, Cost 2 devices are -1 Lost Throw to find, Cost 3 are -2 Lost Throws to
find.

Bullet Proof Vest

Cash Check: 3
Notes: Increases functional Toughness by 2 for purposes of absorbing damage and
decreases Agility by 1 (to a minimum of 0).

Bullet Proof Outfit (including mask)

Cash Check: 4
Notes: Increases functional Toughness by 3 for purposes of absorbing damage,
decreases Perception by 1 and decreases Agility by 2 (to a minimum of 0).

Bump Key
Cash Check: 2
Notes: A specially-prepared house key with a filed-down profile which taps tumblers
and pins into place. Long ago replaced lock-picks as the home-intrusion device of
choice. Allows quick, quiet entry to a standard home door lock on a Burglary Check
vs a 2. The automotive version is a set of jiggler keys.

Caltrops
Cash Check: 1
Notes: Bits of metal shrapnel that stick up off the ground. They can be purchased
or made from nails and scrap. Creates an obstacles for cars, police horses,
bicycles, foot pursuers, etc. Agility or driving check vs thrower�s Agility to
avoid, if hit they puncture tires and shoes and slow down anyone pursuing.

Camping Gear
Cash Check: 2-3
Notes: Everything you need for low-grade outdoor survival: tent, sleeping bag,
propane stove, etc.

Climbing Gear
Cash Check: 3
Notes: The advantage of professional climbing gear is it makes it much harder to
fall very far.

Cold Weather Clothes�

Cash Check: 2

Disguise Kit
Cash Check: 3
Notes: Latex prosthetics, fake mustache, etc. Adds two Throws to deception attempts
if applied correctly. How do you know if you applied it correctly? Throw Deception
(or, if you don't have it, Appeal with a Lost Throw ) vs the enemy�s Perception to
find out the first time you use it. If you fail, you automatically blow your
cover.�
?Diversion Safe
Cash Check: 2
Notes: A steel-walled safe disguised as an ordinary household object such as a can
of motor oil or a clock.

Drill
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Can be used as a weapon with 1 Lost Throw. Cordless models need a battery
pack.

Fake Identification
Cash Check: 2-4
Notes: Cost 2 items will pass a standard once-over from a bartender, more expensive
ones add Throws (one per point) to checks to bluff more serious investigation.

Formal Item of Clothing

Cash Check: 3

Formal Outfit
Cash Check: 4

Flashlight
Cash Check: 1-2
Notes: Expensive flashlights can double as weapons� an Extra Throw vs an unarmed
opponent.

Hiker GPS
Cash Check: 3
Notes: Heavier-duty than the one in your phone and harder to track.

Handcuff Key
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Small metal shim allows escape from handcuffs on a successful Sleight of
Hand Throw against a 2. Many models are manufactured to hide in coins, pens, etc.

Hotels
Cash Check: 2-6
Notes: Price corresponds to the social class of fellow guests and the quality of
the security for Burglary checks.

Lockpick Gun�
Cash Check: 3
Notes: Allows quick, quiet entry to a standard home door lock on a Burglary or
Sleight of Hand Check vs a 1. Good chance of damaging the lock. Makes some noise.

Motion Sensor Alarms

Cash Check: 3
Notes: Burglary Throw of 3 or better to bypass.

Nail Gun
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Can be used as a weapon (not at range, though) with 1 Lost Throw. Use a
variety of power sources, some use gunpowder, most use pneumatics and require an
air hose.?
Roller Skates/Blades
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Allows movement at Speed 6.

Shin-Kickers
Cash Check: 1-2
Notes: Essentially brass knuckles for your shoes�a series of raised metal spikes
that anchor between laces. An Extra Throw vs an unarmed opponent if you�re trained
in Hand-to-Hand combat.

Skateboard
Cash Check: 3
Notes: Allows movement at Speed 6.

Spray paint
Cash Check: 1
Notes: Can be used to blind security cameras and (if they fail an Agility check vs
the painter) people.

Toolkit
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Standard hardware�screwdrivers, wrenches, etc.

Trains (cross country)

Cash Check: 3

Trains (communter)
Cash Check: 1

UV Powder
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Smeared on any surface, this slightly sticky powder is normally invisible
but reveals fingerprints in UV light.

Ride Service, Taxi or Car Rental

Cash Check: 2
Notes: Follow-that-car situations rely on a car being there exactly when you want
it, which is common in midtown Manhattan and many European capitals, but rare in
many American cities. Throw randomly if unsure.

Rope, Nylon, 50�

Cash Check: 2

Silencer
Cash Check: 4
Notes: Silencers don�t really silence things, they just make them quieter than
gunshots, so a 1 Throw difference in terms of being heard. They don�t work on
revolvers.

����������

VEHICLES

Appeal is how much charm the vehicle has�some NPCs can be dazzled by the appeal of
a vehicle.

Agility is expressed as a number subtracted from the driver�s Agility or

Drive/Pilot skill-whichever is higher. Use the driver�s Agility/Drive skill when
dealing with standard maneuvers (avoiding pot holes, successfully driving after
taking a tranquilizer dart to the neck), only use the modified score to determine
who gets a Higher Stat Throw when in an opposed Throw with another vehicle or
another thing with an Agility stat.

Toughness works kind of like toughness for living things but it�s never a static
number to roll against (some vehicles have Toughness over 9). You Throw vs the
car�s Agility to hit the car in some way that matters and then you do Standard
Damage to its Toughness. 0 Toughness indicates something catastrophically wrong
(brakes out, etc). Vehicles make checks involving Toughness with their current
Toughness not their maximum. Negative Toughness means the car�s not working any
more. Accidents, ramming and successful called shots to the tires, engine block,
etc�that is anything that goes wrong while the vehicle is moving at high
speed�cause the driver to make a Drive Throw vs the Intensity of the attack or else
something entertaining goes wrong with the vehicle�roll on the Vehicle Damage table
at the end of the book in the Tables section to see what.

Speed is pretty straightforward�if vehicles aren�t bashing each other but just
trying to get to the same place, it lets you know who gets there first.

Cash Check The �own� Cash Check is the Intensity to see if a character with no
other vehicle established in the game yet happens to already own that kind of
vehicle if they want to (and factors in car loans and the possibility the vehicle�s
used for work, etc), the �buy� Check is the Intensity to get one mid-game.

Vehicles Bought Used Check at one less than the listed Own or Buy price but will
have one less point of Agility, Toughness or Speed (determined randomly) unless the
Character has Mechanics.

CARS

Commuter/Family car
(Ford Escort, Toyota corolla, Hyundai Elantra, etc.)
Appeal: 0
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Drive Skill -3
Toughness: 9
Speed: 8
Seats: 5-6
Cash Check: Own 3, Buy 5

Van
(Chrysler Pacifica, Ford Transit, etc)
Appeal: 2
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Drive Skill -3
Toughness: 10
Speed: 8
Seats: 12+
Cash Check: Own 3, Buy 5

Pickup Truck
(Nissan Frontier, Ford F-150, Ram 1500, etc)
Appeal: 1
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Drive Skill -3
Toughness: 11
Speed: 8
Seats: 2-4 inside, lots more in back
Cash Check: Own 3, Buy 6

Sport-Utility Vehicle (SUV)

(Land Rover, Nissan Pathfinder, etc)
Appeal: 0
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Drive Skill -3
Toughness: 10
Speed: 8
Seats: 7-10
Cash Check: Own 4, Buy 6
Notes: Off-Road Capable

Hot Hatch or Jeep

(Peugeot 205 GTI, Escort RS Cosworth, Impreza STI CS400, etc)
Appeal: 2
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Drive Skill -2
Toughness: 9
Speed: 9
Seats: 4
Cash Check: Own 3, Buy 6

Muscle Car
(Trans Am, Dodge Viper, Ford Mustang, etc)
Appeal: 4
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Drive Skill -3
Toughness: 10
Speed: 9
Seats: 4
Cash Check: Own 4, Buy 6

Hypercar
(Lamborghini Murcielago, Porsche Spyder, Ferrari Aperta, etc.)
Appeal: 5
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Drive Skill -2
Toughness: 9
Speed: 10
Seats: 2
Cash Check: Own 5, Buy 8

MOTORCYCLES

Motorcycles can�t be driven without the Drive skill.

Cruiser
(Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide, Yamaha SCR 950, etc)
Appeal: 4
Agility: Drive Skill -2
Toughness: 8
Speed: 8
Seats: 2
Flaws: No Cover
Cash Check: Own 3, Buy 6

Chopper
(Customized cruisers)
Appeal: 5
Agility: Drive Skill -2
Toughness: 8
Speed: 9
Seats: 2
Flaws: No Cover
Cash Check: Own 4, Buy 7

Scooter
(Vespa, Honda Jazz, etc.)
Appeal: 2-3
Agility: Drive Skill -2
Toughness: 6
Speed: 7
Seats: 2
Flaws: No Cover
Cash Check: Own 2, Buy 5

All-Road Bike
(Honda XR600R, Husqvarna 701, etc)
Appeal: 4
Agility: Drive Skill -1
Toughness: 8
Speed: 8
Seats: 2
Cash Check: Own 3, Buy 5
Notes: Off-road capable

Dirt Bikes
(Honda CR480R, Suzuki RM125, etc)
Appeal 3
Agility: Drive Skill +0
Toughness: 8
Speed: 7
Seats: 2
Cash Check: Own 2, Buy 4
Notes: Off-road capable, not street-legal
Hyper Bikes
(Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R, Suzuki Hayabusa, Ducati 1098S, etc)
Appeal 4
Agility: Drive Skill -1
Toughness: 8
Speed: 10
Seats: 2,
Cash Check: Own 4, Buy 6

TRUCKS

A driver without Drive skill operating one of these will always lose a Throw vs
someone with that Skill, even if their modified Agility is better than the
opponent�s modified Drive skill.

Bus
(Hyundai Aero, Blue-Bird All-American, etc)
Appeal: 0
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Drive Skill -4
Toughness: 10
Speed: 7
Seats: 21-60
Cash Check: Own 5, Buy 8

Medium/Delivery Truck
(Chevrolet W-series, Isuzu elf, etc)
Appeal: 1
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Drive Skill -4
Toughness: 11
Speed: 7
Seats: 2-3 in cab
Cash Check: Own 5, Buy 7

Semi Truck
(Mack Smartway, Peterbilt 386, etc)
Appeal: 2
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Drive Skill -4
Toughness: 12
Speed: 7
Seats: 2-3 in cab
Cash Check: Own 6, Buy 7

BOATS

Cabin Cruiser
Appeal: 2
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Pilot Skill -3
Toughness: 10
Speed: 6
Seats: 5-10
Cash Check: Own 4, Buy 6

Yacht
Appeal: 2
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Pilot Skill -3
Toughness: 11
Speed: 6
Seats: 8-20
Cash Check: Own 5, Buy 8

Fishing motorboat
Appeal: 1
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Pilot Skill -3
Toughness: 10
Speed: 6
Seats: 2-4
Cash Check: Own 3, Buy 6

Speedboat
Appeal: 3 (standard) 4 (nifty)
Agility: Driver�s Agility/Pilot Skill -3
Toughness: 9
Speed: 7
Seats: 2-6
Cash Check: Own 4, Buy 7 (standard) 8 (nifty)

���������������

PART 5: TABLES

�
And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
�

-Numbers 25:9

Most of these tables are all entirely optional�use these during prep or mid-game to
add detail or throw a curveball.

DEMON CITY TAROT

Interpreters of the tarot always tell you two things: (1) A discoverable and
apparently historically-justified meaning attaches to each card and its placement
in the interpretive matrix and it took me years to figure it out, but also (2)
interpreting the cards is more art than science so hey whatever. These are what the
cards mean in Demon City�which has its own uses for meaning.

There are many uses for the cards, including:

1. As the Host�s throws for NPCs, horrors, etc as well as rewards for PCs resulting
defeating horrors (as described in the first section of the book).

2. To create fortunes or precognitive flashes (By showing a PC cards associated

with the menace they are currently facing and, in some cases, telling them the
significance of it.)
3. To randomly determine characteristics of Contacts or other NPCs (Each card has
at least one kind of person associated with it or characteristics of a person).

4. To randomly determine buildings or locations (Each card has at least one kind of
location associated with it).

5. To improvise any other situations needed during a session (Once the Host is
comfortable with the meanings in the current Horror�s Deck.)

In the case of 4 and 5, you can pull multiple cards to describe something in more
detail�The Hierophant and the 8 of Cups together would be
a retired priest or an abandoned church.

Additional numbers are provided in parenthesis so that, if necessary, card effects

can be rolled up with dice�roll d100 and reroll anything too high.

(GRAPHIC DESIGNER: THIS TAROT STUFF BELOW SHOULD GO ON THE FRONT ENDPAPERS ALSO)

(00) The Fool�A moron, but likable. A small and pale puppy. A sheer drop. A
stranger will be kind to you, despite your mistakes.

(1) The Magician�A wizard or liar. A deceptive performance, before a large

audience. Avoid a spell, or cast one unerringly.

(2) The High Priestess�A cagey and intuitive woman in a hat. A religious hospital.
A nurse. A 12 to perceive unholy forces.

(3) The Empress�A blonde, imperious, dishy. Beauty. A bend in the river. Gain a
point of Appeal if you Throw a 10 exercising or give up a point of Cash on plastic
surgery.

(4) The Emperor�A father, bearded. Entrenched authority. A public building in white
marble. Someone will assume you�re an authority figure.

(5) The Hierophant�A religious leader. A grey church. Traditions. A 15 to drive off
unholy forces.

(6) The Lovers�An erotically charged relationship. Touching. A good place for hook-
ups. An existing Contact finds you irresistible�or add a new one who does, free.

(7) The Chariot�A racer or a driver. A ride, pimped. Any vehicle. A showroom. A 10
to drive well.

(8) Strength�Someone tough. A fierce animal. A place for athletes. A boxing gym.
Throw an extra time (just you) when exercising during Downtime and pick the
highest.

(9) The Hermit�Isolation and the perspective that comes from isolation. A desolate
place. A brutalist parking garage. Led Zeppelin IV. A 10 on a Perception check
while alone.

(10) The Wheel of Fortune�A gamble or gambler. A casino, a track or a card game.
Cause anyone to rethrow their last Throw.

(11) Justice�Someone inclined to fairness. Possibly blind. A police station, a

protest, a courtroom, a place where activists meet. An 11 to hit someone who has
hurt a friend.

(12) The Hanged Man�Reversal. Inversion. A contrarian or iconoclast. Punished but

not punished. A place of execution. A 12 to hit a captor.

(13) Death�Someone who is old and knows it, or something. A graveyard, an ICU, a
home for dying people. Double damage on an already damaged foe�won�t work on what�s
already dead.

(14) Temperance�A moderate or teetotaler. A bad haircut. Wherever middle-aged

couples relax. A vegan restaurant. Throw an extra time if detoxing and pick the
best.

(15) The Devil�Undeniably wicked. Any place of enslavement, calculated iniquity or

accumulated power. A 15 to hit an enemy, but your friend is hit, too.

(16) The Tower�One who overthrows. A building that is mazelike, high-security, or

haunted. A 16 to successfully trespass.

(17) The Star�A celebrity of some kind. Someone or something uncanny, distant. A
celebrated place. An alien place. Acquire renown for your work.

(18) The Moon�Someone given to passions. Dark or pale. Animals. Cause a round of
panic in an enemy that is hurt or surprised.

(19) The Sun�Very young, but wise. Skin prematurely worn. Leathery. A rooftop in
daylight. A greenhouse. Illumination. A 19 to a Research check.

(20) Judgement�Someone on a panel, or a board, or any judge. A room where great

decisions are made. A neutral party with power will agree to help you.

(21) The World�A foreigner. A global perspective: Little Armenia, Little Jamaica,
the airport, Chinatown. Add a free Contact overseas.

(22) Ace of Wands�A beginner, capable. A redhead. A startup�s office. Throw an

Extra Throw if Working/Training during Downtime and pick the highest.

(23) Two of Wands�Someone with concerns abroad. A waterfront or beach, rapidly

developing. Add an Extra Throw during an Action round when executing a plan you
made.

(24) Three of Wands�A brown-haired man. A room with blueprints.The Department of

Regional Planning. Gain a point next time you add a new Knowledge-based skill.

(25) Four of Wands�A family member. Normality. A place unchanged for a very long
time. Add a Throw and pick the highest when visiting family during Downtime.

(26) Five of Wands�An arguer, surrounded by chaos. A fighting ring or debate hall.
Lose 1 less damage than you would otherwise in a fight.

(27) Six of Wands�Someone black-haired and proud. A parade or award ceremony. Gain
a Throw when speaking to a crowd.

(28) Seven of Wands�A fugitive or desperate person. A small business. A drug

front. Gain a Throw when facing multiple opponents.

(29) Eight of Wands�Online a lot. A hydro-electric plant. Impersonal forces. Gain a

Throw working with a machine.

(30) Nine of Wands�A disabled person. An exhaustive collection�archive,

museum�nearly complete. Gain a Throw during the Action round after awaking from an
injury.
(31) Ten of Wands�A bureaucrat, working too hard. An overburdened government or
administrative service. Gain a free government Contact with a 9 in Research.

(32) Page of Wands�An apprentice or enthusiast. A grand opening. A 10 when dealing

with any kind of supernatural thing for the first time.

(33) Knight of Wands�A genius in their field. A sentient spell. A place of

unharnessed power. Gain 2 points of Occult or gain Occult at Knowledge+1 if you
don�t already have it.

(34) Queen of Wands�Voracious, and a total babe. A black cat. A disguised witch. An
excellent restaurant. Add a Throw when spending Downtime reading�the benefit goes
to the entire group.

(35) King of Wands�Successful and admired. A lizard. A necromancer. A source of

impeccable, if flamboyant, menswear. Uncover a work of occult knowledge.

(36) Ace of Cups�Acutely sensitive. Preternaturally aware. An impressive fountain.

Gain a Contact.

(37) Two of Cups�Warm and reasonable. A mutual beneficial relationship. A kind

woman�s home. An Extra Throw when spending Downtime with an ally, apply it to
everyone.

(38) Three of Cups�Charismatic and not drunk yet. A friendly dive under a place
where no-one eats. Succeed on an Appeal Throw to meet a stranger.

(39) Four of Cups�Hungover and apathetic. Where people are sleeping off a party�or
a bad clinic. Gain a Throw vs inebriation.

(40) Five of Cups�A gaunt soul, dark of aspect. A ruin or ruined place. Gain a
Throw vs Calm Loss at the sight of violence or death.

(41) Six of Cups�A natural victim, paying no attention. An unsuspecting and idyllic
place. A carnival. Throw an extra Downtime Throw when Being Social.

(42) Seven of Cups�Someone misshapen and delusional. A district of retail luxury. A

theme park or retro diner. A 17 on a Deception Throw.

(43) Eight of Cups�A retiree or once who has renounced the past. An abandoned
place. An 18 to escape.

(44) Nine of Cups�A jerk, smug of aspect. A vast, proud venture, long in the
making. A 19 to impress someone.

(45) Ten of Cups�Someone pleased to help. Generosity. A center of LGB or T life.

Receive an unexpected gift that helps with a case.

(46) Page of Cups�A sentimental weirdo. A fondness for seafood. A pleasant wharf.
If you get them drunk they�ll tell you everything.

(47) Knight of Cups�A romantic with full lips. A library without windows. A place
of breaking glass. A 10 to seduce.

(48) Queen of Cups�A ginger woman with strange possessions. A psychic. An antique
shop or prop house. A 10 to discover a rare object.

(49) King of Cups�A wise and wealthy man in elegant footwear. A houseboat or yacht.
A 10 to persuade.

(50) Ace of Swords�A tattooed man. A decapitation strike. A busy corner in the
center of the city. An 11 to a called shot.

(51) Two of Swords�Dangerously obstinate. Defensiveness. Manslaughter. Deadly

ground. A 12 to defend.

(52) Three of Swords�One who complains. A bad tattoo shop. A 13 to a backstab.

(53) Four of Swords�A quiet thinker. A prepared assassin. A mausoleum. An Extra

Throw if attempting to work through Downtime.

(54) Five of Swords�A gloating fiend. A thief and orchestrator of violence. A hub
of iniquity. A 15 to commit an unjust act.

(55) Six of Swords�An exhausted traveler. A crossroads. A 15 to negotiate with

hostile powers.

(56) Seven of Swords�A petty schemer. A spiteful failure. A business operated as a

front. A 17 to steal from someone who likes you.

(57) Eight of Swords�The perfect victim. Kidnapped or compelled. A support group or

center for the afflicted. An 18 to convince someone you are sinned against.

(58) Nine of Swords�An insomniac. Shopping from home. A guilty conscience. A

bachelor pad with a hand-me-down quilt. A 9 to inflict a head wound.

(59) Ten of Swords�A soon-to-be-corpse�or a corpse. The murder card. The worst
neighborhood. A 10 to afflict the already-afflicted.

(60) Page of Swords�Someone playing with fire. A gun shop with inadequate security.
Learn a new weapon skill or +2 to an existing one.

(61) Knight of Swords�Quite intentionally an absolute menace. A stabber. A themed

pub. A 10 in a fight.

(62) Queen of Swords�A formidable woman. A home with a high fence. A 10 to damage,
don�t roll normally.

(63) King of Swords�A very dangerous man. Closed rooms where crimelords meet. A 10
to intimidate.

(64) Ace of Pentacles�Efficient and practical. A place with a strange door. A

vacant lot. Establish a new business.

(65) Two of Pentacles�A juggler or a chancer. A playground or ball field. Rethrow a

failed Cash check.

(66) Three of Pentacles�A team player. A cathedral or place made of stone. A 13 to

a group effort, devoid of violence.

(67) Four of Pentacles�An absurd miser. A roof with a fine view. Greed revealed as
only greed. A 14 to grab someone or something.

(68) Five of Pentacles�A battered beggar. A terrible charity. Refusal. A 15 to a

Calm Check in the face of suffering.

(69) Six of Pentacles�A charity worker. A distributor of gifts. A Goodwill or

Salvation Army. A 16 to persuade a skeptic of good intentions.

(70) Seven of Pentacles�Straightforward and hard working. A quality control

officer. A growing business. A 17 to notice financial irregularities.

(71) Eight of Pentacles�One practiced in their craft. A place with a prominent

public sign. An 18 to apply an Occupational skill.

(72) Nine of Pentacles�A prospering dork. A golden garden. A bird of prey. Leisure.
Gain the trust of an ordinary animal.

(73) Ten of Pentacles�A member of a powerful family. Thin white hounds. A vast
estate. Undo a Cash loss.

(74) Page of Pentacles�A neophyte schemer. A university campus. Gain a point of

Cash.

(75) Knight of Pentacles�A hustler. A summoned thing. A sketchy lawyer. A club with
a dark reputation. Gain a Criminal contact with a 9 in Streetwise and Local
Knowledge.

(76) Queen of Pentacles�A woman, rich and slow-moving. A sad stone monument. Regain
a point of Calm.

(77) King of Pentacles�A man of ill-gotten wealth and dubious taste. An enormous
mall. Move to an amazing apartment downtown, above your means.

PANIC SYMPTOMS

Roll here when a character is at 0 Calm or if you just need a disturbing behavior
pattern for any reason. These aren�t by any means a realistic depiction of mental
illness�and if you have players who might confuse the way people act in a horror
game for the way real mentally ill people act: don�t let them play.

1, Agoraphobia�must get inside and away from people

2, Alien hand syndrome�your hand isn�t yours
3, Amnesia, mild� �How did I get here?�
4, Amnesia, severs��Who am I?�
5, Another personality begins to emerge
6, Attempts to carve �protection spell� into body
7, Attempts homicide (against an inappropriate target)
8, Attempts suicide
9, Attempts to break own fingers
10, Bulimia-like purging�need to vomit
11, Can only repeat one phrase
12, Cannibalism or attempt to eat another living thing living
13, Claustrophobia�need to get outside
14, Compulsively cleans surfaces
15, Compulsively repeats recent action
16, Compulsively tells all secrets
17, Constant, pathological lying
18, Counterproductve mania�must do something to �help out�. It only interferes.
19, Crying and laughing alternate
20, Crying jag
21, Dazed and slow, as if sleepwalking
22, Delusion: Body is decaying
23, Delusion: Chanting everywhere won�t stop
24, Delusion: Character is a monster
25, Delusion: Character is an animal
26, Delusion: Character is another character
27, Delusion: Enemies are allies and vice versa
28, Delusion: Environment is poisonous
29, Delusion: Everyone blames you for this
30, Delusion: Everyone is an android/false self
31, Delusion: Harmless objects are weapons and will protect you
32, Delusion: Irritating music won�t stop
33, Delusion: It�s too cold
34, Delusion: One ally is secretly plotting against you
35, Delusion: Situation is not really happening
36, Delusion: Surfaces are infectious
37, Delusion: This is a movie
38, Delusion: Weapons are harmless toys and you need to play with them
39, Delusion: You�re on fire
40, Desire to touch all nearby surfaces
41, Desire to touch any living thing seen
42, Deusion: It�s too hot
43, Develops and acts on conspiracy theory
44, Dizziness and nausea
45, Echopraxia: copying another uselessly
46, Enacts useless �protection ritual�
47, Failure to recognize the strange
48, Fear of witnessing violence
49, Foetal position, muttering
50, Forget native language
51, Fregoli Syndrome: Strangers are cherished friends
52, Gets rid of all possessions, then clothes
53, Hallucination: vermin everywhere
54, Hallucinations (make something up)
55, Heliophobia: Fear of light
56, Hoarding
57, Hypochondriac delusion: character has an illness
58, Incoherent speech
59, Kleptomania
60, Laughing fit
61, Limbs flail uselessly
62, Monophobia: Fear of being alone
63, Must drink blood
64, Must drink immediately and continuously
65, Must eat immediately and continuously
66, Must remake appearance immediately
67, Must write/draw warning in blood on wall or other surface
68, Need to locate a family member
69, Need to locate a friend
70, Nyctophobia: Fear of darkness
71, Obsession with an activity
72, Obsession with an object
73, Obsession with photographing/videotaping what�s happening
74, Obsession with texting about/telling social media what�s happening
75, Obsession with writing down what�s happening
76, Obsessive destruction of objects
77, Phobia related to menace
78, Pica: attempt to eat something that�s not food
79, Pulls hair out
80, Puts hands over ears
81, Pyromania
82, Refuses any help or treatment
83, Refuses to open eyes
84, Religious Mania: blasphemy is the answer
85, Religious Mania: join a cult
86, Religious Mania: only faith can solve this
87, Screaming
88, Selective blindness�cannot see allies
89, Selective blindness�cannot see foes
90, Selective blindness�cannot see hazards in environment
91, Self-mutilation (attempts to remove own limb, eye, etc)
92, Self-mutilation (minor, cutting, etc)
93, Sexual obsession
94, Sexual obsession with enemy
95, Stares twitching
96, Stendahl-syndrome-like reaction to nearby visual phenomena�it is fascinatingly
beautiful
97, Swearing and screaming
98, Total pessimism�everything is hopeless
99, Trusts no-one
100, Uncontrollable rage at a random ally

CRIME AND THE CITY

(GRAPHIC DESIGNER: SMALL PRINT, ALSO CHANGE THE ASTERISK TO SOME OTHER SYMBOL)
(Years ago I wrote a city kit for medieval urban adventures called Vornheim with
lots of generators like these in it, then Paul D Gallagher in turn used that as a
basis for an excellent urban cyberpunk city kit called Augmented Reality. Entries
below marked with a * draw on Paul�s work in that book�thanks Paul!)

Method of Death

1, Stabbed in the neck with a hatpin

2, Laughed to death at the news�cardiac arrest
3, Beaten with a Bible
4, Drowned under a solar swimming pool cover
5, Ripped apart by dogs
6, Drowned in liquid fat
7, Cut cleanly in half with a circular saw
8, Burned alive in an otherwise untouched scene
9, Died of shock after looking in a mirror
10, Brain hernia after drinking too much orange soda
11, Starvation after refusing to eat anything not from Alpha Beta�a defunct
supermaket chain
12, Hit by an ice cream truck
13, Elevator cable cut
14, Fell into a water purification tank
15, Strangled with her own bra
16, Suffocated in a coffin
17, Two victims�their medications switched
18, Blunt trauma as an exorcist attempts to �drive an evil spirit out�
19, Caught between a subway car and platform
20, Bitten by a snake curled in a sink drain
21, Fell into a jet engine
22, Stabbed with long forks and eaten
23, Ripped open by a shark as aquarium glass shatters
24, Cliffside road abruptly crumbles
25, Lunchroom suicide in a busy office
26, Drowned in a hotel-top water cistern
27, Strangled with a telephone charger
28, Electrocuted by headphones
29, Every man named �Mark Walsh� dies on the same day of apparently unrelated
causes
30, Fallen off a building and landed on a movie marquee
31, Apparent suicide at a gun range
32, Clotheslined while riding a motorcycle
33, Crushed in a garbage truck
34, Woman convinced she is a lizard run over by a bus while crawling across the
street
35, Drowned during intercourse
36, Impaled on the raised arm of an equestrian statue
37, Crushed in a trash compactor
38, Beaten to death in prison by father of victim�s own alleged victim
39, Choked to death, throat stuffed with frogs
40, Shot by a clown
41, Throat cut�clear attempt to perform the (anatomically impossible) �Columbian
necktie�
42, Drowned in holy water
43, Child chewed its way out of mother�s stomach
44, Found bloated in the river, weighed down by a refrigerator
45, Set self on fire to protest a government ousted a year earlier
46, Sewn to another victim, starved to death�partially eaten by each other
47, Bisected in a surgical setting
48, Chained to a radiator until burned to death
49, Stabbed through the eye with an 8-inch heel
50, Choked on a pearl necklace
51, Locked in an oven
52, Poisoned by arsenic from an old taxidermied claw
53, Faces of victims peeled off and switched
54, Ritual murder with wooden masks in a Taco Bell after closing caught on cctv
55, Hole drilled in head with corkscrew
56, Eyes pulled out with tweezers and placed in a cup
57, Crushed under a Dig Dug machine
58, Filmed in prison on the other side of the world 3 hours ago, dead here now
59, Disabled and killed in the hospital by a nurse carrying a sack of knives
60, Found in a python�s belly
61, Found in a home completely identical to their own, but miles away
62, Starved to death locked in a closet off a busy elementary-school classroom
63, Fingers removed, bled to death from hands
64, Boiled alive inside an oil drum
65, Amputee has own claw-hand shoved down throat
66, Drawn and quartered by four Miatas
67, Sealed in a steel cage and thrown in the sea
68, Bitten by a decapitated snake head
69, Dropped in a decorative aquarium of box jellyfish
70, Mercy-killed during late-stage rabies
71, Heart removed by a trained surgeon
72, Covered in molasses and eaten by rats
73, Dropped in tar and run over
74, Parts of body found in widely-separated alligators
75, Belly pierced with sharpened chopsticks
76, Force-fed nails
77, Crucified by a yoga class
78, Skull-rupture filled with hatching baby spiders
79, Thrown through elevated train car window
80, Tied kinbaku-style with barbed wire
81, Head crushed in a vise
82, Sprayed with an aerosol bottle of cyanide
83, Starved after tongue melted to roof of mouth
84, Stomach filled with sharp filings, intestines torn by electromagnet
85, Teacher stabbed to death by students with pencils
86, Forced heroin overdose
87, Landmine under a mall parking lot
88, Killed by a thai food delivery guy while a cam girl overheard through her
screen in the next room
89, Found dead in a (decommissioned) electric chair
90, Strangled with pig intestines
91, Sigil-shaped area of torso completely removed, cut clean through
92, Upper facial area left frozen with liquid nitrogen, shattered by prying cat
93, City bus driver is shot, motive unknown, bus drives off a bridge overpass
94, Force fed C-4 charge
95, Retired Colonel dead in drawing room, poisoned tea. Found by underage mistress.
96, Puddle of acid near 4-way intersection, eats away tires causing pile-up
97, Stabbed with glass cake spatula
98, Pile of heads found under Chuck-E-Cheese ballpit
99, Wooden Christ on life-sized crucifix sawn off and replaced with human victim
100, Tied down and covered in scorpions

Problem, Puzzle and Mystery Set-Ups

Entries marked with a * are variations/extensions of the entries above them.

1, Cult/conspiracy members rely on each other for completion of a multipart plan--

if all foes die/are stymied, or just specific ones, it's even worse for the PCs
than if the foes' plan went off perfectly (for example: a boat full of innocent
sacrifice victims plus a crew are stranded in the sea), so the PCs must carefully
decide exactly which parts of the plot to defeat and how.

2, Investigation reveals two entities (creatures, organizations, etc) are fighting

each other�but not which ones are the �good guys�. Put the PCs in a position where
they might assume one side is without realizing it.

3, Essential key (literal or figurative) to finishing the investigation is hidden

somewhere else in the adventure.

4, *One of a handful of NPCs or creatures you�ll run into later has it.

5, *Key has pieces/multiple keys required.

6, Research shows that some geographic/topographic feature that used to be in the

area isn�t on maps any more�or appears to not be there in real life, despite no
evidence it was destroyed.

7, *Otherwise realistic floorplan for hidden headquarters/tomb/archaelogical dig

has obvious missing area.

8, *Floorplan of secret headquarters alternates in pattern (door on left, door on

right, door on left�) missing part has secret door.

9, *Floorplan's simple and eccentric but apparently symmetrical, giving clues to

hidden location.

10, *Moving through reveals floorplan�s shaped like some familiar object: star,
triangle, etc.
11, *-Shape is sacred to inhabitant/architect cult.

12, *-Shape is worked into decoration of rooms.

13, *-Shape is present by omission (nobody in the cult has a hand, shaped like left
hand, etc)

14, Creature is the only way to destroy another creature.

15, Creature or victim is literal key to ceremony/puzzle/door/gate.

16, Seemingly mundane object is secretly key to defeating creature.

17, Trap, once sprung, has key to important bit elsewhere in investigation. Success
requires springing it.

18, Verbal clue (found note)--puzzle clue hangs on secondary meaning of word.

19, Haystack puzzle--there are tons of enemies, one has the mcguffin. Adventure
built around planning ways to corner each in turn.

20, *Narrowing haystack (The �Point Blank�)�each defeated foe offers one clue to
next foe.

21, *Narrowing ticking clock haystack--the longer it takes the more difficult the
final showdown becomes.

22, Creature only reappears worse when it dies unless some vital thing is done
besides just hit it.

23, Something that doesn't appear to be a map/spell/ritual instructions is one.

24, Nonhuman intelligence (alien, demon, etc) is expressing itself. What it thinks
is very clear (verbally or leaving a note), but it only makes sense if you know
it�s that species and know/remember about their culture/mentality. For example:
when a witch says "food" she might mean something else�

25, *Ancient "emoticon"--turning message sideways or upside down makes sense of it.
Show players a picture.

26, Picture clues: there's a specific and detailed picture you show the players,
with clues in it. Noticing them reveals stuff.

27, An apparently random agglomeration of words uttered by some NPC (dying?

insane?) is an address.

28, Some kinds of person/creatures can get through a gate, some can't. The players
may notice all the ones on one side or able to traverse it have some distinguishing
feature/mark--mutilated ear, etc. Doing that allows you through.

29, A given color is always an illusory surface with something through it/portal to
another world.

30, A psychic reading reveals the cards in the Horror�s Deck. It contains a
code�the 6 of Wands indicates 6W, etc.

31, A psychic notices a given effect alway accompanies the appearance of a specific
card in the Horror�s Deck, the Host never shuffles, just lays the cards out
cyclically.

32, Lock/door/ritual/creature responds to quantifiable element of character (age,

eye color)--the closer to the desired value, the more it responds (one door opens,
two doors, three).

33, Creature is actually part of a creature. Make it a whole by combining

creatures. It must be whole before it can be killed.

34, *Once it's whole it's no longer evil.

35, The weapon you use against the monster changes the nature of the monster.

36, Deducing the creature's mission allows you to predict its actions. Predicting
its actions is the only way to avoid or kill it.

37, A thing changes states: from NPC to creature to victim to clue etc. Observing
the pattern allows you to stop the cycle at a desired moment.

38, *All creature of a given species do x destructive thing as they die--the trick
is to kill them at the right moment.

39, Creature/mechanism/conspiracy identifies allies by behavior not appearance. Can

be fooled.

40, Creatures/mechanism/conspiracy mirrors party behavior.

41, Intercepted communication in simple code.

42, Simple vulnerability/key (earth, air, fire, water, blood, etc)

43, Unbeknownst to party, murder victim was killed because they are the creature,
the murderer was a good guy preventing apocalypse. The Machine wants them stopped
and will help the party stop them.

44, Babelfish/Apollo 13 trap: problem, apparent obvious solution, each obvious

solution creates a new problem, until the chain finishes. Things needed to solve
the problem are scattered throughout the area.

45, Each leg of investigation creates a problem--some curse or spell reacts to the
activities you�re performing. This isn't noticeable immediately but the more you
investigate the harder you make it on yourself.

46, The large mechanism's broken: you have to do some precarious thing while
someone else in the party does some other precarious thing in order to operate it.
Of course while you're doing that the enemy comes.

47, You need to kill the creature but leave some vital part intact, so certain
attacks are off the table.

48, Deaths are the result of some incorrectly working ritual that should be
benign�fixing it requires realizing some unobtrusive object is a missing
ingredient.

49, Villain's backstory requires keeping a prisoner nearby. Prisoner is disguised

as pet, member of staff, spouse, statue etc.

50, Murder victim isn�t actually dead�it was an attempt to fake own death to hide
from the Horror/conspiracy.
51, Client/patron who asked for murder investigation is actually murderer and
doesn�t realize it�possession/amnesia/MPDS etc.

52, PCs find list of foes in ritual preparation in different places early in the
adventure, order in which they address them affects how later ones respond.

53, PCs do not realize they�re interviewing the same �witness� or �victim� over and
over in different guises.

54, Ritual circles contains spells that activate strange changes in environment,
some of which may help in showdown with Creature.

55, Ritual circles imprison multiple demons, releasing at least one is necessary to
solve problem.

56, PCs' predicament requires capturing a fierce foe alive or else they die.

57, Corrupt business widens curse by selling ritual objects hidden in retail merch
to random unsuspecting customers.

58, Hunting foe can hide/move through a specific kind of object--can come from
underneath anything with a given pattern, through any open window, etc.

59, Presence of common thing strengthens foe--light, sound, reflective surfaces,

hair, etc

60, Physical space mapped to chronological space--i.e. going up or north goes

forward in time, going down or south goes back in time, etc

61, Time, lighting, gravity, shape of things, weather, etc mapped to disposition of
innocuous object�if it�s wet, it rains, etc.

62, The real mastermind is the timid low-level NPC the PCs shook down in the first
scene, their information was meant to lead you to the �boss�.

63, Behavior of foe mapped to "voodoo doll"-like object.

64, Friend and foe's situation mapped to each other--hurt one, you hurt the other,
etc.

65, Murder �victim� was willing suicide (must be killed in a certain way to be
reborn? To serve a strange god?), �murderer� was forced/manipulated into it by
them.

66, Controlling villain is disguised as ubiquitous background creature/object.

67, Enemies control a single basic convenience: taxis, cell phones, electrical
grid, etc.

68, Foe/place has dominion over common weapon element--fire, steel, etc--that
weapon, if used, will turn on user.

69, Necromancer using tortured soul for their own ends. If its (unrelated) murder
is solved it will be put to rest so the necromancer wants to stop you.

70, Artificial construct/demon committed crime accidentally by carrying out literal

instructions (bury everything you find in x room, destroy anything marked with a
yellow tag, etc), victim fit a category by accident.
71, All actions in (sealed?) location A cause identical automatic actions by
creatures/magic in location B.

72, Abilities/behavior of creature depend on kind of object placed in innocuous

box. Red object: destroys red things, etc.

73, Colors map to supernatural property of area, work into subtle room
descriptions--rooms with blue in them=magic doesn't work, rooms with yellow mean
metal doesn't work, etc.

74, Pac_Man-esque situation--harmless creature becomes voracious and dangerous (and

physically different) when exposed to specific object.

75, Object/location is Dorian-Grey-style storage area for something noncorporeal or

esoteric (bitterness, fat, sleep, etc) opening or destroying or interacting with it
lets it all out.

76, Competing sleuth(s) will ruin everything. If harm comes to them you�ll be the
first suspect.

77, Unusual but mundane kind of object with simple purpose (coin sorter, rubber
stamp pad, etc) is found throughout investigation of suspects�are key element of
ritual (requires a certain proportion of zinc or nickel, requires glyph be repeated
on many parts of a multifaceted surface, etc).

78, Artificial life/demonic golem has a "boss pattern".

79, *Cultists have a �boss pattern�.

80, Serial murderer doesn�t need to kill people, they need something that was
hidden inside the victims. Some are alive.

81, Murder victim is clone/doppleganger/someone disguised as- murderer. Murderer

killed them because clonemaster/witch/conspiracy sent the second self to kill them.

82, When the player�s uncover the drug ring, the criminals get off because (much to
their own surprise) it wasn�t drugs it was just tears/sweat/grave dirt/cremation
ash. So�why did the boss want all this secrecy?

83, They have to solve the murder because they�ve been tipped off the most obvious
suspect is them.

84, Precognitive victim knows they will be murdered but not by whom.

85, Powerful psychic doesn�t know it. People all over town have been dying in
response to their dreams, moods, DMT trips.

86, The various people trying to kill the PCs don�t actually want them dead
(specifically), the PCs are victims of a curse/foe that makes everyone looking for
a random victim find them.

87, "Learning foe" starts stupid, develops perfect defense to any tactic after 1
attack.

88, A trap situation is set up--the trap will activate when victims fulfill x y z
conditions (ritual summons a devouring creature for instance). Foe attempts to get
PCs to fulfill the conditions w/out revealing themself.
89, Apparently irrational behavior of creature is part of complex ritual,
interrupting the behavior or altering it causes the ritual to go awry in analogous
way. For example: the path the foe takes through the city is the one their terrible
Star God, once summoned, will take through the city.

90, Previous events erased/reversed by a magic device. Like: each of 10 candles

maps to a previous combat round--extinguish the candle, undo the round, etc.

91, Time pressure: x complex task must be completed before y disastrous

consequence. Approach of y is clear and on a graduated scale the party knows about.
T-minus 10, 9, 8�

92, Large scale accident is used to disguise a murder of an important figure.

Callous government or corporation has to keep reproducing that accident
periodically to make it seem routine.

93, Victim murdered by a guilt-ridden friend or parent to prevent them from being
murdered in a ritual which would�ve bring about a much worse fate for everyone.

94, The helpful monk who translated the manuscript to help you defeat the demon is
a cult member and the demon�s weakness is totes not what he said it was.

95, You know what you have to do, but each kind of creature has a known deleterious
or warping effect on the local environment--deciding the order to defeat the
creatures decides the shape of the environment for confronting the next. Like: if
you kill the pale demon first, it will begin to snow, if you kill the iron demon
one first, all metal you touch for a week will rust, etc.

96, Foe has-/is composed of- a number of debilitating problems (blind, crippled,
maimed, etc). Defeating the foe requires these be off-loaded onto someone else
(probably PCs). Probably the best way is to give different problems to different
PCs.

97, *Debilitating aspects are self-canceling if organized properly, so like if you

take the foe's cowardice and recklessness they cancel each other out, so the trick
is to be organized.

98, Cult members� unexpected reaction to PCs based on some obscure-but-discoverable

detail of clothing/hair etc.

99, Every victim is someone from a different PC�s past: villains the PCs
(unknowingly) traduced by the PCs in a previous adventure are taking revenge.
But�.which previous adventure?

100, Three different suspects thought they killed the victim but after the PCs talk
to them, it turns out the cause of death doesn�t match any of them. The real
murderer wanted them to think they did though�.

Clues?

1-Hertz Rent-a-Car receipt.

2-Homemade yarn doll.
3-Right leg of translucent orange Gamera toy.
4-Cookie tin full of cash, keys, cell phone, change, etc..
5-Fuzzy pink headphones with embroidered skulls.
6-Two triple A batteries--Duracell.
7-ipod in pink case.
8-Dead, outdated cell phone.
9-Pair of jelly jars with grey residue.
10-Twelve mugs, 1 white, 11 black.

More Clues?

1-Chip of blue glass.

2-Unidentified cosmetic in tube.
3-Two bottles of nail polish--1 gold, 1 white.
4-The kind of local paper the Onion makes fun of.
5-Jar containing change and various pens.
6-Top of apricot container.
7-1/2 empty Dr Pepper bottle.
8-Empty bottle of Bulleit bourbon.
9-Digital camera, Canon.
20-Empty box of raisins.

Murder Motives

1 Jealousy
2 Killing a witness
3 Hiding a fact from the press
4 Threatened to reveal criminal
5 Ritual sacrifice/Psychotic pattern
6 Self-Defense
7 Brawl over meaningless insult
8 Robbery/Greed
9 Revenge
10 Offing a rival

Crime Lord Schemes

1, Cover whistleblowers in scandal/distracting accusations

2, Invite powerful people to debauched parties then blackmail participants
3, Smuggle contraband disguised as disaster relief packages
4, Approach PC at work and offer them a large sum to destroy a mundane file/record
(containing evidence)
5, Use food delivery workers to case possible burglary targets
6, Have parking attendants drop evidence in car trunks while in custody of keys
7, Kidnap and ransom a senator�s child
8, Pay hospital staff to destroy death records to provide raw material for fake id
papers
9, Use tunnel workers to study city infrastructure and create getaway paths
10, Pay off psychiatrists to provide ready-made insanity defenses

Cultist Schemes

1, Encode hypnotic message into citywide ad campaign/play/art exhibit

2, Slowly replace city hall or major business with devotees
3, Inject animals at shelter with demonic virus before adoption
4, Take over real estate along ley line/above sacred site
5, Frame/gaslight witnesses to ritual so that they�re imprisoned/institutionalized
6, Hold academic conference with secret goal to recruit potential members to
esoteric belief system
7, Dominate a service industry (maintenance, rail workers, etc) to create a network
of spies
8, Spread occult teachings at orphanage under guise of �story time�
9, Summon demon via carefully engineered mass death from public catastrophe
10, Disguise familial/genetic links between cult sacrifices victims by attributing
death to rare disease

Occupations

Accountant
Actor/Actress
Acting coach
Actuary
Acupressurist
Acupuncturist
Addiction counselor
Advertising copy writer
Advertising exec
Adult film performer
Adult film producer
Aid to the blind
Air force pilot
Air force tech/mechanic
Air traffic controller
Airport ground crew
Airline clerk
Airport security officer
Animal breeder
Animal control worker
Animal shelter worker
Animal trainer
Animator
Anthropologist
Antique dealer
Arborist (tree trimmer)
Archeologist
Architect
Architectural drafter
Archivist
Art director
Art historian
Art restorer/conservator
Artificial flower maker
Artificial limb fitter
Artist
Astrologer
Astronomer
Athlete (baseball, football, etc)
Athlete�s agent
Auctioneer (art/collectibles)
Auctioneer (livestock)
Auditor
Automotive engineer
Bail bondsman
Bailiff
Baker
Bank clerk
Bar back
Barber/hairdresser
Bartender
Beautician
Bicycle messenger
Bicycle mechanic
Bill collector
Biochemist
Biologist
Biotechnologist
Blacksmith
Black marketeer
Blood bank recruiter
Boat captain
Bodyguard
Bookkeeper
Bookmaker (�Bookie�)
Botanist
Bouncer
Bowling alley attendant
Boxing instructor
Braille translator
Brewer
Broadcaster/announcer
Building inspector
Burglar
Bus driver
Busboy
Busker/Street Performer
Butcher/sausage-maker
Butler
Cab/taxi dispatcher
Cab driver
Cabinetmaker
Caddy
Calligrapher
Camera operator
Camp counselor
Car thief
Carpenter
Carpet layer
Cartographer
Cartoonist
Cashier
Casting director
Carny
Car wash attendant
Casino manager
Caterer
Census taker
Ceramics/pottery maker
City planner
Chaplain (armed forces)
Charity manager
Chauffeur
Chef (outranks a cook)
Chef, personal
Cheese maker
Chimney sweep
Chiropractor
Choir master/mistress
Chop shop operator
Choreographer
Circus performer
Climatologist
Cloakroom attendant
Columnist
Comedian
Comic book artist
Comic book writer
Community organizer
Composer
Computer engineer
Computer network manager
Computer programmer
Con artist
Conductor (orchestra)
Conductor (train)
Cook
Cosplayer, pro-
Court stenographer
Credit fraud specialist
Crime Scene Clean-up
Critic (art, film, tv, etc)
Crossing guard
Croupier
Cruise director
Cryogenic tech
Cryptographer
Customer service rep
Customer service rep (phone)
Customs officer
Dance teacher/trainer
Dancer
Dancer (exotic)
Debt collector
Decontamination worker
Delivery drivers (packages)
Delivery drivers (food, etc)
Dental nurse
Dentist
Dermatologist
Dietician
Diplomat
Director (theatre/films)
Dish-washer
Diver (salvage)
Diver (construction)
Divinity professor
DJ
Doctor (general practitioner or other)
Dog catcher
Dog walker
Doll maker
Drilling rig operator
Driving instructor
Drug chemist (illegal)
Drug dealer
Drug trafficker
Economist
Editor
Election worker
Electrician
Emergency phone operator
Employment officer
Engineer (biomedical)
Engineer (civil)
Engineer (mechanical)
Engineer (research)
Engineer (weapons)
Epidemiologist
Exterminator
Factory worker
Faith healer
Farmer
Fashion designer
Fashion model
Fence (stolen goods)
Festival organizer
Film distributor
Film set designer
Film editor
Film projectionist
Financial analyst
Financial officer (corporate)
Firefighter
Fish farmer
Fisherman
Fitness instructor
Flight attendant
Florist
Flying instructor
Food industry production manager
Food industry tech
Food truck cook
Food stylist (makes food look good in ads)
Forensic tech
Forest Ranger
Forger
Fortune teller
Framer
Fundraiser
Funeral director
Funeral service worker
Furrier
Garbage collector
Gambler
Game designer
Game show host
Game warden
Gardener
Garment worker
Gas station attendant
Genealogist
Geneticist
Geological surveyer
Geologist
Glassblower
Glazier
Golf course attendant
Golf course designer
Graphic designer
Gravedigger
Grief counselor
Guidance counselor
Gunsmith
Hacker
Hatter
Hearse driver
Helicopter medic
Herbalist
Historian
Historical monument custodian
Hitman/Assassin
Home care worker
Hospital orderly
Host/ess
Hotel porter
Hotel receptionist (receptionist)
Housekeeper
Human resources manager
Human trafficker
Hunter/game trapper
Hydrologist
Hypnotherapist
Ice-cream maker
Ice-cream truck driver
Illustrator
Image consultant
Industrial designer
Installer (internet, cable, etc)
Information booth clerk
Insurance adjuster
Insurance salesman
Intelligence officer
Interior designer
Interpreter/translator
investment clerk
Janitor
Jeweller
Jewellery maker/designer
Jockey
Journalist (print/web)
Journalist (tv)
Judge
Land surveyor
Landlord
Landscape architect
Laundry worker/dry-cleaner
Lawyer
Lens grinder
Librarian
Lifeguard
Linguist
Lithographer
Locksmith
Logger
Lottery ticket street vendor
Madam
Machinist
Make-up artist (beauty)
Make-up artist (special effects)
Management consultant
Marine (soldier)
Masseur/masseuse
Mathematician
Medic (armed forces)
Medical examiner (forensic)
Medical technician
Mechanic (service mechanic)
Mechanic (auto)
Metallurgist (materials technician)
Meteorologist
Meteorologist (tv news)
Midwife
Miner
Mining/minerals surveyor
Mob boss
Mob enforcer
Model maker (special effects)
Monk
Museum curator/director
Music director (orchestra)
Musical instrument mechanic
Musician
Musicologist
Nanny
Navy sailor
Neon sign maker
Newspaper editor-in-chief
Newsstand vendor
Notary public
Novelist
Nuclear power station worker
Nun
Nurse
Nutritionist
Office clerk
Office manager
Optician
Orthotist/prosthetist
Paediatrician
Painter (fine art)
Paramedic
Parking attendant
Patent agent
Pawnbroker
Pedicurist, manicurist
Personal assistant
Personal trainer
Pharmaceutical industry operative
Pharmaceutical lab tech
Pharmacist
Philosopher
Photographer (art)
Photographer (commercial/fashion)
Photojournalist
Physicist
Physical therapist
Piano tuner
Pickpocket
Pilot (aircraft)
Pipe fitter
Plumber
Poacher
Police clerk
Police detective
Police officer
Police sketch artist
Political consultant
Political scientist
Politician
Pollster
Pool cleaner
Post office counter clerk
Postal worker
Pimp
Press officer/public relations officer
Priest/minister of religion (clergyman/woman)
Printer
Printing machine mechanic
Printing technician
Prison guard / prison officer
Private detective
Pro-domme/Pro-sub
Producer
Proofreader
Property manager
Props master (film/tv)
Prostitute
Prosthetic maker
Psychiatrist
Psychologist
Publisher
Puppeteer
Quality control technician
Racecar driver
Racetrack manager
Radio and tv technician
Radio tech (naval)
Railway freight handler
Railway ticket/booking office clerk
Railyard worker
Real estate agent
Receptionist
Record company exec
Referee (umpire)
Retail store manager
Retoucher (photos)
Ride-share driver (Lyft, Uber, etc)
Road worker
Robber
Roofer
Rope maker
Safety inspector
Salesperson
Sales rep (travelling)
Scene painter (theater backdrops)
School inspector
School principal
Scrapyard operator/salvager
Screenwriter
Sculptor
Seaman/woman (merchant navy)
Secretary
Security guard
Service animal trainer
Sewer worker
Shipwright
Ship's captain
Ship's officer
Shoemaker
Sign language interpreter/teacher
Sign painter
Silkworm breeder
Smuggler
Social worker
Sociologist
Soldier
Songwriter
Sound engineer
Spa resort attendant
Special effects engineer
Speech therapist
Sport manager (auto racing, boxing etc)
Stable hand
Stage costume maker
Stage designer
Stage manager (theatre)
Station manager (tv)
Statistician
Stay-at-home parent
Stockbroker
Stonemason
Student (kindergarten/preschool)
Student (elementary school)
Student (middle school)
Student (high school)
Student (undergrad)
Student (grad)
Stuntman/woman
Stunt driver
Surgeon
Surgical toolmaker
Tailor/dressmaker
Talent agent/manager
Tanning salon manager
Tattoo artist
Taxidermist
Teacher
Telecommunications worker
Ticket collector/inspector
Ticket scalper
Tour guide
Toy designer
Track engineer
Traffic cop
Train dispatcher
Train driver (engine driver)
Train mechanic
Trainer/coach
Tram driver
Travel agent
Truck driver
Tutor
Unemployed
Upholsterer
Usher/usherette
Veterinarian
Veterinary surgeon
Veterinary technician
Vlogger
Voice-over actor/actress
Waiter/waitress
Warehouse clerk
Water meter reader
Watchmaker
Webcam model
Wedding planner
Welder
Whaler
Wholesale buyer (fruit, textiles, etc)
Window washer
Wine grower
Zookeeper

Random Trait*

1, Painfully thin, chain smokes

2, Athletic and wiry, huffing fast food
3, Bulky, obsolete cyberaudio 'domes'
4, Bleeding gums, bloodshot eyes
5, Sad looking, distracted by cell phone
6, Heavily tattooed, tired
7, Weary, apathetic, bright clothing
8, Doughy and unhealthy looking
9, Confident, highly polished, vinyl jacket
10, Sophisticated, manipulative
12, Cold and predatory demeanour
13, Pale and sullen, pleasingly stylish
14, Acts deaf but isn't, knows people
15, Boxy e-cig, coat/hoodie, mirrorshades
16, Shy and apologetic, rubber raincoat
17, Oily skin, constantly checks watch
18, Oddball dress sense, way too literal
19, Long hair, metalhead
20, Trashy, overtly sexual, self-loathing
21, Trashy, overtly sexual, awesome
22, Overclocked nervous system, sweats
23, Conservative, business-like
24, Toned, adjusts latest style clothes
25, Business like, gum chewer, sniffs
26, Square face, with small, darting eyes
27, Ill fitting clothes and bad teeth
28, Liver spots, prosthetic arm
29, Garish pink clothes, false teeth
30, Rugged, practical and outdoorsy
31, Dreadlocks, worn leather coat
32, Seems eerily artificial, very attractive
33, Unintelligent, aggressive, pock marks
34, Cheap glasses, black turtle neck
35, Overweight and dirty, layered cloths
36, Super buff, bald
37, Obvious cosmetic surgeries
38, Gangsta bling, lisps, friendly
39, Permanent plasticky rictus grin
40, Highly strung, with overly long fingers
41, Pushed for time, bulky backpack
42, Poorly groomed, with a raspy voice
43, Camo, poor listener
44, Workwear under overcoat, nods sagely
45, Thick foreign accent, sandals
46, Furtive and on edge, unkempt
47, Breezy, charming
48, Narcotic haze, fidgety hands, shabby
49, Loud, camp, and showy, anaemic
50, Friendly/Helpful, designer jacket
51, Detached/Bored, dark glasses
52, Robotic, sportswear
53, Overly Cautious, buttoned-up
54, Humorous Inquisitive
55, Nosy Drunk, wide tie
56, Stoned, black gloves
57, Uncommunicative, slow
58, Extremely Positive, flag tee
59, Surly, sweat pants
60, Lecherous, patched jeans
61, Servile, thick neck
62, Superstitious, hearing aid
63, Abrupt, hairy
64, Religious, gold rings
65, Boastful with narrow nostrils
66, Flamboyant but cagey
67, Careless/Clumsy, carrying a heavy bag
68, Suicidal, bad haircut
69, Cynical but sexy
70, Has Tourettes, great shoes
71, Argumentative about food
72, Unpredictable, has business cards
73, Nervous about being here
74, Ashamed of the way they look
75, Incoherent, wearing loafers
76, Noisy/Interrupts, striped shirt
77, 1000 Yard Stare, Jesus necklace
78, Ambitious, heavily-pierced
79, Calm, thoughtful, with a pet
80, Arrogant, stone-faced
81, Gloating about new phone
82, Yelling about someone named �Penny�
83, Underage wants you to buy them cigarettes
84, Walking four dogs
85, Wheelchair, 4 drinks in carton on lap
86, Pretending to be on the phone
87, Is filming something w/phone
88, Angrily listening to their team lose a game
89, Hot mess
90, Grumpy, with a cane
91, Depressive and slothful
92, Sensible but haggard
93, Greedy and charismatic
94, Respectful and impressed
95, Volatile/Touchy, goth
96, Judgemental, single parent
97, Vulgar/Rude, heavy accent
98, Patronising, bad cough
99, Stupid and boring
00, Naive and singing to themself

Relationship to next NPC

1....is toying with...or using it/she/he for entertainment

2...is obsessed with...
3...has an uneasy alliance with...
4...seeks to control...
5...reluctantly trades with...
6...sexually involved with...
7...seeks the destruction of...
8...seeks the return of...
9�works for�
10...secretly serves...
11..is at war with...
12...loves...
13...wants to be like�
14�is unaware of ____ & this is dangerous
15�can�t function without....
16...does not want to harm____but feels s/he must
17...worships...
18...requires___for some scheme
19....desires___'s dwelling/home
20...wants to attack___ but is bound by some thing not to do so directly
21....uneasily shares power with...
22...pressured to be allied with...
23...wants to frame______ or otherwise have his/her/its actions mistaken for
his/her/its own
24...must distract...in order to enact plan
25...is unwillingly mystically joined to...
26...will be unstoppable once allied with...
27...will be more vulnerable once allied with...
28...wants to be rescued from...
29�is a younger relative of�
30...seeks information possessed by...
31...seeks the love of...
32...seeks information about...
33...just killed/is about to kill...
34�is an older relative of..
35...seeks the capture of..
36...seeks to secretly undermine...
37...hates...
38...is allied with...
39�has been through a lot with�
40...is or wants to perform experiments on...
41...requires_____to complete a special project
42...secretly is...
43...is only vulnerable to...
44...has key info about...
45...is impersonating...
46...is struggling with ____ for control of an organization
47...is unaware of but vulnerable to s/he/it
48 ...is engaged to...
49...is married to...
50�is the father of...
51�is in a rival of�
52�is a student of...
53�is worried about...
54�is blackmailing...
55�is suspicious of...
56�is daughter of...
57�schemes with...
58�is jealous of...
59�owes money to...
60�was insulted by...
61�seeks services of...
62�has influence over...
63�will betray...
64�trusts only...
65�is a friend of...
66�annoys...
67�makes use of...
68�twin sister of...
69�twin brother of�
70�brother of�
71�sister of...
72�only enjoys...
73�irritates...
74�son of...
75�adopted by...
76�worries about...
77�seeks help of...
78�curious about...
79�apprentice of...
80�did work for...
81�on-off lover of...
82�obsessed with...
83�wary of...
84�won�t work with...
85�jealous of...
86�deeply dislikes�
87�committed a crime with�
88�requires_____to stay silent
89�undervalues�.
90-100 (roll twice more)

Cop Quirks

1, No non-lethal weapons
2, On a motorcycle
3, On a horse
4, Undercover
5, Technically doesn�t have jurisdiction here
6, Bullet-proof vests
7, Tasers
8, Helicopter
9, K-9 unit
10, Twice as many as you�d expect

Organized criminals

1, Drug dealer
2, Pimp
3, Prostitute
4, Enforcer
5, Bodyguard
6, Front
7, Bankrolls the operation
8, Sells information
9, Collects protection money
10, Boss

Buildings *

1, Pharmacy
2, Drug store
3, Consumer Electronics
4, Phone dealer
5, Art Dealer or Gallery
6, Salon/Barber
7, Auto repair
8, Gas station
9, Storage Units
10, Warehouse
11, Legal Firm
12, Dentists office
13, Church
14, Synagogue
15, Hotel
16, Motel
17, Low Rent Housing Project
18, Expensive apartments
19, Middle-class apartments
20, Small grocery Store
21. Supermarket
22, Elevated Rail
23, Road Overpass
24, Fast Food Franchise
24, Coffee franchise
25, Police Precinct
26, Fire station
27, School
28, College
29, Government Building
30, Prison
31, Parking garage
32, Parking block
33, Office Block
34, Public Transport Hub
35, Hospital
36, Public clinic
37, Department Store
38, Mall
39, Plastic surgeon
40, Massage
41, Podiatrist
42, New Media Company
43, Collectibles
44, Industrial
45, Ice cream
46, Security Tech
47, Hardware
48, Vehicle Showroom
49, Museum
50, Fashion Boutique
51, Shoes
52, Convenience store
53, Cathedral
54, Arcade
55, Fountain
56, Construction
57, Gym
58, Strip club
59, Nightclub
60, Printer
61, Underpass
62, Tunnel
63, Show venue
64, Veterinarian
65, Outdoor cafe
66, Copies/Office tech
67, Shipping center
68, Wholesaler (fabric, toys)
69, Lighting store
70, Courier
71, Bulk Transport Company
72, Bar
73, Union hall
74, Restaurant�fancy
75, Docks/flower mart
76, Taxi Firm
77, Bus lot
78, Abandoned
79, Pocket Park
80, Playground
81, Bike shop
82, Skate shop
83, Pizza delivery
84, House
85, Realtor
86, Hobby shop
87, Pet store
88, Movie Theatre
89, Gun store
90, Gun range
91, Surplus/survival
92, Multi-Level Car Park
93, Studio
94, Bank
95, Tanning salon
96, Antiques
97, Welfare office
98, Statued plaza
99, Vacant lot
00, Liquor store

Good Place for a Fight

1, Subway station or elevated track

2, 4-layer overpass
3, Beneath a bridge
4, Junkyard
5, Dilapidated buidling
6, Car showroom
7, Swimming pool
8, Zoo
9, Amusement park
10, Museum

Building Feature*

1, Extreme security
2, Decrepit and rundown
3, Abandoned
4, Front for criminals
5, Hi-tech security
6, Incomplete
7, Newly renovated
8, Unusually busy
9, Empty/quiet
10, Inadequate security

Exploitable Room Feature

1 Water line
2 Door controls
3 Electrical/power conduit
4 Remote viewer/window to other room
5 Computer terminal
6 Breaker box
7 Power conduit for other room
8 Wide ventilation shaft
9 Trash chute
10 Open file cabinet

Building Style*

1, Utterly nondescript
2, Stylish geometric modernist
3, Glassy and contemporary
4, Pre-modern/Victorian
5, Colorful/mallish
6, Old-time themed/revival
7, Comfortable brick or stone
8, Heavy/totalitarian
9, Futuristic
10, Gaudy

Interpersonal Conflict*

1, Treachery
2, Adultery
3, Fraud
4, Theft
5, Addiction
6, Ambition
7, Madness
8, Love
9, Paranoia
10, Greed

Store*

1, Criminal front
2, Discount
3, Mom n pop
4, Local loyalty
5, Hidden gem
6, Mass market
7, Fashionable
8, Luxury
9, High end luxury
10, Bespoke/Custom

Bar/Club*

1, New owner(s)
2, Closing down
3, Drugs
4, Violence
5, Criminal Owned
6, Tedious
7, Student crowd
8, Under surveillance
9, Best music
10, Fashionable

Obstacles In The City*

1, Barking Dogs
2, Car Doors Slamming
3, Children
4, Pedestrians crossing
5, Subway entrance
6, A loud argument
7, Street preacher
8, Buskers
9, Police car
10, Road work
11, Ice Cream Truck
12, Garbage truck
13, Reversing tractor trailer
14, Cats Fighting
15, Street Hawker
16, Motorcycles
17, Street brawl
18, A heavy rainwater cascade falls from damaged guttering
19, An ancient looking geriatric lopes past
20, A cluster of kids vaping
21, A pair of bicycle couriers
22, A food truck
23, A flock of scabrous-looking pigeons
24, Police horse
25, Frantic homeless people, washing vehicle windscreens before the lights change
26, Pizza delivery
27, Jersey barriers
28 There are crowds of fast moving people swarming absolutely everywhere
29 Pedestrians flooding across the nearest intersection, en masse, both ways
30 A group of screeching street kids running along the overhead rail lines
31 A thick pea soup fog rolling down the streets and alleyways
32 All the street lights for this entire block just went out
33 Heavy rain causing slip-and-fall hazard
34 Sex workers on a nearby street corner, approaching cars
35 Field trip
36 A pedicab operator struggling with heat exhaustion or dehydration
37 A bus takes a corner hard, throwing up polluted water, trash and crud
38 Taxi
39 Ride-share driver (Lyft etc)
40 Small City Electric car
41 Limousine
42 Sports Car
43 HMMWV (Humvee)
44 Suburban Utility Vehicle (SUV)
45 Estate Car/Stationwagon
46 Moped/Scooter
47 4x4
48 Armoured Truck
49 Police Van
50 Sports Motorcycle
51 Utility Van/Minivan
52 Refrigerated Transport
53 Off Road Motorcycle
54 Flatbed/Pick-Up
55 Hatchback
56 Classic Car
57 Luxury Sedan
58 Hazardous Container Truck
59 Three-Wheeler
60 Firetruck
61 Road Sweeper
62 Police Motorcycle
63 Courier/Delivery Van
64 Mobile Home/RV/MoPad
65 Muscle Car/Roadster
67 Construction Vehicle
83-84 Buggy/ATV
85 EMT/Paramedic/Ambulance
86 Armoured Personnel Carrier
87 Tow Truck (roll again for tow)
88 Car/Vehicle/PA Transporter
89 Bridge is out
90 Massive hole in the ground
91 Movie filming
92 Crime scene
93 Church group
94-00 Typical commuter car

Vehicle Damage
Roll when a vehicle takes damage at high speed
(flip a coin or something to see if you go left or right, when/if applicable.)

1-10 Body Damage, Throw Vehicle Toughness vs Intensity=number just rolled on this
table or take that many points of vehicle damage.
11-Skid d10 x 10 feet, stall.
12-Skid, spin 180, stay in same lane.
13-Flip over once. You're upside down. Everyone inside: Agility Check vs a 5 or
take Standard Damage.
14-Flip over twice. You're right side up but not moving. Car loses 1 pt of Agiliy.
Everyone inside: Agility Check vs a 5 or take Standard Damage.
15-Spin off the road. Keep rolling,
16-Spin off the road and hit an obstacle�roll on the Obstacles table.
17-Spin off the road and hit something hard. Everyone inside: Agility Check vs a 5
or take Standard Damage.
18-Hit other vehicle--just a tap. 1 Toughness damage to vehicle. If there's no
other vehicle, you scratch a sign, guard rail, etc.
19-Hit other vehicle--hard. Driving checks vs 7 for both drivers. Standard Damage
to both vehicles.
20-Hit other vehicle--medium. Handling check vs 4 for both drivers or roll again.
21-Hit other vehicle--catastrophic. Roll again on this table for both cars twice,
each car takes Standard Damage.
22-Pop a side wheelie for a half-block and come down smooth. Successful Appeal
check vs a 4 means you manage to convince everyone in the vehicle it was on
purpose.
23-Pop a side wheelie and come down hard. Roll again.
24-Catch some air, come down. make another driving check vs a 3.
25-Due to some combination of geography and speed, you catch some serious air.
Driving check vs a 6, but if you make it, you get +1 Throw on the next roll because
you're so buzzed.
26-Fly 60 feet through the air, come down hard. Your car is dead. Everyone inside:
Agility Check vs a 5 or take Standard Damage.
27-Flip over and spin. Everyone inside: Agility Check vs a 5 or take Standard
Damage.
28-Dizzying ride. Everyone inside: Calm Check vs 2 or vomit.
29-Pothole or something. Transmission wrenched. Car Speed, Agility -2.
30-Slide into other vehicle but, hey, look at that, they take Standard Damage and
have to make a Drive Check vs that damage and you're fine.
31-chugk. rattlerattle. ting! Something stuck somewhere in your vehicle fell out
and now it runs better! +1 Agility from now on.
32-Swerve, slam into your horn. Now it won't stop. �1 Throw to everyone on most
things until they get used to it (takes 5 minutes) or make it stop.
33-Weird swerve. Anybody in the back seat roll. Agility Check vs a 5 or take
Standard Damage.
34-skid. whirr, k-chuggg-kk! Everyone inside: Agility Check vs a 5 or take Standard
Damage. Car takes Standard Damage.
35-Big fucking crash into nearby large and unmoving object. Car is totalled.
Everyone inside: Agility Check vs a 5 or take Standard Damage if you're wearing a
seatbelt, Massive Damage if you�re not.
36-Scraped on something�lose back license plate
37-Oh, that didn't sound good. Vehicle takes Standard Damage and roll on this table
again.
38-Brake immediately and everyone inside: Agility Check vs a 5 or take Standard
Damage.
39-Move one lane to the right or left to avoid losing control.
40-Move to the shoulder to avoid losing control.
41-Pull onto a completely different road or into a parking lot to avoid losing
control.
42-Lose a whole wheel. Skid forward d100 feet and stop. Everyone inside make a
Toughness check or take 1 damage.
43-You�re forced to slow down. You�re now a round behind anyone else who might�ve
been involved in the chase.
44-A pedestrian appears in the middle of the road. If swerving to avoid collision,
re-roll. If not, a random NPC and inflict Massive Damage on them. Calm Check at for
everyone in the car. Driver�s Intensity is 6.
45-Spin completely around and forced to stop completely. If it�s crowded other cars
may hit you.
46Delivery truck or food cart spills something which oozes across your windshield,
Driving checks are all at 1 Throw until it�s cleaned off.
47-You are hooked or are being pushed by the other vehicle.
48-Skid, sideways , hit something, spin through the air, land flat. Check vehicle
Toughness and Drive vs a 7 or everyone inside takes Massive Damage.

49-77 Fierce smack. Throw vehicle�s Toughness vs Attacker Skill or other Intensity
of hit or else�
49-...Fender dragging behind.
50-...Brakes gone.
51-...Gas pedal stuck down.
52-...Lose a door.
53-...Hit something, dent in part of car.
54-...Ominous squeaking noise increasing in volume from back of vehicle. You�ll
lose a wheel in d10 rounds.
55-...Air conditioner or heater stuck on�whichever is worse.
56-...Interior light broken.
57-...Interior light stuck on.
58-...Trunk door wrench sideways.
59-...Minor engine explosion. Those within 10 feet of engine take Standard Damage
intensity 1. There goes your engine.
60-...Fwip fwip! One random tire gone. Driving check once per round if you go over
35 mph.
61-...Lost a hubcap but that�s life.
62-...K-chunk! Bad bump, something's hitting the wheel and making bad scary noise.
No immediate obvious effect but next time you drive the vehicle has lost 1 pt of
Agility, Speed or Toughness.
63-...Lost your muffler.
64-...Gas tank leak. You�ll need to get that fixed.
65-...thunkg, wrenchhhh, chishhhhh! Lose random window.
66-...Same, but lose back window.
67-...Same, but lose front windshield,
68-...Lost a headlight.
69-...Lost both headlights.
70-...Lost a side mirror. Lose a dis to Drive checks when you'd want a side mirror.
71-...Trunk flies open. 50/5o chance anything in there falls out. Roll once per
item.
72-...Part of your vehicle is on fire now. You're not sure which part. Roll d10�1
is ok, 10 is bad.
73-...Radio comes on spontaneously, it's your favorite song. If the vehicle has no
radio, you suddenly discover that it does.
74-...Wheel well bent in, vehicle agility -1.
75-...as above, except -2.
76-...roll twice
77-...roll three times

78-00 You�re ok.

Obstacles In The Woods (by Evan Elkins)

1, Bear Traps
2, Thick Briars
3, Barbed Wire Fence
4, Downed trees
5, Snake hole
6, Thicket
7, Snare traps
8, Tangled Roots
9, Sucking mud
10, Swamp
11, Low stone wall
12, Rusted remnants of iron gate
13, Wolf Tree
14, Tumbled rocks
15, Sinkhole
16, Vines
17, Pond
18, Deep River
19, Edge of Lake
20, Abandoned Well
21, Rocky Outcropping
22, Pile of logs
23, Lone fencepost
24, Levee
25, Dense trees
26, Quicksand
27, Wet fallen leaves
28, Deer Corpse
29, Human Corpse
30, Crevasse
31, Animal dung
32, Fresh dug grave
33, Foundation of abandoned shack
34, Makeshift cross to honor someone who died in an accident
35, Destroyed bridge over ravine
36, Garbage left by drunk locals
37, Ruined chimney
38, Makeshift cross to mark a hidden burial
39, Shallow Grave
40, Oddly Sandy Soil
41, Remains of a Tent
42, Remains of a Campfire
43, Pile of Animal Bones
44, A Snake
45, A Venomous Snake
46, A Mole Hill
47, A Wooden Fence
48, Cinder Blocks Used by Gun Club
49, Wet Ferns
50, Black Bear
51, Abandoned Van
52, Fire Ant Bed
53, Rotten Log Full of Snakes
54, Little mud crayfish
55, Bathtub Full of Body Parts
56, Open Hole for Septic Tank
57, Lost Dog
58, Lost Horse
59, Two people fucking
60, Two animals fucking
61, Snake Ball
62, Rusted Out Tractor
63, Rotten Noose
64, Injured Person
65, Wounded Animal that Looks at You as Though Begging for Mercy
66, Ritually Sacrificed Teddy Bear
67, Angry Deer
68, Man Masturbating
69, Remains of Animals Tangled in Barbed Wire Fence
70, Ground Slick With Old Pornography
71, Meth Lab
72, A Burned Down Meth Lab
73, A Burning Meth Lab
74, Trout line
75, Little Circle of Rebel Flags
76, Abandoned and Destroyed Campsite
77, Dense Fog
78, Empty Metal Bucket
79, Collection of Body Parts
80, Pyramidal Rock Pile
81, Stone Carving
82, Screech Owl Screaming (Indistinguishable from Woman Screaming)
83, Woman Screaming
84, Sound of Rifle Shots
85, Sound of Automatic Fire
86, Hunter Cleaning His Kill
87, Sheriff�s Deputy with Mirror Shades and Shovel
88, Lost Super-8 Camera
89, Rapid River
90, Catfish Pond
91, Rotting Boat
92, Bottomless Hole
93, Hornets Nest That Looks Way too Much Like a Skull
94, Huge Swarm of Toads
95, Feral Pig
96, Lost Child who legit needs help
97, Terrified Parent Looking for Child
98, Person Running the Opposite Direction
99, Homeless Man�s Hovel
100, Roll Twice. �If you get this again roll Thrice. �After that Stop.
�
RITUALS

Ritual Length

1 Minutes
2-6 Hours
7-9 Days
10 Months
Die falls off the table�Years

Ritual Location

1, A room with iron walls

2, Beneath the sea
3, In any tomb
4, Where none have died
5, Where 86 have died
6, A dethroned king�s home
7, A desecrated church
8, Where 13 died by fire 13 years ago
9, A lake where a nun has drowned
10, A circle of elms
11, A battefield
12, A place of witch-burning
13, A hidden place, known only to seven souls
14, A place of standing stones
15, A peak from which both an ocean and a valley can be seen
16, Where the northern lights were seen 5 days before
17, The last home of 9 brothers
18, A cold peak
19, A place dark but warm, where echoes can be heard
20, A frozen lake
21, A place consecrated to ignored gods
22, A place of prophecy
23, A place without vermin or growing things
24, A river without fish
25, A place of executions
26, A house that has sunk beneath the sea
27, A place of buried animals
28, A home to spiders
29, A circular dais
30, A fortress never taken
31, A place reclaimed by green things
32, A saint�s crypt
33, A place of desperation, where fortunes are lost on games of chance
34, Where at least 200 failed marriages have begun
35, A site of at least 50 previous rituals
36, A structure at least 600 feet above the ground
37, The site of a nuclear explosion
38, A place with a radiation reading of at least 200 mSv
39, A monastery abandoned because of disease
40, The last home of a rat king, dead of old age
41, Between two unmarked graves
42, Equidistant from three rivers
43, An ossuary containing the bones of a killer, a kind man, three slaves and a
beast
44, A waterway that has never seen the sun
45, Where 5 roads come together
46, A place with poison in the air
47, Where the wind can be heard but not felt
48, A swamp forest, beneath alders or willows
49, The geographic center of a great city
50, A house owned by two wicked men and then a widow
51, Where a prisoner slew a jailer
52, Where unused gallows stand
53, A garden where nothing grows
54, Where birds eat corpses
55, A windowless church
56, A nameless street with seven houses
57, Where animals eat their own
58, A place with 700 stones
59, A room of ice
60, A room with 8 walls
61, A place of 5 revenges
62, A cannibal�s home
63, Beneath a dead oak at least 20 feet tall
64, A flooded room
65, Two places, simultaneously, on opposite ends of the Earth
66, A prince�s only home
67, A cave never before seen
68, A derelict vessel that has seen four seas
69, The site of a future massacre
70, Where the dead are buried five deep
71, Where a wolf has slain a stag
72, A place with a puzzle unsolved
73, A place without steel or glass
74, On disputed territory
75, Where a bishop has died
76, Where children drown
77, On a slope facing east
78, On an island devoid of inhabitants
79, The oldest or largest place of worship in the city
80, In a lucid dream, one step each night
81, A place that has seen one suicide a year
82, A bridge between warring factions
83, On a dueling ground where friends slew one another
84, A liar�s palace
85, A snow-covered river
86, A scavenger�s lair
87, A place lit only by fire
88, A place of total silence
89, Where lightning has struck
90, Where women without mercy pray
91, A place never owned
92, A place built by the caster, with no other hand
93, A structure without nails
94, A place with 6 ghosts
95, Where a thousand died of hunger
96, A place destroyed by winds
97, A place of ignorance, where the caster is not known
98, A burned place
99, A place from which the �green flash� phenomenon can be seen at sunset
00, A place of volcanic rock

Ritual Specific Location (urban)

1, Sub-basement of Opus Dei Headquarters, New York City

2, The spirit-haunted Pont Makelele bridge, Kinshasa, DR Congo
3, The Perelson Mansion, Los Angeles, unaltered since the grisly murders of 1959
4, Isola di San Michele, Venice�s island grave
5, Cross Bones-the prostitute�s graveyard, London, England
6, Among the bones of the monks in the Capuchin Ossuary, Rome
7, Any site along the Mekong River from which the �Naga Lights� have been seen in
the past 10 days.
8, The Cimeti�re de Picpus, Paris, France, home of the Revolution�s decapitated
9, Aokigahara, the �suicide forest� at the base of Mount Fuji
10, The Palace of the Inquisition, Mexico City

Ritual Perimeter Made of�

1, Snow
2, Chalk from the western Negev
3, Salt from the Black Sea
4, Blood from the caster
5, Gold dust
6, Anything black
7, Cremation ash
8, Crushed ivory
9, Charcoal
10, Pure carmine from pulped insects

Outer Geometry

1, Circle
2, Triangle
3, Square
4, Pentagon
5, Pentagram
6, Hexagon
7, Octagon
8, Trefoil (3 overlapping circles)
9, Quatrefoil
10, Three-dimensional shape

Ritual Time

1, Any
2, On the anniversary of a specific event
3, Dusk
4, Dawn
5, Samhain (Oct 31-Nov 1)
6, Yul/Winter Solstice (Dec 21-December 23 northern hemisphere, June 20-21,
southern)
7, Vernal Equinox ( March 20 in the northern hemisphere and September 22 southern)
8, Beltane/Walpurgisnacht (April 30 or May 1)
9, Midsummer/Summer Solstice (June 20-21 northern, Dec 21-December 23 southern
hemisphere)
10, Autumnal Equinox (September 22 nothern hemisphere, March 20 in the southern
hemisphere)
11, Midnight
12, 1 am
13, 2 am
14, 3 am (Devil�s hour)
15, 4 am
16, 5 am
17, 6 am
18, 7 am
19, 8 am
20, 9 am
21, 10 am
22, 11 am
23, Noon
24, 1 pm
25, 2 pm
26, 3 pm
27, 4 pm
28, 5 pm
29, 6 pm
30, 7 pm
31, 8 pm
32, 9 pm
33, 10 pm
34, 11 pm
35, Winter
36, Spring
37, Summer
38, Fall
39, New Year�s day
40, During a harvest moon
41, During a hunter�s moon
42, During a blue moon
43, During a new moon/moonless night
44, During a waxing crescent moon
45, During a first quarter moon
46, During a waxing gibbous moon
47, During a full moon
48, During a waning gibbous moon
49, During a third quarter moon
50, During a waning crescent moon
51, During a partial lunar eclipse
52, During a total lunar eclipse (blood moon)
53, During a penumbral lunar eclipse
54, During a total penumbral eclipse
55, During a total solar eclipse
56, During a central lunar eclipse
57, During an annular solar eclipse
58, During a hybrid solar eclipse
59, During a partial solar eclipse
60, By day
61, When Mercury is in opposition (opposite sun from earth)
62, When Venus is in opposition
63, When Mars is in opposition
64, When Jupiter is in opposition
65, When Saturn is in opposition
66, When Uranus is in opposition
67, Under the sign of Capricorn (Dec 30-Jan 20)
68, Under Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18)
69, Under Pisces (Feb 18-Mar 20)
70, Under Aries (Mar 20-Apr 20)
71, Under Taurus (Apr 20-May 21)
72, Under Gemini (May 21-Jun 21)
73, Under Cancer (Jun 21-July 23)
74, Under Leo (Jul 23-Aug 23)
75, Under Virgo (Aug 23-Sep 23)
76, Under Libra (Sep 23-Oct 23)
77, Under Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 23)
78, Under Saggitarius (Nov 22-Dec 22)
79, When Mercury conjoins Venus
80, When Mercury conjoins Mars
81, When Mercury conjoins Jupiter
82, When Mercury conjoins Saturn
83, When Mercury conjoins Uranus
84, When Venus conjoins Mars
85, When Venus conjoins Jupiter
86, When Venus conjoins Saturn
87, When Venus conjoins Uranus
88, When Mars conjoins Jupiter
89, When Mars conjoins Saturn
90, When Mars conjoins Uranus
91, When Jupiter conjoins Saturn (�Great Conjunction�)
92, When Jupiter conjoins Uranus
93, When Saturns conjoins Uranus
94, During a syzygy (three celestial bodies align)
95, Triple conjunction (three syzygies close together�rare)
96, During a transit of Venus (every 243 years)
97, During a snow storm
98, During a lightning storm
99, During a �morning glory� cloud
00, At night

Caster/Sacrifice/Participant Identity

1, Anyone
2, Caster is offspring of sacrifice/vice versa
3, First child of the last generation of the demon�s first victim�s bloodline
4, One who has never touched the ground
5, Of pure heart and good intention
6, Dishonest
7, Red eyes
8, Blue eyes
9, Pink eyes
10, Green eyes
11, Violet eyes
12, Black eyes
13, Grey eyes
14, Under 5�
15, Above 6�
16, Identical twins (both present)
17, Twins male and female
18, Triplets
19, Largest multiple-birth siblings on the planet at the time
20, Conjoined twins
21, Never seen the sun
22, Never seen the sea
23, Never touched the sea
24, Never felt a paren�s touch
25, Never seen their parent
26, Born on the date of the ceremony
27, Born in the month of the ceremony
28, A stranger to the others present
29, Wounded in a great war
30, A veteran of 10 battles
31, Baptized
32, Unbaptized
33, Uncircumcised
34, Deaf
35, Blind
36, Mute
37, Married
38, Unmarried
39, Virgin
40, Mother
41, Father
42, Veteran of 300 erotic encounters with as many partners
43, Born on the same day as other participants
44, Albino
45, A king
46, Genius
47, First born
48, Seventh son of a seventh son
49, Never seen their reflection
50, An animal at least 8 lbs
51, An infant
52, Knows 3 homes
53, Speaks in 2 tongues
54, A werewolf
55, An orphan
56, A widow
57, A priest
58, A nun
59, A parent to three
60, A king
61, A carnivorous animal
62, A horned beast
63, A cloven-hoofed beast
64, A winged creature
65, One stronger than a lion
66, A queen
67, A prince
68, A princess
69, Master of a great nation
70, Second daughter of a murderer
71, Third son of an honest man
72, A freed prisoner
73, A jailer
74, A soul unseen for sixteen seasons
75, Brothers united by common enmity
76, One who has been twice betrayed
77, One without honor
78, A fool
79, A pair of lovers
80, A beggar
81, One who has great wealth
82, A thief
83, One who quarrels against wisdom
84, A friend to animals
85, A false witness
86, A betrayer
87, A slave
88, One deep in drink
89, One deep in grieving for the dead
90, A foreigner to the land
91, One who has lost a child
92, One who has been burned by fire
93, One who has touched the soil of 6 nations
94, One who is related to the caster by blood in at least two ways
95, One who hungers
96, One who has seen the desert, and eaten dust
97, One who has visited strange nations
98, A counselor to the mighty
99, A survivor of five trials
00, A lawgiver

Ritual Preparations (co-written with Patrick Stuart)

1, Notify fifteen souls of your intent.

2, Expose the secrets of seven lovers.
3, Burn and inhale the crushed corneas of at least three individuals.
4, Expose eight secrets to eight souls.
5, Invert three growing foetuses in three separate wombs.
6, Burn all your possessions.
7, Burn down three buildings on the same night, in the same hour in a perfect
triangle with your home at the centre.
8, Drink the blood of seven living relatives.
9, Tear out all the hair from your own head with bare hands and eat it all without
throwing up.
10, Stitch a living animal into the belly of a cow.
11, Suckle at the teat of a pregnant woman, or more than one, the power growing
with the milk.
12, Eat off the feet of lame pigeons.
13, Cuckold a friend with the corpse of their spouse.
14, Create portraits of yourself at the sight of five atrocities that you did not
plan or carry out.
15, Eat a rat live.
16, Eat the heart of a dog which trusts you enough to come when you call.
17, Be sought for five different crimes committed at five points of a pentagram
surrounding the ritual site.
18, You must be in prison for a crime you did not commit, or plan to have committed
on your behalf.
19, Watch a man die slowly over the course of 12 hours without blinking.
20, Be aware of a severe crime against someone you love and neither aid nor prevent
it, yet perform the ritual at the moment they discover your complicity.
21, Bathe in a solution impregnated with gold leaf and myrrh.
22, Serve human flesh to those of unstained heart.
23, Eat an eye, willingly given.
24, Tattoo each sin you have committed onto your skin, this to be done during the
ritual, and all ink and blood to be collected and consumed.
25, Perform the ritual in clothes that cost your entire gross worth and destroy
them during it.
26, Perform the ritual suspended from shoulder-hooks.
27, Cut your own Achilles tendons.
28, Walk the city for seven days and seven nights, without money or resources of
any kind, and if your name is asked answer only with the name of the power you are
summoning.
29, Be sexually used, without restraint, by seven times seven individuals.
30, The ritual can only be carried out in a place and a time under full public
view, yet no-one who sees it may understand what they see or it shall fail.
31, Inject the blood of another directly into your own heart as they inject yours
into theirs.
32, Rescue a potential suicide and lock them in a prison from which they can never
escape. If they leave or die, the ritual fails.
33, Perform a funeral for someone who never existed, yet none but you know that
they were never real. The power and strength of the ritual being equivalent to the
status and fame of those attending, and their sorrow.
34, Separate and mix three sets of freshly born twins, their delusion to be the
chain of the thing you bind and it will be freed when they know the truth.
35, Tell seven lies to seven people known to you, any one of which will expose the
rest, for as long as the lies are believed the spell holds.
36, Convert seven willing individuals to seven different religions, confess what
you have done to them at the moment of the ritual. If their faith is broken, the
ritual will succeed.
37, Perform three noble deeds, five terrible deeds and state seven lies about each
deed to fifty six separate people who all trust you to tell the truth.
38, Place yourself in a prison from which you are certain you cannot escape, no-one
must know or guess where you are or free you.
39, Remove your genitals, as much as they can be removed.
40, Scarify the scalp of a child with a map and so long as the child�s hair covers
the map the effect or entity will be bound within that area.
41, Create a mandala from the bones of animals you have stolen from people you
know.
42, Have acid painted onto your body with a fine brush and perform the ritual while
the scars form the words of the incantation on your body.
43, Perform it while a complex cage echoing the sacred perimeter in three
dimensions is built around you.
44, Whisper the incantation to 3 birds and then release them.
45, Everything used in the ceremony must be frozen in a single block of ice and the
ceremony finishes when it melts.
46, Create a small wax effigy of everything in the ceremony and place it in a glass
dome at the center of the sacred perimeter.
47, Perform the ritual blindfolded.
48, Cleanse the space with virgin�s saliva.
49, Drink the distilled juice from a fruit tree watered only with blood.
50, Wear a choker of fresh fifth fingers.
51, Everything in the panoply of the ritual must be absolutely still for one hour
before it begins.
52, Burn 6 varieties of hibiscus
53, Hold a piece of fortification agate carved into a cube
54, Build an iron cage the shape of the ritual perimeter
55, Crush a red idol found in Uttar Pradesh
56, Swallow a bullet that killed a king
57, Perform the ceremony on a geometric stepped bismuth crystal in a structure that
replicates its shape exactly
58, Wear a glove soaked in martyr�s blood
59, Recite a 9th century text describing god as a cube of physical space in the
Syrian Desert
60, Burn a candle made from a whale�s tongue
61, Squeeze a leopard�s brain
62, Drain a goat�s heart
63, Place a child�s liver on a dais
64, Place the skulls of 8 ancestors at cardinal points
65, Hang the sacrifices from meathooks of precious metals
66, Read from a tablet assembled from pieces in two museums and a well-guarded
private home
67, Consult a rune oracle, which will say the number of sacrifices and the element
which must kill them
68, Draw the diagrams of the ritual perimeter from memory
69, As the incantation causes the ground to turn liquid, reach into it to receive
the effect
70, Create a manikin of moss and leather�what is done to the manikin is enacted on
the target
71, Perform the ceremony with arms bound
72, The caster will realize, halfway through, that they will die at the end of the
ceremony�the text fails to mention this,
73, A calendar in an ancient style is inscribed on the floor, the effect occurs on
the dates where the blood falls.
74, A small circular maze is constructed of stretched hide washed in tears, it will
shift as the ceremony is performed, the caster must find the center.
75, Wear the cloak of a Circassian heresiarch of the 13th century.
76, Wear the marble mask of a Sumerian hierodule.
77, Inscribe the diagrams deep into a stone floor and pour basaltic magma into the
inscription.
78, Each sacrifice allows for the effect to take place one time or to a given
degree: more sacrifices, more effect.
79, A pile of anointed kaolin is placed at the center of the perimeter, which will
change into and reveal the shape of the thing to be sacrificed as the ceremony
proceeds.
80, Animals which will devour the sacrifices will converge as the ritual invocation
is spoken.
81, The ritual perimeter keeps the caster(s) safe from harm, but four blessed
stakes must be hammered into the ground outside it halfway through.
82, As the ritual proceeds those involved will devolve mentally, the caster must
resist this and finish the incantation without a slip.
83, Read from the original copy of a grimoire written by a visionary heretic nun of
17th century Nice.
84, Ceremony must be performed and spoken backward after it is performed forward.
85, All present must speak the incantation simultaneously.
86, Create an orrery made from flensed skin and organs.
87, Create a ritual perimeter 1 mile across, and assure not one creature breathes
within it
88, Perform the ritual alone on a small tabletop, with simple items like ink and
salt.
89, Burn spiders� eggs and chant a rhyming song
90, Caster begins buried in a pile of stomachs, must eat their way out.
91, Feed 7 precious stones to seven birds
92, Make a mandala of blood, bile, phlegm and spit.
93. Caster must remove 5 teeth from their own head.
94, All participants must attempt to slay the others within the sacred perimeter,
the last one living benefits from the spell.
95, At least three participants must chew open a child without using their hands.
96, Participants must wear animal�s heads as masks.
97, Caster must amputate an arm and replace it with a hook during the ceremony.
98, Draw a circle in pulverized meteorite.
99, Wear a mask lined inside with stinging bullet ants.
00, Eat a cultivar of blue lotus grown in the center of the sacred perimeter.
Sacrifice Details:

1, Multiple sacrifices, each must die as their father did

2, Murdered by exposure to terrible winds
3, Sealed in stone then dropped in the water
4, Wrapped in fine worm silk until suffocated
5, Wrapped in ancient skin and drowned
6, Burned alive by the sun
7, Scalded by lava or molten metal
8, Eaten by bacteria
9, Snake or vermin inserted into body, orifice sealed, eaten/poisoned from the
inside
10, Force fed a cobra�s venom sac
11, Force fed 200 moth orchids
12, Buried alive 20� down
13, Impaled on a steel spike
14, Impaled with a icicle of their own frozen tears
15, Decapitated with a knife of bone
16, Lungs removed with a knife of diamond
17, Tied with jade vines and eaten by eels
18, Thrown to crocodiles
19, Chained in iron and killed by a parent of twins
20, Strangled with an octopus tentacle
21, Dissolved in acid
22, Bandaged and embalmed, organs removed
23, Cut with silver wire
24, Held with pig leather and branded with pokers
25, Carved open with ram�s horn
26, Asphyxiated with jackal�s innards
27, Force-fed eyes until stomach ruptures
28, Blinded, then deafened, then silenced, then slain
29, Crushed beneath bodies
30, Torn by rabid animals
31, Drugged and consumed by piranha
32, Given to panthers
33, Bound with own hair and stung by crawling things
34, Drawn and quartered by blind horses
35, Killed by those most trusted
36, Held down with coffin nails and eaten by vultures
37, Killed with a knife 900 years old and never used
38, Killed by poison from an untouched cup
39, Slain by lightning
40, Given a plague
41, Locked in an iron maiden
42, Skewered on a dagger that once killed a king
43, Killed in combat with another sacrifice
44, Driven mad and made to crawl
45, Punctured in 9 places
46, Stomach filled with black beetles
47, Skull crushed with a stone hammer
48, Cut in five pieces of equal weight
49, Covered in salt and pierced by stakes
50, Cannibalized by children of 10 years or less
51, Ripped open with volcanic glass
52, Sewn to functionless limbs
53, Pelted with rocks from above
54, Boiled in a vessel cast by a bastard
55, Crucified inverted, pierced with copper pins
56, Skin removed with a malachite scalpel
57, Hung with catgut
58, Caged and pierced from north, south, east and west
59, Sawn open with a weapon lined with tiger�s teeth
60, Sliced slowly with a razor used to cut seven men
61, Suffocation in ash
62, Fed the shards of cup from which only a virgin has sipped
63, Killed by a family member
64, Killed by their own hand
65, Buried underneath bleach-white items
66, Bled out from small cuts in the shape of sigils
67, Disemboweled with weapons of nickel
68, Throat cut wth the hooves of animals
69, Drowned on dry land with the waters of three oceans
70, Drowned in priests� saliva
71, Drowned in mother�s blood
72, Drowned in mother's milk
73, Drowned in the purge fluid created when organs decay
74, Rent with fragments of a lovers� skull
75, Neck pierced from eight directions with ebony
76, Taken apart a half-inch at a time
77, Drilled open from three directions at once
78, Killed unwittingly by a friend
79, Killed as the sun rises
80, Battered with a gemmed gloved
81, Killed in sleep
82, Multiple sacrifices, each kills the next
83, Three killed in one motion
84, Smothered in a funeral shroud
85, Kept alive in torture 9 days
86, Immersed in tar
87, Pushed from a tower
88, Set alight by sunlight focused through lenses
89, Immolated in a bonfire fueled by human fat
90, Throat stuffed with tongues
91, Exsanguinated by hundreds of leeches
92, Killed as a summoned thing emerges from its body
93, Sacrifice�s members delivered to four corners of the earth
94, Clawed by crows, called by the ceremony
95, Crippled then left to fend off hyenas or coyotes
96, Eviscerated at the point of erotic climax
97, Parietal lobe perforated by ancient bronze forks
98, Killed by shock
99, Killed by a weapon handled by 7 honest men
00, Stabbed and dropped in a black pit

OTHER SUPERNATURAL DETAILS

Horde Mutations

1, Extra head
2, Extra arm
3, Second torso, head, arms
4, Spider legs
5, Extra leg
6, Shrunken head
7, Massive head
8, Lobsterlike claw hand
9, Massive mouth
10, Massive eye
11, Extra pair of arms
12, Face in chest
13, Headless
12, Armless
13, Legless
14, Eye instead of mouth
15, Mouth instead of eye
16, Mouth instead of ear
17, Mouth instead of hand
18, Covered in eyes
19, Clawlike fingers
20, Prehensile tail
21, Scorpionlike tail (poison intensity=Toughness)
22, Fangs
23, No eyes
24, Snake tail instead of legs
25, Batlike wings
25, Hole through chest
26, Cavity in chest from which smaller creatures spill
27, Froglike legs
28, Cat eyes
29, Goat eyes
30, Goat horns
31, Goat face
32, Goat legs
33, Snake heads for hands
34, Asymmetrical body
35, Rotting body
36, Intestines hanging out
37, 5 foot-tongue
38, Tentacles
39, Crow head
40, Covered in spines
41, Skull head
42, Heads for arms
43, Just a head with 4 tiny legs
44, Gazelle horns
45, Gaunt, starved appearance
46, Cavities throughout body
47, Covered in boils
48, Tusks
49, Translucent skin
50, Crawling with maggots
51, Covered in ooze
52, Giant foetus with umbilical cord
53, Lower body is a giant hand
54, Massive chest cavity lined with teeth
55, Insect head
56, Insect legs
57, Mantis arms
58, Fly wings
59, Insect eyes
60, Insect mouth
61, Arms so long they drag
62, Mandibles
63, Joints up and down extremities
64, Serpent head
65, Membranes between arms, legs and torso
66, Left or right half only
67, Eyestalks
68, Eye on tip of tongue
69, Crawls on all fours
70, Hunchback
71, No mouth
72, No features
73, Scales
74, Mane of fingers
75, Webbed fingers
76, Cyclops
77, Half size
78, Leech mouth
79, Leech head
80, Patterned skin
81, Covered in mouths
82, Mouth full of tentacles
83, Crablike carapace
84, Birdclaw feet
85, Mantalike head
86, Wolf head
87, Multiple animal heads
88, Tail with head on it
89, Tail with animal head on it
90, Wolf heads for hands
91, Bat face
92, Stag head
93, Claw-tipped probes for arms
94, Upper body only, drags organs behind
95, Tentacles from head
96, Obese beyond conception
97, Mouth across stomach
98, Arms for legs
99, Crab head
00, Roll twice

Curses

1, Any acquaintance you dislike prospers.

2, Anyone you touch dies within a week.
3, Fires burn out of control when you see them.
4, Go unrecognized by loved ones.
5, Lose a pound every time you eat.
6, Gain a pound every time you sleep.
7, Cannot see anything that poses a danger.
8, Cannot hear cries for help.
9, Terrible luck: lose any contest where you only have one die.
10, Cannot be awake while anyone in your presence is.
11, Desired by everyone except those you desire.
12, Unable to talk about anything other than a specific obsession.
13. Desire people in inverse proportion to their desirability.
14, No unplanned incident ever occurs when you are alone.
15, Businesses you work with inevitably fail.
16, You can hear anything except pleasant sounds.
17, See anything but pleasant sights.
18, All sensations enhanced so monstrously it�s painful.
19, Each time you perform a violent act, an act of violence is performed on a loved
one.
20, All pain you inflict causes the same pain to you.
21, Nothing you say is attributed to you.
22, Each time you speak, a minor accident occurs.
23, No-one can keep your secrets.
24, If presented a puzzle you must solve it.
25, You cannot do anything productive on the Sabbath.
26, Every time you use your hands you hurt them.
27, No-one remembers your name.
28, Dogs hate you.
29, Cats hate you.
30, Food rots in an hour in your presence.
31, Any tool you successfully use breaks immediately after.
32, Those around you constantly catch unrelated illnesses.
33, Cannot remember anyone�s name.
34, Success depresses you�Calm check against 6 or lose a point of Calm.
35, Believe anything told to you in good faith forever, even if disproved.
36, Believe only lies from now on (existing beliefs like gravity, etc, are
grandfathered in).
37, Any talent you don�t use in a week decays at 1 pt per week.
38, Can only eat fresh meat.
39, Hear phantom sounds when alone.
40, Machines break if you use them for more than five minutes.
41, Everything you read you take away the opposite.
42, Cannot go outside while conscious.
43, Cannot see any suffering without trying to alleviate it.
44, Moving faster than walking speed makes you nauseated.
45, Every time you see a public display of affection you must hurt yourself.
46, Every time you hear about suicide you want to commit it for 5 minutes.
47, Strangers find anything you say insulting.
48, Flies and rats follow you.
49, Every new moon you lose a finger.
50, You can only experience joy from another�s sorrow.
51, Every time you spend money you develop a sore on your body.
52, Your teeth are so sharp you cut your lips and tongue on them constanty.
53, When you pass a traffic accident, you cause bad luck for everyone present for a
month.
54, Prophetic dreams but no-one believes them.
55, You cannot see the ocean without wanting to drown yourself.
56, No-one else in your presence can find a meal satisfactory.
57, Your friends die in their next birthday.
58, Lovers die a week after your touch.
59, Any image of you spreads your curse (roll again).
60, Each time you are afraid, you become ill�lose a point of Toughness.
61, Worms drink any liquid you own if you don�t watch it.
62, Wounds don�t heal.
63, Everything you touch begins to crack or decay.
64, A small scar across your face, growing larger and more gruesome each morning.
65, Your touch is painful.
66, Any meat you eat is infected.
67, Sleepwalk each night, performing strange deeds you cannot remember.
68, Inexpensive cloth is irritating and painful.
69, You are always noticed.
70, Anything you earnestly try to get rid of appears in your home.
71, Dead animals you see reanimate as revenants.
72, Trees die a day after you touch them.
73, Fall in love with the next creature you see.
74, Liquids become scalding hot in your presence.
75, Believe any fiction you see is true.
76, Never have the same opinion as anyone else. Can�t relate.
77, You can only eat text.
78, You cannot sleep unless you always have the same amount of money as when you
woke.
79, Must collect DNA (hair, nails, etc) from everyone you meet.
80, Lose 1 toughness for minute when alone.
81, Must copycat any murder you hear about.
82, Obsessed with acting out he last book you read.
83, Cannot refuse a wager.
84, Cannot stand sexual display of any kind and blog your displeasure.
85, Thieves target you instinctively. -1 Cash per week unless steps are taken.
86, Must wash hands after touching anything.
87, Attracts infestations of bedbugs and vermin to any home you visit.
88, Cannot keep secrets.
89, Cannot tell the truth to a stranger.
90, Obsessively record everything that happens to you. Each day is at least 10
pages.
91, You must defile any holy thing you see.
92, You cannot distinguish fresh from foul liquid and drink.
93, Cannot be awake at night.
94, Pregnant women miscarry if they meet you.
95, Refuse to eat anything not cooked by a loved one while you watch.
96, Rain causes you agony.
97, You misunderstand any spoken command.
98, You hear jeering laughter when alone.
99, Features change�slowly become identical to the one who cursed you.
00, Cannot touch metal.

Breaking Curses (Add Ritual Times or Condition from the tables above if you like)

1. Have three enemies die simultaneously while you are nowhere to be seen.
2. Wrest a child from the hands of a devil.
3. Stand in the center of the city incanting the words �Release me� holding the
severed hand of a saint.
4. Eat the entrails of a blind man.
5. Walk across the city in the sign of the cross, from north edge to south edge,
from east edge to west.
6. Sit in a tower over the body of the caster of the curse until it is eaten by
birds.
7. Feed the eye of the caster to a wild animal larger than them or you.
8. Cast a witch�s finger into the sea.
9. Bathe in the blood of a demon.
10. Lay a lost soul to rest.

How a Spell Effect Is Carried

1. In a fog
2. On the wind
3. By touch
4. By aura
5. On a wave
6. By an animal
7. By spitting/blood/bodily fluids
8. On sight
9. By hearing a sound
10. By saying a word

The Menace Is Drawn To

1. Conflict/anger
2. Storms
3. A word or phrase
4. Despair
5. Joy
6. Violence
7. Destruction of precious things
8. A specific shape (sculpture, etc)
9. A bloodline
10. A rare sound