PLOT OF THE WEST

PERSONAL PLOTS AND FLASHBACKS

Dark Training



“The Khaibit all had different styles when training Argos. Marcelline employed fear tactics. Gaius patronized Argos. But it was Samir's lessons that always loomed in Argos's memory. Samir rarely trained anyone, but when he did, it was violent and cruel. Argos never knew if Samir was only badgering his newest pupil or if he was like this with all the Asps. Argos recalled a training in the late 19th century that nearly killed him.

Argos awoke from day sleep, finding Samir in his quarters. The ancient vampire held a bucket of putrid animal organs and fat in his hands. "Come," Samir demanded. "It's time to teach you the securities of this place."

Argos and Samir walked the obsidian halls silently. When they reached a part of the tombs that were forbidden to Argos, Samir handed over the bucket. Samir pointed to a sandstone wall, pressing a secret pressure point that caused the structure to rumble. The large stone sluggishly slid to the side, and Argos was waived in.

“Know the Asp by learning the secrets of the Sphinx," Samir demanded. Argos looked at Samir questionably, cocking his head back. "Why beg Set for his blade if you never unsheathe the sword?” Samir said with a stale tone.

Argos had to swallow his frustrations in order to make sense of Samir’s vague parallel. Samir was a powerful elder, but his ability to connect with others left something to be desired. Argos tried to make sense of what Set ever gave him. His instincts? No, those were Argos’s- honed by endurance and sharpened by pain. The Black Gladius? No, that was Kadimus’s long before the Khaibit were ever involved.

Argos entered a room with three winding corridors. He could smell pungent urine, like that of a feline's. As he took his first steps in, the sandstone blocks slammed behind him. There was a growl and then a roar down the hall (play sound effect). Apparently, some lessons aren't meant to be pleasant."

The Maze


Riddles of the Sphinx
I do not breathe, but I run and jump.
I do not eat, but I swim and stretch.
I do not drink, but I sleep and stand.
I do not think, but I grow and play.
I do not see, but you see me every day.
ANSWER: A LEG

Always wax, yet always wane: I melt, succumbéd to the flame.
Lighting darkness, with fate unblest, I soon devolve to shapeless mess.
ANSWER: CANDLE

I welcome the day with a show of light,
I steathily came here in the night.
I bathe the earthy stuff at dawn,
But by the noon, alas! I'm gone.
ANSWER: MORNING DEW

Here there is no north, west, nor east,
And weather fit for not man nor beast.
ANSWER: THE NORTH POLE

Large as a mountain, small as a pea,
Endlessly swimming in a waterless sea.
ANSWER: A METEOR


The Sphinx



Willpower: 7
Initiative: 8
Defense: 8
Armor: 1/0
Size: 7
Speed: 19 (species factor 10)
Health: 12

Attributes:
Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 4
Strength 5, Dexterity 4 Stamina 5
Presence 4, Manipulation 1, Composure 3

Skills: Athletics 4, Brawl 4 (Bite +2), Intimidate 3(Roar +1), Stealth 3 (Native Environment), Survival 3 (Native Environment)
Merits: Area of Expertise (Bite), Fast Reflexes 1

Dread Powers

CHAMELEON HORROR
The creature can blend into its surrounding environ- ment, matching not just the colors but even the textures and characteristics of what lies around it; this applies a -3 penalty on all rolls to perceive it, increased to -6 if it remains still.

HOME GROUND (Egypt)
The creature has a specific form of home ground on which it gains supernatural bonuses. This might be a certain build- ing or grove, or it could be the blood of a fresh kill or ash from a house it has burned down. While on its home ground, the creature adds three dice to all its physical dice pools and Influence rolls, reduces all damage suffered by three, and gains a +3 bonus to its rolls to resist supernatural effects.

HUNTER’S SENSES (The Dead)
The creature has incredibly honed senses for a specific type of prey. Against that prey — redheads, teenagers, people descended from the men who killed it — the creature gains a +4 bonus to all Perception rolls, and applies 9-Again to the dice pool.

MAZE
The creature can turn a structure into something out of an M. C. Escher painting, creating an insane maze. By spending 3 Willpower and touching the building, it turns the interior chambers into a tangled mess of corridors and rooms that lead back on them- selves; this effect lasts for an hour. Anyone other than the creature who attempts to move through the building must succeed at a Wits + Composure check minus the creature’s Resolve each time they attempt to leave the area or progress through it to somewhere specific; if they fail they are unable to progress and simply get more lost.

IMMORTAL
The creature isn’t bound by mortal laws of life and death. It’s not indestructible, per se, but if it’s killed by anything other than its Bane, it just comes back in a later scene like noth- ing happened. Even if it’s destroyed with its Bane, it’s never really gone — some accursed ritual, astrological conjunction, or freak occurrence can always bring the creature back for a sequel story.

Petrification
This Dread Power is there to represent the ablity of a Horror to turn it's victims to stone be it through a Medusa's gaze or similar effect.

For Sight Based Petrification such as the Medusa or Basilisk, the Horror Rolls Wits + Dexterity to lock eyes with it's victim. The Victim can roll Stamina + Power Stat to resist.

If the Horror wins the dice off the Victim suffers an Arm or Leg Wrack, if the Horror wins with an Exceptional Success the Victim suffers a Wrack upon two limbs.

For a Petrification Beam or Ray like effect the Horror Rolls Dexterity + The Appropriate Skill such as Atheletics, Firearms, or even Occult depending on the Nature of the Ray or Beam. You subtract the Victim's Defense from this roll the same way you would from any other attack.

Regardless of the type of Petrification used, this Dread Power Always costs the Horror an Essence or Willpower to use. In the case of a Medusa or Basilisk, in which such Petrification is considered a staple of the Horror, it maybe decided the Horror can continue to use the Petrification Dread Power even after the Horror has exhausted all of it's Essence or Willpower.

As for how or if such Petrification can be survived or undone can vary wildly from scenerio to scenerio.

Attacks
Bite: +11 dice (+14 Home Ground); +2(L)
Claw: +9 dice (+12 Home Ground): +1(L)
Throttle: For prey that the Great Cat cannot kill outright (typically animals of the same size or larger); the Cat will instead clamp down on the prey animals throat and hold until the animal suffocates. When in a grapple, whenever the Great Cat uses the Hold move, they may also inflict the moderate Suffocate tilt.

...............................................................................................................................................................
The Last Hunt


"Lucius knocked an arrow, following the prints of the young buck he and his sons had been tracking since the Galley orchards. He'd guaranteed his wife, Claduia, and his daughter, Cecilia, meat for tonight's meal, and never went back on a promise.

"Boys," Lucius called out to Lucius II and Maximum as they hopped in a mud puddle. "You'll spook every buck in Rome if you keep that up." The boys smiled, kicked sludge off their sandals, and then scurried behind their father. It was the first warm day of spring, and the deer let their guard down in order to feast in the fresh forest after a harsh winter. As the Antonius family crept along the wood line, fiery sun on their back, the fauna suddenly became silent. Birds went mute. The bugs no longer buzzed. Even the trees seem to stop swaying, frozen as if in shock. Everyone paused.

"Papa," Maximus cried out, eyes wide, "lupus!"

Trusting his son's word, Lucius swung behind him and let go of his knocked arrow. The attack took the beast off guard, as the point pierced between its eyes. A large black wolf fell down without even a whimper. Lucius searched for more as wolves never hunted alone. Sure enough, two grey wolves were approaching from the sides. Lucius knocked another arrow and let it loose. The arrow shot true, finding the heart of the beast and bringing it down. Lucius went for a third arrow, but the last creature was too close. It leapt on him, biting into his arm and dragging him to the ground. A struggle ensued.

Lucius ordered his boys to run as he used his free arm to go for his throwing spear he'd kept on his back. Lucius could hear the tearing of his own flesh as the wolf violently shook it's head in an attempt to rip its victim's flesh from bone. Lucius freed his weapon and jabbed it into the creature's ribs. The beast howled before letting go and running away. Lucius stood up and cradled his wounded arm. It was bad. He'd need his wife's remedies quickly if he were to avoid a one way trip to the Underworld. As he limped home, he heard light crunches of brush behind him. Overtime he looked, there was nothing.

Finally, Lucius made it home. It was nearly dark, and the lawn torch was burning. Lucius could see from the window that his family was safe. He limped to the door, light headed, and knocked. As he did, Lucius could feel hot breath on his neck. He turned to find a monster, not quite wolf and not quite man, staring down at him. It wore the hounds that Lucius had slain across its back. Lucius had no energy left in him, but thought, "if only I could make it to the torch. Even a beast from hell must be warded by flame," before falling unconscious.

He awoke the next morning in his own bedroom, covered in blood. He walked his home, and to his horror, found that none from his family had been spared. Lucius fell to his knees weeping. In a fit of grief, Lucius used what lamp oil and wood had been reserved for the family supper, and burned his home down, Lucius included. He thought this was the end. That was the first time Lucius heard Cinder's voice.


Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.
And if I had to perish twice,
I would do so with those who say fire will suffice.

Cinder was there for the day that would change Lucius's soul for eternity. It was all that Lucius had left of his family. It was Lucius's guide throughout his first hunts. His Brand never proved to be of value. The Chained One merely imprisoned Lucius to a hell on Earth. The Forsaken betrayed Lucius time and time again. But Cinder, the spirit, gave everything to serve its master, even when it had outgrown him. Lucius would never forget their bond, as dark as it's foundation was. Doing so would take away the only thing he had left of who he once was."

Flame Skull: Spirit Rank 2

Type: Spirit
Type: Spirit
Title: Hursih 0
Trait Limits: 5 dots
Attribute Dots: 8
Maximum Essence: 10
Numina: 3
Primal Urge: 0 (1)
Corpus (Health): 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (7) {No wound penalties}
Willpower: 0 0 0 0 0 0 (6) {All spirits gain 1 willpower per day}
Initiative: 6
Defense: 4 {all attacks, including firearms}
Speed: 11
Size: 1-5
Language: Hisil, English
Bans: Must cause minimal destruction each day
Banes: Water {must spend Willpower & succeed on Power + Resistance roll w/ a dice penalty equal to rank in order to come in contact with Bane}
Combat: Power + Finesse to attack
Weapon: Ephemeral
------------- ---------------------------------------------- ----- --------

POWER (Strength, Intelligence, Presence)
00

FINESSE (Dexterity, Wits, Manipulation)
0000

RESISTANCE (Stamina, Resolve, Composure)
00

------------- ---------------------------------------------- ----- --------
Influence and Numina

INFLUENCE, Fire: 0
(rolls Power + Finesse, with success creating a desired effect)
Duration: 10 minutes per success
Cost: No additional Essence cost
*Strengthen 0: Can make a fire more potent, gaining spirit’s rank to fire’s power.

*Blast
The spirit may wound opponents at a distance. Range equals 10 yards per dot of Power and the spirit does not suffer range penalties. If the activation roll succeeds, the Blast wounds as a +0L firearms. The spirit may increase the leathality of its Blast by paying Essence- Every two Essence spent increases the “weapon” by +1L. The maximum weapon bonus is equal to the spirit’s Rank (1).

*Firestarter
The spirit causes flammable materials to combust. This Numen costs 1 Essence and causes one small fire to break out per activation success within the spirit’s Power in yards.

*Ghost Eater
The spirit may sense ghosts in Twilight, and consume their Essence as though they were spirits. This Numen is rare, usually only found in spirits of death or grief.

*Regenerate
The spirit can use Essence to heal bashing and lethal wounds on its Corpus. This Numen does not require a roll to activate, but costs 1 Essence and heals one point of bashing or lethal damage. The spirit must reactivate the Numen each turn to heal more severe wounds. Bashing damage is healed first, then lethal.

Giant Problems
As the demon sucubus allows Riccun to enter the part of the bolthole dedicated to Octavia, he hears a soft voice in his head say, "REMEMBER."




"Fjord's hound howled wind into Riccun's ears as the storms worsened. Skalamyrr was a town below the Blaserkr Mountains, and was rumored to be cursed. Riccun, whom the Norse called "King Raven", was summoned by the Skalamyrr chieftain and asked to aid in his plight. The chieftain's future bride, Drifa, was from a great line of shield maidens that had been kidnapped and taken up to the Blaserkr cliffs. In return for her rescue, the chieftain promised to offer Riccun a shield maiden from their bloodline every one-hundred years.

Riccun took the offer, as he looked to investigate the Blaserkr Mountains regardless. He'd heard tales of an ice giant that had been chained to the top of the cliffs by a goddess in order to protect her sacred sight. Riccun was in search of his sire, and thought that this might be the work of his love, Octavia. So he crushed the snow beneath him, armed with Verikosto (Blood Feud in Finnish). The great heights would kill even the strongest norsemen in minutes, but Riccun was no man.

Riccun could smell blood as he reached the icy peaks. Before him was a worship site like he'd never seen. It was a sacred site that appeared to be dedicated to Lofn (goddess of forbidden love), but Riccun knew better. In secret, the ruins spoke of the Crone, the exile goddess that was once the lover of Odin. Her addiction to blood sent her away, and she created darkness throughout the lands of men as vengeance. These mountains were in fact cursed.

Riccun's eyes tried to pierce through the white sheets of falling snow. There was a cave with a light glow of fire. If the chieftain's bride was still alive, she was inside. As Riccun crunched through the snow however, a guttural growl came from the cavern's mouth. Two red eyes gleamed as a creature stepped out from the cavern. Before him was a beast like never seen before. It's skin was navy colored like the night sky. It's muscles bulged from its tree trunk arms. Ice hung  from off the monster as it chewed bones through its crooked teeth. Riccun tightened his grip on Verikosto as he prepared for battle."


EXTREME COLD
Environmental (sometimes Personal)
Description: Bone-chilling winds bite through the char- acter, or trudging through knee-deep snow takes all of the sensation from his limbs. Any time the temperature gets down below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), a character can suffer from the cold’s effects. This Tilt can sometimes be personal, as a result of a medical condition like hypothermia or a supernatural power.
Effect: When the temperature is below freezing, characters can’t heal bashing damage — the extreme temperature deals dam- age at the same rate normal characters heal it (a cut might turn to frostbite, for instance). Supernatural beings and characters who heal faster than normal instead halve their normal healing rate. For every hour that a character is continuously affected by this Tilt, he accrues a -1 penalty to all rolls. When that penalty hits -5, he instead suffers a point of lethal damage per hour.
Causing the Tilt: A character can suffer this Tilt from being in a frozen environment — whether he’s outside in the Arctic tundra or in a walk-in freezer. Inflicting the Tilt is reasonably straightforward: throw the victim into a freez- ing lake or lock him in a freezer for long enough, and he’ll develop hypothermia.
Ending the Tilt: The best way to escape the freezing cold is to find a source of warmth, either a building with working heat, or warm clothing. A character who has hypothermia requires medical attention.


BLIZZARD:Environmental
Description: Heavy snowfall carpets the ground and is whipped up by howling winds into a barrage of whirling white. Effect: Blizzards make it very hard to see for any real dis- tance. Rolls to see things close to the character’s person, out to an arm’s length away, suffer a -1 penalty. Each additional 10 yards inflicts an additional -1 penalty (cumulative) on all visual Perception rolls. This penalty also applies to ranged attack rolls. Moving through snow is difficult. Every four inches of snow applies a -1 penalty to appropriate Physical rolls, including combat rolls, Athletics, and the like. The Blizzard Tilt rarely applies by itself — the Storyteller may also inflict any or all of the Extreme Cold, Heavy Winds, or Ice Tilts (all found below).

Svartbrand the Ice Giant



Health: 19 (Home Ground: Reduce all damage suffered by three & gain +3 to resist supernatural effects)
Defense: 4 (2 w/ Armor)
Init: 4 (-2 w/ Massive Spiked Club & Shield)
Size: 13
Willpower: 5
Speed: 21 (19 w/ Armor)
Armor: 3/2

Attributes
Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 3
Strength 6, Dexterity 2, Stamina 6
Presence 4, Manipulation 1, Composure 2

Skills:
Athletics 2, Brawl 3 (Grapple +1), Intimidation 4 (Physical +1), Survival 2, Weaponry 4 (Clubs +2)

Merits
Area of Expertise (Clubs), Hardy 3, Iron Stamina 3, Home Ground (+3 to all physical dice pools, reduce all damage suffered by three & gain +3 bonus to its rolls to resist supernatural effects)
Hunter's Senses, Man flesh (+4 to all Perception rolls and 9-Again),
Madness and Terror: 1 Willpower- Presence + Intimidation vs Compsure to inflict Guilty, Shaken or Spooked. 3 Willpower to inflict Broken, Fugue or Madness instead

Equipment
Massive Spiked Club- Damage: 5  Initiative: -4   Strength: 6    Size: 5     Special: Stun, 8-again
Giant's Armor: Rating - 3/1   Strength: 5   Defense: -2   Speed: -2
Giant's Shield: Defense: +2, Initiative: -2

Attack:
Club: +13 w/ 8-Again, 5(L) w/ Stun

We Come From the Land of Ice & Snow (Riccun Plot continued...)


Once Riccun Reaches Octavia
Octavia has been quite busy battling cults of the Hag while spreading her own pagan cults. Here are things she would talk to Riccun about.

*Campaign Against Baba Yaga: “It’s tragic, as no one has taught me more than the Hag.” She sighs, her mouth set in a hard line. “However, all mothers must die so that their daughters can birth life.” Octavia would raise her chin and give a weak smile. “The Crone is real. It is not symbolism. Baba has taken me to the Blood Goddess, and she favors me. And so began Baba and my campaign of war. Though she bests me in might, I am favored in guile. I have used my alliances to create discourse in her domain. The Hag has not rested in centuries, and will not be able to upright the civil unrest stirring in her lands. It shouldn’t be long now before she sleeps, perhaps a few decades. Then I can return to the surface to take charge of all that my loyal servants have helped me orchestrate.”

Cults of Octavia:  "I am Nyx. I am Lilith. I am I am Maeve. My cults have spread throughout nations, cultures and time. Now that these seeds have sprouted into strong crop, they can be harvested in order to worship the Crone in the cool of my shadow. And that is why I need you my giant. I have three thickets growing into woodlands. One of them, the City in a Garden (a translation of Chicago’s motto: Urbs in horto), begs for a hero who will drive our ships to new lands. A hero that will bring forth the hordes. A hero who is unafraid of Valhalla. Go there and be my overlord.”

The Axe: “For your service to the Crone, and for the love you’ve shown me, I bestow upon you your old friend, Blood Feud. Use it to defend the Crone, and destroy her enemies. Let it drink your blood so that it can also drink that of your enemies.”

The River Styx






'What felt like only moments ago, Lucius was torn to ribbons. It wasn’t the first time he’d died in Uratha battle, but it was the first time his own pack-mate turned on him. Luckily, being a slave to the Chained One had its benefits. Lucius would wait among the other lamenting dead within the winding tunnels of the Upper Reaches of the Underworld, and shortly after, a ghostly blue chain would appear and drag him back into the mortal world. So until then, Lucius walked along with moaning plague victims and drowned sailors that waited their turn to get on the ferry across the River Styx.

Lucius stood in the never ending rows of dead. He paid no attention to the neighboring soldier with a bayonet ran through his eye or the rail thin celestial boy shivering behind him. Something else had caught Lucius’s eye. Every so often, a flash of black shadow would weave between lost souls. Once in a while, a figure in black robes would be spotted peaking from a corner. No one else seemed to notice, and Lucius was certain that the creature was transfixed on him. Lucius had a bad feeling, especially because he’d cheated the laws of death so many times.

Then, as Lucius continued to scan the crowd, he was bumped into by a sobbing old woman that had tripped on the foot of a man shredded by cannons. When Lucius shoved them away, he found a black envelope in his hands. He opened it reluctantly to find a letter that read, “Cross the River,” signed by Death. Lucius felt a weight in his pocket, and as he slid his hand inside, his fingers felt the cold of two coins. Lucius still hadn’t felt the chain tug him, and judging from the crowd, he had plenty of time to investigate this strange occurrence. The only question is, did he want to?”

GOALS
-Cleverly cut in line
-Cross the River and get asked by the ferryman to help free him of his endless job
-Speak to Death about becoming his hitman
-Tell the Ferryman how to free himself





Kerberos


Virtue: Severe
Vice: Gentle
Rank: 5
Attributes: Power 13, Finesse 11, Resistance 12 Influence: Death 2, Ghosts 2, Silence 1 Corpus: 18
Willpower: 23
Size: 6
Speed: 34 (Species Factor 10) Defense: 11
Initiative: 23
Armor: None
Numina: Awe, Blast (silver chains), Emotional Aura, Firestarter, Regenerate, Resurrection, Seek, Speed
Manifestation: Discorporate, Materialize, Twilight Form
Max Essence: 50
Ban: Black Nathaniel cannot enter graveyards. Bane: White marble.

Stones of the Jungle (Porter)




“The Primal Wild, a place of harsh jungles, savage beasts, and the Watchtower of the Singing Stone. This Supernal realm has always been kept safe from outsiders due to its merciless environment. Any invaders further looking for the Watchtower must also face its guardian, The Phoenix. The powerful Totem keeps its mystical edifice safe from all, but the Thyrsus mages that scribe their name upon it. However, unlike other Supernal Realms, The Primal Wilds is made up of sovereign creatures. This makes organized protection of the realm all but vacant. Except for the Mage Reborn.

Kwatoko, as he was called last, had just stopped the Fallen World from tearing its fabric between Supernal Realms and the Void. His soul now awaited its rebirth. As he sat at the base of the Watchtower of the Singing Stone, he admired its architecture. The strapping stone forearm covered in lethal thorn-vines bled the names inscribed on it throughout the ages. Kwatoko knew his was near the center, and occasionally had flashbacks of his first awakening. He sometimes looked for Rees’s, but knew it would be impossible, as he only knew the dragon mage’s Shadow Name. Strangely, there was always one name that caught Kwatoko’s eye. It was an old name, and the only one that seemed to be fading from the Watchtower.

Suddenly, a cry loud as hawk-song rang through the sky. A tiger colored cloud began to form. It’s shape grew wings that burned with flames, revealing the soaring Phoenix. Kwatoko heard a voice within him.

“You have made enemies that now taint our land,” the voice proclaimed. Kwatoko was confused. “They send their trespassers to showcase the power they have over the Supernal Realms.” Kwatoko could hear loud smashing fromwithin the jungle’s depths and saw stones as large as men being hurled from the tree line. “I warn you that this monster is one of our own, tainted by the void. You will need to understand what it was in order to learn what it is.”

Kwatoko balled his fists, which now glowed orange. He nodded, determined, before charging forward towards the Frey.”

Jungle Stone Golem


Health: 24 (Must score an exceptional success to do regular damage, otherwise it inflicts 1 Bashing)
Willpower: 9
Morality: 5
Speed: 10
Defense: 5
Initiative: 10
Armor: 5/5

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 4
Physical Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 5*, Stamina 6
Social Attributes: Presence 1, Manipulation 2, Composure 5


Mental Skills: Crafts (Servitors) 5, Medicine 3, Occult 4
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 5 (Crushing Blow +2, 8-again)
Social Skills: Expression 3, Intimidation 4, Persuasion 1

Merits: Iron Stamina 3, Area of Expertise: Crushing Blow +2,

Dread Powers:

UNBREAKABLE
The creature is nearly indestructible. Any attack that does not score an exceptional success inflicts only a single point of bashing damage. Exceptional successes inflict damage as normal. If the creature has a weakness of some sort, attacks incorporating that weakness bypass this power.

NATURAL WEAPONS (•••)
The creature is armed with formidable natural weaponry, whether savage jaws, rending talons, bony spurs, or metallic blades. The weaponry has a weapon modifier and armor- piercing quality equal to the number of dots in this Dread Power. If the creature’s natural weaponry includes a bite, it doesn’t need to establish a grapple in order to bite.

NUMEN: PATHFINDER
This Numen allows an entity to know the quickest route to a destination. The fastest route isn’t always the safest, and the Numen doesn’t reveal any dangers on the way, only a set of direc- tions to the target. If the destination is the subject of the Safe Place Merit, the activation roll is contested by the lowest Resolve + Supernatural Tolerance among any owners. The Numen costs 1 Essence, and lasts for a scene. If the destination is too far away to reach that quickly, the entity must use the Numen again.

STONE EDIFICE •••••
The creature gains its rating in Armor that works against all physical attacks.


Active Spells:
Machine Invisibility (Matter ••)
Practice: Veiling
Primary Factor: Duration
Suggested Rote Skills: Larceny, Science, Stealth
By means of this spell, the mage blinds the eyes and ears of inert matter to her subject’s presence: cameras refuse to see her, microphones refuse to hear her voice, and so on. Super- natural objects (such as remote-viewing Artifacts or perhaps a ghost-haunted camera) provoke a Clash of Wills.
+1 Reach: This spell also applies to unliving constructs ani- mated with magic, including zombies and golems. Such beings always provoke a Clash of Wills.

Golem (Matter ••••)
Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Potency
Suggested Rote Skills: Crafts, Expression, Occult
This spell animates a statue or other object, allowing it to move and act almost as if it were alive. Each level of Potency effectively grants the mage a dot of the Retainer Merit. The Golem’s “field” includes simple physical labor, combat, and other uncomplicated tasks.
The golem is completely mindless, and can only execute whatever order the caster gave it last. Orders must be very sim- ple. If attacked, the golem has no Defense, but has Durability appropriate to its makeup (see Objects on p. 223) and Structure equal to Durability + Size.
Add Death ••• or Spirit •••: Bind a ghost or spirit into the golem to serve as an animating intelligence. The golem still uses its Retainer rating to determine dice pools, but the ephemeral being can use any of its powers, and the golem’s “field” is whatever the entity is capable of.
Add Mind •••••: Create an intelligence from nothing that will guide the golem and inform its “field.” See “Psychic Genesis” on p. 159 for creating a mind from scratch.
...........................................................................................................................................................
Dice pools

Crush (Unarmed): +13, +3L (-3 Armor Piercing)

BLACK TENTACLES (6, All act separately)

STR: 5, Unarmed: 5 (+2), Species Bonus: +4

Tentacles, Whip Grapple: +16
Damage: +2L and Grapple

Clinch Strike (•)
Effect: Most people will instinctively grab anyone they want to hit, but your character has trained to hit hard and accurately from a clinch position, using short punches, el-bows, and knees. She inflicts standard Brawl damage when initiating a grapple instead of sacrificing the opportunity to damage someone in order to grab.

Trunk Squeeze (••)
Prerequisites: Brawl ••
Style Tags: Creature (Constrictor), Grappling
Effect: By wrapping arms or legs around an opponent’s torso, your character can practically crush the life out of him. While grappling, your character can use the Trunk Squeeze maneuver.
Trunk Squeeze: Using a bear hug or leg scissors, your character crushes the opponent’s torso, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. This maneuver inflicts one point of bashing damage and imposes a cumulative –1 to the opponent’s grappling rolls for each round she maintains it. The penalty persists until after your character attempts another maneuver, or until the target Breaks Free. This maneuver doesn’t work on anyone who doesn’t need to breathe, or vic- tims with a Size at least 2 higher than the attacker’s.

The Tomes of Fontenay (Rees Plot)




“The Allies had Napoleon on the run, attacking Paris for a final coup de grace that would finish the French Empire off before October of 1813 ended. Rees traveled along with the British Royal army, disguised as a medic. It was a ruse of course, as Rees was in search of the Six Tomes of Fontenay. These religious texts were rumored to have High Speech secretly scribed in verses, revealing the secrets of the Sixth Tower. The only catch is, only one of them was the original.

The 3rd Artillery Brigade had been firing their twelve-pounders into the city for the last three days, making the infantry’s advance manageable. At dawn, thousands of red coats pushed into the city, causing skirmishes throughout the metropolis. Napoleon wasn’t going to give up easily. Meanwhile, Rees took advantage. He hurried to the Chateau de Connaissance, which appeared long abandoned. Some of the walls had been struck by cannon fire, and birds had made their way inside in order to help themselves to bread that had been left out for supper.

Rees hurried to the Chateau’s library. To his relief, the books were unmolested. It was an impressive collection to be sure. Rees searched the shelves for the Tomes of Fontenay. After some time, he found them hidden behind original copies of Pierre Choderlos’s “Dangerous Liaisons.” Rees opened the cover of the first book and flipped through the thousand year old pages looking for signs of authenticity. When he reached the center of the tome, he found six ornate illustrations. Only one of them was laced with High Speech, disguised as illuminated design. It read, “Six disks of Gross Arcana lay underground.” That’s it? It couldn’t be. Rees flipped through the book, but found no other clues.

Then suddenly, “mains dans l’air tve,” someone shouted behind him. Rees slowly raised his hands and gingerly turned around. A French infantryman pointed a rifle at him. Rees strategists on how he wanted to handle this. Before he could decide, a loud blast and eruption of dust burst outside the window. Men shouted, and shots were fired.

“Damn,” Rees mumbled to himself. “A battle is errupting just outside the one place in Paris I need to be.”

After dealing with the Frenchman, Rees will need to solve the riddle by rolling the following...

SOLVING THE RIDDLE: EXTENDED CHECK 1 HOUR PER ROLL, 20 SUCCESSES NEEDED
Solve a riddle (Intelligence + Investigation)

Extended Actions
An extended action is an attempt to complete a complex task. You roll your dice pool multiple times. Each roll takes a certain amount of time, and represents a step in the process — your character either makes significant progress or faces a setback. You determine your dice pool for the action as normal — Attribute + Skill + Modifiers. Make a note of your Attribute + Skill + Specialty (if any); that’s the maximum number of times you can roll before the action fails.
When you take an extended action, the Storyteller determines how many successes you require. Most actions require between five and twenty successes. Five reflects a reasonable action that competent characters can achieve with the right tools and knowledge. Ten represents a difficult action that’s still realistic for a professional in a field. Twenty represents a very difficult action that even a particularly skilled character will have trouble pulling off.
The Storyteller also determines the interval between rolls. If an action would take weeks to complete, she might consider one roll per week. If it’s likely to take a day’s work, one roll per hour makes for a solid timeframe.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: In addition to the effects of a failure, the first roll on a further attempt suffers a 2-die penalty.
Failure: You face a setback. The Storyteller will offer you a choice: take a Condition of her choice or abandon the action. You can offer a different Condition if you think it makes sense. If you refuse or cannot agree on a Condition, you lose all accumulated successes (see “Conditions,” p. 75).
Success: Add the successes scored on the roll to your running total. Work with the Storyteller to determine what steps your character has taken towards his goal.
Exceptional Success: Choose one of: Reduce the number of successes required by your character’s Skill dots, reduce the time on each following roll by a quarter, or apply the excep- tional success result of the action when you complete your goal.


The Riddle
Six disks of Gross Arcana lay underground.
A dragon will collect them until each is found.
He’ll place them in the hexagram like a lock and key.
Opening the gateway that lets new magic free.
Behold, the dragon will witness the true source of power,
When he lays witness to the home of the Sixth Watchtower.

LUCIUS'S PLIGHT

Lucius and his pack sniffed the stale air. They were on the hunt, but not like usual. They were looking for "The Six." Lucius's bones hurt from the Silver (1 Bashing). He could tell that his pack was getting agitated too. He had to be weary though. He knew little about the Wound, but didn't like the fact that that traitor, Ben, was able to create instant Servants of the Maeljin by using Wound Spirits. Lucius would need to find a place to fight that wasn't crawling with the residue of the Wound.

As the pack moved along, they followed mine tracks to a bizarre room. A massive worn statue with a twisting spire base marked the entrance. Beyond the worn statue lies a modest, worn floor covered in dead insects, puddles of water and large bones. Lucius's wolf eyes allows him to see locked crates, weathered and defaced by time itself. Further ahead are two paths, but the right is a dead end. Its twisted trail leads passed long lost rooms and tombs and soon you enter a dark area. It's littered with skeletons, but no weaponry in sight. What happened in this place?

You tread onwards, deeper into the darkness. You pass various different rooms and countless passages, some have collapsed, others are dead ends or too dangerous to try. You eventually make it to what is likely the final room. A big wooden door blocks your path. Countless odd symbols are all over it, somehow untouched by time and the elements. Several fresh smelling corpses of young women rest at the floor. You step closer to inspect it and.. wait.. you're sure you saw a shadow under the cracks of the door.


FLASHBACK TIME...

3.24.18


Each remaining character should have an end-game. An idea that will transition them into the next period, should they so choose. Below are a list of ideas that are not mandatory.

LUCIUS: The Red Watchmen make a deal with him to get Cinder back, assist in stopping the Bale Hounds and destroy the Storm Lord Mountain Lodge in Denver, Colorado.

THE RAIL BARON: John Talbot, if rescued by O'Connell, would gain his assets in Chicago.

ARGOS: Realizes this place is teeming with magma (in a detective or scholar like way), that is only getting hotter by the minute.

PORTER: Remembers his lessons as the Phoenix Reborn, and solves how to stop the Wound from growing (destroying the heart).



THE INTRODUCTION

Only werewolves would understand. There are hunts, and then there are great hunts.  One can defend their territory, and then there’s the glorious protection of the border of Flesh and Spirit. It’s the ultimate preservation of territory, pack and tribe. It doesn’t take much for a werewolf to be reminded. All of this, the War amongst Pure and Forsaken, the hunt for the Six, it was a perverted ruse cast by the Bale Hounds, foul servants of Maeljin. It only takes a glimpse of the Wound and its infected to realize it.

Philosophies on whether ancient ancestors were right or wrong in slaying Father Wolf are futile compared to what was happening. The Gauntlet was decaying, and in some sense, it was the fault of all the wolves in these mines. Two brothers, born more than a millennium ago, began a civil war. Their rivalry with one another spilled blood that would feed the roots of a horrendous abomination. Would Kane slay Able if the Earth were crumbling?

The Uratha could hear the Wound at work. The stench of Shadow-blight pierced through stale air. Echoes of contaminated denizens bellowed through the tunnels. Ephemeral veins and tendrils stretched across mine walls. The contamination was hard at work. Thurifuge, “The False Father,” was only a sunrise away from returning to what was once Pangea. Each Alpha’s pack looked to him, strained from Silver Sickness, for answers.

The pack was outnumbered. While every Uratha looks forward to a glorious end, there was more on the line with this hunt. If the wolves failed, they would allow the Wound to consume whatever this “Six” was. They would possibly give Thurifuge the strength to slay Luna and become the Lord of the Midnight Sun. They would disgrace Father Wolf. So, as the foul spirits before them surged with horrific energy, the wolves had to decide what they would do about the most dangerous of prey. Would they stand alone and likely die for the cause, or attempt to be a more cunning of a hunter by being a resourceful Alpha? It was up to each of them to decide.
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As Rees is guarding the cart, he'll hear a clink as yet another disk drops into his mining vehicle. When he looks, it's as if no one but he can see...


"Donned in red robes, and with a Nimbus matching Rees's, Antha stands before her lover as radiant as ever. She places her finger over her smiling lips and whispers, "Shh, our little secret." Rees is short of breath, and as brimstone fills his nostrils and men roar in fury, he's taken aback.

"How can it be?" he stutters.

"Each opened door in Vortigen's Tower, each incubated egg in the tombs, was me saying hello." There is a short pause. "Draig-Goch will allow us to be together once more, but first we must conduct our duties as Red Watchmen. Collect the disks and go to the Six. Only then can we reunite."

Antha would fade like a ghost, her smell of jasmine still haunting the halls. Rees would swallow the lump in his throat, now more determined than ever to find the Six.

Antha

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ARGOS'S REALIZATION


" As Argos watches Magma flow beneath the tracks, he can feel a heat rising, not just from the pool of magma, but all around him. Argos would place his hand on the wall, and feel a powerful reverberation. He closed his eyes and asked the beast to help him. The vision of lava flowing like a rapid through the halls, swallowing his companions, tightened the tension in Argos's undead muscles. This place was destined to be swallowed in molten earth and silver. It was a security measure by the Six. There wasn't much time."

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PORTER:

The pulsing veins, the horrific tendrils, it all led to one source. Porter felt as if he'd seen this scenario once before. He felt the Primal Wild in his veins. Porter would feel a sense of duty surge in his heart. In his head, he would hear the cries of fiery hawking. It was calling him to remember.