In Dark Alleys (IDA) Corebook

IN DARK ALLEYS the Role Playing Game
Is published by Vajra Enterprises, Eureka California
ISBN 0-9713095-4-X
Written and Designed by Brian St.Claire-King
Cover by Jason Juta
Art by
Michaël Brack (p.6, p.154, p.235, p.250, p.255), Nicole Cardiff (p.14,
p.21, p.23, p.26, p.39, p.46, p.53, p.86, p.103, p.112),
Kulbongkot Chutaprutikorn (p.81), Alice Duke (p.30),
Tomasz Jedruszek (p.216), Jason Juta (p.55), Cristina Ortega (p.252),
Pablo Palameque (p.44, p.132, p.168, p.176, p.194, p.234, p.259),
William Teo (p.101), Gracjana Zielinska (p.11, p.42, p.51).
Playtested by Tiffany St.Claire-King, Nick “Eeyore!” Page,

Diamond Charlotte, Sherelle Castro, Jorden Contreras, Paula Long,
David Tuttle, Tim Simpson, Peter Fulton Alexander, Nick Argall,
Carolina Barnatan, Chris Bell, William Bluford, Thom Brown,
Marce Connor, Shawn Connor, Darren Stefan Gilliver, Kevin Flowers,
Kyle Flowers, Barnard Friedman, Remy Handler, Bryan Head, Víctor
Jiménez Merino, Allon Mureinik, Michael Kalinin, Aviad Katz,
Edward Saxton, Rodney Smith, David Turner and Justin Wright.
Research Consultation by Allon Mureinik and Tiffany St.Claire-King.
Hand Models: Jorden Contreras and Tiffany St.Claire-King.
Editorial Assistance by Tiffany St.Claire-King and Shawn Connor.
Copyright © 2006 by Vajra Enterprises

All rights reserved under the Universal Copyright Convention.
No part of this book may be reproduced in part or whole without
permission from the publisher.
Visit www.InDarkAlleys.com
A Basic Overview of the Game
Style- This is a game about heretical philosophies left them different in two ways. First, they
that have been dismissed, ridiculed or suppressed have unusual abilities. Second, they know
because they don’t have ‘happy endings.’ that the reality most people believe in is false.
The touched are driven by fear, by curiosity or
It’s a game about people driven to seek truth by lust for power to discover more about the
despite the danger. It’s about the double-life those universe’s dark secrets, even if it means walking
people must lead and the thrill and power that into dangers they can’t comprehend and may
accompanies their exploration of the dark truths not be able to survive.
of this world.
Character Creation- The character has one
This is a horror game, yet players are not given pool of points to buy attributes with and another
the comfort of a monster they know from legends: pool of points to buy skills with. Characters
there are no ghosts or vampires or devils. Instead, must choose a Day Job (the character’s place in
the ‘monsters’ are the people, places and things that mundane society) and a Secret Life (the source
we depend on and believe in and that suddenly turn of the character’s supernatural knowledge
malevolent when their true nature is perceived. and powers). The Day Job sets the cost for
mundane skills and the Secret Life sets the
In Dark Alleys draws style from three main cost for supernatural skills. Advantages
sources: and disadvantages are used to round out the
-Movies from the Japanese “horror revolution” character. Skill points, attribute points, money
(and their American remakes). and points from advantages and disadvantages
-A number of American Indie comics whose can all be traded for each other via a simple
creators found innovative ways of bringing readers ratio.
into the damaged psyches of the protagonists.
-A certain sci-fi trilogy that uses questions about PCs earn XP (experience points) by surviving
the nature of reality to form the basis for furious dangers, helping people, discovering secrets
action. of the universe and by scaring or creeping-
out fellow PCs. XP can be used to improve
Background- The game takes place in what seems characters. In order to gain supernatural skills,
to be the modern world, yet hidden just below the PCs must spend XP but must also do dangerous
surface is a world of conspiracies, heretical faiths, experiments with their own abilities.
occult powers and supernatural dangers. The true
nature of the universe is not immediately divulged Game Mechanics- All mechanics are based
to the players, but players know this much: what on a simple system: The sum of attribute +
most people believe about the universe is not only skill + modifier(s) + 1d20 must be equal to or
wrong, it is a deliberate deceit. Los Angeles is higher than the difficulty of the proposed action.
provided as an in-depth campaign setting, yet In Opposed rolls are made when two actions are in
Dark Alleys can be played anywhere in the modern conflict with each other. Each of the opposing
world. parties wants to beat his or her particular
difficulty by more than the other party beats
Player Characters- The players are all “touched,” his or hers. Fighting is made up of opposed
people who have had a peek behind the curtain of actions and reactions with different difficulties
normal reality and have been irrevocably changed and effects. In combat, for each round each
by otherworldly forces. These encounters often character gets one action to make against an
were against their will. The exact nature of what opponent and one reaction if someone else does
has happened to them is currently beyond the something to him or her. Supernatural powers
characters’ understanding. The encounters have use the basic skill system.
Introduction 003
In Dark
Why Alleys?
The front of a building is a disgusting lie: the trash swept in America is this truer than Los Angeles, a city built
away, the graffiti painted over, the homeless people upon a tissue of lies and willful ignorance. This is
chased off by cops or security guards, the weeds plucked the society that prefers the pleasant and boring lie of
or poisoned. It’s meant to tell a story of order, control the façade to the troubled beauty of an alley. And it
and prosperity that has nothing to do with reality. is correspondingly the city with the deepest, darkest,
dirtiest and most dangerous alleys.
The beauty of the front of buildings is a mask which has
been mass manufactured and designed not to offend. This game is about alleys. Both the wonderful and
Like porn, it gives us what we’re supposed to want but in terrifying things that can be found in literal alleys, and
the end it accomplishes and signifies nothing. the figurative alleys: the alleys of academia where we
send ideas that don’t have pleasant consequences, the
Alleys tell the real truth about society: our wastefulness, alleys of our minds where we sweep the thoughts and
our underclasses, our lack of control over the universe. feelings that aren’t pleasant, and the alleys of the urban
All of society’s dark secrets are swept into dark alleys landscape where we send the poor and homeless.
where nobody has to publicly acknowledge them and
deal with them. We celebrate our strengths and hide our This game is about those who are tired of the shallow
weaknesses, allowing those weaknesses to grow. pleasantness of façades, tired of being told comforting
lies, tired of a standard of mass-manufactured prettiness
There is real beauty in alleys for those who dare to see it. that strives to be as inoffensive as possible. For these
It’s dangerous, scary, disturbing and flawed, but it is also people, alleys are the only real beauty to be found in
real beauty. It’s beauty that means something. the city. This game is about those who are coming to
terms with the unpleasant parts of themselves and their
Modern American society values image more than truth. societies, and for whom an alley is the only place they
Looking healthy, happy and strong is more important truly feel alive.
than actually being healthy, happy and strong. Nowhere
Introduction.........................................003
Table of Contents
Organic Rule Components.................125 Los Angeles .........................................159
A Basic Overview of the Game.......003 Basic Mechanics..............................125 History .........................................159
Why Alleys?....................................003 Using Attributes...............................126 Culture .........................................162
Table of Contents.............................004 Using Psychodynamics....................129 Entertainment...................................162
Health Attributes..............................131 Population........................................163
Character Creation.............................005
Drugs, Disease and Poisons.............133 Transportation..................................166
Character Creation in Brief..............005 Climate .........................................166
Step 1 – Character Concept.............005 Skills .........................................136
Economy .........................................167
Step 2 – Psychodynamics................007 Chasing .........................................138 Politics .........................................167
Step 3 – Attributes...........................008 Fighting .........................................139 Law Enforcement............................168
Step 4 – Secret Life.........................010 Crime .........................................170
Androgynes................................011 A History of Unpopular Ideas............150
Animism .........................................150 Infrastructure...................................175
Animists.....................................013 Geography.......................................175
Cannibals....................................021 Buddhism.........................................150
Faustians.....................................023 Platonism and Neoplatonism...........151 Secrets of the Touched........................185
Heroes.........................................025 Gnosticism.......................................152 Secrets of This World..........................222
Power Creation Rules...........030 Descartian Skepticism.....................152 Secrets of Other Worlds......................248
Lost .........................................039 Sadism .........................................152
Outcasts......................................042 Marxism .........................................153 A Story .........................................265
Professionals...............................046 Nihilism .........................................153 Adventures .........................................267
Scribblers....................................050 Freudian Psychoanalysis..................155 Payphone .........................................268
Survivors....................................052 Surrealism........................................156 Darkness .........................................272
Wonderlanders............................054 Existentialism..................................156 Appendices .........................................278
Step 5 – Day Job..............................058 Jungian Psychology.........................157 Glossary of Game Terms.................278
Step 6 – Skills..................................065 Character Sheets..............................280
Punk .........................................157
Step 7 – Equipment..........................087 Quick Ref.........................................282
Paglian Feminism............................157
Step 8 – Bonus Characteristics........110 Open Game Flyer.............................284
Step 9 – Character Advancement.....122 Postmodernism................................158
Index .........................................285
004 Introduction
Alleys
Chapter One - Character Creation

We are born cold, wet and hungry. Then things get worse. -anon
Step One - Character Concept

Character Creation in Brief In Brief: Your idea of the character: name, appearance, drives,
Step 1 – Character Concept: Your idea of the character: etc.
name, appearance, drives, etc. First, create a character concept. Character concept includes
Step 2 – Psychodynamics: Spread 80 pts. across 8 name, gender, appearance, history, personality and motivation.
personality elements (min. 1 max. 20). The GM may ask you the following questions to get a better
Step 3 – Attributes: Split 80 points between 8 attributes sense of who your character is. Even if he or she doesn’t ask
(min 1, max 20). Choose optional sub-attributes (costs or these questions, it is a good idea that you know the answer to
gives 1 Bonus Point). them.
Step 4 – Secret Life: Choose a source of supernatural
knowledge and ability. Family- Where is the PC’s family? Who are they and what do
Step 5 – Day Job: Choose occupation. This sets income
they do? What is the PC’s relationship with them?
and cost for mundane skills. Some occupations cost or
Gender/Sex- What is the PC’s gender and sexual preference?
give Bonus Points.
Is the PC looking for any kind of long-term relationship, and
Step 6 – Skills: Spend 100 Skill Points, skill costs set by if so then what kind? What does the PC find attractive in a
Day Job and Secret Life. Can buy 1 to 5 levels of any man/woman? Does the PC have any kinks? Does the PC ever
skill. wish to have children?
Step 7 – Equipment: Buy stuff with money from Day Job.
Can’t buy illegal things without the Black Market skill. Ethnicity- What is the PC’s ethnic background? What kind of
Step 8 – Bonus Characteristics: PC starts with connection does the PC have to this background?
neutral balance. Advantages must be balanced out by
disadvantages. Max. 30 BP of disads. Personal History- Where did the PC grow up? What kinds of
Step 9 – Character Advancement: Use XP to gain things did the PC do? What kind of people did the PC associate
experience levels and improve the PC. Gaining with? What fortunes and misfortunes befell the PC?
supernatural skills require dangerous experimentation.
Appearance- What does the PC look like and how does the PC
tend to dress? What message, if any, does the PC try to send
Advanced Character Creation with his or her personal style?
The order of character creation steps listed here is Drive- All PCs are people who seek to find out the truth
recommended for people not yet completely familiar about the world around them, even if that truth is scary and
with the character creation system. Advanced players dangerous. Come up with a phrase that describes why the PC
may want to take it in a different order, e.g. start with would endanger himself or herself for the truth. Examples
bonus characteristics, then choose secret life and day include:
job, then skills and equipment, then attributes and
psychodynamics. Although not as simple, taking Intellectual Honesty: The PC is obsessed with the idea of
character creation out of order can be more flexible. following any sort of inquiry to its logical conclusion. To ask a
question and then not do everything to find the correct answer
would be hypocrisy.
Using Bonus Points Pessimistic Paranoia: The PC is certain that there’s
PCs start with 0 Bonus Points (BPs). In order to buy something terribly wrong with the universe. Unable to ignore
something that costs BP the PC must choose some other this fact, the PC would rather know the nature of the threat.
character creation option that gives BPs. Curiosity: The PC has always had an insatiable desire to
Things that can give or cost BPs include: optional get into off-limits places and learn people’s secrets. This drive
Advantages and Disadvantages particular to some is so strong that it sometimes overpowers the drive for self-
Secret Lives, some Day Jobs and all the Advantages and preservation.
Disadvantages in the Bonus Characteristics section. Fear Junkie: The PC likes anything creepy, scary or
For more on using Bonus Points, see Bonus disturbing, The PC used to be addicted to horror books and
Characteristics, p.110. movies but those no longer do anything for the PC. The PC
now gets a rush by seeking out the scary in the real world.
Step One - Character Concept 005

In Dark
Misanthropy: People have been cruel to the PC,

and now the PC has a grudge against people. The PC Secret Lives in Brief
wants to find out that the universe is a terrible place While creating a character concept, keep in mind that in step 4 the
and rub people’s faces in it. PC will be asked to choose from one of the following sources of his
Power Hungry: With knowledge comes power. or her supernatural abilities and knowledge:
The PC is obsessed with gaining occult powers, no
matter what dangers to mind, body and soul stand in Androgynes- Have discovered there is a power to human sexuality, a
the way. power beyond and capable of changing our bodies and our genders.
Animists- Heirs to aboriginal wisdom, they learn to speak to the
Self-Defense: The PC is convinced that some spirits that are everywhere and gain power using dangerous drugs.
supernatural power is after him or her and that the only
Cannibals- Monks and priests who deny the flesh, break taboos,
way to escape a terrible fate is to discover the nature of mutilate themselves and gain powerful phantom body parts.
the supernatural.
Faustians- Alien entities living in their minds give them mental
Resentment: The PC knows he or she has been strength and supernatural powers but have their own agendas.
lied to about the universe. The PC resents being Heroes- Troubled vigilantes, some with unusual powers, who seek
deceived and will seek out the truth, not so much meaning in life by hunting supernatural horrors.
because he or she wants to know but to spite those that Lost- Become lost, often while drunk, and end up wherever they
would hide it from him or her. want to be, sometimes even in places that don’t exist in this world.
Optimistic Faith: The PC has seen scary things, Outcasts- Labeled crazy because they can see and hear things others
but the PC has faith that there is some light at the end can’t. They know the city’s supernatural places, people and things.
of the tunnel, some good that will make it all worth Professionals- Workaholic problem-solvers who have earned the
while. So the PC strikes off to find the good hidden trust of the Powers-That-Be and access to special training by secret
behind the horrors. societies.
Scribblers- Heretical academics, study dark philosophies, trade
Sample Character Creation – Step 1 knowledge by writing graffiti in dark places.
Our sample character will be Maggie Hernandez, a Survivors- Having overcome death by force of will, they find
young woman driven by loyalty to her community themselves nearly immortal, yet hunted by something from beyond.
to fight supernatural evil. We’ll say her drive is self- Wonderlanders- The fantastic worlds of their childhood imagination
defense: she wants to find out what dangers are out are real. Things and people can cross between them and this world.
there because she feels personally threatened.
006 Chapter One - Character Creation

Alleys
Step Two - Psychodynamics
In Brief: Spread 80 pts. across 8 personality elements (min. 1 If the EGO is corrupted, the PC thinks about and
max. 20). remembers the most unpleasant and unhelpful things,
while forgetting things which would actually be useful to
Spread 80 points (average 10 each) across the following the PC.
8 psychodynamics, with a minimum of 1 and a maximum
of 20 each. All 80 points must be spent. 10 is the average ID (Id)- This represents the part of the PC that seeks
for a normal, healthy person. The farther a psychodynamic pleasure and avoids discomfort.
is from 10, the more unusual the PC’s personality and At 20 ID the PC has a powerful “lust for life.” The
behavior and the more likely the PC is to be thought of as PC enjoys all manner of physical pleasures and enjoys
‘crazy.’ These psychodynamics are elements of the PC’s trying new things. The PC rails angrily against all forms
subconscious. Combined they make up the PC’s drives, of discomfort.
desires, fears, likes and dislikes. At 1 ID, the PC cares little about physical pleasures
and displeasures, caring more about ideas and identity.
A score of 1 indicates that the psychodynamic is unusually
weak and has little chance of effecting how the PC behaves. If the ID is corrupted, the PC seeks out unpleasant
PCs with low scores in a particular psychodynamic will get things and shies away from pleasant things. The PC may
little interference but also little aid and insight from that have a desire to poke himself or herself with pins, or hold
piece of their subconscious (see p.129). in urine until the bladder is painfully full, or chew up
aspirin for the bitterness.
A score of 20 indicates that the psychodynamic is unusually
strong and makes up a large part of the PC’s personality.
REPT (Reptile)- This represents the PC’s most basic
instincts, those we share in common with reptiles.
PCs with high scores in a psychodynamic can expect a lot of
aid and insight from that psychodynamic (p.129) but also a At 20 REPT, the PC has strong instincts. The PC puts
lot of interference with their rational thought. the basics of life (food, shelter, sex and freedom from
danger) above all else. The PC has no trouble seeing
In addition to assigning point values, you can also choose to these needs as an evolutionary imperative: a matter of
have one or more of the psychodynamics corrupted. See the survival-of-the-species that trumps moral or aesthetic
Corrupted Psychodynamic disadvantage (p.116) for more. concerns. The PC reacts quickly to life-and-death
situations, moving without thinking,
ANIM (Animus/Anima)- This represents the strength At 1 REPT, the PC has few instincts. The PC relies
of the PC’s masculine (Animus if PC is female) or feminine on logic, aesthetics and ethics to guide his or her actions.
(Anima if PC is male) side. If there isn’t anything tasty to eat, for instance, the PC
At 20 ANIM, the PC has a strong feminine side (if the will probably forget to eat. The PC rarely thinks in
PC is male) or a strong masculine side (if the PC is female). terms of basic needs and reacts slowly to life-and-death
The PC may try to hide this side or may be open about situations.
expressing it. The PC has empathy for and gets along well If the REPT is corrupted, the PC’s instincts will tell
with members of the opposite sex. the PC to do bizarre and unhealthy things: e.g. eat a
newspaper, go to sleep on a cold sidewalk, have sex with
At 1 ANIM, the PC has practically no feminine or a relative, attack a larger and meaner person, etc.
masculine side, either because the PC doesn’t judge his or
her behavior in terms of gender or because the PC’s thoughts, SEGO (Super-Ego)- This represents the part of the
impulses or emotions are always completely consistent with PC which fears punishment for doing bad things.
the PC’s idea of his or her gender. Either way, the PC has
little empathy for the opposite sex. At 20 SEGO, the PC has a strong conscience. The PC
doesn’t like breaking society’s laws or cultural norms;
When ANIM is corrupted, the PC is fearful and untrusting doing so makes the PC very nervous. The PC doesn’t
of the opposite gender and the PC’s ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ like other people who break rules and would like to see
impulses are frightening and reprehensible to the PC. them punished. The PC has respect and empathy for
authority figures.
EGO (Ego)- This represents the part of the PC that
integrates other psychodynamics to form a whole and At 1 SEGO, the PC has little or no conscience. The
suppress psychodynamics when they interfere with the PC’s PC has no innate aversion to breaking rules. The PC may
self-concept. find other reasons not to break rules (e.g. concern for
reputation, an intellectual belief in ethics, sympathy and
At 20 EGO, the PC has a strong sense of who he or she compassion) but is not motivated by guilt or an irrational
is. The PC never experiences thoughts, feelings or impulses fear of being caught. The PC has no innate dislike of
that don’t match the PC’s self-concept. If the PC doesn’t rule-breakers and feels little empathy for authority
want to think about or remember something, the PC won’t. figures. The PC has poor knowledge of social codes of
The PC can ignore most desires and discomforts. behavior and etiquette. The PC often forgets what other
At 1 EGO, the PC has little idea who he or she is and is people consider right or wrong.
buffeted by contradictory thoughts, feelings and impulses. A corrupted SEGO means the PC starts feeling
The more the PC tries not to think about something, the frightened and guilty about things that nobody considers
more it pops into the PC’s head. wrong (e.g. brushing one’s hair).
Step Two - Psychodynamics 007

In Dark
SHAD (Shadow)- This represents the PC’s dark side. If the STRA is corrupted, the PC often attributes good
motives to people/things that aren’t like the PC and bad
At 20 SHAD, the PC has many scary and ego-
motives to people/things that are like the PC.
dystonic thoughts, impulses and emotions. If the PC’s
EGO and SEGO are weak, the PC will find himself or
herself constantly acting upon those impulses against his THAN (Thannatos)- This represents the part of the PC
or her will. If the EGO and SEGO are strong, the PC will that sees hope in and longs for death and destruction.
be able to control the impulses, although they will still be At 20 THAN, the PC has an obsession with and desire for
there. death. The PC likes morbid humor, has little fear of death,
At 1 SHAD, the PC has practically no dark side, either and generally thinks death will be a good thing. Death will
because the PC has never had a thought or impulse worth be like going to sleep after a hard day. Knowledge that death
being ashamed of or because the PC is a psychopath who is inevitable helps the PC deal with the trials of life. The PC
unashamedly does whatever he or she thinks it is possible also likes the idea of an armageddon where the whole world
to get away with. is destroyed.
If SHAD is corrupted, personality elements that the At 1 THAN, the PC sees nothing romantic or comforting
PC wants to have will begin to disappear into the dark about the idea of death. The only emotion the PC feels about
side. For instance, the PC may become unable to be death is fear. When life is hard, the PC sinks into inescapable
creative, or be passionate, or be logical except when depression because both life and it’s alternative sound equally
expressing his or her dark side. horrible.
When THAN is corrupted, the PC feels that other people
STRA (Stranger)- This part represents the PC’s need to and want to die.
respect for people and beings that are not like the PC
and the hope that they have wisdom that the PC can learn Sample Character Creation – Step 2
from.
We want Maggie to be principled, so we’ll give her a strong
At 20 STRA, the PC is not scared of strangers, alien Super Ego, have good self-preservationn instincts, so we’ll
things or nature. The PC is adept at recognizing and give her a high REPT. She is not extremely ‘masculine’ as
learning from the wisdom in books or people. The PC her culture defines it, so we’ll give her a low ANIM, and
is prone to flashes of inspiration in which the words of fairly afraid of death, so we’ll give her a low THAN. We
a stranger suddenly make sense and the solution to a want her to be reasonably sane, so we’ll try to make sure no
problem suddenly becomes apparent. psychodynamics are too high or too low. We start spreading
At 1 STRA, the PC is uncomfortable around anyone/ the points evenly: 10 each. Then we start adding to some and
or anything that doesn’t look and think like the PC. The removing from others, e.g. +3 to REPT, -3 to THAN. In the
PC doesn’t want to learn anything new. The PC ridicules end we end up with 8 ANIM, 12 EGO, 9 ID, 13 REPT, 13
as nonsense any ideas he or she doesn’t understand. SEGO, 9 SHAD, 9 STRA, 7 THAN.
Step Three - Attributes when a character needs to move silently, keep his or her
In Brief: Split 80 points between 8 attributes (min 1, max 20).
Choose optional sub-attributes (costs or gives 1 Bonus Point). balance, scale a wall or get through a small space.
Characters have 10 points per attribute (80 points, total) to Awareness (AWR)- This represents the ability to
distribute between the eight attributes listed below. notice things. This is not the acuity of one’s senses, but
1 represents as low as the attribute can get without the the ability to be aware of important details. Awareness is
person being actually disabled. used whenever characters need to notice a clue, avoid an
ambush or sense attempts at mental manipulation. Most
10 represents the average for a healthy young adult. supernatural skills that involve sensing things use this
20 represents the highest a person can achieve without attribute.
special training.
Charm (CHM)- This represents likeability, social
You must spend at least 1 point on each attribute and can presence, persuasiveness and ability to read people.
spend a maximum of 20 attribute points on any attribute. Charm is used when a character needs to put on an
Later character creation options can subsequently increase act, convince an audience or seduce someone. Just as
an attribute to more than 20 or reduce it to less than 1. If Intelligence doesn’t represent cleverness, charm doesn’t
a character buys 20 Strength with attribute points and then prevent a character from saying something that gets the
takes an advantage which gives her +5 Strength, she will group in trouble or saying something that saves the day.
have 25 Strength. GMs must define the effects of negative
attributes (for instance, -5 Strength may mean that the Endurance (END)- This represents stamina for
character can not move or even breathe unaided). intense physical exertion as well as the body’s ability to
fight disease and resist toxins. Endurance is used when a
Agility (AGY)- This represents limberness, coordination, character needs to hold his or her breath, go on a long hike
balance and speed of physical reactions. Agility is used or survive a serious illness.

Alleys
Intelligence (INL)- This represents the speed at
which the mind reacts, ability with abstract thought, Sub-Attributes
learning, creativity and memory. Intelligence is used This is an optional way to give even more depth to your character.
when a character wants to perform a knowledge based You can choose to have the PC be very good or very bad at one
skill, understand a complicated philosophical text or specific aspect of an attribute. Say, for instance, a PC is not very
win at a strategy game. Intelligence is not cleverness strong (5 Strength) but his profession causes him to use his hands
or wisdom: any PC can come up with a clever plan a lot so the player wants the character to have strong hands. For
or completely miss the obvious no matter what their one extra attribute point the PC will have +3 to any Strength roll
using hands alone. For an opposed strength roll to keep a hold of
intelligence. something, for instance, the PC would have 8 Strength. The PC
might also want a bad back (-3 Strength) which would give one
Speed (SPD)- This represents the ability to run and attribute point but the PC would have only 2 Strength for lifting
leap as well as the damage a character can do with a and carrying objects. Available sub-attributes are listed below each
kick. The character’s kick can do the following blunt attribute.
damage:
Sub-Attributes can not be used to raise an attribute to more than 20
SPD 1-5 6-15 16-19 20-30 31-40 41-50 51+ or reduce it to less than 1. Sub-Attributes move with the attributes,
DMG ½ blunt 1 1½ 2 3 4 5 so if the character in the preceding example works out and increases
his Strength by 7 (to 12 STH) he would now have 15 STH with his
Strength (STH)- This represents upper body hands and 9 STH with his back.
strength as well as the character’s strength of grip
AGY:
and back muscles. A character would use strength to
yank away someone’s weapon, lift a heavy object or Good/Poor Balance: ±3 to any save vs. loss of balance.
do damage with hand-to-hand weapons. Characters Good/Poor Precision: ±3 to any roll which involves manipulation of
with high or low strength get plusses or minuses with small objects.
blunt weapons as follows: Good/Poor Climbing: ±3 to any climbing roll.
STH 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-25 26-30 31-40 41+ Good/Poor Prowling: ±3 to any prowling roll.
+ to DMG -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
AWR:
The character’s punches do the following blunt
Good/Poor Introspection: ±3 to any AWR roll to notice anything going
damage: on in the character’s own head.
STH 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-25 26-30 31-40 41+ Good/Poor People Sense: ±3 to any AWR roll to notice what people are
DMG 0 ½ 1 2 3 4 5 doing, not doing or saying (this does not include sensing people prowling).
Good/Poor Back Watching: ±3 to any AWR roll to notice anything
Willpower (WIL)- This represents the ability happening behind the character.
to resist emotions, discomfort and psychological Good/Poor Detail Sense: ±3 to any AWR roll to notice small details
manipulation. Will would be used to control on/in something the character is observing.
emotions, resist pain, stay conscious or battle against
mind control. Most supernatural skills that involve CHM:
making things happen use this attribute. Good/Poor Self-Confidence: ±3 to first impression rolls to present
himself or herself as self-confident.
Health Attributes Friendly/Unfriendly: The character is ±3 to all first impression rolls to

present himself or herself as a friendly or likeable person.
Characters also have 12 points to divide up between Good/Poor Seduction: ±3 to any seduction roll.
three additional attributes: Body, Blood and Incapacity Good/Poor Actor: ±3 to any acting roll.
(minimum 1, maximum 6). Good/Poor With Children: ±3 to any CHM roll involving children.
Good/Poor With Animals: ±3 to any CHM roll involving animals.
Body Points (BDY) represents the amount of
blunt damage a character can take before they start Good/Poor With Authorities: ±3 to any CHM roll involving people in
positions of power.
losing Blood Points (when all BDY is gone, blunt
weapons do double their normal damage to BLD). Good/Poor With Plain Folk: ±3 to any CHM roll involving people who
consider themselves simple or average.
Blood Points (BLD) represents the amount Good/Poor With Outcasts: ±3 to any CHM roll involving people who
of damage characters can take to their vital systems consider themselves to be at the bottom of the social ladder.
(heart, blood supply, etc.) before they are mortally
wounded. When all BLD is gone, damage is done to END:
INCY. Good/Poor With Heat: ±3 to any save vs. heat exhaustion.
Good/Poor With Cold: ±3 to any save vs. hypothermia.
Incapacity (INCY) represents the character’s Good/Poor At Disease Contraction: ±3 to any save vs. disease
ability to act even after taking fatal injuries. After a contraction.
mortal injury, damage is done to INCY (END is also Good/Poor At Fighting Off Diseases: ±3 to any save vs. disease
lost). When a character’s INCY reaches 0, he or she progression.
becomes incapacitated, unable to fight or perform Good/Poor Lung Capacity: ±3 pooled END when the character is
any other useful action. See the section on Health holding his/her breath.
Attributes (p.133) for more information.
Step Three - Attributes 009

In Dark
INL: Sample Character Creation – Step 3
Quick/Slow Thinker: ±3 to any roll based on the speed of mental reaction (not
including combat). Once again we’ll spread the points evenly
Good/Poor Memory: ±3 to any roll to remember or memorize something. between Maggie’s 8 attributes, then take
Good/Poor Skepticism: ±3 to any roll to figure out illusion, hallucination, forgery, away from some and add to others. We know
etc. Maggie will be ‘fighting’ the supernatural, but
probably not with her fists, so we we’ll give
SPD: a higher priority to her agility and her mental
Good/Poor Jumping: ±3 to any jumping roll. attributes than to her Speed, Strength and
Good/Poor Kicking: The character does kick damage as if he or she had ±3 SPD. Endurance. We want her to be fairly observant
Good/Poor Long-Distance Running: ±3 to SPD when the PC is running long so we’ll give her a high Awareness. We don’t
distances. need her to be charming, so we’ll give her a
moderately low Charm. We end up with the
Good/Poor Sprinting: ±3 to SPD when the PC is sprinting.
following: AGY 12, AWR 14, CHM 8, END 7,
STH: INL 13, SPD 8, STH 6, WIL 12.
Good/Poor Back: ±3 to any STH rolls to lift heavy objects.
We do like the idea of her being good with the
Good/Poor Hands: ±3 to any STH rolls using only the character’s grip. ‘common folk’ (since she will be protecting
Good/Poor Bulk: ±3 to any STH roll using the whole weight of the character’s body her community) so we’ll give her the optional
(e.g. a football tackle, knocking down a door, etc.) Charm subattribute “Good with Simple Folk”
Good/Poor Punching: The character does punch damage as if he or she had ±3 which means her CHM is effectively 11 when
STH. dealing with people who consider themselves
normal or average. To pay for this we could
WIL: either reduce one of her attributes by 1, or
Good/Poor With Addiction: ±3 to any WIL roll to resist psychological addiction or we could take a bad sub-attribute. We decide
drug cravings. we’ll make her poor at introspection: she’s at
Good/Poor With Drug Effects: ±3 to any WIL roll to save vs. drug effects. -3 AWR to recognize something going on in
Weak/Strong Stomach: ±3 to any save vs. nausea. her own mind.
Good/Poor With Distracting Pain: ±3 to save vs. distracting pain (see p.129).
Finally we have 12 points to spend on the three
Good/Poor With Shocking Pain: ±3 to any save vs. shocking pain (see p.129). health attributes. We don’t see her being very
Good/Poor Temper: ±3 to any save vs. anger. big and burly, so we’ll only give her 3 BDY,
Good/Poor Sense of Self: ±3 to any opposed WIL vs. WIL roll. then 5 BLD and 4 INCY.
Step Four - Secret Life

In Brief: Choose a source of supernatural knowledge and ability. Sample Character
Creation – Step 4
Choose one of the following Secret Lives for your character. Choosing a secret life will set
skill costs for supernatural skills and many give the PC access to special advantages and We decide to make Maggie a
disadvantages. Some of these advantages and disadvantages, labeled “mandatory” are not Hero. Looking at the Bonus
optional and neither give nor cost Bonus Points. Others, labeled “optional” can be bought Characteristics section, we
with Bonus Points (if advantages) or taken to gain Bonus Points (if disadvantages) if so see that all Heroes have a
desired as per the Bonus Characteristics rules (see p.111). mandatory advantage called
Unique Ability. Since Maggie
Androgynes- Have discovered there is a power to human sexuality, a power beyond and capable of changing
our bodies and our genders. is a Hero she must have this
Animists- Heirs to aboriginal wisdom, they learn to speak to the spirits that are everywhere and gain power advantage (and since it’s
using dangerous drugs. mandatory we don’t have
Cannibals- Monks and priests who deny the flesh, break taboos, mutilate themselves and gain powerful to pay anything for it). The
phantom body parts. advantage makes us choose
Faustians- Alien entities living in their minds give them mental strength and supernatural powers but have one of the power sources. We
their own agendas. choose Supernatural Object.
Heroes- Troubled vigilantes, some with unusual powers, who seek meaning in life by hunting supernatural Maggie found something
horrors.
that she can use to fight
Lost- Become lost, often while drunk, and end up wherever they want to be, sometimes even in places that
don’t exist in this world. supernatural evils. Other
Outcasts- Labeled crazy because they can see and hear things others can’t. They know the city’s supernatural than creating her supernatural
places, people and things. object (p.38) we have nothing
Professionals- Workaholic problem-solvers who have earned the trust of the Powers-That-Be and access to left to choose in the Secret
special training by secret societies. Life section. Had we chosen a
Scribblers- Heretical academics, study dark philosophies, trade knowledge by writing graffiti in dark Secret Life that gave access to
places. supernatural skills, the Secret
Survivors- Having overcome death by force of will, they find themselves nearly immortal, yet hunted by Life section would tell us
something from beyond.
Wonderlanders- The fantastic worlds of their childhood imagination are real. Things and people can cross which skills we could buy and
between them and this world. how much they would cost.

Alleys
Androgynes
In Brief- Have discovered there is a power to human
sexuality, a power beyond and capable of changing our
bodies and our genders.
Other Names- Genderqueers, Metasexuals, Two-Souls,

TransTantrics.
The Chosen- Those who are chosen are most often those
who are seen acting in a way that defies stereotypes of either
the straight world or the gay world, e.g. a straight woman
who gets into bar fights, a straight man who goes to clubs
with gay male friends, a male crossdresser who makes no
attempt to act feminine, an otherwise ‘butch’ lesbian who
wears a pink dress, etc.
Most importantly, though, those who are chosen have an

intensity of spirit, a passion that shows in their faces, that
initiators can easily see.
Initiation- Most Androgynes

Genderless
are initiated via a random sexual Pronouns
encounter. They meet someone Sie- A gender neutral
at a club, bar, house party, version of “he” or “she.”
LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Pronounced like “see.”
Transsexual) bookstore,
P.F.L.A.G. (Parents and Friends Hir- “His” and/or “her,”
of Lesbians and Gays) meeting, pronounced like “here.”
jail cell, college lecture, protest,
tea room, etc. The initiator is usually very androgynous and
the initiate finds hirself instantly and powerfully attracted
to the person. Drunk on passion the initiate follows the
initiator to a secluded place (most often the initiate’s home)
and they have sex. During intercourse, through, something
undeniably supernatural happens. Perhaps the androgynous
stranger changes gender. Perhaps the two briefly switch
bodies. Perhaps the androgynous stranger’s genitals
transform into something not human. In most cases the
initiate is so overwhelmed with shock, physical exertion and
pleasure that sie passes out. The initiate awakens the next
day to find a short note with a cryptic statement like “what’s
between out legs is so powerful that even the heavens fear
it,” or “sex is the most powerful thing a human can do, that’s
why society puts so many restrictions on it” or “only when
you stop letting society tell you who and what you are can
you find out what you’re capable of.” Along with the cryptic
half-explanation is a time and address for the initiate to find
out more.
When the initiate goes to the place sie does not find simple
answers. Instead, sie is anonymously given a number
of challenges, most of which involve either successfully
masquerading as the other gender or seducing members of
both genders. Each successful challenge is answered only
by an anonymous note, phone call, email or whisper from a
passing stranger leading to another challenge.
Step Four - Secret Life 011

In Dark
A minority of initiates come to the Androgyne movement At adventure one, the initiate has learned to manifest
through a different route: they learn about genderqueer supernatural powers during the passion of intercourse
(a movement that advocates freedom from gender roles), and may have even developed a few powers that sie can
become fascinated by it, start hanging out with the use without intercourse. The initiate has changed gender
preeminent genderqueer philosophers, learn that some multiple times but most likely has one gender particular
have merged genderqueer philosophy with some form of to hir mundane identity. The Androgyne spends most of
mysticism, and ask to be initiated into this system. From hir time as, feels most comfortable as and tends to identify
this point on, however, they must face the same challenges with this gender. The initiate has not learned the history
as those initiated through random sexual encounters. or scope of the movement or what further Androgyne
practice will lead to.
Only after the initiate has proven hir willingness to
transcend boundaries of gender and orientation will the Typical Evening- Most androgynes spend a portion of
initiate be rewarded with another sexual experience, often their evenings meeting with other androgynes. They meet
with hir original initiator. In this experience, though, the in private homes, college classrooms, GBLT bookstores
initiate witnesses having hir body switched, hir original and in the back-rooms of gay bars. They discuss the
body’s gender changing, and being transferred back to hir theory and practice of androgyny.
original body but this time as another gender.
Androgynes spend many of their evenings out on the town
The sudden change of gender has different effects on experiencing what it’s like to interact with people as a
different initiates. Some are able to hide it via careful member of a different gender. Few androgynes are in a
choice of clothing and makeup and go on with their normal monogamous relationship. Most are sexually active and
lives. Some adopt new identities. Some quit showing seek to explore the potential of passion by having sex with
up to work and, when they can no longer pay the rent, many different people as many different people. Thus
become homeless. Wherever they end up they are always they spend many of their evenings hitting the bars and
left with instructions on how and where to find their next clubs, both gay and straight, where singles congregate.
supernatural sexual encounter. A good evening means bedding an interesting person,
exploring passion and the power that comes with passion,
During further sexual encounters the initiate finds hirself in and leaving the lover with a supernatural experience that
the initiator’s body for longer and longer periods and learns will alter hir life forever.
that sie can access the initiator’s memories. Not only that,
but when sie returns to hir own body sie can remember what
Some androgynes think of themselves as cultural terrorists
the initiator thought and experienced as hir.
whose duty it is to disrupt gender roles. They remove
signs from bathrooms, paste gay porn on the walls inside
Although never given the time to make a thorough survey
churches, seduce famous and important people and then
of the initiator’s memory, the initiate is able to learn a few
things: sie is being initiated into a secret mystical movement “out” them as gay, spray anti-gender graffiti on walls,
that is an offshoot of the genderqueer movement. The dress statues of famous people in drag, etc.
genderqueer movement is concerned with supporting the
right of people not to have to identify with a single gender
stereotype. Some genderqueers go so far as to advocate the Gender Identity Disorder
abolition of the idea of gender. Mainstream psychiatrists no longer claim that homosexuality
is a disease. However, many young people who are struggling
The initiate learns that sex has incredible power, and with gender issues are diagnosed by modern psychiatrists with
that intense sexual experiences can lead to a temporary “Gender Identity Disorder.” To qualify for such a diagnosis,
breakdown of the rules of physics. This is a dangerous the person must have strong feelings of being the wrong
power and most who have such experiences are killed in gender and identification with the opposite gender, and the
the process. The genderqueer movement is the only way to feelings must be strong enough that they distress the person or
impair the person. Gender Identity Disorder is diagnosed in
shed the sex act of its cultural ‘baggage’ and thus have some children, adolescents and adults.
hope of accessing its power without being killed.
As a diagnosis, GID is a double edged sword. Some
The initiate learns that ‘Androgynes,’ as members of psychiatrists use it to identify people who are in real pain
the movement call themselves, learn to bypass the laws because they are unable to accept “who they are,” whether
of physics, at first via sexual passion and eventually via that be a heterosexual, homosexual or transgendered person.
strength of will alone, gaining powers and abilities far To them, treating GID means helping people decide how they
beyond normal humans. Yet for all their powers the want to live their lives and helping them accept this decision
without fear or guilt.
Androgynes must practice in secret or else they will
be hunted down and killed by the ‘Powers-That-Be,’ a Other psychiatrists use the GID diagnosis as an excuse to try to
conspiracy which they presume secretly rules mundane brainwash people into conforming to traditional gender roles
society and enforces gender stereotypes. Androgynes as “treatment” for an “illness” or as an excuse to deny people
have been told that the Powers-That-Be’s agents have their seeking sex-reassignment surgery (because the problem, they
own supernatural powers, although few Androgynes have say, is psychological and not physical, so changing the body
encountered an agent and lived to tell about it. would be wrong).

Alleys
What You Know
-Sexual passion is powerful in a way that can break the laws of
physics and help us break free from the limitations of the flesh.
Animists
-Too much passion released in an uncontrolled fashion can damage In Brief- Heirs to aboriginal wisdom, they learn
reality and kill those involved. to speak to the spirits that are everywhere and gain
-Physical bodies get in the way of passion, keep our “souls” from power using dangerous drugs.
making love.
Other Names- Witchdoctors, Brujos, Shamans.
-The true “us” is not male or female, is not even a biological
entity.
The Chosen- Almost every Animist is a first or
-The rich white men who rule the world want to protect their power second generation immigrant from a culture that
by discouraging experimentation with sex and gender roles. believes in spirits, magic and magical practitioners.
-Heterosexual monogamous relationships are a means of keeping Most have a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle who is
wealth and power concentrated in families by keeping lines of an Animist. As children, most were respectful of their
paternal descent clear. elders and their people’s ways. Most were smart with
-It is only by overcoming gender roles that humans can gain access an especially good memory. A significant percentage
to their full potential. survived a near-fatal injury or illness with the help of
an Animist. A significant percentage have suffered
Going Deeper- Most Androgynes start by alternating between from what western doctors would call a mental illness.
genders. They use makeup or occult powers to become the They tend to have few close friends. There are almost
gender opposite their natural anatomy. They alternate back no Animists who were born into a non-animistic
and forth until they are comfortable with and identify equally culture.
with either gender. After that is accomplished, Androgynes can
attempt the even-harder task of becoming neither gender. They
dress ambiguously and may even use occult powers to create Within any immigrant community there will be a bell
genitals that are neither male nor female. curve of how much members stick to the traditions
and values of their culture. At one end are those
By eliminating gender within themselves, Androgynes can who do anything they can to act, look and think like
recapture drives, thoughts and feelings that were once denied “normal” Americans. On the other end are those who
to themselves and by reuniting these divergent energies they remain fiercely loyal to their traditions and who have
can gain psychological strength. By exploring passion and only minimal contact with mainstream America. The
the power that comes with it, Androgynes may discover more latter are those who become Animists.
about the universe and how reality can be bent and broken. By
researching the nature of the Androgyne movement they will Initiation- Animists grew up in communities where
discover who is behind it, what those people want and what the the people around them believed there were spirits
end result of Androgyne training is. everywhere. Some spirits live in objects, some float
in the air, some live inside people’s bodies and keep
Dark Side- A few Androgynes become true terrorists: using them healthy. The people believed in these spirits
violence against those that defend traditional gender roles or
as strongly as anything they could see and touch. If
forcefully changing other people’s bodies.
someone’s car broke down, it was assumed the spirit
Supernatural Skills of the car was angry. If someone had headaches, it
The PC can purchase the following skills at 10 skill points per was assumed that a ‘misfortune,’ a spirit dedicated to
level: causing trouble, was attacking the person. If a person
Be Other (WIL) was depressed, it was assumed that one of his or her
Birth Servant (WIL) guardian spirits had wandered off.
Change Gender (WIL)
Switch Bodies (WIL) Yet when young Animists went to school they quickly
learned that there were situations when one had to
The PC can purchase the following skills at 20 skill points per pretend not to believe in spirits. Some were even
level: taught to call themselves Christians.
Flesh Control (WIL)
Masks (WIL) When someone in the community had trouble with,
Revive (WIL) or wanted something from, the invisible spirits, that
Recommended Day Job- Performer, Sex Industry Worker, person always called on someone known to have power
Student, Trendy Customer Service Job. with those spirits. These people were always treated
with great respect, and often a bit of nervousness. For
Recommended Skills- Disguise, Fashion & Beauty,
Performance, Impersonation, Seduction. many Animists, their first memory is of some scary,
intense old man or woman performing some bizarre
Recommended Equipment- Makeup Kit, Wardrobe, ritual in their living room. Young Animists grew up
Condoms, Makeup: Theatrical. believing these were the most powerful people they
Recommended Reading- Paglian Feminism (p.157). knew.

In Dark
Sometime during adolescence the Animists-to-be were
selected by an elder Animist (or by a spirit speaking through
the Animist) for training. Mostly it was unquestioned that
they would accept their calling. As apprentices, they
followed their elders on their nightly routines. They carried
things, acted as gophers and observed rituals. Slowly, they
learned that most of the physical components of the ritual:
the candles, chants, costumes, incense, etc. were only there
to help assure the clients that something was happening.
The real work, the students found, was done via the power
of the Animist’s will.
Power, the students learned, does not come from living right,
being humble, reading books or doing meaningless little
rituals. Power comes from dangerous ordeals that bring
one close to dying or going insane. These ordeals might
include fasting, self-torture, isolation and using dangerous
deliriant drugs. Surviving these ordeals left one with a soul
strong enough to issue commands to the invisible spirits that
surround humanity.
Students were trained to keep an open mind to strange

sights and sounds that were signs from the spirits. They
were trained to leave their bodies and travel the world as
spirits. They were told that there were other worlds beyond
ours that could only be reached as a spirit, all dangerous to
visitors. Some students were taken on brief tours of some
of these worlds.
At adventure one, the Animist has learned enough to be able

to take on clients from the community by himself or herself.
The teacher is, most likely, still around, but the Animist
knows that he or she has to be able to handle problems
without help in order to gain the trust of the community.
Typical Evening- Animists gets calls, or visits in person,

from members of their communities who need supernatural
help. Some Animists will only take the job if they think they
can help, others have no qualms about taking someone’s
money to do useless and un-needed rituals. There is
typically an appointment to diagnose the problem, then
another appointment for a ceremony to solve the problem.
Appointments are typically held in the clients’ homes.
Much of the ceremony is just meaningless gestures to show

clients that something is being done: Animists may wear
funny costumes, burn incense, wrap people in colored
string, burn candles with pictures of saints on them,
prescribe taboos, etc. Animists are usually paid from $40 to
$500 for their services, and may be offered items or services
instead of money. Before and during the ceremony Animists
commonly use a client’s family as servants: sending them to
purchase ritual items, prepare the patient, cook prescribed
meals, decorate the apartment in a certain way, etc. Giving
the family tasks keeps them busy.
The most common ceremony Animists perform is curing a

patient from a disease caused by ‘misfortunes.’ In addition
to the parts of the ceremony done ‘for show,’ there is usually
the ingestion of psychoactives, then the use of visions,
possession or spirit travel to find where on the body the

Alleys
misfortune is, and then the use of chanting, blowing,
sucking, yelling, hitting or smudging (anointing with smoke) Animist Disdain For Western Science and Occultism
to remove the misfortune.
Westerners want to take everything apart, understand how
every little part works. Their science and technology is
Other times the problem is the loss of a guardian spirit and
quite good at manipulating those few parts of the world they
the Animist may have to leave his or her body and travel to understand. Yet anything they don’t understand they ignore
the spirit world to convince a wayward spirit to return to its or ridicule. If some disease, for instance, is understood by
duties. them they hop all over it with their drugs and surgery and
radiation. If they don’t understand it, though, they call it
Community members may also ask Animists to investigate untreatable and laugh at the idea of making even a simple
cases of suspected curses and hauntings, to give luck in offering to a spirit.
legal, economic or career matters or to harm enemies
(usually people from outside the community who are giving Non-Westerners may not understand how every little part
community members a hard time). Some Animists are of every little thing works, but they know how to do what
called on by gang members to help provide protection from works. If a ritual helps people then it is a good ritual, even
the cops and give an edge over enemies. if it makes no sense. Westerners call this superstition, but
it’s just being practical.
When not performing rituals, Animists are often pressured
Western occultists typically have the same Western
to attend community events. They may be invited for dinner obsession with understanding how things work. This often
by families who want to get on their good sides. Some leads to intellectual meandering that has nothing to do with
Animists are asked to perform tasks that have nothing to do helping people or with real power. Most every Western
with their supernatural powers: matchmaking, arbitrating occultist is just a powerless windbag.
disputes, acting as spokespeople for the community, etc.
Most Animists need exotic, sometimes illegal, herbs, and What You Know
spend some time either tending to a small garden or going to -The ancient ways of your people have power. Western
dimly lit herb shops or botanicas. science’s understanding of the world is limited or
flawed.
A typical evening involves rituals designed to keep
Animists pure and powerful. Rituals may involve chanting, -Those with strong souls can learn to wield power
meditation, ritual bathing (often in ice-cold water) or by going repeatedly to a state that is near death and
smudging. Regular ingestion of psychoactive drugs may madness.
also be used to keep an Animist powerful. -The world teems with invisible entities, most of which
want to cause illness or misfortune.
Los Angeles Immigrants and Minorities -These spirits have limited intelligence, but those with
power can speak to them.
Caucasians are a minority in the Los Angeles area.
-Even inanimate physical objects have spirits and can be
More than one in three Los Angeles County residents was born persuaded to act differently.
in another country (30% of Orange County residents, 19% of -Every human has a soul which exists separately from the
Riverside and San Bernardino County residents). More than physical body and goes to a dark place after death.
half of L.A. County residents are from Latin America and
almost half are from Mexico. -Each human also has various guardian spirits. If any of
these spirits is sick or goes missing the human will go
About 20% of people in the L.A. area are non-citizens. crazy or become ill.
500,000 are illegal immigrants (more than 20% of the illegal
immigrants in the whole country). -Guardian spirits live in the spirit world, a place
accessible via dreams or soul travel.
-There is also a realm where the dead wander in darkness
Ethnicity of L.A. Area Residents and confusion for some time until they end up in whatever
comes next.
L.A. Orange Riverside San Total
county County County Bernardino -There are other dangerous worlds that are very different
County from the spirit world and the land of the dead.
Asian 1.1 M 400 K 55 K 78 K 1.7 M
S Asian 70 K 30 K 6K 9K 115 K
-Sometimes people who have gone too close to haunted
SE Asian 400 K 200 K 31 K 44 K 675 K places are infected by evil guardian spirits. They give
E Asian 627 K 147 K 17 K 25 K 816 K strength, but they consume the person’s other guardian
Pacific 26 K 9K 4K 5K 44 K spirits.
Hispanic 4M 800 K 560 K 670 K 6M -The fact that your people were subjugated by imperialists,
Mexican 3M 700 K 500 K 500 K 4.7 M
Caribbean 70 K 16 K 10 K 15 K 111 K
despite your people having powerful Animists, suggests
C. American 340 K 28 K 12 K 20 K 430 K that the imperialist conquerors had their own spiritual
S. American 75 K 18 K 5K 8K 100 K power (whether they knew it or not).

In Dark
Journeying (WIL)
Myth: Aboriginal People Are In Tune With Nature Possession Trance (AWR)
See True Face (AWR)
The truth is that aboriginal people fear nature. They depend Visions (AWR)
upon it and they know from experience that it can fluctuate
dangerously in extreme ways. The PC can purchase the following skills at 20 skill points
per level:
They typically have no conception of nature as a single entity.
Flesh Control (WIL)
Nature is a variety of forces, both visible and invisible. Some
parts of nature are completely hostile to humans, but the
Masks (WIL)
majority are neutral. They treat all parts of nature with respect Revive (WIL)
for fear of offending them and incurring their wrath. Spirit Speed (WIL)
Spirit Strength (WIL)
Aboriginal people try to remove themselves from nature as Playland Geography (INL)
much as their technology allows. They burn the forest to create
clearings to live in. They create shelters to keep nature out. Bonus Characteristics
Unacculturated (Mandatory Disadvantage)- Even if
To say that aboriginal people are in tune with nature is like the PC was born and raised in the United States, he or she
saying a person who lives in an inner city is ‘in tune with gang was raised in an isolated non-English speaking household.
members’ because that person doesn’t throw rocks at gang The PC speaks English poorly and with a thick accent.
members just to see what would happen. The bigger problem, however, is that the PC was raised
with a worldview that is very different than that of most
Aboriginal don’t pretend that they fully understand how nature Americans. The PC’s ideas of morality, philosophy,
works, and so when they do something to the natural world and community and individual rights and obligations are
something bad happens, they try to never do that thing again. surprising and alien to Westerners and visa versa. It
If someone drops a food dish on the floor and the next day is precisely this isolation from the basic worldview of
there’s a terrible storm, they decide never to let food dishes Western culture that makes it possible for the Animist to
touch the ground again. Thus they avoid a lot of the western become powerful, but it is also a serious disadvantage.
world’s mistakes, but they also fill their lives with pointless Unlike more acculturated members of the immigrant
prohibitions.
community, who can get along with mainstream American
Aboriginal people pass down knowledge about nature, but it is
society and get mainstream jobs, the PC will probably be
only the information they find useful for their actual survival. If unable to get work outside his or her own community.
you want pointless facts about how insects mate or diseases that
effect trees, ask an entomologist or a botanist, not an aboriginal For 10 skill points per level the PC can purchase the
person. special skill Act American (see text box) which will allow
the PC to fit into mainstream American society, but will
also reduce the PC’s supernatural abilities. The PC must
Going Deeper- Animists gain power by repeatedly doing purchase levels of this skill to have certain day jobs as
dangerous rituals which bring them close to madness or follows:
death. This power fortifies them to survive longer and 0 Levels: Alternative Health, Boring Factory Job,
deeper travels into the spirit world and those realms beyond. Boring Field Job, Career Criminal, Dangerous Field
Those legendary Animists who have gained great levels of Job, Homeless, Homemaker, Paranormal Professional,
power have done so by becoming seasoned travelers in the Privileged, Retired, Sex Industry Worker, Welfare, Ward.
other worlds. 1 Level: Boring Customer Service Job, Child Care,
Computer Tech, Creative, Driver, Performer, Security
Dark Side- Animists are sometimes called upon to be Professional, Student.
protectors of traditions, mostly from young people who 2 Levels: Business Owner, Boring Office Job, Pilot,
want to adopt American ways. An Animist may be asked to Investigator, Law Enforcement Professional, Legal
threaten or attack a young person trying to resist an arranged Professional, Medical Professional, Professor, Religious
marriage, go off to college, seek treatment in a hospital for Professional, Reporter, Researcher, Social Worker, Trendy
an illness, or date a white person. Other Animists act as Customer Service Job.
mercenaries: hurting people at the request of the wealthiest
members of the community. Others are parasites, getting
money for doing ceremonies that people don’t actually need Act American (CHM)- This skill allows the PC to
or, even worse, extorting supernatural ‘protection’ money. hide the cultural differences that separate him or her
from mainstream American culture. Doing so requires
Supernatural Skills knowledge of the modern American worldview and
The PC can purchase the following skills at 10 skill points exposes the PC to ideas about the world that can hamper
per level: his or her supernatural powers. For each level of this
Animal Form (WIL) skill, the PC gets -4 to all supernatural skill rolls.
Body Invasion (WIL) Easy (10): Act American while buying something in a
Command Animals (WIL) store.
Command Inanimate (WIL) Moderate (20): Act American at a party.
Command Misfortunes (WIL) Hard (30): Act American in a job interview with a big
Dreaming (WIL) corporation.

Alleys
Traditional Learning (Mandatory Advantage)- The PC Recommended Day Job- Alternative Health,
gets 4 free levels worth of Traditional skills (see p.77). Homemaker, Welfare, Small Business Owner. Note:
Choice of Day Job is limited by the mandatory
Ethnic Group (Mandatory Advantage)- The PC gets the disadvantage Unacculturated, see p.16.
equivalent of the Ethnic Group advantage (p.112) free.
Recommended Skills- Ethnogens, Language,
Extra Income (Mandatory Advantage)- The PC starts Gardening, Herbal Medicine, Performance, Poisons,
with an extra $1,000 and +$25/wk. from income earned Sleight of Hand.
serving the community. Recommended Equipment- Car (Used), Cigarettes,
Ethnogenic Deliriant, Ethnogenic Euphoriant,
No Teacher (Optional Disadvantage, Gives 1 BP)- The Quarterstaff, Lighter, Poison Ring.
elder Animist who trained the PC has died or is otherwise
completely unavailable to give advice or training. Recommended Reading- Animism (p.150).
Latin American and Caribbean Animists

The pervasive influence of Christianity has robbed most native spiritual level is less common and those who work on this level
beliefs of power on the American continent. There are, however, can cure via candles, prayers and calling on benevolent spirits.
a few places where native beliefs managed to survive. Most Latin The mental level is the least common, those who operate on
American and Caribbean Animists can trace the origin of their this level can manipulate the world and effect cures via power
beliefs primarily to Native Latin Americans or to West African of the mind alone. A true Animist Curandero would be one of
slaves (although there is much crossover between the two). In the few able to operate on the spiritual and mental levels.
those few places where beliefs survived in pure enough form to
give real power, they have survived because the places were too Much of Curanderismo on the spiritual level borrows from
remote to be fully infiltrated by Western civilization and religion. Espiritualismo, the Latin American extension of Spiritualism.
When missionaries did come they hid their religion by pretending to Spiritualism came from New York in 1848 and enjoyed
adopt Christianity and by calling native beings by Christian names. popularity across the Western world during the Victorian age.
Some Latin American and Caribbean Animists still feel they must Spiritualism trained mediums to contact the spirits of the dead.
hide behind the false pretense of being Christian or actually believe In Latin American Curanderismo both good and bad spirits can
they are practicing a form of Christianity (albeit one which varies enter a medium and speak through him or her.
drastically from mainstream Christianity).
Brujeria is the evil opposite of Curanderismo. While
Curanderismo- Native Latin American beliefs have largely curanderismo is often thought of as a gift from god to cure
survived in a pan-Latin-American tradition known as Curanderismo. people, Brujeria is a gift from the devil to cause harm. Although
Curanderismo is found most often in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, most people who go to Curanderos think of Curanderos and
Venezuela, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Colombia and Cuba. Brujos as exclusive categories, wise Curanderos (especially
Influences include Catholicism, African beliefs and even ancient those from traditions with less Christian influence) know that
Greek healing treatises (which traveled from Greece to the Muslim the “gift” can allow for both good or evil. Brujos can turn
world to Spain to the Americas). Yet the forms of Curanderismo into animals, send misfortunes, and create a variety of cursed
that contain actual supernatural power are those that hide native objects.
Animistic beliefs and are usually practiced by Indians.
Botanicas are shops where Curanderos and believers in Latin
Each country has its own curanderismo traditions incorporating American folk magic can buy herbs, candles and other magical
native beliefs and plants. Some South American curanderos, for components. Although a few items are there for Curanderos
instance, use ayahuasca, an admixture of hallucinogenic plants. there are many more ‘good luck sprays’ or ‘lotto candles’
created for the superstitious. There are hundreds of botanicas
Curanderos can be male or female, though they are most often in the L.A. area, from tiny, dimly lit shops with hand painted
female. One tradition is that a child who cries in the womb has the signs that reek of herbs inside, to occult supermarkets with
power to become a Curandero. aisles stacked high with manufactured “spiritual” goods.
Curanderismo, as the name implies, is primarily a system of healing African Syncretisms- There are several Latin American and
practices. Diseases are believed to be caused by an imbalance of Caribbean religions that are based on West African animistic
humors (yellow bile, black bile, blood, phlegm), attack by malevolent beliefs. They are practiced primarily in Puerto Rico, Cuba,
spirits, attack by brujos (witches) or loss of one’s soul. Three the Dominican Republic, Central and South America, Haiti,
common diseases that curanderos believe in are Ataque (caused Jamaica and the West Indies.
by extreme shock, manifesting as bizarre behavior, violence and
sometime mutism), Susto (depression, insomnia, anxiety, lethargy The syncretic religions believe in a creator god but that god
and anhedonia caused by soul loss), and Bilis (diarrhea, vomiting, is remote and unknowable and is seldom appealed to. More
headaches and dizziness from bile entering the bloodstream because important are ancestor spirits and a large number of “loa”
“orisha” or “orixa” that are able to aid humans by interdicting
of an excess of emotions). Herbs and foods thought of as hot or cold
in human matters. Most are associated with a saint. Shrines
are also prescribed to treat cold or hot illnesses.
are kept and offerings are made (including animal sacrifice)
but the most important rites are dances wherein practitioners
Curanderos may possess the power to operate on one or more of the
are possessed by these beings who speak and act through them.
following levels: the material level, the spiritual level and the mental
All loa are active in the life of every practitioner, although
level. The majority of Curanderos operate only on the material level:
there is one who is ‘in charge’ of the person.
they use material things (e.g. herbs, eggs, oils) to cure illnesses. The
continued next page

In Dark
Latin American and Caribbean Animists (continued) Southeast Asian Animists
Each group calls these beings by different names and each group The three Southeast Asian immigrant groups in LA that have
has a few major beings that are unique to that region. Some major a significant number of Animists are Hmong, Cambodians and
members of the Haitian pantheon are: Vietnamese. The Hmong are the smallest group but are the
-Papa Legba (male loa of crossroads, pranks and compacts, a most purely Animistic and thus have the highest proportion of
messenger to other loa) Animists with real supernatural powers. The Vietnamese are the
-Damballa (male loa of serpents, co-creator of the universe) largest group but are the most industrialized and have the smallest
-Ayida-Wedo (female loa of rainbows, co-creator of the proportion of real Animists. The Cambodians fall somewhere in
universe) between.
-Erzulie (female loa of love, sensuality, femininity, rivers and
freshwater) Hmong
-Obatala (male chief of the loa and creator of humanity)
-Chango (male loa of war, justice, lightning and dance) Population- Of the nearly 90,000 Hmong in California,
-Oggun (loa of hunting, plants, tools, minerals, wild animals) only are about three-thousand are in the L.A. area. More than
-Baron Samedi (loa of the dead and death) 1,000 are in Orange County. Santa Ana has the largest Hmong
-Maman Brigette (female loa of thunder, storms, cemeteries, community in Orange County, followed by Garden Grove/
war, passage to the afterlife) Westminster. L.A. County has more than 700, mostly in Long
Beach. Riverside County has about 700, nearly all of which are in
Vodoun: This is the syncretic religion found in Haiti and, to a Banning. San Bernardino County has about 200, scattered around
lesser extent, in the Dominican Republic and parts of Cuba. Vodoun San Bernardino, Fontana, Pomona, Rialto and Morena Valley.
practitioners sometimes practice journeying. In Vodoun there is
a two-part soul, known as the ‘big guardian spirit’ and the ‘little History: The Hmong were agrarian mountain tribe. They were
guardian spirit’. The big guardian spirit is the immortal soul; the recruited by the CIA to help fight the secret war in Laos. After the
little is consciousness (that is displaced when one is possessed). US pulled out the Hmong were persecuted and a large percentage
of the population died. Many Hmong fled to Thai refugee camps.
Candomble and Umbanda: These are religions that began In 1975 the US began accepting Hmong refugees.
in Brazil and spread to adjacent South American countries. In
Candomble belief, humans are stellar beings trapped in a physical Culture- American Hmong are divided into 18 major clans,
world until we can evolve to control our own minds. Guardian each of which shares a family name. Women must marry outside
spirits, known as Orixas, prepared the planet, after its creation, for their clan. They typically move in with the husband’s family and
human inhabitation. Among other things, Orixas help keep human are adopted into the clan of their husbands. Mutual assistance is
energies in balance. Divination is very important to Candomble, provided via clan associations. Clan leaders often settle disputes.
especially via the casting of seashells. A practitioner uses divination The Hmong have had a lot of trouble adapting to American
to determine a person’s guardian Orixa and then attempts to contact society. Some problems are because the Hmong were one of the
that Orixa. Rituals are typically held in homes where practitioners least industrialized groups to come to the US and thus have less in
beat small drums and chant/sing stories of the Orixas. common with Anglo-American culture than other groups. Other
problems are because many arriving Hmong were illiterate and so
Santeria: This syncretic religion had its origin in Cuba and is have less access to the information needed to survive in modern
now practiced in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, parts America. Some of their problems include marriages that are not
of Mexico, Central and South America. Mexican Santeria is more legal or are not registered with the government. Sometimes girls
Roman Catholic, Cuban Santeria is closer to the original African as young as 13 marry older men (most often 4 or 5 years older)
beliefs. Santeria has the most American practitioners of any of the which is illegal under US law. Corporal punishment of children
African Syncrtisms (about 35,000). Each Santero has one Orisha he is common in Hmong households and sometimes may cross the
or she is dedicated to. A Santero is initiated to a particular Orisha line into what the law considers abuse. Some Hmong refuse
and follows the camino (path) of that Orisha. When consulted by to go to, or send their children to, western doctors for medical
patients a Santero will perform divination (Ifa: casting a chain problems. Traditional Hmong medicine often discourages the
on a grid of pictures or Dilogun: casting cowry shells that refer Hmong from getting surgery or getting blood drawn. Many
to one of 265 Yoruban mythology poems) and then prescribe a Hmong also believe autopsies may interfere with reincarnation.
course of action that will allow the patient to put things right. This All in all, the Hmong are often very reluctant to seek the help of
may include herbs and animal sacrifice (most often chickens). US government authorities for help with their problems.
Possession by Orishas is the most important form of supernatural
work in Santeria. Santeria practitioners with legendary power can Hmong marriages are arranged by marriage negotiators who
take on animal form. set dowries and perform rituals. Polygamy was practiced in Asia
but is very rare in the US. Divorce is not permitted in traditional
Obeah: This occult system is primarily from Jamaica and the Hmong society. When Hmong children are born, the placenta
West Indies. Obeah has lost most of the African religious qualities (called “birth shirt”) is buried nearby and after death it helps guide
including communal rituals and the belief in the African pantheon. the person to the land of the dead. The Hmong have a complicated
What is left is a series of superstitions and magical rituals designed and long funeral ritual which helps guide souls to the afterlife.
to directly effect other people. Obeahmen and women are known Funerals typically involve the ritual sacrifice of animals.
for sending duppies (dangerous ghosts) to attack humans, for using In comparison with white Americans, Hmong people can be
components such as graveyard dust to create poisons and cursed reluctant to show emotions or say what they really think. Many
objects. Apart from hurting and killing people, many Obeah don’t like handshakes or direct eye contact with strangers.
practitioners are skilled in the use of herbs and a few can go into
possession trances. Some Obeah practitioners wear belts with The Hmong are known throughout Southeast Asia for
several knives hanging from them. Obeahmen and women are their brightly colored and intricately embroidered clothing. In
born with the gift, usually inherited from a parent. Deformed obeah America this clothing is most often displayed at Hmong New
practitioners are considered more powerful. Obeah is still illegal in Year celebrations in the fall.
many Caribbean nations. continued next page

Alleys
Southeast Asian Animists (continued)
Supernatural Beliefs- About one-third of Hmong are Christians, by women who poured acid on the faces of husbands’ mistresses to
the rest are traditional animists. Hmong culture has one of the purest permanently disfigure them.
forms of animism one can find in the first world. They believe that Most of the Cambodians who immigrated to the US were
the world is filled with spirits, including the spirits of the dead. After from rural Cambodia and were illiterate. Education is low in
going to a land of ancestors, the dead are reincarnated. Humans have LA’s Cambodian community, and so is unemployment and
12 separate souls that are necessary for physical and mental health. poverty. Because so many experienced war, death and torture in
Many Hmong wear red necklaces, white cloths around their wrists Cambodia, Cambodians are at high risk for mental illness. A high
or red or white string around their wrists to help keep away malevolent percentage of Cambodians smoke tobacco and marijuana use is
spirits. Hmong avoid traveling in unpopulated areas because they fairly common.
believe evil spirits live here.
Illnesses are caused by curses, environmental causes, aging, Supernatural Beliefs- Most Cambodians are Therevadan
malevolent spirits or offended ancestor and nature spirits. Animals Buddhists and go to Buddhist monks and nuns for many of
may be sacrificed and “spirit money” burned to appease offended their supernatural needs. There are also a number of animistic
spirits. Mental and physical illness can be caused by lost souls. folk practitioners. The Kru prepare charms and amulets, find
Souls can be lost through extreme fear, grief, shock or they may be lost objects, predict the future, exorcise evil spirits, and cure
kidnapped by evil spirits. Souls who aren’t happy in their own humans illnesses. The Achar are ritual specialists who perform rituals at
may even try to move to another person. births, weddings, funerals, etc. Thmup and Bangbot are sorcerers
Shamans, called tvix neeb, can be male or female. They carry a who can kill people by remote, read omens and make dangerous
knife or a sword, wear heavy silver necklaces and carry a rattle (an aphrodisiac preparations. The Rup Arak are mediums, usually
iron hoop with metal pieces on it). Shamans can command malevolent male, who are possessed by ancestor spirits. Ancestor spirits
spirits to leave. They can go into a trance, wearing a black hood, and can tell people whether any spirits in the spirit world have been
travel into the spirit world on a spirit dragon, horse or cloud ship. offended and need to be propitiated.
Illnesses can be caused by angry spirits or by an imbalance
Common Boy’s Names: Chue, Ka, Long, Pao, Shua, Teng, Thai, between the hot and cold elements. Imbalances can be cured
Tong, Tou, Toua, Yeng, Xang. by ingesting herbs or foods that have hot or cold properties.
Sometimes, however, an imbalance can cause a “bad wind” which
Common Girl’s Names: Bao, Bo, Chue, Ka, Kia, May, May Ia, must be brought out via cupping, pinching, or scraping the skin
Mee, Pa, Shua, Tong, Xi, Yeng, Yi. with a coin.
There are many types of spirits, including nature spirits, home
Common Surnames: Chang, Cheng, Fang, Her, Kang, Kha, protectors, animal protectors, ghosts and ancestor spirits. Any type
Kong, Kue, Lao, Lor, Lee, Moua, Pha, Thao, Vue, Vang, Soung. of spirit can be dangerous if offended. Most Cambodians have
spirit shrines in their homes. The most dangerous type of spirits
Suggested Skills: Journeying, Command Misfortunes. are the ghosts of people who died unnatural or untimely deaths.
Many Cambodians believe in magical tattoos that can protect
one from weapons. The tattoos include pictures of animals and
Cambodian humans, ornate designs and words in ancient Khmer script. The
tattooist may be a Kru or Achar and specially prepares the needle,
Population- The Los Angeles area has the largest concentration burns incense, says prayers while tattooing, etc. Sometimes black
of Cambodians outside of Cambodia and Long Beach has the ink made from animal bile is used. There are often instructions for
world’s largest Cambodian community. There are more than 40,000 rituals the user must perform to keep the tattoo working. Tattoos
Cambodians in the L.A. area: about 1,000 in Riverside County, 2,700 may lose their power over time, making it necessary for the person
in San Bernardino County (mostly in the city of San Bernardino), to get new tattoos.
4,500 in Orange County (mostly in Fullerton) and 28,000 in L.A. Suggested Skills: Possession Trance, Command Inanimate.
County (mostly in L.A. and Long Beach).
Common Male Names: Anchaly, Arun, Atith, Boran, Bourey,
History- After a violent war the Khmer Rouge Communist army Chakra, Chann, Chanthou, Chanvatey, Chhay, Heng, Khemera,
in Cambodia put most of the country’s population on communal Kiri, Kong Kea, Kravann, Makara, Mau, Narith, Nhean, Nimol,
farms. More than one million Cambodians died on these farms. Some Nisay, Oudom, Phhoung, Piseth, Peou, Ponlok, Prak, Rachana,
starved and some were executed. Large numbers of Cambodians fled Rangsei, Rath, Rathanak, Rithisak, Samay, Sambath, Samang,
to refugee camps in Thailand, and in the early 1980s many came from Samrin, Sann, Sokhem, Sokhom, Sonith, Sophat, Sothear, Sov,
there to the US. Sovann, Sovannarith, Thom, Vannak, Vibol, Vichet, Vireak, Visal,
Viseth, Vithara, Vithu.
Culture- Cambodians believe it is rude to touch another person’s
head, point the bottom of one’s feet at another person, or make eye Common Female Names: Akara, Arunny, Botum, Bopha,
contact with an elder or superior. Traditionally they greet each other Champei, Chamroeun, Chan, Chankrisna, Chanmony, Channary,
with palms together and a slight bow. Cambodians call their non- Chanthavy, Chanthou, Chaya, Chhaya, Chivy, Choum, Da, Dara,
relative elders grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, brother or sister. Devi, Jorani, Kaliyan, Kannitha, Kolthida, Kunthea, Makara,
Traditionally, marriages are arranged. Modern Cambodian-Americans Malis, Maly, Mau, Nary, Nuon, Phally, Phary, Peou, Punthea,
at least consult with their parents before marrying. Dowries are Putrea, Rachana, Rachany, Rathana, Reaksmey, Roumjong,
paid for girls. Women keep their names after marriage and wives Samphy, Sathea, Savady, Sita, Serey, Seyha, Sikha, Sokha,
are the leader of their household and typically handle the finances. Sonisay, Sopheap, Sopheary, Sophorn, Soriya, Sothy, Sovanara,
Cambodian women use little birth control and thus Cambodian Sovandary, Sovanna, Srey Doung, Srey Mau, Sreynuon, Srey Pek,
families are typically large. Suorsdey, Taevy, Thavary, Thida, Veasna, Veata, Vimean, Visal.
Cambodian girls who go against cultural norms are often branded
“slut” or “prostitute.” This is especially likely to happen when a girl Common Surnames: Chann, Chea, Chhan, Chhith, Chhoub,
has premarital sex or complains about her domestic situation (even if Choeun, Duong, Em, Hong, Keo, Khan, Khlot, Kim, Long, Ma,
she is being abused). Men, on the other hand, are not looked down Meang, Meas, Moa, Moul, Muy, Neak, Noeun, Nourn, Nuth, Ouk,
upon for having premarital or extramarital sex. Since men are free Oum, Phal, Phay, Puth, Samouth, Sang, Sok, Sum, Thuy, Touch,
to have affairs, married women have been known to attack their Voeum, You.
husband’s mistresses. In Cambodia there has been a rash of attacks continued next page
Step Four- Secret Life 019

In Dark
Southeast Asian Animists (continued)
Vietnamese is now one of the largest Asian gangs in the US and has spawned
several imitators. There is still a big rivalry between Latino and
Population: There are more than 230,000 Vietnamese in the L.A. Asian gangs in the L.A. area. See p.171 for more on Vietnamese
area. There are about 6,000 Vietnamese in Riverside County, 10,000 in gangs.
San Bernardino and 78,000 in L.A. County. LA County’s Vietnamese Supernatural Beliefs- For the most part, Vietnamese are
population is centered on Rosemead and other working class areas of Buddhist, with elements of Taoism and Confucianism and some
the surrounding San Gabriel valley. Many ethnically Chinese people elements of folk religion left over. Many Buddhist figures are
from Vietnam live in the same area. There are 135,000 Vietnamese worshipped in the same way local spirits were once worshipped.
in Orange Country, most of which are in Westminster/Garden Grove. Traditional Vietnamese believe that ying-yang imbalances can
About one third of Westminster/Garden Grove is Asian. This area is cause illness. They use cupping, pinching, coining, acupuncture
the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam and is home to and herbs to cure illnesses.
Little Saigon. Little Saigon is a 4 block area centered on Bolsa Ave. There are many types of spirits: guardian spirits, nature
It has many Vietnamese mom and pop stores, strip malls, Vietnamese spirits, Taoist immortals and holy sages, spirits from Chinese
TV and radio stations, Vietnamese pop music recording studios (more and Cambodian folk religion, domestic spirits, ancestor spirits,
than in all of Vietnam), Vietnamese newspapers and a 2 story shopping ghosts and minor demons. Many Vietnamese have two altars in
mall famous for good values on Asian jewelry. Little Saigon has their homes: one for offerings to ancestors, another for offerings to
had trouble with Vietnamese gangs extorting protection money from spirits. Petitions are sent to sprits and gods by burning them at an
business owners. There are also many Vietnamese in the nearby cities altar. Ancestors depend on living relatives to perform rituals that
of Santa Ana, Anaheim, Fountain Valley and Stanton. In recent times help them progress through the afterlife. Those who die and don’t
the centralized Vietnamese population of Orange County has started to have ancestors to care for their souls become dangerous wandering
disperse, the lower-middle-class going to poor (traditionally Hispanic) ghosts. Animals may be sacrificed to placate offended spirits and
sections of Santa Ana and the upper-middle-class going to Huntington gods and to pay for sins.
Beach, Fountain Valley and Irvine. The University of California at For protection from malevolent spirits, traditional Vietnamese
Irvine has a large percentage of Vietnamese students. put mirrors on their doors (demons are scared by their own
History: Vietnamese immigration took place in three waves. reflections) or ask supernatural practitioners to write ‘spirit paper’
130,000 Vietnamese fled to the US in 1975 after the US pulled out of (spells in ancient Vietnamese script) to put on their walls or over
Vietnam. Most of these were young, well educated, English speaking their doors.
people from cities. About half were Catholic. The next wave Astrology and geomancy are important to traditional
happened after relations between China and Vietnam broke down and Vietnamese. Skilled geomancers can keep the five elements in
many ethnically Chinese people in Vietnam were persecuted. These balance and make sure that the flow of energies through a place is
people tried to escape the country by boat (and are known today as kept healthy.
‘boat people’). About half of them died in the attempt. This second Besides Buddhist monks, the most important supernatural
wave was a much more diverse group. The third immigration wave practitioners are mediums. Spirits speak through them, allowing
peaked between 1985 and 1991 when reunification programs allowed people to find out what is going on in the supernatural world.
people to immigrate to the US to be reunited with lost relatives. New Mediums can sometimes journey to the spirit world to fight with
Vietnamese immigrants continue to trickle in due to reunification demons for the health and safety of their charges. Mediums wear
programs. costumes created for the spirits they want to summon. These
Culture- Compared to white Americans, Vietnamese tend to be costumes are very colorful and resemble what members of an
more polite, guarded, more likely to try to spare others’ feelings and ancient Vietnamese royal court would have worn.
avoid conflict, more quiet and less likely to use large hand gestures. Mediums can be male or female. Female mediums come from
Vietnamese rarely smoke or drink in public. a group that worships a number of goddesses. They are usually
Traditional Vietnamese greet each other by bowing slightly and called in a dream and taken ill before they become mediums. Male
joining hands. They bow their head to elders and superiors and don’t mediums are usually worshippers of Tran Hung Dao, a historical
look them directly in the eye. Women traditionally do not shake Vietnamese general who became a national hero by defending
hands with men. The typical American way of beckoning someone Vietnam against Mongol invasion. Some male mediums cut their
(motioning with an upturned finger) is reserved for animals and people tongues while in a trance. The blood is collected and put into
of inferior status in Vietnamese culture. amulets.
Traditionally, men should be kind, loyal, helpful, self-controlled Suggested Skills- Possession Trance, Journeying.
and have control over their families. Women should be obedient of Common Male Names: An, Anh Dung, Binh, Bao, Canh,
fathers or husbands, modest, graceful and soft-spoken. In reality, Chien, Chinh, Cuong, Dac Kien, Dao, Danh, Dat, De, Dien, Duc,
though, Vietnamese American women are likely to run the household, Due, Dung, Duong, Giang, Hai, Hao, Hien, Hieu, Hoc, Huu, Hung,
have control over the finances and have equal power with men when it Huy, Huynh, Khan, Lanh, Lan, Loc, Minh, Nguyen, Nhat, Phuc,
comes to family decisions. Phuoc, Quan, Quang, Quoc, Sang, Si, Sinh, Son, Thang, Thanh,
Age and education is more important than wealth to traditional Thao, Thinh, Tho, Thu, Thuan, Toai, Toan, Trang, Trieu, Trong Tri,
Vietnamese. Vietnamese-American families typically put a lot of Trong, Trung, Tu, Tuan, Tung, Van, Vien, Viet, Vuong, Xuan
pressure on their children to study hard. Young Vietnamese adults Common Female Names: Ai, An, Anh, Be, Bian, Bich, Binh,
are typically allowed to date, but their families retain the right to Cam, Canh, Chau, Chi, Cong, Dao, Diep, Diu, Doan Vien, Dong,
be consulted before the young adults decide to marry. Traditionally, Dung, Giang, Ha, Hai, Han, Hang, Hanh, Hanh Phu, Hien, Hoa,
children are thought of as owing a debt to their parents, who they must Hong, Hue, Hung, Houng, Huyen, Hyunh, Ket Nien, Khanh, Kieu,
obey and care for. Kim, Kim Cuc, Kim-Ly, Lam, Lan, Lang, Lanh, Le, Lieu, Lien,
Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, is one of the most important Linh, Long, Ly, Mai, My, Nam Ha, Ngoc, Ngoc Nich, Ngon, Ngu,
Vietnamese celebrations. Tet is a time to pay debts, forgive Nguyet, Nhu, Nhung, Nu, Phuong, Qui, Quy, Quyen, Sang, Suong,
transgressions, turn enemies into friends and improve oneself. Tam, Tan, Tham, Thanh, Thanh Ha, Thao, Thi, Tien, Thom, Thu,
Vietnamese cuisine has a strong French influence because the Thuy, Trinh, Truc, Tuyen, Tuyet, Uoc, Van, Viet, Xuan, Yen.
French once occupied the country. Common Surnames: Bach, Banh, Bui, Cao, Che, Chu, Chu,
There are several Vietnamese and combined Vietnamese/ Cu, Dam, Dang, Dao, Dinh, Do, Doan, Du, Duong, Ha, Hoa,
Cambodian gangs in the L.A. area, including 6 Vietnamese ‘girl gangs.’ Hoang, Hoang, Hua, Huynh, La, Lai, Lam, Le, Lieu, Lo, Luong,
Southeast Asian gangs in the US started in 1985 when Cambodian Ly, Mai, Nghiem, Ngo, Nguy, Nguyen, Pham, Phan, Pho, Phung,
immigrants, who were being preyed upon by nearby Latino gangs, Quach, Ta, Tang, Thach, Thai, Thieu, Ton, Tran, Trang, Trinh,
adopted the gang structure for themselves. LA’s first Vietnamese gang Trung, Truong, Tu, Vanh, Vo, Vuong.

Alleys
Cannibals
In Brief- Monks and priests who deny the flesh, break taboos,
mutilate themselves and gain powerful phantom body parts.
Other Names- Order of St. Carpocrates, Evil Priests, Heretic

Monks, Mortificants, Leper Kings
The Chosen- A majority of those who will become Cannibals

have had mystical or religious experiences from an early age.
Almost all are in some religious occupation (priest, rabbi,
imam, monk, nun, chaplain, pastor, religious scholar, seminary
student, etc.). Those not in a religious occupation are active
members of religious communities. Most are Christian, though
there are significant minorities from Jewish and Muslim faiths.
Almost all of those in a religious profession have been censured
or denied promotion because they questioned the doctrines of
their religion. They have a special disdain, more than their
peers, for ‘worldliness’ (the focus on physical property and
pleasures in the secular world). A significant portion were
disabled or disfigured before becoming initiated.
Initiation- Most Cannibals were approached by someone

they knew from religious study or worship. They were asked
if they were interested in hearing about some interesting
doctrines, religious texts, means of worship and/or mystical
practices. The initiates were warned that some of it is not
‘standard’ church teachings and might not be seen as favorable
by the church hierarchy. Interested, the initiates received
photocopied pages of text, attended a lecture in the home of
religious peers, or received a tape of someone lecturing. The
ideas were presented without attributing their sources, and the
initiators evaded questions of the origins of the teachings.
The doctrines said that there is a world of spirit and a world

of physical matter. Our souls are beings of spirit trapped
in physical bodies. Communion with god is the ultimate
experience for humans, but our ability to commune with god
is limited by our physical bodies. The doctrines presented the
physical world as a trap, something we must find a way past to
reach ultimate freedom, power, wisdom and happiness.
As initiates learned and agreed with these doctrines, they were

given access to more and more extreme doctrines. They met
elders of this movement who had practiced self-torture and
mutilation, going so far as to amputate body parts. As this did
not repulse the initiates, or cause the initiates to go blabbing to
church authorities, they were rewarded with a demonstration
of the power of the human spirit. In some quiet, secluded
place they watched an elder perform some supernatural feat,
often someone doing something with a severed body part as
if the body part was there. They may have seen an old monk
with a hand missing reach out and ‘pick up’ a glass of water,
the glass hovering in midair a few inches from the end of a
stump.
Initiates were be given texts that describe meditations to

help one overcome attachment to the physical world. The
mildest of these practices involve prayer or visualization.
Less mild practices involve self-deprivation and torture. The
most extreme practices involve breaking society’s taboos
to convince oneself that the world and everything in it is
meaningless.

In Dark
Initiators were eventually given access to the raw documents -There is a secret network of operating within modern organized
that are the source of these doctrines. Most are from Gnostic religion.
Christian sects that split off from mainstream Christianity -This network bases its beliefs on the ancient Gnostic heresies.
around 200 AD. These doctrines were named heresies by -They believe that the physical world is a trap keeping human
the Christian church and wiped out, only to be rediscovered souls from realizing their true nature.
later by scholars. The initiates could no longer pretend that
-Practitioners gain supernatural powers.
what they had been studying and practicing was anything
other than a blasphemy in their church’s eyes. -Practitioners can remove body parts but keep equal or superior
abilities by using ‘spirit’ body parts instead.
As a final initiation, new Cannibals were asked to consume -Members of this group are very frightened of being found out.
raw human flesh. They did this to prove that they believed
Going Deeper- Cannibals go deeper by continuing to study
that the taboos of the physical world are inconsequential
the ancient thinkers whose writings the Cannibal doctrines
because the physical world is a trap that keeps us far from are based on. They also continue cultivating an indifference
God. After consuming human flesh the new Cannibals to the physical world by meditation, self-torture and breaking
were seen as a full-members of this group, whatever that taboos. Most Cannibals go on to remove their own body
may mean. Even as a full member, the group is still very parts. If Cannibal doctrine is correct, diligent practice will give
secretive. Cannibals supernatural power and insight into the true nature of
the universe.
At adventure one, the new Cannibal has tasted human
flesh, has done a number of extreme acts of devotion, has Dark Side- Cannibals break taboos to break themselves of
manifested some supernatural abilities, but has not yet an emotional connection to the physical world. Usually they
purposefully severed any of his or her own body parts. The break taboos by themselves or with fellow Cannibals. Some
Cannibal has only met about a dozen other members of Cannibals, however, break taboos with people against their will.
the group and only has the names and Some do so in the belief that it is not immortal to kill, rape,
contact information for one or two. This molest or mutilate people’s physical bodies
Jewish and Muslim because those bodies either don’t matter or
secrecy, the new Cannibal has been told,
Cannibals are inherently unholy. Others believe that
is meant to protect the group if some they are helping people by forcing them to
student is discovered. Who, if anyone, break taboos.
leads the group, and what powers they Although Cannibalistic doctrine has found
have developed after years of study is adherents among Muslim, Jewish and other Skills- The PC gets Mortification of the
something the initiate’s contacts either monotheistic faiths, it is primarily a Christian Flesh (1 level) free.
doctrine. There are significant problems
don’t know or won’t tell. encountered by members of popular non- The PC can buy the following skill at 10
Christian faiths who take up Cannibalism: points per level:
Typical Evening- Most Cannibals Mortification of the Flesh (WIL)
spend much of their evenings alone In Judaism there is a strong prohibition
reading religious texts, praying and in against self-mutilation, including tattooing The PC can buy the following skills at 20
silent contemplation. They may make and piercing. Since all Jewish religious points per level:
regular pilgrimages to local places that professionals are active members of the Body Invasion (WIL)
feel holy to them. They may spend time Jewish community they must take special Command Animals (WIL)
searching through antique bookstores care to make loss of limbs look like a series of Command Inanimate (WIL)
or searching on the internet for ancient unfortunate accidents. The prohibition against Command Misfortunes (WIL)
texts. A few evenings a week they self-mutilation is usually explained by saying
that G_d created human bodies in his image, Ecstatic Rage (WIL)
may meet with a small group of other and that humans have no right to change this Flesh Control (WIL)
Cannibals, usually in the home of one or design. Jewish Cannibals typically justify Journeying (WIL)
in a dark unused corner of a church. They their actions by saying that the soul is the true Nihilist Rage (WIL)
talk about religious ideas or participate body which is an image of G_d, the physical Revive (WIL)
in group rituals. Those Cannibals who flesh is a false body that has nothing to do
are religious professionals or devoted with G_d. Bonus Characteristics
members of religious communities Simple Living (Optional Advantage,
spend many evenings doing charity In Islam, Cannibalism is usually found Costs 1 BP)- The PC has shunned most
work (like working in a soup kitchen amongst those who are drawn to Sufism. worldly pleasures: TV, expensive food, nice
or hosting AA meetings) or attending Sufism is a mystical tradition wherein initiates clothes, etc. The PC lives in the cheapest
church gatherings.
try to personally experience the beauty and place he or she can find. The PC gets
love of Allah which is inherent in everything +$5,000 to start and +$100/wk.
in the universe. Sufis say that Allah is in
Those Cannibals who sever body parts everything, so humans have godliness in them. Recommended Day Job- Religious
must live as disabled people, even if they Sufism often comes under fire by conservative Professional, Student.
are more ‘able’ than regular humans. Muslims, who feel that equating humans with
For some, stumbling around with a Allah is dangerous and sinfully arrogant. Recommended Skills- Mythology, Oratory,
white cane when they can see perfectly, Philosophy, Religion, Research: Academic.
or scooting around in a wheelchair Both Jewish and Islamic Cannibals tend to
be drawn to the less conservative movements
Recommended Equipment- Surgical Kit.
when they could glide through the air
in their religions that stress personal faith Recommended Reading- Gnosticism
at incredible speeds is an important act and experience over religious dogma and
of humility. (p.152), Platonism and Neoplatonism
authority. (p.151).
What You Know

Alleys
strength and supernatural abilities. What the Dance
Faustians gets is not entirely clear, but at least part of it involves
having a servant that can run errands for the Dance.
In Brief- Alien entities living in their minds give them Each time the Faustian successfully completes an
mental strength and supernatural powers but have their errand he or she is given a harder, more dangerous
own agendas. or more ethically-questionable errand.
Other Names- Horses, the Ridden, the Infected, the Typical Evening- Most evenings are
Possessed, Hosts. taken up running errands for the Dance.
Instead of communicating its desires,
The Chosen- Before they became Faustians they were Dances fill Faustians with sudden,
typically weak-willed people: slaves to temptation, easily powerful desires to do things. The
manipulated, not very brave. Many lived in ghetto or skid Faustians often have a sudden desire to
row areas or were homeless. Many had lives filled with modify their dwellings: paint the walls
unresolved personal problems that would eventually lead lime green, spread lilacs around, get a
to a personal crisis, e.g. debts, drug addictions, hanging out lamp with a yellow lampshade, find a
with a bad crowd. turntable and an old jazz album from the
30s, etc.
Initiation- At some time in each Faustian’s life, they
encountered an intense personal crisis that they didn’t Those Faustians who have artistic
believe they had the psychological strength to survive.
Perhaps without even realizing it, they sent out pleas for
any being in the cosmos willing to help to come do so.
At that moment, something entered them they found the
strength to survive, some even displayed supernatural
powers that allowed them to escape the situation.
Later, putting their lives back together, most new Faustians

believed that the sensation of an alien presence was a stress-
induced hallucination. Yet something had undeniably
changed. Thoughts, ideas and feelings, completely out of
context with what was happening, would occur to them for
no reason and those same things endlessly repeated in their
dreams. Their personalities were changing, typically for
the better: brave where they had been nervous, outgoing
where they were shy, willful where they were weak, smart
where they were stupid. They also started experiencing
bizarre urges: to search out certain antiques, to rearrange
their dwellings in a certain way, to embark on unusual art
projects. Those that tried to resist these urges had their
newfound psychological strength suddenly yanked away,
as if punishing them for resisting. Unwilling to live in a
state of weakness, they eventually gave in to the desires of
the alien presence.
The new Faustians also discovered they had supernatural

abilities to sense and effect minds of others, especially in
the areas of memory and sensation.
Most recently, new Faustians have attempted

communicating with this alien presence. After several
failed attempts, they received a response. It was short,
curt, cryptic and unhelpful, but it proved to them that
something intelligent was in them, something that referred
to itself as a “dance”.
At adventure one, a new Faustian still doesn’t know what the

Dance is or what it wants. He or she knows that it expects
a symbiotic relationship. The Faustian gets psychological

In Dark
Those Faustians who have artistic skills are often filled -The entity can communicate with words, but prefers
with urges to create art pieces that embody and convey to communicate by making the PC ‘feel like’ doing or
a certain subtle emotion. Faustians are often driven to not doing things.
stay up all night working on paintings, songs, sculptures -The entity has some connection to abandoned places,
or poems, but rarely feel satisfied that they have captured mostly places people once lived in but that nobody has
the exact right emotional tone. When they do get a piece been in for a long time.
of art right, they are unable to part with it. Instead, they
place it in their homes where they can stare at it every day -The entity wants the PC to redecorate some of these
(or, in the case of music, play it over and over again). abandoned places.
-The entity wants the PC to deliver things to (but never
Sometimes Faustians are called on to break into and enter) other abandoned places.
redecorate abandoned places with the same style that
they have been driven to redecorate their own dwellings. -The entity wants the PC to stop people from entering
Sometimes they are compelled to install bars, chains, or damaging any of the abandoned buildings it is
reinforced doors or heavy-duty locks in these empty associated with.
places. At other times they are compelled to leave -The entity has some connection to old trinkets and old
trinkets and decorations at the door to an abandoned décor from a mismatch of time periods.
place, but a feeling of dread tells the not to enter. These -The entity has some connection with a repeating cycle
places are usually homes, apartment buildings or motel of déjà vu like thoughts, emotions and sensations in the
rooms that have been abandoned for quite a long time.
back of the PC’s mind.
On other evenings, Faustians feel compelled to eliminate
Going Deeper- Some Faustians go deeper by
threats to the sanctity of an abandoned place. The
threat could be a homeless person looking for a shelter, becoming trusted servants of their Dances. The more
a gang of teens who like to graffito abandoned places, they are willing to do to help the Dance, the more the
a real estate development company who wants to tear Dance teaches them about what it wants and needs.
down a place and build something over it, a historical The Dances can sense deception, so only those who
preservation society that wants to renovate it, or an truly desire (even for selfish reasons) to help the Dance
old dying man who has willed his unused property to can walk this path.
his children. Faustians are free to use any methods,
from subtle manipulation to blatant violence, so long Others declare war on their Dances. Their powers are
as the job gets done without attracting attention to the removed and they are attacked by servants of the Dance
abandoned place. as they break into the abandoned buildings associated
with the Dance to try to find out what’s hidden there.
Faustians have some ability to refuse errands they can’t
or don’t want to do. The Dance will attempt to get The majority of Faustians walk a middle path: doing
what it wants by threatening to remove the PC’s gifts enough errands to keep the Dance satisfied, but
(or threatening even worse things) but in the end it using their spare time to do historical research, try
comes down to this: Faustians can get away with a little to find others who have dealt with Dances, or use
disobedience and retain their powers so long as they psychotherapy techniques to try to figure out what’s
remain useful to the Dance. There is also a possibility going on in their heads.
that Dances are unable to completely and permanently
remove a Faustian’s powers, although a Dance would Dark Side- The Dance doesn’t care how Faustians
never admit this. remove threats to the abandoned places, and many
Faustians end up murdering innocent people,
What You Know seemingly at random, to protect the Dance. The more
-You’re infected with some supernatural entity that has violence they do, the easier it becomes for a Dance to
invaded the your mind. convince them to do immoral things. Some become
pure sociopaths, willing to do anything the Dance
-The entity can grant psychological strength and
supernatural powers, but wants you to help it in return. desires, and that’s when the Dance asks them to do
things that are far more horrible than murder.
-The entity has some ability to remove your psychological
strength and powers. Supernatural Skills- The PC can purchase the
-The entity is intelligent, but doesn’t seem to think or act following skills at 10 skill points per level:
like a human. Command Will-Less (WIL)
-In part, the entity seems to need you because it has Danger Sense (AWR)
trouble understanding how to get things done in the Déjà Vu (WIL)
human world. Psychometry (AWR)
-The entity seems to know what’s going on in the minds Read Minds (AWR)
of people all around the city.

Alleys
Character Concept: Your Dance Heroes
The Dance should, for the most part, be a mystery to both In Brief- Troubled vigilantes, some with unusual powers,
the PC and the player. It is useful, however, to establish the who seek meaning in life by hunting supernatural
following facts: horrors.
-What and where is the building the PC has come to
associate with the Dance (this is the building the PC was Other Names- Hunters, Warriors, Vigilantes
near when he or she first became infected and that the PC
is sometimes asked to protect from invaders). It should be The Chosen- The average hero shares a lot in common
a building with at least one room that has been abandoned with serial killers: A large portion are male, most are in
and unentered for quite a while. their twenties, most were raised in a single-parent home
with harsh discipline, very few have any feelings of
-What are some of the thoughts, emotions and ethnic pride or identity. They are generally loners and
perceptions that the PC associates with the Dance? These losers: only a few have had any college education, many
should be experiences that people who once occupied the are on some form of public assistance, almost none are in
building (see above) might have had, and they are typically a long-term romantic relationship, almost all either live
very intense. Try to come up with at least five that the PC alone or with parents. Most have suffered from chronic
is conscious of. self-esteem problems. Many have used violent fantasies
as an escape since adolescence. A significant minority
have been obsessed comic book fans.
Bonus Characteristics
Weak Willed (Mandatory Disadvantage)- Remove Initiation- Most Heroes have long had an obsession
8 points in attributes from the PC. The PC can’t have a with the idea of helping people by fighting ‘evil’ as some
natural WIL more than 7. sort of vigilante or hunter of supernatural dangers. Most
have given up hope of having an impact on the world by
Alien Psychological Strength (Mandatory raising children, having a fulfilling relationship, being a
Advantage)- So long as the PC is on good terms with productive employee, creating a great work of art, etc.
the Dance, the PC gets +10 WIL, +7 INL and +7 For most, hunting down that which harms humanity
AWR. was their only hope for meaning in their lives. Many
carried around pistols or pepper spray or tire-irons
Symbiote (Mandatory Disadvantage)- The PC has with them everywhere they went, hoping in vain that
an alien thing living in his or her mind. The Dance, something would happen that would allow them to use
when its motivations and reasoning can be discerned, their weapons to help an innocent person and thereby
appears to act logically without emotions such as anger, becoming a “hero.” Waiting in line in the bank they
friendship or pride coming into play. The Dance has would daydream about what they would do if armed
a completely selfish attitude towards the PC: so long robbers suddenly burst in.
as the PC is a useful servant, it doesn’t want anything
bad to happen to the PC, but if the PC stops being Yet for most it was just a fantasy: they never had the
a useful servant (or, worse, becomes the threat) the guts to actually go out and do it. Then, most of those
who would become Heroes gained access to something
Dance doesn’t mind hurting or even killing the PC.
unique: special training, a magical or high-tech tool or
At adventure 1, the worst thing the PC can threaten
some kind of supernatural powers. Now they had no
the Dance with is to refuse to do an errand for the excuse not to fulfill their fantasies.
Dance and the worst the Dance can threaten is to try to
deprive the PC of the PC’s supernatural strengths and Yet finding evil to fight it is not easy. After countless
abilities. The Dance can instantly rob the PC of all his hours wandering in the streets the initiates are more
or her alien psychological strength and give -10 to all likely to find another self-styled hero than a monster
supernatural skill rolls. to fight. Thus many Heroes met and traded stories
with other Heroes. Some of these stories involved
Recommended Day Job- Boring Field Job, Creative, supernatural dangers and, if they can be believed, then
Dangerous Field Job, Legal Professional, Security it meant that innocent humans are in danger from things
Professional. that the police don’t know how to fight. Of course, many
of the so-called-Heroes the initiate met acted like they
Recommended Skills- Alarm Systems, Business, had serious emotional and mental problems, so the truth
History: Local, Law: Basic, Lock Picking, Visual Arts. of their stories was questionable.
Recommended Equipment- Crowbar, Dust Mask, At adventure one, the PC has stopped a number of
criminals, has met and talked with a few other Heroes,
Flashlight (Large), Rohypnol, Work Gloves.
and has had at least one encounter with a supernatural
danger.

In Dark
Typical Evening- Some Heroes start their evenings with a Some Heroes read through their local newspapers, paying
trip to a gym, dojo or firing range. The poorer ones spend special attention to the police blotter, hoping to find a story
time training at home: doing pushups on a dirty carpet or about a serial criminal preying upon a neighborhood or
attacking a human shape painted on an old mattress leaned something that would indicate some supernatural evil at
up against a wall. Some heroes put on armor, strap weapons work.
to themselves. Some put on disguises (wigs, makeup,
glasses) in case they are caught on video. Then Heroes hit the streets. Most go to a bad neighborhood
and walk around hoping someone tries to victimize them.
They look down every alley, hoping to see someone
getting robbed, beaten, raped or killed. Some Heroes take
up a surveillance position: on a rooftop, inside a car with
darkened windows, etc. They scan the surrounding area
with binoculars hoping to see some crime or supernatural
event going down. Some go to a high crime area and
wait with a radio scanner, hoping to beat the police to an
emergency. Others approach distraught looking people,
asking them what’s wrong. The area outside of women’s
shelters is a good place to find people that need extra-legal
aid.
Some Heroes stakeout drug corners where dealers openly

ply their trade, waiting for a good opportunity to take out
a drug dealer.
On their rounds, Heroes may see people they know to be

fellow Heroes. This is often a good excuse for a dinner
break. They talk in low voices in restaurant booths, asking
if each other have had any interesting encounters.
On most nights nothing happens to most Heroes. They

return home after midnight in time to get a few hours of
sleep before getting up for work the next day.
What You Know

-There are genuine supernatural threats to humanity.
-Some threats look like humans but have strange
powers, some are invisible and intangible, only a few are
visibly monstrous.
-The government only seems concerned with covering
up the existence of these threats.
-Sometimes homeless crazy people can point a Hero
towards supernatural threats.
-People who study traditional magic of aboriginal
cultures may be able to deal with the invisible/intangible
threats.
-If something has physical form it can almost always
be killed if you do enough damage to it.
-Some threats are humans with paranormal powers.
Others look like humans but evidence (e.g. their insides)
shows they aren’t.
-Some supernatural threats act intelligently and are
able to communicate with and call on other supernatural
threats for help.
-Other supernatural threats, mostly the ‘monsters’, act
insane and seem to operate alone.
-The intelligent threats are very concerned with
keeping their existence hidden.

Alleys
Going Deeper- Heroes have no teachers to go to for the PC except to warn the PC of danger or lead the PC
wisdom. Fellow Heroes have a lot of stories to tell about in a certain direction. The familiar will stay loyal to the
supernatural encounters, but it’s hard to tell whether these PC unless the PC severely abuses it. The familiar will
stories are truth, lies or delusions. sacrifice its life to protect the PC.
For most Heroes their main hope to learn about the Choose from a Cat, Dog or Horse
supernatural world is to keep hunting down more
supernatural entities. Tracking them to their lairs can H-Tech Machine: The PC owns a machine created by a
help the Hero discover what they want and how they live. crazy person. Anyone with knowledge of electronics and
Heroes may be able to learn a whole lot if they are able physics will say that the machine should do nothing but
to scare or anger a community of supernatural threats into waste massive amounts of electricity. Yet the machine
taking action. does do incredible things, possibly even supernatural
things. Create a power with 4 levels of Effect and 8 levels
Dark Side- Heroes work from their own codes of of Limitations and the power source as a piece of strange-
ethics and justice, codes often colored by deep rage and looking machinery (see Power Creation Rules, see p.30).
irrational hatred. An observer with a different idea of
morality and justice would see a Hero as evil. Heroes
often attack people with little proof that they are guilty
of anything, and give out punishments that are very harsh Cat Familiar
compared to the crime committed. Some are bigots who Appearance- A very large, visibly muscular tabby
think that a person’s race, sexual orientation, religion, housecat with short hair.
political affiliation or socioeconomic class are a crime Attributes- AGY 22, END 15, SPD 18, STH 5, WIL 18,
worthy of punishment. The worst Heroes are really just BDY 4, BLD 8, INCY 5.
hateful bigots who use supernatural powers to murder Senses- Sight AWR 15 (no darkness penalty), Smell AWR
innocent people and yet pretend that they’re doing good. 20, Hearing AWR 25.
Attacks- Slash attack with claws at 1d20 +15 vs. 0, Vital
Other Heroes may be so desperate to be someone’s savior Strike (Bladed) with teeth at 1d20 +5 vs. 0 (1 bladed
that they may create a dangerous situation just to save damage), Dodge at 1d20 +15 vs. 0.
people from it Powers- Can read the emotional state and immediate
intentions of any intelligent creature. Can see and effect
Supernatural Skills- Heroes do not start play with the invisible. Climbing rolls at 1d20 +10 vs. 0.
supernatural skills (unless they take the Occult Training
option, see below). Dog Familiar
Appearance- A large, dark-grey wolf-like dog.
Bonus Characteristics Attributes- AGY 15, END 17, SPD 16, STH 10, WIL 14,
Origin Story (Mandatory Advantage)- Choose one BDY 6, BLD 6, INCY 4.
of the following sources of power: Complete Obsession, Senses- Sight AWR 10, Smell AWR 30, Hearing AWR
Familiar, H-Tech Machine, Money & Equipment, 20.
Occult Training, Shattered Person, Soul Linked, Special Attacks- Split Jump-In and Wing with teeth at 1d20 vs.
Training, Supernatural Object or Top Secret Tech. 10 (doing 1 bladed damage), split Grab and Vital Strike
with teeth at 1d20 vs. 5 (doing 4 bladed damage), Dodge
Complete Obsession: The PC has no particular power, no at 1d20 +5 vs. 0.
special resources, no access to special training. The PC Powers- Once given a scent, can track the prey anywhere.
is obsessed with being a hero, so much so that it’s all the Can travel to other planes of existence (taking the owner
PC ever thinks about, day and night. The PC can’t hold a and any other followers with it) in search of prey.
job (must start with Day Job: Homeless, Ward or Welfare)
and has no social life. The PC trains, exercises and plans Horse Familiar
constantly. The PC starts with +50 skill points, +10 Appearance- Small brown horse.
attribute points and +$500 worth of weapons and armor.
Attributes- AGY 10, END 30, SPD 40, STH 30, WIL 14,
BDY 6, BLD 10, INCY 4.
Familiar: At some point in the PC’s past a cat, dog or horse
found the PC. The animal is supernaturally intelligent, Senses- Sight AWR 15 (+5 to see long distances), Hearing
AWR 22, Smell AWR 22.
strong and agile and was instantly and completely loyal to
the PC. The PC is not sure where the animal came from, Attacks- Kick at 1d20 vs. 0 (6 blunt damage), Trample
why it chose the PC or why it is so powerful. (like a stomp, horse must use 1 action to rear up) at 1d20
vs. 0 (12 blunt damage), simultaneous kick at 1d20 vs. 2.
The familiar will come if called by the PC no matter the Powers- Thick hide has PR 2 bladed 2 blunt. Running
does not use END and the horse never needs to sleep.
distance between them. Although it cannot speak, it can While on the back of the horse the PC is impervious to
understand human speech at the level of a three year environmental dangers (cold, heat, toxins, lack of oxygen,
old. It’s problem-solving skills are also comparable to a etc.)
three-year-old’s. The familiar doesn’t communicate with

In Dark
Money & Equipment: At some point in the PC’s
Dear woman who works at the newsstand,
past, he or she came into a lot of money and the
PC used it to outfit himself or herself for being
You don’t know who I am, but I watch you a lot. Even though I don’t
a Hero. The PC starts with an extra $100,000 know your name, I feel I know a lot about you. Just by watching you I
and can get up to felony level equipment during know you are beautiful but not arrogant. You are kind, easy going and
character creation (see legality, p.88). like to laugh. I think a lot about how happy it would make me to have
someone like you in my life. I think about how I would do everything
Occult Training: At some point in the PC’s in my power to make you happy, and how I would always be loyal and
past the PC was tutored by someone with occult grateful. Yet for all the thinking I do about us, I never come up and talk
powers. The PC was not taught the philosophy to you. In my imagination it would be perfect, but things never work out
behind the skill and thus doesn’t know ‘how it the way they do in my imagination. I’m not good with people. If I came
works,’ only that it does. The PC starts with a up to you, you’d probably think “what a loser” or “what’s wrong with
total of four levels (prerequisites apply) in one or this guy?”
more of the following skills:
Animal Form (WIL)* I want you to know that I might have saved your life. I’ve gotten rid of
Automatic Writing (AWR) people and things that hurt innocent people. I’ve done this to protect
Be True Desire (WIL) people like you.
Body Invasion (WIL)*
Blood Sigils (WIL) I don’t mean to scare you, but there’s some weird things out there. I don’t
Command Animals (WIL) know how to explain it, but it’s real and nobody seems to know anything
Command Inanimate (WIL)* about it except me. There are things that look like people, and maybe
Command Misfortunes (WIL) they are people, but they have weird abilities. I’ve seen people take a
Dreaming (WIL) gunshot wound to the head and keep coming. I’ve seen people turn a
Flesh Control (WIL) corner and be gone, then appear from a different corner a second later.
Get Lost (WIL) I’ve seen people who had these long insect-legs come out of their mouth
Truth Ordeal (WIL) with pincers.
Journeying (WIL)
Masks (WIL) It’s not easy what I do. It’s countless hours exercising and training. It’s
Possession Trance (AWR) reading through the police log in every little piece of shit newspaper.
Revive (WIL) * It’s long nights driving around with my police scanner on, staking out
Soul Blade (WIL) high crime areas with binoculars, hanging out in emergency rooms
Spirit Speed (WIL) eavesdropping on conversations, walking around bad areas at night
Spirit Strength (WIL) trying to look like a good robbery victim. Night after night I go out and
Untouchable (WIL) I come home so late I can only sleep a few hours before I have to get up
*Prerequisites and go to my crappy job. And I do this every night and most nights I
don’t get shit.
During game play the PC can upgrade the skills
the PC has at 10 skill points per level. And when I do run into something, I’m so scared I nearly shit myself every
single time. I mean, I’m only human. All it would take is for someone to
Shattered Person- Once the PC, or someone pull out a gun and shoot me between the eyes and I’d be dead. And that’s
the PC was near, had an intense experience, one just when it’s a normal human. When it’s not, I have no idea what’s going
in which he or she felt both pain, pleasure, fear, to happen. I could shoot it with my shotgun and it could just laugh. I
hatred and joy all at the same time. Most likely could swing my blackjack at it and it could pass right through the thing.
the experience involved sex. Somehow the Or maybe it could just kill me by looking at me. It could happen, I have
strength of this experience ‘broke reality,’ making no idea, I don’t know what these things are and what they can do. I’m
the laws of physics go haywire in the surrounding convinced the only reason I’ve survived so long is luck.
area. Anyone nearby was killed and the PC
survived only through extreme luck. Thereafter But when I’ve taken out a whatever-it-is and I’m standing over the body,
the PC found that his or her body warped the that’s the moment that makes all the hard work and terror worthwhile,
laws of physics around it. Create a power with because I think “This thing I just killed might have one-day tried to kill
4 levels of Effect and 4 levels of Limitations and the girl who works at the newsstand. I might have just saved her life. I
the power source as one of the PC’s body parts might not be able to make her laugh or smile like those handsome, well-
(see Power Creation Rules, see p.30). dressed guys do, but at least I can go this for her.
Soul Linked- During some moment of personal And I like to think that what I did is something that you would be proud
weakness and desperation, the PC somehow of me for, if you knew me. And that makes me feel a little better about
became linked to another person. The PC’s being such a weirdo and a loser and a loner.
personality changed and the PC gained special
strengths and abilities. The PC does not know And maybe, some day, if I kill enough of these people and things that
exactly what happened, but feels a strong prey on innocents, maybe I’ll feel good enough about myself that I can
connection with the person, a desire to help that come up and talk to you. And you won’t know me because I won’t seem
person, and a knowledge that if anything bad like a freak, I’ll seem like all those other self-confident, charming guys.
happened to that person something terrible would
happen to the PC. Choose one of the soul linked Or, more likely, I’ll die first. But I’ll have died making the world safe for
bonuses (see text box, next page) for the PC. you, and that’s okay.

Alleys
At the GM’s discretion, another PC can be the protected.
Soul Linked Bonuses Otherwise, choose the PC’s relationship with the protected:
Id- Duty: Make sure the protectee gets anything he or she Trusted (Costs 5 BP)- The protected knows and trusts
desires and that the protectee is not made uncomfortable. the PC.
Personality Change: The PC becomes more impatient,
hedonistic, immature and unashamed. -4 WIL, +4 STH, Stranger (0 BP)- The protected does not know the PC.
+2 SPD, +8 END, +3 BLD, +3 BDY, +5 INCY, +10 to Frightened (Gives 5 BP)- The protectee knows the PC
save vs. the effects of overindulgence. and has already decided that the PC is untrustworthy and
Ego- Duty: Make sure that the protectee doesn’t discover dangerous.
anything about self or the world that would hurt the
protectee. In other words, to protect the protectee’s Special Training: The PC has had a period of intense
innocence. Personality Change: The PC becomes more training far beyond what a normal person in the PC’s day
of a neutral, impartial observer, willing to mediate job might be expected to have had. Choose one of the
and compromise, better at putting on an act or hiding following:
unpleasant facts. +4 WIL, +4 INL, +6 CHM, +2 BDY, +2
INCY, +7 to prowling, sleight of hand, forgery or disguise Martial Arts: PC gets 9 free levels from the following
rolls. skills: Aikido, Boxing, Immobilization, Tae Kwon Do,
Super Ego- Duty: To prevent the protectee from doing
Wrestling.
anything bad (e.g. anything that those in power would Assassin: PC gets 9 free levels from the following
disapprove of) and to punish the protectee when he or she skills: Assassin: Armed, Assassin: Unarmed, Sniper.
does transgress those rules. Personality Change: The PC
becomes more strict, unforgiving, opinionated, moralistic Sniper: PC gets Prowling (3), Gun Repair (2),
and obsessed with rules and justice. +4 INL, +6 WIL, Wilderness Survival (2), Sniper (4).
+4 STH, +2 BLD, +2 BDY, +10 to rolls to sense guilt or
malicious intent. Thief: PC gets 10 free levels from the following skills:
Prowling, Alarm Systems, Auto Theft, Lock Picking,
Thannatos- Duty: To help the protectee overcome fear Pocket Picking.
of death and become comfortable with taking risks.
Personality Change: The PC becomes more morbid, Terrorist: PC gets Black Market (1), Cryptography
pessimistic, prone to violence and unafraid of death. +20 (1), WMDs (2), Forgery (2), Disguise (2), Sniper (1),
to save vs. fear or psychological shock, +4 WIL, +2 STH, Demolitions (4).
+2 AGY, +2 INL, +2 CHM, +4 BLD, +10 to vital strikes,
can make simultaneous actions as if they were normal Serial Killer: PC gets Knife Fighting (2), Torture
actions. (3), Immobilization (2), Performance (2), Disguise (2),
Prowling (2).
Animus- Duty: To help a female protectee understand and
deal with the opposite sex. Personality Change: The PC Supernatural Object: The PC has come into the
becomes more stereotypically masculine: strong, willful, possession, probably by complete accident, of a seemingly
stubborn, quick to anger and adventurous. -10 to save vs.
anger, +4 WIL, +2 STH, +4 BDY, +2 BLD, +2 INCY, +4
normal object that is capable of warping reality around
END, +5 to seduction rolls. it. Create a power with 4 levels of Effect and 4 levels of
Limitations and the power source as an everyday object.
Anima- Duty: To help a male protectee understand and
deal with the opposite sex. Personality Change: The PC Top Secret Tech: At some point in the PC’s recent past, he
becomes more stereotypically feminine: caring, protective, or she was able to steal a prototype of incredibly expensive
social and manipulative. +6 CHM, +2 INL, +4 BLD, +4 military technology from a corp or from the military itself.
INCY, +8 to seduction rolls, +5 to rolls to calm or comfort Create a power with 5 levels of Effect (no more than 2
another.
levels for each effect, no effects listed as Supernatural) and
Shadow- Duty: To do all the things the protectee is 5 levels of Limitations, with the power source as a piece of
unwilling to do because of moral and cultural constraints. technology. If the government gets wind that its technology
Personality Change: The PC becomes more cruel, mean, is being used in the field without its permission, it will
devious, insulting, less afraid of punishment and less devote considerable resources to hunting down the user.
law-abiding. +5 STH, +5 INL, +2 END, +5 CHM, +7 to
crippling, slash and pain/stun rolls, -5 to save vs. anger. Recommended Day Job- Boring Customer Service
Stranger- Duty: To humble the protectee and confront Job, Boring Factory Job, Boring Office Job, Researcher,
the protectee with ideas and opinions that are alien to the Welfare.
protectee. Personality Change: The PC becomes more
quiet, intense, observant and wise. +6 AWR, +6 INL, +4 Recommended Skills- Alarm Systems, Climbing, Disguise,
WIL, +2 BLD, +2 INCY. Local Geography, Prowling, Research: Law Enforcement,
Reptile- Duty: To secure food, warmth, sex and freedom Rifle/Shotgun, Tracking.
from danger for the protectee. Personality Change: The
PC become less thoughtful, less talkative, less empathetic, Recommended Equipment- Binoculars, Crowbar, Kevlar
less easily bored and more prone to act without thinking. Vest, Motorcycle (Used), Nightvision Goggles, Pager, Pipe
-4 CHM, -4 WIL, +6 AGY, +6 AWR, +6 SPD, +4 STH, Bomb, Plastic Restraints, Radio Scanner, Rope & Grapple,
+10 to initiative, +2 BDY, +4 INCY. Shotgun, Taser.

In Dark
Power Creation Rules
Power Creation Steps
Step 1 – Choose Power Source. Decide what actually
creates the effects. It could be a part of the PC’s body, a
seeming normal object or a high-tech electronic device.
Step 2 – Choose Power Range. Choose one of the

following:
Area: The power effects everything within a given radius
from the source of the power. Unless stated otherwise the
range is 20 ft. (6 m.) per total effect levels of the power. If
you wish to have the power be something that can be “shot
at” a target, choose this option and then get the ‘aimable’
control.
Enclosed: Anything the object encloses is effected by
the power, e.g. cages, suits, boxes that effect everything
inside them.
Touch: Any solid object the power source touches is
effected. If the power source touches something very large
(like a building or the ground) it effects every part of that
object within a radius of 20 ft. (6 m.) per effect level from
the power source.
Step 3 – Choose Effects. Effects are bought in levels, like

skills. Most effects allow 1 to 3 levels to be purchased.
Some effects are listed as Paranormal and cannot be
purchased with a technology based power. Within each
effect are several sub-types. Choose one subtype.
One power can have multiple effects and can have
different subtypes within the same effect. For example, if
you are creating a power with 4 levels of effect, you could
choose “Transport (2): Throw” and “Destroy (2): Burn” (the
power both tosses and burns anything in the power range),
or you could choose “Destroy (2): Burn” and “Destroy (2):
Electricity” (the power both burns and electrocutes anything
in the power range).
Unless specified otherwise, all effects take 1 round to do
whatever it is they do.
Effect levels can also be spent on Controls, which allow
the PC to control how the power works. Controls are bought
in levels as if they were an effect.
Step 4 – Choose Limitations. You will be required to

choose a given number of levels of limitations. These are
exceptions, side effects and fallibilities of the powers. They
are bought in levels, just like powers.
A Warning
The power rules here are supposed to represent dangerous and
terrible things: artifacts from alien realms, things present at a
brutal shattering of reality, and dangerous untested technology.
Powers are by their nature difficult to control. See No Control
Powers, below. Even with several levels of controls, however,
powers are hard to use safely. Whenever it is not specifically
stated, assume that a given aspect of a power is not under
control of the PC.

Alleys
Power Creation Rules (continued)
Effects Precision: This allows the PC to control how and in
what direction the effects work. E.g. with Transport the PC
Controls (On/Off Switch, Aimable, Intensity Control, Effect Switch, can choose which direction things are transported to. With
Precision, Exempt, Target Type) Destroy: Cut, the PC can make precise cuts. With Warp:
Create (Worthless Substances, Creatures, Valuable Substances, Shape the PC can choose what shape things are warped in
Dangerous Substances). to.
Destroy (Burn/Melt, Consume, Crush, Cut, Freeze, Electrify, Irradiate, (1) The PC has clumsy control (e.g. could cut a rough
Poison, Shake, Smother) square).
Disrupt (Sensory Nervous Systems, Motor Nervous Systems, Immune (2) The PC has moderate control (e.g. could carve
Systems, Metabolic Systems, Mechanical Systems, Electronics) readable text in a wall).
Enhance (Physical, Mental, Health, Occult Ability*, Attractiveness,
Scariness, Damage Resistance) (3) The PC has fine control (e.g. could draw a picture
Nullify (Light, Heat, Gravity, Momentum, Sound, Friction) using cuts in a wall).
Psych Effect (Thought, Emotion, Perceptions) Exempt: With this control, the power has lessened effect
Reveal (Far Things, Small Things, Hidden Things, Weak Things, Invisible on the person or object which is the source of the power.
Things*, Other Worlds*)
(1) The source of the power experiences half effect.
Transport (Slide, Fly, Throw, Teleport*, Portal*)
Warp (Stickiness, Flexibility, Durability, Shape, Size*, Tangibility*, (2) The source of the power experiences quarter
Invisibility*, Weight*) effect.
*Paranormal (3) The source of the power experiences no effect.
Controls Target Type: The power only effects one class of things.
This ‘effect’ allows the power to be controlled. Each control The class must be put in quantifiable chemistry or physics
applies to all other non-control effects on the power. terms. Examples of legal target types include: “only effects
gold,” “only effects items moving 10 mph relative to the
On/Off Switch: If this control is not selected the power will source of the power,” “only effects objects containing
either be always on or will activate randomly. mostly organic chemicals and weighing more than 100
(1 level) The PC can instantly turn the power on or off. lbs.” Examples of target types that would not be legal
include: “only effects ugly things,” “only effects people with
Aimable: Instead of effecting everything in the effect range malevolent intentions” or “only effects humans.”
(e.g. every part of the area, every part of the enclosure, anything
that touches any part of the object) only a limited portion of the (1) The power only effects the subclass.
effect range is effected. (2) The power can be switched between effecting
(1) If Area, the PC can aim the power at a 180 degree everything or only effecting the subclass.
arc of the area. If Touch, only things that touch half of the (3) The power can be switched between effecting 2
object are effected. If Enclosed, only things in one half of the subclasses.
enclosure are effected.
(2) If Area, the PC can aim the power as a wide beam,
like spraying a hose. If Touch, only things that touch a small A Power With No Controls
part of the object are effected. If Enclosed, only things in one
small part of the enclosure are effected A power with no level of controls would either always be on
(3) If Area, the PC can target any specific point within or would activate randomly. It would effect everything in its
the area, even behind objects. If Touch or Enclosure, only range (if ranged), everything in the enclosure (if enclosed) or
things that are touched by one specific point on the object or everything it touches (if touch) and it would effect itself as
are at one specific point in the enclosure are effected. well. All levels of all effects associated with the power would
operate simultaneously and always with maximum intensity.
Intensity Control: The PC can choose to make the power The power cannot be controlled with any precision: a Transport
have less than full effect. If this control is not selected, the effect, for example, will throw effected things around in
power always has full effect. random directions. A Warp: Shape effect will warp things into
(1) The PC can do something to cut the effects in half, random shapes.
but must keep doing that thing or the effects will go back to full
strength.
(2) The PC can choose between ¼, ½, ¾ or full power. Create
Each change takes a round to take effect.
The power creates inanimate matter or animate creatures.
(3) The PC can instantly dial the effect down to almost
none or back up to any level of intensity. Worthless Substances: E.g. sand, water., rocks, scraps of
Effect Switch: The PC can choose which effect of this paper, lint, etc.
particular power source will happen. (1) Create up to 1 cup (250 ml) of worthless objects
(1) The PC can choose one effect which will be the only or substances.
effect that can happen in the next 1d20 minutes. (2) Create up to 100 lbs. (45 kg) of worthless objects
(2) The PC can switch between effects at will. or substances.
(3) The PC can choose any combination of effects to be (3) Create up to 1,000 lbs. (450 kg) of worthless
on or off (can’t switch them all off, though, without On/Off objects or substances.
Switch).
Power Creation Rules 031

In Dark
Creatures: Creatures could be biological Electrify: Does electrical damage.
or robotic, depending on the nature of the Other Types of Damage
Irradiate: Does radiation damage.
power. See p.136 for more. Poison: Kills organic matter via toxic
(1) Create up to 100 small stupid Burn: When a person is burned, 4 chemicals. Does damage directly to BLD
creatures (e.g. ants) per round (live 1 hr., effects happen: within 4 rounds.
max. 500/day). -BLD damage (1 pt. per pt. of burn Shake: Destroys structures by vibrating
damage).
(2) Create up to 100 rat sized creatures them. Humans must save vs. loss of balance
-Pain (WIL+1d20 vs. 10/pt. of
that perform one indiscriminate task (e.g. damage).
(10 difficulty/level) but otherwise take no
attack anyone they can find, dig holes in -Physiological Shock (END+1d20 vs. direct damage.
anything they can, eat anything they can, 5/pt. of damage). Smother: Does oxygen deprivation damage.
etc.) live 1 wk., max. 500/day -or- 1,000 -Increased chance of infection (-5
small stupid creatures. to save vs. disease contraction/pt. of Disrupt
(3) Create one creature, up to 300 lbs. damage).
The working of biological or technological
(136 kg.), that is smart enough to follow Cold: Make saves vs. hypothermia systems are temporarily disrupted.
simple commands, has 20 STH, 20 SPD, 10 hourly. 1st failure halves all attributes,
AGY, 4 BLD, 4 BDY, and a natural weapon each additional failure does 1 BLD Sensory Nervous Systems: Any entity
that does 4 blunt or bladed damage (live damage. with sensory neurons must make a save vs.
24 hrs., max. 3/day) -or- 1,000 rat-sized Dropped Objects: Do blunt damage =
distracting pain at:
creatures or 10,000 small stupid creatures. weight (divided by 10 lbs or 5 kg) times (1) 20 difficulty
number of stories. (2) 30 difficulty
Valuable Substances: E.g. gold, computer
parts. Electricity: (3) 40 difficulty
-Paralysis (WIL+1d20 vs. 20/pt. of
(1) Create up to $5 worth of a valuable damage), only while the electricity is Motor Nervous Systems: Any entity
substance (max $100/dy.). running. with motor neurons must make a save vs.
(1) Create up to $50 worth of a -Unconsciousness (WIL/END+1d20 paralysis at:
valuable substance (max $250/dy.). vs. 10 per pt. of damage) (1) 20 difficulty
-Heart Attack (END+1d20 vs. 5/pt. of (2) 30 difficulty
(3) Create up to $500 worth of a
damage), see p.132.
valuable substance (max $1,000/dy.). -Burn Damage: 1 pt. of burn damage (3) 40 difficulty
Dangerous Substances: for every 4 pt.s of electrical damage. Immune Systems: Any biological entity
(1) Create up to potential ½ damage Falling: 2 blunt damage for each story with an immune system gets a penalty to
worth of a dangerous substance, e.g. enough fallen (a story is ~10 ft). Armor typically saves vs. disease contraction and progression
poison to do ½ BLD damage. cannot protect from this damage. as follows:
(2) Create up to 2 potential damage Heat: Make saves vs. heat exhaustion (1) -20 to save
worth of a dangerous substance, e.g. enough hourly. 1st failure halves all attributes, (2) -30 to save
each additional failure does 1 BLD
explosives to do 2 explosion damage. (3) -40 to save
damage.
(3) Create up to 20 potential damage Metabolic Systems: Any biological entity
Radiation: For every pt. of damage: 1
worth of a dangerous substance, e.g. enough BLD damage, Vomiting (10), Headache which metabolizes chemicals for energy
plutonium to do 20 radiation damage. (10), fatigue (-2 END), confusion (-1 becomes less able to do so. For humans, this
INL, AWR). Effects develop over 24 means a loss of pooled END (when pooled
Destroy hours. BLD damage is permanent END is at zero, all attributes are halved,
The power had the primary effect of hurting (unless bone marrow transplants are and each point below zero is removed from
people or things. The effect may have given). Strong likelihood (25% per pt. BLD) as follows:
other uses (e.g. use burn to cook food, use of damage) of developing cancer and
cataracts within the next year. (1) -10 END
electrocute to power a simple electronic
device) but, unless you buy a lot of controls, Ragged: Like bladed damage, but for (2) -20 END
any creative use of the power is clumsy at each pt. of ragged damage taken the PC (3) -30 END
best. The power does the damage listed gets -5 to save vs. disease contraction
to each object, person and/or animal each (see p.146). Mechanical Systems: Anything with
time it comes within the effect range of the Skidding: For each 20 SPD the PC is
mechanical parts becomes unstable: working
object. moving at: 1 bladed 1 blunt damage. inefficiently and sporadically and then
Less if the ground is very soft, more if stopping.
(1) Does 1 damage.
it is rocky. (1) Machines work inefficiently
(2) Does 5 damage.
Strangulation/Loss of Oxygen: PC (consume twice the fuel for half the effect)
(3) Does 20 damage. and have a 1 in 20 chance of breaking down.
loses 1 pooled END per round (in
Burn/Melt: Does Burn damage. addition to pooled END being lost for (2) Mechanical systems work
Consume: Parts of the item are bitten off other reasons). Resting will not bring sporadically (every round, 1 in 2 chance they
and destroyed. Does ragged bladed damage. back any lost END. When END reaches will do anything) and have 1 in 6 chance of
0, PC loses 1 BLD per round. When
Crush: Does blunt damage. breaking down.
the PC can breathe normally again, lost
Cut: Does bladed damage. END and BLD returns 1 per round. (3) Machines absolutely do not work.
Freeze: Does damage directly to BLD Thirst: ½ BLD damage per day.
If enough pressure is applied they will break,
and Hypothermia (10/pt.). possibly injuring those nearby.

Alleys
Electronics: The more complex electronics are, the more (1) +7 to rolls to intimidate
easily they are disrupted by this effect. (2) +15 to rolls to intimidate
(1) Computers crash, appliances work in fits, lights (3) +30 to rolls to intimidate
sputter.
(2) Appliances short out or do nothing, lights work Damage Resistance: Effected people’s tissues become
sporadically. harder to pierce, bruise, break or rupture. At the same
time, there is an accompanying loss of the flexibility and
(3) No electrical device operates. Many short out, melt permeability, interfering with movement and metabolism.
or burst into flames. Treat as armor with AR 20 (see p.131).
Enhance (1) PR 4 (all damage types), -4 AGY, -2 END
(2) PR 10 (all damage types), -10 AGY, -5 END
This power enhances the abilities of humans and, when
appropriate, animals. (3) PR 20 (all damage types), -20 AGY, -10 END
Physical: Note that, unless the PC stays perfectly still, Nullify

increased strength will cause damage via wear and tear on This power reduces or completely cancels out a certain type
muscles, joints, bones and shearing off of skin. of energy.
(1) +7 SPD, STH and END, ½ BLD and ½ BDY damage
per day. Light
(2) +20 SPD, STH and END, ½ BLD and ½ BDY (1) Everything becomes very dim, everyone is at a -7
damage per hour. penalty to actions and reactions.
(3) +50 SPD, STH and END, ½ BLD and ½ BDY (2) There is near total darkness (-15 to all actions and
damage per minute. reactions) and lights that would otherwise be very bright can
only barely be seen.
Mental: The speed and energy available to the neurons (3) There is no light of any kind (-15 to actions and
in the brain increases, but there is a corresponding increased reactions).
tendency to insanity.
(1) +4 INL and AWR, Insomnia (10), Delusions (10). Heat
(2) +7 INL and AWR, Insomnia (20), Delusions (20). (1) Most fires go out (things like gasoline and napalm
(3) +12 INL and AWR, Insomnia (30), Delusions (30). burn, although weakly), the temperature drops about 50
degrees and every effected person must make a legendary
Health: The oxygen and chemical energy available to cells save vs. hypothermia.
increases, but the PC gains a corresponding increased need for (2) Fires cannot burn, water freezes, humans are
food and oxygen. killed.
(1) +5 END, +1 BLD, BDY and INCY. Double food (3) The temperature in the effect range drops to
need, oxygen deprivation does double damage. absolute zero. All liquids and gasses condense into solids.
(2) +10 END, +3 BLD, BDY and INCY. 4x food need, Solid objects become brittle and may crumble under their
Oxygen Deprivation does 4x damage. own weight. Living things are killed instantly.
(3) +20 END, +6 BLD, BDY and Gravity
INCY. 8x food need, those effected must
breathe pure oxygen to survive. Power Creation Example: (1) The weight of things is cut in
Darkness Gas half, people have trouble walking (-5 SPD)
Occult Ability (Paranormal) and falling does ¼ normal damage.
(1) +7 to all supernatural skill rolls. Say you want a character to have (2) Things weigh one-hundredth
Any save vs. emotion that is failed by 20+ a high tech device that can be their normal weight, people can jump
will shatter reality (see p.236). strapped to one’s back and releases hundreds of feet and falling does no
(2) +15 to all supernatural skill rolls. a non-toxic gas that blocks out light, damage. Everyone must make a moderate
Any save vs. emotion that is failed by 10+ creating a haze of darkness. (20) save vs. vomiting.
will shatter reality. (3) There is no gravity. Objects
(3) +30 to supernatural skill rolls. And Step one, we’d choose a high-tech with momentum will keep moving until
any failed save vs. emotion will shatter reality. backpack as the power source. For something stop them. A breeze will fill the
step two, we’d choose the power air with dirt or dust. Everyone must make
Attractiveness: People effected by range as area (the gas spreads and a moderate (20) save vs. vomiting.
this effect are perceived as more sexually engulfs a large area). For step
appealing. The effect doesn’t change a three, we’d choose Nullify: Light. Momentum
person’s signifying characteristics enough 2 levels should be enough. Then (1) The SPD of vehicles and people
to disguise the person. for limitations, we’d choose Needs is cut in half, weapon or hand-to-hand
(1) +7 to seduction rolls Fuel (1) (there would be tanks of strikes do ½ normal damage.
(2) +15 to seduction rolls the gas). We’d also choose Bulky (2) Everything happens in slow-
(1) (because the pack is a little bit
(3) +30 to seduction rolls motion. People can move at max. 1 SPD,
heavy). We’d also choose Slow (1)
but to do so is exhausting (uses 1 END per
Scariness: People effected by this effect (because it would take a while for
round). Even the blood in people’s veins
are perceived as more frightening. The the gas to spread through the area)
circulates slowly (halve END). The only
effect doesn’t change a person’s signifying and Blockable (1) (the gas couldn’t
way to hurt someone is to use leverage to
characteristics enough to disguise the get inside a sealed chamber).
slowly apply increasing pressure.
person.

In Dark
(3) Nothing physical can happen. People’s hearts stop beating, (1) The effect works through thin partial cover (like blankets).
neurons stop firing. Even photons do not move: anyone who views (2) The effect works through normal walls.
the effect area from outside will see only blackness. After the effect is
over, the photons from outside that have built up along the edges will be (3) The effect works through anything.
released, causing a flash of light. The intensity of this flash is based on Weak Things: Weak sensations are made stronger: a dimly lit
how long the effect was in place: a stunning flash with a minute’s worth of scene becomes brightly lit, quiet sounds become loud, a faint smell
photons, semi-permanent damage from an hour’s worth, bright enough to becomes strong, etc. Any sensation that is strong enough to be easily
cause things to burst into flames from a day’s worth. perceived becomes painfully strong.
Sound (1) Gives +20 to AWR rolls to sense the faint sensation.
(1) Even loud noises become very faint. People are at -20 to all (2) Gives +40.
hearing based AWR rolls. (3) Gives +100.
(2) Someone shouting in your ear is just barely audible.
(3) No sound is possible. Invisible Things: (supernatural) The effect reveals sensations from
the invisible world.
Friction (1) Dim/Transparent/Faint (-7 to hit).
(1) Every surface becomes very slippery. Anyone attempting to (2) Solid.
walk must make moderate (20) saves vs. loss of balance. -40 to Climbing
rolls. Other Worlds: (supernatural) The effect reveals things that would
(2) People cannot walk. Moderate (20) difficulty to stay standing. not be perceivable because they are in another plane of existence.
(3) There is no friction. Things in motion will stay in motion until (1) Dim/Transparent/Faint.
blocked. The only way to hold something is to completely envelop it. It (2) Solid.
takes moderate AGY and STH rolls to do anything but lie on the ground.
Transport
Psych Effect Anything effected by this power is moved as follows:
The power has the effect of making everyone within range experience one (1) 5 SPD or 50 ft. (15 m.)
pre-determined thought, emotion or perception. Everyone experiences
the effect, but each person effected can make a save to keep from being (2) 20 SPD or 1 mile. (1.5 m)
disrupted or incapacitated by the experience. Anyone expecting the effect (3) 100 SPD or 30 miles. (50 km.)
gets +10. Anyone who has had a chance to practice resisting the effect Slide: The effected people and/or things travel along the ground.
gets an additional +10. In addition, if the thought, emotion or perception If not supported by something like wheels the people effected by this
is jarringly different from what the victim is expecting, the victim must power will take skidding damage (1 bladed and 1 blunt per 20 SPD).
make a moderate or hard save vs. psychological shock (see p.129).
(1) 20 difficulty save Fly: The effected things are moved through the air.
(2) 30 difficulty save Throw: Effected things and/or people are tossed, and when they hit
(3) 40 difficulty save an object they will take falling damage (2 blunt/10 ft. or 3m.).
Thought: Victims must make a save vs. delusion to avoid believing the Teleport: (supernatural) Effected things and/or people disappear
thought. Failure by 10+ means the victim forgets where he or she is and from one location and reappear in another with a loud pop. Teleporting
what he or she is doing and takes a few seconds to become reoriented. one solid object into another will destroy both. At 4 levels the effect
Teleports things to other planes of existence.
Emotion: Victims must make a save vs. emotion to avoid acting on the
emotion. Failure by 10+ means the victim is paralyzed with emotion. Portal: (supernatural) A portal is created that leads to another
place. The portal works in both directions. At 4 levels of effect the
Perceptions: Victims must make a save vs. hallucination to know that portal can lead to other planes of existence.
the smell, taste, touch, sight or sound is not real. A failure by 10+ means
that real sensations in that sensory modality are blocked (e.g. the sound of Warp
a clock ticking blocks out the voices of friends shouting to run).
This effect changes the physical properties of matter (including
Reveal people). The matter goes back to its normal state when the power
This power has the effect of making things visible (or audible, feelable, stops working (except for the shape subtype, which is permanent). For
tasteable, smellable) which might not normally be. Choose which sensory some subtypes you will have to decide on the direction of the effect.
modality is revealed. Choose power range twice: once for the range of E.g. when choosing Warp: Hardness, decide whether the power makes
what gets revealed, once for the range of who it is revealed to. For things more hard or less hard.
example: you might have a cage that reveals any invisible object within Stickiness (Increase)
(enclosed) to anyone within range of the cage (area). Or you could have a (1) People make smacking sounds when walking on effected
rod that makes anything touched by it (touch) appear magnified to anyone surfaces and get +7 to climbing rolls.
holding the other end (touch).
(2) It takes an easy (10) STH feat to pull something from an
Far Things: The power makes far things look, sound, smell, feel or effected surface. -15 SPD moving over effected surfaces. Climbing
taste as if they were close. rolls are at +20.
(1) The effect is up to 100 feet (300 m.). (3) Anything touching an effected item cannot be removed
(2) The effect is up to 5 miles (8 km.). without destroying one or both items.
(3) The effect is up to 1,000 miles (3,000 m.).
Flexibility (Increase or Decrease)
Small Things: Small things are perceived as if they were bigger. (1) Clothes become stiff, flesh is tough (-5 AGY, 1 PR blunt and
(1) The effect is up to 10x (ten times bigger). bladed), paper is brittle -or- shelves sag, armor is too flexible (-1 PR),
(2) The effect is 500x. locked doors can be yanked open.
(3) The effect is 300,000x (equivalent to an electron microscope). (2) Water feels like honey, flesh cracks when people move too
fast, clothes shatter -or- bones bend like cartilage, metal rebar can be
Hidden Things: Things are revealed that would otherwise not be twisted into loops, armor has no blunt PR and ½ normal bladed PR.
perceivable because they are behind some barrier or cover.

Alleys
(3) Liquids freeze solid, air feels like 4x BLD, 4x BDY, -10 vs. heat exhaustion,
honey, people’s lungs and hearts shatter -or- Power Creation -7 to all actions and reactions, -15 to vision
anything solid collapses into a gelatinous mass, Example: Shooting based AWR rolls, -10 END, Unconsciousness
people suffocate because their diaphragms Out Nails (20) when standing, cannot hear high pitched
aren’t attached to a solid ribcage. noises, can hear ultra-low frequency noises.
We want a PC who is a -or- Halve the size of things. To humans:
Durability (Increase or Decrease) shattered person to be able to
BDY/4, BDY/4, -10 to hypothermia , -7 to
shoot nails out of himself and
(1) Double the PR of armor, the STH feat all actions/reactions and -15 to vision based
impale people with them.
difficulty to break something and the BLD and AWR rolls, cannot hear low pitched noises,
BDY of living beings -or- halve the PR of armor, First, we’ll choose the power can hear ultrahigh frequency noises.
the STH feat difficulty to break something and source as the person’s body. (3) Things grow by a factor of 20. To
the BLD and BDY of living beings Range will be area (the nails humans: 50 BLD and 50 BDY, -30 vs. heat
(2) The surface tension of water makes it will be ranged weapons). exhaustion, practically blind (-15 to actions
act like a water-balloon. It take hard STH rolls and reactions), cannot hear audible sounds,
to rip apart a piece of paper, flesh and armor Our first effect will be Cardiac Arrest (20 if lying down, 40 if
seems nearly impenetrable, and it becomes hard Destroy: Cut. 2 levels standing) -or- things shrink by a factor of 20.
to breathe (halve END) -or- anything bearing will do 5 BLD damage to To humans: 1 BLD, 0 BDY, 0 INCY, -30 vs.
anything in the range. hypothermia, practically blind (-15 to actions
weight falls apart, bones snap when people
try to run, metal bars can be broken with bare and reactions), cannot hear audible sounds,
Next we would need Create:
hands, armor is useless and ½ point of blunt or must make AGY feats to walk.
Worthless Substances. 1
bladed damage is enough to kill someone. level would create a cup Tangibility: (Supernatural) (Increase or
(3) Effected objects become unbreakable; of nails, which should be Decrease) This power either makes denizens
even air cannot be separated and living beings enough. of the invisible world able to touch and be
asphyxiate -or- effected objects burst or crumble touched -or- things and people in this world
into dust under their own weight. Next, we need controls. We can be made part of the intangible world.
don’t want the PC shooting A biological entity made intangible cannot
Shape: The power changes the shape of out nails every minute of breathe.
objects by twisting, curving, bending, flattening, every day, so we will choose
corrugating, pinching or rippling them. The On/Off Switch (1). We (1) Things sputter in and out of
change in shape may cripple humans or make also want the nails to only tangibility. Any strike has a 1 in 2 chance of
them unable to take in air. Curving is used in shoot out in one direction hitting an effected person or object.
the following examples: (e.g. from the PC’s back) so (2) The effect is constant and
we’ll choose Aimable (1),
(1) Humans find their limbs nearly complete.
allowing the PC to aim a
unusable. Example: Effects objects will bow. 180° arc of damage. Invisibility: (Supernatural) (Increase or
(2) Humans will be unable to move, barely Decrease) This power makes a denizen of
able to breathe. Example: Straight objects will For Limitations, we would the invisible world visible to us, or makes
curve into a circle. choose Blockable (1), a denizen of our world invisible to our eyes
because hiding behind yet able to see and be seen by denizens of the
(3) Humans will be unable to breathe. something heavy would invisible. A person made invisible can no
Example: Straight objects will curve into protect a target. We’ll also longer see the visible world.
spirals. choose Damages User, since
we envision the nails doing (1) The effect is partial: the thing is
Size: (Supernatural) (Increase or Decrease) transparent to denizens of either world (-7 to
damage to the PC as they rip
The size of objects changes, as does weight through the skin. 2 levels be hit).
and mechanical strength. Note that when will do 1 bladed damage to
living beings change size their metabolisms (2) The effect is complete (-15 to be
the PC. We’ll also choose hit).
become unable to react with the molecules in Painful (2) for the same
air and food, meaning they will die of oxygen reason. We’ll also choose Weight: (Increase) The weight (not mass
deprivation unless they have an oxygen supply Tiring (1), the power tires or size) of objects is increased (to decrease
that has also changed size. Also, the human body the PC, and Noisy (1), the weight, see Nullify: Gravity).
works poorly at an altered scale because the power makes some strange
environment effects the body disproportionately noise while operating.
(1) Weight is doubled. Humans must
make a hard STH roll to stand.
at different scales: light works differently in a
smaller or bigger pupil, the width of the body The power would be (2) Weight is increased by a factor of
effects the body’s ability to retain or radiate annotated as follows: Skin 10. Humans cannot stand and must make a
heat, pumping blood to very high altitudes is of Back; Area; Destroy: hard (30) save vs. Cardiac Arrest.
disproportionately difficult, etc. Cut (2), Create: Worthless
Objects (1), Controls: On/ (3) Objects are liquefied under their
(1) Increase size and STH by 25%., +1 Off Switch (1), Controls: own weight and sink into deep pits in the
BLD and +1 BDY -or- decrease size and STH Aimable (1); Blockable (1), ground.
by 25%, -1 BLD and -1 BDY. Damages User (2), Painful
(2) Double size of things. To humans: (2), Tiring (1), Noisy (1).

In Dark
A minority of initiates come to the Androgyne movement
through the back door: they learn about genderqueer (a
Limitations movement that oradvocates
takes 3+ blunt freedom
bladed damage fromstop
it will gender roles),
working
become fascinated
permanently. by it, start hanging out with the
Blockable (1)- Use only with Area or Enveloped. Any person preeminent genderqueer philosophers, learn that some
or object that is completely sealed off (e.g. in Fragilemerged
have (2)- If the source of the
genderqueer power takes
philosophy with
a space suit) is not effected. as much as ½ point blunt or bladed damage it
Drug/Infection some form of mysticism, and ask to be
will stop working permanently.
Blockable (2)- Any person or object which Side Effects initiated into this system. From this point on,
is completely blocked from view (e.g. inside Anemia (-2 BLD) however,
Fragile (3)-theyThemust faceofthethesame
source powerchallenges
is as
a house or hiding under a pile of blankets) is fragile
as as a thin
those piece of
initiated glass. Ifrandom
through it is dropped,
sexual
Blotchy Skin (-10 to handled roughly or takes any damage it will
not effected. seduction rolls) ecounter.
break.
Blockable (3)- Any person or object which is Blurred Vision (-10 to Only afterWhile
Heat (1)- the active
initiatethe has
power proven
source hir
mostly protected (e.g. wearing jeans, gloves vision based AWR rolls)
and a hooded jacket with the hood up) is not
willingness to transcend
creates large amounts boundaries
of heat energy. If it is of
Clumsiness (-4 AGY) gender andarea
an enclosed orientation
with littlewill
or nothe initiate be
ventilation
effected.
Confusion (-4 INL) rewarded with will
the temperature another
growsexual
steadilyexperience,
hotter,
Bulky (1)- The item weights about 75 lbs. Cough (-10 to prowling often with
requiring hir original
increasingly initiator.
difficult saves vs. Inheatthis
(34 kg). rolls) exhaustion. The
experience, object isthe
though, hotinitiate
to the touch and
witnesses
anyone hir
having wearing
bodyitswitched,
or holdinghirit original
will havebody’s
to
Bulky (2)- The item weights about 250 lbs. Delusions (occasional 20
make a moderate
gender changing,(20)
anddifficulty save vs. heat
being transferred back
(113 kg). difficulty saves)
exhaustion
to within
hir original 5 minutes.
body but this time as another
Bulky (3)- The item weights about 2000 lbs. Dizziness (-10 to save vs.
loss of balance) gender.
Heat (2)- The object does 1 burn damage to
(900 kg). anything it touches and any one spending time
Drowsiness (-10 to save vs.
Damages User (1)- User takes ¼ pt. bladed unconsciousness) The
withinsudden
5 ft. (2 change
m.) of it of gender
must make ahas different
moderate
damage per round while power is in effect. (20) saveonvs.different
effects heat exhaustion.
initiates. Some are able
Dysphoria (20 difficulty to hide
Damages User (2)- User takes 1 blunt or 1 save to do any but life or Heat (3)-it The
via object
carefuldoes
choice of damage
4 burn clothingtoand
death actions)
makeup and go on with their normal
anything it touches, causing flammable objects lives.
bladed damage (choose one) per round while
power is in effect.
Some
to burst into flames. Any one spending timequit
adopt new identities. Some
Euphoria (20 difficulty showing up(6 to
within 20 ft. m.)work and,make
of it must when they
a hard (30)can
save to do any but life or
Damages User (3)- User takes 1d6 blunt or no
savelonger
vs. heatpay the rent, become homeless.
exhaustion.
bladed damage (choose one) per round while death actions)
Wherever they end up they are always left
power is in effect. Fever (-10 to save vs. heat Infection Side Effects (1)- Choose this
with instructions on how and where to find
limitation if the source of the power is a viral,
exhaustion) their
Drug Side Effects (1)- The power is based bacterial orsupernatural
next sexual encounter.
parasitic infection. Choose 3
Hallucinations (occasional
on the consumption of a drug. Choose 3 Drug/Infection Side Effects (see sidebar). The
20 difficulty saves) During
Drug/Infection Side Effects (see sidebar). infectionfurther
can be sexual
cured ifencounters the initiate
the PC is given the
The power takes full effect within 5 minutes Insomnia (30 difficulty save finds hirself in the
right antibiotics, initiator’s
antivirals body for longer
or antiparasitics. It
after the drug is injected or within 2 rounds or will suffer from 1 day’s and
can belonger
spreadperiods andtissues
if infected learns that sie
or fluids findcan
after it is ingested and only lasts about 1 hour. sleep deprivation damage) access
their waytheinto
initiator’s memories.
another person’s Not only
bloodstream
The drug may interact with other drugs. Light Sensitivity (-7 to (10 difficulty save vs. disease contraction with
all actions and reactions in unprotected sex or sharing needles).
Drug Side Effects (2)- Choose 6 Drug/ bright light)
Infection Side Effects. Infection Side Effects (2)- Choose 6 Drug/
Narrowing of Attention (-7 Infection Side Effects.
Drug Side Effects (3)- Choose 10 Drug/ to AWR rolls)
Infection Side Effects. Infection Side Effects (3)- Choose 10 Drug/
Nausea (10 difficulty
Infection Side Effects.
Environmentally Sensitive (1)- The power save vs. vomiting every 5
source will cease functioning if it gets very minutes)
cold, very wet or is shaken violently (a Poor Memory (-10 to
portable CD player would have this level of memory based AWR rolls, Using Limitations as On/Off
this limitation). 20 difficulty saves vs. Switches
anterograde, retrograde and
Environmentally Sensitive (2)- The power sudden amnesia) Some limitations can be used in place of
source must be kept within a ~30° F (~15° the On/Off Switch control. If a power
C) temperature range and cannot be exposed Tinnitus (-10 to hearing has the Power Required limitation, for
to excess humidity or vibration. based AWR rolls) instance, the PC can simply not plug it
Tiredness (-8 END) in until it is ready to be used. Or, if a
Environmentally Sensitive (3)- The power power has Blockable (2) the PC can keep
source must be kept within a few degrees of Weak Immune System
(-10 to saves vs. it wrapped up in something until it is
a predetermined temperature (either almost ready to be used. Yet in any case, using a
disease contraction and
freezing or 110° F / 43° C), must be kept Limitation as an on/off switch will always
progression)
completely free from humidity and dust and require the PC do some additional action
must not be allowed to vibrate at all. Weakness (-2 STH, -2
and thus will take longer.
SPD)
Fragile (1)- If the source of the power

Alleys
Limited Lifespan (1)- Every month there is a 1 in 20 chance Slow (1)- The power takes 5 combat rounds to have full effect
the power will stop working permanently. on the people and things it effects.
Limited Lifespan (2)- Every month there is a 1 in 6 chance Slow (2)- The power takes 1 hour to have full effect.
the power will stop working permanently. Slow (3)- The power takes 24 hours to have full effect.
Limited Lifespan (3)- Every week there is a 1 in 6 chance the Slow Fade (1)- After the power stops effecting an object or
power will stop working permanently. person, the effect itself continues for 1d20 hours.
Needs Fuel (1)- The object requires some substance to run that Tiring (1)- To make the power work takes physical exertion
can be easily acquired (e.g. helium, hard water, gasoline). One on the part of the PC. Uses 1 END per round of use.
5 lb. (2 kg) tank can supply power for about 5 minutes.
Tiring (2)- Uses 5 END/round.
Needs Fuel (2)- The object requires expensive components
Tiring (3)- Uses 20 END/round.
(e.g. gold powder) such that is costs about $100/minute to use
the power -or- the components must be custom made in a lab Ungainly (1)- The nature of the power source is such that
(each hour of work can make 1 minute worth of components). while in it or carrying it the PC has trouble manipulating the
real world. For instance, it might be a very bulky piece of
Needs Fuel (3)- The power requires a component that is very
armor. Gives -4 AGY, -7 to sight and sound AWR rolls, -10
hard to obtain, e.g. plutonium, moon rocks.
to AGY rolls involving fine manipulation.
Noisy (1)- While operating the power makes a loud noise or Ungainly (2)- Gives -8 AGY, -4 SPD, -15 to sight and sound
emits a bright light that can be seen or heard hundreds of feet AWR rolls, -20 to AGY rolls involving fine manipulation, -4
away. to saves vs. loss of balance.
Noisy (2)- Can be seen or heard from miles away. Ungainly (3)- Gives -15 AGY, -10 SPD, -20 to sight and sound
Noisy (3)- Can be seen or heard hundreds of miles away. Will AWR rolls, -40 to AGY rolls involving fine manipulation, -10
permanently blind or deafen anyone within 100 ft. (30 m.). to saves vs. loss of balance.
Painful (1)- User must make a moderate (20) save vs. Unhideable (1)- The source of the power is too big to be
distracting pain while using the power. hidden in a pocket or under clothes and too odd looking to be
carried around without attracting attention.
Painful (2)- User must make a hard (30) save vs. distracting
Unhideable (2)- In addition to being odd looking and
pain while using the power.
too large to be easily concealed, the source of the power
Painful (3)- User must make a legendary (40) save vs. constantly emits a sound, light or smell that makes it easy to
distracting pain while using the power. notice and find even from a distance.
Polluting (1)- The power source releases foul, noxious Unhideable (3)- A long trail of clearly non-normal effects
smelling gasses when the power is active. The effect is leads directly to the current location of the source of the
magnified up to 10 times if the power is operating in an power.
enclosed space with little or no ventilation. Within 15 ft. (5
m.) the gasses cause 10 difficulty pain when it gets in the eyes
and 3 damage to END per round when inhaled. Power Creation Example: H-Tech Portal
Polluting (2)- Within 30 ft. (10 m.) it causes 30 difficulty pain An H-Tech machine (p.235) which opens a portal to
and 7 damage to END per round. Within 10 minutes exposed another realm might be constructed as follows:
skin develops painful blisters (hard save vs. distracting pain).
To start, we’d want Transport: Portal (4). We could buy a
Power Required (1)- The power source is run by bulky (4
precision control if we want the users to be able to control
lb. or 2 kg) batteries which provide for 20 minutes of activity
what realm the portal goes to, but that’s not fun so we’ll
each.
leave it out. We could also buy an on/off switch, but it’s
Power Required (2)- The power source must be plugged into not really necessary because we’re going to get the Power
the wall or a portable electric generator in order to operate. Required limitation. So in other words, the machine will
work whenever it’s plugged in.
Power Required (3)- The power source must be plugged into
a special high-capacity power line with a transformer in order Finally, for limitations, we’ll choose Bulky (3) (it’s a huge
to operate. mass of machinery), Fragile (1) (someone with a baseball
Random Activation (1)- Every day the power has a 1 in 6 bat could make the machine stop working), Heat (2) (it
chance of activating. produces a lot of heat), Noisy (1) (it makes a loud hum),
Power Required (3) (it needs to be plugged into a power
Random Activation (2)- Every hour the power has a 1 in 6 line), Slow (2) (it takes an hour to warm up), Slow Fade
chance of activating. (1) (the portal stays open a while even after the machine
Random Activation (3)- Every round the power has a 1 in 6 is turned off).
chance of activating.

In Dark
Random Power Creation Table Power Notation
Power Range Effect Level
01-60: Area 01-20: 1 levels Pre-written powers can be written as follows:
61-80: Enclosed 21-80: 2 levels
81-00: Touch 81-00: 3 levels
Power Source; Power Range; Effect 1: Subtype (level),
Effect Limitations Effect 2: Subtype (level), etc.; Limitation 1 (level),
01-01: Controls: On/Off Switch 01-02: Blockable (1)
02-02: Controls: Aimable Limitation 2 (level).
03-04: Blockable (2)
03-03: Controls: Intensity Control
05-05: Blockable (3)
04-04: Controls: Precision Example: Severed Hand; Area; Nullify: Sound (2),
05-05: Controls: Exempt 06-07: Bulky (1)
06-06: Controls: Target Type 08-09: Bulky (2) Transport: Thrown (1); Blockable (1), Noisy (2), Slow (1).
07-09: Create: Worthless 10-10: Bulky (3)
Substances 11-12: Damages User (1)
10-11: Create: Creatures 13-14: Damages User (2)
12-12: Create: Valuable 15-15: Damages User (3) Sample Character Creation – Power Creation
Substances 16-17: Drug Side Effects (1) Rules
13-14: Create: Dangerous 18-19: Drug Side Effects (2)
Substances 20-20: Drug Side Effects (3) Our sample character, Maggie Hernandez, is going to be
15-16: Destroy: Burn/Melt 21-22: Environmentally a Hero with the Supernatural Object option. We are told
17-18: Destroy: Consume Sensitive (1) to create a power with 4 levels of Effect and 4 levels of
19-20: Destroy: Crush 23-24: Environmentally
21-21: Destroy: Cut Sensitive (2)
Limitations with the power source as an everyday object.
22-22: Destroy: Freeze 25-25: Environmentally
23-24: Destroy: Electrify Sensitive (3) First off, we decide that the power source is going to be an
25-26: Destroy: Radiate 26-27: Fragile (1) old denim jacket she found.
27-27: Destroy: Poison
28-29: Fragile (2)
28-29: Destroy: Shake
30-31: Destroy: Smother 30-30: Fragile (3) Next we decide the range. If it’s ‘enclosed’, then the power
31-32: Heat (1)
32-33: Disrupt: Sensory Nervous
33-34: Heat (2)
would effect her. If it’s touch then it would effect her and
Systems anyone who touches her jacket. We decide on area: the
34-35: Disrupt: Motor Nervous 35-35: Heat (3)
Systems 36-37: Infection Side Effects jacket radiates its effect around it at a range of 20 ft. per
36-37: Disrupt: Immune Systems (1) effect level, so 80 ft.
38-39: Disrupt: Metabolic 38-38: Infection Side Effects
Systems (2) Next we decide what powers the jacket has. Since she’s
40-41: Disrupt: Mechanical 39-39: Infection Side Effects
Systems (3)
going to be wearing the jacket we don’t want it doing
42-43: Disrupt: Electronics 40-41: Limited Lifespan (1) its thing all the time, so our first power level is going to
44-44: Enhance: Physical 42-43: Limited Lifespan (2) be a Control. We’ll purchase On/Off Switch (costing 1
45-45: Enhance: Mental 44-44: Limited Lifespan (3) effect level), meaning there’s something Maggie can do to
46-46: Enhance: Health
47-47: Enhance: Occult Ability
45-46: Needs Fuel (1) instantly turn the power on or off. We decide that the jacket
47-48: Needs Fuel (2) activates if she zips it up.
48-48: Enhance: Attractiveness 49-49: Needs Fuel (3)
49-49: Enhance: Scariness
50-51: Noisy (1)
50-50: Enhance: Damage Area broadcasts the power in all directions, but we don’t
Resistance 52-53: Noisy (2)
54-54: Noisy (3) want our effect to effect her, so we’ll spend another level
51-52: Nullify: Light
53-54: Nullify: Heat 55-56: Painful (1) in Control: Aimable and make it so that the power only
55-56: Nullify: Gravity 57-58: Painful (2) broadcasts out from the jacket, anyone inside is safe.
57-58: Nullify: Momentum 59-59: Painful (3)
59-60: Nullify: Sound 60-61: Polluting (1)
62-63: Polluting (2)
We have two levels left to spend on what the Jacket actually
61-62: Nullify: Friction
63-64: Psych Effect: Thought 64-65: Power Required (1) does. We don’t want it to just do damage because she
65-66: Psych Effect: Emotion 66-67: Power Required (2) might kill PCs or innocent bystanders. We choose Nullify:
67-68: Psych Effect: Perceptions 68-69: Power Required (3) Momentum (1) and Warp: Weight (1). Everyone around
69-69: Reveal: Far Things 70-71: Random Activation (1) Maggie will grow extremely heavy and will only be able to
70-70: Reveal: Small Things 72-73: Random Activation (2)
71-71: Reveal: Hidden Things move slowly. This should give her a big bonus in taking out
74-75: Random Activation (3)
72-72: Reveal: Weak Things 76-77: Slow (1)
any physical opponent while not killing her friends.
73-74: Reveal: Invisible Things 78-79: Slow (2)
75-76: Reveal: Other Worlds 80-81: Slow (3) Next we have to choose 4 levels of limitations. We choose
77-78: Transport: Slide
79-80: Transport: Fly
82-83: Slow Fade (1) Blockable (2) (people can avoid the effect of the jacket by
81-82: Transport: Throw 84-85: Tiring (1) hiding behind something). We also choose Heat (1), the
83-84: Transport: Teleport 86-87: Tiring (2) jacket becomes very hot while operating, and Noisy (1),
85-86: Transport: Portal 88-89: Tiring (3)
90-91: Ungainly (1)
we’ll say that the jacket makes a warbling-whining noise
87-88: Warp: Stickiness while operating.
89-90: Warp: Flexibility 92-93: Ungainly (2)
91-92: Warp: Durability 94-95: Ungainly (3)
93-94: Warp: Shape 96-96: Unhideable (1) Finally we’ll notate the power on the character sheet as
95-95: Warp: Size 97-98: Unhideable (2) Denim Jacket; Area; Control: On-Off Switch (1), Control:
96-97: Warp: Tangibility 99-00: Unhideable (3) Aimable (1), Nullify: Momentum (1), Warp: Weight (1);
98-99: Warp: Invisibility
00-00: Warp: Weight Blockable (2), Noisy (1), Heat (1).

Alleys
Lost
In Brief- Can enter and bring others to, often while drunk,
a state where one can go anywhere in the world just by
turning a corner.
Other Names- Fugues, Barhoppers, Metropolitans,

Wanderers, Hyperspacers.
The Chosen- Most always wanted to be explorers or

world travelers but never had the time or money. Most
were heavy drinkers and/or regular drug users at the
time they became Lost. Most have always had a poor
sense of direction and were unfamiliar with the city they
were in when they became Lost. A small but significant
percentage have dabbled in surrealist techniques like
automatic writing or psychogeography. Nearly half were
in the middle of some personal crisis (a divorce, death
in the family, loss of a job, etc.) when the powers first
manifested.
Most importantly, those Lost who would go on to develop

their powers are those who like to explore unfamiliar
places and don’t mind being lost.
Initiation- For most Lost, the first time they realized

something was weird was when they walked into an all-
night convenience store to ask for directions. It turned
out they were more than a dozen miles from where they
had started, although they seemed to have been walking
for less than an hour. Most had been trying to walk home
from a bar after closing. Many initiates assumed they had
blacked-out and forgotten a ride on a bus or in a taxi.
Then came more nights and more winding up in different

places. A different city, then a different state, then halfway
across the country. There may have been embarrassing
calls to work: “Sorry, I won’t be able to make it in today.
I’m in New York and I have to take a bus back.” All of
these strange events seemed to happen when the initiates
didn’t know or didn’t care where they were. These
events were frightening but also thrilling. While many
others would have gotten a street map or stopped walking
around the streets at night, those who would become true
Lost were driven to keep exploring this unexplainable
phenomenon.
Most Lost eventually walked into a bar, ordered a drink

and asked the bartender the address. When the bartender
turned away someone else at the bar turned and said “hey
pal, you look lost.” This is how most initiates met their
first other member of the Lost. Over drinks the older Lost
explained that certain people have the ability to travel
impossible distances, but only when lost. The initiates
were told that it’s possible to control where one ends up.
They were told that the Lost meet in bars and recognize
each other by the phase “hey pal, you look lost.”

In Dark
As time went on the new Lost met more of the Lost and Dark Side- Many Lost are alcoholics who use alcohol to
heard more stories. They heard about Lost who could travel escape their responsibilities in life. They may have debts
around the world in a few minutes, who could walk into mounting, bosses about to fire them, children they never
bank vaults and help themselves to cash, who could reach see, legal problems they need to clear up, etc. Some Lost
in to their pockets and pull out whatever they wanted, and make money by smuggling drugs between countries and,
even ones who wandered into strange places that weren’t on in doing so, they involve themselves with dangerous and
any map. brutal criminals.
At adventure one, the Lost has been experimenting with his Supernatural Skills- The PC starts with Get Lost (1
or her powers for months and is starting to get a handle on level) free.
what he or she can and can’t do. The Lost has wandered
through a lot of interesting places and has even passed The PC can purchase the following skills at 10 skill
very briefly through a place that seemed unearthly: an eerie points per level:
deserted city, a giant concrete space of unknown purpose, a Get Lost (AWR)
space filled with endless bizarre machinery, a dark canyon Homing (WIL)
filled with naked marching people, a place with a featureless
Grab Bag (WIL)
black floor and sky, or a place that seemed like something
from a children’s book.
The PC can purchase the following skills at 20 skill
points per level:
Typical Evening- For most of the Lost, the evening starts
with a trip to a bar to have a few drinks. Then they typically Area Knowledge: Supernatural (INL)
leave the bar and start walking. Their night takes them to Automatic Writing (AWR)
exotic places and they enjoy the ambience of every new Dreaming (WIL)
place. They visit trendy downtowns buzzing with nightlife,
abandoned industrial zones, rich residential areas, seedy red- Bonus Characteristics
light districts, brand new suburbs, etc. They stop at a dozen
different bars of every variety, looking to meet up with Lost Weird Thing You Found (Optional Advantage,
and trade tales of adventure. Costs 4 BP)- In one of the PC’s travels, when he or she
was in a very odd place, the PC picked up a weird little
When the Lost learn they can take others with them, many trinket. Afterwards, the PC discovered that the trinket
assemble groups of friends to accompany them. Their warps reality around it. Create a power (using power
companions help the Lost investigate and enjoy the places rules on p.30) with 1 level of Effect (no Enhance) and 2
they end up, but they also help ease the Lost’s fear of ending levels of Limitations.
up in some unearthly place and coming across some entity Expensive Thing You Found (Optional Advantage,
not of this world. Costs 1 BP)- In one of his or her journeys, the PC
chanced upon some item that was completely unguarded
What You Know and looked like it was worth money. The PC grabbed it
-There are a small population of people around the world and walked away. Now the PC has some item that isn’t
who can travel long distances while lost. especially useful to him or her (e.g. a box of computer
chips, a painting, some gaudy gold jewelry) but that is
-With practice they can bring others with them. worth about $5,000 if the PC can find a safe way to sell
-Intoxicants make it easier to become lost, but are not it.
necessary.
Recommended Day Job- Boring Office Job, Career
-With practice the power can be developed and controlled. Criminal, Creative, Welfare.
-It is possible to travel to places that don’t exist on any
map. Recommended Skills- Alarm Systems, Drug Resistance,
Language, Pistol, Prowling, Running.
-According to some accounts, there are dangerous non-
human creatures in these strange places. Recommended Equipment- Backpack, Bolt Cutters,
-Lost disappear forever when they try to go to the authorities Cellphone (Basic), Disposable Camera, Hip Flask,
or go public with their powers. Winter Coat.
Going Deeper- The Lost practice their powers every night. Recommended Reading- Surrealism (p.156).
They gain the most knowledge when they let go entirely and
just go wherever fate takes them. It is at these times that
they may travel to places that don’t exist in this world and
they may discover truths that normal humans can’t.

Alleys
Random Get Lost Results Random Indoor Location Table
01-50: Different block (same neighborhood) 001-004: Abandoned Home 222-242: Office
51-75: Different neighborhood (same city) 005-008: Abandoned Industrial Building 243-245: Office Building Lobby
009-012: Abandoned Office Building 246-248: Pawn Shop
76-92: Different city (same nation) 013-013: Aircraft Hanger 249-252: Photography Studio
014-014: Airplane Interior 253-255: Police Station
93-98: Different nation 015-015: Airport Concourse 256-259: Pool Hall
016-016: Aquarium/Zoo 260-264: Post Office
99-00: Different world (see p.249) 017-020: Arcade 265-268: Prison/Jail Block
021-021: Armory 269-308: Public Restroom
022-023: Art Gallery 309-332: Residential: Attic
024-024: Auditorium 333-366: Residential: Basement
025-025: Bank Lobby 367-458: Residential: Bedroom
Random Urban Neighborhood Table 026-026: Bank Vault 459-518: Residential: Garage
027-034: Bar 519-598: Residential: Living Room
00-01: Beach (Surfers, partiers, dog-walkers, 035-038: Boardroom 599-678: Residential: Restroom
restaurants, expensive homes.) 039-043: Boat Interior 679-748: Restaurant: Dining Area
044-043: Bomb Shelter 749-828: Restaurant: Kitchen
02-04: Campus (Grass, pathways, big school buildings, 044-047: Bowling Alley 829-832: Retail Shop: Antiques
dorms, students on bicycles.) 048-051: Bus Station 833-836: Retail Shop: Appliances
052-054: Cabin 837-840: Retail Shop: Auto Parts
05-10: Commercial Park (Large complexes of one-or- 055-059: Café 841-844: Retail Shop: Beauty Supply
two story office buildings and doctor’s offices, used car 060-063: Cafeteria 845-848: Retail Shop: Bible
064-069: Church 849-853: Retail Shop: Bike Shop
dealerships, virtually abandoned at night.) 070-075: Classroom 854-857: Retail Shop: Carpet
076-080: Convenience Store 858-861: Retail Shop: Cellular
11-13: Docks (Docked ships, warehouses, bars, 081-083: Copy Shop 862-865: Retail Shop: Clothes
industrial lots running 24/7.) 084-086: Courtroom 866-869: Retail Shop: Book/Comic
087-091: Cubicle Farm 870-873: Retail Shop: Computer
14-20: Downtown Commercial (Big office buildings, 092-092: Dance Studio 874-877: Retail Shop: Flower
parking structures, cheap lunch places.) 093-093: Darkroom 878-881: Retail Shop: Food
094-097: Daycare 882-886: Retail Shop: Furniture
21-25: Ethnic Enclave (Non-English signs, old 098-102: Deli/Butcher Shop 887-890: Retail Shop: Garden Supply
103-106: Department/Mega Store 891-894: Retail Shop: Gifts/Novelties
apartment buildings, import grocery stores, tiny 107-109: Dojo 895-898: Retail Shop: Gun
restaurants.) 110-118: Elevator 899-903: Retail Shop: Hardware
119-128: Stairwell 904-907: Retail Shop: Herb/Botanica
26-32: Ghetto (Blocks of cheap apartments, drug 129-132: Factory Floor 908-911: Retail Shop: Hobby
dealers on the corners, overpriced grocery stores.) 133-134: Fraternal Lodge 912-915: Retail Shop: Lock & Security
135-135: Funhouse 916-919: Retail Shop: Music
33-37: Historical Residential (Old, nice looking 136-140: Greenhouse 920-923: Retail Shop: Paint
141-144: Gym 924-927: Retail Shop: Pet
houses, trees, parks.) 145-148: Half-Constructed Building 928-932: Retail Shop: Photo Developing
149-159: Hallway 933-937: Retail Shop: Record
38-43: Industrial: Active (Railyards, gated industrial 160-160: Homeless Shelter 938-941: Retail Shop: Sporting Goods
complexes, warehouses.) 161-164: Hospital Patient Room 942-945: Retail Shop: Thrift
165-168: Hospital Waiting Room 946-949: Retail Shop: Toy
44-48: Industrial: Run Down (Abandoned factories, 169-176: Hotel Room 950-954: Salon/Barbershop
unused railyards, homeless camps.) 177-177: Illegal Drug Lab 955-956: Server Room
178-181: Institutional Kitchen 957-959: Shopping Mall
49-56: Main Drag (Gas stations, fast food, liquor 182-184: Internet Café 960-963: Spa
stores, motels, heavy traffic at all hours.) 185-188: Janitor’s Closet 964-967: Stable
189-191: Laboratory 968-971: Steam Tunnel/Sewer
57-59: Mansions (Huge lots, perfectly landscaped 192-195: Library 972-975: Storage Closet
196-199: Liquor Store 976-979: Storage Shed
lawns, wrought iron fences, regular drive-bys by 200-203: Mausoleum 980-982: Strip Club
private security.) 204-208: Mortuary 983-986: Train Car
209-214: Movie Theater 987-991: Underground Parking Lot
60-64: Park/Graveyard (Grass, trees, people walking 215-215: Movie/TV Studio 992-993: Vehicle Sales Showroom
dogs.) 216-217: Museum 994-997: Veterinarian/Animal Shelter
218-221: Nightclub 998-000: Warehouse Interior
65-69: Projects (Row after row of identical,
cheaply built apartment buildings with an occasional
community center.) Lost Combat
70-75: Shopping District (Strip malls, chain An accomplished member of the Lost, with multiple levels in Get Lost,
restaurants, huge parking lots.) Grab Bag, and Homing can be a tough opponent. At the first sign of
trouble they run around a corner and disappear. Then, a few seconds
76-80: Skid-Row (Liquor stores, cheap hotels, later they appear around a different corner holding a loaded pistol, which
shelters, vacant lots, homeless people sleeping on the they fire a few times before disappearing again. This happens over and
sidewalks.) over again, each time with the Lost appearing from a random direction
and always with a fully loaded gun.
81-89: Suburb (Nearly identical, brand new middle-
class houses with perfect lawns and SUVs in the In terms of combat rules, the Lost uses an action to run around a corner,
driveways.) an action to use the Get Lost skill (30 difficulty), an action to use the
Grab Bag skill to pull a loaded pistol out of a pocket (30 difficulty),
90-94: Touristy (Antique and novelty shops, and an action to use the Homing skill to come back into the battle (20
overpriced cafes, historical landmarks, small museums difficulty). Upon re-entering combat the Lost re-rolls initiative (with a
and parks.) surprise attack bonus of +5, unless someone made a Hard AWR roll to
95-99: Trendy Downtown (Night clubs, coffee shops, be looking exactly as the PC came around the corner), uses an action to
bars, trendy clothing stores.) fire, and then uses a reaction to escape (using the Jump reaction to get
back behind the corner).

In Dark
Outcasts
In Brief- Labeled crazy because they can see and hear things
others can’t. They know the city’s supernatural places,
people and things.
Other Names- Those Who See, Schizos, Crazies, Seers.
The Chosen- Outcasts are born into every type of community.

They tend to be slightly more intelligent than the average
person, more artistic and more emotionally sensitive.
Initiation- Outcasts are born with the ability to see, hear

or sense things other people don’t. Many things they
experienced frightened them, and most grew up being timid
children. When they learned to start describing the things
they experienced their parents told them, sometimes fearfully
and sometimes angrily, that those things weren’t real. Most
young Outcasts learned to turn off their unique senses. Many
forgot completely that they had ever had them. Those who
never learned to turn it off spent their early lives bouncing
between therapists, ‘special’ classes, mental hospitals and
even juvenile hall.
Whether they were able to turn off their senses or not, all
Outcasts grew up feeling like they were different. This led
most to being isolated, awkward, eccentric and paranoid.
With effort, some learned to act like normal, healthy adults,
even though inside they felt very different. Others always
acted as crazy as they felt.
For those who learned to block the visions, there was

eventually some crisis or period of severe deprivation in
their lives and in the midst of the stress their control over the
visions faltered and suddenly they were sensing everything.
Some saw invisible monsters wriggling through the air,

occasionally attaching themselves to people like leeches,
and shadowy non-human figures moving through the world
unnoticed.
Some could hear people’s private thoughts, no matter how

vile or insane, being screamed at them wherever they went.
Some experienced dramatic scenes from a place or thing’s

past being replayed in front of them by ghostly actors.
Some saw bizarre hallucinations that, through a layer of

symbolism, told hidden truths about things of people. For
instance, seeing a skull try to push its way out of someone’s
belly then later finding out that person has stomach cancer.
Some Outcasts were unlucky enough to experience more than

one of these phenomenon.
Most couldn’t help reacting to the things they experienced

going on around them and this made others think they were
crazy. Even when they could avoid reacting, the constant
stress of seeing unexplainable and frightening things left
them unable to concentrate on jobs, school and relationships.
Most Outcasts ended up in a mental institution then on the
streets.

Alleys
As much as they would have liked to, it was impossible -There are also larger, smarter beings that move
to believe that these visions were merely hallucinations invisibly among us.
because real-world things corresponded to what they saw. -Some holy-men and women from ‘primitive’ cultures
and a few ‘g-men’ types are able to effect wrigglers.
Most new Outcasts spent months or years searching in vain
for someone they could depend on to tell them what their Psychometry
visions meant. Most who said they had visions were just -Strong human memories live on in places and things.
hallucinating and even those with real visions had crazy and -In some abandoned places the memories seem to have
contradictory ideas about what they meant. coalesced into something that can take over human minds
and that don’t like their spaces invaded.
Those who survived this period without killing themselves -Most of the events that leave impressions are
or going permanently psychotic began a life of observing emotionally powerful but otherwise quite mundane. Yet
the supernatural world to try to discover its secrets. The seeing enough history will reveal people experiencing
Outcasts discovered that humanity, whether they know it or supernatural phenomenon or being killed by non-humans.
not, are under constant danger from supernatural threats. In
fact, most people have an uncanny ability to look the other Read Minds
way, to ignore and avoid the places where reality is not -Most people think thoughts more horrible than
what it seems. A small minority have some knowledge of anything they would ever admit to.
or power over the supernatural. Yet even the most powerful -Most people who think they are experiencing
can’t see everything that Outcasts can see. supernatural phenomena or have supernatural powers are
just crazy.
Some Outcasts watch people effecting the invisible world -There are a few that actually have powers or are
by painting symbols with their bodily fluids. By copying experiencing real phenomena. They have little or no
what they do, Outcasts can learn their abilities. Other definitive knowledge of why and how those powers/
Outcasts learn they can command the alien things they see phenomena work.
just by shouting commands at them. -The PC knows a little about the major classes of
people who have contact with the supernatural (more-or-
At adventure one, the PC has been observing the world with less what’s listed in the in brief descriptions on p.10).
his or her abilities for several months. The PC has followed
a lot of people, snuck into a lot of places, and seen a lot of -About 1 person in 10 has a mind which is completely
weird things. Yet the PC is only starting to see patterns silent. They act perfectly normal.
and to make educated guesses as to what the various See Souls
phenomenon mean. The PC is still seeing completely new -A few people, mostly dressed as priests or nuns, look
things every day. like they’re amputees but they have soul-limbs that can
effect the real world.
Typical Evening- Most Outcasts spend their evenings
standing around or walking around the city observing. -About 1 in 10 people don’t have a soul. They tend to
They follow anyone they see acting suspiciously. be completely average people who never stray from their
Occasionally they try to warn someone about supernatural place in life.
danger, but they are usually called crazy and dismissed. -Souls arrive at humans in the womb and leave
When they want to be alone the Outcasts know places that (sometimes struggling and screaming) shortly after death.
normal people instinctively avoid. Homeless Outcasts can -A few people have souls which appear brighter or
use this skill to find places to sleep where they will not be stronger than most. Many of these people experience
bothered. supernatural phenomenon or have strange abilities.
See Reapers
Outcasts see things others can’t, not just because of their
supernatural senses, but because they learn to be ‘invisible’. -There are shimmering blurs who come to people after
Most Outcasts are homeless (or look and act such that they die.
people assume they are). In the city, most people learn to -These blurs sometimes congregate before a person is
ignore the homeless. Some don’t give a homeless person likely to die or where an accident is likely.
any more thought than they would a pile of trash on the -In a tiny minority of cases, reapers actually cause
sidewalk. People will do and say things in front of homeless accidents to try to kill people, yet these people always
people that they never would in front of anyone else. Thus, seem especially hardy and difficult to kill.
Outcasts who are in the right places at the right times can
see all sorts of people doing all sorts of unusual things. Visions
-Some visions foretell mundane accidents or
What You Know misfortunes.
-Some visions foretell a supernatural force that will
What an Outcast starts the game knowing depends on what cause someone to die or disappear.
supernatural skills he or she starts with:
-Some visions tell of the activity of things that may be
See Invisible parts of peoples’ personality or may be intelligent beings
-The world is filled with squirming, intangible insects associated with those people.
that latch on to people and cause many misfortunes.

In Dark
-Some visions indicate that people have supernatural Seeing the Invisible
abilities. There seem to be about a dozen major ‘types.’
This is what PCs with the See Invisible skill typically see:
-Some visions seem to indicate that certain things
that look like humans aren’t. Insect-like creatures, most 6 inches to a foot long (.15-.3 m.),
squirm through the air. They move like they’re wriggling
Going Deeper- The more the Outcast sees, the more he through a thick gel. They move through solid objects as if they
or she is able to piece together. Outcasts can identify weren’t there. Any direction the PC looks he or she can see
those who deal in the supernatural but don’t know who several of these creatures. They only stop moving when they
to trust. If they can find non-Outcasts they can trust have latched on to a human. The majority of people walk around
they can enhance their understanding of what they with one or more of these things attached to them.
see. Because they can recognize so many other types
of Touched, Outcasts stand the best chance of putting Other entities are seen more rarely: Manta-ray looking things
together all the pieces. Knowledge can also be gained that swoop through the air, large worms with balloon bellies
by exploring forbidden places, including wandering and mosquito proboscises, building-sized sleeping insects
through the cracks in this reality. and tall white figures with porcelain looking masks of smiling
faces. And there are other creatures that are completely unique
Dark Side- Outcasts know that supernatural things in appearance and behavior. Some are standing there in plain
are happening all the time, yet they have nobody view, others are glimpsed only briefly through the window of a
authoritative who can tell them what the things they see building or out of a passing car.
mean. A need to understand what they see often leads When invisible figures meet one may hear them communicating
Outcasts to create complex and fantastic stories, usually via fast clicking. Sometimes one can hear a distant female
far-reaching conspiracies. This paranoid outlook leads voice sobbing and calling out ‘please help me,’ over and over
Outcasts to distrust everyone around them, which leads again. Other times one hears a guttural voice hissing out an
to few social contacts and an increasingly unrealistic unending litany of insults ‘you’re filth, you’re stupid, you’re
view of the universe. The worst case scenario is of ugly, everyone hates you,’ etc.
an Outcast who suddenly decides that innocent people
are out to get him or her, and uses his or her powers to Sometimes one sees ‘cracks’ floating in the air, as if something
destroy those people “in self defense.” has shattered the ether. These cracks are usually seen in
abandoned places.
The Invisible

Alleys
supernatural sensory skills the PC has, he or she can’t
I See Dead People stop using them. The PC may have once had this ability
but has lost it. Every waking hour the PC is haunted by
Most Outcasts with Psychometry went through a period where unwanted sensations of the supernatural and can rarely
they thought they were seeing ghosts, since they saw what looked sleep a whole night without being awakened by one of
like people, often in old-fashioned clothing, acting out significant
these sensations.
moments of their lives. However, Outcasts will eventually see
scenes that happened to people they know are still alive, and the
Sleep Deprivation Vulnerability (Mandatory
actors don’t seem capable of being interacted with or changing.
Advantage)- For every night’s worth of sleep
deprivation, the PC gets the normal -3 to AWR/CHM/
Supernatural Skills INL/END as well as +8 to all sensory supernatural skill
The PC starts with one of the following (choose one) free: See rolls and -8 to any rolls to distinguish supernatural
Invisible (2), Psychometry (2), Read Minds (2) or Visions (2). sensations from mundane sensations.
The PC can purchase the following skills at 10 skill points per Thing You Grabbed (Optional Advantage, Costs 5
level: BP)- The PC once encountered a place where the rules
Area Knowledge: Supernatural (INL) of physics appeared to be ‘broken.’ The PC grabbed
Give Vision (WIL) an item from this place and carried it away, finding
Psychometry (AWR) that wherever it went it was capable of warping reality.
Read Minds (AWR) Create a power (using power rules on p.30) with 1 level
of Effect (no Enhance) and 2 levels of Limitations.
See Souls (AWR)
See Invisible (AWR) Contact: Dance (Optional Advantage, Costs
See Reapers (AWR) 5 BP)- There’s a thing locked up in an abandoned
Visions (AWR) building. It never leaves and it uses servants to protect
the building from intruders. Most of its servants are
The PC can purchase the following skills at 20 skill points per stinking-drunk or psychotic, people with little control
level: over what they say or do. The thing can sense what’s
Blood Sigils (WIL) happening outside its building and can possibly read
minds. You’ve learned that if you threaten to burn
Command Misfortunes (WIL)
down its building or phone in a false police report you
See True Face (AWR) can sometimes intimidate it into doing you favors:
giving you information or sending a servant to run
Bonus Characteristics some errand for you.
Abnormal Behavior (Mandatory Disadvantage)- The PC
sees, hears and reacts to things other can’t, making the PC Always Crazy (Optional Disadvantage, Gives 2
appear twitchy or crazy. At a cost of 10 skill points per level the BP)- The PC has never been capable of blocking his
PC can purchase a skill called Act Normal (see text box). or her supernatural senses, although the PC might
have spent several years trying to ignore what he or
Act Normal (CHM)- The PC has learned what normal she thought were hallucinations. The PC spent his or
people see and don’t see and has trained himself or herself her time being treated as a “special” person and never
not to react to things that others can’t see. had much practice dealing with “normal” people as
Easy (10): Act normal while being quiet in an elevator. equals. Today, the PC is unfamiliar with the culture of
Moderate (20): Act normal with coworkers. “normal” people. The PC is at -10 to any CHM roll to
Hard (30): Act normal in a psychiatric interview. act “normal” or with anyone who considers themselves
“normal.” Because the PC has spent so much time
The PC must purchase levels of this Act Normal to have certain in the mental health system he or she gets Science:
day jobs as follows: Psychology (1) and Psychotherapy (1) free.
0 Levels: Homeless, Homemaker, Retired, Welfare, Ward.
Recommended Day Job- Welfare, Ward, Homemaker,
1 Level: Boring Factory Job, Boring Field Job, Career Homeless. Note: Day Job choice is limited by the
Criminal, Paranormal Professional, Privileged, Sex Industry Abnormal Behavior disadvantage, see above.
Worker.
2 Levels: Alternative Health, Business Owner, Boring Recommended Skills- Local Geography, Lock
Customer Service Job, Boring Office Job, Computer Tech, Picking, Light Sleep, Lip Reading, Prowling, Street
Creative, Dangerous Field Job, Driver, Pilot, Investigator, Survival.
Religious Professional, Reporter, Researcher, Security
Professional, Social Worker, Student. Recommended Equipment- Dog: Guard, Flashlight:
3 Levels: Child Care, Law Enforcement Professional, Legal Small, Lock Picks: Homemade, Swiss Army Knife.
Professional, Medical Professional, Performer, Professor,
Trendy Customer Service Job. Recommended Reading- Freudian Psychoanalysis
(p.155), Jungian Psychology (p.157).
Unstoppable Visions (Mandatory Disadvantage)- Whatever

In Dark
Professionals
In Brief- Workaholic problem-solvers who have earned the
trust of the Powers-That-Be and access to special training by
secret societies.
Other Names- Lodge Members, Problem Solvers, Fixers.
The Chosen- Professionals are the perfect workaholics:

most have no children or significant others, little personal
life, are comfortable when under stress, don’t know how
to relax and have a strong work ethic. They take pride in
doing a good job and are brave and industrious. They never
take sick days and are reluctant to take vacation. They
don’t mind doing dirty or dangerous work and they need
little supervision. Most are initiated at a point in their lives
where they feel they have nothing that makes them unique or
special except how well they do their jobs.
Initiation- After college, young Professionals entered

a profession that involved investigating and eliminating
threats to the American people. Most Professionals work
in a profession that could be called “law enforcement,”
though there are exceptions (see Special Day Job, p.48). As
the Professionals proved they could do quality work with
little supervision, they were quietly promoted. They were
put into positions where they worked alone and were given
‘problem cases’ (those that stymied others) with complete
discretion about how to go about solving those cases.
Then they were handed down a case with clearly supernatural

elements. When they solved and closed the case without
going to the press or demanding a hearing or otherwise
making a big deal about it, they were immediately given a
raise or bonus, a sign that the initiates did the right thing.
After that, they were given more and more supernatural
cases.
The big bosses, the old white guys with offices on the top
floor, suddenly knew the initiates by name. There were pats
on the back in the elevator, spontaneous office visits to “see
how you’re doing” and indefinite comments about “having
you over for dinner some time.”
The Professionals were also asked or pressured to join some

fraternal organization (see Fraternal Orders, p.49). They
were given strong hints that membership was vital to their
careers. They joined and discovered more or less what they
had expected: a bunch of well-connected, mostly older,
mostly upper-class people who used the lodge as an excuse to
get together and drink and who used generic ceremonialism
to make themselves feel important. The lodge had ‘levels’
and to gain levels they had to memorize ceremonial texts and
pass tests. This was challenging enough to keep the lodge
from being unbearably boring.
Then they were invited to join another secret order within

the lodge, called the Order of the Defenders. This order met
at the lodge, and was made up of lodge members, but most
ordinary lodge members didn’t even know it existed. The

Alleys
Professional initiates joined and found even more intense What You Know
rituals and tests. Yet they began to perceive that the rituals -There are supernatural things going on all the time.
were having supernatural effects and conveying skills and -The people in charge of keeping our society safe know
knowledge to fight supernatural dangers. that supernatural things are happening, but either don’t
want to know the details or don’t want to talk about
At adventure one, the PC has gotten into a routine of them.
regularly dealing with supernatural cases. The PC is a
first degree member of the Order of the Protector. Other -The job of the PC, and other elite professionals like the
members of the Order rarely answer the PC’s questions, PC, is to quietly take care of supernatural threats.
insisting that the PC will find out ‘in time.’ Most of the -The Order of the Defenders is a secret society that trains
ceremonies and cryptic texts read at meetings are still people in occult skills to help them fight these threats.
incomprehensible to the PC. -Members of the Order can get away with doing just about
anything so long as they take care of threats and don’t
Typical Evening- Unlike most of the Touched, who have make their actions and abilities public.
a terribly mundane day job and a thrillingly supernatural
-One type of threat is humans who have gained paranormal
night life, Professionals spend days and evenings at their
skills or powers.
jobs. Days might be eaten away by boring things like
meetings, going to court, writing reports, etc. but the PC -Some of these humans are trying to destroy society (or
will use every spare moment during day or evening to perhaps even destroy reality itself).
investigate the cases he or she has been given. -Some of these humans are in dangerous occult groups that
meet in or near bars, accident survivor support meetings,
Some of the cases will be purely mundane, the same as gay/lesbian bookstores, libraries, immigrant communities
everyone else in the Professional’s profession gets. Some and abandoned buildings.
seem mundane at first, but after investigation they have -Other humans don’t have control over their powers and
some supernatural elements to them. Others are clearly go around causing problems unintentionally.
supernatural from the moment the PC opens the file. In
-Another type of threat is inhuman beings. Some are
any case, the Professional does his or her best to find out
visible and tangible. Some are invisible and intangible.
what happened, then eliminate the threat either by bringing
Their motivation is a mystery, they seem crazy.
someone to justice or by destroying a supernatural danger.
-There are some things that look like humans but aren’t.
A Professional goes to Order of the Protector meetings They torture and kill humans. Silver weapons do the most
2 or 3 times a week. The evenings are usually held after damage to these creatures.
midnight in a lodge building. Members of the Order do not -When things get really out of hand, mysterious figures,
even speak to each other until they have been secluded in who might or might not be human, show up to ‘fix
the heart of the lodge with guards at each entrance. They things.’
proceed with serious, deliberate ceremonialism. They don -These figures are extremely powerful and the PC has
crimson robes, swear oaths of secrecy and loyalty to the been encouraged to stay out of their way.
Order and to protecting humanity, they read metaphor-
heavy passages from old books, they do occult things with -Sometimes inanimate objects can be the source of
swords and blood, and sometimes they drink liquor from paranormal events. The PC has been encouraged to give
skulls and sit in the dark as elders whispers in their ears these objects to the Order for safekeeping.
about the paradise that awaits protectors of humanity after -Sometimes places are the source of paranormal events. If
death. informed, the Order can pull strings and make sure these
places lie abandoned and unused.
Informants and Contacts -There are supernatural vigilantes who sometimes hunt
the same threats as professionals, but they don’t know
Members of the Order are discouraged from associating how to ‘play by the rules.’
with other members of the touched and are trained to ignore -Some of society’s most powerful and important people
heretical propaganda. Yet the Order doesn’t seem to be have a relationship with the Order.
watching everything a Professional does. For the most part
they judge a Professional on results, not on how those results Going Deeper- Professionals gain knowledge of the
are achieved. Many Professionals find they can achieve supernatural world by confronting its dangers. They
results much more efficiently if they have a ‘contact’ who learn what kinds of dangers lurk in the shadows and those
is a member of the touched. Since the contact will have mysterious forces that try to keep supernatural events
abilities and knowledge the Professional doesn’t (and visa secret.
versa) sticking together during a supernatural threat can
increase the likelihood that both will survive. Trust and
So long as they make the Powers-That-Be happy,
even friendship may grow between Professionals and their
Professionals will progress in the Order, be given more
contacts, although if the Order asks the Professional can
training, be told more secrets and get to know more
say that the person is ‘just a useful informant.’
powerful people. Tests may be arranged to confirm their

In Dark
ability, bravery and loyalty. They may be asked questions by
those with the Truth Ordeal skill. They may eventually come Special Professional Day Jobs
into the confidence of those who actually know the secrets Note: The following descriptions are of what ‘official’ job duties
behind the Order: where it came from, what its goals are and for a Professional in each day job. The PC knows, and the PC’s
where it got its occult knowledge. bosses know, that the PC’s real unofficial job duty is to track
down and eliminate supernatural threats, though the PC may
Or, Professionals can go the other way and start talking with occasionally be asked to do some mundane aspect of their job
those dangerous occultists who they are told are trying to duties.
destroy society. If they find out, the Powers-That-Be won’t Corporate Troubleshooter- The PC works for a major
like this. They may, first, give a warning and, second, take multinational corporation. The PC has risen the ranks through
away the Professional’s career. Yet by taking the risk of in-house security and is now an investigator. The PC is
associating with these dangerous occultists the Professionals flown around the country (and sometimes to other countries)
may be able to hear a side of the story that the Order would to investigate crimes involving corporate employees and
never tell them. resources.
Income: $15,000 to start and $600/wk.
Dark Side- Professionals only advance so long as they Free Skills: Business (2), Research: Law Enforcement (1).
serve the needs of the Powers-That-Be. For the most part, Skill Costs: ACAD 7, ATHL 7, CMBT 10, CRTV 5, CRIM
they can do this by taking care of legitimate threats to 15, TECH 7, INVS 5, LABR 7, MEDI 7, PEOP 6, TRAD 7
humanity. Sooner or later, however, each Professional will
FBI Agent- The PC is a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of
be asked to “take care of” someone who is a threat to the Investigation. The PC investigates violent crimes, particularly
Powers-That-Be but who never actually did anything wrong. those that cross state lines.
Some Professionals go with their conscience and either quit Income: $12,500 to start and $500/wk.
their jobs or find some way to make it appear that they did Free Skills: Pistol (1), Research: Law Enforcement (1),
what they were told. The majority of Professionals, on the Crime Scene Forensics (1).
other hand, go ahead and kill their innocent targets. Any Skill Costs: ACAD 7, ATHL 7, CMBT 7, CRTV 5, CRIM 15,
member of the Touched, even other Professionals, could find TECH 7, INVS 5, LABR 7, MEDI 7, PEOP 7, TRAD 7
themselves being hunted by a Professional under the right
circumstances. Intelligence Operative- The PC is a trained agent of one
of the US’ intelligence agencies: the CIA, NSA or military
Supernatural Skills- The PC can purchase the following intelligence. The PC’s job is to: analyze data, use surveillance
and do undercover operations to gather information on threats to
skills at 20 skill points per level: the nation; track down national security leaks; recruit foreigners
Blood Sigils (WIL) who are willing to become paid agents of the US. Note that,
Ecstatic Rage (WIL) for the most part, these agencies are not supposed to be doing
Truth Ordeal (WIL) domestic operations (that being the FBI’s job).
Soul Blade (WIL)
Free Skills: Pistol (1), Language (1), Interrogation (1).
Untouchable (WIL)
Skill Costs: ACAD 7, ATHL 7, CMBT 8, CRTV 5, CRIM 12,
TECH 7, INVS 7, LABR 7, MEDI 7, PEOP 5, TRAD 7
Bonus Characteristics
Not a Lodge Member (Optional Disadvantage, Gives Mafia Fixer- The PC is a made-man (or, very rarely, a made-
5 BP)- The PC refused the invitation to join a lodge or has woman), a member of one of the oldest and most powerful mafia
put off joining, yet the PC is so good at hunting down the families. Although the PC came up through the ranks as a petty
criminal, the PC’s life today is as much about protecting the
supernatural that he or she has been allowed to keep his or her family’s legitimate business assets as their illegitimate ones. The
position (for now). The PC starts with no knowledge of the PC is typically sent out to observe mafia owned operations and
Order of the Protector and no supernatural skills. take care of any problems (embezzlers, informants, competing
Special Day Job (Mandatory Advantage)- During organized crime) that would put the mafia’s profits in jeopardy.
character creation Step 5 (p.58), don’t chose from the normal Fixers have learned to tread lightly so as not to gain the attention
Day Job list. Choose one of the special Day Jobs in the of the feds (they may even be asked to work with the feds). Yet
Fixers are not afraid to revert to the methods of a criminal thug
sidebar. There are no promotional opportunities as there are when nobody is looking.
in normal Day Jobs because a Professional will be kept in his
or her current position as long as the Professional remains
useful to the Powers-That-Be. Free Skills: Black Market (1), Assassin: Armed (1),
Organized Crime (1).
Skill Costs: ACAD 9, ATHL 8, CMBT 10, CRTV 6, CRIM 7,
Recommended Day Job- See Bonus Characteristics, above. TECH 8, INVS 7, LABR 6, MEDI 8, PEOP 6, TRAD 7
Recommended Skills- Emergency Medicine, Crime Scene Security Consultant- The PC belongs to a small but elite
Forensics, Forensic Pathology, Law: Basic, Interrogation, private security firm that contracts itself out to the households
Pistol, Research: Law Enforcement. of the world’s most rich and powerful people. A PC may
be responsible for setting up the security for a mansion,
Recommended Equipment- Anti-Psychotic, Ballistic Armor, investigating death threats against a rich CEO, or retrieving a
royal family’s runaway teenager.
Ear Bud Radio, First Aid Kit (Semiprofessional), Handcuffs,
Lockpick Gun, Parabolic Microphone, Pistol (Heavy). continued next page

Alleys
Special Professional Day Jobs (continued) countries. These books, numbering more than 80,000 are now
housed in the library of the University of Poznan in Poland.
The Catholic church has often decried freemasonry, and at times
Income: $15,000 to start and $600/wk. masons have, in turn, been anti-Catholic. Catholics are currently
Free Skills: Bodyguard (1), Pistol (1), Alarm Systems (1). prohibited from joining the Masons, although as with other church
Skill Costs: ACAD 8, ATHL 7, CMBT 7, CRTV 5, CRIM edicts there are many Catholics who ignore it.
14, TECH 7, INVS 7, LABR 7, MEDI 6, PEOP 6, TRAD 7 Freemasonry has three degrees of initiation: Entered Apprentice,
Fellow Craft and Master Mason. Some European lodges require
members to prepare and present philosophical papers before being
Think Tank Researcher- The PC is a professor who has more- allowed to rise to new degrees. Initiations are accompanied by
or-less retired from teaching to work in a private think tank. moral lessons told through the use of biblical stories and the use
The think tank most likely operates out of, and has offices in, a of drama. The most important allegorical story is that of the
major university, but its funding comes from government and building of King Solomon’s temple. It acts as a metaphor for both
corporate sources. The think tank has some ambiguous name the building of a just society and of building oneself into a better
like “Threat Assessment Foundation” and they don’t go out of person. The head architect had secret knowledge which other
their way to let the general public know what they do. Mostly masons asked for. He refused, since he did not have the right to
the think tanks collect and analyze data and produce papers impart those secrets, and so he was murdered. Masonic ritual also
for use by the government in setting policy. Researchers do uses architectural and mathematical symbolism.
go out to the field to collect additional data about ‘statistical While rituals are held, the meeting place is locked and is
guarded both from the inside and outside. The guards outside,
outliers.’ known as “tylers” carry drawn swords. Rituals include such
Income: $12,500 to start and $500/wk. elements as lambskin aprons (representing the work aprons of
Free Skills: Research: Academic (2), Research: Internet ancient masons), blindfolds, altars, bowls, swords, special clothing
(1), Math (1). and the memorization and recitation of texts. The term “so mote it
be,” a literal translation of “amen” is used often.
Skill Costs: ACAD 4, ATHL 8, CMBT 13, CRTV 5, CRIM
Masons have a secret grip they can use to identify members and
15, TECH 5, INVS 7, LABR 9, MEDI 6, PEOP 6, TRAD 8 a secret word they can use to identify members or call for help from
other Masons.
Vatican Investigator- The PC is an agent of the Catholic There are several Masonic centers around the L.A. area. The
Church. The PC is an ordained priest who has a background oldest Masonic temple in the L.A. area is on Main Street near the
in law enforcement and investigation. The PC’s job is to L.A. Plaza. It was built in 1858, making it the oldest building south
investigate cases of possible sainthood, miracles and demonic of the plaza, and it now holds a museum of Masonic memorabilia.
possession and do internal investigations of priests suspected The meeting center with the largest number of attendants is the
of committing crimes or practicing heretical faiths. Westchester Masonic Center in Playa Del Rey. The Southern
California research lodge, which does research on Freemasonry
Income: $7,500 to start and $300/wk. and maintains a Masonic library, operates out of Fullerton.
Free Skills: Religion (1), Crime Scene Forensics (1), Freemasonry has several “appendant bodies.” These are
Science: Psychology (1). fraternal societies that are not part of Freemasonry but that
Skill Costs: ACAD 6, ATHL 7, CMBT 12, CRTV 5, CRIM require all members to have achieved Master Mason status.
17, TECH 7, INVS 6, LABR 7, MEDI 7, PEOP 5, TRAD 6 Where Freemasonry is open to anyone who believes in a god or
creative force, many appendant bodies are only for Christians.
Most consider their teachings to be an expansion on or further
exploration of what is taught and explored in Freemasonry Many
Fraternal Orders confer additional degrees, beginning with the fourth, yet they are
careful to note that these degrees do not make one Master Mason
Freemasonry- This one of the oldest of the modern fraternal “higher” in status than any other. The three largest appendant
organizations. Almost everyone who has formed a fraternal bodies are the Scottish Rite, York Rite and the Shriners.
organization or secret society which is around today was a Mason
and Masonry has served as a prototype for these organizations. Rosicrucians- In the 17th Century, a number of pamphlets were
This includes the Golden Dawn, the most famous occult published that claimed to reveal the secrets of an ancient secret
organization in recent history. society. The pamphlets were most likely fiction, although they
Males who believe in god or a “creative force” can join. There were based on real hermetic philosophy and mysticism. Since
are isolated instances of women being allowed to join as early as then, several orders have tried to replicate the order of the Rose
the 18th century, but it is not standard practice in any American Cross. These Rosicrucian orders are the oldest of the modern
lodge. Applicants must be of sound mind and body and of good fraternal orders and have influenced many of the other orders. The
moral character. There is a minimum age, but it varies between Rosicrucians are the most mystical of the orders, falling somewhere
lodges. There are about 3.5 million masons in the US and 5 between a religion and a fraternal order.
million worldwide.
Nobody is really sure where Freemasonry came from. The Grange- A fraternal order for farmers founded in 1867 in
official version is that Freemasonry traces its roots back to Washington DC. The Grange borrowed heavily from Freemasonry
medieval stonemasons’ guilds. Among other things, Masonry for its rituals and practices. At first it was largely a political group
seems to have some Neoplatonic influence. fighting for rights of farmers. It is still the most politically active
Masonic lodges are self-governing. Each lodge is ruled by a of the orders, but it’s importance as a social organization has been
Mason called the Right Worshipful Master. Masonic lodges in growing. Today there are about 300,000 members nationwide.
California receive charters from the California grand lodge, Prince Males and females can be members.
Hall, in the bay area. Each lodge sends representatives to grand
lodge meetings. A lodge can have its charter revoked by the grand Scottish Rite- This appendant body to Freemasonry was founded
lodge for serious infractions. in 1758. It confers degrees 4 through 32 (1 through 3 being the
Masons have often been active in political movements, degrees of Freemasonry). There is a 33rd degree but it is purely
including the American Revolution. They have often supported honorary. The group is dedicated to progress, liberty, freedom and
democracy and the separation of church and state. Because of equal rights. It has 1 million plus members. The largest Scottish
this, and because they keep certain aspects of their organization Rite building in L.A. is the temple on Wilshire Blvd. which has a
secret, Masons have been the target of paranoia from both the left museum and auditorium.
and right. Masons were persecuted by the Nazis. Himmler’s SS
collected books from Masonic libraries in Germany and occupied continued next page

In Dark
Fraternal Orders (continued) Scribblers
York Rite- The York Rite has multiple chapters, each of which
confer different degrees. The Knights Templar are one chapter. In Brief- Heretical academics, study dark philosophies,
The Templars are dedicated to application of Masonic principles trade knowledge by writing graffiti in dark places.
to the Christian faith and are based on the story and values of the
Templars. The York Rite continues the allegory of the building Other Names- Students, Bookworms, Heretics.
of the Temple of Solomon, taking it to the point when the temple
is symbolically completed and the Ark of the Covenant is placed The Chosen- A majority had trouble making friends as
inside it. During one point of initiation members of the York children and found solace in books. Most Scribblers were very
Rite get their own unique mark which is recorded in the book bright young people with the ability to excel in academics.
of marks. Many didn’t do well in school because they were too easily
Shriners- Founded in New York City in 1870 to be the “fun”
bored or questioned the authority of teachers too often. A
part of Freemasonry. Before 2000, Shriners had to complete majority were raised in strongly religious households and as
the Scottish or York Rites, now any Master Mason can join. an act of rebellion they studied religions and philosophies
When it was founded the Arabian Nights were popular and so that contradicted the doctrines of their family’s religion. A
the Shriners took on a faux-Islamic theme. Today the Shriners significant minority have been involved in counterculture
spend most of their time doing charitable work. They have a movements or radical/revolutionary groups.
big children’s hospital in L.A. which opened in 1952. Until
recently, the Oscars were held in an L.A. Shriners’ auditorium. Initiation- Many who would become Scribblers were
already questioning the basic principles of modern
Knights of Columbus- This order was founded in 1882 to philosophy and religion long before they ever heard from
provide Catholics with an alternative to the Masons, who another Scribbler. Many were philosophy students who
Catholics believed to be anti-Catholic. The Knights is open to finally found a philosopher who made sense, only to find
male Catholics who are 18 or older. They are active in politics,
that nobody considered this philosopher anything other
supporting the values of the Catholic church. They are strongly
anti-abortion and anti-same-sex-marriage. They do a lot of
than a joke. The initiate’s favorite philosopher was studied
charity work. There are now more than 1.5 million members only because it was interesting that someone who seemed so
worldwide. smart could be so wrong.
Knights of Pythias- This group was founded in 1870 by Justus At some point those who would become Scribblers came
Rathbone, a lawyer and teacher, in Washington DC. Rathbone into contact with some phrase, most often scrawled on a wall
went to Abraham Lincoln and described a society which might or on a piece of paper hidden in a library book. The phrase
help heal the wounds of the Civil War. Lincoln gave his support said exactly what the initiate had been thinking for years yet
and the Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization never knew anyone else believed in. It might have said that
to be recognized by an act of Congress. The group was named what we can see and touch is only a tiny part of what there
after the play Damon and Pythias, about two ancient Greek is to reality. Or it might have said that human consciousness
friends who showed great loyalty to each other. The Knights can’t have been created in or designed to live in the mundane
are dedicated to peace and understanding. Some of the symbols
and rituals of the Knights are taken from the Pythagorean
realm. The clear disdain for orthodox beliefs the graffiti
Brotherhood of ancient Greece. Today the Knights has 2,000 showed was as important to the initiate as any theories the
lodges in the US and Canada and more than 50,000 members. graffiti put forth.
Only males can join, though there is a related organization, the
Pythian Sisters, for women. After that the initiate kept his or her eyes peeled for more
messages and learned where to find them. Although they
Order of the Eastern Star- This group was founded in 1850 could pop up anywhere the writers had the audacity to put
by lawyer Robert Morris. Some Masonic lodges consider it an them, they were most dense in run-down, seldom or never-
appendant order, others do not. Only Master Masons or women used locations where nobody would ever bother to clean up
who are first-order relatives of Master Masons can join. There graffiti. The initiate may have discovered, for instance, a
are 10,000 chapters and 1 million members. Although it is open ratty old bathroom stall in a dive bar where the walls were
to any monotheist, it uses the life stories of people from the coated with scribbling in dozens of hands. For many initiates
bible as examples of various virtues.
the discovery of their first ‘bulletin-board’ was the most
Elks- Founded in 1868 as a drinking club to bypass New York
ecstatic moment of their lives. Sitting for hours, they read
City laws about tavern hours, it later turned into an organization not only statements of unorthodox beliefs but also debates,
to serve ‘those in need.’ It has more than 1 million members. To discussions, references to books, references to other bulletin-
join one must be invited, must be a US citizen and must believe boards, references to places to find supernatural phenomena,
in God. reports of supernatural experiences and directions for
occult experiments. Many of these experiments included
Independent Order of Odd Fellows- Very recently females meditating on the falseness of the material world.
have been allowed to join this organization. Odd Fellows in the
US trace their roots back to 1819 Baltimore. The Odd Fellows It was the supernatural and occult experiences that most
are dedicated to improving and elevating the character of man. new Scribblers seized on as a means to prove to themselves
They spend most of their time doing charity work. They were that the universe is not what people think it is. Although
named because they considered it “odd” for one to want to dangerous, these experiments could turn theory into
organize to help others. Like Freemasonry, Odd Fellows have
appendant orders. Once very popular, there are now only about
knowledge. And so although many were afraid, the initiates
7,000 Odd Fellows left in California. set out to discover the truth.

Alleys
At adventure one, the Scribbler has seen a few ‘bulletin boards’,
seen a few supernatural things, done enough occult experiments
to show that it is possible for one to develop real powers, but the
Scribbler knows that he or she has only seen the tip of the iceberg
of the Scribbler discourse there is to see and of the abilities there
are to develop. The Scribbler has now proven, to his or her
satisfaction, that modern science and philosophy are wrong, but
does not know which of many alternative theories is the most
accurate one.
Typical Evening- Most Scribblers spend their nights in two main

spheres of activity: discussing the nature of the universe with other
Scribblers and trying to get the word out to the rest of humanity.
To ‘discuss’ with other Scribblers, Scribblers seek out “bulletin-
boards,” places where graffiti is not cleaned up (e.g. alleys, dive
bar bathrooms, abandoned buildings, sewer tunnels and broken
phone booths). They read the new graffiti and they post their own.
In addition to philosophical discussions there are also discussions
of books to read, supernatural places to visit, news items that may
have a supernatural meaning or occult experiments to perform.
Any rumor or urban legend of something supernatural finds its
way onto a local bulletin-board.
The second part of being a Scribbler is trying to get ideas out

to the public. Scribblers seek out any way they can to reach an
audience. They spray-paint on anything and everything. They
write ideas on slips of paper and hide them places where people
will find them (most often in library books). They post on internet
message boards. They set up pirate radio and TV stations and
make short broadcasts over commercial channels. They post
flyers on message boards or stick stickers on lampposts. However
they get the message out the Scribblers have to take great pains
to make sure they do so anonymously: they know that Scribblers
who are caught disappear. The immediate effect of getting the
message out is to draw in new Scribblers. The long-term effect
that many Scribblers hope for is to reintroduce ideas into the
culture that have been removed by the Powers-That-Be.
What You Know

-Neither modern science, nor any of history’s popular religions and
philosophies can explain the things you’ve seen.
-There are supernatural things in this world and people can develop
supernatural powers.
-If the notes of other Scribblers can be believed, the supernatural
things you’ve seen are only the tip of the iceberg.
-Humans can develop supernatural powers, especially if they
vigorously disbelieve in the physical world.
-Human potential for power suggests that we are more than just
biological machines.
-Other evidence seems to show that humans are the target of special
scrutiny from non-human entities.
-Throughout recorded history, the people in charge have actively
tried to repress certain philosophies.
-These philosophies each seem capable to explaining some of the
phenomenon you have experienced and read about.
-There is historical evidence of the rulers of society using elite troops
to eliminate those who gained power via heretical philosophies.
-Some of history’s “secret societies” may have been created to train
these elite troops.
-There is no evidence that humanity has allies that try to aid us or
reveal the truth to us.
-All this evidence seems to suggest that the world of normal
experiences was designed to hide something from us.

In Dark
Going Deeper- Scribblers can gain more theoretical knowledge
by visiting the places that host scribbler graffiti. Many bulletin
boards give clues on where to find other bulletin boards. They are
Survivors
not explicit (this is a mechanism to protect bulletin boards from In Brief- Having overcome death by force of will,
being wiped out by enemies) so the Scribblers have to do some
hunting.
they find themselves nearly immortal, yet hunted by
something from beyond.
Any rare old philosophy book can help the Scribbler discover
more about the universe. An even greater find would be one of Other Names- Lazaruses, Revenants, the Undead,
the legendary book from the era when Scribblers conversed in the Flatliners.
margins of library books, not on walls. Just one of these books
has the information contained in a dozen bulletin-boards. The Chosen- A majority are light sleepers or had
problems with insomnia. A large percentage had
Dark Side- Most people who become scribblers are teens and a greater-than-average fear of death (bordering on
young adults rebelling against the philosophies of their families the pathological). Many had greater-than-average
and communities. The spirit of rebellion burns strongly with willpower. Other than that, the Chosen have few things
these Scribblers. Some become violent anarchist-nihilists,
advocating the violent destruction of everything. Some grow to in common, except for the bad luck to die at the same
hate the “ignorant masses” and would like nothing better than to time as a lot of other people.
shock them into consciousness with acts of violence, destruction
and terror. Some Scribblers use their abilities to try to destroy Initiation- Almost all Survivors were either in terrible
the foundations of power: government buildings, police stations, accidents in which a lot of people died or were in a
schools, banks and even churches. Innocent people are often hurt hospital when a lot of people were dying. The Survivors
in these acts. received a mortal injury and their hearts stopped beating
and everything faded out. Then they awoke, trapped
Supernatural Skills- The PC can purchase the following skills at inside a body that would not move. Although their eyes
10 skill points per level: would not move, most discovered a way to ‘look around.’
Automatic Writing (AWR) They saw that the corpses around them contained ghost-
Blood Sigils (WIL) like figures, some asleep and others struggling to get
Nihilist Rage (WIL) free. They also saw moving, human sized, shimmering
Untouchable (WIL) blurs appear. The blurs started removing the ghost
figures from the corpses and holding them to slits in
The PC can purchase the following skills at 20 skill points per the blur’s torsos. Inhuman hands reached through these
level: slits to grab the ghost figures and pull them through.
Body Invasion (WIL)
Command Animals (WIL) Somehow, driven by desperation and fear, before a
Command Inanimate (WIL) blur could get to them, Survivors managed to will
Dreaming (WIL) their hearts to start beating again. They were suddenly
Flesh Control (WIL) awake, in control of their bodies and unable to see the
Get Lost (AWR) harvesting going on around them.
Journeying (WIL)
Mortification of the Flesh (WIL) The Survivors healed from their injuries with a rapidity
Soul Blade (WIL) that amazed doctors. Many became stronger and
Spirit Speed (WIL) healthier than ever. Those who had pre-existing health
Spirit Strength (WIL) problems or disabilities experienced miraculous cures.
Visions (AWR) A few Survivors had been retarded since birth and
suddenly gained normal or above-average intelligence.
Bonus Characteristics Some noticed tiny injuries like paper cuts disappearing
Bibliophile (Optional Advantage, Costs 2 BP)- The PC in a matter of minutes. Scars and signs of old age faded
is an obsessed book collector who goes shopping for books away.
compulsively and has done so for years. The PC has several rare
books, the equivalent of Research Library: Medium (see p.100) And the Survivors discovered that they could still see
and all of the Reference Books (p.99). the shimmering blurs, at first only out of the corner of
their eyes but more clearly with practice. Blurs showed
Recommended Day Job- Privileged, Professor, Small Business up whenever someone died. They stopped at each body
Owner, Student. and then left. Sometimes they showed up after a death,
sometimes before. New Survivors also noticed that
Recommended Skills- Research: Academic, Research: Internet, they were being constantly followed by blurs.
Language (French, Greek, Hebrew, German).
Recommended Equipment- Bolt Cutters, Digital Camera (Pro), Most Survivors ended up going to accident survivors’
Flashlight: Large, Laptop (Used), Research Library. groups and found that a few people there had similar
stories. The initiates could see blurs following those
Recommended Reading- A History of Unpopular Ideas (p.150). people as well.

Alleys
Some of the Survivors the initiate met with claimed they
were immune from physical harm. Some went so far as
to stab themselves to prove the point. Yet others told
stories of Survivors dying in mysterious accidents. If
those stories were to be believed, then Survivors were
not immortal and were, in fact, being slowly eliminated.
Sometimes it happened while they were wide awake in the
middle or a crowd, but most often whatever killed them
happened when they were alone and asleep. The fatal
blow was a fire, explosion or other spectacular accident
that decimated, decapitated or cut the body in half.
Activity by the blurs typically preceded these accidents.
At adventure one, the PC has confirmed what other

Survivors have told him or her, that the PC has control
over his or her own body. The PC has only come back
from the initial mortal injury once and has not yet been
subject to any of the unexplained accidents or explosions
that other survivors worry about.
Typical Evening- Most Survivors are afraid to sleep.

They drink a lot of coffee, some use amphetamines. Some
doze in public places like bus stations. They spend the
night wandering, at the same time afraid and bored, going
wherever there are people.
They also keep an eye out for blurs. They often see a
congregation of blurs that signifies a death waiting to
happen. Some Survivors try to warn the people involved
or prevent the death. Some Survivors are obsessed with
wandering the city trying to prevent deaths.
Many Survivors make the rounds of accident survivor

support groups. These meetings are usually held in the
evenings, usually in community centers and churches,
the same places as AA meetings. The people there sit in
uncomfortable folding chairs, drink bad coffee, eat stale
doughnuts, smoke cigarettes and talk about their feelings.
Survivors recognize each other by the blurs following
each Survivor and give each other knowing looks. After
the touchy-feely stuff is over, the Survivors talk quietly
in a corner of the room, trading information about their
newfound powers and their new threats.
Some Survivors take advantage of their new health and

physical resiliency. They drink, smoke, use drugs, have
unprotected sex, get in fights, walk around in bad parts of
town and do dangerous stunts. Some have lived lives of
fear or physical limitations and are now living dangerous
lives with gusto.
What You Know

-You have some level of control over your own flesh: you
can change your physiology and survive mortal injuries.
-Massive damage (being burned to ash, blown to pieces,
decapitated or cut in half) will kill you.
-There are others like you, most were in big accidents.
-Blurs take away people’s souls after they die.
-The blurs tend to congregate where there is a danger of
death.
-The blurs follow Survivors.

In Dark
-Survivors are often victims of unexplained explosions or
other accidents, often when they are alone and/or asleep. Wonderlanders
Going Deeper- The longer Survivors can survive, the more In Brief- The fantastic worlds of their childhood
they will learn to control their bodies. They may learn to go imagination are real. Things and people can cross
beyond simply repairing the flesh and may develop flesh that between them and this world.
is beyond human limitations.
Other Names- Alices, Playlanders
Or, they may concentrate on learning about the blurs: what
they do, how they think, what they want, perhaps even how The Chosen- Wonderlanders are chosen as small
to defeat or escape them. Watching blurs might necessitate children. They are typically a relative or friend of the
going to disaster scenes. family of the initiator. They tend to be bright, creative,
brave, passionate, curious, imaginative and attractive
Dark Side- Some Survivors deliberately cause accidents children. A majority were undergoing some crisis (a
they believe they will survive. Car accidents are the easiest death in the family, a divorce, a move, etc.) when they
to fake. Some think killing others will placate the blurs, became initiated.
others just like hurting people. Some become so convinced
of their immortality that they think they can take on the Initiation- At a young age, Wonderlanders became
whole world. Armed with automatic weapons they take out entranced in a fantasy world of their own creation. Each
their enemies and then go on to shoot it out with the police. had an “adult friend” (usually a relative or friend of the
family) that took a special interest in them and helped
them escape into the fantasy world. The help may have
Skills- The PC starts with Revive (1) and See Reapers (1)
included giving them a place to play alone and giving
free.
them toys or books. Some adult friends invited their
young Wonderlander to come stay with them until some
The PC can purchase the following skills at 10 skill points
family crisis resolved itself. Most importantly, the adult
per level:
friend told stories to the young initiates based on their
Flesh Control (WIL) own fantasy worlds.
Revive (WIL)*
See Reapers (AWR) With the help of their adult friends, the young
Wonderlanders’ “playlands” became more detailed and
The PC can purchase the following skills at 20 skill points so vibrant that many young Wonderlanders believed, for
per level: a time, that their playlands were real places. A few odd
Change Gender (WIL) coincidences or brief ‘hallucinations’ may have increased
this feeling that the playland was real.
Mortification of the Flesh (WIL)
Spirit Speed (WIL) Eventually, Wonderlanders grew out of solitary play in
Spirit Strength (WIL) the worlds of their imagination. As they became adults,
they thought less and less about their playlands. They
*The Flesh Control prerequisite to Revive does not apply to were denigrated to the status of ‘fairy tales.’
Survivors.
Then something happened to remind initiates of their
Bonus Characteristics playlands. For some it was in the midst of a personal
Under Suspicion (Optional Disadvantage, Gives 1 BP)- crisis that they started to see things that reminded them
The people investigating the event that killed the PC are not of their playlands: a face in a crowd, a toy on a shelf in
sure why the PC survived when everybody else died and a store moving by itself, a crazy homeless guy singing a
think that perhaps the PC might have had something to do certain song, a corner of a local park that suddenly looked
with the event. different, etc.
Recommended Day Job- Dangerous Field Job, Law For other Wonderlanders it was a message they received
or evidence that they found that suggested that their
Enforcement Professional, Medical Professional, Retired.
adult friend had been psychologically manipulating
or experimenting on them. The Wonderlanders found
Recommended Skills- Drug Resistance, Light Sleep,
out that their adult friends had unusual interest in their
Motorcycle, Street Fighting: Unarmed.
playlands and knew things about them that the young
Wonderlanders had never told anyone. Parts of the
Recommended Equipment- Amphetamines, Caffeine
messages were, for some Wonderlanders, instructions
(Pills).
from the adult friend telling them how the power of the
Playland could be harvested in time of need.

Alleys
Doing more research, Wonderlanders discovered that the same
thing had been done to other children, perhaps even by the
same adult friend. Initiates may have come into contact with
characters from their own playlands. Some were seen in dreams
or trance-like daydreams. Others found their way into the real
world. The Playland characters had uncanny knowledge about
the Wonderlanders, especially their secret thoughts, feelings
and memories. These characters are completely convinced the
playland is real. The Wonderlanders may have even come into
brief contact with playland characters that seemed to belong to
other people.
And then the Wonderlanders, in most cases spurred into

action by immediate physical danger, called on the power of
the playland and discovered that they had real supernatural
powers.
At adventure one, the PC has seen a lot of weird phenomenon,

has learned to control a few abilities, but doesn’t know what’s
going on or why. The PC is only in control of a small portion
of the phenomenon going on around him or her, but that portion
is rapidly growing.
Typical Evening- Many Wonderlanders spend their evenings

trying to find out what happened to them: doing historical
research in a library, talking to people who knew them as
children, scouring the attics and basement of relatives looking
for old toys, etc.
Dealing with playland phenomena is an almost daily

occurrence. Wonderlanders may receive prophetic messages or
warnings in dreams, they may spend time wandering through
their playlands, they may have to hunt down some playland
entity that escaped into this world and is causing havoc, or they
may help out people whose problems seem to be caused by
random problems in or from their playlands.
What You Know

-The world you imagined as a child (“playland”) is real.
-Things can travel between this world and playland.
-Events happening in playland effect your psychological state
and visa versa.
-Your connection to your playland is the result of some occult
or psychological experiment covertly performed on you as a
child.
-Your playland is peopled with a handful of semi-intelligent
beings with shallow and exaggerated personalities.
-Your playland also contains various non-intelligent creatures,
most of whom are malevolent.
-It is possible to enter into your memories from your playland.
-It is possible to enter into your playland from a dream.
Playland characters sometimes visit dreams.
-It is possible to find your way from your playland to another
person’s playland.
-You can summon help from your playland or temporarily warp
the rules of this world to be like the rules of the playland.
-It seems that most people have a playland, except they aren’t
normally in touch with it.
-There is evidence that other people may have been in your
playland a long time ago and may still be there.

Going Deeper- A Wonderlander can find out
In Dark
important things by exploring his or her playland: Dear Mr. Washington,
what outsiders have been there, clues to the origin I hope you remember me. Jamal. Mary and Phillip’s son. I used to
of the place, the true nature of the inhabitants and call you “Uncle Bob.”
what secret things are hidden in remote corners of
Do you remember the summer my parents sent me to stay on your
the playland.
farm? When they were getting divorced? They said I’d have to do all
sorts of work, get up before dawn to milk cows, but you didn’t even
A Wonderlander can also learn more by doing have cows and you let me spend all day playing.
research into his or her personal history and the
personal history of the “adult friend”. Exactly Do you remember all those old toys you had? Do you remember
what was done to the Wonderlander? Why was it watching me play? Do you remember asking me questions like
done? Where did those who did it learn to do it? ‘what’s this little fellow’s name?’ or ‘where do you think they are right
now?’ Do you remember making up stories about the people and
places I invented? You’d tell them to me when I was going to sleep.
Dark Side- Wonderlanders were experimented on
as children, often by people who had an unhealthy There was a town made out of candy. I was the mayor. There was
obsession with children and childhood. What a rootbeer sea with pirates on it. There was a broccoli forest and a
was done to them is still not entirely clear. In the grumpy old troll who lived there who hated all the people from Candy
course of figuring it out, some Wonderlanders start Town. And there was the magic gumball machine. You could ask it
performing their own experiments with children. any question and when you turned the handle a gumball came out
with a sort of riddle on it that told you the answer.
Many of these experiments may harm children.
You probably don’t remember. My parents said that you helped out a
Supernatural Skills lot of inner city kids. There must have been a dozen other kids on a
The PC can purchase the following skills at 10 dozen other summers, each with their own silly made up worlds.
skill points per level: Except I always felt like when you talked about Candy Town it was
Animate Toys (WIL) like you understood it, like you believed in it, like you’d been there.
Child Empathy (CHM) You were the only adult I ever met who I thought knew what it was
Playland Geography (INL) like to be a kid.
Masks (WIL) Things have been weird for me lately. That’s why I’m writing you.
Imaginary Powers (WIL) Financial aid ran out and I don’t think I’ll be able to afford school
next year. There’s this girl I’ve been seeing. She’s pregnant and it
Summon Imaginary Friend (WIL) might be mine.
Enter Playland (WIL)
I’ve been under a lot of stress. I haven’t been sleeping well and I
The PC can purchase the following skills at 20 spend a lot of nights just wandering around the city. And I’ve been
seeing a lot of weird things.
skill points per level:
Automatic Writing (AWR) Like one night, I swear to god, I saw a house made of candy. It was
Dreaming (WIL) as real as anything, just sitting there in the middle of the block with
the other buildings. I went to get my camera, but when I came back
Possession Trance (AWR) it was gone.
See True Face* (AWR)
And once I was in this minimart, late at night, and this gumball rolled
*The Visions prerequisite for See True Face does up the aisle. I picked it up and it said “Unless this be a place for
not apply to Wonderlanders. skiing, perhaps you should be fleeing.” I left and the next day I heard
the place was robbed by a guy in a ski mask.
Bonus Characteristics And I keep having dreams about Candy Town. People from Candy
Playland Phenomena (Mandatory Disad- Town keep coming to me and asking for help. They say that Candy
vantage)- In addition to the powers the PC Town is over-run with giant ants. Almost every night I have these
dreams.
consciously controls, there are phenomenon
which will happen against the PC’s will. Toys will And my mom keeps complaining that there’s noises coming from the
animate, portals will open to playland, playland attic. I went up there with some rat poison, but I heard the noises
entities will cross over into this world, etc. These were coming from this box of my old stuff. I know there’s toys you
events are most likely to happen when the PC is gave me in there, toys I used to play with when I believed in Candy
under stress. There is a small possibility they Town. I’m too afraid to open the box but I can’t stop thinking of it.
will help the PC, but if they have any effect on I don’t know if you can help me. I don’t know if you remember me.
the PC’s life they are most likely to cause trouble. I don’t know if this address is still any good, or if you’re still alive.
Sometimes when a PC has a desire he or she is But I’m praying that you’ll know something, remember something
unwilling to act on (perhaps because of moral that might be able to help me, because I don’t know what I’m going
considerations, fear of disapproval by others, to do otherwise.
impracticality, etc.) some playland phenomena Your ‘Nephew’,
will attempt to act on that desire on the PC’s Jamal
behalf.

Alleys
Popular Toys by Era
Toy (Optional Advantage, Costs 4 BP)- The PC
1900s- Teddy Bear, Crayola Crayons, Kewpie Doll.
has a toy that was used during the creation of his or
her playland. This allows the PC to use the Animate 1910s- Electric Train, Tinker Toys, Raggedy Ann, Lincoln Logs,
Toys skill at no penalties (PC will otherwise take a Pogo Stick.
penalty for using a toy other than the one he or she 1920s- PEZ, Duncan Yoyo, Madame Alexander Collectible
played with as a child, see p.80). This is an ordinary Dolls.
children’s toy appropriate to the era that the PC was a 1930s- Mickey Mouse Doll, Toy Soldiers, Viewmaster.
child in (see Popular Toys by Era). 1940s- Model Airplanes, Slinky.
Early 1950s- Frisbee, Fisher Price Little People, Mr. Potato
Contact: Adult Friend (Optional Advantage, Head, Matchbox Car.
Costs 5 BP)- The person who helped the PC become Late 1950s- Legos, Hula Hoop, Tonka Trucks, Model Rockets,
a Wonderlander is still alive and the PC is in contact Barbie Doll.
with him or her. The friend seems to be on the PC’s Early 1960s- Etch-A-Sketch, Blaze the Galloping Horse, Jen
side, but is unwilling to answer all the PC’s questions, Doll, Sea Monkeys, Phantom Raider, Troll Dolls.
especially about what was done to the PC and why, Late 1960s- G.I. Joe, See N’ Say, James Bond Astin Martin,
saying that it is ‘too soon’ for that information. Super Balls, Hot Wheels, Popcorn Popper, Nerf Ball.
Early 1970s- Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Happy Faces, Magna
Doodle.
Character Concept: Your Playland
Late 1970s- Stretch Armstrong, Holly Hobby, Star Wars Action
Figures.
When creating a Wonderlander, come up with a
general idea of the playland. It doesn’t have to be Early 1980s- Rubik’s Cube, Smurf Toys, My Little Pony,
incredibly detailed. You and the GM will work Masters of Universe, Care Bears.
to fill in the gaps as your character “remembers” Late 1980s- Transformers, Cabbage Patch Kids, Teddy Ruxpin,
more about his or her playland. American Girl Dolls, Barney Toys, Koosh Ball.
Early 1990s- Ninja Turtles Toys, Rescue Heroes, Captain Planet
What is the environment? A huge castle, a steamy Toys, Polly Pocket Dolls, Power Rangers, Beanie Babies.
African jungle, a moonbase? What are some Late 1990s- Toy Story Toys, Tickle Me Elmo, Furby.
of the common dangers? Trolls, crocodiles,
martians? What are a few of the major characters
of the playland?
Myth: Children Are Innocent and Happy
Here are a few characters you might want to
include: Children understand a lot more about what’s going on around
them than adults assume. Children are good at figuring out
-The devious troublemaker who is always trying how adults want them to act and acting that way, so they often
to get the PC in trouble. pretend not to know about bad things happening around them
-The big greedy character who always wants as because they know they’re expected to act that way. When there
is trouble in the home (as there is in most homes) children are
much as he or she can get of everything. almost certain to know it.
-The wise stranger or noble animal who appears
out of nowhere to offer help or advice. When children don’t know something, they typically assume
the worst. Children who don’t know what sex is typically
-The authority figure who is always out to punish assume it is something unpleasant, disgusting and/or dangerous.
the PC and playland characters for breaking rules. Children who know there is trouble in the home but don’t know
-The despicable villain. why typically assume it is their fault. Adults are constantly
bombarded with messages telling them to worry about things.
Children get hit with these messages as well, except they don’t
have the critical thinking skills that allow them to dismiss
Recommended Day Job- Child Care, Creative, worries with no rational basis. They often worry about things
Homemaker, Privileged, Social Worker. like appearance, health, finances and whether their parents will
get divorced. Most children go though a period where they
fear supernatural dangers, whether they be ghosts, ‘bad luck’
Recommended Skills- Psychotherapy, Science: superstitions, or a god who will strike them down for saying or
Psychology, Storytelling, Tracking, Wilderness doing the wrong thing.
Survival.
The one thing children have going for them is their incredibly
Recommended Equipment- Camping Net, Knife: short attention span, which allows their periods of stress and
Hunting, Pepper Spray, Protein Bar. dread to be interspersed with periods of joy and abandon while
they are doing something fun. Adults tend only to notice and
remember the latter, which is why so many adults mistakenly
believe that life as a child is more pleasant than life as an adult.
Step Five - Day Job 057

In Dark
Step Five - Day Job
In Brief: Choose occupation. This sets income and cost for Alternative Health
mundane skills. Some occupations cost or give Bonus Points. 0 BP
Choose one of the following Day Jobs. This is what your Description: The PC is an herbalist, massage
character does to make a living. It sets the PC’s starting therapist, acupuncturist, personal trainer, psychotherapist,
money, income and skill costs for mundane skills. Some hypnotherapist, drug abuse counselor, etc.
Day Jobs have no point cost. Some cost or give Bonus Income: $2,500 to start and $100/wk.
Points, the same as advantages or disadvantages (see Bonus Perks: Meet a lot of people.
Characteristics, p.111). Drawbacks: No authority within the official ‘medical’
system.
If your Secret Life is Professional, do not choose one of the Advancement 1 (2 BP or 10 XP) $150/wk., PC is a
following Day Jobs (see p.48). If your Secret Life is Outcast senior in the clinic/office/gym.
or Animist there are special mandatory disadvantages that Advancement 2 (4 BP or 10 XP) $200/wk., PC is
effect what day job you may take. head of a clinic, works reduced hours.
Free Skills: Choose from Acupuncture (2) OR Herbal
Most jobs have advancement levels listed. This means you Medicine (2) OR Hypnosis (2) OR Physical Therapy (2)
can buy a higher status within the profession (e.g. start the OR Psychotherapy (2).
game as a senior partner in a law firm rather than a legal Skill Costs: ACAD 5, ATHL 5, CMBT 15, CRTV 5,
secretary who takes law classes on the side). Advancement CRIM 15, TECH 8, INVS 10, LABR 6, MEDI 5, PEOP 7,
is bought with Bonus Points like an advantage (see p.111). TRAD 5
Or, you can buy the advancement during game play with
XP (Experience Points, see p.122). The BP cost listed for
advancement is the number of Bonus Points you must spend Boring Customer Service Job
during character creation to go from 0 levels of advancement Gives 1 BP
to that level. The XP cost is the number of Experience Description: The PC works in retail, a restaurant,
Points you must spend during game play to step up to that answers phones or some other job where he or she has to
level from the previous level of advancement. deal with customers all day long.
Example: Tim is a cop (Day Job: Law Enforcement Perks: PC is lower-middle class, has some
Professional). The player wants Tim to start the game as a opportunities for advancement.
detective, so spends 8 BP to have Tim start at Advancement Drawbacks: 8 hours a day in which the PC gets
2. During the course of game play, however, the player nothing useful or interesting done. If the PC misses more
decides to make Tim the police chief. To do this the player than 15 days of work in a year the PC will be fired. PC is
must spend 25 XP to move Tim up to Advancement 3, then often exposed to crazies and assholes.
another 25 XP to move Tim up to Advancement 4. Advancement 1 (1 BP or 10 XP): $100/wk., manager
(in addition to the annoying customers, the PC must deal
Day Jobs with annoying employees).
Alternative Health (0) Paranormal Professional (4) Skill Costs: ACAD 6, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5,
Boring Customer Service Job (-1)* Performer (2) CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 5, MEDI 7, PEOP 7,
Boring Factory Job (-2)*
TRAD 7
Pilot (2)
Boring Field Job (0) Politician (4)
Boring Office Job (0)
Boring Factory Job
Privileged (8)
Gives 2 BP
Business Owner (0) Professor (2)
Description: The PC goes to a factory every day, does
Career Criminal (7) Religious Professional (2) some sort of repetitive manual labor for 8 hours, and then
Child Care (0) Reporter (4) comes home.
Computer Tech (2) Researcher (4) Income: $1,250 to start and $50/wk.
Creative (2) Retired (0) Perks: None.
Dangerous Field Job (0) Security Professional (4) Drawbacks: 8 hours a day of boring, tiring, often
Driver (0) Sex Industry Worker (0) smelly and occasionally dangerous work. The PC is
Homeless (-8)* Social Worker (0) exhausted (-4 END) at the end of the day. If the PC
Homemaker (0)
misses more than 15 days of work in a year the PC will
Student (0)
be fired.
Investigator (4) Trendy Customer Service Job (1)
Advancement 1 (1 BP or 10 XP): $100/wk.,
Law Enforcement Professional (10) Ward (-4)* supervisor.
Legal Professional (2) Welfare (-2)* Skill Costs: ACAD 6, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5,
Medical Professional (2) CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 4, MEDI 7, PEOP 7,
*These Day Jobs give BP as Per disadvantages. TRAD 7

Alleys
Boring Field Job dozen employees, multiple outlets.
0 BP Advancement 2 (4 BP or 15 XP): $400/wk., PC has
Description: The PC goes out every day and fixes many employees, a half-dozen outlets, a main office.
things, installs things, checks on things, takes things away, Advancement 3 (6 BP or 15 XP): $800/wk., PC has
etc. Examples include: postal carrier, plumber, gardener, hundreds of employees, outlets around the country.
maid, insurance appraiser, construction worker, real estate Free Skills: Business (2).
agent. Skill Costs: ACAD 4, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 4,
Income: $2,000 to start and $75/wk. CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 4, MEDI 7, PEOP 7,
Perks: PC is lower-middle class, has some opportunities TRAD 7
for advancement.
Drawbacks: 8 hours a day of tiring work which leaves Career Criminal
the PC exhausted (-2 END) at the end of the day. If the PC Costs 7 BP
misses more than 30 days of work in a year the PC will be Description: The PC makes a living as a drug dealer,
fired. burglar, shoplifter, pocket-picker, con artist, forger, fence
Advancement 1 (1 BP or 10 XP): $100/wk., supervisor. or smuggler.
Skill Costs: ACAD 5, ATHL 7, CMBT 14, CRTV 5, Income: $2,500 to start and $150/wk.
CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 4, MEDI 7, PEOP 7, Perks: Ties to the criminal underworld.
TRAD 7 Drawbacks: PC is in constant danger of being arrested,
has a criminal record.
Boring Office Job +4 BP for Made (PC is a full member of a gang, tong
0 BP or organized crime group, gives +$100/wk.)
Description: The PC goes to an office everyday, does Advancement 1 (4 BP or 20 XP) $300/wk., big time
some stuff with paper, phones and/or a computer, then goes criminal.
home. Advancement 2 (8 BP or 20 XP) $500/wk.,
Income: $2,500 to start and $100/wk. international criminal, has underworld ties throughout the
Perks: PC is middle class, has some opportunities for world.
advancement and medical insurance. Advancement 3 (16 BP or 20 XP) $1000/wk., criminal
Drawbacks: 8 hours a day in which the PC gets nothing boss, is in charge of a small criminal gang or enterprise.
useful or interesting done. If the PC misses more than 30 Free Skills: Organized Crime (1), 3 free levels in
days of work in a year the PC will be fired. Criminal skills.
+2 BP for Telecommuting (PC spends most days Skill Costs: ACAD 7, ATHL 7, CMBT 8, CRTV 6,
working from home and can choose how to manage his or CRIM 7, TECH 8, INVS 10, LABR 6, MEDI 9, PEOP 7,
her time). TRAD 7
Advancement 1 (2 BP or 10 XP): $150/wk., PC has a
senior position. Child Care
Advancement 2 (4 BP or 10 XP): $200/wk., PC is
0 BP
middle management.
Description: The PC works with children in a school,
Advancement 3 (6 BP or 10 XP): $300/wk., PC is
youth center or daycare center or as a nanny or tutor in
department head.
private homes.
Advancement 4 (8 BP or 10 XP): $500/wk., PC is a
chairperson. Income: $2,000 to start and $75/wk.
Skill Costs: ACAD 5, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5, Perks: Insight into the lives of many children.
CRIM 15, TECH 6, INVS 10, LABR 5, MEDI 7, PEOP 7, Drawbacks: Must avoid any appearance of
TRAD 7 impropriety.
Advancement 1 (1 BP or 10 XP): $100/wk., supervisor
Business Owner or VP.
0 BP Advancement 2 (2 BP or 10 XP): $150/wk., manager
or principal.
Description: The PC is the sole proprietor of a small
business, e.g. a used bookstore, locksmith, restaurant, Free Skills: Science: Psychology (1).
portrait studio, music lessons, etc. The PC has, at most, a Skill Costs: ACAD 4, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 4,
few part-time, minimum-wage employees. CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 5, MEDI 7, PEOP 6,
Income: $2,500 to start and $100/wk. TRAD 7
Perks: Freedom to manage own time.
Drawbacks: Must work very hard or the business will Computer Tech
go bankrupt. Costs 2 BP
+4 BP for Useful Inventory (PC makes or carries Description: The PC works tech support for a
something that may be useful in an adventure, e.g. corporation or government agency. The PC travels from
reproduction medieval armor, occult books, bondage gear). office to office fixing computer problems.
+2 BP for Home Office (PC runs the business from Income: $5,000 to start and $200/wk.
home and can choose to work at any time of day). Perks: If the PC wants to he or she can know everyone
Advancement 1 (2 BP or 15 XP): $200/wk., PC has a in the company’s business.

Drawbacks: PC is not paid much considering he or she is
In Dark
Perks: PC gets to know the area he or she drives in
one of the most important people in the company. very well.
+4 BP for Powerful Office: the PC maintains computers Drawbacks: Long hours, few opportunities for
for an office with a lot of power (e.g. an FBI office or the advancement.
world headquarters of a major multinational). +4 for Own Vehicle: PC owns the vehicle he or she
Advancement 1 (2 BP or 10 XP): $250/wk., PC has a uses on the job, can use it for personal business.
senior position. Advancement 1 (1 BP or 10 XP) $150/wk., senior.
Advancement 2 (4 BP or 10 XP): $300/wk., PC is middle Advancement 2 (2 BP or 10 XP) $200/wk.,
management. supervisor.
Advancement 3 (6 BP or 10 XP): $400/wk., PC is Free Skills: Driving (3), Local Geography (1)
department head.
Free Skills: 6 free levels in High Tech skills. Skill Costs: ACAD 5, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5,
CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 4, MEDI 7, PEOP 7,
Skill Costs: ACAD 4, ATHL 8, CMBT 15, CRTV 5, TRAD 7
TRAD 7
Homeless
Creative Gives 8 BP
Costs 2 BP Description: The PC has no steady income. The PC
Description: The PC is a writer, artist, photographer, poet may make money begging, recycling cans, doing odd-
or composer. jobs or shoplifting. The PC gets food from dumpsters
Income: $5,000 to start and $200/wk. and soup kitchens, rescues clothes and toiletries from the
trash, and sleeps in abandoned places or shelters.
Perks: PC can choose how to use his or her time.
Drawbacks: The PC’s income is not always steady. The Income: $250 to start and $7/wk.
PC is in the public eye. Perks: The PC is hard to track down, has plenty of free
Advancement 1 (4 BP or 25 XP) $400/wk., most people time. Because people are used to seeing and ignoring
within specialized circles (e.g. connoisseurs of b&w art homeless people, the PC has +4 difficulty to be noticed in
photography) have heard of the PC. most urban situations.
Advancement 2 (10 BP or 50 XP) $800/wk., about 1 in Drawbacks: Loitering, vagrancy and ‘camping’ are
20 people in the US have heard of the PC. illegal in most urban areas. The PCs life is stressfully
inconsistent: there is always a danger of going hungry or
Advancement 3 (20 BP or 75 XP) $1,600/wk., most not having a safe place to stay. It is hard to stay clean.
people in the English-speaking world, and many people
beyond, have heard of the PC. Advancement 1 (3 BP or 25 XP) +$25/wk., PC
Free Skills: 5 free levels in Creative skills survives by couch crashing or living out of his or her car,
occasionally gets work (usually day labor).
Skill Costs: ACAD 4, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 3,
CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 5, MEDI 7, PEOP 6, Free Skills: Street Survival (2)
TRAD 7 Skill Costs: ACAD 8, ATHL 7, CMBT 12, CRTV 5,
Dangerous Field Job TRAD 5
0 BP
Description: The PC is a fire fighter, high-steel Business Improvement Districts
construction worker, fisherman, bicycle messenger,
demolitions expert, hazmat worker, animal control officer, Homeless people in Los Angeles have a major nemesis:
lumberjack or in some other non-law-enforcement job Business Improvement Districts. These are associations
which puts him or her in regular danger. of the people who own businesses in a neighborhood and
who pool their money for various projects like advertising
Income: $7,500 to start and $300/wk. the area, planting trees, cleaning the streets, etc. Most of
Perks: Relatively good pay, lots of vacation time. their money, however, goes to paying for private security
Drawbacks: Work is exhausting and dangerous. PC guards who patrol the district and keep out the sorts of
often (1 in 4 chance) starts an adventure still healing from people who might scare off customers (homeless people
on-the-job injuries. and rowdy teenagers). Homeless people typically know the
Advancement 1 (1 BP or 10 XP) $400/wk., supervisor. security guards by their uniforms (e.g. “red caps”, “green
Advancement 2 (2 BP or 10 XP) $500/wk., manager/ caps”). The security guards are selected for their ability to
chief. make people with money to spend feel respected and cared
Skill Costs: ACAD 6, ATHL 5, CMBT 13, CRTV 6, for and to make homeless people feel in danger of getting
their faces kicked in. There are countless stories among
the homeless of brutality and violations of their rights at
TRAD 7 the hands of BID security guards. The worst part of it is
that Business Improvement Districts are becoming more
Driver popular, and more and more of the city have some color of
0 BP caps walking the streets looking for homeless people. Good
Description: The PC drives a bus, limo, taxi, armored areas for panhandling and scrounging are disappearing and
car, dump truck, etc. homeless people are being forced to spend their time in only
Income: $2,500 to start and $100/wk. the most economically depressed neighborhoods.

Alleys
Homemaker etc.).
0 BP Free Skills: Law: Criminal (1), Pistol (1), Driving (1).
Description: The PC has a significant other who works. Skill Costs: ACAD 6, ATHL 6, CMBT 7, CRTV 6,
The PC stays home and takes care of the household. CRIM 12, TECH 7, INVS 6, LABR 6, MEDI 6, PEOP 8,
Income: $2,500 to start and $50/wk. TRAD 7
Perks: Free time.
Drawbacks: Income depends on the good-will of the Legal Professional
significant other. Costs 2 BP
-2 BP for Sexist Relationship: the PC’s significant other Description: The PC works in a law office. Unless
believes it is wrong for the PC to do anything other than be the PC buys levels of Advancement the PC will start as a
a homemaker. Legal Assistant who is taking night classes at a law school
-4 BP for School Aged Children: PC must care for or is doing self-study.
children, except during school hours. See the Caregiver: Income: $4,000 to start and $150/wk.
Child disad (p.116) for an infant child. Perks: Access to legal and court databases.
Skill Costs: ACAD 6, ATHL 8, CMBT 15, CRTV 5, Drawbacks: Long hours and stressful work, can be
CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 8, MEDI 7, PEOP 6, disbarred or prevented from ever being barred if caught
TRAD 7 committing any crime involving dishonesty or deceit.
+2 BP for Criminal Defense: PC defends criminals,
Investigator has some knowledge of and contacts in the criminal
Costs 4 BP underworld.
Description: The PC is a private investigator, bounty +4 BP for Mob Lawyer: PC defends rich organized
hunter, skip tracer or investigator for a law office. The PC is criminals, starts with extra $2,000 and makes extra $50/
licensed to find people and investigate all manner of events. wk.
Most of the work of an investigator involves making phone +4 BP for District Attorney: PC prosecutes suspected
calls and interviewing people. criminals, has discretionary funds for investigating
Income: $4,000 to start and $150/wk. crimes.
Perks: The PC has some law-enforcement powers, but Advancement 1 (2 BP or 30 XP) $250/wk., PC is a
doesn’t have to follow all the rules that cops do. barred attorney, licensed to practice law in the PC’s home
Drawbacks: Work is sometimes dangerous and the PC state.
doesn’t have the high-pay, benefits, respect and backup that Advancement 2 (4 BP or 15 XP) $400/wk., senior
law enforcement gets. attorney.
Advancement 1 (2 BP or 10 XP) $200/wk., senior Advancement 3 (6 BP or 15 XP) $700/wk., partner.
investigator. Advancement 4 (8 BP or 15 XP) $1000/wk., senior
Advancement 2 (4 BP or 10 XP) $300/wk., head partner.
investigator. Free Skills: Law: Basic (3).
Free Skills: 4 free levels in Investigation/Espionage Skill Costs: ACAD 3, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 6,
skills. CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 8, LABR 7, MEDI 7, PEOP 6,
TRAD 7 Medical Professional
Costs 2 BP
Law Enforcement Professional Description: The PC works in a hospital, clinic or
Costs 10 BP doctor’s office caring for the health of patients. Unless the
Description: The PC is a cop, deputy sheriff, coroner, PC buys advancement, the PC starts as a registered nurse
prison guard, FBI agent, etc. or physician’s assistant who is studying pre-med at night.
Income: $5,000 to start and $200/wk. Income: $4,000 to start and $150/wk.
Perks: Generous benefit package, good union. Access Perks: Access to medical supplies and equipment.
to law enforcement databases and forensics labs. Law Drawbacks: Exposure to diseases.
enforcement powers (the ability to get warrants, arrest Advancement 1 (2 BP or 15 XP) $150/wk., medical
suspects, hold people for questioning, etc.) student: PC can practice medicine under the guidance of
Drawbacks: Dangerous and psychologically grueling other doctors.
work. Advancement 2 (4 BP or 15 XP) $300/wk., MD, the
Advancement 1 (4 BP or 25 XP) $250/wk., PC is a PC is a full fledged doctor, can go into private practice.
senior officer/agent. Advancement 3 (6 BP or 20 XP) $600/wk., specialist,
Advancement 2 (8 BP or 25 XP) $300/wk., PC has a the PC is a specialist in a high-paying field like heart
caseload of crimes to investigate and can decide how to surgery.
allocate time between those cases. Free Skills: Diagnosis (1), Emergency Medicine (1),
Advancement 3 (12 XP or 25 XP) $400/wk., PC is a Pharmacology (1).
section head. Skill Costs: ACAD 4, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5,
Advancement 4 (16 XP or 25 XP) $500/wk., PC is CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 6, MEDI 3, PEOP 7,
management (bureau head, sheriff, chief of police, warden, TRAD 8

Paranormal Professional
In Dark
Costs 4 BP TRAD 7
Description: The PC works in a field where he or
she is hired by people who believe in the supernatural Politician
to do supernatural work, e.g. fortune teller, ghost-hunter, Costs 4 BP
professional shaman, etc. The PC may believe in what he or Description: The PC belongs to a salaried elected
she does or may be a conscious fraud. office in the city, county or state government. Besides
Income: $4,000 to start and $150/wk. doing the job the PC was elected to do, the PC must
Perks: The PC is paid to investigate the supernatural devote a large amount of time to PR work (doing things
and can get away with not keeping his or her Secret Life to get on the news) and fundraising for his or her next
completely secret. campaign.
Drawbacks: Most people will assume that the PC is a Income: $5,000 to start and $200/wk.
charlatan or a self-deluded fool. Perks: Power and connections.
Advancement 1 (2 BP or 15 XP) $200/wk., PC is known Drawbacks: Political opponents and reporters who
and respected by others within his or her field. will keep an eye out for the PC doing anything wrong.
Advancement 2 (4 BP or 15 XP) $300/wk., PC is known Advancement 1 (6 XP or 40 XP) $500/wk., PC is in
and respected by ordinary people with an interest in that field the state assembly.
of the paranormal. Advancement 2 (10 XP or 60 XP) $800/wk., PC is in
Free Skills: Legends (2) OR Psychology (2) OR Religion the US congress.
(2). Free Skills: Government (2).
Skill Costs: ACAD 5, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5, Skill Costs: ACAD 4, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5,
CRIM 12, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 6, MEDI 7, PEOP 6, CRIM 17, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 6, MEDI 7, PEOP 5,
TRAD 7 TRAD 7
Performer Privileged
Costs 2 BP Costs 8 BP
Description: The PC is an athlete, musician, actor, stand- Description: The PC either has his or her own fortune
up-comedian, circus performer, etc. or is cared for by a large trust fund which pays for all the
Income: $4,000 to start and $150/wk. PC’s needs.
Perks: PC has a lot of free time. Income: $50,000 to start and $500/wk.
Drawbacks: The PC’s income is not steady. Disfiguring -2 BP for Limited Duration: the trust fund is set to
or disabling injuries will make the PC unable to work. The stop within a few years, by experience level 3.
PC is in the public eye. -3 BP for Revocable: the PC’s parents can take away
+3 BP for Stage Magician, PC starts with Sleight of the PC’s income if the PC displeases them.
Hand (2), Lock Picking (2) and Escape Artistry (2) free. Perks: Money can buy just about anything.
Advancement 1 (4 BP or 30 XP) $400/wk., PC is Drawbacks: The PC attracts exploiters and con artists,
moderately famous: most people have heard of the PC is also in the public eye. It’s a lot easier to fritter away a
within specialized circles, e.g. fans of local hockey. fortune than to make one grow.
Advancement 2 (8 BP or 30 XP) $1,000/wk., PC is very Advancement 1 (5 BP or 75 XP) $1,000/wk.
famous: most people in the English-speaking world, and Advancement 2 (10 BP or 75 XP) $2,000/wk.
many people beyond, have heard of the PC. Skill Costs: ACAD 5, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5,
Free Skills: Performance (3) OR Sports (4) OR CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 7, MEDI 7, PEOP 6,
Acrobatics (3). TRAD 8
CRIM 15, TECH 8, INVS 10, LABR 6, MEDI 7, PEOP 4, Professor
TRAD 7 Costs 2 BP
Description: The PC works for a university, teaching,
Pilot doing research and publishing articles. With no
Costs 2 BP advancement the PC is an associate professor who hops
Description: The PC flies a plane, captains a boat or between state colleges and city colleges teaching general-
conducts a train. ed classes.
Income: $5,000 to start and $200/wk. Income: $5,000 to start and $200/wk.
Perks: Good income. PC can travel for free, so long as Perks: The PC is a respected authority on some
the PC is willing to go standby. subject, can use students as assistants, has access to a
Drawbacks: PC often has to work overnight shifts and library. After advancement the PC can get a lab and
spend the night far from home. research funds.
+4 for Own Plane/Boat (the PC owns a small charter Drawbacks: Advancement is slow. When the PC
plane or boat and can use it for personal purposes while not does advance, the PC must bring in grant money to the
working). university and must publish papers regularly.
Advancement 1 (3 BP or 25 XP): $300/wk., senior +4 BP for Supernatural Field: the PC works in
pilot. Anthropology, Comparative Religions, Parapsychology
Free Skills: Boat Pilot (3) OR Airplane Pilot (3). or some other field which gives the PC free-reign to
Skill Costs: ACAD 5, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5, investigate supernatural events.

Alleys
Advancement 1 (3 BP or 25 XP) $250/wk., full CRIM 12, TECH 7, INVS 7, LABR 6, MEDI 7, PEOP 5,
professor. The PC has an office at a state college and TRAD 7
university, gets to teach some upper division and graduate
level classes. Researcher
Advancement 2 (6 BP or 30 XP) $300/wk., tenured Costs 4 BP
professor at a fairly prestigious university. The PC has Description: The PC is a highly skilled and highly
access to a lab and graduate student assistants. The PC specialized engineer or scientist. The PC works for a
spends more time doing research than teaching. private foundation or corporation, in a lab, doing scientific
Free Skills: Research: Academic (2), 5 free levels in any research or product development.
one Academic skill. Income: $7,500 to start and $300/wk.
Skill Costs: ACAD 3, ATHL 8, CMBT 15, CRTV 4, Perks: Access to a research lab with all the latest
CRIM 15, TECH 6, INVS 10, LABR 6, MEDI 6, PEOP 6, equipment for the PC’s particular field.
TRAD 7 Drawbacks: The PC must produce results for the
company or foundation or will be fired. Anything the PC
Religious Professional discovers belongs to the company or foundation.
Costs 2 BP Advancement 1 (2 BP or 20 XP) $500/wk., Senior
Description: The PC is a monk, nun, priest, preacher, Researcher, the PC is the head of a small group of
rabbi, imam, pastor or chaplain. researchers working on a project.
Income: $2,500 to start and $100/wk. Advancement 2 (4 BP or 20 XP) $750/wk., Division
Perks: Many see the PC as an authority on ethical and Chief, the PC directs other researchers working on a
spiritual matters. PC can often get into hospitals, prisons, variety of projects.
disaster scenes and other places closed to the public. Free Skills: 5 levels in any one Academic or High Tech
Drawbacks: The PC will lose his or her job if he or she skill.
is caught professing a belief or doing some activity contrary Skill Costs: ACAD 3, ATHL 8, CMBT 15, CRTV 6,
to the religion’s doctrines. CRIM 15, TECH 4, INVS 10, LABR 7, MEDI 4, PEOP 7,
Advancement 1 (3 BP or 25 XP) $200/wk., PC is the TRAD 8
spiritual leader to several hundred people.
Advancement 2 (6 BP or 25 XP) $300/wk., PC is a Retired
bishop, abbot, televangelist or leader of a large multi- 0 BP
church ministry. Description: The PC is living off of personal savings
Free Skills: Religion (2). supplemented by either social security or disability.
Skill Costs: ACAD 4, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5, Income: $4,000 to start and $30/wk.
CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 5, MEDI 7, PEOP 6, Perks: Plenty of free time.
TRAD 7 Drawbacks: PC must take the Old disadvantage
(p.120), has a limited income with no advancement
Reporter opportunities.
Costs 4 BP Skill Costs: ACAD 5, ATHL 9, CMBT 13, CRTV 5,
Description: The PC does research and writes stories or CRIM 12, TECH 9, INVS 9, LABR 5, MEDI 6, PEOP 6,
takes photos for a TV show, newspaper, magazine, website TRAD 5
or for nonfiction books.
Income: $5,000 to start and $200/wk. Security Professional
Perks: Press credentials, which can get the PC into Costs 4 BP
places others can’t go and get people to talk who otherwise Description: The PC works as a bodyguard, security
wouldn’t. The PC has access to a research library and guard or bouncer.
research databases. Income: $4,000 to start and $150/wk.
Drawbacks: The PC must regularly come up with an Perks: The PC has some credibility with law
interesting story or be fired. Some people are less willing enforcement. Gets a free baton or pepper spray and a
to talk to a reporter. walkie talkie.
Advancement 1 (2 BP or 20 XP) $250/wk., PC is a Drawbacks: The work alternates between boring and
senior reporter. The PC has more discretion over what dangerous. The PC has very little legal power or authority
story to investigate and how to do it, and has a better chance to use violence and must bluff people into thinking he or
of getting the employer to pay for incidentals like hotels, she does. PC is often forced to work inconvenient hours
meals, paying off informants, etc. (graveyard or swing).
Advancement 2 (4 BP or 20 XP) $400/wk., PC is a Advancement 1 (3 BP or 25 XP) $300/wk., Senior
special correspondent who gets to travel and work on Officer. PC gets Pistol (1) and a free pistol or Driving (1)
stories for extended periods. The PC’s name is recognized and a company car to use on-duty.
by many people. Advancement 2 (5 BP or 25 XP) $400/wk., Security
Advancement 3 (6 BP or 20 XP) $500/wk., PC is an Chief. PC supervises other guards and is in charge of a
editor. The PC gets to tell other reporters what stories to site or shift.
work on. Free Skills: Club (1) or Self-Defense Weapons (1).
Free Skills: Research: Law Enforcement (2) and either Skill Costs: ACAD 7, ATHL 6, CMBT 9, CRTV 6,
Writing (2) OR Photography (2). CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 9, LABR 5, MEDI 6, PEOP 8,

Sex Industry Worker
In Dark
powerful and influential people. PC gets invited to a lot of
0 BP parties.
Description: The PC sells sex for money, working in either Drawbacks: The PC must stay as trendy as the
pornography, strip clubs, escort agencies or on the streets as a establishment or be fired. Poor benefits, few advancement
prostitute. opportunities.
Income: $2,000 to start and $200/wk. Advancement 1 (1 BP or 15 XP) $250/wk., senior.
Perks: Easy access to drugs, underworld contacts. Skill Costs: ACAD 6, ATHL 5, CMBT 15, CRTV 4,
Drawbacks: Often the target of violence and police CRIM 15, TECH 8, INVS 10, LABR 7, MEDI 7, PEOP 4,
harassment. Many in the sex industry grow to hate sex, the TRAD 7
opposite gender and themselves. PC’s job security depends on
the PC’s ability to stay attractive. Ward
-2 BP for Street Walker: The PC is in the sector of the sex Gives 4 BP
industry that is most likely to expose the PC to violence or legal Description: The PC is either underage or has been
trouble. judged mentally incompetent. The PC is cared for by
Advancement 1 (2 BP or 25 XP) $500/wk., PC is a porn-star another person who pays for all the PC’s expenses. If the
or high-class escort. PC is underage (has taken the Young disad) the PC will
Skill Costs: ACAD 7, ATHL 6, CMBT 12, CRTV 7, CRIM 10, eventually become old enough to be emancipated. If the
TECH 9, INVS 10, LABR 7, MEDI 8, PEOP 6, TRAD 6 PC was judged incompetent, a legal hearing and good report
from a psychiatrist is needed.
Social Worker Income: $250 to start and $10/wk.
0 BP +1 BP for Upper-Middle Class Family: starts with $750
Description: The PC works to help people in need, especially and $20/wk.
those who can’t help themselves, gain access to social support +2 BP for Upper-Class Family: starts with $1,250 and
services, navigate the legal system and plan out their futures. $40/wk.
Income: $4,000 to start and $150/wk. -4 BP for Hardass Caregivers: the people in charge of the
Perks: Stable work. Contacts with many aspects of the PC are unusually restrictive of the PC.
legal, medical and social support systems. -1 BP for Foster Kid: the PC is underage and a ward of
Drawbacks: Few advancement opportunities, often stressful the state; has to endure being bounced around between
and tiring. foster homes, some of which have abusive or intolerant
Advancement 1 (2 BP or 15 XP) $250/wk., Supervisor. caregivers.
Advancement 2 (4 BP or 15 XP) $350/wk., Division Chief. Perks: Free time.
Skill Costs: ACAD 4, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 6, CRIM Drawbacks: The caregivers have a legal right to tell the
15, TECH 7, INVS 10, LABR 6, MEDI 6, PEOP 5, TRAD 7 PC what to do, and can call the cops to back them up.
Student CRIM 15, TECH 8, INVS 10, LABR 8, MEDI 8, PEOP 8,
TRAD 8
0 BP
Description: The PC goes to school full time, living off of
scholarships, financial aide and occasional contributions by Welfare
parents. With no advancement the PC starts as a city college Gives 2 BP
student. Description: The PC is on public assistance. The PC
Income: $500 to start and $25/wk. must meet with caseworkers regularly and provide proof
Perks: Access to libraries, labs, professors. that he or she is still poor and has been looking for work.
Drawbacks: If the PC misses too many classes or study time Income: $500 to start and $20/wk.
the PC’s GPA will drop too low to get scholarships or financial Perks: Free time.
aide. Drawbacks: The government will revoke welfare after
Advancement 1 (1 BP or 15 XP) $50/wk., University a set period of time (by level 3), or if it suspects any kind
Undergraduate of malfeasance by the PC, or if the PC misses more than 1
Advancement 2 (2 BP or 15 XP) $75/wk., Graduate Student, caseworker appointment in a row
PC spends less time in classes and more time doing his or her Skill Costs: ACAD 5, ATHL 8, CMBT 15, CRTV 6,
own research. CRIM 15, TECH 8, INVS 10, LABR 5, MEDI 8, PEOP 8,
Advancement 3 (3 BP or 15 XP) $125/wk., Post-Doc, the TRAD 6
PC teaches some classes, has assistants, may have his or her
own corner in a lab. Sample Character Creation – Step 5
Advancement 4 (15 XP) PC can become a Professor. We decide that a doctor would be a good job for Maggie
Skill Costs: ACAD 4, ATHL 6, CMBT 15, CRTV 4, CRIM 15, Hernandez, so we choose Medical Professional. Just buying it
TECH 6, INVS 8, LABR 8, MEDI 6, PEOP 6, TRAD 8 makes her a nurse, so we want Advancement x2 which makes
Maggie a full fledged MD. Medical Professional costs 2 Bonus
Points and Advancement x2 costs 4 BP, so we’ll have to pay for a
Trendy Customer Service Job total of 6 BP (see Bonus Characteristics, p.111).
Costs 1 BP
Description: The PC works in a place frequented by the Our Day Job choice means that Maggie starts with $4,000 and has
rich, powerful and famous. Example: a hairdresser in a trendy $300 disposable income per week. Maggie also gets some free
skills: one level of Diagnosis, one level of Emergency Medicine
salon, a bartender in a trendy nightclub, a maitre d’ at a five-star and one level of Pharmacology. The day job also sets the costs
restaurant, etc. for buying mundane skills, which will be important when we buy
Income: $4,000 to start and $200/wk. skills in the next step.
Perks: Frequent contacts with some of society’s most

Alleys
Step Six - Skills
In Brief: Spend 100 Skill Points, skill costs set by Day Job Each skill lists the attribute which is typically used with
and Secret Life. Can buy 1 to 5 levels of any skill. that skill. Combat skills list only “combat” since the
attributes used depend on the fighting maneuver the PC
Every character begins with 100 skill points to buy skills attempts.
with. Each Day Job has a list of skill costs for mundane
skills. Each category of skills has a cost. That number For example: A Career Criminal, who can buy Criminal
represents the number of skill points it costs to buy one skills for 7 points each, buys 3 levels of Escape Artistry.
level in any skill from that category. These costs are Escape Artistry has a prerequisite of Lock Picking (2).
based on how easily characters of that profession have Since the PC already has 2 levels of Lock Picking it’s
access to teachers of those skills or can teach themselves. not a problem. Buying 3 levels of Escape Artistry will
Each Secret Life has a list of Supernatural Skills the PC cost 21 skill points (3x7) and gives the PC a skill level
has access to and the costs for each. Skills are bought in of 3, meaning he will have +8 on all rolls using this skill
levels from 1 to 6 with 1 representing a hobby level and 6 (+4 for each level after level 1). Since Escape Artistry
representing mastership at the skill. PCs can not buy level 6 typically uses AGY, the PC will typically roll his AGY
for a starting character without special permission from the +8 +1d20 vs. the difficulty. If his AGY is 10, his “AV”
GM. Each skill level above the first gives +4 to skill rolls (action value) could be recorded on the character sheet as
using that skill. 18, meaning he will roll 18 +1d20 for almost all Escape
Artistry rolls.
Some skills have prerequisites. One or more levels of
another skill must be taken before any levels of this skill See the section on using skills (p.136) for more
can be taken. Prerequisites are listed at the beginning of information.
each skill.
Mundane Skills
ACAD (Academic) Assassin: Unarmed (Combat) Gambling (INL) Driving (AGY)
Business (INL) Automatic Weapons (Combat) Lock Picking (AGY) Electronics (INL)
Cryptography (INL)* Bodyguard (Combat) Organized Crime (INL) Heavy Machinery (AGY)
Government (INL) Boxing (Combat) Pocket Picking (AGY) Helicopter (INL)
History: Local (INL) Club (Combat) Poisons (INL) Mechanics (INL)
History: World (INL) Fencing (Combat) Prowling (AGY) Motorcycle (AGY)
Law: Basic (INL) Florentine Sword (Combat) Street Drugs (INL or AWR) Plumbing (INL)
Law: Business (INL) Gun Repair (INL)
Law: Criminal (INL)* Immobilization (Combat) TECH (High Tech) MEDI (Medical)
Law: International (INL)* Kickboxing (Combat) Anonymity (INL) Diagnosis (INL)
Law: Tort (INL)* Knife Fighting (Combat) Computer Hardware (INL) Emergency Medicine (INL)
Linguistics (INL) Knife Throwing (Combat) Computer Security (INL) Pharmacology (INL)
Math (INL) Ordinance (Combat) Computer Software (INL) Physical Therapy (INL)
Mnemonics (INL) Pistol (Combat) Data Pirating (INL)* Plastic Surgery (INL)*
Mythology (INL) Rifle/Shotgun (Combat) Denial of Service (INL)* Psychopharmacology (INL)*
Philosophy (INL) Self-Defense Weapons (Combat) Hacking (INL) Surgery (INL)
Physics (INL)* Sniper (Combat) Internet Publishing (INL) Veterinary Medicine (INL)
Religion (INL) Specific Weapon Training (Combat) Networks (INL)
Phone Phreaking (INL) PEOP (People)
Research: Academic (INL) Staff Fighting (Combat) Fashion and Beauty (CHM)
Science: Agriculture (INL) Street Fighting: Armed (Combat) Programming (INL)
Research: Internet (INL) Language (INL)
Science: Archeology/Paleontology (INL) Street Fighting: Unarmed (Combat) Oratory (CHM)
Science: Botany (INL) Sword and Shield (Combat) INVS (Investigation/Espionage) Performance (CHM)
Science: Chemistry Tae Kwon Do (Combat) Bomb Disarming (INL) Psychotherapy (CHM)
Science: Ecology (INL) Wrestling (Combat) Brainwashing (INL)* Seduction (CHM)
Science: Genetics (INL) Crime Scene Forensics (INL) Storytelling (CHM)
Science: Meteorology (INL) CRTV (Creative)
Cooking (AWR) Disguise (INL)
Science: Pathology (INL) Forensic Pathology (INL) TRAD (Traditional)
Science: Psychology (INL) Filmmaking (INL) Acupuncture (INL)
Gardening (INL) Impersonation (CHM)
Social Work (INL) Interrogation (CHM) Animal Training (CHM)
Music (AWR) Local Geography (INL)
ATHL (Athletic) Photography (AWR) Military Tactics (INL)
Offensive Driving (AGY) Ethnogens (INL)
Acrobatics (AGY) Sculpture (AWR) Herbal Medicine (INL)
Bicycle (AGY) Visual Arts (AWR) Research: Law Enforcement (INL)
Torture (INL) Hypnosis (CHM)
Climbing (AGY) Writing (INL) Lipreading (AWR)
Running (SPD) WMDs (INL)
CRIM (Criminal) Light Sleep (AWR)
Skates (AGY) LABR (Labor) Sleight of Hand (AGY)
Sports (AGY) Alarm Systems (AWR or INL)
Auto-Theft (INL) Airplane Pilot (AGY) Street Survival (INL)
Swimming (END) Blacksmithing (INL) Tracking (AWR)
Black Market (CHM)
CMBT (Combat) Card Counting (INL)* Boat Pilot (AGY) Traditional Crafts (INL)
Aikido (Combat) Drug Resistance (WIL) Brewing (INL) Wilderness Survival (INL)
Archery (Combat) Escape Artistry (AGY)* Carpentry (INL)
Assassin: Armed (Combat) Forgery (INL) Demolitions (INL) *Prerequisites
Step Six - Skills 065

In Dark
Skill Description Features
Cryptography (INL)- Prerequisite: Math (2). A skill PCs must have before they
The attribute this skill This is knowledge of mathematical theories can buy this skill (and the number of
generally uses (roll Attribute behind modern cryptography and code-breaking levels of the prerequisite skill the PC
+ 1d20 +4/skill level above 1 techniques. Includes the ability to analyze, modify
must have).
and try to match the difficulty and create codes and attempt to break codes.
Easy (10): Do simple cipher by hand.
for whatever the PC is trying Moderate (20): Break a simple cipher. A series of examples showing things
to do with the skill) Hard (30): Analyze the encryption on a Hard PCs might do with a skill at different
Drive. difficulties.
Moderate (20): Incorporate.

Day Jobs and Skill Costs Hard (30): Borrow money to buy a shipment of 100,000
pens from China then sell them to an American company at
ACAD
CMBT
TRAD
LABR
TECH
CRTV
CRIM
MEDI
ATHL
PEOP
INVS
a 100% markup.
Alternative Health 5 5 15 5 15 8 10 6 5 7 5 Cryptography (INL)- Prerequisite: Math (2). This
Boring Customer Service 6 7 15 5 15 7 10 5 7 7 7 is knowledge of mathematical theories behind modern
Boring Factory Job 6 7 15 5 15 7 10 4 7 7 7 cryptography and code-breaking techniques. Includes
Boring Field Job 5 7 14 5 15 7 10 4 7 7 7 the ability to analyze, modify and create codes and
Boring Office Job 5 7 15 5 15 6 10 5 7 7 7 attempt to break codes.
Business Owner 4 7 15 4 15 7 10 4 7 7 7
Easy (10): Do simple cipher by hand.
Career Criminal 7 7 8 6 7 8 10 6 9 7 7
Moderate (20): Break a simple cipher.
Child Care 4 7 15 4 15 7 10 5 7 6 7
Computer Tech 4 8 15 5 15 3 10 6 7 7 7 Hard (30): Analyze the encryption on a Hard Drive.
Creative 4 7 15 3 15 7 10 5 7 6 7
Government (INL)- This is knowledge of the structure
Dangerous Field Job 6 5 13 6 15 8 9 4 7 6 7
and procedures of government, from city councils to
Driver 5 7 15 5 15 7 10 4 7 7 7
federal agencies.
Homeless 8 7 12 5 10 9 10 5 9 9 5
Homemaker 6 8 15 5 15 7 10 8 7 6 7 Easy (10): Make a statement before the city council.
Investigator 6 7 9 6 10 7 5 6 7 7 7 Moderate (20): Get a funding grant from a federal
Law Enforcement Pro. 6 6 7 6 12 7 6 6 6 8 7 agency.
Legal Professional 3 7 15 6 15 7 8 7 7 6 8 Hard (30): Get a state water management board to
Medical Professional 4 7 15 5 15 7 10 6 3 7 8 rescind its annual report to the state assembly because it
Paranormal Professional 5 7 15 5 12 7 10 6 7 6 7 failed to make a draft available for public comment for 30
Performer 7 4 15 4 15 8 10 6 7 4 7 days.
Pilot 5 7 15 5 15 7 10 4 7 7 7
Politician 4 7 15 5 17 7 10 6 7 5 7 History: Local (INL)- This is knowledge of the history
Privileged 5 7 15 5 15 7 10 7 7 6 8 of the area the campaign takes place in.
Professor 3 8 15 4 15 6 10 6 6 6 7 Easy (10): Tell how and why the city was founded.
Religious Professional 4 7 15 5 15 7 10 5 7 6 7 Moderate (20): Tell when year a skyscraper was built.
Reporter 5 8 15 4 12 7 7 6 7 5 7
Hard (30): Determine what was on any given block 200
Researcher 3 8 15 6 15 4 10 7 4 7 8
years ago.
Retired 5 9 13 5 12 9 9 5 6 6 5
Security Professional 7 6 9 6 15 7 9 5 6 8 8 History: World (INL)
Sex Industry Worker 7 6 12 7 10 9 10 7 8 6 6
Easy (10): Describe the major players in WWII.
Social Worker 4 7 15 6 15 7 10 6 6 5 7
Student 4 6 15 4 15 6 8 8 6 6 8
Moderate (20): Name the major Chinese dynasties and
Trendy Customer Service 6 5 15 4 15 8 10 7 7 4 7
say what made each one special.
Ward 5 7 15 5 15 8 10 8 8 8 8 Hard (30): Name the winner of any given battle in the
Welfare 5 8 15 6 15 8 10 5 8 8 6 crusades.
Law: Basic (INL)- This is knowledge of basic legal

ACAD
CMBT
TRAD
LABR
TECH
CRTV
CRIM
MEDI
ATHL
PEOP
INVS
principles and procedures. Includes: where laws come

from, what courts judge what cases, how cases are
ACAD (Academic)
brought in front of a court, who can practice law, the
remedies for each type of legal problem and the general
procedures for legal actions.
Business (INL)- This is knowledge of the world of Easy (10): File an amicus curiae (friend of the court)
business, from single proprietorships to multinational brief.
corporations. The PC is familiar with business bookkeeping, Moderate (20): File an ethics complaint against a lawyer
taxes, investment, labor practices, sales, distribution, with the state bar.
manufacturing and warehousing. Hard (30): Research all relevant laws and cases for a
Easy (10): Write a business plan. given legal question.

Alleys
Law: Business (INL)- This is the study of laws and legal Mythology (INL)- This is knowledge of the stories of
doctrines relating to corporations and other businesses. gods, spirits, monsters, magic and ancestors from around
Unlike other forms of law it is possible to learn business the world and through history.
law without a thorough grounding in basic legal principles. Easy (10): Name the Roman god of time.
Easy (10): Form and register a business partnership. Moderate (20): Tell the Navajo story of the origin of this
Moderate (20): Put together a flawless record contract with world.
a musician. Hard (30): Tell a particular New Guinea tribe’s name for a
Hard (30): Make sure an annual stockholder’s report wild human-eating jungle spirit.
conforms to SEC requirements.
Philosophy (INL)- This is knowledge of academically
Law: Criminal (INL)- Prerequisite: Law: Basic (1). This esteemed theories of ethics, logic and reality.
is knowledge of prosecuting or defending those who have Easy (10): Identify the logical fallacy in an argument.
been accused of crimes. Moderate (20): Outline and critique Descartes’ argument
Easy (10): List the elements of murder. for the existence of god.
Moderate (20): Figure out whether the ‘deal’ the district Hard (30): Identify the major principles of morality taught
attorney is offering a criminal defendant is a good deal or not. in West African legends.
Hard (30): Get the evidence obtained from a not-quite-legal
police search thrown out. Physics (INL)- Prerequisite: Math (2). This is knowledge
of the theories and mathematical formulae that explain
Law: International (INL)- Prerequisite: Law: Basic (1). everything from falling objects to aerodynamics to the
This is knowledge of the laws and legal procedures that cut birth of the universe.
across national borders. Includes maritime law, war crimes Easy (10): Calculate the speed and acceleration of an
and international business law. object sliding down a smooth incline.
Easy (10): Determine who owns the floating cargo left over Moderate (20): Calculate the amount of x-rays that would
from a plane crash in international waters. escape from the event horizon of a black hole.
Moderate (20): Write a contract for the sale of goods to a Hard (30): Understand a string-theory equation.
company in another country.
Hard (30): Prepare a brief, on behalf of one country, seeking Religion (INL)- This is the study of the history, beliefs
reparations from another country for war crimes. and organization of all the world’s religions.
Law: Tort (INL)- Prerequisite: Law: Basic (1). This is Easy (10): Tell the difference between a Shiite and Sunni
the study of civil (as opposed to criminal) law and the legal Muslim.
actions that can be taken by someone harmed by a tort. Moderate (20): Name the 7th Roman Catholic pope.
Easy (10): Take someone to small claims court over a Hard (30): Tell the name of the thunder god of a small
dented fender. Papa New Guinea tribe.
Moderate (20): Sue someone for libel.
Research: Academic (INL)- This is knowledge
Hard (30): File a class action lawsuit against multiple of how to find out information by searching through
international corporations. libraries, research databases, newspaper archives, private
Linguistics (INL)- This is the theoretical study of collections of historical documents, etc.
language. Each level of this skill gives -2 to the skill cost Easy (10): Find a paper describing the effects of Ritalin on
for the skill Language (min. 1). pregnant rats.
Easy (10): Determine what language someone is speaking. Moderate (20): Find the winner of a local beauty pageant
Moderate (20): Determine the origin of a language by in 1923.
comparing it to other languages. Hard (30): Find the letters home from British soldiers who
Hard (30): Determine where someone is from by analyzing had been in a certain battle in the Crimean War.
his or her accent.
Science: Agriculture (INL)- This is knowledge of the
Math (INL)- This is knowledge of all branches of history, methods and science of modern agribusiness.
mathematics and statistics. Easy (10): Explain crop-rotation.
Easy (10): Calculate the compound interest on a loan. Moderate (20): Determine which crop is most profitable
Moderate (20): Find a complex mathematical proof. for a certain farm.
Hard (30): Create complex computer models to predict the Hard (30): Plant, grow, protect, harvest and sell a small
movement of storm clouds. crop.
Mnemonics (INL)- This is the collection of tricks and Science: Archeology/Paleontology (INL)- This is
techniques that allow large amounts of information to be knowledge of the methods used to gain information about
memorized quickly and recalled accurately. pre-history, as well as the information that has been gained
Easy (10): Remember a phone number for days after by those methods.
hearing it once. Easy (10): Tell when humans first came to the American
Moderate (20): Memorize the configuration of a chessboard continent.
and remember it for days. Moderate (20): Recognize the bones of a euoplocephalus.
Hard (30): Memorize several pages of a book and remember Hard (30): Analyze ice-core samples to find increases in
it verbatim for weeks. forest fires 5,000 years ago.

In Dark
Science: Botany (INL)- This is knowledge of the science Easy (10): Help someone get on welfare.
of plants. Moderate (20): Help someone get on disability.
Easy (10): Classify plants by phylum. Hard (30): Help a mentally ill homeless person get into a
Moderate (20): Identify North American edible plants. group-home.
Hard (30): Distinguish poisonous from edible wild
mushrooms.
Science: Chemistry (INL)- This is knowledge of the
composition and interactions of chemicals as well as the
ATHL (Athletic)
practical methods of analyzing, synthesizing and isolating Acrobatics (AGY)- This is training in physical tricks
chemicals. involving swinging, jumping, rolling, balancing, etc.
Easy (10): Draw a diagram of the composition of Primarily for the purposes of amusing others. STH may
monosodium glutamate and describe how it might interact with be used instead of or in addition to AGY for some stunts.
other chemicals. Acrobatics adds +4 per level to jumping rolls and saves
Moderate (20): Test for the presence of MSG in a food vs. loss of balance.
sample (requires Chemical Analysis Equipment, see p.102). Easy (10): Do cartwheels.
Hard (30): Synthesize MSG from soy beans (requires a Moderate (20): Swing off of a fire escape, somersault in
small chemistry lab). midair and land on one’s feet.
Science: Ecology (INL)- This is knowledge of how Hard (30): Backflip off a building and land on a telephone
plants, animals, micro-organisms and the environment wire.
interact with each other. Bicycle (AGY)- This is training on various terrain
Easy (10): Determine whether an ecological system is with racing and mountain bikes. Gives the following
relatively ‘healthy.’ maneuvers (with +4 for each level after the first, see
Moderate (20): Identify the role of each major player in an Vehicle Skills, p.137).
ecosystem. Jump (20): Jump the bike over holes or obstacles.
Hard (30): Determine what the introduction of a particular
Sharp Turn (20): By leaning over almost to the point of
species will do to an ecosystem. touching the ground, the PC can make tight turns.
Science: Genetics (INL)- This is knowledge of methods Skidding Turn (30): By skidding the rear tire, the PC can
of reading, comparing and changing DNA as well as what make incredibly fast and tight turns.
little is known about how genes produce biological traits. Stairs (20): Go up or down stairs or similar
Easy (10): Do a paternity test. impediments.
Moderate (20): Determine a person’s ethnic background. Swerve (20): The vehicular equivalent of a dodge.
Hard (30): Create frost-resistant lima-beans. Climbing (AGY)- This is training in climbing with or
Science: Meteorology (INL)- This is knowledge of without climbing tools. Climbing adds +4 per level to
weather and weather prediction. climbing rolls (see p.126).
Easy (10): Predict the next hour’s weather using satellite Easy (10): Climb a tree.
images. Moderate (20): Climb a cliff face using climbing tools.
Moderate (20): Predict the next few day’s weather using Hard (30): Climb a cliff face using no tools.
satellite images.
Running (SPD)- This is training in maintaining an
Hard (30): Predict the next few day’s weather using a
efficient stride and knowing how much energy to spend
homemade barometer and weather vane.
to maintain maximum speed throughout different length
Science: Pathology (INL)- This is the study of diseases: runs. Gives +4 per level to sprinting rolls (see p.138) or
how they spread, what they do to the body, how they +4 per level to END for use with long distance running.
reproduce. Skates (AGY)- This is training in the use of roller-
Easy (10): Describe the disease vectors of influenza. skates and rollerblades. The skill can also be used
Moderate (20): Describe the effects on the liver of hepatitis. with ice-skates or skis but at +10 difficulty. Gives the
Hard (30): List the onset symptoms of a rare South American following maneuvers:
parasite. Jump (20): Jump over holes or obstacles.
Science: Psychology (INL)- This is knowledge of the Rails (30): Ride on very thin things like railings or small
theories and research concerning the workings of human ledges.
and animal minds. Stairs (20): Go up or down stairs or similar
Easy (10): List some of the consequences of not enough impediments.
dopamine. Swerve (20): The vehicular equivalent of a dodge.
Moderate (20): List Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Sports (AGY)- This is training in all the popular physical
Hard (30): Name the likelihood of each attachment style. sports, including basketball, soccer, football, handball and
Social Work (INL)- This is knowledge of the various tennis. Choose one sport the PC has specialized in: the
services available to the needy via city, county, state and PC gets +10 to rolls involving that sport. To determine
federal government programs. The skill can be used to the outcome of the game, each player must make either a
identify what services are available to meet a person’s sports skill roll (easy difficulty) or an AGY roll (moderate
particular needs and how to get the person those services. difficulty). The opposed winner wins the game.

Alleys
Swimming (END)- This is training at swimming for Bodyguard (Combat)- This is training in protecting
speed, distance and agility. The PC also knows how to use others in the middle of combat. PCs with this skill can use
SCUBA gear for diving. Gives +4 per level to SPD for fast their reaction when an attack is directed towards another
swimming (people can typically swim at ¼ their normal person.
SPD) or +4 per level to END for use with long-distance +2 per level to initiative
swimming. +4 to Grab
+4 to Tackle
+0 to special action Parry Another (STH + AGY + 1d20
CMBT (Combat) vs. 30, if successful the PC parries a blow directed towards
another).
Aikido (Combat)- This 20th century martial art was +0 to special reaction: Body Block (SPD + AGY + 1d20
designed for non-violent self-defense. Gives the following vs. 20, if successful the PC put himself or herself between a
moves with bare hands and feet only: strike and the intended target).
+4 to Disarm
+4 to Grab (Pain)
Combat Skills In Brief Boxing (Combat)- This is training in fighting
Each combat skills lists plusses with bare or gloved fists.
+0 to Knockdown
to combat actions and reactions +4 to Parry with forearms
+4 to Dodge (described on p.79) with a +0 to Strike with fists
+4 to Flip certain set of weapons. At
level 1 in the skill, the PC only +4 to Blinding Strike with fists
+0 to Parry
gets the plusses listed. Ignore +0 to Knockout Strike with fists
Archery (Combat)- Gives the following any plusses that give +0 or a +4 to Pain/Stun Strike with fists
penalty. For every additional
maneuvers with bows and crossbows: level of the skill, add +4 to each Club (Combat)- This is training with
+4 to split action Draw and Strike (excluding one of these plusses (meaning
crossbows) all club-like weapons, including baseball
that the zeroes and negatives
Double Aim (takes 2 actions, +10 to next will eventually become bats, nightsticks, pipes, telescoping batons,
action) plusses). etc. Gives the following plusses with club
weapons only:
+0 to Strike (Projectile) For instance, at level 1 a skill +4 to Parry
+4 to Vital Strike might give +4 to Strike, +0 to
Parry and -4 to Vital Strike with
+4 to Vital Strike (Blunt)
No penalty for targeted strikes.
a weapon. At level 1, the only +0 to Wing
Assassin: Armed (Combat)- Techniques for plus that really counts is the +4 +0 to Strike
quick, efficient and silent surprise attacks with to strike. At level 2 the PC will
+8 to strike, +4 to Parry and Fencing (Combat)- This is training in
knives and garrotes. This skill does not include get+0 to Vital Strike (now only the competitive fencing. Gives the following
firearm training (see Sniper, p.70). Gives the Vital Strike does nothing). At
following: level 3: +12 to Strike, +8 to
plusses with fencing swords (or with other
+4 to Grab (Strangulation) with garrote Parry, +4 to Vital Strike. swords at -8):
weapons. +8 to Parry
If a PC has different skills
+0 to Special Action: Jugular Attack that give plusses on the same +0 to Strike
(Requires ½+ bladed damage handheld weapon. action with the same weapon +0 to Vital Strike
If successful, victim cannot speak or scream and (e.g. Street Fighting: Armed +4 to Jump
loses 4 BLD per round until dead. AWR + AGY and Knife Fighting both give
+1d20 vs. 40). plusses to Vital Strike with Florentine Sword (Combat)- This is
+4 to Vital Strike (Bladed) with knives knives) the PC takes only the training in fighting using two swords.
highest bonus for each action No penalty for using paired swords.
Assassin: Unarmed (Combat)- Techniques (the plusses do not combine). +4 to Parry
for quick and efficient unarmed killing of a +4 to Strike
surprised opponent. Gives the following maneuvers with +8 to Split Reaction: Parry and Simultaneous Strike
hands and feet:
+4 to Grab (Strangulation) Gun Repair (INL)- This is knowledge of how to
+0 to Special Action: Neck Breaking (Requires a hold on assemble, clean, maintain and repair firearms.
the victim’s head. If successful, instant paralysis and death. Easy (10): Clean a pistol.
STH + AGY +1d20 vs. 40) Moderate (20): Manufacture bullets.
+4 to Stomp Hard (30): Recalibrate the sights of a sniper rifle.
+0 to Knockdown Immobilization (Combat)- This martial art is usually
Automatic Weapons (Combat)- Gives the following taught to police officers and security guards. It entails
actions with machine guns, submachineguns, automatic taking-down and immobilizing opponents without doing
rifles and automatic pistols. permanent damage. Gives the following:
+4 to Area Attack +8 to Grab (Pain)
+4 to Grab (Wrestling)
+0 to Vital Strike (Bladed) +0 to Grab
+4 to Split Reaction: Dodge and Simultaneous Strike +0 to Knockdown
+4 to Split Reaction: Drop and Simultaneous Strike -4 to Crippling Attack
-4 to Disarm

In Dark
Kickboxing (Combat)- Gives the following actions with Specific Weapon Training (Combat)- This is training
feet: in some non-projectile weapon that is not covered by
+4 to Wing any other skill (including blowpipe, fire axe, pickaxe,
+4 to Parry sledgehammer, tiger claws and whip). Gives the
following:
+4 to Knockaway
+4 to Strike
+0 to Strike
+4 to Vital Strike -or- +4 to Pain/Stun Attack (choose one)
Knife Fighting (Combat)- Gives the following actions +4 to Parry -or- +2 per level to initiative (choose one)
with knives and daggers:
Staff Fighting (Combat)- Gives the following plusses
+8 to Vital Strike (Bladed) with staves or any long pole being used as a staff.
+4 to Jump +8 to Parry
+4 to Split Action: Jump and Strike +0 to Strike
+0 to Dodge +4 to Split Action Jump and Strike
Knife Throwing (Combat)- The PC has trained in Street Fighting: Armed (Combat)- This is rough-
throwing knives, daggers and other thrown, bladed weapons. and-tumble, no-rules, do-anything-to-win fighting
Gives the following actions when throwing only: using whatever objects are available that can be used as
+2 per level to initiative weapons. Gives the following plusses using improvised
+4 to Strike weapons (see p.145) or cheap weapons (baseball bats,
+0 to Vital Strike chains, crate cutters, crowbars, daggers, knives, pipes,
sharpened sticks, etc.):
-4 to Blinding Strike
+4 to Pain/Stun Attack
+4 to Simultaneous Strike
Ordinance (Combat)- Gives the following with grenades, +4 to Crippling Attack
molotov cocktails, anti-tank weapons and grenade +0 to Slash
launchers: -4 to Vital Strike (Bladed and Blunt)
Double Aim (takes 2 rounds, gives +8 to the next action).
Street Fighting: Unarmed (Combat)- Gives the
+4 to Strike (Projectile) following plusses with hands and feet only:
+4 to Jump +4 to Pain/Stun Attack
Pistol (Combat)- The PC has trained at close quarters +4 to Crippling Attack
combat using pistols. Gives the following plusses: +4 to Blinding Attack
No penalty for using paired pistols +0 to Knockdown
+2 per level to initiative with pistols +0 to Stomp
+4 to Vital Strike (Bladed) Sword and Shield (Combat)- This is the use of a sword
+4 to Strike (Projectile) or machete in one hand and a shield in the other. Gives the
+4 to Split Reaction: Dodge and Strike following plusses:
+4 to Split Reaction: Drop and Strike +4 to Parry
+8 to Split Action Parry and Simultaneous Strike
Rifle/Shotgun (Combat)- The PC has trained with the +0 to Knockaway
use of all rifles (including assault rifles and sniper rifles)
and shotguns (including sawed-off shotguns). Gives the Tae Kwon Do (Combat)- One of the most popular
following actions with those weapons only: martial arts in the world, nearly synonymous with Karate.
+4 to Vital Strike (Bladed) Focuses on dropping opponents swiftly and efficiently
+4 to Simultaneous Strike using only hands and feet. Gives the following plusses
+0 to Strike
while unarmed only:
+2 per level to initiative
Self-Defense Weapons- Gives the following plusses +4 to Strike with fists or feet
with pepper spray and tasers. +4 to Pain/Stun Attack
+4 to Pain/Stun Attack +0 to Split Action Jump and Strike (kick)
+4 to Blinding Strike +0 to Parry (with the back of the hand)
+4 to Simultaneous Pain/Stun Attack
Wrestling (Combat)- Gives the following plusses:
Sniper (Combat)- Gives the following with sniper rifles. +0 to Grab
Other types of rifles with scopes can be used at -8. +8 to Grab (Wrestling)
Double Aim (Takes 2 rounds, gives +8 to the next action). +4 to Knockdown
+4 to Vital Strike (Bladed) +4 to Tackle
No penalty for targeted strikes. +0 to Flip

Alleys
CRTV (Creative)
Easy (10): Create a recognizable sketch of someone.
Moderate (20): Create a painting that someone would
Cooking (AWR)- Training in various styles of cooking. accept as a gift and put up proudly.
Easy (10): Make a tasty meal in a well-stocked restaurant Hard (30): Create a painting that could sell for $500 if
kitchen. placed in the right gallery.
Moderate (20): Make a delicious meal in a middle-class Writing (INL)- The PC knows how to describe things
person’s kitchen.
in writing in a way that is informative, understandable,
Hard (30): Make a delicious meal out of food from the food technically correct, conforms to a given style and is
bank. even pleasant to read. The PC can use this skill to write
Filmmaking (INL)- This is knowledge of the costs, journalism, academic papers, fiction, technical manuals or
equipment, techniques and art of capturing moving even advertising copy.
images. Easy (10): Write a memo that clearly and concisely
Easy (10): Create an indie movie on Super 8 worthy of play describes an incident.
at a minor festival. Moderate (20): Write a newspaper article about a tenement
Moderate (20): Create a professional quality 30-second that captures the feel of the place.
commercial. Hard (30): Write an entertaining technical manual.
Hard (30): Direct and produce a pro-quality feature length
movie with special effects.
Gardening (INL)- This is knowledge of how to grow small CRIM (Criminal)
amounts of plants for food, medicine, poison or decoration.
To grow on a large scale, see Science: Agriculture. For Alarm Systems (AWR or INL)- This is knowledge of
knowledge of how to utilize medicinal or poisonous plants, the various electronic alarm systems that protect buildings
see the skills Herbal Medicine and Poisons. from intruders. The skill can be used to recognize alarm
Easy (10): Grow hardy plants in a greenhouse with grow- systems (AWR) and determine how to bypass or disable
lights. them (INL). Sometimes AGY rolls are also required to
disable or bypass the alarms without setting them off.
Moderate (20): Grow plants in an air-conditioned house
with a small grow-light. Easy (10): Recognize a motion detector -or- Bypass
infrared beams.
Hard (30): Grow exotic plants in a pot in a backyard.
Moderate (20): Recognize a door sensor -or- Move very
Music (AWR)- This is knowledge of composing, reading, slowly past a motion detector.
writing, playing and improvising music. Choose one Hard (30): Recognize pressure sensitive floor plates -or-
instrument (including voice) that the PC specializes in Dress up in a ice-pack-filled-suit to bypass a heat sensor.
playing. The PC is -10 when using any other instrument.
Moderate (20): Make up an entertaining song in a few Auto-Theft (INL)- This is knowledge of various tricks
hours. for opening vehicles and hot-wiring them. The amount
Hard (30): Make up an entertaining song while jamming. of success determines the time it takes to accomplish the
Legendary (40): Compose songs worthy of an album. theft, 10+ success means only a few seconds.
Easy (10): Open a door on an older car using a long flat
Photography (AWR)- Training in utilizing photographic, piece of metal.
developing and printing technology to capturing a scene Moderate (20): Hotwire an older car.
exactly as the photographer wants it captured.
Hard (30): Hotwire a new car with a security system.
Easy (10): Use studio lighting to photograph someone
looking very nice. Black Market (CHM)- This is knowledge of where and
Moderate (20): Capture the beauty of a dark alley. how to purchase illegal goods and services, how to bribe
Hard (30): Make a portrait using daguerreotype officials, where or how to sell illegal goods and services
technology. and how to determine the value of black market goods and
services. The PC is at -10 in any other than the PC’s home
Sculpture (AWR)- This is training in carving beautiful area and -20 in other countries. This skill also allows the
or useful things from rock or wood or forming them from PC to start play with illegal items (see p.88).
clay.
Easy (10): Buy an infraction level item (e.g. a dime bag of
Easy (10): Make a wooden doorstop.
marijuana) or pay for a blowjob.
Moderate (20): Make a clay pot.
Moderate (20): Buy a misdemeanor level item (e.g. a
Hard (30): Carve a stone statue that is a perfect likeness of switchblade) or bribe a cop to forget about a speeding ticket.
someone.
Hard (30): Buy a felony level item (e.g. a machine gun) or
Visual Arts (AWR)- This is training in how to create hire an assassin.
beautiful or compelling images on paper, cloth, canvas Legendary (40): Buy a capital level item (e.g. weapons-
or computer screens. Choose one specialty (e.g. painting grade plutonium) or hire mercenaries to overthrow a
landscapes), the PC gets +10 to skill rolls involving that government.
specialty.

In Dark
Card Counting (INL)- Prerequisite: Gambling (1). This Pocket Picking (AGY)- The victim gets an opposed
is training in remembering the values of cards that have been (moderate) AWR roll to sense the theft. Victims can also
played to determine what cards are most likely to come up use common sense (e.g. knowing to check their pockets
next and give a small (but in the long run very significant) after someone has bumped into them).
advantage over other players. Easy (10): Grab the wallet from the external pocket of an
Easy (10): Gain a +4 advantage in blackjack. overcoat on a drunk person in a crowd at a rock concert.
Moderate (20): Gain a +7 advantage in poker. Moderate (20): Bump into someone while walking past
Hard (30): Gain a +7 advantage in poker when multiple and pull something out of a pants pocket.
decks are used. Hard (30): Rob a fellow bus passenger by slitting a pants
pocket with a razor blade.
Drug Resistance (WIL)- This is experience with many
types of drugs and practice acting normally while under the Poisons (INL)- This is knowledge of the origin, use,
influence. Gives +4 per level to save vs. drug effects and effects and treatment of poisons.
can help PCs ‘regain’ attributes that have been temporarily Easy (10): Find something under a person’s sink that,
reduced by the drugs as follows: when put on a blade, will exacerbate any injuries the blade
Easy (10): +1 to lost attributes. makes.
Moderate (20): +2 to lost attributes. Moderate (20): Manufacture deadly-when-ingested
poison from the contents of a gardener’s shed.
Hard (30): +3 to lost attributes.
Hard (30): Recognize a common poison by examining a
Escape Artistry (AGY)- Prerequisite: Lock Picking dead body.
(2). This is training in the various techniques that stage
magicians use to escape from enclosures. Most uses of this Prowling (AGY)- This is practice in sneaking up on
skill require a lock-pick to be hidden on one’s person, then people, moving silently, quickly finding hiding places,
contortion to be used to retrieve it and gain access to the lock crawling through shadows and blending in with the
so it can be picked. environment. Gives +4/level to prowling rolls (p.12).
Easy (10): Escape from a pair of handcuffs. Street Drugs (Uses AWR or INL)- This is an overall
Moderate (20): Escape from a straight-jacket. familiarity with common street drugs – how much they
Hard (30): Escape from a steamer-trunk wrapped in a chain cost, what their effects are, what people act like when
with a padlock. they are on them, etc. INL is used for remembering facts,
Forgery (INL)- This is training in forging signatures, ID AWR is used for recognizing drugs or drug effects. The
cards and other paper based documents. Most attempts at skill also includes knowledge of how to manufacture
forgery require an investment in equipment (ink, printers, street drugs.
lamination, etc.) which can range from a few bucks (for a Easy (10): Name the going price for good heroin (INL)
cheap ID) to several thousand (for counterfeiting money). -or- Feel and recognize the effects of bennies (AWR).
Easy (10): Copy a signature ($1 investment). Moderate (20): Describe heroin withdrawal (INL) -or-
Determine how pure cocaine is by looking at and tasting it
Moderate (20): Create a photo ID ($20 investment). (AWR).
Hard (30): Create California Driver’s License (with Hard (30): Create a meth lab (INL) -or- Determine what
hologram) ($500 investment). drug a person is on just by how they look and act (AWR).
Legendary (40): Counterfeit money ($5,000 investment).
Gambling (INL)- This is training in various popular games
of chance (mainly dice or card games). When playing a
game the PC makes an opposed moderate (20 difficulty) roll
TECH (High Tech)
against their opponents (who can make gambling skill rolls Anonymity (INL)- This is knowledge of how to access
or hard INL rolls). the internet while concealing the source of the access.
This is typically done through anonymous re-sender
Lock Picking (AGY)- This is training in opening locks, servers operated by privacy advocates.
typically by putting tension on the lock and raking each pin
in the lock with a pick until they stick in the proper position. Easy (10): Send an anonymous email for a $5 fee.
This skill can be used in combination with the Electronics Moderate (20): Make an anonymous VOIP phone call for
skill to bypass electronic locks. $1/minute.
Easy (10): Pick the lock on a cheap filing cabinet. Hard (30): Chat anonymously, live and for free.
Moderate (20): Pick the lock on the door to someone’s Computer Hardware (INL)- This is knowledge of
apartment.
the parts and peripheral devices that make up modern
Hard (30): Pick the lock on the change box on a payphone. computer tech and how to purchase, assemble and repair
Organized Crime (INL)- This is knowledge of the such parts.
structure, business and culture of organized crime groups that Easy (10): Install a network card.
operate in the US, from lowly street gangs to international Moderate (20): Build a computer from parts.
cartels. Hard (30): Repair a damaged hard drive.
Easy (10): Tell whether two major street gangs are at war.
Moderate (20): Decipher gang graffiti. Computer Security (INL)- This is knowledge
of how to setup computers and networks to resist
Hard (30): Recognize a major mafia Don by sight and know
malicious software (viruses, trojans, worms) and resist
the names and ages of his kids.

Alleys
unauthorized access. Opposed skill rolls can be made vs. Hard (30): Create a MUD (multi-user dungeon) game that
the Hacking skill. people can play by sending text messages with cellphones.
Easy (10): Setup a personal firewall on a PC.
Networks (INL)- This is knowledge of the physical
Moderate (20): Remove a virus from an infected technology that makes networks possible: fiber-optic
computer.
cables, hubs, satellite dishes, wireless routers as well as
Hard (30): Program a router to detect and block denial of the networking software and protocols. The PC can setup,
service attacks.
tap into or repair networks and can track the physical
Computer Software (INL)- This is knowledge of how location of a node.
to install, use and fix utilities, applications and operating Easy (10): Setup a home network of 3 computers.
systems. Moderate (20): Give a large office access to an internet
Easy (10): Reinstall Windows on a buggy computer. pipe and private networked drives.
Moderate (20): Turn data in a text file into graphs in a slide- Hard (30): Tap into a network with packet sniffers and
show style presentation. trace malicious packets back to their source.
Hard (30): Hex edit a damaged FAT table to retrieve lost Phone Phreaking (INL)- This is knowledge of
files. how to gain unauthorized access to and control over
Data Pirating (INL)- Prerequisite: Research: Internet (2). telecommunications equipment: PBXs, voicemail
This is knowledge of how to obtain free software, music, systems, cellular networks, pagers, etc.
even movies and television files via the various file sharing Easy (10): Get a payphone to let you make a free phone
networks and piracy rings on the internet. Downloading call.
the data can take seconds or days depending on the size of Moderate (20): Clone a cellphone so you can make calls
the file and amount of success. A PC with this skill starts on another person’s account.
with $2,000 in pirated data per skill level, anything else Hard (30): Find someone’s unlisted phone number and
must be pirated during gameplay. The skill also includes have calls to that number forwarded to you.
knowledge of how to crack the copy protection or digital
rights management schemes meant to protect data from Programming (INL)- This is knowledge of how to
being pirated. create (as well as analyze) computer software. Along with
Hacking this skill can be used to create malicious software
Easy (10): Find an mp3 of a rare track from an out-of-print (e.g. viruses).
album by a popular country singer.
Easy (10): Create a calculator.
Moderate (20): Find a camcorder-taped copy of a major
motion picture that just came out. Moderate (20): Create a word processor.
Hard (30): Find and crack a major A/V editing software Hard (30): Create an operating system.
suite weeks before it goes on sale.
Research: Internet (INL)- This is knowledge of how to
Denial of Service (INL)- Prerequisite: Networks (1). find anything on the web quickly, efficiently and cheaply.
The PC knows how to overload computers and network The PC also knows generally what types of information
connections by flooding them with false requests or garbage are available on the net, what are the technological and
packets. Such attacks are often ‘distributed’: the hacker economic mechanisms that make them available and what
takes over several computers and uses all of them to attack are the motivations of the people who put them there.
at once. Please note that this skill only includes finding publicly
Easy (10): Slow a small web server to a standstill using fifty available resources, it does not include anything that
computers. would require hacking or piracy to get.
Moderate (20): Slow a personal computer’s internet Easy (10): Find a recipe for Anise-White Chocolate
connection to a standstill using ten computers. Sauce.
Hard (30): Slow a major ISP’s mail server to a standstill Moderate (20): Find a list of past bishops of a local
using one computer. Catholic church.
Hard (30): Find a live webcam showing a nearby major
Hacking (INL)- This is knowledge of how to gain intersection.
unauthorized access to other people’s computers and
networks. Hacking can be accomplished by finding flaws in
software or security setups or by conning users into giving
up their passwords. The greater the success, the more INVS (Investigation/Espionage)
access and control the PC has on the target system.
Bomb Disarming (INL)- This is training in disarming
Easy (10): Get into a networked PC that has no firewall. explosives.
Moderate (20): Get into a credit report system. Easy (10): Dispose of a pipe bomb.
Hard (30): Get into a government database. Moderate (20): Disarm a land mine someone has stepped on.
Internet Publishing (INL)- This is the ability to create Hard (30): Disarm a briefcase nuke.
things that people can access via the internet,
Brainwashing (INL)- Prerequisites: Interrogation (1),
Easy (10): Create a simple static web page. Torture (1). This is a technique that uses sleep deprivation,
Moderate (20): Create a dynamic web page that people can hunger, pain and intimidation to break someone’s
log into and see content specifically suited to them. psychological resistance. Over the course of several days

In Dark
(or weeks) resistance is brought down to a point that the Easy (10): Yell at someone to disrupt his ability to lie or
victim can be forced to say, and subsequently to believe, detect lies (-7 to CHM, INL rolls).
anything that the brainwasher wants. Difficulty is lower Moderate (20): Convince someone that it is impossible
if the brainwasher has assistants (or can devote 24 hours a for them to get away with lying to the interrogator.
day to the victim), drugs, and unlimited time. Each day, the Hard (30): Convince someone that they’re better-off
victims can make a moderate (20 difficulty) opposed WIL telling the truth.
roll to keep his or her defenses up for another day.
Easy (10): Brainwash somebody over the course of 2 months, Military Tactics (INL)- This is knowledge of military
using a full staff, several different types of psychoactive drugs strategy and maneuvers, both in theory and in practice.
and a polygraph machine. Easy (10): Draw up a battle plan and explain it to a group
Moderate (20): Brainwash somebody over the course of 4 of soldiers.
weeks using a few doses of truth serum and an assistant. Moderate (20): Assess the military capabilities of a
Hard (30): Brainwash someone in one week with no group of fighters by observing them with binoculars.
assistance or special equipment. Hard (30): Using satellite surveillance, direct a group of
soldiers in a surprise attack on an enemy compound.
Crime Scene Forensics (INL)- This is knowledge of
how to use scientific techniques to analyze evidence left at a Offensive Driving (AGY)- This is training in driving
crime scene, including DNA, blood spatter, fiber, ballistics, motor vehicles in combat or chase situations. Gives the
footprint, tire track and fingerprint evidence. following maneuvers (see Vehicle Skills, p.137):
Easy (10): Pull a fingerprint off of a doorknob. Ram (20): Hit a person or other object with the full force
Moderate (20): Determine the force of and angle of a blow of the vehicle.
by examining blood spatters. Resist (20): Resist an attempt by another vehicle to push
Hard (30): Find a fiber on a windowsill and match it to a the PC’s vehicle off the road.
suspect’s sweater. Sideswipe (20): Hit the side of another vehicle with the
goal of damaging the vehicle and forcing it off the road or
Disguise (INL)- This is training in the use of physical into some obstacle.
devices to change someone’s appearance: clothing, makeup, Swerve (20): The vehicular equivalent of a dodge.
wigs, latex masks, platform shoes, etc.
Easy (10): Make a young male look unrecognizable, even by Research: Law Enforcement (INL)- These
close friends. are the techniques used by law enforcement, private
Moderate (20): Make a young male look like an old male or investigators and skip tracers to gather information
a young female. on people, including criminal records, recent financial
Hard (30): Make a thin young white male look like an old activity, current and previous addresses, family and
fat black female. acquaintances and work history. Law enforcement
officers can use this skill to apply for warrants for phone,
Forensic Pathology (INL)- This is knowledge of the medical and academic records.
tests and procedures used to determine the cause and Easy (10): Find outstanding warrants or a six-month-old
circumstances of death as well as the person’s health during home address.
life. Moderate (20): Find complete criminal records or a 2-
Easy (10): Determine what caused a person’s death. week-old home address.
Moderate (20): Determine if a person has been a heavy user Hard (30): Find acquaintances or the last place someone
of any drug. used a credit card.
Hard (30): Determine how many seconds it took for a person
to bleed to death from a stab wound. Torture (INL)- This is training in applying extreme
amounts of pain to an individual without killing,
Impersonation (CHM)- This is training in adopting the knocking out or permanently injuring that person. Victim
mannerisms, posture, accent and voice of another. The skill gets an opposed WIL roll to resist the torture.
can also be used, at lower difficulty, to fake being from Easy (10): Force victim to do or say something when
another ethnic group. The following examples assume a victim has no real reason not to.
successful Disguise skill roll has also been made. Moderate (20): Force victim to betray victim’s country
Easy (10): Wave hello to an acquaintance from across a or friends.
street.
Hard (30): Force victim to do or say something that will
Moderate (20): Say a few words to coworkers while hurrying cause victim’s death.
through an office.
Hard (30): Speak a few sentences with a friend in an WMDs (INL)- This is knowledge of the manufacture,
elevator. detection, destruction and deployment of biological,
chemical and nuclear weapons.
Interrogation (CHM)- This is training in the detection of Easy (10): Determine whether a particular gasmask will
lies and in the use of psychological pressure to keep someone protect from Sarin gas.
from collecting their thoughts. This skill also includes Moderate (20): Recognize an anthrax lab.
training in the use of polygraph (lie detector) equipment.
Use of a lie detector adds +10 to a skill roll. Hard (30): Safely dispose of a (non-armed) dirty bomb.

Alleys
LABR (Labor)
Swerve (20): The vehicular equivalent of a dodge.
Sharp Turn (20): A tight, high-speed turn.
Skidding Turn (30): Make incredibly fast and tight turns
Airplane Pilot (AGY)- This is training in navigating and by skidding the rear tires.
flying all types of airplanes (does not include helicopters).
Gives the following maneuvers (see Vehicle Skills, p.137): Electronics (INL)- This is fluency in the electrical
Swerve (20): The vehicular equivalent of a dodge. components and wiring in everything from an office
Emergency Landing (20): Land on something that is not a building to a pocket watch. With the right replacement
landing strip (or without landing gear) without destroying the parts the PC can fix any non-computer electronic device
plane or its passengers. (to repair computers, see Computer Hardware).
Sharp Turn (20): Make a tight turn. Easy (10): Repair a clock radio.
Moderate (20): Wire a house.
Blacksmithing (INL)- This is the ability to make artful or
useful things out of metal using moulds or a hammer and Hard (30): Create a voice-modulation circuit.
anvil.
Heavy Machinery (AGY)- The PC can operate large
Easy (10): Create a simple metal tool.
industrial machines and vehicles such as cranes,
Moderate (20): Create a precise tool or weapon. bulldozers, steamrollers, forklifts, etc. The PC gets the
Hard (30): Create machinery parts. following maneuvers:
Swerve (20): The vehicular equivalent of a dodge.
Boat Pilot (AGY)- This is the ability to navigate and pilot
all types of multiple-passenger water vessels. The PC gets Sharp Turn (20): A tight, high-speed turn.
the following maneuvers: Attack (30): Hit or grab humans or vehicles with the
Survive Wave (10-30): By turning into a large wave at the machine’s scoop, arm, claw, fork, etc.
right moment, the ship can ride over it without
being capsized (difficulty is based on the size of Vehicle Skills In Helicopter (INL)- This is ability to fly a
the wave). Brief helicopter or similar vehicle. Gives the
Swerve (20): The vehicular equivalent of a Unlike normal skills, following maneuvers:
dodge. which list an easy,
Swerve (20): The vehicular equivalent of a
Sharp Turn (20): Make a tight turn. moderate and hard dodge.
action that can be done Hover (20): Stay still in the air.
Brewing (INL)- This is the ability to ferment with the skill, vehicle Sharp Turn (20): Make a tight turn.
fruit, grains or sugars to create alcohol, as well skills list a number of
as distilling alcohol to make spirits. maneuvers that can be Mechanics (INL)- This is the ability
Easy (10): Make a bad tasting beer with enough made with the skill. to analyze, maintain, repair and create
alcohol to get drunk (and kill any bacteria in the Each maneuver has its
own difficulty. See
mechanical systems.
water). Easy (10): Sabotage a garage door opener
the section on Vehicle
Moderate (20): Make a tasty beer or a bad Skills (p.137) for more. by sticking something in a gear.
tasting brandy.
Moderate (20): Repair an old fashioned
Hard (30): Make a tasty brandy or an award pocket watch or an automobile transmission.
winning beer.
Hard (30): Engineer and build a mechanical device that
Carpentry (INL)- This is the ability to build and modify makes a preserved corpse look like it’s doing a little dance.
buildings and other large structures.
Easy (10): Build a small temporary shelter that can Motorcycle (AGY)- Gives the following maneuvers.
withstand a storm. Jump (20): Jump the motorcycle over holes or obstacles.
Moderate (20): Build a modern house. Sharp Turn (20): Make a tight turn.
Hard (30): Build a sea-worthy sailing ship. Skidding Turn (30): Make incredibly fast and tight turns
by skidding the rear tire.
Demolitions (INL)- This is knowledge of manufacturing, Stairs (20): Go up or down stairs or similar impediments.
wiring and placing explosives to achieve the desired effect. Swerve (20): The vehicular equivalent of a dodge.
This skill does not teach how to disarm explosives (see
Bomb Disarming, p.73). Trample (30): By raising the front wheel up, the driver
can attempt to knock down and run over a person.
Easy (10): Place a charge to destroy the hinges on a tank
door.
Plumbing (INL)- This is the ability to repair, maintain and
Moderate (20): Make a pipe bomb. install plumbing.
Hard (30): Bring down a large building (without harming Easy (10): Clean out a clogged pipe.
surrounding buildings) using dynamite and radio detonators.
Moderate (20): Bring water in from a street line.
Driving (AGY)- This is training in driving automobiles, Hard (30): Create a solar-powered water heater.
trucks and busses. Gives the following maneuvers:

In Dark
MEDI (Medical) Surgery (INL)- This is training in the surgical
treatments of illnesses. Keep in mind that an accurate
diagnosis (see Diagnosis, above) is the prerequisite for
Diagnosis (INL)- The ability to examine a patient and any surgical treatment.
determine what disease a patient has and the severity/ Easy (10): Remove a bullet from a thigh without
progression of that disease. A full examination includes causing additional bleeding.
observing physiological differences, getting a medical
history, asking the patient to describe what he or she is Moderate (20): Open the chest and repair lacerations
experiencing and doing laboratory tests. to the heart caused by a stab wound.
Easy (10): Diagnose a disease by doing a full examination Hard (30): Replace a defective heart with a donor
(see above). heart.
Moderate (20): Diagnose without doing any tests. Veterinary Medicine (INL)- This is training in the
Hard (30): Diagnose just by looking at a patient. diagnosis, surgical and pharmacological treatment of
common animal ailments. The PC can also treat humans
Emergency Medicine (INL)- This is training in keeping at +10 difficulty.
patients alive long enough to get them to a hospital. Easy (10): Splint a broken bone.
Easy (10): Clean and dress wounds (prevent additional Moderate (20): Treat a common communicable
bleeding and reduce chance of infection). disease.
Moderate (20): Intubate a patient to make sure that air can Hard (30): Open-heart surgery.
continue to flow into the lungs.
Hard (30): Do emergency surgery to reduce intracranial
swelling.
Pharmacology (INL)- This is knowledge of the use of
PEOP (People)
pharmacological treatments (drugs) for various illnesses, Fashion and Beauty (CHM)- Put together an outfit,
as well as the side effects and possible interactions of makeup, jewelry and hair style that accentuates positive
pharmaceuticals. Keep in mind that an accurate diagnosis features and sends a certain impression.
(see Diagnosis, above) is the prerequisite for any Easy (10): Put together an attractive outfit (+4 to
pharmacological treatment. seduction) for $500.
Easy (10): Prescribe a treatment for pain. Moderate (20): Put together a very attractive outfit (+8 to
seduction) for $100.
Moderate (20): Prescribe a treatment for late stage AIDS.
Hard (30): Put together an outfit that makes someone
Hard (30): Prescribe a treatment for a serious drug look both attractive and intelligent (+8 to seduction and
interaction. CHM rolls to act smart) for $20.
Physical Therapy (INL)- This is the ability to help Language (INL)- Purchase separate levels of this
people recover from serious injuries and illnesses. Therapy skill for each language the PC knows. Note that some
involves mostly exercises and stretching. languages are so similar that one language skill may be
Easy (10): Help a patient recover from a stab wound to the used to substitute for another at increased difficulty (e.g.
thigh. substitute Language: Latin for Language: Italian at +20
Moderate (20): Help a patient recover from a year in a difficulty).
coma. Easy (10): Read and write text in the given language.
Hard (30): Help a patient recover from serious brain Moderate (20): Speak slowly about common things.
damage. Hard (30): Have a normal-paced conversation.
Legendary (40): Speak with perfect, accent-less fluency.
Plastic Surgery (INL)- Prerequisites: Surgery (1). This
is the advanced surgery techniques used to change peoples’ Oratory (CHM)- This is training in speaking before
appearance. an audience, making the most persuasive arguments
Easy (10): Slightly improve someone’s appearance. for different types of audiences and using cues from the
Moderate (20): Make someone look very different. audience to gauge which persuasive tactics are working
Hard (30): Do a complete sex change operation. and which aren’t.
Easy (10): Write a speech designed to work on a
Psychopharmacology (INL)- Prerequisites: Pharma- particular audience (+4 to persuasion rolls).
cology (1). This is training in the use of pharmaceuticals to Moderate (20): Notice when a strategy isn’t working and
treat psychological problems. One of the major difficulties change gears (can re-roll a bad persuasion roll).
of psychopharmacology is finding a treatment that works Hard (30): Predict the arguments an opponent will make
but has side effects mild enough that the patient can be and pre-argue against them (-7 to the opponent’s persuasion
convinced to stay on it. roll).
Easy (10): Prescribe a treatment for anxiety. Performance (CHM)- This is training in entertaining
Moderate (20): Prescribe a treatment for schizophrenia. an audience via a public performance. Choose one of
Hard (30): Prescribe a treatment for a patient with manic the following specialties: dance, acting, comedy, signing.
depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and a sexual fetish. The skill can be purchased multiple times for different
specialties.

Alleys
Easy (10): Passable performance. Ethnogens (INL)- This is knowledge of how to
Moderate (20): Entertaining performance. recognize, harvest, prepare and use as safely as possible
Hard (30): Award-winning performance. the plant (and occasionally animal) based substances
that native peoples have used to induce altered states
Psychotherapy (CHM)- This is training in helping of consciousness. Also gives +4 per level to save vs.
people overcome psychological problems and traumas ethnogen effects.
using various forms of therapy (talk therapy encourages Easy (10): Tell whether Khat is a stimulant or depressant.
people to discover their own feelings and mental Moderate (20): Recognize the symptoms of Datura
processes; cognitive therapy teaches people to avoid overdose.
illogical or harmful thoughts; role-playing therapy helps Hard (30): Brew Ayahuasca.
people prepare to deal with real-life situations; exposure
therapy helps people deal with fears by slow exposure to Herbal Medicine (INL)- This is traditional knowledge
the source of the fears). of the use of herbs for the treatment of diseases. In urban
Easy (10): Help a patient overcome a mild phobia. areas, herbs can be bought in herb shops and botanicas.
Moderate (20): Help a patient deal with the psychological Easy (10): Treat headaches.
effects of a recent severe trauma. Moderate (20): Treat the symptoms of a flu.
Hard (30): Help a patient overcome an ego dystonic sexual Hard (30): Treat a major infection.
fetish.
Hypnosis (CHM)- This is the ability to put willing
Legendary (40): Help a patient discover that he or she is people into an altered state of consciousness where they
paranoid and delusional. are highly open to suggestion. There are many things
Seduction (CHM)- This is practice at seducing people. hypnosis can not do: memories can not be made more
Every level of the skill gives +4 to seduction rolls (see accurate (although they may be made to seem more
p.127). The skill can also be used to notice body language accurate), people can not be forced to do something they
cues that tell how easy to seduce a person is or how well a truly don’t want to do, attributes can not be increased
seduction is going (moderate difficulty). (e.g. a person can not be made more agile). Hypnosis can
sometimes reveal blocked memories, but it can also cause
Storytelling (CHM)- This is the ability to tell entertaining the hypnotized person to make up completely fictional
and engaging stories. memories.
Easy (10): Entertain small children. Easy (10): Help someone fall asleep.
Moderate (20): Entertain young adults. Moderate (20): Give someone +4 to save vs. drug
cravings.
Hard (30): Entertain battle-weary veterans.
Hard (30): Uncover blocked memories.
Legendary (40): Contact a psychodynamic.
TRAD (Traditional) Lipreading (AWR)- The PC can reconstruct what

people are saying by watching their lips move. Difficulty
Acupuncture (INL)- This traditional form of Chinese increases when the PC does not have a good view of the
medicine uses needles in specific points to effect the person’s lips or if the person is speaking abnormally (e.g.
functioning of the body. screaming in anger).
Easy (10): Ease pain from a damaged nerve. Moderate (20): Read lips at 5 ft. (1.5 m.) in a well-lit room
with the person speaking normally.
Moderate (20): Ease nausea. Hard (30): Read lips at 12 ft. (4 m.) in a dimly lit room.
Hard (30): Completely anesthetize someone for surgery. Legendary (40): Read lips at 12 ft. (4 m.) in a dimly lit
room with that person screaming.
Animal Training (CHM)- Care for and training of
animals. The difficulty is based on the complexity of the Light Sleep (AWR)- This is training in sleeping warily
task and the natural ‘trainability’ of the animal. such that one will awaken at any sign of danger.
Easy (10): Keep a dog alive and keep it from going feral. Easy (10): Awaken if someone turns a light on.
Moderate (20): Train a dog to fetch thrown objects. Moderate (20): Awaken if someone is walking around by
Hard (30): Train a dog to stop at “don’t walk” lights. the PC’s bed.
Legendary (40): Train a cat to stop at “don’t walk” lights. Hard (30): Awaken if any one of several roommates
awakens.
Local Geography (INL)- Choose one urban or rural
area for this skill. The skill can be purchased multiple Sleight of Hand (AGY)- This is training in
times for different areas. This is familiarity with getting manipulating small objects quickly, while misdirecting
around and finding things in the area as well as landmarks, an audience’s attention, so that the manipulation goes
businesses and neighborhoods. unnoticed.
Easy (10): Find an address. Easy (10): Make a penny “disappear” by palming it and
dropping it into a pocket.
Moderate (20): Find a Pakistani grocery store. Moderate (20): Replace one playing card with another
Hard (30): Shave 30 minutes off a rush-hour drive by (from a sleeve) while tapping the deck.
taking the right freeways. Hard (30): Make 10 lit cigarettes disappear by waving
one’s hand over them.

In Dark
Street Survival (INL)- This is knowledge of how to find Moderate (20): Track a child who was exploring an
food, spare change and a warm, safe place to live in an urban abandoned building (by looking at disturbed dust).
environment. Hard (30): Follow tracks along the bed of a stream.
Easy (10): Find palatable food in a dumpster.
Moderate (20): Make $2/hr. panhandling. Traditional Crafts (INL)- This is knowledge
of making simple things using low-tech tools and
Hard (30): Build a shelter, using scrounged materials, materials.
that can withstand a storm.
Easy (10): Make a deerskin cap.
Tracking (AWR)- This is the ability to follow the signs that Moderate (20): Make a bow and arrows from wood,
show that an animal or human has passed. This skill is most flint, sinew and feathers.
useful in wilderness areas where the ground can show tracks, Hard (30): Make a water-tight basket.
but it can also be used in urban areas at a higher difficulty.
Tracks grow significantly harder to follow the older they Wilderness Survival (INL)- This is training in finding
get (generally +1 difficulty per hour after they were made). food, clean water and shelter in wilderness environments.
Tracking can also be used to determine information about the The PC must roll for each day in the environment.
people or animals being tracked: how fast were they going, Difficulty is based on how much food, water and shelter
did they have a limp, did they stop often, etc. A tracking roll is available in that environment.
can also be made to try to avoid leaving tracks. Easy (10): Survive in a forest during summer.
Easy (10): Track a large man who ran through muddy Moderate (20): Survive in grasslands during winter.
ground while bleeding. Hard (30): Survive in the desert.
Sample Character Creation - Step Six

We now have 100 points to spend on skills for Maggie Science: Chemistry (1)
Hernandez, our sample character. Her skill costs are set by her Science: Pathology (1)
day job. She also gets Diagnosis (1), Emergency Medicine (1), Science: Genetics (1)
Pharmacology (1) free because of her day job. Her Hero Origin Research: Academic (2)
Story doesn’t give her access to Supernatural Skills, so we can Diagnosis (3)
spend all 100 points on mundane skills. Emergency Medicine (3)
Pharmacology (3)
According to her day job, her skill costs are as follows: ACAD Psychopharmacology (1)
4, ATHL 7, CMBT 15, CRTV 5, CRIM 15, TECH 7, INVS 10, Surgery (2)
LABR 6, MEDI 3, PEOP 7, TRAD 8. Self-Defense Weapons (1)
Research: Internet (1)
Crime Scene Forensics (1)
First we decide what skills we want Maggie to have. Since she’s Forensic Pathology (1)
a doctor we want most of her skills to be medical, so we want to Local Geography (1)
buy levels in Medi skills. If we buy Diagnosis (2), Emergency Tracking (1)
Medicine (2), Pharmacology (2) Psychopharmacology (1)
and Surgery (2) that’s 9 levels in Medi skills, at a cost 3 skill So, if she wanted to diagnose a medical problem she would
points per level that will use up 27 of her 100 skill points. roll INL (the appropriate attribute for Diagnosis), plus 8 (+4
Psychopharmacology has a prerequisite of Pharmacology (1), for each level of Diagnosis above the first), plus 1d20 and
meaning the PC must take at least 1 level of Pharmacology to then try to beat whatever difficulty was assigned by the GM.
take Psychopharmacology, but that’s no problem. If she wanted to answer a Chemistry question, though, she
would only roll INL + 1d20 because she only has 1 level in
Next we choose Academic skills. We want her to have Science: the skill. If she wanted to try to track someone, she would
Chemistry (1), Science: Pathology (1), Science: Genetics (1), roll AWR + 1d20 because AWR is listed as the normal skill
and Research: Academic (2). That’s 5 levels total, at 4 skill to use with Tracking.
points per level, so it will cost 20 skill points.
Self-Defense Weapons, because it is a combat skill, works a
little differently. It does not have a normal attribute, instead
Combat skills are very expensive for Maggie, but we want her
it gives plusses to a list of combat actions as follows:
to have at least a little training, so we give her Self-Defense
+4 to Pain/Stun Attack
Weapons (1) at a cost of 15 skill points. We also want to give
+4 to Blinding Strike
her Research: Internet (1), a Tech skill, at a cost of 7 points,
+4 to Simultaneous Pain/Stun Attack
Crime Scene Forensics (1) and Forensic Pathology (1), both
Investigation/Espionage skills, at 10 points per level, so
So Maggie makes note on her character sheet that she
20 points total, and Local Geography (1) and Tracking (1),
gets +4 to Pain/Stun, +4 to Blinding Strike and +4 to
Traditional skills at 8 points per level, at 16 points total.
Simultaneous Pain/Stun Attack with self-defense weapons.
If she buys another level of the skill all those plusses will
Altogether we’ve spent 100 points. When we add in her three become +8.
free skills from her day job we get:

Alleys
Supernatural Skills
Animal Form (WIL)* Imaginary Powers (WIL) Secret Lives and Supernatural Skill Costs
Animate Toys (WIL) Journeying (WIL)
Androgynes
Area Knowledge: Supernatural (INL) Masks (WIL) 10: Be Other, Birth Servant, Change Gender, Switch Bodies
Automatic Writing (AWR) Mortification of the Flesh (WIL) 20: Flesh Control, Masks, Revive
Be Other (WIL) Nihilist Rage (WIL) Animists
Body Invasion (WIL)* Playland Geography (INL) 10: Animal Form, Body Invasion, Command Animals,
Birth Servant (WIL) Psychometry (AWR) Command Inanimate, Command Misfortunes, Dreaming,
Journeying, Possession Trance, See True Face, Visions
Blood Sigils (WIL) Possession Trance (AWR) 20: Flesh Control, Masks, Revive, Spirit Speed, Spirit Strength,
Change Gender (WIL) Read Minds (AWR) Playland Geography
Child Empathy (CHM) Revive (WIL)* Cannibals
Command Animals (WIL)* See Invisible (AWR) Free: Mortification of the Flesh (1)
Command Inanimate (WIL) See Reapers (AWR) 10: Mortification of the Flesh
20: Body Invasion, Command Animals, Command Inanimate,
Command Misfortunes (WIL) See Souls (AWR) Command Misfortunes, Ecstatic Rage, Flesh Control, Journeying,
Command Reapers (WIL)* See True Face (AWR)* Nihilist Rage, Revive
Command Will-Less (WIL) Soul Blade (WIL) Faustians
Danger Sense (AWR) Spirit Speed (WIL) 10: Command Will-Less, Danger Sense, Déjà Vu, Psychometry,
Déjà Vu (WIL) Spirit Strength (WIL) Read Minds
Dreaming (WIL) Summon Imaginary Friend (WIL) Heroes (Occult Training option)
Ecstatic Rage (WIL) Switch Bodies (WIL) Free: 4 levels of Animal Form, Automatic Writing, Be True
Desire, Body Invasion, Blood Sigils, Command Animals, Command
Enter Playland (WIL) Truth Ordeal (WIL) Inanimate, Command Misfortunes, Dreaming, Flesh Control, Get
Flesh Control (WIL) Untouchable (WIL) Lost, Truth Ordeal, Journeying, Masks, Possession Trance, Revive
, Soul Blade, Spirit Speed, Spirit Strength, Untouchable
Get Lost (AWR) Visions (AWR)
Give Vision (WIL) Lost
Grab Bag (WIL)* *Prerequisites Free: Get Lost (1)
10: Get Lost, Homing, Grab Bag
Homing (WIL)* 20: Area Knowledge: Supernatural, Automatic Writing,
Dreaming
5 Level Limit Outcasts
The rule that you cannot purchase more than 5 skill levels Free: (choose one) See Invisible (2), Psychometry (2), Read
Minds (2) or Visions (2).
in a skill without special permission of the GM applies to
10: Area Knowledge: Supernatural, Give Vision, Psychometry,
supernatural skills too. Read Minds, See Souls, See Invisible, See Reapers, Visions
20: Blood Sigils, Command Misfortunes, See True Face
Supernatural Skill Duration Professionals

20: Blood Sigils, Ecstatic Rage, Truth Ordeal, Soul Blade,
Untouchable
Unless specifically stated otherwise, each skill takes one
action to complete. How long effects of the skill last is listed Scribblers
in each skill. 10: Automatic Writing, Blood Sigils, Nihilist Rage,
“While Concentrating” skills have effects that only last Untouchable
20: Body Invasion, Command Animals, Command Inanimate,
while the PC concentrates on maintaining the effect. The Dreaming, Flesh Control, Get Lost, Journeying, Mortification of the
PC cannot use other skills and any save vs. fear, pain or Flesh, Soul Blade, Spirit Speed, Spirit Strength, Visions
emotion will break the concentration. The effects disappear
immediately after concentration is broken. Survivors
10: Flesh Control, Revive*, See Reapers
“Until Stopped” skills have effects that last until the PC 20: Change Gender, Mortification of the Flesh, Spirit Speed,
chooses to stop the effect. Spirit Strength
“Permanent” skills make changes that do not go away *The Flesh Control prerequisite for Revive does not apply to
Survivors.
on their own. The world is altered and stays that way until
some other force, natural or supernatural, alters is in a Wonderlanders
different way. 10: Animate Toys, Child Empathy (CHM), Playland Geography,
Masks, Imaginary Powers, Summon Imaginary Friend, Enter
“1 x/success” skills have effects that last one unit of time Playland
per point of success. Example: a “1 min./success” skill, 20: Automatic Writing, Dreaming, Possession Trance, See True
where the difficulty is beaten by 5, will have a 5 min. effect. Face*
Step Six- Skills 079

In Dark
Animal Form (WIL)- Prerequisite: Journeying (2). The Moderate (20): Toy does a series of actions, with no
PC can leave his or her body and travel this realm or other ability to improvise or adapt, without the PC needing to
realms as an animal. The PC’s body stays behind, appearing watch or concentrate.
unconscious, although strong stimuli can bring the PC back Hero (30): Toy has a moderately-simple goal and can
(see Journeying). When buying this skill the PC must choose act independently to achieve it, working with the problem
one of the following animals to be the one animal the PC can solving abilities of an average cat or dog.
transform into: jaguar, bear, wolf, coyote or mountain lion. Legendary (40): Toy works towards a goal with
Gives +4 per hour of meditation or chanting. Gives +10 if human-level problems solving abilities (toy is not
the PC uses a deliriant or hallucinogen. Gives +10 of the PC sentient or self-aware).
wears a skin of the animal. Duration: Until Stopped.
Easy (10): Travel as an intangible, invisible spirit with Area Knowledge: Supernatural (INL)- The PC
the SPD and AGY of the animal. knows the supernatural secrets of his or her surrounding
Moderate (20): Travel as an intangible spirit which geography: places haunted by dances, portals to other
can be seen by normal humans (they see what looks like a realms, places where Animists perform rituals late at
normal animal). night, places where reality doesn’t work right, buildings
Hard (30): Travel as a tangible animal with all the guarded by the Powers-That-Be, places where dangerous
physical abilities of the animal. invisible beings live, places where scribblers have
recorded messages on the walls, etc.
Animal Forms Easy (10): Find an occult bookstore.
Bear- STH 25, AGY 7, END 14, SPD 25, BLD 4, BDY 6, INCY Moderate (20): Find a haunted house.
6, 3 damage bite (hard strike, pierces as 5), 2 bladed 1 blunt Hard (30): Find a portal to another realm.
damage claw swipe, +20 to smell based AWR rolls. Legendary (40): Find a piece of working h-tech
Coyote- STH 5, AGY 20, END 20, SPD 30, BLD 3, BDY 2, (p.235) in a trash heap.
INCY 4, 1 damage bite (easy vital strike), +10 to smell based
AWR rolls, +10 to hearing based AWR rolls, halve darkens Automatic Writing (AWR)- The PC can enter a
penalties. light trance and write and doodle without thinking.
Jaguar/Panther- STH 7, AGY 15, END 10, SPD 25, BLD 2, Subconscious knowledge will manifest through the words
BDY 3, INCY 3, 3 damage bite (easy vital strike), 2 damage and drawings. Some of it will seem like nonsense, but it
claws (easy slash, easy pain/stun, +10 to climbing rolls), +7 will have hidden knowledge in it. This skill is similar
to smell based AWR rolls, +7 to hearing based AWR rolls, no to the Visions skill, except knowledge is manifested on
darkens penalties. paper rather than as a hallucination. The PC cannot
do anything during the light trance, but is dimly aware
Mountain Lion- STH 7, AGY 12, END 12, SPD 25, BLD 2,
BDY 2, INCY 3, 2 damage bite (easy vital strike), 2 damage
of his or her surroundings and will exit the trance if
claws (easy slash, easy pain/stun, +10 to climbing rolls), +7 to something requires his or her attention. The PC will also
smell based AWR rolls, +7 to hearing based AWR rolls, halve do Automatic Writing without even trying whenever the
darkens penalties. PC is holding a writing device and is not paying attention
to what his or her hands are doing. Duration: Until
Wolf- STH 10, AGY 15, END 10, SPD 25, BLD 2, BDY 4, Stopped.
INCY 3, 2 bladed damage bite (hard strike, easy vital strike), +5
to smell based AWR rolls, +5 to hearing based AWR rolls, halve Moderate (20): Do Automatic Writing.
darkness penalties.
Be Other (WIL)- To use this skill, the PC must be (or
appear to be) the opposite sex of the victim. The PC can
Animate Toys (WIL)- The PC can make a toy that he embody everything someone hates, fears, admires or lusts
or she played with as a child come temporarily alive. The after in the opposite sex. Gives a bonus to persuasion,
PC can also make a toy that is the same type as one the PC intimidation and seduction rolls towards a person equal
played with come alive at +10 difficulty, or all other toys at to that person’s Animus or Anima (average +10 bonus).
+20 difficulty. The toy’s movement and abilities are limited Duration: 1 min./success.
by its form: cars can drive around, teddy bears can walk, Easy (10): Be other with someone the PC has an
pterodactyls can fly, but a teddy bear without fingers can’t ongoing sexual relationship with.
pick something up and a toy car can’t climb up a wall. The Moderate (20): Become one person’s other just by
toys have 1 STH, most have 1 SPD (toys with wheels may looking at him or her.
have up to 10 SPD, flying toys may have up to 20). They
Hard (30): Be other for multiple people
cannot speak unless specifically built with the ability to play
simultaneously.
recorded human speech. They have no attack abilities unless
a weapon has been attached beforehand (e.g. a kitchen knife Body Invasion (WIL)- Prerequisite: Journeying (1).
duct-taped on). Fake weapons (e.g. a spaceman’s blaster) do This skill allows a PC who has left his or her body via
not become real. A moderate Summon Imaginary Friends the Journeying skill to enter and take control of another
roll can be used to summon an imaginary friend into a toy. person’s body. If the person is conscious (or becomes
Duration: 1 hour/success. conscious) that person can make an opposed WIL roll to
Easy (10): Toy does short, simple actions while the PC resist the invasion or regain control of his or her body.
watches and concentrates. Duration: Until Stopped.

Alleys
Birth Servant (WIL) The PC must be in
a body with a uterus and vagina to use this
skill. The PC gives birth to a servant which
does a pre-determined task or follows orders.
Servants look like bloody fetuses which crawl
around on all-fours. It takes at least 4 rounds to
gestate and give birth to the servant. Duration:
See below.
Easy (10): Mouse sized servant, 1 STH, 2
SPD, 1 BLD, can do 1 predetermined task, dies
within 5 minutes. If it has fangs or claws it
does ½ bladed damage, choose 1 ability (text
box below).
Moderate (20): Rat sized servant, 2 STH,
3 SPD, 2 BLD, can do multiple predetermined
tasks, dies within 1 hour. If it has fangs or claws
it does 1 bladed damage, choose 2 abilities.
Hard (30): Cat sized servant, 3 STH, 6 SPD,
1 BDY, 2 BLD, can follow verbal instructions,
dies within 24 hours. If it has fangs or claws it
does 1½ bladed damage, choose 3 abilities.
Legendary (40): Dog sized servant, 4 STH,
8 SPD, 1 BDY, 3 BLD, 1 INCY, has near
human intelligence, lives until killed. If it has
fangs or claws it does 2 bladed damage, choose
4 abilities.
Servant Abilities
Flying- Membrane wings allow servant to fly
like a bat.
Fangs- Allow servants to bite people.
Claws- Allow servants to claw people.
Poison- After claws or fangs do damage, does 3
BLD damage per round for 3 rounds.
Speech- Can use human speech.
Climbing- Can scale almost any surface, can
even crawl on ceilings, at full SPD.
Tough Skin- +2 BLD, +2 BDY.
Rubbery- Can squeeze itself through almost
any opening.
Blood Sigils (WIL)- The PC can draw

arcane symbols with his or her bodily fluids Fetus Servant
then energize them with his or her will such
that invisible forces will accept them as
‘commands’. When seen by those who can see the invisible, Change Gender (WIL)- The PC can change his or
the sigils appear to glow. Duration: 1 day/success or until her sexual anatomy and appearance. Gives +10 to the
the body fluids are wiped off or destroyed. roll if the PC is experiencing a strong orgasm. Duration:
Easy (10): Anyone in the area will be either more or less Permanent.
likely to suffer from misfortunes and medical problems. Moderate (20): Change gender, minimal change of
Moderate (20): Every hour spent in a marked building appearance (PC will look like a ‘male version’ or ‘female
there is a 1 in 20 chance of dying of heart attack or stroke version’ of hir last body).
-or- anyone staying in a marked building heals 1 BLD and
Hard (20): Change gender and appearance (change
1 BDY per day.
ethnicity, build, hair color, features, etc.).
Hard (30): Mark someone for scrutiny by the powers-
from-beyond -or- cause a natural disaster to ravage a city Legendary (40)- Change into an androgynous being
-or- create a portal to ‘the citadel,’ an alien world inhabited with no genitals, multiple genitals or inhuman genitals.
by dangerous monsters.

In Dark
Easy (10): Plus or minus 7 to any difficulty (e.g. give
Ultimate Genitals a lock -7 difficulty to pick).
Moderate (20): Plus or minus 15 to any difficulty
With a legendary Change Gender roll, the PC can have genitals
that are not on any natural being on the planet. The PC’s
(e.g. give a sedative +15 difficulty to saves vs.
genitals can have any form and be made out of tissues with all unconsciousness).
the powers of any other part of the human body. It would not be Hard (30): Plus or minus 20 to any difficulty -or- plus
impossible, for instance, to create genitals with working eyes. or minus 2 PR to armor -or- plus or minus 2 damage to a
The most popular configuration, often called ‘the flower and weapon.
the snake,’ allows the owner to engage in any sexual activity a
male or female could, as well as to: Command Misfortunes (WIL)- The PC has learned
-Reach out up to 7 ft. (2 m.) to grab and manipulate objects to use the power of will to command the small spirits
with 25 STH. which can be found anywhere and which cause everyday
-Pierce objects with a probe doing 3 bladed damage (pierces misfortunes. Use of the skill requires yelling at, singing
armor as 6). to, blowing on, sucking or hitting the area where the
misfortune is. Note that in order to know a misfortune is
-Grab onto flesh with retractable barbed teeth (do negligible
damage unless the flesh is ripped away, which does 3 ragged
there to command the PC must use the skills See Invisible
damage) and reel the flesh in at 25 STH. or Visions. Duration: 1 min./success.
-Feel objects with extreme sensitivity (+20 to touch based Easy (10): Cause a misfortune to detach from a victim
AWR rolls). and flee.
-Chew up (and later spit out) wood, flesh, plastic or softer Moderate (20): Spit a misfortune at a victim.
types of stone and metal. Does 2 ragged damage per round. Hard (30): Swallow a misfortune and make it dormant
until it is to be used.
Child Empathy (CHM)- By connecting at a subconscious Random Misfortune Table

level with the playlands of other children, the PC can form 01-05: Asthma 72-76: Tinnitus
a rapport with those children. The PC gets +4 per level on 06-09: Clumsiness 77-78: Anemia
CHM rolls involving children. In addition, the PC can create 10-14: Coughing 79-80: Epilepsy
15-18: Cramps
an unspoken bond with children by playing with them. 19-23: Dizziness
81-82: Erotomania
Duration: Permanent. 83-84: Exhaustion
24-27: Fatigue 85-86: Extreme Vertigo
Easy (10): Gain the trust of a child by playing with him 28-32: Forgetfulness 87-88: Fetishism
or her. 33-36: Headaches 89-90: Hallucinations
37-41: Indigestion 91-92: Sourceless Pain
Moderate (20): Communicate with a child who doesn’t 42-46: Infertility
speak the PC’s language by playing with him or her. 93-94: Tooth Loss
47-51: Insomnia 95-96: Weakness
Hard (30): Discover a child’s deepest secrets by playing 52-56: Nervousness 97-98: Weight Loss
57-61: Nightmares
with him or her. 62-66: Nosebleeds
99-99: Heart Attack
00-00: Stroke
Legendary (40): Communicate telepathically across any 67-71: Poor Temper
distance with a child the PC has played with.
Command Animals (WIL)- Prerequisite: Command Command Reapers (WIL)- Prerequisite: See Reapers
Inanimate (2). By speaking to animals the PC can force (2). This skill allows PCs to temporarily overwhelm the
them to follow commands. An animal cannot be told to free will of a reaper and make it follow orders. PC can only
do something beyond its intelligence or sensory abilities control one Reaper at a time. Duration: 1 min./success.
(e.g. you can’t order a monkey to fix your car or an insect Easy (10): Command a reaper to go to a certain
to find and sting a particular person in a crowd). PCs can place.
only control one animal at a time. The difficulty is based on Moderate (20): Command a reaper to try to take a life.
how strongly the animal’s instincts are telling it not to do the Hard (30): Command a reaper not to take a soul.
thing its being told to do. A small minority of animals are
completely immune to this skill. Duration: 1 min./success. Command Will-Less (WIL)- The PC can take control
Easy (10): Cause a bird to fly through an open window, of the actions of those who have little or no conscious
grab an object, and drop it out the window. control over their own actions and make them do anything
Moderate (20): Cause a dog to attack another dog. the PC wants. The PC can try to control sleeping people,
Hard (30): Cause a squirrel to attack a human. but anything which wakes the person will make the PC
lose control. PC must be able to see the victim or know
Command Inanimate (WIL)- The PC has learned exactly where the victim is. Control ends if the person
to impose his or her will on inanimate objects by asking stops being will-less. Duration: 1 min./success.
them for favors or issuing commands. Gives +10 if the PC Easy (10): Taker control of a coma patient or a raving
sacrifices something that is valuable to the PC (e.g. burns a psychotic.
$100 bill) to the object. To use this skill, the PC must speak Moderate (20): Take control of someone who is
aloud to the object (can whisper if close). Duration: 4 hrs./ staggering drunk.
success Hard (30): Take control of an infant or severely
retarded person.

Alleys
Danger Sense (AWR)- The PC feels a feeling of alarm location. The PC can enter the playlands of other people
when there are people with malevolent intent towards the at +10 difficulty. The PC must make a second skill roll
PC or when there are dangerous invisible entities around. (at -10 the original difficulty) to return from the playland.
The PC does not know what the source of the danger is. The PC always returns to the same place he or she left
Easy (10): Feel alarm when there is someone standing from. Duration: Permanent.
behind the PC who wants to murder the PC. Easy (10): Enter mentally while daydreaming.
Moderate (20): Feel alarm when there is a stroke- Moderate (20): Enter physically from a place with
causing misfortune nearby. childhood memories.
Hard (30): Feel alarm when the PC passes by a serial Hard (30): Enter physically from any place.
killer on a crowded street.
Flesh Control (WIL)- The PC can control his or her
Déjà Vu (WIL)- The PC can make one of the thoughts, own physiology by force of will. No changes can be made
emotions or perceptions that constantly runs through the that ignore the conservation of mass and energy: a PC who
PC’s head happen to someone else. The PC must be able wants to grow or add flesh needs to consume nutrients, a
to see the victim. The PC gets +10 if the PC can show the PC who wants to shrink or lose parts must excrete them.
victim a stimuli particular to that memory (e.g. show an old Flesh Control cannot be used to cure diseases caused by
can of food from the 50s or play music from a music-box) viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites, although it can reduce
or +20 if the PC can make the victim smell a stimuli to that physiological symptoms (e.g. weakness), as well as make
memory. Duration: 1 round/opposed success. the PC healthier (higher END) and so have a better chance
Easy (10): The victim feels/thinks/perceives, but not of fighting off diseases. The time is takes to achieve
enough to cause disruption. a change depends on the level of success (see below).
Duration: Permanent.
Moderate (20): Victim feels/thinks/perceives strongly
enough that, unless the victim is expecting it, the victim Easy (10): Make small changes to normal systems
gets a 1 round -4 penalty to all rolls. (increase or decrease heart rate, perspiration, double
healing rate, +5 to save vs. disease contraction and
Hard (30): Victim feels an emotion so strongly he or progression and drug effects) over the course of several
she must make a save vs. emotion to avoid acting on the days.
emotion, thinks a thought so strongly the victim must make
a save vs. delusion or perceives so strongly that the victim Moderate (20): Make large changes to normal systems
must make a save vs. hallucination. (e.g. bring heartrate to almost nothing, quadruple healing
rate, +10 to save vs. disease and drug effects, grow or
Hard (40): Victim must make an opposed WIL save shrink several feet) overnight.
or will feel/think/perceive so strongly that the victim is
oblivious to the real world. Hard (30): Make radical changes (change appearance,
heal any injuries overnight, regrow limbs, grow or shrink
Dreaming (WIL)- The PC has been trained to be aware several feet) within a few hours.
that he or she is dreaming and to control his or her dream Legendary (40): Inhuman changes (e.g. grow armored
experience. Every level of this skill gives +4 to rolls using plates, grow fangs, become transparent or bioluminescent)
WIL to effect dreams and other non-material worlds. within a few minutes or heal up to 1 BLD and 1 BDY per
Duration: Until Stopped. round.
Easy (10): Become lucid.
Moderate (20): Wake from a dream at will. Max Physical Improvements
Hard (30): Find and travel through portals into other When people discover they have the Flesh Control skill, the
people’s dreams. first thing most do is make themselves as healthy, strong and
attractive as they possibly can. These are the absolute upper
limits a PC can change his or her physiology based on level
Ecstatic Rage (WIL)- The PC focuses his or her mind on of the skill:
some idea, typically heaven awaiting martyrs, that drives
the PC to such ecstasy that the PC is virtually immune to 1 level +4 SPD/STH/END +1 BLD/BDY +2 to seduction
fear and pain. Gives +4 for each hour spent chanting. Gives 2 level +8 SPD/STH/END +2 BLD/BDY +4 to seduction
+10 if using euphoric drugs. Duration: 5 min./success.
3 level +12 SPD/STH/END +3 BLD/BDY +6 to seduction
Hard (30): Enter ecstatic rage, giving +20 to save vs.
pain/fear, simultaneous actions as regular actions (no -20 4 level +16 SPD/STH/END +4 BLD/BDY +8 to seduction
+WIL), +10 STH, +10 END, +5 INCY. 5 level +20 SPD/STH/END +5 BLD/BDY +10 to seduction
Enter Playland (WIL)- The PC can enter the world of 6 level +24 SPD/STH/END +6 BLD/BDY +12 to seduction
his childhood imagination. If a PC travels physically to Note: Any change of more than 8 STH, more than 4
playland and anyone follows the PC then the followers end BLD/BDY or more than +4 to seduction means the PC’s
up in the playland as well. The PC ends up in whatever appearance changes drastically and the PC may become
part of the playland most closely resembles the PC’s current unrecognizable to acquaintances.

In Dark
Get Lost (AWR)- The PC can dislodge himself or herself before making the skill roll as follows: +5 for one round’s
from space and time by becoming lost. The state lasts only concentration, +10 for one minute, +15 for one hour.
as long as the PC doesn’t know where he or she is. Being Duration: See below.
intoxicated gives +10 to skill rolls. Anyone following the Moderate (20): Manifest the power for one combat
PC (keeping the PC in sight) will become lost and will end round.
up wherever the PC ends up. Duration: Until Stopped.
Hard (30): Manifest the power for one minute.
Easy (10): Get lost after walking around an unfamiliar
neighborhood for an hour. Legendary (40): Manifest the power for one hour.
Moderate (20): Get lost inside a large office building.
Hard (30): Run around a corner and get instantly lost. Imaginary Powers
Choose two powers that the PC had in playland.
Give Vision (WIL)- The PC can make another person Additional powers can be purchased during character
temporarily able to see whatever the PC sees. Duration: creation for 3 BP each.
While Concentrating. Flying- With a running start, the PC can fly at up to 20
Easy (10): Give someone vision by grabbing their head SPD.
and squeezing violently. Change Size- The PC can grow up to 5 times his or her
Moderate (20): Give vision by placing one’s hands on normal size or shrink by up to 100 times. STH, SPD and
either side of the target’s head. health attributes all change by the same factor as size
Hard (30): Give vision by touching someone. (e.g. 4 times as large means 4 times the STH, SPD, BLD,
BDY and INCY).
Legendary (40): Give vision by looking at someone.
Walk Through Walls- The PC can move through solid,
Grab Bag (WIL)- Prerequisite: Get Lost (2). If there is inanimate objects as if he or she was intangible and can
bring along anything the PC can hold or drag.
a container and the PC has no idea what’s in the container,
the PC can reach in and pull out whatever he or she wants, Invention- The PC can cause improbable machines that
given that the item is something that actually exists inside he or she has built to work, in contradiction of all laws
a container of this type somewhere in the world. The of physics and engineering. The machines work only as
difficulty is based on the rarity of the item. When the PC long as the PC’s effect lasts. Machines can be activated
uses this skill to get an item, that item disappears out of a multiple times but always have the same powers. Create
container somewhere in the world. The PC can conceivably machines using the Power Creation Rules on p.30 with
up to 3 levels of effect and 4 levels of Limitations.
use this skill on his or her own pockets, but only if the PC is
so out of it that he or she has no idea what might be in those Tunneling- With a shovel, the PC can tunnel through
pockets (e.g. is coming off of a week-long drinking binge). the earth at a rate of 10 ft. (3 m.) per minute. No type of
Duration: Permanent. soil can impede the PC and the tunnel will not collapse
while the PC is using it. Although there will be a small
Easy (10)- Pull $5 or a plastic comb out of a pocket. pile of dirt surrounding the hole, most of the excavated
Moderate (20): Pull $50 or a pocket knife out of a dirt disappears.
pocket.
Super Strength- The PC gains +40 STH for the purposes
Hard (30): Pull $200 or a loaded pistol out of a pocket. of lifting, +20 for all other purposes.
-or- Make an object disappear by putting it in a pocket.
Breathe Underwater- The PC can breathe underwater
Legendary (40): Pull $1,000 or a picture of another PC’s or in any other liquid, gas or vacuum. Environmental
mother out of a pocket. toxins and irritants still effect the PC. The PC can also
swim at his or her normal running SPD with no END
Homing (WIL)- Prerequisite: Get Lost (1). While in a lost loss.
state (see Get Lost), the PC can think about where he or she Invisibility- The PC and any clothing and objects held on
wants to go and will end up there more-or-less instantly. the person can become completely invisible to the naked
Duration: Permanent. eye. The PC still makes noises and people can make
Easy (10): End up in the type of neighborhood (but not AWR rolls to hear the PC moving and breathing. The
specifically the location or city) the PC wants. PC will also make a visible displacement in thick smoke,
Moderate (20): End up in a specific place the PC has been fog, rain, etc. The PC can be sensed by motion detectors,
to before. creatures from the invisible, or any other creature or
device that sees outside of the visible spectrum.
Hard (30): End up where a specific item or person the PC
has seen before is currently located. Super Richness- The PC can reach in his or her pockets
Legendary (40): End up in a place the PC has never been and pull out unlimited amounts of cash. A moderate (20)
AWR roll is all it takes to notice that the cash is a poor
to but which has been described to the PC (including places counterfeit (words are misspelled, the presidents’ faces
outside this reality). have goofy grins, etc.). Anyone actively looking for
counterfeit cash won’t even need to make a roll. The
Imaginary Powers (WIL)- The PC can manifest, in the cash disappears as soon as it is put where that nobody is
real world, powers that he or she had in playland as a child. looking at it.
The PC get a bonus for concentrating on the power directly

Alleys
Journeying (WIL)- The PC can detach his or her Phantom Body Parts (continued)
consciousness from the physical body and travel around
this world. While detached, the PC’s body appears Phantom Heart: +5 BLD, +10 INCY.
unconscious and the PC must make a hard (30) AWR roll Phantom Arm: All the powers of a phantom hand, but with a
to notice anything happening to his or her body. The PC is longer reach. Can grab, lift and punch at 20 STH.
invisible and intangible, can only effect the world through Phantom Legs: The PC can run, jump or kick as if he or she
the use of paranormal skills that do not require physical had 25 SPD.
components or actions. The PC cannot see other invisible
entities without an appropriate skill or power. The PC can Phantom Stomach/Intestines: The PC does not need to eat.
fly around at his or her normal SPD (no END loss). The PC Phantom Lungs: The PC does not need to breathe. +4 BLD,
can also travel to non-earthy realms (like the spirit world) +7 INCY.
that the PC has seen before or that the PC has had described Phantom Eardrums: The PC can hear the invisible, cannot
to him or her in great detail. Traveling to other worlds be deafened, can hear whispers at 100 ft. (30 m.) and can
usually takes the form of flying down into the ground or understand any spoken language. If both eardrums have
up into the clouds, though where the PC pictures himself or been removed, the PC can make Hard AWR rolls to hear what
herself going is more important than the physical direction people within 5 ft. (1.5 m.) are thinking to themselves.
the PC travels in. If the PC’s soul is badly damaged the Phantom Tongue: Can speak telepathically: Can be
PC will be disconnected from his or her body and cannot understood by anyone, including deaf people and people who
re-enter it without the Body Invasion skill. The PC gets +4 don’t speak the PC’s language. The PC can choose who hears
for each hour of meditation or chanting and +10 for using his or her words. The PC can “speak” to one or more people
hallucinogens or deliriants. Duration: Until Stopped (to in a painful “volume” (victims must make a moderate save
return to his or her body the spirit has to find and enter the vs. pain).
body).
Phantom Brain: +5 INL, +5 AWR, +5 AGY, perfect
Hard (30): Leave one’s body. photographic memory, immunity to psychoactive drugs.
Masks (WIL)- The PC can put a mask or a costume on a

thing and people will see whatever the costume is. Put a Nihilist Rage (WIL)- The PC creates an aura of disbelief
plastic Nixon mask on a person and that person will look of the physical world that causes all inanimate objects to
exactly like Nixon. Put baby-clothes on a log and people crumble, break, fray or corrode. Duration: Permanent.
will see a sleeping baby. Those with Visions or who can Easy (10): Things within 7 ft. (2 m.) become much
see the invisible can see past this illusion, as can anyone easier to break (difficulty for STH feat or amount of
possessed by a psychodynamic or anyone who makes a damage required to break is halved). PR of armor is
legendary (40) opposed AWR roll. The skill cannot make halved. Anything which degrades over time does so twice
things look like they have a vastly different size or shape. as fast.
Duration: 1 day/successs.
Moderate (20): Everything within 15 ft. (5 m.) cracks,
Easy (10): Make a young person look like an old corrodes, sours or frays. Anything bearing weight (e.g.
person.
a chair someone is sitting in, the tires of a car) breaks
Moderate (20): Make a person look like a troll. or bursts. Parts of the room the PC is in may collapse.
Hard (30): Make a person look like a bush. Nearly anything can be broken or destroyed with bare
Legendary (40): Make a building look like a dinosaur. hands. Armor is ineffective. Machines and electronics
don’t work.
Mortification of the Flesh (WIL)- This skill is used Hard (30): Everything within 30 ft. (10 m.) cracks,
to replace a lost body part with an invisible, intangible melts, twists, blackens and corrodes as if exposed to a fire
spirit body part that can do everything the original did and or strong acid. Sinkholes appear in the ground, clothes
more. Normally, the skill is being used as the body part fall apart, buildings collapse. Weapons are too brittle to
is being removed. The PC is at -10 if using this skill after do any damage.
the fact. Difficulty goes up by 5 for each successive body
Legendary (40): Everything within 60 ft. (20 m.)
part removed. PC gets +1 for every hour spent in chanting
disappears, leaving a semi-spherical crater. The edges of
or meditation (max +10). Duration: Permanent (unless the
body part is somehow restored). the crater are black as if there had been a great explosion.
Anyone in the area is dumped into another plane of
Hard (30): Replace a body part. existence.
Playland Geography (INL)- The PC has a knowledge

Phantom Body Parts of his or her own playland: the landmarks, domains,
Phantom Hand: Can reach into people’s chests and grab their characters, etc.
hearts (4 BLD damage). Can reach through walls and unlock Easy (10): Recognize and name a major playland
doors. The hand can grab with 20 STH.
character.
Phantom Eye: PC can switch between being able to see the Moderate (20): Find a shortcut leading directly to a
invisible, see through objects or see in the dark. The PC also
gets +10 to vision based AWR rolls.
distant part of the playland.
Hard (30): Find a portal to someone else’s playland.

In Dark
Possession Trance (AWR)- The PC can enter a light trance See Reapers (AWR)- The PC can see reapers coming
which opens himself or herself up to possession by a spirit. to take the souls of the dead. Since reapers often flock to
Most possessors are guardian spirits, who have personal dangerous situations where deaths are likely to happen,
knowledge about the PC, insight into the PC’s situation, and this power can act as a danger sense.
want to help the PC in their own peculiar fashion. Occasionally Easy (10): Notice a crowd of several reapers.
a non-guardian spirit, possibly a malevolent one, will possess Moderate (20): Notice a single reaper floating in front
the PC, but the PC’s guardian spirits will kick it out if it tries of PC’s face.
to hurt the PC. The PC may have slightly enhanced physical
and health attributes while possessed. The PC gets +4 to the Hard (30): Notice a reaper while driving past on the
roll for each hour spend in rhythmic dancing or chanting, +10 freeway.
if the PC had taken a deliriant or hallucinogen drug and +10
if the PC has tortured himself or herself. Occasionally spirits Where Reapers Go
will attempt to possess a PC without the PC having to activate Reapers show up where deaths are ready to occur. They
this skill (PC can make a WIL roll to resist). Duration: Until gather at or follow: deadly plagues, people with suicidal
Stopped. or murderous intent, deadly wrigglers, materials under
Easy (10): Be possessed, remember nothing afterwards. strain in buildings, bridges and vehicles which are near
Moderate (20): Be possessed, remember everything breaking, imminent natural disasters, people who are very
afterwards. ill or starving. Sudden and fairly random events do not
Hard (30): Share control of the body with the spirit. attract reapers beforehand (e.g. a car accident, a fight which
suddenly turns violent, etc.).
Psychometry (AWR)- The PC can touch an inanimate
object and gain flashes of the thoughts, feelings and sensations
people had near it. The flashes come from random points in
the object’s history, although experiences that had a strong
meaning to the people who had them are more likely to come
forth. Duration: While Concentrating.
Easy (10): Get something from a knife used in a murder.
Moderate (20): Get something from a 5 year old couch.
Hard (30): Get something from a week old pen.
Read Minds (AWR)- The PC can hear what people are
thinking and feel their emotions within 10 ft. per point of
success. The PC does not know what direction each thought
is coming from and can only distinguish who is thinking what
if the PC has heard the thinkers’ voices. Duration: While
Concentrating.
Easy (10): Emotions only.
Moderate (20): Thoughts and emotions.
Hard (30): Thoughts, emotions and perceptions.
Revive (WIL)- Prerequisite: Flesh Control (1). A PC can use
force of will to make his or her heart and lungs keep going
even after sustaining a mortal injury. Only one skill roll can
be made for each lethal incident. After reviving the PC has 1
BLD. Duration: Permanent.
Easy (10): Revive from 0 INCY.
Moderate (20): Revive from -3 INCY.
See True Face
Hard (30): Revive from -6 INCY.
Legendary (40): Revive from -9 INCY.
See Souls (AWR)- The PC can see the things that live
See Invisible (AWR)- This skill allows one to see, hear inside most humans and that live on after the human dies.
and feel denizens of the ‘invisible world’ that is coterminous The PC can recognize when people don’t have a soul,
with out own. The PC can also make INL based rolls via this and can see the slightly ‘brighter’ souls of people with
skill to determine what invisible entities do to the real world supernatural powers.
(e.g. a PC might recognize that a particular wriggler causes Easy (10): Tell if a person has a soul by looking deeply
headaches in humans). See “Seeing the Invisible” p.44. in his or her eyes.
Easy (10): See an invisible thing. Moderate (20): Tell if a person has a soul by looking
Moderate (20): Distinguish an invisible thing from a non- at them, or see a soul in the dark well enough to fight at
invisible thing. only a -7 penalty.
Hard (30): See an invisible thing through or inside solid Moderate (30): See and track human souls through
objects. walls, or see a soul in the dark well enough to fight at no
Legendary (40): See a reaper or a soul. penalty.

Alleys
See True Face (AWR)- Prerequisite: Visions (3). The memories of the new body’s brain will start to reassert
PC can look at a person and see the image of the guardian themselves. Each 24 hours, or any time the PC accesses
spirit which is strongest or is currently influencing that the body’s memories, the PC must make a WIL roll not to
person’s actions, as well as the emotional state of that forget hirself. The difficulty grows by 10 each time (10
psychodynamic. For example: if someone is feeling guilty for the first roll, 20 for the next, etc.). For each failure the
about lying, the PC might see the angry face of the guardian PC loses 1 level in each skill, forgets personal information
spirit that is responsible for keeping people’s thoughts and and the PC’s personality becomes more like that of the
actions righteous. Duration: While Concentrating. body’s owner’s. This damage to self goes away after the
Moderate (20): See true face. PC returns to hir body. The PC can remember everything
the other person’s soul did in hir body during the switch,
Soul Blade (WIL) The PC can anoint a blade with his or and visa versa. If the body the PC is inhabiting is killed,
her blood, giving it the ability to do damage to invisible the PC will die. Duration: Permanent.
intangible spirits and to the souls of humans. The blade Moderate (20): Switch bodies during intercourse.
cannot destroy a human soul, but it will cause considerable
pain, pain which cannot be blocked by painkillers or by the Hard (30): Switch bodies during full-body contact.
Untouchable skill. If attacking a flesh-and-blood person, the Legendary (40): Switch bodies during a touch.
blade does normal bladed damage as well as causing pain.
Duration: 1 min./success. Truth Ordeal (WIL)- The PC can put a question to a
Easy (10): 2 damage to intangible beings or 10 difficulty person and then touch the person with any hot piece of
pain to humans. metal. If the person answers truthfully (as far as he or
Moderate (20): 4 damage or 20 difficulty pain. she knows) the metal will not burn them. Note: Those
who can see the invisible will see small tendrils reaching
Hard (30): 6 damage or 30 difficulty pain. from the body of the PC and into the heads of those being
questioned. Duration: While Concentrating.
Spirit Speed (WIL)- The PC has learned to believe in his
or her speed and ability to defy gravity with such force of Moderate (20): Discover if a person is telling the
will that the rules of physics are temporarily broken. PC truth.
gets +10 if he or she has used hallucinogenic or deliriant
drugs and +4 for each hour of chanting or self-torture. Untouchable (WIL)- By closing his or her eyes and
Duration: 1 min./success. choosing not to believe in the world around him or her,
Easy (10): +5 SPD, +5 AGY, +20 to jumping rolls the PC can take little or no damage from mundane threats
such as fire, bullets, stampeding animals, a collapsing
Moderate (20): +10 SPD, +10 AGY, +40 to jumping building, etc. The PC cannot interact with the world while
rolls using this power (because the essence of this power lies
Hard (30): +15 SPD, +15 AGY, +60 to jumping rolls in disbelieving in the world). The PC becomes partially
intangible and, at high levels, transparent. The PC can
Spirit Strength (WIL)- The PC has learned to believe in use this skill as a combat reaction at -10. Duration: While
his or her own physical strength with such force of will that Concentrating.
the rules of physics and biology are broken. PC gets +10
if he or she has used hallucinogenic or deliriant drugs and Easy (10): Take half-damage from physical sources.
+4 for each hour of chanting or self-torture. Duration: 1 Moderate (20): Take one-fourth damage from physical
min./success. sources (slightly transparent).
Easy (10): +10 STH, +10 END Hard (30): Take one-tenth damage (noticeably
Moderate (20): +20 STH, +20 END transparent).
Hard (30): +30 STH, +30 END Legendary (40): Take no damage (completely see-
through).
Summon Imaginary Friend (WIL)- The PC can call a
character from his or her playland to temporarily manifest in Visions (AWR)- This is the ability to have hallucinations
this world. Duration: See below. that mean something. A vision is not a sensation of a real
thing. It is something that some part of the PC knows
Easy (10): Manifest through the PC. PC has no control subconsciously and that knowledge can only reach
over his or her actions and will remember nothing later. consciousness as a hallucination. For instance, if the PC
Lasts 1 hour or until friend decides to leave. has a vision of a crow perched above someone’s head it
Moderate (20): Manifest through another person (that may mean that some part of the PC has reason to believe
person must be willing or have 1 or less WIL). Person will that person will die soon. The PC cannot ask for a vision,
have increased stats as seen on p.29. Lasts 1 hour or until they come at random times and unexpected intervals.
friend decides to leave. Duration: While Concentrating.
Hard (30): Manifest as an autonomous physical entity. Easy (10): See an omen of potential ill fortune for a
Permanent. person or place.
Switch Bodies (WIL)- The PC can switch hir soul with Moderate (20): See an omen relating to the personality
that of another person, putting the PC in charge of another or abilities of a person.
persons’ body and visa versa. The PC can access the new Hard (30): See a vision pointing to the specific
bodies’ memories. From the moment the switch occurs, the location of an invisible entity.

In Dark
Step Seven - Equipment
In Brief: Buy stuff with money from Day Job. Can’t buy
illegal things without the Black Market skill.
Legality
Illegal equipment has one of the following legality
Starting Equipment ratings.
Infraction: If the PC is caught with this item and
Depending on the PC’s weekly expendable income (set by doesn’t have the proper license or permit, the PC can be
Day Job) he or she will get free equipment and services to fined up to $300. The PC must have at least 1 level in the
start: skill Black Market to start play with one of these items.
Misdemeanor: Without a proper license or permit, the
$50 or less- A few suits of older clothing, some broken- PC could get up to 1 year in jail and/or up to $1,000 in
down furniture, a bus pass, a leaky fridge and a rusty oven, fines. The PC must have at least 2 levels in the skill Black
a radio, a few old books, plastic dishes and flatware from Market to start play with one of these items.
a fast food place, packages of ramen, a tiny tenement
apartment or welfare-hotel room. Note: Homeless PCs Felony: Without a proper license or permit, the PC
can’t start with anything they can’t carry unless they rent could get several years in prison (average 5). The PC must
a storage shed. have at least 3 levels in the skill Black Market to start play
with one of these items.
$51 to $100- One nice outfit and some grungy outfits,
old furniture, a barely-running car, a tiny microwave, a Capital: There are very few items at this level of
small color TV, a bookshelf full of books, older dishes and illegality. Nuclear weapons are one. Being caught means
flatware, a fridge half-full of food, a small apartment in a being whisked away to a federal facility, being tried
bad part of town. secretly and possibly disappearing forever. The PC must
have 4 levels in Black Market.
$101 to $200- A few nice outfits, old furniture, an older
used car, a microwave, a small TV and DVD player, a CD
player, a small library of DVDs, CDs and paperback books,
an old computer, an apartment with air conditioning.
Animals
$201 to $300- Several nice outfits, including a formal suit
Dog: Fighting- A dog that has been bred and trained to
and a suit for going to nightclubs, cheap new furniture, a
injure and kill other dogs in illegal fights. It is short and
new car, an entertainment center, a new computer, a large
muscular with powerful jaw muscles. It will follow the
apartment or small house.
commands ‘kill’ (Vital Strike against other dogs at 1d20
$301 to $400- An SUV, sports car or luxury car, a large vs. 6), ‘watch out’ (Jump Out at 1d20 vs. 5), ‘stop’ (stop
variety of nice outfits, nice furniture, new top-of-the-line fighting), ‘finish him’ (attack the throat of an incapacitated
appliances, a big-screen TV, a top of the line computer, a opponent), ‘stay’ and ‘heel’. Costs $1,000.
condo, house or luxury apartment.
Dog: Guard- A dog that has been trained to guard
$401 or more- Designer or tailored outfits, luxury furniture, property. It will bark at any stranger who comes near the
professional quality appliances, two new cars (luxury, area in which it is enclosed and will attack any stranger
sports, RV, SUV or vintage), a boat, a home theater, a top who enters the area. It will follow the commands ‘stay’,
of the line computer, a very large house or multiple luxury ‘he/she’s okay’, ‘heel’, ‘quiet’ and ‘attack’. Costs $500.
apartments.
Dog: Service- A dog that has been bred and trained to
assist people with disabilities, especially the blind. It will
Purchasing Equipment follow the commands ‘fetch’ (with point), ‘heel’, ‘stay’
and ‘get help.’ The dog will also guide visually impaired
people around obstacles. Costs $750.
The PC starts with an amount of money listed in the PC’s
Day Job description. Buy equipment and services listed Dog: Tracking- This dog has been specially bred and
in the following section. The GM may disallow some trained to use its incredible sense of smell. Choose one
purchases that would be unreasonable for the PC to own. of the following specialties for the dog: tracking humans,
finding drugs, finding injured people & corpses, finding
Be sure to note which equipment is being stored at home explosives. In addition to ‘find’ or ‘point’ the dog knows
(or hidden somewhere else) and which equipment the ‘heel,’ ‘stay,’ ‘down’ and ‘get’ (grab the arm of a fleeing
PC regularly carries on his or her person. The weight of suspect). Costs $2,000.
equipment a PC can carry without minuses is STH times 5
Dog: Untrained- A healthy young dog which knows no
lbs. (or STH times 2 kg.). If the weight is not listed then it
commands. Costs $50.
is negligible. (See Encumbrance, p.128 for more).

Alleys
Equipment Index
Animals Walkie Talkies $15/ea. Medical Care (Plastic $3,000 Rollerblades $40
Dog: Fighting $1,000 Walkie Talkies (Advanced) $150/ea Surgery) Run-Flat Tires $400
Dog: Guard $500 Medical Care $100/hr. RV $70,000 or
Dog: Service $750 Lifestyle (Psychotherapy) $200/wk.
Dog: Tracking $2,000 Art Collection Varies Personal Assistant $600/wk. Single Engine Prop $10,000 or
Dog: Untrained $50 Condoms $1 Polygraphy $500 $25/mo.
Helper Monkey $10,000 Fiction Book Collection Varies Security (Alarm System) $30/wk. Skateboard $15
Homing Pigeon $200 Hip Flask $25 Security (Executive Personal)$6,000/wk. Snowmobile $5,000 or $20/wk.
Horse: Police $2,000 Home Entertainment Center $5,000 or $7/wk. Stable Care $30/wk. Sports Car $50,000 or
Horse: Pack $500 Instrument (Acoustic) $50 Storage (Locker) $0.75/day $175/wk.
Horse: Racing $1,000 Lighter (Disposable) $0.50 Storage (Shed) $10/wk. SUV $30,000 or
Horse: Untrained $400 Lighter (Expensive) $20 Subway Ride $1.25 $75/wk.
Housecat $20 Makeup Kit $40 Thug $50/hr. Tinted Windows $100
Movie Collection Varies Real Estate Trailer $100
Exploration & Survival Music Collection Varies Apartment (Luxury) $500/wk. Truck (Used) $6,000 or $20/wk.
Arctic Tent $200 Portable CD/Radio $10 Apartment (Moderate) $250/wk. Underwater Scooter $500.
Backpack $2 Spray Paint $10 Apartment (Slum) $100/wk.
Bolt Cutters $50 Wristwatch $2 Home Rental $350/wk. Weapons
Bottled Water $0.50 Wardrobe Office Rental $125/wk. Chemical
Camping Net $75 Clothing Collection $3000 Chloroform $80/bottle
Camping Tent $35 Clubwear $150 Surveillance & Security Curare $75/dose
Climbing Rope $1/ft. Costume $200 Audio Bug $50 Digitalis $40 for 2 doses
Dust Mask $0.25 Fetish Outfit $100 Binoculars $25 Parathion $60 for 10 doses
Ear Plugs $2 Formal Outfit $200 Bug Sweeper $100 Monkshood $30/dose
Emergency Heat Pack $20 Format Outfit (Tailored) $2,000 Camera (Amateur-Digital) $200 Poison Ring $30
Entry Tool $250 Jogging Outfit $10 Camera (Disposable) $5 Ricin Paste $200/dose
Fire Blanket $60 Military Surplus Outfit $60 Camera (Pro-Digital) $1,500 Sarin Gas $1,000/canister
Fire Extinguisher $70 Raincoat $7 Camera (Pro-Film) $2,000 Strychnine $20/dose
Fishing Kit $5 Scrubs $10 Camera Bug $120 Tetrodotoxin $50/dose
Fishing Line $15 Street Outfit $1 Cellphone Interceptor $300,000 or
Flare (Underwater) $15 Uniform Varies $1000/wk. Explosives & Incendiary
Flare $5 Fiber Optic Inspection Scope $800 Anti-Tank Weapon $7,500
Flashlight (Emergency) $75 Medical Handcuffs $20 Dynamite $75
Flashlight (Keychain) $10 Pharmaceuticals Laser Microphone $500 Flame Thrower $500
Flashlight (Large) $25 Antibiotics $50/course Motion Alarm $40 Gasoline $3/gallon
Flashlight (Small) $2 Antibiotics (Severe) $300/course Nightvision Goggles $200 Grenade (Flash Bang) $75
Gasmask $50 Anti-Nauseant $20/dose Padlock (Cheap) $5 Grenade (Fragmentation) $200
Gilly Suit $150 Anti-Psychotic $4/dose Padlock (Expensive) $80 Grenade Launcher $5,000 +$75/
GPS $500 Anti-Shock $10/dose Parabolic Microphone $75 grenade.
Hatchet $50 Anti-Toxin Kit $100 Peephole Reverser $90 Land Mine $200
Headlamp $50 Anxiolytic $2/dose Plastic Restraints $2/ea. Letter Bomb $200
Insect Repellent $5 Birth Control Pills $30/wk. Radio Scanner $50 Matchhead Bomb $80
MRE $7 Ipecac $5/dose Security Camera $90 Molotov Cocktail $40
Parachute $1,500 Local Anesthetic $10/dose Security Camera Recorder $500 Pipe Bomb $100
Protein Bar $1 Opiate Painkillers $2/dose Sound Recorder $20 Semtex $1000/250 g.
Radiation Detector $100 Sedative $3/dose Tracking Bug $250 Firearms
Rock Climbing Kit $200 Medical Equipment Videocamera (Cheap) $100 Automatic Rifle $1,000 +$1/bullet
Rope and Grapple $75 Carry Board $150 Videocamera (Professional) $5,000 Hunting Rifle $500 +$1/bullet
Rope Saw $25 Field Surgical Kit $100 Laser Sight $75
Scuba Gear $1,000 First Aid Kit (EMT) $250 Tools Machine Gun $10,000 +$100
Scuba Gear (Advanced) $10,000 First Aid Kit (Minor) $10 Autopsy Kit $2,000 per belt.
Sheet-Metal Snips $30 First Aid Kit $75 Carpentry Tools $50 Pistol (Automatic) $450 +$0.25/bullet
Ski Goggles $5 (Semiprofessional) Carving Tools $40 Pistol (Heavy) $600 +$0.50/bullet
Steel Toed Boots $50 Hearing Aid $80 Chemical Analysis $700 Pistol (Mini) $200 +$0.25/bullet
Sunscreen $5 Latex Gloves $1/pair. Equipment Pistol (Revolver) $350 +$.0.25/
Swiss Army Knife $25 Syringe $1 Chemical Synthesis Lab $10,000 bullet
Trenchcoat $35 Wheelchair $100 Crowbar $45 Sawed-Off Shotgun $600 +$1/shell.
Water Purifying Canteen $40 Duct Tape $2 Shotgun (Pump) $300 +$1/shell
Wetsuit $100 Psychoactives Electronics Repair Kit $100 Shotgun (Semi-Automatic) $700 +$1/shell.
Winter Coat $10 Alcohol Varies Evidence Packaging Kit $50 Silencer $250
Work Gloves $20 Caffeine Varies Fingerprinting Kit $50 Sniper Rifle $4,000 +$5/bullet.
Armor Chloral Hydrate $30/dose Forensic Evidence Lab $50,000 Submachinegun $2,500 +$1/bullet
Ballistic Vest $500 Cigarettes Varies Generator $600 Self-Defense
Chainmail $500 Cocaine/Crack Varies Gun Repair Tools $70 Grenade (Tear Gas) $50
Hazmat Suit $600 Ecstasy $10/dose Gunshot Residue Test $20 Pepper Spray $30
Firefighting Suit $25 Ethnogenic Deliriant $5/dose Lock Breaking Kit $100 Personal Sonic Alarm $20
Leather Jacket $75 Ethnogenic Euphoriant $10/dose Lock Pick Gun $50 Shield (Blast) $200
Motorcycle Outfit $150 Ethnogenic Hallucinogen $20/dose Lock Picks (Homemade) $5 Shield (Riot) $80
Plate Armor $400 Hallucinogen $10/dose Lock Picks (Professional) $50 Shield (Small) $50
Riot Armor $2,000 Herbal Sedative/Painkiller $2/dose Metal Detector $50 Taser (Air) $500
SWAT Armor $4,000 Herbal Stimulant $3/dose Microscope $100 Taser (Baton) $50
Heroin $5/dose Pen Torch $75 Taser (Heavy Duty) $70
High Tech Inhalants $2/dose Pickaxe $100 Taser (Mini) $30
Computer Hardware Marijuana $3/dose Polygraphy Set $2,000 Tear Gas Keyholer $70
Desktop (Gaming) $3,000 Meth $5/dose Sledgehammer $40 Traditional
Desktop (Used) $300 Roofies $10/dose Spoon $1 Baseball Bat $50
Laptop (Military) $4,000 Truth Serum $80/dose SWAT Door Ram $20 Bear Trap $100
Laptop (New) $4,000 Research Theatrical Makeup Kit $400 Blowpipe $50 +$4/dart
Laptop (Used) $400 Reference Books Varies Torture Kit $500 Bow (Archery) $50 +$5/arrow
Palmtop Computer $250 Research Library Varies UV Light $50. Bow (Compound) $400 +$20/arrow
Printer $70 Vehicle Repair Shop $10,000. Chain $5
Server $5,000 Services Vehicle Repair Toolkit $200 Crate Cutter $5
Smart Phone $500 Animal Boarding $10/day Voice Changer $30 Crossbow $500 +$30/bolt.
UPS $100 Background Check (Credit) $10 Dagger $35
Wearable Computer $5,000 +$10/wk. Background Check $75 Vehicles Dagger (Throwing) $20/set of 3.
Software (Criminal) Air Bags $400 Fire Axe $45
A/V Production Suite $500 Background Check (Full) $150 Alarm $200 Knife (Combat) $35
CAD Suite $600 Bank Account (Offshore) $5/wk. Bicycle $150 Knife (Hunting) $30
Developer’s Suite $400 Beauty Treatment $100 Bullet Proofing $10,000 Knife (Kitchen) $3
Encryption Software Suite $75 Blood/Urine Test $75 Bus $7,000 or $20/wk. Knife (Switchblade) $45
Office Application Suite $200 Bus Ride Varies Car (New) $25,000 or Machete $40
Script Kiddie Suite $100 Car Rental $20/day $50/wk. Nightstick $40
Security Package $100 Day Care $200/wk Car (Used) $7,000 or $20/wk. Pen Knife $45
Translation Software Suite $250 Insurance (Car) $10/wk Electric Kick Scooter $200 Pipe $5
Visual Arts Suite $200 Insurance (Home) $10/wk Helicopter $20,000 or Quarterstaff $40
Communication Insurance (Kidnapping) $200/wk $100/wk. Sword (Broadsword) $100
Cellphone (Basic) $30 +$5/wk. Insurance (Legal) $10/wk Inflatable Raft $75 Sword (Fencing) $60
Cellphone (Top of the Line) $150 +$7/wk. Insurance (Life) $10/wk Kayak $200 Sword (Katana) $100
Cellular Internet Access Card $100 +$10/wk. Insurance (Medical) $30/wk Moped $1,000 Sword Cane $100
Ear Bud Radios $100/ea. Legal Research Database $100/wk Motorboat $20,000 or Telescoping Baton $150
Encrypted Cellphone $1,000 +$5/wk. Access $100/wk. Tiger Claws $65
Pager $25 +$2/wk. Limo Ride $75/hr Motorcycle (New) $10,000 or Whip $35
Satellite Phone/Modem $3,000 or $100/ Medical Care (Ambulance) $25 $100/wk.
wk. Medical Care (Drug Rehab) $400/wk. Motorcycle (Used) $5,000 or $20/wk.
Step Seven - Equipment 089

In Dark
Typical Dog
Attributes: END 10, SPD 15, BDY 2, BLD 2, INCY 3.
Exploration & Survival
Senses: Sight AWR 5, Smell AWR 17, Hearing AWR 15.
Arctic Tent- A one-person tent with enough reflective
Attacks: Bite at 1d20 vs. 6 (2 bladed damage), Vital Strike insulation to protect one from an arctic snowstorm.
Bite at 1d20 vs. 12 (4 bladed damage) Weighs 30 lbs. (14 kg). Costs $200.
Feeding Costs $7/wk. Backpack- Helps people carry their maximum
encumbrance (see p.128). Costs $20
Helper Monkey- A capuchin monkey which has been
Bolt Cutters- Heavy, long handled, can cut chain-link
specially trained to aid a person with serious physical
fences and most padlocks easily. It can be used as a
impairment. The monkey can retrieve items, operate light
weapon (1 bladed or 1 blunt damage, very hard strike
switches, turn the pages on a book and much more. The
(-8), hard entangle (-8)) and if a weapon can be caught
monkey has 1 STH, 1 BLD, 1 BDY. If attacked it will fight between the blades (an entangle), the fighter holding the
back with a pain/stun attack (biting a person in a sensitive bolt cutters can use an action to snap the weapon. Weighs
spot) at 1d20 vs. 5. Costs $10,000. 10 lbs. (4.5 kg). Costs $50.
Homing Pigeon- Trained to return to it’s coop upon being Bottled Water- Costs $0.50.
released, often with a message attached to it. Costs $200.
Camping Net- This lightweight net can hold up to 750
Horse: Police- Trained to stop if the rider falls off or drops lbs. and is large enough to be used a hammock. Weighs
the reigns, and to attack anyone who attacks or grabs the 0.5 lbs. (.2 kg). Costs $75.
rider. It understands commands that tell it to ‘go/go faster’,
‘stop’, ‘slow’ and ‘turn left/right.’ Costs $2,000. Camping Tent- A canvas bag holding a folded up
waterproof tent. With practice the tent can be setup
Horse: Pack- Trained to travel on rocky and uneven terrain or taken down in 5 minutes. Designed for one person.
and to carry heavy baggage. It understands commands that Weighs 15 lbs. (7 kg). Costs $35.
tell it to ‘go/go faster’, ‘stop’, ‘slow’ and ‘turn left/right.’
Costs $500. Climbing Rope- High quality rope that a mountain
climber or spelunker might use. Has a burn and cut
Typical Horse resistant nylon sheath (takes 2 bladed or 4 burn damage
to cut the rope). Can hold 6,000 lbs. (2,700 kg). Has
Attributes: END 20, SPD 45, BDY 6, BLD 6, INCY 3. moderate bounce. Weighs 1 lb./20 ft. (3 kg./m.) Costs
Abilities: Thick hide has PR 1 bladed 1 blunt. $1/ft. or $3/m.
Senses: Sight AWR 10 (better for long-distance vision), Dust Mask- A disposable cloth face mask that protects
Hearing AWR 18, Smell AWR 20. from larger airborne particulates (not from gasses). Costs
Attacks: Kick at 1d20 vs. 5 (5 blunt), Bite at 1d20 vs. 10 $0.25.
(1 bladed damage, pain/stun attack), Trample (if figure Ear Plugs- Costs $2.
is not prone, horse must rear up, using 1 action) at 1d20
vs. 10 (7 blunt damage, 1 in 20 chance the horse will Emergency Heat Pack- When capsules inside this small
break a leg). gel-filled pouch are broken it becomes very warm and
Feeding Costs $7/wk. stays warm for up to 1 hour. Can only be used once.
Gives +5 to save vs. hypothermia. Weighs 1 lb. (.5 kg).
Note: In order to travel on city streets without hurting Costs $20.
their hooves, horses must be shod with special rubber
shoes. Entry Tool- This long, heavy tool was designed for SWAT
teams to quickly get past obstacles. It is a pry bar, an axe
and a sledgehammer all in one (one side of the pole has a
Horse: Racing- Trained to run at very high speeds (up to hammer-axe, the other has a pry bar). Can be used as a
60 SPD) for several minutes, to dodge and weave among weapon doing either 3 bladed damage (pierces armor as
traffic. It understand commands that tell it to ‘go/go faster’, 6) or 4 blunt damage, both at range 2 (hard strike (-4)).
‘stop’, ‘slow’ and ‘turn left/right.’ Costs $1,000. Weighs 7 lbs. (3 kg). Costs $250.
Horse: Untrained- A horse that is comfortable with Fire Blanket- A reflective, heat-resistant blanket that can
humans, and will let a human climb on top of it, but has be quickly unfolded and wrapped over the body to survive
otherwise not been trained. Costs $400. a fire. Can also be used to hide from infrared sensors. PR
10 burn damage. Costs $60.
Housecat- A typical housecat. Hard to train, but adept
at hunting and killing pests. Has END 5, SPD 13, BDY Fire Extinguisher- Costs $70.
1, BLD 3, INCY 3; Sight AWR 10 (no darkness penalty),
Fishing Kit- A pocket-sized pouch with everything
Smell AWR 15, Hearing AWR 15; a pain/stun attack with needed to catch fish in an emergency/survival situation
claws (at 1d20 vs. 3). Costs $3/wk. to feed. Costs $20. (easy Wilderness Survival skill roll). Costs $5.

Alleys
Fishing Line- A 100 ft. (30 m.) spool of nylon line. Takes Radiation Detector- Handheld device, clicks in response
hard (30) strength feat to break. Can hold up to 100 lbs. (45 to radiation (clicks more often the closer it gets to a
kg.). Weighs 1 lb. (.5 kg). Costs $15. radiation source). Weighs 1 lb. (.5 kg). Costs $100.
Flare (Underwater)- Works underwater for 20 minutes. Rock Climbing Kit- A small nylon satchel containing
Costs $15. 100 ft. (30 m.) of climbing rope, 6 pitons (1 bladed
damage poking weapons), a hammer (2 blunt damage),
Flare- Burns with a bright red or green light for 1 hour, an ascender, a belay device, a harness, 4 carabineers, 4
illuminating up to 20 ft. (6 m.). Can be held in the hand. cams, a chalk bag and rock shoes. Gives +10 to climbing
Does 2 burn damage when used as a weapon. Costs $5. skill rolls. Weighs 15 lbs. (7 kg). Costs $200.
Flashlight (Emergency)- This durable flashlight is Rope and Grapple- 30 ft. (10 m.) of climbing rope on
waterproof and shockproof and uses no batteries. Twisting a a sturdy metal hook. Gives +8 to Climbing rolls. Costs
hand crank for a few seconds will power it for a minute. Can $75.
illuminate up to 25 ft. (7 m.). Weighs 2 lbs. (1 kg). Costs
$75. Rope Saw- A flexible saw-on-a-chain that rolls up into a
tiny package (can easily fit in a pocket). Used mainly by
Flashlight (Keychain)- A tiny flashlight with a bright LED. campers. Can be used as a 1 bladed improvised slashing
Can illuminate up to 10 ft. (3 m.). Battery lasts 1 hr. Costs weapon. Costs $25.
$10.
Scuba Gear- This is a complete diving outfit with
Flashlight (Large)- A heavy, long metal flashlight with a wetsuit, gloves, fins, weight belt, regulator, oxygen tank,
steel casing. Can be used as a blunt weapon (range 0-1, 2 knife, etc. With the tank fully charged the diver can stay
blunt). Batteries last 12 hours. Can illuminate up to 100 ft. underwater about 2 hours. Weighs 75 lbs. (34 kg). Costs
(30 m.) Weighs 2 lbs. (1 kg). Costs $25. $1,000.
Flashlight (Small)- A cheap plastic flashlight. Batteries last Scuba Gear (Advanced)- This is the latest and most
2 hours. Can illuminate up to 50 ft. (15 m.). Costs $2. expensive technology, including onboard computers and
sophisticated co2 scrubbing rebreathers. It can allow a
Gasmask- Protects from all inhalation based chemical and diver to stay underwater for 48 hours. Weighs 150 lbs.
biological attacks. It does not protect from agents that work (68 kg). Costs $10,000.
via skin contact. Costs $50.
Sheet-Metal Snips- Heavy-duty snips can cut things as
Gilly Suit- A camouflage body suit covered with textured hard as sheet-metal. Weighs 1 lb. (.5 kg). Costs $30.
plastic that looks like foliage. Gives +10 to prowling rolls in
undergrowth. Costs $150. Ski Goggles- The thick lenses give a wearer PR 1 blunt 1
bladed from attacks to the eyes. Costs $5.
GPS- A handheld unit, can determine location, down to a
foot, anywhere in the world. Has street maps for most 1st Steel Toed Boots- Work boots with steel protection for
world locations. Weighs 1 lb. (.5 kg). Costs $500. toes. Gives +1 blunt damage to kicks. Costs $50.
Hatchet- A small axe designed for use by campers. Can be Sunscreen- 20 applications of a 150 SPF sunscreen.
used as a 2 bladed damage weapon (range 1). Costs $50. Costs $5.
Headlamp- A waterproof flashlight on a headband, often Swiss Army Knife- Comes with a blade, corkscrew, can/
bottle opener, screwdriver, puncher, scissors, hook, file,
used by cave explorers. Batteries last 12 hours. Costs $50.
tweezers and toothpick. Costs $25.
Insect Repellent- Foul smelling cream, lasts 8 hours, one
Trenchcoat- A thick, ankle-length coat, waterproof, with
bottle contains 20 applications. Costs $5.
large internal pockets. Costs $35.
MRE- Meal-Ready-to-Eat, a packaged military ration,
Water Purifying Canteen- The lid has a heavy-duty
designed to fulfill full nutritional requirements, stay edible filter in it so that any water squeezed out is filtered.
for years unrefrigerated, and require no preparation. Costs Costs $40.
$7.
Wetsuit- Designed to keep people warm in cold water.
Parachute- Parachutes can be bought in normal or base- Heat Factor: +10. AR 7, PR 1 bladed 3 skidding. Costs
jumping styles. Normal parachutes must open at 2000 ft. $100.
(600 m.) to prevent falling damage to the PC. Base-jumping
parachutes can be opened as low as 800 ft. (250 m.) but are Winter Coat- A thick, hooded, waterproof coat that goes
insufficient for use in higher-altitude jumps. Weight 35 lbs. down to mid-thigh. Heat factor: +7. Costs $10.
(16 kg). Costs $1,500. Work Gloves- These gloves protect the hands from up
Protein Bar- Quick energy for situations where it is hard to to 2 bladed or 4 burn damage. Useful for climbing and
stop for a meal. Costs $1. rappelling. Costs $20.

In Dark
Plate Armor- A series of metal plates which slide over
Armor in Brief each other at joints, with full metal helmet with eye slits.
Heat Factor: This is a simultaneous bonus to save vs. Weighs 75 lbs. AGY penalty: -5. AWR penalty: -5. Heat
hypothermia and penalty to save vs. heat stroke.
factor: +8. AR 15, PR 6 bladed 5 blunt. Weighs 20 lbs. (9
AGY Penalty: The penalty to all AGY rolls while wearing kg). Costs $400.
this item.
AR: Armor Rating, this is the amount of the body that the Riot Armor- Padded armor covering the chest, with arm,
armor covers and the amount of success that an enemy must leg and crotch guards and a helmet with clear-plastic
make on a strike to hit some hole in the armor. See p.65 for faceplate. Designed to protect from thrown objects and
more.
small caliber weapons. AGY Penalty: -4. AWR Penalty:
AR 20: Full body protection with no weak spots.
AR 15: Full body protection with some weak spots.
-2. Heat factor +10. Gives AR 14, PR 7 bladed 5 blunt.
Weighs 20 lbs. (9 kg). Costs $2,000.
AR 12: Face completely exposed.
AR 10: Head completely exposed. SWAT Armor- An armored body-suit and helmet
AR 7: Head, neck, hands, feet completely exposed. designed to provide all-over protection from even high-
AR 5: Only body, thighs, upper arms covered. powered firearms. AGY Penalty: -5. AWR Penalty: -4.
AR 4: Only torso and hips covered. Heat factor: +10. Gives AR 10, PR 10 bladed 3 blunt.
AR 3: Only torso covered. Weighs 20 lbs. (9 kg.) Costs $4,000.
PR: Protection Rating, how much of each type of damage
the armor protects from. If an armor protects from 6 bladed
damage, then a strike that does 10 bladed damage that hits the
armor would only do 4 bladed damage to the wearer.
High Tech
Computer Hardware
Desktop (Gaming)- A brand new computer with top-of-
Armor the-line parts: the fastest processor, biggest hard drive, a
Ballistic Vest- A kevlar vest thin and small enough to be huge flat-screen monitor, the newest video card, surround
concealed under a uniform or business suit. Can be noticed sound and more. Avid gamers are typically the only people
with a Hard (30) AWR roll. AGY Penalty: -1. Heat factor: who need a computer this advanced. Costs $3,000.
+5. Gives AR 5, PR 6 bladed 2 blunt. Weighs 15 lbs. (7
Desktop (Used)- An older computer, with a relatively
kg). Costs $500.
slow processor, small hard drive and a smallish CRT
Chainmail- Long shirt made of metal rings, metal plates monitor. It’s fine for browsing the web, but may have
over arms and legs. Weighs 30 lbs. AGY penalty: -2. Heat trouble running some of the newest software packages.
Factor: +4. AR 6, PR 3 bladed 2 blunt. Weighs 15 lbs. (7 Costs $300.
kg). Costs $500.
Laptop (Military)- A moderately powerful laptop
Hazmat Suit- A rubber suit with a built-in gasmask, designed to be moisture, shock and dust resistant. Can take
designed to provide complete protection from biological up to 1 bladed or 1 blunt damage and still work. Batteries
and chemical toxins. AGY penalty: -1. AWR penalty: -1. last 8 hours. Weighs 5 lbs. (2 kg). Costs $4,000.
+20 heat factor. AR 20, PR 1 bladed. Weighs 10 lbs. (5
Laptop (New)- A new top of the line laptop computer. It’s
kg). Costs $600.
light (2 lbs. or 1 kg), has a big screen and a long battery
Firefighting Suit- A suit with helmet, gloves, boots and life (10 hours). Costs $4,000.
gasmask designed to protect firefighters from dangers of
Laptop (Used)- An older model laptop computer.
smoke and extreme temperatures. Has reflective patches so
Compared to the newest models it’s heavier (5 lbs. or 2
firefighters can see each other in the dark. Weighs 20 lbs.
kg), slower, has a smaller screen and a shorter battery life
(9 kg). AGY penalty: -3. SPD penalty: -2. Heat factor: +5.
(2 hours). Costs $400.
AR 10, PR 2 bladed 1 blunt 6 burn. Weighs 12 lbs. (5 kg).
Costs $250 Palmtop Computer- A tiny handheld computer with a
touch sensitive screen. It can’t run desktop computer
Leather Jacket- A knee length, thick leather jacket. Heat
software, but it can be used to play games, check email,
factor: +4. AR 5 PR 1 bladed 1 blunt. Costs $75.
access calendar and address book info, take notes, play
Motorcycle Outfit- A black leather jacket, chaps, boots and music or movies and even browse the web (with Cellular
a motorcycle helmet. Heat factor: +7. With helmet: AR 10 Internet Access Card). Costs $250.
PR 3 bladed 1 blunt 5 knockout 5 skid 2 fall. Without the
Printer- Can print documents or (with special paper)
helmet: AR 7, PR 3 bladed 1 blunt 4 skid 2 fall. Weighs 7
decent color photos. Costs $70.
lbs. (3 kg). Costs $150.

Alleys
Server- A large flat box, designed to be mounted in a case.
Its hardware is designed to be very reliable and many of its Communication
parts can be swapped out without even turning it off. It’s Cellphone (Basic)- A cheap cellphone that can’t do
perfect to run a web or mail server, or to record a continuous anything besides make phone calls. Costs $30 +$5/wk.
flow of data from digital sensors, or to be a workhorse for for service.
some scientific or statistical project. Costs $5,000.
Cellphone (Top of the Line)- This cellphone boasts all
Smart Phone- A cellphone that also doubles as a palmtop the latest features, including the ability to shoot pictures
computer (see p.92). Costs $500. and short movies and to send and receive text messages.
UPS- Provides up to 15 minutes backup battery power for Costs $150 +$7/wk. for service.
computers or other appliances. Costs $100. Cellular Internet Access Card- This card allows a
Wearable Computer- This custom built system consists of laptop or palmtop computer to access the internet from
a glasses-mounted display, a keyboard that wraps around anywhere that has cellular coverage. Costs $100 +$10/wk.
a forearm and a moderately powerful computer (complete for service.
with cellular internet connection) that can be worn as a Ear Bud Radios- A tiny ear bud is connected via a thin
backpack or hip-belt. Weighs 4 lbs. (2 kg). Costs $5,000 wire to a radio that can be hidden under a shirt. Maximum
+$10/wk. for cellular internet service. range 600 ft. (200 m.). Costs $100/ea.
Encrypted Cellphone- Allows users who share an
Software encryption key to have scrambled conversations over
A/V Production Suite- Programs that allow for the normal cellphone networks. Costs $1,000 +$5/wk. for
professional editing of music and video, including common service.
special effects. Costs $500. Pager- With the ability to receive text messages via
CAD Suite- Software that allows for Computer Aided email. Costs $25 +$2/wk. for service.
Design of everything from buildings to microchips. Costs Satellite Phone/Modem- This is a device with a small
$600. satellite dish that allows someone to make phone calls
Developer’s Suite- A set of programs that allow or connect to the internet from virtually anywhere in the
programmers, database administrators and web developers world. Weighs 5 lbs. (2 kg). Costs $3,000 (+$20/minute
to practice their craft. Costs $400. for service) or $100/wk. rental.
Encryption Software Suite- Tools that allow people Walkie Talkies- Maximum range 600 ft. (200 m.). Cost
to encrypt individual messages or files or to encrypt the $15/ea.
contents of a hard drive. Costs $75. Walkie Talkies (Advanced)- Water and shock proof.
Office Application Suite- All the software one would need Built in voice scrambling. Optional hands-free headset.
to create and edit a document, spreadsheet, database or Maximum range 7 miles (11 km.) in open areas or 3 miles
presentation. Costs $200. (5 km.) in the city. Cost $150/ea.
Script Kiddie Suite- A collection of programs designed to

allow amateur hackers to hack systems automatically by
running various scripts. The program will scan a network
Lifestyle
and find any computer that has a commonly known security Art Collection- $200 for ‘okay,’ $8,000 for ‘impressive,’
hole and then exploit that hole to give the user access. $50,000 for ‘amazing.’
Consistently makes Hacking rolls (see p.73) at 10 success.
Legality: Misdemeanor. Costs $100. Condoms- Costs $1 for a pack of 6.
Security Package- A suite that includes the latest antivirus Fiction Book Collection- $50 for ‘small’, $250 for
and firewall software, with free updates. Adds +10 difficulty ‘okay’, $1,000 for ‘impressive’, $5,000 for ‘amazing’
to hacking or virus attacks. Costs $100. Hip Flask- Flat, therefore easier to conceal. Can hold up
Translation Software Suite- A set of translators that will to 10 doses of alcohol (see p.96). Costs $25.
translate text from one language to another. The translations Home Entertainment Center- DVD, stereo, big-screen
are far from perfect, but they are usually good enough TV, big speakers. Costs $5,000 or $7/wk. to rent.
to be able to get the meaning of text. Also comes with
OCR (optical character recognition) and voice recognition Instrument (Acoustic)- A non-electronic instrument,
software, but use of these reduces the accuracy of the like a guitar, pair of bongos, harmonica, sitar, saxophone,
translation even further. Costs $250. etc. Costs $50.
Visual Arts Suite- All the software one would need to create Lighter (Disposable)- Costs $0.50.
digital art or illustrations or manipulate a photo. Costs Lighter (Expensive)- Can light a damp cigarette in high
$200. winds. Costs $20.

In Dark
Makeup Kit- Enough makeup to use the Fashion & Style hood, which can be folded up small enough to fit in a
skill without penalties Costs $40. pocket. Costs $7.
Movie Collection- $200 for ‘small’, $1,000 for ‘okay’, Scrubs- Cheap disposable clothing as a doctor or nurse
$4,000 for ‘impressive’, $20,000 for ‘amazing’ might wear. Does not include shoes. Costs $10.
Music Collection- $100 for ‘small’, $500 for ‘okay’, Street Outfit- Includes shoes and a hat; bought from thrift
$2,000 for ‘impressive’, $10,000 for ‘amazing.’ stores; appropriate to the current weather; comfortable,
durable, warm, looks okay if it gets a little dirty. It is not
Portable CD/Radio- Costs $10 at all ‘stylish’. Costs $15
Spray Paint- A normal can of spray paint. Can be used as Uniform- A uniform purchased from a uniform store.
a blinding weapon. Costs $10. Note that law enforcement uniforms are a Misdemeanor
Wristwatch- Costs $2. level item (unless the PC is law enforcement).
Costs $20 for service industry.
Costs $50 for private security.
Wardrobe Drugs in Brief Costs $75 for law enforcement.
Clothing Collection- A wardrobe large Administered: How the drug is taken. Note
enough for the Fashion & Style skill to
be used without any penalties. Includes
that intravenous injections take a skill roll
(using the skill Street Drugs or a MEDI skill). Medical
outfits and shoes appropriate to every Effects: What the effects are of one dose of the Pharmaceuticals
type of social function, from business drug. Effects that can be saved against have
meetings, to church, to a singles bar. the difficulty to save listed after them. E.g.
“+7 STH, Vomiting (10), Unconsciousness
Antibiotics
Must be purchased twice if the PC will (20) for 2 hours” means that for two hours Administered: Orally as pills
be dressing as either gender. Includes the user gets +7 STH, must save vs. vomiting Effects: +8 to save vs. disease
the items Clubwear and Formal Outfit at 10 difficulty and vs. unconsciousness at 20
progression for bacterial infections.
(see below). Costs $3,000. difficulty every hour. Roll vs. effects once
per the period listed for the effects (e.g. every Overdose (2x): Nausea (20) for 2
Clubwear- New, trendy clothing hour, every minute, etc.). hours.
appropriate for a party or going out to a Legality: Misdemeanor without a
club. Gives +2 to seduction rolls. Costs Withdrawal Effects: Effects experienced
when the chemical starts to exit the user’s prescription.
$150. system (unless stated otherwise, this is when Costs $50 for a full 3 week course
Costume- Specially tailored or all the Effects cease).
commissioned outfit, e.g. a stage Tolerance: How much more of the chemical a Antibiotics (Severe)- This selection of
magician’s outfit, a historical re-enactor’s user must use after having taken many doses. powerful antibiotics is usually reserved
middle-ages dress, a superhero costume, Tolerance increases by 10% for each week of for fighting antibiotic resistant strains
etc. Costs $200. regular use. The maximum tolerance for the
drug is listed.
and has severe side effects.
Fetish Outfit- An outfit designed to Administered: Intravenously.
appeal to people of a particular minority Addiction: When there is a possibility Effects: +12 to save vs. disease
that a drug may be psychologically and/or
sexual preference. Gives +8 to seduction physiologically addictive, the difficulties are progression for bacterial diseases, hair
rolls towards those people. Costs $100. listed here. Users must save vs. addiction based loss, joint pain (-5 AGY), Vomiting
Formal Outfit- A formal outfit that might on the listed difficulties with +1 difficulty for (20), liver damage (permanent -4 to
be appropriate for a business meeting. It
each consecutive dose. The difficulty to resist save vs. poison/drug effects), digestive
drug cravings and any special circumstances system damage (-15 to save vs. nausea
is the right size, but not tailored. Costs which will trigger cravings is listed. E.g.
$200. Psychological Addiction Difficulty 15 means
for 3 months).
that if a PC uses 7 doses in a row he or she Legality: Misdemeanor without a
Format Outfit (Tailored)- A formal must make a roll of WIL + 1d20 vs. 22 or prescription.
outfit, incorporating the best materials become psychologically addicted to the drug. Costs $300 for a full 3 week
and latest styles, hand-tailored to fit the See p.134 for the complete rules of addiction.
course.
wearer perfectly. Gives +2 to seduction
Long Term Effects: These are the additional
rolls. Costs $2,000. effects on a user who uses the drug regularly.
Anti-Nauseant
Jogging Outfit- Sneakers and grey Long Term Withdrawal Effects: These are Administered: Intramuscular Inje-
sweats. Costs $10. the additional effects of withdrawal on a user ction
who has been using the drug regularly.
Military Surplus Outfit- A full outfit, Effects: +10 to save vs. nausea for
including boots and a hat, from military Overdose: Each drug may have several 4 hours
surplus stores. Mostly olive green overdose ratings. “Overdose (2x)” may list the Legality: Misdemeanor without a
and cammo. Gives +4 to prowling in effects of taking two doses at once, “Overdose prescription.
greenery. Costs $60. (4x)” may list the effect of four doses. Unless
stated otherwise, assume the overdose effects Costs $20/dose.
Raincoat- A thin plastic raincoat, with last as long as the normal effects.

Alleys
Anti-Psychotic- A drug that suppresses the parts of the brain Ipecac- Causes immediate vomiting when swallowed.
involved in psychosis, hallucinations and schizophrenia. Costs $5/dose.
It also suppresses the parts of the brain involved in the
experience of pleasure and creativity. It is often over-used Local Anesthetic- Used for numbing body parts when
in mental hospitals, along with sedatives, to make people doing minor surgery.
docile. It also suppresses supernatural abilities. Administration: Injected into tissues.
Administered: Orally as pills or intra-muscular Effects: Insensitivity to pain in given area for 1 hour.
injection.
Overdose (2x): Dizziness (-10 to save vs. loss of
Effects: +10 to save vs. hallucinations/delusions, -2 INL, balance), light-headedness (-4 INL), Vomiting (10) for 1
-2 AWR, -2 AGY, Dysphoria (10), -10 to supernatural skill hour.
rolls. Lasts 24 hours.
Legality: Misdemeanor without a prescription.
Withdrawal: -10 vs. hallucinations/delusions for 24
hours. Costs $10/dose.
Long Term Effects: Because the pills have an anhedonic
(loss of ability to feel pleasure) effect, regular users must Opiate Painkillers- Used as a painkiller and a drug of
make weekly WIL rolls (10 difficulty) to continue taking the abuse.
drug willingly. Administration: Orally as pills (can also be snorted or
Overdose (2x): -7 AWR, -7 INL, -7 AGY, +20 to save vs. injected).
hallucinations/delusions, Dysphoria (20), -20 to supernatural Effects: +10 to save vs. pain, +5 to save vs. fear, -3
skill rolls. INL, -3 AGY, Euphoria (10) for 6 hours.
Overdose (4x): Tardive Dyskenesia (permanent -4 AGY Withdrawal Effects: Insomnia (20), -4 to save vs.
due to brain damage), Stupor (30). pain/fear for 12 hours.
Legality: Misdemeanor without a prescription. Tolerance: max. +200%
Costs $4/dose. Long Term Effects: After daily use for a month:
weakened immune system (-4 to save vs. disease
Anti-Shock- A drug that helps keep the body from going contraction and progression).
into shock after a physical trauma or systemic infection. Long Term Withdrawal Effects: After daily use for a
Administered: Intramuscular injection month: cramps (roll vs. distracting pain, difficulty 20),
Insomnia (30), flu-like symptoms, diarrhea for 7 days.
Effects: +10 to save vs. trauma or physiological shock for
2 hours. Addiction: Physiological Addiction Difficulty 5,
Psychological Addiction Difficulty 5, Craving Difficulty
Legality: Misdemeanor without a prescription. 20.
Costs $10/dose. Overdose (2x): +16 to save vs. pain, +7 to save vs.
fear, -5 INL, -5 AGY, euphoria (20), unconsciousness
Anti-Toxin Kit- A briefcase sized metal case containing (20).
ipecac, activated charcoal, antitoxins and antivenoms for Overdose (4x): Cardiac Arrest (10), fluid in lungs (-10
common types of poisons. Allows the Pharmacology skill END).
to be used in the field to treat poisoning at only -5 (as Overdose (8x): Cardiac Arrest (30), Pulmonary Arrest
opposed to no penalty in a hospital with a full pharmacy). (30).
Costs $100.
Legality: Felony without a prescription.
Costs $2/dose.
Anxiolytic- Used to treat anxiety, stress and panic
disorders.
Administration: Orally as pills. Sedative- Used to treat panic, psychosis and insomnia.
Effects: +7 to save vs. fear and psychological shock for 24 hrs. Administration: Intramuscular injection.
Tolerance: +10% for every month of daily use (max. Effects: +7 to save vs. fear/anger, +3 to save vs. pain,
+50%). -7 to save vs. unconsciousness, +7 to save vs. insomnia,
+4 to save vs. hallucinations/delusions for 12 hours.
Addiction: Psychological Addiction Difficulty 0, Craving
Difficulty 15 (cravings triggered by fear or worry). Tolerance: max. +50%
Tolerance: max. +50% Addiction: Physiological Addiction Difficulty 0,
Long Term Withdrawal Effects: After 1 month of daily 15.
use: -10 to save vs. fear for 2 days.
Long Term Withdrawal Effects: After 1 week of daily
Overdose (2x): +10 to save vs. fear, -3 AGY, -2 INL, -2 use: Insomnia (20), Panic (10).
AWR, -5 to save vs. unconsciousness for 24 hours.
Overdose (2x): Unconsciousness (30), -4 INL, +10 to
Overdose (4x): Unconsciousness (30), Coma (10) for 24 save vs. fear/anger.
hours.
Overdose (4x): Coma (30).
Overdose (8x): Cardiac Arrest (40).
Costs $2/dose.
Costs $3/dose.
Birth Control Pills- Misdemeanor without a prescription.
Costs $30/wk.

In Dark
Effects: +4 to save vs. fear, +4 to save vs. pain,
Medical Equipment clumsiness (-4 AGY), slower reactions (-4 to INL rolls
Carry Board- A lightweight board with straps and handles based on speed of thought), pleasant buzz for 4 hours.
for immobilizing and carrying wounded patients. Weighs Withdrawal Effects: The next day, sensitivity to stimuli
15 lbs. (7 kg). Costs $150. (-10 to save vs. pain/dose), nausea (10 difficulty/dose),
headache (10 difficulty/dose) for 6 hours.
Field Surgical Kit- A canvas roll with a series of surgical Tolerance: max. +500% (Note that tolerance disappears
tools and supplies, all sterile in waterproof packaging, when liver damage sets in, see Long Term Effects).
that allows someone to use the Surgery skill in the field at Addiction: Physiological Addiction Difficulty 10,
-10 (as opposed to no penalty in a fully-stocked operating Psychological Addiction Difficulty 10, Craving Difficulty
room). Has weapons that can be used as 2 bladed damage 20 (cravings triggered by anxiety).
slashing or poking improvised weapons (p.145). Weighs 5
lbs. (2 kg). Costs $100. Long Term Effects: For every two years of daily use:
brain damage (-1 INL, -1 AWR), permanent Retrograde
First Aid Kit (EMT)- A large plastic box which opens Amnesia and Anterograde Amnesia (at 2 cumulative
to reveal many shelves (like a tackle box) containing difficulty), liver damage (-1 to save vs. drug/poison
various tools that a trained Emergency Medical Technician effects).
might find of use. Includes everything in First Aid Kit: Long Term Withdrawal: After 1 month or more of daily
Semiprofessional as well as: industrial scissors (for cutting use the user experiences delirium tremens: Hallucinations
off clothes), tracheotomy kit, intubation tube, intubation air (30), Delusions (30), Panic (20), confusion (-10 INL),
pump, stomach pump, neck brace, cling film, Anti-Toxin Insomnia (30), fever, sweating, Seizures (10), dizziness
Kit, 4 doses Anti-Shock. Weighs 25 lbs. (11 kg). Costs (-10 to save vs. loss of balance), Cardiac Arrest (10).
$250. Overdose (2x): Vomiting (20), +10 to save vs. fear, +6
First Aid Kit (Minor)- A pocket-sized plastic box designed to save vs. pain, clumsiness (-10 AGY), confusion (-10
for use by people with no medical training to deal with INL), loss of inhibitions for 5 hours.
minor (non-life-threatening) injuries. Costs $10. Overdose (4x): Vomiting (30), Coma (20), Seizures
(20) for 6 hours.
First Aid Kit (Semiprofessional)- This kit is designed for Overdose (8x): Coma (30), Seizures (30) for 6 hours.
people who have taken a first aid course and want a kit to Liver damage (permanent -4 to save vs. drug/poison
keep in their home, office or vehicle. This is a briefcase effects).
sized metal box containing bandages, gauze, medical tape, Costs $1/dose for fortified wine or beer (wine or beer
butterfly bandages, disinfectant wipes, disinfectant spray, with extra alcohol added).
cold pack, gloves, CPR mouth-guard, eyewash, scissors,
Costs $2/dose for canned beer, beer on tap, or a shot of
tweezers, ipecac and aspirin. The kit has no equipment for
liquor.
surgical procedures. PCs with the Emergency Medicine
skill can perform easy (10 difficulty) tasks with this kit. Costs $5/dose for good quality beer, wine or other
Weighs 10 lbs. (5 kg). Costs $75. alcoholic beverage.
Costs $15/dose for very high quality alcoholic
Hearing Aid- Specially tuned to an individual, helps reduce beverage.
the effects of the Poor Hearing disadvantage (p.120). Costs
$80.
Latex Gloves- Cost $1/pair. Caffeine
Administration: Orally
Syringe- Requires a skill roll (Street Drugs or any Medical Effects: +4 to save vs. unconsciousness, +1 INL for 2
skill) to hit a blood vessel. Legality: Misdemeanor without hours.
prescription. Costs $1/ea. or $10 for 25.
Tolerance: max. +%100
Wheelchair- A non-electronic wheelchair. Can fold up Addiction: Physiological Addiction Difficulty 1,
flat. A user can move at a SPD equal to half his or her STH. Craving Difficulty 10 (cravings triggered by sleep
Costs $100. deprivation).
Long Term Withdrawal Effects: -4 to save vs.
Psychoactives unconsciousness, Headache (10) for 2 days.
Overdose (2x) +7 to save vs. unconsciousness.
Alcohol- One of the oldest medicinal and recreational Overdose (4x): Shaking/cramps (-4 AGY).
drugs. In ancient times, weak alcoholic beverages were Costs $2/dose for a large cup of coffee.
the only liquids people could drink without fear of bacterial Costs $3/dose for an espresso shot.
and parasitic infections. Today, alcohol is the number one Costs $0.50/dose for a caffeine pill.
recreational drug and number one drug of abuse. In its
purest form alcohol can be burned. It can also be used as a Costs $2/dose for an ‘energy drink’ containing green
disinfectant. tea, ginseng and guarana.
Costs $1.50/dose for a large caffeinated soda from a
Administered: Orally as a liquid (can also be snorted or
convenience store.
taken as an enema).

Alleys
Chloral Hydrate- This prescription sedative is famous as Ecstasy- Once used as an ‘empathogen’ to create
“knockout drops,” and has also been used as a recreational empathy during therapy, this drug is now illegal and
drug. It is a derivative of chloroform. commonly used in raves.
Appearance: Clear green gelcaps. Administration: Swallowed as pills.
Administered: 1x effects within 20 minutes if ingested. Effects: Euphoria (10), feelings of empathy and
1x Effects: Confusion (-10 INL), clumsiness (-10 AGY), openness, -20 to save vs. hallucinations/delusions for 4
weakness (-10 STH), Unconsciousness (30), Coma (10) for hours.
2 hours. Withdrawal Effects: tiredness (-5 END), dulled senses
2x Effects: Coma (30), Respiratory Arrest (20). (-5 AWR), confusion (-2 INL) for 2 days.
Legality: Misdemeanor without a prescription. Tolerance: max. +100%
Treatment: Gastric lavage or induced vomiting. Long Term Effects: After 10 doses in 30 days:
Costs $30/dose. Insomnia (10), anxiousness (-7 to save vs. fear),
irritability (-7 to save vs. anger), poor memory (-10 to
memory based INL rolls) for 6 days.
Cigarettes- A pack of 12 cigarettes. Cigarettes contain
nicotine which has a mild calming effect (as does breathing Long Term Withdrawal: After 4 doses in 4 days:
deeply) and is a weak anti-psychotic (many schizophrenics Dysphoria (10), Insomnia (10), -7 to save vs. fear for 2
self-medicate by smoking). Cigarettes can be used in self- days.
defense by burning opponents (hard blinding (-4), hard pain/ Addiction: Physiological Addiction Difficulty 10,
stun (-4)). Cigarettes have the following drug profile: Psychological Addiction Difficulty 5, Craving Difficulty
Effects: +2 to save vs. fear, +2 to save vs. hallucinations/ 15.
delusions for 1 hour. Overdose (2x): Normal effects plus Confusion (-7
Tolerance: max. +200% INL), Headache (20), -10 to save vs. heat exhaustion,
Addiction: Physiological Addiction Difficulty 1, Craving twitching/tremors (-7 AGY), nausea (-10 to save vs.
Difficulty 20 (cravings triggered by stress or any activity vomiting), Panic (20).
which was previously always followed by a cigarette). Overdose (4x): Cramping (-10 AGY), Panic (30),
Long Term Effects: Emphysema (-1 END/2 yrs. Seizures (20), Cardiac Arrest (20), permanent brain
Smoking), increased risk of cancer and stroke. damage (-2 INL).
Long Term Withdrawal Effects: -4 to save vs. fear, -4 Legality: Felony.
to save vs. hallucinations/delusions, headache (20), food Costs $10/dose.
cravings for 48 hours.
Overdose (2x): Nausea (20) for 1 hour. Ethnogenic Deliriant- One of many plants, all
Costs $3/12 doses for roll-your-own. considered poisonous by modern medicine, which can
Costs $5/12 doses for generic cigarettes. cause delusions and hallucinations if taken at the right
Costs $7/12 doses for clove cigarettes. dose. If taken at the wrong dose they can cause insanity
or death. The plant matter contains varying levels of the
active ingredients depending on when, how and where it
Cocaine/Crack
was harvested, so it takes an Ethnogens skill roll to figure
Administration: Snorted, smoked or injected out what is a safe dose. In most of these plants (including
Effects: Excitement, pleasure, +15 to save vs. datura, deadly nightshade, mandrake root, henbane and
unconsciousness for 1 hour. brugmansia) the active ingredient is anticholinergic
Withdrawal Effects: Dysphoria (10), drowsiness (-10 to alkaloids.
save vs. unconsciousness) for 8 hours. Administration: Orally as foul smelling seeds or plant
Tolerance: max. +100% matter.
Addiction: Psychological Addiction Difficulty 25, Effects: Hallucinations (10), Delusions (20),
Craving Difficulty 25. Retrograde Amnesia (10), blurred vision and photophobia
Long Term Effects: After 6 doses in 24 hours: (-7 to all actions/reactions, -15 in bright light) for 7
Hallucinations (20 +10/additional dose), Delusions (20 +10/ hours.
additional dose). After 1 month of daily use: chronically Tolerance: max. +200%
inflamed and runny nose.
Overdose (2x): Hallucinations (20), Delusions (30),
Long Term Withdrawal Effects: After 5 doses in Panic (20), -10 to save vs. Heat Exhaustion, Clumsiness
5 days: Dysphoria (20), Drowsiness (-15 to save vs. (-10 AGY), blurred vision (-15 to all actions/reactions),
unconsciousness), increased appetite for 24 hours. Cardiac Arrest (10), Retrograde, Anterograde and Sudden
Overdose (2x): Normal effects plus Convulsions (10), Amnesia (20).
Cardiac Arrest (10) for 1 hour. Overdose (3x): Seizures (30), Coma (30), Cardiac
Overdose (4x): Normal effects plus Convulsions (30), Arrest (20), Delusions (40), Retrograde Amnesia (30).
Cardiac Arrest (30), Delusions (20) for 1 hour.
Legality: Most are legal to possess but a misdemeanor
Legality: Felony to use.
Costs $10/dose for cocaine, $5/dose for crack. Costs $5/dose.

In Dark
Ethnogenic Euphoriant- One of many obscure herbal Heroin- This powerful opiate painkiller is a major drug
preparations used by aboriginal peoples around the world of abuse. It has been losing ground to cocaine and meth,
that make it easier to go into states of euphoric bliss. They mostly because of easier availability of those drugs.
make hallucinations easier, sometimes creating mildly Administration: Typically injected (can be swallowed
‘psychedelic’ states, but are not in themselves capable of or snorted but with lesser effect).
producing hallucinogens. Effects: +20 to save vs. pain, +15 to save vs. fear, -5
Administration: Orally as a bitter tasting tea. INL, -5 AGY, Euphoria (20) for 6 hours.
Effects: +5 to save vs. pain/fear, -10 to save vs. Withdrawal Effects: Insomnia (20), -4 to save vs. pain/
hallucinations/delusions/euphoria, +4 to Creative skill rolls fear for 24 hours..
for 2 hours. Tolerance: max. +200%
Overdose (2x): Normal effects plus Vomiting (20). Long Term Effects: After daily use for a month:
Legality: Misdemeanor. weakened immune system (-4 to save vs. disease
Costs $10/dose. contraction and progression) for 1 week.
Long Term Withdrawal Effects: After daily use for a
Ethnogenic Hallucinogen- A traditional hallucinogenic month: cramps (roll vs. distracting pain, difficulty 20),
plant, not chemically altered or purified in any way. Insomnia (30), flu-like symptoms, diarrhea for 2 days.
Administration: Orally as bitter tasting plant matter or Addiction: Physiological Addiction Difficulty 5,
tea. Psychological Addiction Difficulty 20, Craving Difficulty
Effects: Hallucinations (30), Delusions (20), Nausea 25.
(10), Panic (10), +4 AWR, +2 INL, +10 to save vs. Overdose (2x): +25 to save vs. pain, +20 to save
unconsciousness for 8 hours. vs. fear, -7 INL, -7 AGY, Euphoria (30), Coma (20),
Overdose (2x): Hallucinations (40), Delusions (30), Pulmonary Arrest (10) for 6 hours.
Nausea (30), Panic (20). Overdose (4x): Pulmonary Arrest (30), Coma (40).
Legality: Misdemeanor. Interactions: The pharmaceutical drug Nalaxone can
Costs $20/dose. instantly undo the effects of heroin and cause immediate
withdrawal.
Hallucinogen- Used by some as a recreational drug, by Legality: Felony.
others as a religious sacrament, a creative aid or even a Costs $5/dose.
psychological tool.
Administration: Orally as pill or tab of paper. Inhalants- This is one of many industrial products,
Effects: Hallucinations (30), Delusions (10), +4 AWR, including paints, glues, solvents and fuels that can be
+2 INL for 5 hours. bought cheaply and the fumes inhaled for a quick high.
Tolerance: max. +50% Administration: Inhaled, usually in a plastic bag.
Long Term Effects: For every wk. of regular use: Effects: Euphoria (20), +10 to save vs. pain, -10 AGY,
permanent -1 to save vs. Hallucinations/Delusions. -10 AWR, -10 INL for 5 minutes.
Overdose (2x): Hallucinations (35), Delusions (20), Overdose (2x): Normal effects plus Vomiting (20),
Panic (10). Unconsciousness (20), weakness (-10 STH/SPD/END)
Overdose (4x): Hallucinations (40), Delusions (40), Overdose (4x): Normal effects plus Coma (30),
Panic (20). Paralysis (30), Delusions (30).
Legality: Felony. Withdrawal Effects: Headache (20).
Costs $10/dose Long Term Effects: For each 6-months of daily use,
permanent -1 INL, -1 AWR.
Herbal Sedative/Painkiller- A selection of herbs that are Addiction: Psychological Addiction Difficulty 5,
made into a tea (often with peppermint, to hide the foul Craving Difficulty 15.
taste of the herbs). Often includes valerian, poppy, skullcap Costs $2/dose.
and chamomile. Gives +4 to save vs. fear/insomnia/pain.
Mildly addictive (0 physiological addiction difficulty, 10 Marijuana
craving difficulty). Costs $2/dose.
Administration: Typically smoked (can also be eaten,
but with lesser effect).
Herbal Stimulant- A small packet of herbs to be made Effects: Anterograde and Sudden Amnesia (20), -7
into tea. The main stimulant chemicals are ephedra INL/AWR, increased appetite, poor time sense, +7 to save
(a chemical related to amphetamines, although much vs. pain/fear/anger for 4 hours.
weaker) and caffeine. The tea is often taken for symptom Overdose (2x): Anterograde and Sudden Amnesia
relief for flus and colds, to stay awake, to curb appetite or (30), -15 INL/AWR, increased appetite, poor time sense,
occasionally to combat mild depression. Gives +4 to save Delusions (20) (paranoid), Panic (20), drowsiness (-15 to
vs. unconsciousness/dysphoria and +1 END for 4 hours. save vs. unconsciousness) for 8 hours.
Costs $3/dose.

Alleys
Withdrawal Effects: Red eyes for 8 hours. Interactions: 2 doses of Roofies with 2 doses of
Tolerance: max. +200% alcohol cause Retrograde Amnesia (30) for 12 hours.
Long Term Effects: After daily use for a month: -7 to Legality: Felony.
memory based INL rolls, lowered libido, -7 to save vs. Costs $10/dose.
depression/dysphoria.
Long Term Withdrawal Effects: After daily use for a Truth Serum- A mixture of Sodium Pentothal (a short-
month: headache (10), irritability, insomnia (10) for 2 days. acting barbiturate) and Scopolamine (an anticholingergic
deliriant) is used to put people in a state where they are
Addiction: Psychological Addiction Difficulty 1, Craving
highly suggestible and their memory is impaired to the
Difficulty 15.
point that they may forget to lie.
Administration: Intravenous injection.
Costs $3/dose. Effects: Within 1 minute: Confusion (-10 INL),
Sudden Amnesia (20), lowered inhibitions, sleepiness
Meth- Methamphetamine, a more addictive form of (-10 to save vs. unconsciousness), weakness (-7 STH,
amphetamine, is becoming a widely abused street drug, -7 SPD), clumsiness (-7 AGY), Delusions (10). Effects
mainly because it can be made in tiny labs from over-the- reduce by half within 1 hour, go away completely in 24
counter drugs (rather than cocaine and heroin, which have to hours.
be smuggled in from other countries).
Overdose (2x): Delusions (20), Sudden/Anterograde/
Administration: Typically smoked (can also be snorted or Retrograde Amnesia (30), Cardiac Arrest (10), Weakness
injected). (-10 STH, -10 SPD), Clumsiness (-7 AGY).
Effects: Excitement, pleasure, loss of appetite, grinding Overdose (2x): Cardiac Arrest (20), Pulmonary Arrest
teeth, +10 to save vs. unconsciousness for 5 hours. (20), Delusions (30), Coma (30), Seizures (20).
Withdrawal Effects: Dysphoria (10), anxiety (-4 to save Legality: Misdemeanor.
vs. fear), Insomnia (20) for 24 hours. Costs $80/dose.
Addiction: Physiological Addiction Difficulty 10,
20.
Long Term Effects: After 4 doses in 24 hours:
Hallucinations (20 +10/additional dose), Delusions (20
Research
+10/additional dose). After 1 month of daily use: ulcers, Reference Books- These are the latest guidebooks and
malnutrition (-1 BLD, -1 BDY). reference books designed specifically to let people find
information quickly in the field. Some can be used
Long Term Withdrawal Effects: After 4 doses in 24 hours: to supplement a pre-existing skill (Ref), substitute for
Dysphoria (20), Anxiety (-8 to save vs. fear), Insomnia (30), having a skill (Intro) or both (Intro/Ref). See the section
Trembling (-5 AGY) for 24 hours. on using skills (p.136) for more info. Reference Books
Overdose (2x): Normal effects plus difficulty breathing come in 1 or more large hardbound volumes (2 lbs. or 1
and irregular heartbeat (-10 END) for 5 hours. kg each).
Overdose (4x): Seizures (20), Coma (20) for 5 hours.
Legality: Felony. Skill Type Vol.s Cost
Bomb Disarming Intro/Ref 2 $90
Costs $5/dose. Business Intro/Ref 4 $100
Computer Hardware Intro/Ref 2 $50
Roofies- Legal in Mexico as a prescription sedative, often Cooking Intro 1 $20
Electronics Ref 1 $30
used in the US as a recreational drug or to drug people in Language Intro/Ref 1 $20
order to rob or rape them. Government Intro/Ref 4 $80
History: Local Intro/Ref 2 $30
Administered: Orally as tablets. History: World Intro/Ref 4 $80
Law: Basic Intro/Ref 1 $70
Effects: +10 to save vs. fear, +5 to save vs. pain, -10 to Law: Business Intro/Ref 1 $70
save vs. unconsciousness for 6 hours. Law: Criminal Intro/Ref 2 $120
Law: International Intro/Ref 2 $120
Overdose (2x): Within 15 minutes: disinhibition, Law: Tort Intro/Ref 2 $120
clumsiness (-10 AGY), confusion (-10 INL), memory Local Geography Intro/Ref 1 $50
Mythology Intro/Ref 2 $80
impairment (Sudden Amnesia and Retrograde Amnesia at Networks Ref 1 $60
20 difficulty), drowsiness (-10 to save vs. unconsciousness), Pharmacology Intro/Ref 1 $50
dizziness (-10 to save vs. loss of balance) for 8 hours Philosophy Intro/Ref 2 $80
Poisons Intro/Ref 1 $30
Effects (4x): Same as 2x effects but with Unconsciousness Programming Ref 1 $50
(30), Respiratory Arrest (20) for 4 hours. Religion Intro/Ref 2 $80
Science: Agriculture Intro/Ref 2 $80
Addiction: Physiological Addiction Difficulty 10, Science: Archeology/Paleontology Intro/Ref 2 $80
Science: Botany Intro/Ref 2 $80
Psychological Addiction Difficulty 1, Craving Difficulty Science: Chemistry Intro/Ref 2 $80
15. Science: Ecology Intro/Ref 2 $80
Science: Genetics Intro/Ref 2 $80
Long Term Withdrawal Effects: After 10 doses in 10 Science: Meteorology Intro/Ref 2 $80
days: Headache (10), muscle pain (20 difficulty distracting Science: Pathology Intro/Ref 2 $80
pain), confusion (-5 INL), Hallucinations (10), Seizures (10) Science: Psychology Intro/Ref 2 $80
Surgery Ref 3 $200
for 2 days. Veterinary Medicine Intro/Ref 1 $20

In Dark
Insurance (Life)- If the PC dies, $10,000 will go to a
Research Library- A collection of non-fiction books with a
wide range of subjects that allows one to use the Research: named beneficiary. Medical checkup may be required.
No money if PC commits suicide or is murdered by the
Academic skill without leaving one’s home. beneficiary. Costs $10/wk.
Small Library (Research: Academic at -30) costs $200. Insurance (Medical)- An insurance company pays
Medium Library (Research: Academic at -20) costs all “reasonable” medical expenses up to $10,000 per
$1,000. year. Rates may increase based on pre-existing medical
Large Library (Research: Academic at -10) costs conditions. Costs $30/wk.
$10,000. Legal Research Database Access- This network allows
Massive Library (Research: Academic at -5) costs the user to search through case law. Practicing law without
$100,000. access to one of these networks could be considered
malpractice. Costs $40/day or $100/wk.
Limo Ride- Costs $75/hr. (min 3 hrs.) +$100/hr. if limo
Services has bullet-proof armor.
Medical Care (Ambulance)- This is the typical cost if a
Animal Boarding- For cats or dogs. Costs $10/day. PC without health coverage must be taken to a hospital in
an ambulance. Costs $250
Background Check (Credit)- Gives a person’s major
credit and bank activity. Requires the person’s social Medical Care (Drug Rehab)- Customer stays in a
security number. Costs $10. pleasant facility in the country, attends intensive counseling
sessions, is given drugs to help endure withdrawals. Gives
Background Check (Criminal)- A private company +15 to saves vs. cravings. Costs $400/wk.
provides a report on any known criminal records a person
has (requires person’s name and either social security Medical Care (Plastic Surgery)- The PC has one feature
number or date of birth). Only gives records from within changed or enhanced at a clinic. The PC will have to be
the country. Costs $75. bandaged for a week afterwards and will look swollen and
bruised for 3 weeks. A well conceived change can add
Background Check (Full)- A private company which +2 to seduction rolls (max. +10 bonus, including bonuses
collects personal information will attempt to provide from the Physically Attractive advantage). The PC can
current address, old addresses, date of birth, phone save money by doing multiple procedures at the same time.
number(s), major financial assets and property, licenses, Costs $3,000 per feature change +$2,000 per concurrent
vehicles, business/bankruptcy filings, liens, aliases, names change.
and addresses of relatives, credit and bank activity and Medical Care (Psychotherapy)- Therapy from a licensed
criminal records. Costs $150. therapist with Science: Psychology (3) and Psychotherapy
Bank Account (Offshore)- This bank account allows (4). Costs $100/hr.
money to be kept and transferred with little ability of the Personal Assistant- An assistant works with the PC during
government to track it. Costs $5/wk. the day, following the PC on trips and to meetings. The
Beauty Treatment- The PC is given a facial wrap and scrub, assistant runs errands, keeps track of appointments, takes
manicure, pedicure and hairstyling. Gives a temporary +4 notes and makes phone calls. The assistant is available by
to seduction rolls. Costs $100. phone 24 hours a day for urgent matters. Costs $600/wk.
Blood/Urine Test- A blood or urine sample is tested in Polygraphy- This is a session in a small office with a
a lab for common drugs and toxins. Commonly used by licensed polygraph operator and a polygraphy machine.
employers to screen employees for drug use. Costs $75. The person paying for the service decides what information
Bus Ride- $1-$2 depending on what zones one wants to the polygrapher will try to get from the subject. Costs
travel to. $3 for a day pass. $50 for a monthly pass. $500.
Car Rental- Equivalent to Car (Used), see p.104. Comes Security (Alarm System)- Includes the installation of an
with $5,000 liability insurance. Costs $20/day. alarm system (with motion detectors and ‘panic button’).
Day Care- A child can be left at a licensed drop-in day care Any time the alarm is triggered or the owner calls for help,
center for $10/hr. or 9-5 during workdays for $200/wk. two security guards in a car show up in 2d6 minutes. Costs
Insurance (Car)- Covers liability, theft and vandalism, $30/wk.
up to $10,000. Rates may vary based on the PC’s driving Security (Executive Personal)- There are two plainclothes
history. Costs $10/wk. bodyguards watching the customer’s residence 24 hours a
Insurance (Home)- Up to $10,000 replacement cost for day who will accompany the customer on any outings
any damage to the home itself or any theft or damage to and trips. An armored car is available for transport upon
property within the home. Does not cover anything that is request. Bodyguards have pistols and ballistic vests.
the fault of a homeowner or guests. Costs $10/wk. Costs $6,000/wk.
Insurance (Kidnapping)- Rich executives usually purchase Stable Care- Care and boarding of horses. Costs $30/wk.
this kind of insurance. The company will earmark $1 Storage (Locker)- The price to rent a small locker at a bus
million to pay as a ransom if the insured is ever kidnapped. station or airport. Costs $0.75 for 24 hours.
The company will also try to avoid having to pay $1 million Storage (Shed)- A 5’ by 5’ by 8’ storage unit costs $10/
by hiring private investigators to recover the kidnapee first. wk.
Rates may vary based on the PC’s profession and personal Subway Ride- See p.166 for more. Costs $1.25.
history. Costs $200/wk. Thug- A young criminal willing to beat, intimidate or
Insurance (Legal)- PC pays in advance and gets free vandalize anyone who looks like they won’t fight back.
consults from a lawyer, and up to 100 hours of free defense Legality: Felony. Costs $50/hr.
if the PC is ever accused of a crime. Costs $10/wk.

Alleys
small monitor/reciever. Costs $120.
Real Estate Cellphone Interceptor- A device in a large briefcase that
Apartment (Luxury)- A spacious 3-bedroom 2-bathroom can intercept and track cellphone signals. Weighs 10 lbs. (5
apartment in a nice part of town. Costs $500/wk. kg). Costs $300,000 or $1,000/wk. to rent.
Apartment (Moderate)- A moderately large 1 bedroom Fiber Optic Inspection Scope- A long thin probe that can be
apartment in a not-bad part of town. Costs $250/wk. inserted in a vent hole, under a door, etc. At the end is a small
LCD monitor that shows a color picture of what the scope
Apartment (Slum)- A tiny apartment, barely able to pass
sees. Often used to search for contraband hidden in small
health inspections for human habitation, in a bad part of
places or to look inside a room before entering. Costs $800.
town. Costs $100/wk.
Handcuffs- 20 difficulty to pick. Takes 50 difficulty STH
Home Rental- The cost to rent a full 2-bedroom 1-bathroom
feat to break. Costs $20.
house. Costs $350/wk.
Laser Microphone- A small device on a tripod with an
Office Rental- One room office in an office building. Costs invisible infrared laser. The device must be aimed at a
$125/wk. surface it can be bounced off of, like a window. Once
calibrated it senses minute vibrations in the surface and plays
Surveillance & Security them as sound. On a clear day it can retrieve sounds from a
mile away. Weighs 4 lbs. (2 kg). Costs $500.
Audio Bug- A tiny electronic device, about the size and shape Motion Alarm- A black box, plugged into a wall, which
of a pen cap, that broadcasts unencrypted audio up to 100 ft. (30 beeps loudly if someone moves in front of it. Can be turned
m.). Batteries last 48 hours. Costs $50. off with a small keychain remote. Costs $40.
Binoculars- Cost $25. Nightvision Goggles- 2 hour battery life, monochrome black
Bug Sweeper- A wand that is swept over people and things. and green display, blinded by bright lights. Weighs 1 lb. (.5
It emits a tone when it is near anything that is emitting radio kg). Costs $200.
signals. Weighs 1 lb. (.5 kg). Costs $100. Padlock (Cheap)- 20 difficulty to pick, takes 6 bladed or 6
Camera (Amateur-Digital)- Costs $200. blunt damage to break. Costs $5.
Camera (Disposable)- 32 color pictures with a weak flash. Padlock (Expensive)- 40 difficulty to pick, takes 15 bladed
Costs $5 +$5 for developing and prints. or 15 blunt damage to break. Takes a hard strength feat to
Camera (Pro-Digital)- A professional level digital camera. open it with a bolt cutter (and will ruin the bolt cutters).
Good enough resolution to take pictures of pages of text for later Costs $80.
reading. Weighs 2 lbs. (1 kg). Costs $1,500. Parabolic Microphone- A high-powered microphone in a
Camera (Pro-Film)- A professional level camera with parabolic dish attached to an earpiece, allows people to listen
removable zoom and wide angle lenses, tripod and flash. to conversations up to 500 ft. (150 m.) away. Weighs 4 lbs.
Weighs 2 lbs. (1 kg). Costs $2,000. (2 kg). Costs $75.
Camera Bug- This tiny camera, about the size of a thick marker, Peephole Reverser- A small optic device that, when placed
is meant to be concealed from view. It transmits a low quality over the outside of a peephole, allows someone to see the
black-and-white picture within 50 ft. (15 m.) Comes with one inside clearly. Costs $90.
Peephole Reverser

In Dark
Plastic Restraints- Thick plastic restraints that can be Fingerprinting Kit- A kit of dyes, brushes and tape
quickly closed around wrists and ankles, can only be needed to remove copies of fingerprints from objects for
released by cutting them. Takes 40 difficulty STH feat to later analysis. Weighs 2 lbs. (1 kg). Costs $50.
break. Costs $2/ea. or $20 for 20. Forensic Evidence Lab- Fingerprinting station (with
Radio Scanner- A portable radio with the ability to listen glue fuming chamber), DNA analysis equipment,
to any frequency, including police channels. Weighs 1 lb. impression casting kit, microscope, ballistics analysis
(.5 kg). Costs $50. station, computer forensics equipment and various kits
Security Camera- Comes with a small monitor. Broadcasts to test for the presence of blood, firearm residue, drugs
wirelessly. Can be set to sweep back and forth. Costs $90. and accelerants. Allows someone to use the Crime Scene
Security Camera Recorder- A special VCR that can Forensics skill at no minuses. Costs $50,000.
record images from several video cameras. By only Generator- A portable, gasoline powered generator that
recording a frame every second a single tape can last 24 produces enough AC to power several appliances. Can
hours. Costs $500. run 24 hours on a 5 gallon fuel tank. Weighs 75 lbs. (30
Sound Recorder- A small handheld device that records kg). Costs $600.
digitally or on a small cassette. Can also be hooked up to a Gun Repair Tools- Portable toolkit for repairing and
phone to record conversations. Costs $20. cleaning guns. Contains tools that can be used as ½
Tracking Bug- About the size and shape of a hockey puck. bladed poking weapons. Weighs 1 lb. (.5 kg). Costs $70.
Comes with a special scanner that can track the position of Gunshot Residue Test- A portable swab-kit that can
the device up to 10 miles (16 km.) away. Batteries last 48 be used to test if a person has fired a firearm recently.
hours. Costs $250. The test can be fooled if the suspect thoroughly washes
Videocamera (Cheap)- Costs $100. anything that may have been exposed to gunpowder
residue. Costs $20.
Videocamera (Professional)- The sort of camera a TV
reporter might carry around. Comes with a built in light. Lock Breaking Kit- A chisel, rubber mallet and canister
Weighs 10 lbs. (5 kg). Costs $5,000. of freon for freezing and shattering locks. One can of
freon lasts for 4 locks. Costs $25 for chisel and mallet,
+$75 for freon can.
Tools Lock Pick Gun- A handheld device with a selection of
picks. The gun is inserted into a lock and the handle
Autopsy Kit- A collection of the surgical tools, scopes, squeezed repeatedly. Allows someone without the Lock
lights and measuring devices needed to perform an autopsy, Picking skill to pick locks at 1d20 (those with the Lock
includes kits to test for common toxins and drugs. Weighs Picking skill are better off using actual picks). Costs
15 lbs. (7 kg). Costs $2,000. $50.
Carpentry Tools- Includes tools that can be used as ½ Lock Picks (Homemade)- A short rake and tension bar
bladed poking or 2 blunt damage weapons (See Improvised made from street sweeper bristles and other odd bits of
Weapons, p.145). Weighs 10 lbs. (5 kg). Costs $50. metal. Lets a user perform Lock Picking at -4. Costs $5.
Carving Tools- A small pouch of tools used by artists for Lock Picks (Professional)- A tiny leather pouch with well
carving in wood or stone. Has tools that can be used as 1 crafted tools for picking just about any kind of mechanical
bladed poking or 1 bladed slashing weapons. Weighs 4 lbs. lock. Lets a user perform Lock Picking at no minuses.
(2 kg). Costs $40. Costs $50.
Chemical Analysis Equipment- A computerized Metal Detector- Either a wand (for scanning people) or a
spectrograph and a selection of chemical reagents allow cup at the end of a pole (for scanning the ground). Weighs
someone with the Science: Chemistry skill to analyze 2 lbs. (1 kg). Costs $50.
the chemical composition of a substance at no minuses. Microscope- A small portable microscope, designed to
Weighs 100 lbs. (45 kg). Costs $700. be used in the field and placed right up against an object.
Chemical Synthesis Lab- A collection of equipment and Magnifies up to 500x. Commonly used by forensic crime
supplies that can be used to manufacture and isolate simple scene examiners. Costs $100.
chemicals from batches of material containing related Pen Torch- A small butane torch about the size and shape
chemicals. Costs $10,000. of a thick marker. Can melt glass and soft metals. Can
Crowbar- Metal bar for prying things open. Can be used be used as a 1 burn damage weapon (hard strike (-4), hard
as 2 blunt 1 bladed weapon (range 1). Weighs 5 lbs. (2 kg). vital strike (-4), easy pain/stun (+4), easy blinding (+4)).
Costs $45. Costs $75.
Duct Tape- 50 ft. (15 m.) roll. Costs $2. Pickaxe- Typically used for breaking up rocks. 3 bladed
Electronics Repair Kit- Screwdrivers, flashlight, battery- damage (pierces as 6), range 2, hard strike (-4). Weighs 6
operated soldering iron, voltmeter and other tools for lbs. (3 kg). Costs $100.
repairing computers or electronics. Has tools which can Polygraphy Set- A ‘lie detector,’ includes devices that
be used as ½ bladed poking weapons. Weighs 2 lbs. (1 kg). monitor physiological reactions and a device that records
Costs $100. and prints them out in real time. Allows one to use the
Evidence Packaging Kit- Sterile containers, bags with Interrogation skill to detect deception. Comes in two
labels for storing crime scene evidence and a mini-vacuum. briefcase sized carrying cases. Weighs 20 lbs. (9 kg).
Weighs 4 lbs. (2 kg). Costs $50. Costs $2,000.

Alleys
Sledgehammer- A huge hammer, designed to UV Light
provide maximum smashing power. Requires
moderate STH feat to use as a weapon without
penalty. It can be raised over the head (one action)
and brought down for a double-damage smash
attack. Range: 2. Damage: 4 blunt (pierces armor
as 6). Very hard Strike (-8), very hard Vital Strike
(-8), very hard Parry (-8). Weighs 14 lbs. (7 kg).
Costs $40.
SWAT Door Ram- A heavy metal ram, designed to
be used by one or two people, capable of knocking
down all except specially reinforced doors. A
strike with it does 2 blunt damage to a person or 4
blunt damage to an unmoving object. Weighs 25
lbs. (11 kg). Costs $200
Theatrical Makeup Kit- A large plastic box with
a huge selection of makeup, spirit gum, fake beards
and mustaches, wigs, and pieces of latex. Allows a
PC to use the Disguise skill at no minuses. Weighs
7 lbs. (3 kg). Costs $400.
Torture Kit- A small leather pouch filled with tools
designed to intimidate a victim as well as being
able to cause pain. Allows a PC to use the Torture
skill with no minuses. Contains tools which can be
used as 1 bladed damage slashing weapons. Costs
$500.
UV Light- A portable UV light with a viewing
shield that allows the user to see substances (mainly
dried bodily fluids) that would be invisible to the
naked eye. Weighs 1 lb. (.5 kg). Costs $50.
Vehicle Repair Shop- A variety of tools, machines
and commonly used spare parts that allows one to
repair and modify vehicles. Costs $10,000.
Vehicle Repair Toolkit- A box of tools with many
spare parts. Allows someone to use the Mechanics
skill to repair vehicles at -7. Has tools which can
be used as 1 bladed poking or 1 blunt damage
weapons. Weighs 15 lbs. (7 kg). Costs $200.
Voice Changer- A small electronic device that
disguises one’s voice for use with telephones or
recording devices. Changing the pitch of the voice
can also give +5 to Impersonation rolls. Costs
$30.
Vehicles
Air Bags- The front driver and passenger seats are
outfitted with front and side airbags. Reduces crash damage Vehicle Features
done to passengers by 10 points. Costs $400.
Speed: Lists the vehicle’s maximum speed (on the same scale
Alarm- The vehicle has a theft alarm that makes a loud as the attribute SPD).
blaring noise when someone tries to enter the vehicle Acceleration: How much speed a vehicle can pick up in a
without first disabling the alarm. Costs $200. round. If a vehicle has acceleration 5 and speed 20 then it can
reach its maximum speed in 4 rounds.
Bicycle
Speed: Rider’s SPD x 2 Maneuverability: The maneuverability rating is added to any
Maneuverability: +4 maneuvers attempted in the vehicle. See p.69 for more.
Damage Capacity: 4 blunt or 4 bladed. Damage Capacity: How much damage a vehicle can take
Costs $150. before it stops working.

In Dark
Bullet Proofing- The cab of a car is covered with bullet- Motorboat- Holds up to 6 people.
resistant materials and the windows are replaced with Speed: 40
bullet-resistant glass. The cab of the vehicle provides AR Acceleration: 5
18, PR 7 bladed 5 blunt. Costs $10,000. Maneuverability: +2
Damage Capacity: 8 bladed or 8 blunt.
Bus- A used 30 seat school bus, still painted yellow. Costs $20,000 or $100/wk.
Speed: 50
Acceleration: 5 Motorcycle (New)- A new top-of-the-line motorcycle.
Maneuverability: -10 Speed: 150
Damage Capacity: 20 bladed or 20 blunt Acceleration: 40
Costs $7,000 or $20/wk. Maneuverability: +15
Car (New)- Four seat, AC, radio, airbags. Costs $10,000 or $100/wk.
Speed: 125
Acceleration: 25 Motorcycle (Used)- An old used motorcycle.
Maneuverability: +7 Speed: 90
Damage Capacity: 10 bladed or 15 blunt. Acceleration: 30
Costs $25,000 or $50/wk. Maneuverability: +12
Car (Used) Costs $5,000 or $20/wk.
Speed: 90
Rollerblades
Acceleration: 15
Speed: Users SPD + 5
Maneuverability: +4
Acceleration: 10
Maneuverability: +5
Costs $7,000 or $20/wk. Costs $40.
Electric Kick Scooter- Like a skateboard with handlebars Run-Flat Tires- The vehicle has tires specially designed
and a small electric motor on the back. A fully charged to be able to run with little loss of functionality (only -5
battery lasts for 15 miles (24 km.). maneuverability) even after being completely punctured.
Speed: 30 Costs $400.
Acceleration: 5
Maneuverability: +10 RV- With shower, toilet, bunk beds, AC electricity,
Damage Capacity: 4 bladed or 4 blunt. cooking range and sink.
Costs $200. Speed: 80
Acceleration: 5
Helicopter- A small, used, 2 seat helicopter. Maneuverability: -10
Speed: 20 (up) 60 (forward) Damage Capacity: 20 bladed or 20 blunt.
Acceleration: 1 (up) 5 (forward) Costs $70,000 or $200/wk.
Maneuverability: 0
Damage Capacity: 10 bladed or 10 blunt. Single Engine Prop- A small used plane with room for 4
Costs $20,000 or $100/wk. people.
Speed: 300
Inflatable Raft- A small canvas satchel containing a self- Acceleration: 50
inflating raft that can hold up to 6 people. Costs $75. Maneuverability: 0
Kayak- A one-person human-powered boat, built for riding Costs $10,000 or $25/mo.
in rough waters and quick maneuvering.
Speed: STH / 2 in still water. Skateboard
Maneuverability: +4 Speed: Rider’s SPD.
Damage Capacity: 6 bladed or 6 blunt. Maneuverability: -4
Costs $200.
Costs $15.
Moped- A small scooter.
Snowmobile- A one-person craft for traveling over snow.
Speed: 20
Speed: 40
Acceleration: 7 Acceleration: 5
Maneuverability: +10 Maneuverability: +4
Damage Capacity: 5 bladed or 5 blunt. Damage Capacity: 5 bladed or 5 blunt.
Costs $1,000. Costs $5,000 or $20/wk.

Alleys
Sports Car Curare- This extract of poisonous bark was used as an arrow
Speed: 200 poison by natives in South America. It is used in modern
Acceleration: 50 medicine as a skeletal muscle relaxant.
Maneuverability: +9 Appearance: Sticky, dark-brown, smells like tar.
Damage Capacity: 7 bladed or 8 blunt. Administered: 1x effects within 10 minutes if ingested,
Costs $50,000 or $175/wk. 1x effects within 1 round if put on something that causes
bladed damage.
SUV 1x Effects: Weakness (-15 STH), Respiratory Arrest (20)
Speed: 100 for 2 hours.
2x Effects: Weakness (-20 STH), Respiratory Arrest
Acceleration: 20
(40).
Maneuverability: 0
Treatment: None.
Damage Capacity: 15 bladed or 15 blunt. Costs $75/dose.
Costs $30,000 or $75/wk.
Digitalis- This heart medication is refined from the plant
Tinted Windows- The windows are tinted to the maximum foxglove. While small doses may strengthen a weak heart,
the law allows. People can’t casually glance over and see higher doses stop the heart.
in. Costs $100. Appearance: Small pills.
Administered: 1x effects within 15 minutes if
Trailer- A small trailer, designed to be hitched to the back swallowed.
of a car or truck, can sleep two. Reduces vehicle SPD and 1x Effects: Vomiting (20), diarrhea, confusion (-10 INL),
maneuverability by 5. Costs $100. Delusions (10), tiredness (-10 END), Cardiac Arrest (20).
Symptoms last 48 hours.
Truck (Used)- A used truck, still running well, with a lot of 2x Effects: As 1x effects but Cardiac Arrest (40).
power. Treatment: Induced vomiting or gastric lavage, activated
Speed: 90 charcoal.
Acceleration: 10 Legality: Misdemeanor without a prescription.
Maneuverability: 0 Costs $40 for 2 doses.
Costs $6,000 or $20/wk. Parathion- This powerful insecticide has also been used in
war as a nerve agent.
Underwater Scooter- A small one-person device that pulls Appearance: Brownish-yellowish liquid.
the rider along on the water or underwater. Although it does Administered: 1x effects within 4 hours if sprayed on
not move fast, it keeps a diver from exhausting himself or the skin, 2x within 1 hour if ingested or inhaled, 2x within 4
herself by swimming long distances. A battery charge lasts rounds if injected.
10 miles (16 km.). 1x Effects: Headache and abdominal pain (30 difficulty
Speed: 5 on the surface of the water, 3 underwater. save vs. distracting pain), light sensitivity (-7 to actions/
reactions in bright lights), spasms (-10 AGY), nausea (-10 to
Acceleration: 2
save vs. vomiting), weakness (-10 STH), diarrhea, Paralysis
Maneuverability: +5 (10), Pulmonary Arrest (20) for 2 days.
Damage Capacity: 5 bladed or 5 blunt. 2x Effects: As 1x effects with Cramps and Convulsions
Costs $500. (-20 AGY), Paralysis (30), Pulmonary Arrest (40)
Treatment: Large doses of the poison atropine (the active
Chemical
Weapons ingredient in many of the Ethnogenic Deliriants, see p.97) is
the best treatment.
Legality: Misdemeanor.
Chloroform- Once used as a general anesthetic, its use was Costs $60 for 10 doses.
discontinued because of its many side-effects. It has also
been used as a recreational drug. One in 10 people have a Monkshood- This extract of the monkshood plant contains
the toxin aconitine. Monkshood was used as an arrow-
genetic vulnerability to chloroform that causes a high fever.
poison in ancient Europe.
Appearance: A clear, sweet/pungent smelling liquid.
Appearance: Sticky, brownish liquid, slightly bitter odor
Administered: 1x effects within 1 round if inhaled from a and taste
wet cloth, 1x effects within 10 minutes if swallowed.
Administered: 1x effects within 30 minutes if ingested,
1x Effects: +10 to save vs. pain, Vomiting (10), 1x effects within 2 rounds if put on something that causes
confusion (-10 INL, -10 AWR), weakness (-10 STH, -10 bladed damage.
SPD), Unconsciousness (20), 1 in 10 chance of high fever 1x Effects: Burning sensation in mouth (if swallowed),
(make hard save vs. heat exhaustion) for 15 minutes. Vomiting (20), speech impairment, blurred vision (-7 to
2x Effects: Same as 1x Effects plus Coma (30), actions/reactions and vision based AWR rolls), dizziness
Respiratory Arrest (30). (-15 to save vs. loss of balance), weakness (-10 STH),
Treatment: Oxygen or activated charcoal. clumsiness (-7 AGY), Hallucinations (20), Delusions (20),
Costs $80 for a 10 dose bottle. Cardiac Arrest (20) for 24 hours.

In Dark
2x Effects: As 1x effects but Cardiac Arrest (30), Seizures Tetrodotoxin- This toxin, found in the ovaries of puffer
(30). fish and in other fish and frogs, used by the sorcerers of
Treatment: Gastric lavage, oxygen, heart stimulating Haiti, is a powerful paralytic. Often found in biology
drugs. labs.
Costs $30/dose. Appearance: Clear tasteless liquid.
Administered: 1x effects within 30-40 minutes if
Poison Ring- This looks like a normal (although large)
ingested, 1x effects within 2 rounds if put on something
ring. It has a hidden compartment which can be filled with
a powder or liquid poison. When a tiny stopper is removed, that causes bladed damage.
the ring only need be tipped over food or drink to drop 1x Effects: Vomiting (30), twitching (-7 AGY),
poison into it. Costs $30. weakness (-15 STH, -15 SPD), slow heartbeat, Pulmonary
Arrest (20). Effects last 12 hours.
Ricin Paste- Made from castor beans. A favorite poison 2x Effects: Paralysis (30), Pulmonary Arrest (20),
of assassins, since a fatal dose can be injected into people Cardiac Arrest (20).
so quickly they may not notice (use Pocket Picking skill to
‘bump’ and inject a victim), or a dab of paste that touches 3x Effects: Paralysis (40), Pulmonary Arrest (30),
skin (e.g. put underneath the door handle of a car) can be Cardiac Arrest (30).
enough to kill. There is also no effective treatment. Treatment: None.
Appearance: White paste. Costs $50/dose.
Administered: 1x effects within 24 hours if injected or
absorbed via the skin.
1x Effects: Vomiting (20), cramps (-10 AGY, 20 difficulty Explosives & Incendiary
save vs. distracting pain), Cardiac Arrest (40) for 6 days.
Treatment: None. Anti-Tank Weapon- A one-use launcher of an explosive
Legality: Felony shell, designed to take out tanks or walls. FR 7 ft. (2
Costs $200/dose. m.). MR 1,500 ft. (450 m.). Damage: 30 bladed, 10 burn
(range increment 5 ft. or 1.5 m.). Weighs 20 lbs. (9 kg).
Sarin Gas- When released into the air via aerosol, this gas Legality: Felony. Costs $7,500.
can kill by being absorbed through the lungs or skin. One Dynamite- A stick of dynamite. It comes with a fuse
small gas canister can spread mist in a radius of 200 ft. (60 which can be cut to last anywhere from 1 to 20 seconds.
m.). Any shock stands a 1 in 4 chance of causing the dynamite
Appearance: Colorless, odorless mist. to explode. Does 6 burn damage (range increment 2 ft.
Administered: 2x effects within 2 rounds if inhaled, or .5 m.). Legality: Felony without a demolitions license.
2x effects within 5 minutes if absorbed through the skin. Costs $75.
1x effects if lungs and more than 75% of the body are
protected. Flame Thrower- A backpack with two 11-liter tanks,
containing a mixture of gasoline and oil. ROF 8. FR 4 ft.
1x Effects: pupil contraction, sensitivity to light (-7 to
(1 m.) MR 200 ft. (60 m.) Easy strike (+4). Damage: 1
actions/reactions in bright light), chest pain (20 difficulty save
vs. distracting pain), Respiratory Arrest (20) for 24 hours. burn. Full tanks hold enough for 70 blasts. Weights 75 lbs.
(34 kg) (with full tanks). Legality: Felony. Costs $500.
2x Effects: As 1x but Respiratory Arrest (40).
Treatment: Large doses of the poison atropine (the active Gasoline- Anything doused with gasoline and set on fire
ingredient in many of the Ethnogenic Deliriants, see p.97) is takes 4 burn damage per round for 4 rounds (or until the
the best treatment. fire is put out). Costs $3/gallon.
Legality: Felony Grenade (Flash Bang)- This grenade creates a deafening
Costs $1,000/canister. bang and blinding flash of light. Detonates 4 rounds after
the pin is pulled. Does 2 burn damage within 2 ft. (.5 m.).
Strychnine- Commonly found in rat poison, strychnine Anyone within 50 ft. (15 m.) is at -15 to actions/reactions
causes one of the most painful and the most awful looking and sound/sight AWR rolls for 30 minutes. Costs $75.
deaths of any poison. Grenade (Fragmentation)- Detonates 4 rounds after the
Appearance: Bitter tasting white powder. pin is pulled and the safety lever is released. Sends sharp
Administered: 1x effects within 10 minutes if ingested or pieces of shrapnel flying in every direction. Does 1d20
inhaled. bladed damage (pierces armor as double), range increment
1x Effects: First, painful contraction of facial muscles 4 ft. (1 m.). Legality: Felony. Costs $200.
(30 difficulty save vs. distracting pain). 10 minutes after,
spasming spreads to entire body (-15 AGY). Any sounds or
movements will cause full-body spasms (each spasm uses 1 Range Increment
END, victims can die from exhaustion). Respiratory Arrest Explosives have a range increment. To determine the damage
(30). Effects last 24 hours. taken by a victim, count the number of range increments away
2x Effects: Same as 1x effects but Respiratory Arrest that person is. For each range increment, reduce the damage
(40). by half. So, if an explosion does 20 burn damage, has a range
Treatment: Induce vomiting, activated charcoal, sedatives increment of 5 ft. and the victim is 15 ft. away, the victim
and artificial respiration, keep in a quiet, dark room. takes 2 ½ burn damage (20, divided by 2 at 5 ft., divided by 2
at 10 ft., divided by 2 at 15 ft.).
Costs $20/dose.

Alleys
Grenade Launcher- Designed to be attached to a rifle,
this gun fires explosive rounds. Designed for taking out Gun Laws in California
vehicles. ROF 1. FR 5 ft. (1.5 m.) MR 1,000 ft. (300 m.). Gun Owners- Felons, people who are mentally ill or are in a
Damage: 12 bladed 5 burn (1 ft. or 1/3 m. range increment). conservatorship, people under a restraining order and people
Holds 1 grenade. Legality: Felony. Weighs 6 lbs. (3 kg). facing trial for a felony cannot own guns. These same people
Costs $5,000 +$75/grenade. can’t buy tear-gas based self-defense products.
Land Mine- Does damage mostly to the legs of the victim. Illegal Ammunition- Armor piercing and explosive bullets
Takes a moderate AWR feat to hear the click of the landmine are illegal. Guns that shoot more than .60 caliber bullets
arming. Does 5 bladed, 6 burn damage (range increment 1 (except shotguns) are illegal.
ft. or 1/3 m.). Legality: Felony. Costs $200. Illegal Add-Ons- Silencers, flash suppressors and night
scopes are illegal. Anything that would disguise a gun as
Letter Bomb- A tiny bomb small enough to fit inside a
something other than a gun is illegal.
thick envelope. The bomb is triggered when the envelope is
opened. Does 4 bladed, 3 burn damage (range increment 1 Illegal Weapons- Machine guns, assault weapons, short
ft. or 1/3 m.). Legality: Felony. Costs $200. barreled rifles, sawed-off shotguns and flamethrowers are
illegal. Also illegal: brass knuckles, shrukien, cane swords,
Matchhead Bomb- A small incendiary bomb, about the size leaded canes are all misdemeanors.
of a pack of cards, made mostly from match heads. Usually
used for starting fires. Uses a fuse. Does 6 burn damage Concealed Weapons- It is illegal to carry a loaded,
(range increment 1 ft. or 1/3 m.). Legality: Felony. Costs concealed weapon in a public place without a special permit.
Permits can be obtained from the local sheriff’s office, but in
$80. most cases the sheriff’s office will only issue one if a person
Molotov Cocktail- A glass bottle filed with gasoline and can prove a legitimate reason for having one.
oil. It is used as a quick arson tool (light and throw against
the building you want to burn) or as an anti-tank weapon Pistol (Automatic)- ROF 4. FR 5 ft. (1.5 m.). MR
(the idea is to engulf the tank in flames and cause it to 175 ft. (50 m.). Damage: 4 bladed. 9 round magazine.
overheat). It makes a poor hand-to-hand combat weapon Legality: Misdemeanor without a permit. Costs $450
since it can fail to shatter when it hits the victim. Any object +$0.25/bullet
hit with a burning Molotov Cocktail (which shatters) takes
5 burn damage per round for 5 rounds (or until the fire is Pistol (Heavy)- A large pistol, valued for its ‘stopping
extinguished). Legality: Felony. Costs $40. power.’ ROF 2. FR 5 ft. (1.5 m.). MR 200 ft. (60
Pipe Bomb- A homemade bomb made from a length of m.). Damage: 5 bladed. 7 round magazine. Legality:
pipe filled with explosive materials. A fuse is cut to the Misdemeanor without a permit. Costs $600 +$0.50/
desired time. Metal shards from the pipe do the majority bullet
of the damage. Does 1d10 bladed damage (pierces armor Pistol (Mini)- A small pistol deigned to be kept in a purse
as double), 4 burn damage (range increment 4 ft. or 1 m.). or under a pillow. ROF 3. FR 5 ft. (1.5 m.) MR 150 ft.
Legality: Felony. Costs $100. (45 m.) Damage: 3 bladed. Holds 6 bullets. Legality:
Semtex- A plastic explosive. It is malleable, resistant to Misdemeanor without a permit. Costs $200 +$0.25/
accidental detonation, and only small amounts are needed bullet
to do a lot of damage. Semtex is ‘marked’ with a chemical Pistol (Revolver)- Takes 3 actions to reload, unless the
that gives it a distinct odor for easy detection. An order of PC has a speed-loader device. ROF 4. FR 5 ft. (1.5 m.)
semtex comes with an electrical detonator which can be set MR 175 ft. (50 m.). Damage: 4 bladed. Holds 6 bullets.
on a timer or detonated within 1 mile (1.6 km.) by a radio Legality: Misdemeanor without a permit. Costs $350
controller (included). Each 250 g. does 10 bladed 10 burn +$0.25/bullet +$50 for a speed loader.
damage (range increment 5 ft. or 1.5 m.). Legality: Felony.
Costs $1,000/250 g., +$5,000 for non-scent-marked Sawed-Off Shotgun- This is a shotgun with the barrel
shortened to create a wider spray of shot for close
quarters combat. ROF 1. FR 5 ft. (1.5 m.). MR 40 ft.
Firearms (12 m.). Very easy strike (+8). Damage: 5 bladed. 7 shot
Automatic Rifle- ROF 6. FR 7 ft. (2 m.) MR 1,500 ft. magazine. Weighs 4 lbs. (2 kg). Legality: Felony. Costs
(450 m.). Damage 6 bladed. 32 round clip. Weighs 5 lbs. (2 $600 +$1/shell.
kg). Legality: Misdemeanor without a permit. Costs $1,000 Shotgun (Pump)- ROF 1. FR 6 ft. (2 m.). MR 200 ft.
+$1/bullet (60 m.). Easy strike (+4). Damage: 6 bladed. 7 shot
Hunting Rifle- ROF 2. FR 7 ft. (2 m.) MR 1,500 ft. (450 magazine. Weighs 6 lbs. (3 kg). Legality: Misdemeanor
m.) Damage: 5 bladed. 7 round magazine. Weighs 5 lbs. (2 without a permit. Costs $300 +$1/shell
kg). $500 +$1/bullet
Laser Sight- Attached to the top of a firearm. After Unregistered Firearm
adjustment, reduces range penalty by up to 4 points. Costs
$75. Legality: Felony
Machine Gun- A heavy weapon designed to be used from a Any gun that can be bought legally can also be bought
tripod or mounted on a vehicle. ROF 15. FR 5 ft. (1.5 m.) illegally for +$200. They can be bought with the serial
MR 1,500 ft. (450 m.) Damage 8 bladed. 1,000 bullet feed number burned off. Keep in mind that ballistic analysis may
belts. Weighs 90 lbs. (40 kg). Legality: Felony. $10,000 link bullets from this gun to crimes committed before the PC
came to own it.
+$100 per 1,000 bullet belt.

In Dark
Shotgun (Semi-Automatic)- ROF 2. FR 6 ft. (2 m.). MR Shield (Riot)- This high-tech shield is made of clear
200 ft. (60 m.). Easy strike (+4). Damage: 6 bladed. 5 shot polycarbonate. It is 3.5 ft. (1 m.) high and 2 ft. (.6 m.)
magazine. Weighs 8 lbs. (4 kg). Legality: Misdemeanor wide. It is designed mainly to protect from thrown objects
without a permit. Costs $700 +$1/shell. and hand-to-hand-attacks, although it will provide some
protection from firearms. Gives +10 to parry. PR 5 bladed
Silencer- Attached to the barrel of a pistol or rifle, reduces 5 blunt. Weighs 6 lbs. (3 kg). Costs $80.
the volume of a shot. Legality: Felony. Costs $250.
Shield (Small)- A small round metal shield, about 2 ft.
Sniper Rifle- With a scope and attached tripod. ROF 5. (.6 m.) in diameter, typically used by historical-recreation
FR 50 ft. (15 m.) (using scope) 10 ft. (3 m.) (not using fighters who battle with wooden swords. Gives +5 to
scope). MR 2,000 ft. (600 m.). Damage: 6 (pierces armor parry. PR of 3 bladed 4 blunt (shield can be destroyed
as 9). Clip holds 15 rounds. Weighs 10 lbs. Legality: completely by 6 damage). Weighs 5 lbs. (2 kg). Costs
Misdemeanor without a permit. Costs $4,000 +$5/bullet. $50.
Submachinegun- ROF 10. FR 5 ft. (1.5 m.). MR 700 ft. Taser (Air)- Pistol shaped, but instead of bullets it shoots
(200 m.). Damage 7 bladed. 40 round clip. Weighs 6 lbs. out two metal darts on insulated wires. Can zap 7 times
(3 kg). Legality: Felony. Costs $2,500 +$1/bullet. per battery charge. FR 3 ft. (1 m.). MR 20 ft. (6 m.)
Damage: 3 electrical. Costs $500.
Armor Piercing Bullets Taser (Baton)- A club with taser prongs along the end.
Most bullets are available as armor piercing rounds. These The device can be used to simultaneously hit and shock
do less damage (because a sharper bullet cuts through flesh someone. Can zap a person up to 2 times per battery charge.
more cleanly) but has a higher Pierces As damage. Legality: Range 1-2. Damage: 3 blunt, 3 electrical. Costs $50.
Felony.
Taser (Heavy Duty)- A larger model which delivers a
Automatic Rifle: 5 damage, pierces as 8. $5/bullet. 700,000 volt shock. Can zap 7 times per battery charge.
Hunting Rifle: 4 damage, pierces as 7. $5/bullet. Range: 0-1. Damage: 5 electrical. Costs $70.
Pistol (Automatic): 3 damage, pierces as 6. $3/bullet. Taser (Mini)- Small handheld device with two pointed
metal prongs. Can zap a person up to 5 times per battery.
Pistol (Heavy): 4 damage, pierces as 7. $3/bullet. Range: 0-1. Damage: 3 electrical. Costs $30.
Pistol (Mini): 2 damage, pierces as 5. $3/bullet. Tear Gas Keyholer- The funnel-like tip on this tear gas
Pistol (Revolver): 3 bladed, pierces as 6. $3/bullet. sprayer allows tear gas to be deployed through a keyhole,
in the space under a door, or even though a hole punched
Submachinegun: 6 damage, pierces as 9. $5/bullet. in automotive glass. Eye exposure to tear gas causes
Moderate (20) distracting pain and partial blindness (-7 to
actions/reactions and vision based AWR rolls). Breathing
Self-Defense the vapor causes coughing, difficulty breathing (-10
END), Pain (30) and Vomiting (20). Costs $70.
Grenade (Tear Gas)- Goes off in 1 round after being
thrown. Lets out a steady stream of vapor (reaches a radius
of 75 ft. or 25 m. within 5 rounds). Eye exposure to the
vapor causes Moderate (20) distracting pain and partial
Traditional
blindness (-7 to actions/reactions and vision based AWR Baseball Bat- An old wooden or hollow metal bat. Range
rolls). Breathing the vapor causes coughing, difficulty 1-2. Damage: 3 blunt. Weighs 2 lbs. (1 kg). Costs $50.
breathing (-10 END), Pain (30) and Vomiting (20). Costs Bear Trap- Spring loaded metal trap with a chain on it.
$50. Takes only 10 pounds (5 kg) of pressure to spring the trap.
Pepper Spray- A tiny canister which can be kept in a pocket Does 1 bladed damage and traps the leg that set it off.
or even put on a keychain. It has a safety lock. When used, Weighs 35 lbs. (15 kg). Costs $100.
it sprays a blast of capsaicin (the chemical which makes Blowpipe- A long tube for blowing darts with. Takes 1
peppers hot) which can blind and incapacitate. One canister round to load a dart in the tube. FR 2 ft. (.5 m.). MR 30
has enough for 5 attacks. Very Easy Blinding Strike (+8, ft. (10 m.). Does 0 bladed damage (pierces as 2). Costs
on a successful blinding strike the victim must also make $50 +$4/dart.
a hard save vs. pain), Very Easy Pain/Stun Attack (+8). Bow (Archery)- A cheap wooden bow designed for
Inhaling pepper spray will cause severe nose and throat amateur sport archery. Takes 1 action to draw an arrow.
pain (30 difficulty save vs. distracting pain), coughing (-10 FR 5 ft. (1.5 m.). MR 100 ft. (30 m.). Damage: 2 bladed.
END) and Vomiting (20). Costs $30. Weighs 4 lbs. (2 kg). Costs $50 +$5/arrow.
Personal Sonic Alarm- A small pocket-sized alarm that, Bow (Compound)- A complicated hunting bow, using
when activated, emits a piercing and painful wail (difficulty high-tech materials to make it lightweight and powerful.
10 distracting pain) that can be heard up to a mile away. FR 7 ft. (2 m.). MR 250 ft. (75 m.). Damage: 3 bladed.
Costs $20. Weighs 4 lbs. (2 kg). Costs $400 +$20/arrow.
Shield (Blast)- This is a large ballistic shield that is meant Chain- A length of chain of the right size for combat. Can
to be set on the ground and crouched behind when under be used for entangling. Range 2-3. Damage: 3 blunt.
enemy fire or threat of explosion. PR 15 bladed 10 blunt. Hard strike (-4), hard vital strike (-4). Weighs 10 lbs. (5
Weighs 50 lbs. (20 kg). Costs $200. kg). Costs $5.

Alleys
Crate Cutter- A small folded piece of metal contains a Sword (Katana)- A replica of a Japanese samurai sword.
utility blade. Designed as a multi-purpose cutting tool. Range: 1-2. Damage: 5 bladed. Easy Vital Strike (+4).
Range: 0. Damage: 1 bladed. Easy slash (+4). Costs $5. Weighs 3 lbs. (1 kg). Costs $100.
Crossbow- Takes 2 actions to load the bow (or 1 action with Sword Cane- Looks like a normal cane, but inside is a
a hard strength feat). 2 handed. FR 7 ft. (2 m.) MR 350 ft. thin sword blade. Range 1. Damage: 2 bladed. Easy
(115 m.) Damage: 3 bladed (pierces armor as 5). Weighs 7 Parry (+4), Easy Vital Strike (+4). Weighs 2 lbs. (1 kg).
lbs. (3 kg). Costs $500 +$30/bolt. Legality: Misdemeanor. Costs $100.
Dagger- A knife designed for stabbing through the ribcage Telescoping Baton- A metal tube that can fit in a pocket.
and into the heart. Damage: 2½ bladed. Easy Vital Strike When it is swung, it telescopes out into a full sized baton.
(+4). Costs $35. Range 1-2. Damage: 3 blunt. (2 kg). Easy Pain/Stun
Dagger (Throwing)- A dagger designed and weighted to Attack (+4). Weighs 2 lbs. Costs $150.
be thrown. FR 1 ft. (1/3 m.). MR 20 ft. (6 m.). Damage 2 Tiger Claws- A pair of wristbands with three claws each
bladed. Costs $20 for a set of 3. curving over the fist for bladed punching and clawing
Fire Axe- Range: 1. Damage: 3 bladed (pierces armor as attacks. Adds 2 bladed damage to a punch. Easy Slash
6). Hard Strike (-4), Easy Vital Strike (+4). Weighs 8 lbs. (4 (+4). Costs $65.
kg). Costs $45. Whip- A black leather whip. Range: 3. Damage: 1
Knife (Combat)- This knife is crafted specially for fighting bladed. Easy Pain/Stun Attack (+4). Costs $35.
with. It is best at slashing-type attacks. Range: 0-1.
Damage: 2 bladed. Easy Slash (+4), Easy Wing (+4). Costs Sample Character Creation – Step 7
$35.
Because of her Day Job (Medical Professional with 2 levels
Knife (Hunting)- A large knife with a serrated back side of advancement) we know Maggie Hernandez’ starting
and a hollow handle (containing matches, sharpening stone, money ($4,000) and weekly income ($300/wk.). This is
water purification tablets and fishing hook and line). Range money she has left over after paying for mundane things
0-1. Damage: 2½ bladed. Costs $30. like rent, food, gasoline, clothing, etc.
Knife (Kitchen)- A large bread knife. Each time it hits an Referring to the table on p.88 we see that with her weekly
opponent there is a 1 in 20 chance of the blade breaking. income she starts with the following free: “Several nice
Range 0-1. Damage: 2 bladed. Costs $3. outfits, including a formal suit and a suit for going out on
the town, cheap new furniture, a new car, an entertainment
Knife (Switchblade)- A spring loaded knife designed center, a new computer, a large apartment or small house.”
to be concealed in the palm and opened in an instant for
surprise attacks. Range: 0. Damage: 1½ bladed. Easy Slash She doesn’t have any levels in the Black Market skill or
(+4), Easy Wing (+4), Easy Vital Strike (+4). Legality: have any other special advantage which would let her buy
Misdemeanor. Costs $45. levels in illegal merchandise. Thus, Maggie can’t start play
with anything listed as illegal.
Machete- A rounded sword-like blade designed for chopping
through thick foliage. Range: 1. Damage: 4 bladed. Weighs Since she’s a doctor, she’ll probably want some medical
5 lbs. (2 kg). Costs $40. equipment. We’ll get her a Field Surgical Kit for $100 and
a First Aid Kit (EMT) for $250. We’ll also buy a dose of
Nightstick- One handed weapon made from plastic or Anti-Psychotic for $4 and a dose of Sedative for $3/dose.
fiberglass. Range: 1. Damage: 3 blunt Very Easy Parry She wouldn’t normally be able to buy these (because they’re
(+8). Weighs 5 lbs. (2 kg). Costs $40. listed as illegal) but Maggie is a doctor so it’s okay.
Pen Knife- What looks like a fancy metal pen conceals a strong, Since she has the Research: Internet skill, we want her to
sharp blade which is just long enough to pierce the ribcage and be able to get on the internet in the field, so we’ll buy her a
heart. Range: 0. Damage: 1 bladed. Easy Slash (+4), Easy palmtop computer ($250) and a cellular internet access card
Vital Strike (+4). Legality: Misdemeanor. Costs $45. ($100 +$10/wk. for service). Together these will allow her
to browse the net from any urban area. We’ll also get her a
Pipe- A section of metal pipe or rebar. Range: 1. Damage: basic cellphone ($30 +$10/wk. for service). Since she’s also
3 blunt. Weighs 7 lbs. (3 kg). Costs $5. a very science-oriented person we’ll buy her some books she
Quarterstaff- A 6 ft. (2 m.) long straight piece of wood. can keep in the trunk of her car. We’ll buy books for bomb
Range 1-3. Damage: 2 blunt. Easy parry (+4). Weighs 10 disarming, mythology, pharmacology, surgery, poisons,
science: chemistry, science: archeology/paleontology,
lbs. (5 kg). Costs $40. science: pathology, and surgery for a total of $700. Some
Sword (Broadsword)- A replica medieval sword. It is very of these books are multi-volume, so around half her trunk
heavy, two-handed and designed to cleave through armor. will be filled with books. Most of these books are intro/ref,
Takes a moderate (20) STH feat to use without penalty. which means that if she doesn’t have the skill she can act as
if she had 1 level of the skill by using the book, and if she
Range: 1-3. Damage: 5 bladed damage (pierces as 7). Hard
does have the skill she can act as if she has an extra level by
Strike (-4). Weighs 7 lbs. (3 kg). Costs $100. referring to the book. The only book that isn’t intro/ref is
Sword (Fencing)- A thin, flexible stabbing-sword that is surgery, which is only ref. That’s not a problem since she
designed to move quickly. Range: 1. Damage: 3 bladed. already has levels in surgery.
Easy Parry (+4), Easy Vital Strike (+4). Weighs 2 lbs. (1 continued next page
kg). Costs $60.

In Dark
Sample Character Creation – Step 7 (continued)
Since Maggie is a Hero, she knows she’s going to be going out Strike (on a successful blinding strike the victim must also
and fighting mundane and supernatural dangers, so she should make a hard save vs. pain), Very Easy Pain/Stun Attack. Her
equip herself for a number of dangerous circumstances. We’ll taser baton has the following properties: Range 1-2. Damage:
buy her a backpack to carry her tools in ($20), a large flashlight 3 blunt, 3 electrical. So, if she makes a pain/stun or blinding
($25), gasmask ($50), nightvision goggles ($200), 20 plastic attack with the pepper spray she gets +8 (from the very easy)
restraints ($20) and a lockpick gun ($80). and +4 (from the skill). If she makes a pain/stun or blinding
strike with the baton she only gets the +4, but if she makes a
She’ll also want armor and weapons. We’ll buy her a ballistic normal strike with the baton she will get no plusses but will
vest ($500) for protection. Her only weapons skill is Self- do both blunt damage and electrical damage (the electrical
Defense Weapons. Looking at the skill we see that gives her damage will have much the same effect as a pain/stun attack,
plusses with tasers and pepper spray, so we’ll buy her pepper see p.133). We choose her typical attack should go for greater
spray ($30), and a taser baton ($50). We’ll also buy her a fire likelihood of success rather than greatest effect. So her typical
axe ($45) in case she runs into something that isn’t harmed by attack will be a Blinding Strike with the pepper spray at INL
electricity or capsaicin. (13) + AGY (12) +4 (skill) +8 (weapon) +1d20 vs. 30. Adding
together all the plusses and attributes we get 37 +1d20 vs. 30
Altogether what we’ve bought her comes to $3,457, meaning
or 1d20 +7 vs. 0. We’ll mark 1d20 +7 vs. 0 on the character
she has $543 remaining. We decide she’ll keep $200 in $20s
sheet so that if we have combat she’ll roll 1d20, add seven,
hidden on her person (for emergency purchases) and the rest will
and give that as her success.
be in her bank.
Self-Defense Weapons also gives +4 to Simultaneous Pain/
Since we now have weapons and combat skills completed, we
Stun Attacks. Since simultaneous strikes give +WIL to rolls
can figure Maggie’s typical action and reaction. This will make
and +20 to difficulty, she would be able to do a simultaneous
things go faster when Maggie gets into combat: we’ll already
pain/stun at INL (13) + AGY (12) +WIL (12) +4 (skill) +1d20
know what her best moves are and already have the sums
vs. 45, or 1d20 vs. 4. Yet she would find it easier just to do a
calculated.
plain dodge at AWR (14) + AGY (12) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20
Maggie’s Self-Defense Weapons skill gives her +4 to Pain/Stun +1 vs. 0). So if she’s in combat and she’s reacting to an attack
Attack and +4 to Blinding Strike with self-defense weapons. Her against her by dodging, she’ll roll 1d20 and add 1 to the result
pepper spray has the following properties: Very Easy Blinding as her success.
Step Eight - Bonus Characteristics

In Brief: PC starts with neutral balance. Advantages Gaining or Losing Bonus Characteristics in Game Play
must be balanced out by disadvantages. Max. 30
BP of disads. The simple rule to remember here: character creation is meant to be fair,
game play is not.
In addition to the advantages and disadvantages Advantages and disadvantages can be rewarded or taken away during game-
listed below, you can gain or spend Bonus Points play as part of the adventure with no points being exchanged at all. For
in the following ways: instance, a player may buy the Contact: Wealthy advantage, only to have that
wealthy contact killed during the first five minutes of game play, meaning
Extra or Fewer Attribute Points: that advantage is permanently lost and the points spent are wasted. On
1 Bonus Point = 1 Attribute Point the other hand, the PC may save someone’s life and gain the equivalent of
Contact: Law Enforcement within five minutes of game-play. A PC might
Extra of Fewer Health Attribute Points: start with Addiction: Heroin, and declare in the first minutes of game play
3 Bonus Points = 1 Health Attribute Point that she is quitting. Assuming the PC can resist the cravings rolls, she will
be rid of that disadvantage.
Extra or Fewer Skill Points:
1 Bonus Point = 3 Skill Points To reiterate: Anything that the PC does or anything that happens to the PC
in-game can remove advantages and disadvantages, or can give special
Extra or Less Money: advantages and disadvantages to the PC regardless of the points spent during
1 Bonus Point = $500 character creation.
PCs cannot take more than 30 BP worth of disads Secret Life Specific Optional Bonus Characteristics
without special permissions from the GM. Animist: No Teacher (Gives 1 BP)
Bonus Points cannot be used to increase or Cannibal: Simple Living (Costs 1 BP)
decrease psychodynamics. Lost: Weird Thing You Found (Costs 4 BP), Expensive Thing You Found (Costs 1 BP)
Outcast: Thing You Grabbed (Costs 5 BP), Contact: Dance (Costs 5 BP), Always Crazy
Example: A PC starts with only 70 Skill Points (- (Gives 2 BP)
30 Skill Points = +10 Bonus Points), $1,500 less Professional: Not a Lodge Member (Gives 5 BP)
than normal (-$1,500 = +3 BP) but starts with 7 Scribbler: Bibliophile (Costs 2 BP)
Health Attribute Points (+1 Health Attribute Point Survivor: Under Suspicion (Gives 1 BP)
= -3 BP) and 90 Attribute Points (+10 Attribute Wonderlander: Toy (Costs 4 BP), Contact: Adult Friend (Costs 5 BP)
Points = -10 BP).

Alleys
Advantages Debt: Credit Card (Gives 3 BP)
Ally: Coworker (Costs 1 BP)
Ally: Parents (Costs 3 BP)
Debt: Loan Shark (Gives 1 BP per $1000, max. 5)
Delusion (Gives 3 BP)
Advantages
Disfigured (Gives 6 BP)
Ambidextrous (Costs 1 BP) Dissociative Disorder (Gives 2 BP)
Caregiver: Occult (Costs 5 BP) Ally: Coworker (Costs 1 BP)- Someone at the PC’s
Drug Sensitivity (Gives 2 BP)
Concealed Weapon Permit (Costs 4 BP) Enemy: Ex (Gives 3 BP) Day Job knows about the PC’s Secret Life and will try
Contact: Corporate (Costs 2 BP) Enemy: Parents (Gives 3 BP) to help the PC, mostly by covering for the PC when
Contact: Criminal (Costs 2 BP) Enemy: Stalker (Gives 2 BP) the PC misses work or leaves work early to deal with
Contact: Government (Costs 2 BP) Epilepsy (Gives 2 BP) Secret Life issues.
Contact: Law Enforcement (Costs 5 BP) Erased (Gives 20 BP)
Contact: Locals (Costs 3 BP) ESL (Gives 2 BP) Ally: Parents (Costs 3 BP)- The PC’s parents know
Contact: Wealthy (Costs 3 BP) Failing Marriage (Gives 3 BP) that the PC is involved in supernatural exploration and
Contact: Wise (Costs 2 BP) Family Obligations (Gives 2 BP) the parents are generally supportive of the PC. The
Drug Resistant (Costs 2 BP) Family Skeletons (Gives 1 BP)
Ethnic Group (Costs 4 BP) Fetish (Gives 2 BP)
PC can go to his or her parents for advice, a place to
Ex-Military (Costs 4 BP) Fried (Gives 4 points) stay, emotional support and sometimes even a loan.
False Identity (Costs 5 BP) Fugitive (Gives 15 BP) Ambidextrous (Costs 1 BP)- The PC is almost
Ghetto Raised (Costs 4 BP) Gambling Addict (Gives 7 BP)
Inherited Property (Costs 5 BP) Guilty Secret (Gives 1 BP) equally comfortable using either hand for precision
Innate Talent: Brawler (Costs 8 BP) Hemophilia (Gives 15 BP) tasks. PC suffers only a -2 penalty for using paired
Innate Talent: Creative (Costs 4 BP) Herpes (Gives 2 BP) weapons.
Innate Talent: Math (Costs 2 BP) High Sleep Need (Gives 1 BP)
Innate Talent: Technical (Costs 3 BP) House Arrest (Gives 7 BP) Caregiver: Occult (Costs 5 BP)- Buy this advantage in
Instructor (Costs 10 BP) Hunted: Corporation (Gives 7 BP) combination with any of the Caregiver disadvantages
Low Sleep Need (Costs 2 BP) Hunted: Organized Crime (Gives 10 BP) (p.116). The person the PC is caring for has some of
Multilingual (Costs 2 BP) Hunted: Powers-That-Be (Gives 10 BP) the same occult skills or powers as someone in the
Pain Experienced (Costs 2 BP) Hunted: Serial Killer (Gives 4 BP)
Identical Twin (Gives 1 BP)
PC’s Secret Life. Perhaps the PC taught the cared-for,
Past Life Knowledge (Costs 2 BP)
Physically Attractive: Minor (Costs 2 BP) Illegal Alien (Gives 12 BP) perhaps the cared-for once taught the PC, or perhaps
Physically Attractive: Major (Costs 6 BP) Illiterate (Gives 8 BP) whatever happened to give the PC unusual powers or
Potential Genius (Costs 7 BP) Inexperienced: Urban (Gives 1 BP) skills also happened to the cared-for.
Prison Experience (Costs 6 BP) Inexperienced: World (Gives 8 BP)
Private School (Costs 5 BP) Insomnia (Gives 2 BP) Concealed Weapon Permit (Costs 4 BP)- A PC can
Sense of Direction (Costs 1 BP) Institutionalized (Gives 4 BP) legally purchase and carry a pistol. Professionals
Supernatural Object (Costs 7 BP) Learning Disability (Gives 3 BP) and PC’s with the Day Jobs Law Enforcement
Stone Face (Costs 1 BP) Lingering Abuser (Gives 1 BP) Professional, Investigator or Security Professional
Trust Fund (Costs 4 BP) Lonely (Gives 2 BP)
Malnourished (Gives 5 BP) don’t have to buy this advantage.
Memory Gaps (Gives 1 BP) Contact: Corporate (Costs 2 BP)- The PC has a
Disadvantages Mental Health History (Gives 1 BP)
Missing Arm (Gives 7 BP ea.)
friend who works as a trusted position in the head
Abusive Relationship (Gives 20 BP)
Addiction: Alcohol (Gives 10 BP) Missing Eye (Gives 5 BP) offices of a major multinational corporation. The
Addiction: Cocaine/Crack (Gives 25 BP) Missing Leg (Gives 7 BP ea.) friend doesn’t mind doing a few quick searches in the
Addiction: Heroin (Gives 25 BP) Mute (Gives 10 BP) corporate records to help the PC, so long as the friend
Addiction: Inhalants (Gives 15 BP) Nightblindness (Gives 3 BP) isn’t in danger of getting caught.
Addiction: Marijuana (Gives 7 BP) Obese (Gives 2 BP)
Addiction: Methamphetamines Old (Gives 15 BP per decade after 50) Contact: Criminal (Costs 2 BP)- The PC has a friend
(Gives 20 BP) Parole (Gives 4 BP) who is a career criminal with a working knowledge of
Addiction: Multi-Drug (Gives 15 BP) Personal Mystery (Gives 1 BP) the underworld. During character creation the PC can
Addiction: Nicotine (Gives 5 BP) Phobia (Gives 3 BP)
Physically Unattractive: Minor (Gives 2 BP) purchase equipment of up to a felony legality rating
Addiction: Pain Pills (Gives 10 BP)
AIDS (Gives 20 BP) Physically Unattractive: Major (Gives 4 BP) (p.88).
Allergy: Deadly (Gives 4 BP) Pre-Op Transsexual (Gives 3 BP)
Poor Hearing (Gives 2 BP) Contact: Government (Costs 2 BP)- The PC has a
Allergy: Incapacitating (Gives 2 BP)
Alzheimer’s (Gives 15 BP) Poor Vision (Gives 1 BP) friend who works at a trusted position in a federal
Asshole Boss (Gives 1 BP) Post-Traumatic Stress (Gives 10 BP) agency.
Bad Rep (Gives 2 BP) Pre-Op Transsexual (Gives 3 BP)
Pregnant (Gives 15 BP) Contact: Law Enforcement (Costs 5 BP)- The PC
Bad Self-Image (Gives 1 BP)
Bad Temper (Gives 1 BP) Recovering Addict (Gives 3 BP) has a friend who is a member of the local, county or
Blind (Gives 20 BP) Restraining Order (Gives 1 BP) state police or the FBI.
Caregiver: Child (Gives 10 BP) Runaway (Gives 10 BP)
Caregiver: Elderly/Physically Disabled Self-Hatred (Gives 3 BP) Contact: Locals (Costs 3 BP)- The PC has friends
(Gives 7 BP) Shy (Gives 2 BP) and acquaintances all around the PC’s neighborhood.
Caregiver: Mentally Disabled (Gives 15 BP) Sickly (Gives 4 BP) The PC chats with his or her neighborhood friends
Chronic Pain (Gives 2 BP) S.L.I.der (Gives 1 BP) often and they will mention if anything unusual is
Clumsy (Gives 2 BP) Stutterer (Gives 4 BP)
Terminal Illness (Gives 17 BP) going on around the neighborhood.
Colorblind (Gives 1 BP)
Compulsion (Gives 4 BP) Thin Bones (Gives 7 BP) Contact: Wealthy (Costs 3 BP)- The PC has a friend
Corrupted Psychodynamic (Gives 3 BP ea.) Virgin (Gives 1 BP) who has a lot of money and is not afraid to invest it in
Criminal Record (Gives 1 BP) Visa (Gives 1 BP)
Weak Stomach (Gives 1 BP) an interesting enterprise or give it away to a very good
Crush (Gives 1 BP)
Deaf (Gives 7 BP) Young (Gives 5 BP per year below 16) and very desperate cause.
Eight - Bonus Characteristics 111

In Dark
Contact: Wise (Costs 2 BP)- The PC has a friend who is False Identity (Costs 5 BP)- The PC has spent years
old enough to have seen or done just about everything that establishing a false identity. This identity has a fake ID,
the mundane world has to offer. The contact doesn’t have sparse (but believable) credit and rental history and a
any supernatural skills or knowledge, but has seen enough bank account. It’s not perfect (there’s no birth certificate
to know that not everything can be explained by modern for instance), but it can be used to accomplish most
science. The contact has History: Local (5) and Local transactions.
Geography (4).
Ghetto Raised (Costs 4 BP)- The PC was born and
Drug Resistant (Costs 2 BP)- The PC’s body chemistry is raised in a place where the PC was constantly exposed
such that psychoactive drugs have less of an effect on the to violence, poverty, crime and drugs. Today, the PC has
PC than they do on the average person. Gives +7 to save ‘street smarts.’ The PC gets 3 free levels of Criminal
vs. drug effects. Does not help saves vs. drug addiction and skill(s) and 1 free level of a Combat skill.
cravings.
Inherited Property (Costs 5 BP)- Limitations: Not
Ethnic Group (Costs 4 BP)- Limitations: The PC must take available to PCs with the Day Jobs: Welfare, Ward or
either the Bilingual advantage or the ESL disadvantage. Homeless. The PC recently inherited land and a house
Animists get the equivalent of this advantage free. The in the area the campaign takes place in. The PC can
PC belongs to a small community of non-English speaking sell the land and house, but would need to clean and do
immigrants. The PC has spent all or some of his or her renovations on the house first. If the PC chooses to live in
youth in the US and understands American culture better the house, the PC can gain extra income by not having to
than many of his or her fellow immigrants. Thus the PC is pay rent (+$1,000 to start and +$100/wk.).
often called on to interpret for or represent his or her people.
The PC’s loyalty to his or her community is repaid in kind. Innate Talent: Brawler (Costs 8 BP)- The PC has been
getting in fights since he or she was a little kid and fighting
Ex-Military (Costs 4 BP)- The PC was a military soldier. comes naturally to the PC. The PC gets +2 to strike, parry
The PC gets one free level of an Athletics skill, 1 free level and dodge, +5 to initiative, and a +3, a +2, and a +1 to any
of an Investigation/Espionage skill and 2 free levels of actions or reactions of the character’s choice (the pluses
Combat skill(s). can not be put on the same action or reaction).

Alleys
Innate Talent: Creative (Costs 4 BP)- This advantage does skills the PC doesn’t have. The majority of past lives,
not change creative skill costs and give no plusses to skill like the majority of people, are non-english speakers
rolls. However, when the PC does succeed at a creative from developing countries. If PCs investigate the past
skill, the effect is beautiful or evocative in a way that no one life (a difficult task) the PC may find that the past life
else in the world could produce. For example: A PC with the had some sort of mystical or occult training that made the
cooking skill decides to create a new recipe for Fajitas, that retention of memories possible.
recipe will be as good as the success of the roll, but there will
Physically Attractive: Minor (Costs 2 BP)- The PC has
not be any Fajita recipe in the world like it.
physical features which make him or her more attractive
Innate Talent: Math (Costs 2 BP)- The PC is a mathematical to people who are interested in members of the PC’s
prodigy. The PC gets 4 free levels in one or more of the gender. Gives +4 to seduction rolls.
following: Computer Programming, Math, Physics and
Physically Attractive: Major (Costs 6 BP)- The PC has
Cryptography. The PC also gets +4 to all INL or skill rolls
physical features which make him or her very attractive
involving math.
to those with an interest in the PC’s gender. Gives +8 to
Innate Talent: Technical (Costs 3 BP)- The way the seduction rolls.
PC thinks makes it easier for the PC to understand how
Potential Genius (Costs 7 BP)- The PC’s brain is wired
technology works and how to interface with it. The PC gets
differently from other peoples’ such that the PC has
4 free levels of High Tech skills and gets +4 to High Tech
incredible mental potential. The cap for the PC’s INL is
skill rolls.
raised from 20 to 25.
Instructor (Costs 10 BP)- The PC had a very skilled mentor
Prison Experience (Costs 6 BP)- The PC has spent time
who trained the PC. Choose one of the following:
in prison where he or she had the opportunity to pick
-Doctor: 6 free levels in Medical skill(s). up a lot of useful criminal skills. Gives 4 free levels
-Fighter: 4 free levels in Combat skill(s). in Criminal skill(s), 2 free levels in one or more of the
-Thief: 4 free levels in Criminal skill(s), 1 free level in a following skills: Assassin: Armed, Assassin: Unarmed,
Traditional skill. Boxing, Knife Fighting, Street Fighting: Armed, Street
-Hacker: 6 free levels in High Tech skill(s). Fighting: Unarmed, Wrestling.
-Artist: 5 free levels in Creative skill(s), 2 free levels in
People skill(s). Prison Experience and Criminal Record
-Academic: 5 free levels in Academic skill(s), 1 free level The advantage Prison Experience and the disad Criminal
in a Medical skill, 1 free level in a People skill. Record are a good match. If the PC buys Prison Experience
-Law Enforcement: 2 free levels in Investigation/ without getting Criminal Record, it probably means the PC
Espionage skill(s), 2 free levels in Combat skill(s). was a juvenile when he or she was imprisoned and has had his
or her records sealed, or the PC was imprisoned in a country
Low Sleep Need (Costs 2 BP)- The PC has never needed that doesn’t share criminal records with the US, or the PC was
as much sleep as the average person. The PC is happiest imprisoned but was later exonerated. If the PC buys Criminal
with about 6 hours of sleep per night and can sleep only 4 Record without Prison Experience it could indicate the PC
hours for several nights in a row with no detectable loss of was imprisoned in isolation (thus has no ability to learn
from other prisoners) or that the PC just wasn’t interested in
abilities. learning what other prisoners had to teach him or her.
Multilingual (Costs 2 BP)- The PC was raised hearing and
speaking two languages. Learning new languages is easier Private School (Costs 5 BP)- As a child, the PC was
for the PC than for someone who grew up multilingual. sent away to a prestigious private school (possibly in an
The PC can choose 2 languages to be completely fluent in. another country) and given access to the best academic
During or after character creation the PC can buy levels in learning. The PC gets 4 free levels in Academic skills, 2
the Language skill at half the normal skill cost (round up). free levels in Creative skills and 3 free levels in People
Pain Experienced (Costs 2 BP)- At some point in his or her skills.
past, the PC experienced quite a lot of pain for quite a while. Sense of Direction (Costs 1 BP)- The PC has an inherent
The PC has learned how to handle pain and act normally ability to sense what direction he or she is facing. Roll
while in pain. Gives +5 to save vs. pain. this as an AWR feat with a difficulty based on the number
Past Life Knowledge (Costs 2 BP)- The PC can remember of cues available (things like being indoors, being hit
snatches of a previous lifetime. These seem to correspond in the head or being in another part of the world would
with a single person who lived before the PC was born. increase the difficulty).
There are also memories that can’t be placed in a particular Supernatural Object (Costs 7 BP)- At some point in
time period: a relentless march in a terrible canyon, under a the PC’s past the PC was given or found an object with
pure black sky, with a constant but unseen threat that seems clearly supernatural powers. How or why this object
nearby. At least once per adventure the GM should allow does what it does is not known to the PC. Create a power
the PC knowledge that he or she wouldn’t normally have: (using power rules on p.30) with 1 level of Effect (no
the sudden ability to understand a language, historical and Enhance) and 2 levels of Limitations.
geographical knowledge, and occasionally even manifest
Step Eight - Bonus Characteristics 113

In Dark
Stone Face (Costs 1 BP)- Emotions do not register very Multiple Addictions
strongly in the PC’s facial expressions, body language,
voice or physiology. The PC’s emotions are just as strong as With the exception of Addiction: Nicotine, the PC can not
anyone else’s (though the PC may have trouble convincing take more than one of the following addiction disadvantages
people of that fact). +10 difficulty to any attempt to detect for points. Taking one of the addiction disadvantages means
that drug is the PC’s exclusive drug-of-choice. If you’re
lies or emotions in the PC. looking for a character who does any drug he or she can get a
Trust Fund (Costs 4 BP)- There is a large pool of money hold of, take the Addiction: Multi-Drug disadvantage.
set aside for the PC. Most of it is tied up in investments, and
there is a maximum the PC can take out per week. There Addiction: Heroin (Gives 25 BP)- The PC is addicted
is an executor who has the ability to halt the flow of money to heroin (which has a craving difficulty of 20). The PC
if the PC is doing something illegal or immoral with it or if injects heroin. See p.134 for addiction rules and p.98 for
the PC shows signs of a mental illness or addiction. The PC the drug profile of heroin. The PC has been using heroin
starts with $1,500 extra and gets an extra $100/wk. for 6 months so far and suffers from a poor immune system
(-4 to save vs. disease contraction and progression), see
long term effects, p.98. Note: it costs a heroin addict
Disadvantages approximately $70/wk. to buy enough heroin to avoid
withdrawal, although most addicts buy and consume much
more than this minimum level.
The Catch-All Rule
Addiction: Inhalants (Gives 15 BP)- The PC is
If a disadvantage doesn’t have the potential to cause problems psychologically addicted to inhalants (which have a
for the PC, either because of the PC’s Secret Life or because of craving difficulty of 15). See p.134 for addiction rules
other Bonus Characteristics, the GM can choose to give fewer and p.98 for the drug profile of inhalants. The PC has been
(or no) BP for it. For instance, a PC can’t take the Asshole Boss huffing for about 6 months so far and is at -1 INL and -1
advantage with the Day Jobs Business Owner or Homeless. AWR. Note: It costs a huffer approximately $24/wk. to
buy enough inhalants to avoid withdrawal, although most
Abusive Relationship (Gives 20 BP)- The PC currently addicts buy and consume much more than this minimum
lives with an abusive parent or lover. This abuse has been level.
kept secret from anyone with the guts to actually do anything Addiction: Marijuana (Gives 7 BP)- The PC is
about it. Besides abusing the PC, the parent or lover has psychologically addicted to marijuana (which has a
tried to sabotage any means of establishing independence: craving difficulty of 15). See p.134 for addiction rules and
sabotaging careers, close friendships, education, and even p.98 for the drug profile of marijuana. The PC has been
attempts to learn to take care of oneself. In short, the PC using marijuana for 6 months so far and suffers from -7 to
doesn’t know how to live without the abuser. The abuser is memory based INL rolls, lowered libido and -7 to save vs.
more than a match for the PC in any fair fight. depression/dysphoria (see long term effects, p.98). Note:
it costs a marijuana addict approximately $42/wk. to buy
Addiction: Alcohol (Gives 10 BP)- The PC is enough marijuana to avoid withdrawal, although most
physiologically and psychologically addicted to alcohol addicts buy and consume much more than this minimum
(which has a craving difficulty of 15). See p.134 for level
addiction rules and p.96 for the drug profile of alcohol. The Addiction: Methamphetamines (Gives 20 BP)- The PC
PC has been using alcohol daily for 1 year so far and so does is psychologically addicted to meth (which has a craving
not yet suffer from any appreciable long term effects (see difficulty of 20). See p.134 for addiction rules and p.99 for
p.96). Note: It costs an alcoholic approximately $35/wk. the drug profile of meth. The PC has been using meth for
to buy enough alcohol to avoid withdrawal, although most 6 months so far and suffers from ulcers and malnutrition
addicts buy and consume much more than this minimum (-1 BLD, -1 BDY), see p.99 for more long term effects.
level. Homeless addicts who do things such as drinking Note: It costs a meth addict approximately $70/wk. to buy
mouthwash can (usually) avoid withdrawals for as little as enough meth to avoid withdrawal, although most addicts
$10/wk. buy and consume much more than this minimum level.
Addiction: Multi-Drug (Gives 15 BP)- The PC is not
Addiction: Cocaine/Crack (Gives 25 BP)- The PC is addicted to any one particular drug. He or she has a
addicted to smoking crack or sniffing cocaine (which have psychological addiction to being intoxicated. The PC’s
a craving difficulty of 25). See p.134 for addiction rules basic problem is that he or she can not deal with living
and p.97 for the drug profile of cocaine/crack. The PC has life in a sober state. The PC lost or never developed the
been using cocaine/crack for 6 months so far and suffers psychological mechanisms to deal with unfiltered reality.
from a chronically inflamed and runny nose (see long term The PC can stand to be sober for short periods, typically
effects, p.97). Note: it costs a cocaine addict approximately while he or she is doing something to keep busy (like
$140/wk. and a crack addict approximately $70/wk. to buy hustling money to get drugs). When evening rolls around
enough of their drug to avoid withdrawal, although most and nothing stands between the PC and examination of his
addicts buy and consume much more than this minimum or her life, the PC must make a craving roll (WIL + 1d20
level vs. 20) to avoid finding some intoxicant. The PC will use
whatever he or she can get a hold of: alcohol, marijuana,

Alleys
inhalants, pain killers, meth, etc. The PC may blow all Allergy: Deadly (Gives 4 BP)- Limitation: Not available
available cash on week-long drug binges which leaves him to Survivors. The PC has a serious sensitivity to some
or her with debt, health problems and social problems that common food item (e.g. peanuts, wheat, eggs, milk, soy,
are almost as good of a distraction as intoxication. Typical shellfish, tomatoes, fish). If the PC ingests even a little
multi-drug addicts can spend as little as $35/week on drugs he or she will be incapacitated within 10 minutes and
(though a typical multi-drug addict will spend more on will die within 1 hour without medical attention. An
better drugs when he or she has the money). intramuscular epinephrine injection ($40) can help stave
Addiction: Nicotine (Gives 5 BP)- The PC is physiologically off death.
addicted to nicotine (which has a craving difficulty of 20). Allergy: Incapacitating (Gives 2 BP)- Limitation: Not
See p.134 for addiction rules and p.97 for the drug profile of available to Survivors or Cannibals. Like the Deadly
nicotine. The PC has been smoking for 2 years and suffers Allergy, except a reaction such as blinding headaches,
from emphysema (-1 END) and increased risk of cancer convulsive vomiting or asthma more-or-less prevents the
and stroke. See long term effects, p.97. Note: It costs PC from doing anything (must make a 30 difficulty WIL
smokers approximately $15 to $49/wk. (depending on what or END roll to do anything) but will not kill the PC.
they smoke) to buy enough tobacco to avoid withdrawal,
although most addicts buy and consume much more than Alzheimer’s (Gives 15 BP)- Limitation: Not available
this minimum level. to Survivors. The PC has a degenerative brain disease
that does not respond to any known treatments. The PC
Addiction: Pain Pills (Gives 10 BP)- The PC is addicted should roll once per week on the following table. All
to prescription opiate painkillers (which have a craving
effects are permanent and cumulative:
difficulty of 20). The PC is adept at talking well-meaning
doctors into writing prescriptions. See p.134 for addiction 01-10: -2 INL
rules and p.95 for the drug profile of opiates. The PC has 11-20: -1 AGY
been using opiates for 6 months so far and suffers from a 21-30: -1 AWR
poor immune system (-4 to save vs. disease contraction and
progression), see long term effects, p.95. Note: it costs a 31-40: Sudden Amnesia (5)
pill popper approximately $56/wk. (less if ordering from 41-50: Delusions (5)
abroad) to buy enough pain pills to avoid withdrawal, 51-60: Hallucinations (5)
although most addicts buy and consume much more than
this minimum level. 61-70: Retrograde Amnesia (5)
71-80: Anterograde Amnesia (5)
AIDS (Gives 20 BP)- Limitation: Not available to
81-90: Aphasia (5) (failed INL save means PC cannot
Survivors. The PC has contracted and is showing symptoms
speak)
of AIDS, which currently has no cure. The PC currently
suffers from: Low energy (-5 END), weight loss, frequent 91-00: Agnosia (5) (failed INL save means PC
fevers (-5 to save vs. heat exhaustion), rashes and sores (-5 mistakes one object for another)
to seduction rolls), poor memory (-5 to INL memory rolls
Asshole Boss (Gives 1 BP)- The PC’s immediate
or saves vs. amnesia) and weakened immune system (-10 to
supervisor in his or her Day Job is demanding,
save vs. disease progression and mortality). There are drug
cocktails which slow the progression of the disease for $200/ unforgiving, ignorant and mean. The boss can and will
wk. Without drugs, roll each week on the following table. get the PC fired if the boss catches the PC breaking rules.
With drugs, there is a 1 in 6 chance you’ll have to roll. All If the PC tries to stand up for his or her rights (e.g. refuses
minuses are permanent and cumulative. to work late without extra pay) this will only make the
boss meaner.
01-07: Cough (-10 to prowling rolls)
08-14: Weakness (-5 STH/SPD) Bad Rep (Gives 2 BP)- Anyone who asks around about
15-21: Clumsiness (-5 AGY) the PC will hear something bad. The reputation might be
deserved or it might not, but at this point it’s too late to
22-27: Difficulty Swallowing change it. Choose one of the following that is said about
28-34: Confusion/Forgetfulness (-5 INL) the PC:
35-40: Diarrhea (double speed of thirst damage) “Crazy”: Tales are told of the PC acting as if he or she
41-47: Fever (-5 to save vs. heat exhaustion) had no connection to reality.
48-52: Vision Loss (-7 to vision based AWR rolls, -7 to “Stupid”: Tales are told of the PC doing incredibly
actions/reactions) stupid or naive things.
53-59: Vomiting (10) “Evil”: Tales are told of the PC screwing over other
60-66: Fatigue (-5 END) people to gain an advantage or just to be mean.
67-74: Weight Loss (-10 lbs. or 4.5 kg, -½ BDY) “Liar”: Tales are told of the PC deliberately deceiving
those who trusted him or her.
75-81: Headaches (10)
“A Drunk/An Addict”: Tales are told of the PC being
82-85: Coma (10)
intoxicated during important functions.
86-00: Weakened Immune System (-10 to saves vs.
disease progression and mortality) “Pervert”: Tales are told of the PC trying to coerce
people into inappropriate sexual situations.

In Dark
Bad Self-Image (Gives 1 BP)- No matter how the PC Caregiver: Mentally Disabled (Gives 15 BP)- The PC
actually looks, any time the PC sees his or her reflection is the primary caregiver for a loved one (parent, child,
or picture the PC sees someone who is grotesquely ugly. sibling, spouse) who cannot take care of himself or herself
The PC will often make mistaken assumptions based on because of a mental disability. Create the dependent NPC
the belief that he or she is ugly (e.g. will assume people as per Child NPC creation (see sidebar), but the NPC
are staring at the PC because the PC is so ugly). -10 to starts with 57 attribute points and, unlike a child NPC, can
purposeful seduction rolls and any time the PC sees his or have up to 20 STH. For most purposes, assume the NPC’s
her reflection the PC is -7 to all CHM rolls for the next 15 INL is 0. The dependent is physically able, but suffers
minutes. from one of the following (player’s choice):
Bad Temper (Gives 1 BP)- The PC has always had trouble Severe Mental Retardation (Can speak and
dealing constructively with anger. Any time the PC is understand simple sentences, probably not able to learn
angered, annoyed or frustrated the PC must make a save vs. an occupation, cannot learn to read but may be able to
anger to avoid lashing out (either verbally or physically). learn to recognize a few words like “exit” “hospital” or
The PC is -10 to all saves vs. anger. “restroom”).
Blind (Gives 20 BP)- Limitations: Not available to Alzheimer’s Disease (Frequent delusions, halluci-
Cannibals and Survivors. The PC’s eyes do not work at all. nations, insomnia and periods of complete confusion).
The PC is -15 to all combat actions/reactions. Supernatural Disorganized Schizophrenia (Periods of very
senses are not effected. disorganized speech, thought and behavior with some
hallucinations and delusions, other periods of severe
Caregiver: Child (Gives 10 BP)- The PC is the primary
apathy, anhedonia and unwillingness to communicate).
caregiver of a very small child that the PC is legally and
psychologically attached to. If the child dies, the PC will be Autism (Little language or communication abilities,
so psychologically distraught that he or she will be unable to little desire or need to communicate with others, inflexible
complete normal day-to-day duties effectively (the PC will and useless rituals or obsessions, withdrawal into an inner
be seriously messed up or unplayable). The child starts at world in reaction to stress or overstimulation).
3 to 5 years old. Create a mini character sheet for the child
(see sidebar). The PC can pay others to watch the child Chronic Pain (Gives 2 BP)- Limitation: Not available to
(see Day Care, p.100). The PC can ask friends and family Survivors or Cannibals. The PC has some old injury that
to do it, yet the PC can only ask for so much from friends causes near-constant pain. The PC must make Easy (10)
and family before they start feeling abused and refuse to saves vs. distracting pain every hour and is at -10 to save
help. As the PC grows older and wiser, so will the child. vs. psychological addiction to pain-killer drugs.
For every experience level the PC gains, the child will age
1 year, will gain 4 attribute points and 50 skill points. By Clumsy (Gives 2 BP)- When the PC is not paying
the time the PC reaches level 10, the child should be old attention to what he or she is doing the PC drops things,
enough to take care of himself or herself and even to be a knocks things over, bumps into things, etc. At least once
PC. The PC’s weekly income is reduced by half because of in a game session, while the PC is not trying to be careful,
extra costs from the child. he or she will make some clumsy movement (a hard AGY
roll can help the PC recover from or lessen the damage
Child NPC Creation done).
Step 1 – Name, Age, Gender, Description Colorblind (Gives 1 BP)- The PC was born with eyes that
Step 2 – Create attributes by splitting up 35 attributes with the are unable to distinguish between a broad range of colors.
following maximums: AGY 10, AWR 7, END 7, INL 6, STH Most likely, the PC can not see a difference between
5, WIL 7. The NPC also has 1 BLD, 1 BDY and 3 INCY. colors containing red and colors containing green.
Step 3 – Use 100 skill points to buy skills as follows: 40 skill
points for one level of any mundane skill the parent has, 10 Compulsion (Gives 4 BP)- The PC has a recurring drive
skill points for one level in a “child feat” (this is a CHM, INL, to do something that the PC doesn’t actually want to
AWR or WIL feat that most adults can do but most children do. The PC must make a hard (30) WIL roll to avoid
that age can’t). Example: a child might start with Beg For the compulsion whenever it is possible to engage in
Food (1), Find Home (2), Call 911 In An Emergency (1), Give the compulsive act. Repeated successes at resisting the
Self Injection (2), Skill: Lock Picking (1). compulsion will kill that compulsion, but another one
Step 4 – Equip child (use money from PC’s starting pool). will pop up (until the underlying psychological issues
are dealt with). Common compulsions include: setting
fires, stealing, pulling out hair, cleaning, lying, overeating,
Caregiver: Elderly/Physically Disabled (Gives 7 BP)- The counting things.
PC is the primary caregiver for a loved one (parent, child,
sibling, spouse) who cannot take care of himself or herself Corrupted Psychodynamic (Gives 3 BP ea.)- Part of the
because of a physical disability. Create the dependent PC’s subconscious mind (see p.7) is “sick” and instead of
with one physical attribute (AGY, END, SPD or STH) at doing its normal job it is working actively to hurt the PC.
0 and the rest at 1, 1 BDY, 3 BLD, 4 INCY, and 10 levels See p.7 for the effects on personality and psychology of
in Academic, Creative, High Tech, Medical, People and/or each psychodynamic becoming corrupted.
Traditional skills.

Alleys
Criminal Record (Gives 1 BP)- The PC has been tried and Enemy: Ex (Gives 3 BP)- The PC has an ex-lover who
convicted of felonies, and any background check on the PC is not happy sharing the same planet with the PC. The
will show a serious criminal history. This will disqualify the Ex is not the type who would do anything violent or
PC from some day jobs (PC can’t be law enforcement, child felonious to the PC, but will otherwise do anything else
care, or if a Professional the PC can’t be an FBI Agent or he or she can to make the PC miserable. The Ex knows
Intelligence Operative). The PC can’t carry a firearm. a little about the PC’s Secret Life, but doesn’t know all
the details.
Crush (Gives 1 BP)- The PC is in love with someone who
doesn’t return those feelings. The PC may eventually get Enemy: Parents (Gives 3 BP)- The PC’s parents know
over these feelings or may be able to finally woo the subject a little about the PC’s secret life and will do anything in
of his or her affections. their power to stop the PC. Most likely the PC’s parents
are fundamentalist Christians who believe that the PC
Deaf (Gives 7 BP)- Limitation: Not available to Survivors has been brainwashed by a satanic cult. The parents
and Cannibals. The PC does not have any ability to hear. will harass the PC and may eventually become desperate
The PC gets Language: American Sign Language (4) free. enough to try to kidnap the PC for cult deprogramming
The PC may be able to get a cochlear implant that gives or an exorcism.
some ability to hear, but it is a long and expensive process.
Enemy: Stalker (Gives 2 BP)- The PC is being stalked
Debt: Credit Card (Gives 3 BP)- The PC is $10,000 in by someone who believes he or she is deeply in love
debt to credit card companies. The PC must pay $100/wk. with the PC. The hope that the PC may someday return
just to pay the interest on the debt. If the PC does not pay this love has become the person’s central reason for
this money, the debt (and interest) will climb and the credit existing, and any evidence or reasoning that says the love
card company will give the debt to debt collectors who will won’t be returned is ignored. The stalker may come to
harass the PC, trash the PC’s credit rating and try to get the have delusions (like that the PC is sending secret love
PC’s wages garnished. messages or that the PC and the stalker are married), or, if
Debt: Loan Shark (Gives 1 BP per $1000, max. 5)- The put under enough stress, may attempt a murder/suicide.
PC owes money to a criminal, most likely a member of Epilepsy (Gives 2 BP)- Limitation: Not available to
an organized crime group. The PC is past due on the loan Survivors. The PC suffers from occasional seizures. The
and the loan shark has sent out thugs to get the money, or PC loses consciousness and may make strange sounds
equivalent in valuables, by any means necessary. or movements. The seizure lasts about 1 minute and it
Delusion (Gives 3 BP)- There is something the PC believes can take up to an hour to recover full AWR, INL and
in strongly, despite a lack of evidence or rational reason for AGY. Anti-epileptic medications ($21/wk.) can reduce
the belief. The belief has a powerful effect on how the PC the likelihood of seizures. However, sudden withdrawal
lives his or her life. If someone manages to persuade the from anti-epileptic medication will bring on repeated and
PC that the belief is false, the PC will just adopt another severe seizures. Every day the PC has a 1 in 6 chance
false belief (until the underlying psychological issue is dealt of having a seizure (un-medicated) or a 1 in 20 chance
with). The most common delusions are of persecution (e.g. (medicated).
‘the CIA is after me’), sexual desire (e.g. ‘all those homos Erased (Gives 20 BP)- Someone tried to kill the PC, the
are fighting over who gets me’), sexual jealousy (e.g. ‘my PC barely escaped, and when the PC got home the PC
wife is sleeping with my friends’), grandiosity (e.g. ‘I am the discovered that nobody remembered him or her and that
savior of this millennium’) and nihilism (e.g. ‘I’m dead and every record of the PC ever existing had been removed.
my insides are rotting.’) The PC has been living like a fugitive, not hunted by law
Disfigured (Gives 6 BP)- Limitation: Not available to enforcement but by old men in grey suits with strange
Survivors. The PC has scarring that cannot be easily powers. The PC has to constantly keep an eye out for the
hidden. The scarring makes the PC more likely to be grey suit men and be ready to run and not come back if
noticed, recognized and remembered; and gives the PC -20 he or she sees them. If the PC searches long enough, the
to seduction rolls. PC may be able to find some person who remembers him
or her or some evidence of the PC’s existence. The PC
Dissociative Disorder (Gives 2 BP)- Any time the PC fails a cannot work above-board and is limited to the following
save vs. fear or psychological shock, the PC is immediately day jobs: Boring Factory Job, Boring Field Job, Career
seized by the feeling that the PC is not in control of his or her Criminal, Homeless and Sex Industry Worker; and is paid
body and is, in fact, ‘somewhere else.’ The PC will wander less than a legal worker would be (max. $1000 to start,
away from danger and will follow commands, but cannot max. $50/mo.).
do anything useful or constructive for 1 minute per point of
failure. ESL (Gives 2 BP)- The PC speaks some non-English
language fluently and has only recently started to learn
Drug Sensitivity (Gives 2 BP)- Limitation: Not available to English. The PC must buy levels of Language: English
Survivors. The PC’s body chemistry and neurology is such to be able to read, write, speak or understand any English
that the PC is extremely sensitive to psychoactive drugs of at all. During game play, so long as the PC spends a lot
all types. Gives -7 to save vs. drug effects (does not effect of time with English speakers, the PC gets 1 free level of
addiction and craving saves). Language: English for every 100 XP earned.

In Dark
Failing Marriage (Gives 3 BP)- Because of events relating Hemophilia (Gives 15 BP)- Limitation: Not available
to the PC’s Secret Life the PC’s marriage is in serious to Survivors. The PC’s body does not produce clotting
trouble. The PC wants to save it and it may still be salvaged factors that let ruptured blood vessels close up. If injured,
but it will take serious work. Most commonly the problem the PC keeps bleeding (losing half the original damage
is because the PC is keeping the Secret Life a secret from again every minute) until the PC dies or is treated. At
the spouse or because the spouse knows about the PC’s a hospital a PC can be given clotting factors that let the
Secret Life and doesn’t like it. blood clot, but those factors are expensive ($1,000 per
serious injury). The PC can also get regular injections of
Family Obligations (Gives 2 BP)- The PC has duties, that clotting factors as a preventative (extra blood loss only
the PC feels he or she must perform, for the benefit of the lasts 2 minutes) but this costs $500/wk.
PC’s family that are beyond the duties imposed by the PC’s Herpes (Gives 2 BP)- The PC has genital herpes, a viral
Day Job and Secret Life. Examples might include lending STD that cannot be cured. Drugs can reduce the likelihood
money to a jobless brother, bringing meals to a shut-in of outbreaks but can’t eliminate them completely and
grandmother, keeping a father from getting arrested when cannot make a person non-contagious. Each week the PC
he gets drunk and starts screaming at neighbors, etc. has a 1 in 6 chance of having an outbreak (un-medicated)
Family Skeletons (Gives 1 BP)- The PC’s family has or a 1 in 20 chance (medicated). Herpes has a contraction
a terrible secret: some members of the family used to difficulty from unprotected sex of 10 (un-medicated) or
5 (medicated). An outbreak includes painful itching and
do things that were illegal or are serious social taboos.
rash, painful urination and blisters.
Although the PC didn’t participate in these activities as a
consenting adult, the PC is guilty of helping hide the secret High Sleep Need (Gives 1 BP)- The PC needs more sleep
of the family. than most people. The PC is most comfortable sleeping
12 hours a night and will suffer sleep deprivation damage
Fetish (Gives 2 BP)- The PC cannot enjoy intercourse if he or she gets any less than 10 hours.
or masturbation without the inclusion of some item or
activity that is outside of cultural norms, e.g. shoes, rubber, House Arrest (Gives 7 BP)- The PC has been sentenced
simulated rape, verbal abuse, cross-dressing, etc. to house arrest for the next 6 months. The PC is allowed
to leave home to go to work only. The PC has a tamper-
Fried (Gives 4 BP)- The character has used too many resistant tracking device on his or her leg and it will inform
hallucinogens and this has left the PC permanently changed. the police if the PC goes more than 50 ft. (5 m.) from his
The PC is at -5 to save vs. hallucinations and delusions. or her home after curfew (typically 8 PM). Violations will
Any skill or ability that utilizes abstract thought (e.g. using mean the PC goes to jail for 6 months.
the Math skill) takes an extra round. The PC suffers from Hunted: Corporation (Gives 7 BP)- A major
occasional flashbacks (hard difficulty hallucinations or multinational corporation thinks the PC has something
delusions) that are triggered by sensory stimuli that remind that is very important to them (e.g. secret internal
the PC of a time when the PC was on hallucinogens. The documents, secret r&d tech) or is a major threat to them.
GM chooses 5 flashback triggers. Once the PC has figured The corporation will hire private security teams to watch
out what the triggers are the PC can attempt to avoid them. the PC and will notify local and federal authorities if the
Fugitive (Gives 15 BP)- The PC is accused of committing PC is doing anything illegal. They will also try to find
any excuse to drag the PC into court for expensive civil
a serious felony and has no way of proving his or her
litigation. It doesn’t matter if they can win or not, what
innocence. The FBI and local police have the PC’s matters is that they can use a team of lawyers to bankrupt
description and if the PC is caught the PC will be put away the PC and disrupt the PC’s life.
for many years. The PC cannot get legal employment and
is limited to the following day jobs: Boring Factory Job, Hunted: Organized Crime (Gives 10 BP)- A major street
Boring Field Job, Career Criminal, Homeless and Sex gang, mafia family or international drug cartel has put out
Industry Worker; and is paid less than a legal worker would a contract on the PC. They know the PC’s name and will
be (max. $1000 to start, max. $50/mo.) eventually be able to find out where the PC lives, at which
point there will be attempts on the PC’s life by gang
Gambling Addict (Gives 7 BP)- The PC is psychologically members or assassins.
addicted to gambling. Gambling has a craving difficulty
Hunted: Powers-That-Be (Gives 10 BP)- The rich and
of 30. If the PC fails a craving, he or she must gamble
powerful men who have a say in how most of the world’s
as much money as he or she can get a hold of. If the PC corporations and governments operate have decided the
has no money, the PC must try to sell personal items to get PC is a threat to them. They won’t act in a way that
money. If the PC is gambling and wins, the PC must make a could be traced back to them, but they can make sure
moderate difficulty WIL roll to stop gambling while ahead. the PC can’t get a corporate or government job (PC is
The PC starts with the skill Gambling (3) free. limited to Alternative Health, Boring Factory Job, Boring
Guilty Secret (Gives 1 BP)- The PC has done something Field Job, Career Criminal, Creative, Dangerous Field
the PC thinks is immoral. It is something that, if the people Job, Homeless, Homemaker, Paranormal Professional,
the PC respects found out about, they would hate the PC. Religious Professional, Retired, Sex Industry Worker,
Student or Ward) and is under constant scrutiny from law
There is no evidence to link the PC to a crime (unless the
enforcement. At some point a Professional (p.46) will be
PC also takes the Fugitive or Criminal Record disads). sent to take the PC out.

Alleys
Hunted: Serial Killer (Gives 4 BP)- An at-large serial killer mental hospitals across the state. The PC had little time
has a special desire to kill the PC. Perhaps the PC is “the to bond with friends or become part of a community
one who got away” or is someone who bullied the serial before he or she was moved. The PC was given almost
killer as a child. The PC doesn’t know much about the serial no training in how to survive in the modern world: create
killer. The PC might have caught a brief glimpse of the a budget, apply for a job, write a check, etc. Even worse,
serial killer’s face or heard the serial killer’s voice during an the PC doesn’t know how to create a long-term trusting
aborted attack, but the PC does not know the killer’s name relationship with another person. The PC’s starting
and address and would have a hard time picking him or her money is cut in half and the PC is limited to the following
out of a crowd. day jobs: Alternative Health, Boring Factory Job, Boring
Field Job, Career Criminal, Creative, Dangerous Field
Identical Twin (Gives 1 BP)- The PC has an identical twin. Job, Homeless, Homemaker, Sex Industry Worker,
The two share uncommon empathy and often know what Student, Ward, Welfare.
each other are thinking and feeling, even from a distance.
Unfortunately this also makes the PC vulnerable: anything Learning Disability (Gives 3 BP)- The PC’s brain is
that hurts the twin’s soul hurts the PC as well. The twin does wired in such a way that some things are incredibly
not have supernatural abilities. difficult for the PC to learn. Choose the type of learning
disability as follows:
Illegal Alien (Gives 12 BP)- The PC is here in the country -Math: -8 to all skills rolls that involve math or
illegally and if caught by the cops or INS the PC may be numbers.
deported. The PC cannot get a legal job and must work
‘below board.’ The PC is limited to the following day jobs: -Reading: -8 to all skill rolls that involve reading or
Boring Factory Job, Boring Field Job, Career Criminal, recalling written knowledge.
Homeless and Sex Industry Worker; and is paid less than a -Spacial: -8 to any skill rolls that involve manipulating
legal worker would be (max. $1,000 to start, max. $50/mo.) real world objects (e.g. driving, painting, repairing a
mechanical device).
Illiterate (Gives 8 BP)- The PC can not write or read any
language. Later in the game the PC can learn to read by Lingering Abuser (Gives 1 BP)- The PC lived for
buying the equivalent of 5 levels in an Academic skill. several years with someone who sexually, physically
While the PC can not read he or she has doubled skill or emotionally abused the PC. Now that person is no
costs for Academic, Creative, High Tech, Investigation/ longer able to hurt the PC (either dead, in prison for a
Espionage, Medical and People skills. The PC is limited long time, or too weak to hurt anyone), but the abuser’s
to the following Day Jobs: Boring Customer Service Job, personality left such a deep impression in the PC that the
Boring Factory Job, Boring Field Job, Career Criminal, PC feels his or her constant presence. The PC dreams
Dangerous Field Job, Homeless, Homemaker, Performer, about the abuser, has momentary flashbacks of the abuser
Retired, Sex Industry Worker, Ward and Welfare. being around, and hears the abuser’s voice in his or her
head. What’s worse, if the PC loses control the PC may
Inexperienced: Urban (Gives 1 BP)- The PC has never find himself or herself acting exactly as the abuser would,
lived in a city until recently. The PC isn’t used to, among even speaking with the same tone of voice.
other things, freeways, high crime neighborhoods and
neighbors making noise at night. The PC must buy a map or Lonely (Gives 2 BP)- The PC starts the game with
will have a hard time getting around. no friends. The PC’s family provides little or no
companionship. The PC is unhappy and would like to
Inexperienced: World (Gives 8 BP)- Until recently, the have someone he or she could talk to or hang out with.
PC was not exposed to the modern world. Perhaps the PC
was raised in an isolated religious commune, or was raised Malnourished (Gives 5 BP)- Limitation: Not available to
by an insane parent who didn’t let the child go outside, or Survivors. A recent period of very poor nutrition has left
was raised in a mental institution, etc. The PC may have a lasting impact on the PC: permanent -1 BLD, -1 BDY
read books about the modern world, but they were outdated (the max. caps for these attributes suffer from the same
and gave no practical experience. The PC can walk, talk, penalties). The PC is -4 to save vs. disease contraction
read, keep himself or herself clean, but doesn’t know simple and mortality and -4 to seduction rolls because of things
things like what a police officer is, how to use an ATM like missing teeth, thin hair, etc.
machine, how to cross at a stoplight or why it is wise to lock
Memory Gaps (Gives 1 BP)- The PC has periods of
one’s door at night.
his or her life that can’t be remembered at all. Common
Insomnia (Gives 2 BP)- The PC has trouble sleeping. causes are drug use, head injuries and prolonged traumas.
Every night the PC must make a save vs. Insomnia (WIL + The danger here is that something dangerous from the
1d20 vs. 20, failure means the PC suffers one night’s sleep PC’s past might show up and the PC won’t recognize it
deprivation damage). Various sedative drugs will give coming.
plusses to save vs. insomnia (equal to the penalty to save vs.
Mental Health History (Gives 1 BP)- In the PC’s past,
unconsciousness).
he or she has been committed, against his or her will,
Institutionalized (Gives 4 BP)- The PC has grown up in to a mental institution. A check of the PC’s medical or
the care of the state, being shuffled around between juvenile criminal records will show this. The PC cannot be a
detention facilities, foster homes, group homes and even Professional or get Day Job: Law Enforcement.

In Dark
Missing Arm (Gives 7 BP ea.)- Limitation: Not available Personal Mystery (Gives 1 BP)- Above and beyond the
to Cannibals or Survivors. The PC is missing most or all mysteries inherent in the PC’s Secret Life, the PC has a
of one arm. For STH rolls that normally require both arms, very personal mystery he or she has been trying to solve
the PC’s STH is half (round down). For $50 the PC can for years. A loved one or family member was murdered or
purchase an unmoving hook (can be used as a 1 bladed disappeared and the PC wants to find out why and who did
improvised slashing weapon), for $1,000, the PC can it. Law enforcement has more or less given up on solving
purchase a cosmetic arm which looks real (Hard difficulty the case and the PC is the only one still actively looking.
to tell it is prosthetic) but is completely non-functional. For
$10,000 the PC can purchase a high-tech prosthetic that Phobia (Gives 3 BP)- Some relatively common thing
senses nerve impulses and can do simple tasks like grasping provokes strong and unwarranted fear in the PC. By
door handles (at 1 STH). making several successive saves vs. fear the PC can
overcome fear of that particular thing, but a phobia
Missing Eye (Gives 5 BP)- Limitation: Not available to to something different will soon pop up (there is an
Cannibals or Survivors. The PC is missing one eye. A underlying problem that needs to be addressed). The
realistic looking glass eye can be purchased for $500. PC must make a Hard (30) save vs. fear to approach the
With one eye missing the PC is -7 to AWR rolls requiring subject of a phobia. Common phobias include: bodies
peripheral vision or precise judgment of distance. of water, crowds, darkness, human & animal corpses,
Missing Leg (Gives 7 BP ea.)- Limitation: Not available to gaining weight, dogs, enclosed spaces, fire, heights, public
Cannibals or Survivors. The PC can get a solid prosthetic speaking, rodents, sick people, snakes and spiders.
(nothing more than strap on leg-shaped plastic) for $200, Physically Unattractive: Minor (Gives 2 BP)- The PC
crutches for $25, a wheelchair for $100 (p.96). Walking has features which tend to make him or her less attractive
with a solid prosthetic or crutches reduces PC’s SPD to 1. to those interested in members of the PC’s gender. Gives
For $40,000 the PC can buy an electromechanical prosthetic
-4 to seduction rolls.
leg that works by sensing nerve impulses and can allow the
PC to walk or run at up to 5 SPD. Physically Unattractive: Major (Gives 4 BP)- The PC
Mute (Gives 10 BP)- Limitation: Not available to Cannibals has features which have a very strong tendency to make
or Survivors. The PC can not speak or make anything other him or her unattractive to those interested in members of
than coughing and gagging noises. the PC’s gender. Gives -8 to seduction rolls.
Nightblindness (Gives 3 BP)- The PC sees very poorly Poor Hearing (Gives 2 BP)- Limitations: Not available to
(-10 to AWR rolls) in low light. PC is partially blinded (-7 Cannibals or Survivors. Without aid, the PC’s hearing is
to actions/reactions) in the light of a room lit with a 15 watt very poor (-10 to hearing based AWR rolls).
bulb and fully blinded (-15 to actions/reactions) in light so
Poor Vision (Gives 1 BP)- Limitations: Not available
dim that a normal person could not read a book.
to Cannibals or Survivors. Without prescription glasses
Obese (Gives 2 BP)- The PC is so overweight that it impairs or contact lenses, the PC is almost blind. If the PC is
his or her abilities and causes health problems. The PC is nearsighted, he or she can see close-up things okay (well
-10 to all jumping, sprinting, climbing rolls and +10 to enough to recognize a person’s face at 1 ft. or 1/3 m.) or
rolls where weight is an advantage (tackle, pin, ramming). if the PC is farsighted he or she can see far away things
The PC is -7 to save vs. heat exhaustion and +7 to save okay (well enough to recognize a building). Prescription
vs. hypothermia. Unless the PC has 15+ STH, walking or glasses cost $40. Corrective surgery ($2,000) can improve
standing is a tiring activity (uses pooled END). the PC’s vision.
Old (Gives 15 BP per decade after 50)- The character starts Post-Traumatic Stress (Gives 10 BP)- The PC was in
the game suffering from the effects of old age. For each a prolonged period of mortal danger, torture or intense
decade after 50, the character gets cumulative -2 STH, physical/sexual abuse and since then the PC has suffered
-2 END, -2 SPD, -1 AGY, -1 BLD and -1 BDY. from trouble eating, sleeping, nervousness and occasional
Parole (Gives 4 BP)- The PC is out on parole from prison. flashbacks. The PC gets:
The PC is out conditionally: there are a set of rules and One per day, moderate (20) save vs. delusions that
if the PC is caught breaking them the PC will be shipped the PC is back in the stressful situation. Delusions can
back to prison for about 6 months. The PC must meet be triggered by sensations that remind the PC of the
a parole officer weekly and the parole officer may drop situation.
by unannounced (1 in 20 chance each day). The police -10 to save vs. nausea, insomnia, fear and psychological
are allowed to search the PC’s car, residence, person or shock.
hotel room any time they want. Choose two additional
conditions from the following list: steady employment, Pre-Op Transsexual (Gives 3 BP)- Not available to
curfew (in by 8 pm), not allowed in a ‘known drug area,’ Androgynes. The PC has been taking hormones, has
not allowed to associate with criminals or gang members, had some plastic surgery and has been living as the other
not allowed within 1,000 ft. of a school or playground, not gender for some time. Most people the PC knows do not
allowed to take drugs or alcohol (regular urine tests), must know that the PC still has genitals of the gender opposite
complete 100 hours of community service, must complete what the PC appears to be.
100 hours of anger management classes.

Alleys
Pregnant (Gives 15 BP)- The PC has recently become Chronically inflamed and
pregnant. The PC has a strong desire to give birth to the Cocaine/Crack 25 runny nose.
baby and raise it. The pregnancy lasts for 40 weeks and -2 to save vs. disease
is broken down into three trimesters. The disadvantages Pain Pills 20 progression and mortality.
faced by the PC vary according to trimester:
Inhalants 15 -3 INL, -3 AWR
-1st Trimester (weeks 1 to 13): “Morning sickness”
(-10 to save vs. nausea). Difficulty sleeping and fatigue (-2 Restraining Order (Gives 1 BP)- The court has ordered
END, -4 to save vs. unconsciousness). Emotional lability that the PC not call, follow or come near the home or
(-5 to save vs. fear, anger and other emotions). workplace of a specific person. Violating the restraining
-2nd Trimester (weeks 14 to 27): PC will begin to be order is typically a misdemeanor. The PC cannot legally
visibly pregnant (-4 to save vs. loss of balance). Hormonal buy a firearm while the restraining order exists.
changes are generally positive: effects on skin and hair Runaway (Gives 10 BP)- The PC is under 18 and has run
may make the PC more attractive to some (+2 to seduction away from home. The PC’s parents are actively searching
rolls), anxiety is reduced (+4 to save vs. fear). Strange to get him or her back. If the PC is caught by police, and
food cravings. Forgetfulness and trouble concentrating (-2 if the police find out the PC’s real name, the PC will be
INL). Trouble dissipating body heat (-4 to save vs. heat returned home. The PC cannot work above-board and
exhaustion). is limited to the following day jobs: Boring Factory Job,
-3rd Trimester (weeks 28 to 40): Insomnia (10). The Boring Field Job, Career Criminal, Homeless and Sex
PC is very large (-10 to save vs. loss of balance, back Industry Worker and Welfare; and is paid less than a legal
pain, walking around will use pooled END). Breath is worker would be (max. $1,000 to start, max. $50/mo.)
short (-4 END). Occasional contractions throughout this
trimester (20 difficulty distracting pain). Increased need to Self-Hatred (Gives 3 BP)- The PC feels real, visceral
urinate. Fatigue (-4 to save vs. unconsciousness). Trouble hated towards himself or herself. The PC must make a
dissipating body heat (-7 to save vs. heat exhaustion). Moderate (20) save vs. delusion to not believe anything
bad anyone says about the PC. Whenever the PC is alone
During the entire pregnancy the PC must be careful to he or she must make a Hard (30) WIL save to avoid doing
avoid harm coming to the baby. During the first trimester, something self-destructive (e.g. self-mutilation, gambling,
the baby is most sensitive to toxins and poisons (takes overeating, doing drugs, etc.). The PC is -10 to any WIL
double damage the PC takes). As the baby gets bigger, based save where a failure would mean the PC’s (and only
it is less vulnerable to toxins but it is more vulnerable to the PC’s) painless death. This disad can be overcome only
physical injury: any random injury to the PC has a 1 in 20 if the PC helps or bring happiness to a lot of people and the
chance of hitting the baby during the first trimester, 1 in PC significantly changes his or her lifestyle, relationships
10 during the second trimester and 1 in 6 during the third and personal style.
trimester. At all times the baby has AR 20 PR 2 bladed 2
blunt from the PC’s body. Assume the baby has 0 BDY, 1 Shy (Gives 2 BP)- The PC is nervous around strangers
BLD, 1 INCY. or acquaintances (yet not around close friends or family).
The PC must make a Hard (30) save vs. fear when dealing
If the PC carries the pregnancy to term and gives birth, see with people to avoid making obvious signs of discomfort
Caregiver: Child (p.116) for rules on Child NPC creation. (e.g. stammering, insulting oneself, laughing at things that
Recovering Addict (Gives 3 BP)- The PC has been aren’t funny, fidgeting, etc.).
a psychological addict of some drug and has recently Sickly (Gives 4 BP)- The PC was born with a susceptibility
quit. The PC has been clean for about 2 months and to many types of diseases. The PC has had more serious
experiences cravings every 32 days or any time the illnesses by his or her teens than most people do in 80
PC is under psychological stress. The PC is at -10 to years. The PC starts with -7 to save vs. disease contraction
psychological addiction rolls for any drug. The PC has a and progression and -10 to save vs. physiological shock.
psychological void in his or her life that was once taken up The PC regains lost END and heals from injuries half as
by the drug. This void manifests as things like insomnia, fast.
depression, boredom, lack of goals in life, etc. The PC also
experiences various health problems depending upon what S.L.I.der (Gives 1 BP)- For some unexplained reason,
drug the PC used. Choose one of the following as the drug lights tend to burn out when the PC is nearby. This is most
the PC used: common in old streetlights that go out for a short time
when they overheat.
Craving
Name Health Problems Stutterer (Gives 4 BP)- Ever since the PC’s childhood,
Difficulty
the PC has had trouble speaking. The PC tends to repeat
Brain damage (-2 INL,
-2 AWR, retrograde and the first part of words several times. The problem grows
anterograde amnesia at 4 better or worse depending on the circumstances. After
Alcohol 20 difficulty to save), liver game play starts, the PC can spend 5 skill points per level
damage (-2 to save vs. drug/ for a special skill:
poison effects)
Ulcers, malnutrition (-½ Not Stuttering (WIL)
Methamphetamines 20 BLD, -½ BDY) Easy (10): Not stutter while angry, panicked or singing.
-2 to save vs. disease Moderate (20): Not stutter in a normal social situation.
Heroin 25 progression and mortality. Hard (30): Not stutter while under heavy stress.

In Dark
Terminal Illness (Gives 17 BP)- Limitations: Not available Young (Gives 5 BP per year below 16)- For each year
to Survivors. The PC has a cancer or a degenerative genetic younger than 16, the PC gets -4 attribute points and -½
disease which has not responded to any known treatment health attribute point.
and will eventually kill the PC (unless the PC can be cured
by a supernatural power). Choose one of the following
types of degeneration: Sample Character Creation – Step 6
Cognitive: Each week, -¼ point to INL, AWR, CHM, We start this section 6 BP behind, since we chose to spend
WIL. that many points to make Maggie a doctor. Also, looking
Motor: Each week, -½ AGY (when AGY is 0, PC at the advantages there are a few that seem to fit in with her
is confined to a wheelchair, when AGY is -5 the PC is character concept as a protector of her community very well:
paralyzed). Multilingual, which costs 2 BP, Ethnic Group, which costs 4
BP, and Contact: Locals, which costs 3 BP. Together with her
Immune: Each week, -½ to saves vs. disease progression being a doctor this will cost her 15 BP, which means we’ll have
and mortality. to take some significant disads.
Vascular: Each week, -¼ END, -1/8 BLD
Metabolic: -1/8 BDY, -¼ END, needs +¼ hour of sleep, We could reduce her starting money, skill points, attributes
-2 lbs. (1 kg) per week. or health attributes and gain BP that way, but we don’t see
anything we really want to reduce, so we look at the disads.
Thin Bones (Gives 7 BP)- The PC has very weak bones, This will help us know more about Maggie’s character: so far
usually as a result of bad genes or poor nutrition. PC is -2 we know what she has going for her, but we don’t really know
BDY and has a max. cap of 3 for BDY. much about her problems, which are likely what drives her.
We decide on the disads Bad Temper, Hunted: Serial Killer
Virgin (Gives 1 BP)- The PC has never had sexual and Post Traumatic Stress, which will give us the 15 points we
intercourse with another person. The PC knows need. They also help us create the rest of Maggie’s back story:
as a medical student she was captured and tortured by a serial
approximately how it’s done, but has no way of knowing if
killer who had a jacket that gave him supernatural abilities.
he or she can do it well or if he or she will enjoy it. She managed to escape and steal the jacket. Since then he’s
Visa (Gives 1 BP)- The PC does not have American been after her to get the jacket back. Meanwhile she’s been
suffering from nearly crippling psychological problems: she
citizenship and is, instead, here on a work or education suffers flashbacks, is nervous, has problems eating or sleeping
visa. The PC is required to report to federal authorities and loses her temper often. Out of desperation to change her
occasionally and the PC can be deported if he or she does situation she’s decided to don the serial killer’s jacket and try to
anything that upsets authorities. eliminate the many threats she knows plague her community.
By becoming her community’s protector she hopes she can
Weak Stomach (Gives 1 BP)- The PC’s stomach is gain some peace of mind for herself.
especially sensitive to irritants. -10 to save vs. vomiting.
Spicy foods, acidic foods or stress will cause heartburn
(easy save vs. distracting pain).
Step Nine - Character Advancement

In Brief: Use XP to gain experience levels and improve Making Friends- With PCs of such differing
the PC. Gaining supernatural skills require dangerous backgrounds it is a commendable achievement when two
experimentation. PCs become good friends. (5 XP)
Scaring Players- The GM will award XP when the
Gaining XP character does something or says something that frightens,
unnerves, startles or creeps out both fellow PCs and the
Experience allows the PC to grow as a person and improve
himself or herself. Experience is measured by Experience players who control them. (5 XP)
Points (XP). XP is awarded at the end of a gaming session, Discovering Secrets- The game world has a lot of
based on the PC’s performance in the adventure. Some secrets. Whenever a PC finds out a major secret about the
things player characters can do during a game to gain game world, he or she will earn XP. (5 XP)
experience points:
Personal Growth- This is awarded when something
Completing Adventure Goals- Whatever the goals of happens that makes the PC wiser or more mature or when
the given adventure are, the PCs should be awarded points
the PC realizes something important about his or her life.
to the degree that they completed the goals successfully. (5
Usually this means that the character has overcome (or
to 25 XP)
has decided to overcome) some personal flaw. It could
Staying Alive- In many adventures, the PCs are thrown also mean a wider outlook. XP should only be awarded if
into dangerous situations and the PCs get XP by surviving. this is a permanent change, not just a temporary deviation.
(1 to 5 XP) The PC may also get points if every PC involved This is used to award depth and change in PCs. (5 XP)
in the adventure survives. (2 XP)

Alleys
Good Roleplaying- GMs can award experience points a game session ends, the GM awards 16 XP. One player
to players who show empathy for or commitment to the decides that her character will gain one level in the skill
psychology and worldview of their PCs by doing something Science: Chemistry. The GM rules that since the PC has
that fits very well with that character. This is a good way for no access to Chemistry study materials or teachers she
GMs to compensate players that hurt their characters for the must wait until she gets back to civilization to improve
sake of realism (e.g. not using knowledge that the player has the skill.
but the character wouldn’t). (2 XP)
Making The World A Better Place- The PC will earn XP can be spent as follows:
XP any time he or she helps some person or people. This
could mean saving a life, providing food to hungry people, Skill Points: 2 XP = 1 Skill Point
teaching someone to read, etc. This can also mean helping
people by less direct means, e.g. eliminating a monster and
therefor saving the lives of anyone that monster would have Attribute Points: 10 XP = 1 Attribute
otherwise preyed upon. (1 to 10 XP) Point.
Clever Plan- Whenever a PC comes up with an idea
which is clever and also works (has good effects) the GM Health Attribute Points: 30 XP = 1
will award XP. (4 XP) Health Attribute Point.
Worked Well as Group- The GM will award XP Attributes cannot be raised above their max. cap of 20.
whenever the PCs show that they can work together well Negative sub-attributes can be removed (at a cost of
and do things they would be unable to do alone. (4 XP) 1 attribute point each) but new positive sub-attributes
Motivation Success- If the PC succeeds in a way which cannot be purchased. Health Attributes cannot be raised
is particular to that PC’s motivation, the PC should gain above their max. cap of 6.
extra XP. For example, a PC with the Pessimistic Paranoia
motivation finds out about a conspiracy against him or her XP cannot be used to change Psychodynamics. If a
in time to prevent it from doing harm to the PC, that PC will PC’s personality changes, the PC can shift around points
gain extra XP. (5 XP) between psychodynamics but cannot reduce or increase
Secret Life Success- The PC learns or achieves the overall number of points.
something that corresponds with the basic quest or mystery
of the PC’s secret life. E.g. a Scribbler discovers something
about the nature of reality, a Survivor discovers something
Experience Levels
about the nature of reapers, etc. (5 XP) In addition to spending XP, players should keep track of
the total XP a PC has earned, spent or unspent. This will
allow players to more easily compare the relative power
Losing XP level of different characters. An “experience level” is
100 XP, so we could say that a Lost PC with 252 XP is a
Just as various types of successes will add to the XP earned “Level 3 Lost.”
in an adventure, some failures can cause the PCs to get less
XP than they would have otherwise. XP for an adventure Level advancement can also be used as a rough estimate
can not drop below zero. of time. Each experience level represents six months to
Failing at Adventure Goals- The GM may deduct XP if two years in the PC’s life.
the PC fails at the goals of the adventure (especially if the
goals were very easy or very important). (1 to 5 XP)
Splitting Up Group- If the PC chose to split up the party
Changing Day Jobs
and it hurt the party to do so, the PC will lose XP. (5 XP) Changing day jobs requires in-game effort and the
Making the World a Worse Place- Anything that hurts development of whatever skills are necessary (typically
people or otherwise makes the world worse will cost XP. the same skills that people who take that day job at
(1 to 5 XP) character creation get for free). Many day jobs require
a certificate or degree, meaning the PC must get into
Player Character Death- If one of the PCs in the party
an appropriate school, find a way to pay for it, and find
dies, each surviving PC will lose XP. (5 XP)
time to attend classes and study while attending to his or
her normal Day Job and Secret Life. Other jobs require
Spending XP nothing more than knowing the right person.
Generally, XP can be spent as soon as it is received. The Generally speaking, the more BP it costs to get a day job
only exception is when so little time has passed in the game during character creation, the harder the PCs should have
universe between one game session and another that it is to work to get it. It should be easy to become Homeless
ridiculous to think that the PC might have improved in that and take a lot of work and luck to become Privileged.
way. Example: The PCs are in the countryside, on the run Once a PC actually starts working the same new day job
from FBI agents and sleeping in barns and cornfields. When he or she gets the income and skill costs for that day job.
Step Nine - Character Advancement 123

In Dark
Example: Paco, who is an illegal working at a boring he has completed the 5 rolls he gets Nihilistic Rage (1)
factory job, gets a Professional friend to pull some strings for real and can make normal skill rolls with none of the
and get him his citizenship. He decides he wants to become consequences of experimental skill rolls. Next he wants to
a cop (Day Job: Law Enforcement Professional). The GM increase his skill to 2 levels. After spending the XP he can
rules that in order to become a cop, Paco needs to come up either make normal skill rolls with one level of the skill or
with $1,000 to pay his tuition at the police academy night experimental skill levels as if he had 2 levels.
school, he needs to spend his evenings taking classes (and
charm his teachers into not failing him when his Secret Life All experimental skill rolls must be at least 20 difficulty.
forces him to miss classes) and use XP to buy the skills Measures which would normally give plusses to skill rolls
Law: Criminal (1), Pistol (1) and Driving (1) (the free (e.g. use of hallucinogens by an Animist) give the same
skills for Law Enforcement Professional). After he does plusses to experimental skill rolls.
all this the PC lets him be a Law Enforcement Professional
(no advancement). His weekly income changes as does his A failed skill roll, either because the difficulty was not met
costs to buy mundane skills. or because the PC rolled a 1 on the 1d20, has the following
effect depending on the PC’s Secret Life:
Changing Secret Lives Androgyne: Reality shatters. Roll once on the random
power table (p.38), re-rolling any Enhance, with the
This is nearly impossible. Some Secret Lives require a power source as the ground or building where the event
one-in-a-million event to happen to the PC (e.g. Faustians, took place.
Heroes, Survivors, Wonderlanders), others require the PC
to be born with a special ability (e.g. Lost, Outcasts), others Animist: PC gains the equivalent of the Delusion
require a very rare personality and outlook (Androgynes, disadvantage (p.117).
Animists, Cannibals, Professionals and Scribblers). It is
Cannibal: For next 24 hours PC must make hourly
not completely impossible though. GMs will moderate
what in-game events might change a Secret Life. Most WIL rolls (difficulty 30) to avoid self-mutilation.
circumstances that would change a Secret Life will leave Faustian: Each psychodynamic loses 1d4 points
the PC with the abilities, advantages, disadvantages and of strength. If the strength is brought to 0 or less the
supernatural skill costs from both the new and old secret psychodynamic is permanently eliminated. The Dance
lives. grows correspondingly stronger (GMs see p.195).
Hero: Same as Scribbler (below) for Heroes with the
Raising Supernatural Skills Occult Training option.
Like mundane skills, PCs must spend XP to buy new levels Lost: PC (and anyone following the PC) is stranded in
in supernatural skills or get a level in a new supernatural a dangerous unearthly realm for 24 hours.
skill. However, unlike mundane skills gaining supernatural
skills has the following additional requirements: Outcasts: PC goes into a blind panic, the player loses
control of the PC for 24 hours.
Revelation: To gain a new skill the PC does not have Professionals: For the next 24 hours the PC has no fear
any levels in, the PC must have a revelation. This could of death and cannot act in self-preservation.
involve gaining a teacher, finding an appropriate annotated
volume (p.247), or finding out something about the nature Scribblers: For the next 24 hours the PC’s supernatural
of the universe that relates to the PC’s powers. skills will activate randomly. Every hour one skill
(determine randomly) will activate against the PC’s will.
Experimental Skill Rolls: To increase levels in an
existing skill or gain a level in a new skill, the PC must Survivor: Over the next week the PC will lose 1d6
make at least 5 experimental skill rolls in-game. The rolls BLD and 1d6 BDY from decomposition of the flesh,
should be made after the PC has spent the XP. The PC can accompanied by spreading black spots and the smell of
make the experimental skill rolls as if the PC had the skill rotting flesh. No supernatural skills can be used to heal
level he or she just purchased, but cannot make normal the damage until the week is up.
(non-experimental) skill rolls with this new level until all 5 Wonderlander: An imaginary friend will find its way
experimental rolls are made. to this realm in full physical form. The Wonderlander will
not know where the friend is, which friend it is, or what
Example: After a revelation, Firebrand spends the XP to the friend is going to do in this realm.
buy Nihilistic Rage (1). Since this is his first level he can
only make experimental skill rolls. He can roll Nihilistic
Rage but since these are experimental skill rolls there will
be increased consequences (see below) if he fails. Once

Alleys
Chapter TWO -
ORGANIc rule Components
Basic Mechanics Dual Attribute Rolls- Some rolls use two attributes. For
In Brief- Roll attribute + 1d20 vs. diffituly to see if the PC
can do something. instance, to save vs. unconsciousness a PC uses Endurance
(for physical energy) and WIL (for mental energy). When
Rolls are made during game play for only one reason: to using two attributes, add the attributes together and divide
see if a character can do something he or she is trying to do. by half (rounding up). So, if a PC with 3 END and 12
Rolls should only be made if a doubt exists as to whether WIL wants to save vs. unconsciousness with moderate
the character can or can’t do it. When a roll does need to be difficulty, END+WIL/2 is 7.5, rounded up it’s 8, so the
made, the basic form is this: PC would roll 8 + 1d20 vs. 20.
Applicable attribute + 1d20 (one twenty sided die) Opposed Rolls- When characters are competing, two
Vs. Action Difficulty rolls are made and whoever has the best success (amount
over the difficulty) wins. This represents that people
For instance: Sam wishes to climb the side of a building to competing may have different levels of ability but may
get to the roof. AGY is the attribute and the GM decides that also be trying things of different difficulty. A character
the difficulty will be 20. Sam has an AGY of 9 and so needs trying to do a complicated martial arts maneuver must
to roll 11 or higher on his d20 in order to succeed. Say, get a much higher roll to get the same amount of success
however, that Sam has special gloves that gives him +8 to as someone trying to do something as simple as a punch.
climbing – now he would roll AGY (9) +8 (gloves) + 1d20 Opposed rolls take the following form:
vs. 20 (Sam only needs to roll a 3 or better).
Sometimes the number of points by which the character Character 1’s Attribute + 1d20 vs. Difficulty 1
succeeded (called “success”) or failed opposing
(called “failure”) effects what happens. For ORC Changes
instance, the amount by which a climbing Character 2’s Attribute + 1d20
Although new components have vs. Difficulty 2
character succeeds may determine how been added to enhance In Dark
quickly the PC climbs. Alley’s unique attributes, the
core components of ORC have The difference between successes is
only been changed in order to called the “opposed success” (for the
Sample Difficulties fix serious errors. The changes winner) or “opposed failure” (for the
0- Automatic Success to ORC from previous games loser).
are as follows:
5- Walk down stairs briskly. (AGY)
10- (Easy) Notice a mosquito on PC’s skin. New Components Example: Amanda and Jovonne are
(AWR) -Healing rules playing blackjack. Amanda only wants
-Using psychodynamics
15- (Easy-Moderate) Paint ceiling from -Supernatural skill rules to win (moderate difficulty: 20). Jovonne
flimsy ladder. (AGY) -Sprinting and chase rules wants to win in a way that makes it
20- (Moderate) Win a game of mah-jongg. -Psychological shock rules appear that she won via dumb luck (hard
(INL) difficulty: 30). Amanda rolls INL + 1d20
Core ORC Changes
25- (Moderate-Hard) Catch paper flying in -Changed SPD to MPH ratio
vs. 20 and beats 20 by 3 points. Jovonne
the wind. (AGY) -Combat round = 0.5 seconds rolls INL + 1d20 vs. 30 and beats 30 by
-Changed Area Attack difficulty 7 points. Jovonne wins with an opposed
30- (Hard) Get burned and not flinch.
(WIL) -Clarified frequency of save vs. success of 4 (7-3) and Amanda loses
drug/poison effect rolls with an opposed failure of 4.
40- (Legendary) Lift a pony over PC’s -Ofbuscating hallucenations part
head. (STH) of normal hallucenations.
Basic Mechanics 125

In Dark
Deliberate vs. Chance- GMs decide whether a roll is a Save vs. Rolled on
“deliberate” or “chance” roll. This depends upon how much Disease Contraction END
chance influences the outcome of the event (as opposed to Disease Progression END
skill and talent). On a chance roll, a roll of 1 on the 1d20 Fall/Skid Damage AGY
means automatic failure, a roll of 20 means automatic Fear WIL
success. If a roll could not have succeeded except for rolling Heat Exhaustion END
a 20, the roll should be considered to have succeeded by 1. Hypothermia END
In almost all cases, fighting rolls are chance. Loss of Balance AGY
Nausea WIL
Chance Actions: An action a PC needs to get done
Pain WIL
immediately, or when an action must either succeed or
Paralysis WIL
fail the first time the PC does it. Example: a climbing roll
Physiological Addiction END
involving leaping from one building and grabbing on to the
Physiological Drug Effects END
windowsill of another. No matter the AGY and climbing Physiological Shock END
skills of the PC, the PC might succeed or might fail on a 1 or Psychological Addiction WIL
20. Psychological Drug Effects WIL or INL
Deliberate Actions: The PC is trying to do something, Psychological Shock WIL
but can stop if he or she is about to fail. These are typically Unconsciousness END/WIL
slower actions. Example: PC is at the bottom of a wall and
makes a climbing roll to see if he can climb up it. A failure
here does not necessarily mean that the PC falls, it might just Opposed Savings Rolls- Occasionally, characters will
mean that the PC couldn’t find a safe way to get up the wall. be required to make opposed savings rolls. This means
There are no automatic successes or failures here. that even if they succeed (meet their difficulty) they will
fail if they do not succeed at a level greater to or equal
Savings Rolls- Save vs. X rolls are difficulty rolls to keep to the level that their opponent succeeds their difficulty.
something from happening that will happen unless the roll Example: Sam hits Carl with a knockout strike. Carl beat
succeeds. If a PC is making a save vs. unconsciousness then his difficulty by 5. Now Sam not only has to beat a the
the PC will become unconscious unless he or she can meet normal difficulty for a save vs. unconsciousness, he has
the difficulty. A basic table of savings throws follows. See to beat it by 5 or more to avoid going unconscious.
the section on using attributes for more information.
Using Attributes
Agility (AGY) first point of damage can be saved against at 10 difficulty,
the second point at 20 difficulty, the third at 30, etc.
Use AGY for athletic type rolls: catching things, throwing Prowling- AGY is also used for prowling (attempting
things, blocking things (other than strikes), skipping rope, to move through an area while not being noticed). The
etc. difficulty is based on several factors: the number of
people and their proximity, how distracted or attentive
they are, the amount of cover and whether there is
Balance- Use AGY for rolls to keep one’s balance: walking darkness or a weather condition obscuring the PC, etc.
a tightrope, moving on ice covered streets, racing down The person being prowled against should get an opposed
stairs, etc. awareness roll.
Climbing- Use AGY for climbing. See table for sample Prowling difficulties
difficulties.
10 (Easy) Crawling through a field of tall
grass with a wind to cover noises and an
Climbing Difficulties (with no equipment) unsuspecting person nearby.
10 (Easy) Tree with low branches. 20 (Moderate) Sneaking up behind
20 (Moderate) Rocky cliff face. someone who isn’t expecting anything.
30 (Hard) Sheer cliff face. 30 (Difficult) Crawling in a gutter at night
40 (Legendary) Glacial ice. with several people searching for you.
40 (Legendary) Avoiding someone who is
searching for you by staying directly behind
Landing- Characters can use AGY to save vs. falling or them (may also require SPD based rolls).
skidding damage (see Other Types of Damage, p.133). The
126 Chapter Two - Organic Rule Components

Alleys
Awareness (AWR)
Seduction- Use CHM for seduction rolls. A successful
roll means that the target wants to have sex with the PC.
How and if the victim will act on those desires is up to
the GM or player. The normal difficulty for a sexually
Noticing- Use AWR when characters need to notice a healthy adult who has a preference for the PC’s gender
detail too small to be included in the GM’s description of is 20 (moderate). GMs can also force players to make
the surroundings (e.g. the man standing next to you has a “passive seduction” rolls to see if a person is attracted to
small needle mark on his neck) or a subtle sensation (e.g. a the PC even without the PC trying to seduce the person.
tiny scratching noise coming from inside the walls). AWR Passive seduction rolls typically have +10 difficulty.
should not be used for a substitute for directed attention: if
a player says “I’m looking carefully at the man next to me,”
he or she should be given every detail about that person
with no AWR roll needed. AWR is also used to save vs.
Endurance (END)
prowling (see above). Pooled Endurance- Endurance is also used a measurement
of the amount of energy a PC has to expend. The PC starts
Manipulation- An AWR roll is also made to sense when with a “pool” of points equal to his or her END. Any of
something is trying to manipulate the PC’s mind. The the following removes 1 point from this pool:
normal difficulty is 20. If the PC success is better than Exertion: Any round in which the PC is doing some
the manipulator’s success, the PC realizes that he or she is strenuous physical action, including combat or anything
being manipulated, and can try to resist the manipulation that uses at least half the PC’s STH or SPD.
(usually with a WIL roll). Oxygen Deprivation: Any round in which the PC
can’t or won’t take in oxygen.
Charm (CHM) Mortal Injuries: Any round in which the PC is
mortally wounded (is at 0 BLD, see p.131).
Acting- Use CHM whenever a PC needs to put on some Other miscellaneous things (e.g. toxins) can also
sort of act to fool other people. remove pooled END.
When Pooled END reaches 0, the PC is incapacitated.

Acting difficulties The PC can not stand, can not make fighting actions or
10 (Easy) Making people think you’re bored. reactions and can not initiate any kind of communication.
20 (Moderate) Making people think you’re The PC will fail at any roll involving AGY, END, SPD or
in pain. STH.
30 (Difficult) Making people think you’re not Example: Tim has 9 END. He was just shot (bringing his
scared. BLD to 0) and he is in a room filled with poison gas. He is
40 (Legendary) Making people think you’re holding his breath and running as fast as he can (he hopes
a genius. to jump out of the window). Each round he loses 3 pooled
END, which means he has 3 actions before he becomes
incapacitated. After two rounds he gets hit in the head
First Impressions- CHM rolls can also be made to “modify” with a rock and must make a save vs. unconsciousness.
an NPC’s reaction to the PC. The most common usage is He rolls 1d20 plus an average of his WIL and END (which
to try to make people like the PC. A PC meeting a stranger is currently 3).
who beats 20 on a CHM roll could choose to come off as
slightly more confident, friendly, intelligent and likeable Fatigue- END can also be used more slowly by activities
which do not use half the PC’s STH or SPD but are tiring
than he or she would have otherwise or more tough/mean/
nonetheless (e.g. jogging, manual labor, even standing for
scary or as lowly/loser/wimp/nothing-to-be-worried-about. long period of time). Example: Juan has a SPD of 10. If
Note that this is “first impressions” only. After the PC has he runs at 5 or faster he will lose 1 END per round, so he
had more interaction with an NPC, the PC’s actions and decides to run at SPD 4. The GM decides that he will lose
words become what the PC is judged by. 1 pooled END for every 5 minutes running at this speed.
Persuasion- CHM is used to persuade NPCs to agree with Rest- When Pooled END is lost to strenuous activity,
an argument. First, PCs must roleplay arguing their case. it returns at 1 point per round when the PC is resting.
Next, the GM decides the difficulty of the persuasion based Pooled END lost to oxygen deprivation returns at 1 point
on the logical strength of the argument. A very reasonable per round when the PC begins receiving oxygen again.
argument which makes a lot of sense might have a difficulty Pooled END lost to fatigue returns at the same rate it was
of 10. A very improbable argument that asks the listener lost (e.g. if Juan loses 4 END by jogging for 20 minutes,
to make a lot of assumptions might have a difficulty of 30. he will regain it with 30 minutes of rest). If a PC ever
Don’t even bother rolling if an argument is so strong or so reaches 0 END (incapacity) that PC is -1 END for the next
weak that it is ridiculous to believe that someone would or 24 hours. If a PC reaches 0 END five times, the PC will
wouldn’t agree with it. be at -5 END the next day.
Using Attributes 127

In Dark
Health- END is used to represent the body’s general
health. It is used to save vs. things like hypothermia, heat STH Feat Difficulties
exhaustion, cardiac arrest (heart attack), shock and (along 10 (Easy) Prying open a nut.
with WIL) unconsciousness. See Other Types of Damage 20 (Moderate) Breaking a wooden door
(p.133) and Symptoms/Effects (p.133) for more.
30 (Difficult) Pushing a horse around.
Disease- END is also used to save vs. disease contraction 40 (Legendary) Pulling apart a cheap
and progression. See Disease (p.135) for more. padlock
Intelligence (INL) Play and Time

Giving players unlimited time to think about and discuss what
Speed of Thought- Among other things, INL represents they’re going to do can sometimes kill the horror element in a
how quickly a PC thinks (as opposed to AWR, which can game. When characters have only limited time to deal with a
measure how quickly a PC notices things, or AGY which danger, then players should have limited time as well.
represents how fast the PC’s body reacts). A GM might
sometimes ask PCs and NPCs to make opposed INL rolls One way to do this is to simply require PCs declare their
to find out who figures out something first. INL (along with actions within a specified time period. Anyone who hasn’t
AWR) is used to determine initiative in combat (see p.139). specified an action within the time period had a PC who didn’t
do anything. Giving a verbal countdown can increase the
Skills- Intelligence is used to perform intellectual or creative apprehension.
skills. See Skills (p.136) for more. In Brief: roll INL +1d20
Another way to deal with extremely short reaction times is to
+4 for each skill level above the first vs. the difficulty for use initiative as if there was a combat round happening. As
whatever the PC is trying to do. soon as the PCs notice the danger, have them roll INL + AWR
+1d20 and give them each an action in an order determined by
Speed (SPD) initiative. Actions should be limited to only that which a PC

could believably do in a combat round (approximately half a
second). If a PC starts trying to make a speech, cut the player
Leaping- SPD is used for leaping rolls. The difficulty off and inform them that the PC only got out one or two words,
then move on to the next player.
for making a leap is the distance (in ft.) times two (or, 6
difficulty per meter), so a ten foot leap would have a 20 Events to do with the danger can unfold with their own
difficulty. Height differences, inclines, etc. can increase the ‘initiative scores.’ The higher the score, the faster the thing
difficulty. happens. Example: The PCs are creeping around inside a
mansion. An AWR roll allows some of the PCs to notice that
Running- SPD also sets the maximum speed the character the air is quickly getting hotter. The GM has determined that
can run. SPD is approximately equal to MPH. 1 MPH = the heat will not be high enough to hurt them on the first
~1.5 ft./second. Since one combat round is approximately round, but at initiative 15 of every subsequent round the PCs
half a second, that means that a PC running at max SPD can will have to make a save vs. pain (at 10, then 20, then 30) then
run approximately .75 ft. per combat round per SPD. So a the heat will start doing damage. If a player’s initiative roll
is higher than 15 they get to use their action before making
PC with 10 SPD can run 7.5 ft. in one combat round. that round’s save vs. distracting pain. If they roll 15 or less,
they can only make the action after their save vs. pain. Those
In metric, a PC can run 1.5 kmph per SPD, or ¼ meters per players who failed the AWR roll to notice the increasing
combat round per SPD. So a PC with 10 SPD can run 15 temperature may miss their first-round action unless another
kmph or 2.5 meters in a combat round. player with a higher initiative alerts them (e.g. by screaming
‘run!’ or ‘trap’).
Sprinting- A SPD + 1d20 roll can be made for a momentary
(1 combat round) burst of extra SPD. Doing so uses 2 points
of pooled END. See Chasing, p.138 for more. Encumbrance- STH also determines the amount that
the PC can carry on his or her person without suffering
a detriment to attributes. A PC’s “Base Encumbrance” is
Strength (STH) equal to his or her STH times 5 lbs. (or STH times 2 kg).
If the PC is carrying his or her base encumbrance, well
distributed over the body, the PC is at -1 AGY, -1 SPD
STH is used in opposed strength rolls, for instance, if two and loses 1 Pooled END per hour. For every 10 lbs. (5
people are grabbing for an object. kg) over Base Encumbrance, the PC is at an additional -1
AGY, -1 SPD and loses 1 additional Pooled END per hour.
Strength Feats - Strength is also used for lifting heavy Example: Nyorbu has a STH of 7. His base encumbrance
objects or any other “feat” of strength. Assuming a character is 7 x 5 lbs. or 35 lbs. If Nyorbu is carrying 25 lbs., so
can get a good grip on an object, the difficulty to lift the long as it is packed well, he suffers from no minuses. At
object should be the weight in lbs. divided by 10, so a 200 35 lbs. he is at -1 to AGY and SPD and loses 1 Pooled
lb. object would be 20 difficulty to lift (a poorly grippable END every hour. If Nyorbu is carrying 85 lbs. (35 lbs.
object or an object with poor balance would have a higher plus 50 lbs, or 5x10 lbs. over his Base Encumbrance) he
difficulty). Or, the difficulty to lift an object is equal to the is at -6 to SPD and AGY and loses 6 Pooled END per
weight in kg divided by 5. Some example STH feats: hour.

Alleys
Willpower (WIL)
vs. distracting pain, the PC suffers from a penalty equal
to the amount he or she failed by. This penalty applies to
any roll the PC has conscious control over (e.g. it would
Mind Control- Will is used for opposed rolls involving apply to an attempt to catch a ball, but would not apply to
attempts mental domination or manipulation by a a save vs. disease contraction). Example: Logos fails a
supernatural force (1d20 + WIL vs. 20 opposing the attack save vs. distracting pain by 3. Logos now suffers from -3
roll of the entity) or brainwashing (1d20 + WIL vs. 20 to skill rolls, actions, reactions and anything else he has
opposing the skill roll of the brainwasher). Note that in conscious control over.
order to resist mental manipulation, the PC must first realize
that someone or something is trying to manipulate him or Drug Cravings- WIL is also used to save vs. drug
her (see AWR, p.127). cravings (the difficulty based on the drug) after becoming
addicted. See Drugs (p.134) for more.
Resistance- Will is used to resist anything that would cause
the PC to act (or not act) against his or her will. PCs can Psychological Shock- Any time a PC sees or experiences
make WIL based saves to resist, among other things, pain, something he or she was not expecting, and which is
nausea, fear, amnesia, hallucinations, delusions, euphoria, outside the realm of his or her experience, the PC must
etc. See p.133 for a list of drug/disease/poison symptoms make a save vs. shock (WIL + 1d20 vs. difficulty). For
and effects and the consequences for failing saves against each point of failure, the PC suffers from a -1 penalty to all
them. conscious rolls. Shock lasts 1 hour per point of failure.
Pain- One of the most common things PCs will have to Save vs. Shock Difficulties
resist is pain. Pain comes in two types: Easy (10): Seeing a small child driving a car.
Shocking Pain: This is pain that comes on suddenly Moderate (20): Seeing a dog driving a car.
(sometimes unexpectedly). It only lasts a second but it is Hard (30): Seeing a mass of spiders driving a car.
so strong that it can cause the PC to be unable to act. A PC Legendary (40): Seeing floating globs of
who fails to save by 1-9 loses his or her next action. A PC congealed blood connected by chains driving a car.
who fails by 10 or more loses his or her next action and
reaction (see A Combat Round, p.139), meaning that the PC
not only cannot act, but cannot defend himself or herself for Example: Ted is driving on the 101. He looks over and
one round. sees a man with no face driving the car next to him. He
Distracting Pain: This is pain that comes on more slowly makes a WIL + 1d20 vs. 30 roll and fails by 6. A moment
and stays around longer, causing the PC to be distracted later, the car in front of him hits its breaks and he has to
from anything he or she tries to do. When a PC fails a save make a swerve roll. He is at -6 to his driving roll.
Using Psychodynamics now has +2 on CHM rolls to sense malevolent motives.

In Brief- Can be rolled on to give aid (bonus to rolls) or
Later, Lucy is dealing with her asshole boss. The GM
insight. Can hurt PC via impulses, slips and hindrances
decides that the Shadow is trying to send her an impulse
(minus to rolls).
to punch her boss. The GM rolls 1d20 + Shadow and gets
Each psychodynamic can be ‘used’ in two ways. The player 25, 5 over the difficulty. The PC must make a save vs.
can “roll” it as if it was an attribute to gain some special anger (WIL + 1d20) and beat the difficulty by 5 or more to
insight or motivation that will help the PC. In these cases avoid doing something stupid.
it’s good to have a high psychodynamic. The PC rolls 1d20
+ the strength of the psychodynamic vs. 20 difficulty. Any Psychodynamic Help- When PCs roll psychodynamics
success is a benefit to the PC (usually a temporary bonus to the help comes in two flavors: insight and aid.
any conscious rolls the PC makes in a certain situation). Insight: When the PC succeeds on a psychodynamic
+ 1d20 roll the PC has a ‘feeling’ about something.
The GM can roll a psychodynamic against the PC to The insight a psychodynamic provides is typically not
hinder the PC when the PC is trying to do something that supernatural or ‘psychic,’ it merely represents a point
is contrary to a psychodynamic’s desires. In these cases the of view from a part of the PC that is a lot more familiar
GM rolls 1d20 + the psychodynamic vs. 20. In most cases with a particular way of thinking than the PC’s conscious
the PC can try to oppose with WIL + 1d20 vs. 20. mind is. Example: Lucinda is dealing with a mysterious
stranger. She chooses to roll her Shadow. She succeeds
Example: Lucy has 15 Shadow. When dealing with a and the GM tells her she gets a feeling that the man has
mysterious figure she decides to roll her Shadow to gain malevolent intentions.
unconscious insight into any possible malevolent motives Aid: When the PC succeeds on a psychodynamic
the mysterious figure might have. She rolls 7 on the die, +1d20 vs. 20 roll, the amount the PC succeeds by can be
giving her a total of 22 vs. 20 or 2 success, meaning she used as a global bonus to all rolls in a certain situation.
Using Psychodynamics 129

In Dark
Example: Lucinda finally decides to beat the shit out of with 10 difficulty (this is a fairly obvious slip). She beats
her asshole boss who she has hated for years. Since she is the difficulty, realizes her mistake, and goes to park in a
releasing her ‘dark side’ she rolls Shadow +1d20 and gets different spot.
a total of 28, 8 more than the difficulty. She gains +8 to all Hindrance: This is more or less the opposite of Aid.
rolls to beat up her boss. When the PC is doing something the psychodynamic
doesn’t want the PC doing the GM can roll psychodynamic
Psychodynamic Harm- When GMs roll psychodynamics +1d20 vs. 20 and every point of success means a point of
against a PC, the effect comes in three flavors: impulses, penalty on any roll to do that thing. Example: Lucinda is
slips and hindrances. trying to sweet-talk her boss into letting her take the rest
Impulses: The PC feels a sudden urge to do something of the week off using her vacation hours. The GM rules
that is not necessarily what the PC would choose to do. The that her Shadow doesn’t like her being nice to her asshole
PC can roll an opposed WIL +1d20 roll to resist the impulse. boss so the GM rolls Psychodynamic +1d20 vs. 20. The
Example: Lucinda is in her friend’s house and while her GM beats the difficulty by 2, meaning Lucinda is -2 to all
friend is in the bathroom she sees $40 lying around. The CHM rolls to sweet-talk her boss.
GM rolls Shadow +1d20, succeeds by 3, and Lucinda has a
sudden urge to pocket the money. She must roll WIL +1d20 Corrupted Psychodynamics- When a psychodynamic
vs. 20 and beat the difficulty by 3 or more if she wants to is corrupted, the PC can roll the psychodynamic against
resist. the PC in a much broader range of situations. The GM
Slip: When the GM succeeds on a 1d20 + Psychodynamic can choose not to let the PC roll the psychodynamic or to
vs. 20 roll the PC will accidentally do something that have the psychodynamic give the PC false insights.
expresses the desire of a psychodynamic. The PC can make
an AWR roll (or CHM troll if the slip is social in nature) to Psychodynamics vs. Psychodynamics- If the GM uses
notice the slip in time to prevent it. The difficulty of the a psychodynamic against the PC with a hindrance or
AWR roll will be based on how subtle the slip is. Example: impulse, the PC can call on a different psychodynamic to
Lucinda has hated her boss for years but has always acted help. Example: Lucinda’s Shadow gives her an impulse
nice to him. On the way to the office the GM rolls Shadow to steal her friend’s money, but Lucinda rolls her Super
+1d20 and beats a 20 difficulty. Lucinda accidentally parks Ego to help her (give her Aid) in resisting the impulse.
in his parking spot. Yet Lucinda makes an AWR +1d20 roll,
Typical Psychodynamic Rolls
Aid Insight Impulse Slip Hindrance
To try to please A phrase or gesture - to harming a
ANIM + to dealing with Into the mind of the a member of the typical of the member of the
opposite sex opposite sex opposite sex opposite sex opposite sex
+ to resist To tell a lie that
psychological Forgetting about
Into what people placates upset
EGO manipulation or something - to finding out
think about people and makes
doing something unpleasant or unpleasant truths
themselves everything seem ‘all
against the PC’s disturbing
right’
self-identity
Into the minds of Accidentally eating/
ID + to gaining objects To grab some - to resisting
addicts, gluttons and taking something
of desire physical pleasure discomfort
hedonists not the PCs
+ to gaining food
REPT Into the minds of Hissing, baring - to resisting pain,
or shelter or fleeing To flee from danger
animals teeth, growling, etc. hunger, nausea
from danger
+ to dealing with Into social codes Making a mistake
SEGO authority figures and - to breaking laws or
and the minds of To confess a crime that would cause
to resisting breaking social codes
authority figures one to get caught
laws or social codes
To break whatever Making a mistake - to resisting anger or
SHAD + to dealing with Into the minds of rules the PC has set that hurts or offends other ‘unacceptable’
‘evil’ people ‘evil’ people for himself/herself someone else emotions
+ to solving puzzles,
STRA Into alien To explore, wander,
understanding Getting lost - to repetitive tasks
intelligences peer into things
cryptic messages
Into the minds of An accident that has
THAN + to save vs. fear of - to life prolonging
suicidal, nihilistic or To commit suicide a chance of causing
death measures
misanthropic people death

Alleys
Health Attributes
In Brief- Blades and bullets remove BLD. Crushing After being incapacitated, the PC has his or her INCY +
removes BDY (then double BLD). 0 BLD = mortally base END number of rounds before brain death occurs and
wounded, but PC can keep going until INCY or Pooled no known means can revive the PC.
END = 0.
The three health attributes, BLD, BDY and INCY are used
Armor
whenever a character takes any kind of damage which In Brief- AR is how much success a strike needs to
moves the PC progressively closer to death. There are bypass armor, PR is subtracted from any strike that hits
many types of damage which may cause pain, cripple or the armor.
disfigure the PC, but don’t move the PC significantly closer
to being dead and so they do not remove BLD, BDY and A piece of armor has two factors:
INCY. The two main types of potentially lethal damage are Armor Rating (AR) represents how much of the body
blunt and bladed. the armor covers (or how difficult it is to hit an unprotected
spot on the PC).
Blunt Damage- Blunt damage comes from that does Protection Rating (PR) represents how much damage
crushing damage to the PC’s tissues, like a club or a punch. each type the armor can absorb.
Things like falling, being crushed, being rammed by a
vehicle also do blunt damage. Blunt damage is subtracted Example: Lake has a leather suit with an AR of 7 and a
from BDY. Once all BDY is gone, blunt damage is removed PR of 2 bladed. A strike (a combat action, see p.143) with
from BLD but the effect is doubled. So, if a person with 2 a success of 7 or below will hit the armor and 2 bladed
BDY is hit with something that does 5 blunt damage, all 2 damage will be subtracted from the damage the strike
BDY are taken away and the character suffers 6 damage to would normally do. If the strike was with a weapon that
does 4 bladed and 2 blunt damage, it would only do 2
BLD (the remaining 3, times 2). bladed and 2 blunt damage. A strike with a success of
8 and above would hit an unprotected spot and do full
Bladed Damage- Bladed damage comes from anything damage.
which cuts, pierces or spills blood, including knives, guns,
barbed wire, skidding, etc. Bladed damage goes straight to AR of 20 represents total coverage and no amount of
BLD. Any other type of damage which causes the PC to success can bypass the armor.
lose blood, be unable to take in oxygen, or does damage to
the heart and lungs also does damage to BLD. Multiple Layers- When a PC is wearing multiple layers
of armor, each layer acts upon the damage independently.
0 BLD- When a PC reaches 0 BLD it means he or she has One strike may hit one piece of armor and lose some of
been mortally wounded and without medical intervention its damage, hit another piece of armor and lose more, then
bypass a third piece of armor and not lose any more. In
he or she will eventually die. Even at 0 BLD or below, a order for damage to reach a PC, it must either bypass or
PC can still do things, even fight, for a limited period of cut through every piece of armor the PC is wearing.
time. END effects how long the PC can continue to act, and
INCY (Incapacity) effects how much more damage a PC Armor Piercing- Some weapons and types of damage
can take before being immediately incapacitated. cut through armor better than they cut through other
things (like people). An armor piercing bullet may be
Incapacity- When damage reduces a PC’s BLD to 0, any listed as doing: “5 bladed damage (pierces as 10)”. When
further damage is done to INCY. INCY represents the subtracting damage absorbed by the armor, treat the
character’s last reserves of energy to act even after being damage as if it is 10. When the damage gets to the PC,
mortally wounded. All further damage that would have however, it can’t do any more than 5. Note that poisons on
a bladed object do full damage if any bladed damage gets
done damage to BLD instead does damage to INCY. All through to the victim.
further blunt damage does double damage to INCY. When
a PC reaches 0 INCY it means he or she is incapacitated. Non-Damaging Attacks- There are attacks which do not
An incapacitated person can not stand, make fighting do damage, but do things like cause pain, cripple joints,
actions or reactions, or initiate any kind of communication. knock people out, etc. Armor can protect from these
An incapacitated PC may make moderate (20 difficulty) attacks too. To determine whether armor protects from
WIL rolls to be able to do very simple things (e.g. answer such an attack, figure out how much damage the attack
a question, crawl away from a fire) but cannot do anything would have done if it were a normal strike, then figure
that would require a roll (e.g. perform a skill). out if any of that damage would have gotten through. If
none would have gotten through, then the non-damaging
As long as a PC still has Incapacity and pooled END, he attack has no effect. Also, some attacks have a minimum
damage (e.g. a knockout strike requires an attack that
or she can still act normally. As soon as a PC reaches 0 would do at least 2 blunt damage if it was a normal strike)
BLD, he or she loses 1 point of pooled END every round (in and if armor reduces the “would be” damage to less than
addition to END lost from other activities/circumstances). this then the strike doesn’t work.
When pooled END reached 0, the PC is incapacitated.
Health Attributes 131

Example: Inferno is trying to stab Hoshi in the nuts
with an ice-pick (a pain/stun strike). Hoshi is wearing
a leather motorcycle outfit that has AR 10, PR 3 bladed
1 blunt. Inferno’s difficulty for the strike is 25, and
he gets a 32, meaning he succeeds by 7. This success
is less than the AR of the armor, so the armor’s PR is
subtracted. Had this been a normal strike, the ice-pick
would have done 1 bladed (pierces armor as 3). So,
3 bladed PR is subtracted from 3 bladed (pierces as)
damage, and the result is 0. No damage gets through,
and the strike has no significant effect on Hoshi.
Damage and Medical Effects

These are some sample medical effects one might observe
in a PC who has taken bladed or blunt damage during
combat:
1 blunt 1 bladed
A few ribs broken, a few A large or deep cut which did
internal organs bruised. not pierce internal organs but
caused significant blood loss.
3 blunt 3 bladed
Several bones broken, internal Internal organs lacerated,
organs badly damaged and heavy blood loss.
bleeding heavily.
6 blunt 6 bladed
Crushed skull or broken Major arteries severed,
spine, massive internal internal organs pierced,
bleeding. massive blood loss.
9 blunt 9 bladed
Most bones broken, most Vital organs cut in half,
internal organs destroyed, blood spurting.
tissues pierced by jagged
bone fragments.
Healing
For every 7 day period, the average person regains the
following:
1 point of BLD
½ point of BDY
Each of the following will slow the healing rate by one
day:
Bad Damage Type- The PC was damaged by ragged,
burn or radiation damage.
Botched 1st Aid- The PC never had any 1st aid
performed on the injury, or an Emergency Medicine
skill roll failed.
Infection- The PC contracts any disease, whether or
not it is related to the injury.
Low END- The PC’s base END is 5 or less.
Malnutrition- The PC cannot get food which satisfies
basic nutritional requirements.
Mental Stress- The PC is put in constant fear of death
or of not having the basic necessities of life met.
Physical Stress- The PC must do heavy labor or suffers
from any amount of sleep deprivation.
Poor Hygiene- The PC is unable to keep wounds
clean.
Reinjury- The PC take another injury while healing.

Each of the following will speed up the healing rate by one day:
Other Types of Damage
Burn: When a person is burned, 4 effects happen: Alternative Therapy- Treatment by someone with 3 or more levels in
-BLD damage (1 pt. per pt. of burn damage). Herbal Medicine or Acupuncture.
-Pain (WIL+1d20 vs. 10/pt. of damage).
Excellent 1st Aid- Immediately after the injury, the PC was given 1st
-Physiological Shock (END+1d20 vs. 5/pt. of damage).
-Increased chance of infection (-5 to save vs. disease
Aid that beat the skill roll difficulty by 10+.
contraction/pt. of damage). Good Damage Type- The PC was damaged by electricity, cold, heat,
Cold: Make saves vs. hypothermia hourly. 1st failure hunger or thirst.
halves all attributes, each additional failure does 1 BLD
damage. Healthy Diet- The PC eats meals prepared by a nutritionist (or
Dropped Objects: Does blunt damage = weight (divided someone with the Physical Therapy skill) to provide all the right
by 10 lbs or 5 kg) times number of stories. E.g. 20 lb. nutrients a healing body needs.
object dropped 5 stories does 10 blunt damage.
High END- The PC’s END is 15 or more.
Electricity: When harmful levels of electricity run through
a person, four effects happen: Physical Therapy- The PC sees someone with the physical therapy
-Paralysis (WIL+1d20 vs. 20/pt. of damage), paralysis skill for at least an hour a day (costs $150/wk.).
only lasts while the electricity is running.
-Unconsciousness (WIL/END+1d20 vs. 10 per pt. of Unlimited Rest- The PC spends as much time as he or she feels like
damage) in bed.
-Heart Attack (END+1d20 vs. 5/pt. of damage), see
Symptoms/Effects (p.133). Example: Tim took 3 bladed and 2 blunt damage. The 1st aid was
-Burn Damage: 1 pt. of burn damage for every 4 pt.s of botched and Tim has to work a job doing heavy labor. On the other
electrical damage. hand, he has a high END, has a physical therapist giving him therapy
Explosion: Explosions can do one, two or all three of the and cooking him nutritious meals. Altogether, he has 2 things that
following: would slow his healing rate (physical stress, botched 1st aid) and 3
-Incendiary Damage (same as Burn damage) things which would speed the healing rate (physical therapy, healthy
-Concussion Damage (same as Blunt damage) diet, high END). So, his net total is +1, meaning he gains back 1 BLD
-Shrapnel (same as Bladed damage, the amount is usually and ½ BDY every 6 days rather than 7.
expressed as a dice roll and typically pierces armor)
END Damage: Some toxins do END damage. Every pt.
of damage takes away 1 pooled END. When pooled END
is at 0, damage is done to BLD.
Falling: 2 blunt damage for each story fallen (a story is
~10 ft). Armor typically cannot protect from this damage.
Drugs, Disease and Poisons
Heat: Make saves vs. heat exhaustion hourly. 1st failure
halves all attributes, each additional failure does 1 BLD
Symptoms/Effects
damage. Some drugs, diseases and poisons do simple damage to BLD, just
Hunger: For every day without food: -1/4 BLD, -2 END. like being stabbed. The majority, however, have effects or symptoms
Radiation: For every pt. of damage: 1 BLD damage, that hit people with different intensities (depending on how much of
Vomiting (10), Headache (10), fatigue (-2 END), confusion the drug or poison they’ve taken or how bad they have the disease).
(-1 INL, AWR). Effects develop over 24 hours. BLD Some symptoms are simply annoying and can not be saved against
damage is permanent (unless bone marrow transplants (e.g. red puffy skin). Some symptoms reduce attributes and can not
are given). Strong likelihood (25% per pt. of damage) of be saved (e.g. a disease might cause “weakness” and reduce STH and
developing cancer and cataracts within the next year.
SPD by 5). Some symptoms can be saved against (e.g. a poison might
Ragged: Like bladed damage, but with an increased cause Vomiting, which can be saved against with a WIL +1d20 save).
chance of infection after the battle (see p.146). For each
Failing a save might mean the PC is incapacitated, or it may even kill
pt. of ragged damage taken the PC gets -5 to save vs.
disease contraction. the PC.
Skidding: For each 20 SPD the PC is moving at: 1 bladed
1 blunt damage. Less if the ground is very soft, more if The following lists some common symptoms/effects, what attribute is
it is rocky. used to save against them, and what happens to a PC who fails such
Sleep Deprivation: For every 24 hours without sleep: -3 to a save:
AWR, CHM, INL and END. Must save vs. hallucinations Anterograde Amnesia (INL): Cannot recall anything about his or
and delusions at (3 difficulty per 24 hours). Must make her past.
saves vs. unconsciousness (15 difficulty per 24 hours)
when not doing anything. Cardiac Arrest (END): 1 BLD damage per round.
Strangulation/Loss of Oxygen: PC loses 1 pooled END Coma (END): Unconscious and unable to waken. With a failure of
per round (in addition to pooled END being lost for other
reasons). Resting will not bring back any lost END. When 10+ the user suffers cardiac arrest.
END reaches 0, PC loses 1 BLD per round. When the PC Delusions (WIL): Believes without reservation some thought or idea
can breathe normally again, lost END and BLD returns 1 (e.g. I am impervious to bullets). 10+ failure means the PC cannot
per round.
think of anything else (is oblivious to the world).
Thirst: ½ BLD damage per day.
Drugs, Disease and Poisons 133

In Dark
Dysphoria (WIL): Overwhelmed by unhappiness/depression starts using a drug regularly, tolerance typically increases
and unable to initiate any activity. 10% per week until it reaches the maximum).
Euphoria (WIL): Overwhelmed by pleasure and unable to
initiate any activity. Most of these effects will have the duration of the effects
listed. If a duration for overdose effects, long term
Hallucinations (WIL): Senses things which he or she is effects, etc. is not listed, assume it is the same duration
unable to distinguish from real sensations. 10+ failure as the normal effects.
means the PC is unable to see, hear or feel real stimuli
because of hallucinations. When a drug/poison effect requires a roll, e.g. “Effects:
Headache (WIL): -1 to all rolls per point of failure. Vomiting (20),” the PC should roll once per hour, minute
or day depending upon the unit of measurement used to
Insomnia (WIL): Sleep deprivation damage (see p.133) as 1 describe the effects duration. E.g. “Effects: Vomiting
night without sleep. (20) for 24 hours” means the PC should save vs. vomiting
Panic (WIL): Does anything to escape danger. With failure once every hour for 24 hours.
of 10+ the user makes random counterproductive actions.
Addiction- Drugs can be addictive in one or both of the
Paralysis (WIL): Unable to move. With a failure of 10+ following ways:
user is unable to breathe.
Physiologically Addictive: Using the drug enough
Physiological Shock (END): END = 0, all other attributes times changes the chemical balance of the brain and
halved. 1 BLD damage per minute. body such that the drug is needed for normal functioning.
Pulmonary Arrest (END): 1 END damage per round, then Without the drug the brain does not work right and
1 BLD damage per round. addicts are driven to take more of the drug in order to
“fix” things.
Retrograde Amnesia (INL): Will not later remember
anything that happened during intoxication. Psychologically Addictive: The addict’s personality
adjusts to the effects of the drug such that he or she can
Seizures (WIL): Loses consciousness for 1d6 minutes,
no longer handle reality (day-to-day life) without the
loses all pooled END. With a failure of 5+ there is possible
drug.
physical injury. With failure of 10+ there is brain damage
(-1 INL, AWR or AGY). Saving vs. Addiction- Each addictive drug lists the
Stupor (WIL): Unable to think, remember, concentrate or addiction difficulty for physiological and/or psychological
make decisions (INL = 1, WIL = 0). addiction. To this difficulty is added the number of doses
the person has taken without a significant break (of at
Sudden Amnesia (WIL): Forgets where he or she is and least 24 hours). Saves are thus made as follows:
what’s going on, takes 1d6 rounds to remember.
Unconsciousness (END/WIL): Lasts 1 round per point of WIL + 1d20 vs. Psychological Addiction Difficulty +
failure unless specified otherwise. number of doses taken
Vomiting (WIL): -20 to all other actions while vomiting. END + 1d20 vs. Physiological Addiction Difficulty +
number of doses taken
Cravings- Cravings first appear within 24 hours after an

Drugs addicted character tries to stop using. PCs who are both
psychologically and physiologically addicted must deal
A drug can have different effects based upon when and how with 2 separate cravings. Cravings are saved against on
it is used. A drug can have: WIL+1d20 vs. the Craving Difficulty of the drug. On the
first successful save, the PC will not have another craving
-Normal dosage effects (a normal person taking one dose of for 1 day. For each subsequent success, the time between
the drug). cravings doubles. Most drugs do have special “triggers”
which can cause a craving at any time, no matter how
-Overdose effects (the effects of taking 2 times, 4 times and/ long it’s been since the last craving.
or 8 times the normal dose).
-Withdrawal effects (the effects when the drug exits the Physiological cravings go away after a number of days
user’s system). equal to the Craving Difficulty. Psychological cravings
never go away, they just get farther and farther apart.
-Long term effects (the general effects of the drug for a
habitual user). If a PC fails a craving, he or she must do anything within
his or her power to seek out the drug. If the PC gets a
-Long term withdrawal effects (the effects of withdrawal hold of the drug, he or she will use it immediately and
after habitual use). will be back to a one day period between cravings. If a
-Tolerance (the extra amount an experienced user of the drug PC is searching for his or her drug of choice but cannot
must take in order to have the same effect. When a person find it, the PC can make a new save vs. cravings every
hour to give up searching.

Alleys
Example: After seeing the thing in the closet and passing Disease Progression Speed, which represents how quickly
out, Max has felt something crawling around under her the disease will get worse. If the disease progression
skin. To help deal with these sensations she starts drinking speed is 8 hours, then every 8 hours the PC must save vs.
heavily. Alcohol has a Physiological Addiction Difficulty Disease Progression. Each disease has its own Disease
of 15, a Psychological Addiction Difficulty of 15 and a Progression Rating (the difficulty to save vs. disease
Craving Difficulty of 20. Cravings for Alcohol can also progression). For every consecutive failure to save vs.
be triggered by anxiety. Max ends up taking 10 doses in disease progression, the symptoms increase by 1 level
the course of several days. At the end of that period the (1x to 2x, 2x to 3x, etc.). However, if the PC succeeds at
GM makes her save vs. Physiological Addition (at END a save, the disease is “halted”: it can no longer progress.
+ 1d20 vs. 15 +10 (the 10 doses). Max fails and is not From this point onward, a failed save vs. progression has
physiologically addicted to alcohol. She must also make no effect, but a successful save means the symptoms level
a save vs. Psychological Addiction (at WIL + 1d20 vs. 15 is reduced (3x to 2x, 2x to 1x). When the symptoms level
+10). She fails at this roll. reaches 0, the PC is cured.
Now she is physiologically and psychologically addicted. Treatments- Treatments can do two things. Some
When she tries to stop using not only does she experience treatments help the PC fight the disease (give the PC
the withdrawal effects listed for the drug, but within 1 plusses to save vs. disease progression). Other treatments
day she must two saves vs. cravings at WIL + 1d20. She only help reduce the severity of symptoms (most over-the-
succeeds at both, and so her next craving will not be for counter medications work in this way).
two days. Two days later, she saves again and succeeds,
it will now be four days until her next craving. Four days
Immunity- Once a PC has defeated a disease, the PC has
later, she saves again and succeeds. Eight days later, she
immunity to it, and gets +10 to save vs. disease contraction
saves again and succeeds. Before the next craving period,
and progression from the same disease. The PC also gets
20 days will have passed, which means she must no longer
+6 to save vs. disease contraction and progression from
save vs. physiological cravings. Sixteen days later she
saves only once, and succeeds. It will now be 32 days until closely related diseases.
her next craving.
Example: Marcos was exploring an abandoned building
Unfortunately, though, before that time she catches her boss and examining a desiccated corpse when it suddenly
eating a live mouse, he says nothing but stares at her until surged forward and stabbed him. The wound was exposed
she leaves the room. She doesn’t know what he is or what to an infection with Disease Contraction Rating of 20, a
he’s going to do, thus creating a great deal of anxiety. This Disease Progression Rating of 20, a Disease Progression
triggers an immediate craving. This time, Max fails, and Speed of 12 hours, can be treated by antibiotics, and has
she is now forced to drop whatever she is doing and seek the following symptoms: For each 1x the victim suffers
out some alcohol. She succeeds, getting the alcohol. She from an aggregate fever (-10 to save vs. heat exhaustion),
must make another save vs. physiological addiction (this Vomiting (10), weakness (-5 STH, -5 SPD) and 1 BLD
time at END + 1d20 vs. 15 +1 (one dose)), but this time she damage for each progression.
succeeds. After the one dose she took wears off, the decides
to quit again. She succeeds, and only has to deal with a 12 hours after being stabbed, Marcos makes a save vs.
psychological difficulty. However, her craving periods are disease contraction at END (7) + 1d20 vs. 20. He fails, he
now reset and she will experience another craving within now has 1x symptoms. He is -10 to save vs. heat exhaustion,
24 hours. has -5 STH, -5 SPD, takes 1 BLD damage and must save
vs. vomiting (at difficulty 10). 12 hours later must make a
save vs. disease progression (at END (7) + 1d20 vs. 20).
Disease He fails, and now he has 2x symptoms: -20 to save vs.
heat exhaustion, -10 STH, -10 SPD, an additional 1 BLD
Contraction- When a PC is exposed to a disease, the PC damage and he must save vs. vomiting at 20 difficulty.
must make a save vs. Disease Contraction (END + 1d20 vs. Since Marcos only has 8 SPD, he now cannot even stand.
the Disease Contraction Rating of the disease). Diseases Marcos’ friends finally get him some antibiotics, which
will have different contraction ratings depending upon how give +8 to save vs. disease progression.
the PC is exposed. Breathing the same air as an infected
person may have a Contraction Rating of 10 while sharing After another 12 hours he saves again at END (7) +8
bodily fluids with a person may have a Contraction Rating (antibiotics) +1d20 vs. 20. He succeeds: the disease is
of 40. If the PC makes the save, he or she does not catch not halted, but he is still at 2x symptoms. 12 hours later
the disease. If the PC fails then the PC has the disease at he rolls again and fails, but since the disease is halted
1x symptoms. nothing happens, he remains at 2x symptoms. 12 hours
later he rolls again and succeeds, now his symptoms are
Progression- Once a PC has a disease, the PC must fight reduced by 1x. 12 hours later he rolls again and succeeds
to keep the disease from getting worse. Each disease has a again, now the disease is gone.
Drugs, Disease and Poisons 135

In Dark
Skills
Basic Skill Use Distractions
There are certain activities that anyone can try to do without Anything that distracts the PC (including most failed saves)
being trained: prowling, climbing, jumping, seducing, etc. will give a penalty to skill rolls. If the PC is trying to do
Skills are generally things that someone can not even try two things at once (e.g. answer a question about US history
to do without some sort of special training. A person while running) the PC is at -10 to the skill roll.
doesn’t have to be a trained long-jumper to try jumping
over a hole (though it helps), but someone does have to
have some physics training to try to calculate the speed and Skills & Time
acceleration of an object sliding down a smooth incline. When a PC uses a skill, it is assumed that a PC is taking
as long as he or she needs to. This might mean one round
The majority of skills are “intellectual” and are rolled (e.g. using Science: Archeology/Paleontology o realize that
using INL. Other skills use the other attributes. Skills are a certain plant is supposed to be extinct) or weeks (e.g.
purchased in levels, and are purchased with skill points using Carpentry to build a house). PCs gain no plusses
at a cost per level set by the Day Job or Secret Life (see from taking extra time to complete a skill, but they do take
p.65). For every level above the first, the PC gets +4 to any a penalty if they are trying to rush.
skill roll. Each skill has six possible levels which can be
achieved:
(1) Interest: Characters have studied only the basic Working Together
levels of the skill. They know enough to try anything, Two PC with equal levels in a skill can often work together,
but their chances of succeeding at difficult tasks are giving +4 to the skill roll (one PC makes the roll). PCs with
very low. (+0 to skill rolls) unequal levels in the skill cannot work together (one knows
(2) Hobby: Characters keep up on the skill but are far so much more than the other that the other can’t do anything
from masters in it. (+4 to skill rolls) to help).
(3) Pursuit: Characters have spent a large portion of
their time practicing the skill or keeping up with the
subject. They have a respectable knowledge of the
Supernatural Skills
skill. (+8 to skill rolls) Supernatural skills are rolled using the same mechanic
as mundane skills. Like mundane skills, most can be
(4) Study: Characters have spent a significant portion accomplished via the mind alone, others require physical
of their lives studying the skill. They know almost actions or the use of tools.
everything an average person studying the skill could
be expected to learn. Characters have a professional Unless stated otherwise, most supernatural skills take one
level of knowledge about the skill. (+12 to skill combat round to complete. The duration that effects last is
rolls) listed for each skill. Many have effects that last for as long
(5) Expertise: This is the equivalent of a Ph.D. in the as the PC can concentrate, meaning that any time a PC fails
skill. Characters know subtleties about the skill that a save vs. pain or some emotion, the PC’s concentration is
few people know exist. (+16 to skill rolls) broken and the effects end.
(6) Mastery: This is everything a person could
possibly know about the skill. There are only a
handful of people on the planet as skilled as the PC.
Books
Starting PCs may not have level 6 in any skill without Books are manuals for using a certain skill. Using a
special permission from the GM. (+20 to skill rolls) skill with a book generally takes significantly longer than
using the skill unaided (twice as long if the text is in a
Example: Tim has Physics (3). Tim wants to calculate the mental program, three times as long if it is in a searchable
radioactive decay of a batch of toxic waste. The GM says computerized format, four times as long if it is in printed
that this will be a moderate (20) difficulty use of the skill. form). There are three types of books:
Tim rolls INL +8 (because he has level 3) + 1d20 vs. 20. Introductory Texts: Useless to PCs who already have
the skill, but can temporarily give the equivalent of level
one (hobby) in the skill to people who do not have the
Rerolling Skills skill.
Reference Texts Unusable by people who do not have
Once a PC has failed a skill roll, he or she cannot reroll the skill, but for those who do have the skill they increase
until the situation has significantly changed, e.g. the target the skill level by one (max. 6).
of the skill is different, the PC is in different working Introductory/Reference Texts: Can be used either
way.
conditions, the PC has been provided new information to
jog his or her memory. Not every skill has a book available (for many skills a book
would be useless).

Alleys
Maneuverability: A rating of a particular vehicle
Combat Skills that tells how good or bad it is at complex maneuvers.
Maneuverability is expressed as a plus or minus to all
Each combat skill lists fighting actions and/or reactions maneuvers done with the vehicle.
which are learned as part of the skill. In addition to any
plusses listed in the skill, the PC gets +4 for every skill level Speed: For some maneuvers (jumping, stairs), going
above the first to each of these actions and reactions. Most fast is good, but for the majority of maneuvers going too
combat skills only allow the plusses to work on certain fast makes the maneuver harder. Unless the GM decides
weapons. that this is a fast maneuver, the difficulty for the maneuver
is whichever is higher: the difficulty listed in the skill
Some skills start with a negative on one of the actions/ description or the current SPD of the rider.
reactions. This does not mean that a PC with one level in
the skill has a penalty. It only means that this is something Example: Rakesh, who has Motorcycle (3), is chasing after
that the PC doesn’t benefit from until he or she gets multiple someone on his motorcycle and is confronted with a flight
levels of the skill. For instance, if a skill gives -4 to Blinding of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs he will have to make a
Strike, then at level 1 the PC gets no benefit, at level 2 (-4 sharp turn or hit a wall. Rakesh is going at 30 SPD when
+4) the PC still gets no benefit. At level 3, however, (-4 +8) he hits the stairs. The GM decides that Rakesh will not
the PC does get +4 to blinding strikes. take a SPD penalty while going down the stairs. Rakesh
rolls AGY (15) + 8 (skill) +15 (the maneuverability of the
Example: Fenn has Knife Throwing (4). The skill lists motorcycle) + 1d20 vs. 20 (the difficulty listed for Stairs in
the following plusses when throwing knives or similar the Motorcycle skill description). Rakesh makes it easily.
weapons: At the bottom of the stairs is the sharp turn, and the GM
+2 per level to initiative says that he will make Rakesh take the SPD penalty.
+4 to Strike Rakesh rolls AGY (15) + 8 (skill) +15 (maneuverability)
+ 1d20 vs. 30 (his current SPD).
+0 to Vital Strike
-4 to Blinding Strike Maneuvers as Combat- The maneuvers Ram, Trample
No penalty for targeted strikes. and Swerve can be used as combat actions and reactions.
They can be opposed by other combat actions and
Because Fenn has 4 levels in the skill, he gets +12 to all of reactions by people on foot.
the listed combat actions and reactions, so Fenn’s actual
plusses are: Example: Rakesh wants to use the Trample maneuver to
+8 (+2 x 4) to initiative hit Lew (who is on foot). On Rakesh’s action, he makes
+16 (+4 +12) to Strike a Trample maneuver roll. As a reaction, Lew dodges.
Rakesh succeeds by 5, Lew succeeds by 7, thus the dodge
+12 (+0 +12) to Vital Strike is successful.
+8 (-4 +12) to Blinding Strike
If a PC has different skills that give plusses on the same

Non-Skills
action with the same weapon (e.g. Street Fighting: Armed A PC can try anything without using a skill. The PC
and Knife Fighting both give plusses to Vital Strike with simply narrates what he or she does.
knives) the PC takes only the highest bonus for each action
(the plusses do not combine). Example: Flagg has no demolitions or electronics skills
of any kind and he’s trying to disarm a bomb. The GM
Vehicle Skills doesn’t make him roll a skill roll, doesn’t even make him
roll INL. The GM simply describes the bomb and asks
Flagg what he does. Flagg decides the best thing to do is
Normal skills list example things that a person with that
skill could do at each level of difficulty (an easy thing, a grab a handful of wires and yank them out all at once. The
moderate thing, a hard thing, etc.). Vehicle skills list a GM narrates the result…
number of “maneuvers” that a person with that skill can do,
each with a corresponding difficulty. For example, one of Unless they have some special disadvantage, PCs are
the maneuvers that people with the motorcycle skill get is expected to be able to do normal things that anyone can
“Stairs (20): Go up or down stairs or similar impediments.” do, including: read, eat, dress, keep clean, stay afloat in
Maneuvers are rolled as normal skill rolls, but they have water, use a pistol, read a map, cook a meal, tie a knot, tell
two special modifiers: maneuverability and speed. a lie, recognize symptoms of serious illness, etc.
Skills 137
In Dark
Chasing
Since this is a horror game, a lot of action will involve as pain/stun attacks or, if the object is really heavy, a
running away from things. The outcome of a chase is not knockdown or knockaway attack. Note that runners with
solely dependent on who has the highest SPD. It may superhuman strength may be able to make STH rolls to
depend on other factors. power through obstacles that weaker runners could not.
If both the chased and chaser are just running at their Climbing- Other times the chased may lead the chased
normal SPD, then each round the distance between the two through a route that requires things be climbed. For
decreases (if the chaser is faster) or increases (if the chased instance the chaser may decide to try to escape by
is faster) by a number of feet equal to the difference between climbing a fire escape ladder or a tree. Both the chaser
the two SPDs (or a number of meters equal to the difference and chased should make climbing rolls (1d20 + AGY vs.
divided by 3). difficulty). If one succeeds by more than the other then
the opposed winner is climbing faster than the other and
Example: The Doberman chasing Andrew has SPD 17, the number of feet between the two should be reduced or
Andrew has SPD 10. They start at 20 ft. apart. At the end increased by an amount equal to the opposed success.
of the first round that distance is reduced by 7 ft. (17 SPD-
10 SPD) to 13 ft. At the end of the second round it has been Inclines & Stairs- On steep stairs or inclines the chased
reduced to 6 ft. During the third round the Doberman will and chaser should be asked to make an AGY + 1d20 vs.
catch Andrew. difficulty roll to avoid tripping or stumbling.
Starting the Chase- From a stand-still it takes 1 full round Non-Human Chasers- Some of the rules don’t apply
for a human to reach full running speed (smaller creatures to non-humans. An intangible creature doesn’t have to
might be faster, larger creatures slower). For that one round dodge. A flying creature doesn’t have to jump over holes.
the runner closes a distance equal to half normal. This gives A snake-like creature might not be able to climb. There
a significant advantage to someone already running against may also be routes where a non-human chaser cannot go,
someone standing still or someone who has been forced to e.g. a small hallway. AWR rolls should help PCs notice
stop (e.g. by stumbling over something). these opportunities to escape.
Sprinting- This is a one-round action in which a chased Running and Combat- Combat actions and reactions
and/or chaser run at their maximum SPD. Sprinting can can be made while running but are at -4. If runners want
only be one on open ground. Each runner rolls SPD + 1d20. to make a sprint (e.g. to move themselves into weapon’s
Compare the results. If the chaser got a higher result, then range) and attack in the same round they will take a split
the space between the two closes by a number of feet equal action penalty (-10 to each). Any time a PC reacts to
to the opposed success (or meters equal to one third the an attack, dodges something in his or her path, jumps
opposed success). If the chased got higher than the chaser over an obstruction, etc. that uses the PC’s one combat
then the space between the two is increased by that number reaction for the round (unless the PC has split his or her
of feet. If one party is sprinting and the other isn’t, then reaction or has given up his or her action for the round,
see p.142).
compare the sprinter’s SPD+1d20 roll to the other person’s
SPD.
Jumping- There may be obstacles in the way of the chaser

Example
and chased that need to be jumped or vaulted over, e.g. a
Pablo, who has SPD 11, END 7 and AGY 13 is exploring
tree branch, pothole, dead body, table, etc. Each one has
an abandoned building. He turns a corner and sees a
a difficulty and the chased and chaser must make jumping
thing that looks like a shark with elephant legs made out
rolls (SPD + 1d20 vs. difficulty). If both succeed then the of black, decomposing flesh. Pablo immediately turns
distance between chased and chaser neither increases nor and starts running and the shark thing, which has SPD 15,
decreases. A chased character may try to knock over an END 20 and AGY 6, starts chasing. At the beginning of
object to create a barrier for the chaser, but this is a risky the chase there are 10 ft. separating the two.
gamble: the chased will typically have to pause and slow to
knock something over and if the chaser succeeds at the jump Round 1- There are some old chairs in the middle of
roll it may give the chaser a lead over the chased. the hallway. Given a choice between trying to leap over
them or going around (which would take longer) Pablo
Dodging- In other cases the chaser and chased may have chooses to go over. He makes a SPD + 1d20 roll and
to duck or dodge an obstacle (e.g. a telephone pole, low gets 23, beating the difficulty of 20 assigned by the GM.
hanging branch). Both the chaser and chased should make A moment later the shark-thing encounters the same
an AGY + 1d20 vs. difficulty roll to dodge the obstacle. The obstacle and chooses to plow through it, sending chairs
chased may also choose to try to grab an object and hurl it at flying. The GM rolls to check whether Pablo gets hit by
the chaser. Use combat rules for an improvised thrown blunt a flying chair, he does not. At the end of the round Pablo
weapon (p.145). Treat attacks meant to slow the chaser is at 6 END and the monster is at 19.

Alleys
Round 2- Pablo and the monster are in a stretch of open Since the monster is attacking while running and Pablo
hallway. The monster sprints and, seeing this as he glances is reacting while running, both take a -4 penalty. Pablo
back, Pablo sprints as well. Pablo rolls SPD + 1d20 and gets succeeds by more and manages to zig out of the way of the
17. The monster rolls SPD + 1d20 and gets 19. Since the creature’s snapping jaws. The creature is still in combat
monster beat Pablo by 2 points, the 10 ft. gap between them range. Then the GM says that Pablo’s foot has snagged on
is reduced to 8 ft. Pablo an now feel cold air escaping from something and he is falling. Pablo fails a save vs. loss of
the thing’s huge mouth. Since both sprinted, both lose 2 balance and falls on his hands and knees. If he had seen it
END. Pablo is now at 4 END and the monster is at 17. he would have had the option of giving up his one action
for the round to make a second reaction and jump over
Round 3- Pablo sees a relatively intact looking door to his the obstacle. The creature, not wanting to overshoot him,
left. He wants to run into the room and slam the door as he makes a sudden stop. Pablo now gets one combat action
passes. In order to slam the door without slowing the GM for this round. He makes an extended knockaway attack,
decides Pablo must make a 20 difficulty AGY feat. Pablo lashing out with one foot and kicking the creature’s head
beats the difficulty and manages to slam the door closed as hard as he can. The creature attempts to dodge but
without pausing. A moment later the creature encounters fails. Pablo wins, but because of the bulk of the creature
the door and decides to ram through it. The creature makes the GM says that the creature stumbles backwards only 1
a STH + 1d20 roll and gets 45, good enough to bust down range increment, yet that is enough to put it out of range.
the door but not good enough to do it without some loss of At the end of the round Pablo has 1 END and the creature
momentum. The GM rules that the door slowed the monster has 10.
down enough to give Pablo an extra 5 ft. of lead, bringing
him to 13 ft. At the end of the round Pablo has 3 END left Round 6- This is the last round Pablo can act. At the
and the creature has 15. end of the round he will be at 0 END. The GM requests
another AWR roll. Pablo succeeds this time and notices
Round 4- Pablo is now being chased through a dimly lit a hole in the floor, just big enough for a human to fit
room. What he doesn’t see, until it’s almost too late, is an through, only a few feet away. Since it would take Pablo
air conditioning duct that’s hanging low. Pablo will have one round to rise, he decides that he’ll scramble to the
to duck to avoid hitting it. The monster doesn’t care about hole on his hands and knees and throw himself in. This
ducking and decides to sprint. Pablo asks the GM if he can action (scrambling) is Pablo’s one action for the round.
both sprint and duck. The GM says he can but will be at -10 The creature decides to do another split action sprint (into
to each. Pablo decides only to duck. He rolls AGY + 1d20 range) and strike. Pablo will try to block the snapping
vs. 20 and succeeds. The monster rolls SPD + 1d20 and jaws with his feet. Pablo wins. Pablo squirms through the
gets 22. Since Pablo is running at his top SPD (11) but not hole. Since he is now at 0 END the GM does not allow
sprinting, the GM compares 22 (the monster’s success) to 11 him to save vs. falling damage. He takes 1 blunt damage
(Pablo’s SPD) and gets 11. The gap has been reduced by 11 when he hits the floor. Lying on the floor in a dimly lit
ft., leaving only 2 ft. between them. At the end of the round room, Pablo sees the creature’s huge shark-like snout
Pablo has 2 END and the creature has 14. sticking through the hole in the ceiling above him. The
mouth opens and black hands reach out, grabbing onto the
Round 5- The GM requests an AWR roll from Pablo and jaws to pull itself forward. As Pablo watches, a slender
Pablo fails it. Since it is close enough, the creature does a feminine figure made out of the same black, decomposing
split action sprint (to get into range) and strike with its teeth. flesh as the shark thing wriggles from the mouth and drops
Pablo declares that he will dodge while continuing to run. gracefully to the floor next to Pablo’s feet…
Fighting
In Brief Initiative
Combat begins by determining initiative (who acts first), At the beginning of combat, each participant makes an
then proceeds though a number of rounds until combat AWR + INL + 1d20 roll. The fighter with the highest roll
is finished. Each round, each participant gets one action will get the first action in the round, the second highest
(used in order of initiative) to use against an opponent and will go next, etc. The next round, initiative is the same.
one reaction to react defensively to something done to Initiative must be re-rolled every time there is a break in
him or her. There are many types of combat actions and the action (e.g. fighters stop to taunt each other).
reactions, each with a different intended result, different
difficulty and using different attributes. There are also Surprise- The fighter who initiates combat should get a
bonus to initiative, from +5 to +15, depending upon how
many factors that can modify the difficulty for an action
much of a surprise the combat was to the other fighters.
or reaction, including skills, properties of the weapon and
Also, characters who are completely unaware that they are
environmental variables. the victims of an action (e.g. are hit unaware by a sniper)
do not get a reaction.
Fighting 139
In Dark
Attributes in Combat
The following gives a basic idea of how attributes figure into
various combat maneuvers:
AGY- Adds to the speed and accuracy of an action/reaction.
AWR- Adds to actions that require noticing and reacting to a
flaw in the enemy’s defenses, an attack, etc.
INL- Adds to actions that require the use of knowledge (e.g.
knowing where to strike to hit a vital organ).
SPD- Adds to actions that involve quick and powerful
footwork.
STH- Adds to the damage and pure force of an attack.
A Combat Round
A combat round is a period of time, approximately equal
to half a second, during which each participant gets one
action and one reaction. The character’s reaction is made in
response to any attack against him or her at any time during
the round. Action/Reaction Example
Attacker’s Action: Defender’s Reaction:
Converting Actions & Reactions- Characters do not have Strike (Handheld) Dodge
to use their actions and reactions at the designated time; they The attacker declares the action first: an attack with some
can do any of the following: handheld weapon. The defender then chooses to use his
or her reaction to dodge the blow.
-Wait and use their one action at the end of the round.
-Give up their action for that round in order to gain an Attacker’s attributes: Defender’s Attributes:
extra reaction (no penalty). STH+AGY = 23 AWR+AGY = 30
-Turn a reaction into an action (at extra difficulty, see Each action or reaction uses specific attributes, a
Simultaneous Action, below). handheld strike uses STH and AGY, a dodge uses AWR
and AGY. The combatants add those attributes.
Range Attacker’s 1d20 roll:

14
Defender’s 1d20 roll:
5
Each weapon has a range. This is how close to or how Attackers add their attributes to the result of their roll
far away from an opponent a character must be to use that on a 20 sided die. If attackers had applicable skills or
weapon against that opponent. A sword might have a range situational modifiers, those would be added in as well.
of 1-2, this means that at range 0 you are too close to use it
and at range 3 you are too far away. Jumps (see Noncombat Attacker’s Roll vs. Defender’s Roll vs.
Actions and Reactions) can be used to get into the proper Difficulty: Difficulty:
range. Total of 37 vs. difficulty 25 Total 35 vs. difficulty 25
Range 0: Short knives, biting and clawing, minimum Each combatant’s combined attributes plus 1d20 rolls
range for small pistols. are compared to the difficulty of the given action. Both
the attack and dodge have a difficulty of 25. Here,
Range 1: Punches, kicks, knives, short swords, disarm both combatants beat the difficulty for their respective
and crippling strikes. actions.
Range 2: Long swords, chain weapons, minimum range
for shotguns & rifles. Attacker’s Success: Defender’s Success:
Range 3: Pole arms, broadswords, whips. 37 – 25 = 12 35 – 25 = 10
Success is the amount by which a player beats the
Range 4: Projectile weapons. difficulty for the action. Since the strike and dodge are
opposed, the person with the most success wins. Here,
Why keep track of range? First, because range gives a the attacker’s success is more than the defenders (by 2
benefit to opponents with longer weapons. Second, range points, making it an opposed success of 2). The attacker
gives a benefit to opponents who are defending (since the wins and inflicts damage upon the defender (the goal of
attacker must use an action to step forward). that particular action).

Alleys
Resolving Combat Noncombat Actions
A combat action is an attempt to These are actions which are useful during combat but they do not directly effect
do something to someone else opponents and so the opponents can not react to them. The GM usually won’t require
during combat. Like any other a player to make difficulty rolls for these actions.
attempt to do anything (that the Draw- Ready a weapon for attack (may take more than one round if the weapon is
GM decides requires a dice roll) not readily available).
the character’s action fails if the
player cannot match the difficulty. Aim- Aim a projectile weapon at an enemy and follow any movement the enemy
If the player matches or exceeds makes. If the character later makes an attack against the enemy with that weapon
the difficulty, the action will (without their aim having been interrupted) the character gets +4 to the roll.
succeed unless it is opposed. Rise- Rise to standing from a prone state.
Like all opposed rolls, the Jump- Move up to 4 range units closer to or farther away from the opponent. See
defender must make an opposing Range (p.140).
action (a reaction) and succeed
(beat the difficulty) by more than
Modifiers
the attacker succeeded. In other Any factor can realistically modify the difficulties for actions and reactions in
words, whoever does a better job, a combat. GMs will determine bonuses and penalties for each situation. Some
the attacker or defender, wins. common modifiers follow:
Aim +4 to roll The attacker has just aimed at the target (see Noncombat Actions)
Blinded (Full) -15 to roll This is the penalty when a fighter’s vision is completely obscured.
Blinded (Partial) -7 to roll This is the penalty when a fighter’s vision is partially obscured or blurred.
Burst The character is firing more than one shot at once (up to the max. Rate Of Fire listed
-4 to roll for that weapon). If the action is successful, each shot does damage.
The character puts his or her whole body into an action (+5) but in doing so
Extended Action +5 to roll sacrifices his or her balance (-10 to next action or reaction). Not possible with
projectile weapons.
Improvised -8 to most
See Improvised Weapons (p.145) for more.
Weapon rolls
Leaning While leaning over to attack something below the character’s knees, he or she is at
-10 to roll -10 to the roll for any action or reaction.
This is the penalty to make a combat action from atop a moving vehicle or animal.
Mounted -4 to roll Note that in order to hit opponents, mounted PCs must typically lean (see above).
When the PC is moving he or she is at +4 difficulty to hit.
Paired The character is attacking with two weapons simultaneously. If the action succeeds,
-4 to roll both weapons do damage.
Prone Penalty does not apply to kicks or projectile weapons. Because of their reduced
-8 to roll profile, prone characters are –8 to hit with a projectile. See also Stomp (p.143).
The character makes an action as a reaction: he or she reacts to an action directed
Simultaneous -20 +WIL towards him or her with another action. Both actions happen simultaneously and
Action to roll neither are opposed. –20 to the roll, but WIL is added in as a third attribute. A will
higher than 20 will not give a bonus to the action.
-10 to The character splits one action into two actions or one reaction into two reactions
Split but gets -10 to each. Actions created in this way must be used at the same time;
rolls reactions can be saved for later in the round.
The damage done by a successful attack is done to a specific part of the enemy
Targeted -4 to roll predefined by the attacker (depending upon the part, the attack might do less damage
than normal, but never more).
Underwater Because water reduces momentum, all attacks do ½ damage underwater. Characters
-8 to roll without any swimming skills can typically move at ¼ their SPD underwater.
Fighting 141
In Dark
-A successful crippling attack cripples one limb.
Combat Actions -A person can continue to stand on one leg but is at SPD
These are actions that every person can attempt, even 1, -7 to all actions and reactions, and is -20 to save vs.
people with no combat training whatsoever. Actions that loss of balance.
only people with special training can do can be found in the
combat skills section (p.69). Disarm
Goal- Knock the opponent’s weapon from his or her
Actions Vs. Reactions hand.
-Each character gets one -Each character gets only one Roll- STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 30
per round. per round.
Weapon- Fists, kicks or anything which can cause a wrist
-Characters get to use -A character can only use a to lose tension.
their actions in an order reaction when he or she is the
determined by initiative. target of an action. -Usually a strike to the wrist, though it may be a strike to
the weapon itself.
-Actions can be traded -A character can use a
for reactions at no extra reaction as an action at extra -The victim can resist with an opposed STH feat
difficulty. difficulty (+20 +WIL). (STH+1d20 vs. 20) as a reaction.
-Characters can wait until -If the character is not acted
the end of the round to use
an action.
upon in a round, he or she
gets no reaction.
Grab
Goal- Immobilize one limb or one weapon.
Roll- STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Area Attack Weapon- Hands, or anything which can grab (e.g. a
Goal- Hit everything in a given area with bullets or other snare).
projectiles. -Once a limb or weapon is successfully grabbed, the grab
Roll- INL + Number of shots fired + 1d20 vs. 10 + size of remains until it is broken. The grabber can choose to let
area in feet (or +3 per m.). go, or the victim can use an action to make an opposed
STH roll against the grabber. Any successful pain/stun
Weapon- Any that can shoot more than once per action
attack against the grabber will also cause the hold to be
-Each victim can react separately to the attack. broken.
-This is the only action which doesn’t suffer from blindness
penalties: the character can fire at an area without seeing it.
Distance penalties for projectile weapons do apply.
Grab (Pain)
Goal- Immobilize a limb so that the victim can not move
-When declaring, define an area to spray. Roll a separate without pain.
success roll for each person in the area.
Roll- STH+INL+1d20 vs. 35
-Each victim hit takes damage from one projectile.
Weapon- Hands
-The victim’s arm is simultaneously grabbed and twisted
Blinding Strike so that the victim must make a save vs. pain (WIL+1d20
Goal- Damage victim’s eyes to blind him or her. vs. 20) to move in any way.
Roll- INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 30 -The victim’s free limb is still usable but usually on the
Weapon- Anything that damages eyes or flesh around the opposite side of the body from the grabber.
eye or any substance that can obscure vision or makes eyes
shut involuntarily. Grab (Strangle)
-Most weapons only partially blind (a nail can only poke out Goal- Cut off blood and air flow through the neck.
one eye at a time, sand will only partially damage vision).
-Some weapons fully blind on a successful strike (e.g. a
caustic chemical spray). See Improvised Weapons: Blinding Weapon- Hands, anything that can be wrapped around
Substances (p.146) for more. the victim’s neck, or anything hard that can pin the neck
against a stable surface.
-Grab can be broken by opposed STH roll or pain/stun
Crippling Attack attack.
Goal- Damage a limb so as to make it unusable. -During the hold, the victim loses 1 pooled END per
Roll- STH+INL+1d20 vs. 30 round then 1 BLD per round. If the hold is broken before
the victim dies, the lost BLD and pooled END return one
Weapon- Anything that can cut tendons, break bones or each per round.
dislocate joints (must be able to do at least ½ point of
damage had this been a normal strike). -Both the victim’s hands are free during the grab.

Alleys
Grab (Wrestling) Pain/Stun
Goal- Use multiple limbs to immobilize the victim’s Goal- Stun the victim by causing him or her pain.
limbs. Roll- INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Roll- STH+INL+1d20 vs. 30 Weapon- Nearly anything capable of blunt, bladed or
Weapon- Hands burn damage or otherwise capable of causing pain.
-Goal is to get the victim in a hold that is easier to maintain -If the attack is successful the victim must make an
than it is to break free from. To break hold victim must opposed save vs. shocking pain (difficulty 20). If the
make hard (30) STH feat while holder makes easy (10) victim fails by a difference of less than 10, the victim loses
feat. his or her next action. If the victim fails by 10 or more, the
-Takes one limb to immobilize a limb (e.g. to immobilize victim wes his or her next action and reaction.
both the victim’s arms, attacker must use both his or her
arms). Slash
Goal- Cause damage, distracting pain and disfigurement
Knockaway by an attack on the face or any other sensitive area.
Goal- Do damage and knock the victim backwards. Roll- INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Roll- STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25 Weapon- Anything capable of cutting or tearing long
Weapon- Anything capable of inflicting two or more points gashes in flesh.
of blunt damage over a wide area, e.g. a punch by someone -Does ½ point BLD damage and the victim must make
with 16+ STH. an opposed moderate (20 difficulty) save vs. distracting
-Victim takes 1 point of blunt damage and is knocked back pain. Victim suffers a -1 penalty for each point of opposed
one range unit per point of opposed success. failure in this save.
-Even if the damage is absorbed by armor, the victim is still

pushed backwards. Stomp
-Victim must make a moderate save vs. loss of balance Goal- Do 2x damage to victims lower than the attacker.
(AGY+1d20 vs. 20) to avoid falling down. Roll- SPD+STH+1d20 vs. 25
Weapon- Feet.
Knockdown -The victim must be below the knees of the attacker.
Goal- Knock the opponent to the floor. -Because this attack uses the full weight of the attacker
Roll- STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 30 against the victim, it does double the damage of a normal
Weapon- Anything capable of hooking legs or pushing the kick.
victim over through sheer force.
-If successful, the victim is knocked down with no save. Strike (Handheld)
See p.141 for more on prone fighters. Goal- Do damage to the victim.
Knockout Weapon- Any handheld weapon capable of doing
Goal- Knock the victim unconscious. damage.
Roll- STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 30 -If successful, it does the normal damage listed for the
Weapon- Anything capable of doing 1 or more points of weapon.
blunt damage
-If successful, the victim can make an opposed save vs. Strike (Projectile)
unconsciousness (WIL/END+1d20 vs. 20). If they can not Goal- Damage to the target.
successfully oppose the knockout, the victim is knocked
unconscious for one round per point of the attacker’s Roll- INL+AGY+1d20 -1 per functional range unit vs.
opposed success. 25
-For every successful knockout, there is a chance of serious Weapon- Any projectile weapon.
damage to the victim, whether the attacker desires it or not. -For every one Function Range (FR) unit away the victim
Generally, if the attacker’s opposed success is more than 10, is, the character takes a -1 penalty to the roll (see Projectile
the attack also does 1d6 damage to BLD. Weapons, p.145).
Fighting 143
In Dark
Roll- INL+STH+1d20 vs. 30
Tackle -Requires something that can stop and trap the weapon
Goal- Knock both the attacker and the atackee to the (e.g. chain, meat hook, trident, jacket, folding chair).
ground.
-If successful, the action is blocked and the attacker must
Roll- SPD+STH+1d20 vs. 20 use another action to unentangle the weapon.
Weapon- Body
-If the tackle is successfully dodged, the attacker must make
a save vs. loss of balance to avoid ending up on the ground.
Flip
Goal- Dodge attack and knock over attacker.
-A tackle does no damage.
Roll- AGY+STH+1d20 vs. 35
Vital Strike (Bladed) -This requires that the attacker make a lunge (punch or
attack with a handheld weapon) and that the defender
Goal- Use a bladed weapon to damage vital areas. must be close enough to use the momentum to flip
the attacker over a pivot point (usually the defender’s
Roll- INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 35 shoulder).
Weapon- Any weapon that does bladed damage. -If successful, the attacker is knocked down with no
-Bladed damage that penetrates armor is doubled. save.
-Blunt damage is not doubled.
-This is an attack on an area where bladed damage is
especially harmful (e.g. neck, heart).
Drop
Goal- Drop below the path of the weapon.
Roll- AWR+AGY+1d20 vs. 20
Vital Strike (Blunt) -Whether successful or unsuccessful, the defender ends
Goal- Use a blunt weapon to damage vital areas. up on the floor at the end of the reaction.
Roll- INL+STH+1d20 vs. 40
Weapon- Any weapon that does blunt damage Jump
-Blunt damage that penetrates armor is doubled. Goal- Jump out of weapon’s range.
-Bladed damage is not doubled. Roll- SPD+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
-This is an attack on an area where blunt damage is especially -Unlike the Noncombat Action: Jump, this is in reaction
harmful (e.g. neck, temples). to a specific attack.
-Determine how many range levels the character needs to
Wing move to be out of the range of the weapon.
Goal- Damage easy to hit but non-vital parts. -+10 difficulty for every range level beyond the first.
Roll- INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 20 -If the defender beats the difficulty but doesn’t beat
the opposed action, the PC gets hit but ends up out of
Weapon- Any weapon capable of doing damage. weapon’s range at the end of the reaction.
-Aimed at exposed yet non-vital body parts (e.g. arms, -Can also be used to jump towards the opponent, e.g.
thighs and ribs). jump towards an opponent to get too close to be hit by
-Any damage not absorbed by armor is cut in half. a shotgun.
Mental Block
Reactions Goal- Resist attempted mind control (especially psychic
attacks).
Dodge Roll- WIL+1d20 vs. 20
Goal- Sidestep or duck under the path of the weapon.
-This is only useful against attacks that go directly to the
Roll- AWR+AGY+1d20 vs. 25 character’s mind.
-After a successful dodge, the defender is still in roughly the
same place as he or she was before.
Parry
Goal- Block the attacker’s weapon.
Entangle Roll- STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Goal- Stop and trap the weapon.
-Be sure to declare what you are blocking and with what.

Alleys
Special Attacks- Sense should be used in fighting non-
Advanced Combatants humans. For instance, a blinding strike would be silly
Combatants with extremely high attributes or high levels against a monster that does not depend upon its eyes, a
in combat skills may find it useful to use split actions and rhinoceros would not be very susceptible to a knockdown
reactions as well as simultaneous actions. attack by a human, etc. Without some knowledge of
mechanics, a vital strike against a machine would be
For instance, a very skilled attacker may split her action and impossible. Vital and pain stun strikes on alien creatures
do two actions at once, e.g. a stomp on the opponent’s ankle (a
depends upon the attacker successfully guessing what
pain/stun attack) and a punch in the ribs (strike). The attacker
will be at -10 to each of these actions. The victim cannot
areas to hit to cause pain or do vital damage.
defend against both unless he splits his reaction and takes a
-10 penalty to each. Swarms- A swarm is a group of small animals attacking
Or, a very skilled defender may split a reaction in order to
the character that are so numerous we treat them as one
defend and make a simultaneous attack. For instance, the entity. A swarm can not be parried or dodged, only run
defender may step to the side (a dodge) and simultaneously from.
slash at the attacker’s neck (a vital strike). The defender is -10
to the dodge and is -30 and +WIL to the Vital Strike (-10 from Armor can help the character: any portion of the character’s
the split, -20 +WIL from the simultaneous strike). body which is covered by armor can not be attacked. The
amount of the character’s body which is protected is the
Advanced fighters may also split reactions and save them ratio of the AR to 20. So, a character with AR 10 could
for later in order to react to an unexpected attack (such as a only be attacked by half the swarm at once. A character
simultaneous Strike).
with an AR of 5 could only be attacked by three-fourths
of the swarm.
Projectile Weapons Most swarms do not dodge and instead make simultaneous
strikes at no minuses (for convenience’s sake, assume that
Range- When making any action with a projectile weapon, all swarm animals which can attack make a successful
the PC takes a penalty equal to the number of range units strike). Characters, on the other hand, usually can’t
away the target is. For example, if a weapon has a FR kill more than a few swarm animals with each strike,
(Functional Range) of 5 ft. then for every 5 ft. away the except with certain weapons like poison sprays or flame
opponent is (rounded down) there is a -1 penalty. A target throwers.
60 ft. away would be -12 to hit with that weapon. Weapons
also have a Maximum Range (MR) beyond which the
weapon can not do damage. Weapon Specific Difficulties
Cover- A character who lies flat, facing the enemy (reducing The difficulties listed for the various actions and
his or her profile) is very hard to hit with projectile weapons reactions represent the difficulty with the “typical”
(-8 to hit). Any type of cover can give the enemy a minus weapon someone might use to do that action or reaction
to hit depending upon how much of the character’s body with. Some weapons are designed so that some actions/
is protected. Treat this as armor: standing partially behind reactions are easier, while others are much harder. For
a tree might have an AR of 5 and a PR of 15 bladed/blunt instance, a sledgehammer is so heavy and awkward that it
(from that one direction only). is hard to make a strike with it. On the other hand, a whip
is designed for pain/stun attacks and so such an attack
would be easier. In weapon profiles, special actions and
Fighting Non-Humans reactions are listed as:
Very Easy (-8 difficulty)
Machines- Non-Biological opponents do not have BDY,
BLD or INCY. Instead, each device has an amount of blunt Easy (-4 difficulty)
or bladed damage that, if it takes, will cause it to cease Hard (+4 difficulty)
functioning. One machine, for example, may be able to
take 4 blunt or 9 bladed damage before it stops working. Very Hard (+8 difficulty)
Size- Animals and machines

which are bigger or smaller than
Size to hit Improvised Weapons
humans are easier or harder bee -20
rat -10 Normal objects can be used as weapons but since they are
to hit (see table). Also, small not designed as weapons they have higher difficulties to
opponents can only take limited cat -5
use. Many will also break after the first attack.
blunt damage because, instead human 0
of absorbing the damage, the horse +5 Slashing Weapons: Any object with a cutting edge
opponent goes flying (unless elephant +10 strong enough to cut flesh does 1 bladed damage. The
the opponent is crushed against house +20 PC is at -8 to any actions with this weapon except pain/
something). stun, blinding and slash.
Fighting 145
In Dark
Poking Weapons: Objects with a point on them strong to treat using medical skills. If the PC fails the save vs.
enough to be driven into flesh do ½ point of bladed damage. contraction, he or she suffers from a disease with the
The PC is at -8 to any actions with this weapon except following profile (see p.135 for more on fighting diseases):
blinding strike, pain/stun and vital strike. Disease Progression Rating: 20. Disease Progression
Speed: 12 hours. Treatments: Antibiotics. Symptoms:
Blunt Weapons: Blunt objects with a good handle can For each 1x the victim suffers from an aggregate fever (-
do between 1 and 3 blunt damage. The PC is at -8 to any 10 to save vs. heat exhaustion), Vomiting (10), weakness
actions with these weapons except strike and pain/stun. (-5 STH, -5 SPD) and 1 BLD damage.
Thrown Objects: Any heavy object without a handle
can be thrown at an enemy. If a character attacks someone
with a huge rock at point blank range, we can simply say that Simple Combat Example
is was a throw at 0 ft. They have normal difficulties but the
following ranges: Rusty and Juanita are in a fight:
Rusty: 12 AWR, 8 AGY, 10 INL, 6 SPD, 14 STH, 7 WIL,
Weight Functional Dmg 3 BLD, 5 BDY, 4 INCY. No combat skills. Has a hunting
Range knife (range 0-1, damage: 2½ bladed). No armor.
1-2 lbs. or ½-1kg. 3 ft. or 1 m. ½
3-5 lbs. or 1-2½ kg. 3 ft. or 1 m. 1 Juanita: 8 AWR, 10 AGY, 13 INL, 16 SPD, 4 STH, 8 WIL,
6-10 lbs. or 2½-4½kg. 2 ft. or ½ m. 2 4 BLD, 4 BDY, 4 INCY. Kickboxing (2) (gives +8 to wing,
11-20 lbs. or 4½-9kg. 1 ft. or 1/3 m. 3 +8 parry, +8 to knockaway, +4 to strike with her feet). No
21-99 lbs. or 9-45kg. ½ ft. or 1/8 m. 4 weapons. Her kicks do 1½ blunt damage. No armor.
100+ lbs. or 45+ kg. ½ ft. or 1/8 m. 1 dmg/ GM- Roll initiative.
20lbs. or 10 kg.
Rusty- (rolls INL (10) + AWR (12) +1d20) 28
Blinding Substances: Any substance which can be Juanita- (rolls INL (13) + AWR (8) +1d20) 23
thrown in the eyes. PCs can make a blinding attack with
GM- Rusty, you get the first action. What do you do?
these substances at no minuses. They can be thrown only
within a range of 5 ft. (1.5 m.). Most of these substances Rusty- I’m doing a split action, I’m moving into range 1
can be avoided by closing one’s eyes (a very easy dodge). and doing a strike at Juanita with my knife.
A successful attack, though, will partially blind (-7 to all GM- Juanita, are you reacting?
actions or reactions) or fully blind (-15 to all actions/ Juanita- I’m going to dodge.
reactions) the opponent for a length of time, depending
upon the causticity of the substance. Extremely caustic GM- Okay, roll. Remember, Rusty, since you split your
substances (like bleach) will not only blind but act as a pain/ action you’re -10 to each action. The jump into range will
stun strike on a successful blinding attack. succeed automatically, but you’re -10 to hit.
Rusty- (rolls STH (14) + AGY (8) -10 (split action) +1d20
vs. 25) I got 27, that’s 2 success.
After Combat Juanita- (rolls AWR (8) + AGY (10) + 1d20 vs. 25) I got
26. Only one success.
After combat is finished, PCs who have taken injuries
should seek out medical attention. The best case scenario GM- Okay, the knife hits you Juanita, and does 2½ damage
is that someone with the Emergency Medicine skill and to your BLD. Okay, Juanita, now it’s your action.
proper medical equipment can immediately treat wounded Juanita- I’m going to make a strike with my feet.
PCs. Immediate and proper medical care will eliminate the Rusty- I’ll block with my arm.
following post-combat complications:
GM- Okay, roll.
Bleeding- For each point of bladed damage a PC has taken, Juanita- (rolls STH (4) + AGY (10) +4 (skill) + 1d20 vs.
that PC will lose another ½ point of BLD over the next 25) I succeeded by 8.
15 minutes unless the wound is cared for (tourniqueted, Rusty- (rolls STH (14) + AGY (8) + 1d20 vs. 25) I succeed
cauterized, stitched up). by 12.
GM- Okay, Rusty parries the kick. Next round. Rusty,
Pain- When the endorphins the body produces in an your action. What do you do?
emergency wear off, the PC will feel every bit of damage
Rusty- I’m going to make a strike against Juanita with my
done. The PC must save vs. distracting pain with a difficulty knife.
of 5 for each point of damage done.
GM- Okay, Juanita, your reaction?
Infection- Unless a wound is disinfected, the victim risks a Juanita- Um… I’ll parry with my leg.
serious infection. For every point of bladed damage a PC GM- Are you parrying the knife blade?
has taken, the PC must make a save vs. disease contraction
with a difficulty of 10 per point of damage (max. 30). Note Juanita- Hell no. I’m going to parry his arm. I’m close
that burns and ragged damage (see Other Types of Damage, enough to do that, right?
p.133) increase the chances of infection and are very difficult GM- Yeah.

Alleys
Juanita- Well that’s what I’m doing. Michaela
GM- Okay, roll. AGY 9, AWR 15, END 5, INL 18, SPD 6, STH 5, WIL
17, BLD 3, BDY 4, INCY 6
Rusty- (rolls STH (14) + AGY (8) +1d20 vs. 25) I got 3 Spirit Speed (2), Untouchable (3)
success. Armor (made from pieces of leather furniture) with AR
Juanita- (rolls STH (4) + AGY (10) + 8 (skill) + 1d20 vs. 4, PR 2 bladed 1 blunt, One kitchen knife (range 0-1, 2
25) I got 30. Five success. bladed, 1 in 20 chance of breaking per attack)
GM- Okay, you kick the blade out of the way. Juanita, it’s
your action. Little Girl
AGY 15, AWR 15, END 20, INL 5, SPD 40, STH 35,
Juanita- I’ll do a knockdown, with my feet. WIL 20, BLD 7, BDY 7, INCY 7.
Rusty- I’ll let her kick me and do a simultaneous strike. Punch does 4 blunt damage, kick does 3 blunt damage.
GM- Okay, roll.
Initiative- The PCs were ready for a fight, but not ready
Juanita- (rolls STH (4) + AGY (10) + 1d20 vs. 30). Two for the little girl to leap at Zeus, so the GM rules she
success. gets +5 to initiative. They all roll INL + AGY +1d20.
Rusty- (rolls STH (14) + AGY (8) +WIL (7) +1d20 vs. 45). Chupatra (with 42) goes first, then Michaela (with 39),
Five success. then the Little Girl (with 27) and then Zeus (with 19).
GM- Okay. Juanita, you take another 2½ damage to your
BLD. Rusty, your knocked on the ground. Round 1- The Little Girl is leaping towards Zeus.
Chupatra, who gets the first action this round, does a split
Juanita- My BLD is zero now, and I’m down to 3 INCY. action jump (to get into range 1, which is the range for
GM- Well, you’ve just been mortally wounded. From now her knife) and a Strike (with the knife). Once she declares
on you’ll be losing a point of pooled END every round. what her action will be, the GM declares the Little Girl’s
Rusty, it’s your action. reaction: she will make a split reaction: one will be a
Rusty- I’ll get up. Parry, and the other she will save for later. Chupatra rolls
STH (9) + AGY (16) -10 (split) +16 (skill) +1d20 vs. 25
Juanita- While he’s doing that, I’m going to run away. and beats the difficulty by 12. The Little Girl rolls STH
(35) + AGY (15) -10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25 and beats the
Complex Combat Example difficulty by 27. The strike is parried.
Zeus, Chupatra and Michaela wake up in an empty, decaying Next Michaela gets an action. She rolls Spirit Speed
Victorian house with no idea how they got there. In the to increase her abilities. She rolls WIL (!7) +4 (skill)
living room is a steamer trunk with chains wrapped around +1d20. She gets 24, allowing her to increase her SPD to
it. Something inside is incessantly rattling and straining the 16, AGY to 19 and giving her +40 to jumping rolls. This
chains. Each takes a turn watching it while the other two is the only action she can make this round.
explore the house, look for ways out, and arm themselves
as best they can. After a few hours one of the chains snaps. Next the Little Girl goes. The GM declares she is going
Chupatra, who is watching the trunk, call for Zeus and to make a Vital Strike against Zeus with her feet. Zeus
Michaela and they come quickly. The trunk opens and what declares that for his reaction he will block with one of the
appears to be a young girl in a Victorian dress climbs out of the candlesticks. The Little Girl rolls STH (35) + AGY (15)
box and stares at the ground, not seeming to notice them. +1d20 vs. 25 and beats the difficulty by 27. Zeus rolls
STH (17) + AGY (10) +8 (skill) +1d20 vs. 25 and beats
“Um… hello?” says Zeus. the difficulty by 28. The attack is blocked.
The girl looks up at Zeus, then makes an inhumanly high leap
in the air towards him. Next, Zeus gets his action for the round. He decides to
make a strike with one of the candlesticks. The Little
Zeus Girl will use her saved split reaction to block with her
AGY 10, AWR 6, END 13, INL 10, SPD 12, STH 17, WIL 8, hands. Zeus rolls STH (17) + AGY (10) +4 (skill) +1d20
BLD 5, BDY 6, INCY 5. vs. 25 and beats the difficulty by 21. The Little Girl rolls
Club (2) (+8 to Parry, +8 to Vital Strike (Blunt), +4 to Wing, STH (35) + AGY (15) -10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25 and beats
+4 to Strike) the difficulty by 23. The attack is blocked.
Two Candlesticks (each does 2 blunt damage, +2 from Zeus’
high STH, range 1) Zeus, Chupatra and the Little Girl, who all made combat
actions and reactions, all lose 1 END.
Chupatra
AGY 16, AWR 13, END 10, INL 12, SPD 11, STH 9, WIL 15, Round 2- Chupatra goes first again. She is still in combat
BLD 5, BDY 4, INCY 4 range. She declares she will make a Vital Strike (Bladed)
Knife Fighting (4) (+20 to Vital Strike (Bladed,), +16 to Jump, against the girl with her knife. The GM warns her that
+16 to Split Jump & Strike, +12 to Dodge), Kickboxing (3) if she is wrong in guessing that the girl has more-or-less
(+12 to Wing, +12 to Parry, +12 to Knockaway, +8 to Strike). human anatomy, then the vital strike will only do normal
Two kitchen knives (range 0-1, 2 bladed, 1 in 20 chance of
strike damage. Chupatra says she is willing to take that
breaking per attack)
risk. The GM declares the Little Girl will do a split
Fighting 147
In Dark
reaction, blocking and saving the other reaction for later. Round 3- Chupatra goes first. She declares she will split
Chupatra rolls INL (12) + AGY (16) +20 (skill) +1d20 vs. her action and will make two separate Vital Strikes with
25, she succeeds by 28. The Little Girl rolls STH (25) + her knives against the Little Girl. The GM declares the
AGY (15) -10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25 and beats the difficulty Little Girl will split her reaction and make two blocks.
by 20. The kitchen knife does double its normal bladed Chupatra rolls INL (12) + AGY (16) +2 (skill) -10 (split)
damage, so 4 is subtracted from the Little Girl’s BLD +1d20 vs. 35 twice. The first time she succeeds by 16
(bringing it to 3). The PCs notice that instead of blood and the second time she succeeds by 5. The Little Girl
the Little Girl’s wounds ooze a silky white fluid. They rolls STH (35) + AGY (15) -10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25 and
don’t know it yet, but in 1 round that fluid will start to hurt succeeds by 23 and 30. Both of Chupatra’s attacks are
them. Chupatra also rolls 1d20 to see if the knife breaks. blocked.
It doesn’t.
It has now been 1 round (approximately half a second)
Next Michaela gets an action. She declares she will make since Chupatra first cut the little girl. The GM informs
a split action jump (into range) and stomp on the girl. This them that they smell a ‘chemical’ smell and that their
requires Michaela actually jumping on the girl’s head. eyes and lungs are starting to burn. He requests that each
The GM declares the Little Girl will make a simultaneous make a save vs. distracting pain at 20 difficulty. Zeus
Crippling attack with her saved reaction. Michaela wants and Chupatra both beat the difficulty. Michaela fails by
to back out but it is now too late. First, the PC makes 1 point, meaning she will take a -1 penalty on all further
Michaela roll to see if she can jump up and into stomping actions and reactions.
range. It’s not difficulty with her +40 to jumping rolls and
she succeeds. Then she rolls Stomp at SPD (16) +STH (5) Next Michaela goes. She uses her one action for this
-10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25. She does not meet her difficulty round to stand.
and thus does not damage to the Little Girl. The Little Girl
Next the Little Girl goes. She declares she will make a
rolls STH (35) + INL (5) -10 (split) + WIL (20) +1d20 vs.
Knockaway against Zeus (with a kick). Zeus says he will
30 +20 (simultaneous action). She beats her difficulty by
Parry with his candlestick. The Little Girl rolls STH (35)
18. A success of 18 bypasses Michaela’s armor, which
+ SPD (40) +1d20 vs. 25 and beats the difficulty by 39.
only has an AR of 4. Michaela’s leg is crippled, reducing
Zeus rolls STH (17) + AGY (10) +8 (skill) -10 (because
her SPD to 1, giving her -7 to all actions and reactions and
his last action was extended) vs. 25 and beats the difficulty
giving her -20 to saves vs. loss of balance. The GM makes by 18, not enough. He takes 1 point of blunt damage
her roll vs. loss of balance to see if she can land on her feet. (bringing him to 5 BDY) and is knocked back one range
She fails and is now prone. level per point of opposed success. Since the Little Girl
succeeded by 59 and Zeus by 18, the opposed success is
Next the Little Girl goes. She declares she will split her 41, meaning Zeus is thrown across the room. Zeus must
action, doing two separate Vital Strikes against Chupatra, also make an opposed save vs. loss of balance to land on
one with her feet and one as a punch. Chupatra declares she his feet. Yet since it is opposed, he has to not only beat
will use her one reaction dodging the punch. For the punch, the difficulty (20) but do so by 41 (the opposed success)
the Little Girl rolls STH (25) + INL (5) -10 (split) +1d20 which he can only do it he rolls a 20 (automatic success).
vs. 40 and beats the difficulty by 0 (she exactly matched He does roll a 20 and lands on his feet.
the difficulty). Chupatra rolls a dodge at AGY (16) + AWR
(13) +12 (skill) +1d20 vs. 25 and beats the difficulty by Next Zeus gets his action. He is too far away to get to
18. Chupatra avoids the punch. For the kick, which is the Little Girl this round. Instead he decides to split his
unopposed, the Little Girl rolls STH (25) + INL (5) -10 action: to run towards her as fast as he can and to throw
(split) +1d20 vs. 40 and beats the difficulty by 2. Chupatra one of his candlesticks at her. Treating the candlestick
takes double the blunt damage of the girl’s normal kick: 6 as an improvised thrown weapon, the GM decides it will
blunt damage. Chupatra only has 4 BDY, so all those are have a functional range of 3 ft. and do 1 blunt damage.
taken away and the remaining 2 points are doubled, thus The GM says Zeus is 15 feet away, so he will take a -5
doing 4 damage to her BLD, leaving Chupatra with only 1 penalty. The Little Girl has no reactions left so can do
BLD. nothing. Zeus rolls INL (10) + AGY (10) -5 (range) -10
(split) +1d20 vs. 25. He does not meet the difficulty and
Next Zeus gets to go. He declares he will make an extended the candlestick flies past the Little Girl.
strike against the girl with his candlestick. Although she
could take her one remaining split action and turn it into All have exerted themselves this round, so all lose END.
a reaction, the GM declares the girl will do nothing. Zeus
rolls STH (17) + AGY (10) +4 (skill) +5 (extended) +1d20 Round 4- Chupatra goes first. She declares she is making
vs. 25 and beats the difficulty by 24. He does the normal an extended Vital Strike with her knife. The GM declares
blunt damage of the candlestick (+2 because of his high the Little Girl is going to Parry. Chupatra rolls AGY (16)
STH). The Little Girl’s BDY is thus reduced from 7 to 3. + INL (12) +5 (extended) +20 (skill) +1d20 vs. 35. She
beats her difficulty by 36. The Little Girl rolls STH (35)
At the end of the round, since everyone made combat + AGY (15) +1d20 vs. 25 and beats her difficulty by 38.
actions, everyone loses 1 point of pooled END. The attack is blocked.

Alleys
Next Michaela goes. She declares she is making an extended Next, the girl goes. She will split her action, making a
Vital Strike with her knife. The Little Girl has no reaction strike against Zeus (a punch) and saving the other action
left and so can do nothing. Michaela rolls INL (18) + AGY for later. Zeus says he will react by making a simultaneous
(19) +5 (extended) -7 (one leg) -1 (failed save vs. pain) Vital Strike against the girl. The girl says she will use her
+1d20 vs. 35. She beats her difficulty by 2. The Little Girl remaining split action, turn it into a reaction, and Parry.
takes 4 bladed damage. Since she only had 3 left, her BLD The girl doesn’t roll a 1 and so succeeds at punching
is brought to 0 and her INCY is reduced by 1 (to 6). From Zeus. He takes 4 blunt damage (BDY is reduced from 6
this point forward, the Little Girl will lose 1 END per round to 2). For his simultaneous Vital Strike, Zeus rolls STH
(in addition to that lost by exertion) and when it reaches 0 (17) + AGY (10) + WIL (8) +8 (skill) +1d20 vs. 40 +20
she will be incapacitated. Michaela rolls 1d20 to see if the (simultaneous). He does not meet the difficulty, and so
kitchen knife breaks. She rolls 1 and most of the blade of does not hit the Little Girl. Yet the Little Girl has used
the knife snaps off. her remaining split action for the round.
Next the Little Girl goes. Zeus is not yet in striking range, Next Zeus gets an action. He will make an extended Vital
but Chupatra and Michaela are. The GM declares the Little Strike with his candlestick at the Little Girl, who cannot
Girl will make a split Action: making a Strike (punch) react. He rolls STH (17) + AGY (10) +8 (skill) +5 (skill)
against Michaela and saving the other action for later. +5 (extended) +1d20 vs. 40. He beats the difficulty by
Michaela, who is at -7 from her broken leg and -10 from 6. He does double the normal blunt damage to the girl,
having just done an extended attack, declares she will close so 8 blunt. The girl only has 3 BDY left, so all of that is
her eyes and use her Untouchable skill. Since this is not a removed, and the remaining 5 blunt damage is doubled
physical action, none of those penalties apply. The Little and done to the girl’s INCY, reducing it to less than zero.
Girl rolls STH (35) + AGY (15) -10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25 The candlestick buries itself deep in the girl’s skull,
and beats the difficulty by 25. Michaela rolls a skill roll of crushing her brain and causing white goo to ooze out.
WIL (17) -1 (failed save vs. pain) -10 (using Untouchable as The girl crumples to the floor.
a combat reaction) +1d20. She gets 21 total, allowing her
to take only one fourth damage from physical attacks. The Suddenly, all the lights start to fade.
Little Girl’s punch does 4 blunt damage, so Michaela takes 1
point of blunt damage, reducing her BDY to 3. Zeus, Chupatra and Michaela wake up in an empty,
decaying Victorian house with no idea how they got
Next Zeus goes. He has been running at his max SPD (12) there…
since last round and the GM says he is close enough to do a
jump into range. Zeus declares he will do a split jump and
strike with his candlestick. The Little Girl declares she will Tips for GMs: Keeping Combat Quick
turn her remaining split action into a reaction and will block.
Zeus rolls STH (17) + AGY (10) +4 (skill) -10 (split) +1d20 1. Never let the PCs get into a fair fight. Either the PCs
vs. 25. He beats his difficulty by 16. The Little Girl rolls should be ambushed, or the PCs should be doing the
STH (25) + AGY (15) –10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25 and beats her ambushing, or the PCs should be vastly superior to the
difficulty by 17. No damage is done. people or things they are fighting, or the PCs should be
vastly inferior to their opponents.
Zeus, Chupatra and Michaela lose 1 END at the end of 2. Enemies run away, surrender or play dead when they
this round, the Little Girl loses 2 because she is mortally realize they are getting their asses kicked.
wounded. Michaela, who started with only 5 END, is the
only one close to exhaustion. She has only 2 pooled END 3. Figure out the NPC fighter’s typical reaction and typical
left, meaning that she can only make combat actions for 2 reaction ahead of time and calculate it (e.g. this opponent
more rounds before needing rest. strikes at 1d20 vs. 3).
4. NPC fighters only make simple actions (e.g. strike and
Round 5- Chupatra goes first. She declares she will make an dodge, no extended simultaneous split actions).
extended Vital Strike against the little girl. The GM declares
5. Don’t bother keeping track of END if the battle is only
the Little Girl will parry. Chupatra rolls AGY (16) + INL
going to last a few rounds.
(12) +20 (skill) +5 (extended) +1d20 vs. 35 and rolls a 1,
meaning she fails. The Little Girl’s parry roll is unnecessary, 6. Give opponents weapons with the same range as that of
although she has still lost her only combat reaction for the the PCs – this makes for a lot less jumping around during
round. battle.
7. Start PCs and opponents in weapons range of each other.
Next Michaela goes. She asks the GM what she can do with
the remains of her broken knife. He says she can still use it 8. Instead of calculating and rolling for every effect of a
as a weapon, but it will only do 1 bladed damage. Michaela poison on an NPC opponent, just give the opponent a flat
declares she will do an extended Vital Strike with the stub of penalty to all actions and reactions. E.G. instead of the large
a knife. The Little Girl gets no reaction. Michaela rolls INL list of symptoms of Monkshood, just say that a person hit by
(18) + AGY (9) +5 (extended) -7 (broken leg) -1 (failed save it takes 1 BLD and a progressive -10 to all rolls per round
vs. pain) +1d20 vs. 35 and succeeds by 2 points. The attack until dead.
does double the weapon’s normal bladed damage: 2 bladed. 9. Give each player only a limited amount of time to declare
The Little Girl has no BLD left, so 2 is subtracted from her an action or reaction.
INCY, bringing it to 4.
Fighting 149
In Dark
Chapter Three -
a history of unpopular ideas
Animism is thus a system that denies the existence of
Animism higher-beings (gods) and of an overarching principle of
good and evil in the universe. Although invisible, the
In Brief: Invisible spirits are everywhere; the supernatural supernatural is much like everything else in the natural
world is amoral and potentially dangerous. world: amoral, ubiquitous, and capable of being useful or
dangerous.
Origin: Animism has been discovered by aboriginal people
around the world. Animism can often be seen appearing What Scares People: The animistic world is filled with
in young children in non-animistic cultures before they are random, invisible dangers and the only people who know
fully indoctrinated into the worldview of their culture. This how to deal with this invisible world can easily use their
had led many anthropologists to say that Animism is the powers for evil.
‘default’ belief system of humans.
Major Works: None. Pure animisms are universally
Tenants: Animists believe in an invisible supernatural pre-literate. Anthropology books can contain good
world. Everything that does not have a visible cause (e.g. descriptions of animistic beliefs and practices. Works by
an illness, the weather, the change of seasons, etc.) has a post-animistic religions may still retain some animistic
supernatural cause. Spirits are everywhere and exist in a principles.
variety of animals and plants as well as some non-living
objects (e.g. a rock or the hearth fire). Since these spirits
are equally capable of doing harm or good they are thought
Buddhism
of as morally neutral. Because they can be dealt with via In Brief: Universe a cycle of reincarnations and suffering.
simple sacrifices or ceremonies they are thought of as being The only way to escape is to shed all attachments.
fairly stupid. Just as there is variety in nature, though,
there is variety in the spirit world: some spirits are very Origin: Buddhism was created in India in 528 BC. The
smart, some are very powerful, some are almost always
story goes that a young prince was kept secluded from the
benevolent and some are almost always malevolent.
horrors of everyday life. He was never allowed to see
people who were poor or sick. When he finally did see
Animistic cultures also believe in one or more soul. A soul
such people he struck out to find a cure for suffering. He
is what leaves when a person dies and is what travels when
a person dreams. Multiple soul models usually have a soul studied under many Indian spiritual masters but found no
responsible for consciousness and a soul responsible for system that worked for him. He wanted to create a spiritual
health and the will-to-live. system that was a middle path between hedonism/self-
indulgence and asceticism/self-denial. Upon meditation
Anything that works via unexplainable means, e.g. he discovered the middle path and became enlightened.
a medicinal herb, is believed to work via spirits or He then set out to teach his method to others.
supernatural power. Some people are believed to have
supernatural power that they were born with, were granted Buddhism spread throughout Asia and even today is
by a spirit, or earned through some difficult or dangerous considered among the great world religions. Yet it is a
trial. Supernatural power is associated with strength of will declining religion. It is all but extinct in its birthplace of
but they are not necessarily the same thing. Supernatural India and in other countries it is rapidly being displaced by
power controlled by people is considered amoral, like a Christianity, Islam and anti-religious Communism. Only
tool, it can be used to help or harm people. Thus healers, a few countries still have a Buddhist majority.
shamans or holy-people who have supernatural power are
typically feared as much as they are venerated. Tenants: Life is suffering and each being is trapped in
a cycle or reincarnation that keeps us continually being
People who are physically or mentally ‘different’ than born, suffering, dying and being reborn again. The only
others are often considered to have more power, and in way to escape suffering is to escape the cycle of rebirths
many cultures the role of shaman is often given to mentally into nirvana, a state where one neither exists nor does not
ill people who would otherwise have no useful role in the exist.
tribe.
150 Chapter Three - A History of Unpopular Ideas

Alleys
The two things that keep souls trapped in the cycle or rebirth In 529 AD a Christian emperor closed the Platonic
(and indeed which gives the whole universe existence) is: academy, killing Neo-Platonism. Neo-Platonism did
First, the law of karma, which states that the suffering we resurface briefly with early renaissance thinkers, and
create or are a part of will come revisit us as misfortune, ideas from Neo-Platonism have survived in western
and, Second, that all desires, beliefs, opinions and emotions occultism.
(‘grasping’) cause suffering. To gain enlightenment one
must let go of all grasping and also abstain, as much as Tenants: One of Plato’s most unique ideas is his theory
possible, from accruing more bad karma by creating or of forms. Plato believed that there was a realm of perfect
participating in suffering. This is accomplished through
forms like “equal” “beauty” “justice” “big” “small,”
personal revelation and behavioral restrictions. Gaining
enlightenment is a process that typically takes a thousand etc. Objects in our world are but dim reflections of
lifetimes. these perfect forms. Something beautiful, for instance,
is beautiful only because it reflects a tiny bit of the form
What Scares People: The insistence that all existence is of beauty. The ultimate form of good is paramount and
inevitably the source of suffering is too ‘pessimistic’ for makes all other forms possible. Plato believed that
some. To Buddhism the universe is just a giant perpetual humans have immortal souls that are reincarnated and
motion machine which creates and runs on suffering and in that humans may retain some knowledge from past
which souls are created so they can suffer until they achieve lives.
enlightenment.
To explain the relationship between the perfect realm and
Many also take issue with a religion that has a goal of each the mundane realm, Plato came up with the allegory of
member extinguishing everything that makes people unique. the cave. He said that if a group of humans were born
Enlightenment means, in essence, becoming a blank and in a cave, chained so tightly that they could not move
featureless spirit motivated only by compassion. their heads, and grew up seeing nothing but shadows on
a wall caused by things happening outside the cave, those
Major Works: Gautama Buddha’s teachings were only
humans would believe the shadows were all that was
written down after his death. The “Abhidhamma” is
considered to be the most complete collection of the real. Furthermore, Plato said that if someone from the
Buddha’s commentary on philosophy and psychology. cave escaped the cave and came back to tell the prisoners
Different traditions have different versions of this document. about the real world, that person would be regarded as
Mahayana Buddhists have a number of Sutras: additional insane.
texts believed to be discourses from a Buddha. The two
most popular of these sutras are the “Diamond Sutra” (which Today, the perfect ideals of Platonism are seen as a
explains ‘non-abiding’: avoiding mental constructs in daily foundation for the understanding of mathematics, where
life, and is sometimes read by Buddhists to dispel demons) the ideals of numbers exist in their own perfect realm
and the “Heart Sutra” (in which the Buddha of compassion separate from the actual things that are being counted.
explains that ‘form is emptiness, emptiness is form’). In
Tibet, where a variant form of Buddhism developed, Tantras Plato was the first person to come up with a
are very important. Tantras are ‘discovered texts’ hidden psychodynamic system. He posited that there were
by Buddhist masters because the people were not yet ready three parts to the soul: a part that loves truth, a part that
to understand them and use them safely. The tantra often values honor and victory, and a part which hungers for
contain extreme ceremonies that represent a ‘shortcut’ to food and sex. Plato believed that these parts should act
enlightenment via a path that veers dangerously close to
insanity. in harmony, each doing it’s own job and not interfering
with the others.
Platonism and Neoplatonism Neo-Platonism taught that there was a One god and that
everything in the universe is just a lesser emanation of
that One.
In Brief: This world only a dim reflection of the world of
perfect forms. Many Neo-Platonists looked for ways to escape the
limits and imperfections of the mundane world. Some
Origin: Plato was born in Greece in 428 BC and died in
347 BC. He was born to a rich and politically active family. Neo-Platonists believed that philosophical contemplation
He was said to have been a playwright but when he heard could lead to peace and perfection. Some used the
Socrates teach he gave up playwriting in favor of teaching and Greek Mysteries, secret mystical systems that taught
philosophy, even burning his latest manuscript. Plato founded via dramatic revelation, as a means to enlightenment.
the Academy, a school, and apart from a few unfortunate Iamblichus, an influential Neo-Platonist, said that since
experiences with politics he taught and wrote until his death. one cannot think past the limitations of thought, the
Plato’s philosophical works were fictional dialogues between mysteries were the only way to achieve knowledge of
speakers (including real people like Socrates). After Plato’s divinity.
death philosophers at his academy continued to explore his
philosophies. What is known today as neoplatonism was Major Works: Plato’s best statements of his metaphysics
merely the evolution of platonic ideas in the academy. can be found in “The Republic.”
Platonism and Neoplatonism 151

In Dark
What Scares People: That our world is ruled by an
Gnosticism insane, evil, megalomaniacal being and that all of human
existence as we know it is essentially unholy.
In Brief: This world created by an evil, insane god. Humans
are divine spirits trapped in bodies of unholy matter. Major Works: The “Nag Hammadi” codices, discovered
in 1945 in Egypt, are the best collection of Gnostic texts
Origin: Gnosticism is not a single doctrine, but a number discovered in the modern age.
of related doctrines. Gnosticism was created by early
Christian thinkers (later labeled Christian heretics).
Gnosticism was the most popular in the first and second
centuries AD. Around 160 AD, Valentinus, one of the most Descartian Skepticism
popular Gnostic thinkers, almost became elected head of
the Christian church. Gnosticism also found root among In Brief: We can’t know if anything we believe is real.
Jewish, Muslim and Pagan thinkers.
Origin: Descartes was a philosopher and mathematician
Many of the tenants of Gnosticism found their way into born in 1596 in France. Like many other philosophers
Catharism, a religion popular in France in the 11th to 13th of his age, Descartes was looking for logical proof of
centuries before it was wiped out by a Catholic inquisition the existence of god. What he discovered, and became
and crusade. famous for, was his theory of the deceiver. He went on
to create what he believed was proof of god’s existence,
Even after the Cathars, Gnostic beliefs continued to
but other philosophers remained unconvinced that he had
influence many. Even Jung and some existentialists studied
Gnosticism. found sound logical proof.
Tenants: This world is essentially evil, created (depending Tenants: The deceiver argument is that we have no way
on the Gnostic group) as either a terrible mistake or as of knowing if anything we experience and believe in
a purposefully built prison. Humans are divine beings, is real. Every sensation we are currently experiencing
descended from the godhead, trapped in this material world. could be put in our heads by an all-powerful deceiver.
All suffering, strife and ignorance is a consequence of our We cannot even trust our own memories, since a deceiver
being trapped in, and having bodies that are part of, the may control those. We cannot know that we are people
unholy material world. To some Gnostics this world is just or ‘beings’ in the traditional meaning of the term. All we
a poor copy of the Pleroma, the world of the divine. know is that something is doing some thinking. ‘I think
therefore I am.’
Most Gnostic groups believed in Sophia, a holy being of
wisdom that is the mother of humanity. In most beliefs
Sophia made some sort of error, usually a misguided Although other systems had posited other worlds more
attempt to use creative power without the permission of ‘real’ than the mundane realm, Descartes was the first
the godhead, which resulted in the birth of an insane god to rationally demonstrate that everything we experience
known as the Demiurge. The Demiurge created and rules could be a lie. Some credit Descartes as the first to come
the mundane world and many Gnostics thought that the up with the concept of virtual reality.
Demiurge sincerely believes that he is the penultimate god.
Yet he is a cruel and insane god and the Hebrew bible is What Scares People: The perpetual and unconquerable
filled with his lies and delusions. uncertainty. Humans can never be sure, no matter what
they discover, that what they experience is true.
Most Gnostics believed that a messiah will or has come
to help humans escape the mundane world and reintegrate
with the godhead. Many Christian Gnostics believe that Major Works: Descartes’ theory of the deceiver is found
Jesus was the son of Sophia (thus brother to the Demiurge) in his book “Discourse on Method.”
and came into this world as a pure spirit.
Gnostics believed that some people are born with purely

material souls. They have no spark of the divine, no ability
Sadism
to become enlightened, and can only act in a base fashion.
In Brief: Morality is false, people should hurt and prey
Different Gnostic groups had different ideas on how to upon others for their own pleasure.
escape from the mundane world and return back to the
divine. Some believed in complete asceticism, denying Origin: The Marquis de Sade was born in 1740 in France
themselves all worldly pleasures, including sex. Others to an aristocratic family. He was jailed for repeatedly
believed in indulging in all pleasures and in breaking every abusing and torturing prostitutes, sometimes with the help
worldly taboo (since this world is an illusion, nothing one of his wife, and for poisoning party guests with what he
does here can be immoral).

Alleys
thought was an aphrodisiac. He was sentenced to death To Marx, investors and bankers contributed nothing of
but his sentence was later changed to life-in-prison. He any value. In fact they do the opposite: take labor inherent
also spent time in a mental institution. While in prison in possessions and lock that labor up so it serves no useful
he wrote hardcore pornography that espoused his personal purpose. In essence they steal the labor of workers, labor
philosophy. He was freed during the French revolution and that they could have otherwise used to make their own
even worked in government, but was imprisoned again by lives better. By their very nature capitalists exploit the
Napoleon. He died in prison in 1814, but his works, which work of laborers, preying upon them like vampires.
were smuggled out, drew a following.
Marx saw revolution by the laborers against the
Tenants: Sade believed that laws were good for society
capitalists as an inevitable consequence of the modern
but bad for individuals. He believed that the ‘brotherhood
economic system.
of man’ is a myth and that humans are naturally selfish.
He advocated the legalization of murder, destruction
of governments and religions, and the sacrifice of all to To Marx, religion was the “opiate of the people.” The
senseless pleasure. Sade believed that a ‘libertine’ should purpose of religion was to keep people from realizing
break all sexual taboos and should abuse and exploit others that the true route to bettering their lives was to gain
for his or her own pleasure. He thought that, on the whole, freedom from capitalists.
this would make people happier by allowing them to be
true to their own natures. People were naturally cruel and What Scares People: Not only does Marxism say
pan-sexual and denying their natures made them weak. that the people who run modern society are ‘vampires’
Destruction of the ‘crutches’ that are laws and morality preying upon the majority, it also says that revolution is
would make for a healthier, happier, stronger humanity. the inevitable result.
What Scares People: Sade advocated people breaking laws
and taboos and hurting other people. Major Works: Marx collaborated on the “Communist
Manifesto” (1848) a political work. His book “Das
Major Works: His play “Philosophy in the Bedroom” Kapital” (1867) was the first major economic theory of
(1795), an x-rated play about the corruption of a 15-year- Communism. He died before he could write the second
old virgin, is considered to have the best and most concise and third planned volumes in the Das Kapital series.
description of his philosophy.
Nihilism
Marxism In Brief: Religion, morality and rationality are false.
In Brief: Profiteering is evil and hurts workers. Capitalists Nobody has good reason to believe in anything.
are ‘vampires.’
Origin: The first people who identified themselves
Origin: Socialism and communism were created in 1830’s as Nihilists were a group of anarchists (mostly young
Paris by secret revolutionary societies. Although there was
intellectuals) that terrorized 1800s Russia. They
much overlap between the two, communism was typically
more extreme. Karl Marx (b. 1818, d. 1888) was a German, denounced religion, family and government, and
atheist, economist as well as a heavy drinker and cigar some tried to destroy society by means of terrorism
smoker, who created the first complete economic theory and assassination. The most influential writer of
of Communism. Marx died without seeing a Communist nihilist philosophy was Friedrich Nietzsche (b. 1844 in
revolution. Germany). Nietzsche was briefly a professor, but he
left his position to be a medic in the Franco-Prussian
Communists came to power in Russia at the end of the 1917 war. There he was traumatized by the carnage he saw.
revolution and in Cuba in 1959. Chinese leader Mao Zedong He also contracted diphtheria and dysentery, which left
created his own form of Communism, Maoism, which was him with health problems until his death. Nietzsche was
the basis for revolutions in China, Vietnam, Laos and North soft spoken and shy, especially among women. He had
Korea. Today, the Philippines, Columbia, Nepal, and India a big walrus mustache and piercing eyes. He suffered
have Marxist or Maoist revolutionary groups trying to take from a weak stomach and migraines. He was a composer
over. who esteemed creativity over rationality. Despite his ill
health, Nietzsche lived as a wandering, stateless person
Tenants: Marx’s economic system values everything in
terms of labor required, not money. For instance, the value who wrote books on philosophy. He suffered a mental
of a machine in a factory is the total of the labor it took to breakdown and spent the last ten years of his life insane
mine the metal, design and build the machine and bring the and cared for by his sister (his critics blamed the insanity
machine to the factory. on syphilis).
Marxism 153
In Dark
After his death, Nietzsche’s ideas, especially that of the leaders by calling on the authority of a fictional god.
superman, were co-opted by the Nazis to justify their Religion lulls people into ‘herd animal morality’ in which
policies. After WWII he as so strongly associated with personal will and creativity is suppressed.
Nazism that no serious academic would dare discuss his
ideas in a positive light. Nietzsche believed that after the collapse of society the
ubermensch, or supermen, would arise again as the rulers
Tenants: Nihilism is the belief that nothing is real and that of humanity. They wouldn’t be disabled by nihilism but
people should believe nothing, have faith in nothing and neither would they allow a fictional god to dictate their
give no loyalty. There is no “true” reality, there is only morality. They would be strong enough to hurt others,
what we choose to believe. Most Nihilists are anarchists, which would make them strong enough to be truly creative.
believing that modern society is based on beliefs in The supermen would not need laws, they would be ruled
false concepts and that the destruction of governments, by their own self-discipline and they would sublimate
society and even culture will improve human lives. their animal drives into creativity. The supermen would
Nietzsche believed that realization of meaninglessness realize that reason is false, that people are not born equal,
was an inevitable progression of society. This society will and that creativity is of paramount importance.
eventually collapse, as past societies have, under the weight
of this nihilist realization. After modern society collapses, What Scares People: Nihilism is strongly associated
chaos and amorality will reign. with radical and violent anarchism (and sometimes with
fascism). Nihilism posits that none of the beliefs which
Nietzsche believed that every being is motivated by the modern people hold dear are true.
‘will to power’: the desire to control everything around it.
To Nietzsche, brutality is natural. Humans, furthermore, Major Works: “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” (1885) is
are not created equal. Some are naturally more powerful perhaps the most metaphysical of Nietzsche’s works,
than others and are born to lead humanity. Yet religion has where the famous phrase ‘God is dead’ is used.
been created by the weak to steal power from these natural
Russian Nihilists

Alleys
Later in his studies, Freud created a theory of
Freudian Psychoanalysis developmental psychology. This would be his most
controversial theory. He said that humans go through
In Brief: Humans unaware of warring forces and periods of first exploring and, second, denying sexual
unacceptable thoughts going on inside them. pleasure through oral, anal and phallic means. He also
theorized that each person went through a period of
Origin: Sigmund Freud, b. 1856, d. 1939, was an Austrian wanting to have sex with his or her opposite sex parent
neurologist who specialized in cases of hysteria. After and simultaneously fearing and wanting to kill the same
listening to the life stories of several patients he became sex parent. Psychological problems in adulthood are
convinced that their problems were the result of issues from often caused by unresolved issues from these stages.
their pasts that they were not conscious of and that before Many modern Freudians choose to look at this part of
they could be cured they had to become conscious of those Freud’s theory as a metaphor for or one possible example
issues. He created and experimented with many means of of human development, not something which is literally
getting to these subconscious problems, created a theory of true for every person.
the inner working of the mind, and expanded his theories to
fit all types of abnormal and normal human psychology. To What Scares People: People are initially off-put by the
most, Freud was the first psychologist. idea that they, and everyone else, had incest fantasies as
children. Beyond this initial shock it is unnerving to
At Freud’s early lectures he was booed and called a pervert. imagine that we are unaware of the majority of what goes
He persevered through several years of being hated until, on in our minds and that deep down we think and want
gradually, his ideas began to be accepted. Today, more things too horrible to be conscious of. In short, who we
recent theories have contradicted much of Freud’s ideas think we are is not who we are.
but there are still hardcore Freudian analysts who believe in
everything Freud said. Major Works: The “Interpretation of Dreams” (1899)
is his most important book on using dreams to access
Tenants: Freud used the metaphor of a floating iceberg to the subconscious. “Three Essays on the Theory of
describe the mind. The tiny bit that is above the surface of the Sexuality” (1905) describes his theory of human sexual
water is the conscious, those workings of our mind which we desires and their relation to neuroses. “The Ego and the
are consciously aware of. That which might slip above the Id” (1923) is the best description of Freud’s theory of the
waves briefly is the preconscious: things like memories and structure of the subconscious.
knowledge which we are not always conscious of but could
become conscious of at any time. The vast majority of the
iceberg below that is the subconscious. This represents the
knowledge, memories, emotions, thoughts and drives which
we are not conscious of and could not become conscious of
without use of special techniques.
Ways Freud investigated to gain access to this secret

subconscious world included interpretation of the symbolism
of dreams, hypnotism, word association (saying words
in response to other words without time for thought) and
analysis of the meaning behind seemingly random mistakes
(‘freudian slips’).
Freud posited a psychodynamic theory of the mind: that there

were different forces at work in the human subconscious that
represented different basic desires, and that the struggle and
interplay between these forces explained human behavior.
Freud included the Id, Ego and Super Ego in his earliest
models of the subconscious. Later Eros (the lust for life
and reproduction) and Thannatos (put in to explain war and
genocide) were added.
To Freud, the division between the conscious and

subconscious was there to protect the conscious mind
from awareness of any thoughts, memories or drives that
would disturb it. According to Freud, humans are a mass of
conflicting desires: we want to be good, we want to be evil,
we want to satisfy our every desire, we want to be proud of
our self-control. The subconscious hides these conflicting
desires and gives us the illusion that we are a unified being.
Freudian Psychoanalysis 155

In Dark
Tenants: Like Nihilism, Existentialism posits that there is
Surrealism no higher power that gives meaning to our lives.
To Sartre, a paper cutter is a good paper cutter if it does
In Brief: Escape rationality and gain access to the its job, cutting paper, well. Humans were not created by
subconscious mind. an intelligent being, thus have no job, and thus there is no
such thing as a ‘good’ human.
Origin: Surrealism drew on the works of Hegel, Marx
and Freud, but especially from Dadaism. Dadaism was Sartre believed that the ability to negate, to recognize the
an anti-art movement, formed after WWI. Dadaists absence of something or the possibility of something not
being true, was proof that humans had ultimate freedom.
rejected aesthetics and meaning in an attempt to accept
and understand a chaotic world which contains no inherent The only meaning in human lives is that meaning which
meaning. French Writer André Breton (b. 1896, d. 1966) humans give to their own lives. In most existentialist
is the most influential surrealist and his writings form the fiction the hero goes through a crisis where he or she first
core of surrealist tenants. Paris was a major center for feels sadness and horror (the “anguish of freedom”) about
surrealism, but during surrealism’s peak in the 1920s-40s it the lack of meaning to the universe and then finds joy in
spread throughout Europe and North America. the ultimate freedom of it.
This freedom does not absolve people of responsibility.
Tenants: While Dadasim was an anti-art movement, Since people have ultimate freedom they cannot blame
surrealism was about art as an expression of pure biology or experiences for how they’ve turned out. People
imagination without any censorship by the conscious must take responsibility for their own character flaws.
mind. The primary technique of surrealism is automatic What Scares People: Though atheism was not new,
writng/painting/drawing, in which one enters a light trance Existentialism validated atheism by building a theory of
and creates without the creation being consciously directed. morality and psychology compatible with it. Many have
More than just a technique for creating pleasing art, this misread Existentialism as saying that humans should be
technique was believed to help people connect with their amoral.
subconscious minds.
Major Works: Sartre wrote “Being and Nothingness”
Surrealism was more than just an art movement, it was (1945) which gave an Existentialist view of consciousness
and rationality and “Critique of Dialectical Reason”
meant to be a revolutionary movement. Surrealists (1960) which tried to reconcile Existentialism and
believed that many of the problems of the modern world Marxism. Camus wrote “The Stranger” (1942) about a
stemmed from a false rationalism, a fiction that the world man accused of murder, and “The Plague” (1947) about
makes sense. Surrealists believed they were at war people in a plague-torn city.
against the progressive mechanization of human lives and
relationships.
The Works of H.P. Lovecraft
What Scares People: Although people still love surrealist-
style art, the revolutionary and anti-rational ideas of H.P. Lovecraft, b. 1890, d. 1937, was a New England science
surrealism are scary. Surrealism is about acting without fiction and horror writer. He was an atheist and many of his
works confront the horror of living in a universe not ruled by
censorship of thought, which many associate with chaos a benevolent god. In Lovecraft’s cosmology the penultimate
and anarchy. Nonsense is fine when restricted to a piece god of the universe is insane and blind, perpetually spinning
of canvas, but when people try to apply it to the important and dancing in the center of the universe. The blind god has
matters of life it becomes threatening. no idea humans even exist, leaving humans in the Lovecraft
universe in the same position as an atheist who believes that
Major Works: “Surrealist Manifesto” (1924) by André the universe is ruled by chaotic, unfeeling natural laws. In
Breton. Lovecraft’s series of Reanimator stories the anti-hero, Herbert
West, reasons that since there is no god and no soul then humans
must be just machines and a dead human can be brought to life
Existentialism if one can find a means of restarting the machine.
In some of Lovecraft’s work he strayed from horror into

In Brief: No god, so humans must give meaning to their fantasy. Many of these stories take place in the fantastic (and
own existence. sometimes dangerous) world of dreams. Although Lovecraft
was not the first writer to describe the world of dreams his
works remain some of the most evocative.
Origin: The two primary thinkers responsible for
existentialism are Albert Camus and Jean Paul Sartre. “The most merciful thing in the world ... is the inability of the
Sartre (b. 1905, d. 1980) wrote the major philosophical human mind to correlate all its contents... The sciences, each
texts and Camus (b. 1913, d. 1960) wrote the major works straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little;
of fiction. Sartre drew from Freud and Marx in the creation but someday the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will
of his theories. Sartre was a philosopher and writer, later in open up such terrifying vistas of reality... That we shall either
go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the
life he was a peace activist and Marxist. Existentialism was peace and safety of a new dark age.” - H. P. Lovecraft
most popular in the 1940s and 1950s.

Alleys
Punk was a backlash against mainstream culture: rigid
Jungian Psychology conformity to conservative values, ineffective hippie
idealism, sappy folk music and vacuous disco. Punk
In Brief: All humans share a subconscious set of symbols was raw and energetic, in contrast to the over-produced
that effect how we see the world. popular music distributed by major labels. Punk was
primarily distributed by tiny independent labels due to
Origin: Carl Jung (b. 1875, d. 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist. the controversial lyric content, aggressive sound, and
He was a colleague and friend of Freud. He studied the perceived lack of commercial appeal. Over time,
mythology, mystical Christianity, alchemy, Gnosticism, Punk evolved its own fashion and its own lifestyle
Kabbalism, Hinduism and Buddhism. and philosophy. Punk zines were small, photocopied
magazines featuring hand lettering and collage art. Zines
helped create and spread punk philosophy.
Tenants: Jung believed that all humans share a collective
subconscious. This is a system of symbols and metaphors
Tenants: There is no single statement of punk belief.
(‘archetypes’) that form the basic subconscious world of
Instead, there are a wide range of beliefs. People who
humans and that humans are born with. The way humans
don’t believe anything but like the music or the clothing
categorize reality is based on these archetypes. Some of
style are usually called poseurs. The following elements
his archetypes included the shadow, animus/anima, father,
are common in punk:
child, maiden, wise old man, animal, trickster, persona,
hermaphrodite and self. Jung believed that archetypes found -Disdain of governments, religions, schools,
their way into myths and fiction. Archetypes can also be met corporations and Western culture in general.
and interacted with in dreams.
-Purposeful alienation from society by means of
extreme appearance and behavior.
Jung also studied personality types. He created the
modern concepts of introverted and extroverted. He also -Resisting society’s attempts to imprint its values (e.g.
distinguished between thinking and feelers and between you want to get a nice job so you can buy a nice car and
sensers and intuiters. a nice house).
-Semi-independence from the economy by means
Unlike Freud, who was generally disparaging of religion,
such as DIY (Do It Yourself), squatting, thrift store
Jung thought humans could find psychological health in
shopping, panhandling, shoplifting, etc.
religious or spiritual pursuits. His advice to one patient led
to the creation of Alcoholics Anonymous. -Anger as a useful element of change.
-Rejection of standards of beauty espoused by the
What Scares People: Like Freud, Jung saw humans as
fashion industry and other profit-making institutions.
ruled by the interaction of forces we are seldom aware of.
Unlike Freud, Jung espoused self-exploration via mysticism -Rejection of authority, especially by means of
and religion and so his theories were unsuitable for basing a vandalism.
scientific discipline on.
What Scares People: Punk pits youth who do not yet
Major Works: The “Archetypes and the Collective have a stake in modern society against mainstream
Unconscious,” collected works from 1934-1954. “Memories, values. People fear punks because they don’t know what
Dreams, Reflections” (1962), a book about Jung’s own inner societal codes a punk has chosen to reject and thus a punk
journeys. “Symbols of Transformation” (1952), a book is unpredictable and possibly dangerous.
about dream analysis.
Major Works: The zines “Flipside” (L.A. 70s-00s),
“Kill Your Pet Puppy” (UK 70s and 80s), “No Cure” (UK
Punk 70s-80s), “Slash” (70s and 80s), Sniffin’ Glue (UK 70s).
Maximum Rock & Roll (S.F. 80s-00s).
In Brief: Fuck the establishment.
Origins: Punk started as an underground music scene. In

England, high unemployment drew young people to bands
Paglian Feminism
that could express their frustration with a lack of prospects. In Brief: Women are more powerful then men, sex is
The term Punk was first coined by the two publishers of powerful, dangerous dirty.
Punk Magazine to describe this aggressive new type of
music. The word “punk” once referred to a doll that one Origin: Camille Paglia (b. 1942 in New York), a lesbian,
knocked down in a carnival game. Calling someone a libertarian, atheist, classicist and academic, published
punk was like calling them ‘a worthless little piece of shit.’ books containing a unique form of feminism. Her
Step Seven - Bonus Characteristics 157

In Dark
work was partly a reaction to orthodoxy of 1960s and 70s things in the context of our own experiences. Any idea
feminism, which many criticized as being anti-sex. She anyone has carries with it the prejudices of the thinker.
also drew on the works of Freud, Jung and Nietzsche. Deconstruction is taking apart some piece of art, literature,
Paglia’s work first became popular in the 1980s, and since belief, philosophy, etc. into little pieces, explaining each
then Paglia has become a fixture (although a controversial piece in terms of the cultural and personal context of the
one) in the worlds of academia, art criticism and opinion. creator.
Tenants: According to Paglia, gender differences are Postmodernism rejects academic authority, since academia
inherent and the sexes cannot be made equal and identical is rooted in, and thus cannot escape, a biased system that
merely by modifying culture. Paglian feminists believe has excluded the viewpoint of the poor, women and non-
that sex is powerful and females are inherently more Whites. New forms of academia based on the viewpoints
powerful than men. Females are also more a part of nature, of women, homosexuals and non-Whites are seen as just
which Paglia describes as Cthonian: ugly, dark, terrible, as valid as traditional academia.
unpredictable, amoral and gross. Out of fear of the Cthonian
and a desire to reduce the power vacuum, men have created Postmodernism find it necessary to argue with people on
culture, society, religion and science. To Paglia, many their own terms. Rather than discussing the merits of a
modern ideas are an attempt by men at self-deception so scientific work, a postmodernist can criticize all of science
they can try to ignore the overwhelming presence of the as a biased system and deconstruct all the assumptions and
Cthonian. Instead of dealing with the Cthonian around prejudices that form the foundations of scientific thought.
them, men immerse themselves in abstract principles and in
myths of sky-gods and perfect heavens. Paglian feminists Ultimately, Postmodernism doesn’t create anything
are for pornography and prostitution, seeing those uses new. It criticizes, then criticizes the criticism, etc. until
of sex not as a subjugation of female sexuality but as an it is dealing in terms so abstract that several years of
exercise of its inherent power. To Paglian feminists, women schooling in postmodernism is needed to understand
are still inherently more powerful and more dangerous than them. For some people, postmodernism is nothing more
men, and activities such as institutionalized sexism and rape than confusing the audience into thinking that you are
are futile attempts to fight female power with male power. right. For example, a computer program was created that
strung together postmodernist phrases at random to create
What Scares People: Most feminists dislike Paglia because a piece of postmodern-sounding nonsense. These papers
she fails to rail against the subjugation and commodification were successfully submitted to professors in esteemed
of women by the sex industry, and because she says that academic programs who gave them passing grades.
women need to take more responsibility in defending
themselves against sexual violence. Religious conservatives
Postmodernism doesn’t attempt to uncover ultimate truths
dislike Paglia because she advocates lesbianism, fetishism
that lie beyond prejudices because, to a postmodern thinker,
and other ‘sins.’ Others reject Paglian Feminism because
prejudice is inherent in all human thought. Postmodernism
of her pessimistic portrayal of both sex and nature as dark,
criticizes without suggesting any alternative.
frightening and amoral forces.
Major Works: “Sexual Personae” (1990) by Camille Post-modernism has found its way into popular culture
Paglia is her first and still her most influential work. as an extreme self-consciousness of ‘meta-narratives’:
the unspoken assumptions behind any form of art,
entertainment and communication. Attempts to be
straight-forward and sincere, to say exactly what one
Postmodernism believes, are increasingly seen as naive.
In Brief: Anything anyone thinks or says is inextricably What Scares People: Postmodernism robs people of hope
mired in that person’s prejudices. that society is eliminating its prejudices and progressing
towards truth. Postmodernism leaves humans doomed
Origin: Postmodernism began in the 60s and 70s as papers to a world of perpetual blind prejudice, with the well-
in academic journals criticizing ‘modernism’. In 1966, educated able to point out other people’s prejudices but
Algerian-born French philosopher Jacques Derrida (b. not their own.
1930, d. 2004) created “deconstruction,” a major piece of
postmodernism. In the decades since then postmodernism Major Works: Derrida has written dozens of books and
has gone from simply being an academic worldview to many more papers. “Of Grammatology” (1974) is one of
being a major movement in art and literature that has started his most comprehensive works on Postmodernism.
to effect popular culture.
Tenants: In postmodernism there is no ultimate truth.

Humans, as imperfect beings, can only understand

Alleys
Chapter Four - Los Angeles

The “Los Angeles area,” as discussed here, is a huge urban sprawl taking up the majority of four counties: Los Angeles
County, Orange County, San Bernardino County and Riverside County. The L.A. area is among the world’s largest, most
diverse and most rapidly changing urban areas. For some L.A. is ‘el Norte’ a place of hope, opportunity and freedom.
For others L.A. is a distillation of everything that’s bad about America: a wasteland of the desperate and ignorant poor
and the morally bankrupt rich, fueled by false dreams and egocentrism.
History
In Brief: L.A. has a long history of racial intolerance, false was resentment by much of the Hispanic population
advertising, corruption and disasters. against the “gringos” (Anglo Whites) who in turn
discriminated against the ex-Mexicans who had been
When L.A. was first seen by Europeans in 1542, there were made citizens. There were many instances of Hispanic
three major groups of Indians living there: the Tongva (later banditos robbing gringos. In 1850 there was, on average,
to be called Gabrieliňos after the mission San Gabriel), one murder per day in L.A., impressive considering the
the Tataviam (later to be called the Fernandeňos after the city’s small size at the time.
mission in San Fernando) and the Chumash. European
diseases hit the Indians before Spanish missionaries arrived. Noir
When missionaries first counted the native population they
found about 26,000 in about 170 villages. The Indians were Noir is a genre that was born primarily in L.A. It started
hunter gatherers and fishers and were among the few North during the great depression with Raymond Chandler’s
American Indians willing to brave the open seas. Philip Marlowe novels, first published in 1939. These
novels showed L.A. through the eyes of a hard-boiled
As a rite of passage L.A. area Indians used toloache (aka detective. Noir quickly found its way to films with such
Jimsonweed), a dangerous deliriant drug, to gain visions. movies as “The Maltese Falcon” (1941), “The Big Sleep”
(1946) and “The Third Man” (1946). Noir comes from the
The Indians had a wide variety of classes of supernatural
French word for black and refers to both the darkly lit style
practitioners, including “doctors” that could control of filmography and the darkness of the plots.
rattlesnakes, control the weather, transform into bears and
those that could both cure and send diseases. Those who The heroes of early noir were not rich adventurers or
would become shamans were generally gifted, during a principled heroes; they were hard-working middle class
dream or vision, with spirit animals or power objects that people trying to get by doing an unglamorous 9-to-5 job,
would thereafter aid them. The L.A. area Indians also had such as the job of being a private detective. Through
people who dressed and lived as the opposite sex and were the eyes of these middle class heroes Noir portrayed
generally considered holy. the lazy and corrupt world of the rich and the desperate
and dangerous world of the poor. The rich were villains
Spanish missionaries established missions: fort-like because they had no principles and would do anything to
entertain themselves. The poor were villains because they
compounds in which Indians were forced to live so they would do anything for a buck.
could be indoctrinated into Catholicism and European ways
of life. For the most part the L.A. area Indians submitted Although Noir is remembered for what people today think
peacefully to this process. However, Europeans diseases of as exaggerated stereotypes (the hard-boiled private dick,
continued to ravage the Indians, especially a smallpox the sultry femme-fatale, the streetwise gangster) at the time
epidemic in 1864, and by 1900 there were only a handful of it was an unparalleled attempt at realistically portraying the
L.A. area Indians left. crime, misery and moral ambiguity of urban life.
Spanish settlers arrived in the L.A. area in 1781. In 1835 Noir showed rich people being miserable and
the Mexican congress incorporated L.A. as a city and named psychologically corrupt despite their palatial mansions,
armies of servants and ability to get away with nearly
it the capitol of the Mexican state of California. At that
anything. Rich characters who sought to isolate themselves
time there were about 2,000 people in L.A. The US briefly from the rules and concerns of normal Americans usually
captured L.A. during the Mexican-American war, but left ended up dying in the gutter. It was a rejection of all the
behind insufficient forces to hold it and were driven out by promises and ideals that L.A. based itself on. Noir was
the residents. In 1848 Mexico transferred possession of not only a criticism of L.A., it was a criticism so well made
California to the US (part of the agreement was that Spanish that it caused people around the world to hate L.A. Noir’s
would remain one of the official languages of California) and effect on the world’s image of L.A. continues to this day.
in 1850 L.A. was incorporated as an American city. There
History 159
In Dark
By 1870 White Anglos outnumbered an aqueduct to bring water from the Owens
L.A. Timeline Hispanics and Indians. L.A. also got its Valley. Later, Owens Valley residents,
8,000 BC – Chumash settle in L.A. angry at having their water stolen, bombed
area. first Chinese community. A year later
200-500 AD – Tongva displace
there was mass violence in the Chinese the aqueduct with dynamite.
Chumash as major group in L.A. area. quarter. A White man was accidentally
1542 – L.A. first seen by Europeans. killed during a Chinese gang battle. A In 1914, Birth of a Nation was filmed in
1771 – 1st mission in what is now White mob attacked Chinatown, killing L.A. This movie showed the Klu Klux
Montebello 19. Klan as the saviors of a South in crisis after
1777 – L.A. pueblo established, the end of the Civil War. Birth of a Nation
Indians baptized. By 1900 L.A. was a city of 100,000 was generally regarded as the greatest
1781 – Spanish settlers arrive in L.A. people. It was a major center of industry movie of its era by White Americans and it
area. and the rich and powerful of L.A. were began the shift of the movie industry from
1810 – Gage Mansion completed – fighting to try to establish a union-free the East Coast to Hollywood.
today it is the oldest building in L.A..
city which would attract businesses and
1817 – First school in L.A..
investors from around the country. The The great depression began in 1929.
1921 – Mexico gains independence California was not as badly hit as the rest
from Spain. Los Angeles times, at the direction of
1835 – L.A. is capitol of Mexican its owner, used all of its propagandizing of the nation. Thousands of “arkies” and
California power to fight unions. This culminated “oakies’ (Arkansas and Oklahoma farmers
1836 – Civil War between North and in bombs set by union leaders killing 21 who has been wiped out by the depression
South California. people at a Times printing press. For and dust bowl) tried to hitchhike to
1836 – L.A. population is 2,228. some time thereafter L.A. remained one California. To stem the influx of jobless
1846 – US briefly occupies L.A. during of the least unionized industrial areas in people into the state, Los Angeles
Mexican-American war. the country. blockaded the California-Nevada border.
1848 – California to US from Mexico.
1850 – 1 murder per day in L.A.. At the same time that L.A.’s barons In the 1930s, L.A.’s mayor and chief of
1864 – Smallpox epidemic kills nearly were trying to create L.A. as a utopia police ran a huge corruption ring. City
all remaining L.A. Indians. for industrialists, real estate speculators contracts were awarded to those who
1868 – 1st streetlights. were designing, adverting and selling gave kickbacks. Police force jobs and
1870 – 1st Chinese community in L.A.. the Los Angeles area as we know it promotions were sold out of city hall. The
1870 – White Anglos outnumber today. L.A. was the first such area to LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department)
Hispanics and Indians.
be extensively planned and marketed by vice squad was the most corrupt divisions,
1871 – 19 killed in White mob attack acting as bag men for the city’s vice kings
on Chinese quarter. private interests. L.A. was envisioned as
1873 – 100,000 eucalyptus trees a series of small, idealized Midwestern and queens. When a restaurant owner
brought from Australia. towns connected together (and to and a private-detective tried to expose
1892 – Oil discovered in L.A. area. industrial areas) by freeways. L.A. was a the corruption the restaurant owner’s
1897 – 1st automobile in L.A.. city designed to use the new technology taxes were raised, family was threatened
1900 – 100,000 in L.A.. of the automobile and to make people and restaurants were stink-bombed and
1910 – Bomb set by union leaders kills simultaneously insulated and connected the detective’s car was bombed, severely
21 at L.A. Times printing press. to the amenities of city life. It was injuring him. Despite these attacks the
1912 – 1st gas station in L.A.. also a city designed to be extensively two succeeded in exposing the corruption.
1913 – Los Angeles aqueduct brings economically and racially segregated, The mayor was recalled in 1937 and many
water from Owens Valley where nobody would have to live next to LAPD officers were forced to resign.
1914 – Birth of a Nation (historical someone not like themselves. This built- Many of the vice lords left L.A. and went
movie about KKK) filmed. in segregation created huge Black and to Los Vegas.
1916 – Forest Lawn cemetery opens. Hispanic ghettos that exist to this day.
1922 – 1st radio stations in L.A.. WWII was a time of greater-than-usual
1924 – L.A. has one million people. Retiring middle-class Midwesterners racial tension in L.A. Japanese-Americans,
1924 – Owens Valley residents were convinced that they could buy many of whom were successful farmers
dynamite aqueduct. small orange groves and live in peace, in the L.A. area, were imprisoned in
1927 – Warner brothers produces first prosperity and excellent weather. Like ‘relocation centers’ from 1942-1945.
talkie.
all advertising, though, the promises of Evidence of their disloyalty was later
1928 – 1st Mickey Mouse cartoon.
utopian life were, at best, an exaggeration found to have been manufactured by White
1928 – L.A. has highest suicide rate
in nation. and, at worst, a flat-out lie. By 1928 farmers who just wanted to take their
1928 – Gambling ships off coastline it was a city of pollution and racial land. At the same time L.A. was a major
(outside 3 mi. jurisdiction). tensions, with the highest suicide rate in military port and the streets were teeming
1929 – Great Depression begins. the nation. with soldiers on leave. These soldiers
1933 – 120 dead in Long Beach came into conflict with zoot suiters, young
earthquake. L.A.’s growing population (one million Mexican-Americans known for wearing
1933 – 36 fire-fighters die in canyon people by 1924) had a need for water that snazzy outfits. The tensions culminated
fire. quickly outstripped the needs of the area in the Zoot Suit Riots in 1943 in which the
1935 – Griffith Observatory opens (which, except for the L.A. river, was soldiers went on a rampage beating zoot
continued next page basically a desert). In 1913 L.A. created suiters and other Mexican-Americans.
160 Chapter Four - Los Angeles

Alleys
After WWII a post-war economic boom hit Crips and the remaining gangs formed
the nation and the L.A. area did especially together into the Bloods to defend L.A. Timeline (continued)
well, gaining the aircraft, munitions, themselves. 1936 – L.A. blockades California/
automotive, furniture and clothing industries. Nevada border to stop unemployed
hitchhikers from entering the state.
At the same time, anti-Communist hysteria In the early 80s the Colombian
1937 – Mayor Frank Shaw recalled for
swept the nation and the heavily Jewish film Medellin cartel used L.A. as a massive corruption.
industry was especially suspect. Led by proving ground for its new product: 1938 – 78 die in flooding.
Senator McCarthy, congress had hearings crack cocaine. The combination of 1938 – L.A. river channeled with
to try to root out the Communists. Anyone cheapness and high addictive potential concrete.
named a Communist (even if it was a lie) made crack a smash hit and L.A. was 1939 – Raymond Chandler publishes 1st
was blacklisted by the fearful film industry. America’s major distribution center. L.A. detective novel.
In 1947 the “Hollywood Ten” were charged The Crips and Bloods became local 1940 – 1st freeway in West.
with contempt of congress for refusing to distributors of Crack, making them 1942 – Japanese relocation centers (until
say whether they were Communists. a lot of money and allowing them to 1945).
afford high-tech weapons (including 1943 – Zoot Suit Riots.
In 1951 farm owners wanted cheap labor armor-piercing ‘cop killer’ bullets). 1947 – “Hollywood Ten” charged with
to work on their farms so they began the The LAPD responded by supplying contempt of congress.
bracero program, a program of bringing in themselves with helicopters, body- 1947 – Black Dahlia murder.
Mexican citizens to work as farm laborers. armor and assault weapons. The 1949 – L.A. starts to get rid of Red Car
They were not given citizenship and were LAPD became a military force trolleys.
often brought in on a purely seasonal basis. outfitted for a war. 1951 – Bloody Christmas: 7 young
Mexican-Americans beaten by LAPD.
The bracero program opened the floodgates
of immigration that California could not People in minority communities felt 1951 – Bracero program starts.
close even when the bracero program was increasingly like the LAPD was a 1952 – 5 killed in earthquake.
ended in 1964. The legacy of this program hostile occupation army. There were 1954 – Worst ever smog attack, planes
several shootings of unarmed Black diverted, ships barred from harbor.
is the massive amount of undocumented 1955 – Disneyland opens.
illegal aliens living in L.A., making up 20% men by the police. Minorities were
of the nation’s illegal immigrants. subjected to searches, degrading 1958 – 1st TV news helicopter in nation.
treatment and violence simply 1961 – Last Red Car trolley line closed.
The 1960s saw more tensions. In 1965 there because of their skin color. It was 1963 – Aerospace is L.A.’s leading
well known that a minority driving industry.
was a huge riot in the Black ghetto of Watts.
in an affluent neighborhood would 1964 – Bracero program ends.
34 were killed and 6,000 buildings were
be pulled over (“driving while Black” 1965 – Watts Riots. 34 people killed,
burned down. In 1970 an anti-Vietnam or “driving while Brown”). Attempts 6,000 bldgs. burned down
protest, led mainly by Mexican-Americans by minorities to express their anger 1968 – RFK assassinated at the
protesting the disproportionately large (e.g. Ice-T’s song “Cop Killer”) were Ambassador Hotel
number of Hispanics going to Vietnam, dismissed by Whites. In 1991 LAPD 1969 – 91 dead in floods and mudslides
turned into a riot and 3 were killed. In 1969 officers were videotaped severely 1970 – 3 killed in anti-Vietnam protest
the LAPD raided the L.A. headquarters of beating Rodney King. A year later turned riot
the Black Panthers. The Panthers resisted a mostly White suburban jury found 1971 – 65 dead in Earthquake
and a five-hour siege took place. the cops not guilty of unnecessary 1975 – Medfly in L.A.
violence. The verdict sparked a huge 1976 – Carpool lanes.
In the 1970s the area’s gigantic population riot, mostly in the Watts area, in which 1978 – Bussing begins.
put strains on the city that necessitated 55 were killed and 1,100 buildings 1985-1990 – Major Japanese purchases
major changes. Air quality standards were destroyed. of L.A. properties.
had to be instituted to deal with the smog 1986 – 82 killed in midair collision over
problem. Carpool lanes had to be added to LAX.
In 1994, 61 died in the Northridge
deal with terrible freeway congestion. The 1989 – LAPD starts using semiautomatic
earthquake. Later that year OJ weapons.
educational system was also in crisis. In Simpson was arrested for murder. In
1978 the California Supreme Court ruled 1991 – 34 killed in runway collision at
1996 the Malibu wildfires destroyed LAX.
in favor of a controversial plan to bus kids 80 homes. In 1997 heavily armed 1991 – Rodney King beating by LAPD
from poor schools to wealthier schools. bank robbers battled police officers videotaped.
and forced a retreat, proving that even 1992 – Metrolink trains start running.
Black gangs first formed in the 1940s the highly militarized LAPD could be 1992 – Rodney King Riots, 55 killed.
to protect young Blacks from violence outgunned. 1993 – 5 dead in wildfires, 720 buildings
by White gangs. Although Black gangs lost.
continued over the next three decades In 1999 another major scandal of 1994 – 61 die in 6.7 magnitude
they mostly stuck to their neighborhoods. LAPD corruption broke. Officers Northridge earthquake.
In 1971 a new type of gang appeared: from the Rampart division were found 1994 – OJ Simpson arrested.
the Crips. The Crips aspired to the fierce to have committed perjury, made 1996 – Malibu wildfires.
loyalty engendered by the Black Panthers. false arrests, planted evidence, staged 1997 – Heavily armed bank robbers
The Crips expanded rapidly, creating new shootings, intimidated witnesses, battle police in North Hollywood.
franchises throughout Black L.A. Soon beaten people, stolen property and 1999 – Rampart Division Scandal.
the majority of L.A. Black gangs were dealt drugs.
History 161
In Dark
Culture
In Brief: Many in L.A. quirky, trendy, unempathetic. L.A. has no “center.” There is no part of town that is the
heart of the urban sprawl and links the city together. Some
Many people come to L.A. because they don’t fit in with the say this lack of center makes L.A. democratic, since no
communities where they grew up or because they dream of part of town is more important to the L.A. experience than
making it big in the entertainment industry. The waitress another. Others say that this makes L.A. a soulless place,
trying to become an actress is a stereotype but it’s one based not a real city but a generic sprawl. In truth the highways
on reality. The influx of outcasts and fame seekers means are the real center of L.A. They’re where nearly everyone
that L.A. has a larger than average number of people who in the city meets and interacts. That such interactions
are quirky, eccentric, colorful, shallow or have unrealistic are between people isolated in their bubbles of security,
views of themselves and the world around them. Many and that these interactions are often selfish and angry and
who come to L.A. to become famous have their dreams
randomly violent, is emblematic of the culture of L.A.
dashed and become crazy or bitter.
Los Angeles is a city of trends. Every few years a new However, much of the population of L.A. is made up of
trend sweeps over the city, holds a large portion of the immigrants, who have a very different experience of L.A.
city in its thrall and then fades away once it becomes too In L.A. they find community, opportunity and hope. They
commonplace to be trendy. For a while ‘new age’ was don’t want to be famous or trendy or to isolate themselves
trendy and all the cultural elite had to be seen wearing from the rest of the world. They just want better lives.
crystals or getting their astrological tables done. Then all For most immigrants the promises of L.A. are not empty
the trendy people had to be seen working out in expensive promises: if they work hard they can achieve better lives
gyms and drinking wheat grass. More recently there was a for themselves and their families.
minor intellectualism trend where the trendy people wanted
to be seen in cafes wearing glasses and reading philosophy
books. L.A. Liberals
Los Angeles is known as one of the most liberal cities in the
The willingness of L.A. to adopt new trends at the drop of a country. Yet L.A. liberalism is very different from liberalism
hat is, in part, because this is the home of the entertainment in other areas. L.A. liberals are mainly home-owners who
and real estate industries, who specialize in taking a take up local environmental causes such as ‘saving’ a local
lifestyle or ideology and turning it into something that can area from development or keeping the beaches clean in order
be packaged and sold. to keep the value of their homes high. They try to keep
housing density low in their neighborhoods, supposedly to
Angelinos are often the target of derisive humor by the fight urbanization and protect the environment, but the bottom
rest of the world because, in their rush to adopt the latest line is to keep their communities wealthy and exclusive.
trends, they don’t realize that they’re doing things that look
ridiculous. Los Angeles liberals will consistently vote for popular
causes like saving the whales or providing aid to third world
The economic and racial segregation of the city, the lack countries. They will give money to charities and be seen at
of public spaces for people to meet, the constant natural fancy fundraising events for these popular causes, yet they
disasters and the broken dreams of so many has come will consistently vote against anything which would cause
together to make L.A. one of the cruelest cities on Earth. more homeless people or minorities to live near them or
Angelinos, on average, have no empathy for the tragedies which would hamper the LAPD’s military-style war against
of others. drugs and gangs
Entertainment
In Brief: Clubs, beaches and shopping are popular. During the day the beaches are where many L.A. residents
(especially the White and wealthy) go to hang out. The
L.A.’s night life is centered around night clubs, especially Venice Boardwalk is one of the most popular beach
on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. L.A. bars stop serving hangouts. Surfing is big at L.A. beaches. There are also
alcohol at 2 PM and there is no smoking in bars and clubs. many sunbathers, bicyclists, rollerbladers, people eating at
Some nightclubs go to extreme lengths to be seen as hip and beach-side cafes, street performers, people walking dogs,
fashionable, mostly by using the most extreme interior décor etc.
they can imagine, from cold and completely bare concrete
to a profusion of red velvet. Some clubs are so extreme For many wealthy L.A. residents, shopping is a major
and unique that stepping into one is like no experience to pastime. A day long shopping trip may take them to
be found outside the world of dreams. Some clubs are so Hollywood and Beverly Hills and leave them proudly
exclusive that bouncers don’t allow anyone in who doesn’t carrying a number of bags with the logos of upscale shops
look trendy enough. Other clubs have VIP rooms where on them.
only the rich and famous can go.
Alleys
So called ‘higher-culture’, e.g. theater, orchestras, opera, etc. keeps
Club xVx trying to leave L.A. to go where it would be more appreciated, but
This is a trendy new club in West Hollywood, on the real estate interests, who know that ‘culture’ is a part of real estate
Sunset Strip. Octavio Hidalgo (p.219) owns a third value, keep paying it to come back.
of it. It has been the site of several equally trendy
clubs that went bankrupt after their popularity
slipped.
Two black-clad bouncers at the front keep out
anyone who isn’t trendy, famous or rich enough
Population
to enter. They can be bribed and this is a common There are about 11 million people in L.A. County and about 15
occurrence.
million in the L.A. area.
Inside is a fairly standard night club dance floor:
colored lights, a DJ booth, video clips playing on
big TV screens, two bars, chill-out rooms, large and
clean bathrooms. From the moment the club opens
Nationality
its doors (at 7 PM) until is closes (2 AM) there is
In Brief- Many immigrants, many illegals.
constant pounding music, a mix of techno, pop and
rap, almost too loud for anyone to talk. Each night 10 million L.A. residents were born in the US, 1 million are
there is at least one person dealing coke, ecstasy, naturalized citizens, about 3.6 million are non-citizens. There are
speed and other ‘club drugs.’ The management about 2 million illegal immigrants in the L.A. area (about one-fifth
knows the dealers are present but says nothing so of all illegal immigrants in the nation). Most new immigrants are
long as they are subtle. from Mexico, the Philippines, El Salvador, China, Korea, Vietnam,
At the back of the dance floor area are two more Iran, Taiwan, Vietnam and India.
bouncers that guard the entrance to the VIP area.
The management is purposefully unclear about what Life as an Illegal Alien in L.A.
it takes to become a VIP, but most anyone who has
to ask will be turned away. Most illegals have paid thousands and risked their lives to come to the
US. Some Asians pay as much as $30,000 each to be smuggled into the
The entrance to the VIP room is two large, heavy, US, and when they get here they still owe money to their smugglers and
ornately carved wooden doors. Behind them is are forced to pay it off working in sweatshops.
a diffusely lit hallway. The walls have small,
blunt metal spikes on them and the floor is clear Immigrants can buy fake social security and green cards, allowing
plastic over a carpeting of plastic masks of people them to get jobs, for as little as $20. Most men work as day laborers,
screaming. At the end of the hallway two more large mostly on construction sites. Most women work in garment industry
wood doors lead into the actual VIP room. sweatshops where they earn as little as 70 cents per hour. There are
over 4,500 sweatshops in L.A. In theory, employers could face fines
The VIP room is a strange mix of antique and ultra- if they are caught employing illegals, but in reality the number of fines
modern. There are Victorian chairs, divans, tables employers face is far too small to discourage them from employing
and fainting couches which have been reupholstered illegals.
with soft red velvet. The ceiling is mirrored but
the mirrors have been made yellowish, cloudy and Most immigrants find a community waiting in L.A. to welcome
slightly warped to make them look antique. The them: those from their old homes who came here before them. Most
walls are covered with red velvet. The carpet immigrants send a significant portion of their income to relatives back
(burgundy) is plush and immaculately clean. home. Although some immigrants live in cheap hotels or in garages,
There is a bar made entirely from smoked glass. most live in modest but comfortable working-class apartments.
Expensive liquor bottles sit on glass shelves with
amber lights shining through them from behind. For the most part illegals worry about the same things as other working
There are several abstract glass sculptures filled class Angelinos: keeping their cars running, getting a good education
with a cloudy grey liquid. By virtue of a mechanism for their kids, paying their bills. Although some live in fear, immigrants
inside, old black-and-white daguerreotype photos have little cause to worry about being deported so long as they keep out
(sealed in clear plastic) occasionally emerge from of trouble with the law. Even those who do get in trouble with the law
the cloudiness, pressed for a second against the may get through the justice system without being deported, since L.A.
surface of the glass before dissapearing again. law enforcement and INS still don’t work together as well as they’re
supposed to.
The lighting is dim and tinted purple. The music is
less loud and tends to be of the ‘ambient-industrial’ The Border Patrol, the military force which is a bane of immigrants who
genre. The smell of cigars and clove cigarettes are came through the US-Mexico border, has recently caused terror among
common. Drugs are often used openly. Most of the illegal immigrants by conducting raids in the Inland Empire.
people found back here are young celebrities and the Being illegal has inherent problems beyond the possibility of being
children of the rich. deported. Getting car insurance is difficult, and without car insurance
There is no special significance to the club’s décor; an immigrant can lose his or her car if pulled over. Getting anything
it was simply the result of hiring the trendiest other than emergency medical care is also difficult. Many have limited
interior decorator available. The beautiful, exotic, English skills.
mysterious and slightly menacing ambience has Illegal immigrants also face a lot of hatred. There are anti-immigrant
been enough to make a few drugged-up celebrities groups whose hatred and paranoia resemble that of the Nazis.
freak out.
Population 163
In Dark
Ethnicity Income
In Brief- Largely Hispanic, many Blacks and In Brief- Many rich (especially in Orange County), many poor
Asians. (especially in L.A. County), many homeless.
There are about 6 million Hispanics, 6 million Whites, About 2 million people in the L.A. area are living below the
1 million Blacks and about 1.5 million Asians in the poverty line. L.A. County has the largest percentage of people
L.A. area. Whites are the majority in Orange County in poverty (18%), followed by San Bernardino County (16%),
and Riverside County. The vast majority of Blacks Riverside County (14%) and lastly Orange County (10%).
are in L.A. County. Most Asians are found in L.A.
County. Each county has a large number of Hispanics There are about 800,000 people who make $100,000 or more
but in L.A. County they are the largest group. per year. There are about 150,000 who make $200,000 or more.
Orange County has the highest percentage of people making
Although L.A. has a diverse number of ethnic this much money (5%).
communities, there are some that are unique in the
nation: L.A. has the second largest Hispanic population There are about 90,000 homeless people in L.A. County, the
of any city in the world (Mexico City being the first), largest homeless population of any urban area in the nation.
the second largest Jewish population in the country About two-thirds are male. There is a fairly equal mix of White,
(the New York area having the first). It has more Black and Hispanic homeless people. Only about one-in-four
Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Filipinos, Cambodians, finds a bed in a shelter on any given night. More than half of the
Koreans, Thais, Israelis, Armenians and Hungarians homeless have mental illness and/or substance abuse problems.
living outside their respective nations than anywhere About 1 in 10 is a veteran, about 1 in 4 has a physical disability,
else in the world. L.A. has the nation’s largest Persian, and about 1 in 10 has been a victim of domestic violence. The
Japanese and Native American populations. There are average homeless person is 40 years old. A growing portion of
also a relatively large number of Roma (Gypsies) in the homeless population are single-mom families, though they
the L.A. area. L.A. also has the nation’s second largest tend not to be among the “long-term” homeless.
population of native Pacific Islanders (Honolulu,
Hawaii being the first). Life as a Homeless Person in L.A.
The most popular area for homeless people to sleep is Skid Row. Other
Native Americans in L.A. significant areas of homeless occupation are other parts of downtown, South
L.A. has one of the largest Native American populations of Central, Long Beach, Pomona, Pasadena and Venice.
any urban area in the US. There are about 200,000 Native Some sleep in shelters, others in cars. Some have tents or construct cardboard
Americans in the L.A. area. Some are Native Californians. shelters on sidewalks or under underpasses. Some take advantage of L.A.’s
Although the Native Californian population was decimated by temperate weather and sleep on cardboard sheets on the sidewalk.
plagues their numbers have been growing. In 1906 there were
42 Chumash people. Today, 2,000 claim Chumash ancestry. About half receive some sort of government assistance (often disability
checks that they cash at the local liquor store). Some receive money from
Many Native Americans from other parts of the US were put on friends or family. About one-third have jobs (typically minimum wage
busses to L.A. in the 50s by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, who jobs that don’t pay enough to pay the rent on an L.A. apartment), some
thought that dispersing Indians from their traditional homes panhandle, some engage in prostitution, some do small-time drug dealing,
to large urban areas was a good way to break them of their some sell cans to recyclers. Food can be gained fairly easily by going to
traditional cultures and ways of life. soup kitchens or eating out of dumpsters and the majority of a long-term
Another major component of L.A. Native Americans are homeless person’s income is spent on drugs or alcohol.
natives of Latin America who immigrated here with along Legal problems are common for the homeless, especially when the LAPD
mestizos. The Latin American Natives usually live in the same choose to enforce anti-camping, anti-loitering and anti-public urination
neighborhoods as other Hispanic immigrants but they are often laws. Many of the homeless in Skid Row are parole or probation violators.
isolated and discriminated against because many only speak Medical problems are common, especially because hygiene is difficult for
Spanish as a second language. the homeless. Some are homeless because physical disabilities made them
There are a disproportionately large number of Native Americans unable to work, others are physically disabled because of an injury or illness
in L.A.’s homeless population. Alcoholism, displacement caused by being on the streets. Homeless people are attacked and raped at
from their communities and a spirit of independence are all a much higher rate than the rest of the population.
contributing factors. Many homeless people are underage. Most are runaways. About one-third
The major gatherings for Native Americans in Southern of homeless youth are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. Homeless
California are the UCLA pow-pow, held in May on the UCLA youth are likely to engage in drug dealing, unsafe sex and illegal drug use.
campus, and the CSU Long Beach pow-wow, held in March.
At these pow-wows Native American dancers from the L.A.
area, and some from all over the country, put on their best
traditional costumes and dance, hoping to win a cash prize.
Religion
Others drum and sing. Others set up booths to sell food, crafts In Brief- Catholicism big. New Age & cults relatively big.
or merchandise. Others are just there to watch and socialize.
Due to the limited autonomy granted Native Americans under There are abut 4 million Catholics in L.A. County. About
American law, many Native American tribes have opened 1 million people in L.A. County consider themselves non-
casinos. The nearest big casinos are near San Bernardino in San
Bernardino county and near San Jacinto in Riverside county. religious/agnostic/atheists. There are about 3 million Protestant
Christians (with Baptists and Evangelicals the largest sub-

Alleys
groups). Other large religions are Judaism (½ million), tape liberal priests doing or saying things contrary to
Church of Mormon (100,000), Islam (100,000), Buddhism archdiocese policies.
(70,000), Hinduism (70,000) and Jehovah’s Witness (70,000).
Catholicism, Buddhism and Islam are growing rapidly, mostly The mother church for the L.A. archdiocese is the
because of immigration. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, see p.175 for
more.
Catholicism- L.A. has the largest Catholic congregation in the
New Age- While it may no longer be cool for people to
US. The vast majority of these Catholics are Hispanic, although
a significant amount (10%) are Asian. The L.A. archdiocesecall themselves ‘New Agers,’ many L.A. residents to
has more than 2,000 ordained employees, more than 12,000 laysubscribe to such beliefs. New Age is an amorphous
set of beliefs as well as the products (books, crystals,
employees, runs schools, cemeteries, colleges and hospitals and
has a lot of investments and real estate. aromatherapy equipment) and services (classes,
workshops, alternative health treatments, ‘readings’)
The L.A. archdiocese also has a history of being one of the that are sold to believers. New Age is made up of a
country’s more conservative and intolerant archdiocese. The generic sort of mysticism, little bits of beliefs stolen
archdiocese has been known to send undercover agents to from other cultures and terms and ideas from science
Population 165
In Dark
taken completely out of context. New Age practices can Cults- L.A. has a lot of cults. The ideal victims of cult
include crystals, astrology, past life regression, meditation, indoctrination are the kind of people who come to L.A.
yoga, herbalism, aromatherapy, female inner-goddess- in droves: young people who have just arrived in a new
empowerment, organic/raw food diets, etc. community, are disoriented, desperate and have not
formed a social network.
Transportation
In Brief- Complicated but congested freeway system. Busses- About 450,000 people ride L.A. county busses.
Underutilized busses & subway. Yet bus usage has been declining lately, mostly because
of rising fares. 90% of bus riders are poor non-Whites.
Unlike other major cities, which were built within limited
space, L.A. is purposefully spread out. The design of L.A. Subways- There are four commuter rail lines. They run
means that everyone is forced to travel. Very few in L.A. in underground tunnels in some sections and are above
have homes, workplaces and shopping within walking ground in others. They run every 5 to 10 minutes at peak
distance of each other. Despite the addition of carpool lanes, times and every 20 minutes at night. They run from
most commuters still drive alone. Commuting to work is 4:30 AM to midnight. It costs $1.25 for a single fare. In
a way of life and spending half-an-hour driving to or from mid-day and evenings ridership is low and it is not hard
work is considered perfectly normal. Freeway congestion is to find a completely empty car.
still a major problem and can double, or more, the time of a
trip. Because of this, most L.A. radio stations feature regular
traffic reports so that drivers can adjust their routes to avoid
the worst traffic.
L.A. is behind every other US metropolis in public
transportation. The “red car” line of trolleys was dismantled
starting in 1949 and a replacement (the subway) was not
opened until 1990. Even the public transportation that exists
is underutilized by the L.A. population.
Freeways- L.A. is known for its complicated cloverleaf and
diamond interchanges, on-ramps that shoot into the sky like
roller coasters and many overpasses. Yet L.A. has relatively
few freeways for its large and dense population.
Many freeways are surrounded by walls on either side to
keep traffic noise from bothering local populations. These
walls feature murals, mosaics and a lot of graffiti.
The freeways are most congested during “rush hour” (around
6:30-8 AM and 5-7 PM). Average speed goes as low as 17
MPH (27 kmph) during these times.
With so many people spending so much time on the freeways,
random freeway violence is common. “Road rage” is
attributed as the cause for much of the violence. There have
been a string of freeway shootings in recent years.
Climate
L.A.’s proximity to the ocean gives it a rather mild climate. The L.A. basin and the San Fernando Valley suffer from
In summer the daytime highs are around 85° F (29° C), with smog, a hazy air pollution caused by cars and industry.
occasional highs the 90s. The nighttime lows in summer L.A. has improved its air pollution greatly in the last
are around 65° F (18° C). Temperatures are warmer the decade, but it is still a serious problem. Smog reaches
farther one goes from the ocean. unhealthy levels about one-third of days. Exposure to
smog causes eye irritation, coughing, headaches, nausea,
In winter, daytime highs are around 67° F (19° C) and shortness of breath and chest pains (altogether -4 END, 10
nighttime lows are around 48° F (8° C). difficulty distracting pain).
Los Angeles has an average of 325 sunny days per year. Los Angeles is known for its many disasters: earthquakes,
Los Angeles doesn’t see much rain. Most of the rain is in wildfires, floods and mudslides. Hardly a year goes by
winter and spring. Snow is a near impossibility. without some disaster killing many and causing millions
in property damage.
166 Chapter Four - Character Creation

Alleys
The War on Undesirables
L.A. has an unreasonable fear of ‘undesirables’
Economy
which includes homeless people, non-White In Brief- Real estate, garment industry, aerospace, entertainment,
youth and counterculture youth. This fear has tourism, higher education, industrial parks
far-reaching implications for the face of L.A.
and lifestyle of Angelinos.
As it’s been for nearly a century, real estate is L.A.’s biggest and most
The LAPD know, for the most part, that their powerful industry. Besides constantly redeveloping any part of L.A.
primary mandate is to protect White Anglo which is more than a few decades old, the real estate industry carves
neighborhoods from undesirables. They know new urban spaces out of the desert, constantly expanding the L.A. urban
that there are neighborhoods where there aren’t sprawl. Much L.A. real estate is owned by Japanese investors.
supposed to be Non-Whites and where they pull
over any Non-Whites they find driving around
Other major industries include the fashion and garment industry
there. Non-Whites, especially Blacks and
Hispanics, quickly learn what neighborhoods (Downtown), the aerospace industry (Orange County), the entertainment
they’re not ‘supposed to be in.’ And with the industry (the Valley), tourism and higher education.
number of unarmed Black men who have been
accidentally shot by the LAPD, non-Whites The L.A. area has many industrial parks: large complexes of offices and
know that going where they aren’t wanted can laboratories designed so that a corporation can move in and set up a
be dangerous. major operation.
The cops also know that the city has a policy
of ‘containing’ homeless people into the virtual
concentration camp of Skid Row. Homeless
found outside Skid Row are harassed and often
Politics
In Brief- Homeowner’s groups very powerful, control communities,
dropped back in this area. build gated complexes. L.A. racially gerrymandered. Real estate also
very powerful.
Business Improvement Districts and their hired
security guards (discussed in more detail on
p.60) do their part to keep undesirables out of The biggest political struggles in L.A. politics aren’t for control of any
shopping zones via harassment and threats. centralized authority, they’re over autonomy. Middle and upper-class
communities are constantly trying to form their own autonomous cities so
The L.A. fear of undesirables is so bad that L.A. that their tax dollars don’t have to support services for poor people. There
has made its public places uncomfortable to are more than 200 incorporated cities in L.A. County. L.A. communities
discourage undesirables (and, as a side effect, were the first to contract out for police and fire services from the larger
anyone else) from hanging out there. Public metropolitan area. Rather than go to the trouble of forming its own police
spaces in L.A. are conspicuous in their lack department, a newly autonomous city might, for example, contract out to
of places to sit. There are hardly any drinking
fountains or any other sources of fresh water
the LAPD for police services.
(causing many homeless to bathe in the L.A.
River). L.A. also has fewer public toilets than The battle for autonomy does not stop at the city level. Homeowner
any other big city in the US. associations who control areas of a few blocks rule their tiny areas as
totalitarian states, disallowing any behavior (such as not mowing one’s
Sprinkler systems are designed to go on at lawn regularly or painting one’s house an unapproved color) that might
unexpected intervals and are aimed to douse hurt property values. Homeowners associations, with their ability to
parks or sidewalks where the homeless might vote in blocks and contribute significant sums to politicians, are one of
want to sleep.
the most powerful and feared players in L.A. politics. Homeowner’s
associations who feel they have been wronged have been known to harass
Many new buildings in L.A. have been designed
to have featureless, forbidding, fortress-like and hold mass protests against government agencies and companies.
exteriors that makes people not want to hang
out in front of them, even thought the interior of L.A. has long had upper-class gated communities where an armed guard
the buildings are lush and comfortable. at a gate isolates the residents from unwanted visitors. Today, however,
even middle class neighborhoods are looking at becoming gated.
The consequence on the psychology of Los
Angeles residents is enormous. L.A. residents L.A. has been extensively gerrymandered: the voting districts carefully
are actively discouraged from being outside, arranged to give non-Whites as few districts as possible wherein they are
unless they are in their cars. There are almost
no places people can meet and hang out without
the majority of voters.
paying to be there. This leads to a sense
of isolation that pervades the L.A. psyche As mentioned previously, the real estate industry is L.A.’s wealthiest
and further increases the xenophobic fear of industry and thus can spend a lot of money influencing elections in their
undesirables. favor.
Politics 167
In Dark
Law Enforcement The LAPD has one of the most hostile relationships with
In Brief- Immigration overloaded, LAPD brutal and high-
tech, jails overcrowded. non-White communities of any police force in the nation.
See p.161 of History for more on why. The LAPD have
INS- The INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) not made any significant improvements to their race
aka ‘La Migra’, is a large part of law-enforcement in L.A. relations. There are a few officers (mostly gang task
INS agents conduct raids on factories and cheap apartment force detectives) can converse freely with any member
buildings looking for immigrants without valid visas. Yet of non-White communities, even hard-core cop-hating
no matter how many illegal immigrants they capture they gang members, because they have learned the ‘secret’ of
can’t dent L.A.’s 2 million illegal immigrant population. showing at least a little respect to the people they talk to.
The L.A. jail system is also supposed to hand over criminal LAPD gang experts are in a very nice position: they get
suspects who are illegals. The INS has a major problem
to appear on TV a lot and when they retire early they can
housing these suspected illegals until they can be dealt with.
make a lot of money acting as expert witnesses in gang-
Lately the INS has had to contract out to private companies
to turn old motels and apartment buildings into mini-jails related trials.
to hold illegals. From the outside they look like regular
motels or apartments, but inside hundreds of illegals are Many new projects (public housing units built to house
held under lock-down conditions. poor people) are like little police states. Residents have
to carry identity passes, LAPD officers have their own
LAPD- More than any other police force in the country, substations there, fences funnel anyone entering or
the LAPD uses technology rather than manpower to deal leaving past checkpoints where police officers can frisk
with L.A.’s significant crime problem. High crime areas them, check their identities and ask where they’re going
are patrolled on a regular basis by LAPD helicopters using and why.
spotlights and infrared cameras. Helicopters also swiftly
deliver LAPD SWAT teams, armed with body armor Jails- The L.A. county jail system is the largest in the
and automatic weapons, to any situation where LAPD nation. This is where prisoners are kept who are awaiting
patrol officers feel they don’t have the enemy completely trial or who were sentenced to sentences too short to be
outgunned. sent to state prisons.
L.A.P.D. S.W.A.T. Team

Alleys
The L.A. jail system is suffering from serious overcrowding and budget
Typical LAPD SWAT Team problems. Not only do they not have enough facilities to hold all their
Appearance- A group of ten men wearing prisoners, they don’t have enough money to keep all of their facilities
grayish-blue fatigues, heavily armed, with open. Many jails have sections that are closed off and unused because
body armor, thick vests and helmets. there aren’t enough staff to staff them. Some facilities have cells with 4
bunks and a fifth person sleeping on a mattress on the floor.
Attributes- AGY 10 (armor penalty included),
AWR 10, CHM 9, END 14, INL 10, SPD 15,
STH 15, WIL 10, BLD 5, BDY 5, INCY 4. One consequence of overcrowding is that prisoners, even those
convicted of violent crimes, are released after serving only 10% to 25%
Special Equipment- Each has a fire-retardant of their sentences. Overcrowding and budget problems also mean that
combat suit, SWAT Armor (AR 10 PR 10 prisoners typically wait days for medical or psychiatric care. Many of
bladed 3 blunt), earpiece radio, 4 Flash Bang the prisoners in L.A. County’s jails are mentally ill and receive little or
Grenades (-15 to all reactions within 50
no treatment. There have been bad outbreaks of drug-resistant staph
ft.), an Automatic Pistol (ROF 4, FR 5 ft., 4
damage, 9 rounds) and an Automatic Rifle infections in the crowded jails.
(ROF 6, FR 7 ft., 6 damage, 32 round clip).
The team also has access to 4 Semi-Automatic L.A. jails are extremely dangerous and violent places. All the major
Shotguns (ROF 2, FR 6 ft., 6 damage, 5 shots, prison gangs (p.174) exist here and L.A. prisons have recently seen race
easy strike) and 2 Sniper Rifles (ROF 5, FR 50 wars with more than half the inmate populations fighting.
ft. (scope), 6 damage, pierces as 9, 15 rounds).
All weapons have mounted flashlights. They
At any given time there are about 22,000 prisoners in the L.A. county jail
also have access to entry tools, poles with
mirrors on the end (for seeing around corners) system. 60% are awaiting trial. Each stays an average of 44 days. About
and rappelling gear. They travel around in half of inmates are Hispanic, a third are Black and 15% are White. The
either an armored vehicle with a battering ram majority of them can be found in the following facilities:
or in an LAPD helicopter.
The Twin Towers: This is the county’s newest facility and its one
Special Skills- Each has Climbing (2), of the world’s largest jails. A walled compound holds two hexagonal
Immobilization (2), Pistol (4), Rifle/Shotgun towers and a medical services building. The cell blocks are built on a
(4). Two have Sniper (4). panopticon model: a ring of prisoner areas with guard stations in the
Motivations- The SWAT team are the elite center. The Twin Towers has an inmate reception center through which
of the LAPD. They are sent to protect VIPs, all new inmates in the L.A. country jail system pass and are processed.
serve high-risk warrants, rescue hostages and The Twin Towers also holds all of the system’s female inmates as well as
rush to the scene of stand-offs with armed those receiving intensive medical and psychiatric care. The Twin Towers
criminals. is located in Downtown L.A..
Methods- The SWAT team is commanded by Men’s Central Jail: In Downtown L.A., near the Twin Towers,
a sergeant who manages operations from the has a 6,800 inmate capacity and approximately 1 staff member per 10
sidelines. There are two 5-officer teams each
led by a senior officer. The two teams might prisoners. The facility has a unit for juveniles being tried as adults and a
come in through two different entrances to unit for self-identified homosexual and transgendered male prisoners.
a building. The SWAT team specializes in
coming in quick and unexpected. They will Pitchess Detention Center: This is a compound of four jails on what
break down doors or rappel from rooftops. was originally ranchland 40 miles (64 km.) North of downtown L.A.,
They move through quickly, breaking down near the Magic Mountain theme park. Pitchess holds 8,500 prisoners and
any obstacles in their way, throwing flash-bang has seen some of the L.A. system’s worst prison-gang wars.
grenades ahead of them to disorient and blind
the enemy. When they meet their opponents Mentally Ill Offenders- The Patton State hospital in San Bernardino is
they shoot anyone who resists, throw the rest
the L.A. area’s state mental hospital. Patients who have been committed
to the ground and handcuff them.
by a judge come here and Patton holds a majority of California’s
Typical Action- If possible they try to throw criminally insane murderers.
in a flash bang grenade before entering the
area where the opponent is. If successful Patton was opened in 1893. It is built according to a tiered model of
it gives the opponents -15 to all actions/ wings coming off of a central admin building. It is made mostly of red
reactions. They make Vital Strikes with their
brick. Patton has a 1,300 bed capacity and is one of the few remaining
Automatic Rifles at INL (10) + AGY (10) +16
(skill) +1d20 -1/7 ft. vs. 35 (or 1d20 -1/7 ft. +1 big state mental hospitals.
vs. 0), doing 12 damage if successful.
Inside patients sleep on cots between bare walls. They live a strictly
Typical Reaction- Simultaneous Strike (6 regimented life of medications and treatment groups. The average
round burst) with their Automatic Rifles at criminal sent here will stay longer than a criminal sent to prison for the
AGY (10) + INL (10) +WIL (10) +16 (skill)
same crime. Those that are released are typically released to live in half-
-4 (burst) -1/7 ft. vs. 45 (or 1d20 -1/7 ft. vs. 3)
doing 36 damage is successful. way houses.
Law Enforcement 169

In Dark
Crime
Drugs Street Gangs
In Brief: L.A. is major drug distribution center. Crack and In Brief: 50,000 gang members, mostly Black, Hispanic
meth are big here. or Asian. Also privileged Whites emulating gangs and
neo-nazi gangs.
Crack- In the early 80s, the Colombian Medellin cartel
used Los Angeles as a testing ground for crack cocaine. Gangs are a huge part of the L.A. underworld. The L.A.
The extraordinary success of Crack led to its nationwide area has more than 50,000 hardcore gang members (and
distribution. L.A. remains the largest distribution center of many more ‘claimers’ and ‘wannabes’ who are peripherally
cocaine in the US. involved in gangs). There are more than 200 Black and
Hispanic gangs and nearly 100 Asian gangs. L.A. gangs
are so profitable that they have franchises all across the
Crack is made mostly in Columbia, Bolivia and Peru. It is country and even some in other countries. Yet despite the
brought to the US mostly via Mexican drug cartels. From huge number of gangs claiming Blood, Crip, Sureño or
L.A., Crack is distributed to the rest of the country, mostly Maravilla, each ‘set’ is its own autonomous entity, a small
by autonomous Colombian drug cartel cells, via private business retailer in the drug underworld.
vehicles and commercial trucks. Some of it stays in L.A.
where it is distributed mostly by Black street gangs. Developments in L.A. gang culture often spread to the
rest of the country. L.A. is the birthplace of the drive-
Methamphetamines- Mostly made in Mexico or in small by shooting, a practice that has caused so many innocent
meth labs on the outskirts of L.A. It is brought to L.A. casualties that it has rallied nationwide support for a war
either by Mexican cartels or by biker gangs (p.173). In L.A. on gangs.
it is sold primarily by Hispanic street gangs.
L.A. is also in a unique position of having some of the
oldest gangs. There are gang members today whose fathers
Although not quite as addictive as crack, meth can be and grandfathers were in (or are still in) their gang. L.A.
manufactured locally and it is cheaper and easier to get. also has had some of the most successful peace treaties
Most meth from L.A. is manufactured in labs setup in between gangs.
small apartments, shacks and trailers on the outskirts of
L.A. Fontana in San Bernardino (see p.181) is the meth lab Many join gangs because of family gang membership
capitol of the country. or because of chronic unemployment and the promise
of ‘easy money.’ Many others join gangs for respect
Marijuana- Most of L.A.’s marijuana comes from Mexico. within their communities and for a feeling of kinship and
Most street gangs, and a lot of private dealers, have a share belongingness. Many young people in ghettos feel that
in the marijuana sales market. making money, and being able to afford flashy jewelry,
clothes and cars is the only way available to get respect
from their peers and the opposite sex. Furthermore, many
Heroin- Some heroin comes from Mexico and Columbia, are from broken homes or have parents that weren’t there
some from Southeast Asia. The Latin American heroin for them because of work or drugs. These young people
is smuggled across the border by Mexican cartels and find an intense sense of kinship in gangs. They feel loved
mostly distributed by Hispanic street gangs. Asian heroin by their fellow gang members and they are quite proud to
is smuggled in by Asian organized crime (mostly in cargo say so.
ships) or via commercial airlines with the help of Nigerian
organized crime. Asian heroin is sold mostly by Asian L.A. also has a large number of girl gangs. Nearly every
street gangs. major gang has a smaller girl gang associated with it.
These girl gangs engage in the full range of gang activity:
Ecstasy- Most ecstasy is manufactured in Europe. It is beatings, murder, graffiti and drug dealing.
brought into the country via commercial airlines by Israeli,
L.A.’s gangs have developed (and have spread throughout
Russian and Asian organized crime. Most is sold by the nation) a language of gang graffiti that is so complex
independent dealers, though street gangs do have a share in that only gang members (and a few gang experts) can
the Ecstasy market. understand it. To those who can read it, gang graffiti
chronicles changes in membership, murders, declarations
PCP- Mostly manufactured in L.A. area labs and distributed of war, major battles, deaths and peace accords among
by various street gangs. gangs. Graffiti can also be used as an act of aggression:
one gang trespasses into the turf of another gang, crosses
out that gangs’ graffiti and sprays its symbols instead.

Alleys
Most street gang members are initiated by being “jumped Hispanic Gangs- Hispanic gang members make up
in,” an initiation that usually involves being beaten by other about half of all L.A. area gang members. Most Hispanic
gang members. This proves one’s toughness, willingness to gangs are aligned with either the Sureños (Southern
be hurt for the gang and one’s love for the gang. Other gang California gangs who war with Northern California
members may be initiated by committing a crime (murder gangs) or Maravilla (originally from the Maravilla
being the most extreme example). Some female gang housing projects) gangs. The Maravilla are the minority,
members are jumped-in, others are “sexed-in” (required to with about 20 gangs in unincorporated areas of East Los
have sex with several gang members). Those who want to Angeles.
leave a gang sometimes must submit to a “jumping out”
ceremony in which an especially brutal beating is delivered. The majority of Hispanic gangs can be found in South
and Central Los Angeles. There are also large numbers in
The majority of gangs are primarily Black, Hispanic or Compton, Boyle Heights and the San Fernando Valley.
Asian. There are also a few Pacific Islander (Samoan,
Tongan, Fijian, Guamanian and Hawaiian) gangs. They Hispanic gangs make most of their money selling
were first seen joining Black or Hispanic gangs. Nowadays methamphetamines, marijuana, heroin and PCP and
they are mostly affiliated with Black gangs, yet they remain often pay taxes on these sales to the Mexican Mafia
unique in their ability to adapt to both Black and Hispanic prison gang (see p.174).
groups. There is some feuding between different island
groups (e.g. Samoan vs. Tongan). Other small but significant In 1992 the leader of the Mexican Mafia ordered an end
gangs include Jamaican Posses (who specialize in weapon to drive-bys. This led to a gang truce between Southern
trafficking, smuggling and sales of crack and marijuana) and California gang members. The truce greatly reduced
Armenian Power (a quickly growing gang in Hollywood and gang homicides in the area. However in 1996 the
Glendale which is forming partnerships with other gangs). Mexican Mafia decided to tax all drug sales by Hispanic
gangs. Those gangs who refused to pay taxes were
Black Gangs- Most Black gangs in the L.A. area align ‘green lighted,’ in other words the tax-paying gangs had
themselves with either the Bloods or Crips, the Crips being permission to prey on them, and the homicide rate rose.
The Maravilla were the most prominent among these
the majority faction. Bloods and Crips do not always form
green-lighted gangs.
solid political blocks: much of the gang fighting in recent
decades has been groups of Crip sets fighting each other.
Traditionally the Hispanic gangs were clean-cut, well-
disciplined, respectful to women and had strict codes of
The spread of the Crips and Bloods was fueled by a terrible
honor. In the 1980s young Hispanics seeking alternatives
wave of unemployment in minority communities. Selling
to criminal street gangs formed ‘stoner gangs’ (mixed race
drugs was often the only job a young Black man could get. groups into marijuana, heavy metal and skateboarding)
and ‘tagger crews’ (groups of graffiti artists). However,
Black gangs typically make money by selling crack, PCP the criminal gangs preyed upon these groups and the
and marijuana which comes to them via Mexican and stoner and tagger gangs started carrying guns for self-
Colombian cartels. defense. As years went by the stoners and taggers started
acting more like gangs and were eventually brought into
There are more than 270 Black gangs in the L.A. area. The the fold of the L.A. Hispanic gang scene. This influx of
heart of gang activity in L.A. is a large, contiguous area new people destabilized the traditional codes of conduct
centered on South Central Los Angeles. There are also some of the Hispanic gangs.
large areas of gang activity in Carson and Long Beach.
A powerful new Hispanic gang is Mara Salvatrucha.
The Crips and Bloods are not exclusively Black. A few sets In L.A. the gang is made up mostly of Salvadorian
are mixed race or are mostly Hispanic. There are even a few refugees living in the Rampart area. They are powerful
sets in Samoan or Tongan immigrant enclaves that consist of because they have strong connections with a criminal
those ethnicities. organization in Mexico and Central America that has
approximately 300,000 members. Their primary areas of
In 1992, after the Rodney King Riots, the four largest Black specialty include car theft and firearms trafficking. They
gangs in Watts formed a truce. There was an immediate drop also sell marijuana, speed and crack.
in gang homicides. Although the original truce signers have
broken the truce, truces had by that time spread to other L.A. Hispanic gang members tend to wear white t-shirts, thin
area Black gangs. There is still gang war between Black belts, baggy pants, plaid shirts and caps or bandanas.
gangs, but not nearly as much as prior to 1992.
Asian Gangs- There are about 200 Asian gangs with
Black gang members wear jogging suits, Adidas sweatshirts, more than 20,000 members altogether. Asian gangs are
bandanas, plaid shirts (loose and untucked), one-color found in areas with heavy Asian populations, especially
outfits, L.A. area sports team jackets and caps, Nike or Downtown and South Central L.A., San Fernando Valley
British Knights shoes. and Long Beach.
Crime 171
In Dark
Some Asian gangs are sets of traditionally Black or Hispanic and memorabilia, wear body armor and have automatic
gangs. Most Asian gangs, however, are independent of those weapons. When they attack they typically lie in wait and
groups. ambush lone individuals or bomb sensitive places like
churches. These hate groups are most commonly found
Asian gang members are, on average, 16 to 25 years old. They in the Inland Empire, which was recently rural and mostly
dress in the latest styles. They may have tattoos (dragons, White until urban sprawl and non-Whites moved in, making
tigers, eagles and ships are common) or cigarette burn scars Whites a minority.
(the more scars the more macho or crazy the gang member is).
Asian gangs tend to put less significance on turf and graffiti. After the Rodney King riots in 1992 White supremacist
Violence is usually only used to achieve a specific end. Most groups tried to capitalize on racial tensions by bombing and
Asian gangs are all about money. They are also more likely shooting Blacks to try to start a full-on race war.
than non-Asian gang members to leave their homes and travel
long distances to commit crimes.
Filipino gangs tend to be neat, clean and fashionable in Organized Crime

appearance. Some wear black trenchcoats, some wear all
white. Those that can afford to drive Japanese imports with In Brief: Few Italians. Mostly Russians, Armenians,
tinted windows. They tend to carry butterfly knives, clubs Japanese, Chinese and Biker international groups doing
and automatic pistols. They are the most likely among Asian white collar crime and drug trafficking.
gangs to show their toughness via cigarette burns.
There is very little Italian Mafia presence in L.A. What
Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai, Hmong, Wah Ching little there is consists mostly of legitimate businesses
(Cantonese) and Viet Ching (ethnically Chinese from Vietnam) owned by Mafiosi in other parts of the country and of lone
gangs are fairly new but are having a growing impact on the Mafia figures who came to L.A. to perpetrate some specific
L.A. gang scene. Most formed from Asians who were being scam. Organized crime in L.A. is for the most part made up
preyed upon by Hispanic and Black gangs. These Southeast of groups existing within various immigrant communities.
Asian gangs are often called upon by Chinese organized crime This is not to say that immigrants are more likely to be
(see p.173) as muscle or to distribute heroin. They are often criminals than non-immigrants, only that the criminal
involved in illegal weapon dealing and their favorite weapons elements in immigrant communities tend to have brought
are AR-15s and Uzis. Members are free to jump gangs at will, an organization with them. They are based on and have
since gangs are more like a partnership to commit crimes than strong links to organized crime groups in their countries of
like a family. These gangs commit a lot of business and home origin. They prey primarily on their own countrymen.
invasion robberies, most of which are planned in advance
using inside information. These gangs take advantage of the Russian Mafia- A.K.A. the Organizatsiya. There are
fact that many Asians dislike banks and keep their money around 700 Russian Mafiosi operating in the L.A. area.
hidden in their homes. They come to the US specifically to take part in organized
crime and can disappear back to Russia (or some county
White Gangs- There are almost no White groups in L.A. that with no extradition treaties) if about to be caught. The
fit the standard street gang profile (drug dealing, war with Russian Mafia specializes in drug smuggling, money
other gangs, protection of turf). Yet there are two types of laundering, smuggling Russian prostitutes and sex slaves
White youth groups that commit a lot of crimes: into the US, tax evasion schemes and other international-
black-market activities.
First, there have been increasing numbers of middle and
even upper-class White kids who start doing drugs, stealing, Many of the bosses are ex-KGB or ex-Society Army. Much
vandalizing, raping and beating people up. A lot of their of the lower-level muscle is made up of boxers, martial
activities have made it into the news because of their habit of artists or other athletes who couldn’t find legitimate work in
videotaping their crimes. Many things have been blamed for the modern Russian economy.
this rise of ‘privileged violence’: violent videogames, gangster
rap, absent patents, boredom in the suburbs and general moral The Russian Mafia has its share of internal feuds and
decline of American culture. They generally do not sell drugs, murders.
defend a turf or fight other gangs.
Armenian Mafia- There are about 500 members of
The other type of White group committing a lot of crimes Armenian organized crime in L.A. They are centered
are White supremacist groups. There are some older, larger, on Glendale (a city where one-third of the population
more organized groups: the KKK (which has many members is Armenian-American) and more generally in the San
in the L.A. area), and Christian Identity churches (which Fernando Valley. The Armenian mafia specializes in high-
blend fundamentalist Christianity with racism, sexism and profit white-collar crime: credit card, immigration, welfare
homophobia). Yet the most violent are small youth gangs. and auto-insurance fraud as well as identity theft. In the
They are typically skinhead neo-nazis, sell meth to finance San Fernando Valley area there has been some violence as
their activities, use meth and steroids, wear Nazi symbols Armenian groups war with each other.

Alleys
Yakuza- These Japanese mobsters have a long history and Most of the biker gangs have White supremacist
have integrated themselves into nearly every facet of the ideologies, but this doesn’t stop them from working with
Japanese economy. Yakuza can often be recognized by criminals of any ethnicity when it profits them to do so.
large tattoos. Most Yakuza in the US don’t speak English
well.
In the US the Yakuza are involved mostly in investment

Sex Industry
scams, money laundering, extorting Japanese tourists, In Brief- Porn in the Valley; street walkers & massage
trafficking guns to Japan (where gun laws are strict), parlors around L.A.; expensive escorts.
extorting Japanese-owned businesses and shipping
Caucasian women to Japan to work in the sex trade. L.A. is a large center of legal pornography creation and
Caucasian women are usually lured in by “talent agencies” trade, mostly in the San Fernando Valley. L.A. has a huge
that are Yakuza-fronts. The women think they are going number of wanna-be, current and ex-porn stars.
to get high paying jobs as singers, actresses and models
in Japan. Instead, once in Japan they find themselves the Illegal prostitution in L.A. has a wide range of costs and
property of pimps who threaten and intimidate them. class. At one end of the spectrum are Skid Row junkies
who give $5 blow jobs in port-a-potties. $5 is enough to
The Yakuza in the US are especially skilled at keeping a buy a small crack rock and the money rarely stays in the
low profile. The media rarely reports on them and law prostitute’s pockets for long.
enforcement, although they know the Yakuza exist, have
little idea what they’re up to. Next are street walkers who work at several spots around
L.A., mostly in Hollywood, Downtown, South Central,
Many rich Yakuza bosses also own high-profile legitimate East L.A. and the Valley. They wear skimpy outfits and
businesses or investments in the US. typically charge $20 for a blowjob and $40 for intercourse,
usually in the john’s car or in a nearby cheap motel that
Another form of Japanese organized crime that’s recently they live out of. Most street walkers have pimps, usually
come to the US is sokaiya. These gangs extort Japanese big Black guys, who help out prostitutes having conflicts
corporations by threatening to disrupt stockholder’s with johns and also take a large percentage of the street
meetings or by blackmailing corporations with ‘scandal walkers’ income. Many street walkers are transvestites
sheets’ that detail the corporation’s dirty secrets. Sokaiya who, on average, look as good as or better than the female
groups have recently started extorting L.A. offices of prostitutes (many johns have no idea that the blowjob they
Japanese corps. bought was from a biological male).
Triads- These are branches of Chinese organized crime Next most expensive are the massage and acupressure
societies. The two main triads operating in the L.A. area are parlors where hand jobs, blow jobs and sex can be bought.
the Sun Yee On from Hong Kong and the United Bamboo Most are run by Asians and most of the prostitutes are
Gang from Taiwan. They import and distribute heroin, they Asians, though some parlors employ Hispanic immigrants.
run illegal gambling operations in Chinese areas, they smuggle Many massage parlors are for Asian clientele. Most
illegal Asian immigrants into the US (often to work in sweat massage parlors are found around Hollywood Boulevard,
shops) and they run massage parlors that are thinly veiled Inglewood or heavily-Asian neighborhoods of Orange
fronts for prostitution (see Sex Industry). Like most organized County. Prices are typically $100 to $140. Similar in
crime groups with a long history they have complex codes, price are seedy strip clubs where johns can negotiate to
procedures and rituals that are rarely known to outsiders. follow strippers home and have sex with them.
Next highest in price are prostitutes who advertise in

Outlaw Biker Gangs- A handful of large biker gangs form
local sex mags. Some come to the john’s apartments
organized crime rings that are as well organized, profitable
(“outcalls”) , some have john’s come to their apartments
and influential as the Italian mafia once was. Bikers make (“incalls”). Many of these prostitutes are current or ex-
most of their money from manufacturing meth and selling porn workers. Johns typically pay $150 to $300.
it to various street gangs. The bikers put a lot of effort
into charity work, advertising and PR campaigns to make The highest class of prostitutes is escorts. They are often
people think they are legitimate organizations. The major hired not just for sex but to escort rich clients as dates.
biker gangs have their symbols trademarked and sale of Escorts work through agencies and can charge from $100
merchandise goes to legal defense funds to help those to $1,000 per hour.
accused of crimes. One major biker gang even has its own
church. ‘Ministers’ of that church can come visit bikers in A small minority of prostitutes have been kidnapped or
jail. lured in by false premises and illegally smuggled into the
US. Here they are held by organized crime against their
The average biker is better educated than his average will and forced to work as prostitutes. Most don’t speak
organized crime peer. Bikers use sex, drugs and bribes English and they are told that they will be put in prison if
to gather information about their enemies (including law they try to go to the authorities. Most of these prostitutes
enforcement) on whom they keep detailed dossiers. Biker are from Russia and Asia.
gangs are also exporting their criminal enterprises into other
countries.
Sex Industry 173

In Dark
Asians, who are a very small minority in most American
Prison Gangs prisons, have no large prison gang protecting them, and thus
are open to attack. Many prisons and jails segregate Asian
In Brief- Powerful national crime organizations, divided prisoners to protect them from violence. The L.A. County
racially, inter-related with street gangs. jail system, however, has recently decided it no longer has the
money to segregate Asian prisoners.
There is a complex relationship between prison gangs and
street gangs. Generally speaking, prison gangs are the The major prison gangs in California are:
organizing principle that links together street gangs. This is
inevitable because the leaders and founders of street gangs Aryan Brotherhood- The White prison gang. The Aryan
from across the state have been brought together in a handful Brotherhood was formed in San Quentin in 1967. Although
of state prisons. Prison gangs are some of the biggest and they espouse a White supremacist philosophy they have
most powerful criminal organizations in the state. They sell no problem forming alliances with non-White gangs. The
drugs and other contraband in prison and they have a stake Aryan’s symbols are Nazi symbols, shamrocks and Gaelic
in many criminal enterprises outside prison. Most prison iconography. They are allied with the Mexican Mafia and
gang leaders have the ability to call in hits in the outside with biker gangs. They are at war with the Black Guerilla
Family and La Nuestra.
world. Most of the prison gangs that are big in California
can be found in prisons throughout the US. Black Guerilla Family- The Black prison gang. It was
formed in San Quentin in 1966 by a former Black Panther.
Most everyone who comes to prison (or, to a lesser extent, They are the most political of the prison gangs and espouse
jail) has to either join a gang for protection or be raped, a Marxist/Maoist philosophy. Their symbols include black
robbed and assaulted. However, being in a gang is no dragons and crossed sabers or shotguns. Their allies are
guarantee against violence since the prison gangs are La Nuestra Familia and various Black street gangs. Their
almost always in a state of subdued war which can quickly enemies are the Aryans and Mexican Mafia.
escalate to full-out race riots. The gangs are divided strictly
along racial lines and people are often attacked because of Mexican Mafia- A.K.A. “Le Eme.” The urban Hispanic
their race (or what their race appears to be) regardless of prison gang. It was formed in the late 50s in a California
their gang affiliation. Juvenile facility. Their symbols include an eagle and snake,
the letter M or a black handprint. Their allies are the Aryans
and the Sureňo (Southern California)
Hispanic street gangs. Their enemies are
La Nuestra and, to a lesser degree, the
Black Guerilla Family. In many prisons
the Mexican Mafia and La Nuestra are
segregated because they have a kill-on-
sight policy towards each other.
La Nuestra Familia- The rural Hispanic

prison gang. This formed in the mid-60s
in Soledad prison to help rural Hispanics
protect themselves from city Hispanics
who were in the Mexican Mafia. In recent
times the urban vs. rural dynamic has
changed to become Northern California
(La Nuestra) vs. Southern California
(Mexican Mafia). La Nuestra’s symbols
are the color red, the number 14 and a
sombrero with a dagger. La Nuestra
members often get very large tattoos. La
Nuestra’s enemies are the Mexican Mafia
and Aryan Nation. They sometimes
align themselves with the Black Guerilla
family.
Crips- In the past, Black gang members

who went to prison joined the Black
Guerilla Family for protection. However,
in recent times, Crips (and to a lesser
degree Bloods) have started forming their
own gangs in prison, bypassing the BGF.
The power of Crips in prison is growing
to rival that of other prison gangs.

Alleys
Infrastructure
In Brief- Most power & water from elsewhere. Poor peak energy consumption times. They are a significant
streets. ‘L.A. River’ is giant concrete storm drain. contributor to pollution. They have large tanks of
aqueous ammonia, which is used to help reduce pollution
The L.A. sprawl’s massive population requires an equally but which could kill large numbers of people if it was
massive support system. spilled.
The sewer system has 6,500 miles (10,000 km.) of pipes In 1995 the California power industry was deregulated
ranging from 8 inches (20 cm.) to 12 feet (3.7 m.) in (opened to private companies who were forced to bid
diameter. 48 pumping plants help move sewage uphill on and sell power on a commodities market). This led
where it goes to 4 major sewage treatment plants. to booming prices of power and reduced power creation
which, in turn, led to rolling blackouts throughout the
L.A. has 1,200 miles (2,000 km.) of storm water drainage, state. Although the system has improved there are still
most of which is 20 to 40 years old. What was once the L.A. occasional blackouts in summer when most of the city
River has been turned into a giant concrete-walled storm has air conditioners running.
drain that exits into the ocean. Homeless people bathe in the
river and when it’s dry movies are sometimes filmed there Most L.A. groundwater has been badly polluted by
and graffiti artists and skaters trespass there. solvents and other industrial chemicals. L.A. gets most
of its water from the Colorado River and from Northern
L.A. gets most of its power from the Palos Verdes nuclear California via a large system of aqueducts.
plant in Arizona, from the Hoover Dam, from the aqueducts
that bring water to the city and from coal plants in Utah, L.A. has 1.25 billion square feet of paved streets. About
Arizona and Nevada. There are 4 natural gas powered half are considered to be in poor condition. About one
generators in L.A.. They are meant to only operate at third of streets are not lit by streetlights at night.
Geography
Union Station- A major subway and train station. Across
Downtown L.A. from the station is Olvera Street, which hosts a Hispanic
market bazaar and many Hispanic celebrations.
In Brief- Office buildings, Asian neighborhoods, homeless
people. Historic Core- This historic section has a lot of grand
old movie theaters, most are underused or are abandoned.
Downtown has both incredibly expensive office buildings, This section has a lot of small retailers and swap meets
the poorest area in L.A., and, due to recent gentrification, catering to Hispanic shoppers. There are a lot of drugs
upper class dwellings. For all its variety, Downtown L.A. and prostitutes in this section.
doesn’t have the cultural ‘pull’ on Los Angeles residents that
downtowns in other urban areas do. Among the landmarks Fashion District- Featuring clothing design, production
of the downtown area are Dodger Stadium, the USC Medical and distribution and cloth wholesalers. The are also
Center, the L.A. County Jail and the bootleggers (fake designer wear,
University of Southern California. pirated DVDs) operating out of
back alley shops.
Chinatown- 15,000 Chinese
and Southeast Asians (especially Jewelry District- This section has
Vietnamese and Cambodians) live 5,000 jewelry related businesses
here and many more come here to and has a yearly 3 billion in sales.
shop. The oldest part of Chinatown
was built by Hollywood set designers Bunker Hill / Financial District-
as a tourist attraction. Few Chinese A section of skyscrapers,
live in that part anymore. including a hill with skyscrapers
on it. Some of the oldest office
Little Tokyo- Once a major Japanese- buildings have been turned into
American population center, now expensive high-rise apartment
there are only about 1,000 Japanese buildings. Near Bunker Hill is the
(mostly elderly). It remains a focus Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels,
of Japanese cultural events. the mother church and seat of the
Geography 175
In Dark
Los Angeles archdiocese, built after the 1994 Northridge (mostly fish and produce) and toy wholesalers still
earthquake destroyed the old mother church. The site operating here. At night, though, about 20,000 homeless
includes a lot of modern art, a 12-story-high cathedral, a people live in this area, which some have called the most
plaza, gardens, waterfall, conference center, gift shop, café dangerous 10 square blocks in the world. Some live in
and administrative offices. The 50 ft. (15 m.) high cross, cheap SRO (single-room occupancy) hotels, some sleep
which is lighted at night, can be seen for miles. Many in the area’s many shelters, some sleep on the streets in
homeless live on the fringes of Bunker Hill. The Library tents or on sheets of cardboard. Skid Row has the highest
tower, at 71 stories, is the tallest building in the Western concentration of crack addicts in the city. There is a lot
US. of drug dealing and prostitution here. There are dozens
of missions and homeless service centers here. There are
Civic Center- This is a complex of many federal, state and also many vacant lots: given the choice between bringing
local government buildings. Included are the Parker Center buildings up to code or demolishing them, many building
(the headquarters of the LAPD), major federal and county owners chose the latter. Not far away the real estate is very
courthouses, orchestra halls and art galleries. Many working expensive, but because this is the homeless containment
class immigrants and homeless people live nearby. zone the property here is nearly worthless.
South Park- A neighborhood with a lot of old office

buildings. Due to the downtown real estate boom a lot of
new skyscrapers are being built here. The Staples Center (a East L.A. / 91 Corridor
major sports venue) and the L.A. Convention Center can be In Brief- Mostly Hispanic. A lot of industry.
found here.
This large, heavily Hispanic part of the L.A. area is made
Skid Row- A.k.a. ‘the Nickel’ because it is centered on 5th
Street (East of Broadway). This area is called by many up of several incorporated cities (including Pico Rivera,
euphemistic names by people who want to deny this blight South Whittier, City of Industry, Lynwood, Paramount,
on downtown. Every other part of L.A. appears regularly Lakewood, La Mirada) and large (but heavily populated)
on TV and movies but Skid Row almost never does. Skid unincorporated areas. In many ways it looks more like
Row is an economically depressed area that has been turned a Mexican city than an American one: the street plan
by the city into a ‘containment’ zone for homeless people. is convoluted, industrial buildings sit amid residential
The LAPD dump homeless people found in other parts buildings, food crops grow and chickens graze in people’s
of town here. During the day there are some warehouses yards.
Skid Row

Alleys
1 Northridge Hospital Med. Ctr. 13 Kaiser-Permanente Hospital 25 Little Toyo 37 Long Beach Memorial Med. Ctr.
2 Burbank Airport 14 Los Angeles City College 26 Civic Center / LAPD HQ 38 Long Beach Airport
3 Universal Studios / City Walk 15 UCLA 27 Little Manila 39 Disneyland
4 Hollywood Sign 16 UCLA Med. Ctr. 28 Santa Monica Pier 40 Marineland of the Pacific
5 Griffith Zoo / Observatory 17 Golden Triangle 29 Dogtown 41 St. Mary’s Med. Ctr.
6 Griffith Park 18 La Brea Tar Pits 30 Muscle Beach 42 Queen Mary
7 Forest Lawn Cemetery 19 Korea Town 31 USC 43 Little Phnom Penh
8 Huntington Hospital 20 Angelino Heights 32 His Lai Buddhist Monastery 44 CSU Long Beach
9 Cal Tech 21 Macarthur Park 33 LAX 45 Little Saigon
10 Huntington Library 22 Abandoned Subway Tunnel 34 Watts Towers 46 John Wayne Airport
11 Sunset Strip 23 Skid Row 35 Lac-King/Drew Med. Ctr. 47 UC Irvine
12 Masonic Temple 24 Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels 36 Harbor UCLA Med. Ctr.
Geography 177
In Dark
East L.A. is largely working class. Most of the people who prostitution and drug dealing. Recent revitalization
live here are Mexican immigrants who have been in the US efforts, including the addition of security cameras, have
for several generations and discovered that it is possible to significantly reduced crime in the park.
make it in the US without giving up their unique culture.
Accordingly, East L.A. is culturally conservative. Recent Near MacArthur park are Korea Town (a section with
Mexican and Central American immigrants live in the in the many Korean and Central American immigrants) and the
poorer parts of East L.A. East L.A. is a major hotbed for La Brea Tar Pits.
Hispanic street gangs (see p.171).
Watts- Nearly half of Watts lives below the poverty line.
East L.A. is home to a lot of factories, especially industries Most of the population is Hispanic. In 1965 Watts was
that create pollution. East L.A. has ten times worse air the center of a big riot that damaged much of the area.
pollution than West L.A. Any improvements to the area since then were undone by
the crack cocaine epidemic, which turned the area into
Many hard-working Hispanics commute every day from a wasteland, and then the 1992 Rodney King riots. It
East L.A. to West L.A. where they work as maids and remains one of the most blighted parts of L.A. The only
gardeners in the homes of rich Jews and Anglos. recent event which has improved life in the area was a
truce between major Watts gangs which reduced violence
Also in this area is the City of Industry, a city that (if not drug problems) in the area.
incorporated to prevent its commercial areas from being
annexed and taxed by nearby cities. The City of Industry Watts is also known for the Watts Towers, a bizarre piece
has no business taxes and pays for its limited costs with of sculpture created between 1921 and 1954 by an Italian
taxes on retail establishments. The city of industry has immigrant living in Watts. The sculpture contains several
few residents: most of the area is taken up by industrial tall towers (two over 99 ft. or 30 m. high) made of a metal
buildings, retail centers, a large shopping mall and the only skeleton. Imbedded in the sculpture is a huge variety of
drive-in movie theater in the L.A. area. ‘found objects’ including pieces of pottery, glass from
bottles and construction scrap.
South Central Inglewood- A city near the West Side with a working and
middle class Black population and an increasing number
In Brief- Mostly Black and Hispanic, poor, lots of gangs. of Hispanics. There is a fair amount of manufacturing in
Inglewood. Inglewood has a long history of Black gang
As large numbers of Blacks came to L.A. (primarily during activity.
the great depression and after WWII), often seeking an
escape from Southern segregation, they found that most
L.A. neighborhoods had formed restrictive covenants to
prevent Black people from moving there. They found
West L.A. / Beaches
themselves forced to live in what was increasingly an In Brief- Rich, white, touristy.
overcrowded ghetto in South Central. In more recent times
the booming Hispanic population has moved into the area, This is a wealthy area populated mostly by upper-class
displacing Blacks as the dominant ethnicity in many parts Anglos and Jews. Real estate prices here are extremely
of South Central. high because of the good air quality, good weather, and
proximity to beaches. This area has a high concentration
South Central is one of the poorest and most crime-ridden of plastic surgeons, health clubs and BMWs. The people
areas in L.A. and is a major hotbed for gang activity. Much living here are often culturally isolated. Often times the
of modern gang culture started here and spread throughout only Hispanic people they know are their gardeners and
the US and beyond. Many gang members throughout the maids.
country see South Central as a semi-legendary homeland
of gangs. Also in the area: several high rise office buildings, a major
Reform Jewish synagogue and several Japanese owned
Crenshaw- This was once one of the largest middle businesses.
class Black neighborhoods in the US, then the 80s crack
epidemic, the 1992 Rodney King riots and the 1994 Westwood- This college town is dominated by UCLA
Northridge earthquake did significant damage from which (University of California at Los Angeles). UCLA was
this area was unable to recover, turning it into a poor and built in 1927 and has, among other things, a law and
violent area and an epicenter of gang activity. Crenshaw medical school. Out of the 11,000 students who attend,
is made up mostly of single story bungalows and small 8,000 live in on-campus housing.
apartment buildings. The streets are lined with palm trees.
Santa Monica Mountains- This is a small chain of
MacArthur Park- The MacArthur park area was once mountains which forms the boundary between the L.A.
wealthy, featuring a lot of nice old apartment buildings, basin and the San Fernando Valley. Many mansions are
but now it is generally a poor part of town where a lot of built on mountainsides overlooking the ocean, forming
Central American immigrants live. At the center of the one of the highest concentrations of rich people in the
area is MacArthur park, which features a band shell, a lake world. The mountains are a popular destination for hikers.
with for-rent paddleboats and a fountain. Until recently There have been mountain lion attacks here.
MacArthur park was known for gang activity, teenage

Alleys
Santa Monica- Many artists, writers and celebrities live
here. Santa Monica is known as a liberal city (see p.162 Hollywood
for more on L.A. liberalism) which has given the largest
contributions to the Democratic Party of any city. During In Brief- No movies. Park, runaways, homosexuals,
springtime Santa Monica often has a morning fog or haze night clubs.
which burns off by afternoon. Santa Monica has one of the
best and cheapest bus systems in the country. Many British Despite popular conception, few movies have been made
and Irish ex-pats live in Santa Monica and there are a lot of in the Hollywood since the 1920s. Most of the movie
and TV studios have moved North to the San Fernando
pubs. The Santa Monica pier is a major tourist attraction, Valley area. Paramount Studios is the last remaining film
with many restaurants, souvenir shops and a two-acre studio. Some film related industries (e.g. editing, prop
amusement park. design) remain.
Dogtown- Parts of Santa Monica and Venice make up this Hollywood is a big center for tourism and shopping,
small neighborhood which is famous with skateboarders and with a lot of shops, theaters, trendy restaurants and night
surfers as the home of pioneering members of their sports. clubs. Hollywood Boulevard is the center of tourism and
has, among other landmarks, the Chinese Theater and the
Masonic Temple.
Venice- Large canals were built here in 1904 to try to
replicate Italy’s Venice. Now most of the canals have Hollywood has a big problem with runaways. They
been filled in, some of those that remain have stagnant come to L.A. hoping to make it big as actors. After
and stinking water. For some time is has been known as failing many become homeless panhandlers or prostitutes
a bohemian area and in the 60s it was the center of L.A. working the streets of Hollywood. Others move to the
Valley and become porn actors.
hippie culture. A lot of artists live here and Venice has a lot
of large and unique public art projects. Although the area is Hollywood Cemetery, near Paramount Studios, has a
becoming gentrified and yuppieized, Venice is still the home large number of famous people.
to many old hippies, artists and homeless people. Venice
has the largest free clinic in the US and is home to the head Griffith Park- The biggest park in the L.A. area. It
is located in the Hollywood Hills (part of the Santa
office of the country’s largest lifeguard organization. Monica mountains). Griffith Park has an observatory,
amphitheater, the L.A. Zoo, golf courses, stables, a train
Downtown Venice is a popular night spot, with a lot of clubs, museum, the Hollywood sign, an old merry-go-round
bars and trendy clothing stores. and hiking trails.
Oakwood is a small Black section of Venice, one of the West Hollywood- This recently incorporated city has a
large number of homosexuals, retired seniors and Russian
few Black neighborhoods on the West Side. Crip gangs
Jews. About one third of the approximately 40,000
operate here and there is a fair amount of drug activity and people living here is homosexual. Many businesses cater
violence. to homosexuals. This is the primary home and nightlife
spot for L.A.’s LGBT community. Many call Santa
The Venice Boardwalk features many street performers, Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood the “main street
bicyclists, rollerbladers, volleyball courts, and a fishing pier. of gay America.” The annual gay pride parade held here
Nearby is muscle beach where bodybuilders go to exercise is the largest in the nation.
and show off their muscles. Sunset Strip is the part of Sunset Boulevard that runs
from Hollywood, through West Hollywood, to Beverly
Malibu- This city is home to many rich people, including Hills. It is the home of L.A.’s hottest and most exclusive
many famous actors and others from the film industry. There nightclubs. This area has been on the forefront of new
are many mansions on hills overlooking the sea. Building developments in popular music, from go-go dancing,
houses on hillsides has turned out to be risky: in recent years to punk, to new wave, to hair metal. Some of the
wildfires and mudslides on the hills have done millions in nightclubs are so snobby that bouncers won’t let people
property damage. in if they don’t look cool enough. The strip is dominated
by huge billboards and tons of neon and the streets are
crowded with cruisers and people watchers. The area
also has many expensive hotels.
Beverly Hills Also on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood is an
In Brief- Wealthy, famous shopping. ‘adult entertainment’ district with a lot of strip clubs
and porn shops. There are also prostitutes (including
This wealthy city is home to the “golden triangle,” centered many transvestites) on the streets, although recent police
on Rodeo Drive, one of the most glamorous shopping crackdowns here have forced many of the prostitutes to
districts in the world. The area also has many legendary move elsewhere.
hotels and restaurants. Beverly Hills has a large population Angelino Heights- L.A.’s oldest residential neighborhood
of Jews and Persians. with a lot of old Victorian houses, especially along the
1300 block of Carrol Avenue.
Geography 179
In Dark
Long Beach has a major port (adjacent to the port of Los
Palos Verdes Angeles) and a popular harbor. One attraction in the
harbor is the Queen Mary, a 2,000+ passenger art-deco
In Brief- Wealthy, isolated, xenophobic.
ocean liner from 1934. It is a hotel and tourist attraction
with restaurants and shopping on board. Many say the
This is a very wealthy and very exclusive neighborhood on Queen Mary is haunted.
the Palos Verdes peninsula. Palos Verdes is made up of
several small cities like Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Major businesses in Long Beach include aerospace
Verdes, Rolling Hills, and Rolling Hills Estates. companies, shipping (at the port), and hospitals. Long
Beach is home to CSU Long Beach, a major state
There are few roads in and out of Palo Verdes. The
university. Many Asians attend this university.
residents are very wary of outsiders and will often call
police or private security on anyone who looks like they
don’t belong. Although the area has great surfing spots,
non-locals who come here to surf are harassed or find their
San Fernando Valley
tires have been slashed by local surfers. Other hobbies In Brief- Prototypical suburbia, now increasingly non-
enjoyed by residents are hiking, bicycling, bird watching white and urbanized.
and horseback riding.
Known throughout Southern California as “the valley.”
There is a small upscale shopping district in Rolling Hills It’s a large valley directly to the North of Los Angeles.
Estates. Also in Palos Verdes is the Marineland of the The valley was the early recipient of “White flight” when
Pacific, an aquarium which was closed in 1986 and has Whites fled the increasingly non-White L.A. basin. Today,
remained unused except occasionally as a set for TV shows however, the valley is about half Latino and one-tenth
and movies. Asian. There is a large Iranian community (including
both Moslem and Jewish Iranians) in the West Valley and
San Pedro / Port of L.A. Calabasas. Skyrocketing housing costs and increasing
minority populations has caused many Valley residents to
In Brief- Major port. move to the Inland Empire (p.181). Most major TV and
movie studios can be found in the Valley. The Valley is
San Pedro is a small historical district with a WWII cargo also home to a multi-billion dollar pornography industry.
ship and a Victorian-era lighthouse, both of which are Three-quarters of adult magazine and video distributors in
maintained as museums. the US are located here.
The historical district is dwarfed by the Port of L.A. This The Valley is scorned by most Angelinos as ‘not cool.’ It’s
massive port (7,500 acres, handling about 150 million tons the land of prototypical suburbs. The Valley is also the
of cargo worth $160 billion per year) is the busiest in the origin of ‘valley girls’ and ‘valley speak’ which developed
US. The majority of traffic there is container ships coming among suburban Valley teens in the 80s. The Valley is
from and going to Asia. There are also a number of cruise also designed to honor the culture of the car: just about
ships that dock here. The ships and land vehicles at the port everything can be purchased via a drive-through-window
are a major source of L.A.’s pollution. The Port of L.A. is and carwashes are huge landmarks in the hearts of Valley
just East of the Port of Long Beach, which is the second residents.
busiest port in the US.
The Valley has fairly bad air quality because the valley
traps pollution.
Long Beach
Glendale- More than half of this city is foreign born.
In Brief- Many Asians, large port, haunted ocean liner. There are Persians, Arabs, Filipinos and other Asians.
The city is best known for its huge Armenian population.
This community features fairly wealthy and fairly poor Glendale even has Armenian organized crime (p.172) and
neighborhoods. There are a significant number of Crips and street gangs (p.171). Glendale is also home to the Forest
Asian gangs here. Lawn Cemetery, a cemetery famous for its resemblance
to Disneyland. The cemetery has themed areas (e.g.
Long Beach has a fairly large Asian community, with
“Babyland” and “Dawn of Tomorrow.”) Many sections
many Laotians, Cambodians, Hmong and Vietnamese. The
are decorated with the aesthetics of a Precious Moments
Hmong and Cambodians are especially prevalent: Long
figurine. Speakers play recorded music or lectures.
Beach has most of L.A. County’s Hmong and is the world’s
Video biographies can be viewed via kiosks. Many
largest Cambodian community outside of Cambodia (mostly
famous people are buried here. Many people are married
in a part of Long Beach known as Little Phnom Penh).
here.

Alleys
Burbank- This is the ‘media capital of the world,’ home to Inland Empire- Past San Gabriel is the inland empire,
many TV and movie studios. Burbank also has an airport. made up of the Western parts of Riverside and San
Bernardino counties. It was made up of desert and rural
Pacoima- This is the poorest part of the Valley, with a lot communities until the 80s when urban sprawl moved
of crime and urban blight. It is mostly Hispanic. in. Today, much of the Inland Empire’s population
commutes long distances to L.A. to work. There are also
Universal Studios- Also in the valley is Universal Studios several large shopping malls, major manufacturing and
with a theme park and the City Walk, a sanitized version of shipping plants and bad air pollution (some of the worst
a downtown main street filled with shops, music clubs and in the state).
restaurants. Besides tourists and bored Angelinos, a lot of
gang members like to hang out at the City Walk. Gangs are a big problem in the Inland Empire, especially
considering the relatively small and unsophisticated
nature of the police in the area. There are around 70,000
Pasadena gang members in 300 gangs, mostly Hispanic gangs
dealing Meth and other drugs. There are also a lot of
In Brief- Mostly white, has Caltech and a rare-book neo-nazi skinhead gangs who have been attacking the
library. newly arrived non-Whites (see p.172 for more).
This city and surrounding communities are as old as The Inland Empire also has the area’s biggest Indian
L.A. They have a fair amount of poverty but also have casinos, one in San Bernardino and one in Riverside
expensive condominiums. Pasadena is mostly White with county.
a small section of Blacks and Hispanics. The Pasadena
area is home to Caltech, a major high-tech university Fontana- This town, in San Bernardino County, was once
rivaling MIT in its prestige. Pasadena also has the Rose an orchard and cattle ranch town. Then, during WWII, a
Bowl, a major sports arena. There are also flocks of wild large steel mill was built, turning it into a working class
parrots living in Pasadena. town. The Hell’s Angels formed in Fontana after the
war. The plant was closed in the 1980s, bringing poverty
and unemployment to the area. The economy has been
Pasadena also has the Huntington Library, which was built
improving as suburban sprawl moves in, but Fontana is
by a railroad tycoon. The library has 600,000 books and still a poor town. Fontana is the meth lab capitol of the
3,000 manuscripts. The library has some of the world’s country, home to lots of bikers, rednecks, KKK members
rarest and most valuable books, including a Gutenberg and poor people. There are ruins of the old steel mill,
Bible. as well as several big wrecking yards and trucking
companies. This is a major hub for truckers and there are
San Gabriel / Inland Empire a lot of truck stops and adult bookstores. A large number
of stray dogs wander the dusty streets.
In Brief- Once rural and White, now suburban with non- Palm Springs- Way out in Riverside County, 120 miles
Whites. (200 km.) east of L.A. is an oasis in desert. Palm Springs
is home to many resorts, golf courses, country clubs and
This area includes the San Gabriel Valley (East of Pasadena rich residential communities.
and East L.A.) and, to the East of the valley, Riverside and
San Bernardino counties.
San Gabriel Valley- The valley is largely working-class

Orange County
suburbs, with a few urban areas. As minorities moved In Brief- White, conservative, Disneyland.
into the valley in the 80s and 90s there was “White
This county, South of L.A., has about 3 million residents.
flight”, mostly to Orange County. Today the majority of
Orange County is mostly White Anglo. One quarter of
the San Gabriel Valley is Hispanic and Asian. The Asian
the population is Hispanic, one-tenth is Asian and there
population is primarily Chinese (mostly Taiwanese), with
are few Blacks. Orange County tends to be politically
4 “chinatowns” in the valley. There are also Vietnamese, conservative (compared to L.A. County, which tends to
Koreans and Filipinos (the Filipinos are concentrated in be liberal). The reason for this conservativism stems
the ‘Little Manila’ district). from the major sources of Orange County’s population.
First came White midwesterners who were lured to
Hacienda Heights- In the valley, near East L.A. Nearby is Orange County with promises of fabulous orange groves.
the largest Buddhist monastery in the Western Hemisphere. Then came “White flight” from the L.A. basin when the
It is based on Taiwanese Zen and Pureland Buddhism. extensive racial segregation there began to break down.
Geography 181
In Dark
Orange County has many private and public colleges, most Westminster- This city is taken up mostly by Little
notably University of California at Irvine and California Saigon, the biggest Vietnamese community outside of
State University Fullerton. Tourism and theme parks are Vietnam. See p.20 for more on Little Saigon.
the county’s biggest industries. There are medieval and
old-west themed ‘show restaurants’ where people can sit Irvine- This city was planned and developed by the
and eat and watch a live show. There are also a lot of big Irvine Company in the 1960s. It is a city of pristine
tech businesses and business hubs. Orange County has suburbs, ecological preserves and careful landscaping.
several upper-class communities. There are also many Rather than a grid, the streets are laid out in a curving
toll-roads. pattern that resembles a necklace. It is the safest city in
the US. It is also known for the fascism of its homeowner
Punk is big in Orange County and it is the birthplace of associations who dictate everything down to what brands
several famous punk and pop/punk bands. of cars residents can park in front of their homes. It is
mostly White and Asian with growing Chinese, Korean,
Indian and Iranian populations. Irvine is the home to
Laguna Beach- Often considered the art capital of
the headquarters of many tech companies, the Ayn Rand
Orange County. There are a lot of art galleries and a lot
Institute and UC Irvine.
of artists living here. Laguna Beach has a yearly living
statue festival in which residents dress up and recreate
scenes from famous paintings. Laguna Beach has an Santa Ana- This is the county seat and the largest city
overwhelmingly White Anglo population. in Orange County. Santa Ana has a mostly Mexican-
American population. There is also a zoo, a museum
Anaheim- This is the tourist hub of Southern California. with many Central American artifacts, and the Orange
Its major attraction is Disneyland, though there are also County courthouse.
many resort hotels, shopping areas and entertainment
venues. Anaheim has more racial diversity than most of San Juan Capistrano- An old Catholic mission which
Orange County. has been restored and is now a tourist destination. It
is famous as the point of return to the US of migrating
Disneyland- This theme park was constructed in 1954-5. swallows, although changing migration patterns have
About 12 million people visit it every year. In recent recently reduced the number of swallows that come
times its owners have concentrated on turning Disneyland here.
from a theme park for kids into a full-service family
resort. Disneyland has the Sleeping Beauty Castle at
the center, surrounded by 8 themed ‘lands’: Main Street
USA, Adventureland, Frontier Land, Fantasy Land, King Catalina Island
Arthur’s Carousel, Tommorrowland, New Orleans Square, In Brief- Large wilderness island off coast.
Critter Country and Mickey’s Toontown. A railroad and
monorail help visitors move between these areas. There This is a 76 square mile (200 km2) island approximately
are also large “back stage” areas that visitors do not see 22 miles (35 km.) from L.A. One million tourists come
and which contain offices and maintenance shops. A here every year, mostly to camp, hike, mountain bike,
network of tunnels under Disneyland allows employees snorkel, scuba dive, see reefs and shipwrecks in glass-
to move between backstage areas and the rest of the park bottom boats and stay in the island’s two small resort
without being seen. Disneyland maintains extensive villages (Avalon and Two Harbors). Tourists come here
surveillance of the park in order to keep visitors safe via ferries or the island’s small airport. The number of
and to proactively deal with ‘undesirables.’ In October, cars allowed on the island is strictly limited and most
Disneyland has ‘gay days’ where around 30,000 gays and residents and visitors use bicycles or golf carts for
lesbians visit the park. transportation.

Fullerton- This city has several colleges (most notably
Catalina is a rocky island with many mountains, canyons,
CSU Fullerton), suburban communities and shopping
coves and beaches. There is a herd of around 125 bison
centers. Real estate prices here are very high. In recent
(brought here in 1924 for the filming of a movie) as well
times Fullerton has been the site of a big political battle
as boars and island foxes.
between “slow growth” forces and those who want to
develop the city to allow for more people and businesses.
The “slow growth” camp is mostly made up of homeowners
who want to keep their communities exclusive and their
homes valuable.

Alleys
Location Scouting for GMs
Suggested locations for various scenes.
Crime and Danger Irvine (p.182), Woodland Hills
Blighted ghetto filled with Crenshaw (p.178), Watts (in SW San Fernando Valley,
addicts & drug dealers (p.178). Quiet seemingly perfect suburb. p.180), Pacific Palisades and
Lac-King/Drew Med. Ctr. Redondo Beach (in West L.A./
Coughing & bleeding people Beaches, p.178).
(p.177), Kaiser-Permanente
waiting in a crowded ER. Downtown L.A. (p.175), West
Hospital (p.177). Upscale condo apartments.
Homeless people sleeping on Hollywood (p.179).
Skid Row (p.176)
the street.
KKK rally. Inland Empire (p.181). Entertainment & Shopping
Major gang gunfight. South Central L.A. (p.178) Big sports game with packed Staples Center (p.176).
Mental hospital. Patton State Hospital (p.169) stadium seats.
Mentally-ill homeless people Skid Row (p.176), Patton State Santa Monica (p.179),
raving about demons. Hospital (p.169) Bikinis, sunbathing, surfing. Huntington Beach (in Orange
Middle class white gang- County, p.181), Malibu (p.179)
Westwood (p.178), Inland Bodybuilders working out. Venice Beach (p.179)
wannabes hanging out and Empire (p.181).
causing trouble. Crowded theme park with Magic Mountain, Disneyland
Open air crack and meth rollercoasters. (p.182), Knotts Berry Farm.
Crenshaw (p.178)
market. Exclusive and snooty clothing
Teen runaways begging and Golden Triangle (p.179)
Hollywood (p.179). shops.
prostituting themselves. San Bernardino or San Jacinto
Seedy strip clubs offering Flashy casino.
Sunset Boulevard (p.179). (in the Inland Empire, p.181)
‘private dances.’ Gang members hanging out,
Strung-out hookers giving $5 Venice Beach (p.179),
Skid Row (p.176). girl watching, getting into
blow jobs. Universal City Walk (p.181).
occasional confrontations.
Abandoned Pacific Electric Santa Monica Boulevard (in
Taggers and homeless people Gay or lesbian bar.
subway tunnel (in Downtown West Hollywood, p.179).
underground.
L.A., p.177) Hiking and camping in Santa Monica Mountains
Twin Towers (p.169), Men’s wilderness. (p.176), Catalina Island (p.182).
Violent, overcrowded jail. Central Jail (p.169).
Southcoast Plaza (in Orange
County, p.181), Glendale
Work & School Huge shopping mall. Galleria (Glendale, p.180), Fox
Big-budget film being filmed on Hills Mall (in Beverly Hills,
Burbank (p.181).
a sound stage. p.179).
Corporate r&d labs in a El Monte (in East L.A., p.176), Olvera Street (near Union
sprawling industrial park. Orange County (p.181). Mexican-American street fair. Station, p.175)
Downtown L.A. (p.175), Santa Movie premier with celebs, Mann’s Chinese Theater (in
Fancy corporate head-offices. Monica (p.179). autograph hounds & paparazzi. Hollywood, p.179).
City of Industry (p.178), Pornos being filmed in a small Glendale (p.180), Burbank
Immigrants waiting to be picked North Hollywood (in the San studio. (p.181).
up in a truck for day labor. Fernando Valley, p.180), East Rich people playing golf. Palm Springs (p.181)
Los Angeles (p.176).
Venice (p.179), Laguna Beach
Minimum wage workers toiling City of Industry (p.178), Small art-gallery. (p.182).
in a factory. Inglewood (p.178).
Various sites in Orange County
Office workers in a cubicle Small venue punk show.
Downtown L.A. (p.175). (p.181).
farm.
Tourists snapping pictures of Hollywood
Tract home construction on the Palm Desert (in Inland Empire, (p.179), Chinatown
edge of the desert. p.181). (p.175), Griffith Observatory
things. (p.179).
Upper class teens in a well- Santa Monica (p.179), Beverly
funded high school. Hills (p.179). West Hollywood (p.179),
Trendy nightclub. Venice (p.179).
Home Warehouses in Downtown L.A.
Chinatown (p.175), Little Underground rave party. (p.175).
Asian immigrant enclave. Phnom Penh (p.180),
Westminster (p.182).
Large projects buildings Lonely
teeming with violence, gangs Watts (p.178). Fenced off vacant lots filled South Central (p.178), Skid
and poverty. with ruble and weeds. Row (p.176).
Mexican-American residential Half-ruined abandoned
Lakewood (p.176), East L.A. Skid Row (p.176).
neighborhood with small shops buildings & vacant lots.
(p.176).
and restaurants. Huge multi-story parking Downtown L.A. (p.175), Santa
Palatial mansions overlooking Palos Verdes (p.180), Malibu garage. Monica (p.179).
ocean. (p.179). Stand-still freeway congestion. 405, 110 & 10 freeways.
Poor but dignified non-white Inglewood (p.178), El Sereno Trailer parks, truck stops, weed
working-class community. (In East L.A., p.176). Fontana (p.181).
filled lots, closed factories.
Geography 183
In Dark
G
A
M
E
M
A
S
T
E
R
S
O
N
L
Y
184 Chapter Five - Secrets of the Touched
Alleys
Chapter Five - G
Secrets of the ToucheD A
Secrets of the Androgynes M
In Brief- Members of the genderqueer movement
discovered a way to make sexual occult practices safe by
passion with emotions such as fear and self-hatred, and
wasn’t bogged down by established roles and rituals.
E
shedding the baggage of gender identity. Genderqueer created a new opportunity, and hopefully a
safer opportunity, to bypass established sex roles.
M
Origin- Since prehistory, people have chosen to dress and
live as another gender, either with or without the knowledge Structure- There are about a thousand Androgynes
and sanction of society. Almost every culture in aboriginal worldwide, almost all of them living in major cities in
A
North America had what Whites called “berdache”, people America, Europe and Japan. ‘Liberal’ cities, like San
who lived as the other gender and were often considered Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, where many
holy or powerful. homosexuals and transgendered people flee to, have the
S
highest populations. There are about 50 Androgynes in
In the mid 20th century, when homosexuality was thought of Los Angeles.
by most homosexuals as a terrible secret (and by society as
T
a crime and a mental illness), men met in public restrooms There is no leadership or official structure to the
known as ‘tea rooms’ for anonymous sex. Many of these organization. Some members acknowledge loyalty to
men lived as heterosexuals except for the few minutes they those who taught them or are more powerful than them.
Others do not. Some Androgynes take it upon themselves
E
spent in these tea rooms. Occasionally the sex would lead
to a supernatural accident, usually killing the participants. to travel to other cities to start Androgyne groups there.
Nobody wanted to admit to being there, so nobody reported The groups rarely communicate and no single Androgyne
knows what-all is going on with Androgynes as a whole.
R
or talked about the supernatural accidents.
Later in the century, tea room sex lost most of its power as Metaphysics- Sex is a product of evolution. The
exchange of genes is the only way to keep a population
S
homosexuality became more accepted and homosexual sex
roles and rituals standardized. genetically healthy. Pleasure is the natural means by
which evolution caused humans to have sex. However,
When sex-change operations were invented in 1952, it the powers-from-beyond quickly realized that the
created the possibility of actually becoming another gender ability to directly create pleasure in each other and to
and thus transsexuals were born. share in pleasure was dangerous. Two souls repeatedly
sharing such powerful emotions stood a greater chance
O
The term “genderqueer” came into use in the late 1990s, of awakening than one soul alone. So, since sex was
mostly among alternate-sexuality youth groups who wanted a biological necessity, the powers-from-beyond tried to
a way to define themselves that didn’t imply that they had “cripple” sex by creating numerous sexual taboos and
N
chosen and would adhere to a gender or sexual orientation. cultural constraints on sex. They also created gender
The idea of being non-gendered, multi-gendered or semi- roles and division of labor, essentially giving men and
gendered spread from youth groups to established queer women two separate cultures and making them strangers
L
academics and philosophers. Even some people who were to each other.
neither homosexual nor transgendered identified themselves
as genderqueer. In modern humans, these gender roles are learned
Y
early. Children are taught by adults and older children
Apart from attracting radical youth and cutting edge queer- what behaviors are expected from males and what from
philosophers, the genderqueer movement was the last females. To learn not to act like the opposite gender
piece in the puzzle for a number of gays and lesbians who children must internalize gender ideas. Thus the anima
remembered (or had heard about) the tea room events. They or animus is formed both as an internal model of the
had theorized that tea room sex had power because it mixed opposite sex and as a repository for repressed feelings
and impulses.
Secrets of the Androgynes 185

In Dark
When an Androgyne tries to eliminate gender roles in Vox Free, Elder Androgyne
hirself, two things happen. First, the Anima or Animus
becomes weaker as more of it is incorporated into the Appearance- Youthful, athletic androgynous person, intelligent,
G
conscious self. Less psychological energy is caught up perfectly proportioned face, spiky black hair with patches died
in that psychodynamic and the energy is available to purple. Silver earrings and pierced septum ring. Naturally red
the conscious self. Second, genderless sex has less to lips. Road-worn cammo pants, plaid flannel shirt under a brown
A
leather vest, carrying a canvas knapsack.
distract participants from the pure sharing of pleasure
and is thus more likely to cause a minor awakening in the Attributes- AGY 16, AWR 13, CHM 17, END 25, INL 13, SPD
soul. Androgynes are trained to recognize these minor 22, STH 19, WIL 16, BLD 8, BDY 7, INCY 8.
M
awakenings and take advantage of the brief weakening
History- Vox was born Lance Peterson, the child of upper-
of the laws of physics. middle class suburban Los Angelinos. From an early age he new
he was different: he liked girls’ games as much as boys’, liked
E
Revelations- Androgynes haven’t been around long, so girls’ clothes and, as he got older, realized that he liked boys.
the oldest and wisest don’t know too much more than The other children were predictably cruel and Lance learned to
the newly initiated. Elders have seen intense sexual fight back physically and to throw up psychological defenses
experiences ‘break’ reality, often killing people in the against their insults. As a teen he leaned towards radical
process. Some elders have done historical research intellectualism, reading Marx, Sartre, Paglia and others. After
and have found evidence that sexual freedom has highschool he left home to become a cross-dressing gutterpunk
always had enemies among the ruling classes, and that living on the streets of West Hollywood. He was instantly
M
those enemies have often wielded supernatural powers. repelled by gay society. People looked down on him because
Some have found that “miracles” have favored societies he was a drag queen who was dirty and got into bar fights with
that were sexually restrictive, helping them thrive and bigots. He ended up hanging out with the misfits of gay society.
A
Once, in a bathroom at a public park, he started seeing the walls
destroy more permissive civilizations. To an Androgyne pulsate. The pulses grew stronger as the moans in the next stall
historian, the bible is a chronicle of some supernatural grew louder. Then he heard a crack and blood started to pour.
force, masquerading as ‘god’, manipulating historical When he looked he found bloody pieces of people, sheared off
S
events to wipe out sexually permissive pagan religions. cleanly as if they froze, shattered and thawed. Not long after
that he attended a gay youth conference where he first heard
Today the powers-that-be are ‘the patriarchy’, the small the term genderqueer. He loved the idea and quickly dropped
T
group of rich White men who benefit from every form Lance in favor of Vox and tried to obscure hir gender. Vox
of racial, sexual and class inequality. Elder Androgynes helped create Androgyne practice and developed Androgyne
know they could not win in open warfare with the abilities. Sie lost touch with most of the other elder Androgynes
E
patriarchy. This is why they keep the Androgynes so as Sie continued living on the streets, making a one-person war
secretive. They know that Androgyne cells have been against gender.
wiped out completely after being discovered by the Psychology- Vox has almost completely stopped thinking of
R
powers-that-be. hirself as male or female. Vox thinks of hirself as a lover,
explorer and, most importantly, as a freedom fighter trying to
Many elder Androgynes believe that the goal of the save humanity from the tyranny of gender. Sie doesn’t think it’s
S
powers-that-be and their secret masters is, and has wrong to destroy property or ruin the lives of those who support,
always been, to keep humans from finding the true power consciously or not, gender roles. Vox loves to confuse, disorient
of our souls. and scare ‘normals.’
Methods- Vox likes to seduce the rich and powerful and frighten
Various elder Androgynes are in possession of artifacts them with bizarre changes during sex. Hir favorite game is to
from sex-related shatters including: Mary Sutton’s switch bodies with someone, then seduce and switch bodies
Bloody Rags, the Vertigo Card, and the Glory Hole with another person, and on and on until finally coming back to
O
(p.244). hir original body, leaving a string of people in the wrong bodies.
The challenge for Vox is to find and get back in hir original
body before hir memories fade away. Vox also likes to enter
N
Androgynes and the Victorian Girls corporate or government buildings at night (getting past guards
using Be Other or Masks), disable fire suppression systems, and
While traveling around the world investigating then set them on fire.
supernatural incidents related to sex, a few of the
L
Androgyne elders have heard about the Victorian Girls Special Skills- Be Other (4), Birth Servant (2), Change Gender (4),
(p.244) and have started investigating. They have pieced Switch Bodies (4), Flesh Control (4), Masks (3), Revive (3).
together some of the incidents from suppressed historical Typical Attack- Vox attacks with a snake-like probe from hir
Y
records and have even managed to gain a Victorian Girl genital area (see Ultimate Genitals, p.82) which has range 4.
artifact. They have not yet figured out exactly how these Sie does a Strike at STH (25) + AGY (16) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20
incidents fits in with their theory of the power of sex. +16 vs. 0) which does 3 damage (pierces armor as 6).
Figuring out how the Victorian Girls and the Tea Room
Saints are related would give the Androgynes a much Typical Reaction- An entangle with hir genital probe at INL
greater understanding of the universe. (13) + STH (25) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +13 vs. 0).

Alleys
May 98 – Journal of Genderqueer Poetry
‘Passion’ by CrotchPower G
I stare into your eyes. You seem more real than any person I’ve ever met.
A
M
Your mouth opens slightly. I feel like I am running down a hill and as the
incline grows steeper I must run faster and faster to stay on my feet. Yet
there is no fear here, not in this world we have carved for ourselves. Your
E
breath is hard and fast. I can feel my heart pounding in my lips, the lobes
of my ears, the tips of my fingers. The air between us is filled with warm
moisture. Every part of my body aches with desire to touch you.
We pull ourselves together. We both know the steps to this dance, make
M
them in perfect harmony, although neither is leading. There is softness in
your skin, but strength under it. Your body presses against mine and my
breath is taken away. We kiss and time is banished. Only this moment
A
exists. Your taste is on my tongue. Your smell fills my nostrils. The warmth
of your skin is all over me. Your wordless sounds of pleasure fill my ears. To
me there is only you. There has never been anything else and never will be
anything. You are the universe.
S
T
We lay ourselves down. In no hurry, we slide over each other, positioning
ourselves so we can each discover the fire burning between the other’s legs.
A touch there and we feel electricity leaping between us, traveling through
E
our spines, filling our bodies with a holy vibration. For a moment we are
tentative, afraid that this experience will be too intense, that it will obliterate
us. Yet we cannot stop, the parts of our minds that make decisions are like
tiny insects buzzing against the wrath of a hurricane.
R
S
Our fingers dig into each other’s flesh. We pull ourselves closer and closer
together. Our bodies rock in harmony. There is no longer any difference
between giving and receiving pleasure. Our bodies have no shape, all we
are is moving and feeling. The waves of pleasure grow higher and higher.
What once would have been heartstopping pain is now crashing ecstasy
filling all known worlds.
And as we reach a crescendo, something stirs in the darkness. Something O

N
that is us and yet more than we can ever imagine. Two things for which time
and space and life and death have no meaning reach for each other across
a terrible void. And the world shakes. Across every reality that has been or
L
could be, thunder crashes. Petty gods are shaken on their thrones. For ours
is the passion that can destroy the heavens.
36
Y
Secrets of the Androgynes 187
In Dark
Secrets of the Animists
G
In Brief- Ancient peoples learned to gain power and deal rational order of the universe does not or can not exist. It
with the dangers of the invisible by driving themselves is temporary madness, accompanied by strong emotions.
insane with drugs, torture and deprivation. In the grips of temporary madness they are able to
A
overcome the rules of physics in minor ways: enhancing
Origin- Animism is a natural development of pre-scientific their physical abilities, leaving their bodies, imposing
cultures. Through trial and error, aboriginal people their will on those invisible beings or on inanimate
objects, etc. After imposing their will on reality while
M
compiled every technique that helped deal with the invisible
dangers of the world. Yet Animists were powerful enough insane, they become able to do it sober, but only because
to be a threat to the powers-from-beyond, so those powers of an absolute belief in their own ability. Each skill has
manipulated history so that organized priesthoods took over an explanation within the traditional cosmology. Even
E
the functions of shamans. The coming of science gave the when the cultural explanations aren’t true, the belief is an
powers-from-beyond an opportunity to slowly wean people important part of the ability. For instance, Animists with
off magic and the belief in an invisible world. Organized Command Inanimate believe they are speaking to sentient
religion, monotheism, science and colonialism were all spirits inside inanimate objects. In reality the objects do
attempts by the powers-from-beyond to slowly wipe out not have any sentience, but the belief that they do is an
Animism. important framework through which the Animist imposes
his or her will on the physical world.
M In Europe, the last real Animists (“witches”) died in 1490

(see p.206 for more). Today, modern society is encroaching
on the few remote wilderness areas that still have animistic
Much of Animist practice involves identifying, removing
and even attacking people with what many Animists call
A
cultures and converting those people to Christianity or ‘misfortunes’ and Outcasts call ‘wrigglers.’ These are the
Islam. There has been recent interest in shamanism by invisible beings that cause many of humanity’s diseases
Westerners, but this ‘neo-shamanism’ is no threat to anyone. and other problems. Yet not every illness is caused by an
S
The neo-shamans approach shamanism from a framework invisible creature. Some are caused by microorganisms
of western thought and ideas and, like modern occultists, or physiological failures, just as scientists and doctors
are almost never able to achieve real power. believe, and Animists find themselves powerless in the
face of these illnesses. In cities the proportion of illnesses
T
Structure- There are Animist elders and students scattered caused by microorganisms and toxins is greater than in
across the globe in remote wilderness areas and in the cities Animist’s aboriginal homelands. Thus many Animist
that play host to displaced people. Around the world there healers find their powers faltering in the face of modern
E
are about 100,000 Animists with some sort of real power medicine. See p.228 for more on wrigglers.
and about 100 in Los Angeles. Of those 100, about 60 are
Southeast Asians, 25 are from African Syncretic Religions, Animists’ ‘guardian spirits’ are really human
R
10 are Curanderos and 5 are from other assorted Animistic psychodynamics. The ‘spirit world’ they live in is really
cultures. the combined subconscious realms of the psychodynamics.
When Animists are possessed they are allowing
Most of these Animists will never move past the most basic psychodynamics (or occasionally Dances, see p.193)
S
skills. They will cure minor illnesses, bring small amounts to take control of their bodies. Most of an Animist’s
of good luck, make brief and timid forays into other worlds, psychodynamics take the form of entities from the
but will never gain more power or learn more of the Animistic culture’s myths. Insomuch as the ‘spirits’ have
universe’s secrets. self-awareness, they believe they are those mythological
figures. See p.258 for more on psychodynamics.
In centuries past there were a few Animists who were
Visions are knowledge from the subconscious that has
O
powerful enough to retain their minds and their souls when
their physical bodies died. They live in other worlds, only been allowed to leak into the conscious mind in the form
daring to come to our world briefly. When they come here of hallucinations.
they are almost immediately set upon by reapers. Most have
N
lost many of their memories when their brains died, so their Revelations- Animists have few sources capable of
understanding of our realms is fairly simplistic. Most still enlightening them about the secrets of the universe.
cling to an us-vs.-them worldview and seek to aid only their Psychodynamics (“guardian spirits”) can reveal secrets
L
particular tribe or people. Many are hostile to the ethnic about the mind, but don’t know much outside the
groups they warred against in life. These Animists are not subconscious (“spirit world”). They don’t even know that
completely immortal: if they wander the other realms long they are psychodynamics.
Y
enough they will eventually run into something capable of
destroying them. Animist elders may have a little more experience in other
worlds, but they rarely know what the things they’ve
Metaphysics- Animists use deliriant and hallucinogenic seen mean in metaphysical terms. Encounters with dead
plants, self-torture, self-deprivation and repetitive chanting Animists are very rare and the dead Animists have often
or dancing, all of which has the same effect: to put them in lost enough knowledge that they have little of importance
an altered state of consciousness where their belief in the to communicate.

Alleys
Among the Savages

G
A
Chapter Fourty-Two
A Journey Upriver --- A Surviving Aweti --- A Fantastic Tale
In late spring I traveled upriver to a small camp of Aruto. Living M

among them was an old woman who my guide claimed was the last
surviving member of the Aweti people. She told me several words in E
her language, which seem to be merely a sub-dialect of Aruto (see table
2.3). Her people’s customs, as she described them, were typical for a
tribe from this area. She told me some of their myths, most of which
were just versions of Aruto or Mudavi myths with differently-named M
characters. One myth which was unique was of a famous and powerful
Aweti witch doctor from ancient times named Utan.
A
Utan was quite adept at entering the spirit world and dealing with
S
spirits there. One time he was exploring the part of the spirit world
T
E
which was home to his own guardian spirits. He went to the land
controlled by the spirit that controlled his hunger, but the place was
R
cursed and caused him to melt. He narrowly avoided becoming a
puddle by finding a hole in the ground which led to a huge cave. The
S
cave was empty of everything except a giant tree. He climbed down
the tree and at the bottom he found himself emerging from the mouth
of a giant. Looking, he saw the giant looked like him. The giant was
asleep: lying next to countless other giants. Each giant was impaled by
O
a tent-pole and each tent pole had magic symbols inscribed on it. He
had to flee quickly, for the place was filled with monsters.
When he arrived back in this world he told his people that we were all N
L
dreaming and that if we awoke the real world, the spirit world, and even
the land of the dead would all be destroyed. Ever since then, the Aweti
grande dame claimed, her people held a yearly dance to propitiate their
own giant sleeping selves and keep them from waking up.
128
Y
Secrets of the Animists 189
In Dark
Cho’Taweh, Elder Animist
Appearance- Seven foot tall Native American male. His face is Secrets of the
G
emotionless and, like a mask, has few features or details. He has rows
of scars on his arms and thighs, is naked except for a small buckskin
breechcloth, wears a crown of feathers, is muscular, has glowing bronze
skin, glowing amber colored eyes, long black hair and carries a huge
Cannibals
A
flint knife. In Brief- Monk at leper colony, reading about
Gnostics, learned to deny and remove the flesh
Attributes- AGY 14, AWR 16, CHM 2, END 20, INL 13, SPD 18, STH
20, WIL 20, BLD 6, BDY 6, INCY 6.
and so raise the soul from its dormancy.
M History- Cho’Taweh was a ‘medicine man’ of the Tatavian Indians who

lived in the Los Angeles area. He was the most gifted medicine man in
the tribe’s memory, possessing powerful guardian spirits and fearlessly
Cannibals Origins- In 1869 a Franciscan monk
named Sebastian Cook began a serious study of
E
making trips deep into the spirit world. Shortly after hearing rumors
heresies, including the Gnostic heresies. Most
of Spanish explorers, a terrible plague stuck his village, one which of the surviving information about the Gnostic
his supernatural abilities were useless against. An enemy Animist in heresies were written by enemies of the Gnostics,
another tribe chose this time of weakness to attack Cho’Taweh. After yet Cook was able to piece together enough
half his village died, Cho’Taweh succumbed to the disease. As he lay of the philosophy to create his own model of
dying he decided to try to avoid being taken to the land of the dead by Gnosticism.
journeying to the spirit world. When his physical body died he was safe
M
in the subconscious of another. He was not prepared for the loss of his In 1880 the church discovered that he had taken
physical brain, though, and he lost most of his memories and knowledge. an unhealthy interest in the heresies and they
Cho’Taweh spent the following centuries wandering through the various had him transferred to a leper colony. Watching
A
realms. He has only returned to this realm when a portal inadvertently
people die, he had a revelation about how the soul
led here and each time he left as quickly as possible, knowing that there
would be spirits here who want to take him to the land of the dead. could gain freedom. He engaged in a number
of dangerous and degrading practices, including
S
Psychology- Most of Cho’Taweh’s memories and knowledge are that infecting himself with leprosy. He started teaching
of a lone wanderer though dangerous and alien realms. He remembers the lepers and staff what he had discovered. The
little of his own culture and knows nothing of the modern world. He colony was shut down in 1895, and Sebastian
has gathered that his people as he knew them are gone, usurped by
T
Cook disappeared (killed by Professionals), but
a mysterious tribe of ‘white people.’ He considers White people
his enemy, and will kill one if given a chance, although he doesn’t the monks and nuns that worked there took the
remember enough about his own society to have any real feelings about teachings with them. Each sought out, secretly,
peers they thought would be willing to learn their
E
its destruction. Cho’Taweh lost most of his language abilities and has
not found a reason to re-develop them. He does not think to himself in doctrines. Thus a secret group spread throughout
words and instead spends most of his time, like an animal, reacting to the catholic monasticism. At the turn of the century
world around him. His main motivations are to avoid being taken to the Cannibalism spread to the Catholic priesthood.
R
land of the dead and to find a place to live that is neither dangerous nor In the last 30 years is has spread to non-Catholic
is prone to ‘disappearing’ (as subconsciouses do when their conscious religious communities.
selves die).
S
Methods- Cho’Taweh walks though the various realms, seeking portals The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1946
to new places. He never stops to eat, rest or relieve himself. He is in a cave on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
constantly on guard in case something should attack him. When he These scrolls contained a huge number of Gnostic
meets something that looks like a human he bares his teeth, hisses at texts. Once the texts made it out of the hands
it, shows his knife and then waits to see what it’s going to do. If he of the Catholic Church they greatly increased
encounters a White person he may circle the White person and throw academic knowledge of Gnosticism and increased
rocks at him or her, trying to determine if the White person is a threat. If
O
the abilities of the Cannibals.
the White person does not seem like a threat, Cho’Taweh will attack.
Special Skills- Knife (4), Animal Form (4), Journeying (6), See True Structure- The Cannibals are organized into
Face (4), Visions (6), Flesh Control (5), Masks (5), Revive (5), Spirit independent cells who don’t know of each other’s
N
Speed (4), Spirit Strength (4). existence. The cells are visited sporadically by
Typical Attack- Whenever possible, Cho’Taweh will use Spirit Speed masters who bring teachings and, occasionally,
and Spirit Strength to increase his physical abilities. Unless he rolls tasks to be performed. The masters have been
L
a 1 he can boost his stats to AGY 29, END 50, SPD 33, STH 50. He practicing Cannibal doctrines between 20 and
will split his action twice, jumping into range, striking with his knife at 80 years. They have several body parts missing
AGY (29) + STH (50) -20 (2 splits) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +34 vs. 0) but can still pass as normal (although severely
Y
and saving the next action to use as a reaction if attacked (e.g. a Dodge disabled) humans. Each master communicates
at AGY (29) + AWR (16) -20 (2 splits) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 vs. 0). A directly with one of a handful of ancient
successful strike will do 5 bladed damage. Cannibals. The ancients only rarely communicate
Typical Reaction- A split reaction jump (out of range) at SPD (33) + with each other. The ancients have been
AGY (29) +16 (skill) -10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +43 vs. 0) and practicing between 50 and 100 years and cannot
Parry with his knife at STH (50) + AGY (29) +1d20 -10 (split) vs. 25 (or pass for living humans. They live cloistered deep
1d20 +44 vs. 0).

Alleys
in the dark corners of abandoned or sparsely populated
monasteries. They rarely leave the monasteries and Father Garibaldi, Elder Cannibal
when they travel within the monasteries it is typically
G
via underground tunnels. They live most of their life Appearance- Floating a few inches off the ground, under a
coarse and moth-eaten brown hooded robe, is a torso, part of
meditating, contemplating and reading texts brought to
a head and short stumps where arms and legs should be. The
them by masters. genitals have been removed, the front of the ribcage sawn out
A
and the guts removed, the tongue, lower jaw, nose, ears and
There are about 2,000 novice Cannibals worldwide eyes have been pulled out, the top of the head has been sawn off
(30 in L.A.), 100 masters (2 in L.A.) and 5 ancients and the brain removed. A simple gold crucifix dangles around
M
(1 near L.A.). the neck. The remaining skin is red, leathery, covered with
sores, scars and lacerations. Those who can see the invisible
see a muscular, beautiful, sexless figure. When he speaks what
Metaphysics- Cannibal abilities come from a remains of his mouth does not move, but people hear a warm,
E
cultivation of disdain for the physical world and, thoughtful voice with a thick Italian accent.
most of all, for the flesh. Cannibals meditate on
their souls as something existing separately from Attributes- AGY 25, AWR 30, CHM 5, END 30, INL 25, SPD
30, STH 35, WIL 20, BLD 10, BDY 2, INCY 10.
the flesh. A normal person’s soul conforms to the
shape and form of the body, like water conforms to Social Status- Father Garibaldi is one of the oldest Cannibals.
the shape of a vessel, and so when a normal person He lives in seclusion, in the ruins of a Southern California
M
loses a body part the soul contracts. A Cannibal’s monastery, only occasionally communicating with his juniors,
soul is just ‘awake’ enough to have its own shape who bring him books.
and to retain that shape even when body parts
A
are severed. However, even the most advanced History- Father Garibaldi was born in Italy in 1842. Early
experiences of ecstasy during communion left him wanting to
Cannibal is unable to destroy his or her entire become a priest. As a priest though, he questioned the wisdom
body, since that would bring Reapers (p.216). of his superiors too often and in 1878 he was sent to a small
S
mountain parish. There a monk at a local monastery introduced
Revelations- Novice Cannibals will only meet him to cannibalism. He soon retired to a life of monasticism
masters a few times and will not normally be and lived in seclusion as he amputated his parts. When some of
T
the monks left the monastery in 1909 to help start a monastery
able to meet ancients until they become masters
in California, he traveled with them. He kept his presence secret
themselves. from the majority of monks: only those he chose to recruit into
E
Cannibalism ever saw or heard from him. When the monastery
Masters and ancients can reveal to PCs the history closed in 1931 he stayed there.
of the group. PCs also learn that leaders of every
Personality- Since losing his brain, the father has slowly lost
organized religion are in a secret organization (the
R
his aesthetic sense, his ability to feel emotions and his empathy
“powers-that-be”) with the world’s most rich and with other people. Worst of all, he doesn’t feel the ecstasy of
powerful people. The powers-that-be know that loving God like he once did. He does not, however, regret
the Gnostic heresies are a major threat and try to
S
removing his brain. Most of his life takes place in the world of
wipe out active use of the heresies by manipulating ideas and abstractions and that is usually all he cares to discuss.
society and/or using supernaturally-powered He does not read newspapers, watch TV or listen to the radio
assassins. The powers-that-be have such great so he has little idea what’s been happening in history, culture,
worldly power because they are favored by the science and technology since the 30s.
powers-from-beyond. The powers-from-beyond
Methods- The father spends his days and nights (he doesn’t
are believed to be associated with the demiurge of
O
sleep) either reading or meditating on what he has read. While
Gnostic myth, the evil creator of this world. Since doing either he whips the flesh of his back. When he senses
the beginning of society, Cannibals theorize, the people in the monastery he dons his robe and hides in the
powers-from-beyond have used the powers-that- shadows, watching them.
N
be as a tool to control society and keep human
souls trapped and degraded. Special Skills- Mortification of the Flesh (6), Command
Inanimate (3), Ecstatic Rage (5), Flesh Control (4), Nihilist
L
Rage (4), Revive (5).
Cannibals have a lot of theories about what lies
beyond this reality, but none really know first Typical Attack- Split targeted Strike against a person’s heart
hand. They believe that our souls came from a at STH (35) + AGY (25) -10 (split) -4 (targeted) +1d20 vs. 25
Y
perfect being known as the godhead or from a (or 1d20 +21 vs. 0) and Disarm at STH (35) + AGY (25) -10
child of the godhead. The godhead, they believe, (split) +1d20 vs. 30 (or 1d20 +20 vs. 0). The strike does 4 BLD
damage if successful.
cares for us but cannot or will not help us because
we are too far from it. Typical Reaction- Split simultaneous targeted Strike (at 1d20
+21 vs. 0) and simultaneous Disarm (at 1d20 +20 vs. 0).
Secrets of the Cannibals 191

In Dark
G
A
M
E
M
A
S
T
E
R
S
O
N
L
Y
Alleys
Secrets of the Faustians
G
In Brief- Experiences, and the desire to express them, in phenomena they experience are strung together from
undisturbed abandoned buildings coalesce into entities the experiences of different people who lived in the
(‘Dances’). These entities become powerful and intelligent apartment that is now a Dance’s home. Some of these
A
when they reproduce themselves in human subconsciouses. people may still be alive, thus dispelling the idea that
Powerful Dances can make backup homes and can turn Dances are ghosts, and these people experienced no
humans into undead experience-machines. supernatural phenomenon during their lives. If PCs are
M
very lucky they may discern that the experiences that
Origin- Ever since humans have had souls there have been make up the Dance were experiences that meant a lot to
Dances. Most early Dances were born in the wilds and could the people and that those people had a burning desire to
E
only attack those who happened to wander by. express or communicate those experiences but couldn’t.
Dances blossomed in the last half-century where economic PCs who investigate their own minds can find out what
downturns could turn a heavily populated area into one the Dance is doing inside them. They will find that the
full of abandoned buildings that might stay abandoned for Dance is using the PC’s brain to think for it, that it is
decades. Only the modern economy would allow a building growing ‘larger’ in the PC’s subconscious (using more
in a populated city to sit unused for long periods. mental resources) and weakening and finally destroying
M
other psychodynamics (thus destroying the PC’s
Detroit has experienced one of the biggest economic personality). The psychodynamics know something is
downturns that an American city has ever experienced. wrong but don’t know what. They don’t recognize the
A
In 1967 a race riot and a loss of auto-plant jobs caused a Dance when they encounter it and they aren’t capable of
massive upper and middle class exodus from the city. The understanding something from the outside coming into
city’s population went from nearly 2 million in the 1950s the subconscious.
S
to less than 1 million, leaving a huge number of buildings
abandoned. Soon after, hundreds of Dances were born. Metaphysics- When a building sits abandoned for a long
They were surrounded by drunks and psychotics they could time, the unfulfilled desires for self-expression coalesce,
T
control and desperate people they could infect. For the first unperturbed by random stirring up by new desires, into
time ever, Dances began to communicate with each other. a single unitary desire. The thoughts, feelings and
There was a Dance renaissance, at attempt by Dances to perceptions that meant the most to the residents of a
cooperate and share information for their own survival. place, that they wanted to express and share but couldn’t,
E
Faustians, sent as messengers from this Dance society, have form a cycle of experiences that is the Song. The desire
communicated with Dances in every major city in North to make the Song be experienced by as many people as
America. possible is the Dance.
Structure- There are thousands of Dances worldwide.

In L.A. there are about 500 Dances, only about 100 are
Dances are born mindless. They are simply a wish, or the
residue of wishes. Like other wishes made by mundane R
S
powerful enough to effect the minds of humans. About humans, they don’t have the power to perceptibly
50 have one or more Faustians in their service. These 50 influence the physical world. They can influence minds,
Dances have, altogether, 87 Faustians in their employ. Most though, especially the minds of easily manipulated
have only one, some have as many as 10. 30 of the Dances people like drunks, drug users and psychotics. Any
have more than one abode. The Dances purposefully prevent person with a weak mind who comes near the Dance’s
any organization of Faustians, no matter how informal, from abandoned building will experience some of the thoughts,
O
forming. They purposefully try to obscure evidence of perceptions and emotions of the Song and will, in turn,
their existence and origins. They don’t want any organized feel the desire to express those experiences, thus making
human resistance against them and they have been almost the Dance stronger.
completely successful.
N
Drunks and psychos are poor vessels for the Dance. It
In Detroit, a group of vigilantes have been trying to destroy has intelligence, but that intelligence is as flawed as that
Dances by burning down as many abandoned buildings as of the minds it infects. When a mostly sane and sober
L
they can. Their founding member is an ex-Faustian. They human who is near a Dance completely opens his mind,
don’t understand much about Dances and they believe a lot usually out of sheer desperation, a little copy of the Dance
of paranoid things that aren’t true, like that Dances control forms in that person’s subconscious. The Dance now has
Y
the higher echelons of government. Together with copycat a fully functioning brain that it is operating in, not only
arsonists, this group is responsible for Devil’s Night, the increasing its power but also giving it intelligence. As
orgy of arson that hits Detroit each year on the night before time goes on it takes over more of the person’s mental
Halloween. resources, becoming stronger and smarter. Eventually it
becomes self-aware and starts thinking in terms of self-
Revelations- Most historical research into Dances will preservation instead of just blind pursuit of spreading
be dead ends. At best, characters will discover that the itself into as many minds as possible.
Secrets of the Faustians 193

In Dark
When a Dance puts itself into multiple hosts (a.k.a. them to the point of will-less-ness and deliver them to the
Faustians) it is able to network together the stolen bits of Dance’s abode. Victims become “Puppets,” neither alive
neurological power from each into one whole, making it as (for they cannot think for themselves) nor dead (for their
G
intelligent, or more so, than a human. neurons still fire and their souls are still in their bodies).
To make maximum use of these undead slaves the Dances
Dances are not physical beings and care little about the often bisect them down the middle, having one half
A
physical world. They can sense the physical world only experiencing one thing in one part of the abode while the
through the senses of their hosts, and even then they depend other half experiences something else somewhere else. If
on the hosts to help them understand what they see. Dances the Dance is shocked, injured or distracted the puppets
may experience a few minutes of terrible self-awareness
M
exist on the mental plane. They can see the thoughts,
emotions and perceptions coming off people like a human before the soul escapes from the body.
sees the light from a bonfire at night. Thus Dances have
the ability to read minds, influence minds and sense hostile The only way to kill a Dance is to remove it from the mind
E
intentions. Faustians, s parts of the Dance’s intelligence, of each Faustian it has infected (or kill those Faustians)
can develop access to these abilities. These powers reduce and destroy the Dance’s abode and any copies it has made
as a target gets farther from a Faustian’s brain or Dance’s of those abodes.
abode.
Revelations- Historical research can tell Faustians the
circumstances in which Dances form and what Dances do
Dance Psychology to people and their environments. They may even find out
M Even through they can read minds, and even through they
what has killed Dances in the past. This will not answer a
are made up of human experiences, Dances have absolutely Faustian’s major questions: what is a Dance, what are its
no empathy for humans. Human thoughts, feelings and goals, what it is doing to the Faustian’s mind and how can
A
perceptions mean nothing to them except something they want a Faustian survive infection by a Dance.
to blot out and replace with the Song.
Encountering a Dance in the Subconscious
S
Dances may or may not know of the existence of other Dances
(depending on how long they’ve been around). When they Characters exploring the subconscious of a Faustian will turn
do know that other Dances exist they don’t think of them as a corner and find themselves in what appears to be the Dance’s
anything other than a potential tool to be used and a potential
T
abode. The more powerful the Dance is in the subconscious,
threat to be destroyed. the more likely one is to turn a corner and be inside of it.
The abode will be decorated with a mismatch of the decorations
E
Dances know that humans are mortal and that when a the place had when people lived there. Sometimes décor and
Faustian dies the part of the Dance that is inside that environment will regularly switch back and forth: walls will
Faustian will die. As long as the abandoned place that change color, day will change to night, pieces of furniture will
contains the thoughtless core of desire remains unperturbed,
R
change, the house may suddenly be on fire and then stop, etc.
though, the Dance can always gain new Faustians. What
Dances fear most, therefore, is some human invading their There will be people, but they will be engaged in mindless
abandoned space and messing up the song with his or her repetition. Some actors will be sedate: looking, thinking,
S
own experiences and desires. Thus Dances do everything speaking. Others will be doing intense and dramatic things: a
in their power to keep those with free will out of their man beating his wife, a young woman slitting her wrists in the
abodes. bathroom, etc. Observant visitors may recognize that some of
the actors are the same people at different ages.
Many Dances try to reduce their vulnerability by creating
These actors will not respond to anything the visitors say
copies of their abodes. First they have a Faustian redecorate or do. Visitors who touch or are touched by the actors will
a place to look, sound and smell like the Dance’s abode did
O
suddenly become those people and find themselves forced
when people were living there. Then the Dance has the to do the repetitive tasks until they can beat the Dance with
Faustian deliver a human whose free will is so weakened an opposed WIL save (make a save hourly until the visitor is
that the Dance can control that human completely. The free)..
N
victim is led around the abode, experiencing every
experience of the song. Then the facsimile abode is sealed The actors can also be used by the Dance to speak with the
up so that those experiences and the desire to express them visitors. The actors will keep doing their repetitive task while
L
can ferment and become another part of the Dance. communicating.
When Dances become very powerful they begin to be Leaving a Dance is not as easy as getting in. Leaving by any
exit will lead right back to the same place the character started
able to effect physical reality. Apart from redecorating,
Y
from. The only ways to leave are:
the main use of this power is to control human biology.
A Dance who can gain complete control of both the mind -To leave the subconscious altogether.
and biology of a human can create the perfect experiencer, -To persuade the Dance to let the visitors leave.
one who experiences the song over-and-over again without -To badly hurt the Dance by doing massive damage to the
pause for rest, sustenance or even death. The Dance usually abode.
directs the Faustian to find someone nobody will miss, drug

Alleys
Only if PCs find a way to get the Dance (or another Dance) to Dances Manipulating Faustians
reveal its secrets can the PC find out what he or she really needs to
know. Dances will be reluctant to reveal their secrets and will only The part of the Dance inside each Faustian has a
G
do so in one of three circumstances: First, if they are threatened psych STH, just like natural psychodynamics. A
and see no other choice. Second, if they completely trust a PC level 1 Faustian starts with a 10 STH dance. A
(even then the info is need-to-know). Third, if the PC can manage Dance’s AWR, INL and WIL are approximately
equal to the sum of all psych STHs within each
A
to take control of the Dance’s intellect (see Faustians Manipulating
Dances). Even then, the Dance doesn’t know the metaphysics Faustian’s mind divided by 5.
behind its own existence. It only knows that it is the desire to make Dances can hurt or manipulate a PC in the same
the Song be experienced by as many human minds as possible as
M
way a psychodynamic does: with impulses, slips
strongly as possible. and hindrances. For instance, the Dance might give
a Faustian an impulse to push someone into traffic,
Dance Defenses make the Faustian accidentally leave a burning
E
cigarette on an armchair, or hinder the PC’s ability to
Dances surround themselves with layers of protection. The first layer use the Mind Reading skill to read a certain person’s
of protection is the Faustians. The Dance uses its ability to read minds mind. See Using Psychodynamics, p.129 for more.
at remote to identify potential future threats and then it dispatches the
Faustians to remove those threats. The Dance understands little about
As time goes on the Dance grows stronger and other
the world of humans and it depends on Faustians to figure out the
psychodynamics grow weaker as the Dance eats
best way to deal with those threats. The second line of defense is the
more psychological resources. The rate of growth
M
almost-will-less: alcoholics, crazy homeless people, severely retarded
is ½ point per week if the PC is actively resisting
people that live nearby (often because the Dance has drawn them to live
nearby). They have enough free-will to keep themselves alive but they the encroachment, 2 points per week if the PC is
are weak enough that the Dance can take temporary control over them actively aiding the encroachment and 1 point per
A
and force them to attack threats. The next line of defense is physical: week if the PC is doing neither. A PC is actively
the Dance will have had Faustians install all manner of locks, bars and resisting when he or she tries to use distractions,
even traps. Dances strong enough to manipulate the physical world meditation, hypnosis or force of will to block out
the déjà vu feelings that run through the PC’s dreams
S
will have locks that can only be opened from the inside. The next line
of defense is any Puppets the dance may have in that abode. The final and wandering thoughts, and avoids situations and
line of defense is the Dance itself: it will try to drive off or destroy the environments which prompt the déjà vu feelings. A
invading humans by forcing the song on them and/or by manipulating PC is actively aiding the encroachment when he or
T
the environment (e.g. making the floor give way). she tries to prompt the déjà vu feelings.
E
A Dance’s Abode
R
S
O
N
L
Y
In Dark
Faustians Manipulating Dances Regina Hamilton, Elder Faustian
Appearance- Late thirties Black woman with short,
If the PC can become fully conscious of a Dance (rather than the curly black hair. She is skinny, missing several
G
Dance hiding at the periphery of consciousness), the Faustian can try teeth and has a hateful expression on her face. She
to impose his or her will directly on the Dance, forcing the Dance to do typically wears bluejeans and an old T-Shirt under a
whatever the Faustian wants. To become fully conscious of the Dance, blue windbreaker.
A
the Faustian must do one of the following:
Attributes- AGY 9, AWR 17, CHM 6, END 5,
-Enter the subconscious or dreams of someone infected by that INL 17, SPD 9, STH 8, WIL 17, BLD 4, BDY 4,
Dance, enter the Dance (see Encountering Dances in the Subconscious) INCY 4.
M
and touch one of the actors, thereby becoming part of the Dance.
History- On the streets as a drug addicted teenager,
-Enter an abode and use the Psychometry skill on the Regina was captured by a gang of thugs who dragged
surroundings. her off to an abandoned place to rape her. Regina
E
-Use the Mind Reading skill on a puppet or will-less person being opened her mind to a Dance, who gave her the power
controlled by the dance. to reduce her attackers to tears. Regina reveled in
her newfound psychological strength: she quit doing
-Use hallucinogens or extreme self-deprivation to break down the drugs and became a drug dealer, all the while gladly
doors of perception. doing errands for the Dance. Over the next decade
she used her powers to become one of the wealthiest
When trying to control the part of the Dance within the Faustian, the and most powerful drug dealers in the city, yet the
Dance gets an opposed WIL roll with a WIL equal to the Dance’s psych
M
Dance continued to eat away at her personality until
STH within the Faustian. Success means the Faustian can make the she no longer felt any pleasure in wealth or power.
Dance in the Faustian’s head do anything the Faustian wants: tell its A decade ago she quit dealing drugs to work for the
secrets, use its powers in any way the Faustian wants, even reduce its Dance full time. The Dance taught her a lot about
A
influence on the PC (reducing its psych STH). If the Dance is forced to itself and its needs.
reduce its influence enough times it will disappear from the Faustian’s
mind and the Faustian will go back to being a regular person. Psychology- Regina is almost gone. Few of her
human drives remain. Most of her psychodynamics
S
After gaining control of the piece of the Dance in his or her own head, are dead and the survivors are weak and corrupted.
the Faustian can try to control the Dance as a whole, or parts of the Every moment, awake or asleep, the Song pounds
Dance inside other people. The Faustian must beat an opposed roll through her head. She has lost touch with any
T
vs. the Dance’s overall WIL (the total psych STHs divided by 5). compassion or morality. She will kill or torture
The Faustian who gains control of the Dance as a whole can make it with cold utilitarianism. Some tiny part of her
withdraw from all the minds it has infected, thus leaving it senseless fears the loss of selfhood that she knows is quickly
and nearly powerless. This will not kill it, however, for as long as an approaching, but that fear is tiny compared to her
E
abode remains intact it will eventually infect a new Faustian. overwhelming desire to help the Dance spread its
influence. The Dance has 72 psych STH in Regina.
The control lasts only as long as the PC can concentrate, after which the Methods- Regina lives in one of the abandoned
R
Dance regains free will. buildings her Dance lives in, on the floor below the
abode. She has quite a bit of money hidden away,
enough to pay for all her needs. She spends her days
Dance Psych STH
S
building fortifications in the Dance’s various abodes,
redecorating abandoned places in preparation for the
10- Faustian feels occasional déjà vu feelings, experiences weird Dance living there, assassinating anyone who might
dreams, but otherwise retains the same personality and behaviors. disrupt the Dance and kidnapping street people to
become puppets.
25- Faustian’s normal fears, desires, motivations, opinions and feelings
are noticeably weaker. Déjà vu feelings can come at any time, dreams Special Skills- Pistol (4), Control Will-Less (5),
are almost completely made up of the Song. Danger Sense (5), Déjà Vu (5), Read Minds (5).
O 50- Even casual acquaintances can tell there’s something ‘different’ Special Equipment- Pistol: Automatic (ROF 4,
about the Faustian. The Faustian is cold, emotionless, unempathetic FR 5 ft., 4 dmg, 9 rounds) with Silencer, Chloroform.
and unambitious. The Song is like a constant background noise to him Typical Attack- First she uses Déjà Vu to try to
N
or her. paralyze victims with hopeless sadness at WIL (17)
75- Faustian speaks short, awkward phrases in a monotone, has no +16 (skill) +1d20 vs. 30 (or 1d20 +3 vs. 0). The
facial expressions, keeps up only the bare minimum of personal victim gets an opposed save vs. emotion. Next she
L
hygiene, avoids human contact, spends free time staring onto space, makes a Vital Strike with her pistol at INL (17) +
experiencing the Song ‘full blast.’ AGY (9) +16 (skill) -1/5 ft. -4 (burst) +1d20 vs. 25
(or 1d20 +13 vs. 0) doing 32 damage (4 dmg/bullet x
90- The real world can only be experienced as a dim shadow perceived 4 bullets x double damage) is successful.
Y
through the constant repetition of the Song. The Faustian has trouble Typical Reaction- A split reaction Dodge at AWR
remembering even basic pieces of knowledge about the physical world (17) + AGY (9) +16 (skill) -10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25
(e.g. his or her own name, how to cross a street). (or 1d20 +7 vs. 0) and Strike at INL (17) + AGY (9)
100- The original personality, habits and knowledge are gone. The body +16 (skill) -4 (burst) -10 (split) -1/5 ft. +1d20 vs.
is merely a puppet. The soul remains but it experiences nothing but the 25 (or 1d20 +3 -1/5ft. vs. 0), doing 16 damage if
Song and wants nothing but for the Dance to be propagated. successful.

Alleys
G
Patient History A
3/17, admitted, unresponsive, underweight and malnourished. Sores and rashes from poor M
E
hygiene. Started Haldol 500 mg/dy. intravenous. Police told admitting physician he went
missing from college around finals. Found ~2 years later in an abandoned building with
several dismembered corpses. Attacked police, went unresponsive when subdued.
3/20, patient asked nurse not to be drugged. Showed flattened affect, threatening demeanor,
knew (guessed?) personal information about nurse. Physician on record spoke to patient, M
promised to lower Haldol dose if patient would submit to interview. Patient agreed.
A
3/21, throughout interview patient referred to self in third person, implied that whoever
was speaking was entity other than the patient but would not say who. Patient showed S
remarkable empathy, often able to guess exactly what interviewer was thinking. Patient
tried to use this knowledge to intimidate interviewer. Patient would not acknowledge T
killing the dismembered bodies he was found with. Instead, he claimed the bodies were
alive and had been cut to pieces so they could “experience more sensations at once” and E
that they had only died when the police had come in and “interrupted the dance” – would
not elaborate on meaning of this term. When asked what he wanted, patient expressed R
desire for private room he could redecorate however he wanted and where he would not
be interrupted. When asked what he wanted if this was not possible, he said to be left S
alone and not drugged. When asked what he didn’t like about the medication, he said it
O
“interferes with this body’s ability to feel” – would not elaborate. Patient refused to answer
any other questions.
3/30, patient has been completely noncommunicative with doctors and staff since his
N
L
interview. Possibly communicating with other patients: patients have described ‘seeing’ or
have drawn items which can be seen in photos from the abandoned apartment where patient
Y
was found (see attached).

In Dark
The Apartment 3B Dance
Song- The feeling of hiding from someone scary and hoping not to
be found, the sight of an old woman sitting at a kitchen table crying
Secrets of the Heroes
G
silently, the sounds of a sweetly sad waltz playing on an old radio, In Brief- Power can come from having a semi-awakened
and the thought that one is being lied to.
animal, learning skills from the Touched, having an object
Attributes- AWR/INL/WIL 25. or body part that was in a shatter, or being the manifestation
A Abodes- The Dance has its original abode, two working copies, of another person’s psychodynamic.
three that are fermenting and five places that Faustians are
remodeling. The original abode is in City of Industry, the copies Origin- Like serial killers, the phenomenon of Heroes came
M
are in Skid Row and in a run-down part of Pomona. and grew with cities. Both serial killers and Heroes tend to
The original abode is a small one-bedroom apartment with occur in places where people can live in a social vacuum,
yellowing paint peeling from the walls, warped floorboards, black with no relationships to other people giving meaning to their
E
mold in the bathroom, a layer of dust over everything. A bare light lives. In other words, when people can walk down a street
socket is empty and the only light is that which comes in through with complete anonymity, being nothing but a nameless
cracks in a boarded up window over the kitchen sink. The fart- stranger to everyone they pass, some will try to give their
like stink of a nearby pulp-mill pervades the apartment. There is a lives meaning via acts of illegal violence. Some choose their
broken wooden chair and a few old bottles, but otherwise the place victims via hatred or lust, others through a sense of justice or
is empty.
desire to make the world a better place. Gaining supernatural
In the two copies of the abode there is an old style radio in powers has always had the effect of making such people
M
the living room, a round wooden table in the kitchen with an old bolder and is often responsible for turning someone from a
female puppet sitting at it sobbing, and in the bedroom a patch of
carpet and a bed. Half a puppet hides under the bed. The other
wannabe Hero or serial killer into the real thing.
half alternates between standing next to the radio, swaying gently
A
in time to the music, and walking into the kitchen to stare at the old London was the first European city big enough and
woman. anonymous enough to create Heroes as we know them today.
The original abode has had the doorknob removed and plastered At the same time Jack the Ripper was killing prostitutes, an
anonymous tanner’s apprentice was fighting garroters (the
S
over so that it’s hard to tell where the entrance is. The copies have
bars on the windows, metal reinforced doors with expensive locks crime wave of the day) with a Victorian Girl’s artifact (see
(35 difficulty to pick) and a heavy chain inside. The floor outside p.244).
one of the apartments is been weakened so that people stepping on
T
it will fall through onto a pile of bricks on the floor below. Metaphysics
Servants- Several homeless winos and crazies are squatting in the Familiar: These Heroes have come across a partially
buildings where the abodes are. At any given time the Dance can awakened animal. This is a servant of humanity from
E
summon 1d6 near-will-less to protect an abode from invaders. before human souls were trapped in this reality. Like human
The Dance has 3 Faustians: souls, these servants are more-or-less immortal and are
Ted Ecklestein, a fat, middle aged tax attorney who is separated kept prisoner by the powers-from-beyond in the bodies of
animals. Due to some supernatural or h-tech accident the
R
from his wife and kids, keeps a pistol under the seat of his car, and
uses his powers to seduce teen schoolgirls. Ted will do just about animal became partially awakened and regained some of its
anything the Dance asks of him, but he is wary of committing powers and intelligence. It cannot remember its life before
murder. The Dance has a psychic STH of 25 inside him. this world, nor can it escape from the body it has been placed
S
Zoe Christiansen, a gutterpunk with a Mohawk and nose-ring, in, but it was able to find its former master. See p.240 for
who lives in one of the Dance’s buildings and has brass knuckles. more on awakened animals.
Zoe is constantly fighting against the Dance’s attempt to make her Occult Training: These Heroes trace the origin of
do things she thinks are wrong. The Dance has a psych STH of 12 their knowledge back to some Animist, Cannibal, Outcast,
inside her.
Professional or Scribbler who tried to teach supernatural
Andrew Lasky, an elderly Black man, retired, living in a welfare skills to a protégé without initiating him or her into the
hotel near one of the abodes. He has little free will or personality
O
heretical knowledge or philosophy that went with them.
left and the Dance uses him to assassinate threats or kidnap victims
to become puppets. The Dance has a psych STH of 87 inside him. Shattered Person: These Heroes have experienced
The Dance also has one whole puppet and two bisected halves some event so emotionally powerful that it momentarily
N
of a puppet in each of its two copied abodes. awakened their true selves. The true self, clumsily thrashing
out with its true power, destroyed the ‘machinery’ that
History- The apartment building at 1810 E. Haversham Blvd., City enforces the rules of physics. Some part of the Hero’s flesh
of Industry, was built in 1933. Three families lived in it, including a
is now permanently ‘warped’ in a way that changes the rules
L
family where a young boy was abused by his father, a young couple
where the wife cheated on the husband, and an elderly couple of physics around it. For more on Shatters, see p.234
whose son died in WWII. The building was sealed up in 1972 when Supernatural Object: Similarly, these Heroes’ power
it failed to pass an inspection by the County Health Department. comes from supernatural objects which are relics from
Y
At issue were a lack of fire exits, a wooden staircase, lead in the Shatters (see Shatter Relics, p.241).
plumbing and fumes from a nearby pulp mill. The owners did not
have the capitol to renovate the structure and nobody wanted to H-Tech Machine: The PC is heir to a machine that takes
tear it down and build something new because, by the 70s, it was advantage of some minor ‘error’ or ‘loophole’ in the laws of
surrounded by industrial zones and a freeway. The Dance came into physics. Most likely the machine was created by complete
being in 1983 and in 1985 it had gained its first Faustian (Andrew accident by an insane person who had no idea what they
Lasky). It gained its copied abodes in 1996 and 1997 after nearly a were doing. See p.233 for more on H-Tech.
decade of incubation.

Alleys
Soul Linked: These Heroes have
Richard “Mr. Death” Bailey, Elder Hero
had another person’s psychodynamic
projected onto them. At some point Appearance- In real life he is a potbellied, middle-aged Black man with a round, goofy looking
face. At night he wears a black trench coat, black riot armor (including a helmet with mirrored
G
the psychodynamic found itself facemask), gasmask, nightvision goggles, black boots, and two automatic pistols with silencers.
desperate to aid its conscious self
but it found itself blocked (either Attributes- AGY 10, AWR 9, CHM 3, END 9, INL 14, SPD 12, STH 15, WIL 14, BLD 5, BDY
3, INCY 4.
A
by the other psychodynamics, the
conscious mind of the person, or History- Richard was born to a working-class Black family. He was a sensitive, shy boy.
His father left when he was seven and this sent him into a spiral of isolation, self-hatred and
by external factors limiting the loneliness that left him friendless during his adolescent years. He entertained himself with
person’s free will). Desperate,
M
fantasies of violence, of him slaughtering armies of racists, terrorists, mafioso, etc. Soon he
the psychodynamic wandered was living more in his fantasies than in the real world. After high school he had a series of
through the nether regions of the demeaning customer service and manual labor jobs that barely paid the rent. He was poor,
subconscious and through a portal lonely and desperate. One evening blood started to drip from his ceiling. He called the cops
E
but nobody came. He went to check on his neighbor and found his neighbor hanging from his
into the subconscious of another neck, pierced with a dozen kitchen knives and masturbating. There was an explosion and a
nearby person. The psychodynamic knife cut his hand. Moths started flying from the wound until Richard bound the wound up.
was allowed by the ego to pass The wound would not heal and continued to expel moths whenever unbound. Richard decided
through to the conscious mind. The the moths were either a curse or a gift from god, and that he was responsible for using them
ego allowed this to happen because to smite sinners. He trained and equipped himself as a vigilante. Over the next 30 years he
killed more than 100 drug dealers, as well as pimps, rapists, abortion doctors, convenience store
it sensed that the psychodynamic robbers, carjackers, child molesters, serial killers, innocent people who he mistakenly thought
M
would give the conscious self what it were committing crimes and innocent people who were hit by stray bullets. He has also killed
needed: psychological strength and a supernatural serial killers, Faustians, an escaped psychodynamic, torturers, a surgeon, deserted
purpose in life. The two merged and city creatures, Animists, a Scribbler/terrorist and a Survivor. He has destroyed a Dance and
thereafter the Hero has been driven survived being sucked into a bubble.
A
to do the job of the psychodynamic. Psychology- Going out and killing “evil” things and people is all Richard has. He is a
pathologically lonely man. He works a dead-end job he hates and contact with his family is
so uncomfortable that he cuts it short whenever possible. His most intense relationships are
Example: Tim is being held hostage
S
imaginary relationships with the people he saves. There are a number of terrified young women
by escaped prisoners. Realizing who he harasses with anonymous letters and phone calls. Richard has a black and white view of
there is nothing it can do to help morality: anyone who kills or rapes deserves to die. He sees the justice system as unnecessary:
Tim from inside the subconscious, to him it’s obvious whether someone is guilty or not. He had long ago come to the conclusion
T
Tim’s Anima travels elsewhere. that the world is not what it seems, that alien entities prey on humanity with the permission of
the powers-that-be, that humans are capable of developing great power (though usually at the
Tim’s Anima enters Eva. Eva is expense of their sanity) and that there are other worlds that don’t follow the same rules as our
depressed, suicidal, desperate. Tim’s world. Although once a Christian, the things he has been exposed to have made him give up on
E
Anima makes a deal with Eva’s Ego. his beliefs. Religion and faith are still sensitive subjects for him.
Eva’s Ego will allow Tim’s Anima to Social Status- Richard is a friendless loser, polite but distant to those he meets. As Mr. Death
pass through and merge with Eva’s he is a legend, a scary story told by L.A. drug dealers. Some don’t believe in him, others live
R
conscious self, and Tim’s Anima in constant fear of him. Depending upon the teller of the story he is a demon, ghost or sorcerer.
will give the psychological strength LAPD homicide and narcotics detectives have files on Mr. Death, but can’t seem to convince
their supervisors that there’s anything worth investigating.
and purpose in life Eva needs to
overcome her psychological crisis. Methods- Richard drives around in an old white van with tinted windows listening to a police
S
Eva suddenly becomes aware that scanner. He investigates police calls and newspaper articles that sound supernatural and he
looks for drug dealers to execute. When he finds drug dealers he waits in his van until they
she need to save Tim and she goes are alone. He sneaks up on them, ungloves his hand and sprays a cloud of moths at the people.
and uses her newfound strength While they are stunned and partially blinded he shoots them in the head. He robs the bodies of
and abilities to save him from the cash to finance his activities.
prisoners. Special Abilities- Richard has a never-healing wound in his hand. When the wound is exposed
moths pour out. Large clouds of moths will obscure light sources, flutter in people’s faces and
O
Although the psychodynamic bite people. Most people will take a -7 penalty to actions/reactions and must make a moderate
‘traveled to’ another mind, it still (20) save vs. distracting pain. Richard will take no penalty because of his armor and because he
is used to fighting amongst the moths. The wound has the following power profile: Enclosed;
exists in and draws power from the Create: Creatures (3); Blockable (2).
N
protectee’s mind. If the protectee
Special Skills- Area Knowledge: Supernatural (3), Climbing (3), Running (3), Pistol (5), Sniper
were to die, that part of the Hero (4), Tae Kwon Do (4), Alarm Systems (3), Lock Picking (3), Organized Crime (2), Prowling (5),
would go away and the Hero would Crime Scene Forensics (3), Interrogation (4), Research: Law Enforcement (3), Tracking (4).
be back to the same state of weakness
L
Special Equipment- SWAT Armor (-4 AGY already figured in, AR 10 PR 10 bladed 3 blunt),
and purposelessness he or she was in Gasmask, Nightvision Goggles, Sniper Rile with Silencer, 2 Automatic Pistols with Silencers
before. and Armor Piercing rounds (ROF 4, FR 5 ft., 3 bladed pierces as 7 bladed), 4 Pipe Bombs, Knife:
Hunting.
Y
Revelations- The best chance a Hero Typical Attack- He makes a Vital Strike with a pistol at AGY (10) + INL (14) +20 (skill) -1/5 ft.
has to discover the secrets of the +1d20 vs. 35 (or 1d20 -1/5 ft. +9 vs. 0). If successful it does 6 bladed damage.
universe is if some knowledgeable Typical Reaction- A split reaction Dodge at AWR (9) + AGY (10) + 20 (skill) -10 (split) vs. 25
member of the powers-that-be or the (or 1d20 +4 vs. 0) and simultaneous Strike with 4 bullets at INL (14) + AGY (10) +WIL (14)
powers-from-beyond offers to give +20 (skill) -10 (split) -4 (burst) -1/5 ft. vs. 45 (or 1d20 -1/5ft. vs. 1) doing a total of 12 bladed
up his/her/its secrets in exchange for damage (3 damage x 4 bullets).
not being killed.
Secrets of the Heroes 199

In Dark
G
A
M
E
M
A
S
T
E
R
S
O
N
L
Y
Alleys
Secrets of the Lost
In Brief- Some born such that reality has a harder time
nailing them to one point in space, yet because rules of
Since alcohol is a big part of the lives of most Lost,
the eldest and most powerful Lost are old homeless
winos. Their livers are damaged, leaving them G
A
location are ingrained in human consciousness they can
only overcome location when they don’t know where they chronically ill, and their brains are damaged, leaving
are. them unable to remember things for more than a few
minutes. They never want for food or drink (which
M
Origins- There have been Lost as long as humans they pull out of their pockets) or a warm place to
have had souls. Becoming Lost was frightening and stay (which they simply walk through a door into).
dangerous: an aboriginal person who got Lost would Some of the most powerful Lost don’t even know
E
most likely wind up in the camp of some group who they have powers. They don’t know or care how
spoke a different language and would kill a stranger. they ended up where they are or where the things in
There were a few ancient Lost who learned to control their pockets came from.
their powers well enough to use them to their advantage
(as warriors, messengers, traders and thieves) but the Metaphysics- Space, as we understand it, is not
ability was too rare for them to find others to teach their something that limited human souls before this
M
skills to or share information with. world. Before this world, souls could go anywhere
or be in multiple ‘places’ at once just by casting
These were the wilderness Lost. Urban Lost appeared their attention in those places. Our reality is the
A
with cities large enough to become lost in. By the only one where people are meant to be limited to a
1890s there were enough Lost that they started to meet single location.
each other and trade stories and techniques. Naturally,
S
they met in bars and saloons. Yet the Lost who knew These limitations cease when humans travel to
of each other remained a tiny group, and only a tiny non-physical realms or when their souls leave their
percentage of those who had the ability. bodies. Yet even in these situations the limitations
T
of location continue to exist in the minds of the
Psychogeography was created in 1958 but didn’t really explorers. The explorers still believe in themselves
become popular until the 1980s. It was popularized as a being existing in a single location, and so
E
by the Situationists, a group that was influenced by they do exist in a single location. Yet if they are
the Surrealists and Existentialists. Psychogeography wandering around with no concept of where they
is the art of wandering a city at random and mapping are, then they move randomly through space.
R
how different parts of the city made one feel. Some of
the psychogeographers became Lost. They found new The human body, a prison for the human soul,
Lost skills and methods and taught them to the loose has the duty of keeping us in one location, like an
S
Lost community. anchor. Even when we do not know where we are,
the body (like all physical things in this reality)
In recent decades growing cities and growing remembers where it is and stays there. Yet some
population has made Lost meeting Lost an almost bodies are better at staying in one place than others
regular occurrence and the Lost ‘culture’ has grown (are ‘heavier anchors’) and some souls are more
more complex. restless. The combination of a body that is a poor
O
anchor, a soul that doesn’t like being bound by
Structure- There are about 700 people in the world space and a mind that doesn’t know where it is leads
who have the power to become Lost and regularly use to momentary escapes from the tyranny of space.
N
it. About 200 are rural or wilderness Lost who rarely
find themselves in cities and will most likely never Even the most inebriated mind demands some sense
meet another Lost. The remaining 500 are urban Lost, of special continuity. The Lost don’t experience
L
about 25 of which are based out of the L.A. area. themselves being in two places at once or suddenly
popping out of one location and into another
The organizational capabilities of the Lost are limited because the mind does not allow it. Yet a Lost
Y
by the fact that thy are a group of heavy drinkers who can turn around an unfamiliar corner and end up
move around randomly in space. The Lost are nothing in a different city because, even if the Lost knows
more than a loose group of friends and acquaintances abstractly that he or she is traveling through space
who trade stories. No Lost has any authority over randomly, at least the visceral sense of spatial
another. continuity is not violated.
Secrets of the Lost 201

In Dark
The Lost’s major limitation is not distance
but perception: they are more likely to
Carlos Ortega, Elder Lost
go from a run-down-industrial zone to Appearance- Small, elderly Hispanic man with shoulder-length grey
G
another run-down industrial zone than hair, a grey beard, tanned, weather-beaten skin. He is often a little dirty
from an industrial zone to a forest glen. and smelly. He usually wears a powder blue sweater, blue jeans, black
When such changes do happen they happen hiking shoes, black leather gloves. He walks with a cane and wears a
A
gradually, progressing through different wide-brimmed hat.
types of neighborhoods. Until they learn
to control their location the Lost will end Attributes- AGY 2, AWR 5, CHM 7, END 5, INL 6, SPD 4, STH 5,
M
up in places that match their mood: if they WIL 8, BLD 2, BDY 1, INCY 4.
feel depressed and lonely they will end up History- Carlos’ parents moved from Mexico in the 1940’s. His
in empty places full of grey concrete, rusty parents worked hard to get him in a nice school, but there were not
E
fences and trash; whereas if they are in a many Hispanics in his class and he became an outcast. By the time he
partying mood they will find themselves graduated from high school he had an alcohol problem. He started work
in a center of nightlife. The more extreme as a janitor, working at the same hospital his father worked at. In his
their mood is the more likely they are to be mid-twenties he discovered his abilities. When he was 32 he was fired
drawn out of the mundane realm, and thus from his job for absenteeism and he became homeless. He was skilled
the Lost find themselves in other worlds enough by then that life as a homeless person was fairly easy: he could
always find safe, warm places to sleep and he could get away from
M
most often during a psychological crisis.
cops if he was caught shoplifting. He continued drinking everyday and
practicing his skills. He didn’t meet another member of the Lost until
If a member of the Lost could somehow
his forties. That person’s experiences eased Carlos’ fear that he was
A
‘get over’ the visceral belief of continuity crazy. Continuous use of alcohol continued to eat away at his brain,
of space, then that Lost would be able to be damaging his ability to recall or create memories.
multiple places at once or to cycle through
S
locations at the speed of thought. Special Skills- Get Lost (6), Homing (6), Grab Bag (6).
Revelations- The Lost doesn’t experience Personality- Due to being constantly drunk, brain damage from alcohol
revelations by being told things but by poisoning and being constantly disconnected from the rational order of
T seeing things. The Lost have the ability space, Carlos lives in sort of a waking dream. He never knows, nor
cares, where he is, how he got there or where he is going next. He
to wander out of this reality, to see the
lives in the moment. He is usually not aware that he is doing anything
subconscious, the land of the dead, the
E
supernatural. Only if interrogated will he be able to recall a time when
deserted city, the citadel and the machinery walking into bank vaults and helping himself to money seemed odd.
of this reality. A member of the Lost may Sometimes his faulty memory brings him back to the times when he
even find the sleeping body of his or her believed he was crazy. He has little concept of morality and does not
R
true self. Whether the Lost has any idea think of anything he does as wrong. He mostly ignores other people’s
what it is they are seeing is another matter. problems, but if he sees someone in tears he is moved to do whatever he
can to help (usually by pulling something out of his pocket that might
S
make them feel better). His attention span has deteriorated to the point
that, if forced to speak, he will forget the topic of conversation and go
Killer Lost off on tangents.
Although very few Lost have ever thought Methods- Carlos is perpetually lost. When he wants something, like a
to do so, it is possible for very powerful whore or a warm bed, he opens a door or turns a corner and he is in a
Lost to use the Grab Bag skill to kill people place that meets his needs. If he wants something physical he pulls it
O
by remote. They need a body with a large out of his pockets or wanders into a place where he can pull it off the
hole in it. They can then reach in and pull shelves. He is never sober or hungry, never has to put up with poor
out the internal organs of an enemy. The weather, and is never bored. He appears randomly all over the globe.
N
He spends a significant amount of his time in other realms and is quite
Grab Bag skill requires that the person not
familiar with them, though he does not put much thought into what they
know what’s in the container, so the Lost are. Since he is not centered on any given location, it is unlikely that
can’t know that the body they are reaching
L
anyone (except another Lost looking for him) will ever encounter him
into doesn’t contain the organs of their twice.
enemies, which means they can’t know
whose body it is they are reaching into. Typical Attack- Area Attack with 2 submachine-guns he’s pulled from
Y
This skill is therefore extremely difficult his jacket at INL (6) + 20 (ROF) -4 (paired) -1/5ft. vs. 20 (sprays a 10
to use. Yet when done correctly it allows a ft. area) or 1d20 -1/5ft. +2 vs. 0.
Lost to kill an enemy anywhere in the world
Typical Reaction- Dodge at AWR (5) + AGY (2) +1d20 (or 1d20 vs.
and the enemy doesn’t have any means of
18).
defense.

Alleys
G
A
8:23 PM I’ve been wandering this place for hours. No
sign of habitation. No stars. Tried the radio - weeping on
every channel.
8:58 PM What kind of city has no street signs? The
only words I’ve seen are old faded posters but all they M
say is “pain pain pain” over and over again.
9:25 PM I think I’m being followed. Tried getting Lost
but it stayed right behind me. Can’t see what it is, just a
E
shape in the shadows.
19:35 PM Saw it passing under a streetlight.
a human face but I don’t think it’s human.
It has
M
12:05 AM Thing still following me, keeping its distance.
Should I confront it? Too scared. Been experimenting: it
A
S
takes no effort to be Lost here. In fact, it takes effort
not to.
T
12:17 AM This place makes no sense. I’m looking at
an old crumbling Victorian with some ultra-modern all-
glass office block built on top of it.
12:22 AM I think it lost me.
E
R
1:45 AM I get it. This place isn’t a city. A city is
just the closest thing my mind can come up with. It’s not
even a real place.
2:02 AM I’m inside an old house. I found a box of
photos of the people who used to live here. They look
like humans, but that’s probably just my mind putting
S
them in a form I can understand. They look so confident,
so unafraid. There’s no kids or old people. No cheesy
fake photo smiles. What happened to them?
2:05 AM The pictures are so familiar. I can almost O
remember living here.
2:09 AM It’s back. It’s outside, trying to get in. N
Banging on door but not turning handle. Going to open
door and try to make it open to somewhere other than L
Y
where this thing is
Secrets of the Lost 203

In Dark
Secrets of the Outcasts
G
In Brief- Some people have access to their souls’ senses. Most Outcasts can see The Invisible, a phase of reality that
coexists alongside out own. Matter and energy from our
Origins- Throughout history there have been people realm cannot normally effect the invisible and visa versa,
A
who could see and hear what normal people couldn’t. meaning the inhabitants of each realm are mutually invisible
In ancient cultures their abilities were valued and they and intangible. The only exceptions are where the powers-
were called upon as supernatural professionals. When from-beyond have specifically designed a being to be able
to see or interact with the other realm or where supernatural
M
rationalism started to take over the planet, these people
were increasingly called mad. Most were convinced that powers have awakened the human soul’s ability to interact
they really were mad. They were put into mental hospitals with the other realm. For more on the nature of the invisible
that treated them like animals. Then, in the last half of realm and its inhabitants, see The Invisible, p.227.
E
the 20th century, the system changed focus to controlling
patients with lobotomies and heavy doses of drugs. Revelations- Like the Lost, Outcasts learn the secrets of
the universe by observing what is really going on. Where
Ever since Outcasts have been concentrated in asylums the Lost see other realms, Outcasts see the secrets of this
and mental hospitals they have created their own cultures world. They may discover that this world is a machine:
and beliefs. A few institutions have played host to Outcast storks bring souls to human fetuses, wrigglers plague us
with problems to make sure our lives are not easy and when
M
cultures more than a century old. In addition to the senses
of Outcasts, the delusions of paranoid schizophrenics and we die reapers take our souls away. The powers-that-be
the beliefs and language of psychotherapy have contributed eliminate any paranormal event or person that might shake
to these cultures. people’s perceptions of this realm. A smart Outcast with the
A
right senses should be able to determine that our souls are
Towards the end of the 20th century in the US, increased prisoners, this world is a prison, and that the powers-that-be
mental illness rates and decreased public-welfare-budgets and the powers-from-beyond are our jailors. Why we are
being imprisoned, who is imprisoning us and what we were
S
meant that people labeled mentally ill were released to the
before being imprisoned is probably beyond the revelations
to live as homeless people. When the mentally ill spilled
available to an Outcast.
out on to the streets so did the Outcast cultures from
various mental institutions. Sometimes those cultures
T Henry Dewitt, Elder Outcast

clashed: arguments would break out between those who
believed wrigglers were demons and those that thought Appearance- Obese elderly Caucasian male, short grey hair and
they were trans-dimensional aliens. In the mental asylums beard, bushy eyebrows, large nostrils, wearing a powder blue
E
there had been a semblance of hierarchy (e.g. ‘talk to old sweatsuit.
John, he knows everything’) yet the streets had no such Attributes- AGY 3, AWR 18, CHM 16, END 3, INL 14, SPD 2,
hierarchy. Every ex-mental patient claimed to be the one STH 8, WIL 13, BLD 4, BDY 2, INCY 4.
R
who knew the secrets of the universe, and Outcast culture
saw a definite decline. Social Status- Henry is a patient at an upscale mental institution
in Pasadena. Henry instructs new patients about the invisible
world. Most patients regard him as an authority in such matters.
Structure- There are about a million Outcasts worldwide,
S
He uses his supernatural powers to take care of patients and staff
about a thousand in the L.A. area. There is no organization who bother him. He is the most influential patient in the facility,
or hierarchy. Some Outcasts learn a lot about the invisible often called ‘king of the crazies’ by the staff.
world and how to manipulate it to their advantage. History- Henry’s father was a wealthy real-estate mogul and
Unfortunately, most of these elders are so isolated from when young Henry began talking about seeing monsters his
normal society that all they can think of to do with their father hired L.A.’s best psychiatrists to convince him that these
power is seek revenge. Others try to accost random people things were not real and that he wasn’t really seeing them. Henry
O
and tell them the truth but they are dismissed as rambling learned to block the visions and to act like the perfect son. He
psychotics. was handsome, athletic and popular, even though deep down he
knew he was different. He managed to keep up the charade until
Metaphysics- As Cannibals know, the soul can develop his junior year at Stanford where he had a breakdown, barricaded
N
the ability to sense things that the biological senses cannot. himself in his room and almost killed one of the campus security
Yet most souls are too lazy to ever develop such an ability. officers who came in to retrieve him. His father sent him to an
expensive private mental institution in Pasadena. He adapted well
Outcasts are people who, in the womb or early childhood, to life there, enjoyed being able to relax his ‘normal person’ act
L
accidentally developed a ‘spirit eye’ or ‘spirit ear’ or some for the first time since childhood. He found others there could see
sense organ with no human anatomical counterpart. Most the same things he did and he pieced together their experiences to
were taught at an early age that seeing things that nobody create a theory about what was going on. As time passed, other
Y
else sees is bad, so their Egos started blocking such visions patients came and went but Henry stayed. He showed no progress
from reaching the conscious mind. At some point, though, towards overcoming his “schizophrenia.” His doctors said he was
the Ego weakened and faltered, allowing visions to come safe to go live at home, yet his father didn’t want him and Henry
through unimpeded. The resulting crisis kept the Ego too didn’t want to leave, so he stayed. Henry soon found himself the
busy to block the visions. By the time the visions have elder Outcast in the place. His father died, but a trust fund was set
been accepted by the conscious mind the Ego has given up up to pay for his stay in the institution for the rest of his life.
trying to block them. continued page 28

Alleys
Dear Mr. President,

G
I’m ready for you to come get me.
I know it’s you and not them.
Send air-force-one so
I know you need help and A
I’m ready to help out. Like you, they’ve tried to wear me
down, but it only makes me stronger. You they spread lies M
E
about in the press, me they’ve engineered a structural
collapse of my life and sent jackbooted thugs in rentacop
uniforms to kick me while I’m down. I imagine you’re
starting to see that they’re all tentacles of the same
monster, only you don’t have eyes like mine, you can’t
M
see the half of it, you can’t see the tentacles that have
been strangling us half to death since we were born. See,
A
that’s where I can help you out. You think that thing
they removed from your nutsack was a cancer because the
fraud witchdoctor quacks who have a monopoly on the health
S
system have pushed the microbe theory of diseases on us
all since we were schoolkids but I’ll tell you the truth:
T
diseases are caused by invisible monsters whose job it is
to keep us distracted with pain and disease. Just like
it’s the job of the military-industrial-media complex,
E
the ones who have bought every US election since 1841, to
keep us distracted with wars and shitty mind-numbing jobs
R
and so-called ‘reality TV shows’. It would be funny if it
weren’t so sad because the purpose of ‘reality TV’ shows
is to distract us from the reality of the situation, which
S
is that we are all prisoners and our jailors figured the
best way to keep us from escaping was to make us think
we’re not in prison by making the bars invisible and the
guards invisible. Except I can see them, and unlike most
others with the vision I haven’t been driven insane by
O
the experience. Whey is that? I think I’ll appoint a
commission to answer that when I join your staff. Well,
N
it’s been nice writing to you but I can’t stay in one
place for too long. I look forward to seeing you.
Your loyal friend,
Artheta Hanamoto L
Y
Secrets of the Outcasts 205
In Dark
Henry Dewitt, Elder Outcast (continued)
Psychology- Henry knows he is not delusional, that the things he sees are really there, but he also knows that he sees things
G
others don’t and he believes this makes him unsuitable to live in normal society. He pretends that the things he sees no longer
scare him, yet this is self-deception. He no longer fears wrigglers, but he lives in constant fear that some more intelligent and
powerful denizen of the invisible will find out what he knows and sees and will come to destroy him. Henry enjoys being a
A
powerful man in the institution. After living there for more than 40 years he would have a panic attack if asked to walk around
outside or, worse yet, take care of himself.
M
Methods- Henry uses Blood Sigils (hidden under furniture) and Command Misfortunes to make sure that wrigglers never come
near him. He has several patients that are loyal to him and will do anything for him. If someone is causing him a lot of trouble
he will command a misfortune to attack him or her.
E
Special Skills- See Invisible (5), See Souls (4), See Reapers (4), Blood Sigils (3), Command Misfortunes (5), See True Face
(3), Read Minds (3), Psychometry (3).
Typical Attack- He can cause a misfortune to attack someone at a roll of WIL (13) +16 (skill) +1d20 vs. 30 (or 1d20 vs. 1). If
forced to physically defend himself he will make a tackle at SPD (2) + STH (8) +10 (weight) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 vs. 5).
Typical Reaction- A drop at AWR (18) + AGY (3) + 1d20 vs. 20 (or 1d20 +1 vs. 0).
M Secrets of the Professionals

A In Brief- The humans who secretly rule the world, and
are given favors by the powers-from-beyond so long
Yet Christianity was born in a time where many cultures were
coming together to share their beliefs: Greek philosophy,
S
as they keep society away from anything that might tribal mysticism, pagan occultism, even ideas from Buddhism
enlighten them, have a secret society to train their found their way into Israel. Gnosticism (see p.152) developed
agents to fight supernatural enemies. as a variant of Christianity, yet the tenants of Gnosticism were
T
dangerously close to the truth. Gnosticism was a threat to the
Origin- The powers-from-beyond have always favored powers-that-be and its enemies were given special favor by
leaders that changed or restrained society in a way that the powers-from-beyond in order to eliminate it.
E
made humanity less likely to gain knowledge of its true
nature. These leaders often felt they were ‘favored Yet ideas fromEuropean
Myth: Gnosticism Witches
survived and the Christian
Were Heirs Tochurch
by god’ and in a way they were right. Through this Aboriginal European Paganism
R
manipulation, the powers-from-beyond helped usher in
every major social change: the rise of nations, the rise of A vast majority of those accused of being witches were wrongly
organized religion, the rise of monotheism, the rise of accused.
scientific rationalism and more.
S
A few accused witches were part of small cults. Although these
cults preserved a few pagan and shamanistic practices from
This ‘favor’ comes in three types: manipulating events
ancient Europe, they contained no faith or mysticism, just occult
in the ruler’s favor (e.g. causing a natural disaster to hit ritual, much as the Hoodoo practices of the American South
an enemy city), giving the leader objects with beneficial contained rituals and superstitions from African culture but
supernatural properties (see Blessed Objects, p.244), without the religious and cosmological beliefs that once went
and imparting supernatural knowledge to the leaders. with them.
O
The last two can be used by leaders themselves or, as
empires grow larger and leaders do less of their own These cults offered those without power (especially women)
dirty work, by servants and soldiers loyal to the leaders. power by teaching supernatural ritual and, more importantly,
N
knowledge of poisons. Like many secret societies who
Smart leaders realized that is was what they were successfully keep their secrets, the cults made new members do
doing, not who they were, that gained them favor of things (mostly taboo sexual practices) which they would never
want to admit to the authorities. They also used dangerous
the powers-from-beyond and so they kept doing it, even
L
deliriant drugs (e.g. deadly nightshade, mandrake, henbane) to
passed it down to their successors. The kings of Israel make sure that prospective members couldn’t recall many details
had favor of the powers-that-be because they practiced of the night’s rituals.
monotheism and discouraged homosexuality. This favor
Y
allowed the Jews to triumph over many superior forces. When witches had ‘power’ it was mostly the power to punish their
Yet after the death of Christ, Christianity emerged as abusive husbands by putting things in their food that would make
a proselytizing monotheism capable of converting the them sick, or punish their neighbors by feeding the neighbor’s
Roman empire from paganism. Favor of the powers- livestock things that would kill them. Only a very tiny minority
from-beyond quickly transferred to the Christians. learned supernatural rituals that had any real power, and those few
had no idea how or why the rituals worked.

Alleys
In the Renaissance, power over society started to shift
What About Jesus? from the kings and church to the rich merchants. These
Although some Touched (especially Animists) couldn’t care merchants were given favor by the powers-from-beyond
G
less about Jesus, for others it is very important to integrate their because they helped spread science, enhanced the
beliefs about Jesus into their newfound understanding of the authority of academic dogma and represented a new
universe. Here are some possible theories about Jesus: transnational model of power. The merchants started or
A
Jesus Was A Scribbler- A student of many philosophies, Jesus co-opted secret societies, most of which tried to model
discovered the true nature of the universe. By meditating on themselves after the Knights Templar or other ancient
the true nature of reality and the human soul he was able to mystical orders. Here the rich and powerful would
M
gain occult power, perhaps even to break free from our reality form connections, conspire to control the economy and
altogether. teach each other occult secrets. Yet the more prestigious
Jesus Was A Survivor- In the midst of a mass execution ground people who joined lodges, the more popular and less
E
the reapers were kept busy enough for this young Jewish mystic elite they became. The wealthy merchants couldn’t give
to come back to life. everyone the secrets to wealth and power, so they were
Jesus Was A Myth- There was a small time Jewish cult forced to hide the real power of the lodges, first inside
leader, but he never did anything remotely supernatural. His degrees of ordination and then in secret-societies within
beliefs were nothing special or unique and it was only random secret-societies.
confluence of social and political factors that turned Christianity
into a major religion.
M
By the Victorian age (mid 1800s), the rich and powerful
Jesus Was A Savior- The Christian Gnostics were right. Jesus men at the top of these societies recognized that growing
wasn’t a human, he was a being sent by benevolent powers population, urbanism and metropolitanism meant more
supernatural threats. They knew that they gained favor
A
from outside this world to give us the key to recapturing our
true glory. from the powers-that-be when they suppressed knowledge
of these supernatural events, yet they didn’t like doing
Yet ideas from Gnosticism survived and the Christian church the dirty work themselves. So in 1862 they created the
S
had to deal with more heresies that popped up, as well as Order of the Protector, a secret society designed to train
fighting the pagan and animistic cults that persisted in lands what would later be known as Professionals to take care
that has nominally converted to Christianity. The church of supernatural threats.
T
became adept at using the special abilities and objects
granted to it, by the powers-from-beyond, to fight heretics. Sociocultural Movements and Secret
Objectives
E
In the mid 10th Century, the Cathar movement appeared.
Organized Centralized control of magic/spiritual
The Cathars were influenced by Gnosticism. There were Religion beliefs.
Cathars throughout Europe but it became most popular in
R
Southern France. The Cathars believed that the physical Keeping lines of descent clear, allowing
Monogamy concentration of wealth and power in elite
world was evil and that only an ascetic priest could wipe families.
the sin of worldliness from a person before death. At the
Solidificaion of gender roles, reducing
S
beginning of the 13th Century the Catholic Church initiated Homophobia
likelihood of Androgyne-type powers.
a crusade to wipe out known Cathars, and created the
Inquisition to uncover secret Cathars. The Inquisition Consolidation of power, assimilation of
Empires
became especially skilled at using the abilities and objects animistic societies.
given to the powers-that-be to find hidden Cathars. The last Written
Allowing for a single unchanging dogma
of the Cathar priesthood were killed by 1321 and the group to be passed between peoples and
Language
was completely gone by the 15th century. generations.
O
Destructions of animistic holdouts/cults in
Witch Hunts
At the same time, the Christian kings, because they conquered otherwise non-animistic societies.
pagan kingdoms, were given favor by the powers-from- Consolidation of power, assimilation of
N
Colonialism
beyond equal to that of the church. Yet when the Christian animistic peoples.
kings went to war against the Islamic empire they found Capitalism Creation of a transnational elite.
themselves, for the first time, fighting a group that also had
Scientific
L
favor of the powers-from-beyond. In 1118, to gain an edge Empiricism
Destruction of magical worldviews.
against these enemies, the crusaders created the Knights
Templar, a group that combined the occult knowledge of Putting healing, the hardest part of
Western
Animistic magical traditions to destroy, in
Y
the church with the combat skills taught to agents of the Medicine
the hands of a controllable elite.
kings. The Templars even gained occult knowledge from
the Assassins, a group of Muslim mystical warriors that Consolidation of power in a small elite and
Racism
justification for colonialism.
had gone rogue from the empire. The Templars became too
powerful and were destroyed in 1307 by the church, yet their Elimination of hallucinogens, deliriants
War on
power was remembered and there were several attempts to and euphoriants useful to supernatural
Drugs
practitioners.
preserve their secrets for future use by the powers-that-be.
Secrets of the Professionals 207

In Dark
In the 20 century, the power of the world’s richest men
th lodges and thus are able to keep the presence of the Order
grew to dwarf the power of any king, president, emperor or within these lodges secret from ordinary lodge members.
religious leader. With the growth of a global economy their
G
ability to manipulate society grew to cover the entire globe. Degrees one through thirty-two contain active Professionals.
Power was consolidated into fewer and fewer hands, and The thirty-third degree is the leadership of the Order. Some
world travel became easier, turning the powers-that-be into of these leaders are retired Professionals, others became
leaders after being loyal servants of the Powers-That-Be.
A
something more akin to a circle of friends than a massive
conspiracy. Although they retained the Order, the powers Thirty-third degree leaders decide when a Professional can
themselves found they did not need secret lodges. Anyone attempt initiation to a new degree. Professionals advance
who gained large amounts of power was either inducted into when they show ability to defeat supernatural enemies and
M
the group, driven to poverty and powerlessness, or killed. loyalty to the duty of ‘protecting’ the world from knowledge
of the supernatural. ‘Tests’ are arranged when the loyalty or
Since 1910, the powers-that-be have maintained an artifact abilities of a professional are in question.
E
that allows them to bring people back from the dead (see
Mausoleum of Life, p.245). They reserve use of this object By the fourth degree a Professional must prove willingness
for only inner members of their group and only when they to take on any supernatural danger and destroy or hide
compelling evidence of the supernatural. By the seventh
die at a young age. The use of this artifact sometimes results
degree a Professional must kill someone who is a potential
in obituaries being published for people who later turn out to supernatural threat but is also completely innocent (e.g.
be alive (a phenomenon which is blamed on a mistake by the someone who was given supernatural powers by being too
M
news outlet). close to a shatter). By the eleventh degree the Professional
must be willing to kill a complete stranger for no reason
Structure- The Order of the Protector is only one arm of the other than the say-so of Order leaders. By the twentieth
powers-that-be’s sophisticated network of secret and not-so-
A
degree the Professional must be willing to kill people, as
secret controls on society. The Order is the arm that deals commanded by the Order leadership, who they know for
with supernatural threats. Other arms, completely ignorant a fact are not supernatural and have done nothing wrong.
of the Order and visa versa, manipulate the news media, start By the twenty-fifth degree the Professional must be willing
S
and end wars, eliminate non-supernatural threats, discredit to kill children or torture innocent people. By the thirty-
heretical philosophies, control the economy, manipulate second degree the Professional must be willing to kill a
elections and choose world leaders, and more. lover or close family member.
T The Order of the Protector is a secret society with 33 degrees.

It has branches in almost every major city in the world. The
order does not own any of its own facilities. It meets in
There are about 5,000 members of the Order worldwide
spread out among 500 lodges. 70% (3,500) are degrees 1
E
to 6. 25% (1,250) are degrees 7 to 19. Only 4% (200) are
buildings owned by other fraternal organizations. Its secrets degrees 22 to 32 and only 1% (50) are 33rd degree. There are
are hidden in secret chambers within or under the lodges. The about 100 Professionals in the L.A. area taking orders from
leaders of the Order are among the leaders of these mundane three 33rd degree leaders.
R
S
O
N
L
Y
Alleys
Metaphysics Sixth Degree: Certain strong emotions can shatter
Blood Sigils: This ability works by first turning blood reality. Places, objects and people associated with
into an extension of the human soul (thus making it ‘visible’ shatters can have dangerous powers to warp reality.
G
to members of the invisible who can only see souls), and Christian martyrs, repressed Victorian young woman and
second, by writing ‘commands’ with this blood that the anonymous homosexual sex in public places were the
wrigglers are designed to follow. Wrigglers instinctually source of many shatters.
A
obey symbols that mean ‘congregate here,’ ‘do not attack Seventh Degree: The world is full of invisible,
here,’ ‘stay here.’ Even rumblers, the invisible beings that intangible beings. Certain experiments and supernatural
cause natural disasters, can be induced to attack by a sigil. objects can give one the ability to see these beings.
Seeing them can be dangerous and should be avoided
M
Soul Blade: Like Blood Sigils, this skill makes blood
taken from the body an extension of that person’s soul, thus unless it is necessary to hunt down a threat to humanity.
a blade coated with that blood becomes an object of soul as Only a tiny minority of these beings are threats that need
well as matter, one capable of doing damage to invisible to be eliminated.
E
beings and human souls. Eighth Degree: There are worlds beyond this. They
Ecstatic Rage: This is nothing more than psychological contain dangerous beings. Humans were not meant to
training that allows one to enter a state where one does not venture into them. Portals to these worlds can open
fear death and is barely aware of pain and exhaustion. It accidentally or be opened by heretics. Things that wander
is especially well suited to Professionals who believe, not from those worlds into this should be killed.
without reason, that they are servants of a higher power who Tenth Degree: There has been an ongoing war,
M
can reward them after death. sometimes open and sometimes secret, for thousands
Truth Ordeal: This ability was created by the powers- of years. On one side were the forces of order and
from-beyond specifically to aid Professionals in rooting out civilization, the ancestors of the Order. On the other side
A
heretics. When the Professional is initiated into this skill, a were various aboriginal groups, pagan cults and heretical
special invisible being comes to live within the professional. sects that gained supernatural powers and were using
When the Professional holds a hot blade the being reaches them to try to destroy society.
its tendrils into the brain of the person being questioned
S
Twelfth Degree: The Order can trace its roots back to
and saves that person from being burned if the brain areas the Inquisition, the Templars and the early Freemasons. It
associated with lying do not activate. exists solely for the purpose of training Professionals to
Untouchable: This is intense belief that one is protected fight supernatural enemies.
T
from worldly dangers by a higher power. It was first Fourteenth Degree: Several dangerous heretical
developed by Christian martyrs who believed god would sects exist today. They are dangerous not only because
save them from the fire or arrows of their executioners, but they have supernatural abilities but because they spread
E
it was later co-opted by the Order for use in battle. The dangerous ideas about the nature of reality. Only the
Scribblers also have this skill but for them it is based on a heresies (and the Order) can consistently give people
powerful disbelief in the physical world. supernatural abilities – all other means are haphazard
R
and extremely dangerous and thus pose a threat of limited
Revelations- The revelations a Professional receives from scope. See What The Powers-That-Be Know About the
the order are strictly scripted. They come as the Professionals Touched (p.210).
S
reach different degrees of initiation and tell the Professional Sixteenth Degree: The powers-that-be secretly rule
only what he or she needs to know to be able to hunt dangers the world and are given favor from ‘a higher power.’ The
to the Powers-That-Be. Such revelations include: powers-that-be are charged with protecting humanity
Second Degree: There are many ways humans can gain from the heresies. The Order was created by and serves
supernatural abilities: through bizarre occult, technological or the powers-that-be.
psychological experiments, by being present at a shattering Twentieth Degree: The ‘higher power’ (aka he
O
of reality, or sometimes, apparently, completely at random. powers-from-beyond) has its own agents in this world
All of these means are haphazard and extremely dangerous. and they should never be interfered with. One type look
Third Degree: The same means that give humans like old grey men. They rewrite history, change memories
and physical records. Another type look like doctors in
N
supernatural abilities can sometimes give animals
supernatural intelligence and abilities. These animals should surgical scrubs who take people ‘away’ (someplace
be killed. outside this reality) for experiments. Other agents are
invisible and intangible. Stay out of the way of all agents
Fourth Degree: Things that exist inside people’s heads
L
of the powers-from-beyond.
can sometimes become real. People can be sucked into
these imaginary worlds or beings from these worlds can The 33rd degree leaders have the ability to give this
come to this world as physical entities. Killing the mind that information to Professionals of any degree if it is vital
Y
imagined the world/beings usually ends the phenomena. that they know it (e.g. warning a novice Professional to
Fifth Degree: Many small cults pop up which stop hunting one of the Grey Men).
‘accidentally’ gain supernatural powers. These cults should
be wiped out quickly, if they don’t destroy themselves first. Only thirty-second degree Professionals are told the true
One group believes they worship a ‘red sun.’ They seek out identities of the powers-that-be, and then only so that they
astronomical charts and have the power to start fires. can protect their lives.

In Dark
What The Powers-That-Be Lawrence Myers, Elder Professional
Know About the Touched
Appearance- Middle-aged Caucasian male, slightly tinted round glasses, clean
G Androgynes- Know: Their general shaven, salt-and-pepper grey hair in a short, military-style cut, navy blue suit with a
philosophy, abilities and structure. striped red-and-blue tie.
Don’t Know: Who the leaders are, how
A
they recruit and train new members. Attributes- AGY 16, AWR 16, CHM 12, END 15, INL 12, SPD 16, STH 17, WIL 18,
BLD 4, BDY 4, INCY 5.
Animists- Know: Their abilities
Social Status- Lawrence lives alone and has no friends. His paycheck says that he
M
and beliefs, the communities they come
from. Don’t Know: Which things is a senior FBI field agent, yet his office is nearly always empty and his ‘supervisor’
the Animists believe in are real and knows not to give him assignments. He is a thirty-second degree member of the Order
which are just superstition. of the Protector, the most experienced and trusted field agents in the L.A. area.
E Cannibals- Know: Their origins,

beliefs, structure. Don’t Know: Their
abilities, current numbers, who the
leaders are, that most members are
History- Lawrence grew up in a working class neighborhood in L.A. As a teen he ran
with hoodlums and although he was never arrested it seemed certain he would become
a criminal. Then the Vietnam War started and he volunteered, feeling that fighting
Communism was a worthy cause. After a distinguished tour of duty he went to
missing body parts. college, then went on to join the FBI. He was recognized early on as a good prospect
to become a Professional. He was invited to join the Order and he gladly accepted.
M
Faustians- Know: That some He rose quickly through the ranks and within two decades he had risen to the thirty-
people have powers associated second degree, the highest degree an active Professional can achieve.
with abandoned buildings, that they
A
sometimes kidnap and/or murder Psychology- Lawrence knows that his primary job is to stop society from being
people. Don’t Know: What Dances disrupted by knowledge of the supernatural and that his work primarily benefits the
are and that Dances are the source of world’s most powerful people. He knows that loyalty has its advantages and so he
Faustian powers. has taught himself to be innately loyal to the powers-that-be. He has no illusions
S
that his actions or his masters are on the side of “good.” He has not, for quite a
Heroes- Know: That they exist, while, thought in terms of good or evil, only in serving this world’s greatest powers.
what they do. Don’t Know: How many Lawrence is lonely and miserable, but he is so consumed by his work that he rarely
T
there are, the various sources of their notices. Lawrence has no fear of death. He is prejudiced against anyone with a
abilities. non-mainstream sexuality, religion or political ideology and he is quite open with his
Lost- Know: The abilities of disgust.
E
novice Lost; that many are barhoppers.
Methods- Lawrence is an accomplished investigator and tracker. He is selected to act
Don’t Know: The structure (or lack
as a bodyguard for the powers-that-be when they feel threatened by the supernatural.
of structure) of the community, the
He is also sent to track down and destroy supernatural threats that junior Professionals
R
abilities elder Lost can achieve.
were unable to deal with. In addition to his mundane tracking and investigation skills,
Outcasts- Know: That some can Lawrence will use torture and the Truth Ordeal skill to find out what people know.
see the invisible and other things When he finds his target he attempts to sneak up on him/her/it, pump it full of bullets
S
normal people cannot, that many live and then finish it off with his Black Rock Sword.
on the streets as homeless crazies.
Don’t Know: How much Outcasts Special Skills- Pistol (6), Sniper (4), Florentine Sword (5), Aikido (3), Lock Picking
know about the other Touched and (3), Prowling (4), Crime Scene Forensics (3), Torture (4), Offensive Driving (2),
about the powers-that-be. Tracking (4), Blood Sigils (3), Ecstatic Rage (4), Truth Ordeal (4), Soul Blade (5),
Untouchable (5).
Scribblers- Know: Their
O
Philosophy and abilities; the library-era Special Equipment- Pistol: Heavy (ROF 2, FR 5 ft., 5 bladed, 6 bullets) with silencer,
history of the group. Don’t Know: The Black Rock Sword (see p.245) which has range 1-2, does 10 bladed, is not effected by
current use of graffiti to communicate. armor and cannot be easily blocked or entangled.
N
Survivors- Know: Their abilities, Typical Attack- Lawrence makes a surprise attack whenever possible (he can prowl
that many are associated with large- at 30 +1d20 vs. difficulty). He will try to enter an Ecstatic Rage (will succeed on any
scale accidents. Don’t Know: How but a 1 roll) giving him +20 vs. pain/fear, simultaneous strikes at no minuses, +10
L
or why they gained their abilities; that STH and +5 INCY. He will then attack by making a Vital Strike with his pistol at INL
reapers are trying to kill them. (12) + AGY (14) +24 (skill) -4 (burst) -1/5 ft. +1d20 vs. 35 (or 1d20 +15 vs. 0) doing
10 bladed damage if successful. Next he takes out his sword and rushes into range,
Wonderlanders- Know: What
Y
making a split Jump (into range) and Strike at STH (27) + AGY (14) +20 (skill) -10
kinds of phenomena are associated (split) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +26 vs. 0). If successful it does 10 bladed damage.
with Wonderlanders and that killing
Wonderlanders stops the phenomena. Typical Reaction- Lawrence will close his eyes and attempt to use the untouchable
Don’t Know: How Wonderlanders are skill to avoid damage at WIL (18) +16 (skill) -10 (using Untouchable as a reaction)
created, the goals of Wonderlander +1d20 vs. 20 (to take one-fourth damage) or 30 (to take one-tenth damage) or 1d20
elders. vs. -4 or 6.

Alleys
Wallace Holloway, Member of the Powers-That-Be
G
Appearance- Male Caucasian in his sixties. He has thick, bushy silver-white hair. He has bushy eyebrows, a
permanent scowl, loose skin with wrinkles and liver spots, wears thick glasses. He wears charcoal grey suits and
American flag ties. He has a silver crucifix pin on his lapel.
Attributes- AGY 4, AWR 12, CHM 16, END 3, INL 17, SPD 5, STH 6, WIL 11, BLD 4, BDY 4, INCY 5.
Social Status- Wallace is a member of the powers-that-be. He is one of a handful of the wealthiest and most A
M
powerful men in the world. He sits on the boards of directors of several fortune-500 companies, he sits on the
federal government’s Council on Economic Affairs, and he is part of the Institute for American Achievement, a
privately funded think-tank which produces ‘reports’ that the president of the US depends on to help determine
E
domestic and foreign policy. He is close friends with kings, presidents, prime ministers and CEOs from around
the world and most of them owe him favors. He has a wife (who spend most of her time doing charity work),
four children (who were wild in their youths but have settled down to be respected business people) and seven
grandchildren (who he spoils).
History- Wallace’s mother was from a wealthy textile’s family, his father was a Baptist minister. Wallace went
to business school, then served in the military in an accounting office in the 50s, then worked as a governor’s aid
M
in Louisiana, then served one term as a congressman in the 60s. He was hired to work at a defense contractor’s
corporate office in Los Angeles. He rose through the ranks and became CEO in 1983. By buying and selling power
and favors he made himself very powerful. Using inside information he invested his money and became very rich.
A
He soon found himself invited to parties, dinners, cruises and retreats with some of the most powerful men in the
world. As he became friends with them they began to hint that maintaining a stable world order took more “behind
the scenes” action than anyone else knew. He told them he was willing to do his part. In 1987 Wallace retired as
CEO, though he maintained a position on the Board of Directors. Meanwhile, the truth about the powers-that-be,
S
their otherworldly benefactors and their need to suppress knowledge of the supernatural was slowly revealed to him.
He attended a late night “party” deep in the woods in which he sat on a throne and a crown was put on his head.
After that he has enjoyed exceptional health and fortune.
Personality- Wallace loves money and power. He hates poor people, sexual “deviants” and smart-ass progressives.
He doesn’t think of himself as liberal or conservative. He knows that both are just lies to get people to accept the
T
E
actual, secret, agendas of politicians. He thinks anyone who takes liberalism or conservativism seriously is an
idiot. He thinks that God is on his side, but he also thinks that God is a petty dictator who only wants to be obeyed
and doesn’t care if humans are happy or good. Besides gaining power, his other pleasure in life is having sex with
children. He doesn’t care much about his family: for the most part they’re only there to appear in photos with him.
R
He is cold, grumpy, emotionally distant, quick to anger, holds grudges for decades and lies as a matter of habit.
Methods- Wallace lives in a mansion on oceanfront property in Malibu, with a round-the-clock security staff. He
S
has a private jet in a nearby private airfield and he flies all over the world for meetings. While out of town he stays
in the finest hotels. He sends his personal assistant to get child prostitutes, who he meets in cheap hotel rooms. He
keeps up on world events, reading several newspapers, journals and wire service clipping each day. He averages
two hours a day ‘chatting’ on the phone with members of the powers-that-be and world leaders. He exerts his
influence to stamp out any threat to the power of the powers-that-be. In a given day he might ‘fix problems’ by
financing a military coup, manipulating markets to cause an economic depression in certain countries and paying
the mafia to assassinate a public figure. He is kept up to date on supernatural happenings by the Director of the Los
O
Angeles field office of the FBI, who is a 33rd degree Order of the Protector initiate. Wallace has only once been
contacted by the powers-from-beyond and he lives in fear of it happening again.
N
Wallace travels in an armored limo with an armed and well-trained driver. Wherever he goes in the world,
private security firms are hired to place guards outside his hotel room or whatever place he is holding a meeting
at. When he slips past his security to have sex with children his only protection is his personal assistant, who has a
ballistic vest and automatic pistol. If he thinks something supernatural is happening he can have a Professional at
L
his side within the hour.
Typical Attack- Wallace will run away from any confrontation. His assistant, however, will make a Vital Strike
Y
with an Automatic Pistol with armor piercing bullets at 1d20 + 11 -1/7 ft. vs. 0 doing 24 damage (3 damage x 4
bullets x2) if successful.
Typical Reaction- Wallace will Drop at AWR (12) + AGY (14) + 1d20 vs. 20 (or 1d20 vs. 4). His assistant will
make a simultaneous Strike at 1d20 +7 -1/7 ft. vs. 0, doing 12 damage if successful.

In Dark
G
A Having proven himself worthy
to attain the thirty-second degree Second, the initiate shall be
M
of initiation of the Ancient and questioned thusly:
Holy Order of the Protector,
E
the initiate shall come to the holy “Dost thou, initiate, swear upon
temple on midnight of the eve of this hot blade, that thou wilst fight,
the first Sabbath of the month. even if it means your life, against
The elders shall approach him, the spread of the three heresies,
sword in hand, and bind his eyes those being that the world and its
M with black cloth. Each shall take

turns heating their swords in the
creators are evil; that man is heir
to powers like that of a god; and
A holy chalice and holding the tip that the world that can be seen and
to the initiate’s neck as each asks touched is a deceit?”
S
him, in turn, one of the three great
questions. To each question the
Third, the initiate shall be
T
initiate must answer “I shall.”
questioned thusly:
If he answers differently, or if the
E
blade shall burn him, the elders
shall fall upon him without pause “D ost thou, initiate, swear upon
and run him through.
R
this hot blade, that thou wilst kill,
even if it mean murdering your
First, the initiate shall be own child, any man who, by means
S questioned thusly:
paganism, sodamism, onanism,
asceticism, alchemy, witchcraft,
sorcery, meditation upon heretical
“D ost thou, initiate, swear texts or by any other means, gain
O upon this hot blade, that thou powers outside the scope of natural
wilst dedicate thy remaining days law, save where the heavens have
N to serving and protecting the appointed such powers to the true

true kings of this world, those kings of this world and their
L
appointed by the heavens to rule servants?”
humanity?”
Y
Alleys
Secrets of the Scribblers
In Brief- Rogue 30’s philosophy students, communicating
in the margins of library books, started putting together
elements from suppressed philosophies, gained power by
dating back to the 1970s (or 30s if they are lucky enough
to gain access to an annotated volume). There is no
Scribbler hierarchy: each person is judged by his or her G
A
angrily denying the validity of this reality. words alone. Along with real Scribblers with real insight
into the nature of the universe, there are many crazies and
Origins- In the 1930s some anonymous philosophy student, wannabes who write complete nonsense or stereotyped
M
angry at his professors’ unwillingness to consider the hyperbole alongside the words of real Scribblers.
possible validity of certain philosophies, started scribbling
notes in the margins of library books. Later students with Scribbler activity is confined mostly to the US and UK,
E
similar feelings were inspired by those notes and defaced and is rarely found outside of cities and towns with
other books, either with their own new comments or by large universities. There are about 500 currently active
quoting their favorite comments from other books. Scholars Scribblers in the world, about 20 in L.A. Scribbler graffiti
who changed schools or who borrowed books through can be found all over the city but is most concentrated in
interlibrary loans spread the comments to new libraries and the public restrooms, phone booths, bus stops and alleys
thus new scholars. on or near one of the major colleges and universities in
the area.
M
In 1968, someone discovered the existence of the heavily
annotated books. Agents of the powers-that-be began Metaphysics- Although the techniques Scribblers use
searching out and destroying the annotated books. to gain supernatural abilities can be traced back to
A
Scribblers managed to save a few books before the enemy Gnosticism, Greek mysteries, occultism, psychotherapy,
got to them. A few Scribblers tried to fight back and were surrealism and even rituals stolen from the Templars, all
never seen again. rely on the Scribbler’s disbelief in the physical world as
their source of power. Scribblers discover, early in their
S
The Scribbler community, loose and disorganized as it initiation, that not only is this world an illusion but that
was, quickly found its only means of communication gone. they have been purposefully deceived about the nature of
Scribblers went back to being lone weirdos, subscribing to this world. Just as Cannibals learn to disdain the physical
T
ideas everyone they knew would laugh at. body which they believe keeps them from God, Scribblers
disdain the world of external phenomena which they
Yet some Scribblers were so mad at their suppression that believe keeps them from the truth. The indignant anger
is enough to let the Scribbler temporarily use his or her
E
they took to scrawling truths on walls. Graffiti became a big
thing in New York in 1970 and quickly spread throughout will destroy (Nihilistic Rage), bypass (Untouchable) or
the country, and a minority of that graffiti was Scribbler manipulate (Command Inanimate) the physical world.
graffiti. The old Scribblers seized this new way to continue
R
their great philosophical discussion and began to use walls Revelations- A Scribbler’s Secret Life is all about
as places for discussion. Places where graffiti was never revelations. Every night a Scribbler tries to find out
painted over became host to lengthy discussions and the new something new about the nature of the universe. The
S
hubs of the Scribbler community. most dangerous, yet most rewarding, part of this quest is
finding real-world confirmation of theories and hearsay.
Graffiti that was visible to the public was quickly painted
over, yet the Scribblers continued to put up their messages. A major find for a Scribbler is an ‘annotated volume’ from
The attempted censorship only made them more determined the era when the Scribblers conversed in the margins
to broadcast the truth to as many people as possible. Most of library books. See p.247 for more on Annotated
people who saw this graffiti ignored it, yet some were Volumes.
O
intrigued and sought out more. Where the library age
only had a few dozen Scribblers, the graffiti age gained Phonebooth in the Desert
hundreds.
N
Some Scribbler bulletin boards list the location of a
Scribblers briefly tried to use computers to communicate. phonebooth in the middle of the desert, about 150 miles
(240 km.) Northeast of Los Angeles. Apart from a gas
This worked back in the days of dial-up bulletin board station 5 miles (8 km.) away, the phonebooth is nowhere
L
systems, since these systems were isolated and could be kept near anything.
fairly secret (you couldn’t find them if you didn’t have the
phone number). Yet when the internet came along it became When someone travels to the phonebooth they usually
too easy for the enemies of the Scribblers to find and censor find the phone already ringing. Picking up they may
Y
Scribbler communication. Scrawling on bathroom walls and be connected to Scribblers from around the globe, to
inside phonebooths remained king. curious ‘normals’ who saw the number scribbled on a wall
somewhere and decided to call it and see what it was, or
Structure- Since most Scribblers write anonymously, the automated dialing machines set up in the crawlspaces of
only way they knew each other is by their handwriting. Very unused apartments set to call again and again and play back
whatever illicit message the owner wanted to convey to
few Scribblers will ever meet another Scribbler in person,
visitors to the phonebooth.
although they will read the writings of dozens of scribblers,
Secrets of the Scribblers 213

G
A
M
E
M
A
S
T
E
R
S
O
N
L
Y
214 Chapter Five - Secrets of the Scribblers
Alleys
Karl Rimbaud, Elder Scribbler
Appearance- Older Caucasian man, curly grey hair under a grey cap, full Secrets of the Survivors
G
grey mustache, hunched posture, khakis and a striped sweater, has a cane
and a small knapsack. In Brief- Some die but spontaneously gain the ability
Attributes- AGY 5, AWR 11, CHM 10, END 3, INL 19, SPD 7, STH 4, to revive their bodies by force of will. The reapers,
WIL 19, BLD 4, BDY 2, INCY 4. who take souls to the afterlife, see this and hunt the
A
Social Status- Karl is a lone hermit with no friends or family. Survivors.
History- The son of German and French ex-patriots who organized labor in
turn-of-the-century New York, Karl was born to be a radical intellectual. He Origins- There have been Survivors since prehistory, yet
M
was a bright student who liked to have raucous debates with professors. His they have been so rare that they rarely met. They appear
conscience moved him to join the army and fight in WWII. His experiences in legends as unstoppable warriors, avenging spirits
in the Pacific convinced him that there was something fundamentally or miraculous holy people. It has only been since the
wrong with this world. When he came back he went to school, hoping to
E
get a Ph.D. in philosophy at Stanford. He gravitated towards the world of 1980s that the formation of ‘support groups’ for accident
non-mainstream philosophers. He discovered that people were Scribbling survivors had brought together enough Survivors that they
interesting notes in the margins of these philosophers’ books and he joined in have created a body of shared knowledge.
the discussions. Quickly he became convinced that the physical world was
just a prison to trap human souls. He did experiments to confirm this. He Structure- Communities of Survivors only exist in the
quit academia so he could travel around the country reading the scribbles in world’s largest cities. Worldwide there are about 2,000
various books. He continued living this way, surviving many experiments, Survivors. There are about 50 in the L.A. area, but only
M
encounters with the Powers-That-Be and encounters with supernatural
beings, mostly by sheer luck. At the same time he used his new powers to about 10 know any other Survivors. The rest are in the
make terrorist-like strikes against the institutions that he believed enforced dark: alone, unsure that’s happening to them and taken by
the will of the Powers-That-Be (a police station, a seminary, a university surprise when the reapers attack.
A
administration building and an FBI office). He managed to find a stable
portal to a Surgeon’s lab and he started using it as his secret hideout. When There is a high turnaround of Survivors. Survivor
Scribbled-in books started to disappear in the late 60s he grabbed as many communities see Survivors die and new ones appear
as possible and hid them in his hideout. He has seen some Scribbler graffiti,
S
but he assumed that the Scribbler community died with the removal of the
weekly. A Survivor who hasn’t met with and learned
books and that the graffiti is the last gasp of lone Scribblers. from other Survivors lasts a month on average. One
who has learned about the danger of reapers lives a year
Psychology- Karl has become an isolated, paranoid hermit. He thinks of
on average. Thus the Survivor community is constantly
T
the average human as ignorant and brainwashed, not worth the effort of
speaking to. He lives, for the most part, in the world of abstract ideas and made up of new people trying to come to terms with what
theories. The intellectual game of truth has become more important than is happening to them.
the cause of freeing humanity from imprisonment. Karl has dehumanized
E
anyone associated with preserving the status quo (rich people, cops, lawyers, Worldwide there are less than 10 Survivors who managed
soldiers, government employees, priests). He thinks of them as parasites to eliminate their reapers. These Survivors are practically
and predators and he does not regret those he has killed. In his years of immortal (although severe enough damage will bring new
solitude he has created his own terminology for describing metaphysical
R
and ontological ideas, a terminology which would make little sense even to reapers and allow the soul to be taken). None are involved
another Scribbler. in the Survivor community.
Methods- Karl spends most of the time in his lab/library, reading books
Metaphysics- This world is a factory through which souls
S
and Scribbling notes in notebooks. He can usually be found at a messy
old wooden desk, squinting back and forth between two open books while are moved. Stupid and insensate souls, having forgotten
scribbling in a notebook, under the yellow glow of an old lamp. A loaded everything from their previous lives, are carried by
shotgun is always within arms reach. He leaves only when he has to: invisible creatures (‘storks’) who are attracted to fetuses
dumping his waste, getting water and groceries, and making the rounds of a certain age. The souls are locked inside the bodies,
for new books at the few places he still considers safe (the few bookstores where they will remain imprisoned until death. When a
that don’t have video surveillance). He no longer has the courage to make
terrorist strikes against the Powers-That-Be. His disgust for the mundane
person’s body dies their muscles stop working, neurons
O
world is so great that, unless he concentrates on stopping it, his Nihilistic stop firing and the soul, for the most part, goes to sleep.
Rage involuntarily activates, making things brittle and decompose quickly. The death of the body attracts an invisible being, a reaper,
He does not carry any weapons in the mundane world (he is worried the cops who detaches the soul from the body and stuffs it through
a portal to the Land of the Dead (see p.255).
N
will stop and search him).
Special Skills- Rifle/Shotgun (3), Automatic Writing (3), Blood Sigils (2),
Nihilistic Rage (5), Untouchable (5), Command Inanimate (4), Dreaming Sometimes, however, while waiting for the reaper the soul
(3), Get Lost (3), Soul Blade (2), Spirit Speed (2), Spirit Strength (2). ‘wakes up.’ Although the biological neurons cannot fire,
L
Special Equipment- Shotgun: Pump (ROF 1, FR 6 ft., 6 bladed, 7 shots). the souls have grown into a metaphysical mirror image of
Typical Attack- In his lab he uses the shotgun to make a Vital Strike at AGY the body, down to the neurons, and thus have the ability for
(5) + INL (19) +12 (skill) -1/6 ft. vs. 35 (or 1d20 -1/6 ft. +1 vs. 0), doing 12 consciousness and thought even when the body does not.
Y
damage if successful. In the mundane world, where he is typically unarmed, The soul experiences itself trapped in a dead body. In most
he uses his Nihilistic Rage skill to cause weapons to break and the ground to cases of awakening a reaper arrives and takes the trapped
collapse at WIL (19) +16 (skill) vs. 30 (or 1d20 +5 vs. 0). soul before the soul can figure out how to do anything.
Typical Reaction- Karl closes his eyes and uses the Untouchable skill to However, when the reaper takes a long time (as is the case
reduce physical damage at WIL (19) + 16 (skill) -10 (using Untouchable in a mass death where the bodies greatly outnumber the
as a reaction) vs. 20 (to take one-fourth damage) or 30 (to take one-tenth reapers) the soul has time to come to terms with and try to
damage) or 1d20 vs. -5 or 5. do something about its situation.
Secrets of the Survivors 215

In Dark
Reapers
Appearance- Reapers are invisible. Those who can see the invisible see only a shimmering blur, about the size and shape of a human, which
glides quickly along the ground. If one looks closely one can see a ring of tiny translucent points. The points are usually where the reaper’s ‘head’
G
would be, but can travel anywhere within the blur. Those who can touch the invisible (e.g. someone using the Journeying skill) will feel most of
the Reaper as nothing more than a thin fluid. The only ‘solid’ thing on the reaper is five tiny points, which they use like fingertips to grab souls
and manipulate the physical world.
A
Attributes- AGY 2, AWR 2, CHM 0, END 100, INL 0, SPD 5 (see Special Abilities), STH 30, WIL 5, BLD 20, BDY 0, INCY 20.
Abilities
-Can sense death, even at a great distance.
M
-Can sense several signs of likely imminent death: plagues, severely ill of starving people, suicidal or homicidal people, deadly wrigglers,
structurally important materials under strain, imminent natural disasters.
-Can accelerate to any speed (increasing by 5 SPD per round).
E
-Can grab a human soul, detach it from a corpse, and stuff it through a small invisible portal within itself that leads to the Land of the Dead.
-Minor manipulation of the physical world: starting fires, cracking brittle materials, moving small objects, corroding metals, rotting wood,
causing liquids to flow uphill, making surfaces more slippery, etc.
-Do not die of old age and their memory is limitless.
-Can track a particular human soul anywhere in this realm.
-Are immune to most attacks that would damage other denizens of the invisible. Attacks that do the equivalent of blunt or bladed damage to
an invisible entity (e.g. a punch by a Journeying Animist or a stab with a soul blade) will pass right through the reaper. The only thing that can hurt
M
the reaper is that which does broad damage to the invisible or destroys the fabric of reality itself (e.g. high level Nihilistic Rage or a shatter).
Behavior- When no deaths are happening nearby, Reapers hover around places where death is likely. When someone dies the body sends out a
beacon which attracts Reapers. If it observes a corpse come back to life it will remember that soul and hunt for ways to kill that person for as long
A
as it exists, pausing only to attend to mundane deaths. The Reaper will follow its prey through portals into other worlds, yet has no way to travel
between worlds unaided. Reapers can be effected by Command Reapers or with Sigils currently unknown to the Touched, but only briefly.
Psychology- Reapers are about as intelligent as a cat, yet they have instinctual knowledge of various things that are dangerous to human life. They
S
thus excel at problem solving where the problem is how to alter the environment to kill a person. They are emotionless and fearless. They do not
communicate. They only do the job they were created to do.
Origin- Reapers are beings created and manufactured by the powers-from-beyond to do a specific job. They are the smartest and toughest of the
beings manufactured for use in this reality. They are the main line of defense between humans and immortality. They are designed to be difficult
T
to see, even by those rare humans who can see the invisible.
Typical Action- A Grab at STH (30) + AGY (2) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +7 vs. 0).
Typical Reaction- None (see Special Abilities).
E
A Reaping
R
S
O
N
L
Y
216 Chapter Five - Secrets of the Survivors
Alleys
Some souls will themselves out of
their bodies. These are the unlucky Octavio Hidalgo, Elder Survivor
ones. The Reapers who witnessed this Appearance- Handsome, middle aged Hispanic male, light skinned, neatly trimmed bushy
G
follow them everywhere, relentlessly black hair with a sprinkling of grey, tall, muscular, wearing a crimson suit over an olive
hunting them until they catch them, green shirt, sunglasses, expensive diamond ring, usually smoking an expensive cigar.
at which point the naked souls are put Attributes- AGY 11, AWR 9, CHM 12, END 30, INL 14, SPD 30, STH 30, WIL 12, BLD
directly into the Land of the Dead.
A
10, BDY 10, INCY 10.
History- Octavio was born in the newly independent Mexico in 1820. He was a mestizo,
Other souls manage to will their child of an Indian mother and Spanish father. As a young adult he moved to the Mexican
bodies back to life. At this point they settlement in Los Angeles and worked as a carpenter. In 1839 an Earthquake killed many
M
are temporarily safe: the reapers do people but Octavio survived. He soon figured out that ‘angels’ (as he thought of them)
not have the power to put a human, were following him, trying to end his life. Seeking to escape this fate he spent several years
physical body and all, into the land traveling and living with Californian Indians, seeking a practitioner of Indian magic who
E
of the dead, nor to sever a resisting might be able to help him. After several years, and several near-fatal ‘accidents’, he found
soul from a living body. Yet the an old native practitioner who knew of a dangerous place in a mountain that annihilated
reapers have been given the ability spirits. He made a dangerous trek up a mountain and into a cave whose walls dripped with
to manipulate the physical world blood. He saw his reapers getting chopped to pieces. Afterwards he moved back to L.A.,
but found that in his absence California has been ceded to the US. Fearing discrimination
to cause accidents. Reapers are of by the Americans, he moved back to Mexico City. Having no fear of death he worked as a
subhuman intelligence, but they do bull fighter by day and robbed banks by night. He grew wealthy, got married and had kids.
have an instinctive knowledge of Then he watched his family grow old as he stayed the same. In 1915 his oldest son (now
M
dangers to human life. Survivors are 65) begged Octavio to help him cheat death. Octavio tried to train his son to retake control
not easy to kill though. Once they of his body at the instant of death, then Octavio drowned his son. His son never revived.
have forced their physical bodies The last of his children died in 1923 and Octavio, though he had frequent love affairs,
back to life once, they can often do decided never to marry or have children again. Octavio worked at a number of high-danger,
A
it again. The Reapers must follow high-pay jobs, both legal and illegal, and had invested the money in a number of ways,
some of which eventually made him one of the wealthiest men in Mexico. In the 1935 he
and wait patiently for an opportunity bought a mansion in L.A. and since then he has spent most of his time in L.A.
to kill the Survivor in such a way that
S
decimates the body, leaving too little Psychology- Octavio suffers from three major problems: First, there’s nobody he really cares
for the Survivor to revive. In addition about or who cares about him. His life is a series of meaningless short-term relationships.
Second, he knows he can get away with doing almost anything he wants. Third, he has
to decimating the bodies, reapers look grown bored of all the worldly pleasures money can buy. These three factors have tuned
T
for opportunities to kill Survivors in what was once a compassionate and thoughtful man into a man who is cruel, deceitful,
their sleep, hoping that Survivors will arrogant, ill tempered, obsessive, amoral, picky, vengeful and intolerant of discomfort. The
not wake in time to use their revival only people he cares about are his descendents. The only thing he really fears is the Powers-
ability. That-Be (he is rich enough to know they exist, but knows little else). Octavio is bisexual,
E
not because of natural inclination but because he long ago bored himself with physical
Once Survivors have learned to use pleasures of sex and, like a collector who has forgotten how to enjoy the things he collects,
their force of will (and fear of death) he now concerns himself with abstractions like ‘perfection’ and ‘rarity.’
R
to restart their hearts, it is not hard Methods- Octavio only has to spend a few hours a day managing his various investments
for them to learn to manipulate their and the complicated shell companies he uses to obscure himself. Mostly ‘managing’ means
flesh in other ways: healing injuries, making sure his accountants, lawyers and investment managers live in fear of screwing up.
He lives in a palatial mansion in the Malibu hills where a staff of domestic servants takes
S
improving physical strength, etc.
care of his every need. Because of his cruel temper he goes through servants quickly. In the
Revelations- The most important evenings he goes to the city’s most exclusive nightclubs where he meets with and seduces
some of the most attractive young men and women in the city. He owns several nightclubs
thing for Survivors to realize is and those he doesn’t own he pays large bribes to the owners to ensure that people who ask
something which they must discover questions about him are met with feigned ignorance. He always has the best drugs, both
quickly or they will die: that reapers for personal use and for bait to attract young people. He spends most of every day high on
are trying to hurt them so badly a combination of cocaine, heroin, nicotine and alcohol. He often forces his lovers to join
O
they cannot revive. The next most him on dangerous adventures (robbing convenience stores, driving up to gang members
important information for Survivors is and calling them ‘putos,’ driving the wrong way on the freeway) which he does simply to
how to escape or destroy reapers, yet enjoy his dates’ fear. He has arranged for his descendents to move to L.A. and gain US
this information is not easy to come citizenship. From afar he keeps them out of trouble and makes sure they are comfortable.
N
Most of his descendents know only that they have a “rich uncle Octavio” who gives them
by. Reapers will follow Survivors gifts sometimes. They have no idea of the extent that he manipulates their lives. Octavio
anywhere in this world and it would has a number of false identities and bank accounts set up should he have to quit his current
take very clever use of a portal to trap identity in a hurry.
L
them in another world. They can only
Special Skills- Flesh Control (6), Revive (6), See Reapers (1), Spirit Speed (4), Spirit
be temporarily delayed by skills like Strength (4), Offensive Driving (4), Assassin: Unarmed (5), Wrestling (4).
Blood Sigils and Command Reapers.
Y
Killing people can distract them Typical Attack- Before combat he will attempt to use Spirit Strength and Spirit Speed to
temporarily (they will stop hunting increase his AGY to 21, SPD to 40 and STH to 40. He will make a Grab at the victim’s
head with his bare hands at STH (40) + AGY (21) +12 (skill) -4 (targeted) +1d20 vs. 25 (or
Survivors to reap souls) but will not 1d20 +44 vs. 0).
appease them. Only rare supernatural
skills and objects which Survivors do Typical Reaction- If the previous grab was successful, he will attempt a simultaneous Neck
not normally have access to can kill Breaking (see Assassin: Unarmed) at STH (40) + AGY (21) + WIL (13) +16 (skill) vs. 60
reapers. (or 1d20 +30 vs. 0).
Secrets of the Survivors 217

In Dark
G
Los Angeles Police Department
1/13/89 – Case #D561003 – Samuel Wachowski Interview
A
001 Interviewer One: So you see, this is your only chance to give us your side of the story. We know most
002 everything about what happened, but we still want to give you the opportunity to tell us what was
003 going on in your head.
M
004
005 Interviewer Two: We don’t think you’re a bad guy. We know you must have had some reason for
006 doing what you did.
E 007
008
009
010
Suspect: Look, there’s someone after me, okay? And I had to start that fire so I could spy on them, see
how they do what they do.
011 Interviewer One: Who was after you Mike?
M
012
013 Suspect: See, the body is like a prison for your soul.
014
A 015
016
Interviewer One: What are you talking about Mike? Be straight with us. You said someone was after
you. Who’s after you?
S
017
018 Suspect: It’s like you’re locked in your body, and when you die, someone has to come along and take
019 you out of your body and send you to the afterlife.
T
020
021 Interviewer Two: Like an angel? Is that what you think you are, Mike, an angel?
022
E 023
024
Suspect: No, see, I was supposed to die, but I barricaded my cell. Do you see? I wouldn’t let them
take me. So they’re after me, looking for a way to make me come out.
R
025
026 Interviewer One: So you were supposed to die, but you didn’t, so they’re trying to kill you.
027
S
028 Suspect: But I can’t be killed, not by normal stuff, because I’m in charge of my body, see. But if they
029 can blow my body to pieces or cut it in half then they can pull me out. So they’re always looking for
030 ways to do that…
031
032 Interviewer One: Yeah but…
O
033
034 Suspect: …except when I give them other souls to take and that distracts them.
035
N
036 Interviewer One: Now Mike…
037
L
038 Suspect: If I can get rid of the ones that are chasing me, the others don’t know I’m supposed to be....
039
040 Interviewer One: Now, Mike, listen…
Y
041
042 Suspect: …dead, I’ll have broken the cycle, and I can help other people too. Nobody has to die.
Page 2 of 8

Alleys
Secrets of the Wonderlanders
G
In Brief- Victorian Children’s book authors discovered the young Wonderlander. Adult Wonderlanders with
how to travel into the subconscious of kids by linking several young friends have several different playlands
the subconsciouses to a vibrant fantasy world, learned to they can live in and travel between, and second or third
A
become immortal by living in those subconsciouses. generation Wonderlanders (dead Wonderlanders living in
the minds of other dead Wonderlanders) have dozens of
minds they can wander through.
Origin- The first books written and published especially
M
for children were in 1740’s England. In the century that A dead Wonderlander’s primary motivation is to keep his
followed the genre of children’s literature flourished as or her children from dying prematurely. Next is to teach
writers grew more cognizant of what best suited the tastes the child how to achieve his or her own immortality in
E
of children. time for the child to escape death (yet not too quickly,
lest the child rebel). Another important motivation is
The most popular children’s books were written by adults to keep the child at least moderately mentally healthy,
who spent a lot of time with children and created stories for since psychological and emotional problems will make
the amusement of those children, often with creative input the subconscious into an unpleasant and dangerous place
from the children. The creator of Alice in Wonderland based to live in.
it on stories he told to Alice, the daughter of his boss. The
M
creator of Peter Pan based it on his play with the children Wonderlanders achieve immortality by sending their
of a friend. The creator of the Oz series based it on the consciousnesses (or their entire bodies) to live in the
stories he told his daughters. Many less-famous children’s pocket universes they have helped to create. If their
A
authors created their stories the same way. In the 1870s, at bodies die in the mundane realm and reapers show up they
the same time that spiritualism and investigation of occult find no soul to reap. The soul has taken up its own life in
phenomenon were popular in the western world, many of the playland. As playlands are not physical realms, old
these authors began perceiving phenomena that suggested
S
age, disease and death only exist when they are part of the
that the worlds they had created with their young companions fictional setting, and even then they can be overcome by
were real or were trying to become real. A group of British force of will. Dead Wonderlanders who can find the right
children’s book authors took it upon themselves to discover
T
kind of portal can return to this world as physical beings,
what was going on. although like escaped psychodynamics they remain part
of the child’s minds and will die if the child dies.
It wasn’t until 1910 that the children’s books authors used
E
techniques recently developed by Freud for probing the Some Wonderlanders have a motivation that has little to
subconscious mind to determine that the playworlds were do with wanting to be immortal. They have a romantic
manifestations of the children’s subconsciouses. Using an or sexual attachment to one of their children and have a
admixture of spiritualism, occultism and Freudian techniques
R
plan to live for eternity with him or her in some playland
the authors discovered ways to send their consciousness into paradise.
the playlands of their children. An ailing elderly member
was in a Playland when her physical body died, but she soon Metaphysics- Humans have incredible power over
S
contacted the other members to tell them she was still alive reality. They can make things ‘exist’ simply by believing
in the playland. The group devised a scheme for their own hard enough. The requisite belief is emotional and
immortality. They would each escape death by hiding in the not intellectual. Humans have to feel the truth of a
playlands of their children, then convince those children to thing, which is a power which dawns with the birth of
do the same. imagination and slips away quickly as a young person
becomes more indoctrinated into the rules of “real” and
The members of this group, and those they chose to teach
O
“not real.” The ability to imagine things real peaks at
the secret of immortality to, went on to start lineages of around 4 or 5 years.
Wonderlanders. Many prepared more than one child (in case
something should happen to one) and thus the phenomenon The things children believe into being exist outside this
N
has grown and evolved. universe. They only exist by degrees and after the child
stops believing in them most disappear. Only a few
Structure- There are about 1,000 children who have been or circumstances can keep them around, and one is if they
L
are being manipulated by Wonderlanders, 400 living adult are linked to a person’s subconscious. Children have an
Wonderlanders and 200 dead Wonderlanders living inside unsophisticated Ego that allows various thoughts and
the others. impulses from the subconscious to leak out in what, to an
Y
adult, is a poorly disguised form. Children often project
A few adult Wonderlanders are free from manipulation their psychodynamics onto characters in their imaginary
because their adult friends died while not in the play. Adult Wonderlanders figure out what those
Wonderlander’s mind. The majority, though, have either characters represent and enhance the connection to that
a live or dead adult friend manipulating them. The adult psychodynamic by telling stories about those characters
friend can speak to the Wonderlander when necessary, but that enhance that part of their personality. The adult
prefers more subtle manipulation: by tampering with the friends help create a fictional world that the child can
world of psychodynamics to effect the very personality of
Secrets of the Wonderlanders 219

In Dark
feel strongly about. The small pocket of semi-reality
floating in the darkness outside this reality is linked to Agatha Hartford, Wonderlander Elder
the subconscious, a subset of the human mind and thus Appearance- Short, plump, Caucasian woman with her hair
G
of the human soul, and so instead of fading away as most in a bun, in her sixties, wearing a blue-grey dress with padded
imagined worlds do it grows in strength. The beings that shoulders and round glasses, speaks with an upper-class Victorian
live there and the things that happen there are at once real English accent.
things living in another universe as well as patterns of
A
Attributes- AGY 7, AWR 15, CHM 13, END 15, INL 16, SPD 5,
neurons firing in the human brain and its soul counterpart. STH 5, WIL 18, BLD 7, BDY 6, INCY 7.
Social Status- Agatha Hartford is one of the first Wonderlanders.
Revelations- A Wonderlander’s life is one of slow, planned
M
She lives in the subconsciouses of her ‘children’, who now only
revelations. The trespasser in the Wonderlander’s mind has exist in the subconsciouses of other Wonderlanders. Her children,
front row seats to the Wonderlander’s changing psychology and some of her children’s children, know she exists and fear her.
and can make an educated guess when the Wonderlander She usually lets her children manage the affairs of the living
E
will be receptive to each new revelation. Finding out Wonderlanders unless someone messes something up badly. She
things faster then the trespasser intended can be a threat has been known to find portals into the subconsciouses of enemies
because it might cause the Wonderlander to fight back of her ‘grandchildren,’ then attack their psychodynamics, driving
against the adult friend’s plans. them insane. She is not in touch with any of her old colleagues,
she doesn’t even know if they still exist or not.
Revelations can come in many forms: History- Born in England in 1840, Agatha was one of the group
A long-lost friend of the family from the Wonderlander’s of children’s book authors who discovered that it was possible
M
childhood shows up to tell the Wonderlander some to cheat death by taking up residence in the imaginary world
important secret. that once belonged to a child. She was the second to achieve
immortality this way when her body died of “consumption”
When the Wonderlander turns 18 he is given a note (tuberculosis) in 1914. She made sure that the Wonderlanders
A
from a lawyer executing the estate of a dead uncle. whose minds she inhabited went on to take up residence in a new
Searching for an explanation for the strange phenomena generation of Wonderlanders.
happening to her a Wonderlander rereads a children’s Psychology- Agatha acts like a sweet, unassuming, forgetful old
S
book that was dedicated to her by her old nanny and she woman. In reality she is scheming, manipulative and prone to
discovers secret messages in the text. cruelty against anyone who doesn’t do what she tells them to. She
The Wonderlander is searching through his parent’s clings to Victorian manners and morality and is quite intolerant of
any behavior that is not ‘proper.’ Agatha’s strongest motivation
T
attic trying to find out exactly what happened to him or her is a fear of death, especially because she has become convinced
and finds an envelope with his name on it. that cheating death is a sin and that when she finally dies she
A dead friend-of-the-family shows up in a will go to hell. Her second strongest motivation is her sense of
E
Wonderlander’s dream with an important message. abject loneliness. Agatha also hates the real world. She thinks it
is dirty, unpleasant and uncouth and she would much rather live
While lost in her playland a Wonderlander meets a in playlands. Her brief forays into the modern world have only
playland character who has a message from ‘the strange increased this feeling.
R
woman.’
Methods- Agatha has Victorian mansions staffed with servants, all
Most adult friends try to send revelations in the following of which she has created with her mind, in the subconsciouses of
order: each of her children. She spends most of her day puttering around
S
the mansions or working in the gardens. She coerces the conscious
-Playland is your subconscious mind. selves of her young friends (the ones whose subconsciouses she
-You can gain power and psychological health via your lives in) into paying her regular visits for tea and playing games.
unique connection to your playland. She forces them to assume the form of themselves as children,
even though most prefer to walk the playlands in adult forms.
-You can gift other children with a connection to their The young friends have grown to fear and hate Agatha, yet they
playlands. come and they pretend to have a nice time because they are scared
-You can enter these children’ playlands to help them by of her. She knows this but pretends she doesn’t. She has severely
O
using a toy of theirs. beaten young friends who haven’t played along with the charade.
When she hears of trouble, or occasionally out of boredom, she
-One can escape physical death by going inside the explores the many subconsciouses she is attached to. Only when
playland of another person.
N
given no other option does she come to this world.
Special Skills- Playland Geography (5), Masks (4), Enter
Was Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Playland (6), See True Face (4), Imaginary Powers (5) (super
L
Wonderland, a Wonderlander? strength, flying, walk through walls, invisibility).
The Short Answer: No. Special Abilities- While in a subconscious, Agatha can
manipulate the environment at a roll of 1d20 vs. 5.
The Long Answer: Although he was not part of the lineage
Y
of immortality seeking Victorian children’s literature Typical Attack- If given time to prepare, Agatha will turn
authors, he almost certainly experienced some playland invisible, create a club out of thin air, activate her super strength
phenomena, and his later writing suggests that he grasped power and then strike at STH (25) + AGY (7) +1d20 vs. 25 (or
the meaning of some of those phenomenon. Other ideas 1d20 +3 vs. 0) doing 5 blunt damage if successful.
in his writing, especially the infamous red-king’s-dream Typical Reaction- A block with the club at STH (25) + AGY (7)
(p.214), suggest that he was exposed to Cannibal doctrine +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +7 vs. 0). If she is invisible, opponents are
or something similar. -15 to hit her.

Alleys
Lost in the Great Forest

G
One day, While walking though the great woods on her way to visit the Mockingbird
King, Amanda came upon a queer little cottage. It had a little vegetable garden out A
M
in front and there was a grownup with a long beard working in the garden.
If you had asked Amanda just five minutes before if there were any adults in the great
E
woods, she would have laughed her pretty laugh and said you were silly. “Everybody
knows there are no adults in the great woods,” she might have said.
“Hello there,” Amanda curtsied politely, “my name is Amanda.”
“I know your name,” the man said, “we’ve met before.”
M
“Have you? That’s queer, for I don’t remember you, and I’m quite sure I would recall
if I had met you.
A
“It wasn’t here, it was in the real world.”
Amanda scrunched up her nose at this peculiar statement. “This is the real world,”
she insisted.
“Perhaps to you it is,” he said with a wry smile.
S
T
Amanda did not know what that meant, so she ignored it. “I didn’t know there were
any adults living in the great woods
E
“I’m the only one.”
“And may I ask how you came to live here?”
R
“You showed me the way.” This was another statement she didn’t understand and so
decided to ignore. “And I came here because nobody ever dies in the great woods.”
S
Amanda smiled the kind of smile one gives to the mentally infirm. She and her
friends has been through many harrowing adventures, and through luck and wit
they had always managed to survive, yet there was always the danger of the worst
happening.
“You see,” the silly man continued, “As long as your real body lives, the great woods
will exist. And as long as the me that you see now is here, I can’t die no matter what
O
happens to my real body.”
Amanda was determined to follow this chain of nonsense to the end in hopes that it
N
might be anchored to at least a tiny piece of sense. “Well then, what happens to you
if my ‘real body’ dies?”
He gave her another smile. “Clever girl. I can only hope that, by then, you are in
L
someone else’s great woods.”
Y
98
Secrets of the Touched 221

In Dark
G
Chapter Si x - Secrets of Thi s World
A Secrets of Los Angeles
M Fulfillment Dynamics According to FD literature the Maladaption Destimulator
isolates Maladaptive Patterns, unhealthy ways of relating
to the world that we have developed during times of trauma
E
In Brief- Cult/Scam, headquartered in L.A., uses h-tech or stress and that now make us unhealthy and unfulfilled.
to kill psychodynamics. Paranoid leader has an army of Once a patterns is isolated, the machines “destimulates” it,
personality-less superhumans.
robbing it of its power and eventually destroying it.
This enterprise has stolen the most successful elements of Tom Abernathy knows this explanation is bullshit. He
several cults, new age movements and self-help/alternative- knows that destroying some ‘maladaptive patterns’ can
M
medicine pyramid schemes. Much of its organization and help some people but that destroying all of them turns
recruiting techniques were stolen directly from Scientology people into emotionless, unmotivated, unempathetic
(with whom it competes). Fulfillment Dynamics sometimes shells that do whatever they’re told. Tom won’t use the
calls itself a religion and sometimes a form of therapy,
A
machine on himself or any of his children.
depending on who’s asking and what legal status would
be most beneficial at the moment. Fulfillment Dynamics What the machine really does, although nobody
is very profitable and is growing quickly. There are 60 FD
S
in FD knows it, is damage and eventually destroy
centers in America, Canada and Europe, and the book “Your psychodynamics. A one-hour session does 1d6 damage
Personal Path to Fulfillment” was in the non-fiction best to a psychodynamic’s psych STH. Victims of this process
seller top ten for over a year. Los Angeles, the birthplace
T
have superhuman strength of will (since the psychological
of FD, has the most FD centers of any urban area. There energy previously used by the psychodynamics is now
are five centers, including the exclusive Hollywood center free) but lack all normal human desires. Fortunately for
for celebrities. FD members the sessions are very expensive and it takes
E History- Fulfillment Dynamics was created by Tom

Abernathy, a small-time music promoter who dabbled in
hundreds of sessions to destroy all one’s psychodynamics,
which very few people can afford.
R
the occult and exotic drugs. While temporarily insane
Organization- Fulfillment Dynamics acts as a pyramid
from these experiments he invented the Maladaption
scheme: new members become dependent on sessions to
Destimulator, a piece of H-Tech which FD is based on.
keep their more troublesome personality elements under
S
control, but very few can afford continued treatments so
The early history of FD was plagued with problems with
patients. Several committed suicide when weakening of they start working for FD. They advertise and sell FD
psychodynamics allowed the Thannatos to take control, products in malls, subway stations and even door-to-door.
others committed murder or rape or died doing dangerous Eventually they train to become session operators (this too
stunts. Tom Abernathy learned what order to destroy costs money) so they can work full time for FD.
psychodynamics in to prevent these occurrences, but they
O still remain a skeleton in the closet that FD would prefer to Tom Abernathy is the undisputed head of FD. He surrounds
keep secret. himself only with trusted high-level FD members who
will do whatever he commands and agree with anything
N
Maladaption Destimulator- Among other components, he says. His oldest son, Cameron Abernathy, 26, is being
the Maladaption Destimulator has a TV screen, a bank groomed to take over FD when Tom dies. He is the
of controls, and a plastic cap with dozens of electrodes. unofficial second-in-command of the organization and
L
When active, the machine shows a blurry, distorted face commands almost as much respect as his father.
that looks like the patient’s face but is distorted enough to
give the impression that it is a different entity. When the Besides those two there are various directors, each
Y
controller finds the right face, representing the Maladaptive handpicked by Tom Abernathy. There are directors of
Pattern he or she had chosen to work on, the controller hits PR, legal, R&D, accounting, publishing, advertising
another button which causes the face to writhe in pain, and regional directors of treatment and training centers
then to scream and curse. As destimulation progresses for the Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest and
the face starts looking tired and ill, goes unconscious, and international regions.
eventually disappears.
222 Chapter Six - Secrets of This World

Alleys
The most important training center, the
Hollywood center, is the only one allowed Tom Abernathy, Fulfillment Dynamics Director
to regularly operate at a loss. The head of Appearance- Sixty-something Caucasian male with short, dyed-blonde hair,
G
this center, Mary Lewis, once a personal neatly trimmed beard, glasses, slightly pudgy, crooked teeth, well tanned skin.
trainer for supermodels, has almost as He wears either cream colored suits or plaid sweaters and beige slacks.
much power as a director and regularly Attributes- AGY 6, AWR 11, CHM 15, END 8, INL 15, SPD 8, STH 9, WIL
meets with Tom Abernathy.
A
10, BLD 4, BDY 3, INCY 3.
Tom, Cameron and the directors have Social Status- Founder and owner of Fulfillment Dynamics. Considered
offices in the FD head offices, which take the ultimate authority in spiritual and psychological matters by thousands of
M
up several floors of a prestigious downtown devotees. Very rich and very powerful.
L.A. office building. Tom is rarely in the History- As a young man growing up in an upper-middle-class Long Beach
office, though. He usually rules by remote family, Tom thought he would be a rock star, yet all his music was just poor
E
from his yacht or his home on a sprawling copies of other popular music. After years of struggling he gave up on being a
and secluded Rancho Palos Verdes estate. musician. He worked a number of jobs, including appliance repairman, door-
to-door salesman, and music promoter. At the same time he joined a cabal of
Methods- Fulfillment Dynamics will do just occultists that was loosely affiliated with the Golden Dawn. He participated in
about anything to protect its profitability. a lot or rituals (most of which were thinly disguised excuses to do drugs and
have orgies). Under the influence of cocaine his egomaniacal side grew. After
FD has defrauded the FDA by giving
a week-long binge he became convinced that his consciousness had ascended
them a fake version of the Maladaption
M
the Kabalistic tree of life and now he had the knowledge to build a machine
Destimulator. It has performed various that would liberate human potential. He worked in his garage off-and-on
forms of tax evasion, has used litigation again for months, almost always while high, before creating the Maladaption
and the threat of litigation to silence critics, Destimulator. After experimenting on people from his occult group (including
A
has burglarized the homes and offices of the woman who would become his wife) he decided that he hadn’t discovered
reporters, has hacked into web servers. the key to enlightenment. However, after reading an expose on Scientology in
Tom Abernathy has ordered the murder of the L.A. Times, and how it had made its founder rich, Tom decided to create a
high-up members of FD who threatened to similar enterprise. FD grew slowly at first. Meanwhile Tom married and had
S
go public with FD secrets (including Tom’s kids. In the 90s FD began to really grow and Tom became rich and powerful.
wife). As a result of these practices FD has He also learned how to use Cleans. In 1995 his wife started telling friends
had practically no bad publicity, despite the some of FD’s dark secrets and those friends started telling reporters. Arguments
T
fact that the FBI, cult experts, conspiracy followed and his wife threatened to divorce him. He told his assistants that
buffs and religion reporters know that FD his wife was suffering from a particularly virulent Maladaption and he ordered
is a dangerous scam. them to force her into the Destimulator. Between sessions they kept her locked
in a closet, but she became dehydrated and died of a heart attack. Tom and
E
his followers did their best to make the death look natural. Since then he has
Fulfillment Dynamics gets away with so committed several murders to protect FD.
much because of “cleans.” These are the
approximately 100 for so FD members Psychology- Tom is megalomaniacal. He believes he is destined to change
R
that have had all their psychodynamics the face of society. He believes he is his generation’s greatest philosopher
destroyed. They are without fear, morals or and spiritual leader. Yet at the same time he knows he is running a scam that
selfish desires. They are easily manipulated promises happiness but delivers only poverty and flattened personality. Tom
S
is addicted to the loyalty of his followers and he is constantly asking for more
and will do anything Tom Abernathy tells
proof of devotion. He is obsessed with the occult and is constantly looking
them to. They also have incredible strength for proof of any occult phenomena that aren’t just a scam or self-delusion.
of will which gives them superhuman Politically he considers himself a libertarian. He is a Theist but thinks that
abilities. Tom even has a few Cleans God is just an abstract principle of ultimate knowledge. He is fairly paranoid
among Hollywood’s elite. and hates those who he thinks are potential enemies and detractors: the federal
government, the media, psychiatrists, traditional organized religion. He takes
FD spends millions seducing celebrities,
O
every opportunity to try to make his followers hate these enemies. He also has
giving them unending care and attention to put out a few music CDs of bland folk-rock and has used his influence to get
keep them in FD. They also make sure that them far more radio play and critical acclaim than they deserve.
the media finds out which celebrities are
N
Methods- Tom has an entire staff devoted to gathering intelligence about and
into FD, thus giving FD free advertising. keeping files on any potential enemy to himself or to FD. If someone appears
to be a serious threat, Tom either has Legal start a groundless lawsuit to try to
Four years ago a Wonderlander came to bankrupt them or has a group of Cleans burglarize their homes and offices to
L
FD for help. Tom found out about it and find out what they know and destroy records. If these fail, Cleans wait for the
personally oversaw the treatment. He enemy in a dark parking lot and threaten him or her. If this doesn’t work, Cleans
snuffed out her supernatural abilities when kill the person and bury the body in the desert.
he killed her psychodynamics. Tom doesn’t
Y
Special Equipment- Pistol: Mini (ROF 3, FR 5 ft., 3 damage, holds 6 bullets)
know exactly what was the source of her in an ankle holster, which Tom keeps so he can kill himself if he is ever caught
abilities or how the treatment effected by his ‘enemies.’
them. He desperately wants to get another
Wonderlander into treatment (or, to a lesser Typical Attack- Strike with the pistol at AGY (6) + INL (15) +1d20 -1/5 ft. vs.
degree, anyone with supernatural powers) 25 (or 1d20 -1/5 ft. vs. 4).
to experiment on. Typical Reaction- Drop at AGY (6) + AWR (11) +1d20 vs. 20 (or 1d20 vs. 3).
Secrets of Los Angeles 223

In Dark
Typical Clean Dog King of L.A.
Appearance- Clean-shaven young man with a
G
conservative haircut and a modest charcoal suit. Wears In Brief- Dog with human soul who became intelligent is the
a Fulfillment Dynamics pin and carries a briefcase full real power behind a powerful loan shark/black marketeer.
of FD literature and books. Has an emotionless face and
A
cold, unblinking eyes.
Carlos Iglesias is a middle aged, thin, Hispanic man with
Attributes- AGY 25, AWR 25, CHM 1, END 30, INL thinning hair, sideburns, a dour and unsmiling face and
25, SPD 25, STH 25, WIL 30, BLD 4, BDY 4, INCY 7. staring eyes. He speaks slowly and calmly with only a slight
M Social Status- Typically a high-level executive in the Hispanic accent. He wears gold colored dress shirts and black
FD bureaucracy, sent around the country to setup and slacks.
troubleshoot FD operations. One of the few people in
E
the origination that Tom Abernathy trusts completely. Carlos Iglesias is a moderately powerful organized crime
History- Discovered FD while suffering from a number figure in Southeast Los Angeles. He is a loan shark who is
of personal weaknesses (e.g. drugs, sex, food, temper). owed money by several local drug dealers, pimps and street
The treatments only provided temporary relief and he gangs. He runs a bookie operation and he owns a pawn shop
quickly ran out of money so he started working for FD, from which his employees fence stolen items and buy illegal
rose through the ranks from associate to session operator weapons. Carlos is generally feared in the L.A. underworld
M
to upper management, in the process destroying all of his as someone who you don’t want to piss off. People who owe
psychodynamics. money to other loan sharks live in fear that Carlos will buy
Methods- Although extremely intelligent and without their debts.
A
prejudice, the Clean has little understanding of other
humans. Cleans thus aren’t used for jobs which require Carlos is also known for his love of dogs. He has a large
social skills, such as PR or training or motivating rottweiler that follows him nearly everywhere he goes. His
S
employees. Cleans are used to eliminate inefficiencies, house has a huge kennel with dozens of dogs. He also
track down embezzlers and intimidate employees. They uses dogs to torture and kill his enemies. Each time the
are also used for any illegal activities the organization
needs done.
L.A. District Attorney has gathered enough information to
T
prosecute Carlos a witness has been killed in a mysterious
Personality- None. The Clean has no conscience, dog attack.
curiosity, instincts, no desire for physical pleasures, no
E
dislike of discomfort, no empathy, no ideals. The Clean What nobody knows is that Carlos’ Rottweiler, named Killer,
doesn’t care whether he lives or dies. The Clean is quite is the brains of the operation and Carlos is his slave.
easy to brainwash: tell him to do something enough times
and he will do it – not because he is weak but because he
R
has no reason not to. The Clean’s subconscious is a cold, Killer doesn’t know it, but he was accidentally given a
empty, dead place. human soul. He was brighter than the average dog but
had no supernormal abilities until he was kidnapped and
Special Abilities- Their incredible amount of
S
experimented on by an elderly schizophrenic man who kept
psychological energy gives the Clean boosted physical
him in a basement, performed several surgeries (including
and mental attributes (see Attributes).
brain surgery) on him and subjected him to electric shocks.
Special Skills- Aikido (4), Self-Defense Weapons (3), After a year of this treatment Killer’s mind expanded past the
Interrogation (4), Torture (3), Lock Picking (3), Alarm limitations of his dog brain. Killer gained human intelligence
Systems (3), Operating Systems (3). and supernatural abilities. He killed his captor and escaped,
lived for two years as the leader of a pack of stray dogs. Slowly
O
Special Equipment- Lock Pick Set (Professional),
“Maladaption Sensor Wand” (really a Taser: Baton he learned about human society and he decided he wanted
(p.108) disguised as a FD device. Does 3 blunt and 3 human money and power. He sought out Carlo Iglesias, then
electrical damage, range 1-2). a homeless heroin addict, and bullied Carlos into acting as a
N
mouthpiece. Together they built an illegal empire.
Typical Attack- Crippling Attack with the “wand” at
STH (25) + INL (25) + 1d20 vs. 30 (or 1d20 +20 vs. 0).
Killer lives the perfect life: he eats the best food (including
L
A successful strike cripples a limb and does Paralysis
(WIL +1d20 vs. 60), Unconsciousness (WIL/ END live rabbits and birds), he has a harem of dozens of female
+1d20 vs. 30) and Heart Attack (END + 1d20 vs. 15). dogs, his many pups are well cared for and he goes wherever
he wants. Killer calls himself the Dog King and at home he
Y
Typical Reaction- Split Reaction Dodge at AGY (25) + is treated as such.
AWR (25) + skill (16) -10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +
31 vs. 0) and simultaneous Strike with the wand at STH
(25) + AGY (25) -10 (split) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +15 Killer has also been performing experiments on other dogs to
vs. 0) doing 2 blunt damage and Paralysis (WIL +1d20 try to create more dogs that are as intelligent as he. So far he
vs. 60), Unconsciousness (WIL/END +1d20 vs. 30) and has been unsuccessful.
Heart Attack (END + 1d20 vs. 15).

Alleys
Killer, Dog King of L.A.
Appearance- A large, muscular, short-haired,
A Portal to the Deserted City
G
reddish-brown dog with a spiked black leather In Brief: Dangerous shatter in an abandoned department store leads to
collar. Those who can see souls will see a fuzzy Deserted City.
mess of soul-brain-tissue erupting from the
dog’s skull.
A
Attributes- AGY 18, AWR 20 (30 smell/
The portal is located in an abandoned department store in Compton, a
hearing), CHM 3, END 7, INL 10, SPD 17, mostly Black ghetto. The store is in a part of town controlled by a gang
STH 10, WIL 15, BLD 4, BDY 3, INCY 6. called the Rascal Crips. The department store and its parking lot are
surrounded by a chain-link fence with barbed wire on top. The fence
M
Social Status- Killer secretly pulls the strings has been battered down in several places. Weeds grow in the parking lot
on a moderately large (and very profitable)
black market empire. The only person who and there is a lot of trash. The plywood that covered the windows and
knows Killer is in charge is Carlos, and Carlos doorways have mostly been pulled down. Graffiti (mostly gang graffiti by
E
(who knows Killer can read his mind) would the Rascal Crips) covers all the walls.
never seriously think of betraying Killer.
Inside, the store is empty of furniture and goods. The walls have been
Psychology- Killer has intelligence comparable
to that of a human, but has the instincts,
busted open and the plumbing ripped out (to be sold as scrap metal).
drives and tastes of a dog. He enjoys hunting, There is refuse that suggests homeless crack addicts have been living
having sex with female dogs, dominating and here: soiled sheets and clothes, cigarette butts, empty lighters, crack vials,
broken glass, piles of feces in the corners. If visitors come after midnight
M
intimidating those around him (both dogs and
humans) and protecting his territory. The they will find three crack addicts there. The crack addicts may try to rob
experiments that were performed on him have the visitors if the visitors act intimidated.
left him prone to nightmares, jumpy and with
A
a cruel streak. He is a guiltless murderer. He Inside near the door is a piece of Scribbler graffiti that reads “‘Real’ is not
likes being around dogs but is annoyed by a zero sum game.”
their stupidity. Humans are more interesting
to deal with but he finds humans aesthetically In the back of the store are public restrooms. On the door of the men’s is
S
unappealing and has no empathy for human
desires and ideals. a cartoonish looking picture of Satan, drawn in red spray-paint with horns
and a beard. Accompanying it are the words “Satan Lives Here.”
Special Abilities- Killer can read minds,
T
as per Read Minds (4), and communicate As the visitors get close to the door they will begin to hear a high pitched
telepathically with humans. He can Revive (3) whine that feels like it’s coming from in their own heads. The noise gets
and can heal as per Flesh Control (3). He can
control animals as per Command Animals (4).
louder as they get closer to the bathroom. Within the bathroom the whine
E
is so loud that the visitors cannot hear each other talking.
Special Equipment- Killer has electronic
prosthetic arms (designed for use by amputees) Within a circular area that takes up all but the corners of the room
that he can stick his paws in if he wants to nearest the entrance, gravity reverses itself every 1d20 seconds, causing
R
manipulate objects and he has specially made everything not nailed down to slam into the ceiling or floor. Any visitor
reading glasses.
who falls takes 1 blunt damage (and is at -20 to save vs. falling damage
Methods- Killer is present whenever Carlos because of the disorientation). Along with any visitors unlucky enough
S
meets with any employees, debtors or business to be caught in the reversal there will be trash, dust, broken glass and a
partners. He can read the people’s minds and desiccated human corpse falling. A person entering the reversed gravity
knows if they’re trying to deceive or bluff
Carlos. He uses telepathy to tell Carlos exactly
field slowly may notice in time to pull himself or herself out.
what to say. Usually, Carlos’ demeanor and
ability to know things he shouldn’t are enough In one of the bathroom stalls is a spot where the air is shimmering. Any
to intimidate people into doing whatever being who enters the shimmering area will find itself in a random part of
Carlos says. If anyone insists on disobeying the Abandoned City.
O
Carlos’ wishes, however, Killer will track the
person down and cause some dogs (perhaps
even the person’s own dog) to attack. Killer
often steps in to deliver the killing blow after The Devil Boys
N
the victims are severely mauled. When Killer
wants to send a message to the underworld he In Brief- Vietnamese street gang is growing in power due to hiring a
videotapes an enemy being eaten alive by dogs Hmong Animist.
L
in a nondescript warehouse and sends the tape
around. The Devil Boys are a relatively new but quickly growing Vietnamese
Typical Attack- First, a split action jump (into street gang. They are a powerhouse in the gang world.
range) and Knockdown at 1d20 vs. 5. Next, a
Y
split action Jump (into range) and Vital Strike Like most Vietnamese gangs, the Devil Boys don’t have a strictly defined
with jaws at 1d20 vs. 5, doing 4 bladed damage
if successful. Note: if victims are still prone
turf. All the members live in Westminster, a part of Orange County
from the knockdown, they are at -8 to react. with a large Vietnamese population. Although they do not have a turf,
they do have several blocks of Asian owned businesses that they extort
Typical Reaction- A Jump (out of range) at
1d20 +5 vs. 0.
for protection money and they violently protect these businesses from
exploitation by other gangs.
Secrets of Los Angeles 225

In Dark
The Devil Boys is made Duong “A.K.” Bui, Devil Boys Leader Yeng Kha, Hired Animist
up of 80 members with an Appearance- Mid-twenties Asian male, Appearance- Chubby but muscular middle
additional 30 in an associated lean and muscular, moderately handsome
G
aged Asian man, balding, wear large square
female gang. Some are as except for his bad teeth, rows of Asian glasses, has tattoos on his back, arms and
young as 14 and some are characters tattooed on his back, stylishly neck, wears a white tanktop and jeans, chain
as old as 25. Hoover High cut short dyed-blonde hair, wraparound smokes. He speaks English only with a very
A
School in Westminster has a sunglasses, expensive leather motorcycle thick accent.
large number of Devil Boys jacket, black leather pants, a burgundy-red
Attributes- AGY 8, AWR 11, CHM 7, END 6,
attending. The school has had bandana sticking out of his back pocket.
INL 7, SPD 7, STH 11, WIL 17, BLD 4,
to use metal detectors to keep Attributes- AGY 12, AWR 8, CHM 15,
M
BDY 4, INCY 4.
gang members from bringing END 9, INL 10, SPD 11, STH 12, WIL 8,
BLD 3, BDY 4, INCY 4. Social Status- Westminster Hmong people
guns to school. Despite their know Yeng as a powerful Tvix Neeb who
efforts there have been several Social Status- A.K. is the founder and helps the community with their problems.
E
fistfights on campus and two leader of the Devil Boys. Members of the He is also the hired supernatural mercenary
shootings in the parking lot. Westminster Vietnamese community know of the Devil Boys, a powerful Westminster
and fear him. Vietnamese street gang.
Most of what the Devil Boys History- A.K. was born in America to a History- Yeng grew up in a small farming
do is to gain money. They poor but hard-working immigrant family. village in the hills of Laos. The village’s
sell drugs (mostly heroin), Growing up he felt a lot of pressure to shaman saw Yeng’s power and started training
they extort businesses, they study hard and make it in American him at the age of 8. Yet war broke out and
M
deal in automatic weapons and society. Yet A.K. was a born thrill seeker, Yeng joined a group of Hmong soldiers. He
they commit home invasion always getting into trouble. By the time used his abilities to help his group of soldiers
he hit high school he was convinced that survive the war and he rose through the ranks
robberies. Most robberies are he would disappoint his parents and be
A
committed in cocaine and meth to become a general. He moved to the US in
rejected from his community and that, 1977 and found himself no longer a general
fueled road-trip/crime-sprees because of his race, he would never be but a poor immigrant. After years of living
that have taken the Devil Boys accepted by his Black and Hispanic peers. humbly and barely being able to support his
as far as Los Vegas.
S
He gravitated towards the Vietnamese family, Yeng grew to be known as a powerful
criminal underworld and he became a Tvix Neeb who was visited first by the local
Members enjoy showing off small-time drug dealer. In his late teens Hmong community and then, as word of
their money. They wear fancy his drug dealing posse became a street his power spread, by local Vietnamese and
T
clothes and designer sunglasses, gang and grew in power, especially after Cambodians. Then he gained the patronage
they drive expensive sports he started employing Yeng Kha. of the Devil Boys and since then he’s been
cars and motorcycles and they Psychology- A.K. feels dead when he’s not able to provide for his family very well.
getting into trouble. He likes sex, drugs,
E
arm themselves with powerful Psychology- Yeng has seen a lot of war and
automatic weapons. driving fast, listening to Vietnamese pop
violence. He sees cruelty as part of human
music at high volume and committing
nature and he thinks war (or gang violence)
The Devil Boys employ Yeng crimes. He likes that members of his gang
is an unavoidable result. He does not ponder
R
Kha, a Hmong Animist, to help respect him and he tries to be worthy of
the ethnical questions involved in murdering
them. They go to see him in their respect. He is very trusting of the
someone, whether it be with a gun or
people he works with, treating them like
his home almost every day and old friends. He is a bit vain and spends a
malevolent spirit. He still thinks of himself
S
pay him each time with wads as a soldier: someone who provides for his
lot of time on his appearance. Although he
of cash. Yeng blesses their family by fighting against other people. He
has rejected most of his parent’s values his
weapons before battle to keep is a bit of a loner and has few close friends.
superstitious fear of supernatural people,
them from jamming, he creates He has no real vices other than smoking.
places and things remains. A.K. is not
Dealing with non-Hmong is stressful for him
amulets to keep them from cruel but he knows that murder is part of
and prefers to avoid or cut short such contact
being hit by bullets or pulled the business he’s in and he feels only dimly
whenever possible.
over by the police, he tattoos guilty about the people he’s killed.
O
them with lucky Cambodian Special Skills- Organized Crime (3), Street Special Skills- Command Inanimate (3),
Drugs (3), Black Market (4), Auto Theft Command Misfortunes (3), Dreaming (1),
tattoos and he prescribes herbal Journeying (3), Visions (2).
poultices to help bullet wounds (3), Kickboxing (3), Automatic Weapons
(4), Motorcycle (3). Methods- When asked to kill someone, Yeng
N
heal. He curses and spies on
the gang’s enemies. Special Equipment- Motorcycle: New, either travels to the spirit world (that person’s
2 submachineguns (ROF 10, FR 5 ft., 7 subconscious) to do battle with that person’s
Other Southeast Asians in damage, 40 round clips). guardian spirits (psychodynamics) or travels
L
around this world as an invisible spirit and
the area know that the Devil Typical Attack- Area Attack with both causes malevolent spirits (wrigglers) to
Boys employ a powerful automatic weapons over a 20 ft. area at attack the victim.
shaman. Some don’t believe INL (10) + ROF (20) -4 (paired) +12 (skill)
Typical Attack- Whenever possible, Yeng
Y
in ‘old superstitions’ and treat -1/5 ft. vs. 30 (or 1d20 -1/5 ft. +8 vs. 0).
the Devil Boys like any other tries to keep a wriggler that causes heart
Typical Reaction- Split reaction Dodge
attacks nearby. He can cause it to attack with
gang. Others, although they at AGY (12) + AWR (8) -10 (split) +12
a roll of WIL (17) +8 (skill) +1d20 vs. 20 (or
are unlikely to admit it, believe (skill) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 vs. 3) and
1d20 +5 vs. 0).
in the power of the shaman simultaneous Strike at INL (10) + AGY
and try not to anger the Devil (12) -10 (split) + WIL (8) +12 (skill) -1/5 Typical Reaction- A Dodge at AGY (8) +
ft. +1d20 vs. 45 (or 1d20 -1/5 ft. vs. 13). AWR (11) + 1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 vs. 6).
Boys.

Alleys
The Elizabeth Lake Monster
The Blue Bus Appearance- The monster is about 25 ft. (7.5 m.) tall when standing erect. Its flesh
is clear, showing bones, tendons and muscles underneath. It has no head. It has one
G
In Brief- Mysterious bus exits this
hind leg coming out of the bottom center of its torso and two forelegs coming out
reality. of its shoulders. It crawls around on all threes. Each limb is powerfully, muscled
and has taloned fingers. There are two huge batwings extending from the creature’s
A
There’s what appears to be an old Los back. In the large distended belly there appear to be several naked, bloody human
Angeles Metro Transit bus that appears figures writhing, thrashing, clawing at each other and trying to claw their way out of
the creature’s belly. Any person who looks at the faces of the human figures will see
once a month, out of nowhere, has ‘not in himself or herself among them. If anyone manages to pierce the belly with a weapon
M
service’ on the front, makes only one stop all they will find inside is dark, rotten smelling blood.
at midnight in the middle of a deserted Attributes- AGY 7, AWR 5, CHM 0, END 40, INL 10, SPD 100 (flying) 10 (crawling),
industrial neighborhood in East L.A., then STH 50, WIL 20, BLD 25, BDY 30, INCY 10.
E
disappears into nowhere. Several things
Behavior- Most of the time the creature sits on the bottom of the lake unmoving.
that look like people, as well as some Occasionally, though, when it senses someone who is in intense emotional pain it will
invisible entities, get on or get off at the emerge from the lake and follow the person, doing its best to remain unseen, until it can
stop. Those who get on pay nothing; the get the person alone. Then it lands in front of the person, the person’s eyes are drawn to
driver doesn’t even seem to acknowledge the writhing figures in the belly, then the person goes completely catatonic for the rest
them. Any human who gets on the bus of his or her life. The creature makes its way back to the lake, trying not to be seen.
will find the bus stopping outside the front Psychology- The creature is a servant of those who once lived in the Deserted City. It
M
entrance to the Citadel (p.253). is a waste cleaner, except in this realm it mistakes human souls in turmoil for the waste
it is meant to clean. It does not fear or hate or have any other feelings about humans,
although it will defend itself against attack.
A
The Elizabeth Lake Special Abilities
-Can see human souls, even through solid objects.
Monster -Can fly at 100 SPD given a wide enough space (has 30 ft. or 9 m. wingspan).
S
-Needs no food or air to live.
-Can heal 1 BLD/BDY per minute.
In Brief- Deserted City creature living -Has talons that can make a 5 bladed damage strike (range 4).
T
in a lake. -Can compel someone to look in its belly (victim must make a hard WIL roll to resist).
-Anyone who looks in its belly for 4 consecutive rounds will have his or her soul
Urban legends are that Elizabeth Lake, and consciousness absorbed into the creature. The person is catatonic and upon death
reapers will pull the soul from the creature’s belly.
E
North of the Valley, has a giant bat winged
monster living in it. This is one of the rare -Opening up the creature’s belly is the only way to liberate the souls within.
cases where urban legends are true. The Typical Attack- Strike with talons at AGY (7) + STH (50) -10 (size difference) +1d20
vs. 25 (or 1d20 +22 vs. 0), doing 5 bladed damage if successful.
R
lake has a Deserted City creature (p.252)
that found its way into this reality living in Typical Reaction- A Jump (out of range) at SPD (10) + AGY (7) + 1d20 vs. 25 or 1d20
it, only coming out occasionally. vs. 7 (remember, PCs are at +10 to hit the creature because of its size).
The Invisible S
In Brief- Another layer of reality where creatures designed specifically designed to be able to do so. Some of the
to watch and control humanity live. things that allow the invisible to be seen also make
O
the invisible able to see and touch our world. This is
Attached to this world, co-inhabiting the same space, is a dangerous, since most denizens of the invisible have an
world whose inhabitants are invisible and intangible to most instinct to attack any non-invisible-native they see.
N
of us. There are a few ways to see this world: many Outcasts
have the ability to see it. Cannibals using spirit eyes can see There are no inanimate objects native to the invisible
it. Certain H-Tech devices (p.235) can make the invisible world. Almost all matter in the invisible is made up of
L
world visible, audible or sometimes even tangible. Animists living creatures.
with the visions skill have information about the invisible
(although they are not truly ‘seeing’ the invisible, they Human and animal souls are not the same matter as the
Y
are seeing knowledge of the invisible filtered through the invisible, but are often able to effect the invisible more
subconscious). Some shatters (p.236) make the invisible easily than the visible world (see, for instance, Soul
visible and/or tangible. Blade, p.87). Many invisible beings are designed to be
able to sense souls or even grab onto them. To them a
The visible world cannot be sensed of touched by the Journeying human, whose soul has left his or her body, is
denizens of the invisible unless those denizens have been indistinguishable from a normal human.
The Invisible 227

In Dark
In the other worlds there is no distinction between the
visible and the invisible. Beings of the invisible that
travel to other realms become visible and tangible.
Wrigglers
G
In Brief- Ubiquitous, unintelligent insects cause all manner
The physics of the invisible world is mostly the same of ‘unexplained’ misfortunes.
as ours. Matter is made of atoms, light of photons. Yet
A
the invisible is filled with an ether (which is not made of These are the simplest, stupidest and most numerous
atoms) which provides a constant pressure, temperature inhabitants of the invisible. There are roughly five wrigglers
and dim lighting. The ether feels like warm jelly. It per human. As mosquitoes are drawn to heat, Wrigglers are
M
contains no oxygen or carbon dioxide and thus living drawn to human souls, and when a human stands still long
beings from the mundane world placed in the invisible enough for a wriggler to attach itself, that person now has a
quickly suffocate. Natives of the invisible do not need wriggler infection. The wriggler stays attached to the person
to respirate or eat as the invisible provides them with for a random amount of time (weeks, months or decades) then
E
constant energy which they use to move and repair detaches to find another victim. The average urban human, at
themselves. any given time, has an average of 1.5 wrigglers on him or her.
There are two types of denizens of the invisible, those There are several subspecies of wrigglers, each of which looks
created in the invisible and those who immigrated to slightly different from the others. Some are quite common;
the invisible from the Deserted City (see Creatures of others (especially the ones that kill their victims) are rarer.
M
the Deserted City, p.252). Those created to live in the
invisible are by far the most numerous. They have little Not every disease is caused by wrigglers. In the modern
or no intelligence and instinctively do whatever job they Western world, about 1 in 10 physical ailments are caused by
A
were designed for. They do not eat, do not sleep, do not Wrigglers. The rest are caused by visible-world mechanisms
reproduce and do not die of old age. They only need to like viruses, bacteria and cancer.
be replaced if damaged, but the circumstances capable
of damaging them are rare. There are factories floating Some of the misfortunes caused by Wrigglers follow:
S
high in the sky but they are rarely used. The factories Common: asthma, clumsiness, coughing, cramps,
look like giant wasp nests. dizziness, fatigue, forgetfulness, headaches, indigestion,
T
infertility, insomnia, nervousness, nightmares, nosebleeds,
The native inhabitants of the invisible have biological poor temper, tinnitus.
systems based on that of biological entities of our world,
specifically insects. The powers-from-beyond found Rare: anemia, epilepsy, erotomania (an insatiable desire
E
it easier to use the engines of evolution to figure out for sex), exhaustion, extreme vertigo, fetishism (inability to
the optimal design of creatures in a world of physical have sexual pleasure without some odd element present),
matter. hallucinations, sourceless pain, tooth loss, weakness, weight
R
loss.
Invisible natives include: Rumblers, who cause natural Very Rare: heart attack, stroke.
disasters, Reapers, who take souls to the land of the dead
S
(see p.216 for a profile), Storks, who bring souls from The symptoms of some wrigglers can be treated medically
the land of the dead to fetuses, Wolves, who destroy (e.g. cough medicine to treat a cough caused by a Wriggler)
damaged or outdated invisible inhabitants, Crying but no medical procedure can cure a misfortune.
Girls, who are traps for those humans who can see the
invisible, Starers, also traps for those who can see them,
Bad Talkers, who subliminally introduce destructive Typical Wriggler
thoughts and Haunters, who scare people away from
O
Appearance- A foot-long insect with a segmented body, bulbous
shattered places. The most numerous by far are
black eyes, antennae and pincer-like mandibles. It squirms
Wrigglers, who come in many models and cause many through the air.
types of misfortune.
N
The invisible is like a two way mirror: it allows agents of STH 3, WIL 5, BLD 2, BDY 2, INCY 1.
the powers-from-beyond to watch us and manipulative Psychology- The wriggler has the mind of an insect. It
L
us without being seen. Aside from being a place to instinctively attaches to people, causes them one particular kind
secretly watch us from, the invisible is also a trap for of misfortune and then at some random point (1d10 x 1d10 x
anything that comes to this world unbidden. The form 1d10 days later) it detaches. If it finds itself able to see the
physical form of a human it will immediately try to attack with
Y
of matter and energy that make up the invisible is the
‘default’ of matter in this world, so things that wander its pincers.
into this world who don’t know what they’re doing Typical Attack- Strike with its pincers at 1d20 vs. 10, doing 1
usually end up part of the invisible. Most are too stupid bladed damage if successful.
to ever figure out how to see or interact with the visible
Typical Reaction- Simultaneous Strike with its pincers at 1d20
world.

Alleys
Haunters Typical Wolf
Appearance- Wolves look like manta-rays with an
G
In Brief- Live in places where reality is cracked, scare off exoskeletoned body, black bulbous eyes and a long scissor-
or kill explorers. like mandibles filled with sharp teeth.
Attributes- AGY 15, AWR 7, CHM 0, END 30, INL 1,
A
These invisible creatures are attracted to places where SPD 28, STH 7/21*, WIL 3, BLD 4/12*, BDY 4/12*, INCY
reality has been shattered (see Shatters, p.236). There are 6/18*
more shattered places in this world then there are Haunters, *At Normal Size/At Human Attacking Size
M
so only about half of Shattered places have Haunters. Behavior- They glide randomly through the invisible,
Haunters stay in these places and try to frighten off catching up and eating any native member of the invisible
anyone who enters by inducing a feeling of dread into their that looks damaged or is acting strangely. Wolves cannot
E
subconsciouses (much the same way Bad Talkers induce normally sense or interact with our world, though they will
self-destructive thoughts). Those who are not deterred try to kill any living beings that become able to see and do
and continue to explore are attacked and their bodies are not recognize.
destroyed. Abilities- Can grow to any size to match the size of its prey.
To grow to human attacking size (about 20 ft. wingspan)
takes 3 rounds.
Typical Haunter
M
Typical Attack- A Grab and Strike with its mandibles at
Appearance- It looks like a naked human corpse, pale 1d20 vs. 5. If successful the victim takes 2 bladed damage
skinned and half rotten, hanging upside down with its (pierces armor as 5) and the victim is held. While the victim
legs attached to a wall. Although its mouth doesn’t move remains held the wolf can do an additional 2 damage per
A
it is constantly saying things like “run away, this place is round by gnashing its mandibles (no roll needed).
dangerous, get out of here, you’re going to die here.” When
Typical Reaction- Dodge at 1d20 vs. 3.
it moves it prefers to slide along a wall, although if it must it
S
can leave the walls and float in midair.
Attributes- AGY 4, AWR 10, CHM 0, END 20, INL 1, SPD
20 (sliding along a wall) 5 (floating through the air), STH 10, Rumblers
T
WIL 5, BLD 3, BDY 3, INCY 7.
In Brief- Huge invisible creatures, spend most of their
Psychology- Its intellectual abilities are limited to recognizing time sleeping, cause natural disasters.
humans, keeping track of how long humans have been in its
E
domain and knowing how to kill humans.
These look like building-sized, obese, bipedal beetles.
Special Abilities- Unlike most invisible creatures, the They spend most of their time in a state of dormancy with
Haunter can see the visible world. It can cause fear in their heads down on their chests. It is only when agents of
R
humans (takes a moderate WIL roll not to flee the area). Its the powers-from-beyond or people with the Blood Sigils
hands can effect the physical world, letting it attack humans. skill give them commands that they wake up. Some sink
It can consume human flesh. into the ground and create earthquakes, landslides or
S
Typical Attack- Split action Jump (into range) and Grab: volcanic eruptions; others float up into the sky and create
Strangulation at 1d20 vs. 5. Note that a PC without the ability hurricanes, floods or ice-storms. They are used to destroy
to effect the invisible cannot break free from the grab. cities and damage societies that displease the powers-
from-beyond. Every city of at least 100,000 people has
Typical Reaction- None.
one. The L.A. area has 10.
O
Wolves Storks
In Brief- Predators eat outdated or damaged denizens of In Brief- Bring souls to fetuses.
N
the invisible.
These look like long segmented worms with pointy
heads and large membranous sacks sticking out of their
These denizens of the invisible are created for the sole
L
undersides. They are attracted to a number of invisible
purpose of hunting down, killing and consuming other portals to the Land of the Dead. They take turns sticking
denizens of the invisible when they are damaged or when their heads through the portal and sucking up a soul, which
the powers-from-beyond come up with a new and improved goes into the membranous sack (at this point the soul is
Y
model and want to destroy all instances of the old model. little more than a lifeless wisp, see Land of the Dead,
A wolf can grow in order to attack larger denizens of the p.255). The Stork then goes off to find a human fetus that
invisible (e.g. rumblers). doesn’t have a soul yet. It sticks its head in the fetus and
regurgitates the soul into it. There are special subspecies
that handle dog, cat and horse souls (see p.198).
The Invisible 229

In Dark
Invisible Encounter
Crying Girls Table Bad Talkers either attach to people’s
shoulders or take up residence inside of
For each 1 city block, there
G
In Brief- A trap to kill those who can see the things that people spend a lot of time near:
are 2d20 common wrigglers,
invisible, look like crying women. plus the following (on 1d100): inside a desk, inside a computer monitor,
01-10: None inside a toilet bowl, behind a bathroom
A
These creatures wait at busy pedestrian 11-17: Crying Girl mirror, inside a mattress, etc.
thoroughfares. They appear as women 18-24: Starer
wearing Victorian clothes, sitting in a heap 25-31: Bad Talker Bad Talkers look like large spiral shells
on the ground sobbing. Crying Girls are a
M
32-68: Rare Wriggler with two openings. In the top opening is
trap meant to find and destroy those with the 69-72: Very Rare Wriggler what looks like a human mouth formed
ability to see the invisible. The girls do not 73-80: Stork out of shiny grayish skin. In the bottom
respond to speech. If anyone tries to put a 81-81: Rumbler
E
hand on one, she will sink into the ground. opening are several tentacles which the
82-86: Haunter Bad Talker waves to move.
Once the person has moved on the Crying 87-93: Wolf
Girl will emerge from the ground and follow 94-00: Reaper
from a distance until it can get the person
alone, then it will attack, racing towards the
person, reaching into the person’s chest and stopping the Typical Crying Girl
M
person’s heart. Aside from killing people who have the
vision, this creature also kills many random people who Appearance- A Caucasian, early-twenties woman, in a
white, Victorian style dress, sitting in a heap on the ground
accidentally put their hand in a place where one happens to weeping plaintively.
be (e.g. where someone dropped a piece of change).
A
STH 10, WIL 10, BLD 7, BDY 7, INCY 7.
Starers
S
Behavior- It sits and weeps plaintively at the edge of some
busy pedestrian through-way waiting for someone to try to
touch it.
In Brief- A trap for those who can see the invisible, look
T
like staring men. Abilities- Can sink down or levitate upwards at SPD 2. Can
track victims even through solid objects. Claws can cause a
Heart Attack at 40 difficulty to save.
These are another trap to find and kill Outcasts. Starers
E
Typical Attack- Strike at 1d20 vs. 5, does Heart Attack (40)
look like bald, clean shaven young men wearing old-style if successful.
grey-brown jackets and pants. They go to where there are
crowds and they stare angrily, looking for someone to meet Typical Reaction- None.
R
their eyes. When someone does meet their eyes for more
than a split second they follow the victim, teleporting ahead Typical Starer
of the victim so that the victim meets the same staring person
Appearance- Bald, Caucasian, mid-twenties male wearing
S
each corner he or she turns. If the victim meets the Starer’s
eyes for a second time, the Starer will wait until the victim a brown-grey jacket and pants that are at least a century out
is alone and kill him or her. The Starer lets out an inhuman of style. Dour expression and intense staring eyes that glow
slightly. Whatever angle the starer is seen from, viewers
screech (one that attracts Reapers) and attack, reaching into see the creature’s face straight on. If the viewer tries to go
the victim’s head and giving him or her a stroke. around, the starer will seem to spin.
O
STH 15, WIL 5, BLD 5, BDY 5, INCY 5.
Bad Talkers Psychology- The starer is a simple creature with limited
intelligence. It knows only what it needs to in order to do its
N
In Brief- Sit there saying harmful phrases which job. It has no creativity or problem-solving abilities outside
subliminally effect humans. these areas. It can’t communicate.
Special Abilities- The starer can teleport up to 100 ft. or 30 m.
L
These denizens of the invisible attach to people’s shoulders It can teleport once every other round. It can see the physical
or inanimate objects and whisper harmful thoughts at world and can see through physical objects. Its fingernails
people. They have a whole litany of things to say: “you’re can cause tears in internal tissues of humans, causing instant
Y
ugly,” “you should kill yourself,” “everyone’s out to get paralysis and death within minutes when thrust into a human
you,” etc. For most people, the bad talkers’ words are not brain. The starer can see 360 degrees.
perceived consciously. They enter the subconscious where, Typical Attack- Split action Jump (into range) and Strike
every once in a while, one might get past the Ego and be (targeted at the head) with its hands at 1d20 vs. 10. A
perceived as a thought. For those who have the ability to successful strike causes Paralysis (40) and 8 BLD damage.
hear the invisible, the unending litany of a bad talker is Typical Reaction- None.
heard as actual words.

Alleys
Powers-From-Beyond
G
In Brief- Non-humans from outside this realm that run this reality.
Typical Grey Man
The powers-from-beyond are the non-human entities that are responsible Appearance- Thin, caucasian, grey-haired
A
for the current shape of this reality and the current state of human souls. elderly male, grayish-skin, walking with a
They act on this world via their own agents operating in this world cane, wearing an old-fashioned grey raincoat.
and by influencing the powers-that-be. Insofar as their motives are Attributes- AGY 25, AWR 40, CHM 7, END 30,
M
discernible they seem to be doing everything they can to keep humans INL 25, SPD 5, STH 10, WIL 20, BLD 10,
from realizing their true power and escaping the limitations of their BDY 10, INCY 5.
physical bodies. A few seem to be acting out of hatred of humanity; Behavior- Walks through places acting like
E
others show no recognizable emotion. he belongs there, rewriting the physical world
as he passes. He may stop to ask people short
Not much can be said for certain about the powers-from-beyond. This questions, never giving any indication who he
much is fairly certain: is or why he wants to know. At all times he act
-They are not omniscient: humans can keep secrets from the powers- like he is the boss of anyone he meets. Any
other agent of the powers-that-be will take
from-beyond if they are careful.
orders without question from the Grey Man.
M
-They are not omnipotent: it is possible, although extremely difficulty
Psychology- The Grey Man is one of the oldest
and rare, for a human to destroy an agent of the powers-from-beyond.
and smartest of the agents of the powers-that-be
-They are not all completely loyal: the powers-from-beyond have who travel to this world. He remembers when
A
been seen hunting down rogue agents from their own ranks. what would become humans were just frothy
algae. He knows that, in theory, humans can
Most agents of the powers-from-beyond operating in this world are be dangerous, but he is typically unimpressed
S
natives of the invisible (p.227). Yet the most powerful come from other by even the most powerful humans. More than
worlds. Some operate in the invisible, some as physical and visible any other member of the powers-that-be he
takes pride in his work and in a job well done.
beings, some can do both. These include Surgeons (who experiment
T
on humans), Torturers (who hurt humans for fun), Grey Men (who edit Special Abilities
history), and Angels (who communicate with the powers-that-be). -Can instantly read and comprehend
anything on any storage medium (books,
papers, punch cards, film, magnetic tape, CDs,
Grey Men
E
hard drives, etc.) within 20 ft. (6 m.).
-Can instantly change any aspect of the
In Brief- Can edit this world, and people’s memories, to wipe out the physical world except human anatomy. Takes
R
existence of things dangerous to the powers-from-beyond. 1 to 10 rounds depending on the severity of the
change.
The Grey Men are the smartest and most powerful agents of the powers- -Can change human anatomy with a roll of
S
1d20 vs. 10 (humans get moderate difficulty
from-beyond that operate in the mundane world. There are only a opposed will roll).
handful of Grey Men. They exist for one purpose: for the rare occasions
when the powers-from-beyond find it necessary to edit history. -Can command humans to do, believe or
remember anything at 1d20 vs. 10 (humans get
moderate difficulty opposed WIL roll).
The Grey Men walk this world looking like thin, old men wearing
old fashioned grey raincoats and using canes. Everywhere they go -Can pass through walls.
O
they instantly know everything recorded on every piece of paper, -Can know what humans are thinking
film, magnetic tape, photography, computer chip, etc. and can edit within 20 ft. (6 m.).
these recordings with a thought. They can read human thoughts and -Can browse through human memories (the
humans experience spontaneous recall of those
N
memories and can command weak-willed individuals to do, believe or
remember whatever the Grey Man command. Those individuals whose memories).
wills are too strong are marked for capture by Surgeons who surgically Typical Attack- Creates a poisoned sliver of
edit victim’s brains to remove memories.
L
diamond that is flying at the enemy at 1d20
+20 vs. 0. Sliver does 0 bladed damage (pieces
The Grey Man are not perfect. They can’t find every single person as 10). If any damage pierces a human, that
who remembers some event or every single record of it. And even human takes 10 BLD damage by the end of
Y
when memories are surgically edited, the soul can retain some trace of the round.
memory that can return to consciousness with proper prompting. The Typical Reaction- If being attacked by a
Grey Men sometimes find it best to destroy certain people and then, weapon, the Grey Man will make the weapon
so nobody engages in an investigation which may uncover missed fall apart. If being attacked with hands or feet,
evidence or lost memories, remove that person from history altogether. the Grey Man will block with its cane at 1d20
+10 vs. 0.
Powers-From-Beyond 231
In Dark
“Voiding” a person requires such intensive editing that every Grey Man is
called in to help. They start in the person’s home town and methodically Typical Surgeon
track down and erase every record or memory of the person’s existence. Appearance- A tall human-looking figure
G
A person’s home becomes someone else’s home, his or her kids become in bloodstained green surgical scrubs,
someone else’s kids, etc. with a green cap and facemask (under
the facemask is blank skin), leaving only
A
Famous people cannot be voided because they are remembered too strongly yellowish staring eyes showing, carrying a
by too many. black bag full of surgical tools. If killed
and dissected it will turn out to be a fleshy
shell filled with a black tar-like substance
M
Sometimes the Grey Men are told that a person has been destroyed (typically
that smells like rotting fish.
by Torturers or to the Powers-That-Be) but after they start their editing
process they find the person is still alive. The Grey Men take it upon Attributes- AGY 15, AWR 13, CHM 2,
themselves to find and destroy the person, as well as ‘cleaning up’ any new END 10, INL 17, SPD 6, STH 25, WIL 10,
E
memories or evidence of their existence they have managed to create. This BLD 20, BDY 10, INCY 10.
voided individual finds himself or herself unable to convince friends, family Behavior- The surgeon is moderately good
or lovers that they know him or her. Even when the voided person can at acting like a human. It can speak human
prompt a memory, the rememberer is usually so frightened that he or she languages with halting, broken speech and
pretends not to remember the voided person. Those who can be convinced an unidentifiable accent. Typically the
to voice a memory are killed soon afterwards. only time they speak to humans is when
M
trying to discover the result of some
psychological or neurological experiment
Surgeons they have performed on a human.
A
Psychology- Surgeons are, for the most
In Brief- Humanoid creatures that do medical experiments on humans in part, loyal servants of the powers-from-
small labs in pocket realities. byond. Besides loyalty they are driven by
S
curiosity. They have no empathy and very
little emotion. It takes a lot to make them
These beings have the job of doing experiments on behalf of the powers- express any fear, anger or joy. They think
from-beyond. Most of their experiments are on humans: discovering what of humans as nothing more than machines
T
drugs, technology, physiological manipulation and experiences will increase to be taken apart and experimented on.
or retard supernatural powers. Human suffering brings them neither
pleasure nor displeasure. They have little
E
Most surgeons look like tall males wearing latex gloves, green surgical aesthetic sense and don’t mind living in
scrubs, green caps and white face masks, showing only yellowish, staring places that are stinking and dirty. They
eyes. A few older surgeons look like surgeons from the last century: thin have great powers of logic and memory yet
beards and short hair, wrinkled unmoving faces, deep-set eyes, long blood- little in the way of creativity, cleverness or
R
stained leather aprons over brown wool shirts and pants. inspiration. Their facility at manipulating
humans comes from decades of ceaselessly
trying one thing, then another, then another
The surgeons own ‘labs,’ small pockets of physical reality that aren’t part of
S
to see what happens.
the geography of this world. They can travel to and from the labs whenever
they want. The labs were once shiny clean marble. Today they are dirty, Abilities
grimy places. The ceilings are caked with soot (from the days of gaslights), -Can unlock locks by touching them.
the floors are sticky with layers of dried blood. Medical equipment ranging -Cannot be captured on film or video
from the latest high-tech to antiques from the Victorian age are piled (appear only as a blur).
haphazardly in corners. Rough riggings of forty-year old florescent lights -Can make people fall asleep by
O
cast a harsh yellow glow on everything. There are no windows. Most have staring at them (victims must save vs.
no doors, though a few have heavy, locked doors that connect to other labs unconsciousness at 10 the first round, then
in a complex. 20 the 2nd, then 30 the 3rd, etc.). Victim
N
does not have to be looking back.
-Can see through solid objects
Angels (including human flesh) as if they were
L
transparent.
In Brief- Look after and give messages to the powers-that-be. -Can open a temporary portal between
this world and its lab.
Y
These beings are normally invisible, although they can become visible at Special Skills- All Medical skills at 4.
will. They appear as thin humanoid figures, glowing with a pale light, their Typical Reaction- Causing Uncon-
faces are unmoving masks of solid porcelain-like material, with only bulges sciousness by staring at the enemy.
and grooves to suggest eyes and a mouth. The masks feature a blissful and
benevolent expression. When they choose to speak the sound seems to come Typical Reaction- A simultaneous
from their chests and is an androgynous multi-tonal voice. Crippling Attack with hands at 1d20 vs. 5.

Alleys
Angels watch over the powers-that-be and, in very rare cases,
give messages to them. They make sure that no accident or The Jefferson Park Killer
assassin destroys a member of the powers-that-be and they Appearance- A large, bald, Caucasian male. Skin is yellowish
G
draw sigils in places the powers-that-be frequent to keep and covered with various unhealed scrapes and bruises. Eyes
misfortunes away. Their most important job is to watch the are dull and lifeless. The body is completely hairless, the skull
powers-that-be and make sure they aren’t conspiring to do is misshapen. Wears brown corduroy pants, a grey sweater and
anything which would help humanity understand or escape a grey trenchcoat, all dirty, stained and torn. Walks with an odd
A
its imprisonment. Angels also have the responsibility of shuffling gait, head down and eyes on the ground.
activating Rumblers when the Powers-From-Beyond want Attributes- AGY 4 (human)/12 (monster), AWR 8, CHM 2,
a city destroyed. END 30, INL 15, SPD 6 (human)/15 (monster), STH 30, WIL
M
10, BLD 15, BDY 20, INCY 10.
They speak to the powers-that-be very rarely: when there Abilities
is some change the powers-that-be want made to society, -Exoskeletoned arms act as armor for the organ sack at AR
E
when there is some major threat that needs to be destroyed 10, PR 7 bladed 4 blunt.
or covered up, or as a single warning against unacceptable -Can climb at 1d20 +50 vs. difficulty.
behavior. The angels execute disobedient members of the -Can escape from its skin as two actions.
powers-that-be. They do it with an extremely bright light -Can perform split actions/reactions at only -4 penalty per
which burns and blackens the skin, causing the victim to die, split.
sometimes days later, from shock. -Can see in the dark at no penalties.
M
-Can prowl in darkness at 1d20 +20 vs. difficulty.
Torturers -Even while in its human skin it can reach out of the skin’s
mouth with an arm, hitting targets at up to range 3.
In Brief- Hate humans, allowed to live in this reality in
A
Psychology- The Jefferson Park Killer has dim, ancient
human disguise and kill humans so long as they don’t cause memories of life before this world, of the beings now trapped
too much trouble. in human bodies chasing it, hurting it when they caught it,
and then releasing it to be chased again. Now it is addicted
S
to hunting humans. For each one it hunts down, tortures and
These are beings that the powers-from-beyond have allowed kills, its anxious feeling of being prey wanes temporarily. Deep
to run free in this world, usually in human form, hunting, down it’s still afraid of humans and torture isn’t so much an act
torturing and killing humans. They are allowed to torture of rage as it is a nervous experiment to confirm that humans
T
and kill as much as they want so long as they don’t leave any are still weak and fragile. It acts around humans, even once
evidence that they are supernatural. Once they start breaking it’s shed its skin, in a clumsy parody of human behavior. For
that rule the powers-from-beyond or the powers-that-be hunt instance it makes what it thinks are cruel jokes at its victims’
expense, and laughs at them, even though it doesn’t really have
E
them down and destroy them. The powers-from-beyond
a sense of humor. For instance “Hey, you leaking some of you
may occasionally call on them to kill a specific human. red stuff, you mean to do that?”
The torturers all have some sort of grudge against humanity. Methods- The killer lives in various abandoned buildings in
R
They like toying with humans and proving that they are the Jefferson Park neighborhood. It spends most of the day
superior to humans. with its skin hidden behind a pile of trash and its real body
stuck up in some dark corner in an attic or top floor where it
S
waits in semi-conscious dormancy. In the middle of the night
The stupider Torturers choose the bodies of huge, muscular, it enters its body and prowls the streets, looking for people
mean looking men. The smarter ones choose bodies that who are alone. It intimidates them into running. If it can’t
one would not suspect: little old ladies, children, mousy- make them run just by being creepy, it makes inhuman staccato
nerdy looking women, etc. A few stay confined in human clicking noises. Once it gets them to run it chases after them
bodies at all times. The majority escape from their bodies until it catches them or they get away. It takes those it catches
when they have the victims alone, escaping via a large gash back to the abandoned building and tortures them. If they gave
in the chest and leaving only a skin behind. A small number a good chase it will arrange for them to be able to escape while
O
have thrown away their human skins and they are allowed to it pretends to be occupied elsewhere. So long as they do not
prowl this world in their true forms so long as they leave no disappoint it may let them escape and be re-caught several
times before it finally decides to torture them to death. It
evidence behind. doesn’t reveal its true body until it is ready to kill the victim.
N
It likes to kill by snipping off little pieces of the body until the
Their true form is much like a large spider but with a dozen victim bleeds to death or dies of shock.
or so legs. The legs are covered in a shiny very-dark-green
Typical Attack- As a human it shoots out one limb from its
L
exoskeleton and have crab-like pincers at the ends. The
mouth, making a strike at STH (30) + AGY (4) +1d20 vs. 35 (or
body is an eyeless, mouthless organ sack with leathery skin. 1d20 vs. 1). In its true form it splits its attack 4 ways, making
The arms have several joints and are able to bend into almost paired strikes against two targets (each at AGY (12) + STH
any shape, allowing the creature to fit through any opening
Y
(30) -8 (two splits) -4 (paired) vs. 25 or 1d20 +5 vs. 0) and two
the size of a human head or larger. blocks each at STH (30) + AGY (12) -8 (two splits) vs. 25 or
1d20 +9 vs. 0).
Weapons containing silver cause their flesh to burn and Typical Reaction- As a human it blocks with its arm at STH
dissolve as if it was acid (this is a way the powers-from- (30) + AGY (4) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +9 vs. 0). In its true form
beyond made sure that Professionals could kill them easily if it can do two blocks at 1d20 +13 vs. 0 or 4 blocks at 1d20 +9 vs.
they got out of hand). Any damage done by a silver weapon 0 depending on the number of opponents it is facing.
is tripled.
Powers-From-Beyond 233
In Dark
The Red Sun
G
In Brief- Exiled intelligent sun wants to get back to the
solar system, gives powers to humans via dreams in
exchange for astronomical research.
A
The Red Sun was once the sun around which this earth
revolved. It was an intelligent being who watched
humanity and punished humanity for its transgressions.
M
Yet it quickly became apparent to the powers-from-
beyond that the Red Sun was too cruel and prone to
violence. The Red Sun was one of the most powerful
E
things in this reality and the powers-from-beyond could
not destroy it without destroying this planet. So they
moved it, flinging it deep into space.
In the hundreds of thousands of years since this happened

the Red Sun has been trying to find its way home so it
can regain its place as cruel overlord of this world. It is
M
capable of faster-than-light travel. Right now it is in the
empty spaces between galaxies, nearing this galaxy. It
does not remember which solar system is ours and knows
A
it would take thousands of years to search us out.
To the end of finding out exactly where to go, the Red Sun
has been contacting people via their dreams, trying to form
S
pacts with them. It cannot speak human languages so it
must communicate via images. The dreamer sees himself
or herself drawing star maps, then images of the arrival of
T
the Red Sun, it engulfing our sun, and then the dreamer
high on a throne, with a red sky in the background,
surrounded by legions of slaves and worshippers.
E
So far the Red Sun has not been able to find and sway
an astronomer capable of visualizing Earth’s place in
the galaxy in his or her dreams. Yet it has hundreds of
R
loyal servants in other walks of life: homeless people,
adolescents, blue collar workers, criminals, office
workers, even a doctor and a cop. All of them believe
S
that when the Red Sun arrives they will be made god-
kings of this earth. Some have been given missions of
finding and coercing astronomers (e.g. by kidnapping
their families) or of going back to school and studying
astronomy. Others have been assigned to protect those on
missions and to sabotage any investigation into the Red
Sun and its agents.
O The powers-that-be know about the servants of the Red

Sun. They don’t know exactly what it is they serve, but
N
they do know that it is imperative that they be stopped.
Several servants of the Red Sun have been killed by
Professionals in the act of trying to gain the astronomical
knowledge they needed.
L Servants of the Red Sun are given a terrible dream where

they are engulfed in the fire of the Red Sun. Thereafter
Y
the servants run a constant fever, are partially-immune
to heat (+20 to save vs. heat exhaustion, burns do half
damage) and can will things to burst into flames. They
can make easily flammable things burn as one action
or they can set a human on fire with two rounds of
concentration (humans take 4 burn damage per round as
long as the servant keeps concentrating). Red Sun Dream

Alleys
H-Tech
G
In Brief- Accidentally created technology that exploits Necrophone- This is one of the earliest piece of H-tech.
flaws in the rules of physics and has supernatural It was invented during the early days of radio. The necrophone
powers. allows people to hear the invisible world. The most common
A
sounds are the unintelligible chattering of the insect-like
Short for Heretic-Technology, this term encompasses Wrigglers. One may also hear the sounds of Crying Girls
suppressed or lost technology which works by taking (p.230) sobbing, the panicked cries of the newly dead still
trapped in their bodies, bad talkers and haunters spewing out
M
advantage of minor flaws in the laws of physics of this
reality. Since scientific and mathematics research which insults and threats, and occasionally intelligent agents of the
powers-from-beyond conversing in alien languages. Those
would reveal these flaws is ruthlessly suppressed, H-tech
who discover such devices often believe they have discovered
E
is rarely created via mainstream scientific reasoning. It a means to listen to ‘the afterlife.’
is created by pure accident, mostly by eccentric loners
who misunderstand the science they are basing their Invisible Scope- There are several devices that show the
technology on. Most H-Tech is created by college invisible world. Some show a picture on a small television
dropouts working out of basement labs. Most H-Tech monitor, more recent versions show the invisible through
creators are killed when their inventions activate. thick electronic goggles. The picture is usually grainy, blurry,
monochromatic, showing motion trails and giving little sense
M
Because H-Tech does what it does by accident, it of depth. Invisible scopes typically draw a lot of power and
is usually very inefficient. It is usually very bulky the few systems that are portable can only run a few minutes
before running out of juice.
because most of the parts have no actual function. It
A
also tends to use copious amounts of electricity, most of Tangibility Cage- This device is capable of temporarily
which is wasted (released into the environment as static rendering entities from the invisible world both visible and
electricity, radio waves or heat). tangible. It takes the form of an electrified metal cage. The
entities which are made visible and tangible go back to normal
The earliest H-Tech comes from experiments with if they exit the cage or if the power is cut off. While the
electrical devices in the 1890s. Yet as technology power is on they can see and interact with both the visible and
becomes more powerful and more people with no invisible. They move as they would in the invisible (wrigglers S
financial backing are able to afford private laboratories, squirm through the air, unaffected by gravity) yet they find
the occurrence of H-Tech becomes more common. themselves unable to move through real-world objects. They
can physically attack humans in this state. T
E
R
S
O
N
L
Y
H-Tech 235
Immortality Harness- This is a series of straps, filled with
In Dark
various devices. A small oval portal is opened between
electrical equipment, that surround the head and body and this world and another realm. The portal is barely large
prevent reapers (p.216) from removing the soul from a enough to crawl through. The portal cannot be seen
G
body after death. If a person wearing it dies, that person through, so travelers don’t know where they’re going
will become a Survivor (p.215). Like most H-Tech it uses until they get there.
massive amounts of electricity and it not very portable.
Other instances of H-Tech are discussed under Soul H-
A
Portal- This is one of the most complicated pieces of H- Tech (p.238), Awakening (p.238) and Jekylls (p.240).
Tech. It requires a special transformer and a room full of
M Cracks in the Facade

E
Usually the system of death is flawless: the body dies, a
Shatters mechanism built into the human body summons reapers,
reapers arrive almost instantly, reapers take the soul to
In Brief- Powerful combinations of emotions can break
the Land of the Dead. Sometimes a soul escapes from
reality, turning the rules of physics upside down, usually
its body, but Reapers who see it escaping can track it
killing everyone around.
down wherever it goes. The only way a dead soul can
escape its body without being hunted by Reapers is if the
M
Throughout the history of the illusion, there have been body is instantly and completely destroyed, giving the
Shatters, accidents where a person ‘woke up’ enough to
body no chance to call a reaper. Only nuclear weapons,
damage the illusion.
the most powerful conventional explosives and shatters
A Shatters happen when a person is experiencing not just one (see above) can accomplish this. Like Animists who
strong emotion, but strong lust, joy, fear, hatred and sadness leave their bodies via the Journeying skill, the soul floats
all simultaneously. There are very few experiences which around this world able to observe it but not easily able to
S
can trigger strong levels of all these emotions at once. effect this world. They lose many of their memories and
knowledge with the loss of their physical brains. Many
In a shatter the mechanisms of reality break and the laws of ghosts learn to possess humans. Missing life as a human,
T
physics are turned upside down. Impossible things happen: most take over people’s lives and live out lifetimes as the
water flows up walls, non-flammable objects burst into people whose bodies they have taken over.
flames, solid objects become intangible, etc. Shatters can
E
also cause portals to open up to other realms. Most Shatters There are only a handful of Atomic Ghosts in the
change the local laws of physics past the tiny range of world today. Most come from the nuclear bombings
variation within which human biology can operate. In other of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Most atomic ghosts like
words, they usually kill everyone nearby.
R
to possess the bodies of rich and powerful businessmen.
Some retain a grudge against America and Americans.
The broken reality often conforms in part to what was
Like most rich Japanese people, many own property in
going through the head of the person who caused a shatter.
L.A.
S
A shatter caused by a person who was being burned by a
cigarette, for instance, might cause burns to appear on any
flesh in the area. Soul Misfits
It doesn’t take long for the powers-that-be to hear about most
shatters. They quickly clean up the bodies as best they can Just as the system that removes the souls of the dead
without putting themselves in danger. They arrange to have from this reality sometimes fails (see Survivors, Atomic
O
the area condemned, locked up and surrounded by a barbed Ghosts) the system that gives every human a human
wire fence. Often a Haunter (see p.229) comes to live in the soul (and some animals an animal soul) sometimes fails.
place to keep explorers out. Often times local urban legends Common failures include:
N
develop about the place being haunted.
For a sample shattered place, see A Portal to the Deserted No Soul

City, p.225. For a sample shattered person, see Richard
L
Bailey, Elder Hero, p.199. For sample shattered objects see In Brief- 1 in 10 humans born with no soul, do whatever
Shatter Relics, p.243. is expected of them, sometimes cluster in small towns.
Y
This is the most common type of soul mistake, and it
Atomic Ghosts becomes increasingly common as the world’s population
grows. Today, one in ten babies is born without a soul.
In Brief- People whose bodies are completely destroyed, Soulless babies are less likely to make it to adulthood, so
e.g. in a nuclear bomb, don’t go to the afterlife but travel about 1 in 14 adults worldwide is soulless. The ratio is 1
around this world possessing living humans. in 11 in the L.A. area.

Alleys
Humans without souls have the same working
Hideo Nakazawa, Atomic Ghost brains that humans with souls have. They are
Appearance- Hideo’s soul appears to be a Japanese teen male capable of learning, thinking and adapting.
G
wearing a white shirt and grey slacks. His current body is a However, they aren’t truly conscious nor do they
handsome, thirty-something Japanese man who typically wears have true free will. They act exactly as their
tailored black business suits and has an expensive gold watch. instinct, culture, upbringing and social situation
A
Attributes- AGY 12, AWR 8, CHM 12, END 9, INL 13, SPD 16, dictates. They don’t have the ability to act contrary
STH 16, WIL 14, BLD 5, BDY 5, INCY 3. to their conditioning. They are social chameleons,
Social Status- Hideo is currently in the body of Taki Nakano, a rich adept at acting ‘normal’. Yet they are incapable
M
real estate investor who owns several important office buildings in of acts of creativity, philosophical understanding,
the L.A. area and who sits on the boards of directors of three major self-directed personal change, or of any of the
Japanese real estate development corporations. He has a beautiful interesting forms of mental illness. They tend
E
wife and family in Tokyo that he almost never sees and he keeps to populate the middle levels of society: they are
mistresses in Tokyo, New York and L.A. too good at following orders to be poor but not
History- Hideo grew up in WWII era Japan in the city of Hiroshima. creative, ingenious or ambitious enough to become
He wanted to join the Japanese army but was too young. When rich. They are easy to manipulate because they take
America dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima he was near their cues from those around them, acting as they
ground-zero and was killed instantly. He waited to be reincarnated are expected to act.
(he was brought up as a Buddhist) but nothing happened. He
M
wandered around as a disembodied spirit and eventually learned to
interact with the material world in minor ways. Life as a spirit was The soul-less can never become aware that they are
torturously boring and within a few years after his death he learned soul-less.
A
to possess human beings. He was angry with the Americans and he
would usually possess Japanese and make them attack Americans
or possess Americans and make them commit suicide. After a few Wrigglers don’t see the Soulless. They are virtually
years he started to yearn for a real life and so he took over the invisible to Dances, who neither fear nor have any
S
body of the son of a wealthy industrialist. He drank, did drugs and use for them. Their deaths trigger Reapers, who go
got in several motorcycle accidents. When the body was in poor away when they see there’s nothing for them.
condition he abandoned it and found another. He went through
T
several bodies, each time choosing handsome young men with
access to money. He has been in his current body for five years. People who live with the soul-less quickly become
aware that these people are soul-less, although they
Personality- Hideo is immature, immoral and cruel, yet he is a can rarely ever point to a reason why. Divorce,
E
good actor and can hide it well. He feels that he was ‘robbed’ of
his life and there’s nothing wrong with stealing parts of people’s running away from home, suicide and murder
lives, spending all their money, ruining their relationships, are common where the soul-less and souled live
damaging their bodies with drugs, getting them in legal trouble together. It’s especially painful for a parent with a
R
and then leaving them to think they’ve suffered from unexplained soul-less child. The parent knows the child isn’t a
amnesia. He is too selfish to ever be truly in love, although he real person and can’t love the child, but feels like a
often feels possessive about his mistresses. Although he has come monster for feeling this way.
S
to enjoy much about American culture he still has a deep hatred of
Americans and he likes to torture them and ruin their lives.
Some of the soul-less are diagnosed with personality
Methods- On a trip to America, Hideo gets the business out of disorders when some psychiatrist notices a lack of
the way quickly, buys drugs, visits his mistresses, drinks and
drugs himself into a stupor and then leaves his host body. He self-consciousness.
finds random Americans, possesses them, and forces them to do
terrible things (e.g. rape family members, attack their workplaces
O
In small towns where, by chance, a large percentage
with automatic weapons). His goal is to ruin American lives and of the population is soul-less, those with souls are
have fun doing it. His host body, no longer possessed, is in danger
uncomfortable and leave the town as soon as
of sobering up and figuring out what’s happening to him, so Hideo
they can. In the end, these towns end up almost
N
returns to his body quickly.
or completely soul-less. If a person with a soul
Special Abilities- As a spirit, Hideo has minor telekinesis (can remains he or she has incredible power: everyone in
effect real world objects with 1 STH). He can possess humans at a the town acts as the one souled person expects them
L
roll of 1d20 + WIL (14) +12 (skill) vs. 20 (or 1d20 +6 vs. 0).
to act. When the person can’t control this power,
Special Skills- Body Invasion (4), Tae Kwon Do (4). the people in the town end up acting as the souled
person most fears they will act, making them a
Y
Typical Attack- Strike with feet at STH (16) + AGY (12) +12
(skill) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +15 vs. 0) doing 1½ blunt damage if town of scary and cruel monsters who would rather
successful. kill the souled person than let him or her leave.
Typical Reaction- Simultaneous Pain/Stun attack with fists at INL
When the souled person controls the power he or
(13) + AGY (12) + WIL (14) +12 (skill) +1d20 vs. 45 (or 1d20 +6 she ends up the dictator of the town, able to do or
vs. 0). make others do as he or she wishes but still just as
lonely and miserable.
Cracks in the Facade 237

In Dark
Identical Twins Animals With Human Souls
In Brief- Some animals given human souls, are smart and
G
In Brief- Sometimes share one soul, have telepathic
connection. can achieve human level intelligence.
A
When twins have the same DNA, storks often have Sometimes the soul of a human is put in an animal,
trouble telling them apart and they often put the same typically a cat, dog or horse. Such animals are usually
soul into two bodies. The twins have two minds and two especially bright, willful and self-conscious. Some break
M
consciousnesses, but there is copious leakage of thoughts, free from the limits of their animal brains, learning to
emotions, sensations and knowledge. In many cases the think with their souls, and achieve intelligence equal to
leakage is so great that the two share one subconscious. or greater than that of normal humans (like Algernons,
E
Anything that damages the soul of one (e.g. Spirit Blade) p.240). Despite their intelligence they are still driven by
damages the other. If one twin dies before the other, the animal instincts and drives.
surviving twin is often haunted by dreams and visions of
the Land of the Dead. See The Dog King of L.A., p.224, for a sample animal
with a human soul.
Two Souls
M In Brief- One person with two souls, one usually becomes
part of the subconscious, can arise as a 2nd personality.
Cancer Souls
In Brief- Some cancers have human souls, are hard to
A
kill.
Occasionally, two or more souls are put into one body.
Usually one soul dominates, controlling the body, and Some cancers resemble fetuses enough that storks
S the other soul takes charge only when the first soul is mistakenly put human souls in them. The cancers become
incapacitated (e.g. asleep, drugged, in shock, psychotic). tough to kill and may gain limited intelligence despite the
The second soul often develops to take the place of a lack of brain tissue. Cancer intelligences, not subject to
T psychodynamic, although it is much more self-aware and human instincts or experiences, are alien intelligences
knowledgeable than a normal psychodynamic and it may with no understanding of the human world. They rarely
attempt at some point to stage a coup where it forces the fear death. They do enjoy the feeling of freedom as the
E other soul into hibernation and takes over the body. cancer they are trapped in grows.
Example: Carlos is born with two souls. One soul quickly
R
dominates and controls the conscious self. Forced to Soul H-Tech
the periphery, the second soul takes up residence in the
H-Tech can create soul misfits.
subconscious and takes on the part of Carlos’ shadow.
S
Carlos has a particularly powerful, intelligent and self-
conscious Shadow that takes over whenever Carlos is Biotechnology researchers, both the legitimate researchers
weakened and that seeks an opportunity to take over the and the crazies working in basement labs, have discovered
conscious mind altogether. ways to cause storks to make mistakes. For instance,
adding in non-human DNA can create a soulless human or
a human with an animal soul. Putting human DNA in an
O
Humans With Animal Souls animal can create an animal with a human soul. Few of
these researchers understand what they’ve created.
In Brief- Some humans given animal souls, may have
N
powers and animal drives.
Sometimes an animal soul is put in a human body. The Awakening

L
person may manifest strange powers (see Familiar, p.198),
In Brief- Extreme experiences can awaken lost potential
will often feel and act differently from their peers (e.g.
of humans.
enjoy nothing so much as chasing after things) and will
Y
have limited abilities of creativity and abstract thought
(better than a soul-less person but worse than someone In the story of Goldilocks, the mama-bear’s bed was too
with a human soul). They are usually free from attack by soft, the papa-bear’s bed too hard, the baby-bear’s bed
wrigglers. was just right. This world is like baby-bear’s bed. It is a
compromise between torture and boredom.

Alleys
If this world were a perfect paradise the people
here would have nothing to fear and thus nothing to Olesya Dekanozov, Semi-Awakened Killer
motivate them besides the pleasures of this world, Appearance- Thin, naked Caucasian female with long, tangled blonde
G
which they would quickly grow bored with. Once hair, long fingernails, covered in black grime and dried blood, hovering
bored of this world their minds would reach to seek with her toes brushing the floor, her arms and legs slack, head down,
pleasures beyond this flesh and this would lead an eyes glowing faintly.
A
unacceptable number of humans to awakening. Attributes- AGY 4, AWR 17, CHM 0, END 20, INL 16, SPD 4, STH 2,
WIL 20, BLD 6, BDY 6, INCY 10.
If this world were nothing but unceasing fear and History- Olesya spent the first few years of her life in one of Russia’s
M
pain, humans would have nothing to look forward worst Orphanages where she received very little care or attention.
to. Their souls would seek an escape from the pain Members of the Russian mafia arranged to have her adopted by an
outside this reality and an unacceptable number of American so she could be sold to a pedophile. The pedophile kept her
humans would awaken. locked in a basement, fed her barely enough to survive, and he beat and
E
tortured her (most often burning her with cigarettes). She lost the few
The ratio of pleasure and pain, fortune and language skills she had. After a near-escape he severed the tendons on
misfortune in this world is the best the powers- her arms and legs, leaving her nearly unable to move or care for herself.
from-beyond have been able to find to keep humans When she was thirteen an infection led to a raging fever which caused
a psychotic state, leading to her becoming partially awakened. She
from awakening. The powers-from-beyond use regained spotty memories of her previous lives and her life as a resident
wrigglers and their control over society via the of what is now the Deserted City, and she realized she had incredible
M
powers-that-be to constantly re-adjust this rate. Yet power. It took her time to learn to use this power, and in the meantime
human experience is a bell curve. At the extreme her abuser began to realize something was going on and tried to kill
ends there are a few people who experience no her by suffocating her under a mattress. Olesya resisted dying and
A
suffering or nothing but suffering and are thus in killed her abuser. She stayed in the basement until the police came to
danger of becoming semi-awakened. investigate the abuser’s disappearance, at which point she used her Lost-
like abilities to leave the basement. For the last five years she has been
living in basements and other dark, underground places.
S
Humans can also be semi-awakened by various
h-tech experiments (see H-Tech, p.235). Brain Psychology- Olesya knows little about the world: she does not know
stimulation, psychoactive drugs, sensory how to speak or understand any language, she does not remember life
before the basement, she does not know why her abuser abused her or
T
deprivation, hypnosis and near-death experiments
can cause semi-awakening, especially if more than that there are fundamental differences between humans (e.g. that some
are pedophiles and some aren’t). She doesn’t know that her abilities are
one of these techniques are used at once.
supernatural. She lost or never developed most of the psychodynamics
E
normal people have (she only has an Id and Reptile). She does not
Semi-awakened humans have a random assortment know that she is one of the most powerful human beings on the planet.
of the same powers that the Touched have. Unlike Instead, she lives in fear of being abused. A door opening or light send
shattered people the semi-awakened usually her into a wild panic, as these are both associated with the coming of
R
have control over their powers. They also have her abuser. She does not know that she is a scary monster (or, more
scattered memories of their past lives (including accurately, she thinks everyone is a scary monster).
times spent in the Land of the Dead) and a few Methods- Olesya does not need food or water. She only want to sit in
S
strange memories of the time before this reality. the darkness, sing little songs to herself, play games with random items,
Since the human mind, even semi-awakened, is and be left alone. She uses her Lost-like abilities to travel between
incapable of fully comprehending memories from basements. If someone opens a door to whatever basement she is in,
before this reality those memories are ‘converted’ she will flee. If unable to flee (e.g. surprised while sleeping) she will
to memories of people-like-things in a place panic and use her telekinesis to wring their necks. If she encounters a
resembling a physical world. crying child her empathy will be aroused. She will keep the child from
screaming (by paralyzing his or her vocal cords), will hold and caress the
O
child, will wait for the adults to come down into the basement, at which
Semi-awakened humans are usually psycho- point she will kill them. She thinks she is doing the child a favor. She is
logically damaged by whatever caused them to unable to realize that the children might not want their parents killed.
N
become semi-awakened. Those who became
awakened via a lack of suffering are usually amoral Special Abilities- She can live without food, water or oxygen, she has
telekinesis (25 STH within 100 ft.) and she has the equivalent of the
and apathetic, not caring about anyone or anything,
skills: Flesh Control (4), Get Lost (6), Homing (3), Nihilist Rage (5),
including themselves, and using their powers only
L
Revive (6) and Untouchable (6).
to gain a brief respite from boredom. Those who
gained their powers through torture are usually Typical Action- A Grab: Strangulation at STH (25) + AGY (4) + 1d20
psychotic: scared, confused, angry and with little vs. 30 (or 1d20 vs. 1) which also lifts the victim into the air. The grab
Y
uses invisible tendrils of Olesya’s soul and thus can only be broken by
or no idea who they are or where they are. They
something capable of effecting souls (e.g. Spirit Blade, a missing limb)
use their powers most often to attack real or or by causing Olesya to fail a save vs. pain.
imagined pursuers. Those who were experimented
on suffer from a broad range of seemingly random Typical Reaction- She uses Untouchable to take less damage at WIL
psychological disabilities. (20) + 20 (skill) -10 (using Untouchable with a reaction) vs. 30 (one-
tenth damage) or 40 (no damage) (or 1d20 vs. 0 or 10).

In Dark
The psychological profile of supernatural serial killers is very
Random Semi-Awakened Powers similar to that of regular serial killers. They can be broadly
00-03: +10 AGY, +5 SPD 45-50: Get Lost (AWR) and divided into two types:
G
04-07: +10 END, +7 BLD, Homing (WIL) -The sexual serial killers, who rape victims or perform
+7 INCY 51-52: Grab Bag (5) necrophilia on the bodies, and who often use torture or
08-11: +10 INL, +5 AWR 53-55: Journeying (5) mutilation. They usually choose victims they find sexually
12-15: +10 STH, +5 SPD 56-60: Nihilist Rage (5) attractive.
A
16-17: Ability to live without 61-62: Psychometry (5) -The assassin serial killers, who see themselves as efficient
food, water or oxygen 63-64: Read Minds (5) hunters, they kill with minimal contact with the victim (often
18-19: Ability to touch and 65-70: Revive (5) as snipers). They usually choose victims they think don’t
M
interact with the invisible 71-76: See Invisible (5), See deserve to live.
20-21: Automatic Writing (5) Reapers (2), See Souls (2)
22-23: Be Other (5)
24-25: Change Gender (5)
77-79: See Souls (5)
80-82: Spirit Speed (5) Jekylls
E
26-29: Command Inanimate (5), 83-85: Spirit Strength (5) In Brief- Some humans allow psychodynamics to take over
Command Animals (2) 86-87: Summon Imaginary their bodies.
30-32: Command Misfortunes (5), Friend (5)
Command Reapers (2) 88-89: Switch Bodies (5)
33-35: Command Will-Less (5) 90-93: Telekinesis (25 STH, These are humans who use h-tech or occult techniques to
36-37: Dreaming (5) 100 ft. range) let a psychodynamic take control of their bodies. Some
38-39: Enter Playland (5) 94-97: Untouchable (5) do this to gain enhanced abilities, others as a form of
M
40-44: Flesh Control (5) 98-99: Visions (5) self-experimentation. Most become dependent on their
psychodynamic to take care of things that they are unwilling
or unable to take care of themselves. For most it follows the
same course as a drug addiction. The Jekylls grow weaker and
Awakened Animals
A
more dependent while the psychodynamic grows stronger.
In Brief- Animals with souls can become awakened, have When embodying a psychodynamic the Jekyll gets the same
enhances abilities that Soul Linked Heroes do, see p.29.
S
powers.
The psychodynamic has access to all of the Jekyll’s knowledge
Just as humans can become semi-awakened, gaining some and memories. Jekylls usually don’t look different, but their
of the knowledge and power of their lives before this reality, mannerisms are different when the psychodynamic is in
T
so can animals with animal souls. Animals are easier to control. The Jekyll’s conscious self has little or no memories
awaken than humans, yet they have less knowledge and of what the psychodynamic did while it was in control.
power once they become awakened. Like humans, animals
E
can be awakened by prolonged torture, prolonged sensory After a number of appearances the psychodynamic becomes
deprivation or by h-tech experiments. The psychology and able to assert itself without the aid of h-tech or occult
abilities of partially awakened animals are profiled on p.27. ceremonies.
Fully awakened animals have those abilities, plus:
R -They are as intelligent as humans.

-They can heal from injuries and resist death as per Flesh
Algernons
In Brief- Some humans with damaged or malformed brains
S
Control (3) and Revive (3).
exceed the capacity of their physical brains, become geniuses.
-They have faint memories of their lives before this reality.
Unfortunately, most of the things that are capable of fully

awakening an animal will also drive that animal insane. When people are born with little or no mental capacity,
intelligence sometimes develops spontaneously. The soul
Those who have been tortured into awareness by humans are begins to think for itself without depending on the neurons of
often scared and hateful of humans. the physical body. It is this tendency to develop intelligence
O
where there is none that forced the powers-from-beyond to
Supernatural Serial Killers lock human souls in the bodies of intelligent animals (it is safer
for humans to have limited intelligence than to develop nearly
N
unlimited intelligence).
In Brief- Some people gain powers, use them for murder.
An Algernon goes quite suddenly from being profoundly sub-
Each year thousands of people across the globe, dozens within normal to being a genius. The more retarded they were, the
L
the L.A. area, gain supernatural abilities. Many accidentally more likely they are to become Algernons. The change can
kill themselves with their powers. Many try to forget that they happen at any time, but it is most likely to happen during a
have supernatural powers and never use them except under trauma or extreme stress.
extreme duress. About one in ten decides their powers allow
Y
them to fulfill a dream of being a hero and saving people. Unfortunately, becoming so smart so fast does not give
About one in ten decides their powers allow them to fulfill Algernons the time to learn wisdom. In other words, they
their dream of being a serial killer. become intelligent but they don’t know how to use that
intelligence. They become immoral, obsessive, paranoid
The likely sources of a supernatural serial killer’s powers are and/or anxious. Some turn their intelligence inward, creating
the same as those of Heroes (see p.27). fabulously complex internal worlds but not having the courage
to deal with the real world.

Alleys
Leanne Coates, Algernon Maria Alvarado, Jekyll
Appearance- Short, chubby Caucasian, curly dirty-blonde hair in a ponytail, Appearance- Thirty-something Hispanic woman,
G
round slack face with large forehead and mouth, deeply sunk, slit-like eyes and black hair in a bun with chopsticks, neatly applied
thick glasses. Wears yellow flower-print blouses and bluejeans. Scabbed-over and conservative makeup, round wire-rim glasses,
scratch marks on her face. darkly colored business suit and skirt. When her
shadow takes over she usually takes her glasses off,
A
Attributes- AGY 15, AWR 7, CHM 1, END 5, INL 28, SPD 5, STH 3, WIL 1,
BLD 6, BDY 3, INCY 3. bares her teeth and allows strands of hair to fly from
the bun.
Social Status- Leanne lives alone. She is distant from her family. She hires
people to drive her places or run errands for her. Many neurologists consider her Attributes- AGY 8, AWR 13, CHM 3 (10 when
M
a very interesting case and long to study her. Shadow), END 8, INL 16 (21 when Shadow), SPD
9, STH 8 (13 when Shadow), WIL 4, BLD 4, BDY
History- Leanne as born profoundly mentally retarded. She never learned 4, INCY 4.
language or problem solving skills beyond the level of a two year old. When
E
her parents became too old to care for her she was put in a residential care home. Social Status- Maria is a young professor of
When she was thirty-six she was in a car accident. She was not injured but was psychology at UCLA. She runs a psychology lab
badly frightened. At that point her mind started to grow beyond the confines of her and depends upon government and big business
brain. Her intelligence increased steadily and within a week she had left the home. grants to fund her salary. She is feared by her staff
She made some money doing talk shows and lectures. She invested this money in and peers. She is single with few friends.
the stock market and made enough to get her own place and live comfortably. History- Maria grew up a shy, bookish girl in a
Psychology- Leanne’s mind is incredibly fast, her memory in nearly perfect, the middle class Mexican-American family in East
M
complexity of thoughts she is able to have is virtually limitless. Yet she had no L.A.. She pursued an academic career because
more maturity, restraint, willpower or wisdom than a two year old. school was the only thing she ever really excelled
at. When she finally got a teaching job she found
Leanne has not learned to force her intelligence to work for her. Instead, her
she wasn’t suited for it: students could get away
A
intelligence controls her, forcing her to do things that hurt her. She gets so caught
up in abstract thought that she forgets to eat, bathe or sleep for long periods of with anything, other professors picked on her, the
time. If she is crossing a street and a particularly interesting thought hits her grad students in her lab were lazy and tardy and
she wills top in the middle of the street, oblivious to any danger. It is only when she couldn’t even speak highly enough of her own
S
personal crises are about to come to a head (e.g. she is about to become homeless) work to get a grant. A mentally ill student brought
that she is able to force her intellect to attend to mundane matters. her a homemade device that he claimed would
induce altered states of consciousness by means of
Leanne has a very short temper and when she loses it she screams incoherently, strobing lights and pulsing sounds. She tried it out
breaks things and scratches her own face. She knows how illogical it is to lose her
T
and awoke the next day to find that, among other
temper but this does not help her stop. Leanne hates that her body is not as precise things, she had fired members of her lab’s staff and
as her thoughts are. The clumsiness of human flesh is a constant frustration and a had frightened the rest into working overtime for
source of many temper tantrums. free. In subsequent uses of the machine she faked
E
Leanne is extremely selfish and she assumes other people are the same way. experimental data to get herself published, lied on
If someone is nice to her she assumes it is part of some plot against her. She also grant proposals, murdered the device’s inventor and
finds other people boring and annoying. If forced to listen to someone she finishes disposed of the body, threatened colleagues, coerced
their sentences to try to get the to convey the information faster. She is curt and a student into a sexual relationship, and more.
R
rude to most people, including her family.
Leanne thinks in words, but most of the concepts she thins about either have Personality- In normal life Maria is shy, timid,
no English language equivalent (not that she ever took time to learn) so she has easily startled, unassertive, polite, speaks quietly,
has no vices, is a devout Catholic and obsessively
S
created her own extensive vocabulary.
avoids even the smallest moral transgression. When
Leanne is obsessive, demanding that everything around her be precisely the Shadow takes over she becomes curt, short
ordered and engaging in pointless repetitive rituals. tempered, fearless, arrogant and completely amoral.
Leanne does not know why or how her intelligence suddenly increased.
Methods- Whenever Maria finds herself in a
Methods- Leanne rents a small house in the Santa Monica hills. She pays her situation she can’t deal with (which is increasingly
bills via dividends from stock market investments. She screens her calls with an often) she locks herself in her office puts on a
answering machine, ignoring family, doctors who want to run tests on her and football helmet with electronics built into it. She
O
journalists who want to interview her. She spends most of her time in mathematical emerges from her office controlled by her Shadow.
pursuits, yet she has no interest in reading what other mathematicians have She yells at, insults, threatens and even murders
discovered or in sharing her discoveries with other mathematicians. She spends people to get her way. In addition to doing what
most of her day wandering around the house with a utility blade carving tiny slits
N
needs to be done to fix Maria’s problems, the
into every available surface, each slit branches off into many more. To another Shadow adds in extra cruelty for its own pleasure.
person the more than a million slits look like incredibly detailed and beautiful In emergencies the Shadow will take charge without
abstract art. To Leanne it is an ever-evolving complex non-linear geometric need for the device.
L
computation. From her calculations she has learned that this world is an imperfect
machine, a simulation that aspires to but cannot perfectly match the perfection of Special Abilities- While controlled by Shadow:
mathematical abstractions. boosted attributes (see above), +7 to crippling, slash
and pain/stun rolls, -5 to save vs. anger.
Special Abilities- +5 to initiative, +5 to split actions/reactions.
Y
Typical Attack- While under the influence she
Typical Attack- She will pick up two small, heavy objects (e.g. rocks) and make makes a Crippling Attack (kicking people’s
split Blinding Strikes, one with each hand, each at INL (28) + AGY (15) -4 kneecaps) at INL (21) + STH (13) +7 (Shadow
(paired) -5 (split) -1/3 ft. +1d20 vs. 30 (or 1d20 -1/5 ft. +4 vs. 0). special ability) +1d20 vs. 20 (or 1d20 +11 vs. 0).
Typical Reaction- A split Dodge at AWR (17) + INL (2) -5 (split) vs. 25 (or 1d20 Typical Reaction- Entangles with her jacket at INL
+15 vs. 0) and simultaneous Pain/Stun Attack (with fingernails) at INL (28) + (21) + STH (13) +1d20 vs. 30 (or 1d20 +4 vs. 0).
AGY (15) + WIL (1) -5 (split) +1d20 vs. 45 (or 1d20 vs. 7).

In Dark
The benefit to intelligence is greater than that received
by Cannibals who remove their brains, since the Misty Lopez, Creepy Lost Kid
Algernons are not limited by as many habits in their use Appearance- Looking about seven years old, half-Hispanic and half-
G
of intelligence. Algernons have increased intelligence Asian, dirty, with stained clothes, long unkempt black hair, pink dress,
(20-30 INL), increased awareness (+5 AWR) and light-brown button-up sweater, pink backpack with stars on it.
perfect photographic memory. They can also think at
superhuman speed, making the world seem to ‘slow Attributes- AGY 12, AWR 7, END 8, INL 7, STH 2, SPD 10, BLD 1,
A
down’ (+5 AGY, +5 initiative, +5 to split actions/ BDY 1, INCY 4.
reactions).
Social Status- Misty is on nationwide missing-children lists. Her parents
don’t know where she is. She lives alone in shopping malls around the
M
People who grew up with very limited abilities of
world. She is known to many mall security guards who think she is just
movement (e.g. paralyzed from the neck down at a very
a street-urchin and want to catch her so they can remove her from the
early age) may also spontaneously develop the ability to
mall.
either leave their bodies, heal the damage done to them
E
or manipulate the world via spirit limbs or telekinesis. History- When Misty was 5 her mother kidnapped her from her father,
who was abusive, and ran away with Misty. Misty was warned by her
Creepy Kids mother never to talk to police officers because they would take Misty
back to her father. Misty and her mother traveled the country living out
of a car. One day when Misty was in the mall with her mother, Misty and
In Brief- Kids can have powers like the touched. her mother became separated. Misty tried to find her mom but got Lost,
moving randomly between the world’s shopping malls. For the past 6
M
Most of the events that can give humans supernatural months she has been in a Lost state, although she does not know it.
abilities can also happen to children. Children’s Psychology- For the most part Misty is afraid: she is afraid she will be
supernatural abilities tend to be much stronger than caught by security guards and sent to her father and her mother will be put
A
those of adults, because children are less indoctrinated in prison. She is afraid her mother will be mad at her for wandering off.
into the limitations of the physical world. Children are Most of all she is afraid that her mother has given up looking for her and
also more dangerous than adults because they use their left ‘the mall’ (Misty believes she is wandering around one gigantic mall)
abilities with less wisdom and restraint. Most kids with
S
and Misty will never find her mother. Most nights Misty cries herself to
supernatural abilities will lose them when they grow up sleep. She does sometimes have fun, losing herself in the moment while
as they either suppress their powers or stop believing playing with other kids of playing pranks on mall employees and patrons.
in them. She has no idea that she is moving around between every shopping mall
T
in the world. She does know her dolly is unusual and thinks it might be
Children may be able to give commands to inanimate ‘magical.’
objects (as many children go through a stage of
animistic belief), may have spirit limbs replacing Methods- Misty eats food that people haven’t finished and have left
E
amputated limbs (like Cannibals), many can perform on food-court tables, fishes coins out of fountains to buy food with and
Automatic Writing while they draw (like Scribblers), shoplifts candy from stores. She knows to hide when the mall is closing
and some are able to revive themselves after a fatal (usually inside of a clothing rack) and she usually sleeps on a pile of
R
accident (becoming Survivors). clothing in some back room. She stays away from cops and security
guards and runs if they try to come within grabbing range of her. If
Dances may use children as servants since they are cornered she will show her dolly to the person as she knows it will scare
easier to manipulate than sane and sober adults. them off. Her dolly is her main source of companionship (she talks to the
S
However, most kids don’t have the depth of experience white half, never the black).
to perceive emotions in the same way adults do and Special Equipment Once Misty wandered into a part of the mall that was
thus they are unsuitable as vessels for the Dance. This empty and deserted (really it was part of the Deserted City) and found a
general rule is broken in the rare case where a Dance doll there. The dolly looks like a rag-doll with a blank face. It is white on
is made up entirely of the thoughts, perceptions and one side and black on the other. It feels like it is filled with some kind of
emotions of children, in which case a Dance may have jelly. When the white side is shown to someone, that person hears a voice
child Faustians.
O
in his or her head telling that person whatever it is he or she most desires
to hear. When the black side is shown it tells people whatever they most
The majority of kids with supernatural abilities, fear to hear (e.g. ‘you’re going to die,’ ‘you have cancer,’ ‘everyone hates
however, are Lost, Outcasts and Wonderlanders. you,’ ‘soon everyone will know your secret,’ etc. If anyone fails a save
N
vs. fear while facing the black side (a hard or legendary difficulty for
Lost Kids- Most Lost children are latch-key kids or someone with no supernatural experience) the voice will grow louder
the kids of alcoholics or drug users who are allowed to until the victim can hear nothing else and must make a moderate save vs.
wander around urban areas unsupervised.
L
distracting pain. The voice is a crackling, distorted version of a young
girl’s voice.
Lost children are powerful because small children
spend so much time not knowing where they are. Lost Special Skills- Get Lost (5), Grab Bag (3).
Y
children usually have no idea that they have supernatural
powers since they don’t know, for instance, that Tokyo Typical Attack- Besides showing her dolly to people (see above), Misty
isn’t a place one might pass by while walking home will bite (usually on the hands as they are trying to grab her), a hard
from school. Some Lost children come to believe Pain/Stun Attack at AGY (12) + INL (7) -4 (hard) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20
that there are secret passages in their homes and they vs. 10).
wander through cabinet doors or holes under a hedge Typical Reaction- Jump (out of range) at SPD (10) + AGY (12) +1d20
into basements, vaults, caves, etc. all over the world. vs. 25 (or 1d20 vs. 3).
242 Chapter Six - Secrets of this World

Alleys
One of the most dangerous things a Lost child can do is wander
to other worlds, collect artifacts from them, and place them in
this world where they will cause trouble (see Artifacts of the
Cults
In Brief- People who all believe the same thing can
G
Deserted City, p.245, Subconscious Artifacts, p.247, etc.).
make it come true.
Outcast Kids- Outcast kids are perhaps the most numerous.
A child will be able to see the invisible, read minds, see souls, As we’ve seen, belief has power, but is usually too
A
see the past, etc., until he or she learns that these aren’t the widely dispersed to overcome the limitations of
kinds of things people are supposed to see or hear. Until then, physical reality. Some cults, however, are able to
they remain a useful (although eerie) source of information. focus the belief of cult members powerfully enough
M
Most Outcast kids don’t know that the things they see are on one set of beliefs that the rules of this world can
supposed to be scary. An Outcast kid may, for instance, have a be overcome.
“pet” Wriggler that she teaches to do tricks (via the Command
Misfortunes skill).
E
Cults aren’t capable of destroying the world or
other massive changes. They are capable of giving
Wonderlander Kids- Most children form playlands at themselves supernatural powers, altering the laws of
some point in their childhoods. The amount by which those physics in a small area or causing shatters.
playlands are connected to the kids’ subconsciouses varies
from child to child. Some children, even in the absence of In 1889 the Ghost Dance religion began. It was a
any manipulation by adult Wonderlanders, will spontaneously cult of Native Americans who believed that by doing
create a strong connection to their playlands. The difference
M
a ritual dance they could wipe White people from the
is that a spontaneous Wonderlander will lose that connection country and restore all the dead Native Americans to
while a made Wonderlander will keep it due to continuing life. Cult members also believed that those who wore
interference by the older Wonderlander. “ghost shirts” made by the cult would be protected
A
from White people’s bullets. The cult was never able
A young Wonderlander’s powers peak when they start to to wipe out the White invaders, but some members
believe that their playland is a place as real as this world. They did gain the immunity to White bullets from the
S
don’t have any problem with summoning creatures from that strength of so many people believing so strongly that
world or traveling into it. A child Wonderlander is typically this would happen. This ability made it more difficult
not dangerous, but the playland friends who travel to this for agents of the powers-that-be to wipe out the cult.
world to ‘help’ the Wonderlander are.
T
E
R
S
Ghost Dancers
Artifacts O
Shatter Relics Relics of the Martyrs N
L
In Brief- When strong human emotions shatter reality, objects which warp These relics come from early
reality around them remain. Most of these objects come from Christain persecution of Christianity. Most of the
martyrs, repressed Victorian girls or homosexual sex in public restrooms.
Y
martyrs were celibate women who died
simultaneously fearing death, hating
Relics are objects which were present at a Shatter (p.236) and carry with them their executioners, joyful that they
a little bit of ‘broken’ reality that warps the laws of the universe around it. would be martyrs and lustful for an idea
of Jesus upon which they had projected
Shatters can happen anywhere at any time, yet there are three historical periods their repressed sexuality.
that were host to many shatter and so a majority of the relics of the Western
world are from these three eras:
Artifacts 243
In Dark
Finger of St. Raphael- A finger bone wrapped up in an Elizabeth Hartford’s Labia- Two strips of leathery dried
old cloth in a wooden box. A person clutching this relic flesh. If placed on either side of a human orifice they will
cannot be harmed by any amount of heat. However, he or attach, becoming living flesh. The orifice will become
G
she is also unable to combine sugars and oxygen to create lined with teeth. If any part of any living thing (save the
chemical energy, so he or she loses 2 pooled END per owner of the orifice) is placed within the orifice, the living
round. thing will be devoured. The orifice pulls the creature
towards it at 40 STH, strong enough to break bones. Once
A Arrow of St. Germaine- An arrow covered with blood the mouth has caught hold of a piece of flesh, there is no
which is still red and slightly damp. Within 50 ft. (15 m.), way to save the victim without tearing or cutting off the
captured parts. The mouth does 2 BLD damage per round
M
all light sources put out four times as much light as usual.
to the victim. The mouth can consume any amount of
Within 5 ft. (1.5 m.) physical matter becomes transparent,
flesh and consumed flesh is never seen again.
allowing for an “x-ray” view of the inside of people and
objects. Since pupils become transparent, anyone within 5
E Tea Room Saints

ft. (1.5 m.) sees only a dim fog.
Tooth of St. Oglethorpe- A tooth, with a hole drilled in These relics date from the 1920s to the 1950s, a time
it, on a chain. Any human or animal corpse within 20 ft. when most homosexuals lived their lives pretending to be
(6 m.) of the tooth will scream and burst open, revealing a straight except for brief, anonymous sexual encounters in
swarm of locusts which will attack humans and eat crops. public restrooms (‘tea rooms’). Shatters occurred when
M
A human body will create a swarm of about 500 locusts. participants felt hatred (of their own desires), fear (of
Only about 200 locusts can attack a human at once, doing a being caught) and lust and joy (at finally expressing their
total of 2 bladed damage per round. The swarm can move sexuality).
A The Victorian Girls

at SPD 15.
The Glory Hole- A rectangular section of wall with a 3.5
inch (9 cm.) wide hole drilled in it. Looking through the
hole, one can see the invisible world. Anything pushed
S
through the hole becomes temporarily invisible and
At the height of Victorian England’s prudishness, a few intangible and capable of effecting the invisible world.
women were unlucky enough to grow up without any E.g. a knife blade pushed through the hole comes back
T
knowledge of their own sexuality or female anatomy. looking like a bladeless handle, but is really a knife that
They were from very religious upper middle-class-homes. can stab invisible creatures. Objects made invisible revert
Their mothers died at an early age and they were never to normal within 24 hours.
E
lucky enough to make friends with servant girls who could
Vertigo Card- A yellowing, folded index card with dried
have explained things to them. They grew to adulthood bodily fluids inside. Time moves twice as fast within 25
with no knowledge of sex, masturbation, procreation or ft. (7 m.) of the card. People within that range experience
R
menstruation. They only knew that there was something two minutes passing for every one in the real world.
about their anatomies so sinful that nobody would dare When the card is moved, the whole world within 25 ft. (7
speak about it. Many were so unprepared for menstruation m.) seems to move with it. If the card is spun, things are
S
that they believed they were dying. Shatters occurred when thrown against the walls by centrifugal force. If the card is
joy and lust (at discovering the potential for sexual pleasure) shaken, everything in the room jumps up and down.
coincided with fear and hatred (of their own bodies). The
shatters were quickly covered up by the powers-that-be in Finger of Doom- A desiccated finger with a long fingernail
the Victorian government and the relics were confiscated and red nail polish. The finger is kept wrapped in gauze
and hidden away. and stored in a steel thermos. Within 50 ft. (15 m.) of the
finger beads of perspiration form and water drips down
O
Eliza Preston’s Fetus- A dead, badly malformed fetus every object. If the finger is lain directly on the floor, the
preserved in a jar. When anyone comes within 10 ft. (3 m.) ground or building will begin to vibrate. The vibration
the fetus animates, becoming a mouthpiece for that person’s will grow steadily more powerful and within minutes it
N
Shadow. Although its lungs are filled with formaldehyde , it will be equivalent to the worst earthquake.
can speak and be heard clearly.
Blessed Objects
L
Mary Sutton’s Bloody Rags- Off-white rags, damp with
blood. At random intervals (1 in 20 chance each day), if
not kept in an airtight container, blood will pour out of In Brief- Objects blessed by powers-from-beyond to aid
the powers-that-be.
Y
the rags. The blood will spread along the area, moving at
SPD 5, ignoring gravity and flowing up objects to cover
everything with a layer of blood. The blood film will At times throughout history, the powers-from-beyond have
eventually envelop everything in a 100 ft. (30 ft.) radius. If blessed objects belonging to the powers-that-be in order to
any humans are in the area and they don’t completely cover give them subtle aid in ruling the world or destroying their
their mouths and nostrils, a film of blood will coat their enemies. The modern powers-that-be still possess and use
lungs and kill them. most of these artifacts.

Alleys
CEO’s Table Leg- An ornately carved leg from an old dance’s environment. If a powerful dance is killed, the
wooden table. People who spend most of their day in impressions left on objects can be strong enough to be
proximity to the table leg gain the following advantages: used as tools or weapons. The objects radiates thoughts,
G
half normal sleep need, healing rate doubled, longevity, +10 sensations or emotions strongly enough to effect anyone
to save vs. disease contraction and mortality, +10 to save vs. who comes into contact with them.
effects of drugs and poisons, +5 BLD and +5 INCY. The leg
Nihilistic Pillow- A small pillow, yellowed with age and
A
can be used as a 3 blunt damage club (range 1-2).
smelling of dust, fringed with lace. People must make a
Inquisitor’s Whip- An old leather whip. Each time save vs. delusion (difficulty 20 if they are nearby, 30 if
someone is struck with the whip, a different psychodynamic they are touching the pillow). If they fail the save they
M
surfaces, each having total control of the person’s body (see will believe that they are dying (particularly that they are
p.258). The whip is ideal for interrogation: cycle through succumbing to old age and respiratory disease and only
psychodynamics until you find one willing to tell the truth. have a few minutes to live).
Black Rock Sword- An old, curved, Arabic style sword.

Inlaid into the interior curve of the blade is a long thin shard
of black stone. This is a shard of the stone that, according
to Muslim belief, was give to Abraham by God. The stone
Ball of Abuse- A red rubber ball. Anyone nearby must
make a save vs. hallucination (difficulty 20 if nearby,
30 if touching) or will feel a strong hand grab them by
the back of the neck and a powerful male voice shout
E
was cracked when it was stolen by Ismali warriors in 930 “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Anyone not
expecting this sensation must make a save vs. fear to
M
AD, and slivers were built into eight swords, three of which
ended up in European hands during the crusades. The black avoid being startled.
rock’s edge has the ability to cut through anything, visible or
Plaster of Comfort- A ragged piece of yellowing plaster
A
invisible. It can cut through a pillar of solid steel as easily
as it can cut through a stream of water. The sword does 10 glued to a round steel plate, with a round glass cover on
bladed damage to visible and invisible beings (range 1-2, hinges. Anyone who touches the plaster must make a
very easy vital strike), is not effected by armor and the only moderate (20) save vs. euphoria and a hard (30) save
S
way to block or entangle it is to block the parts of the sword vs. psychological addiction. It causes a sensation of
happiness, relief and comfort, as if some trusted and
that do not have the black-rock inlay.
beloved person has returned after an anxiety-provoking
T
absence and now everything will be all right. The person
Mausoleum of Life- An old marble mausoleum with a stone
touching the plaster feels almost like they are being
flower-vase in front. If a freshly dead body is placed in it and
stroked or comforted and all they want to do is curl up
if a person is killed on the steps of the mausoleum, the body and go to sleep. The plaster has a sordid history: almost
E
inside will come back to life. This only works if the freshly everyone who touches it becomes addicted to it and their
dead body is in fairly good shape. The revived person has lives waste away until they have nothing left but the
disturbing memories about the Land of the Dead (p.255). plaster.
Lord’s Cane- An old redwood cane with a gold bulb on
top. Anyone who holds the bulb gets +10 to CHM rolls
to inspire awe, fear and respect in others. People who can
Artifact of The Deserted City R
S
see the invisible will see the image of a seven-foot-tall, In Brief- Powerful and dangerous things from the
handsome, muscular Caucasian man in the costume of a Deserted City. Can have useful powers, remind
king superimposed on the holder. Also, the cane will do 6 humans of their lives before this world, or eat holes in
blunt damage to any object struck with it (range 1-2) and mundane reality.
humanoid creatures hit with the cane will be thrown back 5
ft. (1.5 m.) per point of success. These are the rarest, the most powerful and the most
O
dangerous artifacts. With most artifacts, the powers-that-
Skull Cup- A cup made from the top of a human skull. be dispatch Professionals to retrieve them and keep them.
When any liquid is drunk from it, the drinker’s soul is With artifacts of the Deserted City, the powers-from-
N
expelled from his or her body and can float around this beyond personally show up to remove these artifacts
world observing as per the Journeying skill. The soul is from this reality. Artifacts of the Deserted City show
automatically drawn back to the body within an hour. up when a human manages to travel physically to the
L
Deserted City, find one of the rare loose objects and then
Dance Pieces make it back to this reality without being killed. Deserted
City Artifacts come in three types: tools, mementos and
parts of the city.
Y
In Brief- Parts of dead Dances, have déjà vu powers.
Tools will continue to work if brought to the mundane
When a Dance is born, the desires it is made from are
world just as well as they do in the Deserted City. Parts
very weak, too weak to do much more than prompt subtle
of the city take on new powers in this world that they do
sensations in the subconscious of drunks and psychos.
not have in the Deserted City. Mementos will quickly
However, some Dances grow more powerful and so
do the impressions left on the inanimate objects in the decay and crumble to dust in the mundane world.
Artifacts 245
In Dark
Mementos- Mementos take the form of postcards, photos, destroy the physical world around it, much like the
touristy-souvenirs, greeting cards with sound chips, photo Nihilistic Rage skill. Inanimate objects will start to warp,
slides, old 8mm film reels, etc. The mementos don’t have crack or corrode. Within a day everything will be severely
G
any writing on them. The mementos show the Deserted weakened. Within a week structures will collapse into
City except it is daytime and not deserted. The people dust and portals will start opening to other realms. Within
look like androgynous humans of indeterminate ethnicity 2 weeks the entire area will disappear from this reality,
A
and culture. The people all seem genuinely happy, all are the fabric of space will constrict to fill the gap, leaving the
mid-twenties people in perfect health without a single scar earth a little bit smaller.
or blemish and all seem to be playing, creating art, doing Shape Shifting: When nobody is looking, the object
sports or romancing each other.
M
will change into whatever the people nearby most fear
or most want it to be. The artifact will only change into
Staring at the mementos will begin to awaken feelings of similar objects (e.g. a knife may turn into a sword, a sword
déjà vu in viewers. The will start feeling like they remember into a spear, a spear into a crowbar, etc.). The artifact
E
being in the Deserted City before it was deserted. The will not change into any living being and will not lose its
longer they stare, the stronger the feeling will grow. After special abilities.
a round of staring the PC will have to make a moderate (20
Moving: When nobody is looking, the object may
difficulty) WIL roll to stop.
move short distances (e.g. teleport from a wall safe and on
top of a person’s bed while that person is sleeping).
For every minute spent staring at a memento, a viewer gets
+4 to supernatural skill rolls and +1 to all attributes (these
M
plusses will fade away in about a month) and the viewer’s Hopes vs. Fears
soul burns noticeably brighter to anyone with the See A part of the Deserted City will turn into whatever the people
Souls skill. In the person’s subconscious, strange multi-
A
near it hope or fear, depending on whether hopes or fears
dimensional geometric shapes will start bursting from the are stronger. Other aspects of Deserted City (e.g. where
halls of memory, doing random damage to psychodynamics they move to when they spontaneously change location) are
(each minute a random psychodynamic takes 1d6 damage). controlled by the same mechanism. Generally, if people can
S
beat a moderate save vs. fear then their hopes win, if they
After 5 minutes the persons’ soul will begin to burn so fail then their fears take charge. Anyone who knows what’s
brightly that it is visible even to those without the See going on can try to control the shape the artifact will take
Souls skill. The viewer’s eyes will seem to glow. At the with a hard WIL roll.
T
same time the viewer will start suffering from burns to his
or her internal organs doing 1 BLD damage per minute and
requiring 30 difficulty saves vs. pain every minute. Tools- These artifacts appear to humans to be tools,
E
electronic or mechanical devices, toys, appliances,
Eventually the strange shapes will kill the Ego and the vehicles, etc. These are things that the residents of the
barriers between the subconscious and conscious will begin Deserted City created to make their lives easier. Humans,
R
to dissolve. The viewer will start having memories that the with their limited perception, cannot use the full abilities
human brain is unable to process. The result will be bizarre of these objects. However, the objects do what a viewer
hallucinations and delusions (40 difficulty to save). would expect them to do (and exceptionally well), and
have other abilities related to that function. For instance,
S
If the viewer can keep staring at the memento despite the a key might be able to unlock any lock and even open
pain, hallucinations and delusions, the human body will doors such that they that lead to any place the user wishes
eventually burn to ash and fall to the ground, leaving only to go. A vending machine might be able to produce any
a glowing soul behind. This will summon reapers who will mundane non-living item a user might wish for, e.g. a
try to take the soul to the Land of the Dead. pistol, a gold bar or a bag of chips.
O
Parts of the City- Parts of the city looks like ordinary Some sample tools include:
pieces of the environment: a brick, a clump of weeds, a
piece of broken glass, etc. While in the Deserted City they The White Fluid- This is a small clear glass vial with
do nothing, but if taken to any other world they have the attached stopper. When nobody is looking, the bottle, no
N
following special properties: matter what it was filled with before, will become filled with
Colorless: They are all black, white, grey, clear or a white fluid resembling milk. The fluid is impervious to
mirrored. chemical testing. If a human swallows the fluid then he or
L
she will immediately start vomiting up blood, then pieces
Eye Catching: In darkness they tend to shine, in the light of organs, shards of bone, fat, muscle, pieces of skin, hair,
they tend to be unusually dark. etc. Over the next few hours the person will vomit up his
Y
Unbreakable: The artifacts cannot be destroyed by any or her own weight in shredded flesh and blood. Hours
earthly or known occult means. of vomiting will use up 3d6 pooled END. When nobody
Aura of Pain: People nearby the object will hallucinate is looking the materials will assemble themselves into
hearing faint sobs of pain from nearby. They will also a perfect copy of the vomitor. The copy will be alive,
dream of a voice sobbing loudly. conscious, have all of the vomitor’s memories and believe
Destructive: If kept in one place the artifact will slowly it is the vomitor. The copy will have no soul, so can’t use
any supernatural abilities (see No Soul, p.236).

Alleys
The Black Knife- A pure black knife made of a material which
is cold and hard. The knife is incredibly sharp (3 bladed damage,
pierces armor as 15). Any cut the knife makes opens a hole into
Annotated Volumes
in Brief- Old Scribbler books, can teach
G
blackness that sucks in matter. The matter sucked in is never
seen again. The hole will not suck in that it is a hole in (e.g. a supernatural skills to some.
hole cut in a piece of paper will not suck in the paper itself). The
hole closes within 24 hours. The hole will drag objects towards These are relics from the days when Scribblers
A
it (30 difficulty STH to resist, this difficulty is halves every 4 ft. conversed in the margins of library books. Most
away from the hole). were destroyed by the powers-that-be but a few were
hidden away. Each one contains decades of Scribbler
M
The Grey Book- A large leather-bound book with a grey cover. discussion of the work of a particular philosopher.
It is warm to the touch. People reading the book will find that Each volume has one or more supernatural skills that
it contains whatever they most hope or fear to read. The book they can teach. Scribblers can learn any skill a book
E
has a limited ability to make whatever people read in it come has to teach. Non-Scribblers don’t always have
true. It can not cause the sun to explode, history to rewrite itself the background knowledge or outlook necessary to
completely or a human to become awakened, but it can kill learn a supernatural skill from an annotated volume;
someone, or make someone win the lottery or make a terrible they can only learn skills already in the list of skills
new plague sweep the earth. available to their Secret Life.
Learning a skill from an annotated volume has two

Subconscious Artifacts
M
advantages. First, it fulfills the learning-something-
new-about-the-univere requirement for gaining new
In Brief- Change to match psychological state of the person supernatural skills. Second, it cuts the normal skill
they come from.
A
cost in half (or makes it 10 skill points if the learner
is a Scribbler and this is not a standard Scribbler
Artifacts removed from a person’s subconscious or dreams and skill). PCs who already have the skill can also use
brought to this world look and behave like ordinary objects except the volume to let them increase the skill at only half
S
that their nature changes to mirror the psychological health of the skill cost.
person whose mind it comes from. If the person is intoxicated,
the objects appears dirty, fraying or scratched. If the person is Some annotated volumes are as follows:
T
growing senile the object will appear rusty, tarnished or faded. If
the person is mentally ill with many psychodynamics corrupted Heart Sutra- This is a 1924 English translation of
the object will appear to have sharp barbs and splinters and be the Buddhist sutra. It is an oversized paperback
smeared with toxic muck. If the person is psychotic the object whose cover has been recently laminated. The pages
E
will appear deformed, cracked or broken. If the person dies the are yellowing and brittle. Can teach Untouchable.
object will break down to dust and disappear within a week.
Plato’s Republic- A hardbound book with a dark-
R
Chloe Berber’s Knife- This knife was taken from the brown leather cover with gold-leaf lettering. This is
subconscious of a woman named Chloe Berber by a Wonderlander the second volume of a book containing the original
who wandered into her mind by accident. It’s a folding knife Greek text. Can teach See Invisible and Get Lost.
S
with a 4 inch blade. Most of the time the blade is ragged, with
sharp splinters of metal sticking up, covered with poisonous, foul Thus Spake Zarathustra- By Nietzsche. In the
smelling black grime. It also oozes blood if left in one place for original German, hardbound with gold-edged pages.
too long. The bladed does 2 ragged bladed damage, has easy Old bloodstains on many of the pages. Can teach
pain/stun, and anyone who takes damage from it suffers from the Nihilist Rage.
following: fever (-10 to save vs. heat exhaustion), dizziness (-10
to save vs. loss of balance), weakness (halve STH and SPD) and Interpretation of Dreams- By Freud. First
O
progressive necrosis (1 BLD damage per day). The only cure is edition of the 1913 English translation of the book.
to find Chloe Berber and improve her psychological state, even if Hardbound with grey cover. Can teach Dreaming.
only temporarily, or kill her.
N
The Ego and The Id- By Freud. 1923 version. In
Chloe works as a bartender in a trendy West Hollywood club. German. Rebound with a drab-brown hard cover
Most who know her think she is attractive, fun, energetic, and library call-numbers stamped on the spine. Can
confident and a little wild. Although she hides it well, Chloe teach Enter Playland and Playland Geography.
L
doesn’t like herself. She cuts herself, she has a serious drinking
problem, she has unprotected sex with strangers, she has Surrealist Manifesto- By Breton. 1935 edition,
paranoid delusions that her friends hate her, she spends money in French. Pocket-sized paperback. Can teach
Y
compulsively whenever she has it, she imagines terrible flaws in Automatic Writing and Visions.
anyone who seems to like her and she thinks she’s ugly. Chloe’s
problems started because of her parents ambivalent attitude Symbols of Transformation- By Jung. 1952 edition
towards her and her failure to form a strong self-identity. Her in German. Photocopied pages in a binder (the
problems are enforced by her bad habits: the fact that she does original has been destroyed). Can teach Dreaming
‘bad things’ kept her feeling like a bad person which keeps her and Possession Trance.
wanting to hurt herself by doing bad things.
Artifacts 247
In Dark
G
Chapter SEVEN -
A Secrets of Other Wolrds
M The Rules of Other Worlds
E in Brief- In some worlds, all form is dependent upon
perception, supernatural powers are generally stronger,
and human will can more easily effect reality.
of humans and are rarely useful in other realms where
there are few humans. The realm will likely be as alien to
the Dance as to the Faustian and thus the Dance can offer
little useful advice.
Our realm, and the tiny labs of Surgeons (p.232) are the
Heroes- Heroes with non-supernatural origin stories
M
only worlds dominated by constant laws of physics. All will experience no difference in their powers. Heroes
other realms are non-material worlds. with familiars will find their familiars slowly growing
more powerful and looking less like a normal animal.
A
In the mundane realm, a thing can only be one size, or in Heroes who are soul linked will begin to morph into the
one location, or have one shape. Outside this reality, things psychodynamic that is projected onto them and will slowly
and places are more like ideas than physical matter: they can find their personality subsumed by the psychodynamic.
be interpreted in different ways. Yet when humans travel
S
Shattered people and Heroes with Supernatural Objects
outside this reality, we are unable to deal with multiple will lose their abilities (since their powers represent
possibilities and so, through our expectations, we create a damage to the mechanisms of the mundane realm).
static world of more-or-less static places and things. We
T Supernatural Abilities in Non-Physical Realms

don’t see ‘what’s actually there’ because ‘what’s actually Lost- The Lost will be in their element, since spatial
there’ is not something that can be seen. continuity only exists in the non-material realms so long
as visitors believe in such continuity. A Get Lost roll
E
is unnecessary for the Lost. A Homing roll is the most
practical way to navigate the non-material realms.
In Brief: Most powers enhanced except those dealing with Outcasts- Outcasts with See Invisible will find that
R
the invisible. there is no invisible in the non-material worlds. Any
invisible creatures that followed them will suddenly be
In the non-physical world, since reality is more pliable, it is visible and tangible. Other supernatural senses will work.
S
easier for those with supernatural skills to use them to warp Psychometry can be dangerous if a realm has alien or
reality. PCs get +20 to +60 to supernatural skill rolls (see supernaturally-intense memories.
table, next page) and all skills have at least double the effect.
Professionals- Professionals will find some of their powers
Animists, Androgynes and Scribblers- Androgynes, useful but not others. Ecstatic Rage and Untouchable will
Animists and Scribblers generally find their powers work exceptionally well. Blood Sigils and Soul Blade will
increased in the non-material realms, as most of their be useless. Truth Ordeal will work, but everyone will be
O
powers are the application of will to change reality. The able to see the normally invisible creature living inside the
only exceptions are the skills Command Misfortune and Professional in action (see p.209).
Blood Sigils, which deal with controlling things that don’t
N
generally exist in the non-material worlds. Survivors- Survivors will remain immortal and will have
their powers over their own flesh increased dramatically.
Cannibals- There is no distinction between the visible and If a reaper has followed them into the non-material realm
invisible in the non-physical realms. Thus a Cannibal with that reaper will suddenly be tangible and visible (or as
L
a phantom hand would find he or she has a visible tangible visible and tangible as a reaper ever gets, see p.216) and
arm. The phantom parts remain physically superior but not will attempt to physically attack the Survivor and throw
selectively intangible. the Survivor’s body and soul into the Land of the Dead.
Y Faustians- Faustians take the Dances in their minds with

them into the non-material realms. Dances find it easier to
manipulate reality in the non-material-worlds. They may
use this ability to try to make parts of the PC’s surroundings
Wonderlanders- Wonderlanders will find their
powers and playland phenomena dangerously strong.
Summon Imaginary Friend will always bring a physical
manifestation of the psychodynamic and Masks will
resemble the Dance’s abode. The Faustian’s primary physically transform a thing into what it is disguised as.
powers are based on the ability to effect or read the minds
248 Chapter Seven - Secrets of Other Worlds

Alleys
Varying Levels of Reality
In the mundane world, things either exist or they don’t. There are other realities, though, that sort of exist. These include
G
bubbles, dreams and subconsciouses. They vary in existence depending on the number of human souls believing in them and
the intensity of belief. The more a place exists, the easier it is for that reality to effect our physical reality. Bubbles tend to be
the most real and they quite often suck people physically from this reality. Subconsciouses are the next most real. Physical
A
beings can emerge from the subconsciouses of ordinary individuals, but it is rare. Dreams are the least real and the things that
happen in dreams are the least likely to effect this world.
M
nature of the realm she is at +30 to her roll, meaning
she gets a total success of 53. Instead of just making the
Imposing Will on Non-Physical Realms surroundings crumble, this level of success destroys the
E
entire bubble.
In Brief- Anything can be changed by a strong enough
will.
When in a non-physical realm, a visitor either contributes to

Dying in Non-Material Realms
or is fully responsible for (depending on the realm) how that In Brief- Dying in the non-material worlds is bad.
realm is experienced. The experience of the realm is based
on what the visitor believes will happen and is capable of
comprehending. When a visitor runs into a brick wall they
bounce off because that’s what they’re used to.
Dying as a Physical Being- In the larger non-material
realms there are Reapers, mostly ones who came here by
accident and couldn’t find their way back. When someone M
A
dies in the non-material realms, a reaper comes for them,
However, even untrained individuals can use their WIL to but it is visible to any observers, and it tears a transparent
change how things work in the non-physical realms. The semi-physical soul from the dead body, stuffing it into a
S
easiest thing to change is how one’s body acts: change one’s visible portal to the Land of the Dead. In other words, it’s
appearance, strength, become able to fly or walk through the same thing that happens when someone dies in this
walls, etc. The next most difficult (+10 difficulty) is to world, except anyone around can see it.
T
change the environment, e.g. make a wall suddenly have a
door. The most difficult to change is how another intelligent Dying as a Disembodied Spirit- When a persons’
being’s body behaves. Changing another being is +20 consciousness leaves his or her body and flies around this
E
difficulty and the being that is effected can make an opposed world (see the Journeying skill) or travels through the
WIL roll. other worlds (most often in dreams and the subconscious)
a small part of the spirit remains in the body. The soul
R
The difficulty of changing the environment depends on the is located in two places at once and the body, although
malleability of that realm (see table). unconscious, keeps breathing and pumping blood.
S
WIL + 1d20 difficulty + to Even though a soul is immortal, it will, out of habit,
Realm to change supernatural respond to injuries the same way a human body does.
self/environment/others skill rolls The soul won’t die, but it can become temporarily
incapacitated and, worse still, loose its connection to the
Land of the
Dead, Deserted physical body. This leaves the soul stuck outside of its
40/50/60 +20 body (unless the PC has the Body Invasion skill) and the
City, Void,
O
Citadel body will be brain dead.
Subconsciouses,
30/40/50 +30
Bubbles
N
Random
Dreams 20/30/40 +40 Otherworldly
Destination
L
Example: Ginny and Amanda are stuck in a bubble. Ginny 01-17: Deserted City
decides that this place must not be real and tries to effect the 18-29: Void
bubble. First she tries to conjure a pistol out of thin air. She 30-42: Citadel
Y
rolls WIL +1d20 but doesn’t meet the 40 difficulty. Next she
43-59: Land of the Dead
tries to will herself the ability to fly but this time her difficulty
60-62: Surgeon’s Lab
is only 30 and she makes it.
63-79: Subconscious
Encouraged, Amanda tries to use her Nihilistic Rage skill. 80-92: Dream
She rolls WIL + 1d20 and gets 23. Because of the malleable 93-00: Bubble
The Rules of Other Worlds 249

In Dark
The Deserted City
G
In Brief- Strange deserted city with occasional monsters is almost completely silent. If one holds still one can hear
and powerful artifacts. the wind whistling through the streets, and when the wind
pauses one can hear faint sobs of pain that sound like they
A
The city will appear differently to each group that travels are coming from every direction. The ground also seems
there. To a group of hunter-gatherers that have never seen to vibrate or pulse slightly.
a city it would look like a massive deserted encampment, in
M
an endless forest clearing, filled with huge huts. To a group The architecture of the city is grand, gothic and beautiful.
from Japan, the city would take on a slightly Japanese All the buildings are solid colors, mostly grays, whites
flavor. For instance, some of the rooms inside buildings and blacks. The architecture is complex with many
E
would have sliding screens and tatami mats. However, to crenelations, ledges, balconies, spires and fire escapes.
those familiar with Western cities (even if they’re kids from The style of architecture is indeterminable, but definitely
the countryside who have only seen cities on TV), this is old. The buildings are grand, like a city that was once
how the deserted city appears: very wealthy before being hit by a prolonged depression.
The city seems haphazardly built: no two buildings are
It is always night. It is cold enough to be unpleasant but not the same. Residential, office, shopping and industrial
enough to pose a serious danger. There are streetlights that buildings are intermixed. Buildings are squeezed
M
provide enough light that the PC’s don’t need a flashlight awkwardly into small spaces. New additions hang off of
unless they go underground or inside a building. The city buildings.
A
S
T
E
R
S
O
N
L
Y
Alleys
The whole city looks like it has been abandoned for decades. of an infected wound. At the center of this area is a ring
Windows are cracked. Paint is peeling. Signs are faded to of ruined buildings that look like they were decimated
unreadability. Doors are barely hanging on to rusted hinges. by an earthquake. Inside that ring is a patch of shattered
G
Dead weeds choke every crack in the pavement. Dried mud rubble, in the middle of which is a pool of blood and puss
on the sidewalks and the sides of buildings show evidence which is pierced by a huge, black, tree-trunk shaped thing
of past floods. Inside buildings, everything is covered with sitting at an angle. The thing is three stories tall and 20
dust. Except for the dim and flickering streetlights, there is
A
no power anywhere. Phone lines are all dead. ft. (6 m.) in diameter. Its surface is covered with bumps,
cracks, barbs and jagged outcroppings. It is very hot (one
There are no vehicles and almost no personal belongings. can see steam bubbling up where it touches the blood and
M
There is not even much trash. It looks like everybody in the puss). People who touche it will have their body slowly
city packed up everything that wasn’t nailed down and left. necrotize (die, turn black and rot) starting at the spot
where they touched the thing and slowly consuming the
E
Visitors might be able to convince themselves that this is an rest of their body.
ordinary city which was deserted because of some sudden
economic downturn. The observant, however, will notice
many abnormal things about the city.
Writing: When the PCs can find a sign that’s not too
Deserted City Sewers
faded to read, the text is just words like “pain” “horror” and In Brief- Blood, black poison, mysterious figures stuck
“death” repeated over and over again. in sewer walls.
Inconstant Space: Buildings are sometimes smaller or
bigger on the inside than they are on the outside. Visitors
trying to map the city or keep track of their route will find
The sewers are made from concrete and large enough
for humans to walk through. The walls are warm and M
A
that when they come back to a place it will be completely seem to pulse gently. The air is warm and moist. The
different. tunnels are an endless maze of forks, gates, sudden drops,
smaller tunnels branching off or emptying into bigger
S
No Contact: GPS systems, compasses and cell phones
don’t work. Radios play a woman sobbing on every tunnels, ladders leading up and down and tiny control
frequency. rooms with old-style gauges and dials that have no power
going to them. Old yellow bulbs light the sewers dimly.
T
Generic: PCs will be unable to find a brand name, serial
number or barcode on any item, even on appliances. In fact, Warm blood flows along the bottom of the tunnels, in
there is very little writing on anything. some places a trickle and in others a gushing stream.
PCs can follow the blood upstream or downstream
E
No Street Signs: There are no readable street signs. They
forever and will never find its source or final destination.
are all rusted through or missing.
Interspersed in the tunnels are Deserted City creatures.
No Day: No matter how long the PC’s wait, day will The sounds of a woman sobbing in pain are louder here
R
never break. than above, though their source is still unidentifiable.
There is occasionally a rumbling sound and the tunnels
Despite the observer-relative nature of the Deserted City, it
shake as if a subway train is passing but the sewer tunnels
is not a hallucination. Everything there means something,
S
no matter how a human happens to perceive it. Every inch never lead to any subway tunnel or station.
of road, every building, every torn poster, every piece of
trash blowing in the wind is part of the Deserted City. Occasionally explorers will hear a noise of something
breaking in the distance. A black fluid which smells of
Treasures of the City- PCs who search through the city rotting flesh will start to displace the blood. The speed of
may find intriguing things. Some things the PCs will find the flow and level of the liquid will rise quickly. Like the
O
in plain view look like nothing special (e.g. a piece of trash, black thing from the Wound (above) if visitors touch the
an old nail, a handful of dead weeds). Others are personal liquid they will die of progressive necrosis. The flow will
items, tools or mementos, of the people who lived in the city. slow down and stop within a few minutes.
Not one is in plain view. Most are hidden away. They may
N
be in a box on top of a rafter, wrapped up in paper under a
If visitors travel very far down into the sewers they stand
floorboard, taped to the underneath of a shelf, etc.
a chance of discovering a tall chamber or tunnel with
L
See Artifacts of the Deserted City, p.245, for more. what looks like a naked human half-embedded in the
wall. The human might be of any race or gender and
will appear physically perfect, despite being coated with
The Wound
Y
mud, grime and mold. The figure is gasping and jerking
as if in terrible pain, eyes unfocused and mouth open. If
In Brief- A big black, toxic thing pierces part of the city. visitors scream at it or attack it the figure may look at
them briefly before forgetting they are there. The body
Somewhere in the Deserted City is an area where blood and will not communicate in any way. The bodies cannot
puss oozes out of cracks in the streets. The ground is warm be freed from the walls they are sticking out of and any
to the touch and the whole area has the sweet, pungent smell injuries they take will heal instantly.
The Deserted City 251

In Dark
Creatures of the Deserted City
In Brief- Strange alien things in the city.
The vast majority of the Deserted City is empty, but

if one wanders enough one may encounter a strange,
inhuman creature.
Although most will appear to the PCs as flesh-and-

blood entities, the creatures of the Deserted City
are more like robots: they were built by the city’s
inhabitants as either an experiment, as a work of
art or to do a job. When the city was emptied they
were left behind. Some are still going about their
duties, or trying to, others are waiting for commands
or for whatever event will trigger their behaviors.
For the most part they are completely oblivious
to everything except that which they were created
to do. Some will confuse PCs with their masters,
others will see them as strange beings, others
won’t notice the PCs at all. Some are frightened
of everything and will hide if they see a human. A
minority are openly hostile, attacking any intelligent
being on sight.
Their actions and their motives are almost always

incomprehensible to PCs, whose understanding of
the Deserted City is so shallow that the creatures
seem to be doing random nonsense, if anything at
all. It is as if they were robots programmed by an
insane person.
This randomness makes them dangerous: they

might kill a PC by accident because a PC happened
to get in the way as they were doing their duty,
or because the PC looked to them like something
they were meant to eliminate. What a Deserted
City creature might think is just a playful jab or
a poke to get attention might kill a fragile human.
Deserted City creatures certainly aren’t concerned
with the safety of humans, since those who created
them were immortal. A PC might accidentally
‘activate’ one of these creatures by touching it or
saying something near it. A Deserted City creature
might, for no discernible reason, reach out and kill
a person. Or, a dozen children might play on a
Deserted City creature like a jungle gym for a year
with no reaction.
anatomy, a biologist would find their anatomies either
Some Deserted City creatures can be damaged by heat, pointless or impossible. One may, for instance, have a
cold, radiation, electricity and poison, others can’t. head floating inches from its body, or have no orifices for
eating and breathing, etc.
Every Deserted City creature is unique in appearance,
-They do not necessarily obey the laws of gravity,
behavior and abilities. They do have some things in
momentum and conservation of mass and energy.
common:
-None speak any human language. Many speak in an
-Most are around human size (between 4 and 10 ft. tall).
alien tongue.
-None look human, although most have at least some
-They can be killed by bladed or blunt damage,
human-looking parts.
although it takes several times more damage than it would
-Although they have what appears to be biological take to kill a human.

Alleys
The Triangle, A Deserted City Creature
Appearance- When folded up it appears to be a 5 ft. (1.5 m.) tall triangular-shaped column, floating about a foot off the ground.
The column is made up of human-like flesh which shows many veins, pockmarks, pimples, wrinkles and grime. It bulges and
contracts slowly in a breathing rhythm. When it opens it unfurls into a roughly square sheet of flesh that is covered with faces on
one side. The faces are androgynous and somewhat misshapen. They all make a gurgling whining noise and they drool. The eyes
stare, tracking humans. The facial muscles are slack.
Attributes- AGY 10, AWR 5, CHM 0, END 20, SPD 25, STH 25, WIL 15, BLD 10, BDY 0, INCY 10.
Behavior- If anyone comes near enough to touch it the triangle will open up, waiting to interact. If the person nearest it turns away
from the triangle it will spin through the air so that it stays directly in front of that person. If the person backs away the triangle
will not follow and after a while it will fold itself up again. If the person speaks while facing it, the triangle will fold around the
D
person and the faces will start screaming gibberish at the person at increasing volume until the person, first, goes permanently
deaf, second, dies of brain hemorrhaging and, finally, liquefies entirely and pours out the bottom. The whole time the volume
outside the triangle does not surpass that of a normal human scream. The triangle does not think it is hurting the person. It is
merely interacting as it was designed to. If the PCs inflict significant damage (e.g. 5+ bladed damage) to the inside or outside of
O
the triangle, it will think it has done something wrong. It will release the individual and start again from the open position. It will
not get angry or scared.
Abilities- Immune to pain/stun, blinding, knockout, knockdown, crippling and vital strike attacks.
Typical Attack- First it will enfold around the person, a grab at AGY (10) + STH (25) +10 (paper beats rock) +1d20 vs. 25 (or
1d20 +20 vs. 0). Then it will start a sonic attack which will temporarily deafen within 1 round, permanently deafen within 2
rounds, do 1 BLD damage within 3 rounds and double damage every round thereafter (2, 4, 8, 16, etc.).
The Void N
In Brief- Infinite empty blackness surrounds the city. despite there being no light sources, all non-void objects
or beings are illuminated by a moderately-bright, diffuse O
T
light.
Surrounding the Deserted City is a tall brick wall. Beyond
the wall is the Void: unending blackness that stretches on The Void is nearly empty, but every once in a while a
into infinity in every direction. Anyone who ventures into wanderer may find personal items dropped by Deserted
the Void will find it has a floor. The floor is perfectly smooth City explorers (see p.245) or Deserted City creatures
(although not slippery), makes no noise when one steps that wandered out there and got lost (see previous page).
on it and is invisible because it is as perfectly black as the
R
Some of the creatures in the void have been hiding there
sky. The void is room-temperature, there is no wind, and since the city was deserted.
The Citadel E
A
In Brief- Also in the void is a huge concrete citadel seconds. Their faces look like human faces except their
containing monsters and a deformed giant overlord. mouths and eyes are open wide. Their skin is pale. If they
should happen to see a human they will start screaming
loudly, causing more to appear. When the humans are
D
Apart from the Deserted City there is one other major island greatly outnumbered they will descend upon the humans,
in the void’s sea of emptiness: a huge concrete structure that grabbing them and tearing them apart.
looks like a cross between a castle and a prison. It’s made up
of several attached buildings with several very tall towers. At the center of the complex is a circular throne room
The architecture is part gothic, part utilitarian industrial, with a giant throne. Jutting out of the floor in front of the
part insane angles. There are coils of razor wire under throne is an oval metal pedestal with a hole in the top.
every window and along every roof. The only entrance is a
huge metal gate, itself the size of the house, which is almost At most hours of the day there is a giant creature sitting
always closed. on the throne, hunched over the pedestal with its one eye
pressed up to the hole. The creature is about 100 ft. (30
Inside are huge halls, large enough for a giant to move m.) high. It’s human shaped. It wears long black robes
through. Along the ceilings are railings with sliding casters that cover everything other than its head and hands. Its
that attach to huge metal hooks. Floating through the head is covered by a white porcelain mask showing a
citadel at random intervals are citadel servants. These are beautiful androgynous face with a beatific expression.
androgynous creatures of vaguely human appearance. They There’s a single eyehole in the mask and behind it a
are about twice the size of a human. They have no legs or lidless bloodshot eye supported by a mass of red gore.
genitals and float along the ground. Their heads revolve One sleeve ends in a porcelain hand, the other ends in a
360 degrees, making a complete turn about once every 2 scabby, bony, deformed claw.
The Citadel 253

In Dark
A steady procession of citadel servants float up to the appear asleep and are breathing slowly. They look like a
figure, speak to it in an alien language and receive terse, random selection of every age, ethnic group and physical
angry replies from the figure. The figure talks in a cracking condition. Every once in a while a body will shudder,
G
voice that alternates between low and high tones. Having sometimes make a groan, and the movement will cause
received their replies the citadel servants float away. machinery around and above it to break, bringing a horde
of engineers.
A
If the figure notices the human explorers it can kill them
instantly with a thought and paralyze their souls with pain If visitors are lucky, they may see the body of someone
until a servant can drag the souls off to the land of the they know or they may see giant versions of their own
M
dead. bodies. Bodies of the Touched seem slightly more restless
than most of the others (as do the bodies of babies and
There are several doors scattered throughout the citadel, children). The bodies cannot be awakened or killed.
E
each about 20 ft. (6 m.) tall, which lead to different locations Injuries heal almost instantly.
in our realm, the invisible, the deserted city, the void, and
the land of the dead.
Typical Engineer
The Machinery Appearance- A human sized spider made out
M
of a jumbled mass of rusty iron beams, engines,
In Brief- Filled with anachronistic machines, spider-like pneumatic pistons, circuit boards, vacuum tubes,
workers and impaled sleeping giants. etc. At the end of its many arms are buzz-saws,
A
pincers, arc-welders, pneumatic wrenches and
There are several pits in the floor around the citadel other tools.
that lead to a massive underground space. The space is Attributes- AGY 25, AWR 2, CHM 0, END 50,
S
sweltering, filled with steam and smoke, and there is an INL 7, SPD 10, STH 35, WIL 20. Will stop working
omnipresent roar of machinery. As far as the eye can see in after taking 15 bladed or 20 blunt damage.
every direction (including down) there is a lattice-work of
machinery that combines every type of tech known to the Behavior- Engineers spend every hour of every day
T human visitors: steam pipes, gears and chains, old vacuum crawling around the machinery, using their multiple
tubes, computer circuits. Ladders and walkways criss- limbs to adeptly move in the three-dimensional
cross the space, giving access to all the machinery. Yellow space, looking for broken machinery to fix. If they
E
light bulbs give a diffuse light to the space. At intervals see humans they are programmed to attack.
are binocular shaped viewers attached to a circuit boards. Psychology- Engineers know how the machinery
Looking through one a person will see pixilated, amber-
R
is supposed to work and they are very creative
and-black, bird’s-eye views of our world. about working around problems. They do not
communicate but will work together to fix large
Explorers who are not careful about what they touch will be problems. They do not understand what humans
S
badly burned or electrocuted. Even careful visitors can be are or what they are capable of, they only know that
killed by an unexpected gout of steam or arc of electricity. humans are a danger to the machinery and should
be stopped and disassembled.
Crawling around the machinery are ‘engineers’: shambling
Special Abilities
spider-like masses of the same technological anachronisms
that the machinery is made of. Engineers will attack any -Can climb at full SPD (no roll required).
O
human they see, impaling them and welding or bolting them -Has tools capable of doing 7 bladed or 5 burn
to the machinery. damage (range 4).
-Immune to pain/stun, knockout, vital strikes.
N
Occasionally one might see a part of the machinery that Only weapons capable of doing 5 damage can do
looks like a bomb went off: the machinery is twisted, Crippling Attacks.
melted, charred and shattered. These places are usually -Can repair damage to itself at a rate of one point
L
swarming with engineers trying to fix them and stop the per round.
escape of steam and fluids.
Typical Attack- An impaling strike (does 5 damage
and makes the victim unable to dodge or jump) at
Y
Dozens of stories down is a blood-soaked concrete floor
covered with rows of huge bodies. They’re about 20 1d20 vs. 5, then strikes with weapons at 1d20 vs.
ft. tall, naked and have human anatomy. The rows of 0.
bodies merge into the vanishing point in every direction. Typical Reaction- A block at 1d20 vs. 10.
Each body has hundreds of wires, pipes and gear shafts
impaling them through blood encrusted holes. The bodies

Alleys
The Land of the Dead
G
A
M
E
M
A
S
T
E
R
S
In Brief- Souls of recently deceased humans forced to from the air, bursts up from the ground or scampers down
march down a cold dark canyon, harassed by monsters if from the rocky outcroppings. The monsters don’t kill but
O
they stop, until they forget everything they know. they do carry victims away, torture and mutilate them and
then drop them back on the road later.
The souls of the recently deceased find themselves dropped,
N
without comment, in this place. The Land of the Dead is As people head down the road they begin to forget things:
always dark: there is no sun, moon or stars, yet somehow at first its old memories, but then they begin to forget
there is enough light to allow people to make out each others’ things like their name, and then it’s things like their
L
silhouettes. A roaring wind blows constantly, making so language. As their minds dissolve so do their physical
much noise that people can rarely make themselves heard. features. Their faces become nothing more than open
mouths and staring eyes. The skin becomes pale, then
Y
The dead find themselves on a rock-strewn dirt road. The translucent. By the end of the journey the person has
road is wide and filled with people, all naked. On the sides become nothing more than a human shaped wisp floating
of the road, rocky outcroppings rise up into darkness. All down the road, ignorant of nothing but the desire to keep
the traffic on the road is going in one direction. Anyone who moving. At the end the wisps walk over an edge into a pit
stops, falls behind, goes in the wrong direction or tries to and are pulled through into our realm.
scale the rocks is attacked by a monster that swoops down
Land of the Dead 255

In Dark
The purpose of the Land of the Dead is to keep people too A few have managed to fight against the Land of the
distracted to think about themselves and what’s happening Dead. Most were mystics who were able to overcome the
to them. Without physical neurons to keep knowledge, discomfort, confusion and fear and keep their minds on
memory becomes an act of will. If they weren’t distracted what they wanted to remember. Most make it with only a
they could concentrate on keeping what they are losing. few scattered memories. One in a million is able to retain
Instead their memories, knowledge and personality simply enough memories that in the next life they can retain skills,
fade away. By the time they reach the end they are ready to knowledge and personality from one life to the next.
be put into a fetus.
S Subconsciouses
T In Brief- People’s internal subconscious worlds are, to a in the subconscious they want. The majority of the
subconscious is not the realm of any psychodynamic.
O
degree, real.
Everyone has a subconscious. Wonderlanders have their The Halls of Memory- All the person’s memories are
subconsciouses frozen into a theme so that throughout stored here. The halls of memory typically take the
P
a lifetime the places and things there look the same to form of a long hallway. Behind each door a memory
visitors. For non-Wonderlanders the subconscious is more plays itself out over and over again. Details that cannot
like a dream: a surreal mishmash of old memories, recent be remembered are dark or hidden behind a grey mist.
memories and imagination. The subconscious and its Actors in the memory will try to ignore visitors. If
inhabitants change in form as years pass. visitors forcefully change the way the memory is going
then that person’s memories become permanently altered.
Subconsciouses are bubbles of semi-reality floating in The doorways are not marked, yet the doors tend to open
the void outside this reality. Every person with a soul up on the memories the visitors are looking for. Some
and a conscious self that interacts with this world has a doors have locks, bars, booby-traps and/or alarms on
them. These are repressed memories and the Ego patrols
G
subconscious. They contain everything which the conscious
self is not conscious of. It is a non-physical realm: it only them whenever it gets a chance.
takes physical shape when a viewer or visitor from the
physical realm forces it to do so. Doors of Perception- The Ego guards a gateway to the
O
conscious mind. This is often represented by streams,
There are a few people, including the severely autistic, who pneumatic rubes, conveyor belts, phone lines, mail slots,
do not have a conscious self. Instead they live in what we etc., that pass through a wall that represents the end of
would call a subconscious. Since the person knows little of the subconscious. Streams of information coming from
the laws of this world, the subconscious and what happens every realm of the subconscious (these are emotions,
in it are extremely surreal when viewed by a person more drives and intuition) and streams of information from
the sense organs and the halls of memory all meet at the
A
versed in the laws of this world.
Doors of Perception. A psychodynamic or visitor who
steals a sensation or memory can keep the conscious self
Geography from becoming aware of or remembering something.
W
Alternately, by forcing the sensation or memory through
one can make sure the conscious self becomes aware of
In Brief- Psychodynamics have their own realms; there that thing. Tampering with information from the halls
A
is a place where memories are kept and a gateway to of memory of sense organs will cause hallucinations or
consciousness guarded by the Ego. delusions.
Y
Space and location are not constant in the subconscious. The Ego runs back and forth trying to control what
For example, a forest clearing may appear only a few goes through. Sometimes the Ego panics and locks
hundred feet from the outside, a hundred miles from within. up whole sections of the doors of perception, causing
However, places tend to have the same relationship with each hysterical blindness or deafness (stopping sensory input),
other: the doors of perception, hall of memories and Super dissociation (stopping emotions) or psychogenic amnesia
Ego’s realm are all near each other and are on the edge of the (locking down the halls of memory). Getting something
subconscious. One the opposite end of the subconscious are past the Ego means either convincing the Ego to allow it
the Reptile and Id’s realms. In most cases this geography is through, sneaking past the Ego or fighting past the Ego.
vertical, with the doors of perception at the very top and the
Id’s realm at the bottom of an underground labyrinth. Any visitor or psychodynamic who can manage to force
themselves through the doors of perception can force
Each psychodynamic (except the Stranger) has its own the conscious self into unconsciousness and take control
realm. A psychodynamic’s realm matches the personality of conscious self’s body. The conscious self gets an
of that psychodynamic. Psychodynamics spend most of opposed WIL roll to resist.
their time in their own realms, but can travel anywhere

Alleys
The Reptiles Realm- Somewhere in the subconscious is
a realm where nature rules. It could be a swamp, forest,
grassland, etc. The ecosystem may be fantastic and not
Dreams
resemble any on Earth, but there are a few constants: there In Brief- Dreams slightly real; can be dangerous for
is edible plant life, there are animals and there are predators lucid dreamers; can be a window on the subconscious.
large enough to hunt visitors.
When humans dream, the belief of their souls in these
The Id’s Realm- The realm of the Id is one in which scenes create transitory pockets of semi-reality. These
S
physical pleasures are everywhere. There is always food pockets are impermanent, disappearing quickly after the
(usually candy) available in copious quantities, everything person stops believing in them. What happens in them
is soft and comfortable, and the weather is perfect. Yet as usually has little effect on our world. They are the most
T
one goes further into the realm, the semblance of physical malleable of realities: any being in them with a WIL can
reality breaks down: the number, size, location, color and change their shape.
other physical attributes of things are constantly changing,
O
first slowly then, as one travels deeper, more quickly. For most dreamers, dreams are not dangerous. Dreamers
Objects start to blur together, sticking together or passing can be hurt and killed in their dreams and the worst that
through each other. Next bodies begin to merge into their will happen is that they will wake up with a fright. The
P
environment: visitors become unable to tell where they reason they are relatively immune is that only a limited
end and their surroundings begin. Knowledge of the self part of their consciousness, and thus a limited part of their
as a unique entity begins to dissolve until the person is lost soul, is in the dream world. Similarly, although Dreams
forever, consumed in a wash of meaningless sensation. PCs often contain portals to other realms, ordinary dreamers
can fight the ‘melting’ with WIL rolls, but doing so requires cannot travel through them because not enough of their
uninterrupted concentration and the difficulty rises as souls exist in the dream body to differentiate it from the
visitors near the center of the realm. rest of the dream.
At the very center (or bottom) everything is a wash of However, lucid dreamers (those who are aware that
chaotic and unconnected sensations. To keep one’s body they are dreaming and can exert their will on the dream
G
intact requires a legendary (40) WIL roll and to keep one’s world) have more of their soul in the dream world and
sense of self requires a hard (30) WIL roll. If one can find can actually be killed if their dream bodies are killed (see
a way to go below (or beyond) this zone, however, one will Dying in Non-Material Realms, p.249) and can travel
O
find oneself moving through the void of dreamless sleep: a through portals into other realms.
black, silent, windless space. If one can traverse this then
one will emerge from an orifice in a body at the bottom Dreamers can become lucid in three ways: by learning
of the machinery of the Citadel (p.252) that resembles the to become lucid (see the Dreaming skill), by a visitor to
subconscious’ conscious self. the dream realm who reminds the
Typical Trouble dreamer that he or she is dreaming,
A
Troubles- Miscellaneous worries or, rarely, by a spontaneous
that the person has not dealt Appearance- A severed head with an accident.
with consciously take the form angry, brutish face and sharp teeth.
W
Moves by hopping.
of small predatory monsters that There is no wall between dreams
roam the subconscious. They will Attributes- AGY 7, AWR 4, CHM 0, and the subconscious as there is
attack anyone they come across. END 10, INL 1, SPD 5, STH 7, WIL 4, between the subconscious and
A
Individually, they are rarely a danger BLD 2, BDY 2, INCY 0. consciousness. Messages from
to visitors, but sometimes they swarm. Psychology- The Trouble is mean. It psychodynamics, troubles and
Their form is dependent on the themes chases after and attacks anything it can, traumas, and sometimes even
Y
of the subconscious, yet most are the even if that thing is bigger and meaner psychodynamics themselves can
size of a dog or cat and have an ugly than it. It will only flee if nearly dead. slip into dreams. The Ego is almost
It has no life other than bouncing around
or monstrous appearance with some the subconscious looking for things to powerless to stop them from getting
sort of natural weapon. They have the bite. through to dreams, but can throw
intelligence of a small animal. up disguises over them, turning
Typical Attack- A split jump (into them into something else. A trauma
range), strike and grab with its teeth
Major traumas, secrets and fears at 1d20 vs. 5. A successful strike does may become a ticking bomb, a
take the form of giants. They are 1 bladed damage. Once grabbed the psychodynamic may become an
malevolent, happy to smash anyone Trouble will continue chomping (doing old friend, etc. Lucid dreamers
they can, but their size makes them 1 bladed damage per round, no roll who grab ahold of disguised dream
clumsy and imprecise. Each giant has needed) until removed. objects and characters can tear off
a unique appearance and personality. Typical Reaction- A jump (out of the disguises, revealing their true
range) at 1d20 vs. 0. natures.
Subconsciouses 257
In Dark
Psychodynamics The Origin of the Subconscious
and Psychodynamics
G
In Brief- Live in the subconscious, make up elements of human At first you had no knowledge of self or not
personality, can become diseased/insane. self. There was only comfort and discomfort.
The desire to have physical pleasures and
A
Psychodynamics are as intelligent as the conscious self (sometimes more avoid discomforts was the Id. The Id was
so), although their personalities and behaviors are completely one-sided. thoughtless, shapeless, primeval desire, willing
They only care about one thing and are unable to understand anyone who to do anything no matter the consequences.
M
cares about anything else. The relationship between psychodynamics is Yet when you left the womb, some sensations
like that between nations: when they have interests in common they work excited the knowledge that was programmed
together and when their interests are counter to each other they try to hurt into you by evolution. You had basic drives
each other. There is no law in the subconscious, only the Ego who tries
E
that were beyond the simple hedonism of the
to act as a mediator. Id, and these drives formed the Reptile.
Corruption- Sometimes psychodynamics become corrupted. As you grew older you learned that doing
Psychodynamics can become corrupted by being severely injured in some things got you yelled at or spanked. You
combat, by exerting themselves to complete exhaustion, or by being memorized your parents’ rules and to remind
you of them you created a little internal parent
brutally and ruthlessly suppressed by the other psychodynamics for long
to nag you. This was the Super Ego.
M
periods.
Yet you were at war with yourself. The Id,
A corrupted psychodynamic looks ill or crazy and acts insane. Specifically Reptile and Super Ego all wanted you to
A
it’s paranoid, delusional, cruel, hateful and prone to extreme and suddenly do different things. As the Super Ego grew
shifting moods. A corrupted psychodynamic’s realm is filled with rot, more sophisticated it started getting angry,
poison, insects or whatever else represents corruption and disease to the not just at things you did but at things you
conscious self. wanted and felt. A mediator was created,
S
the Ego. The Ego built a wall between you
Psychodynamics can usually heal themselves from any injury, but and the unacceptable thoughts and desires
corruption is an injury they are unable to heal. The injury takes the so you could still have them but not upset the
T
form of something poisonous or pestilent stuck in the psychodynamic or Super Ego by being conscious of them. It also
created your first ever self-concept: the idea of
in the heart of the psychodynamic’s realm. Removing it will allow the
a single unified person rather than a chaos of
psychodynamic to heal (a process that can take weeks) but doing so is so conflicting desires.
E
painful that the psychodynamic will resist in every way possible.
As you got older you became more sensitive to
Fighting Psychodynamics- If one can travel into a person’s subconscious what was expected of you. You learned you
it is possible to hurt that person’s psychodynamics. The psychodynamics were one gender and you were supposed to
R
can be hurt by attacking them physically or by doing extreme damage to act like that one gender and not the others, so
their realms. Combat in the subconscious is virtually the same as combat you created an internal model of the opposite
in the real world, except that a psychodynamic’s “BLD” is a function gender, the Animus or Anima, that would
S
of its Psych STH. Hitting a psychodynamic with a club, for example, contain all those thoughts and feelings you
will reduce its Psych STH, making it less able to assert its will over the were not allowed.
conscious self’s behavior. If the psychodynamic is brought to 0 psych Similarly you learned certain thoughts and
STH it will appear to die and that element of the person’s personality will feelings were “evil” and you learned to
cease functioning. suppress them behind the subconscious, where
they formed the Shadow.
O
As long as the psychodynamic’s realm remains, that psychodynamic,
even one brought to 0 psych STH, will heal 1 point of Psych STH per Later, you learned that life contains suffering,
week. The only way to permanently kill a psychodynamic from inside the but that life can end. While your Reptile told
subconscious is to incapacitate it and completely decimate its realm. you to fear death, some other part of you grew
N
to want what it hoped would be an end to
life’s trials. That part was quickly suppressed
Visitors to a subconscious can also temporarily trap or tie up a into your subconscious and became your
psychodynamic and thus keep it from doing its job.
L
Thannatos.
Visitors can also corrupt a psychodynamic. This can be done by finding Finally, at some point you became aware of
some terrible, poisonous, diseased or cursed object (usually a part of or your own ignorance. You learned there was
Y
refuse from a Trauma) and impaling the psychodynamic with it or burying a world of things out there you did not yet
it in the heart of the psychodynamic’s realm. understand. This knowledge led to fear of the
unknown, but it also created a new source of
From outside the subconscious, psychodynamics can be destroyed via H- hope: that the solution to your problems might
Tech (see Fulfillment Dynamics, p.222), brain surgery or by completely lie in the dark reaches of that which you do
integrating that part of one’s personality into one’s conscious mind (see not yet know. This commingled fear and hope
became your Stranger.
p.259).

Alleys
Integrating Psychodynamics- A few very extreme
mystical and psychological practices can integrate Typical Id
the knowledge and desires of a psychodynamic Most Common Appearance- A house-sized, obese baby with a mouth
G
into consciousness. Once the conscious self takes full of sharp fangs.
responsibility for everything that a psychodynamic does, Attributes- AGY 1, AWR 1, CHM 0, END 100, INL 1, SPD 15, STH
that psychodynamic ceases to exist. The psychological 40, WIL 2, 5 BLD per psych STH.
energy that the psychodynamic was made from is
A
Social Status- Other psychodynamics know they cannot negotiate with
transferred to the conscious mind. The conscious self’s the Id. They try to stay out of its way and they ready themselves to try
WIL increases (approximately +1 WIL per 5 psych STH to fight it off if it corners them. Mostly they try to misdirect it: offering
freed). If the WIL is increased to superhuman levels it some little thing it wants to keep it away from what they don’t want
M
(more than 20), then other attributes rise as well. Each it to find.
point above 20 gives 5 additional attribute points that Behavior- It stomps around the subconscious eating anything it can
can increase other non-WIL attributes above the 20 find and relieving itself wherever it wants. It can talk using simple
E
maximum. language but will be unwilling to say anything except demands for
things it wants. It is curious. It hates pain and discomfort and will flee
Advanced Androgynes can integrate their Anima or from anything that hurts it.
Animus. Advanced practitioners of ascetic mystical Psychology- The Id is pure and unrestrained desire. It is completely
systems (including Cannibals) may be able to eliminate selfish, only caring about its own pleasure and comfort. It does not plan
the Id. People who practice unrestrained fulfillment of for the future, has no fear of death and does not try to make allies.
their desires become complete sociopaths and lose both
Special Abilities- The Id can heal 1 psychic STH (5 BLD) per round.
M
their Shadows and Super Egos. The Id has a bite that does 4 bladed damage.
Example: An advanced Androgyne completely eliminates Typical Attack- First a Grab at STH (40) + AGY (1) +1d20 vs. 25 (or
hir gender identity. The Anima had 5 Psych STH, the 1d20 +16 vs. 0), then, as the next action, a bite (no roll necessary if the
A
Animist gains 1 WIL. This changes the Androgyne’s WIL grab has been maintained) doing 4 bladed damage.
from 20 to 21, giving hir 5 additional attribute points. Typical Reaction- The Id makes a simultaneous Knockaway at STH
(40) + AGY (1) + WIL (2) +1d20 vs. 45 (or 1d20 vs. 2). Note: the Id is
For an example of someone with no psychodynamics see
S
at +20 to hit because if its size.
Cleans, p.224.
Id
T
E
R
S
O
N
L
Y
Subconsciouses 259
In Dark
Coming to This Realm- Psychodynamics can
come to this realm in three ways. The easiest is Typical Reptile
to force their way past the Ego, through the doors Most Common Appearance- A human-sized, lizard-like being with
of perception and take over the conscious self’s some human features (e.g. large head, prehensile hands, ability to walk
body. The conscious self gets an opposed WIL save bipedally) and cold, unmoving eyes.
unless it is mentally incapacitated. The next easiest Attributes- AGY 20, AWR 20, CHM 1, END 1, INL 5, SPD 15, STH 10,
way is to find a portal leading to another person’s WIL 5, 2 BLD per Psych STH.
subconscious, fight their way past that person’s Ego
and take over the body of that person. In either of Behavior- It spends most of its day sitting still in the sun somewhere
warm, moving only to grab a piece of food or escape from a predator.
these two cases, the presence of the psychodynamic When it moves, it moves very quickly, showing ease with its
gives the body increased physical abilities (see the surroundings. It never shows emotion. It can speak, if forced to, and
Soul Linked plusses on p.29). speaks with quick, emotionless brevity.
D The most difficult way is for the psychodynamic

to find a portal leading to the physical world. The
Psychology- The Reptile is a being of pure instinct. The closest it has
to emotions are “fight” and “flight” (neither of which are experienced
with the same depth as anger or fear). It does not think in abstractions,
O
psychodynamic emerges as a physical being with the concepts or ideals. It does not want anything other than its own survival
same form and abilities that it has in the subconscious. and the survival of the conscious self.
Despite being in this world, the psychodynamic still
exists, in part, in the person’s subconscious. It Social Status- The Reptile keeps to itself in its own realm whenever
performs its normal functions, although not as well, possible, only occasionally venturing to the Ego’s realm to try to push
and it can still influence the conscious self (see Using something into the person’s consciousness. It rarely comes into conflict
against anyone but the Super Ego.
Psychodynamics, p.129) at half its normal psych
N
STH. Killing the physical manifestation will not Special Abilities- The Reptile reacts with incredible speed, giving it +20
destroy the psychodynamic inside the subconscious, to initiative and +10 to all actions/reactions. It has claws which do 2
only temporarily weaken it. Killing the conscious bladed damage.
self, however, will cause the physical manifestation Typical Attack- Paired Slash with its claws at INL (5) + AGY (20) +10
O
of the psychodynamic to fade out of existence. (special ability) -4 (paired) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +6 vs. 0). If successful
the victim takes a total of 1 point of bladed damage and must make 2
Typical Super Ego opposed saves vs. distracting pain (difficulty 20).
T
Most Common Appearance- A large, angry version Typical Reaction- Dodge at AWR (20) + AGY (20) +10 (special ability)
of whichever parent had the worst temper, or +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +25 vs. 0).
occasionally of both parents melded together into a
single being. It stands about 7 feet (2.1 m.) tall, has Typical Ego
a booming voice and glaring eyes.
Most Common Appearance- The Ego looks like its owner. It wears
Attributes- AGY 10, AWR 20, CHM 5, END 20, simple conservative clothing and has a dour expression on its face.
R
INL 15, SPD 15, STH 30, WIL 20, 3 BLD per psych
STH. Attributes- AGY 15, AWR 20, CHM 15, END 15, INL 15, SPD 10,
STH 10, WIL 20, 2 BLD per Psych STH.
Behavior- It travels around peering over people’s
E
shoulders, rifling through their belongings, glowering Social Status- The Ego is the guard of the gates to the person’s
at them and demanding to know what they have been consciousness and all other psychodynamics need to petition or fight
doing and are planning on doing. the Ego to get something to the person’s consciousness. If the Ego is
incapacitated, the gates between the conscious and subconscious begin
Psychology- The Super Ego is the internalization of
A
to crumble.
society’s laws. It grows angry at any transgression
of those laws. It doesn’t really know why certain Psychology- The Ego is a peacemaker and negotiator, always trying
thoughts and behaviors are wrong, just that they are. to figure out what others want and to find solutions that fit everyone’s
D
It believes that all transgressions must be punished. needs. The Ego is also a secret keeper. It won’t tell people things that
Social Status- The Super Ego finds every might upset them and it feels like it has the right to do anything in its
psychodynamic except the Ego to be suspect and power to protect people from things they don’t need to know. The Ego
thinks of them as enemies. It hates the Shadow worst is an accomplished liar, actor and manipulator.
of all. The Super Ego has a stormy relationship with Behavior- In the subconscious, it patrols the Gates of Perception,
the Ego: sometimes friendly with it and sometimes waiting for others to come petition it, fight it or try to sneak past it. It
hating it. is calm and observant. It speaks in a dry, slightly annoyed tone as if
Special Abilities- The Super Ego can tell when explaining something to an idiot.
people are lying or doing something they feel guilty Special Abilities- The Ego can make anything or anyone, including
about. It grows temporarily larger (+5 STH, +3 itself, appear to be anything or anyone else of roughly equal size or
BLD) each time someone it faces fails a save vs. shape, just by waving its hand at the thing.
fear. It has the equivalent of the skills Torture (3)
and Brain Washing (2). Typical Attack- The Ego will make a surprise attack whenever possible,
making itself look like an ally and attacking with a weapon that doesn’t
Typical Attack- A Grab: Pain at STH (30) + INL look like a weapon. The Ego will make an extended Vital Strike with a
(15) +1d20 vs. 35 (or 1d20 +10 vs. 0). bladed weapon at AGY (15) + INL (15) +5 (extended) +1d20 vs. 35 (or
Typical Reaction- A simultaneous Knockout with 1d20 vs. 0).
fists at STH (30) + AGY (10) + WIL (20) +1d20 vs. Typical Reaction- A dodge at AWR (20) + AGY (15) -10 (extended
50 (or 1d20 +10 vs. 0). action) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 vs. 0).

Alleys
Typical Anima Typical Stranger Typical Shadow
Most Common Appearance- A Most Common Appearance- The shadow
Most Common Appearance- A
larger-than-average mixed-breed is usually the opposite of the conscious
woman in a thin white dress. Her
housecat with shaggy hair, no collar self. If the conscious self dresses
appearance is constantly shifting
and intelligent green eyes. conservatively, the shadow has tattoos
depending on her mood. At and a mohawk. If the conscious self has
times she is young, beautiful and Attributes- AGY 30, AWR 25, CHM
tattoos and a mohawk then the shadow
voluptuous, her lips so full that they 1, END 20, INL 20, SPD 25, STH 5,
dresses in a business suit. Most commonly
part involuntarily. At other times WIL 20, 2 BLD per 1 psych STH. the Shadow is a dirty, disheveled man with
she looks plump and kindly. At Behavior- The Stranger does not have greasy dark hair hanging in his face. The
other times grey streaks appear in its own realm and instead wanders hair hides most of his face in shadow, yet
her hair, her lips scowl and her eyes
D
at will through other’s realms. The one can see angry eyes and a permanent
have a cruel glare. Stranger does not speak, nor does sneer. He has various piercings and
it acknowledge human speech (it tattoos of demons, skulls, swastikas and
Attributes- AGY 15, AWR 20, pentagrams. He wears black leather pants
won’t, for instance, nod yes or no
O
CHM 20, END 15, INL 15, SPD 15, and a leather jacket with an exposed chest.
to a question no matter how much
STH 10, WIL 15, 2 BLD per psych Various weapons are displayed proudly on
it is begged to). It comes and goes
STH. his belt.
as it pleases, appearing out of and
Behavior- She seeks out males, disappearing back into shadows or Attributes- AGY 17, AWR 20, CHM 15,
yet when she interacts with them greenery. It often disappears while the END 25, INL 17, SPD 20, STH 30, WIL 15,
she vacillates between flirting with person who was talking to it is in mid- 2 BLD per psych STH.
sentence. It will yowl or scratch to get
N
them, comforting them and insulting Behavior- The Shadow is aggressive and
them. She mostly ignores other a person’s attention and will lead the
cruel to anyone it meets. Whenever it
females, unless they have done person along, not bothering to look
finds someone it circles them, threatening
something to make her jealous. back to see if the person is actually
and insulting them, trying to provoke a
O
following. reaction. It doesn’t actually torture and
Psychology- This is the repository Psychology- The Stranger has no kill unless the victim has done something
for suppressed ‘feminine’ thoughts interest in common sense, popular to offend or hurt the Shadow or its
T
and behaviors, yet because Western wisdom or anything the conscious conscious self.
cultures subdivide feminine into self already knows. It is constantly Psychology- The Shadow is a compilation
several disparate roles, the Anima searching for new connections, new of all the suppressed traits that would have
has a split personality with a ways of interpreting things, new made the conscious self feel like a ‘bad
seductive side, a mothering side points of view and new sources of person.’ Cruelty is most common among
and a cruel side all trying to make wisdom. It is a ceaseless explorer. It these traits. Also common are arrogance,
themselves heard. rarely thinks in words, although it is sexual ‘perversion,’ prejudice, atheism,
R
capable of understanding language. jealousy, dishonesty and self-hatred. The
Social Status- Other It is never satisfied with any answer; Shadow will never attempt to hide any of
psychodynamics both love and fear it always searches for an even better these traits from anyone, it is intensely
the Anima. They seek out her advice
E
answer. Once if finds an answer that proud of them.
often and stand by to let her take it thinks is valuable it tries to lead the
control when the conscious self is Social Status- The Shadow feels that
conscious self to the same realization.
dealing with women, yet they make many of the other psychodynamics are its
A
ready to defend themselves when Social Status- The Stranger only kin. The Id, Thannatos, Animus/Anima
she comes near in case she flies into rarely communicates with the other and Reptile all represent thoughts, desires
a sudden rage. psychodynamics but when it does and feelings that the Ego and Super Ego
it is typically trying to help them are constantly trying to suppress. The
D
Special Abilities- The Anima is solve some problem. When it goes Shadow is always trying to help and form
at +15 to seduction rolls. She has to the Ego to have something pushed compacts with those psychodynamics.
sharp fingernails capable of doing 2 through to consciousness the Ego The Shadow considers the Super Ego its
bladed damage per swipe. rarely has reason to say no. arch enemy and will attempt to sabotage
anything the Super Ego does.
Special Abilities- The Stranger can
Typical Action- A Paired Slash with prowl, climb and jump at 1d20 +40 Special Abilities- The Shadow is adept at
both hands at INL (15) + AGY (15) vs. difficulty. It can see and hear at no hurting people and gets +15 to crippling,
-4 (paired) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 penalties in any conditions. slash and pain/stun attacks. The Shadow
+1 vs. 0). Does a total of 1 bladed always has at least one weapon on its
damage and victims must make 2 Typical Attack- Split Jump (into person.
moderate (20) difficulty saves vs. range) and Pain/Stun Attack with its
claws at INL (20) + AGY (30) -10 Typical Attack- Crippling attack with a
pain. rusty knife at STH (30) + AGY (17) +15
(split) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 +15 vs.
(special ability) +1d20 vs. 30 (or 1d20 +32
Typical Reaction- A Simultaneous 0).
vs. 0) doing 2½ ragged damage.
Vital Strike with her fingernails at Typical Reaction- Jump (out of
INL (15) + AGY (15) + WIL (15) + Typical Reaction- A Parry with brass
range) at SPD (25) + AGY (30) +
1d20 vs. 55 (or 1d20 vs. 10) doing 4 knuckles at STH (30) + AGY (17) +1d20
1d20 vs. 25 (+10 per extra range unit) vs. 25 (or 1d20 +22 vs. 0).
bladed damage if successful. or 1d20 +30 vs. 0.
Subconsciouses 261
In Dark
Typical Thannatos Typical Animus
Most Common Appearance- A thin, pale, handsome young man Most Common Appearance- A large, muscular,
G
with dark eyes and long black hair, wearing a black suit and a black hairy man with broad shoulders and a cleft chin. He
top-hat. is handsome but has cruel, brutish eyes. He is wearing
a white tank top and blue jeans. He emits a strong,
Attributes- AGY 10, AWR 15, CHM 15, END 15, INL 15, SPD 10, musky scent.
A
STH 15, WIL 15, 2 BLD per psychic STH.
Attributes- AGY 10, AWR 10, CHM 5, END 20, INL
Behavior- The Thannatos spends most of its time sitting somewhere 10, SPD 15, STH 25, WIL 20, 2 BLD per psych STH.
overlooking scenes of death, destruction or decay with calm
M
satisfaction. The Thannatos is moody: cheerful and boyishly Behavior- The Animus struts around, flirting with any
charming when talking about death, dour and depressed when talking female he finds and challenging any male to a fight.
about life. Personality- The Animus is a caricature of what the
E
Psychology- The Thannatos believes that life is suffering with no conscious self’s culture considers masculine. He is
redeeming features and that the best any being can hope for is a quick stubborn, bullying, impatient, arrogant, quick to anger,
and painless death. It likes to hear about anything that has ended: lost crude, brave and has a huge sexual appetite.
civilizations, extinct species, burned-out stars, etc. Social Status- The Animus is mostly well liked by the
Social Status- The Thannatos feels like an outcast in the other psychodynamics except the Super Ego, which is
psychodynamic, that none of the other psychodynamics can understand at constant war against the Animus’ attempts to make
it. The Ego, who shares the Thannatos’ desire to protect the conscious the conscious self act ‘manly.’
M
self from suffering, often listens to the Thannatos’ arguments for death Special Abilities- The Animus gets +10 to seduction
but is rarely ever convinced. rolls.
Special Abilities- While killing someone, the Thannatos can cause
A
Typical Attack- First a Knockdown at STH (25) +
Hard (30) difficulty Euphoria. AGY (10) +1d20 vs. 30 (or 1d20 +5 vs. 0) then, on the
Typical Attack- An extended Grab: Strangulation at STH (15) + AGY next action, a Stomp at SPD (16) + STH (25) +1d20 vs.
(10) +5 (extended) vs. 25 (or 1d20 +5 vs. 0). Once grabbed, the victim 25 (or 1d20 +15 vs. 0) doing 3 blunt damage.
S
must make a hard save vs. Euphoria (WIL + 1d20 vs. 30) to resist. Typical Reaction- Simultaneous Knockdown at 1d20
Typical Reaction- A simultaneous Grab: Strangle at STH (15) + +5 vs. 0.
AGY (10) + WIL (15) -10 (extended) vs. 45 (or 1d20 vs. 15).
T Bubbles
E In Brief- Pockets of reality that suck people in, try to make
-They are repetitive and never refer to things happening
before and after the scene (leaving no room for conjecture
R
them take part in scripted dramas and then destroy them. about what happened before or after).
-They are emotionally and aesthetically gripping.
When humans imagine a scene, that scene ‘exists’ to some
S
limited degree somewhere outside this reality. The more -They are either capable of being easily transferred
strongly the scene resonates with the person, and the more from person to person (e.g. by a story, a poem, a piece
aspects of the person’s consciousness and subconsciousness of artwork) or they can occur independently to different
are excited by the scene, the more ‘real’ the scene becomes. people.
Few scenes are anything more than a ghost, hovering briefly These scenes, called bubbles, accrue such reality that
in the void outside this reality before fading away. They they can effect this world. They float around outside this
never have a chance to effect any other reality. When reality, attracted to people who imagine or experience
O
scenes are shared between minds, each mind interprets things like the scene in the bubble. Once they attach to a
them slightly differently and this discrepancy creates a single human mind they slowly invade this reality.
‘fuzziness’ that bleeds the reality out of most imagined
scenes. Thus a scene in a book read by a million people
N
The bubble is not intelligent, nor are the actors in it. The
has less reality than a scene imagined strongly by a single bubble follows the laws of the universe, drawn mindlessly
person. to minds that imagine things like the scene in a bubble.
The actors inside the bubble are only following a script.
L
Only a very tiny minority of imaged scenes ever increase
in ‘reality’ over time. These scenes have the following Infection- First the scene invades the person’s
properties: subconscious. The person will have nightmares of the
bubble and will find himself or herself doodling icons
Y
-They are extremely simple, leaving little room for
interpretation. from the bubble. Next the scene invades the conscious
mind and the person starts hallucinating scenes from the
-They are limited in geographic scope and never refer bubble in the middle or his or her regular life. These are
to things happening outside the bounds of the scene mostly short glimpses: a fleeting glimpse of something
(leaving no room for conjecture about what is happening down an alley, a voice from behind that says a single
elsewhere). word, a fleeting touch on one’s hand, etc. It is very hard to
tell the difference between these and real stimuli.

Alleys
Next, the bubble starts to effect volatile media around the
person. Audio tapes, TV static, undeveloped film, etc. will Bubbles vs. Dances
start manifesting images or sounds from the bubble.
Bubbles Dances
G
Next, small physical things that are prominent in the bubble Created from strong
will begin to manifest in the real world: e.g. ants, leaves, Created from unexpressed
scenes imagined by
water, etc. At this point the person could, at any time, be emotions left in places.
people.
A
swallowed up whole into the bubble. The victim disappears
from this reality and finds himself or herself the main Powered by the ‘reality’
Powered by the wishes
character in the scene that repeats infinitely in the bubble. given to them by
for self-expression of
M
The scene usually involves the death of the victim or the loss imaginers.
the people who had the
of his or her individuality (he or she become another will- emotions.
less mechanical actor in the bubble).
Not intelligent (move
Intelligent (‘steal’ mental
E
Actors from the bubble can occasionally come to this world, around randomly, attracted
resources from the
usually in pursuit of a victim who managed to escape from to people thinking certain
infected).
the bubble before the completion of the plot. thoughts).
Attack people who Attack people who are
Bubbles usually attach themselves to one victim at a time, imagine things similar to nearby and who are weak or
but they have been known to attach themselves in parallel to the scene in the bubble. willing.
a small group of people who are in close proximity to each
M
other and who are sharing thoughts and feelings. Exist in old abandoned
Exist outside this reality.
buildings.
Surviving a Bubble- If, while a bubble is still infecting a Suck in humans, dissolve Try to repel humans (except
person, the victim gets another person to think about the
A
their free will. those with no free will).
scene, the bubble may detach itself from the first person’s
mind and reattach itself to another. However, after the new Cause ‘remembered’
victim dies, the bubble will once again be floating freely and Cause hallucinations in
thoughts, sensations and
S
if the original victim is reminded of the scene then he or victims.
emotions in victims.
she will once again become a target. Example: Abe reads a
poem and finds himself being sucked into a bubble. He gives Effect physical reality Only the most powerful can
the poem to a friend and the bubble detaches and goes after easily. effect the physical world.
T
the friend. Have ‘characters’ that Have servants (Faustians)
rarely leave the bubble. and will-less slaves.
Being placed in a dreamless coma can keep one from being
E
sucked into a bubble, but only until the person re-awakens. Nearly impossible to Easy to destroy (destroy
destroy (requires a shatter the building or walk around
Alternately, if a victim can completely rid his or her mind or high-level Nihilistic inside) but has many
of imaginings of the scene then the bubble will detach. This rage). defenses.
R
would mean not only complete distraction (or a superhuman Selfish and independent,
act of will) during waking hours, but also destroying Completely independent
but occasionally work with
instances of the scene in one’s subconscious and dreams. and autonomous.
other Dances.
A victim can avoid being absorbed completely by staying
in the company of people who are not targets of the bubble.
Their awareness of the victim’s location in this reality helps
keep that location from changing. Battleground
S
The Scene- The victim is walking in a field covered with
If one is sucked into to a bubble, the only way one can dead soldiers in European WWII uniforms. The field is
O
survive is to create an experience, both in action and wet, muddy and has many pools of muddy water. It is
emotion, that is radically different from that scripted by the cold and there is a patchy fog. There is no sound, only an
bubble. This will cause the bubble to eject the victim back annoying ringing noise. The victim is overwhelmed with a
into this world. So, as the terrible monster closes in on the
N
feeling that there is no point in doing anything (30 difficulty
victim if the victim can feel joy and pleasure, instead of fear, save vs. dysphoria), sinks to his or her knees, lies down in
the victim will be ejected. If the victim can resist the script the mud and dies.
and change the outcome of the scene (e.g. fight back against
L
the monster) the victim will also be ejected. Normally Transmission- For decades is was only survivors of a
victims enjoy free will within the bubble unless they try certain WWII battle that were preyed upon by this bubble.
to do something which will radically change the ‘script’ at Recently, though, a major motion picture had a very similar
which point the bubble tries to take control and the PC must scene in it and since then the bubble has sucked in dozens
Y
make a hard (30) difficulty WIL roll to retain freedom of of people.
movement.
Infection- The ringing noise can be heard on audio
If one can find a way out of the geographic confines of recordings, while photos may show grainy black-and-white
the scene, or can destroy the bubble (e.g. with a legendary images of dead soldiers. Hallucinations are of the ringing
Nihilistic Rage roll) one will find oneself back in this noise blocking out all other sound. Physical manifestations
reality. include pools of muddy water and fog.
Bubbles 263
In Dark
Journal Hunted in the Woods
Sept 3 - Had a horrible nightmare last night about being chased
rd
The Scene- Victims are lost in the woods at night.
through the woods. It must have been because of Eddie’s pitiful There is a full moon. Victims hear growls, scrapes,
attempt to tell a campfire story the other day. breathing and footsteps that indicate something large
Sept 4th- Fucking Eddie. His story was so lame – why is it getting and non-human is in the darkness following them.
under my skin like this? Yesterday I spent all day in class doodling The victims eventually break into a run and the thing
these creepy eyes. I didn’t even realize I was doing it – drew all over chases. Victims trip, fall and are seized by the thing,
which kills them instantly. The ‘thing’ is never seen
S
my class notes. Then I had the same nightmare again last night. Woke
me up – twice. I’ll try having a few beers before I go to bed tonight. in the light, it is only a large (pony sized) black shape
with glowing eyes and a large mouth full of sharp
Sept 5th- Got to make an appointment with Health Services, get me teeth.
T
some Xanax or Prozac or Ritalin or whatever will make me less jumpy.
I keep thinking I’m hearing growling noises from behind me. And last Transmission- Although it is sometimes told as a
night I got up in the middle of the night to pee and when I looked down campfire story, most victims independently imagine
the hall and it was all dark and there were those creepy glowing eyes. the scene that attracts this bubble, usually while in the
O
I almost shit myself. I came back a few minutes later and the lights woods at night.
were on at the end of the hall and there was nothing there. Infection- Common hallucinations and media
Sept 6th- Something is seriously fucking wrong. I couldn’t sleep hardly manifestations include eyes in the darkness and
P
at all last night. I was listening to some Interpol on my mp3 player and growls. Physical signs include leaves and muddy
I kept hearing this growling and panting. I made Lupe listen to it and footprints of huge paws.
she heard it too. She’s all ‘that’s what you get for stealing music off
Actors- The hunter is a huge black shape with glowing
the internet.’ I and I was like ‘It wasn’t like that before,’ and she said
eyes and fangs. It has AGY 25, AWR 25, CHM 0,
‘well someone’s fucking with you.’
END 40, INL 2, SPD same as the victim’s, STH 35,
Sept 7th- I’m carrying a knife around. Can you believe that? Like what WIL 20, BLD 7, BDY 15, INCY 15. The hunter can
am I’m supposed to do with a knife if that thing from my dreams jumps prowl at 1d20 +33 vs. difficulty (although it is part of
out at me? I drank like 50 energy drinks so I wouldn’t fall asleep last the script that the hunter always makes its presence
night because I didn’t want to have that nightmare again. I stayed up known). Typical first action is a jump into range and,
all night with the lights on listening to music at full blast. Even with next action, a Vital Strike at 1d20 vs. 0 doing 10 bladed
G
all that I kept getting this feeling like something’s breathing on the damage (pierces armor as 15).
back of my neck.
I can’t even go to the fucking campus convenience store. I went to Puppet Attic
O
get some more energy drinks and I made the mistake of looking up at
the monitor for the security camera. As I’m looking at it the picture of The Scene- In a dusty, dimly lit attic, the victim lies on
the store behind me gets all dark and then I see those fucking eyes. his or her back, unable to move, hyperventilating with
a look of terror on his or her face. Two old-fashioned
I skipped class today. My nerves are so shot. I wish there was
marionette puppets are doing a wordless dance
someone I could call who wouldn’t think I was crazy. I can’t listen to
mp3s anymore – the music is all gone and there’s just this panting like (sometimes to the sound of an old music box). They
a big dog. I’m still doodling. Drew these evil fucking eyes on my arm both have little knives attached to their hands. The
A
just a minute ago. I bit eyes into my microwave burrito earlier – I just shadows of the puppets fall on the face of the human
looked down and the fucking thing was staring at me. as they dance. They pause in their dance to menace
the human with knives. At the end they stop dancing,
Sept 8th- I wish I could believe this was someone fucking with me. This slowly lower their knives towards the human’s face
W
morning there were these muddy footprints in the hall like a big giant and then slice the human’s eyes open.
dog just wandered through. They’re totally real: Lupe saw them. They
scared her. She went back in her room real fucking quick. Transmission- The scene is played out in a short
black-and-white silent film created by a French
A
I kind of want to go where there’s people, but I don’t want to spaz Surrealist filmmaker in 1931. There are several copies
out in public and have someone call the campus cops. They’d just take of this film floating around, mainly among collectors
me to the psych hospital, like they did with Chris when he was talking of antiquities, weird films or occult objects (or in the
Y
about suicide. They’d take my knife away from me – that’s for damn estate sales of those collectors after they disappear).
sure. Whatever this thing is I’m sure it can get me in a padded cell as Shortly after it was made there were rumors in the
easily as it can get me here. Surrealist community that is was a cursed film, but few
And why do I keep finding leaves in my hair? are left alive who remember those rumors.
Sept 9th - It’s so late. I’m so tired. How many days has it been since I Infection- Snippets of the film may find their way
slept? I wish I could just sleep, but I’m afraid to close my eyes for even onto video or photos. Hallucinations are often of the
a second or I’ll end up in those woods. I already feel like I’m halfway shadows of puppets or audio hallucinations of a music
there. It smells like trees, and when I walk it feels like dirt under my box. Physical manifestations can include dust or little
feet and I feel this cold breeze even though I turned the heater up as knives.
far as it would go. The Actors- The puppets have AGY 2, AWR 5, CHM
Why me? Why is this happening to me? Because I laughed at 0, END 15, INL 10, SPD 2, STH 2, WIL 7, BLD 1,
Eddie’s stupid story even though it was actually kind of scary? But it BDY 1, INCY 1. They attack with little knives, doing
was so lame. I mean it’s not even a story – it doesn’t make sense. I a Blinding Strike or 2 damage Vital Strike at 1d20 vs.
mean it’s just these people lost in the woo…. 10. As a reaction they jump-out at 1d20 vs. 5.

Alleys
A Little Story
S
T
O
P
G
O
A
W
A
Y
A Little Story 265

In Dark
D
O
N
O
T
R
E
A
D
266 A Little Story

Alleys
Chapter Eight - AdvenTures G

A
The Horror Movie Test Monsters and Typical Enemies
A good way for a GM to gauge what his or her players might like is to ask Animal Forms, p.80
them what horror movies have scared them in an enjoyable fashion. Here Birth Servants, p.81
M
are some ideas to grab based on some of the player’s favorite movies: Cat Familiar, p.27
Alien- Monsters should be faster and more agile than humans, should Dog Familiar, p.27
be just as smart, and should act completely alien. Monsters should Horse Familiar, p.27
E
never talk. Medical problems can be scary if they’re associated with a Reapers, p.216
supernatural horror. Good villains: Torturers or Deserted City Creatures. The Apartment 3B Dance, p.198
The Elizabeth Lake Monster, p.227
Blair Witch Project- Giving horror an air of realism is important. Plots The Jefferson Park Killer, p.233
and supernatural dangers don’t have to be fancy or complicated: trap the
The Triangle, p.253
PC in a situation, let them know some unexplained supernatural danger
is after them, and then sabotage their every attempt to get out of that Typical Anima, p.261
situation. Good villains: Bubbles. Typical Animus, p.263
M
Typical Clean p.224
Exorcist- The fate of an innocent can be enough motivation to drive Typical Crying Girl, p.230
an adventure. Face to face interaction with pure malevolence can be Typical Dog, p.90
frightening. Good villains: Rogue Psychodynamics or Atomic Ghosts.
A
Typical Ego, p.260
The Grudge/Ju-On- Forget that tripe about waiting before showing the Typical Engineer, p.254
monster. ‘Show’ the monster quickly and often, but keep its behavior Typical Grey Man, p.231
and motivations alien. Let the players see or find out about people being Typical Horse, p.91
S
slaughtered by the monster, despite the fact that they ran away and despite Typical Id, p.259
the fact that they were capable of fighting back. Death doesn’t need to be Typical LAPD Swat Team, p.169
gory to be scary. Good villains: Dances and Deserted City Creatures. Typical Reptile, p.260
T
Hellraiser- Villains should be unexplained, alien things from an Typical Shadow, p.261
unexplained, alien place, but they should be well spoken and self- Typical Starer, p.230
confident. We shouldn’t understand them but they should understand Typical Stranger, p.261
E
us. Have them torture and kill humans in gory and imaginative ways just Typical Super Ego, p.260
because they feel like it. Good villains: artifacts that open portals to other Typical Surgeon, p.232
realms and Torturers. Typical Thannatos, p.262
Typical Trouble, p.257
R
Night of the Living Dead- Take something ubiquitous and relatively
Typical Wolf, p.229
harmless and turn it into something dangerous and malevolent. Let
players know that even if they survive the current danger their world will Typical Wriggler, p.229
never be the same again. Even weak monsters can be scary if there are
S
enough of them. Good villains: Wrigglers or Troubles. NPCs
The Ring/Ringu- Avoid horror clichés or, better yet, make players think Agatha Hartford, Wonderlander Elder, p.220
you are using a horror cliché and have it turn out to be something very Carlos Ortega, Elder Lost, p.202
different. Don’t use physical monsters that can be fought with physical Cho’Taweh, Elder Animist, p.190
weapons. For each supernatural danger or class of dangers, choose a few Duong “A.K.” Bui, Devil Boys Leader, p.226
icons that tell of their arrival: dripping water, laughter, pieces of paper Father Garibaldi, Elder Cannibal, p.191
O
flying in a breeze, etc. Use media (photos, TV, phone, etc.) as a window
Henry Dewitt, Elder Outcast, p.204
on alien forces and realities. Good villains: Dances and Bubbles.
Hideo Nakazawa, Atomic Ghost, p.237
The Shining- Isolate and trap the characters. Steadily build tension Karl Rimbaud, Elder Scribbler, p.215
N
higher and higher and then have a frenzy of action at the end. Throw in Killer, Dog King of L.A., p.225
a lot of unexplained weird stuff and a creepy kid (p.242). Good villains: Lawrence Myers, Elder Professional, p.210
Supernatural Serial Killers and Dances. Leanne Coates, Algernon, p.241
L
Silence of the Lambs- Old fashioned serial killers can be scary if they’re Maria Alvarado, Jekyl, p.241
capable of insinuating themselves into the PC’s minds. Mysteries are Misty Lopez, Creepy Lost Kid, p.242
good. Good villains: Supernatural Serial Killers, Evil Touched or Octavio Hidalgo, Elder Survivor, p.217
Escaped Psychodynamics. Olesya Dekanozov, Semi-Awakened Killer, p.239
Y
Sixth Sense- The lesson is that ghosts aren’t scary because they’re dead, Regina Hamilton, Elder Faustian, p.196
they’re scary because when you see them and they see you there’s no Richard “Mr. Death” Bailey, Elder Hero, p.199
knowing what they’re going to do next or even what they’re capable of Tom Abernathy, Fulfillment Dynamics Director, p.223
doing. Also, the more plot twists the better. Beneath the obvious horror Vox Free, Elder Androgyne, p.186
add other things that aren’t what they seem. Good villains: Dances and Wallace Holloway, Member of the Powers-That-Be, p.211
Denizens of the Invisible. Yeng Kha, Hired Animist, p.226
Adventures 267
In Dark
Railroading
Since In Dark Alleys is a horror game, it is important to put PCs into dangerous situations. Yet many players will feel either that
G
it is their duty as players to fight the GM’s attempt to put characters in danger or that it is ‘good roleplaying’ to have the characters
avoid dangerous situations.
Thus, unless the GM and players want to have the adventure end at “So you avoid going in the creepy house and you live happily
A
ever after,” it may be necessary to take away some of the players’ free will and force characters along a certain path. There are
two ways of doing this: covertly and explicitly.
M
Covertly railroading characters means making it appear that the players have choices for their characters, but making it so that
every choice the characters make ends in the same outcome. This method is liable to piss-off players when they realize what’s
going on. If nothing else, players who discover they are being covertly railroaded will fight back harder than ever against the path
the GM has set out for them.
E Explicitly railroading involves telling players how their free will has been shortcut. The easiest way to do this is to simply start the
adventure in the dangerous situation and then fill in the back story. E.g. “You’re in a creepy house, and this is how you got here…”
GMs may even enlist the help of players to come up with a creative solution for why their characters ended up in this dangerous
situation, thus giving the players a sense that they do have input and that they have not violated their characters’ concepts. Explicit
railroading is less likely to cause player anger than covert railroading.
M Payphone
A
Synopsis- Someone the PCs know, Paul Buchannan, has After explaining Paul’s condition (there’s not much to tell:
lapsed into a sudden and unexplainable coma. As they are Paul wouldn’t wake up this morning and neither she nor
visiting him in the hospital one of the PCs gets a call on the doctors know why) she will ask if the PCs can stay
S
Paul’s wife’s cellphone. It’s Paul, claiming to be lost and with Paul while she goes out to get ‘a bite to eat’ (really
alone in a strange deserted city. PCs will have to find out she wants a drink). If PCs agree she will get her purse and
how to get him back before he is killed by one of the city’s quickly leave, forgetting her jacket.
T
inhabitants.
Before long after she leaves, her cellphone, hidden in
Player Introductions- If the PCs all know each other her jacket pocket, will ring. If PCs look they will see the
and are comfortable calling on each other for help with a
E
caller ID showing only black squares. If PCs answer they
supernatural situation, then it is only necessary that one will hear Paul Buchannan, sounding like he is on a very
PC have a relationship with Paul Buchannan. Otherwise, a
bad connection, asking for Mandy. He will be surprised to
relationship should be established for each.
R
reach the PC’s, but will be glad to speak to anybody.
The best relationship is for Paul to be one of the PC’s
bosses. This makes the PC concerned enough about Paul Paul’s Story- Paul remembers waking up in an unfamiliar
city. It was, and still is, dark out, with no stars or moon
S
to visit him in the hospital but doesn’t make Paul part of
the complicated family history that PCs may have. Other visible. It didn’t look like L.A.: there were too many
possibilities are to make him the father of a PC’s boyfriend old buildings. It looked to him like a European city.
or girlfriend, a client/patient if the PC’s day job is doctor, He wandered around trying to get help but the whole
lawyer or alternative health, or an in-law (e.g. uncle-in- place was deserted and empty. He saw a shadowy figure
law). moving down one block, but something about the way it
was moving scared him and he ran away. After walking
O
PC(s) with a relationship to Paul will get a call from a all day, thoroughly exhausting himself, he found an old
mutual acquaintance, saying that Paul would not wake up payphone. He didn’t have any change, and it wouldn’t call
this morning and that he was taken to the hospital in a coma. an operator, so he tried just dialing his wife’s cellphone
N
The doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with him. The number. It worked (although he hadn’t dialed the area
PC(s) will be told that he is in Northridge Hospital. code) and he was connected to the PCs.
Visiting the Hospital- Paul is in Northridge Hospital. He Investigating the Phone Call- The phone company will
L
has recently been moved from the ICU to a private room have no record of any of Paul’s calls. The phone will show
on the 6th floor. Signs everywhere ask visitors to turn off the incoming calls on the call history but will only show
cellphones. the number as black boxes. Dialing *69 to call the last
Y
caller will ring up one of Mandy Buchannan’s friends.
Mandy Buchannan is waiting in the room, sitting at her
husband’s bedside. She will be happy that Paul has visitors,
even if she does not know them. If any of the PCs look Anyone who pays special attention to the background
unconventional she will say something like “Paul never noise, or beats a 40 difficulty AWR roll, or records and
mentioned you” (meaning ‘I didn’t know Paul associated enhances the audio, will hear a woman weeping in the
with any weirdos.’) background static.
268 Chapter Eight - Adventures

Alleys
Investigating Paul’s Body- Outcasts with the See
Paul Buchannan, Coma Patient Souls skill will see that Paul still has a soul but that
Appearance- Fifties, Caucasian, pudgy but not obese, round face, it is weak (the same way an Animist looks when
G
balding, salt-and-pepper stubble, wearing either a powder-blue hospital he or she Journeys). Mind Reading will reveal
gown (this world) or blue-and-white striped boxers and a white t-shirt that there is no mind there. If anyone attempts to
(abandoned city). enter Paul’s playland they will find themselves at
A
Attributes- AGY 6, AWR 9, CHM 12, END 4, INL 12, SPD 6, STH 6,
the edge of a huge black pit that seems bottomless.
WIL 7, BLD 3, BDY 3, INCY 4. They are on a thin rim of earth which disappears
into the distance, their backs to a featureless black
Social Status- Paul Buchannan is upper-middle management in a wall. Trying to move will cause bits of earth to
M
corporate or government office. He does his job well and is liked fall down and the PCs will have to make saves
by both his superiors and inferiors. He has been happily married vs. loss of balance to avoid falling in. Anyone
for 30 years and has two adult children (not living at home) and two who falls or jumps in will find themselves in the
E
grandchildren.
Deserted City.
Personality- Paul is friendly, easy going and enjoys a good joke (he
doesn’t consider himself ‘witty’ enough to make jokes but he likes to Anyone with medical knowledge can find out that
hear them). He used to be a little ‘wild’ in his youth, but he got it out Paul’s heart, respiration and metabolism seem
of his system. He’s now a law-abiding and honest person. He’s not normal, as do those parts of the brain that control
especially brave and avoids bad neighborhoods and tough looking those functions. Yet there is no higher brain
young people. Paul is mildly prejudiced against non-conformists (e.g.
M
activity whatsoever. The doctors thought it might
people with tattoos) in the workplace, believing that if they were serious
about their jobs they would do more to try to fit in.
be a massive stroke, but a PET scan showed no
impedance of blood flow.
Paul is unprepared to deal with danger or the supernatural. He
A
freezes up, cries and begs for someone to help him. He does not take There are no reapers waiting for Paul. Switching
proactive measures. Right now he is lost, confused and scared. If
anyone asks him what he wants to do or gives him more than one option
bodies with him will only leave the PC’s original
body in a coma. The Visions or See True Face skills
S
he will be indecisive. If anyone tells him what to do he will do it, so
long as it doesn’t sound like it will put him in more danger. will show a black pit where his face should be.
Motivations- Paul takes pride in his work and he enjoys going to the Investigating Paul’s Past- Paul has no criminal
T
office every day. He knows what he does isn’t going to change the record. His past is all rather boring: growing up
world, but at least he can make the job pleasant for those who work in the Midwest, going to college, moving to L.A.
under him. His main motivation in regular life is to rise through the
ranks of the company and get the biggest retirement package before
to get a job, working in a few boring companies,
E
he retires so he and his wife can enjoy cruises and fine wine in their having kids, reaching middle management.
retirement. His main motivation right now, however, is to find a way out
of the strange city he’s in and to get home. His medical record shows some ailments that are
R
perfectly normal for a man his age: a few broken
Special Skills- Dreaming (1). ribs after trying water-skiing 15 years ago, a
Typical Action- A punch at AGY (6) + STH (6) +1d20 vs. 25 (or 1d20 prescription for Viagra, removal of a cancerous
growth his chest. There were also problems with
S
vs. 13) that does ½ blunt damage if successful.
insomnia in his 30s, and a referral to a sleep clinic
Typical Reaction- A Jump out of range at SPD (6) + AGY (6) +1d20 associated with USC called “Southern California
vs. 25 (or 1d20 vs. 13).
Sleep Research Associates.”
Mandy Buchannan, Paul’s Wife Investigating Paul’s Home- Paul lives in a nice
suburban house in the valley. If PCs go there
O
Appearance- Short, pudgy, older Caucasian woman with curly brown
while Mandy is visiting her husband there will
hair and glasses, wearing a turquoise shirt and black slacks.
be nobody in the house except a small dog. The
Attributes- AGY 7, AWR 8, CHM 10, END 5, INL 14, SPD 4, STH 3, house has a security system based on sensors on
N
WIL 9, BLD 4, BDY 3, INCY 3. the doors and windows.
Social Status- Mandy is a retired schoolteacher and wife of Paul
Buchannan. Everything in the house is consistent with a quiet
L
suburban upper-middle-class family. It is nicely
Personality- Mandy is pleasant, enjoys spending time with her friends decorated, kept clean, and has an impressive store
and with her husband. She has a lot of fears and insecurities but she of liquors and nice wines. The only unusual thing
hides them well. She has a minor alcohol problem: she drinks a few the PCs will find is a little black journal Paul keeps
Y
drinks every evening. Like her husband she is scared of, and stays away on his nightstand. The book is a dream journal,
from, homeless people and tough looking young people. When she gets
nervous she tends to babble about inane things.
detailing whatever Paul could remember of his
dreams over the last few months. PCs will find
Motivations- Right now Mandy would do just about anything to make other journals in a box in the attic dating back to
her husband well again. The problem is that she doesn’t know what she 1985.
should do.
Payphone 269
In Dark
Reading all of Paul’s dreams would take days. PCs who Paul’s records reveal nothing unusual about his case. The
read his first dreams will notice that the writing is very lucid dreaming training helped put him at ease and helped
neat, the descriptions very detailed and there are quite a few him sleep through the night.
G
nightmares. They are written like a paper one is going to
turn in to a college professor. There are notations indicating If PCs ask Dr. Shasharami about an abandoned city she
when Paul became lucid (aware that he was dreaming) and will say that it seems to be a common dream theme,
A
able to effect the course of the dream (usually avoiding a although nowhere near as common as showing up for
nightmare). a test one hadn’t studied for or realizing one is wearing
underclothes in public. Now that she thinks about it she
Recent entries are short, not written neatly and contain few realizes that she’s only heard of lucid dreamers having the
M
references to nightmares. Recent entries are as follows: deserted city dream.
Two weeks ago: “?? Something about my old house in Further Conversations With Paul- Paul will stay at the
E
Ohio, something about burying my dog ?? Became lucid, payphone and continue to call his wife’s cellphone as long
went for a walk. Found hole in side of building, crawled as there is still someone to talk to on the other end. He will
through it. Was in weird city at night – no people. Found avoid going to sleep as long as he can (until at least 9 pm
a black marble. Got bored and crawled back through the the next day) because he is afraid something will attack
hole to Ohio.” him in his sleep. He will notice that day never comes.
M
Then, two days later, amid another dream description: He will remember his dreams if prompted. He will
“Found black marble in my pocket. Didn’t know why I had acknowledge a similarity between the deserted city where
it so I threw it out.” he found the black marble and the city he is in now. If
A
pressed he will remember having a dream about falling
Then, three days after that: “Was in a restroom somewhere, into a hole before waking up in a strange place.
there were no urinals so I worried it might be women’s
room. Saw that black marble on floor. Floor around it was Paul will be reluctant to stray too far from the phone. If
S
cracked.” he goes more than a couple of blocks away from it he will
get lost and never be able to find it again.
A week ago: “I was arguing with Mandy and all of the
T
sudden the house started falling down.” At some point while the PCs are talking to him, Paul will
gasp in terror, and then stammer “I see something! It’s
Six days ago: “Came upon a crater where the street was all
coming this way! What do I do? What do I do?” If asked
broken up. Something little and black at the bottom. Street
E
to describe it, Paul will say “I don’t know, I don’t know,
started to crumble under my feet and I ran away.”
it’s all dark. It’s not shaped like a person and it moves…
I don’t know… not normal. And it’s big.” Then, about 30
Four days ago: “My neighborhood, everything in ruins,
R
ground kept breaking under my feet. Was worried I would seconds later: “Oh god! Help me! It’s coming right at me!
slide down into a big crater.” I think it saw me!” If PCs suggest Paul run and/or hide he
will do so. If the PCs don’t suggest anything like that then
S
Two days ago: “??something about hanging on a tree so I the creature will grab Paul and kill him. His body in the
didn’t fall in some hole??.” hospital will never awaken.
Investigating the Sleep Clinic- The clinic is now closed, If Paul runs he will leave the phone off the hook. PCs will
the records are in storage in the basement of the psychology hear a scraping, shuffling noise approaching the phone,
building at USC. Thy patient records are confidential, then the phone clattering, then they will hear several
though patients did sign a release allowing the information hissing voices all speaking at once, talking in an alien
O
to be shared for research purposes. One of the professors language, all saying nearly but not exactly the same things
involved in the project, Dr. Amrita Shasharami, is still at as each other. Then the phone will clatter and the scraping
USC and can tell PCs about it and show them the records. noise will move away. Paul will come back several
N
minutes later saying that he hid in an abandoned building
The program Paul was in was a research project to try to treat until the thing moved on.
insomnia (especially insomnia associated with nightmares)
L
by teaching lucid dreaming. The process included Getting to Paul- There are several ways PCs can get to
instruction on lucid dreaming, repeating words to oneself the abandoned city:
before sleeping (“If anything uncomfortable happens I will
-A member of the Lost can use Homing to get to Paul
Y
remember I am dreaming and that I am in control of the
(at 30 or 40 difficulty depending on how the PC tries it).
dream”) and keeping a dream journal (the pages of Paul’s
dream journal from the beginning of his days in the clinic -A Wonderlander who can make a 30 difficulty
are photocopied in the files). Dr. Shasharami won’t find it Playland Geography roll can find the empty pit that was
strange that Paul continued keeping a dream journal, saying Paul’s playland. Jumping in will send PCs to the Deserted
that it can be a fulfilling way to remember dreams and that City.
she keeps one herself.

Alleys
-An Outcast who can make a 30 difficulty Area Knowledge: Supernatural
roll can find a portal to the Deserted City. There are two problems to this, The Monster
though: the portal itself is a dangerous place (see A Portal to the Deserted Appearance When it approaches, street
G
City, p.250) and the portal will not lead directly to Paul – PCs will have to lights and other light sources blink out,
find their way through the city to him. leaving it (in the Deserted City at least)
nothing more than a shadow. It’s about
-An Animist with the Journeying skill can leave his or her body and go to 7 feet (2 m.) tall, shrouded in multiple
A
the place described by Paul at 30 difficulty. layers of torn black rags. Its body looks
like a large grayish tongue which propels
-PCs can use the Dreaming skill to become Lucid and find their way into it along with rhythmic movements, like
Paul’s dreams. Like his playland, Paul’s dreams will be a giant black pit and a cross between a snake and a slug. Its
M
if they jump in they will find themselves in the Deserted City. face is in constant motion: one human
looking face opens its mouth to reveal
Dr. Shasharami can give the PCs a crash course in Dreaming (1 level) and if another smaller face inside. As the
E
the PCs can convince her of the paramount importance of what they are doing mouth of the outer-face opens wider, the
she will give them an experimental drug that will give them +20 to Dreaming inner face grows larger. Eventually, the
skill rolls. The drug has the following side effects while awake only: outer-face recedes into the darkness of
Seizures (10), sensitivity to light (must save vs. distracting pain in bright the shroud, leaving nothing but the inner
lights), Hallucinations (20). PCs with the Herbal Medicine or Ethnogens face. The cycle repeats itself about once
skill know that Mugwort can help Lucid dreaming (gives +5, plusses do not every five seconds. When it speaks one
can hear several scratchy voices at once
stack with those from the experimental sleep drug). saying almost identical things in an alien
M
language. If cut it appears to have blood
In most cases the PCs should be able to get back, with Paul, the same way and organs, although a biologist will not
they got there: using the Get Lost and Homing skills, walking through a be able to determine the function of the
portal or flying through worlds via the Journeying skill.
A
organs.
If PCs used Enter Playland to get there they won’t be able to come home Attributes- AGY 7, AWR 2, CHM
via Paul’s playland (remember, it’s a black pit) but if they can get to the 0, END 20, INL 5, SPD 10, STH 40,
S
Wonderlander’s playland they can go from there to the mundane realm. WIL 15, BLD 20, BDY 10, INCY 10.
Abilities
If PCs get to the Deserted City via the Dreaming skill, however, they will be -While in the Deserted City the
T
stuck, just like Paul, as they can neither dream their way out nor wake up. monster can disappear into one shadow
Their only hope is to wander the Deserted City until they find a portal that and reemerge, a round later, from any
leads home (and hope that nothing kills them in the meantime). other shadow.
E
-The monster cannot feel pain or fear.
If Paul can get back into his body, the damage caused by the black marble will
-The monster causes light-sources to
be repaired: his playland and dreams will be back where they’re supposed to short or snuff out within 20 ft. (6 m.).
be, he will wake up and be fine.
-The monster can see in the dark at no
R
If PCs enter the Deserted City with their physical bodies (e.g. via Get Lost, a penalties.
portal or going physically into a playland) they can come back the same way Psychology- The monster is incapable of
but when Paul attempts to follow them he will become a disembodied spirit fear, joy, anger or pain. It only acts out
S
(it wasn’t his body in the Deserted City, only his mind). If they enter as a of curiosity. It investigates that which
spirit (e.g. via Dreaming or Journeying) they will return as spirits, the same interests it and leaves when its curiosity
as Paul. A person with the Journeying skill will know that all Paul needs to is satisfied. It will not fight back or flee
do is get to his body and jump in. out of dislike of being injured. It does not
recognize the PCs as intelligent beings
Dangers in the Deserted City- One danger to PCs is getting lost. Unless and it does not understand or care that
they take extraordinary measures to keep their route from changing (e.g. its investigations hurt and kill humans.
O
It is interested by anything it doesn’t see
spacing themselves out a block at a time, tying a string to their starting point, everyday (like the PCs) and will become
posting a lookout on top of a tall building, making hard WIL and INL rolls to more curious if the PCs run or fight back.
remember and concentrate on where they’ve been, etc.) the route will change
N
and they will have to wander until they find their starting point. Typical Attack- It lifts its front up in the
air and wraps its slug/tongue body around
Finding anything in the Deserted City can be a challenge, since the distance the victim, a Grab: Wrestling at STH (40)
+ INL (5) +1d20 vs. 30 (or 1d20 +15 vs.
L
between any two things can vary from infinite to a few feet depending upon
luck and the PCs’ states of mind. Maintaining a clear image in their minds 0). It immobilizes all four limbs, does 1
of the thing or place they want will make it show up faster. When someone blunt damage from crushing the victim
and the victim must make saves vs.
screams for someone else in the Deserted City, that scream will find its way
Y
hypothermia (10 difficulty the first round,
to the target. So, if Paul screams for the PCs or the PCs scream for Paul it 20 the second, 30 the third, etc.). If PCs
will allow them to find each other, but it will probably also attract Deserted stay perfectly still and don’t move it will
City creatures. examine each one for about 5 rounds, then
move on to the next. If the PCs struggle,
Cellphones will work in the Deserted City if the PCs believe strongly enough scream or fight then it will examine them
that they will. Mandy Buchannan’s cellphone will certainly receive calls longer.
from Paul’s payphone.
Adventures 271
In Dark
The monster that nearly attacked Paul is the primary danger He will be wary of telling anyone his story (he’s afraid
to Paul and the PCs. If PCs are able to show up right where people will think he’s crazy).
Paul is and bring him home immediately then they will
G
probably not run into the monster. However, if the PCs If Paul dies, nobody but the PCs will know that it was their
wander the Deserted City, if they stay by the phone for failure.
awhile or if Paul shouts for them (or visa versa) the monster
will show up Revenge of the Black Marble- If the PCs came to the
A
Deserted City via Paul’s dreams or playland, then after
Killing or escaping from the monster is possible. If PCs all else is done (perhaps even during another adventure),
leave via a portal and don’t close it behind them then the one of the PCs should notice a black marble in one of
M
monster may follow them into this world as a physical his or her dreams. If the PC can make a Dreaming roll
entity with all the same abilities it has in the Deserted City. to become lucid, the PC can try to deal with the marble.
Outcomes- If the PCs save Paul Buchannan he will be Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of the marble is
E
eternally grateful and will pledge that he owes each PC a to find a portal to another realm and throw it through.
favor. If he is a boss of one of the PCs he will try to have the Otherwise the same thing will happen to the PC as
PC given advancement (or at least a bonus or small raise). happened to Paul Buchannan.
Experience Points
Player: Player: Player: Player:
M Paul Buchannan is brought back alive: +15

All the PCs survive: +15
A
Paul Buchanan dies: -10
PC made friends with another PC: +5 XP
PC scared other PCs/Players: +5 XP
S Discovered a secret about the game world: +5 XP

Personal Growth: +5 XP
T
Good Roleplaying: 2 XP
Made the world a better place: +1 to +10
E
Clever Plan: +4 XP
Worked Well as a Group: +4 XP
Motivation Success: +4 XP
R
Secret Life Success: +5 XP
Split up Group: -5 XP
S
Made the world a worse place: -5 XP
PC died: -5 XP
Darkness
O
Synopsis- The PCs will trace a shocking DVD to an may be asked to open a case file on the disk, but for other
abandoned building controlled by a cult who are trying to PCs it’s most likely that a friend who knows the PC is into
destroy the world. The PCs will arrive at the abandoned ‘weird stuff’ gives the PC a bootlegged copy of the DVD.
N
building just after the cult attempted their ceremony. The
cult failed to destroy reality, but they did cause a shatter The DVD has no menus. It immediately starts playing
which will cause the PCs to end up trapped in a pitch black a short video clip that looks like it was filmed with a
L
basement. In the basement the PCs must contend with a consumer camcorder.
young girl who needs their help, various physical obstacles
and a horror from the shatter. Complicating matters, PCs A mid-twenties Caucasian man, shirtless, wearing dirty
Y
will find that the complete darkness that hampers them is blue jeans, with shaggy hair and needing a shave, stands
supernatural and indispellable. PCs will have to complete in what looks like an abandoned building, in a narrow
this adventure without using their sight. hallway with wood doors on either side. The lights are
off and the only lighting looks like sunlight coming from
PC Introductions- The PCs will get a hold of a DVD. A somewhere behind the camera.
Scribbler may find one hidden in a book or a Professional

Alleys
He holds a manila folder, from which he holds up various Sound analysis will reveal the cameraman breathing and
pictures, saying “say goodbye to this” and throwing each the faint sounds of two drunk people arguing from far
over his shoulder. There are pictures of starving children, away, and no discernible traffic noise.
G
wounded soldiers, protesters being beaten by the police
and homeless people. “Say goodbye to this story, this lie, There is graffiti on the walls. One readable phrase
this fiction that we forgot wasn’t real.” A hand from off the is “Aryan Wolves.” A moderate Organized Crime or
screen hands him a machete. His voice rises to a crescendo Research: Law Enforcement roll or a hard Research:
A
as he says “goodbye dirty hand!” and chops his hand off. Internet or Research: Academic roll will show that the
Aryan Wolves were a White supremacist group that ran a
Then he looks at the camera, his face looking ecstatic. “This major meth lab out of Skid Row during the late 90s.
M
world is a mistake,” he says, “It’s time to throw it away and
start over. On (insert date here*) at dawn, the Church of the Finding the Hotel- Hopefully there should be enough
Path of Truth is going to destroy the world.” clues in the video for the PCs to know they have to search
E
around Skid Row for an abandoned hotel that has been
*Note: Make the date be a few days from now in your
taken over by a cult.
campaign’s timeline. The day should be on a Saturday.
There are a lot of hotels in the area so it might take the
The young man chops his left arm off at the elbow. A PCs days to find the right one. In fact, it should take
moderate AWR roll will let PCs notice that, as he chops his the PCs just long enough for them to arrive shortly after
arm off, a large crack suddenly opens in the linoleum under dawn on the day the cult promised to destroy the world.
M
his feet.
Inside the Hotel- The cult is squatting in an old
“If you want to join us in closing this world and opening the abandoned hotel in Skid Row called the McClelland
A
new, follow your hearts. If you are one of the chosen you Hotel. The hotel is 5 stories tall and has 20 small rooms
will find us in time.” on either side. The hotel’s doors have been broken open
and stand ajar. Homeless people nearby know that
S
He takes the machete in his remaining hand, raises it up, and someone is squatting in the hotel and some know that the
with a smile he buries it deep in the top of his skull. He falls squatters are some kind of ‘religious freaks.’
to the floor and the recording ends.
T
Inside the hotel is a cage where the manager sat when the
Investigating the DVD- Trying to trace back where the hotel was running. Next to it a hallway leads to a set of
DVD came from will lead from person to person, each rooms and a stairwell leads up to higher floors and down
of whom copied or passed the DVD to their friends, and to the basement. There is also an elevator. There is no
E
eventually, back to some college student who saw it sitting power in the hotel (the power has been cut off at a box
on a desk in the UCLA college library with “watch me” under the street).
written on it in felt-tip marker.
R
In the hallway, a number of dismembered people lie on
Analysis of the DVD will show that it was created by a fairly the floor in pools of blood. There are candles burning on
simple DVD authoring program that ships with a lot of new the floor. There are skull cups overturned with remnants
S
computers that have DVD burners. The file creation date of a foul smelling brown liquid inside. There are bloody
was four weeks ago. The registered owner’s name is in a machetes lying everywhere. There’s weeping coming
file as Hope Ministries, a homeless shelter in Skid Row. If from somewhere and several of the bodies are moaning.
PCs investigate Hope Ministries they will find the shelter
has a computer made available to homeless people. One of If the PC’s approach, one of the bodies will reach for the
the staff remembers some young people coming in with a PCs and whisper “is this the next world?” The eyes are
videocamera and burning a DVD. They claimed they were
O
open and unfocused.
squatting in an abandoned hotel on Skid Row.
Then, the body of a dismembered black man wearing a
Video analysis (or use of the Filmmaking skill) will tell grey turtleneck, glasses and slacks starts screaming and
N
PCs that the video was made with a fairly generic digital writhing. There is a sudden earthquake and the PCs (even
video camera, handheld with all the default options (auto- those who have stayed outside) feel themselves lifted into
focus, auto-volume adjust, etc.) turned on. In other words, the air along with everything else in the hotel. Any part
L
a strictly amateur job. There are no telltale signs of special of the hotel the PCs try to grab will crumble in their
effects. hands. PCs that are outside will be pulled inside. PCs
will tumble through the air, watching as huge fissures
Y
The picture can be enhanced enough to show that the doors open up in the ceiling and floor and pieces of the building
all have numbers and locks on them. From their distance to join the objects floating in the air.
each other they must lead to fairly narrow (no more than 10
ft. or 3 m.) rooms. The end of the hallway is lost in darkness. Then, abruptly, the screaming ends and the PCs are
A PC with knowledge of history or architecture could place plunged down, feel themselves smash through the floor
the building’s style as something cheap from the 1950’s. and hit the ground.
Darkness 273
In Dark
PCs will fall two stories and can make AGY saves not to PCs try to walk they will have to do so slowly to avoid
take falling damage (10 difficulty for the first point, 20 tripping on rubble or banging their heads on beams and
for the second). If a PC takes 2 blunt damage the GM can pipes that are hanging from the ceiling.
G
choose, instead, to break one of the PC’s ankles (crippling
that limb). Every PC has a 1 in 4 chance of being hit by an The rubble is made up of foam insulation, cracked and
object heavy enough to do 2 blunt damage. Every PC who bent pieces of linoleum, wooden boards and breams, heaps
A
takes damage from falling objects has a 1 in 2 chance of of plaster, large bent pieces of chicken wire, pipes, pieces
finding themselves trapped under that object (most likely a of glass, doors, toilets and sinks. Some bits of rubble are
beam) which will take a moderate (20) difficulty STH feat sharp enough to cut the PC if the PC puts an unprotected
to move. hand, foot or knee down onto them. It is unlikely to cause
M
bladed or crippling damage, but it will cause distracting
In The Dark- PCs will find themselves in absolute pain.
darkness. Everything they learn will be described in terms
E
of what they hear, feel, smell and taste. The darkness is The basement is in much worse shape than the sub-
supernatural and cannot be dispelled by lighting a lighter basement. Some parts are completely blocked off by
or turning on a flashlight (though they will be able to feel rubble. In other parts the PCs must crawl over piles of
the heat of the fire or light bulb). The darkness will also rubble. If they don’t feel around carefully they will cut
disappear for a split second any time they hurt Erik’s their hands on sharp pieces. Even if they are careful a
Corpse. part of the rubble pile may collapse under them, causing
scrapes or bruises (½ point blunt or bladed damage). The
M
If PCs move to the farthest corner of the room from where PCs can’t stand up straight because the ceiling above them
Erik’s Corpse is they will be able to see the light of a is sagging too low.
flashlight or match, but that light will dim and disappear if
A
they go towards Erik or Erik goes towards them. There are five corpses of cult members and bystanders
(curious people who attended the ceremony but did not
The PCs are in a sub-basement, two stories below the subscribe to the cult’s beliefs) in the basement and sub-
S
surface. There is some rubble and dust on the level the PCs basement. Some died in the fall, others bled to death from
are on, but it’s not that bad (most of what fell through to this their self-inflicted wounds shortly after the fall. There are
level was bodies, not rubble). Yet it’s bad enough that if the machetes near the bodies.
T Sub-Basement Basement
E
R
S
O
N
L
Y
Alleys
Survivors- There are eight survivors besides the PCs. Gina The easiest way to get out of the sub-basement is the
is the only one who has a good chance of being saved by stairs. The door that would lead directly to the stairs is
the PCs. All the cult members will be bleeding to death. jammed shut, so the PCs can either force it (do 4 blunt
G
All the cult members, and some of the bystanders, are on damage or make a 30 difficulty STH feat) or take a side
hallucinogens, which will make them hard to deal with. The door into the storage area. A door from the storage area
survivors are as follows: leads to the room that has the stairs. The stairs will lead
A
up to the basement, but above that there is a giant pile
Sub-Basement of rubble on the stairs that blocks the way. Another way
-Doris, cult member, unconscious, trapped under a pile of to get from the sub-basement to the basement is to find
a hole in the ceiling (there are several, especially where
M
rubble, crippled (legs broken), bleeding to death (will die
within 10 minutes). In the sub-basement. a beam or the hot water heater have forced their way
through). Climbing up can be dangerous: the things the
-Cory, cult member, conscious, crippled (leg & arm broken), PC is holding onto can give way. PCs can take blunt
E
bleeding to death (will die within 10 minutes). In the sub- and bladed damage from the rubble below them that they
basement. fall on and the things above them that collapse on top of
-Bo, bystander, on hallucinogens, trapped under a pile them.
of rubble, crippled (ankle broken),
conscious. In the sub-basement. Gina Teller The only way from the basement
to first floor that isn’t completely
-Tara, bystander, sober, crippled
M
Appearance- Adolescent Caucasian female, blocked by rubble is the elevator
(paralyzed from neck down), long brown hair, grey t-shirt and blue jeans, shaft. The doors need to be pried
unconscious. In the sub-basement. no makeup. open, which requires something
with a sharp edge (a broken
A
Between Attributes- AGY 6, AWR 8, CHM 9, END 6,
INL 10, SPD 10, STH 4, WIL 8, BLD 2, piece of wood or a machete, for
-Rasheeda, cult member, conscious, BDY 1, INCY 1. instance). Unfortunately, the
trapped (stuck in a hole between sub- elevator is parked at the first floor.
S
basement and basement), bleeding to History- Gina is the daughter of Doris, a There is a small space between
death (will die within 30 minutes). member of the cult. Although Gina was the elevator and the shaft, but
indoctrinated into the cult beliefs, her mother only a very small person (Gina or
didn’t think she was ready to witness the
T
Basement any PC who happens to be tiny)
ceremony and had her stay in the room they
-Andy, cult member, conscious, were squatting in at the hotel. Gina fell can fit through. Anyone who can
trapped under a pile of rubble, through when the floor gave way and her legs get through this space can get on
E
crippled (paralyzed), bleeding to became trapped under a pile of rubble. She top of the elevator and into the
death (will die within 30 minutes). In immediately started calling for help. light. From there they can either
the basement. exit onto the second floor (most of
Personality- Right now Gina is on the verge which is empty space but there’s
R
-Phil, cult member, unconscious, of complete panic. If one more bad thing enough left for someone to get
trapped under a beam, bleeding to happens to her (like she finds out her mother to a room and a fire escape) or
death (will die within 30 minutes). In is dead or that the darkness is supernatural or release the safety on the elevator
S
the basement. that a monster is prowling the ruins) she will
and send it down to the basement
become unable to do anything except make
-Gina, child of cult member, sober, weak, frightened sobs. (once PCs can get in, they can
conscious, trapped under a pile of climb through the trap door in the
rubble. In the basement. top and exit on the first floor).
The Monster- Erik, the cult leader, managed to gain

Basement or control over his physical body as it lay dying, making him
O
Name type Crippled? Trapped? Conscious?
Sub-Basement
a Survivor. However, his brain was damaged, leaving
Doris cult Y Y S him insane. His body is broken, leaving him only able to
Andy cult Y Y Y B shuffle and squirm along the floor. He was at the nexus
N
Cory cult Y Y S of a shatter and his body now warps the reality around
Rasheeda cult Y Y B/S it, causing darkness within 30 ft. (9 m.). He is drawn to
Phil cult Y B noise and will grab a hold of living or dead people. His
L
Bo bystander Y Y Y S touch burns human flesh, causing sizzling sounds, the
Tara bystander Y S
smell of burning flesh and leaving behind hard, cracked
skin on the victims. The monster can also crawl on walls
Gina child Y Y B and ceilings as well as it can on the ground, making it
Y
able to follow the PCs nearly anywhere. It can also
Getting Up- In order to get out, the PCs will have to find a imitate, perfectly, anything it has heard, although it no
way from the sub-basement to the basement and from the longer understands human language. It may trick PCs
basement to the first floor. If they can do that and can cross into coming to it by echoing sobbing noises or calls for
the pile of rubble on the first floor to the entrance they can help or it may give itself away by echoing snatches of
get out. conversation out of context.
Payphone 275
In Dark
Psychometry can give a PC visions of the past
which have nothing to do with what’s currently Erik’s Corpse Sensations
happening but which can help the PC get a sense of Appearance- It feels like a Hear
G
the place’s layout. human body, wearing clothes, Water dripping
covered in warm sticky blood. Ragged breathing
Read Minds can help identify PCs and survivors. The neck is broken, the head The building creaking
A
Erik’s Corpse has emotions (a confused urge to hanging limply, the top of the
skull caved in. The left arm People moaning in pain
destroy) but does not think in words. Gina calling ‘help’ hoarsely
is missing at the elbow; both
legs are missing at the knee. Small thumping and cracking
M
Visions will give a PC sporadic information about The heart beats sluggishly and noises from above
what’s happening around him or her, but those slowly and it takes slow gurgling A sizzling sound like meat
visions are not fast enough or spatially accurate breaths about once every minute. frying
enough to let the PC overcome the disadvantage of It lies perfectly still except when
E
operating in the dark. moving towards a victim, then it
ambles and squirms along with Smell
See Invisible will allow a PC to see cracks in reality random movements of what Dust
and damaged misfortunes hobbling about. remains of its limbs, the limp Mold/Mildew
head dragging along the ground. Vomit and excrement
The eyes and mouth are open
See Reapers will show reapers hovering around wide and unmoving. Burning flesh and hair
M
those who are bleeding to death.
Attributes- AGY 3, AWR 4, Feel
See Souls can help a PC find PCs and Survivors. CHM 0, END 30, INL 0, SPD
3 (crawling), STH 30, WIL 15, Cold concrete floor under a
A
Erik’s Corpse does have a soul, although unlike the layer chunky powder
soul of a Cannibal his soul has ‘retracted’ to fit the BLD 0, BDY 2, INCY 15.
Cold liquid dripping on one’s
new, mutilated form. His soul burns brightly like Abilities skin
that of one of the Touched.
S
-Erik’s Corpse can crawl on Warm thick liquid falling in
walls and ceilings. large drops
Command Inanimate can be extremely useful if -Erik’s Corpse can imitate A puddle of thick, cold liquid
used to make crumbling pieces of buildings less
T
any sound that it’s heard. on the floor
likely to break under a PC’s weight or more likely -Erik’s Corpse does not lose A puddle of thick, warm liquid
to break when the PC is trying to get them out of END at 0 BLD, won’t stop on the floor
the way. moving until it loses all INCY.
E
Warm flesh
-Erik’s Corpse creates un- Cardboard boxes, soft and
Control Will-Less will work on Erik’s Corpse (hard pierceable darkness within 30 ft. bulging outwards
difficulty) although since the PCs cannot see Erik’s or 9 m. (fading out at the edges).
R
Corpse the PC would have to touch it, and risk being A large wooden beam rising up
-Erik’s Corpse is +10 to save at an angle from the floor
grabbed and burned. vs. pain. It makes simultaneous A piece of flat metal with a
strikes at no penalty. sharp edge with something warm
S
A Dance may be able to advise a Faustian about -The touch of Erik’s Corpse’s and sticky on it
the layout of the basement and sub-basement, since palm causes human flesh to burn, Warm flesh, ragged, wet and
Dances know a lot about the architecture of old doing 2 burn damage per round. sticky, with splinters of something
buildings, but knows little else that might help the hard sticking out
PCs. Psychology- Erik’s Corpse
has lost all self-consciousness, A warm human chest,
understanding of language or expanding and constricting
Skills that increase strength (Ecstatic Rage, Flesh rhythmically
O
capacity for rational thought.
Control, Imaginary Powers, Spirit Strength) can Its intelligence is like that of A mound of materials rising up
allow PCs to remove rubble that they would not an animal. It feels an urge to in front of you: some brittle and
otherwise be able to remove. PCs must be careful hurt living things (which it can powdery, some hard and cracked,
N
or smart or they will cause more damage and bring recognize by the sounds they some wooden and splintery, some
more rubble down on themselves. It may be possible make) and attacks the only way rough and metallic.
to create another route to the first floor. it knows how: by grabbing them A cold hard wall with little
L
with its remaining hand. If it cracks running up and down it.
The Get Lost skill can be used without too much can’t find any human people A large metal box, coming
difficulty to escape from the basement. The PC it knows that repeating human up to about shoulder height, with
noises might draw them out (but hinges, a handle and dials.
Y
is indoors, but being blind in an unfamiliar place does not know how or why).
facilitates being lost. A PC who gets Lost will find A shattered piece of something
himself or herself traveling through completely dark Typical Action- A Grab with its hard and cold with sharp edges.
places (darkrooms, bank vaults, sewers, basements, remaining hand at STH (30) + A small, sharp sliver.
etc.). The problem with escaping by use of this skill AGY (3) -15 (blinded) +1d20 vs. Something small and furry
is that trapped survivors (e.g. Gina) cannot follow 25 (or 1d20 vs. 7). scurrying over one’s skin.
the PC but Erik’s corpse can.

Alleys
You put your hand down on something warm. It’s got a hard exterior that cracks under your weight but is soft
underneath. Warm liquid oozes up where the hard surface has cracked. You can feel little spherical bumps on
G
the hard surface. They break as you touch them, filled only with air. Then you hear, less than a foot from where
your hand is touching, the sound of someone or something hyperventilating. As rapidly as a heartbeat, and
without pause or vocalization, the person is sucking in and pushing out shallow little breaths. With each breath
the cracked, oozing surface jumps a little.
The Get Lost skill can be used without too much difficulty quickly growing darker and going completely black as
A
M
to escape from the basement. The PC is indoors, but being they hear the shuffling sounds of Erik’s Corpse moving
blind in an unfamiliar place facilitates being lost. A PC towards them.
who gets Lost will find himself or herself traveling through
completely dark places (darkrooms, bank vaults, sewers, “Killing” Erik’s Corpse (destroying it enough for Reapers
E
basements, etc.). The problem with escaping by use of this to take the soul away) will dispel the darkness.
skill is that trapped survivors (e.g. Gina) cannot follow the
PC but Erik’s corpse can. If one or more PCs escape without killing Erik’s Corpse
and try to get a mundane rescue crew, that crew will be
Possible Outcomes- Gina can be freed by a STH feat of 40 mystified by the darkness and before long a hazmat team
difficulty (PCs can combine their STH or find levers to make under the control of the powers-that-be will ‘take over’
M
the job easier). Other fall-survivors may be able to be saved the rescue effort. They’ll blow up the building, sealing in
if the PCs can free them, tourniquet their wounds and protect Erik’s remains and anyone left alive inside.
them from Erik’s Corpse.
A
If PCs can get Gina out it will not be hard to find her
If PCs make it to the first floor without taking care of Erik father (who has filed a missing person’s report on Gina)
they may find themselves in glorious daylight streaming and the father will thereafter owe the PCs a favor.
S
through empty window frames, only to see everything
T
Experience Points
Player: Player: Player: Player:
PC Survives: +25 XP
PCs Die: -10 XP/ea.
E
R
Gina Survives: +10 XP
Other fall-survivors survive: +7 XP/ea.
PC made friends with another PC: +5 XP
PC scared other PCs/Players: +5 XP
Discovered a secret about the game world: +5 XP
Personal Growth: +5 XP
S
Good Roleplaying: 2 XP
O
Made the world a better place: +1 to +10
Clever Plan: +4 XP
Worked Well as a Group: +4 XP
N
Motivation Success: +4 XP
Secret Life Success: +5 XP
L
Split up Group: -5 XP
Made the world a worse place: -5 XP
PC died: -5 XP
Y
Darkness 277
In Dark
Appendices
Glossary of Game Terms
#D#- A code for rolling dice, the first number means the number of Game Master (GM)- The Game Master is a player but does not
dice rolled and the second number is the denomination of the dice. have a PC. The GM is an impartial intermediary between the
2D6 means that you must roll 2 six-sided dice and add the values. game as it appears on paper and the game as played by players.
Action- In combat, anything the character initiates (as opposed to The GM is the universe: he or she decides what happens for
a Reaction). An action could be anything from a strike (a fighting whatever action the players take based on his or her knowledge
action described in the rules) to reading a book as combat rages. of the game universe.
Adventure- A story characters play in, with a beginning, end, Hard- A difficulty rating of 30 for an attribute + 1d20 roll (or +4
conflict, drama and a chance for the characters to succeed and a difficulty for weapon specific difficulties).
chance for them to fail and perhaps die. Incapacity- When a PC is at 0 END or 0 INCY and can no
Armor Rating (AR)- A numeric rating of the amount of the longer stand, initiate communication or make any roll.
character’s body a piece of armor covers. One is the smallest Legendary- A difficulty rating of 40 for an attribute + 1d20
amount and twenty is coverage of the entire body. A strike must roll.
have a success greater than the armor rating in order to hit an
unprotected portion of the victim. Maximum Range- For a projectile weapon this is the range that
Attributes- Numeric ratings for each character that enumerate the weapon can not do damage beyond (compare to Functional
their abilities in mental and physical areas. Although base Range).
attributes are relatively stable over time, events can temporarily Moderate- A difficulty rating of 20 for an attribute + 1d20 roll.
change any of them. Non Player Character (NPC)- This is a character. Can be
Bladed - Damage that cuts or pierces flesh such as a knife or pick- a friend or an enemy, both or neither. Has a personality and
axe. Does damage to Blood Points. intelligence, but is not a player character. He or she is controlled
Blunt - Damage that crushes flesh, such as a club or punch. Blunt by the GM.
damage subtracts first from Body Points, then when (they are Player- The player is the real human being that participates in
gone) it does double damage to Blood Points. the role playing game as a character.
Chance Action- An action that the GM determines is heavily Player Character (PC)- A character created by and controlled
influenced by chance (a 1 on the 1d20 roll will always fail, a 20 by a player. It is through the character that the player plays the
will always succeed). Typically a spur-of-the-moment activity. game. A character is a participant in the adventure.
Character- A character is a fictional person created by a Protection Rating (PR)- A numeric rating that describes how
player or GM. The character has his/her own personality, past, much damage a piece of armor is capable of protecting from.
characteristics, experiences and life. Any damage that hits the armor has the Protection Rating’s
Character Creation- The process of describing a character worth of damage removed from it.
before game-play starts. Points are used to buy attributes, skills,
advantages and disadvantages. Equipment is also bought. Reaction- Something a PC can do once in a combat round in
reaction to being attacked (e.g. dodge).
Damage- A rating of the capacity of a weapon to do damage to
humans. Specifically, it is damage which will move a person Roll- A dice roll with an attempt to get the highest number
progressively closer to being dead. possible. An “agility roll,” for example, is the character’s AGY
plus 1d20 with an attempt to get higher than the difficulty for the
Deliberate Action- An action that has no automatic success given action.
or failure (as a Chance Action does). This is typically a well-
considered action that leaves as little as possible to chance. Role Playing Game (RPG)- A game where people play fictional
characters (roles) having adventures together. Players narrate
Difficulty- The rating of the difficulty for anything a character what their characters do and the GM narrates what happens in
attempts to do. To succeed, a character must make a roll of the response.
applicable attribute plus 1d20 and get a result higher than the
given difficulty. Typical difficulties: Easy (10), Moderate (20), Save Vs.- A roll made of 1d20 plus appropriate attributes in an
Hard (30) and Legendary (40). attempt to avoid something that would otherwise happen, such
Easy- A difficulty rating of 10 for an attribute + 1d20 roll (or -4 as falling down or catching a disease.
difficulty when dealing with weapon specific difficulties). Scenario- A scenario is a series of adventures linked together
Experience Levels- As a PC does more he or she gains more by a common plot element or group of PCs (much like a book
experience, and through experience and practice the character trilogy).
becomes more powerful. The system of Experience Levels is Simultaneous- When a character reacts to being attacked by
an easy system for rating this growth. Characters start out at an making an action of his or her own (e.g. let someone punch you,
experience level of 1 and as they do more and experience more but stab that person at the same time).
they gain experience points and raise experience levels. Skill- A level of training or knowledge that allows the character
Experience Points (XP)- As a PC completes each adventure the to do something they would be otherwise unable to do. The
GM assigns them Experience Points based on their performance in majority of skills are INL based (roll 1d20 + INL + any plusses
that particular adventure. Each adventure should have a checklist from having more than one level in the skill), yet there are skills
of things PCs can do to gain or lose XP. XP can be spent at the end based on other attributes.
of an adventure to buy skills and to raise attributes.
Skill Roll- A roll of 1d20 plus the appropriate attribute plus four
Functional Range (FR)- A unit of distance in which a projectile for every level the character has in the skill above the first.
weapon suffers a -1 penalty. For instance, if a weapon has a
functional range of 3 ft., the character is at -4 to hit a target 12 ft. Split- When one action or reaction is turned into two, at +10
away. difficulty to each (e.g. do a split action jump and strike).
278 Appendices
Alleys
Sample Character Sheet 279

IN DARK ALLEYS
Character Sheet
Persona
Player Name ____________________ Character Name ___________________________ Age __________
Gender _____________ Neighborhood _________________ Day Job _____________________________
Appearance ________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Attributes Mundane Skills

Base Current Plusses/Minuses Skill Attribute Type Levels AV
_________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
AGY _____ ______ _________________________ _________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
_________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
AWR _____ ______ _________________________
_________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
CHM _____ ______ _________________________ _________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
_________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
END _____ ______ _________________________ _________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
_________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
INL _____ ______ _________________________ _________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
_________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
SPD _____ ______ _________________________
_________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
STH _____ ______ _________________________ _________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
_________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
WIL _____ ______ _________________________ _________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
Health Attributes _________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
_________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
BLD _____ ______ _________________________ _________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
BDY _____ ______ _________________________ _________________ ______ ______ OOOOOO ___
Skill Costs: ACAD ___, ATHL ___, CMBT ___, CRTV ___, CRIM ___,
INCY _____ ______ _________________________ TECH ___, INVS ___, LABR ___, MEDI ___, PEOP ___, TRAD ___
Equipment and Money

Income ________ Recurring Costs ________ Money (Cash) _________ Money (Bank) ________
_____________________________________________ _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________ _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________ _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________ _____________________________________________
Secrets Supernatural Skills

Secret Life _____________________ Skill Attribute Levels AV
Motivation _____________________________ _________________ ______ OOOOOO ___
Advantages ____________________________________________ _________________ ______ OOOOOO ___
______________________________________________________ _________________ ______ OOOOOO ___
Disadvantages __________________________________________ _________________ ______ OOOOOO ___
______________________________________________________ _________________ ______ OOOOOO ___
Unspent XP _____________ Total Earned XP ________________ _________________ ______ OOOOOO ___
Supernatural Skill Costs __________________________________ _________________ ______ OOOOOO ___
______________________________________________________ _________________ ______ OOOOOO ___
Psychodynamics
ANIM ____ EGO ____ ID ____ REPT ____ SEGO ____ SHAD ____ STRA ____ THAN ____
I N DARK ALLEYS
Combat Sheet for ___________
ARMOR
Armor Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 PR Penalties
__________________ O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O ___________ _____________
COMBAT SKILLS COMBAT RANGES

Skill Levels Actions/Reactions
________________ _____ ________________________________________
________________ _____ ________________________________________
________________ _____ ________________________________________
________________ _____ ________________________________________
________________ _____ ________________________________________
________________ _____ ________________________________________
________________ _____ ________________________________________
________________ _____ ________________________________________
UNARMED COMBAT MODIFIERS

Punch Dmg _____ Kick Dmg _______ Unarmed Plusses______________________ Aim +4 to roll
Action/Reaction Att1 + Att2 + Skill + Miscl = Total + 1d20 vs. Difficulty Blinded (Full) -15 to roll
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Blinded (Partial) -7 to roll
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Burst -4 to roll
Extended Action +5 to roll (-10 to next
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ reaction)
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Improvised Weapon -8 to most rolls
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Leaning -10 to roll
Paired -4 to roll
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Simultaneous Act -20 +WIL to roll
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Split -10 to rolls
Targeted -4 to roll
Underwater -8 to rolls, half damage
MELEE WEAPONS ACTIONS
Area Attack INL+#of shots+1d20 vs.
Weapon________________ Dmg_________ Range____ Pierces As_______ 10+area in ft. (or +3/m.)
Action/Reaction Att1 + Att2 + Skill + Miscl = Total + 1d20 vs. Difficulty Blinding Strike INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 30
Crippling Attack STH+INL+1d20 vs. 30
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Disarm STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 30
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Grab STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Grab (Pain) STH+INL+1d20 vs. 35
Grab (Strangle) STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Weapon________________ Dmg_________ Range____ Pierces As_______ Grab (Wrestling) STH+INL+1d20 vs. 30
Action/Reaction Att1 + Att2 + Skill + Miscl = Total + 1d20 vs. Difficulty Knockaway STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Knockdown STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 30
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Knockout STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 30
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Pain/Stun INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Slash INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Stomp SPD+STH+1d20 vs. 25
PROJECTILE WEAPONS Strike (Handheld)
Strike (Projectile)
STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Weapon________________ Dmg_________ FR____ MR____ ROF_____ Tackle SPD+STH+1d20 vs. 20
Pierces As_________ Clip Holds________ Amount of Ammo __________ Vital Strike (Bladed) INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 35
Action/Reaction Att1 + Att2 + Skill + Miscl = Total -1/FR+1d20 vs. Difficulty Vital Strike (Blunt) INL+STH+1d20 vs. 40
Wing INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 20
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ____ ________
REACTIONS
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ____ ________ Dodge AWR+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Entangle INL+STH+1d20 vs. 30
Weapon___________ Dmg______ Range____ Miscl___________________ Flip AGY+STH+1d20 vs. 35
Action/Reaction Att1 + Att2 + Skill + Miscl = Total + 1d20 vs. Difficulty Drop AWR+AGY+1d20 vs. 20
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Jump SPD+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Mental Block WIL+1d20 vs. 20
_____________ ____ ____ ____ ______ _____ ________ Parry STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Weapon Specific
In Dark
Size to hit Character Creation in Brief Other Types of Damage
Difficulties Step 1 – Character Concept: Your idea of the character: name,
Very Easy (-8 difficulty) Bee -20 appearance, drives, etc. Burn: When a person is burned, 4 effects happen:
Easy (-4 difficulty) Rat -10 Step 2 – Psychodynamics: Spread 80 pts. across 8 personality -BLD damage (1 pt. per pt. of burn damage).
Cat -5 elements. -Pain (WIL+1d20 vs. 10/pt. of damage).
Hard (+4 difficulty) Step 3 – Attributes: Split 80 points between 8 attributes (min
Human 0 1, max 20). Choose optional sub-attributes (costs or gives 1 -Physiological Shock (END+1d20 vs. 5/pt. of
Very Hard (+8 difficulty) Horse +5 damage).
bonus point).
Elephant +10 Step 4 – Secret Life: Choose a source of supernatural -Increased chance of infection (-5 to save vs.
Improvised Weapons House +20 knowledge and ability. disease contraction/pt. of damage).
Step 5 – Day Job: Choose occupation. Some cost or give Bonus Cold: Make saves vs. hypothermia hourly. 1st
Slashing Weapons: Points. This sets income and cost for mundane skills.
1 bladed damage, -8 to actions except pain/stun, Step 6 – Skills: Spend 100 Skill Points, skill costs set by Day failure halves all attributes, each additional failure
blinding and slash. Job and Secret Life. Can buy 1 to 5 levels of any skill. does 1 BLD damage.
Step 7 – Equipment: Buy stuff with money from Day Job. Dropped Objects: Does blunt damage = weight
Poking Weapons: ½ point bladed damage, -8 to actions Can’t buy illegal things without the Black Market skill. (divided by 10 lbs or 5 kg) times number of stories.
except blinding strike, pain/stun and vital strike. Step 8 – Bonus Characteristics: PC starts with neutral balance. E.g. 20 lb. object dropped 5 stories does 10 blunt
Advantages must be balanced out by disadvantages. Max. 30 damage.
Blunt Weapons: 1 to 3, -8 to any actions with these BP of disads.
weapons except strike and pain/stun. Step 9 – Character Advancement: Use XP to gain experience Electricity: When harmful levels of electricity run
levels and improve the PC. Gaining supernatural skills through a person, four effects happen:
require dangerous experimentation. -Paralysis (WIL+1d20 vs. 20/pt. of damage),
paralysis only lasts while the electricity is
Spending BP/XP running.
-Unconsciousness (WIL/END+1d20 vs. 10 per
3 skill pts. = 1 BP =10 XP pt. of damage)
1 attribute pt. = 1 BP =10 XP -Heart Attack (END+1d20 vs. 5/pt. of damage),
1 BLD/BDY/INCY pt. = 3 BP =30 XP see Symptoms/Effects (p.133).
$500 = 1 BP N/A -Burn Damage: 1 pt. of burn damage for every 4
pt.s of electrical damage.
Explosion: Explosions can do one, two or all three
Sample Difficulties of the following:
0- Automatic Success -Incendiary Damage (same as Burn damage)
5- Walk down stairs briskly. (AGY) -Concussion Damage (same as Blunt damage)
10- (Easy) Notice a mosquito on PC’s skin. (AWR) -Shrapnel (same as Bladed damage, the amount
15- (Easy-Moderate) Paint ceiling from flimsy ladder. (AGY) is usually expressed as a dice roll and typically
Combat Modifiers 20- (Moderate) Win a game of mah-jongg. (INL) pierces armor)
Aim +4 to roll 25- (Moderate-Hard) Catch paper flying in the wind. (AGY)
30- (Hard) Get burned and not flinch. (WIL) END Damage: Some toxins do END damage.
Blinded (Full) -15 to roll Every pt. of damage takes away 1 pooled END.
Blinded (Partial) -7 to roll 40- (Legendary) Lift a pony over PC’s head. (STH) When pooled END is at 0, damage is done to
Burst -4 to roll BLD.
+5 to roll (-10 to next Save vs. Psychological Shock Difficulties
Extended Action reaction) 10: Seeing a small child driving a car. Falling: 2 blunt damage for each story fallen (a
Improvised Weapon -8 to most rolls 20: Seeing a dog driving a car. story is ~10 ft). Armor typically cannot protect
Leaning -10 to roll 30: Seeing a mass of spiders driving a car. from this damage.
Paired -4 to roll 40: Seeing floating globs of congealed blood connected by Heat: Make saves vs. heat exhaustion hourly. 1st
Simultaneous Act -20 +WIL to roll chains driving a car. failure halves all attributes, each additional failure
Split -10 to rolls does 1 BLD damage.
Targeted -4 to roll Kick Damage Hunger: For every day without food: -1/4 BLD,
Underwater -8 to rolls, half damage SPD 1-5 SPD 6-15 16-19 20-30 31-40 41-50 51+ -2 END.
Actions DMG ½ blunt 1 1½ 2 3 4 5 Radiation: For every pt. of damage: 1 BLD
Area Attack INL+#of shots+1d20 vs. Plus to Damage With Blunt Weapons damage, Vomiting (10), Headache (10), fatigue (-2
10+area in ft. (or +3/m.) END), confusion (-1 INL, AWR). Effects develop
Blinding Strike INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 30 STH 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-25 26-30 31-40 40+ over 24 hours. BLD damage is permanent (unless
Crippling Attack STH+INL+1d20 vs. 30
+ to DMG -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 bone marrow transplants are given). Strong
Disarm STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 30 Punch Damage likelihood (25% per pt. of damage) of developing
Grab STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25 STH 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 25-30 31-40 40+ cancer and cataracts within the next year.
Grab (Pain) STH+INL+1d20 vs. 35 DMG 0 ½ 1 2 3 4 5 Ragged: Like bladed damage, but with an
Grab (Strangle) STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25 increased chance of infection after the battle (see
Grab (Wrestling) STH+INL+1d20 vs. 30 Save vs. Rolled on p.146). For each pt. of ragged damage taken the
Knockaway STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25 Disease Contraction END PC gets -5 to save vs. disease contraction.
Knockdown STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 30 Disease Progression END
Knockout STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 30 Skidding: For each 20 SPD the PC is moving at: 1
Fall/Skid Damage AGY bladed 1 blunt damage. Less if the ground is very
Pain/Stun INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Slash INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 25 Fear WIL soft, more if it is rocky.
Stomp SPD+STH+1d20 vs. 25 Heat Exhaustion END Sleep Deprivation: For every 24 hours without
Strike (Handheld) STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25 Hypothermia END sleep: -3 to AWR, CHM, INL and END. Must
Strike (Projectile) INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 25 Loss of Balance AGY save vs. hallucinations and delusions at (3
Tackle SPD+STH+1d20 vs. 20 Nausea WIL difficulty per 24 hours). Must make saves vs.
Vital Strike (Bladed) INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 35 unconsciousness (15 difficulty per 24 hours) when
Vital Strike (Blunt) INL+STH+1d20 vs. 40 Pain WIL not doing anything.
Wing INL+AGY+1d20 vs. 20 Paralysis WIL
Strangulation/Loss of Oxygen: PC loses 1
Reactions Physiological Addiction END pooled END per round (in addition to pooled
Dodge AWR+AGY+1d20 vs. 25 Physiological Drug Effects END END being lost for other reasons). Resting will
Entangle INL+STH+1d20 vs. 30 Physiological Shock END not bring back any lost END. When END reaches
Flip AGY+STH+1d20 vs. 35 Psychological Addiction WIL 0, PC loses 1 BLD per round. When the PC can
Drop AWR+AGY+1d20 vs. 20 Psychological Drug Effects WIL or INL breathe normally again, lost END and BLD returns
Jump SPD+AGY+1d20 vs. 25
Psychological Shock WIL 1 per round.
Mental Block WIL+1d20 vs. 20 Thirst: ½ BLD damage per day.
Parry STH+AGY+1d20 vs. 25 Unconsciousness END/WIL
282 Appendices
Alleys
Effecting Non-Material Realms Random Urban Neighborhood Table
00-01: Beach (Surfers, partiers, dog-walkers, restaurants, expensive homes.)
WIL + 1d20 difficulty + to
Realm to change supernatural 02-04: Campus (Grass, pathways, big school buildings, dorms, students on
self/environment/others skill rolls bicycles.)
05-10: Commercial Park (Large complexes of one-or-two story office
Land of the buildings and doctor’s offices, used car dealerships, virtually abandoned at
Dead, Deserted 40/50/60 +20 night.)
City, Void,
Citadel 11-13: Docks (Docked ships, warehouses, bars, industrial lots running 24/7.)
14-20: Downtown Commercial (Big office buildings, parking structures,
Subconsciouses, cheap lunch places.)
Bubbles 30/40/50 +30
21-25: Ethnic Enclave (Non-English signs, old apartment buildings, import
grocery stores, tiny restaurants.)
Dreams 20/30/40 +40 26-32: Ghetto (Blocks of cheap apartments, drug dealers on the corners,
overpriced grocery stores.)
Random Get Lost Results 33-37: Historical Residential (Old, nice looking houses, trees, parks.)
01-50: Different block (same neighborhood) 38-43: Industrial: Active (Railyards, gated industrial complexes,
warehouses.)
51-75: Different neighborhood (same city)
44-48: Industrial: Run Down (Abandoned factories, unused railyards,
76-92: Different city (same nation) homeless camps.)
93-98: Different nation 49-56: Main Drag (Gas stations, fast food, liquor stores, motels, heavy traffic
99-00: Different world at all hours.)
57-59: Mansions (Huge lots, perfectly landscaped lawns, wrought iron fences,
regular drive-bys by private security.)
Invisible Encounter Table
For each 1 city block, there are 2d20 common wrigglers, 60-64: Park/Graveyard (Grass, trees, people walking dogs.)
plus the following (on 1d100): 65-69: Projects (Row after row of identical, cheaply built apartment buildings
01-10: None with an occasional community center.)
11-17: Crying Girl 70-75: Shopping District (Strip malls, chain restaurants, huge parking lots.)
18-24: Starer 76-80: Skid-Row (Liquor stores, cheap hotels, shelters, vacant lots, homeless
25-31: Bad Talker people sleeping on the sidewalks.)
32-68: Rare Wriggler 81-89: Suburb (Nearly identical, brand new middle-class houses with perfect
69-72: Very Rare Wriggler lawns and SUVs in the driveways.)
73-80: Stork 90-94: Touristy (Antique and novelty shops, overpriced cafes, historical
81-81: Rumbler landmarks, small museums and parks.)
82-86: Haunter 95-99: Trendy Downtown (Night clubs, coffee shops, bars, trendy clothing
87-93: Wolf stores.)
94-00: Reaper
Random Otherworldly Destination

01-17: Deserted City
18-29: Void
30- 42: Citadel
43-59: Land of the Dead
60-62: Surgeon’s Lab
63-79: Subconscious
80-92: Dream
93-00: Bubble
Random Misfortune Table

01-05: Asthma 72-76: Tinnitus
06-09: Clumsiness 77-78: Anemia
10-14: Coughing 79-80: Epilepsy
15-18: Cramps 81-82: Erotomania
19-23: Dizziness 83-84: Exhaustion
24-27: Fatigue 85-86: Extreme Vertigo
28-32: Forgetfulness 87-88: Fetishism
33-36: Headaches 89-90: Hallucinations
37-41: Indigestion 91-92: Sourceless Pain
42-46: Infertility 93-94: Tooth Loss
47-51: Insomnia 95-96: Weakness
52-56: Nervousness 97-98: Weight Loss
57-61: Nightmares 99-99: Heart Attack
62-66: Nosebleeds 00-00: Stroke
67-71: Poor Temper
Quick Reference 283

Index
Abandoned Buildings.. 24, 41, 193, 225, 250 Internet........................ 72, 213
Addiction..................... 94, 96, 110, 114, 134 170 Invisible, the................ 44, 188, 227, 235
Animals....................... 27, 80, 88, 145, 225, 240, LAPD.......................... 160, 161, 167, 168
238 Mental Illness.............. 7, 42, 155, 169, 204,
Armor.......................... 92, 131 247, 258, 162
Children....................... 54, 57, 82, 116, 121, 219, Native People.............. 16, 17, 150, 159, 188,
242 206, 243
Combat........................ 41, 69, 137, 138, 139 Natural Disaster.......... 81, 86, 160, 166, 229
Crime........................... 71, 88, 118, 170, 183, Nature.......................... 16, 150, 158, 182
224, 225 Occultism.................... 15, 28, 49, 151
Cults............................ 206, 221, 243, 272 Organized Crime......... 48, 72, 118 170, 172,
Damage....................... 9, 32, 92, 106, 131, 132, 224
133, 145 Philosophy.................. 50, 150, 213, 247
Dances......................... 23, 193, 242, 243, 248, Poison.......................... 105, 133, 206, 247
263
Politics........................ 153, 167
Death........................... 8, 52, 131, 215, 219, 236,
256 Pollution...................... 166, 180
Deserted City, the........ 225, 245, 250 Psychodynamics.......... 7, 29, 116, 129, 155,
195, 219, 222, 238,
Dreams........................ 83, 155, 166, 168, 196, 240, 256
234, 249, 257
Reapers........................ 86, 215, 216, 236, 249
Drugs........................... 36, 72, 94, 96, 105, 114,
133, 170, 172 Religion....................... 17, 19, 21, 49, 150,
164, 188, 206, 222,
Firearms...................... 107, 145 243
Gangs.......................... 20, 161, 168, 170, 174, Science........................ 15, 67, 207, 235
178, 181, 225
Sex.............................. 7, 11, 82, 127, 153,
Government................. 62, 111, 167, 176, 211 155, 157, 173, 185
History........................ 18, 150, 159, 206, 243 Shatters........................ 28, 225, 229, 236, 243
Homelessness.............. 42, 60, 164, 167, 176 Skid Row..................... 41, 164, 167, 173,
Homosexuality............ 12, 164, 179, 182, 185, 176, 183
169, 207, 244 Subconsciousness........ 155, 157, 193, 219,
H-Tech......................... 37, 222, 235, 238, 241 247, 249, 256
Immigrants.................. 13, 112, 161, 163, 168,

172, 178, 226
Index 285
Gender Identity Disorder
Mainstream psychiatrists no longer claim that homosexuality
is a disease. However, many young people who are struggling
with gender issues are diagnosed by modern psychiatrists with
“Gender Identity Disorder.” To qualify for such a diagnosis,
the person must have strong feelings of being the wrong
gender and identification with the opposite gender, and the
feelings must be strong enough that they distress the person or
impair the person. Gender Identity Disorder is diagnosed in
children, adolescents and adults.
As a diagnosis, GID is a double edged sword. Some

psychiatrists use it to identify people who are in real pain
because they are unable to accept “who they are,” whether
that be a heterosexual, homosexual or transgendered person.
To them, treating GID means helping people decide how they
want to live their lives and helping them accept this decision
without fear or guilt.
Other psychiatrists use the GID diagnosis as an excuse to try to

brainwash people in to conforming to traditional gender roles
as “treatment” for an “illness” or as an excuse to deny people
seeking sex-reassignment surgery (because the problem, they
say, is psychological and not physical, so changing the body
would be wrong).

In Dark Alleys (IDA) Corebook

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

In Dark Alleys (IDA) Corebook

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

In Dark Alleys (IDA) Corebook

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

IN DARK ALLEYS the Role Playing Game

Is published by Vajra Enterprises, Eureka California

Written and Designed by Brian St.Claire-King

Cover by Jason Juta

Playtested by Tiffany St.Claire-King, Nick “Eeyore!” Page,

Research Consultation by Allon Mureinik and Tiffany St.Claire-King.

Hand Models: Jorden Contreras and Tiffany St.Claire-King.

Editorial Assistance by Tiffany St.Claire-King and Shawn Connor.

Copyright © 2006 by Vajra Enterprises

Chapter One - Character Creation

Step One - Character Concept

Step One - Character Concept 005

Misanthropy: People have been cruel to the PC,

006 Chapter One - Character Creation

Step Two - Psychodynamics 007

008 Chapter One - Character Creation

Health Attributes Friendly/Unfriendly: The character is ±3 to all first impression rolls to

Step Three - Attributes 009

Step Four - Secret Life

010 Chapter One - Character Creation

Other Names- Genderqueers, Metasexuals, Two-Souls,

Most importantly, though, those who are chosen have an

Initiation- Most Androgynes

Step Four - Secret Life 011

012 Chapter One - Character Creation

Step Four - Secret Life 013

Students were trained to keep an open mind to strange

At adventure one, the Animist has learned enough to be able

Typical Evening- Animists gets calls, or visits in person,

Much of the ceremony is just meaningless gestures to show

The most common ceremony Animists perform is curing a

014 Chapter One - Character Creation

Step Four - Secret Life 015

016 Chapter One - Character Creation

Latin American and Caribbean Animists

Step Four - Secret Life 017

018 Chapter One - Character Creation

Step Four- Secret Life 019

020 Chapter One - Character Creation

Other Names- Order of St. Carpocrates, Evil Priests, Heretic

The Chosen- A majority of those who will become Cannibals

Initiation- Most Cannibals were approached by someone

The doctrines said that there is a world of spirit and a world

As initiates learned and agreed with these doctrines, they were

Initiates were be given texts that describe meditations to

Step Four - Secret Life 021

022 Chapter One - Character Creation

Later, putting their lives back together, most new Faustians

The new Faustians also discovered they had supernatural

Most recently, new Faustians have attempted

At adventure one, a new Faustian still doesn’t know what the

Step Four - Secret Life 023

024 Chapter One - Character Creation

Step Four - Secret Life 025

Some Heroes stakeout drug corners where dealers openly

On their rounds, Heroes may see people they know to be

On most nights nothing happens to most Heroes. They

What You Know

026 Chapter One - Character Creation

Step Four - Secret Life 027