Demo Kit I for The
Everlasting
Within
this demo kit you will find brief setting details, some basic guidelines,
sample protagonists, and a starter adventure – everything you need to dive into
The Everlasting: A modern day fantasy roleplaying experience.
The Secret World Setting
The Everlasting is about modern day fantasy roleplaying. There are many
elements involved, such as action & adventure, conspiracy, epic romance,
exploration of the mysterious, gothic horror, gothic romance, hardcore realism,
high fantasy, historical flashbacks, magick, the occult, splatter horror,
surrealism, and even science-fiction.
In The Everlasting
you take on the roles of various supernatural creatures, called eldritch. The eldritch are the various supernatural
races, unique beings, and mysterious forces which inhabit the Secret World on
the fringes of our own; the eldritch are the werewolves, faerie, sorcerers,
vampires, ghosts, dragons, and unicorns of legend. They are creatures of our
imagination, non-existent within our Real World, but extremely real within the
Secret World. So real that they can intrude upon our Real World when we look for them and when they please to show
themselves.
Among the eldritch are certain races that possess
immortality in a variety of forms. These races are set apart as being possibly
the wisest and most ancient of the eldritch; they are the everlasting.
While the eldritch, including all the everlasting, can see
into the Secret World and are closely tied to it, they too still exist
primarily within the Real World. Most of them walk, talk, eat, breath, work,
play, and live among us mere mortals. Only a few mortals can perceive the
eldritch for what they truly are, and most of those mortals are wise enough to
leave them alone. The eldritch are everywhere, though their number compared to
the mortal population is small.
The eldritch once played an open and active role in mortal
society. While mortal societies invented their own myths, many of the myths
were inspired, or given credence, by the eldritch who displayed their
supernatural powers in front of mortals. The tales of ancient gods often show
them as being all too human in their thoughts, deeds and motivations; certainly
the eldritch are all too human themselves and perfect models for these myths.
Down through the ages, the eldritch took advantage of
mortals by playing gods and manipulating mortal leaders. For the most part,
however, the eldritch have not had a great impact upon mortal history. For
instance, while many claim certain immortals perpetuated the idea of a “Master
Race” and Lebensraum (“breathing
room”) that served as the basis for Nazi terror and aggression, others claim
certain evil members of the eldritch merely took advantage of the situation. As
a general rule, it has been mortal society that has influenced the eldritch
more than the opposite.
The Reverie: A Shadow of Reality
There is more to reality than what we see . . . far more.
Haunted houses, bumps in the night, shadows racing through the woods, strange
lights, peculiar feelings, and glimpses of figures out of the corners of your
eyes. Psychologists call the belief in these things magical thinking and fantasy
proneness. But so what if these things do exist only in our imagination?
What is our imagination? What if imagination is simply another sense of
perception? And what are the voices that schizophrenics hear? Could they be
spirits? Are things we just take for granted as real actually part of
everyone’s reality, or are they real only within our own individual minds?
Think of how no two people perceive or recall things the exact same way –
reality is colored by personal perception. Hallucinations, delusions, insanity,
and imaginings may all be altered senses, but they are just as real to the
person experiencing them as anything you have ever experienced. We cannot
define a sense out of context; so there can be other senses, or perception
ranges, beyond our own.
The Reverie is the extension of human senses into what lies Beyond. It is the portion of
reality that exists outside the mundane conception of what we call the Real World. It is part of our
three-dimensional everyday world, but we just never notice it. The Reverie is a
realm that co-exists beside, within, and beyond our mundane reality. The
Reverie is all around us at all times, but only a rare few of us have the power
to feel its presence, and even fewer of us can do more than glimpse, through
dreams and fantasies, the wonder of the Secret World just a sidestep away.
Imagination is the key that unlocks the gateway into this magickal view of our
world. The supernatural is all around
us; we simply do not see it. Rationalization is a survival instinct that we
hone through daily use. Skeptics can even make perceiving the Reverie more
difficult by convincing experiencers that their perceptions are merely mental
aberrations. Science, education, work, and dreary mundane life have dulled our
senses of magick, and put blinders on us that allow us to see reality as a set
of parameters, not as limitless possibilities. Yet magick lies before us; there
are things science cannot explain – wondrous, magickal, dangerous, mysterious,
and exciting things.
The Reverie varies with an individual’s disposition,
nature, imagination, and sensitivity. It is not an unchanging, definable thing.
A vampire disposed toward seeing the world in a gloomy way will see signs of
doom, death, and decay in the Reverie, and will be more apt to notice a ghost
than a manticore. On the other hand, a quester disposed toward seeing the world
in a bright, romantic way might focus on seeing benevolent faerie, brighter
colors, and beauty. Both eldritch may see the same things, but each one focuses
more on certain features of fringe-reality. Thus, the Reverie is indefinable,
but it might be said to exist in layers of “depth.” The deeper one peers into
it, the more one loses touch with (and interest in) the Real World, and the more one becomes an actual part of the Secret World. The deeper one goes into the Reverie, the more unusual the world
becomes – objects, walls, colors, and even beings begin appearing and
disappearing. The true depth of the Reverie may be unfathomable, but at certain
depths it is possible to see into and even enter into strange, unearthly
realms. The world becomes magickal and unlimited, but it remains unhealthy for
one to turn away from real life and lose one’s self in the imagination.
It is easier to access the Reverie in certain places,
specifically places along leylines and other locations where supernatural
activity has occurred. It is easier to work magick and use preternaturae in
these places, since the Reverie is composed of magick. Some mystical locations
serve as permanent gateways to particular realms. Most eldritch tend to make
their sanctums in places where the Reverie is especially strong, since it
sometimes makes it easier for them to apply the magick of the Secret World for
their own benefit.
Fantasts are rare mortals who have active imaginations, open minds,
and powerful wills; they can see into the Reverie, identify the use of magick,
recognize the eldritch, and sense the use of supernatural powers anywhere near
them. Some of the original creators of fantasy roleplaying games along with
many gamers are also secretly fantasts. In fact, there is a real guild of them,
and guild members gather together as “dungeon parties” and go on actual
adventures. Children find it the easiest to peer into the Reverie, but not all
children can do so, as they lose their magick sense extremely quickly. Like Alice in Wonderland, some children
actually do visit faraway magickal kingdoms. Hallucinogens can also break down
the walls of reality. However, they do so with a sledgehammer and most people who take these drugs are not prepared
for what they experience. Insanity is another means of piercing the shadowy
wall that separates the two worlds. Delusions are often features of the Reverie
that a person considers part of the Real World.
Many fantasts begin to suffer what psychologists believe
are delusions, when in fact they actually lose the ability to distinguish between
what is real to everyone and what is real only to those who can sense the
Reverie. Some poor fantasts become so lost in the Secret World that they can no
longer function in the world everyone else lives in. Most are forced into
therapy and some are even sent away to mental hospitals for treatment. Such are
the costs of dealing with what is beyond the realm of human comprehension.
Realms of Magick
On the Otherside, just beyond the Reverie, there are other
worlds, forever joined with the earth. Few people know of gateways for
physically entering into these other realms, but they do exist . . . somewhere
within us. The two realms most easily accessed, and most frequently explored,
by both mortals and the everlasting, are the Astra and Dreamworlds.
The Astra is a collection of realms entered through meditative out-of-body
experiences where thought has substance and ideas have form. The Dreamworlds are realms entered while
dreaming where the subconscious rules and dreams define reality.
Several sub-realms compose the Astra including: the Collective (the human collective
unconscious composed of universal thoughts and representing the largest of the
realms); the Menagerie (the
collective for the animal kingdom); the Verdant
Lands (the collective for the plant kingdom); the Inner Sanctums (each individual’s personal astral realm); and the Netherworlds (unholy places where demons
reside.)
The Dreamworlds are in many ways wild reflections of the
astral realms composed of unconscious thought, chaos, and some sort of vague
omniscience that laces the substance of dream. The same realms described for
the Astra exist in warped form within the Dreamworlds, but there is also Phantasia, a land of dream empires
controlled by numerous dreamlords (most of whom are mortal dreamers.)
Another realm that is closely tied to earth, but more
difficult to enter (except to children and those lost in their imaginations),
is Faeryland. It is also known as Avalon, the Summerlands, and the Faery
Kingdoms. Composed of forgotten and stolen pieces of our world and others,
it is a strange and wondrous place and home to all manner of faerie creatures,
including some that were once mortal.
Lastly, the most enigmatic of the known realms is the Underworld. Little is known about it by
the living other than it is home to dead souls and other bizarre entities.
Extradimensional Rifts
Within the last twenty or so years, strange things have
been occurring to the barriers between the realms within the Secret World. For
some unknown reason, temporary vortices
form, allowing individuals to wander from one realm into another. These rifts
in time and space have allowed many strange things from other worlds to find
their way onto Earth.
These vortices open and close in various places without any
pattern or warning. Sometimes they are accompanied by actual spatial or
temporal distortions, but they usually occur without notice. Only after someone
wanders from one world into the next does she notice it. A victim might be
walking down a city street in modern day only to turn the corner and find
herself in Camelot over 1,400 years
ago.
Often people and objects are transported through vortices
find their way back to their original places and times. A few victims, however,
do not survive to return, but those who do come back usually return as
fantasts. Still, a few try to rationalize their odd experiences as dreams,
hallucinations, nervous breakdowns, or even episodes of total insanity, while
others simply repress them as forgotten memories.
There are some eldritch who hunt these vortices for a
variety of reasons: to explore new worlds, to find their way back to their home
realms, or even to destroy them, thus preventing things which pose threats from
accidentally wandering through the vortices.
Cities are not only the centers of mortal civilization they
are also the centers of eldritch civilization for many gentes. A single city is
often home to a large number of eldritch, including many angels, daevas,
demons, gargoyles, ghuls, manitou, osirians, possessed, questers, reanimates,
revenants, vampires, wer, and even a dragon or two. A single city may contain a
patchwork of dominions that are so sought after that there is always fighting
and contention among individuals and factions.
The cities of the eldritch are our own cities, we just do
not notice they are living and moving freely among us. They are subtle in their
warfare and skillful in their manipulations. Cities throughout the world have
been called the Aceldama – places of
true death and atrocity. The cities of the New World have become the prizes and
the battlegrounds of the everlasting over the last thirty years. Many immortals
are being instinctively drawn to North America by some force of destiny, and
the resulting population increase among the everlasting in the New World has
become known as the Convergence.
Guideline Basics
Guideline Lexicon
Action: Whenever the character does anything, it is considered an
action. Within the guideline system, combat cycles are broken down into turns.
Most actions take place within the span of one turn.
Actual Difficulty: The base difficulty modified by the character’s ability
score (which acts as a difficulty modifier) and any roleplaying or tactical
difficulty modifiers.
Aptitudes: A general ability that encompasses many specific
abilities associated with it. A character’s score in an aptitude serves as the
character’s default score for all skills that fall within that aptitude.
Aspects: Innate physical, mental and spiritual traits that may be
used to define a character. Nine aspects are used in The Everlasting. Aspect scores also represent the number of cards
drawn or dice rolled when a character takes any action.
Base Difficulty: A number representing how hard it would be to accomplish
a particular action in a particular situation, regardless of who is attempting
the action. The higher the number, the more difficult the action.
Combat Cycle: A period of time in the story representing a segment of a
battle or other dramatic event (or struggle) anywhere from ten seconds to one
minute in length, depending upon how dramatic and lengthy the Guide wishes the
battle to be. The combat cycle is divided into 10 turns.
Debilitating
Damage: Damage done in an attack that in
some way permanently injures the victim, such as dismemberment, burn damage, or
disease. Debilitating damage can only be healed by eldritch, through
regeneration, some other power, or at one-tenth a character’s normal healing
rate.
Difficulty
Modifier: A number that modifies the base
difficulty to determine the actual difficulty. A character’s abilities are
considered difficulty modifiers.
Insidious Damage: Damage that cannot be resisted by a character’s Spirit,
Resilience, or any other aspect. Poison, acid, radiation, noxious fumes, and sonic
attacks are examples of insidious damage.
Skills: An ability that falls under an aptitude. There are seven
skills listed for each aptitude.
Standard
Difficulty: The number 9 is considered the
standard difficulty for all average actions.
Success: A card draw (or dice roll) in which the actual difficulty
number, or a higher number, is drawn (or rolled.) A success usually means that
the character succeeds in accomplishing whatever action she was attempting.
However, in some cases, more than one success is required for the character to
completely succeed in performing the action.
Turn: A time period within a combat cycle during which a
character may take a single action. There are ten turns within a combat cycle.
Using Cards or Dice
In life there are very few absolutes; most events are based
upon probability. Two ways of handling probability in legendmaking are through
the use of cards and dice. In The
Everlasting, playing cards, tarot cards, 12-sided dice, or other types of
dice may be used to mirror luck and the unknown factors of chance involved.
Each participant chooses the system she wishes to use, such as the card system
or the dice system.
Cards provide several advantages over dice. First and
foremost, they are easier to keep up with, manipulate, and see. Second, tarot
cards provide a magical feel to the mythic experience, creating a sense of
ritualism and arcane atmosphere. Third, cards make cheating more difficult. It
is harder to redraw the right card than it is to either lie about a die roll or
simply flip a die over to another number. Fourth, while the King in the deck
increases the possibility of failure, there are only four aces in a deck, which
limits the chance of having to take off successes and the chance of disaster.
Card Values and Dice Equivalents
Cards function within the mythic experience in the same
manner as dice within roleplaying games in that their face values represent
certain numbers used in determining degrees of success or failure. The
following chart provides details:
Cards Die Roll
Ace = One (Counts toward a Disaster)(described in later section)
Two
thru Ten = Same
Jack = Eleven
Queen = Twelve
King = Variable (If no Destiny points spent = failure. If a
Destiny point is spent before making the draw, the card counts as a 13. See the
guidelines for achieving a mystical “13.”)
All cards drawn may be reshuffled into the deck before
making another draw.
Number of Cards or Dice: Aspect scores represent the number of cards drawn or dice
rolled in any action involving that aspect. So, if a character has a Spirit of
7 and she is attempting some action involving her Spirit, the participant draws
seven cards or rolls seven dice.
Difficulty
A Guide will tell a participant the “base difficulty” for
the card draw or dice roll. The base difficulty is determined by the situation;
easier actions have a lower base difficulty, while complex actions have a
higher base difficulty. If the Guide does not wish to come up with a base
difficulty, then the “standard difficulty” may be used as the “base
difficulty.” The standard difficulty is 9.
The base difficulty may be modified in a number of ways to
determine the “actual difficulty.” Modifiers, such as abilities, reduce the
base difficulty, making the actual difficulty a lower number. Each number that
comes up equal to, or greater than, the actual difficulty represents one
success. The number of successes determines the character’s degree of success.
One success usually means the character barely succeeded, while five successes
means it was a piece of cake.
Base Difficulty Degree of Difficulty
Six Very
Easy
Eight Routine
Ten Challenging
Twelve Extremely
Difficult
Fourteen Strenuous
Sixteen Insurmountable
The base difficulty can range as low as 5 and go as high as
the Guide wishes, though 18 is the standard limit. The base difficulty is the same for all characters in that
particular situation. Fortunately, both the participant’s ingenuity and a
character’s skill can modify that difficulty. The standard difficulty is 9.
Degree of Success: 1 success = minimal, 2 successes = adequate, 3 successes =
good, 4 successes = excellent, 5 successes = exceptional, 6 successes =
incredible, 7 successes = astounding
Disasters: On all card draws, deduct one success for each ace drawn or one rolled,
starting with the highest success number drawn and going downward. Should a
participant draw more aces or roll more 1’s than successes, her protagonist
suffers a disaster – meaning the protagonist fails and something bad happens to
her; the more “ones” left after deducting all the successes drawn, the greater
the disaster.
Types of Actions
Standard Actions: Whenever a character attempts some action involving the
utilization of a skill but the action is not a long-term one and does not pit
the character directly against another character, then it is called a standard action. The basic card draws
and dice rolls are made versus the difficulty determined by the Guide to
determine success. All cards drawn are played face up.
Contested Actions: Whenever a character pits her own aspects and abilities
against those of another character, both characters must make “contested” card
draws or dice rolls. The character that achieves the greatest number of
successes wins the contest by however many more successes she achieved over her
opponent’s number of successes.
Extended Actions: There are occasions when one success is not enough to
accurately represent a laborious action that requires a lot of time and effort.
In these cases, draws or rolls must be constantly made at a rate determined by
the Guide (usually once per turn) until enough cumulative successes are
achieved to represent the completion of the task. If at any time during the
extended action a disaster occurs, all successes accumulated up until that
point are lost.
Special Options
Mystical Thirteen: If a participant is roleplaying an eldritch protagonist,
before making a card draw, she can spend one (and only one) Destiny point to
add one point to the highest number she achieves on her card draw or dice roll.
This might turn a failure into a success. Even better, if she draws a king or
rolls a 12, by adding one point to it she achieves a 13, which provides a
stunning success. (The 13 counts as 6 successes on the current draw.)
Double or Nothing: If the participant achieves a success with a queen or 12,
she has the option of drawing a single card or rolling a single die in an
attempt to double the number of successes she achieved on the first draw or
roll. A success on a draw or roll of 1 card (9 diff.) doubles the initial
successes. A failure takes away all initial successes. A disaster indicates a
grievous mishap. “Double or nothing” can only be used in combat for attack
draws or rolls.
Protagonist Details
Animus: Animus
is lifeforce. Powers cost animus to use, and all eldritch lose 3 animus each
day automatically.
Sustenance: Sustenance is food, water, sleep, or (for some eldritch)
more unusual forms of replenishing animus.
Torments: Each
race of eldritch has its own type of fatal flaw and weakness (such as ennui, furor,
doom, damnation, degeneration, etc.). Torments can come into play at any
appropriate time, serving as an aspect (#cards drawn) on draws relating to
behavior. Resisting a torment requires a contest between Spirit and the Torment
(difficulty 8 for each.)
Destiny Points: Destiny points (DPs) represent a link to some greater
purpose and allow a participant to take on greater control over events and the
outcome of stories. Destiny is not represented by a permanent score, but rather
by a pool of points that may be earned and spent. Destiny points may be spent
in any of the following ways:
·
One DP may be spent for one
automatic success on any one card draw or dice roll. Up to three Destiny points
may be spent this way on one draw or roll.
·
Two DPs may be spent to alter
some minor setting detail or to cause some minor coincidence to occur.
·
Three DPs may be spent to
alter some major setting detail or to cause some incredible coincidence to
occur.
·
Four DPs may be spent to
slightly alter some minor event, making it more in the favor of the
protagonist. While events cannot be recalled which have already happened,
things can occur which can drastically change the current direction of events.
A Guide may grant Destiny points to participants who do
things such as improve an adventure, provide great roleplaying fun, provide
food, perform services like running off character sheets, or keep logs of each
session. Participants who sit back and take little interest in roleplaying do
not earn Destiny points. Whenever an eldritch is killed, the victim’s DPs go to
the killers.
Backlash Points: Backlash points (BPs) are “anti-Destiny points” or “bad
karma.” Representing a “you reap what you sow” law for the Secret World. A
protagonist’s Backlash points may be spent by the Guide or other participants
(in certain cases), but not by the participant roleplaying the protagonist.
Backlash points turn the protagonist’s successes into failures, turning one
success into a failure for each BP spent. The Guide may also spend the Backlash
points to cause the protagonist some temporary (or possibly permanent) bad luck
or curse.
Backlash is gained through evil deeds, such as
intentionally harming someone who does not deserve punishment. The greater the
harm to an innocent, the greater the backlash. The degree of innocence of the
victim can also help determine the exact number of Backlash points. Causing an
innocent child to break a leg might generate 2 Backlash points, while killing a
murderer might generate no Backlash points.
Abilities (Aptitudes and Skills)
There are two basic types of abilities – Aptitudes and Skills. Aptitudes are like “macro-abilities” in that they encompass
several skills. While skills are more like “micro-abilities.” There are 9
aptitudes common among both mortals and eldritch and a 10th aptitude
available only to the eldritch (and certain rare humans.) Most skills can be
fit into at least one of the ten aptitudes. Under each aptitude are seven of
its skills that are most commonly used within The Everlasting.
The protagonist’s score in an aptitude is her base score
for all skills it encompasses. So, if she had a score of 4 in Melee, all the
skills listed under Melee are automatically at least 4 in score. In addition, a
protagonist may have a higher score in an individual skill than she has in her
overall aptitude.
For card draws, if a protagonist does not have a score in a
particular skill, then the skill defaults to the protagonist’s score in the
related aptitude.
List of Aptitudes and their Skills
Athletics:
Accuracy, Acrobatics, Climb, Dance, Focus, Run, Swim
Criminal:
Espionage, Firearms, Legerdemain, Murder, Security, Stealth, Streetwise
Humanities:
Antiquities, Artistry, History, Language, Music, Religion, Research
Influence:
Deception, Eloquence, Empathy, Intimidate, Persuasion, Question, Romance
Martial Arts: Blind Fighting, Block, Evasion, Grapple, Kick, Punch,
Takedown
Melee:
Axes, Clubs, Knives, Flails, Polearms, Staves, Swords
Modern Life: Alertness, Area Knowledge, Computers, Driving, Management, Profession
(choose one), Social Awareness
Naturalism:
Animals, Equestrian, Herbalism, Hunt, Orienteer, Survival, Track
Sciences:
Engineering, Life Science, Mathematics, Medicine, Physical Science, Psychology,
Rationalize
Supernatural (Not Available to Normal
Humans*): Arcana, Astral, Dream, Eldritch,
Empower, Illumination, Intuition
Definitions for Unusual Skills
The following skills may seem unusual.
Accuracy:
Throwing things and hitting a target; not used for bows and guns.
Alertness:
Observation ability and watchfulness.
Animals:
Identifying animals by their footprints, sounds, habits, and appearance; plus
animal empathy and the ability to train animals.
Arcana: Occult
knowledge such as Kabbalah, Hermetic lore, Gnosticism, numerology, alchemy, and
astrology. It does not grant any ability to use magick.
Area Knowledge: Knowledge of a particular geographical area. The smaller
the area, the greater the character’s depth of knowledge for the area.
Astral: Astral
projection along with traveling within and controlling the astral realms.
Dream: Choosing
your dreams along with traveling within and controlling the Dreamworlds.
Eldritch: Knowledge
of the eldritch (the supernatural races) and identifying eldritch on sight.
Empower:
Instilling supernatural power into objects and mortal creatures.
Focus: Channeling
internal energies (chi or ki) and controlling own bodily
functions.
Hunt:
Stalking and killing wild game, cleaning the prey, and bowmanship.
Illumination: Perceiving the Reverie
(the supernatural portion of reality) and sensing supernatural events.
Intuition: A natural talent for strong feelings, hunches, and guessing ability that
is often correct.
Legerdemain: Sleight of hand, pick pocketing, and card tricks.
Life Sciences: Knowledge of the sciences concerning living things, such as
biology, botany, eugenics, entomology, ornithology, and zoology.
Medicine: The
healing arts, including diagnosing and treating various human injuries and
illnesses. A character must have a
minimum score of four and educational degrees in order to be a practicing
physician of any sort.
Murder: Planning,
executing, and investigating murders.
Orienteer: Determining direction and distance, plus plotting courses from place to
place.
Physical Science: Knowledge of the physical sciences such as astronomy,
chemistry, geology, and physics.
Profession: Must pick any one job, craft or form of skilled labor.
Psychology: Understanding and predicting human motives and behavior.
Question: Ranges
from torture to shrewd questions.
Rationalize: The ability of an individual to convince others and her
that the supernatural does not exist.
Romance:
Flirting, seduction, charm, romantic and wit.
Social Awareness: Knowledge of current events, politics, environmental
issues, pop culture, subcultures, fashion, music, entertainment, social trends,
and slang.
Combat Guidelines
Combat may be divided into two basic categories:
hand-to-hand and ranged. Combat follows a set structure, keeping the
legendmaking running smoothly and maintaining fairness and consistency. The Guide
has full artistic license in describing battles. The only limitation is that
nothing can be done to unfairly hinder or improve any character’s role in
combat.
Speed: All characters have a special quality called Speed listed
on their character profile sheet. A character’s Speed score is equal to the
number of actions the character may take in a turn of combat. For instance, if
a character had a Speed of 4, she could take four actions in a combat cycle.
Combat Cycles: Combat cycles are commonly 12 seconds to one minute long
and are broken down into 10 “turns,” with each turn commonly lasting a little
over one second to 5 seconds in duration. A character’s Speed score determines
the number of turns in which she may act and on what turns she may act. The faster
the character, the sooner she gets to act. Each turn is almost like a
“mini-combat cycle.” Turns may seem awkward at first, but, when dealing with
extremely quick supernatural creatures, it is the easiest way to keep up with
their actions.
Actions
The following chart provides you with the estimated turns
required for performing various actions within a combat cycle.
Action Taken Turns
Required
Blocking 0
(may be used as defense)
Diving
for Cover 0
(may be used as defense)
Dodging 0
(may be used as defense)
Drawing
a Weapon 1
Leaping variable
(1 to 3 based on distance)
Martial
Arts Attack variable
(1 or 2)
Regeneration 0
(can begin on turn the damage is taken)
Reloading
or unjamming a Gun 2
Using a
Supernatural Power variable
(1 to 2 usually)
Weapon
Attack 1
* Initiative Attacks: There is one exception to the way turns are handled based
on Speed; all characters have the opportunity to attack first, thus instigating
a battle. Treat this as if their attacks were coming in the in the last turn of
a combat cycle. Thus, all characters instigating the combat may act first,
regardless of their Speed scores. When the other party is expecting a fight, an
Instincts (10 – Empathy) draw is made using the character with the highest
Instincts score on each side in a contested draw. If the character on the
instigators’ side gets more successes, his side has the initiative. If the character on the attacked side
gets more successes, the initiative is canceled out and it becomes turn one of
a combat cycle and actions may proceed normally.
1) Combat Declaration: Actions are declared in order of lowest to highest
Instincts score. In cases where two characters have the same Instincts score,
actions are declared in order of lowest to highest Dexterity. If still equal,
then actions are declared in order of lowest to highest Character Level. Once
all actions are declared, they cannot be changed.
Combat Resolution: After combat declarations have been made, all participants
make their card draws and dice rolls. The results are called out in whatever
order the Guide finds the easiest to keep up with.
Making a Hand-to-Hand Attack:
Attacker’s
Dexterity (Base difficulty as determined by attack type or weapon type – character’s skill)
Versus
Defender’s
Dexterity (Base difficulty as determined by weapon type + Defensive Modifier – character’s skill)
Making a Ranged Attack:
Attacker’s
Dexterity (Base difficulty as determined by weapon type – character’s skill +
Range modifier)
Versus
Defender’s Cover
or movement (Base difficulty as determined by form of cover or movement)
2) Determining Damage: Damage occurs only if more attack successes were achieved
than defense successes. Each weapon has a Damage score. Add the damage number
to the number of attack successes, provided any attack successes were achieved,
to determine the number of damage points inflicted.
3) Resistance Draws: To resist a physical attack, a participant draws or rolls
the protagonist’s Resilience versus a difficulty of 7. Insidious attacks cannot
be defended against. Each success on the resistance draw reduces the damage
inflicted by one point. Mental and spiritual attacks are usually resisted by
Spirit instead of Resilience. Wound modifiers do not affect Resistance draws.
4) Trauma: Whenever a character takes damage her Life score to half its normal
score or less, her participant must make a trauma draw, which is usually
Resilience (7), achieving at least one success, else the character becomes
unconscious. A Trauma draw cannot have a Disaster, merely treat the draw as a
complete failure. Wound modifiers do
not affect Trauma draws. If a character goes unconscious she will awake at the
end of the current scene or the beginning of the next scene, as determined by
the Guide.
5) Repeat the Process: After the resolution for that particular turn, the next
turn begins. It is handled in the same manner as described above.
Ranged Combat Options
Cover in a Gunfight
Cover, defensive positions, and movement within the
gunfight represent the defense card draws. Disasters on cover draws inflict one
additional point of damage per ace or one. A participant who does not want to
keep making card draws can declare that she is making one draw for cover that
will be applied to all shots for the turn that come from a particular
direction. The successes drawn are
applied to each individual shot by attackers. Durability of the cover can come
into play, but for the most part, this can be handled “fast and loose.” Card Draws (at 7 difficulty): 0% cover
= 0 cards, 25% cover = 2 cards, 50% cover = 4 cards, 75% cover = 6 cards, 90%
cover = 8 cards
“Unloading” on a Target: Whenever
a character trades away her next action or pays one Destiny point
(participant’s choice), the character can fire as many shots during her current
action as she normally could over the entire combat cycle. The shots are
considered normal attacks. Obviously, a weapon cannot fire more shots than its
current ammunition will allow.
Physical Healing Guidelines
First Aid: A character with at least one point in the Medicine skill can perform any of the basic forms of first aid.
First aid prevents the loss of further Life points, allows a subject to heal
any temporary damage, and allows the subject to recover from Trauma.
Medical Treatment: Medical treatment allows a patient to make one Resilience
(11) draw each day to recover Life points from debilitating damage and one
Resilience (8) draw each day to recover Life points from normal damage.
Normal Healing: Healing from normal damage without medical treatment
requires a simple Resilience (8) draw once per day. While healing does not
require any sort of special treatment, herbalism and medicines can reduce the
healing difficulty.
Regeneration: Many eldritch possess the power to regenerate lost body parts
and heal at a rate vastly superior to normal humans.
·
Regeneration (1) = recover
from normal damage at a rate of 1 Life points per combat cycle and from
debilitating damage at a rate of 1 Life point per 3 minutes.
·
Regeneration (2) = recover
from normal damage at a rate of 2 Life points per combat cycle and from
debilitating damage at a rate of 1 Life point per 2 minutes.
·
Regeneration (3) = recover
from normal damage at a rate of 3 Life points per combat cycle and from
debilitating damage at a rate of 1 Life point per minute.
Healing occurs at the end of the tenth turn of the combat
cycle, and costs 1 animus per five points of damage healed to use Regeneration
(round up.) If the character runs out of animus, she cannot heal through
regeneration and falls unconscious. A character cannot choose not to use
Regeneration, it occurs automatically. Each wound is healed separately and all
wounds are healed simultaneously. So, a character with three wounds for 5, 7,
and 3 points of damage and Regeneration (3) could regenerate the wounds down to
2, 4, and 0 respectively by the end of the first combat cycle of regeneration,
and at a cost of 2 animus since 9 points of damage are regenerated.
The Blacksword Fellowship
The six current members of this
fellowship may serve as protagonists for this adventure. Deandro, the osirian
sought after in this adventure, was once a member of the fellowship. If you
have a copy of The Everlasting, you
may create your own character.
Name: Vistalis, Current Alias: Derrick Invernus
Gentes: Aghni Draconis
(Fire Dragon)
Apparent Age: 36, Actual Age: 426
Mortal Profession:
Vulcanologist
Sanctum: Underground
labyrinth with mansion above it
Aspects Abilities
(Aptitudes & Related Skills)
Instincts
3 Athletics 2 (Accuracy
4)
Intellect
5 Criminal 0 (Firearms
2, Security 1, Stealth 1)
Perception
7 Humanities 3 (Antiquities
5, Artistry 5, Research 5)
Dexterity
4 Influence 0 (Eloquence
2, Intimidate 4, Persuasion 1, Question 2)
Resilience
6 Martial Arts 0 (Evasion
2, Punch 3)
Strength
6 Melee 0 (Axes 5)
Inspiration
2 Modern Life 1 (Computers
2, Profession: scholar 2)
Presence
4 Naturalism 2
Spirit
3 Science 5
Supernatural
2 (Illumination 3)
Torment:
Furor 3 (He can go berserk around dragonslayers and defilers of nature. Some
dragons have destroyed entire cities in their rage.)
Distinctions: Biography +2, Eldritch Ties -1, Psyche -2, Resources +5,
Servitors +3, Temporal Ties +2
Inheritances (Powers):
Adaptation (3): Immune to the fiery climate of lava pits and
infernos.
Ancestral Memory: Dragons can
recall the memories of their ancestors. The further back the generation, the
harder it is for them to recall the memory.
Body Armor (2): The dragon suffers two less points of damage from all
physical attacks, except Insidious Attacks, after the normal Resistance draw is
made for each attack.
Damaging Blood (1): The dragon’s blood is an acidic venom that causes
damage to those who in contact with it, though other dragons are immune.
Whenever the dragon’s blood spurts out, the closest person suffers two points
of debilitating damage that may be resisted normally.
Dracomorphics: Dragons can shapeshift into partial and full dragon form.
Spending 10 Destiny points allows for transformation into true dragon form. In
dragon form, he gains +3 to Perception, Resilience, Strength, and Presence. He
gains +15 Life points, takes an additional one less point of damage from all
attacks, and can breathe fire. Enhanced
Memory: The dragon has an incredible memory that is even more detailed and
accurate than an eidetic memory.
Enhanced Senses (4): The dragon is at -4 on all her difficulties for card
draws involving any of her senses.
Rapid Healing (1): The dragon heals at twice the normal healing rate.
The dragon makes a normal healing draw once every 12 hours instead of once per
day.
Special
Communication: The Eldest Tongue: Dragons can comprehend all languages, save for
the manitou’s symbol language and the ghul’s gibberish language. All mortals
and eldritch can comprehend the dragon language. No card draw is required and
it costs no animus to use this power.
Special
Resistance(3): The Dragon is totally
immune to toxins, acids, diseases, intense pressure, and drowning.
Vision Powers (3): The dragon has ultravision, thermal vision, and
telescopic vision. It costs one animus to use any one of these vision powers,
but the effects may last for the remainder of the scene.
Speed 3,
Act on Turns: 4, 7, 10
Life 15,
Animus 9, Destiny 11, Backlash 17
Sustenance: 1. Food and Water (regain 1
animus per day, regardless of the number of meals), 2. Sleep: 1 animus per 4 hours of sleep, 3. Treasure: 1 animus per Horde point consumed.
Horde Points: 30 (regained only by gaining large amounts of treasures)
Ht: 5’7” Wt: 170 Eyes: Steel gray, Hair: Dark red, short hair with beard
Appearance: “Derrick Invernus” looks like a 36-year old, athletic,
well-tanned male with a scholarly, well-groomed look. He is very warm to the
touch, as his body temperature is consistently 103 degrees. He prefers casual
but expensive clothing and dresses in earthtones primarily, though he
occasionally sports black or grays. He wears designer glasses with clear
lenses, but only to further his scholarly appearance, as his senses are
exceptionally sharp.
In his rare draconic form, he is terrifying to behold, and
even the most sturdy of eldritch warriors will tremble before him. He stands
around 30 to 50 feet in height at the shoulders, with a neck around 20 feet in
length, and a tail that is 35 feet in length. His body is bulky and lumbering,
with short and stout forelegs, and huge and powerful hindlegs. He looks like a
red dragon from a fantasy novel, with red scales, golden horns, black and
orange eyes, and puffs of smoke that pour from his nostrils when he exhales.
His voice in draconic form is like a crackling inferno trying to speak.
Personality: “Derrick” is like many of his kind in that at times he can
be prideful, arrogant, and condescending to humans (including human eldritch.)
His furor (rage) is minimal for one of his race, as he has overcome much of his
racial prejudices over the course of the centuries. In fact, he is even
believed to actually like and trust the human eldritch of his fellowship. He
has a strong love of science and learning, as he hopes to recapture the secrets
of his ancestors lost after the World Flood. He is one of the world’s leading
vulcanologist primarily because of his love for fire and volcanoes, but also
because he is especially good at performing dangerous research that would kill
mere mortals and even most eldritch. He is also a lover of antiquities,
particularly items crafted before the prehistoric Cataclysm (the fall of the
dragons).
Story Hook: He is on this adventure to recover some prehistoric dragon-crafted
artifacts said to be within the wizard’s tower.
Weapon:
9mm Pistol, Base Attack: 4 (8 diff.) draw, Dam: Atk. Successes +2, Shots per action: 2, Clip: 12
Weapon:
Empowered Axe, Base Attack: 4 (5 diff.) draw, Dam: Atk. Successes +4 (does
debilitating damage)
Attack:
Punch, Base Attack: 4 (6 diff.) draw, Dam:
Atk. Successes (stun damage, lasts until end of scene unless healed)
Attack:
Claw and/or Bite (in dragon form), Base
Attack: 4 (6 diff.) draw, Dam: Atk. Successes + 5 (does
debilitating damage)
Attack:
Fiery Breath (in dragon form), Base Attack: 4 (6 diff.) draw, Dam: Atk. Successes + 9 (does
debilitating damage) The damage affects all creatures who are within a 20-foot
radius of the dragon’s breath. Animus
Cost: 2 per use
=================================================================
Name: Sir Equilarias Devon,
Current Alias: Vincent Monroe
Gentes: Quester
(Knight of the Grail)
Apparent Age: 36, Actual Age: 1,211
Mortal Profession:
Emergency room doctor
Sanctum: Mobile most
of the time, currently a small city apartment
Aspects Abilities
(Aptitudes & Related Skills)
Instincts
4 Athletics 1 (Accuracy
2, Acrobatics 3)
Intellect
4 Criminal 1 (Firearms
4, Security 2, Stealth 3, Streetwise 2)
Perception
3 Humanities 1 (History 3,
Language 2, Religion 3)
Dexterity
7 Influence 1 (Romance
3)
Resilience
5 Martial Arts 3 (Evasion
5)
Strength
4 Melee 3 (Swords 5)
Inspiration
5 Modern Life 1 (Driving
2)
Presence
3 Naturalism 1 (Equestrian
2, Hunt 2, Orienteer 2, Survival 2)
Spirit
6 Science 1 (Life
Science 4, Medicine 5, Psychology 3)
Supernatural
2
Torment:
Doubt 3 (When presented with situations that cause him to question his faith in
a higher power and his dedication to the quest, he must make a Doubt draw.
Increased Doubt can cause him to age, to lose powers, and to become inactive
and depressed.)
Distinctions: Biography +4, Eldritch Ties +2, Physique +1, Psyche +1,
Resources +2, Spirituality +2, Supernature -3
Benisons (Powers):
Body Armor (1): The quester takes 1 less point of damage from all
physical attacks, except insidious attacks, after making the normal Resistance
draw. (This does not add to the Body Armor versus demonic attacks.)
Body Armor vs.
Demons (3): Same as above, but the quester
suffers 3 less points of damage from attacks by demons and other infernal
creatures. It grants absolutely no protection from attacks by any other
eldritch or mortals, not even the most evil ones.
Invoke Miracles: Whenever the quester is in a disastrous situation she
cannot get herself out of, the Guide may allow a Spirit (9) versus her Doubt
(6) draw. If the quester’s Spirit gets the most successes, the Guide may allow
a miracle to occur. The Guide decides the nature and scope of the miracle. It
costs no animus to use this benison, but it may cost Destiny points; the Guide
decides how many.
Rapid Healing (2): The quester heals at four times her normal human
healing rate against all forms of damage, including insidious and debilitating
damage. The quester makes one healing draw every 6 hours instead of once per
day.
Speed 5,
Act on Turns: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10
Life 15,
Animus 14, Destiny 9, Backlash 3
Sustenance: 1. Food and water: Regain 1
animus per meal (up to 3 meals per day), 2. Sleep:
Regain 1 animus per four hours of sleep, 3. Spiritual
devotion: Regain 1 animus for each success on an Inspiration (12 -
Illumination) draw, make one draw per hour of ecstatic meditation. The quester
achieves some sort of divine mystical union that replenishes her faith in the
quest.
Ht: 6’2” Wt: 190 Eyes: Brown, Hair: Medium
brown, wavy, medium length
Appearance: “Vincent Monroe” usually looks to be in his mid 30s, but he is well
over a millennium old. His apparent age has fluctuated over the centuries as
his a faith in a higher power and belief in his mission has waxed and waned;
his immortality is tied to the strength of his beliefs. Vincent is in top
physical condition and is a very handsome man. He has a charismatic grin. He
prefers athletic and outdoor styles of clothing, but his clothes are always
expensive, clean, neat, and new. He wears a gold ring bearing his original
green and blue coat of arms. He carries a cane containing a rapier most of the
time, but when adventuring prefers a long sword carried under a brown duster.
Personality: He is a healer and helper of the weak. Vincent became a
doctor over 150 years ago and has continued to work as a medical doctor ever
since. In the past he never had a practice because his quest led him around the
world. For the last 7 years he has remained in the city and now works as an
emergency room doctor. He is dedicated, emotional, sensitive to suffering, and
kind-hearted. Among his friends and fellowship, however, he is a joker and a
clown, and among his enemies he is a ruthless terror without mercy. He hates
with a passion demons, revenants, and vampires (save for “Jeffery Rosen” of his
fellowship, who saved his life once.) He is good at hiding his real emotions
even from his friends.
Story Hook: Vincent Monroe hates demons and suspects that the creature now
controlling the wizard’s tower may be a demon. If it proves true, he intends to
find the creature and send it back to wherever it came from.
Weapon:
.357 revolver, Base Attack: 7 (6 diff.) draw, Dam: Atk. Successes +3, Shots per action: 1, Rounds: 6 (He has two revolvers and may
fire two at once, but his difficulty with each goes up by +3.)
Weapon:
Longsword, Base Attack: 7 (6 diff.) draw, Dam:
Atk. Successes +3
Attack:
Punch, Base Attack: 7 (6 diff.) draw, Dam:
Atk. Successes -1 (stun damage, lasts until end of scene unless healed)
=================================================================
Name: Nicole Robinson,
Current Alias: None
Gentes: Daeva (Godling
of the Icy Wasteland)
Daevan Household:
Aesir
Apparent Age: 20, Actual Age: 74
Mortal Profession: Law
enforcement consultant
Sanctum: Large
downtown apartment
Aspects Abilities
(Aptitudes & Related Skills)
Instincts
5 Athletics 0 (Accuracy
2)
Intellect
4 Criminal 4 (Firearms
5, Murder 5)
Perception
4 Humanities 1 (Religion 4,
Research 3)
Dexterity
6 Influence 2 (Deception
4, Empathy 4, Question 4)
Resilience
6 Martial Arts 1 (Evasion
4, Kick 2, Punch 3)
Strength
5 Melee 0 (Swords 4)
Inspiration
3 Modern Life 3 (Alertness
4)
Presence
5 Naturalism 0 (Equestrian
4)
Spirit
4 Science 2
(Medicine 3)
Supernatural
2 (Arcana 5, Eldritch 4, Illumination 3, Intuition 4)
Torment:
Doom 3 (She sometimes has glimpses of the future, including her own possible
demise. When bad things come true that she foresaw, or when her actions have no
effect on changing the outcome of foreseen events, a Doom draw may be made and
her Doom may increase, causing her depression, listlessness, and stress.)
Distinctions: Biography 0, Eldritch Ties +3, Physique +2, Psyche -2,
Resources +3, Supernature -2, Temporal Ties +5
Apothei (Powers):
Enhanced Senses (2): The daeva’s five senses are superior to human senses.
She is at -2 on all her difficulties for card draws involving her senses.
Normal Perception card draws are required.
Frost Bolt: As a daeva “of the icy wasteland”, Nicole can project a
bolt of ice and frost from her hand. A Dexterity (9 diff.) is required to hit
the target. The damage caused is 3 points, plus 2 points per success. It costs
2 animus to use this power. This damage may be resisted normally.
Prescience (3): The daeva has the power to glimpse the future,
consciously peering into particular times and examining possible events in the
future. She can even see connections between various people’s actions and the
potential futures based on those actions.
The future can still change, since it is based on many
actions that occur at random, plus some decisions are made blindly or without
forethought. Often the daeva sees two or three versions of the future, possibly
even more, but she will know which future is the most likely to occur.
Sometimes images of the future appear to the daeva without her desire to see
them. Most often these images involve the daeva personally and serve as grave
omens.
For each success the daeva achieves, she sees the image
with greater clarity and understanding. The daeva can ponder how certain
actions will affect the future, but there are always variables she cannot take
into account, so this form of prediction is flawed. An Inspiration (11) draw is
required to consciously activate this power. It costs three animus for
intentional use, but costs nothing for unintended visions.
Revealing what she learns in her visions to others can
cause the daeva backlash points, usually 1 to 5 depending upon how much of the
future she reveals and whether it is foretold in a cryptic manner or a
straightforward manner.
Regeneration (2): The daeva has the power to regenerate lost body parts
and heal at a rate vastly superior to normal humans. See the guideline section
for details.
Speed 4,
Act on Turns: 3, 5, 8, 10
Life 15,
Animus 12, Destiny 12, Backlash 2
Sustenance: 1. Food and water: Regain 1
animus per meal (up to 3 animus per day, regardless of the number of meals), 2.
Sleep: Regain 1 animus per four hours
of sleep, 3. Prescient meditation:
Regain 1 animus for each success on an Inspiration (12 – Intuition) draw, make
one draw per hour of meditation. The daeva witnesses precognitive visions while
in this state.
Ht: 5’6” Wt: 115 Eyes: Ice blue, Hair: Pale
blond, straight and very long
Appearance: Nicole Robinson appears to be a young, attractive woman with an
athletic body. She usually dresses in jeans and a collared shirt, but sometimes
wears pantsuits for work. She carries two pistols most of the time.
Personality: At times, she can be very caring or seductive, yet most of
the time she comes across as very tough and stubborn. She is a true “hard-boiled”
detective and has worked for years in thwarting occult and cult-related
activities as a special consultant for various law enforcement agencies. She
has a deep-rooted hatred of cult-leading manipulators who take advantage of
innocents. She also hates werwulfs, orcs, demons, and many of the un-dead.
Ironically, despite being supernatural herself, she is somewhat afraid of
ghosts because she is haunted by two young men she killed over 50 years ago. In
her free time she enjoys horseback riding. Her most unique feature is that she
is raising Avery, her own mortal son, on her own, since her mortal husband was
killed in a robbery two years ago. Since Avery is age 14, many people believe
Nicole is actually his older sister.
Story Hook: Nicole is involved in the adventure because her household wants her to bring back an amulet that once belonged to a member of the Aesir. The amulet is said to contain certain magickal knowledge that could be very useful to the household