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 in the Secret World

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