Archive for the 'World of Darkness' Category
Hombyr Index
The Hombyr Index (relic rating 4)
Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 2
Description: This massive tome, measures larger than an unabridged dictionary at 50 square centimeters on each side and nearly 25 centimeters thick. The binding and paper are those typical of 19th century professional book making and the cover is cured deer leather. Although the pages are obviously worn and old, bearing numerous markings of smudged fingers, exposure to light, even a few scratches and rubbed ink the pages are not brittle, everything is legible, and the binding is strong. It’s language is English and someone with experience might notice some conventions that betray 19th century scholarship. The title page reads, in the same text as the rest of the book, “An Index of Specialized Bibliographic and Cartographic Materials of the Special Collections Library of the University of London with Notations and Additions.” The verso gives a publication date of 1878, no publisher and lists “Robert Hombyr” as the editor.
Background: According to legend the Hombyr Index was compiled by a librarian at the University of London in the mid 19th century who was a member of many occult societies. The librarian built an index of many obscure occult works along with summaries and notations to aid in his research. He also left open pages and long blank spaces to add more notes as he worked after having it printed. His last act before he died was to type it himself on a type writer he had built specifically to the task with many odd keys to accommodate the specials sigils he sometimes needed. According to legend he even attended art classes to develop the skill to do any needed illustrations himself. He then learned how to bind the book himself and left additional space left for someone else to add to it. He died within weeks peacefully in his sleep from no obvious source but stress from a handful of chronic ailments and age (he was 78) were cited.
The book was left to the the special collections library who added it to the ready reference shelf. Within a few years the book had disappeared and next appeared in the 1910s in New York City. From there it has shown up twice more. It has been sold, stolen and inherited. Every owner has expanded it and it always seems to have more room and oddly over time each owner’s hand writing slowly evolves to almost exactly match the odd typewriter strikes of the original work. Many have noted that small tears and ink spills that impair the text seem to repair themselves over time. The more morbid believe that it may take a price from its owner to keep itself healthy. Certainly many owners have complained of odd allergies and aches after coming into possession of the tome.
Storytelling: The Hombyr Index is not a grotesque boon of power. If anything it’s power is actually fairly subtle in that it simply aids in research but is exhausting to use. However, demand for it is broad from mages researching rotes to vampires researching wyrm nests to changelings seeking a keeper’s bane to werewolves seeking understanding of the borderlands – knowledge is power. A current owner isn’t necessarily a mystic though. The book could have been inherited less interested in its mystic value than its fiscal worth or perhaps is unaware entirely. Among mystic circles its value multiplies with the resources of those who own it, meaning that it is even more valuable to someone who has amassed a great library than a neonate. This means that a powerful mage or leader of an occult community could have a lot to gain from taking it or coming to a complimentary arrangement with a younger member of the community.
Effect: Enhance Research, Wits + Academics.
The Hombyr Index is a useful compliment to any other research materials just as any added index is but a bit more. Oddly no matter how obscure the work, the language, or publication the Index has entries for it. Even new books are somehow in it. As a result it has the effect of doubling the bonus of any related research materials. Effectively any library that grants a bonus to a supernatural or magical research roll is doubled to a maximum of +4 by someone using the Hombyr Index. This does not aid in the researching of new rotes, blood sorceries or other magics but at the Storyteller’s discretion may give half the bonus rounded up based on aiding in related research if not the magic itself. Even magical tomes are indexed in the Hombyr Index though most of the writers did not understand the magical principles and thus there are many more omissions and failures there. Additionally, use of the Index will cut any extended time research rolls in half that primarily use bibliographic or cartographic data as their basis. Many maps are cited as well and in the last thirty years possessors have begun adding electronic notations citing databases and web sites as well as the traditional serials and monographs.
Cost: 2 Willpower + 2 Bashing Damage. The index is a massive and obscure work though very useful and it takes intense concentration (willpower) to use it. This intense concentration does in fact cause its own physical stress to match the mental stress.
If the book is ever damaged it will drain health from its owner to repair itself, the damage manifesting as odd allergic attacks and arthritic pains. Some less careful owners find this to be a greater problem than others do.
No commentsHighlander Killer
(Books used beyond WoD & VtR: Armory, Armory Reloaded and Slashers)
A pre-teen when the first Highlander movie came out Gerald Torvinisch re-invented himself as Gerry Torvins to anyone he didn’t have to give his social security number to. He saved up money from teenager jobs to buy a real sword (a custom Angel Sword with a +1 bonus due to high quality) at a time when most kids with that much money would buy a used car. He absorbed the various comics, movies and TV shows that followed (except Highlander 2, Raven and the Source, those fucking sucked). It finally all made sense. He belonged. At first this meant going to conventions and hanging out with others and staging mock sword fights. He schlumped through high school, being absolutely unexceptional. He made it to a second year of college before dropping out, now convinced of why it all made sense – he was one of them, an immortal. As this conviction set in the few friends he had drifted off but that was OK, he didn’t need them, he was like Connor, a hero, destined. Someone was writing the movies, the books, just to communicate with those like him. That’s why the others didn’t get it, they didn’t feel it in them. He hadn’t become immortal yet but you had to have a traumatic death to trigger it. Heck, they were even adopted just like he had been (he wasn’t really adopted but that’s another issue).
If this was all there was to be, Gerald would have become marginalized, destined to be ignored despite the grandeur of his delusions unless he became violently unstable and he was just too pathetic for that. Unfortunately, someone decided to guarantee that Gerald went too far. While working the night shift at a crappy video rental store in the 1990s a Daeva took Gerald by force in Gerald’s shitty little apartment and proceeded to mind fuck him with Dominate, Majesty and Nightmare for a week before putting fang to him and then disappearing. The result was Gerald was now convinced he had always been right. The immortals were out there, were manipulating the media – it was just that they were vampires. But of course they cloaked the truth. And he had now died violently and awoke an immortal. All the truth of vampires became wrapped up in Gerald’s Highlander fixation in a superficial manner that is only viable because he is both ignorant of kindred society and there is no one present to point out the inconsistencies in his logic.
Gerald views his current existence as the strengthening trials of the hero. It hasn’t yet occurred to him that he might not be the protagonist of this tale. The one thing that has fit into his world view is diablerie and the consuming of an enemy’s soul. There is no doubt in Gerald’s mind that he should be the One though there is, of course, a period of obscurity that precedes greatness. Although quite delusional Gerald isn’t stupid and has taken to his existence’s mission with passion. And, while not exceptional in most ways, over fifteen’s year practice has made Gerald a very competent fencer. Several careful kills also accelerated the thickening of Gerald’s blood and gave him talents that have diversified his disciplines.
While hunting his first few vampires he fed off animals and he decapitated his victims before drinking their heart’s blood. He hunted at the fringe of society, protected by the unusually large kindred population of Khallam where the predator’s taint of an unfamiliar Kindred is not unusual and Kindred often pass through each other’s territories (though feeding rights are still fiercely protected). Either luck, insight, or some subliminal conditioning from his mysterious sire has allowed Gerald to pick out pretty young Daevas from the crowd and drink from them. He has stuck to neonates so far, running from what appear to be more powerful vampires knowing that he’s not ready yet. Still, doing this has diversified his talents substanially as he only developed some Auspex and Vigor on his own. (see the Daeva clanbook for a description of just how easy it can be to pick these kinds of social vampires out)
Story Ideas
- Byron isn’t happy about these killings at all. Ritualized beheadings, katanas and ancient weaponry skills add up to vampires to him and point at a rogue vampire among the community in Shakurabashi, the community of Nipponese ex-patriots north of Khallam. The masquerade must be protected.
- Young kindred have a certain mortality rate but the latest of the five to die was a promising Acolyte disciple and her sire has cast divinations that make murder clear. Is it an Ordo plot? Istavan will want it investigated to keep the peace and the sire he will reward those who help her gain vengeance.
- The Obed Museum of Antiquities & Art is hosting a traveling exhibit of classic Japanese weapons. Gerald becomes obsessed with a katana in the exhibit and breaks into the home of Frank Marsh the director of the museum to intimidate him into getting the sword for him. But Marsh may have friends of his own.
- Tingen is concerned that the whole exposure to the media and rumors running rampart among Kindred isn’t just a masquerade breach, which is bad enough, but it stinks to him of chasing the dragon’s tail. As a result questions are being ask about a lot of activities that are making various kindred who are innocent of this (but not necessarily innocent) very eager to have this cleared up.
Description: Gerald is just shy of six foot with brown hair that isn’t pretty enough to be chestnut, not dark enough to be dramatic. He’s a bit unkempt but not enough to be slovenly but reminds someone of an early 90s slacker a month or two in need of a haircut. Lately he’s taken to wearing a tan leather jacket thinking it makes him look cool. In reality he alternates between awkwardly strutting and being overly self conscious.
Storytelling Hints: Gerald is a bit like a sad puppy but one that can turn rabid quickly. He’s insignificant and hates it and even the gift that lets him be the monster will never change his core self image that he’s a nobody who needs to beleive he is someone. Irionically he won’t ever be a very good monster either but that won’t keep him from doing a lot of damage trying to play the role. He still thinks of himself as the hero of the story but that won’t last long at this point and when the change comes he won’t care – he just wants to be important. That desire to be special will undermine any attempt to contact Gerald. Its not enough to be a vampire he wants to be special even among vampires and once he finds out there is a whole society it will bring up the feeling of being nothing all over again and he’d rather die in a blaze of glory than face the power of the elders who might make him feel insignificant. If contacted by other vampires his anxiety will hit him hard. If he can take control of it he will try to play it cool, you know like Connor would man. What the contacting vampires, say players, do from there will determine a lot. Gerald is unlikely to ever be really sane but adequate time and age for his blood to cool down and thicken may stabilize him as unlikely as it seems he will ever exist long enough for that to happen. Additionally if he can actually feel a sense of belonging (again, very unlikely)
He lives in the same run down apartment that he’s been in for years. He can’t hold down most jobs even on the night shift because he isn’t qualified for much and his blurring on security cameras screws up most retail work. Now he mostly just mugs people and breaks into cars to steal enough to fence for his rent and minimal utilities. Out of curiosity he tried giving his blood to a dog to see what would happen and created a ghoul pet that guards him during the day. Where he hunts is the old industrial district where a lot of closed down warehouses have been converted into large dance spaces. The industrial sector has provided good hunting of vampires in the same spaces as humans and plenty of dark corners to act in. The old frozen locker spaces of one abandoned warehouse provide him a haven when sunrise is coming too quickly. A handful of bums often use the same warehouse but they know that the old storage area with the big metal walk ins should be stayed away from. Still, he sees hints of other vampires there too often to consider it really safe.
Realistically Gerald only has three possible futures and while some are definitely more likely nothing is written in stone. One is that he gets found out and executed. There will be serious questions about who his sire is but the story mostly ends.
The second option is less likely but possible and that is that he is captured but not executed. Technically Gerald’s sire should be held accountable for his crimes. That won’t keep Gerald undead by itself but if he becomes the center of a political fight, perhaps seen as the intended tool of disrupting the power holders in Khallam – then a penitent Gerald, perhaps backed by a respected coeterie could find his requiem saved. In time Gerald could find the respect and structure in the Invictus as muscle that he lacked in life and even enough dramatic action to validate his need to be a hero. Even the stigma of diablerie will fade in a few years since despite the number of kills, theywere all very young.
The least likely scenario, but certainly within the rights of the Storyteller’s discretion, is to make sure that he isn’t captured and becomes more powerful. Gerald is already a formidable combatant. With a bit more diablerie to diversify his disciplines, perhaps getting a bit smarter and increasing his blood potency to 3 or 4 he could become a major danger to many. If he learns more occult and builds his skills he could move from dangerous to scary. To mark that transition he could even become a slasher, of the Avenger undertaking. He already prefers the “pretty boys” and could fall into a psychosis where the good/bad immortal distinction becomes the good/bad vampires with him protecting humans the way the Highlanders stood up to bad immortals to protects humans. His focus would be on the kind of pretty boys and girls he always felt inferior too and eventually that would translate into their human servants too. Tragically by that time he will be so far gone all pretty humans will be their servants in his mind whether they are really ghouls or not. He would also gain the Weaponry Monomaniac merit for the katana.
Covenant: Unaligned
Embrace: 1992
Apparent Age: Early to mid 20s
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 2
Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
Social Attributes: Presence 1, Manipulation 2, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics 1, Crafts 1, Occult 1, Science 1
Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Drive 1, Firearms 1, Stealth 2, Survival 1, Weaponry 3 (Sword)
Social Skills: Empathy 1, Intimidation 2, Streetwise 3, Subterfuge (Feign Weakness) 2
Merits: Fighting Style (large swords) 2, Haven (location 2, Warehouse), Haven (security 2, Apartment), Retainer 1 (ghoul dog), Resources 1
Willpower: 5
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Hope
Vice: Pride
Health: 8
Initiative: 5
Defense: 2
Speed: 10
Blood Potency: 2
Disciplines: Auspex 1, Celerity 3, Obfuscate 2, Protean 1, Vigor 3
Derangements: Anxiety (severe), Delusional (severe)
Mental Flaws: Vitae Addiction
Vitae/per Turn: 11/1