TEXT: A collection of monsters for the World of Darkness
  tm
  
  w w w. w o r l d o f d a r k n e s s . c o m
  For use with the  
  World of Darkness Rulebook
   
  
  A collection of monsters  
  for the World of Darkness
  Jennifer Brozek
  BY
  
  2 
  “What’s that you got there?” It was Jason, Tony’s roommate. 
  Tony instinctively closed his hand and hunched over his treasure. “Nothin’,” he muttered. He 
  winced as Jason swung a meaty fist and connected with his shoulder. 
  “What is it?” Jason loomed over him, not used to being denied. 
  “Just a rock. Probably not real anyway.” He let Jason pry open his hand and take the shiny, gold 
  colored stone from him.
  “Whoa. What’s this? Gold?”
  Tony shrugged. “Probably just pyrite.”
  “What?”
  “Fool’s gold. Not real gold. Just looks like it.”
  “Where’d you get it?” Jason examined the stone with some curiosity. It looked like gold. It even 
  smelled like it. Not that he actually knew what gold smelled like. It was a metal smell. Looks like 
  a duck, quacks like a duck, probably is a duck…
  “Nowhere.” Jason didn’t immediately respond to Tony’s feeble answer. The silence stretched 
  between them until Tony couldn’t help himself. He looked up at Jason. Jason was smiling. It never 
  boded well for anyone when Jason smiled… especially not for Tony.
  Jason handed back the gold stone without another punch or even throwing the stone at him. 
  Then Jason sat down across from Tony, just looking at the smaller man. Tony could almost see 
  the tiny wheels in Jason’s head click over what he thought the stone was and Tony’s reluctance 
  to talk about it. He watched the big man come to a conclusion and waited for the onslaught.
  “You found something, didn’t you?” Jason’s voice was casual and friendly.
  It wasn’t really a question and Tony knew it. “Maybe.”
  “Something big.”
  “Maybe,” Tony repeated.
  “Is it what I think it is?” Jason gestured to the stone that Tony had cupped possessively in his 
  hand.
  Tony looked away and pushed his glasses up his nose. When he glanced back at Jason, he saw 
  the storm clouds gathering there but also saw Jason’s control – the same control he always used 
  to get what he wanted from women. The man had the cunning patience of a predator when he 
  really wanted something and realized that “right of might” wasn’t going to cut it. Jason was smart 
  when he needed to be.
  Like now.
  “C’mon, buddy,” Jason coaxed. “You can tell me. We’ve been best friends for years. Haven’t I 
  always protected you?”
  Fool’s Gold
  
  3 
  Tony shrugged, noncommittal. 
  “Where’d you find it? The gold. You’re a smart guy. You’re the brains of the outfit. You know 
  it. I’m kinda big and dumb. You’ found something, and people are gonna want it. I’ll be here to 
  protect you from them.”
  Tony thought about it a bit more and finally nodded. Jason was right in that one respect at least. 
  “Yeah, it’s gold. I found it in one of the deep caves in the hills.”
  “A lot?”
  “Enough. Enough to make one… or two… people comfortable for the rest of their lives.”
  Jason’s smile stretched wide, “Where?”
  Tony shook his head. “It’s complicated. I’d have to show you.” He paused. “But we’d share, right? 
  And you’d make sure that no one hurt me, right?”
  “Right. I promise. No one’d ever hurt you again.” Jason’s smile grew wider and more predatory. 
  “In fact, we’d move out of Olympia to Seattle. New place. New people. None of the old bastards 
  from town begging for money. We’d be new people and I’d make sure it happened that way. I 
  promise. This could be the break we’ve been looking for.”
  Tony looked at Jason, calculating how much of what he was saying was the truth and how much 
  of it was a lie. Jason seemed pretty sincere and it would be great to leave this tiny damn city. 
  Capital of Washington state or not, it was still in the ass-end of nowhere and filled with bigoted 
  hicks who looked at him and his cane like his arthritis might be catching. 
  Finally, Tony nodded. “Ok. I’ll show you tomorrow. It’s kind of a hike. So, we’ll get up early 
  and go.”
  m m m
  It was a cloudy, misty day in the Olympic National Forest, which wasn’t unusual. The two men 
  tromped through the forest and up a hill on a barely-there trail. It was slow going with Tony and 
  his cane, but Jason was in good spirits and feeling patient. If his little buddy was right, all of their 
  money woes would be over with. If Tony was wrong, well, his personal woes at Jason’s hands would 
  just be beginning.
  After about half a day of easy hiking, Tony made a sharp left directly into the forest. Jason fol-
  lowed. “Dude, how’d you find this place anyway?”
  Tony shrugged. “Sometimes I go wandering to get away from town, in order to exercise my legs 
  and help me get over the use of this damned cane.” He shook the cane to emphasize is point. 
  “There’s nothing there for me. I like it up here.”
  “Ok.” He paused before he asked, “So, how much further?”
  Tony heard the clear suspicion in Jason’s voice. He paused and pointed with his cane to a copse 
  of trees about a hundred meters away. “It’s just through those trees over there.”
  “I don’t see anything.”
  “You will.” Then he added, “Promise.”
  And like Tony promised, just as they broke through the copse of trees, there was a large opening 
  in the hillside. Tony stopped. “We’re here. Well, sorta. We gotta get our lights on and stuff.”
  Jason shrugged off his pack and peered into the cave entrance. “You sure about this? Is it safe?”
  Tony gave him a disbelieving look. “I walked in with only my cane and flashlight. We’ll be fine.” 
  He couldn’t keep the touch of scorn at Jason’s concern out of his voice. He changed his tune as soon 
  as he saw Jason register it. “Besides, you’re here if I get into any trouble. Right? You promised.”
  
  4 
  The big guy remembered the gold stone and nodded. His smile was a little forced but it was 
  still there. “Right. I promised. You’ll be fine either way. You know this tunnel and I don’t.” 
  He pulled his hat and headlight out from the backpack and put them on. “Lead the way to the 
  riches, little buddy.”
  Tony smiled, putting his own hardhat and headlight on. “That’s the plan.”
  m m m
  It was a much easier hike than Jason expected, despite the darkness and rubble in the 
  tunnel. With Tony’s slow, careful movements, there was no threat of Jason falling at all. 
  For a long time there was nothing but darkness and the sounds of their footsteps and 
  breathing. 
  Tony broke the silence. “It was just up here. There’s a big cave. It’s got some, um, quartz crystal 
  growing, too. But that’s not as valuable as the gold. Just pretty.”
  “Pretty is good. Gold is better.” Jason grunted as they continued on. But now he was paying 
  attention. Part of him seriously considered murdering Tony and leaving him in another cave 
  somewhere, but part of him knew that Tony was the smarter of the two of them and he’d be better 
  at negotiating a price for the gold and managing the money. All Jason would have to do was make 
  sure that no one else bullied Tony into handing over that gold. It would be the two of them, with 
  Tony doing the work and Jason reaping the rewards.
  Jason’s daydream about how he would spend his riches was interrupted when Tony stopped at 
  the entrance of a large cavern, saying, “We’re here.” Jason stopped and looked around. His head-
  lamp beam danced all over the walls and ceiling of the cavern as he looked for the signs of gold. 
  The place was huge, and he would see an occasional flash of glittering in the light but dismissed 
  that as not gold. He already knew that quartz really wasn’t worth that much. “Where is it? Where’s 
  the gold?”
  “You don’t see it?” Tony’s voice was calm.
  “No, meathead. I don’t. Where? Show me!” In his eagerness, Jason forgot that he had promised 
  himself that he’d be nicer to Tony now and in the future. 
  Tony was silent and unmoving.
  Jason realized his mistake. “I’m sorry, dude. Tony. I’m just, you know, excited.”
  “Ok.” Tony sighed and headed forward. He kept his head down and his light on his feet to make 
  sure he didn’t fall. He stopped again. “It’s here.”
  Jason looked down at Tony’s feet. “Where?”
  Tony raised his case and his head at the same time to point at the wall in front of them, “Here.”
  In the glare of the headlamp, a large section of the wall as tall as Tony and as wide as a couch 
  glittered: gold and gorgeous. Its beauty doubled when Jason’s headlamp joined Tony’s. Most of the 
  wall was smooth with small veins of gold shooting off from the giant central deposit of gold ore. 
  “Holy shit,” Jason muttered.
  “I told you. Enough for one or two people for the rest of their lives.” 
  Jason nodded and patted Tony’s shoulder as he walked past the smaller man. “You were right, 
  buddy. Oh, you were so right!” Jason walked up to the wall of gold, admiring it. “We’re rich. 
  We’re rich!” He put a hand on the gold to feel the cold, smooth, precious metal. “Screw Seattle. 
  We could go anywhere on this.” He looked back at Tony to say something else but the wall of ore 
  beneath his hand moved. “What the fuck?”
  
  5 
  Tony took a step back from Jason and the suddenly moving wall of gold. He did not look surprised 
  or even scared as he watched Jason’s hand sink into the wall and a tentacle of gold shoot out to 
  wrap itself around Jason’s wrist and forearm. As Jason struggled to get his right hand free, his right 
  foot, the one he was using for leverage, also sunk deep into the wall of gold. Another tentacle of 
  gold wrapped itself around Jason’s lower leg.
  Jason flailed around and held out his left hand to Tony. “Help me! Your cane!”
  Tony nodded and offered Jason his cane but instead of pulling it away from the wall to help 
  Jason out of the slowly moving wall, Tony’s lip curled into a silent snarl and he lunged forward. 
  The cane slid through Jason’s hand and the end of it slammed into Jason’s chest, pushing him 
  backwards into the wall. Jason’s arms flailed briefly before his body succumbed to gravity and 
  momentum, falling backwards into the wall of roiling wall of gold. He was immediately engulfed 
  from the waist down and stuck from his waist to his shoulders. Only his chest, neck and head were 
  free of the living rock.
  “Help me!” Jason screamed in panic. He flailed as hard as he could but just like a bug trapped 
  in amber, Jason was going nowhere.
  “No,” Tony said; his voice was low and full of hate. “No. I did this to you. I did it on purpose. 
  You’ve tortured me all my life and now I’m going to watch you die.” Tony smiled as he watched 
  Jason’s realization that this had all been a set up. “Yeah. I’m the smart one, and I’ve had enough 
  of you.”
  He swung his headlamp to the wall of gold holding Jason fast. It was still now, and looked like 
  stone again. “It almost got me, too. But I scared a mouse and it ran over the gold. I watched the 
  gold thing grab it and eat it. It took less than an hour for the mouse to dissolve. I wonder how 
  long you’ll take. A day? Two?”
  “You can’t do this. You can’t! Help me, Tony. We’re friends.”
  Tony shook his head. “We’ve never been friends.”
  Jason struggled more but still could not get free of the thing’s grip. “It hurts. God, my hands! 
  My hands are on fire!”
  “Good. I hope you burn to your bones.” Tony smiled mirthlessly at Jason. But he almost lost 
  his nerve when Jason started sobbing in pain and fear. Tony almost – almost – wanted to help 
  the bastard. Then he forced himself to remember what Jason had done to him. He hardened his 
  heart and turned to leave. 
  
  6 
  Credits
  Written: Jennifer Brozek 
  Developer: Eddy Webb
  Editor: Genevieve Podleski 
  Art Director: Aileen Miles
  Layout: Jessica Mullins
  Interior Art: Justin Norman
  Cover Art: Justin Norman
  © 2009 CCP hf. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is 
  expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and one printed copy which may be reproduced for 
  personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire and World of Darkness are registered trademarks of CCP hf. All 
  rights reserved. Vampire the Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, Mage the Awakening, Promethean the 
  Created, Changeling the Lost, Hunter the Vigil, Geist the Sin Eaters, Storytelling System and Proverbial 
  Monsters are trademarks of CCP hf. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are 
  copyrighted by CCP hf. CCP North America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCP hf. The mention 
  of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright 
  concerned. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural 
  elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. 
  Reader discretion is advised.
  Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com
  For Use with  
  the World of 
  Darkness
  ®Rulebook
  Credits
  
  7 
  8
  10
  15
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  25
  30
  35
  40
  44
  49
  Introduction
  Mirror, Mirror, Full of  Cracks 
  Step on a Crack
  What is an Archway but a Portal?
  If Four is Lucky Five Must Be Luckier
  Only the Children of Autumn
  Glistering or Glittering Neither is Gold
  Ashes to Ashes, Death to Death
  Spirits of the House
  Smell the Flowers but Don’t Take One
  
  8 
  Prayers and superstitions have been around 
  since man could speak. Dire warnings and 
  advice to perform certain actions to ward off 
  evil are recited in easily-remembered phrases so 
  that even children can remember them. Most 
  of these adages were born from ignorance or 
  misunderstandings, but some carry a very real 
  warning hidden within them. Sometimes it’s 
  best to remember why all that glitters is not 
  gold and that breaking a mirror brings seven 
  years of bad luck.
  Proverbial Monsters plays upon common 
  fears and superstitions. It can be used in al-
  most any of the World of Darkness games, but 
  works especially well with the themes detailed 
  in the World of Darkness Rulebook, Inno-
  cents, Hunter: the Vigil and Changeling: the 
  Lost. The obscurity of the proverbs’ origins 
  is the main tool for you as the Storyteller to 
  enhance your game with mystery, danger and 
  terror. Maxims and folk wisdom have been 
  around for so long that many people don’t 
  know – or care – what they refer to or even 
  what they mean anymore. At the core of 
  every legend and every superstition is a grain 
  of truth that has been lost to time through 
  disbelief or misunderstanding. This book gives 
  you an idea of where these proverbs might 
  have come from, and how you can use them 
  in your game.
  Introduction 
  Introduction  
  Presented here are nine monsters based on traditions and superstitions that range from the 
  well-known to the esoteric.
  • You will have seven years of bad luck if you 
  break a mirror. You might just call a strange 
  creature to you.
  • Step on a crack and break your mother’s 
  back. The monster within the earth will hear 
  you, and your mother will break her back car-
  rying your dead body to its grave.
  • Walking under a ladder is bad luck. It may 
  not be a ladder you walk under – or through 
  – and who knows what you will bring through 
  with you.
  • Picking a five-leaf clover brings bad luck. It 
  doesn’t belong to you. Its owner wants it back, 
  and it wants revenge for your theft as well.
  • Unless you were born in October, the wear-
  ing of an opal will be ill-fated. Only the Chil-
  dren of Autumn may wear my sigil. Those who 
  dare to wear what is not their birthright will pay.
  • All that glitters is not gold. Greed calls to 
  greed. Those who seek to steal my treasures will 
  become my feast instead.
  • It is bad luck to completely rake out a fire 
  on the hearth – a few embers should always 
  be left burning. Bright and shining, you call to 
  me and I come. Snuff out the burning guardian 
  and I will bring you a death of burning ash for 
  my own pleasure. 
  • Never open an umbrella inside a house 
  or you will draw back luck to you. Do you 
  mock me, you mortal of flesh and bone? Do 
  you think I do not care for you and this house 
  well enough? Fine. I’ll show you what a cursed 
  house can do.
  • Never take flowers from a grave or you will 
  be the next to be in a grave. Never take from 
  the dead, for we are angry and vengeful and have 
  long memories.
  Introduction
  
  9 
  Most of these monsters are subtle, cunning 
  creatures that will not attack something or 
  someone more powerful than they are unless 
  they are. This does not mean the characters of 
  your chronicle will not be targeted. However, 
  these monsters understand that they should 
  not attack the hungry lion while there’s a lamb 
  nearby. Why attack the hero when the hero’s 
  mother is easier prey and just as tasty?
  The monsters presented herein may be used in 
  any number of ways: a distraction or red herring 
  (the death of a contact), a catalyst for change in 
  a player character’s background story (why the 
  player character ran away from home or becoming 
  a hunter in response to witnessing a death at the 
  hands of one of these monsters) or the reason for 
  a particular phobia (the player character cannot 
  stand to look at her own reflection at night).
  Each monster is given statistics, specific powers 
  and hints on how the characters in your chronicle 
  can discover it. Also, each monster has a story idea 
  with statistics, goals and consequences for failure. 
  If you like the monster but don’t like the mechan-
  ics, modify them to suit your game’s needs.
  Introduction
  
  10 
  Mirror, Mirror, 
   Full ofCracks
  Jane suppressed an expletive as her hand mirror slipped 
  from her grasp and shattered on the tile floor. It was the 
  second one this year. “Great. That’s fourteen years bad 
  luck,” she muttered as she bent down and picked up the 
  plastic frame with its broken pieces of glass. She almost 
  dropped it again when she saw her own reflection turn 
  and smile at her. Curiosity stayed her hand, and her 
  own strangely smiling face drew her in.
  You will have seven years of bad luck 
  if you break a mirror.
  The belief that the soul projects out of the body 
  and into mirrors in the form of a reflection under-
  lies the most widely-known mirror superstition: 
  that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad 
  luck. Some people believe that breaking a mirror 
  also breaks the soul of the one who broke it. The 
  soul, angered at being hurt, exacts seven years of 
  bad luck in payment for such carelessness. 
  One apocryphal story says the Romans, who were 
  the first to make glass mirrors, attributed the seven 
  years of bad luck to a belief that life renewed itself 
  every seven years. To break a mirror meant to break 
  one’s health, and this “broken health” could not be 
  remedied for seven years. This was Roman orator 
  Servius Tirentius Costa’s explanation to his friends 
  and family on why they should never break a mirror. 
  It was easier to tell them this than explain his en-
  counter and research into dangerous creatures that 
  he named Miraree (mir-RAH-ree) after the Latin 
  word mirari, which means “to wonder at.”
  Miraree
  Quotes: “Look at me!”
  “Can’t you see I’m beautiful? I’m you. See how 
  lovely I am. Look at me and know I am you.”
  “Look at yourself! I know what you do at night, 
  hidden from the world. I know. Look at yourself and 
  see what there is to see. Don’t make me force you!”
  Mirror, Mirror,  
  Full of Cracks
  Background: Man has looked into reflective 
  surfaces for as long as there have been reflective sur-
  faces to look into. Miraree occasionally look back. 
  They are jealous, hungry creatures who envy man’s 
  physical body and crave his immortal soul. They may 
  also have helped spawn legends about deadly but 
  beautiful water nymphs luring men to their deaths 
  by drowning them within ponds and lakes. 
  Once glass mirrors were created, the Miraree 
  found a way into our world – for a short time. Should 
  another mirror break nearby within seven years, a 
  temporary tunnel of sorts is created into our world. 
  Once a Miraree comes through, it has only one 
  goal in mind: consuming as much of a soul as pos-
  sible. They will gorge themselves until it is time to 
  return home. A confrontation with a Miraree can 
  be deadly. If the Miraree can consume enough of 
  its victim’s essence, the victim will die. The death 
  will look like natural causes: a heart attack, a brain 
  aneurism or something similar. A Miraree can only 
  terrorize and attack its intended victim through 
  her own reflection in mirrors. Some intended 
  victims delay the attack by an instinctual fear and 
  avoidance of mirrors that they do not understand 
  but obey nonetheless. However, in these days of 
  ubiquitous modern glass buildings and reflective 
  screens, no one can avoid mirrors forever.
  Description: No one really knows what a 
  Miraree looks like, since it assumes the reflection 
  of its intended victim who can see it within the 
  broken shards of a mirror. Every shard of mirror 
  will show the exact same thing no matter where 
  it is in the room. 
  Storytelling Hints: The Miraree always looks like 
  its victim. If there are multiple people in a room, 
  the shards of the broken mirror will only reflect the 
  one it is attacking. While attacking, the Miraree 
  will try to entrance, trick and beguile its victim into 
  continuing to look at himself in the mirror shards. It 
  Mirror mirror full of cracks
  
  11 
  will use the victim’s own image to do it. This 
  monster prefers to lure its victims with honey 
  rather than beat them with a stick. However, 
  if entreaties do not work, the Miraree is not 
  above dire threats of terrors gleaned from the 
  victim’s mind.
  Once it is able to come through, it 
  may use any mirror in a building. It is a 
  cunning creature that will stalk its prey 
  from room to room and mirror to mirror 
  within the building. It cannot leave 
  the structure where the last mirror was 
  broken: While a broken mirror may be 
  moved to another location, there must 
  be at least one broken mirror on the 
  premises for the Miraree to be able 
  to hunt and feed there. Abandoned 
  homes and buildings are favorite 
  hunting grounds for the Miraree, and 
  more than one may congregate in an 
  abandoned structure that has many 
  broken mirrors. 
  There are two ways a person can protect 
  himself from the attack of the Miraree. First, 
  he must not be able to see himself in any of the 
  broken pieces of mirror. How they do this is up 
  to him, and you decide if the way the character 
  chooses will work or not. Once the victim can 
  no longer see himself in the mirror shards, he is 
  free to flee the scene, leaving the mirror shards and 
  Miraree behind for the next unwary passerby.
  Secondly, all of the shards of the broken mirror 
  must be completely destroyed to the point that 
  no one looking at any one shard can see any part 
  of themselves, even a shadow, in them. Once the 
  mirror shards are utterly destroyed (damage to the 
  mirror does an equivalent amount of damage to 
  the Miraree, due to its symbiotic connection to the 
  mirror), the tunnel between worlds is closed and 
  the Miraree is banished. 
  Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, 
  Resolve 4
  Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5,  
  Stamina 3
  Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation 4,  
  Composure 2
  Mental Skills: None
  Physical Skills: None
  Social Skills: 
  E m p a t h y  1 , 
  I n t i m i d a t e  3 ,  
  Persuasion 3, Subterfuge 1
  Merits: None
  Willpower: 6
  Morality: N/A
  Virtue: Prudence
  Vice: Gluttony
  Health: 8
  Initiative: 7
  Defense: 3
  Speed: 7
  Size: 5
  Powers: Beguile and Consume
  Miraree
  
  12 
  Special Powers
  Miraree have two special powers, Beguile 
  and Consume. These powers revolve around 
  the creature’s ability to eat a sentient creature’s 
  soul or essence.
  Beguile (Manipulation + Persuasion or Intimi-
  date versus victim’s Resolve + Composure): The 
  Miraree will use the victim’s reflected visage and 
  voice to entice its victim to stay and look at herself 
  in the mirror. This can be in the form of entreaties 
  or threats. For every success, the victim is beguiled 
  for that number of turns, and can only stare at 
  her reflection (dropping her Defense to 0). After 
  the initial beguilement, the victim may make a 
  contested Resolve + Composure roll to attempt to 
  break free of the enchantment. She must gain at 
  least one success to break free from this power.
  Consume (Resolve + Empathy versus the vic-
  tim’s Resolve + Composure): Once the Miraree 
  has set its sights on its victim and has beguiled 
  her, it may begin to consume the victim’s es-
  sence. The character will feel herself being 
  drained and will see her reflection grow weak 
  and seem to age. The victim must be beguiled 
  before she may be consumed. For every success 
  on the monster’s Consume roll, the victim loses 
  a point of Willpower and gains a -1 penalty (up 
  to a maximum of -5) to all her degeneration 
  rolls for a number of days equal to the Miraree’s 
  Resolve. If the victim loses all her Willpower 
  points, all additional successes translate into 
  points of lethal damage instead. 
  Story Idea:  
  An Ugly Reflection
  Stefano is a sullen, angry teenager who 
  believes that the world owes him a good life, 
  whether or not he actually deserves one. Three 
  weeks ago, he broke his mother’s makeup 
  mirror while stealing money from her purse. 
  He hid the compact in his room to cover 
  up his theft, but attributed the intense feel-
  ing of being watched to guilt. Last week, he 
  punched his bedroom mirror in a fit of anger 
  at his father’s sharp words about waking his 
  baby sister. 
  The next morning, his own reflection turned 
  to look at him. It was no longer just his reflec-
  tion, but something different, malevolent and 
  hungry. As Stefano felt himself losing pieces 
  of his soul to the thing in the mirror, he cried 
  out to it and made a deal with the monster to 
  save his own pathetic life. The thing in the 
  mirror, greedy and hungry for as much as it 
  could get, agreed. As long as Stefano fed it, 
  he was safe.
  The first victim was his squalling baby sister. 
  She died quickly and quietly while Stefano held 
  the cracked compact mirror above her. Sudden 
  Infant Death Syndrome is what the death certifi-
  cate said. He’s making plans for his next victim: 
  Sharon, that stupid tease who not only won’t go 
  out with him, but still expects him to help her 
  with her homework. Stefano left his mother’s 
  broken compact mirror under Sharon’s dresser, 
  and broke her hand mirror. He apologized, 
  promising to replace it as he put the cracked 
  hand mirror back on Sharon’s dresser. He knows 
  he will never have to fulfill that promise; she’ll 
  be dead soon enough.
  Now, Sharon is having nightmares about her 
  reflection, and refuses to look in any mirror in 
  her home. She doesn’t know why she’s having 
  these nightmares, but she feels deep down they 
  will come true. She needs help before whatever 
  is lurking behind the mirror gets her. She turns 
  to the only people she thinks she can trust – the 
  characters. She needs to go home and get her 
  stuff, but she’s too afraid to go alone. She needs 
  someone there to protect her.
  Mirror mirror full of cracks
  
  13 
  Overview
  Sharon has begged the characters to come 
  home with her while she packs to stay elsewhere. 
  She cannot stand the thought of being alone 
  in her home. In the house, everyone will feel a 
  sense of foreboding and of being spied on. If the 
  group decides to leave without investigating, the 
  Miraree will attack Sharon from the hallway 
  mirror, beguiling her and then beginning to 
  consume her. If the player characters investigate 
  Sharon’s home, they will find the two broken 
  mirrors. Once both broken mirrors have been 
  found, whomever is holding (or is closest to) the 
  broken compact mirror will be attacked.
  Description
  “I’ve never seen that compact before. It’s not even 
  my shade. But the hand mirror is mine. Stefano, this kid 
  from school, accidentally broke it a few days ago. He 
  said he was going to buy me a new one.” Sharon reaches 
  out her hand for the compact mirror and then freezes as 
  her reflection turns to her. The rest of you realize that 
  only Sharon’s reflection can be seen in all of the mirrors 
  in the room, but doesn’t reflect her movements. The 
  Sharon in the mirror is talking but you cannot hear what 
  she is saying. The real Sharon is staring at her reflection 
  with a mixture of terror and fascination.
  Storyteller Goals
  The main goal of this scene is to introduce 
  some subtle horror, and show that even normal 
  people can sometimes control unusual creatures 
  (although usually not every effectively). The 
  Miraree will try to consume everyone it possibly 
  can before the characters can escape or destroy 
  the mirror. It is a predator. It will not leave while 
  there is food to be had, and anyone’s fair game. 
  If Sharon is not the closest potential victim or is 
  not the person holding the compact, the Miraree 
  will go after the one that is. It will fully focus on 
  that one victim.
  I See You. Do You See Me?
  Mental ••• 
  Physical •••• 
  social •••
  Character Goals
  Discover that Stefano is the reason behind 
  the Miraree being at Sharon’s house. This may 
  be discovered through mundane or supernatural 
  analysis of the makeup compact, or by discov-
  ering that Stefano broke the hand mirror just 
  before the incidents at Sharon’s house began. 
  Figure out how to stop, banish or destroy the 
  Miraree while saving Sharon (and themselves) 
  before she is consumed. 
  Actions
  The scene begins either when Sharon heads 
  out of the home or after the two broken mirrors 
  are found. The characters have choices to make: 
  Do they flee the scene to come back and fight 
  another day or do they stand and fight? If they 
  choose to fight, they can either try to destroy the 
  Miraree before it eats any of them or to figure 
  out how to thwart the monster (such as blinding 
  each person from seeing his own reflection in the 
  mirror) even if they don’t have the knowledge 
  to banish it immediately.
  Who is the Fairest of Them All?
  Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion or 
  Intimidate (dice pool 6) versus victim’s Resolve 
  + Composure. 
  Action: Instant and contested
  More information on the Miraree’s Beguile 
  power can be found on p. 12.
  Hindrances (victims): No occult knowledge 
  (-1). Exceptional eyesight  (-1).
  Help (victims): Poor or hindered eyesight 
  (+1). Blind characters are immune to the Mira-
  ree’s power.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a 
  dramatic failure, the Miraree not only fails to 
  beguile its victim, but there is something about 
  I see you do you see me
  
  14 
  her that makes her unpalatable to the Miraree. 
  The Miraree will choose a new victim on the 
  next turn and ignore the first victim for the rest 
  of the scene. If the player of the victim rolls a 
  dramatic failure, the Miraree has a hold on the 
  victim, and may begin to consume her in the 
  same turn it has beguiled her.
  Failure: If the Miraree fails to beguile its vic-
  tim, the victim may act, including fleeing the 
  scene – which is what Sharon does.
  Success: If the Miraree has successfully be-
  guiled its victim, she may take no actions other 
  than to watch her reflection in the mirror.
  Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls an 
  exceptional success, the Miraree has such a hold 
  on its victim that it may begin to consume the 
  victim in the same turn that it has beguiled her. 
  If the player of the victim rolls an exceptional 
  success, the Miraree will fail to beguile the vic-
  tim and ignore her for the rest of the scene.
  What a Tasty Morsel
  Dice Pool: Resolve + Empathy (dice pool 6) 
  versus the victim’s Resolve + Composure. 
  Action: Instant and contested
  More information on the Miraree’s Consume 
  power can be found on p. 12.
  Hindrances (victims): A beguiled victim will 
  take no physical actions, and has a Defense of 0 
  (making it easier for others to attack, grapple or 
  otherwise move her).
  Help (victims): The victim must be beguiled 
  before it can be consumed.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a 
  dramatic failure, the victim not only breaks 
  free of the Miraree’s beguiling charm and is 
  undamaged, but there is something about her 
  that makes her unpalatable to the Miraree. The 
  Miraree will choose a new victim on the next 
  turn and ignore the first victim for the rest of 
  the scene. If the player of the victim rolls a dra-
  matic failure, the victim takes an additional -2 
  penalty on her next attempt to break free from 
  the beguilement.
  Failure: If the Miraree fails, the victim man-
  ages to fight off the attack.
  Success: If the Miraree succeeds, the victim 
  is successfully attacked, as per the Consume 
  power on p. 12.
  Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls an 
  exceptional success, the victim not only suffers 
  from a successful attack, but she takes an addi-
  tional -2 penalty to her next attempt to break 
  free from the beguilement. If the player of the 
  victim rolls an exceptional success, the victim 
  not only breaks free, but the Miraree will ignore 
  her for the rest of the scene.
  Consequences
  If the player characters do not go to Sharon’s 
  home within two days, at least one person who 
  lives there – Sharon, her brother or her par-
  ents – will die of a “heart attack” or from some 
  other mysterious but plausibly natural cause of 
  death. If they flee the scene without completely 
  destroying the broken mirrors, the Miraree will 
  go back to Stefano through the home’s second 
  broken mirror. Stefano then tries to sacrifice 
  one of his parents in order to save himself. If the 
  characters manage to banish the Miraree back 
  to its realm by completely destroying the broken 
  mirrors, the Miraree will be gone, but they will 
  always know what a cracked or broken mirror 
  could mean.
  Mirror mirror full of cracks
  
  15 
  Step on a crack, Joe thought as he stepped over 
  the large crack bisecting the hiking trail. Break 
  your mother’s back. He wondered at the inan-
  ity of the childhood rhyme. As he turned back to 
  Barry to comment on it, he heard his friend cry 
  out in pain. Joe’s heart hammered in his chest as 
  he realized that they were not alone on the hiking 
  trail. Barry was on the ground with one foot bur-
  ied up to the ankle in dirt. Next to him, a strange 
  humanoid creature was growing out of the ground. 
  It resembled the golems Joe had read about, but he 
  didn’t think golems were supposed to have sharp, 
  bloodstained teeth. Suddenly, Joe thought he knew 
  what happened to the other missing hikers here on 
  Echo Mountain.
  Step on a crack and break your 
  mother’s back.
  Most people believe that the proverb of not 
  stepping on cracks it is nothing more than a 
  rhyming ritual that children use to frighten 
  their peers. Some people connect it with the 
  childhood game of hopscotch, where landing 
  on a line (instead of in the middle of a square) 
  is considered a foul and the player must start all 
  over again. The very real warning of the proverb 
  has been forgotten, but it still protects cautious 
  children today.
  The real meaning behind the warning of 
  rhyme comes from the translated Greek warn-
  ing of “Do not step on cracks that cross your 
  path.” For thousands of years in remote parts of 
  the world, this warning has been said from na-
  tive to foreigner and from guide to tourist. The 
  reasons for giving such warnings have changed 
  over time based on who gave the warning and 
  who listened – or did not listen – to them. 
  Those who obeyed the warnings had nothing 
  to fear. Those who did not were lucky most of 
  the time. Those who were not lucky usually 
  didn’t live to tell the tale of the Doliochthon 
  (doh-lee-OKH-thon).
  Doliochthon 
  Background: In a manuscript purporting to date 
  from ancient Greece, the author Agathon Charis 
  stepped over a crack in the road while his slave did 
  not. A sudden noise startled him, and he turned 
  to find his slave being attacked and eaten by the 
  golem-like creature. Fleeing for his life, Agathon 
  ran to the next hill over. He paused to look and see 
  if the creature had followed, and was relieved that 
  it had not. Instead, it had torn the hapless slave to 
  pieces and was eating him, skin, bones and all. 
  The document explains that Agathon remained 
  where he was and watched the creature, curious at 
  how such a large creature could have snuck up on 
  them when there was nothing to hide behind near the 
  road and the grass was only knee-high. He soon had 
  his answer. After the creature was finished eating the 
  slave, leaving nothing but splatters of blood, Agathon 
  watched the creature move down the pathways and 
  then suddenly disappear. In its place a large crack ap-
  peared, crossing the trail he had followed. Agathon 
  dubbed the creature “dolio chthon,” or “deceitful sur-
  face of the earth.” Over the years, the two words have 
  been shortened to the single name of Doliochthon.
  The Doliochthon is a primordial, solitary creature 
  that exists in all parts of the world and in all climates. 
  The single consistent factor in all Doliochthon 
  stories is a remote territory to live in, away from hu-
  man civilization. Unfortunately for everyone, such 
  territories are becoming smaller and harder to find.
  Description: A Doliochthon is a large humanoid 
  creature standing between seven and eight feet tall. Its 
  body is made up of the earth, grass, leaves, twigs and 
  weeds found in its territory. It has a prehensile tail that 
  lies flat against the body when it is not being used. A 
  fang-filled mouth that takes up almost half of its head 
  dominates its flat, oval face. There is only an impression 
  to show where a nose would be, and its eyes appear to be 
  a pair of stones. The creature is a master at camouflage 
  when it is still, and it is incredibly strong. 
  Step on a crack
  Step on a Crack
  Step on a Crack
  
  16 
  Storytelling Hints: The Doliochthon is more 
  animal than man, but in essence it is neither. It is 
  intelligent and cunning, cautious rather than reac-
  tive. It prefers to hunt solitary game, but will go after 
  small groups. It always hunts in areas of remote trails 
  – animal or manmade. The “crack” that is placed 
  across the trail is actually its prehensile tail that is 
  camouflaged to look like a crack. When something 
  steps on it, the tail reflexively wraps around the 
  limb that triggered it, holding it fast. Once the prey 
  is caught, it is the Doliochthon’s main focus unless 
  something else attacks it. Then it will disable the 
  prey and attack the attacker.
  The Doliochthon cannot be reasoned 
  with, but it can be frightened away by 
  a greater threat to its life and territory. 
  It can be soothed by supernatural means 
  and sent away, but it will never willingly 
  become a pet or servant. It is a wild crea-
  ture, and a large fire will usually make it 
  flee in fear. 
  The Doliochthon’s goal is to feed. It is a 
  hungry, cunning creature. It will go after 
  the last person in a line, the pet on a leash 
  or a solitary target.
  Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3,  
  Resolve 3
  Physical Attributes: Strength 5,  
  Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
  Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipu-
  lation 1, Composure 3
  Mental Skills: None
  Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 4, 
  Stealth 5, Survival 4
  Social Skills: None
  Merits: Fast Reflexes 2, Giant
  Willpower: 6
  Morality: N/A
  Virtue: Prudence
  Vice: Greed
  Health: 8
  Initiative: 8
  Defense: 3
  Speed: 8
  Size: 6
  Armor: 2
  Power: Camouflage 
  Notes: The Doliochthon does not use 
  weapons. 
  Using Different World of Darkness Games
  • Werewolf: The Doliochthon will instinctively determine that a werewolf is a competitor for 
  food and will attack with fierce protectiveness of its territory (+1 to its attack dice pool). If there 
  are three or more werewolves in the party, the Doliochthon will sense that the party is too much 
  of a danger to its life and not attack at all.
  • Mage: The Doliochthon is considered a cryptid (Mage: the Awakening, pp. 338-340), which 
  means it cannot endure capture or confinement away from the place it’s encountered in – the 
  magic of the area sustains it.
  step on a crack
  
  17 
  Special Powers
  The Doliochthon has a single special power 
  called Camouflage, which is its supernatural 
  ability to blend into its surroundings.
  Camouflage (Wits + Stealth versus the target’s 
  Wits + Composure): The Doliochthon has had 
  hundreds of generations to perfect its ability 
  to blend in with its surroundings and become 
  invisible. The contested check should only 
  come if the player characters are looking for the 
  creature or something unusual. If the creature 
  is not moving, observers have a -1 penalty to 
  see it, even if they are actively looking for it. If 
  the creature is in motion, there is a +1 bonus to 
  the roll to see it (although it gives -1 to anyone 
  attempting to follow its trail, since it naturally 
  integrates into its environment). Blending or 
  not, the creature is not invisible while in mo-
  tion. This is a supernatural ability that does 
  not fool thermal scanners or other applicable 
  equipment. This is simiar to the Glitra’s power, 
  mentioned on p. 37.
  Story Idea:  
  The Hungry Jungle
  An Aztec pyramid has been newly discovered 
  in southern Mexico. It appears to be undis-
  turbed. However, the locals refuse to take a 
  group of archaeologists past a certain border in 
  the jungle. It does not matter how much the 
  archaeological team bribes them or threatens 
  them, the native guides always say the same 
  thing: This land belongs to the boca oculta or 
  the “invisible mouth.” The archaeologists feel 
  that such superstitions must not be allowed to 
  get in the way of the find of a lifetime.
  The team has brought in outside survival ex-
  perts to scout ahead and find a path to this temple. 
  Each one of them has listened to the local guides 
  about where the pyramid is and what the dangers 
  of the jungle are – mundane and supernatural. 
  The first scout team did not return.
  One survivor of the second scout team re-
  turned but his story was too insane to be be-
  lieved. All he would say was, “Something was 
  out there. The jungle came alive and took him! 
  Dragged him away! He’s gone! Gone!”
  Now the investors of the archaeological team 
  are getting impatient. Too much time and money 
  has been spent on this with no reward. Word of 
  the pyramid’s existence has gotten out, and there 
  is a worry that grave robbers or competitors will 
  get there before their team can. It is time to call 
  in the big guns.
  You are hired to make a path to the pyramid 
  and get the team in before the competition 
  gets there first. However, something about this 
  “invisible mouth” story tells you that you will 
  need to be on high alert to get the job done 
  and your team paid. You are required to take at 
  least one member of the team with you so they 
  can identify the pyramid and gather an artifact 
  in order to make a claim on the site. You hope 
  that the archaeologist can hold his own in a 
  crisis – especially when things start going wrong 
  and people start dying.
  Variations
  • Your player characters are part of the 
  archaeological team.
  • Your player characters are hired guns.
  • Your player characters are a mix of both 
  teams.
  doliochthon-Story idea the hungry jungle
  
  18 
  Overview
  It is the morning of the last day of the hike 
  through the jungle. It’s slow going, and every-
  one’s on high alert. There is only one scout 
  team left. After one of the three scouts didn’t 
  make it back, your team leader instituted the 
  buddy system – for everything. There is no room 
  for modesty or privacy. You are all under siege 
  by something unknown. Something has been 
  watching the group from afar, but no one has 
  been able to spot it yet.
  The camp has been packed up, and everyone is 
  more than ready to go. While tensions are high, 
  so is hope that today you will reach your destina-
  tion – an untouched Aztec pyramid with all of 
  its secrets and riches still intact. One more day 
  of marching; that’s all it should take. But a few 
  hours into the hike, the Doliochthon attacks.
  Description
  The jungle is hot and humid. Your hair and clothing 
  stick to you in uncomfortable clumps as sweat pours 
  from your body. Everywhere you look there are more 
  trees, more vines, more undergrowth to block your 
  way, despite the man at the head of the line with the 
  machete making the hard going a little easier. All you 
  can hear is the panting of the people around you and the 
  beating of your own heart. Something about this strikes 
  you as wrong. The jungle should be alive with sounds 
  – cries of primates, calls of birds, buzzing of insects. 
  Just as you this wrongness penetrates your heat-fogged 
  brain, one of the men in your party screams.
  Storyteller Goals
  There are a lot of potential objectives with 
  this scene. You may choose to invoke fear of 
  the unknown, emphasize the deadliness of the 
  natural world or punish the hubris of meddling 
  with unknown things. It can also serve as a lead-
  in scene to a larger story involving ancient ruins 
  touched by the supernatural.
  The main goal of the Doliochthon is to feed 
  and escape with the captured prey. These inter-
  lopers did not listen to the warnings, and now 
  they are on its territory – fair game. The first 
  person attacked is the last man in the marching 
  line, Gunny (though he can be replaced with 
  any suitable Storyteller character). Gunny will 
  put up a fight but not much of one, because he 
  is caught completely by surprise. Once Gunny 
  is disabled, the Doliochthon will leave Gunny 
  to the side and go after the next closest, smallest 
  person in the party. Once that person is disabled, 
  it will take both bodies and flee into the jungle 
  with them.
  Character Goals
  First, to survive the initial attack of the 
  Doliochthon while making sure that no one 
  else other than Gunny is hurt. Gunny will be 
  mortally wounded, but if they can’t save him, 
  perhaps they can recover his body for burial. 
  The second goal is to get the archaeologist to 
  the pyramid site so he can collect his data (and 
  any artifacts his investors might be interested 
  in), and then get him back out of the jungle 
  again.
  The third goal is to kill the Doliochthon if 
  they can, either in the initial attack on the group 
  or during the trek out of the jungle.
  Actions
  The player characters can choose to flee the 
  scene while Gunny is being attacked, or they 
  can choose to attack the monster. If the monster 
  flees with Gunny or any other character, they 
  will need to track it down to where it lives if 
  they want to rescue him.
  Brawl
  Dice Pool: Strength + Brawl (dice pool 9) 
  minus the target’s Defense 
  Action: Instant
  It’s Alive!
  Mental ••• 
  Physical •••• 
  social ••
  step on a crack
  
  19 
  Hindrances: The Doliochthon is being fired 
  on (-1). Thermal scanner, motion sensor, or 
  other high-tech surveillance gear allows the 
  target to dodge more accurately.
  Help: The Doliochthon is in motion (+1).
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Not only does the Dolioch-
  thon fail to hit its intended target, it fails bad 
  enough that the creature considers the group too 
  great a threat to its existence and flees the scene 
  with the intention of picking them off one by 
  one until they leave its domain.
  Failure: The Doliochthon fails to hit its in-
  tended target.
  Success: The Doliochthon hit its intended 
  target, dealing damage to him.
  Exceptional Success: The Doliochthon hits 
  its intended target, dealing damage to him and 
  knocking him out for the rest of the combat. If 
  the Doliochthon chooses to flee the scene, it will 
  take the unconscious victim with it.
  Track It Down
  Dice Pool: Wits + Survival (dice pool 7) 
  versus the character’s Wits + Survival 
  Action: Instant and contested
  Hindrances (trackers): The creature’s Cam-
  ouflage power naturally makes it harder to locate 
  it (-1; see p. 17)
  Help (trackers): It does not specifically hide 
  its tracks (+1)
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a 
  dramatic failure, not only does the Doliochthon 
  fail to hide its tracks, but blood loss from its 
  victims and other clear signs of movement bring 
  the trackers directly to the Doliochthon’s lair. If 
  the trackers roll a dramatic failure, no one can 
  pick up its trail this scene.
  Failure: The Doliochthon fails to hide its trail.
  Success: The Doliochthon hides its trail from 
  the tracker.
  Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls an 
  exceptional success, the Doliochthon hides its 
  trail from trackers using its large strides. No one 
  can pick up its trail this scene. If the trackers roll 
  an exceptional success, they immediately find a 
  clear path to its lair.
  Consequences
  If the team fails to kill the Doliochthon in the 
  initial attack, it will dog their steps to and from 
  the pyramid while they are in its territory, trying 
  to pick off team members one by one. If the team 
  camps at the pyramid, the Doliochthon will at-
  tempt to take a team member that night. 
  If the team decides against tracking the crea-
  ture or fails in the attempt, any captured victims 
  will be killed and eaten. 
  The Doliochthon will continue to be a prob-
  lem for the archaeologist team in the future if it 
  is not dealt with on this initial outing.
  Its alive
  
  20 
  “It all started when I walked under that ladder,” 
  Daniel said miserably. “There was a flash of light and 
  then everything went to shit. Right after that, I didn’t 
  see the light change colors, started to cross the street 
  and almost died. If that guy hadn’t pulled me back… 
  Well, ever since then, I feel like something’s followed 
  me, hounded me, made me do things that almost get 
  me killed. Worse yet, I’ve started seeing something out 
  of the corner of my eye; something horrible. I think it 
  wants me dead, and I don’t know why.” 
  Walking under a ladder is bad luck.
  There are two commonly accepted origins for 
  cautioning against walking under a ladder. To 
  many people, walking under a ladder is bad luck, 
  while to others it is simply unsafe. 
  One commonly-cited origin theory of the su-
  perstition has to do with the similarities between 
  the appearance of a ladder leaning against a wall 
  and that of a gallows. Anything associated with a 
  gallows was considered ill luck, so walking under 
  one – or a ladder that looked like one – could 
  hardly be a good idea.
  A more ominous origin of the warning comes 
  from Ireland in the dark ages. Documents of 
  a prolific religious chronicler tell of the first 
  encounter with the creature born from walking 
  under a ladder. The documents state that a man 
  discovered the malevolent creature after seeing 
  a flash of light surround his young son Ronan, 
  as he played around and then walked under a 
  ladder that was stored up against the barn wall. 
  For the next seven days, he watched his son 
  being subtly guided to do careless and reckless 
  things. On the seventh day, the father saw the 
  creature that plagued his son and put him in 
  such danger. The name for the ladder (dréimire 
  in Irish) got confused with the creature’s power 
  to create dream-like visions, and eventually the 
  spirit got the name of the Dreamer.
  The Dreamer
  Quotes: (distracting, indistinct whispers)
  Background: No one truly knows where the 
  Dreamer comes from or what it is about the 
  particular ladders that make up its doorway into 
  our world. However, when a Dreamer comes into 
  our world, it is attached to a particular victim. 
  All of its focus is on that one victim, forcing the 
  victim into self-harm and, eventually, death.
  The Dreamer has a limited time to do its work. 
  It can stay in our world for no more than ten days. 
  After that, the creature simply disappears and 
  its victim is safe (though traumatized). During 
  those ten days, the creature baffles, bemuses and 
  distracts its victim at the worst possible moments 
  in order to cause him harm. If its victim dies 
  within those ten days, the Dreamer may be seen 
  leaping upon the body in a flash of light and then 
  disappearing altogether.
  Most of the notes involving the boy Ronan and 
  the Dreamer are now hidden within the Vatican 
  archives. However, some information on the 
  Dreamer is available in other esoteric books on 
  Christian magic and dealing with spirits. 
  Description: The Dreamer is an almost 
  invisible creature, except when its time is 
  running out and it is desperate for a kill. 
  Then, it will manifest enough to terrify its 
  victim. Manifested, the Dreamer looks like a 
  huge ethereal starfish, as large as a child and 
  the color of cobwebs. It has a single eye in 
  the center of its body and sucker-like mouths 
  on the ends of each limb. The Dreamer un-
  dulates in the air and moves quickly when 
  it is agitated.
  Storytelling Hints: The Dreamer is a monster 
  of the mind and the spirit. It is unknown why 
  the creature comes through to bedevil its vic-
  what is an archway but a portal
  What is an  Archway 
  but a Portal?
  What is an Archway 
  but a Portal?
  
  21 
  tims, but it is certain that 
  its portal to this world 
  must have three straight 
  sides. Also, the portal 
  apparently needs to be a 
  temporary thing, as the 
  creature never seems to 
  make its way through 
  other three-sided per-
  manent structures. The 
  ladder itself, a convey-
  ance from one place to 
  another, may be neces-
  sary for the Dreamer to 
  pass through from its 
  world to ours.
  This creature will not 
  directly show itself to 
  its victim for the first 
  seven days of its tor-
  ment. It will bedevil, 
  befuddle and distract 
  with indistinct whis-
  pers in order to get its 
  victim to accidently kill 
  himself in some horrible 
  manner – walking in front of a bus or train, ac-
  cidentally electrocuting himself, keeping him 
  from sleeping or other such things.
  On the seventh day, the Dreamer will begin 
  to show itself in order to try to terrify its victim 
  into harming himself. It will rush at the victim 
  while he is driving, startle him while he is at the 
  top of a set of stairs or intimidate him until he 
  falls off some high ledge. The important thing 
  to know is that the Dreamer cannot physically 
  touch anything or physically harm its intended 
  victim. Everything it does is designed to get its 
  victim to hurt himself.
  Attributes: Power 4, Finesse 2, Resistance 4
  Willpower: 8
  Initiative: 6
  Defense: 4
  Speed: 10
  Size: 4
  Corpus: 8
  Essence: 15
  Numina: Bemuse and Terrify 
  the dreamer
  Special Powers
  The two special Numina of the Dreamer, 
  Bemuse and Terrify, are designed to force a 
  person into harming himself through inatten-
  tion or fear.
  Bemuse (Power + Finesse versus the victim’s 
  Resolve + Composure): The Dreamer will men-
  tally whisper or distract the victim in subtle 
  ways – soft, distracting lights, a murmuring 
  whisper that is too far away to be understood, 
  sensations being stronger or softer or merely 
  different from what they are supposed to be. 
  This bemusement may also take the more ag-
  gressive form of a shape hovering just out of 
  sight, something flashing by or a jarring sound 
  that the only the victim can hear. Bemused 
  victims have a -2 dice penalty to all percep-
  tion rolls.
  Terrify (Power + Finesse versus the victim’s 
  Wits + Composure): When the Dreamer fails 
  to kill or hurt its intended target within seven 
  days, the Dreamer takes a more direct, visible 
  approach to distracting and frightening its 
  
  22 
  prey into acting in a reckless fashion. The Ter-
  rify ability is always accompanied by a physical 
  movement of the Dreamer; usually towards 
  the victim in an aggressive fashion. A terrified 
  victim may flee, cower or freeze in shock, but is 
  at a –5 penalty to any action taken against the 
  monster. Terrified victims have a -3 dice penalty 
  to all perception rolls.
  Story Idea:  
  Heir to the Throne
  Joseph Sarver is the CEO and owner of Sarver 
  Industries. He is a busy man who is trying to 
  do some good in the world with his medical 
  inventions while making a pretty penny. Un-
  fortunately, Joe’s seventeen-year-old son, Lon, 
  came home from boarding school two days ago 
  raving about whispers in his ears and lights in 
  his eyes. It started four days before that at school 
  when all sorts of things started happening to 
  Lon – stepping on a rake, falling down the stairs 
  and walking into doors. Since he’s been home, 
  he hasn’t been able to sleep and he continues to 
  hurt himself – slipping in the bathroom, tripping 
  into a glass coffee table and almost falling into 
  the hot tub. 
  Joe is at his wits’ end. He cannot understand 
  why his bright, ambitious son has suddenly 
  become a distracted, accident-prone insomniac 
  who admits to hearing whispers in his head. He 
  has hired a team of experts to come in and evalu-
  ate Lon. He refuses to allow Lon to be taken to 
  a hospital for this evaluation. After all, what 
  would the papers say? It could harm his busi-
  ness, his reputation and the livelihood of his 
  employees. As such, he asks some associates of 
  his who are known for taking care of “unusual 
  problems” – the characters.
  When the characters enter the scene, they 
  are aware of Lon’s apparent psychosis and his 
  father’s distress. It is important is to discover 
  if Lon did have a psychotic break or not. 
  Above all, a promising young man’s life may 
  be at stake, and the characters are the fam-
  ily’s last hope to find out what is wrong and 
  fix it before Lon does something drastic of a 
  permanent nature. 
  The first night of observation brings about 
  some odd readings on the medical equipment, 
  security sensors and paranormal equipment. 
  The second night begins with Lon screaming for 
  his life and fleeing to the roof of the fifty-story 
  building that houses the family’s penthouse 
  apartment.
  Variations
  • Innocents: The gathering of people could 
  be a slumber party at Lon’s request, where 
  Lon tells his friends about the thing that 
  seems to be stalking him.
  • Vampire: Kindred with the Auspex •• 
  power Aura Perception can see a second 
  malevolent aura connected to Lon’s aura. 
  The best way to describe the aura of the 
  Dreamer is the Beast personified.
  what is an archway but a portal
  
  23 
  Overview
  You and your group of people know that some-
  thing is wrong with Lon, and that it’s not all in 
  his head. Since you have arrived at the Sarver 
  penthouse, things have gotten worse. Lon is 
  much more distracted and becoming more of a 
  danger to himself. It’s after midnight, and despite 
  the exhaustion of the previous day, neither Lon 
  nor any of your group is sleeping. If Lon isn’t 
  crazy, what can you do to help him? Would it 
  be safer to send him to a mental hospital where 
  there are fewer things for him to hurt himself 
  on, or is it better to see if he can be freed from 
  these compulsions? 
  Description
  Lon’s yell of panic brings you out of your late night 
  stupor. Before anyone can react, Lon runs through 
  the home, out the front door and down the hall to the 
  rooftop exit. “Get away from me!” he screams as 
  he flees, though no one can see what is chasing him. 
  Following him up to the rooftop, you find the shivering 
  fourteen-year-old boy, barefoot and pajama-clad, 
  being confronted by an eerie starfish-like creature 
  almost as big as he is. 
  Storyteller Goals
  The goal of the Dreamer is to get Lon to go 
  over the edge of the rooftop and fall to his death. 
  It will do everything in its power to keep Lon 
  from leaving the rooftop and to keep the inter-
  lopers from getting to its prey. Keep Lon terrified 
  and keep the others from helping him. 
  Character Goals
  Lon is not crazy; that much becomes clear as 
  a ghostly starfish creature confronts the group 
  and tries to make Lon jump from the top of the 
  penthouse building. The characters’ main goal 
  is to get Lon down from the rooftop and back 
  into the relative safety of the penthouse. 
  On the Rooftop
  Mental ••• 
  Physical ••• 
  social ••••
  The characters’ secondary goal is to stop the 
  Dreamer. They can do this either by trying to kill or 
  by keeping Lon safe from it for at least two more days. 
  (The characters are unlikely to know about the ten-
  day restriction unless they’ve done some research. If 
  the characters think to make Lon unconscious for a 
  couple of days, that will do the trick as well.)
  Actions
  The Dreamer’s main focus is Lon and getting 
  Lon to fall off or run off the top of the roof. As 
  such, it will first try to keep Lon focused on it. 
  If Lon keeps getting distracted by the player 
  characters, the Dreamer will try to get the player 
  characters to flee from the scene by terrifying 
  them. If it succeeds in this and Lon dies, it dis-
  appears to find new prey elsewhere.
  Pay Attention to Me
  Dice Pool: Power + Finesse (dice pool 6) 
  versus the victim’s Resolve + Composure 
  Action: Instant and contested
  More information on the Dreamer’s Bemuse 
  power can be found on p. 21.
  Hindrances (Dreamer): The Dreamer is vis-
  ible (-1); attempting to bemuse any targets who 
  are not its chosen victim (-1).
  Help (Dreamer): None.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a 
  dramatic failure, the Dreamer not only fails to 
  bemuse its victim, Lon is able to flee from it and 
  will feel the need to flee the scene itself. The 
  creature will return no sooner than one hour later. 
  If Dreamer dramatically fails to bemuse anyone 
  other than Lon, it will be unable to use that power 
  against that person for the rest of the scene. If 
  the player of the victim rolls a dramatic failure, 
  they are fully in the Dreamer’s thrall and cannot 
  act against it for the rest of the scene (or until 
  somehow brought out of the bemusement).
  on the rooftop
  
  24 
  Failure: The Dreamer fails to bemuse its target.
  Success: The Dreamer bemuses Lon and can 
  attempt to terrify him into recklessly fleeing. If 
  the Dreamer bemuses someone other than Lon, 
  they lose their next action due to supernatural 
  distraction.
  Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls 
  an exceptional success, Lon will be fully in the 
  Dreamer’s thrall, and nothing less than a physi-
  cal removal from the rooftop will turn Lon’s at-
  tention from the Dreamer to a player character. 
  If the Dreamer gets an exceptional success in 
  bemusing someone other than Lon, they are 
  unable to act against Lon or the Dreamer for the 
  rest of the scene unless supernaturally brought 
  out of the bemusement. If the player of the vic-
  tim rolls an exceptional success, the Dreamer 
  cannot use its power against the victim for the 
  rest of the scene.
  Run for Your Life!
  Dice Pool: Power + Finesse (dice pool 6) 
  versus the victim’s Wits + Composure 
  Action: Instant and contested
  More information on the Dreamer’s Terrify 
  power can be found on p. 21-22.
  Hindrances (Dreamer): The Dreamer is vis-
  ible and horrible (-1); terrify any targets that 
  aren’t its chosen victim (-1).
  Help (Dreamer): None.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a 
  dramatic failure, the Dreamer not only fails to 
  terrify its victim, but Lon is able to escape. The 
  monster will disappear, but return no sooner 
  than one hour later. If the Dreamer dramatically 
  fails to terrify anyone other than Lon, it will be 
  unable to use that power against that person for 
  the rest of the scene. If the player of the victim 
  rolls a dramatic failure, they spend the scene 
  running around blindly (and potentially into a 
  dangerous situation).
  Failure: The Dreamer fails to terrify its target.
  Success: The Dreamer terrifies Lon, causing 
  him to run around blindly (which will very likely 
  mean off the rooftop). If the Dreamer terrifies 
  someone other than Lon, they spend their next ac-
  tion fleeing the scene due to supernatural fear.
  Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls 
  an exceptional success, Lon will be completely 
  terrified and flee off the edge of the rooftop im-
  mediately. If the Dreamer gets an exceptional 
  success in terrifying someone other than Lon, 
  they spend the rest of the scene fleeing due to 
  supernatural fear. If the player of the victim 
  rolls an exceptional success, the Dreamer can-
  not use its power on the victim for the rest of 
  the scene.
  Consequences
  If the player characters take more that couple 
  of minutes to get to the rooftop, Lon will have 
  already jumped to his death by the time they get 
  there. If the player characters succeed in scar-
  ing the Dreamer from the scene, the creature 
  will redouble its attack in an hour or two. If the 
  player characters do not succeed in keeping 
  the creature from getting Lon to kill himself 
  before they see the creature, Joe will blame the 
  characters for their failure and could potentially 
  become a reoccurring antagonist. If the player 
  characters do not succeed in keeping the crea-
  ture from getting Lon to kill himself but they 
  see the creature and can describe the creature 
  in detail, Joe will consider them failures (if he 
  even believes them), but probably won’t go out 
  of his way to go after them.
  what is an archway but a portal
  
  25 
  “Look what I found.” Jane showed Tyler the 
  five-leaf clover. 
  “Uh, five-leaf clovers are bad luck.” He squinted 
  his eyes at small quintet of leaves.
  “No. I’ve heard that if four-leaf clovers are lucky, 
  five-leaf clovers are even luckier. You can make a 
  wish on them.”
  Tyler shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He 
  paused and then breathed out, “Whoa! Look at 
  that thing!”
  Jane turned to see what her boyfriend was pointing 
  at. In the clover at the edge of their picnic blanket 
  was a large cockroach-like creature about six inches 
  long. When she saw it, she gave a gasp and wrinkled 
  up her nose. “Ew! It’s a Palmetto bug!”
  The bug reared back on its hind legs and gave 
  a screech from a disturbingly human-looking 
  face. Behind it, a swarm of similar creatures 
  dug their way out of the ground, and the ground 
  at the edge of the picnic blanket was suddenly 
  a mass of moving black bodies. As one they 
  spread their wings, took to the air in an angry 
  chittering sound and dove at the girl holding the 
  five-leaf clover.
  Picking a five-leaf clover is unlucky.
  If you ask people about the origin of the saying 
  that picking a five-leaf clover is bad luck, some 
  people may say instead that since a four-leaf 
  clover is lucky, a rarer five-leaf clover must be 
  even luckier. 
  In reality, no one is quite sure where the ori-
  gins of either proverb came from, but the first 
  written warnings of them appeared in medieval 
  Britain. These tales warned of black “fairies” 
  that came from clover patches all over Britain. 
  Since then, cryptozoologists have rediscovered 
  these creatures and the danger they pose to the 
  unwary world that lives above them.
  Goblin Roach
  Background: The Goblin Roach is as to a 
  cockroach as a human is to a chimpanzee; cous-
  ins, perhaps, but an altogether different creature. 
  Rediscovered again and again over the centuries, 
  the one thing that cryptozoologists and occult 
  researchers have determined is that the Goblin 
  Roach is a creature that just wants to be left 
  alone. However, if you disturb their home, they 
  must defend their territory and will do so with 
  great vehemence and malice.
  Goblin Roaches are a hive-mind swarm, linked 
  telepathically to a single leader. While most hive 
  based creatures center around a “queen,” in this 
  case, it is a “king” figure who leads the hive in both 
  day-to-day life and into battle. While the five-leaf 
  clover is a rarity in nature, it does occur naturally as 
  well as artificially. The king of the Goblin Roaches 
  secretes a chemical in the clover, above the hidden 
  hive, that causes the five-leaf clover to grow. This is 
  a territorial marker to all other Goblin Roaches. If 
  the king of another Goblin Roach swarm wants to 
  muscle in on another’s territory, he rips the five-leaf 
  clover from the ground, removing the territorial 
  marker with the current king’s scent markings on it. 
  This is start of the challenge. The two swarms will 
  fight until one king is dead. At that time, either the 
  two swarms will merge or the losing swarm will flee 
  with a temporary king in charge. How the king of the 
  Goblin Roaches is chosen is still a mystery. 
  There are two ways to protect oneself from the 
  Goblin Roach swarm when it is intent on destroy-
  ing you. The first way is to submerge oneself in a 
  body of water. A Goblin Roach hates water and 
  thus will end its pursuit at the shore and eventu-
  ally lose interest. The second is to immediately flee 
  beyond the borders of the Goblin Roaches’ domain. 
  How one discovers the borders of the creatures’ 
  domain is unknown.
  If four is lucky five must be luckier
  If Four is Lucky  
  Five Must Be Luckier
  If Four is Lucky, 
  Five Must Be Luckier
  
  26 
  Description: A Goblin 
  Roach is between five and 
  seven inches long and reminds observers of a cross 
  between a Palmetto bug and a small humanoid with 
  wings. It has a shiny black carapace and six limbs 
  in addition to its translucent black wings. The two 
  back limbs are the strongest and most muscled, and 
  allow the creature to stand upright in an intimida-
  tion pose. The two middle limbs are the smallest, 
  each ending in a venomous stinger. The two upper 
  limbs are the most articulated and end in pinchers 
  for fine manipulation. The head of a Goblin Roach is 
  vaguely humanoid and flat with large black eyes and 
  a large mouth with needle-like teeth. For the most 
  part, the Goblin Roach walk around on the front 
  and back limbs, allowing the stingers free motion 
  to sting prey animals.
  Storytelling Hints: The Goblin Roach is alien in 
  thought and deed. They are a hive mind. Speak to 
  one, you speak to them all – and all of them listen 
  to the king. The king will always be the member of 
  the Goblin Roach that is front and center of things. 
  Thus, if you can manage to speak to one of them, the 
  king will be the one answering you.
  The Goblin Roach swarm just wants to be left 
  alone to live their lives in peace. They are not an 
  aggressive swarm like killer bees or other expansionist 
  insects. That is because they are more than 
  an insect. They are sentient creatures with 
  simple drives. The biggest drive is to protect 
  their home territory from all invaders. They iden-
  tify the invaders by those who rip their territorial 
  marker (the five-leaf clover) out of the ground or 
  those who try to dig up their underground hive.
  Once the challenge has been given, the Goblin 
  Roach swarm will not stop attacking until the chal-
  lenger (the one who pulled the five-leaf clover or 
  broke into the hive) and anyone with her are either 
  dead or driven off of Goblin Roach territory, or 
  their king is dead. If the Goblin Roach swarm loses 
  six or more health points, the king can be considered 
  dead and the swarm will stop attacking.
  Their attacks come in the form of biting and poi-
  soning. A poisoned creature will become paralyzed 
  over time based on the amount of venom in their 
  system. If the enemy is killed, the creatures will con-
  tinue to inject the poison into the corpse so that the 
  innards will liquefy and be turned into sustenance 
  that the Goblin Roach can suck into themselves 
  through needle-like teeth.
  Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, 
  Resolve 3
  Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, 
  Stamina 3
  Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 1, 
  Composure 2
  Mental Skills: None
  Physical Skills: Athletics 4, Survival 4
  Social Skills: Intimidate 4
  Merits: None
  Willpower: 5
  Morality: N/A
  Virtue: N/A
  Vice: N/A
  Health: 10
  Initiative: 6
  Defense: 2
  Speed: 12
  Size: 6
  Armor: 1
  Powers: Swarm, Bite and Poison
  if four is lucky five must be luckier
  
  27 
  Using Different World of Darkness Games
  • Mage: The Goblin Roach creatures are considered cryptids and follow the cryptid rules (Mage: 
  the Awakening, pp. 338-340).
  • Changeling: Despite the name, the Goblin Roach is not a Hedge creature, though you may 
  change that for your chronicle.
  Story Idea: 
  Encounter in the Clover
  Caleb and Rob were doing what two 
  boys usually do on a sunny day in a wilder-
  ness park: wandering, horsing around and 
  generally having a good time. They had 
  the run of the area as long as they stayed 
  within the boundaries set up by both sets 
  of parents which amounted to “don’t get 
  lost, don’t bother anyone and don’t burn 
  down the forest.”
  Well, they weren’t lost. They knew exactly 
  where they were. They were far enough away 
  from the beaten path next to a small pond that 
  they couldn’t bother anyone, and the magnifying 
  glass was only good for roasting ants and little 
  bugs. And that was just what Caleb was intent 
  on doing as soon as he found an anthill in all 
  of the clover.
  But there were no anthills to be had, just 
  clover all over the glade. “Hey! I found a four-
  leaf clover,” Rob called to his friend. “That’s 
  good luck.”
  “Bet I can find more of them than you can.”
  “No way.”
  “Yes way.”
  “If I win, I get the magnifying glass for a whole 
  week,” Rob challenged. 
  Caleb thought for a moment and then nodded. 
  “If I win, I get your bike for a week.”
  “You’re on!”
  The two boys began their search for the 
  good luck charm in the form of the four-
  leaf clover while the Goblin Roach hive 
  labored peacefully in the ground beneath 
  them.
  Special Powers
  Goblin Roaches have three basic powers: 
  Swarm, Bite and Poison. These attacked are 
  used primarily for feeding, but they are also very 
  effective forms of combat.
  Swarm (Dexterity + Athletics): The entire 
  swarm of thousands of Goblin Roaches targets 
  a single individual and swarms her, flying 
  around her face to blind, landing on her to 
  bite or sting and working to incapacitate her 
  in the quickest way possible. This is usually 
  used to bring down larger prey but is effective 
  on enemies. Those that have been swarmed 
  are at a -2 perception penalty and -1 to rolls 
  using Dexterity.
  Bite (Strength + Athletics – victim’s 
  Defense): Representing an entire swarm of 
  Goblin Roaches attacking at once and at-
  tempting to bite. With a successful roll, some 
  are going to succeed. The number of successes 
  represents the number of Goblin Roaches bit-
  ing the victim at 1 bashing per bite. This may 
  be soaked normally.
  Poison (Dexterity + Athletics – victim’s 
  Defense): Representing an entire swarm 
  of Goblin Roaches attacking at once and 
  attempting to sting a victim with their 
  poisonous stingers. With a successful roll, 
  some are going to succeed. The number of 
  successes represents the number of Goblin 
  Roaches stinging the victim with a para-
  lyzing toxin. Use the poison rules in the 
  World of Darkness Rulebook, pp. 180-181 
  (Toxicity level 4, and resisted by Stamina 
  + Resolve as a reflexive action). When all 
  the victim’s health points are gone, the 
  victim is paralyzed. If left unmolested, the 
  paralyzed victim will be able to move again 
  within 24-36 hours. 
  goblin roach-Story idea  Encounter in the clover
  
  28 
  Overview
  In a lull in the story while the player char-
  acters are going from one scene to another or 
  while they are simply enjoying themselves in the 
  great outdoors, the characters hear the terrified 
  screams of children. It could be while they are 
  in a hurry to something else, or it could be that 
  this is a way to introduce new Storyteller charac-
  ters (or player characters for that matter) to the 
  group through the children and their parents.
  Description
  The screams of children pierce the air. Running 
  through the trees, you break into a beautiful glade and 
  a horrific scene. Before you, two boys are swatting 
  at what must be thousands of bugs – huge ones – at 
  least six inches long and glossy black. The children are 
  blinded by the onslaught and are unable to find their 
  way out of the black mass. You can see small rivulets 
  of blood running down their faces and arms where these 
  insects have bitten them. One of the bugs flies up to 
  you and hovers briefly before your face, letting you get 
  a good look at it before one of the boys lets out another 
  scream and falls over. His small body is immediately 
  covered in a blanket of glossy black carapaces. 
  Storyteller Goals
  The goal of the Goblin Roach attack is to 
  introduce an unexpected threat to the charac-
  ters that has nothing to do with their current 
  story. The Goblin Roaches are uncommon bugs 
  and generally keep to themselves. Saving the 
  children will allow the characters to meet new 
  Storyteller characters who may or may not be 
  part of a greater story in the future.
  The Goblin Roaches have two goals that 
  amount to the same thing: Protect their terri-
  tory. They can do this by killing the interlopers 
  (the boys and now the characters who have 
  come to help the boys) or by running them off 
  of their territory (the clover patch).
  Character Goals
  The main character goal should be to rescue 
  the two boys before they are killed. One of them, 
  Caleb, is paralyzed from the Goblin Roach toxin. 
  The other has been harmed a little but is still 
  able to move. 
  The secondary goal for the characters is to find 
  out more about the Goblin Roaches. What set 
  them off? What are they? Obviously, these are 
  not normal bugs. 
  The third goal is for the characters to decide if 
  the Goblin Roach hive is too big of a threat to 
  be allowed to live. Their hive is near a growing 
  wilderness park and while it is currently off the 
  beaten path, its proximity to the lake makes it 
  prime vacationer territory. 
  Rescuing Caleb
  Dice Pool: Dexterity + Athletics (dice pool 
  8) – the victim’s Defense 
  Action: Instant
  Saving the paralyzed boy, Caleb, will 
  bring a much greater chance of the char-
  acters being poisoned, as he is covered in 
  Goblin Roaches. More information on the 
  Goblin Roaches’ Poison power can be found 
  on p. 27.
  Hindrances (Roaches): The Goblin Roach 
  stingers cannot pierce Armor 3 or above. If the 
  Goblin Roach king is killed, the attack stops 
  immediately.
  Help: None.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: The Goblin Roaches not 
  only fail to poison their victim, but there is 
  something about her that makes her unpalat-
  able to the Goblin Roach swarm. The Goblin 
  Roaches will choose a new victim on the next 
  turn and ignore the first victim for the rest of 
  the scene.
  Unlucky Little Boys
  Mental •• 
  Physical •••• 
  social ••
  if four is lucky five must be luckier
  
  29 
  Failure: The Goblin Roaches fail to poison 
  its victim.
  Success: The Goblin Roaches poison its 
  victim, Toxicity level 4. Resisted by Stamina + 
  Resolve as a reflexive action.
  Exceptional Success: Not only have the Gob-
  lin Roaches poisoned its victim, the paralysis 
  occurs immediately. 
  Rescuing Rob
  Dice Pool: Strength + Athletics (dice pool 
  7) – the victim’s Defense 
  Action: Instant
  Saving the flailing boy, Rob, comes with it the 
  much greater chance of being bitten. But since 
  he’s not the boy with the five-leaf clover in his 
  hand, he is the swarm’s secondary priority. More 
  information on the Goblin Roaches’ Bite power 
  can be found on p. 27.
  Hindrances (Roaches): The Goblin Roach 
  stingers cannot pierce Armor 3 or above. If the 
  Goblin Roach king is killed, the attack stops 
  immediately.
  Help: None.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: The Goblin Roaches not 
  only fail to bite their victim, but there is some-
  thing about him that makes him unpalatable to 
  the Goblin Roach swarm. The Goblin Roaches 
  will choose a new victim on the next turn and 
  ignore the first victim for the rest of the scene.
  Failure: The Goblin Roaches fail to bite 
  their victim.
  Success: The Goblin Roaches bite their victim, 
  causing 1 bashing bite per number of successes.
  Exceptional Success: The Goblin Roaches bite 
  their victim, causing 1 bashing bite per number of suc-
  cesses. The victim also develops an immediate allergic 
  reaction to the bites in the form of incapacitating 
  swelling, itching and hives that adds a -3 penalty to all 
  his actions until the allergic reaction is dealt with. 
  Consequences
  If the characters choose to ignore the screams 
  of the children, both children will die. If the 
  characters save the children, they are lauded as 
  heroes by the children’s parents and the com-
  munity, giving an opportunity to be introduced 
  to new Storyteller characters for future stories.
  unlucky little boys
  
  30 
  ““Oh, hey, this is gorgeous,” Julie said as she held 
  up the opal ring. “Can I borrow it?”
  Kimberly paused in her sorting of clothing for her 
  best friend to borrow, “Uh… it was my mom’s, and 
  it’s probably too fragile to wear. Besides, you weren’t 
  born in October.”
  “So?” She slipped the opal ring on and admired 
  the rainbow reflection of light within the gemstone. 
  She smiled at the shimmer of beauty.
  “It’s bad luck to wear an opal if you weren’t born 
  in October.”
  Oh whatever, Julie thought. There she goes on 
  her superstitious bit. Julie waggled the bejeweled 
  hand at her best friend. “Why? It’s pretty. I want 
  to wear it.”
  “I don’t know. I just know that’s what they say.”
  “Well, they can go jump in a lake.” Julie said. 
  “So, can I wear it or not?”
  It is bad luck for those not born in October 
  to wear opals.
  The traditional gemstone for October is opal – 
  the zodiacal stone for Libra. It is a common belief 
  that wearing opal, if it is not your birthstone, will 
  bring bad luck to the wearer. In ancient times, an 
  elemental researcher discovered the existence of the 
  opal’s elemental spirit and simply called the spirit 
  within it “Opallios,” after the stone. At the time, he 
  was uncertain if Opallios was an angel, a demon or 
  a spirit, but he was certain that the spirit came from 
  the opal stone to bless some and to curse others. The 
  unnamed sage wrote his findings in a document that 
  Stephen Ashmead, a noted occultist, later found, 
  translated and expanded upon in the 14th century. 
  It is his research that tells the story of the spirit 
  of the stone going from a benign creature to one 
  of malicious intent. Ashmead dubbed this spirit 
  “Autumne” (aw-TUM-nay) while researching its 
  origins and its connection to this beautiful and 
  precious stone. After years spent communing with 
  Autumne, he put his findings down on paper and 
  retired to a home for the wealthy and insane.
  Autumne 
  Quotes: “Who dares disobey my command? Only 
  the children of autumn may wear my sigil! Now you 
  will pay for your disrespect.”
  “Debase yourself before me. Beg for my forgive-
  ness and mercy!”
  “Swear upon your life and soul that you will obey 
  my edict. Swear it or die!”
  Background: Man has valued the veins of milky 
  white stone that shimmer rainbow colors in the 
  light since time immemorial. However, another 
  attractor to this stone is the spirit that resides deep 
  within it. No one knows where it came from, but 
  the spirit within the opal stone is very real, and he 
  is jealous of whom he bestows his blessings upon.
  For a long time, the opal was thought to bring 
  luck and good fortune to the “children of autumn,” 
  or those born in October. This much appears to be 
  true. The opal was so valued for this mystical boon 
  that soon people forgot its one requirement – the 
  month of birth. The Autumne spirit, once gener-
  ous and fair, became embittered at this abuse and 
  withdrew his boon to the world because so many 
  disrespected him. Over time, this withdrawing of 
  boon became an active malevolence towards those 
  who defied his edict – whether they knew of it 
  or not. For hundreds of years, Autumne actively 
  hunted and harmed those who wore the opal 
  without having the right. 
  Although Autumne sightings are very rare, 
  most encounters with the spirit end in death 
  for the human wearing the opal. Only the truly 
  penitent edict-breakers live through their en-
  counter with Autumne and most of those come 
  away scarred, paranoid and insane.
  only the children of autumn
  Only the Children 
  of Autumn
  Only the Children 
  of Autumn
  
  31 
  Description: This elemental spirit always 
  appears in fine dress of the current age (the 
  flashier, the better). He is tall and imposing 
  with long hair and opalescent eyes. His hands 
  are twice as large as they should be, ending 
  in sharp talons. His hair and clothing flutter 
  in a wind only he can feel.
  Storytelling Hints: Most modern day people 
  attribute the “bad luck” of wearing opals to the 
  soft stone’s tendency to break. This complete 
  lack of respect and care for his edict has filled 
  the Autumne with rage and hate for mortal 
  man. Only his “children of autumn” are 
  spared some of this maliciousness. 
  There are times when Autumne’s 
  rage is too much and he must seek out 
  an edict-breaker to get his revenge on. He 
  prefers to appear to his victim when she 
  is alone so he will have her full attention. 
  Most frequently, he will attempt to murder 
  her only after telling her what she has done 
  wrong. He does this to give his victims a 
  chance to repent. Even if they do repent, 
  he will slay them if he does not feel they are 
  sincere enough. If they do not apologize, or if 
  they attempt to flee or attack him, he will tear 
  them from limb to limb.
  Autumne is impatient, imperious and full of 
  rage. Every word should be malicious and degrad-
  ing. However, he can be reasoned with. He will 
  listen for the apology, but he is judgmental and 
  generally unforgiving. After his vicious onslaught, 
  the unlucky opal-wearer will have one chance 
  to apologize and beg for forgiveness or mercy. 
  Autumne will then judge her on her words and 
  sincerity. It must be an impressive and sincere 
  debasement for Autumne to leave them alive. If 
  she is sincere enough, he will let her go free with 
  a warning, but the next encounter will mean im-
  mediate death.
  Also, if a “child of Autumn” becomes a part of 
  the encounter with Autumne, he will listen to 
  them with a greater patience and mercy.
  Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 3, 
  Resolve 3
  Physical Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4,  
  Stamina 3
  Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation 4,  
  Composure 4
  Mental Skills: None
  Physical Skills: Brawl 3
  Social Skills: Empathy 4, Intimidation 4, 
  Persuasion 4, Subterfuge 3
  Merits: None
  Willpower: 7
  Morality: N/A
  Virtue: Hope
  Vice: Wrath
  Health: 8
  Initiative: 8
  Defense: 3
  Speed: 12
  Size: 5
  Powers: Judge and Rend
  only the children of autumn
  
  32 
  Using Different World of Darkness Games
  • Werewolf: The Autumne could be considered a spirit of the Earth (specifically opals). He is an 
  old spirit filled with anger towards humans who disrespect him. He generally ends up taking a 
  host (similar to the Hithimu) – the mechanics presented assume that he has.
  Special Powers
  Autumne has two powers: Judge and Rend. 
  The first power is judge the edict breaker’s sin-
  cerity. The second power is to murder her for 
  her trespass against him.
  Judge (Intelligence + Empathy versus op-
  ponent’s Wits + Subterfuge): Autumne will 
  first lambaste the edict breaker for wearing his 
  sigil when it is forbidden for those who are not 
  children of autumn. During the excoriation, 
  Autumne will be able to psychically judge the 
  sincerity of the person it is used on. 
  Rend (Strength + Brawl – opponent’s Defense): 
  Autumne’s main attack is a mental assault against 
  the edict breaker’s spirit. This damage manifests in 
  aggravated wounds. Autumne slashes at the edict 
  breaker with his over-large, taloned hands. While 
  his claws may seem to pass through the physical 
  form, he is really slashing the victim’s spirit.
  Story Idea: Opal, 
  Opal, Burning Bright
  Something is happening to Julie Steward. For 
  days, things seem to be deliberately trying to 
  hinder and hurt her. She’s noticed crosswalk 
  signs not working right, automatic door slam-
  ming themselves on her, elevators stopping 
  two or three inches too short and more. Worse 
  yet is the face that Julie is certain that a man 
  is following her. She keeps seeing him out 
  of the corner of her eye, staring and glaring 
  at her. More than once, she’s sworn that she 
  heard him whisper, “Why do you defy me?” 
  in her ear.
  Tonight she has a date with a guy she’s been 
  waiting to go out with for what seems like forever 
  and things are the worst they have ever been. 
  She’s had a fight with her friend Kimberly about 
  that stupid opal ring she borrowed days ago. 
  She’s burned herself on her curling iron, and 
  the apartment elevator seemed determined to 
  eat her dress. 
  Undaunted, Julie has made it out to the 
  nightclub where she’s to meet her date. She 
  ducks into a bathroom to powder her nose and 
  gather some courage. As she is about to leave, 
  the bathroom door slams shut and that voice 
  is back, but this time his demanding question 
  is not whispered in her ear. It is shouted at her 
  back. Turning around, Julie sees Autumne with 
  his opalescent eyes and huge, taloned hands 
  floating above her.
  only the children of autumn
  
  33 
  Overview
  This takes place at a local club; whether the 
  characters are just relaxing or there for a specific 
  purpose depends on your needs. It can be used 
  to take a break from a long running story or to 
  introduce a bit of chaos into the game. They can 
  know Julie Steward or her friend Kimberly, or they 
  may all be complete strangers when Autumne at-
  tacks. This scene can also be used to introduce a 
  player character or a Storyteller character into the 
  chronicle – just replace Julie or Kimberly.
  Description
  The screams coming from the area of the ladies 
  room are muffled by the thudding beat of music on 
  the dance floor and the sound of hundreds of people 
  shouting to be heard over it. People are running for 
  help. People are coming to gawk. There is the sound of 
  glass shattering behind the closed and locked bathroom 
  door. In between the screams, the sobs of a woman 
  crying out, “I’m sorry!” can be heard. 
  Storyteller Goals
  The goal of Autumne is to extract a sincere 
  apology from Julie for her repeated disrespect to 
  him and his edict about who may and may not 
  wear the opal. If he extracts a sincere apology, 
  he will give her (and anyone watching) one 
  last warning that his sigil is for the children of 
  autumn only before leaving his host body. 
  However, if he does not get a sincere apology, 
  he will do everything in his power to kill the edict-
  breaker and those who would try to stop him from 
  gaining his just vengeance for such disrespect. 
  Once Julie is dead, he will leave his host body.
  Character Goals
  Save Julie from Autumne. Figure out what is 
  actually wrong, what Autumne is and either get 
  him the apology he wants or figure out at way 
  to banish or destroy him.
  Actions
  Talking to Save Her Life
  Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion versus Au-
  tumne’s Composure + Subterfuge (dice pool 7)
  Action: Instant and contested
  The player characters break into the bathroom 
  to find out what is going on and discover Julie 
  on the floor, unharmed but shaken and sobbing. 
  Autumne is standing above her, shouting at her 
  about her trespasses against him and his. More 
  information on the Autumne’s Judge power can 
  be found on p. 32.
  Hindrances (speaker): Not born in Oc-
  tober (-1).
  Help (speaker): Born in October (+2).
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: If the player of the speaker 
  rolls a dramatic failure, not only does the speaker 
  fail to convince Autumne to leave Julie alone, 
  but the spirit also becomes enraged and starts 
  attacking him. Autumne will do everything in 
  his power to kill the character. If the Storyteller 
  rolls a dramatic failure, Autumne returns the 
  opal ring and leaves Julie alone.
  Failure: The character fails to convince Autumne 
  to leave them alone: The spirit ignores his words and 
  continues to try to extract an apology from Julie (or 
  to attack her if it has gotten to that point). 
  Success: The speaker convinces Autumne to 
  listen to either Julie’s apology or to the charac-
  ters’ apology on her behalf. 
  Exceptional Success: If the player of the speaker 
  rolls an exceptional success, the speaker convinces 
  Autumne that the situation is all a complete 
  misunderstanding for which not only is Julie sin-
  cerely apologetic but that everyone in the room 
  is apologetic, and that they will spread the word 
  that Autumne’s edict should not be disobeyed. 
  Autumne leaves Julie alone. If the Storyteller rolls 
  Persuading Autumne
  Mental •••• 
  Physical ••• 
  social ••••
  persuading autumne
  
  34 
  an exceptional success, Autumne becomes enraged 
  and shifts his fury from Julie to the speaker.
  Autumne’s Rending
  Dice Pool: Strength + Brawl (dice pool 7) – 
  target’s Defense
  Action: Instant
  If the player characters immediately attack 
  Autumne or they fail to persuade him that they 
  and Julie are sincerely sorry, Autumne will at-
  tempt to kill Julie. If the spirit’s host loses all 
  of his health points, he is temporarily banished 
  for 24 hours from Julie (if she continues to wear 
  the opal ring). If the opal in the ring is broken, 
  then Autumne is banished from Julie until she 
  wears another opal. More information on the 
  Autumne’s Rend power can be found on p. 32.
  Hindrances (Autumne): If the opal stone is 
  broken, Autumne will be temporarily banished. 
  Autumne is focused on Julie (-1 to Defense).
  Help (Autumne): Combat rolls versus Julie 
  (as the edict breaker; +1)
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Not only does Autumne 
  fail to rend his victim, the victim is able to get 
  out of range. If the intended victim is Julie, she 
  is able to attempt to flee on the next action. If 
  the intended target is not Julie, Autumne will 
  return his full attention to her.
  Failure: Autumne fails to harm his intended 
  target with his power.
  Success: Autumne hits his intended target 
  with his power, doing lethal damage.
  Exceptional Success: Not only does Au-
  tumne damage his intended victim, the victim 
  is knocked out for a number of turns equal to 
  6 - the victim’s Stamina. The victim takes no 
  other actions during this time. If the victim 
  is Julie, Autumne will continue to attack. If 
  the victim is not Julie, Autumne will return 
  to attack her.
  Consequences
  If the player characters are unable to save 
  Julie from being murdered by Autumne, 
  there is a good chance that one of them will 
  be blamed for it. However, without any wit-
  nesses willing to speak against the accused, 
  the case will fall through, opening up the 
  possibility of new enemies for the player 
  characters (including Julie’s family or law 
  enforcement officers).
  On the other hand, if they do manage to save 
  Julie, she and Kimberly will be eternally grate-
  ful and may be called upon as allies for future 
  storylines. Also, this scene may open up the 
  possibility for another new ally (mundane or 
  supernatural) in the form of the club’s owner 
  and manager. 
  only the children of autumn
  
  35 
  “Dude! Look at this,” Shane said as they entered 
  the next cave on their spelunking trip. “It looks like 
  gold. A whole huge gold vein! Look at that shine.”
  “Is that what gold looks in the wild? I thought it’d be 
  more like a diamond in the rough. Dull and stuff.”
  “No man, this is gold. Seriously. I’m gonna 
  get me some. You know what this stuff is going 
  for an ounce?”
  Kevin shrugged but pulled out his rock pick, “Not 
  a clue, but a lot, huh?”
  “Yeah. A whole lot. Like hundreds of dollars an 
  ounce.” Shane took aim with his own rock hammer 
  and started chipping away at the rock next to the 
  gold, accidentally striking a piece of the gold vein.
  Kevin turned back from setting his backpack down 
  just in time to see the gold move and slither like a 
  snake. “Dude! Watch out!” But it was too late. The 
  previously solid vein of gold shot out from the rock 
  and wrapped a glittering noose around his friend’s 
  neck, cutting off his cry of surprise and pain.
  All that glitters is not gold.
  Shakespeare is the best-known writer to have ex-
  pressed the idea that not all that glitters is gold – that 
  not all that is beautiful is valuable. The Bard was by 
  no means the first to suggest this, however. The 12th 
  century French theologian Alain de Lille wrote “Do 
  not hold everything gold that shines like gold.” And 
  in 1553, Thomas Becon, in The Relikes of Rome: “All is 
  not golde that glistereth.” There is a much older ver-
  sion of this proverb from Old Norse that means “that 
  which glitters may be deadly.” It is a warning from 
  the Norse Viking explorers who first encountered the 
  creature they called Glitra on one of their explorer 
  expeditions. The creature looked like gold and lured 
  its prey in through its sparkle and shine. When the 
  prey touched it, it would snap out and capture the 
  hapless victim, absorbing him totally.
  Glitra
  Background: Gudrik Grímsson was the first 
  known person to record a description of the 
  Glitra. Grímsson wrote:
  “We found a good cave to camp in on the island 
  but then Ulfr found the gold in the wall. He started 
  digging the gold out but found it was not gold. It 
  was a creature that glittered like gold. The creature 
  ensnared Ulfr, broke his neck and pulled his body 
  into its maw. It was as if the creature was made 
  of congealed fat. Bjorn attacked the creature, but 
  his weapon first hit something hard and then was 
  sucked inside. We knew we were facing a monster 
  we did not understand. Ulfr’s body was halfway 
  into the creature and I could see the signs of his 
  bones beneath the shimmering gold. It already had 
  one of us. I would not allow it to have more.”
  From time to time within the occult researchers’ 
  community, sightings of the Glitra are mentioned; 
  usually in conjunction with a missing person or a lost 
  pet in a mountainous or cavernous region. However, 
  no one has ever captured the creature for study, de-
  spite repeated attempts. Unfortunately for would-be 
  captors, the Glitra has the ability to become liquid 
  and escape through the smallest cracks in the wall 
  or floor. If necessary, the Glitra will leave its meal 
  behind if it feels it needs to escape. If it does not, it 
  will slowly dissolve the prey over a matter of hours, 
  absorbing its nutrients into itself.
  It is content to live in dark places, eating the na-
  tive fauna and, if it’s lucky, the occasional unwary 
  and unlucky miner, spelunker or hiker. Recently, 
  there has been a disturbing change in the Glitra’s 
  glistering or glittering neither is gold
  Glistering or 
  Glittering Neither 
  is Gold
  Glistering or 
  Glittering Neither 
  is Gold
  
  36 
  known habitats. Ten years ago, Glitra began to 
  be found in the sewer systems of large cities in 
  Europe and the Americas. Occult experts and 
  cryptozoologists speculate this invasion of urban 
  sewer systems is due to the increasing scarcity of 
  ideal natural habitats for the creature. 
  Description: When the Glitra is perfectly still, 
  it looks like part of a stone wall or a mound of dirt 
  surrounding a large deposit of gold ore. It is shot 
  through with veins of gold that shimmer and shine. 
  When triggered, the Glitra is malleable and almost 
  gelatinous in movement and feel. Strong prehensile 
  golden tentacles ensnare its prey in a vice-like grip.
  Storytelling Hints: Slow-mov-
  ing, very strong and long-lived, 
  the Glitra lives to feed and feeds 
  to live. It has almost no discern-
  able intellect. It doesn’t have an 
  overwhelming hunger, but it is an 
  opportunity feeder. If something 
  like a rat or a rabbit or even an 
  unwary human comes along, it 
  captures, kills and eats the prey, 
  dissolving every last bit of the prey 
  that it can. The only things it does 
  not dissolve are metals and hard 
  plastics. Those are eventually spit 
  out and left behind.
  The Glitra is not completely 
  sedentary. It does move slowly 
  around its domain, somewhat like 
  slow-moving lava. The only time it 
  does move quickly is when it pro-
  duces its tentacles to capture and 
  kill prey or it is escaping a threat to 
  its life. If there are large creatures 
  moving about in its domain, the 
  Glitra will remain perfectly still 
  until one of the creatures triggers 
  its feeding response.
  While a Glitra does not have 
  complex emotions, it does have 
  feelings. It feels pleasure while feeding, anger when 
  hurt and fear when cornered or overwhelmed. 
  When the characters encounter the Glitra, it will 
  appear as it always appears: as part of the structure 
  of the cave or tunnel as veins and deposits of gold. 
  It will only react when a character touches it and 
  then it will focus only on that character until an-
  other character touches it. If it is critically injured, 
  it will flee through small cracks in the wall and 
  floor of its territory.
  Mental Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 2, 
  Resolve 3
  Using Different World of Darkness Games
  • Vampire: The Glitra will not try to absorb the vampire’s dead flesh. Vampires are not 
  considered food.
  • Mage: The Glitra is considered a cryptid creature.
  glistering or glittering neither is gold
  
  37 
  Physical Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 2,  
  Stamina 6
  Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 1,  
  Composure 4
  Mental Skills: None
  Physical Skills: Brawl 4, Stealth 5, Survival 4
  Social Skills: None 
  Merits: None
  Willpower: 7
  Morality: N/A
  Virtue: N/A
  Vice: N/A
  Health: 12
  Initiative: 6
  Defense: 2
  Speed: 11
  Size: 6
  Armor: 5/5 
  Powers: Camouflage, Ensnare and Absorb
  Special Powers
  The Glitra has three powers: Camouflage, 
  Ensnare and Absorb. The first one is its natural 
  ability to hide, and is identical in function to the 
  Doliochthon’s power on p. 17. The second two 
  revolve around capturing and eating its prey.
  Ensnare (Strength + Brawl – victim’s Defense): 
  The Glitra is triggered to ensnare its prey when some-
  thing as large as or larger than a mouse touches it. 
  Based on how hard the touch it (weight or striking) 
  as well as how big the prey is, the Glitra will shoot out 
  an appropriately sized tentacle to ensnare its victim, 
  doing crushing damage once captured. To break out 
  of being ensnared is the ensnared victim’s Strength + 
  Brawl – the Glitra’s Strength. (See the grapple rules, 
  World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 157.)
  Absorb (Stamina + Composure): Once the 
  prey is dead or incapacitated, the Glitra pulls the 
  prey into its mass and absorbs it at a damage rate 
  of one lethal health point per 15 minutes.
  Story Idea: Something’s 
  Deadly in the Sewers
  “You think we got giant rats in the sewers?”
  The stranger’s voice and the even stranger 
  question catch your attention. Sure, you eaves-
  drop. No one really expects their conversations 
  to be private in a crowded coffee shop. “Nah, 
  man. Giant rats are in places like New York or 
  L.A. Not here.”
  “Two sewer workers have gone missing in two 
  months. Listen to this. ‘Tom Waterford, age 34, 
  and Chris Stone, age 23, have both gone missing 
  while inspecting underground sewer lines. Both 
  are married with children, and their spouses are 
  frantic to find the missing men. According to 
  the work roster at the Thompson’s Plumbing 
  Services, on contract with the City, both men 
  were assigned to the J-line of sewer tunnels, 
  which runs under the City Hall building. When 
  contacted by this newspaper, neither City Hall 
  nor Thompson’s Plumbing Services had a com-
  ment…’ What do you think of that?”
  “Creepy, but not giant rats. I’d believe ghosts 
  before giant rats. I mean, the city is hundreds of 
  years old. Who knows what burial grounds are 
  down there? Or what the city’s dug up?”
  “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” 
  The two men leave the coffee shop, leav-
  ing behind the paper they had been reading. 
  You cannot help but take it and read the 
  story for yourself. Something about the story 
  gets to you. Maybe it’s the fact that both men 
  were in the prime of life. Maybe it’s the fact 
  that both men went missing while working 
  in the same sewer tunnel. Perhaps it’s the 
  fact that the sewer tunnel runs under the 
  middle of the city and City Hall. This may 
  need to be investigated.
  Variations
  • For a World of Darkness or Hunter: the 
  Vigil game, one of the sewer workers was a 
  friend of a friend and you are asked to help 
  look for him.
  • For a Vampire: the Requiem game, one of 
  the sewer workers was a valuable ghoul.
  • For a Changeling: the Lost game, Chris 
  Stone, the younger missing man, was en-
  sorcelled.
  • For a Werewolf: the Forsaken game, one 
  of the sewer workers was kinfolk.
  • For a Mage: the Awakening game, one of 
  the sewer workers was a Sleepwalker. 
  Glitra-Story idea Somethings deadly in the sewers
  
  38 
  Overview
  You and your friends are here in the sewer 
  looking for what happened to those missing 
  people. You have no idea what you are looking 
  for (besides those missing men), but part of you 
  is afraid that you will find it. 
  Description
  While the stone walls aren’t damp and dripping, 
  they feel like they should be. The sewer tunnels are 
  dark, dimly lit by a fluorescent light stationed every 
  twenty feet or so. There are walkways on either side 
  of the river of sludge in the middle of the tunnel. The 
  constant sound of skittering rat paws lets you know 
  you are not the only ones to use this walkway. Up 
  ahead is a round tunnel junction that splits off into 
  four different directions. Near one of the smaller 
  tunnels’ openings is a plastic hardhat. Without picking 
  it up, you can see the name Stone stenciled on the 
  back of it. Shining your flashlight around, you catch 
  sight of something beautiful and golden glittering in 
  the flashlight’s beam.
  Storyteller Goals
  Tell a creepy tale of looking for trouble and 
  finding it. The Glitra is a powerful monster 
  with simple goals: to survive and to eat. It can-
  not be reasoned with and it will not stop unless 
  significantly damaged. 
  Character Goals
  Find out what happened to the missing sewer 
  workers. Once they’ve discovered the Glitra, the 
  secondary goal is to escape from it alive. Option-
  ally, find and capture (or destroy) the creature.
  Actions
  All That Glitters
  Dice Pool: Wits + Composure versus the 
  Glitra’s Wits + Stealth (dice pool 7) 
  Action: Instant and contested
  Most characters will not realize that the Glitra is 
  even there until they trigger its feeding reflex. More 
  information on the Glitra’s Camouflage power can 
  be found in the Glitra’s powers on p. 37.
  Hindrances (character): The Glitra is 
  still (-1).
  Help (character): The Glitra is in motion (+1).
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Not only does the person 
  looking for the Glitra not see it, she puts her 
  hand on it, immediately triggering its ensnare re-
  flex. She is so surprised that she is caught fast.
  Failure: The person looking for anything 
  strange does not find the creature, but does see 
  the gold deposit.
  Success: The searcher realizes that the gold 
  deposit isn’t what it seems.
  Exceptional Success: Not only does she find 
  it, but she figures out just how big it is and can 
  keep track of it for the rest of the scene.
  Escaping the Glitra
  Dice Pool: Strength + Brawl (dice pool 9) 
  – victim’s Defense. Once ensnared, victim’s 
  Strength + Brawl – Glitra’s Strength (5).
  Action: Instant
  Once the feeding reflex is triggered, everyone 
  and everything is fair game. More information 
  on the Glitra’s Ensnare and Absorb powers can 
  be found on p. 37.
  Hindrances: The Glitra is unaffected by pow-
  ers that attack the mind, intellect or emotions 
  or any power that needs eye contact. 
  Help: For each target beyond the first (-1). 
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Not only does the ensnared 
  victim not break free, her struggles push her 
  deeper into the Glitra where she cannot escape, 
  giving an additional -1 to all rolls.
  Nothing Floats Down Here
  Mental •• 
  Physical •••• 
  social •••
  glistering or glittering neither is gold
  
  39 
  Failure: The ensnared victim does not break 
  free and suffers crushing damage.
  Success: The ensnared victim breaks free, but 
  is still the Glitra’s main target.
  Exceptional Success: Not only does the 
  ensnared victim break free, but she moves far 
  enough away that the Glitra no longer targets 
  her. Instead, the Glitra will attempt to ensnare 
  the next closest person.
  Consequences
  If the characters do not take up the challenge 
  to search for the missing sewer workers, more 
  people will go missing. This will include more 
  sewer workers, a building inspector, a couple of 
  children and several bums. 
  If the characters do go looking for the miss-
  ing sewer workers, they will find both men’s 
  hardhats and some scattered belongings, which 
  they can return to the grieving spouses. After 
  the encounter with the Glitra, they may be 
  approached by a secret organization (such as a 
  Hunter compact or conspiracy) that will want 
  to know what really went on down there. Alter-
  natively, they may be rewarded, either publicly 
  or privately.
  nothing floats down here
  
  40 
  Scott lifted the pan of water, intending to dump it 
  on the glowing coals nestled in the fireplace.
  “Stop!” exclaimed Melissa. “Don’t.”
  Scott stopped and frowned. “Don’t what?”
  “Don’t douse the fire. Not now.”
  “But we’re going to bed. I don’t want leave the fire 
  going. Lord knows I don’t want to be the schmuck 
  responsible for burning down a luxury cabin.”
  Melissa shook her head. “It’s bad luck to com-
  pletely rake out or douse a fire before bed. There 
  should always be a few embers left burning. That’s 
  what my grandmama used to say.”
  “Why?”
  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just always did 
  as she said. Grandmama knew the old ways.” She 
  moved over to the fire and started covering the glow-
  ing coals with ashes. “This should keep them burning 
  and keep us from setting everything on fire.”
  Scott shook his head. “All right, but I think 
  you’re crazy.”
  It is bad luck to completely rake out a 
  hearth fire before retiring. A few embers 
  should always be left burning.
  This saying comes from a time when some of 
  the coals of family’s hearth were used to set the 
  fire in the new family home as a way of bring the 
  good luck of the old home into the new one. In 
  the past, the fire was physically and socially at the 
  center of the house and of a community. Some 
  stories claim that many domestic fires remained 
  burning continuously for hundreds of years. 
  The prosperity of the house or farm was 
  closely associated with a well-kept fire. The 
  fire was symbolic of life; if someone from the 
  house died, the fire was allowed to also die 
  and be rebuilt as a cleansing of the death 
  taint. If there was someone sick in the house, 
  every effort was made to ensure that the fire 
  did not die by accident, to help keep the sick 
  person alive. It was especially important to 
  keep the fire going on May 1st or “May Day” 
  as a means of protecting the home year-round 
  from evil intentions.
  If the hearth had to be repaired or cleaned, 
  then some of the old burning fire coals were 
  set aside in a bucket in order to replace them 
  when the repairs had been completed. It was an 
  indication of bad housekeeping to have to go to a 
  neighbor in the morning to ask for some burning 
  coals because your own fire had died out in the 
  night. No one liked letting a burning coal out of 
  a house “for fear of giving away good luck.” 
  One story of the origins of the superstition 
  tells of the mysterious death of a family burned 
  almost beyond recognition and covered in a 
  fine layer of ash – despite having escaped their 
  burning home intact and unburned. Research-
  ers would come to refer to the occurrence as an 
  “ash-burn death” and over time the malevolent 
  creature that caused these deaths became known 
  as an Ash-burn.
  Ash-burn
  Background: Fire has been integral to man’s 
  survival for eons. It has been given religious sig-
  nificance both good and evil. What most people 
  do not realize is that fire is a pure element—pure 
  enough to protect this world from some of the 
  supernatural creatures who would do it harm. The 
  positive emotions and security associated with 
  hearth fires have been found to protect humans 
  from evil spirits and demons such as the Ash-burn. 
  While it’s not clear what attracts the Ash-burn to 
  our world or why they linger around hearth fires 
  in wait for them to go out, these demons tend to 
  account for many of the “accidental” house fires 
  that occur all over the world.
  Ashes to Ashes 
  Death to Death
  Ashes to Ashes 
  Death to Death
  ashes to ashes death to death
  
  41 
  Description: The Ash-burn mate-
  rializes as a small vortex of burning 
  ashes. They range from one to 
  four feet in height with the top of 
  the vortex ranging from one 
  to three feet in diameter. 
  Throughout the spinning 
  ash are disembodied eyes 
  glowing from yellow to 
  orange to red, resembling 
  burning coals.
  Storytelling Hints: 
  The Ash-burn is a demon 
  that slowly gets smaller as 
  it burns. It lives to burn 
  and does so with great glee 
  and malice. The more liv-
  ing creatures it can burn to 
  death, the better. It has only 
  one harming attack but also 
  likes to use intimidation tactics 
  to herd its victims into the best 
  possible place to burn. 
  The Ash-burn are aggressive and 
  smart. Any attack on them is seen as 
  a challenge, and if there is more than 
  one Ash-burn manifested, they will all gang 
  up on the challenger and attack him without 
  hesitation. Otherwise, the Ash-burn are gleeful 
  fire-starters, throwing burning ash everywhere 
  until they burn themselves out, which happens 
  within an hour of them manifesting in our world. 
  They are vicious, quick and merciless.
  The Ash-burn can be reasoned with men-
  tally if you can keep them from covering you 
  with burning ash but in general, it would take 
  an Intimidation roll (versus their Resolve + 
  Composure) to coerce these creatures into dis-
  sipating. Water and fire extinguishers will do 
  1 point of lethal damage per pint of water or 
  3-second spray of extinguishing foam to the 
  Ash-burn, and cause them to be banished when 
  all of their health points are gone.
  Using Different World of Darkness Games
  • Vampire: Vampires need to make an immediate frenzy check to not flee the scene (Vampire: 
  the Requiem, p. 178). This is a fear frenzy versus fire, bonfire difficulty (Vampire: the Requiem, p. 
  180) for a vampire to resist the frenzy and take actions.
  • These creatures are not spirits and cannot be commanded in such a manner. However they 
  are demons, and are subject to powers and objects that affect demons.
  Ash burn
  
  42 
  Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 4, 
  Resolve 4
  Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 6,  
  Stamina 3
  Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2,  
  Composure 3
  Mental Skills: None
  Physical Skills: Firearms (ash burst only) 4
  Social Skills: Intimidation 3 
  Willpower: 7
  Morality: N/A
  Virtue: N/A
  Vice: N/A
  Health: 7
  Initiative: 9
  Defense: 5
  Speed: 13
  Size: 4
  Armor: 4/4 (0/0 against water and extinguishers)
  Power: Ash Burst
  Special Powers
  The Ash-burn has only one attack: the Ash 
  Burst. With each attack, it gets a little smaller but 
  that does not lessen the strength of its Ash Burst.
  Ash Burst (Dexterity + Firearms): This is a 
  blast of burning hot ash that covers and sticks 
  to its target, setting clothing, hair, and paper 
  on fire almost immediately. Each blast does fire 
  damage (World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 180): 
  four lethal damage per turn of contact.
  Story Idea:  
  Too Hot to Handle
  Jesse and Jennifer have the best backyard BBQ 
  parties. There is always plenty of food, drink and 
  fun. You always meet someone new. You always 
  have a good time. The house is open and the 
  backyard is huge. There’s even a huge stone fire 
  pit for grilling. They never care if you end up 
  spending the night because it got too late. They 
  usually don’t even care if you end up passed out in 
  the backyard. On the morning after one of their 
  parties, you can be sure that you will be woken 
  up, escorted to the table and fed a great breakfast 
  (even if it’s 2 in the afternoon) – and a bit of hair 
  of the dog that bit you, if you ask for it.
  Tonight has been no exception. The booze 
  has flowed freely; the steaks, hamburgers and hot 
  dogs were perfectly made. The music was turned 
  down after 11pm but all of the neighbors are at 
  the party, too, so there’s no one left to complain 
  about a wild party. 
  “Man, who let the fire pit go out?” Tim 
  asks, his voice only slightly slurred. “I wanted 
  another burger!” 
  As the first vortex of ash appears behind Tim, 
  those who look his way don’t understand what 
  they’re seeing. As the hot coal eyes of the grow-
  ing ash devil open, the realization of wrongness 
  dawns on the inebriated partygoers. Then, Tim 
  turns around and sees the Ash-burn floating in 
  front of him. There are too many hot glowing 
  coal eyes to count.
  “Holy shit,” Tim breathes out just before the 
  Ash-burn blasts him full in the face with a wave 
  of burning ash. He shrieks in pain, his hair and 
  clothing on fire. The rest of the party erupts into 
  chaos as another one of the unholy ash vortexes 
  appears out of the dead fire pit.
  You were there, having a good time with 
  some friends and strangers. Now this has 
  happened. They don’t know about you or 
  the special things you do. Now you have a 
  choice: fight these ash monsters any way you 
  can and possibly reveal yourself or let them 
  run amok, killing people and burning the 
  neighborhood down. 
  Variations
  • If this is an Innocents game, it is a back-
  yard slumber party and only one Ash-burn 
  will appear.
  ashes to ashes death to death
  
  43 
  Overview
  Danger and disaster can strike at anytime; 
  especially when it is inconvenient. All the 
  characters wanted to do was have a good 
  time. Suddenly, that good time has become 
  a killing zone for some otherworldly crea-
  tures, and the choice becomes whether or 
  not to save these people and possibly reveal 
  yourself as something more than normal or 
  to let these monsters have their way. People 
  with power and skills have responsibilities 
  to those who do not. It goes along with the 
  territory, no matter how disruptive it can 
  be to your personal life. It is a sacrifice you 
  have to make.
  Description
  The vortex of hot ash is alive and moving. Its 
  many glowing eyes spin within its whirling form. As 
  it moves away from the fire pit and the screaming 
  man, another dust devil of ash and glowing eyes rises 
  out of the fire pit, bringing more ash with it. The 
  two whirling tornados of death dance around each 
  other as they move closer and closer to a group of 
  huddled, frightened partygoers. You know that if you 
  don’t do something now, they will be these monsters’ 
  next victims.
  Storyteller Goals
  Your first goal is to put the characters into 
  a situation where they must sacrifice their 
  anonymity in order to save some innocents. 
  Your second goal is to cause as much damage 
  as possible in a short amount of time. If the 
  characters attack, they will become the Ash-
  burn’s target. If not, the innocent people, the 
  house and the surrounding property will be 
  burned to ash.
  Character Goals
  The characters need to choose between protecting 
  their own anonymity and protecting innocents. As-
  suming they do the right thing and save the helpless, 
  their next goal is to stop the Ash-burn from hurting 
  anyone else. After that, they’ll have to deal with the 
  aftermath of their secrets coming to light. 
  Ash Burst
  Dice Pool: Dexterity + Firearms (dice pool 9)
  Action: Instant
  More information on the Ash-burn’s Ash 
  Burst power can be found on p. 42.
  Hindrances: Target is within arm’s reach, and 
  can use Defense.
  Help: A lot of objects in the backyard are 
  flammable.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Not only does the Ash-burn 
  miss with its Ash Burst, something about the in-
  tended victim causes every Ash-burn to shy away 
  from them and turn to another character. 
  Failure: The Ash-burn fails to hit with its 
  Ash Burst.
  Success: The Ash-burn hits with its Ash Burst.
  Exceptional Success: The Ash-burn not only 
  hits with its Ash Burst, it hits with extreme pre-
  cision, ignoring armor (if the target is wearing 
  appropriate armor). 
  Consequences
  If the characters flee (or, in the case of vampires, 
  are forced to flee), more than half the partygoers 
  will be murdered, the house and the two neighbor-
  ing houses will be burned to the ground and those 
  that live will be driven insane with fear.
  An Unholy Light
  Mental •••• 
  Physical •••• 
  social •••
  Story idea too hot to handle-an unholy light
  
  44 
  Six year old Madeline twirled her umbrella in 
  the hallway as she entered. “Nana! Look what I 
  can do!”
  Her grandmother came around the corner and 
  her smile disappeared. “No! Close the umbrella. 
  Close it now!” She looked around her house with a 
  fearful expression.
  Madeline stared at her, the umbrella still open and 
  twirling. “But, why Nana?”
  “Because I said so!” Her grandmother yanked 
  the umbrella from her small hand and closed 
  it. Seeing her granddaughter’s eyes go big and 
  round, threatening to spill tears down her face, 
  Nana knelt next to the girl. “Because, child, you 
  insult the house spirits here. You tell them they 
  aren’t good enough. We don’t want to do that, 
  do we?”
  “No Nana.”
  “No. We don’t. Let’s apologize to them for the 
  insult.”
  Madeline looked around the hallway and up the 
  stairs. “I’m sorry if I insulted you, house spirit. I 
  didn’t mean to.”
  They both heard the closing of a door upstairs and 
  Nana smiled. “See? They forgive you. Let’s go have 
  some cookies.”
  It is bad luck to open an umbrella inside 
  a house.
  Open an umbrella indoors and bad luck 
  will rain down on you. But why? There 
  are a couple schools of thought on this. 
  The most common theory stems from 
  the days when umbrellas, named for the 
  “little shade” they provided, were used 
  mainly as protection against the sun. To 
  open one indoors would be to insult the 
  sun god and invite his wrath on everyone 
  in your household. 
  The second theory is that the umbrella is 
  a universal symbol for protection from the 
  storms of life. Umbrellas have been around 
  for over 3,000 years. The belief that to 
  open an umbrella indoors brings bad luck 
  may have been started because people saw 
  it as an act that insulted the spirits of the 
  household by implying that their protection 
  was inadequate. If you were to open one in 
  your home, the household guardian spirits 
  might think you felt their protection was 
  insufficient. Their indignant abandonment 
  of their ungrateful charges would lead to 
  misfortune for everyone in the house. 
  Domos 
  Quotes: “Treat us well and your house will never 
  need for repair. Treat us poorly and your house will 
  never know bliss.”
  “Why must you insult us? We do not deserve such 
  disrespect. We care for you and our home.”
  “Insult us, do you? Think we cannot care well 
  enough for you that you need that thing? We’ll show 
  you what your life is like uncared for.”
  Background: Once an umbrella, a symbol of pro-
  tection, is opened in a home, the Domos (the term 
  is the same for one or more of these spirits) see this 
  is as a direct challenge to their skills as keepers of 
  the house. Insulted, they allow things to go wrong 
  in the house that, until then, had not been a prob-
  lem before. Plumbing breaks. Ovens refuse to light. 
  Doors stick open or closed and the plants die. 
  Then things get worse. The house cat is 
  found dead. Sharp pins and needles somehow 
  wind up on chairs. Food spoils at an alarming 
  rate. People trip down the stairs over nothing. 
  The home that once was a blessing becomes a 
  curse, all for the lack of understanding and an 
  unintended insult.
  Spirits if  
  the House
  Spirits of  
  the House
  spirits of the house
  
  45 
  The Domos do not live in 
  every house. Usually they 
  live in older houses that 
  have a connection 
  to the land through 
  gardens and wells. 
  They also prefer 
  houses with history 
  or homes that have 
  had a single owner 
  or stayed in a single 
  family for decades or 
  more. These houses 
  have a sense of spirit and 
  life that new homes do not. 
  Those who are respectful 
  of the house have good 
  lives. Those who are not 
  tend to move away as soon 
  as they can.
  For the Domos, it is their right to choose 
  a home to live in and care for. It is a privilege 
  for the dwellers of the home to have the Domos 
  around, because they care for the home and 
  those within it. On the other hand, never make 
  the mistake of assuming a Domos is subservient 
  to its human charges. The Domos chooses to 
  be there and woe unto to those who insult or 
  displease them.
  Description: Domos are small, wizened-
  looking creatures that stand between one 
  and two feet tall. They are humanoid in 
  appearance with leathery skin and solid 
  black eyes. Their heads appear slightly too 
  large for their small bodies. They wear no 
  clothing and appear to be androgynous. 
  Their hands end in sharp, short claw-like 
  nails that look dangerous. 
  Storytelling Hints: Having a Domos creature 
  can be heaven or hell for a household. They 
  are subtle at first when making their displeasure 
  known. But as time goes on and no apology or 
  gesture of respect happens, the Domos turn 
  from blessings into curses. Instead of taking 
  their anger out on the house, they start tak-
  ing it out on those who live within it. When 
  a Domos reaches its breaking point, they will 
  appear and attack the house’s owners directly 
  with poisoned claws.
  Once manifested, a 
  Domos can be reasoned 
  with, especially if the hom-
  eowners appear frightened or 
  cowed by them. Sincere apologies and promises to 
  never disrespect the house or the Domos will go a 
  long way, but only if everyone present agrees with a 
  proper attitude. If even one person is snide, snarky 
  or unrepentant, all of the Domos will attack.
  Household objects will not harm a Domos, 
  but things from outside the house will. For 
  example, a kitchen butcher knife will always 
  miss the Domos, while a hunting knife can hit 
  and do damage. If a Domos is damaged to the 
  point of death, it will disappear, but there is a 
  chance that it will reappear another night to 
  attack again. 
  Attributes: Power 5, Finesse 2, Resistance 1
  Willpower: 6
  Initiative: 3
  Defense: 5
  Speed: 11
  Size: 4
  Corpus: 5
  Essence: 10
  Powers: Break, Curse and Poisonous Claws
  domos
  
  46 
  Using Different World of Darkness Games
  • Changeling: The Domos are goblins from the Hedge and are affected by Contracts. 
  Changeling characters have a +1 to Investigation, Empathy and Expression rolls and a -1 
  penalty to Intimidation rolls.
  Special Powers
  The first two powers of the Domos, Break and 
  Curse, are designed to first attack the house and 
  then the owners. The third power, Poisonous 
  Claws, is a direct attack by the Domos itself.
  Break (Power + Finesse – target object’s Dura-
  bility): The house is an extension of the Domos. 
  The Domos know it inside and out. They know 
  exactly where to start making things break to 
  annoy or distress the house dwellers.
  Curse (Power + Finesse – target’s Resolve): 
  When the Domos are ready to curse those within 
  the house, they to call upon the natural magic in 
  the area to do so, increasing their effectiveness. 
  Every success rolled by the Domos a –1 penalty 
  to the target for the duration of the scene. Each 
  target’s Curse expires at the end of the scene 
  and a new Curse on the same target will start 
  from 0 successes. 
  Poisonous Claws (Power + Finesse – target’s 
  Defense): The claws of the Domos are slightly 
  curved and poisonous. If clawed by the Domos, 
  the poison goes to work immediately, cours-
  ing through the victim’s veins, doing damage 
  over time as per normal toxicity rules (World 
  of Darkness Rulebook, pp. 180-181) with the 
  toxicity level of 5. The poison cannot be healed 
  naturally, but the Domos can heal the poison 
  themselves if given enough motivation.
  Story Idea:  
  Home Sweet Home
  John and Ellen Harper inherited the beauti-
  ful Victorian home from her late grandmoth-
  er. The small inheritance that came with it 
  paid the taxes and the couple is grateful for 
  one less expense as they prepare to welcome 
  another child.
  At first, everything is perfect. Then, once 
  the rainy season hits, things start to break. First 
  it’s the doorknob to the screen door. Then the 
  sinks in the house start to drip — all of them, 
  on the same night. Nothing the Harpers do fixes 
  this problem. Next to go is the vacuum cleaner, 
  followed by the dishwasher, the oven and the 
  garbage disposal. Each of things is an expensive 
  hassle to repair.
  Then things go from bad to worse. Knives 
  somehow end up point-up in the dishwasher, 
  no matter how careful the couple is. Glasses 
  tumble silently to the floor in the middle of 
  the night, causing bare feet to be sliced on 
  the shards in the morning. Thumbtacks ap-
  pear in chairs point-up. Scalding hot water 
  comes out of the cold tap, and unseen ob-
  stacles in the hallways throughout the house 
  are causing their daughter Julia countless 
  cuts and bruises.
  It is to the point that the Harpers now 
  believe their home is haunted. Ellen’s in-
  explicable fall down the stairs – though she 
  swears she felt a push — has the family at 
  its wits’ end. They have called for help from 
  paranormal investigators and psychics to help 
  find out what has happened to their once 
  lovely home. Ellen is four months pregnant 
  and doesn’t want to move yet again. She just 
  wants whoever, whatever, is haunting the 
  house to go away.
  Variations
  • If this is a Vampire game, Mr. Harper 
  could be a ghoul.
  • If this is an Innocents game, the Story-
  teller character most involved is the Harp-
  ers’ child, Julia. She has asked her friends 
  over to help figure why the house is mad at 
  her family.
  spirits of the house
  
  47 
  Overview
  Someone important to the group has asked 
  them to help with the Harpers’ home. The at-
  tacks by the Domos are becoming increasingly 
  more violent, and the Harpers are considering 
  moving from what was once their dream home. 
  When the characters arrive, it is raining. 
  Description
  You have entered the foyer of the Harpers’ home. 
  As you shake the rain from your coats, you see pairs 
  of galoshes and two open umbrellas already in the 
  hallway. “You can leave your coats and umbrellas 
  here,” Ellen Harper says as she gestures to the coat 
  rack in the hallway. “And leave your umbrellas open 
  to dry. I don’t mind if they drip.”
  As you all shuffle about, taking off wet overcoats, 
  you begin to hear the sound of breaking glass from 
  upstairs and from the room at the end of the hallway. 
  It sounds as if someone is having a temper tantrum 
  and is taking his or her anger out on anything 
  breakable. The mirror in the hallway suddenly 
  shatters in a startling shower of shards, and a new 
  voice joins the cacophony of sound.
  “Leave your umbrellas open on in the hallway? 
  Why don’t you just invite them to shit on the floor 
  and be done with it?” 
  Looking, you see a small creature standing next 
  to a closet at the end of the hallway. Its coal-black 
  eyes bore into you. It seems to shake with rage as 
  a second and then a third small humanoid creature 
  exits the closet.
  Storyteller Goals
  Introduce the idea that being nice to a mon-
  ster could be the easy way out of a potentially 
  fatal situation. The Domos are furious but intel-
  ligent. They can be reasoned with and reasoning 
  with them is not only the easy way, it is the most 
  beneficial way. This also provides the characters 
  a chance to think on their feet. 
  Character Goals
  Figure out what’s wrong with the house. Find 
  out what the Harpers have done to upset the 
  Domos, and fix the situation.
  Actions
  Calming the Domos
  Dice Pool: Presence or Manipulation + Persuasion 
  vs. the Domos’ Finesse + Resistance (dice pool 3)
  Action: Instant and contested
  The characters have a chance to talk 
  some sense into both the Domos and the 
  Harper family.
  Hindrances: No Occult knowledge (-1).
  Help: Encyclopedic Knowledge (+1).
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Not only does the speaker 
  fail to convince the Domos to leave the Harp-
  ers alone, but the Domos becomes enraged and 
  attacks the speaker. 
  Failure: The speaker fails to convince the 
  Domos to leave the Harpers alone, and the 
  spirit continues with its current course of action, 
  berating Ellen Harper until either someone can 
  persuade the Domos the Harpers meant no harm 
  or the situation escalates into violence.
  Success: The speaker convinces at least one 
  of the Domos that the Harpers did not mean 
  any harm or disrespect.
  Exceptional Success: The speaker not only 
  convinces all of the Domos that the Harpers 
  meant no harm or disrespect, but is so eloquent 
  that the Domos forgive the Harpers without forc-
  ing an apology. Moreover, the spirits are willing to 
  talk more about themselves and their world.
  Fighting the Domos
  Dice Pool: Power + Finesse (dice pool 7)
  Action: Instant
  Hostile Natives
  Mental ••• 
  Physical ••• 
  social •••
  story idea home sweet home- hostile natives
  
  48 
  If talking fails, the fighting begins. The 
  Domos will slash and claw with their poi-
  soned talons. More information on the 
  Domos’ Poisonous Claws power can be 
  found on p. 46.
  Hindrances: The Domos are immune to any 
  household items used as weapons. 
  Help: None.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Not only will the Domos 
  miss with a poisoned claw attack, but it stumbles, 
  causing it to lose its action next turn. 
  Failure: The Domos misses with its poisoned 
  claw attack.
  Success: The Domos hits with its poi-
  soned claw attack, doing damage. Follow the 
  normal toxicity rules (World of Darkness 
  Rulebook, pp. 180-181) with the toxicity 
  level of 5.
  Exceptional Success: Not only does the 
  Domos hit with its poisoned claw attack, doing 
  damage, the victim automatically fails their next 
  roll to resist the poison.
  Consequences
  If the characters manage to talk the Domos into 
  forgiving the Harpers for their trespasses, the Harp-
  ers will offer to let the characters use the house or 
  rent a room in the house as a hiding place. If the 
  characters banish the Domos through combat, the 
  Harpers will also offer to rent the house to the char-
  acters at a much-reduced rate for the same reason.
  If one (or more) of the characters is poisoned 
  in a combat with the Domos, they will have to 
  deal with the mystical poison. Ways to deal with 
  it include calling the Domos and begging them 
  for help and promising respectful treatment of 
  them and the house, and finding a specialist who 
  knows about such matters. 
  spirits of the house
  
  49 
  James ran up the walkway from the bus station. 
  He was already late, and Shannon would kill him if 
  he walked into the house late AND empty-handed 
  on their anniversary. 
  Missing one bus had made him ten minutes too 
  late to reach the flower shop before it closed. That’s 
  why grabbing the bouquet from the graveyard 
  seemed like a good idea at the time. He felt a bit 
  weird about giving his wife some corpse’s flowers, 
  but there was nothing to be done about it now; 
  Shannon was in the doorway and she was beam-
  ing at him.
  “You did remember! Oh, honey, thank you. 
  They’re lovely,” she said as she reached for the 
  bouquet in his hands.
  Too late now, and it’s not like the dead 
  person’s gonna be able to use them, he 
  thought with mild guilt before smiling at his 
  wife, “Of course! You didn’t actually think I’d 
  forgotten, did you? I just wanted to surprise my 
  darling wife.”
  Taking flowers from a graveyard will 
  bring bad luck.
  It has been said that picking a flower from a 
  grave and then throwing it away is thought to 
  bring bad luck, as the place where the flower 
  falls will be haunted. It has also been said that 
  you shouldn’t take flowers off a grave or you 
  might soon find yourself in one. In general, 
  there are strong superstitions about taking 
  flowers from graveyards being bad luck.
  The origins of this proverbial warning can 
  be traced as far back as ancient Greece in 
  the story of Hades, god of the dead, abduct-
  ing Persephone as she gathered violets. This 
  story holds a much deeper warning to those 
  who know what to look for: the warning of 
  the Thanatanthe (thah-nah-TAHN-thay) or 
  “Blossom of Death.”
  Thanatanthe
  Background: One apocryphal story says 
  that the Thanatanthe is the remnants 
  of a pharaoh’s curse upon grave robbers: 
  Take from the dead and become one of 
  them. This unknown Pharaoh was said to 
  be so angered by the idea that someone 
  might deny him anything in the afterlife 
  by stealing his possessions that he spent 
  years researching curses and maledictions 
  to ensure his tomb’s safety. He beseeched 
  the gods for the power to see his will 
  through. The gods and goddesses looked 
  down upon this Pharaoh and decided to 
  answer his prayer.
  Upon his deathbed, this pharaoh spoke his 
  curse to all grave robbers who would dare to 
  take from the dead. Clutching a bouquet of 
  lotus flowers brought for his pleasure, the pha-
  raoh died with his curse on his lips. When his 
  tomb was robbed, the pharaoh was allowed to 
  his revenge.
  In the disguise of a mourner’s bouquet of 
  flowers, the pharaoh traveled with the thieves 
  to their den. When the thieves went to sleep, 
  the pharaoh manifested in the form of a deadly 
  coil of poisoned smoke. It wound its fragrant 
  way through the hideout, enticing its sleep-
  ing victims to breathe deeply of its heady 
  scent and then smothered them while they 
  slumbered.
  The curse was not without its drawbacks, 
  however, and the pharaoh’s spirit found itself 
  compelled to seek the unwary robbers of more 
  and more graves, even those in far-off coun-
  tries. Over the centuries, the spirit has lost all 
  memory of its origin and now merely carries out 
  its compulsion to punish those who would steal 
  from the dead. 
  Smell the Flowers 
  but Don't Take One
  Smell the Flowers 
  but Don't Take One
  smell the flowers but dont take one
  
  50 
  Description: When the Thanatanthe can be 
  seen, it looks like a tentacle of yellowish smoke 
  rising from the stolen blooms. It smells like 
  whatever flower is has been born from. Snaking 
  out from the flowers, it grows ever longer until it 
  reaches its intended victim. Once separated from 
  the bouquet, the coil of smoke reaches a length of 
  about five feet.
  Storytelling Hints: The Thanatanthe is a monster 
  without conscious thought. It is the embodiment of 
  a dying man’s paranoia and rage. It is a vicious guard 
  dog that, once freed, will not stop until it perceives its 
  job is complete. That job is to kill the thief who stole 
  from the grave and all his companions and abettors. 
  In this case, if a boy brings his sister flowers from a 
  grave, the Thanatanthe will murder the boy, his sister, 
  his parents and even his dog. 
  The Thanatanthe will remain for as long as the 
  thief and those he lives with are still alive or until 
  the stolen flowers are destroyed or tossed out of the 
  house. Being fairly quick to act, the Thanatanthe 
  rarely waits long enough for the stolen gravestone 
  flowers to wilt and die.
  Though the monster’s original manifestation origi-
  nates in the bouquet of flowers, it will quickly separate 
  itself and seek the thief. The Thanatanthe tends to 
  act at night and prefers to murder its victims in their 
  sleep. However it will attack victims who are awake 
  as well. The Thanatanthe is a powerful ghost but 
  not a particularly sentient one (World of Darkness 
  Rulebook, pp. 208-216). However, it does have one 
  crucial weakness – if the stolen bouquet of flowers is 
  destroyed, the Thanatanthe is banished, not to return 
  unless someone steals another bouquet of flowers from 
  a gravestone. 
  Attributes: Power 1, Finesse 6, Resistance 4
  Willpower: 5
  Initiative: 10
  Defense: 6
  Speed: 11
  Size: 4
  Corpus: 8
  Essence: 15
  Numina: Choke
  Notes: If the stolen bouquet of flowers is de-
  stroyed, the Thanatanthe is banished. nished. 
  Special power: Choke.
  smell the flowers but dont take one
  
  51 
  Using Different World of Darkness Games
  • If the character is a creature that does not need to breathe, it is immune to the Thanatanthe. 
  Once it attacks and the character does not breathe, it will sense them as dead and leave them.
  Special Powers
  Choke (Power + Finesse versus Stamina + 
  Athletics): This ability is part physical and 
  part supernatural. It is the ability to choke 
  and suffocate a targeted victim. It does this 
  through forcing itself into the victim’s nose 
  and mouth, using its smoke-like body to block 
  all air passages. 
  Story Idea:  
  The Mercy House
  The Mercy House is a hospice run by Mary 
  Walker, a retired nurse. Walker is a kind soul 
  who runs the house with a firm but gentle hand. 
  She listens to her patients’ fear, anger and hope 
  with attention and compassion, even under-
  standing when they lash out at her.
  When it comes to the patients’ visitors, 
  Nurse Walker does what she can to make them 
  comfortable. She allows them to stay when she 
  knows they are here to spend quality time with 
  a parent, a child, or a loved one. 
  Most patients at the Mercy House die peacefully 
  in their sleep, which is a blessing for those who 
  have been in so much pain—physical and emo-
  tional. Once the dead have passed on, they are 
  no longer in pain and those they left behind can 
  begin the long road of grieving and recovery.
  Janet McGuire’s mother, Ruth, is currently the 
  only patient at the Mercy House. Ruth is seventy-
  one years old and dying of cancer. Most days, she 
  sleeps. Some days, the persistent pain keeps her 
  awake. Janet has flown in to be with her mother 
  in these last weeks. Mother and daughter have 
  finally said what they needed to say to other. They 
  both know that the end is coming soon.
  thanatanthe-story idea the mercy house
  
  52 
  Overview
  You are a friend of Janet’s, and she’s asked 
  to not be alone in this time of grief. She will 
  even accept the company of strangers if they 
  are sympathetic and supportive. Janet has fi-
  nally made peace with her mother after a long 
  estrangement over misunderstandings and petty 
  disagreements. The reunion and the good-bye 
  with her mother have taken its toll on Janet 
  and she isn’t sure she can handle her mother’s 
  death alone.
  Nancy Walker, usually the epitome of kind-
  ness, seems to have grown uncomfortable with 
  the number of people in the house. After de-
  livering a bouquet of flowers to Ruth’s room, 
  Walker has asked that you all leave Ruth 
  in peace for the evening. She is firm in this 
  order and despite Janet’s protests will accept 
  nothing less.
  Janet, having just regained her mother only to 
  lose her again, is in no mood to obey the nurse. 
  She convinces you all to stay with her.
  Description
  It is 11:55pm and all seems well until Nurse 
  Walker appears in the doorway. She is surprised 
  to see you as she is unaccustomed to being 
  disobeyed. “I thought I told you to leave!” She 
  looks over her shoulder in a worried gesture 
  towards Ruth’s room. “You need to go. It’s not 
  safe for you here. Leave.”
  Before you can make sense of her strange 
  commands and nervous demeanor, an alarm goes off 
  down the hall. Something is wrong with Ruth. Her 
  heart or breathing has stopped. Janet, in a sudden 
  panic, rushes past the nurse.
  Nurse Walker follows on Janet’s heels and they both 
  stop in the doorway to Ruth’s room. Ruth is peaceful, 
  smiling even… but definitely dead. Everyone in the 
  doorway can see the coil of yellowish smoke pouring 
  out of Ruth’s nose and mouth.
  In the Dead of Night
  Mental ••• 
  Physical •••• 
  social •
  “It was her time,” the nurse says, with a 
  strange regretful tone. She suddenly shoves Janet 
  behind her, opening her arms wide to the barely 
  seen creature. “Get out!” she shouts. “Get 
  out while you can!” Nurse Walker turns her 
  attention back towards the coil of smoke drifting 
  toward her. Her fear is palpable as she faces the 
  oncoming miasma. 
  Storyteller Goals
  Show that sometimes running from the mon-
  ster is the best idea, and the characters should 
  grab the innocents and go. If the characters stay 
  and fight despite the nurse’s plea to leave, Janet 
  will be killed, the nurse will be killed (probably) 
  and, until someone destroys the bouquet of flow-
  ers (Durability 0, Size 1, Structure 1) or all of 
  the characters flee the house, all the characters 
  will be killed, one by one.
  Character Goals
  Choose whether or not to run and whether 
  or not to save anyone. If they stay despite 
  the nurse’s plea, their goal is to survive long 
  enough to figure out that the bouquet of flow-
  ers is the key and destroy it. After the running 
  (or fighting), if the nurse survives, the charac-
  ters need to decide what to do about her and 
  her supernatural method of “mercy killing” 
  her patients.
  Actions
  Gasping for Breath
  Dice Pool: Power + Finesse (dice pool 7) ver-
  sus the intended victim’s Stamina + Athletics 
  Action: Instant and contested
  More information on the Thanatanthe’s 
  Choke power can be found on p. 51.
  Hindrances: None. 
  Help (victim): Holding breath (+2), Strong 
  Lungs Merit.
  smell the flowers but dont take one
  
  53 
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: If the Storyteller rolls a 
  dramatic failure, not only does the Thanatanthe 
  not get a hold on its intended victim to choke 
  but it loses sight of the target altogether and will 
  spend the next action seeking out a new victim. 
  If the player of the victim rolls a dramatic failure, 
  she is at -1 to any future rolls to resist for the 
  rest of the scene.
  Failure: The Thanatanthe does not choke its 
  intended victim. The victim can still breathe.
  Success: The Thanatanthe begins to choke 
  its victim, doing lethal damage.
  Exceptional Success: If the Storyteller rolls 
  an exceptional success, the Thanatanthe not 
  only gets a hold on its intended victim to choke 
  her, the victim is at -1 to any future Stamina + 
  Athletics rolls to resist for the rest of the scene. 
  If the player of the victim rolls an exceptional 
  success, the Thanatanthe loses sight of the tar-
  get and will spend the next action seeking out 
  a new victim.
  Consequences
  If the characters run and take the nurse with 
  them, only Ruth dies. The characters may then 
  question Walker about the monster and how it 
  works. She will explain what she knows about 
  the Thanatanthe and how she used it to pain-
  lessly kill her hospice patients when they were 
  ready to die.
  If the characters run, leaving the nurse behind, 
  she and Ruth both die. (Though she’s brought 
  the creature to her house, she doesn’t know how 
  to stop it.) The police will find that Ruth appears 
  to have died in her sleep and Walker appears 
  to have had a heart attack.  The characters are 
  safe but they know nothing of the Thanatanthe, 
  what Nurse Walker had been doing or why.
  If the characters stand and fight, the monster 
  will kill everyone in the house. If they manage to 
  destroy the flowers after the monster has killed 
  Walker, Janet, or any of the player characters, 
  the remaining characters will be caught up in a 
  police investigation of the suspicious deaths.
  in the dead of night
  
  54 
   
   mental 
  physical 
  social  
  SCENE:
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
   
   mental 
  physical 
  social  
  SCENE:
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
   It’s Alive!
  •••	
  ••••	
  ••
  The Doliochthon is  
  being fired on (-1). 
  Thermal scanner, motion sensor,  
  or other high-tech surveillance 
  gear allows the target  
  to dodge more accurately.  
  The creature’s Camouflage 
  power naturally makes it  
  harder to locate it (-1).
  The Doliochthon is  
  in motion (+1).
   It does not specifically  
  hide its tracks (+1).
  Attack and feed from the group. Escape with at least Gunny as a meal for later.
  Survive the initial attack by the Doliochthon.  
  Get the archaeologist to the pyramid and back out again. 
  Doliochthon scene.
   I See You. Do You See Me?
  •••	
  ••••	
  •••
  No occult knowledge (-1). 
  Exceptional eyesight (-1). 
  A beguiled victim will  
  take no physical actions,  
  and has a Defense of 0 
  (making it easier for others  
  to attack, grapple or  
  otherwise move her).
  Poor or hindered eyesight (+1). 
  Blind characters are immune 
  to the Miraree’s power. 
  The victim must be beguiled 
  before it can be consumed.
  The Miraree will attack is to beguile and consume everyone it possibly can.
  Defeat the Miraree without anyone (especially Sharon) being consumed.
  Miraree scene.
  13
  18
  
  55 
   
   mental 
  physical 
  social  
  SCENE:
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
   
   mental 
  physical 
  social  
  SCENE:
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
   On the Rooftop
  •••	
  •••	
  ••••
  The Dreamer is visible  
  and horrible (-1); 
  bemuse/terrify any  
  targets that aren’t  
  its chosen victim (-1).
  None
  The Dreamer will bemuse and terrify Lon until he is dead.
  Protect Lon from the Dreamer and from going over the rooftop.
  Dreamer scene.  
  If the Dreamer is  
  only frightened away  
  but not killed, it will spend 
  the next two days  
  redoubling its efforts  
  to get Lon killed.
   
  SCENE:
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
   Unlucky Little Boys
  ••	
  ••••	
  ••
  The Goblin Roach  
  stingers cannot pierce  
  Armor 3 or above.  
  If the Goblin Roach king  
  is killed, the attack  
  stops immediately.
  None
  The Goblin Roaches want the challengers (the boys)  
  and the interlopers (the characters) off their territory at all costs.
  Save the children from their own folly.
  Goblin Roach scene.
  28
  23
  
  56 
   
   mental 
  physical 
  social  
  SCENE:
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
  Autumne scene.
   
   mental 
  physical 
  social  
  SCENE: 
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
   Nothing Floats Down Here
  ••	
  ••••	
  ••
  Glitra is still (-1).  
  The Glitra is unaffected  
  by powers that attack  
  the mind, intellect or  
  emotions or any power  
  that needs eye contact.   
  Glitra is in motion (+1).
  For each target  
  beyond the first (-1).
  Tell a creepy story.
  Find out what happened to the missing sewer workers. 
  Either escape from or kill the Glitra.  Reap the rewards of surviving with the information.
  Glitra scene.
   Persuading Autumne
  ••••	
  •••	
  ••••
  Not born in October (-1). 
  If the opal stone is broken, 
  Autumne will be  
  temporarily banished.  
  Autumne is focused on Julie 
  (-1 to Defense).
  Born in October (+2).  
  Combat rolls versus Julie  
  (as the edict breaker; +1)
  Autumne will try to gain a sincere apology from Julie  
  (or someone speaking for her) or kill her with great malice.
  Save Julie from Autumne by providing him with the sincere apology he wants  
  or by temporarily banishing him.
  33
  38
  
  57 
   
   mental 
  physical 
  social  
  SCENE:
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
   
   mental 
  physical 
  social  
  SCENE:
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
   
  SCENE:
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
   Hostile Natives
  •••	
  •••	
  •••
  No Occult knowledge (-1). 
  Immune to any  
  common household items 
  used as weapons.
  Encyclopedic Knowledge (+1).
  Present a story where talking is the best option.
  Help the Harpers and quell the Domos by talk or by combat.
  Domos scene.
  47
   An Unholy Light
  ••••	
  ••••	
  •••
  Target is within arm’s reach, 
  and can use Defense.
  A lot of objects in  
  the backyard are flammable.
  Force the characters to choose revealing themselves in order to protect their friends.  
  Kill as many Storyteller characters as possible and damage as much property as possible.
  Choose whether or not to out themselves.  
  If yes, defeat or kill the Ash-burn. Deal with the fallout of either path of action. 
  Ash-burn scene.
  43
  
  58 
   
   mental 
  physical 
  social  
  SCENE:
  PCs
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  STs
  OTHER
   In the  Dead of Night
  •••	
  •••••	
  •
  None
  Holding Breath (+2), 
  Strong Lungs Merit
  Prove that sometimes it is best to just run away from the monster.
  Run away from the monster and learn more about it and the nurse. Deal with the nurse. 
  Fight the monster and try to survive. Deal with the nurse if she survives.
  Thanatanthe scene.
  If the character is a  
  creature that does not  
  need to breathe, it’s immune 
  to the Thanatanthe.
  52
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Collections/Bestiaries/Bestiary 1/World of Darkness - Proverbial Monsters.pdf