Dark Urban Fantasy - (wherein I reveal my ADHD)

[lategamer]

So, after writing for a couple of days on postapocalyptic superheroes, I’m back writing on my DUF.

I’ll just post excerpts.

one of the background options you can take is a curse. Which gives you extra points.

here’s the four Ancient Curses.


Wrote this:

E.g.

Vampires have the Curse of Blood - the vampire can only drink blood, but in return grows younger. Each life extinguished by the vampire, reduces their age by 1 year. This is the only benefit.

Lycanthropes have the Wolf Curse - the werewolf is a powerful bestial form which is not under the control of the player. On nights of the full moon, the lycanthrope will change into a werewolf as the moon rises and will remain a werewolf until the moon sets or they have killed a victim. Werewolves can only be harmed by silver, but all wounds affect their human form normally.

Ghouls have the Curse of Flesh - the ghoul is physically dead, and is actively decomposing. The Ghoul must eat a pound of human flesh every day to stave off the decay.

Gingers - the Curse of Ginge will cause any rational being to react violently if they are not beset with immediate nausea. The Ginge must hide their nature from humans and monsters alike while gaining sustenance from draining the universe of essential vitality.

 

[Fenris-77]

You seriously have a red-headed curse? That's marvelous.

Also, my ADHD sees yours and says hi.

 

[lategamer]

You seriously have a red-headed curse? That's marvelous.

Also, my ADHD sees yours and says hi.

IT *might* not make it to the final draft. Thought it would amuse folks though

 

[Fenris-77]

IT *might* not make it to the final draft. Thought it would amuse folks though

Keep it. You know you want to...

 

[lategamer]

More excerpts:

on magic and its use


Magic in this game is not real. It may be true that it has been designed to sound authentic and help the players feel as if their characters are interacting in a world where magic is real but these spells and rituals have no hold over the real world. We treat all traditions; whether that's the worship of Thor or the worship of Jesus with the same level of consideration and respect; which is to say that there is plenty of evidence for worship and good works, but no evidence that any of it is real.

Roleplaying is a form of acting. No- one would accuse an actor of actually believing in the abilities of the character he plays or that the script holds any truth. Some people believe magic is real. Some people believe the Earth is flat.

 

[lategamer]

(Unlike Mage where you could struggle to bruise someone as a new Mage, Magi in Qabal (the title for this game) are powerful. My own rule is never pit anything in flavour text that the players couldn't do.

Davids body had almost disappeared now and the wind was bearing the dust away. In a few minutes all that would be left of a good looking but overly curious journalist would be a few motes. Were the situation different then he might have made an excellent dinner companion. But the situation wasn't different and Jennifer had been forced to stop his snooping. He had forced her hand in this really and that made the blame his but the guilt was still hers and she had killed him. Six days earlier she had been visited by a man she both feared and respected. He was well dressed, certainly didn't look dangerous but his poise and what she knew of him scared her. He spoke her name softly like a lover at night and asked to be let into her apartment. Knowing well that the door would hardly stop him anyway she nodded and he slipped inside. She offered him a drink and he accepted and then he talked about the Temple. She knew that was why he was here. She led a quiet life until one of them needed to talk to the Temple and then they were all sweetness and light. Jacob was an independent, a dangerous quality in itself especially lately but he was working a big deal with one of the cults and Jennifer thought he was a little over his head and logically he turned to some people who owed him favours. She was a member of the Temple or at least she had been for a while but the mundane politics of the had bored her and she craved something a little more sedate. They still invited her to the meetings and used her as a messenger when they needed to talk to one of the others. She was trusted by just about everyone. Her apartment was almost sacrosanct to some of the others and they would protect her from the few who, for some unfathomable reason of their own, chose to bear a grudge. Jacobs problem was simple. He had, after spending a particularly long period of time in Egypt found himself in the company of a woman who introduced herself as Alexandra Salome. His interest was in verifying her story. She claimed to have tracked him down for his help. As he had shown before in his many international exploits which often took him to the most desolate and cursed edges of the planet, he had a talent for finding the curious, the bizarre and the malign. Some of these would, in their own way and often after pain, tears and bloodshed, to have been worth the whole bother of discovering and researching them but for the most part Jacob would bring a whole lifetime of pain and grief down upon himself and his companions and they would have little or nothing to show for their efforts save some impressive scars and terrible nightmares that would deprive them of sleep for weeks on end. But here he was, standing tall and unrepentant, irritating in his presumption and arrogance yet ernest in his need for help. This Salome had scared him. Anything that scared Jacob may be considered bad juju.

 

[lategamer]

The Vampires


The Cult of Blood represent the largest group of self-professed vampires but they are not the only group. The cult operates through a loose network. Though they have no official hierarchy they stick close to the established Vampire clubs. The Vampire Clubs can usually be found in large cities with an established roster and weekly meetings. Their activities commonly include dressing-up, watching horror films and a few who drink blood donated by other members. Though this group will also participate in vampiric seances where they believe they visit victims as spiritual vampires, they only drink the blood donated by other consenting adults. There is a fringe group who refer to themselves as "The Vampyres". These unfortunates have become preoccupied with the bloodletting and have formed a peculiar haemoerotic fixation which has, in the past, brought them into conflict with the law as their victims tend not to be members of their own group but people that they meet in clubs and bars and spend the night with. The Vampyres like to draw attention to themselves with their dyed hair, pasty faces and false fangs - a costume that they wear constantly. Their passionate dislike of light and fondness for the company of their fellows makes them a peculiar and dangerous but not a violent group.

Though not attached to either the Vampire Clubs or their bastard brethren, The Vampyres, the Cult of Blood uses both to their advantage. The Vampire Club provides a comfortable facade. Everyone will look at the "costumed freaks" if public attention turns their way and the Vampyres quickly become convenient scapegoats if the law becomes involved.

A true vampire looks completely normal. They can be of any race or creed, either sex and any part of society. They take food and drink like any other, dress in normal clothes and travel in normal cars. They are not affected by light in any way though they see prefer dusky twilight and they may travel freely during the daylight hours.

A vampire who drinks no human blood will age normally and die at a normal age. They are just like us. However a vampire who drinks of fresh human blood will not age. If taken regularly the vampire will begin to age in reverse becoming younger until they reach the age at which they first took the blood. Furthermore, using the blood can promote longevity indefinitely.

The true vampires of the Cult of Blood gather in small groups for their blood sacrament. Their sacrament is a ritual handed down over time using the oral tradition and the group drink of the same blood, becoming sisters and brothers in the blood. This is in direct contrast to the classical view of the vampire as espoused by the Vampyres group. The method of pouncing upon a victim and biting the veins and arteries or stealing blood during sexual intercourse is abhorrent to true vampires.