Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, Children of All Ages...

With the dark sphere floating off into the west, leaving a trail of corporate trash, the city stares off into the twilight after it. As the shadows grow with the coming of night, then finally becoming absolute, a new sound can be caught on the northern wind. Saccharine sweet, the sound calls to lost eras of fun, summoning the heart of the child out of everyone who hears it. Soon the sound is clear to everyone in the streets, a reedy song coming from a long forgotten instrument.

With the music comes the aroma of cotton candy, fried foods, and the gamey smell of penned animals. Then the night is pierced with lights going on one by one in the darkness to the north, followed by cheers and laughs of unknown crowds.

Standing at the northern gate, a man and woman dressed in impeccable tuxedos and top hats wave and call to all within sight. “Come one come all to Gentleman Dark's Circus of Wonders and Mystery! For one night only, all games, attractions, and rides are absolutely free! No charge tonight for the wonderful people of your fair city!” they cry, their combined voices resonating through the town.

Soon the guards leave the gates to approach the criers, asking them to stop and come to the palace. With low bows and wide, white smiles, they step back into the embrace of total darkness. A moment later all that is left are voices, shouting the praises of their circus one last time, and the Cheshire mirage of smiles. Soon, these too are gone.

The bigger the humbug, the better people will like it. We have something for everybody.

- P.T. Barnum

New Path / Discipline

Way of Yin

This far eastern art/discipline allows the user to purposely unbalance their Yin/Yang Chi to push their Yin (dark natural energy) into complete supremacy. By this unbalance they take on more 'demonic' traits to their physical form. These traits are truly demonic, since they come from a natural chi imbalance rather than an influence from the Pit. Beings that have this imbalance perpetually are referred to as Oni or Akuma, and tend to have a darker outlook on the world.

It takes 3 points of Vitae for vampires; for mages it costs 2 Willpower. In either case it requires 3 turns to transform into the Oni form, or for an extra Vitae/Willpower the character may change immediately. The change lasts for one scene. While the character is in Oni form, the character's Charisma and Appearance drop to zero, but the vampire/mage gains cumulative Physical Attribute bonuses, per the listings below:

●○○○○ +1 Strength, Dexterity, Stamina

●●○○○ +1 Strength

●●●○○ +1 Stamina

●●●●○ +1 Strength

●●●●● +1 Dexterity

Additionally, for each dot in the Discipline/Path, the character gains one of the features listed below. As the character advances in the Discipline, she may continue to "build" her Oni form. Once a feature is selected, it is permanent; the character always assumes the same demon form.

The specifics of a vampire's/mage's Oni form are left to the player's fertile imagination.

Claws: The character grows claws inflicting Str + 2 aggravated damage.

Oni Armor: The demon armor may appear as scales, ornate samurai armor, or anything else, and it gives +1 to soak (may be taken multiple times). Oni armor soaks aggravated damage.

Oni Weapon: A mystical weapon appears in the character's hand. Such a weapon blazes with energy, emits frightful moans, is covered in leering faces, etc. This weapon may be any handheld weapon (no missiles or firearms). Damage is per the weapon type and is aggravated.

Extra Arms: Two extra arms sprout from the character's torso. The character gains two extra dice when grappling or to simulate multiple attacks.

Foulness: The character's demon form is exceedingly unclean: perhaps encrusted in dried blood and pieces of flesh, perhaps surrounded in a mephitic cloud, etc. Any opponents within five feet of the character suffer a one-die penalty to all Dice Pools, unless they are also in Oni form.

Horror: The change afflict humans with effects similar to the Delirium. This effect is constant, though if picked twice, it may be turned on and off at will. Troupes without Werewolf: The Apocalypse may assume that humans failing a Willpower roll flee in fear.

The Host: Fanged, demonic faces sprout from the character's back, torso and limbs. These faces can inflict automatic bite damage (Str + 1 aggravated) on grappled opponents.

Huge Size: The character gains three Bruised Health Levels. He is between nine and 12 feet tall.

Maw: The character's mouth distends and sprouts terrible teeth, perhaps even tusks. The character's bite inflicts Str + 3 aggravated damage.

Spikes: The character's body is covered with spikes (or perhaps nails, razors, barbs, etc.). The character's body-slams inflict aggravated damage, and an attacker botching a Brawl or Martial Arts roll against the character suffers aggravated damage equal to the attacker's own Strength score.

Tail: The character grows a tail. This tail is prehensile and can wield weapons; it can also bash opponents (for Strength damage, normal) or perform appropriate martial maneuvers (such as Legsweep), provided the character knows the maneuvers.

For an extra dot, the character may grow a scorpion-stinger capable of injecting poison. This poison is capable of affecting mortals and all supernaturals. The sting itself inflicts Str + 1 aggravated damage. To inject poison, the character spends Vitae/Willpower/Mana, and for each point spent, the victim takes one die of aggravated damage unless he makes a successful Stamina (difficulty 8; each success negates one die of poison damage).

Third Eye: The character sprouts a third eye in the middle of her forehead. The character gains +1 to all Perception rolls.

Wings: Bat-like pinions stretch from the character's back. The character can fly — clumsily — at a speed of 25 miles per hour.

And Behold the Island

It appeared as an insignificant speck on the horizon, nothing more than a minor curiosity for the workers and sailors on the dock. Soon the speck began to resolve itself as something more than a minor distraction as whatever it was ate of the distance between 'here' and 'there'. What resolved into clarity first was a tune floating on the breeze, instantly enchanting yet completely forgettable. Listeners could tell you they enjoyed it, yet were unable to describe a single aspect of what they heard.

After an hour it became apparent that the speck was an island, wreathed in a mist that gave off a 'pleasant' scent that was immediately recognizable as artificial. Soon the entire town was bathed in the island's perfume, everything from garbage to other perfumes taking on it's unique scent. The island appeared to be a black sphere with intermittent holograms sputtering in it's orbit. Strange names and logos rotated around it's equator, advertising: Tellus Enterprises, Enron Energies, Omni Entertainment, Pentex, and many other strange names. Atop the sphere were numerous black towers, resembling the great cities of before the fall; the size of the small city atop the ball being roughly the size and Aunois.

The sphere placidly floated closer and closer to the city, until it was directly over its center. The sphere keeping an altitude of a couple thousand feet then came to a complete stop before dropping from its southern pole a glimmering object. The object fell to earth quickly, reaching its terminal velocity before creating a depression right before the gates of the palace.

The glimmering object was a silver angel, dressed in a business suit with a television replacing its head. Attached to the back of the angel statue was a black chain made of perfectly square links leading back to the island high above. The screen of the television flickered, showing a picture of a man wearing feathers atop his head, then a color picture of a man dress much like the angel aside from the silver.

“Hello folks, I'm Peter Culliford, but you can call me Uncle Pete. I'm here today to present you with a new way of life, an EASY way of life. All of the companies in our little family are here to give you a way to get EVERYTHING you want, without the hassle you are used to. Pretty soon representatives from our family will be descending to show you how to stop working and start living. Just stay tuned friends, there are great changes ahead for your future.” The man on the television said, his tone practiced, his smile soulless. With his statement complete, the man just stood on the screen smiling, one might think that it was just a still picture save for the occasional shift of the figure.

Soon a rain of fliers came floating from the sky, advertising all the knickknacks and trinkets to make the citizens happy. Soon a stainless steel elevator, without supports of any kind, floated down as well letting loose four businessmen with televisions for heads. The masses of the city cheered while the wise fretted along the periphery at the sight of the newcomers.

And lo! They shall come forth with smiles and circuses, offering ease and pleasure. With every kindness, a theft. With every luxury, a new silence in the forest. - The Book of Seth

Equipment for Trade

UWCS Battle Rifle

This is the standard issue battle rifle of the Union of Western City States. The system uses Gauss-style projectile acceleration using a 5-stage magnetic coil system. The rifle also include recoil reduction and internal stabilization, allowing for increased accuracy when firing 3 round and full auto bursts.

Damage: 8

Range: 300

Rate: 1/3/10*

Clip: 50 + 1

Conceal: N

No. Available: 1

Cost: Must barter with Bellona.

*When firing full auto the rifle only uses up 10 rounds rather than the full clip. The difficulty for firing a 3 round burst is reduced to +0 from the initial difficulty of +1. When firing full auto the difficulty is +1 rather than the standard +2. All accuracy bonuses apply as per normal rules. 

UWCS Class 2 Armor

The UWCS has perfected the application of Reactive Armor to infantry dress. This breast-plate styled armor reacts to attacks by actively dissipating the energy of attacks made against the user. The system allows for consistent protection and injury reduction as apposed to passive armor such as flak vests and riot gear.

Armor Rating: B 2/ L 2/ A 1*

Penalty: 0

Conceal: Jacket

No. Available: 1

Cost: Must barter with Bellona.

*These values are absolute, meaning that they always provide a number of successes equal to their protection rating no matter the difficulty. The armor only gives half protection against Aggravated damage due to the supernatural aspect of it.

 

On Enemies

In my world I have changed some of the standard abilities and weaknesses of some of the classic opponents found in WOD. While I am not going to give everything away about these opponents, I will give some generalities to help with player understanding.

Hunters

Hunters possess a myriad of powers giving them the edge they need to destroy the denizens of the dark. There are four abilities that nearly all hunters possess in some combination. These four abilities mimic the vampiric powers of Potence, Celerity, Pernicis, and Fortitude. Three of these four powers take a great toll on the body of the hunter, pushing it to and beyond its breaking point. They are able to use these powers for a number of rounds equal to their Stamina, after that they take one point of unsoakable bashing damage per power in use. Fortitude allows the hunter to soak Aggravated damage, however, they are only able to use their Fortitude dice to soak such damage. They may soak Lethal damage at difficulty 8 for their Stamina dice, and difficulty 6 for their Fortitude dice.

Abominations

Abominations are some of the most frightening creatures in the World of Darkness. They possess all of the powers of vampires and werewolves, and far fewer of their weaknesses. The most frightening ability of Abominations is their ability to walk in the daylight without ill effect. Fire no longer causes fear within their vampiric heart, and while silver causes aggravated damage the abomination can soak it. Damage from silver is soaked at difficulty 8 rather than the normal 6 for other forms of damage. While in daylight their vampiric powers are hindered, but not completely absent.

Demons

Demons are incredibly powerful beings, far beyond any supernatural being within the World of Darkness. Thankfully their power is greatly diminished when they choose to possess or cohabitate a mortal body. While outside a mortal body they are capable of near-prescience and nigh-omniscience, and are capable of informing those mortals working with them. Though once in a mortal form these powers disappear, and a replaced with powers that can pose just as much of a danger to other supernaturals. Demons are master liars, and will use this ability to make themselves appear far more clever than they actually are.

Wraiths

Wraiths pose little danger to other supernaturals in the physical sense, though they can be detrimental psychologically to their targets. Wraiths prefer to where away the sanity of their victims, pushing them to erratic or suicidal behaviors. In very rare cases, Wraiths are able to move physical objects and use them to hurt their victims or push them further towards insanity.

Unhallowed

These undead monstrosities are thankfully rare, but when they are active Unhallowed are the most dangerous beings in the world. They appear to immune to all forms of Lethal and Bashing damage, and are capable of regenerating Aggravated damage. The best one can hope for is to incapacitate one, and seal it away. Mercifully these beings are easy to spot, their bodies formed from the bones of their mortal forms and layers of parchment like tissue. If one appears, run, if you can't run do everything you are capable of to damage the thing, then run.

The Abandoned Town of Castalon

This town is completely deserted, every inhabitant gone. The gates, walls, and buildings bear severe damage from claws and blunt force. At the heart of town, in the abandoned keep, is a deep pit filled with the desecrated bodies of the inhabitants. Around the pit are unsettling runes and markings, as well as whisper-like sounds with no apparent source.

Thaumatech Armor

Thaumatech Light Armor

This light armor integrates materials generated through magical means, as well as Thaumatech systems that provide the wearer with certain abilities. The materials used to create the suit provide a level of protection against all forms of damage, including the Aggravated type. The systems integrated into the suit also provide the wearer with various benefits namely: the reduction of armor penalties to dexterity, increased physical capabilities, and an emergency shielding system. The armor will instantly resize itself to fit the wearer's physique up to a point.The armor is incapable of resizing itself to fit someone as large as a Garou in Crinos form.

Whenever the user dons the armor, they may spend 1 point of Willpower to remove the armor penalties for wearing the armor for as long as they wear the suit. If the user takes off the suit, they must spend the point of Willpower again to once again remove the penalties. If the user spends another point of Willpower, for the remainder of the scene they may increase all rolls using Dexterity or Strength by one success as if they had an extra point of Pernicis and Potence. Finally, the suit integrates an emergency shielding unit that protects the wearer from damage received from a single blow. The shielding works by providing extra protection to the user at the moment of impact from a blow. (System: After an attack roll is made but before damage is rolled the user may spend any number of Willpower points to give themselves a 1 die bonus per point to soak rolls made against the attack. No matter the type of damage the difficulty for these rolls is always 6. Naturally, the system is limited by the number of points of Willpower a person has. These points of Willpower spent do not count against the normal 1 point limit set by the rules.)

Rating:

Bashing: 2

Lethal: 3

Aggravated: 2

Penalty: 0 w/ Willpower or -1 Dex

Special: +1 Strength Success and +1 Dexterity Success w/ Willpower.

Concealed: May be concealed under loose clothing.

Cost: ••••

Buying Stuff

Buying Stuff

The cost of things are listed in dots, since the Storyteller System really doesn't pay all that much attention to money. If you have more dots of resources, you may easily purchase the item in question without any fuss of hassle. If you have the same number of dots as the price of the item, you temporarily reduce your number of resource dots by 1 for a month since this would count as a large expense. You may purchase an item that is 1 more than your dots of resources, but this constitutes and incredible expense resulting in you temporarily reducing your dots of resources by 1 for 6 months, 2 for 3 months, or 3 for 2 months. 

Note: Anything bought before this post is not subject to this rule. 

Thaumatech in the Market

Thaumatech

Thaumatech is an age old technology allowing the near seamless integration of magic and technology that didn't diminish either. While the history of it's creation is fuzzy at best, it is generally accepted that it was created by Clan Tremere or the Lilim to give magical abilities to their mundane servants. The art was widely used by the world until the the exodus of the Primogens two-thousand years ago. As the centuries passed, these items became more and more rare, until the most trivial of items became a near priceless artifact. However, within the last century items have been finding their way into markets across the world, making them an almost everyday sight. It is unknown who or what is manufacturing these items again, since the creator has taken pains to cover their track. In any case these items are now within the financial reach of the merchant class of peoples, allowing many people in the world a level of ability they previously lacked.

The items function by the user focusing their will on the objects' intended function (spending a point of temporary Willpower), which the item then converts into energy to power itself. Listed below are the most common items found in the markets of the world

Scrying Visor

These common artifacts are arcs of translucent crystal that are worn like a pair of goggles. By spending 1 Willpower, the user can activate Mage sight for one scene. This ability to see patterns of magic allows the wearer to pierce total darkness, fog, smoke, and precipitation. The wearer can also see immaterial beings and instantly notices any magic-powered objects. While active, this device also provides the wearer with a +2 bonus to all Awareness rolls. These objects are treated as having Auspex 2 for the purposes of seeing Obfuscated individuals.

Cost: ••

Perfected Boots

This artifact has been made since the early days of the Reign of Primogens, but most modern examples were manufactured in Enoch. Once the wearer spends 1 point of Willpower, these boots become the most comfortable footwear she has ever worn. This artifact keeps the wearer’s feet cool and dry in all conditions, and she will never develop blisters while wearing them. In addition to comfort, these boots also allow the wearer to both run and march considerably faster than normal. In combat, the wearer adds 3 yards per round to all move actions and 6 yards per round to run actions. When walking long distances, the wearer can march at a speed of 10 miles per hour and can cover up to 100 miles in a day, allowing the wearer to overtake carriages and to easily keep up with all but the fastest mounted characters. In addition, the wearer adds 2 to her Strength when calculating jumping distances. This bonus adds directly to the wearer’s Strength if the jumping distance is multiplied because of magic or additional artifacts. The effects of these boots last until the wearer removes them, then another point of will must be spent to recalibrate them back to the wearer. If the wearer decides not to calibrate them, the boots only provide 1 yard per round in all move cations and 2 yards per round to run actions.

Cost: ••

Winged Messenger

These intricately crafted pieces of jewelry were typically fashioned from precious metals and coated with a light sprinkling of gem dust. They are most commonly found in the shape of iridescent dragonflies or golden bumblebees, although many mages had theirs forged in accordance with their unique design preferences. The affluent commonly wore these baubles as brooches, bracelets, hair pins, or belt buckles though they could just as easily be integrated into the pommel of a dagger or into the jeweled horn of a saddle. When the bauble’s wearer needed a message delivered to someone nearby (the messenger’s range is no farther than a mile radius from the wearer) he would channel 1 Willpower into the device to animate it, and the tiny automaton would fly off to find the recipient. Upon finding the recipient, the winged messenger bauble would then either speak the wearer’s message or release any documents it held clasped in its legs. If a reply were requested, the messenger would say so and wing its way back to its owner with the response. These devices, while clever in their own right, are not very capable at finding people who wish to remain hidden. The device will not be able to find those who are actively hiding themselves from the owner of the device.

Cost: ••

Will Sword

These swords were commonly carried by Lilim and Tremere as they entered battle. The hilt allows the user to focus their will into a blade of condensed light. The color of the blades tend to match the auras of the individual wielding it, making it obvious as to their mental state. Color indicates the emotional state while the overall shape indicates their mental state; a highly ordered person might have a perfectly straight and constant blade, while a mentally unstable wielder's blade might waver and shift like flames. The size of the blade also indicates the user's strength of will. A particularly weak willed individual might only produce a roughly dagger sized blade, while a very strong willed person could produce a blade the size of a great-sword.

To activate the sword the user spends 1 point of Willpower, then for the remainder of the scene the blade remains extended. The blade does a number of dice of lethal damage equal to the wielders Willpower. A character may spend another point of Willpower each round to make the damage done by the weapon into Aggravated damage for that round. (Yes, yes we all know what these things are. I think they're cool. A wizard did it.)

Damage: Willpower    Conceal: Pocket (When not in use)   Min Str: 1   Hands: 1

Cost: •••