A Game of Mysticism and Conspiracy in The Dark Future

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  • The Eden Prayer

    The world has grown colder over the last century. Since the end of the Great War, huge multinational corporations have risen to power while government rule has grown stifling, stripping away what were once considered basic human rights. Knowledge is a privilege those few who can afford private education or can qualify for corporate schools. In the urban centers of power, billions struggle to carve out a living in the shadow of these monolithic empires.

    Amid the squalor and decay there is another world.

    Rumors of conspiracy and government plots abound on the streets while the news reports only what they’ve been paid to say. Within this cacophony of rumor the Church of Unua has somehow spread the tale of Five Kingdoms.”These five interwoven Realms, the Slumber, the Verdant, the Dark, the Grave and the Unbound, once part of a greater whole the Unua preach that these Realms, can be reunited so humanity can one day transcend the blight and enter the new era. The media dismiss their rants, the Church of the Redeemer sees them as a pagan cult, and others simply call them mad. Even so, their message spreads and new churches crop up in cities across the globe. All unified by a single prayer.

    Through dream I have seen the Slumber.
    Through nightmare I have been cast into the Dark.
    Through life I have found the Verdant.
    Through death I have known the Grave.
    I am Unbound.
    I am Lucid.

    - – -

    The year is 2202 and paranoia is the rule of the day. Forces just outside the realm of perception move world powers to their will. Those who stop and watch can feel the touch of these powers at work. Governments struggle to rebuild, to recover from the Great War. Huge corporations have become cities-states unto themselves. The Church of the Redeemer, fallen from its glorious ranks continue to swell, filled with disenfranchised workers unaware of the church’s hubris. All of these things move within the nebulous landscape of conspiracy. Yet, the truth exists beyond the realm of man.
    Scattered across the globe are those who have crossed the boarders into the Outer Realms only to return to the Unbound World tainted, a living conduit to the strange energies that control the Realms. This Taint connects them, binds them and drives them. They are the Lucid, those strong enough to transcend the haze of illusion that shadows the world.
    No one knows how many Lucid there are in the world. Some band together for ideological reasons forming Baronies. Their motivations vary widely, from the Eden Dream of the Church of Unua to the Templar’s enlightenment at the edge of a knife. The Realms offer no answers as to who is right and who is wrong.
    The Lucids who have not been culled by the Baronies are a precious commodity. Thrust into a world of mystery, they find themselves infused by the Realms, gifted with new and strange abilities. Their eyes have become attuned to the hidden forces of the world. Sought by the Baronies, some give in hoping for protection. Those with the wit, will and tenacity to do so, run.
    They are out there, on the run, hiding, like you. Close your eyes, reach out and you can feel them. Those with the strength not to give in, who have not been brainwashed by any Barony are the Lucid. Fight, struggle, do what must be done to survive the Unbound World and take control of the strings of reality at your command.

    You are Lucid. Can you Survive?


  • Off The Beaten Path 5: Anniston, Alabama, ASA

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    Near the heart of the Reclaimer movement in Atlanta, Georgia, ASA were any number of small towns. Just across the Georgia/Alabama border is one such town, Anniston. Before and throughout most of the war Anniston drifted along, another sleepy town well removed from real conflict. When the ASA began military operations in Mexico long simmering tensions erupted.

     

    What had been a sleepy paper mill town exploded in racial tension. At first attacks were subtle, targeting the poorest Hispanic families. As the conflict in Mexico escalated and spilled into Texas so did the attacks on innocent people inside the Anniston going so far as to see a resurgence of the Klan and events such as public lynching’s. This racial violence was not unique to Anniston, as crimes targeting Hispanics surged across the ASA, particularly in the Southern states.

     

    As the US continued to destabilize leading up to the Purge, the Church of the Reclaimer took up roots in Anniston. Religious fervor tapped into the fears of the town and was able to shape it. In the years before the Purge Anniston was a central training facility for the Church’s bombers. Coordinating with other small and medium sized towns already affiliated with the Church thousands of sleeper agents were decimated through the US, and then ASA leading up to the Purge.

     

    The years that followed the embargo and reassertion of national governments have not been kind to the people of Anniston. For years, the city was home to a host of investigators, law enforcement, and mercenaries conducting sweeps searching Church radicals and militants. The post war economy of the city all but non-existent. Government aid was brought in to support the survivors.

     

    For all this Anniston has not fallen into the obscurity of history. Much of the city remains a burned out husk of its former self. While Atlanta has licked its wounds and covered over its scars Anniston was never able to fully recover. Because of this, there has been a steady growth of Post War tourism, people looking to explore the horrors of war, without the dangers of the Wastes. This has made Anniston ideal.

     

    Story Seeds

    Memories: While the Church’s influence may have been scrubbed from the surface, there may still be a strong underground presence within the community. This underground faction may be looking to recruit muscle willingly or not. PCs displaying any kind of supernatural ability may find themselves kidnapped.

     

    Lost Souls: A fog of regret and misery floats over the town of Anniston. This is a real effect left over from of those that died in the town during the Purge. While not an actual Bridge or Gate with the right influences one may easily form.  For this reason the Templar, Spirit Callers and Keepers have all taken interest in the town. While neither faction has made a move yet, the Templar and Callers sit on the edge of a discovery the Keepers are sworn to prevent.

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  • The Lucid Effect 5: The Cat Lady

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    The Lucid Effect presents a new Lucid, first with only mundane abilities that encapsulate their former lives, and a possible incarnation with supernatural talents building off their previous skills.

    The Basic Template spends only basic Character Points and 5 Lucid Points.
    The Lucid Template fills out the character presenting a near complete New Lucid.

     

    It’s perfectly reasonable to cat around with this kitty causally. While it’s far to easy to fall into the grand debate, Eartha Kitt or Julie Newmar we’re looking at a different kind of cat lady this week. This is the recluse that lives for their kitties, yes, they live, work and function in everyday society  it’s only marginally true.  This is someone completely dedicated to their pets and while it doesn’t have to be cats the Cat Lady is one of those iconic images we couldn’t resist.

     

    To take care of her cats our lady has chosen a rather reasonable career as an accountant. Something she could mostly do from home, allowing her more time with her pets. We give her Law, Logic & Math as well as some social skills to ensure she’s both good at her job and can feign normalcy.

     

    After that we look at some kitty quality skills. Animal Handling, Domestic, and Study: Cats are all easy choices. Knowing how to care and clean one;s animals is important. To that effect we add in Zoology to represent a mildly obsessive study of the various breeds of cats.  We round this out with Perception, Scrounging, and Fasting, for finding missing cats, and dealing with the lean times when money is tight due to kitty issues.

     

    History 9 Fortune 8
    Career: Accountant 4 Intuition 7
    BG: Cat Fanatic 6
    Education 4
    Strength 5 Wisdom 5
    Animal Handling 4
    Domestic 4
    Study: Cats 4
    Dexterity 5 Intelligence 5
    Law 4
    Logic and Math 4
    Zoology 4
    Constitution 8 Mental 5
    Fasting 7
    Sense 5 Expression 5
    Perception 4 Etiquette 4
    Scrounging 4 Subterfuge 4

     

    Now, what’s better than your average ordinary cat lover? Why one that summon up her own pride.

     

    History 9 Fortune 8 Boons Value
    Career: Accountant 4 Intuition 7 Flesh Eater Ma
    BG: Cat Fanatic 6 Animal Speech Ma
    Education 4 Command Animals Ma
    Familiar: Eurasian Lynx Ma
    Strength 5 Wisdom 5 Summon Animals Ma
    Animal Handling 4 Natural Summoner Ma
    Domestic 4 Pack Master Ma
    Study: Cats 4 Predator and Prey Ma
    Dexterity 5 Intelligence 5 Drawbacks
    Law 4 Limited: Animal Speech: Cats Mi
    Logic and Math 4 Limited: Command Animals: Cats Mi
    Zoology 4 Limited: Summon Animals: Cats Mi
    Limited: Predator and Prey: Cats Mi
    Constitution 8 Mental 5
    Fasting 7
    Tough 6
    Sense 5 Expression 5
    Perception 4 Etiquette 4
    Scrounging 4 Subterfuge 4

     

    How our Cat Lady came to be touched by the Verdant we don’t know. However, we do know that she travels with a pack now. Faithful Lynx by her side, she can call up a pack of feral city infused with her Verdant energies cats capable of easily overcoming the average mundane.

     

    The Cat Lady represents a specialist character. Driven to do one thing closely linked to her concept the scope of many of her Boons are limited to only her feline friends. No self respecting dog fears the Cat Lady, but they should.

     

    The Cat Lady uses all 60 Experience as a New Lucid.

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  • Fractured Kingdom Press Release

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    The year is 2202; over sixty years have passed since the end of the Great War and the Purge that followed plunging the world into a modern dark age.  Since then man has struggled to rebuild, to find some fragment of stability they had before the generations lost to war. For most, the world is a cold and cruel place, the gap between rich and poor ever widening. The masses, undereducated, placated with cheap distractions and great television.

    Under the static and the lies are other worlds, four Realms, the Dark, Grave, Slumber, and Verdant, places of fantastical beauty and horror. Secret places that share their gifts with those strong enough to take them. These are the Lucid, existing between the worlds and shadows. In the shadows, empires, known as Baronies, manipulate the world as they seek unknowable goals.

    It is here that secret wars unfold, unknown to the Waking World. It is here that only the most cunning may survive outside the control of others. It is here that one may find freedom. All it costs is everything else.

    Blending action, conspiracy, and horror into a unique world, Fractured Kingdom puts the players in the heart of the mystery from the beginning.  Players take on the role of Lucid, able to tap into one of the four Outer Realms they struggle to survive in the industrial landscape of 2202. Every shadow holds the possibility of new nightmares, and not even one’s dreams are safe.

     

    The Fractured Kingdom core book provides:

    • Fully detailed character creation using the new Open Action System, providing players unique of ways to customize their characters.
    • World setting, including details on the Four Outer Realms, supernatural places the characters draw power.
    • Details on seven Baronies, shadow organizations that manipulate both supernatural world and events of the mundane.
    • Creatures of the Realms along with antagonists, both mundane and supernatural.
    • The Open Action System encourages dramatic play rewarding character’s backgrounds and player creativity.
    • An introductory adventure for new players to put them right into the action including ready to play characters.
    • 236 pages including artwork by Adam Sward.

     

    Pre-Order and PDF
    http://www.studio2publishing.com/shop/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Fractured+Kingdom&osCsid=a15375682e765afe507d52b86cebbcc8&x=-337&y=-402

    We also have a Drive Thru RPG Listing:
    http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/113604/Fractured-Kingdom

     


     

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  • Off The Beaten Path 4: Basilica of the Pillar, Zaragoza, Spain

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    While Spain and Portugal remained relatively free from the horrors of the Great War, like Italy and Rome, they suffered heavily through the Purge.  The Zaragoza province, an early stronghold of the Church was one of the last to fall after the signing of the United Liberties Pact. Strangling land trade between Bilbao and Barcelona, the Church was able to cut off recourses to other major cities through control of Zaragoza.

     

    During the dark days of the Purge, the Church of the Reclaimer held the ancient Basilica of the Pillar as their seat of power. From here, they scourged the population of the Zaragoza province often arranging public stoning for those guilty of biblical crime. Victims of Church law were bound to stone posts outside the Basilica, their bodies left to rot as examples.

     

    Historians estimate over a thousand men and women were stoned at the Basilica of the Pillar. The High Priest Will, the Just, was said to be especially mindful of harlots, sluts and whores. There are multiple stories of pregnant women, killed for the crime of fornication.  Why the High Priest over Zaragoza province targeted these women specifically remains a mystery as Will, the Just, was killed in the bombing of the C51 train to Madrid carrying the fleeing oligarch and several of his high-ranking followers.

     

    For years after the Purge, the Basilica of the Pillar remained closed to the public as various government agencies combed the building and sister structures for information.  Today, the Basilica has returned to Catholic control. No longer active as a place of worship, the Basilica has been converted to a museum of religious artifacts that survived the Purge in Spain.

     

     

    The Haunting of the Basilica of the Pillar

     

    Those with supernatural sensitivities may feel a feminine energy flowing through the Basilica, resonating most powerfully around the old alter. Through the years, there have been many reports of penitents witnessing the ghostly figure of a woman in blue and white lighting votive candles. While the stories are common around the first weeks of January, and February, the phenomena appear to become strong through the months of August and September.

     

    During the months of August and September, the fabric between Realms also seems to waver. There is a strong attunement to the Slumber. Any Character with Realm Sense will be able to feel this immediately through the grounds of the Basilica. The resonance appears strongest at the altar and votive tables.

     

    GMs may lower the Difficulty to activate any Slumber Boon or use of the Enter the Dream Flow Focus. During these times passing between the Slumber and Walking World may be easier for entities such as Broken Dreams.

     

    While a shallow point between the Waking World and the High Heavens, the Watchtower does not claim any outright dominion over the Basilica. This does not mean they are not aware of the strange nature of the Basilica. However, they remain conspicuously absent from all politics around the venerable site. The Watchtower does however keep multiple observation teams in and around Zaragoza. Why they maintain such a low profile concerning the Basilica is unknown.

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  • The Lucid Effect 4: The Trucker

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    The Lucid Effect presents a new Lucid, first with only mundane abilities that encapsulate their former lives, and a possible incarnation with supernatural talents building off their previous skills.

    The Basic Template spends only basic Character Points and 5 Lucid Points.
    The Lucid Template fills out the character presenting a near complete New Lucid.

    While cities maintain hydroponic farms, and any number of factories, plants, and any number of construction crews, no city is fully independent. Every day cargo comes in and goes out across the world, by plane, train, and of course by the “big-rig” truck. Local, interstate, even international commerce relies on women and men willing to haul material for hours, or days on end.

    Enduring long hours of solitude the Trucker must remain focused and aware of their surroundings. It is not just a sedentary complacency as it’s easy to tune out and loose track of the endless miles of roadway. Often overlooked by society in general freight drivers often exist in the margins. Stopping only in secluded areas away from the general populace on the road, and rarely given any real time to mingle with the real world they live between worlds.

    The livelihood of the Trucker is dependent on how fast they can move cargo. Violating speed limits only saves so much time, its easy to turn to powerful stimulants to keep a driver awake for days on end. Often, the remote truck stops offer a host of illicit substances and access to other vices, along with more commonplace services such as a laundrette and small sleeping coffins.

    Our Trucker is someone from this half glimpsed subculture. We know that they will need to be strong and have impressive endurance to deal wit the constant loading and unloading of their cargo, as well as maintain the long hours on the road. We add the Concentration skill for the mental focus required. Maintenance, to keep the rig on moving and Perception to avoid accidents. Area Knowledge Highways means never wasting time with maps and we round things out with a handful of skills one may pick up living in the shadow of society.

     

    History 9 Fortune 5
    Career: Truck Driver 6 Bargain Finder 4
    BG: Corp Burb Kid 4 Gambling 4
    Strength 5 Wisdom 5
    Brutal Fighting 4 AK: Highways 4
    Heavy Melee 4
    Lifting 4
    Dexterity 4 Intelligence 4
    Dodge 3 Firearms 2
    Vehicle 6 Lock Picking 2
    Maintenance: Vehicle 3
    Constitution 8 Mental 8
    Fasting 7 Concentration 7
    Sense 5 Expression 5
    Perception 4
    Scrounging 4
    Boons Value
    Dirty Fighter Major

     

    Where we go from here? To continue to explore the idea of this missed society, our Trucker dreams of something better, of a belonging and purpose. For this we turn to the Slumber.  With only an idea, or ideal, it may be difficult to decide where to go for powers. Fortunately, the Slumber is all about new possibilities. To take the idea of indecision, and questioning a step further  instead of boosting the Truckers raw Strength, Constitution, or Mental we look at Abilities  Foci, and  Boons  that augment these. Conversely,  we want to cultivate the dreaming nature of our Trucker, and for that we highlight one of the Slumber’s core Foci: Enter The Dream Flow.

     

    History 12 Fortune 5
    Career: Truck Driver 6 Bargain Finder 4
    BG: Corp Burb Kid 4 Gambling 4
    Lucid 12
    Enter The Dream Flow 12
    Fabric of Dreams 12
    Strength 5 Wisdom 5
    Brutal Fighting 4 AK: Highways 4
    Heavy Melee 4
    Lifting 4
    Dexterity 4 Intelligence 4
    Dodge 3 Firearms 2
    Vehicle 6 Lock Picking 2
    Maintenance: Vehicle 3
    Constitution 8 Mental 8
    Fasting 7 Concentration 7
    (S) Road Trips 4
    Sense 5 Expression 5
    Perception 4
    Scrounging 4
    Boons Value
    Dirty Fighter Major
    Future Past Major
    Seer Major
    Interpretation Major
    Dreams Made Real: Road Trips Typical
    Fantastic: Road Trips Typical
    Shrug It Off Major
    Slumbering Fortitude Typical
    Slumbering Awareness Typical
    Slumbering Dragon Major
    Slumbering Might Typical

     

    By selecting Boons which blend in with the Trucker’s curiosity, we create a character capable of so much, and yet they may not even realize it. In fact, the Trucker’s gifts may have developed over years without them ever realizing they had really changed.  Few Lucid have this luxury, and having this illusion taken from them can make for an interesting opening story.

    Enter the Dream Flow (Slumber): Although not a true Gateway, Slumbering Lucids seem to be able to enter the Dream Realm with far more ease than others. In these minor crossings or dives, the character is bombarded with the memories and emotions of all those sleeping. The character may take a turn to make an Advanced (25) Enter the Dream Flow roll to retain a fraction of this knowledge after waking. On a successful roll, the player chooses 1 Skill (even
    one they do not already possess), which they may then use their Enter the Dream Flow Focus as a supporting characteristic for on the next turn.

    Fabric of Dreams (Slumber): Fortune smiles on the dreamer, making the luck of a Slumbering Lucid quite legendary. What is real and what is illusion meld together to form a single truth around the Slumbering Lucid. This Focus may be used as a supporting characteristic for any Fortune tree roll.

     

    If someone told you, you have the keys to the universe, all you need do is imagine them. Would you believe them?

    Slumbering Awareness
    (Sense/Slumber – Typical)
    Requirements: Fabric of Dreams 3 (F)
    The character taps into the Slumber, drawing out supernatural senses. They may use their Fabric of Dreams (F) as a supporting characteristic for any Sense Tree roll.

    Slumbering Fortitude
    (Constitution/Slumber – Typical)
    Requirements: Fabric of Dreams 3 (F)
    The character taps into the Slumber, supernaturally enhancing their constitution. They may use their Fabric of Dreams (F) as a supporting characteristic for any Constitution Tree roll.

    Slumbering Might
    (Strength/Slumber – Typical)
    Requirements: Fabric of Dreams 3 (F)
    The Lucid taps into the Slumber, drawing out their full strength. They may use their Fabric of Dreams (F) as a supporting characteristic for any Strength Tree roll.

    Slumbering Dragon
    (Fortune/Slumber – Major)
    Requirements: Enter the Dream Flow 12 (F), Seven other Supernatural OR Slumber Boons
    The Lucid’s ability to manipulate the Slumber grants them fearsome abilities in combat. They may declare all dice for a single combat roll as 6’s after rolling. When using this Boon, the character is obviously bending reality to achieve their goals, such as moving faster than a bullet or leaping into the air from a prone position, only to land a devastating attack on a nearby foe.

    All we need now is a reason to rise to the challenge.

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  • Off The Beaten Path 3: The Northern Stelae Park, Axum, Ethiopia

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    Northern Ethiopia is home to the semi-autonomous city-state of Axum. It is a city of conquerors and the conquered. Once a seat of power for the Kingdom of Aksum, this progenitor nation predates Christianity by a century or more. With the advent of the Purge these are only a few of the details lost to the modern world.

     

    Central to present day Axum is the Northern Stelae Park, a holy site and presumed graveyard marked by ancient stone markers rising eight to twenty-four meters in height. These Stelae or gravestones are presumed to be markers for kings and warlords of a forgotten kingdom. Recovered documentation indicate that both the Obelisk, the tallest of the still standing Stelae, and King Ezana’s Stele were moved to Italy at one point. Records as to how, why, and when the Stelae were recovered are unclear.

     

    Each of the Stelae within the park are ornately carved, almost as if they were small buildings with false doors and windows.  The carvings are intricately detailed, possessing markings, which can no longer be translated accurately.

     

    Open to the public, the park is often visited by new age and mystic types, attempting to reconnect with older spiritualities or spirits themselves. This effort is not entirely without merit. Anyone visiting the site possessing the Realm Sense Focus can feel Grave resonance. This resonance is noticeably stronger than an average graveyard. Those with Ghost Sight may pick up faint wisps or trails through the park, along with the sensation of danger, or immanent battle.  These sensations are strongest at the Obelisk of Axum.

     

    Characters attempting to use the Spirit Travel Ability within the Stelae Park do not need to roll to Slip The Body as long as they posses a single level or more in Spirit Travel.

     

    Things Best Left In The Past

    Both Spirit Callers and the Church of Unua take a heightened interest in the Stelae Park. The Spirit Callers see the park as a link to the Grave while the Unuans believe Axum may have been either Eden or a recreation of it. While the city lacks other resonance sites, the carvings on the Stelae are enough to indicate a clear link to the unified city.

     

    Both Baronies have been locked in a three-way stalemate over control of Axum with the Keepers. While the Keepers do acknowledge the park’s historical value they fear it is a sleeping Gate to the Grave. That alone is reason enough to have the entire site wiped clean and the Stelae destroyed.

     

    Between the lines of war are the Qdus Arbanya, a small coven of native Lucids that work to undermine all three Baronies though bureaucratic movements circumventing plots to take legal control or alter the area in any way. The Qdus Arbanya takes exceptional precautions to avoid intervening directly working through proxy companies and special interest groups. Their operatives are not above manipulating new age tourists into taking action on their behalf without ever revealing who they really are, or what their goals may be. With the presence of the Callers, Unuans, and Keepers the Qdus Arbanya have become adept at playing one off the other and keeping suspicions high and pointed at other Baronies.

     

    Players finding their way to Axum could easily be drawn into this four-sided conflict.

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