Análisis e interpretación de resultado de Casos – Tipo

A massive edifice stands here, casting its deep shadow over dark streets littered with the rusted remains of cars and buses. Ornate statues of bronze, covered in patches of verdigris, bear the proud countenances of pureblood humans from the ancient world, and stand like sentinels at each of the buildings towering arched entrances.

This location is something of a legend in the ruins of Los Angeles, the so-called “Great Library of the Necropolis”. Once the city’s municipal public library, this ancient building was all but lost in the chaos of the Fall. In later years, when the Serpent Gods arose and made any transgression into the heart of the city an idiotic prospect, the library - and its contents - were forever snatched from the hands of potential discoverers.

Though no one has seen the ruins of the library in hundreds of years (save for the individual described below), stories persist among a few of the Necropolis’ communities that the structure does in fact exist. No one exactly remembers where, and since the Serpent Gods still seem to hold sway over the city’s heart, no one has dared try to find it in over a generation.

GM’s Note: Though it has effectively been

“lost”, the Great Library is still very much intact, having only suffered cosmetic damage in the Fall, and minor vandalizing in the few years afterwards before the last inner city inhabitants fled the rise of the Serpent Gods. The building, in all its foreboding might, stands almost untouched since the last days of humanity.

Should the PCs discover this lost site they will at first find it to be eerily abandoned. None of the factions lays claim to the surrounding area, so unless the PCs have drawn the attention of the Serpent Gods they may find this place an ideal refuge - at least until they meet the current resident (see below). Three stories tall, with an equal number of sub-basements, the old library complex is one of the greatest archives of human culture and knowledge left on the Twisted Earth. What’s most remarkable, however, is the fact that almost everything remains undamaged inside.

Entrance to the old library requires the use of a stage IC identity card; the old doors were built to withstand tampering, and thus will be difficult to batter down. Though the lights inside no longer work, an old alarm system still remains, dispensing

knockout gas grenades into the vestibules whenever

the inner entryways are tampered with. Windows do exist high up on the second and third stories, but these are heavily barred (all of these are a testament to the anarchy running rampant in the twilight era of man).

Significant NPCs: Unbeknownst to the other

creatures living Downtown, there is a real menace living here, a man - or creature rather - named Tobit 13:2. Formerly the leader of the Brethren expedition that came to the city (but was destroyed by a strange illness; see the Cave of Eternal Life at Area #072), Tobit 13:2 now lives in the complex of

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sub-basements and steam tunnels beneath the monumental library. During the day he rests in the cool darkness underground, but at night, when the varo bats from the Palace of

The Ancient Kings flutter off into the

sky, he emerges secretly to walk the streets of Downtown under the light of the moon.

Tobit is currently obsessed with ascertaining the nature of his “illness”, having seen what happened to his comrades at the pool at Area #072. He too drank from the pool’s waters, but before he changed he used the mysterious syringe they had found in an old attaché case (see Area #072) out of desperation. He managed to survive and escape from his comrades, but days later found that something has changed him as well, albeit in a different fashion. He has undergone a slow transformation, though not into a zombie, but rather into a kind of creature he had only heard of in ancient legends: Tobit has slowly metamorphosized into a

vampire.

Almost immediately burned by the light of the sun, Tobit fled to the shadows to avoid his destruction. He eventually came to make his lair here, in the darkness of the Great Library. Here he has a large building in which to hide during the day, access to the surface to explore at night, and even escape routes to the sewers beneath the city (in fact he used the sewers to

enter the building without triggering its alarms).

Tobit has begun experimenting with his own body in an attempt to discover the extent of his transformation. He has already found himself vulnerable to sunlight, and obsessed with acquiring fresh blood to consume. Despite being a member of the Brethren he has a logical, rational mind, and dispels any notion of the supernatural; he believes his affliction is purely a byproduct of the interaction of the algae in the pool at Area #072 and the mysterious chemical he injected himself with. Not one to believe in legends, he has so far ignored the fact that he finds himself repulsed by mirrors, exhibits the ability to displace his weight to climb almost sheer surfaces, and has a newfound empathy with bats, rats, and other nocturnal creatures.

Already an albino (like many Brethren), Tobit 13:2 has more reason than ever to be afraid of the light. Cloaked from head to toe in a tattered black robe, Tobit sticks to the shadows and seldom leaves the Great Library except at night. Only the sight of his pale, slim-fingered hands, tipped with long yellowed fingernails, prove he is more than a shadow, as he keeps his hood over his head at all times to cover his bone white eyes and icy-pallored face. Tobit has become a peerless hunter and explorer, and in his nightly wanderings he has learned much of the Downtown area, including the location

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of the Bernard Megaplex (Area #160), the location of various Serpent God sentries, and of the large gathering of Hermavs at the Church of The Queen of

Angels (Area #149).

As a follower of the Brethren Tobit 13:2 was a man of genius intellect, but one who’s cocky arrogance got him into trouble. Sent on this expedition as punishment for agitating one of the Prophets who lead the Brethren, Tobit found his exile to be an amusing attempt at getting rid of him. He had no inclination of dying on the trip, or of being killed in the Necropolis, and though he has faced a setback with the deaths of his companions, he has gained so much more from the experience! He continues with his plan to build up enough strength to make the trip back to San Francisco, and hopes to one day leave the Necropolis altogether and return to his Brethren.

Tobit 13:2 is dangerous. He no longer laments the loss of his companions, or even cares for his original mission. He has become obsessed with his newfound “powers”, and is beginning to concoct far-reaching plans for his return to San Francisco...

Tobit 13:2 (Vampire Mutant Dedicated Hero 4/Brethren Follower 10): CR 16; Medium-size

Undead; HD 4d12 plus 10d12; HP 91; Mas 0; Init +6; Spd 30 ft; Defense 26, touch 20, flatfooted 24 (+0 size, +2 Dex, +8 class, +6 natural); BAB +13; Grap +18; Atk +19 melee (1d10+5, claw), or +15 ranged (by weapon); Full Atk +17/+17/+12/+7 melee (1d10+5, 2 claws); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ medical incompatibility, blood drain, create spawn, domination (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + cha mod), energy drain, alternate form, children of the night, damage reduction 15/+1, fast healing 5, gaseous form, cold and electricity resistance 20, spider climb, +4 turn resistance, darkvision 60 ft., weaknesses, albinism; AL none; SV Fort +9, Ref +10, Will +9; AP 8; Rep +7; Str 20, Dex 14, Con 0, Int 17, Wis 15, Cha 19.

Occupation: Academic (DW) (Knowledge

[History], Knowledge [Twisted Earth]).

Background: Resentful (Survival).

Mutations and Defects: Claws x3, Albinism x3. Skills: Bluff +12, Climb +13, Craft (structural) +9,

Craft (writing) +10, Hide +18, Intimidate +10, Jump

+11, Knowledge (Arcane Lore) +10, Knowledge (Current Events) +10, Knowledge (History) +11, Knowledge (Tactics) +10, Knowledge (Technology) +10, Knowledge (Twisted Earth) +10, Listen +18, Move Silently +18, Navigate +5, Search +17, Sense Motive +10, Spot +18, Survival +21.

Feats: Alertness, Cleave, Combat Expertise,

Combat Reflexes, Deadly Trap-Maker [B&L], Dodge, Great Fortitude, Guide, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Primitive Technology, Rend, Simple Weapons Proficiency, Stealthy, Sunder, Track, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (claws).

Talents (Dedicated Hero): Skill Emphasis

(Survival), Empathy.

Talents (Brethren Follower): Trap Making 1d6,

Technology Prohibitions, Technology Destroyer +1, Trap Making 2d6, Smite Technology, Technology Destroyer +2, Trap Making 3d6, Technology Sunder, Technology Destroyer +3, Trap Making 4d6, Divine Damage.

Possessions: Filthy robes, stage IC identity card,

ready syringe (empty), maps of various Downtown locations.

Tobit recently visited the Palace of The

Ancient Kings and encountered a small group of

Hermavs vandalizing the place. Using persuasion (unknowingly bolstered by his Domination ability) he managed to turn these Hermavs into mindless thralls, who he has brought back with him to the Library. He uses these dominated creatures as his guardians (and to feed from); if the PCs uncover his lair they will likely meet these zombie-like individuals first, buying Tobit enough time to either prepare a defense, or escape into the sewers. If the PCs manage to pursue Tobit underground, he is certain to attract a horde of rats that will surge forth to tie the party down. In

VAMPIRES?

The Ruin At The End Of The World hints at the supernatural, but vampires? Area #151 describes a vampire, in the form of the afflicted Brethren leader Tobit 13:2. However, if you feel the supernatural has

no place in your campaign, there are two quick and easy solutions. First off you can merely assume his transformation is a physical disease, not a supernatural affliction. In such a case he will maintain certain aspects of the vampire template at your discretion, while you can do away completely with those abilities or weaknesses that are too fictitious for your tastes (such as a weakness for holy symbols, as well as the ability to assume an alternate form, energy drain, etc.). Alternately you can dispense with his vampirism altogether, and instead assume that while his followers were turned into zombies by the pool at Area #072, perhaps Tobit merely went insane as a result of drinking its poisoned waters. Now merely believing himself to be a vampire, he has convinced himself that he is vulnerable to sunlight, mirrors, garlic, etc. In such a case do away with his Hermav thralls, and simply play without the vampire traits shown in his stat block.

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addition, he has trapped the numerous sewer tunnels leading towards the library (each of these traps does 4d6+4 damage, and were created using his

Trap Making class ability and Deadly Trap-Maker

feat), making pursuit of him underground that much deadlier.

Tobit 13:2: HP 91.

Hermavs (3): HP 55; these hermavs do not have

battle cycles.

Treasure: The interior of the Great Library is

massive, filled with books and other arcana of the ancient world. Literally tens of thousands of volumes exist here, lining wall shelves and virtually every space imaginable.

How do you handle so much knowledge? First off, there’s a lot of junk in the library; worthless magazine archives, children’s books, books that fall apart when disturbed, etc. As a result, for every six hours spent in the Great Library, allow each character to make just one roll on the Lost Knowledge table (dispense with inappropriate results). You can also substitute individual roll results for a book, newspaper article, microfilm cartridge, electronic disk, or any other form of Arcanum you can think of. Everything the PCs find should have some value (50 to 500 cp); in rare cases more valuable Arcanum may be found, such as technical manuals, books filled maps of the city, medical texts, etc., which will have values appropriate to their usefulness.

Ultimately the question of treasure should boil down to how much the PCs can carry. The Great Library has literally tons of books, and the PCs can’t possibly hope to take it all. And while the markets outside of the city are starved for the kind of knowledge that will help rediscover the secrets of technology and even Ancient culture, not everything in the library pertains to these lofty goals, or would even prove interesting to these practical-minded

buyers.

In the end, use your judgment when deciding how much Arcanum the PCs will find, and how much of this will actually prove to be of worth to the potential buyers beyond the city.