Attttrriibbuutteess:: Str 2, Dex 3, Con 3, Int 5, Per 3, Will 6 A
Abbiilliittyy SSccoorreess:: Muscle 10, Combat 14, Brains 15 LLiiffee PPooiinnttss:: 30
DDrraammaa PPooiinnttss:: 4
SSppeecciiaall AAbbiilliittiieess:: Sorcery 7 M Maanneeuuvveerrss N
Naammee SSccoorree DDaammaaggee NNootteess
Dodge 14 — Defense action
Kick 13 9 Bash
Magic 17 Varies By spell
Punch 14 7 Bash
Telekinesis 19 10 Bash or Slash/stab
A
Acctt T Thhrreeee:: C Clliimmaaxx
er’s report on the aunt (Intelligence and Computers hack-ing roll), it indicates that she tripped on the stairs, fell, and broke her neck. A bruise on her foot suggests that she tripped on a small object. The police report states that investigators did not find anything lying at the top of the stairs.
Hacking into the Child Service’s report on Billy is even more enlightening. Security here is slightly higher than the medical examiner’s office, so a - 2 penalty is applied.
Success gives a brief report about Billy, including a per-sonality profile that seems oddly reminiscent, including
“Billy is a sweet, deeply . . .” (you get the picture). An additional Intelligence and Computer - 2 roll is needed to access the Billy’s adoption records. If the Cast Member simply succeeds, she notices that the adoption records are oddly sparse. Further checking reveals that the adop-tion agency is now closed and has
no forwarding address or contact number, even though the adoption occurred only two months ago.
Three or more Success Levels in the hacking roll strongly suggests that the adoption records are fairly rudi-mentary fakes. Uncle Ronald expected the Rhyta demon to act quickly and didn’t put a great deal of effort into covering his trail.
MMyysstteerriieess iinn tthhee AAttttiicc:: Once the primary Cast Member’s parents get home from the emergency room, the mother’s concern manifests as nostalgia. She decides to show Billy pictures of his mother (the dead aunt) when she was young. She can’t find the photos she wants downstairs, so she sends the primary
Cast Member to the attic to get the old photo album up there. As soon as the Cast Member picks it up, an old photo of a man she does not recognize falls out on the floor. The photo is her mysterious uncle Ronald when he was in his early 20s. He is dressed in robes marked with what are obviously occult symbols—a successful Intelligence and Occultism roll reveals that these symbols are associated with black magic and demon summoning.
It’s clear that he was not expecting to have his picture taken. If she is asked about this photo, the primary Cast Member’s mother mentions that she took the photo years ago. The robe was part of the “weird stuff uncle Ronald wore for the secret Fraternity he belonged to.” She goes on to say that this Fraternity was really exclusive and that Ronald told her that he’d taken all sorts of fancy oaths of secrecy. It was part of the reason Ronald didn’t get
along with the family. The mother explains that this is part of the reason it’s so important to her that the Cast Member and Billy get along.
The other striking thing about the photo is its famil-iarity. Anyone who saw the stranger in Act Two recog-nizes the picture as a younger version of the same man.
The photo of Uncle Ronald even shows him wearing the same gold and black amulet (if it was spotted previous-ly). Even if the Cast Member viewing the photo did not see the stranger previously, the man is oddly striking and is easily recognized if seen later.
At this point, Billy wanders into the room. When he sees the photo, he starts limping and crying, claiming he just got a splinter. He asks the primary Cast Member’s mother to look at his foot (no splinter is found and mom smiles and hugs Billy tightly). Any Cast Member who gains two or more Success Levels with a Perception and Notice roll sees Billy start acting like this the moment he saw the photo. Also, he wasn’t limping when he first entered the room. Her mother tucks the photo back in the photo album—if not retrieved immediate-ly, the next time any Cast Member looks for it, it is gone.
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Thhee SSppooookkyy UUnnccllee:: Once the Cast Members learn about Uncle Ronald, the next time they go out, they almost certainly notice (if they haven’t done so already) that he appears to be watching the pri-mary Cast Member and her family.
Have all of the Cast Members pres-ent make a Perception and Notice roll or just have them notice Uncle Ronald automati-cally. As soon as the Cast Members let on that they have noticed him, Ronald becomes more cautious and sub-sequent Perception and Notice rolls must gain three or more successes. He flees if they try to approach him, and is always seen in relatively public places, so that it isn’t practical to attack him.
H
Hiittttiinngg tthhee BBooookkss:: Looking up information on the gold and black amulet uncle Ronald wears reveals that it is a powerful item known as the Vazerius Amulet. Given the number of Success Levels, here’s the information they learn (higher-level successes also grant the information available at the lower levels).
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11 SSUUCCCCEESSSSLLEEVVEELL:: The device aids in the sum-moning and binding of demons (it provides a +3 bonus to all spells involving summoning or con-trolling demons).
2
2 SSUUCCCCEESSSSLLEEVVEELLSS:: The Vazerius Amulet is pro-foundly dangerous to use because the demon may open a permanent and extremely durable gateway between our world and the demon’s home dimension.
3
3 SSUUCCCCEESSSS LLEEVVEELLSS:: Any demon summoned using the amulet instantly becomes aware of what it can do, and most attempt to steal it if they can free themselves from whatever binding holds them. The source goes on to say that the ritual to open a permanent portal takes half an hour to perform. The portal opens ten minutes after the ritual begins, but is unstable (and will collapse) if the entire ritual is not completed. Also, the ritual can only be performed in a de-consecrated church or some other once-sacred space.
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4 SSUUCCCCEESSSS LLEEVVEELLSS:: The researchers find a story about the Vazerius Amulet. In 1189, a demon used it to open a dimen-sional portal in an abandoned Buddhist monastery near the thriv-ing city of Damarkhan. Within a year, the city was a ruined wasteland, and demons began to spread across the landscape. A concerted effort by three Taoist magicians and four Buddhist monks was needed to close the portal, and this task cost the lives of four of them. No detail is given but their deaths were described as “hideous and painful.”
Cast Members looking for occult information on Billy have a difficult time finding it. Many demons are able to change shape or use illusions to appear human. Four or more Success Levels are needed to find information on Rhyta demons implicating Billy. Alternatively, you can simply tell the Cast Members that they don’t know enough yet. If the action slows and the players appear frustrat-ed, you can have one of them stumble across the Hillman Passage (see p. 108) to help set them on the right track.
After the Demon Unmasked scene (see next), the Cast knows Billy’s real appearance. In that case, a single research success locates the proper information. The roll is so easy because Rhyta demons are quite rare and their natural form is exceedingly distinctive.
The most useful passage is authored (not surprisingly given it’s name) by Henry Hillman, a self-proclaimed Warlock who appeared to enjoy seeing his name in print (see p. 108). Hopefully, this narrative suggests a course of action to the Cast Members. Unfortunately, destroy-ing the demon while maintaindestroy-ing the Cast Members’
secrets is going to require some fast acting and talking.
If desired, you might use this scenario as an opportunity to have the Cast Member “come out” to her parents about magic and demon hunting. Cast Members who have done their research should also be concerned about the possi-bility that the demon could get a hold of the Vazerius Amulet (assuming they know what that
mysti-cal item can do).
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Thhee DDeemmoonn UUnnmmaasskkeedd:: Much of Billy’s power is tied into the illusory disguise he maintains. Fortunately, this dis-guise is quite fragile. If anyone sees through the disguise and glimpses his true form, the human form instantly collapses. The Cast Members must eventually realize that the only way to get rid of Billy is to see what he truly is.
Fortunately, there are several ways to do this. The most obvious is for someone to use the Tirer La Couture spell. Etheric Scanning works just as well, as does Lifting the Veil. If the Cast Members attempt to cast these (or any other) spells in the house when Billy is around, he senses the gathering mag-ical energies and attempts to disrupt them (by himself or by using the Cast Member’s parents). This should clue the Cast to Billy’s fear of magic. Locked doors, an alter-native location, and persistence eventually allow the Cast Members to cast a revealing spell.
The instant any of these spells is used to examine Billy, the illusion around him vanishes. All present see a short, dark blue-scaled demon with three glowing red eyes and sharp claws. His emotion control powers are extin-guished, but not the bad luck penalty. Unless somehow prepared for this, the Cast Member’s parents act hysteri-cal and yell a lot if they see Billy’s true form. The demon immediately flees (using Drama Points to do if necessary).
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Afterwards, the parents accept almost any explanation provided by the primary Cast Member for what happens.
They even buy pretty silly ones, like a claim that it must have been some neighborhood child showing off his fancy new costume. In time, all memory of Billy gradu-ally vanishes from the minds of everyone who has not been actively investigating Billy’s presence (unless of course you have a plot reason for some or all of your characters to remember).
Troubleshooting
If the Cast Members both unmask Billy and find out about Uncle Ronald, the intrigue of the Episode is over.
Still, the demon uses any means to escape and continues its plans to kill the primary Cast Member’s parents and anyone else it’s taken a dislike to (ah . . . the party and
Uncle Ronald for those not paying attention). Worse, it’s now fully able to use its spells to directly attack them. If the Cast acts like the threat is over, you might want to wait an Episode or two before the demon Billy returns for payback.
If the Cast Members have trouble figuring things out, a prophetic dream about Billy taking off a mask, revealing a hideous demonic face, and then getting torn apart by wild dogs should help get the point across. At that point, allow them some spell research time if they don’t already have an applicable spell.
If the Cast Members are seriously clever, they might be able to kill or banish Billy before he can escape. Make this really tough to manage, but if they can accomplish it, let them. Even then, the Episode isn’t over—the Cast Members still need to confront Uncle Ronald.
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