By Mike Knight (jaknig@globalnet.co.uk)
I had a flash of vision from my Follower: a deserted warehouse. Unsheathing my Matrix sword, I began to walk towards it. My Power, always strong, seemed to flow from me into the Matrix and back again. The Immortal was near! I restrained myself from becoming excited at the prospect of taking one of these. His head would roll for sure.
When I arrived at the warehouse, it was dark and deserted. I peered in, unable to see anything in the darkness. I activated my Clearsight, sniffing the air for the taint of the Infernal, sighing gratefully when it wasn't there. Instantly the warehouse became as light as day to me. And I still couldn't see him! He must have been using some sort of hiding power! I couldn't believe this. I whispered a short prayer, and extended the tentacles of my mind, using the Othersight to probe for creatures. Nothing there . . . nothing . . . nothing . . . wait! There! I took residence inside its head, and everything was thrown into sharp relief. There, a figure in the shadows, standing still, a sword in hand, eyes closed. I felt an arm raise, and saw a gun, pointing it at the figure, squeezing the trigger. I leapt back into my own body and threw myself down and to the side, just in time. The bullet whizzed past my ear with a noise like an angry wasp. I scrambled hurriedly behind some boxes, sheathing my Matrix, and drawing my own pistol, I let loose a few rounds. I heard him grunt in pain as one hit him. The hiding powers dropped. "I have you now, killer!" I shouted, my voice echoing along the walls. I pulled out my Matrix, and felt the welcome rush of Power that it always brought. It began to shimmer, as if in a heat haze.
He drew a slim katana, the blade glinting dully in the wan light. "You'll have to beat this first, Seeker. And anyway, what have I done for you to hate me so much?"
"I don't hate you," I replied, "I just want to bring you to justice. You killed Knights."
He shrugged. "An honest mistake on my part."
"Nevertheless, you must be punished. Prepare to die." I extended my Power as I said this, and unleashed the Castigation on him. He screamed in pain as it took hold, in a way that I had never seen before. His Quickening was draining out of him! His body began to wither and twist, and he wrenched free, a deformed husk of what he had been.
"This is to the death now," he said "I had intended to merely punish you, but --" He stopped as I launched myself at him, Matrix held in a vice-like grip. Matrix and katana met with a metallic clash. He swung at head height, and I ducked, rolled and swept my sword at the back of his leg, hamstringing him. He screamed, and hobbled a few paces away. I circled him, weaving my Matrix in deadly arcs, moving back and forth like a snake about to strike. Suddenly his katana flashed out, and I twisted sideways, just in time, so that his strike, intended for my heart, scored a line of red hot pain along my ribs. I gritted my teeth and continued advancing, more wary of his withered form than before. And then... I threw myself to the side, ignoring the pain, swung towards his neck, and slipped in my own blood. My blade had cut a deep wound in the side of his neck, and he was gasping at the closeness of it. I lay flat on the floor. My arm was broken in at least two places. Damn. He laughed, a dull wheeze. Already his wounds had begun to close, though more slowly than previously. "Our fight of a hundred years is now over, Seeker, and I - " he broke off into a spate of coughing up blood, and I used the opportunity to assess the situation. I had one chance, if he went for the heart... He did. I reached into the deepest reserves of strength that I had, throwing all the Power I retained into the blade and swung the Matrix, just as the tip entered my heart. His head was shorn clean off. The pain as his sword entered my heart was the most intense that I have ever felt, before or since. I tugged his katana out of my heart, and waited for death to come. It didn't. I felt my wounds closing, and I stood up wearily, and gasped at what I saw. His Quickening was flowing into me, healing my wounds! I had heard of this, gaining Power through the destruction of Immortals, but I had never thought that it would be true... Suddenly the full force of it hit me: I felt like a hurricane concentrated into a single space, like an atom bomb had gone off inside my head. I fell to the floor, gasping for air. No wonder they went about killing each other! All the windows in the warehouse had smashed into a thousand pieces with the force of the Quickening. People were gathering outside. Hurriedly, I dragged my aching body out of the place. My superiors had be told about this . . .
"Yet some men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of Jesus into another place, and men say that he shall come again, and he shall win the holy cross. I will not say that it is so, but rather I will say, here in this world he changed his life. But many men say that on his tomb is written this verse: HIC IACET ARTHURUS, REX QUONDAM REXQUE FUTURUS. (Here lies Arthur, once and future king)
An order of knights from the Dark Ages. They have survived to the present day, waiting for the restoration of their king to the lands of the living.
Many years passed, with Percival becoming ever stronger in the ways of Knighthood. He remained so for centuries, and then Merlin returned, unchanged. He gave Percival the knowledge of how to ordain more Knights, and left some of his own apprentices with the First, who developed their own strange brand of magic, aiding him in his fight. Merlin also gave Percival the first Matrix Sword.
They were dubbed the True Knights, and continued their work in service to God. They were joined by some renegade Inquisitors in the 13th century, and became the Order Of The True Knights Of King Arthur And The Round Table.
They continue to this day.
Knights and their Matrices are linked; if a Knight's Matrix is destroyed, he receives a psychic shock, which will deal him one non-aggravated wound. Similarly, if a Knight is killed, his Matrix will be destroyed also.
Boon: They gain +1 to all rolls when protecting innocents.
Flaw: They are extremely bad tempered, and have to make a Willpower roll in order to not fly into a rage at the slightest provocation.
Boon: Michaelites can sense demons and the Infernal; they smell it, as a whiff of brimstone.
Flaw: These Knights are devoutly religious; some would say too so. They must spend at least an hour in prayer every day, or they begin to lose 1 die from all rolls every day that they do not. This Flaw may be discounted in exceptional circumstances.
Boon: All Jacobi gain +1 die when defending their home ground.
Flaw: If a Jacobus spends more than a day away from his home, he becomes extremely edgy and nervous.
Boon: All Knights of this Society gain an extra success on all Mystery rolls, as long as they score at least one success.
Flaw: All Sons Of Merlin must speak in riddles and enigmas.
Boon: All Lazarenes gain an extra dice when fighting vampires.
Flaw: Lazarenes are paranoid about vampires and other undead; they must make a Willpower roll to not go into a murderous rage if confronted with vampires.
Abilities: 20/15/10
Backgrounds: 7
Virtues: 7
Mysteries: 3 in any of the correct ones for the Path.
Willpower: Heroism
Humanity: Honour + Truth
Power: 3
| * | Honest |
| ** | Honourable |
| *** | Virtuous |
| **** | Chivalrous |
| ***** | As saintly as Arthur himself! |
| * | Truthful |
| ** | Honest |
| *** | Genuine |
| **** | Sincere |
| ***** | Staunch defender of the truth. |
| * | Brave |
| ** | Courageous |
| *** | Stalwart |
| **** | Heroic |
| ***** | Dauntless |
System: Each level gives the Knight an extra action per turn, which he either can or cannot use, depending on his own choice.
Arthur's Might: Each level of this gives an extra, free success per every Strength roll that the character makes.
System: See feats of strength in V:TM.
The Shield Of Heaven: This Sorcery has a two-fold capacity; it allows an extra dice on all soak rolls per level, and the Shield also allows a Knight to protect himself from magical attacks. For every point of shield the psychic has, the difficulty for magical attacks is +1. This works on all magical abilities of all kinds, unless the Knight consciously wills it to go.
System: No rolls required. One point of Power must be spent per turn.
Gladius Dei: Gladius Dei allows a Knight to inflict extra damage in combat.
System: Every level gives an extra dice of damage in combat, either Melee, Brawl or Firearms. The Knight must spend one point of Power per extra point of damage he wishes to inflict.
| Level | Powers |
| * | This level only allows the Magus to talk to spirits. |
| ** | Gafflings etc may be summoned and manipulated. |
| *** | Jagglings. |
| **** | Totem Avatars. |
| ***** | Incarna. This is the absolute limit; the higher spirits are too powerful for the Magus to summon. |
Necromancy: Magi with this Mystery have powers over the dead.
| Level | Powers |
| * | Communication: Magi with this level of Necromancy can see and interact with the Shadowlands as if it were normal space. However, they are also easier for wraiths to interact with; all wraithly difficulties in affecting the Skinlands are lowered by one if concerning the Magus. (No rolls required) |
| ** | Warding: This allows the barring of wraiths from a specified area. Traditional methods include the presence of an iron fence, a rusty nail over a doorway, salt water or a ring of salt around the area. These have ratings of from 1 - 10, with each level having a resistance which must be overcome. The resistance level is based upon the Shroud rating in the area. Whenever a wraith tries to enter a warded place, he must roll his Willpower against the area's Ward rating in a resisted roll, at difficulty 8. If the wraith wins, he may enter the area; if the ward wins, the wraith may not enter, and may not try again for two nights. Wards last for an indefinite period of time -- until the actual physical material of the Ward is disturbed, moved or broken. It is impossible for a wraith to use his Arcanos to affect anything inside the Ward's influence, nor may Argos and other related Arcanoi be used to enter the protected place. (Roll Intelligence + Rituals [difficulty of 11 - the Magus' WP] and spend 1 Power. At least 3 successes must be achieved for the Ward to take hold. It should be noted that the Ward will also work on Zombies and Risen. For some strange reason, it will not work on Crows) |
| *** | Exorcism: This involves driving a wraith, Risen or Zombie from an area. The creature must immediately leave the area, as fast as possible, or begin to suffer damage (one Health or Corpus level per turn of non-aggravated damage. If the creature stays for more than three turns, it begins to take aggravated damage at a rate of one per turn) Again, Crows are not affected by this power. (Roll Humanity [difficulty of creature's WP] and spend 1 WP. An incantation must be said: "In nomine patris et filii et sanctis spiritus, ex hinc expello tuum!") |
| **** | Dominion: This power gives the Magus almost total authority over wraiths, Risen and zombies. He can summon and bind wraiths to do his will. He can control them with simple commands, or trap them into a certain place (or object for wraiths). Basically the creature is totally at his command. (Roll Charisma + Intimidation [difficulty of the creature's WP] and spend 1 Power. Crows are not affected.) |
| ***** | Shadow's Gateway: A Magus who has this power is awesome indeed, for he can enter the Underworld and move and interact within it as if he were a wraith. All powers that he possesses in the Skinlands are unaffected, but to all intents and purposes he is a wraith, and vulnerable to all magic etc that can normally affect a wraith. (Spend 1 WP and 3 Power. The Magus will seem to dissolve into thin air when using this power. He will instantly be transported to the Shadowlands equivalent of his current position.) |
Healing: Magi with this Mystery can heal wounds in others instantly, and rid them of tiredness, diseases and so on. Each level allows him to heal one level of wounds, normal or aggravated. (Roll Power [3 + number of wounds], and spend 1 WP)
Making: This Mystery allows the magus to make mystical objects of Power.
| Level | Powers |
| * | Enhance Object: This allows the magus to enhance an object, so that it performs its function a lot better in future. E.g. razors remain sharper for longer and so on. (Roll Dexterity + Crafts and spend 1 WP) |
| ** | Chivalrous Armour: A magus with this power can make the special armour that often characterises the Knights. It is strong and yet very light at the same time. Standard Armour gives an extra + 3 on all soak dice. It offers no encumbrance to movement whatsoever, and gives some base protection against magical attacks (3 dice of anti-magic; roll these against a difficulty of the magic level. Each success takes one away from the attacking magic) (Roll Dexterity + Crafts [7] and spend 3 Power. At least three successes must be achieved on this roll for it to be successful) |
| *** | Follower Creation: This power creates a familiar creature which follows its owner everywhere, and is mystically bound to obey. Occasionally, the Knight will gain flashes of what the Follower sees, and if he is looking for something, the Follower may be able to lead him to it. Every Follower is a spark of life captured within a body. The most common are horses, but sometimes other creatures will be chosen. (Roll Intelligence + Science [8] and spend 1 WP. Followers are otherwise identical to the others of their species) |
| **** | Matrix Creation: This allows the creation of a Matrix Sword. A Matrix is the sword that every Knight gains upon his ordination. Each is individual, and has a limited sentience and magical powers. They never blunt or break except under very odd or powerful circumstances. (Roll Dexterity + Crafts [9] and spend 5 Power over the course of its making. This is an extended roll, and must gain 10 net successes.) |
| ***** | Talisman of Power: This creates a powerful artifact which protects the wearer from almost all harm. He has an effective soak and anti-magic pool of 15, and cannot be affected by any mind control magic. He does, however, become slower and more clumsy (- 2 Dexterity). He also gains an extra 2 Health levels. (Roll Dexterity + Crafts [10] and spend 10 Power in an extended roll. At least 20 net successes must be gained.) |
| Level | Powers |
| * | Sense The Unnatural Form: This level gives the ability to sense other supernaturals. The user will simply know when confronted by supernaturals that they are unnatural, but he will not know the exact nature thereof. (No rolls required) |
| ** | Clearsight: At this level, a Seeker may see almost perfectly in complete darkness. He knows that it is dark, but he can see as clearly as if in daylight. (Roll Perception [ 7 ]) |
| *** | Eyes of the Blind: A Seeker with this level can now see without opening his eyes. This is, needless to say, extremely disconcerting for any one watching. Most Seekers who have this power have not opened their eyes for years. (No rolls required) |
| **** | Shadowsight: This power allows the user to see into the Shadowlands and sense wraiths. (Roll Perception + Occult and spend 1 WP) |
| ***** | Othersight: A Seeker with this level of Oculus Dei can, by casting his mind out, sense all living (or undead) creatures nearby, and see through their eyes. They are almost undetectable; the only sign that they give of being there is that they seem to cause a mental itch, which may alert some creatures to their presence. (Roll Manipulation + Occult [ 9 ] and spend 1 WP) |
Chimera: Seekers who possess this Mystery may find out extremely personal information about someone, by reading her mind. There is one condition; they must know the other person's true name. They can only usually catch surface thoughts and images, but this may be expanded upon by further probing if a thought is particularly strong in someone's mind. They may also find themselves having flashbacks from touching objects about the object's past history, e.g. owners etc. (Roll Perception + Chimera [usually 9, but may be higher or lower depending upon circumstances])
Sphinx: This allows the Seeker to determine whether someone is telling the truth or not. It can be used on all creatures freely, but generally only supernaturals will have the sense to realise what is going on. The Mystery comes in the form of questions which the Seeker can ask. If the subject answers, the Seeker will examine the answer with his magical abilities, and his Power will tell him whether it is true or false. While this power is being used, the Seeker's eyes will take on an unnatural glint, which may alert the subject. (Roll Manipulation + Sphinx [difficulty of the subject's WP] and spend 2 Power. Aware subjects may roll Willpower [8] to attempt to confuse the Seeker. Ideally, the Storyteller should make the Seeker's roll in order to maintain an element of uncertainty to proceedings. A botch will give a totally false impression)
Castigation: A Seeker with this Mystery is to be feared indeed. This power allows the Seeker to inflict punishment on any creature that he believes guilty of a crime. It comes in the form of physical punishment, and varies from creature to creature; a vampire may catch on fire, or an Immortal may have his Quickening drained out of him (See the Prelude) Basically whatever the storyteller decides is best. The punishment is always painful and causes aggravated wounds. (Roll Charisma + Castigation against the victim's WP in a resisted roll, both at difficulty 7. All the Seeker has to do for Castigation to take hold is to achieve more successes than the victim. If he botches, the victim has turned the power against him, and he feels whatever the victim would have felt. This inflicts 1 level of damage per point of Power spent. It can destroy a target, even if they are Cursed or Mummies)
Exceptional new PCs will be taken before Percival, the Regent (head of the Order). He sits on a gilded chair (not a throne!) in the Great Hall of Camelot.
"I don't know them. Are they Mages? No? Then I don't know."
Garou: They don't affect us much.
"They are out of the cycle. They can be deadly."
Mages: They can be worthy opponents.
"They sometimes have potent anti-magic. I fear them."
Wraiths: Our magi are the only ones who have any dealings with these creatures.
"The necromancers ought to be killed. See how they like it!"
Cursed: I would advise co-operation. They can destroy us, while we can seriously inconvenience them.
"We have a kind of stalemate."