Based on the film "Stephen King's Sleepwalkers"
For the Storyteller-system, by Mark Rein-Hagen
By Rasmus Hansson (a94rasha@ida.his.se)
As bones rattle in the soft rain outside my window, I read these passages of a forgotten people, and the terrible curse placed on them. I read of a breed outside of man, feeding on them, ruling and hiding at the same time. Forces we can not comprehend are about us, and they walk when we are asleep.
The Sleepwalkers are another element to the Gothic-punk-world of the Storyteller-system. They pose a bit of a problem as far as the rules are concerned, but I believe I have straightened them all out. Enjoy.
In the beginning there was Man. Man was created by God. God cast Man out of Eden, and made Man mortal. A sin was committed by the Son of Man, and the Kindred was born. The Earth grew her children strong and honorable, the Garou. Other beings drifted through the world, controlling or hiding from the eyes of Man, and the others. Among these people were a breed of werecats, much like the Garou, and blessed in creation by Gaia, mother Earth. The breed lived where the river met the ocean, where Man made a culture higher then anywhere else. They lived well, and fed on the life-force of Man. But they enraged those who ruled and a spell was cast upon them to protect man from this breed. A terrible curse that made the breed weak and depending on the life from Man to survive. The ruler who put the spell on the breed was sure that since there was nothing for the breed to feed upon, it would perish. He was wrong. The breed scattered upon the face of the world, and searched for prey. They soon travelled to all corners of the world in their search. It was a hard search, but sometimes they found life that would feed them, and always they would be hunted by Man, Kindred, and Garou alike, because they carried a curse far worse then that of mortal Men. This is the story of the Sleepwalkers.
The Sleepwalkers, the shattered breed of werecats, are presented here, along with the rules on how they can be made part of the Gothic-Punk-world. First, there are a few things that needs getting straight from the start:
a) They are not vampires. They are living beings, not undead, like the Kindred.
b) They are not Garou. They are rejected by Gaia, and hated by the Earth.
Once they were a powerful breed who lived in the delta of the Nile, and they fed on the humans who lived there. But a powerful magician, Arack-am-Roo, put a curse on them that made them what they are today. Here will be presented the powers and weaknesses of the modern Sleepwalker, not what they were.
Attributes: Sleepwalkers are a supernatural breed, much more powerful then the humans. They allocate 7/5/3 dots for their Attributes. They may not possess over five dots in any single Attribute from the beginning of the game.
Abilities: Since they are an old breed, and since they have stopped aging, they may learn and remember more then the mortal men. However, sometimes memories become clouded from lack of life, and therefore, they allocate 15/11/7 dots for their Abilities, with no limitations on what they may choose. They may not possess over five dots in an Ability from the beginning of the game. All Sleepwalkers must place a dot in languages in order to learn English or any other language, as their mother's tongue is ancient Egyptian.
Virtues: A Sleepwalker has 7 dots to allocate on Virtues. However, they do not have the Virtue Conscience. They have Love, and this works as a rating for the Bonding between two Sleepwalkers, as they often travel in pairs. Willpower is calculated as normal, with the Courage. A Sleepwalker has no Humanity, though. They have Inner Light, and this tells them how far they are from finding the truth behind themselves and the curse they live under. Inner Light is calculated by adding together Self-control and Love. A hierarchy of sins for this Inner light is given below.
| Inner Light-rating | Minimum Wrongdoing for loss of Inner Light |
| 10 | Lying to another Sleepwalker |
| 9 | Failing to pursue information about The Curse when in great danger |
| 8 | Hurting another Sleepwalker |
| 7 | Letting a Giver go without feeding when hungry |
| 6 | Failing to pursue information about The Curse when in moderate danger |
| 5 | Lying to your Mate, Killing another Sleepwalker |
| 4 | Feeling regret for killing an enemy |
| 3 | Failing to pursue information about The Curse when in no danger |
| 2 | Letting your Mate starve, Hurting you mate |
| 1 | Killing your Mate, Feeling regret for hurting an enemy |
Do's and Don'ts
All this builds up what all Sleepwalkers believe in. They strive very hard towards improving their Inner Light, as this partially releases them from The Curse.
Backgrounds: A Sleepwalker may select the following Backgrounds from Vampire: The Masquerade: Allies, Contacts, Fame, Influence, Resources, and Retainers. A new Background is also added: Mate
Mate: This trait describes not only the power of your Mate, but also the deepness of your bonding. Without a Mate you are lost, but with a powerful Mate at your side, you can achieve greatness. The deeper you have bonded yourself to your Mate, the greater you can become.
- Your Mate is weaker then you, and you share only a weak bond of friendship.
* Your Mate is as strong as you are, and your bonding is that of good friends
** Your mate is as strong as you are, and your bonding is that of lovers
*** Your Mate is slightly stronger then you, and your love is deep and true
**** Your Mate is considerably stronger then you are, and you share passionate, true, love
***** Your Mate is a pillar of strength, exceeding you in nearly all things, and your love makes the Angels in the sky jealous. It has no limits.
Advantages / Disciplines: Sleepwalkers are free to choose any two Vampiric Disciplines as their "Clan Disciplines". These are the powers they have left after The Curse. They may only spend thee dots on these, but are allowed to raise them with Freebie-points.
Freebie points: A Sleepwalker only has 10 Freebie Points, but is allowed to take Merits and Flaws.
There are some greater and some lesser disadvantages with being a Sleepwalker.
First of all, you must steal the life from the humans in order to survive. This life-force can not be taken from anyone, but only from special people, people who are gifted, somehow. They might be reincarnations of people from the delta, or blessed/cursed by Gaia, or something else. It is not known what makes certain humans bearer of the life-force neccesary for the Sleepwalkers, but they exist. One can say that there is one Giver per 1,000,000 humans. In a big city, there can be several people with the Gift of the Giver, but in the countryside they may be very hard to find indeed.
Second, your reflection in the mirror is always that of your true self, the Beast of Old. If someone films you, or takes your picture, they will see the Mask, but a mirror will show the true face. This can lead to serious trouble.
Thirdly, you are a breed divided. What this means will be explained later, but it is the greatest disadvantage of all.
Aggravated damage is caused by; claws and teeth of Garou or Vampire, extreme heat (like molting metal, not fire in itself), and the teeth and claws of cats and cat-like animals.
All Humans contains 10 Blood-points for the sake of Kindred. This is not really the measure of true volume of blood, but the life-force that resides within the blood. This is what powers the Kindred, and the same Life-force also powers the Sleepwalker. A Sleepwalker, unlike the Kindred, do not drink the blood to obtain this life-force. They simply steal your breath, and suck the life from you. This is done only at extremely close range and the victim is well aware of what is happening, but not how it is accomplished. It is a painful experience for a human to have his/her life sucked away. Only certain humans have the right life-energy for the Sleepwalker to feed on. A Sleepwalker can see, automatically, on a person, if this person is "right" or "nice" and if so, how much life is left in him/her. These people are called "Givers" by the Sleepwalkers, for it is told that some people have the right life-force to give, if they choose to. This is only true in extreme cases, however. If a person is not a Giver, then it may still give life to the Sleepwalker, if the desire to do so is truly pure and not controlled, out of threats or domination. It more or less has to be love, and even then the victim makes Stamina-roll as a normal victim (see below) when the Sleepwalker is feeding. The victim still feels pain, and understands that life is ending, but may choose to give up his/her life to give life to the Sleepwalker. But then again, there are Sleepwalkers who promise not to kill, only to take as much as they need for the moment (see Humans under Enemies).
If a Sleepwalker gets close enough, and can hold his/her victim still, a resisted Stamina-roll is made. If the Sleepwalker wins, one "Life-point" is drawn from the victim. If the victim wins, no life is lost this round. The Sleepwalker can continue to try until the victim has lost one life. The victim them rolls a Stamina-roll with a difficulty of 6 to see if he/she collapses. The number of successes must be greater then number of life-points lost. If the victim collapses, it is unconscious, and no Stamina-roll is made when the Sleepwalker tries to steal more life, it can be done without effort, one point per round, until the victim is "empty". The victim then looks like a dried-up corpse, gray as sand, and very fragile. The victim has to be alive for the Sleepwalker to be able to feed on it. It does not have to be awake or conscious, however. Most Sleepwalkers prefer their prey to be awake at the time of attack, for one reason or another.
A Sleepwalker does not have a "Life-pool" as Vampires has Blood Poll. They can store an infinite amount of life within themselves, and they can give this life to another Sleepwalker through physical touch. A Sleepwalker loses a point of life, known from here on as Life-point, every week it is existing, and doing anything else but laying still. When the Sleepwalker has no Life-points left, it begins to lose points in Attributes, one per week, points that are restored the moment the Sleepwalker has "spent" a Life-point in order to restore the Attributes. One point is enough, no matter how many Attributes have been lowered, or by how much. If all Attributes should reach zero, the Sleepwalker dies from starvation, turns into ashes, and disappears.
If a Sleepwalker is hurt, and non-aggravated damage is inflicted, it can heal itself at a rate of one would-level per day of rest, if it succeeds with a Stamina-roll with the difficulty of (current number of wounds +3). This roll can only be made if the Sleepwalker does nothing but rests for an entire day. If aggravated damage is inflicted, the Sleepwalker not only has to succeed with the roll, but also has to spend a Life-point in order to heal. If no Life-point is available, then no healing can occur, from either aggravated damage or other. As long as the Sleepwalker has Life-points, it does not physically age, and is immune to all illnesses and most poisons (except nerve gases and cellular poisons).
Being without Life-points makes the Sleepwalker real moody and on edge, as this is truly frustrating for it. Imagine it yourself; you haven't eaten for weeks, and there are beings full of life around you, full of life, but you can not feed on them!
By the way, the effects of "life-draining" is cumulative,so that if a vampire takes three blood and a Sleepwalker three Life-points, the victim has lost a total of six Blood-/Life-points.
For the Sleepwalkers, all of creation is against them. Not only do they have to search for the right kind of people to keep them alive, but they also have to hide from them, as they are not like them. They are also hunted by the Vampires, as these beings see the Sleepwalkers as a threat to their supply of food (or drink, if you want to see it that way). They are also hunted by the Garou, as they are damned by Gaia, and considered beings of the Wyrm. Mages are also interested in getting hold of Sleepwalkers, as they can be used as "batteries" of life for certain of their spells, and other things. In short, everyone hates them.
This also means, that the Sleepwalkers hates everyone else. They hate the Vampire and the Garou, and the Mages, Immortals and the others, but most of all they hate the humans for The Curse, and for not willingly giving up all the life they would need to survive. They consider the humans to be nothing but meat walking around, ready for killing and feeding upon. This means that no Sleepwalker ever regrets killing a human, or regrets lying to one, or stealing from it, or inflicting physical or emotional damage to him/her, if it should please the Sleepwalker. Some humans are stupid enough to give up their own lives to feed the Sleepwalkers. These humans are made promises that the Sleepwalker shall not kill them, only take some life, and so on, but these promises are never kept, as humans are nothing in the eyes of the Sleepwalker, nothing but food.
In a world full of enemies one needs allies. The Sleepwalker has some allies. They may ally themselves with certain humans, but the trust is not both ways, the humans may trust the Sleepwalker, but this is never shared by the Sleepwalker. It also happens that the Sleepwalkers ally themselves with Black Spiral Dancers of the Garou, or certain kinds of vampires, mostly Brujah or Gangrel. They also have a very special group of allies in the mummies, as some of these are from the time before The Curse, and remember the Sleepwalkers as the noble beings they were. Since no life can be taken from the mummies, Sleepwalkers may ally themselves with them, and here the trust may be both ways. Some mummies are powerful enough to partially break The Curse for the Sleepwalker, or grant them safety, or help them to find Givers. In return, the Sleepwalkers are the only company that can truly understand the mummies, as they are from the same historical age. They are great company, and great allies, as they see and do things no mortals or vampires ever see, or do.
There is a purpose to the life of a Sleepwalker; to break The Curse, so that the breed may yet again be strong and noble, not reduced to what is it now. The Curse can only be lifted if the Sleepwalker has an Inner Light of 10 and has 100 Life-points to spare. Then it is released from The Curse and dies, peacefully. If The Curse can be reversed, or the magic in it destroyed, then the Sleepwalkers may rise again. How this is accomplished is not known, but the effects of The Curse is known:
* The Sleepwalkers can not multiply, and they have to feed on only special humans
* Sleepwalkers do not age, and when they die, their soul is dragged to hell
* The Sleepwalker is stuck in one form., only with a pale disguise to hide them from the world
* All cats of the world are against the Sleepwalkers
* The Sleepwalkers shall forever be divided, never cooperating for a greater goal, always hiding from man
* Gaia shall forever reject the Sleepwalkers
There are some mystical powers of old that may temporarily put The Curse aside for a couple of Sleepwalkers. Only the mummies of ancient Egypt and really old immortals may know of these powers, and they can allow the Sleepwalkers to mate and bear one child. This has been done 11 times since The Curse was first put on the Sleepwalkers. It is a rare thing. The true form of a Sleepwalker is a large cat with golden fur, and eyes like bright jewels. Its "crinos-form" is The Beast of Old, a hairless, large biped, humanoid shape, with catlike appearance, and extremely ugly. The Sleepwalkers never show this form, not even when they hunt or are enraged. Not even when they are alone do they use this form. They are ashamed of it because it shows what The Curse has done to them. They hate this form, and hope to return to their true form, but can not. They are protected by a spell which simulates a version of Mask of a thousand faces, which makes them look human, smell human, and feel human to the touch. The Beast of Old is shown only when the Sleepwalker dies, or in the reflection of a mirror.
Sleepwalkers travel in pairs. The pair is a couple, Mates. They rely on each other, support each other, feed each other, and normally love each other beyond human comprehension. They have never had anyone but themselves and their Mate for an eternity, and that kind of love can not be understood by any mortal. It is more powerful than any Blood Bond or spell, and it will cancel the effects of such control, if it is in conflict with the will of the Mate. Without the Mate, the Sleepwalker falls into despair and normally commits suicide by attacking Vampires, Garou, or large packs of cats. The role of the Mate of a player's character shall never be played by a non-player, but by another player. This is very important, and it could lead to some difficulties, but then again, the role of a Sleepwalker is greatly depending on the Mate, and therefore, this should not be a faceless character controlled by the Storyteller.
From the time of The Curse, the Sleepwalkers have been a breed divided. They can not travel in large groups, as they would exhaust the supply of "food" very quickly as soon as they arrive in an new city. They travel in pairs, but are always looking for other Sleepwalkers. Some never see any other Sleepwalkers at all, since there are so few of them scattered all over the globe, but it does happen. The meetings are usually very brief and cold, and the Sleepwalkers share their experience and knowledge with each other, to increase their chances of survival. Locations of safe havens, clues for breaking The Curse, and un-exhausted food-supplies are usually the topics of conversation. They then part again, still looking for others, in their Search.
What the Sleepwalkers think of...
Camarilla Vampires: They are weak, and we owe them nothing. Stay out of their way.
Sabbat Vampires: They are too radical to help us. Stay out of their way.
Inconnu Vampires: They are too passive to aid us. Stay out of their way.
Garou: They would kill us on the spot. Go out of your way to avoid them.
Mages: They will only use you to their own ends. Stay away from them.
Mummies: They can be our only friends, but beware of deceptions.
Faeries: They are weird. Stay away from them.
Humans: They are nothing but food. Use them is they amuse you, abuse them if they threaten you.
Immortals: They stood passively by and watched as we were cast into darkness, Stay away from them.
What they think of the Sleepwalkers:
Camarilla Vampires: They are a threat. Avoid them.
Sabbat Vampires: They are bothering us. Avoid them.
Inconnu Vampires: They are a nuisance. Avoid them.
Garou: Gaia has rejected them. Kill them all.
Mages: They are weak. Use them if you can.
Mummies: They are our only link to our past. Help them if you can, but beware of deceptions.
Faeries: No comment
Humans: Who?
Immortals: They are no threat, and they are wise. Try to earn their trust.
Sleepwalkers travel in pairs, from city to city, feeding where they can, learning what they can, staying out of people's way, and gathering strength. They will seldom bother the Vampires or others of a city, and you will not notice them coming or going. They are truly masters of faking identities, assuming roles, and infiltration communities, looking for victims. If there are mummies or Immortals from ancient Egypt in the city, they will try to seek their help in breaking The Curse, but are always prepared for ambushes and backstabs. They rely solely on their Mate to help and support them, feed and love them, and keep them safe. One in a pair usually hunt when they reach a new city, while the other is busy trying to find other Sleepwalkers, or possible allies or alternate food- supplies. They are true nomads and never stay for very long in the same spot. That is, in short, how they survive the World of Darkness.
The Sleepwalkers fit into the WoD as well as any other supernatural creature. They are powerful yet very restricted, just as the Kindred or the Garou, and they do not seek the same goals as the others do. They do not strive for power or wealth, just for food and safety. A Storyteller should think twice before letting a player play a Sleepwalker, however, since they are complex and very dependent on their Mate.