Section 3: General Undead Lore
Undead myths have many backgrounds and histories, each one culturally unique
and different. The following section will detail some common, old superstitions about the
dead. Many of these tales and practices were around long before undead types were
named. These are composite myths, containing unspecific characteristics of several
undead types. Some of these are more obvious than others, but all have at least some
of their roots here.
Included with the undead types are lists of their powers in this world. All of these
powers, including the spheres, are all treated as supernatural. They may be disbelieved
by a Mentalist accordingly. This includes Mages being able to disbelieve a lich using a
magical sphere, because the lich is not really using his belief in magic to cause the
effect. He is relying on the powers of the supernatural instead. Therefore, the Mage
may disbelieve the power, since it is not really magic that he is disbelieving, but the
supernatural instead. All powers of the supernatural may be disbelieved in this way by
any Mentalist according to this rationale.
The following sections will detail specific types of modern day undead. Listed
with them are statistics and subsequent powers for their use in DarkTown. Greater
undead are given first and the lessers will follow.
Liches
This circle is bound,
With power all around.
Between the worlds, I stand
With protection at hand.
-D.J. Conway, Celtic Magic
Lich Lore
More than 5000 years ago, a Sumerian king by the name of Gilgamesh began the
first documented quest for everlasting life. But even these early people knew that death
was natural--to avoid it was impossible, as the moral of the story goes. There is,
however, always an evil twist to things, and humans can find many a way to cheat even
the ultimate equalizer. Man will go to such great lengths for selfishness, that even
immortality can be made possible. This transition is called "lichdom."
Monsters called liches do indeed have some Celtic background, although modern
day lich myths comprise a conglomerate of past beliefs. Liches are typically risen
corpses of extremely evil or powerful individuals. Some Scandinavian tales speak of
sorcerers who rise from the grave to haunt the living. Although no ancient texts give a
true definition to a lich's power, in DarkTown these creatures have been brought back to
life by the mysterious forces of magic. Because of the interaction between magic and
the existence of liches, it is apparent that a Mage has to be involved somewhere in the
transaction. Usually, it is the Mage who finds some way of using magic to increase his
or her own longetivity, but in rare instances others may be affected as well. Because
death is such a marvelously effective foe, even the power of magic cannot be fully
preventive against it. As a result, the Mage eventually ages to the point of
decomposition, all the while remaining sentient and conscious. In the end, all liches are
reduced to bones and a bit of tattered flesh, but this takes hundreds to thousands of
years to occur. The rate of decomposition is indirectly related to the living conditions of
the lich and its power.
As an entity, liches are egotistical, self serving bastards. They remain in
existence only by their own wills to survive. As a result of hundreds of years of spiteful,
selfishly wretched existence, liches have a tendency to develop a real nasty attitude
towards just about everything. Most were usually tyrants in life and this behavior is
continued in death. Several European stories exist about evil sorcerers who return from
the grave to curse and steal the life away from the living.
Throughout the myths, the source granting the immortality is never addressed,
however. There is not much detail as to how or why. One Russian tale of "Koschei The
Deathless" has the source locked away in a specific object, similar to a reverent's totem.
In the case of Koschei, his "life" was stored in a duck egg, which, when destroyed,
resulted in his own demise. In addition, Koschei was a sorcerer himself. He rode
around on a black horse and terrorized local townfolk until a Russian king finally did
away with him.
Other, more prominent tales speak of liches meeting their final death by fire, after
being burned on pyres. Destruction by fire is shared by the European and Scandinavian
myths of restless sorcerers. Final death by fire is common among tales, because it is a
fairly certain demise. This holds to be especially true if the corpse is destroyed
completely. Not much of anything can return from that.
One real life lich could have been Rasputin, from Russian history. Rasputin was
a Christian monk, or more appropriately a sorcerer, who served one of the last Czars of
Russia. Prior to the Russian Revolution, Rasputin felt his power slipping, so he turned
to the Black Arts to influence the royal court. In a moment of weakness, Rasputin got
drunk one night and became rowdy. Guards stabbed, shot, and beat Rasputin to no
avail in an attempt to subdue him. This, however, did not phase the mad sorcerer.
Finally, he was bound, tied, and tossed into a river in St. Petersburg. Only after being
frozen solid in ice did Rasputin eventually meet his demise. Before being thrown into
the river, Rasputin used his last breath to curse the Czar and his men, supposedly
leading to the downfall of the royalty in the revolution to come.
Another historical example of a lich was Black Beard the pirate. When he finally
did die, it took nearly 100 bullets and 7 impaled swords to bring him down. Even then
he died by drowning, after he was thrown overboard his own ship. Black Beard's own
will to keep on fighting allowed him to survive death and continue long after he was
mortally wounded. That is what being a lich is all about.
Lich Powers
Liches are very powerful undead who have, so far, managed to escape death
itself. They are mythical creatures, usually risen Mages, who died long ago. These
continuations of life have been granted powerful magic in addition to immortality.
Because of their magical nature, liches may freely choose spheres from either Dark Arts
or magic. The number of spheres and powers are determined by the age of the lich, as
noted in the table below.
Total Supernatural
Age(years) Spheres Number of Powers Score
Young 100 2 6 10
Middle Age 500 3 9 15
Old 1000 5 15 20
Ancient 1500+ 8 20 25
Aura Sight
Liches can sense the emotional and mental states of humans around them. They
have the ability to see into the minds of men and women, simply by concentrating alone.
The targets of this power must be within the line of sight of the lich. When used, this
power helps liches to corrupt, connive, and fool the human populous. Aura Sight is
equivalent to Detect Priority (Mage spell) and True Seeing (Priest miracle). A magic roll
is still required for this power to take effect. It is not automatic.
Diseased Touch
Because liches are decomposing, they have the ability to infect targets with a
rotting disease by touch. In order for the disease to take effect, however, the lich must
do physical damage to the target with either its own body (hands, feet, teeth, etc.) or a
hand held weapon of some sort. This way, the contagion is passed directly into the
body of the host, infecting him or her through the bloodstream. Infected victims are
treated as though they have been exposed to the technological power Bio Weapon.
The disease is transmitted by touch, through an open wound, and it has a difficulty to
resist of 10. The pathogenicity of the disease is 1D6 and it is antibiotic sensitive. Three
purges are required to rid the disease as normal. This power is in effect at all times and
may affect any living targets. No roll is necessary for this power to take effect.
Skills
In addition, since liches have lived at least one lifetime, if not many more, they
are entitled to more skill points than mere mortals. This is also determined by the age of
the lich in the table below. Because of the excessive ages of some liches, it is not
completely unheard of for some to have skill levels in the double digits. What else
would you expect after 1000 years of experience?
Age(years) Skill Points
Young 100 30
Middle Age 500 40
Old 1000 50
Ancient 1500+ 60
The Death of Liches
If a lich is reduced to zero (0) health or below, it may make a will power roll to
remain in existence. The lich adds its POW score with its Supernatural Score and the
result of a D20 roll. This total must exceed the total amount of damage that the lich has
currently sustained under zero health. All damage is cumulative and may exceed zero
health, becoming negative health. A will power roll is required each time the lich takes
damage when it has negative health. A failed roll indicates destruction.
Idiot Roll: D20 + POW + Supernatural Score > Total Amount of Negative Health
Example: Falcon, the Arch Mage Lich, has 8 health remaining. If Insane Reg
Reynolds hacks him with a machete for 15 points of damage, this will bring Falcon to
negative seven health (-7). In order to survive, Falcon must beat a 7 with his total for
POW + Supernatural Score + D20. Pretty simple, as long as he does not roll a 1. But if
Falcon receives an additional 25 points of damage from an assault rife and 20 points
from a grenade, then he must make another two rolls. The first one has to beat a
difficulty of 32 (-7-25= -32 health) and the second one has to beat a 52 (-32-20= -52
health).
Liches who fail this roll are considered to be destroyed and will crumble to dust.
A Game Master may have the lich return to life later, after a period of regeneration, or
may declare the lich completely dead. In either case, death will have at least reclaimed
a little lost time. Even immortality is not ever lasting.
Liches can heal themselves with magic powers or by "normal" means
(regeneration) if given the proper amount of time. Certain rituals may be required for
healing and rest is usually a prerequisite. Once the lich returns to its abode, it may need
to meditate in order to heal. This may require an undetermined amount of time,
although it should be based upon the age of the lich and the amount of damage
sustained. Older liches should require less time to heal, as should liches who have
suffered minimal damage.
Weaknesses of Liches
As with any undead, the usual problem is that the physical body is, in fact, dead.
Unlike vampires, liches are not able to regenerate the physical appearance of the body,
thus they are susceptible to decomposition. Liches are not preserved at all in attempt to
resist this, as are mummies. They suffer huge penalties in appearance, after all they are
decomposing. As they age, liches begin to rot. Chunks of skin and muscle slide off
their bones as maggots burrow into their flesh. The eyes sink into the sockets of the
skull, eventually disappearing into the black depths. Fungus grows on the skin, blending
with the discoloration to give the appearance of a purple and green hue. The skin of the
lips face begins to peel back, exposing the teeth and withering gums. Hair and finger
nails continue to grow and turn yellow as the body slowly dies. Eventually, all that is left
is a skeleton covered in the tattered remnants of skin and muscle. This has a tendency
to make people nauseous, which is reflected in the fact that most liches have a BEA of
0. When death occurs, the lich loses 7 points of BEA automatically and then an
additional point is lost every year thereafter. This penalty accumulates until the BEA
reaches 0, but goes no further. Since most liches are at least 50 years old, they most
certainly have already been reduced to a horribly disgusting mess.
In addition, decomposition will also be accompanied by the pungent odor of
death. This smell will follow liches wherever they go. It is a raunchy, disgusting stench
of raw, rotting flesh. If you would like to experience this as a player or a Game Master,
then go grab a hand full of ground beef and toss it into a garbage can. Put the lid on the
can and drag it out into the sun and let it sit for about a week. If you open that son-of-a-bitch up and take a wiff you will know what I am talking about. This odor cannot be
completely masked by the lich, although it can be covered somewhat with a very strong
perfume or fragrance.
As mentioned previously, some tales speak of liches being destroyed by fire. The
Game Master may rule that liches are doubly damaged by open flames or that fire
damage may not be healed or resisted. Therefore, a lich who sustains fire damage
while at negative health is automatically destroyed. This, however, is an optional rule,
and may be enforced by a False Belief roll.
Rituals
All liches are required to perform a ritual at least once every lunar cycle. The
ritual is to be done on the first day of the full moon and liches failing to do so will be
penalized accordingly. Since young liches are not as far removed from death as older
ones, they are less severely hurt by the failure of a ritual. Young and medium aged
liches will lose 1D6 Supernatural Score or suffer an entire health level of damage. In
addition to this, the offending lich may not regenerate or resist destruction as normal
until the sacrifice has been made. These losses of power will remain in effect until the
ritual is performed. The lich, however, only has one month to conduct the ritual, for
when the next full moon comes around, these losses will become permanent.
Old and ancient liches are more stiffly punished for their folly. These guys will
automatically receive a permanent loss of both 1D6 Supernatural Score and an entire
health level. They may not regenerate or resist destruction normally either. In addition,
they must still perform the ritual within the time before the next new moon, otherwise
they will be permanently destroyed. That sucks!
Alright, now that you know rituals are required for a lich, what exactly does it
entail? Well, since liches gain their power from a magical source, they must sacrifice a
magical item or source of magic at the beginning of every lunar cycle. This keeps them
going, because it allows them to release the magic from the sacrificial object and use it
to empower themselves. The sacrifice may be any form of magical item, such as
components for spells, artifacts, enchanted weapons, or even living Mages themselves.
As long as the object possesses magical energy or power, it is fair game.
On the plus side, liches may make other sacrifices at any time to increase their
POW score by one. This sacrifice may be a magical item or an ordinary human. In
either case, the POW increase will only last until the end of the current lunar cycle.
These bonuses, however, may be cumulative and will add up for every sacrifice made
during the current lunar cycle. The maximum POW attainable from this is 50.
Flaws
Liches, as with other undead, also receive penalties from the powers which they
were granted. Every time a lich takes a sphere, it gets a penalty from the table below.
These flaws accompany the sphere corresponding to each characteristic accordingly.
Liches are also required to select one flaw from the General Flaw Table in addition to
the ones assigned by the spheres of power.
Physical: Icy Touch and a decreased temperature in the immediate vicinity of
the lich.
Athletic: Grating voice.
Mental: Rancid odor.
Intuition: Decomposing touch.
Social: Animals at unease.
Since only one flaw is listed for each characteristic, liches choosing two spheres
belonging to the same characteristic must select an additional flaw from the General
Flaw Table to compensate.
Example: If the sphere of Control from Magic and the sphere of Social
Dominance from Dark Arts were both taken by a lich, then an additional flaw must be
taken, since both of these spheres correspond to the Social characteristic. This rule
applies to all other types of undead as well.
Vampires
If your brother vamps out in any way I won't hesitate to stake him.
-The Frog Brothers, The Lost Boys
Vampire Lore
The history of vampire folklore began in Europe many centuries ago. References
have been made concerning corpses rising from the grave in search of the living as far
back as the 11th century. These early "vampires," however, were mostly flesh devourers
rather than blood drinkers. They represented early forms of lesser corporal undead.
One of the more prominent vampiric myths is that of Vlad Tepes, The Impaler.
Vlad The Impaler, better known as Dracula, was notorious for his tyrannical rule over
Romania during the 1400's. Legend has it that he tortured and killed thousands of
people for sheer enjoyment. Though evil, it is difficult to ascertain any true supernatural
powers that Dracula may have possessed. Other Slavic stories detailed myths about
supernatural vampires called vrykolaks, which were undead beings who returned from
the grave to feed off of the living. Often, these creatures fed off of family members who
were left behind in life.
In some European countries, the dead bodies of these offending family members
were exhumed and mutilated or destroyed. Destruction by fire was the usual method
taken, however other means of desecration employed were decapitation and removal of
the heart. These practices of mutilation were not common in most European countries,
because they favored cleansing by fire. But between the late 1700's and late 1800's,
the dismemberment of corpses had become a fairly common occurrence in the Eastern
states of America.
The word vampire first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in the year of
1734, although it was not known by common people until the 19th century. Many
corpses which were buried in the New England area during this time were exhumed and
mutilated due to the growing fear of vampires in society. This also happened to be
during the time of a great epidemic of tuberculosis in America. Those who fell ill to the
disease were often thought to have been "consumed" by vampirism. Often, other
members of the same family fell to the disease a year or two after the first death. Since
the common symptoms of tuberculosis are pale, clammy skin, darkening under the eyes,
weakness, and eventual wasting away until death, it would be easy for a group of
superstitious people to pin this disease on a supernatural cause. Unlike in Europe,
however, New Englanders believed that vampires drained life force, not necessarily
blood. This would account for the relatively slow physical deterioration of the victims of
consumption.
To further support this belief, when the body of the supposed vampire was
exhumed, it exhibited signs of "feeding." It appeared bloated and plump, as if it were
growing off of the life of others. We now know that this is merely a result of the natural
process of decomposition, just as we know that tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium in
the genus mycobacterium. As the body festers, gases are produced by the
decomposing organisms, which inflate the corpse. This results in the round or bloated
appearance of the body.
As the fear of vampirism spread, all those who fell to tuberculosis were thought to
be vampires. To protect the families of the deceased from the consumption, the bodies
of the dead vampires were mutilated or destroyed. Some of the restless were buried
face down, to direct them to dig downward. Others had their hearts removed and
burned. Still others were decapitated, their heads lain facedown or destroyed
completely. Until the fear passed, these practices were continued into the late 1800's,
when the rapidly advancing field of science finally silenced the belief in vampires.
Although there were no accounts of wooden stakes, garlic, reflections in mirrors,
sunlight, or other common vampire folklore, the New England myths were strong enough
to elicit true fear in the local populations. But, perhaps the most noted myths were
drawn up by Bram Stoker in Dracula. This novel, after all, was so powerful that it
dispelled all of the New England vampire theories. It was so close to destroying them
that, when H. P. Lovecraft was researching local folklores, he could not find any records
of American vampire myths. The common vampire myths had been replaced by
Stoker's own image of Dracula. Only until recent times were the bones of the New
England vampires exhumed for examination, revealing the truth behind the American
vampires of the 19th century.
Stoker took many Scandinavian, Russian, and ancient European myths of
undead and rolled them all into one creature known as Dracula. According to Stoker,
vampires were undead creatures who had to drink human blood for sustenance. They
were nocturnal, being destroyed by sunlight and wooden stakes through the heart. The
bite from a vampire lead to weakness and sickness. Those who were slain by a
vampire could return as an undead themselves if they drank from a vampire's blood just
prior to death. Other myths conclude that the mere bite of a vampire was fatal, resulting
in the creation of another vampire within a few days. In addition to having the potential
to be extremely charismatic, these creatures also have remarkable strength and
regeneration abilities, along with special powers over animals, such as wolves. Some
tales also contain vampires who are able to transform into animals or mist. Once killed,
vampires universally are rendered to a pile of dust, as they are returned to nature, which
fulfills the last rites of the bible.
Early Balkan myths reveal practices such as driving wooden stakes through the
chests of restless corpses. These troublesome vampires had to be pinned into their
graves by large, ornately carved, wooden rods. The stick was rammed through the
earth over the center of the grave and driven through the torso of the deceased. This
hopefully kept the restless down, but care had to be taken, for if the stake was removed,
the body could rise again. Several bodies have been found buried like this throughout
Europe.
Insert Illustration***************************************************.
Another source which Stoker used was from Scandinavia. One particular tale
speaks of corpse sitting, which may explain why vampires fear fire and sunlight. All
Scandinavian cultures believed that, until buried, a corpse could be particularly active.
Someone had to be appointed to watch over the body during the night, until burial was
accomplished. Otherwise, the corpse would rise up as undead. Those who did rise had
to be physically forced back down, after which they usually remained quiet. The watcher
had to have a light source as well, such as a candle or torch, which had to be kept
burning close to the bedside. Once dawn came, the body was safe, and did not need to
be watched again until sunset. Thus, the fear of sunlight myth was born.
Other common vampire myths are more obscure and probably the product of
countless different vampire authors. These lesser myths also seem to be variable,
some of which apply in some stories but are powerless in others. Though Stoker wrote
of Dracula's inability to cast a reflection in a mirror, it is difficult to completely ascertain
the origin of this myth. Most likely it was created by Stoker himself or taken from an
obscure myth that is distantly related to corporal undead. But strangely enough, the
source of these myths are as mysterious as the vampires themselves.
Vampire Powers
Vampires are very adaptable creatures and they have myths in virtually every
faith. This enables them to use powers from all faiths (technology included), because
they are so adept. Vampires may choose a number of powers and spheres according to
the table below. These powers directly correspond to the age of the vampire getting
them.
Total
Age(years) Spheres Number of Powers Score
Young 50 1 2 8
Middle Age 150 3 6 12
Old 500 5 10 16
Ancient 1000+ 7 14 20
Vampires may mix and match spheres from all beliefs as they see fit. That is to say, an Old Vampire may choose the religious sphere of Avatar, the magical sphere of Destruction, the technological sphere of Mentis, the Dark Faith sphere of Corruption of Sin, and the Dark Arts sphere of Forsaken Knowledge to fulfill its 5 spheres. Talk about versatile!
In addition to the attribute bonuses and spheres of power, all vampires are able to perform the following abilities at will. These special abilities may be disbelieved by a Mentalist as normal.
Aura Sight
Vampires are attuned to the emotional and mental states of humans. They have an uncanny ability to see into the hearts of men and women, probing the inner depths of the soul to see what dwells within. This helps these creatures to corrupt, connive, and fool the human populous. Aura Sight is equivalent to Detect Priority (Mage spell) and True Seeing (Priest miracle). A magic roll is still required for this power to take effect. It is not automatic.
Hardened Skin
All vampires have superhuman endurance and strength, but in addition to this,
vampires also take much less damage from physical weapons than do humans. To
account for this ability, we have given vampires a supernatural armor with an Armor
Rating (AR) of 5, which is in effect at all times. This armor works as normal armor,
except it will not degenerate when damage exceeds the AR. That is to say, if 8 points of
damage is done to a vampire, 5 of it is prevented and 3 is carried over to the vampire.
The AR, however, remains 5, it does not go down to 4.
Night Eyes
As nocturnal creatures, vampires must have vision which will make them superior
predators at night. Vampires have been given special eyesight which allows them to
see better in the dark. This means that there is no modifier for the light conditions as
long as there is at least some light (moon, stars, etc.).
Regeneration
Vampires also are able to regenerate damage they suffer at a rate equal to their
Physical Characteristic once per round. In order to do this, however, the vampire must
consume an amount of blood equal to the amount of damage healed. Initially, the
vampire may regenerate and amount of damage equal to its Physical characteristic for
free during the single round after the damage was sustained. This accounts for blood
storage within the vampire's body which may be used to activate the regeneration.
Every other subsequent point of damage must be healed in accordance to blood
consumption, however.
Fangs
Vampires notoriously have been known for their dental armament and ability to
bite the necks of their victims, draining the lifeblood away. This comes to play in
DarkTown, when vampires wish to use their fangs in combat. When involved in hand to
hand combat, vampires may opt to grapple their opponents by successfully scoring an
Offensive Brawl roll.
Idiot Roll: Athletics + Offensive Brawl + D20 > Target's DR
Once grappled, an opponent may be bitten on the neck during the next turn with another successful Offensive Brawl roll at a bonus of 5, pending that the character does not break free first. The bite will do 1D6 + 2 points of damage. Once bitten, the vampire may drain 1D6 points of health each round in blood from the wound as long as he retains the character in his grapple. This blood may be used to heal the vampire at a ratio of one health healed for every point drained. This may be done automatically requiring only the vampire's concentration. He or she may still perform other actions as normal.
Victims who are being bitten, drained or grappled may attempt to escape by
performing a Strength/Defensive Brawl Roll as their combat action for the round. If the
player does not have the skill Defensive Brawl, then treat this skill as level zero during
the roll. The total must be greater than the score of the vampire for the player to break
free. Since this is a strength related combat action, the Physical characteristic is used
instead of the Athletic one.
Idiot Roll: (Player) Physical + Defensive Brawl + D20 > (Vampire) Physical + Offensive Brawl + D20
Once the victim is free, the vampire must grapple him again to begin drinking from the wound.
Skills
Vampires, being the nasty blood suckers they are, also receive more skills than
normal humans do. This reflects the idea that, during their immortal existence, they
have had a much longer time to perfect their proficiency. This holds to be especially
true of greater undead. The table below lists the number of skill points available to each
age group at the time of generation. These points are spent in the exact same way as
normal skill points are spent for player characters. Undead, however, have no
restrictions as to what type or how many skills may be purchased at creation.
Age(years) Skill Points
Young 50 25
Middle Age 150 30
Old 500 35
Ancient 1000+ 40
The Death of Vampires
As detailed in the next section, certain weaknesses of vampires will result in their
immediate death, such as decapitation, exposure to sunlight, wooden stakes through the
heart, decapitation and filling the mouth with garlic, decapitating the body or staking it
and throwing it into running water, or destruction by fire. By far, the most common
method of disposing of vampires is by sheer, large amounts of damage. Vampires,
though immortal, may be slain by an excessive amount of physical damage. Although
they are not as hearty as liches and mummies, once a vampire is reduced to zero
health, it is not destroyed. They may resist death by rolling a Physical roll, similar to a
Shock roll with humans. Vampires add their Physical characteristic to the roll of a D20.
The difficulty of the roll is equal to the amount of damage that the vampire sustained
during the round that it went below zero health.
For example, Debonair Devon Anderson, a vampire, is currently at 17 health
(total). He suffers 21 points of damage from a tire iron, which Insane Reg Reynolds has
been bludgeoning him with for the last round of combat. This damage will put Devon at
-4 health, so he must make a resistance roll to avoid death. His difficulty is equal to the
damage he suffered during the round, which totals 21. He adds his physical score of 11
to the roll of the mediator die (D20) and gets a total of 26, succeeding the roll. Though
hurt, Devon gets right back up and takes another swing at Reg.
Additionally, vampires may only resist a moderate amount of damage. That is to
say, vampires may only go to a negative amount of health equal to their Physical
Characteristic. If a vampire has a Physical score of 10, then it may go to negative 10
health--no more. If this particular vampire is reduced further, to -11 or more, then it is
dead and no rolling will bring it back.
Weaknesses of Vampires
The damage done by sunlight causes vampires to lose 1 health level per round of exposure until death or until the source of damage is alleviated. Once the vampire is reduced to zero or below zero health by these means, it will result in automatic death--no roll is allowed to resist sunlight or fire damage. Sunlight damage may not be regenerated either. This damage must be healed during sleep and the health will be replenished at the beginning of the next night. Other ways of killing vampires includes decapitation of the head and staking through the heart. Some myths say that a wooden stake, when driven through the heart of a vampire, will kill it instantly, whereas others say that it will only paralyze one. This is true in DarkTown, but an Unbelief roll is required for the staking to elicit death in the vampire. A failed Unbelief roll indicates paralysis of the vampire only. This renders the vampire unconscious and unable to regenerate until the stake is removed. .
Additionally, vampires are harmed by the following accordingly:
Holy Water* 2D6 + User's Ethos
Crosses or other Holy Object (If touched)* 3D6 + User's Ethos
Wooden stake through the heart 3D6 + Physical**
Fire Double Normal Damage
* Affects may be resisted with a False Belief roll.
** May result in paralysis or death of target. To be determined by the Game Master.
Vampires are also physically harmed by anything that would normally harm a
human. That is, bullets, blades, punches, etc. all hurt vampires too. But vampires are
much more resistant to such damage. This is due to their supernatural armor.
Flaws
Flaw myths are variable. These include the belief that vampires must be invited inside a house, are repulsed by garlic, must sleep with grave soil, cannot cross running water, do not cast reflections in mirrors, cannot be picked up on film, or cause any animal unease or panic. Some vampires are vulnerable to such things. Others are not. Each power of Dark Faith and Dark Arts has a weakness which comes with the power. This is the price or damnation, for evil must have a drawback for power. For every sphere of power that a vampire takes, it must get one flaw as well. These flaws are listed below, and correspond to the characteristic of each sphere taken. Two choices of flaws exist for each sphere. If more than one sphere is taken for each characteristic, then both flaw options must be taken. If the vampire selects three or more spheres from the same characteristic, then the additional flaw(s) must be taken from the General Flaw Table.
Physical: Cannot Cross Running Water or Harmed by Holy Water.
Athletic: Animals at Unease or Fear of Holy Objects.
Mental: Must Sleep With Grave Soil or Cast No Reflection in Mirrors.
Intuition: Errant Shadow or Eerie Presence.
Social: Must Be Invited Inside a House or Repulsed By Garlic.
In addition to the flaws assigned by the spheres, all vampires are required to choose two more flaws. One of these flaws must come from the Vampire Specific Flaw Table and the other flaw must come from the General Flaw Table in Section 2.
Vampire Specific Flaw Table
Animals at Unease
Must Sleep With Grave Soil
Cannot Cross Running Water
Errant Shadow
Must Be Invited Inside a House
Cast No Reflection in Mirrors
Repulsed By Garlic
One of the most classical weaknesses of a vampire is that is must drink the blood
of living creatures for sustenance. This is reflected in DarkTown in the fact that
vampires must drink at least a number health points in blood equal to their own Physical
Characteristic. This act must be performed each and every night. In addition, unlike
revenents, vampires do not have innate regeneration abilities. Vampires may consume
more blood to heal wounds they have suffered, at a rate of one health point of blood for
every health point healed. This is the only way a vampire can heal, short of performing
a supernatural power.
Mummies
Come to us, unite thyself to Tanen.
Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Forth Division of the Tuat
Mummy Lore
Mummies are preserved human carcasses. They are formed when the process of decomposition is halted or slowed after death. This can be a naturally occurring, such as in peat bogs, or assisted by man, such as the ancient Egyptians. As a matter of fact, when people think of mummies they almost always picture the Egyptian mummies first, when there are several other types.
Popularly, man made mummies are mainly the product of the ancient Egyptian religion. Some central American Indians shared the same practice, although it was not nearly as grand in scale. Both cultures believed in a general life-after-death concept, which was far from that envisioned by Christianity. The Egyptians felt that the body, though dead, was still a vehicle for the soul in the afterlife. For this reason, the deceased were well preserved and buried with all of the conveniences of life. Food, clothing, hygiene products, mummified pets (and servants if you were a Pharaoh), and weapons were all sent with the body to aid the soul when it reached the next world. Great care was taken with the preservation of each cadaver and ritual governed exactly when and how the process was to take place. A precise description of this procedure is in the next section of the book, entitled Embalming 101.
The basis of both the Egyptian and Indian preservations was indeed religion. Pharaohs were buried with great respect and preserved so that they would last for an eternity. This is so they could rule mankind everlasting while sitting at the right hand side of the gods. But in order to do so, the soul had to have a body in which it could reside.
Specialized embalmers would perform all of the chemical and mechanical embalming, and the priests would sanctify and bless the remains, sending the soul on its way. Proper preservation was crucial, because the ancient Egyptians believed that death was just a period of transition. Once the body was prepared, the soul could return and live a second life in the afterlife. It was very important that all of the techniques were properly performed, since the soul could die a second time if the body were destroyed or damaged.
Some south American Indian tribes preserved the dead in a similar fashion to the greatly sophisticated Egyptians. Because the Indians did not have a large, dry, salt filled desert to assist with the embalming process, they had to come up with a different way to preserve the bodies. In fact, their job was much more difficult, because many of the mummies were found in tropical rainforests, which are wet and muggy. Unfortunately, because this environment is so much more bacteria friendly, the American Indian mummies were notoriously less well preserved.
Prior to the grand rise of the Inca Empire, many nearby tribes practiced ritual mummification. Bodies were wrapped in cloth and bundled in the fetal position into sacks which were then sewn shut. The deceased were then buried in mausoleums with gifts of food and clothing. Like the Egyptians, the Indians eviscerated the bodies before mummifying them, although an entirely different process was used. Abdominal incisions were not made on the corpse. Instead, the organs were all removed via the rectum. The intestines were pulled out through the pectoral girdle, then all of the other major organs were fished out afterwards. The brain solely remained intact within the cranium. Once evisceration was completed, cloth rags were stuffed into the body cavity through the opening at the anus. The flesh was dehydrated using plant extracts and the face and nostrils were packed with linen to prevent shrinking and deformation.
Other more primitive mummies, such as cavemen who were preserved in Sphagnum or peat bogs, are not exactly religious in nature, but they are mummies in DarkTown nonetheless. Some were sacrifices to the swamp, while others were executed criminals. These bodies were dumped into swamps thousands of years ago and, because of the chemicals at the bottom of the water, the flesh never decomposed. Many flesh eating bacteria and fungi do not favor the bottom of the bogs, hence decomposition does not occur (or at least not nearly as rapidly as at sea level). This is a result of a low oxygen environment mixed with a high nitrogen and sulfur content. Even corpses which are pulled out more than a millennium later are remarkably preserved. Facial features and hair are discernable, such as with the Tollund man. The only rivals of this type of preservation are from Egypt or the far northern countries, which will be discussed next.
Factors which influence the decomposition of anything, including human bodies, can be outlined by simple scientific principle. Three conditions which will speed up the process are as follows: Darkness, moisture, and warmth. Of these three, warmth is definitely absent in northern Canada and Greenland, which is where some other mummies are from. Eskimos who died and were buried underneath deep snow drifts or in caves were often remarkably preserved. The remains had to be buried deep, however, lest scavengers could get to them and devour the fleshy parts. Think of it like putting meat in the freezer at home to keep it from going bad, although mother nature's freezer is a much more efficient version. Some bodies were preserved so well that their features were completely distinguishable. All of the hair was intact and, in a few rare cases, head lice were even identified in the scalps of the mummies. Although a remarkable scientific act of preservation, it is highly unlikely that the Inuit Indians intended on preserving the deceased in this fashion. It was more accidental than anything else.
Mummies become undead through a series of preservative and restorative acts. This allows them to retain some human characteristic, even though life has long since left their bodies. Common modern-day American mummy myths are made up of many ideas which are not even closely related to a factual basis. Most superstitions curtail mummies coming back to life when disturbed. This usually happens after an excavation occurs or even later, when the mummy has been transferred to a museum. Then, late one night, some hapless security guard wanders by the display and gets strangled. Viola, the mummy myth is born. Other tales of mummy curses are prevalent, such as the curse of King Tut's tomb. The most extreme case of a mummy curse being that of the sinking of the Titanic. According to cargo records, a female mummy was on board when the great ship sank. This particular mummy was not that of a Pharaoh, but a queen wife of one. The mummy was notoriously active in the past and janitors from its home museum in England often reported disturbing noises from its display at night. The mummy was on a journey to tour America when it met a watery second grave.
Perhaps the most logical explanation for the birth of mummy myths as horror topics surprisingly come from technology and science. Scientists know that embalming is a cool way of preserving dead bodies, such as in the field of cryogenics. But what if people really can come back to life? If they are so remarkably preserved, what is keeping them from just waking up from death? Maybe death has never come to claim life, since the body looks so good. Another major influence of this theory is from religion. Since religion claims to be able to answer all questions concerning the afterlife, what if the soul really can come back to inhabit the body after death? If science can do it in an emergency room after a few minutes, what about religion or magic, even after a few millennia? All of these questions will be answered in the realm of DarkTown. Mummies are typically thought to be evil, silent killers. When envisioned, they are pictured as being wrapped in bandages from head to toe. This is true of the more recent New Kingdom mummies of Egypt. But not all share the same appearance. When out and about, mummies can shed their wrapping and reveal what remains underneath. By using terrible blood magic, they are then able to alter their appearance and blend into society. Some exceptionally well preserved mummies can, indeed, look human when unwrapped. They may be a bit gaunt and leathery to the touch, but otherwise they look rather good. This, when coupled with magical rituals of youth restoration and supernatural power, may make the appearance of many mummies indistinguishable from that of living humans. In fact, mummies are required to perform rituals to remain human looking in DarkTown, which is explained under the section about mummy weaknesses. Although many different appearances are acceptable for mummies, ranging from young, beautiful females to old, musty bundles of cloth, the Game Master has final say as to what is observed by the player characters.
Embalming 101
Because the most popular type of mummy is the Egyptian one, we have decided to add this section to the book. The following paragraphs will detail the methods of Egyptian embalming.
The majority of what we know about the ancient Egyptian mummification process came from the writings of Herodotus in the 5th century BC. There were several different processes, depending upon the time in history and individual being embalmed. In general, the whole mummification process took 70 days from beginning to burial.
Two basic methods of embalming were not very exquisite and probably used on the members of lower social classes. The first method consisted of injecting oil into the anus and releasing it after several weeks, along with most of the liquified viscera. The body was then dehydrated and wrapped. The least intricate process involved merely cleansing the body, drying it with salt, and wrapping it. Though simple, these embalming techniques were extraordinarily effective.
Pharaohs and other important social figures were given the most elaborate embalming and burial rites. This consisted of total evisceration prior to wrapping. All of the abdominal and thoracic organs were removed via an incision in the abdomen or flank. The major organs, including the heart, liver, and lungs, were all put into carved stone containers called canopic jars. The organs remained contained within the jars and buried with the body. The brain was extracted through the nostrils, after a chisel was used to split the ethmoid bone at the base of the skull. A small wire hook was then used to break up the cerebral matter and water was sometimes added to aid in the outflow of the semi-liquid brain. This concoction was then placed in a canopic jar as well.
Once all of the organs were extracted, the internal body cavity was cleaned, anointed, and packed with linen. The eyes were also often removed and replaced with linen plugs. The cranial cavity, as well as the cheeks and nostrils, were also packed with linen, the latter two being performed to keep the shape of the face through the dehydration process. Occasionally, the linen rags were soaked in resin before insertion, so that they might stick in place better. Other areas of the body were packed to keep shape as well. Since the dehydration would make the muscles shrink, areas in the legs, back, feet, arms, and neck were packed to retain form. Since all of these areas could not be packed from the single abdominal incision, other small cuts were made in different parts of the body. Once the packing was finished, the body was stitched shut and ready for dehydration.
The Egyptians favored dry natron or natron salt as a desiccant. It was crucial, however, that dry natron was used, for the application of wet natron leaves nothing behind but a soupy mess. The body had to be placed out in the sun or on a large slanted table, so that the head was higher than the feet. Large mounds of natron were piled on the corpse and it was left for several days to dry.
After a week or so, the natron was removed and the excess salt residue was washed away from the body using water from the Nile river. Once cleaned, the corpse was ready for its final treatment and wrapping. First, the skin was covered with resin to protect it from moisture. The resin also acted as an adhesive for the first layer of bandages, which were applied shortly thereafter. Corpses were wrapped either with the arms extended at the sides, crossed across the chest, or extended with the hands folded over the genital region. Several layers of cloth strips were used to wrap the body and, once completed, the mummy was ready for burial.
Throughout this entire process, priests would perform ceremony and prayer over
the body. In many instances, this religious process was nearly as important as the
physical embalming itself. Once lain to rest, the body received one last blessing to send
the soul with godspeed to the afterlife. The final step of preservation was then
conducted, as the sands of the desert covered the grave, isolating the body from
moisture, preserving it for eternity. Now, let us discuss the powers bequeathed to
mummies.
Mummy Powers
Since many are, essentially, creatures which have come about due to religious
practices, it is only fitting that they may choose powers from the spheres of religion and
Dark Faith. The number of powers and spheres that each one may possess is directly
proportional to the age of the mummy. This is up to the Game Master. A table below
shows relative ages, along with the number of powers and spheres for each respective
age group. Mummies may mix and match spheres from either religion or Dark Faith as
they see fit. That is to say, an old mummy may take 2 spheres from religion and 3
spheres from Dark Faith. The same method for choosing powers from within a sphere
is used as with Mentalists, in that the lower ranking powers must be chosen
subsequently before the higher ones.
Total Supernatural
Age(years) Spheres Number of Powers Score
Young 1000 2 6 10
Middle Age 2000 3 9 15
Old 3000 5 15 20
Ancient 4000+ 8 20 25
Mask
Mummies must be able to blend into society. Because they are still relatively
strange looking, despite their elaborate preservative procedures, supernatural powers
are required to make them look truly convincing. In order to allow for this, all mummies
may use the magical spell of Alter Self at will. By using this power, mummies may make
their appearance even more human by rasing the Appearance. This power must still be
rolled for to see if it takes effect as normal. It is not an automatic ability.
Embodiment of Evil
All mummies are also apt at the Priest miracle Embodiment. This gives mummies
a few combat options and abilities to make competent social rolls. The power must still
be rolled for as normal--it is not automatically successful.
Skills
Mummies also receive more skills than normal humans do. This reflects the idea
that immortals have had a much longer time to perfect their proficiency. This holds to be
especially true of greater undead. The table below lists the number of skill points
available to each age group at the time of generation. These points are spent in the
exact same way as normal skill points are spent for player characters. Undead,
however, have no restrictions as to what type or how many skills may be purchased at
creation.
Age(years) Skill Points
Young 1000 30
Middle Age 2000 40
Old 3000 50
Ancient 4000+ 60
The Death of Mummies
The Weaknesses of Mummies
Mummies must be chemically preserved to retain their appearances. This leads
to a deformed, dry, hollow appearance, which is usually hidden by a mask or spell,
which results in a lower appearance of BEA. Decomposition has been halted by the
preservation process, so mummies smell decent when compared to other types of
undead, although they still have a musty aroma.
General Weaknesses:
Fire Doble Damage
BEA 2D6 Initial
Rituals
All mummies are required to perform a ritual once every calendar year or 365
days. The ritual may originally be conducted on any day during the year, but must be
consistently performed every 365 later. Mummies failing to do so will be penalized
accordingly. Since younger mummies are not as far removed from death as older ones,
they are less severely hurt by the failure of a ritual. Young and medium aged mummies
will suffer one of the following restrictions:
Loss of 2D6 BEA
Loss of 1D6 BEA and 1D6 Supernatural Score
Loss of 1D6 BEA and 1D6 Health
In addition to this, the offending mummy will resist destruction at a penalty of 10
to the die roll until the sacrifice has been made. These losses of power will remain in
effect until the ritual is performed. The mummy, however, may not attempt another ritual
until one year has transpired. If the ritual is not fulfilled at that time, then these losses
will become permanent.
Old and ancient mummies are more stiffly punished for their mistakes. They will
automatically receive a permanent loss of 1D6 Supernatural Score, 1D6 BEA and 1D6
health. They may not regenerate or resist destruction normally either for the following
year. The die roll to resist destruction will be made at a penalty of 10 until the ritual is
performed. In addition, they must perform the ritual in exactly 365 days, otherwise they
will be permanently destroyed.
Like liches, mummies must sacrifice an object which will give them power to
increase their longetivity. In the case of mummies, however, they do not get their power
from magic. Instead, they must sacrifice a puerile, vibrant, energetic youth, who is in the
prime of his or her life. This is so the mummy may release and capture the essence of
youth to retain its own human appearance and apparent state of life. This blood
sacrifice must be human and is required by the mummy once every 365 days.
Other sacrifices, however, may be made by the mummy at any time to increase
the characteristic of BEA by 1D6. This bonus will last until the next yearly sacrifice is
made and is cumulative for the number of rituals performed during that time period. The
maximum BEA due to this increase is 50. The same rules apply for the type of sacrifice
required. It must be a blood sacrifice of a youth, but in addition, the individual must be
relatively good looking--having a BEA of 20 or more.
Flaws
Specific Weaknesses:
Plus one general flaw
Physical: Pale, Gaunt, Deathlike Features.
Athletic: Grating Voice.
Mental: Rancid Odor.
Intuition: Sight of Death.
Social: Eerie Presence.
Revenents
I am he who lives,
and was dead, and behold,
I am alive forevermore.
-Revelation 1:18
Revenent Lore
Revenents are vengeful spirits of the deceased who have come back to finish a
task which was halted by an untimely death. They are powerful, undead creatures who
have risen from the grave to walk the earth once again, usually seeking revenge. Most
revenents were once humans who had a divinely set purpose in life or a predetermined
fate, but a premature death has inadvertently cut them off from fulfilling their duties. As
a result, some unknown power has interjected the primordial force of death and brought
the individual back as an undead creature. Innocent murder victims are good examples
of possible revenents.
Revenents are one of the more powerful undead types, for they are virtually
indestructible when confronted head on. While on earth they are nearly godlike and the
only way to destroy one is by attacking its totem or by letting it accomplish its mission
(see weaknesses and death). For the most part, however, a revenent will not interfere
with the lives of humans, unless they fit directly into its goal or attempt to hinder it from
accomplishing its goal.
The following are some examples of Revenents and stories behind their plight (or
blessing).
Asgard Warriors
According to the Viking mythos, those who died gloriously in battle were brought
to Asgard to await Ragnorok, at which time Odin would bring them back to life on the
Earth. The souls of the great warriors would then fight in the army of Odin in the last
battle. The Norse god, Odin, was well known for his necromantic arts and ability to raise
the dead. It was indeed a great honor to die while involved in combat, for you would be
graced with eternal life in Valhalla and blessed with eternal power on Earth at its end.
Because the warriors of Ragnorok returned from the grave by the power of Odin, they
are considered revenents in DarkTown.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
This is a story about a revolutionary war hero who loses his head in combat. As
the tales goes, it was blown clean off by a cannonball and never recovered by the
American side. Needless to say, the body was buried headless in an unmarked grave,
because the body was unidentifiable without a face. Later, rumors of a headless ghost
riding a horse appeared and the countryside was unsafe at night. The menacing spirit
had returned in search of its missing head. The story involves a man, Icabod Craine
_______________________, who stumbles into the woods late one night.
Unfortunately, he confronts the headless horseman, who supposedly takes Icabod's
head to replace his own missing one. The body of Craine, however, was never found--headless or otherwise.
The Crow
Another popular, modern day story of a revenent is that of The Crow, which was
written by ________________ . In this story, the main character, Eric Draven, who was
portrayed by the late Brandon Lee in the movie by _________________, was murdered
unrightfully. Both he and his wife were killed by a bunch of thugs, his wife being raped
beforehand. The culprits were never caught by the police, so the injustice remained for
about a year, until Draven returned as a revenent. Once back, all that remained was
revenge. The movie is aptly named The Crow, because all of the revenent's powers
emanate from his crow familiar. Throughout the movie, the Crow eliminates all of the
guilty individuals, but manages to get his familiar killed off as well. Stripped of his
supernatural powers, the Crow barely finished his quest, after which he is united with his
beloved wife again in death. Thus proving that justice will always be served.
New Jersey Devil
This is an American myth and there are three major variants to the tale. All
involve a woman, her child, and the proverbial devil. The gist of the first tale involves a
woman, who already has twelve children, but gets pregnant for the thirteenth time. She
offers her unborn child to the devil during an infernal ceremony one night. Once born,
the child becomes irreversibly corrupted to Satan's ways. The second myth is about a
woman who desperately wants a child, but cannot physically bear one herself. She
strikes a deal with the devil and offers her first born child as payment if she were to
become impregnated. The devil concurs, but the woman gets a poor hand dealt to her.
The infant was born grossly defected and inhuman in appearance. She vowed to treat
the child as her own, but it exhibited extreme malevolence and evil--having inherited its
father's temperament. The last story is about a witch who struck a deal with the unholy
father in exchange for her first born child. The child was born to the witch with horrible
birth defects and she cast it out into the wilderness, to be raised by the devil himself or
one of his infernal servants.
Some other tales concur that the mother kills the child after seeing its horrible
appearance. But all tales have one thing in common--the child was raised as a horrible
delinquent, disfigured and evil. As a result, the child, now known as the "New Jersey
Devil," roams the hills of the New Jersey countryside. It wrecks havoc on nearby towns
and travelers in attempt to get back at society for mistreating him. He also looks for his
mother, the one who sold him out to the devil, so that she may be paid back in full. The
New Jersey Devil vandalizes nearby properties, sets fires in forested areas, and kills
hunters and campers on the outskirts of the big city. He makes certain, however, never
to be seen or caught. All who witness his acts are never seen again.
Osiris
Tales of the ancient Egyptian religion hint at the fact that many of the gods were
once really human Pharaohs or kings. One specifically gruesome tale was that of a
great and mighty chieftain of Egypt, who was usurped by his brother, Set. This man
was known as Osiris. During the overthrow, Osiris was killed, and his body was
dismembered and scattered by Set. The parts were gathered and assembled later by
Osiris's wife, Isis. Once the body was whole again, his soul was implored by Isis to
return, and it did. Osiris walked the realm of the living again, fated to endure an eternal
struggle against Set. The Egyptians believed that this act was relived each and every
day, reflected in the events of sunrise and sunset.
Lazarus
According to the bible, a common man by the name of Lazarus died and was
brought back to life at the touch of an avatar of god, namely Jesus Christ. Although this
is far different from the standard type of revenent, Lazarus did rise from the grave
because of a power greater than man. This constitutes a revenent by definition.
Crusader
This tale has a 20th century version as well as a medieval one. It begins when a
young man is unwillingly conscripted or sent off to the Holy Crusade or Vietnam. He has
a fiancé back home, who he is destined to marry and, as fate goes, he dies in combat
before returning. After the war or Crusade, his best friend who served with him goes
home to tell the family and consoles the woman. A bad stroke of events occur, as the
friend becomes attracted to the dead man's fiancé. When he attempts to elope with her,
the dead soldier comes back to life as a revenent and returns home to see his friend
trying to steal the woman's heart. Infuriated, the revenent kills his friend in a rage of
passion, and then, himself, dies in the woman's arms.
Revenent Powers
Because revenents gain their powers from different sources and for different
reasons, they may choose spheres from any faith--science, religion, magic, Dark Arts, or
Dark Faith. The revenent may choose 1 sphere (Quasi and Greater revenents may
choose 2), however spheres of science are rarely possessed. The revenent
automatically gains all of the powers in the sphere(s) that he or she chooses.
Revenents do not have age levels as other undead do. Instead, they have power
ranks, which reflect the degree of power with which they have been brought back at.
First rank revenents are the most powerful and fourth rank revenents are the least. The
table below lists all of the powers of revenents by rank. This table also includes spheres
and supernatural scores.
Total Supernatural
Rank Spheres Number of Powers Score
Minor 4 1 5* 15
Lesser 3 1 5* 20
Greater 3 2 10* 20
Quasi 1 2 10* 25
*Start with the maximum number of powers in each sphere chosen.
Aura Sight
Revenents are attuned to the emotional and mental states of humans. They are
able to see into the hearts of men and women, probing the inner depths of the soul to
see what dwells within. This helps these creatures to find their mark and tell if any
witnesses are lying to them. Revenents can see straight into the heart of any living
man--a power which was bestowed upon them when they returned to life. Aura Sight is
equivalent to Detect Priority (Mage spell) and True Seeing (Priest miracle). A magic roll
is still required for this power to take effect. It is not automatic.
Innate Regeneration
Revenents are extremely nasty creatures when it comes to ridding them. They
can innately regenerate all damage inflicted upon them. This is a grossly awesome
power which makes them one of the most feared and powerful undead known.
Whenever a revenent sustains damage from an attack or source, it will regenerate an
amount of damage equal to its Physical score every turn until completely healed. When
a revenent goes below zero health, it may make a will power roll to remain conscious.
Even while unconscious, the revenent continues to regenerate damage every turn. The
system for the roll is as follows:
Idiot Roll: D20 + POW + Supernatural Score > Total Amount of Negative Health
The difficulty of the roll is equal to the amount of negative health or total damage
below zero that the revenent is currently at. This is virtually identical to the death
resistance roll of a lich.
If the roll fails, the revenent is rendered unconscious until it regenerates to at
least one health. At this time it wakes up and is ready to kick some ass again. At no
point is a revenent killed from the amount of damage it suffers (unless its totem is
destroyed). They can be temporarily halted by knocking them out via inflicting large
amounts of damage, but rest assured they will be back. The only way to fully destroy
them is by attacking their totems. Once the totem is destroyed, a revenent is killed
when it is reduced to zero or less heath.
Skills
Revenents also receive more skills than normal humans do. This reflects the
idea that they have been returned to earth for a great cause and with more power than a
normal human. This holds to be especially true for greater and Quasi revenents,
because extreme powers have been granted to them, thus they will naturally return as
kick-ass greater undead. The table below lists the number of skill points available to
each rank at the time of generation. These points are spent in the exact same way as
normal skill points are spent for player characters. Undead, however, have no
restrictions as to what type or how many skills may be purchased at creation.
Rank Skill Points
Minor 4 30
Lesser 3 35
Greater 2 40
Quasi 1 45
The Death of Revenents
Revenents are nearly indestructible by themselves, but all revenents are given power by another object, animal, or being. This is known as the revenent's totem or familiar. If damage is done to the totem, then the revenent cannot regenerate damage done to itself during that turn. If the totem is destroyed, then the revenent loses all special powers and is rendered mortal again. This lasts until the revenent is killed or completes its quest, in which case it dies as well. The item granting power may be in one of the following forms: Object totem, animal familiar, or human familiar. The only other way a revenent will die is upon successful completion of its goal or mission.
The totem or familiar should reflect the personality and goals of the revenent. Those who come back in search of bloody revenge might have a wolf or weapon totem. Another revenent who might have been destined to marry his or her true love should have a wedding band or even his or her betrothed as a totem. Revenents who come back seeking the answer to a mystery, such as their own death, might have a grave stone, murder weapon, or graven image as their totem. When choosing a totem or familiar, however, remember that it is a strong weakness. Totems should not be too obvious or simple to get a hold of, but do not make them impossibly obscure either. After all, we have to let the player characters have a sporting chance at survival.
The following is a list of example totems and familiars.
Totems
Jewelry
watch, locket, broach, ring, necklace, bracelet, tiara, crown, wedding band, etc.
Graven Image
likeness of self or other; sculpture, painting, drawing, statuette, mosaic, carving, etc.
Gravestone or Grave Marker
headstone, cross, rocks, mausoleum, tree, wall, earth mound, urn, coffin, etc.
Weapon
sword, pistol, shield, armor, dagger, arrow, spear, axe, etc.
Precious Stone or Mineral
ingot, carved, formed, or molded; ruby, lodestone, bloodstone, iron, diamond, gold, steel, etc.
Religious Item or Object
crucifix, medallion, text, symbol, tapestry, relic or artifact, idol or graven image, etc.
Miscellaneous
coin, key, lantern, shackles, staff, scepter, etc.
Familiar
Human
true love, descendent, close friend, ancestor, etc.
Animal
Ave; jay, starling, hawk, owl, eagle, crow, parrot, etc.
Miscellaneous; bat, wolverine, frog, lizard, snake, horse, etc.
Canine; domestic dog, wolf, coyote, bear, etc.
Feline; domestic cat, lion, panther, tiger, bobcat, mountain lion, etc.
Insect; beetle, cockroach, wasp, centipede, worm, fly, maggot, etc.
The Weaknesses of Revenents
just totem
Flaws
Physical: Must sleep in grave and/or with grave soil.
Athletic: Sight of Death.
Mental: Partial Amnesia.
Intuition: Painful Memories or Nightmares.
Social: Pale, Gaunt, Death-like features.
Incorporeal Undead
Death Greets me warm,
now I just say goodbye
-Metallica, Fade To Black
Incorporeal Undead Lore
The history of immaterial manifestations of the deceased is rooted deep within
the past of mankind. The return of spirits is one of the oldest known myths. Neolithic
people have left evidence dating back to 35,000 years ago confirming the belief in
ancient spirits and ghosts.
The first rule concerning ghosts is that all haunting is based on one principle:
something in the universe has gone wrong and needs to be set right before the spirit can
rest. This imbalance of justice is why the haunting occurs and where the incorporeal
undead gets its power. To explain this, several myths have come about, explaining the
common phenomenon associated with such spirits. In DarkTown, incorporeal undead
are classified according to their source of power and origin. Their behaviors, attitudes,
and demeanor are a direct result of the individual personality that each soul had while
living. The following are examples of these myths and classifications.
Ancestral Spirits
These, along with the Predeity/Nature variety of spirits are among the oldest
known forms of incorporeal undead. Ancestral spirit worship is evident in the history of
almost every ancient culture in the world. The oldest known civilization, the Sumerians,
were very involved in such practices. They even went to the lengths of burying their
dead underneath the floors of the ancestral homes in which the living relatives currently
resided. The spirits of the dead relatives were thought to bring protection and good luck
to the living descendants. This was a fairly common belief shared by many primitive
cultures.
European cultures view the belief of ancestral undead a little differently. To them,
two types of spirits exist. Those which are malevolent and those which are beneficent.
Ghosts which haunt and curse a family are called fylgia in Iceland. A Swedish ghost
who has come back to assist a family with a particular mission, task, or battle is called a
genganger. In either case, the ghost is familial in nature and it has returned for a reason
which concerns at least one of the living descendants. The purpose of the ghost may
be to pox the family or it may offer advice or protection.
Predeity/Nature Spirits
Another, even more primitive incorporeal undead type is that of predeity/nature
spirits. These are prereligious in nature and they concern the workings of nature and
the events thereof. This belief was very common among early cavemen and continued
up through the tribal societies, such as the Native American Indians. Some religious
factions have even adopted this philosophy as part of their modern day theology, such
as the druids or Wiccans.
Often, these spirits were not anthropomorphic. In fact, they were not human
residues at all--they were more like primitive gods than anything else. Spirit forces
existed to represent the many aspects of nature, almost like a mini-polytheism. Animal
spirits, wind, earth, moon, sun, fire, rain, wind, disease, death, water, and war are all but
a few examples of the many types of incorporeal undead in this category.
Punished or Damned Individuals
Some exceptionally wicked and or demented individuals may be punished (or
rewarded) by returning from the dead. These "spooks" as the Swedish call them, come
back to menace the living, just as they did when alive themselves. Usually, the haunting
is by acquaintance and it is specific for individuals that the spook knew in life, such as
the ghost of Jacob Marley in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.
Other particularly evil people can come back as powerful residues, who can
terrify entire towns. One thing that all of these ghosts have in common is that they have
come back as a punishment for their sinful lives. This is especially true if the person
committed a crime and was not punished or escaped punishment in life. The "eternal
damnation" is a form of universal justice, which is adjudicated by a power not of this
world.
Revenge or Goal Seekers
Spirits of this ilk, like revenents, have returned from the grave to resolve a conflict
or problem. But because the grand scheme of universal justice has deemed their cause
a lesser one, the spirit was not given a physical body. Thus, the task must be
completed while in the spirit form, otherwise the individual would have returned as a
revenent. Often, these ghosts have an uncontrollable drive to accomplish their
missions. This may either be in the form of revenge or beneficent justice. Some
specters have been known to haunt evil people while they still live. These ghosts are
usually "good" so to speak, since they have been sent to correct an unjust state of the
universe. These spirits will not meddle in the affairs of unrelated, living people, unless
they are provoked first. Usually, they are too busy with their own affairs to disrupt the
lives of others.
Restless and Disturbed Dead
When the body of a deceased is buried, it is important to keep the grave free
from disruption for eternity. Disturbing a body can awaken the spirit from eternal
slumber. Throughout the years, society has always put a severe stigma on disturbing
the resting dead. It was thought that the arousal of spirits could be brought about by
committing negligent and disrespectful acts to the bodies of the dead individuals. This
sort of behavior would evoke vengeful spirits, who would then punish the offenders
accordingly. These incorporeals are usually brought back for a reason not of their own
doing, but rather as the result of and interference or disruption of their eternal rest. This
can include digging up and exhuming a body, destroying or vandalizing a grave marker,
dishonoring the dead, or forgetting about the legacy of a legendary dead individual.
Within the city of Chicago alone, over 60 cemeteries have disappeared from the records
of Cook county, with no remaining trace. These burial sites have simply vanished,
having been built on or illegally moved elsewhere, with no change in records. This can
have the tendency to piss off quite a few people (not to mention spirits).
Other undead of this type just return because they