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Keys of Solomon-An Example by Thom Marrion There was the usual mix of rich and poor outside the Whitehall Street-South Ferry Station. Successful urbanites avoiding the less fortunate, a typical Manhattan scene. In the midst of all this was an old man with a vending cart, proclaiming to all that he had honey-roasted peanuts for sale. He was doing a good business as it was a chilly November morning and his snacks were warm. Most of these purchases were on impulse, so few approached the cart with any purpose. Even so, a man came up Water Street clearly with a sense of purpose. He was dressed in jeans, a gray sweater, and a wool peacoat. His eyes were hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses, his blond hair was hidden under a black wool cap, and the .357 Magnum with armor-piercing bullets in his shoulder holster was hidden by the thick wool coat. His eyes never left the old man. The old man glanced up from the arduous task of stirring peanuts around on his cart and looked at the man in the wool coat. The old man showed no surprise. He just said," So you have come at last." The man in the wool coat bowed his head slightly and said in a low voice, "My apologies, Seneschal Giraud. There was a matter in Washington which I was investigating when I received your summons." "Well, you are here now," said the Seneschal. "There was an incident two nights ago on Halloween. A Gateway was opened and a number of Fiends were released into the city. Two Knights of the Sword are hunting down three of them in Chinatown. I want you to assist them." "As you wish, Seneschal," replied the man in the wool coat. "Dennis, you are a Knight of the Lance who once stood alone against the demon Belphegor. I expect that three minor imps should pose no problem for you." * * * "Where are they supposed to be again?" asks Orlando Heming, Templar Knight of the Sword. He is an athletic black man in a long leather trench coat carrying two 10mm handguns. He looks like Wesley Snipes doing a Chow Yun Fat impersonation. "Two blocks down in an abandoned building. We continue down this alley and it will be on our right," says Rosina Knowles, also a Templar Knight of the Sword. She is dressed in a pair of leather pants and a leather jacket, her straight black hair brushed back from her face. She is carrying a 7.62mm assault rifle. "Less talk," commands Dennis Banks, Templar Knight of the Lance. "Two blocks down in an abandoned building-that's the intel. When we get within a block of the building, I want Keys activated. I want you two to approach from the front of the building while I go up the fire escape in the back. We should catch them completely off guard." The three Fiends (Abomination Codex, p. 150) being discussed are currently watching the Templars from the vantage point of a rooftop three stories above. The smallest is named Pod, who looks like a scaly gray cross between a baboon and an iguana. It is currently picking a piece of human flesh from its fangs with one sharp black claw. Specifically, Pod is picking flesh from the finger of the last homeless person it ate. The arm of the homeless person was being played with by the Fiend Sleek. It has bright green scales and resembles a cross between a hyena, monitor lizard, and barracuda. At the moment it is pacing the rooftop like a cat, eager to play with its new prey. The largest Fiend is named Mungo, and it is currently peering over the roof like a gargoyle. Mungo has scales of dull greenish gray and patches of oily black fur. It looks like a cross between a gorilla, a grizzly, a komodo dragon, and a horny toad (only bigger and uglier). The Gifted Templars below get a chance to detect the presence of the Fiends with a Simple Perception Test. Rosina has Situational Awareness, so the Chronicler lets her roll first. She has a Perception of 4, which for a Simple Test gets doubled to 8. She rolls a 4, for a total of 12. Since she has Situational Awareness, she gets a bonus of 2. This makes her total 14. Orlando has a Perception of 5, and rolls a 3 for his test. This gives him a total of 13. Finally. Dennis rolls. He has a Perception of 3 and rolls a 6. This gives him a total of 12. The three Templars look at each other as Rosina says, "Oh no." At that moment Mungo lifts has massive head and lets out a bellowing roar. The Templars vague impressions that supernatural beings were near crystallize into exact knowledge of where and what. These Fiends are anything but subtle. They scramble down the side of the building and leap at the Templars, Orlando mutters to himself, "Two blocks down in an abandoned building? Good thing Seneschals are never wrong." "Fire!" yells Dennis, as all three Templars unload their guns at the minor demons. Dennis has a Dexterity of 3 and a Guns (Handgun) Skill of 3. He rolls a 4, for a total of 10, and shots at the largest Fiend Mungo. Orlando aims both guns at Sleek and fires. He has a Dexterity of 4 and a Guns (Handgun) Skill of 3. He rolls a 6 for a total of 13. His second shot suffers a -2 penalty. He rolls a 4, minus 2, plus 7 from his Dexterity and Skill, for a total of 9. Rosina lifts her rifle and takes a shot at Mungo as well. She has Dexterity of 4 and a Guns (Rifle) Skill of 3. She rolls a 5, for a total of 12. The Fiends get a chance to throw themselves flat, or leap behind cover (see WitchCraft, p. 135). That takes a Dexterity and Dodge Task. The Chronicler decides all have Dodge Skills of 3. Sleek has Dexterity of 5, and rolls a 7, for a total of 15. Orlando's first shot misses. It then rolls a 3, plus its Dexterity and Dodge of 8, for a total of 11. This second Dodge is at a -2 since it counts as second action, bringing the total to 9. Still at least equal to Orlando's second Task result and good enough to avoid being shot. Mungo has to dodge attacks from both Dennis and Rosina. It has a Dexterity of 7 and rolls a 5 to avoid the first attack by Dennis. This gives a total of 15, which is more than the roll Dennis made. Mungo now has to avoid the rifle shot from Rosina and rolls a 7, for a total of 17. Mungo also has to apply a -2 penalty for its second defensive action, for a total of 15. The huge Fiend moves impossibly quick as it springs under the first shot and rolls out of the way of the second. Since Pod is not being attacked at all, it just charges the Templars. Pod goes for Rosina, since she is the smallest. Time to roll for Initiative for the next Turn. The Chronicler gives Pod a +3 because it did not have to dodge last Turn, and is charging Rosina. Mungo rolls a 6, plus its Dexterity of 7, for a total of 13. Sleek rolls a 4, plus its Dexterity of 5, for a total of 9. Pod rolls a 2, plus its Dexterity of 3, and the bonus of 3, for a total of 8. Dennis rolls an 8, plus his Dexterity of 3, for a total of 11. Orlando rolls a 6, plus his Dexterity of 4, for a total of 10. Rosina rolls a 7, plus her Dexterity of 4, for a total of 11. So Mungo acts first, then Rosina, Dennis, Orlando, Sleek, and Pod (so much for the bonus!). Mungo springs at Dennis. It rolls a 5. This is added to its Dexterity of 7 and Brawling of 5 for a total of 17. An Excellent result (see Outcome Table, WitchCraft, p. 129). Unless Dennis dodges, he is going to get hurt. Rosina activates her Key of War (see Abomination Codex, p. 99). She spends 20 points of Essence, which leaves her with 17. A Simple Willpower Test is also required, and since this is a combat situation the roll will be at a -2 (see Abomination Codex, p. 97). Rosina has a Willpower of 5 (which is doubled for the Test), and rolls a 6, for a total of 16. The -2 penalty makes this a 14, still good enough to activate the Key of War. Rosina now has a Strength of 6, a Dexterity of 5, a Constitution of 4, and 50 Life Points. Dennis attempts to dodge Mungo's attack. He rolls a 9. This is added to his Dodge Skill of 4 and Dexterity of 3 for a total of 16. A Very Good result-unfortunately not good enough to avoid the demonic attack. Mungo has a Strength of 10, and the Chronicler states that the Fiend's attack will do D4 x 10 slashing damage. Mungo rolls a 1. Since it got an Excellent result on its Strike Task, a 2 is added to this for a total of 30 points of damage. The Chronicler decides that Dennis' wool peacoat and sweater have an Armor Value of D4 - 1. Dennis rolls a 3, for an Armor Value of 2. This means that only 28 points of damage get through. Since it is slashing damage, Dennis takes 56 points of damage. He is now at -22 Life Points as the huge demon slashes him across the chest and hurls him into a pile of trash against the alley wall. A Survival Test is called for to see if the Knight of the Lance dies on the spot. This will be at a -2 because of the severity of his injuries (see WitchCraft, p. 150). Dennis has a Constitution of 3 and a Willpower of 3. He rolls an 8, which brings the total to 14. This is reduced by 2 for a final total of 12. Good enough to avoid dying. Next, he must pass a Consciousness Test, at a -22 penalty. He would need to roll at least four tens in a row to avoid falling unconscious. He rolls a 7 and passes out. Orlando attempts to activate his Key of Earth (see Abomination Codex, p. 98). He plans to use it to enhance his Elemental Earth and Spirit Mastery (Elementals) Invocation. Guns do not seem to be doing the trick, so Orlando is going to use magic. He spends 15 points of Essence to activate his Key, leaving him with 22. He then must pass a Simple Willpower Test at -2. He has a Willpower of 3, which is doubled to 6, and rolls a 4. This gives him a total of 10, but the -2 penalty make it an 8. Orlando starts to look concerned as he spends the Essence and nothing happens. Sleek leaps at Orlando and attacks. The Fiend has a Dexterity of 5 and a Brawling of 4. It has decided to target the Templar's heart, for a -2 (see Targeting Specific Body Parts Chart, WitchCraft, p. 138). Sleek rolls a 6, which gives a total of 13-a Good Result. Orlando gets a defensive action, and decides to parry the attack with his Martial Arts (Karate) Skill of 4 and his Dexterity of 4. He rolls a 3, for a total of 11. A Decent Result, but not good enough to avoid the demonic claw that plunges through his chest. Sleek has a Strength of 6, so it does D4 x 6 slashing damage with its claws. Sleek rolls a 3, for a total of 18. Orlando's leather trenchcoat provides an Armor Value of D4, he rolls a 2. 16 points of damage get through, which is tripled to 48 since it is damage to the vitals. Orlando is now at -6 Life Points from a gaping chest wound, and is knocked down (see WitchCraft, p. 149). Pod rushes towards Rosina and attacks. It has a Dexterity of 3 and a Brawling of 3. A 4 is rolled, for a total of 10. Rosina gets a chance to defend. She now has a Dexterity of 5 and a Dodge of 2. She rolls 5, for a total of 12, and neatly steps out of the way of the imp's attack. On the next Turn, Initiative rolls reveal that Rosina, Sleek, and Mungo get to act first. Rosina holds her rifle against Pod and fires. She has a Dexterity of 5 and a Gun Skill of 3. She is also at Point Blank range, so she gets a plus 1 to her Task. She rolls a 9, for a total of 18. Pod gets a chance to evade. He rolls a 6, plus his Dexterity and Dodge of 6, for a total of 12. The imp gets shot. Rosina rolls damage. Her rifle does D8 x 6 because she is at Point Blank range (see Ranged Combat Modifiers Table, WitchCraft, p. 136). She rolls a 5, for a total of 25. Since this is bullet damage, it is doubled to 50 points of damage. Pod only had 40 Life Points, so the imp dematerializes. All that is left of the imp is a sulfuric stench in the air. Pod also takes D10 points of damage to its Vital Essence. It rolls a 9, leaving it with 11 points. The imp flees the alley in spirit form and looks for something or someone to possess. Sleek is going to attack Orlando again, but the Chronicler gives the Templar a chance to stand up first. This requires a Willpower and Constitution Test, at a -6 since he is at -6 Life Points (see WitchCraft, p. 149). Orlando has a Willpower of 3 and a Constitution of 4. He rolls an 8, for a total of 9, and barely manages to get to his feet before Sleek attacks him. Sleek is going to attempt to rip out the Templar's neck, which is a -5 to hit. The Fiend rolls a 6, with its Dexterity and Brawling this becomes a 15. The penalty reduces this to a 10. Good enough. Given his stack of severe pain and shock, it is not surprising that Orlando fails his Dodge Task to avoid this attack. Sleek's fanged jaw clamps on Orlando's neck and the demon bites for D4 x 6 points of slashing damage. The Fiend rolls a 3, for a total of 18. This is quadrupled to 72 since it is a neck attack. Orlando is now at -78 Life Points. The Templar needs to pass a Survival Test. He has a Constitution of 4 and a Willpower of 3. There will be a -7 penalty to the Test due to the amount of damage he has taken. He rolls an 8, which gives him a total of 8. There is a spurt of blood as Orlando's head flies off his body and lands at Rosina's feet. The Chronicler tells her that a Fear Test will be in order, as soon as Mungo finishes its Turn. The largest Fiend sees that Sleek has begun to feed, and the Fiend decides that the headless Templar should be its snack instead. Establishing place in the pack is very important to Fiends, and Mungo does not want Sleek to forget who is boss here. The monstrous Fiend lurches over to Sleek to steal its prey. As the third Turn starts, Rosina must pass her Fear Test (see WitchCraft, p. 130) before she can do anything. Orlando and Rosina were lovers (granted, Orlando had one level of the Cruel drawback and Rosina has the Fear of Commitment Emotional Problem, so it was not the healthiest of relationships. It was still good for them, considering how difficult it is for direct operatives of the Templars to have relationships outside the Covenant) so the Chronicler decides the Fear Test will have a -4 penalty. Rosina has a Willpower of 5, which is doubled to 10 since this is a Simple Test. She rolls a 6, which gives her a total of 12. She also has Nerves of Steel, so this total becomes 16. She does not even seem remotely shocked as she steps over her lover's lifeless head. She decides to activate the Key of Life. She spends the 15 points of Essence to do this, leaving her with only 2 points in her Essence Pool. Activating the Key also requires a Simple Willpower Test at a -2. She rolls a 4, which gives her a total of 12. She will now regenerate 3 Life Points per Turn and has 5 levels of Hard to Kill. Her touch also heals 1 Life Point per Turn. All she has to do is get to Dennis and carry him out of here long enough to heal him. As Sleek and Mungo attack each other over who will get to devour Orlando, Rosina leaps pass them and makes a grab for Dennis. The Chronicler says that she can do this with a Simple Dexterity Test. She rolls a 6, for a total of 16, and makes it to where the Knight of the Lance lies unconscious in a pile of trash. The Chronicler says that lifting him and carrying him out of the alley to safety requires a Simple Strength Test. Since the Key of War has increased her Strength to 5, she is not too worried about it. She rolls a 4, for a total of 14, and heaves Dennis over her shoulder. As she runs out of the alley, she begins to concentrate on healing the Knight of the Lance. Sleek has 120 Life Points and Mungo has 200. Sleek has a Dexterity of 5 and a Brawling of 4. Mungo has a Dexterity of 7 and a Brawling of 5. Sleek will do an average of 24 points of damage including the slashing bonus. Mungo will do an average of 40 with the slashing bonus. The Chronicler takes all this into account, and then makes something up. The Chronicler decides that by the time the Templars make it to the seventh floor roof of the building next to the alley; Dennis is healed up to 5 Life Points, Sleek has been dematerialized by the damage Mungo caused, Mungo has been reduced to 140 Life points, and Orlando has been completely eaten by the gigantic Fiend. Mungo gets to roll against its Perception to track down the Templars (or more specifically, to track down the Essence from the active Keys of Solomon). Mungo has a Perception of 5, which it doubles, and then rolls a 4. This gives it a total of 14, a Good result, and Mungo tilts its massive head up toward the top of the building where the two Templars are. It lets lose a tremendous bellow of rage and hunger (still!) as it begins to climb up the side of the building. The newly healed Dennis wastes no time in activating the Key of Seraphim, which gives him power over Seraphim, Kerubim, Qliphonim, Ethereals, and Fiends (see Abomination Codex, p. 98). He spends 25 points of Essence and must pass a Simple Willpower Test at a -2 (this is still a stressful situation). His Willpower is 3, which doubles to 6, and he rolls an 8. With the penalty, this gives him a total of 12. He activates the Key of Seraphim. Now any attack that Mungo makes against him suffers a -3 penalty. As the Fiend reaches the top of the building, the Chronicler allows the Templars to attack first (they have been waiting for it after all). Rosina fires a shot at the demon, and rolls a 6. This is added to her Dexterity of 5 (the Key of War has not worn off yet) and her Guns Skill of 3, for a total of 14. The Chronicler lets Mungo attempt to dodge the shot. Mungo rolls an 8 for a total of 18. Mungo avoids the bullet with a fluid grace that seems unnatural in a creature so large. It makes a thunderous growling sound that passes for laughter on its home plane. The atmosphere suddenly crackles with Essence as Dennis prepares to attack the demon. The Key of Seraphim can also be used to attack. For every point of Essence he spends, he will inflict D6 points of damage to the Fiend's Life Points and Essence. He does not need to roll to hit. The Fiend cannot dodge. The damage just happens. Dennis has 27 points of Essence left. He puts all of it into his attack. Dennis rolls a 6. Mungo takes 162 points of damage to both its Life Points and Energy Essence, which reduces its Life Points to -22 and its Energy Essence to -62 (sufficient to deplete its Vital Energy as well). Not only is this enough damage to dematerialize the Fiend, it is enough damage to unravel it. Mungo must pass a Simple Willpower Test to avoid obliteration (see Mystery Codex, p. 64). It has a Willpower of 5, which doubles to 10. Mungo rolls a 1. It then needs to roll again, and rolls a 2. This gives the Fiend a total of 8. There is a massive explosion of light and dark as the laughing Fiend is obliterated from all existence. Dennis remains standing, breathing heavily, with a strange expression on his face. His sweater and coat are torn, he is covered in trash and his own blood, but he has a peaceful grin on his face. Rosina gently touches his shoulder and says, "Dennis, it's over. We have to go now." * * * Across town, in the twenty-third floor of a downtown building, two men in dark suits are gazing out the windows through a pair of binoculars each carries. They should not have been able to see anything going on in Chinatown from this distance, yet they had seen the fight between the Templars and the Fiends with no difficulty. The two men look almost identical, same Marine buzzcut, same government issue suits, same hands-free radio with the wire sneaking around the same mirrored sunglasses. The only difference is that the first one has darker hair. The first one says, "Two of the Templar agents lived through the fight after all. Looks like I owe you five dollars, Agent Jones." The second one replies, "I thought you were joking about that, Agent Smith." "You should know by now that I never joke, Agent Jones." "Point taken. Shame about the Templars surviving, but at least the situation was handled without any losses to our forces. The Fiends have been neutralized and the Order has lost one of its Knights. A satisfactory conclusion." "Very astute, Agent Jones." "Thank you, Agent Smith."
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