dark ages: vampire sample adventure

Upload: labratfan

Post on 06-Apr-2018

297 views

Category:

Documents


7 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    1/411 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    2/412 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    Hello there, and thank you from White Wolf Publishing forparticipating in this introductory event for our newest roleplayinggame, Dark Ages: Vampire. If youre not already familiar with usor with our Dark Medieval setting, Dark Ages: Vampire is a corerulebook in the tradition of our flagship production, Vampire:The Masquerade. It uses our d10 storyteller system to help groupsof inspired individuals create interactive tales of epic horror thattake place in medieval Europe. The game itself is scheduled forrelease in July of this year, but giving you this story now gives you

    the chance to drum up some early interest among your friends andcustomers. (Not to mention the fact that it gives us a chance toshow off this slice of a greater product were all very proud of.)

    So lets get started. This packet includes everything you needto run this story, from pre-generated character sheets to easy-to-swallow explanations of the game systems used at each point inthe action. The bold, capitalized directions in the brackets areaddressed to the Storyteller (i.e., the person wholl be runningthe game, narrating the scenes and representing the backgroundcharacters), giving him tips on how to tell the story smoothly, andthe various choices that characters might end up making over thecourse of the story have been accounted for inasmuch as ourpowers of prediction allow. The only things you need to provide

    to get you started are pencils, perhaps some scratch paper if yourplayers want to take notes on the events, and enough 10-sideddice for everyone to share.

    KNIGHTS OF THEBLACK CROSS

    KNIGHTS OF THEBLACK CROSS

    DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    An introductory adventure story for

    Dark Ages: Vampire

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    3/411 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

    WelcomeWelcome to Dark Ages: Vampire. Were glad you

    decided to try White Wolfs exciting new game today.Dark Ages: Vampire is a storytelling game which usesthe storyteller system developed for Vampire: The Mas-

    querade. This introduction will familiarize you with thebasics of the storyteller system, and allow you to leap rightinto playing Dark Ages: Vampire.

    To play, you will need pencil and some 10-sided dice.You probably only need four to six dice, and you canalways share with other players if you need more. Be awarethat some 10-sided dice are numbered 0 - 9; in this case,0 functions as 10.

    Character SheetsIn Dark Ages: Vampire you will take on the role a

    vampire in medieval Europe. Character sheets and histo-

    ries have been provided for you, but in the future you cancreate your own characters using the rules from the DarkAges: Vampire rulebook. A character sheet contains allthe information about your character. The dots on yourcharacter sheet define the capabilities of the character,and let you, the player, know how many dice to roll. Wewill explain rolling dice after we have first looked at thecharacter sheet itself.

    The character sheet is divided into five sections. Atthe top is essential information, followed by Attributes,Abilities, Advantages and a section at the bottom foreverything else.

    Nature and DemeanorA charactersNature is a one-word summary of her trueself and her driving motivations. A characters Demeanor ishow she appears to other people. A characters Nature andDemeanor may be identical or similar, or they may be verydifferent. You should keep your characters Nature in mindwhen deciding how he would react to a situation.

    Clan and GenerationEvery vampire has a weakness that is part of the curse

    of being a vampire. A clan is a group of vampires thatshare a common weakness and have a natural affinity for

    the same Disciplines. Almost all vampires have a clan.Your character packet contains descriptions of yourcharacters clan and weakness, which is also noted in thebottom right corner of your character sheet.

    Dark Ages: Vampire is based on the premise thatCaine was the first vampire. (For this reason vampires areoften called Cainites.) Caine created more vampires,and these were called the Second Generation. The vam-pires of the Second Generation created more vampires,called the Third Generation, and so it continued. All

    characters inKnights of the Black Cross are 11th genera-tion 10 generations removed from Caine. Generationlimits how powerful your character may become. Vam-pires of low generation are known to be more powerfulthan vampires of high generation. Generation does notplay a role in Knights of the Black Cross, but if you want toplay Dark Ages: Vampire again, you should refer to the

    rulebook for a complete explanation.

    Attributes and AbilitiesAttributes are divided into three categories: Physical,

    Social and Mental, and describe traits inherent to yourcharacter, such as Strength or Intelligence.Abilities arealso sorted into three categories: Talents, Skills andKnowledges, but Abilities describe things your characterhas learned or skills he has practiced.

    Advantages

    Disciplines and BackgroundsDisciplines are supernatural powers your character has

    because she is a vampire. Look in your character packet forinformation on your characters specific Disciplines. ThetermBackground is a sort of catch-all that refers to manyaspects of a characters persona and situation that dont fitinto Attributes or Abilities. Generally, Backgrounds refer tothings your character has, such as Generation or Resources,or people you character knows, such as Contacts or Allies.

    VirtuesVirtues are the foundations of your characters moral

    outlook. A characters road determines his overall senseof right and wrong. Virtues underlie the roads and governhow your character sees particularly challenging or threat-ening situations, as well as how hes likely to respond.Keep reading for more detailed information on Virtues.

    Everything Else

    RoadA vampires road defines her sense of sin and redemp-

    tion, and determines how she will choose when presentedwith a moral or ethical dilemma. A vampires road alsodetermines his Virtues, whether he will follow Conscience

    or Conviction, and Self-Control or Instinct. All vampireshave Courage, regardless of which road they follow.

    Road is very important because any vampire who hasa Road rating of zero is permanently insane, a monsterwith no thoughts except to hunt and kill. Some roadsdescribe ethics that are truly inhuman, but all roads mustbe walked with vigilance.

    Roads follow a Hierarchy of Sins, which is a table thatdescribes what your character believes to be right or wrong

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    4/412 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    based upon his Road rating. See your character packet foryour characters Hierarchy of Sins. For additional informa-tion, refer to Chapter Three ofDark Ages: Vampire.

    When a vampire makes a choice that goes against herroad, that is, against her sense of right and wrong, the playermakes a road check to see if the character loses a point ofRoad rating. A road check is made by rolling a number of dice

    equal to the characters Conscience or Conviction.The difficulty is determined by the Hierarchy of Sins.

    Find thesin you have violated (minimum wrongdo-ing); the corresponding number is your difficulty. If thenumber is higher than your Road rating, you do not needto make a road check.

    If you succeed, then your character does not lose anyRoad rating; though she may have stepped from the trailmomentarily, she has seen her error and returns to herroad with renewed commitment. If you fail the roll, yourcharacter loses a point of Road rating and shows noremorse for his moral failing.

    WillpowerWillpower is a measure of a characters self-confi-

    dence and internal control. Willpower works differentlyfrom most traits; it is often spent rather than rolled. SeeRolling Dice for more information on spending Will-power. Any time you spend Willpower, mark off one ofthe boxes. Spent Willpower may be regained by actingaccording to your Nature, at the Storytellers discretion.

    Blood PoolVampires have to drink blood to survive, and it is blood

    which fuels their Disciplines and supernatural powers of self-healing. blood pool refers to the maximum number

    ofblood points your character can have. The white boxesat the bottom of your character sheet represent your bloodpool. Your character will begin this adventure with a fullblood pool. Every time you spend a blood point mark offone of the white boxes. If yougain a blood point, erase oneof the marks. Spending blood points does not require a rolland does not count as an action.

    Health chartThis trait measures the degree to which a character is

    wounded or injured. Health is explained a later sectioncalled Health.

    A Few RulesRolling Dice

    The Storyteller system is very simple: any time youare asked to roll, you will roll a number of dice equal to thedots filled in by the appropriate trait or traits. The mostcommon roll you will be asked to make is an Attribute +Ability. For example, the Storyteller might ask you to roll

    Wits + Alertness. If your character has Wits 3 andAlertness 2, you would roll 5 dice. There are other rolls,though, but always remember: one die per dot.

    Dice are rolled only when you wish your character to dosomething out of the ordinary or that requires some skill.Walking across a room would not require a roll; walkingacross a room without waking the sleeping guards would!

    Succeeding, Failing and BotchingWhen you roll, the Storyteller will assign a difficulty.

    Each die you roll that comes up equal to or higher than thedifficulty is one success. Usually one success is all youneed, though the Storyteller may require more than onesuccess for particularly difficult or complicated actions. Ifyou roll enough successes, then your character accom-plishes whatever he was trying to do.

    Sometimes you will roll no successes, or fewer suc-cesses than the Storyteller requires. This means you havefailed your roll. When you fail, your character does notsucceed at her action, though occasionally other unpleas-

    ant results accompany failure, so do not be surprised if theStoryteller uses the opportunity to introduce furthercomplications.

    There is something even worse than a failure: it iscalled a botch. Whenever you roll zero successes, and atleast one die shows 1, you have botched your roll. Abotch is a catastrophic failure, and the results are guaran-teed to be nasty!

    Sometimes, you simply cant afford to fail. In thosesituations, you have the option of using Willpower. Anytime the Storyteller asks you to roll, before rolling the diceyou may spend a Willpower for one automatic success.While this does not guarantee that you will succeed, it

    prevents botching and adds to any successes you do roll.You may only spend Willpower one at a time, and onlyonce in a turn.

    Reminders.... One die per dot

    A success is a die that shows equalto or greater than the difficulty

    Failure equals zero successes

    A botch happens when you rollno successes and at least one dieshows a 1

    Before you roll, you may spendWillpower for an automaticsuccess, but only one Willpowerat a time and once in a turn

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    5/41

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    6/414 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    Lethal: Lethal damage is suffered from attacks meantto cause immediate and fatal injury. It is more difficult tosoak and often results in painful and visible injury, suchas broken bones or open wounds. Luckily, vampires arenaturally tough. When your character suffers lethal dam-age, roll Stamina, again adding extra dice from armor orFortitude. The difficulty is still 6, and each success still

    reduces the damage by one, but you do not divide anyremaining damage. Instead, if there is still damage re-maining, you mark off a number of health levels equal tothe damage left after the soak roll. To heal one level oflethal damage, spend one blood point.

    Aggravated: Some damage is fatal to vampires andeven they have a difficult time resisting its effects. Sun-light, fire, and the teeth and claws of vampires or othersupernatural creatures all cause aggravated damage. Vam-pires cannot soak aggravated damage unless they haveFortitude. Healing aggravated damage requires five bloodpoints and a full days rest.

    Adding Dice to YourDamage and Soak RollsUsing weapons adds dice to your dice pool when

    rolling to see how much damage is inflicted by a successfulattack. You should roll Strengthplus a number of diceequal to the modifier granted by the weapon. The B andL are abbreviations that tell you what type of damage theweapon inflicts; bashing (B) or lethal (L).

    Wearing armor adds to your dice pool when rolling toresist damage. You should roll Stamina plus a number ofdice equal to the modifier granted by the armor. Note thatthere are two modifiers, one for bashing damage and onefor lethal damage, so be sure you know what type ofdamage your character is resisting!

    HealthEach character sheet contains a Health chart to

    allow damage to the individual to be tracked and itseffects on their actions assessed. Each box after the firsthas an associated dice-pool penalty that increases withthe severity of the wounds. Each point of damage inflictedon a character reduces his health levels by one.

    Bruised: When your character is bruised, he hasbegun to feel the pain, but may still act normally.

    Hurt and Injured: Your character is now suffering

    from injury or pain that is beginning to interfere with hisability to move and think. Before making any roll, sub-tract one die from your pool, except when soaking damage.

    Wounded and Mauled: Your character has taken asevere beating and its beginning to show. He probably hasopen wounds or internal trauma, and his pain distracts him.Subtract two dice from all rolls, except when soaking damage.

    Crippled:Forget fighting foes, your character is fight-ing to stay conscious! A crippled character is fighting forhis life at this point, and is probably a bloody mess.Subtract five dice from all rolls while your character is atthis health level. If this reduces your dice pool to zero, youmay not take that action. Again, do not subtract dicewhen rolling to soak damage.

    Incapacitated: A character at this health level isstunned, unable to move or act, though she might still beconscious. An incapacitated character may take no ac-tions, and if she suffers one more level of damage, sheenters a comatose state called

    torpor, a mystical slumber in which she is onlyvaguely aware of her surroundings. If a vampire suffers onelevel of aggravated damage while Incapacitated or intorpor, he is immediately destroyed.

    Tracking Health and HealingOne level of bashing or lethal or aggravated damage

    is equal to one box on the Health chart, but each type ofdamage is recorded differently.

    Bashing damage is marked with a /, as in the examplebelow:

    HealthBruised

    Lethal damage is marked with an X, and pushes downany previous levels of bashing or lethal damage, like so:

    HealthBruised

    Aggravated damage is marked with a large *, andpushes down any previous levels of bashing or lethaldamage. The Health chart of a character that has suffered2 levels of bashing damage, 1 level of lethal damage, and2 levels of aggravated damage would look like this:

    HealthBruised *

    Damage is recorded in this way because bashingdamage will always heal first, follow by lethal, thenaggravated. One blood point will heal one health level ofbashing or lethal, and you can simply erase the / or X from

    your Health chart. You must heal from the bottom up!Aggravated damage requires five blood points and a fulldays rest, so you should not erase the * until yourcharacter has fully healed the aggravated wound. As soonas you heal a health level, you no longer suffer the dicepenalty associated with that level.

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    7/413 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

    The Plot in BriefThis story, Knights of the Black Cross, is set in AD

    1230 at Bran Castle in Kronstadt, Hungary. It details theexploits of five vampire knights who are acting at thebehest of an older, very powerful vampire lord. He com-

    mands them to trek into the dangerous forest buffer zonebetween his army and that of his ancient enemy, wherethey will gather intelligence data vital to his war effort. Inso doing, though, they are given reason to suspect treach-ery against their lord, and they must play a dangerousgame of deciding whom to trust. Then, once all is said anddone, they must make their way back to the safety of theircastle and report on what theyve found.

    This story has room for two to five players, and weveincluded five pre-made characters two of which arevampiric wilderness scouts, the rest of whom are vampiricmen-at-arms and requires one bold, confident soul totake the reins of Storyteller. Once youve gathered play-ers, set aside an hour and a half (maybe two) and get readyto take a glimpse into the dangerous world of the undead.It is a time of strife, a time of tragedy and a time ofsweeping change. But at the same time, it is also an era ofadventure and opportunity, when all one needs is the willand the strength to take up arms in the darkness and seizehis dark, eternal birthright for himself.

    Background[THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE HAS ALSOBEEN PROVIDED TO YOUR PLAYERS.

    YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ IT ALOUD,BUT YOU SHOULD FAMILIARIZE

    YOURSELF WITH ITS CONTENTS.]

    Meeting Lord Jrgenthe Sword-Bearer

    The year is AD 1230. You are a Teutonic Knight ofthe Order of the Black Cross a secret order of vampireknights operating within the greater Teutonic Order.You have been stationed at heavily fortified Bran Castlelocated on a high hill overlooking a dark, forbiddingforest in the wilderness of Kronstadt, Hungary. You arepart of an army of vampires and men, led by an old andpowerful vampire known as Lord Jrgen the Sword-Bearer. You are recently arrived from your ordersheadquarters in Magdeburg, Germany, and you comehighly praised and recommended by the orders second-in-command, Lucretia von Hartz.

    You awake night after your arrival at Bran Castle tofind many of your fellow soldiers in a state of excitedagitation. The castles defenses are being checked anddouble-checked, and there are more guards in evidenceon the walls than usual. Mortal scouts are being sent outand reporting back twice as frequently as usual, and the

    castles smiths and armorers are working frantically. Eventhe horses and livestock seem skittish and anxious. Over-head, clouds are rolling in from the east, bringing thesound of faraway thunder and intermittent flashes oflightning to mirror the growing anxiety on the ground.Before you can investigate the cause of all this agitation,though, a captain of the castle guards approaches you,

    with several other knights at his side.Knight of the Black Cross, he says.You must come with me at once. Lord Jrgen bade

    me collect you and escort you to him. No questions, now,this is urgent. Come.

    The captain then leads you across the castles bus-tling courtyard and into the castle proper. You follow himthrough echoing stone corridors to a small, torch-litchamber where Lord Jrgen himself is waiting for you onthe other side of a heavy wooden table. Jrgen is a tall,powerful-looking man with blond hair, broad shouldersand striking blue eyes. He is wearing full chain armor witha belted white tabard over it, as well as thick leather

    gloves and boots. A stark black cross upon his chestdominates the center of his tabard. An enormous andornate broadsword hangs at Lord Jrgens hip, and one ofhis hands rests on its pommel. This man radiates an auraof command that makes him seem invincible, as if hecould never possibly fall in battle. He dismisses thecaptain before turning to speak to you.

    Fellow knights of the Black Cross, he says toyou.Thank you for coming so quickly. Let me welcomeyou personally to Bran Castle. Lucretia von Hartz speakshighly of you in our correspondence. She feels that youwill serve me well in our crusade against the demonicfiends who oppose us here. In fact, the time has come for

    you to prove to me that her faith in you is well founded.I have chosen you to undertake a mission of criticalimportance. Are you ready to prove yourselves to me andthe rest of your sword-brethren?

    Lord Jrgen does not wait for your answer, certain ofyour agreement, and you let him continue uninterrupted.

    Excellent. Now, you may have noticed that yourfellow soldiers seem ill at ease of late. They are anxiousbecause a great battle against our foe looms on thehorizon. The monstrous vampire-fiend VladimirRustovitch has raised an army of men, vampires andinhuman monstrosities against us, and he means to driveus out once and for all.

    But know this, my sword-brethren, I will not be chasedout of this castle or out of this country, not by man nor kingnor demon-fiend. We have all worked too hard these manyyears to turn back now, and I say we fight for this land anddomain we have earned by right of arms. That is why I havesummoned you tonight. I have received word from a spy inRustovitchs camp that preparations for a major, conclusiveoffensive are underway, and that Rustovitchs army plans toattack us in one weeks time. My spy has gathered informa-tion on the planned assault that could prove crucial to our

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    8/414 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    victory perhaps even our survival. He is planning tobreak away from Rustovitchs camp tomorrow night andmake his way here to report to me.

    The wilderness between Rustovitchs camp andours is arduous and heavily contested, and my spy does nottrust his wilderness survival skills enough to make theentire trek alone. I need you to make your way in secret to

    a rendezvous point, meet up with my spy and guide himback safely to deliver the intelligence he has gathered. Iknow some of you are excellent scouts and all of you areable, valiant men at arms. I can spare no men to aid you,but I promise you great rewards should you succeed. Sowhat say you? Can you be prepared to leave tomorrownight, one hour after sunset?

    This is a simple enough task, and it takes you only amoment to agree to Lord Jrgens request.

    Very well. I will see that you are given new weaponsand armor, supplied with maps of the forest in which yourrendezvous will take place, and given your fill of freshblood for the hard work ahead. May Gods grace be upon

    you, my knights of the Black Cross. All of your sword-brethren are counting on you. Do not let us down.Lord Jrgen then nods gravely and raps on the table

    with his knuckles. The captain of the guards who led youhere reenters the room and escorts you out.

    The WoodsThe next night, you awake well rested and find the

    other soldiers at Bran Castle as excited and edgy as theywere the night before. You are allowed to drink your fill ofblood in preparation for your mission, and once you havefinished, you are outfitted with new weapons and a suit ofchain mail that is as light as leather armor, and which has

    been designed to make as little noise as possible whileyoure running through the woods. The scouts are allowedhalf an hour to commit the maps of the surrounding forestand the directions to the rendezvous point to memory.Youre not allowed to carry the maps with you because theyalso mark important ambush sites and troop placements,which could be harmful if they fell into Rustovitchs hands.

    The captain of the guards who led you to Lord Jrgenlast night takes you and your companions to the edge ofthe woods and gives you one final briefing.

    Now remember, knights, he says. Lord Jrgensnot asking much of you. Just go to the rendezvous pointand wait there. Our spyll meet you there and show you a

    sign hes Jrgens man, loyal to the Black Cross. Whenyou find him, get him here without letting any ofRustovitchs men find him. Simple as that. Just rememberto keep quiet and try to stay hidden. These woods are fullof wolves and men and worse, and dont none of em wantyou there. Stay sharp and alert if you want to make it backhere no more dead than you already are.

    With that, the captain laughs a spitefully and leavesyou and your fellow knights alone at the edge of woods, toface whatever dangers lie within.

    Scene OneThe Woods

    [BEFORE YOU BEGIN, ASK THE PLAYERSIF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT

    YOU ARE ABLE TO ANSWER. WHENEVEYONE IS READY, HAVE EACH

    PLAYER TAKE A MOMENT TO SAY HISCHARACTERS NAME AND DESCRIBEWHAT HIS CHARACTER LOOKS LIKE.THEN BEGIN THE SCENE BY READING

    THIS ALOUD TO YOOR PLAYERS.]

    The woods are thick and dark, but you know that youmust get moving quickly. The scouts are the only mem-bers of the group who have seen the map. You are relyingon them to lead the way to the rendezvous point.

    [GIVE THE CHARACTERS A FEW MINUTESTO INTERACT AND GET THEMSELVES

    ORGRANIZED. IF THE PLAYERS NEED HELP GET-TING STARTED, OR WHEN THE CHARACTERSARE READY TO ENTER THE WOODS, CONTINUEWITH THE STORY].

    Now, at this point, I need the scouts to make Intel-ligence + Survival rolls in order to remember the way tothe rendezvous point and lead the way there.

    [HAVE THE PLAYERS IN QUESTIONINDEPENDENTLY ROLL A NUMBER

    OF DICE EQUAL TO THEIRINTELLIGENCE + SURVIVAL RATINGS

    AGAINST A DIFFICULTY OF 6.

    THEN, BEFORE YOU TELL THEM WHATHAPPENS, SEE IF THE SCOUTS RESULTSDISAGREE. IF THEY DISAGREE (IF, FOR

    INSTANCE, ONE HAS ROLLED SUCCESS-FULLY WHILE THE OTHER HAS FAILED),

    HAVE THE CHARACTERS CHOOSE FORTHEMSELVES WHICH SCOUT WILL LEAD

    THEM. (FOR EASE OF GAME-PLAY EN-COURAGE THEM NOT TO SPLIT UP, ASIT WOULD BE TOO DANGEROUS AND

    LESS TIME-EFFICIENT TO DO SO.)REMIND THEM, THOUGH, THAT THEYCANNOT CHOOSE BASED ON THE DICE

    ROLLS. THE ROLLS DETERMINE HOWTHINGS ARE GOING TO END UP, NOTHOW THEY SEEM LIKELY TO END UP

    BEFORE THEY EVEN BEGIN.ENCOURAGE THE PLAYERS TO ROLE-

    PLAY THEIR WAY TO A DECISION. ONCETHE CHARACTERS HAVE DECIDED, THE

    RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:]

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    9/415 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

    Success[READ THIS PART ALOUD TO

    YOUR PLAYERS, BUT DIRECT ITTOWARD THE SCOUT CHARACTERS.REMIND THE PLAYERS THAT THIERCHARACTERS CAN USE AUSPEX OR

    PROTEAN TO SEE IN THE DARK.]Recalling the details of Lord Jrgens maps, you lead

    your comrades into the eerie and forbidding forest. Thethick canopy of gnarled, twisted branches overhead blocksout even the scant light of the moon through the clouds,but your heightened vampiric senses penetrate the dark-ness handily. Your comrades cant see as easily or as far,but they follow you with confidence.

    [NOW SKIP DOWN TOWHERE IT SAYS NEXT...]

    Failure

    [READ THIS PART ALOUD TO YOURPLAYERS, BUT DIRECT IT TOWARDTHE SCOUT CHARACTERS. REMIND

    THE PLAYERS THAT THIERCHARACTERS CAN USE AUSPEX

    OR PROTEAN TO SEE IN THE DARK.]

    The details of Lord Jrgens maps are somewhat hazyto you. You remember certain landmarks and the basicdirection you should be going in, but this forest is uncom-fortably eerie. The thick canopy of gnarled, twistedbranches overhead blocks out even the scant light of themoon through the clouds, throwing everything intounwelcoming shadow. Maybe if you drew out a rough

    sketch of the map in the dirt...[AT THIS POINT, ALLOW ONE OR

    BOTH OF THE SCOUTS TO RE-ROLLINTELLIGENCE + SURVIVAL, BUT

    AGAINST A DIFFICULTY OF 7. IF THISCYCLE REPEATS ITSELF, ALLOW THESCOUTS TO MAKE THE ROLL AGAIN,

    INCREASING THE DIFFICULTY BY ONEEACH TIME (HOLDING STEADY AT 10).

    HAVE THEM REPEAT THIS PROCESSUNTIL THEY ROLL SUCCESSFULLY,

    THEN READ THE TEXT UNDERSUCCESS. REMIND THE PLAYERS

    THAT THEY CAN SPEND A WILLPOWERFOR AN AUTOMATIC SUCCESS.]

    Botch[READ THIS PART ALOUD TO YOUR

    PLAYERS, BUT DIRECT IT TOWARD THESCOUT CHARACTERS. REMIND THE

    PLAYERS THAT THIER CHARACTERS

    CAN USE AUSPEX OR PROTEANTO SEE IN THE DARK.]

    Recalling the details of Lord Jrgens maps withpracticed ease, you lead your comrades into the eerie andforbidding forest. The thick canopy of gnarled, twistedbranches overhead blocks out even the scant light of themoon through the clouds, but your heightened vampiric

    senses penetrate the darkness handily. Your comradescant see as easily or as far, but they follow you confidently.

    After half an hour, though, you realize that you mighthave made a mistake when you emerge from the woodsfacing Bran Castle, no less than two hundred yards fromwhere you left.

    [AT THIS POINT, ASK IF THESCOUTS ADMIT THEIR MISTAKE

    TO THE OTHER CHARACTERS, ANDGIVE THE PLAYERS A MOMENT TO

    ROLEPLAY. TO ENCOURAGEINTERACTION, YOU MIGHT HAVE

    THE OTHER PLAYERS ROLLPERCEPTION + SURVIVAL TO NOTICE

    THEY HAVE GONE IN A CIRCLE BEFOREALLOWING ONE OR BOTH OF THE

    SCOUTS TO RE-ROLL INTELLIGENCE +SURVIVAL, DIFFICULTY 8. IF THIS

    CYCLE REPEATS ITSELF, HAVE THESCOUTS MAKE THE ROLL AGAIN,

    INCREASING THE DIFFICULTY BY ONEEACH TIME (HOLDING STEADY AT 10).

    REPEAT THIS PROCESS UNTIL THEYROLL SUCCESSFULLY, THEN READ THE

    TEXT UNDER SUCCESS. REMIND YOURPLAYERS THEY CAN SPEND WILLPOWER

    FOR AN AUTOMATIC SUCCESS.]

    Next...[READ THIS PART ALOUD]

    As youre on your way, the forest closes in around you,seeming to swallow you into the belly of some rough beast.Once youre out of earshot of Bran Castle, you begin torealize just how isolated and cut off from any reinforce-ments you actually are. The more you think about it, themore you notice unidentifiable sounds in the distance,seemingly coming from all around you. It may be simple

    nocturnal animals going about their business or the soundof some hapless peasant whos wandered too deep into theforest away from home, but it reminds you of what thecaptain said about keeping quiet and staying hidden.

    Now, I need everyone to make a Dexterity + Stealth roll.

    [HAVE THE PLAYERS INDEPENDENTLYROLL DEXTERITY + STEALTH, DIFFI-CULTY 6. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT ISVERY MUCH AN ALL-OR-NOTHING

    SITUATION. IF mALL OF THE PLAYERS

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    10/416 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    SUCCEED ON THIS ROLL, BEGIN YOURNARRATION FROM THE SUCCESS

    POINT. IFANY ONE OF THEM FAILS ONTHIS ROLL (EVEN IF ALL THE OTHERSSUCCEED), BEGIN AT THE FAILURE

    POINT. HOWEVER, IFANY ONE OF THEMBOTCHES THE ROLL (REGARDLESS OF

    ANY OTHER SUCCESSES OR FAILURES),SKIP DOWN TO WHERE IT SAYS

    BOTCH AND START READING THERE.]

    Success[READ THIS PART ALOUD

    TO YOUR PLAYERS.]

    As one, you all exchange a look and a series ofmilitary hand signals then nod knowingly. With thescouts in the lead, you proceed in single-file, steppingonly on tree roots, broad stones and hard ground. Thestrange alien sounds in the forest fade away to the rear as

    you disappear into the shadows and continue on withyour mission.

    [NOW YOU MAY SKIP AHEADTO SCENE TWO]

    Failure[READ THIS PART ALOUD TO YOUR

    PLAYERS, BUT DIRECT IT ESPECIALLYTO THOSE WHO FAILED THEIR DEXTER-

    ITY + STEALTH ROLL]

    As one, you all exchange a look and a series ofmilitary hand signals then nod knowingly. With the

    scouts in the lead, you proceed single-file, trying to steponly on tree roots, broad stones and hard ground. Thatseasier said than done, though, considering how dark anddense the forest has grown with the setting of the sun.Almost inevitably, it seems, you put a foot wrong andstep onto a dry, dead stick. The stick breaks with a sharpsnap! All of you freeze momentarily, and the sound ofsomething dashing through the underbrush in yourdirection catches your ears. Before you can figure outexactly which way the sound is coming from, a pair ofbeasts explodes from the underbrush right in the middleof your coterie. The beasts are each half as large as a manand completely hairlesstheyre like no living creatures

    God created. They appear to be demonic hybrids ofwolves and enormous spiders. They lunge forward on toomany legs, snapping wickedly fanged mandibles at youindiscriminately.

    Youre too well trained to scatter and run away. Youknow that your best bet is to fight.

    [NOW SKIP DOWN TO WHERE IT SAYSCOMBAT WITH THE BEASTS]

    Botch[READ THIS PART ALOUD TO YOUR

    PLAYERS, BUT DIRECT IT ESPECIALLYTO THOSE WHO BOTCHED THEIR DEX-

    TERITY + STEALTH ROLLS]

    As one, you all exchange a look and a series of

    military hand signals then nod knowingly. With thescouts in the lead, you proceed in single-file, trying to steponly on tree roots, broad stones and hard ground. Thatseasier said than done, though, considering how dark anddense the forest has grown with the setting of the sun. Youfind yourself becoming separated from the group.

    In your hurry to catch up so you dont lose your com-rades entirely, you jump from a patch of hard dry ground towhat you think is a flat rock. That rock, however, isactually a dead, hollow log, and the rotten wood disinte-grates beneath your feet with an echoing CRUNCH!Everyone freezes momentarily, and the sound of somethingdashing through the underbrush in your direction suddenly

    surrounds you. Before you can figure out exactly which waythe sound is coming from, four beasts explode from theunderbrush all around your coterie. The beasts are each halfas large as a man and completely hairlesstheyre like noliving creatures God created. They appear to be demonichybrids of wolves and enormous spiders, and their battle cryis an unearthly trill. They lunge forward on too many legs,snapping wickedly fanged mandibles at you indiscriminately.

    Despite your momentary lack of grace, youre all toowell trained to scatter and run away. You know that yourbest bet is to fight.

    [NOW SKIP DOWN TO WHERE IT SAYSCOMBAT WITH THE BEASTS]

    COMBAT WITH THEBEASTS

    [DONT READ THIS NEXT PART ALOUDTO YOUR PLAYERS WORD FOR WORD.WHAT FOLLOWS IS A QUICK PRIMER

    FOR HOW THE STORYTELLER SYSTEMHANDLES SMALL-SCALE COMBAT

    SCENES. MOST OF THIS INFOMRATIONIS ALSO COVERD IN THE INTRODUC-

    TION, AND IT IS ALL DSUMMARIZED IN

    THE COMBAT CHEAR SHEET AT THEEND OF THE SECTION. THE COMPLETE

    COMBAT SYSTEM COVERED IN THEDARK AGES: VAMPIRES CORE

    RULEBOOK INTRODUCES A HOST OFPOTENTIAL TRICKS AND COMPLICA-

    TIONS THAT ADD MORE ELEMENTS OFREALISM TO A COMBAT SCENE, BUTWERE JUST USING THE BASICS FOR

    THE PURPOSES OF THIS DEMO.]

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    11/417 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

    CombatCombat itself is fairly simple. First, have everyone roll

    a single d10 in order to determine initiative. You also rolla d10. Now, tell the players to check their character sheetsand add the number they just rolled to the total of theirDexterity + Wits rating. (They merely add these ratingstogether for the purpose of initiative, rather than rollingas many dice.) In this scene, add three to your die roll.

    These initiative results determine who goes first ineach turn. Whoever has the highest initiative result actsfirst, then everyone else proceeds in descending order. Ifcombat is still in progress after everyone (including you)has taken an action, start over again at the highestinitiative number and repeat as necessary until combat isover. Use the number you rolled as the initiative score forall of the beasts in this scene (be it two or four).

    Now, as each characters initiative turn comes up, hehas two options. First, he can wait for one of the beasts toattack then try to dodge out of the way. Even if hisinitiative number is higher than that of an attacking beast(meaning he should go first), a character can wait tododge until the beasts initiative number comes up toattack. If the characters number comes up after thebeasts, he can still attempt to dodge the beasts attackduring the beasts turn. If he does so, though, he gives uphis later place in the initiative order until thenext time itcomes around in the combat.

    To dodge, a player rolls his characters Dexterity +Dodge. The difficulty of this dodge roll is 6, which meansthat every die that comes up 6 or higher is considered asuccess. The player whos dodging then compares hisnumber of success against the number of successes hisopponent achieved on his attack roll (see below). If thedefender has more successes dodging, he gets safely out ofharms way. If the attacker has more successes, the dodgerisnt quite so lucky.

    If the character doesnt want to dodge, he can chooseto attack (which he can only do during his place in theinitiative order). To do so, have the player roll a numberof dice equal to his Dexterity + Brawl ratings (for a punch,kick or vampire bite) or his Dexterity + Melee ratings (foran attack with a weapon). The difficulty of the attack rollis 6, which means that at least one of the dice has to comeup showing a 6 or higher for the attack to hit. (Or, asabove, the attacker must roll more successes than thecharacter whos dodging rolled to dodge.)

    If the attack hits, have the attacker then roll anumber of dice equal to his characters Strength ratingplus an additional number of dice that varies according towhat type of attack the character is using. Refer to gearchart for the number of dice to add. The difficulty of thisdamage roll is 6, so any die that comes up 6 or higher isconsidered a success. If the character has a rating in thePotence Discipline, add a number of successes equal tothat rating automatically to the total he rolled. Eachsuccess has the potential to inflict one level of damage.

    When someone is hit, have him roll a number of diceequal to his Stamina rating, plus his rating in the Forti-tude Discipline (if he has one), plus any armor he mightbe wearing. The chain mail armor the characters arewearing adds 3 dice to this roll because the beasts inflictlethal damage. This roll does not constitute an action forthe purposes of initiative. It occurs any time a character

    is hit by an attack. The difficulty is 6, so every die thatshows a 6 or higher is a success. This roll is called the soakroll, and it reflects the characters resistance to injury.

    Hang in there.... Now, have the attacker compare the number of

    successes on his damage roll to the number of successesthe defender rolled on his soak roll. Each success on thesoak roll cancels out one success on the damage roll. Ifthere are any damage roll successes left over after that,each one inflicts one health level of damage on thedefender. If a character sustains more levels of damagethan he has health levels available, he collapses to theground. If another attack then inflicts one more healthlevel of damage on him, the vampire enters torpor or thebeast is destroyed.

    The BeastsTheir important ratings are as follows:Attack: six dice, Damage: six dice, Soak: five dice,

    Initiative: 1d10 + 3, Health Levels: six, Blood: threeAs far as tactics are concerned, the beasts that attack

    the characters in this scene arent terribly sophisticated.Each one picks one target and tries to bite him, thusinflicting lethal damage. (Choose at random which char-

    acter each beast attacks, but dont double up beasts on anyindividual character.) The beast will not dodge, nor willit run away if it is wounded. It will only attack. It will doso until either it is killed or its target falls down dead.Should its target fall down dead, it will try to drag theincapacitated body away to devour at leisure. Rememberthough, you dont want your characters to die before theyeven get started, so if the characters are having troublewinning against the beasts, you can always reduce thenumber of dice you are rolling.

    The Aftermath of the CombatIn theory, these beasts should not prove much of a

    threat for the players characters. Even in the four-on-fivebattle, the characters should be able to win through withonly a little effort. Now, of course, they might have gottenscratched up a bit (i.e., taken a few health levels worth ofdamage), but heres where its good to be a vampire.Before the characters proceed, inform the players thattheir characters can take this opportunity to heal them-selves of any damage they might have taken. They can doso by spending oneblood point from their blood pool (at thebottom of the character sheet). One blood point heals

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    12/418 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    one level of damage, and the character can spend as manyblood points to heal levels of damage as he wants (pro-vided he doesnt run entirely out of blood, that is). Shouldany one of the characters be especially wounded, he caneven add to his blood pool by drinking blood from one ormore of the dead beasts hes killed. The beasts have anumber of blood points in them equal to the rating listed

    above. The beasts, however, cannot use these bloodpoints to heal themselves, since they arent vampires.

    Combat Summary: The BeastsDetermine initiative: Add Wits + Dexterity +

    1d10 for the players. The beasts initiative is 1d10 +5 (roll once and use the same number for all thebeasts).

    Have the players declare blood and Will-power expenditures and Discipline activation. Givethem a moment to figure out what their characterscan do.

    Highest initiative acts first, then in descend-ing order. Resolve each players action before movingon to the next. A character using Celerity takes hisfirst action on his initiative turn; all other actionstake place at the end of the turn.

    One action/turn, except when using Celerity.Characters have the option of dodging (parrying)or attacking. Bests will only attack, and they inflictlethal damage.

    Rolls:Dodge: Dexterity + DodgeParry: Dexterity + MeleeUnarmed Attack: Dexterity + Brawl

    Armed Attack: Dexterity + MeleeResolve actions.

    1. Roll for action.2. Roll for damage, if necessary. Includeextra dice or successes from weapons orDisciplines.3. Roll to soak damage, if necessary.Include extra dice from armor andDisciplines.4. Record damage on Health chart.

    Resolve Celerity actions, as above.Remember: Spending blood and Willpower, acti-

    vating Disciplines and soaking damage are not actions!

    Now...[ONCE THE COMBAT SCENE IS OVER,

    READ THE FOLLOWING ALOUDTO THE PLAYERS.]

    As the heat of combat fades, an eerie hush falls overyour immediate surroundings, letting you know thatthere arent more of the hellish beasts lurking for another

    ambush. If any of you want to try to identify the creatures,make an Intelligence + Occult roll. The difficulty is 7.

    [THE RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS.READ THE APPROPRIATE ONE AS THE

    CHARACTERS ROLL DICTATES.]

    SuccessThis beast, you realize, was once a wolf or a mastiff

    that was tortured, warped and physically reconstructedthrough an awful supernatural power possessed by thevampire fiends under Rustovitchs command. Theyvebeen known to create and use beasts like this as huntinganimals and scouts, so its good you destroyed these sohandily. You realize, though, that youd probably bettercarry on with your mission before any more show up.

    FailureThis wretched thing looks like it could once have

    been a wolf or hunting dog, but you have no idea what

    turned it into the monstrosity you see before you. Hope-fully there arent any more out there prowling around. Infact, you realize youd probably better get going, ratherthan sticking around to find out.

    BotchThis can be naught but the spawn of Satan, conjured

    to Rustovitchs dire service through some infernal pact!Youve prevailed against them this time by the grace ofthe Black Cross, but you had best keep moving, lestRustovitch send more of them after you.

    [AT THIS POINT, YOU CAN PROCEED ONTO SCENE TWO . IF, HOWEVER, YOURE

    A REAL SADIST OR YOUVE STILL GOTPLENTY OF TIME ON YOUR HANDS, YOU

    CAN FORCE EVERYONE TO ROLL DEX-TERITY + STEALTH AGAIN ANDPROCEED FROM WHERE IT SAYS

    NEXT... ABOVE. IF YOU WANT TOBE A LITTLE NICER, YOU CAN REQUIRE

    THIS ROLL OF ONLY THOSE WHODIDNT SUCCEED ON THE INITIAL

    DEXTERITY + STEALTH ROLL.OTHERWISE, JUST GO STRAIGHT

    TO SCENE TWO.]

    Scene TwoDark Encounter

    [READ THIS PART ALOUDTO YOUR PLAYERS.]

    Without further excitement, you make your way tothe rendezvous point. It is a clearing in the dense forestwith an enormous stone on one side, surrounded by

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    13/419 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

    gnarled, ugly trees. Overhead, all you can see are clouds.Although its taken you a little longer than expected toreach this place, you find the clearing deserted. The onlysign of life is a large black crow perched on top of the stoneacross the clearing from you.

    As you enter the clearing, the crow looks up from thecorpse of whatever its picking at, regards you with an

    uncanny appearance of intelligence, then flies away intothe shadows. Silence descends on the clearing and re-mains unbroken for several long minutes.

    [PAUSE HERE BRIEFLY TO GIVE THEPLAYERS A CHANCE TO LET THEIR

    CHARACTERS WHISPER NERVOUSLYOR WONDER WHERE THEIR SPY

    CONTACT IS. DONT LET THE MOMENTDRAG ON TOO LONG, BUT GIVE THEMA SECOND TO ROLEPLAY IF THEY SODESIRE. THEN CONTINUE READING.]

    Eventually, though, you hear quiet footsteps approach-ing from the other side of the stone, and a slight, tentativefigure comes forward from the woods. He is dressed in thedirty uniform of one of Rustovitchs infantrymen, but hewears no armor and carries no weapon. On his left shoul-der, a large black crow is perched. The man stays close tothe stone, seemingly ready to bolt at the first opportunity.

    Stay your hands sword-knights, the man whispersurgently. My name is Nagy, and I believe we are allies. I knowwhat my clothes make you think, but Vladimir Rustovitch isnot my master. I and my true master revere this symbol.

    He extends a trembling hand toward you palm-up andconcentrates intently for a moment. Before your eyes, theimage of a black cross appears in the air above his palm androtates slowly in place. If anyone wants to take a guess athow hes making that happen, roll Intelligence + Occult.

    [IF ANY OF THE PLAYERS ARE SOINCLINED, COMPARE THE RESULTS OFTHEIR ROLL AGAINST A DIFFICULTY

    OF 7. THE RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:]

    SuccessThe floating black cross is naught but an illusion,

    created by the application of a vampiric Discipline power.It is possessed by a rare minority of nomad vampires whocall themselves Clan Ravnos.

    FailureSee how it just floats there.... Sure, its just anillusion, but thats a neat trick, isnt it? If only you knewhow he did it.

    BotchThats obviously some form of magical levitation and

    remote manipulation. Youve heard of young cabals ofsorcerous vampires who possess such power, but youvenever met any.

    [REGARDLESS, GIVE THE PLAYERS ACHANCE TO DIGEST THIS INFORMA-

    TION. HOPEFULLY, THIS SIGN OF THEBLACK CROSS WILL REMIND THEM OF

    WHAT THE CAPTAIN AT BRAN CASTLETOLD THEM ABOUT HOW TO RECOG-NIZE LORD JRGENS SPY. ONCE THEY

    MAKE THIS CONNECTION, READ THISNEXT PART TO THEM.]

    Nagy closes his hand, and the black cross disappears.He then looks around nervously once again and takes acouple of steps toward you.

    You recognize the black cross, he says. That makesyou Lord Jrgens men, yes? The ones he sent to get meback to him safely through these demon-haunted andGod-forsaken woods. Thats good then. I have intelligenceon Rustovitchs army and his plans to use them. He intendsto storm Bran Castle in one weeks time, as I last reported,so I must warn Lord Jrgen about what forces to expect andbe prepared to defend against. But we should hurry.

    He then regards the crow perched on his shoulder,and the two of them stare into each others eyes. The mansquawks something unintelligible, and the crow respondswith a similar sound. It then nods once, hops from themans shoulder and flies away into the forest. When thecrow is gone, the man turns back to you even morenervously than before.

    All right, then, he says. Thats done with. I com-manded him to watch for you while I waited, and now Ivesent him ahead to make sure our way out of here is safe.

    Now lets get back to Bran Castle before Rustovitchs menrealize Im gone. He pauses, fidgeting and looking aroundfor a second, then says, Whats the matter? Why are you

    just looking at me like that? Dont you trust me?Now, if any of you actually have any reservations

    about trusting Nagy, or if you arent sure if hes telling thetruth, theres a roll you can make to try to gauge hishonesty. Otherwise, we can just carry on from here.

    [IF THE PLAYERS JUST CHOOSE TOCARRY ON, PROCEED TO WHERE ITSAYS THEY TRUST HIM. IF THEY

    CHOOSE TO MAKE THE ROLL, HAVETHEM ROLL THEIR PERCEPTION +SUBTERFUGE. THEY MUST ROLLINDEPENDENTLY SO THAT EACH

    PLAYERS IMPRESSION IS BASED ON

    HIS INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERS POINTOF VIEW. THE DIFFICULTY IS 5 BECAUSE

    OF THE WAY NAGY IS ACTING.THE RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS.]

    SuccessAs he speaks, Nagy wont make eye contact, and just

    a hint of bloodsweat is visible on his forehead. Plus, if hereally sent that bird to scout ahead for trouble, it would

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    14/411 0 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    have flown off in the other direction, not back from theway Nagy came. Nagy is a liar, and a poor one at that.Youre certain of it.

    FailureMaybe hes lying, or maybe hes just worried about

    being caught by Rustovitchs men, who are notorious for

    the hellish torture they inflict on traitors. Its so hard totell with vampires, especially strangers. Youll just have togo with your gut.

    BotchThis poor creature must be terrified. All alone out

    here in the forest with enemies all around. Hes obviouslytoo scared to lie. Youre certain of that. Youd best get himback to Lord Jrgen as soon as possible, before this wretchhas a nervous breakdown.

    [NOW, ITS LIKELY THAT NOT ALL OFTHE PLAYERS ACHIEVED THE SAME

    RESULT ON THEIR SEPARATE ROLLS.IF THEIR RESULTS DISAGREE, HAVE

    THEM DECIDE AMONGST THEMSELVESWHETHER OR NOT TO TRUST NAGY.HAVE THEM ROLEPLAY OUT A QUICK

    ARGUMENT IN HOPES OF REACHING AGROUP DECISION. IF ALL THE MEMBERS

    CHOOSE TO TRUST HIS WORD,PROCEED TO WHERE IT SAYSTHEYTRUST HIM. IF ALL (OR EVEN ONE)

    OF THE CHARACTERS BELIEVES THATNAGY IS LYING AND CONFRONTS HIM

    ABOUT IT, PROCEED TO WHERE IT SAYSTHEY CONFRONT HIM. IF ANY OF THE

    CHARACTERS BELIEVES THAT NAGYIS LYING BUT CHOOSE NOT TOCONFRONT HIM, YOU SHOULD

    PROCEED TO SECTIONTHEY TRUST HIM.]

    They Trust Him[READ THIS PART ALOUD]

    Good, Nagy says. Lets go then. The faster Imback indoors and out of this awful place, the better. Illlead the way back. Hurry.

    So saying, he pushes between you all and rushes offinto the woods in the direction you came from. You moveto hurry after him, but a sudden noise gives you pause. Itsthe sound of arrows being loosed from strings. Youvebeen had. Its a trap!

    [THE CHARACTERS HAVE NO CHANCE TOREACT TO THIS FIRST ATTACK. THEREFORE,ROLL FIVE DICE AT A DIFFICULTY OF 6, ONCEFOR EACH CHARACTER. IF THE ROLL IS SUC-CESSFUL, THE CHARACTER IS HIT IN THE BACK

    WITH AN ARROW. NOW ROLL THREE DICE TODETERMINE DAMAGE. IF YOU ROLL FIVE SUC-CESS ON THE ATTACK ROLL, AND THREESUCCESS ON THE DAMAGE ROLL, THE TARGETIS STAKED THROUGH THE HEART AND PARA-LYZED. (SEE SIDEBAR UNDER FIRE.)OTHERWISE, EACH SUCCESS ON THE DAMAGE

    ROLL INFLICTS ONE LEVEL OF AGGRAVATEDDAMAGE ON THE VICTIM.THE CHARACTERS ARE NOT ABLE TO MAKE

    SOAK ROLLS AGAINST THIS DAMAGE, HOW-EVER. TO THE CHARACTERS PAINFULSURPRISE, THE ARROWS ARE ACTUALLY ONFIRETHE BANE OF ALL VAMPIRES. THE ONLYEXCEPTION ARE THOSE CHARACTERS WHOHAVE A RATING IN THE FORTITUDE DISCIPLINE.THOSE PLAYERS MAY ROLL A NUMBER OF DICEEQUAL TO THEIR STAMINA AND FORTITUDERATING IN ORDER TO SOAK THIS DAMAGE.

    NONE OF THE CHARACTERS CAN HAVE A

    CHANCE TO REACT TO THIS SURPRISE ATTACKUNTIL YOUVE ROLLED ONCE FOR EVERYONE.ONCE YOUVE NARRATED THIS SURPRISE

    ROUND, SKIP DOWN TO WHERE IT SAYS FIRE!]

    They Confront Him[READ THIS PART ALOUD.]

    What? Nagy says, trying his best to look innocent,but backing up toward the large stone behind him. S-Surely you jest? You cant... cant think that I... But theguilt and the fear is too much for Nagy. He looks at eachof you then into the woods like a wild, cornered animal.

    Finally, he darts away into the trees shouting, Now!Now! They know youre here!

    As soon as the little weasel disappears, bright spots oflight appear in the darkness among the trees behind thestone. You mistake them for glowing eyes for a second, butthen you realize what they really are. Theyre the tips offlaming arrows aiming for each of you! You were right; itsa trap! The hidden archers take aim and fire!

    [THE FIRST WAVE OF THE ATTACKPROCEEDS AS IT DOES UNDER THEY

    TRUST HIM. BUT SINCE THE CHARAC-TERS WERE PREPARED FOR THE

    ATTACK, GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO

    DODGE THE INCOMING ARROWS. HAVEEACH PLAYER ROLL HIS CHARACTERS

    DEXTERITY + DODGE RATINGSAGAINST A DIFFICULTY OF 6. (IF THE

    PLAYER SO CHOOSES, HE COULD HAVEHIS CHARACTER ATTEPMT TO PARRY

    THE INCOMING ARROW WITH HISWEAPON INSTEAD. IF HE WANTS TO DOSO, HAVE HIM ROLL HIS CHARACTERSDEXTERITY + MELEE RATINGS AGAINST

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    15/411 1 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

    AFTER THIS INITIAL VOLLEY, GO DOWNTO WHERE IT SAYS FIRE!.]

    Fire![READ THIS PART ALOUD.]

    As more arrows cut through the air, sticking into theground at your feet and in the trees nearest you, you get an

    all-too-close look at them. Theyre on fire, and like allvampires, you have an instinctual, primal fear of fire. YourBeast recoils from the flame, and you can feel the terrortaking control. I would like everyone to roll their Cour-age, difficulty 8, to see if they fall to Rtschreck.

    Combat: Flaming Arrows

    They Trusted NagyBegin here if the players trusted Nagy, or did not

    confront him.

    The characters may not act because they havebeen ambushed and do not have time to react. They maynot spend blood or activate Disciplines because they aresurprised, but they may still spend Willpower.

    Roll five dice, difficulty 6, once for each charac-ter to see if any are hit with a flaming arrow. For everysuccessful roll, roll three dice, difficulty 6. Each successinflicts a level of aggravated damage. Only characterswith Fortitude may roll to soak aggravated damage.

    If you roll all successes on both the initial roll andthe damage roll, the character is staked through theheart. Refer to the Staking sidebar for details on thissituation.

    Once you have rolled for each player, stop thecombat. The archers will leave, and you should pro-ceed to where is says Fire!

    A DIFFICULTY OF 7.) IN EITHER CASE,YOU THEN COMPARE THE NUMBER OF

    SUCCESSES YOU ROLLED FOR THEATTACK AGAINST THE NUMBER OF

    SUCCESSES THE CHARACTER ROLLEDTO DEFEND HIMSELF. IF YOU HAVE

    MORE SUCCESSES, THE ARROW HITSTHE CHARACTER AND DOES DAMAGE

    AS ABOVE. IF THE PLAYER HAS ANEQUAL OR GREATER NUMBER OF SUC-CESSES FOR DEFENSE, THE CHARACTER

    DODGES OUT OF THE WAY (OR BATSTHE ARROW ASIDE WITH HIS WEAPON).

    StakingIf, during the attack, the Storyteller rolls five

    success on the attack roll and three successes on thedamage roll, and the defending players does not rollany success on his defense roll, the vampire is stakedthrough the heart, unable to move, speak, activate

    Disciplines or spend blood, but she is still aware of hersurroundings and able to feel pain. The characterimmediately catches on fire, suffering one level ofaggravated damage per turn until the fire is put out. Ifthe character reaches Incapacitated and is still on fire,he will die the next turn, his body turning to ash.

    Note: A player whose character is staked charac-ter may still roll to soak damage. Only characters withFortitude may roll to soak aggravated damage.

    They Confronted NagyBegin here the players did not trust Nagy, or

    confronted him.

    Do not roll initiative; every player gets one action andorder is not important, so simply go around the table. Char-acters may not activate Disciplines or spend blood becausethey have been surprised. They may still spend Willpower.

    Roll five dice for the archers attack. Have theplayer roll Dexterity + Dodge to dodge the arrows, orDexterity + Melee to parry the arrows with her weapon.The difficulty or all rolls is 6. If you roll more successesthan the player, the attack is successful. Roll three dice fordamage, difficulty 6. If the player rolls more successes thenyou, the attack is not successful. Do not roll for damage.Staking rules still apply, but require that you still have fivesuccesses after the player has rolled to dodge or parry, and

    you roll three successes when rolling damage.Once you have rolled once for each player, stop thecombat. The archers will leave; proceed to where it saysFire!

    If the fire is put out before the character is destroyed,he suffers no more damage from the arrow. When, or if,the arrow is removed, he must make an immediateRtschreck check, difficulty 6. Success means he pullshimself valiantly together and continues, failure or botch-

    ing leads to frenzy. Remind the players of this, in casetheir characters decide that it would be better to taketheir staked comrade with them, rather than risk himfalling to Rtschreck and injuring himself further ordrawing more unwanted attention to the group.

    If any knight is staked, the other characters treatmentof the unfortunate victim should be governed by their road.Remind the players to check their Hierarchy of Sins beforedeciding how to react, and have them make a road checkif the characters act contrary to their Road rating.

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    16/411 2 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    [AFTER THE PLAYERS ROLL, APPLY THE FOL-LOWING RESULTS, AS APPROPRIATE ONE SUCCESSIS ALL THEY NEED TO RESIST RTSCHRECK. RE-MIND THEM THEY MAY SPEND WILLPOWER FORAN AUTOMATIC SUCCESS. NARRATE FIRST FORTHE PLAYERS WHO SUCCEED, THEN FOR THE PLAY-ERS WHO FAILED OR BOTCHED.]

    SuccessYou know that now is not the time for panic, so you

    fight your terror and regain control of yourself, lookingaround to see that state of your companions.

    FailureIt suddenly seems as if the fire is everywhere, and you

    begin to flee blindly back the way your frenzied mindsthinks you came. You only run for about five minutesbefore your rational minds take over once again. Yourewell away from the clearing by this point, but youre notexactly certain where you actually are. When the instinc-

    tive fear takes over like that, it subsumes your will entirely.Luckily, though, you didnt end up too far away from therest of the group, so youre able to regroup and decide whatto do next.

    BotchIt suddenly seems as if the fire is everywhere, and you

    begin to flee blindly forward. In your terror, you brushagainst and arrow in the ground and catch on fire, butluckily your flailing arms puts it out. By the time yourrational mind takes over, youre well away from the rest ofthe group, but you can hear them in the distance and areable to rejoin them after a few minutes.

    [ROLL ONE D10, DIFFICULTY 5, TO SEE IF THECHARACTER TAKES ANOTHER LEVEL OF AG-GRAVATED DAMAGE FROM THE FIRE.]

    Scene ThreeEscape

    [READ THIS PART ALOUD.]

    You all are quite shaken by the ambush, and it takesa few minutes to find each other and gather your wits. Youmust decide what to do next. Your options seem to be

    fairly cut-and-dried. You can either return to Bran Castleat once and report Nagys treachery to Lord Jrgen, or youcan try to find and capture Nagy yourselves, in order tobring him back to Lord Jrgen for punishment and inter-rogation. You can hear the sounds of men and beastssearching through the forest some distance away, so itwould be well to decide quickly.

    [GIVE THE PLAYERS THIS CHANCETO DISCUSS IT. NEITHER CHOICE IS

    NECESSARILY THE RIGHT OR WRONGONE, BUT TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. IF

    THEY SEEM TO BE LAGGING OR TAKINGTOO LONG, DESCRIBE TO THEM THESOUNDS OF SEARCHERS DRAWING

    CLOSER AND MAKE THEM FEEL LIKETHEY COULD GET JUMPED ANY

    SECOND. WHEN THEY MAKE UP THEIRMINDS, SKIP AHEAD TO EITHER BACK

    TO BRAN CASTLE OR FNDINGNAGY AS APPROPRIATE.]

    Back to Bran Castle[THE FIRST THING YOU WANT THE

    PLAYERS TO DO IS TRY TO FIGURE OUTWHERE THEY ARE AND WHICH WAY

    THEY MUST GO TO GET TO SAFETY. INORDER TO DO SO, HAVE THE PLAYERS

    OF THE SCOUT CHARACTERS MAKE

    INTELLIGENCE + SURVIVAL ROLLS INORDER TO ORIENT THEMSELVES. IF THE

    SCOUTS RESULTS DISAGREE, HAVETHE PLAYERS DECIDE (AS BEFORE)

    WHOSE LEAD TO FOLLOW.THEN READTHE RESULTS TO YOUR SCOUTS

    PLAYERS AS FOLLOWS .

    IF THE SCOUTS ARE UNABLE TO LEAD(THEY ARE DEAD, STAKED OR IN

    TORPOR) HAVE ALL THE PLAYERS ROLLPERCEPTION + SURVIVAL TO SEE IF

    THEY CAN TRACK THEIR WAY BACKTO THE CASTLE. USE THE SAME

    RESULTS AS BELOW.]

    SuccessIt takes you a moment to orient yourself, but by

    judging the natural landmarks and looking at the moss onthe trees, youre able to figure out which general directionyou need to go in. You point the way and lead your sword-brethren into the forest away from the sounds of searchersbehind you.

    [THEN SKIP AHEAD TO WHEREIT SAYS NEXT...]

    FailureFrankly, its tough to say how to get back to where you

    came from since you arent exactly sure how you got here.Maybe if you take another few moments to calm downand get your bearings youll straighten everything outright.

    [AT THIS POINT, ALLOW THE PLAYERSTO ROLL INTELLIGENCE + SURVIVAL(OR PERCEPTION + SURVIVAL), BUT

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    17/411 3 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

    AGAINST A DIFFICULTY OF 7. IF THISCYCLE REPEATS ITSELF, ALLOW THEPLAYERS TO MAKE THE ROLL AGAIN,INCREASING THE DIFFICULTY BY ONEEACH TIME (HOLDING STEADY AT 10).

    HAVE THEM REPEAT THIS PROCESSUNTIL THEY ROLL SUCCESSFULLY

    (SKIP BACK TO SUCCESS) OR BOTCH(SKIP BELOW TO BOTCH).]

    BotchIt takes you a moment to orient yourself, but you

    catch the vague sound of a stream in the distance, whichyou remember passing earlier, and it helps you figure outwhich general direction you need to go in. You point theway and lead your sword-brethren into the forest.

    About ten minutes later, though, you begin to sus-pect that youve made a mistake when you find yourselvesbehind a large stone that seems somehow familiar. Goingaround it ever-so-quietly, you find yourselves right backin the clearing where you met Nagy less than half an hourago. Fortunately, it is empty of attackers at the momentsince theyre probably out looking for you right nowbutthats small comfort considering youve lost ground.

    [AT THIS POINT, ASK IF THE SCOUTSADMIT THEIR MISTAKE TO THE

    OTHER CHARACTERS, AND GIVE THEPLAYERS A MOMENT TO ROLEPLAY.

    TO ENCOURAGE INTERACTION,YOU MIGHT HAVE THE OTHERPLAYERS ROLL PERCEPTION +

    SURVIVAL TO NOTICE THEY HAVEGONE IN A CIRCLE BEFORE ALLOWING

    ONE OR BOTH OF THE SCOUTS TORE-ROLL INTELLIGENCE + SURVIVAL,

    DIFFICULTY 8. IF THIS CYCLE REPEATSITSELF, HAVE THE SCOUTS MAKE

    THE ROLL AGAIN, INCREASING THEDIFFICULTY BY ONE EACH TIME

    (HOLDING STEADY AT 10). REPEATTHIS PROCESS UNTIL THEY ROLLSUCCESSFULLY, THEN READ THE

    TEXT UNDER SUCCESS. REMIND YOUR PLAYERS THEY CAN SPEND

    WILLPOWER FOR ANAUTOMATIC SUCCESS.]

    Next...[READ THIS PART ALOUD.]

    And with that, you slip away as quietly as you can,hoping not to attract too much attention to yourselves.Once again, the forbidding forest closes in around you, andyou realize that even though you know how to find yourway home, the way will not be an easy one. All around you,

    you can hear the sounds of beasts and soldiers hunting you,so you know it would be in your best interest to make yourway back quietly and carefully. That being the case, I needeach of you to make Dexterity + Stealth rolls.

    [AS BEFORE, MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONEMAKES THIS ROLL INDEPENDENTLY AGAINSTA DIFFICULTY OF 8. IF EVERYONE SUCCEEDS,

    CONGRATULATE THEM AND SKIP AHEAD TOTHE EPILOGUE. IF EVEN ONE OF THE PLAYERSFAILS (BUT NO ONE BOTCHES), START READ-ING WHERE IT SAYS FAILURE. IF ONE OF THEPLAYERS BOTCHES THIS ROLL, THOUGH, GOON TO WHERE IT SAYSBOTCH.]

    Failure[READ THIS PART ALOUD TO YOUR

    PLAYERS, DIRECTED TOWARDWHOEVER FAILED HIS

    DEXTERITY + STEALTH ROLL.]

    Tonight is not your night. Maybe its the unfamiliarterrain, or maybe the sound of hunters in the distance isdistracting you. Whatever it is, you cant concentrate onmaking your way quietly. As youre making your waydown a creek embankment to cross it on your way home,you step on a concealed shelf of stones, which sends leavesdirt and rocks sliding and clattering down the embank-ment. They splash into the water loud enough to drawattention, and draw attention they do.

    You all freeze for a second, then look up just in timeto draw your weapons as four soldiers appear from thewoods across the creek from you. You look at them, theylook at you, then they draw their own weapons and chargeyou.

    [NOW SKIP DOWN TO WHERE IT SAYSCOMBAT WITH THE SOLDIERS]

    Botch[READ THIS PART ALOUD TO YOUR

    PLAYERS, DIRECTED TOWARDWHOEVER BOTCHED HIS

    DEXTERITY + STEALTH ROLL.]

    Tonight is not your night. Maybe its the unfamiliarterrain, or maybe the sound of hunters in the distance isdistracting you. Whatever it is, you cant concentrate on

    making your way quietly. As youre making your waydown a creek embankment to cross it on your way, youstep on a concealed shelf of stones in which some sort ofangry woodland creature had made its lair. The animalshrieks and takes off into the night, sending leaves dirtand rocks sliding and clattering down the embankment.The scream and the splash are loud enough to drawattention, and draw attention they do.

    You all freeze for a second, then look up just in timeto draw your weapons as four soldiers appear from the

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    18/411 4 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    woods across the creek from you. These soldiers are lead-ing awful, hairless beasts that appear to be foul mixtures ofwolves and spiders. You look at them, they look at you,then they loose their hellish hounds at you. As the beastsattack, the soldiers move into positions to surround you.

    [NOW SKIP DOWN TO WHERE IT SAYSCOMBAT WITH THE SOLDIERS]

    Finding Nagy[HAVE THE PLAYERS ROLL PERCEPTION

    + INVESTIGATION. FOR THE MEN-AT-ARMS, THE DIFFICULTY IS 8. FOR

    THE SCOUTS, THE DIFFICULTY IS ONLY6. IF RESULTS VARY, HAVE THE

    PLAYERS CHOOSE WHO WILL LEAD.THE RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:]

    Success

    [READ THIS PART ALOUD.]

    The trail has almost gone cold by the time you beginyour search for the traitorous Nagy, so you track back tothe clearing where he sprung his surprise attack. There areno archers or other attackers in evidence there sincetheyre probably out searching for you right now soyoure able to look for signs undisturbed.

    After a few minutes, you find a scrap of cloth fromNagys uniform and are able to make out a trail from there.You follow this trail deeper into the forest, avoidingdetection yourselves, until it suddenly stops. You huntaround the ground for a few moments until at last youreforced to conclude that the trail has abruptly ended.

    Youre about to give up the search altogether in frustra-tion when youre delivered a message from above. That is,a bird defecates onto one of your shoulders.

    You look up to see a familiar-looking crow take offfrom a branch of one the trees. Before you can even tellwhich way its going, it disappears into the night. Fromwhere it was, though, you can also barely make out theform of Nagy sitting on a branch about 30 feet up. Heslooking down at you, and when he notices that you seehim, he tries desperately to escape. He stands up on hislimb and leaps off, hoping to reach the safety of an evenhigher limb on a tree several yards away. His leap, how-ever, is ill judged.

    Nagy leaps into the air and comes down feet-firstonto the branch hes aiming for. The branch is dry anddead, though, and it shatters beneath his feet. He fallsdown through the branches, breaking his back across asolid one near the ground, then rolling off the limb ontothe ground. He lands head-first and breaks his neck acrossa thick root. The sound of the crash echoes through theforest. Likely, if any soldiers are nearby looking for you,they heard that. You can leave now, or you can try to getsome answers out of Nagy if he hasnt fallen into torpor

    [IF THEY CHOOSE TO LEAVE NOW,GO BACK A BIT TO WHERE IT

    SAYSNEXT... UNDER BACK TO BRANCASTLE. IF THEY CHOOSE TO STAYAND DEAL WITH NAGY (OR EVEN IFTHEY PLAN TO GRAB NAGYS BODY

    AND TRY TO SNEAK IT BACK TO BRAN

    CASTLE WITH THEM, READ ON. THECHARACTERS MAY ALSO TRY TO

    STAKE NAGY WITH A PIECVE OF WOOD,AND TO DO THIS THE PLAYERS ROLLSDEXTERITY +MELEE. SHE MUST ROLL

    AT LEAST FIVE SUCCESSES, ANDINFLICT AT LEAST THREE LEVELS

    OF LETHAL DAMAGE TOSUCCESSFULLY STAKE NAGY.]

    You approach Nagys prone body and find him twistedinto a terrible wreck. His back is sharply bent at themidpoint, and his neck is equally bent in the oppositedirection. As you come close, though, his eyes roll wildly,

    and he tries to work his jaw. After a mere moment, yourealize that hes trying to speak.You fools are all going to die, he hisses wildly, on

    the verge of losing himself to his bestial side. My masterssoldiers will hunt you down and kill you all before thesunrise. Then, tomorrow night, our entire army willdescend on Bran Castle and raze it to the ground. You willall die. All die! There will be blood! Blood! Blood!

    In his excitement, he begins to lose himself to thebeast within, and every spark of intelligence or sanitybegins to gutter out. He thrashes wildly as if he intends totear you apart and drink your blood himself, but he is toobadly injured for such commotion. The thrashing only

    makes his grave injuries worse, and with one final sicken-ingly wet crack, whats left of his neck and backdisintegrates. He jerks one last time, shudders and col-lapses. Hes useless to you now just an empty husk intorpor. And to make matters worse, his screaming is sureto have attracted beasts or soldiers of the enemy. Youronly chance is to try to escape through the woods back toBran Castle. Your own unlives notwithstanding, youmust get word to Lord Jrgen that an attack is plannedtomorrow night, rather than in one weeks time as heoriginally thought.

    [GIVE THE PLAYERS A CHANCE TO DECIDEWHETHER THEY LEAVE NAGY BEHIND OR TAKE

    HIS BODY ALONG. THE CHOICE HAS MANY DIF-FERENT IMPLICATIONS, SO HAVE THE PLAYERSREFER TO THEIR HIERARHY OF SINS AND THEIR

    NATURES FOR GUIDANCE. IF THEY ACT CON-TRARY TO THEIR ROAD, HAVE THEM ROLL TOSEE IF THEY LOSE ROAD RATING. ONCE THEPLAYERS HAVE DECIDED WHAT TO DO, ANDHAVE ROLLED FOR ROAD RATING, GO BACK TONEXT... UNDER THE HEADING BACK TO BRANCASTLE.]

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    19/411 5 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

    HIMSELF NAGY MIGHT HAVELEFT IS GONE FOR GOOD.]

    Combat With the Soldiers[YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ

    THIS PART ALOUD.]

    Combat against the soldiers (or soldiers and beasts)proceeds exactly the same way here as it did in the earlierscene against the beasts. Apply the dramatic systems andthe appropriate dice rolls the same way. The only vari-ables here are in the way the soldiers themselves behave.

    The SoldiersTheir important ratings are as follows:Attack: seven dice, Dodge: three dice, Damage: five

    dice, Soak: five dice Initiative: 6+1d10, Health Levels:six, Blood: six

    The BeastsTheir important ratings are as follows:Attack: three dice, Damage: three dice, Soak: three

    dice, Initiative: 1d10, Health Levels: three, Blood: threeThese soldiers are smarter and a little better trained

    than mere beasts. They are wearing light leather armor andcarrying cruel-looking short swords. If the characters haveencountered a pack of them who are leading beasts, thesoldiers wait until the beasts are finished off before movingin. As each beast falls, a soldier moves up to take its place.Remember, the beasts will only attack, they will not dodge.

    As for the way they fight, soldiers attack with theirshort swords or dodge, depending on whether or not they

    have the advantage. That is to say that if a soldiersinitiative is better than his opponents initiative, he willattack. If he loses the initiative, he will attempt to dodgehis opponents attack.

    If one of these soldiers reaches five health levels ofdamage, he will turn and attempt to flee. He moves slowlyand with a great deal of effort, but it still takes a charactersaction during his initiative turn to catch up (should he beso inclined). A fleeing soldier will not attack, but he willstill attempt to dodge if the character attacks.

    Now...[READ THIS PART ALOUD.]

    When all of your immediate enemies finally lie deadat your feet, the noise in the surrounding area dies downsignificantly. You cant hear any nearby sounds of pursuitor attack, but you know that more of Rustovitchs soldiersmust still be lurking. You can take this opportunity to feedfrom your downed victims in an effort to heal yourinjuries, but it might just as well behoove you to hurry onback to Bran Castle and report to Lord Jrgen. The choiceis yours, but choose quickly.

    Rolling to see if a charactersloses Road rating

    Determine the sin the character has com-mitted.

    Use the corresponding number as the difficulty

    for the roll. If the number is higher than the charac-ters Road rating, no roll is necessary and the characterdoes not lose any Road rating. If the number is equalto or lower than the characters Road rating, havingthe player roll Conscience/Conviction.

    Succeed: Do not decrease Road rating; thecharacter feels guilty for violating his moral code.

    Fail: Decrease Road rating by one; the charac-ter does not feel remorse for violating his moral code.

    Botch: Decrease Road rating by two; the char-acter enjoyed violating his moral code.

    [NOW, GO BACK A BIT TO WHERE ITSAYS NEXT... UNDER BACK TO BRANCASTLE.]

    Failure[READ THIS PART ALOUD.]

    You search for more than half an hour, but you findno sign of Nagy. He knows this terrain better than you do,you realize, since hes been here at least since the begin-ning of Lord Jrgens campaign, and youve only justarrived.

    [GIVE THE PLAYERS A CHANCE HERE

    TO KEEP SEARCHING OR GIVE UP.IF THEY KEEP SEARCHING, HAVETHEM ROLL THEIR PERCEPTION +

    INVESTIGATION AGAIN, THIS TIMEINCREASING THE DIFFICULTY BY ONE.

    IF THIS CYCLE REPEATS ITSELF,INCREASE THE DIFFICULTY BY ONE

    AGAIN AS NECESSARY, BUT HOLDINGSTEADY AT 10 UNTIL THE LEADER IS

    EITHER SUCCESSFUL OR HE BOTCHES.IF, ON THE OTHER HAND, THEY DECIDE

    TO GIVE UP THE SEARCH, GO BACK ABIT TO WHERE IT SAYS NEXT...

    UNDER BACK TO BRAN CASTLE.]

    Botch[A BOTCH ON THIS ROLL IS THE SAME

    AS A BOTCH ON THE DEXTERITY +STEALTH ROLL UNDER NEXT...,

    WHICH IS UNDERBACK TO BRANCASTLE. REFER TO THAT ENTRY. ON

    TOP OF THAT, ANY TRAIL OR TRACE OF

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    20/411 6 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    [IF, HOWEVER, YOURE A REAL SADISTOR YOUVE STILL GOT PLENTY OF TIME

    ON YOUR HANDS, YOU CAN FORCEEVERYONE TO ROLL DEXTERITY +

    STEALTH AGAIN AND PROCEED FROMWHERE IT SAYS NEXT... ABOVE. IF

    YOU WANT TO BE A LITTLE NICER, YOU

    CAN REQUIRE THIS ROLL OF ONLYTHOSE WHO DIDNT SUCCEED ON THEINITIAL DEXTERITY + STEALTH ROLL.

    OTHERWISE, JUST GO STRAIGHTTO THE EPILOGUE.]

    EpilogueReturn to Bran Castle

    [READ THIS PART ALOUD TO YOURPLAYERS ONLY IF THEY FOUND NAGY

    AFTER HE BETRAYED THEM ANDLEARNED THE ATTACK WILL TAKEPLACE TOMORROW NIGHT. IF THEY DID

    NOT FIND NAGY AFTER THE AMBUSHAND DO NOT KNOW WHEN THEATTACK WILL TAKE PLACE, USE

    THE SECOND EPILOGUE.]

    Your return through the woods is harrowing andfraught with anxiety, but eventually you regain familiarground and hurry to the safety of Bran Castle. The guardsusher you inside in a hurry, assailing you with questionsabout what youve been through and how you fared. Theircaptain chases them all back to their posts, though, and

    takes you to Lord Jrgen straightaway.You make your report on what you went through inthe woods, and the Sword-Bearers face grows grim andgrave. He is furious that his spy, Nagy, betrayed him, buthe is proud of you for seeing through the deception. He isalso startled to learn that the attack he had been antici-pating in a weeks time could actually take place as soonas tomorrow night. He calls for the captain of his guardsand shares that news, then orders him to change thewatch schedule and concentrate his forces at the castle fora set of new orders. The captain then hurries away toassemble the men.

    Finally, Jrgen turns back to you and begins to speak.

    Brave knights of the Black Cross, he says,you have done me a greater service tonight than Ioriginally expected. You have revealed a potentiallydeadly treachery and alerted us to an attack that wouldhave taken us by surprise without your efforts. For this youwill be well rewarded, and your fame will spread throughevery land I call my own.

    But now, I must call upon you again. Rustovitchthinks to storm this castle and drive us out perhaps as earlyas tomorrow night, hoping to catch us off guard. Well, I

    Combat Summary:Soldiers and Beasts

    Determine initiative: Add Wits + Dexterity +1d10 for the players. The beasts initiative is just 1d10

    (roll once and use the same number for all the beasts).The soldiers initiative is 1d10 +6 (roll once and usethe same number for all the soldiers).

    Have the players declare blood and Willpowerexpenditures and Discipline activation. Give them amoment to figure out what their characters can do.

    Highest initiative acts first, then in descendingorder. Resolve each players action before moving onto the next. A character using Celerity takes his firstaction on his initiative turn; all other actions takeplace at the end of the turn.

    One action/turn, except when using Celerity.Characters have the option of dodging (or parrying)

    or attacking. Bests will only attack, and they inflictlethal damage.The beasts will only attack; they will not dodge.

    If the soldier has a higher initiative than his oppo-nent, he will attack. If he has a lower initiative thanhis opponent, then he will defend.

    Rolls:Dodge: Dexterity + DodgeParry: Dexterity + MeleeUnarmed Attack: Dexterity + BrawlArmed Attack: Dexterity + Melee

    Resolve actions.

    1. Roll for action.2. Roll for damage, if necessary. Includeextra dice or successes from weaponsor Disciplines.3. Roll to soak damage, if necessary. Includeextra dice from armor and Disciplines.4. Record damage on Health chart.

    Resolve Celerity actions, as above.Remember: Spending blood and Willpower, acti-

    vating Disciplines and soaking damage are not actions!

    [IF THEY DECIDE TO FEED, LET THEM DOSO, BUT PLAY UP HOW PEDESTRIAN AND

    WRETCHEDLY ANIMALISTIC THEY SEEM,HAVING BEEN REDUCED TO LAPPING

    BLOOD UP FROM CORPSES LIKE CARRION-EATERS. THE CHARACTERS COULD ALSOCHANGE TACTICS AND GO LOOKING FORNAGY IF THEY DIDNT CHOOSE TO DO SOBEFORE. IF THEY DO, GO BACK TO WHEREIT SAYS FINDING NAGY AND PROCEED

    FROM THERE. OTHERWISE, YOU CANPROCEED ON TO THE EPILOGUE.]

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    21/411 7 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

    say let us turn his own tactic against him. Let us makeready tonight and take up the offensive ourselves as thesun sets tomorrow evening. As the fiends army ridesforth, they will find us waiting to receive them at theirvery walls. We will take the battle to their very gate, andwe will be the ones driving them back! What say youknights? Will you take up arms with your sword-brethren

    and prove to them what youve proven to me tonight?[LET THEM RESPOND.]

    To those that say no, he saysI understand, sword-brethren. Your have suffered much tonight, and havemany other duties. I have promised you reward, and so youshall have it. First, though, you must rest, and I mustprepare for battle. We will speak again, soon.To thosethat say yes, Lord Jrgen responds Excellent. Then comewith me. Let us make ready. We have much to do beforethe battle can be joined.

    Second Epilogue[USE THIS EPILOGUE IF THE

    CHARACTERS DID NOT LEARNTHAT THE ATTACK WILL HAPPEN

    TOMORROW NIGHT.]

    Return to Bran CastleYour return through the woods is harrowing and

    fraught with anxiety, but eventually you regain familiarground and hurry to the safety of Bran Castle. The guardsusher you inside in a hurry, assailing you with questionsabout what youve been through and how you fared. Theircaptain chases them all back to their posts, though, and

    takes you to Lord Jrgen straightaway.

    You make your report on what you went through inthe woods, and the Sword-Bearers face grows grim andgrave. He is furious that his spy, Nagy, betrayed him, but heis proud of you for seeing through the deception, and nowworried that Nagy may have been sending false intelli-gence. He calls for the captain of his guards and shares thatnews, then orders him to change the watch schedule and

    concentrate his forces at the castle for a set of new orders.The captain then hurries away to assemble the men.

    Finally, Jrgen turns back to you and begins to speak.Brave knights of the Black Cross, he says,you have done me a greater service tonight than I

    originally expected. You have revealed apotentially deadly treachery. For this you will be well

    rewarded, and your fame will spread through every land Icall my own.

    But now, I must call upon you again. Rustovitchthinks to storm this castle and drive us out,perhaps asearly as tomorrow night, hoping to catch us off guard.Well, I say let us turn his own tactic against him. Let us

    make ready tonight and take up the offensive ourselves asthe sun sets tomorrow evening. We will take the battle tofiends very gate, and we will be the ones driving themback! What say you knights? Will you take up arms withyour sword-brethren and prove to them what youveproven to me tonight?

    [LET THEM RESPOND.]

    To those that say no, he saysI understand, sword-brethren. Your have suffered much tonight, and have manyother duties. I have promised you reward, and so you shall haveit. First, though, you must rest, and I must prepare for battle.Wewillspeak again, soon. To those that say yes, Lord Jrgen

    responds Excellent. Then come with me. Let us make ready.We have much to do before the battle can be joined.

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    22/411 8 DARK AGES: VAMPIRE

    FitzYou were a member of the Teutonic Knights before

    your Embrace, and it was your dedicated service that firstdrew your sires attention. After your Embrace you spenta period of time training and serving your sire, learning

    the ways of Cainites. A leader in your mortal life, you werechosen by your sire to lead in your new life as well, and tothis end he taught you to follow the Road of Kings, a roadof oaths, honor, and service. When your sire deemed youready, you joined the Order of the Black Cross as a way togain experience as a leader of Cainites, a prelude to dayyou will rise to the rank and status of lord, commandingvampire and mortal alike. You have served with honorand distinction, and have won some renown for yourselfas a knight and a leader.

    Now, you are called upon by the Order to travel tothe lands of Lord Jrgen, and he has requested you escorthis trusted spy back safely to Bran Castle. From one ofLord Jrgens standing, there is no difference between arequest and a command, so you readily agreed to the task.The woods are treacherous, but you are not alone. Thoughstrangers to each other, your companions are also knightsof the Black Cross. As fellow knights, you know you cantrust them to be steadfast in their duties, especially sinceyou are there to lead them. Let us hope they trust in yourleadership as much as you trust in their diligence.

    Roleplaying Hints: As the only knight on the Roadof Kings, and with more status than your companions, youare the self-appointed leader of the group. You are certainyour fellow knights will see the logic in this choice, andif they do not, you know that explaining your status andqualifications will alleviate any doubts they hold. You are

    confident, honorable, fair and aware that at all times, youmust lead by example. Each knight brings his or herunique strengths to the group, and therefore you arecommitted to helping the group work together to accom-plish this task. Besides, you are bound by your word tobring back the spy to Lord Jurgen, and a knight alwayskeeps his oath.

    Gear: Fine but practical clothing, money, broad-sword, armor

    Clan: VentrueWarrior kings and loyal vassals, Venture are found

    among the leaders and aristocracy of Cainite society.They are knights, noble warriors, and empire builders.They often Embrace mortals who personify honor, powerand conquest, believing nobility is a matter of both bloodand deed. Warlords and knights, they gather armies andstrike out in conquest sometimes at each other. Whetherleader or follower, Ventrue know their time of glory hascome, and that still more awaits them if they only havethe courage and skills to seize it, either on the battlefieldor in the courts of great Cainite lords.

    Weakness: All Ventrue have a specific limitation ontheir feeding habits. They are restricted to feeding off onetype of human, such as priests or virgins or Frenchmen.You do not regain Blood points when imbibing bloodfrom mortals not among your selected prey. This weak-ness does not apply to drinking vampire blood. Fitz canonly feed off honorable men and women.

    Nature & DemeanorAutocrat: You were made to lead. You thrive when

    you can take charge and bring order to whats beenchaotic. You do not hide your Nature your ambitionand natural affinity for leadership is evident to all whoknow you. Regain Willpower when you lead a group tosome significant accomplishment.

    Disciplines

    DominateThose who do not lead must follow, and those that

    refuse to follow must be made to obey. Dominate allowsa Cainites to impose his will on another, forcing thevictim to obey.

    Observance of the Spoken WordBy making eye contact and speaking in a language

    the target understands, the Ventrue may issue a one-wordcommand which the victim must obey immediately. Theplayer rolls Manipulation + Intimidation with a difficultyequal to the targets Willpower.

    Fortitude

    Though all Cainites are tougher than mortals, somehave powers of endurance that are truly supernatural.Each dot in Fortitude adds one die to rolls when soakingbashing and lethal damage. In addition, a player may rollStamina + Fortitude to soak damage from sunlight andfire. If the character suffers aggravated damage from anyother source, roll only his Fortitude rating.

    PresenceLeaders need more than skill at arms; charm and

    charisma are equally important. Presence is a tool ofpersuasion, allowing a vampire to augment his talents ofexpression and intimidation.

    AweThe use of Awe increases a characters charisma,making him more fascinating and impressive to thosearound him, and targets are more likely to listen to andwork with a vampire successfully using Awe. To activateAwe, the player rolls Charisma + Expression (difficulty7). The number of successes determines the number ofpeople affected.

  • 8/3/2019 Dark Ages: Vampire Sample Adventure

    23/411 9 KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS

    Successes Effectiveness1 One person2 Two people3 Six people4 20 people

    Dread GazeBy activating Dread Gaze and physically revealing

    his vampiric nature by baring his fangs, glaring andhissing, the Cainite inspires unbearable terror in hisvictims, sending them fleeing from his horrific visage. Touse Dread Gaze, the player rolls Charisma + Intimidation,difficulty equal to