TEXT: Free Quickstart Rules and Adventure
  Free Quickstart Rules and Adventure
  
  Begin Your Journey Across The Threshold
  This free booklet gives you and five of your friends everything you 
  need to play your first game of Geist: The Sin-Eaters, White Wolf’s 
  all-new Storytelling game set in the World of Darkness. It contains 
  all of the rules and characters you need to start, as well as “The Re-
  turn of Mr. Monster,” a complete introductory scenario. All you need 
  is a few 10-sided dice and you’re ready to play.
  Geist: The Sin-Eaters goes on sale August 2009.
  www.worldofdarkness.com
  ISBN 978-1-58846-397-5 
  WW60508
  FREE!
  PRINTED IN CANADA
  
  This is Your  
  Second Chance
  You knew when it happened that it was the end. 
  Everything you’d hoped to be, all those things you 
  wanted to do before you died, all of it was gone. All 
  the promise of your life winked out in an instant, 
  and why? It just didn’t make sense. In that split 
  second before you became an obituary, you looked 
  back on your life and–no matter how long you 
  lived, no matter how much you had done–it wasn’t 
  enough. So when that other part of you first came, 
  you listened. When it whispered in a voice like water 
  over tiny, polished rocks, you nodded desperately 
  and agreed to anything, whatever it wanted, just 
  for one more chance. And the moment passed, and 
  you were alive. 
  But you were not alone.
  After your near-death experience, everything 
  changed. Your friends say that it was confronting 
  your own mortality that made you change. They 
  do their best to accommodate the new you, but 
  sometimes, when they look in your eyes, they see a 
  stranger staring back. Ever since the event, you’ve 
  been a home to the other, bound to it like a spiritual 
  conjoined twin. And sometimes, you need to step 
  away from your old life and do what the other needs, 
  even if it’s only to shut it up for a little bit, to silence 
  the voice so you can sleep. 
  You are now part of the World of Darkness, a world 
  very much like our own, save that the shadows hide 
  very real monsters from the ignorant masses, preying 
  upon them, playing with them or haunting them. 
  In Geist: The Sin-Eaters, the seventh Storytell-
  ing game set in the World of Darkness, you and 
  your friends tell the story of those people who have 
  cheated death and found a new lease on life by al-
  lowing themselves to be bound with shades known 
  as geists. This is not a deal to be struck lightly. Geists 
  clamor and claw on the other side, so determined to 
  reach their goals that they seek out people like your 
  character, on the brink of death. But simply dying (or 
  almost dying) is not enough. A geist needs someone 
  already touched by death: a sensitive or medium. A 
  deal is struck, and the sensitive returns to the land of 
  the living with a passenger in tow. The Bound cannot 
  simply go on with their lives, for the scales have fallen 
  from their eyes. Their brush with mortality forever 
  alters lives; once you have crossed the threshold, 
  you cannot return unscathed. Those who return find 
  the world a darker place, full of shadows and ghosts. 
  Always ghosts. And the geist is not simply a spectator, 
  hoping their hosts will fill their part of the bargain. 
  They whisper and cajole and sometimes force the 
  issue, acting of their own volition. 
  Each Sin-Eater deals with their situation differ-
  ently. Some take on the role of judge, reaping those 
  souls they deem worthy of punishment and saving 
  those they deem to be innocents, according to their 
  own personal code. Others listen to the pleading of 
  ghosts only to use their secrets for their own benefit. 
  Still others, having touched death, are determined 
  to enjoy every moment of life.
  And geists are not simply ghosts. They are ghosts 
  distilled into an almost pure expression of violence, 
  need or sickness. Each geist has come unmoored 
  from their living identity and embraced the essence 
  of their death. The ghost who used to be Tommaso 
  “Tommy” Sorvino might remember his life and still 
  nurse a grudge against the Manetti family for double 
  crossing him, but that person has been so shaped by 
  the violence of his life and death that he has been 
  transformed in a crucible of bullets and blood into 
  the Trigger Man. 
  The Game   
  Geist is a Storytelling (or roleplaying) game. In 
  it, a group of players cooperates to tell a story. Each 
  player takes on the role of a single Sin-Eater, except 
  for the Storyteller. This player essentially takes on 
  every other role, describing the world to the other 
  players, acting out the parts of other characters and 
  determining what challenges the players’ characters 
  face. Players roll dice to determine whether their 
  characters can overcome the challenges before them. 
  In a typical exchange, the Storyteller describes the 
  scene in which the players’ characters find them-
  selves. (“You rise from a night’s rest in the small 
  shack on the outskirts of town you use as a hideout. 
  A scratching at the door tells you someone is trying 
  to get in. What do you do?”) The players in turn 
  describe their characters’ actions, usually in the first 
  person. (“I sneak up to the door and look through 
  the peep hole.”) The Storyteller then describes the 
  results of the action, and he and the players go back 
  and forth until the scene is resolved. Dice are rolled 
  when players have their characters try things that 
  aren’t guaranteed success. Jumping out of a moving 
  car without getting hurt would require a dice roll; 
  leaving a stationary one wouldn’t. 
  
  This booklet contains everything you and five of 
  your friends will need to play your first game of Geist, 
  except for some pencils, paper for notes and several 
  10-sided dice. (These specialty dice are available in 
  most hobby shops and are sometimes called “d10s.”) 
  Those of you who are going to be players should 
  read over the character backgrounds in the back of 
  this booklet and choose the one you want to play. 
  The Storyteller should read the rest of the booklet 
  in preparation before playing. 
  The Rules 
  Geist uses a set of rules called the Storytelling 
  System. Many of the rules are introduced in the 
  scenario proper or on the character sheets, but there 
  are a few basics to go over first. 
  Rolling Dice: When rolling dice in the Storytell-
  ing System, you do not add the numbers together. 
  Instead, any single die that comes up 8 or better is 
  considered a success. You usually need only one suc-
  cess to accomplish a task, but more is always better 
  (causing more damage in combat, for example). Any 
  die that comes up 0 (considered a 10) counts as a 
  success and can be rolled again to potentially get 
  another success. If you roll no successes at all, your 
  character has failed that action. 
  Dice Pools: The number of dice you roll to at-
  tempt something is called your dice pool. It is usu-
  ally made up of the total of one Attribute and one 
  Skill on your character sheet, along with modifiers 
  imposed by adverse conditions or any special equip-
  ment your character uses. 
  Modifiers: The Storyteller determines what modi-
  fiers apply to any dice pool. These either add to or 
  subtract from the number of dice rolled in the dice 
  pool. Modifiers usually come from tools used, Merits 
  the character has or general circumstances. The 
  Storyteller should grant or impose a bonus or pen-
  alty if the circumstances are especially favorable or 
  deleterious, usually ranging from +5 to –5 (although 
  modifiers tend to be closer to +2 to –2). For example, 
  an attempt to climb a wall that is slick with rain and 
  slime could suffer a –2 penalty, whereas doing so on 
  one with a few handholds could gain a +1. 
  Chance Die: If modifiers reduce your dice pool to 
  zero or fewer dice, you should roll a single die called 
  a chance die. A 10 rolled on a chance die generates 
  a single success, while any other result is a failure. 
  Rolling a 1 on a chance die indicates a dramatic 
  failure, and the Storyteller should describe especially 
  troublesome results (a gun jamming, a blowout dur-
  ing a car chase, etc.). 
  Actions: Almost anything a character does is 
  considered a simple action. You determine the dice 
  pool, roll the dice, and see whether you succeed or 
  fail. In combat you can perform one simple action 
  per turn. 
  Sometimes you’ll be asked to take an extended 
  action, which represents doing something over a 
  period of time, like researching something in a li-
  brary or searching a room. In this case, each roll of 
  the dice represents a fixed amount of time (usually 
  10 minutes, but it varies for some more involved 
  actions). You accumulate successes from roll to roll 
  until you run out of time or get a certain number 
  described in the text. 
  Some actions can also be contested, which means 
  two people are working against each other, such as 
  in an arm-wrestling match or when a character tries 
  to sneak past a watchful guard. In a contested action, 
  each player (or the player and the Storyteller) rolls 
  the dice pool for his character, and the person with 
  the most successes wins. 
  Finally, some actions are reflexive, which means 
  they happen automatically and don’t take up any 
  time. You can perform them and still perform a 
  simple action in that turn. 
  Turns and Scenes: A turn is a 3-second period used 
  to track time passing in combat. A scene is a longer 
  period of time, usually as long as it takes for everyone 
  to do what they want in a particular place. 
  The Character Sheet 
  This booklet contains character sheets for the five 
  characters players will use in “Mr. Monster Returns.” 
  These sheets contain all the game numbers that de-
  fine a character’s capabilities, divided into a variety 
  of traits. Most traits are rated from one dot (•) to five 
  (•••••), much like a star rating system for movies. 
  Different traits represent different things. 
  Attributes represent inherent capabilities, such as 
  Strength, Intelligence or Presence. Nearly every roll 
  uses one of these as a basis for the dice pool. 
  Geists, spirits and ghosts use three special At-
  tributes: Power, Finesse and Resistance. Power 
  represents a ghost’s ability to affect its environment. 
  Finesse represents a ghost’s capability in interacting 
  with or manipulating elements of its environment. 
  Resistance represents a ghost’s ability to withstand 
  forces that could banish or destroy it. 
  
  Skills represent learned abilities, like Firearms or 
  Medicine. A word or phrase in parentheses next to 
  a Skill indicates a Specialty, an area of the overall 
  Skill in which the character is particularly talented. 
  If you are asked to roll a dice pool in which your 
  character doesn’t have the right Skill, you suffer a 
  penalty of either –1 (for a missing Physical or Social 
  Skill) or –3 (for a missing Mental Skill). If, on the 
  other hand, you have a relevant specialty in the Skill 
  in your dice pool, you get a +1 modifier. 
  Health determines how wounded your character 
  is, and it has both dots and points. Your character’s 
  dots are filled in on your character sheet, and they 
  represent the total number of Health points avail-
  able to him when he is uninjured. His lost Health 
  points are recorded in the corresponding boxes, de-
  noting his current state of health. (See “Health and 
  Damage” for how to mark off Health points and the 
  effects of wound penalties.)  Geists, spirits and ghosts 
  use Corpus points instead of Health points. 
  Willpower represents your character’s reserves. 
  You can spend only one point of Willpower on any 
  roll, and you get three additional dice in your dice 
  pool. Alternatively, you can spend a point to raise 
  your Defense trait by two against a single attack. 
  Willpower is valuable, and it’s regained by acting 
  in accordance with your character’s Virtue and Vice 
  (see individual character descriptions). It is ranked 
  from 1 to 10, unlike most of the other traits. 
  Merits are special edges a character has, such as 
  Contacts, Resources or Striking Looks. The effects of 
  each are explained in the character’s description. 
  Defense and Initiative Modifiers are traits used 
  in combat, and are explained below. 
  Speed is the number of yards a character can move 
  in one combat turn and still perform an action. A 
  character can run up to twice his Speed rating yards 
  in a turn if he sacrifices his action. Speed will most 
  likely come into play in a chase. 
  Combat 
  Violence is common among the Sin-Eaters. Some 
  of them are so filled by aggressive deathly energies 
  that they simply can’t avoid it. When a fight breaks 
  out, it can be important to keep track of who is doing 
  what, and how badly they are hurting each other. 
  First, the Storyteller tells the players their char-
  acters are entering combat. Until the combat ends, 
  everyone acts turn-by-turn, with each character 
  getting one chance to act each turn. 
  Next, have everyone roll Initiative, which is the 
  result of the roll of a single die + the character’s 
  Initiative modifier as listed on the character sheet. 
  This is a rare case in which you add the number that 
  comes up on a die to the value of your trait, instead 
  of rolling a dice pool and looking for a success. 
  Starting with the character with the highest 
  Initiative result and continuing to the lowest, each 
  character gets to take a single action (usually an at-
  tack). The player can choose to yield her character’s 
  action until later in the Initiative queue, or until the 
  next turn if she wishes. The Storyteller resolves each 
  character’s action before asking the next player what 
  her character does. 
  If a character attacks another character, the at-
  tacker rolls the appropriate dice pool:
  Unarmed close combat: Strength + Brawl, minus 
  target’s Defense and armor (if any) 
  Armed close combat: Strength + Weaponry, 
  minus target’s Defense and armor (if any) 
  Touching an opponent: Dexterity + Brawl, minus 
  target’s Defense 
  Ranged combat (guns and bows): Dexterity + 
  Firearms, minus target’s armor (if any) 
  Ranged combat (thrown weapons): Dexterity + 
  Athletics, minus target’s Defense and armor (if any) 
  Add bonus dice based upon what weapon is being 
  used or what effect is being performed, then subtract 
  penalties for circumstance conditions. The player 
  rolls the remaining pool. Each success equates to 
  a Health point of damage inflicted, the type of 
  which is determined by the nature of the attack. 
  The Storyteller describes the attack and wound in 
  narrative terms. 
  Once everyone has acted, a new turn starts and 
  the player with the highest Initiative gets to act 
  again. Players do not make new Initiative rolls 
  every turn. 
  Complications 
  Avoiding Damage in Close Combat: Your charac-
  ter’s Defense trait represents his instinctive ability to 
  duck and weave and make an enemy’s close-combat 
  attacks more difficult, and so serves as a penalty to 
  incoming attacks. If your character hasn’t yet acted this 
  turn and is willing to forgo that action, he can dodge, 
  which doubles his Defense for the rest of the turn. 
  If your character is attacked multiple times in the 
  same turn, however, it becomes harder for him to avoid 
  being hurt. For every attack targeted at him past the 
  first, reduce the character’s Defense by 1 (to a minimum 
  
  of 0). If your character is dodging, the doubled Defense 
  reduces by 1 for each additional attack. 
  Avoiding Damage in Ranged Combat: Unless a 
  ranged attacker is only a few feet away or is throwing 
  a weapon, Defense doesn’t apply. To avoid damage in 
  a firefight you can either hide behind something solid 
  or fall prone to the ground. Falling prone constitutes 
  a character’s action for the turn but levies a –2 pen-
  alty on ranged attacks. Anyone within a few feet gets 
  a +2 bonus to hit a prone character, though. 
  Concealment and Cover: If your character is 
  partially concealed behind an object, she is harder 
  to hit with ranged attacks. The penalty goes from –1 
  (crouching behind an office chair) to –3 (poking up 
  out of a foxhole). If you are completely concealed, 
  the attacker suffers no dice pool penalty but has to 
  score enough successes to shoot through the inter-
  vening object (called the cover). Piercing an object 
  reduces the number of successes rolled by a number 
  based upon the durability of the cover: from 1 (for 
  wood or thick glass) to 3 (for steel). If this penalty 
  reduces the number of successes to 0, the attack fails 
  to penetrate the cover and you take no damage. 
  Improvised Weapons: Combatants invariably 
  grab whatever items come to hand to use as weap-
  ons against each other, especially when they come 
  to a fight unarmed and opponents prove to be 
  well-armed. This is particularly true of Sin-Eaters 
  moving into the Twilight realm (see p. 9) to engage 
  unmanifested ghosts directly. Use of an improvised 
  weapon, like a bottle or wooden plank, incurs a –1 
  penalty due to the awkward nature of fighting with 
  an item that isn’t built for combat.
  Range: Every ranged weapon has three ranges 
  listed in yards, in the format “short range/medium 
  range/long range.” An attacker suffers no penalty 
  when her target is within the short range. If the 
  target is at medium range, she suffers a –2 penalty. 
  At long range, this penalty goes to –4. 
  Specifying Targets: Sometimes your character 
  wants to direct an attack at a particular part of an 
  opponent, or at an object carried by an opponent 
  in order to achieve a specific effect. Since smaller 
  targets are harder to hit in this way, the Storyteller 
  must impose penalties to the attack roll based on the 
  size of the intended target. A torso might be at –1, 
  a leg or arm –2, a head –3, a hand –4 and an eye (or 
  the “off” button of a machine) –5. If no successes 
  are gained, the attack misses altogether. 
  The results of a successful attack are determined 
  by the Storyteller. A successful Strength + Athlet-
  ics roll might be required for a victim to hold onto 
  a held object, with a penalty to the effort equal to 
  the damage done in the attack. A successful attack 
  staged on a body part might ignore armor, because 
  none is worn there. A blow to the head with a 
  blunt object that normally inflicts bashing damage 
  might inflict lethal damage, or cause the victim to 
  be stunned.
  Health and Damage 
  There are three types of damage, each more serious 
  than the last: bashing, lethal and aggravated. Bashing 
  damage generally results from blunt or stunning at-
  tacks. Lethal damage often comes from cuts, gunshots 
  and other more serious attacks. Aggravated damage is 
  the result of especially vile supernatural attacks or 
  extremely damaging effects (like fire). 
  Marking Damage: When a character suffers 
  damage, the player marks off that number of Health 
  points, starting with the box under the leftmost dot 
  of his Health trait and proceeding left to right. The 
  symbol used depends upon the type of damage. 
  Bashing damage is marked with a slash (/) in the 
  first available empty box. So imagining that Lee 
  (one of the characters in this scenario, who has eight 
  Health dots) had just taken one point of bashing 
  damage, his Health boxes would look like this: 
  Lethal damage is marked with an X, and it pushes 
  any existing bashing damage right on the track (so 
  that it always appears to the left of bashing dam-
  age). If Lee next took a point of lethal damage, her 
  track would be: 
  Aggravated damage is marked with a large asterisk 
  (*) by adding a vertical bar to an X. It also pushes 
  any existing lethal and bashing damage right on the 
  track (so that it always appears to the left of lethal 
  or bashing damage). If Lee next suffered a point of 
  aggravated damage, his track would be: 
  No More Health: Marking off a character’s last 
  Health box usually means the character has become 
  incapacitated. If that rightmost wound is bashing, 
  he falls unconscious. If that rightmost wound is 
  lethal or aggravated, the character quickly bleeds 
  
  to death. Note that this would mean the character 
  has no bashing damage at all, since it will always 
  be the rightmost. Some supernatural creatures may 
  react differently to damage. 
  Additional Damage: An unconscious or severely 
  battered Sin-Eater can still be damaged by further at-
  tacks. Without further Health boxes to mark off, you 
  represent this damage by upgrading existing wounds. 
  Any new bashing wound upgrades an existing bash-
  ing wound to lethal (make the leftmost / into an X), 
  while new lethal damage can upgrade older wounds 
  to aggravated (make the leftmost X into an asterisk). 
  Additional aggravated damage also converts a point 
  of bashing or lethal damage to aggravated (make the 
  leftmost / or X into an asterisk). 
  Healing: Sin-Eaters recover from damage with 
  rest and medical attention. Left to heal naturally, 
  characters recover one point of bashing damage 
  every 15 minutes, one point of lethal damage every 
  two days, and one point of aggravated damage every 
  week. Lost Health is recovered from right to left on 
  the character sheet.
  Life as a Sin-Eater
  The characters in this scenario are already fa-
  miliar with their geists and the shadowy world of 
  the bound, but since the players can’t be expected 
  to know the various aspects of sin-eater existence, 
  we have compiled the details into this compre-
  hensive list. 
  Archetypes
  Sin-Eaters send a lot of time thinking about death. 
  Even those who celebrate life do so as a reaction to 
  death. A Sin-Eater’s archetype defines her relation-
  ship with and philosophy regarding death.  The 
  Sin-Eater’s archetype may not utterly express her 
  beliefs, but it should express the gist of her outlook. 
  It is also worth noting that two Sin-Eaters with the 
  same archetype may have very different approaches. 
  A Sin-Eater’s archetype also helps to determine how 
  she regains plasm.
  Advocate: Dedicated to finishing the unfinished 
  business of the dead, Advocates may be driven to 
  serve the dead or just relate to shades better than 
  those who are still alive. Of all the members of a 
  krewe, they have the best relations with the dead 
  simply because they focus on the needs and wants 
  of each ghost they meet.
  Bonepicker: Scavengers using their otherworldly 
  powers to make this world more comfortable.  The 
  whole point of dying and coming back is to get 
  another chance at life, another set of years to 
  live. Unlike people who believe in reincarnation, 
  Bonepickers carry on where they left off, out to make 
  their new lives as comfortable as possible. 
  Celebrant: Knowing with absolute certainty that 
  you’re going to die is a powerful motivation to go 
  out and live. Celebrants don’t just know that, they 
  embrace it. Whether a Sin-Eater enjoys life through 
  sex, drugs or base-jumping, one thing’s for certain: 
  his life’s never boring. Time alive is a finite resource, 
  so it’s up to a Celebrant to spend it as best he can. 
  And if he can make other people’s lives more inter-
  esting, that’s just great.
  Gatekeeper: Sin-Eaters have a deeper insight into 
  life and death, and the distinct difference between 
  the two. Having been in both states, some take 
  on the role of Gatekeeper, policing the boundary 
  between the living and the dead. Young ghosts may 
  try to live vicariously through the living, while 
  others torment the living world just because they’re 
  no longer part of it. Older ghosts have stranger mo-
  tivations, having lost so much of their sense of self 
  that few can understand why they try to kill anyone 
  who spends a night in the Barker House. When the 
  dead interfere with the living, a Gatekeeper has to 
  make a stand.
  Mourner: Life after death is just a different kind of 
  life, a new way of encountering the world, where the 
  fetters of emotion and importance become explicit 
  rather than implicit. Consciousness remains, albeit 
  altered by the lack of a physical form. But all death 
  is really is a change, not an ending. Sin-Eaters who 
  recognize this first and foremost are known as Mourn-
  ers. To one of these brave souls, her time among the 
  living was forfeit when she died that first time.
  Necromancer: A ghost is more than the echo 
  of a person who was once alive. Not only do the 
  dead carry on existing, some of them learn. Some 
  Necromancers discovered just a taste of that occult 
  lore when they died, and returning with a geist just 
  makes them hungry for more. Others realize that 
  they barely know anything about what happens 
  after death, and hunger for details and secrets that 
  can help them prepare their loved ones for their 
  eventual death. A Necromancer’s family may think 
  him morbid, but he’s not really thinking about death, 
  he’s concentrating on what comes after.
  Pilgrim: For some people, dying is a fundamental 
  chance, a moment when everything they’ve done 
  
  in life is taken apart and shown to be pointless. A 
  Sin-Eater is unique because he knows all this when 
  his geist gives him another chance, a means to get 
  things right one last chance. If a soul dies without 
  fetters to the living world and no need to complete 
  one last task, then it likely will not come back as a 
  ghost, instead moving on to their final reward. Those 
  who follow the Pilgrim’s path try to live a life that 
  will lead them to a reward, and they encourage those 
  they help to do the same.
  Reaper: Whatever standards of moral relativism 
  a person holds to, it’s only the most saintly—or the 
  most misguided—who think that everyone has a 
  right to life. Some people poison the world just by 
  existing. Beyond redemption in this life, it’s up to 
  someone who’s seen the other side to offer them 
  another chance in the afterlife. Reapers do what they 
  can to make the world a better place, bringing death 
  to those who don’t deserve to live any more.
  Thresholds
  Every Sin-Eater has encountered death and 
  returned indelibly marked by the experience. A 
  character’s Threshold and his geist are inseparable. 
  When an appropriate candidate brushes mortality, 
  it attracts a geist attuned to that sort of death. The 
  manner in which a Sin-Eater died (or nearly died) 
  forever colors the use of his powers, by creating an 
  affinity for a certain Key (see below). 
  The Torn, Death by Violence: Chosen of the 
  Red Horseman, the Bleeding Ones are victims of 
  murder or suicide, those who have had great trauma 
  inflicted on them, or inflicted great trauma on oth-
  ers. Some Torn choose to perpetuate the violence 
  that nearly ended their lives, while others transcend 
  that violence, choosing to fight only for a better way. 
  Their abilities tend to be stained by Stigmatic and 
  Passionate effects.
  The Silent, Death by Deprivation: Chosen of the 
  Black Horseman, the Starved Ones are those who die 
  for lack of something vital: starvation, suffocation, 
  dehydration or heartbreak. The Silent endure, but they 
  also hunger. Their existence is now marked by a need 
  to see, to experience the dead. Their abilities are most 
  likely to have a subtle Stillness and a Cold Wind.
  The Prey, Death by Nature: Chosen of the Pale 
  Horseman, the Eaten and the Drowned are the vic-
  tims of exposure or animals; those taken by the wild. 
  Nature encompasses all things. To the Prey, the term 
  “supernatural” is wrong. All of this–the ghosts, the 
  underworld, second chances–is part of the cycle of 
  nature. Where there is life so too will there be death. 
  The Prey tend to manifest their Primeval nature as 
  well as an affinity for Grave-Dirt.
  The Stricken, Death by Sickness: Chosen of 
  the White Horseman, the Ravaged Ones are plague 
  victims, those taken by disease. Each looks upon 
  the existence of the unquiet dead as a challenge, a 
  puzzle to solve, an adversary to pit herself against. 
  The geist drives her to see the dead as a challenge, 
  and in return, the Sin-Eater engages in a battle of 
  will and wits for ultimate control of her soul. Their 
  abilities manifest as Phantasms, illusory horrors, as 
  well as a connection with Tears.
  The Forgotten, Death by Chance: Chosen of the 
  Gray Horseman, the Lightning Struck are victims of 
  freak accidents, those who were simply in the wrong 
  place at the wrong time. The Forgotten feel no need 
  to interact with the unquiet dead. One of the Light-
  ning Struck tries to move on, to pretend that he did 
  not look up just in time to see debris from a falling 
  satellite plummeting toward him. But everywhere 
  he goes, the dead follow. They have an affinity for 
  Industrial effects as well as those of the Pyre.
  Keys
  Emotions and actions resonate, affecting everything 
  they touch. When a Sin-Eater dies, he crosses a thresh-
  old that stains him indelibly with a certain resonance. 
  Every manifestation a Sin-Eater channels is flavored 
  by that stain. When the Sin-Eater unlocks (activates) 
  a manifestation, the intent is filtered through the key 
  used to unlock the power. Two Sin-Eaters may call 
  upon the same power and achieve vastly different 
  results, simply because they have different keys at their 
  disposal. There are ten common Keys.
  The Elemental Key: Powers unlocked with the 
  four elemental keys manifest through the classical 
  elements – earth, air, fire and water – as seen through 
  a lens of death and decay. The four elemental Keys 
  are the Grave-Dirt Key, the Cold Wind Key, the Pyre-
  Flame Key, and the Tear-Stained Key.
  The Industrial Key: This Key grants influence 
  over the trappings of modern society, allowing the 
  Sin-Eater to control machinery or become the ghost 
  in the machine.
  The Passion Key: Manifestations unlocked with 
  the Passion Key shape the emotional responses of 
  people or instill emotional resonances within places 
  or things.
  The Phantasmal Key: This Key creates illusions 
  of such realism that they can drive men mad or cause 
  physical injury.
  
  The Primeval Key: The Primeval Key unlocks 
  manifestations that grant influence over nature 
  and forests. It also grants authority over the animal 
  kingdom, and allows the Sin-Eater to acquire ani-
  malistic traits.
  The Stillness Key: Powers filtered through this 
  Key aid in stealth, invisibility and in dulling the 
  senses of others. 
  The Stigmata Key: This Key uses blood and sac-
  rifice to assert dominance over the spirit world. The 
  Sin-Eater may influence or harm ghosts and spirits, 
  bind them in place or take on certain of their traits.
  Mementos 
  Certain items are infused by deathly energies. 
  The blood-stained veil of a murdered bride or a 
  forgotten toy, thrown from the wreckage of a five-
  car pileup. Sin-Eaters treasure these artifacts quite 
  highly, wearing them as badges of honor, shamanic 
  totems of power or deathly “bling.” At their most 
  common, they are simply charms that augment a 
  Sin-Eater’s abilities slightly. Other items, however, 
  hold great power all their own. These items, called 
  Memorabilia by the Bound, are legendary objects 
  even among mortals, like the silken cape buried 
  with Bela Lugosi or a saint’s reliquary. 
  Every Sin-Eater has at least one memento, known 
  as a keystone. Each keystone is different, and the form 
  it takes bears direct significance to the history of the 
  geist, even if the geist can’t remember exactly why 
  that might be. The waterlogged specter of a geist, 
  dripping with seaweed, might not remember why 
  its keystone is a polished, ivory tusk, but that in no 
  way diminishes the power of the memento. Only the 
  keystone mementos of geists that have been defeated 
  and destroyed can be stolen, traded or lost.
  Synergy
  A human who has been to the edge of death 
  and returned bound to a twisted and warped geist 
  understandably sees the world in an unusual way. 
  Sin-Eaters must follow a different code of conduct 
  than that of the “normal” humans around them. 
  There are rules governing the compact between the 
  living and the dead. 
  Synergy tracks the delicate balance that exists 
  in the symbiotic relationship between a Sin-Eater 
  and his geist. The bond between the two parties is 
  important, and it behooves the pair to maintain at 
  least a modicum of cooperation and civility. A Sin-
  Eater with a high Synergy score finds it easier to act 
  as a conduit for his geist’s strange abilities, allowing 
  him to manifest certain powers with less difficulty. 
  By contrast, a Sin-Eater with a low Synergy score has 
  more trouble convincing his geist to work with him, 
  causing myriad problems among the dead.
  At a rating of 7 (where most of the characters 
  start), destroying a memento or ghost can cause a 
  loss of Synergy. When the character commits such 
  an act, the player rolls a number of dice based on 
  the severity of the trigger. The worse the trigger is, 
  the fewer dice are rolled: destroying a memento is 
  four dice, destroying a ghost or manslaughter is three 
  dice, and murder or destroying a geist is two dice. If 
  the roll fails, the character loses a point of Synergy. 
  (Willpower can’t be spent on this roll.) Characters 
  with reduced Synergy find a way to cope with their 
  loss of symbiosis, and allow themselves to drift fur-
  ther from their geist. It will now take a worse trigger 
  to cause another roll to degenerate. At Synergy 6, 
  only destroying a ghost (or worse) can spark such a 
  roll. At Synergy 5, it takes destroying a keystone. At 
  Synergy 4, the Sin-Eater can go as far as committing 
  manslaughter before their Synergy is at risk.
  Characters who do lose Synergy also risk becoming 
  unhinged mentally. If a player fails a degeneration roll, 
  he should immediately roll his character’s reduced 
  Synergy as a dice pool. If he fails that roll, the char-
  acter gains a derangement. This can be any form of 
  minor but pervasive mental disorder, such as depres-
  sion or a phobia. The player should roleplay this new 
  character quirk, but it has no mechanical effect.
  One significant event can also have a strongly 
  deleterious impact on Synergy: death. Sin-Eaters 
  who “die” a second (or third, or fourth) time may be 
  pushed back from the brink once more by the geist, 
  but in doing so the geist must expend significant 
  energy and shunt the Sin-Eater’s death onto another 
  person. The result is an automatic loss of Synergy, 
  as well as a permanent reduction in the Sin-Eater’s 
  maximum Synergy score by two points. A Sin-Eater 
  who drops to a Synergy score of zero becomes a soul-
  less shell that can only react with instinctive horror 
  and aggression in response to the ghostly apparitions 
  that it can neither shut out nor control.
  Plasm
  The deathly power that fuels a Sin-Eater’s powers 
  is called plasm. It can be used to activate manifesta-
  tions, resist toxins and temporarily staunch wounds 
  that would otherwise be incapacitating. 
  Resisting Toxins: As long as a Sin-Eater has at 
  least 1 plasm in his system, he gains a bonus equal to 
  his Psyche score to resist poisons and other toxins.
  
  Regaining Plasm: There are a number of ways to 
  regain spent plasm. Each character has specific ways 
  of harvesting plasm, by acting in accordance to their 
  Virtue and Vice in a way that also expresses their arche-
  type. A Sin-Eater may also harvest plasm from a Haunt 
  or by devouring the corpus of a ghost (see below).
  Eaters of the Dead: Sin-Eaters can devour the 
  corpus of a ghost to gain plasm. Sin-Eaters that 
  are known to routinely practice the eating of dead 
  earn the disdainful moniker of “ghoul.” The geists, 
  however, don’t really seem to care.
  A Sin-Eater that looks at a ghost as his next meal 
  must first defeat the ghost in combat before dinner 
  can begin. This requires either that the ghost has 
  manifested itself to fight or that the Sin-Eater has 
  taken the fight to the ghost by possessing his geist. 
  Once the ghost has been defeated, the Sin-Eater has 
  a short window of opportunity to feast from the cor-
  pus before it fades away into nothing. After a ghost 
  has been defeated, the Sin-Eater is allowed three 
  Resolve + Stamina rolls to devour its corpus before 
  it fades away. A Sin-Eater may only eat the corpus of 
  a manifested ghost or while possessing his geist. 
  Devouring the corpus of a ghost has the potential to 
  shift the balance of Synergy away from the Sin-Eater. 
  A roll for degeneration should be made by characters 
  with Synergy 7 or higher (roll four dice).
  Domains of the Bound
  Though Sin-Eaters are still undoubtedly creatures 
  of the mundane world, they may find themselves 
  drawn into the lands of the dead for any number 
  of reasons. Like Inanna’s trip to the underworld, 
  or Orpheus’ quest to save Eurydice, there is always 
  a price to be paid for passing into the Low Places. 
  The Underworld is a terrible and beautiful place, full 
  of pain and wonder in equal measure. While some 
  Sin-Eaters brave the stygian depths to make deals 
  with ancient, enigmatic shades and darker things, 
  others see it as their calling to act as guardians of 
  the gates that lead into the Underworld, blocking 
  passage from both sides.
  On the other hand, the realm of Twilight is a 
  state of being more than a physical place, coexist-
  ing slightly out of phase with the material. Twilight 
  creatures and objects are the shadows of physical 
  reality, but the physical still remains (or did at one 
  time). One doesn’t travel to Twilight; it’s always 
  there, but you just might not be able to see it. Twi-
  light is simply another layer of reality, just beneath 
  what we know.
  Abilities of the Bound
  Ghost Sight
  Sin-Eaters see ghosts just as readily as they see the 
  living and can easily discern between the two. The 
  ghost of a man that leapt in front of a subway train 
  to commit suicide is easy to pick out even among 
  the throngs that rush the station after work. Every 
  Sin-Eater shares this ability, whether they like it or 
  not. The trick is not seeing the ghosts, and every Sin-
  Eater develops a filter that allows them to block out 
  sights they’d rather not see. The closer a Sin-Eater 
  becomes to death (metaphysically speaking), the 
  harder he finds the trick to pull off.
  One particularly useful aspect of ghost sight is that 
  a Sin-Eater can tell, at a glance, if someone is pos-
  sessed by a ghost. The bodies of the possessed have 
  a strange sort of double exposure look to them, with 
  the spectral image of the ghost overlying the human 
  body it has stolen.
  A Sin-Eater can attempt to filter out his ghost 
  sight for one scene by rolling his Synergy rating in 
  dice. With success, the Sin-Eater has managed to 
  block the dead from his vision. Ghosts can attempt 
  to hide from Sin-Eaters by becoming invisible or 
  mundanely lurking out of sight. Spotting a hidden 
  ghost requires a successful Wits + Perception roll on 
  part of the Sin-Eater. Assuming a Sin-Eater hasn’t 
  turned off his ghost sight, he can automatically 
  detect ghostly possession on sight.
  Morbid Reality: Sin-Eaters can determine the 
  relative health of a human with a reflexive Wits 
  + Composure roll. Creatures that mimic humans 
  but aren’t actually alive (vampires, for example) 
  register as dead. No roll is necessary for a Sin-Eater 
  to determine age. In the case of non-living human 
  imposters, she learns the apparent age of the body, 
  not its actual age.
  Clinical Precision: A Sin-Eater can attempt to 
  discern the cause of death by touching a corpse and 
  rolling Wits + Medicine. Not every cause of death is 
  easy to discern with this method. Since the Sin-Eater 
  is feeling the death rather than witnessing it, deaths 
  without much in the way of physical sensations (such 
  as a poison designed to be painless or the peaceful 
  death of old age) impose a –3 penalty on the roll. 
  For purposes of this particular bit of necromancy, the 
  age of the corpse doesn’t matter. The sensations of 
  death remain even if the Sin-Eater has nothing more 
  to work with than a splinter of bone.
  
  Reverse Possession
  Although a Sin-Eater can see ghosts as a matter 
  of course, he isn’t actually looking into Twilight to 
  do so. What he is really seeing is the reflection of 
  the ghosts in his geist’s eyes. Looking into Twilight 
  requires a bit more effort. In a sort of reverse posses-
  sion, the Sin-Eater seizes the full senses of his geist, 
  pouring his consciousness into the alien creature 
  bound to him. This allows a Sin-Eater to see into 
  and physically interact with Twilight at the cost of 
  losing some sense of his physical surroundings. Of 
  course, by opening himself up to Twilight, a Sin-
  Eater places himself in a position where ghosts can 
  interact with him as well. 
  In this state, a Sin-Eater can combat a ghost that 
  hasn’t manifested and can manipulate Twilight objects. 
  Only the essence of a Sin-Eater makes the translation. 
  Any physical weapons held by the Sin-Eater at the 
  time are left behind, along with his flesh and bone. 
  Occasionally a Sin-Eater that has taken the fight to a 
  ghost will find a useful Twilight object he can use as a 
  weapon, but he can’t rely on that possibility. The only 
  weapon a Sin-Eater can rely on when he becomes one 
  with his geist, other than his wits and his fists, is his key-
  stone memento. As both Twilight and material objects, 
  keystones alone make the transition from physical to 
  ephemeral. A Sin-Eater can transfer his consciousness 
  into his geist by spending a point of plasm (pp. 7–8) as 
  an instant action. This allows the Sin-Eater to see into 
  Twilight as well as physically interact with its denizens 
  and any Twilight objects. However, the shift in focus 
  from material to Twilight can be somewhat distracting. 
  A Sin-Eater that has possessed his geist suffers a –3 
  penalty to all Perception rolls dealing with activities 
  outside of Twilight. 
  While possessing his geist, the Sin-Eater can com-
  bat unmanifested ghosts. Any Twilight object close 
  to hand can be picked up and used as an improvised 
  weapon (see Combat, p. 4), the Sin-Eater may make 
  unarmed attacks or he can use his keystone as a 
  weapon. Keystones that are already weapons follow 
  the usual rules for attack and damage. Non-weapon 
  keystones can be wielded as improvised weapons and 
  don’t suffer from the usual penalty when used in this 
  manner in Twilight. 
  Combating an unmanifested ghost is apt to draw 
  some strange looks from bystanders. Instead of a 
  life-or-death contest, normal humans only see some 
  weirdo slashing and flailing around him at imaginary 
  foes. Fortunately, attacks made in Twilight remain 
  in Twilight, unless someone walks directly into the 
  Sin-Eater and takes an elbow or fist to the face. A 
  Sin-Eater that owns a keystone memento in the 
  form of a gun needn’t worry about hitting innocent 
  bystanders. Bullets, gun and even the noise of gunfire 
  all remain in Twilight. The same is true for other 
  types of keystone weapons. 
  Sixth Sense
  Sin-Eaters possess something of a sixth sense when 
  it comes to dealing with ghosts. Even when a Sin-
  Eater is actively filtering his ghost sight to enjoy a 
  movie uninterrupted, he can sense the presence of 
  a ghost using Numina to affect to living world. The 
  exact nature of the sensation varies from one Sin-
  Eater to another and also by Threshold. A Sin-Eater 
  with the Silent Threshold might register the use of 
  Numina as acute hunger pangs. A Sin-Eater with the 
  Torn Threshold might find that his scars tingle and 
  throb. This paranormal sensation goes both ways. 
  A Sin-Eater can never hide his presence, nor use of 
  Manifestations from a ghost. Whether it’s because 
  ghosts notice the shadowy mien of his geist, merged 
  with the Sin-Eater’s flesh or just an instinctual reac-
  tion isn’t clear and if the ghosts know the truth of 
  the matter, they aren’t talking.
  Any time a ghost uses a Numina within 30 yards of 
  a Sin-Eater, he may roll Wits + Occult + Psyche to 
  notice the phenomena. On a success, the Sin-Eater 
  notices the use of Numina. 
  Unnatural Mediums
  Ghosts are drawn to Sin-Eaters like a moth to a 
  flame. Sin-Eaters represent all kinds of possibilities 
  for ghosts as one of the few living they can easily 
  interact with. The inherent ephemeral qualities of a 
  Sin-Eater magnify the energies of death in an area, 
  which allow ghosts to more easily manifest in the 
  immediate vicinity of a Sin-Eater (see “Manifesta-
  tions” below). The presence of mementos increases 
  this effect, since each memento is, in essence, a 
  repository of death. To ghosts, Sin-Eaters (especially 
  those with plenty of mementos) are walking, talking 
  graveyards, and there’s no better place for a ghost to 
  manifest than among the quiet dead. Because of this 
  unfortunate side effect, Sin-Eaters must be cautious 
  about where and when they confront violent shades. 
  It’s no use visiting a family home to rid them of a 
  poltergeist just to have the ghost manifest and wreck 
  serious havoc on the people that live there.
  Ghosts gain a +1 to manifestation rolls within 10 
  yards of a Sin-Eater and an additional +1 for each 
  memento carried by that Sin-Eater. In the case of 
  
  multiple Sin-Eaters being present (or just a single 
  Sin-Eater with a lot of bling), these bonuses stack 
  to a maximum of +5.
  Plasmic Infusion
  Ghosts are inherently unstable entities. Even 
  the most lucid of specters is nothing better than a 
  hollow replica of the person it was in life. In theory, 
  a ghost could provide Sin-Eaters with a wealth of 
  knowledge about what it’s seen, but most ghosts just 
  aren’t capable of that kind of interaction. The solu-
  tion to this problem lies within the veins of a Sin-
  Eater. The plasm generated by a geist can reinforce 
  the personality of a ghost, allowing it near-human 
  cognizance for short periods of time. The reaction 
  to this abrupt return to consciousness varies. Some 
  ghosts are ecstatic at the ability to think properly 
  again, even if that awareness is fleeting. Other ghosts 
  are less sanguine. The brief interlude of sanity makes 
  them bitter, knowing full well it can’t last. 
  The Sin-Eater must anoint the ghost with some 
  of his own blood to begin the plasmic infusion. This 
  either requires that the ghost be manifested or the 
  Sin-Eater to possess his geist. The spilling of blood 
  causes one point of lethal damage to the character 
  performing the infusion. As the Sin-Eater touches 
  his blood to the ghost, he also spends a point of 
  plasm. Plasm and blood are absorbed by the ghost, 
  infusing its corpus with the energy of both life and 
  death. Use against an unwilling ghost requires the 
  Sin-Eater first touch his target by rolling Dexterity + 
  Brawl (or Weaponry) – the target’s Defense rating.
  For the remainder of the scene, the ghost is re-
  stored to an echo of its living self. It can act, think 
  and communicate as though it were alive (to anyone 
  who can see and hear it, that is). Assume the ghost 
  has an Intelligence rating equal to its Power. The 
  ability to think and speak doesn’t necessarily equate 
  to a desire to be helpful, however. Most ghosts will 
  take this opportunity to barter their knowledge for 
  some deed on part of the Sin-Eater questioning it. 
  Especially canny ghosts will even refuse to disclose 
  information without proof the favor it’s asked for 
  has been completed.
  Ghosts
  Sin-Eaters walk a line between life and death 
  and, as such, they interact with both the living and 
  the unquiet dead that exist in a state of Twilight. 
  These ghosts may manifest their own powers called 
  Numina, powered by Essence. These abilities allow 
  them to possess mortals, throw objects and other 
  stranger, more dangerous things. Often, the Bound 
  are called upon to mediate between the breathing 
  and the unquiet dead. A ghost is defined by his pas-
  sion for a thing, be it his still-living wife or son, the 
  courthouse in which he spent his career trying cases 
  or the gavel he used when he finally became a judge. 
  They never just give something up for free. They will 
  always extract a price from a Sin-Eater who finds 
  himself in need of their knowledge or powers.
  The Return of Mr. Monster
  This story takes the characters deep into the 
  World of Darkness, and reveals some of the terrible 
  secrets that exist just outside human understanding. 
  It is meant as an introduction to the strange lives of 
  Sin-Eater characters and as a launching point from 
  which Storytellers can begin chronicles of their 
  own devising. Though the characters start out in 
  New York, their ultimate fate is in your hands. This 
  stand-alone scenario is meant for the Storyteller’s 
  eyes only. If you are planning to take on the role of 
  one of the characters in “The Return of Mr. Mon-
  ster,” please stop reading now. Storytelling games 
  are much more enjoyable if you experience the plot 
  twists and surprises along with your characters, so 
  don’t spoil the fun for yourself. 
  Preparing for Play 
  First, read through the rules at the beginning of 
  this document, just to get an idea of how the me-
  chanics of the game work. Then take a look at the 
  character sheets at the end of the booklet and note 
  the characters’ different capabilities and advantages. 
  We don’t expect you or the players to memorize 
  everything right out of the gate, but if you give the 
  
  characters a quick once-over in conjunction with 
  the rules, the numbers will make more sense in 
  game play. Let the players read over their charac-
  ters’ backgrounds, roleplaying hints and traits, and 
  answer any questions they might have. Help them 
  understand how the rules work with regard to the 
  dots and numbers on the character sheets. Also, read 
  through “The Return of Mr. Monster” once before 
  attempting to act as Storyteller. We’ve tried to make 
  it as easy as possible on you, but you should have an 
  idea of what’s coming up. Plus, players will always 
  make decisions that you—and we—didn’t see com-
  ing. That’s great! That’s part of roleplaying. It does, 
  however, require you to think on your feet. 
  If you know how the plot progresses, you can take 
  what the players do and allow those decisions to 
  steer the game toward a satisfying conclusion, rather 
  than having to say, “No, you can’t do that because 
  it would take us too far off track.” 
  Characters  
  and Background 
  “The Return of Mr. Monster” takes place ap-
  proximately two months after the characters formed 
  a krewe in the Pelham Bay neighborhood of the 
  East Bronx in New York City. The Bronx is the 
  northernmost borough of New York City, and the 
  only one primarily on the mainland. Many signature 
  landmarks of the city are here, from Yankee Stadium 
  to the New York Botanical Gardens and the Bronx 
  Zoo. The district runs from rich to poor, with the 
  South Bronx as a focal point of urban decay. The 
  neighborhood suffered from a wave of arson in the 
  1970s, and mementos from that period frequently 
  manifest the Pyre Flame Key. Even today, the South 
  Bronx suffers from poverty, drug trafficking and 
  violent crime — here Death by Violence is strong, 
  and resilient Torn may arise. 
  The krewe banded together to protect one another 
  and keep their neighborhood safe from threats to the 
  compact between the living and the dead. When the 
  story begins, the members are on the trail of a killer who 
  has committed killings that echo murders that took 
  place in the same neighborhood over 30 years ago.
  The Bronx Saints, as they have named them-
  selves, consists of six members. Gianni Esposito 
  is the krewe’s leader, and the oldest member. He 
  founded the Saints along with Lee Kovach, an ex-
  cop, and Joey Cavanaugh, an investigative reporter. 
  The other members of the krewe are Zita Vargas, a 
  car thief, Tyson Bishop, a martial artist, and Ellis 
  Myer, a neo-primitive vagrant.
  The Saints are, first and foremost, part of a 
  community. Each member of the krewe has their 
  individual goals and desires but, as a krewe, their 
  mission is to protect their neighborhood and its 
  heritage. To that end, they have recently begun to 
  retrieve heirlooms and artifacts that once belonged 
  in the local community. 
  To Gianni, the experiences of a neighborhood, like 
  the experiences of an individual, forever color the 
  “personality” of that community. Culture is nothing 
  more than an aggregate of the tics and habits of the 
  trendsetters and power players of a community writ 
  large. The melting pot of New York City melds many 
  different cultures into something new. You can take the 
  purest example of an ancient culture and drop him into 
  the mill that is New York City, and if he survives the 
  city long enough to thrive, he’ll be a New Yorker. 
  But New Yorkers are also defined by their shared 
  experiences. Everyone who lived in the five boroughs 
  was changed by the events of September 11th, 2001. 
  It was a watershed moment, and it will inform the 
  attitudes of the people of New York City from now 
  on, passed down from generation to generation, 
  a modern legend. These experiences haunt the 
  citizens of New York City, figuratively and literally. 
  Sin-Eaters see the victims of the past wandering the 
  streets of the city everywhere they go. When one 
  of the Bound stands at Ground Zero, it is not mere 
  memory or sentiment that gives them pause. 
  Ghosts are plentiful in the city that never sleeps. 
  Treatment
  “The Return of Mister Monster” revolves around 
  a series of killings that echo those of the “Son of 
  Sam,” an infamous figure of Pelham Bay’s past. A 
  spirit who goes by Mister Monster is committing 
  murders in a pattern that only the local Sin-Eaters 
  can see, part of a ritual to crack open a gateway to 
  the underworld, freeing ghosts and worse to prey 
  upon the living. The krewe is at the epicenter; the 
  neighborhood they have claimed as their own is the 
  same neighborhood that was the start of the Son of 
  Sam killings over thirty years ago. 
  As the story begins, the second killing has just 
  occurred, in front of Lee’s newsstand and mere 
  blocks from the apartment building Joey and Zita 
  live in. The first letter to the media follows shortly 
  About the Format 
  The format we use for 
  scenes in this quickstart is 
  our Storyteller Adventure 
  System (or SAS for short). 
  To keep this quickstart 
  lean and focused, we 
  haven’t included many 
  of the core premises and 
  Storyteller suggestions 
  that are at the heart of 
  the SAS. If you want to 
  learn more about how 
  our stories work in this 
  system, be sure to read 
  the free SAS Guide, found 
  at the SAS website: 
  www.white-wolf.com/sas 
  
  thereafter, referring to the underworld and signed 
  “Mr. Monster.” 
  The second victim lingers, her ghost haunting the 
  street in front of the newsstand. She tells the characters 
  what she can, when they feel the tug of a ghost mani-
  festing one of its spectral abilities nearby. The ghost 
  provides information and helps to send them after her 
  killer, who remembers nothing of the murder. After the 
  krewe decides what to do with Mr. Monster’s first host, 
  they receive word that the unknown killer has mailed 
  a letter to the newspaper Joey works at, giving the 
  characters their first glimpse into Mr. Monster’s psyche. 
  The letter includes information that sends the krewe to 
  Woodlawn Cemetery, where they meet another ghost, 
  named Izzy, who can fill in some of the blanks. She 
  leads them to a mausoleum where the krewe discovers 
  the method to Mr. Monster’s madness, as well as clues 
  that might lead to a cult collaborating with him. When 
  Mr. Monster strikes again, a handwritten note is left 
  at the scene of the crime, specifically for the krewe. 
  With the note in hand, the characters are engaged in 
  a high-speed car chase to apprehend the second host. 
  While they are deciding what to do with him, they hear 
  gunshots again. A fourth victim has been taken, and 
  only just down the street. The krewe has the chance 
  to catch the last host with Mr. Monster’s anchor and 
  put a stop to the killings.
  Theme:  
  Haunted by the Past
  In the 21st century, everything seems transient. Peo-
  ple move from trend to trend, from one earth-shattering 
  issue to the next like children playing hot potato. As 
  information moves faster and faster, epochs blur into 
  one another, and we forget monumental events weeks 
  after they occur. In “The Return of Mr. Monster,” events 
  from the past float to the surface again, forcing the 
  characters—most of whom weren’t even born the first 
  time around—to confront something most of the older 
  inhabitants of Pelham Bay had thought long behind 
  them. Something that shaped most of the characters’ 
  attitudes in some way, whether they knew it or not.
  Mood: Charged
  Traditionally, ghost stories are all about the mood. 
  They generally have a slow, building mystery, like 
  putting a puzzle together. The fear comes from the at-
  mosphere of the piece, punctuated with a few startling 
  shocks. In many ways, “The Return of Mr. Monster” 
  uses that formula, but just as the Sin-Eaters themselves 
  are a strange hybrid of specter and man, so too is this 
  story a hybrid of a ghost story and an action adventure. 
  “The Return of Mr. Monster” is charged, in many senses. 
  The pacing is high energy, more like a modern televi-
  sion show than The Turn of the Screw. It is possible to 
  draw out the events of the story, to slow things down 
  and build an atmosphere of paranoia and sensational-
  ized fear, or slam through the story at breakneck speed. 
  Either way, the story works best at high volume.
  Background
  The characters presented in this scenario are all 
  fairly new to Bound existence. They have had enough 
  time to come to terms with their spiritual guests and 
  gather under the banner of the Bronx Saints.
  The Saints were formed by Gianni, Lee and Joey 
  almost instinctively. After their experiences, finding 
  others who had gone through something similar was a 
  huge relief. That they all lived in the same neighbor-
  hood in the Bronx sealed the deal. As far as Gianni is 
  concerned, Lee and Joey are his family. The other mem-
  bers are more recent additions. Lee found Ellis sleeping 
  in the dumpster behind his newsstand and, recognizing 
  him for a Sin-Eater, brought him in. The core of the 
  krewe keeps trying to help him, but Gianni fears he 
  might be too broken to save. Joey “recruited” Zita after 
  he did a story on street racing in Manhattan. She’s the 
  only outsider, Californian by birth. She doesn’t feel the 
  same connection to the neighborhood that the others 
  do, but the krewe treats her more like family than any of 
  her foster families ever did. Zita brought Tyson around 
  after she met him at a warehouse party.
  The Investigation
  As the characters progress through their investi-
  gation of the murders, there are several secondary 
  elements of both the story and the game that bear 
  remembering. The presence of these elements is easy 
  to adjust, leaving you to decide how much you wish 
  to emphasize each in your story. 
  Gianni Esposito
  The characters ostensibly work for Gianni Esposito, 
  the founder and leader of the Bronx Saints, but that 
  
  The Police
  Obviously, the Saints aren’t the only people 
  interested in the case. That said, in the World of 
  Darkness, a few killings hardly rate the same scale 
  of attention they did in the late 1970s. If it weren’t 
  for Mr. Monster’s letters to the press, it would be 
  assigned to a couple of detectives. The media at-
  tention, however, is in danger of turning the entire 
  thing into a circus. Lee still has some ties to the 
  department, but each killing is a crime scene, and 
  touching a corpse or otherwise disturbing the scene 
  is generally frowned upon. Lee might get a little info 
  from Nathan Cord and Robert Markan, the detec-
  tives working the case, but they can’t see the things 
  that will be truly helpful to the krewe.
  The Media
  Like the Son of Sam, Mr. Monster is speaking 
  directly to the media, giving this case an inordi-
  nately large amount of coverage. As they say, if it 
  bleeds it leads, and words directly from the mouth 
  of a killer who is still at large is a scoop any reporter 
  would salivate at. Joey can get access to the unedited 
  email and letters before the general public through 
  his connections, but there will still be a number 
  of reporters snooping around the krewe’s territory, 
  making it difficult for them to rely too heavily on 
  their otherworldly abilities. Depending on how long 
  the events of the game take, the story could become 
  chaotic as the media turns the ongoing shootings 
  into a frenzy of paranoia and vicarious thrill.
  The Ghosts of Pelham Bay
  While there are a few ghosts (Nancy, Larry the 
  Gimp, Izzy, Laura, Sherri, and of course Mr. Mon-
  ster) who are detailed in particular scenes, they are 
  by no means the only unquiet dead wandering the 
  Twilight streets of the neighborhood. Other shades 
  might help or hinder the krewe or introduce your 
  own custom subplots. Keep in mind that ghosts exist 
  because they want something. Every ghost exists be-
  cause they are passionate about something. Whether 
  it’s seeing their killer meet justice or helping their 
  loved ones, there is always something a ghost wants 
  from the Sin-Eaters. Even the ghosts who want to 
  help the krewe will barter for it–after all, they may 
  not get another chance to find an agent who can so 
  easily interact on both sides of the curtain.
  A Note on the Son of Sam
  The original killings in the Bronx and Brooklyn were 
  committed by David Berkowitz and, if he is to be 
  believed, a number of fellow cultists. This story is not 
  intended to belittle the victims of these crimes. It is a 
  fictional story grounded in an event that still affects 
  the psychological landscape of an entire city. We don’t 
  have enough space to detail David Berkowitz or the 
  original killings in depth. Here’s a quick summary:
  David Berkowitz (and others, allegedly) held New 
  York City in general and the Bronx in particular in a 
  reign of terror for a year in the late 70s before he was 
  caught. There were at least eight shootings – of which, 
  Berkowitz was only tied to two – largely of brunette 
  women. The letters he sent to the press were signed 
  “Mr. Monster.” During questioning, Berkowitz said 
  that the “Sam” mentioned in the first letter was Sam 
  Carr, his former neighbor. Berkowitz claimed that 
  Carr’s Labrador retriever dog, Harvey, was possessed 
  by an ancient demon, and that it issued irresistible 
  commands that Berkowitz must kill people. Berkowitz 
  said he once tried to kill the dog, but was unsuccessful 
  due to supernatural interference.
  For more in-depth information on the Son of Sam 
  and the effect the murders had on New York City, see 
  the following:
  • Summer of Sam – A brilliant film. The killings 
  themselves are a backdrop, the important thing here 
  is the effect they had on the community.
  • Biography: David Berkowitz – Includes interviews 
  with David himself, including discussion of the cult 
  aspects of the murders. Notable for how different the 
  “Son of Hope” is today.
  In the context of this fictional account, it’s up to 
  you whether the ghost Mr. Monster (the name which 
  Berkowitz signed to his first letter to the media in 1977) 
  was the instigator of the original killings or not in your 
  game. Perhaps the cult served him, or willingly offered 
  themselves as hosts like some twisted parody of 
  vodoun chevals. Or maybe he’s just a ghost losing his 
  identity, caught up in the legend of the .44 caliber killer. 
  Whether he’s actually the hideous creature he believes 
  he is or just a deluded, shattered thing is left to your 
  discretion. Mr. Monster is a dangerous and volatile 
  enemy, regardless of the answer you choose.
  doesn’t mean he sits idly by and lets them take all the 
  risks. When he can, he likes to be involved in the 
  krewe’s activities, but he’s still recovering from the 
  toll cancer took on his body. He can be as hands-on 
  or hands-off as you like, depending on your style.
  
  Ghosts and their Anchors
  Every ghost outside the Underworld is tied to a person, place or thing that holds special meaning for it. 
  Something anchors them there, preventing them from continuing on to the Underworld or whatever comes after. 
  The number and nature of a ghost’s anchors depends on the individual and the circumstances surrounding 
  its death. In most cases, an anchor is a physical place or object that held great emotional significance to the 
  ghost during its mortal existence. A bookie who spent his days holding court in a small restaurant might be 
  anchored to the restaurant or the booth he claimed for himself. A man whose life was punctuated and defined 
  by a gun might be anchored to the revolver that killed him. 
  Ghosts must remain close to their anchors at all times, whether they manifest or not. A ghost can travel 
  up to 10 yards from its anchor per point of Power that it has. Thus, a ghost with 3 Power can travel up to 30 
  yards from its anchor. Ghosts anchored to a place instead of a person or object measure this distance from the 
  spot where they died or from where a structure ends. If a ghost is within one yard of its anchor it can manifest 
  automatically with no roll required.
  If a ghost has multiple anchors it can jump from one anchor to another with the expenditure of a single 
  Willpower point, regardless of the distance between anchors. 
  If all of a ghost’s anchors are altered (subjected to sanctification or exorcism) or destroyed, the ghost can 
  no longer remain in the physical world. It passes on into the Underworld and cannot return without the aid of 
  an external force, such as a Sin-Eater or necromancer.
  
  Close to Home
  Mental ••, Physical ••, Social ••
  blooming black flowers that match the growing halo spread-
  ing from beneath her neck and head. You know without 
  touching her that she’s already dead, but not gone. 
  You see her ghost, a translucent shade awash in the 
  same blood that stains her solid flesh, crouching near the 
  shuttered doors of the newsstand, shielding her head from 
  the killer who has already succeeded.
  The victim, Nancy, is in a considerable (and un-
  derstandable) panic. When a character approaches 
  her, she starts shouting and crying, becoming more 
  and more agitated unless the characters talk her down 
  (see “calming Nancy” below). If they fail to calm her, 
  Nancy’s volatile emotional state will start to manifest 
  physically via her telekinesis. She doesn’t have much 
  control over her abilities, but she has lots of anger.
  Once the characters have calmed Nancy, she’ll an-
  swer their questions to the best of her ability. There 
  is one catch, though: Nancy wants the Sin-Eaters 
  to make sure the old ring around her corpse’s neck 
  makes its way back to her boyfriend, Jonah. It be-
  longed to his grandmother, and Nancy’s mom hates 
  him and won’t lift a finger to return the heirloom.
  • What did your killer look like? He was just some 
  kind of nobody, you know? Dumpy little guy with his 
  hands in his pockets… hurrying across the street like he 
  was heading somewhere. When he got close you could 
  see he was sick or something.
  • What do you mean, sick? Like, he was all sweaty 
  and pale, and oh! His eyes–they were like, all grey. No 
  pupils, like cataracts. But he looked right at me.
  • Did he say anything before he shot you? Oh, 
  God. I’m–I’m sorry. Yeah… He said “open your gates” 
  or something like that.
  Keep in mind that if the characters stay too long, 
  the police will arrive. Lee owns the ramshackle 
  newsstand, but even so, the krewe will have a hard 
  time explaining why all of them are there and none 
  of them have any helpful information. If the police 
  do arrive, they’ll hold the characters at least until 
  they can issue statements and get some face time 
  with Detectives Cord and Markan, the officers 
  assigned to the case. You can give the characters 
  a little warning; since the police will be running 
  Overview
  The krewe is already alert; a killing occurred on 
  their turf only a week ago. They haven’t gone out 
  of their way to do anything yet. After all, people get 
  killed all the time, and there was no indication that 
  the murder was anything more than a one-time thing. 
  But now, the killer has returned. After recovering a 
  trunk full of photos and letters that belonged to a lo-
  cal ghost named Tommaso and delivering it to one of 
  his descendants, the characters are on their way back 
  to Gianni’s antique shop when they hear a series of 
  gunshots in the direction of Lee’s newsstand. 
  Description
  The train rumbles overhead as you make your way 
  back to Curious Things, Gianni’s antique shop. It took 
  forever to track down that trunk, but it was worth it to 
  get it back to Tommaso’s family. He was so happy when 
  you left it on their doorstep. 
  “Anything you need, just let me know,” he said. 
  Funny, he was pretty good at making your life miserable 
  until you recovered the trunk. You never know when 
  someone like him might come in handy by doing the same 
  to someone else. The late night streets are almost empty, 
  aside from a few vagrants and a couple of indie kids 
  drunkenly singing a Yeah Yeah Yeahs song down by the 
  corner. But it’s only been a week since someone was shot 
  and killed right up the street, so what do you expect?
  The beginning of the scene is largely rooted in the 
  mundane aspects of the characters’ neighborhood, 
  with only a few hints of their supernatural nature. 
  When you’re ready to move things ahead, kick things 
  off with the shooting.
  You can see the barred windows of the antique shop 
  ahead. As you cross the street behind a passing Chevy truck, 
  the night is split by a distant scream, followed by the Pop! 
  Pop! Pop! of gunfire. The police said last week’s shooting 
  was an “isolated event.” Guess they were wrong.
  When you arrive at the newsstand, you see her. A 
  young woman lies very still in the street, her head resting on 
  the curb. Her purse is a few feet in front of her, untouched. 
  In the amber glow of the streetlights, her t-shirt has two 
  
  with sirens and lights, the krewe will hear them long 
  before they see them. 
  Meanwhile, Mr. Monster and his host stuck 
  around long enough to watch the characters give the 
  scene a once-over and even talk to Nancy. When 
  you’re ready for the characters to move on, Mr. 
  Monster frees the killer (after having him dump the 
  .44) and Larry the Gimp uses his Terrify Numen to 
  scare the shit out of the confused and clueless killer. 
  When Larry Terrifies him, the characters should all 
  roll to detect his use of Numina (see below).
  Storyteller Goals
  This scene is designed to introduce the characters 
  and their place within the setting before finally giving 
  them their first call of action. This scene is intended 
  to have a feel similar to the pre-credits vignette on 
  most television shows. If this were the pilot of a 
  television show, the reveal of the characters turning 
  from Nancy’s body to look at her ghost would be the 
  moment where the music crescendos and the title 
  screen appears. Feel free to give the players a little 
  leeway to converse in character and get a feel for their 
  personas, but when things start to slow down… Bang! 
  Bang! Gunfire has a way of focusing things.
  Nancy’s death and subsequent unstable behavior 
  needs to be handled with care. Her life is over, and the 
  characters have all been there. They were lucky (or 
  impetuous) enough to get a second chance, but each of 
  them know that there, but for the grace of God… She was 
  just murdered. Her circumstances may be peripheral 
  in the grand scheme of things, a bump in the road for 
  the Sin-Eaters on their way to catching Mr. Monster. 
  Eventually they may become blasé about exactly this 
  kind of situation, but it’s important, particularly this 
  early in their existence as Bound, to treat the situation 
  with the weight and horror it deserves.
  Character Goals
  The character’s goals are extraordinarily simple at 
  the beginning. They’re just trying to go back to Gi-
  anni’s shop when the gunshots distract them. When 
  they hear the shots, they have a choice to investigate 
  or try to get indoors. Assuming they investigate (be-
  cause what kind of krewe would they be if they sat 
  around drinking tea all evening?), they might try to 
  reach the newsstand before the killer can get too far 
  away. Each member of the krewe has their own mo-
  tivation for wanting to investigate, if not help. Lee’s 
  police training is still strong, and his reflex might be 
  to try and catch the assailant. Joey might just smell 
  the story on the wind, an early shot at scooping other 
  reporters in town. Gianni’s charitable nature would 
  lead him to send the krewe to help the victim, while 
  Ellis may just want to observe the moment of life 
  becoming death. Zita’s thrill seeking might lead her 
  to chase the killer just for the rush of it, and Tyson’s 
  sense of honor and community would require it.
  Actions
  Examining the Crime Scene
  Dice Pool: Wits + Investigation. 
  Lee’s investigative training is the strongest of the 
  krewe, and he knows how to avoid contaminating 
  the scene. Joey’s skills lay in the uncovering of 
  evidence, but he doesn’t necessarily think of the 
  ramifications of his actions.
  Action: Extended (5 successes; each roll repre-
  sents 10 minutes of activity)
  Hindrances: The characters search in the bad 
  lighting of the streetlamp (–2).
  Help: The characters open up Lee’s newsstand 
  and get his flashlight (+1).
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: The character contaminates the 
  crime scene so much that future attempts are at –2. 
  Failure: The character uncovers no useful infor-
  mation.
  Success: The character finds a bullet hole that 
  looks like it was created by a .44 caliber weapon.
  Exceptional Success: The character discovers 
  the bullet hole, and a piece of paper with a sigil 
  burned into it. 
  Calming Nancy Down
  Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion or Manipulation + 
  Persuasion (depending on the character’s approach). 
  Use these rolls as a guide; if the player roleplays 
  convincingly but rolls horribly, feel free to fudge 
  things a bit.
  Action: Extended. The character must accumulate 4 
  successes. Each roll equals 10 minutes of conversation.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Not only does the character 
  fail to calm Nancy down, he enrages her, trigger-
  
  ing a barrage of poltergeist activity (see Nancy’s 
  telekinesis, below).
  Failure: The character makes no progress toward 
  calming Nancy.
  Success: The character makes progress toward 
  calming Nancy.
  Exceptional Success: Nancy calms down enough 
  to talk.
  Detecting Numina Use
  Dice Pool: Wits + Occult + Psyche. 
  You should ask each player to make this roll when 
  you are ready to move on from this scene.
  Action: Instant
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: The Sin-Eater not only fails to 
  notice the ghost’s use of Numina, he also automati-
  cally fails to detect the next use of Numina from 
  the same ghost.
  Failure: The Sin-Eater doesn’t notice anything 
  unusual.
  Success: The Sin-Eater notices the use of Nu-
  mina. This sense manifests differently for each 
  character. Joey feels his scars start to itch and throb. 
  Gianni feels a faint echo of the painful cramps he 
  did when the cancer was gnawing at him. Lee feels 
  his chest tighten. Ellis’s mouth goes dry. Zita has a 
  moment of vertigo, like the world is flipping over 
  on her. Tyson feels a dull pulling sensation in the 
  scars on his wrists.
  Exceptional Success: As above, and the Sin-Eater 
  knows exactly where the sensation originated. 
  Recognizing the Rune
  Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult. 
  Ellis’s knowledge of the occult is extensive, and 
  he may even be able to decipher the rune, given 
  enough successes
  Action: Instant
  Hindrances: The police have arrived (–2).
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Ellis drops the paper or rips it, 
  rendering the sigil illegible.
  Failure: Ellis cannot positively identify the sigil.
  Success: Ellis identifies the sigil’s underworld 
  origins, but cannot decipher it.
  Exceptional Success: Ellis recognizes that the sigil 
  is not just one sigil, but a number of them organized 
  into a kind of mandala. It seems to be a spell for 
  breaking an opening.
  Characters
  Nancy
  Quote: “What the fuck is happening?”
  Background: Nancy’s life was pretty average. She 
  was a student at the local community college, studying 
  nursing. She had a boyfriend and parents who loved 
  her. She was a regular at the newsstand, since she lived 
  in an apartment across the street. Nancy was one of 
  those familiar strangers. Lee took her money and said 
  hello, but he never knew her name.
  Description: Nancy was a pretty girl. Now her face 
  is covered by a mask of the blood still seeping from the 
  hole where her left eye used to be. She has two more 
  bullet holes in her torso, and her shirt is stained with 
  the blood from those wounds as well. Her remaining 
  eye is blue, and her hair is dark brown. 
  
  Storytelling Hints: Nancy isn’t dealing well. She 
  just died, and her anger and fear has the potential 
  to turn the situation volatile in the blink of an eye. 
  She’s confused and in denial. She has a tendency to 
  manifest her powers instinctively now, as an exten-
  sion of her extreme emotional state. She doesn’t 
  necessarily mean to hurt the characters or attack 
  them, but it might happen anyway.
  Attributes: Power 3, Finesse 3, Resistance 2
  Willpower: 5
  Morality: 6
  Virtue: Justice
  Vice: Wrath
  Initiative: 5
  Defense: 3
  Speed: 16 (species factor 10)
  Size: 5
  Corpus: 7
  Essence: 10
  Numina and Abilities
  Manifestation: Nancy may manifest within one 
  yard of the newsstand automatically, with no roll 
  required. Otherwise, she must roll Power + Finesse, 
  with a base penalty of –2 dice to do so. If there is 
  more than one mortal present, each person after the 
  first imposes a –1 modifier to the roll. Note that Sin-
  Eaters do not count as mortals in this case; rather they 
  make it easier for a ghost to manifest (see “Unnatural 
  Mediums,” on pages 9–10 for information).
  Ghost Sign: Nancy is capable of creating messages 
  or images in malleable forms of media. She must spend 
  one Essence point and roll Power + Finesse. If the roll 
  fails, nothing happens. If the roll succeeds, Nancy can 
  create a single message or image. A sentence can be 
  written in the morning dew condensed on the news-
  stand’s window, a ghostly statement can be heard amid 
  the static of a dead radio station, or an image can be 
  superimposed on a frame of camera film or videotape.
  Magnetic Disruption: Nancy causes electronic 
  equipment to malfunction due to an intense magnetic 
  distortion. No roll is required. If Nancy manifests suc-
  cessfully, she disrupts electronics within 3 yards. Ra-
  dios, TVs and telephones emit static. Appliances stop 
  working. Lights go out. Videotapes and camera film is 
  erased or exposed, ruining any captured images.
  Telekinesis: Nancy can manipulate physical ob-
  jects as though she had a pair of physical hands. She 
  can pick up objects, throw them, open and close doors 
  and windows, write messages—basically anything a 
  mortal can do with his hands. Nancy must spend one 
  Essence point and roll Power + Finesse. The number 
  of successes rolled determines her relative Strength 
  when attempting to lift or move an object. If the suc-
  cesses rolled are equal to the Strength needed to lift an 
  object, Nancy can move it up to one yard. Each extra 
  success allows her to move the object an additional 
  yard. If she wishes to hurl an object at someone and 
  enough successes are rolled to lift the object (and 
  reach the target), the total number of telekinesis suc-
  cesses is rolled as a dice pool in an attack against the 
  target. Alternately, she can make a direct attack on 
  a victim, using her raw power to inflict cuts, bruises 
  and bites on the victim’s body. Treat this as a normal 
  attack with a –3 modifier. The attack ignores the 
  target’s Defense trait, any available cover and armor 
  worn (unless the armor is supernatural in nature).
  Police Officers
  Quote: “Put your hands against the wall!”
  Background: Many people become police officers 
  out of a desire to protect others. Some, often former 
  soldiers, join the force looking for a chance to use 
  their capabilities against live opponents. Police 
  officers are generally well trained in criminology, 
  investigative procedures, armed and unarmed com-
  bat, and basic lifesaving techniques.
  Description: Most police officers are tall and broad-
  shouldered, with close-cropped hair (many have military-
  style haircuts) and muscular physiques. They actively 
  cultivate an intimidating persona, an attitude they have 
  a hard time letting go of when not in uniform. 
  Storytelling Hints: Police officers are trained to 
  be polite but detached when dealing with civilians. 
  They can’t afford to make friends or appear to favor 
  one person at the expense of another. They tend to 
  assume people are guilty until proven otherwise, and 
  cops with many years’ experience can be sarcastic 
  and cynical when dealing with the public.
  Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 3, Strength 3, 
  Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Presence 2, Manipulation 2, 
  Composure 4
  Skills: Academics (Criminology) 3, Athletics 2, Brawl 2,  
  Computer 1, Drive 3, Empathy 2, Firearms 3, Intimidation 2,  
  Investigation (Crime Scenes) 3, Larceny 2,  
  Medicine 1, Stealth 1, Streetwise 3, Subterfuge 2, 
  Weaponry 2
  Merits: Allies 2, Fast Reflexes 2, Status 2, Stunt 
  Driver
  Willpower: 7
  Morality: 7
  Virtue: Justice
  
  Vice: Wrath
  Initiative: 7 (9 with Fast Reflexes)
  Defense: 3
  Size: 5
  Speed: 11
  Health: 8
  Weapons/Attacks
  Type 
  Dmg 
  Range 
  Shots 
  Dice Pool
  Glock 17 
  2 (L) 
  20/40/80 17+1 
  8 
  (light pistol)
  Remington 870 4 (L) 
  20/40/80 8+1 
  10
  Merits
  Allies: A Policeman can always call for backup, 
  even if they aren’t exactly on “police business.” He 
  may roll Manipulation + Persuasion with a +2 bonus 
  to call in a medium-sized favor. This roll suffers a 
  penalty of –3 if it could get Lee’s ally suspended, or 
  a –5 if it could get them jailed or killed.
  Fast Reflexes: The officer’s mix of sharp reflexes 
  and steady nerves helps him to get the drop on 
  adversaries. He gains 2 Initiative.
  Status: As a badge-carrying police officer, a patrol 
  officer has legal powers of search, seizure and arrest, 
  is permitted to carry a firearm at all times and has 
  access to a wide range of local databases. 
  Stunt Driver: Officers are highly trained for pursuit 
  situations. A policeman can drive a vehicle and per-
  form an unrelated action (e.g., fire a gun, punch an-
  other passenger) in the same turn. Drive rolls may still 
  be necessary for dangerous maneuvers or situations.
  Conclusion
  The players should have had a chance to get a 
  little banter in, and start to work their way into the 
  skin of the characters before the gunshots turned 
  things a little more prosaic. Depending on how long 
  the characters spend with Nancy, the police might 
  have arrived, making life a lot more interesting for 
  the characters. If the krewe investigates the nearby 
  Numina use, go to “Larry the Gimp.” Otherwise, 
  move on to “Letter from the Front.”
  L arry the Gimp
  Mental ••, Physical –, Social •••
  Overview
  Running to investigate the flash of ghostly power 
  they felt, the characters discover Larry the Gimp, a 
  local ghost, who saw the killer. Larry tells the krewe 
  which way the killer went, but he only saw the physi-
  cal host, not Mr. Monster himself.
  Description
  Under the eaves of Bava’s Diner, a portly man sits at 
  one of the outside tables. Some of you are old enough to 
  remember when he sat there every day, taking bets while 
  he stuffed his face. He grins out at you, the moonlight 
  glinting off the ruined back of his head.
  “That’s right, ya mooks, he went that way!” he ges-
  tures in the general direction of Edison Avenue. “Scared 
  him good I did. Larry’s still got it!”
  The characters can choose to chase the killer or 
  talk to Larry. It’s likely that more active characters 
  like Lee, Zita and Tyson will take off after the killer, 
  while Gianni is most likely to stay with Larry or 
  Nancy back at the newsstand, if he is along. 
  If the characters talk to Larry, he takes on a pa-
  ternal “little Godfather” attitude. 
  “I know you. That’s right, you’re that newsman’s 
  son,” he says, pointing at Lee. “I’ve seen all o’ you kids 
  around here. Never seen that bozo around here before, 
  though. I’m tellin’ ya. No class these days, guys just 
  runnin’ around poppin’ people like that. 
  “But I scared him, yeah. You shoulda seen the look on 
  his face! Like he seen a– I guess he did! HA!”
  Larry gives a similar description to Nancy’s, 
  enough that the krewe knows they’re talking about 
  the same guy, but if asked, Larry doesn’t think the guy 
  looked sick at all. His eyes were brown, not covered 
  in cataracts like Nancy saw.
  
  Storyteller Goals
  Your main goal is to impart two bits of informa-
  tion: which way the killer went, and why. Larry 
  used his power to Terrify (see below) the host 
  after Mr. Monster stopped possessing him. As a 
  secondary goal, you can set up one of the ghostly 
  inhabitants of the neighborhood as a recurring bit 
  of local color and a potential source of information 
  for future sessions.
  Character Goals
  The characters are investigating Larry’s use of 
  Numina in hopes of discovering Nancy’s killer. 
  Once Larry tells the krewe which way he went, it’s 
  probable that they’ll adapt and start chasing the 
  killer, but they might choose to try and get some 
  information out of Larry.
  Actions
  Chasing the Killer
  Dice Pool: Stamina + Athletics versus the killer’s 
  Stamina + Athletics (4 dice). 
  For each turn the characters wait to begin chasing 
  Mr. Monster’s current host, give him 1 automatic 
  success. The killer needs a number of successes equal 
  to the highest Speed rating among the pursuers to 
  get away. Each pursuer needs to accumulate as many 
  or more successes as the killer has achieved on any 
  given turn to catch up with him.
  Action: Extended and contested 
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: The participant trips, falls or 
  wipes out. He may suffer a Health point of bashing 
  damage at the Storyteller’s discretion. The race is 
  over for that participant. If killer falls, the characters 
  catch him.
  Failure: The participant gains no ground in the 
  pursuit.
  Success: The participant gains some ground in 
  the chase, whether fleeing or in pursuit.
  Exceptional Success: The participant gains a 
  great deal of ground through a mixture of luck and 
  capability.
  Characters
  Larry the Gimp
  Quote: “Hey, I know a guy who knows a guy, 
  alright?”
  Background: Larry used to be a big man in the 
  neighborhood. Everyone knew him, and everyone 
  knew that you could always find him at a corner 
  booth at Bava’s Diner. He operated out of his favorite 
  restaurant with the Bellucci family’s permission, as 
  long as he paid them their fair share of his take. 
  Eventually, he got greedy and started skimming too 
  much, and the family found out. The Belluccis sent 
  someone down to the diner to collect. They broke 
  his right leg when he tried to run, and then shoved 
  a pistol in his mouth. The men dragged him out into 
  the street out of deference to the diner’s owner before 
  they blew his head off in broad daylight.
  Now Larry keeps his ear to the ground, taking note 
  of mortal rumors as well as ghostly ones. Someday, 
  he’ll get his revenge on the Bellucci family, but he 
  learned patience from two men with guns. 
  Description: Larry’s a large, round man. He favors 
  his right leg, which looks broken and drags when he 
  walks. The back of his head is blown out. From the 
  right angle, you can see out through the back when 
  he opens his mouth. 
  Storytelling Hints: Larry’s no fool. He may not 
  know exactly who the Saints are, but he can see 
  their geists clinging to them. He may recognize 
  Gianni or Lee: they were kids when he was alive, 
  and he knows the krewe is from the neighborhood. 
  That alone makes them preferable to Mr. Monster, 
  who just ensured that the cops would be crawling 
  around Larry’s block.
  Larry’s a good source of information, as long as he 
  likes you. And he likes just about anyone who helps 
  keep his favorite restaurant open or makes life hard 
  for the Bellucci family.
  Attributes: Power 2, Finesse 1, Resistance 2
  Willpower: 4
  Morality: 7
  Virtue: Prudence
  Vice: Gluttony
  Initiative: 3
  Defense: 2
  Speed: 13 (species factor 10)
  Size: 5
  
  Corpus: 7
  Essence: 9
  Numina and Abilities
  Manifestation (dice pool 3): Larry may manifest 
  within one yard of Bava’s Diner automatically, with 
  no roll required. Otherwise, he must roll Power + 
  Finesse, with a base penalty of –1 die to do so. If there 
  is more than one mortal present, each person after the 
  first imposes a –1 modifier to the roll. Note that Sin-
  Eaters do not count as mortals in this case; rather they 
  make it easier for a ghost to manifest (see “Unnatural 
  Mediums,” on pp. 9–10 for information).
  Terrify (dice pool 3): Larry has the power to 
  strike terror in the hearts of mortals who witness his 
  manifestation. Roll Power + Finesse in a contested 
  roll against the Resolve + Composure of each mortal 
  who witnesses Larry’s manifestation firsthand. If Larry 
  loses or ties, mortals in the area are unaffected and are 
  immune to uses of this power for the remainder of the 
  scene. Mortals who lose flee from Larry and will not 
  return to the haunted area for at least one day.
  Conclusion
  It’s possible the characters caught the killer. If they 
  did, move on to “The First Host.” Otherwise, go to 
  “A Letter from the Front.”
  The First Host
  Mental ••, Physical ••, Social ••
  Overview
  The krewe catches Roger Jacobi, Mr. Monster’s 
  first host, and discovers that he’s not the killer they 
  thought he was. When questioned, Roger describes 
  how he came to be possessed, giving the characters an 
  important bit of knowledge: Mr. Monster’s anchor.
  Description
  The man lying on the pavement wheezes and chokes 
  from the exertion of trying to get away. He doesn’t have 
  a pistol as he scrambles back against a nearby wall, dumb 
  panic in his eyes.
  “Wha– Where am I?” he says. “Who are you?”
  Roger Jacobi, Nancy’s murderer, is pathetic and 
  useless. He pleads with the krewe, confused and 
  convinced that they’re trying to mug him.
  “Look, I don’t got nothin’. Here, take my wallet, you’ll 
  see. Nothin’. Take the bank card – pin number’s 0722 – 
  Just don’t hurt me, please.” He tosses his wallet at your 
  feet. He keeps backing against the wall. His chest is still 
  heaving, but now it’s fear making him short of breath. 
  When the characters accuse him of Nancy’s murder, 
  he seems even more confused. In fact, he thinks the 
  krewe is trying to set him up – trying to get him to take 
  the fall for a murder they committed themselves. If 
  the characters interrogate him, they’ll learn that he’s a 
  janitor, and that he blacked out yesterday after finding 
  a .44 Bulldog revolver discarded near the hospital’s 
  dumpster. He doesn’t recall what happened to the 
  gun, or anything else about the last 24 hours.
  If the characters search for the gun, it is already gone, 
  but traces remain. If one of the characters succeeds on 
  the Investigation roll (see below), read this passage: 
  Down a slope from the sidewalk, you see a glint of 
  metal in the streetlights. After making your way down 
  through the brush, you find a bullet casing. The earth is 
  disturbed, as if a small but heavy object had fallen here. 
  A trail of boot prints lead away from the bullets to the 
  nearby sidewalk, but there’s nobody in sight.
  Storyteller Goals
  The keyword for Roger is “pathetic.” He’s doesn’t 
  seem like a killer at all, and he really has no idea 
  what he’s done. Be sure to make it clear that Roger 
  could not have done this on his own. If the characters 
  absolutely aren’t getting it, perhaps one of them might 
  notice a spiritual residue that indicates possession. 
  Legally, he’s screwed if the police catch him, and the 
  krewe has a choice to make. They can turn him over 
  
  to the authorities, or they can let him go, in favor of 
  meting out their own form of justice when they find 
  the shade responsible. The main piece of information 
  that you’re trying to convey in this scene though is 
  that the revolver is Mr. Monster’s anchor. 
  Character Goals
  The krewe is looking for answers. Once they 
  hear his story, it should be obvious that he was pos-
  sessed.  From there, the characters may choose to 
  search for the gun, which has already been picked 
  up and moved by Mr. Monster’s next host – but, by 
  all means, let the characters search. 
  Actions
  Interrogating Roger
  Dice Pool: Wits + Intimidation versus Roger’s 
  Stamina + Resolve. 
  Lee’s style of interrogation is more vigorous than 
  the other members of the krewe. After all, he lost 
  his badge for excessive force. Tyson makes, if not a 
  “good” cop, at least a better alternative to Lee. If the 
  two characters choose to, they can work together 
  to break Roger quickly which, given the amount of 
  time they have before the police find all of them, 
  is probably a good idea. Choose which character 
  should be the primary actor (most likely Lee), and 
  allow the secondary interrogator to make his Wits 
  + Intimidation roll first. Any successes accrued on 
  the secondary interrogator’s roll are then added to 
  the primary interrogator’s roll as bonus dice. 
  Action: Extended and contested. The first par-
  ticipant to accrue 4 successes wins. 
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Lee’s system of threats, vio-
  lence and deprivation falls apart, reinforcing Roger’s 
  resistance. Lee cannot break him at this time. If 
  Roger suffers a dramatic failure, he collapses com-
  pletely and tells everything he knows.
  Failure: The participant fails to make any head-
  way against his opponent, either as interrogator or 
  subject.
  Success: The character makes progress against 
  his opponent.
  Exceptional Success: The character makes dra-
  matic progress against his opponent.
  Searching for the Bulldog
  Dice Pool: Wits + Investigation. 
  Lee and Joey are the characters most likely to find the 
  gun, but all of the characters may search. Remember 
  that any character that does not have the Investiga-
  tion Skill suffers a –3 penalty to their roll. Should a 
  character succeed, they do not find the gun itself, but 
  they do discover an empty bullet casing still redolent 
  from being fired and boot prints leading away from the 
  scene (“Frankie” Kowalski dumped the empty casings 
  into his hand as he was reloading, but one fell to the 
  ground – see “On the Road,” pp. 31–32).
  Action: Extended. The character needs to accrue 
  a total of 5 successes.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: The character does not dis-
  cover evidence of the gun’s presence at all.
  Failure: The character fails to make any progress 
  towards uncovering the evidence.
  Success: The character makes progress towards 
  finding the evidence.
  Exceptional Success: The character finds the evi-
  dence and recognizes the boot prints as a type of boot 
  worn by telephone linesmen and other climbers.
  Characters
  Roger Jacobi, the First Host
  Quote: “Where am I? Who are you?”
  Background: Roger’s never been, well, much of 
  anything. Born and raised in the Bronx, he’s never 
  been anywhere else, not really. He’s never been 
  popular, or even unpopular. All Roger’s life, he’s just 
  sort of been there. He works as a janitor at a nearby 
  hospital and lives alone since his mother passed away 
  last year. Most of his life is spent watching trivia 
  game shows. While he was working the day before 
  Nancy’s death, he came across an oily bundle on 
  the ground near the dumpster behind the hospital. 
  As he unwrapped the bundle, he heard a susurrus at 
  the edge of his senses, a tickling whisper that slipped 
  inside his head and flipped a switch. Everything 
  between then and when Larry scared the shit out 
  of him is a blank, black void.
  Description: Roger’s an out-of-shape, middle-aged 
  janitor. He’s a little scruffy, but relatively clean. 
  There’s nothing remarkable about his appearance at 
  all. The sort of man your eyes slide right over when 
  
  he walks by you on the street. His salt-and-pepper 
  hair is close-cropped and balding, and his gut hangs 
  over his belt by a few inches. 
  Storytelling Hints: The word nondescript was 
  created for Roger. He’d fit the profile of a serial killer 
  if only he had some motivation, enough gumption 
  to actually feel enough to kill. Tonight, he’s just 
  bewildered. He has no idea that he just killed a girl. 
  He doesn’t know how to wrap his brain around the 
  idea of it, if it’s presented to him. Killing is just so… 
  definitive. He has trouble deciding whether he wants 
  a hot dog or a hamburger for lunch. 
  Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Resolve 1, Strength 3,  
  Dexterity 2, Stamina 3, Presence 2, Manipulation 2, 
  Composure 3
  Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Computer 2, Crafts 4, 
  Firearms 3, Intimidation 2, Larceny 2, Medicine 2, 
  Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 1
  Merits: Encyclopedic Knowledge 4, Natural Immunity 1,  
  Resources 2, Strong Back 1
  Flaws: Behavior Blind. Roger doesn’t really understand 
  human behavior and is blind to common social cues 
  that communicate other people’s basic feelings. He 
  can’t tell when others use sarcasm or innuendo, or if 
  he’s boring them. 
  Willpower: 4
  Morality: 7
  Virtue: Prudence. Roger despises risks and rash action. 
  Once per chapter, he regains all spent Willpower points 
  whenever he refuses a tempting course of action by 
  which he could gain significantly. The “temptation” 
  must involve some reward that, by refusing it, might 
  cost him later on.
  Vice: Sloth. Roger takes comfort in the knowledge that 
  if he does nothing, someone else will step in and fix the 
  problem sooner or later. Once per scene, he may regain 
  one Willpower point if he successfully avoids a difficult 
  task but achieves the same goal nonetheless.
  Initiative: 5
  Defense: 2
  Size: 5
  Speed: 10
  Health: 8
  Merits and Abilities
  Encyclopedic Knowledge: Roger is a veritable font 
  of useful (and sometimes useless) information on a 
  wide variety of topics. Chances are he can come up 
  with an anecdote pertaining to any situation based on 
  something he’s read, witnessed or seen on TV.
  Roger can make an Intelligence + Wits roll any 
  time he is confronted with a situation or phenomenon 
  outside his normal realm of experience. If the roll is 
  successful, he may recall a “factoid” that he’s heard at 
  some point that may shed light on matters. 
  Natural Immunity: Roger has been working at the 
  hospital for years, and he’s built up a powerful immune 
  system. Roger gains a +2 modifier on Stamina rolls to 
  resist infection, sickness and disease. His immune sys-
  tem is exceptionally effective at resisting infections, 
  viruses and bacteria. Roger can count on one hand 
  the number of times he’s been seriously ill.
  Resources: Roger has a crappy job, but he doesn’t 
  have anything to spend money on, so he has about $1000 
  worth of disposable income available each month. 
  Strong Back: Roger gains a +1 modifier to actions 
  involving lifting or carrying heavy weights. He can 
  lift and carry much more weight than his build and 
  body type suggests.
  Conclusion
  The characters have reached a point where it 
  seems they have to take the initiative. They need 
  to check in with their various contacts, do research 
  and find out what they can about the killings, and 
  about a ghost with a .44 revolver as an anchor. De-
  pending on the character’s choices, they may need 
  to interact with the detectives officially investigating 
  the killings, as well. Either way, move on to the next 
  scene, “A Letter From the Front.” 
  
  A Letter From the Front
  Mental ••, Physical —, Social ••
  your neighborhood. Your boss at the paper tells you to check 
  your e-mail. You’ve got a message with an image attached, 
  allegedly from the killer! He wants you to look into things 
  from a local perspective. “Oh yeah,” he says, “I’d look up 
  the Son of Sam, if I were you.” See below for the letter.
  Lee (cops): Officially, the beat cops don’t know 
  shit. They aren’t being told anything out of the ordinary. 
  “There’s no evidence to suggest the killings are related” is 
  the party line. Unofficially, they’re thinking it’s a Son of 
  Sam copycat. Nate and Bob, the detectives working the 
  case tell you that the same gun was used in both killings. 
  “But don’t spread that around. Just telling you since it was in 
  front of your shop and all. Tough break, man,” Nate says.
  Ellis and Gianni (local ghosts): The local ghosts are 
  quiet. They’re only this quiet when they know something, 
  and it scares them. Some of them have told you conflicting 
  stories about a killer ghost who goes by Mr. Monster. (Feel 
  free to feed the players one or two of the stories listed in 
  Mr. Monster’s description on pp. 33–36.) Best you can 
  figure, he can’t be more than around 40 years dead, since 
  they didn’t even make .44 Bulldogs before the 70s. But the 
  ghosts are nervous, and that can’t be a good sign.
  Zita (chop shops): Business is starting to dip, if 
  only because the police are making a show of better night 
  Overview
  The characters may start to put out the word to 
  their various contacts and allies, looking for infor-
  mation on the shootings that have already occurred 
  and, on the ghost side, begin searching for word of a 
  ghost with a .44 caliber revolver as an anchor.
  The first letter arrives at the paper. Joey gets called 
  in, because he lives in the neighborhood, giving the 
  characters access to the letter before it is censored 
  and printed in the paper. 
  Description
  If the characters put out the word, describe each 
  successful result as follows:
  Tyson (gangbangers and street kids): The kids 
  are all abuzz about the killings. The gangs aren’t taking 
  credit for the kills – no point in them. There’s no glory 
  in capping soccer moms and students. Word is that a cat 
  named 2Tone is offering a reward of two grand to the 
  person who delivers the killer to the cops and gets them 
  out of the neighborhood.
  Joey (journalists): The people you call all expect you 
  to know more about what’s going on than they do, since it’s 
  
  patrols in the area. The killings themselves aren’t really 
  registering, but they let you know about 2Tone’s reward 
  offer: two grand to the person who delivers the killer to 
  the cops so they’ll step the fuck off.
  Storyteller Goals
  Your main goal here is simply to provide the 
  players with the clues in Mr. Monster’s first let-
  ter to the press. This is a quiet scene, intended 
  to give the players something to chew on while 
  also providing a bit of downtime to decide on a 
  course of action.
  Character Goals
  Joey and Ellis have the best chance of discovering 
  useful information related to the letter itself, but 
  that doesn’t mean they are the only ones who have 
  something to do in this scene. Each of the char-
  acters has a different sphere of influence they can 
  inquire in. Lee can attempt to contact Detectives 
  Cord and Markan, to get a little background on the 
  current case. Zita can ask around the chop shops to 
  see if her people have heard anything, and Tyson 
  can put feelers out among the local street kids and 
  gangbangers. Ellis can go straight to the source, ask-
  ing the neighborhood ghosts if they know anything 
  about the killer. (They all have a different story, of 
  course. See Mr. Monster on pages 33–35 for a few 
  example rumors.)
  Actions
  Researching the Letter
  Dice Pool: Intelligence + Academics. 
  Joey’s research skills are best used to attempt to find 
  information on the mundane aspects or references 
  within Mr. Monster’s letter. Insight into the occult 
  aspects requires Ellis’ knowledge (see below). If Joey 
  garners 7 successes, he discovers a number of parallels 
  with–and direct repetition from–the original Son of 
  Sam letters. The main difference between the letters 
  is in the “Wooden Lawn” references and the mention 
  of the dead rising from their captivity. The largest 
  cemetery in the Bronx is Woodlawn Cemetery. (For 
  information on the Son of Sam, see p. 13)
  Action: Extended. Joey must achieve 7 successes. 
  Each roll represents 30 minutes of research.
  Helps: Internet connection (+1), Accessing 
  newspaper archives (+1)
  Hindrances: No Internet connection (–2)
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Joey obtains flawed or inac-
  curate information that leads him to draw incorrect 
  conclusions about the references in the letter.
  Failure: Joey makes no progress in locating the 
  information he is after. 
  Success: Joey makes progress in his search for 
  information on the references made in the letter.
  Exceptional Success: Joey is well on his way to 
  discovering the elusive information he’s after. If the 
  roll provides enough successes to push the total well 
  above the amount necessary to complete the task 
  (by five or more), he gains additional information 
  pertinent to his research, providing greater detail 
  and insight into Mr. Monster’s thought process.
  Finding the Hidden Truths
  Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult.
  Action: Extended. Ellis must achieve 7 successes. 
  Each roll represents 30 minutes of work.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Ellis mistakenly identifies an 
  example of occult phenomena or remembers in-
  correct information that impacts his decisions for 
  the worse. Depending on the mistake, this flawed 
  information could be deadly.
  Failure: Ellis makes no progress in identifying any 
  occult references in the letter.
  Success: Ellis makes progress in his search for 
  occult references in the letter.
  Exceptional Success: Ellis is well on his way to 
  identifying the occult references hinted at in the let-
  ter. If the roll provides enough successes to push the 
  total well above the amount necessary to complete the 
  task (by five or more), he gains additional information 
  pertinent to his research, providing greater detail and 
  insight into Mr. Monster’s thought process.
  Conclusion
  If the characters picked up the clues leading them 
  to Woodlawn, go to “Flowers for the Dead.” Other-
  wise, they’ll need to happen upon the crime scene 
  in “the Bulldog Barks.”
  
  Flowers for the Dead
  Mental •••, Physical –, Social •••
  Izzy’s the only one of the ghosts here who doesn’t 
  fear Mr. Monster’s growing power. Whether that’s 
  because she’s more powerful or simply foolhardy is 
  another matter entirely. She’s happy to talk to the 
  characters, though like with many ghosts, there is a 
  price to be paid for her help.
  “Sure, I can show you where Mr. M’s been digging 
  around, but I want… her,” she says, pointing at Zita. 
  “Just for a little while… I’ll give her back, I swear! 
  C’mon doll, do you know how long it’s been since I 
  had a smoke?”
  If the krewe won’t let her possess Zita, she won’t 
  push the issue, but she will dig her heels in until they 
  find her a girl she can possess, or make some other 
  arrangement she’ll agree to. The secret is keeping 
  her entertained. She gets stubborn or simply loses 
  interest and wanders off if she gets bored. When the 
  characters get her to focus on “Mr. M,” instead of 
  flirting or teasing or just trying to have some living 
  company, she takes them to another crypt.
  “This way, guys and doll. Over here, and if you look 
  to your right you’ll see more dead people. This is it, 
  folks. Tour’s over. You can go in there if you want, but 
  Izzy’s staying put.” The crypt she leads you to is large, 
  its wrought-iron gate chained shut.
  Zita (and possibly Lee) can pick the lock with few 
  problems. This would be a good time to make sure the 
  krewe has at least one flashlight between them. 
  The gate opens silently, on well-oiled hinges. Someone 
  has been coming here, and they didn’t want to be de-
  tected. It’s dark inside, but in the circle of your flashlight 
  beam, you see a strange but familiar sigil engraved in 
  the back wall. It’s one of the symbols from the piece of 
  paper you discovered near Nancy’s murder scene. The 
  engraving is almost entirely filled in with a rusty brown-
  black pigment. Within the colored segment, a red “X” is 
  scratched across the symbol every few inches.
  When the characters realize that the brown-black 
  pigment is essentially a map, they can cross-reference 
  the Xs on an actual map of New York City to predict 
  where Mr. Monster’s next victim will be found.
  Overview
  The krewe visits Woodlawn cemetery in hopes 
  of discovering more about Mr. Monster, thanks to 
  multiple references to the graveyard in his first letter 
  to the media. 
  Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the focal points 
  of local Sin-Eater culture, with more than 400 
  acres and 300,000 people buried there. Many a 
  Sin-Eater will take a covert pilgrimage to the grave 
  of a particularly respected figure. Locals frequently 
  pour out rum at the tombstones or mausoleums of 
  such diverse figures as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, 
  Herman Melville and Bat Masterson.
  While the characters are there, they run into Izzy 
  Waters, an old ghost who can give them information 
  as long as the krewe can keep her entertained.
  Description
  Woodlawn is a sprawling graveyard. Elaborate tombs 
  and memorials dot the landscape as far as you can see. 
  Most of you have been here before. The place is rich with 
  deathly energy; you can feel it pulsing beneath your feet. 
  The skin between the worlds is thin here. You feel your 
  geists flex and stretch, closer to the surface than ever. 
  Graveyards are conducive to ghostly manifesta-
  tions. Any shade attempting to manifest one of 
  her powers gets +3 dice in addition to the ones she 
  gets for being near the Sin-Eaters (see Unnatural 
  Mediums, pp. 9–10). 
  As you search the graveyard for clues, many of the 
  shades slink away, avoiding you. They fade into their 
  crypts as if they know what you’re looking for and don’t 
  want to get involved. One solitary ghost sits on the steps 
  of a mausoleum inscribed with the word “WATERS” 
  in large, block letters above the door. Long, elegant legs 
  unfold as she stands and saunters toward you, the tassels 
  on her blood-soaked dress swaying in time with her hips. 
  The flapper girl looks at you from under the bangs of her 
  bob haircut and grins mischievously. “Ain’t you a sight? 
  Don’t you know it ain’t safe ta be in a graveyard?”
  
  Storyteller Goals
  You can use the ghosts’ reluctance to interact with 
  the characters as a way to make them paranoid, espe-
  cially given that Sin-Eaters usually have to actively 
  concentrate on ignoring ghosts to be left alone for 
  a moment. Izzy was a thrill seeker in life who loved 
  to break social mores, so she’s just playing to type 
  here. She wants to scandalize the other ghosts of the 
  graveyard. It’s almost as much fun as she’d have if 
  Zita does agree to let her possess her for a while. 
  Once the krewe finds the tomb, you want them 
  to decipher the pattern so they can move on to find 
  the next victim.
  Character Goals
  The characters are looking for anything that 
  might give them a clue to Mr. Monster’s plans or 
  whereabouts. Once Izzy leads them to the crypt, they 
  need only decipher the rune to figure out where Mr. 
  Monster will strike next.
  Actions
  Discerning the Pattern
  Dice Pool: Wits + Occult
  Ellis sees things from a rather unique perspective. 
  He has the likeliest chance of making the kind of 
  intuitive leap needed to make the connection be-
  tween the wall of the tomb and the pattern of Mr. 
  Monster’s attacks.
  Action: Extended. The character must accrue 5 
  successes. Each roll represents 15 minutes of study-
  ing the tomb.
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: Ellis comes to an incorrect 
  conclusion. Perhaps he transfers the pattern to a map 
  incorrectly, putting the characters on the wrong side 
  of town entirely when the next victim is killed. 
  Failure: Ellis makes no progress toward discerning 
  the pattern.
  Success: Ellis makes progress toward discerning 
  the pattern.
  Exceptional Success: Ellis sees the pattern, and real-
  izes that, in addition to lining up with Mr. Monster’s kill-
  ings, it is the Lower Tongue sigil denoting a shattering. 
  Characters
  Isabelle “Izzy” Waters
  Quote: “Well, hello handsome. What I wouldn’t give 
  for a body right now.”
  Background: Izzy was the cat’s meow. She was 
  known in all the best joints, and she danced the 
  Charleston with the best of them. She was rich, 
  young, beautiful and an adrenaline junky. She drove 
  her car at breakneck speeds and drank and smoked 
  with the best of them. All the men wanted her, but 
  she only wanted the interesting ones. Of course, to 
  Izzy, “interesting” was a synonym for “dangerous.” 
  It was only a matter of time, really. The gossip 
  columnists all had bets in on when one of the torch-
  carrying lugs Izzy strung along would finally get fed 
  up and take her for a ride. But in the end, that wasn’t 
  what happened at all. Izzy started shacking up with 
  a guy and even told her friends she going to tie the 
  knot. But she didn’t know he was already married. 
  His wife found the two of them drunk and getting 
  into heavy petting, and slit Izzy’s throat before bury-
  ing the knife in her husband’s chest.
  Since then, Izzy’s flipped back and forth between 
  three anchors. Her mausoleum, a choker with a cameo 
  silhouette of her that now belongs to her great-niece 
  in San Francisco, and an old dancehall-turned-bar in 
  Manhattan that still has photos of her on the wall.
  Description: Izzy is still wearing her flapper finery. 
  She’s done up in a tasseled dress and a woolen over-
  coat with a fur-lined collar. Her bobbed hair gives 
  her a look reminiscent of Louise Brooks, all glamour 
  and mystery. She’s gorgeous, until you notice that 
  her throat yawns wide when she looks up, and the 
  front of her dress is covered in blood. 
  Storytelling Hints: You’ve been a ghost over 
  four times longer than you lived. Your mindset has 
  become so alien that you really don’t understand 
  the value of life, and your priorities are a little 
  wonky. The krewe is there to make your existence 
  more entertaining. If they can make that coincide 
  with stopping Mr. Monster, swell. But you’re easily 
  bored, and they need to keep things interesting to 
  keep your attention. Use slang from the 1920s in 
  your speech. 
  Attributes: Power 4, Finesse 4, Resistance 3
  Willpower: 7
  Morality: 4
  
  Virtue: Fortitude
  Vice: Envy
  Initiative: 7
  Defense: 4
  Speed: 18 (species factor 10)
  Size: 5
  Corpus: 8
  Numina
  Phantasm (dice pool 8): Izzy has the power to cre-
  ate illusory images. Spend one Essence point and roll 
  Power + Finesse. A negative modifier may be applied 
  to the roll depending on the size and complexity of the 
  illusion. Mimicking a person’s voice alone or creating 
  a distinctive smell (like perfume) doesn’t incur any 
  negative modifiers, but creating the illusion of a person 
  might be subject to a –1 penalty. Creating the illusion 
  of a specific person (down to patterns of speech and 
  mannerisms) that a witness knows might call for a –2 
  penalty. Creating a complex illusion that seems to 
  have physical substance (the witness is convinced that 
  he can “touch” the illusion and it feels solid) incurs a 
  –3 or more severe penalty. Small, subtle illusions are 
  generally much more effective than large, overt ones. 
  This power works on only one victim at a time. Other 
  mortals in the subject’s vicinity do not see what he 
  does. When a subject witnesses an illusion, roll Wits + 
  Composure (or the Storyteller may allow Composure 
  to be replaced by Occult if your character is aware of 
  ghostly activity). If the roll generates as many or more 
  successes than were achieved in the phantasm roll, the 
  victim recognizes that the image can’t be real. If the 
  phantasm roll wins, the subject believes the illusion is 
  genuine, but another Wits + Composure (or Occult) 
  roll is made for him in each successive turn to attempt 
  to see through the power. Izzy can maintain only one 
  illusion at a time, and each illusion remains for the 
  duration of the scene unless dispelled.
  Possession (dice pool 8): Izzy may attempt to 
  possess a living human being and control his or 
  her body for a short time. Spend one Essence point 
  and roll Power + Finesse in a contested roll versus 
  the victim’s Resolve + Composure. If she wins, Izzy 
  gains control of the victim’s body for the duration 
  of a single scene. Use the victim’s available traits 
  (except Willpower points, which are equal to Izzy’s 
  current Willpower points) and dice pools for any 
  action he wishes to take. If the mortal wins or ties 
  the roll, Izzy fails her possession attempt. As long as 
  Izzy has Essence points remaining she can continue 
  to make possession attempts against a target. If a 
  possessed body is killed or knocked unconscious, 
  Izzy is forced out and must possess another victim if 
  she still wishes to act. 
  Attacks using a blessed object against one of Izzy’s 
  hosts damage her Corpus instead of the physical host. 
  Terrify (dice pool 8): Izzy has the power to strike 
  terror in the hearts of mortals who witness her 
  manifestation. Roll Power + Finesse in a contested 
  roll against the Resolve + Composure of each mortal 
  who witnesses her manifestation firsthand. If Izzy 
  loses or ties, mortals in the area are unaffected and 
  are immune to uses of this power for the remainder 
  of the scene. Mortals who lose flee from Izzy and will 
  not return to the haunted area for at least one day.
  Conclusion
  The characters should have deciphered the mapping 
  pattern that Mr. Monster is using to choose his victims. 
  He’s trying to complete the symbol, and he’s very close. 
  Move on from here to “the Bulldog Barks.”
  The Bulldog Barks
  Mental ••, Physical •••, Social •
  Overview
  The characters find the third victim, along with 
  two letters left by Mr. Monster, and get another 
  chance to catch his host before he discards Mr. 
  Monster’s anchor. 
  Description
  You’re too late. A young woman’s corpse lies facedown 
  on the sidewalk in a pool of blood. A few onlookers 
  stand nearby, taking photos with their camera phones. 
  Only one of them is actually using his phone to call the 
  
  police. The ghost of the victim is standing mere feet away 
  from her corpse, staring fixedly at her own body. She’s 
  in total shock.
  Ask the players to roll Wits + Composure (see 
  “Noticing the Letters,” below), and if they succeed, 
  read the following: 
  A few feet away, you notice a sheaf of paper stuck 
  under the windshield of a parked car. The papers have 
  spatters of blood on them, and the same symbol you saw 
  in the graveyard drawn on them.
  After the characters have read the papers, Frankie, 
  Mr. Monster’s current host, makes his move.
  Sirens drone in the distance, but suddenly, you hear 
  the roar of an engine straining and the squeal of tires 
  fighting for purchase as a car fishtails around the corner. 
  You only have a moment to see the driver point a gun in 
  your direction before he opens fire!
  Each character must roll one die and add his 
  Initiative rating to the result. For Frankie, roll one 
  die and add 7 to the result. Characters who achieve 
  a higher Initiative than Frankie may use their ac-
  tion to dive behind cover as he squalls by, firing at 
  them. Frankie randomly fires at any characters left 
  in the open as he passes. His first choice is members 
  of the krewe, but he’ll settle for any of the spectators 
  vicariously enjoying his kill. 
  As the shooter drives off, Zita notices a car she knows 
  would hotwire quickly.
  Storyteller Goals
  You want the characters to find the letters and 
  read them before Frankie/Mr. Monster tries to take 
  them out. Keep in mind that he’s not actually trying 
  to kill them. He won’t be upset if they die, but he’s 
  having fun, in an arrogant, completely sociopathic 
  way. Make sure to let the characters have a chance 
  to chase him, but don’t make it too easy.
  Character Goals
  When the characters arrive, they were hoping 
  to catch him before he had a chance to kill Laura. 
  Failing that, they try to find evidence and then to 
  survive when Mr. Monster attacks. It’s possible one 
  or more of the characters will try to approach Laura 
  to console her. Keep in mind that there is a crowd 
  of onlookers, and it’s only growing.
  
  Actions
  Noticing the Letters
  Dice Pool: Wits + Composure. 
  Any character has a chance to notice the letters 
  stuffed into the windshield wipers.
  Action: Instant
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: The character is completely 
  oblivious to the notes.
  Failure: The character does not see the notes 
  unless they are pointed out to him.
  Success: The character spots the letters.
  Exceptional Success: There is no additional result 
  beyond noticing the letters.
  Carjacking
  Dice Pool: Dexterity + Larceny (picking the 
  lock), Dexterity + Crafts (hotwiring the car). 
  This is Zita’s raison d’etre. She’s all over this. She 
  can also use her Marionette manifestation as an 
  alternative, if she wishes.
  Action: Instant
  Roll Results
  Dramatic Failure: On the lockpicking roll, Zita’s 
  tools snap. If she’s trying to hotwire the car, Zita is 
  electrocuted, and takes 1 point of bashing damage.
  Failure: Zita fails to jimmy the lock or hotwire 
  the car.
  Success: The door opens or the car starts.
  Exceptional Success: Success is its own reward.
  Characters
  Laura, the Third Victim
  Quotes: “No, you don’t understand, I can’t be 
  dead.”
  Background: Laura was on the cusp of success. 
  She was walking from the subway, coming home 
  from rehearsal for her first Broadway show. It was a 
  supporting role, but every step matters. When she 
  rounded the corner, Frankie, Mr. Monster’s current 
  host, approached her with his head down. As he 
  passed her, he turned as if to say something, raised 
  his revolver and fired.
  Description: Lithe and graceful, Laura has the 
  wiry muscle and confident coordination of a dancer. 
  Her dark hair is matted with blood, and her eyes look 
  like shattered crystal. She’s wearing a summer dress 
  over a leotard and tights, and everything is drenched 
  in hot, red blood.
  Storytelling Hints: It was all laid out for you. 
  Your future was about to happen. All of your dreams 
  were going to be realized. And now, nothing. You’re 
  stuck in the shock of disbelief, and you can’t get 
  around it.
  Attributes: Power 2, Finesse 1, Resistance 2
  Willpower: 4
  Morality: 7
  Virtue: Temperance
  Vice: Envy
  Initiative: 3
  Defense: 2
  Speed: 13 (species factor 10)
  Size: 5
  Corpus: 7
  Numina
  Clairvoyance (dice pool 3): Laura can speak to 
  mortals through the body of another living person. 
  Roll Power + Finesse, with the subject’s Resolve 
  subtracted from the dice pool as a penalty. If the 
  victim is a willing participant, no roll is made. If 
  Laura fails, no communication is possible. If she 
  wins, she can speak using the victim’s vocal cords 
  for a single turn. At the end of the turn the victim 
  suffers a single point of bashing damage due to 
  the strain of contact. If Laura wishes to continue 
  speaking through the medium, a further Power + 
  Finesse roll must be made each turn. The medium 
  continues to suffer an additional point of bashing 
  damage at the end of each turn of communication. 
  If the medium is rendered unconscious, no further 
  contact is possible.
  Conclusion
  This one heads straight into “On the Road,” 
  wherein the characters are led on a high-speed chase 
  back towards Woodlawn Cemetery. It’s possible 
  that Zita might use her Marionette abilities to try 
  to cut the car chase short. If she succeeds, you can 
  try to extend things, or you can skip straight to “Mr. 
  Monster’s anchor.”
  
  On the Road
  Mental ••, Physical •••, Social –
  Storyteller Goals 
  This scene is an adrenaline-pumping action 
  sequence, designed to give the players a period of 
  fast-paced action before the final confrontation with 
  Mr. Monster himself. Depending upon how their 
  luck is running, your job as Storyteller is to make 
  this sequence last as long as necessary to keep the 
  action and suspense at a high level. 
  Keep in mind that extending a chase too long can 
  cause the players to become bored with it. 
  Actions 
  Vehicle Chase 
  Dice Pool: Wits + Drive + the vehicle’s Handling 
  rating. (Frankie is driving an SUV, which has a 
  Handling of 0, giving him a dice pool of 6, while 
  Zita’s stolen car has a Handling of 3, giving her a 
  base dice pool of 9.)
  Action: Extended and contested. Each dice roll 
  represents about two city blocks of travel. 
  Hindrances: Heavy traffic (–1), pedestrians (–2), 
  rain (–1), stopped traffic/red light (–2), blown tire 
  (–2 per tire) 
  Help: No traffic (+1), know the area (+1) 
  Roll Results 
  Dramatic Failure: Choose one of the follow-
  ing: your vehicle breaks down, you hit another car 
  (dealing two bashing damage to everyone in the 
  vehicle), or you take a wrong turn and lose the 
  SUV completely. 
  Failure: You are losing ground on the SUV. It is 
  still in sight, but out of range of any gunfire. 
  Success: You gain some ground on the SUV. 
  Exceptional Success: The SUV begins to sputter 
  and shake. You can catch up to it easily.
  It is best to throw as many obstacles as possible 
  in the characters’ path for the most dramatic effect: 
  near misses with pedestrians, cars stopping abruptly 
  after nearly T-boning yours, etc. 
  Overview
  In this scene, the characters find themselves 
  caught up in a high-speed car chase through crowded 
  streets, trying to catch Mr. Monster’s current host 
  before he has a chance to ditch the ghost’s anchor 
  and leave the characters no closer to stopping the 
  murders. Mr. Monster uses Frankie Kowalski and 
  tries to lead the characters into Woodlawn Cem-
  etery. If he succeeds, he takes the krewe on another 
  foot chase into the center of the graveyard, where 
  he feels more confident about fighting them.
  Description
  You can hear horns ahead as the killer shoots through 
  traffic. Zita’s hands grip the wheel as she slips left, then 
  breaks right through a hole in traffic. You’re still in one 
  piece and, despite the congested New York traffic, you’re 
  flying along with as much speed as she can coax out of 
  the car’s engine.
  When Mr. Monster arrives at the cemetery, use 
  the following description:
  The battered SUV skids to a halt, sliding sideways 
  into the gates of Woodlawn Cemetery. As soon as it 
  stops, the door opens and the driver staggers out, shaking 
  his head for a moment before taking off into the maze 
  of graves.
  Character Goals
  In this scene, the characters are trying to keep up 
  with or stop Mr. Monster’s SUV. As the driver, Zita’s 
  player will be taking most of the actions, but driv-
  ing is not the only thing to be done. The characters 
  can attempt to shoot out the tires or anything else 
  the characters can plausibly do in a car travelling 
  at high speeds while they aren’t driving. Whatever 
  their actions, the krewe’s main goal is to catch up 
  to Mr. Monster or stop him entirely.
  
  While the driver is the one attempting most of the 
  action, the other passengers may attempt to fire at 
  the SUV in order to stop it. This is a very difficult 
  shot, and doing so will bring reciprocal fire from the 
  SUV. All attempts at long-range weapon fire will 
  incur the normal penalties for long-range combat 
  (–2 for medium range, –4 for long range—most of 
  this combat will be in medium range). There are also 
  penalties for any specified shot at the opposing ve-
  hicle’s tires (–2). Any attack against the tires requires 
  three successes to puncture one. If you are firing at 
  the occupants inside, you need two additional suc-
  cesses to have the bullet puncture the window. 
  Characters
  Frank “Frankie” Kowalski,  
  the Second Host
  Quote: “Fuck you, I’m not playing around here!”
  Background: Frankie comes from a family of 
  blue-collar workers. He doesn’t work construction 
  like they did; rather, he makes his living scaling the 
  tall towers that house cell phone and broadband 
  wireless antennae, installing, repairing or upgrading 
  the sensitive electronics within. 
  Frankie was packing his equipment after work-
  ing on a cell tower in Pelham Bay when he heard 
  a rustling nearby. He investigated, and discovered 
  the .44 Bulldog dumped in the brush. As soon as he 
  got close enough, Mr. Monster made his move, and 
  Frankie blacked out.
  Description: Frank is lanky, skinny but strong. 
  He moves with an almost apelike grace, like he 
  wouldn’t be out of place brachiating from branch 
  to branch like a monkey. He wears a jacket with 
  an embroidered patch on the left forearm that says 
  “28:06:42:12,” a t-shirt, a pair of worn jeans and calf-
  high work boots. His left hand has burn marks from 
  where he caught the hot bullet casings after Roger 
  Jacobi’s shooting (in “The First Host”).
  Storytelling Hints: See Mr. Monster’s storytelling 
  hints (pp. 33–36) if the characters don’t drive him 
  out. Otherwise, you’re a geek, but you don’t like to 
  let people know that. It makes it harder for you to fit 
  in on work sites. People tend to be a little standoff-
  ish when they realize how smart you really are, so 
  you try to tone yourself down in social situations. 
  It’s not that you’re ashamed of how smart you are. 
  You’re proud of it, but you know that most people 
  aren’t as smart as you are, so you don’t like to make 
  them feel bad.
  You’re not at your best when dealing with the 
  krewe. You’re confused. You’ve lost hours, if not 
  days, and now they’re telling you that you killed 
  someone. 
  Attributes: Intelligence 5, Wits 3, Resolve 3, Strength 3,  
  Dexterity 4, Stamina 3, Presence 2, Manipulation 2, 
  Composure 3
  Skills: Academics 3, Athletics 3, Computer 4, Crafts 3, 
  Drive 2, Expression 1, Firearms 2, Science 1, Socialize 2,  
  Streetwise 1, Survival 2
  Merits: Fleet of Foot 3, Iron Stomach 2, Resources 2 
  Willpower: 6
  Morality: 7
  Virtue: Hope
  Vice: Pride
  Initiative: 7
  Defense: 3
  Size: 5
  Speed: 15 
  Health: 8
  Weapons/Attacks
  Type 
  Dmg Range 
  Shots 
  Dice Pool
  .44 Bulldog 3(L) 
  35/70/140 3 
  9
  Merits and Abilities
  Fleet of Foot: Frankie is fast. He may move up to 
  15 yards in a single turn (3 seconds) and still take 
  another action, or up to 30 yards if running is his 
  only action for the turn. 
  Iron Stomach: Frankie can eat almost anything, 
  under almost any conditions. He could be dropped 
  in the middle of the forest and could live off bugs 
  and roots as long as necessary in order to survive 
  – with no ill effects. Add two dice to appropriate 
  Survival rolls. 
  Resources: Frankie has $1,000 worth of dispos-
  able income each month.
  Conclusion
  Whether the characters find a way to stop the SUV 
  short or simply follow him to the cemetery, move on 
  to the final scene, “Mr. Monster’s Anchor.”
  
  Mr. Monster’s Anchor
  Mental •••, Physical •••, Social ••
  Overview
  The krewe recovers and possibly destroys Mr. 
  Monster’s Anchor, a .44 caliber Bulldog revolver.
  Description
  If the characters stop him before he reaches 
  Woodlawn (by causing a wreck, for example), he 
  still tries to make it to the cemetery. Once inside 
  the cemetery, read this description:
  As you hurtle past the gravestones after the killer, 
  you feel a surge of deathly energy building up ahead. 
  An Avernian Gate, a pathway to the Underworld, is 
  opening, and something inside is beginning to stir. You 
  feel its burgeoning senses reaching out into this world as 
  a twisting in your guts. Mr. Monster has to be stopped 
  before he reaches the crypt.
  If the characters fail to stop him and he gets to 
  the crypt, use this description: 
  The crypt, once dark, is now awash in a sickly green 
  glow coming from the engraved sigil on the wall. The seams 
  of the wall are separating. The Underworld is beginning 
  to intrude into physical reality and, behind the wall, you 
  see movement. The thing’s voice is in your head, and your 
  geist shakes in rage or fear, you’re not sure which.
  If Mr. Monster gets to spend a full minute (20 
  turns) in the crypt, the wall collapses and what 
  happens next is entirely up to you as Storyteller. 
  The creature within is extraordinary. It may escape 
  into the world, bringing a new terror to the World 
  of Darkness, or you can improvise an epic battle 
  against the horrific thing. 
  It’s in the krewe’s – and the world’s – best interest 
  to destroy Mr. Monster or his anchor before he has a 
  chance to release the beast. If the characters succeed, 
  read the following:
  The shade who called himself Mr. Monster fades away in a 
  swirl of ragged ectoplasm, like cobwebs settling to the ground. 
  The Avernian Gate pulses and begins to fade as well, the glow 
  dying out and the wall becoming more and more solid with 
  every passing second. The creature behind the wall wails in 
  frustration, and you feel your nose begin to bleed. 
  Then, everything is silent. 
  Storyteller Goals
  Mr. Monster is attempting to get back to the crypt 
  in Woodlawn so that he can open the Avernian Gate 
  and free something terrible. 
  Character Goals
  To stop Mr. Monster, first they have to get him 
  out of Frankie. The easiest way to achieve this by 
  rendering him unconscious or dead. If the characters 
  kill him, they risk Synergy loss (see p. 7). Finally, 
  they need to destroy the revolver (or Mr. Monster) 
  to really end the threat definitively.
  Actions
  Destroying the Bulldog
  Dice Pool: Strength + Brawl or Strength + 
  Weaponry
  Action: Special. The characters must physically 
  attack the gun itself to destroy it. 
  The Bulldog has a Durability of 3, which means that an 
  attack only damages the .44 with successes in excess of 3. 
  For example, if Lee achieves 4 successes, he does 1 point 
  of damage to the gun’s Structure. The revolver must take 
  4 points of Structure damage before it is destroyed.
  Characters
  Mr. Monster
  Quotes: “I will make the world a better place, if 
  you’ll let me.”
  Background: Even Mr. Monster doesn’t know for 
  sure where he came from. He can’t remember how 
  he died, or who he was before he took on his current 
  sobriquet. The ghosts who whisper about him tell a 
  number of stories…
  
  Some say Mr. Monster was himself the victim of 
  a vicious murderer. They say he was nothing and 
  nobody until the killer’s gun made him something. 
  That the first identity he ever had was Victim. So, 
  tied to the gun, he started whispering to the killer 
  and, when the killer pawned the gun, he started 
  whispering to the pawnshop’s owner. After weeks on 
  end of the monster’s urging, the owner took the .44 
  home with him and slaughtered his family. 
  Others say that Mr. Monster was a hoodlum in life, 
  mugging and robbing at gunpoint. His life revolved 
  around the .44; it was his only real companion, his 
  only livelihood. Everything else in his life had let 
  him down, but the bulldog was faithful and depend-
  able, like its namesake. Until the transfer plate 
  malfunctioned and the pistol jammed, giving one of 
  his rivals a chance to shoot him instead. The rival 
  took the .44 and soon, Mr. Monster began to slip 
  inside, injecting his killer with paranoia and fear. 
  Eventually, they say, Mr. Monster’s killer turned the 
  .44 on himself.
  Another tale has the killer ghost in the role of a 
  policeman. He takes care of his family, providing 
  what he can, and working hard. But it’s not enough. 
  One night, he finds his beautiful, brunette wife 
  having sex with another man in the back of his car. 
  Officer Monster pulls his revolver and fires five times, 
  killing his wife and her illicit lover. Then he sits on 
  the curb and uses the last bullet on himself. 
  Any of these stories could be true – or contain 
  elements of truth – or the truth could be something 
  else entirely. 
  Description: When Mr. Monster is not possess-
  ing a mortal, he’s squat and coarse. Solid. His hair 
  is dark and his features are rough, like a sculpture 
  that has only been blocked in. His eyes are black and 
  hollow, like staring down the barrel of a gun. When 
  he moves, it’s with a heavy surety. He wears a dark, 
  bulky windbreaker over a stained and yellowed wife 
  beater and jeans. 
  Storytelling Hints: You’re quiet most of the time, 
  but every once in a while, you just let loose with a 
  rant, a long and clumsy rage against the living. The 
  world would be better if nobody were trapped in the 
  Underworld, if there were no such thing as the Ker-
  beroi, and of course, if everybody was dead. Without 
  the living, there’d be nothing to compare ghostly 
  existence to, so you wouldn’t keep being reminded 
  how much better it could be. On the other hand, it 
  is fun to take a host out for a spin now and again… 
  And the feel of power when you pull that trigger is 
  almost like breathing.
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  OtHER
  	 mental	•• 
  physical	•• 
  social	••
  SCENE: Close to Home
  PCs
  Sts 
  Examining the Crime 
  Scene: Bad Lighting –2
  Recognizing the Rune: 
  Police have arrived –2
  Examining the Crime 
  Scene: Get a flashlight 
  +1
  Introduce the Characters/Setting; first call to action
  Investigate the shooting
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  OtHER
  	 mental	•• 
  physical — 
  social	•••
  SCENE: Larry the Gimp
  PCs
  Sts Point the characters after the first host
  Investigate the Numina use, chase down the first host
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  OtHER
  	 mental	•• 
  physical	•• 
  social	••
  SCENE: The First Host
  PCs
  Sts Convey that the Bulldog is Mr. Monster’s anchor
  Get answers, search for the dumped gun
  
  Attributes: Power 5, Finesse 4, Resistance 5
  Willpower: 10
  Morality: 3
  Virtue: Justice
  Vice: Wrath
  Initiative: 9
  Defense: 5
  Speed: 19 (species factor 10)
  Size: 5
  Corpus: 10
  Essence: 30
  Numina and Abilities
  Manifestation (dice pool 9): Mr. Monster may 
  manifest within one yard of the .44 Bulldog auto-
  matically, with no roll required. Otherwise, he must 
  roll Power + Finesse, with a base penalty of –3 dice 
  to do so. If there is more than one mortal present, 
  each person after the first imposes a –1 modifier to 
  the roll. Note that Sin-Eaters do not count as mortals 
  in this case, rather they make it easier for a ghost to 
  manifest (see “Unnatural Mediums,” on pages 9–10 
  for information).
  Animal Control (dice pool 9): Mr. Monster is 
  able to exert his will over an animal, controlling 
  it completely. Spend one Essence and roll Power 
  + Finesse, subtracting the animal’s Resolve from 
  the Dice Pool. Success means the ghost is able to 
  command the animal to perform any task the spirit 
  desires, to the limit of the animal’s physical abilities. 
  Mr. Monster can control the animal for the dura-
  tion of the scene if desired. He can control up to 4 
  animals simultaneously, provided he has sufficient 
  Essence.
  Compulsion (dice pool 9): Mr. Monster is able 
  to exert his will over a living person, commanding 
  him to perform actions like a puppet. Spend one 
  Essence and roll Power + Finesse in a contested 
  roll versus the victim’s Resolve + Composure. If 
  the ghost fails or ties the roll (or the mortal wins), 
  the victim is unaffected. If the ghost wins the roll, 
  it seizes control of the victim and can command 
  him to perform any acts the spirit desires, within 
  the victim’s capabilities. The victim can attempt to 
  throw off Mr. Monster’s control each successive turn 
  with another contested roll. Use the victim’s own 
  dice pools to determine the outcome of his actions. 
  Mr. Monster can compel up to 4 victims simultane-
  ously, provided he has sufficient Essence.
  Ghost Speech (dice pool 9): Mr. Monster is 
  capable of speaking directly to mortals when he 
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  OtHER
  	 mental	•• 
  physical — 
  social	••
  SCENE: Letter from the Front
  PCs
  Sts 
  Researching the Letter: 
  No internet –2
  Researching the Letter: 
  Internet connection +1, 
  Accessing NYT database 
  +1
  Provide clues via Mr. Monster’s first letter
  Do a little information gathering
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  OtHER
  	 mental	••• 
  physical — 
  social	•••
  SCENE: Flowers for the Dead
  PCs
  Sts Build a sense of paranoia, introduce Izzy and the rune
  Decipher the rune, learn where Mr. Monster will strike next
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  OtHER
  	 mental	•• 
  physical	••• 
  social —
  SCENE: The Bulldog Barks
  PCs
  Sts Provide letters. Create action w/ drive-by
  Search for evidence, try to survive
  
  gains control of the victim’s body for the duration of a 
  single scene. Use the victim’s available traits (except 
  Willpower points, which are equal to Mr. Monster’s 
  current Willpower points) and dice pools for any 
  action he wishes to take. If the mortal wins or ties 
  the roll, Mr. Monster fails his possession attempt. As 
  long as the ghost has Essence points remaining he can 
  continue to make possession attempts against a target. 
  If a possessed body is killed or knocked unconscious, 
  Mr. Monster is forced out and must possess another 
  victim if he still wishes to act. 
  Attacks using a blessed object against one of Mr. 
  Monster’s hosts damage his Corpus instead of the 
  physical host. 
  Terrify (dice pool 9): Mr. Monster has the power 
  to strike terror in the hearts of mortals who witness 
  his manifestation. Roll Power + Finesse in a con-
  tested roll against the Resolve + Composure of each 
  mortal who witnesses his manifestation firsthand. 
  If Mr. Monster loses or ties, mortals in the area are 
  unaffected and are immune to uses of this power for 
  the remainder of the scene. Mortals who lose flee 
  from Mr. Monster and will not return to the haunted 
  area for at least one day.
  Conclusion
  This is the end of this story, but there are threads 
  you may use to continue the game. Characters have 
  been met, contacts and denizens introduced. If the 
  characters destroyed Mr. Monster’s anchor, they 
  did not necessarily destroy him. In fact, unless they 
  destroyed him by besting him in direct combat in 
  Twilight or devoured him, he was instead consigned 
  to the Underworld. From there, he find a way to 
  return to seek revenge on the krewe in the future, 
  or they may find there way into the depths through 
  an Avernian Gate and find themselves forced to deal 
  with him–or a more powerful ghost who has forced 
  Mr. Monster into servitude. If you chose to hint at 
  Mr. Monster’s involvement with the Black Gate, 
  the other members of the cult in the city may take 
  an interest in the krewe as well.
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  OtHER
  	 mental	•• 
  physical	••• 
  social —
  SCENE: On the Road
  PCs
  Sts 
  Heavy Traffic –1
  Pedestrians –2
  Rain –1
  Stopped Traffic/Red Light –2
  Blown Tire –2 per tire
  No Traffic +1
  Know the Area +1
  Give the players a good, action-packed chase scene
  Keep up with or stop the fleeing SUV
  H I N D R A N C E S
  H E L P
  OtHER
  	 mental	••• 
  physical	••• 
  social	••
  SCENE: Mr. Monster’s Anchor
  PCs
  Sts Mr. Monster wants to open the Avernian Gate and free something nasty
  Stop Mr. Monster and destroy his anchor
  manifests. Spend one Essence point and roll Power 
  + Finesse. If the roll succeeds, he may utter a single 
  sentence.
  Possession (dice pool 9): Mr. Monster may attempt 
  to possess a living human being and control his or her 
  body for a short time. Spend one Essence point and 
  roll Power + Finesse in a contested roll versus the 
  victim’s Resolve + Composure. If Mr. Monster wins, it 
  
  Player Characters
  Tyson Bishop
  Quotes: “You don’t get it, do you? Here, let me help 
  you understand.”
  “These things are just chains, binding you. Let me 
  free you.”
  “How can I help?”
  Background: Tyson Bishop was a troubled kid. 
  He was always in trouble in high school, skipping 
  class and selling dope to buy sneakers and rims for 
  his ride. His teachers wrote him off as a lost cause, 
  and he probably would have been if it weren’t for 
  the local community center. He got busted tagging a 
  wall and sentenced to a few hundred hours of com-
  munity service. He spent his time at the center and 
  paid his dues. Along the way, he started spending 
  his afternoons after work sitting in on martial arts 
  classes taught as part of the youth outreach program. 
  Martin, the teacher, took him under his wing and 
  taught him the value of discipline and respect, and 
  helped him clean up. Over time, Tyson received 
  his black belt and took a job at Martin’s dojo as an 
  instructor. He started volunteering at the youth 
  center, trying to reach kids that reminded him of 
  the bad old days.
  And he did. Tyson reached the kids because he 
  wasn’t preaching abstinence, but control. He knew 
  these kids weren’t going to suddenly become pillars 
  of the community. So he encouraged moderation, 
  and he promised the kids a future. That didn’t sit 
  well with some of the dealers and gangbangers in the 
  area. They felt that Tyson was getting too big for his 
  britches. That he thought he was better.
  One night, they torched the dojo, but Martin and 
  Tyson opened in another location, undaunted. So 
  they took Tyson by surprise, pistol-whipping him 
  and knocking him out. When Tyson awoke, he was 
  being chained to the cross-shaped support on the 
  back of a tow truck. 
  “You wanna be some kinda martyr, motherfucker? 
  Here’s your chance,” the banger said, before driving 
  a nail through Tyson’s wrist. He hung from the truck, 
  fixed to the struts by chains, bleeding from the torn 
  wounds in his wrists and ankles. The last thug drove 
  a blade into his left side, grinning, and said, “see you 
  in three days.”
  They left him there, deep in the mountainous 
  labyrinth of a junkyard, to bleed out. When he did, 
  the Discarded was waiting for him. 
  He woke, and when he had healed, he went to a 
  warehouse party in search of the gangbangers who 
  killed him. After he put the fear of God into them, he 
  ran into Zita, and she brought him home to the Saints, 
  like a stray. He’s worked with them ever since.
  
  Description: Tyson is a handsome, pale-skinned 
  guy with Asian-styled tattoos across his upper chest 
  and down his back and both arms. On the front, 
  flowing from his right arm is a samurai, his sword at 
  the ready, staring down an oni on the left side of his 
  chest. A whirling scene takes up his back, the same 
  samurai and oni locked in combat. The oni’s face is 
  a mask of rage, while the samurai appears impassive, 
  almost peaceful. Tyson prefers loose-fitting clothing, 
  but he avoids the extreme bagginess of urban chic.
  Roleplaying Hints: You still have that punk 
  kid in there, somewhere. But you try to restrain 
  the extremes you used to go to, the selfishness and 
  anger. Sometimes that anger slips out and you hurt 
  someone. You want to help others, both living and 
  dead, and it informs much of what you do. Always, 
  you keep in mind that you’ve been given a second 
  chance, and you have to atone for the things you’ve 
  done. You must perform your penance before you die 
  again. Before it’s over, and you’re trapped as one of 
  the pathetic creatures you see everywhere you go. 
  Virtue: Tyson believes in Temperance. Trouble come 
  when things are taken to excess, whether it’s a noble 
  or base impulse. Too much righteousness can be just as 
  bad as too much wickedness. Once per chapter, Tyson 
  regains all spent Willpower when he resists a temptation 
  to indulge in an excess of any behavior, whether good 
  or bad, despite the obvious rewards it might offer.
  Vice: Tyson still feels the twinges of Envy that 
  initiated his life of crime, despite his best efforts 
  to renounce them. Once per scene, Tyson regains 
  one Willpower point whenever he gains something 
  important from a rival or has a hand in harming that 
  rival’s wellbeing. 
  Archetype: Tyson sees in ghosts that unfinished 
  business can hold you up, stop you on the path to 
  whatever comes next. Though his temperate nature 
  keeps him from becoming a true ascetic, Tyson 
  believes that our ties to material things doom us to 
  wandering the earth as unquiet dead, and as such, 
  he has become a spiritual Pilgrim. Once per chapter, 
  if Tyson fulfills his Virtue by showing someone the 
  futility of tying yourself to things, he also regains all 
  of his spent plasm in addition to his Willpower. Once 
  per scene, Tyson may regain one plasm in addition 
  to one Willpower by helping a rival get over their 
  dependence on an object by stealing it for himself.
  Manifestations and Abilities
  Plasm Expenditure: Tyson can expend one plasm 
  per turn.
  Discarded Flame (Keystone Memento): Tyson’s 
  keystone manifests as a blackened, oily wooden torch, 
  its ever-burning flame tinged green by its otherworldly 
  fuel. Tyson receives a +3 bonus to rolls to enact the Stig-
  mata Boneyard and Unlocking the Stigmata Shroud, below. 
  If Tyson uses reverse possession (see page XX) to enter 
  a Twilight state, he may use the torch as an improvised 
  weapon. Likewise, if he spends 1 plasm, the torch may 
  manifest and be used as a weapon against mundane 
  foes. Tyson may also increase his skill in Occult by 1 
  point for every plasm he spends, up to a maximum of 
  5. Since the torch is an improvised weapon, he suffers 
  a –1 penalty to all attacks, but because of its flaming 
  nature, it inflicts 1 point of lethal damage in addition 
  to the damage it causes on a successful strike.
  Industrial Boneyard: To create an Industrial 
  Boneyard, Tyson must spend 1 plasm and roll Wits + 
  Crafts + Boneyard. The area of effect is equal to 30 
  yards for each success achieved on the activation roll, 
  or a single structure, whichever is smaller. Within the 
  Boneyard, Tyson may extend his senses throughout 
  the area of effect and can perceive anything within 
  that area which is not magically concealed with a 
  standard Wits + Composure roll, adding the activa-
  tion successes as bonus dice. Tyson may also add 
  his activation successes to any Wits-related roll to 
  perceive or understand any aspect of the structure 
  within which he stands. He can easily perceive hidden 
  passages, concealed safes and the like. 
  Stigmata Boneyard: By spending 1 plasm and 
  inflicting 1 and roll Wits + Occult + Boneyard. The 
  area of effect is equal to 20 yards for each success 
  achieved on the activation roll. Within the Bone-
  yard, Tyson may extend his senses throughout the 
  area of effect and can perceive anything within that 
  area which is not magically concealed with a stan-
  dard Wits + Composure roll, adding the activation 
  successes as bonus dice. While this Manifestation 
  is active, Tyson can also perceive ghosts anywhere 
  within the Boneyard’s radius. He also automatically 
  senses pathways to the Underworld, which exist 
  anywhere within the Boneyard’s radius. 
  Unlocking the Stigmatic Shroud: By spending 1 
  plasm, ritualistically causing 1 lethal health level or 
  3 bashing health levels to himself or another, and 
  rolling Resolve + Occult + Shroud, Tyson gains an 
  Armor bonus equal to the successes on the activation 
  roll. In addition, Tyson may add his Shroud rating as 
  bonus dice to his Resistance rolls against all Numina 
  powers used against him by spirits or ghosts and 
  against all Manifestations used against him by other 
  Sin-Eaters which affect his body, mind or soul. 
  
  Unlocking the Industrial Shroud: By spending 1 
  plasm and rolling Resolve + Crafts + Shroud, Tyson 
  gains an Armor bonus equal to the successes on his 
  activation roll. In addition, the Industrial Shroud 
  allows him to fashion plasm into an armor which 
  is particularly resistant to attacks of a technological 
  nature. By reflexively spending 1 plasm, Tyson can 
  double his Shroud’s Armor rating against a single 
  attack which involves a crafted melee weapon (such 
  as a knife or sword), a firearm (provided that he is 
  aware of the attack) or any attack made with a crafted 
  technological device, whether someone trying to run 
  him over with a car or trying to hit him over the head 
  with a laptop computer. However, the Industrial Key 
  is associated with anachronistic technology and is 
  incompatible with many modern devices. The Indus-
  trial Shroud does not damage such devices, but while 
  Tyson wears the Shroud, they will refuse to function 
  for him. In order to operate any technological device 
  which has come into use within the last thirty years, 
  the Sin-Eater must spend 1 plasm. 
  Merits
  Allies: Tyson can call upon some of the young 
  men and women he has influenced within the gang 
  community during his time teaching martial arts at 
  the youth center. 
  Fighting Style: Kung Fu
  Tyson is trained primarily in the southern Tiger 
  style of Kung Fu. He focuses on strength over say, 
  the rapid strikes of Snake, or the graceful avoid-
  ance of Crane style. While he strives to follow the 
  philosophical tenets of Shaolin, he adapts them to 
  a Western mindset.
  Focused Attack: Physical conditioning and ac-
  curacy allow Tyson to deliver blows at vulnerable 
  spots on targets. Penalties to hit specific targets 
  are reduced by one. See “Specifying Targets,” p. 4.  
  Even when a specific part of an opponent is not 
  targeted, armor penalties to Tyson’s Brawl attacks 
  are reduced by one.
  Iron Skin: Tyson has hardened his body to physi-
  cal blows, allowing him to withstand repeated hits 
  with minimal effect. He has an effective armor trait 
  of 1 against bashing attacks only.
  Defensive Attack: Tyson has mastered the ability 
  to fight defensively. When using this maneuver, he 
  gains +2 to his Defense for the turn, but any attack 
  he makes suffers a –2 penalty. He can move no more 
  than half his Speed while performing a Defensive 
  Attack maneuver in a turn.
  Parkour
  The purpose of parkour, which is also called “free 
  running” or “urban running,” is to move as quickly 
  as possible through an environment with a variety of 
  obstacles, sprinting through the terrain and using a 
  variety of climbing techniques, leaps, rolls and other 
  athletic movements to navigate. 
  Flow: Your character has some basic training in 
  the techniques of parkour, allowing him to act in-
  stinctively to obstacles and jumps. When running, 
  Tyson may negate hazardous terrain penalties equal 
  to his dots in the Parkour Merit. Additionally, the 
  roll to gauge a jump distance is a reflexive action. 
  Cat Leap: Your character has mastered some of 
  the twisting leaps, landing rolls and wall taps used 
  by traceurs. When using a Dexterity + Athletics roll 
  to mitigate damage from falling, Tyson gains one 
  automatic success. Additionally, add one per dot in 
  this Merit to the threshold of damage that can be 
  removed through this roll. 
  Wall Run: Tyson has mastered the quick wall-run 
  and leaping climb techniques of parkour. When 
  using Athletics to climb, he is capable of scaling 
  heights of 10 feet + 5 feet per dot in Athletics as 
  an instant action (rather than the normal 10 feet), 
  though every full 10 feet beyond the first imposes a 
  –1 die penalty.
  Joey Cavanaugh
  Quotes: “Can I quote you on that?”
  “Ok, and this is very important. Where did you 
  bury it?”
  “No, really. I’m getting very close on this one. Just 
  give me a few more days.”
  Background: A native of the Bronx, Joey was 
  born in a little house just off Bainbridge Avenue, 
  in the old Irish neighborhood known as Little Bel-
  fast. When he was six, Joey had his first brush with 
  death. He heard a mournful wailing song outside his 
  window, and watched a woman sing in the tiny front 
  yard of the brownstone across the street. The next 
  morning, they carted old Mike Sullivan away. 
  The woman returned to the neighborhood, again 
  and again. At first, he told his mother, but that 
  stopped when she started beating him for lying 
  about such things. Nobody but Joey saw the woman 
  Tyson’s Geist:  
  The Discarded 
  Tyson’s geist manifests 
  as a humanoid shape of 
  stitched together torn 
  newsprint and litter. Its 
  face is a surging storm of 
  missing persons posters. 
  Its skin is constantly 
  shifting refuse. Where 
  you can see skin, it is the 
  grayish-pink of mouse 
  feet. Its calm voice is the 
  rustle of garbage and 
  debris. When it screams, 
  its voice becomes the 
  crushing roar of heavy 
  machinery.
  
  or heard her song. In time, he learned from his aunt 
  legends of the bean sidhe, and understood. 
  By the time he was a teenager, his family had 
  moved to Pelham Bay. He told a friend named Cil-
  lian about his visions and worse, Cillian believed 
  him. The next thing Joey knew, he was working 
  lookout while his friends broke into an old man’s 
  house, the bean sidhe’s song still echoing in his ears. 
  The guilt he felt over the burglary was assuaged by 
  his cut of the take, so he did it again. The second 
  time, he was busted.
  After spending some time in juvie, Joey determined 
  to turn over a new leaf. He went to NYU and got a 
  degree in journalism. He cut off contact with the old 
  crowd and started working freelance, blogging and even 
  writing a few stories for the New York Times website.
  But his old friends weren’t done with him. They 
  came looking, and Joey lied and told them that he 
  couldn’t hear death’s song anymore, even with the 
  sound of the bean sidhe’s wailing so loud it made his 
  ears ring. Cillian grinned and looked around Joey’s 
  apartment.
  “Guess not,” he said, shoving Joey through the 
  window. Joey fell twelve stories and “miraculously” 
  survived.
  Now Joey spends as much time interviewing 
  ghosts as he does people, finding the things they’ve 
  left behind and uncovering their stories to build his 
  reputation as an investigative journalist. 
  Description: Joey’s brown hair is in a perpetual 
  state of disarray and his clothes tend to look rumpled 
  and slept in. In the end, his distracted demeanor 
  gives him a look other people spend hours trying to 
  achieve. He has glasses for reading and writing, but 
  he often forgets he’s wearing them. 
  Roleplaying Hints: You’re a little scattered. It’s 
  not that you can’t focus, or that you’re stupid. You’ve 
  just got a hundred different things going on in your 
  head at once. You mine everything for potential 
  stories. If you get a little somethin’ somethin’ out of 
  helping a ghost point the finger at his killer, hey! 
  It’s not like you didn’t work for it.
  Virtue: Joey seeks Justice through his writing. He 
  believes that the good work he does uncovering the 
  corrupt and malignant heart of the city is neces-
  sary. Once per chapter, Joey may regain all spent 
  Willpower points if he does the right thing at risk 
  of personal loss or setback. 
  Vice: Joey struggles with his Greed. He wants to 
  be a good person, to feel like he’s better than Cillian 
  is, but he knows that things wouldn’t have gone the 
  way they did if he hadn’t played his part. Once per 
  scene, Joey may regain one Willpower point if he 
  acquires something at the expense of another. Gain-
  ing it must come at some potential risk (of assault, 
  arrest or simple loss of peer respect).
  Archetype: As a Bonepicker, Joey feels he’s paid 
  his penance for the things he did with Cillian. 
  Since the merger, he’s been feeling like it’s time for 
  the worm to turn a little. He helps people with his 
  reporting and, increasingly, with the Saints. Doesn’t 
  he deserve to get a reward for it? Once per chapter, 
  if Joey fulfills his Virtue by taking from those who 
  have wronged society as a punishment, he regains 
  all of his spent plasm in addition to his Willpower. 
  Once per scene, he may regain one point of spent 
  plasm by fulfilling his Vice in a way that rewards 
  Joey materially for his efforts.
  
  Manifestations and Abilities
  Plasm Expenditure: Joey can expend one plasm 
  per turn.
  The Shard (Keystone Memento): Joey’s keystone 
  is a long, wicked shard of glass that drips with dark, 
  viscous blood. It has a stained and tattered frag-
  ment of an evening gown wrapped around one end. 
  Joey receives 3 extra dice on his rolls to activate 
  Unlocking the Stigmatic Shroud, Unlocking the Still 
  Shroud, Stigmatic Rage and Still Rage, below. If Joey 
  uses reverse possession (see p. 9) to enter a Twilight 
  state, he may use the Shard as a dagger. Likewise, if 
  he spends 1 plasm, the Shard may manifest and be 
  used as a weapon against mundane foes. Joey may 
  also increase his skill in Subterfuge by 1 point for 
  every plasm he spends up to a maximum of 5. Since 
  Joey has no skill with Weaponry, he suffers a –1 
  penalty to all attacks with the Shard. 
  Unlocking the Stigmatic Shroud: By spending 1 
  plasm, ritualistically causing 1 lethal health level or 
  3 bashing health levels to himself or another, and 
  rolling Resolve + Occult + Shroud, Joey gains an 
  Armor bonus equal to the successes on the activa-
  tion roll. In addition, Joey may add his Shroud rat-
  ing as bonus dice to his Resistance rolls against all 
  Numina powers used against him by spirits or ghosts 
  and against all Manifestations used against him by 
  other Sin-Eaters which affect his body, mind or soul. 
  In addition, he may touch unmanifested spirits and 
  ghosts and harm them with a successful Brawl attack. 
  This benefit does not extend to any melee weapon 
  he may carry.
  Unlocking the Still Shroud: By spending 1 
  plasm and rolling Intelligence + Stealth + Shroud, 
  Joey gains an Armor bonus equal to the successes 
  on the activation roll. In addition, Joey may add a 
  number of dice equal to the successes achieved to all 
  Stealth-related rolls for the remainder of the scene. 
  While under the effects of the Still Shroud, Joey 
  may not utter a sound. If he does speak, the effect 
  ends immediately.
  Stigmatic Rage: By spending 1 plasm and rolling 
  Strength + Occult + Rage – the target’s Defense, 
  Joey can cause the blood to boil within the veins of 
  a subject in Joey’s line of sight and within 2 yards, 
  causing 1 point of lethal damage per success.
  Still Rage: By spending 1 plasm and rolling 
  Strength + Stealth + Rage – the target’s Defense, 
  Joey may inflict 1 point of lethal damage per success 
  upon a subject in Joey’s line of sight and within 20 
  yards that cannot be traced back to him.  
  Merits
  Allies: Joey’s built up a certain amount of cache 
  among his fellow journalists in the city. He may roll 
  Manipulation + Persuasion with a +2 bonus to call 
  in a medium-sized favor. This roll suffers a penalty 
  of –3 if it could get Joey’s ally suspended, or a –5 if 
  it could get them jailed or killed.
  Resources: Joey has access to $1,000 worth of 
  disposable income per month, a small apartment and 
  a Macbook he carries with him everywhere.
  Status: Joey has press credentials. His press pass 
  will get him into the press area at certain events 
  and gives him certain privileges that civilians don’t 
  enjoy at places including crime scenes.
  The Weeping Wall (Vanitas Memento): In Joey’s 
  apartment, one full wall is dedicated to a morbid col-
  lection of articles printed from websites or clipped 
  from the newspaper. Some even have Joseph Ca-
  vanaugh as the byline. Each article reports a tragic 
  story of violence and loss: here a drive-by shooting, 
  there a home invasion turned triple homicide. Joey 
  can, once per game session, ruminate on the nature 
  of his Threshold and his own near-death experi-
  ence. Doing so necessitates he be in the presence 
  of the “Weeping Wall.” Roll Joey’s Wits + Resolve. 
  For every success on this roll, he regains one lost 
  Willpower point. Joey must spend a full scene on this 
  meditation; he cannot simply do it on the fly.
  Lee Kovach
  Quotes: “I’m not sure you understand the severity 
  of the situation.”
  “Yeah. Actually, that is how I want to play this.”
  “How long can you hold your breath?”
  Background: Lee’s father owned a newspaper 
  stand in the neighborhood. He spent his childhood 
  all but tied to the stand, watching his friends play 
  while his father tried to drill the American Dream 
  into his head. “This stand belonged to my father,” 
  he’d say for the fiftieth time, “and in time, it will 
  belong to you.” 
  But even then, Lee knew the dream had passed 
  his father by. Lee’s grandfather had died tending 
  the stand, shot by an idiot kid for reaching for the 
  cash drawer during a robbery. Lee knew that his 
  grandfather Kovaci hadn’t come here from Albania 
  for that. His dreams had not been realized, and Lee’s 
  father’s dreams had died stunted, tiny deaths when 
  he took over the newsstand. 
  Joey’s Geist: The 
  Asphalt Woman
  Joey’s geist looks to be 
  the statue of a woman 
  rendered in asphalt. 
  Her body is cracked and 
  pitted with potholes. 
  Blood seeps sluggishly 
  from split seams that 
  glimmer with shards of 
  broken glass. Joey hears 
  her voice as the scrape 
  of skin on pavement, 
  except when she’s angry, 
  when it becomes bone 
  shattering on concrete.
  
  Besides, Lee was meant for more important things. 
  He had a way of telling when bad things had hap-
  pened in a place. He could feel negative energies 
  flowing from things. When his father made him run 
  the stand, he would take people’s cash and feel their 
  sins roll off of them: this man stole from his boss, that 
  one raped a woman. That one was a murderer.
  So Lee became a cop. He wanted to be bigger than 
  his father’s tiny world, and he wanted to help people. 
  Lee wore his uniform proudly, but told everyone it 
  was just a step on the road to detective. He told 
  them that he would never waste his life peddling 
  newspapers. 
  And then his father’s newsstand was robbed, and 
  his father was shot. It took Lee three weeks to track 
  down the robber, and two more for the time to be 
  right. He watched him patiently, until he tried to rob 
  a convenience store. And then Lee killed him.
  It didn’t take long after that for Lee to get bounced 
  from the squad for excessive force. He had no choice 
  but to take up the family business, and that’s where 
  they found him. The robber’s father was a local 
  “pillar of the community,” and he was looking for a 
  little revenge of his own. Lee shot one of the men 
  who came for him, but the other two took him. 
  They weighted him with chains and dumped him 
  in the bay.
  He struggled as he sank, but he could not free him-
  self. As he came to rest on the bottom of the bay, he 
  could see others, through the murk. An underwater 
  garden of chain and bone, hidden and forgotten. 
  The edges turned in, and his vision dimmed, and 
  everything went black.
  Choking and gasping, Lee broke the surface only 
  minutes later. He could feel hands on him, but 
  he was too weak to fight. When he recovered, he 
  learned that a garbage scow’s crew had fished him 
  out of the bay.
  Description:  Lee is a solid man with a shaven 
  head and a goatee. He tends toward clothing that 
  doesn’t call attention to him—practical attire, jeans 
  and a T-shirt or something similar. His voice is sur-
  prisingly soft, which has the effect of making people 
  pay more attention to what he has to say.
  Roleplaying Hints: You’re a heavy, but not 
  blatantly so. You can be civil when it’s warranted, 
  even friendly. But woe to the bastard who gets on 
  your bad side. You’re very loyal to those you count as 
  friends, but you hold grudges like nobody’s business 
  if someone proves themselves an enemy.
  Virtue: Lee is a survivor. There is nothing that 
  does not kill him that he cannot overcome or en-
  dure through Fortitude. Once per chapter, Lee can 
  regain all spent Willpower points if he withstands 
  overwhelming or tempting pressure to alter his goals. 
  This does not include temporary distractions from 
  his course of action, only pressure that might cause 
  him to abandon or change his goals altogether.
  Vice: Lee is also Prideful to a fault. He regains 
  one Willpower point whenever he exerts his own 
  wants (not needs) over others at some potential risk 
  to himself. This is most commonly the desire for 
  adulation, but it could be the desire to make others 
  do as he commands. 
  Archetype: As a Reaper, Lee has come to the con-
  clusion that some people just need killin’, and that 
  goes for ghosts, too. Once per chapter, if Lee fulfills 
  his Virtue by maintaining his judgment against a 
  
  ghost or person he has determined needs to be reaped 
  despite being sorely tempted to withhold punish-
  ment, he regains all of his spent plasm in addition 
  to his Willpower. Once per scene, he may regain one 
  point of spent plasm by fulfilling his Vice by making 
  sure that his victim goes to his grave knowing just 
  how Lee out-thought or out-fought him.
  Manifestations and Abilities
  Plasm Expenditure: Lee can expend one plasm 
  per turn.
  The Gardener’s Fetter (Keystone Memento): 
  Lee’s keystone is a length of rusted chain that leaks 
  rank seawater from its links. Lee receives a +3 bonus 
  to rolls to enact the Silent Caul and the Tear-Stained 
  Caul. If Lee uses reverse possession (see p. 9) to 
  enter a Twilight state, he may use the Fetter as an 
  improvised weapon. Likewise, if he spends 1 plasm, 
  the Fetter may manifest and be used as a weapon 
  against mundane foes. Lee may also increase his 
  skill in Intimidation by 1 point for every plasm he 
  spends, up to a maximum of 5. Since the Fetter is 
  an improvised weapon, he suffers a –1 penalty to 
  all attacks. 
  The Silent Caul: By spending 1 plasm and rolling 
  Stamina + Stealth + Caul, Lee may unlock the Si-
  lent Caul bonding himself to the essence of forgotten 
  souls and hidden memories. He can walk without 
  fear of anyone remembering him. While he isn’t 
  necessarily any better at hiding, simply manifesting 
  this Caul applies his activation successes as a penalty 
  to all Wits + Composure rolls made to detect him by 
  sight, sound, or scent. While under the effect of the 
  Silent Caul, Lee may not utter a sound. If he speaks, 
  the effect ends immediately.
  The Tear-Stained Caul: By spending 1 plasm and 
  rolling Stamina + Occult + Caul, Lee may unlock 
  the Tear-Stained Caul, infusing his body with wa-
  ter. For the rest of the scene, he heals one point of 
  bashing damage per turn, and heals lethal damage 
  as though it were bashing as long as he’s at least 
  half-submerged in water. In addition, Lee holds his 
  foes with the same crushing inevitability that the 
  chains once held him at the bottom of the bay. He 
  adds his activation successes to her Strength when 
  grappling someone. While under the effects of the 
  Tear-Stained Caul, he also moves with the fluid 
  grace of water, flowing around attacks. Lee applies 
  his Defense against firearms attacks.
  Merits
  Allies: Lee still has a few friends on the force. He 
  may roll Manipulation + Persuasion with a +2 bonus 
  to call in a medium-sized favor. This roll suffers a 
  penalty of –3 if it could get Lee’s ally suspended, or 
  a –5 if it could get them jailed or killed.
  Brawling Dodge: Whenever Lee performs a dodge 
  (see “Avoiding Damage in Close Combat,” p. 3), 
  you can choose to add his Brawl Skill dots to his 
  Defense instead of doubling his Defense. He essen-
  tially draws on his training in blocking and evading 
  attacks rather than relying on his raw ability alone. 
  Brawling Dodge applies against incoming Brawl- and 
  Weaponry-based attacks, against thrown-weapon 
  attacks, and against Firearms attacks made within 
  close-combat range.
  Quick Draw – Firearms: Lee can draw a pistol 
  and fire without penalty as a single action in a turn. 
  If a weapon is hidden on his person (under a coat, 
  or in his boot), it can be drawn and used in the same 
  turn without the normal loss of Defense. 
  Resources: Thanks to the newsstand, Lee has 
  $500 in disposable income each month.
  Fighting Style: Boxing
  Lee is trained in the art of boxing. He may use the 
  following maneuvers:
  Body Blow: Lee can deliver powerful blows that 
  leave opponents reeling and gasping for air. If the 
  successes achieved on a single Brawl attack equal 
  or exceed a target’s Size, the victim loses his next 
  action.
  Duck and Weave: Lee is trained to instinctively 
  duck and evade an opponent’s blows. Use the higher 
  of Lee’s Dexterity or Wits to determine his Defense 
  when dealing with Brawl-based attacks only (not 
  against Weaponry attacks). If a combination of 
  Brawl- and Weaponry-based attacks is focused 
  against your character in the same turn, use his 
  normal Defense against both. 
  Ellis Myer
  Quotes: “What? Will you please shut the fuck up? I 
  can’t hear what my friend is trying to say.”
  “Can I sleep on your couch tonight? I won’t freak out 
  this time, I promise.”
  (whispering) “We know what you did.”
  Lee’s Geist: The 
  Drowned Gardener
  Lee’s geist is a bloated, 
  blackened nightmare. 
  His sodden clothes are 
  rotted and grown into 
  his flesh, and heavy, 
  rusted chains hang from 
  his neck. His voice is 
  distant and muffled, 
  i n t e r s p e r s e d  w i t h 
  bubbling breath. 
  
  Background: Ellis Myer was once an anthropol-
  ogy graduate student with a bright future. His thesis 
  work on “Adoption and Assimilation of Indigenous 
  Cultural Belief Systems into American Society 
  (1492-present)” was going well, and portions of it 
  had even been published in prestigious journals. 
  When doing fieldwork in Arizona, Ellis was separated 
  from his companions in the tortuous heat of the desert. 
  As the sun beat down on him, Ellis knew his mind was 
  playing tricks on him. He saw faces in the shimmering 
  waves of heat puddling in the dunes, heard voices on 
  the dusty wind. But they seemed too real. This was 
  not the fevered imagination of a man gone mad from 
  heat stroke. No, these voices were too coherent. They 
  explained things to Ellis. They told him where to go.
  They led him back to his colleagues. 
  After Ellis was released from the hospital, he was 
  different. The voices he heard in the desert were 
  not gone, in fact, they were worse in the city than 
  they had been in the desert. The sight of the dead 
  in New York frightened and repelled him. Ellis fled 
  into the tunnels, trying to get away from it all. To 
  make the voices fade. 
  When Ellis returned from the underworld, he was 
  no longer afraid of the dead. He had learned some of 
  their secrets, and he was hungry for more. Even now, 
  his passion is knowledge, and if others are willing to 
  listen, he’s happy to share.
  Description:  Ellis is the guy everyone pretends 
  to ignore, looking at the pavement as they pass him, 
  deep in conversation with thin air. His matted hair 
  hangs thick and wild in his face. His ragged clothes 
  are stained with dirt and marker, decorated here 
  and there with bottle caps and utensils secured by 
  scavenged twine or stapled on. He has the look of 
  an urban primitive, a cog in the machine gone feral. 
  He is unrecognizable to those he taught or studied 
  with at NYU. Even when one of the Saints makes 
  him clean up, he has a barely-contained manic way 
  about him that makes others uncomfortable.
  Roleplaying Hints: To others, even the other mem-
  bers of the Krewe, you seem crazy. Broken. And in a 
  certain sense, you are. But really, you just see things 
  in ways they don’t. You have embraced your Bound 
  nature almost to the exclusion of mortal society. You 
  have looked into the Lower Mysteries, and you know 
  that there are worse–and better–things out there than 
  the other Saints have even begun to imagine. 
  You cock your head to listen to silent voices, and 
  rearrange everything to fit some pattern known only 
  to you. The things you have seen have broken you. 
  Whenever you are stymied by a quandary and must 
  make an important decision about a course of action, 
  or are under extreme stress, you might talk to yourself 
  without realizing it. Roll Resolve + Composure to 
  avoid this discomforting habit. On a failed roll, you 
  vocalize your internal monologue but only realize it 
  if it’s pointed out by others, at which point you can 
  stop for one turn per dot of Wits you have. After 
  that period, you forget yourself and start doing it all 
  over again. This behavior persists for the remainder 
  of the scene. You vocalize even if opponents or rivals 
  can hear. It’s hard to keep your thoughts and feelings 
  secret when you speak them aloud. For example, if 
  an enemy demanded that you reveal the location of 
  a hidden memento, you might think to yourself (and 
  unwittingly say aloud), “you’ll never find it behind 
  that angel statue at Gianni’s shop.” 
  Virtue: Everything has a pattern. Ellis has Faith 
  that he just needs more information before he can 
  discern the pattern of his life. Once per chapter, he 
  may regain all spent Willpower points by forging 
  meaning from chaos and tragedy.
  Vice: Ellis has always been the type to throw him-
  self Lustfully into his passion for knowledge. Once 
  per scene, Ellis may recover one point of Willpower 
  by indulging in his obsessive search for knowledge 
  at some risk to himself or a loved one.
  Archetype: Ellis is a mystic, a seeker, and he 
  always has been. That much has not changed since 
  the merger. What has changed is the specific focus 
  of his quest for knowledge – now he’s a Necromancer. 
  Once per chapter, Ellis may regain all of his spent 
  plasm by fulfilling his virtue searching for meaning 
  amid chaos by querying the knowledge of the dead. 
  Once per scene, Ellis may regain a single point of 
  plasm by fulfilling his vice in a way that expands his 
  knowledge of the dead.
  Manifestations and Abilities
  Plasm Expenditure: Ellis can expend one plasm 
  per turn.
  Unlocking the Grave-Dirt Caul: By spending 1 
  plasm and rolling Stamina + Occult + Caul, Ellis 
  may transform his body into dirt and rock from the 
  inside out. While under the effects of this Mani-
  festation, he takes bashing damage from firearms, 
  instead of lethal. 
  Unlocking the Pyre-Flame Caul: By spending 1 
  plasm and rolling Stamina + Occult + Caul, Ellis 
  may kindle a flame within himself. While under the 
  effect of this Manifestation, he always feels warm to 
  
  the touch, as though he’s running a fever, and can 
  cause his body to glow bright enough that people 
  out to 10 yards per activation success can read com-
  fortably. Anyone trying to attack Ellis while he is 
  glowing so brilliantly suffers his activation successes 
  as a penalty.
  Grave-Dirt Rage: By spending 1 plasm and roll-
  ing Strength + Occult + Rage, Ellis crushes his foes, 
  causing 1 point of lethal damage per success. Victims 
  of the Grave Dirt Rage feel tremendous pressure 
  crushing them, as if they’re being buried alive. In 
  addition, Ellis’s victim is weighed down, reducing his 
  Speed by one for every point of damage caused.
  Pyre-Flame Rage: By spending 1 plasm and roll-
  ing Strength + Occult + Rage, Ellis wreathes his 
  victims in ghostly flames, causing 1 point of lethal 
  damage per success. 
  Merits
  Eidetic Memory: Ellis has a near-photographic 
  memory. He does not need to make a roll to remem-
  ber an obscure fact or past experience unless is under 
  stress (such as in combat). Under stress, Ellis receives 
  2 bonus dice on any Intelligence + Composure or 
  other Skill-based roll (say, Academics, to remember 
  a fact) for memory recall.
  Final Vision (Ceremony): There are legends 
  that the last thing someone sees before they die is 
  permanently imprinted upon their now-dead eyes. 
  This ceremony allows the Ellis to see this final vision. 
  These images are always from the person’s point of 
  view.  Ellis sees exactly what the now dead person 
  saw, no more and no less. If someone was shot in 
  the back, all he sees is the world appearing to jerk 
  suddenly and then the ground rising up to meet the 
  person as she fell. This ceremony only provides visual 
  information; Ellis cannot hear anything that was 
  said.  To perform this ceremony, Ellis must touch the 
  corpse and look into its dead eyes. The corpse can 
  be no more than three days old, but even if the eyes 
  have dried and withered or been pecked at by crows, 
  Ellis may still use this ceremony. However, this 
  ceremony cannot be used on a corpse if the person 
  was blind. Also, it reveals nothing but blackness if 
  the person was blindfolded or in a totally dark space 
  when they died. Carving out or otherwise removing 
  the corpse’s eyes, makes this ceremony useless, a fact 
  that is not lost on murderous Sin-Eaters, and a few 
  of the cleverer ghosts. 
  Ellis must make a series of Psyche + Wits rolls until 
  he accumulates at least 3 successes. Each roll takes 
  one turn of game time. Upon success, Ellis sees ev-
  erything the corpse did during its last turn of life.
  Dreamcatcher Memento (Charm): Tied among 
  the tatters of his clothes, Ellis keeps a Dreamcatcher 
  with a tiny bird’s skull hanging from its hoop.  The 
  charm gives him a one-die bonus on Primeval Key-
  related rolls
  Speaker of the Dead (Ceremony): With this 
  ceremony, Ellis may provide a ghost with a conduit 
  to the living world, if only for her voice. She can 
  speak through Ellis, and the words she utters come 
  out in her own living voice. Ellis’s appearance does 
  not change, but that does not matter, because he may 
  not be seen. Like Orpheus, the mortal cannot look. 
  It is acceptable for Ellis’s silhouette or otherwise 
  obscured form to be seen, but if the recipient looks 
  Ellis’ Geist:  
  The Schism
  Ellis’ geist appears as a 
  rent in reality. It is a rip, 
  light bleeding through 
  it from somewhere 
  else. The Schism does 
  not have one voice, 
  but multitudes. Each of 
  them whispers to Ellis 
  constantly, pushing him 
  onwards. They croon 
  and scold and flatter 
  and condemn, often at 
  the same time.
  
  closely enough to see his features, the ghost’s voice 
  is lost in the wind. Ellis cannot predict what the 
  ghost will say through him, but if the conversation 
  takes a turn he isn’t comfortable with, he may pull 
  the plug at any time.
  To perform this ceremony, Ellis simply takes the 
  ghost’s hand and concentrates on relaxing and let-
  ting go of his voice, making a series of Psyche + 
  Manipulation rolls until he accrues 3 successes. Each 
  roll takes one turn of game time. The effect lasts for 
  one scene or until Ellis chooses to end it, whichever 
  comes first. If the recipient does look and cause the 
  ritual to end early, Ellis is unable to act as a conduit 
  for that ghost for 3 days. 
  Warding Circle (Ceremony): Ellis can draw a 
  circle that will keep out ghosts and spirits and will 
  also prevent any of their powers from affecting ev-
  eryone inside this circle. This circle can be no more 
  than 13 feet across, but provides total, if temporary 
  protection against ghosts as well as also helping to 
  protect those inside the circle against other super-
  natural beings. 
  To perform the ceremony, Ellis draws a circle sur-
  rounded by a series of strange symbols. The circle and 
  symbols may be drawn in any medium, from chalk 
  lines to ink. The circle may be any size up to 13 feet 
  across. The ceremony requires Ellis to make a series 
  of Psyche + Resolve rolls until he accumulates 5 
  successes. Each roll takes 10 minutes of game time. 
  Should the roll succeed, Ellis and anyone else inside 
  the circle is completely protected by ghosts.
  Zita Vargas
  Quotes: “I can make it. Hold on.”
  “What the hell are you looking at?”
  “Sure, I’ll give you a ride. It’ll cost you, but I can get 
  you where you need to go.”
  Background: Zita grew up as a foster kid after her 
  grandmother died, shuffled from one home to anoth-
  er across California, dumped whenever she fought 
  too much or got caught stealing again. She wasn’t 
  stupid, but few of her teachers reached her. She saw 
  things just like her abuela had, down in Mexico, but 
  nobody believed her. So she stopped telling people, 
  afraid of being put away for being crazy. 
  When she got old enough, she tried for a new 
  start, moving across country to New York City. She 
  got into trouble pretty quick, stealing cars and rac-
  ing them in the underground drifting circuit, where 
  the driver intentionally causes the rear wheels to 
  lose traction and slide, riding a razor line between 
  control, speed and completely letting go. Zita started 
  betting to make money to pay for a tiny apartment 
  and eventually, she ended up on the wrong side of 
  a bet. To pay it off, she took work for a chop shop, 
  paid to steal cars and drop them, turning them into 
  spare parts and cash. It wasn’t the worst thing that 
  could have happened, until a boost went bad and 
  the cops were chasing her down the Jersey Turnpike 
  and she rolled the car into oncoming traffic. 
  After the merger, she still steals cars and races 
  them, but she’s also begun to do side work as a mes-
  senger, for the right price, she’ll deliver messages to 
  loved ones or enemies, uncover lost or buried secrets, 
  even take on a shady fare or two as an unlicensed 
  gypsy cab, if she needs to.
  Zita met Joey, a reporter, when he was doing a 
  story on street racing. She needed a place to stay, so 
  he hooked her up with his landlord, and introduced 
  her to a group of Sin-Eaters who call themselves the 
  Bronx Saints. Now she wears their colors, a white 
  halo drawn on the shoulder of her leather jacket 
  with a bottle of whiteout.
  Description: Zita has long, black hair, and a 
  small scar on her right cheek from fighting in high 
  school. Her arms are covered with sleeves of Dia de 
  los Muertos tattoos. She tends to dress in jeans and 
  t-shirt, along with a black and white leather jacket 
  and a pair of worn steel-toed boots. 
  Roleplaying Hints: You’ve got a chip on your 
  shoulder you have been cultivating since your 
  grandmother died, and your temper gets you into 
  a lot of trouble. It started out as a front, a wall put 
  up to protect yourself after you learned that letting 
  people in just got you labeled “weird,” or “freaky.” 
  Or hurt, when they died or left. But you played that 
  role too long, and now the hardness is part of you. 
  You think quickly, though, and you’re nothing if not 
  adaptable. Besides, trouble comes around so much 
  it’s almost like seeing an old friend. 
  When you’re alone, you write rap lyrics, but you’ve 
  never shown them to anyone else. You have a hard 
  time letting people know they matter to you, and 
  that’s been weighing on you since the accident. 
  Virtue: Zita clings to Hope for a better future. 
  Once per chapter, she may regain all spent Will-
  power points whenever she refuses to let others give 
  in to despair, even though doing so risks harming 
  her goals or wellbeing. 
  Vice: Zita’s Wrath gets her in deep on a regular 
  basis. Once per scene, she may regain one spent 
  Willpower point whenever she unleashes her anger 
  
  in a situation where doing so is dangerous. If the 
  fight has already begun, no Willpower points are 
  regained. It must take place in a situation where 
  anger is unwarranted or inappropriate.
  Archetype: Zita’s outlook on life since the merger 
  has changed only in that she is now constantly 
  aware of her own mortality and that of others. She 
  is a Celebrant of life in her way, constantly seeking 
  new experiences. Once per chapter, if Zita fulfills 
  her Virtue in a way that not only gives others hope 
  to carry on, but makes them appreciate life all the 
  more, she regains all of her spent plasm in addition 
  to her Willpower. Once per scene, she may regain 
  one point of plasm by fulfilling her Vice in a way 
  that makes her feel more alive. For example, by 
  fighting, or telling off an authority figure and getting 
  away with it.
  Manifestations and Abilities
  Plasm Expenditure: Zita can expend one plasm 
  per turn.
  The Passenger’s Keychain (Keystone Memen-
  to): Zita’s keystone is a worn rabbit’s foot keychain, 
  stained black with dried blood. She gains a +3 bonus 
  to her activation rolls for the Influence Ghost and 
  Halt Metabolism manifestations, below. She may 
  spend plasm to increase her Drive skill 1 point per 
  plasm spent, up to 5.
  Industrial Marionette: By spending 1 plasm and 
  rolling Manipulation + Crafts + Marionette, Zita 
  can control machines up to the size of a sports car 
  or sedan. She can turn automobiles on on and off 
  and even make them drive, as if by remote control, 
  as long as they remain within her line of sight.
  Stigmatic Marionette: By spending 1 plasm, 
  ritualistically causing 1 point of lethal or 3 points 
  of bashing damage to herself or another target and 
  rolling Manipulation + Occult + Marionette, Zita 
  can influence a ghost into cooperating with her. 
  For the rest of the scene, the targeted ghost suffers 
  a dice penalty equal to the activation successes on 
  all actions which seek to harm Zita or which are 
  undertaken in direct violation of her commands. 
  On the other hand, if the ghost undertakes any ac-
  tions demanded of it by Zita, the ghost gains a dice 
  bonus equal to the activation successes. Actions 
  undertaken by the ghost which neither contradict 
  Zita’s wishes nor fulfill them suffer neither a penalty 
  nor gain a bonus.
  Zita’s Geist:  
  The Passenger
  Zita’s geist appears in 
  the back seat just outside 
  her peripheral vision. She’s 
  never seen him clearly, but 
  she can smell him when 
  he’s there, a mix of sickly 
  sweet rotted blood and 
  charred flesh. His silhouette 
  appears in the rearview 
  mirror, and he speaks to 
  her through the static hiss 
  of a dead AM radio station. 
  No matter what she does, 
  all of her cars gather a 
  black stain in the back 
  floorboard. 
  Industrial Caul: By spending 1 plasm and rolling 
  Stamina + Crafts + Caul, Zita may implant a simple 
  small mechanical item (up to Size 3) within her 
  body, concealing it. For example, Zita keeps an old 
  dagger stashed within her forearm. She may reveal 
  or hide the dagger as a reflexive action.
  Stigmatic Caul: By spending 1 plasm and rolling 
  Stamina + Occult + Caul, Zita gains control over 
  her own body, negating the need for sleep, food or 
  even air for the rest of the scene. 
  Merits
  Contacts: If Zita’s looking for information, she 
  can ask around at the chop shops. On a successful 
  
  Credits
  Written by: Christopher Lee Simmons
  Additional Material by: Shamus Glass and Eddy Webb
  World of Darkness created by Mark Rein•Hagen
  Developer: Eddy Webb
  Editor: Genevieve Podleski
  Art Director: Craig Grant
  Book Design: Craig Grant and Aileen E. Miles
  Cover Art: Robert Dixon and Craig Grant
  © 2009 CCP hf. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is 
  expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be re-
  produced for personal use only. White Wolf and Vampire: The Requiem are registered trademarks of CCP 
  hf. All rights reserved. Vampire the Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, Mage the Awakening, Promethean 
  the Created, Changeling the Lost, Hunter the Vigil and Geist the Sin-Eaters are trademarks of CCP hf.
  All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by CCP hf.
  CCP North America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCP hf.
  This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural 
  elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. 
  Reader discretion is advised.
  Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com
  PRINTED IN CANADA.
  Manipulation + Persuasion roll, she might uncover 
  something useful.
  Crucifix Memento (Charm): Around her neck, 
  Zita wears a rosary she found wrapped around a 
  wrought-iron fence spike at the local graveyard, its 
  wood blackened and the Christos rusted. The charm 
  gives her a one-die bonus on Stigmata Key-related 
  rolls, such as her Influence Ghost Manifestation.
  Forgotten Key Ring Memento (Charm): A 
  ring of broken keys for forgotten or demolished 
  cars, taken from a jar in a junkyard. The keying 
  provides Zita with a one-die bonus on rolls related 
  to the Industrial Key, such as her Control Machine 
  Manifestation.
  Resources: Between Zita’s racing and boosting 
  cars, she has about $500 a month of disposable 
  income and a tiny apartment. 
  Language (Spanish): Zita can speak and read 
  Spanish fluently.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Storyteller [multi]/World of Darkness (WoD) [multi]/CofD/Geist - The Sin-Eaters/Quickstart and Demo/Geist - The Sin-Eaters - Quickstart.pdf