Hunter Motivations Run The Gamut in The Chronicles of Darkness

A long time ago I wrote a post titled Do Content, Happy People Hunt Dragons? (More on Character Backstories). The post was meant to address the idea that so-called adventurers all have tragic backstories, chips on their shoulders, or some burning need for vengeance, which is what drives them to do the things they do. After all, if you had a loving family, a good job, and a secure social position, why would you take up the sword to stand against the horrors of the world?

As I read through Hunter: The Vigil this question of motivation becomes even more important. Because while there are going to be hunters driven by a need for vengeance because they or someone they loved was hurt by the things that lurk in the shadows of the Chronicles of Darkness, there are so many other motivations that might lead one to take up a gun and walk directly into the lion's den.

Man's gotta have a hobby, am I right?

As always, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

Human Motivations Are Complicated Things

When we think of the Chronicles of Darkness in general, and of Hunter in particular, we often think of the worst, most awful things. Someone who lost a child to a ghost, someone whose spouse was drained of blood by a vampire, or someone who barely survived an encounter with a supernatural threat themselves. These people often want payback, or they want to make sure this creature can't hurt anyone else the way they were hurt. And while those are absolutely legitimate motivations for a character, it's important to remember that's just one tiny sliver of the reasons why someone might take up the Vigil, and what their long-term goals might be.

A single light to reveal what lurks in the darkness.

Keeping with dark themes, there may be a hunter who has coped with violent impulses their entire life. Knowing there are things out there they can vent their fury upon with little-to-no consequences from the law and society (particularly if the hunter is part of a compact or conspiracy that will clean up their messes) may act as a perfect pressure valve for them. Another hunter might be fascinated by the supernatural, seeking to catalog and understand it like the Jane Goodall of monsters. Still another hunter might seek to pit themselves against the most dangerous creatures in the world, finding that big game no longer provides a challenge. And there may be hunters who envy the strength and power of the monsters of the world, hoping that by killing them they may be able to unlock a portion of that power for themselves.

These motivations map pretty well onto organizations in the game, such as Null Mysteriis who seeks scientific explanations for the supernatural, the Ashwood Abby (which was moved into Tending The Flame) which is a depraved hunting lodge seeking their own twisted version of "sport," or even the Cheiron Group which seeks to disassemble monsters for their parts and pieces while installing them into their field agents. However, this is just a bare handful of potential motivations hunters might have that go beyond revenge or loss. Some hunters might feel they have a duty to their community to keep it safe from the things that lurk in the darkness. Some might feel an existential need to do something to reaffirm their own power in the world. Some might feel a holy mission, and that they have been chosen by a higher power to fight against these creatures (and they might even be right).

The motivations range as far and wide as people themselves... because at the end of the day, that's what all hunters were before they took up the Vigil.

When The Vigil Is Their Secondary Concern

There is one other category of hunter that's worth mentioning here... those for whom the supernatural monsters are often a secondary concern to the real monsters they prey upon. For a comic book reference, this is what happens when the Punisher ends up burning down a vampire hive... Frank wasn't there to kill vampires, he was there to kill dangerous criminals. It just so happens that the vampires were part of this operation, and they got burned down along with everyone else.

Parasites are all the same.

The world is full of mundane evils and wickedness, and a lot of hunters are more focused on those then they are on werewolves, changelings, or the walking dead. Maybe your hunter tracks militant hate groups, sabotaging and countering their efforts. They might be interested in protecting sex workers, and other minority groups that end up as victims of social violence. Your hunter might even be focused on fascists, corrupt cops, or corporate attempts to engineer widespread misery in order to reap a few more dollars off the bent backs of the working class.

All of these things can, and do, intersect with the supernatural in the Chronicles of Darkness setting.

The reason I gave this type of motivation its own section is that it's important to talk with your Storyteller, and your fellow players, if you want to bring in this sort of motivation for your character. Because while there are organizations like the Loyalists of Thule or the Crimson Halo that fit the concept to a T, it's important that your character's pursuit of these other ends jives with the other hunters in your cell, as well as with the plot your Storyteller has planned.

Because if everyone at your table is down for taking on a neo-Nazi street gang that ends up being the servants of an upstart vampire turning them all into ghouls to act as muscle while he claims turf and territory, then everything is hunky dory. But if your character's main motivation is opposition to fascism wherever it rears its head, but your ST has a game that's more about your cell having to deal with a pack of werewolves causing problems in rural Appalachia, you might feel like you brought a crowbar to a chainsaw duel.

Lastly... Should I Do More Videos On Hunter?

I've been dropping occasional videos over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel about Hunter: The Vigil, and there were at least a few folks asking to see more. So if you've read this far, let me know in the comments what you'd like to see more of! Should I talk about more supplements, like my collection of corrupt equipment The Blade Itself? Should I talk more about other compacts and conspiracies? Would folks like a series about Slashers, as one of the only really iconic monsters for Hunter: The Vigil?

Let me know your thoughts, because I'd love to factor them in going forward!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Fluff post. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or the dark sci fi saga of The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Dark Social Maneuvering in The Chronicles of Darkness (Forcing Confessions and Cooperation)

When last we met to discuss rules, I was talking about Social Maneuvering in The Chronicles of Darkness (A Simple, Elegant System). This rules system is meant for those social checks that are more than a simple yes/no, pass/fail, and they give you a varied, useful mechanic for actually winning hearts and minds (or wearing down resistance) over time.

However, sometimes you don't have weeks of time to spend on flattery, false friendship, and persuasion. Sometimes you need an NPC to give you what you want right fucking now. And when you find yourself in those high-stress, high-risk scenarios, you end up using the second half of the social maneuvering rules... or, as the game calls it, forcing doors.

For more of my articles on interesting rule systems in the Chronicles of Darkness, check out:

- Vehicular Combat is Always an Option

- "Down and Dirty" Combat Doesn't Get Enough Love in The Chronicles of Darkness

As always, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

Dark Social Maneuvering

To recap for folks who didn't go back to review the last post, when you want to socially maneuver a target to get what you want, this creates a number of Doors that you have to go through that are based on that NPC's resistance, using the lower of their Resolve of Composure. More Doors are added based on whether the thing you want the character to do goes against deeply held principles, if it would put them in danger, etc.

Now normally when you use the social maneuvering rolls you're trying to persuade someone, or to get on their good side so they want to help you. You might even be bribing them. However, there may be times where those kinds of actions would simply take too long, or you simply don't have the social skills it would take to go that route. If that's the case you have the option to force doors open... but while this might get you what you want, there will likely be repercussions.

It's just you and me here... sooner you talk, the sooner I can get you out of this chair.

Forcing Doors happens when you take actions to terrify or obligate someone into doing what you want, and it's an all-or-nothing situation. When forcing Doors open you make a single roll, but the number of unopened Doors acts as a penalty to your roll. So, say you wanted to threaten someone into giving up blackmail material they've been hiding, or to hand over the name of a contact. The player character might leverage their force of personality with a Presence + Intimidation roll, using their specialty in Explicit Threats. However, the person they're threatening has 3 Doors that need to come down, giving the PC a -3 penalty on the roll.

Now, if a player really wants to swing for the fences, they can also include Hard Leverage. This is basically the dark version of a bribe, in that it's physical violence, kidnapping, blackmail, or something else that will add weight to their side of things, and make forcing those Doors open that much easier. And if that Hard Leverage would cause the player character to suffer a breaking point, then it can remove Doors entirely, making the penalty that much smaller. If the action is egregious enough to give the player character a -2 on their breaking point roll, it removes 1 door. If it's -3 or higher, that removes 2 Doors.

So what does all of this look like?

Dane needs the name of a criminal contact. He knows a street pusher who could give it to him, and he doesn't have time to mess around. So he kicks in the pusher's door, pulls a gun, and cocks back the hammer. Dane might be a crook, but he's not generally a violent guy. Perhaps he and Slick are actually friends, in a way, and this is really breaking Dane's idea of who he is, and what he's capable of. That threat with a deadly weapon would likely be enough to automatically remove 1 Door. And if he went further? If he put a bullet in Slick's leg, or pistol-whipped him to make it clear he was serious? That level of line-crossing might be enough to remove 2 Doors.

Given that average Resolve and Composure are 2 dots, it's entirely possible that by not leaving this up to chance and going full-tilt, Dane could force Slick to comply and give him the information with ease. However, while he'll get what he came for, there are costs to this approach. There's the breaking point roll, which might end up costing Dane some Integrity. There's also the matter of burning the bridge he had with Slick (assuming Dane doesn't disguise himself in some way), as well as painting a target on his back if Slick chooses to send violent reprisals his way in the future.

Like it says on the tin; high risk, high reward.

With that said, though, the fact that the social maneuvering rules are robust and flexible enough to account for various different approaches, molding them to the intention of the players, makes this one of the greatest advantages for the Chronicles of Darkness... and this is especially true for adding tension and challenge to the influence game which is so often part of any chronicle!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Crunch post! To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or the dark sci fi channel I contribute stories to, The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

What Made Your Changeling What They Are? (Changeling: The Lost)

"You ever wonder about us?" Killian asked. The hulking wolf's nose leather twitched as he sniffed, and he idly drummed his claws on the bench's metal supports.

"No," David grunted, pushing the bar up inch after trembling inch. The ogre sucked a breath over his jutting lower jaw, and lowered the weight one more time.

"Seriously, though," Killian asked, his golden eyes falling to David's elbows as he placed his own furry hands just below the bar. "We were taken on the same day, kept by the same Keeper, treated almost the same... why are we so different?"

David snarled, shoving the weight up, and slamming it into the rack hard enough to make the plates bounce. He sat up, snatched his towel, and wiped at his face. He stood, blotting out most of the light on that side of the room as he did so.

"Almost ain't the same," David said, pointing at the bench. "Your turn. Twelve reps."

We are what we are made to be.

As always, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

Nature Versus Nurture

While I took a bit of a break from the Chronicles of Darkness, I did have a Changeling: The Lost release a little while back with Like A Good Neighbor - Portraying True Fae in Your Chronicle. However, that dip back into the waters got the gears in my head turning, and it made me ruminate on something that I feel a lot of players overlook when it comes to their character's Seeming in these games.

Because yes, mechanically, you choose a Seeming that gives you access to the powers and abilities you most want for your character. However, what turns a human into a particular kind of changeling isn't just about who they are as a person, and what is revealed about them by fae magic and the Wyrd; it's also (at least in part) dependent on their treatment at the hands of their Keepers.

You merely carve away everything that isn't the statue inside the marble.

For example, say a Gentry has two people who are very alike before them; socially adept humans who are good at making friends, each of which has a force of personality all their own. One of them, as expected, ends up as a Fairest... but the other doesn't. The other finds themselves becoming a beautiful Beast. While it might be due to an inherent difference in the two people (the former attempted to be an equal participant in conversations and riddle games, while the latter merely fawned over the Keeper to try to keep themselves safe), it could also be the way the Gentry treated the two of them. The former's behavior meant the True Fae was intrigued and engaged, verbally sparring with the mortal, the conversations rubbing off on them. The latter, though, was merely giving passive attention, and treated more like a yapping dog than they were someone deserving of the Gentry's attention and respect, minor though it is.

Say the Gentry punished two of its kept humans. They were very similar, but one was punished for actions they actually committed, making it clear they were being trained for a purpose. That leads them to become a hound; strong and fierce, but reacting without thought to commands that have been drilled into them. The second person, though, is punished cruelly, or even unnecessarily, twisting the knife in their wound. That hatred, that malignance, leads them to become an ogre, instead.

And even if a True Fae is purposefully reducing different people into the same kind of changeling, who is to say the methods and treatment don't produce different results? Like how you might take two ingots of the same raw material, but turn them into radically different alloys? Even a pair of twins, put into different scenarios and situations, would end up with utterly unique fates. For example, the True Fae might take one brother, and keep him on a mountaintop where the wind eventually blows him away one layer at a time, until wind is all he is, turning him into a gusting gale. The other brother, just as stubborn and just as willful, might be buried deep beneath the earth. And the longer he pits his will against the rock and mud, the more he becomes a part of the earth, until his skin becomes craggy, and his blood slows to thick, pumping clay.

Thematic Interactions Are What Make Changelings Unique

While it's perfectly within the bounds of the game to have a character who just doesn't remember how they became what they are, or to have someone who was simply cursed or changed by a True Fae into the form they have now, digging a little deeper into why and how your character became what they are can add extra elements to their story. Did the Gentry merely reveal their true nature, imbuing it with magic, making this form an even truer version of who the changeling was in their soul? Were they twisted out of true as the Gentry attempted to force them into a shape and being that didn't fit them? Or did they, through their own actions and behaviors, end up sealing their fate?

Again, these aren't necessary parts of a character... but they can act as seeds that will grow throughout a chronicle, giving you deeper interactions, and more impactful story!

And, lastly, I'd recommend picking up your own copy of Like A Good Neighbor, as well as one of my older supplements 100 Frailties to help you build these necessary weaknesses into your player characters and antagonists alike!

I would also recommend checking out the following free articles about this game:

- The Chessboard Motley

- A Little Taste of Glamour

- 5 Tips For Running a Changeling: The Lost Chronicle

- 5 Questions Every Changeling: The Lost Player Should Ask (About Their Characters)

- 5 Films You Should Watch To "Get" Changeling: The Lost

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Fluff post. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

"Windy City Shadows" A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal

Folks who've been coming to my blog for a while have likely come across several of the little audio dramas I've been putting together over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (which you should subscribe to, if you haven't). However, there have been a couple of folks out there who have asked why I don't take these shorter pieces, and expand them into full-length audio dramas, or even into a full season of audio dramas of a podcast.

And that's what I want to talk about today... because I would love to do that very thing. But I'm going to need you all to actually make it happen.

Blood and glamour make the word go round.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

Windy City Shadows: A Proposal

This is not the first time I've talked about this potential project, but the video I made on the subject didn't give quite enough details for some folks to get a handle on what I'm trying to do. So I thought I'd take this week's Table Talk entry to expand on the idea as it stands right now, and to see whether it's something folks would be interested in if I put in the effort to make it happen.

As I said in the video, the idea behind Windy City Shadows is that it would be an audio drama podcast set in the world of the Chronicles of Darkness. Each season will tell a different story set in a different sphere (ideally), with characters and plot points from previous seasons being expanded on as the story bounces from one group of monsters to another... this will, at least partially, be decided on the votes from the audience.

Where I would like to start this project off is with season one, which I'm tentatively titling Grim Promises, is in the realm of Changeling: The Lost. This story features Shepherd Black, a beast who has gotten out of the games between the seasonal courts, and settled down running a little shop on the south side of Chicago. His old life comes crashing back when a face from his past calls in a favor... a favor he owes that he can't turn away. Shepherd, whether he wants to or not, must once again don the mantle he wore as Black Shuck, the Teeth of the Fall Court and the Paladin of Shadows, and go on one, last hunt before he can be left in peace.

This season will tie together a lot of the elements that have been laid down in previous audio dramas on the Azukail Games YouTube channel, including a reappearance by the character of Lucius Frakes, as well as possible roles for Wolfe, Amy Prism, and others. The person bringing us this tale, and acting as the host of the show, would be Mr. Nowhere, who I recently used to deliver an Emotional Weather Report over on my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary.

Where I go from that first season is anyone's guess. While I would like to finish the story of Johnny Hammer and the Six Gun Saint (the Geist/Mage crossover I've been adding to for a little while now), I could also move over to Vampire after that first season, as well. Werewolf is an option, too. And, of course, there's nothing saying I can't do multiple seasons in the same sphere if folks decide they want more changeling after all.

Practicalities of The Podcast

As I said in the first video, getting a podcast off the ground is no easy task. There's the writing, casting, recording, editing, and then making sure that it gets put up on all the various platforms out there for folks to consume it... it's a lot of a lot, especially when you need to make sure the scripts fit together into a single, cohesive narrative by the end of the season.

So if this is something you're interested in making a reality, there are a few things you can do to make it happen!

First, please subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel, and help us get it monetized! We have over the 500 subscribers we need, but we just rounded the 1,000 hour mark of watched content, and we need to hit the 3,000 hour mark in order for YouTube to share any of the ad revenue we generate with us. Hitting that goal would be a huge sign of audience interest, and it would help persuade my publisher to greenlight this show, even if it will also appear on Spotify and other platforms, too.

Second, please share this article around so that other folks can get wind of this project, and we can build a groundswell of interest in it. Because I'll be very honest with you, dear readers, this would be a massive undertaking, and it's going to take a not-insignificant amount of eyeballs to help make it into a reality.

Third, please leave comments below about what level of interest you have, and what you'd be willing to do to help support the show. Will you tune-in to listen? Will you share the episodes around on your social media to help boost the signal? Or would you be willing to pitch in on a Patreon in order to help me pay my bills while I work on making new episodes?

The more numbers I can get regarding this, the better I'll be able to judge how interested folks are. Because I've been chewing over this idea for a while, and I would love to make it happen, but I don't want to spend that much time, energy, and cat herding making something that nobody's interested in. So speak up, and make your voice heard!

EDIT: Because there appears to be some confusion on the subject, this is not a casting call for voice actors, nor am I looking for people to help me edit or work on post-production. I have access to all the cast, writers, etc., that I would need to make the show at present. I am just trying to find the audience to listen, because to make a show like this worth the time, energy, and effort, we need people tuning in to listen, or donating to help us pay bills to keep making more episodes.

What's Next on Table Talk?

That's it for this installment of Table Talk! What would you like to see next? I'm listening for your comments and votes!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archives, as well as the YouTube channel for Azukail Games. Or, to check out books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, or my recent short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.

Mortals Plus- A World/Chronicles of Darkness Campaign Concept

The World and Chronicles of Darkness setting is filled with possibilities and potentials. From vampires and werewolves, to mages and changelings, to Prometheans, Sin Eaters, and hunters, you could play through dozens and dozens of chronicles before you ever heard the same note repeated.

However, whether you're an old hand for these games looking for some way to spice things up, or you're a newer player looking for a gentler introduction to this setting for yourself and your table, I'd like to suggest something that I call a Mortals+ Chronicle.

Don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! To be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Also, since it keeps getting lost in the shuffle, check out my Vocal archive for more articles about RPGs, character conversions, character concepts, weird history, nerdy topics, and more!

The Support Staff For The Supernatural

While each of the different spheres of the World or Chronicles of Darkness are unique in their own ways, there are a lot of design similarities between the games so that they can be played together as part of the same setting. And one of the big similarities shared by a majority of these supernatural creatures is that they have a slot reserved for mortals who have been let in on the secret, and who usually have some vestige of power of their own as a result.

Yes, Master... I see.

This tradition goes all the way back to the original edition of Vampire: The Masquerade and the idea of ghouls. These characters are mortals who are blood bound to a vampire, and they act as that vampire's agents in the mortal world, much like we see Renfield act in the classic novel Dracula. This role was carried forward with kinfolk in Werewolf: The Apocalypse, allowing for extended families of these shapechangers to provide backup and support, and to avoid/ignore the madness that viewing a werewolf usually brought on. Other examples include ensorcelled mortals for Changeling: The Lost, familiars in Mage: The Awakening, and so on. While not every game in the setting has these roles, it is uncommon for this kind of character to be absent.

They are the characters that a Mortals+ chronicle revolves around.

Normally these enhanced mortals are just thought of as sidekicks to the supernatural creatures of a given game. They're the aides de camp who help with planning, who open the doors, or who handle tasks that are too mundane for the monsters to whom they are bound to bother with. But the chronicle can take on an interesting twist when you shift that narrative, and see these stories from the perspective of these mortal characters.

The first benefit is that this allows you to focus on your character as a person, and figuring out who they are. You then need to ask what brought them under the shadow, and into the truth of the setting. Were they a lost kinfolk who was rediscovered when they saw a garou change forms, and didn't freak out? Were they a private eye tracking down a serial killer, only to find a vampire who offered them a choice between servitude or death? Was this person a student of the occult who stumbled onto a cabal of genuine mages who decided they were too useful to do away with? Or did they make a deal with someone that sounded too good to be true, only to find out they now work for a changeling?

But is it the worst bargain you've ever made?

This idea works best for Storytellers and players who want to stay at a boots-on-the-ground level of the game. Additionally, when you play an enhanced mortal, it gives you a taste of power (usually, anyway), and it gives the Storyteller a simple way of dispatching missions to the PCs. You can complicate this somewhat by giving the PCs different sponsors (say you each serve a different vampire, or you're all connected to different werewolf tribes), but that is a choice that's up to you as the ST.

Another aspect of a Mortals+ game is that, much like the Faces of Death Chronicle idea I shared a while back, there's a chance for players to be upgraded to a full supernatural template. Perhaps the ghouls prove themselves through their service, and their masters embrace them (or they betray their masters, and are embraced by another who promised them power for that betrayal). Your kinfolk might have their first change, your familiars might awaken, and it's possible that your ensorcelled mortals might be dragged away to Arcadia, only to have to claw their way back to the real world as a full changeling. Maybe this is something some characters want, maybe it's something they're forced to endure (because the player wants it to happen, even if the character doesn't), but it can provide an interesting way to continue the chronicle even when the PCs are all upgraded to a full, supernatural sheet.

Or, if you opt not to go that route, they can always make for ideal hunters, since they have a working knowledge of at least one supernatural community, how to navigate it, and how to disrupt it!

Recommended Reading on Enhanced Mortals

I've written up a lot of supplements about characters who fit into the Mortals+ mold. I've listed them below for folks who want to check them out for inspiration, or simply to fill your own World/Chronicles of Darkness game with a more organic cast!

- New World Nights: 100 Ghouls For The American Camarilla (Vampire: The Masquerade)

- New World Shadows: 100 American Ghouls For The Sabbat (Vampire: The Masquerade)

- Children of The Night: 100 Animal Ghouls (Vampire: Requiem or Masquerade)

- 100 Garou Kinfolk Bundle (15 Werewolf: The Apocalypse supplements in one bundle!)

- 100 Ensorcelled Mortals (Changeling: The Lost)

For those who want to see me expand this list of 19 supplements to other games, please consider leaving comments below, sharing the supplements around to help them find fresh eyes, and if you do get copies for yourself, leave a rating and a review to help the project maintain momentum!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary!. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

A "Chronicles of Darkness" Mortals Game, With a Twist!

I tend to give a lot of advice for Game Masters and Storytellers on my Monday posts. That wasn't what I originally intended this slot to be for, but it seems popular, so I try to go with the flow when it comes to what readers want to see more of. And as the holidays close in on us, and many of us are spending time with folks we may not get to see that often, I thought I'd share an idea for a Chronicles of Darkness chronicle that I had forever and a day ago, but which I've never had the time to actually run.

For ease of discussion, let's call it a Faces of Death campaign, as PCs dying is when things get interesting.

It might be hard to convince your players, but it may be worth the effort.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Worse Things Than Death Lurk in The Shadows

As a quick note before we get started, this strategy can be use for both World of Darkness games as well as New World of Darkness (or Chronicles 1st Edition, if you prefer) games. But for simplicity's sake, I'm just going to stick to discussing the one edition, and the options it presents you as a Storyteller.

Now then, on to the idea!

To begin with, have your players put together a group of mortal characters. I recommend keeping special abilities or powers (like one might find in Second Sight) off the table... initially, at least. You can even run this as an avatar game setup (where players make game versions of themselves) if you want to. That might add a little spice to the game once the twist comes, but it won't be for everyone.

So what's the twist, already?

There is no fixed plot for the initial game. Whether your players are private investigators looking into missing persons cases, or they're small time hoods just trying to make a living on the streets, or there's a bizarre, occult conspiracy that has sucked them all up, the initial plot is not what matters. What matters is what happens when one of the PCs dies, or appears to die.

At that moment, you invoke the shadows of the setting, and some supernatural force manifests to bring the character back as a member of one of the spheres of the other CoD lines.

Let's say, for example, that the gang was selling drugs in a vampire's territory. Shot full of holes, they're going to die... until a figure in black grabs them, and offers them a drink of their blood. Either becoming a ghoul, or a full-on newly-forged vampire, gives the character a new lease on life. Perhaps it's the vampire whose territory the gang was unknowingly operating in, or one of that vampire's rivals eager to turn the PCs into weapons in a territorial dispute, the reason is up to you. Alternatively, perhaps the danger, fear, and injury triggers one character's latent werewolf heritage, and they undergo their first change, healing rapidly from the wounds that should have killed them. The character might take a final level of damage, and collapse into a pile of leaves and twine, as it turns out they were a fetch the entire time, and now the player gets to re-make their character as a recently-escaped changeling. The dying mortal might hear the whispers of a Geist offering to keep them from shuffling off the mortal coil, or they might actually die, only to awaken as a recently-made Promethean whose memories of the past are... fragmentary, to say the least.

Maintaining Power Level, and Avoiding ST-Assisted Death

A Faces of Death game is, in short, a way for an ST to either slowly induct the party into a given sphere of the Chronicles of Darkness setting, or to create a troupe game with everyone finding their own way into one of the various game lines. Personally, I recommend using this for a troupe game, because I feel that it provides the most varied options, and it helps you find ways to maintain power level and challenge when it comes to the ongoing chronicle.

There's a lot in there, so let me unpack it.

First of all, let's discuss power dynamics. Because it's true that whoever it is that dies first is going to wind up with a leg up over the rest of the folks in the game in some ways. Whether they become a full-on supernatural creature, or they end up with a lesser template as a ghoul, an ensorcelled mortal, etc., they're going to have access to resources and abilities that the rest of the table may not have. However, to counter that, it's important to also provide additional complications and limitations that the rest of the table doesn't have to deal with (but which could act as additional plot fodder).

For example, let's say that one character did become a vampire. Now they have to follow the rules of the masquerade, and they have to do what they can to exist in the world of the night. They might have new powers they can use, such as moving faster or becoming stronger, but their powers shouldn't immediately fix problems presented in the chronicle. The mortal hacker, or the socialite with connections among the business community, are still going to be useful when it comes to investigating mysteries and solving crimes, even if the group's bruiser no longer has a pulse and has to drink blood, for example. Most importantly, though, one character becoming a vampire now means you can bring in the lore, enemies, and plots involving those monsters going forward. And every time you bring in a new creature or game line, the amount of stuff you can call on just gets bigger.

Additionally, as the game goes on, your players have to deal with the competing interests of the different factions they belong to, and they have to choose sides in what's happening. As an example, if one of the other party members becomes a changeling, does their assistance with someone else's vampire have political ramifications? Can the werewolf and the promethean still work together, or does the werewolf risk ostracization from their community if they don't destroy something that unnatural? What kind of political points can be scored by forging alliances, or toppling existing rulers? These are the sorts of opportunities a Faces of Death game can present, if you choose to pursue them.

What was that last part, though?

Once players realize that they get an upgrade when they die (assuming you didn't start the game off explaining this twist), it's possible that folks begin taking on suicidal acts hoping that this is the time they get their monster badge. It's important for you, as the ST, to discourage this behavior up-front by explaining that purposefully putting your character in danger for the hope of more power, rather than for story purposes or because of the roll of the dice, won't result in a positive outcome.

However, if someone's mortal character doesn't die, make it clear that they can still get their own upgrades so they don't feel like the token PC in the monster chronicle.

Characters who manage to outlive their compatriots might find themselves awakening as Mages simply from the constant exposure to all of the supernatural goings-on around them. They might end up becoming a part of a Hunter faction, gaining access to the gear, resources, etc., of those who bump off the things that go bump in the night. They could also combine the various boons that can be given to mortals, such as drinking blood from a vampire to become a ghoul, swearing an oath with a changeling to gain additional skills and power, etc. You can even break out books like Second Sight, granting them their own set of powers they can use to keep up with the rest of the table.

Final Recommendations and Challenges

A lot of the following pieces of advice are going to depend on your table, and your players. It's also going to depend how much they trust you. Generally speaking, though, these are areas you should address before you begin.

- Would your table react well to the twist being secret? Some players would think this was an awesome continuation of a character, while others might think this was a big manipulation. If you're not sure you can always err on the middle ground of telling your players there's going to be a twist, but asking if they want you to spoil it for them or not.

- Ensure that players are onboard with roleplaying the transformation and understanding of a monster's new life. Part of the fun of this change is seeing characters alter and adjust to their new life situation. How do they deal with their new urges, their altered perceptions on morality, or the new responsibilities they now have to deal with? Even if we, as players, know the mythos and the ins-and-outs of the monsters, playing them from the perspective of an established character who has to see it all with fresh eyes is part of the challenge.

- Ask yourself (if not your players directly) what kind of monster they would most enjoy playing (or which ones they definitely don't want to play). This is another that's going to vary by player and table. Part of the challenge of a Faces of Death game is that the specific monster the PCs end up becoming should vary by plot and circumstances. For example, if you're doing a vampire arc, then becoming a ghoul or a vampire is the most thematically-appropriate option. However, if you know a given player really doesn't care for vampires, and wouldn't enjoy playing one, then perhaps they're approached by a Geist that was a victim of that same kindred in the past. Maybe this is where their latent werewolf heritage comes out. Even if you want to give your players input on what kinds of monsters they'd like to become, consider a ranked-choice system, or a general template, but not giving them specifics. A player might pick "vampire" as their creature, but surprise them with the particular clan they're turned by, for example.

- Remember to include the mortal side of things, as well as the supernatural. As I said back in World of Darkness Storytellers, Don't Forget The Mortal Side of Things, but it bears repeating. All the supernatural wooge in the world does you no good if you have to blend in and mix with the normal folk in order to complete the plot, so keep that in mind when you're designing your challenges.

Additional Resources

Regular readers know I've been making WoD/CoD content for a while now, and I've got an RPG pin board with the 30+ supplements I've made for Werewolf, Vampire, and Changeling. However, some supplements that will be most useful for populating a Faces of Death Game include:

- Deadly Country: 100 NPCs of Central Florida: While this one is location-specific, the characters can easily be shifted to most other parts of the country, as the Storyteller needs.

- 100 Ensorcelled Mortals: A Changeling: The Lost supplement, this one is quite useful if you want at least one member of your chronicle to have a brush with the world of the fae.

- New World Shadows: 100 Ghouls For The American Sabbat and New World Nights: 100 Ghouls For The American Camarilla: While originally written for Vampire: The Masquerade, these NPCs can be easily shifted and re-imagined for whatever edition of the setting you happen to be using.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Looking To Add Some Spook To Your Games? I've Got You Covered!

Now that summer is drawing to a close, that time of year is upon us once again. That time when the leaves change colors, when the night wind grows teeth, and when the pumpkins beg for our knives to reveal their true, horrifying faces. That time when we itch to dress in the skins of monsters and myths, and when candy tempts us from every shelf in every store. It is a time when the spiders come out to play, the witches cackle, and the ghouls run amok.

The spooky season is here. Finally.

Light the candles, and wake the ghosts... Autumn is here again!

For those of us who enjoy our regular flights of fancy, this is the time we usually reach outside our norm. When our minds turn to darker plots, scarier settings, and where we break out those books we usually keep on our bottom shelves. You know the ones I mean. It's that time of year where we try out short campaigns and one shots, and where we dip our toes into the darker tales we may normally avoid.

And if you're looking for some support for those sharp, Autumn delights, never you fear, I'm here to help.

As always, if you want to stay on top of all my latest releases, make sure you sign up for my weekly newsletter. And if you want to help me keep the wheels turning so that I can keep bringing fresh content right to your eyeballs, consider becoming a Patreon patron. Even a little donation every month can go a long way!

Let's Start With The Traditional Fantasy Stuff!

For those who don't know, most of my content is for traditional fantasy games. And for a lot of us out there those are still the settings we want to play with when this time of year comes around... we just want to give them an edge. Something darker, and more terrifying than our usual run-of-the-mill dungeon with a dragon lurking in the middle.

So what do I have for you?

Well I'm glad you asked.

I've been elbow-deep in some fresh modules, but those aren't available yet. However, if you're a DND 5th Edition player looking for some scary stories then I'd highly recommend checking out both The Curse of Sapphire Lake, as well as The Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh. The former is kind of a bastard child between Friday the 13th and Beowulf in both theme and tone, whereas the latter is a grim tale of a town beset by horrors that come out at night to ravage the one road in or out of Bracken. Both of them are tense adventures filled with monsters and dangers told in a way that will keep players' hearts pounding, and their imaginations feverish.

But what about Pathfinder players? Don't worry, folks, I've got some goodies for you as well. As long as you're still playing the first edition, that is. Because whether you're a GM looking for an appropriately horrific threat, or you're a player looking to do something ghastly in a horror game, you should check out some of my older character conversion guides for some of the bloodier horror movie monsters. I've covered the cenobite Pinhead from Hellraiser, Michael Myers from the original Halloween, as well as my personal favorite, Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th... well, all the films after the first one, anyway.

In addition to all of that, I have a couple of spooky supplements that might have slipped under your radar if you weren't paying particularly close attention to my release schedule. For example, 13 Fiends: A Baker's Dozen of Devils is full of unique outsiders with their own histories, worship, rites, and implications. Each entry is detailed enough to work as its own story nugget, or to build an entire campaign around a rite, but it still hasn't even reached Copper sales yet. That one dovetails nicely with 100 Cults to Encounter, which has all sorts of bizarre religions and esoteric orders that could be used to send a chill up your players' collective spines. Lastly, though not strictly a horror supplement, there's a lot of potentially useful content in 100 Secret Societies as well... whether you need heroes, villains, or a bit of both.

And If You're Taking The Plunge Into a World of Darkness...

There are going to be some players out there for whom a darker take on traditional fantasy isn't going to scratch that Halloween itch. Folks for whom a true horror story is going to be required... because during the Fall times, that's when more of us crack the covers on World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness books than probably any other time of the year. You've got those friends you used to play Werewolf with, and they want to get the band back together. Your friend and her girlfriend have wanted to try out Vampire, but the time never felt right. You've wanted to get people into Changeling for a long time, but they never seemed as receptive as they do right now.

Well, I can still give you a helping hand if that's the case.

There's even more coming your way, with this one.

Let's start with the big one, shall we? Because if you're going to put together a Werewolf: The Apocalypse game, you're going to be in need of kinfolk. My "100 Kinfolk" project put together 100 kinfolk NPCs for every core tribe, as well as the Black Spiral Dancers. So whether you just want to grab specific tribes, or get all 1,400 NPCs, take a look at the bundle! And in case that wasn't enough, there's also the 100 Stargazer Kinfolk, for those who enjoy that particular tribe. I'm also going to have a shiny supplement that's all about Pentex and their grubby minions coming out next month, so keep your eyes peeled for that one!

As for Vampire, I had a similar project come out with my "100 Ghouls" installments. Those are (at time of writing, at least), New World Nights (100 ghouls for the Camarilla in America), Children of The Night (100 animal ghouls), and New World Shadows (100 ghouls for the Sabbat in America). While that's nowhere near as many as my Werewolf project, 300 NPCs is nothing to sneeze at... especially when these supplements are useful for players and STs alike!

Lastly, my personal favorite are the supplements I've been putting out for Changeling: The Lost. The first one that dropped, 100 Mourning Cant Dialects, Phrases, and Meanings was specifically for all the folks out there who love the Winter Court, but who just cannot come up with meaningful-sounding double-talk and spy slang on the fly. There's also 100 (Mostly) Harmless Goblin Fruits and Oddments To Find in The Hedge, which expounds on the weird and wild grandeur of the between-realm, giving players and STs alike a slew of strange and bizarre items to incorporate in both 1st or 2nd edition. And the newest supplement, which just dropped this past weekend, is 100 Strange Sights to See in The Hedge. Because the Hedge is supposed to be a realm of infinite danger and deceit, filled with bizarre sights and nightmare monsters, but it's tough to come up with that out of thin air when you're an ST... so I thought I'd provide a little help.

And If You're Just Looking For Scary Stories...

As a bit of a bonus, if you're just looking for some scary stories to help get you in the proper mindset for some horror, might I suggest taking a look at 50 Two-Sentence Horror Stories? Or perhaps check out my short story collection The Rejects, which is fully of short horror pieces like Dressing The Flesh, read below!

As always, everyone have a safe and scary holidays! And if you end up using any of my supplements, I want to hear stories of how things turned out, so drop them in the comments, or find me on social media!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

World of Darkness Storytellers, Don't Forget The Mortal Side of Things!

Henlock Headbreaker frowned down at the missive in his thick hands. The Fall Queen had bid the ogre fulfill an errand, and send notice of her wroth to their neighbors, and it had taken him some time to complete. All he wanted now was a quiet night on his old sofa with a cold beer or three, and maybe some Netflix, but his door wouldn't open.

"Past due..." Henlock could feel his teeth grinding, and he tried to let go of the breath he'd been holding. If it wasn't one goddamn thing, it was another. He set his hands on the door, and made himself take slow, deep breaths. It was just fiberboard and paint, and he knew he wouldn't get any satisfaction of kicking it in... but it still took all his willpower not to do it.

He took out his phone, and carefully pushed the buttons with his calloused fingertip. He was sure Darlene would let him crash at her place tonight... as for clearing the balance, he had friends who owed him a few small favors. He hated to call them in over this, but sometimes you didn't have a choice when details slipped through the cracks.

All right, Agnes, I was out of town. Can I get you the back rent on Monday?

The Supernatural Should Be The Spice, Not The Meat

Before we go any further, I want to make one thing clear; I love the World of Darkness and the newer Chronicles of Darkness settings. Monsters are some of my favorite things, and games where you specifically get to play vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein-like creatures, fey-touched changelings, and more will always be my cup of tea.

However, the setting and text can only go so far. Often it's the storyteller that can make or break an experience, and there is a trap that a lot of STs fall face-first into time and time again with these games. I've seen it in everything from Vampire to Mage, and from LARP to tabletop, so I wanted to talk about it this week.

In short, a lot of STs forget that all of the insane supernatural shenanigans happening only make up one half of the coin. If the mortal world isn't a factor in your game, then you're only playing with half the deck, so to speak.

You need contrast for these games to work.

The first reason the mortal world needs to be an active part of your game is that it constitutes the majority of the setting. The whole conceit of every World and Chronicles of Darkness game is that you are part of the secret world. You are the things that live in the shadows, and you need to hide who you are and the things you do from the world at large. But if your werewolves spend all their time in the umbra and on werewolf territory, if your vampires only ever have scenes at Elysium and in secluded places under their control, then you are only spending time in those deep shadows rather than out in the setting at large.

The result is there's no contrast in your game; it's just the fantasy elements, which are supposed to be the marshmallows in the cereal. And while that can hurt the setting overall, it also results in players only paying attention to half their characters. Because one of the central questions that always accompanies these games is finding balance for the PCs as citizens of two worlds. If they never have to interact with the mortal world, never have to go to it, and never have to worry about it, then you end up with characters that are all fantasy, no modern.

That can lead to shallow characters, but it has another effect on the game... suddenly every challenge the PCs face (whether big or small) also has to live in those shadows.

And this can quickly cause you headaches as an ST.

You Don't Do Surgery With a Sledgehammer

Problems from the mortal side of things never seem like "real" problems to a lot of STs (and even to a lot of players). After all, if you're fighting against the supernatural engine of the apocalypse, trying to outmaneuver the political machinations of enemies you've had since Rome was pushed back across the Rhine, or if you're tooling up to hunt the creature who lurk in the darkness, dealing with purely mortal concerns can seem petty an unimportant.

When the players are faced with supernatural problems, the gloves come off. All sides know the score, they know the truth of the setting, and they can pull out all the stops. War form transformations, insane blood magic, ripping portals in reality, calling on pacts made with the elements of the world... everything is on the table!

But if players have to deal with mortal problems, they often have to do it more quietly. This means they often have to get more creative, and be more focused in their application of force/resources if they expect to succeed.

Perhaps an example would help?

If you're running an old world werewolf game, and the PC garou are facing the threat of a black spiral dancer pack, there's no mystery that needs to be preserved. No code of silence that has to be observed. Both sides know what the other is, and understand what they're out for. And if they're fighting out in the wildlands with no witnesses, or throwing down in the Umbra, then there's no need for them to play it quiet. They can bring the biggest gifts, the most ridiculous weapons, and use all their abilities to go absolutely wild on one another.

And that's not a bad thing. Games should have some of those scenes from time to time. They're fun, tasty marshmallows.

But now let's take that same werewolf pack, and face them with a problem where they can't take the gloves off. Maybe there's a corporation trying to put a pipeline through their land. Maybe there's an audit of their holdings going on, and the false documents they used to legally secure the caern aren't holding up in court. Maybe the dark past of some of the members are catching up, and there's police sniffing around, or even a team of bounty hunters looking to make an impressive collar. If the latter doesn't seem like a big enough threat, add in a reality show TV crew following the bounty hunters that the pack now has to deal with.

You can apply these mortal problems to basically any sphere, too. Is the changeling singer who uses her celebrity to collect glamour from her audience being stalked by a crazed fan who, though he might not be dangerous to one of the fey-touched, is someone who might see behind the mask and find out what she truly is? Is the careless brujah leaving too many witnesses, and too many bodies, in certain districts, and now homicide detectives and tabloid journalists are out in force, which is making things harder for everyone else? Has a mage's "magic act" drawn too much curiosity, and too many witnesses, all of them digging into incidents that had been covered up and forgotten until now?

You can't just march up to those problems, fangs-bared and powers roaring (most of the time). You need to think around them, deflect them, or hush them up quietly. And generally speaking the less subtle a group is in its day-to-day doings, the more of these kinds of problems should crop up in their wake.

Don't Forget To Make It Personal

While a lot of the mortal issues that crop up in a game should be as a result of the actions of your players, as an ST you should also keep in mind that characters are supposed to exist in the mortal world, as well as the supernatural one. Often times they have jobs, homes, friends, family, and histories that exist in the mortal world... and those things are ripe for the kind of drama that can pull players deeper into the narrative.

A glimpse behind the mask.

If you have a character who is a member of a police force, what does that expose them to? If they use their powers to investigate and clear cases (a changeling who talks to the dead, a werewolf who uses their enhanced senses, etc.), do they draw suspicion from internal affairs on just how they discovered certain evidence? If a character doesn't have a job, as such, then where do they live, and how do they earn money? If they don't, do they make their homes in abandoned or forgotten places? If the latter, what happens when new development comes knocking on their doors, or urban explorers find the former sewer tunnels of their lair? Do they allow other people forgotten by the modern world to live under their protection? Or have they become some kind of weird, urban legend the street people tell each other to keep newbies out of certain places?

Everything, from an enemy coming after a PC's friends (who may not realize what they truly are beneath the skin), to someone accidentally discovering the character's secret life (the roadie walks in and discovers the pale heavy metal singer is an actual blood-drinking vampire), these sorts of things can really impact the game for players... but you don't get any of these story beats in your game if you just ignore the mortal world because it isn't as much fun as all the dark, nasty, supernatural threats you've got lined up.

For folks looking for more ST advice, don't forget to check out Want To Run Better World of Darkness Games? Then Watch John Wick! And if you find yourself in need of a bunch of NPCs for a Werewolf: The Apocalypse game (or really any WoD game), you should check out my 100 Kinfolk Bundle. These NPC lists cover 13 werewolf tribes (100 NPCs each, and 200 for the Black Spiral Dancers), giving you 1,400 NPCs total... more than enough to populate any game! And if you want the encore piece that was released this year, don't forget 100 Stargazer Kinfolk as well.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!