This thread will be used to discuss our ideas and collect our notes for the upcoming campaign.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:14, Thu 20 July 2017.

Animal Farm
A pack of vampires has moved into a small town, attempting to slowly turn the place into a massive farm for their bloodlust. These vampires avoided killing anyone, instead using Mind Control on their victims to alter the memory of the feeding. Wounds would appear on the upper arm instead of the neck, to avoid being to obvious. One of them made a mistake, though, and someone ended up dead.

Discovery: A news report (newspaper, TV, or Internet) features an unexplained accident: "A man was found dead in his apartment yesterday. When he missed his shift at the local gas station, his manager tried to get ahold of him. One of his coworkers stopped by his residence to check on him. His body was discovered with multiple lacerations and bite marks, as if attacked by a wild animal. Residents are cautioned to be on the lookout for any rabid canines.”

Investigation: The victim was killed by a young vampire. It was supposed by the vampire’s coven that he was mature enough to feed on his own, but this was not the case. This vampire knew the victim, having made friends at a local bar. This night, he was invited back for a few more beers. He had planned to feed, wipe his memory, and call it a night, but he lost control and drank the victim to death. He fled in a panic through the back window and returned to his apartment across the street where he gathered a few belongings before heading to the coven house to hide out.
The coven house is hidden in the basement of a butcher shop. The elders in the coven are the upper management of the shop, but they never show up during business hours (because it’s daytime). The vampires enter the coven through a secret passage in the drainage ditch near the shop. A secondary passageway leads up into the shop through a secret door in the meat locker.
There are eighteen vampires in total. Each has selected a local night spot to scour for a list of potential feeds. The elders have been pushing to expand their victim base so that each in the coven can drink from a different victim once a month. The victims have no memory of the feeding, but all would remark that they had a great time hanging out with their “friend” at their place after heading home from [wherever it is they were stalked].

Sample Clues: (1) A look at the body (Diagnosis or Surgery) will reveal its total exsanguination. (2) A look at the crime scene (Forensics, Biology, or Chemistry) will reveal that the amount of blood present is much less than expected (about half a pint). (3) A Search of the apartment will reveal that the creature fled the premises through the back window (which remains slightly open). (4) A Tracking roll will lead the hunters to a different apartment complex nearby, where an acquaintance of the victim lives (but is not currently at home). (5) Lockpicking or Forced Entry will get the hunters inside. A Search roll will locate a stash of blood in a mini-fridge and a card from a local bar.

Pursuit: If the hunters can identify one of the vampires, they can stalk him after he feeds and follow him back to the coven. If they identify the shop as a cover for the coven, they can find their way in if they can locate the secret door.

Confrontation: Finding all the vampires in the coven at once will require either flushing them out by making it clear to them that someone is on their trail, forcing them to regroup and discuss a strategy. If the hunters neglect to do this, and try to take on the coven directly, there will be only one of the elders and perhaps another vampire or two. They will have to set a trap for or hunt the others down one at a time, potentially losing several of them. They tend to stay in their own separate houses to avoid getting caught all at once.

Sample Fight: 3 Master Vampires and 15 Mature Vampires.

Aftermath: A good source of fire will destroy all the bodies easily, reducing them to ash. If the hunters are forced to take on the vampires in public (such as at their houses), this will draw unwanted attention from the neighbors. Gunfire or other obvious noise will likely get the police called (5 or less on 1d). Someone might even try to check on the situation themselves (1 on 1d).

Strange Voodoo
An evil Bokor has taken up residence in the urban underground, masquerading as mob boss. He has been kidnapping random homeless people to use as human sacrifices to summon Skin-Changers. These Skin-Changers have infiltrated ranks of several rival gangs in order to create the illusion that the "boss" is "uniting the families." In reality, the Bokor seeks only to establish this "family" as a front from which to spread chaos throughout the underground of the city, something which he believes will grant him more power.

Discovery: A player's Ally, Contact, or Patron contacts him with a tip: "At least a dozen people from my network of informants from the homeless community in the city have gone missing in the last month, but no bodies have turned up."

Investigation: Word on the street in the homeless community is that the local gangs have been offering "jobs" to them. After the first few didn't return, others became more reluctant. Despite this, the gangs somehow managed to continue coercing their friends into doing these "jobs."

Local gang members speak hostilely of and to the rivals, but refuse to fight or interfere with their dealings. The negotiation is kept very secret, but with some prying, the hunters learn of it. They also learn that homeless people have indeed been kidnapped, though they are unsure as to why. Working up the chain of command will eventually lead the hunters to encounter a Skin-Changer (likely by accident).

Suspicions that the other gang leaders are also Skin-Changers is confirmed if investigated further, as is the discovery that zombies are in play. This will lead the hunters to suspect some Black Magic Voodoo is behind everything.

Sample Clues: (1) Streetwise or Carousing with the local homeless will reveal that the gangs have been employing people that end up not returning. (2) An uncontested Interrogation roll gives the hunters the name of a local thug who has been "employing" the homeless. (3) Savoir-Faire (Mafia) or Streetwise will allow the hunters to locate a routine spot where the thugs hang out. (4) Diplomacy, Savoire-Faire (Mafia), or Fast-Talk will get the hunters in to talk to the thugs. (5) Intimidation or contested Interrogation will uncover the fact that the homeless kidnappings have something to do with the potential merger with rival gangs. Only the higher-ups will know for sure. Further questioning will indicate the name and possibly the location of the higher-ups. (6) Somewhere higher up in the ranks, the hunters discover a Skin-Changer, who will see right through any sort of manipulation they try (Indomitable) and try to have them killed by his lackeys. The Skin-Changer will not immediately be recognized, but his extraordinary strength and regenerative capabilities will give him away if he's forced to fight. He will try to escape. (7) Anyone with Hidden Lore (Free Spirits), Lore!, or Theology (Voodoo) may be able to detect the smell of the liquid used to preserve and store the skin. This requires approaching within one yard, and a successful Smell roll at -7. Discriminatory Smell adds the usual +4 and allows a distant attempt, at -1 per yard past the first. Killing him will cause the skin to shrivel up, revealing his true nature automatically. (8) If he escapes, the hunters will need to do more research in order to discover the true nature of the local boss. Further Interrogation of surviving thugs reveals that their boss has been "different" in the last month or so. The biggest change in behavior was being open to the idea of a merger with the rival gangs, something which formerly seemed impossible to accomplish due to deep seated hatred. This information, plus a successful Hidden Lore (Free Spirits), Lore!, or Theology Voodoo will strongly suggest the potential of a Skin-Changer. (9) If the hunters decide to try and find another local boss, he will be hidden somewhere that even his closest allies are unable to enter. There, they will also discover that zombies are in play. (10). A further Research, Intelligence Analysis, or Psychology roll by someone who has at least 1 point in Hidden Lore (Free Spirits) or Theology Voodoo (or at least 12 points in Lore!) will reveal that a rogue Bokor is likely behind everything.

Pursuit: Pursuing the local bosses (Skin-Changers) will be part of the Investigation stage, but the hunters might not know this right away! Pursuing the head boss (evil Bokor) will require some sort of complex plan. (1) Psychology will help the hunters guess the Bokor's next move: Gather the remaining Skin-Changers for a meeting to decide what to do about the death of their ally. This would give them an opportunity to ambush them, if they can discover the location. This would require Interrogation of some higher ranking thugs, Fast-Talk to get past guards without incident, Lockpicking or Forced Entry to get past locked doors, and a contested Stealth (or Shadowing-4) roll to catch them by surprise. (2) Acting may convince the gang members that you want in on the merger, giving another opportunity for surprise, if they play their cards right. This will be VERY difficult against the Skin-Changers, who have extraordinary IQ!

Confrontation: If the hunters fail to execute a plan to get them all in one place, they'll have to hunt the Skin-Changers one-by-one (a total of 5, if they go that route). Each will become progressively more difficult as they will be anticipating the assault. This route will undoubtedly include losing the lives of not-so-innocent human gang members. Gang members can be reasoned with, convinced to leave, etc. This may require physical coercion. Skin-Changers CANNOT be reasoned with, but the evil Bokor CAN! If somehow the hunters convince him to turn from his evil ways, the Skin-Changers will turn on him! If there is any contention among them, the zombies will always ally with the Bokor, not the Skin-Changers. Diplomacy is the ONLY way to achieve this, but the hunters have -10 due to his lust for power and borderline insanity! Add Charisma, Voice, or Reputation as usual. Any attempt will automatically incite violence from the Skin-Changers, who don't want to give you the chance.

The only way to take the Skin-Changers out is to kill them quickly. Their regenerative capabilities and literally no weaknesses make them quite formidable in a group. The Bokor is human, however, and is easily killed. As long as the Skin-Changers remain loyal, they will protect him at all costs (sacrificial dodge, standing in the way of attackers, etc.).

Sample Fight: 1 Bokor, 2 Skin-Changers, and 20 Slow Zombies, and 3 Fast-Zombies. Bokor powers: Armor of Faith 20, Evil Eye 4d, Extra Life 1, Heroic Feats (1d to each of ST, DX, and HT), Mind Shield 5, Mystic Coincidence 1, and Resistant to Good Supernatural Powers (+8).

Aftermath: Any human thugs that die in the crossfire will attract attention from the authorities, but not as much as usual. Detectives may easily attribute the deaths to a turf war and blame it on local gangs. Use Forensics instead of Housekeeping in the Quick Contest against a detective to make it look like a gang job. This gives twice the usual penalty for using industrial cleaner (-8 instead of -4) to the detective's Forensics roll to discover the truth, otherwise he will think it's a gang on gang crime. If he succeeds AT ALL, he AUTOMATICALLY has enough evidence to arrest the hunters, because he recognized the setup! If the hunters elect to do the usual clean up job (Housekeeping, the usual -4 to the detective's Forensics for using industrial cleaner) INSTEAD of try to cover it up, the detective will know that it wasn't a gang on gang crime, but otherwise have no bonus to tracking down the hunters.

Haunted House
Centuries ago, a prince was assassinated the night before his coronation. After the devastation of what would have been his empire, his castle stood vacant. His spirit refused to move on. Recently, an eccentric billionaire paid to have the castle refurbished and transported stone by stone to his property in the countryside. Once reconstructed, the spirit of the ancient prince was awakened.
Every day, the prince possessed someone in the castle. And every night, his host would repeat the act of violence that bound his soul to the castle to some other unsuspecting victim. The following day, the former host would awaken with no memory of the event, but all signs pointing to their guilt.

Discovery: A news story reveals a murder mystery: "Another murder has taken place in the __________ Castle. This is the third victim since the castle was completed just a week ago. Police are still baffled. The first murder seemed to be solved right away, the victim's blood found on a suspect's clothes and the suspect's fingerprints all over the murder weapon. But even after that suspect's apprehension, another murder occurred in exactly the same way, revealing yet another suspect likewise with extremely incriminating evidence against him. The two suspects were both in custody when this third murder occurred, and another apparent suspect is being transported to a holding cell at this time. Detective ___________ suspects a serial killer on the staff, but as the list of potential suspects grows, the truth seems to become more obscured. Despite a third death on his property, the owner has decided to resume operations at the castle tomorrow, confident that the authorities have captured the offender."

Investigation: The murders are always identical except for the victim and perpetrator: The possessed host "sleepwalks" into the kitchen in the middle of the night, acquires a knife of some sort, enters the victim's quarters, and plunges the knife into their heart. The host leaves the knife in the victim, wipes the blood off on his shirt, and returns to bed. The host only ever remembers going to bed the night before and waking up in the morning with cold symptoms (coughing, sneezing, fever, chills, stuffy nose, etc.).

The billionaire is strangely apathetic about the death of his employees. While it may seem to the hunters that he has something to do with the murders, he's actually just a rich snob with little regard for any but himself. He always has a convenient alibi with suspicious witnesses (e.g. "out fishing" at 2 AM with Jorge the cook, who only speaks Spanish). If sufficient background investigation is done into the billionaire, the hunters will discover that his behavior has been consistently "odd" for most of his life. Mix any number of savant like traits with autistic ones.

Another potential misdirect for the hunters is that the crime scenes always appear strangely cultish, like the murders are some sort of ritual sacrifice, to summon demons, appease pagan gods, fuel powerful magic rituals, etc. Aside from the murders occurring in exactly the same manner, the staff constantly speak of strange, unexplained coincidences that occurred the day of the murders (e.g. the jar of sugar vanishing without a trace, paintings switching places on the wall, decorative candles lit in the middle of the day, etc.). Failure investigating the significance of these will lead the hunter to think these are quirks of botched energy accumulation (as for a Witch's magical ritual), side-effects of powers related to gods of chaos (such as Voodoo's Loa), etc.

In reality, the ghost wanders the house invisible during the day, doing things he would have normally done in life, but at odd times or in strange ways (mistaking the sugar jar for his father's ashes and spreading them on the back lawn, rearranging the paintings to resemble the layout of the castle during his childhood, lighting candles for nighttime reading, etc.). Employees working during the day will never see this happen, as the ghost conveniently waits until no one is looking, but they MAY encounter the ghost's "cold spot." The billionaire likes to keep his castle frigid with air-conditioning as it is, but the employees who pass through the ghost's spot will instantly shiver, some even remarking that they could swear they could see their breath (something most took as sarcasm, or which they disbelieved themselves).

Sample Clues: (1) Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, Savoire-Faire (Police), or Acting will get the hunters into the sheriff station, morgue, or castle to get a closer look. (2) Administration or Research with acquire police reports will uncover the exactly identical nature of the crimes. (3) Diagnosis or Surgery at the morgue will confirm this (or reveal it, if police reports were not consulted first). (4) Criminology or Intelligence Analysis at the crime scene(s) will reveal the same as 2 and 3, or help confirm them. The murders all appear on the surface to be open and shut cases. (5) If the hunters can gain an audience with the alleged murderers, uncontested Interrogation reveals that they have no memory whatsoever of the incident. Detect Lies or Body Language confirms this. Psychology indicates severe mental trauma (similar to PTSD), the sort that would not be expected for someone locked up on murder charges. HIdden Lore (Restless Undead) or Theology (Shamanic) indicates that these are potential side-effects of unwilling spirit possession. (6) Electronic Operation (Psychotronics) will reveal the presence of psychic energies throughout the castle, with appropriate equipment (EWD). Engineer (Psychotronics) can piece together an improvised substitute. Photography used with Kirlian film (-4 without 15 second of preparation) can capture an image of the apparition, if it happens to be in the room at the time. (7). Archaeology or Architecture will reveal the time period and origin of the castle. A follow-up Lore! roll—substitute Research or Computer Operations, with a library or computer with Internet access, respectively—will reveal the detailed history surrounding the castle and the prince's untimely demise.

Confrontation: Attempts with Channeling or Medium will permit short-lived communication with the prince's ghost. Make a Self-Control Roll for every question asked, starting at 12 with a cumulative -2 for each question after the first. Failure causes the prince to get angry and attempt to flee to another part of the castle (or attempt to possess someone using Channeling). Someone with Spirit Empathy may attempt to calm him, using an appropriate Influence skill. This replaces the Self Control Roll.

Attempts to restrain him cause him to lash out with uncontrollable Telekinesis in a 16 yard radius around him. This throws anything you could reasonably hold in one hand in a random direction, potentially injuring anyone in the area. Roll 3d for everyone in the area; on a 12 or less, the person is hit. Roll 1d if hit; 1-3 is a hit from the front, 4-5 is from the side (-2 to defend), 6 is from behind (no defense possible). Roll 1d again if defense fails: This causes 2d+2 crushing damage (on a 1-3), 2d+1 cutting damage (on a 4-5), or 2d impaling damage (on a 6), in addition to making a mess of whatever room the ghost is in.

Attempts to send him to the next world by force (attacking with anything that affects insubstantial) brings a maniacal sense of rationality to the ghost. He can affect the natural world with ST 25 for 1FP/sec (yet remains insubstantial while doing so). He can also spend additional FP to use Extra Effort. The ghost may also attempt Mind Control on 1 victim per turn. He can do this and use attack at the same time, but not do either twice. If he finds a particularly weak victim, he may choose to try Possession on them instead (requiring his full attention). During combat, the subject gets +5 to resist. A possessed victim has ST 25 and is affected by True Faith while under the ghost's control. Exorcism will cast the ghost out, taking the usual time (1d hours), as long as the host can be restrained.

If a Ghost Blaster is used to reduce the prince to 0 FP, he will be forced to move on. Alternatively, HP damage (via attacks with Affect Insubstantial) can force the ghost to move on if he "dies." If he falls unconscious, an Exorcism roll will do this instantly (instead of taking an hour).

Sample Fight: The Prince (Ghost)
ST: 25; HP: 25; Speed: 7.00
DX: 14; Will 20; Move: 10
IQ: 15; Per: 10; Fright Check: 0
HT: 14; FP: 50; SM: 0
Dodge: 11; Parry: 12 (unarmed); DR: 0
Possession (5 FP): Roll a quick contest of Will. This does not cost FP to maintain. When the Prince leaves, the victim is stunned for 1d seconds with no memory of the possession.
Mind Control (1 FP): Roll a quick contest of Will (at -1 per person after the first). This costs 1 FP/min. to maintain for each victim. The victim gets another resistance roll every time he's forced to do something morally repugnant or suicidal.
Telekinesis (1 FP/sec): Treat this as an uncontrollable Innate Attack (see above for details) which activates itself when the Prince fails his SCR for Bad Temper. Chance to hit may vary based on objects in the room.
Partial Materialiation (1 FP/sec): To use Brawling or Westling. This does NOT allow the hunters to hit the Prince.
Traits: Bad Temper (6 or less); Combat Reflexes; Mute (Substantial Only); Spirit.
Skills: Brawling-16; Wrestling-16.
Notes: Affected by Path of Undead and True Faith.

Aftermath: If the Prince is injured or fatigued, he will try to run away. Unless the hunters have forced him to materialize, it may SEEM like he was defeated. Hidden Lore (Restless Undead), Theology (Shamanic), or Occultism-4 will let the hunters know to check and be sure. This roll is at +3 for those with Common Sense or Eidetic Memory, +5 for Photographic Memory, -2 for Absent-Mindedness. If all goes as planned, the hunters should have no bodies to dispose of. If someone gets caught in the crossfire, however, this could complicate things. Use the usual Housekeeping versus Forensics (at the usual -4) for a detective, which WILL undoubtedly check the scene, since there's an open investigation on the premises.

Depending on how the hunters decided to get access to the castle, there may be other complications: (1) If they took on the ghost with the castle full of employees, there could be witnesses or other victims. (2) If they managed to manipulate the people into evacuating the premises (an appropriate combination of Acting, Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, etc.), this won't be a problem, but it also won't last long. Authorities will likely arrive to check on the situation within a few hours, making the time element crucial.

Homunculus
Rogue Witches are known for utilizing human sacrifice to fuel powerful rituals, a common shortcut to power. Normally, only one person can be sacrificed per ritual. This coven of witches has uncovered an ancient text with the secret to uncapping this limitation. A sequence of three rituals was detailed:

1. A very ancient and extremely rare Alchemy formula is used to fuse the whole corpse (not ashes or pieces) of a Demon Lord and Master Vampire, creating the inanimate shell of a Golem.

2. During a solar eclipse, in a Place of Power used for over 1,000 years, and with a total of 10 Witches, the souls of up to 100 people could be transformed into magical energies and combined into a singular artifact—a Powerstone (sometimes called Philosopher’s Stone)—usable only to fuel the final ritual.

3. The Golem shell is infused with the energy of the Powerstone to create a Homunculus, a nearly invincible magical construct, totally under the control of the lead caster.

The Witches located a secluded Convent in the mountains. The land was an ancient magical site, used by the first people to live in this land until the Convent was erected over it. Coupled with the many souls of the chaste, this provided the ideal location for the ritual. The hunters discover it too late. They must learn where the Witches have gone and what they plan to do with the Homunculus, lest any more innocent lives should be lost.

Discovery: Either a PC’s Ally, Contact, Dependent, or Patron informs them of the recent slaughter, or someone receives a vision via Blessed, Precognition, or Prophetic Dreams. Either way, there is no way to stop the Witches from creating the Homunculus. The deed is already done by the time they arrive, having been warned too late.

Investigation: At the Convent, the hunters will find the corpses of a hundred nuns, bound and gagged. There are only signs of minor (expected) struggle, rope chafing, etc.—no external explanation for their demise. The cause of death is purely magical, and very recent (within 24 hours). Only a few minor traces of the Witches remain at the site, which will lead the hunters back to the nearest town (from which they headed into the mountains).

The hunters must race against time to find out what the Witches were up to, track them down, and identify them before they skip town. They’ll have to hit the books to find out what sort of ritual took place, revealing the likelihood that a Homunculus was indeed created (and its weaknesses). This should also lend itself to identifying what sort of Witches they are up against.

Sample Clues: (1) Diagnosis or Surgery will confirm no visible cause of death. (2) Thaumatology will reveal that their souls were utilized to fuel a powerful magical ritual. The hunter will know immediately that this SHOULD be impossible. On a critical success, he recalls a rumor of a way to circumvent this limitation, but most consider it a legend. (3) An uncontested Search roll reveals the faded remnants of thaumatological symbols, apparently rubbed away in haste as the perpetrator fled the scene. A followup Thaumatology roll identifies them as consistent with ritual sacrifice symbols. (4) Hidden Lore (Sacred Places) or Archaeology identifies the location as a known Place of Power, but Thaumatology reveals that the location has been drained and severely desecrated by whatever ritual took place, effectively turning it into a permanent Low Mana Zone. (5) Tracking will identify ten sets of tracks leading away from the Convent, back through the forest, down the hill where tire tracks apparently head back to town. (6) Access to an occult library allows the higher of Research or Thaumatology, (or Computer Operations with Internet access) revealing the rumor (confirming if previous discovered) of a method to circumvent the limitation on ritual sacrifice in connection to legends of a Philosopher’s Stone and the creation of Homunculi. These legends do not provide details about the ritual, the purpose of the Philosopher’s Stone, or the capabilities and weaknesses of a Homunculus. (6) Divination (via Path of Chance, or similar), Blessed, Prayer, an active use of Precognition, or a supernatural Contact or Contact Group can provide details on the legend, revealing the nature of the ritual, the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Homunculus (comparable to a Master Vampire or Demon Lord). Rumor has it that the Homunculus has only one weakness: dependency on magic. Any means of severing connection to magic will cause it to die slowly (or faster, if it’s already being killed). Additionally, while its powers may seem limitless, they are actually dependent on the finite resource provided by the Powerstone. If depleted entirely, its powers will stop working, and it can be killed normally.

Pursuit: Scouring the small town for visitors will help zero in on potential hideout locations. The hunters will find a trail leading from small a motel to an abandoned warehouse, where they have housed the Homunculus.

Sample Pursuit: (1) Streetwise or Carousing will reveal that there is a suspicious group of visitors seen around town the last few days. (2) A followup, uncontested Interrogation roll will give the hunters a general idea their last known location. (3) Serendipity may be used to coincidentally stumble upon one of the Witches using minor Telekinesis to Filch from a convenience store. (4) Alternatively, the hunters can call around to local motels, asking if there has been a group of ten individuals staying there. Use Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, or Acting to convince the proprietor to divulge the information. (5) Either way, the hunters will run into a Witch somewhere, doing something obviously Witchlike. Use Shadowing or Stealth-4 to follow him in a crowd (e.g. if at a convenience store), Stealth or Shadowing-4 if no one is around (if near the motel). This is a Quick Contest versus the Witch’s Perception or Observation. Success leads the hunters to the hideout: an abandoned warehouse. (6) Failure results in a chase, beginning at Medium Range. The Witch will head through alleyways, into tall buildings, up stairs, over rooftops, etc.—anything to avoid the hunters. Roll a Quick-Contest of the highest of DX, Area Knowledge, Running, or Urban Survival. If one has a higher Move, he is at +2 for every point of difference. Enhanced Move adds a bonus equal to its level x 2. (7) The result sets the range band for the next round: Victory by 0-4 results in no change. Victory by 5-9 allows the winner to shift the range band by one step in his favor. Victory by 10+ allows the winner to shift the range band by two steps in his favor. Range bands are: Close (0-5 yards), Short (6-20 yards), Medium (21-100 yards), Long (101-500 yards), and Extreme (501+ yards). (8) Capture allows Interrogation or Intimidation to determine the location of the hideout.

Confrontation: Witches will be physically weak, but each have the subtle improvisation of Ritual Path Magic at their disposal, in addition to at least a dozen charms: (1) Lightning Bolt: 3d burn (Side Effect: Stunning; Surge); (2) Speed Boost: Enhanced Move 0.5; (3) Major Healing: 3d Healing; (4) Magical Shield: DR 10 (Force Field); (5). Casters must have full use of their arms and be able to speak in order to use magic. Binding their hands (or crippling their arms) and gagging them will prevent them from working rituals, if capture is attempted.

The Homunculus is extremely strong (ST 50), fast (Move 25), and almost impossible to kill (HP 50, Unkillable 2). While it lacks any sort of Damage Resistance or any form of resistant to pain/shock (not even High Pain Threshold), it is treated as Homogenous (No Brains, No Vitals), requires twice the usual injury to cripple a limb (50 for arm/leg, 25 for hand/foot), and regenerates 5 HP per second! Each second that it’s Regeneration restores HP depletes 1 energy from the Powerstone (a total of 30 energy), which can only be restored by draining a soul. To drain a soul (5 FP/sec), the Homunculus must touch the skin of a victim and maintain constant contact. The Homunculus also will not die as long as it the Powerstone has energy remaining. Each second that the Homunculus is below -250 HP costs an additional point of energy (2 energy/sec while regenerating). Once the energy is completely gone, the Powerstone disintegrates, and the Homunculus becomes unable to regenerate, and must make HT rolls to avoid death (automatically at -250 HP).

While the creature is extremely dangerous, it has no mind of its own and requires constant direction from the Witches to do anything. If the Witches are unable to give verbal orders, the Homunculus will do nothing (only defend itself if attacked). If they are all killed (which it will know intuitively), it becomes permanently Berserk (treat as Battle Rage). In addition, if anything severs the creature’s connection to magic (e.g. a No Mana Zone, “Magebane” potion, etc.), the Powerstone ceases to function as long as the connection is gone. The stone resides where the human heart would normally be, but is much smaller. It can be targeted by magic based attacks at -8. The stone has DR 10 and HP 10. Even 1 point of penetrating damage causes the stone to leak 1 energy per turn (in addition to those drained by Regeneration and Unkillable). If is reduced to 0 HP, it begins leaking 5 energy per turn. When reduced to -10 HP, it is automatically destroyed, and the Homunculus will die normally (and stop regenerating).

Sample Fight: 10 Witches and 1 Homunculus

Witch:
ST: 11; HP: 15; Speed: 6.00
DX: 12; Will: 16; Move: 6
IQ: 16; Per: 12; Fright Check: N/A
HT: 12; FP: 12; SM: 0
Dodge: 10; Parry 10 (Judo); DR: 0
Traits: Combat Reflexes; Magery 5; Ritual Adept.
Skills: Brawling-12; Guns (Pistol)-14; Innate Attack-18; Judo-12; one Path-17, two Paths-16, remaining Paths-13; Thaumatology-17.

Homunculus:
ST: 50; HP: 50; Speed: 10.00
DX: 20; Will: 10; Move: 25
IQ: 10; Per: 10; Fright Check: N/A
HT: 12; FP: N/A; SM: 0
Dodge: 14; Parry: 14 (Judo); DR: 0
Punch (16): 5d+1 cr, made as a Deceptive Attack (-2 to defend).
Kick (16): 5d+1 cr, made as a Deceptive Attack (-1 to defend).
Traits: Berserk (Battle Rage; Only when all Witches die); Combat Reflexes; Energy Reserve 30 (Powerstone: Breaks if reduced to 0; Special Recharge: Leech); Injury Tolerance (Homogenous; Unbreakable Bones); Immunity to All Mind Control; Leech 5 (Contact Agent; Drains FP Only; Heals Powerstone); Regeneration (Very Fast)*; Slave Mentality; Unkillable 2*.
Skills: Acrobatics-18; Karate-20; Judo-20.
* Every second of use requires 1 energy from the Powerstone. When depleted, this ability shuts down completely.

Aftermath: If the hunters manage to take out the Homunculus without killing the Witches, they will have to decide what to do with them. Some bonuses may be procured for negotiation attempts: Psychology (by someone who is NOT Callous) gives +1 (+2 on a critical success); Empathy allows a quick contest of IQ with the subject, giving HALF the margin of success as a bonus (minimum +1); Mind Reading gives it’s FULL margin of success as a bonus. Diplomacy may then be used to try to convince them to turn from their evil ways, and turn themselves into the authorities. This is at a base -5 and must be done separately for each Witch. Failure means they are too prideful, set in their ways, etc.

If negotiation fails, Surgery or Esoteric Medicine can be used to permanently disable their spellcasting capabilities without killing them (removing their tongue/voice box, crippling arms). Forensics can be used to frame them for a less obviously supernatural crime to get picked up by the authorities. If they consider this to cruel a punishment, they may think execution more appropriate. If so, the hunters must dispose of the bodies, using Housekeeping to cover up the deed (giving a detective the usual -4 to his Forensics roll in the quick contest if they used industrial cleaner). The Homunculus corpse will rot away at an accelerated rate, leaving nothing but ash within an hour of death.

It may also be prudent to inform the local authorities about the tragedy at the Convent, but the hunters may wish to do some cleaning up beforehand.

Cruise Ship of Death
Who knows what drives a necromancer to play with the dark forces and reanimate the dead? Regardless the reason, their powers are usually pretty limited and only under the right circumstances do zombie outbreaks get terribly out of hand. The MCB likes to credit this to the popularity of their propoganda film genre of zombie thrillers and it might have a part to play in informing the public, but the reality is that zombies most zombies are dumb and slow.

There are a few factors which can lead to zombie outbreaks becoming larger and therefore harder to contain.

1. Isolation - The more isolated a community is from the rest of society the farther an outbreak can spread before being reported and therefore also before being responded to and ended.

2. Population Density - Outbreaks in cities are rare, especially as cremation has become more common and affordable than traditional burial and cemeteries are moved farther outside the city centers. However, when an outbreak does occur in areas with dense populations it can spread very quickly even if reported immediately; there just simply isn't enough time or anywhere for everyone to escape.

3. Hunter Contracts - Every municipality, city, county, and state is required by law to have a hunter company on call in the case of supernatural incident. This doesn't mean that there are a ton of people read in on Unearthly Forces, it varies, in a rural county only the sheriff might be read in on UF, while a large city might have a number of officers read in or at least with some exposure to UF.

Each company promises different response times in their contacts and charges different rates, but the wrinkles in contract budget to response time ratio usually iron themselves out pretty quick. A city figures out what it needs and the cheaper fly-by-night companies usually end up putting themselves out of business one way or another. During periods of leadership change some of those contracts end up getting changed, usually to the detriment of the public. Where zombies are concerned the quicker a company can respond and the more skilled and experienced they are at handling and containing the outbreaks the less casualties and UF exposure there is.

The Perfect Storm
Fortunately people dumb enough to play around with necromancy are just that: dumb. They end up following typical patterns and usually end up getting caught before they can cause too many deaths. However occasionally a highly intelligent person gets involved in the dark arts and finds devastating ways to maximize the effect of even the weakest zombies.

Apparently, one of the latter types of necromancers figured out the aforementioned factors and decided that a cruise ship would be a great place to guarantee a quick spreading outbreak with a high body count. Unfortunately that assessment turned out to be very accurate; a small location with no way to escape, isolated from the outside world spectacularly by the ocean, and with no direct contract of any sort.

Discovery
A high ranking government official (Senator, Congressman, or Mayor of a major US city) has a son honeymooning on the ship and he contacted his father before the necromancer(s?) cut off all outside communication. This official is using his personal fortunes to pay for the extraction of his son (and secondarily his new wife), the PUFF on the zombies and the necromancer will submitted and paid through the usual methods.

MCB is adamant that this outbreak be contained before the ship makes dock or any other form of outside contact. The cover so far is an Ebola outbreak and the coast guard is keeping anyone/anything from coming or going to the ship. Only the influence of the high ranking government official has kept the MCB from sending in Special Response Team to clear the ship. Namely because the official knows that SRT is likely to kill everything aboard to stop the outbreak and keep The Secret. Even with his influence though SRT is on standby and the ship is approaching land at it's best pace, so there is a limited window available before the SRT is sent in regardless with no holds barred to quickly end the threat.

Investigation
This mission has four goals and will be split between two teams. The goals are simple 1. Rescue the officials son, 2. Stop the ship from making land, 3. Kill all the zombies and the necromancer, 4. Rescue any other survivors.

Team 1's primary objective will be the extraction of the official's son (and wife). Their secondary objectives are the clearing of the zombies and rescuing of other survivors. The helicopter that drops team one will hover above the ship as long as possible to extract the son, then it will depart; get the son to the chopper as soon you locate him. After he is off the ship assist team two in clearing the rest of the zombies.

Team 2's primary objective is to stop the ship. Whether by shutting everything down using the bridge controls or disabling the engines directly, this will be the only way to keep SRT from storming the ship and killing everything. After the ship is stopped team to will proceed to clear the zombies and rescue survivors with team one.

Twists
I am also toying with the idea of adding a twist to each teams mission, some sort of complication to their primary objective. For team one I was thinking the necromancer would have taken the wife of the official's son for a sacrifice and he refuses to leave without her. For team two I was thinking about throwing a big curve and having vampires attack them in the engine room or something like that, their presence will be explained in the Confrontation below.

Confrontation
So it turns out there is actually a group of necromancers not just a solitary dead-raiser. They have an artifact if the old ones that can let them control any undead, but it requires a sacrifice of a specific bloodline to activate it. The vampires are here to ensure the cultists fail, but they are by no means friendly to the hunters. And the sacrifice? You guessed it, the new wife of the VIP carries the required bloodline and is due to be sacrificed too grant the cult it's power.

Aftermath
This will depend on how the players do with their objectives. If team one can rescue the son and wife and get them off the ship safely that will give them a powerful friendly government contact. If they only rescue the son the official will do them one favor in the future, but won't be predisposed to help or hinder in the future. If the son dies the players acquire a new enemy who will use his position to make things harder for them in the future.

If team two can get the ship stopped quickly it will prevent SRT from stepping foot on the ship. Likely, this means there will be a number of survivors that the MCB has to intimidate into silence, which will earn the ire of the local MCB chief, but the respect of his more reasonable lieutenant.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:14, Mon 25 Dec 2017.