Epitaph (Spring 2009).pdf

President: Mike Tinney

DeaD Man’s Party

Welcome, fiends and friends, to the White Wolf Publishing’s newest

online newsletter Epitaph . Within its pages we’ve decided to show you

our adoring fans some of the “magic” that’s behind the curtain of our

sunless lives. Within Epitaph’s pages you will find tidbits and trinkets of

knowledge and lore. You will find both previously unpublished material,

information on upcoming releases and interviews with some of our most

talented fiends. Lastly, and for good measure we have included a few

terrifying tales as written by you, our fans.

Creative Director: Rich Thomas

Board and Card Games Manager: Pétur Örn Þórarinsson

Vampire Developer: Joe Carriker, Russell Bailey

Changeling/Mage/Werewolf Developer: Ethan Skemp

Board and Card Games Developer: Ken Cliffe

Exalted Developer: John Chambers

Alternative Products Developer: Eddy Webb

Production Manager: Aaron Voss

Enjoy!

VtR/GtSE Art Dirtector: Craig Grant

WtF/CtL/MtA/VTES Art Director: Aileen E. Miles

Exalted Art Director: Brian Glass

WoD Art Director: Mike Chaney

Graphic Designer: Jessica Mullins

Table of ConTenTs

Director of Marketing - CCP North America : Greg Fountain

Marketing/Events: Kelley Barnes

World of Darkness Community Developer: Shane DeFreest

T h e B l a c k S T r e e T S o f B a B y l o n

Organized Play Coordinator: Oscar Garza

An exclusive excerpt from the upcoming Vampire: The Requiem supplement, ancient bloodlines .

r i S e o f T h e c o v e n a n T S : a n c i e n T e g y p T

Epitaph Editor-in-Chief: Shane DeFreest

Epitaph Layout: Brian Glass

Contributors: Justin Achilli, Shane DeFreest

An exclusive excerpt from the upcoming Vampire: The Requiem supplement, ancient Mysteries .

As a companion to its sister book ancient bloodlines.

i a m T h e v e r y m o d e l o f e x p e r i m e n T a l p u B l i S h i n g !

Oscar Garza, Priscilla Kim

Ethan Skemp

By Eddy Webb, Alternative Publishing Developer

B a c k i n T o T h e h e d g e , a c h a n g e l i n g p o S T m o r T e m

cover Art

By Ethan Skemp

a r T i S T S p o T l i g h T : e f r e m p a l a c i o S

Showcasing one of White Wolf’s freelance artists

T h e r e W i l l B e B l o o d

An Excerpt from the upcoming World of Darkness supplement, Immortals.

W h o ’ S -W h o a T ccp?

An interview with CCP Game Designer Natasha Bryant-Raible.

By Shane DeFreest

A Vampire: the Eternal Struggle Storyline Event

vTeS T o u r n a m e n T c o r n e r

A listing of the top ranked players, events and stories

T h e i d i g a m

An exclusive excerpt from the upcoming Werewolf: The forsaken supplement night Horrors: Wolfsbane

W h o i S “ t h e U n r e q U i t e d L o v e r ”?

fan fiCTion

T h e p a T h T o p o W e r (v a m p i r e : T h e r e q u i e m )

By Tyler Huffman

T h e r i T u a l o f T h e S h o v e l h e a d (v a m p i r e : T h e e T e r n a l S T r u g g l e )

is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which

may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf, Exalted, Vampire the Requiem, Changeling

the Lost, Werewolf the Forsaken, Mage the Awakening, World of Darkness and EVE are registered

Eaters, World of Darkness Immortals, City in the Sand, Vampire the Eternal Struggle, Testament

of Longinus, Swords at Dawn, Manual of Exalted Power the Infernals, Summoners, Blood Drive,

Hunter the Vigil, Night Horrors Wicked Dead, Signs of the Moon, Goblin Markets and Seers of

herein are copyrighted by CCP hf.

CCP North America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CCP hf.

The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the

trademark or copyright concerned.

Check out White Wolf online at

http://www.white-wolf.com/

By Dane Smith

l o v e a n d m o n S T e r S (W o r l d o f d a r k n e S S )

By Andrew Peregrine

a c h i l l i e S h e e l

By Justin Achilli

r i S e o f T h e i m p e r a T o r

B loodlines of the B lack s treets

The fragmented memory of the Kindred recalls the Babylonian empire as it was at its height — a magnificent para-

dise of jeweled ziggurats and moonlit alleyways, ruled from the shadows by the Damned. Kindred arose from the

masses as subtle gods among men, and the streets of Babylon were stalked by the progenitors of some of the most

powerful bloodlines that exist tonight. In those nights, demons and desert whispered their secrets to Kindred, and

they were host to many strange powers.

Every golden age must come to an end, however, and the Dammed of ancient Babylonia were decimated by a new

predator born through blasphemous rite, the Edimmu. The seven spirits tore the empire apart from within, and the

streets of Babylon were black with the dust of slain Kindred. The few who survived bound together for the sake of

survival or fled from the Near East altogether, scattering their kind throughout the world.

You don’t remember me, do you? That doesn’t matter, darling, because I certainly haven’t

forgotten you. Now why don’t I help refresh your memory?

Dark sorcerers and subtle assassins, members

of the Iltani bloodline are as clever, spiteful

and venomous as snakes.

They operate in stealth and secrecy,

and are masterful manipulators

and deceivers. Vipers are unusu-

ally adept at controlling their

own emotions, and they cling

to their anger in death, fueling

and transforming its corrosive en-

ergy to suit their own purposes. A

vampire meeting an Iltani for the

first time could never hope to see

or understand the depth of the seeth-

ing anger that is forever just beneath

the surface of her stoic gaze — at least, not unless

she chooses to unleash her fury.

The rare and highly specialized poisons the Iltani use

to weaken their enemies are distilled from anger, spite

and resentment. Kindred scholars speculate that it is by

channeling this dark, emotional energy and transforming

it through the Beast that members of the bloodline are

able to harness their unique abilities. Whether or not

this theory has any veracity may never be ascertained,

as members of the bloodline are uncommonly elusive

and secretive.

Parent Clan: Mekhet

Bloodline Disciplines: Animalism, Auspex,

Celerity, Obfuscate

Nickname: Vipers

Weakness: The Iltani have the

same weakness to sunlight that

curses all Mekhet (p. 109 of Vam-

pire: The Requiem ).

Additionally, an Iltani’s

Beast makes her blood seethe

with anger and resentment, and

never misses a chance to seize

control. Whenever the player fails a

Discipline roll, the Storyteller rolls

one die. One a 1, the Iltani’s Beast

leaps to the fore, forcing the player to roll

to avoid frenzy (two successes required; see p. 179 of

Vampire: The Requiem ).

History and Culture: The Iltani bloodline can be traced

back to ancient Mesopotamia. The bloodline’s founder,

Nanshe Iltani, was a powerful priestess of the Coven of

Nanaja, and a consult to the Kindred royalty of the shadow

empire of Babylonia.

According to Kindred of the bloodline, Nanshe Iltani

had a lover, Arahunaa, to whom she was deeply devoted.

bloodlines of the black streets of babylon - iltani

of B aBylon (625-539 Bce)

I ltanI

One night, the En (a title for the Kindred emperor in

ancient Babylonia) came to consult with Nanshe Iltani.

When the En saw the beautiful Arahunaa, he immediately

wished to possess her. Despite Nanshe Iltani’s desperate

pleading, En Isiratuu took Arahunaa back to the royal

temple to live at his side. Adding to the tale of treachery,

Arahunaa went with the En willingly — preferring an

unlife of royal luxury over the companionship of Nanshe

Iltani. The cruel actions of Arahunaa and the En enraged

Nanshe Iltani, and she vowed from that night forward that

she would be the one to bring about their Final Deaths.

She knew that she would never succeed in killing her

betrayers outright and survive. Instead, she would be

patient, using a subtler approach of stealth and sorcery,

striking when the moment was right. It was Nanshe

Iltani’s desire for vengeance that led her to uncover the

secrets associated with her bloodline tonight.

In the years that followed, Nanshe Iltani devoted herself

to finding new ways in which her powers could be used to

destroy Arahunaa and the En, taking many solitary walks

through the moonlit steppes and deserts of Babylonia

to reflect upon her goal. It was during these travels that

Nanshe Iltani was believed to have developed her affinity

for the venomous, lowly creatures of the earth: snakes,

spiders, insects and scorpions. That she was drawn to such

creatures is not surprising, as she herself was poisonous

from her own festering resentment. She found that she

could call the stinging, biting creatures of the desert to her

side, and even influence their movements. After a time,

she uncovered methods of condensing and transforming

her anger, through the Beast within, into potent venoms.

Eventually, she made use of the creatures she called upon

to act as vessels of her spite, using their stings to deliver

her poison to the victim. While Nanshe Iltani did not

succeed in discovering a poison strong enough to lead to

instantaneous Final Death, her newfound abilities were

useful to her cause nonetheless.

One night, Arahunaa appeared to Nanshe Iltani in a

dream. According to her former lover, the En had devel-

oped a terrible, dark gift, the likes of which the Damned

of Babylon had never seen. Soon, the En would be unstop-

pable, and the empire would suffer for it.

Seeing that the news could be used to her advantage,

Nanshe Iltani seized her chance. Feigning sympathy for

her plight, Nanshe Iltani gave Arahunaa a scorpion with a

poisonous sting to set upon the En. The venom of Iltani’s

scorpion did not directly cause the deaths of Arahunaa

and the En, but it was potent enough to indirectly guide

them to their ultimate end. It was through Nanshe Iltani’s

cursed venom, members of the bloodline claim, that the

Edimmu of legend were able to gain access to the En,

tearing him apart from within and then subsequently

killing Arahunaa in the massacre that followed.

In the chaos that occurred shortly after the death

of the En of Babylonia, it is unclear what became of

Nanshe Iltani. Since then, however, her progeny have

spread throughout the world, refining her techniques

and passing along her secrets in low whispers to each

new generation.

Kindred of the bloodline almost always choose to sire

a childe from an individual who was resentful or bitter

during his mortal life. Iltani encourage their childer to

cling to their anger, to fuel and strengthen it, but never to

allow their fury to show. If anything, a Viper appears void

of emotion. It is through an Iltani’s ability to control her

feelings that she gains her power — skillfully transforming

and molding her vitriol into useful manipulative tools.

Initiates to the bloodline must prove that they can control

their anger. New Kindred are treated harshly, chastised and

provoked until the young vampire enters a state of anger

frenzy. The initiate must successfully “ride the wave” (see

pp. 178-181 of Vampire: The Requiem ) to prove he has

the self-control required to become an Iltani.

Reputation: Members of the Iltani bloodline are

unusually guarded and secretive, even for the Damned.

Many Kindred tonight believe that the Iltani bloodline

does not exist at all, and that it is simply a legend from

the long-forgotten past. Those who do know of their

existence, however, fear them for their strange ways and

deadly abilities.

Because many Kindred laugh at the notion of the

Iltani bloodline’s very existence (and the Iltani prefer

to keep it that way), members of the bloodline are excel-

lent assassins. While some Iltani may be willing to offer

their services as an assassin, it usually comes with a steep

price. Vipers are much more likely to use their abilities

to manipulate rather than kill. They prefer to stand in

the shadows, watching as their venom slowly tortures or

drives their victim to madness.

Kindred who know of the Iltani also know never to

cross one. An Iltani never forgets those who have betrayed

her, and she uses memories of past transgressions to fuel

her anger. A vampire who betrays an Iltani may not pay

immediately, but he always pays dearly in the end.

Concepts: Kindred assassin, lord of the flies, manipula-

tive sociopath, espionage agent, underhanded informant,

stoic enforcer, herpetologist, power behind the throne,

eccentric collector, mysterious apothecary

ancient bloodlines

Mérges Sorcery

The Sumerian word “Mérges” can be translated to mean

“poisonous” or “angry.” It is a fitting descriptor, therefore,

for the brand of sorcery practiced by the Iltani bloodline.

Iltani have the unique ability to distill their negative emo-

tions (anger, spite, resentment, hatred, etc.) into rare and

highly-specialized magical venoms. The secrets of Mérges

Sorcery are jealously guarded and carefully passed down

from one generation to the next. Iltani have been known

to hunt down and kill undeserving Kindred who have

learned of its mysteries.

All vampires who become skilled in Mérges Sorcery

develop specialized, hollow fangs that can be used to

administer venom. When not in use, the fangs fold back

against the roof of the mouth and are enclosed in a

membranous sheath.

Cost: The use of Mérges Sorcery always costs the char-

acter one Willpower point. It is the Iltani’s own will that

instigates a reaction between his hatred and the Beast

within, and it is through this reaction that the venom-

ous curse is formed. Willpower spent in this manner

does not add three dice to activation rolls. (However,

subsequent extended Mérges Sorcery rolls, past the initial

activation roll, may be augmented by spending a point

of Willpower).

Mérges Sorcery does not have the same linear progres-

sion that other Disciplines do. It is a character’s mastery

that dictates the highest level of the rituals he may learn.

For example, a character with two dots in Mérges Sorcery

can know an unlimited number of level one and level two

rituals (provided the experience points are paid to learn

each), but he may not learn any level-three Mérges Sorcery

rituals until his Mérges Sorcery level is increased to 3.

Each time a character acquires a dot of Mérges Sorcery

(including at character creation), he gains a ritual of that

level at no additional cost. New rituals can be bought at

a cost of two experience points multiplied by the level of

the ritual.

To master Mérges Sorcery, an Iltani must never let go

of his hatred. Instead, he must fuel it, control it, and

transform it through his Beast. In the time that passes

after his Embrace, a Viper gradually forgets how to forgive

others, and he cannot recall what the peace of absolution

felt like as a mortal. To an Iltani, anger is fuel, but because

he never ceases to carry corrosive emotions within himself,

his own hatred slowly begins to eat away at his Humanity.

A character’s dots in Mérges Sorcery, subtracted from 10,

is the maximum to which his Humanity may rise. For

example, a character possesses Mérges Sorcery at level

three. His maximum Humanity is therefore 7. If a charac-

ter increases his Mérges score higher than his Humanity

would normally allow, his Humanity immediately drops

to the appropriate level and the player makes a Humanity

roll to see if the character acquires a derangement in the

process of heightening his occult knowledge. (See pp. 182-

188 of Vampire: The Requiem for more on Humanity

rolls and derangements.) If a character learns both Crúac

and Mérges Sorcery, his Humanity is limited by the higher

of the two traits.

Dice Pool: Resolve + Intimidation + Mérges Sorcery

Because negative emotions are the source and fuel of

Mérges Sorcery, characters with the Vice Wrath add +1

to relevant rolls. Conversely, characters with the Virtue

Temperance take a -1 penalty to relevant rolls.

Action: Extended. The number of successes required

to activate a ritual is equal to the level of that ritual (so a

level-three ritual requires three successes to enact). Each

roll represents one turn of ritual casting. Note also that

each point of damage incurred in a turn is a penalty to

the next casting roll made for the character, in addition

to any wound penalties suffered.

If a character fails to complete the ritual in time (such

as by being sent into torpor before accumulating enough

successes) or decides to cancel the ritual before garnering

enough successes to activate it, the effect simply fails. Any

Willpower expenditures made are not recovered.

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The ritual fails spectacularly, and the

character enters an immediate anger frenzy, which lasts

for the rest of the scene.

Failure: The ritual fails entirely, but not dangerously.

Willpower is consumed as normal, but the ritual has no

effect.

Success: The ritual takes place as described.

Exceptional Success: In many cases, extra successes are

their own reward, causing additional damage or conferring

extra duration or capacity.

Suggested Modifiers

Modifier Situation

Power is turned against, or applies to,

a vampire with whom the user has a

blood tie (see p. 162 of Vampire:

The Requiem ).

—

There are no threats or distractions to

bother the character.

bloodlines of the black streets of babylon - iltani

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: