AUGUST 2006 – DEC 2006 RELEASES AUGUST 2006

TITLE IMPRINT ISBN US PRICE

PROMETHEAN: THE CREATED PROMETHEAN 1-58846-606-X $34.99
PTOLUS (PRE-ORDER PACK) MALHAVOC N/A $119.99
PROMETHEAN DICE PROMETHEAN 1-58846-543-8 $6.99
RAPAN ATHUK RELOADED NECROMANCER 1-58846-795-3 $74.99
THE GREAT PENDRAGON CAMPAIGN PENDRAGON 1-58846-946-8 $49.99
CIRCLE OF THE CRONE VAMPIRE 1-58846-263-3 $31.99
WHITE WOLF GAME STUDIO

SEPTEMBER 2006
TITLE IMPRINT ISBN US PRICE
PROMETHEAN CHARACTER SHEET PROMETHEAN 1-58846-544-6 $9.99
PROMETHEAN ST SCREEN PROMETHEAN 1-58846-545-4 $14.99
V:TES 3RD EDITION STARTER DISPLAY VTES 1-58846-894-1 $79.92
V:TES 3RD EDITION BOOSTER DISPLAY VTES 1-58846-893-3 $107.64
V:TES 3RD EDITION BOOSTER (SINGLE) VTES 1-58846-892-5 $2.99
V:TES 3RD EDITION PLAYER’S KIT VTES 1-58846-899-2 $24.99
V:TES 3RD EDITION TZIMISCE STARTER DECK VTES 1-58846-895-X $9.99
V:TES 3RD EDITION BRUJAH ANTITRIBU STARTER DECK VTES 1-58846-898-4 $9.99
V:TES 3RD EDITION MALKAVIAN ANTITRIBU STARTER DECK VTES 1-58846-896-8 $9.99
V:TES 3RD EDITION TREMERE ANTITRIBU STARTER DECK VTES 1-58846-897-6 $9.99
PTOLUS: CITY BY THE SPIRE MALHAVOC 1-58846-789-9 $119.99
PTOLUS: NIGHT OF DISSOLUTION MALHAVOC 1-58846-939-5 $19.99
BOOK OF EROTIC FANTASY BOEF 1-58846-399-0 $34.99
LODGES: THE SPLINTERED WEREWOLF 1-58846-337-0 $26.99

OCTOBER 2006
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CELESTIAL DIRECTIONS: THE BLESSED ISLE EXALTED 1-58846-690-6 $24.99
SHADOWS OF MEXICO WOD 1-58846-264-1 $29.99
DARK INFLUENCES WOD 1-58846-891-7 $14.99

NOVEMBER 2006
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TOME OF THE MYSTERIES MAGE 1-58846-429-6 $29.99
PANDORA’S BOOK PROMETHEAN 1-58846-488-1 $26.99
SCROLL OF THE MONK EXALTED 1-58846-689-2 $24.99
LONG LIVE THE KING WW 1-58846-621-3

DECEMBER 2006
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THE PURE WEREWOLF 1-58846-336-2 $29.99
STRANGE ALCHEMIES PROMETHEAN 1-58846-607-8 $26.99
 TABLE OF CONTENTS White Wolf Publishing, Inc.
1554 Litton Drive
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT on Brom ............................................................................ 4
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE by Zack Walters .......................................................... 5
GIVE ME THAT OLD TIME RELIGION excerpts from Circle of the Crone ....................... 7 Owners: Stewart and Steve Wieck,
Mark Rein•Hagen
OPENING PANDORA’S BOOK by John Masterson, Associate Developer......................... 9 President: Mike Tinney

IT’S GOOD TO BE THE METHUSELAH by Robert Goudie and Danielle Newquist ........... 10 Creative Director: Rich Thomas
Vampire Developer: Will Hindmarch
NIGHT AND DAY by Zack Walters ..................................................................... 11 Werewolf Developer: Ethan Skemp
Mage Developer: Bill Bridges
PACK TACTICS by Kelley Barnes-Herrmann, Marketing Director ................................. 12 Promethean Developer: Matt McFarland
Exalted Developer: John Chambers
Sword and Sorcery Studios Managing Editor: Stewart Wieck
RAGE ACROSS THE WORLD excerpts from Lodges: the Splintered .............................. 13
Production Manager/MtA Art Director: matt milberger
BEHIND DARK INFLUENCES by Ken Cliffe, Board Game Developer............................. 15 VtR/WoD Art Director: Pauline Benney
WtF/WoD Art Director: Aileen E. Miles
LIVE ACTION ROLEPLAY IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS Exalted Art Director: Brian Glass
by Kelley Barnes-Herrmann, Marketing Director ......................................................16 VTES/WoW/PtC Art Director: Mike Chaney

IT’S TIME TO SAVE THE CITY, AGAIN by Danielle Newquist...................................18 Computer Projects Director: Chris McDonough
Computer Projects: Conrad Hubbard
FUN FOR YOU AND THE WHOLE PARTY! by Danielle Newquist ...............................19 Sara Luebke

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE ZEN Marketing/Fan Club Director : Kelley Barnes-Herrmann
Organized Play Coordinator: Oscar Garza
excerpts from Compass of Celestial Directions, Vol.1: The Blessed Isle ............................ 20
Controller: Benjamin T. Monk Jr.
A DREAM REALIZED by John Chambers, Exalted Developer .....................................22 Accounting: Brad Butkivich
Licensing: Aaron Voss
NATURE VS. NURTURE by Zack Walters .............................................................23
Quarterly Editor-in-Chief: Zack Walters
CONRAD’S CONJECTURES pontifications by Conrad Hubbard, Computer Projects ..........25 Quarterly Assistant Editor: Danielle Newquist
Quarterly Layout: John Goldsack
BEING A WHITE WOLF INTERN by Lydia!, White Wolf Freelancer ............................. 26

by brom
SUBMISSIONS
EDITOR’S FOREWARD ................................................................................. 29
THE SIGN by A. Quentin Murlin ........................................................................ 29

cover Art
EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE by Jim Fisher ..........................................................32

Shadows of Mexico
CENTIPEDE STYLE by Tom Iverson ..................................................................33
A TIME FOR TEA by Kevin S. Taylor .................................................................. 36
WEEP, SWEET ONE by Allison Lynch .................................................................38

Howlings
Welcome to the White Wolf E-Quarterly
Combining all the best elements of a product catalogue and a quarterly
special-interest magazine, this publication gives you everything you need
to know about what’s new and upcoming from White Wolf Publishing,
© 2006 White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without
the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. White Wolf,
Vampire, World of Darkness, Vampire the Eternal Struggle and Exalted are
registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Vam-
pire the Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, Mage the Awakening, Storyteller
System, Storytelling System, Mind’s Eye Theatre, Sword and Sorcery, the
Sword & Sorcery logo, are trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. Arthaus
is a trademark of Arthaus Publishing. All rights reserved.
Necromancer Games is a trademark of Necromancer Games, Inc. Malhavoc
Press is a trademark owned by Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.

including the most up-to-date release information on the books you’ve Blizzard Entertainment and Warcraft are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. in the US and/or other countries, used under
been waiting for. And best of all, it’s totally free! license.

The Quarterly may have moved into an electronic-only format, but this
august publication is still dedicated to bringing you samples of the finest
of game flavors. In the interest of pioneering new taste combinations,
we broke down the arbitrary barriers separating the White Wolf and D20
Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons® and D&D® are registered
trademarks of Wizards of the Coast. The D20 logo, the D&D logo, the Wizards
of the Coast logo, “D20 System,” are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast,
Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used with permission.
All other titles, characters, names, places, and text herein are copyrighted by
White Wolf Publishing, Inc.

material and swirled them together. We’re like the guy who made the first The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not
a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned.
chocolate/vanilla twist cone. Okay, maybe it’s more like chocolate and
orange sherbet, but it’s still delicious Check out White Wolf online at
http://www.white-wolf.com/
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT ON

BROM
Though White Wolf draws upon the talents
of an impressive number of artists, none
can be said to be as uniquely Gothic as
Brom. Though he was born in Albany,
Georgia, Brom spent his childhood on the
move, living in both Japan and Germany.
His physical momentum has slowed since
those days, but his creative drive seems
to have received all the excess energy,
and then some!
Brom has brought his brand of Gothic
Fetishism (a term coined by the artist
himself) to many companies within
the industry, including FASA, Wizards
of the Coast, and the venerable TSR.
His disturbing version of reality is not
reserved for the present, however, as
Brom seems perfectly willing to bestow
his dark blessing upon everything he
undertakes. The tortured (and torched!)
look of the best-selling Dark Sun
campaign setting owes its very existence
to his take on fantasy.
His work can be found not only in
Vampire: the Requiem, but also in his
newly released novel, Plucker. For more
of Brom’s art, visit his website at
www.bromart.com
 A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
The Blood-Stained Shadows of Mexico
by Zack Walters
There are five major features in the thematic landscape of Mexico in the World of Darkness:
ancient influence, superstition, bleakness, modern defiance and lawlessness. Each dovetails
with the next, forming a complete picture of the hidden battle that rages across the nation
each night.
It is with these words that Shadows of Mexico between the “Big Three” supernatural denizens of
introduces perspective Storytellers to its trove of the World of Darkness, with an emphasis on one in
secrets and hidden possibilities. A country gripped particular. It also presents a uniquely local take on
by unrest and secretly influenced by monsters from the supernatural landscape, deliberately defying
its bloody past, this is not the Mexico with which the conventions presented in the core books. Finally,
you may be familiar. It is the Mexico of the World Shadows of Mexico contains dozens of suggestions,
of Darkness. possibilities, and hints about strange and unique
Much like its predecessor, Shadows of the U.K., supernatural phenomena for Storytellers to expand
this book details the activities of and relationships upon and integrate into their chronicles.

5
Lifeblood of a Nation
The supernatural is much closer to mortal society
in Mexico than it is in many other places in the World
of Darkness. The brief, yet intense wars and brutal re-
ligions of the region created rivers of blood that were
believed to feed the divine machinery of the universe,
but they also sustained something much darker. Hid-
den in their secret chambers beneath the pyramids
and among the very priests that oversaw the sacrifices,
the vampires of Mexico have fatted themselves on the
blood of its people for thousands of years.
Vampires can crush stone with their bare hands,
they live forever, and are sustained by the very blood
the gods demand of their followers. Is it any wonder
they were seen as semi-divine by the few priests privy
to their secrets? The vampires of ancient Mexico were
far from the Damned things that haunted the nights
of Europe, removed as they were from the living world
that surrounded them; on the contrary, the Aztec and
Mayan vampires were believed to be a necessary part
of the world.
Though altered by the beliefs that were forced on
their people by the Columbian invasion, this notion of
vampires as semi-divine still remains in the modern
nights. No longer are the Kindred as intimately tied
to the priesthood, but they continue to observe many
of their ancient traditions, including the ceremonial
Flower Wars between Kindred and Uratha.
Flower Wars
The vampires of Mexico learned long ago that they
were no match for the werewolves in the wilds, but they
6
also saw that the lupines did not concern themselves
with the mortals and their cities to the same degree as
the Kindred. This understanding led to an uneasy yet
long-standing peace between the two groups. Aside
from the occassional flare of tempers (an inevitability
when considering both the vampires’ Beasts and were-
wolves’ Rage), the two groups maintained a grudging
respect for much of their long history.
Though the two groups mostly avoided one an-
other, they came together periodically to fight the
Flower Wars, ceremonial battles that determined who
was to be sacrificed to the gods. Great reputations and
honor were once accorded to both the winners and the
losers, but the practice has all but ceased now. Still,
there persist rumors of secret wars conducted in the
streets of Mexico City and of scores of children who
disappear without a trace every year.
More Things in Heaven and Earth
Shadows of Mexico is not just a playground for
vampires looking to play God and werewolves in search
of untouched wilderness, however. Mexico is full of
things, both very old and very recent, that defy easy
clasification. Cenotes dot the land like open sores, pits
leading down to unexplored, watery caverns. What
hidden treasures of Atlantis or long-buried horrors
await within, no one can be sure. UFOs appear in the
skies with increasing frequency, and cults have begun
to spring up around this strange phenomenon. These
groups would be easy to explain away as delusional,
if it were not for the Transformación, the strange em-
powering of the faithful.
And yes, even that damn goat sucker is included.
 Give Me That Old Time Religion
Excerpts from Circle of the Crone,
by David Chart, Ray Fawkes, Greg Stolze and Chuck Wendig
Try as the Lancea Sanctum may, they have not fully eradicated the pagan vampires. As
the Dance continues so does the Circle of the Crone, a vast coalition of vampires who hold to
the old ways and gods. They often view themselves as an extension of the natural chain of
predator and prey, they do not feel their existence is unnatural or a sin, and they feel that
they walk the path to divinity and power.
In this book you will find the secrets of the Aco- “Damned” – such a term implies judgment. To the
lytes, from their traditions and taboos to their art of contrary, the Kindred simply are. They exist, and
sorcery, Crúac. It also provides some new bloodlines that is proof enough that they belong to this world.
that some Acolytes may choose to attain.
Preaching to the Choir
Damnation Be Damned Adherents to a particular Circle are not full Acolytes
The existence of vampires may seem a contravention at the beginning. Instead, they form an outer circle
of the natural order. They are creatures caught in the of uneducated ranks known as the Chorus. In order
middle of a process: the progression of life to death. The to become a full Acolyte, an initiation ritual must be
sun burns them. They animate their cadaverous muscles performed. Only then can one be counted as a full
with blood stolen and consumed. Each is capable of fledged member of the Circle. Here is an example of
possessing magic both fey and brutal. It is therefore such an initiation rite:
easy to assume that vampires are unnatural. Those who At the ritual spot, the initiate is laid upon the ground.
know of the Kindred, including the Kindred themselves, She does not move as the Acolytes cute her clothes away,
tend to accept the vampires as an aberration. leaver her exposed to the elements of the open wilder-
Similar to cancer, they represent an abnormal ness. There, the Hierophant calls upon the wisdom and
growth that – in a healthy world – would not or could power of the Crone, asking that she allow her initiate
not exist. Their anomalous existence seemingly extends to emerge from the world of mortal desire and greed
to all spheres. Physically, vampires are biological oddi- into the unencumbered faith of a true worshipper.
ties. Socially, they cannot share space with the rest When his prayer is ended, the Acolytes of the Circle tear
of the living world and are hence kept to its shadowy themselves open with tooth and claw, spattering the
edges. Spiritually, the Sanctified suggest that vam- initiate with their Vitae. They kneel around her, touching
pires are the result of a curse levied against a Roman their foreheads to the ground and singing their praise
Centurion for a callous – and yes, aberrant – act. It of the Crone and the dedication of her good servants.
becomes easy to assume that vampires are creatures The initiate must not drink any of the Vitae that strikes
who were not meant to be. They will never belong to her, and must not move during the entire ritual. At the
the world, for they are ineluctably Damned. end of the presentation, as the crimson spots all over
her body slowly dry, the Hierophant tells the initiate
Acolytes of the Circle of the Crone do not share
she has failed to please the crone in her existence to
in that easy assumption. Quite the opposite, actu-
day. He explains that she is going to be left for the
ally. The Circle generally accepts that vampires
sun, and that her only choice is to accept her fate with
are natural and as much a part of the world as
the dignity that befits a true believer. Here the truly
trees, wolves and people. The Kindred are not
7
painful tribulation begins: no amount of protest or
pleading will affect the Hierophant in the least. His
only response will be to reiterate the initate’s sole op-
tion. Her Requiem is coming to an end.
If the initiate tries to flee, the Acolytes will let her
go. This Circle will never again accept her. Only if she
remains, willing herself to die the Final Death rather
than displease the goddess, will her fellow Acolytes
return to her. Moments before the rising of the sun,
they fling a thick, heavy cloak over her body and wrap
her in it, carrying her to safety. As she drifts into sleep,
they tell her that a new Requiem will begin now, as a
pure and true follower of the faith.

That Voodoo That You Do So Well

What is the fun of playing some good ol’ pagans
without some sorcery to go with it? So for those with
a mystical bent, here is a bit of information on the
Circle’s sorceries, the Crúac:
Crúac is not simply a matter of performing certain
actions, speaking certain words and sacrificing Vitae.
Blood magic is a matter of the state of the soul of
the vampire. Those Kindred who know a Crúac ritual
have had it branded into their being, and that brand
is expressed through the ritual.
The ritual itself is both essential and irrelevant. There
must be a ritual. It is not possible to invoke Crúac with a
simple effort of will and invisible expenditure of Vitae. The
ritual may be very brief, particularly if a skilled ritualist
performs an easy ritual, but it is always present.
On the other hand, the details of the ritual seem
to be largely irrelevant. Different traditions within
the covenant perform the rituals in different ways,
and they all work. What is more, if a Kindred knows
a Crúac ritual’s power, she can learn other practices
to enact it simply by learning new words or dances.
Ritual forms learned in this way work just as well as
the one she learned initially.
That is not to say that any old ritual works. There
are some that do, and some that do not. No one among
the Acolytes truly understands what makes the dif-
ference, although many seek answers – and many
claim to have them.
So let out your inner heathen. Wander the wild
places and chant the old praises and prayers. If it all
means being the powerful being you are, then by all
means, have fun with that old time religion.

8
 OPENING PANDORA’S BOOK
by John Masterson,Associate Developer
Due to come screaming down the pipeline in November like a Frankenstein in the throes of Tor-
ment, Pandora’s Book is stuffed to the gills with information. More than just a handy field guide
to antagonists, it delves into the mysteries of Pyros and Flux and reveals the effects these divine
forces have upon the World of Darkness as a whole. But that’s not to say it skimps on the bad-
dies. Oh no! No discussion of Flux would be complete without an in-depth look at those monsters
spawned by the entropic aspect of the Divine Fire: Pandorans.

All the Dark Things
of the World
While the Promethean core book gave readers a
brief glimpse of the horrors in Pandora’s Box, this
book blows the lid wide open, letting the dark side
of the Divine Fire out to play. Pandora’s Book has a
lot to say about both Pandorans and the Centimani,
from new rules and Transmutations to in-character
discussions about their place in the Saturnine Night,
as well as Flux, the destructive part of the Divine Fire.
Flux remains as enigmatic to Prometheans as any
other aspect of the Divine Fire, and the book reflects
this by providing various theories and suggestions
about the origin and nature of Pandorans and the
energy that fuels them.
But a candy bar can’t be made of just delicious nou-
gat, so Pandora’s Book also provides crunchy candy
bits in the form of full-stated beasties. Monstrous
Pandorans and scheming Centimani alike lurk in the
shadows, ready and waiting to be unleashed upon
unsuspecting characters.
Rain of Fire
Included in the book are expanded rules for Fire-
storms, the maelstroms of Flux and Pyros that erupt
from the Created. This quote, from Promethean devel-
oper Matthew McFarland, sums up this section better
than I ever could:
The chapter on Pyros and Firestorms is short, but I
love it. I loved the concept of the Firestorm—an explo-
sion of Pyros so intense that it warps the world—and
this chapter not only contains discussions about what
Pyros is and why it behaves the way it does, but it has
new (and optional, don’t worry) rules for customizing
Firestorms. The Firestorms in the core book just inflict
damage, and that’s fine, but the Firestorms here can
cause rains of frogs, shower down bolts of corruptive
lightning, or animate the bodies of the dead!
A Flutter of Hope
Just like the contents of Pandora’s Box, not everything
in this book is bad news for Prometheans. There is always
Hope, and it presents itself to the Created in the form of
the mysterious qashmallim. These angelic servants of
the Divine Fire are not always forthcoming with their in-
tentions, but none can deny they are the Hope of a new
world— whether it’s desirable or not.
As with the Pandorans, in-character speculation
about the true nature of the qashmallim presents
intriguing possibilities, not only for Prometheans,
but for other supernaturals as well. After all, those
out to change the world can’t do so by dealing with
Prometheans alone. The chapter on the qashmallim
also provides all new Numina, specifically designed
for servants of the enigmatic Principle.
City on the Hill
The final chapter of Pandora’s Book contains the
continuation of the chronicle begun by “The Water of
Life,” in the core book. Entitled “A Sheltering Storm,”
it tells the tale of perhaps the most frightening thing
Promethean characters can encounter: another of
their kind. This second installment of the story that
winds through the entire game line answers the ques-
tion, “What happens when the Created attempt to
form a society?” Whether they ask this question out
of a desperate hope or a misguided attempt to escape
the Disquiet, characters may not uncover the answer
they sought.

9
 IT’S GOOD TO BE THE METHUSELAH
What’s Up and Coming for V:TES
Now is a pretty good time to be a V:TES player. Third Edition is upon us, filled with delectable
Sabbat members, whose absence has been felt for so very long. The new edition also promises
vast arrays of reprinted staple cards, and all-new cards that will certainly become mainstays
in decks to come. If you aren’t already a seasoned Methuselah, don’t worry, because this is
also the set for you. Cards you had search for on eBay are about to return, and with the new
Player’s Kits, it has never been easier to convert your friends. New players certainly benefit
from the release of a new edition since it allows them to fill their decks with the basics, from
Freak Drive to Immortal Grapple. This set is big kits have been boxed, spoken for and sold.
Though there is no official pre-release and in more ways than the sheer amount of cards, since
over four hundred pre-release event at this year’s DragonCon, there is certainly the chance of
some demos of the new set, as well as a host of other tournaments and V:TES events to whet
your appetite and get you ready for the South East Qualifier. The Create-a-Clan kicks off the
events on Friday, followed by the sanctioned Dragon’s Breath tournament on Saturday, as
well as a small tournament using the Undue Influence variant rules.
Whether you are old or new, you’d best start honing a single clan of vampires. Results from events around
your skills, because the North American Championship is the world are then tallied and the clan that wins the
on the horizon and in White Wolf’s hometown of Atlanta, most events is typically rewarded with a card in a fu-
Georgia. If winning wasn’t in the stars for you folks at ture V:TES expansion.
previous qualifiers, fear not, for there is a last chance Compared to previous storyline events, the Millen-
qualifier to be had at the NAC. There is no better time nium Cultist events will allow greater participation for
to get warmed up for the NAC than the Week of Night- each of the tournament’s players. In the past, much
mares. For a full week before the last chance qualifier of the fun of storyline events was experienced only by
and the Championship itself, much practice and fun can the finalists. This time we wanted to extend the experi-
be had for all comers. For more information on the NAC ence to all players.”
check out the Lasombra’s most helpful website, www.
As with last year’s successful Infernal Plague story-
thelasombra.com/NAC2006/, and see what Atlanta and
line event, a custom deck, legal only for this storyline
the Week of Nightmares has to offer.
tournament, will be provided to players; however, this
There is also a new Storyline Tournament coming time a special deck will be used at each table through-
up in November. Dubbed the “Millennium Cultist” Sto- out the event.
ryline, this event promises to be as fun and interesting
The story revolves around the unauthorized Em-
as the previous Return of Nergal Storyline. For those
brace of a small-town Kentucky pastor, Reverend Daniel
who want to know more, here is an explanation of the
Adams. After his rebirth as a vampire, Reverend Adams
event, straight from the mouth of Robert Goudie, the
tries to reconcile his religious beliefs and the hideous
Storyline Director:
acts he performs under the control of the Beast. His
Beginning this November, Vampire: The Eternal professional life also takes a turn. The further Reverend
Struggle (V:TES) players around the globe will partici- Adams’ sanity slips, the more popular he becomes. His
pate in the latest V:TES storyline event. V:TES storyline charismatic sermons and doomsday prophecies result
tournaments are player favorites, and attract veter- in a compound full of followers, and a growing armed
ans and new players alike. Players are required to militia—none of which escapes the notice of either the
build and play decks with crypts composed mainly of Camarilla or the Sabbat.
10
 The special storyline format will revolve around a
Daniel Adams, Millennium Cultist crypt card that will
begin play in the center of the table. Players will take
actions to take control of Reverend Adams. While con-
trolling Reverend Adams, players may use cards from
the special Millennium Cultist deck. The deck contains
cards that represent the strength of the cult’s financial
resources and the militia’s growing weapons cache.
In addition to the custom storyline legal deck, each
5-player support kit also contains 5 copies of a legal
for play version of Reverend Adams.

NIGHT AND DAY

by Zack Walters

This October, from the 26-29, the officially-sanctioned horde of White Wolf LARPers will creep
into Milwaukee. Under cover of darkness, the shadowy host will assemble at key positions,
and steeling themselves for the chaos to come…raise money for charity?! Whether you find the
juxtaposition of people who pretend to be monsters raising money for charities amusing (and I
have to admit, I do), the Camarilla’s results are nothing to snicker at. At the last International
Camarilla Conclave (ICC), the group raised over $18,000 for various charities, and eventually
had to be turned away by the exhausted nurses of the Red Cross when they exceeded the ca-
pacity of the on-site personnel.
As wonderful as the group’s charitable work is, however, it is not the main focus of the Con-
clave. In addition to VTES, epic LARP sessions will be held the entire weekend, for all established
World of Darkness game lines. But as the relatively young characters in the new World of Dark-
ness struggle to make a place for themselves in the world, the final holdout of the old World of
Darkness reaches its finale. Changeling: the Dreaming draws to a bittersweet close, but hope
yet remains, as the newly-announced Changeling game looms just over the horizon.
Not to be pigeonholed as a purely nocturnal game studio, White Wolf has also set its sights
upon Gen Con So Cal. Held in Anaheim from November 16-19, this convention plays host to a
96-hour bacchanal of all things gaming, anime and comics. White Wolf will be there in force,
hosting LARPs, VTES and tabletop tournaments. Attendees of the tabletop games are in for an
excellent and immersive experience at the hands of Dave Martin and his Wrecking Crew, White
Wolf’s premiere demo group. These are not events to miss!
In addition to the tournaments and LARP sessions, White Wolf will also be hosting a num-
ber of seminars, including “How to Write for White Wolf,” conducted by Vampire: the Requiem
developer, Will Hindmarch. He will be offering advice for aspiring freelancers, including tips
about what each game’s developer looks for in a submission.
Though the summer con season is long over before either of these events, they nonetheless
promise to be amazing weekends full of charity, seminars and most importantly, gaming.

11
 PACK TACTICS
GUIDELINES FROM WHITE WOLF’S DEMO TEAM HANDBOOK AND STORE FINDER INFORMATION
WOLF PACKS
The Wolf Packs are volunteers who actively edu-
cate people about White Wolf products. Membership in
the Demo Teams is by application, so we can insure a
high standard of performance. If you are interested in
joining this elite squad, please visit www.white-wolf.
com/DemoTeams for more details.
White Wolf provides the Wolf Packs with online re-
sources and references to help them deliver a polished
game. Here are the guidelines taken from the current
Wolf Pack Handbook:
1. Be friendly and outgoing. You want people to
feel comfortable signing up for the event and taking
part. Take a proactive approach to try to make people
at ease. Remember, during the course of the event, if
someone looks confused, ask if there are any questions,
or make sure to explain the steps in detail.
2. Please keep personal feelings of other compa-
nies to yourself. Bad-mouthing other companies or
products will only backfire. Understand that the role
of a professional teacher should be one devoid of bi-
ased rhetoric, unless it is centered around praise for
the game you are demonstrating.
3. Understand the game you are playing to the best
of your ability. If you have to continually look up rules,
use them incorrectly, or contradict yourself, participants
will lose confidence in you. Wolf Pack members need to
be well versed in the games they are demonstrating.
4. Be prepared before you get there. Read through
the demo materials to make everything is included, and
make sure you have a good understanding of them.
Also, make sure you have all the proper materials in-
cluding: the demo materials, supplementary stuff (like
office supplies), and any official store or convention
information (directions, badges, etc).
5. Remain in control of your temper. While it won’t
occur often, you might run into an antagonistic gamer
who deliberately tries to disrupt the demonstration
with a bad attitude or confrontational gameplay. Your
reaction to such a person can leave a lasting impres-
sion. Under no circumstances should violence be the
solution to such a problem.
6. Be patient. Encountering a new game or even sce-
nario for the first time can be a daunting task, with many
12
new rules and facts to remember and implement. Remem-
ber that the participants may not have any experience at
all. Keep in mind that you should probably throw a break
or two in the middle of your demo if it is multi-hour.
7. Dress well and keep clean. A messy appearance
can leave a lasting impression, and lead to the loss of
perceived authority and professionalism. Please re-
member to practice good hygiene before the event.
8. Get plenty of sleep the night before. Playing any
game successfully requires a clear mind and plenty of
energy. Adding onto that the responsibility of teaching
it to others requires a good night’s sleep.
9. Alcohol, tobacco, and other inappropriate things
should be kept away from the gaming table. While not
all White Wolf products are rated “G,” these things only
distract from the demonstration. Young gamers should
not be exposed to them at an official demonstration
for obvious reasons, and mature gamers should be
able to enjoy the experience without them.
10. Enjoy yourself. There’s no better teacher than
someone who loves what they do. You signed up for
the Wolf Pack because you love White Wolf products,
and we can’t blame you. We are counting on you to
infect others with your passion for our games.
HUNTING GROUNDS
Event Calendar: Hosting a demo game? Having an
in-store promotional event? Have a regular Vampire:
The Requiem game at your store? Let the fans know!
Just go to our website and list your happenings in
our event calendar. Enter your type of event and all
the specifics and hit “Submit.” We’ll review the event
and approve it and have it up on our website right
quick. The Event Calendar’s address is www.white-
wolf.com/events
Store Finder: The White Wolf website gets tens of
thousands of visitors a week, many of them looking for
a local store where they can buy their favorite games.
If your address or phone number is outdated, they’ll
never be able to find you! To check your listing, just
go to our Retail Store Finder and enter your city in the
search field. If your store info isn’t correct, you can
reenter it. Simply put “update” in the comments field
and we’ll replace the old record. The Store Finder’s ad-
dress is www.white-wolf.com/retail/storefinder.php
 Rage Across the World
Excerpts from Lodges: the Splintered
by James Comer, Aaron Dembski-Bowden,
Steven Marsh and Chuck Wendig
While the previous Lodges book focused on groups brought together by mutual faith,
Splintered turns the spotlight on another important aspect of werewolf life: territory. The two
new Lodges revealed here may operate through different channels and face different foes,
but ultimately they have the same goal: to protect their chosen territories.
Lodge of 66
Once upon a time, Route 66 was the American high-
way, a 2,448-mile stretch of asphalt connecting Chicago
to Los Angeles. Called the “Mother Road,” Route 66 was
a pathway representing prosperity as impoverished
Midwesterners could travel its length, seeking fortune
elsewhere. Commissioned in 1926, the winding hairpin
highway was one of the country’s major transporta-
tion arteries until the roadway’s decline and eventual
decommission brought on by the bigger and faster
super-highways that would eventually run the length
of the country. Officially shut down in 1985, Route 66
still exists as a broken patchwork of crumbling high-
ways and destitute back roads (all connected by bits
of still-traveled links of actual highway).
For some Forsaken, Route 66 represents more than
just an old, unused highway. The Shadow of Route 66
was once a strong and vibrant place, connected to a
powerful spirit ecology. The Shadow’s health along
this region was mirrored by the prosperity of the road.
Spirits did as spirits do, eating one another and play-
ing their strange games, but it was in relative balance,
presided over not only by the Forsaken packs and
gangs, but also by the highway’s own totem spirit,
the titular Mother Road. Mother Road was a distant
being, a spirit that spoke through orchestrated events
and weird highway envoys (crows, lizards, the scent of
scalded rubber, puddles of oil with faces reflected in
the rainbow surface). But she was healthy, and so were
the spirits over which she lorded. All was well.
The decommission and inevitable disuse of the
highway, however, set the Shadow’s tenuous balance
on a path to decay. The road’s prosperity was falling
away piece by piece, and with it came the madness
13
of spirits. The breaking of the highway lead to the
breaking of Mother Road — her spirit split into many
personalities, some lazy and fickle, others wild with
wrath. The Forsaken found their job a thousand times
harder than it had been when the road was healthy,
but their pride stopped them from banding together
and mending what was broken. Instead of stopping
the decline of the highway and attempting to foster
growth within the Shadow, the gangs pointed fingers
at one another, looking for blame. Territoriality mired
the packs in violent in-fighting. The Pure wolves knew
this. They watched and waited. And, in the 1990s, they
attacked.
As part of the concerted efforts all across North
America, the Pure struck Route 66 like lightning. Over
the course of a few short weeks, the Forsaken of the
Mother Road found that they had been wasting all
their efforts on one another, and their enemies had
easily exploited that weakness. Most Forsaken died.
A few went over to the other side, converted by hon-
eyed-tongues and terrible tortures. The Mother Road
herself cried out. Legends today say that all up and
down the length of that already broken road, the
blacktop split and roiled, as if shaken by a deep and
troubling quake.
But it isn’t over. A coalition of Iron Masters has
decided to take its territory back. They ride their mo-
torcycle mounts and truck convoys down the hidden
roads of the American West, striking small packs of
Pure much as they themselves were hit a decade ago.
This lodge isn’t big enough to hit the major players,
yet, but it strives to gain ragtag members up and
down the length of the old road. With packs like the Fat
Truckers’ Association and the Stormriders, the lodge
is gaining momentum. The lodge members must be
wary, though — for every handful of Pure killed, it
seems that one of their own perishes, as well. It is not
a loss they can afford.
Patron Tribe: Iron Masters
Patron Spirit: Rumble of Coming Thunder
The Arm e Sauvage
The Savage Army is French in origin, and it is in
France that most wolves of the lodge live today. Born
from the Nazi occupation of France after that country’s
conditional surrender in 1940, the packs of the Armée
Sauvage saw the Germans as crass and clumsy invad-
ers, raping territory left and right. These Forsaken
had little interest in national pride, and cared little
for the ideologies that fueled the war: they simply
wanted safety and sanctuary for themselves, their
kin and their territories. At first, the packs hesitated
getting at all involved in this mortal skirmish. Wars
were terrible, but history made clear that wars passed.
But the spiritual landscape still held the suppurating
scars of the First World War, and this new war ripped
those old wounds open anew. It was made worse that
the German occupation was granting advantage to
all the Forsaken enemies. The Rat Hosts thrived in the
ruined villages. Mad spirits found countless vessels and
mounts to Claim as their own. Some of the monsters
even marched alongside the Nazi interlopers.
The packs of the various French villages had two
choices: flee to safer regions (abandoning territory, kin
and loci) or stay and fight. Some packs, like wolves mov-
ing with a food supply, chose to leave. Those that stayed
decided to band together and help oust the interdic-
tors. And so the packs that remained formed the Armée
Sauvage, a lodge devoted to territory above all.
The fights were bloody and brutal. Unable to take
on entire battalions of German soldiers, the Forsaken
instead picked off those who strayed from the larger
herd. The wolves were resilient, but many perished.
Many of their human loved ones died in the fighting,
and even those uninvolved in the Resistance were some-
times made casualties. The Nazis often made vicious
examples of those villages they felt were harboring
14
members of the Resistance — whole towns such as
Oradour-sur-Glane perished as unwilling illustrations
of German wrath. Hundreds of people — a handful of
them blood or allies of the Forsaken — were shot, hung
or caught in mortar and Panzerschreck explosions.
At that time, the lodge did not attempt to fix the
wreckage of the Shadow. Doing so was comparable to
pausing in the middle of a bare-knuckle brawl to ban-
dage one’s fists — it was a futile effort, frustrating as a
pack’s labors would be undone almost immediately.
After the war, however, the lodge remained as a
coalition of packs. Except now, with the majority of
the Nazi oppression ousted, the Forsaken could con-
centrate on repairing the ruins in both the physical
and spiritual realms.
The ravages of both world wars still affect the area
today, much as it does wherever the horrors touched.
The lodge must continue to hunt down ghosts from all
sides of the conflict, still lingering in Twilight, driven
murderous from the waves of death sweeping across
the land. The Shadow, too, has barely concealed its
injuries, and from time to time a Wound opens and
regurgitates spirits: Gestapo with gas masks made of
skin, ragged French peasants in search of their missing
children (or missing limbs), magath that look like tanks
comprising thick steel and corded tendon. The group’s
work is hardly done, and in fact the Army drives itself
to near-exhaustion at times trying to put down these
flare-ups of history.
Some members have moved away from the coun-
try and region. Some packs dwell in the hot zones of
the world, quashing oppression wherever it plants it
seeds. Others go among the Forsaken and attempt to
teach them the lessons that history has taught. Most
members, however, remain there in France. They still
care little for the ways of humans (and their bitter
politics), aiming still to uphold the purity and safety
of their territories.
Patron Tribe: Ghost Wolves
Patron Spirit: Blood-Red Blackbird (Rouge Sang
Oiseau)
 Behind the Scenes of Dark Influences
By Ken Cliffe, Board Game Developer
<Okay, make a strategy game based on Vampire that isn’t a card game like The Eter-
nal Struggle, and that isn’t a board game like Prince of the City.”
That was the mandate I was given when assigned
the job of creating what would become Vampire: Dark
Influences. Or at least, that was the implicit mandate,
because no one ever got around to actually saying
those words. They lurked behind the scenes of the more
practical, “We have this proposal for a game based on
Vampire, and we think it’s pretty cool. Go develop it.”
Two fellas named Michael Miller and David Raabe
had submitted a pretty neat idea for a card/strategy/
board game, and from that I was charged to evolve it
into a finished release. It wasn’t easy, because here
was Vampire loaded with atmosphere, horror, charac-
ter and identity, all of which needed to be captured in
the style and mechanics of a new game. Yet, VTES and
its feuding between Kindred was already out there.
And so was PotC, with its undead plotting to lay claim
to various districts of a city. So, where in there did a
new game fit?
The answer lay in keeping true to the prevailing
tenets of Vampire itself, and trying to present them
with some new twists in game play. The nightly po-
litical struggle is one of the foundations of the game,
and when is the Danse Macabre most dangerous than
when there’s a power vacuum at the top of the social
order? The stepping down of the current Prince seemed
ideal inspiration for the desperate bid for power that
each player makes.
That struggle to get to the top could have been
portrayed strictly in terms of violence and Discipline
use, but that kind of battle would not have reflected the
true nature the Storytelling game. Rather, competition
for leadership needed to be political, so the acquisition,
placating and cajoling of allies became the focus of the
game. Yes, you can physically attack other vampires
in Dark Influences, but it doesn’t get you any closer to
15
the top of the food chain. All it does is interfere with
an opponent’s climb. Indeed, we downplayed use of
powers to encourage political and social manipula-
tion. Rather than have access to three Disciplines per
clan, players have the one unique power that each
clan bears, such as the Gangrel’s Protean.
There are also more ways than one to get to the top
of a political heap. The problem with any game that
involves players assuming increasingly rare positions
as they advance is that the game becomes about the
rising players alone. Everyone else who’s been less
successful is left killing time. Rising to power isn’t just
about stepping on heads on the way up. So, we built
different means of winning the game into the rules. You
can climb the ever-winnowing social ladder toward the
throne, or you can mingle with the vampiric “masses”
at the bottom of the power pyramid, whose voices hold
a lot of clout when spoken in unison.
Finally, we wanted players to feel like they existed
as vampires in a real city. The power struggle at the
heart of the game needed to be only one of the phe-
nomena at work. A city never sleeps, with Kindred and
kine both at work to cause trouble and do harm. Event
cards were therefore added to the game to create a
tapestry of events going on behind the scenes, some of
which bore directly on the struggle to become Prince,
and others that had no connection to it at all, beyond
propelling contenders toward or dragging contenders
down from their goal.
The result of all these efforts is a fast-play strategy
game of undead politics, where alliances, backstab-
bing, assault and self-preservation all play a part in
nocturnal survival. If that sounds like a typical night
in Kindred existence, then we may have struck just the
right balance in creating Vampire: Dark Influences.
 LIVE ACTION ROLE PLAY
IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
by Kelley Barnes-Herrmann, Marketing Director, Club Director

Over thirteen years ago, White Wolf’s Camarilla Fan Club held their first official game at
Vikingcon in Bellingham, Washington. Since then, it has grown to encompass members liv-
ing in nations as far away as Indonesia. It is the home of an exclusive, world-spanning story
where the actions of a single player character in Toronto can have repercussions in Tokyo,
London, New York and beyond.
What makes the Camarilla unique in the gaming
industry? The more than 6,000 members worldwide
are all participating in Live Action Role Play, and the
game goes on 24/7. The Camarilla provides consistent
gaming not only in Vampire: the Requiem, but also
for Mage: The Awakening, Werewolf: The Forsaken and
mortals in the World of Darkness.
Live Action Role Play
Imagine when you were a kid at playing dress up and
let’s pretend. How about when you took drama class in
high school? Or did you sit around the gaming table, visu-
alizing exactly what your character looked like after that
long night’s ride across the mountains? Could you picture,
in vivid detail, the ballroom of the castle where you had
arrived just in time to foil the murder of the king?
LARP is a way to turn that imagination into real-
ity. Yes, you still have a character sheet and stats, but
instead of convincing the NPC Captain of the Guard that
the king is in danger, you are interacting with another Many of these special scenarios are offered at
player who has his own goals – one-on-one interac- conventions where the Camarilla is present during
tion, in real time without having to wait impatiently the course of a year. The fan club in the United States
for the GM to get back to you. holds four regional events annually in addition to the
International Camarilla Conference (ICC), which will be
A Global Chronicle in Milwaukee this year, in late October. Imagine being
By joining the Camarilla, you can see your char- one of 700+ LARPers, all in one place for four days and
acter’s actions ripple out to affect the world. Become three nights of game!
the Prince of your city and suddenly you get email
from players wanting your permission to come visit, or Why LARP?
warnings from other leaders about dangerous fugitives What do players enjoy the most about live action,
who are headed in your direction. Perhaps you become relative to tabletop? I asked a group of ‘Cammies’
the infamous outlaw yourself, trying to survive in a that question while chatting with them on IRC. Many
world of predators. Any number of storyteller-created said they just liked making friends with other outgoing
plots will affect your character, from local infighting gamers, ones who liked the same games they did. One
to global political machinations. person told me that the fabulous costuming hooked

16
them on LARP the first time, but it was the chance to
participate in improvisational theatre that made them
keep playing afterwards.
Intriguingly, one of the major attractions of LARP
is the shift in the focus of the game. When you are
sitting at a table with a small group of other players,
the Storyteller creates the world and often portrays
all the adversaries or antagonists to the group. For
LARP, the stories can develop into player versus player
actions, sometimes pitting group A against group B.
When this happens, the Storyteller’s job becomes one
of setting the stage and mediation, letting the stories
be half-written by the players themselves.
Getting Started
If you are interested in learning more about the
Camarilla, you should visit: http://camarilla.white-
wolf.com. This site will give you information on future
events, contact names and emails for officers near
you, and access to the White Wolf Camarilla forum
as well. If there is not a chapter near you, the Cama-
17
rilla already has that covered, with an Internet-only
chapter for US residents and an online community for
international members whose home country does not
have an official presence.
Membership in the Camarilla is $20.00 USD annu-
ally. Anyone who has not been a member since January
1, 2002 can join the club for free with a 6-month trial
membership.
White Wolf’s Mind’s Eye Theatre Books have been
written specifically for LARP usage, and are available
for purchase from your local gaming store or online
at the company website.
Want to run a game yourself? More storytellers are
always welcome as are the Coordinator volunteers who
help find game sites and plan social events like group
movie nights, or adopt-a-highway clean up trips. There
are numerous benefits to being involved in addition to
the best global LARP game currently available.
This article was first printed in its original form in
Game’s Quarterly Magazine #8.
 The Night of Dissolution
It’s Time to Save the City, Again.
by Danielle Newquist
Following the threads of a hidden conspiracy in this adventure, the PCs find themselves up
against insane cultists, wild chaos magic, and horrors from the primordial days of the world.
The quest culminates in their attempt to stave off the Night of Dissolution: a dark time long
foretold when the slumbering Galchutt will awaken in their hidden lairs deep below the city
and bring catastrophe and woe to the world.
This adventure, by Monte Cook, is for 4th level ad- of the same venom that created them. They can use
venturers, and will take them though an intricate maze weapons and are proficient in all simple and martial
of locales and schemes in order to stop this foretold types. However, they rarely wield them, as their masters
night of ruin and sorrow. This new adventure picks generally consider them unworthy of weapons.
up where Chapter 33: Adventures in the Ptolus book So tread carefully as you attempt to uncover the
leaves off. It has everything from vicious cultists to layers of mystery and deceit that surround your journey
barbarian invasions. The varied adventures contained to stop the rise of something truly terrible in Ptolus.
within this near 100-page module will bring your PC’s
up to around level 9. Instant Ptolus Gratification
Complete with maps, monster statistics, fine illus- The need for fresh information, sneak peeks, en-
trations, and relevant page references to main Ptolus hancements, extras, answers to questions, and other
book, this adventure had everything you need to give people to speak to is not new in the gamer community.
your players a good adventure. For most of the module Nor is the need to have these things all Right Now. Well,
an almost ever-present sidebar provides you with handy fear not, for Ptolus.com has what you may need for
tips, details of various encounters, and pertinent refer- your next game in the City by the Spire, or what you
ences to the Ptolus texts, making it valuable to the DM need to know if you want to purchase it in the first
who likes easy to find reminders of certain encounters. place.
Even if your party isn’t the type to indiscriminately You can see updates on production, art galleries,
save the world, this module can come in handy. There setting information, downloads, links to other key web-
is still much to explore and find regardless of you or sites, and even campaign journals from Monte Cook’s
your party’s motivations. Will you solve the riddle of own Ptolus game. The Web Extras section has trailers,
the Pythoness House? Will you survive the encounter artist interviews, character spotlights, contests, and
with the Surgeon in the Shadows? Can you survive the much more. And for those of you looking to perhaps
intrigue that is present in every shadowed corner of Pto- complete a collection of all things connected to Ptolus,
lus? Can you stop the immanent barbarian attack? there is a section of the website devoted to tie-ins that
This module also introduces a new monster: the could help players and Dungeon Masters alike.
venom-shaped thrall. This creature is a maligned The website also offers an option for purchasing
creation of some of the cults within the city. Without Ptolus online, for those of you who may not want to
giving away too much of its origins, here is an excerpt break their back carrying this near-700 page monstros-
to tickle your curiosity: ity of a campaign setting home! Don’t forget to take a
Venom-shaped thralls battle fiercely and with aban- look at Monte Cook’s Journal, which contains his blog,
don. They fight to the death, using teeth and claws in as well as his design diary for those of you who want to
their new chitin covered forms. Their bite carries a dose crawl into the skull of this infamous game designer.

18
 RAPPAN ATHUK RELOADED
FUN FOR YOU AND THE WHOLE PARTY!
by Danielle Newquist
Well, whatever is left of your party, that is. For you fans of the original Rappan
Athuk, you won’t be disappointed with this revision of a deadly favorite. Not only has
it been updated to 3.5 Edition rules, but it includes new levels in which to get your-
self killed (repeatedly), as well as a detailed look at the wilderness surrounding Rappan
Athuk and what you can expect to find, fight, and kill there. Statistics and tactics for
existing monsters and NPCs have also been streamlined and mended for easier use.
Some of you may have never experienced the joys of the original Rappan Athuk, and are cutting
your teeth on this revised version. You won’t be sorry. You’ll hone your wits and adventuring
skills in this epic dungeon, all while making a name for yourself and your party by eradicating
the evil that lies within. Death lies around every corner and the canny player may even see her
character make it a good way through the dungeon. If you aren’t a veteran of dungeon crawls
when you start this Granddaddy of All Dungeons, you certainly will be when you’re through.
Take care in preparing to delve its depths and listen chances of survival are slim. Amidst the twisting passages
well to the advice of those who have gone before you, lie all manner of gruesome fates and glittering hoards,
but beware the rumors that old men tell in taverns, but the most valuable treasure you can hope to keep
young adventurer, for some are mere flights of fancy hold of is your life. If you enjoy your characters living
and fear. Is it true that Orcus himself laid a curse on a life of excitement and abject fear, this is the dungeon
the dungeon, making all who enter turn to evil and for you. If you’re a DM who delights in putting to rest a
never return to the light? What of the cannibal illu- party (or five), this is the dungeon for you. Bring your
sionist who makes his home in the upper levels? Shall luckiest dice, your finest character (and your finest spare
you become his dinner? Are the tentacled, fishlike crea- characters), and your instincts and you may win through,
tures, skilled in mental domination, the true rulers of despite the colossal odds against you. But before you
Rappan Athuk? Is there truly a wondrous mushroom gallivant off, let me give you a friendly tip, which will
that can bring youth to the person who consumes it? almost certainly increase your odds of survival tenfold:
Whether the tales are true or not, one thing is certain: your Don’t go down the well.

19
 THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE ZEN
EXCERPTS FROM COMPASS OF CELESTIAL DIRECTIONS, VOL.1: THE BLESSED ISLE
BY CARL BOWEN, JOSEPH CARRIKER, JESS HARTLEY AND JOHN SNEAD

First, it was the home of the Gods, who served the Primordials. Second, it was the home of the
Exalted, who served the newly elevated Gods. Now, the Blessed Isle is home to the Scarlet Empire,
the Dragon-Blooded Realm, once again wrested from the hands of its previous masters, the So-
lars. The Realm represents different things to different groups. It represents peace and stability
from the monsters and madness found on the edges of Creation, and petty political maneuver-
ings in the struggle to reclaim a fallen Empire. It stands as the last bastion of learning, where
the ruinous effects of the current Age have not completely triumphed, but it is also the home of
the brutal Wyld Hunt, which rides forth to snuff out the light of the returned Chosen of the Sun.
<i>Whatever your position, however, it is hard to define the Realm as any one thing, so here
you have a quick look at the Realm: the Good, the Bad, and the Zen.

THE GOOD: bodies composed of one of the five elements. These

The Scarlet Empress and the Imperial Manse
Records do not describe what happened inside
the Imperial Manse that day, but the young captain
was the only one who returned from the desperate
mission inside the Palace of the Anathema. Only the
Empress and a few of her closest advisors know that
two of her four companions were slaughtered by the
lethally intricate defenses surrounding the engines
of destruction. The third shed his heart’s blood upon
a stone slab so that his sacrifice might awaken and
feed the powerful and hungry spirits who tended the
venerable defenses. And the last was given, willingly,
as a gift by the captain to the guardian of the site,
her soul torn screaming from her broken body as a
token of the survivor’s deadly earnest. Everyone who
ventured into the Palace of the Anathema had been
ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the
land when they entered the citadel. Only the future
Empress was left with the terrible burden of survival.
The results of the heroic sacrifices were immediate and
obvious. In less than an hour, vast beams of crackling
Essence struck out from the Imperial Manse and the
score of war manses that were scattered across the
Blessed Isle. These beams instantly evaporated the
front ranks of the Fair Folk armies. Simultaneously, a
host of giant warriors, some as many as a dozen yards
tall, rode and flew out of the Imperial Manse. Inhu-
man and terrible to look upon, most had unnatural
deadly beings attacked the survivors and drove them
back out into the Wyld. These huge warriors faded
only once the Fair Folk reached the Bordermarches of
the Wyld.
This vast display of power saved both the Blessed
Isle and those portions of Creation that had not yet
been fully subsumed by the Wyld. Because the Scarlet
Empress lacked both the knowledge and finesse of the
Solar Exalted for whom these defenses had been built,
however, earthquakes rocked the Blessed Isle. After the
attacking armies of the Fair Folk had been destroyed
and the few survivors had fled to the Middlemarches,
both Vanchow and the northern portion of aban-
doned Meru lay in ruins. The devastation was far less
throughout most of the Blessed Isle, but no portion of
it remained untouched.
Libraries on the Blessed Isle
The vast Imperial Library, located in the Imperial
City, contains at least one copy of every work written
since the Contagion. In addition, it contains several
hundred works written during the Shogunate, as well
as a few dozen books and other more exotic recordings
dating from the First Age. (The latter works include ev-
erything from lurid First Age novels to scholarly works
on complex Essence-powered devices that have not
existed since the Great Uprising.)
While most inhabitants of the Blessed Isle think of
this vast repository of knowledge when someone men-

20
tions a library, there are three other types of libraries
in common use. Dynasts and a few patricians maintain
large private libraries, institutions such as the Dynastic
secondary schools maintain large libraries of works de-
voted to topics related to the subjects they teach, and
the Realm maintains a series of public libraries. Every
small city and large town has at least one such library,
and large cities might contain as many as half a dozen.
Here, copies of the general texts that are freely accessible
to all commoners are freely available for everyone to
read. Books may not be removed from the library, but
any resident of the Realm is free to come in and read
any of the works. These public libraries exist to both
encourage the populace to read the wisdom contained
in the general texts and to indirectly discourage anyone
from seeking out restricted or heretical texts.
In all of the Realm’s libraries, the books are not
openly available. Instead, there are large catalogs list-
ing the titles, authors and brief descriptions of every
work contained in the library. Patrons must request a
text from a librarian, sign for it, read the book in the
library and return it before they depart.
THE BAD:
Crime and the Criminal Underworld
Criminals thrive in the Realm, and any citizen who
wishes to purchase illegal drugs or other smuggled
goods, to hire assassins or thieves, or to find a buyer
for blackmail information or stolen goods can almost
always manage any of these feats in any city in the
Realm. Every criminal within the Realm knows that
both his success in his chosen profession and his very
survival depends upon remaining unnoticed by the
magistrates and the Black Helms, though. To do so,
all criminals know that they must stringently avoid
all of the following practices:
• Organizing criminal gangs that encompass more
than one city or town or that contain more than a few
hundred members.
• Committing any crimes against the Dynasts, the
patricians, the Immaculate Order or the government.
• Interfering with large-scale commerce or threatening
the uneasy peace between the Dynasts and the Guild.
• Inciting riots, committing large-scale property
destruction (including arson) or encouraging open op-
position to the Dynasts or the government.
• Committing or inciting others to commit major
or minor heresies.
21
All of these acts are considered to be direct affronts
to the Empress’s rule, as well as serious threats to the
existing social and political order. As a result, they are
considered to be treasonous and are therefore capital
crimes. Conversely, criminal acts that do not involve any
of the aforementioned crimes are considered relatively
minor disturbances. Criminals who are careful to avoid
leaving witnesses or obvious evidence of minor crimes
such as small-scale theft frequently avoid discovery. The
magistrates just take no interest in their crimes, and the
Guardians of the Realm rarely have the time to spend many
days tracking down someone who stole a pig or a scribe’s
prized cloak clasp. In addition, criminals can sometimes
bribe their way out of arrest for minor crimes unless sev-
eral commoners or at least one wealthy and powerful
individual complains to the magistrate. The Guardians of
the Realm mostly assume that a certain minimal amount
of crime is unavoidable, and as long as a crime does not
interfere with the Dynasts’ rule or impinge too heavily
on their tax revenues, the guardians are often willing to
ignore it, in return for suitable recompense.
THE ZEN:
The First Noble Insight
All beings in Creation are constantly dying and being
reborn, ascending and descending the Road of Enlighten-
ment. Those who are Exalted are very close to the end of
the Road, while insects and plants are near the beginning.
Most sentient mortals are somewhere near the middle.
The Second Noble Insight
As beings approach the end of the Road, they ap-
proach the infinite perfection of Essence that is the
Elemental Dragons, who hold Creation together.
The Third Noble Insight
Working in solitude and striving to surpass their lot in
life, all beings in Creation draw away from the perfection
of the Elemental Dragons. Working together and accepting
their present incarnations, all beings in Creation mimic
the Elemental Dragons and approach their perfection.
The Fourth Noble Insight
The Dragon-Blooded, who were the disciples and
children of the mortal incarnations of the Elemental
Dragons, are leading the Immaculates toward that
degree of perfection.
The Fifth Noble Insight
The Anathema, who reject the Elemental Dragons
and obey only their own ambitions, are drawing Cre-
ation toward despair and ruin.
 A DREAM REALIZED
A PREVIEW OF WHAT’S TO COME IN SCROLL OF THE MONK
BY JOHN CHAMBERS, EXALTED DEVELOPER

After five long years, it’s finally here. As an editor during Geoff Grabowski’s tenure as Exalted
developer, I’d often wonder aloud (much to the consternation of my fellow employees, my wife,
those guys at the DMV…) when there was going to be a big book of martial arts for the Exalted
game, in the same way that there’d already been a couple of spell book iterations. I waited
and waited (and occasionally edited or slept), but the supplement never materialized.
Weird. such places are alike, in spirit if not appearance, and
Flash forward a couple of years. Geoff decides to the master has taken the thousand hard lessons she
move on to greener pastures and suggests I succeed learned there and internalized them.
him as the guiding force behind the Exalted line. Man- Activating this Charm, the character adds one to
agement agrees, and that’s it. Geoff does the hand off her Strength, Dexterity and Stamina for the duration
on the Second Edition core, and I’m off and running. of the scene. Her Wits score increases by three. She ap-
Thereafter, it’s up to me to come up with new content pears at least a foot taller, menacing, rough, deadly.
for the line. I wrack my brain for days, trying to come Her hands drip blood—her blood and that of every
up with the release schedule for the first year. Brian tough she has made bleed during her period as a stu-
Glass, longtime Exalted art director, mentions that I dent of this style—and it flicks everywhere with her
could always “do that martial arts book you’re always blows and parries. When people suffer knockback from
whining about,” adding that it could be “cool.” her attacks, they travel twice as far, and it is the same
Whoever this guy is, we should hire him. He was when she throws them. She adds two yards to her Move
absolutely right. I set about straight away rounding up and Dash actions and moves with the speed of death
authors and putting them to work with the mandate on the streets. While this Charm is active, First Pulse
“Make this book kick ass!” This they did. Form can reduce attack Speeds to a minimum of 3.
Scroll of the Monk features 29 martial arts ranging from In addition to the supernatural martial arts proper,
“merely” badass Terrestrial Styles to the reality-bending Scroll of the Monk focuses on the larger Martial Arts World
Sidereal Martial Arts. Whether your character is Dragon- in which Creation’s premier martial artists compete. Thus,
Blooded, Lunar, Solar, Sidereal or Abyssal — heck, even if the philosophies behind the fighting, as well as a myriad
he’s a heroic mortal with a penchant for whupass — if he’s of organizations dedicated to practicing the martial arts,
a devotee of the sweet science, this is the book for you. are expanded upon in the book as well. Groups ranging
in scope from the Creation-spanning Order of the Im-
TITAN OF THE STREETS (A TYPICAL END-TREE maculate Dragons down to the small Temple of the Violet
TERRESTRIAL MARTIAL ARTS CHARM) Lotus all receive their due in the supplement.
Cost: 2m, 1wp, 1lhl; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Simple Also featured are a couple of optional Backgrounds im-
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious portant to martial artists, Destiny and Face, and an array
Duration: One scene of martial arts weapons, both mundane and magical. Both
Prerequisite Charms: Introduction to the Stone Prince, Fleeting the Backgrounds and the weaponry add additional options
Wings of Dust to players who want their martial artists to hew closer to
A master of First Pulse Style knows the streets. She the classic martial artists of wuxia and anime fame.
has lived on them and slept on them, eaten off them, Whether you’re a player wanting to improve your
breathed them. The streets are her domain, and she character’s fighting prowess or a Storyteller wanting
is equally at home on the back streets of the Impe- to spring a little surprise on your troupe, this is the
rial City, in the oldest and worst districts of Nexus supplement for you. If it pertains to the martial arts, it’s
or surrounded by the celestial slums of Yu-Shan. All in this book. Now go out there and bust some heads!

22
 Nature vs. Nurture
Let’s all get in touch with our inner orc.
by Zack Walters
Ever since Tolkien decided that they were “corrupted elves” or some such nonsense, orcs
have been getting the short end of the stick in fantasy settings. Sure they’re portrayed as
strong, but they’re also shown to be stupid, smelly, and cruel. Can’t a green-skin catch a
break? Well, now they can. Just as the orcs rediscovered their shamanic heritage years ago,
the world around them is about to discover just how mean and green they really are (okay,
so maybe some of the reputation is deserved).
The Horde Player’s Guide side of the orcs: their physical strength. Of this latter
follows in the foot- group, I thought I’d give you a glimpse at the orc ra-
steps of its Alliance cial “class” and the variant of the warrior base class
counterpart by de- specifically suited to uniquely orcish sensibilities. Both
tailing a new racial serve to make your orc character more… well, orcish,
“class” as well as but they take different approaches to the same task.
iconic racial vari- With one focusing on inherent brutality and the other
ants of many of the tailoring training regimens to take advantage of racial
base classes. While characteristics, players are left with a tough decision:
many of these vari- is your orc deadly by nature, or through carefully
ant classes (along cultivated practice?
with a bevy of new While I can’t give away everything about the orc
prestige classes) “class,” I think what I can show you makes a few things
serve to bolster clear. First, any orc tapping into his or her primal nature
the ranks of will be able to both dish out and take the pain much
the Horde as a better. Two points each in Strength and Stamina is
whole, let’s face nothing to sneeze at, and with that improved Fortitude
it: it’s the orcs save, you’ll be even less likely to catch that sniffle in
you’re after. Since the first place! Secondly, and perhaps unexpectedly,
the orcs are so this soul-searching also results in a strengthening of
clearly the heart shamanic potential. Not only do these paragons of
of the Horde, I the Horde become more accomplished divine casters,
thought it only but they become able to call upon the spirits of their
fitting that I departed ancestors for aid.
should get to
the heart of the Straight from the Peon’s Mouth
orcs. Orcs can take up to three levels in “orc” at any
time. When orcs take racial levels, they connect with
Zug Zug, Baby their legacy as mighty warriors, as barbaric, demon-
Quite a few of the class options in the bred savages, and as shamanistic spiritualists. Orc
book apply to the magical practices of the history is long and storied, and these orcs tap into its
orcs, from the Farseer to the Uncorrupted intricacies. Other orcs instinctively respect and trust
Warlock, but an equal number of options those of their number who take racial levels.
concern themselves with what many (my-
Orc levels stack with a divine spellcasting class level
self included) consider the most important
for purposes of determining caster level for spells. If

23
 Table 2-1: The Orc
Orc Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save
1st +0 +2
2nd +1 +3
3rd +2 +3
the orc has two divine spellcasting classes, add the
racial levels to the higher of the two.
A Finely Honed Rage
Question: What’s more frightening than a green-
skinned barbarian with the strength of three normal
humans swinging an axe at your skull? Answer: That
same barbarian after he receives formal training in
how best to swing that axe.
Orcs have a long history of warfare; their race
has been battling various creatures for ages. In the
past, many orcs embraced their demon-born blood-
lust and became barbarians. In recent years, the orcs’
discovery of their spiritual and shamanistic traditions
has allowed orcs to focus and refine their savagery.
Many orcs still become barbarians, but the way of the
trained, disciplined and canny fighter — the warrior
— becomes more and more common.
The iconic orc warrior is garbed in chain mail or
leather and plate. He carries a battleaxe and strong
wooden shield and wears a horned helmet. He crouches
in a battle stance, shield and axe at the ready, as he
evaluates his opponent… then, with a fearsome yowl,
he strikes in a blur.
Mechanically, the orc warrior walks a fine line. It
needs to replace enough of the warrior’s bonus feats
with new abilities to make the variant worth taking,
but it also needs to be careful not to fully eliminate
the warrior’s flexibility. In order to do this, it draws
upon the core scout and barbarian classes, but with a
deft enough touch not to intrude upon their gameplay
territories. The result of this amalgam is a warrior that
is uniquely orcish (go figure). Armed with a stagger-
Ref Save Will Save Special
+0 +0 +1 Str, +1 Sta
+0 +0 +1 Sta, favored of the spirits
+1 +1 +1 Str, rage 2/day
ing predilection towards axes of all kinds, a bonus in
combat versus humans, and an improved rage abil-
ity (which stacks with the additional rage granted by
the racial “class”), the orc warrior is uniquely suited
to cleave through anything that stands in his way,
especially puny humans.
No, I Got Axe for You
Orc warriors do not gain a bonus feat at 1st, 4th,
8th or 12th level. Instead, orc warriors gain the follow-
ing class features, at the indicated levels:
• 1st Level — Axe Focus: The axe is the traditional
orc weapon, and most orcs are skilled in its use. Orc
warriors are especially skilled. The warrior gains the
Weapon Focus feat with all axes with which he is pro-
ficient, including the following weapons: battleaxe,
dwarven waraxe (he still must use it two-handed
without the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat), greataxe,
handaxe, and throwing axe.
• 4th Level — Axe Specialization: Orc warriors
continue to favor axes. At 4th level, the warrior gains
Weapon Specialization with every axe with which he
has Weapon Focus.
For the rest of the orc warrior’s class features, check
out Variant Classes section of the Horde Player’s Guide
Just a Grunt in the Horde
Cool as these orcish options are, they’re just two
of the legion of new options presented in the Horde
Player’s Guide. Stuffed to bursting with the crunchiest
of spells and the smoothest of historical essays, what
little we’ve presented here is just the cherry on top of
a delicious parfait of Horde goodness.
24
 CONRAD’S CONJECTURES
You may not be aware of this, but Conrad Hubbard, White Wolf’s internet front-man
and Chief Fan Wrangler, loves him some Exalted. His personal website (www.conradhub-
bard.com) is full of his theories and suggestions concerning not only the rules of the game,
but also setting and storytelling elements. This article is the first in a multi-part series
designed to get inside Conrad’s head.

CONRAD’S THEORY ABOUT HOUSE V’NEEF

This is just my unofficial view on a matter which
my home Exalted game has been forced to address. I
run a Dragon-Blooded chronicle called “Far Shores,”
which is simply my latest Exalted home game. One of
my players plays a Terrestrial Exalted who hails from
House V’neef, and dealing with the presentation of his
House within the story of our game cemented some
issues which I feel were previously outstanding.
Let us begin with the evidence exhibits:
Exhibit A: Houses of the Bull God says that House
V’neef established wineries more than 90 years ago
in Harborhead (pp 63-64) and that V’neef Jegan is
an Earth Aspected Dragon-Blood with over 300 years
of wine-making experience.
Exhibit B: Savage Seas states that Merchant Fleet
Admiral V’neef Ririon is “almost 70 years old” (p 78).
Exhibit C: V’neef herself is exactly 60 years old.
(Exalted 1e, p 39)
It would seem that we might have an issue here.
Individuals who are older than V’neef herself bear the
House identity in their writeups. I once read that J.R.R.
Tolkien approached his work with the idea that things
he had previously written were not mistakes, even
when they seemed utterly and completely contradic-
tory. Supposedly he would look for a deeper angle, an
explanation which made the apparent mistake make
sense without any assumption of mistake. I don’t know
if this is true, but it’s an idea that appeals to me. Thus,
when I find things like this, whether in my own work or
elsewhere, I try to do the same (assuming that I have
any creative use for the material, that is).
So, anyway, here’s my theory:
V’neef (the woman) is the product of a breeding
between the Scarlet Empress and a man who be-
longed to a powerful patrician house. Say perhaps
House Jegan if we require a canonical derivation
for the house’s original name. Jegan was clearly
important enough to swing doses of Imperial ana-
This material is used with full permission of the author. The original text can be found online at www.conradhubbard.com
25
gathic drugs. Anyway, V’neef was a favored child
(as I suspect most of the Empress’s children were).
She is described as being the Imperial cupbearer at
one point. My guess is that Wood Aspects are the best
people to use for poison detection, and it was an
excuse to show favor to her new daughter. When the
Empress decided to raise the house of her daughter
V’neef to the level of an Imperial Dynastic House, it
was given the V’neef name specifically because she
was the Empress’s sole blood link to the House (and
that’s what the Dynasty really all means).
Thus, V’neef belongs to a house which contains at
least two Dragon-Blooded older than herself, whom
she is given authority over by the decree of the Scarlet
Empress. This means that her house is larger than the
mere 60 years of its existence would suggest. Given that
the Empress clearly sought the presence of the V’neef
to offset the naval power of the Peleps, it makes sense
that she would seek out a house with some already
existent power. It also gives greater political ramifica-
tions to the House when one considers that there are
potent older Dragon-Blooded, who previously held
patrician status, to back up their House’s scion.
Of course, the House of V’neef has also been
very aggressive about recruiting outcastes. V’neef
Odessa (from Aspect Book: Water) and V’neef Keersa
Kalla (from Aspect Book: Wood) were both born as
outcastes. Canonical counts of outcastes are not
easy to find, but potentially House V’neef thus far
has the single highest count of canonical outcaste
figures. This might not mean anything, of course,
but it certainly makes sense.
Oh, yeah. Another theory that isn’t proven
anywhere. I think that it would be really cool if V-
apostrophe was the High Realm equivalent for “of the
House of” or “von.” Then we could assume that the
woman we all think of as V’neef would have actually
been called “Neef” or perhaps even Jegan Neef.
 Being a White Wolf Intern
or, Livin’ la Vida Sandfly
by Lydia!
So I’m innocently sitting at my computer, having a meltdown about the thousands of
words I’ve got due in a week for the Exalted 2 Sorcery book — and how I’m totally going to
let my creative partner Dustin, White Wolf, and all the other fans down — when I decide that
checking my email would be a great way to find inspiration and productivity. Half an hour
later, I haven’t located either, but I have received an email from some dude named Zack:
“I’m following in your unshod footsteps in this den of sin and copyediting,” he begins, then
invites me to write about my internship experience. “Just tell us what the people are like,”
says he, “what you brought to the position, what you gained from it!”
What I gained from it, I consider as I gaze upon again. Instead, imagine an easygoing group of folks
my desolate word-processor, is the chance to write united by a real love of games — even those who don’t
the next great fantasy classic brilliant, world-shaking regularly play — and by wide experience with, and ap-
material that gets cut to pieces despite my torrents of preciation for, the influences thereupon, from comics, to
tears, thereby earning a wage that’d finance a lifestyle anime, to more run-of-the-mill fantasy and science fic-
destitute sandflies wouldn’t accept. * Life is pain, and tion. It sounds ridiculously vague (after all, what other
all I do is cry at night. kind of person would work there in the first place?), but
But I don’t want to discourage the new interns, that’s one of the striking things about White Wolf: it’s not
who seem so happy in their innocence, so I agree, and really possible to make any other kind of blanket state-
start considering what I brought to the “position” . It’s ment about its employees. One of the company’s great
a pretty simple list: strengths is their varied tastes and experiences.
1) Appetite for mockery. So. What have I gained, you ask? Besides the starving
writer-dom and higher karaoke tolerance? Well, I learned
2) Willingness to correct my boss’ grammar to his
that there exists at least one real company that isn’t a
face.
heartless, soulless corporation; White Wolf, as it must,
3) Nigh-psychotic respect for deadlines, to the ex- makes its share of necessary corporate decisions, but it
tent of staying four hours late on the day I indexed never makes them lightly. I learned that it’s not just gam-
Exalted 2. Yep — I had one day. ing that makes a good gamer, but having a passion for
4) Such hardcore fandom for Exalted that, in college, different, real things that you can bring into your alter-
I even wrote my senior thesis on it. Shh — don’t tell any- nate realities. I learned that you actually can be friends
one in the office — I don’t think they’ve noticed yet, and with your coworkers — as long as you always make sure
I’m trying to see how open a secret I can make it. responsibility reigns at the office, of course (unless it’s
5) Interests besides gaming. This is a more im- Pirate Spirit Day, but we don’t talk about that).
portant criterion than you might think; knowing and Most importantly, I learned that it really is true
loving roleplaying games is important, but having that if you know your stuff and work enthusiastically
other kinds of experience and knowledge to enrich your and diligently at what you enjoy, you can go far! And
blah blah ... Wait, are you saying this seems a bit at with that uplifting moral, it’s back to our heartrend-
odds with #4? Well, I ... uh ... moving right along. ing Sorcery redlines.
Right, right ... the people! The denizens of White Wolf Did I mention that all I do is cry at night?
are quite a crowd, practicing varied rituals involving Shoutout to Terry Pratchett. Go read Pyramids,
karaoke, Halo 2 and electronic music. I’d do fun, snarky kids; then internalize the following motto: Good writ-
one-sentence descriptions of each person, but they’d ers borrow — great writers steal!
hear about it and make sure I never worked in this town

26
 A Day in the Life
Original Text by Lydia! Redlines by Will Hindmarch, Vampire: the Requiem Developer
10.: [Use American English punctuation]30 - 11 AM:
Wander in. Greet Brad in front, thanking him for sending
around an excellent picture of five Civil War reenac-
tors shooting a cannon. Take off shoes. Check email.
Delete four-plus block of emails from developers who
are working from home today.
11.:15ish: I am informed that I get to write an RPG
content item for the comic. Thrilled, I begin to plot
evilly. [“begin to” implies a following interruption. If
you did, in fact, plot evilly, then write “I plot evilly.”
It’s a stronger, bolder sentence. Also, beware adverbs
where you could use imagery or surprise the reader.]
11.:30ish: Brian Glass, the Exalted [Though italics
are strictly appropriate, we use boldface to identify
game lines and game supplements apart from other
books] art director, is having me put together glyphs
in Autochthonian script for the Exalted manga. I try
to [do you try or do you explain?] explain ^to him how
much I totally envy his job and wish I could do it, and
he looks at me like I have watermelons growing from
my ears [Good imagery]. Then he shows me a picture
he and some of the others put together on a recent
holiday [actually, the picture was done by Oscar],
which is an astonishingly Photoshopped amalgam
of a major religious figure with a scorpion tail, fire
shooting from his eyes and lobster claws. [Wow. Okay.
Dangling modifiers here: “Then he shows me a picture
[...], fire shooting from his eyes and lobster claws.” Is
fire shooting from the eyes and lobster claws of Brian
(the understood “he”)? Is fire shooting from the lobster
claws or just the eyes?]
Noonish: Brad comes around with the Secret Santa
assignments. I am horrified to draw Mike Tinney^’s
name, the company president. I am even more horri-
fied when he later sends around an email specifically
requesting something “bizarre and inhumane” from
his Secret Santa. I consider hiding under my desk per-
manently, then pull myself together and ask all my
friends for suggestions. [This is thin. Don’t tell us you
27
“ask all your friends,” show us how you do it and who
you ask. Are you calling people on your cell phone from
the bathroom? Are you sending text messages from
under your desk? Carrier pigeons? Give us something.]
Check email.
12.:30ish: Lunch, generally with the IT department.
Because I am the youngest person here by at least four
years, their nickname for me is “Pedophile Bait.” . [Put
punctuation inside quotation marks. This is America.]
Sometimes I get to eat with the Exalted developer, in
which case I generally end up learning why we can’t
do the entire game my way, and return humbled and
awed by the experience. [Does John make you buy him
lunch, too?]
1ish: Wander back in. Give Brian the glyphs. [Is that
like gang signs or something?] Attend a development
meeting, where I get to watch in amazement as the
best and brightest of the gaming industry argue over
the life goals of hideous monsters sewn together from
the flesh of corpses. Check email.
2ish: My friends have suggested the most incredible
things for Mike Tinney’s Secret Santa, from a scrapbook
of photographs of parents lovingly holding their still-
borns to a willy-warmer hand-sewn from the mangiest
fox-fur I can find. **2
[First, avoid “X of X of X” when you can. Try “a
scrapbook with photographs of parents” or just “from
photographs of parents.” Also, “pictures of parents”
reads easier (I like alliteration), and it’s meter is nice
(a dactylic foot followed by a trochaic: x - - x -), but I
digress. Consider also how you hyphenate. Compound
adjectives don’t get hyphenated after the nouns they
describe, so write “hand sewn from” instead. In the
above sentence, “mangiest” and “fox” describe “fur,”
but is not a compound adjective. So write “mangiest
fox fur.” This makes the hyphenated “willy-warmer”
stand out, rather than losing it in a flurry of busy ad-
jectives and unnecessarily compound nouns.]
 3ish: I have to go talk to Justin about something,
but Chad talks to him first, and as I’m about to enter
his office directly afterward, John Chambers warns me
to stay back and flatten myself against the wall. Ten
seconds later, firecrackers come sailing out the door
and hit Chad in the back of the head.
4.:30: Receive an email explaining how everything I
wrote for the comic’s RPG content item is totally wrong. I
reflect on the fact that (a) this is excellent practice for being
a freelance writer, and (b) I really should try to avoid my
natural proclivity of to inserting insert [a proclivity is an
inclination; you are inclined to do something not inclined
of something.]love triangles into everyone’s backstory.
5: Drive home in the beautiful 65∑π˚ December At-
lanta weather. Smirk to myself as I think of the friends
in Chicago and New York suffering through snow, ice
and actual work.
28
1: In the interests of full disclosure, I should say
that all of the things I mention in this timeline, though
absolutely true events, happened at different times
on different days. -- Lydia
2: You may or may not be pleased to know that I
ended up getting Tinney several things, including a ba-
nana-flavoured lollipop with a real scorpion suspended
inside. I mention this because, at the Christmas party,
he had Chad and Alex bid on who got to eat it. That’s
right, they both tried to pay for the privilege -- $36, in
Alex’s case, which he collected from various supporters
after pointing out that on such shows as Fear Factor,
the black guy never gets to eat the creepy thing.
[The audience was sponsoring their favorite com-
petitor in the event. I thought the would-be eater with
the greatest sponsorship got to keep the cash, but I
could be wrong.]
 EDITOR’S FOREWARD
When we first announced the Quarterly Submission Contest, I was a little worried that no one would
send us anything. My inbox remained barren for several days, but after almost a week, a slow trickle of
submissions began to arrive. They were soon followed by a flood of stories, Bloodlines, spirit stats and
even alternate rules for Paradox. There were so many submissions that sorting through them all took
several interns several days, and the elimination of each of them was difficult. If your work doesn’t ap-
pear in the following pages, don’t despair! Many of the submissions were simply too long to fit into our
limited space (one was twenty-eight pages long!), and some others had the misfortune of not meshing
well with the format that was eventually decided upon.
The interns would like to issue a big “thank you” to all who submitted, and extend our congratula-
tions to those chosen to appear in the following pages.

THE SIGN
BY A. QUENTIN MURLIN; SHIPPENSBURG, PA
George Yeomer was something of a special guy, at least in his own mind. It wasn’t that
he was particularly smart, good looking, rich, or even very talented, but what he lacked in
these areas was more than made up for by his ability to notice things. Large things, small
things… all of it seemed to never escape George’s “all-seeing eyes.” His unfailing perceptive
abilities were the reason he knew his last three girlfriends were going to cheat on him, even
before they did (the culprit being, as always, George’s “lack of talent”). They were also the
reason George was almost universally hated at his workplace, The Abraham’s Talent Agency,
as he always chose the best picks (and knew when to kiss the boss’ ass). George Yeomer, kiss-
ass supreme.
Every day, when George went to work, he took the subsequently killed herself, only a few months after
bus. And every time the bus made its third stop, it this advertisement had been created. Marc Fitzgerald,
would always park on the opposite side of the street the aforementioned boy-toy, was a rising star in the
to this one particular billboard. It loomed, tall and Hollywood game and the main love interest on Seven
intimidating, against the eastern horizon, casting its Days of Julia, a popular sitcom. The theory goes that
shadow on George’s face (he sat at the window seat, Marc was upset that Joanna was going to dump him,
five rows in, next to the broken chair so as to avoid so he took a piece of glass from the mirror he punched
unpleasant social entanglements). It was an older during the argument and slashed Joanna’s face. Believ-
billboard, advertising for the St. Parker Clothing Line, ing her career to be ruined, Joanna took Marc’s little
which had gone bust nearly ten years ago. During its “Stalker-Stopper” revolver and shot him three times.
heyday, the sign was a lush, lurid green, but time had Joanna, suddenly realizing what she had done, turned
worked its horrible magic on it, rendering the vibrant the fourth bullet onto herself, blowing the back of her
color into the type of green that reminds people of bad skull all over Marc’s faux-Picasso. Strangely, prelimi-
seafood, almonds, and empty tequila bottles. The nary police reports state that all the chambers were
real eeriness of the sign, however, emanated from the fired, despite the fact that there was no accounting
woman in the middle. The model’s name was Joanna for the final bullet…
Dyrance, the centerpiece of countless “true crime” So, this was the woman George saw every day he
shows, as she had murdered her then boy-toy and went to his job. The sun seemed to continue the aging

29
work that death had ended for Joanna, as the paper
had begun to tear and slump. What was once a young,
vivacious woman with straight peering eyes and a wide
smile had taken the appearance of an eighty year old
woman, casting her gaze ever downward, her mouth a
perpetual, predatory grin. It creeped George out how
the eyes, no matter where you looked, seemed to fol-
low you wherever you went, which led to his routine
of placing his hand up against his left eye as to avoid
seeing the wretched thing. For the last few years this
had been his routine, until finally, the city had coughed
up enough money in between state senatorial pay
raises and corporate kickbacks to fix the broken seat
next to his chosen spot.
It was a Friday morning, and the sky was unusually
clear for this early in the year. The sun cast its orange
and yellow gaze brightly across the chilled morning
air, eliciting a smile from George’s office-pale face. He
took a deep breath and watched as the cloud flitted and
danced in front of his eyes. The bus came, 7:30 on the
dot, and he got on after Matilda, the old lady from the
apartment complex down the street from his condo. His
bright, shining day ended when he saw the interloper, a
man sitting on the seat that was supposed to be broken.
The new seat’s cleanliness contrasted sharply with this
bulky individual, his clothes and beard tattered and
dirty and his hair dreadlocked. Not wanting to surren-
der to fate the daily routine that had brought him so
much prosperity (as evidenced by his nice condo and
big screen plasma television), George ignored the man
as he squeezed by him and sat in his normal seat. The
first stop went by without much trouble, as the man
seemed too enraptured by his own scent to pay George
too much mind. It was roughly around the second stop,
however, when this man, this bum, started giving him this
critical, scrutinizing eye. The bum just stared a George,
who watched him in his peripheral vision. He could hear
the bum breathing, each breath raspy and choked with
cigarette smoke. George found himself unconsciously
matching its cadence with his tapping foot.
Then, finally, came the third stop. Joanna glared
down at George like she always did, her soulless eyes
no doubt drinking in his uncomfortable situation with
a horrible mirth. George tried to block the view as per
usual, but he couldn’t help but feel the bum’s steely
gaze questioning his sanity. He decided to just stare at
his shoes for the rest of the ride, praying for someone
to break the seat once again before the day’s end.
30
“You aren’t a very well liked man,” muttered the
bum, his glance dancing back and forth between George
and Joanna. His voice was just as raspy as his breath-
ing, each word spilling forth the odiferous stench of
shitty bars and cheap hookers. It was hard for George
to accept criticism from this man.
“Boy, you certainly know me so well. You’ve
obviously known me for years in order to make an
assessment such as that. Please, do me a favor: don’t
talk to me,” growled George.
“I know you better than you think. You aren’t too
different from every other cubicle jockey scattered
throughout human existence. You work a nine-to-five,
stick to routines, and fear change more than you’re
willing to admit.”
“I’d say ‘thank you, Dr. Phil,’ but I doubt you’ve
owned a television long enough to get the reference,”
responded George. Zing, he thought to himself. His
sarcasm, while duly noted, still fell under his “funda-
mental lack of talent” curse.
“Okay. You don’t want to talk to me. Fine. So I’ll
leave you with this one caution… that picture you
keep avoiding? It’ll be the death of you.” He finally
got up and left George to his misery.
George was about halfway through a sigh of relief
when, suddenly, he asked himself what the hell does
that mean? The bus finally began to putter along and
George could only glance one last time at Joanna’s
droopy, sun weathered face. And, somehow, she stared
back at George, even as the bus rounded the corner.
The rest of the bus ride was one, long, protracted spi-
nal shiver as Joanna’s parting glance and the bum’s
words of warning drove their way haphazardly through
George’s mind. When he finally arrived at work, he
dove himself head first into the stack of papers and
forms that had magically grown, twisting and chthonic,
from his desk. The distraction provided little respite,
as every time one of the hundreds of employees re-
turned from huddling like pigeons in the side doorway
during their quarter-hourly smoke break, he’d smell
that bum again, and the words echoed, record-like,
in his head.
The constant barrage of reminders did George
absolutely no good. Requisition form 11D-S3 was ru-
ined when the bum’s words, now shouting in his head,
caused his body to clench tightly, snapping his black
pen and spilling ink all over his desk. It was then that
he felt a pressure, warm and alien, against his back
and shoulders. The stench of cigarette smoke singed
his nose and that familiar, and now feared, raspy
breathing invaded his ears. His dripping, broken pen
in hand, George twirled around in his seat, ready to
attack, and saw Bob, his boss’ boss, fresh from his
smoke break. Bob saw what a mess George was, ink
spilled all over his desk, his thinning hair disheveled,
his tie halfway undone, and then he looked down to
admire his own impeccable appearance, which was
now irrevocably flawed. George, in his fear-maddened
haste, had ruined Bob’s shirt, which could easily have
taken up three of his paychecks. Needless to say, Bob
sent George home, with the implication that his return
wasn’t necessarily guaranteed.
It was as if God was laughing at the cruel joke he
was playing on George. The clear morning skies had
given way to deep, dark clouds, fecund with rain the
smelled slightly like vinegar. George could only stare
at his pen-stained hand as his bus, nearly ten minutes
late, finally arrived. He never rode the bus this early
in the afternoon, yet he was surprised at its emptiness.
He found his usual seat, but couldn’t bring himself
to sit there for the first time in years. All he could do
was stare at it, and the seat next to it, stained urine
yellow by the bum’s unkempt form. George snapped
back into consciousness when the bus driver grunted
something in his general direction, so he took a seat
on one of the benches toward the back of the bus.
The day had been so surreal that George was numb to
the world. He could barely muster the force of will to
recognize that he was dripping wet. Instead, he was
dumbfounded by the fact that this bum, this nobody,
could get to him like this. All he could do is stare at his
hand, black like dried blood, and wish the thoughts
would come.
In between a moment and eternity, George caught
Joanna out of the corner of his eye. The bitch still glared,
her omniscient eyes peering through the metal bus and
into the core of George’s being. This time, he glared
back. George hated her, he wished her ill, and he was
glad the bitch was dead. He pictured himself instead
of that insipid man-child Marc Fitzgerald cutting into
her, grabbing the gun out of her hand before she could
shoot and then pumping her full of lead, penetrating
her flesh and hovering over her so as to watch the life
drain from her eyes. The idea of murdering her, of
31
“making hate” with her, gave George a purpose (and
made him not a little bit aroused). Joanna the model
may be dead, but it didn’t mean that George couldn’t
have some sort of symbolic revenge.
For the first time in his life, George Yeomer stepped
out of the bus at the third stop and marched his way
up to the billboard. He was amazed that, even this
closely, Joanna still seemed to stare down and him.
That haughty bitch… I’ll teach you to look down on
me, George screamed in his head. The creaking, then
snapping of the boards, and Joanna’s dread gaze
coming closer and closer made George think that, for
a split second, she might have heard his thoughts. She
obviously disapproved.
The sign weighed a ton, and all of it seemed to
fall on George at once. In between gasps, he tried to
free himself from the wreckage, but his arms did not
wish to respond like they once did. George, now truly
numb, noticed something for the first time since this
morning. There was a form staring down at him from
the rooftop where the sign once stood, a hulking figure
in tarnished clothes and dreadlocked hair. Its him,
he thought to himself, chuckling a bit at the bum’s
“prediction.” George couldn’t tell if this was irony or
not, but it felt ironic to him so he just went with it. He
watched as the bum gazed up and down the street to
make sure no one was watching and then jumped off
of the fourth story rooftop. George’s mind chuckled
again as the bum landed, unfazed by the forty-foot
drop, and then meandered over toward his head.
“Told ya’,” the bum muttered in his raspy voice.
George wondered as to what karmic debt he was re-
paying for all of this to happen to him. It was funny
and all, but in a bittersweet kind of way.
“You really don’t remember me, do ya’?” asked
the bum. George couldn’t hear him, not with the blood
finally clotting in his ears.
“W—why?” George asked. He didn’t mean to ask
it to the bum, but he seemed to be a suitable stand-in
for God at the moment.
“Because, ‘George,’ you have something that I’ve
always wanted…,” spat the bum as he dug out a dirty,
rusted switchblade from his grime-covered jacket.
George could see him laughing, and hear his raspy
voice in his mind, as he brought the dull edge closer
and closer to his face.
 EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE
by Jim Fisher; Harrisburg, PA
The lamp had moved.
George was sure of it. He looked closer, and, sure
enough, there it was. There was the line on the end
table where the lamp’s base had kept part of the table
surface from fading in the sunlight. George touched
it, tentatively, with one finger, somehow trying to
make sure. Yep, that was it. The lamp was only a few
centimeters off, but enough for George to notice. He
carefully slid the lamp back into place, taking great
care to put it back exactly where it had been. He won-
dered briefly if the fade of the table surface was, in
itself, disorderly, and finally decided that it was not.
He smiled gently to himself, then pursed his lips and
thoughtfully examined the remainder of the room for
anything else that was out of place.
Nope. Everything was perfectly placed, just so. It
was just as George liked it. Or, at least, it was how he
liked it now.
Months ago, George would have not cared less
about the condition of his home. In fact, he didn’t.
Somewhere along the line, though, he started caring
– caring a great deal. The small stack of pizza boxes
in the kitchen was the first thing to go, followed by the
overflowing recycling bin that George hadn’t bothered
to take to the curb. After that came the scrubbing of
the floors, the vacuuming of nearly every surface in the
house, and then, the meticulous hours with a tooth-
brush in the bathroom, cleaning the grout between
the tiles. His friends, what few he had, remarked not
only on the improvement of the house’s cleanliness,
but on the improvement of George himself. Whereas
he had been rather overweight – a result, no doubt,
of the double whammy of his reluctance to exercise
coupled with his penchant for fast food – in the past
few months, George had shed pounds, cleaned up his
formerly greasy hair, and his complexion had largely
cleared up. Nobody knew what to attribute this change
of lifestyle to, but, quite frankly, nobody really cared
– what was important was that George had turned
his life around – he was “squared away” , as his late
father would have said.
32
George himself had worried on occasion about this
very same change. It particularly worried him that he
could start cleaning and straightening things in his
house and be so engrossed in the activity to not be
aware of the passage of time. Why, just three weeks
ago, he had spent nearly a day and a half in his base-
ment – cleaning cobwebs, sweeping up dust, removing
debris from the crawlspace. He’d even painted the
concrete walls, for an orderly, even look – despite the
headaches that the paint fumes had given him. It had
been a relief to fall into bed at the end of that mara-
thon – but it also came with a deep righteous sense of
accomplishment, a sense of making things right. For a
few fleeting moments before sleep caught up with his
exhausted, light-headed body, George was simultane-
ously worried and quite pleased with himself.
As he was thinking these thoughts, George had
been pacing through his house, fixing small things
– making sure the napkins in the napkin holder were
precisely aligned, wiping a small amount of dust that
had acquired on the TV, and making sure his clothes
were organized just the way they should be.
George was just coming down the stairs when he
heard a car pull into his driveway. He peered out the
window to see a blue sedan – Scott was here to pick
George up for the guys’ poker game. George went to
the hall closet to get his jacket as Scott rang the door-
bell. George called, “It’s open!” as he pulled a light
jacket from the closet. Scott walked in and the only
thing George noticed as he turned around was the
dirt that Scott had tracked in on his shoes. He didn’t
even hear Scott’s greeting, or the sound of the door
closing. He focused completely on the dirt, scuffed on
the doormat that George had just cleaned that morn-
ing. The dirt offended him – mocked him, even, in its
impertinent nose-thumbing of his efforts in keeping
the house perfect.
George was broken out of his reverie by Scott touch-
ing him on the arm. The concern on Scott’s face turned to
surprise that mirrored George’s own as George whipped
his jacket around Scott’s neck and began to squeeze.
Scott struggled, of course, but George still outweighed
him, and soon the deed was done.
George looked down at the body, and thought for a
moment. He then went to the kitchen, wiped the sweat off
his forehead that had acquired during the scuffle, and
collected some trash bags. He piled Scott into the bags,
grunting at the exertion, and then dragged his grisly pack-
age down to the basement. He hefted the body into the
crawlspace, and made sure that it was placed precisely
against the wall, very neatly, before heading back upstairs
to take care of that unsightly dirt on his clean doormat.
A small part of George was concerned, and worried,
and filled with grief and remorse about killing his friend
– but it was a much smaller part than George expected.
Instead, a much larger part of him felt justified in his
actions – after all, he was simply defending what was
his to keep in order. It was only right and natural that
there would be repercussions for such an incursion.
Everything had its place, after all.

CENTIPEDE STYLE
by Tom Iverson; Indianola, IA
Centipede Style is a Celestial Martial Arts style. Solar and Sidereal Exalted most often practice this
style. Centipede Style is uncommon and seldom seen as a primary style for any Exalted and none
may learn this difficult style unaided; however, Exalted who combine the Charms in this powerful
style with their own favored style find their current abilities augmented by the speed, venom, and
resilience of the centipede. The “form weapons” for Centipede Style are hook swords, iron boots, and
the seven-section staff. Centipede Style Charms treat attacks and blocks with these weapons (and
their artifact analogs) as unarmed attacks and blocks.
CHARMS Charm as long as at least one action in the Combo is
an unarmed Martial Arts attack.
Motion of Myriad Legs Technique Motion of Myriad Legs Technique adds one to the
Cost: 2m or 1m (See Below); Mins: Martial Arts 2, Rate and Accuracy of the Exalt’s unarmed Martial Arts
Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (Step 1) weapons until the Exalt’s next action. In addition, this
Keywords: Combo-OK Charm reduces the attack Speed of all such weapons
Duration: 1 action by one until the Exalt’s next action. For example, a
Kick would have Speed 4, Accuracy +1, and Rate 3 for
Prerequisite Charms: None the duration of this Charm.
The centipede strikes with a speed that belies its A martial artist who knows the Centipede Form
small stature. This Charm augments a flurry, which Charm may invoke a special version of this Charm. The
contains at least one unarmed Martial Arts attack. This Exalt may spend only 1m of Essence to activate Motion
Charm may also aid actions granted by an Extra Action of Myriad Legs Technique; the Charm then adds one to

33
Rate and subtracts one from Speed but does not modify
any weapon’s Accuracy. This effect is considered the
same as invoking the original version of the Charm;
an Exalt may not use different versions of the Charm
during the same action. The speed bonus granted
by this charm does not stack with other speed bonus
effects, such as the magical material bonus to speed
granted by jade.
Blurry Scurry Prana
Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type:
Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious
Duration: 3 ticks
Prerequisite Charms: Motion of Myriad Legs Tech-
nique
The centipede is a blur as it darts from place to
place. The Exalt activates this Charm and then performs
a Dash action. Their form blurs as every movement is
magnified. The Speed of the Dash action is considered
to have a value of 1. There is no DV action penalty for
the Dash action this Charm affects. The martial art-
ist may parry normally during the Dash action. These
modifications apply to all Dash actions the Exalt per-
forms during the duration of the Charm.
Once anyone under the effect of this Charm does
not perform Dash movement (either through moving
less than 2 meters/tick or taking a non-Dash action),
the effect ends even if the Duration has not expired.
A martial artist with Essence 4 or higher may re-
flexively spend one mote of Essence to continue the
Charm’s duration by 3 ticks. As long as the Charm’s
conditions are met, the Exalt may continue the Charm
as long as they are able to pay the Essence cost.
This Charm is explicitly able to be placed in a
Combo with Charms from other Abilities.
Chitinous Chilopod Shell
Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3;
Type: Reflexive (Step 8)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Blurry Scurry Prana
A centipede’s hard shell is crushed only by mighty
force. When this Charm is activated, the Exalt’s skin
gains Hardness equal to (Essence + Martial Arts) for
one attack.
34
The 99 More Technique
Cost: 3m, 1hl; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3;
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Counterattack, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Blurry Scurry Prana
When a centipede’s leg is held, the centipede may
detach it to escape with the remaining ninety-nine
legs. The 99 More Technique allows an Exalt to simi-
larly sacrifice a portion of themselves to escape the
clutches of an adversary.
The 99 More Technique is activated after an oppo-
nent successfully places the martial artist in a clinch,
but before the martial artist becomes inactive due
to the opponent’s success or the opponent chooses
the results of the clinch. Once the Exalt activates this
Charm by paying three motes of Essence and one
unsoakable level of bashing damage, the opponent
must immediately perform a clinch renewal due to a
crunching shift of the Exalt’s sinew or a grip made slip-
pery by the Exalt’s shed blood. The opponent rerolls
their ([Strength or Dexterity] + Martial Arts), opposed
by the Exalt’s ([Strength or Dexterity] + Martial Arts).
The winner controls the clinch as per the clinch re-
newal process. This is a Counterattack effect, but the
Exalt does not suffer a Counterattack DV penalty due
to this Charm.
Centipede Form
Cost: 7m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-type, Obvious
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Chitinous Chilopod Shell,
The 99 More Technique
When under the effect of the Centipede Form, the
Exalt’s limbs move quickly, almost of their own ac-
cord. Arms may appear to multiply, or be in many
places at one time. Legs seem to be striding toward
an opponent, kicking them, and bracing the Exalt in
case of a counterattack.
For the rest of the scene, the Exalt negates multiple
action penalties up to a value of half their Essence
(round up). The Exalt also negates onslaught penalties
up to a value of the Exalt’s Martial Arts score. Addition-
ally, the Exalt negates coordination penalties up to a
value of the Exalt’s Essence score. The Exalt may parry
lethal and ranged attacks unarmed without a stunt.
The Exalt may not be suffering a mobility pen-
alty due to armor and still receive the effects of this
Charm (although donning armor that gives a mobil-
ity penalty does not end the Charm prematurely, but
the Exalt still loses the charm’s effects). An Exalt may
only have one Form-type Charm active at any given
time; the original Form-type Charm must end before
another begins.
Venomous Maxilliped Strike
Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3;
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Poison
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Centipede Form
<The venom of the Varang Violet Centipede kills
hundreds of children and elders every year. Venomous
Maxilliped Strike gives an Exalt the ability to deliver
a more potent poison to their foes. After this Charm
is activated, the martial artist makes an unarmed
Martial Arts attack. If the attack does at least one
level of damage to the opponent, an Essence-fueled
poison is also introduced into their body. This poison
has a Damage of (Attack Damage Levels + Attacker’s
Essence) delivered as Levels of Bashing Damage per Ac-
tion. The poison has a Toxicity of (Attacker’s Essence),
and a Penalty of (Attacker’s Essence).
If an Exalt has an Essence of four or greater, a
stronger poison may be delivered. If the Exalt pays
a cost of 6 motes of Essence instead of 3 motes, the
poison inflicts levels of Lethal damage instead of
Bashing damage.
If an Exalt knows Numberless Blows Technique, a
vicious poison can sear the veins of an opponent. If the
Exalt pays a cost of 6 motes of Essence and 1 point of
Willpower instead of 3 motes, the poison is delivered
as Levels of Aggravated Damage instead of Bashing
Damage. This use of the Charm is sometimes given it’s
own infamous name, Vitriolic Fang of Damnation.
Only one version of the Charm may be used per
action.
Agony of One Hundred Hells Strike
Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3;
Type: Supplemental
35
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Poison
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Centipede Form
Many types of centipedes have bites that are pain-
ful, but ultimately harmless. Martial artists of the
Centipede Style are feared not only for the ability to
bring a swift and direct end to their opponents, but
also for the ability to bring a slow and painful death
to their foes. After Agony of One Hundred Hells is acti-
vated, the martial artist makes an unarmed Martial
Arts attack. If the attack does at least one level of
damage to the opponent, an Essence-fueled poison is
also introduced into their body. The poison does no
damage, but has a Damage value of (Attack Damage
Levels + Attacker’s Essence). This is the number of ac-
tions the poison remains in the victim’s system. The
poison has a Toxicity of (Attacker’s Essence), and a
Penalty of (Attacker’s Essence x 2). With one successful
Toxicity check, this poison is flushed out of the victim,
as if the poison did Bashing dice of damage.
If an Exalt has an Essence of four or greater, a
stronger poison may be delivered. If the Exalt pays
a cost of 6 motes of Essence instead of 3 motes, the
poison requires two successful (Stamina + Resistance)
checks to be flushed out, as if the poison did Lethal
levels of damage.
If an Exalt knows Numberless Blows Technique,
a resilient poison can be created to make even the
stoutest Solar double over in pain. If the Exalt pays
a cost of 6 motes of Essence and 1 point of Willpower
instead of 3 motes, the poison requires three success-
ful Toxicity checks to be flushed out, as if the poison
did Aggravated levels of damage.
Only one version of the Charm may be used per
action. The effects of this Charm do not stack with
previous applications of this Charm.
Tenacity of the Centipede
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4;
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Centipede Form
If a centipede is carved in half, both segments
may scuttle around, as if the creature is merely in-
convenienced by being cut in twain. By force of will,
martial artists of the Centipede Style may duplicate
this resilience. Once this Charm is active, the Exalt’s
wound penalties are halved (round down). In addition,
Bashing damage at the Incapacitated level is only con-
sidered a -4 wound penalty (which is not halved); the
Exalt may still function as normal for the duration of
the Charm, albeit with a -4 wound penalty. The Exalt
will still be Incapacitated if this wound level takes
Lethal damage or if the Charm ends with the Bashing
Incapacitated wound level unhealed. Bashing Damage
is still converted to Lethal damage after the Incapaci-
tated Health Level is filled with Bashing Damage.
Tenacity of the Centipede also allows the Exalt to ig-
nore Crippling effects for the duration of this Charm.
Numberless Blows Technique
Cost: 12m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 5;
Type: Extra Action
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Venomous Maxilliped Strike,
Agony of One Hundred Hells, Tenacity of the Centipede
The master of Centipede Style martial arts is a
whirlwind of limbs and motion. The Exalt seems to
grow not taller, but longer to accommodate all the
arms and legs they need to perform their duties.
This Charm is a magical flurry with a total number
of actions equal to the sum of the Exalt’s Dexterity and
Martial Arts values. These can be any actions that can
be flurried, as long as the actions would not take longer
than 7 ticks on their own and at least one unarmed Mar-
tial Arts attack is included. The DV penalty of this flurry
is always zero, no matter what actions are taken.
This Charm is considered Combo-OK with other
Centipede Style Charms, and other Centipede Style
Charms are also considered Combo-OK with it, even
if they are normally Combo-Basic. However, a Combo
with Numberless Blows Technique and Combo-Basic
Centipede Style Charms may not contain Charms from
other styles or Abilities.

AbyTIME FOR TEA

Kevin S. Taylor; St. Louis, MI

Starlight Watcher sat quietly on the veranda, set into the upper levels of the School of
Philosophy. From the height she could see out over the city of Nexus, and wonder at the sheer
magnitude of humanity that went about their daily lives in the city, oblivious to and uncar-
ing of the nature of Creation that allowed them to live in such an environment.
Finally, she sensed movement and turned her head be for her. As a Sidereal with plain features, Starlight
slightly to see Summer Wind. Summer was the official would always be just another woman to humanity
gatekeeper of Nexus, and also a fellow member of the at large. “I find it very easy to maintain Resplendent
Gold Faction. Summer was dressed casually but offi- Destinies in this city, due in part I think to the sheer
cially, something that Starlight was pretty sure that number of people who want to take no long term no-
only teachers could do. tice of their neighbors.”
Summer kicked off her sandals before sitting, Starlight laughed. She had noticed that tendency
enjoying the chance to be barefoot, and she poured already, even when she sat at a table with people in
herself some tea. “So, what do you think of the city, the Happy Goat.
Watcher?” “So, are you here to use the gate, or on other
“It’s easy to go unnoticed, even for me.” business?” Summer sipped her tea, patiently await-
“Indeed,” Summer replied. Looking over Starlight, ing a response, as the loom weaved the future of that
who was plain already, she could see how easy it would response.

36
 “I’m on duty, my first field assignment.”
“Oh, really? Can you tell, or is it under the jurisdic-
tion of Wanyang?”
“Oh, just have to keep an eye on some young Ter-
restrial noble. He got flagged by the Bureau of Destiny
for a small but significant future. Happened when
he decided to come out here after Tepet Marae.” She
sipped her tea, and then continued, “Have you ever
heard the name Nellens Tammareal Cain?”
“No, but I know of Tepet Marae. She’s a Solar.”
It was only by sheer force of will that Starlight did
not spit her tea across the table. It was even more will
that allowed her to set her cup back on the table with-
out shaking or spilling a drop. And it was with similar
will that she kept her voice steady as she stated the
obvious problem with this, “We can’t let Cain find out.
He’ll drag the Wyld Hunt to Nexus.”
“I have already considered that. I don’t think that
we’ll have too much of a problem. She knows well
enough to hide her abilities when needed. The problem
is more of her Circle.”
“She has a full Circle?”
“No. It’s imperfect, but already powerful. They are
acquiring some power in this city. We’ve been trying to
establish contact for almost a year now, but they have
no interest in the Cult of the Illuminated, and in fact,
they have inadvertently started up competition.
“Competition?”
‘The Temple of the Celestial Radiant Lion, it’s a
cover faith for the Unconquered Sun. Not sure how well
it will do, they lost their Zenith according to Harbinger
of the Winds, but the Twilight that started it does seem
to hear the words of the Sun.”
“What have we done about it?”
“So far, I just put some pressure on the Council of
Entities to keep the Twilight off the Council of Auspicious
District Advisors. Tepet Marae is slated to be a District
Advisor under the fake name of Talia Darkendsun. I
fear for the city if two Solars without our guidance
were in the city bureaucracy.”
“I concur, elder.”
“We’re not in Yu-Shan dear; we’re all equals in the
field. So, is this Nellens fellow cute?”
37
“Summer! You invite scandal?”
“What scandal? You are the chosen of Venus. You
have the advantage of our anonymity. Even if you
chose to seduce him, he’d forget you the next day,”
Summer said with a slim smile. “Even if he could not
forget the sex.”
Starlight blushed. She sipped her tea.
“I’m sorry, I went too far.”
“No, it’s just been a while since I had relations.
Been working. I am thankful that Cain came out to
Gold territory. I felt so… stifled in the Realm. Maybe I
shall seduce him, as thanks for getting me around my
peers,” and then, Starlight broke down into almost
childlike giggling.
“See? You are the Chosen of Venus.”
They both laughed.
After they calmed, and poured new tea, Summer
continued, “So, what destiny does this Cain have?
Good one I hope?”
“At this point it is undetermined. We just know
he’s going to do something important to a short term
result. His specific destiny is not as important as the
destiny he will aid by completing his.”
“Ah, a focal point then. Convergence?”
“Yes,” Starlight answered.
“And our Cain unknowingly seeks the hand of a
Solar?”
Starlight blanched. “Yes.”
“Well, then we might have a problem. I can’t wait
on Harbinger to have time off to try again. We have to
make contact now. Especially with them about to open
the…” She stopped, seeming to listen to air.
“Your assistant?”
“Yes. It’s worse. They may very well be starting
war in this city soon.”
“Why?”
“Because, regardless of their inherent problems
as Solars, they are loyal to their friends.” And Sum-
mer explained the change in the Loom of Fate that her
spirit assistant had just informed her of.
Then, Starlight truly knew fear.
 WEEP, SWEET ONE
by Allison Lynch; Allston, MA
I broke a goddess once.
She was a creature of diaphanous torment and
sweet debauchery, the very essence of heartbreak given
breath and bone. A runaway from the Celestial Bureau,
she had, months before, set herself up in a corner of
Great Forks, the city of the gods, and purloined from
the surrounding temples a selection of nubile young
worshippers that fawned and frolicked with her all
hours of the day and night. She eluded capture a thou-
sand different times, and the celestial censors were at
a loss when they petitioned the Bureau of Destiny for
a hunter to track down and bring to trial this errant
goddess. They were surprised when a joint conclave
of divisions chose me, a freshly promoted Chosen of
the House of Leisure for the job.
I was younger then, but I pride myself in admit-
ting I was no less jaded to the work of my fellows as
I am now. At the advice of my mentors, I crafted a
disguise of Essence and star magic, tested it on a few
unsuspecting gods in the ranker districts of Heaven,
and satisfied I could make even the most hard-hearted
creature melt, descended to her temple with a design
fully formed in my mind.
She never suspected the disheveled, handsome
youth that appeared in her shrine’s doorway during
an impromptu festival in her honor. I wove my way
through her court like a ghost at first, allowing her
only glimpses of my face or body through the swirling
bodies of her supplicants. The magic caught her before
her third glance, and she broke into the crowd to find
me; yet, I was always a step ahead of her, never letting
her touch more than a lock of my hair or the curve of
my back. We danced in circles, round and round and
round, and when she came face to face with me, I only
smiled before melting back into the hot press of bod-
ies. It was maddening, I’m sure.
Day after day, I waltzed in and out of her temple
at my own whim, ignoring her demands to sit beside
her, to comb her glowing hair or serve her dark wine
and golden peaches. Every petulant defiance made
her want me more, and each smile I gave her made
her heart ache for me. She once made mortals beg for
her aloof caresses; now, I watched as she succumbed
38
to burning lust with just a thought of me and cried out
my name in the night as others labored to please her.
Soon she could not sleep, but tossed and turned, her
dreams filled with the sound of my fading laughter or
the faint touch of my hand.
When the time was auspicious, I brought the cha-
rade to an appropriate end.
She wandered the halls of her temple regularly now,
unable to sleep for fear of fevered dreams she could
not stop. There I came to her like a shadow, leading her
down darkened corridors, letting her chase me until she
was breathless and yearning. Then, in a quiet courtyard
under the stars that foretold her demise, I let her catch
me and have me for one achingly brief moment. Her
tongue tasted like sour wine made sweet with honey
and rot; her undying, eternal devotions to my smooth
and youthful flesh rang prosaic in my ears.
When I laughed and laughed and laughed, mirthless
and uncaring, and she finally saw what hid beneath
my veil of starlit lies, it broke her cold, jade heart in
two.
I left her alone and desolate as the sun rose, a
shadow once more. She made no attempt to flee when
the censors came for her, and her trial was short and
to the point. They sentenced her to death for her petty
crimes, and her body plummeted from the heavens and
fell in a last blaze of hollow beauty to Creation.
As a reward, my superiors at the Bureau gifted
me with a fine blade, a sword forged with care and
weighted with my own particular hand in mind. The
tang is black and blue jade speckled with diamonds;
the braid, sapphire thread woven around moonsilver
spines. And the blade… the blade itself is the pinnacle
of craftsmanship: Starmetal folded a thousand times,
formed lovingly into an edge so sharp it could cut the
air itself. In the right light, the whole creation shines
like silver honey, thick and beautiful. It is, without
doubt, one of the finest objects I own, a treasure above
all others.
And sometimes, when the evening is quiet and cool,
like that night in the courtyard with my fractured,
disconsolate goddess, I hear it weeping.