first steps adv. for witch hundter rpg

The First Steps

DP 3-02 Spring, 1690 Version 1.2

By

Kenneth and Heather Walz

Stepping into the life of a witch hunter, the first steps are full of unknown and the most deadly.

This is an introduction module, with an emphasis on learning the game and some of the groups involved.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.thy staff they comfort me.thy staff they comfort me.thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4Psalm 23:4Psalm 23:4Psalm 23:4 (King James Version)(King James Version)(King James Version)(King James Version)

Witch HunterWitch HunterWitch HunterWitch Hunter and Dark ProvidenceDark ProvidenceDark ProvidenceDark Providence are trademarks of Paradigm Concepts, Inc. Adventure content is 2009 by Paradigm Concepts, Inc. All rights reserved.

The First Steps DP3-02 Page 2 of 17

Credits

Author(s): Ken & Heather Walz Editor(s): Clint Blome & Crystal Elmore

Background and History

At the Current Time

The new players get a chance to learn the rules and some of the more important history of the game. In addition, learn about some of the orders in character. They start in London on the docks and are lead to the Court of Whispers. After some groups talk to them, they go outside of London to learn more about the groups and gather information. On the way back to London, they are attacked and have to defend themselves. They wind up back at the Court of Whispers and find out actions have consequences with the death of a person for the tip money they may have given earlier in the event.

Introduction

So you have survived your first encounter with the forces of the Invisible World and are forever changed and marked by it, wither that mark be a glow, a smell, or something else. You know that there are others like you, but youre not sure where. You took it as providence when you found a free shipboard to London and headed off. As you gather your items and leave the ship, you notice others like yourself gathering on the dock also looking confused as where to go next.

Adventure Summary

In scene 1, the players learn about the Court of Whispers, the Twelve Penitents, the Crusaders Inviolate, fear, and command. Then they meet a Seeker of Emet and become involved in the politics of the relics.

In scene 2, the players travel out of London to meet and learn about the Ghost People, Dream Walkers,

Stalkers of the Unseen Hunt, Stalwarts of St Christopher, Lightbringers, Apostles of the New Dawn, Rose and Crown, and the Sainted Mothers. For skills, they learn stealth, a little about defense and melee attack, a bit about firearms, and some myth and lore skills. They also run into some information about relics and some more of the history of the world.

In scene 3, they get to meet the Sunwise Circle learn about faith and damnation and get a introduction to combat as a group of Jesuits attacks the carriage they are in. After the combat, they get back to the court of whispers and learn about the groups, Ascetics of the Ten Persecutions and Fellowship of the Ashen Cross, and in doing so learn about empathy, and more of the history. Then the players get to realize the tip they may have given earlier lead to a death.

Note for GMs:

This is a Role-play intensive mod with several occasions where the PCs will meet members of the various groups of the Witch Hunter Orders. Keep an eye on your time limit for the slot and try to balance accordingly.

Scene 1: Court of Whispers

Give the players a moment to introduce themselves to each other.

You hear from behind your group, Top of the day to you Guvners and Ladies, would you be needing a guide this day? As your group turns, you see a young child of the streets wearing a stained tunic and dusty face with the glow of a Witch Hunter. He continues, Alena said it was a fated day for me, guess youre what she meant. Follow me please Ladies and Guv'ners and I will get ya where you need to be.

As you leave the foggy dock, the young boy speaks again, Now that we are out of the docks, the wharf rats can't hear what we say. I was told to bring you to the Court of Whispers below Westminster Abbey. Its one of the Treaty Grounds


for those of us who work in the light of our Lord. Do you have any questions I can try to answer?

How do you know we are Witch Hunters/who we are?

You glow with the Mark of Angel Michael, all Witch Hunters are marked such so we can recognize each other, but how we view the marks is different. To me it looks like you glow with a inner warmth, others say they hear angels echoing the words of the spoken, still others say there is a glow around the heads like the paintings show of the saints.

Who is Alena?

She is one of the Twelve Penitents; shes a seer and speaks all funny-like.

Who/What are the Twelve Penitents?

They are a group that have given up fighting the Adversary directly and instead have been given the gift of foresight so that they can advise and assist any Witch Hunters in their quests.

Who are you?

Me? You can call me Mishka.

PCs with at least one trained rank in Russian realize the name means mouse.

Mishka? Do you know that means mouse?

What! Oh that noble is losing his purse next time I see him, he told me it meant strong and fearless leader.

What is the Court of Whispers?

Its what is called a Treaty Grounds. It is one of a few spots where Witch Hunters can gather and exchange information as we fight the Adversary.

You fight the Adversary?

We all fight in our own ways; most people ignore the beggar on the street when they talk, so I hear lots of information that I can pass on.

When the PCs are ready to continue, read the following:

As you walk through the London morning fog, Mishka leads you down an alley about a block from Westminster Abby. "Well here is one of the doors that lead to the sewers and down to the Court of Whispers. I wish you luck in your fight." He subtly holds his hand out for a tip as he smiles "Perhaps a few coins M lord to help me in me job?"

After the PCs tip or do not tip him, Mishka speaks, "I can only pray that my sister never finds out what I do for a living."

Make sure to note down how much of a tip is given.

Sister or Job?

"Yes, I pray that she never has to see or fight as we have to. She thinks I am just a little beggar boy, and I do love her for her innocence."

A strong voice comes from the door in the darkness, "Ok, street rat, get a move on. I will take them from here."

A man with military bearing steps from the shadows as Mishka turns to leave, "Ok Judas. See you later."

The man sighs shaking his head, "Greetings I am Joden Smyth. I am with the Crusaders Inviolate, we are the rightful decedents of the Knights Templar and are charged with protecting artifacts needed for the fight against the Adversary. Please pay attention to the path to the Court as I dont go looking for those that lose themselves in the sewers." He abruptly turns and heads into the shadows.


After a few moments, he leads you to an open room. The Court of Whispers itself is an octagonal chamber with a large domed ceiling. All around the chamber are a series of niches that look down into a central theater. The central chamber reaches up 40 feet in height, but the dome rises up another 30 feet. The central theater is about 40 feet in diameter, while the bench areas sit 15 feet rail to wall. The entire chamber is 70 feet across, though it feels much smaller because of the benches.

"This is the Court area where all are free to talk. Now to see to your education, follow me," Joden says as he leads you to a smaller room off the main hall. The room shines brightly in torchlight showing mirrors on three of the walls and a man in robes stands in the corner holding a snake. One of the most powerful weapons the Adversary can use against you is your fear. However, with faith and strength of character one can command others to stand strong and help to overcome the effects of that fear. Now, prepare yourselves! The man takes the snake and traces a symbol in the air calling to some power as the head of the snake transforms into a face born of horrors.

The Spell that is being cast is called Face of Loa. It creates a Fear 3 effect. For more information on this spell, see Appendix 1.

Joden's voice calls out, "The light of our Lord is with you! Stand strong in His light and the fear will be as darkness receding from the light!"

Jodens Command check is 8 dice and he is Talented so re-roll one result of 1. He starts with the character that failed the Courage check by the largest amount and works his way downward.

Why did Mishka call you Judas?

Mishka and I disagree on many things. That is all you need to know about that.

On a D2 Empathy check, the PCs can tell that he is hiding strong emotions behind a mask of strength.

What is the benefit of being a Crusaders Inviolate?

As you grow in our Order we can provide assistance in points of contact or even minor items to assist you in your missions.

Can anyone use command?

Those who are courageous are best at command, but anyone may try. It does take a bit of time in combat to give the commands so you must choose whether the attack you would give up is worth more than the time to give the command.

As you head down the hall and back into the Court of Whispers, a tall gentleman wearing a traditional rabbis outfit meets you. He nods to Joden as he scans your party, Greetings, young Hunters. My name is Yosef; I am with the Seekers of Emet. We are a group of Jewish hunters, whose mission is to track down the items taken from the sacking of the Second Temple by the Romans. Our Order is one of the most knowledgeable about relics, and so I have been asked to give you a quick briefing about them.

Mr. Joden, could you please wait a moment, we need to have a discussion about the items recovered from the last group we sponsored together. Joden nods his head and moves to wait at the side of the Court.

"I have been asked to give you advice on the occult, myths and lore, and relics. Learning the histories of the cultures and items is most difficult. I suggest you try to travel with a scholar or learn a bit about these subjects as these can help you in the fight against Adversary. Not all vampires have an aversion to garlic, and silver does not weaken all werewolves. They have learned to adapt their weaknesses and learning the skills of occult or myth and lore can help to spot them so you can use that weakness against them. Do you have any questions before we move on to relics?"

So the creatures may have weaknesses different from what history tells us?


Yes, that is why the use of those skills is important; they can allow you to see the weaknesses.

He continues, "Relics are considered holy by some and magical by others, all seem to have some sort of unearthly or miraculous power that it exudes or conveys upon the bearer. The Crusaders Inviolate have learned to rank a relic by the power it has. The rest of the Orders have taken what they have learned and begun to use the same rankings. For example, a level one relic that I know of is the Lesser Seal of Solomon. It is a small token that fits in the palm of your hand and assists in the casting of Hermetic rites. There is also a tobacco from the New World that their shamans can bless. It removes the intangibility power of the opponent. The more powerful relics could be a bone of a saint, or a weapon of a great hero. If you dont have any questions...

Please give Joden and me a moment to consult.

Yosef and Joden move to the side of the chamber and begin talking to each other.

If the players ask to listen in have them make a Notice check:

D1-2: They are discussing a problem dealing with some sort of relics.

D3: They are discussing a set of relics that were split and which order should get them for research, something said about proxy group to decide as its too expensive to get the original group as the two look at the party.

The two head back to the party shaking their heads in agreement. We have need of the opinions of neutral Witch Hunters, Joden states.

Yosef continues, Another group of Hunters recovered some items from a coven of witches and split the items up between our two groups, we have discovered that they need to be completed sets in order to research what they were being used for. Neither of our groups is willing to give the items to

the other, due to past incidents. However, we are willing to listen to your groups advice as to which of us should be given these items.

Joden speaks up, We will give you the items and let you research them. While you are talking to the other groups today please consider our request. At the end of the day, we will ask you for your opinion on which group should be given the items.

Why don't you let the original group decide?

They have already departed London and it would take considerable time and effort to have them return. Therefore we are willing to accept your opinions on the matter.

What are the items?

It is a set of six cylinders. Three of them are negative carved and three are positive carved.

Where did they find them?

A group of Witch Hunters found them after fighting a coven of witches in the area around holy Jerusalem.

Use Players Handout 1 so players can get an idea of what they look like.

Over the course of the module, the PCs will get an opportunity to speak to many people belonging to the many Orders available to Witch Hunters. You can see Appendix 2 to help guide any responses they may have to give as well as the questions presented in their sections.

I will lead you to a wagon that will take you outside of London to a small training area that we have hidden. Be alert for you can never be sure where the next attack will be coming from.


Scene 2: The Woods

Leaving the sewers, a waiting carriage whisks you outside of London to a wooded area. The driver points down a small game trail, "They are waiting for you over there. I will wait for you here to take you back." Following the trail for a few moments leads you through the darkened woods to a small clearing that has a sheltered campfire, an archery target, and a few strange tents. Stepping onto the trail behind you are two American Indians shaking their heads disapprovingly.

With them is a young lady about 5 foot 9 inches and has a lean, nearly emaciated look to her. Her hair is a shoulder-length curly brown and her eyes are a piercing green. She wears a black leather frock coat with gold trim and blue lining, a pleated black skirt that comes to just below the tops of her British naval officer boots, a black and teal corset, and a high collar white blouse. Two rapiers hang on either side of her wide black belt. Holstered on a small black baldric just below her left shoulder is a pistol. Her high-collared blouse does not quite completely cover scars where some sort of beast once nearly ripped out her throat. She wears a ring with the emblem of the British East India Trading Company, indicating a past affiliation. A chain of trinkets from her many travels hangs from her belt, swaying as she walks.

She translates for the two Indians "You make more noise than a herd of buffalos stampeding. You must learn to walk like a shadow on the trail or you will alert your enemies, and they will not take mercy on you. Greetings, I am Katherine Clarkson formally of His Majesties Navy. This is Slow-Bear with the Ghost People, he is of those who has been cast out of his tribe and is forced to wander tribeless in our fight." Slow-bear nods.

Katherine bows to the other Indian, "This is Speaks-for-Wolves, he is a Dream walker. He has the ability to send messages as dreams to others. Their order is one of the few ways we can talk over long distances.

Now follow me as we walk through the woods and try not to trip over the trees. Once we get back, you

can ask your questions. Speaks-for-Wolves will try to track us by the amount of noise we make."

Let each of the players roll a Stealth check. The group is only as quiet as its weakest member is, so use the fewest number of successes for the group.

If a player botches the roll, he or she actually trips on a stack of twigs and falls back into the clearing making a great deal of noise.

If the lowest number of successes is zero or one Speaks-for-Wolves frowns and shakes his head disapprovingly.

If the lowest number of successes is two, Speaks-for-Wolves is expressionless and the party earns a nod.

If the lowest number of successes is three or more then the players have impressed Speaks for Wolves and he smiles at them with respect.

Katherine speaks to the group, I am here to talk to you about my group, the Apostles of the New Dawn. Ours is the youngest of the orders; we are travelers that do our best to make sure the forces of the Adversary do not bring harm to the travels to the New World or other expeditions. As our group does tend to travel a bit more than the others do, we find it easier to learn new languages. We have learned to dabble in the Sorcerous Traditions without any formal training for them. With the charms and trinkets we have picked up in our travels, we can attempt to recreate Prayer or Hermetic rites, but it is much harder for us than those who have studied in those skills."

What are the Ghost people?

Slow-Bear will answer, We are from what you call the New World. Our tribe has exiled us for what we do defies many of our peoples beliefs. Our people see both good and evil as necessary parts of the world, and by fighting what you call the Adversary, we deny one aspect of the world.


What are the Dream Walkers?

Speaks-for-Wolves answers, "We are those who have learned to speak in the dreams of others. We can send messages over great distances and bring forth memories of spirits to guide in the fight against the darkness."

What can you tell us of the cylinders?

Katherine can identify them as Sumerian Cylinder Seals. She will not know the order they were written or what they say.

Can you help us learn more about these?

Slow-Bear will answer, I can help you to see into the Invisible World and study the cylinders from a new perspective. But be warned as the things that you may see past the boundary of our world may be disturbing.

If the party will allow it, Slow-Bear can cast Awakening on a member of the party. He will not look at the cylinders himself with the rite. The rite will last one minute. See Visions of the Cylinders with Awakening in Appendix 2 for the vision.

Read the following once the players are done with their questions:

You hear a feminine voice behind you, "The American Indians have some strange abilities, but they have proved useful in the fight against the Adversary." As you turn, you see a petite woman with long straight black hair, high cheekbones, light brown eyes, and a Mediterranean complexion. She carries a beaded Indian medicine bag and a large number of pistols.

Next to her is a gentleman in his early 20's. He is obviously Dutch with blond hair, blue eyes, stocky, 5 foot 10 inches. He wears fairly worn but serviceable traveling clothes, a black hat with a peacock feather, various pistols, and a rapier. The gentleman nods his head as he begins to speak, "Greetings, I am Johann Gershon Delavre. I am with the Stalwarts of Saint Christopher, an Order

that believes in protecting others more than ourselves. To guard and give your life for another is the greatest gift, as our lord has shown.

Let me show you what I mean. Please, step forward and try to attack Genevieve, he gestures to the woman beside him. I will use my skills and my rapier, Lady Beth, to stop your attacks.

The PCs will focus their attacks on Genevieve while Johann uses the Stalwart of St. Christopher ability to sacrifice his own Defense Pool to keep the attacks from hitting Genevieve.

Combat info Name Initiative Pool Defense Pool

Genevieve 5d 3d+1 Johann 7d 5d+1

The battle will end after three rounds of combat or the first time the PCs are able to do actual damage to Genevieve.

Johann puts his blade away, That is how we Stalwarts protect others. Now, my good friend here, Genevieve, will speak to you about the Stalkers of the Unseen Hunt." He bows and steps back as Genevieve steps up dusting herself off.

"I am Genevieve Milanovich, and I am with the Stalkers. We are a band of brothers and sisters who hunt the darkness before it hunts us. Our motto is 'Know your prey by knowing its territory'. By specializing in hunting the beasts of the Adversary, we leave the more urban evils to others"

Genevieve nods to the other side of the clearing where a target is set up beside a path, "Down that path is a trail that the Lightbringers have set up for us to practice our gunnery. I will go first then we will see what you can do." Genevieve steps lightly down the path shooting at targets as they appear. As she picks her targets, she is careful to verify that the targets she takes shots at represent evil and not innocents in the way. Her bandolier of six pistols quickly empties.


As she turns to address you, two targets spring up on the trail beside her. She quickly flicks each pistol to the other hand and uses them as clubs, smashing the targets. "What is this?" She asks.

You hear clapping coming from behind you. Turning around, you see a petite woman with auburn hair and extraordinary green eyes. She is standing next to a tall sandy haired man of German decent. Both wear smiles and are dressed for the woods. The only things you see on the woman are a rapier at her waist and a dagger with an eagles head pommel. Around her neck is a beautiful gold and silver cross. The man wears a dagger and carries a twisted staff covered in sigils. On his finger just above the gloves he wears is a silver ring with a cross on it.

Brava Genevieve. I see that I will have to try harder to best you in the future. Better that the mannequins suffer than fellow Hunters, she says with a sigh.

Ysabella I thought that you were going to tell us when you changed the course. That was the agreement.

Fredrick changed the course. I just take credit for it. Therefore, our agreement stands, when I change the course I will tell you. Even now, they send me to talk to these new hunters to give them a chance to join the Lightbringers cause, and Fredrick is here for the same reason: to find new recruits. So if youre done here.

Genevieve nods, Actually if one of them would like to take the course they can, or they can go with you. Genevieve looks at the party.

If a player wishes to go down Lightbringers alley, they get a bandolier with six pistols. As innocent targets appear with deadly targets they have to make a D1 Notice check to find each of the targets, then a Firearms Check on the chart below to see if they hit. A botch on a Notice check means they shoot an innocent. A failure on the Notice check means they do not see the target until too late and lose a point. A botch on the Firearms check means the gun misfires and they lose the point for the target, once a person

loses three points they are informed that they are killed and led off the path.

Target Difficulty 1 1 2 1 3 2 4 2 5 3 6 3

Once the party is ready to continue, read the following:

Ysabella motions to a path you only now notice and motions for you to follow her, As you now know, I am a member of the Lightbringers. We gather knowledge in the hopes of bringing about a new enlightened age where we will not be thought of as witches but as scientists. We hope to find new technologies to fight the Adversary, and we want the rest of the world to help save itself. If I sound bitter it is because I am also a Hermetic magic user like Fredrick, she pulls of her glove and shows her hand to you palm out, and this is how the church keeps us in line.

On the skin of her palm is a glowing sigil.

A D1 Sorcerous Tradition: Hermetic check or a general D2 Sorcerous Tradition check tells the PCs that this is a mark of the Ordeal.

We must prove ourselves safe to be around people. Locked away for a year, tested over and over, and still, we are hunted by the Jesuits, she sobs out. Unable to talk any more, she turns into Fredricks shoulder.

Frederick begins to speak, his deep bass voice rumbling out, I have also gone through the trials, but I was not as affected as some. My order is that of the Rose and Cross. We watch new recruits to see who to invite to join us. We do not go around advertising who we are because we are all magi.


For some time, the church has used us as pawns against noble houses because of our scholarship. We remain a bastion of learning from the times of Solomon himself, but we know that we have forgotten much. So we rely on the older members for their knowledge and the abilities of the young for recovering lost knowledge. He delivers this monologue in a deadpan voice. Its almost as if all the emotion was gone from him. If you have any questions about our orders or hermetic magic, please ask.

With a D1 Empathy check, the PCs can tell that there is friction between Genevieve and Ysabella.

What is the benefit of joining the Lightbringers?

Ysabella answers, We know of ways to focus our mind on problems and come up with answers quicker than others might. But this is tiring and can only be done once in a short time.

What is the benefit of joining the Rose and Crown?

Frederick answers, Our Order can assist with the learning of rites. We have ways of training you so that you can learn an extra rite when you first venture into a new circle of magic.

Questions about the seals?

Ysabella cocks an eyebrow, Let me look at those. After a few moments of study she responds, I cannot read them, but I believe they go in this order. She arranges the cylinders into the appropriate order.

Fredrick looks at the cylinders, I believe they are two separate stories. The first three appear to tell the Story of Gilgamesh, or part of it. The other three tell the story of the great flood.

The seals are in the following order:

Gilgamesh part 1 positive carved, Emet Gilgamesh part 2 negative carved, Emet Gilgamesh part 3 positive carved, Crusaders

Flood part 1 negative carved, Crusaders Flood part 2 -- positive carved, Crusaders Flood part 3 negative carved, Emet

Once the players are done with the questions, continue with the following:

Frederick looks at the group, The lady over there is your next representative. Meet Suni Yuri senior sister of the Sainted Mothers. I will escort Ysabella back to London to recover.

The woman you see in front of you is dressed strangely in a leather caftan and harem pants. Her black hair is plaited down her back and by her side is a larger than normal house cat. She carries a large curved blade at her side. Welcome children. Now, does anyone have knowledge of the history of men?

First, there was more to the garden then most know. Adam had two wives. There was Eve, the sweet child, and Lilith, the mother of all abominations. God told Lilith that for every day that she defied him one of her children would die. The Adversary gave her a way out. He told her that for every child of Eve that died, He would spare one of her children to wreck havoc and chaos. So, from the time of Blessed Thecla, we have fought her and protected the children of Eve.

When the black plague came so many men were lost. The Adversary thought that if the plague killed the men, then women would surrender. He had never given birth multiple times, or worked a farm when a husband was injured. We women stepped up to take the places held by men. The world recovered and men wanted their places back. She smiles at the thought and says with a grin, We told them No. The mothers had banded together to protect children and give humanity a chance against all the abominations of Lilith and the Adversary. We had earned our place among men, as equals.

Safe travels to you and remember that children are vulnerable until we show them the Lord. After that they thrive in the safety of true faith.


A D2 Trained Knowledge: History check or D3 Theology check will verify the story given.

Scene 3: Putting it together

Suni Yuri leads you back to the carriage. Awaiting you in the carriage is an older man. He has a carefully maintained mustache in the current French style and a closely cropped beard, both of which are grayer than his black hair. His weatherworn face is timeless, yet somehow disapproving of you and your companions. The rich brocades and gold ornamentation of his clothing could probably feed a small village for at least a month, and either of the rapiers hes wearing on his hips would be more than enough to feed New Amsterdam for several days. The large leather-clad case he has with him appears quite worn, but he never let it stray far from his hands, constantly touching and fondling it as he speaks.

The older gentleman motions for the group to enter the carriage and after a brief time you find yourselves back upon the road to London.

"Greetings, my friends, I am Alexi Dmitry Mikhailovzch from mother Russia. I am with the Sunwise Circle, a group from Poland and Russia. Our strongest asset in the order is the rightness of our duty. That strength gives us the ability to have faith that we will succeed in our orders and our duty to our lord. Our Order finds that we are able to focus our rightness on the task at hand to grant us extra energy. However, we have found that you must focus on all the types of abilities before you can focus on any one again. After fighting skills, one could focus on professional, movement, or interactive skills.

Your True Faith is your belief and unswerving conviction that the Lord or greater power you follow will ultimately triumph over its wicked counterpart. The stronger your faith, the easier it is to resist the call and temptations of the Adversary.

But Damnation also abounds. Sometimes, in order to accomplish what we must for the Lord, a

Witch Hunter may have to call upon the darkest parts of his soul; to make a deal with the Devil, if you will. Now does that mean you will never gain any Damnation in your travels? No! Most Hunters gain some Damnation in order to gain advantage over our opponents. You may also have to perform some rites that start you on the trail of Damnation. However, with penitence and faith in the power of our Lord, you can remove the stains on your soul."

As the carriage rounds a corner, it abruptly stops. From outside you hear a man shout out, "In the name of all that is Holy, the servants of the Holy See command you to renounce your witchcraft and repent! May your souls be saved in the purity of fire now rather than spend eternity burning in Hell."

Alexi mutters and shakes his head. "Jesuits. Ready yourself for battle." He opens a trap door in the floor of the carriage and says, "You take the right side, I will get the leader and the left side with the driver" As you slip from the carriage and make your way along its side you see a group of young priests with staves ready for battle.

There will be 4 Jesuit Priests per PC.

Jesuit Priests Threat Level 2 Skills Hand-to-Hand 1 Weapons DM Staff +2

Make sure to ask when the player drops the first Jesuit, if they are attacking lethal or non-lethal.

If the party contains a larger number of combat-capable characters, increase the number of Priests to 5 per PC. If the party is combat light, decrease the Priests to 3 per PC.

After the battle as you make your way to the other side of the carriage, you see Alexi tending to the Head Priest as he shakes his head. "Now sit still or you will open your bandages and bleed to death here on the road. Others will be by soon enough to get you to a church for rest." He turns to the group out of listening range of the Priest.


If any of the players chose to do lethal damage in the combat, Alexi will look at them disappointingly.

"I have to return to the training area and make sure the trail was not followed. The carriage ride should be safe enough from here."

If anyone asks Alexi about the seals, he will tell them that it looks like there are remains of dried blood in the smallest crevasses of the seals.

As you reenter the Court of Whispers, you notice a man wearing a shirt stained with wine and other less distinguished things. He looks inquiringly at a ladies handkerchief mumbling to himself, "I wonder which one I got this from?"

Shaking his head as he notices your group looking at him, "Oh, sorry, I was distracted a moment. I am Franklin of the order of the Ascetics. It is not an easy Order to follow for we have seen the true writings of God and follow the persecutions that were visited upon us by the early Christians of the Romans. The Lord has blessed us for our faith and duty with the ability to use that faith to call upon Him and bring several different blessings to others. However, we have also taken a vow not to reveal the writings of the Lord to those outside of our Order, so many misunderstood us. Those who are down and have been abused normally find our Order is there first to help as we are mostly cut from the same cloth.

He pauses a moment to catch his breath and take a swig of wine from a bottle he pulls from his pocket. Now, my friends, another one of the Adversarys favorite weapons is that of the lie, you must be able to tell truth from falsehood so that you can uncover the evil that lies in the hearts of many. I will give you a series of statements and you must figure out which is true. He sniffs his nose as he begins.

Franklin will make a series of statements using the Deceive skill. The players will need to make Empathy checks in order to negate his successes.

The Spanish wines from Jumilla are better than French Bordeaux.

With a D2 Empathy check, the PCs can tell that he actually thinks they are both the same quality.

Our Order gets by with begging.

A D1 Empathy check the PCs can tell from his voice you can tell he actually has never had to beg.

Both answers are lies. Telling him this will cause him to smile at the PCs and give them a nod of encouragement. If the PCs fail the test, he will sigh and shake his head at them.

Franklin looks up as you hear echoing from the floor below. You see a priest with the sash of the Jesuits walking slowly over with a look of disappointment on his face. Ah, I see my favorite father is coming to chastise me again, I wonder which sermon he will give first today. Ladies and Gentles may I introduce Father Bernado Russi of Naples

The priest shakes his head at Franklin Franklin, must you drink to excess here in this area?

Franklin glances around as he smiles, It's not that sacred down here and enjoying the fruit and drink of our Lord is just showing our devotion to all of the things He creates.

Father Bernado looks at Franklin blinking slowly as he sighs. These youngsters were involved in combat earlier with those of my order who still follow the Holy See. I have been asked to inform them of why they were attacked. Franklin nods as he wobbles down the stairs and starts talking to a young Spanish lady.

In order to understand why we are hunted by the Holy See, you must understand two events from the past: the second sacrifice by his holiness Pope


Sergius V in 1294 and the Council of Trent in 1555. The father sits himself down and beings give his lecture. History tells us that in 1294 Pope Sergius fought alongside an army of holy warriors to stop an undead infestation in the Black Forest of Germania. The truth of the matter is that the only way the undead tide was stopped was with a ritual that required the holiest of blood to be spilled. The Knights Templar and Stalkers of the Unseen Hunt deceived the Pope into going to the Black Forest with just a minor guard. They seized His Holiness and for three days and nights he bore the agonies of crucifixion. At the end of that time Cardinal Paschal himself concluded the ritual and lit the cross alight. When the flames reached the body of His Holiness there was a flash of light so intense that it scared and blinded many in the area. However, the undead where destroyed and the blight that was upon the land was gone.

Cardinal Paschal was elected for his bravery to become the next pope and took on the name Pope Leo Innocent I. However, his witnessing the events in Germania took a toll on him, his hair was pure white. He also realized that the power of the Witch Hunter Orders had grown too strong. He led a covert war against the Knights Templar that came to a head when King Phillip IV of France accused the Templars of consorting with the Devil. On October 13, 1312, the King seized all the holding of the Templars. Of course, the branch of the Templars that knew of the Invisible World fought to defend themselves with spells providing the evidence of their guilt to the world. It led to the downfall of the Knights. Pope Leo Innocent then decreed that the well armored fighting orders where a violation of Gods will. At that point the Orders of Solomon went underground to continue the fight against the Adversary. Father bows his head and mumbles a prayer before continuing.

For nearly two hundred years after that we fought as best as we could to stop the Adversary, in that time Witch Hunters came to be known to the people as living saints for the miracles that we could do. At the Council of Trent, there was a formal denial of the living saints and Pope Paul IV, under pressure, declared that Witch Hunter abilities where not miracles performed by God, but by deals made with darker powers, and as such the orders of the church took a stand against Witch Hunters.

The most militant of the groups to date is the Society of Jesus. They are soldiers of Christ commonly known as the Jesuits. Yes, I was one with that order but you could say I am on a sabbatical for now. The Jesuits take the work of the Holy See quite to heart and are very good at their job. The second order to be aware of is the Dominicans or the Black Friars. They are heavily involved with the Spanish Inquisition. Moreover, the methods they employ just skirt the edge of heresy. If caught by them they give you a choice, burn at the stake like a heretic, or attempt to redeem yourself by serving the Black Friars as a Black Hound. The hounds use their knowledge to lead the Friars to other Hunters.

The last of the large orders is the Franciscans, those that follow Saint Francis of Assisi. The Franciscans while officially have no contact with Witch Hunters will often turn a blind eye to their presence, they are unwilling to assist the rest of the church in their efforts to punish or kill those who are, in their own way, doing Gods work. The father leans back waiting to see if there are any questions.

Did you ever kill any Witch Hunters?

Bernado sighs, Yes. In retrospect, before my enlightenment, I did burn 14 witches, 8 of which where Witch Hunters, and that is a burden my own soul must bear.

What made you turn?

I was in Paris following a supposed cult of witches when I recognized one of them as a priest I knew from the Eastern Orthodox Church. That delay in response allowed me to see a group of people turn into werewolves and sacrifice several innocents to their hunger. I watched the cult of witches fight the wolves and in the fight. I noticed the mark of Michael on them, and on myself, as I brought my own skills into the fray against the werewolves.

My own order is the Fellowship of the Ashen Cross. We understand why the church is against


the Witch Hunters, but it is our belief that one day we will become accepted by the Holy See and be allowed to fight against the Adversary in the open with the blessing of His Holiness. We have one of the most recent relics to grace this earth, the cross used in the second sacrifice. The ash of that cross allows our order to do wondrous powers with it and our faith.

We are quite unlike the Crusaders who believe that the end justifies the means; we try to work within the system of laws of the countries to do the most good in our fight. A young man comes up to the group and locks eyes on the priest who keeps speaking, not missing a step. Ah my friends, this is Tom Hargetty, he serves the Court here. What is wrong my friend?

Toms eyes betray sadness in them as he speaks. You know of the street urchin nicknamed Mishka? he asks before continuing. I have heard news on the streets and unfortunately confirmed that his sister was killed this afternoon it seems some thugs tried to rob her and took and her life in the process. Bernardo shakes his head as a tear falls down his cheek, I shall find him. Will you find Joden and make sure he does not get into any trouble over this? He nods to your group, I wish I could take more time with you, but I must find Mishka and comfort him in this time of sorrow, to die for is truly a crime that should be avenged.

Any questions to Father Bernardo about the seals:

They are unholy to the touch.

While the players sit in the chamber and discuss if they wish to ask any of the other orders whom they think should get the seals. It is easy enough to find members of any of the Orders here, please see Appendix 2 for their answer.

Decision Time

After talking amongst yourselves and other Witch Hunters, you see Yosef and the man who cast the

fear spell earlier approach. Both have the same question in their eyes. Have you made a decision on which order is to receive the seals?

Final questions:

What happened to Joden?

He is grieving from the news of the death of Mishkas sister. He has asked another of his Order to sit in.

Conclusion

Your first steps as a witch hunter are complete. Now it is up to you to find your way. Which of the Orders is right for you? How best to fight the Adversary in your own way?

Moreover, you will see where the dreams and portents take you in the Grave New World and the old. Welcome to the Invisible World, where battle leads not to heroes, but to salvation.

The End

SP Rewards Characters who survive the adventure receive 1 SP for playing the module, 1 SP for choosing whom the cylinders should go to, and 2 SP if they role-played well, for a possible maximum of 4 SP per character.

HP Rewards Making a decision about whom the cylinders should go to is worth a Hero Point. Otherwise, try to award HPs not just for flashy combat actions, but for good role-playing, clever ideas, or having (and using) the right skill at the right time. No Witch Hunter may be awarded more than a total of 4 HPs for this adventure. HPs spent during the adventure are subtracted on the Adventure Journal and HPs gained are added on the Adventure Journal.

Possible Contacts

Mishka street urchin in London

Tom Hargetty member of the Council of Whispers

Joden Smyth Member of Crusaders Inviolate if the group gave the seals to the Crusaders Inviolate

Rabbi Yosef Member of Seekers of Emet, if the group gave the seals to the Seekers of Emet

Adventure Codes

Circle CA if the PC granted mercy to the Jesuits

Circle CB if the PC killed the Jesuits

Circle CC if the PC gave a tip to Mishka

Circle CD if the PC participated in running Lightbringers alley

Circle CE if the PC gave the seals to the Seekers of Emet

Circle CF if the PC gave the seals to the Crusaders Inviolate

Appendix 1 New Spells and Talents

Face of Loa (Basic Voodoo Rite) Tradition: Animism Difficulty: 3 Time: special/1 round Duration: 1 minute Strain: 3 In order to cast this rite the caster must have first successfully cast command snake, and holds the snake by the head to trace a Vever in the air of the Loa. In doing so, the head of the snake transforms into the head of the Loa in all its horror. This produces a fear effect 2, with extra success on the casting can either raise the fear effect by one per success up to the Damnation rating of the caster or increasing the duration of the rite by one minute per success.

Appendix 2 What each group knows about the seals

NPC Name Group Knowledge Option who gets

Katherine Apostles of the New Dawn Identify them as

Sumerian cylinder seals No Opinion

Slow-Bear Ghost People Will cast Awakening No Opinion

Speaks-for-Wolves Dream Walkers None No Opinion

Johann Stalwarts if St. Christopher None No Opinion

Genevieve Stalkers of the Unseen Hunt None Crusaders Inviolate

Ysabella Lightbringers Order of the cylinders, Predate fall of the First

Temple Seekers of Emet

Frederick The Order of the Rose and Cross

The Stories on the cylinders Seekers of Emet

Suni Sainted Mothers None No Opinion

Alexi Sunwise Circle Blood in the spaces Crusaders Inviolate

Franklin Ascetics of the Ten Persecutions None No Opinion

Bernardo Fellowship of the Ashen Cross Unholy to the touch Seekers of Emet

Vision of the Seals with Awakening

As you open your eyes and see into the invisible world, the seals look like they are made of black hellfire, and dark red blood flows from some of the seals, symbols, and letters.

Players Handout 1

first steps adv. for witch hundter rpg

Documents