Interactive Drama

Interactive Drama

Scenario-Based Theatre-Style Interactive Drama
Freeform Live Action Roleplaying Game Archive

LORD DAWN'S TEA PARTY

an Interactive Drama Live Action Freeform Role Playing Scenario
for 11 to 13 players
by

DAVID MAYES, STEVEN SALMOND, RYAN PADDY and YOUNG LY

Copyright 1996 by Ryan Paddy (PORTAL GAMES, LIVE ACTION ROLEPLAYING, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND).

Introduction

For want of a better name, you could call the game "Lord Dawn's Tea Party".

The players received an envelope in the mail, which contained the rules of the game, their character sheet, notes on practical aspects (like a small fee), and any documents or small objects which the character should have at the game - in other words, all the OOC stuff. Also inside this 'player' envelope was another, smaller ornate envelope, addressed to the _character_ and sealed with wax. Inside this smaller 'character' envelope was the invitation to Lord Dawn's Tea Party (which tells you when and where we played the game), and the agreement which the character had to sign and hand in at the gate (NB - all of these also had on them, written in lemon juice, "My life").

Ryan Paddy
Portal Games, Live Action Roleplaying
Auckland, New Zealand

give
thanks

Lord Dawn
Invites
You
to tea
6:00 pm
sharp
Sunday
21st
january

__address___
cambells bay
auckland
new zealand

give
thanks

In signing this form I hereby agree to all the following conditions of attendance at the house of Lord Dawn:

_______________

James Fe Lun Dau

MIKE HOUSTON

American Intelligence Agent
Age 32

BACKGROUND

You were born Troy Wheeler, and grew up in Minnesota with your mother and two sisters. You went to college at UCLA but still support the Minnesota Vikings (the State Football side). You studied political sciences and to the delight of your parents you graduated with an A average.

It was at UCLA that you met Graham Watts. He came to the University as a guest lecturer and you were so enthralled by his theories that you sought a meeting with him. After several subsequent meetings he recruited you into "Labyrinth", the American intelligence agency charged with international operations.

You have been with Labyrinth for just over 3 years. Initially as a field operative, then as an analyst specialising in the Middle East. For the last 16 months you have been back in the field in your specialist area- Iraq. As a senior operative and expert on Middle East protocol and customs, you were involved in the Shaddad deal, the top secret transaction of arms and military hardware between the U.S. and Iraq. This deal was established to counter the threat posed to Iraq (and more importantly Middle East stability) by Egypt. Egypt had been developing ICB missile which the U.S. believed were for the sole purpose of invading or destroying Iraq.

7 months ago a senior field agent's cover was blown. He was taken and interrogated by Mossad (the Iraqi intelligence service), and your cover was compromised.

Graham Watts pulled you out in a rescue mission with Mossad only minutes behind but many of your source were not so lucky. After arriving back in America, you initiated investigations into how this betrayal had occurred. You were just closing on the leak when your controller, Dylan Stansmore, closed the investigation down, citing higher authorities.

Over time, the betrayal has developed into an intense suspicion which has increasingly focussed on Dylan Stansmore. Information has surfaced that seems to confirm not only your suspicion that Slade was involved in the betrayal, but that other members of Labyrinth had to be involved. Because of this and your close ties with Graham Watts you have severed ties with Stansmore and for the past 5 months have dealt only with Watts.

COVER:

Because your cover was blown your name, codename, cover and appearance have been changed:

Your father was in Oil before you, and after finishing high school you followed him into the trade. You progressed up the corporate ladder to the present position of Manager of Middle East operations.

You have been with the Texaco Oil Company in the Middle East for 3 years hence your knowledge base. During this 3 years you have lived primarily in Iraq, but have also spent time in Egypt and Jordan.

You are here in N.Z. to examine the viability of drilling here or buying into a N.Z. company to ensure drilling rights to the Southern Fields

BRIEF:

You take orders from Graham Watts alone, and as he is the only one who knows your new codename - it is used on all correspondence as a security measure. Without its use, you know the information is not from Graham and therefore not to be believed.

You have recently been assigned to a new mission codenamed "spaniel".

MISSION SPANIEL:

The Shaddad deal was signed years ago and all information was believed to be buried. A source has surfaced from within the deal's financier, the Hong Kong Bank, and the information must be retrieved immediately. The source's codename is "blue duck". Blue Duck will be present at a gathering of a man called "Lord Dawn", to which Graham Watts has somehow procured you an invitation. Lord Dawn is probably irrelevant.

DIRECTIVES:

SUGGESTIONS:

You should play Houstan as a jolly Texan oil-tycoon type, but keep in mind this is only a cover. Like all American secret service types, you should have some obvious costume flaws that should give the game away - dark glasses are likely and white socks with black shoes are not out of the question.

You should look up some info on Iraq (encyclopedia entry at least) so you can sound at least a little knowledgable. Some knowledge of oil trading is also recommended.

You carry a high-calibre automatic pistol. This is represented by an unloaded CO 3/4 gun. When this has no pressure left to cock itself, you are out of ammo.

PATRICK WILLOUGHBY

Hong Kong Bank Senior Director
Age 29

BACKGROUND

Five years ago you stood by the bedside of your wife, who was dying of bowel cancer. Six physicians had pronounced it incurable, when a darkly handsome young man approached you with a deal: he would cure your wife's cancer if you would sign away your soul to him, the Devil. You agreed, and when your wife miraculously recovered, being a man of your word you signed his pact - with your own blood. The next day, your wife was crushed beneath a subway train.

Since then you have heartlessly scaled your way to the top of the international business ladder, carelessly stepping on those inhabitants of this heartless world that stood in your way. Your motto has become: 'all for one', that one being yourself. You have blackmailed, embezzled, and stepped into dead men's shoes whenever a chance arose. But all along, you have carried that dreadful pact with you, hoping that someday you might be able to tear it up with the Devil's blessing.

THE CONTRACT

You must carry the contract on you at all times, otherwise you suffer immense pain. You also cannot come in skin contact with other humans (including shaking hands without gloves), without suffering a terrible burning sensation.

The terms of the contract are that when you die, the Devil has irrevocable property rights over your soul for all eternity. In practice, He has also been able to use the contract to manipulate you into foul deeds of all sorts. The sooner you rid yourself of it the better, but He tells you that if the paper of the contract is destroyed your soul will immediately be his.

CURRENT DEALINGS

During your directorship of the Hong Kong Bank, the bank was approached to underwrite a deal between the U.S and Iraq. It was a top secret arms agreement codenamed the 'Shaddad' deal. The bank accepted and the deal was finalised and completed. Members of the American intelligence agency Labyrinth, approached the bank and confiscated the documentation of the deal to avoid possibility of a leak. Having ascertained that this was likely to happen, and recognising a potential money making situation you made a copy which you have kept hidden since, awaiting an opportunity to use it. You always carry the file on you as a bargaining chip in cases of need. (This is the enclosed papers with costings on one sheet and signed by Bill Clinton on the next - make sure you bring this to the game) [include these official documents for this character - preferably in Arabic].

THE INVITATION

Finally, the dark man has returned to you, offering to cancel your contract in return for merely attending a gathering, and eliminating a certain attendee. All he has told you about your target is that he was previously also bonded to Him - you must find him with that information alone and kill them.

If killing this ex-contractee is the only way to get rid of the contract, then you'll gladly do it, and you'll take any avenues to power that present themselves along the way.

You have received the invitation, but you know nothing about Lord Dawn or the gathering in [loacation of game]. However, knowing the Devil it's not unlikely that some opportunity may arise to use the America-Iraq file against the Americans or against your own Bank, as long as things don't get too dangerous.

MARK MCDERMOTT

American Diplomat
Age 38

BACKGROUND:

You were a successful Wall-Street broker of the mindless preppie generation destined to wear subtly striped double-breasted wool suits by Canali Milano, Amani cotton shirts and mini-glen-plaid woven silk ties by Bill Blass Signature and hold Missoni Uomo raincoats while frequenting restaurants which sold monkfish and squid ceviche with golden caviar at the surprisingly low price of 225$AM.

All this fell apart one day, however, when the Satori account fell into your hands - a bone white document in a coal-black envelope, promising riches beyond your imagination - you signed yourself into an agreement that turned out to be nothing less than a contract with the Devil himself.

The three years that followed are a blur - meetings in shadowy rooms beneath bustling nightclubs with a beautiful young man who ran your life into the ground, as you sunk further and further away from your preppie connections and friends and finally ended up living on the street, wailing at your old acquaintances who waved dollar bills at you mockingly and kicked you as they passed. You remember avoiding all skin contact with other humans, for it burned like the fires of Hell, and having to keep that dreadful contract on your person, signed in your own blood and promising your everlasting soul to Him.

Then a vision came to you - George Washington spoke to you from the face of a dollar bill and told you that it wasn't really the Devil that had claimed your soul, it was just a very powerful man, and that you could safely break the contract by burning it on the night of a New Moon and immediately dropping the ashes into the ocean. So you snuck aboard the ferry to Lady Liberty one moonless night and burnt the damned contract and cast the remnants to the sea.

CURRENT:

Since then you've got a new job as a diplomat to [country of game] (you work under the Ambassador in charge of economics and trade), and tried to put the whole business out of your mind as much as possible, distracted only by the occasional impression that someone has been following you, and that whenever you look at the stockmarket it seems to have plummeted from the previous day. But just one week ago another vision came to you - your breakfast at the [city of game] Sheraton Hotel (bacon and eggs) smiled at you and told you it was imperative that you should attend a gathering for which you would receive an invitation the next day. It said that this would be an opportunity to do some good that might cancel out the evil that had happened to you.

Your breakfast then went on to explain that Lord Dawn, a powerful and evil-minded man was gathering misfits and outcasts of all kinds, and that you should attend and make an effort to stop anyone from becoming too powerful, to free the enslaved, and to generally make the world a better place to live in for you and for me (you feel he may have been joking about that last part).

At first you weren't keen on getting involved in such dark company again, but you've decided that you owe your mysterious benefactor something, so you'll attend for him/her/it.

SUGGESTIONS:

Life has treated you badly but you've managed not to get too shitty about it - you're basically a nice guy. You dress up-market (preferably a suit), a hangover from your yuppie background. Don't worry about messing up nice clothing - there shouldn't be too much physical brutality or crawling around under houses in this game.

KARNEY FREDRICKSON

Immortal
Age 129

BACKGROUND

You are from a small town in Ankor, Netherlands. You were a young villager out fishing one evening in August 1890 when lights shone down from the heavens, bathing you in radiance. After this you discovered that any wounds you suffered healed with unnatural speed, and you have not aged from that day until now. You are now 129, probably the oldest person in the world, but very few people can sense your great age because you look no older than 23. Many of those years have been spent searching for a reason for your longevity.

Your initial thought was that God himself had blessed you with agelessness - you travelled from country to country at the dawn of the Automobile Age preaching the gospel and down playing the importance of technology. But long hours in conversation with earnest men of the Bible showed you that none believed in present-day miracles, indeed the doubt in their eyes gave you the impression that few believed such miracles had ever really happened at all, despite their fervently spoken belief. Aside from this setback, you couldn't understand why you would be chosen by God to live for so long - after all, you'd never done anything particularly deserving of such favour.

So you followed other avenues of reason. When televisions arrived you were conversing with the wise monks of China. When man flew in heavier-than-air craft you were Dreaming with the Aborigines of Australia. When the first man went to the Moon you were arguing with a Yogi in India, and it was this argument that finally changed your way of thinking. That wise man told you to stop searching on the outside, and to start looking inwards. Why question such a gift of apparent immortality? Instead, use it for good.

Thus for the last fifty years or so you've travelled through war zones and civil unrests, helping where you could and on many occasions suffering wounds that would kill any other man. You tried to spread your personal doctrine of pacifism wherever you could, to teach tolerance to the homicidal, and to live by the ethics that you preached.

THE CYCLES OF HINDUISM

As a result of the respect you found for the Hindu Yogi you met, you went on to learn more about the Hindu faith. The majority of the mysteries of Hinduism are based around various cycles. There are cycles of life and death, and cycles of karma in which you ascend to a semi-divine status where you walk without your feet touching the ground, and down to lowly animal forms and below to demonic forms, over many life-times.

More esoteric branches of Hinduism also suppose that History itself also goes in cycles, that each of us is reborn the same once in each cycle, this being our true form, and that great power can be had at the end of one of these great 'Millennium Cycles', whereby Men may become Gods.

THE INVITATION TO TEA

Recently, though, that old question has started to nag at you again: how did you get the way you are? If only it had happened in more modern times, you might be able to find a technological explanation - maybe nuclear fallout, or electromagnetic fields from power lines.

You know almost nothing about Lord Dawn, (although you have heard of a Lord Whisper in India who may relate somehow), but something about the invitation you've received makes you wonder if you might finally find an answer to your questions at this meeting, so you decide to attend.

IMMORTALITY

Every minute after an injury your wound status improves by one notch. For example, if you were 'killed' you would change to 'incapacitated' in 1 minute, then after another minute you would merely be 'wounded' in the area where you were hit, then 1 minute after that you would be OK. So you can go from a deadly wound to full health in just 3 minutes.

SUGGESTIONS

You are like a kindly but tired old man, trapped in the ever-youthful body of a 23-year old. You are likely to smile at everyone a lot and say how much they've grown despite the fact you've never met them before. You have a slight sense of foreboding about this gathering, a sense that you may have to be on guard.

You have an eclectic and old-fashioned taste in clothing, so try to wear a combination of the oldest and most outdated clothing you can find.

RUEBEN DE JONG

Writer
Age 23

BACKGROUND

You grew up in Whakatane, New Zealand, as an only child. Your father was the local butcher and a no nonsense, good kiwi man. Your mother was a devout Elvis fan, believing that he was alive and living in the Nevada desert. Her strange beliefs influenced your already strange mind.

At an early age you started drinking and smoking simply because there was nothing else to do. You soon started experimenting with drugs, doing cheap highs like dope, daytura and glue. You were soon growing your own buds and at age 20, you did a brief spell in jail for possession and cultivation.

While inside you made some contacts that introduced you to harder drugs and you became a heavy user of mushrooms, LSD, speed, etc. They almost killed you and you subsequently did several spells in rehab clinics.

Always a talented writer your literary efforts took new direction due to your drug induced perception of the world. Your paranoia has increased steadily until you see and write about conspiracy at Government level, attempts on your life, and alien infiltration of earth at every turn.

FIRST VISION

Was walking in a street man- heard his thoughts, his name Luqman al-Hakim- wasn't a native strange thoughts secret, violence, hardware money-money William C. The boss main man president Hong Kong Bank- who? Qien es?- it can only be the end of the world ahead loud and clear- control systems ousted from half the body whispers instructions to memory and ice- area of the Middle East- Just in time- don't care myself if the whole fucking shit house goes up in chunks- I've sat through Novas before- he just happened to be the biggest operator used to be me sees me watching, approaching punches mind through my eyes surprise- in his vanishing above streets many, town- flying clouds continents time, what is time? past present future no all- Body sinking to darkness or is it rising? absence of orientation kinaesthisis writing...

SECOND VISION

Saw man again- running ragged breath, in out of passages, doorways room passages dead end, very dark- is that string? can't find way out, a Bull bellowing ahead, or behind? No definitely to the side- corridor, turn back where did the corridor go? Control took it. Bull closing human feet running, chasing you Jason tripping over the string falling where's the ground, falling down or up- absence of orientation- stars, Ziggy Stardust- a pair of eyes but are they a pair? Argue- wrong spelling, O- nought, but how long is nothing? as along as a piece of string? tripping hitting the floor, the bulls breath hot on your neck, a hand Jason/ Luqman al-Hakim. The hand punching down blood, through flesh- organs playing with a vile stench across the floor dance the entrails, the spine sliding with a popping noise out of the decapitated body.

POWERS

Very resistant to hallucinogenics

WEAKNESSES

Druggie, thus withdrawals and visions etc.

AIMS:

Gather information on international conspiracies - need concrete proof to prove suspicion. Find Luqman al-Hakim and pass on warnings. Your instincts tell you this is of vital importance. Luqman must be made to trust you and heed the warning in your second vision.

JACOB ROWLINGS

Professor of History
Age 42

BACKGROUND

You are a distinguished professor at the University of Leicester, ostensibly specialising in ancient history. Unknown to your colleagues you hold a secret obsession with immortality. For most of your life you have been conducting a clandestine search for the secret of eternal life. After almost two decades of fruitless investigation, of countless disappointments and dead ends, you had one last lead to follow up.

Gathering your courage, you performed an ancient ritual to summon Satan.

It worked.

An extremely handsome man came to you as you stood amongst the fuming black candles, and offered to reveal the secret in exchange for your soul. You seized the chance gratefully, signing a contract with your own blood. He then spoke: "The path you seek lies with one called Lord Dawn, a man who wields much power within the circles of the Occult. Two weeks hence he shall preside over a great Gathering. On this one occasion the power of immortality will be available. I will arrange for you to go there and compete with others for the privilege. If you succeed, everlasting youth will be yours. If you fail, well... I'm sure we can reach some arrangement." With a smile he winked out of existence, and you were once again alone.

THE CONTRACT:

You must carry the contract on you at all times, otherwise you suffer immense pain. You also cannot come in skin contact with other humans (including shaking hands without gloves), without suffering a terrible burning sensation.

The terms of the contract are that when you die, the Devil has irrevocable property rights over your soul for all eternity. In practice, He has also been able to use the contract to manipulate you into foul deeds of all sorts. The sooner you rid yourself of it the better, but He tells you that if the paper of the contract is destroyed your soul will immediately be his.

SUGGESTIONS

You are the sort of guy who only feels properly dressed in brown corduroy trousers, a tweed jacket, thongs over socks, a terrible tie and preferably wide-rimmed glasses which you constantly clean with a dirty hanky. Best of all would be the mandatory smoking pipe, which you can claim you've given up but you don't feel comfortable without.

Chances are you talk down to people like they're 3 years olds, using big words and sticking your pipe back in your mouth between sentences.

You might want to do a little research into some ancient history (Mesopotamian, Indian, Chinese) so you can start sentences with "did you know ...".

CHRISTIAN CUMBERLAND

Time-Traveller
Age 24

BACKGROUND

In the future reality line from which you come, a terrible alien race take over the world and rule savagely. Humankind is crushed mercilessly beneath the God-like power of the aliens, and especially their Lord, Yaweth. Humans almost all become the slaves and chattel of a few alien overlords - but a small group of you manage to secrete yourselves beneath the ground, hiding away and trying to develop arsenals which might defeat your masters.

In the quest for the better neutron bomb to eradicate the aliens, your outlaw group discovers the secret of warping time, and soon realise the potential uses of this power.

Yaweth and is rumoured to have been disguised as a human for some time before somehow gaining near omnipotent powers and seizing rulership of the world. According to history 11:59pm, [date of game] is the time this power transition took place, and by 12:05am Yaweth had digested the city of [city of game].

Your group decide to put all of their resources into warping you back to this time, where history states that Yaweth was at a dinner party under an assumed name. You have mugged another guest by the name of Christian Cumberland. Your real name is Dakar (in the future, Real Men only have one name), but you should not use this or else you will blow your cover. Cumberland seems to have been some sort of chemist - he was into mixing things together and seeing what happened. He's spending the night of the party tied up in his own walk-in wardrobe.

THE MISSION

You need to identify Yaweth from the partygoers without doubt and eradicate him with a zappy space gun you've brought along for the purpose (we will supply this). You should ensure that you can hide this gun, which is quite large, from other guests - it is important that you don't effect anything or anyone unnecessarily, as the resulting waves in the space-time continuum might disarray your home-team who are suppling power to keep you in the 'present'.

You can recognise Yaweth by a certain power that all the aliens have - they can put humans to sleep by touching their forehead. You don't necessarily have to kill Yaweth - stopping him from gaining the power should be adequate.

You have no idea who Lord Dawn is or whether he's relevant to your mission.

SUGGESTIONS

You are from the future - you should stick out a bit. You are not particularly well educated as your group trained you primarily for espionage - you have been a freedom fighter all your life so you are quite rough when it come to social niceties. A mannerism that you haven't been able to shake is sniffing at the air when you meet new people. In your future, this was a fairly good way of detecting aliens. In 1996, however, everyone seems to wear so much smelly stuff that your sense of smell is blocked - but you still sniff at people. You also sometimes greet people 'Stay Free', which was equivalent to 'Hello' when you come from.

You'll wear clothes from Cumberland's wardrobe - he's got sort of nerdy geeky clothing: plaid trousers and wide-brimmed glasses and a colourful shirt with pens in the pocket would be perfect.

CASSANDRA DOVLOVSKI

Pagan Revivalist
Age 34

BACKGROUND

You are the leader of an ancient and secretive coven of witches, one of the very few left who possess true power. You pose as a cheerful but not particularly intelligent new-age mystic into crystals, the zodiac, holding hands round a table making funny noises, and so on. In reality, you and your fellow members worship the Devil, and strive to establish Him as a dominating force in the world. In order to help you implement His plans, Satan has granted you certain knowledge and powers. Among other things, you have been made clairvoyant; you can see through walls into other rooms, and listen to distant conversations. But be warned; to use these abilities unwisely would be to risk exposing your coven and, much worse, to incur the wrath of your Master.

LORD DAWN

You've received an invitation to attend a Gathering in a few days time, organised by Lord Dawn, a man reputed to possess great magical prowess. You think this is probably a load of crap; there are far too many charlatans around. However, there is always the possibility that he really does have the Gift. If so, you must discover what his intentions are, as he could prove to be a dangerous foe. You are willing to make the journey from London, your home, to ascertain how this matter lies.

A FAVOUR OWED

When you were a young witch, a very pale but almost painfully beautiful young man came to your doorstep in search of refuge from Christians who hounded him, seeking to Exorcise him. For some reason you were effected by his story, and took him in and nursed him back to health using traditional medicines until he was well enough to face his adversaries. He promised he'd return this favour.

Just before you received the invite from Lord Dawn, a message from your mystery man arrived. Apparently at least one of the other attendees of this Gathering is bonded to him, under his control. He has granted you the right to ask one favour of one of these contractees, but has not told you how to recognise them.

THE RITUAL

In addition, the Gathering will be held on the eve of Beltain, an ancient night of magic believed by many to be a Celtic festival but with much deeper origins. Beltain represents an opportunity to seize a great deal of power for your Master, but you can only gather it using a strictly prescribed Ritual of Harvest. If you complete this ritual, you can begin to drain magical energy from those who possess the Gift. Lord Dawn's gathering may attract several such people.

To complete the ritual you will need the help of at a minimum of one other person, who does not have to be possessed of the Gift. They will act as your Shadow, repeating each line of the spell as you say it:

Born in darkness, dwell in shadow
Break a line where skin be sallow
Bleed the essence, eat the shadow
Sky be dark and field be fallow

You must repeat this chant 10 times without interruption one hour before midnight on Beltain - the more Shadows you have, the more powerful beings you will be able to drain of their energies, thus increasing your power.

However, one object is missing that you need for the Ritual of Harvest - a Focus for your power. You need to procure an object which is capable of storing the energy which you reap from your victims. Your netherworld contacts have assured you, however, that such an item will be available on the night of the gathering - an Egyptian-style Ankh with an Eye at the centre. You must obtain this Ankh, and hold it during the Ritual. Then, by pressing the Ankh against the skin of your victims, you can drain their power.

SUGGESTIONS

Your clairvoyance will be represented in this way: when you wish to see through barriers or listen to something at a distance or from another room, you should tell the Gamemaster. He will act as your eyes and ears and report back and describe what you have seen or heard. If the Gamemaster in unavailable, your clairvoyance is not functioning at that time. If you use this too much, you may get tired or pass out.

You must avoid any Christian cross, especially in the hands of the righteous. You've never encountered this, but apparent some witches have even been burnt to death by the touch of such a cross in the hands of a righteous priest.

You should dress either new-age style, with lots of bangles and big earrings and meditation crystals (if you decide to maintain your cover at the Gathering), or in layered and preferable flowing blacks if you decide to let your real identity show - a pointy black hat is not desirable, but a black (lace?) hair-cover might look good. Severe make-up would look good too. How you play your character will depend on whether you decide to maintain your cover at this event as well - your real personality is probably quite dark. [Note - this character can be extended to a coven of two or more witches, with the clairvoyance and the 'favour owed' divided among them].

OWEN SYNDWURST

Alien
Age 24

BACKGROUND

You are an alien from the planet of Yoroth, whose sun went super-nova. Only a handful of important aliens escaped in a spaceship. You landed just outside the small village of Ankor in the Netherlands in August, earth year 1890 AD. There were only 100 surviving members of the ship so you decided to split up and try to obtain a power base. You have been trying to take over the world ever since. Your physiology is Humanoid, the only physical difference being that you have 4 ventricles in your heart and a complex organ created mainly of keratin above your diaphragm which handles the biochemical balance of your body.

HUMAN PERSONA

Yaweth is your alien name, but you do not use it. Instead, you go by the name of Owen Syndwurst (it seemed like a good idea at the time). Owen Syndwurst is an agricultural research scientist, a cover that you initially thought would be useful for asking lots of nosy questions, but have since been proven wrong. However, most of your powerful social manipulations are done anonymously via the stockmarket, which you having been steering towards an enormous collapse, and the media, where you have strong connections with powerful lobby groups. You play Syndwurst as a bit of a snivelly whiner, a personality that somehow comes quite naturally to you.

THE YOROTH

All members of the Yoroth Race have alien names that start with the letter Y. Your space ship is shaped rather like a boomerang. It is powered by the root nodules of nitrogen-producing legumes. This is a surprisingly powerful and disruptive power source, which has been known to cause adverse mutation and death in humans who get caught in the downblast.

Bill Gates, The Pope, The President of Japan, Mayor Les Mills [replace this with local politician] and The Smashing Pumpkins are all Yoroth aliens in disguise

SPECIAL POWER

You are capable of sending humans instantly to sleep. To use this power, place two fingers on the victim's forehead and say 'Yoroth Sleep' , then inform the player that they have fallen asleep, and to stay asleep for 10 minutes or until the Gamemaster says to wake up. Sleepers cannot be woken by normal methods.

You may use this power only three times during the game, and cannot use it twice on the same person in a day. All Yoroth have this power.

LORD DAWN'S TEA PARTY

Lord Dawn is an underground political figure with whom you have only had very 2nd-hand contact. He is apparently very influential, and this gathering may be an opportunity to gain a lot of power. You will seize any chances that come your way.

You have heard a rumour that Rueben De Jong (played by [player's name]), will be in the group of people invited. He has written books about alien conspiracies that have remarkable similarities to the real story. You should find out exactly what he does know, and if he knows the truth then eliminate him.

SUGGESTIONS

You should definitely try to keep up your Owen Syndwurst alter-ego, although the alien part of you may find it difficult not to break out in evil sniggers now and then and say things like 'you are mine to toy with, ehh ehh ehh...'. Dress however you think Syndwurst would dress (scientist type). Remember that using your power in view of others will make you stick out.

JAMES FE LUN DAU

Shaolin Priest
Age 30

BACKGROUND

As the orphan child of an Australian couple who were killed in a plane crash in China you were adopted into the Shaolin Temple and taught the ways of honourable hand-to-hand combat and spiritual unity. However, an early accident in the sparring ring where you seriously injured a friend caused you make a vow to never use physical violence again. After this, you're studies became strictly religious, and you have become something of a spiritual prodigy.

THE MISSION

The Grand Master of the Shaolin Temple has requested that you go on a special journey. A prophecy states that on the night of [date of game], a being named Yaweth obtains power and becomes the new ruler of Earth. The Grand Master has discovered through observation of the Inner Essence that a mortal that has seen the future of Yaweth's destiny is trying to change reality before it forms. It is not right for mortals to play with the forces of Destiny - you have been sent to [country of game] to stop this intruder from altering reality. The Grand Master has also sensed that the mortal is from somewhere far away - so you may be able to recognise him or her by strange mannerisms. Somehow, the Grand Master has also procured you an invitation to a gathering at which both Yaweth and the reality-distorter will be present. You're not sure how to stop the intruder, but some non-violent method will doubtless occur to you at the time.

THE DREAM

The Masters of Shaolin have always told you to take special heed of your dreams. The night you arrived in [location of game] you had a vision in your sleep of an tall, thin old man who walked towards you through a mist, his feet not quite touching the ground. Some hidden sense told you who he was, and you knelt before him, saying "my father's father..." He replied with just one word, then disappeared: "Dakar..."

THE ANKH

During a pilgrimage to Egypt you found yourself in a dusty and disused back alley-way, where a wizened little pedlar was sitting quietly by his stall. Something made you approach him, and you noticed a brightly shining object among the dull wares on his tray. It was a silver ankh with an eye at the centre - you bought the Ankh and you wear it always, a symbol of your diverse nature which comforts you when times are strange.

SUGGESTIONS

You are a Shaolin Priest. You believe that spiritual balance is the essence of life. Balance is achieved by meditation and calm thought, both of which you attempt to practice frequently. You should play this character a sort of apprentice Yoda type, make up some wise sayings that you can quote during the game.

If you can put together a brightly-coloured (yellow or orange would be perfect) toga to wear, that would be a suitable Shaolin-Priest type costume. If not, then just be inventive.

SIMON LUSTBADER

Necromancer
Age 26

BACKGROUND:

You were once a member of an ancient and secretive coven of witches, one of the very few left who possess true power. Your aptitude and foresight in matters of the Occult was unparalleled, although few gave recognition of this fact. Indeed, many members were fiercely jealous of your Gift, describing you as arrogant and egotistical. In spite of this unpopularity you are certain that sheer brilliance would have secured you the title of Head Witch. Unfortunately you didn't stay long enough to find out; a minor incident occurred when they discovered the intimate nature of your involvement with the Unholy Goat. Despite an assortment of threats and pleas you were cast out. During a humiliating and particularly painful Ritual of Barring all powers were stripped from you and the Head Witch declared you an Enemy of the Coven. Since that day your hatred of witchcraft has known no bounds.

You entered university and have been there ever since, deep in a doctorate on Ancient Hebrew. Your studies involved expeditions to huge and badly disorganised libraries of the Arabic nations, one of which yielded a dusty tome, over three centuries old. In it you discovered the way of Necromancy, the path to real occult power. Quickly your prowess in the art grew as you spent whole nights digesting the tome's contents. Now you believe yourself an expert; possessing more power than was ever available at the coven. For the last year or so your thoughts have turned towards revenge. Witchcraft is a scourge - it warps and corrupts occult power, power that was meant only for men. Witchcraft must be purged from the Earth. You hunger for a chance to prove the superiority of Necromancy, and this gathering may provide such an opportunity.

LORD DAWN:

Recently you've been in the tutelage of a mysterious and powerful man named Lord Dawn. He isn't a Necromancer, but during your apprenticeship he's taught you valuable means of securing and focusing power, and in return you've acted as a manservant to him.

POWERS:

After 1 minute of uninterrupted incantation while wearing a black blindfold (you must bring this), you can cast a spell which raises all the corpses in the immediate area. The corpses must have died within the last ten minutes, or else you will have no control over them. To keep the corpses animated you must beat a hand-drum (we will provide this) that focuses your attention (this focusing is what Lord Dawn has instructed you in). You can give the animated corpses any simple commands, and they are usually extremely strong and can kill with their bare hands. If you are prevented from beating the drum, the corpses will deanimate and slump to the ground. You are unsure what other means can be used to stop your undead.

NOTE:

You don't live with Lord Dawn, you merely attend his house periodically. He has let you know about this gathering in advance but has been very secretive about its purpose. He also has insisted that you should receive a standard invitation like everyone else, and that you should sign the agreement that comes with it (no big deal). However, he wants you to arrive by 5:00pm, not 6:00pm as it states on the invitation, so that you are seen to be part of his household. [Note - he actually mainly wants someone to serve the food]

GAME MODERATOR NOTES

MIKE HOUSTON
AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE AGENT

Carries pistol. Represented by an unloaded CO 3/4 gun. When not enough pressure left to cock itself, out of ammo. (GM - make him pretend to reload every 10 shots or so).

PATRICK WILLOUGHBY
HONG KONG BANK SENIOR DIRECTOR, BONDED TO 'DEVIL'

THE CONTRACT

Carry the contract at all times, otherwise suffer immense pain. Cannot come in skin contact with other humans without suffering a terrible burning sensation.'Devil' says that if the paper of the contract is destroyed, soul will immediately be his. (GM - not if he burns it and throws it in the sea).

KARNEY FREDRICKSON
IMMORTAL

IMMORTALITY: Every minute after an injury wound status improves by one notch. If 'killed', would change to 'incapacitated' in 1 minute, then after 1 minute to 'wounded' in the area where hit, then 1 minute after that OK. So can go from a deadly wound to full health in just 3 minutes. (GM - not immortal at midnight of the game date, for about 5 minutes).

RUEBEN DE JONG
WRITER

Powers: Very resistant to hallucinogenics Weaknesses: Druggie, thus withdrawals and visions etc.

JACOB ROWLINGS
PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, BONDED TO 'DEVIL'

THE CONTRACT: same as banker

SIMON LUSTBADER
NECROMANCER

After 1 minute of uninterrupted incantation while wearing a black blindfold, can cast a spell which raises all the corpses in the immediate area. The corpses must have died within the last ten minutes, or else no control. To keep animated must beat a hand-drum. Can give the undead any simple commands, and they are extremely strong (GM - but slow) and can kill with their bare hands. If prevented from beating the drum, the corpses will deanimate. (GM - Lord Dawn also has the power to stop the undead if he wishes).

CHRISTIAN CUMBERLAND
TIME-TRAVELLER

Zappy space gun. (GM - Laser has standard handgun effects).

CASSANDRA DOVLOVSKI
+ 1 OR 2 OTHER WITCHES?

A FAVOUR OWED - can make 1 request of 1 of the bonded guys (contractees) GM - If Contractee refuses they have terrible burning sensation & black out

THE RITUAL: Need the help of a minimum of one other person (GM- additional to witches), who does not have to be possessed of the Gift. They will act as Shadow, repeating each line of the spell:

Born in darkness, dwell in shadow,
Break a line where skin be sallow,
Bleed the essence, eat the shadow,
Sky be dark and field be fallow

Must repeat this chant 10 times without interruption, at 11 o'clock - the more Shadows, the more powerful beings can be drained of their energies, increasing witch's power (gain powers of victim). Must hold Ankh during the Ritual. By pressing the Ankh against the skin of victims, can drain their power.

CLAIRVOYANCE: To see through barriers or listen to something at a distance, Gamemaster acts as eyes and ears and reports back and describe what witch has seen or heard. If Gamemaster unavailable, clairvoyance not functioning at that time. If used too much, get tired or pass out.

All witches must AVOID ANY CHRISTIAN CROSS, especially in the hands of the righteous. (GM - witches can be burnt badly by the touch of such a cross in the hands of a priest).

OWEN SYNDWURST
ALIEN

Capable of sending humans instantly to sleep. Place two fingers on the victim's forehead and say 'Yoroth Sleep', inform the player they've fallen asleep, and to stay asleep for 10 minutes or until the Gamemaster says to wake up. Sleepers cannot be woken by normal methods. May use this power ONCE EVERY TWO HOURS, and cannot use it twice on the same person in a day. (GM - wake at your discretion)

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