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In Short

The Good: The variety of entities allows for a Storyteller to easily insert whatever fits best into an existing Chronicle. The presentation of the entities, including what research rolls get at different values and similarly well thought out support information, is well done. Many of the ideas do a great job of stimulating the imagination, and I found myself piecing together adventures while I read the book.

The Bad: The entries are a mix of quality, with some being much more interesting than others.

The Physical Thing

Under the Cover

Another example that I particularly enjoyed is a short discussion on the nature of evil. The author stresses that while the entities of the Abyss “cannot comprehend hope, joy or peace, so, too, is the notion of human evil simply beyond their grasp.” These entities are monstrous, yes, but only because their alien nature makes them so from humanity’s perspective. They’re often more like animals, or even a virus, in how they behave than they are thinking, rational entities that choose to harm others. This is perfect to keep in mind and does a great job of making the Abyssal entities even more mysterious.

While the first chapter does an excellent job of setting up the rest of the book it’s the entities themselves that will draw most readers into this product. With twenty four presented in detail there’s something here for everyone. Each entry comes with detailed information on how the entity breaks into the Fallen World, what its goals are, and how it can be banished. What’s more, research is strongly stressed here with tables showing exactly how much information a character will discover as they delve into ancient tombs in search of clues to deal with an alien entity.

Instead of providing a list of all 24 entities let me tell you about a few of the ones that stood out to me while I was reading. The first entry that really pushed my awesome button is Abyssal Spiders. These microscopic spiders can slip through from the Abyss, but they can only survive in the arachnoid region of the brain of a person who has been repeatedly mentally manipulated through supernatural means. The spiders set up shop in the brain, often traveling through the sinus system and causing unusual bleeding and other problems that foreshadow what is to come.

The spiders aren’t done once they’ve infested the host’s brain. They begin reconfiguring things a bit so that the person emits a sort of “psychic static,” the goal of which is to lure in the spiders’ true target – a supernatural creature. When a supernatural entity approaches the host to investigate the strange psychic emanations the spiders take control of the host’s body, forcing the host’s mouth on the target and transferring themselves into the body of a new, better host. The previous host is likely damaged a little or a lot from the experience, but at least the horror is over. The new host is in for a rough time.

The spiders aren’t deadly to the new host, but they are damaging to the host’s psyche. Occasionally taking over the body, preventing Morality gains, and inflicting a permanent -2 penalty to Social rolls from the constant feel of spiders crawling on the skin are certainly enough to make a character seek assistance. This is around when player characters are likely to start to figure out that there’s something seriously wrong. The psychic static is the bait while this is the Abyssal entity made manifest.

At this point the entry does a good job of acknowledging that PCs might try different things to deal with the problem. What makes this entry, and all the entries here, so great for a Mage campaign is that it’s throwing a mysterious situation at the players, offering some clues and research support, and then stepping back and seeing what they can do to deal with it. The entries are setup such that it’s easy enough to have the Abyssal intruder go after one of the PCs directly (in this case, infesting them) or to go after a colleague or other third party. The clues are good enough that most inquisitive mages will quickly find themselves drawn into the situation.

So, the big question for a person with a spider infestation in their brain is “How do I get them out?” The obvious answer is to have them surgically removed, and this is an option if the person can be supported with significant amounts of Life magic as a surgeon digs around in the brain trying to eradicate the infestation. It’s, unfortunately, not as pleasant or as likely to succeed as more magical options. The spiders have a psychic presence and, through Mind magic or mental domination, can be forced to leave the host and die. Psychic damage and outright killing the host are also options for dealing with the spiders.

While a brain infestation of spiders quickly becomes more a matter of how to deal with it than what it is, some of the Abyssal entities aren’t so easily identified. The Halfway House intrigues me because of the possibilities my devious mind can come up with. As the name suggests, the Halfway House is a fairly classic horror entity in the form of a malign home that harms those inside of it. That alone makes it worth having as an option, especially if your group eats up the occasional horror movie classic. Before I get further into why this entry interests me, let me tell you about it as the book presents it.

The Halfway House comes into being where there is an existing house at an area of low Gauntlet that also has some general negativity associated with it. It sort of attaches itself to the existing dwelling, slowly making changes to make it a more inviting location in order to attract residents. It does require a sacrifice to truly take form, but this sacrifice need not be a living creature. A portion of a mortal’s life, or the loss of a relationship could suffice. Once all of these conditions are met the House begins to prey.

The House chooses a single victim at a time to entrap. It could use a new toy to lure a child into a room from which the child’s spirit never emerges again, or a strange book to keep a target inside the library. The House slowly consumes Physical and then Mental Attributes until it has taken the whole of a person, gaining strength along the way. Eventually, after it has fed on all the dwellers, the House shifts to a new location and starts over.

Banishing this Abyssal entity is no easy task. Just realizing what it is that’s causing the problems could be tough (just imagine how many things in the WoD that could haunt a house). Once the investigators have reached that point their research will have put them onto the sacrificial component, which must be undone. In some instances this could be very difficult. A ritual of banishment follows to remove the Abyssal entity from the Fallen World, but even then it could return. Destruction of, or significant change to, the house is the final step to make the area secure from another Abyssal intrusion.

I like this entry because of two things. First, I like that I can throw red herrings (false leads) at the players and force them through a fairly involved investigation while also being attacked by the House. I think it could be a wonderful backdrop for several sessions of play or the main focus of a full session. Second, I like the idea of incorporating another WoD entity with the House. A vermin host, a ghost, spirits, or just about anything else in concert with the House could create an interesting and complex situation that forces players to wake up and not just follow the obvious clues for a change of pace. Either way, I can easily imagine several ways to have fun with what Encounters has handed me.

While the Halfway House sets a languid pace in that there’s no immediate threat following on the heels of the PCs, this isn’t the case with The Swarmer. Almost certainly inspired by Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” this entity takes control of a group of entities and can control them all at once. This can make it extraordinarily deadly, no matter what is involved, but fortunately it can’t maintain this degree of control all of the time. But, I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let’s look at The Swarmer from the beginning.

This Abyssal entity is summoned when someone creates a particularly complex and alien three dimensional pattern that seems alien to human senses. This usually happens by accident and can happen in any number of ways, from electrical wiring to sculpture. Once the appropriate structure is created then the Abyssal entity enters the Fallen World and sets up shop inside of it. Interestingly, this is one of the rare entities that often has no will worker in the Fallen World. The patterns are complex enough that they are far more likely to happen by accident than through ancient text, though that is still possible.

Once the Swarmer has taken up residence in the structure it begins taking control of local groups of living things. At first it will cast around trying out different ones for different amounts of time, but after a few days it will settle on a preferred type (often humans). These entities can maintain their regular behavior, but they will also often move as a group and act out extremely strange but beautiful patterns of group movement. Attackers can expect a particularly brutal reaction as all of the controlled entities behave with one mind to quickly and efficiently put down the assailant.

Destroying the Swarmer is particularly easy, requiring nothing more than destroying the pattern that gave it entry to the Fallen World. Gaining access to the pattern is another matter entirely, however, as the Swarmer is sure to keep part of its swarm nearby and will bring the full swarm to bear against anyone getting too close to unmaking it. In this way the Swarmer provides a very different challenge than those listed above. The key to unmaking it isn’t hard to figure out, but bypassing its defenses can be very difficult.

Ultimately I like the Swarmer because it poses a more direct physical danger to the characters should they try to defeat it while also bringing a horror classic into the game. Working against this alien intelligence could be very difficult and it’s a wonderful opportunity for players to think outside the box to face down a dangerous threat.

My Take

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