brotherhood recruitment manual
TRANSCRIPT
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Table o ContentsIntroduction ................................................................................................................... 1Playing the Demon Hunters RPG ................................................................................. 1Game Rules .................................................................................................................... 3
Adventure: Training Day ......................................................................................... 11Scene 1: Reorientation ................................................................................................ 12Scene 2: Arrival & Exploration ................................................................................... 13Scene 3: Separation Anxiety ....................................................................................... 15Scene 4: In Which Our Heroes Do Great Battle ........................................................ 15Scene 5: Dont Try This at Home...or Anywhere Else ................................................ 17
Scene 6: The Balcony Scene ....................................................................................... 18Scene 7: The Atermath .............................................................................................. 20Player Characters ........................................................................................................ 21
CreditsWritten and Designed by: Jamie Chambers, Brian Clements, Jimmy McMichael, Nathan Rice, Nathan Rockwood
Editing & Prooreading: Liz Wilhelm
Layout, Typsetting, and Graphic Design: Digger Hayes
Brotherhood and Order Logos Designed by: Jen Page
Photography: Cornelia D. Moore, Marc Studer
Demon Hunters RPG Development Team: Cam Banks, Jamie Chambers, Renae Chambers, Brian Clements, Ben Dobyns,
Chris Duppenthaler, Don Early, Jimmy McMichael, Nathan Rice, Nathan Rockwood, Steve Wolbrecht, Matt Vancil, Andy Vetromile
Special Thanks: Leila Aram-Panahi, Lizz Baldwin, Tony Becerra, Scott C. Brown, Stacy Chambers, Cobblers Crystals,
Matt DeMille, Tamia Diaz, Andy Dotson, Christian Doyle, Jason Doyle, Shawn Franklin, Tracy Hickman, Kevin Inouye, Matt Jay,
Barry Johnson, Dirk Kahler, Anne Kennedy, Brian Lewis, Patrick Levad, Tish Lopez, Jaime Mastromonica, Cindy Messler-Early,
Bill Murray, Emily Olson, Jen Page, Kristen Paulson, Steve Payne, Kevin Pitman, Phil M. Price, Cindi Rice, Aaron Rose,
John Frank Rosenblum, John Schock, Shawn Shelton, Matt Shimkus, Jesse Stratton, Wayne Tapia, Tree, Adam Utley,
Margaret Weis, TJ Williams, Airan Sea Wilson, Phil Woodard, Camille Vancil, Greg Vancil, Dom Zook, and the Purple Ninja
Demon Hunters Characters and World created by Matt Vancil. Used with permission.
2007 Dead Gentlemen Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.
Margaret Weis Productions and the MW logo are trademarks o Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. All right reserved.
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IntroductionBy picking up this tome, you (the Demon
Hunter) agree to hold the Brotherhood o the Celestial
Torch (the Brotherhood) blameless or any death,
dismemberment, or damnation that may occur while
battling the orces o Darkness under the command
o Satan Larry (the Enemy). The Demon Hunter also
understands that while the Brotherhood will supply him
with the training, weapons, and tools o Mad Science
necessary to deeat the agents o the Enemy and the
sundry other supernatural dangers he may encounter,
the Brotherhood is in no way responsible or the survival
o the Demon Hunter should he misuse these boons
while perorming acts o egotism, blatant stupidity, or
unnecessary endangerment o Brotherhood property
(heroism).
Right. Now that the boring legal stu is out o the
way, we can get to the good stu! And dont worry.All that talk about death, damnation, yadda-yadda-
yadda... Its not really all that likely. Seriously. Almost
hal my last group o trainees survived Basic, so we
know Larry is getting lazy.
So heres the scoop. The book youre holding is a
one-way ticket out o your blissully ignorant, mostly
sae, mortal existence and into the daring, ast-paced
lie o a Demon Hunter! In the ollowing sections
youll nd all the inormation you need to play the
sample Tabletop Field-Mission Training Exercise (or
adventure, as some might call it) included in this
booklet. With a little imagination, you can even have
your Field Simulation Instructor (or Game Master)
come up with urther missions using the Brotherhood
agent proles (Player Characters) included with
the adventure, to better prepare you or real lie
experience in the eld, huntingor, more likely, being
hunted bythe agents o Darkness!
However, these training simulations are only
the beginning. The ull Brotherhood eld manual,
under the clever guise o the Demon Hunters Role
Playing Game core rulebook, will soon be available
to you. Using the Demon Hunters RPG, you and your
riends will be able to orm your own Chapter o theBrotherhood with all-new characters, do battle with
Evil, and sometimes even survive! The core rulebook
contains the ull, expanded ruleso which this
recruitment manual is only a taste.
See you in the eld!
Playing the Demon
Hunters RPGThe Demon Hunters Role Playing Game (RPG) canbe thought o as a vehicle or telling your own stories
set in the world o the Demon Huntersa world very
much like our own, but where the orces o Good
(ctional versions o the benevolent beings o almost
all real-world religions, mythologies, and pantheons)
battle the orces o Evil (ctional versions o all the
bad guys ever thought to lurk in the shadows by those
same sources). Mad Science and strange sorcery
uel powers on both sides o the confict, and the
members o the Brotherhood o the Celestial Torchare the mortal ootsoldiers who weigh in on the side
o the Light.
Using this game, you could play out the
adventures o a Chapter o the Brotherhood, the
mishaps a bunch o clueless mortals suer when
they get involved in the crossre, or even a group oSaint PeterDirector, Brotherhood o the Celestial Torch
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undead just trying to stay warm and keep their heads
down. This recruitment manual presents one example
o what your game might be like.
However, beore you get to playing the game, the
next ew pages will introduce you to the basics behind
the rules, giving you the tools you need to make the
game work or you. Since this is just an introduction,
you will probably have some unanswered questions,
and you may nd you quickly outgrow the limited
examples provided here as your own creativity takes
over. You can nd solutions to many o these problems
in the upcoming Demon Hunters Role Playing Game
core book. For anything not answered there, eel ree
to visit the Demon Hunters RPGonline community at
orums.deadgentlemen.com.
Players and CharactersA game oDemon Hunters ollows the adventures
o a group o people whoyou can probably guesshunt demons. Well, notjust demonsdemons tend to
be the worst o the baddies, but there are plenty more
nasty things out there to shoot, stab, or incinerate.
And these Demon Hunters (a common name or
members o the Brotherhood o the Celestial Torch),
be they admirable or despicable, everyday Joes or
young godlings, are the heroes o the story. These
characters are created and controlled by the players,
who describe the heroes and decide their actions and
reactions throughout the game. Player Characters are
oten called PCs or short.
Part o this requires an understanding o the
mechanics o the gamehow to build and run a
character using the rules providedbut even more
important is a players understanding o who his
character is. A player needs to have a vision o his
characters appearance, a eel or his general attitudes,
likes, and dislikesas well as understand various
personality quirks, noble aspirations, and ridiculous
faws. The rules o the game provide guidelines or
determining many things, but exactly how those
dierent numbers and dice mesh together into a living,
breathing character is up to the player.The point o any game is to have un, and a role
playing game can give players a lot o opportunities
as their characters learn, survive, and growor
die, come back, and try again. The world oDemon
Hunters is a dangerous one, thoughhilariously so,
but dangerous nonetheless. While the players should
always be having un, their characters are a dierent
story! Bad things happen to everyone, especiallythe
main characters, so players should keep in mind that
their characters may have their lives, sanity, and very
souls endangered at every turn.
Why do they keep going, then? Maybe because
they have to. Or maybe because they eel the risk is
worth it in order to make the world a better, saer
place or normal people. Or maybe theyre some kind
o crazed psychopaths who have ound an acceptable
outlet or their desires to maim, kill, and destroy. The
answer is up to the players.
The Game MasterEvery game requires a Game Master (or GM) who
takes upon himsel the job o creating the story, non-
player characters (NPCs), locations that the Demon
Hunters will explore, and determining what happens
when the PCs screw up (or succeed, which they may
occasionally do, despite their best eorts). Some GMs
like to have prepared inormation or each session othe game (a period o time when the players and GM
get together to play or a while, usually several hours),
and some preer to wing it and make it up as they go
along. Chances are that no matter how much the GM
preps, the players will take the story in an unexpected
direction, so most sessions will require a mix o
prepping and on-the-fy invention.
The GM is the nal arbiter in the outcome
o an ambiguous situation. Like a good leader, the
GM should keep things in linebut airly, and they
should reward a job well done. The GM has a lot o
responsibility, but his primary purpose is to keep the
story moving and keep the game un. He is helping the
players tell the story o their characters adventures.
The Rules and the StoryFun is the most important result o a game, and
sometimes what would be most interesting, dramatic,
or un or the characters comes in confict with the
rules. Its also possible thatbecause people can be
nearly innitely creativea player might come up
with something he wants to do or which there areno explicit rules. In these cases, the GM should be
able to come up with a solution using the basic system
provided below, but should remember that the story
comes rstwhen in doubt, give the players the edge
in a situation.
The rules o the Demon Hunters RPGare meant
to acilitate play and enjoyment o the game and story.
Because o this, the rules are designed to be extremely
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Attribute(s) or Skill is used is determined by the
situation. Generally, common sense gives an obvious
choice, but the GM has the nal word on which
Attribute to use in a given situation.
Agilityrepresents the characters grace,
quickness, and hand-eye coordination. A character
with high Agility would have an edge with most skills
that involve movement, ne control, aiming, and so
on.
Strength is the characters physical brawn. High
Strength lets the character deal more damage with
hand weapons, carry more, run harder, and the like.
Vitalityis a measure o the characters health
and tness. A higher Vitality keeps him rom catching
colds, helps him avoid getting tired, and lets him resist
poisons.
Alertness covers how aware the character is,
whether it be o people and their unspoken cues, the
environment, or a hidden clue. A character with a high
Alertness would be able to tell when someone is lyingto him, notice that someone has been acting strangely,
or hear something sneaking around.
Intelligence represents the ability o the
character to work out puzzles, think clearly, or
understand things. A high Intelligence lets him gure
out the answer to dicult r iddles, win chess games,
and crack codes.
Willpoweris the strength o the characters
psychehis personal drive, his inner re, and his
determination. A high Willpower lets the character live
when he should die, persuade others with the sheer
orce o his personality, and resist intimidation or ear.
SkillsIn addition to Attributes, characters also have
Skillsratings that represent how well trained
or experienced they are in dierent elds. When
attempting to do something that alls under one o
these categories, they roll their Skill die (which are
rated in the same way as Attributes, but with no
minimum level) in addition to an Attribute. Also, like
Attributes, a d6 in a Skill represents a moderate levelo competency, and a d12 represents mastery.
Some Skills can be used even i the character has
no training in them, but others cannot be used unless
the character has a rating o at least d2. These are
usually specialized elds o knowledge or Skills that
are extremely dangerousconstructing a death ray
or perorming open heart surgery are not things one
should do untrained!
Because there are too many Skills to list ully
here, each characters sheet includes the list and
descriptions o Skills that he possesses. However, to
provide an example, three Skills that a character might
possess are Athletics, Guns, and Infuence:
Athletics represents just that; it would be used
or any action that involved active movement, possibly
some that involve physical tness or endurance, and
so on. Swimming, jumping, running, and dodging all all
under the category o Athletics.
Guns covers most ranged hand-weapons like
pistols, rifes, submachine guns, energy blasters,
and the like, though it would not be used or rocket
launchers or something on that scale (that would be
the Heavy Weapons Skill instead). Guns would be
rolled when shooting, cleaning, or identiying any o
the weapons listed above.
Infuencewould be the characters ability to
persuade others, whether it is through ast-talking,
clever public speaking, or seduction. It would also helpthe character to lie convincingly, write a good speech,
or intimidate someone.
TraitsIts a poor character that is nothing more than
a collection o numbers. For the Demon Hunters
RPG, most things that describe the characters can
be thought o as Attributes and Skills, sometimes
they have less denable qualities. Is the character a
vampire? Does he assume that hes so cool he cannot
lose? Does he die every single time, and yet always
comes back again? These are the kinds o things we
call Traits.
Traits are broken down into two categories:
Assets, which are generally positive Traits, and
Complications, which are generally negative. Like
Attributes and Skills, Traits can be rated by their die
Step, though not all o them have the same range o
possible Steps. Traits are also limited to a more narrow
list.
Traits can have a variety o dierent eects. Some
will provide bonuses or penalties to dierent types orolls, usually by letting you add the Traits die to the
roll. Some might give new ways to spend Plot Points
(see the section Story Elements, below). Others
might allow occasional re-rolls or ailed results.
When creating a character with the complete rules,
players will have access to a very broad selection o
Traits rom which to choose; or the purposes o this
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recruitment manual, you can see examples o the
available Traits by reading their descriptions on the
pre-made character sheets.
Rolling the DiceWhen a player wants his character to try and
shoot a vampire, rewire a superweapons power
source, or jump the gap between rootops while
running rom a werewol, the character is perorming
an action that might aila ailure that carries some
dramatic consequence. In the Demon Hunters RPG,
these actions are resolved by rolling dice. The exact
dice to be rolled usually depend upon the characters
relevant Attributes and Skills; what happens ater the
roll depends upon what type o action the character is
attempting.
Standard Actions
Most actions are standard actions. The GMdecides which Attribute and Skill combination is most
appropriate or that particular action in that situation.
Every roll uses exactly one Attribute and one Skill,
except or certain special rolls that use two Attributes
and no Skills. The dice are rolled and added together;
i the total is higher than the Diculty Number set
by the GM (and the situation), then the character
succeeds. The Diculty Number (Di) can be set by
the GM, by how dicult the situation is supposed to
be (see the chart below, under Standard Diculty,
or common values), or even by an opposing roll
(oten the case in combat).
Most standard actions take very little game time,
but a character can only perorm one o them at a
time. Those things that dont actually take time or
concentration, and which carry no real consequence
or ailure (like shouting a warning or fipping on a
light) dont require a roll. These actions can possibly
be perormed simultaneously as long as it makes sense
given the situation.
This is a simple method o resolution, but it also
allows the GM and the players a lot o fexibilty. The
rules never permanently pair a single Attribute with
any Skill. Because o this, it is up to the GM to think
about the specic situation and choose an Attribute
and Skill pair or each instance. This allows the rules
to accommodate a very broad range o things and be
easily adapted to almost anything.
For example, a character could roll Agility +
Athletics to see how quickly he can run through a
patch o dense oliage (since he needs to be careul
not to trip or get tangled in the brush). Then again,
he would roll Strength + Athletics when running
across an open eld, when sheer muscle power is
more important than grace and precision. Finally,
should that open eld turn out to be a mineeld, the
character would be rolling Alertness + Athletics tosee i he can cross it saely.
Complex ActionsSome actions are more lengthy or involved
than others; while sprinting across a room would be
a standard action, running a marathon would be a
Complex Action, one that takes multiple rolls to
resolve over a period o time that could vary rom
minutes to days. Complex actions use the same
general diculty scale as standard actions, but the
totals required to succeed are much higher (see the
chart below, under Complex Diculty). Each roll
the character makes takes a certain amount o time,
and the totals are added together until the Dilculty
is reached, all the dice come up showing ones, or the
character cannot make any more rolls because he ran
out o time.
D i f f icu lty Nu m b e r ch a r t
category StaNDarD Difficulty complexDifficulty
Easy 3 15
Average 7 35
Hard 11 55
Formidable 15 75
Heroic 19 95
Incredible 23 115
Ridiculous 27 135
Impossible 31 155
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When perorming a Complex Action, the GM
decides the Diculty and the dice to be used exactly
like a standard action roll. Then they need to decide
two more things: how much game time each roll
represents or the character, and i there is a time limit
that restricts the number o rolls the player can make.
For example, a character might attempt to repair a
cars engine ater a rust-demon thoroughly clogged it
up. The GM decides that the character should roll his
Intelligence + Mechanical Engineering, and that this is
a complex action with a Diculty o Hard (55). The
GM also decides that each roll takes hal an hour o
game time, and that since the car needs to be used in a
daring escape in about 2 hours, the character only has
4 rolls in which to reach the total. The player makes
his rst roll, and his dice total 10. The second roll adds
up to 15, or a total o 25. The third roll gives a score
o 13, bringing the grand total to 38. The engineer had
better hope he gets at least 17 on his ourth and nal
roll!In that example, had the dice turned up all ones
at any point, the character would have botched the
attempt. The repair would be considered a ailure
perhaps the engineer made the problem worse. At
that point he would have to give up, and either start
over or nd someone else to do the jobunless the
GM decides that the ailure has been so catastrophic
that it has prevented all urther attempts.
Because the ancient crats known as the Mystic
Arts are dicult, ritualized perormances, they are
always resolved by Complex Actions. They are
identical to other Complex Actions save that they
always require some orm o sacrice. The core
rulebook has the ull, detailed rules needed to create
or cast most spells, but some examples o rituals
and the rules or them can be seen on Harkadians
character sheet, where a couple o his avorites are
described.
CombatWhile most actions can be resolved very simply
using the system above, combat can get a little morecomplicated. The basics are the same, but because
there are so many conficting actors involved, here are
some guidelines to help work out the results.
Combat TurnInitiative,Movement and Action
Combat is broken down into turns, each o
which is approximately three seconds long. During
a turn, each character will act, what he does will
be resolved, and then the next turn will begin. This
repeats until the combat is overusually when one
side surrenders or is destroyed.
The order that characters act in is called the
Initiative order. Initiative is a Derived Statistic, and
each pre-made character has his Initiative listed on his
sheet. The character with the highest Initiative goes
rst. His player (or the GM) declares what he is doing,
the action is resolved, and the character with the next
highest Initiative takes his turn. In the case o ties, PCs
go beore NPCs, and, i necessary, tied characters can
roll their Agility dice until an order is established.
When it becomes a characters Initiative turn, he
has the opportunity to both move and act. He canchoose to move or act rst, and need not do both;
however, moving only allows him to travel up to 15
eet at a ast walk. I he wants to go arther, he can
choose to run. Running requires his action or the turn,
so he will not be able to Attack, Dodge, or perorm
other actions, but it allows him to move up to 30 eet
in one turn.
Each turn, as long as they arent running,
characters can also perorm one action. This could
be used to make an attack, dodge to avoid an attack,
attempt to kick down a door, or any number o other
things. Most standard actions can be perormed in one
combat turn, but unless a complex action only takes
one turn per roll (which is unusual) they are out o the
question.
Life Points and DamageWhen a character in the Demon Hunters RPGis
hurt, he suers Damage. The amount o Damage he
can withstand beore he dies is represented by his
Lie Point (LP) total. Whenever he suers Damage,
he loses a certain number o Lie Points, until his
current total drops to 0 and he dies. Lie Points canbe restored through resttwo days o bed rest
will restore 1 Lie Point, as long as the character is
receiving moderate medical attention.
Damage can be inficted upon characters in a
number o ways. The most common is through attacks
in combat, but characters can also be damaged by
accidents, poisons, terrible weather conditions, and
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so on. Players should be cautious i their characters
current LP total is getting lowin the universe o
Demon Hunters, lie can be brutally short!
A characters maximum Lie Points is a Derived
Statistic. His current LP can never be higher than this
number, but when it is lower, a good nights rest will
restore 1 Lie Point.
Attacking and DefendingDuring combat, characters will most likely be
trying to infict harm on someone else while avoiding
as much as possible to themselves. In order to go
about this properly, their players will need to know
how to attack and deend.
The basics o an Attack are very simple: An
Attack roll is a simple action with a Diculty set by
the targets Deense. I the Attack roll is equal to or
higher than the Deense, then the Attack hits, and
Damage needs to be calculated.
AttacksThere are as many dierent ways to Attack as
there are people and weapons. However, or ease o
use, the Demon Hunters RPGbreaks them down into
a handul o combat Skills: Guns, Heavy Weapons,
Melee Weapons, and Unarmed. Whenever a
character makes an attack, he uses one o these Skills
(i he has the appropriate one) and an Attribute or his
Attack roll. The Attribute used will usually be Strength
or Melee Weapons and Unarmed, or Agility or Guns
and Heavy Weapons, but as with any Skill these are
not set-in-stone pairings.
Making an Attack uses the characters action
or that combat turn, but it may orce the target to
spend his action while Deending, leaving him open to
urther Attacks and unable to make one o his own.
Because things happen quickly in battleoten
in such a way that the participants may only perceive
things as a blur o motion and soundit is important
to remember that an Attack roll with a ast weapon
may represent more than one actual attack. For
example, in a single combat turn (three seconds) it
may be possible to slash at someone several times
with a kniea eint to the let, a defected blow, and
nally a penetrating strike, or example. In order to
keep things going, these are all represented by the
single Attack roll and a single amount o Damage, but
the drama and tension o combat are much moreheart-stopping than a mathematical calculation! GMs
and players should be sure to interpret the results
o combat with this in mindthe excitement o
cinematic combat and lie-on-the-line danger can be
greatly enhanced through description. When a zombie
successully bites a PC, that character doesnt just
Tabletop combat simulation.
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lose Lie Pointshe screams in agony as the decaying
teeth sink into his skull and the other zombies all
shout, Brains!
DefensesWhen a character is Attacked, his player will want
to know what Deense is available to him, and that
depends heavily upon the situation and his decisions.
I the deending character is surprised, asleep,
restrained, or otherwise completely unmoving or
some reason, his Deense is automatically set to
3. Sneaking up on an enemy provides a signicant
advantage!
I the character is actively engaged in combat,
moving around even a little bit (even i he isnt aware
o the attack), and isnt using his action to Deend
(perhaps he has already used his action or the turn
to Attack or Deend, or is waiting to Attack when his
Initiative comes up), then he uses his Innate Deense.
He roll his Agility die by itsel, to Deend, applyingthe result against the Attack roll. This does mean that
the result could be lower than 3! Such a thing would
be unortunate, but thats the problem with random
chance.
I the character has not yet used his action, and
he is aware that the Attack is coming, he could spend
his action during that turn to Deend himsel. This
would give him a normal skilled roll or his Deense.
Depending upon the type o Attack, he could choose
either to Block or to Dodge.
Against Melee Weapons or Unarmed attacks
(NOT Guns or Heavy Weapons) he has the option
o using his own Melee Weapons or Unarmed Skill to
Block, along with either Agility or Strength. Dodging
is a little more versatile, and is useul against any kind
o Attack; the deender Dodges using his Agility +
Athletics.
Calculating DamageWhen an Attack roll is greater than or equal
to the Deense, it is a hit, and may do Damage. To
determine how many LP the target loses, rst look at
the dierence between the two rolls:Attack Deense = the Initial Damage o the
Attack, which can be 0. However, the attacker may
then roll a Damage Die, adding its result to determine
the nal Damage. Weapons list the Damage Die they
provide, and sts have an eective Damage Die o
d0. I the deender has any Armor, its Armor Rating
is subtracted rom the Damage, and the remaining
Damage is subtracted rom the characters Lie Points.
I he hits 0 LP, he might be dead! However, i the
possibility exists that he could be saved by rst aid, a
kind GM might let him be merely unconscious.
Example of CombatIn a tabletop eld simulation, Gator and
Armageddon (playing as themselves, with Harkadian
acting as the GM) have been let to guard the entrance
to an abandoned junkyard while the others explore
inside, looking or the source o some necromantic
energy Harkadian sensed. Note that the example
includes a ew concepts that are explained urther
below.
Game Master (Harkadian): The others have
been gone or teen minutes, and theres been no
sign o them or anyone else so ar.
Armageddon: I have been watching both the
junkyard and the street outside, correct?
Gator: Yeah, you told him that already...Armageddon: Well, I would not have to watch
both ways i you were doing your job as instructed
Gator: Hey, hey, Im not complaining. You do
it bettern I could, anyway. Besides, reading Reptile
Wrasslin Monthlyis important preparation or
The GM notes that at this point, a small group o
shambling zombies are about to appear rom inside the
junkyard. Armageddon and Gator, arguing, dont get the
normal Alertness + Perception roll they might in order
to notice them, but Armageddons Second Sight Asset
prevents him rom being ambushed.
GM: Armageddon, you suddenly get a chill down
your spine; youre not even sure you heard it, but
you think you might have caught the sot sounds o
someone approaching.
Armageddon: I hold up a hand to Gator or
silence and back up against our van, looking around or
the source!
Gator: I hes worried, Im worriedI hold real
still and listen hard.
GM: In the sudden quiet, you can both make out
the sound again; ootsteps, a small group o people,
coming rom inside the junkyard. Unortunately,the low moaning doesnt sound like the rest o your
Chapter. You hear one word, repeated over and over:
Brains!
Gator: Zombies? Easy enough. Geddon, you
just set up with that rife o yours and mow em
down.
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10
Armageddon: I will try, but you should stay
near me and be ready. The last zombies we ought
were good runners. I may not be able to drop them
all beore they reach us.
GM: You two manage to position yourselves just
beore the zombies round the corner. Youre ty eet
rom them, with the fat, clear driveway between you.
Upon noticing you, the zombies let out even louder
moans o hunger and begin to charge! Initiatives,
please.
Armageddon: (glancing at each others
character sheets) We are tied at 14.
Gator: Ill let you go rst, considering you have
the rife an all.
GM: The zombiesthere are ve o themare
all tied at 6, so no contest there. Movement and
action, Armageddon?
Armageddon: I do not move. I drop to one
knee, brace mysel, and re at the closest zombie.
GM: Ok, roll the attack as Agility + Guns. Sincethe zombies are Running, theyre using up their action
to moveor they will on their turn, anywayso they
cant Dodge.
Armageddon rolls his Agility + Guns, which is d8
+ d12. With a stroke o good luck, he totals 17! The
zombie, not able to Dodge, only gets to roll his Agility die
or Innate Deense. The GM rolls the d4, and gets a 2.
17 - 2 = 15, so Armageddon has a denite hit here; the
Initial Damage is 15, and he rolls his rifes Damage Die,
resulting in a urther 3 damage. The GM subtracts 18
rom the zombies current Lie Points, putting it at 2!
GM: The lead zombie, breaking into a loping
run, is heading straight or your position with a look o
hunger in its decaying eyes. However, Armageddons
rife round takes it in mid-stride, right in the orehead!
It collapses into a pile o necrotic goo. The our others
dont seem to notice. Gator, your turn.
Gator: Nice shot! I pull out two grubby rolls o
quarters and wait, since they aint near enough yet.
GM: Their turnthey manage to shamble at a
decent speed, just as ast as that last group, which is
airly unusual. They cover 30 eet, and are now only
20 eet away. Your turn again, Armageddon.Armageddon: I have an idea; we must back up!
We can get one more turn beore they reach us i we
walk backwards this time.
GM: (making an on-the-fy ruling about this)
Good call, but walking backwards while ring will
give you a penalty to your roll. A 2 Step Skill
penalty.
Armageddon and Gator both agree; walking, they
can move 15 eet and still take an action. They are now
35 eet away rom the zombies and Armageddon res
again. His Agility die is still a d8, but his Guns Skill die
takes that 2 Step Penalty, and is reduced rom d12 to
d8. He rolls, and gets a total o 9 this time. The zombies
Innate Deense comes up a 4, and it takes 9 4 = 5
Initial Damage, a mere 2 extra rom the Damage die,
and only has its Lie Point total reduced by 7 this turn.
Again, Gator waits.
GM: They move 30 eet again, and are now so
close they can almost taste your brains! Your turn,
Armageddon.
Armageddon: This time we stand our ground! I
re! But not at the wounded one, at another, and this
time Im spending 4 Plot Points on the attack.
Armageddon slides 4 poker chips rom his pile over
to the GM. He then makes his attack roll: Agility (d8) +
Guns (d12) + Bonus Die rom Plot Points (4 Plot Points
gets him a d8 here). The Agility die comes up a 3, theGuns die rolls a 9, and the Bonus Die gets only a 1! That
would be a total o 13, but the special rule regarding
the Bonus Dice (they can roll a minimum o the number
o Plot Points they cost, so 4 in this case) means that
ithe1 is counted as a 4 instead. The new total is 16! The
zombies Deense comes up 4 again, reducing this to
12 Initial Damage, but the Damage Die brings the nal
damage back up to 16, splattering the zombie all over its
comrades!
GM: That leaves 3 zombies, one o which is
wounded. Gator?
Gator: Im done waitin! Besides, theyd only get
in a ew ree hits on their turn. I step orwardits
only 5 eet, sos I can do thatand take a swing at the
wounded one!
Gators attack roll is Strength (d12) + Unarmed
Combat (d10), since hes using his sts. He rolls a total
o 13. Because the zombie doesnt have to run any
more, it could choose to Dodge, but the GM doesnt
think a zombie is likely to bother, and sticks with Innate
Deense. That roll produces a 3 this time, or a total o
10 Initial Damage. Normally, that would be thatsts
dont have a Damage Die. However, Gators BrawlerAsset lets him use its d6 Trait die as a Damage Die! He
rolls it, and adds 4 more Damage. The zombie, already
injured, goes down.
Gator: Boo-ya! Hell, I might as well go all
outI use Brawler to make a second attack, stead o
holding that or a Dodge, callin out Whos up next?!
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Gators second attack, also granted by the Brawler
Asset, pulps another zombie, leaving them acing just one.
However, now it has closed in on them, and Gator has no
more actions or Deense! On the zombies turn, the GM
makes its attack roll, Strength (an inhuman d12 + d4)
+ Unarmed Combat (d8). The undead creature scores a
15! Gators d8 Agility gives him an Innate Deense that
comes up 6, so he only takes 9 Damage, but thats still
a problem! Well, hopeully he and Armageddon can deal
with one more zombie, and astanother hit like that
would put Gator under!
Story Elements& Plot Points
Sometimes even the poor bastards who nd
themselves ace to ace with an Earthwalker get lucky.
They might discover an ancient tome listing the only
known weakness o the thing hunting them, or a cacheo hidden weapons in their grandmothers closet. The
Demon Hunters RPGhas a mechanic to let players
create these story elements: Plot Points.
Plot Points (PP) are points that players can spend
to infuence the course o the game in various ways.
Each player begins the game with 6 Plot Points, and
the GM awards them more Plot Points throughout
each session (during play) or a variety o reasons:
-The player comes up with a good idea, role plays
his character very well, or suggests something that
improves the game or the experience or the group: 1
to 2 PP
-The character is hampered signicantly by one o
his Complications: 2 to 3 PP
-The characters achieve a major goal, complete an
adventure, or do something extremely signicant: 3 to
4 PP each
Players should be able to earn Plot Points airly
quickly, since they can spend them equally quickly.
Each player can have a maximum o 12 PP at any one
time. Any more earned over that limit are lost, so
players should be sure to spend them beore they lose
them! Some o the ways they can use PP are:
-They can spend PP beore making a roll to add a
bonus die to it. The rst PP adds a d2; each additional
PP increases this bonus die by 1 Step (so 2 PP add a
d4, 3 PP add a d6, etc). This bonus die is treated just
like the other dice that make up the roll, so it alsoapplies to any rerolls. The only exception is that the
bonus die is always counted as rolling at least a value
equal to the number o Plot Points it costi it rolls
less than that, it is ignored and you simply add the
minimum value to the total as i the bonus die had
rolled that instead. For example, a d8 costs 4 Plot
Points; i it rolls a 1, 2, or 3, it is treated as i it had
actually rolled a 4.
-They can spend PP ater making a roll to increase
their total; each PP they spend adds 1 to the nal total.
-With the GMs approval, they can spend PP to
alter the story in small ways. Perhaps your character
has a riend with access to the heavy weapons you
need; maybe you stumble across an overlooked cache
o supplies in a storeroom; perhaps the random house
you vandalized and broke into actually contains the
collection o a paranoid gun-nut who was gearing up
or WWIII. These kinds o coincidences and additions
cost a varying number o PP, rom 1-2 or a very minor
benet, to 11-12 or something with great importance
or benet. The GM should disallow any alteration that
would ruin the story.
You may nd it useul to use physical tokens osome kind to keep track o each players Plot Points;
poker chips or glass beads work well. The GM can
simply hand out tokens when awarding Plot Points
during the game, and players can hand them back to
spend them. They can record their remaining total on
their character sheets at the end o each session.
The Purple Ninja, greatest Demon Hunter o all.
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AdventureTraining Day
1
Training DaySome people are ready or anything. They train
day in and day out or an event that always seems just
around the corner. Weekend warriors who exercise
and prepare to ght or a cause they have yet to
choose. In the Brotherhood, things are a bit clearer.
There is an enemy around the corner: The Order o
the Inernal Scepter. They are evil, they are cruel and
they would love to kill anyone who ghts or right andgood in this world. Every day, new recruits leave the
Brotherhoods protective embrace to adventure in
the world. Some make their mark, others just make a
smear.
Your rst day in the eld. Everything you have
been taught is resh in your mind and the world is still
shiny and new. Stepping into the night armed with the
nest weapons available and good itsel at your side,
you see a fash o the glory that awaits your team,
your Chapter, your amily. At least, until Ned gets his
ace smashed in by a vampire with a venereal disease.
That puts a damper on the whole day.
What is this?This is an introductory adventure or the Demon
Hunters Role Playing Game. I you happen to have seen
the Demon Hunters Orientation Video, the events o
this adventure take place shortly ater the ootage
shot in the lm. You, the GM, should amiliarize
yoursel with the adventure and youll be ready to
lead a new team o Hunters into the world.
Your story and yourChapter
This team is the greenest o the green. The rst
actual action they saw ended in near disaster with
the death o Ned. The story, however, is how you
see it. Every new Chapter takes a test like this and
every one does dierently. The Demon Hunters may
think they are on their own, but they are closely
monitored by Silent Jim and the Brotherhood. The
miniature video camera implanted in Neds let eye by
the Brotherhood is IMPOSSIBLE to detect. I things
go haywire, Jim is ready to step in and assist, but the
noobs should not count on any help. At the moment
indicated in the adventure, Jim leaves the team on
their own. Ater all, i they cant handle this, they dont
have what it takes to be successul Demon Hunters.
Setting the SceneThis adventure is laid out in several scenes
covering the events laid out or our intrepid heroes.
The scenes are in the order that makes the most
sense or the story and cover some basic learning
activities or the new Demon Hunters. The story
should unold as the players progress and learn how
to use their new-ound skills and abilities.
All scenes are laid out in the ollowing manner:
The Set-Up: The rst part o each scene sets up
the adventure. It usually begins with a bit o favor text
that you can read to your players to get them in the
right mindset. You are also ree to use it as a guide or
your own version o things.
Problems: There are always problems. I there
werent, there wouldnt be a reason or a Demon
Hunting Chapter to be there. This is where any
encountersgood or badarise. Creatures o the
dark, damsels in distress and general pains in the
tuckus will show up in this section. While killing
everything in sight is certainly an option, it is not
always the best one. Make sure you have everyonesstats in ront o you just in case the players get trigger
happy.
Now What?Ater the players resolve the
confict and hide the bodies, something has been
altered or better or or worse. Even i they havent all
made it through, this is where the team examines the
consequences o their actions.
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Note:Words in all capitals are either Task
Diculty Levels (like EASY, HARD, FORMIDABLE) or
Skills (like, AGILITY, MELEE WEAPON COMBAT, or
KICK IN THE JUNK (ne, that last one is unocial,
but dont let that stop you)). Thus, when you read
a phrase like Fighters nd killing Duamerthrax
IMPOSSIBLE... this means that the Task Diculty or
the desired action is indeed impossible and requires a
die roll o 31 or higher to succeed. In this way, youll
know how hard things will be without having to fip
pages.
Scene 1:Reorientation
The converted SUV rumbles along the dark road.
The night seems more rightening than ever beore. Itoppresses the senses and closes in rom all sides. The
long drive in the North Dakota fats is punctuated by
the occasional town o one street light and perhaps
a gas station. The instructions the Brotherhood gave
Jim mean no stops, though. Not even or Ned to take
a pee breakeven undead accountants drink coee,
it seems.
Buttons line the dashboard console, most with
arcane symbols never seen inside an American-made
car. All assuredly do something really cool, but no one
dares cross Jim and push one at random. Only Aloysius,
the new team leader put in place by the Brotherhood
is allowed to ride shotgun. Sparky and Ned sit in the
ar back with their hands tied. Jim insisted on these
arrangements because Sparky would most likely want
to rewire the car while it drove and Ned is a bit o a
moron. A signal fashes on the dash and Jim reaches
over to press a button hidden amongst the many
outlined by dim LEDs across its surace. A holographic
projection o Gabriel, team leader o Chapter Omega
Fiteen, appears.
Well, you really screwed that one up. Ned died
and the Syphilitic Ninja Vampire escaped. You areobviously not ready to complete training yet. The
Brotherhood is giving you one last chance beore you
are permanently assigned to ride the desk in some
backwater hole like they did tonever mind. Aloysius
has been assigned to you as team leader to help keep
you in line.
With a quick head turn, the new team leader looks
at each o you and points a nger accusingly. Through
clenched teeth he says, I you noobs dont get your
shit together, Ill kill you mysel. Looking at Ned he
continues, Permanently.
The hologram o Gabriel looks up at Aloysius and
shakes his head.
Listen, Al, lay o the kids. Youre only here because
your last team quit. Look, this is easy. Youre headed
about three hours north into Canada. Jims taking you
to a guy we use when teams dont seem to grasp the
ner points o how not to get killed. Proessor Sneed is
a bit o an eccentric, but hes the best. Head up into
Riding Mountain and nd his cabin. Hell guide you
through the rest o your training.
Jim stares at the hologram through his ever-present
sunglasses. Gabriel looks up at his riend and winces.
No, Jim, you didnt do a bad job. This is standard
procedure when a noob bites it. You know that.
Hell, were lucky only one o them kicked it! I mean,usually...
Gabriel stops suddenly and looks around at you. He
swallows hard and stutters a bit.
Um, well, yeah. Usually the whole team makes it
out saely and lives ull, productive lives. Thats what
happens. Nope. No chance that you all might die in a
blazing inerno o death and destruction.
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Again, he stares uncomortably.
Look, be careul and listen to Sneed. Hell show
you what to do. Alpha...er...Omega Fiteen out.
The hologram winks out o existence leaving you
in almost complete darkness, save or the headlights
on the road. Jim simply turns back to the lonesome
road.
How it is [Set-Up]: Aloysius has been appointed
the new team leader. He will answer any questions
they ask as best he can, but cannot give any more
details as to what they might nd and will be a real
dick about it. I anyone asks Is this a test, Jim replies,
Everything is a test.
Now What?: As soon as everyone is satised
with the answers they get, move on to Scene 2.
Scene : Arrival &
ExplorationO the beaten path doesnt even begin to describe
this place. Besides being in Nowhere, Canada, the
park has seen better days. The paved road beyond
the entrance looks too worn or its age. Potholes
and weeds pockmark its surace with disdain or the
encroachment o man. Jim stops at the border to the
park. He turns and looks at each o you. You can eel
his hidden eyes burn into your very being.
This is not a sae place, he intones. No matter
what you see or hear, do not leave the car until I tell
you. Do not leave the protective circle around the
cabin. I you do, I will not come and get you. You will
die here and your soul will not escape.
Without waiting or questions, he throws the
SUV into drive and heads into the darkness. The
headlights dim momentarily, but the car moves along
on the rugged road. A ew miles in, Jim turns o the
paved road all together, running through a packed
dirt road surrounded by trees that have seen more
horrible things than a human could ever imagine.
Finally, ater what seems like hours, a rusted, chain-link ence appears, blocking the path. Jim fashes
headlights and the gate opens. Inside the ence lies
a log cabin that has seen better days. A Brotherhood
standard sedan with Ontario plates sits out ront and
a lit replace shines through the ront window. Jim
speaks without even looking at you.
Something is not right here. Sneed should have
greeted us. Be careul. Get out o the car and secure
the cabin.
A quick fick o his nger and the child locks
disengage, allowing you to leave.
How it is [Set-Up]: The team can search the
grounds and the cabin. It is HARD (11) to turn up
any evidence while searching around the cabin (using
ALERTNESS + PERCEPTION). What little there is
cannot be accurately identied. The Chapter might
nd smudged ootprints under a window or scratches
on the door, but nothing that indicates a struggle or
orced entry.
Problem: Sneeds deenses on the perimeter
o the cabin are still active. The ollowing list gives
location and type o trap, as well as diculty to disarm
and damage caused i set o. Fortunately, spotting
the deenses without tripping them is automatic
or characters trying to enter cautiously or looking
around even a little. Allow players to exercisecreativity in their attempts to disarm the traps: they
could try smashing them with something (STRENGTH
+ MELEE WEAPON COMBAT); picking them apart
(ALERTNESS + MECHANICAL ENGINEERING);
shorting out the supernatural components on the
Rune or the Circle (WILLPOWER + MYSTIC ARTS);
or even walking through them and suering the
consequences (Ned), or example
Front Door: Rune o Warding; HARD (11); d6
explosion damage, 5 t radius
Front Steps; Trip Wire Flamethrower; EASY (3);
d6 Fire damage
Windows & Front Door: Super-Guard Alarm
System; AVERAGE (7); alarm sounds at 100dB or 30
sec, 1 pt Stun damage, 150 t radius
Surrounding the Cabin @ 75 t: Circle o
Protection; FORMIDABLE (15); allows orest
creatures and other bump-in-the-nighters in i broken
Assuming they get inside and the team searches
the house, read the ollowing:
Scene -1: Interior CabinThe interior o the cabin reveals the spartanexistence o Proessor Sneed. Not that he goes around
kicking people into bottomless pits, he just lives
simply. At rst glance, the main room o the cabin is
largely undisturbed. A plain couch and easy chair sit
a comortable distance rom the roaring replace in
the main area. A desktop computer with the
Brotherhood logo screen saver adorns an antique
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wooden desk against the wall. Various cabin
standards hang on the walls along with awards and
commendations rom various agencies not known to
anyone who is not already a member. Two doors leave
the room, the one on the let stands ajar and leads to
the kitchen while the other remains closed.
I the team searches the desk, read the ollowing:
On the desk, you nd the Proessors notes. One
is a day by day account o what appears to be minor
supernatural occurrences rom a pit somewhere, one
details the anatomy o what the Proessor called a
Demonic Minion and yet another reveals intimate
details o Sneeds last shopping trip. It seems the
good Proessor has a penchant or Snacky Cakes and
Cobblers Crystals. The picture on the anatomy page
is an unusual one. The creature appears humanoid,
roughly ve eet tall with dark red skin. Nothing else
is written on the page.
The Proessor let no inormation on the Minions,
but the team can search the Brotherhood databasethrough their Cipher and nd the ollowing:
Demonic Minion
Type: Hal-Demon
Danger Level: 3 o 10
Description: Demonic Minions are the result o
a thousand years o inbreeding and abuse by various evil
masters. Clans o Minions live underground and serve
whoever comes around oering the most shiny bits. Minions
are generally unreliable and are considered cannon odder
by many. They are not true demons in any sense o the
word. Minions exist on the material plane independent o
any summoning or evil intent.
Current Whereabouts: A clan o Minions is currently
under study by Brotherhood Agent Sneed in Ontario.
No urther inormation available.
The only understandable bit o inormation let on
the desk is on a torn scrap o paper which reads:
Daily Report: October 15 October 21, 2007
Monday: More scratching rom below. The Minions
seem more restless than usual.
Tuesday: Minions seem louder than usual. Better call
in a team to perorm standard maintenance.
Wednesday: Strange sounds rom below. Theres a new
voice leading the Minions. It sounds organized and has a
strange lisp. More scratching, but not at the door this time.
Thursday: Put in call to Brotherhood. Asked or Gabriel
and his team. Hope theyre as reliable as they used to be.
Friday:
Saturday:Sunday:
Scene -: Interior KitchenWhile the room appears to be an average rustic
kitchen, one unique dierence glares at you: the thick
wooden trap door that stands open in the center o
the foor. A cursory glance shows many deep scrapes
on the underside o the door. The hole leading under
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the kitchen is dimly lit rom below. A ficker in the
light and a pu o smoke rom the depths suggest
torches or, i lie really sucks, the smoldering corpse
o Sneed placed there to lure his would-be rescuers
to their doom.
Upon discovering the trap door, Jim hands
Aloysius a map. It is poorly drawn and has very
ew markings. Jim explains that it is the map to the
underground tunnels, but with Sneed gone, there is
no way to determine its accuracy. From this point,
heading down into the trap door leads to Scene 3.
Scene -: InteriorBedroom
Opening the door leads you to the scene you
hoped not to ndviolence most denitely ensued.
The bedroom is in shambles. Lamps and pictures
lie in broken pieces around overturned dressers andurniture. Drawers are scattered and picked through,
as i the culprit were looking or something. Barely
anything in the room or adjoining bathroom is let
intact.
There is little else to see, but i an ALERTNESS +
PERCEPTION roll beats a HARD (11) Diculty, the
team may nd drops o blood under the mattress.
Scene : SeparationAnxiety
As you begin your climb, Aloysius begins arguing
with Jim. Well, Jims mostly standing there looking
intimidating and Als doing most o the talking.
Someone needs to stay here and wait or the
cavalry while these noobs distract whatevers down
there. I dont trust any o them to do it and Im not
letting you screw up another mission. I dont care
how intimidating you think you are! You keep your
big, creepy ass up here and Ill make sure nothinggets screwed up down there. Got me?
Jim simply stares at your team leader or just long
enough to make all o you want to crawl out o your
skins. He nods once and simply says, Fine. He leans
up against the kitchen counter and strikes a match
to light his cigar. Where he suddenly got a match and
cigar, you have no idea.
With Aloysius in the lead, you climb down the
rickety stairs into a cramped tunnel no more than
ten eet wide and seven eet tall. Torches light the
way down the long corridor bending beyond your line
o sight.
It is EASY (3) to see signs o a struggle at the oot
o the stairs. A torn bit o fannel still clings to the
bottom step. Tracks in the dirt on the foor indicate
someone being dragged down the tunnel. Ater the
team begins to head down the tunnel themselves,
they nd the ollowing scrawled on the wall:
B-WEAR! STEP ON ROCK GO SQUISH
It is EASY (3) to see the raised bumps in the foor
ahead. They continue on or about twenty eet at odd
intervals. Also EASY (3) to spot are the giant boulders
hanging teen eet above the tunnel foor. Despite
any protests rom the team, Aloysius demands they
ignore the warning and continue on. He insists on
being rst through.
The team leader looks at you with obvious disgust.I cant believe that you bunch o pansies want to
listen to grati some monster smeared on a wall with
his own crap, he says. Aloysius spits on the foor.
Were going to keep moving and no idiot team or
lizard thing is going to stop me!
Aloysius turns and takes two steps down the hall
beore he proves himsel wrong. The rst boulder
crushes him, killing him instantly.
The trap is, as beore, EASY (3) to detect and
avoid; the spaces between the bumps are quite
sae. All o Aloysius gear was crushed with him and
the boulder is IMPOSSIBLE (31) to move, though
ortunately it can be clambered over and around
without much eort.
Scene : In WhichOur Heroes Do
Great BattleThe tunnel snakes on or at least a mile beorecoming to an open area. The passage beyond isclosed o by a bolted, wooden gate and guarded by
our Demonic Minions. They stand silently and do not
seem to have noticed you.
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How it is [Set-Up]: Thus begins the battle
sequence. These guards are not the brightest or most
coordinated Minions and should pose little issue or
the Chapter.
Problem: There is no way to continue orward
without passing the guards.
GUARD MINIONS: Agility d4, Strength d8,
Vitality d6, Alertness d2, Intelligence d4, Willpower d4,
Initiative 6, Lie Points 10, Skills: Discipline d2 (resisting
intimidation), Perception d4 (seeing things or seeing
through tricks), Unarmed Combat d6 (hitting people).
Notes: Not having any deensive Skill (Athletics), the
Minions will simply attack every round. However, i
a player thinks to attempt to intimidate them into
surrendering, the roll is WILLPOWER + DISCIPLINE
against WILLPOWER + DISCIPLINE (one roll counts
or all o them, and this can only be tried once); i the
Minions lose, they fee down the tunnel, smashing the
door as they go, and vanish rom sight.
Now What?: The bar across the gate is quiteheavy and is HARD (11) to lit ar enough to remove.
Beyond the gate, the team nds a dimly lit hall winding
as it appears on their map. Two doors are immediately
seen, one on either side o the hall. The door on the
let is outlined in Scene 4-1 and the right door is in
Scene 4-2.
Scene -1: Oh, Junk.The heavy metal door is rusted around its hinges.
A small opening with ancient bars shows a horrible
sight within. Two Minions stand on either side o a
darkly-clad gure. His robes resemble those o a Shao
Lin Monk, but they are covered in scrawled anarchist
markings. He stands silent and oreboding, arms
olded and hood drawn. On the other side o the room
is chained a man dressed in the gi o purple. A mask
covers his ace, but blood rom various wounds seeps
out. The man known only as the Purple Ninja rolls his
head towards his captor and speaks sotly. The mask
moves with his lips, but you could swear the words did
not match the timing.
You can do as you wish to me, end. Neither yourcruel henchmen nor your oul stench can make me
talk.
The black-clad man laughs. It is a cruel, hollow
sound. He tips his head, tossing o his hood. Randomly
spiked hair, black with a dyed white stripe in the
middle, tops a ace only a blind mother with no sense
o smell could love. Metal spikes and plugs adorn most
o the mans pale ace. He sneers at his captive.
You are not meant to talk, Purple Ninja. You are
meant to suer and die. Suddenly, the pierced man
moves to an attack position. You are meant or pain
at the hands o I, Skunk, the Dark Punk Junk Monk.
With a snap, Skunks leg nds its way deep into
the groin o the Purple Ninja. The cry o pain is like
nothing you have ever heard. It is the sound o ultimate
suering.
GUARD MINIONS: Agility d4, Strength d8,
Vitality d6, Alertness d2, Intelligence d4, Willpower d4,
Initiative 6, Lie Points 10, Skills: Discipline d2 (resisting
intimidation), Perception d4 (seeing things or seeing
through tricks), Unarmed Combat d6 (hitting people).
Notes: Not having any deensive Skill (Athletics), the
Minions will simply attack every round. Unlike the
previous minions, these ones are little braver, and
cannot simply be cowednot while Skunk is around,
anyway.
SKUNK: Agility d10, Strength d8, Vitality d8,
Alertness d6, Intelligence d6, Willpower d8, Initiative16, Lie Points 16, Skills: Athletics d8 (Dodging),
Unarmed Combat d8, Perception d4. Notes: These
are minimalist statistics or Skunk, who is ully detailed
in the Demon Hunters RPGcore rulebook. Here he
possesses the special Trait Recurring Villain: he usually
fees successully at the last moment, and even when
he appears to be killed, his body is never ound!
How it is [Set-Up]: The Purple Ninja is a olk
hero in Demon Hunter circles. His tales are legendary
and his winning streak is unmatched. Seeing him here,
the team is almost compelled to help him.
Problem: As old as the door is, it is HARD (11)
to break down. Any non-subtle attempt to open it
alerts Skunk and the minions who will immediately
kill the Purple Ninja. (Note to GM: Dont worry. The
Purple Ninja is supposed to die.) The lock on the
door is an AVERAGE (7) design and can be picked
with an AGILITY + COVERT roll. Picking the lock
gives the team the element o surprise and a +4 to
each characters Initiative or the rst turn o combat.
During the ght, one o the Minions will try and kill the
Purple Ninja.
Now What?:When it is obvious that the ghtis going the teams way, Skunk will throw a smoke
bomb and run out the door. The smoke makes Skunk
FORMIDABLE (15) to see (requiring a successul
ALERTNESS + PERCEPTION roll) on his way out,
and i anyone does try to ollow, he has disappeared
rom sight and theres no sign o him outside the
room. The Purple Ninja reuses all attempts to heal
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1
him. He believes himsel too ar gone. I the Purple
Ninja was killed beore or during the ght, skip the
next paragraph:
The Purple Ninja looks at you through swollen eyes.
His lips begin to move a split second beore you hear
Thank you, Demon Hunters. You are quite worthy
allies. Consider my streak...broken. With this, the
Purple Ninja dies.
Scene -: The Enemy ofMy Enemy
The thick wooden door shows signs o age, but it
appears quite solid. The rusted hinges and bands are
supplemented by a complex, bizarre mechanical lock
inscribed with glowing runes. Though it is mufed,
you can hear a groaning sound through the door. It
sounds almost human.
How it is [Set-Up]: The door is magicallysealed; characters can either try to beat down the
door, which is a HEROIC (19) eat o STRENGTH
+ ATHLETICS, or can try to disable the lock. O
course, it isnt really a lockCOVERT wont help.
The task requires MAD SCIENCE to deal with the
arcane amalgam, and is a complex action. Fortunately,
the Diculty is AVERAGE (35), and each roll o
INTELLIGENCE + MAD SCIENCE takes only 5
minutes. Remember, complex actions add the result
o each roll together, so this 35 isnt all that bad!
Should they manage to get through the door:
This room appears to be a small, ten by ten cell.
Chained to the ar wall is a man. At least, it was a
man. Rotten fesh hangs rom its visible bones. On
the foor lie a cutlass, single shot pistol, and a jaunty
pirates hat. A groan comes rom the body on the
wall. Its head slowly lits with bones cracking into
place along its spine. It stares at you with hollow,
dead eyes.
Well, (hack, cough) are ye goin to help an old
pirate or leave me hangin in this hell hole? Get to
movin ye (cough, cough) scalliwags and let me down.
I assume ye be here (hack) er the old man. His captorbe my sworn (cough) sworn (hack) enemy and I be
willin to help ye in exchange er lettin me down.
The creature coughs rack his withered rame. He
looks at you, quite impatiently.
Problem:Would you trust a zombie pirate?
Now What?: Capn will adventure with the
team, participating in ghts, but doing nothing
spectacular. He hangs back and lets the team ght
much o the battle unless his help is truly needed. He
is not very interested about the growth o the young
Hunters. He merely wants to save his energy or the
ght with the Syphilitic Ninja Vampire.
Capn: Agility d6, Strength d8, Vitality d10,
Alertness d6, Intelligence d6, Willpower d8, Initiative
12, Lie Points 18, Skills: Athletics d8, Discipline d8,
Perception d6, Melee Weapon Combat (his cutlass).
Weapons: Cutlass (d6 Damage Die). Notes: I
destroyed, he collapses into a pile o bones with a nal
cry o, Yarrr!
The only way to go, once both rooms have been
explored, is to continue on down the tunnel.
Scene : Dont TryThis at Home...orAnywhere Else
Rounding the tight curve, you hear noises ahead.
Here the tunnel branches. To the right is a small
crevice, barely large enough or an average person to
scramble through into the darkness. Straight ahead
is a well-lit passage. From ahead, a voice shouts out
above the din.
They will arrive soon! At last, we o the undercaves
will taste the blood o Demon Hunters!
A guttural cheer raises rom the tunnel ahead. The
sound is o death scraping his scythe on a chalkboard.
The thumping o innumerable spears against shields
lls the caverns.
I Armageddon is alive, read the ollowing as well:
Armageddons spine tingles at the sound, but not
with earjust with the gut eeling that ollowing the
main tunnel into an obvious deathtrap is unsound
tactics.
How it is [Set-Up]: The Demonic Minions have
gathered all o their orces to kill the team.
Problem: These are just stupid odds. As a
straight-up ght, the Hunters will never win againstthe rush o Minions. The side tunnel is not on the map
and they have no way o knowing where it leads, but
it seems saer to anyone who asks the GM what their
character thinks. I they insist upon moving orward,
the GM can let them run into a slaughter, but should
remind them to trust Armageddons eelings about
these things.
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1
Now what?: I the Hunters ollow the main
tunnel, they are torn apart and devoured by teeming
masses o Minions. I they take the branch through the
crevice, go on to Scene 6.
Scene : TheBalcony Scene
You step out o the crevice onto a balcony
overlooking a horric scene. Below, a moat o
bubbling lava surrounds tiered stone adorned with
arcane symbols. In the center o the bottom tier is a
pentagram contained in a circle o fame and stone.
Around the circle, eight demonic minions bow and
chant in their guttural tongue. The upper level holds
our gures, all appearing human. Three stand over an
ancient altar where a man in torn fannel lies. You caneasily guess that this is the missing Proessor Sneed.
The central standing gure wears robes with strange
gold markings and holds a vicious dagger. To his let
is a amiliar ace. Even rom this height you can see
the white stripe o hair marking Skunk, the Dark Punk
Junk Monk. On the right is a man in dark robes with
only one identiying mark: the mark o the Order o
the Inernal Scepter. The Order Agent and Skunk
have their hands raised over Proessor Sneed. With
a pause to scratch his crotch, the center man chants
in a strangely-accented and lisped Latin. [I Capn is
present]: Capn looks at the center gure and snarls:
There he (cough) be. The creat- (hack) creat-
(cough) creature I been searching er and who locked
me in that damned closet. He be a member o the
Clan o the Golden Fang. I ye want to save yer (cough)
riend we must move now.
How it is [Set-Up]: The middle gure is the
Syphilitic Ninja Vampire (SNV) the team aced in
the training video. The Order Agent is unidentied
and even a close look at his ace will not reveal any
inormation in the Brotherhood Database.
Problem: The team is too late to interrupt theritual, but they can still save Sneed. Five rounds ater
combat starts, the demon will appear, and ten more
ater that Sneed will bleed out. The descent rom the
balcony is AVERAGE (7) and will take ve rounds.
The rst ailure by any team member does nothing,
save cause them to knock loose small chunks o rock.
The second ailure by any team member alerts the
Minions to the teams presence. A third ailure causes
the Hunter to all. Making it down without alerting the
Minions gives the team the element o surprise.
When the team gets on the upper dais, the major
oes join the ght. Capn and the SNV go at each
other immediately. Skunk aims or the junk o the rst
person to step near him and the Order Agent acts
deensively only, backing away rom the main ghting.
At round ve, the demon appears. Read the
ollowing:
A cracking groan sounds rom beneath the pentacle.
All ghting stops as the summoned demon rises into
the room. Great red horns sprout rom his brow and a
row o sharp yellow teeth adorn his mouth. He stands
over seven eet tall and must weigh hal o a ton. He is
also wearing high water pants, a pocket protector and
thick glasses. The demon looks around at you and the
other combatants and shrieks loudly, cowering into a
etal position. The Order Agent looks at the SNV with
disgust.I knew the Order shouldnt have trusted you! That
thing isnt Sessnerilax the Lie Stealer! That stupid lisp
o yours screwed up the ritual. Youre on your own,
dumbass.
With a wave o his hand over a device strapped
to his belt, he teleports, leaving only a bit o smoke
behind. With the distraction complete, the ghting
begins anew. The demon seems less than interested
in doing anything but...cower.
GUARD MINIONS: Agility d4, Strength d8,
Vitality d6, Alertness d2, Intelligence d4, Willpower d4,
Initiative 6, Lie Points 10, Skills: Discipline d2 (resisting
intimidation), Perception d4 (seeing things or seeing
through tricks), Unarmed Combat d6 (hitting people).
Notes: Not having any deensive Skill (Athletics), the
Minions will simply attack every round. Unortunately
or the bad guys, ater the Order member fees (round
5 o combat, when the demon appears), all living
Minions take this as a bad sign and give the place the
laughthey cut and run, jumping into the lava and
swimming away unharmed.
SKUNK: Agility d10, Strength d8, Vitality d8,
Alertness d6, Intelligence d6, Willpower d8, Initiative16, Lie Points 16, Skills: Athletics d8 (Dodging),
Unarmed Combat d8, Perception d4. Notes: These
are minimalist statistics or Skunk, who is ully detailed
in the Demon Hunters RPGcore rulebook. Here he
possesses the special Trait Recurring Villain: he usually
fees successully at the last moment, and even when
he appears to be killed, his body is never ound!
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0 SNV:Agility d6 + d6, Strength d8 + d6, Vitalityd10, Alertness d6, Intelligence d4, Willpower d6,
Initiative 18, Lie Points 16, Skills: Athletics d6,
Discipline d6, Unarmed Combat d4, Melee Weapon
Combat d8. Weapons: Ceremonial Knie (d4 Damage
Die). Notes: Notice how the SNV has strange
dice combinations or his Agility and Strength? The
+d6 to each o these is a bonus rom his vampiric
nature. Whenever the GM would normally roll
those Attributes, he rolls both those dice together!
Additional rules regarding vampirism can be ound
in the Demon Hunters RPGcore rulebookbut
dont worry, the SNV doesnt have the inclination
to inect anybody right now, with vampirism or...
other ailments. In combat, the SNV is supremely
overcondent. The GM may consider giving a bonus
to any character who picks up on this and plays to it
i they try to draw him out to nd an opening, their
attack adds a bonus d6 to the roll!When reduced to 0LP, he bursts into a cloud o dust and ash.
ORDER AGENT: Agility d6, Strength d6,
Vitality d8, Alertness d8, Intelligence d10, Willpower
d6, Initiative 14, Lie Points 14, Skills: Athletics d10,
Discipline d2, Melee Weapon Combat d4. Weapons:
Shock Baton (d2 Damage Die, stuns target on
successul hit; the next time they can act, they cannot
perorm oensive actions). Notes: Mostly tries to stay
out o the way; hes not interested in ghting Demon
Hunters, even untrained lackwits! Like Skunk, he is a
Recurring Villain.
Now What?: The battle ends when all enemies
are deeated, whether they died or fed. As he is
about to be deeated, Skunk pulls another smoke
bomb and escapes through the exit, vowing revenge.
The team cannot reach the demon through the
protective circle, which crackles into a magical,
greenish dome whenever anyone tries to pass through
it. When the battle is over, read the ollowing:
Capn stares at the dust on the ground where his
mortal enemy once stood. He turns to you slowly
with a mad gleam in his eye socket. Ye ools. Ye
thrice damned (cough) ools! Ye cannot kill the (hack)
SNV with mere earthly weapons and eeble tricks!
He will (cough) just be reborn elsewhere without the
(cough, cough) proper remedy! Now I must begin me
search (cough) over again. Ye have cost me (hack)
my revenge and gained yerselves an enemy. I spareye today er yer assistance, but the next (cough)
next (cough) next time we meet, Ill be eastin on
yer brains.
With this ominous prediction, Capn kicks the dust
and limps out o the cavern. Proessor Sneed lies on
the makeshit altar and the demon still whimpers
within the protective circle, sucking his thumb.
Sneed is in bad shape. I the team reached him to
at least stop the bleeding in time, he will survive, but
is unconscious and cannot answer questions. A long
stay in the care o a beautiul nurse is in store or him.
When the team conronts the demon:
The demon is a sight that you can almost pity. He
crawls to the ar edge o the circle as ar away rom
you as he can get. He stares at you with wide eyes.
The demons name is Thethnerilackth (Theth-
ner-i-lackth). He is a demon working in the Inernal
Technology department o Hell. He will answer any
questions the team has with little provocation. He
only asks that they break the circle when they are
nished to allow him to return to Hell. It is up to the
team whether they ollow through on the promise.
Now that the demon is no longer boosting it with hisown power to keep out the ght, they must simply
scu the line in the dirt to set him ree.
Inormation known by the demon:
The Order Agent is a mid-level
operative named Eric Mason. This
summoning was organized by some
higher-ups in the Order to take out
Sneed
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HarkadianRol: Msti Spialist
Spialit: Nrom an and th Olt
Ailit d6
Strnth d6
Vitalit d6
Alr tnss d6
Intllin d8
Willpowr d10
Initiativ 12
Lif Points 16
TRAITSfocuSeD huNter: WalkiNg corpSeS D4
Harkadian has spent much o his adult lie dealing with corpses, in oneway or another. His long experience has taught him how best to dealwith re-animated bodies. He adds this Traits die to any roll to knowunusual acts or weaknesses about, identiy the signs o, track, orattack (directly or indirectly) walking corpses.iNitiateofthe artS D2
Harkadian trained in voodoo under a bokor on the outskirts oPort-au-Prince, Haiti. He studied Quimbanda with a me-de-santo inOuro Preto, Brazil. Hes read every text on the undead that he could
get his hands on. He has become one o the ew humans to learn thesecrets o the mystic arts. When he wants to use his abilities, he usesone o the rituals described below (under Special: Rituals). Theseare complex actions, using a combination o Alertness, Intelligence, orWillpower and his Skill Mystic Arts.SteaDycalm D6
Harkadian is unappable. He enjoys a quiet joke at times, butmaintains the same calm, small smile in the ace o a crowd oravenous ghoulshe almost never loses his cool. He adds thisTraits die to any roll to resist ear, torture, coercion, intimidation, orotherwise being mentally unbalanced.Duty D8
Ever since the fasco that caused him to lose his sister a second time(ater a ailed attempt to restore her to lie turned her into a zombie),Harkadian eels a strong sense o caution, particularly or the saetyo his teammates, but also or any innocents in the area. He is willingto make the tough choices when it means putting himsel in danger,and he may go down with the ship some daybut i he manages toavoid sinking any boats, hes likely to gravitate to a command positionbeore too long.eerie preSeNce D4
Harkadians extensive contact with the dead and with necromanticenergies has let a permanent mark on him. There seems to besomething just not quite right about him, at least according tomortalsin act, his body is colder than it should be, averaging about92 degrees at a normal temperature, and he seems to leach heatrom his surroundings as well. This odd presence makes mortalsuncomortable. When Harkadian is attempting to interact with normalhumans on a social level, the GM adds this Traits die to the opposingroll or Difculty number that is working against Harkadian.
SkILLSathleticS D4
This Skill lets the character run,jump, climb, or perorm otherphysical actions. It is especiallyimportant when Dodging anattack.covert D2
This Skill lets the charactersneak, remain unnoticed, pick
locks, orge documents, orperorm other questionableacts.DiScipliNe D8
This Skill lets the characterresist intimidation, ear, torture,and other distractions to hisconcentration, and to keep hiscool in bad situations. It can alsobe used to intimidate others orkick team mates into action.grouND vehicleS D2
This Skill lets the character drivecars, trucks, and motorcyclesunder bad conditions; undergood conditions, he shouldnthave to roll.guNS D4
This Skill lets the characteridentiy, clean, load, and shootany gun small enough to becarried and used by a singleperson.
iNflueNce D6
This Skill lets the characterpersuade, seduce, or intimidatepeople, in order to get what he
wants without fghting.kNoWleDge D8
This Skill lets the characterknow unusual acts, rememberobscure or detailed inormation,or memorize something veryquickly.meDical expertiSe D4
This Skill lets the character treatinjuries and diseases, as well asperorm frst aid.myStic artS D8
This Skill lets the charactermake use o special rituals,casting spells o the mystic artshe has been trained in. Everybrand o the Art is dierent,so each character with thisSkill may actually have a verydierent set o abilities.perceptioN D6
This Skill lets the characterdetermine i someone is lying
to him, spot an ambush, hearsomeone sneaking up behindhim, search a room quickly, orpick out the inconsistency insomeones ast-talk attempt.
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SPecIAL: RITuALSHarkadian has extensively studied all orms o death-magic (at least, those he could get his hands on). Asa result, he has a vast collection o rituals available tohim. They are all cast in similar waysthey operate ascomplex actions (see that section in the Rules portiono this booklet), but each has their own air. Hereare two example rituals; or rules on how to createmore, see the Demon Hunters Role Playing Game corerulebook.
Sense o Mortal ityroll: Alertness + Mystic Arts
Difficulty: Easy (15)
timeperroll: 30 secondsTo cast this ritual, Harkadian must stand within a closedcircleanything will do, but he carries some chalk tomake this easier. The circle made, crouching or sitting,he holds out in ront o him a string rom which hangsa small piece o bone. The ritual drains a small portiono his lie orce as he begins it; he loses 1 Lie Point. Ashe concentrates on the ritual, the bone begins swayingback and orth in an unelt wind. When he completesit, he gains the ability to sense nearby necromanticphenomenon or up to an hour, as long as he keeps thestring and bone hanging rom his hand. He can instantlysense i something cat-sized or larger dies within thirtyyards and determine what species it was. He caninstantly sense i anything has died in the area in the pasthour as well as what species it was and the quantity. Hecan also sense the presence, direction, and distance oundead creatures within 50 yards. He cannot determinethe exact number or type o creatures.
Repair Nedroll: Intelligence + Mystic Arts
Difficulty: Formidable (75)
timeperroll: 10 minutesTo cast this ritual, Harkadian requires several things: asmuch o Neds remains as he can fnd, enough otherbody parts to make up the rest, a needle and thread,
an electrical current strong enough to run a toaster, anda small jar with a dozen live ruit-ies in itthe kindthat only live or one day. With these components, andenough uninterrupted time to do his work, Harkadiancan bring Ned back to un-lie, good as new and at ullhealth. While working, he is essentially perorming themorticians task o piecing a body back together orviewing, combined with the bonus o being allowedto use other bodies as well. While most rituals o thisDifculty require a much greater sacrifce than a dozenruit-ies, Harkadian believes it somehow uses Nedsrecent death as a sacrifce to uel itsel. Or maybe thatswhy he always dies again so soon....
ROLe PLAyINg
NOTeSIt struck Harkadian very hard when his sister Jillian
died. They had become very close as children atertheir parents had been killed, and though Grannyhad taken care o them as best she could in her oldageHarkadian and Jillian had looked ater each other.
Harkadian reused to accept his sisters death,and began a seven-year tour o the world. He wentto Egypt to study the book o the dead. In Tibet, hedeciphered the Bardo Thodol and learned to reciteit. He studied the ways o the Bokor in Haiti, learningto serve the loa with both hands. In Ouro Preto, he
became a pupil o Quimbanda, and acquired knowledgeo oerings to Exu.
When Harkadian returned, he was a new person.Though never rambunctious, he was now ocused.He was not rude, by any means. In act, having beenexposed to so many cultures, he made it a point toalways observe the fnest details o etiquette. He got ajob as a mortician and began to work his plan.
Harkadian used the bodies in the mortuaryor experimentation. Ater months, he had fnallysynthesized a ritual that would bring his sister back.
Though Granny was horrifed when Harkadian toldher o his work, she was eager to have Jillian back.They went to the graveyard, and Harkadian worked hisnecromancy. And it succeeded! His sister rose rom thegrave ... along with seventy-our other nearby corpses.Though they were raised, none had a strong enoughwill to maintain their personality, and each became amindless zombie.
This set o readings at the Brotherhood, who senta chapter to invest