The Hollows and Hobgoblins Blog

Tag: role playing

  • Monsterhearts, A Clue or Two

    A letter from Benjamin Gilbert

     The whole history of the fire we published in the Times was a lie, of course. The fire had nothing to do with that foolish Swede in the wood shop, we just used him as a convenient scapegoat. It was all because of the vampires. 

     Hunters from the east were on their trail, and had been for awhile – one of the creatures they called “Jonathan” was particularly disruptive, hardly bothering to cover his tracks as he left a trail of destruction, broken lives and broken families from New York to Oregon. He ravaged Seattle for weeks before we finally trapped him and his henchmen in the wood shop. The owner, may he Rest In Peace, was part of the plot, and invited them in so they would be unable to harm innocents when we confronted them. The vampire Jonathan – an exceptionally tall man, with dark hair, striking blue eyes, and an ugly scar down the right side of his neck – tried to compel us with that curious mental power they have, but we’d taken precautions – the standard herbal remedy from the old country proved effective. But we were unprepared for his extraordinary speed and power, and that of his companions. 

     DeMarigny took out two of the bloodsuckers with stakes, and I wounded one with my silver knife, but failed to slay it. Grossman’s bullets proved entirely ineffective, and Jonathan snapped his neck in the blink of an eye. DeMarigny and the other hunters fought like lions, but the vampires were just too fast. Jonathan knocked the knife out of my grasp and pinned me to the wall with an insane strength. He forced me to watch, helpless, as they drained DeMarigny of his life.

     Gloating, the evil vampire looked into my eyes. “Now that your friends are dead or dying, I think we’ll take our time with you. You organized this hunt, and are worthy of special interest.” 

     Although my heart quailed within my breast, I put on a brave face. “Do your worst!” I cried, “I go to meet my maker with a clear conscience!”

     Jonathan’s grin grew wider. “No, you won’t,” he crowed, “because I will turn you. You will join us, and I will personally supervise your transition as you feed on the innocent and helpless. You will receive a punishment beyond death.” With these words, fangs sprouted from his mouth and he bit down, piercing my neck. I am not ashamed to say I cried out then, in greater despair and horror than I had ever known. 

     When I was weak and dizzy from blood loss, he opened a vein in his arm and forced me to swallow some of his blood. “You will die soon now,” the vampire said, “and when you wake up, you will be one of us.” I was too weak to move or respond, and lay slumped against the doorframe. The exit was inches to my right, but may as well have been on another continent. The creatures turned to begin feeding on those wounded hunters they hadn’t yet killed, and tears fell from my eyes as I heard their cries of despair and pain. 

     It was then that she appeared. Beautiful, with a face showing traces of an ancestry from the east, and dark hair that fell in curls onto her shoulders. Kneeling down, she looked at me, and I thought I saw pity in her eyes, combined with a steely determination. I struggled to rise, entreating her to flee, to save herself, but she shook her head. “Invite me in,” she whispered, “and I will help you. This I promise.” 

     It was then I knew she was another creature of the night. My first instinct was to refuse her, but then, what did I have to lose? My fate was already sealed. “Come in,” I managed to croak. 

     Instantly she entered, followed by companions of her own. They were like a storm, unleashing a savagery upon Jonathan and his faction that words cannot describe. It was in this struggle that the fire started. I managed to crawl out of the burning building, and watched as the battle between the vampires continued, first onto the roof of the woodshop and then onto neighboring rooftops. The conflagration spread, as burning vampires set nearby buildings alight as they screamed and died. And so the Great Seattle Fire began. This was the truth we dared not print in the paper. 

     I died at some point during the night. Ling found me later, and cared for me, showing me how to feed. She had her own reasons for wanting Jonathan dead, but of these she forbids me to speak. She believes that monster perished in the fire, but I am not so sanguine. It is this Jonathan’s fault that I now walk as a creature of the night, condemned to darkness and to feed on the living for as long as my foul existence continues. And I make it my only goal to take vengeance upon this villain, and all those like him, who prey on the innocent with cruelty and malice. 

     I write this so that those on the inner council may know the truth, and be warned, and so take appropriate action. In my next note I will confirm for you the best and most reliable methods for warding against and destroying vampires. I urge you to employ these methods and protections throughout the region, using whatever excuses as may seem fit to the council. 

    I am most sincerely,

    Benjamin Gilbert

    A vampire

  • Monsterhearts Episode One

    I’m MCing Monsterhearts 2 for my gaming group right now, so figured I might as well post the updates to this blog. Here’s the first one!

    Characters: 

    Nix, the Hollow, a magical construct possibly created by a government agency

    Tien, the Ghost of a teenage boy who died when forgotten in the cold by his friends, many of the current students of Seattle High

    Morrigan, the Ghoul, died in a car wreck with a friend, but was resurrected, possibly by a secret government experiment 

    Homeroom is abuzz with gossip when the police arrive to question Ms. Waterkin about the disappearance of Jamie Tyler, a student at Seattle High. The other major subject of discussion is tonight’s party at Sandy’s house, the rich and popular girl who lives in Blue Ridge; “everyone who’s anyone” will be there, which excludes our main characters who were not invited. 

    During gym and lunch, we discover that Lucas (NPC) is into Nix, who is dramatically uninterested in him. Tien has a crush on Odessa, who unfortunately is hanging around Harvey, the mean jock. Tien gets intimidated by Harvey, but is able to shut him down and embarrass him in turn. Meanwhile Lucas invites Nix to Sandy’s party, who accepts, but then plans to bring Morrigan along. Tien approaches Odessa about the party, but discovers she doesn’t really want to go – she’s worried about Jamie, and wants to help look for her. Based on a clue that Jamie was last seen headed to Discovery Park, they decide to go there to search.

    Nix and Morrigan ambush Lucas and he reluctantly drives them both to the party. Sandy is perturbed to see Morrigan, who she deliberately said wasn’t welcome, but she doesn’t stop them from entering. The party is in full force with loud music, flashing lights, kegs and people doing kegstands, dancing, and teenagers diving into the outdoor pool. Nix notices that a small crowd has gathered around an exotic and beautiful dark-haired girl, who Lucas calls Lyra. She senses there’s something different about Lyra, and Lucas takes Nix through the crowd to meet her, with Morrigan pushing along behind. Very quickly Nix concludes that Lyra is a vampire, and so does Morrigan. When her eyes fall on Nix, Lyra’s eyes widen. She dismisses her hangers-on and drags Nix into an empty bedroom, where she questions her closely. Nix doesn’t reveal much, but gets the impression Lyra knows she’s not human, and is concerned she might be a construct made by one of her enemies. Lyra tries to seductively bite Nix on the neck, but Nix flings her off. The vampire smiles, then quickly vanishes. In the meantime, Morrigan tries to goad people into dangerous stunts, like jumping off the roof into the pool. She winds up on the roof of the house with Nix.

    At night in Discovery Park, Odessa and Tien search for a hidden grove that Jamie used to go to with some weird friends of hers. They find the grove, but hear a twig snap nearby, and a red light dances around the clearing. Tien tells Odessa to stay quiet and not move, then moves towards the red light. It turns out to be Harvey, who is also out looking for Jamie. Tien and Harvey have words, then Tien calls out for Odessa that it’s safe to come out – but she doesn’t reply.

    Meanwhile, Nix refuses Morrigan’s temptation to jump off the roof, and climbs back onto the third floor through a window. She’s alarmed to see an apparently stoned and distraught teenage boy inside, who says, “I don’t want to do it… I don’t!” Nix asks him what’s wrong, and he says, “I don’t want to kill you!” as he draws a gun and levels it at her. She tries to persuade him to drop the gun, but he just starts crying, and pulls the hammer back. Morrigan hears this and bursts into the hallway, and rushes the boy, grabbing for the gun. She misjudges and the gun goes off, hitting her in the shoulder. In the ensuing struggle, the boy loses the gun but slashes Morrigan with a knife, who falls down a flight of stairs. He turns to attack Nix, sobbing about how he’s sorry but he has to kill her.

    Back in the park, Tien is horrified to see Odessa up high at the furthest reaches of a tall Douglas Fir, in the cold embrace of Lyra. He flies up to meet them and pleads with the vampire to let Odessa go. Stroking Odessa’s hair lovingly, Lyra says she’s pleased to meet Tien, and offers to make an alliance with him. In return for Tien’s help against her enemies, she promises to give him what he’s wanted for so long – vengeance against all those friends who left him to die in the cold. She will even release Odessa to him, unharmed. The vampire asks for a sign of his sincerity – subdue Harvey, who is still cluelessly wandering around the grove, and bring him to her.

    At the party, Nix jumps out the window and climbs down a drainpipe to the ground. Knife-wielding boy pushes his way through the gyrating bodies on the first floor with little notice, except for some snickers from a couple of stoners. Outside, he finds Nix and attacks her, crying about how “she” is making him attack. Nix falls to the ground as they grapple, and is cut in the arm; sand spills out of it. Morrigan, badly wounded but still functional, stumbles towards them.

    Meanwhile at Discovery, Tien subdues Harvey, and flies with his body towards Lyra and Odessa. Lyra smiles in triumph when she sees him, but Tien flings Harvey at her with all his strength. She cries out and is stunned by the blow: she manages to hold on to Odessa, but no longer has her in a tight embrace. Harvey’s unconscious body bounces off her and falls through the trees, breaking multiple branches on the way down to the hard ground.

    To be continued…

  • Game Chef 2013

    I’ve submitted a game, called Finding Haven, here, for Game Chef 2013.  It’s a sci-fi role-playing game inspired by stories like Logan’s Run and alien invasions like V combined.  I’m grateful for any feedback you have, please leave a comment here or on Praxis.  Thanks!