Fate of the Serpentine

Campaign Overview

Daring deeds of derring-do in the exquisitely evanescent empery of Eversink!

Helpful Resources

• In Character Thread
• Out of Character Thread
• Recruitment Thread
• Fall of DELTA GREEN 1960s French theatre weapons types
• FoDG Combat Options Summary
• Organisation Claude

Factions and Allegiances

The following are the dominant factions and allegiances within Eversink, and their own allies and enemies.

System Details and Special Rules

Sorcery

The sorcery system works as follows. Sorcery is powered by the Lore skill, and in most cases, consists of straight Lore-based attacks against physical or mental Stress. The Sorcerer rolls their Attack roll based on their Lore skill level plus any modifiers, and the target rolls their Defend roll - if any. (GM decides what skill is appropriate for Defend rolls, if any - default is Physique for physical Stress, and Will for mental Stress. Ingenious Sorcerers may be able to devise a spell form that gets around a particular defence.

For spell-casting where there is no specific target or harm intended, the action is an Overcome against a Difficulty set by the GM. Create Advantage can be used to boost chances of success. The GM will also balance the Difficulty against the power of the intended effect - greater power means greater Difficulty.

The detail comes in the different Spheres of magic which govern the description and nature of the magic, as well as the sorts of magic the Sorcerer could perform outside straight Attack spells. For instance, a Sorcerer whose Sphere is Water could fill opponents' lungs with liquid - or drain a canal to allow allies to walk across it. A Sorcerer whose Sphere is Plants could ensnare and strangle foes in creeping vines - or grow strange and reviving fruit to heal injured characters. A character gets one Sphere for each level of the Lore skill they have.

Sorcerous Spheres

Aging

Air

Animal

Blades

Blood

Chaos

Curses

Death

Decay/Entropy

Demonology

Disease

Earth

Fear

Fire

Flesh

Ghosts and Spirits

Ice

Illusion

Lightning

Love

Luck

Memory

Music

Necromancy

Plants

Possession

Secrets

Serpents

Shadow

Statuary

Swamp

Transformation (Physical)

Transmutation

Transportation

Trickery

Water

Worship

Unfortunately, using Sorcery isn't a free ride. Each use of Sorcery exposes the Sorcerer to Corruption.

Corruption

Corruption is the result of exposure to, or use of, the warping energies from outside mundane reality that power magic and Sorcery. They steadily degrade and denature a person, place or other object, until the target becomes totally unnatural, twisted, and malevolently alien.

Each character comes with a Corruption clock - usually with four segments, although a gifted or lucky, or exceptionally powerful Sorcerer may have more. Each time that a spell is cast - or that certain special Corruption stunts are used, or as a result of certain curses and magical attacks - the character fills one segment of the clock. Once all four segments are filled, the character has to rewrite one aspect into a Corrupted aspect, a twisted version of what came before, and then clears their Corruption clock. The process continues until all five aspects are Corrupted, finishing with the Trouble aspect and finally the High Concept. Once all a character's aspects are corrupted and they have used up their last empty Corruption segment, they cease to be a playable character and become an NPC monster.

If a character can make it through a session of play without taking a single instance of Corruption, they can clear one segment on their Corruption clock. There may be other ways of clearing Corruption, or even purifying Corrupted aspects, but these are not part of normal play - the more usual intervention by the Church in Eversink is to burn the offender.

For some magical effects, including range, damage, etc., in Attack spells, a Sorcerer can boost the effect by adding one more segment on their Corruption clock per extra instance of effect: 2x, 3x, etc.

Internalized and Externalized Corruption

When a character Corrupts an aspect, they can try to conceal the effect, or even project it onto another member of their bloodline. This is called internalizing Corruption. Externalizing it is blasting either their immediate allies and neighbours, or the immediate vicinity.

Every time a character Corrupts an aspect, they have to roll their Physique against a Difficulty equal to their current Lore. If they succeed, they contain the Corruption in their body, and some small unobtrusive physical change happens - a wart, a new patch of discoloured skin, etc. If they fail, the change is far more obvious - a plain offensive blemish.

With certain rites that may be learned in the course of play, Sorcerers can transfer Corruption to their bloodline, and remain scot free themselves. This is a capital offence if discovered.

When externalizing Corruption, a Sorcerer rolls an Attack equal in power to their current Lore against the mental Stress of everyone in the immediate vicinity - friends, allies, etc. Meanwhile, the vicinity is also Corrupted, with an intensity equal to the current Lore of the Sorcerer, and a highest level of 6.

1 - Denari’s Blessing is temporarily burned away, detectable by Spirit Sight or Corruption (or poor profit from business transactions). Nearby cows give sour milk, chickens lay stones instead of eggs, and babies cry non-stop. Lasts approximately one month, but can be restored sooner through multiple business transactions.

2 - Causes disquiet in anyone passing through, encouraging people to hurry on their way. Those who deliberately linger in the area take 1 point of mental Stress damage after several hours. This may drive weak-willed NPCs into emotional breakdowns or panic attacks. Lasts approximately one decade.

3 - Weakens building foundations, softening stone and eroding mortar. Causes fear or temporary obsession in anyone passing through the area, triggering immediate mental Stress of 2 (4 after dark). NPCs are filled with dread, and the area soon becomes known as haunted. The barrier between worlds is weakened; determined ghosts can pass through from the spirit realm. Lasts approximately one generation.

4 - Entering this area automatically causes 4 points of mental Stress, and the area reeks of sadness and terror. Those who live nearby may be driven to paranoia or sly murder. The area might be (but is not always) cloudy and lit from within, and spirits might be seen or felt within this area. This acts like a beacon, subtly drawing the evil and the unnatural to it. Lasts approximately a century.

5 - Entering this area, any characters take 6 points of mental Stress or have to resist possession by a ghost, demon, or other spirit drawn to the fell energies. The spirits of those who die nearby are trapped here. This is a sucking, writhing rip in reality that warps physical spaces around it. Unnatural creatures such as demons or something worse might come through, either in mortal or spiritual form. Animals nearby often twist and mutate. Never heals.

6+ - This sanity-blasting rift in reality pierces the world and can theoretically corrupt an entire nation if allowed to spread long enough. Effects are as Stage 5, but the affected area spreads. Never heals, and slowly spreads unless sealed from the other side.

Corruption Stunts

Once a character has had at least one of their aspects Corrupted, they can start to acquire Corruption stunts - one per Corrupted aspect, and related to that aspect. These come free rather than the usual stunt cost in Refresh, and are roughly twice as powerful as a similar normal stunt - but each use fills a segment of Corruption.

Spirit Sight

Spirit Sight is the only opening to the world of spirits and magical forces available to non-Sorcerers - those natural sensitives with points in Lore but no knowledge of Sorcery. With Spirit Sight, the gifted sensitives can see ghosts, and sometimes use their natural powers to heal Corrupted places, detect Sorcerers and follow their spoor, and spot Corruption. However, in Eversink the Church and the authorities frown on anyone with Spirit Sight acting as a free agent, and those sensitives who reveal their secret will either be drafted into the Sentinels or the Inquisition, or suffer at their hands.

Important People

• Mr. Green, your ice-cold and so far utterly mysterious DELTA GREEN handler
• Pascal Carbone, Unione Corse capo and sometime ally