#also artifact farming is just absolute hell on earth

[primoredial-jade]

i haven’t been playing or keeping up with genshin for over 9+ months now, but with the recent lore drops pertaining to childe and his vision, i’m suddenly interested in playing again 🤔 or at the very least, just reading into his role in the fontaine story quest 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[hellspathfinder]

Choices

Freya & company are warned by their contact within the Chelish Intelligence apparatus that they will in one weeks time be promoted to “Trusted Agents of Thrune.” They resolve to spend this week of vacation on researching & advancing their artifacts by way of a journey up the Southwestern coast. 

Some friends are made, enemies dispatched, and the defensive stability of the city of Pezzack is severely weakened before they return home.

Immediately upon promotion, the team is given a job they desperately don’t want to do. They are asked to befriend and gain the trust of two nobles vying for the queens favor here in Egorian, the capital of Cheliax.

Archcountess Levisvia Vasvion is a multiple-widow who owns a few hospitality businesses in the city, some of which are formerly owned by the other concerned party: Paracount Thalgano Sethic. 

Several extremely odd jobs are performed with mixed results. Some money but little trust is earned. Word reaches the team that the queen is no longer amused by these two nobles squabbling what with the Glorious Reclamation marching on Westcrown and all. The team accelerates their plans.

They side with Vasvion and immediately begin squeezing Sethic’s businesses. They destroy his devil-hog farm, expose and indict several judges Sethic has on his payroll, attempt but fail to steal a large sum Sethic has borrowed from a foreign bank, and they even prevent an assassination attempt on Vasvion’s fiance, Nicolo Alazario (aka Michelob Ultra) - son of Egorian’s Lord Mayor Alazario.  Nicolo impresses the team with his combat prowess against very dangerous gray men of Norgorber.

Sethic feels the heat and goes underground, so the team moves on to other objectives. Corrine has requested that they crush the Bellflower Network’s operations in the capital, which have escalated in the chaos of the times.

They plan an elaborate trap by way of renting a river-barge and decorating it for a large “all-nighter” party.  They invite the worst people they can think of from across the city and surrounding countryside, advertise that they will have a halfling fighting ring present at the event and wait.

With Draymus posing as the host, their ambush goes awry. A crack-team of halfling combatants indeed shows up to liberate the “participants” at the barge. Nearly destroying Draymus upon arrival, the group is forced to repel the boarders before they are fully prepared. After an explosive battle where they are constantly on their backfeet, Jason utters their word of recall “Kendrick Lamar” and they escape to their Migos St hideaway. Many halflings are liberated.

Continuing the investigation, they are lead to a safehouse for the Bellflowers and pulling no punches, they summon gigantic earth elementals and level the entire building and surrounding structures. Calling that done, they prepare for their next objective.

The nobles are calmed and her enemies are on the run, the queen is pleased. She rewards her agents with more important work, and the authority to make an important choice. One “friend of the queen” must be sacrificed to Asmodeus as part of the 100 year old bond between the Thrune family and their god. A pilgrimage must be undertaken in a form exactly like Abrogail I’s initial deal.

They must travel by land to a set of 14 standing stones that are in the Barrowood, West of Egorian.  At each stone they must shed a drop of blood of their would-be sacrifice and at the final stone the subject must be given to Asmodeus. 

They choose Sethic, as they have strong intelligence that indicates he has gone to ground at his best-defended mansion. The team infiltrates his home, secures the guards and discovers a grisly secret. More than a week prior, Sethic kidnapped Bob Applewood and tortured him for days and days. Bob is alive but unresponsive. A seething team of killers waits for Sethic’s inevitable return home.

Showing more skill than they expect, upon Sethic’s return a desperate battle erupts. It seems the old man is an Arcane Trickster of considerable skill and he nearly kills all of them before being laid low by Freya and Reese. Jason promptly stabilizes the old man and Draymus feebleminds him, for their own safety.

They fashion a sort of backpack to carry him in, and set off on the pilgrimage. Along the way they are accosted by the Glorious Reclamation’s advanced scouts, who are much farther past the Chelish Army lines than is generally known. They are nearly halted by a team-up of the paladins and a powerful druid who protects the Barrrowood.

Surviving this, at the final stone they are confronted by a rogue faction of the Church of Asmodeus. This radical cell of clerics grows weary of Thrune rule and would see Cheliax in absolute control of the church. Jason must make a heavy choice, but one that he finds easy. He sides with his Queen because he knows Asmodeus also sides with her. 

An explosive and deadly battle ensues and the leader of the Asmodeans, Archmage Luthon Malix alone escapes after killing Jason. A decimated crew drags Sethic’s still-feebleminded self to the stone and freya slits his throat on the altar.

A portal opens, and Gorthoklekk himself appears in his human guise at first, but quickly assumes his true form of a giant pit fiend, towering over them. He casts “heal” on Sethic’s dying form to remove his feeblemind, even returning him to consciousness long enough to see his “friends” staring at him. Bob makes finger-guns at him just before the pit fiend eats him alive. 

The devil chews but does not swallow Sethic’s flesh and bone, instead turning to vomit his remains and eternal-soul into the portal to Hell.

Shortly after, another portal opens and Contessa steps out, surveying the area for danger just before Abrogail II, Queen of Cheliax herself appears. She thanks the team and asks Gorthoklekk to resurrect Jason, which he does (he uses raise-dead instead but the queen does not appear to notice).

Freya & co are promoted to Bound Agents of Thrune. Above the law in all matters while serving the queen in Cheliax. They are also rewarded with some new equipment including a ring from the queen’s own finger she gives to Jason.

Corrine later informs the team that while they have renewed Thrune’s pact with Hell, the Glorious Reclamation has taken Westcrown and a group called the Silver Ravens has killed the Lord Mayor, Barzillai Thrune in Kintargo and taken control of the city. They are expected to declare their independence from Cheliax any day. The queen has demanded that a letter be sent declaring this action unlawful and requiring all involved parties to be turned over to her agents. The team prepares to meet the Silver Ravens.

[thatboomerkid]

A User’s Guide to the Abhorrent Heavens

A User’s Guide to the Abhorrent Heavens -- An Essay for Bloodlines & Black Magic

“The key difference between any one of the Abhorrent Heavens and the very foulest churning pit of the deep Infernal is subtle but distinct: within an Abhorrent Heaven, one person is having a wonderful time. These grotesque realms, home to souls perfectly selected by their mistress for obsession and malice, are obscene in the extreme. On the surface, some of these blood-splattered abattoirs may appear as 1950s suburbs or modern-era cities, but all merely hide the hunger of a psychotic spree-killer finally unleashed from all consideration of consequences.”

-- Bloodlines & Black Magic, pg. 204

Your players don’t stand a chance against the Grand Archons.

Not directly, anyway.

After all, the Invisible Masters of Heaven & Earth have been putting down titans, would-be messiahs, world-shaking Goetic monstrosities, rebellious Bloodlines, sorcerous god-kings, charismatic serpent-cults & upstart wizards since before time had a name ... or so they say.

In most cases, of course, the Grand Archons don’t even have to respond to a threat directly: the exact moment when someone dumb starts making enough noise that rumors of the Invisible World begin reaching mundane ears, Yasazziel the Grand Archon of Glittering Things & Earthly Delights simply opens a gateway from our reality into one of her many Abhorrent Heavens & lets-loose one of her grateful, loyal servants to play dirty for a little while.

What happens next is, simply put, utterly unspeakable.

Brought to you absolutely free to play, to test & to share, as always, by the fine folks of my Patreon.

Additional content contributed by Blaine Bass of ScrapFinder and by Sam Berry; hugest of thanks to the Broken Token for editing assistance

photography by Boomer; digital editing by Tim Jenkins of Battle! Studio

SO ...

Maybe you’re starting a brand new Bloodlines & Black Magic campaign from scratch, and you’re looking for a unique way to kick things off with a real bang.

Maybe you’ve just ended a long, complex story-arc a little bit early, without all of the mysteries completely solved; maybe you can’t quite jump into the next chapter of your narrative until the PCs achieve a certain slightly higher level or meet a specific NPC or learn a particular secret; maybe only half of your players showed up to this session and you need a quick “filler” episode.

Maybe your PCs befriended & adopted the Godzilla, shunted the Terminator to the Deepest Astral, had the Voldemort removed from public office in perp-walked, handcuffed & humiliating disgrace or otherwise drove your campaign’s entire plot-arc so far off the frigging rails that you suddenly find yourself needing a few extra weeks to re-orient your entire game from first principles.

Whatever the reason, you require a brand new plot hook on the fly, and – simply due to the setting-assumptions of the Bloodlines & Black Magic universe! – a classic sword-&-sorcery fantasy plotline like “goblins attack the village” or “the princess is secretly a werewolf” or “foolish local knights go questing for the Vast Horror” simply won’t cut it.

No sweat, friend. We’ve got you covered.

In such an instance, the creaking & blood-spattered gates of the Abhorrent Heavens swinging wide into our own realm should provide more than ample fuel for your dark, strange fire.

original image from here

Plot Hooks (Pick from the list below, or Roll 1d10):

The PCs show up to a meeting with an important contact (or group of contacts) only to discover that everyone is dead or missing. Should any word of this discovery be made public, of course, the PCs are the most obvious suspects for mundane law-enforcement agencies to pursue. As their quick & panicked investigation unfolds, it becomes clear to the PCs that this was an extermination ordered by the Seven of Secret Names ... and that whatever was unleashed from an Abhorrent Heaven is now on their trail, looking to complete its mysterious mission and to have itself some slick red fun while doing so.

An old mentor of a PC is requesting help & offering sky-high payment: something is after him, and it’s rapidly chewing through every emergency defense he’s built-up over the last few decades. Upon closer examination, however, it becomes clear to the PCs that what’s after this particular occultist isn’t just a pissed-off Goetic spirit or some random undead manifestation: it’s a creature of the Abhorrent Heavens, released directly by the Archons to mete out justice in their name. Do the PCs continue to intervene, and risk angering the Grand Sisters directly?

The PCs are contacted obliquely by Jackie Ipanema (see below) or by another favored servant of the Archons who spends a lot of time outside of his Abhorrent Heaven on “real world clean-up”; this contact is polite & non-threatening in the extreme. This potent soldier of the Grand Archons needs a small favor: he maintains multiple false identities in the real world, and several of these identities have been invited (for mysterious reasons) to attend the same fancy dinner party at a secluded woodland mansion at the same time; of course, this is probably a trap. Can the PCs take on these roles & solve the mystery?

A bit of casual, routine investigation into an old “haunted house” in a remote farming community with a vaguely sinister reputation reveals the existence of a poorly-locked and seemingly unguarded portal sitting in the attic, marked only with some eerie chalk-lines. This hole in space-time leads directly into a previously unknown Abhorrent Heaven, full of thousands of fearful damned who are preyed-upon by a mysterious figure of terrifying power ... one who has (apparently) been used very quietly by the Seven of Secret Names on rare occasions to take out major targets. Do the PCs dare to explore this realm? Seal it & guard it? Profit from it?

The estate-sale of a wealthy & enigmatic amateur-dabbler in the dark arts turns up a “Dantean Codex”: a log-book detailing various entrances into an assortment of Abhorrent Heavens scattered across the US & Europe. 90% of the book is useless gibberish, of course ... but the parts that are real are literally invaluable: the sort of things that powerful Lineages kill & die for, or that make legends out of dilettantes. Problem is, the text ALSO represents the most deeply forbidden kind of occult knowledge; mere knowledge of its existence is punishable by death at the hands of the Archons & their servants. Where do you even hide such information?

An enterprising & clever young crew of magicians are playing with hell-fire itself: aping the legendary power inherent to the Invisible City of the Tianlong Dynasty -- Bloodlines & Black Magic, pg. 53 -- they’ve cracked their way into an Abhorrent Heaven with multiple exits back into the real world, and are using this otherworldly realm as a “secret level” to allow for quick, untraceable transportation between cities & across the globe. Every trip risks attracting the attention of the realm’s dark master ... and when these boys get caught, things are going to get very ugly very fast. Can the PCs shut down this mad plan?

The death of a famous & well-loved occultist reveals, hidden amongst the notes in his possession, that he was a MAJOR contact for the Archons: selling out other magicians for personal gain, setting up his friends & his enemies alike to be taken out by their purges, and often profiting directly from executions performed in the name of the Archons, all in the hopes that he would -- in death -- finally be granted the playground of his own Abhorrent Heaven in recompense. Worse, he names a close & trusted ally of the PCs as his longtime accomplice (or even mentor) in these double-deals. Who can the PCs trust?

The PCs are contacted by a powerful, underground circle of mages who think they have a real shot at taking-out one particularly nasty servant of the Archons, potentially crippling it -- like the famed Revered was pulled-down a peg -- or even killing it outright. If the PCs can bait the thing into a particular emotionally-significant, magically-potent location at a particular numerologically-consequential time -- and with all of the attendant esoteric magical formulae properly in-place to secure a full-on Occult Connection with the ritual casters -- then the PCs will have a front-row seat to watch something nearly unknown to modern arcanists, along with an exclusive invite to join the crème de la crème of international occult society. Of course, they’ll have to survive the fight ... and it might all be a trap laid by Nannareal, the Grand Archon of Secrets and Whispers.

An urgent call from an old friend of one of the PCs sends them down a dark alley with their associate in a strangely familiar location. Their sense of eerie déjà vu grows as they round a corner ... only to watch as a horrid creature lashes-out of the darkness and butchers their friend before their eyes, then vanishes into the night. Familiarity shattered, the PCs find themselves in an ever-shifting Abhorrent Heaven drawn from their own memories, locked into a game of cat-and-mouse that has gone on for centuries. When the PCs finally track down the monster and avenge their buddy, their sense of foreboding grows: this creature was not the master of any Abhorrent Heaven, merely a trapped plaything like themselves; soon after, another supernaturally-gifted foe is lured into the concrete jungle to start the hunt again. There’s a way out, of course ... but the voyeuristic occupant of this Abhorrent Heaven, a stalker obsessed with the vicarious thrill of predators & prey making war, isn’t talking.

Rumors start popping up -- with increasing & frightening regularity, and an uncanny level of detail -- about an ancient artifact resurfacing: a lost blade of Goetic Titan-craft that serves as a bane weapon against any creature tied to an Abhorrent Heaven. While the Archons & their servants scramble to kill-off anyone with anything resembling proof of this blade’s existence, the PCs are contacted by an old associate who claims to have located the thing ... as he requests extraction from a war-zone.

Uncountable Abhorrent Heavens ... and their Occupants

No one knows exactly how many Abhorrent Heavens there really are.

Or, more accurately, Yasazziel the Grand Archon of Glittering Things & Earthly Delights knows ... but she’s not talking.

Or, more accurately still, Yasazziel is talking all the damn time. It’s just that nobody can quite tell what she actually means by whatever she says.

In any instance, there are innumerable Abhorrent Heavens -- glittering like dark jewels, smoking with thin coils of screams & ghost-iron -- tucked away into obscure corners of the Celestial Realm, forever waiting to be opened-up whenever it amuses Yasazziel to unwrap & caress them.

Each one is sort of halfway between a prized Pokemon & a reverse Darklord of Ravenloft: each occupant is an utterly unique dick-in-a-box, sure ... but they love every minute of it, "bound" to their realm only so much as is required to keep them equal-parts amused & dangerous, all so that they can be taken out to straight-up murder people whenever their mistress desires.

Below are two of them.

Jackie: a Signature Soul of an Abhorrent Heaven

So ... you need a unique & scary monster, the sort of creature that Yasazziel the Grand Archon of Glittering Things & Earthly Delights would happily uncage & send after a troublemaker? Jackie Ipanema can, with only slight alteration, be used to fill exactly that role ... in much the same way that Canio de Pogo, Happy Muurvaerid and Khakissandra Ayla, the Foul Wish Granted can -- in a pinch! -- serve as interesting quick-&-dirty Goetic monsters.

image from here

Within the Bloodlines & Black Magic setting, Jackie’s ties to Zon-Kuthon are placed with service to Yasazziel the Grand Archon of Glittering Things & Earthly Delights.

ODDITIES:

If a character’s Threshold increases to an odd number from direct exposure to the presence (or the power) of Jackie Ipanema, she may gain one of the following Oddities (roll 1d10):

You can never again “spark” an object: you can’t turn on a stove or start a microwave, lighters that you try to use fail to ignite, cars you try to start won’t turn over, flicking a light-switch produces no effect, you can’t get a cellphone to turn on by pressing the button, and bullets or cartridges don’t go off when you squeeze the trigger on a firearm. You add quench as a 1st-level spell known to any one spell-list you possess; use of this special spell also extinguishes light bulbs, flashlights, chemical light-sticks and other simple, cheap devices that heat up, produce illumination and that can “burn out”. Use of this spell does not affect cars, cellphones, computers or other more complex electrical objects (such as firearms) used by opponents.

Your appearance becomes subtly creepy, and you remind everyone you meet of a dead person (either a specific dead person they have seen or a generic corpse, as appropriate). This affects your look, your voice, your scent and even the non-verbal sounds and movements you make; you suffer a penalty equal to twice your hit dice on all Charisma-based skill checks & ability checks except Intimidate. Once per day, you may choose, as a free action, to activate the Unnerving Gaze ability of an evangelist kyton, Will save negates (DC 10 + 1/2 your hit dice + your Charisma modifier); this ability last for 10 minutes or until you voluntarily end the effect as another free action.

You add bullet shield as a 1st-level spell known to any one spell-list you possess. This special spell may only be cast while you are in an area of dim or lower lighting, and a spell effect created by you in this way is suppressed -- as if in the area of an antimagic field -- while you or the target of the spell are in any area of normal or brighter light.

While in an area of dim or lower lighting, you are always considered to have a running start when jumping; you also add your character level (max +7) as a bonus on all Acrobatics checks to jump. You are fatigued while in an area of bright light and exhausted while in direct sunlight.

You gain light blindness. In addition, once per day as a free action you may choose to see through mist and fog (including fog cloud and similar magic) as if they did not exist. In areas of moderate or stronger wind, while this ability is in effect, you can also see as if you were standing at both your own position and a position a number of feet in the wind’s direction equal to the wind’s speed in miles per hour, potentially allowing you to see around corners and other obstacles. This ability lasts for 10 minutes or until you voluntarily end the effect as another free action.

As long as you are humming the song Girl From Ipanema to yourself (which applies a -10 penalty to all Stealth checks based on sound), you are immune to fear and to non-lethal damage.

You can never again “spark” an object, as per the first result above. While in an area of dim or lower lighting, you gain full use of Exotic Weapon Proficiency: spiked chain and Weapon Finesse. If you normally possess either of these abilities, you instead gain one of the following for each feat that you already possess: Improved Initiative, Lunge, Power Attack. You gain these abilities even if you do not otherwise meet the prerequisites.

While in an area of dim or lower lighting, you gain damage reduction 5/silver or good and immunity to cold. You gain vulnerability to fire while in an area of bright light and are nauseated while in direct sunlight.

You gain an overwhelming scent of rust and old metal; all opponents within 30 feet may freely detect you purely by sense of smell. If you are upwind, the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Your exact location is not revealed, only your presence within range and the general direction toward you. When you are within 5 feet of any creature with a sense of smell, that creature automatically pinpoints your location even if otherwise blinded to you. You may also be tracked by your smell: any creature may attempt to follow from where you have been by making a Wisdom (or Survival) check to trace your movements and current whereabouts, even if you possess the trackless step ability. The typical DC for smelling you out is 10; this DC increases by 2 for each hour since you departed the area. This otherwise follows the rules for the Survival skill. At will as a standard action, while you are in an area of dim or lower lighting and are not wearing any other armor, you may cause wickedly-hooked, barbed & razor-edged chains to sprout from your body, providing a +4 armor bonus. These otherworldly chains are not treated as armor for the purpose of spell failure, armor check penalties, maximum Dexterity, weight, or proficiency. These chains persist for ten minutes or until you voluntarily end the effect as a free action. If you already possess a strong scent, such as because you possess the third Oddity result from the Reverend of Razored Witch-Pyres, re-roll.

Roll 1d8+1 twice, keeping both results. If you gain the same result for both rolls, re-roll one of the dice.

Mr. Liu, the Cryptic Policeman, Secret Saint of Hong Kong (CR 13)

Those who speak with Mr. Liu on the telephone -- or correspond with the “man” via text or email -- universally find him charming, disarming and erudite in the extreme, with a remarkable wit; he has a refined British accent, exceptional knowledge of Chinese history, and he is obviously a highly-educated & well-traveled man: most likely from a fantastically-wealthy family of lawyers, college professors, international investors and physicians.

He often goes by Peter, Peyton or Penley; he comes off as a librarian, scholar or antiquarian ... although those who correspond with him quite frequently often begin to suspect that Mr. Liu might actually work for some type of clandestine, highly-discreet governmental organization.

That suspicion is partially correct.

Amongst those in-the-know, the Cryptic Policeman is a terrifying urban legend: the sort of ghostly creature who makes high-ranking members of the Tianlong Dynasty whisper a quick prayer & glance nervously over their shoulder.

Mr. Liu, the Cryptic Policeman, Secret Saint of Hong Kong, The No-Shadow Dragon, has never been seen. He is, in fact, invisible … save for a wide, toothy grin and the occasional flash of a bladed finger slipping through shrieking flesh. Despite this, Mr. Liu desires notoriety more than anything: he lusts for the perfection of his brutal art, wanting to be sought and never found, craving -- above all else! -- a eternal, profane and inverted game of cat and mouse: his Abhorrent Heaven is a bloody & endless game of hide-and-seek in the deep city, where he slays his pursuers and taunts the yet-unslain with riddles, poetry, bizarre word-puzzles and coded messages.

His identity is well known: he is considered one of the earliest recorded serial killers. In the 2nd century BC, there was a dragon-blooded Han prince, Liu Pengli, who ruled a small region in what would eventually become China. He was bloodthirsty and cruel, and led hunting parties made up of slaves and fugitives. At first they would kill indiscriminately, robbing and slaughtering the innocent and defenseless. After a time, though, Liu used these expeditions as opportunities to isolate and murder the strongest and most clever among his own men: he used misdirection & trickery to blame the deaths on the innocent and further the bloodshed. Eventually, he gained a taste for those with occult power in their blood, and targeted them specifically ... no longer killing the innocent, but instead hunting criminals, cultists, demon-summoners and rival murders, bringing a dark order to his province with his own hands.

While he wanted to get away with his crimes, Liu Pengli also wanted someone -- anyone, everyone -- to know how clever he was: how perfect a predator he had become. He had over 100 known victims, and far more unknown; soon, Liu Pengli began to announce the deaths of criminals & witches with messengers in every town, making known their deaths and his art ... even if he couldn't receive full credit for his lethal ingenuity. Eventually, this hunter of humans & magicians alike was brought before the Emperor, and he voluntarily stood for justice.

The Emperor, being his uncle, could not bring himself to execute the prince; thus, he reduced Liu Pengli in status, making him equal with those whom he had hunted & slain: Liu Pengli was stripped of his rank & title, made into a commoner, a no-one. The emperor exiled his nephew after making him anonymous, and sent him out of the kingdom to become a stranger in strange lands.

Liu Pengli couldn't help but smile.

It isn't known precisely when Liu Pengli actually died, nor how many he killed after being banished, but what is known is that before the 3rd century, he had been granted an Abhorrent Heaven of his own. Ever since, the occasional brutal murder of some poor bloke with a Bloodline is attributed to him, especially if a coded message is left behind.

Only two instances of prolonged activity are confirmed:

In London in the late 1800s, a powerful coven which owed fealty to the Goetic spirit of lust, Asmodeus, was all-but-openly active: conducting the dark rites of their cult under the thin guise of prostitution. The exact goals of their rituals are uncertain, but most likely these practitioners sought to magnify the influence of their patron-spirit in the material world, or to somehow otherwise threaten the power of the Archons ... because in 1888, the Cryptic Policeman was released from his Abhorrent Heaven to stalk & slay the Infernal-blooded priestesses. For three years the Policeman shadowed the five priestesses of Asmodeus's inner pentacle, with brief skirmishes slowed only by wards and fetishes which made it clear that the priestesses knew what hunted them. They attempted to replace lost members and complete the ritual, but failed ... as, one by one, they were hunted down, killed and mutilated in brutal fashion: sending a clear message from the Archons to those in the Secret World; lust is not to be flaunted. Mundane law enforcement never discovered evidence of the true killer, though the Cryptic taunted them through letters, using coded phrases and metaphor designed to communicate with the Invisible through the press, hinting that he was 'from hell'. The police never decoded the cipher, though those steeped in the occult could see it plain as day. He wanted to be unseen in his art, but credited for his achievement. Once his task was accomplished, the Archons spirited him back to his boundless cage.

Later, the Cryptic Policeman would be deployed again, loosed for nearly ten years at the very edge of the New World. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, on the American West Coast, for unknown reasons the Fey bloodline began passing through love: granting power both to those born with the blood, and to those beloved by the blood. This allowed the power & influence of several new-born Lineages to grow rapidly, and threatened to destabilize the balance of power within the region. While most of these Fey-Blooded had no knowledge of their own power, or the significance of their acts, the Archons do not judge slights by intent. The Cryptic Policeman was released, and again stalked his prey methodically -- often for months -- waiting until he was certain that they had the potential to pass their power, and then brutally murdering both once the power was passed. Ever the artist, the Cryptic again taunted law enforcement with letters, this time encoded in a clear cypher. Once the code was cracked, he had the captive audience he sought: most watching the papers in horror, some in awe as he practiced his visceral art. Once the Fey outbreak was contained, his performance was cut short: with an unseen & shadow-less bow, Liu Pengli was again dragged back into his brutal paradise.

image from here

The Cryptic Policeman is a lawful evil invisible stalker (CR 7) with the Half Dragon template (+2 CR), the Gunsmoke-Blessed Creature template (+1 CR) [see Bloodline & Black Magic, pg. 161], the War Machine template (+3 CR) and the Lifespark Construct template (+1 CR).

Because the Cryptic Policeman possesses the Lifespark Construct template, his Intelligence is not reduced by the application of the War Machine template.

Whenever the Cryptic Policeman deals damage to a living creature with any of his natural melee attacks, his wide & toothy smile very briefly becomes visible. This does not negate his bonuses to Stealth from invisibility, as his eerie smile is disconnected from his body: often appearing two to three feet away from the Cryptic Policeman’s actual face, as per a combination of blink & displacement.

The Cryptic Policeman may choose to suppress his natural invisibility & is in possession of a greater hat of disguise; he may choose to appear as a normal human whenever he desires.

Using the Cryptic Policeman:

If a character's threshold increases to an odd number from direct exposure to the presence (or power) of the Cryptic Policeman, she may gain one of the following oddities (roll 1d8)

You begin compulsively smiling whenever you deal damage that sheds blood. You may choose to a cause a living opponent to bleed whenever you deal melee slashing damage; your attack may cause an opponent to suffer 1 additional point of damage each round for each level you possess (for example, if you are a 5th level character, you may cause you opponent to suffer up to 5 points of bleed each round). This bleeding can be stopped by a DC 15 Heal check or the application of any effect that heals hit point damage. Bleeding damage from this ability does not stack with itself; bleeding damage bypasses any damage reduction the target might possess. Each time this bleeding damage is inflicted, you suffer one half that amount of damage (non-lethal damage, rounded up) as your uncontrollable grin begins to ache, twitch & burn.

You can see through your own eyelids, and have a difficult time sleeping. You may make sight-based Perception checks with your eyes closed, but are always fatigued for the first four hours after waking or until you have had at least two cups of coffee.

Whenever you write anything, you involuntarily pepper the page with strange runes and sigils which you don't recall writing ... or know the meaning of.

You gain full knowledge either Draconic or ancient Chinese (your choice).

Whenever you speak face-to-face with an unfamiliar, non-related individual for more than a few minutes, small scratch-marks and cuts as if from from fingernails form on your arms and face. This is actually a great way to tell if you’re actually talking to someone you already know (who might be in disguise).

Whenever you hold anything that could be used as a slashing weapon, your hand grips it until your knuckles whiten. You are incapable of holding such an object loosely, though you may put it down without difficulty. You gain a +2 bonus on all Disarm attempts made against you.

You may make Linguistics checks untrained. Whenever you encounter a language or writing which you do not understand, you feel distracted and are considered shaken while within 10 ft. of such script.

Roll 1d6+1 twice, keeping both results. If you gain the same result for both rolls, re-roll one of the dice.

PLOT HOOKS (pick from the list or roll 1d8)

A new string of killings has begun in a local metropolis, and they seem to be imitating the ciphered letters of the Zodiac Killer. Although the new cipher has yet to be decoded, it uses the characters of a hidden & secret language. The Cryptic Policeman has, perhaps, inspired a copycat ... or an acolyte. Or a rival, calling him out to face vengeance.

A potent young Dragon-Blooded sorcerer with a warm, charming smile has discovered that amongst his ancestors sits Liu Pengli; the brash magician is now attempting to become a host for the Cryptic Policeman’s ancient power for the express purpose of taking revenge on a rival ... but he risks unknowingly allowing the Cryptic Policemen to walk the earth again, unfettered by the Archon's cage.

Multiple high-profile businessmen in the finance industry have been found eviscerated in their offices, the walls splayed with bloody & undecipherable sigils. Mundane authorities are confounded not by what is on the security tapes, but what isn't: the murderer is invisible. Already, secret organizations have begun covering-up the crimes. Has the Cryptic Policeman been sent on a clandestine errand ... or is another player at work here, hiding behind the Cryptic’s reputation?

An invaluable 13th-century German grimoire detailing rituals used for summoning & binding the Cryptic Policeman has gone to auction. While the seller -- and most of the buyers! -- have no idea what’s on the block, at least one buyer is willing kill to obtain the prize.

An ancient and priceless knife which supposedly belonged to Liu Pengli has been stolen from a local museum by a Dragon-Blooded cult who believe it may hold a portion of his power ... or the ability to command & control the great ‘Machine Colorless Wyrm’.

An eccentric hobbyist, fascinated with 'ripper-ology' and researching for a book, has deciphered an unnoticed code in the letters from the Whitechapel murders. He is drifting dangerously close to an open secret of the Hidden World: the identity of the Cryptic Policeman.

The newly-awakened descendant of a victim from the Cryptic's 1970s-era West Coast murders has manifested the power of Fey blood ... and, moreover, she has demonstrated the ability to pass that power on to others through love while retaining the full Bloodline potency herself. This young woman must be carefully introduced to the Secret World, and gently told the truth about her heritage, all without arousing the interest of the Archons or their murderous pet.

A panicked coven is seeking any & all of the help they can acquire -- begging, borrowing & blackmailing, as they are able -- from anyone powerful and in-the-know enough to assist: they attempted to summon the Cryptic Policeman from his Abhorrent Heaven & to bind him ... and while their summoning certainly worked, and seemingly escaped the notice of the Archons, they were unable to chain him. Now, the Cryptic Policeman is gleefully stalking the members of their coven, picking them off one by one in a slow-moving orgy of violence.

So ... what color of dragon is the Cryptic Policeman, precisely?

Within the context of your own Bloodlines & Black Magic game, this is left entirely to your own discretion. Whatever energy-type of breath weapon you want him to unleash in combat (or need him to be immune to!), that’s the one ... although there are certainly dozens of theories, dating back centuries across any number of cultures, claiming to authoritatively state that the invisible scales of his armor & unseen cogs of his bones are one precise shade or another.

[travellovekai-blog]

It’s only six am here in Antigua as I hear my loud alarm fill the room with sound. My head has a slight pound in it from the night before and my body is yelling at me. Why am I up so early after staying out too late? Because today I’m heading to Lake Atitlan with my dear friend Mike. We’ve decided to take a chicken bus to the Panajachel side of Lake Atitlan known best as Pana.

Chicken bus 1

Chicken bus 2

Chicken bus 3

Transportation

Yes, I said a chicken bus… For those of you who don’t know what a chicken bus is I’ll quickly explain, there retired USA buses that are purchased and revamped to run in Guatemala. There typically painted in bright fun colors which are deceiving because the ride is far from fun. They drive like a bat out of hell and pack them full till there’s not even a space to stand. There’s no air conditioning and the seats seem to move slightly as the bus does. The good thing is there cheap our three-hour ride on this moving death trap is just 35 quetzal or “q” for short.

The trip starts with a good distances walk to a “tour company” which is actually just a basic desk  that sits in the entrance of a coffee shop. We’ve arrived early so we grab a cup of not good coffee and a croissant filled with ham and cheese. It’s been maybe fifteen minutes we’ve been waiting and still no one has arrived at “the desk”. Luckily a small Guatemalan man arrives and asks if we’re waiting for the bus? He kindly walks us over to the terminal and shows us where to wait. Even though I’m drinking the worst coffee I’ve had in Antigua it does seem to help the slight pounding in my head to subside.

Chicken bus seats

Woody wood pecker

Our chicken bus

The ride

A few minutes later our chariot arrives we both climb aboard and are thrilled that the bus is only about a quarter of the way filled. Both of us claim a seat in the back hoping to keep our seats to ourselves. This particular bus has a T.V. mounted to the front of the bus and we both laugh because blaring on it is Woody the Woodpecker. I tried to relax knowing it’s going to be a long ride as we pull out of the makeshift bus terminal.

Not more than thirty minutes into our ride the bus begins to fill up quickly. Within the first hour, it’s standing room only and I’m holding on to the seat in front of me for dear life. The driver is without a doubt maneuvering this huge vehicle at well above a safe speed. Each corner we take I have no choice but to grab on and pray I don’t fall into the aisle. Not that I could actually fall into it since there’s two people smashed in next to me and two standing next to the seat. I fight to focus on the scenery to keep my mind from screaming “We’re all going to die”

View of Lake Atitlan

View of Lake Atitlan 2

View of Lake Atitlan 3

Views

The mountainous range is stunning each town we drive through is just a little different from the one before. There are many Guatemalan natives moving from place to place some carrying an unbelievable amount of products on their backs and heads with the luckier ones having wheel barrels. One thing that strikes me is that they all seem pretty happy laughing and moving along with a calmness.

We’ve been moving for a good couple of hours at this point and I’m beginning to get excited I’ve heard that Lake Atitlan’s town of Pana is absolutely beautiful. It’s a more touristy area named after a place of the Matasanos derived from the Kaqchikel language and roughly translates to the white sapote fruit tree. There are approximately 15,000 people who live in Pana most of whom cater to the tourism climate. There is also a small presence of expats who also call Pana their home. The bus starts to empty out a little to where I now only have one person sitting next to me. Finally, we make it the top of the Guatemalan mountain area and I can see clearly Lake Atitlan. I am not at all disappointed it is an incredibly picturesque view so amazing I’m able to concentrate on the view for a moment instead of feeling like I’m about to flip off the road. Which is actually a surreal feeling since I’m looking down a twenty-foot drop off the side with no railings to stop the chicken bus if it was to flip off the road.

Streets of Pana

Streets of Pana 2

Streets of Pana 3

Lake Atitlan

The bus drops us off at the beginning of town, after our crazy ride we both decide we’ll take a shuttle back. The ride has wrecked my back and it hurts to walk, it’s about ten thirty so we head to the first little tienda we can find to grab a cold beer. To get to the beach area we walk down the main street where there is easily a hundred small stalls filled with marvelous splendidly colored products, Blankets, shirts, pillows and more, some handmade.

Mike and Kai

Tours on the lake

Lake Atitlan

Pana

In the sixteenth century, Lake Atitlan was a battlefield where the Spanish and their Kaqchikel allies beat the Tz’utujils. Soon after the conquest a Roman Catholic church was built and used as a place to covert the indigenous people to the Catholic faith. Teaching in the indigenous language in the afternoons, classes started for children six years of age and older. You can see the heavy presence of this faith throughout the area. Some of the many stalls selling product were filled with nothing but crosses and religious artifacts made of various materials.

As I sit and completely mesmerized at the bright blue waters of Lake Atitlan I’m approached almost immediately by a young boy he’s maybe six or seven years old. He’s holding a fairly large basket filled with small trinkets that he’s trying to sell to us. My immediate reaction is why is this child not in school? Sadly this is quite common in many of the towns outside the larger cities here. Most of the schools are far away and the ones that are not are costly so a large population of the children here never step foot into a classroom. Later in the day, my friend Mike purchases a very basic wallet from another child similar to this one.

There are already quite a few large boats catering to the tourist bring them around the lake cruising around. Some are more like party boats and others are just to transport people to other places around the lake. Lake Atitlan is surrounded by more than a dozen small towns. Some of the more popular ones are Pana, San Pedro, San Juan La Laguna, and Santa Cruz La Laguna. There are some small fishing boats also that I actually enjoy more than the commercial boats they seem more unique and interesting to me.

Alta Mar

View from deck

Views from deck 2

More views

Lake Atitlan 4

Fisherman

Food lake side

After we finished our cold brews and I took a couple of ibuprofen we decide to find a restaurant where we can watch all the action on the lake. The streets are filled with prosecutions of tuk-tuks which are small two passenger rickshaws of a sort. They are motorized with the front end being made of a motorcycle and the rear end having a bench seat. I carefully weave in and out of the traffic these little things move pretty quick.  

The streets here and in most of Guatemala are narrow so these tuk-tuks make for an easy way to get around. There are amazing smells filling the air from all the food stalls and restaurants. There are so many it was seemingly impossible to choose so we go to one that has a good portion of consumers already inside. Fortunately, we find a table right at the railing of the deck so we have a perfect view from Alta Mar’s outdoor seating area. It’s a little pricier than the food stalls by little more I mean double but the view is phenomenal so we stayed. I order a basic breakfast of eggs, fruit, and toast. It’s not bad but as I said the view was worth it.

Bellies full and another beer later Mike and I walk through the town. Unfortunately, my back is still hurting but we take it slow. I stop in at a few stalls eventually buying a handmade weaved throw pillow case. I couldn’t help myself the beauty and colors just called to me. I pay the man who runs the small stall fifty-five Q about eight dollars US. Good deal all in all I think especially for the details in my purchase. I’m happy!

Tuk tuks

Stalls

Guatemalan selling

Stalls 2

Stalls 3

Stalls 4

Stalls 5

Walking the town

There’s so much to see stall after stall of bright colors but I can’t help thinking how on earth do these people make money. Most of the stalls carry nearly the exact same things and the competition is steep. It resonates with me how the difficulties of needing to make sales must be for all of them. My heart wants to buy one small item from them all but my wallet says no way. So, for now, I’ll stick to my pillowcase.

On the other side of this little town is where there are stalls filled with a variety of farm crops that many of the indigenous people here sell. There are lots of corn, cucumbers, garlic, pitahaya fruit, and coffee just to name a few that this area grows well. Lake Atitlan also supplies much of the protein sold here.

Hanging out

Our shuttle doesn’t leave till four pm so after walking around for some time we decide to find a comfortable place to kick our feet up have another beer and wait. We find a palapa-style bar with fairly priced refreshments and to my joy plugs for my dying phone. The internet was down but that was okay I was happy to not have any way to connect for a while and being forced to have downtime.

By late afternoon the town was filled with loud noises coming from mini-parades of sorts celebrating enthusiastically Guatemala Independence day. Small groups of people running through the streets blowing horns and using other noisemakers happy to celebrate the day. Guatemala Independence day isn’t till the fifteenth but from what I learned it typically starts the day before.

Getting back

Four o’clock arrived and we boarded our shuttle it was a nice one very new and clean. At first, we were ecstatic there were very few people who boarded with us and the seating was comfortable. The price was good only forty Q each what a deal. The comfort situation was short lived. Quickly the little shuttle was stuffed and we rode backpack like little sardines in a can. The traffic was extremely heavy on our return trip much of it caused by the small individual running groups carrying torches for Independence Day. There were some groups with trucks playing music behind them and even some that threw water out of the back of them. I will say Guatemalans are very proud of their independence. It took nearly four and a half hours to get back to Antigua by the time we finally arrived we couldn’t wait to get out of the shuttle. We jumped off at the edge of town happy to be standing it was a bit of a walk to get to our next destination. But even with my back hurting and my legs numb, I was happy to be out of the sardine can.

Lake Atitlan is really a cool place I’d say when you’re in Antigua it’s definitely a must see. If time permits I’d also have to suggest staying at least one night traveling to and from Antigua in one day is very time consuming. Have you ever been to Lake Atitlan? What was your experiences? Do you have questions about the area? Drop me a comment and I’ll get right back to you.

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How to spend a day at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala It’s only six am here in Antigua as I hear my loud alarm fill the room with sound.