•." I.'" . ~ .••. - ',' ••• '~'." .... ", • . '~" r" .-" .' " .. '''' ,"..-., , .

• -

.' "~~.. '..=--- _ :"., "r.,·;· '--~'~.~'-, -. . ._,. --.'.~,. :'

Roleplaying the Possibility Wars ""

Orrorsh
The Sourcebook of Horror Reality

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 4
THE REALM AND COSM
Chapter One: Southeast Asia 8
Chapter Two: The World of Gaea 12
Chapter Three: The Realm of Fear 18

THE RULES
Chapter Four: World Laws 54
Chapter Five: Skills and Investigation 68
Chapter Six: The Occult 75
Chapter Seven: Miracles of Orrorsh 89
Chapter Eight: The Horrors 94
Chapter Nine: Equipment 112
Chapter Ten: Adventuring in Orrorsh 115
TEMPLATES 119

"It's not what you are willing to kill for, it's what you are willing to die for that matters."
-FatTIer Christopher Bryce

.·....·":'2---------------------~
Orrorsh
Chris Kuhasik Tomasso, Chris WalrouseJ, MSC Nova: Mike Chapman, David
Design Mandeville, Richard Singleton IRogan Brunet, Will Christian,
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Additional Material, Development, and Editing Properi [Christopher Clark, Christopher Hazel, Kevin Hudson,
Gregory Rushton, Michael Shannon, Mark Terilli. LawaIence J.
Stephen Crane, Cathleen Hunter TrainerL BiU Smith, Ed Stark
Grolphics Playtesting and Advice
Allen NURis
Cover lIlustration

Earl Geier, Dan Gelan, David Miller, Allen NURis

Published by
Interior Illustrations

Eric Aldrich UeffBrown, Garry Corbin, Mike Lansdaal, Letha

Owens, John WhiteL Steve Crow (Robert Ashby, Chad Crouse,
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Infinive~. Kanawa. lJving Land, Mll'lslrom, Maelstrom Bridge. Nile Empire, Orrorsh, I'ella Ardinay, Possibility Raiders, Possibility Storm. Possibility Wars, Rot"agon,

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@_._TM_"_"_d_~_l_'19_'_W_~_t_F~_d_c_."_m_~_._.A_II_R_;g_h_t>_R~ ------------3-.,••
__~_""_. ~
Torg: Ormrsh

Introduction
From the journal of strengths and weaknesse" have From the Journal of Dr. Kyai
Dr. Kyai Maja changed. Maja - 8 January, Near Now
When I think of Orrorsh, I think of
For the third time this week they uncertainty. I think of the unknown. I The vampires have undoubtedly
discovered a corpse at sunrise. think of the terror produced. when an moved. on after the battle at the ware-
Dipanagara, Saleh, and now Maha· indusbial society that believes that house. Their lair was discovered, and
radja. The neighborhood is in a panic. the universe can be conquered by sci- they will seek new shelter.
I have examined the bodies myself, ence suddenly encountering foes that We will, of course, pursue.
and cannot deny that the neck of each draw their strength from mystical Sister Thorn and I are the only ones
victim was tom open and the bodies powers. left of the expedition. It seems that no
drained. of blood. The supernatural? I r have heard tales from travellers one else will accompany us on our
find such things impossible. I studied. from other countries that a being is mission. r have asked aid of some of
countless cultures while obtaining my ruling Orrorsh, a High Lord, called my dearest friends, but they either
doctorate in anthropology. Until now the Gaunt Man. He is the master of think that I have gone mad because of
I learned that tales of (he undead and Orrorsh, itsdesigll~r and ward~n. We my claim that the creature 1 seek is a
curses and creatures were merely wage the battle on h'lo fronts. The first monster from an American cinema, or
warnings contained in the form of sto- is the level of the monsters. They live simply refuse to help me out of fear.
ries. From the fairy tales of my own in the jungles and towns and citi~s of They tum away fromme, embarrassed,
land of Indonesia to the multi-million Southeast Asia and hunt and terrorize but actually ullable to help me. I see
dollar cinemas of Hollywood, USA, the people of our nations. We must them trembling as I press them for aid.
the people of the world have had a hunt them down and destroy them, as Some of the people Ihave spoken with
fascination with the terrors produced I have taken it upon myself to hunt slammed their doors in my face, de-
from their minds. We are at once re- down the vampyre that terrorizes the serted me in mid-conversation. Some
pelled by them, fortheyaredeath,and people ofJakarta. The second is on the ran away, or even, on three occasions,
yet we are drawn to these terrors, for level of a war, where Thratchen and broke down into tears. I believe that
they are mysteries that we want to the Gaunt Man's lieutenants struggle Sister Thorn's theory of a force of fear
understand. And soa taleof a vampyre to keep the reality of Orrorsh strong acting upon this area is correct. It is the
has always been a matter of curiosity and expand it. We must eventually only way I can explain such behavior.
for me, but not a reality. infiltrate their organization and stop And yet, why am I not so affected?
Until now. their plans. Is it because I have become what
Fornowthe Possibility Raiders have There is so much to be learned and Sister Thorn refers to as a Storm
come. They have attacked the world understood before we can defeat the Knight? Perhaps. Yet even I felt every
and exerted theirwill upon my planet. enemy. What is dear is that it shall not nerve in my body tum to ice when I
Things once a part of my childhood be easy. The people I mentioned ear- held the Koran and the creature sim-
nightmares now walk the Earth. lier, the travellers from all over the ply I<mghed at me. How overwhelmed
Other parts of the globe suffer as globe, call themselves Storm Knights. I was with terror!
weU,1 know. But I cannot imagine that They have told meof theirdeed.s in the We leave for the jungles to the east
any of the conquered lands of Earth primitive reality in North America and of Jakarta tomorrow. That is where we
are so tortured as the nations ofSouth• their heroic actions in the Nile Empire think the creature and his servants
east Asia under the rule of Orrorsh. and the Cyberpapacy. They are brave retreated to, though we do not know
For this is a reality of fear. It permeates people and seem capable of perform- for sure. Our only lead is that several
the air, lives within rain drops, bums ing miracles. But when they speak of homeless people near the docks told
within the sun's heat. We fight our Orrorsh ... Every one of them has lost US they saw giant bats flying in that
war, but it is not the same fight as a Storm Knight companion to the hor- direction the night of the fight.
others conduct.We never know what rors of Orrorsh, some of them ha\'e Before we leave on our quest in the
our enemies are - they strike from lost several. Of all the invading reali- morning I shall note someof the Sister
darkness and disappear before we can ties, il is Orrorsh that seems to be the Thorn's news about invaded area. Be-
react. Our defenses are still weak, for most brutal, the harshest, with the cause communications are limited, I
we have yet to learn all we mustof our ability to drive a Storm Knight to the cannot keep in touch with the rest of
opponents. And even when we learn brink of terror. the nation and other nations in South-
something, say of a zombie or an other, And then over the brink. east Asia. Sister Thorn, on the other
the next time we encounter one, its

•• 4
 tntroduction

hand, ha!'; travelled extensively From the Journal of Dr. Kyai jungles, the creatures seldom attack
through the area since the invasion. Maja -10 January, Near humans without provocation or a des-
What SisterThorn has learned from perate need for food. Since we do not
other Storm Knights who have adven-
Now bother them and the rain has been
tured in Southeast Asia is thatOrrorsh Our trek has only lasted for two neither too heavy nor too light this
is no longer expanding. Is this due to days and already I believe we are year, neithercondition exists to prompt
an unexpected weakness in the Gaunt doomed. It is not for the reasons that I their attack.
Man, or some ploy to raise hopes, the once suspected would make a hunt in So why do I say we are doomed?
better to rouse fear? . the jungle so dangerous. It is the strain - the tension of
There are rumors that a demon We are not in serious danger from travelling through the jungle. Icannot
known as Thratchen now has a place the elements or malnutrition. We describe it any other way. There is an
of importance in Orrorsh. Sister Thorn stocked our provisions carefully, and unearthly quality to the air, the sounds
believes this might be another guise of brought with us proper supplies for of the jungle. Shadows move along-
the Gaunt Man, for he has taken other shelter and cooking. Sister Thorn is side us within the brightly lit green
forms before. She has heard rumurs obviously a woman of great resources leaves of jungle. I often hear heavy,
that the High Lord's lieutenants and and, compared to a university book- loud breathing in the distance when
special subordinates, known as Night- worm such as myself, has proven her- we stop to rest. I am sometimes aware
mares, are hesitant. That is a rumor I self to be the picture of the frontier of creatures flying over head - pass-
fervently hope is true. survivor. ing so quickly that by the time I have
Sister Thorn just reminded me we Nor have we had any trouble with looked up they are gone.
must leave at dawn.! had no idea the the wildlife of the jungle - although To what does this all add up?
hour had grown so late. I pray for a the animals of the jungle are present. Fear.
peaceful slumber. We spotted a tiger just this morning, n is the reality of Orrorsh. There is
and heard a catalogueofanimal noises something about the ver)' fabric of my
last night as we tried unsuccessfully to land that now induces terror not from
sleep amidst all of our fears. For those sight, but from the unknown. If a crea-
ture would only leap out of the jungle
of you without a knowledge of our

5
I.
Torg: Qrrorsh

- that would be relief! But this con~ crunching of undergrowth and on such a beautiful day, when it
stant not kllowing! It is beginning to branches and the loud moving of seemed that nothing could be wrong,
wear at my sensibilities. leaves. The noises were so non~threat~ fear could so permeate my being! I
And I know that it is unnatural. I ening that I at first thought that it was must remember that terror does not
travelled through the jungle many the echo of the footsteps of the Sister always present itself with the visual
times when I was a boy. I know the and myself through the jungle. du~s of a Hollywood movie, but
nature of the jungle. I was wary as a But I noticed that the "echoes" of~ oftentimes in the most mundane of
boy, yes, as I was taught to be, but this ten continued when we stopped. They locations.)
issomething different. This is 1I0t llatll~ didn't keep moving forward, but of- Now, although I saw nothing spe-
mI. One must be careful in a jungle ten turned and began walking closer cific to stir my imagination, I began to
because there is always the chance for to us. speculate on the cause of the noises.
danger. One is terrified in a jungle in After an hour or so the footsteps My imagination soon conjured the
OlTorsh because the dangertaunts you, stopped -1 do not remember if they image of hands, dismembered human
staying just out of sight. moved away from us. It just occulTed hands, crawling around on the jungle
It began yesterday, just hours after to me at one point that they were no floor, following us. It then occurred to
we began our journey. We started out longer there. me that there might be a large creature
in the direction that the bats were seen Later on Tnoticed that many of the of some kind burrowing its way
flying. (It is our hope to encounter leaves of the underbrush around the through the ground of the jungle. 1
fanners or Gypsies who might have path we walked shook as we passed fashioned in my mind a monster cov~
further clues of the creatures' where- them. It was not wewho were making ered with many limbs, each tipped
abouts. So far this has not happened,) the leaves shake, no•.:my wind, for the with horrible claws and layered with
At first I was aware of something day was brightly lit with a cloudless, sharp claws.
walking alongside us at about fifty blue sky and theair wasstil! and warm. Sister Thom was right in front of
meters distance. All I heard was a (Ah, the Power of OrTOrsh that even me, and at one point she just stopped

. ·....·-::-6-------------------~
 Introduction

walking and stared at the ground.

'What?" I asked, apprehensive that
The Sourcebook to those found in the Torg Rulebook for
use specifically in Orrorsh. This sec-
she might have seen a chitinous spike This sourcebook provides all the tion also contains a listing of creatures
rising up through the surface of the information and advice needed to de- found in the realm, spells and equip-
jungle floor. sign creepy campaigns and adventures ment.
"I don't know. 1think there's some- set within Orrorsh and the Torg uni- The final section provides newchar-
thing following us. A groupof snakes. verse. Itdescribes the culture, religion, acter templates- ready made charac-
I don't know:' and world of the horror reality and the ters for you group to play. See the Torg
"Are you sure?" lands it has invaded. It prOVides new Rulebook for details on how to custom-
Sister Thorn said nothing. character templates for players to use, ize them.
new rules for equipment and axioms
of Orrorsh, and more.
Important! The first section of the book con-
tains source material on Orrorsh. In-
TIlis sourcebook is a companion side it are descriptions of the impor-
volume to Torg: Roleplaying the Possi- tant regions and characters within the
bility Wars. You must have the boxed realm, as well as notes on the realm's
set to use much of this book, as the axioms and the makeup of the Gaunt
boxed set explains many concepts and Man's reality.
rules necessary for roleplaying in The second section features rules
Orrorsh. Read the game first. then and other information for the
come back to this book lor details on gamemaster. Theserulesareadditions
the reality of Orrorsh.

••
7
Torg: OlTOnlh

Chapter One

Southeast Asia
Iml hmalityupon
intrudes ofOrro<sh now
or eclipses
six nations: Burma, Ma-
laysia,Thailand, the Phil-
Thearea isa mix of several religions
- Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity
and Islam. The influence of each reli-
gion varies from nation to nation. The
ippines, Singapore, and history of each country is influenced
Indonesia. We do not intend this book by the exchange of ideas, people and
to cover every detail of so many differ- religion that took place through trade
ent countries. Adequately describing within the area of Southeast Asia.
even one of these nations would re- All the histories are also colored by
quire a book containing hundreds of Europeancolonialism. The Europeans
pages. arrived in. the fifteenth century and
What follows i.s a brief listing of data used the nations of Southeast Asia as a
about five SoutheastAsian nations, plus base for economic profit. Although
Australia, and a moredetailed portrayal the Europeansoften aided the inhabit-
of one of the nations - Indonesia. We ants of Southeast Asia, for the most
highlighted lndonesia because both of part the Asian nations suffered be-
Orrorsh's maelstrom bridges landed trayal and brutality. The political in-
within its borders. fluence of some Western nations con-
tinued until only twenty ytars ago, in
most cases expunged from the Asian
Before the Storm nations only after years of bloodshed
and war.
The portion of the world overrun Here are brief details about some of
by Orrorsh contains more than the nations invaded by the Gaunt
150,000,000 people !':pread out over Man's reality.
one peninsula and more than 13,000
islands. Many of the people live in
isolated tribes and by the laws of their Malaysia
ancestors. Others live in huge cities
such as Singapore and Jakarta, the Malaysia isa parliamentary democ-
business people and factory workers racy with a constitutional monarchy.
and miners. Any discussion of South- It's population is 60 percent Malays,
east Asia must keep in mind that the 30 percent Chinese, and nine percent
area has a tremendous mix of ancient Indian. The major religions are Mos-
traditions and modem technologies. lem, Hinduism, and Buddhism. The
There are no hard and fast rules that population is evenly split between
can be applied to sum up the nations urban and rural. Heavily industrial-
or the people living within a nation. ized, Malaysia produces 30 percent of
The rugged terrain of the area has the world's output of rubber. Theoffi-
steep mountains descending almost ciallanguage is Malay, though many
to the sea. The climate is hot and wet, speak English and Chinese.
although themountains are cooler than The government has fled Kuala
the lowlands. Tropicalrainforcstsand Lampur, and is now in exile in Japan.
jungles cover much of the country- Cities and large town!': <IT!? now inde-
side. Many acres of jungle have been pendent city-states, struggling for sur-
cut down to provide arable land for vival as best they can.
farming to support the ever-growing
population.

8
 Chapter One

Singapore comfort in the illusion that the Gaunt

Man's realm stops short of theirborder.
such as. the Red Cross and the
Cyberpapacy's Soldiers of Mercy, are
Singapore is a parliamentary de- rushing food, medical supplies and
mocracy. The entire country is virtu- personnel to the region.
ally one large city; within an area of Burma
224 square miles (573 square kilome-
ters) lives a population of more than Burma is a republic located on the Thailand
2,600,000 people. Seventy-seven per- Asian continent. Over 30 million
cent of the population is Chinese, 15 people live in the nation. The country Ruled by a constitutional monar-
percent is Malay, and six percent In~ covers approximately 678,000 square chy, the nation of Thailand also on the
dian. Singapore practices many of the kilometers. Buddhism,Moslem,Chris- mainland. Thenation is514,OOOsquare
world's major religions. The nation is tianity, and a host of indigenous be- kilometers and nearly 40 million
so industrialized that it relies on im- liefs are all part of the nation's reli- people live in Thailand. It's two major
ports for nearly all its agricultural gious character, though the nation is religions are Buddhism and Islam.
needs. With an excellent harbor, it is 85% Buddhist. It's capital is Rangoon. Dominant languages areThai, English,
still one of the great commerce and The nation's offidallanguage is Bur~ and local dialects.
manufacturing centers of the world. mese, which gives way in certain parts Thailand is undergoing a religious
The capital of Singapore is Singapore. of the country to a variety of ethnic revival. The intensity of the revival is
Chinese, Malay, Tamil, and English dialects. unlike anything in the past thousand
are all official languages. Largely intact, Burma is concen- years. The faithful stream into
The Nightmare Skutharka has trating not on Orrorsh but the flood of Bangkok, a.nd the press reports nearly
adapted horror to technology. While refugees. Arriving by the tens of thou- daily occurrences of miracles. Appar-
Singapore's lights and televisions still sands by foot and boat, Burma's infra- ently as a result, the horrors have re-
work, they are often a danger rather structure cannot support the added duced incursions into Thailand.
than a convenience. Singapore finds burden. International relief agencies,

I'
9
Torg: Oml~h

Philippines Background on sweep Dutch vessels from the Indian

Ocean. But the temptation to attack
The Philippines are made up ofover Indonesia and plunder other ships as well over-
a dozen islands which lotal approxi- powered the Portuguese, and they
mately 300,000 square kilometers of The Indonesianislandsare believed came to regard any ship as their prey,
land. More than 40,000,000 people live to have been settled by travellers from including ships of the Javanese king-
in the Philippines. It's government is a southwestChinasome4,OOOyearsago. doms. The Javanese struck bilCk, crip-
republic, run from it's capital city of By the seventh and eighth centuries pling the Portuguese fleet so badly
Manila. Well represented religions are A.D., kingdoms had grown up in that they were unable to stop the next
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Moslem, Sumatra and Java with close ties with Dutch expeditions. Anallianceof sorts
and Buddhist. It's major languages !ndia. Traders and settlers from India formed between the Dutch and Indo-
are Pilipino and English. brought with them not only Hindu- nesians, the cornerstone of which was
The threat from Orrorsh initially ism, but Buddhism as well. Around the destruction of the Portuguese.
fractured the Phillipine people rather the fourteenth century Muslim trad- Soon the Dutch ruled and made
than uniting them. Recent initiatives ers arrived in Indonesia. They began profit by making deals with princes,
by the government and opposition spreading the Islam faith throughout who were responsible for making their
groups are beginning to patch the na- the coastal towns and cities of Indone- subjects produce a fixed amount of
tion together again, just as pressure sia. By the end of the fourteenth cen- goods at a fixed price. This led to a
from Orrorsh is increasing. tury the powerful kingdom of Ma- great deal of abuse as the princes
lacca strongly committed itself to the worked their people to near death to
Muslim faith. Malacca controlled the make profits. The Dutch broke trea-
Indonesia Straight of Malacca, a strip of water
found betvveenSumatraand the Malay
ties, permitted slavery, promoted the
opium trade, drained the islands of
Indonesia is an archipelago in the Peninsula. The Straight gave control their wealth without equal benefits to
Indian and Padficoceans. It lies across of the trade from the Spice Islands and Indonesia, and treated the people like
the Equator for one-eighth of the the seabomecommerceof the Far East second-dassdtizens in theirown coun-
Earth's circumference. Its islands can with India, the Middle East, and Eu- tty. To control the prices of spice they
be grouped into the Greater Sunda rope. destroyed forests of trees to prevent
Islands of Sumatra, Java, the southern Portugal began establishing its the spice from becoming too plentiful.
extent of Borneo, and Celebes; the power in the area of the Indian Ocean The practice wiped out the means of
Lesser Sunda Islands of Bali and a line at the start of the sixteenth century. livelihood for countless Indonesians.
of islands that runs eastward through Controlling the Straight was vital - Indonesia began resisting the colonials.
Timor; the Moluccas between Celebes and this meant taking the Kingdom of The fulcrum of Indonesia's inde-
and New Guinea; and the western Malacca. Alfonso de Albuquerque led. pendencecamein 1942, when theJapa-
extent of New Guinea known as Irian the armada that invaded the kingdom. neseinvaded Indonesia. The Japanese
Jaya.lndonesia is the largest nation is This marked the beginning of Euro- claimed to bring the means of Indone-
Southeast Asia. pean invasions, conquest and rule that sian independence. Societies and mili~
The country straddles 13,667 is- would continue for the next five hun~ tary units were formed under Japa-
lands. Noteven half ofthese are named. dred years. nese sponsorship. Many people coop-
The Indonesians inhabit fewer than As the Christians in the West were erated with the Japanese, but soon
1,000 of theses islands. The capital city battling the Muslim faith of the Moors found out that Japan wanted them
of Jakarta is on the island of Java. and Turks, de Albuquerque led the only to be a puppet state.
The major islands of Indonesia are assault on the newly converted Mus- As in the resistance movements in
made up of rugged volcanic moun~ lims half a world away. Because of the Europe during the German occupa-
tains, covered by dense tropical for- Europeans hatred for Islam, they had tion the Communists and anti-Com-
ests. Many of the volcanoes are active, nothing but contempt for the Malays munists worked together. The free-
especially those on the islands run~ and Indonesians. The Portuguese dom fighters worked as outward col-
~hocked the Indonesians by building a laborators with the Japanese, secretly
ning (rom Sumatra through Java and
the Lesser Sunda. Java itself has sev- fortress from Muslim gravestones. establishing underground move-
enteen volcanoes with a recent history They staged aseries ofexecutions with- ments, and taking to the hills and or-
of eruption. The mountains slope out provocation,and undertook a cam- ganizing guerilla bands. Toward the
down to coastal swamps, bordering paign of general piracy in the Indian end of the war the Japanese tried to
shallow seas and coral reefs. Ocean. soften their position, but many na-
The official language of Indonesia When the Dutch arrived in Indone- tionalists opposed anything short of
Is Bahasa Indonesian (Malay);Javanese sia it was dear a trade war was brew- mmpl~t~ fr~om. On the seventeenth
is also spoken. ing between the Dutch and the Portu- of August, 1945, Sukamo, the leader
guese. A Portuguese ordered a war ofthe revolution, read Indonesia's Dec-
fleet based on Goa and Malacca to

•• 10
 Chapter One

laration of Independence. Men and witting helpers in his plans, for they with the Indonesian government in
women freedom fighters barricaded cany with them the same racial arro- Irian Jaya. Cooperation is best exem-
themselves in radio and telegraph of- gance that enslaved Indonesia in cen- plified by the exchange of information
fices 10 send the message to all parts of turies past. With their freedom so re- between the military and academic
the country. The Republic of Indone- cen tly won after such hardship, it is no institutions of the two nations. Indo-
sia had begun, but there was no guar- wonder that the citizens of Southeast nesian troops are allowed to base and
antee it would survive. Asia areputting up a fierce fight agairu;t resupply in Australia, although this
Blood spilled immediately after the invaders. They have no desire to activity is not officially recognized.
World War n as both the Dutch and exchange one foreign ruler for another Australian and Victorian relations
Indonesians committed atrocities. A - they will resist the new colonialism range from cool to tempestuous. Aus-
military truce was signed in 1946 and no matter what the cost. tralia has not given the Victorian
negotiations were started to set up a colony of Majestic diplomatic recogni-
Dutch rule over part of the Indonesian tion, treating it a revolutionary move-
islands. This plan did not sit well with Indonesia of the ment which has temporarily, and ille-
many nationalists and there was a great gally, displaced the legitimate regime.
deal of arguing. In 1947 the Dutch Near Now NorthemAustraliaissuffering. The
launched a full scale attack on the good newsis the reality storms are not
Jakarta continues as a Core Earth
Republic. as frequent as they were in the early
hardpoint, but is no longer the capital
An emergency government was days of the invasion. The bad news is
ofIndonesia. Thegovemmenthasbeen
established in Sumatra out of Dutch the horrors now infest the Northem
transferred to Irian Jaya. The govern-
reach. After protracted war and pres- ment is trying every diplomatic effort Australian coast. The cities of Derby,
sure from the United States, the Soviet Wyndham, Kununurra and Darwin
to get aid from other nations, particu-
Union, and other Asian nations, the have been particularly hard hit by a
larly Japan and the Soviet Union. Aid
Dutch backed down. On November 2, rash of creatures, The Australians be-
from Japan is slowing, while aid from
1949, the Dutch agreed to recognize the Soviets, particularly military aid, lieve they are holding their own, or
the Indies as it sovereign power. is increasing. Soviet advisors are perhaps even winning. Core Earth
In-fighting now plagued Indone- present, a few having made it to technology seems capable of killing
sia. It was not until 1971 that Indone- some of these creatures. The truth is
Jakarta. Envoys are talking of moving
sians firmly established the govern- different; see Chapters Fourand Eight.
part of the Soviet Psychic Group from
ment as we know it today - nearly These creatures are reconnoitering,
the southern front of the Nile Empire
five hundred years after the Portu- sensing and probing how to twist the
to Indonesia.
guese first put the Indonesian islands horrors to best affect the Australians.
under European influence.
This is the world that the Gaunt
Man has invaded. He has come to Tab
Australia
the people of Indonesia of their free- While not part of Southeast Asia,
dom, of their lives, of the very energy
Australia has been forcibly drawn into
that made their revolution for inde-
the struggle with Orrorsh. Australia
pendence possible. He comes not
maintains full diplomatic relations
alone, but with the Victorians, his un·

••
11
Torg: Orrorah

Chapter Two

The World of
Gaea
1111 here~nolonse,"Likethe
cosmforOrrorsh. home
other invading realities
the battle and brought her people La
victory. They rallied around her and
she unified the people of her island.
the realltymoveson from She was a politically astute woman
world to world. The real- who realized that she would have to
ity of Orrorsh was so brutal that it focus her peoples' attention upon an
eventually consumed each world the external force. Focus against Rome
Gaunt Man invath.'d. He left no trail. eased dissension in Britain. She turned
The Victorians' home world ofGaea her people toward the Roman Empire.
is the first world to survive the Gaunt Her subjects coined the phrase
Man's invasion. The High Lord spared "Victoria For The World,"and it never
Caea because the Gaunt Man learned lost its value.
of the power of colonialism from the The wars with the Roman Empire
Victorians. He redesigned his reality took decades, and Victoria, ruling as a
to foster the potential colonialism of· queen from a throne in laler years,
fered. The nature of these changes 10 commanded her people wilh an iron
Orrorsh's reality are discussed below. fist. Victoria I died in 72 AD and was
Caea is now directly involved with succeeded by her husband, who would
the affairs of Earth. It is important to live only a few more years. It became
examine this sister world ofour planet tradition for kings and queens to rule
to learn more about the invasion, and Britain. It not only became popular to
the people who have settled on our name daughters born to the royal
planet. couple Victoria, but the Brits them-
selves renamed their island Victoria,
in honor of their first leader.
The World of Gaea, The wars continued, and over the
next hundred years the Victorians
The Nation of slowly ate away at Gaul then onto the
Italian peninsula. Unlike the Romans,
Victoria who simply ruled a civilization as it
stood, letting their rules frame the ex-
Gaea sharesa great deal in common isting laws of the land, the Victorians
with our own world, but two drastic established colonies right from the
changes huned it into a world with a start. They took land, fortified it, and
great many differences. The first then took land and resources from
change took place in 43 AD. those who lived around them. These
In our history Caratacus led the ancient Victorians fought the Romans
people of Britain against the Roman fiercely. They infused themselves with
Empire when the Romans made their an indomitable sense of righteousness.
bid to conquer the island. Caratacus Anyone with an army of such men
and his forces were defeated al could rule the world.
Medway and the Roman~' westward They did.
conquests were complete. It took time. TheVictoriansstill had
In the history of Gaea, Ihe Brits had not developed seafaring ships and had
in their number a warrior-woman to learn the technology from the Medi-
named Victoria. Just when the Ro- terranean culhlres they encountered
mans seemed about 10 win, she turned

___, 12
~------------------~
~
 Chapter Two

and conquered. This was not always ing to die for their faith in their God, todevelop interests in philosophy and
easy for them to do. They are a very, but there were enough references to negotiation. They balanced their
very arrogant people. Many times in swords and The Kingdom of Heaven strange alternate history with habits
their history they stumbled across 10 fill the ambitious souls of every one and customs considered "normal" for
valuable technology or writing or of the former Brits. England during Earth's history.
learning - and dismissed it. Victoria beeametheRoman Empire The Victorians spread their Empire,
Not only did they slow themselves of Caea. The difference was that their greatly reducing the Islamic states and
down, but there were still the Huns to world'sempire lasted longertJlanours. establishing colonies in the New
deal with. Then the Vikings. They con- Their strength and influence spread. World. The Asian nations were the
fronted many of the problems that the They built colonies throughout Eu- only lands they were never able to
Romans, and their feudal successors, rope and the Mediterranean and fi~ break militarily. Japan rebuffed them,
confronted in our world. nally the Middle East. Butby this time but they traded with China.
One external influence that the Vic- the Islamic faith had also made its way By the 17th century Victoria's colo-
torians did assimilate was the word of throughout the Middle East, and the niesstretched from the southern tip of
Christ, which they encountered Victorians had finally found for them- Rhodesland, to the Middle East and
through missionaries travelling selves opponents that matched them through India, up to the edges ofRus·
through the remnants of the Roman forreligious and tribal furor. The ba ttle sia, and onto the continent of North
Empire. Before the missionaries the lines were drawn, and the "Eastern America. The histories of Russia and
religion of the Victorians was a pagan Campaigns"' lasted for over three cen- Asia, for the most part, stayed similar
faith. They had, of course, no respect turies. to Earth's. In other parts of the world
for other religions, and disrnissal ur Duringthecampai~, timedid not the Victorians took the roles of the
killed those who argued with them. stand still back in Victoria. Despite European nations of our world. The
The strange Martyr cults of the early their best efforts, ideas and concepts Victorians colonized the West Indies
Christians that finally impressed the from different cultures did assimilate instead of the Dutch. The Victorians
Romans of our world found a recep- into Victorian society. Despite the colonized North America instead of
tiveaudience in the Victorians as well. bloodshed that waspart ofdistantcolo- the French, Spanish and English. One

..
For not only were the Christians will- nies, the island of Victoria found time difference-South America's history

~-------------------_
~
.........-- 13
Torg: Orrorsh

changed. greatly in that it was not ready to believe thatsuch horrors could powers of an East Indian named
strongly colonized by anybody. The only be committed by the heathens. Tituba, a servant of the Reverend
Victorian efforts failed. there. Several leaders of the communities Samual Parris, and two women of Sa-
The American colonies were much riled the colonists up into hunting lem. The girls all decreed that hell was
the same as the colonies of our world. down the Indian tribes. unleashing its demons u pan the world;
It was not the desire for religious free- They found a terrible surprise. only a return to the old way of blood
dombut the pursuit ofprofit that popu- Thelndiansweresuddenlyempow- and conquest could save the world.
lated the new world. TIlls difference ered with mystical properties. They The morning after the girls made their
was minor, for the Church of Victoria's were, according the reports of the colo- statements, their bodies were found
religious beliefs permeated daily life nists, "alive with the fire of the devil, completely charred in their beds. Fire
in the alternate New World as much as their eyes ablaze with Hell's flames." had touched nothing else in any of
Protestant beliefs did here. They cast mystical spells and caused their rooms, including their bedding.
At the end of the Seventeenth Cen- great pain to the colonists who con- The Salem Witch Trials began.
turysomething very strange happened fronted lhem. The colunists ~scapl'd The planet of the Victorians sud-
in the New world -another change in and told their tale, and there was a denly became infused with magical
world history as significantas thebattle great deal of fear throughout the colo- and spiritual power at just the time
at Medway. The change was marked nial towns. All gates were closed in the everyone was paying close attention
by mysterious murders in the Crown dties. Guards stayed up all night, but to such things. Cotten Mather became
Colonies, and later in India. No mur~ Rnll the murders continued. Sometimes a spiritual beacon for the frightened in
derer could be found, and the mur- the Victorians found strange footprints the New World. He suddenly had
ders were grisly, involving dismem- left on the ground, sometimes strange powers supposedly given from god,
berment and apparent cannibalism. liquids, colored }X'ols of slime. But the and spent his days writing missives
At first the colonists assumed that those murders could not be prevented. ' about how the Victorians had become
who died were the victims of Indian In 1692 ten girls in Salem, Massa- lax in their morality. Theaccusationof
assaults. Although the Victorians had chusetts were convicted of murdering Tituba tied aU the Indians into a grand
tempered their vicious xenophobia theirown parents. Thegirlsclaimed to Satanic conspiracy, and the blood be-
over the centuries, they were all too have been corrupted by the satanic gan to flow freely in the New World.

•• 14
 Chapter Two

Instead of eventually breaking off pc>-

Iitical ties with Victoria, the colonies
came 10 depend on them for men and
supplies. It was nothing short ofa holy
war in North America.
It soon becamft clear that the Indi-
ans were not the reat threat. The colo-
nists who carried their war over the
Appalachian mountains wearing their
coonskin caps and armed with their
muskets soon encountered strange
creatures. The Mississippi River
marked a stalema te that lasted for sev·
eral years, with horrible creatures of
darkness on the west bank, and the
colonists on the east.
There were open, pitched battles
between demon-led forces and the
colonists. Powerful creatures who
could pass among humans -
vampyres, werewolves in human
form,sorcerers, zombies raised imme-
diately after death - made their way
to human camps and to the coloniesof
Victoria. Their appearance created
havoc and caused terror.
The horrors spread.
The Gaunt Man chose to possess
the bodies of prominent members of Eventually the Orrorsh reality they are usually outcasts from Victo-
Victoria's ruling class. In this way he clawed its way up to the island of rian society. They scour the world
Victoria. The motherland lost con· searching for artifacts and eternity
could seduce members of the partia·
ment to his aid. Sometimes the men he tact with countless colonies and shardstoaidthemintheirfightagainst
influenced knew they were making assumed that the horrors had de- the Gaunt Man. There are also men
deals with an evil being, and other stroyed most of them. However, and women who, for their own profit
times they were Simply swayed by his even today word arrives from an ~nd personal gain,launch expeditions
outpost in North America or an mto the horror of the Orrorsh reality
arguments. In this way heencouraged
the racism and sweat shops that are a envoy from Rhodesland. Unlike seeking treasure or arcane knowledge.
curse of Victorian society. The Gaunt Victoria, which has retained a sem· Such expeditions usually end in trag-
Man would live within one body until blance of everyday life, these out- ed.y, for the world is alive with the
it had grown old enough to die, and posts on Gaea are besieged and Gaunt Man's terrors.
the let it expire. He would then move desperate. They are like cities or And what of the Gaunt Man?
on to another body. forts from the middle ages or He ruled from his bridgehead in
Three hundred years passed and the American Western movies, sur- the Grand Canyon of Gaea's North
might of the Victorian Empire waned. rounded on all sides by foes who America. Over the years he watched
Bit by bit the reality of Orrorsh ate away barely give them a moment's rest. with grim satisfaction as the work of
at their colonies around the world, as Expeditions and outposts gathered centuries of experimentation reached
well as the other nations that had re- enough information over the years to fruition on the world of Victoria. The
mained independent of the Imperialist let the Victorians know that there is a GauntMan,asotherHighLords,gains
touch of Victoria. Throughout it all the creature who rules the horrors of their strength from robbing the inhabitants
Victorians saw the situationas a punish- world. The)' know the Gaunt Man by of worlds of their possibility energy.
ment for their moral laxity. They name now, but do not suspect that he But his world was so violent and
strengthened theirspiritual resolve and is a raider from another dimension. bloody that he seldom drew from a
eventually shaped themselves into the For the Victorians, the Gaunt Man is planet all the possibility energy that
Victorian culture that we knew on our just one name of many for Satan, in· was available on a world. To rectify
own world. However, the Evangelical voked by Victorian parents who want this he spent thousands of years
movement of Earth was replaced by the to silence their children at bedtime. altering the nature of Orrorsh so
Victorian Sacellum. TheSaceUum is the The last one hundred years oftheir that he gained more possibility
philosophical and religious structure historyhavebeenadesperatebattleto from a person if the person was

,....,1
that holds the Victorian society together
today.

.........
keep the horrors off their shores, and
to free portions of their world. There
are Storm Knights on Gaea, though
afraid. And since terror was what
Orrorsh did best, he gained more
and more possibility energy.

15
.
Torg: Qrrorsh

1"'166 ----==~=~~
CH=~
 Chapter Two

that would always feed his insatiable

appetite for power.
I he World of Gaea Thrilled with his new powerof fear,
he sought a world wealthy in possibil-
ity energy, something that would let
1. Victoria - England in our pean principalities of Earth's
world, home of the Victorians on middle ages.
him gain vast amounts of energy. He
Gaea. The country is like the found the world he was looking for.
5. Ch'ln - This nation, Our Earth. It was similar to Victoria,
England of our Earth at the end Victoria's China, has been over- but with a greater variety of possibili-
of the 19th century. run by the horrors, but has kept ties. It was so rich he knew he could
2. The Abyss-Earth'sGrand its national character intact. The not conquer it alone. So he found other
Canyon wasapparenUythepoint Power ofFear has reshaped crea- High Lords of different realities and
of arrival for the Gaunt Man's lures into the eastern mythos. made an alliance. He would be the
invasion ofGaea. Several explo- Interestingly, the social structure Torg of Earth, but they would share in
ration socie~ies launched expe- ofmedieval China still exists, and the spoils. And so the Gaunt Man, Dr.
ditions into Western North the country is ruled by the lO2nd Mobius, Jean-Paul Malraux I, Ryuchi
America in the 19th century in dynasty. The imperial bureau- Kanawa, Uthorion, Baruk Kaah and
search of the source of the ter- cracy is now more like the sta- the cosm of Tharkold attacked the
rors. Few adventurers came back, tions of hell. The art of brush Earth, bringing their strange and vio-
and those who did return re- painting uses blood, and nower lent realities with them. Tharkold's
ported seeing Hell on Earth - a arrangement.c: are created with attack failed, but the otherssucccedcd
giant pit filled with towering human limbs. in establishing their reality.
flames. Creatures of the night 6. Nippon - Like its sister For his part, the Gaunt Man found
danced and cavorted in the fires island on the other side of the a way to have the Victorians aid him in
while mortal men, women and world, Nippon, Victoria's Japan, his invasion of Earth. He had grown
children burned but never died. has kept the incursions of horror fond of their arrogance, their bloody
3. Jonestown - One of the at bay. Havingneverbeen pierced past and their ability to be monstrous
few colonies that keeps in regu- by a foreign navy, Nippon's soci- to their fellow man. He engineered
lar touch with Victoria. Jones- ety is much as it was from the lime their aid by tricking them.
town is a massive walled city of Medieval Japan. A Victorian scientist, Dr. Wells,
that has large tracts of land set found an ancient treatise of arcane
7. Congo - Central Rhodes-
aside within its walls for fann- knowledge stating that there were
land is even more rugged and otherworlds. TheseworldscouId only
ing and livestock. jungle-grown than Earth's Al- be reached by weakening the fabric of
4. Rumostria - A kingdom ricn in the 19th century. It is also reality. Wells thought that it might be
carved out of Europe ruled by ovemmbydangerousmutations possible to build a device based on the
Prince Beastro, an undead ghoul, of jungle wildlife. The animals knowledge and find aid for the world
and populated by ghouls, vam- are not only sentient but some- of Victoria. The machine worked, and
pires and zombies. Beastro isone times anned with thicker hides Wells created a machine that created a
of the Gaunt Man's lieutenants covered with spikes, or larger bridgethatconnected Victoria to Earth.
left on Victoria to keep things in than nonnal teeth. They have However, Wells saw the creatures of
line. He has worked out a system formed themselves into tribes Darkness stream down the bridge -
of raising humans like livestock, and prey on human military out- travelling from his world to Earth. He
which is how a countryofundead posts established around the tried to tum off the machine, but it was
can remain alive. The culture coast of Rhodeslal1d. to no avail. He had brought the terrors
seems based on eastern Euro- to Earth.
Out of an overwhelming guilt he
committed suicide. He left word for
It was during his invasion ofVictoria dent tomes with clues to destroying a his fellow countrymen as to what he
that the Gaunt Man fitted this new new type of zombie - all so that the had done. Knowing, as only a Victo-
technology upon Heketon, his Dark- Victorians can continue to breed and rian can know, that only they could
ness Device. For this reason he lets the prosper and live in fear. stop the horrors that were invading
Victorians live on their mother island, Eventually it came time for Orrorsh Earth and knowing their colmtry was
for now he gains so much energy from to attack another world. With his new responsible for the invasion, they gath-
their fear that it is profitable 10 hold lechnology of f~ar th~ Gaunt Man ered an army and crossed the bridge
back his hordes and keep the mortals knew he could set up one "colony" of to Earth to defend our world for us.
alive. In fact, he aids the Victorians fear after another. He could then leave But their invasion only allowed the
from time to time - planting clues to behind a trail of conquered worlds reality of Orrorsh to spread faster.
a werewolf's identity, dropping an-

~-------------------_,
.........- 17
.
Torg: Orrorsh

Chapter Three

The Realm of Fear

1111 he realm of Orroffih
fers to the area of Earth
that the Gaunt Man has
r~ The Gaunt Man's Goals
and Ambitions
Currently the Gaunt Man is in the
conquered and imposed maelstrom of a reality storm, strug-
his reality upon. Making gling with a powerful eternity shard
up the realm are several important known as the Heart of Coyote. His
factors - the people and cultures of body is torn apart again and again in
Gaea, the Gaunt Man'secology of hor- the struggle. Unless Thratchen cangain
ror, and the organizations of theGaU1lt control of the Orrorsh Darkness De-
Man and the Victorians of Caea. vice the Maelstrom will some day stop
The Gaunt Man has his own form of nnd the Gaunt Man will probably be
organization, though the system has freed.
slowed down in the High Lord's ab- With this in mind, hereare theGaunt
sence. Below are descriptions of these Man's goals, in order of their priority
and other organizations found in t};le for him:
realm ofOrrorsh, as well as the people First, he craves knowledge of the
and creatures that make the organiz.1- Nameless One. The Gaunt Man,oneof
tions run. the oldest of the High Lords, is ob-
sessed by the stories of the entity and
bends all his efforts to making contact
The Gaunt Man with it. Whereasonce he sought power
out of a small-minded greed, he is
The most important thing to know aware now that there are even greater
about the Gaunt Man is that he is a powers at work in the cosmverse, and
creature that feeds on fear. In fact, this he wants contact with those beings.
is almost all anyone knows of him, for Second, he seeks to increase his
his history is shrouded in mystery, a power. If he is to live long enough to
shroud of his own making. find the Nameless One and to have
Unlike the other High Lords, who enough power to survive contact with
spend as much time proclaiming the it, he must gain power.
glory of their victories as they do con- Third, he wishes to expand the
quering worlds, the Gaunt Man rarely boundaries of Orrorsh. Although he
speaksofhis past. Therearesomewho invited the other High Lords to Earth,
believe he does this to avoid revealing he has every intention of ruining them
any weakness that might be exploited when the time is right. Like the world
by one of his underlings. Others sus- of Gaea, he wants to spread his hor-
pect that he does Honly to add an airof rors over every corner of the globe.
mystery and tension to his preselll.-c. Then he will establish "colonies of fear"
The unknown is an elemental part of and reap the benefits of his invest-
the reality he created in Orrorsh. Fi- ment. These colonies will be established
nally there are those who believe that 011 tile cosms of the otller High Lords, as
he does not speak of his past because these cosmsare /lOW cOIwenimtly at fad/ed
he does not know it. Their opinion is to Earth.
that the twisted and deranged mind Fourth, hewants a feeling of fear to
required to construct such a reality as pervade the areas within the bound-
Orrorsh would of necessity be unstable aries ofOrrorsh. He does this by creat·
- that the Gaunt Man has simply lost ingcreaturesand letting themnmram-
touch with certain parts of his identity. pant through the civilized areas of the
worlds he conquers. The monsters
never come anywhere near to outnum-

. . _.=-------------------~
18 ~
Chapter Three
Torg: Orrorsh

bering the native populations of the thrilled with the death he can cause to ing head at the top of it. The cane is an
worlds he is attacking. If the people of a colony of ants. He revels in his rela- occult device. It causes fear within a 30
Earth were fighting armies of mon- live power to thosearound him. To see meter radius around the Gaunt Man
sters, the populace would become the Gaunt Man happy is a terrible when the High Lord raises it. The spell
numbed to the horror and the fear thing, for you know immediately that functions as the spell fear, as listed in
would leave. Fear rests upon the un- something unspeakable must have Chapter Six.
known. We feel fear when death can occurred. Powers: attack fonn resistances
leap out at any moment, in any form, Lord Bryon Salisbury (from physical, mental, and spiritual
from powers we do not understand. It The identity of Salisbury is a recent damage from magical attacks), regen-
is the tension of waiting that produces choice for the Gaunt Man, having eratiml, resistance to nonnal weap-
fear. played the part for less than a decade, ons, silence,
Fifth, he desires Eternity Shards. The original Salisbury was a dashing Corruption Value: 61
Even though the EtemityShards are a calvary officer who died fighting the Fear Rating: 5
wea kness of the Gaunt Man, he de- horrors in Rhodesland on Gaea. The Perseverance DN: 27
sires their pure possibilities. His expe- Gaunt Man stole his form and image Weakness: Eternity Shards. His
rience with the Heart of Coyote will for the rare times he wished to walk weakness is severe, as theGaunt Man's
move him to take precautions when about Victorian society. The Victori· incarnation includes destructiveness
ncar an Eternity Shard, or Storm ans treat him as a broken hero who, so similar to the void and the Name-
Knights who are rumored to have an while respected, is not quite all right. less One thatan Eternity Shard imme-
Eternity Shard. His disappearances were attributed to diately causes a reality storm. This
Before any of these goals can be "an urgent calling toagain facethe foe, w~akness take> precedence over the
attained, the Gaunt Man must free to win one final victory," as explained Power of Fear's ability to limit invoked
himself from the Maelstrom. He is in notes written by the Gaunt Man reality storms.
slowly draining the Heart ofCoyote of himself. Hisoccasionally staged victo- True Death: None known
its Possibilities. He now has the upper ries gave the Victorians evidence that
hand; soon he might claim victory. Salisbury still had what it took to be a
The Gaunt Man's Personality Victorian.When the Victorians mat tnted Heketon
The Gaunt Man is a contemplative an expedition to Earth, the Gaunt Man
Heketon is the savage and proud
creature who spends much of his time returned to Gaea in the guiseofSalisbury
Darkness Device of Orrorsh. It ap"
analyzing the nature of fear. There is to passionately argue for the action. He
pears as aobsidian heart.lthas worked
nothing so enjoyable to the High Lord again entered Earth with the Queen's with the Gaunt Man for millennia.
as touching upon some new truth of Own 17th Lancers. Quixotic as ever,
They alone have bested another Dark-
terror, some new insight as to what Salisbury announced he was striking ness Device and High Lord. They tri-
makes people afraid. The cane he car- out for the heart of the enemy, nnd
umphed over Kurst, then the High
ries is actually a poSSibility energy- walked into the jungle. He has not
Lord of Dairoga, and his Darkness
driven item of fear. Not only is it a been seen by Victorian society since.
Device in a savage battle. The devas-
weapon that can be used to render The Gaunt Man tated Darkness Device blindly fled by
foes harmless with panic, but it con-
DEXTERlTY 11 dimthread. Heketon's threads pierced
stantly thrums terror in his hand, a
Dodge 22, maneuver 18, melee in pursuit. It found the nearly insane
warm pulsing ofsheer horrorthat com-
weapons 20. prestidigitation 20, un- Darkness Device in a then undiscov-
forts him as he plab:> his conque>t of
armed combat 18 ered cosm, Earth. The possibility en-
Earth.
STRENGTH 21 ergyofEarthnearlyoverwhelmed the
There are two peaks that the Gaunt TOUGHNESS 28 senses of the Orrorsh device. Heketon
Man often experiences on either side of PERCEPTION 29 and the Gaunt Man must have this
his steady contemplation. The first is
Evidence analysis 31, find 30, lan- cosmo
rage, usually brought on by failures, or
guage 32, scholar (eternity shards) But how? Heketon knew its limits,
perceived failures, of his underlings. 32, scholar (the Nameless One) 33, and Earth was beyond it. But the Gaunt
The Gaunt Man has lived. for so long
trick 31 Man schemed. The Gaunt Man then
and has gained so much power that he
MIND 28 returned tolheworldoftheravagoDS, to
can accomplish almost anything to Test 32, occult 34, willpower 34 appear as one of the Prophets, or Iri-
which he sets his mind. He expects such
CHARlSMA22 shanti. Entire tribes followed the Gaunt
competence from his minions, even
Charm 26, persuasion 27, taunt 23 Man's promise of conql,lest and oottles
though theyseldom have lived. for more
SPIRIT 28 beyond any they had experienced.
than a few centuries. Faith (Orrorsh) 37, intimidation 38, They fuund a Darkness Device
The other is a kind of joy- the only
Reality 35 when conquering a cosmo They led a
joy someone like the Gaunt Man could
Possibilities: At least 140; more if lieutenant to "discover" the device,
experience. When he causes someone
he has recently tapped Heketon, allowed him to leave to create his own
terror, or explains a new mystic toy to
his Darkness Device. realm; Tharkold. A later cosm gave
someone, he is like an Earth-child
Equipment: Cane with a smaliliv- Uthorion the same opportunity. That

...._20,."."....------------------~
~
 Chapter Three

was two realms whose High Lords ergy is bled off, and the horror re~1ity large!>t are hall a meter tall, the small-
had reason to fear the Gaunt Man, and preserved. Orrorsh is now the only est no more 20 centimeters (eight
whose High Lords' greed could be realm which can survive alone on inches). They are made of rock, most
manipulated in a predictable way. As Earth. Heketon is the architect of frequently marble. The occult process
cosms with High Lords were discovw horror's ultimate victory on Earth. turns the statuettes a sickly green w
erect, Heketon made sure that i ts Darkw Now Heketon waits to see the fate black.
ness Device, and therefore the High of the Gaunt Man. U he frees himself,
Lord, had reason to be impressed with Heketon shall again offer him the p0-
the Gaunt Man's power. sition of !-Ugh Lord. U the Gaunt Man Thratchen
Discovering the cosm of Gaea pro- fails to win the struggle with the Heart
vided the final key, a stable ecology of of Coyote, Heketon will wait to see if Thratchen, the usurper ofthe Gaunt
destruction and fear (see "Ecology of any Nighhnare or member of the Hel w Man's position, has declared himsell
Horror" below). Now the invasion of lion Court challenges Thratchen. Only the Regent of Orrorsh. He claims that
Earth could be readied. It was a inva- with reluctance will Heketon accept the !-Ugh Lord himself put him in
sion which the High Lords would win. Thratchen; it will first transform the charge of the realm, and while many
Heketon's triumph was near. techncrdemon to the reality of Orrorsh. believed hirnat first, his story is begin w
Heketon carefully observed the Heketon ning to look threadbare.
opening days of the Possibility Wars. DEXTERITY 0 Thratchen is a "techno-demon"
It was disturbed by what it saw, and from the cosm ofTharkold. The Possi w
STRENGTH 0
what the ravagons reported. While bility Raiders from Tharkold attacked
TOUGHNESS 190
not likely, thechanceof defeat existed. the world ofKadandra. Kadandra de·
PERCEPTION 33
One or more realms might fall, and Alteration magic 34, divination feated them, in part due to the warn-
then the possibility energy of Earth magic 34, find 37, scholar (horror) ings of a child prodigy named Dr.
would surge in a storm across the Hachi Mara-Two. She warned her
37, research 35, tracking 35, trick 36
remaining realms, shattering the ste- MIND 40 people of the upcoming invasion and
lae which bounded them. All thework they applied their cybertechnology to
Apportation magic 41, conjuration
of Heketon and its High Lord undone magic 44., occult 56, science 46, test create weapons of defense to beat off
in one furious cataclysm. The Gaunt 47, willpower 47,
the Tharkoldu.
Man believed the plan still worked Thratchen was on Kadandra when
CHARlSMA2S
well enough. Heketon did not. Charm 30, persuasion 30, taunt 33 they defeated his reality, and became
Heketon researched the problem SPIRIT 50 trapped when the Tharkold bridge
with the blinding speed and power Faith (Nameless One) 51, focus 51, collapsed. In a fury of vengeance
available to itas the master ofOrrorsh's
intimidation 51, reality 64 Thratchen tracked down Dr. Mara w
reality. The answer was an occult ritual, Possibilities: Untold thousands Two, killing her friends and associ-
one of daring complexity and scope ates. Dr. Mara-Two escaped by gating
Powers: Heketon can release corw
requiring great sacrifice. The first saC w to the Cosm of Earth. Thratchen fol-
rupted souls to inhabit new monsters
rifice was betraying the Gaunt Man to (see below). lowed, believing the child had trav-
his enemies. Many others were neces w elled to Earth to warn its inhabitants
Corruption Value: 63
sary. The final sacrifice involved itself, that his people were about to invade
Fear Rating: 5
giving u p part of itself to use the power Perseverance DN: 27 the Soviet Union. Warned in time by
of the occult. Weakness: None the Core Earth psychic Katrina
The ritual is now complete. Now all True Death: None Tovarish, the Soviets gave Tharkold
Orrorsh stelae are a part of Heketon. its second defeat. It could take
Any future Orrorsh stelae will be part Thratchen's High Lord some time to
ofHeketon. Heketonma)' useits power
directly through a stelae, affecting any
Stelae attain the power needed for another
cosm raid.
object or being within 10,000 meters of Orrorsh stelae are occult objects Tharkold's reality is a reality of hor-
a connected stelae. Most importantly which are imbued with additional ror based on advanced technology, the
for Heketon, it may now create power by Heketon. The objects which grafting of machinery into living flesh.
dimthreads from any of the stelae. have been converted into stelae in· This differs greatly from the reality of
These dimthreads will run from elude a gypsy dagger, a tombstone, a Orrorsh, where thetechnology issirnple
Orrorsh to a cosm previously drained church gargoyle, one of General and the horrors are usually something
of its possibilities by the Gaunt Man.lf Wellington's uniforms, a deck ofcards, beh'leen man and animal. Thratchen is
Core Earth's possibility energy builds and the jellied remains of a Victorian a demonic creature changed through
to the point that it threatens Orrorsh soldier. The most common stelae a advanced. technology.
boundaries, the dim threads are cre- statuettes representing one of the Tharkold is a world where man is
ated. The Core Earth energy pours Nightmares, the Hellion Court or the turned into monsters through the use
through the threads to the depleted Gaunt Man. This statuettes weigh be- of technology. Men and women are so
eosm, which offers less resistance than tween four and twenty kilos, and have laden with machinery that they can-

..
the reality of Orrorsh. The excess en- a Toughness ranging from 15 to 19. The not even touch each other without

~ ----------
,.......- 21
_
 DpURE
I~","K!I MIXED
,
~OOMINANT
",.•••..., DOMINANT
CORE EARTH I,'
:, !
BRIDGE
* ..
~{
.f; '.' ,

•
~

~
8
$
 Chapter Three

causing pain. He has metal claws that

can extend and retract from his hand,
mechanical wings, and powerful, me-
chanicallegs. His flesh isenhanced by
artificial skin. A human being can be
strapped down and altered beyond
his own recognition. Often the truly
evil creatures remember who they
were before they asked for power from
the High Lord ofTharkold. In that it is
similar to Orrorsh.
Thratchen conducts the affairs of
Orrorsh in a similar fashion to the way
the Gaunt Man did. However,
Thratchen is burdened by the need to
find the Darkness Device and make it
his. Many suspect it is waiting either
for the Gaunt Man to free himself or
waiting for a worthy successor.
Thratchen desperately want to find
the device before Hckcton decides
another creature of Orrorsh is more
valuable than he.
Thratchen
DEXTERITY 15
Dodge 17, energy weapons 17, fire
combat 16, flight 19, maneuver 18,
stealth 18, unarmed combat 23
STRENGTH IS
TOUGHNESS 26(30)
PERCEPTION 2.
Evidence analysis 26, find 27,
scholar (The Nameless One) 27,
tracking 25, trick 26
MIND 25
Science 26, test 27, willpower 27,
CHARISMA 16
Charm 21, persuasion 22, taunt 23
SPIRIT 24
Faith CTharkoldu Evil) 29, focus 30,
intimidation 26, reality 28
Possibilities: 40
Equipment: cybersenses, internal
computer (+3 bonus to evidence analy-
sis, find, and targeting rolls if the target
generates electrical impulses, such as
a character with cyberware). cyber- high faith and fOCliS ratings he can call Duration: five minutes
claws CSTR+5/ damage value 23), almost any miracle of Tharkold into Effect: turns the victim into a me-
cyberwings (speed value 11), laser pis- existence. Below are two sample chanical slave
tol (damage value 19), armor (TOU miracles of his horrid native realm. Mec1umizatioll transforms the cursed
+6/ annor value 30, its maximum). The gamemaster should use them as character into a gleaming metal, ro-
Goals: To find the Darkness Device guidelines for creating other miracles boticversionofhimseU. Hisskin trans-
and become High Lord of Orrorsh of Tharkold: forms into chrome, hiseyesglow bright
bdure th~ Gaunt Man is fr~~tl ur an 8
white, his ears become radio receivers
other inhabitant of Orrorsh becomes Mechanization and his mouth sealed with an elec-
High Lord before him; to obtain tronic transmitter. He is a mindless
enough power to discover more infor 8
Spiritual Rating: 16 servant of whoever cursed him. The
Community Rating: 12 character's attributes and skills remain

,....,1
mation about the Nameless One.
Miracles: Because of Thratchen's

.........-
Difficulty: 18
Range: touch
.
the same for all but Strength and Tougll-
ness, which each gain a bonus of +1 for

23
Torg: DrroISh

each success level attained by the faith Thratchen and the Pena Ardinay
total of the miracle. Thus, a good suc-
cess is worth +3 to the two attributes. High Lords This "good" High Lord is a night-
The character who called down mecJrIJ- mare forThratchen. Her fantastic real-
nizntioll must be able to speak to the Thratchen has been acting as regent ity, a fantasy with magic and honor, is
character he controlled. If the caller of of Orrorsh. His attitudes and dealings a threat to fear and corruption of
the curse is able to transmit via elec- with the High Lords are the following: Orrorsh. He will lend all the aid that
tronic means he can control his me- he can to Uthorion in the dark lord's
chanical slave through such means. Kanawa attempt once again to usurp the throne.
The cursed character will hurt his
friends, and even destroy himself, ifso Kanawa's operatives have invested
commanded by the focus character. time and effort into preventing Orrorsh The Structure of
from expanding its boundaries and
Animate Cables slaying Qrrorsh expeditions into Core Orrorsh
Earth territory. Thratchen is fighting
Spiritual Rating: 14 Kanawa to the best of his abilities. "Know that fear rules Orrorsh. The
Community Rating: 11 Gaunt Man made it no secret that he
Difficulty: 17 Jean Malraux I drew his power from Heketon, the
Range: faith total Darkness Device of OrTOTsh. He let all
Duration: special Antipope Jean Malraux is not the under his command know that it is
Effect: animales cables and wires same being with whom the Gaunt Man fear that appeases the device, and that
so they can kill organic life within made his alliance. The holy power of he received the device's favor for cre-
range the church combined with the new ating fear on Gaea and Earth. In tum,
This miracle targets one person. Any technology might well have the power whichever subjects created fear on
metal wires that the person is in con- to wipe out Orrorsh's unholy reality, Gaea and Earth would receiverewards
tact with - the telephone cord of a as Kadandra defeated the techno-hor- from the Gaunt Man. Orrorsh became
phone he is using, the wires in a car he ror realm of Tharkold; on the other a pyramid of fear, with zombies vying
is driving -sudden!y come to life and hand it may be subverted into techno- to create fear beneath the powerful
attempt to strangle him. The duration horror. Thratchen now plays an even vampyres, each creature supporting
of the miracle is a number of rounds hand with the Cyberpapacy. the fear of the greater monster above
equal to the result points of the miracle. it. Atop the pyramid rested the Gaunt
If the focus character received. four re- Dr. Mobius Man. Above him, floatingjust overthe
sult points, the wires would be ani- pyramid's peak, was Heketon. The
mated for four rounds. The wires all Of the High Lords, none amuses entire structure served the Darkness
havelhefollowingattributesandskills: Thratchen as much as Dr. Mobius. The Device; it was the system's sale pur-
Doctor's madness lets him rule his pose.
DEX12 realm with a degree of glee that is "You ask me what the organization
Maneuver 13, unarmed combat 13 unknown tathe techno-demon. While of the Gaunt Man is. This is hard for
STR 14 hedoes not understand the high-paced me to put into words you know, for
TOU14 reality of the Nile Empire, its novelty your minds, your world, are used to
Notethata car has many more wires is a source ofgreatentertainment. Since organizing the world. The point of
than a phone and it is possible that Mobius has made no effective moves organizing the world is to remove fear.
morethan one wire attacks a character against Orrorsh, Thratchen will let You catalogue the stars, name all the
depending on what thecharaeter was Orrorsh's agreement with the Nile animals, study the motions of the plan-
in contact with when the curse was Empire stand. He would most likely ets so that they are no longer mysteri-
called down upon him. The maximum call upon the Doctor for aid against ous. You, Bryce, your people, from
number of wires is five. The wires will Malraux, possibly Nippon. what you have told me, created a gov-
work in coordination if possible, that ernment based upon logic and social
is onc will hold a character in place Baruk Kaah law. Men gathered and debated. The
while another tries to strangle him. government arose out of rational ar-
The cables can rip themselves out of Although the Saar of the Edeinos guments.
their sockets and moveindependentiy no longer trusts the Gaunt Man, he is "This is not the case of Orrorsh.
of their power source. They can crawl working in concert with the forces of Orrorsh is a place of fear. It Is a place
very fast with a speed value of nine. Orrorsh. This arrangement is vital to where fear rules, not rational thought.
Thratchen, given the open hostilities The notion of having a regulated bu~
Tharkold's Axioms between Nippon Tech and the Living reaucracy has no place in the Realm.
Land. But still, there are positions of power
Magic 12, Social 20, Spiritual 17, in Orrorsh. Not always of authority,
Technological 26 mind you, but of power.

.......,~------------------,....
24 ____
 ChapterThree

"Ruling Orrorsh is the Gaunt Man, "You may thinkthatsince Vietnam serve him for centuries. Its members
the High Lord of the Realm. Hedraws has heard about the invasion in the kept changing, but it always seemed
his power from the Darkness Device, East Indies the impact of monsters to serve its purpose, for its well re--
and all of his minions were taught this. running through their countryside warded members always remained
The Gaunt Man made this dear to his would be lessened. nus is not the case. faithful to the High Lord.
minions so they would not try to over- Until a person sees a monstrosity with Despite this, Thratchen has insti-
throw him - every one of the Gaunt his own eyec; or holds in his own arms ruted the Hellion Court in hisRegency,
Man'sservants knew that without the the body of a loved one killed by a though he has reduced the number of
power of the mysterious Darkness creatureofOrrorsh, there is a denial of the Court to keep better control of it.
Device to support him, he had little the reality of such beings. I saw the His court currently has five members:
chance of challenging the Gaunt Man. same thing occur on Gaea, for the citi- Baron Victor Manwaring, Parok, Gen-
"The Gaunt Man is the mastermind zens of Victoria believed that the colo- eral Avery Wellington, Lord Stanton
of Orrorsh and its invasions. It is he nists ofIndia and the New World were Cheltenham, and Basjas.
who decid~s what l.:ore areas of an reacLing 10 intense loneliness wh~1I
invaded world the horrors aUacknext. the first reports of monsters started Baron Victor Manwaring
He decides who sits on the Hellion filtering back to the Mother Country. (Vampyre Mantooth)
Court, which of his minions rules dif· It was not until the creatures overran
ferent parts of the realm, and which the continent that the full impact took The Baron is a new member to the
corrupted souls are assigned to what place. Court. He is a vampyre, of pale skin
creahlres. "Of course, if the High Lord sends and jet black hair. He appears to be 40
"As to his methods of invasion: It is too many monsters into the areas to be years old, but undoubtedly is much
his policy to 'soften' an area with ran- "softened" then the impact is lost. older. Manwaring is from Gaea's Eu-
dom attacks of terror in an area he People become used to the beasts and rope, slain many, many years ago. He
wants to conquer. He destabilizes the terrors. For this reason theGaunt Man, had a great deal of power on Gaea, but
government with mysterious murders and now Thratchen, keeps tight con- had a falling out with the Gaunt Man
of polilicalleaders, and supernatural trol on which horrors are sent where. when he demanded that he be ap--
slaughter of the general populace. No Nightmare is allowed to send any pointed a member of the Court. He
From what I understand Thratchen creatures outside ofhis province with- was hunted by the Gaunt Man's min-
has followed this policy and shown its out the express permission of the High ions, but avoided them. He has now
effectiveness within the borders of Lord, and this is rarely done. It is returned, assuming a place in Victo-
Thailand,Cambodia, and Vietnam. He usually members of the Court or their rian society and serving Thratchen.
has used zombie death squads to assistants that are sent on missions Manwaring is aware that Thratchen
spread fear and panic throughout the outside the realm. usurped the Gaunt Man, and is doing
general populace and thegovernmenls "The Gaunt Man has no concern for everything in his power to insure that
of the nations. The supernatural ele-- taxes or any other monetary wealth. the techno-demon acquires the power
ments tended to confuse the people He does not want tribute or glory or he needs to retain his position.
who confronted the zombies. the respect of his allies or enemies. He
"In one of the nations, Vietnam I only craves power. And he generates Victor Manwaring
think, nationalist forces captured and this power through the fear his min- DEXTERITY 12
studied a zombie. Did this calm the ions create." Acrobatics 20, dodge 19, maneuver
people who studied the creature? Cer- - from Q transcript of an interview 17, running 17, stealth 20, unarm~d
tainly not. For in your world such a with Kurst, afonner5ervant oftfle Gaunt combat 20
monstrosity brings every underlying Man STRENGTH 17
precept of the nahlre of reality into Climbing 19
question. You have all spent so much TOUGHNESS 18
time on Earth figuring out how reality Hellion Court PERCEPTION 11
really works. When confronted by a Alteration magic 16, divination
creature that defies all you know a Beneath the title of High Lord, the magic 14, find 14, language 15,
sense of dread passes over you. One of greatest power in the land is the Hel- scholar (Victorian Culture) 16, trick
the scientists who studied the zombie, lion Court. TheCourtmembers are the 16
Dr. Nu Pham, took his own life after personal servants of the Gaunt Man- MIND 14
studying the creahlre. In his note he his messengers, his assassins, his en- Test 23, occult 16, willpower 23
wrote - 'How can we survive the forcCfS, his spies. Members of the court CHARISMA 14
inviJsion? They have the power to cre- often live in I1Imound Keep and report Charm 26, persuasion 21, taunt 16
ate the horrors that mankind dreams. directly to the Gaunt Man. Members SPlRIT9
As mirrors of our subconscious such of the Court are usually drawn from Intimidation IB, reality 21
monsters were ours to control. But as the Nightmares, though very power- Possibilities: at least four per Storm
physical realities ... ? - No. We are ful creatures are often put directly into Knight
doomed: the Court. Powers: life drain (Strength), infec-
The Gaunt Manhad a Hellion Court tion, regenerate, sllapesllift (bat), Up

~---------_I.
~ 25
Torg: Orrorsh

co"ditio', (llight) woman in her early thirties. Basjas Basjas (Spider Form)
Corruption Value: 21 knows that the Gaunt Man is impris- DEXTERITY 18
Fear Rating: 2 oned. for she has seen him. She has not Dodge22, stealth 24, unarmed com-
Perseverance ON: 21 told Thratchen this. Instead, she has bat 24
Weakness: cross, holy water, stake made it clear to the Gaunt Man that STRENGTH 22
through heart,stymiecondition (day). she still serves him. Although she does TOUGHNESS 18
True Death: Decapitation not have the power to free the High PERCEPTION 16
Natural Tools: fangs(STR +11 dam- Lord,she minds hisaffairs in the court. Find 19, tracking 18, trick 19
age value 18) She helps to insure that the realm is MIND 19
Goals:To help Thratchenattain the strong and that Thratchen does noth- Test 21, taunt 14
power needed to become High Lord. ing to threaten its existence for his CHARISMA 11
own personal gain. She has set into SPIRIT 17
Basjas operation a cabal of Nightmares that Intimidation 21, reality 31
will remove the techno-demon as soon Possibilities: At least seven per
Basjas is a giant, intelligent spider. as the Gaunt Man is freed. She has not Stann Knight
Her home is IlImound Keep, though made her knowledge public, for she. Natural Tools: Mandibles (STR+61
she frequently wanders the world on like Thratchen, wants people to think damage value 28); Web (can spin a
assignments for the ruler of Orrorsh. that everything is progressing as it web lilfge enough for onc human-sized
She stands about three meters high should. In this way she hopes to pre- creature every 10 minutes; the web
and her body is about four meters in vent the realm from ripping itself in a has a TOU 35. To free oneself of the
Tad ius. She has the ability to shapeshift desperate power struggle. As itstands, web a character must get a Strength
into a human form, and does so when since Thratchen rules the reahn as the total over the value of the web.)
travelling amidst humans suits her Gaunt Man would, there is no need to Powers: cold altra; darkness; si-
purposes. She has two human forms remove him until the Gaunt Man re- lellce; life drai" (DexterihJ) anyone
available to her - a young girt about turns. trapped in a web spun by Basjas suf-
five years old, and a lall, attractive fers the life drain -She usually leaves

...._26,--------------------~
____
 Chapter Three

her pray in the web for one day to get brilliant tactician, many of his victo- constantly guarded by len elitesoldiers,
possibility points, and then eats the ries against Orrorsh's horrors have known to the Victorians as the
victim; resistallce to F10nnal weapOIlS. been prearranged with either the Wellington Reds. The Wellington Reds
Corruption Value: 23 Gaunt Man or Thratchen. In such have no idea of the dark secrets and
Fear Rating: 3 cases he has been given information to activities their commander is involved
Perseverance DN: 25 destroy horrors that havegotten out of with. To their eyes he is a great man that
Weakness: gold hand, or the victories are staged. must be protected, even at the cost of
True Death: Basjas must be Wellington's value is that he can be their own lives.
wrapped in her own web for three used to direct troops to their deaths or Wellington Red
days, and then she will die to create the impression of victory
DEXTERITY 12
Basjas (Human Form) when there was none. His reputa-
Beast riding 14, dodge 14, fire com-
DEXTERITY 15 tion is so great that he can lose and
bat 15, maneuver 14, running 13,
Acrobatics 18, beast riding 19,dodge still be respected. Wellington is a
stealth 13, swimming 13, unarmed
18, maneuver 19, stealth IB, un- fit man of 51 years. His hair and
combat 15
armed combat 19 mustache are gray, but his body is
STRENGTH 12
STRENGTH 12 firm and trim. Although he appears
TOUGHNESS 12
TOUGHNESS 13 to be a man in excellent shape for PERCEPTION 11
PERCEPTION 21 his age, his physical form is actu- Find 15, scholar (military tactics)
Find 22, tracking 23, trick 22 ally superhuman - rewards from 13, tracking 12, trick 13
MIND 21 the power of the Gaunt Man. MIND9
Test 24, willpower 22 General Avery Wellington Test 11, willpower (11)
CHARISMA 22 DEXTERITY 12 CHARISMA 9
Charm 25, persuasion 24, taunt 23 Beast riding 14, dodge 16, fire com- SPIRIT 9
SPIRIT 17 bat 17, maneuver 17, melee combat Intimidation 11, faith (SaceUum) 13
Intimidation (9) Reality 31 21, running 14, stealth 15, swim- Possibility Potential: Some (25)
Skill Notes: Both human forms ming 14, unarmed combat 15 Powers: none
have the same Attributes and skills. STRENCTH13 Corruption Value: 13
When in the form of the little girl, TOUGHNESS 1. Fear Rating: 1/2
however, Basjas does not reveal most PERCEPTION1' Suggested Perseverance DN: 10
of the abilities. Find 17, language 14, scholar (mili- Weakness: None
Equipment: None tary tactics) 20, tracking 15, trick 16 True Death: A peaceful, non-vio-
Goals: To keep the realm ofOrrorsh MIND 12 lent death.
protected until the Gaunt Man returns; Test 17, occult 18, willpower 15 Equipment: Lee-Hollings Rifle
to subtly prepare Thratchen's down- CHARISMA 13 (damage value -. B), bayonette (STR +5 /
fall. Taunt 18 damage value 17),
SPIRIT 12 Goals: To preserve Victorian soci-
Gelleral Avery Wellington Faith (Sacellum) 18, intimidation ety; uphold the laws of the Queen;
16, reality 20 protect with their very lives the blood
Wellington is the commander of Possibilities: at least four per Stann of General Avery Wellington.
the Victorian forces on Majestic. He Knight
introduced the forces of the occult to Powers: resistance to 1I0mlai weap- Lord StanIon Cheltenham
Governor Robert Ashton, governor of 0115, regeneration, antJor defeatillg at-
New London. Wellington is a carry tack (allY melee weapotJ) Lord Stanton Cheltenham is a carry-
over from the Gaunt Man's Hellion Corruption Value: 22 over from the Gaunt Man's Court. He
Court. Although he has suspicions that Fear Rating: 2 has lived for nearly three hundred
Thratchen's story is false, he is not Perseverance DN: 23 years, and has served the Gaunt Man
terribly concerned with the truth of Weakness: None Known faithfully during that time. Chel~
the matter. Wellington suspects that True Death: Slain at sunrise in a tenham was in India when the Gaunt
the Gaunt Man is actually leaving duel with a single opponent. Man's bridges locked onto Gaea in
subtleclues to suggest that he hasdied Equipment: Tawning .38; (Tech 19; India and the western United States.
as a test to see how the members the damage value 15; range 3-5, 15, 40) He encountered the minions of the
Hellion Court will react. For Goals: To please whomever is rul- Gaunt Man, agents sent ahead to se-
Wellington, it makes no difference ing Orrorsh through acts of military cure recruits from Gaea's inhabitants.
whether he serves the Gaunt Man or sabotage; to live tl life of luxury. Cheltenham,a wealthy lord with hid-
Thratchen. His concern is that he is den and deep interests in the occult,
rewarded with power and the plea- Although the General is unnaturally quickly agreed to help the invaders,
sures of the senses. strong and agile, hedoes not possess the and sacrificed members of his own
Wellington has a reputation as a power levels of the other members of expedition to seal the pact. Hereturned
military leader. Although the man isa the Court. lacking that power, he is to Victoria, his bags stuffed with secret

~,----------"
..........- 27
Torg: Orrorsh

tomes of occult lore, and engaged in

passionate study. He only came out of
his library long enough to attend meet-
ings of the House of Lords, where he
argued vehemently against pursuing
the stories of evil horrors invading
Gaea. "It's all rubbish," he said again
and again. "We've better places to
spend ourtirne and money." He helped
the Gaunt Man eat away at the far
flung Victorian empire. Today
Cheltenham is powerful in the powers
of the occult, but is only a husk of a
man. Hisskin is withered nnd dry, ilnd
when he speaks the movement of his
jaw creates a soft sound like leaves
against pavement. His mind is now
like an animal's - but instead of
searching for food and a warm place
to sleep, he is obsessed with informa-
tion about the occult. He protects him-
self when threatened just as a dog
might, and he serves his master just as
faithfully. He always appears distant,
perhaps even senile - but he is not.
His mind is sharp and alert. He only
appears unfocused because he spends
so much of his time thinking about
new experiments hewants to try in his Powers: attack Jonn resistmlces with problems personally if he be-
occult lab. Cheltenham gave up his (physical, mental and spiritual dam- lieves that a solution has been too long
place in Victorian society centuries ago. age from magical attacks) in coming. Parok values his loyalty,
Lord Stanton Cheltenham Corruption Value: 28 and if he finds certain proof of what
DEXTERITY 12 Fear Rating: 3 Thratchen had done to the High Lord
Beast riding 14, dodge 16, fire com- Perseverance DN: 23 he will fly with all speed to the techno-
bat 15, stealth 15, unarmed combat Weakness: His personal posses- demon's presence and and attempt to
15 sions from his life before corruption. rip him to shreds.
STRENGTH 15 True Death: Burned in flames fu- Parok
TOUGHNESS 15 eled entirely by occult books from his DEXTERITY 15
PERCEPTION 18 collection. Dodge 18, flight 17, maneuver 18,
Find 21, language 19, tracking 20, Goals: To obtain more occult knowl- unarmed. combat 24
trick 19 edge; to please the ruler of Orrorsh to STRENGTH 17
MIND 19 gain more knowledge of the occult TOUGHNESS 19 (25)
Occult 24, test 22 and more power to live longer to gain PERCEPTION 13
CHARISMA 13 more knowledge of the occult Find 19, language 16, tracking 19,
Taunt 16 trick. 18
SPIRIT 14 Parak MIND 12
faith (Orrorsh evil) 17, intimidation Test 13(22)
18, reality 22 Parok is the Ravagon Warlord who
pledged his race to the Gaunt Man CHARISMA 10
Possibilities: at least five per Storm Taunt 13
Knight generations ago. He is one of the few
SPIRIT 10
Equipment: Amulet of Regenera~ creatures that accompany the Gaunt
Intimidation 19, faith Orishantism)
tion (created through the occult, heals Man from world to world as he pur-
sues his goal of power. Parok is not 20, reality 19
one wound the round after the wound Possibilities: at least six per Storm
is taken); GloveofBoiling: Blood (when certain that the Gaunt Man was be-
Knight
the glove is pressed against the flesh of trayed by Thratchen. He carries out
Powers: resis tatlce to nonnal weap-
someone and the words "To the Mas- his duties faithfully, waiting for the
OilS
ter" spoken the glove discharges the Gaunt Man's return. The Warlord is
Corruption Value: 22
spell boiling blood. The spell is cast at given to rash outburst of rage, and
Fear Rating: 2
Cheltenham's occult skill level. often jeopardizes his own life to deal

:::-----------------~
--0-:'28 ~
 Chapter Three

Perseverance DN: 25 Ahjebax Ahjebax

Weakness: Enchanted weapons DEXTERITY 9
made of elemental earth Ahjebax (ah-JAY-bax) is giant Maneuver (14)
True Death: Occult ritual to sever mound of pus and ooze. His province STRENGTH 14
the wings from his body includes Jakarta and the area to the TOUGHNESS 25
NaturaITools:naturalarmor(TOU west of the city. He lives far beneath PERCEPTION 19
+6/ armor value 22); talons (STR+3/ the ground in the midst of a compli- Alterationmagic22,divinationmagic
damage value 17); wings (speed value cated maze of caverns surrounded by 25, scholar (dreams) 21, trick 22
13) guards of his own design. This Night- MIND 20
Goals: To serve the High Lord faith- mare has bent his imagination toward Apportation magic 22, conjuration
fully; to hunt down and destroy creating oozing creatures, creatures of magic 21, occult 23, test 22, will-
Stormers. strange shapes and undefinable form. power 23
It issaid that the creatures ofAhjebax's CHARISMA 11
imagination are so strange that even SPIRIT 19
The Nightmares people looking directly at them have Faith (Orrorsh evil) 20, intimida-
trouble determining exactly what the tion 24, reality 26
The world of Gaea and the Orrorsh creature looks like. When asked about Skill Notes: Through his years of
realm are divided into provinces, and the monsters later, witnesses hesitate study Ahjebax has found a way to
each of these provinces is ruled by a in their descriptions, for they are un- create mystical wards using the spell
creature designated as a Nightmare. able to accurately describe the beasts madness. Anyoneentering Ahjebax's
Those areas which the Gaunt Man al- and often doubt their very sanity -for central chamber is attacked by the
lows the Victorians to rule are not whaf they remember cannot possibly Juwe spell once. The spell is cast at
divided into provinces. Victorian ar- been trne. Ahjebax's alteration skill level. If
eas are bounded by Nightmare con- Ahjebax is a powerful sorcerer of anyone exits the chamber and re-
trolled provinces to simultaneously the occult, which is responsible for his enters the spell fires once again.
heighten the Victorians fear of the very strange appearance. Little is Possibilities: at least four perStorm
world and reinforce the Victorian's known of the Nightmare's origin, Knight
belief that their ways are right. If the though he is rumored to be an Ameri- Powers: attack fonn resistances
Victorians are wrong, why do their can Indian shaman from Gaea who (heat!fire, physical, mental, andspiri-
areas have fewer monsters than those used the new mystical powers intro- tual damage from magical attacks);
that immediately surround them? duced by the Gaunt Man's reality to ltypnosis; darkness; fire resistance;
The size of a Nightmare'S province travel into an even stronger Dream resistance to nonnal weapons
is determined by the population of an Journey state. (The Indians of Gaea Corruption Value: 32
area. The average province contains had always taken "journeys" in their Fear Rating: 4
about 1,000,000 people. Thereareabout dreams.) With the Gaunt Man's hor- Perseverance DN: 24
200 Nightmares in the Orrorsh realm rible magic available, it became pos- Weakness: none known
on Earth. Different areas can have sible to bring creatures back from the True Death: An occult tool from
wildly varying papulations, however. dream place. Ahjebax enslaved the something taken from the "dream
Singapore has only one Nightmare for creatures and began gathering more state."
the entire city. and more power on Gaea, slowly cor- Goals: To serve the Gaunt Man; to
Each Nightmare is responsible to rupting into his present form. plumb the horrors of his own dreams
the Hellion Court and the Gaunt Man Ahjebax is aware that the Gaunt and bring them to life.
(or currently, Thratchenl- Each Man is entrapped in the maelstrom,
Nightmare's task is to insure that the but he has probed the situation with Dr. Willhem Sconce
population of his province is kept in a his mystical powers and knows there
constant state of fear. How they do is nothing he can do'to help his master. Dr. Sconce resides ina grim castle at
this is their choice. Many of them uti- He therefore does nothing but dream the southeastern tip of Majestic. He is
lize creatures which are very familiar of new terrors and use his mystical a member of Victorian society who
from Earth's horror stories, but others abilities to create them. bent his genius toward finding a mys~
create according to a Nightmare's Ahjebax is almost always found in tical means to destroy the Gaunt Man's
twisted whims. They are also respon- his central chamber, for hespends very power. As he studied the dark arts of
sible for restraining their province's little time moving about. The room is the occult he was seduced by them.
horrors if it appears the population is thick with smoke that encourages the His lust for the occult led him to make
becoming jaded to the effects of the "dream state" he enters when looking a pact with the Gaunt Man. Although
terror. for creatures upon which to model he carefully hid his change in nature
Below are some of the more active new servants. from his fellow Victorians he quickly
nightmares. became one of the Gaunt Man's prize
agents of evil. Eventually Dr. Sconce
impressed the Gaunt Man so much
that the scientist was offered a pasi~

29
••
Torg: Orroflih

tion as a Nightmare for the invasion of

Earth. Sconce quickly accepted. When
it came time for the invasion he estab-
lished a castle far from the Victorian
colony, claiming that he needed to
keep a distance from the colony "in T he Many Hands of Dr. Sconce
case my research should release forces
that might threaten New London." In The trio ofStorm Knights pro- but he made a unilateral deci·
fact, he was simply looking for a way gressed carefully through the sian, and before they could stop
to keep the Victorians from prying jungle toward Dr.Sconce'scastle. him he whipped out his pistol
into his affairs. They could see itin the distance, and took a clean shot to her fore-
Dr. Sconce is a mad scientist. He resting atop the a cliff halfway head.
creates life from dead limbs, dabbles up the steep mountain. So they hadn't talked much.
with placing the hearts of a tiger into a 'That'll bea good climb," said Not for the last couple of days.
human body (and vice versa), and ex~ Marcus, the Core Earth mere. And then the rustling noise
plores the effects of potions to make Arean, the mage, and Scuzz, the returned. They hadn't heard it
people behave in a purely evil way. cyberpunk, grunted in agree- since beforeJenny's death. Some-
His castle is filled with strange ma- ment. thing in the brush. Travelling
chines, rods that emit bolts of electric· They had talked less and less alongside them. Except it was
ity, odd dials and gauges.. The whole as they had travelled through louder now. Like there were
place looks like something out of Dr. the jungle. Ever since Jenny had more of them.
Mobius' realm of weird science. Dr. been taken out by the tiger with And then Marcus felt some-
Sconce's technology is not weird sci- the head of a blonde-haired thing grab his ankle. He jumped
ence, nor is it even technology. It is all woman. The stitches around the back and looked toward the
based on the occult, shaped to look thing's neck had been large and ground. He didn't see anrthing
like science and technology. obvious. Marcus remembered - but there was still pressure on
Castle Sconce is alive with the ex- that the woman, the face of the his ankle. He looked down at his
periments (failures) of the doctor's woman, had been attractive. He foot - and saw a disembodied
work. There are flesh golems, men wondered who she had been hand clutching at his ankle. The
with the brains of sharks, crawling, before Sconce got his hands on thing's fingers started to climb
disembodied hands, and worse. These her. his leg. Marcus stooped down to
are also the terrors the doctor sends The woman, her head, had pry the thing off his ankle-
out into his province. His creatures screamed. the whole time of the Before he knew it another
usually kill Core Earth inhabilants and attack, as if she suffering from hand scuttled out of the under-
Victorians and then bring the corpses intolerable pain - but at no time brush and latched onto his right
back to the castle. did she sound human. They wrist. Instinctively he pulled up
Sconce is one of the growing num- knocked her out, the creature and raised his left hand to tear
ber of Nightmares that hns realized she'dbeen turned into ... Butonly the thing from his wrist. The hand
that the Gaunt Man is no longer in after the thing had torn into was scarred and golden brown.
charge and that Heketon has vanished. Jenny. The kid barely had a Veins and bits of torn muscle
Sconce is ambitious enough to believe chance. The monstrosity leaped trailed out of the thing's wrists.
that he is capable of becoming the out of the jungle before any of "Marc," beganScuzz, 'What's
new, true High Lord of Orrorsh. Al- them knew what was going on. the deal... ?" The punk's question
though he appears to be following When the creature regained con· was intercepted by Arean's
Thratchen's orders he is really attempt- sciousness, they'd tried talking scream. Marcus whirled and saw
ing to be so horrific, so terrible, that the to it, to see if it could tell them hands, dozens of them falling
Darkness Device will pick him as the anything of Dr. Sconce. It was all from the giant leaves of the palm
Gaunt Man's successor. tied up and wasn't going any· treesall around them. Arean was
Dr. Sconce's most able assistant is a where. Her mouth still had covered with them, others began
misshapen hunchback named Golo. Jenny's blood all over it. She crawling up Scuzz's legs.
Golo is one of the doctor's first experi- didn't say a word - but looked Marcus felt something land
ments - living creature made out of up at them. Eyes big. She wanted on his shoulder. In an instant he
the pieces of corpses. Gala is loyal to to die. Marcus had seen the look felt a pressure against his throat
Dr. Sconce to the point of fanaticism. before. She was begging them to as the fingers of a disembodied
The two are rarely apart. kill her. Arean wasn't up for it, hand began to squeeze around
she wanted to study the animal, his neck ...

•• 30
 Chapter Three

Dr. Willhelm Sconce Goals: To serve and proted Dr. toms into her clan of vampyres. Her
DEXTERITY 13 Sconce vampyre dan presently consists of 30
Beast riding 16, dodge 15, fire com- members. Only 10 of them are of per~
bat 14 Sabathina sonal value to her, the other are ex~
smENGTH12 pendable. New members are created
TOUGHNESS 11 Sabathina rules a province along through the murder of innocents by
PERCEPTION 22 the northeastern edge of Majestic. The clan members. Whenever a new
Evidence analysis 24, find 24, first province runs from Palembang to the varnpyre is born Sabathina's agents
aid 26, language 23, trick 25 eastern edge of the island, about fif- go out and find him, bringing thecrea~
MIND 21 teen milesinfrom the shore. Sabathina lure back to her base of operations
Medicine 28, occult 25, willpower is an ancient vampyre, one of the few located in the caves of a semi-active
21 creatures to travel with the Gaunt Man volcano on Majestic and he swears an
CHARISMA 18 into Gaea and then continue on to oath of loyalty to her. The caverns
SPffiIT14 Earth. The Gaunt Man offered her a serve as a home for Sabathina and her
faith (SacelIum) IS, reality 21 position on the Hellion Court, but she core group of ten vampyres. The other
Possibilities: at least four perStorm politely refused the offer. Her stated vampyres are allowed to hide in the
Knight reason was that she preferred her po- caverns in emergencies, but are usu-
Equipment: BP 1856 (damage value sition as a Nightmare too much to give ally required. to find lodging elsewhere
15) it up. While true, a second reason is (so as not to lead vampyre hunters
Powers: None, nol yet a monsler Sabathina knows that the Gaunt Man back to the caverns all the time.)
Corruption Value: 23 usually bestows Tme Death on those
who know too much about his inter-
Sabathina
Fear Rating: 2 DEXTERITY 15
Perseverance DN: 20 nal politics. It is her goal to serve the
Gaunt Man faithfully, but learn noth- Acrobatics 24, dodge 22, maneuver
Weakness: None 17, running 18, stealth IS,unarmed
True Death: None. When killed will ing of obvious value about her master.
She wants the Gaunt Man to feel no combat 23
go to waiting village to be assigned to STRENGTHll
a monster that will havea True Death. compulsion to remove her from his
pyramid of power. Climbing 24
Goals: To tap the mysteries of life TOUGHNESS 21
and death; to create such horrors that Sahathina's home cosm was called
Lereholm. It was a world of frozen PERCEPTION 14
Heketon, the Darkness Device of Find 16, tracking 18, trick 19
Orrorsh, will take notice of him and wastes. Giant creatures roamed the
landscape and strange, ghost~like ap- MIND 17
make him High Lord of Orrorsh. Test 24, willpower 23
paritions wandered the tundra. The
Gala humans who lived on the world lived CHARISMA 16
in vast catacombs carved out of moun- Charm 28, persuasion 23
DEXTERITY 15
tains. The world's harsh conditions SPIRIT 13
Acrobatics 16, dodge 19, maneuver
required a rigid social structure, and Faith (Orrorsh Evil) 21, intimida-
20, melee weapons 19, running 18,
the humans were divided into strict tion 23, reality 22
unarmed combat 20
tribes. Each tribe was ruled by a Matri- Possibilities: At least five per Stonn
SmENGTH17
arch, and Sabathina was such a Matri- Knight
Climbing 19, lifting 18
TOUGHNESS 22 arch. When the Gaunt Man's invasion NaturalTools:Fangs(STR+2/ dam-
began she began depending on evil age value 24)
PERCEPTION 12
means to protect herpeople. ThePower Powers: life dmill (Spirit); shape-
MIND9
of Corruption ate away at her soul, c1lange (wolf); animal control; resis-
CHARISMA 11
and finally she found herself trans- tance to normal weapons, infection.
SPlRIT12
formed into a vampyre. Her position Corruption Value: 30
Reality 15
of power within the caverns allowed Fear Rating: 3
Skill Notes:
Possibilities: 17 her appetite for blood to be sated eas- Perseverance DN: 24
ily. Although she at first felt pangs of Weakness: Vassen (a holy symbol
Powers: None
guilt for murdering her tribespeople, from Sabathina's home world - a
Corruption Value: 12
the corruption within her assuaged circle with a triangle within it) The
Fear Rating: 1
Perseverance DN: 10 her feelings and she quickly came to weakness is severe.
Weakness: None love the thrill of hunting for blood. True Death: A stake of ice must be
Sabathina appears to be about 62 driven through Sabathina's heart.
True Death: WhileGolo isstillalive,
years old. Her skin is wrinkled, her Goals: To serve the Gaunt Man
removing occult sutures which hold
his heart in place. short, full hair is gray, but her pres- faithfully by creating fear; 10 keep her-
ence is strong. To be near her is to self and her favorite clan members
Equipment: large metal studded
alive.
club (STR + 4/ damage value 21; STR know what a true ruler is. Over the
15 or better to wield) centuries she adopted her tribal cus~

~----------------_I_
...........- 31
.
Torg: Orrorsh

Thetencoredanmembersare,from This is part of Skutharka's style: the age value 25); teeth (STR+3/ damage
eldest to youngest, Barstrate, Keywin, dog-eat-dog world of business held value 26)
Lucy, Heather, Stanton, Randolph, great appeal for him as soon as he Goals: To create fear in Singapore;
Michael, James, Winston and Agatha. heard about it. He mimics the manner- to amuse himself while doing it.
Older vampyres may have skill values isms of capitalists - going so far as to
which are even higher, some having a pick up phones not in use, speaking Mr. Ho
few skills which exceed Sabathina's. into them and laughing the whole way DEXTERITY 12
through an imaginary conversation. Acrobatics 14, dodge 15, fire com-
Core Clan Members bat 13, maneuver 14, martial artist
Skutharka was also inspired by
DEXTERITY 13 17, melee weapons 13, stealth 21
Thratchen's tales of his techno-horror
Acrobatics 20, dodge 20, maneuver STRENGTH 11
18, running 19, stealth 22, unarmed realm of Tharkold. He has turned
Singapore into a realm of mechanical Climbing 13
combat 21 TOUGHNESS 13
horrors.
STRENGTH 17 PERCEPTION 11
The Nightmare's chief assistant is
Climbing 20 Find 12, Evidence Analysis 12,
Mr. Su Ho, an Earth native of Chinese
TOUGHNESS 19 Tracking 12, Trick (3)
PERCEPTION 12 decadences. Some say Mr. Ho sold his
loyalty toSkutharka in order to get the MIND 10
Find 15, language 15, tracking 15, Test (3), willpower 13
Trick (5) power to save his dying wife. The first
command Skutharka gave Mr. Ho was CHARISMA 9
MIND 14 SPIRIT 9
Test 16, willpower 21 to murder his wife. Having tasted the
delightful power of the Power uf Cur- Reality (Core Earth) 12
CHARISMA 16 Skill Notes: Ho's corruption have
Charm 25, persuasion 22 ruption, Mr. Hochose to comply with
SPIRIT 10 the instructions. Mr. Ho was an ac- cost him his martial art's disciplines.
complished martial artist before his Hestill adds +2 to his SfrmgtIJ (dam-
Intimidation 18, reality 18 age value 13) when attacking with
mind was corrupted. He now enjoys
Possibilities: at least two perStorm martial arts.
finding people in the midst of an emo·
Knight Possibilities: 12
tional crisis and designing a physical
Natural Tools: Fangs ( STR+2/ Powers: None
horror to complement it. He then
damage value 19) Corruption Value: 16
Powers: life draht (Spirit); resis- passes his suggestions on to Skutharka.
Fear Rating: 1
taPlce to lIormal weapons, infectio'l. SkuthaJ'ka
Perseverance DN: 11
Corruption Value: 12 DEXTERITY 15 Weakness: None
Fear Rating: 2 Acrobatics 17, dodge 19, maneuver
True Death:None. When killed will
Perseverance DN: 19 18, running 17, stealth 20, unarmed
go to waiting village to be assigned to
Weakness: Vassen (a holy symbol combat 19, a monster that will have a True Death.
from Sabathina's home world - a STRENGTH 21 Equipment: 45 Colt Aula (damage
circle with a triangle within it). De- Climbing 23, lifting 22 16);nunchuks(STR+4/ damage value
scended from Sabathina they share TOUGHNESS ]8 15)
her weakness. PERCEPTION 16 Goals: To serve his master in find-
True Death: A stake of ice must be Find 19, tracking 19, trick 20
ing victims of horror; to keep his mind
driven through Sabathina's heart. As MIND 14 so full of pain to inflict on other~ th<'lt
long o.s their 1co.der is alive, these yam· Occult 19, survival 16, t~t 17 he does not remember his own hor-
pires can never truly die. CHARISMA 14 rible crime.
Goals: To serve Saba thina; to create Persuasion 17, taunt OS)
fear. SPIRIT 12
Intimidation 15, reality 16 The Horrors
Skulharka Possibilities: 24
Powers: attack form resistaPlce The horrors are the countless mon-
Skutharka is a terrible, wolf-like (magical physical damage);resistance sters and beings of Orrorsh. They usu-
creature. His build is powerful and he to llonnal weapons; Ilypllosis; resis- ally act alone, but are given authority
stands about three meters tall. He is tance to magical weapOlls to terrorize by a Nightmare If a horror
not a shapeshifter, but an intelligent Corruption Value: 22 is not killed inexactly the proper man-
beast. Rumorselaim he has established Fear Rating: 3 ner its corrupted soul is sent toa Wait-
his base of operations at the top of a Perseverance DN: 23 ing Village, where it is eventually
skyscraper in Singapore. He dresses Weakness: Roses plucked out at randoms and sent out
in tailor-made suits designed for his True Death: Skutharka must be to create a new monster.
massive frame. His offices are popu- decapitated and a mixture of bee's See Chapter Eight for a listing of the
lated by abouta dozen corrupted indi- honey and rose petals poured down many horrors of Orrorsh.
viduClls who serve him. They work at his throat.
desks and function as a typical office. NaturaITools:claws(STR+2/ dam-

•• 32
 Chapter Three

M r. flo Finds a Horror

The streets of Singapore are as The Malaysian walks quickly Mr. Ho walks carefully up to,
crowded as they were before the through the crowd, obviously in stepping over piles of rusted
invasion. Perhaps even more so, a hurry. "And," thinks Mr. Ho, bumpers and old gears. He peers
since technologies such as tele- "with a touch of guilt?" Without through a window. There, on the
phones and cars work with in- thinking about it he withdraws floor, is a young boy. The man is
frequency and people have to his notebook. He does nothing preparing a hypodermic. The
speak to each other face to face with it. It is simply in his hand, package with the chemical is
- even if it means a cross town ready. bright and shiny. The man obvi-
trip to do so. The small man leads Mr. Ho ously stole medicine for his dy-
Mr. Ho walks the streets of to a deserted area outside of ing boy. On the man's face Mr.
Singapore. His broad Chinese Singapore's business district. The Ho can see the frustration - the
face smiles happily as he jostles walk has been long, and the sun invasion has robbed him of his
his way through the throng of is now high overhead, making job, his home, and his ability to
humanity. He hums a song. "So most men sweat. Mr. Ho does protect his family. He will do
many people/' he thinks. "So not sweat. He is more than well almost anything to save his son...
many people to terrorize." He is dressed. He is pristine. Mr. Ho is At first Mr. Ho frowns, for
well dressed - a businessman now certain that the man is guilty there is an unpleasant memory
unaffected bythedepression that ofa crime. He is constantly check- too close to the surface of his
has destroyed the country's ing over his shoulder to see if mind, but then he smiles. He
economy. Hundreds of thou· anyoneis following. He does not opens his notebook and takes
sands now live in the streets, spot Mr. Ho. Mr. Ho is rarely out his pen. He writes, "Man
starving, and praying for the seen unless he wants to be. And needs medicine. What if he is
nations factories and machines that is rare. given a magical hypodermic? He
to start working again. The man ducks into a junk needs to draw the blood ofpeople
A .45 thumps rhythmically yard. No, a shanty town. The he murders. When the blood is
against his chest as he walks. homeless have made an elabo- injected into the boy it acts as
'The streets," he thinks with an rate village out of scraps of metal whatever medicine the boy
inward laugh, "can be danger- and cement blocks and doth. Mr. needs. The boy will always be
ous." There is also a small black Ho forgets that so much has safe. The man need only murder
notebook in the chest pocket of changed since the invasion. He and steal the blood."
his jacket, along with a pen. The draws in his breath and smiles. He slides the pen back in his
notebook is lighter than the pis- Resilient. "People are resilient," pocket and closes the notebook.
tol. Despite this, Mr. Ho some- he think.<;. Which is good. lithey Around him is the shanty town.
times forgets about the gun, but weren't resilient they'd all sim- Desperate people who already
he never forgets about the note- ply die and he'd be out of a job. have enough on their minds.
book. He enters the shanty town. What happens when an un-
Mr. Ho notices a man just He does not try to conceal his known assailant begins killing
ahead of him, a short Malaysian. presence any longer, for theman them and methodically bleeding
The man has a worried look on is home and his guard is down; them dry? With a jaunt in his
his face. Mr. Ho is intrigued and the man no longer glances be- step he heads out of the town,
follows. He has developed a hind him. smiling to those he passes.
sense about these things. Eventually he enters a shack.
Torg: Orrnrsh

The Ecology of An army of werewolves might be ter-

rifying at first, but soon they are no
once bnltish and horrible while re-
maining organized enough to remain
Horror more frightening than any other anny. capable of invading one world after
The horrors of Orrorsh are the terrors another.
Unlike the other realities that have of the dark comers and footsteps walk- This balance is the EcologyofHorror.
invaded Earth there is no room for a ing behind you late at night. This ecology balances the needs of
tnle society in Orrorsh. Societies are Because of these complicated con- his creatures and monsters against the
designed toprovidecomfortand struc- cerns, the Gaunt Man has slowly al- need to keep the vast majority of the
ture. Comfort and structure discour· tered hiscosm during theyears that he popuJation of the world he has in-
age fear, and since it is fear that has ruled it. At first the reality was far vaded alive. The Ecology also helps
Heketon wants, society has no place. too brutal, and too many inhabitants the evil of his realm survive against
However, a High Lord and his Dark- of invaded worlds were killed by the onslaught of heroes and do-
ness Device draw power from the pos- vampyres and witches before they gooders.
sibility energy drained from people could bedrained of possibility energy. The Ecology of Horror rests upon
living in the realm. If the monsters and Then he tried reigning in his creatures, three points.
terrors of Orrorsh are too fierce and taming their savage natures. But this
chaotic and destroy too much of the meant that they were no longer truly'
planet's population then the invasion monsters. They wore the guise of a The Power of Fear
is for nothing, for there is no more vampyre, attacked innocent prey, but
energy to be drained. On the other they did it with the same cool preci- This puwer protects the Gaunt
hand, if the monsters are too orga- sion of a hit man. The edge of terror Man's creatures from the general
nized, like the Cyberpapacy or Dr. was lost. populace and brave heroes. The Power
Mobius' Empire, then although they It has taken centuries for the Gaunt of Fear keeps people from taking ac-
are strange invaders they produce less Man to find the perfect balance of or- tion and weakens them when they
fear. Much fear rests in the unkno\'lT\. ganization and wildness to make his confront the horrors of Orrorsh. This
reality truly alive- a reality that is at fear overwhelms the average person
so much that they lock their doors and

:":""""---------------~
--+-:'34 ~
 Chapter Three

windows when they hear reports that ruption become monsters of Orrorsh. new guise.
a monster is nearby. Storm Knights, There are game mechanics for this If this new body is destroyed as
while the are able to oven::ome the fear world law as well, and they are cov- well, then the corrupted spirit is once
to a degree, are still unable to shake it ered in Chapter Four. again offered the chance to travel to a
off completely. This fear affects their Waiting Village. After living the dead-
ability to act. These rules are covered ened life of a corrupt creature, the
in Chapter Four. Eternal Corruption promise of pleasure in the Waiting
An)'one who gives up possibility Village is an offer the creature does
energy to Heketon while afraid gives The third and final point is Eternal not want to reject. The creature again
up a purer, richer, form of possibility Corruption, a reincarnation process postpones judgement.
energy. This enhanced energy means for creatures of Orrorsh. Eternal Cor- The problem for the corrupt soul, is
that the Gaunt Man gains more possi- ruption is offered to beings who have that its fear of being judged and its
bility energy from the same number of been seduced by the Power of Corrup- desire for short tenn pleasure con-
people than he would normally get. It tion. When a creature or corrupted signs itself to an eternal existence of
also means that the reality of Orrorsh person is killed, its soul is offered the non-life as it's reincarnated over and
is rewarded simply for frightening choice of either being sent to its re- over again as a monster than can never
people. spective god to be judged, or being reaUy experience life.
The brilliance of the Gaunt Man's detained by the Gaunt Man for a short
cruel ecology lies in the last aspect of period of time and then placed in the Where Do Monsters Come
the Power of Fear. Fear acts as a per- host body of another creature at some
later date. From?
verse glory, a corruption of a great
legend's power to refiU the trans- The mystical means of Eternal Cor- Corruptedsoulsareeithercreatures
formed with possibility energy. As ruption contains several key ideas to and monsters of Orrorsh or people
deeds and tales of Fear spread, the understanding how Orrorsh functions who have, through a moral lapse or
Everlaw of Two reconnects a trans· and how the Gaunt Man is able to active greed, called upon the dark
formed person. POSSibility energy survive one invasion after another forces of the cosmo Where the cor·
again flows into reconnected being. without depending on massive armies rupted people come from isfairlyclear
The connection and the pOSSibility to conquer worlds. Unless a creature - they allow themselves to be that
energy strengthen the ties between a of Orrorsh is killed in just the right way. And some corrupt people, once
person and his reality. To the way its soul lives on even though its they become really corrupt, become
reconnected character it as if the world body has been destroyed. If the monsters themselves. But what about
became even more horrible than be- vampyre's soul agrees to it, it can be all the souls in the Waiting Villages?
fore. A person soon recoils from this saved from leaving the mundane Where do the monsters come from for
horrific reality and its energy - so he world of the cosm and traveling to the them to inhabit?
rejects the connection. Heketon ab- higher powers of the universe to be Well, they created in one of four
sorbs the possibility energy released judged. Since most monsters and cor- ways. They are created through the
when the person rejects the connec- rupted people know they do not want Power of Corruption when a corrupt
tion and empties himself ofpossibility to be judged (they've spent their exist- human becomes a monster, they are
energy. ence killing innocent people for knowl- designed by Nightmares, they arecre-
The Gaunt Man's ecology is stable. edge and power after all) they usually ated through the actions of another
The horrific reality of Orrorsh can con- accept the Gaunt Man's offer. monster, or they are created through
tinue to extract possibility energy from The Darkness Device sends thecor- "wild horror."
a cosm even when the entire popula- rupted soul, now separated from its The first method is covered Chap-
tion has been transformed. That is the body, to a Waiting Village where it ter Four, under the Power of Corrup·
true Power of Fear. resides with other corrupted souls. lion. Each time a person calls upon the
There it is treated to sensations and dark forces ofthe cosmhe runs the risk
pleasures only dimly remembered by of becoming a creature of Orrorsh.
The Power of the corrupt soul. The darkness that The more he calls upon the Power of
has shrouded the soul's life lifts and it
Corruption is happy and content for the first time
Corruption the greater the risk. There
are few people who regularly call u pan
in years. Eventually a Nightmare who the Power of Corruption who do not
The second point, the Power of wants to create a new creature requests
Corruption,encouragespeopletocom- end up a creature of the realm. Re-
a soul from the Gaunt Man. The High member that any soul that iscorrupted,
mit acts of evil and selfishness, and Lord grabs a soul out of the waiting
rewards them with the High Lord's even the soul of a Stann Knight who
village and flings it to the Nightmare called upon the Power of Corruption
dark power when they do. Over the who places it in his new creation of
long run, this supernatural strength to save his friends, is given the option
terror. The new terror is let loose upon to travel to a Waiting Village upon the
eats away at the soul of the recipient Orrorsh, but the soul is an old soul.
and consumes it. Eventually people dea.th of its body. The soul could be in
The Storm Knights might well find the body of a human, or within the
who are seduced by the Power of Cor- themselves facing an old foe in a body of person who turned into a

~'--------------------'.~
.........- 35
Torg; Orrorsh

werewolf due to his ties to corruption. vorite Nightmares, but he has no de- the Nightmare, not all vampires and
The second method of monster cre- sire to unduly weaken any of the werewolves necessarily possess the
ation is design. The creatures of realm's provinces). ability.
Orrorsh must be well regulated to fit Once assigned, the souls are re- When an innocent person (that is a
the Eoology of Horror. They must also leased. by Heketon to the High Lord. person untainted by the Power ofCor-
be given a great deal of freedom over The High Lord may use his abilities to ruption) is killed by vampyre his soul
a large area; so the Gaunt Man has twist the soul before hurling it to the is immediately released from his mor-
created the Nightmares. Nightmares chosen Nightmare. Currently, the tal form. The person is dead and the
are given free reign to design the mon- souls are not released to Thratchen. body is dead. If the vampyre in ques-
sters of the realm and the cosmo When Heketon sends the souls directl y to the tion is of the type that creates more of
a Nightmare decides upon a new ter- Nightmares. But the Darkness Device his kind through murder, then a soul
ror hewants to unleash upon thepopu- only releases those approved by will be needed when the corpse rises
lace of his province, he petitions the 11lratchen. Heketon, while not directly as a vampyre. Although it is the body of
Gaunt Man (although currently sharing any of its vast power with the victim tlmt becomes a vampyre, it is
Thratchen is petitioned) for a soul. Of Thratchen, has chosen to weave the tlot the victim's soul thlll becomes a
course every Nightmare wants the techno-demon into the web of the Ecol· vampyre. A corrupted soul is taken
most powerful of the corrupted souls ogy of Horror. ITom a Waiting Village is placed in the
drawn from the Waiting Villages for The third method of monster cre- body of the new vampyrewhen it rises
his creilti('ln!>, so all try to curry the ation is an extension of the second. from the dead. Notice that this means
Gaunt Man's favor. When a soul be- Some Nightmares create monsters that that all the monsters of Orrorsh have
comes available the ruler of Onorsh tum their victims into monsters as souls-evena zombie raised from the
considers the petitions put before him, well. Well known creatures along this dead through occult means.
and then assigns the soul to the Night- tine are vampyres and were-wolv.es. The last method of method creation
mares. The Gaunt Man attempts to There are other creatures that do this is the most rare. This is "wild horror."
balance out the souls he distributes to in Orrorsh,and, because each monster It is created through release of random
his Nightmares (he does have his fa- is designed to suit a specific whim of possibility energy that occurs from

•• 36
 Chapter Three

time to time on Earth since the inva- vants of the Gaunt Man, the members They are a strong people, with .a
sion began. A prime example of "wild of the Hellion Court and the Night- willofiron. Thereisnootherwaythell'
horror" is the fortress of Muslim zom- mares, are all drawn from the ranks of empire could expand as far as it did
bies that sprang upon Majestic's north- creatures who have survived in their without that strength. Phrases such as
ern shore when the reality of Orrorsh one host body for hundreds of years. "stiff upper lip" came out of this cul-
washed over the land. The zombies This body does not have to be the ture, and in their clothes you can see
are the corpses of Muslims of Earth creature's first body, but it must be the same solid strength. Asopposed to
desecrated by Portuguese sailors hun- one it has lived in for a very long time. the jeans and loose sweatshirts that we
dreds of years ago. The souls of the of Earth lounge around in today, Vic-
zombies are the same sOlds ofthe Muslims torian men wear stiff, high collars and
wllo died l/undreds ofyears ago. Orrorsh The Cultures of the women are bundled in corsets. A
is not part of controlling this terror. Victorian does not relax naturally. To
The zombies are acting on their own Orrorsh be alert, prim and proper, that is the
wilL The arrival of Orrorsh only acted Victorian way, and itisa way of living
as a catalyst for the creation of the Besides the creatures of the night that has done very well for them.
zombies. that the Gaunt Man has brought down The lynch pin of Victorian society is
the maelstrom bridge, there are sev· its religion. In our world the Victorian
eral groups of people who have trav- religion of the 19th century wa~ the
Strong Life elled down the bridges of their own Evangelical movement. In the VI~t?"'
volition. They have come to Earth ei· rian society of the alternate Earth It 15
&TmeDeath ther to war with the Gaunt Man so a~ the Sacellum. The $.:lceUum is .:l mix-
to prevent his gaining more power, or ture of Victoria's early Christianity
It would seem that because all the to escape the terrors of Victoria and
creatures of Orrorsh can reincarnate, (which produced a very different New
forge new lives for themselves on the Testament than the one wehave today
there is no way to truly win against relatively safer world of Earth. These
them. First, there is the fact that the on our world).
groups are the Victorians, the Gyp- As Mr. G. M. Young writes: "Nor
corrupted souls "wear out" over many sies, and the Swamis. Although each
reincarnations. Eventually they be- can it escape the notice of men that the
group means well to the people of virtues of a SaceJlum model are easily
come so weak that the Gaunt Man Earth, the fact that they are from a
never uses them. They remain in the exchangeable with the virtues ofa suc-
different world with a different his- cessful merchant or a rising manufac-
village, forgotten and so weak that tory and reality often leads them to
they can feel nothing. turer. To be serious, to redeem the
make mistakes when dealing with time, to abstain from gambling, to re-
Second, every soul has a method of people from Earth. Sometimes these
True Death. It is this death that a group member the Sabbath Day and keep it
mistakes only lead to bad feelings be- holy, to limit the gratification of the
of Stonn Knights always seeks to be. tween groups. Other times they lead
stow upon any creature they hunt. senses to the pleasures of a table law-
to blood. fully earned and the embraces of a
The method ofTrue Death varies from
monster to monster (though many wife lawfully wedded, are virtues for
which the reward is not laid up in
creatures share the same method of
True Death) and is always wetl hid-
The Victorians Heaven only."
den. Part of the task of hunting a crea- Not only did their religion allow
As mentioned in the previous chap- ~hem to build a world spanning em-
ture is deh~rmining its True Death so ter, the Victorian culture is similar to
that when the creature is found it can pire, but it has given them thestrength
that of Earth's England at the end of to stand up to the horrors of the Gaunt
be killed properly. When a creature is the 19th century - only more so.
killed with its True Death its soul is Man. They are adamant in their
The Victorians are a proud and ar· struggle to kill the terrors oftheir world
banished from the reality - its soul ragant people. Until the arrival of the
sent off to be judged - so qUickly that and once again rule Gaea.
Gaunt Man they ruled most of their Given such a single minded confi-
the Gaunt Man cannot intercede. The world throughacoloniaJempire. They
soul is lost to reality of Orrorsh. dence of one's righteousness there is
travelled to lands with much lower always the possibility of committing
On the other hand, many creatures technology and exploited the native
of Orrorsh are powerful enough and evil in the name ofgod. Without doubt
populations to create product and the Victorians have fallen prey to this
clever enough to avoid both the True trade. ltwas, in their eyes, the inherent
Death and thedestroctionoftheirhost danger.
superiority of Victoria, of the white Their colonial empire was built
body. Such creatures become very, race, and the will of god that allowed
very powerful. This is why the mon- upon the backs of natives forced. to
them to rule their colonies so success- labor forVictonan profit. From Africa
sters of Orrorsh work so hard to stay fully for so long. Now that their em·
alive. Although they can be reincar- to the East Indies countless people
pire has crumbled they retain it;s glory toiled at gunpoint held by Victorian
nated, they know that if they survive in their minds and are certam that
the as5aults of monster hunters great soldiers. If you ask them about such
someday that glory will be re-estab- developments, the Victorians calmly
power awaits them. The direct ser- tished..
answer that they wereraising the moral

p'-------------------;37;-"-·
Torg: Orrorsh

F rom the journal of Dr. Kyai Maja

It seems as if our cause is lost ... drove me into an alert state. I left my lungs and for a moment I
But I will press on. The creatures rushed outof my tent just in time could do nothing but lie on the
must be destroyed.. to see the large, dark forms land~ ground gasping.
We raided theirlairearlier this ing a few yards from our camp. Then I sensed movement be-
morning. A boy, about eight In my hands was a cross and the hind me and then a powerful
years old, told us where it was vial of holy water. They gave me hand grabbed the collar of my
three days earlier. His entire vil- no comfort. shirt. Before the vampyre could
lage had been wiped out by an "Sister!" I cried out, "They're take further action I twisted my-
assault of the creatures and he'd here!" self around and swung the can-
been living alone in the jungle Sooner than I would have teen so the water splashed out
for days. Hewasinshock,dazed, thought possible she was out of from its neck and across the
but he'd also followed the her tent, her crucifix raised, radi- vampyre. A horrible scream cut
vampyres, running after them antin the moonlight. She seemed through the night jungle as the
silently as they finished their to possess an uncanny sense of creature let go of my shirt and
hunt for the night. Eventually he where they were and raised the clutched at its face. It was stand-
found out where they lived. cross toward a patch of dark- ing over me, on either side of my
We couldn't get anything out ness. I heard a hiss come from waist. The full moon formed a
of him for days, but he contin~ shadows. Without hesitation I halo behind him.
ued to mumble about "blood" unstoppered the canteen and I was thinking frantically of
and "bats" in his sleep. rushed for the noise. My plan what to do next when a stake
Eventually we discovered. his was to get as close as I could to suddenly erupted through the
name was Bijas. Sister Thorn the brutes before I doused them front of the vampire's chest.
calmed. him and he began to tell with the water. Blood spewed forth and I instinc-
us what happened. We got the In hindsight I could see how tively raised my face as the
directions for the cave, and then desperate I had become. It was monster's tainted ichor rained
decided. to take him to thevillage almost as if I needed the conflict upon me. Then I heard a dull
we'd passed through earlier in ended right then. I didn't care if thud beside me. I looked and
the week. To leave him in the I died, just 50 long as my part in saw the creature was on the
jungle seemed. as dangerous as the nightmare was over. ground. Sister Thorn stood now
to bring him with us to the Four long strides brought me where the vampyre had been, a
vampyres' caves. within a few feet of themonsters, hammer in her right hand.
We travelled. all day and when though Icould not yetmake them A second scream filled the air.
night fell we camped.. Without out in the darkness. The low The boy! Thorn and Iboth looked
lighting a fire we settled. into our leavesofthejungle'sunderbrush up and saw the huge vampyre
tents. The boy was much calmer slashed against my legs and for bats flying of into the night. Two
than we'd found him, and very just an instant I forgot how much of them, using their powerful
happy to be leaving the vicinity the jungle can hide with little talons, held the child by the col-
of the vampyres. effort. Then the vampyre's hand lar of the shirt I had given him.
But even though we had been grabbed at my ankle and I He screamed and struggled at
so careful in our journey, had crashed to the ground. My only first, but then he looked down
done everything as carefully as thought was to prevent the wa- and saw his situation clearly and
we could, the vampyres found ter from spilling out of canteen passed out.
us. - and as I balanced it just so We pursued the creatures im-
I heard their wings flapping with both my hands above me I med iately, but ofcourse lost sight
in my sleep. At first I thought I crashed into the ground - my of them Mthin minutes.
was having a nightmare, but the chest slammed into a group of As I said, that was three days
fear produced by the thoughts roots with full force. A rush of air ago. We travelled toward the lair
 Chapter Three

fiber of these "primitive people" and

introdUcing civilization to their lives.
It is true that some inhabitants of colo-
nial areas were assimilated into the
Victorian hierarchy - but never as
equals. Theywereeducated and given
~olid Victorian accents and learned

in circuitous route, hoping to The boy was holding her by the table manners of the Victorians.
avoid another encounter with the the hair, standing, smiling, look- But these were only a few - a few
monsters until we found them ing at me. needed in India and South Africa and
unaware in the lair. "Good to see you again, Doc- the East Indies so that the Victorians
We found the cave entrance tor." could have representatives of the
this morning. It was the boy's voice. But people they exploited working for
The sun was up and we felt there was something wrong thcm. It wns, nnd is, as much a mattcr
that the time to settle the busi- about it - something different. of political and economic savvy as a
ness was at hand. Sister Thorn's Something familiar. matter of the "white man's burden" to
face was grim. She hefted her "You look confused. Ah, the raise the social and spiritual standards
backpack full of stakes and body of the boy! You'd don't of the "savages" they encountered.
crosses over her shoulder and recognize me. My apologies. I Life for the domestic lower classes
started up the hill to the cave. L should have realized. Allow me are often just as bad the life of colo-
far more tired than she, followed. to re-introduce myself ..." nized natives, and include near pov-
The smell was that of a tomb. Stanton! erty conditions in vermin infested hov-
We made our way down a long "... I believe you remember els that freeze in the winter. The hours
tunnel and found ourselves in a me as James Stanton. The oafs for such people are long, six days a
large room full of corpses. Or you have just destroyed killed week, with barely enough pay for food.
rather, the undead. Half a dozen far too many people far too Chimney stacks now dot the land-
vampyres lay on the stone floor quickly. They were marked for scape of Victoria, obscuring the sky of
of the chamber. lnduding the death. My mistress Sabathina their nation. Craftsmen have been put
boy. Hisarms were gently folded and I thank. you for your help. As out of business by the beginnings of
over one another. for me, well, I am one of the industrial revolution and thework-
Thorn and I quickly set about Sabathina's favorites and she ers have never been able to organize
our work, moving around the asked the Gaunt Man if I could themselves effectively to force man·
room and driving the stakes into return. He complied." agement to bargain betterworkcondi-
the vampyrcs, cutting off their I raised my cross. The boy - tions (unions arel'ust beyond the so-
heads, and letting the holy water Reno-covered his face. "Take cial axiom level a Orrorsh).
flow over each face, just as the that thing out of here and go. I Still, Victorian society has survived
book we had found instructed am lettingyou live, doctor. Iwant intact against hundreds of years of
us to do. you to be victorious this day and besiegement of the Gaunt Man's hor-
We both avoided the boy but bring the tale of your victory to rors. Such a losing proposition might
said nothing. I was working on all of your people!" I took a step haveleftothernationsdespondentand
the last of the original vampyres toward him. In a flash he raised broken, but the VictoriLins fight on.
when I saw Sister Thorn cross the nun's neck to his mouth and
the room to the boy. "I'll..." I bit. He looked up at me and The Victorian Majestic
began, but she said, "No. Finish smiled. "You will lose this day. Charter
what you're doing. r just want it You know this. Go now. Co and
all over." She sounded so tired, we will meet again." The Victorian MajesticCharter was
so beaten. r turned back to the I am shamed. I did as I was hastily created after the Victorian's
vampyre I was destroying, then told. I took nothing with me. I discovery of another world invaded
heard a gasp behind me. just ran from the cave out into by the horrors of Orrorsh. The
I whirled. the jungle, and then ran and ran Victorian's wanted to travel to Earth
SisterThom's neck was broken. and ran. and save our world, not only due to a
sense a moral obligation (which is in-
deed a part of the Victorian's motiva-
tion) but to stimulate their nation's
economy, which has stagnated since
their world's nearly complete domi-
nation by Orrorsh.
As'soon ·as the Queen's Own lanc-
ers were sent down the bridge to Indo-
nesiaa group of investors got together

••
39
Torg: Orrorsh

and petitioned Queen Victoria for a

charter to the new world. It was clear
that if the troops were going to be
supported some kind of mercantile
expansion would beneeded. Thechar~
ter was granted, and the company is
now responsible for exploiting the land
for economic profit.
The Victorian Majestic Charter is
controlled by a group of 112 share-
holders, most of whom live on the
world of Victoria. Man)' of them are
quite insignificant in terms of their
power. The real auUlOrity for the com~
pany is the charter's board of direc~
tors, 12 men who are all shareholders.
It is the board that decides the
company's policies for profits on the
island of Majestic and rurore plans of
expansion throughout Earth's South~
east Asia.
A prominent member of the board
ofdirectors isSamual Benford. Benford
is one of the few shareholders of the
charter that spends a great deal of time
on the island of Majestic. Benford is a
reformer, a man who believes that the
Victorian method of fighting evil with
evil acts is doomed to failure. On top
of that he's one of the few Victorians to
realize the Indonesians were more
advanced than the Victorians in terms
of technology. Most Victorians as~
sumed that the "natives" stole the
equipment or it was left behind when
white settlers left. Benford knows that
the Indonesians understand much,
much more than his people are giving
them credit for. He's always poking
his nose into the colony's affairs, try~
ing to work oul belier living (.vndi·
lions for the Indonesians and keeping
tabs on all infractions of conduct com~
mitted by the military. Benford is very
wealthy and his money was needed to
get the charter started as quickly as it
was. If not for this, the board would
never have invited him to become a
member.
Samual Benford
DEXTERITY 9
Beast riding II, dodge II, fire com·
bat 10, maneuver 12, running 10,
swimming 10, unarmed combat 11
STRENGTH 10
Climbing 10
TOUGHNESS 10
PERCEYfION 10
First aid 11, scholar (anthropology)

_.~.:-::-----------------~
40 ~
 Chapter Three

12, tracking 11, trick 12 sian population of the island. waiting for him if he would only em-
MIND 8 Mr. Doccus is the chairman of the brace evil fully. He has done so and is
Willpower 10 board of the Victorian Majestic Char~ becoming an accomplished occultist.
CHARISMA 8 ler. He hired one of his old friends, Governor Robert Ashton
chann 11, persuasion 10 Robert Ashton, a retired general, to
DEXTERITY 9
SPIRlT 11 run the colony. As such he is the gov-
Fire combat 12, maneuver 10, melee
Faith (Sacellum) 13, reality 12 ernor of Majestic, and he is respon-
weapons 10
Possibilities: 6 sible for the profitability of the colony
STRENGTH 12
Equipment Lee-Hollings LightPis- and keeping the Indonesians under TOUGHNESS 9
tol (damage value 15); Lee-Hollings control.
PERCEPTION 14
rifle (damage value 18) Ashton was well on his way to cor-
Trick 15
Goals: To learn more about the In- ruption even before he arrived on
MIND 14
donesian culture and report his find~ Earth. Shortly after he took his post Occult 17
ings to Victoria; to prevent the slaugh- Ashton began spending a great deal of
ter of the people of this advance cul- CHARISMA 8
time with General A very Wellington, SPIRIT 12
ture; to fight evil in whatever fonn it the commander of the Victorian forces
Reality 15
takes. on Majestic and a secret member of the
Possibilities: 22
Gaunt Man's Hellion Court. Wel-
Equipment: BP1856 (damage value
The Majestic Colony lington introduced Ashton to the oc- 15)
cult after the governor proved himself
The Majestic Colony is centered Powers: None, not yet a monster
willing to squeeze as much profit out
around the city of New London (for- Corruption Value: 18
ofthecolonyas possible through what-
merly Padang). It's purpose is to tap Fear Rating: 1
ever brutal and evil ways his mind
the natural resources of the island and Perseverance ON: 16
could devise. As Ashton explored the
create a work force out of the lndone- Weakness: None
occult he realized the power that was

~-----------------:-._
..........- 41
.
Torg: Orrorsh

True Death: None. Upon his death Wellington. Wellington also serves the Victorian Troops
his soul will be sent to a waiting vil- Gaunt Man as a member of the High
lage Lord's Court. There are over one hundred regi-
Goals: Toexpand his knowledge of The Victorian military units contain ments located throughout the island
the occult so that he might rule with fewer men than comparable military of Majestic. The majority of them op-
the same force of terror as the crea- units of Britain's military of our 19th erate out of New London, travelling
hues that invaded his world; to k~p century. Smaller units are due to the oul inLo the jungllO' and searching for
his ambition a secret. nature of combatting the forces of the horrors of Orrorsh. Other are sta-
Orrorsh. Victorian soldiers seldom en- tioned deep in the jungle. These are
Beneath the colonial governor are counter the enemy in the form of an the veteran troops, most of whom
more than a dozen stuarts (named af~ army. Instead the units must patrol served on the continent or in
ter Alfred Stuart of Gaea who estab- towns and hunt vampyres and swamp Rhodesland. The logic of using such
lished this type of colonial organiza~ monsters. valuable troops on Earth is to to stop
tion in the Middle East). The stuarts Military units are broken down into the spread of Orrorsh on Earth as
are responsible for smaller portions of the following organization. quickly as possible - as opposed to
Majestic. As new territol)' is cleaned Section: 1 noncommissioned offi- what happened. on Gaea when the
up and annexed by the Victorians new cer (NCO), 4 privates (5 men total). horrors spread across the globe due to
stuart positions become available. Platoon: 1 officer, 1 chaplain, 2 sec- inattention.
Governor A6hton is responsible for tions (12 men). Some of the more notable regiments
picking the stuarts a nd assigning them Company: 1 officer, 1 company are the following:
their stuarts}zips, though he would ac~ chaplain, 1 NCO, 2 platoons (27 men). 1st Regiment, The Blessed Order of
cede to any veto put forth by the Battalion: 2 officers, 2 battle chap- the Sacellum: This regiment is a holy
charter's board of directors. The cur- lains, 2 NCOs, 4 companies (114 men). fighting order created through the
rent stuarts range from the vel)' ca- Regiment: 2 officers, 1 regimental money of the Sacellum. Although not
pable to the politically affluent who chaplain, 8 other staff personal, 2 bat- technically part of the Victorian army
just wanted to be part of Victorian's talions (239 men). they areassigned. duties on Majestic as
new campaign. Ashton does nol mind Each regiment of the Victorian any other regiment - though they
giving stuartships to men who are not Royal Ordercontain a troop of cavalry move around quite a bit. The 1st Regi-
the most competent as long as they consisting of 40 men, bringing the to- ment, Blessed Order of the Sacellurn
don't end up near the border of the tal up to 279 men. Artillery companies (or the Choir Boys, as they are com-
colonial expansion, for that is where of 24 men and four 15~Pound Breach- monly and proudly known) usually
the most experienced. men are needed. Loaded Rifle Guns are assigned as have the best supply of silver weap-
Thestuarts are responsible for insur- attachments to units as necessary. ons, bullets, holy water and so forth.
ing order and profits in the areas they
rule. The current stuarts are Sir James
Allenton, Winston Everson, Quinton
Freemason, Victor Gully, Dorrian Hill,
WilliamJennings, GustavasJones, Brian
LeBeg, Frederick Paget-Smith, Jonathan
Sandford, Oerring Smith, Gregory
Stapleson, Bernard Stevenson, Sir Albert
Tennrson, and ChristopherThomas. At
present none of the stuarts is in league
with the Gaunt Man or Thratchen,
though that can quickly change.
AUenlon and Sandford are part of the
The5ocietyofthePurpleEyes,Ma}estic's
secret occult society.

The Victorian Military

On Earth
The Victorian Majestic Charter has
a symbiotic relationship with the Her
Queen's army. The army protects the
mercantile interests, while the com-
pany produces goods and supplies
the army needs to survive.
Thecommander-in-chief of the Vic-
torian forces on Earth is General Avery

•• 42
 Chapter'Ihree

4th Regiment, Her Majesty's Line Scholar (military tactics) 13, trick 14 Each platoon is assigned one chap-
Infantry: Permanent garrison of Dolla, MINDS lain, each company has one company
a small city south of New London. CHARlSMA12 chaplain in additional to the platoon
One or more companies usually en- Persuasion 14 chaplains (total of three chaplains).
gaged in sweeps. They often search SPIRIT S Each battalion has two additional
for Indonesians to press into service at Faith (Sacellum) 9, intimidation 9 chaplains, called battle chaplains (a
the factories of New London. Possibility Potential: Some (35) total of 14 chaplains), and each regi·
7th Regiment, Victorian Royal Or- Equipment: Rapier (damage value ment has a regimental chaplain to
der: Permanently stationed in New STR + 5); Lee-Hollings Rifle (damage supplement those below him (a total
London. One or more companies of value 18) of 29 chaplains) .
the regiment are usually in the field Victorian Chaplain
hunting down Indonesian trouble Victorian Soldier
DEXTERITY 9 DEXTERITYS
makers.
Dodge 11. fire combat 11, maneu- Beast riding 9, dodge 9, fire combat
8th Regiment, Victorian Royal Or-
9
der: Split up into platoon and com- ver 10, melee weapons 10, unarmed
combat 10 STRENGTH 9
pany garrisons in several small vil-
STRENGTH 10 TOUGHNESS 10
lages around New London.
TOUGHNESS 9 PERCEPTION 10
11 th Regiment, Victorian Royal
PERCEPTION 9 MIND9
Order: 1st Battalion stationed at
MIND 8 Test 11
Medan; 2nd Battalion broken into pla-
Willpower 10 CHARISMA 12
toon and company sweeps uf Muslim
CHARISMA 7 Charm 13, persuasion 14
resistance forces located along the
SPIRIT 8 SPIRIT 12
northwestern coast of Majestic.
Faith (Sacellum) 9 Faith (SaceUum) 14, focus 15, m-
The Queen's Own 17th Lancers
Possibility Potential: Some (50) timidation14
(cavalry regiment; as above, but the
Possibility Potential: Some (35)
men are all mounted): Mobile regi~ Equipment: Lee-Hollings Rifle
(damage value 18) Equipment: Sacellum bible,
ment stationed out of New London,
Rutherford Pistol single barrel (dam-
usuallyengaged in longrangesweeps.
Victorian lancer (cavalry) age 14)
The Gallic Legion, consisting of the
2nd, 3rd, 14th and 15th regiments. Top DEXTERlTY9
expeditionary force with a lineage Dodge 11, beast riding 12, fire com-
stretching back to Victoria's conquest bat 10, maneuver 10, melee weap- The Secret Societies
of Gaul. They operated in Gaean Af- ons 12, unarmed combat 10
The Victorian society is strict. It is a
rica and Europe long after the conti- STRENGTH 10 cullure filled with mural and social
nents were overrun by horrors. Many TOUGHNESS 9
taboos and customs. It is a culture
heroic figures have emerged from the PERCEPTION 9
where table cloths must be long enough
legion. To the dismay of General MINDS
to hide the legs of tables from view for
Wellington, few of them lean toward Willpower 10
fear they will lead the thoughts of
corruption. CHARISMA 7
normally pious men astray. Societies
SPIRIT S
Faith (Sacellum) 9 as strict as the Victorian society usu~
Victorian Soldiers ally have codified means of letting
Possibility Potential: Some (40)
people "get away" from therules once
Below are standard descriptions of Equipment: Lee-Hollings Rifle
in a while. For example, in medieval
Victorian soldiers. Within the ranks of (damage 18); Lance (damage value is
Europe there were days where the
the Victorian military there is a great speed value +6 or STR + 4/14)
peasants would rule and the royalty
deal of variety, and the listings below
would, for the day, become the ser-
are only a shorthand. This variety is Sacellum Chaplains vants of their subjecle;. ThLe; allowed
espedally pronounced in offtcers of
An important resource of the Victo- emotional stearn to be blown off, rather
the military, where personal style is
rian military are the Sacellum chap- than explode the confines of a rigid
often the key to successful military
lains. The chaplains vary in personal- society.
strategy.
itv, but are all committed to the cause The Victorians have no such means
Victorian Military Officer of destroying the monsters that have of escape within their society. The
DEXTIRITY9 invaded Earth and in spreading the Sacellum, the powerful religious insti-
Beast riding 12, dodge 12, fire com- word of theirgod. Themoreablechap- tution that rules the lives of all Victo-
bat 12, maneuver 10, melee weap- rians has no time for any man or
lains are often assigned to the more
ons 10, unarmed combat 10 able officers. It is not unusual for a woman who cannot live by the strict
STRENGTH 9 chaplain and an officer to form a strong laws of the Church. Whereas many
TOUGHNESS 11 religions set the ideals that the many
friendship that lasts for years of cam-
PERCEPTION 9 strive for but understandably fail to

..
paigns.

~---------_
........- 43
Torg: OmJl'1h

attain, the Sacellum expects everyone Now, in every society there will be learn moreabout life then theSacellum
10 live a perfect life. A stain upon one people who want to explore the un- wishes them to know gather.
living soul in Victoria is believed to known, who are driven to see what Mostsocieties are fairly innocuous.
spell the doom of theenme nation. Sin other cultures have to offer, or who Many are made up of wrilers who get
is believed to be a corruption, not of believe that what their imagination together to read poetry that they have
one person, but of the entire social has to offer might be as valid as the written that is considered scandalous
fabric. TheSacellum preaches that this laws thai have been imposed on him or sacrilegiolls by th~ Sacellum. Oth-
corruption can spread from one per· by others. For such people, liVing in a ers are groups of artists who study the
son to another. culture such as that controlled by the the anatomy of the human body to
To obtain a pure spiritual commu· Sacellum. desires must remain a se- improve their work, or scientists who
nity the Sacellum discowages certain cret. Desires of both the flesh and the postulate new views of the universe
ideas: free thought, free expression, mind must be driven underground. that question the Chwch's dogma as
art that encowages free thought, art And so a man who wants to know to nature's true structure.
that encourages free expression. any· morc about what the monsters of Many secret societies are based on
thing to do with the notion of sex, Orrorsh must quietly and secretly seek the desire to learn more about the
anything to do with religion that does out those who hold his same interest. invasion of Orrorsh - details about
not reflect Uie accepted dogma of the They must meet in dark rooms rented the creatures that prowl the night, a
Sace1lum (that is, anything that does out without the owner knowing the better understanding of the nature of
not presenta male, whitegod ruling the true intent of the meeting. They must evil and why people are drawn to it.
peopleofearth throughhischosen male develop secret signs and symbols and The people in these societies believe
while representatives). anything to do rituals so that they may know one that the only way evil can be defeated
with magic or any element of the imagi· another and know when they can re- is to understand its strengths and
nation (for it is believed that theslighlest lax and discuss matters and mysteries weaknesses. It might seem that the
thought of anything but the true of the universe that vex them. Such SaceUum would encourage such dis·
Sacellum will lead everyone to worship organizations arecalled secret societies. cussions among its flock, but the
the evil Gaunt Man), and so on. They are where those who need to Church does not want its lay people

----44:-:-----------------,.....
~
 Chapter Three

dealing in such matters. First the any given rank. 60% Initiate, 30% Ex- roots out (ie: bestows True Death upon)
SaceUum believes that to know any- plorer, 8% Inquisitor, and 2% Master. members that have betrayed the
thing about evil is to qUickly slide Thus, with 347 members, there are 6 organization's noble goals.
down the path to become evil. Second, Mastersin thewholeorganization. The Angus Stonnfield is the most rew
the Sacellum currently possesses the Sanctum's main activity is the cata- spected member of the Sign of Six on
monopoly on spiritual inquiry and if loguing of knowledge and mysteries. Earth. He makes a point of keeping in
everyone knew nbout the nature of the While many of its members know contact with the Majesticcolonymem-
universe their power would be threat- much about the occult, few are practi- bers - and removes those who have
ened. Third,such investigations might tioners of it. lost their spiritual way.
lead to the discovery that some mem- Frederick McMasterson is the sole Angus Stormfield
bers of the Sacellum had already been Masteron Earth. He is a fifty-four year
DEXTERITYB
seduced by the Power of Conuption, old bank officer of the First Bank of
lock picking 11, maneuver 9, melee
or were even working in league with New London.
weapons 9, prestidigitation 10,
the Gaunt Man. Frederick McMasterson stealth 12
In truth, however, many of these
DEXTERITYB STRENGTH 7
kinds of secret societies offer a great Fire combat to, stealth 9 TOUGHNESS 9
deal of knowledge about the work- STRENGTH 7 PERCEPTION 14
ings of Qrrorsh and might be of great TOUGHNESSB Evidence analysis 17, find 15, Ian·
benefit to Storm Knights operating PERCEPTION 12 guage 15, scholar (Orrorsh) 15, true
within the realm of Orrorsh. These Evidenceanalysis 14, find 15,firstaid sight 16
societies can teach characters about 13, research 19, scholar (Orrorsh) 14 MIND 13
the skill true sig1Jt. MIND 13 Artist 15, medicine 16, occult 16
There are several such secret societ-
Occult 17 CHARISMA 7
ieson Victoria. Theyrange in size from CHARISMA 10 SPIRIT 10
groups of three to five members who SPIRIT 13 Reality 12
gather in filing rooms dUring lunch to Reality 15, true sight 15 Possibilities: 10
memberships in the hundreds. The Possibilities: 5 Equipment: occult bag
largersocieties are broken up into small Equipment: The Scorithum, an oc- Goals: To probe the Mysteries of
"cells" so that should one member be
cult book Qrrorsh; to use this knowledge to dew
discovered the entire organization is
Goals: To probe the mysteries of feat the invaders.
not lost to theSacellum. Hereare three
the unknown; to aid those who seek
examples of such societies:
true knowledge about the nature of The Order of the Purple Eyes
Victorian society and Orrorsh.
The Sanctum The problem with driving the
The Sign of Six people who explore the unknown into
This organization currently has a
secrecy is the very fact that their activi-
membership roster of 347, with about
This organization is more militant ties become secret. In a more open
50 members on Earth. At all functions
than the Sanctum. It's members active society the average man could know
members wear robes and masks so as
practitioners of the occult and they what researchers into the occult were
to protect their identities. No one in
hunt down the terrors oC Orrorsh. up to and stop their activities if they
theSnnctum realized itatthetime, but
However they are a great deal less got out of hand. In Victorian society a
their provisions for secrecy allowed
organized, and most encounters be· man who delves into the realm of hor-
several women to join the society. Al-
tween members are haphazard. There ror must first become practiced at the
though there was quite a bit of scandal
is no ranking system, nor regular meet- art of secrecy. If he loses his way and
within the Sanctum's male ranks when
ings. Sometimes a member will join, becomes an agent of evil, he can then
a woman was discovered asa member
and then work alone for years before use that same skill to remain hidden
of the society, the group quickly real·
getting together with the society again. from the sight of the common man.
ized the they could not root out otl1l:r
Part of the reason forthe self-imposed There are many secret occult societies
women without invading the privacy
isolationism is the undercurrent of that have lost their way and are now
of all members. Thus, matters were
paranoia that runs through the soci- working to aid the Gaunt Man, or at
allowed to stand. After another dew
ety. Becauseof the members' penchant least serve his ambitions. Membership
cade it was accepted by themale mem-
for actually involving themselves in is kept very tight and new members
bers <admittedly a rather liberal bunch
the dark forces of Orrorsh many of must pass through many ordeals of
of Victorians to begin with) that
them end up being seduced by the physical and mental torture before they
women could be members.
Power of Conuption. No one is really are accepted as initiates. Such secret
Sanctum is divided into Cour levels
sure if someone they meet is working societies often serve only the members
of ascending rank: Initiate, Explorer,
for or against the society since the last as they search Cor power and knowl-
Inquisitor, and Master. There mem-
time they met. For the most part the edge. Others are networks of power-
bership of the society has fixed ratio
Sign of the Six is a good society that ful.men who use their evil powers to
forthenumberoC members who can of

~----------------_I_
........-
. 45
Torg:Orrorsh

shape Victoria and her people to their MichaelO'Conners began to slowly rot from within, abus-
will. DEXTERITY 12 ing its power and ignoring its spiritual
The most powerful of all the evil Dodge 15, fire combat 14, maneu- responsibilities.
secret societies is the Order of the ver 13, melee weapons 13, running 13 This religious institution began
Purple Eyes. Thesociety takes its name STRENGTH 10 crumbling in Gaea's sixteenth century
from the fact that all of its members TOUGHNESS 9 when a German monk, Thomas Moss,
possess glasses or monodes that let PERCEPTION 11 demanded reforms within the church
them see another member's eyes as MIND 10 that gave greater power to the people.
purple. The order has chapters on Occult 11, willpower 12 Moss' reform movementbegan slowly,
Victoria and in Majestic. Thereare two CHARISMA 6 but soon had a steady, firm momen-
levels of membership - Rabble and Persuasion 10 tum.
Lords. The Rabble are usually com- SPIRIT 6 Whatmighthavebeenanevenmore
mon and poor, men who desire just to Possibility Potential: Some (25) successful version of Earth's Protes-
b~ n~ar power and serve the Lords Powers: None, not yet a monster tant movement was derailed by the
faithfully. There are about 600 Rabble Corruption Value: 7 arrival of the Gaunt Man. He saw the
in the order. The Lords, which num- Fear Rating: NA reformation movement as chance to
ber about 30, are not necessarily lords Perseverance DN: 11 make a corrupt institution more cor-
of Victoria (though abouta dozen are.) Weakness: None rupt than it was before. When the
AU <Ire at least wealthy and influen- True Death: None people uf the Victorian Empire began
tial. There is no leader of the Order of Equipment: Lee-Hollings LightPis- to panic asstrange creatures were spot-
the Purple Eyes. A secret vote by the tol, damage value 15; rapier, damage ted around the globe and horrible
Lords admits new members. value 15. murders were committed wilhou t any
Jonathan Sandford, a stuart of the Goals: To obtain power through explanation, a cry went up from the
Majestic colony, is a member of the mystical means; to some day become people for a religion that could save
order. He is a tall, thin, dark-haired more powerfullhan his social betters; them from the influence of the devil.
gentlemen who tends 10 look through to form a strong alliance with the pow- BishopGyre Todd, a member of the
people he is talking to. One of his staff ers of Orrorsh. religious reformalion, was working In
advisors, Michael O'Conners, is Rabble the colonies of North America when
within the organization. O'Conners the invasion was just beginning. A
wants nothing more than to find a The Sacellum sincerebut harsh man, he began adopt~
secure place in a dangerous world, ing cruel tactics to keep his followers
and believes tapping the power of the The SaceUum is the powerful and on a spiritually pure path. Slowly the
occult makes him more secure. ever-present religious institution of the Power of Corruption seduced him.
Victorians. It is a conservativ~ organi- Eventually the Gaunt Man himself
Jonathan Sandford
zation which believes that the Bookof appeared before Todd in the guise of
DEXTERITY 10 Power, Gaea's holy book, is literally
Dodge 11, fire combat 13 an angel and declared him the new
true and that only people who live by chosen prophet of god. TheGauntMan
STRENGTH 10
its rules are good and will receive a then gave Bishop Todd a manuscript
TOUGHNESS 9
place in Heaven after death. written in Greek that appeared to be
PERCEPTION 11
The Sacellum grew out of a reli- written on ancient vellum. The angel
Find 12 gious reform influenced by the Gaunt
MIN013 told Todd that is was a more accurate
Man. When he first arrived on Gaea translation of the New Testament than
Occult 15, willpower 9 the Victorian's religion had been that which the Victorians had used for
CHAR1SMA7 spread to lands all over the globe by
SPIRIT 9 the last sixteen centuries.
the Victorians. It was a variant of Ca- As soon as the angel left Todd be-
Reality 10 tholicism based on the teachings of
Possibilities: 12 gan translating the text into English.
apostles that they found when they What he di!':covered astounded him.
Powers: None, not vet a monster conquered the Roman Empire. There
Corruption Value: b Although there were many similari-
was a ruler, The Holy Designate, who ties to the Victorian's New Testament
Fear Rating: 1 ruled from London. Astrict authorita-
Perseverance ON: 15 there were many. many differences.
tive chain of command ran from The For the most part the events remained
Weakness: None
Holy Designate down to the priests the same, though some were given
True Death: None. Will be sent to
who served the people. As was the different weight and other were
waiting village upon his death. nature of the Victorians, those in au- reinterpreted in ways that sometimes
Equipment: occult laboratory, Lee- thority thought they knew it all, and
Hollings Light Pistol, (damage value contradicted the New Testament.
the lay people were expected to ask no The Book of Power portrayed a son
15)
questions about their religion, just to of god who demanded that people be
Goals: To gain power through pray. Within such a draconian and in a constant state of agitation - that
magic; become immortal. closed institution it would be strange they always fear their god, that they
if abuses did not occur. Gaea's church see him as an angry father who fa-

.........~------------------~
46 ~
 Chapter TIuee

vored a few people (white men) over gion was accepted as gospel. greatly. A bishop can be in charge of a
everyone else on the planet. In the It was the Gaunt Man's ambition to diocese ora province, or perhaps both.
Book of Power the saviour seldom createa rigid bureaucracy. Thechanges A priest can charged with running a
performed any miracles that involved demanded by Moss were still a major very small diocese or a church. Dea·
healing and seldom talked about for- part of the reform movement and cons assist priests at churches or run
giveness. His powers were those of prominent in the Victorians minds. small chapels.
revenge, of disfigurement, of destruc- Instead they created, in a similar fash- The lack of a standard size for dio-
tion. The Book of Power made it clear ion of Earth's Anglican Communion, cese or provinces adds to the confu-
that only a religious institution based a loose knit coalition of churches that sion. Before their fall to the might of
on it could save the world. Such an serve the parishioners on a local basis. the Gaunt Man, all the colonies of
institution needed to be beyond re- The basic unit of the Sacellum is the North America were one diocese.
proach, to be obeyed without ques- diocese, which is made up of several Victoria, an island the size of Earth's
tion, to rule as the Queen had always churches. A group of diocese forms a Great Britain, was divided into hvo
done. ecclesiastic province. There are no hard provinces, which in tum was divided
Todd began preaching the new text and fast rules for the number of into many, many diocese.
to the people in the colonies of North churches in a diocese and the number In short, the Sacellum is anything
America. He claimed that the horrors of dioceses in a province. As a basic but a rigid organization. Individual
that befell the people of Gaea were guideline, however, there are one to churches respond directly to the needs
caused by their misunderstanding of ten churches in a diocese, and one to of its congregation. Although theo-
the true nature of god and his holy four dioceses in a province. logical congresses are held from time
word. A desperate people took up his There is no figure of central author- to time, most ideils exchanged within
cause. BishapGyreretumed to Victoria ity in the Sacellum, though there is a the clergy take place within a diocese,
and pleaded his case to combine his three level hierarchy. At the top of the or within a church. This limited ex-
new translation of the Bible with the order are bishops, followed by priests, change tends to produce unique, and
reform movement. Scholars poured and then deacons. However, the even odd, views on specific issues and
over the andent vellum and accepted amount of responsibility a given to new problems that arise. TheSacellum

.
it as authentic. The new, harsher reli- each title of the clerical order can vary has no central authority to depend on

~----------------_._
........- 47
Torg: Omlf9h

for the approval of a new policy or a

change in an old one. Itsclergy'sllsual
solution for new problems or concerns
"do things as they were done yester-
day," even if this means basically ig-
noringa problem thatcannot besolved
by yesterday's solutions.
Although the Gaunt Man did not
get a strong, centralized Church that
he could exploit,nodoubtagood thing,
he did end up with a conservative,
splintered organization that seldom
exchanges information between cleri-
cal members. Thefact thattheSacellum
is nearly incapable of change has been
a boon for the Gaunt Man, since the
Church's point of view is to stay true
to the the faith. Since the faith is a lie
created by the Gilunt Man, church
policy often plays into the Gaunt Man's
hands.
The god of the Sacellum is harsh
ilnd vengeful. Most clergy who can
cast miracles tap into the power of this
god and draw down spiritual power-
ful that is as destructive as that por-
trayed in the Book of Power. There ilrc
a few clergy who have copies of the
Bible from before the Gaunt Man's
arrival, which portrays a more open
and forgiVing god. The Victorian's
original Bible is still different from our
Earth Bible,and theirgod is still harsher
than Earth's, but definitely lllon~ more
forgiVing than thegod oftheSacellum.
These bishops, priests, and deacons
live double lives, ministering through
the Sacellum, but trying to keep intact
the spirit of the old Bible through their
daily actions. Most of these clergy are
concerned that Todd's discovery of
the Greek translation coincided with
the invasion, and search for clues to
prove that the Sacellum is based on a
false premise.
Although there is no head of the
Sacellum, the holder of office of the
Archbishop of London is usually given
a great deal of respect and reverence.
This is born from tradition, for the first
bishop of the reform was the bishop of
London. The Archbishop creates prov~
inces and diocese and handles large
religious affairs,sm:h as royal marriages.
Theawrrent.~bishopofLondonis
Archbishop Mathew John. Before he
joined thedergy hewas a monsterhunter
and served in the Victorianarmyduring
the country's failed Continental Cam-

_.,~---------~
48 ~
 Chapler Three

A Chat With the Clergy

When Winthrop got to his The Golden Sphere. Ideas filled A pause. "What?"
desk that morning a note waited his head and it was all he could "I discovered that you have
for him. "Winthrop. See me im- do to prevent blurting them out developed an interest in things
mediately. Jones." He immedi· to Margret. There was still so of the occult. That is well and
ately went see Mr. Jones, the much to learn. good, but 1 need to know where
bank's president. Hewalked up to the front door your loyalties lie before you can
"There have been ... com· and noticed immediately that it have your job back. Or your wife
plaints, Winthrop." was unlocked. and children."
"Sir?" He stepped carefully inside. Winthrop stood up so fast his
"You've been staring off into Not a sound. He glanced into chair fell over. "Where is my fam-
space lately." the living room, then the dining ily?!"
"I've been preoccupied." room. Then he raced upstairsand "Tsk, tsk, Winthrop. Yelling
"My point exactly. And searched for Margret and Jane at a man of the cloth."
you've taken up doodling." and Michael. Winthrop reached down and
"Sir?" No one was home. grabbed the man by the collar.
"Sketches. On your blotter." He suggested out loud, "Tell me where my family is, or
"I can explain..." "They've gone for a walk," but a I'll kill you! And I'll never join
"No need Winthrop. The pic· part of him knew this was not the whatever dark forces seduced
tures themselves have done the case. you!"
explaining. Strange symbols, let- Slowly, absorbed in thought "Very well." the deacon said
ters... sketches of strange crea- he walked down the stairs. with a sigh. And then his flesh
tures.1 think Iknow what you've Deacon Crawford was there. split open and blood ran down
been preoccupied with. Get your Theold, thin mansat comfort- his face. Winthrop pulled back
things and get out." ably at the table, a cup of tea in in terror, shielding his eyes from
"But M.r. Jones, it's not what his hand. the horrible sight. There was the
you think! I've only looked into "Samual, I've come to talk." sound of flesh tearing and then a
these matters because..." A shadow played about the heavy, powerful breathing.
"TheSacellum,Mr. Winthrop! edges of Crawford's body. Winthrop looked and saw that
TheSacellum! It is upto theclergy Winthrop had only started his the kitchen was filled with the
to look into matters for us, to tell training in tmc sigl/t and did not formof a giant Wyrm, about four
us what we should know! To trust his inexperienced senses. meters long and a meter and a
screen theevilsof theworld! Now He found it hard to believe that half wide. Its mouth wasa circu-
leaves my office and never the Deacon of St. Christopher's lar ring of sharp, silver teeth.
darken this institution with your was involved with the powers of When it spoke its voice was low
shadow again!" Orrorsh. and wet. "I'm glad we had this
Winthrop despaired as he "I was fired," said Winthrop, little chat, Winthrop." And then
walked home. He'd llI~allt 10 b~ and he sat down beside the cler- it lunged for him.
more careful. Butformonths now gyman.
he'd met with the members of "Yes, 1know. Iarranged that."

paign. He's now a strong old man with Archbishop Mathew John CHARISMA 13
bushy white eyebrows. Archbishop DEXTERITY 7 Ch<!-rm 14, persuasion 14, taunt 15
John, is one of the clergy who searches Dodge 9, fire combat 9 SPIRIT 11 (IS)
for the true nature of the Book of Power STRENGTH 9 Faith (Sacellum) 21, focus 18, real-
and believes that the Saccllum is too TOUGHNESS 8 ity 18
conservative for the good of the Victori- PERCEPTION 9 Skill Notes: Mathew John has re-
ans. Before he can argue his case, how- Evidence analysis 16, find 15, first ceived a blessing vow to his Spirit to
ever, he needs proof that Bishop Todd's aid 15, language 15, scholar (theol- fight the wickedn~c: in Orrorsh.
translation was somehow corrupt to ogy) 17, scholar (archeology) 16, Although Archbishop John can use
begin .....i th. In general Todd's liberal true sight 17 the Sacellum miracles listed in this
attitude is well received in the metro- MIND9 book, he is just as prone to use the
?JUtan area of London. Test 11, willpower 15 Core Earth miracles listed in the
Torg RII/ebook.

~----------------_I_
.........- 49
.
Torg: Orronh

Possibilities: 12 STRENGTH 10 SPIRIT 12

Equipment: Crucifix; copy of the TOUGHNESSS Faith (Sacellum) 16, focus 13
old Bible. PERCEPTION 10 Possibility Potential: some (25)
Goals: Tostop the horrors that have Language 11, scholar (theology) 12 Equipment: Crucifix.
invaded his world; to determine if the MINDS Goals: To raise funds to kill the
Book of Power is a valid translation of Science 9 monster in his diocese; to keep his
the Bible. CHARISMA 7 diocese pure; to punish the wicked; to
Persuasion 11, taunt 12 inspire the good.
Archbishop John decreed the island SPIRIT 12
of Majestic a province that is divided Faith (Sacellum) 16, focus 14, in- St. Christopher's Church is a small
into two diocese. The first is the city of timidation 14 building located in the business dis-
New London and the immediate area. Possibility Potential: some (18) trict of New London. It serves mem-
The second is rest of the island. As Equipment: Crucifix. bers of the business community and
moreof the island is settled and tamed Goals: To keep his diocese pure; to workers on their way to or from their
the second diocese will be divided punish the wicked; to inspire the good. place of employment. Father Brian
into smaller diocese. Bishop Sebastion Shaw is responsible for the Church.
is in charge of the New London dio- Bishop Langford Assisting him is Deacon Ishmael
cese, and the rest of the island is the DEXTERITY 7 Crawford. Shaw is a young, earnest
responsibility of Bishop Langford. STRENGTH. priest of the Sacellum. Crawford is an
Both men a.re dedicated clergymen in TOUGHNESS 7 older man who is corrupted. He made
the tradition of the Sacellum. Bishop PERCEPTION 11 a pact with the Gaunt Manand it is his
Sebastion is notable for his interest in Find 13, first aid 14, language 13, job to encourage the businessmen of
science (more of a. hobby than any- scholar (theology) 12 New London to be as cruel to the
thing else). MIND 9 "heathens" as possible. Although
Bishop Sebastian Willpower 11 Shaw thinks Crawford encourage-
CHARISMA 12 ments are unnecessary, he's too much
DEXTERITY 10 Charm 15, persuasion] 3

_.~I::::------------------~
50 ~
 Chapter Three

a product of the Victorian culture to man form it rises up over him, magi- times conflicls between tribes. For this
question his deacon's actions. cally, as his Wyrm fonn shrinks. reason the romus will usually try to
Father Shaw In his Great Wynn form, Deacon seduce members away from one tribe
DEXTERITY 10 Crawford has the following attributes to his own, or even attempt to annex
Dodge 11, unarmed combat 11 and skills: entire tribes. While this makes the pro-
STRENGTH 9 Deacon Crawford, curement of food moredifficuJt, itgives
TOUGHNESS 9 Great Wyrm Form him more power.
PERCEPTION 8 Gypsies usually travel in caravans
DEXTERITY 11
Language 9, scholar (theology) 9 ofwooden wagons. Theycarry all they
dodge 14, maneuver 12, stealth
MIND 8 own with them - hiding from mon-
13,unarmed combat 15
CHARISMA 11 sters and looking for food and wealth.
STRENGTH 14
SPIRIT 9 They are fond of bright clothes, gold
TOUGHNESS 13 (201
Faith (Sacellum) 13, focus 10 and silver.
PERCEPTION 10
Possibility Potential: Some (35) Like the Victorians, they are a spir-
Tracking 12, trick 11
Equipment: Crucifix ited and strong people, though a bit
MIND 3
Goals: To serve the Sacellurn well; flashy and bawdy. TheGypsiesdonot
Test (10), Willpower 10
to convert the Indonesian workers to focus on the terror of the feeding pens
CHARISMA 3
the Sacellum faith. of RumostTia. Rather, they constantly
Taunt (10)
thank their protector spirits for the
SPIRIT 12
Deacon Crawford freedom they have gained. They have
Intimidation 16, reality 15
DEXTERITY 8 a great many songs celebrating the Ufe
Possibilities: 15
Fire combat 11, stealth 10 of motion that they lead. They are also
Natural Tools: armored hide
STRENGTH 7 a people given to telling stories and
(TOU+7/armorvalue20),shapechange
TOUGHNESS 8 fantastic tales.
teeth (STR+lO/ damage value 24)
PERCEPTION 13 The Gypsies are practitioners of
Evidence analysis 15, find 16, lan- magic. The skill is in their blood
guage 15, scholar (theology) 13, The Gypsies and is a strong part of their cul-
tracking 15, trick 14 ture. The thrust of their magic is
MIND 9 The Gypsies or Gaea come from divination, protection and healing,
Occult 14, willpower 11 Rumostria. a nation of undead located and almost all their power comes
CHARISMA 9 in Europe. To sate their need for blood from spirits who roam the reality
Charm 11, persuasion 12 and flesh, theundead inhabitants raise of Orrorsh. These spirits are not
SPIRIT 12 humans like cattle. The Gypsies are the ghosts of dead Gaeans, but su-
lntimidation 14, reality 15 those humans who have managed to pernatural forces that have emo-
Possibilities: 15 escape the pens. They are scattered tions and personalities much like
Equipment: amlliet of crucifixion throughout the world of Gaea, hunted humans but with important differ-
(castssame effect of crucifixion miracle, by monsters but shunned by the Vic- ences. The details of the spirits are
but uses Crawford's occult skill of 14 torians. When the bridges opened up listed in Chapter Five, under the
as the faith and fOClls. It is /lot a spiritual from Gaea to Earth the Gypsies took spirit medium skill description.
attack.) flight. hoping to find saferlands. While The spirits and the Gypsies have a
Powers: slJape c1Jage Deacon Earth's Southeast Asia is safer than natural rapport partially because both
Crawford can transform into a Great Gaea, the Gypsies are still locked in groups are wanderers. The Gypsies
Wynn. When he transforms his very conflict with the terrors of the Gaunt feel displaced, and so do the spirits.
flesh slowly cracks, and rivulets of Man. Spirits admit readily that they do not
blood form along his skin. His skin Gypsies are wanderers. They travel know who they are or where they are.
then rips outward as the giant form of in tribes numbering thirty to two hun- They merely exist and serve thosewho
the Wynn rises forth. This"'maneuver dred members. Each tribe has a leader. are kind to them and spend time talk-
is always worth a loss of some Storm a romus, who is responsible for the ing to them. A spirit accepts the invita-
Knight Perseverance. welfare of the tribe. While all may tion to enter a Gypsy camp because it
Corruption Value: 22 council the romus, it is his decision as wants to be at rest for a while. Those
Fear Rating: 2 to where the tribe will travel next and who act as spiritual mediums know
Perseverance ON: 15 his responsibility to keep his people how to extend the invitation and de-
Weakness: Holy water blessed by a alive and well. According to tradition liver comfort. In return the spirit gives
non~Sacellurn cleric. all romus' have equal authority, butin information and pcrformsmagical ser-
True Death: Crucified with silver truth the romus with a larger tribe is vices.
stake> uSLJally more respected in matters of Gypsies makea great deal of money
Goals: To please the Gaunt Man; to inter-tribe politics. Although Gypsies through asking the spirits questions
rise in the ranks of the Sacellum. try to cooperate with each other, re- posed by people looking for informa-
When Crawford again wants a hu- sources are limitedand there are some- tion about the future, about love, about
money... However, the spirits are not

p . ' - - - - - - - - - -•• 51
Torg: Orrorsh

Key to Map of Jakarta

1, Bank of Indonesia
2. Cathedral
3. Central Post Office
4. Central Telephone
Office
5. City Hall
6. City Theater
7. High Court
8. Istigial Mosque
9. Ministry of Agriculture
10. Ministry of Finance
11. Ministry of Health
12. Ministry of
Internal Affairs
13. Ministry of Justice
14. Ministry of
Religious Affairs
15. Mu.c;eum of
Indonesian Culture
16. Office of the First Minisler
17. Parliament
18. Pasar Senen
(Monday Market)
19. Police Headquarters
20. Presidential Palace
21. Radio Republik Indonesia
22. Slate Electricity Company
23. State Palace

Just as the colonists in North America

first thought the American Indians
were responsible for the strange death
in the colonies, so the Victorian
colonials in [ndia blamed the grisly
murders in their encampments upon
Thugee assassins. But the Swamis of
Gaea realized that something horrible
was happening to their world almost
as soon as the Gaunt Man invaded.
Swamis aTe the religious teachers
of the Findaru faith of India. The goal
of the Findaru religion is to release
oneself from repeated reincarnation
through the practice of gessa, adher-
ence to the Tov scriptures, and devo-
tion to a Swami. Swamis with faith and
focus in Findaru may cast any Core
Earth miracle which does not require
monotheistic faith. They may also cast
always reliable. Rather than Jose busi- Orrorsh skill occult covers how to make Findaru versions oftheheiglltelledsight
ness through uncertain spirits the such potions. and illcrease Toughness miracles. The
Gypsies almost always present their game statistics are the same as those
infonnation as reliable. Gypsies are given on pages 24 and 25 of the Torg
survivors first and foremost. They say The Swamis World Book.
what they have to say to stay alive. Gessa is a form of meditation that
The Gypsies are also masters of The Gaunt Man invaded Gaea with involves controlling both one's
herbal medicines, strange brews, and two maelstrom bridges; one in the thoughts and one's body. Swamis and
smoke spewing concoctions. The Grand Canyon, and one in Calcutta. their students able to perform incred-

....,.....------------------,....,
.........
52 ~
 Chapter Three

ible feats such as holding their breath him is to master the truths of the uni- the Orrorsh reality has driven them to
underwater for more than an hour. verse. Primary among these truths is take action. If the Gaunt Man is not
The description of gessa abilities is in the fact that all beings are already part stopped then their connection with
the sWllmi skill of Chapter Five. of Harat - it is only a self-deception, Harat will someday be completely cut
The Tov scriptures are the holy an illusion, that any living beings are off and they will never be able to leave
writings of the Findaru faith. They separate from Harat. To understand the cycle of life.
describe the universe as being made this one must practice gessa, adhere to The Findaru faith demands sim-
up of one god, Harat, though this god the Tov, and study with a teacher who plicity. The Swamis and his students
has divided itself into many parts. is well on his way to pulling aside the wear colorless cloth clothes and usu-
Secause of this it is possible to worship illusion of separateness. ally only eat food from trees that has
certain specific parts of god at a given It is the fact that Swamis are so fallen to the ground. They travel alone
time. A faithful Findaru, for example, adept at discerning illusions that they or in a group of about ten. When in
might ask aid from the creative por- were able to see through the lies of the groups they are usually teaching and
tion of Harat, or the destructive por- Gaunt Man's invasion. The Swamis learning together.
tion, or the portion that i:; in charge of were also aided by the fact that beings The Swamis are open to almost all
prosperity and good fortune. ofOrrorsh are not partofHarat. In fact, cultures and people. The Victorians of
The holy writings stale that allliv- only liVing beings either born of the courseshun them for theirheathen ways.
ing beings are reborn again and again Gaea reality or those who convert to But the Findarus do not hold a grudge
through reincarnation. What a living Findaru are part of Harat. Anyone against the Victorians. To the Swami's
being isrebom as depends upon what else. creature or human, is clearly seen eyes the typical Victorian still has an
sort of life the creature led. The better by a Swami as an outsider. infinite number of reincarnations to go,
the life lived, the farther advanced the Although Findarus are normally and is someone to be pitied.
reincarnation. The ultimate goal is to private and reclusive (their religion
leave the cycle of life and become one seldom calls for political or military
one with Harat. Since Harat is the god action - as compared to the Victorian
of "all knowledge" the path to joining Sacellum) the absolute blasphemy of

~'-------------------_I."
........- 53
Torg: Orrorsh

Chapter Four

World Laws
lEI ach
Highalthe realms
Lords have that the
layered
onto Earth bring theirown
reality. The laws of phys-
Knights must move carefully, tread-
ing a narrow path between effectively
destroying monsters and becoming
monsters themselves.
iUi, the basic rules of so- The invisible barrier that separates
cial interaction, and the existence of the reality of the Empire from the real-
magic, varies in each of the six inde- ity of the surrounding Earth is formed
pendent realms. The reality within the by a series of strategically placed arti·
realms is equivalent to the reality facts known as stelae. As the bound·
within the associated High Lord's aries ofstelae areexpanded. into Earth's
home cosmo As noted in the Torg reality a High Lord gains greater and
Ril/ebook, a High Lord with enough greater possibility energy. It is one of
time and power can alter the nature of any High Lord's goals to expand his
his cosm's reality. The Gaunt Man stelae boundary as far as possible.
destroyed his cosm ages ago and it is Orrorsh is in a peculiar position. With-
now no more than a cipher in the High out Heketon, the Darkness Device of
Lord's history. We may never know Orrorsh, producing new stelae.. the
what the Gaunt Miln's original reality expansion of Orrorsh h<15 come to a
was like. We do know what it is like dead halt. Until the Gaunt Man frees
~IOW. This reality, too, might change himself or Heketon chooses a succes·
over time, depending on the whim of sor, the territory of Orrorsh remains
whomever eventually possesses static.
Heketon. After his ignoble defeat the
Gaunt Man might strive to alter the
nature of Orrorsh even further, trying The Four Basic
to buiId better defenses against Storm
Knights. Axioms
The reality of Orrorsh bases itself
upon the central tenant of horror. This The basic rules that govern reality
horror manifests itself as ghouls and are the axioms. A character crossing
oozing terrors, but this is only the the stelae boundary immediately be-
realm's clothing - what it shows to comes subject to the realm's axioms,
the world, how it interacts with people. justas someone becomes subject to the
The core of Orrorsh is that it encow· Core Earth axioms upon exiting
ages people todoeviI and discourages Orrorsh. An Orrorsh axiom, for ex-
people who would oppose evil. He- ample, limits technological items to
roes who travel toOrrorsh from other those similar to ones available on Earth
realities might besurprised to discover at the end of the 19th century. More
that they are not as powerful as they advanced items soon fail to function.
are in other realms. In Orrorsh the A character using a pocket calculator
villains have a distinct upper hand- in Orrorsh is causing a contradiction
and the monster hunters need. to find (see the Torg Rulebook, page 99) since
the secret weakness of creature's be- the character is operating under the
fore they can expect to be successful in realm's technological axiom.
defeating the beasts. Of cowse, the Each of Orrorsh's fow basic axioms
Gaunt Man loves evil, and offers mys- are described in detail below. The ba-
tical reward for anyone, even Stann sic axiom rules are on pages 91 to 102
Knights, who commit acts of evil. of the Torg Rulebook.
Within the Gaunt Man's reality, Storm

•• 54
 Chapter Four

The Magical Axiom: guesses,hunches,andhaphazarddab-

bling to obtain the desired effect.
the government's bureaucracy effec-
tively ruled most of the world for de~
15 There are spells specific to Orrorsh. cades. There is a place for everyone
These have been created through cen~ and everyone knows their place.
Ofthe seven realms which invaded, turies of research by countless occult- The placement of some people is
only Aysle has a magic axiom greater ists. Some occultists, those who had extremely dated by the standards
than the Gaunt Man's realm, an indi- found the means to live the years of we live by today. Although there is
cation of importance of magic in the several lifetimes, might create a spell no slavery as an economic system,
reality of Orrorsh. The high magic themselves. Other occultists, breath~ women, blacks and Asians have no
axiom exists to create Orrorsh's mon- ing their last breaths on their death vote. They are not allowed to pur-
sters with a strong measure of magic beds, hand obscure and coded notes to chase land, and should they marry,
- whether it be a zombie or a their apprentices, telling their young women hand over their property
werewolf. This is why many monsters students to carry on the research. Many to their husband. Some women
in Orrorsh have Achilles Heels such as times an occultist has died alone and have begun to ask for equal rights,
"killed by silver bullets" built into without any company in the midst of but are usually silenced upon the
them. Each is formed through a mys- her work. Herunfinished mystical for- punishment of hell by the power-
tical equation that requires checks and mula would lie untouched next to the ful Sacellum. Despite this, there
balances to keep a monster alive. The corpse for decades before fOlU1d by are many women and racial mi-
monsters can leave the high axiom another occultist who might be able to norities that have carved danger-
level without difficulty - it is their decipher the notes and carry on the ous and exciting lives for them-
creation that requires the magic. spell creation. selves through their own battles
Orrorsh monsters do require anaxiom Spells are rare in Orrorsh. There are with the monsters of Orrorsh. Sel-
level of eight to survive. A discon- no wizards wandering around with dom is such work acknowledged,
nected creature in a lower axiom level an encyclopedia full ofspells buried in and most monster hunters Of this
slowly dies. theirhead. Thereareno grirnoires used group work through open-mind,
A by-product of this high level of to choose and learn the day's mystical good, secret societies.
magic is the power of the occult. Ru- armaments. The discovery of a tat- The poor are in their place, and the
mors state that theGalU1t Man did not tered page outlining the process to Victorians see this place as proper.
even realize that his reality's high tum lead to gold is a piece of amazing The poor seldom get a chance for ad-
magic axiom could be used to con- good luck. Even finding a few lines of vancement, working at rales that can
struct spells and magical items. This is a mystical script on a torn scrap of starve both them and thei.r families.
not as strange as it sounds, for al- paper is valuable, for it might be pos- Children, sometimes from the age of
though we are used to thinking of sible to reconstruct the rest of the spell six or seven, work in factories to help
places of magic in terms of Aysle's from the information given. Most the family make ends meet. Thecondi-
reality, Orrorshisa very different place spells have histories and are sought in tions of the factories are often very
than Aysle. The Gaunt Man's back- the same way fabled swords are dangerous. Such a childhood has no
ground and reality (whatever they searched for in the magical land of time for education, and those who
might be) led him to use magic to Aysle. survive their youth and become
create living terrors. It was the people The Power of Corruption works adults have little chance of better-
of the worlds he invaded who first through the magical axiom to keep ing themselves or helping their
started creating spells and quantify- spells rare. Therefore spells from most own children to a better life.
ing the magic of the reality. From these other cosms always cause at least a Victoria's upper class sees nothing
people theGaunt Man acquired knowl- one-case contradiction, as "easy wrong with this, as the entire soci-
edge of the mystical arts. From this magic" is contradictory to the reality ety stands upon the notion of
knowledge he created the arts of the of Orrorsh. The only magic that "breeding." That is, some people
occult. Storm Knights have found to work are better than others, simply by
The occult is the core magic of without contradiction has been the nature of birth.
Orrorsh. It is not as quantified and Egyptian magic from the Nile Em- The Sacellum is the guiding social
comprehensible as Ays]e's magic. pire. The complex, limited and ritu- force of the Victorians. The populace
There are few practitioners of the oc- alistic nature of the Egyptian magic believes that the Sacellum has pro-
cult, and those who have pierced its is similar enough to the occult of tected the Victorian's from complete
mysteries risk loss of life and sanity Orrorsh to avoid contradiction. domination from the terrors of the
every time they deal with it. If com~ invaders. Most people are willing to
parisons can be drawn, the occult is listen to its message that any change,
much c10serinnature to Mobius' weird The Social Axiom: 20 any deviation from thewaythings were
science than it is to the magic of Aysle. done yesterday, is going to bring ruin
The effects are often short term, un- Victorian society is a paradoxical to every man, woman and child in
predictable, and specific. It seldom mix of organized bureaucracy and Victoria.
works through grimoires and spells, backward standards. The businesses Entertainment in Victoria and the
depending much more often on

..
of the country are very efficient and Majestic colony consists of listening to

~,---------~
~ 55
Torg: Orrorsh

Sunday sermons and reading long first type of underground entertain- the axiom's power is bestowed upon
(very long) sentimentalized accounts ment - they burn them when they the Sacellum. Some Sacellum clergy-
of sinners refonning their evil ways find them. men question the teachings of their
who then spend every Sunday listen- religion. They have a faith in the basic
ing to sermons. A small underground concepts of Christianity, but do not
press is developing, which offers one The Spiritual Axiom: trust the Book of Power. These men
of two types of contraband narratives. draw on the spiritual power of the
The first deals with characters in valved
17 reality to cast miracles of a nature dif-
with sinful activities - adultery and ferent than the typical Sacellum vari-
The high rating of Orrorsh's spiri-
murder and so on. The second type of ety. These miracles are noted in the
tual axiom is a direct result of the
book deals with characters sympa- miracles in Chapter Seven.
Gaunt Man's shaping of the way his
thetic to the plight of the poor and The Swamis of Orrorsh also tap
horrors and terrors live and breathe.
underprivileged, the rights of women into the mystical power. The Gaunt
TheprocessofEtemal Corruption. the . Man would prefer that this not be the
and so on. A very popuJar author of reincarnation of corrupted souls from
the second type of fiction is G. H. one life after another, requires the pow- case. As investing possibility energy
Woodhouse. Authorities believe into defining the realm's spiritual
erful rating.
"Woodhouse" to be a pseudonym axiom isextremely expensive, the High
Unlike the occult for magic, the High
since no one has ever met the man or Lord is likely to accept the current
Lord has yet to create a specific means
knows «nything about him. of controlling the spiritual power of axiom condition.
Woodhouse creates Gothic horror ro- his reality. He usually finds religious
mances that suggest the ruling class is groups that might further his own
no better than the vampyres that roam goals and then alters the reality of
The Tech Axiom: 19
the surfaceof Victoria. Needless to say Orrorsh'sspiritual axiom to give them
theruling political and religiousstruc- The reality ofOrrorsh operates at a
the benefits of its power. On the world level of technology that is roughly
tures in Victoria receive Woodhouse's of Gaea and in the Realm of Orrorsh,
books the same way they deal with the equivalent to that available in Britain

:-;-----------------~
....._ -56 ~
 Chapter Four

in lhe year 1891. Inferior 10 technology device as the Ma;o;im machine-Dun tion, and th~ law of Et~mal Canup-
the Indonesians and other inhabitants never developed. Although the Victo- tion. The world law ofEtemaJ Corrup-
of Southeast Asia used before the in- rians do not have such devices (and tion only effects gamemaster charac-
vasion.. it is visible sign of the oppres- probably wouldn't think of making ters, such as monsters, and is covered
sive and regressive attitudes the Vic- them) the technology of the reality in detail in Chapter Eight.
torians impose on the inhabitants of could support such a device if a char- Unlike the world laws of some re-
Southeast Asia. Those transformed by acter took the time to design and con- alities, the PowerofFearand the Power
the axiom wash begin to forget the struct such a gun. of Corruption can influence anyone
technological wonders that they once Transportation: Automobiles are within the realm of Orrorsh - even
used every day. not available in the realm of Orrorsh. those Storm Knights SlirTOWrded by real-
The technology of the realm has Anyone travelling within a city or to ity bubbles. This is because the Power
more (0 do with the Victorians than an area not connected by a coal-fired of Fear and the Power of Corruption
the High Lord himself. When the steam locomotive travels by a horse are alive within Orrorsh. They inflict
Gaunt Man invaded Gaea the world drawn cab or coach. The locomotive themselves upon all its guests. They
was in the middle of its 17th century. system of Victorian connects the dis- are not rules that the characters can
Theirtech axiom then was 16. Overthe tant points of the Victorian's native take advantage of when they desire. A
last three hundred years, their own isle. The Victoria115 have also laid the Storm Knight can create a reality
advances in science pushed Victorian's track for a train line running along the bubble around himself and live by her
technology to its current axiom rating western coast of Majestic, with New own reality -she must also live by the
of 19. However, this is as high as the Londonas the hub. The train currently world laws of Orrorsh. A character
Gaunt Man wants his reality's tech serves to transport troops and equip- from the Cyberpapacy with a reality
axiom to rise, and he has fixed Victo- ment. As an area is tamed the trains bubble can use her cybertechnology,
rian technology here. shall carry civilians and speculators but if she uses it to commit an evil act
The technology of the Victorians searching for new areas to settle and she draws the attention of the Power
can be broken down into the following profit from. of Corruption and might be affected
categories: The technology that lets locomo- by it.
Communication: Telephone tech- tives use steam power to travel iron Orrorshan creatures in other realms
nology exists, but Victorians use tele- roads also moves ships across the seas. may use their World Laws, but doing
phones only within urban areas. Most Although sailing vessels are still in so requires a contradiction check. If a
long distance communications travel use to transport cheap cargoes, the vampyre wants a group of Storm
by telegraph. Communication be- more expensive steam ships are now Knights to make a Perseverance check
tween Victoria and New London goes commonly employed to move both in accordance with the Power of Fear
by the Transdimensional Cable, a tele- passengers and cargo. One of the fast- (see below), the gamemaster rolls a
graph line that runs along the est growing industries in New Lon- die. On a roll of "1" the creature dis-
Victorian's bridge to Earth. don is the Hampshiredock yard, where connects and cannot enforce its world
Weaponry: Victorian weapons of workers turn out steamships at an in- laws until it reconnects.
war are in the midst of a technological credible rate, to allow the Victorians
revolution. Breech loading rifles have the opportunity to explore their New
given way to bolt action rines. Hand World. The Power of
cranked machine guns appeared just Daily Life: Electricity powers some
30 years ago. Several types, including of Victorian society, but it is not in
Corruption
the Standard Cross and tne Rutherford Widespread use. Most homes are lit by Heketon and the Gaunt Man love
see general service throughout the gaslights, and all tools and appliances acts of evil. The very nature of the
Victorian army. The guns are quite of the home are powered by the hu- reality of Orrorsh rewards those who
heavy (200 to 300 pounds each). On a man hand. Indoor plumbing is wide-
commit acts of evil.
timescale comparable to ours, the Vic- spread throughout Victoria and the An act of true evil in the environ-
torians should have developed their Majestic colony. ment of a role-playing adventure is
first self-loading machine gun (the often difficull to adjudicale. TItis is
Maxim gun, Earth's first self-loading because adventurers and heroes are
machine gun, was introduced in 1883). The World Laws often in dangerous situations where
The nature of the Victorians' war with
lying, killing, and stealing is either
Orrorsh is different from the war's Each realm (and its associated cosm)
necessary or an accepted part of life.
fought on Earth. Machine guns are has specialized rules or world laws Whereas most of us live in a society
very effective against closely grouped which further set it apart from all other
that considers murder reprehensible,
opponents. Although some monsters realities. The basic axioms function <IS the state of war that exists on Earth
(such as zombies) do travel in packs, reality limits within the realm while
sets up a separate set of ethics for
most monsters are loners. The need the world laws define how the realm
people directly involved in the con-
for a weapon th.at cuts down groups works within those limits.
flict.·These ethics state that killing the
has never been pressing on Victoria, The world rules of Orrorsh are the
enemy is at worst a necessary evil, and

.
so money for investments into such a Power of Fear, the Power of Canup-

~-------------------_,
.........- 57
Torg; Orrorsh

at best a just and heroic action. The Storm Knights knew that a creature gained through cards or other possi-
human soul, even in war, often views would be placated by living, human bility points.
killing as evil, no matter what the con- nesh and went out to get people to In addition, upon committing his
ditions. feed to the creature rather than risking first Wicked act, a character gains a
To separate acts of nl.'Cessary evil their lives to destroy the beast, that new item in his skill list-Corruption.
from evil acts that nrc not acceptable, would be Wicked. Notice that a spe· Corruption is not really a skill, but for
we will use the term Wicked. The term cial moral imperative exists for Storm convenience it is placed in the
Wicked is used to define people who Knights - they are expected to per- charncter's skill list. Corruption is
commit evil actions that they know form tasks that might cost them their given a value just like any other skill.
are unnecessary, and the actions these lives so that others might live. They The first value assigned for a Wicked
people commit. Wicked actions are arc heroes. act is always eight. After that, the Cor-
actions of unnecessary evil. If an act is evil, but is the only way ruption Value increases by one to five
For example, a Storm Knight cap- a character can achieve a goal more points for every Wicked act commit-
tured by servantsof an occultist wants important than his own safety, then ted by the character. The gamemaster
to escape. To do so he might have to the gamemaster should probably con- decides on the point assigned. The
kill one of the guards that walk up and sider the act a necessary evil. In more Wicked the act, the more points
down the corridor outside his cell. He Orrorsh, slaying the Wicked isconsid- that are given. A one point Wicked act
decides that if the guards resist his ered a necessary evil and a heroic act. might be stealing from a family that
efforts to escape he will kill. Others If the act is merely convenient, or only badly needs food. A five point Wicked
might judge the prisoner's decision obtains goals important to the charae· act would be the destruction of an
evil, but it is not Wicked. But if the ters performing the act, the entire city. Torture is usually two
Storm Knight kills the guards after gamemaster should consider the act points.
escape seems certain, or if he escaped Wicked. After thecharacter receives his new
and tortured the guard, even for infor· When a person commits a Wicked Corruption points, the character rolls
mation, that would be Wicked. act he gets an automatic IIp bonus in for a Corruption check. The difficulty
Another example: if a group of addition to any other benefits he has number for each and every Corruption

_...,=-------------------~
58 ____
 Chapter Four

check is 12. 10's and 20's get additional time. Each co~pted character can generated The corruption points a
rolls, but cards and possibility points have only one change due to a mini- character had when he became a crea-
may not be played. mal/average Corruption result, one good ture ofOrrorsh are often all the points
If the Power ofCorruption succeeds result, one superior result, and one he will ever have. Heketon does not
at the Corruption check, then the spectacular result. If a slot is al- waste his powers on characters which
character's physical form is altered in ready filled, then a character auto- it has within its grasp. Some monsters
someway. Thespecificalterationisup matically fills in the next available prove their worth to Heketon, and
to the gamemaster, but suggestions slot of a better result. their Corruption may increase. A Cor-
are given below, according the the ruption valuecan neverbe higher than
success of the result. Example: Skreech, a renegade assas- Heketon's renlity value (64).
Millimal/ average: red or yellow eyes; sin from the Cyberpapacy with little Characters who know of and allow
eyes glow in dark like a cat's; sharply regard for human life, has played fast Wicked acts are also corrupted. Even
pointed eyebrows and ears; forked and loose with Power of Corruption characters who are not directly taking
tongue; open sores on arms. during his stay in Orrorsh. The first action and thus not receiving the up
Good: grows tail; eyes melt away, time, he tortured awitdl for infonna- bonus are corrupted. A character who
but the character can see normally; tion about a rash of deaths in New knows that one of his companions is
sores become large enough that bone London. He received 8 points in Cor- about to torture someone, even if he is
is seen through the holes; a foul odor, ruption and received agood result on out in the hall, and does nothing to
perhaps that of a corpse rotting, sur- his Corruption total. Thegamemaster stop the action is given the same cor-
rounds the character. deddes that Skreech's face appears as fU ption points as the torturer and must
Superior: horns sprout from the a blood red skull in darkness. Later he generate a Corruption total. Only char~
character's forehead; hair covers the kills someone he thinks might be a acters who cannot possibly prevent
character's body; the character's body vampyre's assistant, but who isn't, the Wicked action are exempt from
is covered the scales of a reptile; the preferring to shoot t!le man rather the shared Corruption. Example are
character's mouth becomes a snout; than bother to investigate him. The unaware characters who are several
the character's left hand becomes a gamemaster assigns another two cor- miles distant from the Wicked action,
metal hook ruption points for this Jleinolls act. or characters tied up against their wills.
Spectacular: The character becomes Screech's player generates another The gamemaster should always
a horror of Orrorsh. The character Corruption total. Skreech has a Cor~ warn players when they are about to
might become a monster (a zombie, a ruption of 10. A 19 is rolled, a +6 commit a Wicked act, so that a charac-
vampyre) or he might retain his form bonus for a Corruption total of 16. ter can weigh his choice out for a mo-
and work within human society as an This means that Skreech gets another ment before taking the action.
agentofevil. Thecharacteris no longer good success. Because thecharacter's Corruption can be penetrated by
under the control of the player and has good success slot is alreadyfilled, t/le the true sight skill. Other melhods of
become a gamemaster character. He is Corruption slot is bumped lip to the detecting good and evil, such as the
a monster, like any other monster, that superior result. Now Skreech's body Nile Empire'S inclination ability, can
must be hunted down and destroyed. appears as bloody bones to those with reveal evil, but not the creatures true
The physical descriptions noted true sight. form. The difficulty of such attempts
above are a character's true form. As Note that ifCorntption obtains an- is the Spirit value of the creature.
noted in the truesight skill, a character's other good success, Screech will be4 Orrorsh shields those with high
true form is hidden from the average come a monster without ever having Corruption values from detection; they
person. Only the mystical talent of true filled in his lowest slot. are valuable agents of evil If an ability
sight can pierce the veil of the banal is used to detect Corruption or gain
and reveal a person for what he or she Thechangeslistedabovearenotedin information about its nature, the char-
truly is. In some cases, such as the discrete divisions for·convenience. We acter may generate a Corruption total.
form of a werewolf, the true foml is suggest for better "feel" that character If the Corruption total equals or ex-
obvious upon transformation. But a gradually note thechanges. InSkreech's ceeds the skill or ability total used to
well dressed vampyre at night might case the gamemaster would describe probe the corruption, the information
simply appear as a pale man. The true how the flesh around the character's is lost. This use of Corruption eventu-
sight ability lets a person see the face would slowly start to rot after his ally strengthens a group's Persever-
vampyre's true nature-a predator of first act of Corruption. Eventunlly it ance (see below). The Perseverance is
humanity. would produce the effect of the blood increased by one point. The
The player notes the changes in the red skull. This keeps the players guess- garnemaster is free to give the Perse~
character's appearance on the back of ing as to how bad the effects of Corrup- verance increase some time after the
the character sheet. In the case of tion are going to get, and suggests a Power of Corruption was used. This
gamemaster characters, the game- stronger image of decay. may cause doubt in the player's mind
master notes the changes. Arrange the When a character becomes com- as to exactly when the Power of Cor-
changes in four slots, as above, so that pletely corrupted, and turned into a rupti.on was invoked, and which char-
as a character is corrupted his player monster, the corruption is complete. acter used it.

..
fills in one of the four categories at a Usually no more corruption totals are

~-------------------_
..........- 59
Torg: Orronh

The Power of Fear eviL But the cost for victory will be
high.
Orrorsh is thatthe creatures ofOrrorsh
are frightening. In many roleplaying
There are two reasons that the The Power of Fear has two impor· games the characters set themselves
Power of Fear exists in the reality of tant features which should dismay against one monster after another, but
Orrorsh. The first reason is part of the Stann Knights: seldom do thecharacters react to them
logic of the world witMII the game • Until the Powerof Fear is overcome, as monsters. Instead, a zombie is usu-
world, the second is a logic of game a Sturm Knight may not invoke a real- ally justanother entity to destroy. Now,
mechanics, exterior to the "fictional ity storm. there is nothing wrong with this. In a
reality" of Torg. reality ofhigh fantasy like Aysle, where
First, the Power of Fear exists be- • Until the Power of Fear is overcome, magic is plentiful and heroes encoun-
cause the Gaunt Man is very powerful Storm Knights may not play for the ter the fantastic every day, it makes
and crea led a powerful force that weak- critical moment when using their sense that animated skeletons or
ens his enemies. Some High Lords use cards. vampyres do not faze Storm
their puwer to increase their technol- If a Stonn Knight attempts to in- Knights. In Orrorsh, a r~ality built
ogy so they can build tougher tanks, vokea storm while under the Powerof on fear, it is vital that the Storm
others increase the sophistication of Fear, the storm isdeslToyed as it forms. Knights react with a difference. The
theirreality'smirac1es. The Gaunt Man The Power of Fear then immediately rules of the Power of Fear help
and Heketon, who love fear, decided disconnects the offending Storm build this sensation.
to make it harder for heroes slay his Knight from her reality. Of coun;e, a set of rull;'$ ('an't create
monsters rather than make the mon- If the Storm Knights unwittingly the atmosphere alone. The gamemaster
sters tougher. try to play for the critical moment must help build the mood so that the
The second reason is that every when the Power of Fear has not been rules fit into the reality properly.
realm of Torg: Roleplaying the Possibil- overcome, the gamemaster should let
ity Wars should have its own distinct all the players putall their cards out on
feel to it. The realm of Orrorsh is a the table, then smile cruelly as he Perseverance
place of atmosphere, of slow searches sweeps the cards up off the table and
through mist·shrouded graveyards. tells them it doesn't work. The players Perseverance is the commitment that
We created the Power of Fear so that lose the cards. That's il.1t just doesn't a group of Storm Knights has to pur~
Storm Knights cannot goblasting their work. suing their quarry in Orrorsh. With-
way through every conflict the same How the Storm Knights can over-
way they might do in the Living Land come the Power of Fear is described
or the Empire of the Nile.
These rules make it vital that the
characters spend some time investi-
below on page 65.
c orruption in Aysle
gating theiropponents and introduces The Nature Scholars of Aysle have long
the risk that whenever they are facing speculated that Uthorionderived
off against a horror of Orrorsh their
of Horror Stories his reality's Law of Corruption
characters might f1i Pout from the sheer from the Power of Corruption of
Take a moment to think about hor- the Gaunt Man. Poathok Scar-
terror of the situation. The Power of ror stories you have read or horror
Fear also creates a situation where holder's treatise on the subject is
movies you have seen. In every horror especially insightful. Recent lines
(hang on to your possibility energy) story the heroes usually destroy the
the Storm Knights might lose, or, at of research have inquired
monster- but only after lots and lots whether people corrupted in
the very least, a character or two might of people have been killed in the pro-
find True Death before they stake the Orrorsh might be able to redeem
cess. It isn't just innocent victims who themselves through a deed of
vampyre's heart. Again, this isa choice get taken out by the monster. In both
on our part to make Orrorsh a nasty, honor, as people can within the
Stephen King's Sa/ern's Lot and the reality of Aysle. If this is the case,
frightening place. Storm Knights en- movieAli/'1I (which is really a haunted
tering this reality should be prepared it might be possible to set up a
house in space) there is a group of "corruption railroad" to shuttle
to face the most challenging realm on characters that band together to take
the planet - for although he was de- the tainted to Aysle and allow
out the unnatural menace. In Salem's them the chance to free them-
feated by the heroes of Earth, his real- Lot, only two people out of an ell tire
ity is the most powerful and evil real· selves from their dark pasts.
lown leave alive. In Alien only Ripley Experience has shown that
ity to invade our world. We're wam- and Jones the cat get off the ship and
ingyou ahead of time. Tarryin Orrorsh corruption in Orrorsh does not
back to Earth. This is what Orrorsh is give the character the corruption
and you can assume that you have a like. The heroes go forth to battle the
good chance of meeting an untimely abilities of Aysle, even when in
terrors of the night ... but not all of Aysle. Orrorsh COITU pHon is akin
end. This is not to say Storm Knights them come back.
should not adventure in Orrorsh. On to, but different from, Ayslish
An aspect of "feel" that the Power corruption.
the contrary, Orrorsh must be de- of Fear builds into adventures set in
stroyed - precisely because it is so
__""":':::-- rotra.
60 ~
 Chapter Four

outPerseverancethecharactersareover- The Gaunt Manseeks to eliminate this Note that the adventurers might
whelmed by the Power of Fear and imperfection, but has so far failed. The not know what the key monster is
becomeineffectual, perhaps even para- High Lord is beginning to believe that until well into the adventure. For ex-
lyzed, when confronting the monsters such an act might be beyond even his ample, the characters are helping a
of the realm. The Perseuerance value own abilities. village hunt down a vampyre. As far
rises and falls during the course of an Perseverance is still one of the Gaunt as they know there is only one vampyre
adventure or act set in Orrorsh. The Man's great achievements. His hor- and they think the story is about get-
Storm Knights want to accumulate as rors face the small chance of defeat, ting that one vampyre. In lrulh, lhe
much perseverance as possible, for and each defeat helps convince the murders in the village have been
without a strong perseverance they populace to continue the fight. Orrorsh caused by a group of five vampyres
are doomed to failure. lives in fear, not despair. That is as the that have decided to take turns attack-
A group of Stonn Knights always Gaunt Man wishes. The small chance ing the village to hide their number.
start an adventure with a Perseverance of a monster being slain was not as The Perseverance Difficulty is
value of eight. If the entire adventure inconvenient as he first thought. higher than the Storm Knights ex-
takes place in Orrorsh, characters start The Gaunt Man had not counted on pect because they don't have all
with a Perseverance of eight at the start the number of Storm Knights created the information yet.
of the first act. This number continues by the Possibility Wars. For the first What this means is that how bad
to increase as the story progresses. If time, enough heroes exist to make the the Storm Knights think things are
the time spent in Orrorsh is only one necessary sacrifices to defeat the hor- does not matter. All that matters is
or more acts out of an adventure that rors ofOrrorsh. The EcologyofHorror how bad things really are.
spans the globe, then the group's Per- might become unbalanced, and the The gamemaster keeps the Per-
severallce is eight at the start of the act final victory might slip from theGaunt severance Difficulty number a se-
in which they arrive in Orrorsh, or the Man's grasp. cret from the players. This way the
gamemaster calIs for a Perseverance group does not know how much
check. Perseverance they need to be safe
The entire group is assigned one The Perseverance when encountering monsters dur-
Perseverance value. It acts just like an ing the adventure. This creates ten-
attribute value, except that the value Difficulty Number sion for the session, since every
belongs to the Storm Knight group, The gamemaster assigns every ad- time the characters encounter a
not to a single character. When the venture (or act, or series of acts) a creature they do not know if they
group needs to make a Perseverance Perseverance Difficully number. This are outclassed. During the course
check one of the players (it does not number does not change for the dura- of the adventure the players slowly
matter which one) rolls the die, finds tion of the adventure or acts of the get a gauge of what the number is.
the bonus number, and adds the bo- story set in Orrolsh. The higher the That's fine, but the gamemaster
nus to the Perseverance value. The number, the more difficult theadven- should let the group figure it out
gamemaster then compares the Perse- ture is. The gamemastersets the Perse- for themselves.
verance total to the Perseverance Diffi- verance Difficulty by the "key" mon- When creating his own adventure
culty number. the gamemaster must do two tasks
ster of the adventure. The key monster
is usually one monster, but it might be specific to the Power of Fear. First, he
The Gaunt Man and a group of characters, like a coven of must assign the key monster a Perse-
Perseverance evil occultists. The key monster is usu- verance Difficulty number. Here ;}re
ally the most powerful monster in the some example difficulty numbers :
The Gaunt Man wants to limitresis- story. It may also be the most intelli- 10-14. These are the lowest diffi-
tance to the Power of Fear. The nature gent monster in the story if the intelli- culty numbers any key monster should
of Storm Knights is to exceed what- gent monster is pulling the strings of have. At the start of the adventure the
ever limits are place upon them. The the really strong monster. In short, the characters will be hard pressed to beat
High Lord experimented with Perse- key monster is the "villain" of the the number every time the group gen-
verance on each new cosm he invaded. story - the creature that is behind the erates a Persroeraflce total. This is the
He and Heketon built a machine to murders in the village or the evil plot usual difficulty number for a single
sort possibilities, to gather the slim- or whatever. monster ofaveragestrength. Examples
mest of chances and coneentrate them, If the story is about hunting a are a werewolf, an oozing terror, or a
to make them real. Hundreds of vampyre, then the gamemaster sets competent occultist.
stormers were carefully used, their the Perseverance Difficulty by the 15-22. This is the difficulty number
possibilities dissected by the machine. vnmpyrc. The Stann Knights might of really powerful monsters and large,
Finally he succeeded at making real encounter zombies or large vampire organized agents ofevil. Examplesare
one critical aspect of Perseverance: he bats, but the Perseverance Difficulty above average vampyres, occultist
separated the basic ability to resist fear number usro in every situation is the covens,and truly terrible giant, shape-
from the abilities and attributes of in- one the gamemaster chose from the less horrors of the kind the Nightmare
dividuals. Individual actions could still fact that the key monster is a vampyre. Ahjebax might create.

..
affect Perseverance, strengthening it. 23-27. Numbers such as these are

~----------------_
~ 61
Torg: OlTonh

nearly impossible to attain, reserving home that the characters are dealing as long as the characters know the
them for Nightmares, members of the with situations that cause strain on man playing the piano is a varnpyre.
Hellion Court, and the Gaunt Man their courage and perseverance. 2. Wheneverfhecharactersseethepower
himself. An adventure with one of Groups which fail their Persever~ of the occult working. Remember that
these creatures as the key monster re- ance checks can still take actions. They the occult is different from standard
quires a good deal of research and just suffer from the monster's Fear magic, so if a wizard casts a spell from
preparation on the part of the Storm Rating,as desaibedbelow. Tills makes his grimuire itdoes not create the need
Knights - and the realization that success harder, and might prompt the for a Perseverance check. Only occult
none of them might finish the task. group to retreat. magic creates this need. The game-
The second gamemaster task is to master should request a Perseverance
create and assign the value of clues Perseverance Check check even if it is the Storm Knights
and possible incidents that might take Situations using the occult. If the characters use
place in the story, because these clues the power of the occult to draw up the
and inddentsarethe method bywhich Perseverallce is a measure of how blood of long dead corpses in an an-
the Storm Knights raise their Persever- Storm Knight confidence and resolve cient graveyard, the chilling sight com-
alice. See "Gaining and Losing Perse- when dealing with the creature they bined with the realization that they
verance" below and "Investigation" are hunting. In Orrorsh there is al- have caused this effect creates a chance
in Chapter Five. ways the nagging suspicion that you that the Storm Knights ""ill be over-
are in over your head or that the whole whelmed by Ute sight. A Perseverance
situation would be better left unex- check is required.
Calling For plored. The reality of Orrorsh inflicts 3. W1,en something really bad happens
these sensations on everyone in the or the Stonn Knigllts ellCOl/1Iter some-
Perseverance Checks realm. Even the most hard-boiled de- thing 1lOrrible, usually sometlling grisly,
The gamemaster calls for Persever- tective from the Empire of the Nile [reqlle11f/y moist and red. If the Storm
ance checks for the Storm Knights' finds it impossible to keep a noncha- Knights see their faithful guide or one
group when the gamemaster decides lant and cynical about the dangers of their fellow Storm Knights tom in
it is appropriate. The Power of Fear faced in Orrorsh. They overw-helm a half by the razor sharp talons of a
weights the rules against the charac- person. Ravagon, second thoughts about the
ters. The gamemaster calls for Perse- The garnemaster calis for Persever- whole affair plague theStorm Knights.
verallce checks to neutralize the ad- ance totals when the supernatural or Have them make a Perseverance check.
vantages Storm Knights often have- the horrific confront the Storm Knights. The Storm Knights do not have to
which means that if they fail when At those moments the Storm Knights witness the gruesome act to be af-
generating the Perseverance total they understand to t1leirvery sOllis how ter- fected by it. If they come across D. vil-
lose those advantages. If a group has rible a place Orrorsh.is. If the group lage in which every man, woman and
already failed they don't get to gener- fails its check then they can still act, child isdead, its time for a Perseverance
ate a total to recover their advantage. but fear permeates every action they check.
lake. Their concentration wavers as 4. W11C11 a setback comes lip for tile
The only way to win against the mon-
sters of Orrorsh is to have a high their imaginations are consumed by heroes and allotller setback is not avail-
enough Perseverallce to consistently images of terrible fates for them and able.
succeed when generating Perseverance their friends. The)' are no longer as
totals against the Perseverance Diffi- spectacular as they are in other realms. Generating the Perseverance
culty. This is reflected in the horror's Fear Totals
The horrors of Orrorsh also become Rating, described below.
more powerful when the Power of The same events or sights in an- Because no single character is mak-
Fear works for them. Storm Knights other reality might not produce the ing the roll, neither card nor possibil-
who fail Perseverance checks face a same debilitating results suffered in ity points can be used to augment the
foe who is now far more deadly than Orrorsh. This is all part of Orrorsh's Perseverallce total. The tolal is gener-
before. reality. Fear permeates the air and sinks ated the moment the event occurs that
The gamemaster should keep in into pores of every being. calls for the Perseverallce check. Any
mind that the more often she asks the Although it is up to thegamemaster player may generate the total. Dra-
group to generate a Perseverance total, to decide when Perseverance checks matic sense suggests that the player
the greater the chances that any con- are needed, below we suggest some most affected by the horror generate
flict turns against them. This should IIot situations. the PeT'Sf!1.)era11Ce total.
discourage tlze gamemaster from asking 1. Whenever the group encollnters a If the total equals or exceeds the
for lots of Perseverance totals. We're tell- monster or creature of Orrors}!. It is nol Perseverance Difficulty for theadven-
ing you this specifically so you'll use necessary that the monster threaten ture, the group has succeeded. If the
the rule a lot. Whether or not the play- the group. Walking into a sitting total is lower than the Perseverance
ers are fe«rful in the role-playing ses· parlour and spotting a vampyre is Difficulty, the group has failed its Per·
sian, the Power of Fear rules bring enough to call for a Perseverance check, severance check.

--0-;':;;-- rotra.
62 ~
 Chapter Four

The Fear Rating round. If successful, he has overcome

the Power of Fear. If not, he is still
of MO who is controlling hvo zombies
with Fear Ratings of 1/2 each, the
So what does it mean when the stymied. The creature does not gain villains draws two cards from the play-
group fails when generating a Perse- any more fear points due to these indi~ ers' card pools if they lose the Perse-
verance total? vidual Perseverance checks. verance action. If heroes destroy the
The monsters of Qrrorsh are a spe- • Spend a possibility for a roll-again. occultist, then the Fear Rating is re-
cial breed apart ITom monster of other This is possible even for monsters duced to 1/2. If a group of four Storm
realms. A vampyre from Orrorsh is which are not possibility rated; the Knights were attacked by a group of
very different, and more dangerous, energy comes from the Power of Fear. zombies with a Fear Rating of ]/2
than a vampire from Aysle. This dan- The creature may buy this benefit only each, then the players would lose two
ger is measured by a Fear Rating. once per failed Perseverance check. cards when they failed their Persever-
A Fear Rating may be 1/2, 1, 2, 3, 4 ance check.
and 5. More powerful monsters have For two fear points the creature
higher Fear Ratings. Fear Ratings may:
above three are extremel)' rare, given • Produce an up result. As with the Gaining and Losing
ordinary up results, the up applies to
to Nightmares, members of the Hel-
lion Court, and very ancient creatures. the creature's entire faction. The crea-
Perseverance
Whenever a group fails their Perse- ture may only buy this benefit once Storm Knights lose and gain Perse·
verance check the monster receives a per failed Perseverance check. verance during the course of any ad-
number of fear points equal to its Fear • Cause a single Storm Knightor char- venture or series of acts in Orrorsh.
Rating multiplied by the number of acterto besetbackby fear. Thecreature TheStonn Knights have a givenPerse·
Storm Knights it is facing. A creature may buy this benefit more than once. verance value that stays with them
with a Fear Rating of three faces four The effect ends once the scene ends, during theadventure.Itstarts at eight,
Storm Knights; when the heroes fail a or the afflicted character makes a Per- and rises and falls, but it is a Persever-
Perseverance check, the creature gets severance check (no cards or Possibili- ance value for that particular adven-
12 fear points. Fear points must be tiesmaybespenton the check). Unless ture. When the adventure ends the
spent as soon as they are received, the individual character succeeds at a Perseverance value is discarded, no
although their effects may linger. Perseverance check, the character is matter how high or low it was. The
For a Fear Rating of 1/2 the setback in the presence of the creature. next time the characters arein Orrorsh,
gamemaster rounds fear points in fa- He is able to do nothing but flee from they start with a value of eight once
vor of the players. Thus, if there are the horror. more.
four Storm Knights in the scene the A character may make Perseverance A5 stated above, the Perseverance
gamemaster gives the creature two checks to ov€rcome the fear. Doing so Difficulty number comes from the
fear points. If there are three Storm counts as an action, and must be per- threat of the key monster in the adven-
Knights the creature receives one fear formed out of sight of the creature ture. As the Perseverance rises it re-
point. which caused the setback. Ifsuccessful, flects the work of the Storm Knights to
For one fear point the creature may: he has overcome the Power of Fear. If deal with the particular threat of the key
• Take one card from any player's not, he is still to afraid to take effective monster. Once the key monster is dis-
pool. If no cards are in pools yet, the action; the creature does not gain any patched the Perseverance is valueless
gamemaster may draw a card at ran~ more fear points due to these indi~ because the Storm Knights built it for
dam from a players hand. The crea- vidual Perseverance checks. that particularmonster.lf the monster
ture may spend additional fear points • The creature may mark ac1mracter for completely wipes out the group, the
to steal additional cards. death. A character marked for death next group that goes after the monster
may not spend Possibilities to remove must start anew to collect Persever-
• Stymie one of its opponents. The
creature may spend additional fear damage. The effect lasts for the re- ance. If new characters are brought in
points to stymie additional opponents. mainder ofthe scene, oruntil thegroup to replace characters killed during the
The effect ends once the scene ends, succeeds at a Perseverance check called course of the adventure (a likely oc-
or the afflicted character makes a Per- for by the gamemaster. currence in Orrorsh), the old Persever-
severance check (no cards or Possibili- ance value can be carried over to this
Only Storm Knight groups who "new" group. It is assumed that the
ties may be spent on the check. On the succeeded at their Perseverance actions
bright side, the stymied result does surviving members of the original
are immune from the effects of the group pass on information collected
not apply to the Perseverance check). Fear Rating, which is why it is 50 im-
Unless the individual character suc- before the untimely deaths of their
portant to get a high Perseverance. colleagues.
ceeds at a Perseverance check, the char- Although every monster has a Fear
acter is stymied in the presence of the Atnotimecan thePerseverancevalue
Rating, only one rating is used at a drop below zero. If the group encoun-
creature. time during an encounter. The rating
A character may make Perseverance ters a situation that subtracts points
used is the highest Fear Rating avail- from their Perseverance that would drop
checks to overcome the fear. Doing so able. Thus, if the Storm Knights are the value below zero, the valuesimply

.
counts as the character's action for a battling an occultist witha Fear Rating

~-------------------_._
.........- 63
Torg: Orrorsh

becomes zero. of Orrorsh death strengthens their resolve to kill

Add Perseverance points to the ·witness a horrible sight committed the creature. In such cases the group
groUp'S Perseverance Value when the by a monster, or see a companion die gains back the Persevemlfce lost, plus
group: the same value again. The subtraction
• witness a violent and grisly sight is brought on by panic, the addition
• discovers information about the crea~ caused by the power of the occult.
ture they are pursuing through contemplation.
There is ovcrl~p betwccn the the The Perseverance points lost or
• when they win a skinnish against the ways that Perseverance points are su~ gained for a particular incident. The
forces of the Gaunt Man traded and the need for Persevemllce points for a single event usuaUy range
• when they encounter people in need totals-which isas itshouJd be. If the from one to five. Most point gains or
of help group sees a Ravagon slay a member losses for a single incident are for one
of a group, first they lose some points or two points. Point gains or losses of
• when something so horrible happens
that they strengthen commitment to of Perseverance, and. then they have to four or five points are extremely rare,
kill the monster. The points are gt:n~rnt~ a P~.Jnce total at the new, ami USl..'l.I unly for exceptional events.
awarded in scene in which the heroes lower value. When creating an adventure in
can contemplate what they have seen; The reasons for losing Perseverallce Orrorsh, the gamemaster must create
they are never awarded in the same match some of the reasons for gaining and place incidents in the adventure
scene as the one in which they previ- Puseverance. This is done on purpose for the Stann Knights to find or expe-
ousl y lost Perseverance for seeing some- as well. Forexarnple, if the group sees rience. He should do this before the
thing horrible. their teammate ripped up by the adventure begins so that he is certain
Ravagon, they immediately lose PeT- he has left enough clues for the Stann
PtTSnJerClnce points are sub traded severance (and have to generate a PeT- Knights to succeed at the adventure.
from the group's Perseverance value severance total). Later, if they escape The Storm Knights might gain Perse-
when they: the encounter and have time to mull it verance through unexpected situa-
.suffer a loss at the handsof the forces over, the anger at their companion's tions, such as the death of a Storm

•• 64
 Chapter Four

Knight, but this cannot be counted on. (it's a tough wt>rewolf). Perseverance work with. He decides to stymie four
The gamemaster should total up all values marked with an (') are part of of the Storm Knights (four points),
the potential Perseverallce point gains the potential Perseverance points thai and give himself a roll-again (five
he has created for the Storm Knights. the gamemaster placed in the adven- points total). It fills the unstymied
The potential Perseverallce point ture belore play started. Storm Knight with fear, causing him
gains the gamemaster plans should The group of heroes consists of five to flee (seven points total). The mon~
equal the Perseverance Difficulty num- Storm Knights. ster then marks the Ayslish priestess
ber plus four. Thus, if the Perseverance -The group arrives in a small village for death (nine points total). With the
Difficulty Number is 10, he should where a man was killed by a strange remaining fear point, the gamemaster
prepare 14 points of potential Perse- creature the night before. This gives draws a card. from the hand of another
verance increases. It is not necessary them +1' just for starting the adven- player, who groans as a Drama card is
that the characters find all the poten~ ture. lost.
tial points - but they should be there, The heroes decide to follow the lead
available for the Storm Knights. Re- - Examining the dues at the scene of of their fellow who is currently scream-
member that the Storm Knights will the murder the group discovers that ing off down the street. They rush out
suffer losses to their Perseveral/ce as the creature is a werewolf and they the door and down a back street 10 the
well, and they need to have enough gain a Perseverance point.· house they were staying at. The
points available for their final con- -The group seeks out help to learn werewolf, who wanted to kill the chil-
frontation with the monster. more about the werewolf. An old dren as well as the mother, decides
Gypsy woman informs the players that he's caused enough terrorfor the night
the creature can only be killed (that is, and leaves the village.
Overcoming the True Death) by cutting off its head -The next day the characters are plan-
with a silver axe inscribed with an
Power of Fear ancient Indonesian curse. Although
ning what to do next. The Perseverance
they lost at the sight of the werewolf
When the Storm Knights reach a they don't yet have the curse they and murdered mother returns (+3)
Persez:erallce value equal to the Perse- need, the clue is valuable enough that with an additional +3· bonus because
verance Difficulty numberplus 12 they they receive +2· 10 Iheir Perseverance now lhey relll!y want the thing de-
have overcome the Power ofFear mani- Value. stroyed. They also get +1' persever-
fest in the creature. The lowest bonus -The werewolf returns to the village ance for saving the children. (They
that can be rolled is -12 (on a roll of at night. The Storm Knights hear would have gotten +3' had they
one), and so they will always succeed screams of a woman who lives with reached the house in time and saved
at a Perseverance check. her two children at the edge of the both the children and the mother.) The
It does not matter that they do not village. The group hesitates for just a group's Perseverance value is now 16.
know if they have enough points to be moment because they know they now A good value, but not good enough to
able to do this - the Power of Fear only have 12 (base ofS +4) Perseverallce handle the werewolfifsomething goes
knows. U they have enough Persever- points. There is a very good chance wrong. They decided to travel to
alice to guarantee a success then the that the Power of Fear affects them. Jakarta toresearch the ancient Indone-
critical moment can be played nor- They decide that Ihey have to go help sian curse.
mally. Storm Knights can now invoke anyway. The other people of village, -They reach the University's library
rea I it)' storms against their opponents. influenced by the Power of Fear more and do some research and discover
The players might start a scene with than the Storm Knights are, cannot the curse. This gives them a +3' to
enough points, but due to horrible even leave their homes. their Perseverance Value. They then
things that happen during the scene They rush into her home and see track down someone to make the axe,
might lose some, driving their total the frightened children cowering in which is another +3' Perseverance.
below a guaranteed success on the comer, the werewolfgrowling at them. Their total now stands at 22. They
Perse':erance check. If this happens One of the Storm Knights sees the believe this might be enough to take
the Storm Knights lose their ability to mauled body of the mother behind a on the werewolf and decide to head
play for the critical moment, and can- couch. The gamemaster decides that back to the village. Remember that
not invoke reality storms. They must the sight is worth a -3 to the group's they don't know what the Persever-
either fight without the ability, or re- Persroerallce, bringing the total down ance Difficulty number is. If the
treat to gain more points and return. to nine. The werewolf and the bloody werewolf is actually controlled by a
sight require a Perseverance check. powerful occult sorcerer then things
Extended Example of the The die is rolled and a 10 comes up, are much worse than they .:lPPC.:lr to
Power of Fear then an eight for bonus of five. The be.
perseverance total is 14 - one point
In the following example the key short of the Perseverance Difficulty. - When the group reaches the village
The Power of Fear floods the minds of they discover that three more people
monsler is a werewolf. It has a Fear
the Storm Knights. are dead, all killed by the werewolf.
Rating of two and the adventure's
Perseverance Difficulty number is 15 The werewolf has 10 fear points to Since none of the Storm Knights knew

..
the victims well the gamemaster de-

~-------------------_
~ 65
Torg: Qrrorsh

cides th'lt the groupshould get a +1" tu value of 16 and have to make another lous Stonn Knights might have let the
their Perseverance. (However, one of roll. A 4 comes up, giving them a Perse- werewolf destroy the children in the
the victims was a potential Romantic mrallce total of 8 - seven points shy of hopes of gaining the Perseverance
Subplot that the characters didn't get the Perseverance Diffirulty number. The bonus the next day.
involved with. If one of the Storm round ends and the werewolf grabs six Since this is completely contrary to
Knights had been romantically in- cards off the table and marks one Storm the heroic spirit of Torg it should not
volved with the villager, her death Knight for death (there are four Storm be allowed and measures should be
would have added +4"' Perseverance Knights in the group now that one is taken to discourage it.
to the group's total. dead.) The heroes have to decide If the Storm Knights let a game-
-The group spends the next few days whether to press the attack and risk master character die for their own ad·
tracking down the werewolf and dis- slaughter at the hands of the werewolf, vantage they do not gain Perseverance.
cover that its one of the villagers. This or retreat, knowing that more people They obviously were not affected by
final bit of information drives up their will be killed and thewerewolfwill heat the plight of the character. Therefore,
Perseueralll:C lu 24. The Storm Knights the damage they've already done to it. their cannot increase their commit-
rush to the man's house to confront They decide to stay and fight. They ment to kill the beast.They do lose
him, doing some cool set ups along the make headway, but as they fight on Perseverance temporarily; cynical they
way to build up their card pools. The the werewolf kills the marked Storm may be, but the Storm Knights are still
characters rush into the house and, Knight. The group's Perseverance drops affected by the Power of Fear.
right in front of their eyes, the shape- another fOUT points to 12. Luckily they If Storm Knights act callously the
shifter takes on theformofa werewolf. succeed at the next Perseverance check. gamemaster should press the
They see the man's body transform The werewulfd ies through the group's creature's advantage againsttheStorm
into the form of a werewolf- see the combined efforts. Knights. In the above example involv-
hair grow all over his body, his mouth The Storm Knights have won, but ing the children and the mother, the
lengthen into an animal's snout, they at the cost of two oftheir group. That's Storm Knights' Perseverallce dropped.
see the anns and legs twist and re- the way it is in Orrorsh. If the Stonn Knights didn't try to save
shape themselves, hear the muscles the children, the werewolfwould have
tear slightly. pursued the Storm Knights. Yes, we
It'sall really grisly ifyou thinkabout Important Note know, that's not exactly logical, and
it - and the gamemaster decides the wedon'tbelievea Storm Knightgroup
Notice that in the long run the more would ever behave cowardly, but if it
Storm Knights do. He drops their Per· people who die at the hands of
severance by 4 down to a 20. should happen, let your monsters trash
Orrorsh's monsters, the more the Per- them.
Before the first card of the round is
severance of the Storm Knights is The only exception to this is when a
turned over the characters have to gen-
strengthened. They get a Perseverance Storm Knight hiInself throws himself
erate the Perseverance total. The die is increase after the confrontation is over.
rolled for a 14 - giving a Persevera1lce into the fray with such ferocity that he
This is because it makes good story gets killed. This is a sacrifice, just like
total of 21. That means they hold their
sense, for as the horror mounts so does the Martyr card is a sacrifice. The Per-
perseverance and rush the werewolf
the commitment of the heroes. It also St'Verallce of the group does go down
with confidence.
works well as a game mechanic for a during the battle, but it recovers after
A werewolf is still really tough, no
story based game, because as the story the fight is over and is also increased
matter how you slice him. Since this is progresses and the monster kills more du~ to th~ valiant sacrifice.
thebig climax, it's a dramaticencounter.
people the heroes automatically get
Although the Storm Knights are doing stronger. This means that soon or later
well forthe first three rounds, their pos-
sibility-rated opponent pulls out all the
the Storm Knights will have enough Splitting Up The
Perseverance to go after the monster
stops, lands a few good blows against and succeed, simply because the mon- Group
one of the Stann Knights and kills the
ster is doing its job. The rule drives the
hero. 11\e gamemaster subtracts four story to a di.J:nax. There is a maxim spoken in most
points from the Persevemllce value (it roleplaying groups: "Don't split up
Certain players might try to twist
would have been five if the werewolf the group." Formostroleplaying game
this rule, built for story purposes, to
had killed the Storm Knightina particu· their own advantage. For example, in environments this makes perfect sense.
larly gruesome manner, but he's in a There is strength in numbers, after all,
the situation above some unscrupu-
rush right now). They've now got a and the point of most roleplaying ses-

•• 66
 Chapter Four

sions is to stay alive while defeating

the villains.
Torg adventures in Orrorsh can be
played like most other roleplaying
adventures. That is, victory with con-
cern for life and limb can be the pri-
mary concerns for the players. Cer-
tainly, Earth is at war and it is impor-
tant to defeat the villains.
But to get the "feel" ofOrrorsh, the
prospect of a character's death should
not be as inconceivable as in other
roleplaying environments. This is the
realm of horror, after all. The tales of
this genre are rife with people going
into the crypt alone, or chasing after
the monster without warning the oth-
ers in the group, or braving life and
limb alone so as not to place others at
risk. In the stories, the group splits up.
It may not be the \visest thing to do.
But it sure is creepy when the captain
from Alien is crawling along the air
vents searching for the creature and
the rest of the group waits helplessly,
watching his progress on their little
radar display.
As has been mentioned severa] times,
heroes die in Orrorsh. It's just a rough alone and is killed, no else suffers the The creature, however, has an edge
pIace.So the piayers might as well enjoy immediate Perseverance point loss and and catches the doctor's foot just as he
it. Thatis, theplayerscan piayinOrrorsh they are safe from the Perseverance gets inside the tunnel.
as a slTaight role playing adventure, or Check. On the other hand, when the On the surface Dr. McIrltire's
they can adopt a bit more distanced group finds out about the death they friends llear ablood-curdling scream.
attitude toward their characters, ac- gain Perseverance points, as outlined Since none of them. know what is
knowledging the fact somebody is go- above. happening and is not immediately
ingtobuy the farm in theatlempttoslay Example: Dr. Talos McIntire tells involved in the conflict they do not
the creatures of the night. his companions to wait on the surface suffer a Perseverance paint loss, as
The Power of Fear rules benefit tfley would if they were with the doc-
while he investigates the strange Opell-
groups that split up. ing ill tile earth the group discovered. tor. If they were to crawl down into
If a group splits up, each sub-group Lighting a lmztern lie starts to crawl the crypt now and see the ghoul
accumulates and loses PerSf!Verance down the rough tunnel. The tunnel munching on the doctor they would
points as a sub-group. Then, when the continues for 80 feet, and thell opens suffer the point loss. But the doctor
group gets back together (whoever is into an ancient burial chamber. Sev- told them to wait until he came out.
left alive out of the group that is), the eral crypts are on thefloor. Talossteps So fhey wait.
group receives the total Perseverance over to one of f1zem and opens it. As they wait their Perseverance
points from all the sub-groups. The decayed hand ofagholll lunges grows, for they realize the doctor }UJs
First of all, if the group splits up, for his throat and tears his flesh. died alld did so to protect them. If the
they can covermore ground and gather A Perseverance total is gener- ghoul were to crawl auf of the tunnel
more dues and information - just ated and Talos fails theaction. Realiz- he would confront a group of Stann
like in the stories. ing he's in deep trouble he races back Knights whose Perseverance was
Notice also the second point. If a to the tunnel to get back to his friends. stronger than it was before.
Stann Knight is fighting a monster

.e
67
Torg: Orror.lh

Chapter Five

Skills and
Investigation
he characters that inhabit by the criminal. It represents an un-
Orrorsh and Gaea have a canny ability to string together unre-
few abilities not described lated. bits of information, literally di-
in the Torg boxed set. In vining meaning by "reading between
this chapter are descrip- the lines", based upon the magical
tions of new skills that are available to principles of contagion and similarity.
characters from the reality ofOrrorsh, Victorians would stoutly deny that
or characters travelling in Orrorsh. research is a form of magic, attributing
Some of these skills have restrictions it success to logic and the keen acumen
upon who can possess and learn them of its practitioners. They are wrong.
Orrorsh skills outside of Orrorsh Characters use research in libraries
Since the reality of Orrorsh is so or places of public records, such as
specific to the Gaunt Man's whims, City Hall or the Department of Public
few skills of Qrrorsh are as effective Health. It usually takes one to four
outside his reality. All Orrorsh skills hours of game time to generate a re-
cause a contradiction when used out- search total. The gamemaster decides
side Orrorsh, with the exception of the exactly how long research takes. He
swami skill. The swami skill only cre- should use the difficulty of the mate-
ates a contradiction in an area where rial researched and the amount of
the spiritual axium is seven ur le:ss. For material the characters must wade
all other skills, zero-case contradic- through when choosing the research
tions become one-case contradictions. time.
One-case and four-case contrad ictions The difficulty number of the re-
remain unchanged. See page 99 of the search is the Spirit orfa WI of the person
Torg Rulebook for explanation of con- or creature researched. Even in the
tradiction. Unless noted, skills are pre- simple activity of research the Gaunt
sumed to require the full axiom levels Man's evil reality holds sway.
ofOrrorsh. Ifthe researcher fails, he maychoose
to become obsessed with his research.
Such an obsession immediately gains
Perception-Based the group one Perseverance point. The
researcher takes a fatigue result (two
Skills shod:: points) which will not heal until
the research is successfully conduded.
Each day the researcher may generate
Research a research total; if the player believes
the total to be high enough he tells the
Researc!1 is a form of magical evi- gamemaster his total. If the total ex-
denceallalysis using secondilry sources ceeds the difficulty, all fatigue is reo-
rather than direct evidence. Research moved and the infonnation gained. U
allows a character to go to books and the research fails again, the researcher
documents about the criminal and suffers another fatigue result; the dis-
piece together information about him appointment of his most recent failure
wi thout ever examining items touched has taken a psychic toll. This fatigue

•• 68
 Chapter Five

also stays until the research is success~

ful. A researcher who takes research
Spirit-Based Skills The shifter also has two completely
different sets of skills. When a player
fatigue in excess of his Toughlless falls designs a shapeshifter, he has 16 skill
into a coma. Unless the answer to his points for each form. He must assign
research is found within a month, he Shapeshifting three adds to sllapesllifting for each
expires, lacking the will to live. If a form. If he wishes to have any other
character can speak the answer to him, Note: This description replaces the skill in both fonns, he must also pur-
the comatose character regains the will skill described on page 17 of the Torg chase the skill separately for both
to live, and consciousness follows in a World Book. fonns. When improving skills, skills
day or two. S1lQpeshifting is the ability (or curse) are improved independently for each
If the researcher receives millimal, of changing form between human and form. Shapes1lifting adds must be im-
average or good success, the precise animal. For most shapeshifters, the proved simultaneously for each form;
nature of the creature under investi- transformation is involuntary, trig- going from s/wpeslliftillg +3 to +4 costs
gation is clear. Characters receive the gered by stress, danger, or the full eight Possibilities.
Persevernllce point for gathering the moon. They lose all memory of their Human fonns may start with any
infonnation. Ona sllperiorsuccess, the humanity, becoming animal in body skill available in Orrorsh. They may
researcher gains an intuitive feeling as and mind. Possibility-rated shape- learn others throughout their life, in-
to where the next clue might be found. shifters maintain a modicum of self- cluding skills from other realms.
On a spectaclIla r success, the researcher control when shifted, though there are Animal forms are limited to skills
gains an intuitive feeling as to what risks even for them. which animals might 10gical1y know.
perils or obstacles guard the next clue. Only characters from Orrorsh may Thegamemastermustapproveallskill
Good players might discover the have the shnpesllifting skill. Using the choices. When in animal form
infonnation through Tole playing and shapeshifting skill in any other realm or shapeshifters have a primary attack
solid induction. Rather than simply cosm creates a contradiction. When a fonn with a damage value equal to
rolling the dice, the characters might player chooses shapeshifting, he must their Strength plus their shapeshifting
tell you what books they are specifi- take the skill as the character's tag adds. A werewolf with a SfrellgtJl 14
cally looking through, who they are skill. and sllapeshifting +3 has a primary at-
going to for help and so forth. As they When a character shapeshifts, he tack damage value of 17. For a
pursue the proper paths of research transfonns into another creature, typi- werewolf, his bite is his primary at-
the game master can give bits of infor- cally a wolf; a player may choose a tack. As the the shapes/lifti"g adds in-
mation about the creature they seek. different animal for his shapeshiftillg if crease, the damage value of the pri-
Researc11 requires a magic axiom of the gamemasteragrees with the choice. mary attack also increases.
at least 10 and a social axiom of at least The shapeshifter's animal form may Ashapeshifters animal form also has
10 to be a zero-case contradiction be larger or smaller than his human the following power and weakness:
(which is then increased to a one-case form. The maximum difference is the Resistance to 'IOnnal weapons
contradiction). characters initial adds in shapeslliftiIIg. Severe weakness to silver
Research cannot be used unskilled. Once chosen the size does not vary. This power and weakness do not
Example: A character with with a apply to the character's human form.
weight value of 10 alld three illitial Humanformscan be damaged by any
Mind-Based Skills adds of shapeshifting may c1100se as normal means. See Chapter Eight for
his allimal form a beast witll a weight descriptions of severe weakness and
vallie of from seven to 13 (25 to 400 the resistance to nonnal weapons
Occult kilos). power.
A shapeshifter has the same total of A shapeshifter whose animal form
The oecuIr skill is described in detail attribute points in either fonn, though fall unconscious automatically reverts
in Chapter Six. It is the study of the they can be distributed differently in to human form. No sllapeshifting total
mystical forces of Orrorsh that can be each form. The Spirit attribute must be is needed. If the damage is from
the same for both forms. In animal friendly sources (i.e. players trying to
warped to alter the nature of reality. avoid having theshapeshifter lose con-
The path of the occult is fraught with fonn a shifter may have very high
attributes, beyond the nonnal charac- troD the gamemaster may insist on a
danger - to use the occult is to tap shapeslliftillg total, as described below,
ter limits.
into a magical knowledge that the too see if the gamemaster takes control
Gaunt Man created to seduce people. Example: Bill is a were-tiger. [n his of the character.
To study the occult invariably leads to IIUll101l form he IlllS: DEX 9, STR 9, When does shifting happen?
Corruption. mu 9, PER 10, MIN 9, CHA 9, SPI The difficulty of voluntarily shift-
Occult cannot be used unskilled. 11. Bill's player decides that 11is roere- ing into animal shape is 10. The char-
tiger attributes are: DEX 12, STR 14, acter involuntarily changes shape
mU12, PER 10, MIN 4, CHA3, SPI when:
11. Bofh sets of attributes total to 66 • The character is in danger and the
points; the Spirit is 11 for both fonns. character receives a set~ack. The set-

69
.-
Torg: Orrorsh

back may be from any source.

-The moon is full and the character
receives a setback. The setback may be
from any source.
-The character takes a wound in com~
bat.
If the character wishes avoid invol-
untary shifting the difficu1tyis 10 plus
the amount of shock damage taken.
When in animal form, the difficulty
of returning to human fonn is equal to
the time value of the number of min-
utes spent in animal form. This num-
beris increased by the amountofshock
damage the character has taken. If a
character were in animal form for one
hour, the sluzpeshifting difficulty is nine.
If the character had six shock points at
the time he tried to change back, the
shapeshifting difficulty is 15.
H a character fails the shifting
roll to return to human form, the
animal nature has taken over. The
gamemaster takes control of the
character for a time equal to the
time so far spent in animal form.
During this time the gamemaster
takes control of the character's
sheet, and decides all actions for
the character. At the end of this
time the character automatically
reverts to human form.
Unlike the version of the skill in the
Torg World Book, the gamemaster does
not take control if the character fails
when trying to avoid changing to ani-
mal form.
Each time the gamemaster takes con-
trol of the character, the shapeshifter
gains a Corruption point. Any evil done
while under gamemaster control can
increase this Corruption. The Power of A. Nunio
Fear looks forward to the time when the
shapeshifter becomes a true creature of
Orrorsh.
S/1apeshiftinK cannot be used un-
skilled.. questions about the future, questions what's what. Thus, anyone depend-
about what weapon kills a monster, ing on a Gypsy for infonnation must
Spirit Medium questions about the best course of ac- take care - it is an imprecise art.
tion. LostSouls love to talk, and they'll When a Gypsy attempts to contact
Only characters born and raised as
say almost anythi.ng to havea cunver~ the spirits she generates a spirit me-
Orrorsh Gypsies can use the skill of
sation with aspirit medium. Care must dium total to call Lost Souls to her. The
spirit medium. The skill allows a char- be taken that the Gypsy medium is
acter to contact the capricious spirits difficulty number is 12. Success means
reliable and can handle the Lost Souls. that spirits appears. The LostSoul with
of Orrorsh and ask them for informa-
She must silence the mischievous and the highest Spirit is the Lost Soul the
tion. These spirits are described in full
force the responsible spirits to tell the medium wants to talk to.
in Chapter Eight on page 106, under
truth. Even very experienced Gypsies The Spirit of the most powerful Lost
the name Lost Souls. The spirits can
contact a Lost Soul who doesn't know Soul is 15 (base Spirit of a Lost Soul)
answer questions on any subject -

_.. -=-----------~
70 ~
 Chapter Five

plus the result points of spirit medium. into the medium's question and the Lost Souls are good at digging up
The Lost Spirit will therefore always game master answers the question hard to find facts or even information
have a Spirit equal to the spirit me- fully. The greater the success result, known only to one individual now
dium total plus three. The more pow- the more specific and accurate the in- long dead. They are notoriously poor
erful the summoning, the more pow- formation becomes. at predicting the future, although they
erful the spirits contacted. Minimal: One aspect of the problem are eager to try. If things don't go as
When the spirits arrive they all is revealed. the medium predicted, the Gypsy will
clamor for the chance to talk with the Average: One poweror ability of the never knowsinceherinformation was
medium. Anyone watching the me- monster is divined. The game-master never complete; the Lost Soul could
dium at work only hears soft giggles should pick an ability which the mon- simply be wrong. The gamemaster
and whispers coming from around sler has already used during the ad- should strive to make the outcome of
the head of the medium. But the me- venture. Or the location of the next events match information successfully
dium hears the voices clearly. "I know due is revealed. earned, assuming the information does
all about the future!" a soul will cry. Good: One weakness is seen. The not totally warp the story.
"Oh, don't listen to him," another will nature and location of the next clue is Coordination
counter. "He doesn't know what he's revealed. Characters rnay coordinate on spirit
talking about!" "Do you know what I Superior: The location, nature and medium seances. If the character has
did yesterday," a third will say. "I best timing for the next clue is given. spirit medium, the coordination diffi-
watched people eat a pig. I forgot The True Oe<l;th of a monster may be culty is eight. Otherwise the character
people did that!" revealed. uses her Spirit against a coordination
Because of these distractions the Spectacular: The gamemaster should difficulty of 12. See page47 of the Torg
Gypsy must focus her own attention answer the question so as to give the Rulebook for the effects of coordina-
as well as that of the Lost Soul. The players the fullest amount of informa~ tion.
whole process is nOIsy and uncertain. tion which does not ruin the story. Spirit medium cannot be used un-
The game master should play out all Corrupt characters may try to avoid skilled.
the voices buzzing around the me- the result of spirit medium. They gener-
dium. To reflect uncertainty of the se- ate a Corruption total. If it equals or Swami
ance and the uncommon link between exceeds the higher Spirit total, the
the Gypsy and the Lost Soul, two bo- Power of Corruption blocks the infor- Swamis are Hindu religious teach-
nuses are generated: one by the me- mation. Once blocked, spirit medium ers from either Earth or Findaru faith-
dium and one by the Lost Soul. The may not be attempted again on the ful of Gaea. For convenience all the
game master makes the roll for the same subject, even by another Gypsy. special abilities that Swamis possess
Lost Soul (and the Gypsy if it is a Blocking a seance raises a group's Per- are grouped under the heading of
gamemaster character). The bond be- severance value by one. They know swami. A Swami can do the listed
tween the Lost Soul and the medium something important is going on if the special abilities when he reaches the
allows the Lost Soul to use both bo- information is blocked. listed adds. Thus, if a character has
nuses generated for two separate Spirit If one of the totals succeeds but the two addsof swami skill he can perform
totals. other fails the gamemaster gives a par~ the first two abilities listed below.
Any time a Gypsy asks a question, tial answer to the Gypsy's question. Most Swamis also possess the skill
the difficulty number is the highest Note that this means that the Gypsy true sight, but it must be earned by a
Spirit or faith value of the people in· can rarely be sure if her information is Swami as a separate skill.
valved with the question. Thus, if 100% correct, no matter what bonus +1: The Swami does not have to eat or
Sasha, a Gypsy, is asking about her she generates. drink while in a trance. The trance is
son, the two important people in- The Lost Souls h'.lve no Possibilities self-induced and lasts a number of
volved in the question are her son and to spend. The Gypsy may playa Sup- days equal to the character's swami
the werewolf. Her son's Spirit is 9. The porter card to help the Lost Soul's total. Although the Swami is quite
werewolf's faifh is 15. Therefore, a 15 Spirit total, and may spend cards and hungry when he leaves his trance, he
must be generated by the Lost Soul Possibilities on her own bonus. In this suffers no ill effects when he leaves his
(using its Spirif) to get pertinent infor- case, Presence cards may be added to trance. He also needs far less oxygen
mation about the fate of the Gypsy's the bonus generated rather than an than normal. The swami adds are
son. If the medium wants to discover attribute. added to the time value the Swami can
how to kill the werewolf, the difficulty The game master should make sure survive.
is again 15. to play out giving the information to Example: RasJlad is trapped in an
H both totals fail then the the Gypsy if the Gypsy is a player airtight chamber, with just 20 min-
gamemaster has the Lost Soul give the character. The Lost Souls are desper- lites' worth ofoxyge1l1eft. Rnshad has
wrong information to the Gypsy. The ate to please and easily distracted no swami adds of +2. TIle value of 20
Lost Soul might not even be lying - it matter what the outcome of the rolls. minutes is 16.16+2=18, tile value of
just might be wrong. If both Spirit This way the players don't always one hOllr. Rashad can !wld Dut fDr one
totals equal or exceeds the difficulty know exactly how reliable their infor- more !lour in the chamber.
number, then the spirit gains insight mation is.

~----------------""'-I_.
~ 71
Torg: OITOnh

+2: The Swami may use his skill value

to generate disbelief totals against il-
lusions, rather than use Milld or will-
pow"'.
+3: If a Swami enters a trance he can
accelerate his healing. Shock damage
and knockout conditions may be elimi-
nated at twice the normal rate. If a
character meditates for at least three
hours he can eliminate an additional
wound level if succeeds at healing
himself that day.
+4: TheSwami may purchase trllesigllt
adds at a reduced cost, paying one less
Possibility per add than he would oth-
erwise.
+5: The Swami may use his skill value
to resist charm or perSllQsi<J1l attempts,
rather than his willpower.
+6: The Swami can hypnotize snakes
to do his bidding. He can control a
number of snakes equal to his swami
adds. To hypnotize a snake he must
make a swami roll using the snake's
willpower as the difficulty number. If
the Swami wants to hypnotize more
than one snake, each snake must be
hypnotized separately. the illusion of the world, or until a through a telescope, or through an
The duration of the hypnotism is character generates a faith total higher electronic medium such as television.
determined by the success level of the than the swami total. A Swami may The character then generates a true
roll: disengage other characters as well as sight total against the target's Spirit. If
Minimal: one hour long as they are of the same faith as the a character uses true sight successfully
Average: five hours Swami. rolls he gains the following informa-
Good; one day The swami skill may be used with- tion according to success. The infor-
Superior: five days out contradiction in any realm whose mation gained is cumulative, so that
Spectacular: one month spiritual axiom is at least eight. good success yields the average and
The snake will move, attack, or spy Swami cannot be used unskilled. minimal information also:
at the Swami's command. The Swami Millimal: The subject's true form is
must speak the instructions to the True Sight revealed.
snake. They must not total more than Average: One power or ability of the
20 words. Trtle sight is a mystical skill taught monster is divined. The gamemaster
To spy, a snake must go watch what to members of Victorian occult societ- should pick an ability which the mon-
it is that the Swami wants observed ies and certain religions, such as ster has already used during the ad-
and then it must return to the Swami. Findaru. It allows members of the or- venture.
The character must then look into the ganization 10 perceive if a person has Good: One weakness is seen.
eyes of the snake, and he then sees a corrupted nature. The corruption Superior: The true sighl gives an
what the snake saw. reveals itself in the physical transfor- intuitive insight into where an impor-
mations described in the Power of tant clue concerning the monster may
+7: TheSwami may purchase faith and be found.
[OCIiS adds (Hinduism or Findaru) at a
Corruption. If a characlersuccessfully
uses his frue sight when looking at a Specfacular: All of the corrupted
reduced cost. He now pays one less character's weaknesses are revealed,
Possibility per add than he would oth- corrupted individual, he sees the cor-
rupted character's decay and mon- if any.
erwise. The skill, although mystical, does
strous markings.
+8: TheSwami may disengage himself To use the skill a character must not draw on the power of magk. In-
from the illusion of the world. The focus his attention on the individual stead, it is a skill based on self-knowl-
character generates a swami total. The he is examining. The character must edge. A person studying frlle sigllt first
Swami cannot be interacted with in see the character he wishes 10 learn learns to look into his own heart. There
any way until he chooses to again see more about. The sight can be direct, he must confront the good and evil

. . . . .'="'"-------------------~
72 ~
 Chapter Five

within himself. If he can truly see that • The information on the creature. for the New London Standard, Paula
he possesses elements of both and ac- • The amount of Perseverance the in- Wickholm, will badger them for infor-
cept this truth, then he can begin look- formation is worth. mation about the killing. If the Storm
ing at others with the same discerning Knights are cooperative, the reporter
eye. • Where the information is available. can lead them to the next clue.
The Power of Fear penalizes those • Where the information is absolutely 2. TheStonnKnightsaregoingthrough
who use true sight. AIly successful not available. dusty basement archives, either at the
use of true sight, even against police headquarters or in the morgue
• A lead to the next scene of the inves·
uncorrupt individuals, lowers the Per- of the New London standard. There
tigation.
severance value of the group by one. they find reports ofotherkillings which
The Power of Fear knows such knowl· The gamemaster may add other
parts to the scene. Opponents, haz· can be linked to the Kalakra. The pat-
edge is dangerous, and compensates tern is a rash of killings overa few days
for the use of true sight. ards, and deadlines after which the
information disappears, can all he that then inexplicably stop, usually
Corrupt characters may try to avoid for weeks. The victims are tom apart,
the result of true siglit. They generate a added to a scene.
and pieces of vegetation or "an odor
Corruption total. If it equals or ex· like fetid seaweed" is noted. Theinfor·
ceeds the true sight total, the Power of Investigation Example mation on the cyclical nature of the
Corruption blocks the information. killings is worth one Perseverance point.
Once blocked, true sigllt may not be The gamemaster creates a monster
called a Kalakra. The horror is created If the Storm Knights don't have an
attempted again on the same subject. idea of where to go next, let them
Blocking frue sigllt raises a group'::! from the spiritual energy of people
murdered in the jungle. Once the vic- flounder a bit (and have another vic-
Perseverallce value by two; therefore tim killed) before they see the police
the value will be one higher than it tims bodies have completely decayed,
the spiritual force animates a rotting harassing a Gypsy. If they help the
was before true siglit was used. Gypsy, they are on their way.
Truesiglit canno·t be used unskilled. mass of vines and other vegetation.
The Kalakraassumesa humanoid fonn 3. Using the first two clues, the Storm
vaguely resembling the body whose Knights can now visit a library, Gypsy
Investigation energy caused it to animate. The
Kalakra moves towards civilization,
or othersource of occult lore. The third
clue is not available from the police,
Encountering a horrorisone way to where it presumably finds its mur- newspaper or other pedestrian source
discover clues on how to destroy a derer. While the Kalakra seeks ven- of information.
creature. These encounters tend to geance for its death, its confused and In the library are the uncataloged
destroy Storm Knights as well. Inves- twisted memories cause it to lash out journals of Peter Seely, a minor func-
tigation is an alternate way for Storm al any characters who resemble its tionary in the Office of Industry. The
Knights to gain knowledge and Perse· murderer. If the killer was a Victorian journals, in couched terms, make it
verallCC. Investigation also establishes soldier, the Kalakra might attack any apparent to those with the research
the feel and mood ofOrrorsh that does Victorian soldier it finds. The spiritual skill that Seely dabbled in the occult.
not necess.,rily elevate the body count. energy of the victim is only enough to He was investigating Indonesian leg-
An example of creating a investiga· animate the Kalakra for a few days, or ends about jungle vengeance-spirits
tion follows the procedure outlined perhaps a couple of weeks. It then lies called Kalakra, that formed when
below. dormant until another victim dies in murders were committed in trackless
The gamemaster first decides on the jungle. jungles. Seely stole Portuguese note-
the key monster for the adventure. She 1. The Storm Knights investigate the books that spoke of the nature of the
can modify a monster from Chapter first murdervictim,8 prosperous mer- creatures. His journal does say that a
Eight or create one of her own. The chant. The body was found in thedead weakness of a Kalakra is an item be-
gamemaster decides on the creature's man's parlor. From the ugly blotches longing to the victim whose spirit cur-
weaknesses, its True Death, types of on the wall, the intruder must have rently animates it. This information is
attack, and any olher !imi la lions, abili- torn its victim apart (evidellce analysis worth two Perseverance. TIle advan·
ties or habits which could prove use- difficulty 13). The intruder entered tage of learning the infonnation from
ful to the monster hunters. The through the window. Small streaks of Seely's journal is references to taking
gamemaster then creates an investiga- rotted vegetation can be found on the the information of his "truly wicked
tion stack, a list of scenes with clues pieces of broken glass lying about (find shame to the grave" with him.
(and Perseverance points) parcelled out difficulty 12). The scene is worth one 4. Peter Seely died. three weeks ago,
in the adventure to give the Storm Perseverance point. buried. in the cemetery of 5t. Ignatius
Knights the feel of putting a puzzle The information can be found at the church, a rundo;vn building on the edge
together. The puzzle's solution is a scene of the crime or from police re- ofNew London. His death from malaria
way to destroy the monster. ports. No other place has the informa- was properly noted. by the Coroner's
Each scene in the stack the tion, although newspaper accounts Office and the obituary columns.
gamemaster creates tends to have the might lead them to the police. As they A search of his town house yields
following five parts:

.
go about their investigations a reporter only a disgruntled Cousin Wilber who

~,----------------_._
........- 73
Torg: Orrorsh

is irritated by the lack of valuables for souls to now avenge. This information may be confused, but they certainly
him toinherit. Cousin Wilberissearch- is not available anywhere else. aren't where you expected them to be.
ing the house for "My cousin's chem- The True Death of the Kalakra is a A good gamemasterruleof thumb is if
istry notebooks," as Wilber also is in- spear made from the bones of the the players' hunches do not contra-
terested in the occult. Wilber has vis- murderer(s) who slew the souls. Ac- dict given or future information and
ited the house numerous times, and cording to Seely'sjournal this includes do not warp the story, help tum the
each search hascomeupernpLy. Wilber tho!'e authorized and aided the mur- players' choice into the right choice.
now suspects Peter Seely had his valu- der; himself, three Victorian soldiers, This is why itis a good idea to include
ables buried with him. If the Storm and the MO industrialists. All are re- where the scene's information might
Knights are not unremittingly hostile ferred to by codenames. This informa- be found and where it absolutely will
to Wilber, he lets his suspicions slip tion is worth three Persroernnce. not be found. In the above example,
during conversation, largely asa ploy 5. The next clue is found in either Peter Peter Seely's final notebook is buried
to determine whether or not the Storm Seely's office within the Office of In- with him. The only way to get the
Knights have already visited the cem- dustry or back at the library in his notebook is to exhume his body at St.
etery. journals. Thecodenamesare matched Ignatius. By establishing this in ad-
At St. Ignatius the Storm Knights with fragmentary lists to reveal the vance, the Storm Knights are going to
have to exhume Peter Seely. Thisgrue- soldiers to be Sergeant Jennings and have to go to the cemetery to get the
some prospect is made more difficult his brother, a Private Jennings, and notebook.
by regul<lr <lnd vigUil.nt Victorian pa- PrivateO'Cleary. The industrialists are What if after the exhumation the
trols of cemeteries - it seems occult William Camden and Buford Willis. Storm Knights decide that Cousin
activity has driven up Ute demand fur This information is worth one Pers(- Wilber must know of Peter Seely's
body parts. Digging up the body vernllce. plot, and interrogate him? In that case,
through normal means takes a little a gamemaster could decide that Wilber
over an hour. The coffin is exception- 6. The last step of the investigation is has read his cousin's journals in the
<lily large. Opening the coffin reveals manufacturing the spear from the library, and has decoded the names.
Peter Seely is perfectly preserved ex- bones of the murderers. Storm Knights He has no idea what the names mean,
cept for his face and hands which are must either have an occultist within for he has not seen Peter's final note-
a corrupt, mottled bluish mass. Much their group, or know one willing to book.
of his laboratory equipment is con- dabble at their behest. Building the What if the Storm Knights decide to
cealed in the walls of the coffin. Be- spear invotves blackening and crack- ask around the Regimental barracks
neath Seely's head is his final note- ing the bones while chanting for the about some soldiers who might be
book. murderer's soul to be so burned by taking bribes? Assuming they are not
The notebook reveals that Seely divine punishment. The blade of the arrested or harassed as suspicious,
decided to experiment with the nature spear mustbeamurderer's bone, while barracks scuttlebutt could lead them
of the Kalakra. Toexperimentwith the lhe olh~rs may b~ simply attach~d to to Sergeant Jennings and his two
creature it was necessary to assure the the haft. Completing the ritual is worth friends. Interrogating them could lead
creature'savailability. Using what little three Persrocrance. to the two industrialists.
authority he had in the Office of In- The total Persrommce in the investi- Controlling the flow of the investi-
dustry, Seely contacted MO receptive gation is 11. gation to tell a betterstory is fine. If the
industrialists with a plan "eliminate players are close, reward them by put-
troublesome elements within your Controlling the Flow of the ting them back on track for the clues, if
manufacture." The industrialists iden- Investigation not giving them the clues. If they arc
tified Indonesian workers who were, way off (if they decide that Paula
or might become, troublemakers. One notorious problem with clue- Wickholm is part of the conspiracy,
Bribes to three Victorian soldiers as- based roleplaying adventures is the for example), you do not have to
sured that these people were kid- the group of players who wander off warp the story to make their suspi-
napped, then taken to the jungle and of the trail of dues. They may be on a cions correct.
murdered. TheKalakrahasnumerous hot lead of their own devising. or they

•• 74
 Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The Occult
1111 he magic
the occult. of
cult,
QITo"h
This ;,
is the oc-
discovered its weakness. She stands
now ina tool shop in thecityof}akarta.
No one else is about. She has a sword
- A mad scientist with her. It was her grandfathers. He
worksinhislab. Hebends captured it from a Japanese soldier
over a corpse, feverishly scratching when the Japanese occupied indone-
out notes on his small pad. Glass bea- sia. The forge is now hot enough. She
kersfilled with strange chemicals glow takes the viaIfrom her pocket, unstops
with unholy light. It is his goal to the cork, and pours her husband's
animate the corpse. His notes are blood along the blade.
nearly indecipherable. His mind takes When people think of magic in a
mad leaps of logic and is driven by an roleplaying game, they usually think
insane intuition. Yet it might work. of wizards casting well practiced, de-
The scientist believes it will. The pendable spells out of thick grimoires.
scientist's obsession is sincere. He will In places such as Aysle, wizards ex-
do anything to succeed. amine magic much like a scientist of
- A Victorian woman sits on the our own reality examines physics.
floor of her attic. The door is locked.. Sped.fic ruJesarediscovered.,and these
Her children and husband are asleep. general laws are applied to a wide
Strewn about her are strange flowers variety spells. In Aysle, for example,
and leaves she collected from the mages study the arcane knowledge of
jungle. A pile of bones rests by her fire. From this narrow field of study, a
right knee. In her hand is a piece of wizard can create and learn a range of
chalk. She draws out the picture of a repeatable, dependable spells such as
man's body on the floor and marks the wall offire or altered fireball.
illustration with srrange symbols. She The magicofOrrorsh is very differ-
cannotstand herboorish husband. Her ent than the magic of Aysle, or any
goal is to make him to respond to her other reality of high fantasy. With the
will. The objects and the runes are occult, a character first decides what
guesses at a formula for summoning the specific magical result is going to
powertoherseIf-they are halfmemo- be. Then he must draw from a dispar-
ries of tales she heard of magic's dark ate range of mystical sources to build
power since she was a little girl. She the spell. The process is imprecise,
possesses a gift - the gift of hatred. seldom repeatable, random, and in-
- Professor Sjahrir, professor of volves a great deal of twisted seren-
anthropology at,the University of dipity.
Jakarta, is a good woman. When the Orrorsh has few recorded spells.
invasion began sheknew that she could Occult spells are built around the de-
not stand idly by and watch her coun- sired effect, the occultist, and the ob-
try taken over by the colonial invad- ject of effect. Thus, an occult fireball
ers. Then she discovered the mystical spell is built with the effect of a fire-
nature of the invasion. A creature, red, ball, built to be cast by the occultist
pulsing. formed of countless limbs, who is designing lhe speU, and llsed
killed her husband. She hunted it only for a specific target or persoll. These
down, but found that she could not strict definitions prevent Orrorsh
kill it with a gun. The creature nearly spells from being dependable tools as
killed her, but she escaped. She sought theyareinAysle. ThemagicofOrrorsh
help from others who knew of the is obscure, difficult, and rare.
magic of the invading reality. She dig.
covered its true nature - and she

••
75
Torg: Orronih

The Reality of perform occult events outside

Orrorsh's reality, the axiom boost and
Gaunt Man has imposed limitations
on the realityofthe realm and its magic.
Orrorsh Magic the disconnection problem is not
known to Orrorsh occultists. This ig-
The Gaunt Man created a magic
that draws people toward the Power
Occult magic is peculiar to Orrorsh. norance applies to Storm Knight oc- of Corruption. TIle idea is to make the
The Gaunt Man has built in a way to cultists, until they disconnect for the occult viable as a source of power, but
temporarily increase the magic axiom first time, at which point they can start keep the power elusive. This way
for occult events only. In Orrorsh the to formulate their theories. people study it, but rarely become a
axiom increases to 20, for the practitio- threat to the Gaunt Man's rule. Occult-
ner the land, and the event itself, aI· ists are rarely satisfied with the power
lowing the occult event to act as an The "Feel" of they acquire and need to get just a little
unreliable, dramatic form of wish. The more. The power of the occult really
possibility energy Orrorsh spends on Orrorsh Magic never delivers w ha t it promises due to
the temporary jolt to the axioms is the its limitations - but try to tell that to
main reason for the violent weather or The magic of the occult is an roellt. a madman who wants to become rich
other weird, visual manifestations as- A spell is used for a specific result in a by tapping into the arcane forces of an
sociated with the occult. specific situation. The spell must be evil High Lord.
As the occult is a key part of the heavily researched, then carefully con- 'This magic system has a different feel
reality Orrorsh, occultists never dis- structed through trial and error, used, thanrnagicinmosthigh-fantasyworlds.
connect when using the oewlt in their and then probably never used again. Orrorsh is a different place. Hyou exam-
own reality. Outside of Orrorsh, the Why? ine horror movies and horror stories
Power of Corruption ean only boost Although the Gaunt Man needs a you can quickly see that a common
the axiom of the occult event, which is high axiom level to allow his monsters eiementisthattheprotagonistsaredeal-
the tool being used. Disconnection is a to exist, he does not want everyone ing with forces they do not precisely
four-case in any realm with a magic within the bounds of his reality to cast understand. They might make guesses
axiom of less thanZO. As few occultists powerful lPagical spells at wilL The as to how thesupematural works. They

--+-:':":""'""---------------~
76 ~
 Chapter Six

might even be right, but beyond that mean, a single, specific person or thing, When several smaller event sen-
guess there's anothermystery, and then or well-defined problem in the adven- tences come together theyform a Com·
anotherand then another. The key is the ture. The word "enemies" could be the· pound Noun. The first sentence of the
idea of the unknown. Places of horror object of a normal sentence- but it is last string ("This blood and fire shall
are places with lots of unknowns. If the not a single object, nor is it specific enchant this sword") uses a Com-
Storm Knights know everything about enough to define a problem in an ad· pound Noun,as the blood and the fire
how magic works, then they are wiz~ venture, thus it would not serve as an are the nouns of the sentence.
ards. If they don't know how to make Object for an event sentence. The words It is also possible to have a Com-
the mystical energies ofOrrorshbend to "Governor" "Baron Manwaring," pound Object. A typical Compound
their every whim, then they are guests "killer of my husband," "sword," Object is an Object that is a listof items
ina land theydonot understand.They' re "single potion" are all valid Objects for a particular ritual. The final Object
not powerless. They are certainly not as for ellent sentences. of an event sentence may not be a
powerful as Storm Knights in other The Noun of an event sentence is Compound Object.
realms, and that can be frightening. the person or object that is causing the Different occult events can be de-
We wanted to mimic the feel of event. Examples ofNouns are "blood," scribed through countless event sen~
arcane research in horror stories. The "potion." "sword," "chemicals." It is tences. It is up to the occultist's player
reader never knows exactly how Vic- seldom that the word "I" can be used to create the sentences. The more sen-
tor Frankenstein creates his monster as the noun in sentence, except as de- tences, the more objects that are in-
in the novel Franketlsteill, and there's scribed below. The occult magics rely volved. The more objects involved,
reason to believe that only Franken- on objects and props. This is one of the the more effect the occult magic has.
stein himself could repeal the act. In reasons that th~y ar~ so mysterious; Thus, It benefits the players to be as
the movie Alien, when Ash gives his occultists spend time manipulating creative and convoluted in theiroccult
jerry·rigged gizmos to the crew so they objects, and usually don't completely sentences as possible.
can track and herd the monster, the understand why an object has the ef- The best way to create an occult
attitude is definitely "We don't know fect it does. event is to start with an event sentence
if this stuff is going to work, but we Verbs are the action of the sentence that describes the overall event de-
have to try." The weirdness ofOrrorsh - what is done by the Noun to the sired. This sentence usually begins
should never be fully understood by Object. Examplesare "kill," "animate," with the Noun "I," For example, "I
the Storm Knights or their players. If it "dominate," "raise," "enchant," shall animate this corpse." Since
is, it isn't weird anymore. "waste." Orrorsh magic doesn't allow someone
Some occult events fit into a single to simply animate a corpse, the overall
event sentence. Many more are made event sentence must be broken down
Building an up of two or more sentences. This is into many different pieces.
done in one of two ways. The first is Here are some example event sen~
Occult Event when the Object of the first sentence tences based on the examples from the
becomes the Noun of the second sen- start of the chapter. Each example he-
When working with the fictional tence. Wheneventsentences are strung gins with an over-all event sentence,
magicofOrrorsh'soccult, it is beUerto together like this they are separated and then gives several different ways
think in terms of events than spells. by a semi-colon. Thus, sjahrir's occult ofbreaking down the overall sentence.
Spells suggest cook book recipes that event could look like this- Eachexampleis valid, but each ismore
can be used again and again. Events "This blood and fire (Noun) shall ell- complicated in structure than the last.
are specific in time and place. They chant (Verb) this s-uJOrd (Object); this
happen in a particular instant, and sword (Noun) shall destroy (Verb) my The Mad Scientist
then they are over. husband's killer (Object)."
Every occult event is described in a It is also possible to have more than Overall event sentence: "I shall ani-
event sentence. Eve"t sentences are nof one sentence stringas part of an event. mate this corpse."
spells. They are merely descriptions of This happens when the occultist needs 1. "I shaH create a formula; the pa-
the effect the occultist is trying to ere- to pursue several objects to make the tion shall animnte this corpse."
ate and are created for game mechanic occult event work, and then brings 2. ''I shall create notes; these notes
purposes only. There is no power in- them together at various points. In shall create a fonnula; this formula
herent in speaking an event sentence. these cases, a period is used to denote shall animate this corpse."
An event sentence must have a the end of a sentence string. For ex- 3. '1 shall create notes; these notes
Noun, a Verb, and a specific Object. ample- shall create a formula. I shall create a
The grammatical tenns of the event "I shall gather a vial of my husband's device; this device shall focus light-
sentence are capitalized to distinguish blood. The words of this cursed scroll ning. The formula and lightning shall
them from actual grammatical terms. shall enchant my lrusband's blood. The animate this corpse."
We do this because there are some words of this cursed scroll shall enchan t 4. "I shall gather the pieces of bod-
irn portant differences between a gram- the flames oj the furnace. This blood and ies; These pieces shall form a single
matical sentence and an event sOltence. fire shall endrant this sword; This sword corpse. I shall study the nature ofdead
When we say a specific Object, we shall destroy my husband's killer." bodies; these studies shall produce

~ ,----------
.........- 77
"
Torg: Orrorsh

notes; these notes shall create a for~ band. 1 shall gather hair from my gather some of my husband's blood. I
mula. I shall create a device; this de- husband's head; the hairshall be part of shall gain a sword. I shall find a fur-
vice shall focus lightning. The formula the picture. I shall research books; these nace. I shall use the blood and the
and lightning shall animate this books shall show me runes of domina- furnace to create an enchanted sword;
corpse." tion; the runes of domination shall sur- This sword shall kill mv husband's
round the picture of my husband. 1shall murderer." .
The Woman in the Attic gather special leaves; these leaves shall 4. "Ishall geta piece ofthe monster's
empowertherunesofdomination;these flesh; this piece of flesh shall give me
Overallevelltselltence: "I shalldomi- runes of domination shall let me domi- clues; these clues shall lead me to
nate my husband." nate my husband." books; These books shall contain a
1. "I shall study runes; these runes ritual; this ritual sh..'1l1 involve a bit of
shall let me dominate my husband." The Sword-Smith my husband's blood, a sword, a fur-
2. "I shall research books; these n<lce. , shall gather some of my
books shall show me runes of domina- Overall event selltence: "I shall kill husband's blood. I shall gain a sword.
tion; these runes of domination shall my husband's murderer." 1 shall find a furnace. 1 shall use the
let me dominate my husband." 1. "I shall create an enchanted blood and the furnace to create an
3. "I shall draw a picture of my sword; the enchanted sword shall kill enchanted sword; this sword shall kill
husband. I shall gather hair from my my husband's murderer." my husband's murderer."
husband's head; the hair shall be part 2. "I shall gather some of my
of the picture. I shall research books; husband's blood; this blood shall en-
these books shall show me runes of chant a sword; this enchanted sword Occult Props
domination; the runes of domination shall kill my husband's murderer."
shall surround the picture of my hus- 3. "1 shall research books; these As the event sentences get more
band; these runes of domination shall books shall contain a ritual; this ritual complicated, the list ofobjects involved
let me dominate my husband." shall involve a bit of my husband's with the occult event grows. We call
4. "I shall draw a picture of my hus- blood, a sword, and a furnace. I shall these objects props, although they do

:::----------------~
--0-;'78 ~
 Chapter Six

Let us say that this is their overall

event sentence is: "We shall slay the
H ow Come the Players are Deciding the Plot?
monster."
They break down their event sen-
tences as follows:
Now some gamemasters may make it more complicated they
"We shall research books; These
be wondering, "Hey, aren't the receive extra bonuses to their fi-
nal occult roll. So the more com- books shall lead to an obscure
players plotting a lot of what's
document; This document shall
going to happen?" plicated and imaginative they
describe a ritual; This ritual shall
Well, yes. You caught us. Yes, make their occult senlences, the
involve the blood of the monster
they are. In the above example more they are rewarded. Thus
they outline severa.l key points the players are rewarded for being and silver bullets. We shall collect
in an adventure's plot, describ- creative! the blood of the monster. We shall
ing whClt they will do Clnd whPrE.' Thes~ory logic forlhis kind of
manufacture silver bullets. We
their actions will lead next. shall perform the ritual; the ritual
play is that Storm Knights par-
shall meld the silver with the blood;
The spirit of Torg encourages ticipating in the occult are set-
the bullels shaH kill the creature."
such participation on the part of ting up an experiment. Occult-
the players. Remember that the ists essentially say: "If we set up
players also have cards which this series of events, then this
help them dictate the events of will happen." Ifafterall theevent
The Occult Total
the story. They have possibility sentences are completed, the De-
points that let them dictate when wit skill fails, it "proves" that The occult total is generated once
their characters are going to do the events were set up incor- for each overalJ occult event. II isup to
really well. Part of the idea be- the gamemaster to decide at what point
rectly. The resultoftheocwlt roll
hind the rul~ of Torg is that the retrofits the entire outline of the to generate the occult total. This is
players should have a more ac- event sentences. If it works it usually upon the completion of the
tive part in creating the story of last event sentence. In the examples
means that the grasp of the oc-
the adventure. This is just an ex- above, the mad scientisl generates an
cult was reasonable enough this
tension of that idea. The event occult total when he uses the last object
time around for them to under-
sentence struclure allows Ihe to animate the corpse; the woman en-
stand what to do. If the roll fails,
players to decide how difficult it means that they simply went chanting the sword rolls when putting
they want their attempt to use off track somewhere in their un- all the elements together when en-
the occult to be. Of course, if they derstanding of the occult. chanting the sword (not whensheuses
the sword against the monsler); and
Ihe woman in the attic when she cast
the lasl portion of the ritual to enchant
her husband.
not exist in any real sense. We call This is what we mean when we say When several Occultists work to-
them props to point out Iheir func- that using the occult magic of Orrorsh gether to generate theoccuft total they
tions in an adventure. These functions is an event. By the time the Storm receive the positive modifiers for co-
are to add color and create hooks for Knights cast a spell using the Occult ordinating described on page 47 of the
adventures. they've already gone through quite a Torg RlIfebook.
Occult props add color because they few terrifying events. This should not Occult events may have sub-events
call upimages from movies and books discourage the use of the occult. An which do require generating an occult
that we've all read, They invoke the occult event is the gamemaster's friend, total. Occult totals for sub-events are
"feel" of horror stories. The players for it forces the plilyers to create the necessary for the success of the overall
should try to use props from horror ad venture ideas for him. event, but only allow the one, impor-
slories and movies when they create Every once in a while the tant occult total for the overall event.
their event sentences. gamemaster should create situations They are never substituted for the over-
Props are also important as adven- in which the Storm Knights mllst use all event total. See "Occult So b- Events"
ture hooks. Although some props are the occult. For example, some below.
easy to gather, others require time, creatured. are resistant to normal wea p- Because the characters are creating
perhaps a whole adventure, to acquire. ons. The Storm Knights must create a the occult effect, it is up to their play-
In the last example above, if the Storm weapon specifically designed to kill it. ers to outline what they want the basic
Knights wanted to create an enchanted The monsterbleedswhen it takes dam- effect of the occult to be. If they are
swordso they could do battle wilh the age, but it never seems to die. They are creating a creature, they must present
strange creature terrorizing Southeast baffled. They've done research, and the gamemaster with the creature's
Asia, the hunt for the ritual to enchant all the information gathered points to attributes and skills. If they are mak-
the sword might lead them into a Ihe need to draw on the power of the ing a magical weapon, they must de-
haunted castle inhabited by a power- occult. Not the best solution perhaps, cide the weapon's damage value and

..
ful vampyre, or even a Nightmare. but it seems to be the only one. special properties. If they are creating

~------------_
...........- 79
Torg: Orronh

an event likea magical spell" they must 2. A woman wants to make a spell Because spells of Aysle and the use of
write up the spell. to dominate her husband's will. She occult powers differ, there are some
Animportant partof the write up is works out the event sentences and differences between the two formats.
what to do with bonus numbers or then creates the s~I1. When constructing a spell format
result points. Every occult roll offers for an occult event, there are no list·
the possibility of failure" success, and Dominate Husband ings for axiom level, skill, backlash,
success with bonuses. Spell descrip- difficulty, or manipulation.
tions are dear in their outline of what Effect Value: 18 Here's why:
to do with the bonus number. Other Bonus Number to: effect Axiom Level: There's no need to
cases contain a bit more leeway for Range: 6 (approximately the size of list the axiom level. as the axiom level
interpretation. The gamemaster her house) of all occu1tevents is20;even this level
should work with the players when Duration: 25 (one day) does not cause contradiction within
they decide what the extra result val· Cast Time: 18 (one hour) Orrorsh.
ucs mCiln. The effect value of the spell substi- Skill: The occult skill is the only
The description of what the charac· tutes for the woman's chann and per- skill used for an occult event.
lers want to happen is what the suasion skills when dealing with her Backlash: There is no backlash for
gamemaster uses to determine the d i f· husband in their house. The speD occult events. The reality of Orrorsh
ficult)' number of the occult event. works as the c1umn and skill, except wants people to dabble in the Occult.
Here are some examples of occult that the woman may roU for a charm DifficuJty: The difficuJty is set by
event effects. The first three are from each round, instead of every few min- the gamemasler after he reviews the
the examples above. utes. She then can make persuasion occult event proposal.
1. A mad scientist wants to animate roUs when he is most likely to agree to Manipulation: Occult events are
a corpse. He creates the event sen- anything she suggests. so narrowly defined by the players
tences and then creates the statistics The wife must spend one houreach that any magic manipulation is part
he wants the corpse to possess. day keeping the spell active. No new of the event. No further manipula~
rolls are reqUired once the spell is ini· tion is necessary.
Animated Corpse
tially activated.
DEXTERlTY7
A willpcr.uer roll against the spell's
Dodge 9" running 9, unanned com·
batll
effect value allows the husband to dis- The Difficulty
obey a command when out of the
STRENGTH 12
house. Even if he succeeds in shaking Number
Climbing 15, lifting 14 off the effects of thespell, when hegets
TOUGHNESS 13 When the Storm Knight proposed
home he is once again subject to her
PERCEPTION 8 will. After being sent out to kill the to create an occult event. the game-
MIND 8 same person five times in a row he master must assign the event a diffi·
Survival 10, test 11, willpower 11 might murder just to be free of the culty number. This occurs in the same
CHARISMA 6 command. way the gamemasterassigns difficulty
SPIRIT 12 numbers for other tasks. The guide lor
Intimidation 15 3. A woman wants to enchant a the gamemaster is how powerful a
The creature is loyal to its makers. sword so that it can damage the crea- result the characters are seeking; the
ExlT<I rc!'ult points affectthecreaturc's ture that killed her husband. more powerful, the higher the diffi·
loyalty as follows: Short Sword: +4 damage value; culty number the gamemaster assigns
Mirlimnl success: The re-animated to the task.
maximum damage value 18; damage
corpse is wary of its creator, but will value +11, maximum damage value Effect: The base difficulty is the
do as the scientist instructs as long as 25 when used against murderer. B0- effect valueoftheoccuJtevent. A magic
he is well treated. sword grants adds to the damage
nus numbers are added to damage
Averagesuccess: The creature is neu· value of the sword when used against value. In that case the difficulty is the
tral towDrd the scientist, though he the creature. maximum damage value for the
does see the scientist as his creator, sword; this is saying the effect value of
and feels indebted to the scientist. the spell shall not exceed the maxi·
Good success: The creature identi- Spell Formats For mum damage value for the weapon.
fies the scientist as "Master" and does Armor, or spectacles that aid PtTCEp-
as the scientist says. The monster still Occult Events tion, could be handled in a similar
hesitates when follo\ving We threat- manner.
ening situations. When someone uses the occult to The gamemaster may modify the
Silptrioror Spectacular: Thecreature get a spell effect he must write up the base difficulty based on her judge-
does anything the scientist instructs speD so the gamemaster can deter- ment of the appropriateness of the
with no regard for life or limb. mine a difficulty number to obtain spell to story. Ushe believes the occult
that effect. The fonnat of the spell is event is the kind of thing which al·
similar to that of spells from Aysle. ways happens in horror adventures,

_ .--------------------,......
..... 80 ~
 ChopterSix

she may consider the spell to be easy (- nons that they take. We call them Storm Knight occultists. This is be-
3 difficulty) or very easy (-5 difficulty). guidelines because ultimately it is up cause all Storm Knights made a choice
The modifiers are from the Difficulty the gamemaster to decide what the to be good at the moment they became
Number Scale on page 42 of the Torg StormKnightscanandcatulOtgetaway Storm Knights. Heketon and the Power
Rulebook.If the spell stretches the hor- with when they use the occult rules. of Corruption are not about to help a
ror conventions, it should be 10 times The gamemaster should work with Storm Knight by giving him the neces-
as difficult (+5 difficulty). If the the players to encourage their wacky sary knowledge.
gamemaster feels that this occult event imaginations, but he should respect 3. Occult Equipment: Occult lab
would never happen in horror stories, the fact that if given the opportunity kits exist which allow small occult
the difficulty modifier is +17 or more . the Storm Knights might bring his events to be produced outside a labo-
Range: Most occult events create whole campaign down in flood of oc- ratory. More amibitious projects re-
an object or an effect within reach of cult-spawned lava. quire libraries and fully-equipped
the caster. If the gamemaster thinks 1. Generality of Effect: The occult laboratories. Thiscan limitwherechar-
that the players have given the event is intended for one specific target, or to aclers use the occult. See Chapter Nine
an excessive range, she may increase solve the one specific problem set in a for costs and difficulties of obtaining
the difficulty of the event. The diffi- story, usually the defeat of one mon- occult equipment.
culty increase can beas littleas+l to as ster. Players will certainly try to ex·
great as the full range value of the spell 4. The Power of Corruption: Usu-
pand theocculttosolvea hostofprob- ally the Power of Corruption bestows
or event. lems with one event. When they do,
NumberofTargets: If Ihe event can one to five Corruption points to a per·
stop them cold. An amulet which pro- son committing an evil act. When
be legitimately applied to marc than tects against all undead makes sense
one target (see ''Limits onStonn Knight someone does an evil act with the oc-
in Aysle, but not in Orrorsh. If the cult the lid is taken off the number of
Occult Events" below), it is still more players cannot name each individual
difficult than if the event only affected Corruption points awarded. If an oc-
target of the event (not necessarily by cultist turned all the water in and
one target. The ganiemaster is encour- name, but at least by a label such as
aged 10 use the One On Many diffi- around Indonesia to blood it would
"my husband's killer.") then the event hann so many people (the fish for food
culty modifiers to increase the diffi- is too general.
culty of the occult event. would die, water would no longer be
The gamemaster, after he reviews 2. Stonn Knight Knowledge: The available to drink) that 20 to 30 Cor-
the effects of the occult event and de- Storm Knights can only produce oc- ruption points might be given to the
cides on a difficulty number, then tells cult events to solve problems or be occultist. The path of the evil occultist
the players the number. They can try directed at targets of which they have invariably leads to transformation into
to reduce the number by weakening first-hand knowledge. A sword which a monster. This is not a problem for
the effect of the event, or they can would harm all evil creatures would gamemaster character occultists.
create more bonuses by creating a require the occultist to have person-
longer event sentence string. ally faced every single evil creature in
Orrorsh, or to have seen every single Bonuses for
evil act in Orrorsh. Prevention of an
Limits on unencountered problem is not pos- Occult Props
sible with the Occult.
Occult Events Storm Knights may not manufac-
Occultists also receive a +1 add to
their occult value for each Object in
ture an occult event to produce True
The Occult Event system is a very their occult sentences. For example,
Death for a monster, unless they know
potent magical system. We want the the event string below has five differ-
what the True Death is supposed to ent props. Thus, when the wife gener~
occult magic of Orrorsh to be as flex- be. In the example of the woman
ible as the gamemaster needs for his ates her occult total she gains a +5 to
sword-smith, the sword would not
story. Its possible that the players her occult skill value.
produce True Death unless the occult-
might attempt to bend the system into "1 shall draw a picture of my 11l1s-
ist knew beforehand that the
something that it wasn't meant to be band(l). I shall gather hair(2) from my
murderer's True Death was "death by
- a magic system with the power of husband's head; The hair shall be part
an enchanted weapon." While the
the apocalypse backing it. Let's face it of the picture. I shall research books(3);
sword may not produce True Death, it
- given Torg's open ended system, These books shall show me runes of
is still an enchanted weapon against domination(4); the runes of domina-
cards, and Possibilities,a Storm Knight her husband's murderer.
occultist might be tempted to turn the tion shall surround the picture of my
Gamemastercharacteroccultists,do husband. Ishall gatherspeeialleaves(S);
jungles of Indonesia into a really big not have this limitation. The Ecology
bonfire. This is not what the occult these leaves shall empower the runes
of Horror allows them to create occult
system is about. of domination; These runes of domi-
events beyond their personal knowl-
What follows, then,aresomeguide- nation shall let me dominate my hus-
edge by drawing upon the knowledge band."
lines on how the players and their of Heketon itself. Gamemaster occult-
Storm Knights are limited in the ac- Notice that the husband, who is the
ists are Simply more powerful than
final object of the spell, does not count

~----------------_I_
..........- 81
.
Torg: Orrorsh

as a prop, even if he is present for the objects, all six are needed before the Any time the gamemaster decides
ritual. In general the final object of an event can be completed. If players that an occult total is reqUired to con-
occult event should not count as a design a lengthy event string in the tinue along the steps of the event string,
prop. Thegamemaster may waive this hopes of large bonuses, they are stuck the occultist must roll against a diffi-
rule if, for example, the players de- with working their way through the culty number of at least 12. He may
cided to obtain and enchant the sword entire string to get the occult event to use all the bonuses (cards, points, co-
of one of the original Portuguese con- work at all. ordinated effort) of a normal action,
querors. Kind gamemasters may choose to but not the bonus received for occult
Objects in sentences that are repeti- allow the players to increase the num- props; Only the overall occult event
tions of Objects from other sentences berofscenes spent on the occult event. receives the prop bonus.
do not count toward the bonus. Thus, If the players write an event sentence Thegamemasterdecideshowmuch
in the example above the picture of the which takes a very specific amount of time the occult activity will take. For
husband and the runes of domination time, any scenes that take placeduring example, creating the formula from
ilrc mentioned several times but only that time count toward the number of the notes might lake a week. After a
the first time the objects areused counts scenes dealing \'lith the occult event. week of work has passed, the mad
toward the bonus. Occultists want to Players take the risk of making the scientist makes a roll. Ifhesucceeds he
include as many props in their event occult event una\'ailable to them in has the formula and may proceed on
sentence strings as possible. order to make it easier to add props to to the next step of the occult event
The reason occultists are given such the occult event. string. Jfhe failed, he must start again,
a powerful opportunity to determine Example: Players nre designing a spending another week to get another
how many props they will use is if the wooden dagger to slay a vampyre. chance at the roll.
occult event fails, their theory as to One of the event srntences is, "We Many occult event sentences do 1/ot
how to perform the occult event was thell dip tlte dagger ill holy water:" require an OCCI/lt roll. Getting a sword
simply wrong. If they still wish to TIte players cOllld choose instead to or gathering some hair from the spell's
perform the event they must come up write, "TIle dagger must steep ill holy targeted victim are more likely to in·
with a new method of constructing the water for atl elltire day and 1Iighf." valve stenWJ or lock picking than the
event - which means writing a new AllY SCCIl(!S whicl! occllr dllring t!le
occult skill. In the example above a
event sentence string. Since acquiring fime the dagger is soaking COlf ld COllnt research roll would let the characters
props takes tIme (and risk and effort) as a scelle dealing with the occult. If find the runes in the books.
it behooves an occultist to gather as 110 scenes fook placedurillg that time,
many bonuses as possible for his roll 110 scenes are added. If three seelles
to insure his event succeeds. Better took place, three scenes would be Spells of Orrorsh
safe than sorry when dealing with the added.
occult. The major discipline of nmgic in
A rule of thumb for gamemaster Orrorsh is the occult. Very few people
Limits on Occult Objects occultists is no more than one occult within Orrorsh know the basic magi-
prop may be acquired and added 10 cal skills of alteration magic, divina-
The occult is difficult. Only so much the occult event per day. An average tion magic, apportation magic and
can be done in a short time. Once an time is one occult propper week, while conjuration magic found in Aysle.
occult event string is designed in an extremely difficult props or objects Over the centuries a few occultists in
adventure, no more than one occult can take months or years. Orrorsh have stumbled across the
prop becomes effective per scene dur- methods of these more precise and
ing which the characters deal with the codified skills. These occultists have
occult event. Dealing with the occult Occult Sub-Events used these skills to construct spells
event includes obtaining the props, that are repeatable along the lines of
doing the necessary research, and ex- When working on a string there
Aysle's spells.
perimenting in the laboratory. If an will be times when an occultist needs
Because spells such as these are so
evcnlslring conlainssix props, but th~ to make an occult roll to complete a
rare in Orrorsh, anyone who possesses
characters only spend fourscenesgath- section of his string and continue on
such a spell is loathe to share his valu-
ering props, arcane bits of this and his way toward the overall occult
able ritual with anyone. Such spells
that, or puttering around the lab be- event. For example, let us say the mad
are usually found on scraps of paper,
fore generating the occult total, then scientist from the above examples has
or buried in thick tomes oi nearly use-
the occult value is increased by +4 gathered his notes and is ready to use
less occult research. The wielders of
rather than +6. If players are not will- the notes to create his formula. The
such spells are usually lucky occultists
ing to spend game time on the occult creation of the formula requires the who stumbled across an obscure vol-
event, do not give them the bonus for use of the occult skill and it might fail.
umein a used bookshop that gave him
occult props and objecls. The sub-event is easier to do than the
the last clue he needed to cast a spell,
All of the props are still necessary. overall occult event, and failure is not
or very old and powerful occultists
If the occult event requires six props or as devastating.
who have gathered such spells over
their lifetimes.

......,=-------------------~
82 ~
 Chapter Six

The spells work exactly as those of master should determine these areas. tion to the spells listed below, an
Aysle. To cast these spells a character They are small, usually no larger than Orrorsh mage with sufficient skill and
must have all the skills and arcane a cave, and are often the site of occult knowledge may start with any spell in
knowledges as described in the Aysle research. the Torg Rulebook, subject to game-
sourcebook. The only difference be- The spells below were created master approval. These spells were
tween AysIe spells and Orrorsh spells through occult research. As a result created by occult research, and so do
is their nature. In Orrorsh it is easier to they may be used in Orrorsh without not cause contradiction in Orrorsh.
hurt than heal - destruction is a lot causing a contradiction, unlike Ayslish Once the character is in play, she
easier than creation. This difference is spells. The pain of their construction may learn additional spells at the nor~
reflected in Orrorsh's Power of Cor~ and the difficulty of finding themsatis~ mal cost of one Possibility. The char p

ruption. People who want power fies the Power of Corruption's need to acter must actually find the spell be-
through magic know that spells that make magic difficult. fore she can learn it.
do harm are easier to cast and create
than spells that do not. Thus, most Torg World Book Templates
occult event that create spells tend to Starting Templates,
create spells that are destructive. Gypsy Soothsayer: This template
Note: The change in spell difficulty Magic Skills may now have Spirit 12, Perception 10,
for harmful/ helpful spells (page 16 of
the Torg World Book) no longer applies.
and Spells with a tag skill of spirit medil/m, if the
character does not want to have divi-
Some of the spells have a magic If an Orrorsh template starts with IUltion magic as a tag skill.
axiom level higher than that ofOrrorsh. oneofthe four traditional magicskills, Vampyre Hunter: This template
This is not a mistake. Realities have a they can acquire arcane knowledges may start with the research skill by
bit of a flux to them, and there are at normal cost. Each spell cost two of having neither divination magic nor al~
spots in Orrorsh where the Magic the mage's 12 additional skill points, teratiOIl magic.
axiom is higher than 15. The game- due to their rarity in Orrorsh. In addi-

83
I.
Torg: Orronh

The Spells owner rarely looks at it with the same images as concrete, three dimensional
aitical eye as he did during the pur- images existing in real space. Thus,
chase, the victim of the spell walking down
Artistic Grace the street might suddenly see himself
Axiom Level: II Boiling Blood run over by a hansom cab. Or, he
might be exploring a dark, haunted
Skill: car/juration/folk 11 Axiom Level: 13 house and, upon opening a door, con·
Skill: alteration/folk 15 front the image of his corpse nailed to
Backlash: 15
a wall. Thespetlcasterchooses thespe-
Difficulty: 13 Backlash: 19 cific image.
Effect Value: 18 Difficulty: 10 A person suffering from the effects
Bonus Number to: effect Effect Value: 10 of the spell is distracted while viewing
Bonus Number to: Effect the image of his death. Compare the
Range: 0 (one meter)
final effect value of the spell to the
Duration: 32 (one month) Range: 10 (lOa meters) victim's Spirit. The result points are
Cast Time: 18 (one hour) Dwation: 8 (40 seconds) read through the Power Push table,
Manipulation: control, duration Cast Time: 3 (four seconds) and thefinalresultpointsareadded to
Manipulation: control the difficulty number of any task the
This illusory spell allows the oc-
victim attempts while W\der the ef-
cultist to imbue any artistic workof his Boiling blood requires a torch or other fects of the spell.
with theappear<lnce of brilliance. The open flame and a small portion of The images are real, so the victim
piece of work can be a novel, a sculp- blood from the folk type under attack. does not get to make a willpower or
hue, a painting - or anything else The magician pours the blood over hi5 Mind roll to throw off the effects. The
that constitutes "art" in a particular hand and places his hand in the flame. moment the spell begins the victim
society. The pain is excruciating, hence the knows that the image is not him. It
There are several versions of this high backlash, but the hand emerges cannot be, since the victim knows he
spell in existence. In one, the spell unscathed, can't really be dying or dead. The
caster must offer the life of an animal If the spell hits (the alteration magic strength of the spell is an overwhelm-
to gain the approval of the dark forces total is higher than thetarget'sdodgeor ing image so strong that the victim
of Orrorsh. In another, the would·be Dexterity), the target's blood begins to becomes transfixed.
artist must perform a service for an boil, Compare the effect value to the
agent of evil. Most occultists spend target's Toughness, ignoring armor
more time pursuing the power of the Eye Spy
adds, and the target takes that level of
occult to make their work appealing damage for four rounds. The magi- Axiom Level: 11
than actually working on becoming cian does not need to concentrate to Skill: divination/folk 13
better at their art. keep the spell operating for the fow
Anyone who sees or reads or hears rounds;once he has cast it, it continues Backlash: 14
the enchanted piece ofwork believes it to operate on its own for the full dura- Difficulty: 10
to be delightful, full of the truth of life, tion. Effect Value: 18
brilliant. A successful Mind or will- Bonus Number to: range
power roll made against the spells ef- Death Haunt
fect value allows the spectator to see Range: 7 (25 meters)
the true value of the work. The true Axiom Level: 12 DwaHon: 18 (one hour)
value of a pieceof work might actually Skill: cOlljuratiolllfolk 19 Cast Time: 9 (one minute)
be just as good as the spell suggested, Manipulation: control, range
but now the piece must be judged on Backlash: 18
its own merits. Difficulty: 12 The occultist uses this spell to see
The main drawback of the spell is Effect Value: 21 through a disembodied eye taken from
its limited duration. Many masters of Bonus Number to: effect a corpse. The eye is alive, to a certain
the mystic crafts with a yen for artistic degree. It can roll around according to
fame have sought to create a perma- Range: 7 (25 meters) the directions of the occultist. For the
nent version of the spell, but most Duration: 9 (one minute) duration of the spell, the eye can travel
have failed. Home brewed versions of Cast Time: 5 (ten seconds) anywhere it Cdn roll within the raIlg~
the spell allow an occultist to make a Manipulation: control, duration of the spell.
piece of work appealing to a single To see what the eye "sees" the oc·
person, or very limited group ofpeople The target of this spell is obsessed cultist must close her own eyes. She
for a permanent duration. Occultists with images of his own death for the does notentera trance of any kind, but
have found that once a person buys spell's duration. He does not imagine her actions are limited as she cannot

_.. .,.,.....---------,.....
and hangs a painting on their wall, the them in the abstract, as we normally see what is going on around her.
perceive our thoughts, but sees the When theoccultist'seyesareclosed

84 ~
Chapter Six
Torg: Orrollih

she sees what the eye sees from the Range: 10 (100 meters) The Mark of lhe Hunted
perspective of the eye. The eye itself Duration: 29 (one week)
cannot be rolling from one place to Cast Time: 9 (one minute) Axiom Level: 11
another when it transmits its images; Manipulation: control, duration Skill: alteration/folk 18
if the occultist closes hiseyes when the
eye is rolling, the occultist sees noth- To cast this spell, the user thinks of Backlash: 15
ing. The eye can tum slightly from images of hatred, pain, misery and Difficulty,9
side to side when the oca,dtist is using despair, working himself into a frenzy Effect Value: 17
it to see. of emotion. Then he hurls his emo- Bonus Number to: duration
If the eye moves out of range, the tions at the target, attempting to write
spell expires. The effect value is the them on the target's mind. The spell's Range: 15 (one kilometer)
maximum Perception or related skill effect value is compared to the target's Duration: 29 (one week)
total which the occultist can generate Mind. If a superior or better success is Cast Time: 9 (one minute)
when !';eeing through the eye. achieved the target is deranged for Manipulation: control, duration
To cast this spell the occultist needs one week.
an eye from a corpse of the same spe- Note that if the caster is knocked To cast this spell, the occultist must
cies as she, and thread which she must unconscious by the backlash of the touch the victim ofthe spell, flesh upon
weave into an intricate pattern before spell, he is affected by the madness- flesh. It can be as simple a gesture as a
casting the spell. but only for one day. handshake, or a punch thrown during
Theexact form the madness takes is combat. Before thecontact is made the
Fear up lo the gam~ma~t~r. H~re are some occultistmustcover his hand (the hand
options: that will touch the victim) with black
Axiom Level: 15 Paranoid delusions: The character ash. This is done during the casting of
Skill: a/lemtion/darkness 19 believes that everyone and everything thespell. Thehand can thenbewashed..
is out to get him. Everyone is an en· The contact with the victim must be
Backlash: 19 emy, any words spoken to the charac· made within an hour of the casting of
Difficulty: 15 ter are perceived by him as a threat. the spell. Note that the spell is not
Effect Value: 25 The character might not reveal his impressed.. The hour delay after the
Bonus Number to: duration paranoia, keeping the "knowledge" castingof the spell issimply a function
that he is on to the world's plot against of the spell.
Range: 10 (l00 meters) him as leverage against his enemies. To trigger the spell against the
Duration: 9 (one minute) Catatonia: The character cannol proper person, theoccultistmustspeak
Cast Time: 9 (one minute) move or stand. He assumes a fetal a key word he chose during the cast-
Manipulation: control, duration posi tion and remains withdrawn from ing. The effect value must exceed. the
the world. Spirit or faith of the victim. When this
Casting this spell on a group of Schizophrenia: The character no spell is cast, the subject of the spell
characters lowers their Perseverance. longer perceives the world with the bears a mark upon his head invisible
The spell is resisted. by the group's same sense of reality known by sane to all but the occultist. The mark ap-
Perset'Crotfce.If successful the Persever· men. Voices speak to him. Posters and pears as pyramid drawn with black
mICe is lowered. by the result bonus of handbills are strange signs from god- ashes. It glows with an unearthly black
nine. plus the result point!'; read like beings. The character often light.. and acts as beacon if the spell
through the Power Push table. The mumbles to himself, speaking in reply caster is within a kilometer. The per-
spell affects any number of monster 10 the beings, even if no one is around. son with themark cannot wipe it off. If
killers, for the Perseverance of any char- The character might think that every- he tries to cover itwitha hat or piece of
acter isshared by the entire group. The one has demons in their heads, or he cloth theoccultistcanstillseethe mark
entire group does not have to be di- might think that he has been chosen and the light still glows through the
rectly affected. by the spell for their by extraordinary beings as a pupil of material. The character can disguise
Persevernllce to drop. special knowledge. himself. shnpechange, polymorph,
Homicidaimania:Thecharacterkills. tum invisible or try to disguise his
Madness He might go on a killing rampage and presence or identity in any way - but
not carewho sees him. He might plot his no methods work when dealing with
Axiom Level: 13 murders carefully. with a disturbing the occultist who cast the spell. Only
Skill: alteration/folk 20 attention todetail,and thusavoid detec- another occult spell or event can alter
tion. the mark before the spell'S duration is
Backlash: 16 Characters who do evil acts under finished.
Difficulty: 15 the influence of madness draw on the The occultist must have the attitude
Effect Value: 15 Power of Corruption just as if they of hostile or elUmy toward the target of
Bonus Number to: Effect were sane. this spell.

•• 86
 Chapter Six

Seduction scene of the murder only to die of Range: 0 (one meter)

unexpected "natural" causes an hour Duration: 15 (fifteen minutes)
Axiom Level: 9 or more after the murder was commit- Cast Time: 25 (one day)
Skill: alteration/folk 16 ted. This lets an occultist kill people Manipulation: control, duration
with his dark powers without draw-
Backlash: 13 ing undue attention to himself. This spell is unusual, an occult com~
Difficulty: 11 The acceleration is so slight for the bination of spells and efJects which
Effect Value: 20 first quarter of the spell's duration as would leave an Ayslish mage baffled.
Bonus Number to: duration to beimperceptible. In the second quar~ It allows the caster to call forth a
ter of the spell's duration the effect is Scarabus (see ehapter Eight) and help
Range: self noticeable, but only on aPercepfiOlI roll command it to do the caster's bidding.
Dwation: 25 (one day) of18 or better. In the third quarter, the To cast the spell the occultist must
Cast Time: 18 (one how) victim begins to feel the stress of the draw an arcane pattern on the floor.
Manipulation: control, dwation acceleratiun, but a Perceptivn rull uf a The pattern vane; for different ver-
14 is still required to identify the source sions of this spell, though all of them
TIlls illusory spell increases the de- of the problem as the heart-in the last have the common element of an en-
sirability of the spell caster in the eyes of quarter of the spell's duration there is closed shape (a circle, square, penta-
all members of the desired sex. The no doubt that the heartis pounding far gram). The idea is to keep the sum-
effect value of the spell is substituted for too fast. The victim suffers intense pain. moned Scarabus within the enclosed
the chann and persuasion skills of the which culminates in a heart attack at shape- forH the demon can leave the
occultist. Although the spell was spe- the very end of the spell's duration. area he will kill the occultist that sum-
cifically created toaid in the acquisition Once the heart attack occurs the moned him. The occultist surrounds
of amorous affairs, it effect can be used victim suffers the attack of the effect the area around the shape with fire
to influence any member of the desired value of the spell against his Tough- and incense and then speaks an incan-
sex as long as the occultist leads the man ness. The damage continues for 10 tation that lasts for one day. He is
or woman to think that romance is even~ rounds, or until the target is dead. allowed shortbreaks dUring the rilpa 1,
tually in store. Several modifiers apply to the de- needed particularly for lighting new
A Mind or wil/power roll of 15 ne- scriptions above. incense and resting his voice - but he
gates the effect of the spell. First, the difficulty numbers listed may not sleep. For the full duration of
To cast the spell the occultist burna above assume that the victim or his the spell his focus must be on the
single rose in a silver brazier. As the companions are not using medical ritual, an exhausting process.
smoke from the ruined flower floats devices designed to find symptoms of When the ritual is completed the
around him he speaks the words of the disease. Thus, if in the second quarter Scarabus appears in the enclosed pat-
occult ritual. someone puts a stethoscope against tern drawn on the floor. He's usually
the victim's chest the rapid pace of the very angry and annoyed. The effect
Slow Death heart can be detected without a roll. value of the spell is compared against
Second, for the first three quarters it the creature's willpower. If the effect
Axiom Level: 17 is nearly impossible for a character to value is lower than the Scarabus' will-
Skill: alteration/folk 16 notice his heart is beating unnaturally power the creature is freed and it at-
fast if he has been exerting himself tempts to kill the occultist. If the oc-
Backlash: 21 physically. Thus, if a person scales a cultist is knocked unconscious, even if
Difficulty: 18 mountain just after the spell is cast the effect value is greater than the
Effect Value: 20 upon him he might not notice the creature's willpower, thecreatureisnot
Bonus Number to: effect strange acceleration of his heart until held by the pattern and is free to attack
the last fifteen minutes of the climb. In the occultist.
Range: 7 (25 meters) such cases add a +8 to the difficulty If the effectvalue is greater than the
Duration: 18 (one hour) number to notice the acceleration of Scarabus' willpower, then the occultist
Cast Time: 5 (ten 5eConds) the heart beat without medical instru- can ask the creature to perform a task
Manipulation: control, duration ments. Add only +4 if medical instru- for him. A controlled Scarabus must
ments are used. perform the action stated. The terms
This impressed spell creates the of the task are subject to dlllrm and
conditions of a cardiac arrest within Summon Scarabus persuasion rolls made by the occultist.
the body of a victim chosen by the When a Scarabus first appears it is
occultist. If the spell is successfully Axiom Level: 18 hostile to the occultist and can only
cast, the heartbeat of the victim begins Skill: conjuration/entity 24 make a negotiated agreement - and
toslowly accelerate for the duration of most people don't like owing any-
the spell. The spell acts as a "slow Backlash: 27 thing to a Scarabus. The occultist will
poison" that lets the occultist casually Difficulty, 14 probably want to charm the Scarabus,
leave the scene of the murder after the Effect Value: 15 and then drive up the persuasion to a
spell is cast, or lets the victim leave the Bonus Number to: effect value yes, or even a vow, before agreeing to

.....,-------------------,_.
~ 87
Torg: Onorsh

the tenns set by the Scarabus. and dangles itin the air. While making
The success level of the spell against the correct incantations, the magician The occultist creates a silver mirror
the Scarabus' willpower is a positive taps the coin's edge, causing it to twirl inlaid with with jewels. The value of
modifier for the occultist to bothc1tanll rapidly. AI the end of an hour, the the materials used for the material
and persuasion rolls as follows: magician taps thecoin sharply against must equal at least 2,000 Sterlings
Minimal: 0 add the lead, causing it to transmute. 00,000 US dollars). The spell is cast
Average: +1 add The gold is to all appearances real, while looking into the mirror. The
Good: +2 add except that if it touches cold iron, it ritual requires that the occultist cut a
Superior. +3 add immediately reverts to lead. The gold bit of his hair off at the time of the
Spectacular. +4 add reverts to lead at the end of the spell's casting. The hair is kept in a small
duration. compartment within the silver mirror
Thus, if the Scarabus has a will- Versions of this spell are rumored frame.
power of 18, and the occultist got an to exist for metals lighter than lead, When cast, the occultist does not
effect valueof 19 (giving a result value though they are much more difficult age for the duration of the spell. Bo-
of average), the occultist gets a +1 add to cast. The greatest challenge thus far nuses add to the duration of the spell
to all channand persuasion rolls made for occultists is to increase the spell's and keep the spellcaster from aging
with the creature. duration, which can currently only be for longer periods of time. If the oc-
One the negotiations are completed, done by spending weeks casting it. cultist wishes to avoid a~ing com-
the creature is freed from the power of Attempts to make the gold impervi- pletely he must re-cast the spell before
the pattern. However, it cannot harm ous to the iron test have thus far been the same mirror each time the spell is
the occultist and must complete the completely unsuccessful. This prob- about to end. If the spell is not recast
request. lem is peculiar to the occultists of before the same mirror, the occultist
Orrorsh. The magic of other realities immediately suffers damage as if he
Transmute Lead to Gold do not have the same problems with were attacked by a damage value equal
this type of spell. to the effect value of the spell.
Axiom Level: 9 Note that in Victoria and Majestic; Thus, the longer the spell's dura·
Skill: aitemtiollJmetal22 shopkeepers have iron plates to test' all lion, the mure dependent the occultist
gold they receive, It may take Earth is on the spell to sustain his life. With·
Backlash: 24 merchants several months to realize drawal from the spell can have terrible
Difficulty: 10 the dangers of arcane forgery. results for the occultist. Anyone using
Effect Value: 1 this spell makes sure to be near his
Bonus Number to: duration mirror, or have his mirror with him,
Youth
when travelling, for fear that he might
Range: 0 (one meter) Axiom Level: 15 be delayed by unforeseen circum-
Duration: 25 (one day) Skill: alteration/folk 19 stances and be unable to cast the spell
Cast Time: 18 (one hour) in time.
Manipulation: control, duration Backlash: 22 If the mirror is destroyed theoccultist
Difficulty: 20 immediately suffers the damage de-
By using this spell, the magician Effect Value: 22 scribed above. The only way to insure
changes one kilogram of lead into one Bonus Number to: duration the death of the occultist is to create an
kilogram of gold. occult ritual involving the shards of the
The magician needs a kilogram of Range: 0 (one meter) mirror. Theoccultist's life forceissotied
lead and a small coin,onesidc of which Duration: 29 (one week) to the mirror that itis a powerful tool for
is covered in gold, the other in lead. Cast Time: 18 (one hour) the law of contagion.
The magician ties the coin to a string, Manipulation: control, duration

•• 88
 Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Miracles of
Orrorsh
III' he miracles
are of Orrorsh
the miracles of the
Sacellum, the powerful
religious institution of
holy water, the Chaplain calls the com-
munity (the regiment) to pray for God
to allow their missiles to smite the
unholy with His Righteous Anger.
Victoria. The Sacellum's Thedifficulty of the spell is equal to
theology springs from perverted trans- the value of the number of bullets
lations of the Old and New Testa- blessed. Arrows arc equal to 10 bul-
ments. Themiraclesofit'sclergycome lets, grenades to 30 bullets, artillery
from these translations. The miracles shells to 70 bullets.
of the Victorian religion involve curses, If the chaplain equals the difficulty,
plagues, pillars of salt, and reversals the missiles are blessed for a month.
of our own Earth's New Testament When a blessed missile hits a target, it
miracles. The Sacellum's god is a jeal- does both physical and spiritual dam-
ous god; increase the difficulty of cast- age. The physical damage is as normal
ing beneficial miracles on non-believ- for the missilt: typt:; the spiritual at-
ers by 2. tack has a damage value equal to the
Faith (Sacel/um) is required to cast faith value of the fire plus the bonus.
any of these miracles. No other faith Note: the blessed missiles are only
may use them. Sacellum clerics also effective in the hands of a fired who
have access to the Core Earth miracles took part in the ritual. Theyarenonnal
of bless, cure disease, ritual ofhope, ritual missiles when fired by anyone else.
of purification, 'Ward danger and 'Ward
ellemy. Sacellum clerics who still be- Blind
lieve the uncorrupted texts may use
all Core Earth miracles except for the Spiritual Rating: 14
communication with spirits miracles. Community Rating: 8
Some of the miracles below have a Difficulty: Target's Spirit or faith
difficulty of "target's Spirit or fait1l." Range: sight
Use Spirit only if the target has no faith Duration: 9 + result points
value. Effect: blinds the target
This mirade punishes unbelievers
Bless Missile by removing their sense of sight.
Within the canon of the Sacellum it is
Spiritual Rating: 11 a seen as "giving physical manifesta-
Community Rating: 10 tion to spiritual blindness." The char-
Difficulty: variable (see below) acter must either have the blindness
Range: voice lifted by the character's religion or the
Duration: one month Sacellum. Lifting the blindness re-
Effect: imbues bullets, arrows, can· quires a bless with a faifh total equal to
non shells and the like with the faith of or greater than the blindness total. Blind
the firer. characters receive a +7 to thedifficulty
Bless missile is a ritual, typicaUyper- numbers of all activities that normally
formed by the Regimental Chaplain use sight.
once a month during Sunday services. The spell affects the eyes them-
The missiles are piled to the right of selves, not the neural connections lead-
the altar. After sprinkling them with ing to the character's mind. Thus, if

89
.-
Torg: Ommh

the eye is replaced through the means

?f advanced technology the blindness
IS cured.

Crucifixion
Spiritual Rating: 16
Community Rating: 10
Difficulty: Target's Spirit or faith, '-==-- earning Miracles from Other Cosms
plus three
Range: 5 (10 meters) It is possible for characters When making the invocation the
Duration: permanent with the focus skill to acquire Condition Modifiercharton page
Effect: Crucifies opponent miracles from othercosms. Three 127 of the TorK RlIlebook is in ef~
When the miracle is succ~fuJly conditions must be met before it fect.
called down upon the target, steel is even possible to acquire a If this invocation is success~
spikes fire from the hands of the der~ miracle. ful, the miracle is granted. The
gyman.lf the foells total is higher than character may now pray for this
the target'sdodge, they pierce his hands 1. The religious beliefs of the
faith from which the miracle miracle as he would any other
and fcet, crucifying him against the miracle with which he is famil-
nearest usable surface. The character originates must be compatible
with the beliefs of the religion of iar. If the invocation j!'; un!';uc-
is crucified upside down, as befits cessful, the character is denied
unbelievers. th.e character acquiring the
miracle. that miracle, now and forever.
Due to the miraculous nature of the When attempting to acquire a
spikes produced for the crucifixion Example: Tile faith of ti,e
miracle, a player may play cards
the spikes can pierce anv surface. This Saeel/lIl1l explicitly denies its for his character, but may not
mea ns that spikes automa tically pierce miracles to foffowers of other
trade or receive cards from any
any armor, surface or sub-dermal, and religio1ls. Sacef/1I11l faithflll other pinyer. Acquiring a miracle
can crucify someone to a cement wall; migilt be able to learn miracles
isa private affair between a char-
the armor does provide protection from another cosm, if tlte reli-
acter of faith and his deity.
against the miracle's damage. The giolls are simi/ar.
The particulars of the mir"c1e
damage v"lue is 20 + result points of remain the S<"lme, except for its
the miracle. .2. The character acquiring the
miracle must be able to explain spiritual rating, which is raised
Once crucified the target can try to to the spiritual axiom level of its
free himself with a Streugtlltotal. The the miracle as a function of his
COSI1l if it is lower than the level
base difficulty number is 10. This b"se own religion. If the player can-
not explain to the gamemaster of the cosmo The axiom level of
numb~r is modified by the type of
how the miracle could be a mani- the cosm was integral in acquir-
matenal the person is crucified to. ing the miracle, and the invoca-
These modifiers follow the Cover festation of his character's faith,
the character cannot acquire the tion makes that axiom level the
Value Chart. minimum for the miracle. If the
Soft Material (car door, dry wall): miracle.
spiritual rating is already higher
+3 to base number 3. The chtlrilctcr must have than the cosm level, it remains
Medium Materi"l (logs, brick Willi): witnessed the miracle. unchanged.
+ 10 to base number To acquire the miracle, the Mimdes from the Living
Hard (steel, stone wall): +15 to b"se character must invoke his deity Land are easier to acquire than
number (page 127 of the Torg RII/ebook) those from Core Earth, but are
Eac~ round a character may try to likely to cause four~case contra~
using the spiritual axiom of the
free himself. Each attempt automati- cosm to which the miracle be- dictions anywhere but the liv-
cally causes a damage vollue of 12 to be longs, Le. gaining Living Land ing L"lnd. Core Earth miracles
rolled against the target as the crucified miracles is done using the spiri- arc more difficult to obtain, but
character tries to ripout the spikes from tual axiom of the Living Land. cause fewer contradictions.
his pierced flesh. If othercharacters free
him, the trapped charncter takes nodam-
age from being pulled free.

Hell's Fire
Spiritual Rating: 14
Community Rating: 9
Difficulty: Target's Spirit or faitll
Range: 7 (25 meters)

•• 90
 Chapter Seven

Duration: 5 (one round) Duration: 9 (one minute) to support the miracle. When cast this
Effect: engulfs enemies of the Effect: paralyzes target miracle creates a force that will trans-
Sacellum in a terrible fire. This miracle paralyzes the victim form the target into salt. A character
This miracle can only be called upon touch. The character is fully may take an active spiritual defense,
down upon creatures, not inanimate aware of what is happening around generating a bonus to her faith or Spirit,
objects. If more than one target is de- him, but his muscles are completely ifshe knows she is going tci be targeted
sired, use the one-an-many table for frozen and he can take no action. with this miracle.
thenewdifficulty number. Themiracle Each round after the first round of The only way to turn the character
can affect as many targets as are in the the miracles duration thecharactercan back into his former self is through
range of the hell's fire. attempt a willpower roll to break free of spiritual or magical powers. If the pil-
The target of the hell's fire is sud- the paralyzation. The difficulty num- lar must be moved, care must be taken
denly surrounded by an intense red ber for the action is the faith total gen- to keep as many of the grains of salt as
flame. The flame only bums the flesh erated for the miracle. possible. Missing grains might ad-
of the target, it cannot spread to other versely effect the character's health if
objects. The flame cannot be extin~ Pillar of Salt she is later transfonned back to her
guished by physical means. The flame original form. The use of occult magic
has a damage value equal to the faith Spiritual Rating: 18 suggests itself asa cure to the effects of
total of the caster. Community Rating: 14 such a miracle.
Difficulty: Target's Spirit or failh.
Paralyzation plus 10 Plague
Range: 5 (ten meters)
Duration: permanent Spiritual Rating: 17
Spiritual Rating: 12 Effect: turns the target into a pillar Community Rating: 15
Community Rating: 7 of salt. Difficulty: 21
Difficulty: target's Spirit or faith This powerful miracle can only be Range: area with diameter of ]5
Range: touch cast in churches or other areas where (one kilometer) + result points
the Spiritual axiom level is high enough Duration: 25 (one dar)

~-------------------_I_'
~ 91
Torg: Orrorsh

Effect: calls a plague of animals face. The mark cannot be removed. It Effect: imbues a staff with holy
down upon an area. quickly bums through cosmetics or power to smite the enemies of the
When a clergyman calls this miracle plastic surgery. The character must faithful.
down from the god of theSacellum, he either ha\'e the curse lifted by her own A staff of righteousness may only
specifies the type ofcreature he wishes religion or by a Sacellum clergyman. If be created in a ritual. The beneficiary
the plague to involve. The creature the character ventures to a cosm with of the miracle must be judged. pure
must be small (insects, frogs, snakes, a spiritual axiom of nine or less, the and righteous by Sacellum elders (typi.
birds). The creatures in themselves mark disappears. The mark will re- cally gamemastercharacters). He must
cannot be harmful. Thus, the clergy· turn upon entering a realm or cosm vow to always follow the church's
man cannot call down an army of vi· with spiritual axiom of 10 or more. instructions and to die willingly to
pers. It is the effects of the animals as a Satan's Mark lowers the character's smite the enemies of the church, in
whole that makes them dangerous. Charisma and associated values byone sure knowledge of his reward in the
When the plague comes down it when dealing with characters who do next world.
forms an area of effect centered on the not have [ailll (SacelIllm). When deal- If these conditions are met, thechar-
site where the miracle was cast. If the ing with characters who have faith acter is given a staff prominently
diameter of the circle extends into an (Sacellum), Charisma and associated marked with Sacellum symbols. He
area with a Spiritual rating of less then values are lowered by one for each fasts and prays for seven days. The
17 the low axiom level is still affected; success level of the miracle (Le., a good faithful appeal to god to make the
all that matters is that it is cast in an success lowers Charisma by three). character strong in god's work. Each
area that can support the miracle. level ofsuccess ofthe miracle increases
For the first hour the effects of the Sins of the Flesh the character's Strength and meleeweap-
plague are barely perceptible. After OilS skill by one. This bonus is granted
that, however, the creature specified Spiritual Rating: 12 only when fighting with the staff. In
can be spotted regularly. After two Community Rating: 10 addition, the staffacts as the focus skill
hours the creatures are so thick in the Difficulty: 14 for the character, with adds equal to
land that one can hardly avoid seeing Range: touch the success level of the miracle.
several at a time. From the third hour Duration: 9 + result points The staff loses its potency if the
to the twenty-fourth the creatures are Effect: cause the target's skin to rot character breaks his vow.
everyone - insects fly so thick that it at a very quick rate.
is almost impossible to see, or there Casting this miracle causes the Tempest
arc so many frogs one can hardly step target's skin to rot. This is reflected in
out into the street without crushing an automatically successful attack Spiritual Rating: 16
the amphibians underfoot. At the end made every round for the duration of Community Rating: 12
of the miracle's duration the creatures the spell. The damage value of the Difficulty: 24
begin to thin out. It is impossible to tell attack is 15. No armor protects the Range: 16 (one mile)
where go before they vanish. character (not even interdermal ar- Duration: 15 + result points of
The miracles acts as an intimidafion mor). Damage is taken normally. Its miracle
on every individual within thearea of effects are seen as rips and tears in a Effect: creates a terrible storm 100
affect who is not oftheSacellum faith. character's body. Before the first meters across (value 10)
The intimidation has a value equal to minute of the miracle passes the This miracle is cast on an object -
the faith of the miracle worker, plus character's skin, even if he takes no for example a house or a boat. For the
any result points of the miracle. Any damage for the duration of the miracle, duration of the miracle the object and
other effect of the miracle on the envi· is covered with open sores. The dam· the area immediately around the ob-
ronment is left up to the gamemaster. age can be healed through medical ject takes a sound beating from high
means, but appearance of the flesh can winds and fierce rain. The tempest's
Satan's Mark only be repaired with spiritual ormagi- effects are centered on the object and
cal healing. Because of this miracle a radiate outward from the object for a
Spiritual Rating: 10 character whose skin is badly dam- radius of 50 meters.
Community Rating: 6 aged is shunned by Victorian society Everything exposed to the direct
Difficulty: 10 - whether damage was induced by effects of the storm suffers an damage
Range: sight the clergy or by natural causes. valueof24every round. Most wooden
Duration: marks target asenemy of buildings can stand the storm forabout
the faith; lowers Charisma and Cha- Staff of Righteousness 10 minutes. Some stone buildings can
risma-based skills. weather the storm withoutcollapsing.
Note: This is the new name of the Spiritual Rating: 11 Ships or airplanes that are the focus of
Curse miracle, as given in the Torg Community Rating: 12 the storm or pass through the tempest
World Book. Difficulty: 12 may be torn apart.
Satan's Mark causes an ugly welt, Range: touch The storm moves if the object of the
scar orblemish to appearon the target's Duration: permanent storm's focus moves. Thus, if thestorm

.".,....-------------------,.....
........
92 ~
 Chapter Seven

is focus on a plane flying in the air, Note: the changes below apply to faith total against the faith total of the
then the plane is assaulted as the storm all versions of ward enemy. includ- miracle. This counts as the enemy's
follows it through the air. ing that lisled on page 131 of the Torg action that round. If the enemy's total
Rulebook. is higher, the ward is breached, and
Ward Enemy A warded character may not be at- the character suffers the result points
tacked by physical, magical, or spiri- in spiritual damage. The warding char-
Spiritual Rating: 9 tual means. Testafwill ,trick, taullt, and acter must enact the ward again at his
Community Rating: 6 intimidate may be used; on a player's next opportunity if he wishes to be
Difficulty: 0 call the warded character has suc- protected.
Range: self ceeded in getting the warding charac- If the miracle's total is higher, the
Duration: performance ter to lower his ward danger. Other enemy fails to breach the ward. The
Effect: protects from attacks of evil effects apply if the warding character enemy takes spiritual damage equal
creatures must perform an action, including to the result points. However, the
The Sacellum ward enemy works generating another ward datfger. A hor- enemy's attack does cause the ward to
against all entities, such as ghosts and ror may not mark the character for death waiver. The warding character must
demons, and any horror aga inst which or fill the character with fear as long as expend his next action to generate a
the warder has failed a Perseverance the ward is effective; the Power of Fear ward enemy total, or the ward collapses
check. This miracle does not require a is muted when a ward enemy is active. at the end of his action round.
focus total. If the character does not The only possible enemy attack is a
have focus, she must have a crucifix or faith attack; the attacker generates a
the Book of Power of the Sacellum.

93
••
Torg: Orrorsh

Chapter Eight

The Horrors
Iml he monsters of Orrmsh
are creatures of fear. As
stated before, fear is born
of the unknown. If the
Power Points
Every monster listed below has a
Power Point rating. This number de-
players know every de- termines the number of special pow-
tail about the monsters that their char- ers a creature can have. Each power is
acters encounter, then the element of rated on a scale of one to three. By
the unknown, and thus the fear, will mixing and matching different power
qUickly be lost. values the gamemaster can createdif-
The horrors of the cosm are built ferent mixes of powers for the same
along lines similar to the Torg charac- creature. For example, a yam pyre has
tertemplates. Wegivethegamemaster a Power Pointratingof five. This means
the framework for the monsters, and he could have one 3 point power and
thegamemaster fills in thespeeial pow- one 2 point power; or one 3 point
ersand properties of the monster. Thus, power and two I point powers; or one
all vampyres have several common 2 point power and three 1 point pow-
elements, but each vampyre will be ers, and so on.
slightly different. In this way thechar- This shorthand might suggest that
acters are never sure exactly how they any monster can have any power,
shouJd respond to a creature when which might offend the sensibilities of
they first encounter it. Nor the second some readers (after all, a zombie with
time. Nor the third... and so on. a shape changing ability does go
In this way the characters are al- against the spirit of what zombies are
ways off-balance and uncertain - as all about>. We suggest that those of
they should be in the realm of horror. you who want your monsters "real"
Keep in mind that this mix and shouldn't focus too much on these
match sensibility of monster creation apparent rifts of logic. It's simply a
matches the "logic" of Orrorsh. The system to distribute many powers that
Nightmares of Orrorsh are respon- many creahues have in common. For
sible for creating new and interesting those of you gamemasters who are a
variations on the creatures of the real- bit more daring, rpmpmber that the
ity. In this way the Gaunt Man knows reality of Orrorsh is similar to the
that those who would destroy his cre- monster stories of Earth, but is not the
ations are in for a nasty surprise when same. Like any Nightmare worth his
the monsters do not behave the way blood, you should feel free to experi-
they did last time. ment with strange combinations and
As well as providing templates, even come up with new powers. Re-
there is also a sample monster for each member thilt even Earth's stories of
creature using Orrorsh's "monster- vampyres and werewolves contain
building" system. Below are the com- contradictions and variations on the
ponents for monsters from OITorsh. powers such creatures wield.
The gamemaster does not have use
up all the power points a creature has.
The Fear Rating This is the maximum level with w!licha
creature of that type starts. Many spe-
The rules for the Fear Rating are cific creatures will have fewer powers.
fully explained in Chapter Four, un- Each of the powers is described
der the Power of Fear. The Fear Rating below, along 'vith the rules for using
is a special power that all the horrors

_..
the powers. The gamemaster is free to
of Orrorsh possess, and so it is kept alter the rules of a particular power to
separate from other powers.

~--------~
94 --w'
 Ch~pler Eight

make a creature's abilities match the hypnotized hecan attempt to free him- This ability affects any of the creatures
image he has of the creature. self from the creature's power. To do attributes.
Manyofthepowersmanifestthem- this he needs to get a wiflpower result Paralyzing Touch: Anyone whose
selves in many different ways. For higher than the persuasion total that flesh the creature touches must make
example, life drai" can be a psychic hypnotized him. a Spirit or faitlt roll against a difficulty
power that drains a creature of mental Life Drain: Life drai" allows a crea- number equal to the creature's
power. Oritcan bethe blood a vamJ;lyre ture to weaken a victim physically or Spirif+ 15 to avoid becoming paraly~.
drains from his victims. Suggestions mentally, and then use the stolen en- The victim remains paralyzed until he
are given below, but again, the ergy to supplement its own life force. can successfully make the Spirit roll
gamemaster is encouraged to be as A vampyre that drinks the bl?Od of a against the difficulty. The victim may
imaginative and ghoulish as he c~n be living victim is using life dram. . attempt to break paralysis once each
in his alterations of the powers listed Any creature wi th this powerdrams round.
below. from one of the seven attributes, as
Note: These rules apply to non- Possess: The creature can possess the
decided by the gamemaster. Only one body of a living person or that of a
player characters only. Theone excep- attribute may be chosen, and the cha-
tion, sllapeslliftillg, uses a power and a corpse. Usually a given creature can
sen attribute is pennanent. Thus, a posses either the former or the latter,
weakness as listed below. amorphous ooze that burrows its wax though there are certain monsters that
into a victims skull and steals psychic can do both.
Three-Point Powers energy might steal either Mind or Per~ Topossess a body the creature must
cepfion energy. A vampyre that g.oes make a Spirit roll against the target's
Cold Aura: The creature with this out of his way to hunt down attractive,
power emits a powerful chill into the Mind. If the roll is successful the hor-
charming women is probably seeking ror now controls the body. The physi-
air at will. At a range oflS meters from
energy from someone with a high Cha- cal attributes of the body are the vic-
the creature the chilHs simply uncom-
risma. tims, while the Milld, Perception, Cha-
fortable. Anyone who is within 10
To use the life drai" power a crea- risma, and Spirit are the creature's. If
meters of a creature using the cold
ture attacks the attribute of the victim the host body was alive at the time of
aura power is attacked automatically he is attempting to leech from. The
with a damage valueofofthe creature's the possession, its personality is bur-
creature has a life drain value of ied deep within the brain of the body,
Spirif+15 for each round within range. Mind+ 15. If the creature is successful it
The creature can turn the power off overwhelmed by the will of the crea-
gains one Possibility point. for e'.'eIJ' ture. The creature does not have auta-
at will, although it takes 4 to 10 rounds full five points of the attnbute It 15
for the chill in the air to dissipate, de- matic access to the memories of the
draining. The attribute does not go down host body; it must make a Mind roll
pendent upon the temperature of the
- it is simply the measure of how against the host body's Milld in order
surrounding air.
much energy the draining creature to gather infonnation about its host
Fire Attack: The creature has the abil- acquires. body's life. The creature needs a supe-
ity to use flames produced within its Note that there are many ways of rior result or better to retrieve very
own body as weapon. Examples of draining a victim, and each of them personal infonnation. The possession
such an attack. are dragons, which fire entail their own problems. Thus, a lasts until the creature is expelled from
their attack from their mouths, or a vampyre must draw blood from his host body through a religious or magi·
hell spawn demons whose eyes shoot victim. To do this he must make a cal ritual.
forth powerful bursts of flame. The successful attack. against the victim Note: This power should be used
attack is made using the unanned com- and cause damage. This part of the on player characters infrequently, as it
bat skill. The damage value of the at- draining process is handled as normal removes the character's player from
tack is the creature's Strellgth + 15. The combat. Only if the,creature success- the game. More often the Storm
attack's range is 40 meters. The attack fully completes this part of the process Knights should encounter someone
cannot be more made more often than can he drain. Every life drain has a who is possessed. On the other hand,
once round, so a creature with a flurry condition such as this (must drink the the gamemastercan takeasidea player
could only use theattack.once that TOlU"Id. blood of a living human, must touch a whose character is possessed, explain
The power can be more limited if the living person to suck mental energy). the creature's intentions and goals and
gamemaster deems it appropriate. These definitions are up to the have the player roleplay the creature.
Hypnosis: This power gi ves its wielder gamemaster.
This power may only be used once Regeneration: The creature heals as if
a persuasion of Cllarisma +15. To use
per day. itspenta possibility pointevery round.
the power the creature must makes
This possibility call ollly be spent to reduce
successful persuasion roll against the Magical Resistance: The creature is damage~ The creature can only spend
victim's wil/pOWt!T'. The atfitude of the partially protected against any magic one possibility each round; however,
creature and the victim do 1I0t affect the that is used against it. This protection it can reduce damage for wounds,
roll at all. The persuasion total should works against any type of magic from knockout conditions and shock taken
be recorded. any reality. Theattributewhich resists rounds earlier.
Every ten minutes the the victim is the spell's effect is increased by 15.

PI--------------------;9~5-,·
Torg: Orrorsh

--

Two-Point Powers This power usually lets a creature equal to its Mind +10. To change into
control one type of animal: wolves, elemental form the difficulty number
Animal Control: A creature with this cats, aswarm ofinsects. Count a swarm is thecreahue's Toughness. Theelemen-
ability can control animals. The crea- as one animal for the purposes of the tal alteration total is the value of time
ture has a animal cOlltrol value of its a"imal control roll. Many creatures the elemental fonn lasts. If the crea-
Spirit +10. The creature generates a can control more than one type of ani- ture wants to return to its true form
control total against the Mind of an mal, however, by buying this power before the time is up it must generate
animal he wishes to control. The crea- more than once. an eleme"tal alteration total against
turecan control more than one animal the total value it rolled when it turned
at a time, but the difficulty increasesas Armor Defeating Attack: When at-
tacking characters protected by armor, into the elemental fonn.
described in the Multiple Actions rules If the elemental form can move (a
on pages 45 and 46 of the Torg Basic the attack negates the adds of armor,
up to a maximum of +10 adds ne- rock cannot move, mist can), it moves
RIlles. A controlled animal will do the at the rate of the creature's normal
creature's bidding, even sacrificing its gated. The gamemaster should de-
scribe how the attack defeats the ar- movement. The elemental form can-
life for its temporary master. The not attack or speak or use any skills.
power has a range of sight. mor. Possibilities include add attacks
modified by the occult to seek the flesh In Orrorsh an elemental form is not
The total generated is the value of limited to the traditional air, earth, fire
time that an animal stays under a underarmor, claws which can be made
insubstantial until they rip flesh, or a and water. It includes darkness and
creature's control. Thus if the creahue light. It can beany other one form the
gets a total of 18 then the animals he fine mist which poisons its target.
gamemaster chooses. If the elemental
controls will follow his commands for Elemental Alleration: The creah.Ire has form is immaterial, such as darkness
one hour. As long as a creature hasan the ability to change its form into some- or light, the creature cannot be harmed
animal under his control he cannot thing other than an animal. The form by physical attacks while in that form,
make another roll to control another might be mist, or water, or a rock. The nor can it take physical actions.
animal. creature can only change into one one
elemental type per power. the crea- Enchanted Attack: The creature's at-
ture has a elemental alteration value tack forms can wound creatures which
___
, .i..- ~

96 ~
 Chapter Eight

have resistance to flonl/al weapons. One-Point Powers made after th~ victim ha:; taken dam-
When attacking characters protected age from a shape changer's attack us-
by other types of enchanted armDr or Attack Form Resistance: A horror has ing its shapeshifting adds in the dam-
protective spells, the attack negates its Toughness (or other appropriate at· age value. A creature which has suc-
the addsofarmDr, up toa maximum of tribute) increased by +10 against one cessfully life drained its victim may
+10 adds negated. Fora defensive spell, type of attack only. Types of attack· also choose to infect him.
the increase in the character defense forms include: An infection tDtal is generated as an
due to the spell is the spell's "adds". Heat/Fire action. Thevictim takesspiritualdam-
Cold/Ice age. If the wound tDtal ever equals
Resistance to Normal Weapons: The Melee/Missile weapons
creature can transform wound dam- four, the victim converts intD a mon·
Firearms/ExplDsives ster. When a creature with life draitl
age from standard weapons (non-
Energy Weapons transmits its disease to a person, the
magical swords, lead bullets) into
Magical physical damage sDul Df the victim is released and the
shock damage. The first five wounds Magical mental damage
taken from an attack are converted person is, for all practical purposes,
Magical spiritual damage dead. The body is animated by a cor·
into shock damage, one shock point
Spiritual attacks rupted sDul taken from a Waiting Vil·
per wound. Knockout conditions are
ignored. A single attack which causes Blur Form: The creature is just harder lageand put in thevictim'sbody. Usu·
six or more wounds can wound a crea- 10 see when this power is activated. ally the new souls are sDuls that were
ture with this power. In addition, the The creature adds +5 to its dodge value. recently dispatched by monster hunt-
"shockwounds" aretrealed as wounds The means of the blur is up tD the ers. Thus, as vampyres in a coven
when spending a POSSibility tD remDve gamemaster - it might be a mystical spread their disease they are prepar-
damage. energy that clDuds Ihe minds of the ing bDdies to host fallen members Df
creature's opponents, or it might be the coven, since the group has the
Example: A val1lpyre takes "2 WlId that the creatures mDves very quickly, same advantages and disadvantages.
04" from a com;eJlfional weapon. When a creature with shape change
or that the creature only exists par-
Speuding a Possibility allows ti,e crea~ transmits its disease, the victim re-
tially in the physical fDrm at certain
lureto cancel the two "wol/lld shocks" times. mains alive. She can still struggle
lind three ofthe follrregl/larshock. He against the cDrruptiDn within her.
tllkes one shock point from ti,e attack. Darkness: The creature creates a
When a body becDmes a creature
field of darkness centered around it-
If the proper weapon is llsed agail/sf the weaknesses, True Death and po-
self, 25 meters in radius. The darkness
II creature Wit/I this power (fur ex- tential Puwers of the infecting mon·
value isequal to thecreature'sMind+5.
ample,a blessed bulleO it does normal The darkness total is the Perception
ster are passed on to the new mDnster.
damage. difficulty to see through the darkness
Thus the monsters cDntinue tD make
Shape Change: The creature is able to their Dwn kind.
(assuming there is a SDurce of light.)
transform itself into an animal - a The exception tD this rule is if a
The darkness lasts for an amount of Nightmare petitions the Gaunt Man
wolf, an eagle, a tiger and SD on. This time equal tD the tDtal value in time. If
power usually grants a creature the for a corrupted soul with different
the creature wishes tD generate an- abilities and weaknesses to be placed
ability tD change into Dne kind of ani~ other shroud of darkness during
mal- SD that a weretiger is always a in a newly infected body. Forexample,
the time, he must first dispel the in the ~ene in which Dr. Maja and
man into a tiger. Very powerful cre<l- current darkness (a simple actiDn).
tures can break this rule; for example, Sister ThDrn are killing vampyres in
In the next rDund he may create
a very Did vampyre might be able to the cave, the little boy's body is filled
another darkness.
change into both a wDIf and a bat. This ,with a corrupted soul from DUtside the
Attacks or Dther actions which re-
powergives the ability tochange sha pc CDven. The bDy did not have the weak-
quire visions have -5 bDnus mDdifier.
as the shapeshiftiflg skill at Spirit+lO, " ness for daylight, and was able to kill
A character who has spent an actiDn
but the severe weakness and resis- Sister Thorn even while the Dther
generating a Perception total which vampyres slept. He was an old enemy
tance to nonllal weapolls are not part equals or exceeds the darbress total
Df the power as they are for the skill. Df Sister Thorn and Dr. Maja that the
dDes not suffer this penalty.
Theattributesoftheanimal thecrea- Nightmare controlling the area
Dark Vision: This power lets a crea· brought in fDr shock value. He now
ture becomes have the same total num·
ture see in total darkness as any hu- has his Dwn abilities, plus the abilities
berof attribute pDints has he has in his
man sees in broad daylight. The crea- of a vampyre.
normal form, though they may be dis-
ture might still need to make Percep- Silence: The creature call make its~lf
tributed differently in the two forms.
The Spirit attribute must stay the same
tion rolls, but there is nD penalty fDrthe silent. Its silence value is equal to its
darkness. stealth+5. Characters may choose to
in either form. In animal form a shifter
can have very high attributes, beyDnd Infection: To pDSsesS this power the take an actiDn tD generate a Perception
nDrmal human limitatiDns. creature must also have either the or find tDtal against the horror's si-
power of life drain or sllape cllange. lelfce total- otherwise the creature
Infection has a value Df the hDrror's cannDt be heard.
Spirit+S. An infection attack may be

I.
Torg: Orrorsh

Up Condition: The creature is up un- Point Powers" above.) and add your own.
der certain conditions. The condition A sevcreweakncss is an item or mate- If the Storm Knights try to investi-
can be common to the environment, rial that causes damage if placed gate the True Death of a creature, this
but must be naturally absent roughly against the creature's flesh. If the item is the True Death they discover. Once
half the time, or else be a condition is normally used to cause damage, a True Death is known the Storm
which characters can eliminate. The such as silver bullets, use the damage Knight might search for one, or create
condition must have an opposite. Ex- value of the item. Othenvise the dam- one using the occult rules described in
amples are night (opposite is day), not age value of the touch is the Spirit or Chapter Six.
touching any water (opposite is faitJl of the person wielding the item Only True Death permanently dis-
drenched with water), or cold (oppo- (unless the item itself has Spirit or patches the corrupt soul of a creature.
site is heat). The creature often has a faitll). If the character did not have to Even if a creature is killed with dam-
stymie weakness (see below) to the roll a bonus to touch the monster, she age done by a severe weakness, its
opposite condition. rolls a bonus to generate a damage soul will travel to a waiting village to
Ward Breach: This power gives the total. await resurrection. Only by using a
horror a +10 bonus modifier when The gamemaster is free to create creature's True Death is a creature
taking an action against one of the whatever weakness he wants for any removed. from Earth.
following types of defenses: monsters of his own creation, or to Killed by a weapon made of rare
Alteration! Divination Magic create new weaknesses for old mon- metal (silver bullet).
Apportation! Conjuration Magic sters. Here are some examples: Killed by a wooden stake through
Miracles Holy Symbols heart.
Ward breach does not increase a Precious Metals Killed by gazing at own reflection
horror's defense against magical at- Flowers in mirror.
tack, but would help break magical Garlic Killed by being doused with water.
restraints. Ward breaclt versus Types of Wood Killed by a magic sword.
miracles may be used in a faith attack Specific Books Killed by hearing an ancient ritual.
on a ward enemy miracle. Specific Weapons Killed by exposure to sunlight.
Specific Words Killed by drinking blood.
A Specific Portrait
Weakness The Bones of a Victim
Sunlight The Horrors
Many monsters have one or more Running Water
weaknesses. These items sometimes The horrors described below have
harm the creature, and other times Optional Rule: Each monster listed the same format and are described in
only cause the creature discomfort. below is given a minimum number of the same way as characters, with the
For example, some vampyres are weaknesses. The gamemaster may as· following exceptions:
turned by crosses; some vampyres sign additional weaknesses to his Attributes and Skills: A Toughness
even bum at the touch of a cross. Some monsters. For each additional weak- value in parentheses is the monsters
weaknesses area condition which sty- ness or stymie weakness assigned the armor value. A parenthetical skill is
mies the monster. monster gains one power point. For one which can only be used defen-
When a character presents a wenk- each additional severe weakness as- sively. The skill of faith (Orrnr.~h) is a
/less before the right creature it must signed, the monster gains tw'o power measure of spiritual power drawn
make a Willpower roU against the Spirit points. Using this option, the from the Power of Fear. It may be used
or faith of the person wielding the item. gamemaster can build werewolves, to attack a ward enemy miracle, or to
The presenter may take an action to va mpyres and other hideous creatures defend against miracles which target
generate a Spirit or faith total in hopes which conform to his notion of the the user's faith. Faith (OrrorshJ can
of increasing the monsters difficulty. monster. power miracles which cause hann. It
If the roll fails the creature will try to cannot ward enemy or provide faith
keep at least two meters between him for miracles with a beneficial effect.
and the item. If this is impossible the True Death Possibilities: When listed in a form
creature cowers. He is stymied until such as " three per Storm Knight", the
he succeeds at the willpower roll. The Every creature has a special means crea ture receives three possibilities for
Cr('ahlre m"y try the wi/fpo'wer roll as of destroying it. Examples from tradi- each Stonn Knightin theentiregroup.
its action during a round. tional Earth horror stories are driving Suggested Perseverance DN: We
A stymie weakncss is a condition a stake through a vampyre's heart or ~ugg~t this Perseverance Difficulty
which automatically stymies the crea- slaying a werewolf with a silver bul- number for the creature. The game-
ture. The condition must be common let. Just as powers of creatures vary in master may change it by a couple of
in the environment oreasily produced horror stories, so do the means of de- points if she has created an unusual
by characters: daylight, touching wa- struction. We've given you a list to variation of the monster. If she creates
ter, fire. Its opposite often gives the choose from, and you should feel free a far tougher version of the creature,
creature an lip condition (see "One tomix up the well-known True Deaths she should raise the Perseverance ON

::::------------------~
. . .+-;,
98 ~
Chapter Eight

••
99
Torg; Orronh

by one to three points. CHARISMA 5 The Children

Suggested Weakness and True SPIRIT 6
Death; The gamemaster is encouraged Faith (Orrorsh) 13, intimidation 13 The children are a special creation
to alter these after the Storm Knights Possibility Potential: some (15) of the mysterious Nightmare Punch.
have defeated a particular type of Natural Tools: Hide flexible to abo These creah.tres take the form of the
monster. sorb damage (TOU +4/ armor value young found in the area. In New Lon-
16), claws (STR+3/ damage value 17), don they appear as Victorian or Indo-
Amphid teeth (STR+5/ damage value 18) nesian youngsters. In the rest of the
Power Rating: 4 islands of Southeast Asia they appear
Amphids are slimy, red-fleshed Corruption Value: 26 as the children of Asian stock. The
humanoids that haunt the western tip Fear Rating: 1/2 children always appear in the form of
of Java. They were made by Ahjebax, Suggested Perseverance DN:13 orphans looking for love and kind-
a Nightmare that rules the section of Suggested Weakness: Islamic holy ness. They usually present themselves
land by the island's western tip. The symbols to families that have recently lost a
creatures can breathe on land and in Suggested True Death: Strangula- child to a horror of Orrorsh.
water, though they prefer to stay in tion and then decapitation The monsters give their foster fam-
the water. They attack people along ilya few days of joy, and then turn on
the coast or board ships travelling be- Bone Golem the kindness, slaying the family, usu-
tween Java and Majestic. ally at night, when everyone is asleep.
As might be expected of creatures The occult can pervert the will of The children appear to be about six to
created by Ahjebax, theamphids have the user. The bone golem is such a ten years old. They are full-grown
a distinctive and disturbing look to perversion. An occultist working at when created and do not age.
them. The body of an amphid is cov- reanimating a human body created a When dealing with these creatures
ered with the images of the faces killed formula which animated bones, but the Storm Knights must keep in mind
by the creature. The small, red faces only non-human bones. The formula that nowhere in the adorable bodies of
are three dimensional and constantly has been passed down through gen- the children is there any innocence-
scream in torment. The amphids enjoy erations. Variations exist, but the most the physical form is that of a child, but
the sound. When the amphid kills common golem is given below. These the soul is that of a corrupted man or
someone, an image of its victim grows bone golems must be created from the woman.
onto its flesh within three days. The bones of at least seven different kinds The Children
face is a good facsimile, disturbing to of animals. If yet more kinds of ani- DEXTERITY 6
persons who might have known the mals are fitted into the the ghastly Dodge 8, maneuver 12, prestidigi-
victim. skeleton, a slightly more powerful tation 12,stealth 11, unarmed com-
The face of theamphid itselfis large, golem can result. batS
with a great mouth filled with teeth- Bone Golem STRENGTH 7
some of which are so large that they Climbing 11
DEXTERITY 8
protrude from the creature's mouth. TOUGHNESS 8
Running 10, unarmed combat 14
The monsters also possess webbed PERCEPTION 9
STRENGTH 19
hands and feet to enable them to move Find 12, trick 13
TOUGHNESS 24
quickly through the water. MINDS
PERCEPTION 6
Although the cn:!atures are intelli- Find 1::, Trick (25) CHARISMA 13
gent, they have no language. They MIND 1 Charm 18, persuasion 17, taunt 14
communicate to each other through Test (25), willpower 25 SPIRIT 11
simple gestures. They never try tocom- Faith (Orrorsh) 15
CHARISMA 3
municate with humans, and regard Taunt (12) Possibility Potential: some (12)
the living with contempt. SPIRIT 6 Equipment: Whatever they steal
Amphid Faith (Orrorsh) 15, intimidation 17 Power Rating: 2
DEXTERITY 10 (25) Corruption Value: 22
Dodge 12, maneuverl1, swimming Possibility Potential: None Fear Rating: 1
15, unarmed combal12 Natural Tools: c1aws (STR+3/ dam- Suggested Perseverance DN: 16
STRENGTH 14 age value 22) Suggested Weakness: the heart of
Climbing 15 Power Rating: 2 one of its victims, if the victim was
TOUGHNESS 12(16) Corruption Value: 15 pure and innocent
PERCEPTION 12 Fear Rating: 1/2 Suggested True Death: Baptism in
Find 13, tracking 13 Suggested Perseverance DN: 15 a church releases the corrupt soul fOT-
MIND 8 Suggested Weakness: none ever
Survival 11 Suggested True Death: any death

•• 100
 Chapter Eight

Chthon ers that they had in previous forms. CHARISMA 13

Sometimes they pick up special abili- Taunt 18
A chthan is a necromantic creation ties depending on the form of their SPIRIT 13
assembled from tens of thousands of latest reincarnation, but these new Faith (Orrorsh) 18, Intimidation 16
dead insects. It has clawed pincers powers are usually lost upon destruc- Possibility Potential: some (16)
and the overlapping wings common tion of the body. Even a corrupted Natural Tools: To torture a living
in insects. The insects must include soul's mental attributes can be slightly soul who has entered the building ofa
wasps, beetles and cockroaches. The changed due to the body it is inhabit- Waiting Village the corrupted souls
insects are soaked and engorged in a ing. Whatis consistentaboutcorrupted pass through the body of the living
solution made from Valepa nectar, souls is their personality and their person. ThedamagevalueistheTough-
until most of the nectar evaporates. memories. tless of the corrupt soul, which takes
The necromancer then spends two The only time corrupted souls are no damage from the attack. While
hours each night enchanting the en· encountered in their pure form, with- making these attacks they verbally
tity. from the first night of a full moon out the casing of a monstrous body, is abuse the character and laugh a great
to the first night of the next full moon. in a Waiting Village. If a living person deal
Upon completion the necromancer enters the building of a Waiting Vil- Power Rating: In this form the cor-
must bind theChthon to his will. If he lage the souls torture the living body rupted souls all have resistance to
fails, the Chthon flees the necroman~ until it dies. The description below 1I0mial weapons, annor defeating at-
cef, roaming the countryside as an shows the corrupted soul in this fonn, tack and enc1lullted attack.
uncontrolled horror. bodiless and in a Waiting Village. This Corruption Value: 16
Chthon is their "generic" fonn. Although each Fear Rating: 1
DEXTERITY 11 has unique Powers and weakness and Suggested Perseverance ON: 15
Dodge 14, flight IS, unarmed com- True Deaths, these do not apply un- Suggested Weakness: No effect in
bat 16 less the soul is in the monster of a this fonn
STRENGTH 14 body. This is what they are like with- Suggested True Death:No effect in
TOUGHNESS 16 (25) out a mortal form. this form
PERCEPTION 9 Corrupted Soul
Find 12, Tracking 12, trick 12 (15) DEXTERITY 5 Disembodied Hand
MINDS STRENGTHS
Test (15), Willpower 15 Thiscreatureisa hand taken from a
TOUGHNESS 15
CHARISMA 11 person, liVing or dead, good or cor-
PERCEPTION 12
Taunt (15) rupt, that is animated through occult
MIND 12
SPIRIT S means. The process gives it a will and
Test 16, willpower 20
Faith (Orrorsh) 15, Intimidation 14
Possibility Potential: none
Natural Tools: pincers (STR+5/
damage value 19), layered bodies as
armor (TOU+7/ armor value 25),
wings (speed value 11)
Power Rating: 2
Corruption Value: 17
Fear Rating: 1
Suggested Perseverance ON: 11
Suggested Weakness: none
Suggested True Oeath:occultritual

Corrupted Souls
Corrupted souls are the backbone
ofOrrorsh. They are the evil souls that
the Gaunt Man cycles through his
monsters. When a creature is killed in
any maIUler oLiler than its True Death,
the creahtre is given the option to stay
for a while in a Waiting Village rather
than be judged for its sins. Most cor-
rupted souls pick this option and are
reincarnated over and over again. For
the most part the corrupted souls keep
the weaknesses, True Death,and Pow-

~----------------_I_
........- 101
.
Torg: Orronh

mind of its own. The Faceless Ones Fear Rating: 1

The hand moves by extending its Suggested Perseverance ON: 14
fingers forward and dragging its wrist The Faceless Ones are creatures with Suggested Weakness: Polished
behind it. The creature cannot com- humanoid appearance, reptilian wings Glass
municate, but it possesses a mystical which are ill-suited for flight, and per- Suggested True Death: exposing it
sight and hearing. It can sense where fectly smooth, featureless faces. Al- to a mirror while in its natural state
objecls are and can hear the brealhing though they arc incap01ble of speech,
of someone hidden in closet. sight, or hearing in their "normal"
A disembodied hand attacks by fonn, they are able to sense the body Gospog
sneaking up on its victim and stran- heatof a living creature and thus know
gling the person. The creatures climb where to attack. Gospog are harvested all through-
electrical cords to get the drop on their Their strength is prodigious, and out the realm of Orrorsh. Gospog of
victims, or bury themselves under pil- once they have a grip on a humanoid the First and Second planting work
low and wait until their prey go to being (which is whenever a Faceless under the command of theGaunt Man
sleep. One scores a knockdown or a wound and the Hellion Court. Gospog of the
If the hand makes a successful at- level), their victim's features are trans- Third through Fifth planting operate
tack on a person's throat (a normal ferred on to them. The victim loses all on their own, adding a bit of terror to
attack for a disembodied hand, if near facial features, becoming as smooth as any area when a Nightmare'S atten-
the victim's throat), the creature is the Faceless One was before. As this tion is waning.
strangling the person. The creature prevents breathing, seeing or hearing,
does damage with its Strength value. the victim dies in six rounds after the Second Planting:
the hand does damage every round transfer. A Faceless One retains the The Caretakers
after that, until the victim (or a com- features of their victim for one hour
panion), makes a successful StTellgtl1 (or until they are killed, at which time The Caretakers are second- genera-
roll against the hand's Strength. If the their features are transferred back to tion gospog, specifically designed to
Strength total equal or exceeds the their original owner), during which control the Others. Two are assigned
hands S/renglh, the hand is pried off. lime they possess the knowledge and to ~adt Oth~r, to h~rd them in the right
The hand's victims are often people memories of their victims. They will direction, force them to follow orders,
known by the person who provided often use this knowledge and now keep them out of mischief (though
the hand. This fact can lead monster trustworthy appearance to claim other what second-generation gospog con-
killers to the True Death of the crea- victims. They gain all of their victim's sider mischief is a frightening ques-
ture. skill adds, except where the skill adds tion.)
are less than their own. The Caretakers are armed with
Di"embodied Hand
DEXTERITY 12 Faceless One huge, primitive blunderbusses; they
Dodgel5,stealth 16, unarmed com- DEXTERITY 10 fire these (with low powder charges)
bal16 Stealth 12, unarmed combat 11 at the Others to control them.
STRENGTH 14 STRENGTH 15 Caretaker
Climbing 15 TOUGHNESS 14 DEXTERITY 10
TOUGHNESS 13 PERCEPTION 9 Dodge 12, fire combat 14, maneu-
PERCEPTION 9 Tr.:l.cking 12, trick 11 ver 14, unarmed combat 13
Tracking 13 MIND 9 STRENGTH 10
MIND 8 Test 12 (20), taunt (20) TOUGHNESS 10(2)
CHARISMA. CHARISMA 7 PERCEPTION 9
SPIRIT 8 Chann 8, persuasion 8 Tracking 13, trick 12
Faith (Orrorsh) 12 SPIRIT. MIND 8
Possibility Potential: Some (40) Faith (Orrorsh) 15, Intimidation 15 Test 12. taunt 12, willpower 10
Power Rating: 1 Sklll Notes: A Faceless One can CHARISMA 8
Corruption Value: 12 take on the skills of his victim for one SPIRIT 8
Fear Rating: 1 hour. Although the creature's at- Faith (Orrorsh) 10, intimidation 12
Suggested Perseverance ON: 10 tributes do not change, the creature Possibility Potential: None
Suggested Weakness: None known receives the skill adds of the victim, Natural Tools: Armored hide
Suggested True Death: If the hand which are applied tothe FacelessOne's (TOU+2/armor value 12); fangs
is placed on the body or bones of the attributes. (STR+2!damage value 12)
person it was taken from, the hand Possibility Potential: Some (18) Equipment: Blunderbuss (damage
loses its individual intelligence and Natural Tools: Wings (speed value9) 18, range3-10/11-20/21-40, ammo 1).
animation. Power Rating: 1 When controlling Others, Caretakers
Corruption Value: 19 load their weapons with half powder,

•• 102
 Chapter Eight

reducing damage value to 12and range

to 10 meters.
Power Rating: 1
Corruption Value: 14
Fear Rating: 1/2
Suggested Perseverance ON: 10
Suggested Weakness: Holy
Symbol
Suggested True Death: Shot and
killed by own blunderbuss

Third Planting:
Were-Tiger
The were-tiger is the form the
gospogofthethird planting now takes.
Its form was altered for the invasion of
southeast Asia.
The were-tiger has nvo forms -
human and tiger. Unlikethewerewoli,
the creature can shape change at will
and it is not plagued by any pangs of
guilt. A were-tiger is a hunter all the
time, whether in human form or in
tiger form.
A were-tiger does not actually
spend much time in tiger form. It pre-
fers to hunt people in human form. It
adopts strange strategies to do this,
most of them following the the de-
ranged behavior of psychotic killers.
Some were-tigers hunt people down
and strangle them. Others send poi-
!':on candy to children. Others tie vic-
tims up and then carve them up with
medical instruments.
It is only when the creature is cor-
nered that it turns into its tiger form.
The surprise gives it the edge it needs
to escape.
Mosl were-tigers are men. In hu-
man form they are people that are
seldom noticed. They take on posi-
tions in banks as derks, or are chim-
ney sweepers, or travelling salesmen.
They prefer jobs that move them
around or bring them in contact with Human Form CHARISMA 10
many people, because this lets them
DEXTERITY 11 Charm 15, persuasion 12, taunt 12,
pick and choose victims.
Dodge 13, fire combat 13, maneu- SPIRIT 9
Although most people don't notice Faith (Orrorsh) 16, Intimidation 14
were·tigers when in human form, ver 12, melee combat 15, running
were·tigers notice everybody else. 16, stealth 15, unarmed combat 13
STRENGTH 9 Were-Tiger Fonn
They are constantly scanning the DEXTERITY 13
crowed, looking for a potential victim. TOUGHNESS 12
PERCEPTION 9 Dodge 15, maneuver 20, running
They study the habits of people, how 16, stealth 15, unarmed combat 16
they live, what they eat, looking for a Find 15, first aid 12, language 12,
tracking 13, trick 15 STRENGTH 14
way into their lives to kill them. TOUGHNESS 12
MIND 10
Test 15, willpower 12 PERCEPTION 10
Tracking 13

103
.-
Torg: Orrorsh

MIND 7 could simply ask for a human sacri- der, for the members of Hellion Court.
Test (18), willpower t5 fice, but the creatures usually like to Thewraith travels to the victim's home
CHARISMA 5 make the occultist make tough choices. and hides himself away in a comer of
Taunt (12) •One or more of tire occultist's se1lses. the house and simply waits for his
SPIRIT 9 The scarabus asks that the occultist victim to corne across him by chance.
Faith (Orrorsh) 16, Intimidation 14 blind himself, ripouthis tongue, pierce Wraiths have been known to wait
Skill Notes: All were-tigers have his eardrums. weeks to be discovered.
the sllape cllange power. Scarabus Although they are patient waiting
Possibility Potential: none to be discovered, there is no quarter
DEXTERITY 12
NaturaITools:claws(STR+3/ dam- given once his victim discovers him.
Dodge 14
age value 17); shape changer teeth There is a saying in Orrorsh: "See a
STRENGTH 18
(STR+I0/ damage value 24) wraith, see your death. "To lay eyes on
Lilting 21
Power Rating: 6 TOUGHNESS 17 (22) a wraith is to trigger the creature's
CorrupUon Value: 22 murderous habits. If the wrong per·
PERCEPTION 13
Fear Rating: 1 son stumbles across the wraith, the
Find 14, Trick 14
Suggested Perseverance ON: 14 wraith kills that person, then hides in
MIND 15
Suggested Weakness: none another spot. Thewraithalso kills any-
Occult 31, test 17, willpower 17
Suggested True Death: can only be one who had the misfortune of being
CHARISMA 15
killed in animal form with the victim,
Charm 18, persuasion 18
SPIRIT 11 Wraith
Fourth Planting: Faith (Orrorsh) 18, Intimidation 15 DEXTERITY 13
Scarabus Possibility Potential: none Dodge 16,stealth21, unarmed com-
NaturaiTools:c1aws(STR+3/ dam- bat 19
The scarabus appears like the de- age value 21), scaled hide (TOU+5/ STRENGTH 15
mons of Earth's stories. A scarabus armor value 22) Climbing 18
stands about two and a half meters Power Rating: 7 TOUGHNESS 21
tall, has red skin, and two horns on its Corruption Value: 25 PERCEPTION 12
forehead. Although the Gaunt Man Fear Rating: 2 Find 14, tracking 15, trick 16
sometimes uses the creatures for spe- Suggested Perseverance DN: 15 MINDS
cific missions, their primary purpose Suggested Weakness: ritual draw- Test OS), willpower 20
is to appear only when someone sum- ings For example, pentagrams. The CHARISMA 10
mons them. Many occultist spend creature cannot retreat from the pen- Taunt 17
years searching for the means to con- tagram, but nor can he get out. SPIRIT 14
tact a ~carabus, for the creatures are Suggested True Death: Tied up Faith (Orrorsh) 20, Intimidation 17
able to grant wishes. with silver thread and buried for 24 Possibility Potential: none
The creatures are able to grant hours. Natural Tools:claws (STR+4/ dam-
wishes through the use of their power- age value 19)
ful occult skill. The wish is an occult Fifth Planting: Power Rating: 9
event. The scarabus is willing to at- Corruption Value: 33
tempt an occult event with a difficulty Wraith Fear Rating: 2
of 50 or less. The scarabus will de- When a wraith rises from the Suggested Perseverance ON: 19
mand the necessary props from its ground it retains the human form of Suggested Weakness: none
summoner. Anyone who summons a the seed's host body, but the bodies Suggested True Death: occult ritual
scarabus receives 3 Corruption points flesh is torn and decayed. Flaps of skin
and must give the creature something hangs loose and bones show through Ghoul
in return for the wish. large hotes in the skin's flesh. The
Here are some of the items the body'~ phy~ical ~tructure is altered as There are two types of ghouls in
scarabus will take in exchange for the well. The bones are enlarged, so that Orrorsh. They are similar in abilities,
wish. The gamemaster is free to come the creature's shoulders are stretched but differ in their diet. One type of
up with more. up and out the arms are longer than ghoul eats the nesh of the dead, the
-The occultist's soul. The scarabus by· they were before, and the fingers have other type seeks out the flesh of the
passes the entire Corruption system changed into long claws. living.
and simply asks that the occultist be- Although wraiths return in human The appearance of both types of
come Corrupted upon the completion form, there is liUle human about the ghoul varies greatly, for both Night-
of the task, or before the task is sta rted. mares and evil occultists are fond of
way they think or behave. They do not
No more corruption rolls are needed. hunt as vampyres do, nor are they making the creatures. The creatures
-Tire lIfe of someOlle the occultist cares mindless like werewolves in the fit of often look like zombies, but other times
about. This means that the occultist killing. Wraiths are usually sent to are strange misshapen creatures with
takes a corruption roll. The scarabus perform a specific task, usually a mur- hard scales and large, red eyes.

...._,..,...,...,.------------------~
104 ~
 Chapter Eight

The eaters of the dead are usually Lost Soul Fear Rating: 1/2
solitary creatures. Those that seek the DEXTERITY 3 Suggested Perseverance ON: 11
flesh of the living travel in numbers- Stealth 22 Suggested Weakness: salt
since their prey will undoubtedly fight STRENGTH 1 Suggested True Death: an occult
back. TOUGHNESS 11 ritual
Ghoul PERCEPTION 11
DEXTERITY 10 Find 20, Scholar (anyone topic) 16, Ravagon
Dodge 11, unanned combat 11 tracking 13, trick 12
MIND 10 Ravagons are an ancient, powerful
STRENGTH 13
CHARISMA IS race from a world long ago drained by
TOUGHNESS 15
Persuasion 16, taunt 16 the Gaunt Man. They had the poten-
PERCEPTION 6
SPIRIT 15 tial for fierceopposition,and the Gaunt
Find 11, tracking 12 Man chose to subvert and coax them
MIND 3 Intimidation 23
Skill Notes: This is the base Spirit rather than expend considerable en-
Test 9, willpower (1)
value for the Lost Soul the medium ergy to oblitera te them. Since tha t time
CHARISMA 2
speaks to. The final value is deter- the Ravagons have served the Gaunt
Taunt (8)
mined by the rules for the spirit me- Man, and the other High Lords who
SPIRIT 7 have maintained cordial relations with
Faith (Orrorsh) 13, Intimidation 12 dillm_skill.
Lost Souls do noL have Ule addi- this most powerful Possibility Raidcr.
Possibility Potential: Some (25)
tion..1!';t..ti!';tic!'; th"tother horrors h"ve. Ravagons can smell the scent of fresh
NaturalTools: daws(STR+2I dam·
pOSSibility energy - that is, the en-
age value 15), teeth (STR+3/ damage
The Others ergy that is released when a person
value 16). Some ghouls have scale-like
becomes imbued with the rich power
armor <TOU+5/ annor value 20) of possibility energy. It is the task of
Power Rating: 2 The Olhers are huge, shambling
octopus-like creatures. They roam the the Ravagons which serve the Gaunt
Corruption Value: 11
jungles of Orrorsh looking for human Man and his fellow invaders of Earth
Fear Rating: 1 to hunt down those Storm Knights
Suggested Perseverance ON: 13 prey. When fresh human prey is not
available, they graze on the gospog who would work against the High
Suggested Weakness: Fire Lords and slay them.
Suggested True Death: Sever the fields, feeding on those gospog too
slow or weak to escape. Ravagons appear as great Winged
ghoul's spinal column from its brain
Others are very strong, and wield demons. Their nature is cruel, which
their tentacles with unearthly speed matches the disposition of the Gaunt
Lost Soul and accuracy, but they are also rather Man. They have attached a sense of
slow when it comes to covering prid~ to their position as the enforcers
Lost souls are the creatures spirit
mediums contact. They are not man· ground. They are almost always ac- of the High Lords. Ravagons are not
sters with corrupted souls, and for this companied by Caretakers. horrors ofOrrorsh, and so do not have
reason they do not have card ratings, Other the special abilities and weaknesses of
power points, weaknesses and a means horrors.
DEXTERITY ID
of true death. Their only known inter- lrishantism is the bloody religion
Unarmed combat 16
<lction with the physical plane is most Ravagons carry in their hearts.
STRENGTH 20
through spirit mediums. Just as the Gaunt Man let the Victori-
TOUGHNESS 17
No one, not even the Gaunt Man ans keep the basics of their religion, so
PERCEPTION 8
nor lhe lost souls themselves, know the Gaunt Man let the Ravagons keep
Find 13, tracking 13 their world's faith. lrishantism is based
where the lost souls come from. The MINDS
spirits don't think that they were ever on the belief that their god has told
Test(20)
"alive," but they certainly have a great their prophets (known as Irishanti),
CHARISMA 5
deal of infonnation about life and what Taunl (20) that the weak should be killed. It is a
its like to be alive. kind of theological version of survival
SPIRIT 8
Lost souls are very lonely, and they of the fittest. A faithful Ravagon knows
Faith (Orrorsh) 17, Intimidation 14
love to talk to the living. When anyone that it is his duty to slaughter weaker
Possibility Potential: None
with spirit medium skill contacts them beings. Thus, pup Ravagons are en·
Natural Tools: tentacles, (STRI
they race to the person. The medium couraged to fight amongst themselves,
damage value 20) Ignore multi-action
~usl then sort through the spirits and
even to the death, so the weakest can
penalty to attack up to four oppo- be removed from the world as quickly
fmd one that can answer his question. nents. If attacking five, penalty is as if
Most lost souls will claim that they as possible. As Ravagons grow older
attacking two; if attacking six, penalty the fights become more formalized.
know anything just so that they can is as if attacking three, etc.
talk 10 the living. A high spirit medillm It is rare for a Ravagon to use deceit
Power Rating: 1
~otal is required to decide which spir-
for his assaults - not for a lack of
Corruption Value: 13
Its are trustworthy.

~--------_
~ 105
..
Torg: Orrorsh

cunning on thepartoftheRavagons but MINDS 12, reality 19

because it is considered taboo. A holy Test 9 (12) Possibilities: three per Storm
lrishant wins because heis strongest in CHARISMAS Knight
directconflict.SincetheinvasionofEarth Taunt 9 (I2) NatwalTools:Armored.skin(lOU+3/
more and more lrishantsareemploying SPIRITS annorvalue 13),Talons (SIR+2/damage
these taboo tactics against Storm faith (lrishantism) 10, intimidation value 16), Wings (speed value 13).
Knights. The theological argument is 11, reality 10
that the humans are not truly spiritual in Possibilities: 5-10 Chosen Ravagon
nature - but it has much more to do NatwalTools:ArmoredskinGOU+3/ DEXTERITY 10
with the fact that the Ravagons must armor value 13), Talons <SfR+2/damage Flight 17, maneuver 20, stealth 18,
match the nature of the humans in com- value 16), Wings (speed. value 13). unarmed combat 21
bat or be destroyed. STRENGTH 16
Ravagon veterans are the moreskill- Ravagon Veteran TOUGHNESS IS (21)
ful than the nonnal warnors. The cho- DEXTERITY 9 PERCEPTION to
sen Ravagons are those who have been Right 16, maneuver 18. stealth 14, Find 16, first aid 13, language 12,
favored by Heketon, and have received unarmed combat 17 tracking 16, trick 15
the possibility energy to enhance them- STRENGTH 14 MINDS
selves. TOUGHNESS 10(13) Test 15 (8), willpower 18
Ravagon PERCEPTION 10 CHARISMAS
Find 17. first aid 13, language 12, Persuasion 12, Taunt 15 (8)
DEXTERITY 9 tracking 16, trick 15 SPIRIT 10
Flight 15, maneuver 15, stealth 12,
MINDS Faith(lrishantism) 16, intimidation
unarmed. combat 11
Test 12 (15), willpower 14 17, reality 20
STRENGTH 14
CHARISMAS Possibilities: five perStorm Knight
TOUGHNESS 10(13)
Taunt 12 (15) Natural Tools: Occult-treated ar-
PERCEPTION 10
SPIRIT S mored skin ITOU+6/.lrmor value 21),
Hnd 12. language 11, tracking 11, Faith(lrishantism) 12, intimidation Talons (STR+2/damage value 18).
trick 12
Wings (speed ...-alue 13).

•• 106
 Chapter Eight

Shaden shadows of the puppets. A story could Skarlh

be told involving people without ac-
Shaden are a life form from a previ- tually creating the image of a person. Skarths are amorphous, red slime.
ously conquered world. Nightmares The Nightmare Punch, of whom They appear like long snakes about
have twisted theshaden to the monsters little is known, has perverted this two to four meters long, butcanspread
they are now. They resemble floating charming notion to serve his own out into a circle about three meters in
masses of darkness. Shaden can com- goals. He has created twodimensional diameter. They require human blood
press and shape themselves, conform- creatures made of shadow. The crea- and obtain it by coiling themselves
ing to the shapes of shadows in which tures possess a solid, physical form. around human victims, strangling the
theyhide. Whenshadowsorotherdark- They bend and fold to move about. person, they snaking their way into
ness is available, shaden receive a +5 Aside from any special powers be- the body of the victim through the
bonus to their stealth. The attack with low, the shadow puppets have astealth victim's mouth. Once inside they be-
acidic tendrils which kill, and help di- value of 25 whenever they are in a gin ripping their way through thebody
gest, their prey. Their power is usually shadow. This value must be for any internally, taking the blood with them.
an annor defeating attack. They roam kind of Perception or Perception based When they leave the corpse appears to
the jungles of Orrorsh until seized by skill roll when the shadow is in a true have been strangled to death. A closer
one of their masters for a mission. shadow. They can also teleport from inspection is required to determine
Shaden one true shadow to another ifthe shad- that the corpse has been drained of
DEXTERITY 11 ows are within 25 meters of each other. blood.
Dodge 13, flight 13, stealth 18, un- This teleporting is a simple action. If the skarth hits the target it does
armed combat 14 The creatures sometimes hunt damage, striking the victim as if it is a
STRENGTH 10 alone, and sometimes work in groups whip.
TOUGHNESS 12 of up to five. They tend to work at If the skarth gets a good or better
PERCEPTION 9 night, bouncing from one shadow to result on its attack, it coils itseH around
Find 11, tracking 12, trick 11 (16) the next, confusing their prey and caus" the victim. The skarth receives a +3 b0-
MINDS ing fear. nus modifier for damage when coiled
Test 12 (19), willpower 19 around a target. The victim needs a
Shadow Strength total greater than the skarth's
CHARISMAS DEXTERITY 11
SPIRIT 10 Strellgth to get the creature off his body.
Acrobatics 13, dodge 13, melee
Faith (Orrorsh) 18, Intimidation 11 weapons 14, stealth 13, unarmed Skarth
(15) . DEXTERITY 13
combat 12
Possibility Potential: some (55) STRENGTH 11 Dodge 16, unarmed combat 17,
Natural Tools: Acidic attack Climbing 12 maneuver 15, stealth 15
(STR+7/damage value 17) TOUGHNESS 14 STRENGTH 15
Power Rating: 2 PERCEPTION 10 TOUGHNESS 12
Corruption Value: 18 Find 11, tracking 13, trick 12 PERCEPTION 14
Fear Rating: 1 MIND 9 Find 15, tracking 20, trick 15
Suggested Perseverance ON: 13 Test 10, willpower 11 MlND4
Suggested Weakness: none CHARISMA 5 Test (20), Willpower 20
Suggested True Death: Unarmed SPIRIT 7 CHARISMA 7
or melee combat Faith (Orrorsh) 19, Intimidation 11 Taunt (25)
Possibility Potential: some (5) SPIRIT 9
Shadow Equipment: Each shadow is usu- Faith (Orrorsh) 16, Intimidation (25)
ally designed with a weapon. The Possibility Potential: Some (50)
The Indonesian culture, due to weapon, which appears as a two di- Power Rating: 3
Muslim influences, had rules that pro" mensionalshadowextendingfrom the Corruption Value: 20
hibited anyone from creating the like- creature's hand, has all the same dam- Fear Rating: 1
ness of human beings of any kind. age attributes of the real weapon. A Suggested Perseverance ON: 16
They believed God alone who could common weapon is the rapier (dam- Suggested Weakness: None
create the image ofman. To getaround age STR + 5/damage value 16). No Suggested True Death: smothered
this rule puppeteers created shadow weapons are ever used that would in sand
puppets. These flat cutouts had the exceed the Orrorsh tech axiom.
outlines of people, but were not the Power Rating: 5 Young Skarth
images of people. To use them, the Corruption Value: 27 DEXTERITY 9
puppeteer would shine a bright light Fear Rating: 1 Dodge 11, unanned combat 12,
from behind the puppet toward a white Suggested Perseverance DN: 17 stealth 10
screen. The audience would sit on the Suggested Weakness: Intenselight STRENGTH 10
other side of the screen and see the Suggested True Death: Trapped in TOUGHNESS 9
bright light for a full minute PERCEPTION S

••
107
Torg: Orrorsh

MIND4 incubus cannot appear as a female, the creature in a cage made of the
Test (20), Willpower 20 and a succubus cannot appear as a bones of its victims for 12 hours.
CHARISMA 7 male). Thedemonscommunicatewith NaturaITools:daws(STR+l/ dam-
Taunt (25) each other through a keening wail. age value 15)
SPIRlT 5 Note that even in it natural form the
Faith (Orrorsh) 15, Intimidation (25) creature is very appealing to most po- Video Cassette Recorder
Possibility Potential: some (50) tential victims. of Death
Power Rating: 1 Succubus & Incubus
Corruption Value: 12 DEXTERITY 11 The VCR of Death is an example of
Fear Rating: 1 Dodge 12, unarm combat a horror created by Skutharka, the
Suggested Perseverance DN: 12 STRENGTH 14 Nightmare of Singapore. The VCR is
Suggested Weakness: none actually a standard VCR that anyone
TOUGHNESS 11
Suggested True Death: smothered PERCEPTION 12 in Singapore might have bought in
in S<lnd any store before the invasion. The hor·
Trick 13
MIND 11 ror is a "mechanical spirit" designed
Succubus/Incubus CHARISMA 14 by Skutharka - a spirit specifically
Charm 16, persuasion 16 designed to possess machines, give
Incubi and succubi are "female" them intelHgence, and let them en·
SPIRTT 5
and "male" uemons,respettively, that courage people to do evil.
Faith (Orrorsh) 15, Intimidation 12
often have life draining and shape- The VCR of Death does the fol-
shifting powers. They have great Possibility Potential: some (20)
Power Rating: 5-8 lowing:
strength, but more often work by tak· Whetheror not there is a tape inside
Corruption Value: 22
ing on the appearance of an attractive of it; thelrtachirte tart start playing an
member of their victim's species and Fear Rating: 1
Suggested Perseverance DN: 15 image on a television. The image is of
luring him to destruction. If the crea- a face, full of static and crackles, that
ture shape-shifts its choice of appear- Suggested Weakness: holy symbol
Suggested True Death: trapping appears to be a kind of ghost. The face
ance is limited by its gender (Le., an

_.~.~---------------~
108 ~
 Chapter Eight

tells the owner of the VCR that it can vampyre from the movie liN osferatu". coven comes from the word covenant,
gethimeverythinghewants. The VCR In Orrorsh this term is used a bit whichisacontract. Thevampyrecoven
then asks the owner what it would like morebroadly-thatis,notall vampyre is a living contract. AIl the vampyres
outoflife. The VCR then creates a kind are cut from the Slavic monster cloth in a coven agree to help one another
of television show where the fantasies - but certain generalities still apply. survive against a world that is as hos-
of the person are portrayed in clear Vampyres are men or women who tile to their kind as they are to the
and vivid de~ail. The person actually need to drink blood from ~heir victims world.
gets to see himself live out moments of to survive. Most possess the powers A new coven is usually started by a
this fantasy life - just like a TV com- rife drain and infectio1l. They usually vampyre whose old coven was dis-
mercial, but with himself as the star. work within hierarchical groups called covered and destroyed. When the
While the person is watching this covens. vampyre hunts he does so with the
strange TV commercial thedeviceuses Aside from these items, the purpose of creating new vampyres.
charm and persuasio1l on the viewer. If garnemaster should feel free to come Vampyres v.ithout infection do exist,
it succeeds in getting a vow result the up with his own variety ofvampyres. but as their coven is destroyed they
person will willingly follow the VCR's After all Orrorsh is a reality from an- have no way of repleniShing their
orders to get what it has promised. other, unknown cosmo Itshouldn't al- members or starting new covens if a
The instructions of a VCR of Death ways behave like something from our majority of the coven is killed.
are usually as follows: movies. A coven usually consists of five to
"Go out, kill someone, bring me The Personality of Vampyres twelve vampyres. The vampyre that
back the body and feed the remains Vampyres are different than many created the coven is its leader. The
into the cassette slot of the VCR." of the other creatures of Orrorsh in other varnpyres do as he says.
Most people are willing to do this to that they do not separate themselves Covens are often grouped within
bring their dreams to realization. When from human society. Most revel in the caves, graveyards, basements of large
the parts are fed into the VCR they are idea of passing themselves off as hu· mansions and so on. Sometime the
consumed by mystical means by the man beings and strive to gain the trap- master of a coven is the only vampyre
spirit. pings of a normal human life. They to have strong contact with human
If the VCR is destroyed the spirit acquire wealth, attend social functions, society. For example, a ma!';tf"r might
flees. To destroy the mechanical spirit cultivate a "liVing" persona, establish pose as a lord, and his coven members
the Storm Knight must perform an friendships. are the lord's servants. In another
occuU ritual. With the benefits of their powers coven the master might give the coven
VCR of Death most vampyres reach high stations of members free reign to do as they wish.
DEXTERITY 1 society; friends are gained through The coven would meet only once ev-
STRENGTH 1 their charm, enemies dispatched with ery few weeks.
TOUGHNESS I a deadly bite from their fangs. Covenssometimessufferwcilkncss
PERCEPTION 15 The vampyre would be safer if it from internal politics (a coven mem-
Languages 18, trick 19 lived in the wilds outside of civilized ber might help Storm Knights hunt
MIND 16 areas, entering cities or villages only down his master so he can be freed
Test 20, willpower 19 for the hunt. A vampyre's desire to from the coven, for example) but for
CHARISMA 17 live in human society is a pathological the most part the vampyres within a
Charm 21, Persuasion 20 compulsion. His believed thatthecrea- coven are loyal to each other.
SPIRIT 15 tures behave this way because their Varnpyre
Faith (Orrorsh) 19 corrupted souls are desperate to re- DEXTERITY 12
Possibility Potential: some (24) turn to their former, uncorrupted state. Acrobatics 20, dodge 19, maneuver
Power Rating: 2 In the end most vampyres that stay 17, running 17,stealth20, unarmed
Corruption Value: 24- within a human society are discov- combat 20
Fear Rating: 2 ered and killed. H is the rare varnpyre STRENGTH 16
Suggested Perseverance ON: 13 that can curb its desire to live within Climbing 19
Suggested Weakness: none human society and forego the human TOUGHNESS 18
Suggested True Death: Occult existence it once possessed. These are PERCEPTION 11
ritual the vampyres that become very pow- Find 14, language 15, scholar 16,
erful- such as Sabathina, one of the trick 16
Vampyre Gaunt Man's Nightmares. MIND 1.
The Vampyre Coven Test 23, willpower 23
The term vampyre i.e; usually asso- Very few vampyres live in com- CHARISMA 14
ciated with the tales of Eastem Europe plete isolation from other vampyres. Charm 26, persuasion 21
involVing man-like creatures, or Although they hunt alone, their place SPIRIT 9
undead men, who drink the blood of of rest is a place where two or more Faith (Orrorsh) 18, Intimidation 17,
living humans. Representations of vampyres gather. This group of reality 18
such creatures are Dracula or the vampyres is called a coven. The word Possibility Potential: some (7)

~I ----------_I_.
..........- 109
Torg: Orrorsh

Natural Tools: fangs(STR+2! dam-

age value 18)
Power Rating: 8
Corruption Value: 24
Fear Rating: 6
Suggested Perseverance DN: 18
Suggested Weakness: holy item
(severe), running water
Suggested True Death: a wooden
stake must be driven through the
creature's heart and the head must be
cut oft

Werewolf
The werewolf is a creation of a
Nightmare that worked on Gaea, and
it very similar in nature to the
werewolves of Earth's horror stories.
A werewolf always hasa human form,
and it spends most of its time in this
form. It can also shift into one of two
forms.
The first is the form of a wolf. It is
similar in most respects to the wolves
that exist naturally, though it is un-
usually large.
The second form is a kind of hu-
manoid·wolf. The creature stands on
two legs and moves like a man, but is
covered with fur and has the head of
wolf. This second type of creature is
usually referred to as a wolfman.
The attributes ,\Od skills of the two
creatures is the same. A werewolf ei-
ther becomes a wolf or a wolfman;
most werewolves do not transform
into both.
The Curse
The werewolf is one of the most
terrible forms a corrupted soul can
take in the reality of Orrorsh. A
werewolf is usually inhabited by a
corrupted soul that is having second
thoughts about staying on the Waiting
Village track. Placement in the
werewolf is seen as punishment be- When the moon rises the werewolf life, and thus will lack the courage to
cause a werewolf cannot control its switches from man form to creature turn down the Gaunt Man's offer of
actions when it is in wolf or wolfman form. He becomes a creature filled another visit to the Waiting Village.
form. Thus, as much as it wants to live with a lust for the hunt. The monster
a good life in its current reincarnation, The Personality of Werewolves
wants to kill for no other reason than When in human form the werewolf
the soul cannot help but act in an evil to kill. It is usually sated after one
way. Mostcorrupted soulsareso afraid can appear as any normal person - a
murder, but it might take several. dockworker. a doctor, a salesman. In
that thpy keep their dark half secret Most werewolves cannot control
from other people. human form most werewolves do not
their transformation - either to pre- even remember what they did in their
The curse of the werewolf usually vent their transformation or to make it
takes place for three nights a month- wolf or wolfman form. The time is
occur at will. Most do not want the merely a blank in their memory. But
the night of the full moon and the transformation to occur because it
night before and after the full moon. when they hear the stories of the mur·
means they have failed to live a good

~110
.,~-------
~
~
 Chapter Eight

ders that took place the night before CHARISMA 5 SPIRIT 7

they know immediately that they are Taunt 8 (12) Faith (Orrorsh) 11,lntimidation8(l8)
responsible. SPIRlT10 Possibility Potential: None
For this reason werewolves -the Faith (Orrorsh) 15, Intimidation 12 Power Rating: 1
werewolves racked with guilt, at least Skill Note: The human form of the Conuption Value: 13
- keep moving. They try to avoid creature has seventy points of at- Fear Rating: 1/2
setting down roots for fear they will be tributes, with 10 points in Spirit and Suggested Perseverance DN: 10
responsible for the murder of some- the rest determined by the gamemas- Suggested Weakness: none
one they came to care about. Most try ter. The human form has skills deter- Suggested True Death: occult ritual
to live out in the wilderness, away mined by the gamemaster.
from people they might harm, but Possibility Potential: some (35) Zuvembie
when in wolf fonn they hunt down Natural Tools: Claws (STR+2/
humans and head into civilized areas damage value 14); teeth (STR+ 10/ A zuvembie is one of the walking
anyway. damage value 22) dead, a reanimated corpse enslaved to
Werewolves in human form are of- Power Rating: Shape change, plus the bidding of the one who made him
ten quite pleasant, sometimes even three more points rise. They are like zombies, but are
endearing. They usually have a Conuption Value: 19 much tougher. Zuvembie are created
haunted quality that makes people Fear Rating: 2 through the use of occult rituals, and
want to help them and take care of Suggested Perseverance ON: 14 are often u!';ed a~ ~ervanls find labor-
them. The werewolf, starved for affec- Suggested Weakness: none ers. They have tremendous strength
tion after so long on the cycle of Eter- Suggested True Death: slain with a and do not feel pain, continuing to
nal Corruption, accepts theacts ofkind- silver bullet pursue a goal until they achieve it or
ness, thinking he will leave before the are utterly destroyed. It is impossible
next full moon. Sometimes he is strong Zombie to tmmt, cJmnn,orpersllndea zuvembie,
enough to make this happen, other as they are virtually mindless. Their
times he is not... Zombies are bodies raised from the skin is usually chalk-white, their move-
The Trail of the Werewolf dead. The bodies are fiUed with the ments stiff, and their eyes blank. They
Most corrupted souls that are weakest of the souls from the Waiting are incapable of speech.
werewolves want to get off the cycle of Villages - souls that have cycled Zuvembie
Eternal corruption. At the same time, through the villages for so long that
DEXTERITY 8
however, they are afraid facing their their minds are now feeble, their spir-
Dodge 9, stealth 10, unarmed com·
previous crimes from previous lives. its weak. They can take no initiative on
bat 10
Becauseof this, it is not uncommon for their own - they must have someone
STRENGTH 20
a werewolf to leave clues for those who can uirect their actions. A zombie
Climbing 22 (speed value 8), lifting
who hunt him. These clues lead to his can only understand commands of one
23
identity and the means of True Death. to five words. When they have com-
TOUGHNESS 20
Thus the werewolf contributes to his pleted their command they can under-
PERCEPTION 1
own destruction, but lets someone else take a new set of instructions.
Trick (25)
finish him off. Anyone pursuing a The occult rituals that raise the dead
MIND 1
werewolf often discovers that he are varied. Some rituals involve sew- Test (25)
knO\vs the werewolf's human form- ing shut the mouths of the corpses,
CHARISMA 3
and might even like him quite a bit. others involve painting the bodies wi th
SPIRIT 10
strange and arcane patterns.
Werewolf Faith (Orrorsh) 13, Intimidation 11
DEXTERITY 12
Zombie (15)
Dodge 13, maneuver 18, running OEXTERITY7 Possibility Potential: None
14, stealth 13, unarmed combat 18 Stealth 10, unarmed combat 9 Power Rating: 2
STRENGTH 12 STRENGTH 12 Conuption Value: 15
TOUGHNESS 17 TOUGHNESS 14 Fear Rating: 1
PERCEPTION 11 PERCEPTION 1 Suggested Perseverance ON: 12
Tracking 12 Trick (10) Suggested Weakness: none
MIND 6 MINDl Suggested True Death:occultritual
Test 9, willpower 17 CHARISMA 3

••
111
Torg: Orrorsh

Chapter Nine

Equipment
1.1 he basis of the Victorian
currency is the sterling, a
silver coin stamped with
the image of the original
have a difficulty number. Each week
that an occultist attempts to put a kit
together he gets to make an OCCIIIt roll
against this number. Cards may not be
Queen Victoria. A sterling added to this roll. If he makes the roll
is equal to about five U.s. dollars. Each it means that he has successfully gath·
sterling is divided into 20 smaller units ered all the items necessary to com·
known as medways, or meds, in honor plete the item. Thecost isa total amount
of the Victorian victory against the Ro- for all the items.
mans. The smallest unit of the Victorian Occult Kit: This small black bag can·
currency is the copper tradescoin, or tains several vials filled with colored
trader. Each trader is worth about 10 potions, a few books written in ob-
cents U.S. rurrency on Core Earth. scure languages, and organ or two
The abbreviations for the coins are taken from a dead animal. It is essen·
sterlings = 5; meds = m; tradescoin = t. tially a field version of an occult lab.
Anyone who wants to do occult re-
search at the scene of a murder or
Weapons perform an occult ritual outside of a
lab must have the kit. The kit can only
Modem weapons areavailable from work foroccult rituals of a difficulty of
the Core Earth areas of Southeast Asia 20 or less.
and certain areas, especially urban ar·
eas, within Orrorsh. These weapons Occult Lab: This isa small room filled
can be found in the Torg Basic Ru/ebook, with bubbling chemicals and skulls
and their price values are listed. and strange powders that produce lots
The Victorian weapons are more of smoke when exposed to fire. The
limited. Although there is a wide di· lab is necessary for performing occult
versity in manufacturers of weapons, rituals of 21 or greater. It is possible to
the limitations on technology limit the move portions of the lab out into the
true variety of weapon damages, field for complicated occult rituals,
ranges, and prices. Thus, a sampling but occultists are very reluctant to
of Victorian weaponry is offered be- move their labs, as they might bedam·
low, giving the spread of technology aged during transport, or seized by
available to the Victorians. Victorian authorities.
Occult Library: This is a large collection
of occult books that can give an occultist
Occult Materials a bonus when perfonnmg occult rituals.
Since occult books are so rare, a large
Occult materials are difficult to come collectionmightbenomorethanadozen.
by, but necessary for perfonning occult The actual number of books does not
rituals and experiments. Certain mate- matter so much as the idea that when
rials, like occult labs or occult kits, are the library is finished it gives the occult·
important props to conduct occult re- ist a broad overview of occult knowl-
search, but they add no bonus to the edge. The books listed below, which are
omdt roll. Theysirnply makeoccu1t work very specific and very powerful, might
possible. become part of an occult library, but
Some of the items, like occult kits, they are not the kind of books consid·
cannot be purchased at a store. The ered here.
items of a kit or lab have to becollected When an occultist is working on a
slowly, over time. ltems such as these ritual he can tum to his occult library

..,....,.,,-------------------,.....
.........
112 ~
 Chapter Nine

for help. A week of work is required a subject in detail and are very power- secret. The characters must then track
going through the books. This might ful. They are occult props that add a down the book with the scraps of in-
seem like a long time to flip through bonus to occult event rolls. formation thegamemasterstarts them
the pages of a dozen books, but the Most people don't want occult off with.
occultist must pour over the pages, books, but those who do want them Here are four examples of books
checking to see if his mind can make very badly. This tends to make the that are scattered throughout the real-
an strange connections between a para- pril:~ uf such a book (when one is ity ofOrrorsh. The list is anything but
graph in one text with an illustration available for sale, which is rare) vary exhaustive. Each book handles one
in another. As with the research skill, wildly. Most occult books of this type item of note in detail. This is each
some of what an occultist finds in the cost 1,OOOs to 6,ooos. book's hook into an occult ritual. For
books is not actually printed, but is However, because they are occult example, theScorithum would beused
magically divined by the occultist. props, if the Storm"Knights want them if the occultists wanted to summon a
Most occult work is intuitive, and the they're going to have to get them - scarabus, but could be useful in an-
occultist must let the matters settle in not buy them. This means stealing other type of summoning.
his brain for a while before he can them from another occultist, or going The Kellatastin: Bound in silver cov-
produce any hard information. into a old castle to find the dusty li- ers the Kellatastin contains 80 pages
After a week's time the occultist gets brary, or scouring theused book shops dealing with rituals involVing blood
to generate an OCCIlIt total against a 12. of New London to see if they might (+3 bonus on blood rituals).
Every result point i<; a +1 on his final stumble across something.
occult event roll. Note that if the occult- There are occult books on every A Magic Sword: This slim volume of
ist only gets a mifrimnl success it means subject. The players, when creating cardboard bound pages reveals
he only confirm<> what he suspected their occult sentence string, will tell Bellinger's elaborate ritual for creat-
before -he does not get a bonus. the gamemaster what kind of book ing a magical sword. It might contain
they are looking for, and the game- dues for those seeking to enchant a
Occult Books weapon (+2 bonus on ritual to enchant
Unlike the books in an occult li- mastermaycomeupwitha title, which
hecan tell the players- and the books weapon).
brary, the books described here cover

~-------------------_
~ 113
recent history, which he should keep

..
Torg: Orrorsh

The Nocturna: Covered in a smooth, any event using brass or silver (+2). It tions on matters of nightmares meet-
blood-red, unknown material, this vol· has a bonus unique to this volume: any ing reality (+2 bonus for rituals in-
ume is thousands of years old. It con- occult ritual dealing with the High Lord volving other dimensions).
tains spells, cun>es, and arcane knowl- of Orrorsh, or his Darkness Device re- The Scorithum: This leather bound
edge from a sorcerer whose name was ceive a +3 bonus. book is 128 pages thick and contain
blasted from the text by a later occult Nostrum's Cases: This coverless text information about patterns used to
event. The book grants a bonus for any Is the famed diary of the occultist Nos- contain scarabuses (+4 bonus to ritual
event producing madness (+3) ordeath trum. Most of the madman's notes are including scarabuses).
(+2); any eventconcemingdemons (+2); indecipherable, butthere are lucid sec~

WEAPONS - - - - - - - -Damage
---- -------
RanSe (meters) Price
--
Tech Value Ammo Short M,d Long (value)

Pistols
utheno ~ eJ ' un
Lee-Jiollin~ Light Revolver 18 15 6 3·5 10 25 20s (11)
-,a"h'c1wrG ~ ea evo S 25 ~'1"
Tawning .38 18 13 6 3·5 15 25 15s (0)
Rifles
8 .M
Weston:
""
0
Weston Bolt-Action Carbine 19 17 8 3·50 90 2oo 90s (14)
Machine-guns/Cannon
~~_ii:dTG 61illii
Rutherford Gal in g I" 19
23'
25 30
.
3-90
. 500 lk 400s (17)
1-
·~i5ll~·~S;POw,a '9' :;.250 1ll1S']

A Gatling gun Is hand-erankcd machine gun with six 10 10 rifle barrels grouped 10 rotale ..round a centr.l.1 shaft. A5 the
CT,lnk is turned, the barrcls revolve, earn harrel in tum receiving a cartridge. firing it, ~nd moving out of the way for ..nother.

TRAVELING GEAR-------------------- Price (value)

~==:::::=;~==!=.=Z!II:iIIC~llliJJ~:::!iI----:::ilmJIill!i::m::iI:C=;;:;;;::=i::J
rtable, w. coal oil 10m (2)

arding ouse)
8.tO=~=:::;:===:;;;::;:::lllm:;;::=:2!JEi:BI
6t to Is f-fti}4)
~iik.i'~=====:::iiiii:i:::::!::rli::~sr
~; 4)
12m (4

fm\('~)
2m (-2)

6s (8)
2ii\l('1)
Iotrof
6S'
35 (7)

OCCULT----------------------- Difficulty Price (value)

Occult Kit 18 4005 (I7)
~5~,?~=*=~~~IlIlIlIIIllI!IIIl:s::;;:;;;;:~5llII:;;:::::=:=!:=~
Occult Library 25 2,OOOs (21)

•• 114
 Ch.'pter Ten

Chapter Ten

Adventuring in
Orrorsh
1&1 "h of the realms
Roleplaying of TO'8
tire Possibility
WlTrs should have its own
particular feel. They are,
How Do I Enjoy
Watching My
after all, different realities. Character Die?
It isn't enough thai the Storm Knights
Here are some tips for playing ad-
kill offa new kind of monsterwhen they venhlres set in Orrorsh.
travel fromonerealm to another. A new
reality calls for a different kind of slory. -Avoid bringing your favorite Storm
Orrorsh is the reality of horror. It is Knight into Orrorsh. U possible use
very different from the other realities Storm Knights that are designated just
that have invaded Earth. In every other forOrrorsh. This way, if they die in the
of theinvading realities thereisa place adventure, you were prepared for it
for heroes and astounding triumphs. all along.
Sometimes, like in the Nile, these tri- -The gamemaster or the players
umphs are really astounding. In other should have back-up Storm Knights
places, like the Cyberpapacy, the tri- ready for the players in case a charac·
umphs come with serious lumps... but ter dies. If a second character isn't
the Stann Knights are still pretty cer- available, it doesn't take that much
tain that they'll win in the end. But time to w hip up anothercharacter with
Orrorsh is a reality of horror. What the Torg template system. The game-
should that be like? master should try to get this new char-
acter into the adventure as qUickly as
possible so the player isn't stuck. with
Roleplaying Horror nothing to do.
Roleplaying in Orrorsh is a different -Don't think of winning as staying
than playing inother Torgenvirorunents. alive. Think of winning as killing the
When you read a horror story you know bad guy. This is very consistent with
that bad things are going to happen the feel of horror stories, where most
You know it will scare you. You know protagonists know that they are deal-
that characters you like are going todie. ing with something far beyond their
Why do we read them if we're setting capabilities, but investigate the dan-
ourselves for such disappointments? ger anyway because they know that
We don't know. We just know that tile cn:ullln: mu~t be ~tupped! The good
people do. make necessary sacrifices of them-
The trick then, is to bring that same selves toend theevil confronting them.
[n a way, every character in Orrorsh
sense of loving fear into roleplaying
games. Most roleplaying games, espe- has the martyr card on Ihe table -
cially Targ, are not geared toward ad- only it might not kill the monster.
venhrres wherecharacters dieregularly. - U you bring in characters from out·
But that's exactly what Orrorsh is all side Orrorsh don't stick around too
about. U the vampyre doesn't take oul long. Not only will this keep your
some of the heroes then he's a vampyre characters alive longer, but it will keep
out of a sword and sorcery heroic fan- the feel of Orrorsh fresh. Remember,
tasy - and that's another reality. too much horror loses its edge.

I.
115
Torg: Orrorsh

-The gamemaster sllOlIld flat go out of all ofyour energy on keeping your char· city, or the group knows that there is an
his way to kill the Storm Knights. aders alive, as if you are your character, enme vampyre coven in Jakarta that
Horror is not a slaughter·fest. If the you should be like actors in a horror they want to destroy. Remember that it
players believe that their characters movie. BecaU5e theactorsread the script, is this specific threat th... t d~tcrmincs the
are going to get wasted just by step- they know ahead of time that their char- Perseverance Difficulty.
ping out the front door the game· will acters are going todie. Butthe fun isstill During the course of the adventure
quickly end in frustration. A delicate in playing the part and getting to the the Storm Knights attempt to gain dues
balance must be struck between hope death. It's the same ,vith Orrorsh. The about the creature's base of operations,
for \'ictory and despair at the odds. story is creepy and death-fraught, but its possible weaknesses, and its means
-Finally, play for story, not for per- getting to its end is enjoyable because it of True Death. While they do this the
sonal survival. is an enjoyable story. monster hunts the Stonn Knights and
The Power of Fear rules help out in other people. The Storm Knights might
this way as well, for although the also do battle with the monsters allies,
Playing For Story monsters are very dangerous until the
group's Perseverance is high enough,
or random creatures roaming the area.
The gamemaster should set up false
In a horror story there is a monster when the Storm Knights have a high leads for the heroes to pursue, as well as
and the monster-killers. During the Persevermlce they have as good a chance offering hard dues that the Storm
course of the story some of the charac- of killing the monster as they would in Knights can use later.
tersdie, but the monster is killed. What any other reality. Adventures are This partofthe adventure is a deadly
matlers is tlrat the mOl/sler is slain. If this deadly at the beginning, but build to a game of cat and mouse, as the Storm
happens then the story feels right,as if heroic and successful climax. Knights try to gain enough Persever-
the loss of lives was worth the final ance points to fight the monster. They
Victory. never know exactly when they'll have
Adventures in Orrorsh should mimic Adventures In enough, so each time they confront the
that feel. The players and gamemaster monster (or the monster confronts
should work together to create a creepy Orrorsh them) they don't know if they can
feel- a feel where death is imminent, successfully defeat it. Meanwhile,
but victory is still possible. AdventureinOrrorshusuallyrevolve more and more innocent people are
This requires a certain amount of around one specific creature or threat. being killed. The Storm Knights have
player detachment. Instead of focusing For example, a vampyre is roaming a to constantly balance the need to kill

----~------------------,....
116 ____
 Chapter Ten

the monster ."s quickly as possible Significant? Maybe yes, maybe no. ers.If everything isslrange, Lhen noth-
against the need for more information Now the Storm Knights are wonder- ing seems strange.
and more Perseverance points. ing if they should be doing something
- and at a loss, since it's just a dog,
and there is really nothing to do. Use the Jungle
Creepiness The characters are a t the theater one
One of the stranger elements of
The sLory dues nut have to kill the nightin New London. Thegarn.emaster
Orrorsh for many people is that it's in
characters off. We've emphasized the describes the event - well·lit, every-
Southeast Asia. What has horror got to
possibility of death, because we think one in tuxedoes and beautiful evening
do with vampyres and werewolves?
gowns. The seats are made of fine oak
that the possibility of character death Well, think of it this way. A jungle is
must be ever·present in Orrorsh. But and crushed velvet. Itisafineevening
a place filled 'Nith trees and plants and
horror is not really in the death. Swords and everything is in place. Then oneof
animals. There are so many leaves and
and sorcery fantasy is filled with death, the Storm Knights notices that a
wuman sitting in the row in front of
trunks that there are plenlyof place.<; for
but itseldom has the feeling of horror. creatures to hide. OrplaceswhereStorm
What matters is in horror is the fear of them is bleeding. Just a single drop of
Knights think creahtres are hiding. It's
death - the sensation that something blood, over and over again from just
like a big haunted house right outdoors
wrong might happen at any moment. behind the left ear. If the character
in the bright sunlight of day.
In the beginning of the movie Tlte points this out to the woman she turns
Also, when Storm Knights are in
Exorcist two men are having a meeting - nothing strange about her- smiles,
the jungle it means that they are cut off
in an office. There is n grandfather and saysit mustbe a cut that re.opened. from civilization and help. They are
clockin the room, and the sound of the She excuses herself and heads to the
on their own. The gamemaster should
clock's pendulum ticking back and bathroom.
use that to his advantage. Isolate them
forth becomes part of the background Is she the strange creature they are
and make them know thatthings could
noise of the conversation. Suddenly seeking? It seems strange to think so in
get much worse very fast.
the pendulum comes to a complete such a nonnalenvironment-and yet ...
stop. The noise stops and the two men So keep things normal, and then
fall silent and look at the clock. One of warp it just enough to alert the play-
the men, a priest, is acutely aware that
something is wrong. And so is the
(Iudience. The two men continue talk·
ing, for there is nothing to be said - a
clock just stopped, that's a11- but in
that simple moment wea11 wondered
what the portent of the clock stopping
was. Wein theaudienceall caught our
breaths. I

l1lis effect was produced without

gobbets ofblood pouringoutofthewall
oreyes popping out ofpeople's heads. It
was very simple, but very effective. An
element that was everyday, a clock tick-
ing,suddenlybecameextraordinaryjust
by the fact the dock stopped ticking. A
gamemaster running an adventure in
Orrorsh would do well to emulate such
a simple tactic.
TheStoml Knights are sitting in their
meeting room, deciding what to do
about the rash of murders in Jakarta.
Thegarnemasterasks for Perception rolls.
One of the characters gets a very high
total and the garnemaster tells him that
he hears a soft scratching at the door. If
the characters get up and open the door
they see a dog with one leg, its hair
matted and dirty walking down the
street. It looks over its shoulder at them,
and then continues on its way.

~I ----------_I_.
~ 117
Torg: Orrorsh

way the monster jumps when the

The Monsters are the disembodied hand up to the every
elegant \"ampyre, the gamemaster Storm Knights make a move.
the Adventure should strive to make the CTeatures the Remember too that as the Storm
Knights track down information the
Storm Knights are hunting fully
In most roleplaying adventures fleshed out characters. They must de- monster will try to stop them. All the
monsters are simply one of many ob- sire to stay alive as long as possible (so monsters of Orrorsh are possessed by
stacles strewn before the characters as they can become more powerful) and corrupted spirits - they are intelli-
they pursue their real objective - the they have to create as much fear as gent to a degree and want to make
search for power, money, fame. possible (to serve their Nightmares, sure that they stay alive as long as
In Orrorsh the creatures are the and thus the Gaunt Manl. If the mon- possible. As soon as a monster finds
objectives. TheStorm Knightsareseek- sters just leap out of the darkness and out Storm Knights are hunting him
ing to destroy the servants ofthe Gaunt engage the player characters in com~ down, the monster might well start
man, from the horrors up to the Hel- bat then they're not doing their job. hunting down the Storm Knights.
lion court. They won't be around longif the Gaunt The characters might soon realize
Remember that because of the Ecol- Man can help it. that their prey is now their hunter. But
ogyofFear there aren't tons 0' monsters The creatures should spend time depending on the monster it might not
roaming the countryside. Destroying a playing cat and mouse games with the confront them directly. Avampyre lord
few monsters really does put a dent into Storm Knights and the general popu- might pull strings with the local au-
the Gaunt Man's operation. In most lace. Theywantto kill, but only enough thorities to badger the efforts of the
adventures the Storm Knights might that word gets out - so that people Storm Knights. The good guys and the
encounteronlyonemonster-themon- become afraid. bad guys might not meet at all until the
ster they seek. Sometimes there might To do this well, thegamemaster has final scene. No matter what, remember
be a dozen creatures, but seldom more to figure out how the creature thinks, that the stories are driven by the mon-
than that. what its goals are, what it wants. The ster - and that the best adventures in
For this reason the gamemaster has more the gamemaster knows about Orrorsh start with the creature.
to put some time into the monster that the monster the Stann Knights are
the Stonn Knights are hunting. From hunting the better he'll know which

•• 118
 _N.\ ..
. .
'.- .'
Gaean
Gypsy
Player Name:

IIMliiii Gaean
Gypsy
Player Name:

Character
Name
I Home
Cosm Ono"h
Possibilities
C()sm: Orrorsh
Ag. Wound Level Shock Damage Magic
10
Social Background: You grew up on the Eu·
Height
Wound 15 20 ropean continent of Gaea. Your fam·
HvyWound
Mortal Spiritual Tooh ily was a wandering tribe of Gypf;ies
Weight 0.., K 0 17 19 that sustained itself on limited re-
sources while avoiding the creatures
that ruled. the land. Your tribe ocea-
Reaiji;"" SPI sionally encountered Victorian settle-
Acrobatics DEX mentsorVictorianexplorers. Yousaw
Beast Rldin DEX
Dod , DEX the adults provide the stodgy Victori-
Lock ickin DEX ans with information - sometimes
Maneuver DEX true, and sometimes made up. From
Mek.oe Wei! ~ DEX this you learned the art of showman-
Preslidl Hation DEX ship and the value of information.
Stealth DEX Shortly before the invasion of Earth
Unanned Combat DEX your tribe was wiped out by zombies
Find PER controlled by a mad occultist. You
First Aid PER escaped, but did so by making your
C1,,~ CHA
Persuasion
way overa maelstrom bridge and onto
CHA
5 irit Ml'liium 3 16
the surface of Earth. Now you live in
'PI
Tru~ SiJ:ht 'PI
Indonesia, working with those who
hunt the creatures of the night, honing
your Gypsy skills to better serve your
cause.
Personality: Showman, can artist,
magidan, with just a tinge of a dark Quote: "Ah, my friend! I trust the
past that gets clients very interested in information I gave you helped! NO!?
you. Why that irresponsible spiri t! Tell you
Equipment: Silver jewelry, gold ban- what... For half price I contact spirits
dana pin, boot knife (STR+3/damage again, and this time I guarantee the
value 11), Colt Peacemaker (damage work."
Wei on5
Colt Peacemaker
I Swimming
JumpinJ: I III
value 15), incense, combustible pow~
ders for colored flames, 100 Victorian
Sterlings.

0;.
Roll
I 124
3 5
6
7 9 11 13 21 26 31 36 41 46
8 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 25 30 35 40 45 SO +5
Bonus III -n -10 -8 -5 -2 -1 0 1 2 345678 9 10 11 12 13 +1
 II ~~,
~~NGaean
Player Name:

i!!ttS-~
Player Name:
Gaean
Swami Swann

Cosm: Orrorsh
Character
Name
I Home
Cosm
Orro~h
I Possibilities
10

r /1 1
Background: You spent the last fifty Ag. Wound Level Shock Damage Magic Social
years of yOUT life living a precarious Wouod 15 20
Height IIvy Wound
existence in the jungles of Gaea's Spiritual Tech
Morl.1J
jungles. Only your spiritual Strength
and your training as a Swami allowed
Weight
0..' K 0 17 19
you tosurvive the hardships that were
ever present in the monster infested. Reali sri
Dod • DEX
reality of Orrorsh. In your eyes the
Missile Wea M DEX
world of Gaea is simply an empty Prestidl 't.ltioll DEX
husk waiting to collapse in on itself, Stealth DEX
whether the Victorians know it or not. Swlmmln DEX
When you discovered that a bridge Unarmed Combat DEX
connected your world to another Oimbin STR
world - a world ripe for the invaders Firsl Aid rER
to conquer-you decided to abandon Survival MIN
your home world and travel to this Faith (Findarul sri
F~, sri
new reality to do what you could to
prevent the monsters from attaining Swami 3 sri I 16
TrueSll':hl sr,
victory again.
You are a teacher, and one of your
goals is to bring the knowledge of the
Findaru faith and the skill of true sight
to as many people as you can.
Personality: Patient to a point. Most
people lack the discipline you have
developed, and every once in a while
you simply lose your temper. Your
internal rhythm is slow and steady.
You take the time to observe" and then
act.
Equipment:shortbow(STR+S/ dam-
age value 13)
Quote: "We must put aside our own I We.a ons
Short Bow +5 I 13 I 8 13-10 I 40 I 100

illusions before we can spot the de-

ceptions the Gaunt Man set for us."

I IIim
0;. 3 5 7 9 11 13 21 26 31 36 41 46
g
Roll
Bonus /I
1 2
-12 -10 -8
4 6
-5 -, -3 0 1 ,
10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 2025 30 35 40 45 50 +5
3 4 S 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 +1
 ~~ Indonesian
P~1yer Name:

~-~
Player Name:
Indonesian
~\~ DockWorker DockWorker
Qar;lder PossihilHi"s
Name 10 Cosm: Core Earth
Age Wound Level Social Background: You grew up in a blue
Wound 21 collar neighborhood in Jakarta and
Height Hvy Wound
Spiritual T.d> eventually got a job a dock worker.
Monal
Weight o You wanted a simple life and got it.
0,,,' K 9 23
You married and raised two children.

. ""
Dodge
FIre Combat
sri
DEX
DEX
Everything was going welt until the
invasion began. A vampyre stalked
your neighborhood. Your friends
died, and then your family. At first
Melee Weapons DEX
Run.'ling DEX
you didn't believe the rumors that
Unarmed Comb.:lt DEX spread throughout the nation - that
Lifting SfR Indonesia had been invaded by su·
Land Vehicles rER pematuraI horrors. Butonenightyour
Water Vehicles rER son came back for you. He said he
T~' M'N wanted to bewith you always, and all
Willpower MlN you had todo was let him draw some
Faith (Islam) SPI blood ...
True Sil!.ht 3 SPI 12 You fled in terror, your son laugh-
ing at you as you ran. You knew you
had to learn more, and fell in with a
group of the Victoriam. who knew
about the occult. They wanted to hire
you for your muscle. It never occurred
to them to teach you anything about
the dangers they investigated. But
knowledge is what you craved, so sig!lt. When you speak, which isn't
often, it is always from your heart.
Trick rather than money you took lessons
T~' from them in the reality of Orrorsh. Equipment: HammerShotgun (dam·
Taunt During a raid on the den of a creature age value 17), sledge hammer (STR +
Intimidate
madeofred ooze yourcomrades were 3/ damage value 15), flashlight.
Runnin:,
lost. The creature offered you power Quote: "Enough talking. Let's just
We.:Ipons Swimmin
if you would side with it. Vou refused get it done with."
Hammer Shotl:Ull 17 I 20 13-151 25 40 Jumpin and becameaStorm Knight. Now you
Sledli:e Hammer +3 IS Oimbin, fight alongside other Storm Knights,
Uftin; never knowing which day will be your
last.
Personality: You are straightforward
and honest. Your simple values give
0;, 3 5 7 9 11 13 21 26 31 36 41 46 you a natural talent in the skill of trlle
RoU l 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 +5
Bonus/ll ·12 ·10 ·8 -5 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 +1
(~~" Indonesian
Professor
Player Name:

~ :.=:
.

Cha~c1e;r
. . '. .~ . Indonesian
Professor
Hom~
Player Name:

Possibilities
Name Cosm Core Earth
Cosm: Core Earth 10
Background: You grew up during Age Wound Lent Shock Damage; I Magic Social

the excitement of Indonesia's struggle Wound 7 21

Height Hvy Wound
10 remove Sukarno's government. Spiritual TKh
Mon.ol
You lost many of your friends in the WeigM o.-~ K o ~ 23
rials of the sixties, but you believe
thallhe victory of a truly democratic
Reali Sri
society was worth it. After your un-
Dodge i5i51
dergraduate work you decided to get i5i51
FircCombat
a degree in anthropology; although Melee Weaporu DEX
you knew it was important for Indo- Runni" DEX
nesia to continue 10 Olove lorwnrd, Stealth DEX
you also believed that your nation Find PER
must keep hold of its rich past. FIrst Aid PER
Then the invasion started. First the Land Vehidt'!l PER
monsters arrived. Then tht> Victori- Scholar (I'rilnarvl J PER
ans - more coloniClls from another Scholar (Other) PER
place who constantly tell you what to Trid PER
0=1t MIN
do. You nften have trouble telling
"feSl MiN
which is worse - thcarragant while Willpower MiN
men or the creatures of the night. But Per5ua.1ion CHA
it is clear to you that if the monsters
can be disposed of the Victorians will
leave, so you turn your efforts to the
creatures.
Your skill in anthropology often
gives you insights into the workings yourself lost in your rcsc.uch, forget-
of myth and magic - information ting about the ever-present dangers Trick
that suddenly has pmcticaJ implica- of the night as you seek out more T~I

tions. infonnation. Taunt

Equipment: .38 revolver (damage Intimidate
Personality: Bitter at the new oppres-
sive powers that have once again shat- value 14), spare ammunition, nash-
tered your nation's aspirations, you light, notebook, sketchpad. Weapons
nevertheless know how to put all your Quote: "Of course!" .38 Revolver 14 18 1J-10 I 2S so
effort behind a project. You often find

Di,
Roll
I 1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 1\ \3
10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 +5
21 26 31 36 41 46

Bonus HI .12 -10 -8 -5 -2 -] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 8 9 10 11 11 13 +1

 ~~~
N~,

Age
Indonesian
~'.~: Reporter
Chuadc:r

Wound level
Wound
Home
COlm
Shock Dlimllgc:
Core Earth
I Magle
7
Plp,yer Name:

Social
21
I'onlbllllies
10
-
Cosm: Core Earth
Indonesian
Reporter

Background: This is the biggest story

of your young career. The only prob-
Plllyer Naml!:

Height Hvy Wound lem is the presses aren't running any-

Mort.,l Spiritual Tc(h
Weight Dud more. Your reporter's objectivity is
K D 9 23 also out the window- the monsters
killed people you care about. It's time
51'( (oryou to putyour investigative skills
DEX into gear and whip up some dirt on
DEX the horrors. Themoreyou learn,how-
Prestidigitation DEX ever, the more you learn just how
St....lth DEX
Unarmed Combat DEX dangerous the situation is. No matter.
Evidence AnaJysis PER You've developed contacts all over
Fmd PER Indonesia. You've got friends and
Land Vehicles rER records at your disposal.
Langwge PER Unless, of course, the Gaunt Man's
R=,"", PER minions get to them first.
""',
a;;;;;., 3
MiN
C1"IA
Personality: Good nahJred and help-
Pen;ull5ion CHA
ful. The Asian ethic of politeness
Taunt CHA makes you a reporter people gener-
Faith SPI ally like 10 talk to, as opposed to your
American counterparts who keep
bothering everybody. You work hard,

.,,
and encourage people to struggle
along as well.
Equipment: Rutherford Single Barrel
.!. Pistol (damagevalue 14),ammo, pads,
,
!9. .!!:!2.
T~'
micro-tape recorder.
Taunt Quote: "Yes, I know this must be
"
10 Ir'IlimJdate hard. But was that red ichor or yel-
low-red ichor?"
Runnln
Wupons Swlmmin;
Skill Note: You may start with the
Rulhcrford lumpln Orrorsh resenrclJ skill. This causes it
Sindt! Barrel 14 I 18 3-5 I IS 2S Olmbin four-easecontradiction in Core Earth,
Ullin and a one-case contradiction in
Orrorsh.

0;,
RoU
I 1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 11 13 21 26
10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 2025 30 +5
Bonwltl -11 -10 -8 -S -2 .\ 0 1 2 3 4 S 6 7 8 9 +.
 ~~ Muslim
@7t1M~
Player Name: Player Name:
Muslim
Warrior ... Warrior
---~ '

Chauder Home Possibilitics

Core Earth
Cosm: Earth Name CMm
10
Background: Vour grand fa Iher ea ised Ag, Wound Ltvel Shock D~m.se Magic Soci~1

you steeped in the traditions of the Wound 7 21

Height HvyWound
Muslim faith. Even in the mostly Spiritual Tech
Mortal
Muslim nation of Indonesia your Weight
friends considered you a reactionary. D,,,' K 0 9 23
Eventually you served in the Indone-
sian army, working hard for your Real! 51'1
country <and giving yourself 10 Allah. Dod , DEX
Then the invasion startt>d. Demons Fire Comb;lt DEX
M.m:uver DEX
from hell walk the Earth and the Vic·
MeleeWea DEX
torian unbelievers attempt to force RunnJn '" DEX
their faith down the throats of you Stealth DEX
and your countrymen. Your patience Unarmed Combat DEX
has left you, and now you fight back Qlmbln STR
openly. In your mind there arc only Ant Aid PER
two sides In the conflict - Indone- Land VehIcles PER
sians and anyone else. Your faith in Survival MIN
Allah inspires you and you struggle T~' MIN
to drive all of the invaders out of your
nation,
Will W~
faith (Isl11m) , MIN
sPI I 13
IntimIdation sPI
Personality: Energetic, wild, danger-
ous. You know that if you die in the
scrviceofAllah (and certainly driving
the Victorians and monsters out of
Indonesia serves Allah) you will go
immediately to heaven. When you
work with non-Muslims, which is rare
but possible, you are withdrawn and
secretive.
Equipment: Uzi (damage value 18), a
stolen lee·Hollings Rifle (damage
value 18), bayonette (damage value
STR +5/ damage value 14), walkie-
talkies.
Quote: 'The dogs, demons or other-
wise, will die by my hands!"

Ole 3 5 7 9 11 13 2I 26 31 36 41 %
Roll 1 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 2025 30 35 40 45
'" +5
Bon.. ~2-W ~ ~ ~ ~ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 g 91DllU 13 +1
 MIJiiij'
-\. -'~-
.
. -
, .
-,.
Regimental
Soldier
Player Name:

~*MiiAj Regimental
Soldier
Player Name:

Ch.uacter Possibilities
Name 10 Cosm: OITorsh
Age Wound Level Social Background: You were a loyal and
Wound 20 faithful soldier of Her Majesty's army
Height Hvy Wound
Spiritual Tech - until the night you passed the tent
Mortal
Weight K o 17 19 ofyour unit's lieutenant while ansen-
D"d
try. You heard him whisper strange
words. An instant later there was a
SPI flash and the fabric of the tent tore
DEX outward as the form of a giant demon
3 DEX I 14
materialized. Thedemongrabbed. the
Maneuver DEX
Melee We.lOOns DEX lieutenant and crushed his throat in
Runnin DEX theinstantit took you tocalI the alarm.
Unanned Combat DEX A pitched battle ensued. Many ofyour
Oimbin· STR friends died, but the creature was
Wling STR eventually destroyed with blessed
Land Vehicle:;; PER weapons.
Trackln PER The final report stated thatthecrea-
Trick PER ture came to kill the lieutenant. You
Survival MIN
Willpower
held your tongue, not knowing how
MIN
Taunt CHA
your claim that the lieutenant had
Faith (Sa~lIum) SPI
summoned the demon would be re-
Intimidation SPI
ceived. You now know that there is
more to the war with the monsters of
Orrorsh than you originally thought.
Personality: Loyal and dependable,
you always pull more than your fair Equipment: Lee-Hollings Rifle
share of weight. Although you work (damage value 18), bayonet(STR+5/
Trick well in groups, the night you saw
T~l
damage value 15), short
Taunt
your sturdy military order exposed sword(STR+4/ damage value 14) ,
Intimidate
fora sham you realized that you would dagger (STR+3/ damage value 13),
have to learn to work more on your SOO sterlings.
w" "' Runnln· own, to give trust carefully.
Quote: "For Queen and Country..."
Lce-Hpllings Rifl(' 301- Swlmmin
1800 jurn in-
Bi'! or.ctte +5 Oimbin:
Short Sword +4 Uflin
0

Di,
, 3 S
• -,
7 9 11 13
10 12 14
21
I' 17 1R 19 2n 2, 30 35 40 45 50 +5
RoU
Bonus
I
-12 -10 -8
4
-5
8
-1 0 1 ,
15
3
• •
5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 +1
 ~~~ Sacellum
Player NlIome:

~
Player Name:
Sacellum
Priest Priest
Casm: Orrorsh
ChJrJcter
Name
1 nome
eMm Qno"h
l Possibilities
10
Background: Yoursuspidons that the A., Wound Level Shock O;amlse MJgic Socbl
Sacellum was corrupt (rom within
Height
Woo"" 15 20
began on Caea. You thought you HvyWOllnd
Spiritual TKh
would onJy be serving your god by Morbi
Welghl K 0 17 19
attempting to research your ideil and 0..'
... 1.111 ,\<1.1
rooting out the corruption. But when-
ever you travelled to another parish Realil '"
SPI
to look for clues you were politely MeleeWe;a M DEX
rebuffed.. Thisstrengthcned yoursus* Stealth DEX
Evidence Anal i$ PER
picions, but led to no proof. When the Roo PER
Victorian Majestic Company an- Flnl Aid PER
nounced its plans, you arranged to be W w, PER
sent to Earth. You felt that it would be Scholar (An ) PER
easier to pursue your investigations Medicine MIN
from outside the normal world of Science MIN
Victoria. Will we. MIN
Now you arc on the run from the """It
PCl'$ulI5ion
MIN
Sacellum. You stumbled across an CHA
occult ritual in the cellar of a Majestic Faith sri
chapel. They know thai you are on to F~. 3 51'1 I 15
them and they want)'oll dead. Part of
TrueSltht SPI
you knows that it is only a matter of
time before they catch up with you-
but you are going to do what you can
to destroy the Gaunt Man'" power
before you die. theological context, and work to win
You draw on the power of the converts to the Sacellum. Trick
Sacellum god to yourends. Your f<lith Equip mel'll: holy symbol, holy book, T",
in god is not shaken, only the institu- whip (the only item the saviour is Taunt
tion that wields the power. described as making in the bible) lntimidate
Personality: Most people think of you (STR+2/ damage value 10).
as quiet and reserved; actually you Quote: "The faith of the Sacellum is WO:lpons
are always studying a situation. You pure. It is the clergy that must be Whip +2 10 7
frequently try to place all issues a purged."

Di, 3 5 7 9 11 13 21 26 31 36 41 46
Roll 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 2025 30 35 40 45 50 +5
Oo'w ·12 -10 ·8 -5 -2 -1 a 1 :z 3 4 5 6 7 • 9 10 11 12 13 +1
 ~
Victorian Player Name:

~ Lunatic
Player Name:
Victorian
Lunatic
Ch.:uactC.l' 110m" 0 h f'o5!11bWlies
Name Cosm rTOfS 10 Cosm: Orrorsh
Age Wound Level Social Background: Some people in Victoria
Wound 20 ignore the monsters - thinking of
Height Hvy Wound
Spiritual Tech them only as "something out there."
Mortal
Wo:i&ht o Oth~n> investigate the creatures of the
",.d K 17 19
Gaunt Man and retain a semblance of
sanity - they turn the fight into a
ReaU SPI war, and don't dwell to much on the
Dodge DEl<
implications of Eternal Corruption
fIre Combat DEl<
rlpickin, DEl<
and such. You, on the other hand,
Melee Weapons DEX
looked deep into the horrors and were
Runntn, DEl< ncver thc samc.
Stealth ' i5EX To your mind the world is coming
Climbinp SfR closer and closer to the brink of disas-
Scholilr (Choice) PER ter. It is all you can do to stop it. No
OttWt 3 MiN LJ1 one worships a true religion anymore,
Artist (Painler) MtN corruption is rampant - no wonder
Medicine MIN the world is falling into the hands of
Seiene<:' MIN demons. Your true background
"'feStOfwii:l MIN
doesn't matter anymore. You've for-
True Sight SPI
Faith -- SPI
gotten it. You look like nothing more
than a beggar to most people. But
you've done more than your fair share
of the fighting. It's just hard for you to
put up the proper appearances, to
keep a "stiff upper lip," in the face of
the evil that permeates the world. Quote: "Oh... Do I seem nervous.
Terribly sorry. Haven't slept much
Personality: Like most lunatics, you
you know. Ha, Ha. Yes, quite funny
try to appear sane, and often succeed.
actually. Ha, Ha, Ha! No, you're
Your madness often manifests itseU
right. Not that funny. Ha! Ha! Ha!
instrangeways-a paranoid interest Ha! Ha! Ha!"
in plants, forexample. You also switch
Wupons Swimmin; from unhealthy courage to terror with
Standard Cross Jumpin, little notice.
Heavv Revolver 16 I 19 3-5 I 15 25 Climbin
Equipment: Standard Cross Heavy
Liftin
Revolver (damage value 16)

0;, 3 5 7 9 11 13 21 26 31 36 41 46
Roll t 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 +5
Bonus #1 -12 ·10 -8 -5 ·2 ·1 0 t 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 +1
 ~. Victorian
Player Namc:

@i!@"M~
Player Name:
Victorian
Occultist ---- ........ Occultist
~~

Charadcf
Name
I Home
Co,m Om>Nh
I Possibilitic,
Cosm: Orrorsh 10
Background: You fit well into Victo- A., Wound bvel Shock Damage Magic 5Mbl
rian society, accepting the rules, lis- Wound 15 20
Height I-Ivy Wound
tcnin~ to those in power. You're par- Spirillliit Tech
Mo,I.1
ents were well of( and you received a Weighl D.., K 0 17 19
good education. Good enough that
you got a peck around the corner of
thecurtain and realized that there must Rl'.1Iji;" sr,
Dod , DEX
be more going on than the lords and
FireCombill DEX
the Sacellurn were letting on. You re- RUI\I\in DEX
alized Ihat the evil that look over your slealth DEX
world couldn't simply be something Evtdcl\ce "1\,,1 ,I, PER
that invaded from without-samee! Find I'ER
the evil had to be within Victorian First Aid I'ER
society. You tried 10 do research, 10 un Ull ct PER
discover what darkness Jay at the cen- R~,,~h 'ER
ter of all human hearts, but your ef- Occult 3 MIN -L 16
forts were thwarted. "The evil is in the T,,' MIN
monsters:' you were told, "not US," Intimidation 51'1
True Sl.llht ,PI
But you persisted and became a mem-
ber of an occult secret society. You
have begun to delve into the myster 4

ies of magic, the nature of evil, and

corruption. You do not yet practice .'-
magic, for you know how dangerous
dabbling with the occult can b<>- but
you have learned enough that if it Equipment: 2,000 Victorian
should be necessary you could attempt Sterlings, Standard Cross Heav)' Trick
to construct an occult spell. Revolver(damage value 16), the frag· T",
ments of a still~untransla table parch· ~I
Personality: e.-.rnestandcautious. You ment with an occult spell (deter- ----
Intimidate
know that a new world of information mined by the gamemaster), a bag
has opened up to you - a world hid~ containing lest tubes and beakers Runnln
den to most of your countrymen. The filled with strangely colured liqUids. Wl.'~POM ~I";
more you learn the more you believe Standard Cross lumpln-
that you arc investigating that which Quote: "What, this? Oh, nothing. Hcavy Revolver 16 19 3·5 15 15 ClImbln-
man was not meant to know. But you Justa book an old crone said I should Llftln
also believe that ignorance is even never open."
more dangerous.
Die 3 5 7 9 11 13 21U31~4146
Roll I 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 15 16 111819W~~~W45~+5

Bonus /I: -12 ·10 -8 -S ·2 -I 0 1 , 3 4 5 6 , 8 9 10 11 12 13 +1