Page 149 - Chronicles of Darkness

perhaps by stealing into its lair and finding the correct urn — and ask for assistance, usually in the form of a ride home or
out of a collection of hundreds. access to a telephone. The witness finds herself overcome by
intense feelings of dread, and the longer she resists acquiescing
SURPRISE ENTRANCE to the children’s’ requests, the angrier they seem to get. The
story culminates with a sudden realization that the children’s’
eyes are solid, unrelieved, black, at which point the witness
No matter how secure its victims think they are, by
spending 1 Willpower the creature may suddenly appear in flees. So far no one has posted a story in which the encounter
ends with someone actually helping the children, so naturally
the scene. Perhaps it can manifest out of higher-dimensional the Internet assumes the worst.
space via any right angle, emerge from any reflective surface, Description: Black-Eyed children look to be anywhere
or it can simply burst through the wall. Any character wit- between seven and 13 years old. They almost always appear
nessing this entrance must succeed on a reflexive Resolve + in pairs, or sometimes groups of three, and usually look dis-
Composure roll or gain the Shaken Condition. similar enough from each other to discount the possibility
If the characters have actively taken appropriate measures
to keep the Horror out (barring and locking the door, smash- that they’re related. They’re usually dressed in dark-colored
hoodies, jeans, and tennis shoes, though the older-appearing
ing all the mirrors they can find, etc.) it will take the creature ones are sometimes described as looking vaguely “goth” or as
one full turn to break through, giving the characters time to wearing suits or formalwear. They’re uniformly pale or ashen
react. If not, it’s just there as a reflexive action and can take complexioned, and they speak very precisely, with a confidence
one more action before anyone can react.
not often heard from children talking to strange adults. As the
name suggests, their most distinctive feature is their solid black
TOXIC (• OR ••) eyes, undifferentiated across sclera, iris, and pupil.
Storytelling Hints: Given their pallor, adult mannerisms,
The creature has a poisonous or diseased bite, or per- and frequent insistence on being invited into homes or cars,
haps its very presence is pestilential. The one-dot version Black-Eyed Kids are often identified as vampires. They’re not.
of this Dread Power inflicts the moderate version of either You’ve heard of Men in Black, those strange, probably not
the Poisoned or Sick Tilts; the two-dot version inflicts the human visitors who show up in the wake of paranormal expe-
grave version of the Tilt. This can either happen automati- riences and threaten witnesses into silence? Black-Eyed Kids
cally when the creature inflicts damage, or it can spend 1 are the juvenile form. A few years ago, an accident breached
Willpower and roll an appropriate dice pool contested by one of their brood nests or spawning chambers or wherever
the victim’s Stamina, depending on the nature of the Horror. the Men in Black come from, and about a dozen or so larval
Men in Black stumbled blinkingly out into the sunlight.
UNBREAKABLE (Despite the name “Men” in Black, the Black-Eyed Kids are
equally divided between boys, girls, and androgyne children.)
They really do just want someone to take them home, or
The creature is nearly indestructible. Any attack that does
not score an exceptional success inflicts only a single point at least make contact with whatever passes for a controlling
intelligence among the Men in Black. The problem is that
of bashing damage. Exceptional successes inflict damage as MIBs are specifically designed to give off a psychic field of fear,
normal. If the creature has a weakness of some sort, attacks revulsion, and menace, the better to intimidate people into
incorporating that weakness bypass this power.
silence, and the kids don’t know how to turn that off. Every
interaction with them thus becomes a horrific experience,
WALL CLIMB and the kids grow more and more frustrated as their simple
requests for aid go unheeded. If they ever find someone who
The creature can walk up walls or even cling to the ceiling, can overcome their fear and actually get them home, though,
and can move its full Speed while doing so. it’s anyone’s guess how the adult Men in Black would react.
Black-Eyed Kids Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 4,

Resolve 3
“Please ma’am, we just need to come in for a moment to use your
phone. You needn’t be afraid. We’re just little children.” Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3,
Background: Though they echo older tales of monsters Stamina 2
that use innocent guises to prey on the unwary, Black-Eyed Kids Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation 3,
are a recent phenomenon. Stories of encounters with strangely Composure 1
articulate, menacing children first surfaced on Internet message Mental Skills: Occult 1
boards devoted to paranormal phenomena. According to the Physical Skills: Athletics 1, Stealth 3
predominant narrative, the children appear unexpectedly in
a place they shouldn’t be — in a parking garage at three in the Social Skills: Intimidation 3, Subterfuge 2
morning, at the door of a farmhouse miles away from anything Merits: Pusher, Striking Looks •

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Horrors and wonders-antagonists