Page 189 - Chronicles of Darkness

idea why they aren’t dead. They have their own motivations Progression
and the “rules” of their return to life aren’t consistent. But
the characters should be able to gain enough information After the characters learn that the God-Machine exists,
from them to figure out that a man died who wasn’t supposed future stories in the same chronicle (or chapters in the story,
to, and at that point, the players should know exactly which depending on how long you plan on the game running) don’t
man they’re talking about. What happens after that is a dif- have to rely quite so much on secrecy. Because you have estab-
ferent question, and it depends on what the characters do to lished a common frame of reference for the characters, you
resolve the situation. Note, though, that an entire story has can be a little more overt about elements like Infrastructure
taken place but the characters don’t necessarily know that and Linchpins. Indeed, though the players may or may not
the God-Machine exists, much less that it is responsible for know those terms, they will probably be looking for these
the dead returning to life. items, searching for chinks in the God-Machine’s façade.
Consider, too, that the players can portray multiple
Into the Machine characters over the course of a God-Machine Chronicle.
This can play into Fate and the conclusion of a Tale quite
At some point during the chronicle, the characters need easily. Consider, for instance, the Urban Wandering Tale (p.
to come into contact with the God-Machine and recognize 235). It’s entirely possible that all of the characters involved
that the events causing the strangeness in their lives originate in this Tale might perish along the way, possibly shutting
from something far stranger than they thought. This doesn’t off the nightmare realm and saving the world. If that story
have to happen during the initial story; the decision should segues into Ghost Machine (p. 207), then, the characters for
reflect how long of a chronicle the troupe is looking to play. that Tale might be haunted by the ghosts of their previous
If, for example, the troupe was only planning on playing “incarnations.”
through one story, then using the example above (the Wake Progression can also involve a change in tier. As discussed
the Dead Tale), the Storyteller should underscore the strange in the appropriate section, a shift in tier doesn’t always have
tattoos on the dead man’s body or that appear in visions of to go up. The characters might go from a cosmic-tier story to
him. These tattoos match up with the marks of death on a local-tier story; they’ve saved the universe (or witnessed its
the bodies of all of the returned dead, and put together they eventual demise), and now they need to interact with their
form an alphabet, a machine language that the characters own neighborhood. How did their more grandiose experi-
can decipher. The characters can put in the research to learn ences change them? Can they bring themselves to care about
about the God-Machine through the writings of Marco Singe local events any more, or does seeing beyond the veil of nor-
and Janet Cohen, and once they know (or think they know) malcy make their own personal lives that much more special?
what they’re up against, the Storyteller can be a bit more overt.
On the other hand, if the troupe is planning on a longer
chronicle, then the Storyteller doesn’t have to reveal anything Chronicle Tracks
God-Machine related during the first story. Maybe the visions
of the dead jogger show the tattoos, and the dead people A God-Machine Chronicle can be a multi-year process,
have their marks, but deciphering the alphabet requires a taking a troupe through several different groups of characters
cipher that the characters don’t have. They might be able to and ending up with some heady, horrifying, cosmic questions,
convince a supporting character to help them break the code, or it can be played in the course of a single evening and never
or they might put in the time to research it themselves. It’s leave one square mile in a city. However, as the saying goes,
not until the next story that the characters begin to recognize you’ve got to start somewhere.
the general outline of Infrastructure. It’s possible to complete Below are four chronicle tracks. Each track consists of five
an entire Tale, in fact, and not trace the cause of anything Tales. The tracks, as presented, do not make any assumptions
back to the God-Machine. about the characters, the locations, or the settings (except for
Once the characters know the God-Machine exists, the assumptions that the Tales make), but even without those
however long it takes, they should see its influence more assumptions, each track provides a “default” God-Machine
frequently. Once the characters in the example of Wake Chronicle. Each track also provides notes on transitioning
The Dead decipher the machine alphabet, for instance, they between the Tales.
might see the characters from that alphabet in corporate
logos, graffiti, people’s tattoos, or in a doctor’s signature on Protect and Serve
a prescription. How much of this is paranoia and how much
is indicative of the saturation of the God-Machine into our In the Tales composing this track, the characters are acting
world? The answer to that question depends on the chronicle in some official capacity. They might be soldiers, policemen,
in question, considering mood, theme, and especially tier. investigators, or relief workers, but they take their marching
The point is, though, that once the characters know the orders from someone. They probably wouldn’t choose to
God-Machine is out there, they can’t not see it. fight the God-Machine, or even to know about it — but they
are bound up inextricably in its programming by the time
the story ends.

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Shards of the Divine-Building the God Machine Chronicle