Page 197 - Chronicles of Darkness

Hagiography:
Tales of the
God-Machine
I have been helped
to see that beyond
the clouds that were
round about me, there
was a living, guiding,
intelligent, beneficent
purpose—the elevation,
regeneration and
redemption of the
inhabitants of this
earth.
— John Murray Spear,
inventor of the
electrically powered
Messiah
196
Tales of the God machine
This section contains 20 scenarios involving the God-Machine. These Tales
are suitable for use as single-story play, or as building blocks in longer chronicles.
The chronicles are split by tier. Use local Tales to bring the mystery of the
God-Machine to your back door. Introduce regional stories to drag your characters
out of their comfort zones to see the bigger picture. Throw your characters into
global stories that show more of the scope of the God-Machine’s influence. And
finally, inflict cosmic adventures on them that threaten to change the world as
they know it forever.
Each Tale is presented as though the chronicle begins with it. That is, although
the chronicle tracks present a progression and a way for one Tale to segue into
another, the Tales as presented here all assume that you will start with that par-
ticular Tale. For example, in the Time & Space chronicle track, the Squares of
the City Tale moves into the Missing Persons Tale. But here, the Missing Persons
Tale is presented as though you’ll start with it. This allows the Storyteller to put
the Tales in any order she wishes in order to construct a personalized version of
a God-Machine chronicle.
Each Tale follows this format:
A short introduction you can use to pitch the chronicle to your players — think
of it as the tagline that would appear on the poster, if this Tale were a movie.
Infrastructure is your set. This is how things start as the chronicle gets off
its feet and things begin to change. The section gives you a tight focus on what
you need to know at the beginning of your chronicle to get things moving. It
also tells you what Infrastructure the God-Machine is using, and what general
type it falls into.
Interchangeable Parts helps you instruct players on the sorts of characters they
should make. This section is meant to help tie characters to the world you’re creat-
ing. This includes suggestions for character archetypes and things to steer clear of.
Blueprints gives an idea of what happens if everything goes as the God-Machine
plans. When things go sideways thanks to the characters’ meddling, refer back
to this section to get an idea of what the God-Machine and its agents are trying
to accomplish.
Linchpins give you a look at how the God-Machine manifests. The section
shows you where the God-Machine pokes through and shows its true nature. More
importantly, this section covers the terrifying agents of the God-Machine, what
they look like, and what they want.
Methods gives you ideas for how the characters could interact with the stories
on a mechanical level. This section includes several Skills the characters might
use during the course of the stories, as well as two suggested Merits players may
consider while creating their characters.
Escalation examines what happens next. Win or lose, this section looks at how
you could take your chronicle past its planned arc and potentially into other bigger
and more dramatic tiers. This section also provides a suggestion for a Tale that
could follow the current one. Note that these suggestions don’t follow the chronicle
tracks, they’re just different ways to approach the God-Machine Chronicle.