Page 214 - Chronicles of Darkness

remains of the ancient creature in the so-called Crypt of the a lit cigarette or driving a car with its headlights on. Inside this
Butterfly. However, the people who acquired this body have region, cigarettes have a tendency to smolder and electric lights
not yet learned how to make use of the many powers it is sup- of all types are slightly dimmer. Both immediately brighten when
posed to bestow upon anyone who possesses it. In an attempt they leave the area. The edges of this region are quite distinct, and
to release its powers, these individuals have begun working by walking or driving half a yard, someone can see her cigarette
with some of the smaller items from the crypt. One of these flare up or almost go out or her headlights visibly brighten or
items is a rough and eroded sphere of red- and gray-banded dim. With a bit of work, the characters learn that the region is
stone the size of a softball. In an attempt to release some of an equilateral triangle with the apex being the Barlowe Building,
the power within it, an esoteric artist and self-proclaimed an office tower owned by the large NalCon corporation.
magician placed the sphere in the center of a large, abstract, Anyone with an interest in public art or who researches the
stained glass window. building learns that the stained glass window was installed just
The CEO of the NalCon Corporation is part of the effort two months ago as part of plan to create public art on and around
to work with the Crypt of the Butterfly. A few months ago, she the Barlowe Building in celebration of its purchase by the NalCon
had this window placed as part of an artistic ornament near Corporation three months previously. The stained glass window
the top of her local corporate headquarters, a 40-story office is circular and 11 feet in diameter. It is attached to the building by
tower known as the Barlowe Building. While this building one 20-foot-long girder coming off of the roof and also by a second
has not been affected by the emanations from this window, girder located 11 feet below the roof. In the early evening, sunlight
its effects extend outwards from the window in an equilateral shines through this window down into the high-entropy triangle.
triangle to the northeast of the office tower. The center line
of this triangle lies on a direct line with the stained glass Methods
window and the setting sun on the winter solstice.
Entropy increases within this triangle. Light bulbs and Investigation: Researching the many different types of prob-
other electrical components burn out faster than they lems that have been occurring within the high-entropy zone
should, car parts need to be replaced more often, electron- gives characters more information about exactly what is going
ics frequently break or malfunction, and illnesses are both on. Roll Intelligence + Investigation to uncover one particular
more common and more severe. Initially, the triangle was anomaly within this area. Once the characters begin exploring
only four blocks on a side, but it has been growing. At the this phenomenon, another Intelligence + Investigation roll
same time, entropy has been increasing within the entire reveals the size and shape of the region of high entropy.
affected area. Currently, the region is almost two miles on a Medicine: Understanding exactly how strange and un-
side and, within this area, light bulbs and other components precedented the medical anomalies found within the high-
last slightly less than half as long as they should. The region entropy zone are requires an Intelligence + Medicine roll.
continues to grow until it is 21 miles on a side and electronic Athletics: If someone wants to steal the stained glass window
components last one quarter as long as normal. or the stone sphere at its center, they’ll need to get out to it.
People who live or work within this area are already suffer- Climbing from the Barlowe Building’s roof out to the stained
ing from more and worse illnesses than people elsewhere in glass window requires an extended Strength + Athletics roll with
the city, and the health effects of the high-entropy area are get- a -2 modifier (one roll equals one minute of climbing, five suc-
ting worse. From colds and the flu to surgical complications cesses are required). Failure means that the character loses her
and cancer, the increased entropy is slowly killing people. grip and sacrifices one banked success to stabilize herself. Failure
However, if the window containing the sphere is destroyed with no successes banked means the character falls, probably to
or stolen and placed in a heavy wooden or metal container, her death (unless she has anchored herself somehow).
the affected region returns to normal in less than a day. Larceny: Getting into the Barlowe building during busi-
ness hours is easy, but getting up to the roof requires getting
Linchpins past an electronic lock and alarm system. Roll Dexterity +
Larceny at -4 to manage this challenging feat.
The characters are most likely to get involved because they Socialize: Convincing physicians, electricians, tech-
have all noticed some odd phenomena within the affected re- support personnel, or other people who work in or near the
gion. A maintenance technician for a convenience store chain high-entropy area to talk in detail about the oddities they
might notice that stores within the affected region have far have noticed requires a Presence + Socialize roll.
more electrical problems than other stores, and these problems Subterfuge: Talking one of the maintenance or security per-
range from light bulbs burning out faster to electronics breaking sonnel from the Barlowe Building into letting you up on the roof
down and software crashing much more frequently. A physician requires a Manipulation + Subterfuge roll at -4. Of course, you
working in the emergency room in a hospital near the region could use Social Maneuvering (p. 81), but that takes a bit longer.
sees that an increasing number of people in the ER come from Danger Sense (p. 44): Regardless of how the characters
this region. Combined with the information the characters have get onto the roof of the Barlowe Building, having a sense
seen on their own, they’ll know something is up. for danger helps them avoid going up there when one of the
Characters who want to investigate this region can determine maintenance staff is also on the roof, and also alerts them if
the edges of the region simply by entering or leaving it carrying building security personnel are closing in.

213
The Moon Window