Page 227 - Chronicles of Darkness

rich and young, those who are left, have taken to throwing do with that knowledge will change the face of the world for-
macabre parties celebrating the apocalypse. Of particular ever. They might be able to attack the problem on a mystical
interest is gathering great collections of so-called Vaseline level, forcing the God-Machine to deal with them directly
Glass, glassware that’s made with uranium so that it glows (This is Hell, p. 231).
under UV light. “It’s harmless,” they say, and if not, who Perhaps they band together to destroy humanity’s
cares? Roll Manipulation + Socialize to find your own source stockpile of uranium, forcing the God-Machine to allow
of the social commodities and have a closer look. humanity to thrive for at least another few centuries while it
Tolerance for Biology (p. 46): Watching people vomit up tries to manipulate us into gathering more. This might lead
blood isn’t easy or pleasant, but you’d better learn to deal into such Tales as Moon Window (p. 212) or The Invisible
with it, because you’ll be seeing it a lot. Citadel (p. 219).
Cursed (p. 57): You already know how you’re going to die. It might be too late for that, and so the characters, in a
Despite the odds, you know the God-Machine’s machinations last-ditch effort, reach out to communicate with the God-
aren’t going to bring you down. That’s why you’re willing to Machine and offer it a deal. Offer it something they think
take risks the other characters won’t. You’ll get them the in- it might want more, and therefore, a reason to not end the
formation, the clues, and the tools to stop the God-Machine, species. But the choice should not be an easy one. Perhaps
because you have nothing left to fear. the God-Machine is willing to keep humanity around if it
Escalation agrees to be a willing part of experiments to create a new
and more interesting species. The chronicle could take on
transhumanist undertones as the people of earth agree to
Perhaps the characters unravel the pattern and see with become liquid, rapidly-mutating species in the hopes of being
clarity this small part of the God-Machine’s plan. What they what the God-Machine needs next.

THE HATCHING

A group of people watching the Statue of Liberty from station on Canal Street at that moment. He has 71 minutes
Liberty State Park see hundreds of creatures literally hatch out of of usable time, and has no way to find the characters on his
the statue, followed by a vast burst of energy that incinerates an own. He uses his Hallucination Numen to cause mass hysteria,
area more than 2,500 miles across. Immediately afterwards, these knowing that it will attract attention. If the characters pay at-
characters all find themselves waking up the day of the blast. tention to the news during the day, they’ll learn about riots in
Infrastructure that area of Manhattan and people raving about otherworldly
creatures and lights in the sky. If they get to that subway station
between 11:01 A.M. and 12:12 P.M., Kalka can find them with
One evening around 9:00 P.M., the characters are all at Fate Sense. He appears there every day at the same time, and
Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. This park is only can help explain the situation to the characters if they need
a few hundred yards from the Statue of Liberty, and has an further exposition. If your players just run with the plot and
excellent view of the statue. The characters are all enjoying don’t seem to need the help, though, don’t bother with Kalka.
the evening when they hear a strange crunching and crackling The Truth: The Statue of Liberty itself acts as concealment
sound and watch the Statue of Liberty break apart like the Infrastructure, but the larger issue is the destruction and the
egg of some vast insect. Immediately after, fragments of the time regression. The characters are part of a larger elimination
statue fall into New York Harbor, a bright glow shines out Infrastructure, designed to destroy the creatures and bleed off the
from the cracks in the statue, and hundreds of large, glowing energy they’re producing. If they fail, the explosion is a backup.
insect-like creatures begin fleeing the interior of the statue.
At this point, the glow coming from the statue intensifies, Interchangeable Parts
blinding anyone who looks at it. A few instants afterwards,
both Jersey City and Manhattan catch fire. Everyone therein The only requirement for this Tale is that all of the
dies burning, the characters included. characters be together in Liberty Park at 9:00 P.M. when the
The next moment, all of the characters are where they Statue of Liberty hatches. The characters need not know one
were when they woke up the day they watched the statue another, and can easily make contact with each other in one
hatch. The characters all have full memories of what hap- of the later versions of this time loop.
pened during this day. Unless the characters stop it this Although this Tale is cosmic in scope because of its fo-
time, the Statue of Liberty cracks open again, the devastation cus on time regression, otherworldly monsters, and so on,
worsens, and they are again thrown back in time. The Hatching makes for a good starting Tale because the
The first time this happens, take note of where the charac- characters can have all the time they need to get to know
ters are at 11:01 A.M. The angel Kalka steps out of a subway one another. The process for meeting each other, realizing

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Tales of the God machine