Page 237 - Chronicles of Darkness
P. 237

Citywalker
                                               (••• Supernatural Merit)

                   Prerequisite: Streetwise ••, mortal (non-supernatural)
                   Effect: The character has learned the secrets of citywalking. When in a city with a population of at least a
                   quarter million, the character can start walking down a street or sidewalk and concentrate on a different city.
                   The character must know his destination city fairly well. The player rolls Resolve + Streetwise to citywalk.
                   Roll Results
                   Dramatic Failure: The character reaches the nightmare realm, and is probably food for the inhabitants. If
                   nothing else, he’ll likely lead the monsters right back to his home city.
                   Failure: The character cannot citywalk to the desired destination; the image just isn’t coming in clearly. Any
                   further citywalking attempts that day suffer a -3 penalty. These restrictions fade once the character sleeps for
                   eight hours.
                   Success: The character emerges in the destination city.
                   Exceptional Success: The character emerges in the destination city, and the nightmare creatures do not
                   notice him. Apply a +1 to the character’s next attempt to citywalk.
                   Suggested Modifiers
                        Situation                                                                Modifier

                        Character has never been to the destination city before                  -5
                        Character has only visited the destination city                          -4
                        Character had a significant experience in the destination city (honeymoon, funeral),  -2
                        but never lived there
                        Character spent at least a month in the destination city                 +1
                        Character lived in the destination city for at least one year            +2
                        Character lived in the destination city for at least five years          +3
                        Character raised children in the destination city                        +4
                        Character grew up in the destination city                                +5





                    This isn’t strictly true. The angel, Rasha, is merely trying to  glowing threads covering the electrical wires and other cables
                 get people to close off the nightmare realm (the God-Machine  that connect one building to another. The threads on these
                 has no power in this realm). It is willing to answer any ques-  cables are easily visible when someone is citywalking from
                 tions the characters have about citywalking, but not about  one rooftop to another, but are otherwise invisible.
                 the God-Machine. In fact, if asked about the God-Machine,   Cutting all of these threads at one point makes citywalking
                 Rasha becomes defensive and hostile.             between the two cities significantly more difficult for a while,
                    Actually observing the process of citywalking reveals hints  but the cut threads heal within a few hours. However, anyone
                 of how it works. Most people report that the world around  who looks at the threads on another path while these destroyed
                 them seems to almost shimmer slightly while they are citywalk-  threads are healing notices that the entire network appears to
                 ing. Close observation reveals faint glows and shimmers com-  be slightly weakened and damaged. Repeated strikes at the
                 ing from the road or sidewalk that the character is walking  thread network in widely-separated locations during the same
                 or driving on. If a character finds a crack in the sidewalk, or  few hours makes citywalking more difficult everywhere and
                 makes one using a sledgehammer or similar means, she sees a  can eventually stop it altogether. Dozens of people working
                 network of narrow, glowing metallic threads extending along  together over a large area could damage this network of threads
                 the path she is citywalking. These threads aren’t visible when  sufficiently enough to destroy it and all citywalking, including
                 someone is not citywalking. Every week that people continue  walking to the nightmare realm, becomes impossible.
                 citywalking, this network of threads becomes denser. Anyone   Examining the glowing threads also reveals that all of
                 who citywalks by traveling across rooftops can find similar  them appear golden except one, which shines silver. All of
      236
               Tales of the God machine
   232   233   234   235   236   237   238   239   240   241   242