Pickering Lythe by Night
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Art Direction: Credits Ric Connely By Night Studios Photographer: Meredith Gerber Partner, Lasombra, Creative Direction Shane Defreest Models: Larry Sparrow, Drew Backer, Mark Kelly, Travis Fessler, Julie Partner, Brujah, Marketing Langenderfer, Ebony Stewart, J. Childs-Biddle, Rose Jackson, Elissa Ayadi Sir Ernest Octane Suszczynski, Gintia Peaseblossom, Loren Partner, Ventrue, Operations & Development Muzzy, Madison Kollig, Emily Finke, Swifty, Sadie, Elana Jason Carl Godsey, Jacque d’Cle, Mike “Hollywood” Tomasek, Jr., Jeff Ignatowski Partner, Silver Fang, Events Ric Connely Designer: Brian Glass Partner, Tremere, General Legal Counsel Robert Ellis Cover Designer: Craig Grant and Brian Glass Mind’s Eye Theatre: Special Thanks Vampire The Masquerade Development Team Thank you to Jason Carl, who is secretly an English lord at Developer: heart. A special thank you to the patrons of our Kickstarter Jason Andrew who made this book possible. Without your patient support, we couldn’t have done it! Writers: Jason Andrew, Jeff Fowler, Jen “Loopy” Smith, Jimmy Thanks to Chateau Laroche and the Knights of the Golden Reckitt, and Kevin Millard Trail – http://www.lovelandcastle.com Editors: Vampire: The Masquerade Creators: Jen “Loopy” Smith and Samantha Nelson Mark Rein•Hagen with Steven C. Brown, Tom Dowd, Andrew Greenburg, Chris McDonough, Lisa Stevens, Copy Editor: Josh Timbrook, and Stewart Wieck Lisa Andrew Original Concept: Jason Andrew and Jason Carl © White Wolf Publishing - A Paradox Interactive AB company. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised. Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com/ Check out By Night Studios online at http://www.bynightstudios.com/ Sample file 2 Credits A Haunted Edwardian Setting Sample file Sample file TABLE OF CONTENTS Credits ........................................................... 2 Chapter One: Introduction ........................................... 9 What is Pickering Lythe? ........................................................... .9 How to Use this Book .............................................................. .11 Chapter Two: The Festival of Lights ................................... 15 Pickering Lythe: Wordsworth Festival of Lights ........................................ .15 Dramatis Personae: The Nobility of Pickering Lythe ..................................... 19 The Outsiders ..................................................................... 25 As the Night Goes On: Scene Breakdowns and Planned Events ........................... 29 Sinister Seeds .................................................................... .32 Chapter Three: The Terror of Dis Pater ................................ 37 The Terror of Dis Pater: A Horror Story for Vampires ................................... .37 Dramatis Personae: The Faces of Death ............................................... 40 As the Night Goes On: The Stages of Terror ............................................ 44 SampleSinister Seeds .................................................................... file46 Contents 5 Chapter Four: Richard III’s Revenge ................................. 49 The Crouchbacks: Wholesalers of History ............................................. .49 Dramatis Personae: The Bargain Hunters ............................................. .52 The Items for Sale ................................................................. .57 Richard III’s Revenge: The Much Anticipated Sequel .................................... 61 Sinister Seeds .................................................................... 65 Chapter Five: Black Box Shorts ...................................... 69 How to Use this Chapter ............................................................ 69 Who’s Got the Ball? ............................................................... 69 Buttons, Buttons .................................................................. 69 Love Remembered ................................................................. .73 Another Player in the Game ........................................................ .79 Court Games ..................................................................... 85 Chapter Six: Player Aides .......................................... 95 How to Use this Chapter ............................................................ 95 Permission to Reproduce ............................................................ 95 Combat Cheat Sheet ............................................................... 96 Boon Tickets ...................................................................... 98 Status Tickets .................................................................... 102 APPENDIX: ................................................... 109 Printable Character Sheets ......................................................... 109 Permission to Reproduce ........................................................... 109 Sample file 6 Mind’s Eye Theatre: Pickering Lythe Sample file Contents 7 Sample file Chapter One: INTRODUCTION “But then I sigh, with a piece of Scripture Tell them that God bids us to do evil for good; And thus I clothe my naked villainy With odd old ends stolen out of Holy Writ; And seem a saint, when most I play the devil.” — William Shakespeare, Richard III own chronicles. In addition, there are a number of black What is Pickering Lythe? box plots and court games that may be used in virtually any The Edwardian Age marked a time of great prosperity and Camarilla setting. social upheaval between the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 and the start of World War I in 1914. Pickering Lythe is a troubled community in Yorkshire that faces the harsh Event Teaser wave of modernization while noble families with ancient The seemingly endless bounty and prosperity of Pickering lineages battle and scheme for control over Castle Pickering. Lythe may have finally come to an end. Between a strange Immortal eyes watch from the shadows as vampires from blight that has savaged the local crops and a sudden banking disparate sects seek to quietly secure this prize for their own panic from London that crippled its finances, life in this purposes. There is a hidden secret contained in the castle quiet community in Yorkshire is in turmoil. that dates back to the Roman occupation of Great Britain and the terror that chased them from these shores. What The Crouchbacks have owned Castle Pickering since the secrets will the ghosts of Castle Pickering reveal? days of Henry III, but now they are in danger of losing it to receivership. Their only hope for avoiding scandal and Pickering Lythe is a self-contained haunted Edwardian financial ruin lies in gaining outside monetary support during setting sourcebook for Mind’s Eye Theatre: Vampire the Wordsworth Festival of Lights, a contest of verse and The Masquerade. This book contains all of the materials rhyme in honor of Edmund Crouchback’s mother Eleanor of you’ll need to run Pickering Lythe as a special event or as a Provence. Poets and writers from across England will visit to long-term chronicle. It includes pre-generated non-player compete for a residency prize from the Crouchback family. characters (NPCs), detailed plot scenarios, and background Lord Crouchback is hosting an unprecedented auction of overviews, as well as tips and suggestions for Storytellers several historical books and artifacts taken from the Ninth Sampleseeking to integrate some or all of these stories into their Crusade to save Castle Pickering. file Introduction 9 The Kingthorpes, once masters of Castle Pickering, will London, to visit Pickering Lythe to acquire items of a do anything to reclaim their ancient homestead, but they personal interest from the auction for an elder Assamite. are still reeling from the travesty of the scandalous affair The Dunsirn, an emerging Giovanni family of Scottish at Whitby Abbey and the Russian freighter, the Demeter. bankers, spent a vast fortune to purchase an interest in They almost managed to block the festival based on a legal Pickering Lythe, though few know why. loophole about using township funds until an unknown foreign dignitary offered to serve as patron. A quiet dread has overcome the once peaceful village as some whisper that the shades of the Roman soldiers that Only a handful of kindred elect to make their haven in once conquered this land have returned to torment the Pickering Lythe due to the modest mortal population living. Long ago, during the nights of antiquity, three and the lack of creature comforts born of the township. Roman Legions held the land that would someday be Additionally, few are willing to risk living so close to the called Pickering Lythe. Word had come from Rome that infamous Whitby Abbey. Many believe that there are all of the villagers were to be slaughtered for defying the hunters lying in wait for the first vampire that might visit Empire. The day before the planned decimation, a young the scene of Dracula’s crimes. Still, it is known that the red-haired girl confronted them and warned them that Dis vampire that claims dominion over Castle Pickering shall Pater — the Roman God of Death — would strike them find her personal prestige and power increased within the down. The Romans laughed and crucified her. The next courts of London day, every Roman soldier in Pickering Lythe disappeared. It is whispered