The End of the World for the Damned The prophecies of Gehenna were true. The world teeters on the brink of an undead apocalypse, the night when the progeni- tors of the vampire race rise to consume their childer amid a rain of blood and fire. As their fated Armageddon arises, what can the Kindred do? Drawing the Vampire® line to a close, Gehenna brings about the conclusion of vampires’ World of Darkness®. Featuring a sliding scale by which Storytellers can custom-tailor the events of the end to their own chronicles, this book places the final accounting for the Curse of Caine in the hands of the players’ characters. Gehenna includes: • Four scenarios, each of which ends the world in a different way • The collected story elements from throughout the Vampire line, providing hooks to use them as catalysts for Gehenna • Opportunities for any Kindred, from thin-blooded neonates to ancient elders, to take part in the events of Gehenna Sample file SampleBY B JORN T. BOE , TRAVIS -JASON F ELDS T EINfile, CHRIS T OPHER K O B AR AND D EAN S HOMSHA K VAMPIRE C REA T ED B Y M AR K R EIN •HAGEN 1 CREDI T S SPE C IAL T HAN K S Written by: Bjørn T. Boe, Travis-Jason Feldstein, Thanks to fans, collectors, players and Storytellers Christopher Kobar and Dean Shomshak. Vampire and for 13 kick-ass years. It wouldn’t have been half the the World of Darkness created by Mark Rein•Hagen. fun without you. Storyteller Game System Design: Mark Rein•Hagen Developed by: Justin Achilli Editor: Carl Bowen Art Director: Richard Thomas Layout & Typesetting: Mike Chaney Interior Art: Michael Gaydos, Andrew Trabbold, Christopher Shy, Vince Locke, Matt Mitchell, Guy Davis, Drew Tucker, and Josh Timbrook. Front Cover Art: William O’Connor Front & Back Cover Design: Mike Chaney © 2004 White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Re- production without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire, Vampire the Masquerade, Vampire the Dark Ages, Mage the Ascension, Hunter the Reckoning, World of Darkness and Aberrant are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Werewolf the Apocalypse, Demon the Fallen, Wraith the Oblivion, Changeling the Dreaming, Werewolf the Wild West, Mage the Sorcerers Crusade, Wraith the Great War, Trinity, World of Darkness Mafia, The Silver Record, Vampire Storytellers Handbook, Guide to the Camarilla, Guide to the Sabbat, Guide to the An- archs, Clanbook Tzimisce, Ghouls Fatal Addiction, Chicago by Night, New York by Night, Mexico City by Night, Berlin by Night, Kindred of the East, Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom, Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand, Caine’s Chosen the Black Hand, Lair of the Hidden, State of Grace, Nights of Prophecy, Time of Thin Blood, The Red Sign, Kindred Most Wanted, Children of the Night, Dark Ages Companion, Fountains of Bright Crimson, Transylvania Chronicles, Giovanni Chronicles, Giovanni Chronicles III The Sun Has Set, The Book of Nod, Revelations of the Dark Mother, The Erciyes Fragments, Gehenna and Time of Judgment are trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by White Wolf Publishing, Inc. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. SampleThis book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements fileare fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised. For a free White Wolf catalog call 1-800-454-WOLF. Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com; alt.games.whitewolf and rec.games.frp.storyteller PRINTED IN ON DEMAND 2 TM TA B LE O F C ON T EN T S PRELUDE : OURO B OROS 4 IN T RODU ct ION : THE B EGINNING O F T HE E ND 14 CHAP T ER O NE : THE F INAL N IGH T S 20 CHAP T ER T WO : WORMWOOD 40 CHAP T ER T HREE : FAIR IS F OUL 88 CHAP T ER F OUR : NIGH T SHADE 124 CHAP T ER F IVE : THE C RU C I B LE O F G OD 168 CSampleHAP T ER S IX : ST ORY T ELLING file210 APPENDIX : CHARA ct ERS 228 3 Sample file THE SUCCUBU S CLUB : DEA D MAN ’S PAR T Y 4 PRELUDE : OURO B OROS By Ari Marmell Coming as she did to the church of Abu Serga, Finally, just as she could stand no more, she was without invitation, the Egyptian Tremere called there. She saw two figures through eyes on the verge Hyapatia should never have been able to enter this of boiling. The first figure bore stigmatic wounds holy site. Her flesh crawled as she mounted the steps. upon its arms and wept blood even as it bared jag- She stretched a hand toward the door with her other ged fangs in a furious snarl. The second, clearly with arm wrapped about a bone-white canopic jar. Her child, retreated in fear. fingers ached; her mind screamed in instinctive fear. Hyapatia tossed back her head, ignoring the Hyapatia wanted desperately to turn and flee. tearing of burnt flesh, and let loose a primal scream. But Hyapatia was not in the driver’s seat to- And just before the faith shared by the church and its night. Nosferatu keeper immolated her, Hyapatia wrenched A thaumaturgical word shattered the locks, al- open the canopic jar and smashed it at the pregnant lowing her entrance. woman’s feet. Her feet burned against the church floor. The * * * gazes of the Apostles, each carved into a marble A strangely mismatched pair stood on the tarmac pillar, pierced her skull, pinning down her swirl- at Cairo’s International Airport, watching as burly ing thoughts like dead butterflies. By the time she men unloaded a large crate from the belly of a small reached the door to the crypt below, her skin had jet. They had chosen an isolated runway, even though reddened, even blackened in places. their cargo was not technically illegal. Each step down the stairs was an abyss. She Once the men had dispersed, the taller of the tasted blood on her lips and could not think enough two figures — olive-skinned, handsome yet some- to wonder from which orifice it came. She lost track how furtive — stepped forward. Crowbar in hand, of where she was, which way she must turn. Nothing he set to work on the crate’s fastenings. His smaller wasSample real. Nothing existed but the searing agony of companion, who appeared to befile a teenager, stared the ambient faith… off at an angle, as though not really seeing the crate …and the voice she’d heard so often in past before him. Perhaps, considering the unnatural hue months, urging her forward. of his eyes, he didn’t. P RELU D E 5.