Introduction 1 Themes..................1 Colonialism and its Effects..........2 Being a Middle Power............2 Canadian Identities and Experiences......2 Confronting Social Issues..........3 Moral Ambiguity..............3 Principles.................3 Respect Other Cultures’ Limits........3 Show Diversity Among NPCs.........4 Present Mythological Creatures Accurately...4 Why this Setting Exists............4 How to Use This Book.............6 Character Archetypes 7 The Researcher...............7 The Cop..................8 The Hunter.................9 The Investigator............... 10 The Monster................ 11 Example Character Creation.......... 12 Playing a Monster 15 The Monstrous Stress Track.......... 15 Your Monster’s High Concept......... 16 Monstrous Stunts.............. 17 Skills and Stunts 19 Academics (Lore).............. 22 Athletics.................. 22 SampleBurglary.................. 23 file Contacts.................. 24 Deceive.................. 24 Drive................... 25 Empathy.................. 25 Fight................... 25 Investigate................. 26 Notice................... 26 Physique.................. 27 Provoke.................. 27 Rapport.................. 28 Resources................. 28 Shoot................... 28 Stealth................... 30 Tech (Crafts)................ 30 Will.................... 31 Earth’s Secret History 33 Veilfall................... 33 Supernatural Immigration........... 35 The Cerulean Amendment.......... 36 Lifting the Veil................ 36 Organizations and NPCs 39 Paranormal Affairs Canada.......... 39 Toronto Office............... 40 Winnipeg Office.............. 43 Creating a Paranormal Affairs Canada Office.. 48 Francis Evans Cornish............. 49 Majestic-12................. 51 The Vatican Knights............. 55 The Jihad al-Ghul.............. 57 Other Monster Hunters............ 57 Informants................. 58 The é’Hua................. 61 The Toquli................. 63 Running the Game 65 Running Missions.............. 65 Investigative Missions............ 65 Reactive Missions............. 66 Building Arcs................ 66 SampleCreating Monsters.............. 67 file Paranormal Bestiary 71 Alukah................... 74 Answang Vampire.............. 76 Baobhan Sith................ 78 Barghest.................. 80 Chenoo (Jenu)............... 82 Chupacabra................ 84 Demon.................. 86 Dybbuk.................. 88 é’Hua................... 90 Estrie................... 92 Flying Head................. 93 Ghost................... 95 Ghul (Ghoul)................ 96 Golem................... 97 Heartless One................ 98 Horned Serpent............... 100 Human.................. 102 Incubus/Succubus.............. 108 Inugami.................. 110 Jiangshi.................. 112 Jinn.................... 114 Kappa................... 116 Kee-Wakw................. 118 Kishi.................... 120 Kitsune.................. 122 Kushtaka.................. 124 Manananggal................ 126 Mare................... 128 Mishipeshu................. 130 Polevik................... 132 Qallupilluit................. 133 Rakshasa.................. 134 Rolling Head................ 136 Shtriga................... 138 Strzyga.................. 140 Stonecoat................. 142 Tengu................... 144 Tibicena.................. 146 Two-Face.................. 147 Thunderbird................ 148 Ushi-Oni.................. 152 Vampire.................. 153 SampleVetala................... 158 file Water Spirit................. 160 Wendigo.................. 162 Werewolf.................. 165 Witiko................... 168 Yuki-onna................. 169 Zombi................... 171 Zombie (Undead).............. 172 Deities 175 Ammit................... 175 Apep................... 176 Chernobog................. 176 Crom Cruach................ 177 Cthulhu.................. 177 Erlik Khan................. 178 Gonggong................. 179 Guayota.................. 179 Jormungandr................ 180 Lamashtu................. 180 Limos................... 181 Loki.................... 181 Moloch.................. 182 Namtar.................. 183 Pazuzu................... 183 Tawiskaron................. 184 A Sample Adventure 185 The Hook.................. 185 The Victims................. 186 The Mill.................. 188 Tawiskaron Rising 193 The Old Ones Awaken............ 193 Enter Hagondes............... 199 Night of the Stonecoats............ 203 The Race for Gaasyendietha.......... 205 Murder at the Mines............. 207 The Battle of Sudbury............ 212 Bibliography 217 Books................... 217 SampleTelevision.................. 217 file Film.................... 218 Games................... 218 Online................... 218 INTRODUCTION Paranormal Aairs Canada is a low fantasy kitchen sink setting for Fate Core. Low fantasy settings feature fantastic elements – magic, vampires, wendigos, aliens, and more – but these elements are not part of the day-to-day experience of most of the setting’s inhabitants. The world of Paranormal Aairs Canada looks like the one outside your window, with the average person blissfully un- aware of the horrors lurking in the shadows. Kitchen sink settings combine multiple elements, in the nest traditions of comics and pulp adventure. In a Paranormal Aairs Canada campaign, the characters may be hunting down a vampire serial killer one adventure, dealing with a cult trying to raise an evil god the next, and then negotiating with aliens who are pursuing their own agenda. Because of the kitchen sink setting, coupled with its use of the Fate Core rules, it is easy to combine Paranormal Aairs Canada with similar Fate settings, such as Fate of Cthulhu, or to introduce concepts from other urban fantasy games, such as Urban Shadows, Delta Green, or Vampire: The Masquerade. Paranormal Aairs Canada owes much inspiration to several television shows and movies, including The X-Files, Dark Skies, Torchwood, Buy the Vampire Slayer, and Men in Black. A list of inuences is included in the Bibliography. But this isn’t just another urban fantasy setting. This setting is about a place, Canada, and its people. It’s about the consequences of our history and the choices we make today. It’s about how a diverse group of people – Indige- nous and settler, Francophone and Anglophone, immigrant and native-born, urban and rural – come together to deal with those challenges. And these challenges take the form of monsters and dark gods – because this setting is also about fun. Let’s get started. SampleThemes file Paranormal Aairs Canada deals with contemporary social issues, and aspects of the Canadian experience, through the medium of a role-playing game in which the players are agents of a secret government department known as Paranormal Aairs Canada (PAC). PAC agents hunt down monsters and foil CHAPTER 1 1 attempts to bring about the apocalypse, while keeping the paranormal world hidden from the population. Adventures in this setting will deal with the fol- lowing themes. Colonialism and its Effects Canada has been a haven for many immigrants eeing starvation, violence, and oppression; however, that haven was built on the dispossession of the land’s original inhabitants. Modern non-Indigenous Canadians did not colo- nize Canada, but are still beneciaries of colonialism, and have a responsibil- ity to learn about the challenges that Indigenous people in Canada continue to face. Storylines in Paranormal Aairs Canada should educate the players so that they are better able to be Indigenous people’s allies. The sample arc Tawiskaron Rising deals with this theme, and Indigenous NPCs are included in both sample PAC oces. The eects of colonialism can also be seen among paranormal beings. Vam- pires, for example, are not indigenous to North America, and compete with Introduction indigenous monsters such as the two-face (see the Paranormal Bestiary chap- ter for details on this beast). Being a Middle Power Despite being “in” on a worldwide conspiracy, PAC agents’ authority comes from Canada, which is not a great terrestrial power. While performing their duties, PAC agents may have to deal with help or interference from PAC’s vastly better funded and equipped American equivalent, Majestic-12, or from other agencies such as the United Kingdom’s MI-13 or the Paranormal Divi- sion of China’s Ministry of State Security. The alien é’Hua similarly reinforce this theme, as they are formally Canada’s allies, but pursue an agenda that may be at odds with ours. Canadian Identities and Experiences First Nations, new Canadians, people whose families have been here for gen- erations, and everyone in between – Canada is home to people with dierent identities, experiences, and degrees of identication with their cultures of ori- gin. PAC agents may come from any background, and may encounter indi- viduals of any background in the course of their investigations. Urban and ru- ral Canadians will also have dierent experiences of the paranormal, whether Samplethey’re aware of it or not: vampires are largely an urban danger,file while rural areas are preyed upon by wendigos and werewolves. 2 PARANORMAL AFFAIRS CANADA Confronting Social Issues Although PAC agents are not responsible for curing society’s ills, social injus- tices do have an impact on the paranormal. Increased homelessness in a city will attract vampires, and vacant buildings can become nests for monsters, for example. While not every session of Paranormal Aairs Canada should be a “very special episode”,