Author: Mark Tygart

X Files Fluke-man (For Chris “HyveMynd” Stone-Bush)

X Files Fluke-man (For Chris “HyveMynd” Stone-Bush)

X Files Fluke-man (For Chris “HyveMynd” Stone-Bush)

Description: A terrible sewer mutant

Type: Parasite 

Power: Infecting Bite, Regeneration, and Aquatic

Weakness: Monster will regenerate slowly unless killed by fire, magic or acid

Attack: Infecting Bite (1-harm, Intimate, Ignore Armor) Harm Capacity: 7

The Fluke-man – a form of quasi-vertebrate human – was an example of reproductive and physiological cross-traiting due to radiation, abnormal cell fusion and/or the suppression of natural genetic processes; essentially, the creature was a result of human science rather than nature. Its vestigial features seemed parasitic but it also had primate physiology.

The Fluke-man transmitted its larvae, a form of flatworm, through its bite. The being searched for hosts, in order to multiply and also sometimes attacked because its victims’ bodies provided generative nourishment.

Typically, a survivor of a bite by the Fluke-man would be infected with a flatworm which the victim would fatally cough up, at a later point. The wound pattern from the Fluke-man’s bite looks similar to scolex attachment but is much larger.

There is evidence to suggest a bite by the Fluke-man might result in a survivor subsequently experiencing a peculiar, unfavorable taste in their mouth that would be difficult to remove, although not be accompanied by a difficulty with swallowing.

Like other fluke or flatworms, the Fluke-man had no sex organs and was genderless but was, even though technically human, capable of spontaneous regeneration.

Fun Fact: Scully once told Mulder that, except for the Fluke-man case, she wouldn’t change a day of the past four years in which they had been working together.

When a character who has been bitten at the start of each scene, roll +Tough.

• On a 10+, you resist the infestation. No further rolls are necessary.

You are cured!

• On a 7-9, you continue to resist but remain infected and you move one level down the Infestation Countdown.

• On a miss, you move two levels down the Infestation Countdown.

Infestation Countdown:

Day:     The hunter is infected.

Shadows:   The hunter develops a foul taste in his or her mouth.

Dusk:      The Keeper gets to suggest a soft move. If the hunter takes it they can mark an experience.

Sunset :    The Keeper gets to suggest a hard move. If the hunter takes it they can mark an experience.

Nightfall:     The hunter is immobilized by pain.

Midnight:    The character is killed by coughing up a Fluke-man flatworm larva. 

Keeper Notes: The best method to save the character is to cure by any magical means, which will kill the infestation.     

Hand of Glory

Hand of Glory

Hand of Glory

The Hand of Glory is the dried and pickled hand of a man who has been hanged, often specified as being the left (Latin: sinister) hand, or, if the man were hanged for murder, the hand that “did the deed.”

Old European beliefs attribute great powers to a Hand of Glory combined with a candle made from fat from the corpse of the same malefactor who died on the gallows.

When the fingers of the Hand close around the proper candle (see above) and the candle is lit, the Hand has the following move:

When you walk into a building while holding a lit hand of glory, Roll + Weird;

10+ choose two

7-9 choose one

• Any normally locked door, gate, portal, safe, etc. in the candle light unlocks itself. 

• Any hostile person you encounter will be paralyzed as long as they gaze directly into the candle’s light. A paralyzed player may spend a luck point to escape the effect.

• The candle flares up blue in the presence of secret doors, buried treasure, etc. and its light reveals any invisible creature or item.

Twenty Palace Spell Tattoos

Twenty Palace Spell Tattoos

Twenty Palace Spell Tattoos

The Twenty Palaces is a novel series blending fantasy and mystery and written by Seattle author Harry Connolly. Ray Lilly, the series’ first person narrator, and protagonist recounts his adventures working for the Twenty Palace Society. Their aim appears to be using any means necessary to keep magic out of the hands of anyone other than their own members. Their primary concern is with spell books, which are the source of magic, and with preventing magic users from summoning creatures known as predators from an otherworldly dimension known as the Empty Places.

Spells are commonly placed by spell casters on their servants or followers by means of spells inscribed on them by tattoos and are generally meant to last but can be inscribed in henna for temporary effectiveness.

• Closed Way: Provides impenetrability on the covered area, and is one of the more common spell tattoos – However, for spell casters who are weaker, the tattoo becomes visible (allowing knowledgeable individuals to target exposed areas), and the area becomes less and less sensitive, until it becomes completely numb.The spell tattoo isn’t an absolute protection; “Tattoo,” an infamous enemy of the society, was almost completely covered in them, but was ultimately wounded by the blast from a backfire of his pistol, allowing Ray to finish him off magically. In practice I would assign a 1 or 2 armor bonus to a player with this type of tattoo.

• The Twisted Path: Appearing as a tattoo on an individual, this spell allows many beneficial effects for a criminal or outlaw. One “on the twisted path” leaves no accurate forensic evidence. Fingerprints won’t match, DNA won’t come back to you, and witnesses may even identify someone else in a lineup. The spell tattoo is apparently powerful enough to subvert digital photography or any form of electronic surveillance. 

• Golem Flesh: Golem Flesh provides an added degree of protection from damage; however, more importantly, it also provides a healing factor that allows for the bearer of the spell to regenerate damage rapidly, provided that they take in fresh meat. However, as a trade-off, the spell requires the consumption of red meat daily, and it is best if the meat is fresh and uncooked, which is disgusting to new recipients of the spell, and takes time to get used to. Until such damage is healed, however, the body of a golem flesh recipient is able to survive long periods of time with horrific injuries – Human flesh works well. In addition, should one consume meat properly on a regular basis, the spell can artificially extend one’s natural lifetime – the traditional expectation is often put at “five hundred years,” but no one knows exactly how long it would last. I would allow a bonus the same as the Slayer’s Resilience ability. (Slayer Resilience: You heal faster than normal people. Any time your harm gets healed, heal an extra point. Additionally, your wounds count as 1-harm less for the purpose of the Keeper’s harm moves.) For Slayers with resilience I would increase the ability with tattoo to allow 2 point extra heals a day and your wounds count and a 2-harm less reduction for the purpose of the Keeper’s harm moves.

• The Iron Gate: Protects one from mental influence both from spells and predators. The spell throbs or even screams with unbearable agony depending upon the severity of the invasion, providing both a warning and something to focus upon to resist the intrusion. This tattoo prevents mental control or scans of the bearer at the price of making the subject paralyzed with pain while such abilities are focused on the player with the tattoo.