CYBER-PULP FANTASY CORE
© Jerry Harris 2013
(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Index.)
[This was one of the “blind alleys” I mentioned in working
on this game. I don’t think these
creatures are suitable as playable classes, but boy, would these guys be fun as
villains. Look at the Vampire clans and
Werewolf packs as Corporate versions of the X-Men’s Hellfire Club. Both view humans as their feeding stock,
which is why they will fight each other and amongst themselves. We’ll call this the “Underworld of Darkness”
supplement for Cyber-Pulp Fantasy Core.]
Even in the future, there are still Vampires and
Werewolves. In the modern case though, they
are created by a supernatural genetic therapy.
The treatment is actually quite an upgrade over the Old Ways demonic
magic ceremony. It’s less risky, easier
to administer, and creates more even more powerful specimens.
Recipients of the V-Strain, Vampire treatment, aren’t
rendered helpless in sunlight. However,
they do now sparkle. (Ha ha, just
kidding.) The L-Strain treatment
doesn’t require a full moon for a Werewolf to change form. The effect is
essentially the same as the ceremony: demonic possession in return for
immortality and power. They can
generally only by harmed by items not typically found at in the Wal-Mart
Sporting Goods department (phosphor tracer rounds and silver bullets,
etc). Even without these limitations,
both still prefer to work and feed in the dark, more for secrecy than by
mandate.
Vampires and Werewolves are only able to draw sustenance
from human blood or flesh, taken from a living victim. (Sorry, True Blood fans.) Vampires must have a feeding of blood each
day, or they will fall dormant.
Werewolves must hunt and kill at least once a month, or they will
degenerate into their mere mortal form and require another gene therapy
treatment. The demon in their blood
compels them into these acts.
Most Vampires and Werewolves are cliques of wealthy elitists
seeking literal immortality, who already saw the rest of their kind as cattle
anyway. Both groups have the power and
influence to cover up their supernaturally induced feedings. Certainly in modern society (and especially
“20 minutes into the future”), it would be very hard to get away with serial
murder without serious connections to oversee the media and the
authorities.
The demon-infused gene therapy has even gotten loose amongst
thrill seekers, eco-terrorists, and celebrities. Horrifically, it has also been
used on unwilling, unsuspecting victims.
Often used as “patsies” to cover up the crimes of the powerful. Some clans and packs may even “Shanghai” or
“press gang” promising-looking individuals to bolster their numbers. A couple of demented scientists have even
infected people as an experiment to perfect the gene therapy for their
clients. The procedure certainly isn’t
easily, cheaply, or legally available or totally safe to use, but anywhere
you’ve got the ritual and the formula (which can be found on the Net) and an
amoral genetic scientist, you’ve got the potential for production.
The more powerful Vampires and Werewolves will work together
to keep the formula suppressed (to limit competition and to keep their
cover). Any of their kind found without
a powerful benefactor or not belonging to a clan or pack will be murdered out
of hand. Thankfully, in a world of
billions, these creatures only number in the hundreds.
The modern Vampire and Werewolf, by and large, lives in
Corp-America, where there is just enough lawlessness and elite privilege for
them to get away with their lifestyle.
In other parts of the world, the Ancient Ones (created by the old
ritual ceremony) rule from the shadows and have casually (and with disgust)
destroyed any potential foreign invasion or homegrown competition. Existing for a few centuries does allow one
to build up a vast, subservient legacy network to enforce the Ancient One’s rule. Perhaps they are not quite as physically
powerful as the new breed, but they make up for it in brains and magical
abilities. The modern creature of the
night is unlikely to have any magical skills, though they might own a magic
item as a curiosity.
Given groups of powerful individuals with superhuman
abilities and inhuman appetites, there are going to be conflicts. Vampires have formed clans, and Werewolves,
packs, for mutual protection against the other and their own kind. These creatures are apex predators, though in
generally different environments (Vampires-urban, Werewolves-rural). This is only because they jealously guard
their territories against each other’s incursions. This is the root of their conflict. They want to remove the other as competition
for the livestock and hunt where they wish.
Different groups mark their territories, but annexations and turf wars
happen. Within the clans and packs there
are codes of conduct, so as not to overly expose their groups. Violating these codes is a death
sentence.
To this point, only humans can be turned (or sired) by the
V-Strain or the L-Strain gene therapy.
It is lethal to other races. Not
to say that Elves, Dwarves, and Humanoids haven’t tried to develop their own
similar strains. Problems involving
these supernatural creatures, however, are all considered to be a human-only
problem, though the death of a prominent Elf or the massacre of a group of
Humanoids would certainly have community fallout. The highest level of Vampire and Werewolf
leadership actually see themselves as the “protectors” of Humans against the
other races and will actively move to thwart any anti-Human plot they know
of. (Of course this is mostly for
feeding reasons, but there is some genuine racism mixed in.)
While both Vampires and Werewolves are demonically possessed
creatures who feed on humans, there are important differences in attitude. While smart and cunning, Werewolves are
ultimately driven to kill to maintain their abilities. Any negotiation with these creatures must be
completely in their interests, but will more than likely be futile. A Werewolf fears little to nothing in terms
of a show of force. A Vampire does not
have to kill to maintain their immortal existence. While powerful, they are more addicts than
masters, due to their daily need for blood.
Most will, quite cravenly, take an easy, willing feeding in exchange for
services or to avoid a fight.
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