CLOAK OF NIGHTMARES

Advantages of the Cloak

This cloak, designed to be worn by a woman, is woven of black satin with red trim. It is very stylish and graceful, as well as resistant to dirt and tears. It cannot be damaged and grants the following, positive effects when worn by a woman. It has no powers at all when worn by a man.

Popularity is +2.
Plus 2CS are given on Popularity rolls.

These are the only positive effects of the cloak, and may not be worth the negative effects it also carries. They are tied up in the history of the cloak, which is cursed.

History of the Cloak

Centuries ago, a demon, free on earth for a unknown reason, slept inside a faerie circle. While it slept there, a faerie craftswoman wove its dreams into a woman's cloak, to be used as a defensive weapon. It was cursed by the demon's evil, however, and instead drove the faerie insane. She died and the cloak has been passed down through the centuries, any woman who wears it trying to get rid of it before it destroys everyone she cares about. No one has managed to destroy it, and the demon, incomplete without its dreams, searches to be reunited with the cloak. It tracks it even now.

The Cloak's Powers

The main power of the cloak is to make manifest the dreams of the demon it was made from, which are in our actuality nightmares. They will appear whenever the wearer of the cloak is threatened and will defend her by killing everything around her, even her companions. She can call on its powers consciously, but if she is in danger, it will respond automatically. The one danger it will not protect her from is the demon itself, and each time it is used, there is a chance that it will attack her too.

The cloak also can't be removed easily. Once a woman puts it on, she needs to make a Yellow Psyche feat roll, to get it off. Then she must continue to make a Green Psyche feat roll each night to keep it off. Otherwise, she will fight to get it back on. The cloak has no effect on a man and has no particular power to force a woman to put it on the first time, other than its beauty. Therefore, a vain woman is more likely to try it initially than a more generous one.

Summoning the Power of the Cloak

When the wearer is in danger, the GM rolls a 40% chance to see if anything responds. If successful, roll percentile and follow the chart below to see what it is that arrives. The GM then makes a second roll with a d10 to see how many rounds the creature(s) remain. The player isn't allowed to see these rolls.

If the player consciously tries to call something through the cloak, the same rolls are made, only a Red Psyche feat roll is needed. The player can't decide what it is that appears. That is a random decision.

Each time the cloak is used, whether consciously or unconsciously, the chance of the cloak attacking the wearer increases. Each time it is activated, a Psyche feat roll is needed to resist the attack of the cloak. Karma may be spent on this roll, but the player is not to be told what the karma is spent on or what the roll is for. The first three times the cloak is activated, a Green feat is needed. The fourth through sixth time a Yellow, and from there on a Red feat is required.

The Denizens of the Cloak

When the cloak is used, many different things may appear, each more dangerous than the last. It is up to GM interpretation as to how the creatures attack. They may strike only with fear, they may attack physically. Stats for the creatures are also up to the GM. When the creatures appear, however, everyone within their vicinity, with the exception of the wearer, must make a Psyche feat roll to resist the urge to run. The difficulty depends on what is being faced, as well as what is attacking. A lot is left up to the GM, however. It's up to them, and they may even decide to use different creatures. The ones I used are in the following chart. I follow the chart with a brief description of each, as the actual listings in the chart are rather vague. I also included where I got each idea from, if it's from a recongnizable source.

When the cloak is activated, the GM must roll percentile, and consult the chart below to determine what appears. Then the Psyche feat rolls are done with the appropriate difficulty used.

RollPsyche FeatWhat Appears
1 Green Living darkness
2-10 Green Bugs from body openings
11-20 Green Women with Chicken Feet
21-30 Green Banshees
31-40 Yellow Shadow of the Beast
41-50 Yellow Ooze
51-60 Yellow Hellhounds
61-70 Yellow Fire Elemental
71-80 Red Medusa
81-90 Red Horizon Giants
91-99 Red Dopplegangers
100 Red Satan
Living Darkness- This is a little like Obtenebration, where a victim is surrounded by absolute darkness, with the exception of the fact that this darkness feels alive, as though the player is being touched all over by something menacing that has no eyes, hands or mouths, but wants very much to kill them. The idea is very loosely based on a Piers Anthony story called "Fogg" and Robert Jordan's books with the Dark Wind idea.

Bugs from body openings- Here, bugs and insects of all types erupt from the mouth and nose of whatever is threatening the wearer of the cloak. They then attack their victim. The idea is from a story in the comic "Swamp Thing" where a possessed man spits up hundreds of living insects. Very disturbing.

Women with chicken feet- These three women look perfectly normal, beautiful even, but they have the feet of chicken. If they're allowed to get too close to their victims, they will go berserk and try to tear them apart with poisoned nails. The idea came from a faerie tale. Unfortunately, I can't remember from where.

Sirens- These women sing terrifying songs that draw men to them, who they then kill. Though the music they sing is just as frightening to women, they aren't drawn to it. This is from Greek mythology.

Shadow of the Beast- This is an invisible creature, of which only its shadow may be seen, reaching out towards the characters, ahead of its body. It's based on a wonderful H.P. Lovecraft story called "Shadow of the Beast" where the ghost of a murdered ape would kill people by running them down, leaving them covered by its shadow as they fled, unable to see it right behind them. Terrifying.

Ooze- This ooze is somewhat Blob-like. Use your imagination.

Hellhounds- These hounds (roll a d10 to see how many show up) stand 10 feet at the shoulder, are hairless with spikes down their spines and leave smoking pawprints behind them.

Fire Elemental- This creature appears like a five year old girl, and is stolen from a Japanimation movie. Note: The Psyche roll is Red due to the aura of evil she has around her. Even the densest character can feel it.

Medusa- Just like in Greek mythology. Look in her face, turn to stone.

Horizon giants- A single giant as tall as the sky. Basically, if it's on the horizon, you can still see it. This one is from one of my own personal nightmares.

Satan- The incarnation of evil (as Christianity sees it. Insert your favourite religion here if you want).

Controlling the Cloak

The one good thing about the cloak's denizens is that they are under the control of the wearer. When they appear, they will attack anything, but the wearer can control them. Her options are limited, but she can order them not to attack someone specific, like a teammate, or order them to disappear. However, she doesn't necessarily start out knowing this. If they are attacking her, she must make a Yellow Psyche feat roll to control them and get them to do what she wants.

The Demon

The demon knows of the existance of the cloak and it wants it back. It is still free on Earth and it will hunt down and kill anyone who wears the cloak. It will become aware of the wearer after the fifth time she uses the cloak, and with each successive use of it, it will come closer to finding her. GM discretion for when it does. The cloak will do nothing to protect the wearer from it, though.

This particular demon does not have a body of its own, and instead possesses people and uses their body. It cannot possess anyone who doesn't agree to the possession, though they only have to agree for a second. Once it possesses them, it devours their humanity and takes over completely. Its stats are whatever the GM deems appropriate.

If the demon gets hold of the cloak, it will reabsorb its dreams. This will have no effect on it, since its dreams are a part of it and their manifesting themselves was part of the magic the faerie used. However, it will kill the wearer and everyone associated with her, then go on a celebratory killing spree that will destroy the masquerade.

Getting Rid of the Cloak

The cloak can't be destroyed by any ordinary means. Some extraordinary measures may be effective, such as throwing it into the Abyss in the Umbra, but most vampires don't have access to these kinds of means and it's not a sure thing. Also, the wearer will still feel drawn to it, as described above. There is, however, one way to destroy it, and one way to get rid of its influence on the wearer.

The only way the wearer can break the cloak's hold on her is to have another woman put the cloak on willingly. She can't be forced to do it. But once she does, the previous wearer will no longer feel drawn to it. Dying also accomplishes this, of course.

The only way to get rid of the cloak permenantly, which is something the players should only find out after a great deal of effort, is to give the cloak to the demon. That will destoy it and its influence. However, the players better have a plan to defeat the demon once they do, or it will bring Hell to Earth.

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