Plot: Rabenvater

Summary Dark Cults were common across europe especially in the early days of the 19th century. One such group, the cult of the Crow Father, or in the original German “Rabenvater”, was a society of occultists in Germany and Austria; the poor cousin to the Thule Society. Their members, often high-placed officers within the Nazi party, scattered to the wind as the war was coming to an end. Some were hunted down and captured but a few were able to escape with their most precious items of power and books of lore and ritual. They reformed in the colleges and industrial towns of the post-war United States where the organization scattered itself among the states and created for themselves small enclaves here and there to build their numbers, amass power - both financial and political - as well as plan for their future goals. So when a curious glance at what was thought to be a gaming map reveals a more sinister and subversive truth, a world of hidden cults, bizarre rituals and dark magic was revealed to those foolish enough to follow the trails left in the shadows. Details Players The Investigator: The (foolish?) Hero The Bland Guy: A suspected cult member The Jumper: A suspected cult member Levis: A Pit Hound Half-BakedA Pit Hound that was only partially transformed and then rescued and rehabilitated. The Professor: A white-haired older man that first appeared when The Student saw the The Jumper. He gave his name as Dr. Jacobi. The Student: A curious bystander that's gotten herself into a new world of danger - and lost her car in the process. The Blonde: Some sort of assistant to The Professor Places The Pit: An undeground utility chamber converted into the ritual space of a cult complete with a large, metal bird statue and altar. Home to Pit Hounds: The Guardian: A roleplay shop a block west of campus. All Saints Church: An abandoned church in the poor section of the city. The Tower: The unknown headquarters of the cult. Things Pit Hound: The loyal guardian of The Pit, transformed through brutal transformative rituals. Ravenbruder: An enhanced member of the Cult. They've demonstrated heightened athletic skills (jumping) and mimicry skills. One has partially transformed into a grey-skinned, black-eyed, fangs and claws version of human. Another, possibly more advanced form, gave them a gargoyle-like appearance complete with bat-like wings off of the shoulder. Updates Update: Day Fourteen The Investigator, curious as to where The Hounds went, goes to investigate the other locations identified on the map Rustin discovered. This lead to several abandoned buildings but one of which stood out, The All Saints Church. The key granted access into the old church and The Investigator discovered signs that other Hounds were housed but were also taken away. One remaining hound was literally halfway through the transformation when the process seems to have been halted. He was given the nickname Half-Baked because half of his body and half of his face were still human. Within the debris around Kennel area of the church, The Investigator discovers a curious ring and drags Half-Baked back below the city for later investigations. Update: Later that Evening The Investigator heads back to The Pit to check to see if The Hounds have returned. They're still gone but where would they be needed? On the way back up the ladder, The Investigator is halted by someone opening the panel above to drop a body down into the chamber. It's The Jumper. The body thrown down is hard to recognize because of the severe beating to the face but it's got red, curly hair just like Rustin. The Investigator didn't have time to pull the dead body up and gave chase to The Jumper, eventually following him onto the roof of a parking garage near campus. The two get into a dramatic fight and The Investigator realizes that The Jumper has started to change his appearance; his skin turning grey, his eyes turning black and claws appearing at the tips of his fingers. Having beating TF (tm) out of The Jumper, The Investigator wants answers. But before any advantage can be pressed, a winged, gargoyle-like figure lands on a nearby car, crushing the hood. It charges and the two fight as Wings tries to grab The Jumper and escape. The Investigator jumps onto the back of Wings and the two fight, forcing it to drop The Jumper who crashes onto the hood of a car below. Wings and The Investigator continue to fight as the gargoyle-like creature attempts to fly away and evade as the blue flashing lights of security start to swarm the area of the demolished car. The Investigator is eventually shaken free and *Wings is able to fly away. Update: At the Parking Garage The Student is walking to her car parked on the street by the parking garage when the body of The Jumper smacks into her hood. Curious, possibly to her own risk, The Student tries to see who the guy was that 'jumped' from the parking garage and gets somewhat close to the body. Before she can get -too- close, an older voice tells her to stay away from him. She turns to see three people dressed in suits: A blonde woman, a white-haired older man, and a guy with dark hair. An ambulance pulls out from a nearby alley, without its lights or sirens on and 'medics' fall out to go collect the body of The Jumper while The Professor talks with The Student about the accident. Before she can really object or question what's going on, campus security gets close enough and the ambulance and car full of people pull away. However, The Student finds a crystal phial on the ground near the car - something the 'medics' must have missed and was probably dropped by The Jumper. She talks to campus security and to the police about the damage to her car and the possible suicide. Eventually she's able to walk towards home but after getting the feeling of being followed, she stops by The Guardian since it's open late and on her way home. Update: At the Guardian The Student enters the gaming shop and Shiela, a clerk, hears some of the concern and fear in her voice and pokes the 'oh shit' button to get the boss' attention. Rustin comes out to see what's going on and recognizes The Student from other gatherings. She asks for a one-on-one conversation behind closed doors. Update: Day Thirteen After verifying and replicating the key and then returning it to the apartment, The Investigator returns to the Knoll and climbs down into The Pit The Investigator discovers that three of The Hounds have been removed, leaving only the one more recently converted, nicknamed Levis behind. His nickname stuck because though he had been converted, he was still wearing the ripped remains of his jeans. Update: Day Twelve The Investigator pops over to the Guardian to compare "campaign notes" with Rustin and then later heads over to the apartment of The Bland Man. The Bland Man and The Jumper are discovered having a quiet, almost cozy evening at home. When the woman's father calls to locate his daughter, The Jumper perfectly imitates her voice to say that she's going on a three month trip to Italy as part of her job. It's a great promotion and learning experience. The Investigator has to wait until the couple goes into the bedroom for the night before any real investigation can begin. Eventually a key fob is found in the satchel of one of the two men - a possible way of opening the access panel. Update: Day Eleven The Investigator heads back down and tries the plan again. This time it works better - though not completely but is interrupted when the panel is opened and someone is dropped down from above. The sound of the person, bound and gagged, hitting the floor some 15 feet below draws the attention of The Hounds and a fight ensues to keep them from ripping it to shreds. The Investigator recognizes the figure as the woman from The Bland Man's apartment - the one that forced The Jumper to leave so abruptly. Unable to fight off four of The Hounds alone, or leave the figure there to be shredded The Investigator tried to climb out with the hounds attacking. With a bit of assistance from Rustin, The Investigator is able to climb up with the body of the woman while The Hounds are distracted. She's been beaten and tortured to the point of death and won't survive waiting for an ambulance who, with the police, will ask more questions than The Investigator is willing to answer. So the woman is taken away by The Investigator and allowed to pass peacefully, the body hidden below the city. Update: Day Ten The Investigator returned to The Pit with a plan to pacify the guard dogs so that the prisoner might be freed. But by the time they could crawl down into the tunnels, the prisoner was no longer chained to the wall and a fourth Hound had joined the pack. The plan to pacify them didn't exactly work out so The Investigator would have to try something else once they calmed down. Update: Day Eight The Investigator returns to the park to explore the tunnels below the access panel but it's locked and doesn't want to reveal to others that it's been discovered. So they try and find a way in through the city's sewer and tunnel system. They eventually find a sewer junction of two large drain pipes that create a vaguely 'plus-shaped' space with a ladder leading up to the panel above. In the end is a metal sculpture of a large bird and an altar, to the left they see a man chained to the wall and to the right debris has been piled to create a narrow opening to a smaller niche area. The slightest sound attracts the attention of three mutant creatures that spring out of the side niche and search the room for any sign of movement. The chained man can only moan in pain and appears to have been beaten severely and chained to the wall. A sacrifice for later? Later, at the gaming shop, The Investigator demands answers from Rustin and the two have a very delicate conversation. It's uncertain as to where the game master's loyalties and interest lies but answers were needed. The Dogs are roughly humanoid with multiple eye spots, a fanged jaw and a forked tongue as well as long talons on the tips of each finger. Not wanting to get into a fight just yet, The Investigator heads back to Guardian Games to get some answers. Update: Day Six It takes some doing but eventually the identity of the bland guy is discovered and The Investigator goes to investigate. The address found was a small apartment complex near campus and the bland guy had a place on the second floor. The Investigator saw more than they expected through the balcony door but what really sparked their curiosity was when they saw another man leave the apartment by leaping down without any observable effort. So The Investigator followed this new figure, called The Jumper, to where he was going when he left. He drove to a poor section of town, to a cramped and tall apartment building and walked around to the back of the place before jumping up to the second floor balcony just as easily as one might hop a few steps in a single leap. The Investigator followed him inside and waited for him to go to sleep. A possibly innocent tattoo was seen on his back, between his shoulder blades of a black bird. Worth noting. Update: Day Four Curious people be curious and sometimes ya gotta wonder if games are just games or if they're hiding something under the surface. The center of the maps all scattered on the counter looked like it was at a central park in the city. So, what's The Investigator to do one night but to go and check it out. An access panel is found on a small knoll in the park, like the hatch that might lead to utility tunnels below. Locked and too sturdy to just force open, the panel has a curiously occult symbol emblazoned on the front - like pagan graffiti. There's crossed bird legs, a mystical eye, drops of blood - it's almost comically complex and easily dismissed...until... With the half-moon hanging high in the night's sky, a suspiciously bland looking guy in dark clothes is seen walking up to the knoll and approaching the panel. He bends down, fiddles with the panel for a second and then opens to climb down into the tunnel below. Hours later, he finally emerges, locks the panel behind him and leaves the park but not before the Curios get a good look at his license plate. Update: Day One A typical night at Guardian Games and Rustin is curiously examining a collection of maps laid out across the counter. The maps are all of the city of Prospect with several, seemingly random locations circled with notes scribbled off to the side. To the observant eye, the locations form a curiously symmetrical pattern with a single point at the center with a large question mark drawn in red around it - the gamer doesn't seem to know what might be located there. Is it a prop for a game - one of those Black Dog things where the worlds of modern and mystical merge into a new and creative genre for modern horror gaming? Who's to say? Well, one person, who we will call "The Investigator"

Information Plot: Rabenvater Risk: Level 2 Storyteller: Rustin Spheres: Mortal+ (with exceptions) Type: Breadcrumb (Contained PRP) Status: Active RP Hooks Location Streetwise: This is mostly an issue people would know about through their connections to the street. Downtown: The events are all in the downtown area. Campus: If you happen to be a student or frequent the campus often Hooks Investigation: Are you the type that likes to follow clues, uncover evidence and piece together motives from seemingly unrelated cases? Occult: Does magic, the supernatural, the unknown interest you? Application Interested parties should @mail Rustin with the following information: Interest: Why are you jumping into this plot? What's your motive. Boredom doesn't count. Why -this- plot? Hook: Based on the information posted about the plot how do you think your character would become involved? Do you know one of the principle characters? Familiar with the locations mentioned? Etc. Logs