Thousand Year Old Vampire. Alone in the Night

Welcome back to the play through of Thousand Year Old Vampire. When we left off, the vampire Lucius was living in relative peace with his lover Pelias in the bustling city of Constantinople, sometime in the 4^th Century. Our last event was number 23, and Lucius had become something of a theologian. Let’s see what befalls him now.

I again roll a d10 and a d6 for 10 and a 5. Subtracting the results of the later from the former, I get a 5, which leads us to event 28.

A long dead Mortal Character returns. What do they want from you? How have they survived death? You only recognize them if you still have a related Memory. Check a Skill.

There are two dead Mortals in my past, Manius and Marcus. I roll to see which one has returned and get a 2, for Marcus.

One night, a stranger grabs me on the street, a large, brutish man. He claims to know me, and desperately asks for my aid. He speaks of Rome, the once glorious City, and long nights we spent together there. I do not know him, and I hide myself as a simple Christian scholar. I quote the Bible, and chastise him for his ramblings.

I check Theology and wave the madman off. I used my Theology skill to convince him that I’m not who he thinks I am. I also restore him on the character sheet, since he’s back in my life. Somehow.

Next, I roll a 2 and a 3, for a -1. This leads me to event 27 and:

War rages. You withdraw into a hidden retreat, waiting for it to pass. Lose a Resource.

Dang it, there goes my Diary and Lucius’ last ties to his mortal life.

The barbarians come, and civil war again plagues the Empire. Pelias ages, and while I have the power to save him the curse that befalls all men, we both refuse to commit this final, greatest sin. Instead, we retreat the mountains, living as hermits to wait out his final days, together. I leave my quill and papers back in the City. I no longer need them, not with Pelias at my side.

Next, I roll an 8 and a 1, for a total of 7. These leads me to event 34.

In a purposeless rage you destroy something important to you. Lose either a Memory or a Resource.

I strive to remain hopeful, but with Pelias’ death all light is gone from my world. There is no solace in death, no hope. I was a fool to let him pass, to leave him to the fate of God. For what just God would allow such man as Pelias to wither and die in such pain and torment? I burn our hovel to the ground, and realize I can no longer remember him in his youth. Only his aged and pained face. I take up my quill once again, and record our first meetings. I will not lose him again.

Rather than losing his Memory, I have Lucius create a new Diary. I also decide that now is a good time for a new Memory.

War comes to the Empire, and chaos reigns. A stranger grabs at me, speaking of Rome and her past glories. Pelias and I flee to a hidden place, far from the violence and rage than defines this new era. I stay with him until his death, and in his final days we reminisce about how we first met.

Pelias didn’t need to die here, but it felt like this era was coming to a close. Lucius is alone again, and facing an uncertain future.

For the next prompt, I roll and get 4 and 5, for a result of -1. This leads me to scene 33.

You know where the old things are. Create a Resource and make an enemy Character into a friend.

I decide a time skip is in order, and Lucius moves forward to the 6^th Century, and he returns home to Rome.

I wander alone and unmoored for unknown years. Eventually, my travels bring me to the great City, my true home. Rome! She lies in a desperate state, ruled by aliens and barbarians, all chattering about the damned God of the Christians. Though not all. A few cults still remain, hidden. In the darkness I find them. And I find her, Semnai, my creator. Or so she tells me. For truly, I have little recollection of those nights. We talk, honestly, as only two immortals can. I cannot find it in myself to forgive her, but I also cannot remember to hate her.

With Semnai’s help, Lucius also gains the Resource “blood cult,” hidden away in the ruins of the once Capital of the World.

Next, I roll and get 9 and 5, for a result of 4. This leads me to scene 37.

Things fall to dust. Lose a Resource for which you have no corresponding Memory. Do not create a new Experience for this Prompt.

Well, so long “blood cult.” Eh, that was always more Semnai’s thing than Lucius’.

Rolling again, I get 7 and 3, for a result of 4. This leads me to scene 41.

Your body is distant from human concerns. Lose a Memory slot.

Normally, you can carry only 5 Memories at any time. I currently only have 3, so I don’t risk losing one. I do, however, make a note on the character sheet to limit myself to no more than 4 Memories. It’s also as good a time as any for a new Memory. The only one worth having is my return to Rome and meeting of Semnai, so that Encounter becomes a new Memory.

Moving on, I roll and get 10 and 1, for a result of 9. The leads me to scene 50.

A trap intended for mortal criminals captures you. What type of lawbreaker are you confused with? Do you escape? What criminal behavior can you now apply to feeding? Convert a pleasant Memory into a new Skill which perverts the humanity of that Memory.

The most pleasant Memory Lucius has is of his time as a scholar with Pelias. So, I will go off of that.

I make my way in the world, disguised as an itinerant friar, but my teachings of Christ are no longer palatable to the new Catholic masters. They think me a simple heretic, but are not prepared for my violent power. I escape, but learn much of the new teachings. They claim to speak the Truth, but I know how malleable their “truth” is. I set out to corrupt those who condemn the world.

I also edit the memory of me and Pelias, crossing out “Perhaps there is no peace for me, but Pelias does help me find solace in the Christian Bible” and adding in “I learn much from Pelias, of the hypocrisy and lies of the Christians, and am ready to use it against them.” I also gain the Heretical Teaching as a Skill.

I roll again and get a 4 and a 5, for a -1. This sends me to 49.

What simple, practical skill proves invaluable in your strange existence? How did you learn it? Create a Skill.

The most obvious, so far, would be Wilderness Lore, as Lucius has spent many years wandering the wild places of the world.

Rolling again, I get 8 and 6, for a 2. This sends me to 51.

You are of the moment, a hunting creature. Lose one sentence from a Memory somewhere in the middle of your Memory list.

I decide the most reasonable to forget is his brief, if alarming encounter with Marcus in Constantinople, so I delete the sentence “A stranger grabs at me, speaking of Rome and her past glories” from my list.

Now seems appropriate to add a new Memory.

I move easily between the wilderness and the cities. In public, I chastise the people for their sins and their failures, for there are oh so many, and the Christian God is cruel and full of fury. At night I lie to the people’s masters, offer them dark and secret hopes for salvation, of which they are all eager to partake. I am a predator of not just blood, but of souls as well.

This, however, would be a 5^th Memory, and my alienation no longer allows me to retain that many. So, I transfer my recollection of Pelias’ and my time in Constantinople to the Diary to make room for the new Memory.

Here’s the current character sheet. See you all next time!

Tools and Mechanics Thousand Year Old Vampire by Tim Hutchings.  Kickstarter for this game is currently live, and concludes November 15th, 2018. Universal NPC Emulator by Zach Best The Everyone, Everywhere List by Erik James Olsrud