Thousand Year Old Vampire, A Sort of Homecoming

Welcome back. In the last post, Lucius went, well, let’s be honest, a little mad. But, perhaps it was for the best, as it drove him to reconnect with Aurelia, and the two reuniting. If not as lovers, at least as friends.

I feel time needs to pass, so I set this in the 15^th Century. The Italian Renaissance is in full bloom Let’s see what happens next. I roll a 5 and a 3, giving me a 2. This leads me to event 71.

An Immortal Character has been destroyed by Mortals. How did you come to find out about this? What did you lose? Create a Skill based on a Memory. Create an Immortal if necessary.

There are four possible contenders for this. Semnai (1), Aurelia (2), Antenor (3), or Marcus (4). I roll a d4 and get a 2.

Aurelia and I spend the next few centuries together, as companions and friends. We are eventually discovered, though, by hunters. She urges us to fight back, I insist we flee. She follows me, but so do the hunters. She is caught alone one night, and destroyed. In my cowardice, I had let my only friend be destroyed.

I add Stealth as a Skill, based on his long history of running and hiding from conflict.

Next, I get a 4 and a 1, for a 3. I move to prompt 74.

You are physically trapped in a place where you will never be rescued. What do you think about for the first thousand years?

The game is over.

They come for me as well, chasing me across Italy. I find myself back in Rome. The city has changed so much I no longer even recognize it. But some ancient, primal memory guides me through its clogged streets, always one step ahead of my pursuers. I hide myself away in ancient churches and even more ancient palaces. They are coming for me, and I find, scattered among the ruins, a long-forgotten cave. I feel safe here, and secure. I collapse what remains of the building around me, thwarting my hunters, but alone, at last, with only my memories and my sins.

So ends the saga of Lucius Casius. Politician, scholar, priest, and lover. The end, for him, came somewhat suddenly, but I suppose so it is for everyone. He was an interesting creature. Never as ruthless as he needed to be, nor as kind. Though never as violent as his nature would imply. He was, in many ways, a coward. Or, more generously, a simple man unfit for the challenges of his life. I wish he had been able to stay with Pelias, and died with his lover. But fate had a crueler hand for him.

As for the game itself, it was pretty fantastic, I must say. Quieter, sadder, and more tragic than I had expected; Hutching’s writing is truly something unique. He said in the introduction that the game was meant as an exploration of his own fears of forgetting, and I do believe he succeeded. The worst parts of the game, for me, weren’t the violence. It was Lucius forgetting his friend Marcus. Forgetting his love of Aurelia, and of Pelias as anything but a sick and dying man. In the end, all he had was lonely and cruel memories, having forgotten all the light and joy that had once filled his life. A hard way to live. Perhaps, when the end came, it came as a mercy to him. I’d like to think that he slept, and in his ageless sleep dreamed of the good years. He and Marcus drinking and ranting about politics. He and Pelias holding each other and discussing the nature of God. I’d like to think he dreamt of salvation. But, perhaps all he did was go mad. Though there is a type of salvation in that as well, I suppose.

In any case, I absolutely adored this game, and strongly encourage anyone even vaguely interested to back this on Kickstarter. It’s not often a game like this comes around, and I feel such art should be encourage. If you are finding this AP after the Kickstarter is over, I imagine it will be available on drivethrurpg. It’s a unique experience, and one I encourage you to take.

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