Dark Works Even the deepest night must end... For thousands of years the creatures now known as human beings struggled against the end of the race; the days were harsh, full of work merely to live, and the nights gave shelter to more than just those beings we recognize as dangers today.
We were not alone in that darkness.
It wasn't easy to conquer the fear, the hunger, and death at the claws of those that hunted man, but we survived the most dangerous times. Eventually, in fact, we flourished.
First fire provided warmth and light.
Agriculture and trade led to the birth of societies... Kingdoms. Empires.
History was born. Time began to turn.
We never forgot what rested outside the lights of our civilization.
Nothing is given without a price... Mankind, for all its weakness, now sits comfortably at the top of the food chain. Even the few parts of the world left where survival is still a challenge a balance has been achieved that allows human beings to make their own way through the generations.
The old fears aren't as strong as they once were, and neither the beasts of field nor or forest hold any sway over our decisions as they once did.
But even the princes of this new world know fear when the unknown comes knocking at their door. Even the bravest mankind can produce cannot be allowed to completely forget the things that chased man out of the darkness.
It would be only too easy for them to see our complacency, to strike from a quarter long forgotten.
The system must be maintained... There are some people that are chosen to make sure that man does not forget its place, and that the enemies of man do not regain their foothold in the modern world. These people lose their old lives so that the rest of the world can continue, never given a choice in the matter.
Made to walk the line between the humanity that they shepherd and the things that go bump in the night, they make their way as best they can. Pulled from dregs of humanity, those more curious than careful, or even the highest of stations, they do what must be done.
Nothing can stop them in their Dark Works.
Basically the characters in this game would be people chosen to be seperated from the rest of humanity and assigned certain duties as part of an ancient tradition. Whether this tradition is a living organization, self-perpetuating due to supernatural laws, or run by one individual I haven't decided yet.
What the characters become is largely up to them... they retain generally mortal forms (I may make them a bit naturally hard to kill, but they still need to eat and sleep) which are generally "out of sight, out of mind" when it comes to dealing with other human beings (meaning that while someone they deal with every day may remember them as "that guy," they wouldn't remember their name or more than a vague description), and can take on the aspects (as well as some of the abilities) of various supernatural critters.
The players can basically make their own nasty "aspects" out of grab-bag of features... so trolls, night-hags, ghosts, vampires, etc. are all possible. When a character takes on their aspect they don't physically change (unless they take a supernatural ability that says otherwise) but appear to, and that's also when they gain all their nifties.
They can only take on their aspects while in darkness (deep shadows work), as well.
Their jobs/responsibilities, as (INSERT NAME FOR PLAYER CHARACTER TYPES HERE), are two-fold:
1) Depending on their area of 'enforcement' they either... a) Make sure that people don't forget to fear the darkness, randomly creating those 'scary story' situations we hear so much about. b) Defend important or particularly dangerous areas from human activity... a nest of nasty creatures that haven't been dealt with yet, a weak point between this world and Other Places, or a community business/church/pure forest clearing deemed beneficial to humanity are all places that might need protecting. c) Make sure that those who are deserving of cosmic justice recieve a little bit... acts of hubris, unpunished evil, or school-kid pranks are all things that may fall into this group, and things like particularly ironic deaths, nights of absolute terror, and missing persons cases may all be results.
2) Fight the original denizens of the darkness. Root out nasty ghosts (or lay to rest disturbed spirits), stake vampires, cast out demons, out-riddle trolls under bridges, fight against worshippers of the Ancient Ones... all these are within the realm of this responsibility.
Obviously the method by which they are chosen and assigned their first "sub" responsibility depends on how the "organization" works... something I, again, haven't nailed down.
Last thing... I know there are likely one or two systems out there that might be able to work with this idea (or, at least, I suspect someone could suggest at least one)... but I'm going to be working on putting together my own. Suggestions there would be welcome as well.