Although this setting is designed to fit with the Dark
Matter campaign world, it is not exclusively part of it. Dark
Horizons can be played as a stand-alone setting (near-future, with
late PL 5 technology) for the Alternity game system. This
web page is for Gamemasters only--if you are going to be a player in a
Dark Horizons game, do not read any further.
The following links will take you to the appropriate section:
Setting Background
Vampire Background
The Real Story
The Rise of the Vampire
Vampire Nature in Dark Horizons
Vampire Society in Dark Horizons
Vampire Characters in Dark Horizons
Example Vampire NPCs
There are three ways to run Dark Horizons. The first (and recommended) way is to make it part of a Dark Matter campaign for characters who are members of the Hoffman Institute; their missions investigating the paranormal take them deeper and deeper into the world of vampires, battling them or allying with them as the action and storyline dictates. The second way is to run it as a unique campaign separate from Dark Matter; the characters should be members of the police, FBI, or other government agency investigating the mysterious vampires and their plans. The third way is to run it from the vamire's perspective (in which case it may or may not be a part of a Dark Matter campaign); the characters are themselves vampires in one of the factions, struggling to stay alive in their war-torn world and discover the truth behind their nature.
Scientific knowledge will play a small but important part in Dark
Horizons. Regardless of which way in which it is played, at least
one character in the group should have some scientific ability (or access
to a contact who has scientific ability). For their entire history
on earth up until this point, vampires (and the few humans who have studied
them) have had no way to understand their true nature. By the 21st
century, with breakthroughs in genetic research and computer mapping, for
the first time means exist to probe their blood and biology for the truth.
Who will find the truth first--vampire scientists risking disobedience
to their society, or human investigators hunting the vampires?
Scattered across the planet with no way to communicate with each other
for most of their history, vampires have been even more divided and warlike
than the living humans from which they were originally recruited.
Indeed, there have been only a handful of commonalities between all vampires:
the need to consume living blood, and the urge to wage truceless war against
others of their own kind. Vampires (and the few humans throughout
the ages who have managed to learn the truth of their existence) have long
wondered why, with their superior power, they have not swept aside the
living homo sapiens and taken over the world for themselves.
The first answer is obvious enough--vampires have always been few in number
compared to the living human population, and most living humans are not
fit enough to survive the transformation into a vampire. The second
answer is less obvious, even to most vampires--although vampires and living
humans have fought each other throughout history, vampires have fought
vampires far more often and fiercely. This unending struggle between
vampire factions has been known by many names--"jihad" or "crusade" or
"the secret war"--and vampires have never known even a pause in it.
Despite their history of peaceful cooperation and the similiar robotic direction of their ongoing evolution, the alien species grew increasingly hostile to each other. Lifespans extended to virtually immortality, putting a greater strain on resources and a great need to dominate high-production planets and moons in their star systems. Wars over desirable planets quickly escalated into wars of extermination, as each civilization sought to wipe out the others and control all resources. The nanotechnology which had previous focused on peaceful evolution was adapted to military purposes, turning the species into highly evolved cybernetic and bio-enhanced killing machines. Within a thousand years all but two of the civilizations had been wiped out, and the two surviving civilizations were reduced to tiny populations concentrated on the one remaining life-supporting planet. By this point in their evolution, every individual in the two species was completely controlled by self-replicating and partially sentient (through a collective artificial-intelligence network) nano-robots. Although the war of extermination had started as an economic struggle between the civilizations, the natural programming of these highly evolved cellular robots carried it far further than any rational organic species would. Following their military programming, the nano-robots continued to transform their host species into killing machines incapable of giving up the struggle for dominance.
The end finally came when one warring side on the verge of defeat used gravitational technology to capture a passing comet and slam it into the planet. The impact killed all remaining individuals in the two species--but not the nano-robots. Both sides looked through ancient exploration data from back in the peaceful era for the closest planet capable of producing complex biological life. Dormant nano-robots were implanted deep inside fragments of the destroyed planet and launched toward this distant world where they would hopefully find new biological life forms to merge with--the planet earth.
The asteroids crashed into the earth during the ice age around 15,000
years ago. The dormant nano-robots slowly reactivated and scanned
the planet for the biological life form most like the species that created
them, finding the cro-magnon humans of Eurasia most suitable. However,
only a small number of nano-robots survived the million-year trip across
the stars, so at first they could merge with only a handful of human beings.
The nano-robots had to start from scratch with these new life forms, reprogramming
their DNA in order to produce a more survivable, long-lived species.
The nano-robots used the very life substances of their victims to power
themselves--the result was that they virtually killed their hosts, keeping
active only the parts of human anatomy required for their purposes (the
brain and the heart) and carrying out other biological functions internally
themselves. This incredible activity on the cellular level, however,
required tremendous energy--ingesting fresh blood provided the nano-robots
inside with a continuous source of raw material and fuel.
The nano-robots, now safely inside new hosts, focused on self-replication. The surviving robots were very few in number, and they were need many more to spread into additional humans. Reproduction also proved to be difficult--homo sapiens reproduced in a different manner from their previous species, and they could not keep the human sex organs functioning. As a result, new vampires could only be created by an older vampire selecting a vampire, draining most of his living blood, and then infusing him with his own blood containing a concentrated population of nano-robots. With the new host weakened by his near-death experience, the nano-robots could easily pervade his body and begin the transformation.
The nano-robots move all throughout the body of the host, but they mainly colonize at the brain stem. So long as they are provided with regular infusions of fresh blood, they have fuel to continue their transformations and to keep the host alive indefinitely--their incredible ability to repair biological mass grants the host virtual immortality. The nano-robots themselves are unaging and self-repairing, capable of improving the body of the host throughout the ages. As a result, the older a vampire is the more powerful he is; the nano-robots in his body have had more time to replicate and improve his physiology. Older vampires are able to concentrate and utilize blood more efficiently, giving them greater access to their killing abilities with greater frequency.
Most of the abilities the nano-robots grant to their hosts are physical
in nature, simply improvements (from a certain point of view) in human
physiology. However, their advanced genetic engineering has also
successfully enhanced the psionic potential latent and undeveloped in the
human species. As a result, some vampires possess the psionic power
to influence the minds and emotions of others. The nano-robots are
highly involved in this psionic functioning and require great amounts of
energy, which explains why blood inside the vampire is consumed by using
these mental and emotional powers.
Vampires require a significant amount of blood to fuel the nano-robots inside them. Upon awakening at the beginning of each new evening, 1 "blood point" is expended just to continue the vampire's existence. That is why most vampire start each evening my feeding. It is common for a small grouping of vampires to share a "herd" of living humans, either kidnapping them and keeping them hidden as a perpetual blood source or seducing them with their powers and manipulating them into willingly letting the group feed off of their blood. Many vampires also feed off blood banks or live off blood stores acquired or purchased (some vampire groupings specialize in stockpiling and selling fresh blood). However, stored blood quickly loses its potency (within a few days) unless it is carefully preserved in a medical facility (like a blood bank or hospital).
The nano-robots originally come from a star system with a much weaker sun than earth's. For this reason, their hosts are vulernable to intense UV radiation. Vampires have adapted by becoming nocturnal, active at night but normally dormant during the day. A vampire active during daylight hours suffers a +2 step penalty to all action and skill checks. Older vampires are even more vulnerable to the sun--their bodies are so heavily bio-engineered that they actually burn when exposed to direct sunlight: "Young Vampires" (see Vampire Characters) suffer no damage from sunlight, "Old Vampires" suffer 1d4 points of En/O Wound damage every phase they are exposed to direct daylight, and "Ancient Vampires" suffer 1d4 points of En/O Mortal damage every phase (1d4 Wound if the sunlight is indirect or obscured). Vampires are also more vulnerable to fire, plasma, and laser attacks--any such damage roll against a vampire is increased by +2.
Because the heart is one of the few organs the nano-robots still make use heavily (although a vampire's heartbeat is extremely slow), "staking" a vampire through the heart can cause serious damage. Any attack targeting the vampire's heart (a "called shot" at a +4 step penalty) will pierce the organ if any primary damage is inflicted--the vampire will automatically suffer an additional 1 point of Mortal damage. Furthermore, if the attack was made by a sizable pointed weapon (not a bullet), it can be left thrust into the heart--until it is pulled out, the vampire suffers a +2 step penalty on all action and skill checks and cannot use any ability which requires blood to fuel (and any abilities which require blood to fuel that are already in effect cease to function). It requires a successful Strength feat check to pull out a weapon thrust through a vampire's heart.
Regeneration of the body is a specialty of the nano-robots. A vampire can expend blood to fuel regeneration (each point instantly heals 4 Stun or 2 Wound or 1 Mortal), and regeneration is no longer possible when the vampire runs out of usable blood. Even severed limbs or punctured organs will regenerate fully in time (never more than three nights).
However, vampires can be destroyed. If a vampire suffers excessive Mortal damage from sunlight, fire, or laser/plasma attacks, it is permanently destroyed. If a vampire is decapitated, it is permanently destroyed (the nano-robots are mainly colonized at the brain stem and cannot regenerate such a massive body loss). Likewise, the vampire is permenantly destroyed if the bulk of the body is obliterated. If a vampire is incapacitated by extreme damage but does not have enough blood to fuel regeneration, the vampire will lie in a dormant coma until sufficient blood is supplied to his body.
Vampires have no vulnerability to religious symbols, garlic, or any other superstition. Such rumors developed among humans because of the sliver of the population that possesses natural psionic ability (often cultivated by religious institutions in the past as holy miracles). The Faith FX power Monotheism could also explain the ancient religious superstition.
Animals of at least minimal intelligence (such as dogs, cats, and horses) respond negatively to vampires. Their accute senses inform them that vampires are not like the natural humans they are used to being around. Furthermore, animal instict warns them that vampires are dangerous predators. Few animals will react aggressively to a vampire, but they may react with snarling, hissing, or panic. However, animals have no ability to detect a vampire hidden by the Obfuscation power.
Vampires do not engage in most of the biological functionings of living humans. They do not eat or drink (although if they try to consume food, it will not be digested and will remaining rotting inside them until they inducing vomiting). They do not breathe (the nano-robots take care of any needed gas production themselves). They do not perspire, produce tears, or bleed naturally (the nano-robots prevent blood loss except in the case of the most grievous injuries). Their sexual organs do not function normally, although they are still capable of feigning some basic operation. Vampire skin tends to be exceptionally pale, their body temperature (half of a living human's) is noticable to the touch, and their pulse is usually 1-2 beats per minutes.
As expressed above, vampires do not reproduce naturally. They
must recruit new vampires by bringing a candidate (willing or not) to the
verge of death by draining out most of their blood. The vampire must
then infuse at least one full "blood point" of his own into the dying person,
who must succeed on a Stamina-endurance skill check at a +4 step
penalty (with a -1 bonus for every additional "blood point" infused in
the target); on any failure the person dies from system shock, but on any
success the person survives and awakens as a new vampire in a number of
hours equal to 24 minus his Constitution score.
For most of history, vampire society has been highly fragmented. The planetary fragments that brought the nano-robots to earth crashed into different parts of the Eurasian continent, so for many centuries the vampires created by the two different types of nano-robots had no contact with each other. These early centuries were spent growing in strength and number, adapting to surviving in a world increasingly overrun by living homo sapiens. As the vampires expanded into new territories, new groupings (called "clans" or "tribes" or "covens" or "broods") were formed. On the surface, these groupings appeared to be completely separate, independent factions. It seemed perfectly unremarkable to them that some groupings bonded together as allies extremely easily and rare fought, while other groupings resorted to hostility automatically and fought constantly. The reason for this, unbeknownst to the vampires, is that the nano-robots inside their cells can detect their own: vampires that possess the same type of nano-robots are programmed by their DNA to be naturally friendly (-4 step bonus to Encounter checks), while vampires that possess opposite types of nano-robots are programmed by their DNA to be naturally hostile (+4 step penalty to Encounter checks). The vampires themselves have no conscious awareness of this sense, only a primal instict that tells them "this vampire seems friendly" or "this vampire seems hostile". The DNA coding is not fool-proof--some vampires with the same type of nano-robots occasionally fight each other, while some with opposite types occasionally make peace. The general trend, however, is undeniable--the bulk of vampire society falls into two constantly warring factions.
Over time, especially as modern technology make communication across vast distances possible, the myriad disperate vampire groupings coalesced into increasingly larger allied factions. By the mid-20th century, the nano-robots had finally achieved their goal--the development of two opposed global factions, allowing them to continue the perpetual war that ended catastrophically for their previous world. The vampire societies had no conscious knowledge of this process, only the realization the small groupings over time had joined together into two vast global alliances. The fact that this process seemed to parallel the nations of the living humans during the "Cold War" only reinforced the common belief among vampires that it was completely natural. Except whereas the "Cold War" never resulted in a major war between the two sides and ended with the economic collapse of one of the sides, the division of vampire society exploded into a violent, global war fought in secrecy.
In the early 21st century, many vampires still consider themselves part of specific small groupings as well as part of a world faction (much in the same way living humans might consider themselves part of a particular nation as well as a global alliance like the "European Union"). Many vampires even identify themselves by their "coven" or "brood" in the same way a living human uses his family's last name (over time virtually all vampires forget most of their personal history as a living human, often accepting completely new names given to them by the vampire who created them). Small vampire groupings can be found in virtually every city in every part of the world, and they strive to keep their existence a secret. Rumors abound that in some very isolated, primitive parts of the world there remain a few independent groupings which never merged with either of the two global factions, but this has never been proven. Both of the global factions employ gangs of "enforcers" to hunt down internal dissent, brutally stamping out those who break the secrecy of vampire existence or believe in independent groupings.
The two global factions are called the Sanguis Veritas("True Bloods") and the Liberatores ("Freedom Fighters"). Unlike the great military alliances of human history, these two factions are not divided by territory or culture or language or even way of life--although the high leadership of both factions attempt to justify the constant warfare by creating differences. Some vampires have been struck by how few real differences exist between the factions, but any such comments issued at large in vampire society quickly bring the wrath of the faction's "enforcers" down on the dissenting individual. Both factions have member groupings in every major city on earth. However, as the fighting between the two factions heated up into global war in the late 20th century, occasionally cities passed totally into the control of one faction after the vampires of the opposing faction were wiped out. Rather than send in reinforcements to fight a lost cause, the defeated faction surrendered the disputed territory to the enemy in order to focus on other disputed regions. This kind of high-states war of extermination seems to be the wave of the future--which is exactly how the nano-robots programmed the vampires to behave.
As of the early 21st century, London, Paris, and Washington D.C. are strongholds of the Sanguis Veritas while Moscow, Tokyo, and Hong Kong are strongholds of the Liberatores. Every other major city is disputed by the two factions, and nightly "street fighting" masks the secret war for control. By and large, the vampires leave human society alone. When necessary, vampires use their powers to manipulate human government--usually to cover up their existence or to gain some advantage over the enemy faction. Both factions interact to a greater extent with the human economy, since vast wealth is needed to fight their secret global war. A large number of banks and stock markets around the world have vampire customers, investors, and sometimes even executives. Part of the incentive to exterminate the members of the opposing faction and seize unquestioned control over a city is the sole manipulation of the city's economic resources.
Not all vampires are foot soldiers in the war between the factions. Some are artists or performers, others are scholars or researchers. Ever since their formation in the mid-20th century, both factions have sought vampire scientists and encouraged them to do weapons and biological research. In the early 21st century, this research is beginning to backfire on the factions' leadership. Cutting-edge vampire researchers have detected the nano-robots for the first time, and current experiments are beginning to hint at their effects on vampire physiology and behavior. With the completion of the Human Genome Project in the Year 2000, related technology is allowing the vampire scientists to examine vampiric DNA and the nano-robots themselves. The high leadership of both factions are denouncing these findings as heretical, unleashing their "enforcers" on individuals who dare express dissent. However, secretly, the factions are continuing the research to learn the truth.
By the early 21st century some living humans are also beginning to learn
the truth about vampires. Long denied as myth due to the vampires'
very effective campaign of secrecy throughout the ages, fragmentary proof
began to emerge in the late 20th century (largely thanks to the ominpresence
of video cameras). The FBI, the CIA, the KGB (and its successor group
in the Russian Republic), the British Secret Service, the Israeli Mossad,
China's state police, and Interpol all have small, elite teams investigating
the evidence about vampires. However, the most active and successful
human institution is the Hoffman Institute, a well-funded private think-tank
that covertly trains agents to track and investigate the paranormal.
Hoffman agents have gathered proof of vampire existence, evidence of vampire
physiology and powers, and even some data on vampire society (although
they cannot yet comprehend the magnitude of the vampire factions and their
secret global war). Both factions have alerted their "enforcers"
to watch out for Hoffman agents and cleanly eliminate them if necessary.
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Dark Horizons is an attempt at a more realistic, "sci-fi" vampire setting, so not all listed vampire powers are allowed. Only the following vampire powers exist in the Dark Horizons setting:
Natural Weaponry (both fangs and claws, either fixed or retractable)
Greater Physical Prowess
Regeneration (see Vampire Nature)
Superior Toughness
Superior Speed
Superior Strength
Mind Control
Emotion Control
Obfuscation
Hypersense
Living humans may or may not be allowed to possess pisonic ability or FX powers, at the Gamemaster's discretion. Vampire characters certainly should not be allowed to possess any additional psi powers or mutations.
Not all vampires in Dark Horizons are identical, but they do share some common traits. All vampire characters receive the Regeneration power. A new vampire character begins at the "Young" age level and receive either the Natural Weaponry power or the Greater Physical Prowess power as well as three other vampire powers at the starting level (Rank 1 in the specified skills); alternatively, the vampire may choose both the Natural Weaponry and Greater Physical Prowess powers in exchange for beginning with only two other powers. Unlike the other vampire RPG, vampires in Dark Horizons are not grouped together by breed--every grouping has individual vampires of different varieties. Occasionally the factions group together individual vampires with similar powers to undertake a particular mission, but such groupings are only temporary and for a military objective.
Vampire characters can raise the ranks of their starting skills at list
cost, up to the maximum rank allowed for their age level. They may
also learn any of the broad and specialty skills for the other allowed
vampire powers at list cost +1, up to the maximum rank allowed for their
age level. The cost to buy a new vampire power is equal to the listed
cost for that particular FX broad or and its associated specialty skills.
For example, a vampire would have to spend 22 skill points to buy the Obfuscation
power (the broad skill at 9, the three skills at 2, 3, and 4, plus 4 more
since he must pay list cost +1 because Obfuscation is not one of his starting
skills). A vampire character is not required to purchase all specialty
skills allowed for the broad skill, but a broad skill by itself is useless
(no vampire power can be used untrained).
Tyra, a young vampire (created in 1993)
Career: Spy
Blood Points: 5 (1 point usable per turn)
STR 10 (11)
DEX 11 (12)
CON 8 (9)
INT 9
WIL 10
PER 12
Powers: Regeneration; Greater Physical Prowess; Superior Speed;
Emotion Control; Obfuscation
Skills: Movement-Fusillade Rank 1; Movement-Lightning Speed Rank
1; Movement-Super Dexterity Rank 1; Obfuscation-Unseen Rank 1; Obfuscation-Mask
Rank 1; Obfuscation-Vanish Rank 1
Flaws: none
Andre, a young vampire (created in 1985)
Career: Street Soldier
Blood Points: 5 (1 point usuable per turn)
STR 11 (12)
DEX 11 (12)
CON 12 (13)
INT 9
WIL 8
PER 9
Powers: Regeneration; Greater Physical Prowess; Natural Weaponry;
Superior Strength; Superior Toughness
Skills: Brick-Super Constitution Rank 1; Brick-Super Strength
Rank 1; Brick-Body Armor Rank 1
Flaws: none
Winston, an old vampire (created in 1862)
Career: Politician
Blood Points: 10 (2 points usable per turn)
STR 8
DEX 9
CON 8
INT 11
WIL 12
PER 11
Powers: Regeneration; Natural Weaponry; Superior Toughness; Mind
Control; Emotion Control; Hypersense
Skills: Brick-Body Armor Rank 4; Mesmerism-Dominate Rank 6; Mesmerism-Forgetfulness
Rank 2; Mesmerism-Hypnotize Rank 2; Mesmerism-Befriend Rank 2; Mesmerism-Emotion
Rank 2; Mesmerism-Encourage Rank 8; Hypersense-Sharpened Senses Rank 4;
Hypersense-Telepathy Rank 4.
Flaws: Temper (+1)--insubordination from underlings
Alaric, an ancient vampire (created in 512)
Career: Monster
Blood Points: 15 (3 points usable per turn)
STR 12 (13)
DEX 10 (11)
CON 12 (13)
INT 9
WIL 9
PER 8
Powers: Regeneration; Natural Weaponry (fixed); Greater Physical
Prowess; Superior Strength; Superior Toughness; Superior Speed; Obfuscation;
Hypersense
Skills: Brick-Super Constitution Rank 4; Brick-Super Strength
Rank 4; Brick-Body Armor Rank 10; Movement-Fusillade Rank 8; Movement-Super
Dexterity Rank 4; Obfuscation-Vanish Rank 7; Hypersense-Sharpened Senses
Rank 10
Flaws: Obsessed (+2)--lore or relics relating to ancient vampire
history