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This is an investigation procedural to prevent a great esoteric and infernal evil.
It features one of the most dangerous foes of the Here There Be Monsters setting,
Tudor Brezak, and some of his closest cronies. It provides an epic conflict
for very experienced Hunters, and perhaps even serve as the crowning glory to end
a campaign with.
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Summary
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A powerful Warlock named Tudor Brezak is hatching his latest nefarious plot, facilitating
the birth of a Cambion (half-Daemon half-human). If not prevented from happening,
such a childe of two dimensions represents a continual threat; it must not come
to be.
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Unfortunately Tudor Brezak is himself extremely potent, and is supported by Bound
Daemons, the Cult of the Red Hand, and the Witch Verity Blake who is the unwitting
dupe Tudor has seduced and impregnated with the Daemon-seed.
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This is a Hunt for only the best and bravest.
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Setup
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This adventure takes at least a couple of sessions to set up. The GM needs to introduce
the Cult of the Red Hand and establish that they are a creditable threat. This might
be done in a serial fashion, one week after another, or interspersed over the course
of a longer running campaign.
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The exact form and nature of these set up adventures is largely immaterial. The
Cult operates in cells which are visited and contacted from above in their hierarchy,
and thus when one cell is rooted out it doesn't have much net effect on the Cult
as a whole. Left to their own devices, when not working in direct pursuit or direction
of the inner leadership, individual cults vary in their activity levels, but at
their worst pull off classic "satanic cult" shenanigans up to and including human
sacrifice.
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Albert ("Albair") Armos, a highly placed member of the cult's inner circle is provided
to be the face of the Cult of the Red Hand for the purposes of leading up to the
main event. Albert was tasked to prepare the location for a major ritual, and whenever
he is taken down by the Hunters information is uncovered that leads into this vignette.
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Tudor and Verity are coming to the Hunter's general region to conduct the final
ritual which will culminate in the delivery of the Cambion, on some significant
date such as a solstice, year end, Easter, etc as serves the plot. Dates and details
can be provided as serves the GM's needs.
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The Carrot
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The standing Bounty on Tudor Brezak is approximately thirty million dollars American,
and is backed by the UN directly. Just for icing, Verity Blake has a five figure
Bounty on her head in the US, as does Albert Armos. The extra added dimension of
the Daemonchild angle would require a formal threat assessment to evaluate a payout,
but an extra eight to ten million bucks would be the likely range based upon past
cases. Add in some cultists with records and pet Daemons, and you're looking at
a massive reward.
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The Stick
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If the players refuse to take the hook, the Cambion can return as a threat another
day. In the short term, the presense of Tudor Brezak and his Daemon servants in
the area also provides ample opportunity for various tragedies and incidents.
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The Setting
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Technically, this scenario can go down anywhere within the region the Hunters consider
to be their "turf", whether that be a city, state, nation, hemisphere, or the entire
globe. For convenience sake the description assumes it is somewhere within a greater
metropolitan area in which the Hunters live and work.
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The People
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- Tudor Brezak: classified as a Tier 2 threat by the UN; a dangerous Warlock
in league with Infernal powers who has been plotting, scheming, and wreaking evils
for at least three hundred years. He is believed to have either founded or else
taken over leadership of the Cult of the Red Hand centuries ago. He is alleged to
be responsible for the deaths of at least eighty three Hunters, law enforcement
agents, champions of religious organization, and other "combatants", and literally
thousands of innocent civilians. Known to have been part of the Axis in World War
II. He has rebuffed twelve separate concerted attempts to capture or kill him over
the last six decades. On the original UN Permanent Sanction list (though not its
League of Nation predecessor). Carries a UN-backed Bounty of over 30 million American
dollars; most Hunters consider even this exorbitant sum not worth the danger.
- Baraerazil: a Bound Slayer Daemon that Tudor bound in Japan in the WW2 era.
A dangerous hand to hand combatant who has slain over twenty thousand people during
its service to Tudor. Extremely dangerous, Baraerazil has a UN-backed Bounty of
four million American dollars, if destroyed independently of Tudor.
- Aurhabazu: a Bound Possessor Daemon that has served Tudor intermittently
for centuries, but in its most current service for a couple of years. It has been
Possessing Michael Blaise for most of the last year. Aurhabazu has a UN-backed Bounty
of 600,000 American dollars, if destroyed independently of Tudor.
- Michael Blaise: an experienced and respected Hunter that fell under the power
of Aurhabazu, Tudor's Bound Possessor Daemon. A potent Occultist, Michael represents
a powerful asset for Tudor.
- Verity Blake: Originally a Hermetic apprentice in the Bostonian Rite Order
of Wyrms, apprenticed to Master Jeremiah Stone. In 1997 Jeremiah Stone was found
slain by magic in his Cambridge sanctum, his esoterica stolen, and his corpse horribly
defaced. Divinitory magics eventually revealed a horrific scene in which Verity
conducted an infernal ritual, sacrificing Jeremiah to dark powers. Jeremiah's fellow
Order members pursued her to no avail, and a Bounty of $25,000 was issued by the
US government. There have been no direct reports of her involvement in anything
since then, but analysis has pegged her as a possible perp in a few cases involving
unidentified dark haired female infernalists. She has no known affiliation with
the Red Hand or Tudor Brezak.
- Albert Armos: pronounced "Albair". Originally from Montreal, Albert has been
a known affiliate of the Cult of the Red Hand for over three decades, and has been
indentified by Section M analysts as almost certainly being part of the inner circle
of the cult.
- Cultists of the Red Hand: though only a single write up with options is presented
for the Cultists of the Red Hand, each member of the cult has their own history
and motivations, and GM's are encouraged to extemporize and individualize to whatever
level of detail enriches their campaign.
- Doctor Allosius Jones: A legendary Hunter, Dr. Jones has faced Tudor three
times before and survived. He is considered to be the leading expert on Tudor Brezek,
and though he is out of the country on yet another adventure, with a little effort
he can be reached by the players via phone to give some advice.
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The Spiel
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This is a 3-Act Play starting when the Hunters finally take down Albert Armos:
- Act 1: The Investigation - Albert's Penthouse - Cultists
- Act 2: The Arrival - The Regent Hotel - Verity Blake, Tudor Brezak and Crew
- Act 3: The Ritual - Rooftop of the Emerald Tower (downtown) - Tudor Brezak, Cultists,
Lots O' Daemons
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When the Hunters take down Albert Armos if he is taken alive he will eventually
divulge information allowing the PC's to skip Act 1 if they prefer. Otherwise, clues
found on his person will lead the Hunters to Albert's current residence in the city,
a classy and sumptuous highrise five-room penthouse downtown; when and if the PC's
go there Act 1 begins.
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Act 1: The Investigation - Albert's Penthouse
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Albert's Penthouse is an elegant and trendy highrise dwelling that any upper middle
class yuppy would be proud to live in, complete with euro-modern furniture, sleek
lines, and uselessly odd artsy decorations. However, a large armoire in the bedroom
opens to reveal a very tidy and well organized shrine to diabolic powers, and the
drawers contain several tomes and grimoires of Hermetic and Infernal purpose. The
nearby minimalist writing desk has a sheaf of very well organized notes, and a signet
kit with maroon wax and a seal bearing a left hand with a calligraphic double "A"
on its palm.
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The notes are meticulously scripted in a very small and tight hand, spelled out
in Hermetic symbols rather than letters. A successful KS: Hermetic Lore resolution
allows a Hunter to read the notes, otherwise they will need to be translated. There
are also some illustrations and references to one of the books in the armoire, which
if followed up on depicts a gory ritual that seems to consist of a pregnant woman
being cut open and a baby Daemon being pulled out of her rather than a normal child.
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Any number of useful clues or hints of past encounters, or seeds for further adventures
can be inserted herein, but for purposes of this adventure the important clues to
be delivered to the PC's follow:
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- Details of a complex ritual aimed at delivering a Cambion, a half-human half-daemon,
into the world by sacrificing a pregnant woman. Contextual comments associate the
initials "V.B." and a delivery date in the immediate future (the significant date
the GM has chosen) to this core premise.
- A diagram of a large summoning circle and pentagram, an altar, and positions for
thirteen participants; five at the star points, five to wheel around the summong
circle counter-clockwise, one at the head of the altar, and two at the side. Next
to the head is initialed "TB" {Tudor Brezak}, and one of the side positions is marked
"AA" {Albert Armos}. The other positions are likewise initialed {Make up cultist
names and initials if necessary}.
- An arial photograph of a skyscraper's roof, with a rough approximation of the summoning
circle drawn on it with permanent red marker, attached to a note that says "location
available, security dealt with". The shot is too tightly cropped to allow an immediate
identification.
- A reservation under the name "Brian Danube" for suite 903 at the Regent, an expensive
downtown hotel, starting three days before the ritual date, and running for two
days afterwards.
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If the GM wants to spice up the encounter with some action, a coded knock at the
door can occur. Peeking through the security peephole shows a few normally dressed
and serious faced people at the door. The are cultists who, unaware of Albert's
capture or demise, are calling on some matter or even just showing up for a weekly
"study session". They will be quite suprised by the Hunters if contact is made.
It would be ill advised to allow any of them to escape, however the cultists aren't
necessarily Sanctioned and the Hunters are unlikely to know for sure regardless
so they have to be careful about just arbitrarily attacking if unprovoked.
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The GM should also consider placing some mystical "booby traps" around the Penthouse
(Hermetic wards and so forth), assuming one or more of the Hunters can deal with
such things.
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Act 2: The Arrival - The Regent Hotel
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Assuming the Hunters can put it together, someone or someones important is expected
to visit on a particular date and stay at the Regent Hotel in suite 903, a three
bedroom suite with kitchenette and a grand balcony overlooking a choice view downtown.
Unknown to the Hunters, the visitors are Tudor, Verity, the Possessed Michael Blaise,
Baraerazil, and any other Pacted Daemons owing Tudor tasks the GM opts to have lurking
about.
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Bold Hunters will likely choose to set an ambush in the suite, and spring it upon
whoever shows up. This might work, but it should be very unlikely. At a minimum,
Tudor will sacrifice all of his other available assets to protect and escape with
Verity (his ability to levitate or teleport would come in handy here). Should the
Hunters get lucky and take out Verity quickly and the GM allows it to play out,
Act 3 doesn't occur. Tudor might go on a vengeance spree or go after the Hunters
directly, but typically he would just cut his losses and move on to figure out the
next plan. It is more likely that an ambush would turn into a very ugly fight, either
resulting in the death of one or more Hunters, or a mutual retreat.
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More cautious Hunters will likely choose to set up observation of the suite, perhaps
bugging it or using supernatural means. The planning and execution of such surveillance
can be quite fun and involve all manner of roleplaying, infiltration, and skullduggery
such as renting one or more adjacent rooms or a room in another building with clear
line of site on the suite, and so forth. The payoff for such efforts could be listening
in on Tudor's discussions and deception of Verity, finding out that Michael Blaise
is actually a Possessed Hunter, and also getting a rare insight into the mind of
one of the most dangerous men alive (building him up as a new reoccurring big-bad).
One or more cultists will visit and inform Tudor of Albert Armos's death or capture
(and possibly some missing cultists from Act 1, causing Tudor a fit of anger and
allowing the Hunters to vicariously get in a little gloating.
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Tudor will make arrangements for another cell of cultists to be called in from a
nearby city to make up the needed numbers with a few to spare, and the cultists
depart. Verity will be concerned about the plan coming undone (she can't get unpregnant
at this point, after all), but ultimately Tudor will decide to press on with the
ritual despite the risk that Hunters might be on their trail (saying "Ive killed
dozens of such meddlers my sweet, and if any show up to bother us, I'll feed them
to Baraerazil for dinner.").
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Interlude
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Between Acts 2 and 3, Tudor will Pact enough Daemons to bring his current count
up to eight (his max). Due to the ritual being conducted on a high rooftop he opts
to summon an old stand-by for him to fill out his remaining slots; Zazabu Daemons.
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Zazabu Daemons are dangerous flying daemons that feed on the flesh of living creatures.
Horrendously dangerous, they have superhuman strength and durability and can easily
kill with their sharp teeth, claws, and barbed skin. Zazbu can spit forth gouts
of indigo flames over a 100 yards long, that burns so intensely that almost nothing
can survive it. Zazabu can pass unseen if not attacking.
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Act 3: The Ritual - Rooftop of the Emerald Tower
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Hunters that made contact with Tudor and lost the trail can follow up on analysis
of the rooftop picture of the location found in Act 1. A variety of means can be
used to accomplish this ranging from renting a helicopter and flying around looking,
consulting an expert or supernatural guide, getting access to government satellite
photos, using psychic farseeing abilities, casting a spell, or browsing to google
maps and spending some time dragging the map around to find a match.
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If the Hunters skipped Act 1 and lost the trail in Act 2 they are kind of in a jam.
The GM might allow some clever attempt or idea by the Hunters, or sheer luck, to
pick up the trail again. Alternately on the night of the ritual as the party gets
started it can cause a mystical disturbance detectable from within a few miles by
those with Supernatural Awareness, allowing the Hunters to act fast and get to the
scene before the end of the ritual; you should put a very immediate clock to such
an outcome, which makes for a very tense adventure.
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Hunters that have put Tudor and crew under observation have the luxury of simply
following them to the site so long as the Hunters can avoid letting their quarry
realize they are being followed. Tudor and crew will be transported in a large black
Hummer H2 driven by a cultist. The Hunters don't have to wait until the bad guys
are at the final scene if they don't wish to of course and can attack whenever it
seems prudent, in which case the final encounter plays out as a location fight or
a running battle wherever they happen to be.
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Baring all variations and unforseen circumstances however, the assumed scene of
the ritual is atop a fifty story skyscraper downtown, called the Emerald Tower.
The cultists have paid off the building's security, unlocking roof access on an
elevator from the underground parking and securing the elevators exclusive use.
A pair of cultists will be left to guard the garage elevator door.
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Cultists have already drawn the circle and pentagram on the room when Tudor and
crew arrive, and they immediately begin preparing the ritual and start without undue
fanfare as soon as everyone is in place. Verity believes she is going to deliver
and raise the Cambion herself thus gaining great power and is therefore entirely
cooperative, but Tudor of course is actually going to sacrifice her at the culmination
of the ritual and pull the childe out of her forcibly in a grisly and fatal C-section.
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There can be any amount of lead up, consisting of chanting, but eventually (when
dramatically appropriate) Verity starts an intense labor and the culmination begins.
The completion of the ritual after this point should take between 1 and 3 Minutes
as the GM prefers, but no more than that. The threat of it succeeding needs to be
serious.
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All in, there are a minimum of 12 cultists, eight Pacted Daemons under Tudor's command,
and unless they were taken out in an earlier act Baraerazil and the Possessed Michael
Blaise.
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The Hunters can intercede at any time. Tudor will pause for a moment to consume
a Potion of Iron Skin, but will continue to call out the invocation to finish the
ritual regardless of what is going on. The other cultists will attack the Hunters.
The danger of the ritual being completed remains until either the Hunters prevent
Tudor from continuing to chant (in which case the Daemonchilde will be delivered
naturally, leaving Verity drained but alive), or Tudor isn't stopped and completes
the sacrifice, or Verity is killed before the Daemonchilde can be born (perhaps
the most expedient approach).
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Outcomes
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There are many different directions this hook could go based upon the Hunter's decisions,
actions, and lack thereof.
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Regardless of the specifics, either the Hunters prevent the ritual or they don't.
Either way, Tudor will immediately seek to escape, with the Daemonchilde if it is
alive. A touch and go running battle might ensue if the Hunters give chase.
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No statistics are given for the Deamonchilde itself; the assumption being that directly
after delivery it is too weak to do anything as of yet. However, a GM can certainly
go a different direction and have the Cambion be dangerous immediately. If the Cambion
survives, it makes a great hook for another adventure aimed at dealing with it.
The Cambion is female named Venus Malefica, and will age preternaturally quickly
to become a striking raven haired beauty with powerful innate abilities and a malign
nature.
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Tudor will almost certainly survive unless the Hunters are unusually capable and
lucky, and can be used as a new reoccuring villain, particularly now that he has
a reason to bear a grudge against the Hunters. On the off chance the Hunters succeed
in taking Tudor down, in addition to collecting the very fat Bounty on his head
they should also all take a Positive Reputation (or improve an existing one) among
Supernatural circles as word of their deed will spread and win them instant respect.
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Information
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At various points in the adventure, resourceful players should attempt to get more
information on what is going on. Following are some resources to assist the GM in
this eventuality.
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Official Information
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The UN Bureau of the Accords Supernatural Personages Database has the following
Dossiers that Hunters can access:
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If the Hunters have any contacts with one of the government organizations (FBI Section
M, Mi-13, the UN Bureau, etc), they might get the following tid bits:
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- Tudor has been quiet for a little over a year, no known activity.
- 19 months ago a Daemonologist suspected to be Tudor from preliminary reports killed
a two man team of FBI Hunters outside of Topeka, KS investigating an outbreak of
cattle deaths and reports of several large flying fire-breathing Daemons.
- Dr. Allosius Jones is considered to be the foremost expert on Tudor Brazek, due
to having survived three direct encounters.
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When the Feds become aware that the Hunters have a possible Tudor Brezak situation
on their hands, they will take it seriously unless the GM prefers to run the scenario
in a vaccuum. The Hunters will be actively contacted and warned to proceed with
caution, and unless the GM prefers otherwise they will offer up some limited support
to help keep local authorities in the dark, grant access to some analytical support,
or provide some other material aid as appropriate. This can also be a good opportunity
for a GM to bring in other Hunters, as the Feds can put the word out that a big
Bounty is at stake.
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Dr. Jones
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If the Hunters seek out information in official channels, word of it will get around
to Dr. Allosius Jones, and similarly the Hunters will become aware that Dr. Jones
is noted as an expert resource on the subject. Either way, while Dr. Jones is out
of the country on another adventure, it can be arranged for the Hunters to talk
to him via satellite phone if desired.
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Dr. Jones doesn't know anything about what Tudor is currently up to, but he can
give the Hunters his first hand perspective on what sort of person Tudor is and
what they might expect from him. This is a mechanism for the GM to build Tudor up
a bit, inform their own portrayal of Tudor later on, while creating a little dramatic
tension; it should be a fun roleplaying opportunity.
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The Rumor Mill
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The word on the street about Tudor Brezak is hardly common knowledge, but those
with an interest in dark magic have probably heard something about him. However
the quality of information available is pretty low as he's basically a boogeyman,
and all manner of true, untrue, and ridiculously untrue tidbits swirl around. The
central theme is that Tudor is one of the worst of the worst, even his name strikes
fear in those who know of him, and the Hunters will be considered crazy for even
thinking about going after him.
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Clumsy attempts to find out more about Tudor Brezak or the Cult of the Red Hand
in this fashion might tip off the local cult cell that the Hunters are coming after
them and know about Tudor's involvement, which might have an effect on the central
plotline.
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Michael Blaise
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If the Hunters try to id Michael Blaise, they might eventually discover that he's
a well respected Hunter, primarily active in Montreal, Quebec, and the New England
area, and he has been missing for most of a year. They'll have to figure out that
he's Possessed on their own, as its off the grid.
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