A Night with Jack

A new monster and Storytelling

Adventure System scene for the World of Darkness
By Eddy Webb

Genevieve looked down the street before waving to the rest of her
coterie waiting on the other side of the street. Their target was walking
across the street, the artist that saw a prominent Invictus feeding in an
alley last night. He was looking the other way for traffic, and hadn’t seen
Genevieve or the other vampires getting out of the car. All I have to do is
grab him, she thought, and then Mr. Petrovsky will support my petition
to the Prince to have my childe returned to me.
As her partners started to move into position behind her,
Genevieve suddenly heard a loud, cackling laughter. She start-
ed to look around on the street for the source
of the noise, before her face smashed
into the gritty concrete when a
heavy weight slammed onto her
shoulders from above. The smell
of sweaty leather and old sex wafted
over her as she felt something whis-
per into her ear.
“You’re a tasty little
morsel, baby Dracula.
Tell your friends you’ll
About the Storytelling Adventure System be staying with me for a
Think of an SAS product as a story kit, as if you’d bought a piece while, and they can have
of modern furniture and brought it home in a big flat box. You you back when I’m done
open it up, eager to be the Storyteller for your troupe, but what
you find is a collection of pieces and parts (like the parts in this
with you.”
article). To put it together, you’ll need some tools: in this case, the
World of Darkness Rulebook, and any other books for the World
of Darkness for the particular chronicle you’re running (such as
Vampire: The Requiem or Changeling: The Lost). You’ll use these
parts and tools to build a story together with your friends. It might
not look quite like you expect it to when it’s all done, but as long
as everyone enjoys it, it doesn’t matter how you end up using all
the pieces, or even if you throw some of them away.
To learn more about the Storytelling Adventure System, be
sure to read the free SAS Guide, found at the SAS website:
www.white-wolf.com/sas
Copyright CCP hf.
All rights reserved.
 A Night with Jack
Mental •• Physical ••• Social ••

Overview
In a lull in the story as the player characters are going from one
Actions
Player character can try a variety of actions to avoid or
scene to another, Spring-Heeled Jack appears to torment them for attack Jack. One of the more unusual ones they might try,
his own amusement (or perhaps on the orders of another Storyteller though, is convincing him to leave them alone.
character). It could be as the group drives across town to talk to
their contacts, as they arrive at the hotel where the ghost they’re
following was last seen or as they’re being taken to the police station
after being arrested for murder. When they least expect it, Jack leaps
Persuading Jack
Dice Pool: Presence or Manipulation + Persuasion vs. Jack’s
into the scene and starts molesting or attacking characters. Wits + Composure (dice pool 5)
Action: Contested
Description
Things seem to be quiet for once. You’ve got a chance to take a breath
Hindrances: Speaker is a male (-1), player characters have
previously injured Jack (-1 to -3, depending on Jack’s current
wound penalty), Jack is insane (-2)
and think about what’s happened recently, now that everything isn’t
so hectic. You might even be able to relax. And then you hear it: faint Help: Speaker is a female (+1), speaker has Striking Looks
at first, but louder and louder. You can hear laughter and the sound (+1 for the 2-dot Merit, +2 for the 4-dot Merit)
of feet thumping hard on the ground, coming closer and closer. Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: Not only does the speaker fail to

Storyteller Goals
The goal of Jack’s attack is assumed to be purely to introduce
convince Jack to leave them alone, but Jack becomes
enraged and starts attacking the speaker. He will do
everything in his power to kill the speaker for his
a strange bit of chaos to reinforce that the World of Darkness is next action.
an unusual place, but it really depends on the needs of your story. Failure: The speaker fails to convince Jack to leave them
It can be as simple as “provide a chance for the player characters alone, and he continues with his current course of action,
to exercise their physical or social skills” or as complicated as perhaps taking even more glee in it now that he knows that
“establish that someone is out to get them, and has the resources it bothers them.
to send Spring-Heeled Jack as a roadblock to their activities.” The Success: The speaker convinces Jack to leave them alone.
tone of the attack is also assumed to be bizarre and dangerous but He reluctantly jumps away.
not necessarily lethal, but it can also be scaled between “powerful Exceptional Success: The speaker convinces Jack to leave
rapist without any scruples and takes whatever he wants” and them alone, and he sees them as kindred spirits by his own
“wacky monster that bounces around like a mad jack rabbit.”
twisted logic. He jumps away, but he may start stalking them
Jack’s actions can be very random or hard to discern, but he and jumping in to protect them at opportune moments – see
often focuses his attention on characters with the Striking Looks “Consequences” for more.
Merit, trying to molest them if they are female or torment and

Consequences
attack them if they are male. His actions aren’t often fatal to his
victims, but Jack doesn’t understand the consequences of his
actions (due to his lack of Morality) and may accidentally injure
If Jack is able to steal a kiss or cop a feel from a woman
or kill someone as he’s amusing himself. His torment is usually
(especially one with Striking Looks), he’s likely to jump away
pretty vulgar and base, consisting of jumping on people or vehicles,
with a laugh, but he probably won’t bother the characters
grabbing them and jumping away or mocking them from a safe
again. If the characters attack Jack, he’ll retreat when he’s
distance as he prepares his next jump. In a fight, Jack is likely to
lost half of his Health, but he may come back in a later
use his claws and flame to discourage people from getting too
scene (or story) seeking revenge. If they convince him to
close, and then leaping away to safety if guns become involved.
leave them alone, he might respect their wishes, or he
might become fascinated when them and start stalking
Character Goals
Figure out who this maniac is and what he wants before he
them, perhaps offering his own brand of ham-fisted “help”
whenever he can. This could lead to a new story where they
deal with Jack once and for all, creating a fast ally or new
hurts (or kills!) someone.
enemy in the process.
 Spring-Heeled Jack
Quotes: You think I’m the devil? I can’t claim such lofty honors. I am merely a
simple man named Jack, on an eternal mission to seek out and destroy boredom
wherever it may be found.
Let me get a closer look at you, pretty thing.
Oh, I’ll bet you weren’t expecting that, were you? (maniacal laughter)
Virtue: Fortitude. No matter what happens, Jack can withstand
pressure to change his ways, since he’s been doing this for over nearly
two centuries.
Vice: Lust. Jack has an insatiable lust; not only for pretty young
flesh, but also for vicious amusement.
Background: Very little is known about Spring-Heeled Jack’s
origins. The first documented appearance for him was in
London, England in 1837, when a businessman returning
home from work was suddenly shocked by a mysterious figure
landed in his path after easily jumping over the high railings
of a cemetery. After that, reports started springing up all over
London, and eventually to the Midlands and Scotland: stories
of women being kissed while he ripped at their clothes, or men being leapt
into and severely injured. He would jump into the paths of carriages, causing them
to crash. There was no rhyme or reason to his acts, except for the perverse joy he
seemed to get out of them as he let out peals of hysterical laughter.
After forty years of sightings, Jack eventually disappeared from the public eye,
but he appeared again at the turn of the twentieth century, and every once in a
while some new person would tell a strange tale of a man in a black coat that could
leap a dozen feet in the air. Each person seeing Jack since his first appearance says that he
looks like a young man – either there are a number of creatures like Jack in the world, or he’s
an immortal monster that doesn’t age. Regardless, one thing is consistent about all of his
sightings: there’s never an obvious reason for his actions.
Description: At first glance, Jack looks human. He’s muscular, tall, thin and speaks perfect
English with a hint of an English accent. He often dresses in a long black coat, with tight-
fitting black or gray outfits underneath. But upon closer inspection (which Jack doesn’t
often give the opportunity for), the appearance of normalcy breaks down. His elongated
chin, goatee beard and small horns make him look like the classic vision of a devil. He
has slightly pointes ears, and hands that are as cold and clammy as a corpse (even before
he summons his metal-tipped claws). His reflective red eyes look like balls of fire bor-
ing into the soul of anyone who gazes upon them, and his hysterical laughter rings
from rooftops long after he’s bounded away from his foe.
Storytelling Hints: Jack’s background is left purposefully vague, so that you
can use him in whatever way is needed for your story. Perhaps he’s a changeling or
servant of the True Fae that has bounced in and out of Arcadia since the nineteenth
century. Maybe he’s the result of a magic spell in the Victorian era gone wrong, and no one’s found a way to unravel the spell
yet. Or he could be some kind of genetic experiment that went crazy and escaped, and took on the name of Spring-Heeled Jack
in order to explain to himself what sort of creature he really is. He might even be a very deluded vampire or werewolf, or a new
form of Promethean. If you’re planning to use Jack as a regular antagonist, working out his true origins can be important to
determining what kind of role he’ll play in your chronicle. On the other hand, if you just want a strange, chance encounter to
liven up your story, you can have him just bound in and start causing mayhem.
There are two important things to know about Jack when portraying him. First, he’s driven by his lust. Whether it’s to molest
a young woman or terrify a random stranger, Jack craves the experiences he gets from his victims. On the other hand, he’s also
concerned for his safety. Despite his impressive physical abilities, he’s more likely to leap away from a conflict instead of staying
and possibly getting hurt. His constant conflict between his passions and his cowardice can drive him to increasingly bizarre
actions, such as kidnapping a pretty woman and stealing a kiss from her before leaving her on an abandoned rooftop. However,
you can play him as anything from a serial rapist with unusual powers to a bit of comic relief that causes a little chaos before
leaping away to safety – the severity of Jack’s actions are dependant on the needs of your story.
 Supernatural
Powers
Faction:
Name: Spring-Heeled Jack Virtue:
Concept: Vice: Group Name: Dread Claws
Jack has metallic tips on his fingers which give
him razor-sharp claws. Jack can cause the claws
ooooo Presence ooooo
Intelligence ooooo Strength to appear or disappear with a reflexive action.
ooooo Dexterity ooooo Manipulation ooooo They are +2L damage in Brawl attacks.
Wits
ooooo Compsure ooooo
Resolve ooooo Stamina
Fire-Breathing
Jack can also breathe a burst of blue and
Skills Merits Health white flame at anyone who gets to close to
Academics ooooo Danger Sense ooooo o o o o o o o o o o o o him (within brawling range). Whenever Jack
Investigation ooooo Fast Reflexes ooooo wants to breathe fire on one of his opponents,
(Stalking People) ooooo Fleet of Foot ooooo he has to spend a Willpower point and make
ooooo ooooo a roll of Dexterity + Athletics, subtracting
Occult
ooooo Will pow er
Athletics (Jumping)ooooo the opponent’s Defense.
Brawl (Claws) ooooo ooooo o o o o o o o o o o Roll Results
Larceny ooooo ooooo
ooooo Dramatic Failure: Jack accidentally
Stealth ooooo
Expression ooooo ooooo swallows his own flame, causing himself 3
Intimidation ooooo ooooo points of lethal damage.
Streetwise ooooo ooooo Failure: The flame burst dissipates with
ooooo ooooo little affect.
ooooo Success: The flame burst hits his target.
ooooo Traits Exceptional Success: Not only does the
ooooo ooooo Morality
N/A

ooooo Size 5 flame burst do damage as normal, but the tar-

ooooo get’s clothing catches on fire, if flammable. The
ooooo ooooo Speed 16
ooooo ooooo Defense 3 burning clothes are considered to be bonfire
ooooo
4
ooooo Initiative Mod sized at torch-level heat (see the World of Dark-
ooooo ooooo Armor ness Rulebook, p. 180, for more details).
Notes

SCENE: A Night with Jack men tal

physical
­••
­ ••
•
soci al ­
••
HINDRANCES
HELP
Speaker is a male (-1)
Speaker is a female (+1)
Player characters have previously
Speaker has Striking Looks (+1 or +2)
injured Jack (-1 to -3)
Mighty Leap Jack is insane (-2)
Jack can leap extraordinarily
high and far. He always gets an
additional six dice to any Strength
+ Athletics roll for jumping
(see the World of Darkness
Rulebook, pp. 66-67). With his
specialization, this gives him 17
dice for jumping. He can also
jump as high as he can far, so his STs Instill a little chaos into the story
(although you can choose different or
additional goals).
successes can translate into feet
horizontally or vertically. PCs Figure out who this maniac is before he
hurts (or kills!) someone.