The Incident

Twenty years ago, a great rift opened around the world and unleashed the hellish residents of the
underworld upon the mortals. This marked the day the world acknowledged the existence of the unseen
and the magical. Since the Incident, all sorts of strange phenomena became everyday problems and laws
of reality became somewhat loosely defined.

For seven years, the world was plunged into chaos, suffering the endless hordes of demons pouring
from portals in every direction. The military was however able to fend off the initial invasion with the
help of new technology and knowledge gained from extensive research conducted upon the creatures
and the strange surroundings.

Humanity has taken notice and utilized these changes in different ways, many of which took form of
organizations delving into the mysteries of magical power or otherwise supernatural in origin. The Order
of the Rose, Banishers, Sisterhood, Nemesis Brigade and so on.

The Government responded in it’s own fashion and forged a new peacekeeping organization, called the
SWORD (Supernatural Warding Operations Rapid Deployment). Tasked with policing new laws regarding
supernatural phenomena. Along with the CIA and FBI, it gained the status of federal agency in charge,
also widely feared by all citizens somehow magical or enhanced in nature.

Brutal crackdowns upon the unlicensed practitioners of magic or collectors of otherworldly artifacts
soon followed, in order to restore some semblance of law and order. At least in better parts of most
cities, the law is upheld accordingly by specially trained agents and police forces to make the standard of
living somewhat pre-Incident, but in the worse parts, hell sometimes literally breaks loose.

In the majority of the world, the strange twisted hellscape created by Hellgates all those years ago is still
in place. Whether the lack of resources or simply the lack of interest left these memorials in place, is not
important, they however still fill ordinary people with dread when looked upon.

The regular state of the world is so different in many places, that one might find himself wondering if
he’s still in the same country, let alone state. Where there is a self proclaimed feudal kingdom at the end
of one city, there is a federal government controlled society on the other.

And it’s not just the land that changed, the people have too, for better or worse. Humanity has been
suddenly faced with a great problem: what to do with those, that are not entirely human. Pogroms have
swept by world like a wind in the past, though there are still countless people different enough to be
recognized by pure sight walking around on the streets. No one knows what caused this mutation, but
many lean towards the widely accepted theory of dark energies seeping from the gates for seven years.

The government is still in the process of global reunification, though it’s a hard task and one to be
finished in the long run. Vast areas of no-man’s land exist as a wasteland between fortified cities, some
under the federal jurisdiction, while some not, varying widely in the form of leadership.
Organizations
Those which gained power or formed since the Incident took place.
SWORD
Established as a de-facto police force dedicated to fighting supernatural crime and threats, they have
the authorization to use special artifacts, agents and tools necessary. They are often deployed to
dispatch demons that managed to get through the Wards, stop rogue sorcerers or detain supernatural
suspects. Their agents are usually armed and dangerous, some of them with fearsome reputations
concerning their uncanny abilities.

Banishers
Said to be founded by military vets, hellbent on defending their home against the hordes, the patriotism
quickly turned to fanaticism in their quest to destroy the unknown horror coming from the gates.
Banishers are active to this day, albeit illegally, fighting their crusades in the streets, sometimes justly
destroying horrendous witches and cults, other times burning homeopathy enthusiasts at the stake. The
nature of the deed makes almost no difference to the majority of their members, they see all magic as
vile and evil.

Sisterhood
Perhaps the most mysterious of them all, the Sisterhood doesn’t take in any outsiders. Rumor has it,
that they are a coven of witches seeking immortality and power, performing all manners of strange
rituals to attain these goals. Whether those rumors are true or vastly exaggerated is yet to be seen.

Order of the Rose

Actually active even before the Incident, the Order is a mysterious one, said to be in searching for occult
power since the Renaissance. Well, they may have finally found it since it became possible to cast spells
and invoke demons. Their popularity among the rich skyrocketed, granting them immeasurable reach
and influence in the world. They currently have a nasty reputation and a popular conspiracy status in the
mind of a common person. They are, however, very real.

The Hangman
Your everyday hardworking person would surely tell you, that there are not many places left to drink
and contemplate about past mistakes anymore. That person would be probably right, but that doesn’t
change the fact, that the infamous establishment known as the Hangman is a place of solitude for many
peculiar people. Widely regarded as an old place for bounty hunters, slayers, mutants and all sorts of
strangers to drink away their problems and discuss shadowy business, it’s the main place for these
activities in Newhaven.

Necron Tribe
In the Mountain region, there rages a brutal road war amongst the savage tribes. One of those tribes is
the Necron tribe, considered to be the most dangerous of all. These savages are the basis of many
horror stories full of dark rituals, cannibalism and general violence. What is known about them is that
they take prisoners to be never seen again and that they like to wear death-inspired imagery.
Disciples of Chronos
There is one popular story told amidst the mutant crowds. One of Chronos, the first mutant to have
mastered his own fate, his crux, his mutation. Generally regarded as a simple legend, one shadowy
group of people believe it’s premise, that it is possible to change the course of mutation to one’s
benefit. This group are the Disciples of Chronos, following the image of the man as a religious figure,
comparing him to a messiah. After years of activity, they have raised in prominence and credibility
thanks to the fact, that they have seemingly managed to acquire an astonishing amount of tech and
magical artifacts in their pursuit of salvation. So maybe they really can change how one mutant turns
out, who knows.

The Legion
The city of Newhaven
Since the Incident, huge portions of Seattle got destroyed by the merging of realities caused by the Rift.
The result was a nightmare filled with crumbled buildings and cascading hellish landscape. The city itself
got later separated into several smaller towns surviving due to armed communities and sufficient
defenses. Since the government seized control again, one of those towns has been remade into a proper
city with it’s own governor and culture. Plans to reunite Seattle are still a future effort, as of now, simple
rebuilding is the major priority.

Newhaven is divided into a lot of different districts, some of them more lawless then the rest, but all of
them ruled in some way.

Uptown
This is the place with the cleanest streets, safest sidewalks and most ordinary (more like luxurious
nowadays) living conditions. Police patrols the streets, fancy restaurants are open for families and
people go to cinemas in flocks. In this age, everyone wants live in a place like this. Certainly a mark of
status, residence (and the permit of entry) in the Uptown costs a fortune. However, the Governor is as
obviously corrupt as he can be, though he does not tolerate unhinged crime in his territory.

Places to look for: Kersey’s, The University, BlaineTech

The Subs
The Subs are the most populated place of all of Newhaven and bear countless obvious marks of the
Incident. Hellish structures are a part of the neighborhood as much as bootleg engineering to keep the
place running with electricity and other necessary resources. It’s also a widely contested territory, even
if there is some law enforcement in the form of sheriffs enacting justice at some places on the good
days, there are still many bad days and even more bad people. Gangs roam the streets, but open
warfare is usually forbidden, so expect more wild fights to take place mainly during the night in remote
places. Akin to the days of the wild west, expect to see tight communities, mob justice and just about
everybody packing heat.

Places to look for: The Hangman, The church of Saint Jack, Killzone, Butcher and co., Anansi Wares,
Steelworks

The Mountain
Among the ruins of Seattle and on the border of Newhaven stands a place known as the Mountain. This
area is widely feared and avoided by anyone with a semblance of common sense. It was the center of
the nearest Hellgate and still resonates with dark energies. Still it seems to attract all sorts of lunatics
and occultists seeking otherworldly power or just a remote place of operations. Truly, it is a tribal land of
no one, with crazy road gangs warring over the few resources left in the zone. Absolutely no law
enforcement to be seen here, just maximum danger.

Also, it is called the Mountain for the obvious reason, being that the Hellgate left in its wake a huge
Mountain of warped stone upon its closing and introduced all manner of insane fauna and flora to the
area in general. So just anything can be deadly there.

Places to look for: The Maw, Cavetown, the Crater, Blood river
Culture
Demon slayers
Since the Rift opened, variety of new trades and professions suddenly became reality. One of them
happened to be slaying demons, owing to the fact that demons happened to be just everywhere. What
used to be a matter of survival however, became a professional job after new demon incursions turned
rare. Infested areas with portals, hell beasts or similar annoyances are dealt with by either seeking the
help of SWORD, which may come after several months to never, if you’re located in a lower-class area.
In that case, one must hire a Demon slayer to take care of the problem. While in law-abiding areas
illegal, virtually everywhere else it’s the only option. Slayers are generally paid a good buck, but few dare
to take the risk.

A strange mythos has developed around this job, some sort of warrior culture even. Those that serve as
slayers for hire usually carry highly personalized swords (or similar arms) to dispatch demons at close
range. This practice once held purely practical reasons, but later evolved into a stylistic custom, with
each warrior having his unique blade as a mark of honor and status. Rare are blacksmiths that can
actually forge said weapons. As that requires an extensive occult knowledge for the weapon to stand a
chance in battle against a beast from the underworld.

Mages
In this new era of wonders, magic has become a very real thing. Not everyone is adept at it though. It
takes time, practice and possibly a lot of talent. Whole groups of people have turned to worship or
research of magical abilities and many of them succeeded, that’s why there are witches, mages and
rogue sorcerers now. Using unlicensed magic is highly illegal, but as with law nowadays, if there is no
one to police it, the law doesn’t stand.

Magic can vary from person to person, from school to school, all this adds to the general distrust of
mages (which can quickly turn to hatred or hostility). Doesn’t help that hate groups often target anyone
with a touch of magic about them (Banishers among them sometimes). Nevertheless it’s a useful skillset
to have and mages can live a luxurious life if they know who to work for.

Mutants
The world is just not the same and the people neither. Whole new subspecies and genetic deviants were
born, following the Incident. While some of those people have extreme physical deformities or
abnormalities, some of them are more subtle. The population is not decreasing however and looks like a
permanent part of humanity now. It’s true that mutants might gain an edge in some ways, also mutating
even further in their lifetime, but usually at the cost of their humanity and acceptance by general public.

Some knowledge about this stuff exists, but only to a certain degree. For example, individual traits can
be inherited by descendants and almost always are children mutants too. Another thing is the
underground mutant experimentation that is rumored to be able to steer mutation in a beneficial way
of a subject. Such mutants are said to possess powerful abilities.

Demons
The world is just not the same and the people neither. Whole new subspecies and genetic deviants were
born, following the Incident. While some of those people have extreme physical deformities or
abnormalities, some of them are more subtle. The population is not decreasing however and looks like a
permanent part of humanity now. It’s true that mutants might gain an edge in some ways, also mutating
even further in their lifetime, but usually at the cost of their humanity and acceptance by general public.

Some knowledge about this stuff exists, but only to a certain degree. For example, individual traits can
be inherited by descendants and almost always are children mutants too. Another thing is the
underground mutant experimentation that is rumored to be able to steer mutation in a beneficial way
of a subject. Such mutants are said to possess powerful abilities.

PCs
Seth
Occupation: Demon Slayer

Age: 24

Character: Rebellious

History: Growing up on the streets alone, Trip learned to think for himself, fight for himself and care for
himself. Rebellious, foolhardy and hotheaded, he jumps into a fight rather recklessly. If it wasn’t for his
mentor who found him once and taught him his ways, he would have surely lost his fights by now and
probably his head too. All went well in the business of slaying until some punk shot the old man in the
back for a lost gamble. Trip swore to find that man one day and make him pay the heaviest price. Until
then, he does what he’s been taught to and makes good money by doing so.

Possessions: Motorcycle, Dragon talisman

Weapons: Two handguns and a Sword (Doomblade)