DEMON CITY MOTIVES
魔鬼城动机
CURIOUS
The Curious character is motivated by
fascination. Typically an academic or
a former paid Investigator, the
curious character wants to know
what’s causing the horror, where did
it come from? And maybe even…can
it be controlled?
 
The Curious character’s Calm
Characteristic is treated as 2 lower
for the purpose of any test which
might allow the character access to
hidden knowledge. Make a note of
that on your character sheet.
The Curious character gains the
Research Skill at Perception+2 or
Knowledge+2, whichever would be
higher.
 
The Curious character gains 2 extra
Knowledge Skills (ranked at the
associated Characteristic +1 as usual).
 
Downtime:
 The Curious character regains 1
Calm during Downtime if they
finish the session knowing
more about the Horror than
they did since the last
Downtime.
 Curious-Motive PCs get an
extra throw if they Work/Train
and do so alone. They do not
gain an extra throw if they
choose to Work/Train with
another PC (i.e. they don’t
benefit from the Pal Throw).
 
Panic mode:
The curious character's panic will
come in the form of wanting to know
more. In addition to this general role-
playing prompt, in the round after
they hit 0 Calm they must try to find
out something new about the
situation they're in.
FRIEND
The Friend doesn’t know what all this
is about and doesn’t want to guess.
But the friend is loyal to someone
else on the case and that’s what
counts.
 
At the beginning of the game, the
Friend picks another PC they are
devoted to.
Every party must include at least one
non-Friend.
The Friend gains an extra throw (see
Getting Things Done In Demon City
section) when protecting whichever
character they are devoted to from
direct physical harm.
The Friend maintains a sense of
detachment and perspective, giving
them a +1 to their Perception
Characteristic or the Calm
Characteristic, free. Maximum of 5.
The rule for re-rolling to confirm 5s
does not apply.
If a Friend’s friend dies, their
Maximum Calm goes down by one,
and they select another PC as their
new pal.
 
Downtime:
 Friend PCs get an extra throw if
they choose Other Hobbies,
Exercise, Cooking, Drinking, or
Drugs as their Downtime
activity and do it with their
friend. They get the benefit of
that extra throw only for
themselves.
 The Friend character regains 1
Calm during Downtime if they
finish and their Friend is alive
and sane (this is before any
other thing that might happen
in Downtime to improve their
situation).
 
Panic mode:
When in a panic, the friend
character's loyalty will override
everything and they'll try to get
whichever character they are most
loyal to (or one of the characters they
are most loyal to) out of the
situation. In addition, they must
spend the next round after they hit 0
Calm trying to get/keep their friend
out of or away from the situation—
even if they aren’t there.
INVESTIGATOR
Someone wants to get to the bottom
of this, and they’re paying the
Investigator to do it. The Investigator
is typically a private detective, or --
up until the supernatural gets
obviously involved and the
department decides it's bullshit -- a
cop, but they can also be a journalist,
an insurance adjuster, or almost
anything else. There are lot of
reasons to pay a private citizen to
sort out a sticky situation.
The Investigator starts with either 2
extra Skills (at Characteristic +1 as
usual) or 1 extra Starting Contact, or
1 extra Skill and 2 extra Starting
Contacts.
The Investigator wouldn’t have been
hired if they didn’t have Knowledge
or Perception of at least 2—if they
don’t, as rolled, raise at least one of
these Characteristics to 2. Yes, this
means if you roll a completely
random character and make them an
investigator, you can get rid of one of
your low numbers by making them an
investigator.

The Investigator cannot start with a

Cash Characteristic higher than 3.

Downtime:
 Investigator-Motive PCs get an
extra throw if they spend
Downtime hanging out with
their contact and their people
alone—they do not gain an
extra throw if they bring
another PC along (i.e. they
don’t benefit from the Pal
Throw).
 The Investigator character
regains 1 Calm at the end of a
session if they know more
about the Horror than they last
Downtime or if they’ve made
more money since then.
Panic mode:
Used to relying on method, the
investigator in a panic is simply less
effective. In addition, they must
spend the next round after they hit 0
Calm either fleeing or acting with
only 1 throw.
VICTIM
They say victimhood doesn’t define
you -- well, for The Victim it does, at
least at the start of the game.
Something terrible has happened to
the character or one of their loved
ones and it’s left a scar.
 
Victims’ earnestness is manifest—
they automatically gain the
Persuasion skill equal to their Appeal
Characteristic plus two.
The Victim is privy to special
information, the victim was there --
the Victim gains an extra Perception
Characteristic Throw when in the
presence of any clue associated with
the crime or kind of crime they were
witness to.
The Victim gains an Extra Throw in
combat with any entity they believe
to be responsible for the crime that
has traumatized them.
If the initial crime is solved and
avenged, the above bonuses apply to
investigating and fighting all
supernatural threats.
A Victim’s cannot start with a Calm
Characteristic higher than 4.
Downtime:
 If Victim PCs choose
Volunteering or
Isolation/Meditation as their
Downtime activity, they gain an
extra throw
 The Victim gains 1 Calm at the
end of the session if they hurt
the Horror in some way
 
Panic Mode:
The victim in a panic is energized. In
the round after they hit 0 Calm they
will act with 1 additional throw and
will keep that Throw for that purpose
until the menace is defeated or
driven off (again: only in combat).
PROBLEM
Like the Victim, the Problem starts
the game having already come into
contact with the enemy — only for
the Problem, the scars are not just
mental, but physical and even
spiritual. The Problem is manifesting
strange abilities and aversions. The
Problem may have demon blood,
they may have dawning psychic
abilities, they may be turning into
something more than human.
There may only be one Problem PC at
a time. If the game group has players
that regularly pop in and out of the
campaign, have players who want to
play a Problem make an additional
non-Problem PC in case two players
with Problem characters show up to
the same session.
 
The Problem’s player can choose the
kind of Problem they are or they can
let the Host pick.
 
The Problem gains abilities specific to
the brand of Problem they are.
So far Artificial Life Form, Vampire,
Lycanthrope, Psychic, and Part-
demon characters are supported by
this book (see the Horrors section in
the Part 4: The Library for specifics on
each). Hosts are officially encouraged
to make more if these aren’t enough.
If the player chooses, The Host must
state which kinds of supernatural
creatures (and which kinds of PC
Psychic abilities) they wish to allow
before the player makes their choice.
If the Host chooses the kind of
Problem they are, they gain a +1 to
Calm up to a starting Calm of 4 (no
more).
Downtime:
 If Problem PCs choose
Isolation/Meditation as their
Downtime activity, they gain an
extra throw.
 The Problem regains 1 Calm at
the end of the session if they
use their abilities in a way that
helped their fellow party
members.
Panic Mode:
The problem will revert to instinct
when in a panic. In the round after
they hit 0 Calm they must use their
special abilities

If the player chooses the type of

Problem their character will be, their
maximum starting Calm
Characteristic is 3, any roll above that
is wasted.