THE NIGHTSIDE

monte Cook

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 The Nightside

THE NIGHTSIDE

Walking the Nightside ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ 4

Nightside Truths ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ 12

Fortes ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ 30

Patrons ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ 66

Other Magical Practices ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ 76

Character and House Secrets ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ 110

Locations on the Nightside Path ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ 134

Creatures and Beings of the Nightside ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ 152

Appendix: Nightside Practices From Other Products ✦ ✦ ✦ 187

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 The Nightside

WALKING THE NIGHTSIDE

G
ood and evil. Every vislae knows that even in a
world of angels and demons, terms like “good”
and “evil” are far too simplistic to be of any
real value. Nothing is truly entirely one or the other. We
might want to, for example, label life as “good,” but one
need only spend a few hours under the Green Sun to
see that life and growth can be as deadly and destructive
as anything else. And, of course, cancer is alive, and it
certainly grows. Someone might say that darkness and
light are the proper analogs to evil and good, but even then,
it’s too simple. While the light of the suns is existence, and
the absence of that light is oblivion, it gets dark every night.
The sun must set for its cycle to function.
Remember too that there is much that dwells within
the light of the suns that could hardly be seen as “good.”
No one would ever call the demons of the Red altruistic,
for example. The Actuality embraces nuance, not
dichotomies. THE PATH
So when trying to understand what the Nightside Path Nightside Path,
is, try to divorce yourself from the idea of good and evil. page 36

Of white magic and black magic (though no vislae would

use those terms). Instead, understand that the Nightside
Path is full of nuance and cannot easily be summed up in
a few words.
The Nightside Path rejects what is normal, expected,
or common. It ignores the boundaries of what is often
considered forbidden, taboo, or prohibited. It accepts the
unacceptable and thinks the unthinkable. The Nightside
Path embraces the knowledge that was not meant to be
known.
Vislae who walk the Nightside Path do whatever they
need to do to get what they want. You might say that
most vislae draw a line that they will not cross. While
every individual might draw that line at a different point,
they recognize that with such power in their hands (for
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 Walking the Nightside

Vislae sometimes refer all vislae are frighteningly powerful compared to a non),
to non-vislae as “nons.” they need to determine what they will and will not do.
Some will never use magic to harm another. Some will
cause harm or even death, but only in self-defense. Some
will use their spells to murder their foes, but won’t harm
someone’s soul. And so on—every vislae’s proverbial line
might be different.
Vislae walking the Nightside Path draw no such line.
None at all. That doesn’t mean they are insane monsters
doing whatever mad idea comes into their head at any
moment (although there are some . . .). And it certainly
doesn’t mean they’re reckless and have no sense of
self-preservation. But it does mean that if there’s
something they want to accomplish, they will allow no
social mores, no authority figure, and no sense of ethics,
morality, or decorum to prevent them.
And that isn’t to say that those who walk the Nightside
Path are more driven or determined than other vislae,
although sometimes that’s true. There are things that
will prevent such a vislae from moving ahead: physical
reality, their own lack of ability, their own fear, their own
indecision, and so on. But morals, rules, and so forth—
they were created by other people for other people. They
do not apply.
Some take delight in the actions others would never
consider. They actively enjoy breaking laws, harming
others, or exploring the forbidden. Others just see it
as the path toward a greater goal and don’t think of it
as something to be enjoyed any more than they would
consider it something to be avoided.
It’s worth noting that there is no real opposite to
walking the Nightside Path. There is no yang to its yin.
You can technically say that you walk the Path of Suns,
but everyone walks the Path of Suns. In other words,
it’s not a true dichotomy, because you only note the
aberration, not the commonplace. It’s like fire—you don’t
take note of things that aren’t on fire, because that’s just
what you assume things to be. You only take note when
they are on fire. The Nightside is fire.
It’s also worth noting that the Nightside Path is not
associated with one group of vislae over another. It’s not
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 The Nightside

NIGHTSIDE TRUTHS

T he sign read “Nightside Path” with an arrow

pointing left, and below that it said “Path of Suns”
with an arrow to the right.
“Funny,” Trevain said.
“Yeah,” Nir said, “if someone ever asks about it without
any irony, that’s a good reason to tell them to just go home.”
The two stood outside Niralion’s house. It was overcast,
and the air was filled with falling brown and orange leaves,
as always.
“So how do we get started?”
“Well,” Nir said, motioning Trevain in through the front
door, “after we go through the first few chapters of the
handbook, there will be a test. If you pass, you’ll get your
Nightside Beginner badge.”
Trevain just stared at her. She held his gaze. Finally, she
laughed.
“That’s not how it works,” Trevain said.
“Of course not. There’s no handbook, no badges. The
Nightside isn’t a club or an organization. I’m just going to let
you learn some spells they refuse to teach at the Vancian
Campus. You can decide for yourself if knowing them means
you’re walking the Nightside Path or not.”
“Okay.” Trevain entered her house. It was filled with
shelves and stacks of books, floor to ceiling. Pretty typical
vislae house, he thought.
“Of course,” Nir said, “this is all for show. The books
we want are in the secret human sacrifice room in the
basement. You’ll have to watch your step on the stairs, what
with all the fresh blood.”
“Just stop,” Trevain said with a laugh.

When considering the Nightside Path, the darker

corners of the Actuality, and the secrets such places keep,
the following truths should be understood.

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 Nightside Truths

THE DANGER OF
NIGHTSIDE MAGIC
There’s a sigil on the bag that this book comes in. It’s a
protective ward. Why is it there? Because some magic
associated with the Nightside is demonstrably dangerous,
often in insidious ways.
Although this is a book of rules for a game, there are
no game mechanics for some of the dangers from dark
magic. There are no “evil points” a character gains for
using corrupted or malevolent magic. It’s all meant
to be narrative. And as will be pointed out in the book
Appendix: Nightside numerous times, plenty of the magic in the Black Cube
Practices From Other falls into the Nightside category, so if you’re going to deal
Products, page 187
with the effects and dangers of Nightside magic found
here, you should do it when characters use those practices
as well.

SPIRITUAL EFFECTS
First and foremost, Nightside magic might begin to
corrupt and rot someone’s spirit. It won’t destroy them,
but it might affect them. Given enough dark magic, they
could be changed into something no longer truly human,
Orgose, page 176 but that’s the extreme end (the character Orgose is an
example of such a being).
To determine this effect on someone’s spirit, you’ve no
need to look farther than their heart and secret soul. The
dark magic seeps into both heart and soul, and—over
time—might have effects based on the character’s literal
heart and soul.
The following are narrative effects based on heart and
soul. Keep in mind that many of these are personality
changes and should be worked out with the player, not
forced on the player.
THE KEY
Heart, page 64 Heart
Galant: The vislae becomes arrogant and domineering.
Stoic: The vislae’s body becomes slow and lumbering.
Empath: The vislae cannot help but share the emotions
of those around them.
Ardent: The vislae becomes temperamental and
vindictive.
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 Nightside Truths

THE PATH
DEALING WITH DEMONS
Demons, page 24 A willingness to interact, trade, and consort with demons
is part and parcel of walking the Nightside Path.
Angels and many other spirits interact with mortals
(particularly vislae, and particularly Goetics) because of
ancient pacts, altruism, obligation, and so on. But demons
do it because they see a potential for personal benefit.
Both GMs and players should always keep that in
mind. A demon will always act in its best interest unless
truly compelled to do otherwise. Devils (more intelligent
demons) are devious and crafty. They’re not just smart—
being deceitful and conniving is in their very nature.

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 The Nightside

GOOD DEMONS
It sounds oxymoronic, and perhaps it is, but there are
vislae—particularly vislae walking the Nightside Path—
who claim that demons are not inherently evil. They
believe that many demons, while not overly altruistic, are
not truly evil. That they merely live their lives and do what
they must to survive.
These vislae believe that they can summon and work
with such demons without risk of betrayal, and that it is
no different than working with other spiritual beings.
This flies in the face of the idea that demons are
personifications of destruction (Red) or utter annihilation
(Dark). The conventional understanding is that they are
irredeemably corrupt and malevolent, existing only to
destroy, tempt, pervert, and kill.

DEMONIC CONTRACTORS
It sounds almost comically colloquial to use a phrase Demons hate building,
like “demonic contractor,” but in truth every colloquy is as they’d rather destroy,
but you can force a
a verbal contract, and thus every demon conjured and demon to do anything
used by a Goetic (or another summoner) is a demonic with the right colloquy.
contractor. Use of the phrase, however, encourages Building, repairing, or
cleaning might simply
a vislae to think more broadly about the entities they
be a higher challenge.
summon and ways to use them. Demonic guardians,
spies, teachers, workers, builders, cleaners, and more are
possible for vislae with the ability to summon entities and
force (or coerce or bribe) them into service.
While demon guardians or warriors are fairly obvious,
vislae (particularly powerful Goetics) have been known to
summon and employ:
✦ Demonic builders

✦ Demonic ditch-diggers

✦ Demonic farmhands

✦ Demonic demolishing crew

✦ Demonic porters

✦ Demonic chauffeurs

✦ Diabolical writers

✦ Diabolical editors

✦ Demonic masseuses

✦ Demonic valets

✦ Demonic housekeepers
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 Fortes

FORTE DESCRIPTIONS
Every time you gain a Each forte has a number of categories that define it.
new forte ability, you Background: Forte usually contributes to the backstory
permanently increase
one of your stats by 2
of the character, or at least raises questions the player
points (or two of your should answer about their past.
stats by 1 point each). Appearance: Forte often dictates or suggests clothing or
even the physical appearance of a vislae.
Character Arcs: Forte might suggest character arcs
appropriate for the character.
THE KEY
Path to Joy: A few suggestions for things that might
Joy, page 203 earn the character Joy. This is not meant to be a limiting
list, but rather thought-starters to give players and GMs
Despair, page 204
ideas. Most of these suggestions can be used just one
time each.
Path to Despair: A few things that might happen that
would give the character Despair. This is not meant to be
a limiting list, but rather suggestions to give players and
GMs ideas. Most of these suggestions can be used just
one time each.
Forte Abilities: Forte abilities, unless stated otherwise,
cost Sorcery to use, equal to the level of the effect.
You can always spend points from your Sorcery pool to
THE WAY increase the level of effect of an ability you possess on a
Divine Ability secret, one-for-one basis, to a maximum of level 10, unless you
page 87
know the Divine Ability secret.
Color: Each forte ability is associated with a particular
THE KEY
sun. The color of the associated sun is important for
Sooth Deck, page 23 Sooth card effects and occasionally for other effects.

FORTE PAGE
Embraces Nothing 32
Foments Dissension 38
Heralds Plagues 44
Molds Flesh Like Clay 50
Renounces the Light 56
Wallows in Despair 62

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 The Nightside

OTHER MAGICAL
PRACTICES

A
s the Body of Darkness ascendeth, so the Body of
Light descendeth into the Sleep amid the Dead
(this special Sleep having more semblance of
Pale light than Blue), the Flesh becometh wholly Shade
and by virtue of its magical ambience is attractive unto
all manner of Ghosts and Spirits. Prior to the moment of
Egress the Vislae should make petition unto these Spirits,
offering themself thereto as an Offering. For it is said that
the Spirits shall flock unto such an Offering that they may
perchance regain some small spark of Light and Life,
and if such Spirits be of Vislae Past then it is to partake
of Sorcery that they draw nigh unto such a Gift, thereby
arousing their own dormant powers and knowledge. Also
Spirits of every Sun shall gather, that they may taste of
the Shade of a living person; this being advantageous to
their own existence. The Sacrifice of Light is not simply a
veneration of the Dead and Spiritkind, it is an Initiation into
Darkness and a Rite of Transformation.
—From the monograph of the Sacrifice of Light
Enchantment

The Nightside has no direct claim over any particular

magical praxis, but plenty of spells, objects of power,
long-form magical workings, and so forth all certainly
lean toward the dark, the forbidden, and the sinister.
Some of these practices are utterly banned by one or more
of the orders of the Invisible Church. Others are simply
frowned upon. That makes them, at least in some cases,
more challenging to learn. Demonic tutors and similar
beings, however, are often more than happy to help a
mortal study such workings.

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 Character and
House Secrets
UNINVITED GUEST
Level: 4
If you hold a party with at least nine invited guests, a
guest you did not invite will always show up. You
cannot decide who the guest will be—sometimes
it is someone you know, sometimes not. The GM
may determine that this is worth 1 Joy or 1 Despair,
depending on the nature of the guest.

VESTURE VALET
THE WAY
Level: 6
Thoughtform Valet, A variation of the secret known as Thoughtform Valet,
page 97 this secret grants your home a thoughtform that is
capable only of standing inside where you command
and offering to take any clothing, accessories, and
items from visitors. The valet duplicates one of the
items it takes (of your choice) and gives it to you once
the visitors have left. The item is an exact duplicate but
lasts only until the sun next rises.

CLUB MALDOROR

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 The Nightside

CREATURES AND BEINGS

OF THE NIGHTSIDE

“F
ell! Fell was the night!”
Oh, I wish this guy would give it a rest.
“Darkness all around us, like unto a living
thing!”
Like unto? Who talks like that? I finish my drink and nod
toward Zero to get another. The bar is full tonight. Full of
idiots and loons.
“Be wary of its evil. The night holds dangers to both body
and soul!”
I’d put ten crystal on the bar right now that says this guy
wouldn’t know darkness if it bit off his ass and spit it back
in his face.
I should know. I really have seen some dark shit. Demons
interested in nothing more than what your skull looks like
from the inside, and things that feed only on songs sung by
terminally ill children. Lurking around every corner of the
Nightside you’ll find creatures and whatnot that are a hell
of a lot worse than “darkness like unto a living thing” or
whatever.
If you’re looking for information on devils, dark spirits,
and worse, don’t go listening to some loudmouth in a bar
looking for saps to pay for his drinks. Find someone who
knows. Or do your own goddamn research. Don’t listen to
me. To be honest, I don’t want to talk about what I’ve seen
anyway. I want to be able to sleep tonight.
Speaking of which, where’s that drink?

The Path and Teratology are full of dark creatures—

demons from the Red and the Dark, malevolent spirits,
hungry beasts, angry wraiths, and so on. But the truth
is, the creatures and beings of darkness, night, and
danger are far more numerous. Thus, presented here
are still more such entities. They run the gamut that is
the Nightside, from vislae with questionable tactics all
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 Appendix: Nightside
Practices From Other Products

APPENDIX: NIGHTSIDE
PRACTICES FROM OTHER
PRODUCTS

T
he following magical practices from the Black Cube and Book M
can be considered Nightside practices just like those found in this
book. These lists are not definitive because the Nightside depends
on intention and context—it’s not a black-and-white distinction. For example,
some of the listed practices can be used in different ways (an effect might
summon a demon or an angel, for instance). A practice is considered a
Nightside practice only if it is learned to be used in a Nightside manner
(summoning a demon).

SPELLS

BLACK CUBE GENERAL SPELLS

✦ Bleeding Darkness ✦ Mute Accord
✦ Cardiophagy ✦ Nightmare Weather
✦ Carious Touch ✦ Perfidious Assault

✦ A Curse of Feathers ✦ Self-Mutilation

✦ Demonshriek ✦ Sleep of the Damned

✦ Empery ✦ Soul Compulsion

✦ Execration ✦ Soul Rider

✦ Eye of Immanis ✦ Soul Thief

✦ Glare of Enmity ✦ Stir the Dead

✦ Hemakinesis ✦ Summoned Sycophant

✦ Ineffable Thought ✦ Swarmblood

✦ Infuse Remains ✦ Unwholesome Aliment

✦ Kaleidoscope Void ✦ Vitiferous Curse

✦ Ktheris’s Fusion ✦ Voraginous Sphere

✦ Marionette ✦ Wake the Dead

✦ Midnight’s Occupation ✦ Wings of Fear

✦ Mortiferum

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