StokerVerse Roleplay Game A

StokerVerse

To Ian Livingstone & Steve Jackson, pioneers of popular gaming.

Without whom the creators of this series would never have experienced
gaming at a pivotal age.

B StokerVerse Roleplay Game

 Lead Writer Rules Lead
Andrew Brown Benn Graybeaton

Additional Writing Based on the S5S System by

Benn Graybeaton, Chris McAuley, Mark Rapson Chris ‘Shep’ Shepperson

Art & Art Direction Proofreading

Clint Langley Jamie Cross & Craig Atkins

Layout Produced by
Jared Earle & Mark Rapson Mark Rapson

StokerVerse created by Nightfall Games are

Dacre Stoker & Chris McAuley Dave Allsop, Jared Earle, Mark Rapson

Nightfall Games would like to thank our playtesting teams

Produced on an iMac i9-9900K using Adobe InDesign with Garamond Premier Pro, IM FELL DW Pica and QWERTYpe.
StokerVerse

D StokerVerse Roleplay Game

 
Dracula is dead, of that we should be certain. The brave Texan, Quincey Morris, pierced his chest with a bowie
knife. Morris paid with his life when he severed the great vampire’s ties to the mortal world. I can see by the
puzzled look on your face that you may not be familiar with the full facts of this story. You may have read of a
mysterious Romanian Count’s disappearance in the Strand or perhaps heard of the case of the Demeter? Pour
yourself a stiff drink and I shall regale you with a tale which is as cold and dark as the crypt of Lord Blackwood in
Highgate Cemetery.
It began with a humble solicitor from London. He was engaged to be married. Going by the name of Jonathan
Harker, he traveled to Transylvania to secure a property deal. His client was Count Dracula, a noble man who
resided in an ancient castle. In truth the building was more like a mausoleum, which was fitting as the Count was
one of the undead. Yes, the undead, creatures who exist long after the reaper should have carried them to their
eventual end. Whether that be Heaven or Hell. The castle became Harker’s prison and Dracula his jailer. It
became revealed that Dracula sought to murder Harker, steal his soul and commit evil deeds in his name. Before
he escaped, Harker found other creatures in that forsaken place. Babylonian Goddesses who appeared beautiful but
demanded nightly tributes of blood and flesh. Hideous ape creatures and even demons straight from the pit. Did I
forget to mention that the castle was constructed over a hellmouth?
As Harker escaped, Dracula boarded a ship to London. Hiding in a wooden crate, he would evade detection even
as he snuck out each night and murdered one of the crew. When the ship crashed into Whitby harbor, the bodies
of the sailors lay on the deck. Their throats and limbs torn off; the body parts were placed in the symbol of an evil
sign. From that six-pointed star a great black dog leapt off the ship onto land. This was one of the vampire’s chosen
forms. He, like most of his kind can change shape, bats, rats, mist, everything that’s dark and scuttles across the
earth. The captain was found lashed to the wheel of the ship. The evil he beheld in his last moments evident on the
expression of his face. His body was a frozen memorial to the terror which this creature can inflict.
Then there was poor Lucy Westenra, a beautiful, innocent girl with strawberry blonde hair.
Her smile would light up a room. Just ask Dr. Seward of the Asylum, he was in love
with her! Dracula killed her mother and then took her as his own. Dr. Van Helsing,
whose acquaintance you will soon meet tried to save her. In the end he, Seward,
Morris and Lucy’s fiancée Lord Holmwood had to travel to her crypt and
drive a sharpened wooden shaft through her heart to puncture it. To ensure
she stayed dead, Lucy was decapitated and garlic shoved in her mouth.
Dracula had also been busy around London; he has his servants you see.
The most wretched was R.M. Renfield. A solicitor, like Harker, only
he never really escaped Dracula. His mind and will were controlled by
the monster. That’s another thing that they can do. Take your soul and
personality and twist it into a parody of itself.
Eventually Dracula was chased from London and back to Transylvania.
Harker’s fiancé had been violated by the creature and through the unholy
union which swam in her blood, the count could be tracked. The tables
had turned and now he was the hunted one! Eventually, after a battle with
more of Dracula’s servants from a Gypsy band. The beast’s existence was
put to an end.
But now queer things are afoot in London and rumors of undead risings
across the Empire and Europe are increasing. There’s a mystery here and no
mistake. Now you know the truth of things, go to Professor Van Helsing and he
will explain more.

StokerVerse Roleplay Game 1

Dracula’s Empire
DRACULA’S EMPIRE
The StokerVerse QuickStart
Introduction
Welcome to the StokerVerse: a dark looking glass through
which we view a world similar to our own. It is, however,
a place which is touched by the shadow of evil as was
envisioned in the works and notes of Bram Stoker.
This Quickstart follows the ethos of other Nightfall
Games Quickstarts, such as those for The Terminator
RPG and SLA Industries, in introducing the players
to the rules that have been designed specifically for the
StokerVerse RPG, based on Nightfall Games’ very own
S5S system.
The adventure has been broken down into eight scenes,
partly to provide a natural rest point for gaming sessions
and partly to make life easier for the Author (gamesmaster)
in preparing and learning the plot and its details. However,
a session can be as long or as short as your time allows and
several chapters of the adventure may be played in one
gaming session.
Each chapter has been subdivided into sections to further
assist the person running the game. The sections detail the
overview of the events ‘synopsis’. The ‘supporting cast’ are
persons of interest in that portion of the story . There is
also ‘For the Author’ - insights and information intended
purely for the gamesmaster, hidden details, further
information the players might uncover and to provide
them notes from which they can elaborate as they see fit to
the players.
FOR THE AUTHOR: If its been a while since you or
your players last read Bram Stoker’s Dracula it is worth
another read. Alternatively, the text presented on page
1 gives a good overview of what happened in the novel.
What is a roleplaying game?
At its most basic premise, a roleplaying game, or RPG,
is a tabletop game in which players assume the roles of
different characters in a fictional setting. These characters
are represented by a range of statistics unique to each. The
game, and actions within it, are resolved either through
2 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
discussion and storytelling or with the use of dice. The
Author (often called the GM or gamesmaster in other
roleplay games) is a critical part of an RPG, as it is their
responsibility to lead the story. In many respects they are
analogous to the director of a movie and the players are all
the actors; between them, they develop and drive the story
and what happens.
What do I need to play?
You will need access to a number of 10-sided dice (d10).
Ideally, each player should have 6 of these dice (6d10),
though it is possible to pass a single set around. One die
of the six should be a different colour to the others (we
suggest one black and the rest as you see fit). As well
as dice, some paper and pencils for making notes and a
copy of this document is all that is needed to enjoy this
introduction to the StokerVerse RPG.
Preparation for play
Some terms used in this Quickstart:
‘Author’ - the gamesmaster, keeper, dungeon master, there
are many names used. This is the person who is running
the adventure for the players. Normally they are the person
who bought the game. Theirs is the job of conveying
the game world and its sights and sounds, managing the
adventure, directing the action, policing the challenges and
being the voice of all the persons the players will meet. In
keeping with the literary legacy of Bram Stoker we call this
person the Author.
‘Player Characters’, or PCs - every good story has its
protagonists, and they perform many roles. Heroines and
Heroes, Victims and Villains. Of course, unlike a novel,
in a roleplaying game the story, directed by the Author,
stars the players as the leading ‘Characters’ who decide
their actions based on the Author’s interactions with
them. As previously said, the Author will play all other
parts required. These other parts are NPCs – non-player
characters. PC are represented by ‘Character sheets’, which
present the stats (statistics), equipment, and weapons in an
easily accessable format. The character sheets are also used
by the player to keep track of the state of their PC.

‘NPC’ - Non-player characters are persons or other entities
and creatures who are the cogs and gears that make the
story work. If the Author describes a street scene and
mentions a flower seller at the corner, they may shout out
‘Who will buy my fresh roses?’ to highlight the NPC.
Should the players accost a man running down the street
to ask him why he is running, it is the Author who will
voice that person. But more importantly the Author is the
voice of important NPCs too, a Boss who hires the PCs for
a job, an arch villain the PCs have been running down, an
underworld contact, ripe with useful information. NPCs
can be tools to help, blocks to impede or simply colour in
the background to enrich a moment.
Before playing
The Author should read through the full adventure to be
sure they understand the plot, the subtle aspects of the
investigation and crossroads moments that really matter
to the story. They should perhaps make notes of key places
and people to keep track of in the progress of PCs, and not
miss out on giving them a chance to learn crucial details
that might help them.
An RPG is a storytelling adventure, a living narrative
played out as elaborately as you like. Many enjoy hamming
up their games with props, accents and even dressing for
the part. The main thing is to have FUN. It is the STORY
that matters and spending time with friends old or new,
shaping and exploring that tale. Never let the rules or the
plot get in the way of a good tale. However, it is vital that
the Author maintains control. Fun as it might be to have
free reign as PCs, things can swiftly get out of control and
the game might grind to a halt as you flounder wondering
what to do.
Becoming familiar with the printed adventure and fully
understanding the details will be vital to keep players on
track, even with a little flexibility and side tracking.
FOR THE AUTHOR: If you find yourself lost at
any stage don’t be scared to call a break. Take a few
minutes, check the notes and carry on. The Author has
to have fun too.
StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 3
Dracula’s Empire
Respect
This is the obligatory section where we advise that before
you start play, you get a feel for the hard lines of your
players. Not everyone is going to enjoy the same themes.
Not everyone has the same life experiences. The fastest
way you can torpedo your own game is by not taking the
feelings of others into account. We all play these games for
fun. If your players aren’t having fun, they will stop playing.
Before you start play, we recommend talking to each player
individually and then enmasse to get an understanding of
anything or any situation they do not want to explore in a
game.
Ultimately Roleplaying games are works of fiction. While
they clothe themselves in our imaginings of genre and
history, they can never be entirely truthful to a period. Nor
do they have to be. Your players are real people with actual
experiences, positive and negative. Respect that, work with
them to understand their perspective. Chances are you
can work around the subjects they want you to avoid and
discover new exciting routes for the game. Don’t be afraid
to shake the potential players hand and agree that maybe
your game isn’t the right one for them, if you can’t work a
way around the issues.
There are a variety of game tools for managing consent
at the table. It’s worth looking for them via a quick
Google search, but nothing beats openness and empathy.
Communication is key. Have fun!
THE PRINTED ADVENTURE ISN’T THE LAW
It’s there to help you progress the story; players will
always have other ideas and ways of seeing things. We
have tried where we can, to offer Authors’ advice on
alternate solutions or methods but we can’t legislate
for it all. So…
Do Not Force It: If a fight is due in the adventure, for
example, and the players contrive a suitable method
to avoid the fight and still achieve the goal needed,
let it go. You can always throw in another fight later if
you need it. But it makes the PCs feel like the world
is alive if their actions are not railroaded.
Equally do not fear narrative punishment. The world,
although fictional, has its rules of physics and law
and social order. A player who insists on resorting
to violent solutions will eventually run into trouble
with the Law or a revenge seeking mob. The Author
should exercise full logical control even in a fictitious
world, never be scared to send in the NPCs.
Dracula’s Empire
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,
I hear that you are planning on authoring a
second novel on my adventures, as such I have
listed some of the individuals I believe you
should become familiar with.
VAN HELSING: You know me, but I think it
prudent I update you some what. I’m getting
old now, an elderly scholar of sciences and
superstition if you like. I have tasked myself
with the utter obliteration of the undead.
My age means I need to leave the fieldwork
to the younger generation and I have been
mentoring Seagrove, Harker & Holmwood to
that avail. My greatest achievement to date
is the destruction of Dracula’s women and
aiding in his defeat.
COUNTESS DOLENGEN OF GRATZ: Less well
known than the iconic Dracula is Countess
Dolengen, his fourth bride. Only Harker has
previously encountered her, just before his
meeting with the vile Count. Rumored to
be the only woman that Dracula loved; this
vicious creature is a mockery of maternal
instinct. She uses her mesmeric powers to
manipulate those around her into mistaking
her for others they hold dear. At times her
description is reminiscent of Lucy Westenra
but Lucy is dead, staked and decapitated.
Those unlucky enough to see her without
this veil will see the face of a beautiful
woman over a monstrous frame. Her
emaciated stretched limbs end in terrible
claws and her stomach is bloated with a MINA HARKER: Mina suffered greatly at the
child that can never be born. The Countess hands of Dracula. The foul beast confronted
is a tortured soul, denied a child she can her as she was alone and in her bed. He
love, when transformed into a creature of tore his chest open and forced her to
the night while pregnant. The baby ‘lives’ drink of his foul blood. She was saved as
within her still, a twisted demon nestled Dr. Seward, Quincey Morris, her husband
inside the putrid womb. It communicates and I interrupted her conversion. Dracula
to her, assisting in her vile plans. She threw her across the room like a rag doll,
satisfies her need to bear children by means her lips smeared with his undead fluids and
of mutilation and transformative magic pus. Realising that Mina had a connection
which produces a monstrous brood. Every to the Count, I used mesmerism to track
experiment a success and tragedy at the the demon’s movement. She has now gone
same time. missing and it is possible that a malign force
still controls her.
LUCY WESTENRA: The late fiance of Arthur
Holmwood, Lucy was corrupted by the DRACULA: You know who Dracula is and the
vampire Dracula and eventually slain. In beast is dead.
life she was a vibrant person beloved by

i ng
many, with an effervescent and attractive
character that draw the attention and
desire of many.
Va n H el s
4 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
 Dracula’s Empire

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 5

Scene One
SCENE ONE
The Knights of the Round Table
Overview
Mina has gone missing. Shortly after docking in London,
her absence was noticed. Van Helsing is concerned that she
still may be under the malign influence of Dracula, even
though he is dead. His concerns were raised by piecing
together the aspects from the missing wooden stakes (from
the original Dracula novel) and her strange behaviour on
the ship home. He has called a meeting in London.
As the act progresses bodies are discovered drained of
blood and badly mutilated. Initially this appears to be more
Ripper/Torso murders but the Ripper-esque mutilations
have been made to hide bite marks on the body.
A mysterious woman has been seen in high society and
there is talk of unusual parties and gatherings. Might these
be linked to the murders and disappearance of children in
the area?
JACK THE RIPPER
In the late Victorian period London was the locale
of many gruesome murders. The most notorious
of these were the ‘Torso’ murders, where heavily
mutilated body parts washed up on the shore of the
Thames. These were allocated to the infamous Jack
the Ripper.
The identity of the Ripper has never been discerned,
leading to fantastical ideas of who and even what he
was. Although not a part of Bram Stoker’s writing, he
fits perfectly in this adventure.
Introduction
Gathered in a new London home, arranged for Van Helsing
by friends in the Brotherhood, the adventurers have had little
time to rest and recoup. Since landing, every waking moment
has been spent pursuing any clue as to the whereabouts of
Mina and the Professor has drawn on local contacts for
further aid. He has summoned the group together as he feels
time is drawing short on a favorable resolution to Mina’s fate.
Though other events that have filtered to him are pushing
him to consider darker forces at work.
6 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
Describe the house and staff only lightly as they play little
role in this current adventure serving only to suggest that
a safe haven, secure from almost all threats to them, is to
be found within its walls. We include only a outline of the
house for now, its details and significance will come into
play in further adventures.
The Helsing house
As the PCs approach they will find a grand three-story
dwelling standing in its own grounds with a modest garden
to the front and sides. Through its many rooms and attics,
servants and tradesmen swarm like bees as they repair
damaged cornices and clear the cobwebs that still adorned
it. Long grass and tall thick hawthorn hedges conspire
with old exotic trees to vex the newly hired groundskeeper,
who, with muttered curses, drags a rusted mower over the
grounds.
The stabling, such as still stands, is to the rear of the house
where it shares space with a walled kitchen garden, lush
with overgrown herbs and a long low storeroom freshly
supplied with coal, fire wood and root vegetables.
As the PCs arrive they are met by a tall well dressed
gentleman, who is not the butler as would be expected. He
shows them into the library where Van Helsing is already
awaiting them.
FOR THE AUTHOR: Unseen, the house occupies a
unique position geographically. It is located on the site
of a former Roman shrine - a Temple of Mithras - and
its basement rests with its floor as the former building’s
roof. The house is also technically an island - five
underground streams now covered over with roads,
parks and houses still run in their courses, their paths
isolate the house fundamentally on all sides by running
water.
The house presently has 10 servants including a butler,
cook, and groundskeeper. These servants won’t bother the
PCs and the Author is free to describe them however they
see fit.
Van Helsing has wasted no time in organising his effects.
His books and papers are stacked throughout the drawing

room with only the most relevant tomes on the table
before him. He has spent the last few days examining every
thread to aid his conclusions and even now is standing
surrounded by stacks of less worthy tomes left in crude
piles or indeed still in wooden cases.
As the PCs arrive he will offer tea, coffee and brandy,
though it will be clear from the absence of small talk that
he is keen to get moving. It is almost an afterthought that
with a casual wave of his hand he introduces the man who
greeted their arrival to the house.
In his thick Dutch accent and pausing periodically, as
he tends to when forced to speak at any length, Helsing
introduces his friend.
READOUT OR OUTLINE TO THE PLAYERS:
‘This is Daniel Seagrove, a protege of mine with whom
I’ve been in correspondence these past years. He is an
astute fellow and an academic like myself, but make
no mistake, quite able to handle himself. For as much
as it matters, his area of expertise is archaeology and
anthropology. Time in Egypt and the Far East, where
he learnt more than just their language and culture (he
gives a small chuckle at some private joke). Suffice to say
he thinks rather like myself and has almost as broad a
familiarity with the matters in hand. I’m not as young as I
once was and steps need to be taken to ensure threats such
as we have dealt with can be in the future. But that’s for
another day, he’s here to help.’
Mina’s vanishing in the throngs of the docks has them all
on edge and Helsing has pulled in trusted aides intimately
familiar with London and sympathetic to his cause and
methods.
Each person has employed subtly what resources they have
at hand to try and establish any clue or lead as to where
Mina might be, who may have taken her or why. There is
scant little to go on.
The game begins with each player in possession of the
notes of their character’s investigations to this moment, the
pooling of ideas intended by the Professor to cement and
galvanise them into a course of the action most likely to
succeed.
StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 7
Scene One
Professor Van Helsing
Van Helsing should be used as an NPC, allowing you to
drive the discussions and direct the players:
His Drive: Finding Mina might reveal information on
Dracula or indeed Carmila, certainly some dark force is at
work, it is your priority to uncover it.
Van Helsing, your thoughts are plagued by fragments and
fear, dear professor. A deep held concern that the shadow
you so dearly cast into the light has not in fact been
completely expunged. Firstly there are the stake fragments,
unknown to the others you have been able to reassemble
almost completely the implement of final death. Can a
shard or two be enough to keep evil at rest? Then too the
awareness that Dracula was not as you feared the only
one cursed with the blood. Indeed your research suggests
he may have been nothing more than a noble, perhaps
some kind of king or governing voice in a society of such
creatures. What occurs in any vacuum of leadership? A
power struggle for the throne…. Mina was differently
affected by Dracula, and while you thought about the
aftermath, the shock and then the journey, something
about her manner and distance troubled you on the return
to England. In some respects you blame yourself, distracted
by the dropped net of luggage and the discovery that some
boxes had not made the ship’s hold, the group was split and
in the mix Mina simply walked off and vanished. Some
other influence is at work upon her, of that you are sure.
What that is, or who’s, you lack the information to discern.
When the players observe Professor Van Helsing’s
demeanor, it is evident that he seems troubled. When
questioned, he brings to light an event which occurred
as the band of heroes travelled by train to confront
Dracula. Van Helsing suspects that Mina removed the
stakes, essential to the Counts’ destruction, perhaps by
casting them out the window, to the sea. Van Helsing also
ruminates about the possibility that Mina is still under the
Counts’ control. He describes his reasoning as follows:
READOUT OR OUTLINE TO THE PLAYERS:
“In my mind, I am troubled. Conclusions which are
linked to the continuation of the corruption of Madam
Mina plague me, even as I try to rest. I had assumed,
when I touched her noble brow with the sacred body of
Christ that she was healed. However, it may be that I was
mistaken. The missing stakes and the extent of Dracula’s
influence.. Mein Gott, it is imperative that we find her!”
Scene One
The playable characters (PCs)
FOR THE AUTHOR: Hand the following out to each
player alongside the character sheets (to be found at
the end of the book) before the game starts, so they
can read about their charatcers.
Arthur Holmwood:
Your Drive: Could the stories you
hav e b een hearing really b e true:
is Lucy aliv e? Ev ery l ead must
b e followed & to hell with the
sup erstitious clap trap.
8 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
The movers and shakers of London society are at
sixes and sevens as several late in the season balls
and galas have very recently come on the social
calendar. Very select, elusive hosts, very exotic
dining and if rumour is to be believed quite wild
nights that contravene good taste. The best you
can surmise is some mysterious lady of high or
noble birth has recently arrived from Europe,
while others say old money and families whose
names had all but dropped from society have
suddenly emerged with a renewed vigour and
interest in the nation. These dinners draw in
royalty, nobility and political figures both British
and European. Dances into the small hours with
music the likes of which society hasn’t enjoyed in
years.
You have seen your fair share of the supernatural,
and your mind is resolute that such things are
done with, so will endeavour to rationalise and
explain away any such trappings in other means.
You have no truck with magic, and when talk
turns to the like will distance yourself politely.
While you tolerate De Villiers from civility to
Helsing, and see Langley’s dreams and drawings
as the results of a fevered mind, you will side,
much like Seward, with psychology as the answer
to many of the issues at play. What poses a much
stronger burden on you is that some fragments of
descriptions that have come your way regarding
this mysterious woman hosting the parties has
triggered you, as they strongly echo your dear lost
Lucy. You have mentioned this to Helsing, who
is dismissive of any such possibility, but you have
held off mentioning it to anyone else. Should you
discuss this with De Villers in case her insight and
sensitivities are genuine and she might indeed
have some sense if it is possible.
 Scene One
Jonathan Harker:
You have spent your days trawling the docks, its
taverns and wharfs, convinced some clue resides
Your Drive: there among the workers and sailors. Where is
Mina? The only shred of information you have
Find your d ear Mina, nothing, not garnered was one drunken sailor resolute that he
saw a woman ‘step up into a grand carriage with
ev en your own life matters so long heavy red drapes and painted all black and gold,
as she is safe. like the queen might have, with its coat of arms
of big birds and a crown over their heads’. The
drunk saw little of the passenger, but she was a
woman, a silken gloved hand helped the young
lady up, the maiden stepped ever so lightly as if
she was dreaming. Even less reliable bystanders
gave threads of recollection though vague, you
can’t help but feel their combined descriptions are
suggestive of the dead Lucy, but you know this
cannot be. You are quite distraught and will latch
on any even half valid plan of action. Your mind
is not what it once was. When you feel they have
a lead you will throw full focus and attention to
it. If you feel they are lost, floundering or hopeless
your manner will become more impassioned and
erratic.

FOR THE AUTHOR: Allow the players to roleplay

and get into their characters, talk and make
connections. Feel free to play with the lights, making
the room darker, play sounds of a crackling fire or
move the discussions to comfortable sofas and chairs,
serve finger food and drinks if you wish. Have the
staff appear, every so often with tea or to restock the
glasses and logs on the fire. There are lots of clues
and breadcrumbs to follow within their bios and the
discussion should bring them to the front of mind.
Your role will be to direct discussion using the servants
and appropriate use of dice rolls and critically Van
Helsing, so that each and every player gets a chance to
speak and interact.

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 9

Scene One
Dr John Seward:

Your Drive:
Lucy? It can’t b e, but then mayb e
H elsing was wrong, Holmwood
seems interested enough. Admiration
for Lucy and the chanc e she might
b e aliv e after all, has rekindl ed
your heart. Cl early here is the b est
plac e to b e if there is ev en a slight
hop e to re-discov er her. But what
hav e you got yourself into? Chaos
seems to b e encircling London these
days.

Dear Doctor, your own work has increased
steadily of late, the Purfleet Asylum has been
seeing a steady increase of maladies from your
own borough and yonder, mild afflictions and
strangeness of mind and manners. Normally
nothing more of note to pique your interest than
the frequency and the fact people of all walks
of life seem to be inflicted. One of the central
London hospitals (Whitechapel) has asked you
to attend at some point as they have had a spate
of amnesia victims. You have had some modest
success with such cases in the past.
Were it not for the entreaties of Van Helsing and
Art you would almost certainly not be here, at
least that’s what you tell yourself. From what the
others are saying there’s a dangerous lunatic on
the loose and Mina’s gone missing. You wish you
didn’t feel a sense of duty when it comes to such
things but alas, you do and truth be told, your
curiosity is piqued.
For Helsing you have admiration, but you firmly
think science and medicine account for much of
what is affecting the world today.

10 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game

 Scene One
Police Sergeant Albert Enshaw:
Your Drive:
You hav e seen things that make no
sense and you want answers; the
normal channels don’t hav e them.
While you hav e allies of a sort among
some senior offic ers in the M et, that
is getting you nowhere, you are hungry
for some truth and hav e had enough
of the shadows. H elsing’s crew with
their tales are not as far fetched as
you might onc e hav e believ ed. So, for
now you are happy to lean in and
learn, and are prepared to bring your
authority and contacts to bear when
the situation requires.
The morgue is piling up too with these drained bodies,
so much so the graves of London must be three deep.
You have your work cut out for you Sergeant. The police But worse and not even the press has wind yet, there’s
are playing it down but there has been an awful increase bodies going missing from the cemeteries. Guards have
of trouble on the streets, mostly in the slums and dock been posted, but yet come first light graves of the recently
areas. Fights over nothing, family violence and animal interred are found robbed. The situation is so bad that the
mutilations in the stock yards. You have seen it all, seen it powers that be are secretly incinerating the bodies. Though
escalate and you want answers. you should not be privy to that information, as it is a close
Then the missing children, which your superiors are brotherhood of officers dealing with that. Even knowing of
keeping under wraps, but enough is enough and close the matter puts you and your job in danger, or at least you
to thirty is enough. Street urchins and even nobility, fear it does.
from babies to young toddlers, a few teens and too many You are not an imaginative man, but have seen things.
inbetween. No trace of them. Several senior officers and Things which cannot be explained away, by investigation,
what manpower is spare have been tasked to hunt out any evidence nor logic. You apply the learning your training,
clues on the missing. Indeed this is another reason you experience and superiors have taught, and pushed yourself
have sought out Van Helsing. Your more obscure contacts to be more investigative and deductive in your methods.
suggest the great man might be able to assist, or that your What your status and birth have denied you in education
own work may well lead you to paths close enough to help you garner yourself. Working with these people may
him. provide insight, or may prove a red herring.

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 11

Scene One
Ms Primrose Hampden:
Your Drive:
Answers and solutions,
explanation and clarity. What is
happ ening and what is happ ening
to you...your grasp is slipping and
you are b eginning to realise you
need answers.
12 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
You are an artist often employed by the courts
and police, but earn a modest income under a
pseudonym with drawings for the papers. You
too know of the amnesia issues in the hospital
and indeed have been asked to do drawings
of several of the patients in the hope of aiding
their identification. An ally trusted in the
Metropolitan police has been feeding you what
information they can gain, from some misguided
romantic notion. You are appalled that the
Police are covering up the disappearance of the
children, but you are fascinated by the frequently
discovered blood drained bodies. You have begun
mapping them out, but can see no pattern in their
discovery. You feel you and possibly Enshaw have
been distracted purposely to throw off any chance
of identifying the culprit.
You have also been talking deeply with De
Villiers, the medium, as her dreams have once
again been turning to images of the Ripper and
she is convinced he is still at his work. You are
suffering visions of a cloaked figure dripping
in blood painting a wall before vanishing as if
through it. A double headed eagle image keeps
recurring in your dreams and your sketchbook is
filled with it. It often appears as a coat of arms.
You keep hearing music, violins and the like, a
waltz playing in your head over and over till you
awaken and it haunts your daydreams to the point
you must always talk or seek out noise to keep it
in check. You are doing your best not to let your
own torment rule your rational mind and may
play down or suppress elements as you see fit.
There have been lucid dreams of late too, street
women with two faces, as if one is a mask. You are
bitterly aware this is a hallucination, but it causes
distress, you do not know what it all means. You
are beginning to fear for your own sanity.

Lady Lisa De Villiers
Your Drive:
You hav e known Van H elsing for
many y ears, he did not summon
you, but you knew you should
come, for the spirits told you. Your
visions sp eak of dark times ahead
and for now you know your plac e
is here.
StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 13
Scene One
You have consulted the cards, the runes and
meditated - walked the streets following the
energies and your spirit guides. Even without
word in the papers you have stunned Enshaw
by accounting locations where bodies have been
found. Street names where the missing children
were lost. The spirits are out of step. You share
Primrose’s concern over the Ripper, yet do not
vocalise this as the cards tell you there are other
players in this game.
You have seen the blood stained man in visions
too, and feel he is in possession of a magic you
are not familiar with. An ancient magic not seen
in eons. Your dreams are a torment of writhing
serpents and a beautiful voluptuous woman of
pale skin, dark hair and eyes of crimson fire. A
woman that smiles at saving you from the pit of
vipers only to widen her maw as fang like teeth
opens from her belly to devour you screaming.
You have also seen on occasion the children
huddled and fearful, but this confuses you
because despite their fear she feels an air of love
about them.
Your reading frequently shows dancing & jesters
and death & war. The jester is nearly omnipresent,
yet you cannot reconcile their joviality and
gaiety with the blood soaked conclusion, the
tower always falls. Of late, for some reason, you
have developed a phobia of spiders and recoil
instinctively at their sight.
Scene One
Mr Daniel Seagrove
Your Drive:
Entrusted by Van H elsing with his
wealth of research and to establish
a school of like mind ed individuals
to continue the research into and
d efend against the forc es of evil,
darkness and the Devil as laid out
by Van H elsing.
14 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
Your travels have given you insight into the
darkness of our world and its history among
mankind. You have seen things in Egypt that
you could not explain and from that reached out
to Van Helsing, whom you had heard of among
academic circles as having experiences and views
on such matters that fell outside of accepted
science and faith. Under his instruction you have
schooled yourself and been abroad learning all
you could, not only in research but also practical
matters of combat and magic (though Helsing
did not approve of the latter, he accepted your
argument to know the enemy you must know
their ways). In London, you’ve acted as his Agent
and prepared a residence with staff, suitable
as a stronghold, to begin development of his
envisioned Institute.
You have been able to ingratiate yourself with the
Brotherhood, who you now consider allies. Yours
and their steadfast nature and sense of duty and
faith is inline with Helsing’s plans. For now they
are useful contacts, eyes and ears, safe houses and
trusted bodyguards for the Professor, lest any
threat seek him out.
You’re aware of the discovery of bodies, your
contacts suggesting a likely place that seems
to be used by a select group of the Police near
Paddington.
Word also reaches you of hired staff (maids and
butlers, serving staff ) who work for agencies in
the city disowning friends and family, leaving
their agency without notice or word and have
only been seen about since, blank faced, not
recognising former friends or workmates. To your
mind, this too closely relates to the mysterious
parties for your own comfort.
 Scene One
Key clues
There are five key points that are worth calling out at this
juncture in the game. They are listed below:
☞ The coat of arms on the carriage (See the Coat of
Arms section)
☞ High society balls - especially the dark haired woman
(See Shall we dance)
dance)
☞ The empty graves
☞ The bloodless and mutilated bodies
☞ The missing children
Once the players have filled each other in with their
findings let them discuss avenues of investigation. If players
are truly stuck, have them make a KNOW resistance test.
PCs that roll 5 or better will recognise that tracking down
the coat of arms is a good avenue of investigation. PCs
that roll 8 or better will recognise that the Balls might be a
better line of enquiry.
There are a number of possible side questions and even
quests here. The empty graves, the missing children and
the bloodless bodies are all like rivers running towards the
same sea, if from different sources. The following chapters
outline the key locations and discoveries the players can
follow should they undertake a more elaborate route
though this adventure. Thus as the Author you need not
feel the necessity to railroad them. But impressing upon
them time: time is clearly an issue with the missing Mina.
If the players are dithering, have Helsing spur them on.
His own concerns should prompt urgent action if nothing
else.

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 15

Scene Two
SCENE TWO
The Coat of Arms
There are two paths the investigation of the coat of arms
may take. The PCs might check with the College of Arms
to learn who owns the coat of arms or they might seek out
a carriage company, as they might add a coat of arms prior
to a final varnishing.
The College of Arms could, in theory, provide a lot of
details about the coat of arms. Alas an interview with one
of their librarians will soon reveal that there are lots of
coats of arms with the described birds of prey. Without
having more specific details, other than pointing vaguely
into the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they will be unable to
help. They will be exceedingly polite and offer vast libraries
of coats of arms but unless a player thinks to ask directly,
then only a character that takes the better part of a day
perusing the books and makes a Difficulty 10 Education:
Classical (KNOW) Skill Test will be able to place the
poor descriptions of the coat of arms to Transylvania.
Every additional success rolled will halve the time taken to
research.
TRANSYLVANIA 1890
In 1890 Transylvania was firmly split between
Hungarian and Ottoman rule. Neither of the powers
is particularly sympathetic to local powers, and
displaying a Transylvanian coat of arms would be
considered a noteworthy political act.
Buying a carriage is not a common activity. Few have the
money to do so and fewer still the space to house it. It
is much more convenient, even for the wealthy, to call a
hansom cab and motor vehicles are still very rare. That
said, a carriage is a definite status symbol, particularly for
the up and coming careerists of London.
Respectable carriage makers will not disclose their
clientele, but will be more than willing to assist both the
police and aristocrats in their enquiries. A Difficulty 7,
Diplomacy (CHA) Skill Test (see page 46) will reveal that
while there is a six month waiting list on new carriages,
there is a market on refurbished carriages. A list of
several “alternative vendors’’ can be easily procured at
this point. They will also confirm that while they would
almost certainly paint the carriage to meet any reasonable
request they would, unless for a well established London
16 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
family, request a letter of accommodation from the proper
authorities prior to beginning.
Should the PCs roll a muddy success they will spend the
better part of the day chasing down “Alternative vendors”
before getting to Lawrence Tinker, though if Enshaw is
present he will be able to look at the list, recognise the
name and suggest they start there.
The Tinker gang
If you stop a bone grubber and ask them the worst person
to deal with they’ll point you in the direction of Lawrence
Tinker and yet he thrives. With a small warehouse he
hoards scraps and parts till he has enough of them to
pretend that he has a whole. A fence and thief when
opportunity arises, the only thing of actual value in his
warehouse is the expensive varnish that he uses to cover
up the dry rot and glue. His gang consists of his two adult
“sons” adopted long ago from the street children, and
whoever he throws a farthing at when he needs.
Tinker is simply the worst human being the PCs have ever
met. The Author should use whatever description they
feel is suitable in describing this shabby corrupt miser.
Don’t step over the line with your players but be utterly
unpleasant in describing him.
Tinker will speak with the character’s but he’ll place his
hand in front of him after every question the PCs make.
PCs can make a Difficulty 10 Diplomacy Skill Test using
the favour rules (see page 54) Note that Enshaw gains a +2
on this Test. Should the PCs fail the test Tinker will extort
a guinea from the PCs in addition to those offered as part
of the test.
FOR THE AUTHOR: Knowing the date that the
carriage left the Tinkers enable the players to track it
to both Kensal Green Cemetery (Scene 6) or William
E. Mooreland and Sons or indeed all three of the
addresses should the players really try to follow it
around London. (Scene 3). Depending on how the
players proceed with this investigation, use this scene
to springboard them to the next location.
 Scene Two

READOUT OR OUTLINE TO THE PLAYERS:

“A carriage you say, with a crest? I might have sold a
carriage. It was a beautiful Brougham with finest fittings
and the best horses in Aldgate. The lady fancied herself
proper nobility and was happy to pay the price. There
were three of them. The lady, her footman, and a lady in
waiting. Dressed nice! Fine garments but gormless, never
spoke a word nor looked in my direction, just did as she
bid ‘em, but weren’t no coat of arms when I sold her.
“She was an odd one, coming down here. She was all over
the place, funny thing is I looked right at her and couldn’t
tell you quite how she looked. She was pretty I think, but
not so pretty too. Left me with a right sore head.
“Anyways, about a fortnight later, late at night, they
comes back. The axle had cracked and they needed it
fixed there and then. She wasn’t happy and I thought the
big fellow would have me for saying they should leave it
and come back on the morrow.
“Well, since I sold it, some clumsy child had painted this
crest on it. Why a child I say? Well it was a bit simple.
The paint was thick, wasteful like a child would draw
and that wasn’t all, I swear I heard a child laughing as I
worked. Anyways they didn’t even try to haggle the price.
Soon as the job’s done, they’re off. Took hours to fit the
axle and it was nearly morning when they bolted. Headed
east, well there’s not much out that way but Kensel.
Dunno why they went out there. The roads are tosh and
nobody’s got the money to house horses out there. That’s
how I know she’s putting on airs.
“Real money can afford better.”

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 17

Scene Three
SCENE THREE
Shall We Dance
If the players choose to follow the lead to high society in
their search for Mina the following will occur as will the
discovery of New Mina. Below is some guidance on how to
handle the investigation:
PROFESSOR VAN HELSING
Helsing is a natural introvert and will have some
difficulty inquiring into the affairs of the English
upper crust. At best he will hear rumours and stories
of excess and indulgence, but mention will be made
of a notable beauty recently joining these parties,
quite the eyecatcher and seems to be the latest
‘interest’ of the host or hostess. The description will
carry some degree of similarity to both Mina and
the dead Lucy. This fact alone should prick their
interests. Where possible this lead should not be
used. It is better for the PCs to do the investigation,
but if they hit a brick wall in their enquiries it can
always be brought out later.
Player investigations:
Harker: While not a part of the upper crust, Harker is
more than capable of investigating rumors in those social
circles. He straddles the Upper and Middle classes and this
places him in a somewhat unique place to unearth scandal.
Should Holmwood or Seward not pick up the trail, this
could provide the party with another way forward.
Ms Primrose: Possessing lesser occult talents than De
Villiers may also serve this function, but like Harker,
Hampden is somewhat an outsider amongst the
aristocracy. Servants might be more willing to speak with
her and this could provide another way forward.
Seawood: In this context, Seawood is rather a fish out
of water, not used to the aristocracy nor the service
underclass. His position of apprenticeship to Van Helsing
may allow him to see things the others will not be looking
for.
Lady Lisa De Villiers: With her occult secrets De Villiers
can function in much the same way as Enshaw. In addition
to confirming what others uncover she may, in the presence
18 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
of past guests, gain psychic impressions offering warnings
about the ball.
Enshaw: While Enshaw is not without his own senior
connections, he will only really be able to confirm the
investigations of others. While there are no official records
of these balls, several officers have given guests verbal
cautions for lewd activities after the events. Nobody wants
to arrest an aristocrat, but it’s an open secret that the
goings on sometimes spill out into the street and need to
be quietly contained.
Holmwood & Steward: In addition to the same rumours
that Van Helsing hears, Holmwood & Seward are perfectly
placed to investigate these balls. With some small effort
Holmwood can (see Club Tie on page 52) gain names of
some regular attendees, these attendees are easily tracked
down and under the cover of confidentiality will provide
some details about the affairs. As the balls are quite
scandalous they will couch it in terms of “We’ve heard that…”
or “We were warned that…” Seward can use his contact at the
Reform club to learn similar information, though it will be
harder for Seward and the Author should consider increasing
the difficulty of his Diplomacy tests by +1.
LUCY?
The significance of the description matching Lucy
should not be wasted, this matter must be impressed
upon the Doctor and Holmwood who both dearly
loved her and mourn her loss. It will be alarming
and be a matter they cannot afford not to investigate
despite an embitterment to anything of the
supernatural. When these men realise that it is not
Lucy they will be equal parts hurt and relieved.
TO THE AUTHOR: Depending on your timescale
and preferences, the investigation into the society
events can just be rolled for - just note that it takes
hours or days of meeting and chats over sherry to
acquire the information. So the group can easily be
led to pursue other lines of inquiry during this time.
Alternatively you can role play out in set pieces several
encounters to establish how well they do and just what
they learn.

Clues to be shared as the players investigate:
☞ Several low ranking government officials who
regularly gain invites & two families invited who’ve
never attended.
☞ Three addresses typically associated with these parties.
☞ A Masquerade ball, themed on the Venetian masked
galas, is the next event due to be hosted.
☞ A vague account of a mysterious and attractive woman
assumed to be the hostess.
☞ The description of the hostess suggests to Helsing
that it is possibly the feared appearance of Camilla, a
contender to the throne of Dracula. This could suggest
some portion of the fabled Vampire Council is involved.
☞ For Holmwood and Steward the description of the
hostess resonates with the likeness of the beloved Lucy
for whom both held a flame of love.
☞ To De Villiers & Harker the description suggests Mina.
Avenues for proceeding
Investigating the prior occasions: The addresses of the
last three events are all rented properties: larger old houses
previously of noble families fallen on hard times. They are
maintained and rented out on short term leases.
The renting agent, William E. Mooreland and Sons, an
up market firm in Kensington, is tightlipped relying on a
reputation for discretion. While the manager, W. Edgar
Mooreland, will not part with any information short of a
Solid Success on a Difficulty 13 Diplomacy (CHA) Skill
Test, the same can’t be said of the clerk, Oliver Topps. PCs
approaching Topps away from the offices will find him
easily, if expensively, bought. A Difficulty 8 Education:
Criminal (KNOW) Skill Test and 5 Guineas will provide
the address. PCs wanting to negotiate a better deal must
make an additional Difficulty 8 Diplomacy (CHA) Skill
Test. Every success rolled will reduce the price by a Guinea.
Alternatively a bit of digging will reveal the agent is
relatively predictable in who they liaise with. A merchant
close to the agent is routinely hired to provide food and
drink for the parties. Several local families provide routine
maintenance services. PCs that offer a cunning plan and
ask around may find a loose tongue can be bought with a
Guinea.
The next party will be at 66 Mornington Crescent.
Investigating the Guests: Nigel Kingsly and his lady
wife Eliza are the most easily approachable of the known
invitees, that have not attended. Kingsly is a member,
as it happens, of the gentleman’s club that Holmwood
StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 19
Scene Three
and Steward are both members. A simple Difficulty 5
(KNOW) Resistance Test will be enough to remind
them of this. Arranging a meeting thusly is not hard.
A matter of sending a card via the club Secretary and a
telegram by return will confirm his willingness to meet.
Kingsly is a modest Civil Servant attached to the Foreign
Office. His duties are not elaborate or hard. He provides
accommodations for visitors and staff for various meetings
etc., but it is obvious that his eyes and ears fall prey to too
many details and facts. He is a nervous type with a slight
stammer, a keen mind with ambition. It is obvious his
standing is due to his wife’s station. His own education
does not fit the Whitehall career ladder. When pressed
he will give an embarrassed account from those who have
attended the parties - a somewhat racy affair of laxity of
social decorum or proper behaviour. His wife is against
their attendance of such engagements. Though he feels
increasing pressure to attend for career advancement
purposes. Why it’s quite so important is lost on him - it’s
almost like some sort of private club, he laughs. Kingsly
is clearly disappointed to discover this luncheon was only
to find out about the party, thinking it perhaps was work
related. He will let slip that he has all the previous invites
(6 in total) and that all are simple white cards with gold
trim, red writing and a little doodle. A PC willing to pay
for his lunch or offer future favours, will secure the invites
via a courier later that day amd his silence on this meeting.
Cloak and Dagger: Should it amuse you to do so, you may
prefer a more elaborate undertaking. Maybe you could
direct the players to break into the home of a named
invitee to steal invitations, perhaps having the invitee held
hostage while some of the players then attended the ball.
This would add the potential for risk of discovery and
having the law on their tails for the rest of the proceedings.
Dress to Impress: Oddly enough it will be no small matter
to obtain suitable fancy dress costumes, it seems a run on
London’s stock of such masquerade wear has left little in
terms of choice or quality. As such the group can, at best,
obtain poorer fare than would be expected, low quality
and noticeable for being as such. The players might avail
of any contacts in the theatres to hire, borrow, beg or
steal suitable items. Even so it is likely that they will be ill
fitting and that at least one may have to wear a costume of
another sex due to the shortage and sizes.
The players can attempt a single Difficulty 10 Diplomacy
(CHA) Skill Test to find outfits. Every success will obtain
1 poor quality outfit. Alternatively 2 successes will find a
single good quality outfit. Harker already has an outfit.
Every character without a costume after this test, must pay
2 Guineas or go to the party in regular clothes.
Scene Four
SCENE FOUR
24hr Party People
The house
The house on Mornington Crescent is bedecked in
lanterns and lights. Coaches drop off anonymous guests
who elegantly ascend a luxurious red carpet lined with
flaming torches.
Attending the guests’ whims are twenty servants wearing
powdered wigs and Venetian masks atop freshly pressed
black suits. Every effort is made to create the illusion that
the servants are one and the same, though small differences
in their chins and mouths occasionally spoil the illusion.
The party begins as any such gathering might, the guests
mingle and drinks are served from trays freely, a sharp
bubbly champagne. Little Hors-d’œuvre are a mixture of
mushrooms and caviar, salmon and spices. It soon becomes
apparent that there are upwards of 60 guests in attendance,
as well as ten performers breathing fire, performing
conjuring tricks or dancing in a beguiling and sultry manner.
CAN I BRING MY SHOTGUN?
There’s always one player who wants to sneak a gun
into a party. Anything larger than a sidearm will be
spotted by the staff and taken to the cloak room for
safety. This includes equipment outside of weapons
too. Anything like a doctor’s bag or camera will
be taken aside. Nobody wants anyone gathering
evidence.
Party time
The party will begin much as any other typical event and
the players will be hard pressed among the swirling throng
to stay together as a group. Music plays though no visible
quartet is in sight, they will be snatched at to dance, drinks
thrust to their hands and a sea of food on platters will be a
constant.
20 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
DRUGGED DELICACIES
If any players consume any of the food and drink
they will discover them enhanced by the hosts with
any number of opiates, euphorics and hallucinogens.
There is a high chance of falling foul of these effects.
PCs that imbibe must make a STR resistance check
against a difficulty of 8. Failing this test will cause
the character to suffer a -2 modifier on all Skill Tests
till they can sleep off the effects or another character
makes a Difficulty 8 Medicine (KNOW) Skill Test.
Succeeding on the Resistance Test means that while
the character will be euphoric, they can keep their
senses for the most part. PCs that fail this test and
have the First Impressions Effect will find it activating
at random offering terrible premonitions and vivid
hallucinations. PCs that roll a 1 on the test will pass
out, only to be collected by the servants and placed in
a private bed chamber out of harm’s way.
No one will fail to note the elaborate Egyptian themed
furnishings that populate every room and shelf. Close
inspection will reveal most are crude plaster imitations
however several tablets and smaller artefacts appear quite
genuine - one such tablet segment is being used by party
goers to rest glasses on. Anyone able to translate the tablet
(whether by using Linguistics (Dead Languages) or a
Difficulty 13 Occultism (KNOW) skill test) will hazard
a portion of priestly writings from the ‘Priests of Set’ on
the correct burial method to ensure travel to the next life
rather than return.
The Magician will perform on a little stage in the main
ballroom hall, not a formal presentation, a mere side show
as the attendees gossip and mingle, a typical illusionist
whose style is flamboyant and over the top, but it raises
cheers and applause from those who gather to observe. As
he ends his performance the dancers will take his place and
the tempo of the music takes a slower almost pulsing style.
The dancing is slow and sensual in nature and it clearly has
an effect on those watching, the lighting has even dimmed
and around the room many are lightly kissing or embracing
as they continue to dance. Unless seemingly so engaged
themselves, many will attempt to casually pull one or other
of the party into an embrace, even if they are already with

someone. It will be a Resistance Test to simply not fall in
with the mood of the room.
The hallway, wide and more airy than elsewhere, is the only
room still well illuminated and largely free from unwanted
attention. Though several staff stand on the stairs as if on
guard and at the doors. Egress is politely declined and
anyone attempting such is offered wine or an attractive
companion appears as if from nowhere to lead them back
into one of the main rooms.
Midnight!
At midnight a hidden gong will sound throughout the
house. While many guests will be caught up in their
passions and ignore it, a significant number will gather
towards the hall to witness the arrival of their hostess. As
the guests gather, a delegation of a dozen finely attired
figures in ornate golden masks will form an honour guard
for their mistress. Their midnight blue robes and scarlet
hoods accentuate the elegance of her gown, a clearly
fine European dress that has scandalous slits to the hips.
The hostess wears a tiny domino mask, barely playing
lip-service to the idea of anonymity. She is immediately
recognisable to the PCs.
LUCY?
Should Holmwood, Steward or both be there it will
be as if Lucy herself is descending the stairs flush
with the bloom of life. And it will take self restraint
not to call out or run to her. Both PCs must make a
Difficulty 8 Cool Resistance Test to do anything else.
Any such approach will be brushed off by one of the
large masked staff smiling as they do so, showing no
malice or intent of harm.
Other PCs will clearly see Mina, dressed as they have never
seen her before. They will be momentarily left speechless.
Mina’s entourage is made up of handsome men and
beautiful women, whose style and form represent a broad
swathe of the empire’s peoples and more foreign lands.
Though most are in the very latest London fashions,
several are dressed in anachronistic garb from the fallen
dynasties of Europe.
The entourage is completely disinterested in the crowd, it
neither concerns, distracts, nor entertains them. As they
make their way across the floor the crowd instinctively
makes way and parts before them without word, gesture or
hesitation. When they finally reach their seats, they turn
StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 21
Scene Four
to inspect the gathering. As if unconsciously holding its
breath, the room breathes again and it is as if the festivities
had never been interrupted.
While at the party Mina will exude a sensual confidence
and demeanour quite unlike her natural habits. She is all
smiles and affections. She will not recognise her former
associates, and be mildly troubled at any persistence of
familiarity. This discomfort will elevate the more it is
pressed, nor will she thus willingly go in their company
alone or as a group. Once she is removed from the house it
will be as if strings have been cut and Mina will drop into
some form of coma or deep sleep. Her breathing, so slow
and steady that one might think she is comatosed.
All PCs not intoxicated should want to get Mina away
from the party, how they do this is discussed in the Ending
the Scene section of this chapter, below.
Upon reflection, it will dawn on Seawood (or Van Helsing
if Seawood is not used) that Mina’s companions at the
party, based on their ethnicity, attire, manner and actions
strongly suggest Vampiric natures, more over their cultural
mix raises a fear they may be representatives of the fabled
Vampire Council. Something Helsing and Seawood have
only heard scant rumour of. This alone might contribute to
the increased discussions of bloodless corpses and missing
persons.
THE PREMONITION
Should De Villiers be present when Mina appears,
she will have a premonition. A flash of a moment of
clamour, child-like hands and a wild laughing face of
a fanged woman cloaked in darkness. The vision will
freeze as the woman throws her head back with fangs
bared. As darkness slowly shrouds her face she turns
to look at De Villiers. “Get out of my head woman,
my children are not for you, witch” and as soon as the
vision begins, it will be gone.
Ending the scene
The clear object here is to steal away with Mina, of
which the choice of method the players might use is
unpredictable. Below are a few suggested paths they might
choose.
FIRE!: nothing causes panic better than flame, by careful
means a player might cause the start of some sort of
blaze, perhaps in a side room or the casual flick of liquor
across a drape and then the accidental tip of a lamp or
Scene Four
candle. The ensuing flames will swiftly take hold and A woman’s voice will sound from above and the music
spread with speed. Amid the confusion and efforts to cease to all but a drum beat, the assembled guests seem
fight the flames Mina could be snatched and the players to freeze before turning glassy eyed upon the team,
could flee - the party-goers will be loathed to approach advancing with slow steady pace as if puppets, arms
or be near the fire. The players will still be forced to raised. The masked assault in the flickering light will take
engage the door guards to secure egress and escape into on a most dark tone as shadows seem to dance and leap
the night. At least two of the guards will be tenacious across the walls, they too join the melee. All the while a
enough to continue the pursuit up to the point the PCs distant sound of children’s laughter will seem to haunt
escape in a hansom cab. the very air and cause significant disturbance to De
Villiers especially and so also the rest of the party.
For PCs to escape they will need to roll 6 on an Athletics
(STR) Skill Test. Until this point the guards will have a
chance to catch up. At any point where the guards roll The opposition
more progress than the PCs they will be able to attempt
a Fisticuffs Skill Test to grab ahold of the character. Vampires in Fancy Dress
Should a character wish they can, instead of evading the STR DEX KNOW CONC
guards try to hold them back using a solid right hook 3 2 1 2
and a Fisticuffs (STR) Skill Test.
CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
A SPIKE IN THE WINE: If prepared for such a course it 3 5 0 +6
might be possible to spike a bowl of punch - this could Hit Points Willpower PV Movement
have the effect of a massive bout of illness or somnolence
amongst the consuming guests. A deft hand might even 20 N/A 10 4
apply such a concoction to Mina’s glass, her passing out Defence
will significantly alarm her court, none of which will Melee Ranged Occult
seem in the slightest aware of a course of action. Thus
10 9 11
the play acting of a suitable Doctor in the house may see
her taken to a solitary room and a small chance of escape
Skills
from a window with effort and assistance outside.
Athletics: 2 Firearms: 1
PCs looking to sneak a sedative into Mina’s wine
Fisticuffs: 2 Intimidation: 2
will need to plan this ahead of time though generous
Authors might allow Seward to make a Difficulty 8 Occultism: 3 Tactics: 2
Profession (Physician) KNOW skill test to have thought
to bring a sedative along with him. Alternatively, should Equipment
Seward be able to sneak away with a selection of canapes Savage Teeth: Melee Damage 1
he might, with a similar test, be able to find enough Special Skills
narcotics to do the job.
On 3 or more successes, the
Sneaking the drug into Mina’s wine will require a SAVAGE BITE
Vampire's bite damage becomes 3
Difficulty 11 Stealth(CHA) Skill Test. If the PCs can
waylay a servant prior to the attempt, the uniform Vampires have a PV of 20 against
will grant a +3 modifier to the test. For the sake of VAMPIRE
bullets
convenience the drug will be effective if she drinks it.
AGGRESSIVE ROLLERBALL: The staple of many an TO THE AUTHOR: Use 1 Vampire per PC. For
RPG group, the players commence with stealth and simplicity, these vampires are not fully statted. Assume
cunning, but fall foul of the temptation to pull guns at 0 Hit Points they will transform into mist and
and swords. When that time comes, they will equally escape.
be challenged with steel and lead: A forceful and direct
assault to seize Mina and make for the door will elicit an
effort of forceful resistance.

22 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game

 Scene Four
Servant Guards & Ghouls Haunting Shadows
STR DEX KNOW CONC STR DEX KNOW CONC
2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
CHA COOL LUCK Initiative CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
0 2 0 +1 0 0 0 +0
Hit Points Willpower PV Movement Hit Points Willpower PV Movement
10 N/A 0 3 7 N/A 1 6
Defence Defence
Melee Ranged Occult Melee Ranged Occult
8 8 6 7 7 7

Skills Skills
Athletics: 1 Firearms: 1 Athletics: 4 Firearms: 1
Fisticuffs: 1 Intimidation: 1 Fisticuffs: 1 Intimidation: 1
Occultism: 3
Equipment
Clubs: Melee Damage 1 Equipment
Shadowdagger: Melee Damage 1
TO THE AUTHOR: Use 1 per PC. For simplicity,
at 0 Hit Points the Servant Guards & Ghouls will Special Skills
surrender or flee. Haunting Shadows that are forced
BANE to come into contact with a light
source disappear from the scene.
Drugged Guests & Bystanders
Characters struck by a
STR DEX KNOW CONC shadowdagger take damage to
1 0 0 0 GHASTLY Willpower instead of Hit Points.
CHA COOL LUCK Initiative PHANTOMS
For simplicity at 0 Hit Points the
1 4 0 0 shadows cease to attack.
Hit Points Willpower PV Movement
4 N/A 1 2 TO THE AUTHOR: Use 2 Hunting Shadows per PC.
For simplicity, at 0 Hit Points the Shadows cease to
Defence attack.
Melee Ranged Occult
7 6 6

Skills
Firearms: 1

Equipment
None

TO THE AUTHOR: Use as needed. For simplicity,

upon taking 4 Damage, Drugged Guests & Bystanders
will flee.

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 23

Scene Four
WHAT TO DO WITH A PROBLEM LIKE MINA?

Assessing Mina’s state uncovers use of a dark and old magic, it confirms Helsing’s fears of the wider
vampiric society at work and that new tools and a new approach will be needed to ever combat their plans.
Once Mina has been returned to the house a deeper ease seems to come over her. (It is quite unknown
to the players at this stage, but the house itself is protected. Situated on an island, five streams, now
underground, segment it from London in ways and means long lost to most except practitioners of
particularly ancient craft. The Brotherhood painting the property and its staff are all members in one way
or another. The basement of the house rests itself upon foundations that are the walls and roof of a former
temple. Built in Roman times on ground sacred to the druids).
However a full recovery is not at all likely. The good doctor will compare her state to that of typical mental
disorders as understood at the time. On occasion she seems semi-lucid and sleeps peacefully. At other
times, she cries out as if some unseen spectre haunts her and babbles of spiders and children and some
accursed woman ‘Queen, queen of the damned keep your children away
from me...you fiend’
Really only when the players have obtained the fragments
from ‘a grave concern’ are they even able to begin to help
Mina. The children of the night will equally assist.
Knowing it is a crude bastardised blood magic spell
used on Mina, Seawood/Van Helsing and De
Villiers can ensure the ritual is broken in two ways.
Geographically removing Mina far from London
itself, as that is where it was cast, will over time
lessen, then break its hold. Scotland might
suffice, though America wouldn’t hurt.
If they have raided the crypt (see scene 6) of the
woman posing as Lucy, the players should be
allowed to rationalise one of her ritual circles
there is for the control of Mina. Ensuring all
such are destroyed will expedite Mina’s return.
Checking on Mina while she is ill, will show her
attempts to leave the house, being eventually tied
to the bed and the windows barred and locked
will be required.
She will mumble about children, spiders, not her
face, not her face, wicked witch. You’re not him,
pretender, oh you poor poor thing, aww poor baby, no
not down the pit please! Make them stop crying! among
other random and unsettling gibberish.

24 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game

 Scene Five

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 25

Scene Five
SCENE FIVE
A Grave Concern
Should the Players elect to commence with following
the leads on the missing and rumours of blood drained
bodies, Police cover ups and other macabre tales suggested
to Primrose, then the trail will lead them to the district of
Paddington. If this is undertaken before the Rescue of Mina
then you will need to alter slightly any discovery of the
blood magic ritual fragments.
If the party has already rescued Mina, they will have the
quandary of her condition to attend to. Helsing will suggest
they continue to follow up these other concerning matters
while he attempts to deal with Mina’s condition. If players
are reluctant, he will point out the condition, and the need
to have a cause related to this ‘woman’. He needs more
information so that he might aid her plight and only the
players can gather it.
TO THE AUTHOR: Players are inventive souls and
may decide to circle back to the next party and try to
confront the vampires there. If they choose to do so
the only change is that when midnight chimes there is
no such procession. The vampires simply attend in the
guise of regular guests. Security is more obvious with
large doormen greeting guests and several discreetly
placed armed guards standing just outside the party.
But the gathering is noticeably reduced with only thirty
attendees. Once the players have concluded their raid,
Helsing will be no further forward with Mina but will
have heard her crying out for “the children’’ in her sleep.
Paddington Old Cemetery was chosen to store the glut of
bodies recently plaguing the city. The Commissioner and his
superiors chose it for its close proximity to the city and ease
of access. Furthermore it’s access to a crematorium was ideal
for the disposal of the cadavers, in effect sweeping away the
concerns of those walking the corridors of power.
The location couldn’t be more ideal. It’s a good distance
from common haunts, and is less crowded than other more
populated areas. Recent evictions, orchestrated to aid the
clandestine plan, have left a fully empty terrace row only
a short cart ride away. At the end corner of these disused
houses is a closed public house named `The White Lion’.
The area was already run down and plans afoot for its
redevelopment. In the meantime however, with no tenants
or landlords to deal with the police have taken charge. The
pub’s cellar, which provides a temporary store room for the
26 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
recovered bodies and ample work space for the coroner to
examine them for information and clues as to their identities
and causes of death.
The cover up
While the Commissioner can ill afford the scandal, for once
the powers that be are in agreement with him. Nobody in
power wants the extent of the murders to become common
knowledge. Despite their machinations Fleet Street has
gotten wind of several cases. As is the nature of such a gross
discovery in the nation’s capitol the press are making much
of what little they have. The truth is worse. Dozens of bodies
have already been discovered, truth be told many more have
been missed, lost to the Thames or in dark corners of the
city, yet to be found.
A select team of police are aware of the site and the plan,
with money, promotions and threats used to ensure the
silence of all involved. Even the Cemetery staff are unaware
as the police have called in retired attendees to assist them
under the cover of darkness.
The Officers detailed to these macabre duties are hardy and
simple men. Selected for their ability to break heads, keep
their mouths shut and follow orders. Indeed without the
uniform one might well take them for ruffians themselves.
A squad of fifteen and five support staff make up the detail
working in five man shifts with 2 extras sent for three hour
stints randomly. They have other tasks around the city but
act like resurrectionists when bodies are discovered, spiriting
them away to the White Lion.
The coroner is a well experienced older man called Doctor
Anders Brun; a foreign gentleman whose service and silence
are assured due to incriminating material the police hold on
him. He currently sleeps in a cot in the attic of the ‘Lion’,
he keeps the doors and windows locked. An officer cooks
simple meals for everyone in the back kitchen and a plate is
taken up to Brun when he is not working. Though in truth
he has hardly touched his food in days. Once a week he
takes some of the money paid to him to a second hand book
shop a few streets away where he buys and requests books on
blood disorders and diseases of the flesh. He has bought over
twenty such volumes, yet only five books sit on the small
table unit in his room.

DUFFY
A keen observer might with a Difficulty 8
Observation (CONC) Skill Test notice a faint light
in the high attic of one defunct tenement house. PCs
that roll an exceptional success will also spot several
police hiding at the church tower. (see Watching the
Watchmen)
At the corner of the opposite row is the loft dwelling
of the beggar Duffy and his dog Roger. This rank
street survivor is no fool in spite of his demeanour.
Duffy is a slick and swift mover when the need arises,
while a few coins will loosen his tongue, he feels the
information is of better value than some coppers,
Luckily he can be negotiated with. A character
looking to elicit information from him can make a
Difficulty 8 Diplomacy Skill Test to bargain with
him. Duffy will command 2 Guineas with each
success reducing the price by 1 Guinea.
Any attempt at violence or threats and he will make his
escape, aided by Roger whose sharp barks and sharper
teeth are to be contented with and almost certainly
draw attention from passers by or nearby windows.
Duffy has three important observations. Firstly, he
has observed the carts and the bodies under wrap
carried in. Over a dozen bodies have gone into the
pub but only half as many barrows have taken bodies
to the graveyard. Secondly, he’s also seen Brun at
the book shop. While begging he’s heard Brun’s
increasingly fevered requests for books on blood and
sickness. Finally, he has seen figures in the moonlight
scamper about the rooftops opposite only for the
doctor to admit them through his window.
TO THE AUTHOR: How you choose to engage
with this scene is left open. With proper influence
from the police, the team may well gain permission to
attend the morgue, especially if they offer some light
as to solutions or causes. Spiriting away Brun might
allow them to engineer a likely replacement for him
among their number, suitably presented as potentially
indebted to the police. Holmwood and Stewart are
best positioned to aid in this.
A more secretive entry is more than possible. The
police numbers are low, and more concerned with
obvious threats. Gaining entry to another property
from across the rooftops, is fairly easy.
StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 27
Scene Five
The White Lion
Once upon a time the White lion was scheduled for repairs
that never happened. All measures of hospitality save for
the meanest of benches and tables have been removed. In
the main bar, a small makeshift curtain separates where
the police wait out their watch from a hideous makeshift
morgue. Scattered across the benches and tables lie a
number of savaged women stacked like firewood. Stacked
immodestly in undergarments, only the occasional
cadaver has any sort of adornment. While they vary in age,
most are older and clearly working class. All bear savage
puncture wounds on their necks, though some are also
covered in smaller wounds across their bodies.Gripped by
rigour mortis their pale faces are testimony to having been
drained dry of blood.
In a room that might once have served as a dining room
for patrons, a large marble topped table sits. Incongruous
compared to the bare wood of the other rooms and
wedged to a slight angle, it is clearly a new addition.
Standing next to the slab is a long narrow table festooned
with surgical tools and lamps at either end. At the bottom
of the slope a poorly maintained bent copper trough runs.
Stained with filth and dried blood on its very base.
Upon the slab lies a middle aged woman. Though a cloth
covers her face, her chest has been opened and many
organs removed. On a side table surrounded by human off
cuts, her heart sits on a butcher’s scale. Mere inches from
the offal sits an open journal detailing the autopsies and
observations of the mortician.
The journal is written in a delicate hand that gets heavier
as it progresses. There is little of significant note among
the findings, bar the note confirming that the puncture
wounds are bites and sketches of bites cataloguing the
twenty different teeth sets involved and the patient
numbers that they were found upon. Some of the notes are
particularly small and the note “Apes? Children?” It won’t
take much study to realise that bite pattern 1 is universal
and found on all the bodies.
Watching the watchmen
No matter how the players gain entry, their movements
have been observed by a pair of lookouts situated in a
nearby church tower. These are officers loyal to Inspectors
Aberline and Cotford. These two have suspicions that the
force is hiding something which is hindering their own
investigations. Having had word of the rooftop visits to
Scene Five
Brun and now finding that the players are snooping about,
they will quickly arrive on scene for a quiet word.
The Inspectors are archetypical detectives, a bit less savvy
than Sherlock Holmes, gruffer than Poirot, and more than
willing to wait out in the rain. This conversation might
occur, before, after or during the investigation at the White
Lion. They have a bit less information than the PCs and
while they can’t add information, are an excellent sounding
board for the players to bounce ideas off of. If the players
stumble around in the White Lion this is an ideal moment,
though you might want to run this encounter after the
Basement Morgue.
Inspectors Aberline and Cotford are all too familiar with
the darker side of London. The Torso murders and Ripper
have exposed them to sights they shall never forget. They
are resolved to see justice done and are level headed and
decent men. Enshaw is known to them and they like him.
They are rational men and not given to superstition nor
fancy thinking. To this end they are less moved by horrific
sights rationalising much to the mundane. For them true
horror is committed by ordinary men and women.
The investigators are not hostile to the PCs, indeed
Enshaw is a contact of thiers, but they are suspicious
and worry that they might be involved in the murders
and disappearances. It will take some smooth talking
(a Difficulty 8 Diplomacy Skill Test) to convince them
otherwise. Players foolish enough to say the ‘V’ word will
need 1 extra success for each time Vampires are mentioned.
The basement morgue
As the players investigate they might start to wonder
“where are the police?” As they give voice to this concern
they’ll hear a scream from the basement. It was an old
coal bunker and cellar, now little more than a hole in the
ground. As the PCs move down the stairs they’ll find the
pendant light swinging and, between the adjoining rooms,
Dr. Brun lays sprawled and bleeding from his head. “The,
Gro... bodies…”. He points towards the bunker where
muffled grunting in the darkness.
AMBUSH!
Bursting in without a light source will result in a
hail of coal being flung at those in the doorway. PCs
being attacked will have a -2 modifier to their Ranged
defence scores, as the ghouls within attack.
28 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
In the coal room, two figures are forcing a battered corpse
into a rough cut hole. With light in hand, a figure is
hunched over the hole feeding the corpse’s bulk down to
gnarly hands pulling the corpse into the shaft.
Two further figures stand watch over the affair. Tattered
trousers and blackened shirts, ripped and stained. One
sports a battered bowler hat while the other clings to a
rusted old pistol. It levels the dilapidated weapon in their
direction before discharging it. The device explodes taking
much of the pistoler’s hand, but sending shrapnel out in all
directions. Make a Difficulty 5 Dexterity Resistance Test
or suffer 3 damage.
Violence ensues?
While violence is not the only path forward and the
injured ghoul will, if offered medical treatment, be more
than happy to speak with the PCs, violence is quite likely
to occur. When the players come under gunfire they are
very likely to react poorly and it may be that they respond
in kind. PCs that approach into melee will get a close first
hand view of the ghouls’ mutilated faces. The ghouls are
a horrific sight (Difficulty 8 Cool Resistance Test or lose
1d5 Willpower) with pulled back lips, blackened gums
and swollen eyes. Every round roll 1d10 for the ghoul in
the tunnel. On a 10 the body shifts (see The Aftermath).
If a character holds onto the body it will tear in half on a
10. All those watching must make a Difficulty 10 Cool
Resistance Test or lose 2d5 Willpower.
For the ghouls use the Servant Guards & Ghouls on page
23, though the injured ghoul will have a -1 modifier on
all actions. If offered any opportunity to surrender they
almost certainly will. The Author might want to allow a
Difficulty 8 Intimidation Skill Test to let the players feel
they’ve earned it. Once any initial conflict ends the PCs
can attempt to question the ghouls. When a Ghoul hits
zero hit points it will be reduced to cowering for mercy.
If the players didn’t make an Intimidation check before,
have them make one now at Difficulty 5 and let them ask
1 question for every success rolled. Every ghoul reduced
to 0 hit points will add 1 success to the roll. (Once these
questions elapse go to the aftermath)

WHO ARE THEY & WHAT DO THEY KNOW?
The ghouls are the unfortunate subterranean
dwellers of London, evicted from their homes by
the gentrification of London. Though they may look
horrific, much of their appearance, the shrunken
eyes and shrivelled skin has nothing to do with the
Occult. They simply lead hard lives, living in places
none should endure, while the world dances above
them.
Recently they have been consumed by some
unknown illness. They worry the Countess is the
cause of it and they hope that by watching her magics
they can learn some way to protect themselves. Alas
they have grown impatient and even now seek aid
from the police and Doctor Brun, trading books
they’ve taken from the Libraries basement store for
his advice and research.
What they know is up to you, but this should serve
to be a useful place to hand out any missed clues, and
put the PCs on the track for finding Mina. Perhaps
the Ghouls might have seen the coach (See Tinker
Gang on page 16) or might provide warnings of
the dangers to be found at Kensal Green (See the
Children of the Night chapter on page 30). Just
remember that horror relies on surprise. Make sure
that the answers confirm existing knowledge or point
PCs towards discovery. Don’t spoil the ending!
The aftermath
Suddenly the body (such as remains) in the tunnel will
finally shift and slide away to a shout from below. The
surviving creatures will make a dive for the shaft, with the
injured one clutching its mangled hand as it backs towards
it. ‘Not us, not us, her, her, lady’ it says as it gestures with a
nod towards the other room (where the bodies are).
Unless stopped, it will back step all the way to the hole and
flee down it, it is gone. If the creatures are apprehended,
the PCs have a witness to deliver to Scotland Yard (or
Van Helsing) and Doctor Brun, now back on his feet, will
insist that he be allowed to help the creature. Should a
player wish to take the lead he will acquiesce, knowing he’s
on thin ice, and provide +1 to the test. Unless the PCs roll
an exceptional Difficulty 13 Medicine test, it will not be
enough. ‘Brun, Good Ductor’ it will say, and will expire
shortly after.
StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 29
Scene Five
Interrogating Brun
Brun will obviously be confronted by the party. Unlike
the ghouls, he knows little. He has become aware of the
subterranean creatures of which he thinks there are several
genus. The ones he has had most dealings with are much
more articulate and civilised, but a plague is decimating
them. He has been trying to assist by looking for a cure,
hence the books and the visits as he takes bloods and runs
tests. He knows they would like him to join their number,
but at his age, eternal life, as they call it has no appeal. He
is adamant they are not vampires however, they are carrion
eaters. There has been another breed of late, much more
sickly, possibly under some form of magic, they fear a ‘river
witch’, who seems to control the sickly ones - they attack
their own kind and seek blood. In addition to many books
on blood illnesses, the doctors’ friends have given him
some leathery pages of notes. The doctor doesn’t know
from whence they came. He thinks they’re religious texts.
Any PC with Occultism can attempt a Difficulty 11
Occultism Skill test to read these notes with PCs fluent in
Dead Languages gaining +3 on this test. Success will reveal
them to be an excerpt from a book called the Mortis Libre
- a fabled tome said to be written on the skin of heretics
with the blood of a saint. It was one of the blood magic
books found in Dracula’s library. Giving these to Van
Helsing may give him enough of a clue to heal Mina’s curse.
The Tunnel
The tunnel is impossible to traverse, but it’s direction is
easy to fathom - it runs North West. A simple consolation
of map with ruler and pencil will draw a line almost
directly to Kensal Green. It is connected to a larger ghoul
tunnel network called the Serpentine path, but only the
ghouls know this. An examination of the timbers used to
shore up the crawl space suggests several of the boards were
derived from coffins.
TO THE AUTHOR: If Scene six was played before
this chapter and concluded with the vampire woman
escaping via this tunnel, she will have collapsed it
behind her. What’s more, she will quickly clean house
when she arrives - Dr Brun and the ghouls are found
on the brink of death in the basement. The officer
on duty is dead, his throat ripped open. If Duffy
is interviewed afterwards he hears the whole thing
and sees her leave, and just like everyone else gives a
description that could be Lucy or Mina. He didn’t see
where she went, he was hiding and only got a glimpse.
Scene Six
SCENE SIX
Children Of The Night
Perhaps it was interrogating the ghouls, perhaps it was
following the carriage, perhaps Mina muttered something
in her fevered state. However the PCs got here, this leads
to a chilling encounter with the possible Ripper, revelation
of darker forces as yet unknown and the discovery of the
4th brides macabre secret.
As with many of her kind, the grave is a home to the bride -
she has made hers deep within a magnificent but neglected
family crypt in the labyrinthine Kensal Green Cemetery.
The watchman McAuley
As you approach the cemetery, the gates are closed and
a watchman rests in a small guard hut akin to a poor
man’s sentry box at the palace. Arthur McAuley, his Irish
accent thick and slow, will doff his cap, but otherwise
seems unmoved by your arrival. He is strongly opposed
to permitting entry, and PCs demanding deference due
to class and entitlement will find this expressed in uncivil
terms. He has no fear for his low job, as no one else will
take on the nightwatch hereabouts. A letter from Scotland
Yard or indeed a request from an officer will cause him to
change his tune. He has no desire to run afoul of the law.
McAuley, if handled correctly, is a very useful person to
talk to. A Difficulty 8 Diplomacy check will be adequate
to gain his co-operation, though even failing this will at
worst cost a guinea. If questioned on the cemetery or why
no one else works here, or indeed, why it’s locked up at
night, he will light a pipe and gleefully relate the tales of
shifting figures, crying in the dead of night and of missing
children in the neighbourhood. So too will he speak of the
never lifting fog that now plagues the south eastern most
quarter of the property. Once securing his co-operation,
if the PCs ask to enter he will look around, open the gate
and lock it as soon as the PCs are inside. If asked to come
inside the cemetery he will flatly refuse regardless of threats
or inducements.
30 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
IS IT DAY OR NIGHT?
It matters not to this adventure if the players over
confidently investigate at night, or wait till morning.
The guard can be renamed or shifted to whatever
shift is needed, and the fog makes everything dark
anyway. Just reply to the player’s decision with “ok, if
you’re sure” and let their own paranoia do the heavy
lifting.
The graveyard
Elaborate tombstones almost randomly rank between
winding paths and twisted trees and within a few metres
the ground begins to swirl with a chill mist. The PCs will
feel a growing unease and it will increase as they press on.
Within a few yards, the mist is to eye level and indeed
almost like smoke, it does not shift even in the breeze
that seems to constantly blow. Once the PCs are within
the mist they will need to succeed in a Difficulty 6 Cool
Resistance Test or suffer the loss of 1d5 Willpower.
The Atmosphere is intense and the deeper into the area
the PCs press the more oppressive it will become. The
Author should feel free to call for a second test should
the PCs cease moving for any reason. Progress through
the graveyard is slow, and if PCs keep to the path they
will find it dips in and out of the worst of the mist. Clever
players will realise that this indicates a central point which
they can reach if they go off the road. Alternatively a
Difficulty 8 Observation Skill Test will provide the same
information, with extra successes allowing character to
hear faint whispers in the trees, the soft grunting of a horse
or tracks of a carriage driven uncaringly over the graves.
PCs that go off road will eventually find themselves at the
chapel, though the way is paved with broken headstone
slabs. Players should make a Difficulty 5 (DEX) Resistance
Test to avoid coming a cropper on a loose stone suffering
1d5 damage if they fail. Once they have journeyed through
the graveyard they will come to the chapel.
 Scene Six
HAUNTED?
The carriage
For the purposes of this quickstart we have assumed
that the graveyard isn’t haunted but this could be a During the day an old black carriage is hidden in the
theme that the Author might wish to expand upon. chapel. Spotting it is difficult from the path but as PCs
Whether the ghosts of children, spectral hounds approach the chapel it becomes inevitable. The carriage
such as a church grim or barghest, or indeed one of has seen better days. While it has been thinly painted with
De Villier’s spirit allies. Graveyards and ghosts go a cheap glossy black paint and from a distance might look
together like steak and ale and spirits can be allies, eminently fashionable, upon close inspection it is far from
enemies or simply sad reminders of loss. it. Inspection reveals that damage to the fittings has been
crudely repaired under thicker gold leaf paint, the inside is
worn and threadbare with the rank smell of neglect. Only
The chapel the tack is new, but already it has lost the smell of new
leather suggesting frequent road use. What should be most
The centre of the fog is dominated by a massive family apparent is the crudely painted coat of arms dubbed on the
mausoleum. Built in the Roman-Greek style with columns doors, as if painted by a child. The elements are all present,
and frescos it is almost as large as a country cottage, and a shield and some attempt at a blue fleur de lis, a crown and
stands looming over the modest crypts it would call laurels. Any who have seen Dracula’s carriage will, with a
neighbours. Unlike the other mausoleums, several burning Difficulty 5 KNOW Resistance Test, recognise the coat of
torches are mounted along the front of the entrance. While arms as a crude attempt at reproducing it.
the brackets are corroded firmly in place, PCs that attempt
Stabled with the carriage is a lone mare. Food and water
to liberate them can work them free, with a Difficulty 11
for the animal is abundant but the bales of hay are rodent
Athletics (STR) Skill test loosening 1 torch with every
infested and it is only a matter of time before they turn on
success rolled.
their equine host. Evidence of the horse and tracks from
Time and weather have been unkind to this structure. the carriage are visible even at night. Any who investigate
Above ground was once a private chapel built to resemble the carriage itself will find a heavy box filled with dirt. This
some imagining of a Grecian temple. Its windowless is kept in case the countess needs to rest and is unable to
walls are cracked and broken. Decades old repairs show return to the crypt.
that the site ceased to be weatherproof a long time ago.
Where once grandiose statues dominated the doorway,
now there are broken and smoothed formless blobs with
only the occasional roll of a tunic or cape left to identify
them. Lichen, Ivy and weeds climb its walls embracing
it in a sickly green lace blanket. The entrance way door
is abnormally large, however it is a faux doorway in four
panels, only two of which, finger worn & with ivy torn
away are actual doors. Pushing it open reveals the full
extent of its desecration with rotting benches stacked up
along the walls, a cracked Altar visited by all manner of
wildlife, and holes in the wall reveal the ramp used to bring
the dead to the crypt below.
But the most obvious sight is visible even before entering
the chapel. An old black carriage.

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 31

Scene Seven
SCENE SEVEN
The Crypt
Nestled between the stone walls and the Chapel’s interior
fresco is a ramped corridor. It bends around the chapel
turning at the corners in exaggerated coffin sized arcs until
it descends below the soft earth and opens into the crypt.
READOUT OR OUTLINE TO THE PLAYERS:
As you round the passage’s first corner, the light dances
sending shadows like pirouetting stick figures along the
smooth featureless stone. Faint sobbing echoes in the
darkness, the shallow cries of a child. Though the ghostly
sound grows close upon you there is no sign of a child, nor
any alcove where one might hide. Water drips from above
and as you turn another blasted corner you raise your eyes
as torch light illuminates a pink bloated form stuck to the
roof with some sort of obscene webbing.
At first it seems to be an infant, though its balding
forehead is blistered with a dozen weeping eyes dripping
a watery yellow puss upon the stone. As you stand before
it, its body bloats and tears as raw lesions burst to reveal
eight albino limbs. The limbs catch on the stone with
spider-like claws though the short coarse hairs of these
claws cease midway to reveal emaciated paper thin flesh
covering bones and protruding veins.
Its pink face gazes down at you with its pure black pupils
and it emits an ear piercing wail and skitters down the
corridor. As it drops to the ground it quickly picks up
speed, turns the third corner into the darkness and is gone.
TO THE AUTHOR: PCs witnessing this sight must
make a Difficulty 8 (COOL) Resistance Test or suffer
the loss of 2d5 Willpower. PCs that succeed the test
still lose 1d5 Willpower.
As PCs approach the crypt with their eyes now sharpened
by the fright they will find an ornate tomb now remade
into an alchemist’s nightmare.
32 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
The chapel
The Crypt is a large stone room adorned with grand
carvings that hark of Grecian and Egyptian design. To any
serious academic, while majestic in its own way, it seems
to be a haphazard merging of misremembered concepts
aesthetically thrown together and left to the mercies
of neglect. In the centre of the room is a magnificent
tomb carved and decorated as befitting a pyramid and
surrounding it are niches waiting for relatives of the
founder to be added over time. Peering into the darkness
beyond the tomb are beast headed statues in carved robes
holding aloft a stone and brass sun.
Alas all this is mired by misuse. The niches are torn open
with stone seals smashed and reduced to debris on the
floor. Occult symbols are painted in blood across the crypt,
and the magnificent tomb is reduced to little more than a
table covered with alchemical contrivances and discarded
books. Even the gods themselves are pressed into rude
service standing watch over a simple clerks desk kept level
with the judicious use of an old tome on geography with ill
matching lamps hung from their robed arms.
The room, as the PCs delve deeper, is awash with sound,
light and shadows. A peculiar musty odour fills the sooty
air. A wet oppressiveness and sense of guilt and failure
assail all who press onwards and it will take significant
resolve to push through what appears to be a veil of misery
and despair about the entranceway. PCs proceeding suffer
the loss of 1d5 Willpower, 2d5 if they fail to succeed on a
Difficulty 4 COOL Resistance Test.
The laboratory
The centre of the room is dominated by a large plinth
which is clearly also a tomb. It is rather like an altar table,
but anyone with KNOW 3 or Occultism 2 will recognise
it as an enlarged representation of a pyramid’s outer
sarcophagus box. This remains sealed though the surface
is lined with an eccentric mix of scientific paraphernalia.
Anyone with the Education: Science skill can plainly
assess it as a jumbled collection of beakers, vases, dishes
and tubes from various sources opportunistically cobbled
together. Makeshift efforts have been made to combine
its constituent parts giving it a ramshackle appearance.
 Scene Seven
Books, stones, odd pieces of string and even a toeless shoe as she once was. Van Helsing will proclaim such a
all play a part in keeping together whatever the bubbling thing ‘impossible’ but his otherwise stoic demeanour
mess is. And yet even amid the chaos, someone is keeping suggests it has troubled him.
clear notes and following a prescribed list of measures and
☞ PCs that score an exceptional success will recognise
processes. Neatly arrayed within arms reach are stacks of
that several of the concoctions have the names of
books, sheets and parchments. While several piles of books
government figures and noted families of London
are incorporated into the contraption, there is a journal, a
listed against them.
ledger of materials used, kept in a well ordered hand.
It’s hard to tell just what concoctions are being dreamed up
on this table and a cursory examination will yield little.
The library
While the majority of the books can be found on the
The available ingredients and empty bottles are a wide mix
sarcophagus there are piles of books scattered throughout
of common and esoteric chemicals, herbs and tinctures.
the chamber. These scattered piles seem to be discarded
Several prepared vials sit in a holder - swirling misty
and partly read. These separate stacks aren’t ordered in
liqueurs that seem to sparkle with unknown qualities.
any particular way, not even to have their spines facing a
To one side of the sarcophagus an iron stove sits. Above it, readable direction. Occasionally, scrappy pieces of paper
a ramshackle flue runs up through a crack in the wall. Coal serve as bookmarks though it looks like vermin have been
and broken planks are roughly piled up within arms reach gnawing the stacks. Rather than being valued for their
and within its iron walls a dim fire blazes. Atop the stove particular insights, it seems as though these books are
a large pot sits boiling and bubbling. Every so often, with serving to keep pests away from the other tomes.
a soft pop, a bubble breaks and more of the omnipresent
Many are old books, and a casual look will find most are
mist billows up the flue.
occult tomes of varying legitimacy while others are reports
on medical practice or manuals on midwifery. Most of the
Investigating the laboratory books are written in English, German and French, though
☞ PCs attempting to discern what the laboratory is a few obscure volumes seem to be in languages from
being used for can attempt a Difficulty 11 Education: further afield.
Science (KNOW) or Profession: Physician
A Difficulty 8 Observation (CONC) Skill Test will
(KNOW) Skill Test to recognise some of the
reveal that most of the books are the property of the
possible concoctions. These include; sleeping drafts,
British Library, stamped as “removed from collection”
hallucinogens, poisons and euphorics. PCs that
or “restricted not for loan”. Such works are generally
have also investigated the drugs used in Scene 3 will
being stored in the deep sealed basement rooms of that
recognise them quite quickly and gain a +3 bonus to
institution, far from prying eyes.
the test.
☞ PCs daring enough to investigate the stove pot will The writing on the walls
find it is filled with stewing necrotic flesh. Shrivelled
On the walls sigils have been painted. It is difficult to tell
organs, brain matter, and unpleasant tubes of meat
what exactly these strange sigils are supposed to achieve
bob about amid strange herbs and roots. Said PCs
but easy to tell it’s nothing good. An Occultist can attempt
will also have to make a Difficulty 8 Cool Resistance
a Difficulty 8 Occultism (KNOW) Skill test to recognise
Test or suffer the loss of 1d5 Willpower. PCs without
that the bloody insignias on the wall are blood magic. PCs
the Medicine Skill will suffer the loss of an additional
rolling a muddy success will be horrified by this revelation
1d5 Willpower. A subsequent Difficulty 5 Occultism
and lose 1d5 Willpower as they realise what that entails.
(CONC) Skill Test will reveal that the pot is causing
Otherwise consult the table below to see what is learnt.
the mist outside.
☞ PCs who knew Lucy can make a Difficulty 8
Observation (CONC) Skill Test which will confirm
the writing to be hers, A disconcerting discovery as
it potentially provides physical evidence suggesting
somehow that she is still alive! Though perhaps not

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 33

Scene Seven
Successes Discovery
The sigils have been painted by an
3
amateur.
The sigils are similar to those
4 (KNOW) Skill Test or possess either Linguist: Dead
used to bind restless spirits
The symbols are in fact binding
spells to hold the 'children' to
'her' will and to this place.
5 They temper their vengeful
nature and allow rudimentary
dominance over them now they are
transformed.
The sigils are the Countess’s means of control over the
mutated infants. Defacing the sigils will free them from
her control changing them from Minions or Ferals to
Bystanders (page 23). Defacing a sigil requires a Difficulty
5 Occultism (KNOW) Skill test with each success
liberating 1d5 spider babies. Any creatures liberated via
the sigils being damaged will cease their attack and flee if
harmed. If the Occultism check above is an exceptional
Success, in addition to those released, 1d5 spider babies
will slink off only to hide and attack their ‘mother’ seeking
revenge. Her control broken, they have only childlike
rage, fear and hate left with a thin residue of having been
wronged.
VISIONS
If De Villiers or Primrose attempts to investigate
the sigils they will have visions of chains, screams in
the darkness and a person, perhaps a woman, face
melting away to reveal some hideous amalgam of
serpent, spider and centipede.
Regardless of success any character investigating will see
that in the niches more of those hideous spider babies lie
dormant. So long as the PCs avoid making loud noises
they won’t wake the children just yet.
The desk
Standing beneath the arms of the statues is a humble desk.
Where there is clutter across the rest of the tomb, here
it is all too clear. While the desk is scratched and more
than a little abused, it is clean, a touch too clean. Around
its base, boards of offcut wood are stained in blood with
34 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
occult symbols carved into them. The symbols are carved
in meticulous fashion repeating across the boards in
patterns that vary and suggest experimentation. Under
the desk is an old journal with patterns drawn across its
pages and notes written in Latin. To read the journal, PCs
will need to succeed on a Difficulty 8 Education: Classical
Languages or Linguist: Romance Languages. In the dark,
under stress, at best they will only be able to get the gist of
her plan and her unholy experimentations.
UNHOLY EXPERIMENTATIONS
The spider babies are the stolen and missing children
of London. Perhaps under the misguided influence of
Dracula, the Countess has been experimenting and
manipulating them using her growing understanding
of blood magic. Her skills are prodigious but far
from perfected or fully understood. She is unstable,
Denied the very thing she always wanted, a baby. She
works tirelessly with the goal of one day birthing her
perfect child. Perhaps one day an experiment will
yield results that aren’t so monstrous but for now that
day is far away and she remains as Echidna, a mother
of monsters.
The ghouls tunnel
To the rear of the desk an open hole is ripped in the wall
leaving bare soil poured across the floor tiles. Parted and
pulled roots show a frequently used tunnel that curves
downward in a south easterly direction linking up with the
Serpentine path (See Scene 5). It hides the true lair of the
countess, the inner chamber.
The crates
On the opposite side of the desk, two crates of
transylvanian dirt are stacked. While the Countess is
not so foolish to place all her eggs in one basket this is
the majority of her supply. An additional half box is in
the carriage and a further half box has been placed in a
warehouse just in case. In addition to these stashes there is
a scattering of soil found in the inner chamber.
The inner chamber
Concealed within the ghoul tunnel is the Inner chamber.
The inner chamber is actually a separate family tomb
marked above ground with a less grand memorial. As far
as anyone can see from above ground it is untouched,
 Scene Seven
and those investigating the ghoul’s tunnel will have a hard and detris as they perambulate across the floor, or jet out
time spotting the hidden entrance. PCs must first descend ropes of sticky black resin like webbing dropping them
into the tunnel, which will require making a Difficulty 7 from ceiling to floor or across the room’s breath. The
(COOL) Resistance Test to do so long enough to look. If wailing and crying is as if some nightmare nursery room
successful then a Difficulty 13 Observation Skill Test will has just awoken for feeding time. A siren-like wail of
spot that there is a tunnel behind the planks being used to ‘MAAAAAAAA’ emanates while others coo and gurgle in
hold up the ceiling. sickly bubbling tones.
Getting to the chamber is difficult unless you’re a vampire
or are willing to risk collapsing the roof. A Difficulty TO THE AUTHOR: This encounter can be pitched at
8 Profession: Engineer (KNOW) Skill test will ensure several degrees of difficulty. Simply choose the Desired
this doesn’t immediately happen and will allow further Encounter Strength and use the stats assigned to it.
investigation. Every success rolled will afford the PCs 1 Remember, in the worst case scenario the spider babies
round to investigate the chamber, but after that, a support can have reinforcements cocooned in the tunnel later
beam will break with a loud crack and wake the children. If in the adventure.
a failure was rolled the beam will break after one round.
SPIDER BABIES
The Countess uses this chamber as a sanctuary both from
the world above and from the prospect of her children STR DEX KNOW CONC
turning on her. In addition to the tunnel access point there 1 1 0 0
are two other tunnels that can provide her egress. One is CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
open, albeit only a few inches in diameter and connects
0 1 0 0
to the ghoul caverns through a longer path. The second is
even smaller, looking for all the world like a crack in the Hit Points & PV Willpower Movement
floor. Only a character with Occultism and Tactics of 2 or See Table Below n/a 2
higher would have a chance of spotting it and even then Equipment
with a Difficulty 16 Observation Skill Test. This is the
emergency route. It goes deep underground and does not Savage Teeth: Melee Damage 1
connect to the ghoul tunnels, instead joining some of the Special Skills
smaller sewer pipes outside the cemetery. Spider babies will fight
RELENTLESS unflinchingly till reduced to 0
Encounters in the crypt Hit Points at which point they die.
All PCs attacked by the spider
Waking the children HIDEOUS babies must make a Difficulty 8
There are a couple of ways that PCs might wake the VISAGE COOL Resistance Test or lose 2d5
children from their Niches. Obviously poking one with Willpower.
a stick will rouse it in short order, but so will any Serious
failure when engaging with any of the elements in the
crypt, or causing a collapse in the ghoul tunnel. Whether
from wafted chemicals, loud noises or a culmination of
smaller things, at first one or two of the spider babies
will leave their nests and then upon seeing the PCs they
will shriek and the walls will explode with movement as
dozens of the child-like creatures erupt from the empty
coffin niches that make up the wall space. All manner of
shambling and crawling, undulating and slithering bloated
bags of flesh. Mouths of lamprey like teeth are lapped by
blistering tongues in perpetual motion. Chubby hands in
pink skin reach out grabbing on spider like appendages
of short stiff hairs. Bulbous bodies secrete a trail of slime

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 35

Scene Seven
Strength Numbers Hit Points Fisticuffs PV Melee Def Ranged Def
Weak Party x1 7 0 2 7 8
Average Party x2 10 0 2 7 8
Dangerous Party x2 10 1 3 8 8
Lethal Party x4 10 1 3 8 8

OPTIONAL
The oldest children are the first caught and most
badly altered, with pincers, claws and snapping jaws.
The most recent are all more infant and baby-like.
They are less fully altered, but they attack to smother
or try to force limbs down throats and suck at eyes or
mouths to suffocate prey. To simulate different and
distinct spider babies, use the following table. If you
wish you could go as far as personalising the attack to
mirror the description.
Roll Description
Its spider leg-like fingers are perfect
1 victim for her children to feast on. Short of turning off the
for piercing and burrowing under skin.
It has a mouth filled with teeth on all
2
sides like a Lamprey.
3 Its throat is filled with venomous fangs.
4 It has a spiked tongue like a hagfish.
It has two exaggerated fangs that distend
5
the jaw and permanently sit above the lip.
It has a gummy smile that hides needle-
6 it’s not like there are a lot of horse drawn carriages
like spikes hidden under the gum.
Its tongue is bone hard and flicks out
7 on watch roll a Difficulty 5 Observation (CONC)
like a flick knife.
It's melted lips & gummy mouth are
8
dripping with acidic fluids.
Rows and rows of emerging human teeth
9
cover the whole body.
10 It shrieks so loudly ears bleed.
Confronting the Countess
READOUT OR OUTLINE TO THE PLAYERS:
‘Within the similarities to Lucy, the natural elegance and
stature. Holmwood remarked to Seward that the form
seemed different. There was a greater cruelty suggested on
her lips, even more than was present at the awful moment
at the crypt. The stomach appears bloated and her arms
and hands seemed elongated as if stretched unnaturally.’
During the day (from sunrise to sunset) The 4th Bride
sleeps in the inner chamber. She rests on dry earth taken
from one of several opened crates kept inside. At night she
usually roams the land either attending grand balls, adding
more victims to her steadily increasing body count or
engaging in vile experiments.
Consequently the adventure works well enough during
the day as her slumber allows the PCs to investigate and
confront her. Should they investigate at night, she will
not be present when the PCs arrive. Once the players
have investigated the tomb she will return with her two
servants. The servants will stow the horse and carriage and
disappear into the night as she descends the ramp with a
stove or slaughtering all her children, she will not notice
any intrusion. This will allow the PCs to ambush her,
should they hang around.
CLEANING UP & SETTING A WATCHFor some
reason, when exploring a tomb some parties may
elect to leave a member behind to keep a lookout.
The mist doesn’t make this particularly easy but
driving through the graveyard. Have the character
test. Each success will grant the PCs below 1 round
of preparation. PCs that want to hide spider baby
corpses can make a Difficulty 5 Athletics (STR) Skill
Test with each success moving one of the bodies.
The arrival
When the Countess arrives her first instinct will be to put a
glamour upon herself. PCs must make a Difficulty 8 Cool
Resistance test or be deceived.
☞ If deceived, PCs that know Lucy will see her stride
into the chamber. At her breast a ragged looking child
that suckles upon her feeding happily. Held in her
wrist is a poor battered wretch that is barely conscious.
☞ PCs who resist will see holes in the glamour. This
might be a realisation that something is wrong about

36 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game


her pose and demeanor. They might see the baby as a
dog or see it drawing blood as it feeds.
☞ PCs with the Shadow Sight effect will see Lucy for
a moment before her face melts away and the baby
is revealed to be a festering sack of flesh gnawing
bloodily at her breast.
☞ PCs with Shadow Sight can make a Difficulty 8
Observation (COOL) Skill Test. If successful, they
will recognise the form of what can only be a vampiric
creature, its eyes dark and sunken, a beauty in life but
the unmistakable veil of death hangs about its aura.
Her eyes lock on the PCs as she snarls recognition that
her obfuscation and glamour have no affect on them.
The child turns its head fully like an owl to observe, seeing
the character it cries out ‘BLOOFER’! The Countess stands
raising a finger to the party as she screams ‘break them’
awakening and sending forth the remaing spider babies.
Scene Seven
ADD SPIDER BABIES TO TASTE
Remember just because the PCs have slain all the
spider babies doesn’t mean that you can’t add a few
more. The Countess is a serious threat, who fights to
kill in a direct and brutal fashion, but if the whole
party has got by unscathed they’ll be an issue for her.
Instead to bolster her defences, in addition to the
suckling screamer on her chest, consider adding a
small swarm of 1-2 spider babies per character.
Alternatively, if the players played well, had a good
plan and really deserve the win against the spider
babies, use the Servant Guards & Ghouls on page 23
though they should be considered fanatics with with
clubs (page 57).

The Countess
STR DEX KNOW CONC
2 2 1 2
CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
3 5 0 +3
Hit Points Willpower PV Movement
20 15 10 4 Victory conditions
Defence When the Countess is decidedly losing the fight, she will
Melee Ranged Occult attempt to escape. As she is an NPC demoralising her is as
10 8 9 good as shooting her and may in fact be an easier option.
Of course, attacking a vampire is not a good idea and the
Skills PC who’s antics inflict the greatest loss of Hit Points will
certainly be the target of her next attack.
Athletics: 2 Firearms:1
Fisticuffs: 2 Intimidation: 2 ☞ Every spider baby disabled causes her to lose 1 Hit Point.
Occultism: 3 Tactics: 2 ☞ Destroying the stove, alchemical apparatus or
scattering her library will cost her 1d5 hit points each.
Equipment
☞ Collapsing the ghoul tunnel will cost her 1d5 Willpower.
Savage Teeth: Melee Damage 1
☞ The loss of the last spider baby will cost her 1d5 Hit
Special Skills Points.
On 3 or more successes the Once the countess is reduced to 0 Hit Points she will
SAVAGE BITE
Countess's bite damage becomes 3. turn to mist and escape. If a barrier has been set up in the
chamber she will collapse it, showing an incredible force of
Once the Countess is reduced to 10
SUCKLING will and escape into the night. PCs that pursue her will see
Hit Points the child is killed, this
CHILD her carriage, pulled by gray phantom steeds, drive into the
will reduce her Willpower by 1d5.
night.
Vampires have a PV of 20 against
VAMPIRE
bullets.

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 37

Scene Eight

SCENE EIGHT
Aftermath
Once the war is raged and the battle won, the PCs can
retire to the Van Helsing house. While the spider babies
& ghouls rapidly decay, samples can be taken from the
shattered remnants of the alchemical lab. Alas the various
spills both alchemical and bodily have rendered any tomes
not secured completely illegible.
In the days that pass it will be discovered that all of the
ghoul tunnels have been sealed from within. Police
investigators that venture below the streets to investigate
them are quietly retired on the back of sealed letters from
Whitehall.
For the parents of the stolen children, little trinkets and
toys are found in a chest. While these can be used to give
some parents closure, some sit awaiting any clue as to
who to deliver them to. Sadly for many of the dead their
families are no more, with parents killed or robbed of any
memory that they had of a little one at all.
The unknown woman is known to be linked to Dracula
at this stage. Worse is the unsettling aspect of her necrotic
pregnancy and worst yet the prospect that she is an avid
experimenter and practitioner of blood magic. Looking
into the darkening London sky he muses “What other
horrors might we yet find”.

EPILOGUE
The Red Death
Just as the adventurers are set to celebrate the saving of Follow Nightfall Games and Stoker & McAuley
Mina and putting largely the immediate fears and threats Productions on Facebook to keep abreast of future
to bed, word arrives of a sickness breaking out in London, StokerVerse Roleplaying game projects:
the docks are in riot and the army is being called in to
contain it. As the curtain closes it is over an uncertain
future. one danger has been passed perhaps it was a
distraction. A call for aid must go out. Perhaps muses
Helsing now is the time to seek out the Priests of Set.

38 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game

 Epilogue

The adventure continues soon…

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 39

Rules
RULES
Part 1: Character Components
Stats
Stats represent the core capabilities of a character - how
smart, strong, fast or lucky they are. The different stats
that characters possess are Strength (STR), Dexterity
(DEX), Knowledge (KNOW), Concentration (CONC),
Charisma (CHA), Cool (COOL), Luck (LUCK).
Each stat has a range from 0 to 6, with 0 representing an
underdeveloped capability in that area and 6 representing
an utterly unholy capability. Each step is referred to as a
rank, e.g., rank 2 in Strength represents that a character
has above average capability in that area. The ranks are as
follows:
Rank Description Bonus Damage
0 Underwhelming 0
1 Average 0 instincts take over.
2 Above Average 0
3 Noteworthy 1 how lucky they are in the line of duty. Sometimes a little
4 Regional Champion 2 blind luck makes all the difference to the outcome.
5-6 National Champion 3
Assigning Starting Stats
All stats begin at 0 and are improved through character
creation.
STRENGTH (STR): A measure of how physically strong
and fit the character is, as well as their capabilities in
close combat. Strength can be considered a measure
of overall fitness and is used when running, climbing,
throwing, or fighting in hand-to-hand combat.
DEXTERITY (DEX): Dexterity represents a character’s
speed, agility, and hand-eye coordination. Dexterity
comes into play when considering the use of ranged
weapons like pistols or rifles, as well as when hiding,
sneaking, or performing an acrobatic manoeuvre.
KNOWLEDGE (KNOW): Knowledge is the core thinking
power of a character, representing not only their level
of education in academic subjects, but also their wit
40 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
and ability to retain vital information. A character’s
Knowledge stat is an indication of their overall
intelligence.
CONCENTRATION (CONC): A character’s
Concentration stat is considered for complex tasks
that require both dedication and study, as well as their
ability to hone their senses to spot and detect threats or
clues. Concentration is used for a range of technical and
professional skills as well as identifying threats.
CHARISMA (CHA): Charisma is a measure of a character’s
likability, communication skills and persuasive nature.
The Charisma stat is used when diplomacy is needed or
when haggling, seducing, or leading others.
COOL (COOL): Cool represents a character’s willpower
and ability to resist the effects of fear. It is used when
interrogating and torturing subjects or when survival
LUCK (LUCK): A character’s Luck stat is a measure of just
USING LUCK
Luck is not normally used for Skill Tests in a direct
fashion but can instead be used in much more
interesting ways. All the following Luck spends can
be activated at any point.
☞ A wee bump – Characters can spend a point of
Luck to increase a Stat by 1 for 1 Test.
☞ Another day at the office – A character can
substitute the values of a skill dice for the value
of the success die.
☞ Duck! – Characters can spend a point of Luck
before damage is rolled to transfer the damage
of a successful attack to themselves. If this would
impair the intervening character they are instead
reduced to 1 Hit Point.
☞ First off the mark – Characters can, after rolling
initiative, spend a point of Luck to set their
initiative to 20.

☞ I’m fine really – Characters who are reduced
to 0 Hit Points or Willpower can spend 1 Luck
to instead be knocked down, and reduced to 2
Hit Points. If the character spends 2 luck, then
they gain 5 Hit Points instead. Should the player
wish, they can split the points gained between
Hit Points and Willpower.
☞ Sheer Luck – Characters can spend a point of
Luck to reduce the Difficulty of an unskilled Test
to 8 or 2 points to reduce the Difficulty to 5.
☞ Unholy power – Characters can choose to spend
1 or 2 Luck before rolling an Occultism Test to
reduce the progress needed to activate an Occult
secret by 2 or 4.
Bonus damage
When making an attack using an attribute, your attribute
will increase the damage of that attack so long as the
damage is 1 or more. For fisticuffs this is usually Strength,
for firearms this is usually Concentration.
Skills
Skills represent the capabilities gifted to a character
through their life experience and formal training.
Where stats represent the intrinsic strength and mental
capabilities of a character, skills show the technical
capabilities and specialist knowledge gained from an
education or hands on experience with a particular task.
MAKING AN ACTIVE SKILL TEST
The most important thing to know about the S5S
system is how to take a basic skill test. Once you
understand this you understand 80% of the game.
The process for a skill test is at its core very simple.
The player declares an action. The Author calls the
skill and stat combo to be rolled to adjudicate its
success, along with a Difficulty.
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The player then rolls a success die, a chance die and 1
additional die for every skill rank they possess. Each
dice is considered separately with the called skill
and stat added to it to get a result. Each result that
beats the Difficulty counts as a success IF and only
IF the success die rolled a success. There are some
complications to this, but you don’t need to know
these just yet. See Skill Tests on page 46 for details.
IMPORTANT: When using a skill players should be
clear in the approach that they wish to take so that the
Author can fairly adjudicate which stat that would be
used for that test.
EXAMPLE: Dan wants to climb a sheer cliff face and
is asked by his Author to make an Athletics (STR) Skill
Test against a difficulty of 12. He has An Athletics skill
of 2 and a STR stat of 3 meaning that he rolls 4 dice: the
success die, the chance dice, and 2 skill dice. To each of
these dice, he adds the skill plus stat (a total of 5)
His success die rolls a 7(+5=12) and the other 3 dice roll
6’s(+5=11s) a success, just.
Skill ranks
Each skill has a maximum of four ranks. If a character
does not possess a certain skill, then they are ‘unskilled’ in
that area. Being unskilled does not mean that a character
is incapable of performing a task, but that they will find
themselves unable to complete tasks quickly and will be
more likely to make mistakes along the way. Unskilled
characters roll the success die and the Chance Dice.
For example, being unskilled in Athletics does not mean
that a character can’t swim, rather that they will quickly be
outpaced by those that are skilled.
Skill Rank
1 Skilled
2 Experienced
3 Expert
4 Specialist
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Skills List
The below list is a list of the skills needed for the
Quickstart characters. Other skills exist in the core
rulebook.
ATHLETICS: Athletics is a measure of sporting fitness
and covers all manner of physical activities including
activities as varied as acrobatics, jumping, running,
swimming, and throwing. Thrown attacks can use the
Athletics skill, though unless the weapon has Thrown
damage there will be penalties to hit. Other attacks must
use either Fisticuffs or Firearms.
DIPLOMACY: Diplomacy is not the art of making a
request, it is the art of being inoffensive. It runs the
gamut of understanding criminal power dynamics to the
sharp manners of the elite. Diplomacy is very important
when making purchases (legal and not) or interacting
with people with whom the character has not formed a
lasting relationship.
DRIVING (BY TYPE): Driving skills are linked to specific
vehicles, the most common of which are the Barge,
Carriage, and Sea vessel. This skill is not required for
pleasure cruises on a nice summer’s day, it comes into
play when there is risk. This risk might be a risk of
being slowest, of not catching up to an escaping foe or
of capsizing in a storm. The skill governs not only the
characters’ chance of success but also what constitutes a
risk.
Rank What constitutes normal
1 Slow speed in inclement weather
2 At pace in inclement weather
At pace around common obstacles or
3
through crowded streets
Maintaining side by side proximity with
4 another craft at pace, providing a semi-
stable footing for standing passengers.
EDUCATION (BY TYPE): Education covers the
knowledge gained throughout the character’s schooling
and early years. It is incredibly broad but only covers
intellectual skills and trade applications. Where
there is another skill that covers a topic Education
automatically bows to it and that skill should be used
instead. Education often makes good use of libraries and
workshops, See page 55 for the appropriate rules.
42 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
Common types of Education is often class-based and
includes the apprenticeships of the lower and middle
classes (Trade & Profession), the University, Grammar,
Boarding, Public and Preparatory schools of the wealthy
(Classical), the workhouses, slums and rough living
of the underclass (Criminal). These categories are
not definitive, nor are they exclusive. The Victorians
embraced the concept of self-improvement, and many
characters could conceivably possess several educations.
Players are invited to come up with alternative
educations so long as the coverage is understood and
agreed upon with the Author.
FISTICUFFS: The art of fighting in proximity, both
unarmed and with weapons. Fisticuffs does not care
whether a weapon is a masterwork or is improvisation
at its finest. It covers broken bottles and cavalry sabres
equally.
FIREARMS: The Firearms skill covers all manner of
weapon used at range so long as it isn’t thrown or
mounted on a carriage. It covers Bows, Crossbows,
Pistols, Rifles & Shotguns irrespective of whether they
are breech or muzzle loading, single shot, or repeaters,
commonplace or archaic.
FOLKLORE (BY REGION): Not dissimilar from
Education in its scope, Folklore is the understanding of
the cultural practices of a particular population. This
might be based on a geographic population or a diaspora
across several regions. It does not include religion, except
so far as there are significant specific distinctions. Where
folklore is valuable is in that it provides some knowledge
about the Occult though often only that used to protect
yourself.
INTIMIDATION: Akin to Diplomacy, Intimidation is the
not so gentle art of forcing acquiescence, obedience, and
loquaciousness through demonstrations of consequence.
As a skill it can be summed up in two words “or else”.
Intimidation is usually used to gain information from
unwilling parties or scare opponents into walking away
from a conflict. It can be verbose or laconic in delivery,
just as it can rely on physical menace, a clear expression
of logical consequences, or even a wry grin.
MEDICINE: While many innovations of modern
medicine are still decades away, the efforts of the
findings of Semmelweis, Snow and of course Pasteur
bring germ theory to the fore. Medicine in the Victorian
era darts between the outright quackery of bleedings and
seeking a change of air, to the eminently practical use
of surgery and bone saws in the case of serious wounds.

Medicine is, thanks to the General Medical Council,
taught in schools, but most practical physicians require
apprenticeships before they are useful in any real sense.
The Medicine Skill allows the use of Medical Bags and is
crucial in restoring Hit Points to PCs.
OBSERVATION: Observation is the skill of recognising
irregularities in recognisable patterns. This might be
through sight, sound or indeed any of the senses. A
character with a high observation is harder to surprise
and harder still to hide things from. PCs looking to
investigate the strange and unusual will find it a double-
edged sword as they might see things they wish they
hadn’t.
OCCULTISM: Where folklore is the half-remembered
truths of the lay practitioner, occultism is a practical
metaphysical science. It is only known to those with
legitimate exposure to the occult and is used to
both influence the Occult Secrets and to resist their
influence. Outside the occult sphere it holds little useful
information as it doesn’t care to ruminate on the vagaries
of cultural interpretation. Occultism tends to be initially
biased by local cultural trappings, but as the occultist
learns more, they usually widen the scope of their
teachings. Often this is in ways that might label them as
heretics or apostates by every-day society so displaying
such knowledge is rarely wise.
PROFESSION (BY TYPE): Professionals make up a new
and interesting social class in the Victorian age. A type of
specialised Education, the Profession skill provides you
with all the knowledge expected to engage in a particular
profession, though talent in that profession may vary.
Common professions are things such as Solicitor, Clerk,
Teacher, and Civil engineer. Professions are not usually
roles that engage in manual labour though PCs looking
to engage in a trade such as skilled labourers, artisans,
blacksmiths and the like can certainly take the Trade
skill. Which functions in the same manner as Profession.
Players wishing to play characters engaged in more semi
or unskilled roles, can choose to take a Trade skill but
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Rules
are in no way required to do so. Most of such labourers
do not possess any specific degree of training and simply
learn on the job, while they survive.
STEALTH: The art of the surreptitious, Stealth is used to
hide and sneak. It affords no technical skills in dealing
with windows or door locks for which Thievery is
needed. Stealth includes not just sneaking and hiding
but smuggling both on your person and in a vehicle.
SURVIVAL: Survival is the skill used to stay alive in
adverse conditions. While individuals are seldom
trained in every environment, the basic requirements
remain the same. Food, Water, and Shelter must be
obtained somehow, and the Survival skill is the art of
finding all these things. Trade skills such as carpentry, or
game hunter can occasionally substitute. Survival is an
expression of a PC’s will to overcome adverse conditions.
TACTICS: Tactics is the skill of understanding how fights
tend to progress. It is an intellectual skill that is very
useful in several practical ways. Tactics determine at least
part of every type of every mundane defense. Tactics also
helps determine a character’s initiative and is used in
bottleneck tests with Observation to detect characters
using Stealth.
THIEVERY: Thievery is the skill of getting into things
that you’re not meant to get into and taking things out.
Thievery is used to open complicated locks, pilfer objects
from another’s pocket or open doors when there is no
handle to grasp. Though often used with the Stealth
skill, thievery itself doesn’t offer any ability to hide
yourself. Thieves all have their own techniques and as
many pickpockets work with Diplomacy or Intimidation
as they do Stealth.
A MATTER OF CLASS
In the UK, especially in Victorian times, one’s social
standing and level of aristocracy very much affect
the access an individual has to things like education,
opportunity and expectation. This is considered
in depth in the full version of the StokerVerse
Roleplaying Game.
Rules
Part 2: Skill Tests
Once the player announces their action the Author has the Author is the ultimate arbiter here and even if they have
responsibility of determining whether a test is warranted, used a combination in the past, this is not binding on them
what skill and stat are most appropriate and what the to continue using that combination in the future.
difficulty of the test is. In publications, a skill test is simply
noted as a Difficulty X Skill (Stat) Skill Test. Answering Determining difficulty
these three questions is something the Author will do
Difficulty can be determined in a variety of ways. The
multiple times every session and while this might look like
simplest way to do this is to consider how hard the task
a lot to do, it will quickly become old hat. Once the Author
would be for the average person and assign a number
has determined how hard the test is the player will roll dice
based on the table below. In cases where a character is
so that the Author can adjudicate the Skills outcome.
being opposed by another character directly, the difficulty
becomes based on that character’s capabilities.
How hard is the test? Most Difficulties when opposing a character are calculated
by taking 6 and adding one or two of that character’s skills.
Is a test needed? The Author can use any combination of skills but some
If the Author believes that the outcome is in doubt, this common examples are below.
is when a test should be rolled. This might be doubt as to
whether the task is achievable or doubt as to how quickly Skill Opposed by
the task can be undertaken. But if there is no drama in a Athletics Athletics + Tactics
situation, if the only question is whether the character will Diplomacy Diplomacy
complete a task before their tea is cold, chances are a test Driving Driving + Tactics
isn’t needed.
Fisticuffs Fisticuffs + Tactics
As guidance, a character will usually pass any Skill Test Firearms Firearms + Tactics
where the Difficulty is equal to 3+Skill(Stat) but even
Intimidation Diplomacy
higher Difficulties are achievable in the presence of a warm
quiet room and a hot cup of tea. It is more important to Observation Observation + Stealth
avoid lots of boring unnecessary dice rolls than it is to be Occultism Folklore + Occultism
ironclad on the exact numbers. Stealth Observation + Stealth
The lack of a skill test doesn’t mean that the character is Thievery Observation + Thievery
doing nothing, indeed some easy tasks can take the longest If one of the characters is a PC, the Author can invert
to achieve so the Author should not just blow the player this norm and have the character roll an Active Skill Test
off in describing their efforts. Remember you can always instead and as always, should the Author feel it appropriate
use such activities to add flavour to your game or to insert the Difficulty can be reduced.
an NPC for the PCs to interact with.
Boring tasks
Determining which Skills and Stats to use A boring task is one that is performed easily, even under
When the player announces their planned action the duress. This might include opening doors, hopping
Author should listen to what they are seeking to achieve over a low wall, climbing over a table etc. These events
and choose the skill and stat combination that best aligns should only ever require a Skill Test when the character
with the player’s approach. Examples of proposed skill performing it is badly afflicted.
tests can be found throughout this book though some
tests are fairly common. A melee attack uses Strength Simple tasks
and Fisticuffs. A ranged attack uses Concentration and Simple tasks including completing paperwork correctly,
Firearms, researching the occult uses Knowledge and light lifting and carrying, and communicating with a
Occultism. Ultimately so long as the combination makes stranger. These tasks should be considered second nature
sense to the Author any combination can be used. The to anyone not under any level of duress.

44 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game


Challenging tasks
Such tasks require thought and while specific training is
not always needed, those without the required skills may
find themselves struggling. Challenging Skill Tests include
negotiating entry into a club, interrogating people or
spotting someone lurking in a dark alley.
Complex tasks
A complex task is one that requires specific training or an
awful lot of sheer luck. Medical treatment, Occult rituals,
or communicating at the highest levels in a foreign language
should all be considered Complex tasks.
Strenuous tasks
Strenuous tasks require advanced training and experience,
including asking favours of the crown, piloting a ship in a
storm, or performing life saving surgery.
Insane tasks
Generally the most difficult tests receive Insane difficulty.
Sometimes a Complex or Strenuous test is increased to this
level due to the amount of pressure or stress a character is
under, or maybe the task at hand puts the character’s life in
the balance. Many characters may find that their stats and
skills make achieving an Insane Skill Test a matter of luck
alone.
Task Difficulty
Boring 4 or less
Simple 5 fired and hits a friend, an occult tome is dangerously
Challenging 8 misunderstood. It is up to the Author whether a character
Complex 11
Strenuous 14
Insane 16
Performing the Skill Test
Once the Author determines the Tests variables, it comes
time for the player to roll dice. The number of dice rolled
is based on the Skill nominated by the Author. The player
rolls dice equal to the number of ranks in this skill that
their character possesses. In addition to this the character
adds two other dice.
One of the dice is a chance die, all characters get this
and for all intents and purposes, it is just another Skill
die. There are no special requirements of this die. Even
unskilled characters get this die.
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Rules
The other die is the success die. The success die must
be immediately distinguishable because it is the most
important die rolled in every test. We recommend using
a die of a different colour for this. The reason the success
die is so important is that a test is only ever considered
successful if the success die, when added to the designated
stat and skill, rolls equal to or greater than the Difficulty. If
the success die fails, the test fails.
DICE+SKILL+STAT=RESULT
If the success die passes, the degree of success depends on
the overall number of successes rolled. Each additional dice
is compared to the difficulty in the same way as the success
die. The more successes the better.
Outcomes
There are several outcomes possible from a skill test. These
range from Calamity to Extraordinary with the Author
adjudicating the specifics based on the test and the locale
in which the test takes place.
CALAMITY: A calamity is where not only the success die
fails to roll a success, but none of the dice roll a success.
Calamities are a step above mere failure. Often the direct
opposite of the desired goal will occur and usually there
will be an immediate direct consequence for failing the
attempt this badly.
EXAMPLES: A hiding character is found, a shot is
understands that a failure has occurred and all too often
they will not!
FAILURE: A failure is where one of the skill dice passes
the test’s difficulty but alas it is not the Success Die.
While there usually isn’t an immediate consequence
to this failure, often consequences are just a matter of
time. Whatever situation the PC was aiming to alleviate,
endures and must still be addressed.
EXAMPLES: A hiding character fails to throw off
searchers, A shot misses its target, A text proves to be
confusing and inconsistent.
Rules
CLOSE CALLS: A Close Call is any skill test where the
Success die passes the test by itself. When a character
succeeds with a close call, there is almost always a
consequence. This might be as simple as a lost point
of Willpower, or perhaps evidence of the character’s
passage is left behind. It is up to the Author to narrate
close calls with the horror genre in mind. Remember
these are successes but tense ones that occur just in time,
with little flair.
EXAMPLES: A hiding character momentarily throws
off pursuers so that they gain a 1 round head start, A shot
wings its target doing little damage, a rite is found after
long tiring hours of searching.
SOLID SUCCESSES: A Solid Success is rolled when a
character rolls exactly 2 successes. This is true success,
without unplanned consequence. While the character
might accept some fallout in their design the test
otherwise goes to plan.
EXAMPLES: The hiding character throws off their
pursuers and escapes. A shot hits the target in the torso
dealing a potentially serious wound. The ritual is found
after an hour’s reading.
EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESSES: More than 2 successes
is considered an Extraordinary Success. When an
Extraordinary success is rolled the character achieves
more than they might have hoped. They gain more
information, or gain it faster than expected. They
achieve more and do it with flair. The Author should
narrate this in accordance with the genre, but there
should be a distinct reward for the result.
EXAMPLES: The hiding character overhears their
pursuers talking, A shot hits the target in the chest.
The ritual is annotated with several suggested tombs to
continue researching.
46 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
CAN I?
A player that rolls an Extraordinary success might
have ideas about what they would like to occur. As
Author you should listen to them.
Every idea a player has is one less you need to come
up with and even if you don’t like the idea try and
meet them part way. It’s much better to say “No,
but” rather than simply “No.” You might even find
that some requests are quite unambitious and even
venture towards saying “Yes, and”
Progress tests
Progress tests are sometimes known as Extended or
Teamwork Tests, This quickstart shouldn’t require any
such tests and this will be covered in the corebook.
EXPLODING 10S (OPTIONAL RULE).
If a success die rolls a 10 and is insufficient to pass
the test’s difficulty the Author has two optional rules
they might decide to employ. These are completely
optional and the Author can also decide to charge
luck for these effects.
☞ The Author can choose to allow the character to
reroll the Success die and add 10 to it.
☞ The Author can choose to count the result as a
Close Call.
While this might imply some special rule for rolls of
a 1, there is no need for one. A character that would
succeed on a Skill test despite rolling a 1 should never
have picked up the dice. Certainties like this should
be treated as such.
Tools & workshops
Some characters have access to advanced tools. These
might be a dedicated workshop or perhaps some new
invention of theirs that drastically improves on a basic
toolkit. While toolkits don’t provide any bonus to
performing their skill they do avoid the penalty for not
having the necessary skills.
TO THE AUTHOR: For the purposes of the
Quickstart only the Medical Kit is required and only
for first aid.

Medical kit
Rule Details
Ad-hoc -3 penalty to the test. (all dice)
Basic No modifier to the test. (all dice)
The kit is suitable for one
particular task counting as a
Dedicated
Basic kit for that task and Adhoc
for other tasks.
Surreptitious -1 penalty to the test (all dice)
Character can reroll the Success
Advanced
Die
Character can reroll all dice In the
Exquisite
dice pool
Resistance Tests
Sometimes a character faces a risk where they must
immediately resist or suffer the consequences. This is
where Resistance Tests come in. A Resistance Test is a
simple matter of rolling the Success die and adding the
applicable attribute. This is compared to the Difficulty of
the test which is usually an 8. It is a simple matter of pass
Part 3: Combat
Determining Initiative
At the start of a combat, all player characters roll initiative.
Roll 1d10 and add your Initiative bonus. Actions in a
combat are resolved in order from highest to lowest with
players being able to voluntarily decrease their character’s
initiative at the start of their turn should they wish to do
so. PCs always trump NPCs in the case of a draw.
Should a character wish to delay their action they can
reduce their initiative to any number they see fit. This
becomes the character’s new initiative. If this new initiative
score has not been called yet, the character can act
normally when it is called. A character can also opt to skip
their turn and take an Initiative of 20 on the next turn.
Should two player characters share initiative then the
players should come to an agreement about the order of
actions. If this isn’t possible, they can compare a stat of the
Authors choosing and decide that way. The Author should,
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Rules
or fail. A pass means that the outcome is positive for the
character. This might mean that a character avoids damage
from poison, just as it might mean that a character fails
to remember a horrifying detail of a case or can maintain
focus when there are a lot of distractions in an area.
Attribute Types of activity
STR Resisting poisons
KNOW Remembering facts
CONC Avoiding distractions
COOL Fear tests
LUCK Resisting witchcraft
Where these are included in the Quickstart they are noted
as resistance checks for the listed Stat.
DON’T SCREW IT UP
Often a test is so likely that failure is going to be
rare but the test is so important you don’t want to
handwave success. A Resistance Test is ideal for
adding a bit of dice fueled drama. Generally a test
with difficulty 4 is the way to do this. But remember,
you can always rule a test successful without touching
the dice.
out of fairness, decide this stat openly prior to the Initiative
roll though Knowledge is often a good tiebreaker to use.
Initiative and NPCs.
Occasionally the player characters will face a gang of
near-identical NPCs. While the Author can choose to roll
initiative for every single scarab crawling out of a tomb this
is usually over kill, instead the Author may choose to roll
for each type of NPC involved in combat and have them
act all at the same time.
What can I do on my turn?
All characters can move and take an action. Characters
are always assumed to be moving tactically, moving metres
equal to their movement in metres. Should the character
wish, they can opt to sprint (See Below). In addition to
moving, all characters gain an action. The character can
propose any activity as something they wish to achieve,
most of which will come down to rolling an Active Skill
Test.
Rules
EXAMPLES: Actions might include making an attack,
performing a skill, sprinting, or commanding staff.
Making an attack.
To make an attack an Active Skill Test is made to
determine whether the attack hits. Each success increases
the overall effectiveness of the attack. For most attacks
every success inflicts 1 damage dice of damage, with
weapons adding a bonus to this (See Equipment).
The Difficulty of an attack is determined by the target’s
Defences and any situational modifiers determined by the
Author. For the purposes of this Quickstart, Defences are all
calculated ahead of time. Melee is the Difficulty of attacks
made by the fisticuffs skill, Ranged covers attacks made by
firearms and Occult defends against supernatural powers.
Modifiers
There are three types of modifiers that affect combat.
Attack modifiers, Defence modifiers and General
modifiers. Attack modifiers only affect Attacks, Defence
modifiers, Defences and General modifiers affect both.
Common combat modifiers
Ambush (Attack modifier): While all shooters aim their
weapons, it is only when they can aim for significant time
that they gain an advantage. We call this an Ambush.
When an Ambush is successful (Which requires an action
to make a Stealth vs Observation + Tactics Test) the
attacker gains a +1 bonus for every success made on the
test. Ambushes only work on the round after the Ambush
test and can’t be used twice in a combat.
Cover (General modifier): If a character spends an
action to seek cover, they gain a bonus equal to half their
Tactics skill to athletics attacks, firearms attacks, and
ranged defence. All characters with Tactics are assumed
to seek some sort of cover, hence the skills inclusion in
determining defences. Characters who are in cover will
usually gain some protection from their location (see
Armour).
Firing One Handed (Attack modifier): Most firearms are
designed to be fired as a two-handed weapon. Characters
can, in a pitch, fire them one handed though this is at a
significant penalty. Unless a sidearm, firearms fired one
handed do so with a -3 penalty.
48 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
Overwhelming odds (General modifier): Every 2 allies
more than the opponents fighting you, gives a +1 bonus to
Fisticuffs and Melee Defence.
Weapon Range (Attack modifier): If the weapon is fired
at a range where it has a damage bonus of 0 or less, it
increases the difficulty of attacks by 3. For the purposes
of simplicity, short range is considered anything up to
10 meters, medium range anything up to 50 meters and
anything up to 100 meters is Long range.
Damage dice & weapons
A Damage dice is a d5 or five sided dice. For this a d10 is
rolled and results of 1-5 are read as normal with values of
6-10 are read as if they were 5 lower than the face shows.
Most weapons have a bonus to the damage inflicted when
they are used. Damage is always noted as a simple number
and this number often varies based on the range of the
attack. This number, along with bonus damage from Stats
(page 42), is added to each Damage die.
NOTE TO THE AUTHOR: Once you work out the
total damage modifier, take a dice (or two) and set it
(them) to this value. This way you can simply add up
all the dice in one fell swoop.
EXAMPLE: A character rolls 2 successes to hit a target
with their damage 1 pistol. They roll 4&5 for a total
of 9 damage. Because there were 2 successes rolled an
additional 2 damage is added to the 9 rolled for a total of
11 damage. If they had a CONC Stat of 3 the pistol would
count as a damage 2 weapon and deal 13 damage.
Armour
Armour is a specialised set of clothing that can absorb
some of the impact of an attack. Usually only one suit of
armour or armour effect can be applied. But some armours,
such as cover, have the Supplemental Armour rule. In
these cases the stats are added temporarily to that of the
main suit, if any. Supplemental Armour is always impacted
before regular armour.
While Armour is detailed in the corebook it is sufficient
to know for the quickstart that its PV is subtracted from
damage before being applied to Hit Points.
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Part 4: Hit Points and Impairments
Hit Points and Willpower are temporary measures of a
character’s well-being. Hit Points show the characters First aid
endurance and serve to indicate where minor injuries and When a character has suffered damage but is not in
near-misses have occurred. When a character is reduced Critical Condition they can be aided with immediate
to 0 Hit Points, they are physically impaired. Willpower medical care. This is called First Aid. As this is emergency
shows the ability of the character to keep their wits about treatment it is limited in efficacy and quite wasteful. Each
them in the face of hardship. use of First Aid will use 1 Ammo from a medical kit (page
While the nature of the impairment should be narrated 51) regardless of success.
in a flavourful way by the Author the short-term effects Once this Ammo is spent the injured character can
are simple. Impaired characters tick an Impairment box take a Standard Action to make a Difficulty 8 Medicine
on their character sheets and all skill tests suffer a penalty (CONC) Skill Test. If this is successful, the character heals
equal to the number of boxes filled in. 1d5 damage for every success rolled. If the test rolls an
Once a character has suffered 3 physical impairments, the exceptional success, it also heals 1 Impairment.
character is in Critical condition and can no longer take
standard actions nor heal Hit Points/Willpower. Their Hit HEAL THYSELF PHYSICIAN
Points are set to 1 and should they take any further damage
Using First Aid, or indeed any form of medical care
they are killed.
on another is much easier and gains +3 to the roll.
Every time a character ticks an Impairment box they Characters in critical condition can’t look after
have a chance to regain some Hit Points. This should not themselves as they can’t make Skill Tests.
be imagined as the closing of wounds, but instead the
remaining buffer left over from after the character was
impaired. NOTE TO THE AUTHOR: Medical Care is covered
in greater detail in the Core Rulebook.
If the character suffers a physical impairment (i.e., has 0
Hit Points), they make a Survival (STR) Skill Test against
a Difficulty of 5. Remember to add the penalty from the
number of all impairments the character is suffering. If the
NPCs & Hit Points
test is successful, the number of successes is added to the Nobody likes taking a punch. Well there are the occasional
Hit Points of the character. few, but it’s a rare event at best. NPCs aren’t going to hang
out fighting a foe that is overwhelming them without
If the character suffers a mental impairment (i.e., has 0 very compelling evidence that they have no other options.
Willpower), they make a Survival (COOL) Skill Test While this is covered in detail in the corebook, each NPC
against a Difficulty of 5. Remember to add the penalty will fight to 0 Hit Points and then seek to flee as detailed
from the number of all impairments the character is in the adventure.
suffering. If the test is successful, the number of successes is
added to the Willpower of the character.
If a character fails the test, on their next turn, prior to
acting they mark another impairment of the same type and
make the test again. Should a Serious failure be rolled on
this test, the character immediately marks 2 impairments
of the same type and rolls again on their next turn. Once a
character is in Critical condition they are, for the purposes
of this Quickstart, removed from play.

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 49

Rules
Part 5: Traits
Traits round a character off, adding to the roleplaying
element of their personality. They also give the Author
some juicy bits to play with. Each trait grants or costs
a number of points. Some traits have multiple ranks
available, with the higher ranks representing a more
significant advantage or severe disadvantage. Further rules
will be presented in the corebook.
Accommodation
Whether the character is from an old family fallen on
hard times or an up and comer buying their way into
respectability, not every character has a home equal to their
class and characters can have Accommodation Traits to
represent this. Accommodation can be purchased multiple
times with each rank indicating a separate publicly known
home equal to that suggested by your class. Each rank
costs 1 point and can accommodate the owner and 1 guest.
Characters wanting a more specialised accommodation can
pay points to have one of the following:
Grand Country Estate (2 points): Even your betters
remark on the impeccably furnished rooms and manicured
lawns of this locale. While its size is such that monitoring
all the comings and goings is essentially impossible, this
affords a great deal of privacy for strange activities so long
as your servants are loyal. While there are no neighbours
within screaming distance, the accommodations are
luxurious enough that guests, visitors and rogue family
members are a constant feature.
A Flop House (0 points, -1 if the character has no
other Accommodation): Well it has a roof, and a bed.
Downstairs has company if you want it, but show too
much wealth and they’ll stab you for it. A great place for
tall tales and gossip, none of which can be trusted. Truely a
home only for the desperate.
Ambidextrous
The character is able to perform equally well with both
left and right hands. As such the character may ignore any
negative modifiers or increases in difficulty to any Skill
Tests due to having to use their off hand. There is only a
single rank in this trait, which costs 1 point.
Aristocrat
Your character has class and breeding, at least you think
so, and your money agrees. A child of inherited wealth you
count as having the Wealth trait 2 higher for purposes of
50 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
Accommodation and Wardrobe, though you also suffer a
-1 modifier to all dice on CHA-related Skill Tests when
dealing with non Aristocratic characters. The player is
also expected to roleplay this trait accordingly, potentially
leading to unfavourable opinions from those they meet.
For the purposes of the Quickstart only 1 of the 3 ranks
are presented here.
Rank Title
1 Knight or Baron
Club Tie
The character is a member of an exclusive club held in
good standing. This can be any sort of organisation but
is just as likely to simply be an extension of the old boys
network. Characters with this Trait are able to call on club
members for aid and expect them to act if not in the best
interests of the character, in their own best interests, which
usually includes the best interests of the Club. Characters
with Club Tie can call upon an array of contacts who are
members of the organisation, though the cost of using
Club Tie instead of a contact is 2 Guineas and not 1.
Contacts
A contact is a character that can be called upon to perform
favours, often at a cost. (See Gifts & Favours) For the
purposes of this Quickstart, Contacts have access to a
single skill of the player’s choice.
Expanded Wardrobe
Some characters maintain a vast wardrobe of clothing but
most confine these wardrobes to garments befitting their
social class. A character with an expanded wardrobe has a
variety of outfits suitable for all social occasions regardless
of whether you’re visiting a dockside tavern or a royal gala.
Characters with the Expanded Wardrobe Trait gain the
Advanced Tools rule on Diplomacy Skill Tests
Extra Equipment
Some characters are poor but have custodianship, or
ownership of useful property. A character can spend
1 point to gain 2 Guineas worth of equipment which
will count as Normal Equipment. For the purposes of
this Quickstart it is only used to provide an Office for
characters to work from.

Legal Authority
You are a member of the establishment and the good
people of Britain will tend to heed your words and obey.
When revealing your credentials, you can reroll any
Diplomacy Test when interacting with the public. As a
part of your Authority there is a chain of command that
you must obey, and who can provide aid or assets in the
course of your investigations. Repeated disobedience, or
embarrassment can lead to the loss of this trait.
Linguist
Linguists are characters with an understanding of multiple
languages. While most characters will understand the
occasional snippet of the languages spoken in or near their
home, Linguists have conversational knowledge and full
literacy in a selection of languages. The Linguist Trait can
be purchased multiple times with each level costing 1 point.
☞ Dead Languages (Ancient Greek, Latin, Egyptian etc.)
☞ Romance Languages (Spanish, French Italian etc.)
Looks (attractive)
Looks is a measure of a character’s physical appearance,
suggesting that they are either noticeably attractive or
considerably unattractive. Each rank in attractive adds
Part 6: Equipment
All characters will have some equipment. It’s important
to note that while equipment gained from character
generation can be occasionally lost, it is usually a simple
matter to retrieve or replace it. Unless there is a good
reason for it not to be the case, characters are assumed to
begin each adventure with all the equipment gained from
their character archetypes along with any special items
they might have obtained from past adventures.
Characters can ask an Author to add equipment, paid
for with Guineas to the characters normal equipment list
though the Author may require the character to pay for
this with the Extra Equipment Trait. It should be noted
that Guineas are never normal equipment.
StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 51
Rules
one additional Skill Die success to any CHA-related Skill
Test that would be influenced by others being attracted to
them, most commonly when using the Diplomacy skill.
Natural Aptitude: Skill
The character presents a level of exceptional ability in a
particular field. Once per game session this trait allows a
reroll on a failed Skill Test where the skill is covered by the
Natural Aptitude. This reroll is in addition to any other
rerolls or effects. Any skill can be chosen for the Natural
Aptitude: Skill except for weapon or combat skills.
Natural Aptitude: Stat
The character is phenomenally capable when using this
particular Stat. When making a Resistance Test using this
Stat the character can roll two dice and take the best value
from either. In addition, the character can use the Natural
Aptitude: Skill Trait, once per game session, for a Skill Test
linked to the chosen Stat. There is only a single rank in this
trait, which costs 3 points. A character may only have at
most, a single Natural Aptitude: Stat trait.
Guineas
The Stokerverse RPG tends to ignore cash payments in
favour of abstracted wealth. Most people in Victorian
England have nothing in the way of bank accounts and
while the rich can rely on social contracts to accept
payment on credit, the poor must deal with the assurance
that the fierce debtor laws will ensure prompt payment. In
a system where the value of a shilling depends largely on
your customer’s social class, keeping tally of such things
becomes an exercise in frustration.
The Guinea in this publication is a simplified measure of
wealth. While an Actual Guinea was 21 shillings, for our
purposes it relates to the number of equipment purchases
a character can make. Characters seeking to use money for
social influence should look at the section on Gifts.
Rules
WHAT NOW?
The guinea was equivalent to 21 shillings, each
shilling was 12 pence. A pound was 20 shillings and
that’s before we get into ha’pennies and thrupenny
bits. Authors looking to learn more about Victorian
currency can find a ‘wealth’ of information online
but for the sake of sanity, characters are assumed to
purchase expendable everyday items such as a glass of
brandy or pint of beer without needing to track every
farthing (¼ penny).
Buying items
Most items are considered commonplace, and a successful
Difficulty 8 Diplomacy (CHA) test will be adequate for
finding the item at the standard price of a Guinea if that.
Firearms, Mounts, Vehicles and Military equipment are
less common requiring a Difficulty of 11 to acquire for
characters that do not hold military rank. Occult items,
outside of common religious paraphernalia are far more
difficult to acquire, requiring a Difficulty 13 Diplomacy or
Occultism Test to acquire.
Note that Authors should avoid allowing characters to use
their Guineas on end of adventure shopping trips. While
Guineas can and should be used mid-game, and characters
should start the next game with whatever oddities they
may have acquired, characters should not be encouraged to
spend unused Guineas to load up on an arsenal.
NOTE TO THE AUTHOR: In the main game
characters have the option of going into debt should
they find they need an item they can’t actually afford.
Discounts & freebies
As this game is not designed to mirror the minutiae of
commerce it is generally assumed that characters haggle
a real price and that discounts are all folded into the 1
Guinea cost of most items.
Making items
Characters with a Trade skill can indeed attempt to make
an object, but usually this is a time-consuming effort
outside the timeframe of an adventure. Most of the time
such actions will be Difficulty 5 Profession (KNOW) Skill
Tests requiring an amount of progress equal to the number
of hours needed to make the object. It is assumed that the
cost of making the object, which is functional but hardly
52 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
pretty, is roughly half of the sale price, rounding up to the
nearest Guinea.
Ammo
Some toolkits are of limited use and can only be used a
number of times. These items will have the Ammo special
rule. If an item uses ammo, before it can be used it must
expend 1 ammo. Once out of ammo it can no longer be
used to its full capacity. This may mean that the Author
assigns a penalty for being without proper tools, or it
might mean that the Author forbids the action altogether.
Many characters carry extra ammunition. This is usually
a bulky affair and may cause a character to become
encumbered.
Gifts & favours
A character might often need some sort of social leverage.
Whether to grease the palm of a sleazy magistrate with
shares, buy off a bar of ruffians with a round of drinks or
woo a lover with a lavish dinner. In general, it is assumed
that momentary expressions of largess fall into the social
expectations of the interaction.
Gifts: In extreme cases, where a player character is
attempting to sway another with unusual displays, then it is
called a Gift. Gifts cost Guineas as detailed below and can
be purchased accordingly.
It is assumed that the NPC being swayed will recognise the
cash value of the gift and behave accordingly but if a player
takes the effort to discover a gift that the NPC would truly
like then the bonus afforded by the cost may be increased.
Deciding on the nature of this bonus is left to the Author,
though a +1 to +3 is a good guide.
Either way the benefit of the gift is a one-off modifier on
one social test. (usually Diplomacy) for the purposes of
gaining a favour.
Gift Cost Bonus
A lavish gift 1 +1
An all but unacceptable gift
Slightly short of an invitation
2 +2
4 +3
to marriage
Favours can be very general “Look after my friend.”, weirdly
specific “Bring my friend to the crossroads at midnight.” or
quite simple “Can I borrow your boat for the day?”.
The difficulty of extracting a Favour depends on Class,
common experience and the risks involved in the Favour.
 Rules
Class is simple enough. Common experience relies on Characters of higher status can generally maintain 1
some background element being similar. If the characters guest without additional cost to themselves, though
involved share the same education skill, then they are doing so for over a month will also incur a 1 Guinea
fellows, though they might also have deeper ties. cost per month.
Risk is not an unipolar variable, just as obeying a Wardrobe: While characters will own several
diplomatic request might cost time and risk a scandal, individual outfits for a variety of occasions these will
disobeying an Intimidation request might cost a beating. all be indicative of the characters wealth and won’t
It is also cumulative; if there are risks to obeying and be particularly specialized. PCs looking to have
declining the request, this increases the difficulty of a variety of outfits from all manner of classes will
obtaining acquiescence without some sort of fee or need the Expanded Wardrobe Trait (see page 52)
assurance. or be prepared to pay 1 Guinea for a middle-class
appropriate outfit or 3 Guineas for the upper-class
The below serves as a general guidance on the difficulty of
outfit.
making a request. Requests can be for short term activity
or loans of property (a few hours), overnight (a day or Starting Funds: All Characters begin with their
two), extended (up to a week). Services over a week in Wealth x5 in Guineas. Characters without a Wealth
length are out of scope for this Quickstart and Property rating start with 2 Guineas. Wealth is often tied to
used over a week must be purchased using Guineas. social class which will be detailed in the corebook.
Characters that routinely use Favours to evade these limits
may find that the Author requires them to purchase the
requisite Trait anyway. Libraries
Base difficulties Private library: Private libraries cost 1 Guinea for a basic
library which will offer no mechanical benefit but will
The request is Short Overnight Extended allow the character to later expand the library with more
term specialised works. It is recommended that characters seeking
Reasonable 8 11 13 to preserve their library buy the Extra Equipment Trait (see
page 52). Libraries don’t provide any bonus to Knowledge
Irritating 11 13 16 Skills but do provide a warm safe location where such skill
Dangerous 13 16 19 tests can be undertaken without the issues that a less private
location might entail. A library can be and frequently is,
The request is Bonus used as an office for white collar businesses.
Made by a fellow +1 Specialised collection: A specialised collection has a
Made by a contact +2 lot more works that can aid in Knowledge based Skill
Made by a friend +3 Tests using any one academic skill. Characters using a
Made by a family member +3 library with a specialised collection gain the benefit of
Advanced Tools (see page 48) on any use by the skill
Compensated for As Gift
serviced by the library. If the skill is separated by type,
each type will need its own specialised collection. Skills
THE BASICS that entail some type of physical activity or labour (most
Accommodations: Characters are assumed to have sciences, trades, or medicine) a library won’t serve. While
accommodations equal to that of their wealth and specialised collections don’t require additional rooms,
the capacity to support themselves in some sort of true bibliophiles with massive collections of multiple
housing during their adventures. specialised collections may do so (at the Author’s
discretion).
Characters wishing to stay at places of a higher status
can do so though staying longer than a day will incur
a cost of 1 Guinea per week.

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 53

Rules
Equipment & weapons
Medicine Bag: For practitioners who either can’t afford
their own premises or must travel to their patients, the
Medicine Bag is employed. Unlike a surgery, where boxes
of bandages, ointments and medicines might be available
a doctor’s bag is limited in what it contains. Consequently
Doctor’s Bags are subject to Ammo and have 6 uses.
Once these uses have been expended all further tests to use
the Medicine skill are at -3 (see First aid on page 51)
Melee and Thrown Weapons: While most people would
not have carried a weapon other than a walking stick, there
were a wide array of knives and other weapons available to
the public. Carrying them in public might not be illegal,
but they are certainly noteworthy and liable to draw the
attention of the authorities.
Folding Knife: Carried by many people in their day to day,
whether as a handy tool or for protection, folding knives
are poor weapons at the best of times. Their ubiquity
makes them easy to hide and ultimately sometimes all you
need is a sharp edge.
Axes, Hooks and Picks: Many times, a tool can be found to
aid in a struggle. Often these are improvised weapons, but
this doesn’t stop them from being dangerous. True these
cumbersome weapons must land solid blows to be used to
best effect, but many indeed favour their dangerous edges
and sharpened points because when they do land they do
so dramatically.
Club: While often improvised from all manner of heavy
cylindrical objects, clubs are most commonly seen in the
form of the policeman’s truncheon. Unlike a kosh, a club
is often designed to be noticed, hit hard and deter through
threat of violence.
54 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game
Walking stick: Walking sticks are as much functional
as they are ornamental. While the height of walking
stick fashion is over by the 1890s, walking sticks are
still a part of military uniform for officers and used by
conservative gentlemen about town. Some sticks have
small compartments for storing snuff, liquor or other such
things with the largest compartments containing narrow
blades or even pistols.
Firearms: By the time of the 1890s, the cartridge held
bullet had become the normal ammunition of the firearm.
Black powder is a thing of the distant past and box
magazine rifles have become the norm across the British
army. There are numerous makes and models of firearm,
all of which require a yearly license in England should the
character wish to carry their weapon outside of their home.
All Firearms expend 1 Ammo for every attack made. This
may or may not indicate the use of a single bullet and may
indicate the expenditure of multiple such rounds.
☞ Pistols: A pistol is a small firearm that is generally
usable one handed. In 1890 the main type of pistol
was the six-shot revolver. Semi Automatic pistols
were just appearing (the Dormus model 23 would be
patented in 1891) Pistols (and indeed firearms of all
sorts) with much greater magazines exist though these
are considerably rarer and for the purposes of this
quickstart are ignored.
☞ Shotguns: By 1890 there are several types of shotgun.
Break action shotguns have been in use for centuries
and are common weapons for both hunting and sport.
Pump actions have just been invented and have yet
to become popular, but Lever-action shotguns are
the most up to date in Shotgun technology. Some
“Bootleg” designs trade the usefulness of a stock
and barrel for added portability and utility in a close
environment.
 Rules
Melee weapon Damage Rules Ammo Cost
Melee Thrown
Punch/Kick 0 n/a
Folding Knife 0 0 Concealable 1 0
Club 1 0 1 0
Axe, Hook or Pick 3 0 Cumbersome 1 0
Walking stick 1 0 1 0

Firearms Damage Rules Ammo Cost

Close Medium Long
Pistols 1 0 0 Cavalry, Sidearm 6 1
Break action 2 1 0 Armour Piercing 1, 2 2
Shotguns Buckshot
Lever/Pump action 2 1 0 Armour Piercing 1, 4 3
Shotgun Buckshot
Bootleg Shotgun 2 0 -1 Cavalry, Sidearm (3) 2 2

SPECIAL WEAPON RULES
Armour Piercing X: This weapon ignores PV equal to
its rating.
Buckshot: This weapon can reroll the success die
should the dice fail to initially succeed.
Cavalry: This weapon can be used when mounted, or
on a carriage without penalty. Characters using other
weapons when mounted must use the firing one-
handed rule and cannot benefit from Braced.
Concealed: This item is small and easily hidden.
Only active searches will find this weapon if hidden.
It is down to the Author to decide whether NPCs
have motivation to perform such a search, though
characters with 3 ranks in Observation, Stealth, or
Thievery will likely be paranoid enough to do so if
the social setting allows.
Cumbersome: This weapon must be used with some
accuracy to have full effect. Attacks made with a
cumbersome weapon have a damage rating equal to
the number of successes rolled up to the maximum
shown in Damage.
Sidearm: This weapon can be used single handed.
When used as a pair of weapons it allows the
character to make an attack with one of the weapons
and add both of the weapon’s damage modifier to the
damage roll. In melee this also counts as an Ally for
the purposes of Overwhelming force. Alternatively,
and perhaps foolishly, the character can try to shoot
a second target. If the character does this, they must
make 2 separate attacks with a -3 penalty on both.
Some sidearms are heavy and only particularly strong
characters can use them as such. If the Sidearm rule
has a number in brackets this indicates the minimum
strength that a character must have to use it as a
sidearm. Characters with less than this must use the
firing one-handed rule.

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 55

Rules
Part 7: The Nature of the Occult World & its Secrets
The Stokerverse is a place of horror and mystery. Demonic Shadow sight
entities abound as do curses and all manner of occultism.
While the Abrahamic religions are held to be somewhat Shadow Sight is an intuition on meeting a person that
accurate representations of the occult world, they are not something about them is off. Maybe they feel dangerous,
pre supposed to be the whole story. Their dominance in perhaps their shadow casts in momentarily strange angles
European occultism is more a feature of hegemonic power or worse their smile feels less like a friendly gesture and
than metaphysical truth. Creatures from a variety of more that of a tiger that has just found a gazelle.
traditions can feature in the Stokerverse just as Arcanists First impressions
might come from any tradition from any corner of the
globe. When these forces come into conflict it is the Skill Test Observation (COOL)
strength of the parties involved that matter and not Difficulty 6+ Targets Occultism (COOL)
accidents of geography, history, or birth. Time required 1 Combat Round
Progress needed 0
NOTE TO THE AUTHOR: The occult and its role
in this game are expanded significantly in the core Arcana 1
rulebook. Tools None
When a character with First Impressions makes their
Using Occult Secrets can be quite taxing, once an Effect Secrets Test while observing a character for the first time
has been used a character must immediately spend 1 Luck they can learn, through a cryptic vision, the following
Point or risk some occult side effect. This is commonly information depending on the successes rolled. Note that
a vision of something horrific, some sort of minor but details are seldom forthcoming and are usually Yes/No.
obvious stigmata or an omen that appears in some Once used on a character it will always report the same,
dramatic fashion. These Occult calamities are either even if the danger has passed.
obvious to all present with each character in sight losing
1d5 Willpower or specific to the Arcanist causing the Information
Arcanist to lose 2d5 Willpower and the highest value of
these two dice in Hit Points. Note the Arcanist does not Result Effect
have to be the one that spends the Luck Point, any of their The character gains a vision of the
confederates may choose to do so. most horrible crime a character within
Serious
100 yards has committed, though they
Failure
will be unsure if the person they've met
is to blame, the victim or unrelated.
Whether the person is dangerous
1 (more than 2 ranks in Fisticuffs,
intimidation or ranged combat).
Whether the person is guilty of a crime
Making a secret test 2 or at risk of harm/death in the next few
days.
Using an Occult Secret requires a Skill Test with an
attribute and a difficulty set by the Secret. It is subject to Whether the person has an Occult Secret
3
a special modifier based on its Arcana. Arcana is a penalty or is a murderer.
that applies to the Skill Test unless a character either has 4 Whether the person is undead or cursed.
ranks equal to it in Folklore or ranks greater than half Whether the person has witnessed the
its value in Occultism. Characters that fail to meet this 5
occult before.
requirement suffer a -3 penalty on the Skill Test. As most 6 Whether the person has a guilty secret.
secrets have a few powers it is quite common for a secret to
have a low, medium and high Arcana power.

56 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game


Wards
Wards are rituals used to ensure that the forces of evil are
contained and restrained. They can be placed on objects,
around rooms or on the shelf. They can be used to keep
creatures out of a place or contained within, though
containing a creature can be very difficult and require a
great deal of cunning. In the corebook Wards have other
effects in addition to Barriers.
Barriers
Skill Test Occultism(CONC)
Difficulty 8 character must make a preliminary barrier. This requires
Time required Multiple Combat Rounds
Progress needed 5/metre
Arcana 2 Integrity of the barrier. Barriers cannot be constructed
Tools Spiritualist's kit and Ammo
SPIRITUALIST’S KIT
A small bag containing the requirements needed for
a particular Occult Secret. Not every secret needs a
kit, and characters of the same tradition can try and
make do with another’s bag. A Doctor’s Bag is more
than sufficient to carry a dozen such kits and most
practitioners simply carry their kit in their pockets.
Each kit has an Ammo rating of 10.
By the burning of sacred herbs and the placement of lines
of iron and salt you can create a barrier in a single room or
enclosed space. This space must be a part of, or adjoin a home,
hospital or church and cannot be an open space. At minimum
there must be some sort of a fence. The less constrained the
area, the quicker that the Barrier will degrade.
Barriers will prevent the undead from entering an area,
forcing them to break through as if they were smashing
through a wall. Barriers are painful for the undead to touch
and contact of any sort will inflict 1d5 damage on them
StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 57
Rules
ignoring PV. In addition, the undead find it difficult to use
their powers through barriers. The difficulty of all power
Skill Tests is increased by the PV of the barrier.
Type of barrier Degrades
Fenced off area Every 15 minutes
Walled off area Hourly
Wooden room Daily
Stone room Every 4 days
Stone cellar Weekly
Constructing a barrier involves 2 steps. Firstly the
a Difficulty 8 Occultism (CONC) Secret Test costing 1
Ammo from a spiritualist’s kit. If this test is successful the
number of successes rolled will become the PV and the
inside another barrier.
From here the barrier can continue to be shored up. At
this point the task is treated as a Progress Test. Every meter
being warded will require 5 progress to raise the Integrity
of the barrier by 1.
Creating a barrier is emotionally exhausting and a
character can continue shoring up the barrier until they are
exhausted, or voluntarily stop. Once the character either
rolls a Calamity or rolls a number of failures equal to the
lowest of their STR or CONC they are exhausted and can
no longer shore up the barrier. Until this limit is reached
the character can continue to make Difficulty 8 Occultism
(CONC) Secret Tests, spending 1 ammo after every
failure, to add progress to the barrier.
Clearing a barrier is an achievable task by any character
inside the barrier. This requires a Difficulty 8 Occultism
(KNOW) Progress Test with progress equal to twice the
current PV of the barrier. This test does not require any
particular knowledge or equipment, though a failure will
force the character to spend a round engaged in ineffectual
cleansing before they can make another test.
Rules

Lord Godalming Arthur ‘Art’ Holmwood

STR DEX KNOW CONC CHA COOL LUCK
1 1 1 2 2 1 2
DEFENCES ENDURANCE COMBAT
Melee Ranged Occult Hit Points Willpower Initiative Movement
8 9 8 17 17 +3 3
SKILLS* TRAITS
Athletics STR 1 Accommodations (Grand Country Estate)
Diplomacy CHA 4 Ambidextrous
Driving (Riding) DEX 1 Aristocrat (1)
Education (Classical) KNOW 2 Attractive
Education (Criminal) KNOW 1 Club Tie (Polite Society)
Firearms DEX 1 Contact (Lord Newton)
Observation CONC 2 Contact (Marquess of Lansdowne)
Profession (Administrator) KNOW 2 Expanded Wardrobe
Stealth DEX 1 Wealth 2
Survival KNOW 1
*NOTE: Other Stats may be useable (see page 46)

WEAPON DAMAGE RULES AMMO

Melee Close Medium Long
Folding Knife 1 0 0 0 Concealable 1
Pistol 0 1 0 0 Sidearm 6
Shotgun 0 2 1 0 Armour Piercing 1 (PV -1) 2
Buckshot (reroll success die)

EQUIPMENT
10 Guineas

HIT POINTS WILLPOWER IMPAIRMENTS

PHYSICAL

MENTAL

58 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game

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Mister Johnathan Harker

STR DEX KNOW CONC CHA COOL LUCK
1 1 2 3 1 1 1
DEFENCES ENDURANCE COMBAT
Melee Ranged Occult Hit Points Willpower Initiative Movement
9 9 8 16 16 +4 2
SKILLS* TRAITS
Diplomacy CHA 3 Contact (Inspector Cotford - Police)
Education (Classical) KNOW 2 Contact (Lawrence Tinker - Criminal)
Education (Criminal) KNOW 1 Contact (Mr Hawkins - Lawyer/Employer)
Firearms DEX 1 Extended Wardrobe
Fisticuffs STR 1 Extra Equipment (Office)
Intimidation CHA 3 Natural Aptitude (Profession: Solicitor)
Observation CONC 3 Wealth x1
Profession (Administrator) KNOW 1
Profession (Detective) KNOW 1
Profession (Solicitor) KNOW 2
Stealth DEX 1
*NOTE: Other Stats may be useable (see page 46)

WEAPON DAMAGE RULES AMMO

Melee Close Medium Long
Folding Knife 0 0 0 0 Concealable 1
Pistol 0 1 (2) 0 0 Sidearm 6

EQUIPMENT
Library, Pistol, 5 Guineas
(NOTE: Extended wardrobe includes 1 fancy dress costume of poor quality)

HIT POINTS WILLPOWER IMPAIRMENTS

PHYSICAL

MENTAL

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game 59

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Dr John Seward
STR DEX KNOW CONC CHA COOL LUCK
0 0 3 2 2 2 1
DEFENCES ENDURANCE COMBAT
Melee Ranged Occult Hit Points Willpower Initiative Movement
8 8 8 16 17 +0 3
SKILLS* TRAITS
Athletics STR 1 Contact (Inspector Cotford - Police)
Contact (Dr Phillips - Director Purfleet
Diplomacy CHA 3 Asylum)
Driving (Riding) DEX 1 Contact (Dr J. Watson - Colleague)
Education (Classical) KNOW 2 Contact (Lady F. Nightingale RRC - Colleague)
EducatIon (Science) KNOW 1 Extra Equipment (Office)
Intimidation CHA 1 Natural Aptitude (Medicine)
Medicine CONC 2 Natural Aptitude (Physician)
Observation CONC 2 Wealth x2
Profession
(Administrator)
KNOW 1
Profession (Physician) KNOW 3
*NOTE: Other Stats may be useable (see page 46)

WEAPON DAMAGE RULES AMMO

Melee Close Medium Long
Folding Knife 0 0 0 0 Concealable 1

EQUIPMENT
Library, Medicine Bag (6 Ammo), 10 Guineas

HIT POINTS WILLPOWER IMPAIRMENTS

PHYSICAL

MENTAL

60 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game

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Police Sergeant Albert Enshaw

STR DEX KNOW CONC CHA COOL LUCK
2 1 1 2 1 1 2

DEFENCES ENDURANCE COMBAT

Melee Ranged Occult Hit Points Willpower Initiative Movement
12 11 8 19 16 +4 4
SKILLS* TRAITS
Athletics STR 2 Contact (Cuddy - Dove Row Gang Member)
Driving (Carriage) DEX 1 Contact (Finch - Whitechapel Pickpocket)
Driving (Riding) DEX 1 Contact (Inspector Aberline - Police)
Education (Classical) KNOW 1 Contact (Inspector Cotford - Police)
Education (Criminal) KNOW 2 Contact (Lawrence Tinker - Fence)
Firearms DEX 2 Legal Authority
Fisticuffs STR 3 Natural Aptitude (Intimidation)
Intimidation CHA 2 Poor Accommodation (A Flop house)
Observation CONC 2
Profession (Detective) KNOW 1
Stealth DEX 2
Tactics KNOW 1
*NOTE: Other Stats may be useable (see page 46)

WEAPON DAMAGE RULES AMMO

Melee Close Medium Long
Folding Knife 0 0 0 0 Concealable 1
Pistol 0 1 0 0 Sidearm 6
Truncheon 1 0 0 0 Concealable 1

EQUIPMENT
Handcuffs, Whistle, 2 Guineas, 1 spare Pistol

HIT POINTS WILLPOWER IMPAIRMENTS

PHYSICAL

MENTAL

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Miss Primrose Hampden

STR DEX KNOW CONC CHA COOL LUCK
1 0 1 3 2 2 1
DEFENCES ENDURANCE COMBAT
Melee Ranged Occult Hit Points Willpower Initiative Movement
9 8 10 16 18 +3 2
SKILLS* TRAITS
Contact (Alice 'Peter' Roe - Court sketch
Diplomacy CHA 4 artist )
Education (Classical) KNOW 2 Contact (Inspector Cotford - Police)
Fisticuffs STR 1 Contact (Sir Ashton Shelby - Patron)
Folklore KNOW 2 Extra Equipment (Office)
Natural aptitude Profession (Sketch
Intimidation CHA 1 Artist)
Unconscious talent (Shadow Sight: First
Observation CONC 3 Impressions)
Profession (Administrator) KNOW 1 Wealth 1
Profession (Sketch Artist) KNOW 4
Survival KNOW 1
Thievery CONC 1
*NOTE: Other Stats may be useable (see page 46)

WEAPON DAMAGE RULES AMMO

Melee Close Medium Long
Folding Knife 0 0 0 0 Concealable 1

EQUIPMENT
Art supplies (pencils, paper, paints, etc.), 5 Guineas

HIT POINTS WILLPOWER IMPAIRMENTS

PHYSICAL

MENTAL

62 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game

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Madame Lisa De Villiers

STR DEX KNOW CONC CHA COOL LUCK
2 1 1 1 1 3 1
DEFENCES ENDURANCE COMBAT
Melee Ranged Occult Hit Points Willpower Initiative Movement
8 9 10 17 18 +2 2
SKILLS* TRAITS
Diplomacy CHA 4 Accommodations (Grand Country Estate)
Driving (Riding) DEX 2 Club Tie (Occult practitioners)
Education (Classical) KNOW 1 Contact (Inspector Cotford - Police)
Firearms DEX 1 Contact (Lord Newton)
Intimidation CHA 1 Contact (Mr Hawkins - Lawyer)
Observation CONC 2 Contact (Mary Anne Shelby - Ghost)
Occultism KNOW 2 Linguist (Romance Languages)
Profession (Administrator) KNOW 1 Occult Secret (Shadow Sight)
Occult Secret (Wards)
Wealth 2
*NOTE: Other Stats may be useable (see page 46)

WEAPON DAMAGE RULES AMMO

Melee Close Medium Long
Pistol 0 1 0 0 Sidearm 6
Shotgun 0 2 1 0 Armour Piercing 1 (PV -1) 2
Buckshot (reroll success die)

EQUIPMENT
Spiritualists Kit (10 Ammo), 10 Guineas

HIT POINTS WILLPOWER IMPAIRMENTS

PHYSICAL

MENTAL

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Mister Daniel Seagrove

STR DEX KNOW CONC CHA COOL LUCK
2 1 2 1 2 1 1
DEFENCES ENDURANCE COMBAT
Melee Ranged Occult Hit Points Willpower Initiative Movement
9 8 10 17 16 +2 2
SKILLS* TRAITS
Diplomacy CHA 2 Contact (Police)
Contact (Dr Samuels, Fellow of the
Education (Classical) KNOW 2 Society of Antiquaries of London)
Education (Religion) KNOW 1 Contact (Van Helsing)
Fisticuffs STR 1 Extra Equipment (Office)
Intimidation CHA 2 Linguist (Dead Languages)
Observation CONC 2 Natural Aptitude (Profession)
Occultism KNOW 2 Occult Studies (Shadow sight)
Profession (Administrator) KNOW 2 Occult Studies (Wards)
Profession (Archaeologist) KNOW 2 Wealth x2
*NOTE: Other Stats may be useable (see page 46)

WEAPON DAMAGE RULES AMMO

Melee Close Medium Long
Folding Knife 0 0 0 0 Concealable 1
Pistol 0 1 0 0 Sidearm 6

EQUIPMENT
Library, Occult Library

HIT POINTS WILLPOWER IMPAIRMENTS

PHYSICAL

MENTAL

64 StokerVerse Roleplaying Game

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StokerVerse Roleplaying Game Quickstart

© 2022, Nightfall Games
SKU: WFG-STO-QS1
https://nightfall.games

Made in Scotland

StokerVerse Roleplaying Game C

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D StokerVerse Roleplaying Game