Tag: Tim Hutchings

Part Two

Thousand Year Old Vampire can be purchased in physical form and PDF on Indie Press Revolution and digital form on itch.io, if you wish to purchase this amazing game. Tim Hutchings, the creator of this experience, can be found on Twitter.

*You begin a fantastic construction that puzzles the mortals around you. Give just a hint as to it’s purpose. Lose a Resource and gain the Skill Visionary.*

The men were not enough. He realized they were poor constructions of that haunting face. He needed a bigger tapestry. It wasn’t long before he decided to use a nearby cliff for his newest project. Using nothing but claws and muscle, he began molding the rock and dirt in a reflection of the one he could not escape. The local townsfolk begin to visit the site during the day. They see no tools so view this as a miracle of God. So long as they did not touch it, he would stave off destroying them all.

*Your knowledge of old things becomes a strength. Based on a checked Skill, what knowledge do you share with contemporary mortals? Check a Skill. Create a Resource.*

He returns to the group of hunters whenever they stay on trips to the forest. On their latest journey, he taught them more unique and effective traps using natural resources. They thanked him, and again praised the good fortune of his visit. Before they parted ways, he was gifted with a golden coin. It was beautifully decorated with symbols and carvings. They told him it was one of their organization’s oldest traditions to gift it to any new members of their club.

*Your strange accent and old ways always reveal you as an outsider, mocked and cheated at best or hated at worst. Smother these useless traits by converting an old Memory to a new Skill for blending in.*

The few mortals he comes into contact with always seem off-put by the way he speaks and behaves. Deciding it was time to leave the forest, he steals clothes hung to dry, dons a torn dirty hat to cover his horns, and slips into the nearest town as a beggar. Feeding off of the other vagabonds and vagrants passing through, he begins a slow process of shaking off the wilds that even now called to him. He hides away the small amounts of handouts he gets, steals from those he kills, and breaks into shops in the dead of night to steal from their tills and safes. Soon he will amass enough to purchase a place to live.

*A mortal discovers the journals of a long dead Character, or your own lost Diary, and approaches you. What do they seek? Gain a Skill or a Resource. Create a mortal Character.*

Not long after finally reestablishing himself into society, even if it was on the lower end, he had a visitor one hot summer evening. She introduced herself as Wendy Suvall and said she was a local historian and fascinated with the occult and paranormal. She also knew of his secret. She gifted him a worn leather diary that was owned by a man named Christopher. Apparently, this man was his familiar well over a century ago. Inside, the pages read of the man’s life growing up as a servant of a vampire. He spoke of the betrayal he felt at being abandoned in prison. He let Wendy leave, as something about her made him believe he could trust her with the knowledge of what he was. At least, for now.

*The mortal harms, shames or exposes you. Check a Skill as you fruitlessly pursue them. Lose a Resource.*

One evening he was greeted to the day’s paper on his front doorstep. Curious, as he did not read the news, he flipped through the pages and within found a long editorial by Wendy revealing the true nature of his condition. It wasn’t long before an angry mob began to form. He searched the house for any treasured items he wished to flee with and only found the hunting coin. Wendy must have broken in and stole back the diary. He snuck out the back of his home as crowds formed in the front. He headed to Wendy’s home and searched for her and the diary. Neither was there, so he set a fire to it and watched it burn to the ground before leaving the town.

*Vast numbers of humans are migrating around the world. What group becomes easy to feed upon? How do you capitalize on their helplessness? Create a Resource.*

War has broken out within the country. Thousands of men, women, and children flee the chaos and destruction. Taking advantage of the situation, he converts an abandoned cottage in the woods near the border of the engagement for a safe haven. He pays a local printer to create cards with a simple logo and cryptic directions to this hidden home. Half of the travelers he feasts upon and the other half he lets pass. Aid workers who are trying to help the refugees continue to hand out his cards to those running from the destruction. It is nearly a perfect system.

*Language itself leaves you behind. People discuss concepts you cannot grasp using tools you cannot understand. How is this problem dramatically made manifest? Create a Character who will teach you a Skill to help you offset this disadvantage.*

It didn’t happen suddenly. It was a slow progression over the centuries of his existence that eroded the understanding of what the mortals around him were saying. He no longer understood the words spoken by the humans he came into contact with. They spoke quickly, in brief words and letters that took full sentences and broke them completely down in a mutter. They carried electronic devices their faces stayed glued to and tapped the small machine to speak to those far away. It was from the kindness of a young vampire, Balazar, who taught him how to read minds. Once he fully fed, he could sit upon a bench and listen to the idle chatter of those passing quickly by.

*An antiquity has surfaced which is directly tied to your mortal life. Check a Skill or lose a Resource and gain the antiquity as a Resource, then regain one of your earliest Memories. Record an Experience about acquiring the antique.*

It was in a museum exhibit, that he sees a sword on display he recognizes from a long time ago. Dodging, parrying, swinging it down upon his enemies, a kind old man teaching him how to fight, and a proud smile as the old man gifts him this sword. He left the museum and easily broke in the following night reading the mind’s of the guards on patrol. Once he held it in his hands, glass shattered around him and sirens blaring, the memories of his grandfather came flooding back. A smile on his lips, tears falling from his eyes, he cut down the men and women who tried to stop him. He escaped into the night, feeling, for the first time in as long as he could remember, a sense of peace and happiness.

*You bond with an ancient enemy Character over your shared past, finding in it something more comprehensible than this modern world. Check a Skill. You become friends. Share a Resource and gain a Resource that is shared with you.*

He hunts below the surface, as he is not as powerful as he once was. Amongst the vermin crawling throughout the tunnels, he finds a beautiful vampire called Gaius. Gaius pledged his immortal life to him, calling him Marus. It was his name, he was told. Not remembering his mortal life, beyond the sword of his grandfather, he trusted Gaius and reclaimed it. Gaius remained by his side and the two became inseparable hunting partners and close friends. Gaius claimed to also be responsible for Marus’ undead life, and gifted him a peculiar silver locket he said Marus cherished centuries ago. Marus felt compelled to match the kind gesture and offered his grandfather’s sword. He had no memory of this immortal, but he could not deny the strong bond he felt with him.

*You are caught outside and destroyed. What happened? The game is over.*

Marus and Gaius gave each other a strength they did not possess apart. The millennium was not kind to their physical shells and as another several decades passed it became increasingly difficult for them to hunt and feed. They found shelter in an industrial park and continued to live out their lives the best they could. It was mice, squirrels, birds, and anything they could manage to grab that kept them fed. One night, close to dawn, they stumbled across a photographer taking pictures of dilapidated buildings and the surrounding factories. Lost in the ecstasy of human blood, the two drained the man, but did not pay attention to the creeping light. They couldn’t dig, as the ground was concrete for hundreds of yards in all directions. They had no structures to hide in, as the buildings were shells of their former self. The two looked at one another, blood dripping from their mouths, and realized their fates were sealed. Embracing one another, the sun flooded the area. A small breeze blew a cloud of dust and ash across the empty space and all that remained was the dried husk of a young man. It was the last meal of Marus, a thousand year old vampire.

The End

Part One

Thousand Year Old Vampire can be purchased in physical form and PDF on Indie Press Revolution and digital form on itch.io, if you wish to purchase this amazing game. Tim Hutchings, the creator of this experience, can be found on Twitter.

*Erase the first sentence of any two Memories. You’re not quite sure why. Do not create an Experience about this.*

Will not add an entry here, as the prompt says not to create an experience. For the sake of telling the V story, I will list the two erased sentences below.

1. While skinning a wolf that was plaguing my family’s land, I found an old Roman coin in the beast’s stomach.
2. A wealthy young man named Gaius passed through the village and was seduced with a secret rendezvous in the forest. Gaius turned me into a vampire to enslave me as an eternal concubine, but had to flee when I fiercely fought back.

*Create a mortal Character. You have shaped them from infancy to be exactly what you want. Lose a Resource.*

One night, William feasted upon a married couple while they slept soundly in their bed. It wasn’t long after a baby began to cry in the next room. William took in the child and named him Christopher, instead of destroying it. He raised him into a fine young man who serves William obediently and without question. He is only one, but is a far better servant than the entire flock he left behind.

*You are trapped outside when the sun rises and take shelter some place you are not supposed to be. A child discovers and befriends you. Create a mortal child Character and record a humanizing Experience.*

William wandered too far from his lair one evening and lost track of time. As the sky turned from black to a dull gray, he took shelter in a barn. A young child named Lucy found him hiding in a dark and shadowy corner and tried to help William by bringing him food and a book to read. This touched William, so he did not act as impulsively as his mind wished him too. When the sun set, he left Lucy and the barn.

*Your methods for acquiring victims are no longer effective. What has changed? Lose a Resource and create a Skill which describes your new feeding techniques.*

When William awoke to fire and screams, he instinctively leaped through a window and ran. When he circled back around, he watched the guards take Christopher away for the crime of arson. With his food source in prison and his home ashes, William retreats to the forest where he feeds upon the animals for sustenance.

*You keep a prisoner. Why this particular person? Why don’t you feed upon them? Create a Character and a Skill related to keeping them captive.*

In a desperate move to rescue Christopher, William kidnaps the Captain of the Guard’s son Richard Benton. The boy is easily manipulated to follow William with promises of wealth and power in a far off land. He has no plans to feed upon his captive, but only adds to the lie when Richard begins questioning his captor. It is William’s hope the search for Richard will distract the guards enough to let him break into the heavily defended prison and release his familiar.

*What social mores have you forgotten? Lose a checked Skill.*

William’s plan for Christopher did not go the way he thought it would as nobody went to search for Richard. Unfortunately, for the son of the Captain of the Guard, William’s new feral nature took hold and he forgot who his captive even was. While his prisoner slept, William drained the young man of his blood and went off into the woods with no memory of the corpse, the plan, or the familiar sitting in the nearby prison.

*You fall into a deep slumber for a hundred years. Strike out any mortal Characters.*

William became one with the forest. He shook off his connections with civilization and became a wild thing out amongst nature. He feasted upon animals and the occasional lost man or woman, he dug deep into the earth at night to sleep, and the locals soon spoke of the demon that lived out in the darkness. One night, the hunger for blood was nearly unquenchable. He came across a wolf den amongst some boulders and entered. After draining everything inside with a heartbeat, William dug deep into the ground within the burrow and fell into a deep slumber for a full century.

*Your whole being becomes centered in your senses and your hunger. Create a Skill that demonstrates your feral vampire nature and lose an existing Memory.*

When he awoke, the hunger called to him. Every fiber of his being yearned for blood and he could smell the richness of it around him. He could not remember who he was, though other memories flitted in the periphery of his consciousness. He feasted upon rats, squirrels, deer, and another entire den of wolves. The smaller animals he ate nearly whole. He came across a group of hunters camping next to a small river and tore them to pieces. He washed himself in the rushing water and felt just a small bit of relief in his cravings.

*Age has damaged your Diary. Strike out three nouns from the Memories in your Diary, starting from the oldest entry. If you have no Diary, do this to the first three nouns in a Memory of middling age.*

Having decided to forgo a Diary this playthrough, here is the Memory that was changed.

I awoke one evening to find a young man sleeping by my side. I could not say why he was there, but his blood was intoxicating and a rare treat out in the dark forest I called home.

*You destroy something important to you in a purposeless rage. Lose a precious Memory or a destroy Resource.*

The anger for what he has become consumes him. He awakens one night, his body yearning for blood, but he does not answer. Rage drives him into the night and he slaughters any living creature he can find. He forgoes any consumption and just kills. As the sky begins to lighten, he washes himself in a cool stream and retires to a nearby cave. As sleep begins to take him, he realizes he no longer remembers how he became this thing that hunts and feeds on life. He can not recall those responsible or if the transformation was anyone’s fault but his own.

*Things fall to dust. Lose a Resource for which you have no corresponding Memory. Do not create a new Experience for this Prompt, it simply happens as you stare in silence.*

Truth be told, I lost my last Resource a LONG time ago and have been unable to create a new one. The rules state that if you have no available resources, you are able to Check a Skill which means you can no longer use that Skill in a prompt. I find it fitting, given the description above, to check Swordsmanship.

*You make a new copy of your crumbling Diary. In your most recent Diary Memory, swap two verbs each for the other. If you have no Diary strike out three verbs in your most recent Memories.*

As mentioned above, I am not using the Diary feature in this playthrough, so here is the affected memory.

I hate what I am and the animal I have become. I spend an entire evening killing everything I can find in the forest but do not drink a drop of blood. I can no longer remember how I got this way or those responsible for this.

*Your body is undergoing further corruption and change. When do you first notice these new changes? Create a Mark.*

He awoke one evening with his head pulsing and pain searing his scalp. Hoping it would fade after feeding, he went into the night and hunted. After consuming a fair share of blood, the pain did not reside. To his horror, two horns began to break through his scalp. It was not a quick transformation, but it only took three nights for the black growths to curve backwards down his head and nearly rest upon his shoulders. He did not know why this happened and fell into a deep depression as his animalistic nature now mirrored his physical being.

*What simple, practical skill proves invaluable in your strange existence? How did you learn it? Create a Skill.*

Purely by accident, he had started a fire. It was not intentional, but not long after the flames were crackling and the warm light filled the small clearing, a man approached. He had gotten separated from his friends while hunting and was completely lost. A young woman picking berries had gotten turned around when the sun went down. He drained them both, burying the bodies in the nearby brush. He now utilized this skill by lighting a couple small inviting fires and waiting.

*How did you come to be in a place of common laborers? What previously checked Skill convinced them to accept you? What was that night of camaraderie like? Create a mortal Character. Check a Skill.*

The young man is almost on top of him, as he lay hidden amongst leaves and mud. A wolf pack had surrounded the young man and was ready to charge. He springs forth, saving the life of the young man and fighting with the wolves until they are either dead or run off. He shows him back to the main camp he had wandered from and he meets the entire party of hunters. They are taking a few days to reconnect with nature and found it good fortune to meet one such as the young man’s savior. The young man, Edward Dartan, intrigues him. He destroys none in the group, and shows them some tips for using the earth itself to hide amongst the living things.

*Timeless introspection becomes manifest in creative acts. Choose a creative Skill based on a lost Memory.*

A beautiful face stares back at him. He was a young man who had stumbled too close to the outskirts of the town. He slices and molds the skin on the face to resemble someone he could no longer remember. A visage that took shape in his dreams but vanished when the last rays of light dipped below the horizon. It had been a man, and these victims were to look like him to the best of his crude attempts. He waited until the transformation was complete before feeding. When done, he found himself lying next to the dead person, stroking their hair. It was an obsession to the craft and the unseeable muse.

Part Three