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WATCHWATCHof Darknessof DarknessAn alternate setting/conversion for use with True20

You see me now a veteran of a thousandpsychic warsI've been living on the edge so long, wherethe winds of limbo roar

And I'm young enough to look at, and fartoo old to see

All the scars are on the insideI'm not sure that there's anything left of me

You see me now a veteran of a thousandpsychic warsMy energy is spent at last, and my armor isdestroyedI have used up all my weapons, and I'mhelpless and bereaved

Wounds are all I'm made ofDid I hear you say that this is victory?

Don't let these shakes go on, it's time wehad a break from itSend me to the rear

Where the tides of madness swellAnd men sliding into hellOh please, don't let these shakes go on

Blue yster CultVeteran of the Psychic Wars

The Point of It AllI had originally started writing this all up as omniscient-

narrator fiction, but soon realized that I didn't have thepatience to make it readable and entertaining while at thesame time getting across all the information I wanted to.The only part that I ended up keeping from that very roughin-my-head draft was the response of the Day Watch head toa question about the Intrusion.In any event, I decided on the (hopefully) more informativeversion, with the added bonus that I can throw in more snarkif I feel it needs it. Lucky you.

So we're all on the same page, I will be making quite a fewreferences to the ideas presented in the Watch seriesby

Sergei Lukyanenko, so a passing familiarity with that isparamount.Also, there are more than a few of the setting ideas fromMonte Cook's World of Darknessthat I plan on keeping,so you would be best served by having a clue of what that'sall about (a good review can be foundhere I'd just skipdown to The Ideas heading for a quick rundown).

SettingThe division of Light and Dark had always existedbetween the Others.

Those of the Light believed it was their duty to help theweak and the helpless.Those of the Dark shunned all obligations. They didwhat they wanted, regardless of morals andconsequences.

For many millennia, the two sides fought a viciousbattle. Both were willing to use any means necessary toachieve victory. Eventually they realized that if theycontinued their battle, neither side would survive. Theleaders of both sides forged the Grand Treaty a set oflaws to govern the way the Others used their powers.

The Light Others created the Night Watch, the DarkOthers the Day Watch, to ensure that neither side would

violate the Treaty.

The Inquisition, a group composed of both Dark andLight Others, was created to ensure that neither sidebecame too powerful.1

The Watches exist much the way presented in the novels,with the exception that vampires are generally agents of theDark and werewolves agents of the Light. Mages can beagents of either, depending on their individual philosophicalleanings.

Setting Change of Note: To add a little bit moreflavor to the various organizations the Others havedeveloped other than the Watches, theCovenants from

Vampire: the Requiem,Paths/Orders from Mage:the Awakening andTribes from Werewolf: theForsakenwill be used for both players and NPCs.

The Vampire Clans/Covenants, Mage Paths/Orders andWerewolf Auspices/Tribes have existed since timeimmemorial, and often an agent of the Watch can find himor herself torn between the desires of the leaders of theClan/Path/Auspice/etc., and those of the Watch. Therespective Watch should have the unwavering support of allthat are a part of it, but this is not and has notalways been thecase.

Thus, in addition to any friction between the Watchesthat may develop from the Others, there is also the very realpossibility that the various non-Watch organizations trying toinfluence events by their own methods which are notsanctioned by the respective Watch (and, if discovered, oftenresult in extraordinarily harsh punishments for those caught).

1 Night Watch Wikipedia page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RegzUvYZ7Ehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Watch_(Russian_novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Watch_(Russian_novel)http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13404.phtmlhttp://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13404.phtmlhttp://www.daywatchblog.com/library/truce.htmlhttp://www.daywatchblog.com/library/truce.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Requiem#Covenantshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Requiem#Covenantshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Requiem#Covenantshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Requiem#Covenantshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage:_The_Awakening#Pathshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage:_The_Awakening#Pathshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage:_The_Awakening#Pathshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage:_The_Awakening#Pathshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage:_The_Awakening#Pathshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(World_of_Darkness)#Tribeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(World_of_Darkness)#Tribeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(World_of_Darkness)#Tribeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(World_of_Darkness)#Tribeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Watch_(Russian_novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Watch_(Russian_novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Watch_(Russian_novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Watch_(Russian_novel)http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13404.phtmlhttp://www.daywatchblog.com/library/truce.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Watch_(Russian_novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Watch_(Russian_novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Requiem#Covenantshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Requiem#Covenantshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage:_The_Awakening#Pathshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage:_The_Awakening#Pathshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage:_The_Awakening#Pathshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(World_of_Darkness)#Tribeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(World_of_Darkness)#Tribeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(World_of_Darkness)#Tribeshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RegzUvYZ7E

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During the latter half of the twentieth century variousgovernmental organizations began to realize something wasamiss. Reports of strange happenings were investigated, andoften there were no satisfactory scientific conclusions to bereached. What the Others had not counted on was humanitydeveloping capabilities that could rival their own, albeit inmore focused ways.Reports of psychic phenomena were investigated by thevarious agencies, in an attempt to make the best use of such

powers against any enemies.

The organization in the US that was formed to investigateand develop individuals with these capabilities was called theBureau for the Analysis and Investigation of theUnexplained the BAIU.During the 1970's the BAIU became more secretive about itsinvestigations and recruitment, and other agencies began torefer to it as The Bayou, incorrectly attributing theacronym to be the equivalent of a quagmire investigationsthat fell under BAIU jurisdiction became stuck there, neverto be heard from outside that department again.

As they were discovered, exceptional individuals eventuallydesignated as Awakened were brought into the BAIUand trained to best make use of their particular capabilities.Some of these Awakened could perform great feats by theirminds alone, others could construct equipment that seemedto bend the laws of reality and then there were individualsthat seemed to simply excel in both physical and combattraining . Virtually all of them seemed to be more capablethan the average human, easily adapting to any training thatmight be provided to them.In a fit of pique to the other US intelligence agencies, theBAIU Director created the position of Covert Agents, whichwas shortened to CAgens pronounced Cajuns. Theseoperatives handled cases that would be commonly referredto now as X-files.

Conversion of Note: Instead of using the Awakenedclass from MCWoD, Awakened characters are able tofreely multiclass between Warrior, Expert and Adeptclasses from True20, with Adepts filling the role ofpsychics.

As Mages are technically human, they can also takelevels in Warrior or Expert; however, their Magecapabilities are solely based on their levels taken in the

Mage class. Thus, a Mage 2 / Expert 3 would only castSpells as a Mage 2.

It was during this period of investigations that the existenceof the Others became known to the BAIU. As the collectionof information began in earnest in cataloging the varioustypes of Other beings that existed among humanity, theWatches' notice was in turn brought to bear.The Night Watch felt significantly less threatened than theDay Watch, and initial communication between the Watchand the BAIU started.

As it became apparent that neither human nor Otheragencies wanted to alert the rest of their respective societiesas to the knowledge that the other existed, there was atentative dtente between the Night Watch and BAIU.Agents from one organization would occasionally berequested by the other to provide capabilities that would nototherwise be feasible, and this usually was worked out ininformation trade.

Then came the Intrusion and Nightmare Wave.

Something extradimensional intruded into the fabric ofreality something beyond the comprehension of even theWatches. Creatures formed from pure chaos began toappear and destroy seemingly at random, striking at Watchand BAIU alike.

Large portions of the Midwestern US had suddenly becomeinfected with what the BAIU researchers were callingUnreality observances that by no means should be possibleunder our known Laws of the universe (Undead,

Aberrations, the like).

In response to this, there was a meeting between the headsof the US based Watches and the BAIU to exchange whatlittle they had determined about the cataclysmic events.When asked bluntly by the head of the BAIU if this was anintrusion of the Dark, the head of the Day Watchresponded: Had the Dark won, we wouldn't be having thisfucking conversation.

As it seemed that the targets of the Unreality were moreoften than not either potential Others or Awakened, theInquisition came to an unprecedented move in requiring theWatches to work together in helping to rid the world of theUnreality's effects.

Thus, with the help of the BAIU, the forces of Awakenedand Other wage a war of attrition on what has intruded ontotheir world.

They are the...

WATCHWATCHof Darknessof Darkness