The First Steps

DP 3-02
Spring, 1690
Version 1.2

By
Kenneth and Heather Walz

Stepping into the life of a witch hunter, the first steps are full of unknown and the most deadly.
This is an introduction module, with an emphasis on learning the game and some
of the groups involved.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and
thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 (King James Version)

Witch Hunter and Dark Providence are trademarks of Paradigm Concepts, Inc.
Adventure content is 2009 by Paradigm Concepts, Inc. All rights reserved.

Credits
Author(s): Ken & Heather Walz
Editor(s): Clint Blome & Crystal Elmore

Background and History

At the Current Time
The new players get a chance to learn the rules and
some of the more important history of the game. In
addition, learn about some of the orders in character.
They start in London on the docks and are lead to
the Court of Whispers. After some groups talk to
them, they go outside of London to learn more about
the groups and gather information. On the way back
to London, they are attacked and have to defend
themselves. They wind up back at the Court of
Whispers and find out actions have consequences
with the death of a person for the tip money they
may have given earlier in the event.

Introduction
So you have survived your first encounter with the
forces of the Invisible World and are forever
changed and marked by it, wither that mark be a
glow, a smell, or something else. You know that
there are others like you, but youre not sure
where. You took it as providence when you found a
free shipboard to London and headed off. As you
gather your items and leave the ship, you notice
others like yourself gathering on the dock also
looking confused as where to go next.

Adventure Summary
In scene 1, the players learn about the Court of
Whispers, the Twelve Penitents, the Crusaders
Inviolate, fear, and command. Then they meet a
Seeker of Emet and become involved in the politics
of the relics.
In scene 2, the players travel out of London to meet
and learn about the Ghost People, Dream Walkers,
The First Steps DP3-02

Stalkers of the Unseen Hunt, Stalwarts of St

Christopher, Lightbringers, Apostles of the New
Dawn, Rose and Crown, and the Sainted Mothers.
For skills, they learn stealth, a little about defense
and melee attack, a bit about firearms, and some
myth and lore skills. They also run into some
information about relics and some more of the
history of the world.
In scene 3, they get to meet the Sunwise Circle learn
about faith and damnation and get a introduction to
combat as a group of Jesuits attacks the carriage they
are in. After the combat, they get back to the court of
whispers and learn about the groups, Ascetics of the
Ten Persecutions and Fellowship of the Ashen
Cross, and in doing so learn about empathy, and
more of the history. Then the players get to realize
the tip they may have given earlier lead to a death.

Note for GMs:

This is a Role-play intensive mod with several
occasions where the PCs will meet members of the
various groups of the Witch Hunter Orders. Keep an
eye on your time limit for the slot and try to balance
accordingly.

Scene 1:
Court of Whispers
Give the players a moment to introduce themselves
to each other.

You hear from behind your group, Top of the

day to you Guvners and Ladies, would you be
needing a guide this day? As your group turns,
you see a young child of the streets wearing a
stained tunic and dusty face with the glow of a
Witch Hunter. He continues, Alena said it was a
fated day for me, guess youre what she meant.
Follow me please Ladies and Guv'ners and I will
get ya where you need to be.
As you leave the foggy dock, the young boy
speaks again, Now that we are out of the docks,
the wharf rats can't hear what we say. I was told to
bring you to the Court of Whispers below
Westminster Abbey. Its one of the Treaty Grounds
Page 2 of 17

for those of us who work in the light of our Lord.

Do you have any questions I can try to answer?

How do you know we are Witch Hunters/who we

are?
You glow with the Mark of Angel Michael, all
Witch Hunters are marked such so we can recognize
each other, but how we view the marks is different.
To me it looks like you glow with a inner warmth,
others say they hear angels echoing the words of the
spoken, still others say there is a glow around the
heads like the paintings show of the saints.

Who is Alena?
She is one of the Twelve Penitents; shes a seer and
speaks all funny-like.

You fight the Adversary?

We all fight in our own ways; most people ignore
the beggar on the street when they talk, so I hear lots
of information that I can pass on.
When the PCs are ready to continue, read the
following:

As you walk through the London morning fog,

Mishka leads you down an alley about a block from
Westminster Abby. "Well here is one of the doors
that lead to the sewers and down to the Court of
Whispers. I wish you luck in your fight." He subtly
holds his hand out for a tip as he smiles "Perhaps
a few coins M lord to help me in me job?"

After the PCs tip or do not tip him, Mishka speaks,

"I can only pray that my sister never finds out what I
do for a living."

Who/What are the Twelve Penitents?

Make sure to note down how much of a tip is given.
They are a group that have given up fighting the
Adversary directly and instead have been given the
gift of foresight so that they can advise and assist
any Witch Hunters in their quests.

Who are you?

Sister or Job?
"Yes, I pray that she never has to see or fight as we
have to. She thinks I am just a little beggar boy, and
I do love her for her innocence."

Me? You can call me Mishka.

PCs with at least one trained rank in Russian realize
the name means mouse.

A strong voice comes from the door in the

darkness, "Ok, street rat, get a move on. I will take
them from here."

Mishka? Do you know that means mouse?

A man with military bearing steps from the

shadows as Mishka turns to leave, "Ok Judas. See
you later."

What! Oh that noble is losing his purse next time I

see him, he told me it meant strong and fearless
leader.

What is the Court of Whispers?

Its what is called a Treaty Grounds. It is one of a
few spots where Witch Hunters can gather and
exchange information as we fight the Adversary.

The man sighs shaking his head, "Greetings I am

Joden Smyth. I am with the Crusaders Inviolate,
we are the rightful decedents of the Knights
Templar and are charged with protecting artifacts
needed for the fight against the Adversary. Please
pay attention to the path to the Court as I dont go
looking for those that lose themselves in the
sewers." He abruptly turns and heads into the
shadows.

The First Steps DP3-02

Page 3 of 17

After a few moments, he leads you to an open

room. The Court of Whispers itself is an octagonal
chamber with a large domed ceiling. All around the
chamber are a series of niches that look down into
a central theater. The central chamber reaches up
40 feet in height, but the dome rises up another 30
feet. The central theater is about 40 feet in
diameter, while the bench areas sit 15 feet rail to
wall. The entire chamber is 70 feet across, though
it feels much smaller because of the benches.
"This is the Court area where all are free to talk.
Now to see to your education, follow me," Joden
says as he leads you to a smaller room off the main
hall. The room shines brightly in torchlight
showing mirrors on three of the walls and a man in
robes stands in the corner holding a snake. One
of the most powerful weapons the Adversary can
use against you is your fear. However, with faith
and strength of character one can command others
to stand strong and help to overcome the effects of
that fear. Now, prepare yourselves! The man
takes the snake and traces a symbol in the air
calling to some power as the head of the snake
transforms into a face born of horrors.

The Spell that is being cast is called Face of Loa. It

creates a Fear 3 effect. For more information on this
spell, see Appendix 1.

Joden's voice calls out, "The light of our Lord is

with you! Stand strong in His light and the fear
will be as darkness receding from the light!"

Jodens Command check is 8 dice and he is

Talented so re-roll one result of 1. He starts with the
character that failed the Courage check by the
largest amount and works his way downward.

Why did Mishka call you Judas?

Mishka and I disagree on many things. That is all
you need to know about that.
On a D2 Empathy check, the PCs can tell that he is
hiding strong emotions behind a mask of strength.

What is the benefit of being a Crusaders Inviolate?

As you grow in our Order we can provide
assistance in points of contact or even minor items to
assist you in your missions.

Can anyone use command?

Those who are courageous are best at command,
but anyone may try. It does take a bit of time in
combat to give the commands so you must choose
whether the attack you would give up is worth more
than the time to give the command.

As you head down the hall and back into the Court
of Whispers, a tall gentleman wearing a traditional
rabbis outfit meets you. He nods to Joden as he
scans your party, Greetings, young Hunters. My
name is Yosef; I am with the Seekers of Emet. We
are a group of Jewish hunters, whose mission is to
track down the items taken from the sacking of the
Second Temple by the Romans. Our Order is one
of the most knowledgeable about relics, and so I
have been asked to give you a quick briefing about
them.
Mr. Joden, could you please wait a moment, we
need to have a discussion about the items recovered
from the last group we sponsored together. Joden
nods his head and moves to wait at the side of the
Court.
"I have been asked to give you advice on the
occult, myths and lore, and relics. Learning the
histories of the cultures and items is most difficult.
I suggest you try to travel with a scholar or learn a
bit about these subjects as these can help you in the
fight against Adversary. Not all vampires have an
aversion to garlic, and silver does not weaken all
werewolves. They have learned to adapt their
weaknesses and learning the skills of occult or
myth and lore can help to spot them so you can use
that weakness against them. Do you have any
questions before we move on to relics?"

So the creatures may have weaknesses different from

what history tells us?

The First Steps DP3-02

Page 4 of 17

Yes, that is why the use of those skills is important;

they can allow you to see the weaknesses.

He continues, "Relics are considered holy by some

and magical by others, all seem to have some sort
of unearthly or miraculous power that it exudes or
conveys upon the bearer. The Crusaders Inviolate
have learned to rank a relic by the power it has.
The rest of the Orders have taken what they have
learned and begun to use the same rankings. For
example, a level one relic that I know of is the
Lesser Seal of Solomon. It is a small token that fits
in the palm of your hand and assists in the casting
of Hermetic rites. There is also a tobacco from the
New World that their shamans can bless. It
removes the intangibility power of the opponent.
The more powerful relics could be a bone of a
saint, or a weapon of a great hero. If you dont
have any questions...

the other, due to past incidents. However, we are

willing to listen to your groups advice as to which
of us should be given these items.
Joden speaks up, We will give you the items and
let you research them. While you are talking to the
other groups today please consider our request. At
the end of the day, we will ask you for your opinion
on which group should be given the items.

Why don't you let the original group decide?

They have already departed London and it would
take considerable time and effort to have them
return. Therefore we are willing to accept your
opinions on the matter.

What are the items?

Please give Joden and me a moment to consult.

It is a set of six cylinders. Three of them are

negative carved and three are positive carved.

Yosef and Joden move to the side of the chamber

and begin talking to each other.

Where did they find them?

If the players ask to listen in have them make a

Notice check:

A group of Witch Hunters found them after fighting

a coven of witches in the area around holy
Jerusalem.

D1-2: They are discussing a problem dealing with

some sort of relics.

Use Players Handout 1 so players can get an idea of

what they look like.

D3: They are discussing a set of relics that were split

and which order should get them for research,
something said about proxy group to decide as its
too expensive to get the original group as the two
look at the party.

Over the course of the module, the PCs will get an

opportunity to speak to many people belonging to
the many Orders available to Witch Hunters. You
can see Appendix 2 to help guide any responses they
may have to give as well as the questions presented
in their sections.

The two head back to the party shaking their heads

in agreement. We have need of the opinions of
neutral Witch Hunters, Joden states.
Yosef continues, Another group of Hunters
recovered some items from a coven of witches and
split the items up between our two groups, we have
discovered that they need to be completed sets in
order to research what they were being used for.
Neither of our groups is willing to give the items to

I will lead you to a wagon that will take you

outside of London to a small training area that we
have hidden. Be alert for you can never be sure
where the next attack will be coming from.

The First Steps DP3-02

Page 5 of 17

Scene 2:
The Woods
Leaving the sewers, a waiting carriage whisks you
outside of London to a wooded area. The driver
points down a small game trail, "They are waiting
for you over there. I will wait for you here to take
you back." Following the trail for a few moments
leads you through the darkened woods to a small
clearing that has a sheltered campfire, an archery
target, and a few strange tents. Stepping onto the
trail behind you are two American Indians shaking
their heads disapprovingly.
With them is a young lady about 5 foot 9 inches
and has a lean, nearly emaciated look to her. Her
hair is a shoulder-length curly brown and her eyes
are a piercing green. She wears a black leather
frock coat with gold trim and blue lining, a pleated
black skirt that comes to just below the tops of her
British naval officer boots, a black and teal corset,
and a high collar white blouse. Two rapiers hang
on either side of her wide black belt. Holstered on a
small black baldric just below her left shoulder is a
pistol. Her high-collared blouse does not quite
completely cover scars where some sort of beast
once nearly ripped out her throat. She wears a
ring with the emblem of the British East India
Trading Company, indicating a past affiliation. A
chain of trinkets from her many travels hangs from
her belt, swaying as she walks.
She translates for the two Indians "You make more
noise than a herd of buffalos stampeding. You
must learn to walk like a shadow on the trail or you
will alert your enemies, and they will not take
mercy on you. Greetings, I am Katherine Clarkson
formally of His Majesties Navy. This is Slow-Bear
with the Ghost People, he is of those who has been
cast out of his tribe and is forced to wander
tribeless in our fight." Slow-bear nods.
Katherine bows to the other Indian, "This is
Speaks-for-Wolves, he is a Dream walker. He has
the ability to send messages as dreams to others.
Their order is one of the few ways we can talk over
long distances.

can ask your questions. Speaks-for-Wolves will try

to track us by the amount of noise we make."

Let each of the players roll a Stealth check. The

group is only as quiet as its weakest member is, so
use the fewest number of successes for the group.
If a player botches the roll, he or she actually trips
on a stack of twigs and falls back into the clearing
making a great deal of noise.
If the lowest number of successes is zero or one
Speaks-for-Wolves frowns and shakes his head
disapprovingly.
If the lowest number of successes is two, Speaksfor-Wolves is expressionless and the party earns a
nod.
If the lowest number of successes is three or more
then the players have impressed Speaks for Wolves
and he smiles at them with respect.

Katherine speaks to the group, I am here to talk to

you about my group, the Apostles of the New
Dawn. Ours is the youngest of the orders; we are
travelers that do our best to make sure the forces of
the Adversary do not bring harm to the travels to
the New World or other expeditions. As our group
does tend to travel a bit more than the others do, we
find it easier to learn new languages. We have
learned to dabble in the Sorcerous Traditions
without any formal training for them. With the
charms and trinkets we have picked up in our
travels, we can attempt to recreate Prayer or
Hermetic rites, but it is much harder for us than
those who have studied in those skills."

What are the Ghost people?

Slow-Bear will answer, We are from what you call
the New World. Our tribe has exiled us for what
we do defies many of our peoples beliefs. Our
people see both good and evil as necessary parts of
the world, and by fighting what you call the
Adversary, we deny one aspect of the world.

Now follow me as we walk through the woods and

try not to trip over the trees. Once we get back, you
The First Steps DP3-02
Page 6 of 17

What are the Dream Walkers?

Speaks-for-Wolves answers, "We are those who
have learned to speak in the dreams of others. We
can send messages over great distances and bring
forth memories of spirits to guide in the fight against
the darkness."

that believes in protecting others more than

ourselves. To guard and give your life for another
is the greatest gift, as our lord has shown.
Let me show you what I mean. Please, step
forward and try to attack Genevieve, he gestures
to the woman beside him. I will use my skills and
my rapier, Lady Beth, to stop your attacks.

What can you tell us of the cylinders?

Katherine can identify them as Sumerian Cylinder
Seals. She will not know the order they were written
or what they say.

Can you help us learn more about these?

Slow-Bear will answer, I can help you to see into
the Invisible World and study the cylinders from a
new perspective. But be warned as the things that
you may see past the boundary of our world may be
disturbing.
If the party will allow it, Slow-Bear can cast
Awakening on a member of the party. He will not
look at the cylinders himself with the rite. The rite
will last one minute. See Visions of the Cylinders
with Awakening in Appendix 2 for the vision.
Read the following once the players are done with
their questions:

You hear a feminine voice behind you, "The

American Indians have some strange abilities, but
they have proved useful in the fight against the
Adversary." As you turn, you see a petite woman
with long straight black hair, high cheekbones,
light brown eyes, and a Mediterranean complexion.
She carries a beaded Indian medicine bag and a
large number of pistols.
Next to her is a gentleman in his early 20's. He is
obviously Dutch with blond hair, blue eyes, stocky,
5 foot 10 inches. He wears fairly worn but
serviceable traveling clothes, a black hat with a
peacock feather, various pistols, and a rapier. The
gentleman nods his head as he begins to speak,
"Greetings, I am Johann Gershon Delavre. I am
with the Stalwarts of Saint Christopher, an Order

The PCs will focus their attacks on Genevieve while

Johann uses the Stalwart of St. Christopher ability to
sacrifice his own Defense Pool to keep the attacks
from hitting Genevieve.
Combat info
Name
Genevieve
Johann

Initiative Pool
5d
7d

Defense Pool
3d+1
5d+1

The battle will end after three rounds of combat or

the first time the PCs are able to do actual damage to
Genevieve.

Johann puts his blade away, That is how we

Stalwarts protect others. Now, my good friend
here, Genevieve, will speak to you about the
Stalkers of the Unseen Hunt." He bows and steps
back as Genevieve steps up dusting herself off.
"I am Genevieve Milanovich, and I am with the
Stalkers. We are a band of brothers and sisters who
hunt the darkness before it hunts us. Our motto is
'Know your prey by knowing its territory'. By
specializing in hunting the beasts of the Adversary,
we leave the more urban evils to others"
Genevieve nods to the other side of the clearing
where a target is set up beside a path, "Down that
path is a trail that the Lightbringers have set up for
us to practice our gunnery. I will go first then we
will see what you can do." Genevieve steps lightly
down the path shooting at targets as they appear.
As she picks her targets, she is careful to verify that
the targets she takes shots at represent evil and not
innocents in the way. Her bandolier of six pistols
quickly empties.

The First Steps DP3-02

Page 7 of 17

As she turns to address you, two targets spring up

on the trail beside her. She quickly flicks each
pistol to the other hand and uses them as clubs,
smashing the targets. "What is this?" She asks.
You hear clapping coming from behind you.
Turning around, you see a petite woman with
auburn hair and extraordinary green eyes. She is
standing next to a tall sandy haired man of
German decent. Both wear smiles and are dressed
for the woods. The only things you see on the
woman are a rapier at her waist and a dagger with
an eagles head pommel. Around her neck is a
beautiful gold and silver cross. The man wears a
dagger and carries a twisted staff covered in sigils.
On his finger just above the gloves he wears is a
silver ring with a cross on it.
Brava Genevieve. I see that I will have to try
harder to best you in the future. Better that the
mannequins suffer than fellow Hunters, she says
with a sigh.
Ysabella I thought that you were going to tell us
when you changed the course. That was the
agreement.
Fredrick changed the course. I just take credit for
it. Therefore, our agreement stands, when I change
the course I will tell you. Even now, they send me
to talk to these new hunters to give them a chance
to join the Lightbringers cause, and Fredrick is
here for the same reason: to find new recruits. So if
youre done here.
Genevieve nods, Actually if one of them would
like to take the course they can, or they can go with
you. Genevieve looks at the party.

If a player wishes to go down Lightbringers alley,

they get a bandolier with six pistols. As innocent
targets appear with deadly targets they have to make
a D1 Notice check to find each of the targets, then a
Firearms Check on the chart below to see if they hit.
A botch on a Notice check means they shoot an
innocent. A failure on the Notice check means they
do not see the target until too late and lose a point. A
botch on the Firearms check means the gun misfires
and they lose the point for the target, once a person

loses three points they are informed that they are

killed and led off the path.

Target
1
2
3
4
5
6

Difficulty
1
1
2
2
3
3

Once the party is ready to continue, read the

following:

Ysabella motions to a path you only now notice and

motions for you to follow her, As you now know, I
am a member of the Lightbringers. We gather
knowledge in the hopes of bringing about a new
enlightened age where we will not be thought of as
witches but as scientists. We hope to find new
technologies to fight the Adversary, and we want
the rest of the world to help save itself. If I sound
bitter it is because I am also a Hermetic magic user
like Fredrick, she pulls of her glove and shows
her hand to you palm out, and this is how the
church keeps us in line.
On the skin of her palm is a glowing sigil.

A D1 Sorcerous Tradition: Hermetic check or a

general D2 Sorcerous Tradition check tells the PCs
that this is a mark of the Ordeal.

We must prove ourselves safe to be around people.

Locked away for a year, tested over and over, and
still, we are hunted by the Jesuits, she sobs out.
Unable to talk any more, she turns into Fredricks
shoulder.
Frederick begins to speak, his deep bass voice
rumbling out, I have also gone through the trials,
but I was not as affected as some. My order is that
of the Rose and Cross. We watch new recruits to
see who to invite to join us. We do not go around
advertising who we are because we are all magi.

The First Steps DP3-02

Page 8 of 17

For some time, the church has used us as pawns

against noble houses because of our scholarship.
We remain a bastion of learning from the times of
Solomon himself, but we know that we have
forgotten much. So we rely on the older members
for their knowledge and the abilities of the young
for recovering lost knowledge. He delivers this
monologue in a deadpan voice. Its almost as if all
the emotion was gone from him. If you have any
questions about our orders or hermetic magic,
please ask.

With a D1 Empathy check, the PCs can tell that

there is friction between Genevieve and Ysabella.

What is the benefit of joining the Lightbringers?

Ysabella answers, We know of ways to focus our
mind on problems and come up with answers
quicker than others might. But this is tiring and can
only be done once in a short time.

What is the benefit of joining the Rose and Crown?

Frederick answers, Our Order can assist with the
learning of rites. We have ways of training you so
that you can learn an extra rite when you first
venture into a new circle of magic.

Questions about the seals?

Ysabella cocks an eyebrow, Let me look at those.
After a few moments of study she responds, I
cannot read them, but I believe they go in this
order. She arranges the cylinders into the
appropriate order.
Fredrick looks at the cylinders, I believe they are
two separate stories. The first three appear to tell the
Story of Gilgamesh, or part of it. The other three tell
the story of the great flood.

Flood part 1 negative carved, Crusaders

Flood part 2 -- positive carved, Crusaders
Flood part 3 negative carved, Emet
Once the players are done with the questions,
continue with the following:

Frederick looks at the group, The lady over there

is your next representative. Meet Suni Yuri senior
sister of the Sainted Mothers. I will escort Ysabella
back to London to recover.
The woman you see in front of you is dressed
strangely in a leather caftan and harem pants. Her
black hair is plaited down her back and by her side
is a larger than normal house cat. She carries a
large curved blade at her side. Welcome children.
Now, does anyone have knowledge of the history of
men?
First, there was more to the garden then most
know. Adam had two wives. There was Eve, the
sweet child, and Lilith, the mother of all
abominations. God told Lilith that for every day
that she defied him one of her children would die.
The Adversary gave her a way out. He told her that
for every child of Eve that died, He would spare
one of her children to wreck havoc and chaos. So,
from the time of Blessed Thecla, we have fought
her and protected the children of Eve.
When the black plague came so many men were
lost. The Adversary thought that if the plague killed
the men, then women would surrender. He had
never given birth multiple times, or worked a farm
when a husband was injured. We women stepped
up to take the places held by men. The world
recovered and men wanted their places back. She
smiles at the thought and says with a grin, We told
them No. The mothers had banded together to
protect children and give humanity a chance
against all the abominations of Lilith and the
Adversary. We had earned our place among men,
as equals.

The seals are in the following order:

Gilgamesh part 1 positive carved, Emet
Gilgamesh part 2 negative carved, Emet
Gilgamesh part 3 positive carved, Crusaders

Safe travels to you and remember that children

are vulnerable until we show them the Lord. After
that they thrive in the safety of true faith.

The First Steps DP3-02

Page 9 of 17

A D2 Trained Knowledge: History check or D3

Theology check will verify the story given.

Scene 3:
Putting it together
Suni Yuri leads you back to the carriage. Awaiting
you in the carriage is an older man. He has a
carefully maintained mustache in the current
French style and a closely cropped beard, both of
which are grayer than his black hair. His
weatherworn face is timeless, yet somehow
disapproving of you and your companions. The
rich brocades and gold ornamentation of his
clothing could probably feed a small village for at
least a month, and either of the rapiers hes
wearing on his hips would be more than enough to
feed New Amsterdam for several days. The large
leather-clad case he has with him appears quite
worn, but he never let it stray far from his hands,
constantly touching and fondling it as he speaks.
The older gentleman motions for the group to enter
the carriage and after a brief time you find
yourselves back upon the road to London.
"Greetings, my friends, I am Alexi Dmitry
Mikhailovzch from mother Russia. I am with the
Sunwise Circle, a group from Poland and Russia.
Our strongest asset in the order is the rightness of
our duty. That strength gives us the ability to have
faith that we will succeed in our orders and our
duty to our lord. Our Order finds that we are able
to focus our rightness on the task at hand to grant
us extra energy. However, we have found that you
must focus on all the types of abilities before you
can focus on any one again. After fighting skills,
one could focus on professional, movement, or
interactive skills.
Your True Faith is your belief and unswerving
conviction that the Lord or greater power you
follow will ultimately triumph over its wicked
counterpart. The stronger your faith, the easier it is
to resist the call and temptations of the Adversary.

Witch Hunter may have to call upon the darkest

parts of his soul; to make a deal with the Devil, if
you will. Now does that mean you will never gain
any Damnation in your travels? No! Most Hunters
gain some Damnation in order to gain advantage
over our opponents. You may also have to perform
some rites that start you on the trail of Damnation.
However, with penitence and faith in the power of
our Lord, you can remove the stains on your soul."
As the carriage rounds a corner, it abruptly stops.
From outside you hear a man shout out, "In the
name of all that is Holy, the servants of the Holy
See command you to renounce your witchcraft and
repent! May your souls be saved in the purity of
fire now rather than spend eternity burning in
Hell."
Alexi mutters and shakes his head. "Jesuits. Ready
yourself for battle." He opens a trap door in the
floor of the carriage and says, "You take the right
side, I will get the leader and the left side with the
driver" As you slip from the carriage and make
your way along its side you see a group of young
priests with staves ready for battle.
There will be 4 Jesuit Priests per PC.
Jesuit Priests
Threat Level
Skills
Weapons DM

2
Hand-to-Hand 1
Staff +2

Make sure to ask when the player drops the first

Jesuit, if they are attacking lethal or non-lethal.
If the party contains a larger number of combatcapable characters, increase the number of Priests to
5 per PC. If the party is combat light, decrease the
Priests to 3 per PC.

After the battle as you make your way to the other

side of the carriage, you see Alexi tending to the
Head Priest as he shakes his head. "Now sit still or
you will open your bandages and bleed to death
here on the road. Others will be by soon enough to
get you to a church for rest." He turns to the group
out of listening range of the Priest.

But Damnation also abounds. Sometimes, in

order to accomplish what we must for the Lord, a
The First Steps DP3-02
Page 10 of 17

If any of the players chose to do lethal damage in the

combat, Alexi will look at them disappointingly.

"I have to return to the training area and make

sure the trail was not followed. The carriage ride
should be safe enough from here."

Franklin will make a series of statements using the

Deceive skill. The players will need to make
Empathy checks in order to negate his successes.
The Spanish wines from Jumilla are better than
French Bordeaux.

If anyone asks Alexi about the seals, he will tell

them that it looks like there are remains of dried
blood in the smallest crevasses of the seals.

With a D2 Empathy check, the PCs can tell that he

actually thinks they are both the same quality.

As you reenter the Court of Whispers, you notice a

man wearing a shirt stained with wine and other
less distinguished things. He looks inquiringly at a
ladies handkerchief mumbling to himself, "I
wonder which one I got this from?"

A D1 Empathy check the PCs can tell from his

voice you can tell he actually has never had to beg.

Shaking his head as he notices your group looking

at him, "Oh, sorry, I was distracted a moment. I
am Franklin of the order of the Ascetics. It is not
an easy Order to follow for we have seen the true
writings of God and follow the persecutions that
were visited upon us by the early Christians of the
Romans. The Lord has blessed us for our faith and
duty with the ability to use that faith to call upon
Him and bring several different blessings to others.
However, we have also taken a vow not to reveal
the writings of the Lord to those outside of our
Order, so many misunderstood us. Those who are
down and have been abused normally find our
Order is there first to help as we are mostly cut
from the same cloth.
He pauses a moment to catch his breath and take a
swig of wine from a bottle he pulls from his pocket.
Now, my friends, another one of the Adversarys
favorite weapons is that of the lie, you must be able
to tell truth from falsehood so that you can uncover
the evil that lies in the hearts of many. I will give
you a series of statements and you must figure out
which is true. He sniffs his nose as he begins.

Our Order gets by with begging.

Both answers are lies. Telling him this will cause

him to smile at the PCs and give them a nod of
encouragement. If the PCs fail the test, he will sigh
and shake his head at them.

Franklin looks up as you hear echoing from the

floor below. You see a priest with the sash of the
Jesuits walking slowly over with a look of
disappointment on his face. Ah, I see my favorite
father is coming to chastise me again, I wonder
which sermon he will give first today. Ladies and
Gentles may I introduce Father Bernado Russi of
Naples
The priest shakes his head at Franklin Franklin,
must you drink to excess here in this area?
Franklin glances around as he smiles, It's not
that sacred down here and enjoying the fruit and
drink of our Lord is just showing our devotion to
all of the things He creates.
Father Bernado looks at Franklin blinking slowly
as he sighs. These youngsters were involved in
combat earlier with those of my order who still
follow the Holy See. I have been asked to inform
them of why they were attacked. Franklin nods as
he wobbles down the stairs and starts talking to a
young Spanish lady.
In order to understand why we are hunted by the
Holy See, you must understand two events from the
past: the second sacrifice by his holiness Pope

The First Steps DP3-02

Page 11 of 17

Sergius V in 1294 and the Council of Trent in

1555. The father sits himself down and beings
give his lecture. History tells us that in 1294 Pope
Sergius fought alongside an army of holy warriors
to stop an undead infestation in the Black Forest of
Germania. The truth of the matter is that the only
way the undead tide was stopped was with a ritual
that required the holiest of blood to be spilled. The
Knights Templar and Stalkers of the Unseen Hunt
deceived the Pope into going to the Black Forest
with just a minor guard. They seized His Holiness
and for three days and nights he bore the agonies
of crucifixion. At the end of that time Cardinal
Paschal himself concluded the ritual and lit the
cross alight. When the flames reached the body of
His Holiness there was a flash of light so intense
that it scared and blinded many in the area.
However, the undead where destroyed and the
blight that was upon the land was gone.
Cardinal Paschal was elected for his bravery to
become the next pope and took on the name Pope
Leo Innocent I. However, his witnessing the events
in Germania took a toll on him, his hair was pure
white. He also realized that the power of the Witch
Hunter Orders had grown too strong. He led a
covert war against the Knights Templar that came
to a head when King Phillip IV of France accused
the Templars of consorting with the Devil. On
October 13, 1312, the King seized all the holding of
the Templars. Of course, the branch of the
Templars that knew of the Invisible World fought
to defend themselves with spells providing the
evidence of their guilt to the world. It led to the
downfall of the Knights. Pope Leo Innocent then
decreed that the well armored fighting orders
where a violation of Gods will. At that point the
Orders of Solomon went underground to continue
the fight against the Adversary. Father bows his
head and mumbles a prayer before continuing.
For nearly two hundred years after that we fought
as best as we could to stop the Adversary, in that
time Witch Hunters came to be known to the
people as living saints for the miracles that we
could do. At the Council of Trent, there was a
formal denial of the living saints and Pope Paul
IV, under pressure, declared that Witch Hunter
abilities where not miracles performed by God, but
by deals made with darker powers, and as such the
orders of the church took a stand against Witch
Hunters.
The First Steps DP3-02

The most militant of the groups to date is the

Society of Jesus. They are soldiers of Christ
commonly known as the Jesuits. Yes, I was one
with that order but you could say I am on a
sabbatical for now. The Jesuits take the work of the
Holy See quite to heart and are very good at their
job. The second order to be aware of is the
Dominicans or the Black Friars. They are heavily
involved with the Spanish Inquisition. Moreover,
the methods they employ just skirt the edge of
heresy. If caught by them they give you a choice,
burn at the stake like a heretic, or attempt to
redeem yourself by serving the Black Friars as a
Black Hound. The hounds use their knowledge to
lead the Friars to other Hunters.
The last of the large orders is the Franciscans,
those that follow Saint Francis of Assisi. The
Franciscans while officially have no contact with
Witch Hunters will often turn a blind eye to their
presence, they are unwilling to assist the rest of the
church in their efforts to punish or kill those who
are, in their own way, doing Gods work. The
father leans back waiting to see if there are any
questions.

Did you ever kill any Witch Hunters?

Bernado sighs, Yes. In retrospect, before my
enlightenment, I did burn 14 witches, 8 of which
where Witch Hunters, and that is a burden my own
soul must bear.

What made you turn?

I was in Paris following a supposed cult of witches
when I recognized one of them as a priest I knew
from the Eastern Orthodox Church. That delay in
response allowed me to see a group of people turn
into werewolves and sacrifice several innocents to
their hunger. I watched the cult of witches fight the
wolves and in the fight. I noticed the mark of
Michael on them, and on myself, as I brought my
own skills into the fray against the werewolves.

My own order is the Fellowship of the Ashen

Cross. We understand why the church is against
Page 12 of 17

the Witch Hunters, but it is our belief that one day

we will become accepted by the Holy See and be
allowed to fight against the Adversary in the open
with the blessing of His Holiness. We have one of
the most recent relics to grace this earth, the cross
used in the second sacrifice. The ash of that cross
allows our order to do wondrous powers with it and
our faith.

fear spell earlier approach. Both have the same

question in their eyes. Have you made a decision
on which order is to receive the seals?

We are quite unlike the Crusaders who believe

that the end justifies the means; we try to work
within the system of laws of the countries to do the
most good in our fight. A young man comes up to
the group and locks eyes on the priest who keeps
speaking, not missing a step. Ah my friends, this
is Tom Hargetty, he serves the Court here. What is
wrong my friend?

He is grieving from the news of the death of

Mishkas sister. He has asked another of his Order to
sit in.

Toms eyes betray sadness in them as he speaks.

You know of the street urchin nicknamed
Mishka? he asks before continuing. I have heard
news on the streets and unfortunately confirmed
that his sister was killed this afternoon it seems
some thugs tried to rob her and took <<Amount of
PC tip>> and her life in the process. Bernardo
shakes his head as a tear falls down his cheek, I
shall find him. Will you find Joden and make sure
he does not get into any trouble over this? He
nods to your group, I wish I could take more time
with you, but I must find Mishka and comfort him
in this time of sorrow, to die for <<amount of pc
tip>> is truly a crime that should be avenged.

Any questions to Father Bernardo about the seals:

They are unholy to the touch.

While the players sit in the chamber and discuss if

they wish to ask any of the other orders whom they
think should get the seals. It is easy enough to find
members of any of the Orders here, please see
Appendix 2 for their answer.

Final questions:
What happened to Joden?

Conclusion
Your first steps as a witch hunter are complete.
Now it is up to you to find your way. Which of the
Orders is right for you? How best to fight the
Adversary in your own way?
Moreover, you will see where the dreams and
portents take you in the Grave New World and the
old. Welcome to the Invisible World, where battle
leads not to heroes, but to salvation.

The End

SP Rewards
Characters who survive the adventure receive 1 SP
for playing the module, 1 SP for choosing whom the
cylinders should go to, and 2 SP if they role-played
well, for a possible maximum of 4 SP per character.
HP Rewards
Making a decision about whom the cylinders should
go to is worth a Hero Point. Otherwise, try to award
HPs not just for flashy combat actions, but for good
role-playing, clever ideas, or having (and using) the
right skill at the right time. No Witch Hunter may be
awarded more than a total of 4 HPs for this
adventure. HPs spent during the adventure are
subtracted on the Adventure Journal and HPs gained
are added on the Adventure Journal.

Decision Time

After talking amongst yourselves and other Witch

Hunters, you see Yosef and the man who cast the

Possible Contacts

The First Steps DP3-02

Page 13 of 17

Mishka street urchin in London

Tom Hargetty member of the Council of Whispers
Joden Smyth Member of Crusaders Inviolate if
the group gave the seals to the Crusaders Inviolate
Rabbi Yosef Member of Seekers of Emet, if the
group gave the seals to the Seekers of Emet
Adventure Codes
Circle CA if the PC granted mercy to the Jesuits
Circle CB if the PC killed the Jesuits
Circle CC if the PC gave a tip to Mishka
Circle CD if the PC participated in running
Lightbringers alley
Circle CE if the PC gave the seals to the Seekers of
Emet
Circle CF if the PC gave the seals to the Crusaders
Inviolate

Appendix 1
New Spells and Talents
Face of Loa (Basic Voodoo Rite)
Tradition: Animism
Difficulty: 3
Time: special/1 round
Duration: 1 minute
Strain: 3
In order to cast this rite the caster must have first successfully cast command snake, and holds the snake by the
head to trace a Vever in the air of the Loa. In doing so, the head of the snake transforms into the head of the Loa
in all its horror. This produces a fear effect 2, with extra success on the casting can either raise the fear effect by
one per success up to the Damnation rating of the caster or increasing the duration of the rite by one minute per
success.

Appendix 2
What each group knows about the seals
NPC Name

Group

Knowledge

Option who gets

Katherine

Apostles of the New

Dawn

Identify them as
Sumerian cylinder seals

No Opinion

Slow-Bear

Ghost People

Will cast Awakening

No Opinion

Speaks-for-Wolves

Dream Walkers

None

No Opinion

Johann

Stalwarts if St.
Christopher

None

No Opinion

Genevieve

Stalkers of the Unseen

Hunt

None

Crusaders Inviolate

Ysabella

Lightbringers

Order of the cylinders,

Predate fall of the First
Temple

Seekers of Emet

Frederick

The Order of the Rose

and Cross

The Stories on the

cylinders

Seekers of Emet

Suni

Sainted Mothers

None

No Opinion

Alexi

Sunwise Circle

Blood in the spaces

Crusaders Inviolate

Franklin

Ascetics of the Ten

Persecutions

None

No Opinion

Bernardo

Fellowship of the Ashen

Cross

Unholy to the touch

Seekers of Emet

Vision of the Seals with Awakening

As you open your eyes and see into the invisible world, the seals look like they are made
of black hellfire, and dark red blood flows from some of the seals, symbols, and letters.

Players Handout 1