Goblin Roads
Travelling between Chicago and Milwaukee is perilous in the extreme. Lupines infest the roads and towns that connect the great cities and far stranger things inhabit the eerie wetlands, forests, and quiet spots between. The safest way to avoid these perils is to navigate the “Weird,” a collection of lonely roads, switchbacks, and roadside alters that tortuously thread their way between “oasis” of spiritually unnerving ground repulsive to Lupines. Dubbed “Goblin Roads” by local Kindred, Prince Decker of Milwaukee and Elder Inyanga of Chicago organized a group of intrepid Gangrel known as the “Psychopomps” to ferry Kindred between their cities.
Unusual on the best of nights, the Psychopomps know the secrets of the Goblin Roads and have a unique sense of the Weird that surrounds and infuses them. They perceive the Weird’s presence constantly, always feeling its eyes in the darkness, never deviating from their well-marked paths. Passage along the Goblin Roads is a lonely and terrifying experience as the Psychopomp leapfrogs from oasis to oasis, offering sacrifices of blood, alcohol, or prayer to forces unknown. Many Psychopomps go mad, wandering off the road and vanishing forever. Others simply disappear. But none have abandoned their charges mid-journey, always dropping their passengers off at their destination before vanishing back into the Weird to begin their journey anew.
Kindred seeking passage between the two great cities have only to call upon Prince Decker or his newly-minted counterpart Rosa Hernandez. Survival is never guaranteed, but few things truly are.
| • | Night Rider: You are a frequent passenger on the Goblin Roads and have become accustomed to their nature. Your knowledge grants you an additional two dice to all Survival tests related to surviving the Goblin Roads if you become isolated in the Weird. |
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| • • | Summon the Ferryman: You have arranged passage on the Goblin Roads with Prince Decker, Rosa Hernandez, or one of their Psychopomps. The price of this arrangement can take the form of cash, a minor boon, or something else entirely (Storyteller’s discretion). Once per story, you can enlist a Psychopomp to ferry yourself and your coterie between Chicago and Milwaukee. |
| • • • | Psychopomp: You are a Psychopomp and travel the Goblin Roads at will. This journey requires 24 hours preparation to attune yourself to the proper rites and sacrifices necessary for safe passage and you gain two-dots of Status reflecting your occupation. |
| • • • • | Weird Ally: You led an expedition into the Weird or were separated from your Psychopomp for a protracted period of time. During that time, you encountered and formed a pact or alliance with a supernatural denizen of the Weird. This creature is unusual at the best of times, but will come when called. You gain a four-dot Ally that is a werewolf, mage, wraith, changeling, or something stranger still (see Vampire: The Masquerade p. 376 and p. 377 or the Storyteller creates the monster). Once per game, your Ally will come to your aid within 10 hours of your summons |
| • • • • • | One with the Weird: You spent many nights looking into the Weird, and one evening, it looked back. You have unraveled one of the deeper mysteries of the Weird. It might be the hidden nature of the Goblin Roads oasis, the true name of a powerful spirit, a potent ritual, the dark secret of a mist-shrouded town, or the location of an artifact of great power. Work with the Storyteller to define the exact nature of your secret, but remember, the Weird does not reveal its secrets casually and there will be a price. |