Horror Roleplaying in the Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft

The Great Old Ones ruled the earth aeons before the rise of humankind. Originally they came from the gulfs of space and were cast down by even greater beings. Remains of their cyclopean cities and forbidden knowledge can still be found on remote islands in the Pacific, buried amid the shifting sands of vast deserts, and in the frigid recesses of the polar extremes. Now they sleep — some deep within the enveloping earth and others beneath the eternal sea, in the drowned city of R’lyeh, preserved in the waters by the spells of mighty Cthulhu. When the stars are right they will rise, and once again walk this Earth.

Jürgens armies under the sign of the Black Cross march out to conquer the east. Against them stand the vile Tzimisce ruled by the Voivode of all Voivodes: Count Vladimir Rustovitch.

But not only those stand in the way of Jürgens men, between their home and the Voivodat lies Livonia, a fierce, primal territory ruled by Quarakh the Untamed and his horde of Gangrel. By his side there is Deverra, High-Priest of Telyavel and Tremere renegade.

“The Revenge of the Kine” would also be an adequate name for Dark Ages: Inquisitor, where ordinary mortals are called by God himself to serve their fellow man in the vocation of the secret Holy Inquisition. Hold onto your souls kids, we’re entering a medieval world tormented by the get of Satan — from demons to heretics to blood drinking witches, and we are all that stands between man, and his corruption by evil incarnate. We are the men in black. And white. And red. And the rest.

It was a good theory anyway. The horrors perpetrated in the name of God were little better than the Get of Satan is capable of. Torture, murder and mob violence are the staples of the Inquisition, which at its most extreme will stop at nothing to root out the minions of the Adversary. How could a good Christian stand by and let Satan’s minions run freely around God’s Earth? All sin may be absolved, and what is the odd transgression when you are in the practice of saving souls? What choice do you have when the legions of Hell are here, now and stealing the souls of Innocents? Trust in God, and in his Forgiveness.

Freelance game designer and author Jackob Klunder tells us about his work on Dark Ages: Vampire and Vampire: the Masquerade.

He even gets in a bit about the upcoming ForumCon as well during our discussion.