Step into the Gloom - Night Watch (3.5e Sourcebook)/The Night, the Day, and the Twilight

Introduction

Moscow, Russia. Capital of the Motherland. Where people live their dreary, boring lives. Much like the rest of the world, Moscow is a rather hustle and bustle place, with street vendors, petty crime, and corrupt traffic cops. But unlike the rest of the world, Moscow is a battlefield between Light and Dark, Law and Chaos. And no, I'm not talking about the chap from Internal Affairs who notices the discrepancy in the Traffic Cop's fines he collected and tickets he filed.

The Battle between Light and Dark has been raging since time immemorable. Imagine, if you will, two Shamans. While under the effects of some narcotic or other used in their rituals, they both slip into a semi-transcendant state and enter the Twilight.

One Shaman, a man of simple needs and desires, has just come from a feast where his tribe had slain a rather large beast. His family is well, and his general feeling is one of contentment. The First Time he enters the Twilight, it draws from him those positive emotions and fills him with Light. He becomes a bastion of good, fair and just in all of his doings.

The Other Shaman, a jealous and covetous cur, had found his mate in the arms of a Warrior from his tribe. In his anger, he went to the other Shaman to procure poisons to kill them both. While they spoke, they consumed the narcotic substance, and he slipped into the Twilight as well. It drew from him the negative emotions he was feeling, and filled him with Darkness. He becomes cruel and cunning, using his newfound abilities to spread the influence of his tribe, and slay his mate and her lover.

And thus, the world procured it's first two "Others," a subrace of humans who have the unique ability to look into the Twilight, and unleash the fearsome energy that it gathers from the normal humans living their normal lives.

Anyone can be an Other. Johnson from Accounting? He's a Vampire. That Homeless guy sleeping off his hangover on the park bench? He's one of the most powerful Light Magicians in all of Moscow. The point is, The Battle is still raging, even though we can't see them.

Enter the Twilight. A mystical demi-plane that overlaps our own. The Wisest of Dark and Light Sages know that there are Seven Levels to the Twilight. However, the only two people to enter the Seventh Level of the Twilight since Merlin was Anton Gorodetsky, and his Daughter Nadyaneushka.

True History

As long as humanity has existed, there have been Others among us.

They're human, yet they have abilities beyond those of ordinary men.

Witches, sorcerers, shape-shifters... the Others are as varied as stars in the sky.

The Others are soldiers in the eternal war: The struggle between Dark and Light.

Light Others protected mankind from the Dark Others, who plagued and tortured humans.

Legend tells of a day when the two armies met on a bridge.

Geser, lord of the Light and Zabulon, general of the Darkness, faced each other. And neither one would give way.

And so began a great battle, bloody and merciless.

Zabulon gloried in the slaughter. But Lord Geser wept.

As the screams of the dying reached heaven, Geser realized the armies were equally matched, and he knew that unless the fighting stopped every last soul would perish.

So he stopped the battle.

Thus, the forces of Light and Darkness forged a truce.

Geser spoke for the Light and, Zabulon spoke for the Darkness.

And these things were agreed:

No one could be forced to good or evil, without choosing freely.

The soldiers of light would be called Night Watch, making sure Dark Others obeyed the truce.

And the soldiers of darkness would be called Day Watch, to do the same.

And so the balance would be kept for centuries to come.

- Night Watch, By Sergei Lukyanenko.

The Night Watch

The Moscow Night Watch, led by Geser, is one of the oldest and most prominent Watches on Earth. For centuries, he has watched over the Motherland and most of Europe, staving off the encroaching Darkness that threatens to consume all things.

As an Agent of the Night Watch, you are expected to hold up certain ideals. Mercy, Honesty, and many other fine qualities one would see in a Good-Aligned Cleric or Paladin. A Night Watch agent may bend or break these rules as he or she sees fit in a certain situation, but only one of them holds any great punishment.

Murder. Intentional or Unintentional. For the Cause of Good, or Not. When a Light Other Murders someone, they must make a Will Save Equal to 10 + The Character's HD. If the Light Other Fails his Will Save, then he dematerializes (Dies). Even if he succeeds, he may face reprimand from the Inquisition. However, if the Inquisition sees that the Light Other has not Dematerialized, then they will most likely show mercy.

Certain Modifiers Apply.

Self Defense: -10
Victim was Evil: -5
Murder was for the Cause of Good: -5
Unintentional: -5

Wanton Slaughter: +10
Victim was Good: +5
Murder had nothing to do with the cause of Good: +5
Intentional: +5

Duties of the Night Watch

Most Often, the duties of the Nightwatch are simple. Patrol the areas you've been asked to, accept any and all assignments from your superiors (Especially if that happens to be Geser), which usually entail scouting out for Potential Others, gently nudging potential Others towards the Light, and observing Day Watch investigations.

A Light Other must obey a member of the Inquisition so long as the order is made with the intention of upholding the truce, and the Light Other may demand a written order from the Inquisitor's superiors before complying.

The Day Watch

Along with the Night Watch, the Day Watch polices the Others in Moscow and all over the world. Not all Day Watch members are necessarily Evil, just as not all Night Watch members are necessarily good. But regardless of their Alignment, they choose to uphold the ideals of the Watch they belong to. The Day Watch does not always perform Evil acts, and the core of their ideals is personal freedom for every Man, woman, or Other to perform any act that they choose, good or evil. This seems solidly Chaotic Neutral. But regardless of their acts or their intentions, they see no problem in crushing the rights and lives of others under their heels to get what they want. This, is what makes them an Evil organization.

Just as Light Others have concequences for Murder, Dark Others have a similar problem. The Inquisition. When a Dark Other murders another Other, or a normal Human, they must face up to the Inquisition. The Alignment of the Victim doesn't matter, as a Light Other's punishment is based solely off remorse.

In order to stave off an Inquisition, the Dark Other must make a skill test, passing 3 Diplomacy Checks before 2 Failures. It's a good idea to have the entire proceedings roleplayed, providing appropriate bonuses for convincing arguments and sufficient proof to prove their innocence.

The Diplomacy DC is Equal to the Save DC of a Light Other's Will Save to resist Dematerialization, minus the Alignment Modifier. If this is a repeat offense, increase the DC by 2 for each repeat offense.

A Character may elect to have another Character represent them at the trial. The Character may only benefit from Aid Another Checks made by Witnesses, or by highly Respected Members of the various Watches (Level 10 and Above, and on good relations with the Inquisition).

Even if they fail, depending on the crime itself and how many offenses there has been in the past, they may not be dematerialized. The Most common punishment is Level Drain. A maximum of 4 Levels may be drained, again, depending on the severity of the crime, and is completely up to the DM.

Duties of the Day Watch

The Duties of Night Watch and Day Watch Agents are nearly identical, except that Dark others try to nudge Potential Others towards Darkness, and to Observe Night Watch Investigations. They must follow the same restrictions as Night Watch Agents when dealing with the Inquisition.

The Twilight

The Twilight is a plane of existance that exists over top of our own. The wisest of Dark and Light Magicians know that there are Seven Levels of the Twilight. Each successive level of the Twilight is more and more taxing on the mind and body. Utilizing the Twilight is performed in three parts.

Step One - Enter the Twilight: To Enter the Twilight, or to move down to the next level (or up to the previous level), they must make Concentration checks with a static DC.

Step Two - Staying in the Twilight: To stay in the Twilight, an Other must continue to make Concentration checks every round with a slowly increasing DC every round.

Step Three- Calculating Success: A person may fail their Concentration checks several times before their Mental Defenses completely break down and the Twilight begins to consume their life force. They may fail a maximum of their Wisdom Bonus. So an Other with 18 Wisdom may fail 4 Concentration checks before he has to start making Fortitude Saves to resist Constitution Damage.

Looking Into the Twilight

Concentration DC: 5
Concentration DC to Stay: 5 + 1 per round that you stay in the Twilight, even if you move up or down a level.
Fortitude Save DC: None
Constitution Damage: None
Benefits Against those Not in the Twilight: Discerns if a person is an Other, and if they aren't attempting to conceal themselves, how powerful they are. Depending on the Other, it may also reveal other information, such as whether or not they are registered with the Day Watch or Night Watch for any reason.
Benefits Against those in the First Level of the Twilight: Negates invisibility.

The First Level of the Twilight

Concentration DC to Enter: 10
Concentration DC to Stay: 10 + 1 per round that you stay in the Twilight, even if you move up or down a level.
Fortitude Save DC: 17 + 1 per round since your First Fortitude Save.
Constitution Damage: 1
Benefits Against those Not in the Twilight: Invisible, +30' untyped bonus to movement speed.
Benefits Against those in the First Level of the Twilight: None

The Second Level of the Twilight

Concentration DC to Enter: 12
Concentration DC to Stay: 12 + 1 per round, even if you move up or down a level.
Fortitude Save DC: 19 + 1 per round since your First Fortitude Save
Constitution Damage: 1d2
Benefits Against those not in the Twilight: Invisible, Incorporeal, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed.
Benefits Against those in the First Level of the Twilight: Invisible, +30' untyped bonus to movement speed.
Benefits Against those in the Second Level of the Twilight: None

The Third Level of the Twilight

Concentration DC to Enter: 15
Concentration DC to Stay: 15+ 1 per round, even if you move up or down a level.
Fortitude Save DC: 21 + 1 per round since your First Fortitude Save
Constitution Damage: 1d3
Benefits Against those not in the Twilight: Invisible, Incorporeal or Ethereal, whichever is most beneficial, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed. Gain an Additional Standard Action per round.
Benefits Against those in the First Level of the Twilight: Invisible, Incorporeal, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed.
Benefits Against those in the Second Level of the Twilight: Invisible, +30' untyped bonus to movement speed.
Benefits Against those in the Third Level of the Twilight: None

The Fourth Level of the Twilight

Concentration DC to Enter: 17
Concentration DC to Stay: 17 + 1 per round, even if you move up or down a level.
Fortitude Save DC: 23 + 1 per round since your First Fortitude Save
Constitution Damage: 1d4
Benefits Against those in the First Level of the Twilight and Below: Invisible, Incorporeal or Ethereal, whichever is most beneficial, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed. Gain an Additional Standard Action per round.
Benefits Against those in the Second Level of the Twilight: Invisible, Incorporeal, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed.
Benefits Against those in the Third Level of the Twilight: Invisible, +30' untyped bonus to movement speed.
Benefits Against those in the Fourth Level of the Twilight: None

The Fifth Level of the Twilight

Concentration DC to Enter: 20
oncentration DC to Stay: 20 + 1 per round, even if you move up or down a level.
Fortitude Save DC: 25 + 1 per round since your First Fortitude Save.
Constitution Damage: 1d6
Benefits Against those in the Second Level of the Twilight and Below: Invisible, Incorporeal or Ethereal, whichever is most beneficial, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed. Gain an Additional Standard Action per round.
Benefits Against those in the Third Level of the Twilight: Invisible, Incorporeal, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed.
Benefits Against those in the Fourth Level of the Twilight: Invisible, +30' untyped bonus to movement speed.
Benefits Against those in the Fifth Level of the Twilight: None

The Sixth Level of the Twilight

Concentration DC to Enter: 22
Concentration DC to Stay: 22 + 1 per round, even if you move up or down a level.
Fortitude Save DC: 27 + 1 per round since your First Fortitude Save.
Constitution Damage: 2d4
Benefits Against those in the Third Level of the Twilight and Below: Invisible, Incorporeal or Ethereal, whichever is most beneficial, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed. Gain an Additional Standard Action per round.
Benefits Against those in the Fourth Level of the Twilight: Invisible, Incorporeal, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed.
Benefits Against those in the Fifth Level of the Twilight: Invisible, +30' untyped bonus to movement speed.
Benefits Against those in the Sixth Level of the Twilight: None

The Seventh Level of the Twilight

Concentration DC to Enter: 25
Concentration DC to Stay: 25 + 1 per round, even if you move up or down a level.
Fortitude Save DC: 30 + 1 per round since your First Fortitude Save.
Constitution Damage: 2d6
Benefits Against those in the Fourth Level of the Twilight and Below: Invisible, Incorporeal or Ethereal, whichever is most beneficial, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed. Gain an Additional Standard Action per round.
Benefits Against those in the Fifth Level of the Twilight: Invisible, Incorporeal, +30' Untyped Bonus to Movement Speed.
Benefits Against those in the Sixth Level of the Twilight: Invisible, +30' untyped bonus to movement speed.
Benefits Against those in the Seventh Level of the Twilight: None