Sins of the Father RPG 9781944487102

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Happy Birthday!

Now that we’ve gone through the trip to the mall, the party with your friends, blowing out the candles and opening most of your presents, your father and I have something to share with you. Yes… it is another surprise, actually. You see, a long, long time ago, before you were even a twinkle in your father’s eye, our family held on to a deep secret, the kind of secret that changes everything. Now that you’re 18, you’re going to be a part of that secret. Our family has no soul.

Well, that may be a bit melodramatic, but it’s true in essence. We have souls, but they don’t really belong to us. They belong to our Dark Lord, the entity that has provided for us and given us so much over the years. Ever wonder why we’re so well off? Ever wonder why our enemies always get their comeuppance? It is always watching over us, and we pay for that with the souls of our children, as we have forever. Oh! Yes, that’s the surprise, we sold your soul even before you were born. Wasn’t even sure if we were going to have kids, so we rode the gravy train as long as could, but then you came along and the Dark Lord yoinked your soul away. People call us hellborn, but that’s just the kind of words people use when they’re jealous, right? Don’t be like that. It didn’t hurt, and it gives us the life we have. Free from fear. Free from want. We have everything we could ever ask for, and all we have to do is perform a few sacrifices and serve our Dark Lord when it asks. And that job just got easier now that you’re 18 and can help with our duties.

We’re so happy we finally get to share this part of our family history with you. You won’t regret it! Our Dark Lord is the best, and I can't wait to introduce you to the rest of our congregation. Now… go out and buy us a goat. We have a special sacrifice to perform tonight.

ISBN: 978-1-944487-10-2 Created and Written by Eloy Lasanta Edited by Carol Darnell, Cover by Jerry D. Grayson Proofreading by Troy Latta Art by Shaman’s Stockart, Rick Hershey (Copyright Mike Lafferty) Layout and Typesetting by Eloy Lasanta Playtested by Branden Eikstead, Jarad Fennell, Reyaht Grail, Fellina Grose, Ken Krebs, Ozzy Leigh, Ryan Marsh, Jake Pettit, Nick Wilson Copyright © 2016 Third Eye Games All rights reserved under the Universal Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced in part or whole, in any form or by any means, without permission from the publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews or copies of the character sheet.

Chapter One:

Happiness In Slavery

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Sins of the Father is an RPG where you play someone paying for a dark deal made by your family long before you were born. It could have been your parents, your grandparents, great-grand-parents or any number of generations ago, but you’re feeling the weight of that choice today.Whether this is with the literal devil, demons from another dimension, vampires who prey at night or a witch who lives in the woods, your character and their family are beholden to this entity for the gifts and purpose the family enjoys. This entity is referred to as the Dark Lord for brevity’s sake, but is all-encompassing as a concept. Each player utilizes a deck of cards to represent the power their character holds over their own destiny. This adds an interesting mechanical output for the RPG, as any draw of the card could spell a fortunate outcome or a terrible fate. Sins of the Father, true to its name, also supports generational play. Once you decide the story is done with one set of characters, a new game can begin as the children of the previous characters who then have to put up with the same thing (of course, also having to deal with how well their parents did in their own service).

Who are the Hellborn? The first hellborn to make deals with a Dark Lord was once just a regular person with dreams and goals they saw no other way to achieve. Trading one’s soul or the soul of a child they hadn’t even had yet seemed like a small price to pay at the time. Others actually claim they are the spawn of whatever Dark Lord they serve, binding them ever more to their masters through blood. Of course, deals struck have a certain give-and-take nature.The hellborn devotes their life to the Dark Lord and the eventuality of losing their soul is all but inevitable, but they always get something in return. Regardless of what you’ve been told from tales of wishes gone wrong or genies who like to pervert the wants of their masters, Dark Lords are usually quite straightforward. They provide what their servants ask for, and initially both parties are quite happy with the arrangement. It is human nature, however, to ask for more and more, especially those prone to gluttonous behaviors or when the hellborn is given something so easily with no real repercussions to their decisions. These urges cause some hellborn to dip deeper and deeper into their Dark Lord’s well, hoping to get more out of the entity until they have next to nothing left to exchange. If one ever wondered how an unborn child’s soul could be placed on the table they need only look at this chain of events. It is seldom the first thing traded, but the idea of future souls is quite intriguing to any Dark Lord. Here is just a list of the various things generally asked of Dark Lords. This is by no means exhaustive and some may even blur the lines between categories. ♦♦ Elimination: To some, seeing someone else die is important enough to trade their own soul. Hellborn given to this request almost always hail from Wrath,

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giving into their base desire to have someone else pay with their life, even in exchange for their own. To them, it is well worth the price. ♦♦ Expertise: Some people want the skill to pull off a certain job or function as an expert. It is not unheard of for a struggling musician to wish to become the best guitar or piano player in the world, for a weakling to wish to instantly know martial arts at a black belt level or for a struggling CEO to beg for the knowledge to save their struggling company. Dark Lords give what is asked for with almost no expectations for what the outcome of such expertise will be. There is a saying: "If a person asks for a hammer, they don’t necessarily want a hammer, but they need the hammer to hang a picture." Sometimes, such expertise leads to the downfall of the hellborn... a terrible fate of their own design. ♦♦ Fame: Some people just want to be known. Without being accompanied by Expertise, this often ends up changing reality to suit their new fame. Most end up reality stars, famous for literally being famous, or in some cases have a previous career down the tubes suddenly reinvigorated. Dark Lords often stack up Hollywood’s fallen with promises of renewing their chances of getting into a blockbuster movie. Of course, if squandered, asking for fame could lead to the world knowing about the worst acts of the hellborn and not their best. Nothing that would hurt the Dark Lord’s requests of them, but still enough to make their lives miserable. ♦♦ Love: Some believe that no magic has the power over true love… but there is truly nothing outside the reach of a Dark Lord. In fact, filling the object of a hellborn’s affection with love is often one of the easiest things the entity can do. It simply involves a tweak of the heart from apathy into a deep, unending love. Trading your soul for (who you believe to be) the love of your life is a small price to ask. ♦♦ Parenthood: There are couples in the world who weep for the ability to have a child. Few look at the fine print when signing away a soul for the pleasure of raising a child, and often the child’s soul is the price. They take every second to heart and enjoy the days leading up to the child’s eighteenth birthday, knowing the Dark Lord's hold will soon take them. ♦♦ Reincarnation: Though rare, Dark Lords make deals to bring someone back from the dead. This is obviously someone important to the hellborn, important enough to trade the very essence of their soul away for more time. Sometimes it’s a spouse, while other times it is a child. The once-dead person never returns exactly the same, however, having seen what it is like in the afterlife but never being able to articulate exactly what frightens them about their experience. ♦♦ Riches: The craving for riches is a simple request for a Dark Lord. The hellborn may come into a huge inheritance, find a large amount of unclaimed cash, win the lottery or have a bank error in their favor. This is usually the desire of hellborn who have grown up in dire poverty and want a better life for themselves

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and their family, not realizing that a poor-but-free life is sometimes better than a life of servitude no matter how rich you are in the process.

The term hellborn sounds like the characters comes from hell itself, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. It was a name derived from their connection to their Dark Lords... though they can also be called minions, vassals, familiars and any other name their specific Dark Lord wants to call them. Regardless of their name, however, their fates often end the same way… they pass their curse to their offspring as their debts are never scrubbed clean from a Dark Lord very careful about the contracts it forges.

After the Deal is Struck Once the deal is struck it is never-ending. A family who asks for Expertise means their children and their children’s children will no doubt be prodigies with similar skills. Riches never end, passing down the family line and contributing to the affluence syndrome they experience. Even a reincarnated person stays alive much longer than they should, going on to see their descendants spiral into corruption thanks to the decisions of one person long ago (possibly themselves). While this is true the majority of the time, some hellborn are even able to craft their own deals based on their own personal sins. What choice do the hellborn have though? To renege on a contract with the Dark Lord is to spell the end of their bloodline. Their family line ends, and everyone who shares their blood dies if they deny the gifts given in the contract or try to opt out of them. This is the world the hellborn are born into… passing on their contract, their curse, to their children afterward. To say no, however, is to send their family into the abyss and give up not only the gifts bestowed upon them but everyone's souls as well. Most give in to one of the Seven Deadly Sins as the reason they are agreeing to it in the end. ♦♦ Avarice: Otherwise known as Greed, hellborn who fall to their Avarice want it all. For many, it boils down to money and the ability to have whatever they want in a single-minded fashion. In fact, they often want more than they need simply because they know it's possible. They sign deals with a Dark Lord if it means they can get more of the object of their obsession. ♦♦ Envy: Otherwise known as jealousy, these hellborn have whatever gift they’ve received from their Dark Lord but look to others and decide they want what the others have too.They often dip more into the Debt well than others, because there is always something else they want (and always someone to take it from).They will sign a Dark Lord’s contract if it is means they can have something from someone else.

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♦♦ Gluttony: Otherwise known as over-indulgence, these hellborn consume and consume and consume far beyond their actual capacity. This encompasses various foods, drinks and resources.They also waste most of what they have in an effort to have it all, and especially love it when what they have is kept from those who really need it.They’ll easily sign a contract to get have another trough placed before them. ♦♦ Pride: Otherwise known as vanity, hellborn who given in to their Pride have an inflated sense of themselves. Many hellborn with Pride sign a contract with a Dark Lord thinking they deserve the power because of their higher status, or worse, because they think they can outsmart the Dark Lord and take the power without having to pay in the end. They are always wrong. ♦♦ Lust: Otherwise known as sexual desire, these hellborn are known for giving into the pleasures of the flesh. They crave flirting, teasing, touching and the physical connections gained with another through physical intimacy and sex, though lust rarely carries any real emotional component. Getting them to sign a Dark Lord’s contract is as easy as promising a kiss at times. ♦♦ Sloth: Otherwise known as extreme laziness, these hellborn are known for doing absolutely nothing.Their lives are often filled with people doing everything for them, leaving them with no inclination to act, even in their own best interests. They sign contracts so that their every need is fulfilled without hard work. ♦♦ Wrath: Otherwise known as rage, some people simply give in to their base instincts for destruction. The desire to see things destroyed or someone bleed is a significant part of the human experience and hellborn who follow this path are masters of ruination. They’ll often sign a Dark Lord’s contract for the death or end of the target of their aggression.

We Are Everyday People The world around the hellborn is otherwise as normal as could be. They always stand out, whether their neighbors think of them as the weird people who live down the street or the fact they have immense wealth and fame means others simply see them as eccentric. In many ways, each hellborn has grown up around the sins of their parents and the excess they’ve been afforded through the ongoing contracts.They are often damaged by their exposure, however, and then they go on to repeat the cycle when it's their turn up at bat. Sometimes this happens in unexpected ways, resulting in one hellborn getting something completely different from the same contract. They may have spent a life of luxury because their mother is a world traveler, since she always wanted to be rich enough to travel where she wanted. Of course, her selfishness left her kid home alone with the nanny and a TV to teach right from wrong. No amount of wealth replaces the love of a mother, and the kid grows up

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to give into their Lust, just hoping for some sort of connection with another person even though they are destined to never truly find such a thing. Likewise, a couple living on a farm may have traded their souls away for abundance, which extended both to the bountiful yields from their crops and the number of children they were blessed with. Each of those kids may draw something different from their experience growing up under these conditions, however. The oldest kid may develop a penchant for gluttony, knowing he is always the first to eat and drink and denying these things to his smaller siblings. A middle child may simply become angry at always being ignored, giving in to her Wrath. The youngest may get shown constant attention and love and gain an inflated sense of self, leaning toward Pride. Individual groups of hellborn are either people from different walks of life, thrown together because they all owe allegiance to the same Dark Lord, or they may hail from the same family background, sharing their bloodline’s fate. Each of them may gain their own gifts from the Dark Lord completely different from the others. Of course, if they come from the same family, any one of the characters refusing their gifts condemns the others to death. They must each fulfill their duty to the Dark Lord personally. Even if the hellborn is rich, divine demands are not something to be left to employees or underlings. It requires a personal touch. Hellborn groups work well together at times, but most often they do not, all spurred on by their own selfish wants and often being quite happy to let their teammate suffer, as long as they succeed.

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You’ve Been Sold While usually a last-ditch effort for survival, some hellborn find themselves serving different Dark Lords throughout their lives. A contract is something that can be traded just as easily as a soul, and many entities use them as commodities. This leads to fun stories where a group of hellborn may have served their lord for years well enough to see the promise of riches or even freedom, only to have to start over again with a new Dark Lord asking for things they aren’t prepared to accommodate. In terms of gameplay, this is a great way to continue with an ongoing story even when it seems like the hellborn have repaid their current master.

We Do What We Must Throughout their lives, the hellborn will be asked to perform tasks for their Dark Lord as a team. Even if they are not bound by blood, they are bound by service and must fulfill their duties as stated in their family contracts. They must call up their jobs and say they aren’t coming in. They must cancel any other plans and synchronize their watches, because not finishing a task means they have forfeited the gifts they’ve received or, worse, that they sink further into the Dark Lord's possession. Few want to lose the lives they’ve built and even fewer want to give up their soul. Most contracts actually describe the number of tasks a Dark Lord may ask for, but few entities give their hellborn any idea of what missions they will be asked to perform or how complex completing them will be in the end. As many Dark Lords are simply too alien-thinking to comprehend, one task may be quite simple only to be followed up with a gargantuan request. Other Dark Lords actually have the ability to speak directly to their servitors and ask for seemingly inconsequential things only to have the hellborn understand the entirety of the plan only when it’s too late. It is not unheard of for minions to be asked to perform kidnappings for rituals, sacrifices of blood or goods to the Dark Lord, theft of precious relics, collection of tears in a jar or the desecration of holy sites. Some requests are for expensive electronics or even just money, and the hellborn must figure out where to come up with these goods quickly and quietly.These tasks become more severe when the Dark Lord asks for virgin sacrifices or the hearts of ten children. It doesn’t matter, though -- the hellborn will do what they must in order to keep what is theirs. Failure to complete the task may end up with the family destroyed, but often-

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times the Dark Lord simply adds on to the existing contract. Once you owed five favors, but now you owe ten. The debt continues to stack up at every turn, especially if the hellborn continue to ask for gifts along the way, like more power or resurrection after falling to enemies. When you owe too much to the Dark Lord, they can simply take possession of your body or your soul whenever they want. A truly horrifying thought.

A Soul is a Soul It should be noted that most Dark Lords are indiscriminate about the souls they bind in a contract. No one is a special snowflake when it comes to being preyed upon; the Dark Lord simply saw an opportunity and took advantage of it in the hellborn's moment of weakness. If a family has been in servitude since the Dark Ages, all it took was one pleading father asking for his daughter to be cured from a plague. If they’ve served since the first World War, it took little more than a promise that they and their platoon would survive to see another day. Dark Lords are careful to only grant personal wishes. In the examples above, no lord is likely to promise which side wins the war or has any inclination to cure cancer in the world (even if they could). They prey on the personal wants and fears of individuals, who even without them knowing it are giving in to their baser desires, their sins. They may be jealous of the health of others (Envy) and they see themselves as deserving of survival above others (Pride), never realizing that the results may have been the same had they just let events play out naturally. In short, whoever it was in the family line who signed the contract shouldn’t be blamed. The Dark Lord knew what it was doing when it targeted them, and your ancestor was only human, right? As much as it must suck for you now (or maybe you love it), no one gets ahead by playing the blame game. You either get on with life as it is or you hope to someday end the cycle. Obviously, you could simply refuse your servitude and sacrifice your life, the lives of your family and everything you have to end it. You could also continue the cycle by performing your duty and passing the contract down to your children -- children who you will surely be forced to have. Some, however, speak of another way as well.

Breaking the Dark Lord’s Hold There are two stories of hellborn who have been able to break free of the chains of the Dark Lord's contract. Both of them take starkly different routes, and those who have attempted to repeat their results ever since have been less than successful.

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The Virtuous Path Amber was a mother of two who saw a twinkling of her children’s eyes and sought never to sell their souls into slavery to her Dark Lord. When its agents came knocking on her door to give her a mission, she simply did the opposite. When asked to steal from the orphanage, she donated blankets and food instead. When told to murder the neighbor's litter of kittens, she instead found them good homes. She walked a virtuous path, and no one could deny the goodness in her heart, despite the tribulations set upon her by the vile forces demanding her servitude. When she died just a few years later of a strange sickness, one of many terrible acts cast upon her by her Dark Lord for her disobedience, she miraculously took her debts with her. The contract has ended and her children were left to their own lives and choices. The Diligent Path There is another story of Hector, a father of three, who worked hard his whole life as a janitor. He did not crave money or fame like many other hellborn; he instead asked only for the well-being and health of his family in exchange for his soul. When the Dark Lord came knocking, he performed his duties just fine, telling himself it was a job just like any other. Nothing phased him. When time came to pass the debt onto his children, he instead kept it for himself. His son was asked to train a dog to compete in an underground fighting competition, but he took this upon himself and left his son to go to college. His daughter was asked to perform self-mutilation, but he cut off his own ear to save hers. In the end, he was an old man and continued to relieve his children, grandchildren and even his great grandchildren of their duties to the Dark Lord. When he passed, he had worked away any debt owed for generations to come, thus nullifying the grip over the bloodline. Neither of these stories are typical, of course. It takes a determination and devotion to family unlike what most hellborn have been known to possess. Giving into one’s deadly sins is not an option or they’ll begin to see the situation in a much different way. Why are they going to all this trouble to help others? Aren’t they just the best person there is; shouldn't they be getting a medal for this? Would someone else do this for me? Even the inkling of a second thought sends the hellborn right back into the downward spiral of selfishness, even if they still think they are doing the right thing.

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Chapter Two:

Born into Darkness

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Character Creation Steps Step One - Primary Sin Step Two - Traits and Attachments Step Three - Starting Relationships Step Four - Choose Skills Step Five - Debt and Sinful Gifts Step Six - Who is the Dark Lord? Characters taken on by players are, by all accounts, normal people with an edge based on what their family has asked for in the past and to which deadly sin they most subscribe.Through the course of character creation, many of the concepts for the character will start to fall into place, flavoring the type of person they are, who they surround themselves with and what gifts they have received from the Dark Lord.The process is designed to be random, as hellborn are born into a world they didn’t create and surrounded by powers they have no control over. However, players who would prefer to choose the elements of their character, they may do so with Soul Master approval. Players should not shuffle their decks until their character is complete and gameplay begins, creating variance to their cards drawn during the process.

Step One: Primary Sin Primary Sin Regardless of the Dark Lord they serve, every hellborn exhibits traits related to all of the Seven Deadly Sins.They are selfish, thieving and often violent, but they usually display one of these traits more than others, referred to as their Primary Sin. To determine a Primary Sin, the player draws two cards from their deck and chooses the one they prefer. In this case, the suit of the cards drawn have no bearing on the outcome. If they do not like either of the two cards they drew or want to forgo drawing cards entirely, the player can say “fuck it” and just pick Sloth. Now they don’t have to go to all the trouble of picking a Primary Sin. For example, if the player draws a K♣ and a 4♥, they have a choice between Pride (K-Q) and Wrath (5-4). If they don’t like Pride or Wrath, they can just choose Sloth instead. An Ace or Joker means they can pick any of the Sins they want!

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A or Joker K-Q 10-J 9-8 7-6 5-4 3-2 Any

Player’s Choice Pride Lust Gluttony Avarice Wrath Envy Can choose Sloth

Starting Sinful Gifts Once the character’s Primary Sin is chosen, the player should make note of their starting Sinful Gift right away. Avarice - Money The hellborn has received riches for their service and has taken advantage of this. Whenever the character can use money to sweeten a deal or succeed in a task, their chosen card in a challenge is raised by +2. Envy - New Shiny The hellborn has the uncanny knack of getting what they want by any means necessary, especially if it’s in someone else’s possession. Whenever the character attempts to take something from another person, they gain a +1 bonus. Gluttony - Feast Usually hefty, as they have never hungered a day in their life, the character has become accustomed to feasting on a regular basis. Whenever the character is healing, they may eat to excess and take a long nap to heal 3 Wounds (instead of 1). This often Takes Out the character in a given Scene while they sleep it off, but then they return the following Scene more healed than their comrades. Lust - Alluring While not necessarily rich or famous, the character has never wanted for sexual pleasures and often uses their body (or the promise of their body) to make deals or get what they want.Whenever they are attempting to use their sexuality, their chosen card in a challenge is raised by +2.

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Pride - Position The Prideful hellborn is destined to take on positions of power, lording over others and using how much better they are to great effect.Whenever they attempt to use their status to their advantage, they receive a +1 bonus. Sloth - Doing Nothing Whether through wealth, privilege or negligence, the character is used to having others do almost everything for them. They can discard up to 3 cards for Teamwork challenges, granting a +1 bonus per card to help someone else do the real heavy lifting. If they are ever the lead on a Teamwork challenge, the Slothful hellborn suffer a -3 drop on their chosen card.

The Virtuous Path Each Primary Sin has a type of activity that is diametrically opposed to it, called an Opposing Virtue.The list goes as such: Sin Avarice Envy Gluttony Lust Pride Sloth Wrath

Virtue Charity: Giving to one’s community Kindness: Caring for others instead of oneself Temperance: Knowing when enough is enough Chastity: Abstaining from physical pleasures Humility: Understanding you are not the best Diligence: Working hard at a task Patience: Keeping calm and reasonable

Anytime the character attempts a Skill Challenge connected to their Opposed Virtue, regardless of the Skill used, they must make a Resist challenge first and suffer a drop equal to their Debt +2. If they fail, they cannot perform the task they set out to, having their baser instincts take them over instead. For example, a Wrathful character with Debt 2 attempting to show patience, instead of blowing up at the quickest sign of something going wrong, would need to succeed against a Resist challenge with a -4 drop.

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Wrath - Knuckles Enduring their wrathful existence, the character has had their fair share of bloodied knuckles. Whenever they are attempting to cause harm to something (or more often someone), their chosen card for the challenge is raised by +2.

Step Two: Traits and Attachments Traits After a Primary Sin is chosen, it is time to further define the character’s basic personality traits. In most cases, given their often terrible upbringing, these will end up being negative traits; drawing high cards is the only way to gain a few positive Traits. It should be noted that the traits are not secret. The character not only exhibits personality quirks following these traits, but others see them for their traits as well. If a player draws Disrespectful, then people in their lives know they are disrespectful and treat them accordingly. Likewise, if the player draws Frivolous, the character isn’t very careful about things, and so others may not trust them with responsibilities as easily.

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To choose Traits, the player draws four cards and picks two of them to add to their character, making note of both these Traits on their character sheet. Traits not only paint a better picture of the character as a person, but also how they will interpret their new duty and the world around them. While Traits are great as roleplaying prompts for players and Soul Masters, they also serve a mechanical function. In addition to the personality type, the suit of the cards chosen also give the character their starting Attachments (Clubs = Chaos, Diamonds = Influence, Hearts = Passion, Spade = Darkness). Jokers pulled during this phase should be shuffled back into the deck. Clubs ♣ A♣ K♣ Q♣ J♣ 10♣ 9♣ 8♣

Optimistic Gallant Adventurous Athletic Disrespectful Clumsy Cynical

7♣ 6♣ 5♣ 4♣ 3♣ 2♣

Forgetful Lazy Tactless Breezy Aggressive Cruel

Punctual Proud Charismatic Individualistic Domineering Selfish Formal

7♦ 6♦ 5♦ 4♦ 3♦ 2♦

Frugal Stoic Ungrateful Dry Unfriendly Vacuous

Amusing Maternal/Paternal Stylish Sentimental Glamorous Anxious Familial

7♥ 6♥ 5♥ 4♥ 3♥ 2♥

Dramatic Moody Curious Frivolous Shallow Shortsighted

Diamonds ♦ A♦ K♦ Q♦ J♦ 10♦ 9♦ 8♦

Hearts ♥ A♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ 10♥ 9♥ 8♥

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Spades ♠ A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ 9♠ 8♠

Wise Loyal Imaginative Systematic Power-Hungry Pompous Calculating

7♠ 6♠ 5♠ 4♠ 3♠ 2♠

Secretive Dull Nihilistic Morbid Fanatical Uncaring

Attachments There are four qualities that connect a character to their dark roots, called Attachments. Each has a way to both empower the Hellborn and simultaneously pull them deeper into the clutches of their Dark Lord. A character’s starting Attachments are determined by their beginning Traits. For example, if the player pulled a 2♠ and a K♥, they have Darkness 1 and Passion 1 as their starting Attachments. If they instead drew 10♣ and 2♣, they’d have Chaos 2. An Attachment may never go higher than 4. Chaos (Clubs) This Attachment revels in the character’s urge to cripple the order of the world. Characters with high values of Chaos get off on seeing things go off the hinges and destruction is fun for them. They’ll cause hostility in relationships for fun and never cower from a fight. Darkness (Spades) This Attachment sits at the core of the character’s mystical power, and is a good measure of how sinful and evil their soul has become. Characters with a high Darkness have something very off about them, an evil aura if you will. They are often obsessed with death and go on to be the most devoted followers of their Dark Lord. Influence (Diamonds) One of the biggest perks a character can gain from dark power is the ability to manipulate those around them.This Attachment reflects how willing they are to do so. They know just what to say, and characters with high Influence aren’t shy about using charm, lies or any other social advantage to accomplish their tasks.

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Passion (Hearts) The Passion Attachment reflects how much the character cares about the things in their world, and also dictates how vengeful and hateful they are. Characters with high values of Passion are prone to flip out when things don’t go their way, which is quite the sight to behold. Attachments are a powerful tool for any hellborn, giving them a greater understanding of the aspects of their servitude and making their chances of success on their missions much greater. Each Attachment acts as a raise equal to its value when playing the associated suit of card. These values can even be raised through advancement (pg. 51). For example, if a player with Darkness 2 drew a 5♠, it becomes a 7♠. This raise only applies to Spades, since that is the associated suit for Darkness.

Step Three: Relationships No character exists in a vacuum.They have their own lives where they are the stars, but are also surrounded by a cast of Extras, including anyone from their parents to lifelong friends to mysterious strangers. Each of these Relationships goes on to further define who the character is and how others respond to them. Also, figuring out how characters correspond to each other is important to character creation and the starting stages of their collective story. Each character beings with four (4) Relationships that are important to them.Two relationships should be with other characters at the table, easily done by using the seating arrangement around the table and each player choosing a Relationship with the player to their left and their right. The two players choosing their Relationship each draw a card from their own deck and the two decide which card they like best. When they’ve come to an agreement, they both write the relationship on their sheet. By everyone doing this at the table, direct and indirect links to the other players’ characters become evident. For instance, if the character to your right is a Devious Ex and the character to your Ex’s right is an Intimate Soulmate, then by all accounts you will likely have friction with their Soulmate.You are, after all, their lover’s Ex and continuously in their lives.

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A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Joker

Players’ Choice Mentor/apprentice Lovers Soulmates Best Friends Enemies Family Extended Family Exes Rivals Coworkers Friend of a Friend Mysterious Stranger Draw two additional cards to make your choice

Once they are done creating a Relationship with each player to their left and right, they also create two outside Relationships the same way. This time, the relationships will be with Extras, not other players’ characters. Like before, they draw two cards from your deck and choose which one they like better. This gives characters connections outside of the core group of hellborn, which is all too important for possibly keeping one’s sanity. It also gives the Soul Master an even larger collection of characters to use during the ongoing story.

Types of Relationships Few hellborn have healthy relationships, since most have never really seen what one looks like up close. Their lives are, instead, filled with corruption and deviance. Not only does each relationship give the character a cool backstory with other player’s characters and Extras for them to explore, but they also provide a mechanical benefit. Hearts means the relationship is Intimate in nature, Spades means the relationship is Devious, Diamonds means the relationship Controlling, and Clubs means the relationship is Hostile. ♦♦ Controlling ♦: A relationship where one person has control over the other. It’s not always as overt as a literal master/slave dichotomy, usually reflected by one person willing to do anything for the other and another person perfectly willing to take advantage of that fact. In a Controlling Relationship, the character essentially has someone under their control to perform tasks for them. If with an Extra, choose one Skill the Extra has at Level 3 (all others at Level 1).This means,

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they are really good at one task and ready to perform it for you. If the controlling relationship is between two players’ characters, they get to choose who is in control and who is being controlled. Once per session, the controller may make a demand of the controlled character who can either disregard it entirely or can follow through with it, even if they don’t want to (allowing both players to shuffle the top 3 cards back into their deck). The player can also choose to put themselves under the Control of an Extra for this same effect. ♦♦ Devious ♠: These relationships involve both parties having done terrible things together. Whether it’s an older brother who indoctrinated his younger brother into a gang or a pair of childhood friends who became underhanded business partners. It is basically a person in the character’s life who is a negative influence on them and vice versa. The hellborn may take +1 Darkness or +1 Influence (player’s choice) during a Scene involving this Relationship. ♦♦ Hostile ♣: Hostile relationships are some of the best and worst for a character to have. They create a limitless source of personal conflict for the hellborn, usually with short periods of calm before the storm and then all hell breaks loose. The hellborn may take +1 Passion or +1 Chaos (player’s choice) during a Scene involving this Relationship. ♦♦ Intimate ♥: This kind of relationship gives the character a place of comfort, whether it’s from a romp in the sack or a confidant who listens to the hellborn’s deepest worries. Intimacy, for the Hellborn, almost always involves physical pleasures of some sort, the only way many of them feel they are loved. After a Scene where they have been intimate with their Intimate Relationship, the character can regain +1 Wound. If the Scene involved multiple Intimate Relationships, their effects stack.

Example Relationship For example, Ryan is going to make one of his relationships with Jarad, so each of them draw a card. Ryan gets a 6♥ and Jarad gets K♣, which means they have the choice that the two characters are either Intimate Exes or have a hostile Mentor/Apprentice dynamic. After a bit of discussing, they decide the Intimate Exes concept works best for their characters, so they jot that one down. This means that when they are at rest, the two characters can interact in intimate behaviors for additional healing.

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Step Four: Skills Skills represent how each character interacts with the world around them. There are 10 Skills in total, ranging from a character’s ability to influence others (Convince) or how good they are in a brawl (Fight). Skills range from Rank 1 to 3, showing just how great they are at overcoming challenges associated with that Skill. The level also determines how many Wounds they can take to their Skills (pg. 47). During character creation, players choose one Skill at Rank 3 (showing their character’s focus), two Skills at Rank 2 (showing what they have at least some training in) and that leaves all other Skills at Rank 1. Below is an explanation of what each Skill means within the context of the gameplay. Build This Skill covers making items, taking them apart or generally interacting with machines, including things like cars and computers. Many Build challenges actually become Series Challenges (pg. xxx) based on the complexity of the machine’s blueprint. Example Build Tasks: Hack a computer; build a trap; hotwire a car. Convince The ability to lie, influence or otherwise persuade someone else to do something you want them to do. Targets usually resist with either Convince or Resist to avoid the character’s fast-talking or intimidating ways. Example Convince Tasks: Stare down your opponent; seduction; negotiating terms. Exert When a character wants to run, jump or do anything else physical, the Exert Skill comes into play.The higher this Skill, the more physically imposing the character also becomes. Example Exert Tasks: Climb a wall; jump over hurdles; keeping their balance. Fight This Skill represents the character’s ability to battle with their bare hands, wield a handheld weapon or fire a gun. When it comes to taking down an opponent, Fight is the Skill for you! Targets usually resist with either Fight or Exert to avoid getting hurt. Example Fight Tasks: Flinging your opponent into the trash; kicking an opponent in the groin; firing an arrow. Know Every character has their own mind and within each is a variety of crazy trivia and book smarts.The Know Skill represents what they know and their overall mental power. Example Know Tasks: Remember something someone said; recall important

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historical info; perform scientific experiments. Notice Being aware of one’s surroundings is very important, so a good Notice Skill can come in handy. This can cover anything from what they see to what they hear, and can even act as a sixth sense to feel the presence of danger. Example Notice Tasks: Listen through a door; search a room; read someone’s lips. Occult The counterpart of the Know Skill, Occult reflects the character’s mystic knowledge or superstitions, dark rituals and the like. Example Occult Tasks: Perform a ritual; read or recite occult languages; identify something as magical. Resist Resist represents the character’s ability to resist a variety of effects, from mundane poisons to being tricked to magic effects.This is the catch-all Skill to resist direct effects if another skill doesn’t make more sense. Example Resist Tasks: See through someone’s tricks; resist poison in your drink; keep from catching a cold. Sneak Sneak is used to find a good hiding place, shadow someone on the street without being noticed and other secret-like activities.Targets usually resist with Notice. Example Sneak Tasks: Find a hiding place; conceal an item on your person; distract someone. Survive Some characters are better at surviving on the street, in the wilderness or in other strange environments than others. Survive represents this knowledge and comes in handy when needing to track someone or find shelter quickly. Example Survive Tasks: Tracking someone down; getting the word on the street; foraging through trash; predicting weather patterns.

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Step Five: Debt and Sinful Gifts Debt A character’s Debt is a reflection of how much they owe their Dark Lord. Debt is oftentimes inherited from the character’s parents, as the child always takes on the family burdens. However, during normal character creation, every character begins at Debt 2, reflecting the initial Sinful Gifts they receive from their Primary Sin and the life they’ve lived up until now. No character can begin play with higher than 5 Debt, and they may never raise Debt higher than 10 at any given time. At 10 Debt to an otherworldly being, the character has given themselves fully over and they can never work off what they owe. In some cases, they’ll simply vanish from the world, and no one will hear from them again. Sometimes, they return as an avatar or vessel for the Dark Lord to become corporeal and inhabit the physical world. Some characters may find it perfectly acceptable to start with max Debt, but the very thought of losing one’s self is enough to dissuade the majority of hellborn. Again, characters can start play with up to 5 Debt, meaning players can choose to upgrade their characters beyond the values they’ve received from Steps 1 through 4, gaining more Debt with every power increase. Some players like to put their characters in the thick of it and start with 5 Debt, while others may hold off on too much up front in case they need to take on more Debt later on. It’s a tricky balancing act that few hellborn master. During character creation, they can gain more Debt for the following: ♦♦ Enhanced Skills: A player may take 1 Debt for their character to raise any Skill by +1 (maximum Skill level is always 3). ♦♦ Raise Attachments: The player may add +1 to an Attachment for 1 Debt (maximum Attachment is always 4). ♦♦ Sinful Gifts: They may take on more Debt to gain additional Sinful Gifts (pg. xxx). For 2 Debt,

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they can gain one Sinful Gift from those matching their Primary Sin. They can alternatively take on 3 Debt to gain a Sinful Gift from outside their Primary Sin.

Gaining Debt During Play Debt can rise throughout the game in many ways: ♦♦ Failing to complete an assigned mission can gain 1 Debt. ♦♦ Dying and asking to be brought back definitely gains the character 1 Debt. ♦♦ They may add Debt as a Raise during any Skill Challenge for 1 Debt ♦♦ Characters may also pray to their Dark Lord for some other in-game event to happen, taking 1 Debt in return. ♦♦ Can shuffle their deck at any time by gaining 1 Debt. Removing Debt During Play Debt can also be removed in a number of ways. Note: A character retains any gifts they received for taking on the Debt in the first place. ♦♦ Completing a mission removes 1 Debt. ♦♦ The Soul Master can offer to take away Debt for particularly terrible acts or to entice the story in a certain direction. Resisting the Dark Lord It is important to note that Debt has another terrible use… it acts as a Drop against any attempt to resist the Dark Lord’s commands. For instance, if the Dark Lord demands a character with 5 Debt sacrifice an Extra, the hellborn can attempt a Resist challenge but suffers of Drop of -5 to their chosen card. Falling to 0 Debt There are some hellborn who think that answering the call and doing what they are told is all it takes to be free of their Dark Lord’s commands. They are not completely wrong, but demons and creatures of the night know how to keep their minions on a leash. If a character falls to 0 Debt, they are effectively outside of the Dark Lord’s reach as long as they don’t ask for anything more and do not actively use their Sinful Gifts during the game. This is the time, however, when the Dark Lord will attempt to corrupt the character’s relationships, damage their reputations or do just about anything to make the hellborn call on them for assistance again. In exchange for some Debt, they’re more than willing to help solve the problem.

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Sinful Gifts By taking on a bigger Debt to their Dark Lord, a character gains the potential for greater darkness. Below are three additional Sinful Gifts for each of the Seven Deadly Sins, giving a wide range of powers to be presented in the game. If the player comes up with an appropriately-themed Gift not listed here, the Soul Master should consider it as long as it’s not unbalancing to the game or story. Use the Gifts below as a guideline on how to craft others. Sinful Gift Challenges are assumed to Difficulty 1, unless story elements dictate the Difficulty should raise.

Avarice Gifts Cravings What if the character could imbue someone else with their deep urges to accumulate things? With this Gift, the hellborn can touch their victim and give them a focused wanting of an item that they must have… right… now. With discarding 2 cards and a Convince Skill Challenge, the victim is consumed by wanting to get this thing (player’s choice) and will do nothing else for the Scene unless they come to physical harm because of it. Failure on their challenge inflicts 1 Wound to Convince. Duplication Avarice is all about getting the things you want and holding on to them. The Duplication Gift allows the character to have more of an item they are touching. By discarding 2 cards and a Build Skill Challenge, they can duplicate an item, whether it’s a weapon, a stack of money or someone’s ID card. If the item is magical, it requires discarding 4 cards to use this power. The item dissolves at the end of the Scene unless the character takes 1 Debt to make it permanent. Failure on their challenge creates a corrupted copy of the item. Hoarder Holding on to what’s important is important for an Avarice character. After any Skill Challenge, they can discard 3 cards to place one card of their choice drawn during the challenge to the side for later use. That card becomes unusable once the Session ends. Using this power, the hellborn can stack the deck in their odds.

Envy Gifts Copy-Cat Instead of drawing their own cards, an Envious character can instead use the fortune of others to their advantage. By discarding the top 3 cards of their deck,

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they can use the top card of another player’s or the SM’s discard pile as their card for a Skill Challenge. The player grabs the card and holds it off to the side and it can be used at any point during the current Session. If not used by the end of the Session, it is returned to its original deck. I Want That The character can take anything they see. Any handheld item within their line of sight instantly teleports into their hand by discarding 2 cards and making a Sneak Skill challenge. This is perfect for taking someone’s keys or even disarming an opponent. Failure on the challenge teleports the item somewhere else, often into the worst place possible. Re-gifting After seeing another hellborn use a Sinful Gift, the Envious character can discard 2 cards and make an Occult Skill challenge to use it as well (by copying it) once this Scene. They must still pay the normal costs associated with the power and succeed at all necessary Skill challenges. Failure on the challenge inflicts 1 Wound to Occult.

Gluttony Gifts Catered Few things are more important than food for a Glutton, but sometimes food’s not on the menu.With this Gift, the hellborn can consume just about anything else. By discarding 3 cards and making a Survive skill challenge, they summon enough food to heal 1Wound from anyone who eats it. If the player uses an Ace for this Gift, they may heal 2 Wounds instead.They can take 1 Debt to make the meal heal all Wounds someone may have taken. Failure on their challenge produces only rotten food. Insatiable A Glutton never knows when to stop, and now others can know how that feels too. By discarding 2 cards and making an Occult Skill challenge, the victim of this Gift feels empty and no amount of food they eat, sex they have or work they do feels like enough. This can have devastating effects on almost anyone. This effect lasts for the Scene, driving the victim crazy and depressed. Failure on their challenge inflicts 1 Wound to Occult.

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Wanting for More The Glutton loves to take, take, take. During a Skill challenge, they may discard a card from the top of their deck to gain a +1 bonus. They can do this to gain up to a +4 bonus per challenge.

Lust Gifts Dark Desires Lust is often about giving up self-control. By discarding 2 cards and making a Convince challenge, the victim gives up on any and all inhibitions and gives into their deeper appetites. They are consumed with acting on them for the Scene and will do so unless physically stopped. Failure on their challenge inflicts 1 Wound to Convince. Instant Attraction The character is used to being the center of attention, and this power is an extension of that idea. By discarding 4 cards, anyone the Lustful character wishes is now undeniably in love with them and can be asked to perform a single task for their love.They will comply (often in the most horrible ways) unless it goes against their deeper nature (or against their Primary Sin). However, the character can take 1 Debt to make the target do anything with no limit. Seducing the Deck Lustful characters just seem to have a way to charm fate in their favor. During a Skill challenge, they can discard 2 cards from the top of their deck, to then look at the top 5 cards, discard two and put the other 3 back in any order.

Pride Gifts Knowing Better Prideful characters are often huge know-it-alls and never shy away from the opportunity to let others know. They may discard 3 cards and make an Occult challenge to gain information they would never have been able to acquire otherwise. This could be the name of an enemy, a location where something is hidden or some other info that would normally take days to find out. Failure on their challenge means they actually forget a piece of important information.

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Better than You It is often important to show people how much better you are than they are. Before a Skill Challenge, the Prideful character may discard 2 cards and make a Know challenge to complete this challenge as if they had the same Skill rating as their opponent, with a +1 bonus. If the character wins by using this Gift, they may also take 1 Debt to instantly Take Out their opponent, due to the shame of being bested so handily. Failure on their Know challenge inflicts 1 Wound to Convince, as they lose credibility in front of everyone. Face to Face Only the best for a Prideful character. They now have the option during a Skill Challenge to simply discard cards until they reach a face card (J, Q, K), Ace or Joker. Once they choose this path, they cannot stop until they come up with the right card, however.

Sloth Gifts Apathy A Sloth goes through a lot of their life doing nothing and not caring about anything other than themselves. By discarding 2 cards and making an Occult challenge, the character can inject this same apathy into another. The victim suffers a -3 drop to any Skill Challenges for the Scene. Failure on their challenge inflicts 1 Wound to Occult. Just Don’t Care Asking a Slothful character to try to win at a Skill challenge is often just too much for them. Instead, the player has the option to simply discard 2 cards to take a Tie result, regardless of how tough the challenge. Sleep Not doing anything takes a lot out of someone. By discarding 3 cards and making an Occult challenge, the Slothful character can cast a sleeping spell on their target, knocking them out for the rest of the Scene. If they take 1 Debt, their unnatural sleep lasts for a number of days equal to the character’s Darkness. Failure on their challenge knocks the hellborn out instead.

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Wrath Gifts Shatter By discarding 3 cards and making an Occult challenge, the character can touch any non-living object and instantly destroy it. This includes breaking down a door with little-to-no effort, shattering your enemy’s weapon or rendering a car unusable, but cannot affect anything more than twice the character’s size. Failure on their challenge inflicts 1 Wound to a random Skill (SM’s choice). Rage Lending the scope of one’s wrath to another is potentially dangerous for everyone involved, but that’s just what this Gift does. By discarding 2 cards and making a Convince check, the victim lapses into a temperamental rage, attacking anyone around them, friend or foe. This lasts for the Scene or until they are knocked out. Failure on their challenge makes the target only hate the hellborn. Destructive Nothing will stop a wrathful character from destroying their target. They can now discard up to 3 extra cards during a Skill Challenge to gain a +1 raise per card, but this only works if it is destructive in nature.

Step Six: Who is the Dark Lord? Regardless of background, all players’ hellborn share a devotion (forced or otherwise) to the same Dark Lord. Each of their families may have asked for different things, but the Dark Lord is powerful enough that it can grant many different kinds of wishes to its many followers. After each character has been created, it is time to find out what kind of Dark Lord they collectively serve. As with many things in Sins of the Father, this is not something the characters get to choose; it is determined by random cards drawn to define the following:



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1. 2. 3. 4.

What is the Dark Lord Like? How does the Dark Lord communicate? What sacrifices does the Dark Lord ask for? What is the proposed goal of the Dark Lord?

What is the Dark Lord Like? Similar to the way a character’s Traits are determined, each player will draw one card from their deck (if there are fewer than four players, the SM should pull additional cards until there are four choices), compare them to the Traits list (pg. xxx) and then choose two qualities they’d like to attribute to their Dark Lord. Is the Dark Lord Moody and Aggressive or perhaps Charismatic and Power-Hungry? There are a lot of great combinations that can make the Dark Lord they serve different from every other group of hellborn. How does the Dark Lord Communicate? Some may ask… “Why don’t the Dark Lords just come out and ask for what they want?” In short, some simply don’t have the ability to, while others prefer to remain cryptic. There are a number of ways for Dark Lords to send notice to their followers, however. Like other choices, pull two cards and choose the one the group likes best. A or Joker K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Players’ Choice Delivers messages in person The chosen one has received a vision Sends a minion Electronically A bodiless and ominous voice Possession of one of the hellborn Ghosts of the dead deliver the message We must consult the seer! Elemental display (i.e. burning bush, cracks in ice, etc.) Orders painfully etched into the hellborn’s’ skin Once a month during a mandatory ritual Watching for omens

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What Sacrifice does the Dark Lord Ask For? What a Dark Lord asks for as sacrifice says a lot about them as all-powerful entities. The worst myths speak of lords who require countless killings and blood to appease them, but not every Dark Lord is that demanding. Sometimes, they ask for their subjects to give up something important to themselves or seemingly innocuous objects. The Soul Master draws two cards from their decks and picks the best one for the group. Below are a few examples: A or Joker K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Soul Master’s choice Contracts for more souls Human Death (type of person, like children, virgins or green-eyed) Human Death (general) Human Blood Animal slaughter Memories Item of personal importance Money Expensive electronics Extended ritual prayer Jars of Tears Seemingly useless junk

What is the Dark Lord’s ultimate Goal? Knowing the kind of sacrifice a Dark Lord craves is nothing without knowing why they crave it. Below are some goals the Dark Lord may have, which can be anything from wanting to rule the world. No two Dark Lords are ever truly alike.The Soul Master draws two cards from their decks and picks the best one for the group. If it enhances the story, the SM may choose to keep the Dark Lord’s goal secret, so even the players don’t know. A or Joker K Q J 10 9 8

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Soul Master’s choice To rule the world To defeat its enemy To provide for worshippers To bring destruction Accumulate all of one type of person Accumulate all of one thing

7 6 5 4 3 2

To rule humanity’s dreams Conquering of a location To escape its own death To return home To be released Unpredictable

Putting it together Once all the pieces have fallen into place, it makes it easy and fun to figure out the true nature of the Dark Lord your hellborn group worships. Let’s do one below for fun: To figure out Traits, the group pulled: J♠ (Systematic), 10♦ (Domineering), 8♣ (Cynical), and K♠ (Loyal).They all decide Cynical doesn’t fit their idea of a Dark Lord, and Loyal would be nice, but they don’t want a nice Dark Lord. So, they settle on Systematic and Domineering. Already off to a crazy start. Next is how the Dark Lord communicates. They draw a 9 (bodiless and ominous voice) and 7 (ghosts of the dead). They collectively decide a foreboding ominous voice commanding them to do things is just the right kind of creepy, especially taking into account that it is domineering, but calculated in its communication. The Dark Lord likely communicates rarely and only gives pertinent information, expecting its followers to fill in the gaps themselves. Next is figuring out what kinds of sacrifices the Dark Lord expects. The SM pulls a 2 (Seemingly useless junk) and a Q (Human death - general). The idea is floated that they are possibly the group the Dark Lord calls on to kill certain targets and picks the Queen as their card. Whether they like their job or not, they have blood on their hands on a regular basis. Lastly, the SM decides the goals of the Dark Lord and why it has minions to begin with.They actually pull two 6s.This means they have no choice but to make it Conquering of a Location. One player suggests that maybe an apartment complex was built on top of a sacred ritual site, so they’re called on by the Dark Lord to kill key residents in order to cause the place to be abandoned and demolished.This fits in closely with the Systematic trait of the Dark Lord, as well, showing how it will get crafty to get what it wants. That is a great start to their story! Sample Dark Lords The following are a few Dark Lords to help you see the flexibility of the random creation or to jump right into a game without needed to make your own.

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Alexandre the Drinker Vampiric Dark Lord Traits: Unfriendly (3♦), Athletic (A♥) Communication: Delivers requests in person (K♥) Sacrifices: Blood (10 ♣) Goal: To rule a certain location (6♠) The characters have long belonged to a family of ghouls who serve a vampire lord known as Alexandre the Drinker. He is a low-level vampire in the hierarchy of bloodsuckers, but is building an army to take over the city. The hellborn exist to help him in his quest. In return, he has connections who have helped the characters’ families for over 200 years, ensuring their enemies are dealt with and they have all they need. As long as they supply him with all the blood he demands. When Alexandre needs something, he is not the kind of Dark Lord to beat around the bush. He’ll visit his hellborn wherever they happen to be (of course, only at night), and make sure they understand the plan. There is nothing nice about the man; he is short and to the point when giving his commands, and his hellborn know that to defy him is to end up with pointy fangs in your neck (and the necks of your whole family). His hellborn are pawns in his personal war, so they better fall in line.

Sample Requests At the beginning of the Session, or after a mission has been finished, the Soul Master may draw to see what the Dark Lord requires next. Joker Player’s Choice A The Dark Lord requires nothing of them at the moment K Protect his coffin for the day Q Deliver a package to a contact of suspicious trustworthiness J Travel into contested ground and spray turf graffiti 10 Hold a meeting with his enemy’s hellborn to work out a deal 9 Bring him a fresh victim to feed on, as he is weakened by last night’s battle 8 Sneak into a location to destroy his enemy’s weapons cache 7 Pick up a package from a contact (that package being kidnapping victim) 6 Clean up a murder scene your Dark Lord created 5 Accompany the Dark Lord as bodyguards into a nightclub owned by rival vampires 4 Abduct the child of one of his enemy’s hellborn 3 Enter a war zone and take out a gang of lesser vampires 2 Quietly assassinate a rival vampire gang leader

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The Beautiful Alison Succubus Dark Lord Traits: Glamorous (10♥), Uncaring (2♠) Communication: Possession of one of the hellborn (8♠) Sacrifices: Jars of tears (3♦) Goal: To escape its own death (5♥) The characters live in service to a succubus, an evil spirit who preys on the lust in the heart of every human being. Regardless of their Primary Sin, each of them have been drawn in by her glamorous look, felt the touch of the Beautiful Alison and fell into a moment of ecstasy where they gave up their soul to be with her. Of course, she cares not for anything other than accumulating more hellborn and breaking their hearts along the way. Few hellborn see her more than that one time. She takes care of her toys, however, and doesn’t let anything bad happen to them. When she needs her hellborn to perform her duty, she often takes over one of their bodies and speaks through them. Every word that drips from her borrowed mouth makes the hellborn want her even more. On top of her asking them to save the tears they cry for her, she can ask for almost anything else and they are more than happy to do it as long it keeps her safe.You see, she uses the excuse that she is in danger more often than not, but no one knows if this is actually true.

Sample Requests At the beginning of the Session, or after a mission has been finished, the Soul Master may draw to see what the Dark Lord requires next. Joker Player’s Choice A The Dark Lord requires nothing of them at the moment K Needs a brand new wardrobe of expensive clothes to hide herself Q Prepare a separate vessel for her to possess, as she wants to reward the group for their service J Needs to experience a terrifying and violent sexual experience through the hellborn’s eyes. It is the only way for her to feel close to them. 10 Find a virgin, as pure and innocent as possible, and corrupt them 9 Need a precious, and famous jewel stolen from the museum… a ritual component for a protection spell. 8 Do whatever you need to do to bring her a jar of the tears of a random target 7 Rid the town of her brother, Maximus, an incubus 6 Protect a brothel from a police raid, as they are her friends 5 Bring her a jar of the tears from one of the hellborn’s Relationships 4 Bring her five virgins… she needs to feed or she’ll die. 3 Track and get rid of a cult who has been trying to summon her against her will 2 Gather ingredients to summon her to the world in physical form

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Corrupted Gaia Elemental Dark Lord Traits: Moody (6♥), Cruel (2♣) Communication: Elemental display (5♠) Sacrifices: Contracts for more souls (K♣) Goal: Unpredictable (A♣) Gaia, the goddess of the earth, has long had followers who have made sacrifices in her name. It was a long time ago, however, that she became vengeful toward humanity who raped and pillaged her for oil, her life’s blood and coal, parts of her soul. She began recruiting minions centuries ago, and the hellborn come from a long line of Earth-worshippers doing her bidding. While protecting the Earth sounds noble, Corrupted Gaia has nothing to hold back her wrath. Her hellborn know when it is time to act. A tree may sprout to a point, letting them know who kill. A single piece of hail may strike the car of a litterer while it’s snowing, marking their next victim. While getting rid of people who harm the Earth is one thing, her hellborn know that bringing more into the fold is their true objective. The more souls following Corrupted Gaia, the stronger her army becomes, and the more of her chosen children she can send to do her bidding.

Sample Requests At the beginning of the Session, or after a mission has been finished, the Soul Master may draw to see what the Dark Lord requires next. Joker Player’s Choice A The Dark Lord requires nothing of them at the moment K Plant trees near hazardous areas Q Stage a protest against recent environmental usurpers J Find another soul for Gaia to take 10 Negotiate with angry environmental terrorists to assist with Gaia’s next plan 9 Visit a cult and convince them to swear allegiance to Gaia instead of their own gods 8 Hold an energy company’s CEO hostage until they halt their evil operations 7 Dump several bodies at the local landfill 6 Secure sacrifices for Corrupted Gaia to devour… their blood shall replenish the Earth 5 Kidnap children, so they may be raised within Gaia’s embrace 4 Commit murder for a minor littering or non-recycling offense 3 Destroy an oil well belonging to one of the richest companies in the world 2 Enter a construction site to murder all the workers

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Doctor Victoria Calloway Mad Scientist Dark Lord Traits: Domineering (10♦), Power-Hungry (10♠) Communication: Sends a Minion (J♠) Sacrifices: Expensive electronics (5♣) Goal: To rule the world (K♥) The characters are not normal people… they were born from the labs of Doctor Victoria Calloway. She has always mocked the powers of a so-called god, so she ventured out to create life herself. The hellborn were the result of that, each one her burden to care for, but each one a reflection of her darkest desires as well. They have served the doctor for as far back as they remember, each generation leaving cryptic writings telling of the doctor’s minions returning periodically to point them toward their next indoctrinated imperative. Usually in search of new components to help with the next stage of her research. What they do not know is that theirs is a dying breed. They are unstable and usually last no longer than a few months before they die. They are born in whatever form they currently have, implanted with false memories and an identity, do as their Dark Lord commands, and usually die in her service. If not, they expire soon after and their DNA is used to hopefully perfect extended life for the next batch of experiments.

Sample Requests At the beginning of the Session, or after a mission has been finished, the Soul Master may draw to see what the Dark Lord requires next. Joker Player’s Choice A The Dark Lord requires nothing of them at the moment K Report to the doctor for a series of painful injections that change your mood Q Hold up an electronics store J Have a night of fun and attempt to impregnate a regular human 10 Kidnap a person to reveal they are in fact a hellborn and didn’t know it. They must return to the fold, whether they want to or not. 9 Steal a prototype of a cyclonic converter from high-tech company 8 Track down wayward hellborn who now threaten the doctor (escaped experiments) 7 Ransack and destroy a rival scientist’s lab… no doubt it will be guarded 6 Select and prepare a family for their dissection… the doctor hopes to unlock traits passed through blood for the hellborn one day 5 Track down a journalist, kill them and take the evidence they have on the doctor 4 Lead a fellow hellborn to the disposal yard and then open your instructions (kill him/her) 3 Obtain a nanotech manifold from a heavily-guarded government facility 2 Defend your home from religious zealots who want to kill them, shouting “you are all abominations!”

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Xantor, the Dream Eater Demonic Dark Lord Traits: Proud (K♦), Shortsighted (2♥) Communication: Once a month during a mandatory ritual (3♠) Sacrifices: Memories (9♦) Goal: To rule humanity’s dreams (7♣) Xantor exists in the realms between the conscious and unconscious, where reality is broken and often spiraling into chaos. The hellborn have grown up with terrible nightmares, but have always known these experiences to be their birthright, not a curse. Of course, that is if they ensure that Xantor receives its fill of nourishing dreams. If not, the entity may very well leave the hellborn a husk emptied of their motivations and memories. The loyal are granted gifts of riches (from dreams of the winning lottery numbers) or even the ability to pull their dreams into reality. The Dark Lord is not known for being proactive about asking for sacrifices, confident that its worshippers will continue the required rituals every month. The ritual involves a 24-hour coma where Xantor can eat their nightmares. Of course, during the ritual, certain hellborn also receive visions of their next mission. Sometimes, these missions are connected, possibly cleaning up a mess caused by last month’s, as the Dark Lord is often shortsighted in its requests.

Sample Requests At the beginning of the Session, or after a mission has been finished, the Soul Master may draw to see what the Dark Lord requires next. Joker Player’s Choice A The Dark Lord requires nothing of them at the moment K Go have a wonderful day and return for your memories to be eaten Q Sneak into someone’s house and draw Xantor’s mark in blood upon their forehead J Find an artist and become their muse… only to feed their soul to Xantor 10 Perform a sleep ritual on a building, offering everyone inside to the Dark Lord 9 Steal records from a sleep study, where multiple people have claimed seeing the Dark Lord 8 Kidnap a child and offer it to the Dark Lord, its pleasant dreams candy to the entity 7 The hellborn are locked in their dreams, becoming playthings for Xantor to relive its stress 6 A creature has escaped the land of dreams, and the hellborn must destroy it 5 Venture into the mind of a serial killer and unlock the door so Xantor may enter and feast 4 Commit murder to cause bad dreams in the victim’s spouse, Xantor’s true target 3 One of your own has gone AWOL, find them and end them 2 Find a vessel for Xantor to become mortal for a short time

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Chapter Three: Mechanics of Evil

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Sins of the Father uses a deck of playing cards (with Jokers) as a resolution tool for telling stories. This adds a unique aspect to the game experience, as both the value and suit of the card often matter when pulling cards. This section details the exacts of the deck system.

Deck Etiquette

As with most card games, the first thing to get straight is the etiquette involved when dealing with the cards on the table. Each player has their own deck, shuffled at the beginning of each Session and cut by the player to their left. The Soul Master has two decks, one cut by the player to the right and the other by the player to the left after shuffling. To keep confusion to a minimum, each player (including the SM) should only interact with their own deck. Even when certain rules and abilities allow one player to affect another’s, the player to whom the cards belong should be the one to physically manipulate them. When playing the game, players draw only from their own deck, whereas the Soul Master can choose between either of their two decks in any order they wish. This is an edge given to the Soul Master and keeps players from using card counting to attempt to get over on chance. Each player needs enough table room for both their deck, a discard pile and clear access to their character sheet, so ensure everyone is seated comfortably enough so random elbows won’t be banging other’s decks. No player should have any reason to touch another player’s card, unless given permission. Also, try not to bump the table too often. Be courteous. When to Shuffle Under normal circumstances, players shuffle their deck at the beginning of the Session and then again only under the following circumstances: ♦♦ By Choice: Players can choose to shuffle their discard pile into their deck and start fresh at any time during a session by taking on 1 Debt. This can be beneficial if players have seen their best cards come and go during the Session and want a chance for better outcomes for the rest of their evening. After they shuffle, they immediately discard the top 5 cards. ♦♦ Lurches: When a player uses all their cards, they must beg their Dark Lord for the strength to go on and take 1 Debt before immediately shuffling their discard pile into their deck. After they shuffle, they discard the top 5 cards. ♦♦ Jokers: Any time the player draws a joker (black or red), they have the option to shuffle their deck without having to take on Debt. If a joker is discarded, it does not trigger this option. After a shuffle triggered by a red Joker, the player retains all their cards. On a black Joker, they discard the top 5 cards. ♦♦ Fate is Looking Up: If either of the Soul Master’s decks reach their end, each player may take the top ten cards of their discard pile and shuffle them back into their deck. They do not discard the top 5 cards for this kind of reshuffle.

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Skill Challenges Skill Challenges come into play when a player wants their character to achieve a task that affects the course of the story, whether it is quickly repairing a car, searching for a clue in a cluttered room or crashing down a door.The Soul Master declares which Skill the Challenges actually require (the Skill that makes the most sense) and then determines the Difficulty of the Challenge, which can be Difficulty 1, 2 or 3. The SM draws a number of cards from their decks equal to the Difficulty, showing the player attempting the task exactly how hard it is.The highest value card is now the Difficulty. Pulling a Joker for the Difficulty can have disastrous results, as only another Joker can hope to even tie the card. In addition, if the Red Joker is pulled, the task is assumed to simply be impossible. With the Black Joker, not only is the task impossible, but the hellborn also suffers some addition obstacle or consequence to their action. If the SM cannot come up with a proper negative consequence, they can simply inflict 1 Wound to one of the character’s Level 3 Skills. It should be noted that not every task should require a Skill Challenge. Driving a car is easy enough, but shaking another car that is tailing you isn’t. Cooking a meal doesn’t require a Challenge unless you are trying to impress someone important. And sometimes, you’ll get slapped out of the blue and you never saw it coming. Skill Challenges should only be used when the outcome of said task will have bearing on the ongoing story.

Determining Outcomes After the Soul Master has set the Difficulty, it’s now time to see if the character succeeds or fails in their attempt. The player looks to the Skill associated with the Challenge and may draw a number of cards up to their Skill level and then choose which one they want to use against the Difficulty. Players need not draw all their cards up front and may choose to be cautious with their approach. If the final value of the player’s card(s) (after applying any applicable raises or drops) is lower than the highest card the SM drew for the Difficulty, this is considered a failure. If it is higher, it is considered a win. And if it is the same value, it is a tie. Of course, jokers play a vital role in Skill Challenges as well. Compare with the below chart to see the outcomes:

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Red Joker Player wins (Ace) Player wins Tie SM wins SM wins (Ace) Black Joker

Succeeds automatically Task succeeds critically Task succeeds Task succeeds, with complication Task fails Task fails critically Task succeeds but at some drastic cost

Any drawn cards are immediately placed into their respective discard pile once the Skill challenge is completed, whether the actual task succeeds or failed. This rule can be altered by some Sinful Gifts, so make sure to read them carefully.

Secret Challenges Under some circumstances, the SM has the option to hold back their Difficulty to keep it a secret from the players. This usually applies if the characters might be sensing an invisible threat, avoiding a hidden trap, if they are encountering something unseen behind a door or the SM just wants to heighten the drama at a pivotal moment in the story. Doing this automatically gives the player taking the challenge a +1 bonus, allowing them to draw an additional card to hopefully defeat the secret threat. Without knowing exactly what the challenge is, it could also potentially waste resources the player would rather hold until later as well. It is a good idea not to overuse Secret Challenges. For instance, Soul Masters shouldn’t only utilize them when the Difficulty is high. It should feel organic in its implementation. Secret Challenges can also cause tension where none really exists if used at the wrong time, and this will undoubtedly annoy players. Challenge Example Kristen’s hellborn is going to try to jump over a wall obstructing her path away from a killer who is chasing her. Eloy, the Soul Master, takes a moment to consider how difficult this wall is to climb based on slope, grips, etc. He decides it’s not a terribly difficult wall, but it is kind of high, so he make it a Difficulty 2 Challenge. There’s nothing secret about this wall, either, so this isn’t a Secret Challenge. With that in mind, he immediately draws two cards (choosing to grab one from the top of each deck, instead of two from a single deck) and places them out into the open so Kristen knows how hard it will be to get over the wall. Eloy pulls a 7♦ and a 2♣ and chooses the higher card, but even his high card is on the low end, so Kristen is pretty sure her chances of beating the Difficulty are good.

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7♦ is the higher value card, so it becomes the Difficulty in the current Challenge. Kristen’s character has Exert 2 as well, which means she can also draw up to two cards to try to defeat the challenge. She draws her first card, which is a 4♠. That is not enough to beat Eloy’s 7♦. She can either fail or draw a second card, so Kristen decides she wants to chance it. The second card is a J♣ which more than beats the Difficulty. Since her card won (had a higher value), this was considered a Success and she jumps over the wall with no issues.

4♠ (1st card drawn) did not beat Difficulty, so player drew a J♣ (2nd card drawn) which does the job!

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Conflict Challenges When two hellborn (or a hellborn and an Extra) are at odds, they can challenge each other as well. This essentially works the same as a normal Skill Challenge, but the outcomes can result in loss for the characters.The aggressor chooses which Skill they are using against their Target, and the defender chooses which Skill to use in opposition. This may be the same Skill for both characters, but can also vary based on the situation. For instance, if the aggressor is lunging forward to punch someone (Fight), the defender may be able to use Exert (to run away), block the incoming attack with Fight themselves or even Sneak if they attempt to hide. Likewise, if the aggressor is trying to Convince a wealthy contributor that the defender has nefarious financial plans, the defender could use Know to spout legal jargon to refute the claim or maybe even Notice to look for an opening for a comeback later on. The Skills used obviously need to make sense within the context of the Conflict, but can be just about any combination. The outcomes of these simple Conflicts basically just tell the players who won and who lost, and then they can continue the story normally. Of course, this changes when either party is attempting to cause actual harm to the other. Inflicting Harm If a character attempts a Conflict with the intent of harming their Target, they must say so before any cards are drawn. This can result in either Wounding or Taking Out their Target, both of which carry dramatic consequences.

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When harmed, characters take Wounds directly to the Skill they used in the Conflict. Each Skill can receive 1 Wound per Rank, which means Skills the character has at high levels allow for continued use even after a Wound. For example, having Fight 3 means they can take up to 3 Wounds to their Fight Skill. Taking a Wound immediately makes the player discard the top card of their deck. They also suffer a -1 drop per Wound when using that Skill until it is healed. For example, if a character loses a Conflict where they are defending with Know, then their Know Skill takes the Wound. Taken Out Being Taken Out means the character can no longer act within the current Scene or Conflict. It does not always mean the character is dead. It could instead be that they are injured, knocked out, pinned or otherwise cannot fight back. In a social conflict, it may be they are stunned or embarrassed so much that they dare not utter another word. For mental challenges, the character may be confused or dazed so much so that they simply cannot think about the topic any more. Also, yes, sometimes it means the character is dead. There are three ways a character can be taken out. ♦♦ Overwhelming Wounds: They can be Taken Out by losing their last Wound in a particular Skill. ♦♦ Aces: If an Ace is pulled during a Conflict, the other character is automatically Taken Out, regardless of how many Wounds they’ve taken. ♦♦ By Choice: They can simply be taken out of the conflict by choice (to avoid a Wound) Aggressor wins (Ace) Aggressor wins Tie Defender wins Defender wins (Ace)

Takes Defender out Wounds or Takes Defender Out Both characters in conflict take a Wound Wounds or Takes Aggressor Out Takes Aggressor Out

Once everyone knows the outcome, the Soul Master describes how it effects the Scene and what changes come about due to the Conflict. The loser of the Conflict may discard 2 cards to narrate their own outcome, possibly spinning their fate in a different direction.

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Jokers During Conflicts Jokers work slightly differently when Wounds and the possibility of being taken out is on the table. Red Joker ♦♦ On the Attack: Not only is the defender taken out, but the aggressor also heals 1 Wound (to any Skill), gaining a second wind in the Scene. ♦♦ On the Defense: The defender heals 1 Wound and the aggressor is Taken Out instantly. Black Joker Regardless of whether it was drawn by the aggressor or the defender, both parties take 1 Wound and the Conflict ends, either by choice or by outside influence. If two characters are having a fight, drawing a Black Joker may mean there is an explosion nearby that blows them both into a wall. If they are debating, it could be that someone else comes in with a scathing remark that bites at both their heels.

Bouncing Back If a character is Taken Out, but the player wants to continue, they can discard the top 5 cards of their deck. If they were Taken Out due to Wounds, they can discard another 3 cards to instantly recover 1 Wound. No more than 1 Wound can ever be healed in this manner at a time. If they bounce back but have taken all available Wounds on a Skill, that Skill becomes unusable until healed. They’ll have to come up with a new strategy in order to win.

Healing In between Sessions or with a Rest Scene, a character can heal 1 Wound they may have taken. Of course, characters who have Gluttony as their Primary Sin or a number of Intimate Relationships have the ability to heal more Wounds. Multiple Rest Scenes should not be taken back to back, as most tasks given by Dark Lords have a time limit that cannot be pushed aside for sleep. If the character has taken more Wounds than they can Heal at one time, they have a lasting injury of some kind, which should be decided on and roleplayed. A lasting injury in Exert may mean they have a broken arm, while a Wound to Know means they may have a concussion causing loss of short-term memory.

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Series Challenge Seldom are Conflict Challenges performed on a “per attack” basis. Instead, a single challenge often sums up the entire conflict neatly, unless the SM calls for a Series Challenge. This means it may be more complicated or just take more time to complete the task. If the SM says the challenge is a Series, the player draws their normal cards and then the Series rating -1 in additional cards based on the Difficulty determined by the SM. If the SM says it is a Series 3 challenge, the player would draw 2 additional cards. Note, Series Challenges are always odd numbers. Once all the cards are drawn, the SM will place that many cards out one at a time, and the player must combat each one just like any other Skill challenge. If the player wins the majority, they complete the task. If the SM wins majority, they fail. So, during a Series 3 challenge, the SM would place out 3 cards, describing what is going on with each one and giving the player a chance to respond before placing the next one. If the player has extra cards they have not revealed when the Series Challenge is complete, they may place them at the bottom of their deck. If either side of the Series Challenge draws a Joker, it ends normally based on the color of the Joker and ignores all other cards drawn, which are discarded immediately.

Other Systems Discarding Cards When a player is asked to discard cards, this has only one meaning. The player takes that number of cards from the top of their deck and puts them directly into their discard pile. This is often the cost of using Sinful Gifts or Bouncing Back from being Taken Out, both of which will come up often during any given game session. Players should be cautious, however, when asked to discard cards. This blindly gets rid of possible high-value cards or even Jokers that could be useful for future challenges. It also reduces the number of available cards in the player’s deck, which puts the player closer to being in a Lurch. There is power in discarding, but power always comes at a price in Sins of the Father.

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Card Modifiers When drawing cards for Challenges, there are modifiers that can affect the outcome: ♦♦ Bonus: A bonus to a Skill challenge means the player has the option to draw additional cards. For instance, if the character has Build 1 and they somehow gain a +1 bonus, they can pull up to two cards and take the better of the two (instead of just 1). ♦♦ Penalty: A penalty means the player draws fewer cards during a Skill challenge. For instance, if they have Build 2 and is dealt a -1 penalty, they would only draw 1 card. If a penalty reduces a character below 1 card, they get to still draw the one card, but suffers a -3 drop. ♦♦ Raise: A raise to a Skill challenge means the value of the card goes up equal to the raise value. For instance, if the character has a +2 raise and they draw a 5, their card is now considered to have a total value of 7. If they pulled an Ace, they would have an Ace+2. ♦♦ Drop: A drop to a Skill challenge means the value of the card goes down equal to the drop value. For example, if they draw a 7 with a -2 drop, the card value is now a 5. If a drop brings a character lower than 2, they automatically fail the task.

Choosing to Fail It is worthwhile sometimes for a player to choose to fail. Winning all the time can get boring, and a failure can often add tension to the story. This also has a strategic use. If the player is getting closer to the bottom of their deck or know that some of their best cards are still in the deck and they don’t want to waste them, failing is an option to hold on to the cards they have. As stated, failure also has a way of making the story more engaging and much deeper than one where the hellborn succeed at every task they attempt. A second way a player can choose to fail is to purposefully pick a low card to go against a challenge if they also drew one that would succeed. If a player does this, all other players (not including the Soul Master) may take the top card of their discard pile and place it at the bottom of their deck.

Teamwork Characters can (and often do) assist other characters in their task. A player can discard 2 cards to give the active player a +1 bonus to a Skill Challenge. This can be done at any time, including after a failure has been determined. It can also be done up to three times, but discarding several cards may put the helper in a poor position later on if they are discarding high-value cards or Jokers. Remember that characters with Sloth as their Primary Sin are more than happy to let someone else take the lead and need only discard 1 card to give a +1 bonus.

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Lurch If a player ever reaches the end of their deck during a session, this is called a Lurch.They have run out of options and cannot act, unless they take 1 Debt, owing their Dark Lord even more than they once did. After taking 1 Debt and reshuffling their deck, they immediately discard the top 5 cards of their deck. This means that using Skills with high Ranks, Sinful Gifts that give more cards or assisting others with Teamwork all have their price -- the chance you will run out of cards much faster. In any other game, this may be a warning to halt the players from too much action. On the other hand, this is what Sins of the Father is about: trading in your free will for power.

Advancement Sins of the Father can be played as a one-shot session and a lot of fun can be had that way. The system, however, is more suited to extended play with multiple Sessions, as well as generational play once a story has completed. There are two ways to advance a character: Giving In or More Debt.

Giving In The first way characters advance and become more powerful is to give in to their baser desires. Mechanically, this is reflected by the character’s Attachments, their connection to their Dark Lord. During play, if a character does something very in line with a particular Attachment that ends with great success and great loss, the Soul Master may tell the player to mark the box corresponding to that choice. For example, if a character loses themselves in a fight and won’t stop beating someone to death (great success), ending with the loss of the information that Extra may have provided, then the player would mark their Chaos box. Spending Marks only occurs in between sessions. This means that if a character has already received a Chaos Mark during a Session, they cannot gain another for continuing the same behavior. ♦♦ Chaos Marks: 1 Chaos Mark can be spent to create a new Hostile Relationship, change an existing Relationship to Hostile from another type or add 1 Rank to one of the following Skills: Fight or Survive. ♦♦ Darkness Marks: 1 Darkness Mark can be spent to create a new Devious Relationship, change an existing Relationship to Devious from another type or add 1 Rank to one of the following Skills: Build or Sneak. ♦♦ Influence Marks: 1 Influence Mark can be spent to create a new Controlling Relationship, change an existing Relationship to Controlling from another type or add 1 Rank to one of the following Skills: Convince or Know.

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♦♦ Passion Mark: 1 Passion Mark can be spent to create a new Intimate Relationship, change an existing Relationship to Intimate from another type or add 1 Rank to one of the following Skills: Exert or Notice. ♦♦ 2 Marks: By spending 2 Marks, the player has the option to raise any Skill by 1, regardless of which Attachment their actions connect to. Skills still cannot go beyond Rank 3. ♦♦ 4 Marks: By spending 4 Marks at one time, they may reduce their Debt by 1.

More Debt Of course, the second way a character may grow in power is the most obvious way… taking on additional Debt. This follows the same rules as outlined on pg. 26, exchanging Debt for more Sinful Gifts, Raising Attachments or even adding Skill Ranks. Unlike Marks from Giving In, Debt can be incurred at any time during game play, as the Dark Lord loves to make a deal.This also means that a hellborn cannot ask for Debt right before they are about to alleviate Debt, since the Dark Lord is wise on tricks like that. There must be at least once Session between such requests.

Passing Down the Curse Sins of the Father is designed for generational play. Meaning, once your group is done with one set of characters, they have the opportunity for their characters to pass their cursed lineage down to a new generation.This lets each player to make a new descendent from their old one (or someone else’s character), with some built-in benefits. Debt The new character inherits part of their parent’s Debt, thus solidifying the Dark Lord’s hold on the child’s soul more thoroughly. Debt begins with a +1 bonus per generation. This means starting characters begin with Debt 2, their children begin with Debt 3, and their children’s children begin with Debt 4, and so on. Only in this way can a character begin with higher than 5 Debt. Every point of Debt after their initial 2 translates directly into either a new Sinful Gift or Enhanced Skills, but should reflect those passed down by the parent. The new character can take additional Debt to branch out from there if they so choose, with the same limitations. Primary Sin Some children share the Primary Sin of their parent(s), growing up in their home with these values thrust upon them every day. If both of their parents are hellborn and have different Primary Sins, the player should choose which one they take after more. If the player would rather not share their parent’s sin, however, they can draw normally to see what they get. They then apply a +3 raise or -3 drop

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toward the sin of their parent to reflect their relationship to it. For example, if a child born of a Lustful parent drew a 3, they would normally have Envy as their Primary Sin. However, Lust is 10-J, meaning they’d receive a +3 Raise to get them closer to their parent, ending up with a 6, which is actually Avarice. Like all characters, they can take Sloth as an alternative regardless of the card they draw. If their parent’s Primary Sin was already Sloth, the new character must take +1 Debt in order be anything other than Sloth, since that means there is a fire inside of them not put there by their parent. Attachments Like other characters, the new child receives Attachments based on their Traits. They also receive bonus Attachments based on the nature of their parents’ relationship to each other. The player may draw two cards and choose which suit they wish to use. If the relationship was Controlling ♦, they receive +1 Influence. Likewise, a Hostile ♣ relationship grants +1 Chaos, an Intimate ♥ relationship grants +1 Passion and a Devious ♠ relationship gives a +1 Darkness. This decision, in addition to all the other aspect of character creation, should give a clear vision of who this new hellborn is, where they came from and how they were raised. Relationships The player of the new character can opt to replace any of their four Relationships with a Relationship with their parent (the retired character), but must use the Relationship type pulled when determining the nature of this relationship (under Attachments), as not all children get along with or have appropriate interaction with their parents.

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Chapter Four: Running the Game

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Themes Sins of the Father is a storytelling game with many story hooks that can be taken in different directions. While reading this game, there are a few themes that become apparent, which may help to direct the stories in a way that will be the most fun for your group. We Are Not Monsters It is important to understand that no matter what terrible deeds a hellborn is forced to do (and sometimes they even enjoy them), they are not monsters. There will always be an inkling of their humanity inching out to tell them that what they are doing has crossed the line... and this is a good thing. It means they are still human. A hellborn may need to ignore a crying child in order to fulfill their duty to their Dark Lord, but very few of them enjoy it like a demon would. A hellborn may have to slit the throats of several animals (or even people), but it is simply a means to an end. A Dark Lord is often also very fond of watching as people struggle with the acts it commands, seeing just how much of their humanity the hellborn loses along the way. Creating cold, uncaring and deadly minions is what a Dark Lord wants, and is one of the things that players’ characters should be actively working against. Why? Because, a game about evil people doing evil things is boring. The idea of a conscience that haunts the characters while they perform despicable acts is central to the core themes of Sins of the Father. A Life Interrupted Another idea that surrounds most aspects of Sins of the Father is that being a hellborn is not the character’s full-time job. It is a part-time job, an extra-curricular activity, something that they do every so often because they must. Every hellborn has an actual life going on before their Dark Lord calls and every one of them hopes to survive to get to back to it. However, elements of their regular lives do (and should) creep into their devilish missions. The job they called in sick to could force the hellborn to split their attention. Their ex-girlfriend would be stalking them and springs into the scene at just the wrong moment. The world doesn’t stop turning because the Dark Lord wants something, so the hellborn have to learn to fit their duties into their life and hope the interruptions don’t cause too much chaos.

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Alternate Theme: We Like It A Little Too Much Some games may want to explore what it’s like to revel a little too much in the lives of the hellborn. In this kind of game, the hellborn like what they do and get off on it, seeking more and more debauchery and sin until they lose themselves completely. These types of games seldom offer more than a sense of organized chaos as they fulfill their duties to the Dark Lord in the most heinous ways possible. At the same time, it also offers lots of crazy, off-the-wall scenes of violence and an exploration into just how far some characters are willing to go. Alternate Theme: Looking for a Way Out Other games are filled with hellborn who don’t like their current predicament. They don’t want to do what they do and are looking for any way out of their contract without the destruction of their entire bloodline. Soul Masters should offer clues to how they can escape their fate. Maybe insert a special church where the angels seem to actually listen to the hellborn’s words or maybe they fall in line with a group of monster hunters who say that they can save the hellborn as long as the Dark Lord is defeated. This kind of game requires extreme secrecy. If the Dark Lord ever finds out the hellborn is trying to get free, they can make their lives a living hell. The threats of destroying the bloodline are often just a last resort… they’ll take pleasure in torturing the character and everyone they care about first.

Tones Dire It’s easy to see how Sins of the Father could be run as a straight bleak and dire horror game. It is a story of regular people forced to do things they’d rather not in hopes of staving off the utter loss of their soul. Yes, they may gain a few gifts, a few perks for their service, but most of them dread the moment when they get the call and they must perform their evil tasks. In this type of game, the mood is dark and the consequences are harsh. The Dark Lord always asks for the most heinous deeds to be performed and it is not uncommon for one or more hellborn (or their Relationships) to die in the process. More challenges have the risk of Taking Out the characters and even simple tasks could lead to their utter damnation. This type of game is great for players who love dark, gritty stories full of dramatic tension and danger. For inspiration on this type of story, look no further than the movie “Se7en.” Sure this is a story that looks at what the hellborn would be forced to do from the outside, but the tone of the movie is enough to give a Soul Master ideas for days.

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Humor While it may not seem it, there is a lot of humor to be had in a Sins of the Father game. This usually has a lot to do with who the characters are, the makeup of their Dark Lord and what they are asked to do. Humorous characters can often be stereotypes, like the geek, the jock, the stoner or the popular girl. These easy-to-identify templates let our brains comprehend their concepts, but also link them to other comedic media we’ve consumed in the past. Some Dark Lords can be out of the ordinary, which can lead to humorous outcomes. If the Dark Lord is a wise-cracking, stylish demon with a witty personality and lots of jokes to tell, that is much different than the overloading ominous voice one would think of. Likewise, if a Dark Lord has a funny appearance, this can often lead to some laughs, even if the hellborn know what their fate will be if the entity finds out they made fun of it. Finally, the tasks demanded by the Dark Lord can be the extreme of murder and ritual sacrifice, but the hellborn can also be asked to do perform missions that lead to hilarious scenes. Being asked to recover a hard drive from the police station, may lead to a scene of pretending to be the world’s worst cop in a Halloween costume only to find a dozen hard drives that need to be sorted through while the others in the group distract the officers with hummus anecdotes about their times on patrol (ones they never actually had, obviously). Inspiration for this type of game can be found in the TV show “Reaper,” a show about a man who has to work for the devil and brings along his wacky friends. There is nothing wrong with taking a serious game and turning it on its ear. The Soul Master should, however, be conscious of what all the players want out of the game. Mixing humor and dire games may end up with skewed results.

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Somewhere In-Between Most games of Sins of the Father will likely fall somewhere between dire and humor in tone. Some Scenes will be intense, with lots on the line and dramatic outcomes, while others give the hellborn the chance to let off some steam and process the events of what’s going on with humanity’s greatest gift... laughter. Walking this middle road is also great for running an overall unpredictable game. When the characters open the door, will there be something dangerous inside or something funny? No one will know until they open it.

The Soul Master One person in the gaming group takes the role of the Soul Master (SM), the player who takes the main role of telling the story instead of taking on a character themselves. First off, it’s a big job, but it is very satisfying and rewarding in the end. The SM is like a referee for Sins of the Father who creates amazing plots, interesting concepts, challenging adventures and handles rules arbitration for the other players. They have the chance to be the storyteller, giving vivid descriptions of the world through which the players take their characters. The SM also speaks for all the other people in the world who aren’t the players’ characters, from the characters’ Relationships to their sacrifices begging for mercy to the rival cultist waiting at the hotel to kill them. While this seems like a lot of control for one person, roleplaying is more about collective storytelling by the whole group. Many groups take turns with who is the Soul Master, giving everyone the chance to take on this prestigious privilege. SMs should read the entirety of this book to ensure they have enough information to run the game accordingly.

Framing Scenes It’s the job of the Soul Master to coordinate and guide the game throughout the Session. You should be sure not to be too controlling and let everyone have a hand in the telling of the story. Once everyone is sitting at the table with characters and excitement, it’s time to jump into the game. This is done by Framing Scenes. What does it mean to Frame a Scene? The Soul Master (or one of the other players) takes a moment to describe where the characters are, who else is there and what’s going on. A favorite for the first Scene of a story is to describe the sanctum the hellborn use when communicating with their Dark Lord, introducing a few other Extras who are members of their cult (if there are any) and then explaining why

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everyone is there. Most of the time, with this simple setup, the players will pick up the Scene and insert their characters’ personalities and actions into the Scene. If they don’t do it instinctually, it doesn’t hurt to ask “What are you doing in the Scene?” ♦♦ Incorporating Relationships: Whoever is Framing the Scene may find it fun to bring in some of the hellborn’s Relationships. What happens if the group is attempting to hold up a casino just as they notice one of their Intimate Relationships among the victims? What happens if they are sneaking around a hospital when their Hostile relationship notices them? Relationships are Extras who can be a great source for future Scenes or to act as foils during current Scenes. At the same time, bringing in too many Extras can clutter a Scene. The Soul Master should make sure that the story isn’t derailed by inserting other characters. If they deny the addition of a Relationship, however, an effort should be made to bring that Extra into the next Scene if at all possible. ♦♦ Making it Random: It’s not fun to always have the Soul Master frame every Scene. Instead, at the end of a Scene (or at the beginning of the Session) each player can reveal the first card of their deck, and the player with the highest card gets to Frame the next Scene. Any revealed cards are then placed on the bottom of the deck, not the discard pile. This can obviously take the story in strange directions the Soul Master was not expecting. ♦♦ Framing the Ending: If the Scene is going to end and it looks like the outcome will be attached to a particular Primary Sin, the Soul Master can hand off the description of the Scene’s end to a player who can tell the group how it ends. The Soul Master draws a card and if it is a red card, the Scene should end well for the characters, but it should end badly for the hellborn if the card is black. The ending should obviously be connected to their Primary Sin. For instance, during a Conflict Scene where the characters are in a chase with demons after them, the SM makes the determination to turn the ending of the Scene over to a Prideful character and draws a 4♥ (red), which means will end well for the group. It could mean that they get away or that they are able to turn the tables or possibly that a sudden detour leads down the path of a new clue to their current mystery.

Scene Types If can sometimes be difficult to figure out what kind of Scene to frame. Below we’ve listed a few types to help out with inspiration. As a general rule, two Scenes of the same type shouldn’t be framed back to back. ♦♦ Conflict: A common scene type, especially if there’s a Wrathful hellborn in the group. Conflict Scenes are where the characters are directly going headto-head with another character or Extra. They require everyone’s attention and high-value cards drawn to win. Too many Conflict Scenes and the game is just a non-stop grind until the end, which can become very boring. Too few Conflicts will have players itching to use their awesome abilities.

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♦♦ Disasters: Hellborn live in a world constantly beset by forces of demons, and many times they must attempt to survive it. This can include anything from a random riot popping up or a storm destroying the environment the characters are attempting to travel through. It could be that divine forces are always trying to stop them or make their lives miserable, or it could just be a coincidence... If you believe in those sorts of things. ♦♦ Investigation: Information gathering is very important. This could be anything from researching on the Internet, interrogating a captive or searching a crime scene. These Scenes are often procedural and can be solved with a few checks for the most part. They are good for preparing for the next Scene; the characters have dug up dirt to be used in the next Intrigue Scene or the location of the enemy to push forward the next Conflict Scene. ♦♦ Personal: Sins of the Father isn’t an adventure game; instead it focuses on the daily lives of people forced to serve a Dark Lord. Personal Scenes are where we get a glimpse into their lives in hopes of revealing more about the character. This is the best place for Relationships come into play, but it is a great way to see how the hellborn fit into each other’s lives as well. ♦♦ Resting: Not every Scene needs to be high energy. Sometimes, the characters are at rest, whether camping under the stars or sharing a day fulfilling their darkest desires. These Scenes are great for character interaction, as they share stories and experiences with each other to gain a better understanding of each other’s personalities and quirks. ♦♦ Supplication: This is the kind of Scene where the characters are directly attempting to serve their Dark Lord. This could be anything from a Scene of prayer, performing a precise ritual sacrifice or bringing another hellborn into the fold. Whatever it takes to make their Dark Lord happy. Too many of these Scenes simply annoy a Dark Lord who has many other hellborn to attend to, but too few and they may become vengeful and take their aggression out on their minions.

Motivating the Characters A character’s Primary Sin isn’t just a mechanic to gain cool powers. No, it is at the core of the character’s very being, and one of the most powerful things the Soul Master can use to motivate them. Of course, every sin is a little different: ♦♦ Avarice: Characters who suffer from a crippling greed know what they have and intend to keep it. The easiest way for an SM to motivate the character is to tap into that thing they hold most dear. If they value their money above everything else, some element of the story can either allow them to gain more or may threaten to destroy everything they’ve built. An Avarice character will be compelled to cooperate in whatever plan will get them to their goal.

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♦♦ Envy: Envious characters should always feel like they are not getting what is owed them, a perpetual “grass is greener” feeling. If the group of hellborn save some people from a burning building, the SM can ensure that the Envious character is the only one not mentioned as a hero in the new article. These characters need someone to hate, a rival or an enemy who they want to surpass or destroy, in order to be motivated. ♦♦ Gluttony: Some Soul Masters may make the mistake of thinking Gluttony is all about food. Obviously, that is the most obvious form, but this sin is all about indulgence, the inability to stop one’s self from wanting more and more and more. Gluttons are the kinds of hellborn who may buy out a movie theater so only they can watch or who continues their street racing scheme to accumulate pink slips just to toss the cars in the harbor. There is no reason to these hellborn, so the Soul Master must simply offer them more and watch the floodgates open. ♦♦ Lust: A Lustful hellborn is motivated mostly by the pleasures of the flesh. They love to use sex as a weapon, but love even more when others tease and flirt with them.The promise of a future rendezvous is often all that is required, but they can also be goaded into action by challenges to their sexual prowess or a dare to bed someone out of their league.They’ll do just about anything for the chance at that stage. ♦♦ Pride: The most important thing to a Prideful hellborn is not only knowing they are better than everyone else, but sticking it in their faces. The Soul Master can simply use contests to motivate these characters, as they’ll always strive for first place. They can also put the hellborn in charge of a mission with their reputation on the line. If none of that works, threats of physical violence that may harm their appearance may do the trick. ♦♦ Sloth: Getting a Slothful character to jump into action is one of the most difficult things in the world. One of the only things is to threaten the hellborn’s gravy train. Do this or all your family’s money will be lost. Do this or you may lose your home. Do this or you’ll never see your butler again. Slothful hellborn are the very selfish, so any motivators should relate directly to the character. ♦♦ Wrath: Most Wrathful characters need only one thing: something to hit. If you want to motivate them, give them someone to hate, an enemy to take down or let an Extra threaten anything about their lives. They won’t care what is threatened either; the very idea that someone thinks they can threaten the hellborn is enough to send them into a tirade. In short: Wrathful characters are easy to motivate.

Taking it to the Supernatural A lot of Sins of the Father has discussed games where the main opponents to the characters’ success are no doubt normal people or other hellborn. However, Soul Masters can also take this a step further and introduce actual demons and monsters

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into the mix. This could include imps roaming the land and causing mischief, a rival group of hellborn summoning a monster to rob a bank that houses the characters’ money or summoning lightning with the power of demonic magic. Taking the Sinful Gifts already presented in this book as a guide, it’s easy to incorporate these new kinds of characters into just about any game. Choose a Challenge Type for the Soul Master to make for the new Extra, using one deck for the Difficulty and other deck for cards to go against the challenge. If successful, the effects (a fireball, a terrible storm, a slime monster summoning) occurs and the game continues.

Creating Extras Creating interesting people for players’ characters to interact with is very important. These people are called Extras, and include any character controlled by the SM, such as the head of their hellborn cult, the character’s brother who is always asking for money, a convenience store owner telling the characters to get out before she calls the cops or even demons summoned by a rival Dark Lord. Extras should always be in the Scene for a reason. For instance, the characters may stop to ask a security guard a question. The security guard is an Extra, even if it’s not important to know that guard’s entire backstory. They’ll answer the question (or not) and then the hellborn will move on. The Soul Master should create a simple name and a quick personality, but not put too much effort into this Extra. Other Extras may require more work on the part of the Soul Master. They should be fleshed out as much as (or close to) players’ characters, with their own backgrounds, Traits and personality quirks. The SM should first establish what role the Extra would take and the purpose they serve in the story. They could be an honored judge presiding over a case affecting the hellborn or a tricky enemy who keeps eluding the group no matter how hard they search. Each character also comes with two Relationships with Extras, which the SM can use as their first crucial Extras. Together with the players, they should come up with that contact’s appearance, attitudes and special abilities to fit the theme of the Extra and their relationship to the character. The following are some remade Extras that can be inserted into just about any game (or chosen by players who want to skip the character creation process and go straight to playing).

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Madison Bell Age: 18, Debt: 4 Primary Sin: Envy Traits: Anxious, Stylish Attachments: Chaos (♣) 0, Darkness (♠) 0, Influence (♦) 0, Passion (♥) 2 Skills: Build 3, Convince 1, Exert 1, Fight 1, Know 1, Notice 1, Occult 2, Resist 2, Sneak 1, Survive 1 Madison left home a long time ago, since the day she hacked her family's accounts to access money for her operation. Only a few in her family ever accepted her as the woman she is, but that's their problem. Instead of focusing on worry, Madison's moved on to becoming a hacker for hire and is a hired contractor for many a crime family. She isn't that cool under pressure, but at least she always looks good while she tries. Relationships ♦♦ Luke Marsh (Hostile Coworkers): Sometimes you need some muscle, but Luke is more likely to ruin a plan than follow it. It just gets on her nerves. ♦♦ Lauren Williamson (Devious Family): Madison's slightly older sister and the only one in her family she still talks to. When they work together, there is little they can't achieve. ♦♦ Gadget-23X (Hostile Enemies): There's a hacker out there who is always tracing Madison's signal. She beat Gadget-23X years ago in a hack-off and they’ve never forgotten about it. ♦♦ Stephanie Cohen (Controlling Soulmate): Having left most of her family behind, Madison now clings to Stephanie, the love of her life. She'll do just about anything Stephanie commands... for better or worse. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ New Shiny: +1 bonus when attempting to take something from another person. ♦♦ Copy-Cat: Discard 3 cards to take the top card of another discard pile. Held off to the side until used.

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Noah Brown Age: 55, Debt: 4 Primary Sin: Avarice Traits: Secretive, Power-Hungry Attachments: Chaos (♣) 0, Darkness (♠) 2, Influence (♦) 1, Passion (♥) 0 Skills: Build 1, Convince 2, Exert 1, Fight 1, Know 2, Notice 3, Occult 2, Resist 1, Sneak 1, Survive 1 Money is everything to Noah. He grew up rich, inherited a fortune and became the CEO of a major high-tech company to keep the money rolling in. Noah loves to take risks with his money, gambling both his personal money and that of his company. If he loses, people get hurt, but if he wins he's ready to gamble it all away again. No one knows his true self, with the exception of Victoria, who always encourages his pursuit of more. Relationships ♦♦ Victoria Brown (Devious Lovers): Noah's lovely wife, as beautiful as she is evil. Together, they are a force to be reckoned with. ♦♦ Gregory Jefferson (Intimate Rivals): Gregory is the only one to ever predict Noah's thoughts and actions. The two have created a tenuous friendship... for now. ♦♦ Lily Ling (Intimate Mysterious Stranger): Though his love for Victoria never wavers, Noah is a man of many tastes. He has had a few rendezvous with Lily, who seems just as secretive as he is. ♦♦ Trevor Spears (Hostile Mentor/Apprentice): Many people get burned in Noah's wake, and Trevor is one of them. One of Noah's past students, he continues to try to one-up his once-teacher at every turn. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ Money: When using money to affect a Challenge, their card gets a +2 raise.

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Victoria Brown Age: 47, Debt: 4 Primary Sin: Lust Traits: Charismatic, Calculating Attachments: Chaos (♣) 0, Darkness (♠) 1, Influence (♦) 1, Passion (♥) 0 Skills: Build 1, Convince 3, Exert 1, Fight 1, Know 1, Notice 1, Occult 1, Resist 2, Sneak 2, Survive 1 There is nothing better than having control over someone else. Victoria grew up privileged, and has maintained that wealth and its associated privileges with a number of calculated marriages. Her latest husband, Noah, is her favorite, of course. While she has used money or charm to gain control, nothing is better than when she uses her flesh. She knows her gifts are given by the Dark Lord and would do anything not to lose them. Relationships ♦♦ Noah Brown (Devious Lovers): He has the money, and she has the moves. There's little they cannot accomplish together. ♦♦ Amy Hayes (Controlling Extended Family): Victoria always did have a soft spot for family, and Amy is a distant cousin. She looks up to Victoria in a way, which makes her easily manipulated. ♦♦ Dalia Gomez (Devious Enemies): One of the most vicious women in any social circle. Dalia keeps Victoria on her toes, one of the only women to ever do so. ♦♦ Selma Greenfield (Controlling Best Friends): Victoria's best friend who confides everything in her. Of course, she uses these secrets to get Selma to do her bidding as well. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ Alluring: When using her sexuality, she gets a +2 raise. ♦♦ Instant Attraction: Discarding 4 cards to make someone fall undeniably in love with her. She can ask them to perform a single task. The target complies unless it goes against their deeper nature. She may take 1 Debt to ignore this limitation.

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Sofia Fonseca Age: 25, Debt: 5 Primary Sin: Avarice Traits: Tactless, Individualistic Attachments: Chaos (♣) 2, Darkness (♠) 0, Influence (♦) 1, Passion (♥) 0 Skills: Build 2, Convince 1, Exert 1, Fight 1, Know 1, Notice 1, Occult 1, Resist 3, Sneak 1, Survive 2 Sofia has worked hard to get what she has. She owns her own salon franchise and has had to crush a lot of people on her way up. Giving proper sacrifice to the Dark Lord is important, but she doesn't have time to deal with other hellborn's problems. Sofia cares about herself first, and loves to sow chaos in others around herself. This is why her life is a whirlwind of drama. Relationships ♦♦ Lauren Williamson (Hostile Mentor/Apprentice): Sofia once helped a girl get very good at being a hellborn, out of the goodness of her heart, and then this bitch stabbed her in the back. Bridges have been burned. ♦♦ Diego Romero (Controlling Exes): There's just something about Diego. He rocked her world and is the only man she'll listen to. The rest are just tools to her, but Diego is special. ♦♦ Christine Cash (Devious Coworkers): One of Sofia's investors, together they've expanded their business and rooted themselves in the city. ♦♦ Rico (Intimate Best Friends): Her best childhood friend and frequent gang banger who has grown into quite the man. He's the best lay she's ever had. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ Money: When using money to affect a Challenge their card gets a +2 raise. ♦♦ Duplication: Discard 2 cards and make a Build Challenge to duplicate an item. Failure means it creates a corrupted item. Can spend 1 Debt to make it permanent.

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Mike “Mooky” Harrison Age: 23, Debt: 4 Primary Sin: Gluttony Traits: Gallant, Loyal Attachments: Chaos (♣) 1, Darkness (♠) 1, Influence (♦) 0, Passion (♥) 0 Skills: Build 1, Convince 1, Exert 2, Fight 1, Know 2, Notice 1, Occult 1, Resist 1, Sneak 1, Survive 3 Mike, or Mooky has his friend and family call him, has always been surrounded by food. His mom taught him that you can never, ever have enough. When he learned of his hellborn heritage, Mooky traded a bit of his soul for the ability to summon food. He has a great heart, unlike many other hellborn, and actually tries to help people while performing his duties to the Dark Lord. It's hard to balance the good and bad, though. Relationships ♦♦ Amy Hayes (Intimate Soulmates): No matter where he goes, he runs into Amy. He's tried to help her through her drug addiction, but couldn't stick around to watch her path to self-destruction. ♦♦ Emma Chen (Hostile Lovers): He has become enamored with this older woman.The sex is amazing, but they are diametrically opposed on every other issue. ♦♦ Cujo (Controlling Coworkers): Mooky's assistant cook in his food truck. He's really into dogs, and follows Mooky's lead on most things. ♦♦ Officer Danny Parker (Controlling Enemy): Mooky has worked as a CI on many a case, even though Officer Parker hates his guts. He follows the rules, though, despite this cop's ire. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ Feast: When healing, he may eat to excess and take a long nap to heal 3 Wounds (instead of 1). May temporarily Take him Out. ♦♦ Catered: Discard 3 cards and make a Survive challenge to create enough food to heal 1 Wound (or 2 Wounds with an Ace). Failure means the food is rotten.

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Amy Hayes Age: 27, Debt: 4 Primary Sin: Sloth Traits: Dramatic, Nihilistic Attachments: Chaos (♣) 0, Darkness (♠) 1, Influence (♦) 0, Passion (♥) 1 Skills: Build 1, Convince 1, Exert 1, Fight 1, Know 1, Notice 1, Occult 1, Resist 2, Sneak 3, Survive 2 Amy was born to a very affluent family and had the world at her feet, but she succumbed to drug addiction early in life. While she's had several attempts at recovery, she is a slave to most drugs, especially heroin. Much of her life is spent contemplating the essence of it, and sneaking around trying to find her next fix... when she isn't serving the Dark Lord, of course. Relationships ♦♦ Victoria Brown (Controlling Extended Family): A distant cousin who enters Amy's life whenever she needs something. Usually offers drugs or money for drugs, so it's hard to say no. ♦♦ Mike “Mooky” Harrison (Intimate Soulmates): The only man who's ever been kind to her. She'd clean up if he ever professed his love for her. ♦♦ Becky Stiles (Hostile Best Friends): Amy lost her best friend after she stole from her to pay for drugs. She often tries to apologize, but things do not go well. ♦♦ Diggle (Controlling Enemy): A high-ranking drug dealer who calls on Amy to do detestable acts for him. She hates every minute of it, but he always delivers, so she says yes anyway. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ Doing Nothing: Can discard up to 3 cards for a Teamwork challenge, granting a +1 bonus per card. If ever the lead during Teamwork, they suffer a -3 drop. ♦♦ Just Don't Care: Discard 2 cards for an instant Tie result during a Challenge.

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Gregory Jefferson Age: 45, Debt: 4 Primary Sin: Pride Traits: Wise, Ungrateful Attachments: Chaos (♣) 0, Darkness (♠) 1, Influence (♦) 1, Passion (♥) 0 Skills: Build 1, Convince 2, Exert 1, Fight 1, Know 3, Notice 1, Occult 2, Resist 1, Sneak 1, Survive 1 Greg's not a young man anymore, and he's been serving the Dark Lord since his early teens. He rejected the drug dealing and the gang banging of his youth and focused on knowledge... it is power after all. Today, he's always the smartest person in the room and is brought in as a "consultant" for Fortune 500 companies who are in the red. Always takes the chance to tell someone how they are doing it wrong. Relationships ♦♦ Luke Marsh (Controlling Friend of a Friend): Greg often hires Luke as a mercenary to handle the dirtier aspects of business. ♦♦ Noah Brown (Intimate Rivals): They met years ago and knew they would be rivals until one of them was dead. Greg looks to Noah, because he's the only one who can truly understand his life, as it is so similar to his own. ♦♦ Regina Miller (Intimate Mentor/Apprentice): Greg took on a protégé a few years ago, a relationship which has blossomed into a sordid affair. She's much too young for him, but is one of the few stable things in his life at the moment. ♦♦ Demarcus Jefferson (Devious Family): Greg brought his brother Demarcus, a pretty good security guy, into the business to help clients protect their assets. Of course, this gives them a way to rob them blind as well. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ Position: +1 bonus when using status to their advantage during a Challenge. ♦♦ Better Than You: Before a Skill Challenge, Greg can discard 2 cards and make a Know challenge to match an opponent's Skill with a +1 bonus. If he wins, he may take 1 Debt to instantly Take Out the opponent. Failure inflicts 1 Wound to Convince.

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Luke Marsh Age: 38, Debt: 3 Primary Sin: Wrath Traits: Adventurous, Disrespectful Attachments: Chaos (♣) 2, Darkness (♠) 0, Influence (♦) 0, Passion (♥) 0 Skills: Build 1, Convince 1, Exert 3, Fight 3, Know 1, Notice 1, Occult 1, Resist 2, Sneak 1, Survive 1 For every tool, there is a job for which it is best suited. Luke is a tool used to kill, and he works as a mercenary for just that. He doesn't use a rifle or another coward's weapon, though. Luke finds his target in a secluded place, alone and afraid, and uses his fists to smash the life out of people. He's gotten quite good at it, and always has a cigarette afterward. Relationships ♦♦ Gregory Jefferson (Controlling Friend of a Friend): One of his favorite clients, since he always pays up front. Greg is a standup guy who is pretty full of himself. ♦♦ Madison Bell (Hostile Coworkers): A woman with skill at computers. It's the only reason Luke puts up with her, because otherwise she gets on his nerves. ♦♦ Martin Cheung (Devious Enemies): Another mercenary who is always looking to steal Luke's contracts. One of them almost dies just about every time they cross paths. ♦♦ Trench Coat (Controlling Mysterious Stranger): There's a man who hires Luke who he doesn't really know. The man meets in the shadows and wears a trench coat to hide his identity. His targets are always married men; Luke has no clue why. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ Knuckles: When causing harm to something (or someone), they get a +2 raise.

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Diego Romero Age: 31, Debt: 5 Primary Sin: Lust Traits: Imaginative, Selfish Attachments: Chaos (♣) 0, Darkness (♠) 1, Influence (♦) 1, Passion (♥) 1 Skills: Build 1, Convince 2, Exert 2, Fight 1, Know 1, Notice 3, Occult 1, Resist 1, Sneak 1, Survive 1 Diego has had a lot of luck in love. So much so that his every want is paid for by one of his many men and women in his little black book. He sends his free time in clubs looking for his next mark, someone else to contribute to his lifestyle. He cares little for the well-being of others and has a brilliant mind for crafting schemes; the perfect person to be a hellborn. Relationships ♦♦ Sofia Fonseca (Controlling Exes): He once slept with a girl named Sofia. Now she hangs out around him all the time. He sends her on errands now and then to get some distance. ♦♦ Jessica Wang (Hostile Rivals): Diego often messes with her business. When they get together, things get dangerous. ♦♦ Dennis McAllister (Intimate Lover): His favorite mark, the only one he feels remotely safe with. ♦♦ Kitty Lincoln (Devious Coworker): Diego's partner-in-crime. Depending on the target, one of the two of them is going home with him/her. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ Alluring: When using his sexuality, he gets a +2 raise. ♦♦ Seducing the Deck: During a Skill challenge, discard 2 cards from the top of their deck to then look at the top 5 cards. Discard 2 more and put the other 3 back in any order.

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Emma Chen Age: 42, Debt: 5 Primary Sin: Envy Traits: Maternal, Cruel Attachments: Chaos (♣) 1, Darkness (♠) 0, Influence (♦) 1, Passion (♥) 1 Skills: Build 2, Convince 2, Exert 1, Fight 1, Know 2, Notice 1, Occult 1, Resist 2, Sneak 3, Survive 1 One of the most esteemed madams in the city, she has her run of most of the city with her girls. She takes care of them, but doesn't hesitate to exact revenge on those who have wronged her. If another trafficking ring pops up, she stops at nothing to absorb it into her circles, taking all of it for herself. Of course, Emma seldom handles the dirty work directly... that's what Jessica is for. Relationships ♦♦ Jessica Wang (Devious Coworkers): One of her favorite girls, multi-talented and fierce. She'll be the one to take over when Emma retires. ♦♦ Mike “Mooky” Harrison (Hostile Lovers): One of her current lovers. He hates her business, but sticks around anyway. ♦♦ Sly (Hostile Rivals): A small-time pimp who thinks he can compete with what Emma has built. He is wrong. ♦♦ Ronnie Chen (Intimate Family): Her brother who has come from China recently. She's taking her time to introduce him to the business. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ New Shiny: +1 bonus when attempting to take something from another person.

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Jessica Wang Age: 29, Debt: 5 Primary Sin: Wrath Traits: Athletic, Domineering Attachments: Chaos (♣) 2, Darkness (♠) 0, Influence (♦) 1, Passion (♥) 0 Skills: Build 1, Convince 1, Exert 3, Fight 2, Know 1, Notice 2, Occult 1, Resist 1, Sneak 1, Survive 1 She was always an angry girl, and ran away from home early on, only to find Emma Chen. She groomed Jessica to be one of the best whores in the city, using her johns to take out her aggression... especially if they tried to get away without paying. Either way, the physicality of the business attracted Jessica. Lately, she's graduated to helping run the books and chaperoning with other girls as their muscle. It's less fun, but she still gets to occasionally spill some blood. Relationships ♦♦ Emma Chen (Devious Coworkers): The madam she reports to, but she looks at her more like the mother she always wanted. ♦♦ Diego Romero (Hostile Rivals): He seems nice, but comes off pretty snarky. If he steals another one of her johns, there will be blood. ♦♦ Summer (Intimate Coworker): Jessica has recently become infatuated with one of the girls she chaperones. Love is blossoming but they must keep it a secret. ♦♦ Mimi Wang (Controlling Family): Whenever her mom calls, she can't help but do as she asks. One time she even made her wear a formal dress to a business party. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ Knuckles: When causing harm to something (or someone), they get a +2 raise. ♦♦ Destructive: May discard up to 3 cards for a +1 raise each during a Challenge to cause destruction.

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Lauren Williamson Age: 22, Debt: 5 Primary Sin: Pride Traits: Curious, Morbid Attachments: Chaos (♣) 0, Darkness (♠) 2, Influence (♦) 0, Passion (♥) 1 Skills: Build 2, Convince 1, Exert 1, Fight 1, Know 2, Notice 1, Occult 3, Resist 1, Sneak 1, Survive 1 When she was told of her family's hellborn heritage, the only thing Lauren could think was, "Of course they chose me." Once that was settled, she dove head first into the world of magic and mysticism, learning to discern real rituals from cutesy pop-culture spells.Whatever it takes to serve the Dark Lord is what she will do, with the exception of hurting her family, obviously. She loves to learn secrets from the living (by eavesdropping) or the dead (by performing unauthorized autopsies). She's a... colorful girl. Relationships ♦♦ Madison Bell (Devious Family): Madison used to be her brother, Michael; she loves her new sister, while the rest of the family has turned their backs on her. They have many secrets together. ♦♦ Sofia Fonseca (Hostile Mentor/Apprentice): When Lauren was a new hellborn, Sofia was the one who showed her the ropes. Then Lauren stole all the Dark Lord's favor, creating a rift between them. ♦♦ Ed Juarez (Devious Rivals): The two of them strive hard for the Dark Lord's approval, edging the other out from time to time. ♦♦ Zakk Winters (Controlling Friend of a Friend): She knows a guy who can get her drugs if she needs it. Lauren doesn't partake herself, but they are fine tools to use on others. Sinful Gifts ♦♦ Position: +1 bonus when using status to their advantage during a Challenge. ♦♦ Face to Face: Discard cards until a face card or Ace is reached and use that for the Challenge.

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Index A

G

Advancement...51 Attachments....20, 26, 53

Giving In....51

H Healing...48 Hellborn duties....10

B Bonus...50 Bounding Back...48 Breaking the Dark Hold...11

C Choosing to Fail...50 Conflict Challenges...46

D Debt....26, 52 Deck Etiquette...42 Difficulty...43 Discarding Cards....49 Drop...50

E Extras....63

F Framing Scenes....58

76

Lord’s

J Jokers....44, 48

L Life of a hellborn....8 Lurch...42, 51

M Marks....51 Motivating the Characters...60

P Passing Down the Curse...52 Penalty...50 Primary Sin...15, 52

R Raise....50 Reasons to become a hellborn...5 Relationships...21, 53 Resisting the Dark Lord....

S

T

Sample Dark Lords....36 Sample hellborn....64 Scene Types...59 Secret Challenges...44 Series Challenge...49 Seven Deadly Sins....7 Shuffling...42 Sold Contracts....10 Sinful Gifts Starting....16 Avarice.....28 Envy....28 Gluttony.....29 Lust....30 Pride.....30 Sloth.....31 Wrath....32 Skills....24, 26, 43 Soul Master...58

Taken Out....47 Taking it to the Supernatural...61 Teamwork...50 Themes....55 Tones...56 Traits....18

V Virtuous Path....12, 17

W Who are the Hellborn?.....5 Who is the Dark Lord?....32 Wounds...46

77

Sins of the Father

Age

Name Primary Sin

Traits

Debt

Chaos

Darkness Influence

Passion

Sinful Gifts Name:____________ Effect:___________________________ _________________________________________________ Name:____________ Effect:___________________________ _________________________________________________ Name:____________ Effect:___________________________ _________________________________________________ Name:____________ Effect:___________________________ _________________________________________________

Relationships Name:____________ Type:___________________________ Description:_______________________________________ _________________________________________________ Name:____________ Type:____________________________ Description:_______________________________________ _________________________________________________ Name:____________ Type:____________________________ Description:_______________________________________ _________________________________________________ Name:____________ Type:____________________________ Description:________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Name:____________ Type:____________________________ Description:_______________________________________ _________________________________________________

Build

Wounds

Convince

Wounds

Exert

Wounds

Fight

Wounds

Know Notice Occult Resist Sneak Survive

Wounds Wounds Wounds Wounds Wounds Wounds

Dark Lord Traits:_____________________ ___________________________ Communication:______________ ___________________________ Sacrifices:___________________ ___________________________ Goals:______________________ ___________________________

Task Log

Keep track of the missions you have performed for the Dark Lord. Mission 1:_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Mission 2:_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Mission 3:_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Mission 4:_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Mission 5:_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ ©2016 Third Eye Games. Sins of the Father and its systems are the trademark of Third Eye Games. Permission granted to photocopy for personal use only.