Previews - Fiction
- Scenarios - Cults
- Miscellany
The Skywatchers
by Lowell Boston
The Followers of the Western Skies are strange and enigmatic
gunslingers who come from the Crown Empire. They are as silent
in speech and tread as they are quick to the draw and keen of
eye. The Skywatchers are best know as expert trackers, and for
being able to navigate by the stars themselves - in a sense they
are never lost. Some are rumored to have a highly developed sense
of smell, but nearly all Skywatchers are master observers of detail
in nearly all environments. Initiation into the Skywatcher Cult
is done at an early age. Children go through years of training
in the art of field craft, riding, armed and unarmed combat, astronomy
and history.
Faith
The Skywatchers worship the stars, and believe every man and
woman's destiny are written in them. They are also dedicated to
preparing themselves for the 'Final Alignment:' a prophesied event
when all stars are to come into an alignment, foretelling the...
'End of The World As We Know It'. All Skywatchers training and
craft are in preparation for this event.
Boons
Expertise - Veteran or Master Skywatchers are thought
to be able to hypnotize people, and/or employ magic on some level,
but their chief skills are those of tracking and gunslinging in
the defense of the weak and oppressed. The Skywatchers' rune symbol
is a pure Silver Star worn on their chest.
Over the years, specialty weapons in the form of firearms and
ammo were created for Skywatchers.
Shooting Irons - A six shooter revolver made from a black colored
Impervium alloy. As a revolver, Shooting irons give the user only
six shots per gun, but the rifling design of the barrel and the
balanced weight of the gun give the shooter far greater accuracy
and range. Shooting Irons take .45 caliber ammo and, as such,
are not clip loaded, but allow the user to custom load the barrel
with individual specialty bullets.
Skywatcher Ammo:
- Black Talons - Slightly longer than the average
.45, Black Talons contain a small fragmentation charge in the
head of the bullet. Though not enough to penetrate Impervium
armor, it can conduct the energy of its blast through the alloy
to break bones or render its target unconscious. The fragments
can also inflict unprotected areas with multiple lacerations.
- Arcers - .45 ammo inlaid with fins in a corkscrew
design along the slug. When fired correctly, the fins snap out,
giving the ammo the ability to arc around corners and over or
under objects. The shooter must fire the slug with a deft snap
of the wrist to curve the Arcer in the direction they want.
- Ricochet Slug - .45 slug with a soft, porous
clay-like head. When fired, the Ricochet slug will 'bounce'
off any hard substance it comes into contact with (stone, brick,
marble, etc.) solidifying only when it contacts a soft body
(flesh, soft ground, some woods). Rico Slugs can continue to
rebound up to thirty seconds after they are fired, after which
their kinetic energy is expired.
- Glass Bullets - Slugs with a strange glass-like
casing. When fired, the Philosopher's Stone pin embedded in
the head infuses whatever it hits with a transparent property.
Up to two feet of solid stone can become transparent for up
to ten seconds. Skywatchers have found this useful in finding
out where potential enemies may be hiding, to be followed by
firing a nasty Arcer slug at their foe.
- Silvers - Slugs of Black Clay encased in
a sheath of Silver. Silvers are the must accurate slug for a
Six shooter, and are also know for disrupting the healing powers
of Shifters. If the wound is severe enough in its location,
Silvers may even kill a Shifter with one shot.
- Dragon's Breath - Slugs that explode into
bright flares of light. If shot into the sky, they can clearly
illuminate a 200 yard area. Dragon slugs will also explode as
a bright flare of light if simply throw to the ground or against
a solid object. They may be good weapons to shoot at opponents
to find them in the dark, temporary blind them, or to mask ones
escape.
Shooting irons can also take Bloodburn slugs and Cold Lead.
High Silver Star - Quite possibly the Sky watcher's greatest
weapon. The Silver Star is both the symbol of their cult and the
center of their power. Journeymen (an apprenticed Skywatcher who
has taken an enemies life in the line of duty) to veteran Skywatchers
have the ability to 'Shoot with their mind'... While holding one
hand over their Star ,the Skywatcher can focus their will, through
the Silver Star, allowing them to perform feats of incredible
accuracy. All of this takes a considerable amount of will from
the Skywatcher. Experienced Skywatchers can perform this task
with less exertion, while a novice may be thrown into a deep state
of exhaustion their first time.
Anathema
Preparation for the Final Alignment is foremost on the mind of
all qualified Skywatchers. Signs are sought, analyzed and read
in all things. The quest for knowledge is ongoing; a keen eye
and a sharp mind as their greatest tools. Failure to pursue this
quest, especially in favor of personal goals, is their greatest
sin.
History
The Skywatchers are a cult of soldier-alchemist-inventors. They
have parted in several ways from the Crown Church, and are both
feared (by the powers that be) and respected. As such, the first
Skywatcher, Roman Carson, a rogue Captain known for his tracking
ability, unorthodox battle tactics and sharp sense of observation,
was given command of a far outpost on a distant south eastern
corner of the empire.
However, it was there that he was able to set up his first observatory
and began his charting and watching of the stars. Soon, he began
to be known for his uncanny ability to predict the weather, the
seasons, and was using this ability to defend the people from
(and eventually attack and track) the roving bands of bandits
and shifters threatening the Crown's borders.
Soon, Carson was attracting bands of maverick alchemist and inventors
to the outpost, brilliant men and woman who wasted little time
in pooling their knowledge together. In five years, Carson's steady
observation of the stars, the weather and seasons lead him to
believe that a great Alignment was approaching, and that such
an event could only mean the 'End of All things As We Know It'.
For this purpose, the Skywatcher's founded an Academy to advance
their activities. Families began to settle around the outpost,
and their children were inducted and trained in preparation for
the Final Alignment. As they graduated to be qualified Skywatchers,
they were sent out over the lands to build their own outposts,
gather knowledge and to prepare for the Final Alignment. Presently
there are about a dozen Skywatcher Observatories throughout the
land. Agents also operate in Erebus. It is believed that the actions
of several cults will play active parts in the Alignment, for
both good and ill.
Allies
The Huntsmen (a werewolf cult), and it is said that the Skywatchers
have a lose affiliation with the Wayfarers
Enemies
The Skywatchers do not have any out right enemies, though they
may view the Order of the Moth and the Cult of the Serpent with
suspicion.
Previews - Fiction
- Scenarios - Cults
- Miscellany |
