Beneath Cold Boughs

The Story

All the secrets found so far.

Season 1 - Things Fall Apart

1. Things Fall Apart - Strange happenings in Willowgate Arcade lead three souls down a very dark path.

Season 2 - The Widening Gyre

1. In Bloom - Four weeks have passed since the incident with the Tree, those involved have tried to forget and get on with their lives but nothing is that easy.
2. Down Among the Worms - Diana and Jane encounter someone who may actually know what has happened to them, and Condor Acquisitions gains a new contract as a first step toward Empire.
3. Seeping Through the Skin - Morris trails the Tree and bites off more than he can chew as things begin to spin out of control.
4. The Upside Down - Diana and Jane deal with the aftermath of Morris' rampage and find more layers to the mysteries and strangeness of the world they have descended into.
5. Intrusions and Invitations - Repercussions continue, accidents happen and an invitation behind the curtain is recieved.
6. At the Court of the Rose and Cross - The Children meet Lane and her Court and deals are struck.
7. Ripples on the Pond - Diana and Jane have a quiet week while Morris recuperates, but peace and quiet can only last a short while before breaking.
8. The Fire and the Fury - An attack on one of the Children is an attack on all of them, and revenge is wrought in fire, blood and pain.
9. In the Ashes - The aftermath of a night's violence and Diana closes her grip on Presidents Row.
10. Stepping Inside - Condor Acquisitions joins the Ormwood Development family.
11. Conversations With Friends - Diana has a night at the opera she will not forget, and Morris finds himself the target of police investigations.
12. Ex Post Facto: - The firebombing of Morris' home leads Det. Mayou and Lownthal to begin digging deeper into the shady details of his life.
13. Escalation - The feud with the AL deepens as Morris' family is kidnapped.
14. Through the Caul – Jane sees another side to the world in Ashton Park, while Morris throws himself into work to hide the hole where his family should be.
15. Blood Will Out – Morris finds purpose in brutality, and answers in the dark beneath an archway in dreams.
16. Negotiation – The Children escape a botched ambush with materiel and a hostage to interrogate.
17. Knowest Thou – Morris begins to carve his mark into Ormwood while Jane and Diana prepare to meet SGSS.
18. Answers and Questions – Contact is made with SGSS, and answers are obtained along with a lot more questions.
19. Ignition – Morris and Jane begin working down The List of possible AL informants.
20. Iron and Blood – Jane pursues the Cranemaker intent on both answers and justice, and gains a little of each.
21. By Fire Unbound - Morris and Price pursue Eddie Carter and face more than they can handle.
22. Charlie Foxtrot -
23. The Offered Hand -

Dramatis Personae

The Children of the Tree

The Lairs of the Children of the Tree

Three people united by an event they do not understand, driven by new, alien hungers and thrust into a world where secrets cut and ignorance kills.

• Diana Graves - Ruthless property flipper. Amateur empire builder. Partner at Condor Acquisitions.
• Morris Mayfair - Former small businessman. Amateur boxer. Brute with moments of surprising insight.
• Jane Barrows - Child of Willowgate family business owners, trying to get out.

Ormwood Development and Contractors

• Alan Coleman - President of Ormwood Development. Avaricious, tenacious and dancing to an unknown master's tune.
• Melanie Roth - VP of External Affairs. Deals with Condor Acquisitions, among others. Dislikes Diana. Fed to vampires.
• Hank Torres - Foreman working for Ormwood Development Ltd. Has seen some shit but needs the money too bad to back away now.

Other Characters

• Carmine - Smooth, sharp-dressed, needle-sharp, also definitely a wizard.
• 'Big' Jimmy Martin - Legitimate businessman, childhood friend of Mayfair.
• Nicole Morgan - Occult book store owner, some sort of monster.
• Krystal Garner - Cagey college student who sought self-defence lessons from Morris.
• Hecate - Mysterious entity who Watches.
• Daniel Matthews - PI hired by Mayfair to investigate Graves. Tall, well-dressed, quiet, African.
• Mel - Curious, academic, definitely a wizard. Fascinated by ley lines and geomancy.
• David Price - Head of Security for Condor Acquisitions. Stoic, taciturn and consumately professional.
• Quinn - Rough-edged tomboy werewolf, Nicole's housemate.
• Fred Spears - Ex-custodian of Willowgate. Resilient, southern, African-American, no fucks to give.
• Laylah Spenser - Organiser for Save Old Ormwood campaign. Large, middle-aged, smiling, mixed-race lady.
• Suleiman - Mage, architect, Mel's master. Stern, serious, concealing curiosity and political will.

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  Carmine

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  Daniel Matthews

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  Krystal Garner

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  Layla Spenser

• Mel.jpeg

  Mel

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  Nicole

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  Price

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  Suleiman

Notable Locations

• Willowgate Arcade - Site of Mayfair Tobacconists, Barrows Groceries, and a dozen other businesses. Soon to be demolished.
• Imperial Building - <ADDRESS>, location of Condor Acquisitions new headquarters (FLOOR)
• Presidents Row - Neighbourhood within Ormwood, site of a new project for Condor Acquisitions on behalf of Ormwood Development

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OOC Info

The setting is Ormwood, a neighbourhood of the city of Blackmouth, New England. Ormwood was once a pleasant town in its own right before being absorbed by Blackmouth in the early 20th Century, and has been going downhill almost since then. A century ago it was a place where well-heeled types lived to avoid the sprawl of the growing city, full of elegant townhouses, European-style monumental architecture and wide, tree-lined avenues. These days many of the townhouses are tenements, the architecture is blackened by traffic smoke and graffiti and the trees choked by smoke and neglect.

The starting point of focus for the chronicle will the Willowgate Arcade, a 19th century indoor mall once noted for its neoclassical architecture and a focal point of the centre of Ormwood in its heyday but now fallen far and intended to be demolished soon as part of a much-vaunted renovation of the area.

(real world example - Queens Arcade but older, taller and wider)

Characters

This is chronicle will be starting with mortal characters who will over the course of the story be crossing over into Beast the Primordial. It is intended to be be character focused but the GM is very rusty so asks that you bear with her.

Characters should be connected to the Willowgate Arcade, such as someone who works there or otherwise has a reason to be in the arcade. Even a customer is fine, but ideally a regular or a local rather than someone there just on a whim.

Characters are standard mortal characters made according to Chronicles of Darkness rules (5/4/3 attributes, 11/7/4 skills, 7 merits). Try to make normal sorts of people, the GM will ask for explanations for attributes above 3, or skills or merits above 2.

Character backgrounds are very much appreciated and so will earn extra XP. The best way to do this would be to answer some of these character background questions:

• 20 Questions for Deep Character Creation: +1 XP for v. basic answers, +1 additional for full answers and answering all GM followup questions.
• 100 Questions to ask your character: +2 XP for v. basic answers, +2 additional for full answers and answering all GM followup questions.