▽ CAIN

12. ANOMALIES

20 min read

ANOMALIES

Anomalies are the failures of mankind made manifest. They typically appear when someone with naturally high levels of grace suffers a traumatic event, the influx of emotion rapidly expanding their psychic potential to levels that their body and mind cannot handle, as their powers warp or even rip free of their body.

In essence, anomalies manifest when CAIN cannot locate a potential executioner in time. It is CAIN’s duty to shepherd these individuals and each anomaly is a failure of its purpose. The manifestation of anomalies is very rare in society in general, though troublingly this rate, and the percent of humans affected by grace in general, is increasing slowly but inexorably over time.

Most people cannot see anomalies, though some anomalies are partly visible to graceless humans, who find the information hard to process. Humans can always sense the presence of anomalies without sight of them, though they may describe them as ghosts, evil spirits, or malevolent presences.

MANIFESTATION

The appearance of an anomaly is only predictable insofar as they appear after trauma, emotional intensity, or great suffering. Otherwise, it is highly random. They can appear even in individuals with no previous apparent psychic potential, or even post mortem after the death of their host (a common anomaly manifestation event is after someone is murdered).

Anomalies feed off the intense psychic experiences of their hosts and grow stronger the more intense these feelings are, whether pain, joy or pleasure. Over time they catalyze and begin to metabolize this energy faster and faster, eventually leading to an anomalous event.

ANOMALOUS EVENT

Anomalous Events always cause traumatic psychic veil rupture in a broad spectrum radius, which is instantly fatal to all humans and nearly all executioners, and may be antithetical to reality as we understand it. The anomaly at the center will undergo apotheosis, and typically undergo an evolution of some kind, prompting this cycle to repeat, with stronger and stronger anomalous events each time.

Fact: A Category 1 Anomalous Event covers the radius of about a city block! They do not scale linearly.

TYPE, FORM, CETERGORY

Anomalies have a broad range of appearances, from the monstrous, to the animalistic, to the incomprehensible. Some even appear human, or can inhabit or fuse with the bodies of their hosts, passing for human in some circumstances.

Anomalies are classified with the following: type, form, and category.

TYPE

Anomalies each have a type. As executioners are defined by their agendas and defiance, anomalies are defined by their type. CAIN assigns and names these types based on broad criteria. An anomalies’ type determines not only the kind of opponent executioners will be facing and its various abilities and details but also the tone of the story that the hunt tells.

The six types of anomalies are:

  • Ogre: A massive anomaly that feeds off despair and summons a choking miasma to cloak and smother the area.
  • Idol: A charismatic anomaly that manipulates and pulls strings from behind the scenes, forming a cult around itself.
  • Hound: The embodiment of rage, a hound usually manifests post-mortem - forming a grudge against a specific group of people and hunting them down violently.
  • Centipede: A vile anomaly drawing its power from hatred and escapism that is widely feared for its ability to infect and transform hordes of mundane humans.
  • Toad: Unusually intelligent anomalies that delight in material wealth, they covet what their host could not have, and steal to form a massive hoard from which they draw their power.
  • Lord: Appearing after their host suffers a calamity or tragedy, a lord appeals to their sense of nostalgia and loss, restoring them to their former glory and creating a parasitic pocket reality called a kingdom that slowly consumes the real world.

There are other beings that can also be classified as anomalies such as imagos, nascent anomalies formed from executioners that have suffered strain overflow, or traces, weaker monsters that are are product of a major anomalies’ manifestation and infest an area after its appearance.

FORM

Anomalies take one of three forms. The form of an Anomaly has no impact on its in-game capabilities.

  • Form I/Severed: The most common type, a severed anomaly is free acting to its host, a psychic being made manifest and acting with its own needs and desires. This form still has an innate connection to its host. It may not necessarily require its host to be alive (especially if it manifested post mortem), and may be either malicious or helpful to its host.

  • Form II/Fused: A fused anomaly has fused to its human hosts’ body or corpse, forming an amalgam being. The anomaly is typically but not always the dominant being in this arrangement. Form II anomalies vary in appearance, and can look very humanlike. Humans may sense something ‘off’ about the person even if they look normal.

WARNING: Perceiving a Form II anomaly that is not humanlike will cause unconsciousness or rapid onset cranial hemorrhage in graceless humans.

  • Form III/Bound: A rare form that occurs when a human or executioner is able to control and command a Form I or II anomaly. This anomaly may originate from their own body and mind, or may be bound separately.

Fact: Binders do not have any ‘official organization’. Any rumors to the contrary are unsubstantiated. Binding is punishable by expedited execution. Fortunately, executioners that practice this discipline are granted an indefinite stay of execution by CAIN as long as they are employed.

CATERGORY

Like executioners, anomalies are rated on a category system, from 0-7. Category 0 anomalies are weak comparatively, but still as strong as an average human. Category 1 and 2 anomalies are easily capable of overwhelming and killing a human.

Fighting a higher category anomaly may be hard, risky, or impossible depending on the category differences.

Category determines the scale and power of an anomalies’ abilities. A CAT 2 anomaly can produce an effect that can suffuse an entire room. A CAT 5 anomaly can produce an effect that suffuses an entire building.

MUNDANE WEAPONRY

Fighting an anomaly with mundane abilities or tools, such as human capabilities or the swords and sidearms of executioners, is always hard. It may even be even completely ineffective if the anomaly is many categories higher. To have a good shot at harming an anomaly, executioners will need to use their defiance, upgrade their service weapons, or get creative.

WARNING: DO NOT maintain eye contact with an anomaly for longer than three seconds.

POWERS AND ABILITIES

Anomalies are formed of pure psychic energy, a coalesced knot of dark emotions made flesh. Their existence is anathema to established reality, and their powers can warp and bend it at will. Their very presence degrades and eats away at the world for as long as they exist. It is therefore important that executioners proceed with haste.

  • Anomalies each have three domains. A domain is a core strength of the anomaly, granting them many powers.
  • Anomalies have tension moves that they can use each time the tension tag fills up - things like attacking the executioners or making the situation worse for them.
  • Anomalies have a pressure tag. This tag represents the degrading situation and fills up over time.
  • Anomalies have an execution tag. This tag informs how the anomaly acts in a combat or confrontation situation, as well as directly tracking its harm and physical state.
  • Finally, anomalies have traumas. These are the tragic, intense, or painful circumstances of their birth. Investigating and unveiling these traumas can drastically weaken the anomaly.

DOMAINS

A domain is a broad description of a power that an anomaly has, and the abilities that it grants. When the Admin creates an anomaly for a hunt, they will choose three domains for that anomaly. Each anomaly is therefore slightly different from another.

Domains grant several explicit powers, but can also be referred to when an Admin decides the theming of an anomalies’ attacks and abilities. An anomaly that relies on a domain of darkness to hide itself, such as an ogre, may therefore attack more with ambush attacks or shadow constructs than an ogre that relies on manipulating rot and mud.

PALACE

An anomalies’ palace is a pocket dimension, a lair of sorts where it is able to retreat and take refuge.

  • If an anomaly takes 4 slashes on its execution tag outside of its palace, it retreats there until pressure increases. It slips away, skulks off, or blinks out of existence. Then it heals 1d3, or 2d3 if the tag is full. It can never be executed outside.
  • Fighting an anomaly inside its palace forces an execution scene where it cannot flee.
  • Executioners can always forcibly summon an anomaly into its palace if they are inside and it is outside.

Details as to the look and feel of each anomalies’ palace are include in each anomalies’ description, but the Admin can improvise. A palace should represent an anomaly to some degree, or the things significant to their host. Since it draws on the human psyche, it can often resembles a mundane location, like a hotel or abandoned hospital.

TENSION MOVES

The Admin tracks the general passage of time and the tension of the hunt with the tension tag. It fills up at 3 slashes.

Tension increases when:

  • A scene passes.
  • A 1 result is rolled on a risk die, but no more than once a scene.

When the tag fills, the Admin can empty the tag, then pick one of the following tension moves to activate, or improvise based on the ones provided. Tension moves add complications or twists to the narrative and keep the executioners on their toes. Domains will often add new tension moves to the list or provide hints as to what kind of actions the Admin should take. Don’t regard these lists as proscriptive - rather as a guideline or spread of easily available choices.

The basic moves are:

Send minions/Ambush the executioners/Involve authorities/Separate someone/Force a difficult choice/Escalate the situation/Start or progress a ticking clock/Use a domain/Threaten or twist an NPC/Introduce a new obstacle.

  1. Send Minions Self explanatory - send minions after the executioners. Anomalies often have traces - lesser anomalies, or humans that follow their command, listed in each anomaly description. The Admin can use this tension move to have them show up in a scene unexpectedly - even when the executioners are otherwise preoccupied!

  2. Ambush the Executioners The anomaly attacks the executioners directly, often with the element of surprise. If fought this way, it is banished back to its palace if it takes 4 slashes on its tag or is reduced to 0. It must remain there until pressure increases.

  3. Involve Authorities CAIN is a clandestine organization that must operate below official notice. Whether through the actions of the executioners themselves attracting attention or through intervention by the anomaly or its forces, get the authorities involved - alert police or security, or even the military (if the scale is high enough).

  4. Separate Someone Send an executioner or important NPC somewhere dangerous or separated - like the anomalies’ palace, enemy territory, have them fall through a floor in a ruined building - force the executioners to split up or sidetrack.

  5. Force a Difficult Choice Make the executioners choose between two things they want or need, and take the other thing away once they have made their choice. For example, kill all the civilians trapped in the subway if they choose to chase after the anomalies’ host now, or let the anomalies’ host get away if they choose to save the civilians.

  6. Escalate the Situation Very simply, punch up the tension of the situation. If it’s a calm conversation with local authorities, it becomes a potential arrest. If it’s a simple car ride, the executioners are suddenly being tailed (by who?). Show the executioners they are not alone in the abandoned building. Start asking hard questions. Light a fire.

  7. Afflict the Executioners Give an executioner a random affliction from the anomaly sheet, or give them a hook with bad consequences attached such as harm, corruption, attention, or attrition.

  8. Start or Progress a Ticking Clock Write a tag for what it represents: air left in the room, time until the poison takes hold, number of innocents left alive, time until the bomb goes off. Write a tag with 2/3 segments for short, 4+ for long, the shorter the harder. Then fill it up, slashing it ether each time pressure increases (for a bigger situation) or each time a scene passes (for a smaller situation) or each time an action is taken by the executioners (for an immediate situation). It happens if the tag is full and would be slashed again. Executioners should be able to take action to ameliorate the situation, perhaps by filling up a competing tag, or removing slashes on the current one.

  9. Use a Domain Many anomalies have domains that give them specific tension moves, and can be easily referred to.

  10. Threaten or Twist an NPC Put crosshairs on an NPC, and pull the trigger if the executioners don’t react. Anomalies are supernatural forces with tremendous reach, and executioners strange, ill-socialized, and secretive investigators that are easy to dislike. Threaten to kill, steal, or warp an NPC. Change their attitude or show the effect of some corruption or supernatural force on them. Threaten to have them consumed by the forces beyond their control.

  11. Introduce a New Obstacle Put something in the path of the executioners - an unexpected police presence, a security system, a locked door, a broken bridge, a bevy of teeth gnashing monsters. Then let them figure it out.

PRESSURE

Pressure is the counterpart to tension. It represents the overall degrading situation, in a way unique to each anomaly. The nature of each anomalies’ pressure mechanic informs the tone of the game, and makes it so that executioners must choose how to spend their time wisely.

Pressure increases when the tension tag is full and is slashed again.. It goes from 0-6. Anomalies automatically add ticks on the pressure tag to their execution tag. Additionally, at 6+, pressure goes out of control. The anomaly gains +1 CAT, increasing its power and strength and likely making most actions harder against it. Each anomaly has a specific, secondary effect of the situation going out of control. This doesn’t prevent the executioners from fighting the anomaly, but makes it much harder.

The Admin can always refer to the pressure tag for the general state of emergency in the investigation. A situation at 2 pressure looks very different from a situation at 5.

TRAUMAS

Finally, each anomaly has 3 trauma questions that precipitated its birth. The questions are different for each anomaly type, but generally relate to the traumatic event that created the current situation. Admins can use those provided or write their own.

Executioners will be looking for these questions, since they can be used once to deal and reduce harm. The investigation will be formed around these three questions, so the Admin should make their answers information that is available within the investigation itself (perhaps with some legwork) and has tangible answers.

It’s much easier to start by using the existing trauma questions, but if they are not a good fit, always write questions that can be answered by people, places, or events in the investigation area itself.

THE EXECUTION TAG

During conflicts with an anomaly, the anomalies’ execution tag is used when fighting the anomaly directly.

The execution tag is the direct lifeblood of the anomaly, and must be filled up in order for it to be defeated.

  • When dealing direct harm to the anomaly, slash its tag.
  • The Tag equals 7+Pressure+CAT.
  • If an anomaly takes 4 slashes, or is reduced to 0 outside its palace, it retreats and must remain there until pressure increases. Then, it heals 1d3, or 2d3 if the tag is full.
  • When the tag fills up inside its palace, the anomaly is at the mercy of the executioners and can no longer fight. It may be dealt with or executed in any way they please.

When an anomaly is fought in a conflict scene, the anomaly uses the risk die rolled by an opponent as a reaction die.

1. ATTACKS

Direct harm to the opponents, with straightforward parameters (1: 5 slashes , 2-3: 3 slashes, 4+: 2 slashes). The Admin can improvise the descriptions on these based on the suggestions. They can also split the stress inflicted up amongst any number of targets in range.

2. COMPLICATIONS

Reactions can also create new obstacles, hazards, or change the parameters of the fight, making a change in the conditions until dealt with through the actions of the executioners. These are called complications. Complications can:

  • Make something hard.
  • Deal 1 stress at the end of the round to all executioners.
  • Make the anomaly take 1 less slash on its tag under certain circumstances.
  • Make the anomaly deal 1 more stress under certain circumstances.
  • Change the parameters of the fight.

The same effect cannot stack with itself.

Complications are worse and take more effort to deal with the worse the reaction die (5-6): 2 tag, (2-4): 4 tag. (1): 6 tag. An anomaly can add a complication up to three times per conflict scene total.

The circumstances of a complication should be specific and not apply all the time. For example: the floor is on fire, dealing 1 stress to all executioners who touch it, the anomalies’ fangs drip with poison, dealing +1 stress to unarmored executioners.

When using a complication, an anomaly might, for example:

  • Start moving incredibly fast, making it hard to harm without immobilizing it or pinning it down.
  • Create a cloud of choking smog, dealing 1 stress a round to all executioners.
  • Create a thickened carapace (take 1 less slash until dealt with).
  • Spew thick black sludge over an executioner, dealing +1 stress to them until dealt with.
  • Move the fight into moving traffic.
  • Move the fight into a crowd of mundane humans.

Complications can represent a slowly worsening situation, in which case set out a tag of either 2 (short) or 4 (long) length and slash it every round, with some outcome if it isn’t dealt with. Get rid of the tag if the complication is dealt with.

3. THREATS

The Admin may have an anomaly threaten to do something more severe than an immediate reaction, giving the executioners a chance to react.

  • An anomaly can threaten executioners once a round.
  • Threats can deal more severe consequences than simple reactions.

When a threat is deployed, one executioner immediately has a chance to make an action roll to negate the threat. This doesn’t take their action for the round, and any executioner can act, even one that has already acted this round. The action roll has no other result other than negating the threat, and negates it on at least one success. It’s otherwise a normal roll, and could have consequences or provoke a new reaction from the anomaly.

Threats can, if executed:

  • Inflict harm: (1): An injury, (2-3) 5 stress. (4-6) 3 stress.
  • Separate an executioner completely, or
  • Afflict an executioner, or
  • Cause collateral damage, or
  • Massively change the parameters of the fight.

For example, an anomaly can threaten to:

  • Crush an executioner in claws (stress).
  • Psychically afflict an executioner.
  • Collapse a building (change the fight, cause collateral damage, deal stress to all executioners).
  • Massacre bystanders.
  • Trap an executioner behind a psychic wall (separate an executioner).
  • Hurl an executioner into traffic (stress, separate executioner).

As always, the admin can refer to the risk die for the severity of these outcomes.

4. SEVERE ATTACKS

A severe attack is a limited but much more powerful attack that typically inflicts more harm, conditions, or even injuries or hooks on executioners. When an anomaly makes a severe attack, it immediately initiates a challenge that anyone can participate in, interrupting the normal round order. The challenge is described in the attack. It can only be used once a hunt!

OTHER REACTIONS

Anomalies don’t necessarily have to take the above two reactions, but could take any other action that the Admin deems appropriate, using the result of the risk die as a guide: (1/2: Strongest reaction, 3/4/5: medium reaction, 6: Weak reaction).

TRACES

Some anomalies create traces: echoes or reflections of an anomaly - in effect, lesser anomalies themselves. Traces also have an execution tag, but they are typically much weaker than an anomaly.

Like anomalies themselves, traces don’t have an action and only act in reaction to player rolls. If fought alongside an anomaly, once a round, they can take a free reaction after a player acts, rolling their own reaction die. Otherwise, the admin must choose to take a reaction with either the anomaly or its traces - not both.

MAKING AN ANOMALY

Making an anomaly is a pretty straightforward process.

  1. The Admin picks the anomalies’ type from the six available.
  2. The Admin chooses the form of the anomaly (1, 2, or 3). This is purely for theme.
  3. The Admin picks a category for the anomaly, from 0-7. Typically, executioners are dispatched to fight anomalies of equal or lesser category, and are rarely dispatched to fight higher category anomalies unless the situation is dire.
  4. Figure out who the anomalies’ host is, what the basic hook for the investigation is, and answer the anomalies’ three trauma questions or write your own.
  5. Figure out the location and appearance of the anomalies’ palace. It should always be in the investigation area and accessible to executioners. In essence, the executioners are looking for these to end the hunt - it is their primary goal.
  6. Pick three domains for the anomaly.
  7. Review the anomalies’ abilities and name the anomaly.

For all these steps, the Admin can refer to the hunt sheet and the info sheet for each anomaly, where there are numerous suggestions and thematic details.

FLESHING OUT AN ANOMALY

Outside of the rules presented, the Admin can flesh out the anomaly with theming and details, based on the suggestions on the anomalies’ sheet provided. An Admin doesn’t have to follow these to the letter and can write their own attacks, complications, threats, etc or improvise on the fly. Some good questions to ask:

  • How does it fight?
  • How does it speak?
  • What is it’s relationship like with its host?
  • What does it enjoy or go out of its way to experience?
  • What does it avoid or hate?
  • What thing will send it into a rage if mentioned?
  • How does it treat the executioners: as a nuisance, foes, or with pity?

Anomalies all have a basic level of theming and were always created with strong negative emotions. An Admin can use these as a jumping off point.

CREATING AN INVESTIGATION

Working off the details of the anomaly the admin should create an investigation (see Creating Investigations in 10. RUNNING CAIN for details) for the executioners. The key points of the investigation are:

  • The inciting incident where the anomaly was created.
  • The basic situation at present.
  • The anomalies’ host and their state and location.
  • The location of the anomalies’ palace.
  • The anomalies’ three trauma questions.

FIGHTING MULTIPLE ANOMALIES

The Admin may want to make an investigation where multiple anomalies are present. Normally one anomaly is complicated enough to run, but an Admin can run an investigation with two anomalies if they are feeling like adding a twist. If they do, do the following:

  • Halve all execution tags.
  • The palace of the two anomalies is shared - a fused reality. It may reflect the natures of both of the anomalies and their hosts combined. Executioners therefore still only have one palace to track down, and when they fight the anomalies inside the palace they will fight both at once.
  • In an conflict scene, the Admin still only takes one reaction at once.
  • The Admin can only activate one tension move at once between both anomalies.

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