Cassius the Vampire, Ch. 4

Cassius becomes the hunted

CW: assault, violence, murder, blood,

Intended for mature audiences

Table of Contents

Pre-Chapter Notes:

I’m not going to post the character sheet at the top of every chapter like I have been doing. I’ll just link the previous post: (Remember, the most updated character sheet will be at the end of the post)

Amon the Vampire, Ch. 3

This will reduce clutter and the space that having two character sheets per post take up. The most updated character sheet will now always be posted at the end of the chapter.

If you’ve found yourself here and are intrigued, the Subscribe button is at the bottom of the post.

Now, onto the chapter!

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Roll 1d10 - 1d6 = 10 - 6 = +4 → Prompt #17

A new religion was growing. Only a few hundred years old, with a scattering of believers over Rome, believing in one almighty God. Christianity. I was curious, considering I’d possibly met two gods already, Osiris and Sekhmet. These were likely just fools with wrong-headed ideas, but I met with a Christian and read from his Bible.

Immediately, I felt sick to my stomach. I felt pain. I flung the book away and attacked the man who’d given it to me, ripping him into pieces. These Christians were strange creatures and their magic was dangerous to me.

I used my power and influence to turn the Roman aristocracy against them. It wasn’t hard, the fools refused to sacrifice and partake in the Roman traditions, making them enemies of Diocletian already. In 303, he published his first edict against them. I hoped it would destroy them.

I check the skill Literacy.

Roll 1d10 - 1d6 = 3 - 4 = -1 → Prompt # 16

Some mortals have banded together to hunt you, well-armed and wise to your tricks. How do you defeat or evade them? Create a mortal hunter related to one of your checked skills. Check a skill.

Though my Servitors brought victims to feed on in my home when needed, there were nights I still went out to hunt. On one such night, I was attacked and nearly killed. A band of mortal hunters, bearing Bibles, crosses and weapons. They interrupted me as I fed on a drunk in an alley, surrounding me.

“Foul creature of darkness!” the leader called out, brandishing a sword. “We will send you back to Hell, demon!”

I ran and they gave chase, until I slipped into the shadows and hid.

“Where’d he go, Seth?” one hunter asked the leader.

“He’s gone back into his hole for now but fear not. God is with us. We shall find and destroy him.”

I create the mortal hunter, Seth, a Christian vampire-hunter. I check the skill Hiding.

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Roll: 1d10 - 1d6 = 10 - 1 = +9 → Prompt #25

My methods for feeding had been interrupted. My Servitors could no longer take people off the streets without notice and I could no longer hunt at night with Seth and his band hunting me. In a frenzy, I take out the centuries-old potions I’d had for as long as I could remember. I did not know how I acquired them, but I drank them, all of them, hoping they would do…something. I found myself…changing, my body shifting. I became a wolf, a bat, and other animals, until I collapsed and passed out. Afterward, I found I could change into these other animals at will. With this new power, I changed into a bat at night and was able to elude hunters and feed on sleeping beggars.

I lose the resource Potions and gain the skill Shapeshifting.

Photo by Vikram Nair on Unsplash

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Roll: 1d10 - 1d6 = 1 - 1 = 0 → Prompt #25.2

Shapeshifting took a toll on my body and I found I needed to strengthen my body. I exercised and lifted weights. I became tough and muscular. I conditioned my body into iron. I was able to shapeshift more often and for longer periods of time. But I felt myself losing bits and pieces, the more I shifted. There were times I felt more animal than man, and I lost a memory.

I gain the skill Healthy Constitution and lose a memory of my time in the Qattara Depression.

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Roll: 1d10 - 1d6 = 8 - 4 = +4 → Prompt #29

You are exposed as a monster and flee to a far off land. Lose any stationary resources. You do not know the language of this new place-how do you overcome this obstacle? What new name do you take?

The worst has happened…

Post-Chapter Notes:

This was an extremely fun chapter. Considering the time in history, I knew I wanted to bring up Christianity, especially since it’s always been tied to Vampires in fiction. The prompts here really helped create a storyline for Rome and has perfectly led into a flight from Ancient Rome to a new land, which leads me into asking all you fine readers a question.

Where should Cassius flee to? After a short bit of research looking at other big empires around this time, I’ve found The Sassanid Persian Empire, The Western Jin Empire, and the Gupta Empire. Comment below where you think Cassius should end up! Also, if you have other ideas about where he could go, drop them in the comments! The area with the most comments/votes will be where Cassius ends up.

In order to give time to gather input on this, I’ll be taking a break from continuing the campaign next week and instead will be a post analyzing how it’s gone so far.

• Name: Amon, Cassius

• Time Period: 303 AD

• Location: Italy

• Skills:

  • Performing rituals (X)

  • Literacy (X)

  • Diplomacy ( )

  • Bloodthirsty ( )

  • Ashamed (X)

  • Humans are cattle ( )

  • Humans are tools (X)

  • Fighting ( )

  • Hiding (X)

  • Shapeshifting ( )

  • Healthy Constitution ( )

• Resources

  • A modest home

  • Small gold statue of Osiris

  • Ritual scrolls

  • Potions

  • Servitors of the Lineage

  • Spear

  • Ruins

  • Diary Scrolls

• NPCs

  • Mortals

    • Chione, a female servant in the temple,

    • Amr, the high priest of the temple, dead by my hand

    • Jabari, my brother, a scribe, died during the time I was enslaved for a 100 years

    • Mido, a lowly peasant who wishes to become a vampire, was in my service in Alexandria

    • Hanan, a village woman who loved me and I forced her to kill her family, she burned my Diary Scroll and I forgave her, she fled with me to Italy when the army came for me

    • Seth, a Christian vampire-hunter trying to find and kill me

  • Immortals

    • Osiris, leader of a secret cult, claiming to be a god

    • Chione, a female servant in the temple, who I accidentally turned into a vampire

    • Sekhmet, ancient egyptian vampire who enslaved me for a 100 years

    • Drusa, a strix, who recognized me as a fellow immortal, we fought and she took my spear but I managed to escape, she converted my companion to attack me but I escaped again,

• Marks

  • A hole my chest that doesn’t bleed but doesn’t heal

• Memory 1

  • 303 AD: I drink centuries-old potions and gain a new skill, shape-shifting, which helps me elude hunters and find prey to feed on.

  • 303 AD: To sustain and increase my shape-shifting abilities, I train my body but lose bits of myself the more I shape-shift and lose a Memory.

• Memory 2

  • 80 AD: I find a new outlet in painting the walls of my hut and finding some peace within the beauty.

  • 85 AD: A group of mortals attacks me and burns my hut to the ground, I kill them all in their sleep as revenge.

  • 90 AD: An army comes after me, I flee with my things and Hanan to Italy and take a new name, Cassius.

• Memory 3

• Memory 4

  • 95 AD: In a small Italian village, another immortal, a strix named Drula, attacks me, takes my spear and I hide from her.

  • 95 AD: Drusa turns Hanan against me, Hanan uses my old spear to nearly kill me, I express how ashamed I am and she can’t finish the job, I flee.

• Memory 5

  • 295 AD: Over 300 years, the Servitors of the Lineage, created by a servant I did not remember, Mido, serve me and my interests as I grow in wealth and influence in Rome.

  • 303 AD: I kill a Christian after reading his bible and help turn the Roman aristocracy against Christians.

  • 303 AD: A Christian vampire-hunter named Seth comes after me.

• Diary

• Lost Memories

  • Amr

    • 30 BC: Amr honors me with a small, golden statue of Osiris, I am grateful and display it in my house.

    • 30 BC: Working late with Amr at the temple one night, I am overcome with hunger and murder him, drinking his blood.

  • Chione

    • 30 BC: Chione and I begin a secretive romantic partnership, I show her some of my scrolls and read to her.

    • 30 BC: Chione sees me bloodied and we fight, I end up turning her into a vampire like myself.

  • Mido

    • 70 AD: A peasant called Mido has been following me and wants to be like me, he enters into my service.

  • Jabari

    • 30 BC: Jabari has dinner with me in my home and we discuss our worries about the war and what will happen between Rome and Egypt as Octavian’s army approaches the city.

    • 30 BC: Jabari witnesses me drinking blood from rats and discovers my condition, he promises to help me, bringing me potions.

  • How I became a Vampire

    • 30 BC: Osiris performed a dark ritual, pulling my heart out of my chest, consuming it, and having me drink his blood, I have changed into a Vampire.

  • My life before a Vampire and the decades soon after

    • 30 BC: Publicly, I am Amon, priest of Osiris, responsible for performing rituals at a temple in Alexandria, privately I am part of a secret cult led by a figure claiming to be Osiris.

    • 70 AD: A creature or goddess, Sekhmet the Bloodthirsty, enslaves me and uses me for dark purposes for a hundred years, I finally use a ritual to escape her clutches.

    • 95 AD: I find solace from my hunger in observing human lives in Rome, it brings me peace for a time.

  • My Time in The Qattara Depression

    • 70 AD: Disgusted with myself, I flee to the Qattara Depression to seclude myself from society in a cave

    • 80 AD: A woman named Hanan finds me and visits me over the years, becoming a close companion, I force her to kill her family when she resists me.

    • 85 AD: Hanan burns my Diary Scroll in anger, I do not remember what I’ve lost and I forgive her.

Next Chapter → Chapter 5: Amrit loses his humanity