THE COVENANT

BY MATT fORBECK
(REDITS
Written and Designed by: Matt Forbeck
Editing: Patrick Kapera
Cover: Cris Dornaus
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Proofreading: Patrick Kapera
Special Thanks to: Amber Buchheit, Martin Forbeck, Leticia Hayler, Ann
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Dedicated to: Sister Cabrini, Father Steve Zwettler, Sister Veronica, Sister Digna,
Sister Mary Victoria, Sister Mary Dennis, Father Lange, and all the other
Catholics that have made a difference in my life.
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TABLE Of CONTENTS
ON THE SIDE Of RIGHT .................. 4 WORLD WIDE (OVENANT .............. 44 THE GUIDE'S HANDBOOK .., ...... .101
Welcome ......................... .5
The Great Mistake
of '89 ........... ....... .......... 5
My Mission Here ........... .7
IN THE 8E6INNIN6 .......................... 8
The Original Covenant..9
The Order of the
Covenant .................... 9
We All Have
Our Crosses .............. 11
The Covenant
is Formed .. ................ 14
JOINING THE (OVENANT ................ 16
It's an Exclusive Club .. 17
The Long, Hard Road .. 17
The Grace of God ... ..... 18
Delta-Corne-Lately ...... 19
OUR WORK .1111 20
We're on a
Mission from God .... 21
Our Duty ........................ 22
Rail Against
the Night.. .................. 23
The Darker Side ........... .28
MYSTERIOUS WAYS ...................... .30
Welcome to the Club .... 31
The Delta
Armageddon ............ 34
AMERIUN GOTHIL .................... .36
The Way It
Used to Be ............... .37
The Covenant
in the 20
th
Century .... 38
The Schism .................... 39
The Covenant in
America Today ....... .40
God Is Everywhere ..... .45
Asia ......... ....... ................ 45
(HAPTER TWO:
Australia ... .................... .47
THE TRUTH Of THE MATTER ..102
Africa ............................. .47
Time to Be Good! .. ... ... 103
Europe ............................ 47
The Scandal ............. ... 103
The Middle East.. ......... .50
North America .............. 52
Sinning ........................ 104
Covenant Leaders ...... 105
South and Central
Vampires ...................... 106
America ................ .. ... .53
Deaders ......... ............. .. 106
fOES Of RIGHTEOUSNESS ............ ..54
Werebeasts .................. 106
Demons ... ..................... l08
The Ultimate Evil... ....... 55
Possessions and
Vampires ....................... .55
Exorcisms ................ 109
Deaders .......................... 56
Werebeasts .................... 57
Bargainers ...................... 57
Working with
the Enemy ................ l09
Demons .......................... 58
fOR GOODNESS SAKE:
Possessions ................... .59
A (OVENANT ADVENTURE ...... 110
(HAPTER ONE: THE AUTHOR'S AHERWORD ...... ..124
(OVENANT HEROES .................. 62 You Can Take the Kid
Holy Heroes! ................ 63 Out of the School....125
Do You Hear Religion and
the Call? ...... .............. 63 Roleplaying ............ 126
Joining the Covenant .. 64
Heroes of
Another God ............ 66
Covenant
Martial Arts .............. 66
Dressing the Part .......... 66
Weapons ........................ 66
Covenant Heroes ......... .74
Roman Catholic
Basics ............ .............. 76
Covenant Clergy .......... 76
The Sacraments ............ 78
The Hierarchy .............. 80
Covenant Orders .... ...... 80
Powers ............................ 82
Clerical Powers ............ 83
Covenant Powers .......... 87
Being Good .................... 94
ARCHETYPES ................................ 95
WILCOMI
My dear friends, welcome. Although
I may not know you personally at the
moment, we are all children of God
and as members of the Covenant,
are specially chosen emissaries of His
word. With that much in common
I believe that we will be friends if
we do meet.
AN INTRODUCTION
My name is Father Paul Joeson.
I'm a priest in Holy Roman Catholic
Church, and-just like you-I'm a
member of that legendary order of the
faithful known as the Covenant.
I was born in Brighton, Michigan,
back in 1958, right in the middle of the
Baby Boom generation. I grew up in a
strictly Catholic home, and I was raised
by my parents Jim and Mary Joeson,
along with my brother Luke and my
sister Bernadette.
I had a happy childhood. I attended
12 years of Catholic school and served
as an altar boy for several of those.
When it came time to go to college, I
decided to go to Marquette University
in Milwaukee. After a couple years
under the watchful eyes of my
JesUIt professors, I decided that the
priesthood was for me, so I applied to
the Holy Name Seminary near
Madison, Wisconsin, and was
accepted.
Soon after I got out of the seminary, I
was assigned to St. Patrick's Cathedral
in Crescent City. It was a real honor to
be one of the associates at the newest
cathedral in America, and I quickly
found that the post was everything I
could have hoped for-and quite a bit
more.
Our parishioners had a palpable
hunger for the grace of God, and I was
happy to be able to help them find it.
Right from the moment I first set foot
in St. Patrick's, I knew that I had made
the right decision in heeding the Lord's
call to the vocation of the priesthood.
Some time after that, though, I was
given some small cause to regret it.
1"1 GRIAT MISTAKI Of '89
I was in Atlanta for a conference of
Catholic priests when the Soviets
discovered that Delta Prime unit in the
then-glowing ruins of Chernobyl.
Fortunately, the hotel in which we
were meeting was on the outskirts of
town, miles away from ground zero.
I remember that day better than just
about any other in my life. It was a
fateful time for myself, my country,
and my calling.
We only had about 25 minutes of
warning before the bombs fell on the
city. There was really no time to get
away, but that didn't stop people from
trying. The streets were clogged with
cars, bikes, motorcycles-any kind of
conveyance to get people as far away
from downtown Atlanta as possible.
Even the streets were jammed,
packed with people running toward a
safety they knew in their hearts they
would never reach. Women were
screaming. Children were crying
everywhere. The young and the old
were being trampled underfoot.
They were all dead. They knew it.
We-the priests who had gathered
for a closing mass in St. Michael's,
ending the conference-knew it too.
But we were prepared to deal with the
oncoming darkness.
Well, most of us were ready. Even
priests are only human, after all.
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AWAITING ARMAGfDDON
Of course, not everyone in the city
was ready to trample each other to get
to safety. Some realized the how
fruitless such an effort was bound to
be, and in their moment of need, they
turned to the church.
Within minutes, the confessionals
were clogged to overflowing, and
every available priest was hearing
confessions in the pews. People spoke
openly, not caring who could hear
them now. And then they begged for
forgiveness and wept without shame.
When the bombs actually hit, we
were still all ministering to our flock.
Bishop Herndon was taking the
extremely unorthodox action of
administering a group version of
extreme unction to everyone in the
building when all Hell broke loose.
THf INDTIMf AND BfYOND
To be honest with you, I don't
remember a whole lot of what
happened next. It's all pretty much a
blur of heat and shock and action.
I was forgiving the sins of a 30-year-
old mother of three when suddenly it
seemed like the world was turned
inside out. When I regained my senses,
I found myself buried under the rubble
of the church's vaulted ceiling.
In some kind of miracle-and I
honestly do believe it as such-the
peak of the ceiling actually managed to
survive the fall to the ceiling. I've
never been so happy about flying
buttresses in my entire life.
The reinforced roof actually
managed to protect dozens of us from
being crushed by the rest of the
building as it collapsed in on itself
from the force of the bombs'
shockwave. Nearly 100 of us survived
those first few moments. Most
importantly, there were 40 of us who
did more than survive.
BUSSINGS fROM ABOn
We were all blessed to have lived
through that experience. But some of
us were more blessed than others.
Forty of us became deltas on that
day. To this date, it's the largest mass
awakening that the Church is aware of.
That's top secret, of course, as is
much of the information I'm going to
give you in this primer. Now that
you're a part of the Covenant,
however, you have a right to know all
of this. More than that, you need to
know.
As the dust settled, we realized what
had happened to some of us. I first
figured it out myself as I was
struggling to pull a column of stone off
of the woman whose confession I'd
been hearing just bare minutes before.
I prayed to God to give me the
strength to move the stone from this
woman, and miraculously it was
granted to me. I was able to shift the
column enough to shove it off of her,
freeing her trapped legs. Then, the
power of God still coursing through
me, I put my hands on her wounds
and prayed with all my might for God
in His infinite wisdom to let this
mother live.
And my prayer was answered.
All around me, I saw similar things
happening as priest after priest made
true contact with the power of God
and channeled it through his mortal
form to lend selfless aid to those
suffering around him. Right away, I
knew that we'd been given the power
of the Covenant.
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Lin GOES ON
Of course, that's not the end of what
happened on that fateful day, but the
full story will have to wait for a bit. For
now, all you have to know is that this
~ v e n t gave me my Covenant powers:
In the most frightening way I can
imagine.
Just as did your awakening, I'm
sure, that moment changed my entire
life. It's almost as if I've lived two
different lives: one before the Great
Mistake and one after.
My MISSION HIRI
Part of my new life as a member of
the Covenant is to greet the Lord's new
recruits and to do my best to get them
started on the long road that winds
before them.
That's why you've been given this
missive to read: so you can learn what
it means to be a part of the Covenant.
With the Lord's guidance, you'll be
able to shoulder these great powers
He's granted you, and the tremendous
responsibilities that come with them.
First, I'll tell you a bit about the
Covenant's history. Then I'll discuss
the various ways people join the
Covenant. From there, I'll talk about
the mission we've been collectively
charged with by the Pope himself.
After that, I'll draw back the veil on
our order's mysterious structure. From
there, it's on to the people who are part
of our organization, both at home here
in the US and abroad. To wrap things
up, I'll let you know something about
the creatures we're up against.
Pay attention, child. One wrong
move can not only get you dead, but
damned.
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http://in_the_beginning/page_B
1"1 ORIGINAL (OVINANT
As those of you who have seen
Raiders of the Lost Ark might remember,
the original Biblical covenant was
struck between the Jews and Yahweh,
their name for God. This took the form
of the Ten Commandments which were
written in stone by God on two large
tablets. Moses himself carried these
tablets down from Mt. Sinai to present
them to the Israelites who had
followed him into the desert on the
Exodus from their slavery in Egypt.
Those tablets were eventually stored
in a gold-plated, wooden box known
as the Ark of the Covenant, which the
Israelis carried around with them until
they finally found the promised land.
The Ark was passed around for a whHe
after that, and today no one can
honestly say what happened to it.
You can bet your bottom dollar that
it's not rotting in an American military
warehouse though.
WHAT A COVENANT IS
A covenant is an agreement, often
between two groups of people. It has
religious, social, and political
ramifications. Before Moses brought
the tablets down from the mountain,
ancient societies struck covenants with
each other all the time. But as far as I
know, this was the first example of
someone making a written deal with
God.
At the Last Supper, Christ declared
that the terms of the old covenant had
been fulfilled-or were about to be
fulfilled by his death. He then made a
new covenant with those who would
share his body and blood in the form
of bread and wine during a mass. In
effect, Christ made himself the offering
that would seal the deal between God
and all who would accept the
teachings of Christ into their lives.
There is no ark for the terms of this
new covenant. We learn of its
particulars in the gospels, and we carry
its message in our hearts.
We celebrate this new covenant
every time we go to mass. The
transubstantiation of the bread and
wine into the body and blood of Christ
reminds us forcefully of the Last
Supper and the agreement that Jesus
made with all of us during that meal.
When we partake of communion at
mass, we affirm our part in this new
covenant, and we acknowledge our
responsibilities to God.
IHI OROIR Of THE (OVINANT
Of course, this all only indirectly
affects the Catholic clerical order
known as the Covenant. Still, the
Covenant has roots that reach back all
the way to the very beginnings of
Christiani ty.
It's well known that Christ was
actually tempted by Satan himself in
the desert during His days among us.
That incident encouraged St. Peter-
also known as Peter I, the Catholic
Church's first Pope-to develop a team
of individuals whose stated purpose
was to hunt down evil in such
corporeal forms and eradicate it from
the earth.
The members of the early Covenant
no doubt spent most of their time
dodging persecution like just about
every other member of the early
Christians. In that respect, the
Covenant operated then very much
like it does today: as a shadowy force
for goodness.
GOD'S Sf(RH fORCIS
From its very beginnings, the very
existence of the Covenant has been a
tightly guarded secret held only by an
extremely limited number of people
outside of the organization itself. The
Pope himself is always considered to
be an honorary member of the order.
Only a few of his top advisors in the
Curia have special knowledge of the
details of the Covenant.
These days, of course, the whole
world knows about the Covenant, but
it wasn't always that way. In fact, that's
a recent development.
THf (OVfNANT THROUGHOUT THf AGfS
As Christianity's popularity grew
across the world, the need for an order
like that of the Covenant grew as well.
It seems that wherever good shines a
light into the world, evil slouches in
the darkness.
This was true in the ancient times
and it was even more true in the da:k
ages, when demons felt free to roam
the earth, wreaking havoc wherever
they went. Demons and their ilk have
been a problem throughout the ages, a
problem the Covenant has been
uniquely equipped to confront.
The Crusades, for instance-
regrettable as they might now seem-
weren't just a means of bringing God's
word to unbelievers. In fact, while the
Crusaders were waging war on the
field of battle, the Covenant was taking
the fight against the darkness to these
same new lands, using the larger
conflict to mask their involvement in
one that was, if anything, far more
vital to the souls of the so-called
heretics the Crusaders were fighting to
convert.
The Covenant survived many
assaults on the Catholic Church
throughout the ages. It sailed through
the Protestant Reformation, for
instance, relatively untouched. The
separation of the Anglican Church
harmed it very little. For most of its
existence, the Covenant has seemed
like an indivisible rock, the one thing
upon which the Church could always
depend. And there's one singular
reason for this fact: the Pope.
TH MAN IN (HARG
Ever since Peter I, the Pope has
always been in direct charge of the
Covenant. Of course, he does have
people under him who actually handle
the day to day issues that arise within
the order, but the men and women
who make up the Covenant recognize
only two higher authorities: the Pope
and God Himself.
This has prevented any problems
from arising within the Covenant
during any of the splinterings that
have rocked the Catholic Church to its
foundations from time to time. The
Pope has made sure to staff the
C.ovenant only with people loyal to his
VIew. of the Church. The only exception
to thIS has been in modern times, and
this has resulted in the formation of a
new group of heretical ex-Covenant
members known as the Schism.
But I'll get to that in a minute. First I
want to talk a bit about the modern-
day Covenant, which everyone in the
world knows all about but really
understands very little. This is the
group to which you belong today, and
although it has a proud history that
reaches back 2,000 years, it has
undergone more changes in the last
century than in all the rest combined.
WE ALL HAVE OUR CROSSES
Early in his reign, Pope Pius XI, the
260th Pope in the long line of direct
succession from St. Peter himself,
realized that the world he was living in
had changed. First and foremost, the
arrival of deltas in our world was an
indication of the increasing relevance
of the supernatural in our lives.
When I say "supernatural," I'm not
trying to imply that all delta powers
are the product of Satanic influence, as
some of the Church's more rabidly
conservative members have suggested
from time to time. I'm merely
observing that delta powers are, in fact,
more than what one would naturally
expect to see in a human being,
therefore making them-in the strictest
sense of the word-supernatural.
That's all 1'm trying to say.
Nothing more or less.
From the very first moment that the
existence of deltas and their amazing
powers burst onto the global news
scene, Pope Pius XI had contemplated
what this might mean for both the
Church in Rome and for Roman
Catholics everywhere. He kept his
counsel mostly to himself, with few if
any hints to the Catholic community as
to what he might have been thinking.
These were troubled times in the
Vatican, with people pressuring the
Pope from all sides to make some kind
of pronouncement about deltas. Some
held that these people were obviously
instruments of Satan, while others
argued that the miraculous nature of
their powers indicated that their origin
was more heavenly in nature.
In the end, the point was made moot
when the Pope was introduced to
Father John Murray.
THf fiRST (OVfNANT DHTA
Father John Murray was an Irish
immigrant who'd come to the New
World to make his fortune and had
found God instead. As the pastor of a
small parish in the south side of
Chicago, Father Murray was right in
the heart of the gangland problems
that threatened to engulf the city in
those early days of Prohibition.
Unfortunately, he got a little too
close. In 1920, while trying to negotiate
a peace between two warring gangland
factions, Father Murray was caught in
a mob hit planned by the leader of a
third gang who saw a means to
eliminate two of his rivals at once. That
murderous thug went by the name of
Alphonse "Scarface" Capone. His
savage tactics apparently worked well,
as he soon became the undisputed
ganglord of the Chicago underworld.
While it might have seemed like this
would have been the last time Father
Murray would cross paths with the
infamous gangster. In fact, it was but
the first.
John Murray wasn't killed in that
shootout, you see. The good Lord
looked down on His faithful servant, a
man who was literally risking his life
to prevent the kind of bloodshed that
nearly consumed him, and in His
infinite wisdom, He reached out and
touched Father Murray, much in the
same way that He must have first
touched Adam to instill life into the
body that He had fashioned in His
own image.
In short, Father John Murray became
the first member of the Catholic clergy
to become a delta. He was the first
person to receive the gift of the powers
that define the modern Covenant and
bring us closer to God Almighty.
INUR THf (ROSS
At first, Father Murray had no idea
what had happened to him. He simply
thought he'd managed to miraculously
survive a gunfight that should have
seen him dead. While that part of it
was certainly true, there was a whole
lot more to his survival.
Within weeks after that incident,
though, a new mystery man by the
name of the Cross was shadowing the
back alleys of Chicago, righting
wrongs and rescuing innocents
wherever he popped up. He dressed all
in black-black shoes, black pants,
black belt, black shirt, black jacket, and
black trenchcoat-all except for a white
cross silk-screened onto an onyx
necktie.
The Cross also wore a black veil of a
mask under a black fedora. The same
white cross was again silk-screened
under both of his eyes in miniature.
The three crosses represented both the
Holy Trinity as well as the three
crosses that stabbed out from the top of
Calvary on the day that Christ was
crucified. The central one, the one over
the Cross's heart, was the one that
stood for Christ himself.
THf (ROSS UNMASKfD
The Cross, of course, was none other
than Father Murray, using his
newfound delta powers to take the
fight for righteousness directly to those
who would hide within the darkness.
Uncertain of how his bishop would
take the idea of a delta working as a
parish priest, much less one of these
new-style mystery men, Father Murray
adopted the secret identity of the Cross
to allow him to act out with near
impunity.
This double life of Father Murray's
didn't last all that long, however. In
1922, right at the start of the period
known as the Roaring Twenties, the
Cross was approached by none other
than Harry Houdini, the legendary
stage magician.
It seems that Houdini's abilities far
transcended the stage. Although a
good man in his heart, he was the
originator of the foul Bargainers, that
troubled society of fools who truck
with demons for artifacts of power. Of
course, Houdini had a problem, and he
had come to the Cross hoping they
would help him.
It seemed that one of Houdini's
pupils, a Mr. Twist, had made a mess
of an experiment with a creature of the
Abyss and II accidentally" let loose an
actual demon on the streets of the city
of Chicago. The upshot of this is that
Houdini needed the Cross's help in
corralling the demon.
Despite knowing of Houdini and his
demonic reputation, Father Murray
knew that innocents were sure to suffer
if he refused to act. Without hesitation,
he agreed to lend the first of the
Bargainers a hand.
This is a good story, but it's a long
one. Check out the Covenant archives
if you want all of the details. The
upshot is that Houdini and Father
Murray managed to capture the demon
and exile it back to whence it came. In
the process, though, Father Murray
was unmasked in front of his entire
congregation during a midnight
Christmas mass.
Suddenly the secret of the Cross was
out, and there was stuffing that
particular genie back into the bottle.
Within days, Father Murray received
notice that he was to immediately head
to Rome for an audience with Pius XI.
THE COVENANT IS fORMED
Father Murray was shaking in his
collar all the way to the Vatican. He
was sure that the Pope was going to
make an example of his horrible
transgression.
The parish priest was almost certain
that he had done no actual wrong, but
he wasn't at all sure that he'd be given
the opportunity to explain all of that
before he was stripped of his collar and
subjected to some new form of the
Inquisition. He didn't really believe
that the Cardinals of the Curia would
concoct new means to torture the
"truth" of his consorting with devils
for his amazing powers, but deep in
his heart, he was still scared. The fact
that he'd been unmasked while
fighting a demon that had gone
rampaging through a church didn't
make him feel any easier about the
situation.
Fortunately, he had nothing to worry
about.
THI PAPAL PLAN
When Father Murray first entered
the Papal chambers in the Vatican, Pius
XI approached him reverently and then
knelt and kissed the parish priest's
outstretched hands. Father Murray was
stunned beyond belief. This was
entirely the opposite of what he'd been
expecting.
When the Pope rose back to his feet,
he looked Father Murray in the eyes
and said in his Italian-accented
English, "Blessed are you, Father John
Murray, for you are a miracle brought
to life. You and those like you will be
the key to our salvation-to the
salvation of us all."
Soon after, Father Murray learned
that while he might have been the first
priest to gain delta powers, he was far
from the last. The Pope had reports of
at least two other priests from around
the globe who had exhibited delta
powers that were almost identical to
those that were reputed to belong to
the notorious Cross. The ramifications
were both startling and amazing.
It seemed that every Catholic
priest-and, it was found later, brother
and sister-who became a delta had
access to a certain similar number of
powers, each of which seemed to be
divine in nature. Apparently, God had
taken a hand in this new form of
humanity that had been cropping up
all over the planet. His chosen ones
were being given powers that were
perfectly suited to fulfilling His divine
plan.
Ever since the Pope had first heard
about the Cross, he'd been discussing
the possibilities with his people in the
Covenant. They agreed that this was
the event that they'd been waiting for.
It was time to go public with the
existence of the Covenant and
incorporate this new kind of cleric into
the organization's ranks.
THE COVENANT REVEAUD
Pius XI unveiled the Covenant in
early 1923, holding up Father Murray
and his two delta compatriots as the
model of the Covenant soldiers that
would be on the front lines of the fight
against evit making the world safe for
God-fearing people everywhere. The
response from Catholics around the
globe was overwhelmingly positive.
although certain governments and
other religious institutions were
markedly more reserved in their joy.
Soon after the Covenant went
public, delta-powered priests, nuns,
and monks began crawling out of the
woodwork looking to help. Suddenly
made aware that there were others like
them whose powers were not only not
being reviled but were being held up
as prime examples of God's power on
earth, these holy people felt secure
enough to step forward and confess
the powers that they'd been hiding for
so long.
From that point on, the Covenant
grew by leaps and bounds, until finally
it became the international
powerhouse that it is known as today.
And the Pope couldn't have been
prouder.
Over the years, the new delta
recruits have been so solidly
incorporated into the Covenant that
they have now become synonymous
with it and its mission.
It's easy to see why this has
happened.
In essence, each delta member of the
Covenant is potentially a future saint
walking the world alongside us. There
are two requirements to becoming a
saint:
1) To have led a good and pious life.
2) To have either performed a
miracle during your life or to be
responsible for one happening as a
response to a prayer after your death.
Covenant deltas perform miracles on
a daily basis, just by still being alive, if
nothing else. According to the rules of
sainthood, all they have to do now is to
lead exemplary lives.
Father John Murray was the first to
receive this privileged honor. He was
canonized St. John Murray in 1976, five
years after he disappeared along with
the rest of Chicago at the end of the
Bicentennial Battle. He was truly a role
model for every member of both the
Covenant and the Catholic Church-
not only for his powers, but also for his
faith.
http://joining_the_covenant/page_16
IT'S AN IXCLUSIVI CLUB
The Covenant is about as exclusive
club as you can find these days. First,
you not only have to be a member of
the Catholic clergy-of which there's
no lack these days. Second, you have
to exhibit certain special skills or
abilities which would make you an
undeniable asset to the team.
Despite what the general public
might think from what they see on
their primetime dramas, not every
member of the Covenant is a delta,
although every delta clergyperson is-
or at least those that the Vatican knows
about. Similarly, not every delta
member of the Covenant started out as
a member of the Catholic clergy. In
some cases, they're simply Catholic
men and women who have decided to
take on a special kind of obligation to
join the Covenant.
There are also people out there v.rho
exhibit powers similar to those of a
Covenant delta but who are not
members of the Catholic Church at all.
To date, everyone of these people has
turned out to be a high-ranking
member of another established
religion, although it's been impossible
to confirm this with every reported
case.
In essence, there are three ways to
get into the Covenant today. Either
you're a member of the Catholic clergy
chosen by Pope John Paul II himself for
your skills, or you're a Covenant delta
with the holy powers that come along
with that, or you're any other kind of
delta to whom the Pope has granted a
special dispensation to get you into the
program.
I'll cover each of these possibilities
in some detail here so that you know
who it is you might be working with.
1"1 LONG, HARD ROAD
The non-delta members of the
Covenant go through an extensive
screening process designed to separate
the wheat from the chaff. What we end
up with are only the best of the best,
Catholic clergy who are often chosen
not especially for their piety-although
that is a vital consideration-but for
the special kinds of skills that they
bring to the table.
Often these members of the
Covenant are the ones that do a lot of
the work behind the scenes. The ones
with delta powers are obviously
expressly meant to be taking the battle
directly to the forces of darkness, but
there are still other jobs that need to be
done. These non-deltas handle things
like procurement, maintenance,
operations, long-term medical care,
forensics, research and development,
and all sorts of other details that are
essentiaLbut which most Covenant
p-awe;;just don't readily lend
themselves to.
In the old days, the Covenant did
most of its own recruiting from the
ranks of the Catholic clergy, often
simply recommending people that
they'd managed to work well with
when on one field assignment or
another. Today, with the Covenant no
longer a tightly held secret, any
member of the clergy can recommend
any other for membership in the
Covenant.
Besides incredible competency in at
least one field of specialization, the
only requirement for joining the
Covenant is being part of the Catholic
clergy. Few exceptions are made, and
those are only extended to people who
are willing to take convert and take
holy orders straight away.
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THE GRACE Of GOD
Of course, when most people think
about the Covenant, they envision a
priest that somehow got delta powers
and then went out to kick some demon
butt by the grace of God. That's not all
that far off from the truth, although it's
an extremely simplified version of it.
For some reason that no scientist can
explain, any time a Catholic priest,
nun, or monk becomes a delta, he or
she gains a set of powers that have
become synonymous with the
Covenant. These powers all appear to
be divine in nature and theme, making
it fairly apparent that there is some
higher will at work here, granting
these shepherds of God's flock the
kinds of miraculous abilities heretofore
only ascribed to the saints or to Christ
himself.
In once sense, this is far and away
the easiest route to Covenant
membership if you're already a
member of the Catholic clergy. All you
have to do is wind up with delta
powers, and you're automatically and
immediately inducted into the
Covenant as soon as the Pope learns of
it.
The only real problem here is that to
get delta powers you have to go
through some kind of life-threatening
experience. There's a lot of debate as to
what it is that specifically causes an
individual to gain delta powers. Is it
that the people actually die and are
immediately resurrected with powers
beyond mortal ken? Or is it simply the
adrenaline rush from a brush with
death that triggers off some latent
reaction within these souls? There's
really no way to telL
In the end, I suppose, it hardly
matters. People either end up with
delta powers or, more commonly, they
http://joining_the_covenantlpage_18
wind up next in line to see St. Peter at
the Pearly Gates.
And there doesn't seem to be any
good way to hedge your bets one way
or the other. Catholic clergy don't seem
to have a much higher incidence of
delta awakenings than that found in
the general population, although these
numbers are always hard to pin down.
Not everyone in the world even
realizes that he's a delta right away,
and of those that do, a sizeable
percentage opt to keep any information
about their amazing new powers to
themselves.
Theoretically, all Catholic clergy are
obligated to inform their superiors
immediately upon realizing that they
have delta powers, but this doesn't
always happen, and sometimes for
what seem like good reasons at the
time. Make no mistake about this,
however. If you're a Catholic with
delta powers-whether part of the
clergy or not-it's your duty to inform
the Church. This information will be
kept secret and passed on to the
Covenant for evaluation, and we'll
contact you at the nearest opportunity.
You should realize that the delta
power set that the Catholic clergy
receives is not unique to Catholics
alone. Delta Christian clergy of all
stripes have been known to have
similar powers, while awakened
leaders from other major world
religions have also been known to
exhibit almost identical sets of powers.
There are some variations in the
powers that seem appropriate to each
belief system in question-and
especially in the names given these
power sets-but the vast majority of
the actual effects of the powers are
either identical or nearly so.
DILTA -(OMI-LATILY
Of course, none of us start out as
members of the clergy. In those early
years, a lot of people have a number of
chances to develop delta powers, and
some few of us actually do. Some of
these people are practicing Catholics,
and they, like their parish leaders, are
obligated to profess their powers to the
Church.
Not all Catholic deltas end up
joining the Covenant. Those that are
interested are put through a rigorous
screening process designed to test their
faith and their loyalty to the Church.
Those that pass are offered a position
within the Covenant, complete with
holy orders. Most times, these people
are made either brothers or sisters, but
those men who wish to can enter the
seminary with an eye toward
becoming a full-fledged priest.
For those who either do not manage
to pass the screening process or opt not
to accept holy orders, their names and
locations are kept track of by the
Covenant. These deltas form a kind of
unofficial auxiliary corps. The
Covenant has been known to call on
these people from time to time when
the need has arisen, and at the very
least, each individual's parish priest
makes a special effort to reach out to
them on a regular basis.
Those with power-something
deltas have in no short supply-have
the obligation to use it responsibly, and
in this endeavor many people need
spiritual guidance. In providing this
for these non-Covenant deltas, our
priests are doing both the Church and
the world a wonderful service. Power
does not have to corrupt. But we must
always be on guard against such a
possibility.
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WE'RE ON A
MISSION fROM GOD
Sure, it's an overused phrase, but
when you're talking about the
Covenant, truer words have never
been spoken. We are literally God's
chosen soldiers, individuals who have
been blessed with sacred powers that
can only be described as miraculous.
As a whole, the Covenant takes on
lots of different challenges, but we try
to stick to matters in which our unique
abilities are truly useful. A number of
our members are assigned to work in
disaster areas in conjunction with the
Red Cross, for example.
Some in the Church question why
we don't have many if any Covenant
members on the missionary trail. After
all, when faced with such obvious
proof of the power of the Lord, who
could refuse to believe? You would
think that the new believers would be
rolling in like the tide.
The fact is that the Church's regular
missionaries already have such details
well in hand. New enrollment in the
Catholic Church continues to grow
every year, and we expect that trend to
continue, despite the scandal in the
United States this year.
The millions of Catholics who joined
the Church before the revelation of the
existence of the Covenant did so on the
basis of faith alone. They didn't need
any "proof" of the power of
neither do the people our mlSSlOnanes
approach today. I can't say
existence of Covenant powers Isn t a
big nod in our favor on behalf of the
Lord, but it's hardly the most
important recruitment factor either.
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OUR DUTY
The duties we are charged with
more often have to do with saving
bodies than souls. The fact is that just
as there is now concrete evidence that
there is a God-Mr. Nietzsche's
desperate observations aside-there is
as much reason to believe in Satan
himself. While reported sightings of
Heavenly creatures like angels are few
and far between, the same can't be said
for devils and demons.
Make no mistake about it. Evil has
many form?, some of which are as
solid as you or I, and they are among
us. It's up to the Covenant to act as the
first line of defense between such
beasts and the bulk of humanity.
Simply put, there's no one else better
suited to the job or more inclined to
take it on.
To be sure, humanity is not
defenseless against these incursions of
evil. Wherever there are good-hearted
men and women who wholeheartedly
believe in the sanctity of God, there is
always a ray of hope against the
darkness.
The aim of the Covenant, however,
is to banish the darkness entirely-to
become a beacon of hope for every
beleaguered soul in the world. If God
is the sun whose light erases the
darkness, then we are the spotlights
that help to eradicate the shadows,
wherever they may be. We crawl into
the deepest, darkest places in the
world and drag evil screaming out into
the bare, burning light of day, where it
cannot hope to survive.
It's not an easy job, but someone's
got to do it. If you're here, it means
you're a Covenant delta, and you've
got the right stuff for the job.
MANY ARE (ALLED, fEW ARE (HOSEN
Over the course of this century,
applications to join the Catholic clergy
have skyrocketed. When polled on
why this is, a large number of the
applicants answer that they want to be
a part of the Covenant, to do their part
in the war against Satan.
While this is an admirable desire, it
is misguided, which many of these
applicants find out soon enough. The
call to holy orders is one that each
individual must respond to for the
proper reasons. Wanting to fight
against demons is really not what it's
all about.
The clergy are the shepherds of
God's flock. Just as much as we are
here to guide our fellow Catholics, we
are here to serve. We do that in
whatever way the Church deems best,
whether that be from the top of a
cathedral's pulpit or from the bottom
of a monk's Spartan cell. It's all part of
God's plan.
The trick is that we don't always get
to choose what part we play in God's
plan. Becoming a member of the
Covenant is a prime example. Through
hard work and dedication, applicants
might eventually find their way into
the ranks of the Covenant's support
staff, but it's literally impossible to
arrange to become a Covenant delta.
Only God himself can bestow those
gifts, and He is extremely careful about
those he chooses to be the elite
shocktroopers in His army of light.
The real irony is that those of us
who are Covenant deltas know better.
Few people would actually choose to
life our lives if they knew what they
were actually in for. And it's up to us
to make sure that most of them never
find out.
RAIL AGAINST THI NIGHT
Let's start off with something you
probably think you already know
something about: vampires.
These creatures of myth and legend
have been popularized-if that's the
right word-in literature and movies
throughout the past 150 years or so,
but they have been with us for much
longer than that. The Church has
collected reports of vampiric behavior
going straight back into the Dark Ages
and possibly beyond.
You may have thrilled to some of
these modern-day tales yourself. You
might have fantasized about hunting
these bloodsuckers down in their lairs,
digging them up from beneath the
earth, and putting an end to their
unnatural existences.
Well, you may soon get your chance,
but you should be careful what you
wish for. It's not nearly as glamorous
as the movies make it out to be.
HOLLYWOOD LIES
If you've seen any '50s monster
films-you know, the "true stories"
about the exploits of the Cross, as
played by one ham-handed actor after
another-you might think you know
just how vampires work. While those
movies did have a grain of truth in
them, they are, in fact, works of fiction,
and you need to treat them as such.
Rid your mind of such antiquated
preconceptions. The vampires of today
don't lay around in coffins all day,
toying with their pursuers like a cat
with a spunky mouse. They are as
sophisticated as you and me, and they
know that we're out there, coming
after them, and they're ready.
BACK TO ATLANTA
Let me finish my story about
Atlanta. It wasn't long after we
survivors managed to dig ourselves
out from under the nave of that
cathedral before we began to realize
the extent of the damage around us
and how lucky we were to be alive.
The city of Atlanta had been entirely
destroyed. The center of town was
little more than a large crater,
surrounded by dozens if not hundreds
of toppled buildings. Those close to or
at ground zero had died quick,
merciless deaths and gone on to their
final rewards. Farther out, though,
most people weren't so lucky.
The first day was awful. Bodies were
strewn about the place, people who
had been crushed by a thrown car or
blasted by flying shrapnel. Those who
had been outside when the bombs
went off had it the worst. The radiation
literally boiled people's skin right off
their bones. In some cases, this
thankfully happened quickly, but in
others, the survivors lingered for hours
~ s the. he a: from the radiation trapped
m theIr skm grew worse, like a
sunburn that still raged on long after
dusk.
We surviving priests did what we
could to help. Those of us who'd been
blessed with delta powers did our best
to learn how to use them on the fly,
often realizing sadly that the only aid
we could offer many of the souls we
ran across was the comfort of the last
rites. We took what hope we could
from that, thanking God for every
opportunity that presented itself, no
matter how fleeting it might be. It was
cold comfort, but it was all we had.
ATLANTA BY NIGHT
As I said, the day was awful, but the
night was much worse. In fact, that
first night was possibly the most
nightmarish of my entire life. We knew
that help would eventually be on its
way. We'd already seen and heard
helicopters from the outlying areas
overhead, and we'd seen a number of
military transports zooming off to
survey the damage. But there were just
so many people to get to, and the roads
were so clogged with the dead, that we
knew it could be a good, long while
before any help came our way.
Fortunately, the cathedral had also
been a food distribution center. Once
we managed to dig our way into the
storerooms, we had plenty of food to
go around, and we spent the latter part
of the day handing out foodstuff and
bottled water to the people of the area
who had flocked to the church as a
rallying point for the neighborhood.
When the sun went down, though,
that's when all Hell broke loose.
Apparently, while the disaster had
caused 40 priests-that we knew about
at the time, at least-to become
Covenant-style deltas, other deltas had
formed too. When you think about it, it
makes sense. A disaster of that
magnitude would cause so many near-
death experiences that there would
have to be dozens if not hundreds of
deltas created on that day.
The only problem was this. With the
exception of we few priests, it seems
that every other delta that awakened in
Atlanta that day did so as a vampire.
That's right: vampires are nothing
more than an especially evil form of
delta, one that requires the delta to
drink human blood to survive. In
essence, they are our polar opposites.
When the sun went down, those
vampires-and it seemed like there
must have been dozens of them
although no one's ever been to
figure an exact count-literally started
crawling out of the rubble. We were
first alerted to the problem by the
sound of screams ringing off in the
distance as the first victims of these
newborn bloodsuckers were sent into
the arms of the Lord.
As the night wore on, the sound of
the screams grew closer. Soon enough,
a band of survivors came racing
through the streets toward the
impromptu camp we'd set up in the
center of the street outside of the
tumbled-down cathedral. And they
had a trio of vampires chasing them.
We watched in stunned horror as
one of the vampires snatched up a
stumbled runner and tore him apart
with her bare hands. That moment
seemed to galvanize the priests in the
cau:p, however, as we immediately
realized what was happening. Out
came our crosses, and soon enough, we
had surrounded the camp perimeter,
outward, our crucifixes held up
agamst the encroaching vampire horde,
which seemed to grow with every
passing minute.
For a long while, it seemed like we
had succeeding in holding the
bloodsuckers off, but they were
emboldened by their hunger, and it
wasn't long before several of them
erupted through a manhole situated in
the center of the camp.
Chaos reigned for several long
minutes there, and we lost several of
our gathered flock to these ravenous
wolves. Eventually, we managed to
cluster together in a tighter crowd,
priests pressed in among the laity to
provide protection from every
conceivable angle.
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DAWN COMES SLOWLY
By the time dawn rolled around the
next morning, we'd lost dozens of
people, including several priests, but
not one of the 40 new delta priests. The
corpses of the few vampires that had
been permanently stopped by our
efforts during the night burst into
flames as the first rays of light touched
them, and in mere minutes they were
entirely consumed. Soon, it was like
the creatures had never been there.
But we knew better. We knew that
there were still a mob of those
creatures somewhere out there, hiding
in the darkness under the rubble of the
outskirts of the city. And we knew that
when night fell, they'd be back.
Some of the priests wanted to take
the battle to the bloodsuckers, hunting
them down where they lay during the
day and putting an end to their
loathsome lives. Others of us were
more practical and argued that we
needed to get the innocents to safety as
soon as possible. Even without the
vampires, our situation was clearly
dire enough that we were going to
need outside help. The only question
was how we were going to get it.
Again, there were differences of
opinion. Some advocated hitting the
streets and marching away from
Atlanta. Others insisted that the best
policy was to stay where we were and
wait for help to come to us.
These arguments were bitter, and it
quickly became clear that we weren't
going to come to a consensus. I
personally offered to lead an exodus
from the area, promising that we
would send back help as soon as we
found it. Well over half of the camp
flocked to my side, and within the
hour, we pulled out.
THE LONG ROAD
Of course, the streets were clogged
with bodies, and the electro-magnetic
pulse of the blasts had fried the
electrical system on everyone of the
vehicles that littered the roads. In
short, it was hard going, and we were
slowed down by the large number of
people with us. We had been forced to
leave behind the most grievously
wounded survivors with our
compatriots back at camp. I'd been
reluctant to do this, but it was pointed
out that bringing such people with us
would slow us down, so I'd relented.
In the end, it turned out to be the
right thing to do. As the light faded
from the sky, our desperate band-
over 100 people, including 20 of delta
priest-decided to hole up in a
superstore. A number of other
survivors were already in the place,
and at first they hesitated to share their
shelter with us. When the saw the
tattered collars on we priests, however,
they gave in.
These people had had their own
problems with vampires the night
before, and they were thankful to have
what they apparently considered to be
unquestionably "professional" help
against the bloodsuckers. Despite this
fact-and the weapons we were able to
raid from the store's supplies-that
night was as horrific as the night
before, if not worse. While we'd
apparently managed to slip away from
the vampires who'd attacked us the
previous night, there were many more
where they'd come from.
Even while we battled for our lives,
though, I prayed that those we'd left
behind were faring better than we. I
wouldn't be able to find out the truth
of that until much later.
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THE CAVALRY ARRIVES
The next morning, having lost
several survivors and even a few of
our delta priests, we were heartened to
hear the telltale sound of a helicopter
landing in the parking lot outside the
store. The soldiers in the chopper told
us that they were aware of the
situation and that every person within
20 miles of the heart of Atlanta was
being evacuated as a prelude to
locking down the entire area under
quarantine.
But that was only the good news.
The bad news was that the soldiers
didn' t have nearly enough room in
their chopper to carry more than a
handful of us at a time. Still, they were
determined to make the effort, and
they radioed ahead to the disaster
relief effort' s headquarters to
requisition additional evacuati on
assistance.
Of course, I informed the captain in
charge about our friends back in front
of the cathedral. He promised that
they'd send someone to help them
right away, but his first priority was to
get the worst wounded people out of
the area right now. When I pointed out
that we'd left several critical cases
behind-despite the best efforts of the
delta priests, we'd not been able to
help heal nearly everyone-he agreed
that he should move on to scout that
location before returning to help us
out.
The captain told us that he'd be back
as soon as he could. Hopefully
someone else would be available to
start ferrying us out of the area soon.
In the meantime, he wished us the best
of luck.
As it turned out, we were going to
need it.
Tm LONG WAIT
Dusk came around again with no
sign of the captain's chopper or ~ f any
other soldiers for that matter. We d
heard a few flying overhead in the
distance, but none came close to
stopping for us, no matter what we did
to try to get their attention.
Meanwhile, the night drew closer
and closer until it finally wrapped us
in its chilling embrace. We knew the
vampires would be coming for us
again. We didn't have to wait long.
The battle that night was more
pitched than ever. The vampires had
awakened that evening to find that
soldiers had made off with most of
their fresh sources of food, and they
were desperate to make the best they
could of those of us who were left.
Jus)t when it seemed like things were
darkest, an entire platoon of air cavalry
came swinging in out of the darkness,
their spotlights blazing, capturing the
bloodsuckers like deer in headlights
mere moments before they were torn
apart by machine-gun fire. Within mere
minutes the vampires had been routed
from the area, and the soldiers were
diligently rounding up the survivors to
haul us out of there.
I later found out that evacuating the
group near the cathedral had taken all
day long, especially because our fellow
priests had stumbled upon a large
group of people trapped in the
basement of a department store across
the street. The leaders at the disaster
relief HQ had been reluctant to send
any troops out to rescue us at night,
but the captain we'd first met had
asked to be allowed to take any
volunteers out to mount a rescue effort.
And it had worked.
God bless them all.
THE DARKER SIDE
Worse yet than the vampires are the
other things that go bump in the night.
As creatures of evil go, vampires are
pretty straightforward. They were once
human, and they have certain needs-
like hunger-that we can understand,
at least in principle.
Also, vampires have certain powers
and weaknesses that pretty much
define them as a group. They're
undead. They can turn into mist or a
wolf or a bat. They can see in the dark,
and as "undead," it takes a lot of
damage to put them down. They must
drink blood on a regular basis. They
hate religious symbols and garlic. Holy
water, sunlight, and wood can all hurt
them badly. This makes fighting
against them about as straightforward
as you can expect when facing off
against creatures of great evil.
There is some debate as to whether
or not vampires are actually alive. In
one sense, they're deltas, which means
they're human like anyone else. But
even though they're walking and
talking like they're alive, their hearts
don't beat, and they don't apparently
breathe.
Are these simply aspects of their
power that we don't really understand,
or is there something more sinister at
work here? It may be that we will
never know. Vampires have been
notoriously difficult to capture" alive,"
and despite what some novelists might
claim, few seem to be willing to submit
to an interview.
Either way, vampires in general have
been sanctioned by the Church as
beings of pure evil due to their
appetites for human blood, and the
official policy is to deal with them with
extreme prejudice.
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THERE ARE WORSE THINGS
In the grand scheme of the
upcoming war between Heaven and
Hell-toward which we are only
seeing the first tentative steps even
now, in this late period of history-
vampires barely even qualify as
footsoldie:s of the great enemy. They
are more hke hangers-on who mill
about and get in our way and slow us
down, distracting us from larger and
more important targets-hopefully,
they think, until it is too late for us to
tackle them.
Of course, it's hard to agree with the
sentiment that vampires are
"footsoldiers" when you've got one of
these superhumanly strong monsters
trying to rip off your head so it can
feed on the blood spouting from your
cooling corpse. Worse yet, the modern-
day vampire is a cunning beast who
has learned much from the prey he
walks beside every day. Vampires are
not jaded aristocrats waiting to be
discovered and then chased off.
They have learned from us.
The Covenant has developed some
weapons for use in the fight
agamst the minions of darkness
several which are targeted
at vampIres. These weapons include
such things as the Covenant crossbow
the Holy Soaker, the balloon mortar ' ,
and so on.
The vampires have escalated matters
on their side as well, developing new
weapons and techniques to use against
us. Whereas most bloodsuckers
traditionally rely on their raw strength
and speed to defeat their foes, it's not
uncommon to encounter vampires
wearing modern ballistic body armor
and toting assault rifles these days. We
have in turn developed barbed, armor-
piercing crossbow bolts to defeat some
of these measures.
It seems certain that this arms race
can only continue to spiral upward. In
the end, we will surely triumph over
the vampire, but rooting out this foul
will take more than superior
firepower. It will require men and
women with the will to see the job
done.
Up:llour _work/page_29
/mysterious_ways/page_30
WELCOME TO THE (LUB
Now that you know a little bit about
the Covenant's mission-to make the
world safe from tangible, unearthly
evil-it's time for you to learn a little
bit about how the Covenant works as
an organization.
In effect, the Covenant is a separate
order of the Catholic Church, just like
the Jesuits or the Benedictines. It
operates independently of the others,
though in concert with them at the
same time. We're all on the same team,
after all: the team of righteousness.
The head of the Covenant is none
other than the Pope himself. As the
current Pontiff, Pope John Paul II gives
us our orders and guides our actions,
at least in a general, big-picture kind of
way.
To make an analogy most Americans
should understand, if the Covenant is
the Catholic Church's armed forces,
then the Pope is the President. He has
the same kind of commander-in-chief
powers over us that the President has
over his troops, and his day-to-day
involvement is at about the same level.
In other words, most of the time the
Pope doesn't have anything to do
directly with the Covenant. He's a
busy man with a lot of other concerns
on his mind, and while the Covenant is
a vital part of the Church's efforts to
save humanity, it's far from the only
part.
Of course, when Covenant issues
come to the fore, the Pope is there
immediately, listening to his advisors
and making the really tough calls.
Fortunately, he has God on his side to
lend him a hand, as do we all.
http://mysterious_ways/page_31
Tm: MAN IN RfD
Just like with the President, the Pope
relies on competent people under him
to handle the daily duties involved
with running an organization of this
size. In the case of the Covenant, the
man the Pope relies on to keep his
deltas on the right track is none other
than Cardinal Paul DuTemple himself.
Standing six feet tall, with sandy
blond hair and ruggedly handsome
good looks-especially for a man in his
early 70s-Cardinal DuTemple is quite
the dashing figure. Originally from
Australia, his Latin, Italian, and
Spanish are flawless, and he speaks a
fair amount of German and Mandarin
Chinese as well. He spent many years
as a Covenant priest, fighting against
evil all over the globe. His experience
is second to none, and he commands
total respect from each and everyone
of the people who work beneath him.
The cardinal is a fair but tough-
minded man, unafraid to make the
hard decisions that running our side of
the ultimate battle between good and
evil demands. He knows when to cut
his losses, and he knows when to go
for broke. Better yet-though he
attributes it to constant prayer-his
instincts are almost never wrong.
There's been some talk of Cardinal
DuTemple being next in line for Pope
when the current Pontiff goes off to his
Heavenly reward, but of course that's
all premature. There are many within
the Covenant who doubt that the
cardinal would find holding the top job
in the Catholic Church any more
rewarding than the job he already has.
As a man of action, he might find the
diplomatic duties of the Pontiff to be
stifling compared to the life he's used
to leading.
THf (OVfNANT ARCHBISHOPS
Beneath Cardinal DuTemple-who's
often known simply as "the Cardinal,"
since he's the only one of that rank in
the Covenant-are several archbishops,
each of whom oversees the Covenant's
activities in a certain geographical area.
These priest are unique in that they
have no actual parish of their own to
call home, no cathedral in which to say
mass. Instead, their entire territory is
their land.
Many of the archbishops have
established a home base in one part of
their territory or another, but there are
some who are constantly on the move
from one case to another, staying
exclusively in the guest rooms in the
rectories of the pastors in whose
parishes they happen to find
themselves. The territories themselves
are extremely large. In fact, there are
only 12 archbishops, with two located
on each habitable continent, the sole
exception being Antarctica, of course.
Here in North America, one of the
archbishops handles the US and
Canada, while countries south of the
border are the other's responsibility.
The man in charge of the northern
territory is Father "Big" Bill Hanson.
Archbishop Hanson certainly lives
up to his nickname. The man isn't all
that tall at 5'10-, but he weighs in at
well over 300 pounds. Because of his
portly profile, the archbishop never did
terribly well with during his years in
the field, but he found that he had a
real penchant for analyzing patterns in
seemingly random information and in
managing the efforts of a large group
of people. This made him a natural for
running a portion of the Covenant, and
when the position came open several
years back, his name was called.
:/ /myste rious_ ways/page _32
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THf (RUCfNT (ITY (OVfNANT
Archbishop Hanson maintains his
residence in St. Patrick's Cathedral,
right here in Crescent City. A sedentary
man, he rarely goes out on the road to
visit sites in his territory, preferring
that the people under him collect as
much information as possible and then
send it back to him for cataloging and
analysis.
The Covenant clergy in both Canada
and America report directly to
Archbishop Hanson and his staff. As
the archbishop's second-in-command, I
spend a great deal of time on the road
myself, doing the legwork that he finds
tiresome.
Most of the time, Covenant clergy
are encouraged to operate on their
own, poking their noses into whatever
might catch their attention. Only when
they find something that might require
a bit more than a single Covenant
priest to handle are they likely to call
for backup.
When something big is up, the
archbishop quickly forms a team of
Covenant clergy from those who
happen to be in the right area at the
right time or simply have the right
kinds of skills. In these cases, he often
appoints one member of the team to be
in charge of the others. Although this
person is most often a priest, it doesn't
have to be that way. Nuns are named
to head these groups on a fairly regular
basis.
Despite that, the leaders of these
groups are called pastors, even though
their flock consists entirely of their
fellow clergy. In a sense, though, these
people are charged with protecting
everyone in the area, which makes
them as important as any parish pastor
might be.
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IHI DILlA ARMAGIDDON
One of the biggest questions that the
Covenant has wrestled with over the
past 80 years is the substantial increase
in the number of deltas cropping up as
time passes by. Starting with the
appearance of the Silver Ghost in 1918,
our global survey has determined that
there have been more deltas
awakening every year.
This was even true back in 1976, the
year of the Vanishing in which most of
the alphas disappeared, although some
of that may have had to do with things
like the disastrous outcome of the
Bicentennial Battle. In truth, delta
awakenings were flat in 1977, but they
picked up again in the following years,
although temporarily at a slower
growth rate.
Along with the larger numbers of
deltas, we've seen an increase in both
the number of miraculous and
demonic incidents over the same
period of time. It seems that our world
is gradually becoming a much stranger
place in which to live.
To say that the reasons for this are
unclear would be like claiming that the
evidence seems to indicate that Satan
might be bad news. Of course, people
have their theories, however
unsupportable they may be.
The most popular theory in many
parts of the Church-and the fondness
for this notion is hardly limited to
Catholics-is that what we're seeing is
simply a prelude to the apocalypse.
The powers of both good and evil are
growing more and more tangible in the
world, and eventually something is
going to give-most likely the world.
http://mysterious_ ways/page _34
D.O.A. DUTAS
More than one scholar has noted the
at least metaphorical similarities
between awakening and resurrection.
There's often not too much of a
difference between a near-death
experience and death, it seems clear.
Perhaps these deltas are actually
people who have been chosen to be
sent back to this mortal realm for a
second chance at life, much like
Lazarus, whom Christ called forth
from the grave.
Many deltas openly dispute this
hypothesis, including most Covenant
deltas. Those of us who have been
through the experience know that
while we might have had a close shave
with death, at no time did we actually
enter his clammy embrace, only to
break free and return to the earth once
again.
THf SfCOND COMING
Still, this has given rise to an even
wilder theory. Could it be that when
Christ returns to this world a second
time, he will do so as a delta? Might it
be that this new Christ is already in
midst, waiting only for God to tap
hIm on the shoulder with an
awakening into the kind of delta
powers that only the son of God could
command?
If so, there's no way to know who
this person is or when he might make
himself known. Obviously this didn't
happen at the turn of the millennium
no matter if you count it as
on New Year's Eve of 1999 or 2000. But
perhaps that fated date isn't the end
itself but simply the beginning of the
end. If so, when the calendar rolls
around to the year 2033 or so, we
might all be in for an extremely rude
surprise.
Of course, this assumes that the new
Christ will ascend once again at 33
years of age, just as he did the first
time around. There is nothing,
however, to say that this must be so.
By the same token, the entire theory
has little to stand on other than the
strength of the story it tells. In these
days more than ever, the world seems
to be literally coming apart at the
seams, and people are left to wonder
that if this is not an indication of the
approaching armageddon, then what
would be?
THf PRAGMATIC ApPROACH
Personally, I don't see how all the
posturing and arguing can make one
bit of difference. When God decides
that it's time for the world to come to
an end, it will do so, and there will be
nothing that we can say or do about it
that will have the slightest effect.
With that in mind, we should always
remember that any of us could see our
time here on earth come to an end at
any moment-personally, if not on a
global scale. In that sense, we should
constantly be preparing our souls for
that time of judgment when we stand
before Heaven's Pearly Gates and St.
Peter lets us know whether we are
permitted to pass through or not.
In the meantime, it's the duty of
every God-fearing person to do his or
her best to root out evil wherever it
may be, whether in the body of a
demon or in the unknowable depths of
our very own souls. Only by constantly
striving against the darkness can we
hope to achieve victory for the forces
of light and to gain salvation for
ourselves.
p://mysterious_ways/page_35
THE WAY IT USED TO BE
Back when the Covenant first went
public, the President was Warren
Harding. It was illegal to sell booze in
America. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels
were all the rage. The Jazz Age was
just getting underway, and the '20s
were really starting to roar.
In short, this was a different time, a
time in which people were more
trusting than they were today. If there
were no more innocent, they were
surely more naive.
DOING THI RIGHT THING
Back then, telling the world about
the Covenant must have seemed like
the right thing to do, and obviously so.
After all, with the arrival of the first
deltas in the world and the first
mystery men in America, the planet
was rapidly becoming a more
mysterious place, and it might have
seemed as if the ancient mysteries of
the Church were looking rather pale
next to those in their bright, new style.
With the coming of the Cross, it
probably seemed like telling the world
that God had His own amazing
soldiers too was a smart bet. And, in
fact, it worked wonders.
Immediately thereafter, enrollment
in the Catholic Church skyrocketed,
and although other major religions
have since revealed similar kinds of
deltas in their midst, no one's ever
been able to steal the thunder that Pius
XI got rolling by being the first on the
scene. It's one thing, after all, to tell
people that God is on your side. It's
another thing entirely to offer them
what most see as incontrovertible
proof.
DIALING WITH THI DOUBTING THOMASIS
Of course, just because a delta shows
up with incredible powers that seem to
be modeled on the kinds of miracles
that Christ and some of the saints were
able to perform in their time on earth
doesn't necessarily prove anything.
The fact that the only deltas to exhibit
these kinds of powers are religious
leaders cements the idea that there's a
higher power behind all of this a bit
more firmly. And the fact that clergy
who awaken only get these kinds of
powers-without apparent exception-
well, that really drives the point home
for most folks.
Still, if you're of a doubting mind,
this really doesn't qualify as the kind
of proof you can take to the bank and
get a loan on. In the end, that's why it's
still called faith. If there was absolute,
solid, no-way-to-doubt-it proof, then
there'd be no reason for faith, would
there?
You wouldn't believe in God. You'd
know.
And that's not really what being a
part of a religion is all about.
Eventually, if you want to be a part of
any religion, you've got to listen to
what your heart is telling you, ignoring
those whispers of doubt that are
ringing in your head, and take that big
leap into the unknown.
As clergy, we deal in helping people
unravel these mysteries, in figuring out
how they apply to them and their lives.
Without the mystery-without that
element of uncertainty, no matter how
much less it may seem these days-
there's no challenge to anyone's faith.
And faith is something important. Vital
even. You see, when you believe in
something greater than yourself, then
you can finally believe in yourself.
http://american_goth ic/pag e _ 37
THE COVENANT
IN THE 20
TH
CENTURY
As the years wore on after the
revelation of the Cross and those like
him in the Covenant, more and more
clerical deltas joined the Covenant,
making the obvious connection
between God and the Catholic faith
even clearer to most people. A lot of
people ascribe the fact that President
Kennedy is a Catholic to the landslide
in which he defeated Nixon in 1960. To
the growing number of Catholics in the
country, God was literally on
Kennedy's side.
Kennedy, to his credit, never
abandoned his faith, even when the
days seemed darkest. In fact, he was
known to often call upon the Church in
times of need, and he's rarely been
found far from his personal confessor,
currently one Father Mark McCormick.
Father McCormick replaced Father
Francis O'Day, Kennedy's long-time
advisor in all matters spiritual, back in
1996, when Father O'Day suffered a
massive stroke and died.
KEMNIDY AND THE COVENANT
It's also said that it was because of
Kennedy's religion that he made all
Covenant deltas partially exempt from
the Delta Registration Act. In effect, we
were obligated to follow the letter of
the law by registering with the federal
government, but Kennedy made a
solemn vow that no member of the
Covenant would ever have to serve
with Delta Prime. He felt that such
deltas had a higher purpose than
bringing rogue deltas to justice, and
the Covenant leaders gratefully agreed.
erican_gothic/page_38
Kennedy's special loyalty to the
Catholic Church became crystal clear
when he refused to offer the same
terms to similar deltas in other
religions. Protestants, Jews, Muslims-
whatever-they all had to register and
serve.
Of course, few did, most claiming to
be conscientious objectors. Some were
more practical and came to a deal in
which they would not be jailed as long
as they promised to be available
should Delta Prime ever call on them,
which it tacitly agreed never to do.
Others, refusing to give in to such
tyranny, to perpetrate and then
perpetuate such a lie, ended up rotting
away in the Fortress and, later, New
Alcatraz.
At the time, many outside of the
Catholic Church cried foul, claiming
that the Church was in Kennedy's
pocket or vice versa. However they
might have felt, the facts did not
change, and the Catholic Church
enjoyed a special status unseen by any
other religion in the history of the
country.
The United States had been founded
on the concept of religious freedom, on
the idea that no one religion would be
shown any more preference than
another by the government. With the
country under martial law, Kennedy
pretty much swept this pillar of the Bill
of Rights under the rug in the Oval
Office.
While this made some Catholic
leaders more than a just a little
uncomfortable, the general attitude
was that speaking up about it would
only cause the Catholic Church to fall
into Kennedy's disfavor as well. At
least with the way things were, the
Catholic clergy had a chance to
influence matters and hopefully to
make them better.
THE SCHISM
Those Catholic deltas that didn't
believe in kowtowing to Kennedy in
the interests of pursuing long-term
goals ended up joining with those
deltas from other religions in a new
organization known as the Schism.
This move enraged Pope Paul VI, who
immediately excommunicated each
and every priest that had left the
Church proper, declaring them to be
heretics.
While there may have been much in
the way of wailing and gnashing of
teeth over this pronouncement, there
was little actual effect. Kicking
someone out of a church after they've
already left is akin to closing the barn
door once you've discovered the
horses are gone. In fact, some more
cynical pundits of the day opined that
the Pope's move was as hollow as it
seemed, calculated only to curry favor
with Kennedy.
THE SCHISMATI(S THEN
In those early days, the Schismatics
were more a class of criminal than the
ecumenical religious movement into
which it grew. The group's formation
was more a matter of brutal necessity
than plan. With the government
cracking down on the clerical deltas,
they had little choice but to abandon
their flocks and their former lives.
Some Schismatics simply chose to
start over in another part of the
country under a new name and a new
identity. A few of these individuals
even continued to preach, although
rarely doing anything that might call
attention to themselves and blow their
thinly conceived cover.
://american_gothic/page_39
Other Schismatics went entirely
underground, Working closely with the
newly formed Defiance, these holy
men and women formed a thin
network which they slowly built on as
the years went by. Eventually, the
Schism evolved into a coherent whole
as its members developed an agenda
upon which they could all agree and
then start to plan to act.
Next to the Defiance, the Schism has
likely been the largest thorn in
President Kennedy's side. The real
difference between the two groups is
that most Americans still consider the
Defiance to be full of terrorist thugs
who are willing to go to any lengths to
further their ultimate end of toppling
the US government and sending the
country into anarchic chaos.
At least with the Schism, most
people feel like the renegade clerics are
being unjustly persecuted, especially
the Schismatic faction known as the
New Covenant. The Newbies are all
ex-Covenant deltas who have decided
to join with their compatriots from the
other major religions to fight against
what they see as a terrible injustice in
this country.
Until recently, most Covenant deltas
had thought there was a special place
in Hell for the Newbies. People who
have powers like theirs were obligated
to use them for the greater good,
politics of any sort aside. Of course,
that was before the whole hosting
scandal broke out.
THI SCHISMATICS NoW
In effect, we're all Schismatics now,
as long as we're part of the Covenant
in America. In recognition of this, Pope
John Paul II recently rescinded Pope
Paul VI's automatic excommunication
of any Covenant deltas who left the
fold. This happened immediately after
the Covenant officially joined the list of
banned organizations in America.
Although the Pope's statement never
actually spelled out the reasoning
behind his action, the facts are clear.
The split between Covenant deltas
in America is officially over. In the end,
what we'd been long suspected of by
Delta Prime became irrevocably true-
except that it's no longer a matter of
where our sympathies lie as much as
an issue of who we truly are.
And we are now all Defiants.
THE COVENANT
IN AMERICA TODAY
Ever since the DeltaTimes.com
scandal that rocked the Covenant to its
core, the position of the Covenant in
American has fallen faster than Lucifer
fell out of Heaven.
For those of you who have been
living under a rock-or have been
stationed in Uzbekistan-for the past
few months, let me explain.
While the Covenant has long been
ostensibly partnered with the United
States government-most notably
often working arm in arm with the
men and women of Delta Prime-we
have, in fact, been playing both sides
of the fence. Let me restate that in no
uncertain terms: While the world
thought that we were in Kennedy's
pocket, we were in fact lending the
Defiance a hand.
How did this happen? Why didn't
you know anything about it? And even
if it was, then how did we end up
getting caught? Ah, now there's a
story.
http://american_gothic/page_40
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(ONfESSING fOR lUI (OVINANI
First, let's start at the beginning.
Ever since President Kennedy cracked
down on deltas across American and
instituted martial law throughout the
land, the Catholic Church has been at
odds with him. While we may have
appeared to be locked in next to him,
step by step, in fact that was simply
the face that we showed to both the
President and the world.
You see, the United States
government may be constitutionally
prohibited from interfering with
religions-not that this stopped the
President, of course-but the Catholic
Church is bound under no such
restrictions. In fact, the Church has
long been a powerful political entity
throughout history, and that fact was
no different under American martial
law.
Not wishing to lose our favored
status under the Kennedy regime, we
proceeded with any initiative to
undermine his government with
extreme caution. We were in a unique
position of power-power we could
use to help a lot of people who needed
it-and we weren't about to give that
up without good cause.
Since the very beginning, we've
always seen the value inherent in the
Defiance and supported it in every
way we could without exposing
ourselves overly much. In the ' 60s and
'70s, this meant helping out with the
printing and distribution of the Delta
Times newsletter. In later years-as the
power of the internet grew-this
evolved into a need to help keep
DeltaTimes.com freely accessible to
anyone with a computer and a modem.
To that end, we hosted the site on our
servers.
.' ..
http://american_gothic/page_41
HARD TIMES.(OM
Believe it or not, the Covenant has
been hosting the DeltaTimes.com
website for over 10 years now, ever
since Truth first suggested it to us. I
know all about this personally, of
course. As Archbishop Hanson's
second-in-command in Crescent City, I
was the Covenant's main liaison with
the Defiance.
While the internet revolution was
slowly building in America, we at the
Covenant realized that a technology
that encouraged the free and easy
transmission of information was the
most important invention since the
development of the printing press. We
quietly began investing in internet
service providers and other internet-
related companies through third-party
shell accounts.
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Before long, the Covenant had an
interest in just about every major ISP in
the entire country, and we had
managed to insert moles into most of
these organizations. It's amazing what
you can get away with when you're a
substantial stockholder in a
corporation.
These moles carefully set up secret
servers that would serve as the basis
for a secure network of Covenant-
owned computers that were almost
inextricably threaded throughout the
backbone of the internet. It was on
these servers that we anonymously
hosted DeltaTimes.com and all of its
concurrent services, habitually routing
the information through other servers
both.inside and outside of the country
to foIl any serious attempts by
government hackers to track and shut
us down.
ttp://american_gothic/page_ 42
NOTHING LASTS fOREVER
As in just about any kind of secret
endeavor that goes on for any period
of time, eventually someone slips up. If
this is a small mistake, it can often be
caught before anyone is the wiser, and
we all can simply breathe a collective
sigh of relief.
If the mistake is really large, we can
often come up with a plausible cover
story that shows just how outlandish
the reality is. This is what we did when
Delta Prime agents stumbled upon a
cache of freshly printed copies of the
latest edition of the Delta Times in the
basement of a Philadelphia church
back in 1975. We found a janitor for the
church who was willing to be hung out
to and we blamed the entire thing
on hIm: a "rogue element working
from within our very home and our
heart, betraying the trust that we so
readily gave him."
In the end, the Delta Prime agents
who seized the papers wound up
buying the whopper of a tale,
concluding that the Defiance had
quickly arranged to get the man out of
the country on a moment's notice so
that he could evade punishment for his
crimes. While that much is true, we
were the ones who arranged for the
janitor to the fall as well as to grab
a one-way tIcket for parts unknown.
With the DeltaTimes.com servers,
though, it was a case of a number of
small mistakes rolling together and
then sneaking up and catching us from
behind. The whole problem started late
in 1999.
If you recall from the news at the
time, the DeltaTimes.com site had been
forced offline for a while due to a
concerted Delta Prime campaign. It
seems that in the aftermath of the
execution of Patriot, support for the
Defiance was skyrocketing, and the
Primers wanted to do everything in
their power to cut the legs out from
under the movement before it had a
chance to do anything with its
newfound popularity.
We were forced to take the Defiance
website offline for long periods of time.
But the redundant mirror system that
we'd concocted to handle just such a
problem malfunctioned, with several of
the back-up servers coming online at
the same time and crashing together as
they all fought to occupy the same
address in cyberspace at the same time.
In the end, Delta Prime hackers were
able to learn the physical address of
of the servers that was hosting a
cnppled DeltaTimes.com website. We
alerted the Defiance to the situation
and Truth sent a team in to make '
things right, but it was too little too
late. The Primers managed to
confiscate the server and the routers
attached to it, and their hackers were
able to undeniably establish that it was
in fact the Covenant that had been
behind the hosting the whole time.
Within days, President Kennedy
announced the Covenant's "treachery"
and declared us to be an outlawed
organization in the same class as the
Defiance itself. All registered priests
were ordered to turn themselves in or
be arrested.
Fortunately, we knew all about the
scandal about to break, and we'd given
our people plenty of warning. Within
24 hours of the President's statement,
no Covenant member in America was
anywhere that he or she could easily
be found. In effect, we'd finally been
fully pushed into joining the Defiance,
and when we reached out to the
Defiants, we found them waiting with
open arms.
http://american_gothic/page_43
http://world_ wide_cove nant/page_ 44
GOD IS VRYWHR
I've written this missive from a
American perspective, for sure. The
fact is that I was born in America,
raised in America, and I hope to
someday-a long time from now, if I'm
lucky-die in America. However, God
doesn't recognize things like the
political boundaries that seem so
important in international diplomacy.
His popularity is truly a global
phenomenon.
So I'm going to step back from the
goings-on in the United States for a
moment and give you a quick
overview of how Covenant operations
are across the globe. Even if you're a
dyed-in-the-wool, never-going-to-
leave-the-country kind of American,
there's a lot of information in here that
you might find enlightening, so pay
attention as best you can.
ASIA
Christianity is a minority religion
throughout most of Asia, which is
dominated by such faiths as Islam,
Hinduism, and Buddhism. The
Covenant has a presence in this part of
the world, but it's not as omnipresent
as it is in Europe and South America.
nBfT
The most interesting religious group
in Asia has to be the Yellow Hat
Buddhists in Tibet. Although the
Chinese government has tried time and
time again to overthrow the Tibetan
government and install a puppet
government of its own. it has to date
failed miserably.
In fact, the Chinese actually
occupied this contentious territory
from 1950 to 1959. In that fateful final
year, the people of Tibet revolted
against their Chinese occupiers, and
with the help of the Big Hats-the
Yellow Hat equivalent of the
Covenant-they were able to drive the
invaders from their homes.
The Chinese have tried several times
in the intervening years to reestablish
their control over this mountainous
province, but they've never been able
to mass the kind of will necessary to
pull it off.
Since Tibet is ruled by its religious
leader, the Dalai Lama, the Big Hats
are more like the Covenant, Delta
Prime, and the Defiance all rolled into
one. There are no rebels fighting
against Tibetan authority in this
beleaguered country. The people rarely
have the time or need to turn on
themselves. They're too busy
defending their borders against the
Chinese aggressors.
(HINA
Christianity is officially outlawed in
China, but that doesn't stop people
from believing in the greatest story
ever told. The Covenant is not
welcome in China, although sometimes
humanitarian exceptions are made
when we accompany the Red Cross
into disaster areas to offer relief.
As a communist state, no religions
are permitted in China. Of course, even
such downtrodden people as the
Chinese refuse to abandon their faiths
entirely. This does mean that there are
no official clerical delta organizations
of any kind in the region. There are
reports of some individuals with these
kinds of powers, but they are rare.
HONG KONG
The Chinese and British are still
battling it out over the fate of Hong
Kong. The city-state remains under
siege by the Chinese Army, but the
Brits steadfastly refuse to hand over
such a valuable territory. Officially, the
people of Hong Kong have been
holding out for well over two years
now, and there seems to be no end in
sight.
It sometimes seems that the only
God most Hong Kongers worship is
money. While many of the world's
religions have enclaves here, none have
a substantial enough foothold to be
worth discussing at length. Some
members of the Covenant are at work
here, alongside some delta clerics from
the Anglican Church, but their actions
are limited by the ongoing conflict.
JAPAN
Japan is a mishmash of different
religious forces, none of them more
dominant than the other. The official
state religion is Shinto-reestablished
by Hirohito after he resumed power
back in 1977-which is an anomaly as
world religions go. It has no set of
scriptures and consequently no fixed
dogma.
The Emperor is the de facto leader of
this state-sponsored faith, but
individual Shinto priests are not
offiCially recognized by the Japanese
government. There is no Covenant-like
organization for one good reason: the
Japanese government is even more
restrictive about deltas than ours. They
all go to work exclusively for the state,
and having the opportunity to do so is
a matter of nationalistic pride.
http://world_ wide _covenant/page _ 46
AUSTRALIA
In Australia, Catholicism exists, but
it takes a back seat to the Anglican
Church. The Anglicans have their own
version of the Covenant which they
call the Synod, which I'll get to when I
cover the United Kingdom.
The Covenant and the Synod
generally get along pretty well,
although we occasionally find
ourselves working at cross-purposes. If
you end up in Australia, feel free to
work freely with any Anglicans you
might meet there, but always keep in
mind that you answer to the Pope, and
they do not.
AFRICA
There are several indigenous
religions practiced throughout Africa,
but few of these have the kind of
organization or popularity to be
considered a major world religion.
Islam is practiced in many of the
Saharan states, while Christianity-and
especially Roman Catholicism-
dominates the rest of the continent,
especially in the coastal regions. Of
course, there are plenty of exceptions
to consider.
In any case, the Covenant has a
major presence across many parts of
Africa. With the constant civil wars
that seem to erupt throughout the
place so frequently, there are plenty of
chances for deltas to awaken, and there
are as many Covenant deltas here,
proportionally, as there are anywhere
else.
The Covenant is viewed with
suspicion by most African
governments, but few of them take an
active stance against us. The notable
exceptions are Libya and South Africa,
both of which are terribly repressive
states with governments that do their
best to suppress any potential for
subversive elements. The recent
scandal in the US has set us back in
this respect, causing most African
rulers to trust us even less than before.
EUROPE
In general, the Roman Catholic
Church's popularity has soared over
the course of the past century.
Mainstays like Spain, Portugal, and
France have become more solid than
ever, and churches are swelling with
new members across the continent.
There are, of course, some
exceptions.
IRUANO
The Troubles in Ireland are
ostensibly based upon differences in
religion, but politics has as much to do
with it if not more. There's nothing in
either the Catholic or Protestant
versions of the New Testament that
says you should kill your neighbors for
having the gall to not share your
beliefs.
That said, the bitterness of the
situation is inescapable. In many parts
of the world, members of the Covenant
and the ecumenical Synod work side
by side with each other. Not so in
Ireland, in which Covenant priests and
Anglican Synoders can be mortal
enemies.
The Pope himself has tried to
intervene here, and there have been
many overtures toward peace on the
Irish isle over the past few years.
Hopefully the Irish clergy on both
sides can put aside their own
differences and lead the way to peace.
ITALY AND IHI VATICAN
Italy is so solidly Roman Catholic
that it was actually made the nation's
official religion back in 1929. You
know, of course, that the Vatican City
is right in the heart of Rome. They
don't call it the Holy "Roman" Catholic
Church for nothing, after all.
It seems that 1929 was a significant
year for the Church in Italy, since that's
also when the Italian government-
then led by II Duce, the fascist dictator
Benito Mussolini himself-officially
ceded the lands of the Vatican to the
Church, making the capital of our faith
a wholly independent nation of its
own.
As nations go, Vatican City is the
smallest on the face of the planet at
only 44 acres. Although it may be
technically independent of Italy, it
relies on the good nature of the Italian
government for things like national
defense and the like. The Covenant
may do a lot to protect the Vatican, but
there are only so many of us to go
around, and standing up against an
invading army isn't something we're
really ready for.
There is no higher concentration of
Covenant deltas on the planet then
there are in the Vatican. If you' re not
on assignment someplace else, you' re
usually there.
The recent scandal in America has
really strained Italian-American
relations-so much so that Kennedy
actually considered expelling the
Italian ambassador, just as he actually
did with the Vatican's representative.
Despite this, the Pope continues to
hold out an olive branch to the
President. At the moment, Kennedy's
been too angry about the betrayal to
return the Pontiff's calls, but
eventually it'll happen. The President
is mad, but he's still a Catholic at heart.
IHI SOVIH UNION
The Soviets unofficially suppress all
religions in their territory, considering
them the "opiate of the masses." It's
not that you can't legally worship as
you like, but it is frowned upon by the
ruling party. Also, members of the
Soviet Communist Party can't be
members of any church, which
effectively cripples the individual
advancement in society by any open
believers.
Those few clerical deltas who
awaken in the Soviet Union usually do
their best to keep their lights under a
bushel. And if they are unfortunate
enough to be discovered, they must
immediately renounce their religion
and sign up with the Red Brigade or
spend the rest of their lives in a
Siberian gulag.
The Covenant is most definitely not
welcome anywhere in the Soviet
Union. The recent American scandal
has only cemented this opinion in the
minds of the popular Soviet
leadership-that no clergy can be
trusted, much less those with the
powers of a Covenant delta, and the
will to use them against the reigning
government.
IHI UNIUD KINGDOM
The United Kingdom is the home of
the Anglican Church-also known as
the Church of England-of which the
http://world_wide_covenant/page_48
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head of state is considered to be the
official leader. The Anglicans and we
Roman Catholics have a lot of things in
common, with a few notable
exceptions.
The Anglicans are a lot more
ecumenical in their approach to their
doctrines, and this extends to the way
they handle clerical deltas. When they
founded the Synod, for instance, they
welcomed in any clerical deltas of any
Christian faith. The Synod is officially
led by Queen Elizabeth II herself, but
in fact, it's Bishop Simon Carr who
holds this organization's reins.
While Bishop Carr is nominally in
charge of the Synod, in fact the various
members generally keep their own
counsel. While they have agreed to
work with the bishop and accept his
leadership, they almost all---except the
actual Anglicans in the Synod-reserve
the right to make up their own minds
on any issue that may arise during
their tenure.
..
This lack of consistency in the
organization's beliefs has forced the
Synod into often looking like a weak
sister to the Covenant. While any
individual Synoder may be as
competent as a Covenant delta, their
lack of teamwork hurts them
desperately.
This is the reason why the Synod
has never made any real inroads in
America. It just doesn't have enough
focus. The Synod claims an official
relationship with the Schism here in
America, but oppressed as it is the
Schism is an even more fractured
group, if that's possible.
There are Catholics in the United
Kingdom, but they are by far in the
minority. While Covenant members are
welcomed by the Synod with open
arms, the same is not true of the British
government.
While the Covenant isn't officially
outlawed in Great Britain, all known
members were deported or expelled
http://world_ wide _covenant/page _ 49
soon after the scandal broke in the us.
Prime Minister Thatcher has been a
long-time friend of President Kennedy,
and while she's not nearly as paranoid
as the President sometimes seems to
be, she's certainly willing to take a
page from his book when it comes to
situations like this.
Getting into Britain quietly isn't all
that hard for a Covenant cleric, but you
should be warned that if you are
discovered, you will be given a free
trip back to Vatican City at the Queen's
expense.
THE MIDDLE EAST
While Christianity may have gotten
its start in the Middle East, it hasn't
been all that popular there for a long
time. Most of the Arabian nations are
followers of Muhammad, while the
people of Israel worship Jehovah
instead.
ISLAM
As a religion, Islam has no central
leader or organization, instead being
divided into several sects, each of
which has its own leader. These people
may all follow the teachings of
Muhammad, but as with all words that
have been written down, even the
lessons of the Koran are open to
constant reinterpretation.
In some Middle-Eastern nations like
Iran, the leader of the country is the
leader of the state's religious sect as
well. This can complicate matters even
further if these leaders conflict over not
just religious but political issues, as has
been known to happen on more than
one occasion.
Just like in Japan, almost all deltas
are immediately scooped up by Islamic
states and pressed into service. While
the different sects of Islam are
comparatively fractured when
measured against the Roman Catholic
Church, there is a loose affiliation of
Islamic clerical deltas known as the
Jihad.
Jihad, of course, is Arabic for "holy
war," which is the means by which
Muslims are expected to spread their
beliefs. Contrary to what you might
think, there are actually four means of
waging this holy war: by the heart
(purification of your own soul so that
you can act as an example to others),
by the hand (your good works), the
tongue (preaching the word of Allah,
the Muslim version of God), and by
the sword (physically attacking
infidels-unbelievers ).
The Jihad places a lot of emphasis
on the first three methods, reserving
the last for only the most dire of
circumstances. In practice, most
members of the Jihad are happy to
work with members of the Covenant.
There is a kind of professional
collegiality that prevails, despite our
widely different systems of belief.
Still, most Arabian states have
outlawed the Covenant. While the
governments of these nations fall
shorts of actually hunting down and
persecuting Covenant clerics, they will
quickly expel you if you're found
within their borders.
ISRAH
I know you may find it hard to
believe, but we actually have at least
one friend in the nation of Israel. It's
simple, really. While Christians and
Jews have clashed over many issues
over the centuries, at the very least we
http://world_wide_covenant/page_50
have the Old Testament
(which the Jewish people
refer to as the Torah) in
common.
Also, the Israelites know
all about being persecuted
for their beliefs. The fact
that they've been able to
carve a nation for
themselves out of land that
had been in the hands of
Arabian states for countless
years before is nothing
short of miraculous-and I
say that as one who has a
lot of personal experience
with events of a miraculous
nature.
Judaism has its own
version of the Covenant as
well-known as the
Kabbalah-which some
Jewish scholars claim
predates even our
esteemed group. There's no
way of proving this
incredible claim, of course,
although the Jewish
religion has a much longer
history than that of
Christianity, so it's
conceivably possible that
they're right.
The Kabbalah's
organization is roughly
similar to that of the
Covenant. The whole thing
is run by Rabbi Jeremiah
Stein, a German-born Jew
who survived the Nazi
death camps as a small boy.
He emigrated to Israel from
Switzerland in 1950, and-
following in the footsteps
of his cherished ancestors-
he entered rabbinical
school as soon as he was
http://world_wide_covenant/page_S1
able.
Rabbi Stein has been a strong leader
for the Kabbalah, maintaining some
small amount of control over Jewish
clerical deltas far and wide. He's also a
high-ranking official in Mossad, the
Israeli intelligence agency. The
connection is no coincidence. If you
encounter a member of the Kabbalah,
you should assume that he's working
for Mossad. Whether he intends it or
not, everything that he learns and
reports back to Stein will end up in
Mossad's hands as well.
NORTH AMIRIC!
I've already covered the American
situation, as far as the Covenant is
concerned, but there are some details I
haven't quite gotten to yet.
Tiff SCHISM
As you know, in the past, the Pope
has declared the Schism to be nothing
more than an arrogant bunch of
heretics. Now that we're in the same
boat with these people, John Paul II
seems to have changed his tune. That's
not to say that the Pope was wrong
about what he said. There's the
doctrine of Papal infallibility to think
about, after all. But he's a bit more
forgiving of Schismatics these days.
In particular, the Pope has extended
an olive branch to Reverend Martin
Luther King, Jr., the legendary civil
rights leader. It's clear to all involved
that it's in the best interest of the
Covenant and the Schism to work
together in the future. We're all in the
same boat in America these days, one
that the director of Delta Prime would
love nothing more than to torpedo into
the depths.
Papal relations with the Schism's
other two leaders-Cardinal Joseph
O'Conner and Sister Mary Victoria-
can best be described as chilly. The
Vatican has never cared for the
maverick attitudes expressed by some
American Catholic clergy, and it holds
up these two people as perfect
examples of what it doesn't want to
see.
The Pope's reservations aside, when
you encounter a member of the
Schism, treat this person as an ally.
Their interests are parallel to our own.
That doesn't mean we're about to
welcome every Schismatic into our
fold. For one, many of them aren't
even Catholics and wouldn't join us
even if we begged. The two
organizations will remain intact, but
the chances that we will be working
side by side with them in the future
just went up a hundredfold.
CANADA
Canada has a sizeable Roman
Catholic population, and its
government is a lot more friendly to
the Covenant than the United States is
these days. However, the government
of Canada is careful to not appear too
chummy with us or the Pope. The
American-Canadian relationship is too
precious to strain over that.
That said, most Covenant members
can move freely throughout Canada, as
long as they don't call any attention to
themselves. Technically, as a delta
you're supposed to register with the
local police any time you stay in a
Canadian town for more than 24 hours
straight, but in reality the mounties
have better things to do than hassle
priest, nuns, and monks.
http://world_ wide_covenant/page _52
SOUTH AND
(INTRAL AMIRICA
Although Mexico is technically part
of North America, it has so much m
common with its other Latin American
cousins that it seems pointless to talk
about them separately from one
another.
The fact is that every country south
of the United States is almost
entirely-and quite rabidly-Catholic.
In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find
such a fervently loyal and dedicated
group of worshippers outside of Italy
itself.
In general, none of the Latin
American countries has an official state
religion. Many of their constitutions-
if they have one or are bothering to
uphold it these days-are ~ d e ~ e d o ~
that of the United States, whIch IS qUlte
clear about the separation of church
and state. That said, the people who
run Latin and South American
governments are almost invariably
Catholic (by birth or conversion), and
it does say a great deal about who they
are and how they interact with the
other nations and religions of the
world.
In Latin America, for example,
Covenant deltas are considered
incredible heroes. The natives
believe-and perhaps rightly so-that
most if not all deltas are destined for
sainthood in the long run and that they
are blessed to be alive while we are
walking the earth. .
But keep in mind that it's sometImes
literally impossible to tell who's going
to be in charge of a particular country
from week to week, or even day to day.
Mexican President Juan Alberto
Gutierrez actually managed to stave off
the latest in a series of coup attempts
just last month. He's been in power.
now for four years, which is some kmd
of record in Latin America in the
modern age.
But ultimately, he had help.
President Gutierrez was alerted to a
demon-driven plot by members of the
Covenant who were hunting the beast
who was hunting him. This, of course,
only cemented his appreciation .for our
organization, and he has been nght
helpful to us in return.
The best place for any Covenant
delta to be, of course-outside of
Vatican City-is Costa Rica or, better
yet, the rebel island of Isla Delta. These
countries are unique in that they not
only tolerate deltas but actively
encourage them to take up residence in
their welcoming territories. The
Covenant has a permanent mission on
Isla Delta, from which we preach to the
people of the island and do our best to
bring them to recognize God's love for
them.
In one sense, this is the Covenant's
most important project, since every
delta that we convert to Catholicism is
one fewer aimless delta soul bitter at
the world. Some of these converts
actually even become members of the
Covenant themselves, swelling our
ranks in a much more satisfying way
than waiting for Catholic clergy to
survive near-fatal brushes with death.
No matter where you are in the
world, though, you should always
remember that you have the Lord on
your side. Though you walk through
the valley of darkness, you shall f e ~ r
no evil, for the righteous have nothmg
to fear. Even should you fall from this
mortal world, your eternal reward
awaits you in the next.
http://world_wide_covenantlpage_53
THE ULTIMATE IVIL
Face it, the Covenant isn't worried
about the evil that men do. That's what
the regular clergy is for. They're
perfectly capable of handling that part
of caring for the human condition.
No, the Covenant gets called in only
when there's something seriously
wrong, when there's trouble of a
supernatural bent, when the regular
clergy realize that they're out of their
depth.
DeltaTimes.com has called us God's
SWAT team, and that's not so far off
from the truth.
So let me tell you a bit more about
the kinds of evil you're going to be
called on to fight and-God willing-
defeat.
VAMPIRES
I've gone on at length about the
vampires in Atlanta, how they came to
be, and how to put an end to them. But
there's still a bit more to say about
these bloodsuckers.
Vampires are the most virulent and
common form of supernatural evil on
the planet. They can crop up anywhere
at any time, but for some reason they
seem especially prone to pop up in the
perimeter of nuclear disaster or blast
zones. There's a lot of speculation on
why this is. The most respected
guess-I'd hesitate to call it a theory,
with so little evidence to support it-is
that it has something to do with some
kind of secret energy released by the
bombs.
Do you remember when I told you
about the way the skin seemed to boil
off some people who'd been in the
open when the bombs went off? That's
almost the same way that vampires
react to sunlight, albeit the
bloodsuckers burn up a lot more
quickly.
THfY'Rf EYfRYWHfRf
Due to this nuclear effect, there are
huge enclaves of vampires in and
around both Atlanta and San Francisco
as well as Chernobyl, Kiev, and Minsk.
Apparently ambient radiation that
would drop an elephant doesn't affect
vampires adversely. They walk in and
out of a no-go zone like it's
Disneyland.
In America, Delta Prime has had
some success-initially with Covenant
aid-in keeping the bloodsuckers
quarantined within the blast zones that
spawned them. But the net that we've
thrown up around these places
develops holes from time to time, and
more than a few determined vampires
have gotten through.
Most times, vampires that get loose
go on a killing frenzy, tempted by all
the fresh blood that they find outside
of their irradiated enclave. We usually
can track them down before they end
too many innocent lives. With the
cunning, more subtle ones, it's worse,
since it can take months or even years
before we know where they are, much
less are able to bring them down.
In one sense, you might think of
vampires as just another kind of delta.
But at the end of the day, they live by
killing people, and that's pure evil.
Of course, not everyone attacked by
a vampire is killed. Some survive and
live long and prosperous lives. Others
are physically or psychologically
maimed by the experience.
And then there's a small percentage
of these victims who do more than just
http://foes_ oCrighteousness/page _ 55
survive. They awaken. And, you
guessed it, they always awaken as
vampires.
Fortunately, this kind of thing is
really rare, or we'd have vampires
crawling all over the place. As it is, it
still makes the creatures deadlier than
ever, since they can create more of their
own, twisted kind.
If you do encounter evidence of a
vampire, the standard operating
procedure is to get help, right away. If
that's not possible, it's your call as to
whether or not you want to tackle the
beast yourself. Just be careful. These
things seem to like to hang out in
groups, and if you're not careful, you
could easily find yourself badly
outnumbered and at the top of the
bloodsuckers' menu choices for the
day. Just because you're Covenant
doesn't mean you can't bleed for them.
DEADERS
You may have heard of these things.
Some gadgeteer somewhere figured
out how to create a device that could
motivate and control a number of
corpses at a time. He did this by
plugging some circuitry into these
bodies' cold brains and then filling
them with juice.
I only mention this here because a
lot of people seem to think that these
"zombies" are some form of the
supernatural. While I can't claim to fully
understand the delta science behind
deaders, I can guarantee you that these
things are entirely mundane in their
nature. None of your holy protection
powers do any more good against
these things than they would have
against them when they were alive, so
be careful and keep your gun loaded.
Deaders are, however, already dead.
They are soulless creatures, basically
fleshy automatons, robots made out of
human meat. That means that the Sixth
Commandment isn't an issue here,
since there's nothing there to kill.
In other words: Fire at will!
If you're smart, you'll attack those
circuit implants I mentioned earlier.
While a gunshot through the brain will
put most deaders out of commission-
without the gray matter, the juice from
the circuits has no means of controlling
the rest of the body-the circuits are a
lot more delicate and easier to hit.
Unless, of course, they're armored-
or, worse yet, have had their heads
fully armored-in which case you're
on your own.
WEREBEASTS
Lycanthropes, shapeshifters,
werebeasts-whatever you want to call
them, they're trouble. Again, like
vampires, these creatures seem to be
just another form of delta. And despite
what you might remember from all
those comic books you read as a kid,
they're not inherently evil.
Sure, werebeasts have a tendency to
go a little wild, so to speak, sometimes
losing control over their emotions and
their actions. But when it comes right
down to it, they're still human.
The Covenant is called in all the
time on werebeast cases. Since these
are usually murder cases as well, it' s
actually right to intervene here. The
local police will likely only get
themselves killed if left to handle this
kind of problem on their own.
Werebeasts are unique in that they
are actually mystical in nature. They
always have some kind of weakness
that belies this. With most of the fur-
bearing beasts, this is a weakness to
silver. Most seagoing werebeasts, on
the other hand, are affected badly by
fresh water.
That said, werebeasts aren't
exclusively evil. While they one and all
have a savage nature, this nature can
be controlled by a strong will, and the
werebeast's powers can actually be
harnessed for the sake of good.
This means that you should exercise
great caution when dealing with
werebeasts in the field. While you are
certainly obliged to defend yourself
against any attacks, these creatures are
in fact human beings under their
animalistic exteriors. Their lives are
therefore sacred and not to be taken
lightly if at all.
BARGAINERS
The same caveats go double for
Bargainers. While these people may do
unspeakable things and truck with
creatures from the darkest depths of
Hell, they are still people. However, as
individuals, they hold the potential to
do some of the greatest harm in the
world.
Bargainers should be handled with
the ultimate care. There are some
within the Covenant who feel that all
such people should be killed on the
spot and then shot through a few more
times just to make sure. The official
stance of the Church, however, is that
no person is inherently evil, only the
things that they do. We also believe
that everyone is capable of change.
It's the fact that vampires fail on
both of these counts that makes them
fair game for treating with extreme
prejudice. The same is not true of
Bargainers, which you should always
keep in mind.
http://foes _of_righteousness/page _ 57
DEMONS
The main problem with Bargainers is
that they deal with demons, and if
they're not careful, they can
unwittingly let such creatures loose
upon the world. Most Bargainers aren't
so foolish as to do such a thing
intentionally. After all, the first victim
on a demon's list once he lands in our
world is usually the Bargainer that
brought him here.
Demons are horrible creatures of
pure evil. Some look entirely human,
while others seem like the products of
some unforgiveably twisted mind.
They come in an almost infinite variety
of shapes and forms, and they have
access to a tremendous amount of
sorcerous power.
DIMONIC POWIR
Do you know how dangerous a
Bargainer can be? Demons are the
entities that give Bargainers their
powers, that fashion their hateful
totems for them. Just imagine what
kind of power that requires.
Powers aside, demons are superior
to humans in just about every way.
They're faster, smarter, and stronger.
Some of them can bounce bullets off of
their skin. Others can walk right
though walls. Or take the shape of
anyone you've ever known by pulling
the image from your own mind.
THI GAMI PLAN
When you run across evidence of a
demon, call in some backup
immediately. This is not a situation you
want to try to handle on your own.
While you may be able to use your
Covenant powers to protect yourself
for a while, a canny demon can often
figure out a way around such
limitations.
When you do eventually face down
a demon, remember that they generally
laugh at things like crosses. They've
been around since long before Christ.
Lucifer was an angel himself at one
point, and he and his followers have
no fear of the Lord.
That said, your powers can offer you
some protection, so be sure to make the
most of it.
(APTURI AND KILL
About the only way to capture a
demon is to draw or otherwise form a
circle of protection around it. This is
what Bargainers do to keep their
Hellish acquaintances in check. While
it may seem wrong to employ a
Bargainer's methods, we are often
given absolutely no choice about it.
The real trick is getting the demon to
stand still while you trap it. This is not
an easy stunt to pull off, as these
demons are always on guard against
having just this kind of thing happen.
Once you manage to trap a demon,
however, you can then destroy it at
your leisure, although I recommend
doing so right away. If the demon were
to somehow escape, you'd have likely
blown your best-and possibly only-
chance.
When you "kill" a demon, you're
actually just destroying its body and
banishing its spirit back to Hell for the
next 100 years. While it might not
officially be a final victory, it's certainly
one that you should feel free to chalk
up in the win column. Honestly, just
surviving such an encounter is
something you should be proud of.
htlf ...... ' r Ifoes_ oCrighteousness/page _ 58
POSSISSIONS
Sometimes a demon manages to get
its spirit through into the earthly
realm, leaving its body behind in Hell.
Until the disembodied demon finds a
shell to inhabit, it can' t directly affect
anyone. Demons are basically
immortal, however. They have lots of
time to look for an opportunity for
themselves, and eventuall y they' ll find
it.
THf INANIMAU
In the most common kind of
possessions, the demon takes control of
an inanimate object. This is apparently
easiest for the demon because there is
no will in the object that the demon
has to wrestle with in order to take
control. Of course, this is just a theory,
since few demons have been willing to
chat much about their choices, and
even if they were, you certainly
couldn't trust a thing that they said to
you.
A demon can possess just about
anything and seem to give it a will of
its own: a car, a house, a roller
coaster-whatever. The only limitation
seems to be that a single demon can
only possess a single thing of a
reasonable size. This means that while
a demon could possess a house or a
boat, it could not take control of an
entire neighborhood or a fleet of ships.
Of course, if the demon is able to
arrange for enough friends to work
alongside it, just about anything is
possible.
Demons cannot possess anything
that has been sanctified or even blessed
by a priest. This limitation only applies
to things that have already had the
http://foes_ oCrighteousness/page _59
benefit of a priest's attention before the
demon's arrival. Once the demon is in
control, sanctifying or blessing the
possessed thing does absolutely no
good and is in fact doomed to fail.
Many people chalk up possessed
things to a form of ghost known as a
poltergeist. While there's certainly
room for us to be wrong about such
things, just about every poltergeist case
that the Covenant has taken care of has
turned out to be a confirmable case of
demonic possession.
TAKING POSSfSSION
Demons don't just possess
something at random. If that was the
case, they'd all just take control of as
many ICBMs as possible and blast us
all back to the stone age any time they
felt like it. No, for a demon to be able
to possess something, it needs to have
already played a part in some kind of
horrible evil.
If someone has been murdered in a
house, for instance, the place is ripe for
possession, especially if the killing was
a particularly grisly one or had some
kind of demonic component to it.
Perhaps the victim was murdered by a
Bargainer trying to appease a demon
enough to gain control over another
totem, for instance.
When in possession of something,
the demon can make any moving parts
on it move without any apparent
means. It does this through sheer force
of will.
For instance, in a house, the demon
can slam and lock doors, shatter
windows, roll the flooring like a wave,
even shake the entire place to its very
foundations as if a killer earthquake
had the place in its grip. A possessed
car can run without electricity or gas,
even going so far as to be able to turn
on headlights without a battery and
turn the engine without fuel or even
oil. A possessed knife could twist
around and about as if on the end of
an invisible string, stabbing and slicing
as it went.
There really is no limit to what kinds
of things a demon can possess, and
some demons are a lot more subtle
about it than others. These are the
worst kinds of cases, since it's so hard
to figure out what to place the blame
on. In one case I worked on personally,
a demon possessed a gun that would
constantly go off "accidentally" and at
the worst times. It managed to kill at
least a half-dozen people before I put
an end to its reign of terror.
YOU AR TH RPO MAN
There are really only two ways to
deal with a demonic possession of an
object. You either perform an exorcism,
or you entirely destroy the object.
As you know, performing an
exorcism can take a long time, and it's
always possible that you could fail in
your effort. And the demon is hardly
going to sit still for it while you work
on banishing it back to Hell.
On the other hand, there are some
things that just can't be easily
destroyed or that are so precious that
they're worth saving. Most people
would go to a lot of effort to save their
house, for instance.
When in doubt, find yourself the
nearest industrial trash compactor and
then crush the thing as flat as you
possibly can. (Getting the thing into
the compactor is the real trick.) Or
destroy it some other way. Then
exorcise the remains just in case. You
can't be too careful about these things.
hth..,. . "toes_ oCrighteousness/page _ 60
THf LIVING
Demons have been known to
possess the living as well. These are
heartbreaking cases because the
victims are usually innocents whose
bodies have been hijacked by demonic
forces.
Just as with objects, a demon can't
just possess anyone at random. The
person has to somehow be associated
with some great act of evil. It matters
not whether the person was the victim
or the perpetrator of that act of evil or
simply someone tangentially affected
by it, as long as she was involved.
Of course, this makes it harder for
the layperson to spot possession, since
the trauma the host has gone through
is often just the sort of thing to produce
post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Instead of recognizing a demonic hand
at work, people may simply figure that
the host is in fact insane.
Once a Covenant member is on the
job, though, we can usually spot these
things through experience. Also, our
mere presence seem to get a rise out of
demons. They take great delight in
mocking our faith, trying to find a flaw
in our beliefs so that they can tear us
down to our bare souls.
It's possible to get end a possession
by killing a host, although the demon
is sure to do his best to work against
this. It's preferable, of course, to
exorcise the demon instead, since the
soul of the host is indeed damned if
she dies with the demon still inside
her.
If you've never handled an exorcism
before, be sure to call for some help on
this if you can. Even experienced
exorcists find that these indicents
quickly become ordeals for all
involved.
THf DfAD
Yes, demons can even possess the
dead. In essence, this is the same as a
demon possessing an object, except
this object is a rapidly decaying human
body. Just as with anything else, a
demon can only possess a corpse that
has been involved in evil. Often this
means that the corpse has some kind of
horrible and obvious wound on it that
makes it that much more terrifying.
Demonic possession does nothing to
preserve a corpse, so without certain
extraordinary efforts or the possession
of an already embalmed body the
cadaver will decay normally. This
means that eventually the demon's
host body will fall apart. Because of
this, most zombies seem to be
possessed by demons out for a quick
joyride. Exorcising the already dead
seems pointless. Just shoot the thing
through the head and destroy the body.
EfHCTS
When a demon is exorcised or has
its host destroyed, its spirit flees back
to Hell. Unfortunately, it's only
banished from our world for a year
and a day as opposed to 100 years.
This is why many demons are
content to possess things rather than
tricking a Bargainer into letting them
personally loose in our world. It's a lot
less risky, while still offering many
chances for mayhem.
LAST WORDS
In closing, I'd like to say welcome to
the Covenant, my friend. The world
needs more souls like yours.
Keep the faith.
http://foes_ oCrighteousness/page _ 6
(OVfHAHT HfROfS
CHAPTER ONE:
COVENANT
HEROES
HOLY HEROES!
One thing that sets this book apart
from most of the Brave New World
sourcebooks is that there aren't any
new power packages in this book.
That's right: zero, zip, nada, zilch.
Instead, we're going to focus on The
Covenant power package, the one that
we already went into some depth
about in Ravaged Planet. That seems
like the right way to go. The name of
the book is The Covenant, after all.
To make it easier for those of you
who want to playa Covenant hero, the
following pages include all of the
material that was in Ravaged Planet,
plus a whole slew of new stuff. It
might not be the most utterly efficient
use of space, but it keeps you from
having to flip back and forth from
book to book when you want to know
just how your hero's powers work.
This way, everything you might ever
want to know about Covenant heroes
is right here, nestled between these
two colorful covers.
DO YOU HEAR THE (ALL?
The first thing you need to ask
yourself is whether or not you're really
interested in playing a Covenant hero.
The fact is that not everyone is cut out
to take on such a role.
Covenant heroes aren't like other
heroes. For one, they're all ordained,
which comes with a whole host of
baggage for the hero. We're talking
about things like taking the Ten
Commandments seriously. That whole
"Thou Shalt Not Kill" thing, for
instance, can really cramp the style of
players who tend to let their assault
rifles handle their confrontational
interpersonal relationships for them.
If you decide that you're ready to
play one of the few and the righteous,
though, then bully for you. This
chapter is entirely for you. Just make
sure that you always do your utmost to
maintain your hero's holy nature. To
that end, keep these words in mind:
"The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh
away."
COVENANT HEROES
JOINING THE COVENANT
As a member of the Covenant, the
hero must be an ordained member of
the Roman Catholic Church. This
includes priests (fathers), nuns (sisters),
and brothers. Although nuns and
brothers aren't actually ordained, they
receive holy orders. The available
powers are the same for each kind of
religious figure, although their powers
and duties can differ quite a bit.
Not every member of the Covenant
is a delta, but throughout the following
pages, we assume that any heroes are.
Of course, a player can always take on
the role of a Covenant reg if she likes.
If so, just ignore the bits that refer to
delta powers.
The only real benefit that a Covenant
reg has over a delta is that she's not in
violation of the Delta Registration Act.
These days, though, if she's discovered
to be a Covenant hero, then she's in
just about as much trouble.
11* (OVfNANT AND THf LAW
In most parts of the world, Covenant
heroes are treated like members of the
Red Cross. They're essentially neutral
observers.
In many cases, this is actually true.
Covenant heroes often aren't all that
interested in the politics of a region,
staying above such issues as the
treatment of others deltas by the
general public. While they might
privately decry the rampant prejudice
against innocent people who have been
blessed with delta powers, officially
they're more concerned with
ecclesiastical matters.
To the mind of many Covenant
heroes, the endemic squabbling over
the rights of deltas is really beside the
point, kind of like arguing over the
rules of a boxing match when the
whole arena is about to be bombed
into oblivion. Still, there are times at
which Covenant heroes involve
themselves in secular matters. The
most notable instance of this is the way
the Covenant hosted the
DeltaTimes.com website for the better
part of the past decade.
THfRf ARf ALWAYS (ONSfOUfNUS
The problem, of course, is when the
Covenant heroes that get involved in
earthly politics manage to get caught.
The government in power is rarely
understanding about these things, and
the United States is no exception.
With the current ban on Covenant
heroes in place, everyone of them is
wanted by the US government. Any
other member of the clergy is
immediately suspect by simple
association.
Any Covenant heroes that are
discovered and captured by Delta
Prime are given one of two choices:
join up or spend the rest of their days
looking out at the Crescent City skyline
from the comfort of a New Alcatraz
cell.
In effect, Covenant heroes in
America are now in the same boat as
members of the Schism. In fact, it's
usually worse, since many members of
the Covenant have public identities.
Before the incident that brought the
wrath of Kennedy down on their
heads, these clergypeople had little or
no reason to disguise who they are. In
fact, many of them even worked
directly with Delta Prime when the
aims of the US government and the
Holy See converged.
COVENANT HEROES
This has left these Covenant heroes
entirely exposed. Many have had to
abandon their assignments, leaving
their posts to their reg brethren. Many
even left the country after their neutral
status was revoked. The vast majority
stayed at the Pope's behest, but they
were forced to go underground.
There were a notable few, of course,
who were captured. Some of these
people even refused to leave their
flocks, waiting for the Primers to come
and capture them, whether in the dead
of night or the middle of Sunday mass.
SCHISMATIC H ~ R O I S
Some heroes are bound to want to
join the Schism, and that's just fine.
New Covenant heroes are pretty much
the same as those who belong to the
original Covenant. They just answer to
a different leader. These rules assume
the hero is a Catholic Schismatic, but
that's not necessarily so. The Schism
takes in people of all faiths.
For the most part, the powers of
heroes of other faiths are going to work
identically to those of the Catholic
Schismatics. It's up to the Guide to
tinker with any variations that might
seem appropriate.
Most of the time, this simply
involves renaming the powers to
something more appropriate to the
hero's faith. Might of God, for instance,
would simply be might of Yahweh in the
hands of a rabbi, or might of Allah
when used by a Muslim priest.
Of course, if the hero's simply a
member of another Christian religion,
then there's really nothing else that has
to be done. The differences between
deltas in the Catholic clergy and those
who are leaders in any other religion is
generally small enough that it can be
ignored for the purposes of the game.
Naturally, there are always going to be
exceptions to such a general kind of
rule, but it's up to the Guide to help
interpret these differences as they crop
up.
COVENANT HEROES
HEROES OF ANOTHER GOD
While this book concentrates on the
Catholic Covenant, there's absolutely
no reason why a hero couldn't playa
devoted member of just about any of
the world's major religions. These
heroes are generally members of either
the Schism or an official special forces
branch of their own religion's
governing body.
These heroes could even have their
religion's own version of Covenant
martial arts (see below for more on this
skill). Buddhist monks certainly have
such a skill available to them, for
instance.
Deltas of just about any other
religion are treated like any other delta
in Kennedy'S America: badly. Even the
Covenant has recently lost its favored
status. Now, all deltas are equal in the
eyes of the law.
COVENANT MARTIAL ARTS
One of the more amazing and useful
skills the Covenant has developed over
the years is a new kind of martial arts
skill that's based on Spirit instead of
Speed. It involves the hero finding a
calm center of power within himself
and then using that to open a barrel of
whup-ass in the physical world.
Covenant martial arts works just like
the standard version of martial arts,
except it's a skill that comes under
Spirit instead. It comes in three flavors:
barehanded, blade, and club.
Like any other close combat attack,
Covenant martial arts uses the hero's
Strength as the basis for any damage
rolls. Of course, many Covenant
operatives use close-combat weapons
to give themselves that extra edge.
DRESSING THE PART
Covenant heroes often wear the
official uniforms of their office. They
have several different kinds of
uniforms they wear on different
occasions. For daily use, they normally
only wear their traditional collar or
habit. When on the job as a Covenant
operative, they often wear brightly
decorated body armor covered with
the symbols of their faith.
Covenant heroes aren't always eager
to betray their roots. At those times,
they don't bother wearing any
Covenant or clergical uniform,
preferring to dress just like the average
person-or delta, at least-on the
street. These plainclothes Covenant
operatives only reveal themselves
when necessary, although most carry a
badge of office on their person at all
times. The only real exception to this is
when the operative is deep undercover.
WEAPONS
Covenant agents use weapons
similar to those of any other hero,
although they tend to favor guns of
Italian make, like Berettas. Still, there
are some unique armaments that they
use that are especially well-suited for
the kind of confrontations they often
find themselves embroiled in.
The most effective and easy-to-find
weapons against many "creatures of
darkness" are off-the-shelf weapons
like flamethrowers and rocket
launchers. Even creatures that can
shrug off a hail of bullets often have a
hard time with being engulfed in
flames or being blasted into very small
pieces. Of course, such ordnance isn't
always available or convenient.
BALLOON MORTAR
This device has been around ever
since the invention of the latex balloon.
Even before that, the Covenant was
using more primitive devices that fired
payloads held in things like a sheep's
bladder.
The balloon mortar is a two-handed
device that fires special, six-inch
balloons at a target up to 100 yards
away. It's held like a Tommy-gun:
usually at waist-level with a double-
fisted grip.
The weapon has a crossbow-like
action that's drawn back to provide
tension. The balloon is then dropped
down the barrel of the mortar, where
it's held in place by a automatic
bracing mechanism so that you can
point the weapon downward without
the balloon rolling out.
When the trigger is pulled, the brace
and the catapult in the back of the
weapon's barrel are released, and the
balloon goes zooming straight out of
the barrel. The barrel is teflon-coated to
keep the balloon's skin from sticking to
the inside of the barrel.
The weapon only has a range of
about 50 yards when fired in a straight
line, using the firer's shooting skill.
However, it can achieve ranges of
double that if the user tips the nose up
and lofts the balloons into the air. If a
hero fires the weapon in this way, he
has to use his artillery skill instead.
PAYLOADS
The damage done by the weapon
depends on what's held in the balloon.
There are three different kinds of
payloads that are often used: water,
holy water, and garlic paste.
Water doesn't normally do any
damage to a regular target. Instead, a
target that's been hit must simply
make a standard stun check. However,
if the victim is a wereshark (see Glory
Days), then the fresh water forces the
creature to make a stun check to avoid
(OVHAHT HEROES
falling ill for the next hour. If the
were shark fails the check, add +3 to
the Target Number of everything she
tries to do for the next hour.
Holy water has the same effect as
water on most things-even
weresharks-but it's really nasty
against vampires. Since a six-inch
balloon holds just over 40 ounces of
liquid, a direct hit with a balloon can
do a tremendous amount of damage to
a vampire.
To a bloodsucker, a holy-water
balloon goes off like a grenade, dealing
10d6+ 10 points of massive damage,
with a Blast Radius of 1. This damage
ignores the victim's undead ability.
Better yet, the holy water does
absolutely nothing to a regular person,
which means that the firer can let loose
with a hail of these in a crowd and
only have to worry about getting the
non-vampires wet.
Garlic paste balloons are filled with
a noxious, clinging paste composed
mostly of raw garlic. Vampires are
unable to stomach this stuff at all.
Covenant heroes usually blast balloons
of this stuff between themselves and a
vampire just to keep the bloodsuckers
in their place. It's especially good at
blocking doorways. It covers an area
up to three feet across.
If a vampire happens to actually be
hit with a garlic-paste balloon-also
known as a garlic grenade, in the ever-
growing vampire-hunting trade-it
doesn't do any actual damage to the
creature, but it can make her ill. The
vampire must make a stun check or
become ill for one full hour or until the
stuff is thoroughly washed off. If the
vampire fails the stun check, add +3 to
anything she tries to do for the next
hour.
Even if the vampire makes the stun
check, she must still add +3 to the
Target Number of any Spirit rolls until
the hour expires or she manages to get
herself clean. The stench of this hated
herb can be extremely distracting to a
bloodsucker.
(OVINANT HlROIS
THf (OVfNANT (ROSSBOW
This crossbow is exclusively
manufactured for the Vatican by the
Beretta Corporation, although a
civilian model is also available for the
general public-without the crucifixes
and other emblems that adorn the
Covenant variety.
The Covenant crossbow can fire
bolts of all kinds. Most modern
crossbow users employ metallic bolts,
but the Covenant swears by traditional
wooden ammunition for its usefulness
against all kinds of targets, particularly
certain supernatural elements of evil,
like vampires, which suffer normal
damage from wooden weapons.
The Covenant crossbow is similar to
regular crossbows with one exception:
It automatically reloads the bolts from
a belt, making it a lot faster to use in
combat, since the hero doesn't have to
reload between shots. In fact, the
ammunition comes in disintegrating
belts that can easily be fed into the
firing mechanism, making the weapon
as simple to reload as a standard pistol.
SPICIAL AMMUNITION
Of course, vampires are known to
employ bulletproof vests these days to
cut down on their exposure to having a
crossbow bolt pierce their cold hearts.
To counter this, the Covenant has
developed a teflon-tipped, hardened,
wooden bolt.
To prevent the bolt from simply
sailing right through a target-a
problem that quickly became apparent
in early tests of this special bolt-both
the tip and tail of the bolt are equipped
with center-pointing barbs that extend
instantaneously upon impact. These
ensure that the bolt is firmly engaged
in the victim's chilled flesh. Removing
such a bolt is nearly impossible, and
extremely painful even then.
To extract a barbed bolt without first
clipping the barbs off with a wire-
cutter, the character must make a
Challenging (10) Strength roll. If this is
successful, the bolt is torn free, but the
victim takes another 3d6+3 points of
damage.
(ROSS KIT
Certain forms of undead creatures-
most notably vampires-can't bring
themselves to get close to a religious
symbol. To help their people take
advantage of this, the Covenant has
assembled a kit to make instant
construction of Christian crosses easy.
The kit comes in a black leather bag.
Inside, there's an 8" by 10" stencil of a
cross punched out of a double-layer of
aluminum reminiscent of a cookie
sheet. There's also a spare stencil of the
same size, but cut out of a rolled sheet
of filmy vinyl that clings to glass and
other sheer surfaces by means of static
electricity.
The kit also comes with two cans of
spray paint. The first is a day-glo
hunter orange, which the Covenant
hero can use with a stencil to create a
cross that no one could miss, even on
the darkest day. The other can has
glow-in-the-dark paint. This isn't very
easy to see under well-lit conditions,
but it does just what you would think
in the gloom.
Some heroes use both cans for each
cross. First, they paint an orange cross,
and then they cover that with the
glow-in-the dark paint. This gives
them a cross that's visible in any
lighting conditions, which can be life-
saving.
COVENANT HEROES
Each can of spray paint is good for
about 20 crosses. Actually spray-
painting a cross only takes a single
action, and it doesn't require a skill roll
of any kind. This is pretty simple stuff
we're talking about, after all, and the
designers of the kit have gone out of
their way to make it as easy as
possible.
The kit also comes with a halogen-
bulb flashlight. Besides making it
easier to get around in the dark, the
flashlight can be used to charge up the
elements in the paint that glow. This
takes a full half-minute of exposure to
get the cross to really shine.
(ROSS-SIGHTS
This is a simple addition to any
weapon: a flip-up sight on the tip of
the barrel in the form of a cross. The
cross-sight isn't any more useful than a
regular sight-as far as aiming the
weapon goes-but it can be used to
keep vampires at bay.
When a gun is in its holster, the
cross-sight is flipped back, resting
against the top of the gun's barrel.
When the gun is drawn, it takes an
action to pop the cross-sight back into
place. Alternatively, the hero can flick
the cross-sight up with a well-timed
snap of his wrist. This requires an extra
success on a quick draw roll.
The great thing about the cross-sight
is that a hero can point his gun at a
vampire and also be pointing a cross at
the creature at the same time. This
leaves his other hand free for
something else-like holding another
gun with a cross-sight on it. The gun
won't likely do a whole lot to the
vampire, of course, but the cross-sight
can at least keep the bloodsucker at
bay.
THf HOLY SOAKfR
This weapon is little more than a
squirt gun filled with holy water. The
range on the thing isn't all that much,
but the effect that a shot has on a
vampire makes carrying the weapon
well worth it-as long as you can
manage to get close enough to use it, of
course.
The Holy Soaker comes in three
models. The first-a pistol model-is
your standard squirt gun filled with
holy water. It has a relatively limited
number of shots and an extremely
limited range. It's best used as a hold-
out weapon, since if a vampire gets
close enough to a hero for her to
actually be able to use this weapon, it
may already be too late.
The second model is a two-handed
pump-action job with a water reservoir
capsule that sits atop the gun's barrel.
This model has a decent range-and it
squirts enough at a time to do a good
amount of damage-but the number of
shots is limited by the holy water
carried in the capsule. The only real
drawback of this model is that it has to
be pumped between shots.
Pumping the gun normally takes a
full action, thus its Quickness of 2.
However, a speed-load roll can take care
of this without wasting the action.
The third model is pretty much
identical to the second except that
instead of drawing the water from a
capsule on a gun, the liquid is taken
from a tank worn on the user's back.
As a whole, this get-up is a lot
bulkier-and more obvious-than the
standard pump-action model, but it
does give the user a tremendous
amount of ammunition to work with.
While standard, off-the-shelf
squirtguns can pretty much handle the
COVENANT HEROES
same demands that are put on the
Holy Soakers, the Vatican-approved
models are a bit more durable than
most and are covered with religious
symbols. This makes them even more
valuable to a Covenant hero. A priest
with a backpack-fed Holy Soaker, for
instance, knows that his back is
protected from bloodsuckers by the
cross emblazoned across the pack.
PORTABLE CIRUf
While the Catholic Church officially
frowns on things like the circles of
protection that Bargainers use to hold
their demonic servants in check, the
people of the Covenant know that
sometimes you have to do whatever's
necessary for the greater good at the
time.
To that end, the Covenant has made
up a number of circles of protection
that have been embroidered onto large
pieces of heavy cloth. These are then
either rolled or folded down, ready to
be unfurled when the need for them
arises.
The portable circle can be used in
two important ways. First, if the hero
is wily enough to actually manage to
unfurl it under a demon while the
creature is in the air-either jumping
or flying-then it can be used to
capture the demon. This is a pretty
neat trick, of course, since getting the
timing of something like this right is
difficult at best. The demon should get
a dodge roll at the very worst, and at
best the creature will do its damnedest
to avoid the hero with the circle in the
first place.
Once inside a circle, the demon is
effectively trapped. It cannot move
outside of the circle. It can't move
down through the circle either or move
up higher than a foot or two. (If it's
already up, it's brought down to the
circle's level immediately.)
The second and easier-although far
less heroic-way to use the portable
circle is to unfurl it and then stand in
the center of it. This protects everyone
inside from being directly harmed by a
demon in any way. And it usually
makes demons very, very mad.
COVENANT HEROES
In either case, the demon can't
directly affect the circle or the cloth
that it's on in any way. The cloth is
trimmed closely to prevent this.
If something happens to the cloth to
cause the circle to be broken, though,
the demon can ignore it entirely. This
can happen if the cloth is ripped or
damaged across the embroidery or
even if the cloth is simply folded over
across a portion of the circle. In
essence, the circle must remain
unbroken and complete for it to work
at all.
Some Covenant heroes have come
up with elaborate stencils for circles of
protection, but these are generally
impractical to use in the middle of an
encounter with a loose demon. Few
demons are going to sit still while you
assemble the stencils and then spray
paint them in. The stencils and paint
can come in handy, however, when
you have a few minutes to prepare for
such an encounter, but even then, the
portable circle is likely to be just as
useful and a whole lot easier to put
into use.
PROTfCTIOH PROJE(TOR
The logical extension of the portable
circle is the protection projector. In
essence, this is little more than a
flashlight with a cutout placed over the
lens. The trick is that the flashlight
must be able to be focused-usually by
simply screwing the special lens in or
out-so that the image from the cutout
is clearly visible against surfaces
within the range of the light.
Depending on where the image is to
be projected, the user may have to
adjust the device's focus from time to
time. This takes a full action to
accomplish.
PROJECllO CIRCLES
There are actually two different
cutouts that can be mounted on the
lens. The first is a circle of protection.
This is not always as useful as you
might think, since any object crossing
the edges of the projected circle creates
a shadow which breaks the circle,
making it effectively useless.
COVENANT WEAPONS
Rate of Range
Weapon Type Action Ammo Shots Quickness Fire Increment Damage Cost
Balloon mortar Single Balloon 1 2 1 5* Special** $200
Covenant crossbow Auto Bolt 20 1 1 5 5d6+5 $500
Holy Soaker pistol Specialo Water 10 1 1 1 2d6+2
000
$25
Holy Soaker rifle SpeciaP Water 25 2
00
1 2 5d6+5
000
$50
Holy Soaker deluxe Specialo Water 100 2
0 0
1 2 5d6+5
000
$100
*The balloon mortar has a maximum range of 25# when using shooting and 50# with artillery.
**Water forces a stun check. Against a wereshark, water forces a stun check, and failing the check
causes illness (+3 to all Target Numbers for 1 hour). Garlic paste has the same effect against a
vampire. Against a vampire, holy water causes 10d6+ 10 massive damage, Burst Radius 1.
Reloading a Holy Soaker requires 2 actions for a pistol, 3 for a rifle, and 4 for the deluxe model.
oOThe Quickness is 2 to account for the pumping to reload the weapon's reservoir before each shot.
The first shot can be pumped up ahead of time. Also, a speed-load roll can bring the Quickness down
to 1. The user cannot hipshoot with these weapons.
oooThis damage only applies to vampires and only when holy water is used.
(OVHAHT HfROfS
Most times, this cutout is used as a
simple personal circle of protection.
The user simple smacks the bottom of
the flashlight-which is often covered
with a two-sided tape or a strong
magnet-to the ceiling and then stands
under the device to gain instant
protection. It's a lot less conspicuous to
carry around than a portable circle,
and it generally weighs a lot less too.
PROJUTD (ROSSfS
The second cutout is that of a cross.
This allows the user to project the
image of cross wherever he might like.
This can be extremely useful against
vampires, and a savvy Covenant hero
can use the device to herd a vampire
into a tight spot in which the thing can
then be finished off.
The hero can even project the image
against a vampire's body. Of course, if
the vampire can't see the image, he
can't be afraid of it. If a vampire does
see a cross projected onto himself, he'll
do his best to get it off of him as
quickly as possible.
USIHG TH PROJCTOR
Of course, for either image to be
effective, it has to be projected against
a relatively flat, smooth surface. Any
breaks or substantial irregularities in
this surface can render the projection
entirely useless.
The images get larger the farther
away from the projector they are. Up
close, the images may only be as large
as an outstretched hand or just big
enough to engulf a person. The
effective range of a handheld projector
is about 100 yards. At this point, the
image is about 10 to 20 feet tall.
Beyond that, the light's effect fades.
The Holy See has constructed larger
versions of these projectors. It uses
them to sweep the walls of the Vatican
at night. These odd-shaped spotlights
can also be seen sweeping through the
clouds at night, reminding the people
of Rome and Vatican City who it is
that's really watching over them all.
SILVIR BLADfS
It's well known that silver has some
effect against certain supernatural
creatures, most notably the werebear
and werewolf. Because of this, every
blade of any kind that's in use by
Covenant heroes comes edged in silver
alloy that's hard enough to stay sharp
yet made of enough silver to cause a
werebeast some real hurt. This is done
simply as a matter of policy, to help
keep Covenant heroes from being
caught unprepared.
This doesn't affect the weapon's
profile at all, except to make it a lot
more useful against werecreatures that
are vulnerable to silver.
SILVfR BULLETS
Silver bullets, like silver blades, are
made expressly to hurt werewolves.
The only problem is that they're more
expensive than standard lead bullets.
Also, the more cunning were creatures
have actually taken to wearing
bulletproof helmets and vests, specially
tailored to their werebeast forms.
To counteract this, the Covenant has
developed teflon-coated silver bullets.
These slice through Kevlar vest like it
was a football jersey. They also have a
hardened tip which is good for getting
through steel or composite plates.
COVENANT HEROES
COVENANT SUPPLIES
Item
Balloon, water
Balloon, holy water
Balloon, garlic paste
Balloon case (carries 6)
Cross kit
Crossbow bolts, wooden
Crossbow bolts, metal
Crossbow bolts, barbed (AP 10)*
Cross-sight
Portable circle
Projection projector
Silver blades
Silver bullets
Silver bullets, AP 10
Cost
$1
$1
$5
$20
$25
$1
$1
$3
$10
$100
$50
x3
x5
x100
* Requires a Challenging (10) Strength
roll to tear free, which does 3d6+3
damage.
ACQUIRING SUPPLIES
With the Covenant being driven
underground, getting a hold of some of
the Covenant supplies listed above can
be difficult. In some cases, a hero can
cobble together something on his own
for about the same cost. Other times-
usually when creating something
himself just isn't practical-the hero
might end up having to pay five to 10
times as much as the listed price to get
these goods on the black market. .
The Covenant is happy to provIde
its operatives with whatever they
might need, free of charge. G.etting it to
them isn't always as easy as It could be
though.
As far as holy water goes, any
priest-not just a Covenant
make this himself by simply blessmg
an amount of water. See later on in this
chapter for more about just how this
works in the game.
(OVIHAHT HIROIS
For some reason, anyone who's an
ordained member of the Catholic
clergy-a priest, sister (nun), or
brother-ends up with a distinct set of
powers if they awaken as a delta after
being ordained. When we talk about
Covenant heroes, these are the kinds of
deltas we're talking about.
However, it's possible for a hero to
have awakened as a delta before being
ordained. In that case, the hero might
have any kind of power package at all.
That's the reason why, although most
Covenant deltas are of a certain type,
just about any kind of delta can be
found working for the Covenant.
Here are the actual details on the
standard Covenant power package.
REQUIREMENTS
Every member of the Covenant must
have the following skills at the listed
minimum levels: academia: occult 2,
Covenant martial arts 2, faith 3, language:
Latin 2, and profession: clergy 3. Of
course, they can have higher skills if
they like.
They must also have the duty -5:
Covenant, ordained, and patron +5:
Covenant quirks. It used to be that if
the hero was a delta he had to be
registered, which usually meant they
also had a public identity. These days,
however, new Covenant heroes can be
unregistered instead, and they might
even have a secret identity.
Most Covenant heroes have the
pacifist -3 quirk, but not all. Some
subscribe to the Old Testament "eye for
an eye" philosophy and are happy to
use force when it's called for. The
majority, however, do not.
COVENANT HEROES
AMERICA'S MOST WANTED CLERGY
Due to Delta Prime's current
crackdown against the Covenant, most
Covenant heroes are now on the run
from the law. Whereas they might have
earlier held prominent and prestigious
positions in their communities, they
are now public enemies and are treated
as such. Any citizen who sees them
and knows them for what they are is
obligated to immediately turn them
into the authorities.
This means that any Covenant hero
who is registered and hasn't joined
Delta Prime must take the wanted
quirk. You might notice that this, along
with the required duty -5: Covenant
quirk adds right up to the maximum
number of negative quirks that the
hero can have.
Unfortunately, the Covenant hero
doesn't get any points for this wanted
quirk. This means that she's free to
take another -5 points worth of
negative quirks if she likes.
Of course, this problem has also
washed over onto the reg clergy as well.
Right now, whenever the average citizen
sees a priest's collar or a nun's habit,
she's thinking: "Covenant." And with
the rather striking ban on the Covenant,
that translates to: "Rogue delta."
For this reason, all Catholic clergy
get a -2 to their friendly persuasion rolls
when speaking to someone inclined to
view them with suspicion. This has
severely undermined the authority of
the Church's influence in society,
which had been fairly strong up until
this point.
Additionally, many practicing
Catholics are unabashed in their
support of both the Pope and the
Covenant-Kennedy himself being the
most prominent exception. This places
all Catholics under suspicion of being
sympathizers with a seditious
organization that's potentially working
to bring about the downfall of the
United States government.
SCHISMATIC HEROES
Those heroes working for the Schism
aren't automatically wanted. The
secretive nature of the Schism means
that few if any of its members have
gone public with their powers, much
less their affiliation with the Schismatic
organization. At a time when the
negative attention given to Covenant
heroes is at an all time high in
America, this long-standing tradition
of caution and secrecy is really
working in the Schism's favor.
Of course, a Schismatic hero can
become wanted, just like any ordinary
delta. In Kennedy's America, it's not all
that hard to find yourself the newest and
least popular member of the local police
department's list of the usual suspects.
COVENANT PRIMERS
Believe it or not, some members of
the Covenant honored the law of the
land and joined Delta Prime once the
Covenant was banned. These men and
women are officially stripped of any
position within the Catholic Church,
although many of them still live
extremely good and pious lives. They
haven't lost their powers at all for
having left the Church. Many of them
still consider themselves good Catholics.
Since the Covenant and Delta Prime
often worked hand in hand in the past,
it's not that hard to see why a Covenant
hero might take up with Delta Prime.
She might have already practically doing
COVENANT HEROfS
exactly that in the not-tao-distant past.
Some American priests are less likely
to trust the Pope than their own
government at the end of the day, and
when the chips are down, they go with
the faction that they believe in the most.
Many of these new Primers are
saddened by the Defiance scandal that's
rocked the Church's reputation around
the world, but they are quick to point
out that they as individuals should not
be held accountable for the sins of
Rome against the state. In fact, most of
these people seem to be working three
times as hard as anyone else to prove
their patriotism and their piety. To
them, it's all about God and country.
(OVINANT DHIANTS
A sizeable number of Covenant
heroes were covertly working with the
Defiance before the scandal. That's
what the recent troubles were all about
after all. If the Covenant hadn't been
caught red-handed hosting the servers
for DeltaTimes.com, no one would
have likely been the wiser about it.
Oh, sure, lots of Delta Primers
suspected that the Covenant was
playing both sides of the fence. From
time to time, they might even have
unofficially used that fact to their
advantage. In fact, if some of those
same Primers had discovered the
Covenant's web-based treachery, the
whole matter would likely have been
taken care of quickly and quietly, buried
before it ever saw the light of day.
As it is, many known members of
the Covenant officially signed on with
the Defiance on the very same day the
Covenant was banned in the United
States. Their first loyalty is to the
Church, of course, but they're happy to
help the Defiance's cause too.
ROMAN CATHOLIC BASICS
For those of you who are not
intimately familiar with the vagaries of
the Roman Catholic Church, we offer
the following primer. Some of this
material has been simplified, of course.
It's difficult to boil down over 2,000
years of religious tradition into a few
pages, so certain sacrifices have to be
made.
If you'd like to learn more about the
Roman Catholic Church-or any other
religion, for that matter-we encourage
you to do some research on your own.
Hit the shelves of your local library, or
cruise the internet. Talk with your own
religious leader. You could even attend
services yourself to see what they're
really like. After all, no book can ever
surpass an actual experience.
COVENANT CLERGY
Here is a brief run-down of the three
types of clergy active in the Church:
priests, nuns, and monks. There are
other roles served by the laity
(believers who haven't taken holy
orders)-like that of altar boy-but
we're not going to concentrate on such
things here.
PRIISTS
Priests are the only part of the
Catholic clergy who are officially
ordained as such. The office is
exclusively offered to men (and men
only) of great piety. To become a priest,
a person has to study for years at a
school called a seminary.
Once a man is deemed ready for the
priesthood-part of which is actually
COVENANT HEROES
wanting to become a priest-he
receives the sacrament of holy orders
and is ordained. The priest is then
usually assigned to a church to begin
his role as a leader of a parish-the
people who attend that church. The
senior parish priest is known as a
pastor, while the usually younger
priests are called associates.
Priests are the people who
administer the seven sacraments (see
below) to the people of the parish and
to their fellow members of the Catholic
clergy. Most priests say at least one
mass (service) each day, sometimes
more. They are responsible for the
spiritual well-being of their flock.
Priests are generally referred to as
"father," instead of mister. While
presiding over a mass, they wear a
white or pale robe known as an alb,
accented with a long, colorful stole-a
strip of cloth draped over the neck and
allowed to frame the priest's chest-
often embroidered with golden thread.
When not officially on the job,
priests generally wear all black
clothing. The only real exception is in
the collars. These fit into their
neckband shirts, which are technically
collarless, having only a high
neckband. The shirts themselves are
black, but they feature a notch in the
center of the throat into which the
starched, white collar is inserted.
Sometimes a priest will instead wear
a clerical vest over just about any other
kind of shirt, and then a jacket over
that. Younger priests tend to prefer this
over the older styles.
Certain orders, notably the Jesuits,
wear a cassock over their shirt and
pants. This looks something like an
ankle-length, black shirt that's cinched
at the waist. These priests generally
wear a surplice-a thigh-length white
smock- over their cassock when
engaged in their priestly duties,.
The one thing that really sets
Catholic priests apart from many other
religious leaders is their vow of
celibacy. As you might guess, this is
one of the more difficult parts of being
a priest, but it's said that forsaking the
pleasures of the flesh and the comforts
of a wife gives the priest that much
more time to dedicate to helping the
members of his parish or for doing
other good works. In game terms, this
is a vow -2: celibacy.
NUNS
In the Catholic clergy, the only place
for women is in the habit of a nun. A
habit is the black and white outfit that
nuns are famous for around the world.
This consists of ankle-length, tailored
black robes, cinched at the waist. This
is topped off with a wimple, the
headpiece that's often composed of a
black veil draped back over a starched,
white, peaked cap.
Wimples come in all sorts of shapes
and sizes, of course. There are several
different orders of nuns, and most of
them you can tell apart from the
designs of their wimples.
Nuns, who are usually referred to by
the honorific "sister," do not have the
power or authority to administer the
sacraments. Most nuns dedicate their
lives to things like education, treating
the sick, helping the poor, or doing
missionary work. And, no, they don't
all carry knuckle-rapping rulers.
Like priests, nuns also take vow of
celibacy when given their holy orders.
It's said that each nun is married to
God. That makes it easy to believe that
they couldn't find a better husband
anywhere on the planet. Again, in
game terms, this is a vow -2: celibacy.
COVENANT HEROES
MONKS
Monks-also known as "brothers"-
are men who have taken holy orders
but have not been ordained as priests.
In essence, they are the male version of
nuns. Many monks spend their days in
isolated abbeys, dedicating their lives
to prayer and the contemplation of the
mysteries of Catholicism. Others go
out into the world to help others and
spread the word of God.
The official garb of a monk is the
traditional brown robe, cinched at the
waist with a length of thick rope. In
addition to their traditional vow of
celibacy (vow -2: celibacy), all monks
also take a vow of poverty (vow -2:
poverty). This means that any money
that they make for any of their efforts
goes directly to the Church. They rely
on the Church to feed and clothe
them-modestly in both cases-so
these points don't count against the
maximum total of -10 negative points.
ACOLYTf
An acolyte is not an actual member
of the clergy. The Covenant uses this
term to refer to any member of the
laity who has joined their order and
their cause. Because of the nature of
the Covenant's mission, the Covenant
is willing to accept members from
outside of the clergy, as long as they
are still Roman Catholics.
Acolytes dress and act just like
normal, though highly religious,
people. They have taken no vows, and
they cannot use Covenant or clerical
powers. However, they are generally
held to a high standard with regard to
their behavior and are expected to
maintain themselves as good Catholics
at all times.
THE SACRAMENTS
There are seven holy sacraments in
the Catholic Church. Each of these can
only be administered by a priest,
although he can be aided in some of
them by sisters, brothers, or even
dedicated members of the laity.
BAPTISM
Baptism is the means by which an
individual is inducted into the Catholic
Church as a member. Most new
members are baptized as infants, only
a short time after their birth. New
converts of any age are baptized too.
The child is usually presented to the
priest by her parents or guardians. Two
other people are generally asked to
take part in the ceremony: one man
and one woman. These are the child's
godparents. They pledge to take care of
the child in the parents' absence and to
be watchful over the child's spiritual
development.
Being named a godparent is a great
honor in Catholic society. It means that
the parents are willing to trust you
with being the ostensible caretakers of
their child's soul.
HOLY IU(HARIST
Also known as communion, this is
when believers consume bread (in the
form of a communion wafer) and wine.
These have been metaphorically
transformed into the body and blood,
respectively, of Jesus Christ. Only a
priest can actually cause this
transformation, which he does during
a mass. The Eucharist is then shared
with the congregation during that
same mass.
COVENANT HEROES
RfCONCILIATlON
A Catholic priest has been given the
authority to forgive sins. Any sin is
forgivable, as long as the sinner
confesses her sin to a priest and is truly
sorry for having committed the sin.
This sacrament is held in a
confessional, the private booth in
which the priest hears the penitent's
confession through a screen. This is
supposed to grant anonymity to the
sinner, since it shouldn't matter who
the sinner is, only that she truly wishes
to do penance for her sins.
To prove that a confessor is earnestly
regretful of her sins, the priest usually
requires her to do some act of penance.
This can range from something as
simple as having to recite a few well-
known prayers to turning yourself into
the police and accepting the
consequences of your actions.
In any case, even if the confessor
refuses to go along with the prescribed
penance, the priest is not permitted to
tell anyone else of what he has learned
in the confessional. This holds true
even if the priest is interrogated by the
police. The law of God is more
important than the laws of the state.
CONfiRMATION
During this sacrament, the believer
is asked to confirm her baptism. Most
Catholics were too young to make their
own choice about belonging to the
Church when they were baptized. It's
now that they are asked to confirm
their parent's or guardian's decisions
of their own free will. The age of
confirmation can vary from parish to
parish, as low as nine years of age to as
high as 16. It all depends on the
pastor's decision.
MARRIAGf
This is, of course, the joining of man
and woman in holy matrimony. (The
Church does not approve of same-sex
relationships.) Only priests have the
power to marry in the Church,
although people can obviously just go
down to the nearest city hall and find a
judge or justice of the peace to preside
over their union if they like.
It's standard for the priest to offer a
couple counseling before a marriage to
make sure that they know what they're
getting into. This is slightly ironic,
since priests, nuns, and monks aren't
permitted to marry at all. You don't
have to be able to do something,
though, to know when it's being done
wrong, and the priest's celibacy
supposedly gives him a different
perspective from which he can
evaluate a relationship.
HOLY ORDfRS
This is the one sacrament that is, by
definition, exclusive to the Catholic
clergy. When you receive holy orders,
you are inducted into the clergy, either
as a priest, nun, or monk. A priest is
said to be "ordained," while the others
are not. This gives the priest special
powers, like the ability to preside over
a mass and administer sacraments.
~ X T R f M f UNCTION
Also known as "last rites," this is a
sacramental blessing that a priest gives
to someone that is either ill or near to
death. The idea is to either speed
recovery or to send the person's soul
on to Heaven with the priest's
approval. This is often preceded by a
COVENANT HEROES
final reconciliation.
THE HIERARCHY
By now, you know that most priests
are members of a parish, with the
possible exception of those sent off to
do missionary work-but even these
are expected to set up new parishes.
Parishes are grouped into a diocese,
which is the overseen by a bishop or
archbishop. An archbishop has his own
diocese to tend to, but he also has
jurisdiction over other nearby diocese
being run by bishops.
Over the bishops, there is the Curia,
respected priests who work as
assistants to the Pope. These men are
known individually as Cardinals, and
it is up to them to elect the Pope. They
do this in a cloistered session in the
Vatican. After each election, they send
up a signal of smoke from the Vatican's
ceremonial chimney. If the smoke is
black, none of the nominees has
acquired enough votes to win the
Papacy. Once the smoke is white, the
people waiting outside of the Vatican
immediately know that a new pope
has been chosen.
The office of Pope is for life, so the
choice is one that is made after
considerable discussion and prayer.
Once in power, the Pope is considered
to be the voice of God on the earth ,
and as such, his decisions are believed
to be infallible.
Most Popes have been extremely
conservative in the use of their power,
changing as little as is necessary about
the Church to meet so-called modern
sensibilities. This is not to say that they
are unreasonable, merely extremely
firm in their beliefs. To Catholics, there
is no one on earth more holy than the
Pope himself, and they grant him the
kind of respect that one of his position
deserves.
COVENANT ORDERS
The Roman Catholic Church is a
tremendously large organization
comprised of many different orders.
There are so many of these varied
groups that not even many Catholics
can keep track of them all. There are
two special orders that are unique to
the Covenant: the Order of St. George
and the Order of St. Jude.
GfORGIAHS
The heroes of the Order of St.
George-also known as Georgians-
hail from all walks of life. In street
terms, they are God's SWAT team.
They're the Covenant warriors that roll
into a situation in full battle gear and
unleash a holy vengeance on the forces
of evil.
The Georgians are named after St.
George, the patron saint of England
and Catalonia. Historically speaking,
George was a favored soldier in the
Roman army who spoke up to
Emperor Diocletian about the
unjustness of the persecution of the
early Christians. After quitting the
Roman army in disgust, George was
captured, tortured, and beheaded for
his Christian beliefs.
Some legends have George killing a
dragon who had kidnapped a Libyan
king's daughter. In return, the king
pledged to have all of his people
baptized in the Catholic Church. For
this reason, pictures of St. George
usually depict him in mortal combat
with a dragon.
George's saint's day is April 23-
COVENANT HEROES
coincidentally, the day of William
Shakespeare's birth and death. This is
an important holiday to the Georgians,
of course.
DRESS
When off-duty, Georgians dress like
most other priests. The only way to tell
one at first glance is to look for dragon-
themes in their stoles or their personal
jewelry. When in their street clothes,
Georgians don't like to advertise to the
uninitiated just who they are. They
find that it makes them too much of a
target.
When ready for battle, Georgians
wear a priestly battle armor that's
encrusted with several crosses to help
ward off the forces of evil. Often, their
uniforms even include a mask so that
they may move normally among the
general population when they aren't
on the hunt.
One effect this has is to make people
a bit more respectful of priests in
general. After all, you never know
when you might be talking with a
Georgian.
PROFILES
Georgians rely on combat skills to
get them through where words have
failed others. They often have a high
Speed so that they can make good use
of the wide variety of weaponry open
to them.
Georgians are specifically prohibited
from killing. It's right there in the Ten
Commandments, after all. This is
usually good for a pacifist -3 quirk.
However, this restriction only
applies to living humans, so things like
vampires and demons are fair game.
Also, they are permitted to use any
force necessary to prevent others from
coming to harm by means of a direct
threat. Despite this, there is an after-
action review any time a human might
have been killed, and the penalties for
errors can be stiff.
JUDIANS
If the Georgians are God's SWAT
team, then the Judians are the Papal
ninjas. The very existence of this
organization is officially denied by the
Church, although the fact that they're
really around is pretty much an open
secret.
The Judians are names for St. Jude,
the patron saint of desperate or lost
causes. Accordingly, the Judians are
only called in when all other-often
more direct-options have been
exhausted.
St. Jude was also known as
Thaddeus, Lebbaeus, and Judas. He
was distinctly not Judas Iscariot,
though, the one who betrayed Christ to
the Romans for 30 silver pieces. Jude
was one of the original 12 apostles of
Christ, and he was present at the Last
Supper. His saint's day is celebrated on
October 28, the day he was reputedly
martyred in Persia alongside St. Simon.
St. Jude's Day is a time of
celebration for the Judians. The fact
that the Judians are masters of disguise
and of battling creatures of darkness
on their own turf means that the fact
that St. Jude's Day is so close to
Halloween is not lost on most Judians,
especially in America.
DRESS
When off-duty, Judians dress in the
exact same manner as the priests of the
local parish. Their design here is to
(OVIHAHT HIROIS
blend into the background as much as
possible. They don't ever want anyone
asking about that strangely dressed
priest that's been spotted wandering
around lately.
The official uniform of the J udians is
little more than an combat-ready outfit
of the flattest black. They often even
paint their faces black and cover their
heads, hands, and even eyes with
darkness to prevent detection in the
night.
The only exception is the bright
white cross emblazoned across their
chests. This is sometimes covered with
a black cloth, but when the Judians
enter battle, they expose the crosses on
their chest to proclaim their true
allegiance to God. Some Judians even
use crosses silk-screened with glow-in-
the-dark ink.
This cross has two other purposes.
First, it can help to protect the hero
against vampires. Second, it makes for
an obvious target for anyone firing at
the hero. It's a lot easier to armor a
torso, after all.
When anyone fires a non-called,
ranged-weapon shot at a Judian and
hits, do the following for hit location. If
a I, 5, or 6 is rolled, reroll the die. If it
comes up 2-4, the shot hits the torso.
Otherwise, use the original roll .
PROFILIS
Judians must have the following
skills, in addition to the regularly
required Covenant skills: disguise 2,
stealth 2, and perception 2.
Like Georgians, Judians are
prohibited from killing (pacifist -3).
However, they are more likely to get
away with it in a tight situation.
Many times, Judians either work
alone or in small groups-and
especially in secret-so the likelihood
that someone will be able to contradict
their version of the facts is far less.
That's not to say that these priests
would be willing to lie to cover up a
mistake, just that there's probably not
going to be anyone who could offer a
dissenting opinion.
POWERS
Covenant: The hero has access to all
Covenant powers. The original powers
described in Ravaged Planet are listed
on the following pages, along with a
slew of new powers to add to the fun.
TRI(KS
Blessed: With two extra successes on
a faith roll, the hero picks up another
delta point. This trick cannot be used
again until all of the hero's delta points
have been spent. Once that happens,
the hero can use the trick to pick up
another free delta point. Unused delta
points are lost at the end of the session.
Divine Inspiration: With three extra
successes on a faith roll, the hero gets
some kind of direction from God that's
appropriate to helping the hero in
whatever situation she's found herself
in. Since God works in mysterious
ways, the inspiration is never so direct
as to actually come straight out and
answer whatever question a hero
might have.
Instead, something happens to point
the hero in the right direction. It's then
up to the hero to clue into what's
happening and follow the right path.
Often the hero only actually gets the
hint if she conducts herself in a manner
befitting her office.
For example, a hero that's searching
(OVENANT HEROES
for a lost child might discover an
elderly woman who's just been
knocked over. If the hero stops to help
the woman, the lady might start
talking about this beautiful child she
saw the other day, the one that reminds
her of her grandson.
If the hero's ready to receive this
kind of help, he should clue in to the
fact that the child is possibly the one
he's looking for. Otherwise, the
opportunity simply passes him by. It's
up to the Guide to figure out exactly
how subtle to be with these clues, as
the situation warrants.
This trick can only be used once
each gaming session. After that, it's no
good until the next time the players get
together for the game.
Inspire: With an extra success on a
faith roll, the hero can inspire others
with her piety and righteousness. Any
friendly character who is watching the
hero at the moment can add +1 to his
next skill roll for each extra success the
hero applies to this trick. This effect
lasts only until the end of the following
round, and it cannot be used by the
hero herself.
Example: Sister Cabrini
invokes God's will and gets two
extra successes. She decides to
apply both extra successes to her
inspire trick. Any friendly
characters that saw her use the
God's will power can each add +2
to their next skill roll-at least
until the end of the next round.
Terrify: This is the flip-side of
inspire, and it's usually used by the
kind old-school clergy who like to
ignite piety in their followers by means
of fear. It's activated by an extra
success on a faith roll, of course.
Any unfriendly character who is
watching the hero at the moment must
take -1 from his next skill roll for each
extra success the hero applies to this
trick. This effect lasts only until the end
of the following round. This trick
doesn't work on characters that don't
feel fear. If there's a doubt as to
whether a character is friendly or
unfriendly, it's the Guide's call.
CLERICAL POWERS
While many players tend to
concentrate on the truly amazing
Covenant powers, there are certain
powers that every priest has that he
can access at any time, whether he's a
delta or not. These rarely have earth-
shattering kinds of effects, but their
results can be profound.
The sad fact is that the women's
movement hasn't really come to the
Catholic Church-at least in Brave New
World. Women aren't allowed to be
ordained as priests, and this limits
them a bit in terms of their clerical
powers. You'll see this in some of the
descriptions below.
RUIGIOUS SYMBOLS
Religious symbols (usually crosses
or crucifixes and the like) that are
blessed by a priest (see below) and
held up aggressively by a believer of
the same religion are a bit more
effective against vampires than a
simple image of a symbol. With a faith
roll, the hero can force any vampires
who can see the cross to stay r (two
yards) away for each success on the
roll. Vampires that cannot see the
cross-for whatever reason-can move
freely.
There is some risk here, however.
(OVENANT HEROES
Facing down a vampire is never an
easy thing to do, even for those whose
faith is strong. If the hero fails the faith
roll, the power of the religious symbol
fades entirely. Of course, the vampire
doesn't necessarily know that, unless
he's pushing against that invisible
barrier already.
When the hero first pulls out the
religious symbol and presents it, she
has the option of making the faith roll
and forcing the vampires back further.
This first roll requires a full action.
After that, the hero must make a roll at
start of every round. If the roll is failed,
the hero can try again on her next
action.
If the hero gets a disastrous roll,
though, her faith has crumbled for the
moment. This religious symbol and
any others are useless to her for the
remainder of this encounter.
The difference between a cross and a
crucifix, by the way, is simple. A cross
is simply a representation of the
wooden device upon which Christ was
crucified (i.e. two pieces of wood or
whatever, in the shape of a "T"). A
crucifix is an image of Christ upon the
cross. Both are equally effective against
vampires.
UHDfRSTAHDIHG THf POWfRS
Every clerical power comes
complete with a full description, as
well as a Target Number required to
activate it. Some of these powers have
a supercharged Covenant equivalent
listed later in this chapter.
You can easily tell the differences
between the two when they're referred
to in the text. Covenant powers are
listed in italics, while standard clerical
powers are always listed in plain text.
BLESS
Target Number: 5
This is an extremely flexible and
useful power. By means of a blessing,
the hero can extend wishes for the
protection of God.
This power is used by priests (and
priests alone) to create holy water, for
instance, or to bless certain other
Catholic sacramentals like candles,
crosses, and so on. Each blessing is
restricted to a single unit, whatever
that may be.
For example, a priest could bless a
bottle full of water to turn it into holy
water, or he could bless an entire pool.
The only real restriction is that the item
to be blessed must be a coherent,
unchanging unit. This means, for
instance, that a priest couldn't bless a
large body of water, since the water
could be moving (as in a river) or its
borders could be indistinct (as in just
about any body of water that rests on
earth.
fXORCISE
Target Number: 20
Throughout the ages, demonic
possession has been a problem that has
plagued humanity, straight from the
days of earliest antiquity all the way
up to the 21
st
century. The Church
teaches that these poor souls whose
bodies have been taken over by
demonic forces are innocent victims in
the ongoing war for supremacy
between Heaven and Hell.
When a priest (and only a priest)
encounters someone who has been
possessed by a demon, he has the
authority to confront the demon and
order the beast out of the victim's
body. Of course, the demon doesn't
(OVENANT HEROES
always listen.
This is never an easy feat to
accomplish, as the power's high Target
Number attests. Demons are notorious
for ignoring a priest's protestations,
and-as most of them are actually
fallen angels themselves, those who
sided with Lucifer when he led his
rebellion against God-they freely
ignore the power of religious symbols.
Holy water has the same effect on a
possessed soul as it does on a vampire,
but it only hurts the flesh of the
possessed, leaving the demon inside
untouched. The point of an exorcism,
of course, is to save the possessed, not
kill her. Ending a possessed soul's life
is simple enough. It's keeping her alive
while getting rid of the demon inside
her that's the trick.
Proper exorcisms take preparation.
The priest must be near the possessed
person, talking with the demon inside,
for at least an hour. At the end of that
hour, the priest must make a
Challenging (10) faith roll. If he passes
it, he can then attempt the exorcism.
For every additional hour that the
priest spends conversing with the
demon, he can add +1 to his faith roll.
At the end of each hour, however, the
priest must make another Challenging
(10) faith roll to gain the bonus.
If the hero fails the faith roll at any
point, he loses any bonuses he gained
up until that moment. Also, he cannot
attempt the exorcism again until after
the next dawn breaks.
If the hero makes a disastrous faith
roll at any point, his faith is his
authority to rid the victim of her
possessor is shattered. He cannot work
to help this victim again until after 40
days have passed.
PRAY
Target Number: 5
This is a power that's a bit more
subtle than the others. It allows the
hero to give his faith a temporary boost
by engaging in some personal time
COVENANT HEROES
with God.
To activate this, the hero must sit
and pray for at least one full,
uninterrupted hour. Attending a mass
works well here. Whenever the hero
feels she's ready, she makes a faith roll.
If the roll is successful, the hero's faith
goes up by +1 point for every success
on the roll, up to a maximum of +1
point for every hour the hero prayed.
If the roll is failed, the hero gains no
bonus, and her prayer is interrupted.
She must start at the beginning if she
wants to try again.
The extra faith lasts only 24 hours or
until the hero goes to sleep, whichever
comes first. Once the hero gets this
bonus faith, she cannot pray for more
until after she loses any bonus faith she
already has.
Example: Sister Cabrini prays
for a full two hours. At the end of
that time, she makes a faith roll
and gets a 17. That's three
successes, so she should be able to
add +3 to her faith. However,
since she only prayed for two
hours, she can only add +2 to her
faith.
RETREAT
Target Number: 5
Extremely pious heroes can try for
longer-lasting faith bonuses, but this
requires even more intense, sustained
prayer. The hero must pray for days
without interruption. This is often
impossible in modern society, so
people endeavoring to use this prayer
often go on a retreat in the wilderness
or lock themselves in seclusion.
It's possible to do many things and
have them still count as prayer. A
person can cook, sing hymns, farm, eat,
build, and so on, but certain things
interrupt a prayer for sure-basically
anything that breaks the hero's
concentration on her relationship with
God.
A conversation with someone else
breaks a prayer straight off. So does
reading. People can learn about many
things while reading, but prayer isn't
really about learning facts, figures, or
even ideas. It's about contemplation of
your personal relationship with God.
At the end of each day of prayer, the
hero must make a faith roll. If the roll is
failed, the hero's dreams disturb her.
This interrupts her prayer, and she
must start all over again.
Once the hero is ready, she makes a
faith roll. If successful, she adds + 1
point of faith for every success on her
roll, up to + 1 point for every day spent
in prayer. If she fails, she must start
over entirely if she wants to try it
again.
The bonus from this sustained
period of prayer lasts quite a bit longer.
The hero loses the bonus faith at the
rate of -1 point every time she goes to
sleep.
Unlike with standard prayer, once a
hero has the bonuses from sustained
prayer, she can keep on praying if she
likes, either in sustained or standard
form. Given enough time, a hero can
really rack up some decent bonuses.
However, if a hero fails any prayer-
based faith roll at any time, she loses all
of the benefits of her prayers, and her
faith returns to its normal score.
Additionally, a disastrous faith roll of
any kind immediately strips the hero
of any bonuses from prayer.
In any case, the hero can never have
more points of bonus faith than she
normally has in faith. In other words,
the best a hero can do through prayer
is double her faith score, and that only
{OVINANT HfROES
temporarily.
SANCTifY
Target Number: Varies
This power is similar to the bless
power, although it's used to affect a
physical place as opposed to an object.
A place that's been sanctified with the
use of this miracle is off-limits to
vampires and certain other creatures of
supernatural evil.
Demons laugh at such restrictions,
however, for the same reason they
ignore things like holy water. As fallen
angels, they were once part of the
power behind such things, and
understand them on a level most
supernatural beings don't. Because of
that, they have no fear of them.
It doesn't take all that long to
permanently sanctify a place, but it has
to be the right kind of place. A hero
can't just storm into a hotel room and
instantly declare it sanctified. It doesn't
work that way.
The difficulty in using this power is
based on the place that's to be
sanctified. The holier the place was
intended to be by its builders or
architects, the easier it is to sanctify it.
See the Sanctification Difficulties Table
below for some examples. If there's a
doubt as to how hard it is to sanctify a
particular place, it's the Guide's call.
A place cannot be sanctified if evil is
actually still occurring in it on a
regular basis or if there is someone or
something evil in it at the moment.
Those committing the evil acts in the
place must be stopped for at least a
week before sanctification can be
attempted.
If the hero fails to sanctify a place,
he cannot attempt to sanctify the same
place until at least 40 days have
passed.
Only priests can sanctify a place.
SANCTIFICATION DIfFI(ULTIlS
Place
A church
A graveyard
A good home
An ethical business
A troubled home
An unethical business
A place in which evil
has been done
A place dedicated to
pure evil
Successes
Needed
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
COVENANT POWERS
Covenant heroes have access to a
broad range of powers triggered by a
faith roll. For every point of permanent
faith the hero has, she has access to one
Covenant power. Temporary bonuses
to faith don't affect this.
GAINING POWERS
The only way for a Covenant hero to
pick up additional Covenant powers is
to improve her faith score during play.
When she raises her faith by 1 point,
she gets to immediately choose another
Covenant power to have access to,
from the list included in this book.
Although Covenant powers have
their basis in the awakening of a delta,
the Covenant believes that the powers
are actually given to them directly by
the Almighty God. This is the
explanation they have for why clergy
always end up with Covenant powers
as opposed to all the other power
COVENANT HEROES
packages that deltas wind up with. It's
God's way of making sure they have
the tools they need to fight the
darkness.
SWIT(HING POWERS
Just because a Covenant hero
chooses a power doesn't mean that
she's stuck with it for life. A Covenant
hero can swap out one power for
another. It just takes a little time and
prayer.
To swap one Covenant power for
another, the hero must spend at least
an hour in prayer and then make an
Amazing (20) faith roll. If the hero fails,
she can try again after a good night's
sleep. To ensure success, many
Covenant heroes spend several hours
in prayer before attempting to make
the roll, thereby steadily improving
their odds.
UNDERSTANDING THE POWERS
Every Covenant power comes
complete with a full description, as
well as a Target Number. This is listed
directly under the heading.
Some of the Target Numbers vary
according to what the Covenant hero is
trying to do, while others are actually
opposed rolls. Most are just flat
numbers. Even then, the number of
successes the hero gets on his faith roll
can sometimes affect the outcome of
the situation.
USING THE POWERS
A Covenant hero can only use one
power at a time. If he switches from
one power to another, the original
power he was using instantly fades
away as soon as he begins to try to
activate the new power. This happens
immediately, no matter whether the
new power is successfully activated or
not.
In any case, the effects of most
powers only last for a maximum of
three hours. Assume this is so unless
you're specifically told otherwise in the
text.
Unless it says differently in the
power description, it takes three full
actions for a hero to trigger a new
power. During that triggering time, the
hero can't have any Covenant powers
in use at all.
If the hero becomes stunned while
triggering a power, the faith roll he was
about to make is automatically failed.
He doesn't even have to roll for it. To
activate a new power-or even that
same power-the hero must start all
over again from scratch.
ASCEND
Target Number: 5
Catholic tradition is full of people
who ascended into the sky to take their
rightful place in Heaven. By means of
this power, the hero can get a little
ways there.
To use this power, the hero has only
to raise his arms up and out from his
sides, his palms cupped toward
Heaven. He then makes a faith roll.
For every success on the faith roll,
the hero can fly 5" (10 yards) straight
up into the air. The hero cannot use
this power to move from side to side,
although he's free to use other means
to do so.
The hero can use this power to slow
his descent from a height as well. For
this, the hero rolls normally. He then
falls freely, just like anyone else, until
(OVENANT HEROES
he reaches the top altitude the power
would normally let him reach. At that
point, he slows down and comes to a
complete stop in as gentle a manner as
he likes.
AURA Of RIGHTEOUSNESS
Target Number: 5
For every success the hero gets on
his faith roll, he can add + 1 to any
persuasion rolls of any kind made for
the remainder of the encounter.
To use this power, the hero makes a
sermon or vocally offers up a prayer.
The people to be persuaded don't have
to hear the Covenant hero talk for the
power to have an effect upon them, as
long as the hero makes the faith roll.
The player should actually get up
and make this speech on her own. It's
more fun than simply rolling the dice.
This power is really all about the
hero taking a moment to get in touch
with God and sense the power of God
within himself. Armed with that
feeling of potency, the hero is so much
more confident that other people can
actually sense a divine power within
him.
The more cynical members of the
Covenant suspect that there may be
more than a few less-than-scrupulous
televangelists using this power.
DIVINE MERCY
Target Number: 5
This works similar to the healer's
power found in Brave New World.
However, the hero only adds +1 to her
medicine roll for every success she gets
on her faith roll. A Covenant hero with
this power can also learn the healer
tricks healing disease and healing poison,
but she has to pay for them normally,
just like anybody else.
For the power to work, the
Covenant hero must lay her hands on
the afflicted person and say a short
prayer. This can even be done silently
if necessary.
GOD'S TRUTH
Target Number: Opposed
Priests are guardians of the truth.
They are confidants to their entire
flock, and they take the secrets they
know to the grave. This makes it really
hard to lie to them-or any member of
the Catholic clergy, for that matter.
To activate this power, the hero only
needs to look into the eyes of a person
he's talking to, almost as if he's daring
the person to tell him a lie. He then
makes an opposed roll of his faith
against the target's persuasion: bluff.
If the hero beats the target at all, the
target cannot lie to the hero, no matter
how hard she may try. Of course, the
target has the option of keeping her
mouth shut, but Catholic clergy have a
way of getting what they want.
With three extra successes over the
target, the hero can ask the target a
simple, direct question and expect the
target to blurt out a simple, direct
answer. It's up to the Guide to
determine if the question qualifies to
force an answer-and then what the
answer should be. In any case, the
answer can't be more than a single
sentence long.
If the question is too complex to
warrant an answer, the target starts to
say something and then bites her
tongue. She then gets to add +5 to any
roll to resist the hero's God's truth
power for the remainder of the
encounter.
GOD'S WILL
COVENANT HEROES
MANNA
Target Number: 5
God offers protection to His servants
on this earth, keeping them safe from
those servants of evil who would do
them harm.
When this power is in effect, any
creatures of supernatural evil cannot
come within 1" of the hero for every
success he gets on the roll. The Guide
decides which creatures are affected,
but a regular delta with an evil streak
doesn't qualify.
The hero doesn't need a religious
symbol. In effect, he is the religious
symbol. This is superior to holding up
a symbol, since the hero is protected on
all sides. Also, it works against more
than simply vampires.
HOLY flAME
Target Number: 5
Although most Covenant heroes
carry a flashlight or light-amplification
goggles with them when they're
wandering around in the dark, that's
not always convenient. When the hero
needs a quick source of light, he can
use this miracle to lend him a hand.
To use the power, the hero says a
quick prayer. He then makes a faith
roll. If he succeeds, a tongue of flame
appears above his head, casting light
onto everything around him.
The light is bright enough to
illuminate anything within r (four
yards) of the hero. For each extra
success the hero gets, the fire grows,
extending the range of the light
another 1" (2 yards). The light acts as a
religious symbol as well.
Target Number: 5
To use this power, the hero must
have some kind of food and water (or
some other kind of drink) handy. It
doesn't have to be good food or fresh
water, but it has to be edible and
drinkable.
For every success the hero gets on
her faith roll, she manages to somehow
produce enough extra food and drink
to give one person a good, healthy
meal. This meal is solid and filling
enough to sustain a person for an
entire day, and anyone who eats of it
can add +3 to any healing rolls he
makes for himself that day.
The hero can only use this power
once per day. Most Covenant heroes
are sure to feed others in need before
they feed themselves.
MARTYR'S DETERMINATION
Target Number: 5
In the early days of Christianity,
believers who wandered around
preaching the faith weren't all that
popular with many locals. This was
especially true of government
officials, who felt threatened by this
new faction of people that was
growing in power.
For their troubles, some of these
early believers were captured and
tortured. Those who refused to
renounce their beliefs were often
killed. These martyrs-many of
whom were later canonized as
saints-put up with a lot before they
gave up the ghost.
By means of this power, the hero
can withstand a tremendous amount
of punishment. It's not that she
doesn't feel it, just that she can grin
(OVENANT HEROES
and bear it.
To activate the power, the hero
says a quick prayer for the strength
to endure the coming troubles. She
then makes a faith roll. For every
success she gets, she can ignore one
level of wound penalties. This applies
to everything, including her stun
checks. In fact, until she in injured to
the point where she has to apply at
least a -1 wound penalty, she doesn't
have to make stun checks for
physical damage at all.
Example: Father Joeson says a
quick prayer and invokes
martyr's determination. He
gets three successes on his faith
roll. He can now ignore up to
three levels of wound modifiers.
Later Father Joeson is hit in the
arm by a bullet that does two
wounds. He ignores any wound
penalties and doesn't have to
make a stun check. He takes two
more wounds in that arm. Now
his wound penalty is -1, and he
has to make a stun check.
MIGHT Of GOD
Target Number: 5
They don't call God lithe
Almighty" for nothing. The strength
of the Lord can be a powerful thing
when placed in the good, strong arm
of His faithful.
This power fills the hero with holy
strength-although sometimes too
much of it. For every success the hero
gets on his faith roll, he can add +1 to
his Strength, potentially making him
even more powerful than a goliath,
given a good enough roll .
If the hero gets five or more
successes-which would make him
the equivalent of a goliath or more-
he also adds + 1 to his Size and
becomes obvious -3 (which is the
concealable variety) and must take -2
from his initiative rolls. A hero that
experiences a growth in Size will hurt
once the power fades; he takes a
wound in every hit location all at
once, just like massive damage.
When the extra Strength fades, a
wounded hero can ignore any wound
levels that would have been absorbed
by his extra Strength. This can keep a
hero safe from what could have
otherwise been mortal injuries.
Example: Father Lange uses
his might of God power and
makes a faith roll. He gets four
successes, so he gets to add +4 to
his Strength. In the course of a
fight, he takes five wounds to his
head and three to his torso. When
his extra Strength fades, it takes
up to four wounds in each hit
location away with it. This
means Father Lange is going to
have no wounds to his torso, but
(5-4=) 1 wound in his head.
PENTECOSTAL TONGUE
Target Number: 5
In the Old Testament, the Lord
scrambled the language of Babylon.
During Pentecost, the Holy Spirit
reversed this.
This power grants the hero some of
that amazing ability. To use the
power, the hero must say a prayer
out loud in her native tongue. She
then makes a faith roll. For every
success, she can understand another
language of her choice, other than
her native tongue. Her skill in this
language is equal to her ability in her
(OVENANT HEROES
primary language.
The hero can also make herself
understood in that language. She
doesn't have to actually speak in that
tongue. She says what she wants to
say in her normal language, and the
listener-assuming a language he
knows was chosen by the hero-can
understand her. The hero can also
read any of these chosen languages.
This works similarly for the
written word. The only difference is
that when the power expires, the
hero's words revert to whatever
language she actually wrote them
in-no matter who's actually trying
to read them.
PHlTlON
Target Number: 5
When the Lord is on your side, you
can always ask Him to lend a helping
hand. Just be sure to ask nicely or
you might not like the results.
When in dire straits, the hero can
ask the Lord to intercede on his
behalf. To do this, he simply says a
quick prayer and then makes a faith
roll. For each success he gets, he is
granted an extra delta point.
The hero can only use this power
once a day. Just like with normal
delta points, these points only last
until the end of this session. If they're
not used, they fade away.
The hero can only use this power
when facing a serious problem. It's
not to be used every day, "just in
case, because I live a dangerous life."
It has to involve an immediate threat.
Also, the hero can only invoke this
power when he has no delta points
left.
It's up to the Guide to regulate use
of this power during play. If the hero
abuses it for whatever reason the
Lord will not be fooled. If this
happens, the hero will lose access to
this power until he accepts the
sacrament of reconciliation. Note that
a priest cannot forgive his own sins,
and remember that the penitent must
truly be sorry and do penance for the
reconciliation to work.
SACRIFICE
Target Number: 5
Part of being a religious leader is
being prepared to make sacrifices for
those around you. Just as Christ died
for the sins of the world, the hero can
make some small sacrifices for the
good of others.
To activate this power, the hero
must first get the attention of the
person he wants to help. She then
says a quick blessing for the target
character and makes a faith roll.
For every success on the faith roll,
the hero can give the target character
one of her delta points. The target
can use these normally, without any
restriction.
SANCTIFY
Target Number: Varies
This is similar to the standard
clerical power, although it works a
lot more quickly. However, it doesn't
last nearly as long.
To get this power rolling, the hero
says a quick prayer of blessing for
the area in he's in. Then he makes a
faith roll. With a success on the faith
roll, the hero can sanctify a sphere 2"
(four yards) in diameter, centered
around a point directly between his
feet. For each additional success, he
can extend the sphere's radius by
(OVIHAHT HlROU
another 1" (two yards).
The region affected is only
sanctified for three hours. After that,
it reverts to normal and all effects of
this miracle are lost.
SHIUO Of GOO
Target Number: 5
When walking through the valley of
darkness, having this power can really
help you to fear no evil-or at least
take the edge off the emotion long
enough for you to get away.
This power grants the hero a level of
1/- armor for every success she gets
on her faith roll. For example, if the
hero gets six successes, she then has
armor 6/-.
SOLACI
Target Number: 5
One of the duties of the clergy is to
grant solace to those around them, by
means of their words and their deeds.
With this power, the hero can help her
friends take a stand against the
darkness that threatens to engulf us all
at any moment.
To activate the power, the hero must
make a short speech encouraging those
with him to take heart, and assuring
them that God is on their side. Then
she makes a faith roll.
For each success the hero gets on
her faith roll, every friendly character
listening to her speech adds + 1 to his
bravery. This works even on
unbelievers, who find themselves
strangely moved by the hero's
efforts.
UHfHUR
Target Number: 5
Nothing can hold the righteous
unjustly. Well, almost nothing.
With this power, the hero can causEt
chains to fall away or doors to open.
All the hero has to do is make a faith
roll. Each success that the hero gets
on his faith roll is treated as a success
on a lockpicking roll for purposes of
opening anything that's locked.
The hero doesn't have to actually
touch the lock for it to come undone.
It only has to be within his sight.
Better yet, when the lock comes
undone, the door, shackle, lid, or
whatever it was that the lock was
holding down immediately opens
wide. ..
This power can be used on things
that have no lock as well, In that
case, the hero needs only a single
success on his faith roll to cause the
thing in question to open wide.
WALK OH WAUR
Target Number: 5
When Christ first returned, He
walked across the sea toward some of
his apostles. With this power, the hero
can do exactly the same thing.
Activating the power only takes a
quick prayer. The hero then makes a
faith roll. If she succeeds, she can then
walk on even the roughest water-
although choppy seas may toss her
around a bit.
For each extra success on the faith
roll, the hero can help another person
walk on water too. First, she has to
touch the person, inviting them to
believe as well. The target then has to
pass an Easy (5) faith roll. If he does,
then he can walk across the water as
easily as the hero. If the target fails the
roll, he can try again on his first action
on each new round. Either way, once a
COVENANT HEROES
hero chooses a target to help, she can't
switch that choice to someone else.
If the hero is under water when she
activates this power, she immediately
rises to the surface. The same goes for
anyone else affected by the power.
WRATH OF GOD
Target Number: 5
The hero is able to call down the
wrath of God as a column of fire.
For every success the hero gets on
his faith roll, the attack does 1d6+ 1
points of massive damage.
The faith roll also acts as an attack
roll. Figure the attack as if it were a
standard ranged attack with a Range
Increment of 10. The Rate of Fire is I,
and the Quickness is 1. If the faith roll
is higher than the Target Number
along with all the applicable
modifiers, then the attack hits and
does damage.
Worn armor does not protect
against the wrath of God. Armor
powers do.
The wrath of God is an area-effect
weapon. If the attack misses, check for
deviation to see where the column of
flame erupts. If there's someone
standing even partially on that spot,
she's affected by the attack instead.
BEING GOOD
Being a religious leader isn't all
wine and roses. There are certain
sacrifices to be made. First and
foremost, you have to be good.
This means taking the Ten
Commandments seriously. Also,
Christ gave two rules to live by of His
own. The first: "Honor the Lord, thy
God./I
The second, also known as the
Golden Rule, is: "Do unto others as
you would have them do unto you./I
These are certainly words to live by,
and Catholic clergy are expected to do
just that, both to the letter and in
spirit. Covenant heroes must do the
same. This is not something they just
have to pay lip service to. It is their
way of life.
If the hero ignores these guidelines,
he's committing a sin. Covenant
heroes who sin regularly can start to
lose touch with their faith. Sure, they
can confess their sins to a pries t and
start over, but if they do this
continuously, it's going to become
clear that they aren't truly serious
about their regret.
Part of the penance for a sin is to
think on it and then do your best to
not do it again. If the heroes aren't
doing this, then they won't be
forgiven.
Your Guide has rules for how
sinning affects a Covenant hero. The
best thing you can do for your hero is
make sure that your Guide never has
to use those rules. If your hero is
good, you should have no worries.
LJOLf ERROR
PAb E NOT FOUND
ARCHETYPES
ACOLYTI
PROFILI
Smarts: 3d6
Academia: occult 2, area knowledge:
Crescent City 2, language: English
2, language: Latin 2,
profession: clergy 3, security
2
Speed:3d6
Dodging 2, driving:
personal vehicle 1,
shooting 4, stealth 2
Spirit: 4d6
Bravery 1,
Covenant
martial arts:
barehanded 2, faith 5,
perception 1,
persuasion: bluff 1,
scrutinize 1, search
1, streetwise 2
Strength: 2d6
Climbing 1, fighting:
barehanded 3, running 1,
swimming 1, throwing 1
Size: 5
Pace: 8
Delta Points: 3
Quirks: Alert +3, beautiful + 1,
delta O, duty -5: Covenant,
ordained + 1, pacifist -3, patron
+5: Covenant, unregistered O,
secret identity O, vow -2:
celibacy
Powers:
Armor: 5/-
Energy Blast
Tricks: Blast punch, bull's eye,
superblast
Gear: A Colt Agent with
six silver AP 10
bullets, a projection projector,
a Kevlar vest, a cell phone, and $200.
PIRSONALITY
You know, I never thought I'd be back
with the Church. I mean, I was raised
Catholic-12 years of Catholic school
when I was a kid. But I got sick of it,
so when it came time for my
confirmation, I gave it a big miss.
Then I became a delta, which
was bad enough. Surviving a
near-death experience will
cause a lot of people to
turn toward religion. But I
joined up with the
Defiance instead.
What I saw working
with them was even
worse than almost
dying: vampires,
demons, things to
terrible to talk
about. When you
see that kind of evil,
you know there has
to be a God in the
world to counteract it all.
So I went back to the
Church, which took me in
with open arms, like the
prodigal daughter I was.
And I've never looked
back.
Quote: Bless me? Padre,
I'm already blessed!
ARCHETYPES
GEORGIAN
PROfiLf
Smarts: 3d6
Academia: occult 2, area knowledge:
Crescent City 2, demolition 2,
language: English 2, language:
Latin 2, profession: clergy 3
Speed:3d6
Dodging 2, driving:
personal vehicle 1,
quick draw 1,
shooting 3, speed-
load 1, stealth 1,
Spirit: 4d6
Bravery 2, Covenant
martial arts:
barehanded 3, faith
4, leadership 1,
perception 1,
persuasion: intimidation
1, scrutinize 1, search 1
Strength: 2d6
Climbing 2, running 2,
swimming 1, throwing 2
Size: 5
Pace: 8
Delta Points: 3
Quirks: Delta O, duty -5: Covenant,
ordained + 1, pacifist -3, patron +5:
Covenant, unregistered O, secret
identity O, self-confident +2, tough
+2, vow -2: celibacy
Powers:
Covenant: God's will, martyr's
determination, shield of God,
wrath of God
Tricks: Blessed, bull's eye, terrify
Gear: A Colt Agent with six silver
AP 10 bullets, a Covenant
crossbow with 40 barbed bolts
and a cross-sight, a suit of
Georgian body armor
(Armor 10/-), a cell
phone, and $50.
PfRSONALITY
5t. George, he battled dragons, right?
Well, I may never have run into a dragon,
but I've seen a lot worse. There's
evil in this world that needs to
be exterminated, that
demands to be washed from
the face of the planet. After
God made that
agreement with
Noah, though, that's
no longer an
option.
That's just too
darn bad.
50 that's
special forces unit.
If evil is an irresistible
force, then we're the
proverbial immovable
object. And when we
meet, the sparks sure
do fly.
It's enough
to bring light
to the
.. ---=:;::::::... darkness.
Quote: Back, foul hellspawn! Back, demon
of the pits!
ARCHETYPES
JUDIAH
PROFILI
Smarts: 3d6
Academia: occult 2, area knowledge:
Crescent City 2, disguise 2, language:
English 2, language: Latin 2,
profession: clergy 3
Speed: 3d6
Dodging I, driving: personal vehicle
1, escaping I, shooting 2, speed-
load 1, stealth 3
Spirit: 4d6
Bravery I, Covenant martial
arts: barehanded 2, faith 5,
perception 2, persuasion:
bluff I, scrutinize I, search
I, shadowing 1
Strength: 2d6
Climbing 3, running
I, swimming I ,
throwing 1
Size: 5
Pace: 8
Delta Points: 4
Quirks: Brave +1, delta
O, duty -5: Covenant,
lucky +3, ordained +1,
pacifist -3, patron +5:
Covenant, unregistered O,
secret identity O, vow -2:
celibacy
Powers:
Covenant: Ascend, petition,
unfetter, walk on water
Tricks: Blessed, divine
inspiration, first
move
Gear: A Colt Agent
with six silver AP 10
bullets, a balloon mortar
with three holy water balloons and three
garlic paste balloons in a case, a portable
circle, Judian body armor (Armor 10/-
), a cell phone, and $50.
PIRSONALITY
The Covenant is full of all sorts of
people whose job it is to make the world
safe for humanity, to
you.
beat back those foul
forces of darkness.
But when it all comes
down to the wire,
sometimes you
need someone
on your side
who can call
darkness a
friend.
When it
seems like
everything is
lost and there's
nothing left to be
done-when it
looks like your
cause is already
too desperate to
continue
on-
that's
when
you
should
call on
5t.
Jude
to
light the way for
That' s when we'll be there. That's us:
God's cavalry, the answer to your prayers.
Quote: Let me take care of this. Quietly.
ARCHHVPES
MONK
PROflU
Smarts: 3d6
Academia: occult 2, area know ledge:
Crescent City 2, computing 2,
language: English 2, language:
Latin 2, profession: clergy 3
Speed:2d6
Dodging 2, driving: personal vehicle
I, shooting I, sleight of hand I,
stealth 1
Spirit: 5d6
Bravery I, Covenant martial
arts: barehanded 2, faith 5,
perception 3, persuasion:
charm I, scrounging I,
scrutinize 3, search 1
Strength: 2d6
Climbing 2, running 2,
swimming 2,
throwing 1
Size: 5
Pace: 7
Delta Points: 3
Quirks: Alert -I, delta
O, duty -5: Covenant,
light sleeper -I,
ordained + I, pacifist -3,
patron +5: Covenant,
registered O, public
identity O, sense of time
+ I, vow -2: celibacy, vow
-2: poverty, wanted, wise
+2
Powers:
Covenant: God's will,
manna, petition,
sacrifice, solace
Tricks: Blessed, fast learner,
inspire
Gear: A Covenant crossbow
with 20 bolts, a projection
projector, a deluxe Holy Soaker, a Kevlar
vest, a cell phone, and $2.
PERSONALITY
Greetings, friend. All are welcome in the
house of God. This monastery may not see
many visitors, but we do value the
ones that we get.
I feel that you are troubled.
Perhaps I can be of some
assistance. While many of my
brothers are content to spend
their days here in their
worship of the Almighty,
I prefer to take a more
direct
hand
in
matters
from time
to time.
Sure, I'd
rather spend my
days in quiet
contemplation of
the mysteries of
our Creator's
universe, but
sadly I am rarely
able to make that
kind of peace.
The outside world often
calls me beyond the walls of
this place. And so, let us get
going. The sooner we finish
this, the sooner I may return.
Quote: May the Lord have
mercy on your soul-
because I won't have any
. on your body!
PROflU
Smarts: 3d6
Academia: occult 2, area knowledge:
Crescent City 2, language: English 2,
language: Latin 2, medicine 2,
profession: clergy 3
Speed:2d6
Dodging 1, driving: personal
vehicle 1, shooting 2,
sleight of hand 1, stealth 1
Spirit: 5d6
Bravery 2, Covenant
martial arts:
barehanded 2,
faith 5, perception
3, persuasion: charm
1, persuasion:
intimidation 1,
scrutinize 2, search 1
Strength: 2d6
Climbing 1, running 2,
swimming 2, throwing 2
Size: 5
Pace: 7
Delta Points: 3
Quirks: Delta O, duty -5:
Covenant, ordained + 1,
pacifist -3, patron +5: Covenant,
registered O, public identity O,
sense of direction + 1, sense of
time + 1, sharp ears + 1, sharp
eyes +1, stubborn -2, wanted
Powers:
Covenant: Aura of
righteousness, divine
mercy, God's truth, shield
of God
Tricks: Blessed, divine
inspiration, grapple
Gear: A Colt Agent with
silver bullets, a
Covenant crossbow
with 20 bolts
PfRSONALITY
I don't know where people always get
those stereotypes about nuns and rulers.
Okay, the blessed women who were
responsible for my own education were
never ones to spare the rod-or the ruler
for a good rap on the knuckles-granted.
Still, these days, I use much more
serious ordnance to drive home the will
of our Lord. Of course, I'm
not one of the sisters who's
been blessed with a
scholastic assignment,
forming the minds of our
precious youth. Instead,
my assignment is to
protect those children-
and everyone else, for
that matter-from the
unspeakable forces of
darkness that
threaten us
all.
It's my
calling-my
vocation, if
you will-and
I'm good at it.
Quote: When you see
God, beast, tell him I
said hello!
ARCHHVPES
PRIEST
Smarts: 3d6
Academia: occult 2, area knowledge:
Crescent City 2, criminology 2,
language: English 2, language: Latin
2, profession: clergy 3
Speed:2d6
Dodging 2,
driving:
personal
vehicle 1,
shooting 1,
stealth 2
Spirit: 5d6
Bravery 1,
Covenant
martial arts:
barehanded 2,
faith 5, perception 1, persuasion:
charm 3, scrutinize 3, search 1,
streetwise 1
Strength: 2d6
Climbing 2, running 2, swimming 1,
throwing 2
Size: 5
Pace: 7
Delta Points: 3
Quirks: Brave +1, delta t o, duty -5:
Covenant, ordained +1, pacifist -3,
patron +5: Covenant, registered t o,
public identity to, self-confident +2,
stubborn -2, voice: soft + 1, wanted
Powers:
Covenant: Aura of righteousness, divine
mercy, holy flame, might of God,
sanctify
Tricks: Blessed, first move, inspire
Gear: A Colt Agent with six silver AI'
10 bullets, 20 regular bullets, and a
cross-sight, a projection projector, a
Kevlar vest, a cell phone, and $200.
PfRSOHALITY
It's not always easy being an instrument
of the Lord's will. He works in mysterious
ways, ways that we mere mortals may not
always understand. We simply have to
have faith that there's a reason for
everything that transpires.
Why was I blessed with
these powers? I can't
answer that question. All I
know is that it's my duty
to use them in the name
of the Lord to better
the world for all
of His children.
True, it's
better to light a
candle than to
curse the
darkness. But
I'm planning
on starting a
bonfire.
Quote: May
you rest in
peace,
creature of
darkness-as soon
as I'm done with
you!
THE TRUTH Of THE MATTER
(HAPTER TWO:
THE TRUTH OF
THE MATTER
TlMI TO BI GOOD!
If you're a player in a Brave New
World game, you know the drill by
now. This part of the book is entirely
off limits to you.
Seriously-and if you're planning on
playing a Covenant hero-you should
know by now that poking around back
in this part of the book is just wrong. If
you keep at it, you're going to ruin all
the surprises the Guide is going to
have for you in the game, and you'll be
jeopardizing the fun of all of your
fellow players as well.
Playing a Covenant hero is all about
being good, even when it's not the
easiest thing to do. Consider this little
moral decision to be practice. Sure, no
one really gets hurt if you keep reading
on-it's only a game, after all-but you
know what the right thing to do is,
don't you? So do it. Handle yourself in
a way that would make your hero
proud of you, and you're well on your
way to making a hero you can be
proud of too.
THI SCANDAL
Father Joeson is pretty much a
straight shooter. He rarely outright lies,
although he does omit information
from time to time. Case in point: When
the Primers located the Covenant
server on which the DeltaTimes.com
website was being hosted, they
confiscated the entire machine, and
they were able to learn some damaging
things about the Defiance.
First and foremost, they were able to
puzzle out the secret identity of Truth,
the leader of the Defiance. In a brazen
mid-day raid, Primers burst into the
offices of the Crescent City Times where
Marta Alonso works and arrested her
on charges of treason and failure to
comply with the Delta Registration
Act. Alonso was immediately taken
into custody, although she has yet to be
transported out to New Alcatraz. Delta
Prime has a lot of questions for her,
and since her powers give her no real
advantage in her current situation, for
now she remains in Crescent City.
THI TRUTH OF THE MATTER
SINNING
There' s one thing that we've implied all
the way through this book but haven't
actually come straight out and said to the
players: Catholic clergy are generally good
people and are expected to act that way.
When a hero commits a sin, she's removing
herself further from God, and in the case of a
Covenant delta, that means she's also getting
further away from her powers.
There are two different kinds of sin in the
Catholic tradition: venial and mortal. Venial
sins are the kind that most of us commit on a
regular basis, often through simple
thoughtlessness: swearing, being unkind to
someone, and so on. If a soul goes to
judgment uncleansed of these sins by means
of reconciliation, he's likely end up spending
some time in Purgatory-a limbo between
Heaven and Hell-before getting the nod
allowing him to head upstairs for the
remainder of eternity.
A mortal sin is the more serious variety.
Mortal sins include things like murder, rape,
denying God and the like that are committed
with the full knowledge that what the sinner
is doing is wrong. It involves a willful
defiance of God's laws.
A person who dies with a mortal sin still
on his conscience has an express ticket to
Hell. Mortal sins can be forgiven through
reconciliation, but as always, the sinner must
truly be sorry and willing to do penance.
Gin THfM A CHANCf
Covenant heroes know better than most
about the difference between right and
wrong. When they're about to commit a sin,
you should allow them to make a faith roll to
recognize the fact that they are endangering
their immortal souls. For a venial sin, this is
a Challenging (10) faith roll, while for a
mortal sin, the difficulty is only Easy (5).
THE TRUTH Of THE MATTER
A(TlONS HAVI (ONSIQUINCIS AR(HBISHOP HANSON
If a Covenant hero commits a sin, he
risks losing faith and thereby his
powers. If a hero knowingly commits a
venial sin, deduct a point from his
faith. If the hero commits a mortal sin,
deduct three points from his faith.
These deductions come directly off
the hero's basic skill score, not any
extra points built up from praying or
going on a retreat. That means that the
hero instantly loses access to the
Covenant powers these points once
granted him. The lost power is chosen
at random. The hero cannot affect the
choice, although he can certainly drop
one of his other powers to regain the
lost power later if he likes and has the
time to make the swap.
The hero can regain these lost faith
points by accepting the sacrament of
reconciliation and doing the penance
required of him. Until he does this, he
cannot regain those lost points of faith.
Also, he cannot add to his faith score in
any way, not by means of praying,
going on a retreat, or spending
experience points. His soul is too
troubled by his actions to permit this.
(OVENANT LEADERS
If the heroes are in Crescent City,
then you've already been introduced to
their bosses: Archbishop "Big" Bill
Hanson and Father Paul Joeson. In
both cases, these two priests are exactly
as they claim: men of God who have
dedicated their lives to rooting out
supernatural evil.
With that in mind, here are the full
profiles for both priests. Remember,
they will rarely be found without a
band of Covenant deltas at their side.
Archbishop Hanson is currently
holed up in 5t. Patrick's Cathedral in
Crescent City. He is claiming asylum,
stating that the government has no
right to drag him from the house of
God. 50 far, the authorities haven't
tried, but it's just a matter of time.
Until then, the man is stuck inside the
cathedral.
Smarts: 5d6
Academia: occult 7, area knowledge:
Crescent City 3, bureaucracy 5,
etiquette 5, language: English 3,
language: Italian 3, language: Latin 3,
medicine 3, profession: clergy 7,
tactics 3
Speed:2d6
Dodging 2, driving: personal vehicle 1,
shooting 2, stealth 2
Spirit: 5d6
Bravery 5, Covenant martial arts:
barehanded 2, faith 5, leadership 6,
perception 5, performing: public
speaking 4, persuasion: charm 5,
scrutinize 4, search 1
Strength: 2d6
Climbing 2, running 2, swimming 1,
throwing 2
Size: 5
Pace: 7
Delta Points: 3
Quirks: Brave +1, delta O, duty -5:
Covenant, ordained +1, pacifist -3,
patron +5: Covenant, registered O,
public identity O, self-confident +2,
stubborn -2, voice: soft + 1, wanted
Powers:
Covenant: Aura of righteousness, divine
mercy, might of God, petition,
sacrifice, sanctify
Tricks: Blessed, first move, inspire
Gear: A Colt Agent with six silver AP 10
bullets, 20 regular bullets, and a cross-
sight, a Kevlar vest, a cell phone, and
$200.
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER
fATHER JOESON
Father Joeson is a harsh taskmaster,
but only because he cares about his
charges so much. Although he rarely
mentions the fact, he is a Judian priest
who spent many years on secret
missions for the Vatican. These days,
the priest acts as the churchbound
Archbishop's Hanson's legs. With his
skill at disguise he can slip in and out
of the cathedral almost at will.
Smarts: 4d6
Academia: occult 4, area know ledge:
Crescent City 4, criminology 5,
disguise 6, language: English 2,
language: Latin 2, profession: clergy 5
Speed:5d6
Dodging 5, driving: personal vehicle 3,
escaping 4, shooting 5, sleight of
hand 4, speed-load 4, stealth 5
Spirit: 5d6
Bravery 6, Covenant martial arts:
barehanded 5, faith 6, perception 5,
persuasion: charm 4, scrutinize 5,
search 4, shadowing 5
Strength: 3d6
Climbing 4, running 2, swimming 3,
throwing 3
Size: 5
Pace: 10
Delta Points: 3
Quirks: Delta O, destined for greatness
+5, duty -5: Covenant, ordained +1,
pacifist -3, patron +5: Covenant,
registered O, public identity O, wanted
Powers:
Covenant: God's will, Martyr's
determination, petition, unfetter, walk
on water, wrath of God
Tricks: Blessed, divine inspiration, first
move
Gear: A Colt 2000 with a full clip of silver
AP 10 bullets, a balloon mortar with
three holy water balloons and three
garlic paste balloons in a case, a portable
circle, Judian body armor (Armor
10/-), a cell phone, and $1,000.
VAMPIRES
Vampires are covered in the back of
the Brave New World rulebook, which
you should have a copy of already.
Father Joeson is dead on with his
assessments of them and how
dangerous they are. Ridding the world
of vampires is one of the Covenant's
top objectives.
While the jury may be out on the
humanity of vampires, Covenant
heroes can take heart: Killing a
vampire is apparently not a sin.
DEADERS
Again, deaders are covered in the
back of the Brave New World rulebook,
but there are a few other things you
should know. The technology for the
deaders has been acquired by Evil
Unlimited, so it's now available to any
well-connected criminal element for
the right price. Most people still find
the idea of making meat robots
distasteful, but there are always those
sick and desperate souls out there who
wouldn't think twice about doing it if
it gave them the edge they needed to
get what they want.
WE RE BEASTS
There are actually three full-blown
power packages for werebeasts in two
other books. Werewolves are covered
in Evil Unlimited, while werebears and
were sharks appear in Glory Days. Just
in case you don't have those books,
here's a profile for a sample werewolf
to tide you over. For the werewolf's
alternative forms, add the trait and
skills to the character's basic profile.
Till TRUTH Of THE MATTIR
PROFILI
Smarts: 2d6
Area knowledge: Crescent City 2,
bureaucratics 1, computing 1,
language: English 2, security 2
Speed: 4d6
Dodging 4, driving: personal vehicle 1,
escaping 1, lockpicking: mechanical 1,
shooting 3, stealth 2
Spirit: 2d6
Perception 2, persuasion: bluff 1,
persuasion: charm 1, scrutinize 1,
search 1, shadowing 1, streetwise 1
Strength: 4d6
Climbing 2, fighting: barehanded 5,
running 2, swimming 2, throwing 2
Size: 6
Pace: 9
Delta Points: 3
Quirks: Brawny +3, coward -3, crazy: fear
of fire, delta O, duty: Evil Unlimited -3,
gullible -2, iron jaw +3, patron: Evil
Unlimited +3, unregistered O, secret
identity O, savage: can cause
transformation into beast, sense of time
+ 1, temper -2, vulnerability: takes
double damage from silver . 'j\ !
Powers:
Change Shape: The hero can become a
wolf or werewolf at will. It takes one
full action to change forms,
Tricks: Extra damage, first move, grapple.
Gear: A Colt Python with 20 bullets, a
kevlar vest, an old, and $50.
WEREWOLf ATTACKS
Weapon Type Defensive Bonus Quickness Damage
Wolf bite 1 Strength+4
Wolf claw +1 1 Strength+ 1
Werewolf bite 1 Strength+6
Werewolf claw +1 1 Strength+3
THI TRUTH OF THI MATTER
BEAST fORM
Smarts: Od6
Navigation 2, survival: forest 2
Speed:+3d6
Stealth 3
Spirit: +2d6
Brave 2, perception 2, persuasion:
intimidation 3, tracking 5
Strength: + 2d6
Climbing 3, fighting: barehanded 3
Size: 8
Pace: +3/+6 when on all fours
Quirks: Ambidextrous
Powers:
Bite and Claw: See table below.
Fur Coat: The hero is immune to most of
the effects of cold.
WOLF fORM
Smarts: Od6
Navigation 2, survival: forest 3
Speed:+3d6
Stealth 1
Spirit: 1d6
Brave 1, perception 2, tracking 6
Strength: Od6
Climbing 1, fighting: barehanded 2
Size: 9
Pace: +4
Quirks: Ambidextrous
Powers:
Bite and Claw: See table below.
Fur Coat: The hero is immune to most of
the effects of cold.
DIMONS
Demons have also been covered in
some depth, this time in Bargainers.
After all, that's where those deltas get
all their fancy totems from: making
deals with demons. If you don't have
that book, we have a sample demon
for you in the adventure in the back of
this book. Demons come in all shapes
and sizes, so feel free to make up your
own just about however you like.
Demons can use any Bargainer spell
(see Bargainers for more on these minor
effects) with zero prep time.
Additionally, a demon can mimic any
power package that it likes at any time,
but it can only use one at a time. It takes
the demon only one action to switch
from one power package to the next.
How tough you want to make the
demon beyond that is really up to you.
Some demons are real bruisers, larger
than a house. Others are clever but
small enough to crunch under your
foot. A demon's traits can range
anywhere from Id6 to lOd6+ 10 or more.
KILLING It DIMON
Demons are canny creatures. If they
don't think they can win a toe-to-toe
fight, they don't even try. They run
away, knowing that they'll have plenty
of time to fight another day.
Demons killed while on Earth are
banished for 100 years. The only way to
make sure a demon is truly dead is to
track it down and kill it in its home part
of Hell. Most demons move on right
away to keep that from happening.
There's little chance that a Covenant
hero will be able to find the means to
pursue a demon beyond this world.
Even if the hero is friendly with a
Bargainer who could to take the hero
along on such a trip, most Bargainers
are smart enough to know that such a
mission is likely suicide. Considering
that the demon can't possibly come
back during the hero's lifetime, hunting
down the beast in the nether realms is
generally more trouble than it's worth.
Oh, and just like with vampires,
killing a demon is apparently not a
sin-not even close.
THI TRUTH Of THE MATTER
POSSESSIONS AND (XORCISMS
The one thing we didn't mention
about possessed items or hosts is the
kind of powers that the demons have
while in these forms. Anything that's
possessed can fly at a Pace of 5. This
means that just about anyone can
outrun them in a footrace, but
possessed hosts never get tired.
Possessed people can attack as if
they were in control of themselves.
They can use their own combat skills,
or the demon's fighting: barehanded 5
and dodge 5.
Possessed items have at least a 3d6
in each of their traits and a skill score of
at least 5 in any skill that you figure
would make it as dangerous as
possible. It's hard to say just how much
damage it takes to bring down a
possessed item, since they vary so
much, but remember that these are wily
things. Given a chance, they'll sham
being finished after only taking a little
damage. When the hero comes in close
to confirm the thing is done for, it pops
right back up with a surprise attack.
WORKING WITH THE (NEMY
While the official policy is that
working with a Bargainer is
tantamount to dealing directly with a
demon yourself, the reality is that
sometimes Covenant heroes are willing
to bend the rules a bit to get the end
result that they're looking for. After all,
sometimes it takes a sinner to catch a
sinner. In any case, as long as they're
not personally committing any sins or
knowingly causing any to be
committed, they are morally in the
clear, if perhaps a little uncomfortable.
fOR GOODNESS SAKE
fOR GOODNESS SAKE:
A (OVENANT
ADVENTURE
DOING GOD'S WORK
This adventure is specifically
designed for a team of heroes that
includes at least one Covenant hero-
or preferably a team filled with
Covenant heroes-although it can
theoretically be played with just about
any kind of heroes. It involves a fairly
large turning point in the destiny of
the Defiance-or at least in the
personal fate of Truth.
If the heroes succeed in the mission
put to them, they will have done a
great service to the Defiance and
prevented a horrible evil from being let
loose on an unsuspecting and mostly
defenseless world. If they fail, well, life
will go on, but it will certainly be a bit
more difficult for the Defiance in
particular and humanity in general
than it was before. The fate of the
planet doesn't necessarily hang in the
balance, but if the heroes live and work
in Crescent City, they're bound to
suffer some serious consequences for
their failure.
PLAYING IT fROM THf OTHfR SIDf
This adventure is definitely written
for a team of heroes with a decidedly
Defiant slant to them, but it doesn't
have to be that way. With only a little
bit of work, the adventure could be
reworked for a Delta Prime team as
well. The goals would be pretty much
the same, although the end results
would certainly be different, at least in
one respect.
IT'S ALL PART Of THf BARGAIN
Certain parts of this adventure will
make a whole lot more sense if you
have the Bargainers book. That's not to
say that you can't get by without. It's
just that the Bargainers are the flip side
of the Covenant coin, if you like, and
with the Bargainers book, you get to see
the other side of the story.
Take it from us: There's nothing like
a fresh perspective to really open your
eyes.
fOR GOODNESS SAKE
THE BACKSTORY
The fact is that the world is full of all
sorts of evil and doesn't really need
any help from beyond. Still, there are
people who are willing to do anything
for power, and if that requires going
down a road that includes summoning
demons, well, then fire up the engines
and ride!
Here's a perfect example. Carmen
Whitston is a young lady who had it
all. She came from a wealthy family on
Crescent City's Far Northside. She'd
graduated at the top of her class at
Yale, gotten her MBA at Wharton, and
landed a promising position with a
business consulting and investment
firm downtown. She's beautiful and
smart, and most people would kill to
have her life.
But somehow it was never enough
for her. Everything in Carmen's life
had come to her so easily that she
didn't appreciate any of it. Still, as a
consultant playing with the money of
people even more fortunate than
herself, Carmen had developed a taste
for unbridled power. She wanted it
more than anything, but she had no
idea of how to go about actually laying
her hands on it.
And then Carmen got into an
accident on her way home from work
one day. As she was driving by
Crescent City Mercy Hospital one day,
a disabled Armorgeddon unit crash-
landed atop her luxury coupe.
Fortunately, she didn't have too far to
go to reach the hospital's front doors.
The ER doctors actually hauled her out
of her crushed vehicle, put her on a
stretcher, and ran her right into
surgery.
She almost died that day. Later,
she'd have cause to wish she had.
it NfW FRIfND IN HfR HfAD
It was while she was recovering in
the hospital that Carmen first heard the
voices of the demons talking in her
head.
At first, Carmen thought that the
blow she'd taken to her head had
knocked a screw loose. She was scared
to tell a doctor about it, though, for
fear of being locked up for
"observation" for the rest of her life.
Carmen tried to resist for a while,
but once, when she was alone, she
responded to the voices. As soon as she
did, they all started shouting at her at
once, each and everyone of them
clamoring for her attention.
It was almost enough to drive the
young woman mad. She started
screaming at the top of her lungs. She
was still screaming when the sedatives
the nurses gave her finally kicked in
and knocked her cold.
STARTING A NfW Llff
When Carmen awoke, she found
herself in restraints. It was then that
she realized that the chaotic chorus of
Hellish voices in her head was gone. It
had been replaced by a single, sinister
tongue that whispered into the space
between her ears.
The voice belonged to a demon by
the name of Karnax, a creature from
the Hellish realms who had an idea for
a plan that he needed a human dupe
for. He'd been hunting high and low
for years, but in Carmen, he'd struck
gold.
Carmen thirsted for the kind of
power that Karnax was able to offer
her. And as far as making a deal with a
demon went, she was a babe in the
woods. This would be almost too easy.
fOR GOODNESS SAKE
rough black church in the basement
of a condemned apartment building
in the worst part of the Near
Southside. While this was being
prepared, one of the cult's young
women covered Carmen's body in
cryptic tattoos designed to protect
her life and soul.
AN OYIRYIIW
Cut to last night. Carmen and her
cultists are ready to put all their plans
to the test. Their black church has been
prepared, and Carmen has been
tattooed from head to toe, barring only
her face and hands. A circle of
protection has been painted on the
church's floor. The candles have been
lit. The moon is new, leaving the
cloudless sky over Crescent City dark
and cold.
In short, it's time.
ANYTHING THAT (AN GO WRONG OOfS
At the stroke of midnight, Carmen
begins the ceremony, chanting aloud
in a Hellish tongue, repeating
verbatim the words of Kamax as they
ring through her head. As she
continues on, her words getting
louder with each and every refrain in
her cursed verses, the cultists around
her are overcome one by one.
One right after the other, the
cultists become violently ill, vomiting
their guts out onto the floor. Still,
they each manage to keep their feet
beneath them. Never in their young,
jaded lives have they been a part of
something so amazing and incredible,
and they aren't about to miss out
now.
Carmen's voice continues on and
on, pounding out the ceremony's evil
words like hammers on a kettle drum
fOR GOODNESS SAKE
until her tender voice has been
replaced by something more and
more guttural and harsh. As she
continues, the candles at each point
of the pentagram stretching across
the circle of protection begin to
billow smoke that collects in the
center of the circle as if it was being
pulled there by some force far
stronger than the gravity that pulls
on the moon.
The smoke grows thicker and
thicker until it's almost entirely
opaque, and at the same time
Carmen's voice grows deeper and
deeper, almost inhumanly so.
ENUR THf DfMON
Just at the point when something
begins to stir in the coagulating
smoke, Carmen realizes that the voice
she's hearing repeat the foul words
she now knows so well is no longer
croaking from her throat. Instead, it's
ringing in her ears, and it's coming
from the center of the circle.
As Carmen and the cultists watch
in utter amazement, the smoke
begins to swirl away into
nothingness, eventually coalescing
into a dark and forbidding form, a
tall, manlike, bestial creature
complete with a tail, hooves, and
horns.
Karnax has arrived.
Carmen and the cultists look up at
the demon with a strange mix of
surprise, pride, and fear. Most the
cultists didn't believe that the crazy
woman whose money they'd been
living on had a snowball's chance of
actually conjuring up a demon in
some dilapidated basement. In fact,
once the ceremony was over and had
totally failed, they were planning on
robbing her blind, then beating her
within an inch of her life and driving
away in her car, leaving her for dead.
Instead, the demon arises before
them, looks at them scornfully, and
then slowly breaks into a malicious
grin.
As Karnax walks forward, Carmen
and the cultists look forward and see
that the aci dic bile that one of the
young men earlier spat from his
stomach has spilled across the outer
line of the so-called circle of
protection that's meant to keep the
demon penned in. The fresh cow's
blood with which the design had
been painted has dissolved and run
wetly across the floor. The only
thing-that one vital thing- that was
supposed to protect the summoners
from that which they had summoned
has been broken, and the demon
Karnax is now free to walk the planet
as he wills.
That' s when the screaming begins.
MAJOR PLAYIRS
Here are full p rofiles for the two
extras the heroes are most likely to
mi x it u p with during this
adventure.
CARMEN WHITSTON
Carmen Whitston is a raven-haired
beauty who has never been satisfied
with what life handed her, no matter
how precious the platter it was on.
Part of this has to do with the fact
that Carmen has been clinically
depressed for most of her life. If it
wasn't for the fact that she's been so
fortunate in just about every material
way, she' d probably have killed
fOR GOODNESS SAKE
herself long ago.
As it is, Carmen sees suicide as the
last escape of the "little people" from
the harshness of a world that can't
ever fully give them what they want.
She thinks too highly of herself to
directly do any harm to her by her
own hand. Instead, she has
developed a death wish. If she's
going to check out of this hotel, she
wants to leave in the most
memorable way possible.
This trait has made Carmen
something of a daredevil, and it also
made her extremely susceptible to
Karnax's promises. She knew that
dealing with a demon could be
fatally dangerous, but the way she
saw it, when it was all over with,
she'd either have the kind of power
she craved or she'd be dead. Either
way, she'd get what she was looking
for.
Since Carmen hasn't had any
formal training as a Bargainer, she
doesn't have any of the traditional
Bargainer skills. She doesn't have any
totems either, nor can she cast
Bargainer spells. The only demon
she's had enough contact with is
Karnax, and he's not in a helpful
mood right now.
Smarts: 4d6
Academia: occult 1, area knowledge:
Crescent City 2, computing 2,
etiquette 3, language: English 2,
language: French 2, profession:
business 3
Speed:4d6
Acrobatics 2, dodging 3, driving:
personal vehicle 3, martial arts:
barehanded 3, shooting 3, stealth 2
Spirit: 3d6
Bravery 2, leadership 2, perception 3,
persuasion: bluff 4, persuasion: charm
3, scrutinize 3, search 1, streetwise 1
Strength: 2d6
Climbing 2, running 2, swimming 1,
throwing 2
Size: 5
Pace: 9
Delta Points: 3
Quirks: Arrogant -3, death wish -5, delta
O, destined for greatness -5, impulsive
-3, unregistered O, rich +4, secret
identity O, self-confident +2, stubborn
-2
Powers:
Bargaining: Carmen can talk with
demons. She could use a totem if she
had one or knew anything about
them.
Tricks: Bull's eye, first move, jinx
Gear: A Colt 2000 with three clips of AP 10
bullets, a custom Lincoln Navigator
limousine, a Kevlar vest, a PCS phone,
and $1,000.
KARNAX
As demons to encounter right out
of the gate go, Carmen really could
have have a lot better luck than to
end up running into a rank, power-
hungry, mad crank of a demon like
Karnax.
In the great Hellish scheme of
things Karnax isn't much of a demon.
Oh, sure, he's stronger and faster than
just about any human on the planet
and he's got a mean streak wider than
Chicago Bay, but in the armies of
Hell, he just doesn't rank all that
high. He's as ambitious as can be, but
he's just not all that smart compared
to the others.
To remedy that situation, Karnax
concocted a devilish plan to gain the
favor of Mephistopheles, one of the
more powerful demon lords. Karnax
knows that if he can convince
someone to summon him to our
world and then somehow break free,
he can then perform an ancient
demonic ceremony to summon
fOR GOODHISS SAKI
Mephistopheles himself directly into
Crescent City.
To pull this off, Karnax needs to
sacrifice a woman" strong and true"
on the altar of a cathedral of God.
This will desecrate the entire
building, making it hospitable to
demonkind and allow him to bring
the demon lord over to our world. If
that happens, all Hell could literally
break loose.
Smarts: 6d6
Academia: occult 6, area knowledge:
Hellish realms 5, language: English 3,
language: Hellish dialect 3, security 1
Speed:6d6+6
Acrobatics 6, dodging 5, escaping 5
Spirit: 6d6
Bravery 6, mimic 5, perception3,
persuasion: charm 6, persuasion:
intimidation 3, search 3
Strength: 6d6+6
Climbing 5, fighting: barehanded 6,
running 5, swimming I, throwing 5
Size: 8
Pace: 17
Delta Points: 6
Quirks: Ambidextrous +5, arrogant -3,
bloodthirsty -2, destined for greatness
+5, enemy -5: Heavenly host, gullible
-2, impulsive -3, mean -2, obvious -5,
photographic memory +5, savage -3,
self-confident +2, temper -2, ugly -2,
vengeful -2, voice: hard +1
Powers:
Demon: The demon can cast Bargainer
spells at will. It can also use any
single power package at any time.
Tricks: Bull's eye, extra damage, first
move, grapple, knockback, knockdown,
pumped up
Gear: None.
THE SETUP
Getting the heroes involved in this
problem shouldn't be all that difficult.
Karnax was pretty surprised to find his
unwitting dupes to be so incautious as
to actually accidentally release him on
his first trip to our world in over 300
years, but he's never been one to look a
gift horse in the mouth. The demon
immediately tore into the cultists,
hoping to save Carmen for last.
One African-American male cultist
(Darren Colby) actually attacked
Karnax as the demon was twisting the
neck of Ginny Speltman, the blond
woman, and he was literally torn in
half for his troubles. The three
others-two white men (Dale Whistler
and Cos Swenson) and a Hispanic
woman (Margarita Valez)-tried to
run, but they didn't even make it out

\ ~
r
of the room.
While Karnak was quenching his
bloodlust, Carmen made a mad dash
for safety, her self-preservation
instincts finally getting the better of
her death wish. It was a narrow thing,
but she actually made it to her
Navigator and was able to speed
away.
Karnax could probably have caught
up with her anyway, but a headline in
a nearby newspaper box caught his
eye. It read: "Nothing but the Truth!"
Below it, there was a picture of Marta
Alonso right next to an artist's
rendition of Truth.
And a plan leapt into the demon's
mind.
ANSWERING GOD'S (ALL
The heroes (or hero, if only one of
FOR GOODNSS SAK
them is part of the Covenant) are
called up by Father Joeson in the
middle of the night. He says:
I hate to wake you up, but this
looks bad. I just got a call from a
friend of mine on the police force.
Apparently there was a quintuple
murder tonight in the basement
of an apartment building at
South l1S
th
and Sixth Crescent.
From the sounds of it, there are
definite traces of demonic
involvement, possibly even a
Bargainer.
Also, there were reports of a
monstrous creature rampaging
away from the building shortly
afterward. This thing apparently
killed a motorcycle cop before it
somehow disappeared.
I want you to get down there
right away and figure out what's
happening. My friend on the
force tells me the police have
simply cordoned the place off
until the detectives come on shift
in the morning. If you make it
over there soon, he guarantees me
that the officers on watch won't
bother to see you much less
hassle you.
The cops know that they're in
way over their head with
something like this. Not even
Delta Prime likes dealing with
demonic activity. Too many
people usually end up dead. That
means its still our job to take care
of this, no matter how the
President might feel about us.
Just get in and out of that
place as quickly as you can. The
morning shift isn't as
understanding about this kind of
stuff as the guys who work the
night.
Once you've got something,
report back into me. I'm supposed
to leave town this morning on
official business in Detroit-that
town's always having problems
with Satanic influences, it
seems - bu t I wan t to be kept
informed about any developments
in this case.
I'm relying on you. Don't
disappoint me.
(HAPTER ONE
When the heroes get to the
building, it's just as Father Joeson
said. The police that are supposed to
be watching the place are sitting in
their squad car on the street outside,
doing their best to make sure that
they don't see anyone sneaking in or
out.
It's easy to find the way into the
basement. The doors are in the front
of the building, or they were before
they were torn off their hinges. The
only thing blocking the doorway now
are a few strands of yellow police
tape which the heroes can slide
between.
THl BASfMlNT
Downstairs is bad, but it's obvious
that it was recently much worse. The
cops may be waiting for the
detectives to come on duty in the
morning before doing any real
investigation, but they at least
managed to cart the bodies out of the
place and haul them off to the
morgue. The cause of death in every
case is, of course, "extreme trauma."
There's blood everywhere, and
although most of it is drying quickly,
fOR GOODNfSS SAKf
a few of the deeper puddles are still
tacky. See the map of this room for
particulars on its size and the layout
of the place. There are taped outlines
where the bodies once lay, but other
than that, the crime scene is fairly
undisturbed.
A bit of poking around should
provide some results. Any hero that
bothers to go poking around in the
stacks of occult books that litter the
place should be able to find (on an
Easy (5) search roll) any of a number of
business cards being used as
bookmarks. Carmen had a stack of
these things after she quit her job, so
she decided to make use of them in the
limited amount of research she was
able to do using the books the cultists
had amassed on their own. It tickled
her sense of irony to see the card of a
major consulting firm sticking out of
such books.
THf SUPfR (LUfS THfM IN
This is an important connection for
the heroes to get. If they fail to find one
of these cards, don't fret. The
building's superintendent stumbles
into the place while they're nosing
around. At first he curses at what's
happened, but he cleans up his act if
he recognizes any of the heroes as
members of the Catholic clergy.
As a Catholic, the super is happy to
answer questions by any Covenant
heroes. If they are obviously part of the
Covenant as opposed to merely the
Church, he tells them, "Thank God you
guys are still on the job!"
If none of the heroes are Catholic
clergy, the super mistakes them for
plainclothes detectives. Again, he's
happy to answer any questions.
Even if the heroes don't ask, the
super says, "I never should have
rented to that woman." If they ask
about her, he happily supplies them
with Carmen' s name and address:
North 185
cl1
and Third Crescent.
MADAMf BARGAINfR, I PRfSUMf?
If this doesn't send your heroes
racing off to the Far Northside, take
their pulses. When they get to
Carmen' s wealthy home, they find
the Navigator has been driven across
the lawn and smashed into the front
porch. The car's airbag has deployed,
and the house's front door is wide
open.
When the heroes enter the place,
they find themselves in a luxuriously
appointed, four-bedroom house that's
much too large for Carmen to live in
alone as she does. She is passed out
on a leather couch in the living room,
an empty bottle of sleeping pills still
clutched in her hand.
It' s up to the heroes to save
Carmen's life. If she's brought to a
hospital quickly, she should recover
by the time dusk rolls around. Her
stomach needs to be pumped, which
is something no doctor can do with
her bare hands. A healer or a
Covenant hero with the God's mercy
power could have Carmen up and
running in no time with a Difficult
(15) healing roll.
Once Carmen awakens, she's ready
to tell the heroes everything, pleading
with them to help her with the voices
in her head, which have returned
with renewed vengeance. She says
that while Karnax was tearing the
cultists apart, he heard him say
something about "Mephistopheles,"
"the cathedral," and" a woman strong
and true." She doesn't know what it's
fOR GOODHISS SAKE
all about, but she's sure it can't be
good.
Carmen is truly sorry for all she's
done, and if there's a priest in the
crowd, she begs to make a confession
to him to unburden her soul.
MfANWHILf
While the heroes are following
their lead to Carmen' s house and
taking care of her, Karnax is keeping
himself busy. In a daring mid-day
raid, the demon poses as a police
officer (using the changeling power
package) and figures out where Truth
is being kept. Then, not caring to be
subtle any longer, he takes his normal
form with the tough power package.
Karnax literally rips into the jail to
grab Truth and cart her off. Truth
knows a decent rescue attempt when
she sees one, and she's sure that this
demon is not on her side. She resists,
but he easily overpowers her.
The TV news actually has footage
of a team of Primers responding to
Karnax's attack. It shows the demon
killing a flyer with a thrown lightpost
and then phasing through the
ground, apparently making a clean
getaway.
RfWARDS
If the heroes manage to fi nd Carmen
and save her life, give them one
experience point each.
Give any heroes that help put
Carmen in touch with a Bargainer who
can help her one experience point
each.
fOR GOODNESS SAKE
Give any priest who hears
Carmen's confession and imposes an
appropriate penance one experience
point.
(HAPTER TWO
By now the heroes should have an
idea about what Karnax is up to.
Anyone who can make a Challenging
(10) academia: occult roll realizes that
the demon is planning to reach out to
a demon lord somehow, and to do it
he needs to desecrate a cathedral. The
best time of month for such an act is
at midnight during one of the three
nights of the new moon. There are
still two left in this month, and
Karnax doesn't seem to be known for
his patience. There's not much time
to act.
There is only one cathedral in
Crescent City: St. Patrick's. The next
nearest one is in Milwaukee, and
while it's doubtful that Karnax is
going to head out of Crescent City,
nearby Cathedrals should be
notified.
When the heroes contact Father
Joeson, they manage to raise him on
his mobile phone, but he's
unfortunately in New York City on
other business. He orders the heroes
to head down to the St. Patrick's
right away to defend the place.
TAILOR-MADE MAYHEM
At this point, you need to decide
how much help the heroes might need
against a threat like Karnax-and how
much you're going to let them have if
they try to raise some. You know your
heroes better than we do, and take it
from us, Karnax is likely going to be
the single toughest opponent they've
ever faced.
In these cases, it's best to err on the
side of the opposition. If you let the
heroes call in enough aid to easily take
care of the demon, at the end of the
game the players are going to feel
robbed of the chance to prove their
heroes' mettle. In fact, if you think
they might squeak by without any
help at all, then let them go for it. Cut
them off from any assistance, and let
them know that they're on their own.
Either way, the world is depending on
them, and they'd better not let us all
down.
GET RfADY TO RUMBLf!
By now, you can see that this is all
headed toward a climactic battle in
the heart of the cathedral between
Karnax and the heroes. Unfortunately,
the police have come to the same
conclusion-the detectives apparently
were able to figure out what was
going on once they got into that
basement and started poking
around-and they have the place
surrounded. Just getting into the
cathedral is going to be tough.
The police are currently forbidden
to actually enter the church under
any circumstances-by the
archbishop himself. He's afraid that if
the police are invited in once they'll
be able to claim that the church has
sacrificed its status as a sanctuary,
which would make life hard on him
and every other Catholic who might
ever want to seek refuge in the place.
The archbishop himself is waiting
in the nave of the cathedral, ready to
do his best to defend his church. The
Covenant powers he has aren't really
tailored to that, but he's willing to
FOR GOODNESS SAKE
die trying if he has to.
No matter when the heroes arrive
in the church, Karnax doesn' t arrive
on the scene until about five minutes
to midnight. At that point,-a
conscious but tightly bound Truth
cradled in his left ann-he comes
sailing in through the 40-foot, rosette,
stained-glass window over the
cathedral's main entrance, shattering
it into a million pieces and sending
shards of glass flying everywhere.
When he lands, he switches from the
flyer power package to that of the
tough and heads right for the altar,
ready to tangle with anyone who gets
in his way.
If Karnax has his way, once he gets
to the altar, he stretches Truth out
like a fatted calf and-at the stroke of
midnight-tears her open from top to
bottom with one mighty stroke with
a shard from the shattered window.
All the while, he chants some foul
ritual in his demonic dialect. The
only word that anyone can
understand is "Mephistopholes, "
which comes up frequentl y.
Hopefully the heroes can prevail
here, for if they don't, they' re in for a
world of hurt. If they thought Karnax
was bad news, just wait until they
meet his boss.
RUVARDS
If the heroes stop Karnax, give them
two experience points each.
If the heroes manage to save Truth
and keep her from being recaptured by
the police, give them another two
experience points each and the
undying gratitude of the Defiance.
If Archbishop Hanson survives, give
the heroes another experience point
each.
THE AfTERMATH
If the heroes succeed, they can
claim sanctuary for themselves as
well, keeping them out of police
custody for the moment. They have
earned the gratitude of the
archbishop and Father Joeson.
They're particularly happy that, even
though members of the Covenant are
scattered in hiding spots throughout
America, the heroes were able to
defend the Catholic Church against a
direct assault like this.
If Truth lives, she'll soon have
DeltaTimes.com up and running
again. Now working full-time for the
Defiance, having abandoned her life
as Marta Alonso, she can do a lot of
good for the Defiants' cause.
If Truth dies, the Defiance will
have a hard time replacing her, but
someone will be found, and the
resistance to Kennedy's America will
roll on.
If Karnax actually manages to
bring Mephistopholes into the world,
well, the joke's on him. The demon
lord isn't happy about being hauled
earthside on such short notice. He
hasn't had a chance to prepare his
demon hordes for battle, and he's
afraid that Heaven will see his
presence in our world as an excuse to
launch Armageddon. As such,
Mephistopholes immediately kills
Karnax for his impertinence and then
goes on to destroy the entire
cathedral with a roar that literally
brings down the roof. When the
smoke clears, if the heroes survive,
they find that the demon lord has
disappeared.
THE AUTHOR'S AfTERWORD
THI
AUTHOR'S
AFTIRWORD
YOU (AN TAKE THE
KID OUT OF THE SCHOOL
Wow. Does it show that I was raised
Catholic? It's true. I spent 11 years in
Catholic school, several of which I
actually served as an altar boy-
believe it or not!
These days, I've wandered a bit
from the faith. Those inside the church
might call me a "lapsed" Catholic,
while others like myself would call me
a "recovering" Catholic. Either way,
the sentiment's the same: You might
not be going to church, but you never
know when it might happen again.
When I say I was raised Catholic, I
mean that from the moment I could
open my eyes, I was in church for mass
just about every Sunday, even when
the Packers were playing. (That's what
the early masses are for, after all:
getting you in and out
And that kind of indoctnnahon IS hard
to shake off.
To be honest, I don't try much. I
might not agree with some of the
views of the Catholic Church these
days, but that doesn't mean I think
they're all bad. I'm not one to toss the
baby Jesus out with the holy water - so
to speak.
For instance, that whole "Do unto
others as you would have them do
unto you" line. That's good policy no
matter when or if you celebrate a
sabbath.
As a writer and a reader, I can't tell
you how much my Catholic
background has helped me. Good
writing is often full of literary
references. You know what the best-
selling book of all time is? None other
than the Bible itself. Give the kid a
prize.
If you want to make or understand
the kind of references that populate
much of Western literature-or
roleplaying games, even-it's a good
idea to have a strong command of the
stories in the Bible. And thanks to my
Catholic upbringing, I have just that.
RELIGION AND ROLEPLAYING
The fact is that some people get
uncomfortable talking about religion in
any format, much less in something
like a roleplaying game. After all, to
many people out there, their religion is
a large, even central, part of their lives.
When you steer near that, you're
venturing into dangerous waters.
Still, the fact that religion does
permeate our culture to its deepest
levels would seem to make it a sin to
ignore it. It would be like forgetting
about automobiles in America. It' s
such an integral part of the setting that
you're really missing
something without
it.
If a modern-
day game like
Brave New World is
even partially
grounded in reality,
then you really have
to include religion in the
game, at least peripherally.
In The Covenant, I finally got to
tackle it head-on. Now you can do
the same.
In your own games, you can
give as much time to religion as
you like-Catholic or
otherwise. If you want to
center your entire saga on a
group of Covenant operatives
as they fight to save the
world from sin, more
power to you.
Still, just as most
people's lives aren't all
about their religion, the
same can hold
true for
your game. If you just want
religion to be peeking in on the edges
of your game, maybe not even noticed
most of the time, that's cool too. But
you should have it in there
somewhere, even if only for a little
spice.
Both ways add a lot to the flavor
and the texture of the game's
background, lending yet another bit of
verisimilitude to the entire affair.
Anything doing that, you should prize.
A
Acolyte 78, 95
Africa 47
Alonso, Marta 103
Anglican Church 46, 47,
49
Ark of the Covenant 9
Ascend 88-89
Asia 45
Aura of righteousness
89
Australia 47
B
Balloon mortar 67-68,
72, 74
Baptism 78
Bargainers 13, 57-58, 108
Blades, silver 73, 74
Bless 84
Blessed 82
Bolts 69,72
Brothers; see Monks
Buddhism 45
Bullets, silver 73, 74
(
Canada 52
Central America 53
China 45
Christ, Jesus 35
Church of England; see
Anglican Church
Clerical powers 83
Confirmation 79
Covenant (power) 82
Covenant, the Order of 9
Covenant crossbow 69,
72, 74
Covenant martial arts 66
Covenant powers 87
Gaining 88
Switching 88
Using 88
Covenant requirements
74
Cross, the (hero); see
Murray, Father John
Cross kit 69-70, 74
Cross-sights 70, 74
Curia 80
INDEX
D
Dalai Lama 45
Deaders 56-57, 106
Defiance, the 40-43, 76
Delta Prime 43, 76
Delta Times 43
DeltaTimes.com 42-43
Demons 58-61, 108-109
Divine inspiration 82
Divine mercy 89
DuTemple, Cardinal Paul
32
E
Elizabeth II, Queen 49
Europe 47-50
Exorcise 84
Exorcism 60--61
Extreme unction 81
f
Fathers; see Priests
G
Garlic paste 68
Georgians 80-81, 96
God's truth 89-90
God's will 90
Great Mistake, the 5
Gutierrez, Juan Alberto
53
II
Hanson, Archbishop Bill
32-33,105
Herndon, Bishop 6
Hirohito, Emperor 46
Holy Eucharist 78
Holy flame 90
Holy orders 79
Holy soaker 70-71, 72
Holy water 68
Hong Kong 46
Houdini, Harry 13
Inspire 83
Ireland 47-48
Isla Delta 53
Islam 47, 50
Israel 51-52
Italy 48
Japan 46
Jihad, the 50
Joeson, Father Paul 5,
106
John Paul II, Pope 31, 40
Judians 81-82,97
K
Kabbalah, the 51-52
Kennedy, John F. 38-41,
43,49
King, Martin Luther, Jr.
52
M
Manna 90
Marriage 79
Martyr's determination
90-91
Mary Victoria, Sister 52
Mexico 53
Middle East 50
Might of God 91
Monks 78,98
Murray, Father John
12-15
Mussolini, Benito 48
H
Nuns 79,99
o
O'Conner, Cardinal
Joseph 52
p
Paul VI, Pope 40
Pentecostal tongue 92
Petition 92
Pius XI, Pope 11, 14, 15
Pope 80
Portable circle 71
Possession 59-61
Pray 86
Priests 76-77, 100
Protection projector 72,
74
R
Reconciliation 79,
104-105
Religious symbols 83-84
Retreat 86-87
s
Sacrifice 92-93
St. George 80-81
St. George, Order of; see
Georgians
St. Jude 81
St. Jude, Order of; see
Judians
St. Patrick's Cathedral 5,
33
St. Peter 10, 35
Sanctify (clerical power)
87
Sanctify (Covenant
power) 93
Schism, the 39-40, 52,
65,75
Second Coming, the 35
Shield of God 93
Shinto 46
Silver Ghost 34
Sin 94, 104-105
Sisters; see Nuns
Solace 93
South America 53
Soviet Union, the 49
Stein, Rabbi Jeremiah
51-52
Synod, the 47, 49
T
Terrify 83
Tibet 45
Truth; see Marta Alonso
Twist, Mr. 13
u
Unfetter 93
United Kingdom 49-50
v
Vampires 23-29, 55-56,
106
Vatican City 48
Walk on water 93-94
Werebeasts 57, 106-108
Wrath of God 94
z
Zombie 61
E,
" ."XP1,O, ',re, , new WO,rlds and c, onquer
mighty foes with the Adventure
Keep d20 Module line. Compact
and concise, these 20-page "adventure
boosters" provide three to four hours of
solid gaming fun with minimal or no
preparation time required for play.
8301 Castle Zadrian by Rich Wulf
8302 Sundered by Kevin Wilson
8303 Tomb of by Ken Villars
and John Zinser
8304 Against the Barrow King
by Steve Hough
8305 Jerimond'sOrb byRee Soesbee
8306 of Body, Out of Mind
by Patrick Kapera
8307 Crypt
by James Macduff
8308 Kurishan's Garden
by Ken Carpenter'
8309 The Last Gods by Kevin Wilson
8310. Bring Him Ba(k Alive! by Matt Forbeck
8311 The Heart of Amun Khonshu
by Marcelo & Kat Figueroa
8312 The Murder ofthe Seven Points
by Eric Yaple
8313 Dead Man's Cove by Ken Carpenter
8314 Garadon Manor by Patrick K.apera
8315 Servants of the Blood Mool)
by Ree Soesbee
8316 The Ice Caves of Azinth
by James Macdl,lff
You hold in your hands
the last defense against
evil.
The order of the
Covenant comprises holy,
elite warriors, devoted to
serving the holy cause of
the Church. Led by the
Pope, the followers of
Jehovah and the Roman
tholic Church lead an
assault against the
demonic brood that are
ready to rip the world
asunder. The counter-
balance to the enigmatic
Bargainers, this special
arm of the Vatican is
dedicated to the Papacy and its
drive to eradicate the ultimate evils
of the modern world.
The vampires of Atlanta, the
werebeasts of Crescent City,
possessed innocents, the deaders
of every major metropolis, and the
demonic armies from the other
_,", ...... .::: are your arch-foes in this most
war for our very souls.
Only the strong shall survive in the
final wars against the evil powers
threatening our very existence.
The Covenant sourcebook for
Brave New World provides insight
into the Church and the inner
workings of its special branch of
superpowered warriors. Inside
these pages are six new power
packages, the history of the
Church, details on playing
Covenant members, the truth
behind their mission, and full-
length adventure designed
specifically for Covenant heroes.
It's time to test your faith.
Covenant ISBN 1-887953-28-0
9 781887 953283