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by Travis legge
Credits
Author: Travis Legge
Editor: Saylor Ashman
Artist: Storyteller’s Vault Art Packs
The X-Card was created by Jon Stavropoulos,
and is entirely in Creative Commons.
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Akira Yamaoka, Hideo Kojima, Keiichiro Toyama,
and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn for endless inspiration,
not only for this game, but for all my creations. Thank
you for showing the world what pure psychological
horror looks, sounds, and feels like.
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Special Thanks
© 2016 White Wolf Publishing AB. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of White Wolf Publishing AB. Reproduction prohibitions do not apply to
the character sheets contained in this book when reproduced for personal use. White Wolf, Vampire and Chronicles of
Darkness are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing AB. All rights reserved. Night Horrors: Unbidden, Vampire
the Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, Mage the Awakening, Storytelling System, and Ancient Bloodlines are trademarks
of White Wolf Publishing AB.. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by White
Wolf Publishing AB.
The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned.
This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. Reader discretion is advised.
Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com
Credits
3
Introduction
5
Chapter One:
Characters
and Rules
Attributes
Skills
Merits
Aspirations
Virtue and Vice
Breaking Points
Integrity
Conditions
New Tilts
Drowning
Suffocating
4
Ephemeral Beings in Gabriel’s
Horn
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9
Ghosts and Spirits
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Alternate Game Systems
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12
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sins
19
Personas
Ghosts of Gabriel’s Horn
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19
Spirits
21
New Numina
25
12
Phantom Arsenal
Smothering Grasp
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12
Author's Note
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Character Sheet
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Amnesia (Persistent)
Illuminated
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Character Creation
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Chapter Two:
Creatures
of Nightmare
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Table
of
Table of
Contents
Contents
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25
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Introduction
Introduction
Are my screams just a
whisper?
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Busy people going nowhere
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“On the sidewalk of the city
Humans are amazing creatures capable of boundless compassion
and endless cruelty in equal measure. We inhabit a world where
monsters lurk in the shadows, seeking to feed on, control, or twist
us to serve dark, alien agendas. Vampires hunt humans for blood.
Werewolves stalk the forests and wild lands, perfectly willing to
tear any poor soul who stumbles into their path to shreds. Who
knows how many other terrors lurk in the darkness, waiting to
pounce on the unwary. Despite the unnatural depravity of these
hidden horrors, humanity remains the greatest threat to itself. Be
it physically, emotionally, financially, or spiritually, humans are
always in danger of harm. Hunted by monsters and hunted by each
other, humankind faces no shortage of threats. Everyday people
often prove to be the cruelest and most monstrous of the bunch.
The shadows of the world hunger. Monsters hide within them
for protection, but also because the shadows invite them. The
darkness feeds on cruelty, pain, and spite. Monsters deliver such
fruit in abundance. Of course, so do humans. After all, we are what
monsters come from. Humans are the chassis upon which the form
of a monster is placed. Those who are well suited to existence as
an unnatural creature are sought out and brought into the fold of
one monstrous species or another. Vampires are Embraced. Mages
Awaken to a new world of possibility. Like attracts like and the
ranks of the damned swell.
Not all who fall to darkness join the ranks of the monsters.
Some, breaking the laws of society due to their cruel impulses, find
themselves imprisoned. Locked away from society, their damage is
mitigated and contained. Others fall to an early death. Whether
their lives are cut short due to violence, misadventure, or their
own hand, their mortality offers an escape from the hungry maw
of the darkness.
Some rare few humans slip through the cracks in the universe.
The stains of their sins and the expression of their monstrous inner
nature reaches just the right conditions to allow them to fall into the
darkness without being reborn. Such souls are removed from the
world as we know it and find themselves within a dark reflection
of our world. This realm looks, feels, smells, and tastes like the
world we live in, but before long the poison of truth begins seeping
into the edges of awareness. This is the realm of Gabriel’s Horn.
Gabriel’s Horn is a sourcebook for Chronicles of Darkness:
Mirrors. This book presents a slightly different view of the setting,
placing a strong emphasis on psychological horror, with a supernatural bent. Stories using this book do not occur within the core
setting of the Chronicles of Darkness, but instead inside a mirror
universe defined by the sins and shortcomings of the unfortunate
See me soak in the rain
No compassion, nothing
matters
My resistance is waning
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Like a flower in the basement
waiting for a lonely death.”
- “Your Rain“ Akira Yamaoka
feat. Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
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The true and ultimate nature of this mirror universe
is left to the Storyteller to determine. Is it a living hell
where evil people pay for their indiscretions and cruelty?
A section of the Abyss that pulls mortals in for some
dark purpose? A glitch in the workings of the God
Machine that certain souls are predisposed to fall into?
These are all good options, but it is ultimately left for
the Storyteller to decide. Maybe all of these are true to
a degree. Maybe none of them are.
The name, Gabriel’s Horn is derived from a geometric figure that has an infinite surface area, but a finite
volume. This term is representative of the boundaries
and contents of the shard universe, as its boundaries are
seemingly infinite and virtually impenetrable, while its
contents are finite and explorable. Most humans who
find themselves in Gabriel’s Horn succumb to madness
long before they come to any understanding of its true
nature. Perhaps your troupe will be an exception?
A number of films and games capture the feel of psychological horror damnation, and doom that Gabriel’s
Horn strives to create.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent. The protagonist of
this game awakens with virtually no memory and must
wander a decrepit and disturbing mansion in order to
unearth clues about his past. Transporting this concept
into a contemporary setting would be perfect fodder for
a story in Gabriel’s Horn.
Hellraiser: Inferno, Hellraiser: Hellseeker. These
entries in the long-running Hellraiser film franchise
focus on protagonists whose sins begin to warp the
world around them. Both films offer perfect inspiration
for a Gabriel’s Horn story, in terms of atmosphere as
well as creating monsters that are tied to the sins and
shortcomings of the protagonists.
Jacob’s Ladder. This film does a beautiful job of
illustrating madness and fear as the protagonist slowly
realizes that reality is much darker than it seems.
Silent Hill. Every game in this franchise, from the
1999 original through the unfortunately defunct PT
teaser, perfectly encompasses the atmosphere, feel, and
core concept of Gabriel’s Horn. The Silent Hill games
also feature protagonists trapped in a hellish version of
the familiar world populated with monstrous manifestations of their own sins and shortcomings.
Soma. The surreal impact of the presence of monsters,
presented through feedback in this game, is a beautiful
technique for conveying the creepy otherworldness of
encounters with the beings that inhabit Gabriel’s Horn.
The Uninvited. This film is a pitch perfect presentation of one character’s trip through Gabriel’s Horn,
as the protagonist is clueless as to the nature of what is
happening around her until it is far too late.
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What is Gabriel’s Horn?
Recommended Media
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souls who are transported there. This setting shard gives
the Storyteller tools to craft a customized psychological
horror experience tailored to the player’s characters.
How to Use This Book
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The introduction, which you are reading now, gives
a brief concept of the core premise of Gabriel’s Horn
and a summary of what is to come.
Chapter One: Characters and Rules discusses the
rules permutations for this mirror universe, including
ways to bring your existing Chronicles of Darkness
character into Gabriel’s Horn
Chapter Two: Creatures of Nightmare offers a
number of antagonists and bizarre monsters that may
be encountered within Gabriel’s Horn.
Author’s Note: Some personal reflections and advice
for running games in Gabriel’s Horn.
A Note on Content and Comfort
Characters who wind up in Gabriel’s Horn are not good people. If they were, they wouldn’t be here. This is
not to say that those who fall into Gabriel’s Horn cannot have good qualities. Many of the people who wind
up here are kind, charitable, and loving. Yet, beneath the surface they are severely damaged. People who come
to Gabriel’s Horn are tainted by their own evil actions. It is important for the Storyteller and players to discuss
appropriate boundaries, potential content triggers, and topics that are off limits. Use of an X-Card is highly
recommended with Gabriel’s Horn. The X-Card is a useful tool for preventing undue harm in the course of
exploring sensitive issues. Information on using an X-Card at your table can be found at https://docs.google.com/
document/d/1SB0jsx34bWHZWbnNIVVuMjhDkrdFGo1_hSC2BWPlI3A/
It is also important to note that while player characters created for Gabriel’s Horn should carry evil, sin, guilt,
and psychological scars, they should not be irredeemable. This game is intended to explore personal, psychological
horror through themes of redemption and penance, not to give sadists an invitation to indulge in twisted wish
fulfillment. If someone at your table can’t handle that, they need to go. Full stop.
INTRODUCTION
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