Burning is a modified illumination setting. A twisted reflection of the modern world where supernatural beings were known far and wide, until they disappeared, off the face of the earth. Here, the stories and legends of these creatures were forgotten, so they lost all power. Everything was normal until some foolish archeologist stumbled onto a large system of caves where these monsters and beasts were left. Awakened from their eternal slumber, these monsters dig themselves from their graves, swim up from the oceans, crash back into the ground from space, and return to poison the minds of the new world. Billionaires and Senators employ paranormal advisors and bodyguards, and everyone knows. Charlatans become pop culture icons, and each revelation inspires a new cult. The world is changing. The secret societies that pull humanity's strings scramble to adapt.
Contractors from Burning Light
Are portable, and may play in Contracts in other Playgroups.
Burning Light grants 6 Experience points to GMs who achieve the Golden Ratio.
They named that time The Illumination, and it was by the flash of a camera phone.
The year was 2004. Until that point the Earth was as you had always known her. We forgot our cruel and evil legends, superstitions, and rumors. Warlocks, monsters, and gods were forgotten, nothing but the beliefs of old barbaric societies and never more. Unlike your world, we didn't have religion, or beliefs of any kind.
An ancient cave found on the coast of Washington DC. Using Ground Penetrating Radars, a woman named Sadie Macarthur discovered a cave system deep under the city. A Brazilian friend of Sadie documented a series of caves when building new sewers in Rio. Breaking the ground, and entering these caves caused cracks all over the world, super natural beings began escaping from the cracks. Large ravines formed all over the world. From the sky the astronauts reported creatures entering the atmosphere, a Chinese submarine found large monsterous creatures while searching for a sunken cargo ship.
Eventually, some of these monsters stopped murdering innocent people. They joined humanity hiding their secrets from other humans. At first it was easy to tell out who a monster was. Pale skin, bad social interactions or even walking in on them eating goat heads.
Each week brought a new revelation that we were not alone. Superstitions reversed their slow death overnight. Salem held their first witch trial in a century. The jury rendered a verdict of “guilty on all charges” and sentenced Maxibelle Horux to death. A week after her lethal injection, half the jury died from a tainted batch of flu vaccine. A fearful, populist movement arose to rid humanity of the creatures lurking in its ranks. Suspects are forcibly subjected to bizarre tests of their humanity, and the results are often open to interpretation. A mob’s justice is swift.
Yet the paranormal is not merely relegated to a persecuted class. Where some see monsters, some see sentience, and others see opportunity. If a vampire can sustain themselves on cloned blood and work the graveyard shift, why not legalize and tax? Politicians and Aristocrats employ odd-looking individuals as "advisors" or "protection." Entertainment magazines publish revelations every week about which celebrities shed their human skins at home. Charlatans of all stripes, from palmistry mediums to televangelists, have flourished despite the risks. The treatment of the paranormal varies from place to place, person to person.
Long have cabals, cults, and secret societies thrived in the shadows. Their roots run deeply through humanity’s oldest systems of power. Machinations are challenged, and sleeping dangers awaken. The world is changing, forcing long-dormant powers into desperate action. And it is in the midst of this great period of change that The Powers That Be have once again turned their attention to the blue marble. For the first time in two hundred years, Harbingers approach worthy individuals with an offer they won't refuse.
A new form of the Illumination is here.
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