[2E] Orpheus

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New Hunter Conspiracy: Orpheus
The dead walk among us.

Orpheus is not one, but three corporations acting as fronts for the Conspiracy. Known as the Furies, each of them acts independently from the others, but the main goal is the same: to study and combat the supernatural, specifically the undead, in all their shapes and forms.

Ironically, ghosts that can be bargained with are given the chance to work for Orpheus as agents, and even trainers for still-living operatives using the Conspiracy's projection technology. If they want favors in return, Orpheus is all too happy to oblige.

Overview
It all began in 1986 with a company known then as JDG Cryogenics. Founded by Engineer Bob Jackson, and Dr. Anne Del Greco, the company dedicated itself to the preservation of human life through safe cryogenic freezing, specifically those suffering from ailments that science had yet to cure.

Through the genius of one Dr. Eduardo Fernandez--a man who claimed to have successfully frozen and reanimated a human body--the company was able to gain much needed backing from multiple sponsors world-wide. Such a feat had never been accomplished before, considering the greatest detriment to workable cryogenics, at that point, was the fact that portions of the human body possessed different tolerances to freezing. So while one process worked on one set of organs, it completely destroyed the adjoining tissue. Dr. Fernandez’s process, however, relied on mummifying the body through a high-protein, cold-tolerant suspension fluid that saturated the cells, preventing ice crystals from forming and damaging tissue. The process worked, eventually allowing JDG to revive its first patient, Jane Kennedy, in 1991.

That was when everything changed. JDG became more and more private about its research, despite their investors’ constant prodding for more detailed answers. JDG finally patented new cryogenic technology to the public, albeit expensive tech that required them to expand their facilities. In truth, however, the company had discovered something supernatural from studying Kennedy: the ability to project one’s spirit from its body. They spent millions in resources trying to delve into this new field of study. Combined with the annoyance of their spurned patrons, JDG began to suffer even as it made headwind in researching ghosts, mediums, and the undead. It nearly folded in its projecting endeavors when a mysterious backer approached the board of directors.

In 1994, JDG Cryogenics secretly divided itself into three separate corporations. And together, they became Orpheus.

The Enemy
While Orpheus was built on the ideal of preserving life, the discovery of life after death – and the existence of the undead – has made it clear how vulnerable humanity is. The Conspiracy has long seen ghosts as people, even customers, but more than once they’ve had to take action against ones that refuse to play nice.
And then there are Reapers. Intel about the Underworld has given the company reason enough to put down these specters of death. Not only are they bad for business, but the idea of entire cities being dragged into the Deep Below makes them a prime target.

Creatures such as Mummies, Vampires, Zombies, and the like also give Orpheus a reason to fight, as they often cause chaos or spawn more shades of the dead in their wake. For similar reasons, Slashers and Necromancers are targeted, as well as any death cult worth mentioning.

Sin-Eaters remain a dilemma for Orpheus. Like them, they bridge the gap between the living and the dead. Their negative disposition to Reapers and other ephemeral monsters is shared by the Conspiracy, as well as their curiosity for the Underworld. But the nature of their existence leaves some on edge. Are they slaves of their Geists? Are the Geists slaves of them? What ARE Geists? For this reason and more, many agents try to keep only a professional relationship with those Bound they become acquainted with – assuming the Sin-Eater doesn’t give them a reason to turn hostile.

Threat Tags & Terminology
Drone-class — Ghosts unaware of, or oblivious to, their surroundings
Blip-class — Ghosts trapped in an action-loop, or specific location
Echo-class — Self-aware ghosts, responsive
Mirage-class — Self-aware ghosts, elusive
Shadow-class — Reapers, ghosts on record of killing one or more operatives
Enigma-class — Unknown or new species

Banshee – Ghosts capable of manipulating emotions, pre/postcognition, or using sonic-based attacks
Cradle – Device used to enable agents to project themselves as ghosts
Crucible – A hunter cell comprised mostly of Orpheus agents
Ectophage – A human that consumes ghosts
Fogger – Slang for Sin-Eaters, in reference to the fog they emit when their wounds begin healing
Gemini – Term for living/ghost hybrid, usually through a ghost utilizing the Claim Numen on a host body

Haunter – Ghosts capable of manipulating and controlling inanimate objects or locations
Hive – A Dead Dominion
Hue – A ghost made from using Pigment
Jason – A human possessed by a shadow-class entity
Marrow – Ghosts capable of shapeshifting
Necronaut – An agent specially trained to delve into the Underworld
Orphan-Grinder – Rare type of ghost that used to be a Reaper

Phantasm – Ghosts able to influence dreams or create elaborate illusions
Poltergeist – Ghosts able to influence kinetic force or having a propensity for violence
Reaper – A ghost that dispatches other ghosts
Skimmer – Someone projecting without a Cradle
Skinrider – Ghosts capable of possessing the living and/or dead
Sleeper – Someone using a Cradle to project
Thanatoid – A Cthonian, kerberos, or similarly native denizen of the Underworld
Wisp – Ghosts able to travel across great distances in the blink of an eye

Hunters
Pending…

L.Y.R.E.
Shown and given only to agents, the "Learning Your Role Examination" aids the Conspiracy in properly assessing a given agent's priorities and talents, which can be vital when developing cells. Granted, agents are know for mocking the exam by pointing out how lyre sounds just like the English word "liar", since the organization could easily put them anywhere they want if it serves the Furies’ greater interests. Even so, few complain once they're settled in. The exam is divided into three parts: first is a multiple-choice test, focusing on mundane, everyday life situations, thereby gleaning important characteristics on the would-be recruit's psychology. The second part focuses on physical acumen, (supernatural) abilities, and leadership skills. Finally, the applicant must undergo their first projection. Failing to do so won’t get them kicked out per se, but does mean they will be reassigned to an auxiliary staff position until they retake the LYRE. Once completed, management cross-examines the data, and determines where and with whom to assign an agent, as well as what types of missions they’d be best suited for.

Status
• - You’ve completed the LYRE, and been provided access to a Cradle, Nursery, and/or Pigment by Orpheus.
••• - Your work in the field has made a lasting impression on the higher ups. Take two dots in the Merit: Allies (Orpheus), representing hunters and employees ready to stand by you (be they living or otherwise).
••••• - You’ve been given top clearance to some of Orpheus’ most powerful secrets. Choose a Ghost Numen you already know. You may now use said-Numen without projecting, substituting Essence with a Willpower per point. The dicepool utilizes the highest of your relevant Power and Finesse Attributes to activate, plus your effective Rank as a ghost. This Numen is considered an Endowment for the purposes of risking Willpower. If you wish to reselect your chosen Numen at a later time, it will require extensive training from Orpheus.

Factions
The major companies act independently of one another, but all originated from the discoveries made by JDG Cryogenics. Multiple micro-organizations, charities, and businesses act as fronts for Orpheus, but three of them, known as the Furies, tower over the rest:

Lazarus Redux
Free Specialty: Medicine (Cryogenics)
The official successor to JDG, Lazarus picks up where its predecessor left off, becoming a lead developer in cryogenic research and bioengineering. With an emphasis on preserving life (reflected in their technology), they are the most welcoming towards supernatural recruits such as Sin-Eaters, psychics, ghosts, and the occasional witch. Because of this, LRX has the most knowledge when it comes to said-supernaturals, and the highest survival rate among the Furies when exploring the Underworld. Despite their more 'open-minded' nature, they know how to bite when cornered, and utilize Cradles the most when enacting fieldwork. Rumors persist about dirty secrets between them and the U.S. Military, though they've made their presence felt in Canada as well, and begun setting up shop in Sydney, Australia.

NextWorld
Free Specialty: Streetwise (Blackmarket)
What Orpheus can't replicate, it appropriates. NextWorld Inc. functions as a private military company (PMC) and security contractor, devoted to a no-questions-asked policy. With ties to the Russian GRU, NextWorld maintains operations throughout Europe and Asia. Generally, it recruits people who have seen actual combat, whether in military service or simply from an everyday life in dangerous territory. For this reason, it also hires many third world country operatives from war-torn parts of Africa and the Middle-East. NextWorld places more emphasis on intel than Terrel & Squib, but doesn't travel the same lengths as Lazarus. Most missions they undertake are of the fumigation or removal variety, though they do engage in security contracts, and extensive wetwork as well. Given the high degree of military experience in the organization, NextWorld may also have unofficial access to government technology that not even T&S have seen.

Terrel & Squib
Free Specialty: Science (Chemistry)
Named after its founding members, T&S is a pharmaceutical company that invented—and still proliferates—the enigmatic drug "Pigment", selling it to agents of Orpheus among other strange technologies. Perhaps out of desperation or contempt for the undead, T&S has little against experimenting on that which they can acquire. Unethical, true, but they've created such marvels as the Labyrinth Cage and Kirlian Detector. While most of its public workings are centered around T&S Pharmaceuticals, hunters under its employ are sent to its Paranormal Investigations Division (PIV). They're seen as a more white-collared version of NextWorld, wealthier than LRX, but all too willing to throw money and agents at a problem till it goes away. Due to strong competition in Europe, they've remained in the USA, with branch companies in Mexico and South America.

Stereotypes
Pending…

Endowments: Ephemeral Technologies

The arsenal and science of the Conspiracy is centered around fighting, and even becoming the invisible. Depending on where a given cell sets up shop, hunters can expect to rely on a range of different gadgets and hardware. Quick operations far from a Nursery – a safehouse containing one or more Cradles – often rely on Pigment, which is supplied both for easy ghost projecting and in case of emergencies. For balanced or long-term operations, at least one Cradle is made available, whether in someone’s basement or inside a semi-truck.
The risk of outside elements stealing such tech for the purpose of ghost projection is minimal, as whatever’s used in Pigment makes it impossible to replicate outside Orpheus’ labs. This also makes a Cradle (which requires Pigment to function), useless or worse to anyone else.

Ghost Projecting
Whether through a Cradle or Pigment, every Orpheus operative dives into the grave to become a literal ghost of themselves. For most, the first time is terrifying, even after returning to life. Yet the experience proves itself an invaluable lesson, both on the nature of death, and the risks a hunter must take to uphold the Vigil.

Orpheus has spent decades trying to map and pinpoint the characteristics a given agent will demonstrate upon becoming a ghost; their Influences, Manifestations, Numina, and overall strength. Rarely are their predictions perfect, as such powers manifest based on a given individual’s nature and history. A pair of twins with near exact backgrounds and personalities will display a vastly different repertoire from each other while projecting.

Projecting is an Instant action, requiring a Resolve + Composure check unless utilizing a Cradle.

Use the following to build your projection:
All agents begin as Rank 2 ghosts. Choose the highest of the following Attributes to determine Power (Intelligence, Strength, Presence), Finesse (Wits, Dexterity, Manipulation), and Resistance (Resolve, Stamina, Composure).
Corpus = Resistance + Size
Willpower = Resistance + Finesse (Max 10)
Initiative = Finesse + Resistance
Defense = Lower of Power or Finesse. Ghosts apply Defense against all attacks, even firearms.
Speed = Power + Finesse + 5
Size remains the same as your body’s.
Your body becomes an Anchor. If you’re projecting via Cradle, it also becomes an Anchor. You also gain 2 dots in Influence over said-Anchors.
In addition to Twilight Form, choose 1 Manifestation. Note that the Materialize Manifestation is rare among new recruits, but not unheard of.
Choose 3 Numina permissible to ghosts. If projecting with Pigment, gain the Anchor Jump Numen for free until they return to the body. If your character already has it, and the chosen Anchor they jump to is their body, it costs no Essence to activate, even in the Underworld.
Choose a Bane and a Ban reflecting your Rank.
At character creation, or later in play, you may choose to buy Ghost Merits for your character. These are suppressed while your character isn’t projecting, but will always be active whenever they do so. Alternatively, with storyteller’s permission, you may spend a number of dots on Ghost Merits equal to the number of dots your character has on Merits that wouldn’t translate into your new ghost form.
Your Integrity score freezes while projecting, barring you from suffering a final breaking point. Instances where you would normally suffer a breaking point – unless a mechanic specifically says otherwise – are also suppressed until you return to your body, at which point you roll for all of them. While projecting, however, the following act as breaking points regardless: first time projecting, drinking from a River of the Underworld, committing ectophagia, violating an Old Law in a Dominion.
Gain Essence equal to your Integrity + unspent Willpower whenever you project. Unspent Essence is lost upon returning to your body.
You may increase your ghost form’s stats using the following chart:
Trait   Experience Cost
Attribute dot   6
Numen   3
Manifestation   3
Influence dot   5
Skill dot   2
Merit dot   1
Specialty   1
Rank*   5
*To increase Rank, a ghost must have the Experiences needed to buy both the Rank dot and purchase dots in Attributes, Numina, Manifestations, and Influences to bring herself up to the minimum for the new Rank as soon as it increases. Then she must drink from a River of the Dead in the Underworld. If she survives, her player may spend the Experiences to raise Rank and buy the other attached Traits.


Cradle
Designed by JDG Cryogenics, the cradle was originally meant to safely flash-freeze occupants suffering from medical problems that society had yet to find successful treatments for. When Jane Kennedy discovered the ability to project from her body via this machine, the cradle was re-purposed to act as both a storage compartment and life-support system for operatives; their bodies safe from possession and aging.
Having this endowment means you have access and clearance to use a Cradle. Orpheus always tries to station each Cradle in a secure, underground location, preferably with another Cradle to form a Nursery. But as long as the Cradle in question has access to a power-source and isn’t at risk of being discovered, any safehouse will do.

Each Cradle functions with a built-in battery and backup system. The machine was designed to refines Pigment into the serum that replaces the blood of its occupant. If damaged, the unit will need a company mechanic to properly fix it.

Backlash: It takes an hour to get in or out of cryogenic suspension, with the user taking 1 Lethal on both exit and entry. The user is also considered flat-lined during all of this, and may risk fatality if the Cradle is improperly shut down or sabotaged. Corporate policy recommends agents avoid flat-lining for a minimum of 2 weeks after use, though agents can often stay in ghostform for around 3 before psychological side-effects begin to manifest. It is not uncommon for the Fugue, Insane, Shaken, or Spooked Conditions to manifest.

Ghost-Shot Ammo
An innovation of T&S, these translucent munitions contain a chemical compound that glows a pale green at the tip of each bullet. Originally designed to combat hostile ephemera, Ghost-Shot can be used to safely strike at a ghost or spirit in possession of a living host, the bullet's casing disintegrating in a flash of green light as it passes through physical obstructions (save perhaps those supernaturally warded somehow).

Per bullet shot, a possessing entity takes 1 Bashing, while acquiring a cumulative -1 penalty to maintain control of its host. If out in the open, this damage is treated as Lethal instead.

Backlash: Unfortunately, since most operatives are already projected when on a mission, Ghost-Shot has been more often used as ammunition for defensive side-arms. Therefore, they are only manufactured for pistols and the like.

Gray Patch
This gray, 1-inch by 1-inch square patch is a medicated adhesive placed upon the skin of an operative, usually on the arm or leg, where a chemical cocktail is introduced into the bloodstream. The patch itself was meant to help stabilize active users of Pigment, but also serves another function. While wearing a gray patch, the hunter becomes harder for the undead to influence or control.
Per patch in active use, the agent receives a +1 to resist attempts by ghosts, vampires, mummies, sin-eaters (etc.) to manipulate supernaturally, including possession and psychic attacks. Each day the hunter uses a Gray Patch, they ignore the penalties of the Deprived Condition if it was caused by using Pigment.

Backlash: If the hunter uses more gray patches than he or she has dots in Stamina, they suffer the Drugged Tilt, which, after resolving, forces a reflexive Stamina + Resolve check. Failure replaces the Tilt with the Addict Condition. It also, for reasons unknown, makes it all the more difficult for agents to project, adding a -1 penalty to relevant skill check per active patch.

Kirlian Goggles
With the knowledge that ghosts and goblins lurk unseen within the world of man, it became a matter of security to find a means of detecting the things that go bump in the night, preferably before they added you among the legions of the dead. Named after scientific research conducted in the 1940s by a Russian husband-and-wife team, Semyon and Valentina Kirlian, a Kirlian lens is a form of chemically treated glass that—when charged with electricity—enables anyone looking through it to see entities in Twilight.

When the endowment is taken, the hunter acquires a pair of battery-powered goggles they can carry into the field. To outsiders, these goggles might seem nothing more than standard night-vision goggles, and indeed, they can see perfectly well in total darkness. What gives them away is the purple-tint of the glass beneath the infrared light source that lays atop the brow. The goggles have a battery-life of 6 hours when used for night vision, and 3 hours to peer into Twilight.

Backlash: While active, the goggles have the side-effect of disorienting even a specially-trained veteran as the user sees Twilit ephemera just as solid and real as the mundane world around him. He suffers a -2 to visual-based Skill checks.

Labyrinth Cage
It goes without saying that not all incorporeal creatures go quietly or cooperate with Orpheus. Some would rather die again and again before doing anything of the sort. Be they indestructible, or too useful to let go, ghosts that Orpheus deems important are sometimes targeted for acquisition. This is made possible by a Labyrinth Cage, a black metal box no larger than a car battery. Utilizing a mixture of advanced sonic frequencies and EMP fields, the cage is capable of trapping ephemera within the confined space of the cage, the alloy it's made from – known only to T&S – making it solid and impossible to phase through. Activation is as simple as pushing a button, forcing all ghosts and similar beings within a 20-yard radius to roll Resistance, even if not manifested. If the targets are less than 10 feet away from the device, they suffer a -3 penalty. The cage has no effect if the spirits are currently possessing a host, or inhabiting an object. A single LC can hold up to 4 ghosts or spirits, though doing so can be dangerous for the occupants if they hate each other.

Escaping a Labyrinth Cage is difficult without outside help, but rumors persist that it can be done. Sometimes the cage is even used to safely smuggle projected agents through haunted territory, a surprise ambush in a box, or escape from the Underworld. It can also be useful in keeping unfettered ghosts in the physical world, who become immortal keepers of knowledge for the Conspiracy. Less scrupulous agents sometimes use it as a means of interrogation and torture, and not all of the Furies are against such practices.

Backlash: Those caught inside an LC are still capable of interacting with fellow occupants, as well as attacking each other and using Numina – though such powers have no effect on the Labyrinth Cage itself, or anything outside of it. If an agent is projecting via Pigment, their silver thread is cut upon being successfully trapped.

Pigment
A new hallucinogen, also known as black heroin or Black H, Pigment is addictive but cheap. When used, Pigment acts much akin to normal heroin (causing the Drugged Tilt), save that the user gains two benefits. One, they become able to see the shades of the departed while under the effects of the drug. Two, when an agent makes a successful meditation check, they can choose to fall unconscious, their ghost projecting as a cradle-user would, save for a silver thread connecting them to their body.

Useful in situations where a cradle is not easily accessible, Pigment allows imbibers to pass through Avernian Gates without the risk of being trapped on the other side, as well as escape a Reaper’s use of the Engulf Numen, as the silver thread returns them to their body as a Reflexive Action, so long as the thread remains intact. If cut, the silver thread reforms after the agent successfully returns to their body.

Acquiring this endowment means you have access to a steady supply of Pigment, usually delivered at a predetermined dead-drop, or by similarly inconspicuous means. For safety reasons, Orpheus only delivers a number of doses equal to 2 + Status per month. In an emergency, additional doses can be requisitioned, but no guarantees are made.

Backlash: When an imbiber overdoses, they take damage for (eight minus Stamina) hours, with Pigment being treated as having Toxicity 7. Furthermore, if the silver thread is severed (through supernatural attacks), the body remains comatose and vulnerable to possession until the owner returns. Those who die from this or from their body being slain while under the effects of Pigment always return as Rank 1 ghosts, easily distinguished from others by being devoid of any coloration in their corpus.

PLE Monitor
This handheld device allows for rudimentary detection of post-life entities. Orpheus engineers, however, had to make a few compromises to make it work as a handheld. It is about the size of a PDA, but only has a half-hour battery life and grows very warm to the touch after just one minute of continuous use. After one turn, the user can make a Wits + Computer check to determine the number of ghosts within 50 meters and their rough location (to within about five meters). If the device’s user can move around, he can triangulate nearby spooks’ locations more effectively; successful subsequent Wits + Computer rolls allow him to reduce the margin of error by one meter per attempt.

These devices are usually used for establishing a perimeter around important sites, chokepoints, and safehouses, and can be hooked into power-outlets when available.

Backlash: the monitor emits an audible ping to those in Twilight. Anyone carrying a PLE Monitor suffers a Chance Die to all stealth checks against such entities, provided they are in range of the device.

New Condition: Silver Thread
Your character has an silvery, ephemeral thread connecting their projection to their physical body. Invisible to the naked eye, this floating tether is able to pass through solid matter even if they're shunted from Twilight. The Silver Thread can extend indefinitely, going taut if the character passes into another plane of existence such as the Hedge or Underworld. So thin is the thread that those attempting to see it with supernatural senses suffer a -5 penalty to perception based rolls, though the penalty drops to -3 if scrutinizing your character's projection. As a Reflexive Action, your character may pull on the Silver Thread to immediately return to their body, no matter the distance apart, even if they are otherwise imprisoned ala a Reaper's Engulf Numen or trapped behind a closed Avernian Gate. The Silver Thread can be cut, however, using a supernatural attack, with the Silver Thread having a Durability equal to your character's effective Rank + Supernatural Tolerance. As an Instant Action, you may spend an Essence or Willpower to add a cumulative +1 to the thread's Durability (to a maximum of Rank) for the remainder of the scene, feeding the connection between mind, body and soul. If severed, your character's body falls into a coma until reunited with your projection or death.

If the projection would be destroyed, your character wakes up and suffers a Breaking Point. This only occurs if the Silver Thread is still intact.

Possible Sources: Use of Pigment, astral projection, certain Dread Powers.
Resolution: The Silver Thread is severed or you return to your body.