“We know what you are.”
“Say it. In the Zoom chat.”
“Vampires.”
It’s been nearly two centuries since the Oberlin class of 1837 accidentally summoned a demon, transforming them into immortal beings that feed on humans’ magical essence. (Vampires. You can call them vampires.) And things are not going well. The campus shutdown last spring left the vampires struggling to keep the demon satisfied, and the recent mass sacrifice disguised as a blood awareness event went terribly wrong. Now, potentially hundreds of humans have knowledge about magic, the ability to see through glamour, and lots of questions.
But don’t worry! The four living vamps — Merle, Caroline, Rufus, and Ren — are really sorry about the whole attempted sacrifice thing. Won’t happen again. Instead, they have a plan to strengthen the demon’s containment, keeping Oberlin safe for the foreseeable future.
That is, assuming no one interferes, and — sorry, did we say four living vampires? August would beg to differ. He split off from the other immortals back in the 1950s and formed the Alliance of the Broken Circle, a group dedicated to finding a way to kill the demon. Sure, that’d kill all the vampires along with it, but it would solve the problem. Permanently. The other, human members of the ABC are enthusiastic about this plan to varying degrees (Cait Lynn is metaphorically out for blood, Kameron is quite cheerful about murder, Aiden’s mostly distracted with his magical research, and Lizzie’s just glad she has friends that can also see through glamour) but all agree that things can’t continue as they have for the past 183 years.
And then there’s Newt, a human magical researcher who refuses to take a side in the constant vampire/ABC debates and instead provides useful resources, like a wiki, a Discord server, and an invitation to an armistice. Surely this time the two groups can work things out and find a solution that everyone can agree on. Right?
With extensive help from the humans, the vampires manage to be cordial, and even start working their way toward a solution. Newt’s having a hard time concentrating on mediating though, with headaches and a nosebleed and it’s just so hard to keep it together when people are talking about how to destroy you.
Sorry, was she talking about herself there? Cat’s out of the bag, or demon, as it were. That is, the demon’s possessing Newt. As everyone scrambles for emergency sigils, Newt regains control for a moment. Just long enough to apologize… and to enact a fatal self-exorcism.
Without Newt, the vamps and the ABC have no interest in collaborating. And since the demon is stronger than anyone thought, the vampires — and Oberlin — are running out of time.
The stakes only grow higher as the demon jumps from host to host, and meanwhile, the questions just keep piling up. What did Newt leave behind? What are the vampires hiding? What exactly happened in 1903? And most importantly, as the days tick down toward the blue moon on All Hallows’ Eve… is there any safe way to save everyone and get rid of the demon for good?
Winners
- Necrofucking Mothermancy won first place after constructing false trails, getting lost in the Arb, and performing fantastically at endgame!
- Dascomb Spellcasters took second, living up to their name with their accurate and aesthetic sigils (we sure hope that was ketchup…)
- cishet but its pronounced sishay, the only ABC-aligned team to make it to endgame, argued passionately about morality and took home third place.
Shoutouts
- HAWTHORN, who sided with August and the ABC instantly after solving the first puzzle and didn’t back down all game.
- The Aggressor, a single-player team who made it all the way to the last puzzle before endgame solo, wowing us all!
Game Materials
- Check out Newt’s Notes for a comprehensive, if scattered, history of the vampires at Oberlin. (For bonus points, figure out the full name of Newt’s salamander.)
- Learn the basics of sigillography from an antique textbook and old journal, and start to craft your own sigils… just be careful not to summon anything you’ll regret.
- Track down magical hotspots around Oberlin to reinforce binding points for the vampires, or pass the locations of the seals on to the ABC.
- Journal pages written moments before disaster: one, two, and three.