Apocalypsis in Cassari: Manhattan Project

The first half year of the Vault was actually fairly sane, all things considered. The Mansus was affected by the events of 2077 as much as Earth was. Some of the powers behaved in interesting new ways, so the Cultists weren't able to establish their dominance over the Vault-Tec personell at first. However, after the half year of them settling in happened, and the basics of Mansus communications were re-established, the Overseer and the rest of the Vault-Tec personell went missing. The general consensus is that they were given to slake the THIRST of the Wrong Door.

Vault 9 was designed to stay closed for 150 years. Despite this, the first generation was full of brave explorers who braved the new Twisted Woods, and penetrated the gates. A lot of the old rites did not work, so many had died, and the population had to be replenished. It was only 50 years ago that the "expeditions" had resumed. At the same time, re-discovering the Mansus led to Vault 9 being able to learn what was going on in the world at large - it was able to form a map of the surrounding areas as well as subtly influence some events around.
Daily life was atypical. There was always a low chant coming from one place or another. A lot of the chemical stores were depleted, as the various Forge types tried to re-create the various reagents, so there was always scavenging and strange acrid smells. There was never any radroach infestations as the Moth protected and gave control over them. No real accidents occured as the Lantern and Secret Histories people were on top of that shit (and the Forge were literal wizards with the machinery). The ones that were the most on edge were the Winter and Edge people (heh). Although the Winter was best at giving last rites. Overall, the impression that I am trying to give off is one of eclectic camaraderie. It was as if a bunch of weird and quirky people were forced to share a living space, but it was all very Bohemian. Alien artwork decorated the walls, the graffiti was in inhuman tongues, the children were taught Latin and Aramaic, and so on.

Then several days before the Vault opened, almost everybody started getting more intense Dreams. The denizens of the Mansus had their designs on this world, and they were making sure their people knew about it. Regardless, when the Vault opened, many were gone immediately. As for yourselves well... when you woke up, the Vault was mostly empty except for the few who were staying behind.
(You may make a Reason or Survival check)

Stats:


				Health
			Passion		Grace
		Dream				Fighting
			Reason		Survival

Rated 1-5. Starting with 3 points.
Can only raise a stat if the stats next to it are 1 step away (if you want to raise your Dream to 3, your Passion and Reason should be at 2).
Can't max out stats that are opposite to each other (can't max Health if you maxed Reason and Survival).
Each one gives you a d6. Succ on a 5+. Costs 3 XP to raise.
Luck is a separate skill, costs 5 XP to raise. Crit on 1s with 6-Luck (so, at Luck 1, you need 5 1s, at Luck 5 you need one 1). A crit changes your success threshold to a 4+ (or 3+ if you choose your aspects to be Secret Histories).

Lorebooks:
			Knock
Heart -> Grail -> Moth -> Lantern -> Forge -> Edge -> Winter -> Heart...
		    Secret Histories

1 minor ability - free
3 basic abilities - 3 XP
1 summon - 4 XP
1 of 2 great ability - 5 XP
1 stat boost - 3 XP
2 basic abilities from neighboring lores - 4 XP
2 minor abilities from neighboring lores - 3 XP

You start with the minor ability and 1 rank in the Lore associated with it. Every new ability/summon/stat boost you purchase gives you 1 rank in that Lore. Secret Histories gains 1 rank in itself as well.
Unless stated otherwise, all abilities last for 1 scene.

Radiation:
Radiation is rated by bands:

Radiation Band I applies a -1d penalty to all dice rolls.
Radiation Band II applies a -3d penalty to all dice rolls and increases all incoming damage by +2d.
Radiation Band III applies a -6d penalty to all dice rolls, increases all incoming damage by +4d, and prevents crit hits from happening.
Radiation Band IV is lethal to all mortal humans. Their Radiation Track is entirely filled and unless they ghoulify (1%), they will die.
Upon spending a scene in a Radiation Band that isn't entirely countered, the person takes that much Radiation damage to their radiation track. They are affected by the effect of that Radiation Band until they are cured of all radiation damage. A baseline human has a Radiation track of 4. Since the PCs are unlikely to purposefully expose themselves to high doses of radiation, long-term exposure doesn't build up (in other words, once they have been exposed to Radiation Band II, they will be unaffected by further exposure to Radiation Band II or I.

Lantern
A Watchman's Secret: conjures a light equivalent to a powerful flashlight
A Mansus-Glimpse: enhances an existing light to reveal anything hidden/decodes messages
Phanaen Invocation: forces an entity to accept what you're telling it as true
An Unmerciful Mantra: detects radiation and allows you to increase/decrease it by 1 band
Hint: travels through mirrors, 10/1 summon
Mantra of Ascent: force a reroll with +/- 1d on one dice roll
Formula Concursate: learn everything that a restrained subject knows, at the expense of leaving them catatonic
Boost Reason: +1 to Reason ability and increase maximum Reason to 6
A Smith's Secret: calls a flame equivalent to a small torch
A Knife's Secret: can tell how lethal things are - damage, armor, etc
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: A Shaping Chant OR An Ardent Orison OR Callidate Invocation OR An Operation of the Labhite OR The Colonel's Names OR Chiliarch's Lesson ; or just manual entry
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: A Shaping Chant OR An Ardent Orison OR Callidate Invocation OR An Operation of the Labhite OR The Colonel's Names OR Chiliarch's Lesson ; or just manual entry

Forge
Call Flame: calls a flame equivalent to a small torch
A Shaping Chant: change one item of equal size to another item of equal size for 24 hours
An Ardent Orison: restore any item to functional capacity
Callidate Invocation: know the direction and approximate distance to an item that you are seeking
Caligine: a cloud of black smoke that can disable any machine and give people nightmares
Furnace Paean: create one item out of the scrap you have around you
Formula Fissive: conjure a great flame that does 5d Mansus damage
Boost Survival: +1 to Reason ability and increase maximum Reason to 6
A Knife's Secret: can tell how lethal things are - damage, armor, etc
A Sexton's Secret: allows to find the nearest dead thing
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: An Operation of the Labhite OR The Colonel's Names OR Chiliarch's Lesson OR A White Ceremony OR An Operation of the Declining Sun OR Invocation of the Ivory Dove; or just manual entry
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: An Operation of the Labhite OR The Colonel's Names OR Chiliarch's Lesson OR A White Ceremony OR An Operation of the Declining Sun OR Invocation of the Ivory Dove; or just manual entry

Edge
A Knife's Secret: can tell how lethal things are - damage, armor, etc
An Operation of the Labhite: increase the damage dice of one weapon by +1d or allow a non-weapon item to be used as a weapon
The Colonel's Names: forces a target to make one attack against something near them
Chiliarch's Lesson: empower yourself or an ally to have +1d for the duration of combat
Maid-in-the-Mirror: an 8/2 summon, pulls any bodies with her into the Mansus
The Lionsmith's Names: creates an invisible melee 2d Mansus weapon for 12 hours
The Alignments of Murder: enchants a weapon to kill one person on striking them with it, lasts 1 day
Boost Fighting: +1 to Fighting ability and increase maximum Fighting to 6
A Sexton's Secret: allows to find the nearest dead thing
A Thunderous Secret: know the closest safe shelter
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: A White Ceremony OR An Operation of the Declining Sun OR Invocation of the Ivory Dove OR Geminate Invocation OR Words that Walk OR A Waking Chant; or just manual entry
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: A White Ceremony OR An Operation of the Declining Sun OR Invocation of the Ivory Dove OR Geminate Invocation OR Words that Walk OR A Waking Chant; or just manual entry

Winter:
A Sexton's Secret: allows to find the nearest dead thing
A White Ceremony: causes an area where sounds are silent up to 28 days
An Operation of the Declining Sun: -1d on actions to a target
Invocation of the Ivory Dove: preserve a thing
Voiceless Dead: allow one person to pass through one wall
Recitation of Lost hours: allows the user to know all that the corpse knew
The Division of the Names: raises a corpse to Shattered undeath for up to 7 days
Boost Grace: +1 to Grace ability and increase maximum Grace to 6
A Thunderous Secret: know the closest safe shelter
A Red Secret: can identify social connections in an area
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: Geminate Invocation OR Words that Walk OR A Waking Chant OR Thiatic Invocation OR A Delightful Sacrament OR A Megalesian Incantation; or just manual entry
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: Geminate Invocation OR Words that Walk OR A Waking Chant OR Thiatic Invocation OR A Delightful Sacrament OR A Megalesian Incantation; or just manual entry

Heart:
A Thunderous Secret: know the closest safe shelter
Geminate Invocation: prevents attacks by summons, sustained
Words that Walk: changes the weather to a thunderstorm/radstorm, sustained
A Waking Chant: restore 2d Health to a person who is alive
Percussigant: a 5/5 summon that is entirely immune to Mansus damage
Velvet Charm: forces all who hear the beat to start dancing, sustained
Formulae Vigilant: brings a person back to life, sustained
Boost Health: +1 to Health ability and increase maximum Health to 6
A Red Secret: can identify social connections in an area
A Barber's Warning: know when someone is lying to you
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: Thiatic Invocation OR A Delightful Sacrament OR A Megalesian Incantation OR Moldywarp Admonitions OR A Wood-Whisper OR An Ecdysiast's Parable; or just manual entry
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: Thiatic Invocation OR A Delightful Sacrament OR A Megalesian Incantation OR Moldywarp Admonitions OR A Wood-Whisper OR An Ecdysiast's Parable; or just manual entry

Grail:
A Red Secret: can identify social connections in an area
Thiatic Invocation: changes the thing the target most wants to the caster
A Delightful Sacrament: causes the failure of all senses of a target 1 day
A Megalesian Incantation: +1d on social skills
Raw Prophet: can perfectly impersonate someone
Anthic Elaboration: can drink blood for sustenance, +1d on dice rolls in the dark, always on
Formulae Voluptuous: possess the body of a restrained target up to 9 months
Boost Passion: +1 to Passion ability and increase maximum Passion to 6
A Barber's Warning: know when someone is lying to you
A Watchman's Secret: conjures a light equivalent to a powerful flashlight
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: Moldywarp Admonitions OR A Wood-Whisper OR An Ecdysiast's Parable OR A Mansus-Glimpse OR Phanaen Invocation OR An Unmerciful Mantra; or just manual entry
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities: Moldywarp Admonitions OR A Wood-Whisper OR An Ecdysiast's Parable OR A Mansus-Glimpse OR Phanaen Invocation OR An Unmerciful Mantra; or just manual entry

Moth:
A Barber's Warning: know when someone is lying to you
Moldywarp Admonitions: +1d to stealthy rolls
A Wood-Whisper: drive a person insane 1 day
An Ecdysiast's Parable: always be able to enter the Mansus, always crit on Dream rolls
Eyeblossom: a plant that quickly spreads over a wide area and monitors all
Thigh-born Thorax-Sweet: change your appearance to another humanoid being
Centipede Testament: change form into an animal up to permanent
Boost Dream: +1 to Passion ability and increase maximum Passion to 6
A Watchman's Secret: conjures a light equivalent to a powerful flashlight
Call Flame: calls a flame equivalent to a small torch
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities:  A Mansus-Glimpse OR Phanaen Invocation OR An Unmerciful Mantra OR A Shaping Chant OR An Ardent Orison OR Callidate Invocation; or just manual entry
Space for Manual Entry of Neighboring Basic Abilities:  A Mansus-Glimpse OR Phanaen Invocation OR An Unmerciful Mantra OR A Shaping Chant OR An Ardent Orison OR Callidate Invocation; or just manual entry

Knock:
A Locksmith's Secret: sense the flows of Mansus energy
A Consent of Wounds: take Xd damage, get +Xd on your next roll
An Iguvine Rite: unsummon or end a non-Hour Mansus effect
Menisicate Invocation: find out what's behind a lock
Coilcorpse: a 7/3 summon which is immune to non-Edge and non-Knock magic
Liminal Evocation: open anything locked
Formulae Ophidian: teleport within line of sight
Boost Any Stat
Space for Manual Entry of Summons: Hint OR Caligine OR Maid-in-the-Mirror OR Voiceless Dead OR Percussigant OR Raw Prophet OR Eyeblossom OR Theresa
Space for Manual Entry of Summons: Hint OR Caligine OR Maid-in-the-Mirror OR Voiceless Dead OR Percussigant OR Raw Prophet OR Eyeblossom OR Theresa

Secret Histories:
Wormwatch: detect possession, whether by worms or something else
Any 7 Basic abilities from any other Aspect: this is probably better done as manual entry since Secret Histories gets access to 7 abilities from all the other Aspects
Teresa: summon the Keeper of the Lodge of the Sage Knight
Boost Luck: changes crit rolls from 4+ to 3+, +1 to Luck ability and increase maximum Luck to 6

Combat is resolved by a Fighting +/- mods vs Grace. When you can choose between damage types, choose the most optimal.
Your inventory is the higher of your Health or Survival.

Items:
Leather Armor (-2d on melee damage, -1d on ballistic damage, -3d on energy damage, size 2)
Metal Armor (-2d on melee damage, -3d on ballistic damage, -1d on energy damage, size 2)
Combat Armor (-2d on all types, size 2)
Power Armor (-3d on all types, size 3)
Rad Suit (reduces radiation damage by 1 band, size 2)

Knife (+1d melee damage, size 1)
Spear (+1d melee damage, size 2, gain advantage on crit)
Super Sledge (+2d melee damage, size 2, gain advantage on crit)
Ripper (+3d melee damage, size 1)
10mm Pistol (+2d ballistic damage, range: close, size 1, needs ammo)
Hunting Rifle (+2d ballistic damage, range: long, size 2, needs ammo)
Assault Rifle (+3d ballistic damage, range: medium, size 2, gain advantage on crit, needs ammo)
FN FAL (+3d ballistic damage, range: long, size 2, needs ammo)
M72 Gauss Rifle (+5d ballistic/energy damage, range: extreme, size 3, needs ammo)
Vindicator Minigun (+5d ballistic damage, range: long, size 3, gain advantage on crit, needs ammo)
Rocket Launcher (+4d ballistic/energy damage, range: extreme, size 3, needs ammo)
Laser Pistol (+2d energy damage, range: short, size 1, needs ammo)
Plasma Rifle (+4d energy damage, range: medium, size 2, needs ammo)

Jet (+1 Dream, size 1)
Buffout (+1 Health, size 1)
Mentats (+1 Reason, size 1)
Psycho (+1 Fighting, size 1)
Med-X (+1 Survival, size 1)
Turbo (+1 Grace, size 1)
Daddy-O (+1 Passion, size 1)
Stimpack (2d healing, size 1)
Rad-Away (reduces radiation damage by 1 track, size 1)
Rad-X (reduces radiation damage to target by 1 band, size 1)

Geiger Counter (detects radiation, size 1)
Doctor's Bag (allows to provide long-term care and treat things like poison, disease, etc, size 1)
Lockpicks (+1d to open mechanical locks, size 1)
Toolkit (+1d on tool-related stuff, size 1)
Backpack (0 encumberance, doubles encumberance)
Smart-Pac System (0 encumberance, +3 encumberance threshold)

Ballistic ammo (good for one round of combat with ballistic damage, size 1)
Energy ammo (good for one round of combat with energy damage, size 1)
Hybrid ammo (good for one round of combat for the rocket launcher, size 1)
Basic Rations (can walk for 12 hours/36 miles before needing a rest, size 1)
High-Energy Rations (can walk for 16 + Health hours/48-63 hours, size 1)

Meteoric Bullets (converts weapon damage to Mansus damage, size 1)
Blasted Sliver (+5d melee/Mansus damage, size 1, gain advantage on crit, size 1)
Whispering Amulet (allows to raise one Burgeoning Risen, size 1)
Noonstone (sheds light, size 1)
Cinnabar Amulet (-1d to Mansus damage, size 1)
Bone Flute (allows to raise one Shattered Risen, size 1)
Marruvine Idol (can be taught a Heart beat that it will keep, size 1)

Azoth (can dissolve anything up to size 2, size 1)
Leathy (more potent Laes, size 1)
Glassfinger Draught (allows you to pass through glass without breaking it, size 1)
Ichor Vitreous (turns a substance transparent, up to size 2, size 1)
Bitterblack Salts (can be used as a missing ingridient for stuff, size 1)
Iotic Essence (can be used to fuel anything, size 1)
Martensite Paste (improves the damage of a weapon by +1d, size 1)
Wolf-Snow (preserves something perfectly, size 1)
Watch-Worms (allows the Worms to possess someone, size 1)
Rose-Pearl Dust (creates Warding Circles, which prevent summons from entering, size 1)
Witch-Kissed Oil (fully restores a living being to prime physical condition, size 1)
Amaranthine Nectar (grants +3d on all rolls, but instaneously addictive, size 1)

Hours:

The Moth - alive, changed
The Door in the Eye - dead, changed
The Velvet - dead, rotting
The Malachite - dead, rotting, stirring
The Thunderskin - unknown, but still heard faintly
the Mother of Ants - alive, weakened
The Witch-and-Sister - dead, rotting
The Colonel - alive, empowered but limited
The Lionsmith - alive, empowered
The Elegiast - alive
The Beachcomber - dead, changed, empowered, not sure if rotting
The Meniscate - unknown, presumed dead and rotting
The Sun-in-Rags - dead, rotting
The Horned-Axe - alive, weakened
The Madrugad - dead, rotting
The Red Grail - dead, weakened
The Wolf Divided - dead, rotting, empowered
The Vagabond - alive
The Sister-and-Witch - dead, rotting
The Flowermaker - dead, rotting
The Forge of Days - alive
The Crowned Growth - alive, empowered
The Mare-in-the-Tree - unknown
The Sun-in-Splendour - double dead, changed, irradiated

Stuff Hidden From You:
Faction Weapons
Higher-tier Artifacts
Ascension
Special Item Combinations
End-Game Conditions

Lore/Aspect - the guiding principles. Lantern, Moth, Grail, Heart, Winter, Edge, Forge, Knock, Secret Histories

Edge cuts. It's arguably the most uncomplicated aspect, and is useful for combat and murder. It can also cut metaphorical things, allowing you to trade one stat for another by initiating a battle in your mind. Edge cultists are plain old cutthroats and murderers, but become refined assassins as they rank up.

Forge changes. It can be used to build and repair, but also burns and consumes. And can blast through warded doors. Finally, it's often valuable when navigating hostile terrain, be that icy mountain passes, vast scorching deserts, or dark churning oceans. Forge cultists tend to have robotic and pragmatic personalities.

Grail seduces. It offers the most delicious tastes and sensations, and gives more temptation in return. Useful for getting people to make bad decisions. Grail cultists are usually seductive people with strange appetites.
Heart beats, inexorably. It's associated with health, vitality, and celebration, but also with compulsive persistence. Can be used to maintain your reputation, restore your health, and ward off some life-draining curses. Heart cultists are described as being relentlessly cheerful.

Knock opens. It opens doors, and space, and people. It's an essential part of any Summoning Ritual and can be used to navigate nearly every door in the Mansus. Serpents, venom and wounds are strongly associated with Knock. Knock cultists are good at breaking and entering and make good thieves, but have spaced-out personalities from being able to see through dimensions.

Lantern illuminates. It shows secret doors, and secret places, and secrets you didn't ask for and don't want to know. The Light is not merciful, and is one of the leading causes of Go Mad from the Revelation in the game. But it's also one of the most useful lores for navigating The Mansus, especially early on. Lantern cultists can be zealous visionaries.

Moth confuses. It's associated with shadows and chaos, and is good for sneaking by watchers, stealing inconvenient evidence, and navigating dark forests. Nonsense ("buzzing in the brain") and shapeshifting ("shedding of skin") are also closely associated with it, as are haircuts (the closest a human can come to "shedding" rapidly). Moth cultists are strange tricksters by nature.

Winter silences. Like the dead are silent. A vital component in Necromancy, and a good way to suppress curses or sustain an expedition through icy conditions. Winter cultists are usually creepy, dreadful folk who watch and wait.
Secret History remembers. It is technically occult lore, but doesn't offer power like the others. Instead, it provides directions to secret places that you can send an expedition to investigate.

Some Definitions:

Mortal - obvious

Know - a Mortal who has passed beyond the Stag Door and has a decent amount of knowledge about the workings of the Mansus

Long - an immortal, but usually conditionally (some are agless, others can't be killed, some become different, etc)

Name - usually a Long but sometimes a Know who serve the Hours, and have more power

Hour - a powerful entity that reigns (though not necessarily rules) over a part of the Mansus

Mansus - both a dream-place and an alternate dimension where the Hours dwell

Spirit/Summon - an entity of the Mansus brought into the real world

God from Light/God from Stone/God from Blood/God from Flesh - The way an Hour arose. Light descended from the Glory, Stone arose on primordial Earth (before humans), Blood is from mortal sacrifice, Flesh was a mortal that ascended.

Worm - a thing that grows in the bodies of dead Hours and can possess humans. There have been three wars with them.