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Champions Universe: The Valley Of Night


Lord Liaden

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UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENT: With considerable help from our board colleague aylwin13, I converted much the Valley Of Night material on this thread into a PDF, which I've Attached to this post. It contains edited versions of my original notes posted here, plus updates and expansions to the Valley and related subjects, resulting from my own sober second thought and the great input I've received from my fellow HEROphiles. It should be clearer to read and allow you to peruse this stuff at your leisure.

 

I subsequently posted further expansions of certain elements, including specific areas of the Valley Of Night and their adventuring potential, and the operatives the Night People have been organizing outside the Valley. These can be found among the last few posts on the thread, as well as in a Document file which I've also Attached below.

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When I purchased the Fifth Edition Champions Universe sourcebook back in 2002, among its many treasures was a brief mention of a "hidden land" called the Valley Of Night, in Peru near its border with Colombia, where descendants of the Incas had survived undiscovered by the world for centuries, ruled by "Jaguar Priests, lycanthropes who wield dark magics and draw their powers from human sacrifices" (p. 131). However, they were threatened with discovery as the rain forest surrounding their valley was being cut down for development. In addition, their existence had been discovered by a leader of a Colombian drug cartel who wanted to exploit their magic.

 

I found this tidbit intriguing, for its inherent coolness and because I'd always had a fascination with the Inca civilization (my mother comes from Peru, so I guess I come by it naturally), and looked forward to seeing it developed further. Unfortunately, what I transcribed above is the gist of everything published to date about the Valley Of Night, and I have good reason to believe that it's all that will be published for the foreseeable future. I considered developing it more for my own campaign, but kept coming up dry in the neat ideas department. That is until I picked up Champions Worldwide a couple of years ago, and saw the write-up for Eclipsar, a mystic supervillain with tremendous powers of darkness, a desire to destroy all mankind and blot out the Sun itself, and some connection to the Incas or other pre-Columbian Andean civilizations.

 

I quite like Eclipsar for herself, but my imagination started seeing links: mystic entity of darkness hating the sun, Valley Of Night, dark magics, mutual Inca roots... it just seemed natural that Eclipsar and the Valley should be tied in some way. Over time I came back to the idea again and again, gradually weaving these published elements together with my own research on the Andean region, and Incan history, culture, and myth. Eventually I'd developed enough material to make the Valley Of Night into a major element of a Champions campaign. (I did take a bit of dramatic license with some of my Inca scholarship to try to make things more interesting; but since records from that time and place are notably incomplete anyway, there's plenty of room for my little liberties to be plausible.)

 

It was the sort of project I would likely have tried to turn into an article for Digital Hero, except as most of us know, that option was recently curtailed with DH's demise. I was left with a sizeable volume of rough notes, and not enough desire to refine it further on a purely non-profit basis. :rolleyes: However, I realized that with a bit of tidying up, an experienced Game Master would have little trouble using this stuff for his own supers game. So I considered doing just that, and sharing it here. To be sure I wouldn't be stepping on Hero Games's IP toes I checked with Hero prez Darren Watts, creator of both the Valley Of Night and Eclipsar, and he gave me his blessing.

 

The following text details my conception of the Valley Of Night, starting with its history and connection to Eclipsar; its growing influence in the present-day world; the geography and ecology of the Valley, including its unique life forms and supernatural entities; the unusual nature of its human inhabitants; their society, culture, and class divisions with their distinctive abilities; their magical practices; descriptions of a few major NPCs that might be encountered; and suggested campaign use for the Valley Of Night, for Champions and other genres.

 

I've tried to make these notes an interesting and lively read, and did a little editing to improve their logical and dramatic flow; but they are still lacking some details that would have appeared in a published article. Maps of the Valley, for one thing; maps have always been a weakness of mine, and I would have needed help on that front for an article. There are also no full character sheets for any of the people or creatures here, although in almost all cases I reference characters in other published Fifth Edition books that can be used as templates, with suggestions on how to modify them to suit the characters mentioned here. A veteran GM can make those adaptations with little fuss. And after all, I'm giving this stuff away for free. :P

 

What's often hard for any GM to come up with is character concepts and background information for an original setting. That's what the Valley Of Night inspired me to explore, and what follows is full of it (so to speak). It's my hope that some of you will find this material useful, or at least a fun read. Comments, questions, and additional ideas to take this concept farther, would all be welcome.

 

So, let's begin, where every good supers story begins -- with an origin...

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Genesis

 

As below, so above.

 

Long before the Incas rose to found the greatest empire the Americas had yet seen, they ruled a small kingdom in the Andes Mountains centered at their capital city, Cuzco. They worshipped many gods, but one of the most prominent among them was the god of the sun, giver of life and warmth. The Incas also believed in duality, in the balance of opposites; and so they gave comparable reverence to the goddess of the night, who drew cooling, restful darkness over the land. These two gods abided long together in harmony.

 

Then came the day when the Sapa Inca, ruler of Cuzco, who claimed the sun god as his ancestor, sought to elevate his own status by decreeing the sun god, Inti, to be the preeminent deity of his people. In a mirroring of his Earthly worshippers, Inti declared his dominance over the goddess of the night; but she refused to accept lesser status. The two gods quarrelled ever more bitterly, eventually coming to blows. In her anger the night goddess withdrew from Hanan Pacha, the "Upper World" where the gods dwell with the souls of the just, and from the high mountains of the Incas. She journeyed to the forests to the north and east, and there she smote the earth, creating a great rift, and uncovering a passage to the deep places beneath the ground, far from the light and warmth of the sun. In those places hidden from the eye of Inti the goddess created her own realm, Uca Pacha, a "Lower World" of cold and shadow; and she gathered to herself those of her children who, like her, favored the darkness. From the Lower World the goddess and her children made war not only on Inti, but on all those who revered him and entreated the sun to bless their land. Her rivalry with Inti became an obsession, hatred of him consuming her. Soon the goddess was known by a new name, spoken in hushed, fearful whispers: Mama Supay, mother of the spirits of evil.

 

Among the Incas the worshippers of the night goddess, who took to calling themselves the Night People, were no more willing to accept the supremacy of Inti. They fought bitterly with the warriors of the Sapa Inca, in the countryside and the very streets of Cuzco.

 

On the day of the winter solstice, when the power of the sun was at its weakest, Mama Supay enacted her most terrible revenge, drawing a vast blanket of darkness across the sun and all the heavens, plunging the land below into utter darkness. For days, weeks, months, the night was unrelieved even by the moon and stars. Inti strove to tear apart the darkness, but Mama Supay had woven too well. Forever after the Incas would remember this time as a terrible plague called the Long Night, when the land grew barren and beasts and men died in droves from hunger.

 

At last Inti called upon the other gods to save their mortal worshippers from the Long Night. Together they rent the blanket of darkness, and then stormed the Lower World. Mama Supay and her servants were overwhelmed and vanquished. The Lower World was rededicated as the abode of those spirits of the dead damned by the gods for their evil. As for Mama Supay, the soul of the goddess was bound within a disk of obsidian, a mockery of the solar disks which symbolized Inti. The sun god gave the disk to the Sapa Inca and charged him to guard it for all time. The Inca ruler placed the disk within a great fortress high in the mountains, with warriors watching over it day and night. He decreed the name and history of Mama Supay would no longer be spoken by any of his subjects. Within a few generations the goddess was forgotten among the Incas, save for a legend of a terrible monster who sought to devour the sun and moon.

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Exodus

 

With the fall of Mama Supay the Night People lost the heart for their struggle, and dreaded revenge from the Sapa Inca and Inti himself. Under cover of their beloved night they escaped together from the kingdom of Cuzco. Pursued by the Inca warriors, the Night People fled far beyond the lands they knew, following the path their goddess had taken when she renounced the Upper World. At long last they came upon the rift valley that Mama Supay had ripped out of the earth. The valley was a place of wonder and strangeness, tainted with dark magic which had altered the land and the creatures that lived within it. The priests of the Night People used their own spells to draw upon this magic, weaving a vast illusion to hide the valley not only from the eyes of man, but from the gods above. Fearful of the wrath of Inti, they screened their new abode from any ray of sun or moon or star. Then they began to use magic, and the great skill of their people with stone and water and growing things, to remake the valley as their home and refuge, and to remake all that lived there, including themselves, into true creatures of the night. Here in this Valley Of Night they would hide from their enemies, free to preserve the worship of Mama Supay until the inevitable day of her return, when she would reward their faith.

 

And so the Night People remained hidden. Carefully they fortified and warded their valley against their pursuers, but aside from the occasional wanderer none found them. Centuries passed as the Incas achieved greateness, then were overthrown by the Spanish, whose own mighty empire in the Americas eventually fragmented into many fractious states. In the year that the Europeans designate 1938 the priests of the Night People felt a surge in the world's magic, greatly enhancing their sorcerous power. Believing that Mama Supay's return was imminent they staged great festivals of greeting and celebration; but as the years fled by without her appearance the Night People slipped back to their old patterns of life.

 

In recent years those warriors who stood sentry at the borders of the Valley became aware of a new danger. Men of the outer world were penetrating farther and farther into the forest, clearing the trees to make land for farming or industry. It was only a matter of time until they encroached upon the Valley Of Night. That danger was eventually realized in an unexpected fashion. All but the sentries who patrolled the Valley's boundaries, or the few sent by the priests on special missions, were forbidden to leave the Valley lest they reveal its existence to outsiders; but on very rare occasions one without authorization would try to escape, and on much rarer occasions would actually succeed. A youth who did manage to elude the guards and wards of the Valley was soon after caught by an outsider, a member of a powerful drug dealing cartel from the modern nation of Colombia. Torturing the young man to learn his secrets, the drug dealer sent him back to the Valley Of Night with a proposal and a warning. If the Night People would use their abilities to aid the drug dealer to gain power, he would not only keep their secret, but use his influence to keep outsiders away from the Valley. If they refused to help him, he would reveal their existence to everyone. Seeing no alternative, the ruler of the Night People agreed.

 

The Night People kept their bargain, helping the drug dealer become the leader of his cartel. But those among them who acted as his agents learned much of the modern world, and carried that knowledge back with them. The Night People pondered the wonders and follies of this new age, and how they could turn them to their advantage.

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Renaissance

 

As the centuries passed Mama Supay remained trapped within her obsidian prison, blind and impotent. After the fall of the Inca Empire the fortress containing the disk was abandoned and forgotten, falling into ruin; but the goddess's torment was unrelieved. With nothing else to break the endless emptiness she sustained herself with hatred of Inti, the other gods, and all who lived by the sun's light. Her hatred fed upon itself until it consumed her, driving out any other feeling or desire.

 

In the year 2000 an archaeological team discovered and began to restore the ruined fortress. The leader of the team, Lucia Esquivel, uncovered the obsidian disk. Feeling the almost-forgotten light of day and the touch of living warmth, Mama Supay put forth all her hoarded strength and poured her spirit into the body of the unsuspecting woman. In that moment Lucia Esquivel was transformed into a being of living darkness, awesome in power and terrible in malice. Mama Supay explored the memories of her new host body, marvelling at all the changes in the world since her confinement. She exulted in the Incas having been laid low by the fair-skinned newcomers, and Inti and the other gods being practically forgotten in modern times. Yet despite that, the sun still shone as brightly as ever. The goddess concluded it was being sustained by the light in the spirits of humanity, who had spread across the world in such vast numbers. In her madness Mama Supay desired nothing more than the death of the sun and of all mankind, and was willing and eager to destroy either one to end the other.

 

The goddess returned to the Lower World, which had become a small and neglected corner of the Netherworld, the extra-dimensional realm of all the hells of human imagination. (See The Mystic World for details of the Netherworld.) She easily overthrew the enfeebled gods who had ruled there, and gathered her power. At the summer equinox of the year 2000, she appeared over South America, plunged half the continent into total darkness, and began to slaughter whole crowds of people. She heard a reporter name her Eclipsar, a name that pleased her greatly, with its implication of blotting out the sun. A fitting new name for the harbinger of the last age of Man, she thought.

 

Unfortunately for Eclipsar, she was unprepared for those who arose to oppose her, particularly the large number of superhuman heroes. In the end she was defeated again, and in her weakened state was transported to the UNTIL prison known as the Guardhouse, where she was confined by technology she had never dreamed of. For four years the goddess once more knew the shame of bondage, and her rage passed any bounds of sanity. But in 2004 an accident in the Guardhouse allowed her to escape. She thirsted for immediate vengeance and murder, but caution stayed her. Her power had diminished over the centuries, and the forces arrayed against her were formidable. She would have to think of a more subtle approach, one that would weaken her opposition enough for her to sweep it away.

 

During her time in the Guardhouse Eclipsar had seemed to hear the echoes of faint prayers to her, as in olden times. Now she followed those echoes, and discovered the Valley Of Night and an unsuspected nucleus of her worshippers. Here was the base of operation she needed in the mortal world, and willing tools to execute her will. The goddess of night gathered the Night People around her, and began to plan.

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Out Of The Shadows

 

In 2002 Hector Ruiz was a lieutenant in the powerful drug cartel based in the city of Cali, in Colombia. He was clever and ambitious, but his lack of family ties to the cartel's leaders kept him frustratingly out of its highest ranks. Ruiz was sent to northern Peru to deal with some of the coca farmers who had expressed dissatisfaction with the prices the cartel was paying them for their crop. After forcefully reminding the farmers who it was who decided what price was "fair", Ruiz and his guards were returning through the forest when they came across a native who looked like no man they had ever seen before. Capturing him, they found a local tribesman who could make out some of the stranger's speech, and questioned him. The stranger was very reticent, and what answers he did give made little sense to Ruiz, but he sensed that the man was somehow important, and tortured him for days, eventually drawing out much of the story of the Valley Of Night.

 

Ruiz saw great possibilities if even half of what this Night Person said was true, and compelled the man to show him where the Valley lay. He sent the man back with a message for his people, an offer which they could not refuse.

 

With the stealthy warriors and the magic of the Night People eliminating his rivals and superiors, within two years Hector Ruiz was the leader of the Cali cartel. Then one day several emissaries from the Valley Of Night came to him, declaring that their goddess had returned, and henceforth the drug lord would serve her. Ruiz killed all but one of the emissaries, whom he sent back with his reply, that he was the one who made demands. Soon afterward Eclipsar herself appeared to Ruiz at his luxurious country villa, which she promptly levelled, killing everyone within except for Hector Ruiz and his family. Eclipsar then described to Ruiz, in graphic detail, what she would do to him, everyone he cared about, and the entire city of Cali, if he ever again disobeyed her in the slightest.

 

The now-terrified drug lord has become a key component in Eclipsar's schemes. He supplies the warriors of the Night People with modern weapons, and training in their use. He arranges transport for the Night People on missions to the outer world, and brings in captives for sacrifice to Eclipsar, mostly taken from among the homeless, orphaned children, and others on the fringes of society unlikely to be missed. Although important to these operations, Ruiz has little inkling of what Eclipsar is planning, and is too afraid to ask.

 

Ruiz does know that the priests of the Night People have been mixing small amounts of substances of their own making into the refined cocaine that the cartel distributes, as well as casting mysterious spells over it, but not for what purpose. The altered cocaine in fact affects the minds of those who take it, inducing vivid, terrifying nightmares of fearsome creatures bringing darkness, destruction, and death to the whole world. Gradually the nightmares overwhelm the user, driving him mad. (In game terms, the drugs cause a small Mental Transform adding a Psychological Limitation to the character. The Limitation may be Common or Very Common, but is always Total in its Intensity, and may be accompanied by an Enraged versus the subject of the Psych Lim. This madness can take many forms: Depression, Paranoia, Schizophrenia, Nihilism, Fear Of The Dark, and so on.)

 

Eclipsar's intent is to weaken the forces that would stand against her destruction of the Sun and the Earth, by breaking down the fabric of modern society. As the influence of her tainted drugs spreads across the world, there will be a frighteningly rapid swell in murders, rapes, suicides, riots, swarmings, and other violence; not to mention a flood of new cases of clinical insanity straining the health care system.

 

However, in about ten percent of drug users, the effect of these nightmares is more insidious, causing the user to become obsessed with being part of the destruction, contributing to the doom of the world. Eclipsar's operatives have learned to recognize the signs of this change in personality, and acquaint this person with the truth of Eclipsar's existence and the basic doctrines of her cult, "converting" him or her into a fanatical worshipper of Eclipsar. Thus the goddess of night is building a network of covert agents, spreading outward from the Americas to eventually cover the Earth. As the users of cocaine often include people of wealth and influence, they can act in subtle ways to further degrade the social order and the security and confidence of the public. They discredit politicians and other prominent leaders, damage economies, and fan ethnic, religious, and class conflicts.

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The Grand Tour

 

The Valley Of Night lies in the densely forested uplands east of the Andes at the northern edge of modern Peru, near the Colombian border. It resembles an enormous gash dug out of the earth, as though by a titanic blade or claw. The Valley is over seven miles in length, its axis running north to south. It's nearly three miles across at its widest point, about two thirds of the way toward its northern end. The floor of the valley is at least four hundred feet below the surrounding ground level, sloping gently downward from north to south.

 

The Valley Of Night is protected by a powerful illusion. Seen from the air there is no apparent break in the canopy of the rain forest which extends for many miles around it. Were someone to approach the "trees" from above they would appear wavering and indistinct, like a mirage, and could be passed through without impediment. The only warning someone moving through the forest at ground level would have that something is amiss, is when they suddenly plunge into pitch blackness. Progressing much beyond that point without proper illumination or enhanced senses would be very dangerous, as that would carry them over the lip of the Valley. The upper 150 to 200 feet of the Valley Of Night is sheer cliffs, without a safe way to descend aside from a few narrow and carefully guarded trails, sometimes with gaps spanned by rope bridges. Below that level the slope is much gentler. The Night People have created extensive terrace farms on these lower slopes, interspersed with entrances to mines and quarries. The Valley is rich in stone suitable for building, as well as copper, tin, silver, and gold. The first three metals are widely used, but gold is said to come from the sun, and is forbidden except in certain malevolent ceremonies (see "Her Divine Shadow" below).

 

From within the Valley the sky above appears completely dark, like a heavily overcast night. No sun, moon, or stars are ever visible. Anyone with only normal vision within the Valley Of Night suffers -4 Sight Perception penalty, unless an artificial light source is nearby. Although the Valley is surrounded by tropical forest, the temperature within it is significantly cooler without the warming effect of the sun during the day.

 

The Night People have constructed several fine paved roads along the floor of the valley and the lower slopes. On the valley floor the most notable feature is a deep lake dominating the widest part of the Valley Of Night. Known as the Well of Tears, the lake is roughly oval shaped, about three miles long north to south, and nearly two miles across. It's fed by underground springs as well as several streams which flow over the lip of the Valley. A placid river empties out of the southern end of the lake, flowing to the end of the valley where it disappears into a cavern in the rock face. From there it passes underground through a series of rapids and waterfalls, ultimately emerging to merge with the Rio Napo. According to the legends of the Night People, these caverns also lead to a passage to the Lower World, the hell-realm of Eclipsar.

 

At the center of the Well Of Tears is a rocky island, nearly circular and half a mile wide, rising gradually from the shore to a height of almost one hundred feet at the center. The island is the site of the Night People's city and fortress, Uca Cuzco. There are no bridges across the Well Of Tears to the island. The only passage is via large rafts moored at docks at several spots around the central island and landward shore of the lake.

 

Uca Cuzco is built as a wheel divided into four equal wedge-shaped quarters. A thick, high wall surrounds the whole city, fashioned from the massive, near-seamlessly fitted stone blocks that Incan masonry is famous for. The wall is pierced by bronze-bound double gates at each of the four cardinal compass points. Each quarter of the city is divided from its neighboring sections by a similar but smaller wall. The western quarter contains the shops of merchants and craftsmen, warehouses for various goods, and an open-air market. Within the northern quarter are the homes of the city's common residents. The buildings in these sections are made of fire-baked brick with tile roofs, mostly single-floor, separated by narrow streets.

 

The south quarter holds the residences, workplaces, and schools of the priesthood, plus the quarters of their personal servants. These are larger stone buildings, two or three stories high, with numerous courtyards and gardens. The eastern section of Uca Cuzco is filled with various public buildings, including several shrines to Eclipsar where the common people come to pray every day; sepulchers containing mummies of past rulers, priests, and other notables (the remains of ordinary citizens are "buried" in caves or crevices in the surrounding cliffs, as with their Inca ancestors); courts where civil disputes and criminal cases are tried by the priests (with harsh "mosaic" punishments, e.g. the loss of a hand for a thief); a clinic for the sick, free to all; and monuments to renowned Night People or commemorating their history. The barracks and armory of the warriors who protect the Valley Of Night are also here. Every section of the city contains public storehouses of food, and cisterns into which water is drawn up from the lake through tunnels cut through the rock of the island.

 

At the center of Uca Cuzco is a large circular plaza surrounded by another stone wall with gates into each quarter of the city. Within the plaza, at the highest point on the island, is a great square building entirely of black basalt, large enough to hold thousands of people. This building, The Hall Of Shadows, is the heart of Uca Cuzco and of the worship of Eclipsar. The Night People gather within and in the plaza for special ceremonies or to hear public pronouncements, but most of the time the Hall is kept empty and unlit, ready for the goddess to occupy. Part of the building is set aside for a luxurious suite of rooms for Eclipsar. Since her return the goddess spends most of her time in the Hall Of Shadows whenever she comes to the Valley Of Night. The Hall is rumored to contain a magical passage directly to Eclipsar's palace in the Lower World.

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Flora, Fauna, And Fabula

 

The ecology of the Valley is unique, to say the least. Lacking any sunlight, green plants of any sort cannot grow there, which would normally render the land barren. The Night People have overcome this limitation through their agricultural and magical ingenuity, by creating and cultivating a wide variety of fungi to fill the niches of plants. Wooly mold covers the ground in place of grass. Various fleshy, oddly-shaped growths arise out of the soil or cling to the valley walls, roughly analogous to stalks, bushes, and vines. Some are small, eaten by animals or farmed as crops by the Night People. Others tower up to forty feet in height, providing refuge for arboreal creatures as well as a source of "wood" for construction.

 

The animals of the Valley are mostly smaller indigenous species, particularly those whose ancestors were nocturnal. Birds are scarce, most having left when the spell of illusion and darkness was placed over the valley. The Night People sometimes hunt these beasts for supplementary food. They also use llamas and alpacas as beasts of burden, and for meat, milk, and wool, as their ancestors did. Fish are plentiful in the Well Of Tears - primarily blind species - and a staple of the local diet.

 

One of the most notable differences between the lifeforms in the Valley Of Night and the surrounding lands is color. The plants, animals, and birds of the region are a riot of hues, but in the perpetual night of the Valley bright pigments aren't very useful. After eight hundred years of these conditions the animals have evolved fur, feathers, and hides of various shades of grey, which blend in effectively with the fungal "vegetation", but lead to an overall bland and dreary atmosphere.

 

While most inhabitants of the Valley are only cosmetically different from their outer-world analogues, a few are very special and very dangerous, used by the Night People to good advantage. Rare black jaguars were always sacred to the goddess of night, and several were brought along by the Night People when they left their mountain homeland. The Night People have since bred a pure black strain, now numbering several dozen. These jaguars have been thoroughly trained to accompany the hunters and warriors, to work with them and fight at their side. For game purposes you can use the "Leopard" character sheet from the HERO System Bestiary for the black jaguars, adding the Battle-Trained template from that book, and the Skills Tactics and Teamwork. To threaten superheroic PCs substitute the "Tiger" character sheet for that of the Leopard, and add the Red In Tooth And Claw Martial Art from the Bestiary. Other appropriate adjustments could include raising their DEX to 23, SPD to 5, adding a few points of Armor (tough hide), and removing the Limitation Reduced Penetration from their Claws.

 

One of the distinctive elements of Incan belief is that of the huaca. This term can apply to any feature of the landscape, from a rock formation, tree, or stream, up to a lake or mountain, which is in some way distinctive and therefore worthy of special reverence. Incas believed that huacas were imbued with living spirits, not unlike the Japanese kami. Although the practice is forgotten today, magicians among the ancient Incas could call upon the spirits of the huacas to animate these objects, and perhaps persuade them to perform various tasks. The Incas were particularly adept at using huacas of earth and stone to help them construct their magnificent masonry in very difficult locations. [Obviously this is an invention of the author.] ;)

 

The Night People retain these sorcerous skills, although their spells are more coercive than those of their ancestors, compelling the huacas to obey. (If constructing spells to Summon a huaca, you can use the Amicable Advantage to represent the degree of control that the summoner has over the spirit.) The Night People sometimes command huacas of stone to guard roadways and trails, and entrances to important buildings, from intrusion by strangers. Until they animate they can appear as statues, pillars, or just oddly shaped rocks. (Use the "Earth Elemental" character sheet from the Bestiary as the basis for these creatures.) The huaca of the Well Of Tears is especially powerful, and protects Uca Cuzco from attack by water, as well as guarding against people trying to sneak by underwater. Use the "Water Elemental" character sheet from the Bestiary for this huaca, adding a Size template ("Large" or greater), and increasing its Attacks and Defenses, until it's a threat to your whole team of PCs.

 

The mutated fungi of the Valley Of Night have evolved their own crude huacas, their primitive spirits allowing them to move and attack other creatures. Some of these creatures grow at the top of trails leading into the Valley, acting as sentinels. (The "Giant Carnivorous Plant" in the Bestiary would make a good specimen, particularly with the additional customizing options.)

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Bump In The Night

 

Among Eclipsar's servants, the most powerful are her dark spawn known in Incan legend as the supays, demonic spirits of evil. Like their mother, supays are creatures of living shadow, wielding formidable and deadly powers of darkness. They share Eclipsar's hatred of the light and the children of the sun, although their malice is more general. A supay feeds on the "light" in the spirits of living beings, and will kill to survive; but it also enjoys causing pain and fear in its victims, and will spread suffering and death for the sheer malicious thrill.

 

Supays in the modern day normally dwell in the Lower World, but often accompany Eclipsar on her travels, or are sent by her on specific missions. When Eclipsar is at the Hall Of Shadows in Uca Cuzco the supays flock there thickly, and a few will often linger after she departs. Eclipsar forbids them from attacking her priests (unless a priest is out of favor), but other intruders in the Hall are fair game. Occasionally a supay wanders out into the Valley looking for prey or sport, soaring across the sky on wings of shadow, or prowling stealthily among the dwellings of the Night People. Eclipsar cares little for the common Night People and doesn't object to her children taking a few. Night People hide in their homes and bar their doors at the rumor of a supay on the prowl, although those precautions won't bar one determined to enter.

 

The character sheet for the demonic Shadow from the Bestiary would be just about perfect for a supay, perhaps needing only improved Defenses. For more powerful Champions campaigns, use the sheet for the supervillain Eclipse, from Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks, eliminating the Focus Limitation on his Powers.

 

After Eclipsar was first defeated by the Incan gods, the Lower World was made the abode of the spirits of the damned. Upon reclaiming it Eclipsar also inherited the spirits confined there. The goddess can command these spirits, and will sometimes dispatch them to the Valley Of Night or the wider world, on covert missions that their abilities are particularly suited for. (Use the "Ghost" character sheet from the Bestiary for spirits of the damned.) These spirits also occasionally wander the Valley, although encounters with them tend to be more pitiful than frightening, as they lament their bleak, servile existence. Yet these souls were originally condemned to the Lower World for their evil deeds, and so one may sometimes encounter a spirit with an active hatred toward the living and the will to cause harm.

 

Eclipsar has taught the most able sorcerors among her priests spells to summon and control both the spirits of the damned and the supays, athough she looks harshly on calling them for frivolous uses.

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Children Of The Night

 

The Night People number about 20,000, a population that has long been stable. Eight thousand live in the city of Uca Cuzco, including the priesthood, warriors, and most of the craftsmen and artisans. The remainder dwell in small villages on the valley floor and lower slopes, working the farmland and the mines, and fishing the Well Of Tears.

 

Physically the Night People share the build and facial features of their Inca ancestors, and have the same range of attributes as normal humans. However, due both to their centuries in the unique environment of the Valley and deliberate magical tampering, their appearance is distinctive and they have additional abilities and weaknesses. A Night Person's skin is very pale, almost albino, and sensitive to damage from strong sunlight. (You might give them a small Susceptibility to UV radiation -- probably not more than a net 0-point Disadvantage, unless you prefer to restrict their activities in sunlight.) Their hair is a shade of grey from birth, whitening as they age. The eyes of the Night People are green or yellow. They've been magically altered to function like the eyes of a cat, with additional reflective surfaces inside to intensify the available light (which also causes them to shine like cat's eyes in direct light). All Night People have the Enhanced Sense, Nightvision, allowing them to function normally in the darkness of the Valley. On the other hand they're impaired in bright light without protection, not unlike their goddess Eclipsar, suffering Sight Perception penalties of up to -4 in the equivalent of bright sunshine, and have a Vulnerability: x1 1/2 Effect from light-based Flashes. The Night People cultivate a phosphorescent variety of fungus which provides all the illumination they need in the interiors of their buildings or mines; and their unique organic fuels burn with a low light output.

 

Whenever the Night People travel on missions beyond the Valley Of Night, they wear wigs, makeup (with sunscreen), and colored contact lenses to disguise their appearance. Since they first started working for Hector Ruiz dozens of Night People have visited the modern world and learned much about it, including the major languages spoken in the Americas. Their native tonque is a dialect of Quechua, the language of the Incas. Quechua speakers (still numbering millions in the Andean region) can comprehend basic Night People speech. If using the optional language chart, the tongue of the Night People has 4 points of similarity with modern Quechuan dialects.

 

Night People society is patriarchal, with a clear division of responsibility between men and women. Men perform most of the heavy labor in farming, work stone and metal, hunt and fish, and are the warriors of their people. The priesthood is all male (with one notable exception - see "She's A Man Eater" below), and hold all important positions in Night People society. Women assist in lighter farm work, create pottery, weave cloth, cook and perform other domestic duties, and handle most of the child-rearing. Monogamy is the rule among commoners, but the priests frequently have more than one spouse. Each individual home is for all the members of an extended family, but family is not as important a distinction among the Night People as it was for their ancestors. The heritage of their need to work closely together to survive in their early years is a communal approach to social relationships, property, and caring for the young, elderly, and sick.

 

The Night People wear loose cloth garments, hats, and blankets very much like the ones their mountain-dwelling kin continue to wear today. However, while the Andean descendants of the Incas dye their fabrics bright, vibrant shades with exuberant patterns, the garb of the Night People is predominantly grey or black, plain and utilitarian. In fact any stranger in the Valley would notice a marked lack of music, play, or any other festivity. There's more behind the people's comportment than just the perpetual gloom of the Valley. The Night People have lived many generations under a siege mentality, believing themselves hunted by human and supernatural persecutors; hence they've developed an unconscious propensity for keeping silent, blending into the background, and not attracting attention. Every Night Person has the Skills Stealth and Concealment (Self Only).

 

In line with the abovementioned attitudes, Night People society values conformity and discourages individual expression. Nonetheless, always among the Night People were a few who chafed at the limits of their land, who hungered to view the wonders of the sunlit world of their legends. Once in a very long while one of the more restless of the Night People would attempt to leave the Valley, even though the penalty if they're caught is sacrifice to the goddess of night. With the current growing contact with the outside world, and increasing discontent following the return of Eclipsar (see "Her Divine Shadow" below), the attempts will likely become more frequent.

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Her Divine Shadow

 

The worship of Mama Supay (or Eclipsar as she now prefers to be called) has always been the central truth of the Night People's lives. Her sacred night comforts them, and protects them from their enemies. They consider themselves the chosen people of the goddess of night, and believed that upon her return she would spread her darkness over the Earth, and the Night People would claim it for their own. (They're mistaken. In her hatred and madness Eclipsar intends to kill all human beings, but carefully hides this from her followers. If proof of this could be presented to the Night People it would seriously undermine their support for her, and might even encourage revolt.)

 

The Night People propitiate Eclipsar with human sacrifices. These have traditionally been held each year at the summer and winter solstice (the guards of the Valley Of Night regularly scout the edge of the daylight world and keep track of the passage of days and seasons, and the movements of celestial bodies), with all the Night People gathering on the shore of the Well Of Tears. These are the only days when the Valley isn't actively guarded, although its supernatural sentries remain in place. This great ceremony is the source of the Well's name. The sacrifice is swathed in specially-prepared raiments and ornaments made of gold, and his or her skin is covered in gold dust. The sacrifice is rowed out on a raft to the deep part of the Well Of Tears, and steps (or is thrown) into the water, sinking under the weight of gold. Not only is a life sacrificed, but through its attributed connection to gold the sun is symbolically drowned as well. Rumors of this ceremony led to the regional legend of El Dorado, "the golden man". Some of Eclipsar's worshippers in the outer world have taken to covertly performing their own drowning sacrifices in imitation.

 

The sacrifice was chosen from among the Night People through astrological determination by the priests, or as punishment for the infrequent serious lawbreaker, although they happily substituted the rare outsider who stumbled upon the Valley Of Night. Since coming to the Valley Eclipsar demands far more frequent sacrifices, consuming souls to restore her full power. The Night People have started "importing" captive outsiders through their operatives in the daylight world, to supply their goddess's demands. Sacrifices on other days than the solstices aren't attended by all the Night People; conversely, Eclipsar herself appears above her assembled worshippers during the solstice ceremonies.

 

The Night People originally greeted the return of Eclipsar with rejoicing, but since then many Night People have been disillusioned with their goddess. Far from being loving and protective, Eclipsar has proven to be cruel and capricious, slaying her followers for the smallest failure or disagreement. The evil spirits that accompany her sometimes torment or kill common Night People (see "Bump In The Night" above). As yet the discontented haven't dared to voice their doubts, but a PC in the Valley who successfully opposes Eclipsar or her servants might receive surreptitious help from them.

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Dark Knights

 

All of the male Night People are trained to use weapons and can fight if necessary; but the best fighters among them are inducted into a cadre of full-time warriors, known as the Nightbringers, charged with maintaining the secrecy and security of the Valley Of Night. Mostly this involves patrolling the border of the Valley with the sunlit world, watching for and capturing or killing intruders, or any Night People trying to leave without permission. Historically the Valley has never had a serious internal threat, and demonstrations by the general populace are almost unheard of. Nightbringers are of high status in their society, second only to the priests of Eclipsar.

 

The Nightbringers number around 500, barracked at Uca Cuzco, although no more than half of them are in the city at one time. Groups of 40 to 50 leave Uca Cuzco each day to begin a five-day circuit of the rim of the Valley, returning to their barracks for five days of rest and training before their next tour. Once at the valley rim they spread out in groups of two to four. A few of these groups are accompanied by one or two black jaguars, coursing ahead of their handlers like hounds. Some of the troops at Uca Cuzco may also be deployed for special purposes, such as confronting a concerted attack. In recent years a score or more Nightbringers can be found far from the Valley, on special missions in the wider world.

 

Nightbringers generally aren't stand-up warriors, preferring guerilla tactics and ambushes. They're masters of stealth and forest warfare. For a basic Nightbringer, use the template for a "Competent Normal" from the Fifth Edition rulebook. All Nightbringers have the Skills Animal Handler (Felines), Climbing, Concealment, Navigation (Land), Shadowing, Stealth, Survival (Tropical Forests), Teamwork, Tracking, and Weapon Familiarity with their commonly carried weapons. They're also trained in a distinctive Martial Art, the Jaguar's Trail, derived from the hunting and fighting movements of those big cats. (You can use "Shaolin Tiger Style Kung Fu" from The Ultimate Martial Artist for the Jaguar's Trail. Nightbringers have at least 10 points in Martial Maneuvers, and the Weapon Element: Blades.) Veteran warriors can be much more formidable. Nightbringers with experience in the outer world have learned additional Skills useful there, such as Lockpicking, Knowledges, and Languages. Their stealthiness and ability to function freely in darkness make Nightbringers excellent assassins, which is how they're most often employed outside the Valley.

 

Traditionally Nightbringers are armed with bronze knives or axes, bows, and blowguns. At least one warrior in a given group carries a net made of tough fungus fibers to capture victims alive for sacrifice. However, since Eclipsar's new "arrangement" with Hector Ruiz, about half of them wield steel blades and modern firearms, mostly silenced automatic rifles. Nightbringers wear "armor" of specially treated hides (3 rDEF), but the best among them have been rewarded with modern light kevlar armor which doesn't impede their movements (5 rDEF).

 

Nightbringers typically coat some of their bladed and pointed weapons with potent drugs and poisons brewed from the Valley's unique growths. Each coating is sufficient for one strike (one Charge). All of these weapons must penetrate the skin of their targets for the drugs to take effect (i.e. the blades/points must do BODY Damage). Possible substances include lethal toxins (RKA, NND, Does BODY [appropriate Immunity], No Knockback); paralyzing drugs (Entangle, Takes No Damage From Attacks, Cannot Form Barriers, Not Vs. appropriate Immunity); and hallucinogens (Mental Illusions, NND (appropriate Immunity), Based On CON, One Effect [usually target's greatest fear]). The specific mission a Nightbringer is on may determine his choice of substance. Larger groups or those expecting a fight carry sealed clay pots with powdered versions of these compounds, which they hurl like grenades. The powdered chemicals are less potent than the insinuative ones (lower Base Points), but spread wider and take effect when inhaled. (Eliminate the Limitation, Must Do BODY Damage, add AOE: One Hex, add LS: Self-Contained Breathing to the NND defenses, and add the Limitation, Range Based On Strength.)

 

Instead of powdered drugs and toxins, some of these pots contain a strong irritant to the eyes and nose (Sight and Smell/Taste Group Flash). In addition, in open spaces Nightbringers may use slings to hurl the pots much farther than they can by hand (replace Range Based On Strength with Limited Range -- both are -1/4). For game-balance purposes I recommend all of these substances be built on 90-125 Active Points.

 

When Nightbringers know in advance they're going into battle, they ritually chew a special mushroom with effects similar to, but even more potent than, the sacred coca leaves that the Incas and their descendants use, increasing energy, stamina, and resistance to pain. In game terms this is a simultaneous Aid to every Characteristic except INT, PRE, COM, PD, and ED, Fading at 5 points per hour, Self Only, Gestures, Extra Time (Full Phase). They can only use these mushrooms once per day without risking serious detrimental effects. If you want such Nightbringers to be a threat to superpowered opposition you can make the Aid large enough to bring their Characteristics near or just above the human limit; to compensate you might consider a short-term Disadvantage as a Side Effect, such as Enraged: In Battle, or a Psychological Limitation, Overconfidence, reflecting the intoxicating effect of the mushrooms.

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Cat People

 

About one percent of male babies among the Night People are born with the original darker skin, hair, and eye color of their ancestors, although they possess all the other abilities and weaknesses of their people. This is considered a mark of favor by the goddess of night, and the child is immediately removed from his family (with material compensation) to be raised and trained by the priesthood to eventually join their ranks. The priests, who are addressed by the title Brother Jaguar, are the highest class among the Night People. Alone among their people they are given a formal education in the arts, sciences, and the doctrines of their religion. (Common Night People are instructed by their families in farming and other crafts, or apprentice to a master of a trade.) Brothers Jaguar officiate at all ceremonies, the lower ranks handling marriages, funerals, blessings, and the like, while the higher ones conduct such important rituals as those calling upon Eclipsar to assure good weather and bountiful crops, and of course the sacrifices offered to her.

 

Priests fill all the most important posts within Night People society. The majority serve as managers, clerks, judges, and administrators. The strongest warriors among them are made officers of the Nightbringers; the commander of the Nightbringers, called the Capac (loosely translated as "warlord"), is the second most powerful office in the Valley Of Night. The rarest and most prestigious class of priest are those with talent for magic. They're taught the sorcerous lore of their people, and are responsible for maintaining the warding illusion of the Valley, and for controlling the natural and supernatural forces and creatures within it. Like most authoritarian oligarchies there are cliques, rivalries, and plotting among the Brothers Jaguar as they maneuver for power.

 

"Brother Jaguar" is not just a symbolic title, and what sets the priests apart from the other Night People is far more than cosmetic. They truly are touched by the power of the goddess from birth, gaining a lycanthropic ability to change from human form to that of the sacred black jaguar, as well as a humanoid hybrid of the two. The change first manifests when a boy reaches puberty, brought on by excessive emotional or physical stress. Initially the changes are involuntary, and the bestial forms are feral, driven by instinct and basic desires; but by the time the boy reaches manhood he has learned to fully control the changes and discipline his behavior. Nonetheless, the more bestial the form the priest assumes, the more of his human intellect and skill is lost. Sorceror-priests can use most of their spells only in their human form.

 

You can use the "Weretiger" character sheet from the HERO System Bestiary as the basis for a Brother Jaguar, eliminating its Lycanthrope's Bite Power, and adjusting the cost of the human Multiform to reflect its abilities.

 

Sorceror-priests typically employ spells of up to 60 Active Points. The sorcery practiced by the priesthood is derived from the nature-based magic of their Inca ancestors, but exposure to the divine magical taint left behind in the Valley Of Night prompted the Night People to experiment with its unique properties. Their sorcery has grown more diverse and versatile than its roots, and much more powerful since the resurgence in the world's magic in 1938. The priests commonly command magic with the Special Effects of darkness, elemental earth and water, and control of animals and plants (or fungi in the Valley). Rare sorcerors also practice spells employing the other classic elements, necromancy, illusion, and controlling the mind/spirit of sapient beings. For Heroic and lower-powered Superheroic campaigns you can use spells in these categories from the Fantasy HERO Grimoire(s); "Shamanic" and "Necromantic" magic from The Ultimate Mystic would also be appropriate. For higher-powered games you can give the priests Powers with these SFX from the UNTIL Superpowers Database(s), and let the priests buy them in Power Frameworks.

 

Many of the priests' spells use a quipu as a Focus. Quipus are an invention of the Incas, lengths of cord with several colored strings depending from them, each string tied with multiple knots. The number and position of knots on the strings are known to record numerical data, such as measures of goods and calendrical designations -- the Incas having never invented writing in the conventional sense. Modern scholars suspect a quipu may record more sophisticated information and abstract concepts, in a manner not yet understood. The quipus used by the Night People represent metaphysical constants which channel and shape their magic. They may be Accessible or Inaccessible depending on whether individual users hold them or wear them when used; and the Powers called upon may appear to be connected to the quipu or not (Obvious or Inobvious).

 

Part of the traditional Inca belief in the huaca (see "Flora, Fauna, And Fabula" above) is that they occur at spiritually significant and beneficial locations, rather like the Chinese belief in feng shui. A Night Person spell caster near a huaca or similar spot can draw upon the inherent spiritual power of the site to augment his magic, in the form of Aid to all magic spells simultaneously. Spells related to the SFX of the site gain even more power, e.g. Earth magic near a stone huaca, Water on the surface of the Well Of Tears, Darkness within the Hall of Shadows, etcetera. A few skilled practitioners have even learned spells to "step" instantly from one such location to another (Teleport, X Fixed Locations, Only Between Fixed Locations).

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She's A Man Eater

 

While men dominate among the Night People as they did among the Incas, their patron deity is female; so it should come as no surprise that her designated representative among her worshippers is female as well. Once in each generation, a girl child is born with the same physical coloring as the Brothers Jaguar. This is a tremendous event, marked with as much celebration as the Night People ever muster, and the conferring of rich gifts upon the fortunate parents; for this child is marked as heir to the title and office of Mother Jaguar, high priestess of Eclipsar and first in status and authority among all the Night People.

 

Like the male priests, the future high priestess (who answers to "Daughter Jaguar" until she takes office) is removed from her family to be reared by the priesthood; but her education centers from the beginning on governance and leadership. She is also thoroughly schooled in sorcery, as all Mother Jaguars have displayed considerable skill at magic. The nascent high priestess ascends to her position upon the death of her predecessor, either through natural causes or as a result of a successful challenge to combat by the Daughter Jaguar. The challenge can be a duel of sorcery, or using the natural weapons of their beast forms. These combats are always to the death -- there's no "retirement" option. Mothers Jaguar must prove their fitness to rule, and the losers are still too potentially dangerous to the victors to be allowed to live.

 

Before the return of Eclipsar to the Valley Of Night, Mother Jaguar was the absolute ruler of the Night People, believed to speak for the goddess. Although Eclipsar now makes her will known directly, the current holder of the title, Copacati, retains great prestige and authority by her own exceptional ability and the favor of the goddess. Copacati became Mother Jaguar when Eclipsar killed her predecessor for daring to question the wisdom of the goddess's intended war on the sunlit world. Copacati expressed eagerness to follow Eclipsar's lead, and not just out of self-preservation. She was always fascinated by the tales of her people's Inca ancestors, and since the arrangement with Hector Ruiz she hungrily devoured every report brought back about the state of the outside world. The notion of gaining power over all those people and lands excites and obsesses her, and she dreams of one day becoming High Priestess of all the Earth.

 

Copacati is young, only in her early twenties, but shrewd, cunning, ruthless, and ambitious, as well as probably the most powerful sorceress in her people's history. It was she who conceived the plan to use Hector Ruiz and the Cali drug cartel to subvert the outer world, which helped earn her Eclipsar's respect. Copacati has great talent and instinct for manipulating others. Eclipsar listens to her advice, and Copacati is the only being who can dispute one of the goddess's ideas and live. In truth Eclipsar lacks subtlety, and has come to rely on the guile of her Mother Jaguar.

 

I would recommend using the character sheet for the witch Chantal, from the Champions adventure Shades Of Black, as the basis for Copacati's human form, adjusting her spell Powers to reflect the sorcery of the Night People, particularly the creatures she can Summon. Her most powerful spells use a quipu as a Focus, usually worn as a belt like an innocuous part of her clothing (IIF).

 

Like the male priests Mother Jaguar is allowed to have more than one spouse, and Copacati has not been shy to take advantage of the opportunity. However, one of these men is always considered to be the high priestess's foremost consort. Traditionally the Capac, leader of the Nightbringers (see "Dark Knights" above), has filled that position, satisfying their culture's ancient belief in duality by balancing the power of spirit with the power of flesh (although Mother Jaguar is the unquestioned superior in the partnership). The present Capac, Ollantay, is a competent commander and a mighty fighter, but arrogant and impetuous. Copacati has used her charms to raise his interest in her and concern for her well being far beyond the responsibility of his post, although his first loyalty is still to Eclipsar.

 

I suggest basing the character sheet for Ollantay's human form on that of Green Dragon, from the Champions genre book and Evil Unleashed, minus the "Iron Skin" Power. Ollantay has all the Skills of a typical Nightbringer. The non-mental Characteristics of his other forms, i.e. his Figured Characteristics and the Primaries they're based on, should at least equal those of his human body. In battle the Capac carries an array of the best weapons and armor available to a Nightbringer. (See the description of Machete, in "Five Fingers Of Death" below, for some suggestions.)

 

Copacati has interacted long and closely with Eclipsar, and is the only person to perceive the depths of her madness, and divine her true intentions. Mother Jaguar understands the cataclysmic consequences to the Night People of Eclipsar's ultimate goal, and has no intention of presiding over the last days of a dying world. She covertly seeks a method of neutralizing or removing the goddess that won't arouse the suspicions of her worshippers. Copacati tricked Eclipsar into revealing that the obsidian disk which once imprisoned her still exists, as the god-forged artifact is beyond even her power to destroy. The high priestess believes the goddess has hidden it somewhere in the Lower World. Should Mother Jaguar be confronted by powerful superbeings from the outside world, she might try to trick or bargain with them to recover the disk as a means to bind Eclipsar again, although Copacati can't be trusted to honor any agreement not in her best interests.

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Campaign Use

 

The Valley Of Night would be easy to introduce into any campaign with a history similar to that of the real world. Since the Night People and Eclipsar have remained incognito until recent years, adding them to a campaign world should require no retconning of established events.

 

As presented here the denizens of the Valley can become major Champions campaign foes and the basis for a large story arc. PC heroes at first confront their plots and operatives at the heroes' home city, and later begin to discover the global extent of the threat. They will have to follow the trail of this organization back to South America, with opportunities for various international adventures. From there they must locate and penetrate the Valley Of Night, dealing with its wonders and terrors, leading to a final confrontation with the leaders of the Night People, up to the terrible Eclipsar herself.

 

On the other hand, if the GM or players don't want to follow this path, the various elements related to the Valley can be used for smaller encounters and more limited storylines. PCs can run afoul of Colombian drug dealers, or crooked politicians or entrepreneurs. They may think they're dealing with conventional bad guys, until they encounter the unusual operatives brought in to deal with their meddling. Nightbringers, Brothers Jaguar, even spirits of the damned and the fearsome supays, may all be dispatched in response to threats to Eclipsar's network.

 

Then again, PCs may encounter the Valley Of Night directly, as a result of participating in scientific research or exploration, joining in an international effort to eradicate coca production, searching for a missing NPC or DNPC, or just crashing their team jet in the vicinity of the Valley. In such a case the scenario would be less about defeating the enemy, than about exploration and/or escape.

 

There are several potential hooks for drawing heroes to the Valley Of Night. As mentioned above, they can encounter some of the machinations of the valley's global network. A known NPC or DNPC may even have joined that network, having been affected by tainted drugs. The heroes could investigate the recent upsurge in violent crime and insanity in their home city, discovering the same trend in other cities and countries. Connecting the dots will lead the heroes to the Cali cartel, and ultimately to the Valley. They could also follow up on the recent disappearance of explorers in the vicinity of the Valley, or track people kidnapped and taken out of the country for some sort of slavery (actually sacrifices for Eclipsar). These missing people can include characters known to the PCs, as incentive for them to follow the leads. For a more brute-force approach, magically-capable heroes may get into a fight with some of the Valley's supernatural agents, or even Eclipsar herself, and pursue their "mystic trail" back to the Valley Of Night. The heroes may even be approached by one of the extremely rare Night People who escaped from the Valley, asking their help to free his people from their cruel goddess.

 

Without the suggested "powering up" options for these characters and creatures, encounters involving the Valley would readily scale for less powerful superheroes, or stronger heroic-level characters. Leaving Eclipsar herself out of any final confrontation, such as her being incommunicado in the Lower World, is the easiest way to keep the heroes from being overwhelmed. At the other end of the scale, if your PCs are so experienced and powerful that even Eclipsar as written in Champions Worldwide is not a sufficient challenge, remember that she's spent the past several years building up her strength through sacrifices, so there's justification to increase her power as necessary. With the number and quality of followers at Eclipsar's command, adding them can make for a cumulative threat to almost any superhero team.

 

Much of the mystique of the Valley Of Night is its hidden location and mysterious nature; but in a genre in which mind-readers and mind-controllers are fairly common, preserving such mysteries can be a challenge. Some features of the Valley's inhabitants can help you with that, though. All Night People have been taught from birth that preserving the secret of their existence from their enemies is their first priority. People using Telepathy, Mind Control, or Presence Attack to unearth the Valley's location or other important details about it, have to achieve at least EGO/PRE +30, and Night People have the equivalent of +5 Resistance to Interrogation on this subject. Moreover, Night People on assignments outside the Valley carry poison to use on themselves in case of capture (although at the GM's option, a telepath could catch a wisp of useful information just before their captive dies). As for the supernatural creatures that serve the Night People, they pay little attention to the mortal inhabitants of the Valley, and have no understanding of world geography, so there's not much useful for them to spill.

 

The Valley Of Night can serve just as well as a major covert enemy in a fantasy campaign, by adjusting its history to match the established backstory of the campaign world -- again, not a difficult task given the Valley's long-hidden existence. If you don't use the more powerful options for the supernatural creatures, and restrict magic spells to "fantasy" types more Limited than superpowers, you can employ the Valley almost as is against heroic fantasy heroes.

 

The Valley from before renewed contact with the outer world, would make a fine "lost world" for intrepid pulp adventurers to discover. In a modern day campaign, heroes would most likely uncover it by following the drug connection or the conspiracy angle. Obviously the supernatural power of the Night People would have to be significantly curtailed, and perhaps eliminated altogether if magic doesn't exist in your campaign world. In that case the PCs primary opponents would be the victims of the Night People's tainted drugs (still a valid plot, at the instigation of Mother Jaguar rather than Eclipsar), the Nightbringers, their trained black jaguars, and perhaps the odd biological quirk like the fungus huacas. The priests would simply be the ruling caste, not lycanthropes. Of course without the supernatural, the Valley's unique environment becomes much harder to explain. Perhaps the Valley was created by a meteorite which scattered strange crystalline fragments around it, with unique light-refracting properties, as well as mutagenic substances which altered the local wildlife; or by a crashed alien spaceship generating unknown radiations, including a defensive cloaking field.

 

The "wierd science" explanation above could also be used to bring the Valley Of Night into a sci-fi setting. The Valley could even be an artificial pocket of life on the dark side of a world with no rotation. The more bizarre life forms and shape shifters of the Valley Of Night would have the convenient explanation of being "alien." ;)

 

Whenever you bring PCs into the Valley Of Night, be sure to play up the unusual environment. The perpetual darkness, bizarre "vegetation", and uncommon habits of the inhabitants, should be a constant reminder to the PCs that they're strangers in a strange land. Also keep in mind that people in the Valley without enhanced senses will be at a significant tactical disadvantage against their opponents, especially since most of those opponents are skilled at stealth. Eventually the PCs will discover that strong light is a potent weapon in their defense, but that in the Valley more than almost anywhere else, it will also attract immediate, widespread, and probably unwelcome attention.

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And On The Seventh Day...

 

Well, if you're still here after wading through all that, you have my thanks and admiration. ;) This is the end of my initial run of notes on the Valley Of Night; but since I started this thread a number of other posters have posed questions and made suggestions which spawned even more ideas, the fruits of which you can read further on this thread. :thumbup:

 

This discussion touched on a lot of historical and cultural information, and it's likely that anyone wanting to use the Valley would like to research it a little more. Of course a library would be the best place to find detailed stuff; but I can offer a few basic links to start you off and give you some pointers as to what could be useful.

 

This section of the grand online Encyclopedia Mythica deals with the somewhat sketchy subject of Inca mythology. It's also a good source of potential names for Valley NPCs: http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/americas/inca/

 

These Wikipedia entries are good for giving you a sense of the impressive architecture and other constructions of the Incas, as well as links to more about their history and culture, if desired:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incan_architecture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacsayhuaman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu

 

These National Geographic photos include some more distinctive Inca constructions, as well as glimpses of the typical garb of Andean natives (I know that published issues of NG contain a lot more shots of the descendants of the Incas): http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/gallery/peru_mountain-machu-picchu.html?source=G1619&kwid=peru|821585245

 

Hope you got something worthwhile out of this. As I said at the start of the thread, input is welcome. :yes:

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Re: Champions Universe: The Valley Of Night

 

Done!:)

 

I like it. I would have handled some things differently though, but I must say I like it. Perhaps, things could get even more interesting and complex, when colombian rebel forces hear rumours about the valley. They might even cross the border to investigate. Which could lead to another raid of the colombian army into foreign territory. Political consequences should not be underestimated. The northern part of South America might even be on the edge of a war. What would happen to the valley in this case? Which side would Eclipsar choose?

 

I especially liked the way you wove the history/legend of El Dorado into it. As you might know the original lake was Laguna Guatavita, just north of Bogotá. Have a look at the Museo del Oro

http://www.banrep.org/museo/esp/o_muisca.htm

or if you ever have the chance visit the museum itself. It is worth it. I've been there.

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Re: Champions Universe: The Valley Of Night

 

Done!:)

 

I like it. I would have handled some things differently though, but I must say I like it. Perhaps, things could get even more interesting and complex, when colombian rebel forces hear rumours about the valley. They might even cross the border to investigate. Which could lead to another raid of the colombian army into foreign territory. Political consequences should not be underestimated. The northern part of South America might even be on the edge of a war. What would happen to the valley in this case? Which side would Eclipsar choose?

 

Thank you for the kind words.

 

Whenever I put up concepts like these, it's with the expectation that people will change and adapt them in any way that better suits what they want to do in their games. Which is as it should be. :)

 

I especially liked the way you wove the history/legend of El Dorado into it. As you might know the original lake was Laguna Guatavita, just north of Bogotá. Have a look at the Museo del Oro

http://www.banrep.org/museo/esp/o_muisca.htm

or if you ever have the chance visit the museum itself. It is worth it. I've been there.

 

And treasure-hunters have been dredging the lake for that gold for generations, without success. Of course the legend of the "golden man" was told to the Spanish by natives over a wider area than the Colombian plateau, which encouraged their exploration. I've heard it said that the natives told the Spanish that the golden man was "thataway" just to get them out of their territories. :snicker:

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Guest Major Tom

Re: Champions Universe: The Valley Of Night

 

To quote a famous German soldier: Veerry interesting.

 

I'll have to steer my GM to this thread, since one of the superbeings that is

known to exist in his campaign is a South American super calling himself Inti.

 

 

Major Tom :cool:

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Re: Champions Universe: The Valley Of Night

 

"El Dorado" is a little more complicated, since the term was sometimes used to refer to the Habsburg emperors/Kings of Spain, who often identified themselves with the Sun as a family or royal emblem. The Sun is, and has been since at least Assyrian times, been one of the preeminent symbols of royal power --and thus of the king of the gods. It looks like the Inca had the hang of this particular metaphor, too.

Hmm.. it has been noticed that Brazil's preeminent superhero, Miguel Esconsada de Vllareal (Champions Worldwide, 105--107) has, oddly enough, taken the Spanish name, El Dorado. Since this clearly isn't some kind of authorial slip-up, there's a reason for a Portuguese-speaking hero using a Spanish name.

My proposal: "El Dorado" has been shaped, or is shaping himself, into Inti's avatar on Earth. His philanthropic ventures make him the uncrowned king of Latin America, and eventually he will either channel Inti's power, or, in a more morbid scenario, offer himself as a human sacrifice to stop Eclipsar.

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Re: Champions Universe: The Valley Of Night

 

One niggling detail is bothering me. Early on in the description you use the term "fire baked brick". I'm wondering if Eclipsar would allow her people to have fire. I would think that the warmth and light would be too much like the hated sun.

 

The phosphorescent fungi works well for the lighting issues but I can't see how to remove fire from the equation. Unless the Night People eat raw food and don't forge metal. Maybe they have some kind of "dark fire" magic?

 

Aside from that, this is a really well done write up. Thanks for sharing.

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Re: Champions Universe: The Valley Of Night

 

One niggling detail is bothering me. Early on in the description you use the term "fire baked brick". I'm wondering if Eclipsar would allow her people to have fire. I would think that the warmth and light would be too much like the hated sun.

 

The phosphorescent fungi works well for the lighting issues but I can't see how to remove fire from the equation. Unless the Night People eat raw food and don't forge metal. Maybe they have some kind of "dark fire" magic?

 

Aside from that, this is a really well done write up. Thanks for sharing.

 

That's an interesting observation.

 

Ironically, the reference to fired bricks came about because the Andean peoples commonly construct their homes out of adobe, which of course is sun-baked bricks. In practical terms I had to provide an alternative since the Valley receives no sunlight, but this approach could also be defended as less sacriligeous. ;) OTOH the phosphorescent fungi was primarily to add one more eerie mood-creating detail to the Valley, although I rationalised it as providing all the light that the Night People need, and at a level they're more comfortable with.

 

As you say, it's hard to have any "civilization" without fire -- it's too fundamental to so many things. If it helps, while sun gods including Inti almost always have some association with fire, in myth fire is often treated as a separate phenomenon with its own god or gods. The "fire" in the sky is somewhat distinct from fire on earth. Also, in the case of Inca belief the light of the sun is associated with splendor and magnificence. Inti is described as wearing rich raiments which are the source of his brightness. That may be one of the reasons why the traditional clothing of the Quechuan peoples is so colorful, and was certainly on my mind when I made that of the Night People so drab.

 

If it really bothers you, the "dark fire" concept is one alternative. Another would be using local volcanic vents as a source of heat for baking bricks and forging metal. Also, it would not be unreasonable for the unique organic fuels of the Valley to burn with a low light output. Both Eclipsar and the Night People are much more sensitive to light than heat, so that would make sense. (I might just add that detail, in fact. Thank you for the inspiration.)

 

In the final analysis, though, this is a small concession to make to doctrine for the sake of practicality. The life of the Night People is difficult enough already, without making them eat raw fungus. :idjit:

 

And thank you for the encouragement, Doc and LB. :)

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Re: Champions Universe: The Valley Of Night

 

This is pretty neato' date=' LL. I'll have to come back and read it in more detail later. dw[/quote']

 

Thanks muchly. It's nice to hear encouraging words from the author whose work I based this on. :o

 

I know that this is a lot to read at one sitting. Our board colleague aylwin13 is going to help me make it into a PDF that we'll Attach here for more leisurely reading. I just wanted to get a little more feedback from folks before I do that; what I've received so far has been very helpful. :yes:

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