Layout

The club is set up like a maze (map below). Its tight hallways twist in on each other, making it easy to get lost in the dark and smoky corridors. The hallways are always packed and difficult to move through. Flashing colored strobes make even the slightest movements disorienting. The darkest corners smell of marijuana and urine, with graffiti and garbage everywhere.

#1 Front Door

The front door is locked in the day-time and no amount of pounding will get anyone to open it. Attempts to break the lock and/or knock down the door will alert Molly, and whoever is around will instantly be aware of the Hunters' presence.

In order to enter Club Noir at night, the Hunters are going to have to get by the doorman. Ernest is a huge African-American man wearing no shirt, tight leather pants and a wide brimmed hat with a huge purple feather. He wears wrap-around shades and his face looks like it never learned how to smile. He will not tolerate any nonsense at the front door. He is a highly paid, highly honorable fellow. He is also the only employee of the club who has no Vampire blood in his veins. He grew up in Bayou country, and while he doesn't put any credence in the Voodoun faith, he is very superstitious in spite of himself.

Once Hunters get past Ernest (who will make full use of his Mind and Perception to make sure they are not carrying weapons), they'll walk down a long, dark corridor. From here, they can begin to smell the club. The corridor is dark and disorienting. It is built on angles that distract and knock the Hunter's balance off-center. They begin to feel the pounding throbbing bass of the dance music as the approach the entryway of the club.

Ernest, the Doorman

BOD: 4

AGI: 4

MIN: 2

PSY: 2

WILL: 3

Skills: 3 Brawling, 2 Firearms, 3 Dodge, 1 Law, 1 Psychology, 3 Perception, 3 Streetwise, 3 Martial Arts

Notes: Ernest carries no weapons. He knows how to use them, he just prefers not to. He's an ex-Marine, so he can improvise, adapt and overcome as the situation warrants. Ernest's Martial Arts Skill is specialized in barroom brawling and using improvised weapons (broken bottles, chairs, etc.).

#2 Entry

The entryway is a large room approximately 20´ square. It has mirrors on all the walls and two exits (not including the long hallway from which the Hunters just entered). In the corner of the entryway is a slight step and carpet-covered heavy boxes attached to the wall, which are intended to be used as chairs. There's an abandoned bar on the south wall that's sometimes used by junkies as a ducking point. The smoke is thick here as the dancers come up to this room to feel the draft from the outside.

In the daytime, this place is deserted. The lights are turned off, and the Hunters will need to provide their own illumination. If the Club has been alerted, an ambush of goons will be in wait behind the bar (GM's discretion as to the numbers).

The two exits lead to the maze (#3) and the balcony (#4).

#3 The Maze

The heart of the nightclub is the maze. It is a series of twisting hallways and stairways, filled with filth. It's quite easy to get lost in the maze - which is why all the junkies make their way down here. The walls are near-slime, the Hunters' feet stick to the floors and they stumble into bodies of addicts and couples engaged in various carnal acts of debauchery.

During the day, the place is littered with Molly's sleeping minions. It's basically no different from night, but the occasional flashing strobe and blinking neon are gone; the place is dark.

#4 Balcony

From here, the Hunters can gain a full view of the dance floor. There's a wide black staircase that leads down to the dance floor on the west, just next to the D.J. station. The station is usually open for requests. The D.J. is a tall, blond fellow who looks like a gothic version of Shaggy from the Scooby-Doo cartoons, complete with scraggly goatee. He wears a pair of thin rimmed glasses and never raises his voice (which makes it very difficult to have a coherent conversation as he whispers under the thunderous music).

Along the south wall, a long bench is set up. On the east wall, a set of slight stairs leads up to a higher balcony with tables. All the regulars understand this section is reserved. If the Hunters try to enter here, they will find themselves quickly informed that this area is "high ground," and they are not invited. Failure to comply will lead to trouble; they will be evicted from the club. Serious resistance will alert the entire club against the Hunters.

#4A Dance floor

The dance floor is awash in lights and sound. Three huge screens display flashing scenes from old movies and new music videos. There are three exits from the dance floor. One is the stairway that leads up to the Balcony (#4). One exit leads into the maze. The last exit leads to the Bar (#5). After hours, the screens are shut down, and the dance floor is peppered with sleeping goons.

#5 Bar

The bar has a single bartender. Her name is Selene - a small-but-leggy blonde and the happiest "goth chick" you've ever met. Her face is plastered with a perpetual smile and she bounces up and down the bar as she serves the clientele its drinks. She's very new to the club, with only the slightest trace of Vampire blood. It got into her veins without her knowing (during a private moment of compromising morality), but it's enough to allow Molly to monitor those around her. The drinks are expensive (a buck for a tall glass of water) and Selene apologizes with every drink just before she bounces off to the next customer like a black-clad Tigger. Selene will not be present if the Hunters come calling during the day, but the bar provides wonderful cover for hidden goons...

There is a small door behind the bar that leads to a stairwell up to the locked manager's office.

#6A Upstairs Office

The manager's office has a series of cameras that look down over the entire nightclub. The manager can see the dance floor, the maze, the bar and the entryway from his office. The desk contains nothing of value: old newspaper clippings, e-mail and downloaded messages, etc. An out-dated Color Mac Classic is on the desk along with a dot matrix printer. Both look like they have serious cases of dust contamination.

The metal file cabinet is locked, but is also empty, except for the bottom drawer which is filled with legal papers, bills and other haphazard paperwork. An ancient liquor license is in a dirty frame on an otherwise naked wall. The small garbage can is filled with micromeals and empty soda cans. A tiny cooler is in the corner filled with Mountain Dew.

The manager's name is Dusty. He's about average height, dark with a slight beard. His blood is thick black (he's the one who slipped Selene her first dose) and his mind is just about ready to snap. He's already mastered a few Vampire Traits, but his body is still getting used to the surge of essence that runs through him when he uses them.

Dusty, the Manager

BOD: 5

AGI: 5

MIN: 5

PSY: 5

WILL: 1

Dark Points: 4

Vampire Traits: Speed, Strength

Notes: Whenever Dusty rolls a 10 while using a Vampire Trait, his mind is overcome with the sensation of dark essence. He finishes the action, then must spend another action re-orienting himself to his surroundings. ("Look at all the colors!")

Dusty can be found all over the nightclub. He hates his office and only uses it when he has to keep track of reporters and undercover cops staking out his place.

#6B Storage Room

This is the cooler where all the liquor is held. It is also the cooler where all the blood is held. The Hunters can find it in the cheap California wine boxes (a gallon of wine for only $2.95!).

#6C Cellar

On the other end of the stairs behind the bar is a locked iron door. Only Dusty has the key. The cellar has an earth floor and is filled with old crates filled with empty bottles. Under one of the heavier boxes is a small wooden door the Hunters will have to squeeze through. There is no ladder. There are no lights. A wave of sweaty heat flows up from the open hatchway. Flashlight beams seem to get swallowed by the blackness below (the room is protected from light by supernatural means). It's a fifteen foot drop down into a room that is perpetually 43 degrees above zero.

This is it: the belly of the beast.

#7 Sub-Cellar

Here in the sub-cellar, Molly Malone makes her residence. The corridor that leads to her lair is tight - only three feet tall and three feet wide - offering little room to bring down heavy equipment. The corridor is only about six feet long, offering no room to maneuver.

The room at the end is dark. No normal light can pierce the darkness. Lamps, flashlights and lanterns only shine light up to one foot. It's a simple bare room. The floor is littered with broken bodies covered with thin, translucent, bloodless skin.

Molly lies waiting for the Hunters, even if they find her at high noon. The hag doesn't need much sleep these days, and she is surrounded with a sphere of perpetual midnight. Molly isn't your typical Vampire - but then again, there is no such thing as a typical Vampire.

Molly Malone, the Vampire Hag.

BOD: 8

AGI: 4

MIN: 4

PSY: 8

Dark Points: 8

Vampire Traits: Fear, Regeneration, Strength, Speed (Molly's Speed does not allow her to dodge. Molly is incapable of dodging. She only uses it to increase her chance to hit and her number of Actions per Round.)

Notes: Molly doesn't move. She is a huge, bloated mockery of a woman, approximately 600 pounds of bleeding, putrid wormy flesh. Her elongated face ends in a fanged tube, like a mosquito's proboscis. Just the sight of her alone is enough to drive a mortal mind into madness.

Molly's limbs are severely deformed and elongated, giving her ample reach on the Hunters. As was stated above, the corridor offers little room to bring heavy equipment down into her lair. Those who try to retreat will find themselves caught up in her talons and torn to pieces, or dragged into a hideous embrace and drained dry. She regenerates very quickly and will even bring down sections of her room to trap Hunters. She doesn't care about being buried if it means destroying her enemies. She doesn't breathe any more and can dig herself out in time... even if it takes her a year or two.

Put Those Explosives Away!

There are many ways your Hunters can handle Club Noir. They could try an infiltration of the club, scouting out possible cribs for the Vampire, or they could just blow the joint and wait for the Vampire to crawl out from the rubble.

Discourage your Hunters from blowing the place. Not only does it kill the drama of the Hunt (and all that atmosphere in the club), but it also creates some problems. In order to keep them from using the heavy firepower method, give them subtle hints that the cops may be goons. They're strangers in a small town after all, and the cops are bound to be giving them the evil eye. Make suggestions what might happen to them if they have to spend the night in jail. Remember, that's spend the night in jail.

Locked up.
No guns.
Behind bars.
With just a little suggestion, you can have them eating paranoid pie in no time.

Conclusion

At the end of the Hunt, you should award Experience Points.

If the Hunters weren't even gutsy enough to go into the club, don't give them anything. Zero. Nada. Zilch.

If the Hunters got into the club, but didn't get to the Vampire because they got creeped out (or kicked out) by the goons, give them 1 apiece.

If the Hunters made it to Molly, but had to retreat, give them 2 apiece.

If the Hunters made it to Molly and took out the hag, give them 3 apiece.

Next Month...

Next month, the Hunters Inc. campaign kicks into high gear. We've got another Hunt, more Sorcery, optional combat rules and a Vampire who is king of the streets. See you then!

Typical Gooned Clubber

The Club

Hunters Episode 2: The GM Section

Hunters Inc. Episode 1