Character Creation Challenge 2025 13: Horror One-Shots

Character Creation Challenge 2025

13: Horror One-Shots

Chronicles Of Darkness, Dead Of Night, Dread, Fear Itself, FiveEvil, World Of Darkness, and so on.

As noted while considering music and horror, there’s a whole subgenre of stories about rock and especially metal bands messing with the occult and possibly selling their souls, in some cases most or all unknowingly so there’s a chance they can escape at the end. The metaphor for music business legal trickery is transparent, and the imagery goes along with a lot of the scene.

There’s a subset of occult-tinged rock bands getting into deals collectively, often with some of the band not knowing it: see American Satan and its sequel series Paradise City, This Damned Band by Paul Cornell and Tony Parker, We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix, and my early exposure through the Dark Forces book The Bargain by Rex Sparger.

So having brought up the crossroads legend for the Blues already, here we are.

Lucky 13

“You’re one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan

Designed and directed by his red right hand”

Concept

They’d all heard the stories, bands literally selling their souls to get ahead in the business, but when “Mr. D.” offered them some useful connections in exchange for a show of willingness, what harm could it do? Sure, they’ve been having trouble sleeping lately, but...

Members

Jack, lead singer, the one who signed the deal

Tuesday, keyboards, the one who understood the deal

Turner, lead guitar, the one who can’t remember the details

Johnny, drums, the one who signed without real understanding

Angie, bass, the one who didn’t know about this and Mr. D. says must never be told

Statistics

Hope 1

Ego 1

Fanbase 1

Cash 0

Performance Traits

Technique 2

Power 3

Stagecraft 2

Great for Publicity Stunt Scenes and increasingly Clash Scenes, now almost incapable of playing a Ballad