Parade of the Dead

by Alastor Guzman (@alastorgv)

An adventure scenario for Demigods

INTRODUCTION
(Herald's eyes only)

The day was coming. Festive colors and materials

started showing around the streets of Mexico
City. The mix and match of the native “Dia de
Muertos” and imported Halloween decorations
was a mixture that not everyone liked, but to
some of the entities of the city, it was their
ground. Gods of the dead, gods of life, gods of
the party and the enjoyment of being alive.

Dying in Mexico is a passage, not the end. The

dead are remembered and they come back in
the first days of November. Mictlantecutli has
managed to maintain a good measure of pow-
er thanks to this but he is willing to share with
some of the lesser gods. All the colors, food and
parties are used to remember those who have
passed and get some food to the spirits when
they came back. Xoloitzcuintle in their sacred
duty of guiding the death spirits around.

In the middle of the city, near the government

buildings, James, a foreign demigod, was pre-
paring for his big event. Years of preparation
and using his mortal contacts to manipulate the
Art by Kirobin
political scene have finally come to finish. A big @_kirobin on Insta
“Day of the Dead” Parade is happening and now
all of its power will be his. After all, traditions
evolve and a parade is something people like in
other parts of the world, so why not here? And *Editor’s note: Before 2016 Mexico City didn’t hold
since it was all his own making he won't have one huge parade for Dia de los Muertos. This
to give anything to Mictlantecutli or the other custom was adopted after the popularity of the
gods native to this place. 2015 Bond film “Spectre”, which appropriated
the idea and depicted it in their own way. This
This has dire implications for the gods and spirits adventure is about the people and deities of
these days. They rely on the power generated Mexico City reclaiming local traditions.
in these days to fuel a safe passage and to allow
spirits to come back to visit their families. If
more people start associating the festivity with
the parade, they will certainly lose this. James
doesn’t care about that. He was a low-ranking
reaper demigod in his country and here he can
use his resources to change that.
FOR THE PLAYERS
If the Spindle is a place, think about how it is
“The new parade of the Day of the Dead is com- affected by these festivities. Does it have any
ing. Prepare your best allegory cars and floats special relation to death? It could also be threat-
and come to the center of the city to join us in ened by a fight between the pantheons. A place
this celebration.” could be suddenly important by being a safe
haven from the possible fights that arise. Is the
Local pantheons have had their power siphoned in place suddenly in high demand because it will be
recent years, their usual festive days have been on the main path of the parade?
slowly co-opted and while some of the gods
have learned to co-exist, there is still animosity If the Spindle is an artifact, it could be needed for
among them. But this has suddenly tipped the the parade. Or could provide alternative ways
scales and none of the local pantheons know of accessing power once it all siphons into the
exactly what is happening. parade.

A “Day of the Dead” parade is happening and no

one knows who organized it. None of the gods is The pantheons:
taking responsibility but whoever does it would
get enough power to overcome the others. This James' pantheon is mostly of small-time foreign
has lead to several internal strifes. It could be gods. Gods of secrets, of spirits and artifacts
mortal developed but its reach and scope say abound his small cadre. One of his deities is a
otherwise. god of cars, using a spirit in the form of an Aston
Martin that James uses to move around. They
Relevant Pantheons: The Aztec gods are the main will try to recruit some lesser local gods to help
ones in Mexico city. Living here since the Aztecs them in exchange for power since they do not
came and adapting to the times. Huitzilopochtli, know the full history of the place and its impli-
Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc, Mictlantecutli among oth- cations.
ers live in the city and enjoy it here. They share
territory with the Mayan gods and the Zapo- Other gods that are going to be very involved are
tec gods. Even if there are small feuds, most of death gods, gods of passage, and gods of spir-
them have shared the city in peace. Twenty-two its. They will either try to ally themselves with
million inhabitants is more than enough for James or oppose him if they found out about his
everyone. real plan.

Some of these deities are:

PLOT HOOKS Mictlantecutli (Aztec god of death)
This parade could change everything. Gods will Mictecacíhuatl (Goddess of death and partner of
fight over who gets which piece of power and Mictlantecutli)
whoever is in control could tip the scales in their Xolotl (Aztec god of Twilight)
favor. New traditions evolve over time but this Xiuhtecuhtli (Aztec god of life after death)
one feels tacked on, foreign. Someone not famil- Camazotz (Mayan god of the underworld).
iar with the City started this, but who?
From other pantheons, the ones of interest could
be:
The Spindle: Hades (Greek mythology)
Osiris (Egyptian mythology)
If the Spindle is a person, you can have them get Baron Samedi (Vodou loa)
some information on movements around the
city and an increase in foreign gods. They can
also be in danger by knowing this information
since James wants to keep it secret for as long as
possible.
INVESTIGATY VS FIGHTY

The adventure works on both sides, as James is a reaper demigod and aptly ready for combat. Nevertheless,
he is also able to hide and move behind the shadows. He doesn’t want anyone to know he is the master-
mind behind the parade and will use his mortal contacts and other demigods to hide his intentions. Should
your group be focused on combat they can get the tip of James plan and then go into a chase against him
and his agents across the city.

The investigation focuses on finding out who James is and how he managed to coordinate this kind of
event. You can put as much intrigue as you want, looking for small clues and talking to people around to
put together the pieces of the puzzle so they can find out the origin. Another important part of the inves-
tigation is how to siphon that power into the different pantheons. This could be an important point for
more combat focused characters as they will be able to use this in the fight against James.

Investigaty

The main core of the investigation will be track- Social: The main avenue would be the mortals
ing down who is organizing the parade and for involved. If they are contacted they can start
which reasons. The focus could be by looking talking about this Englishman giving funds for
into the politicians involved. See if any gods are the parade to promote Mexico city. The play-
involved directly or look for signs into the plans. ers can talk to politicians involved and any of
The main clues should be how out of place it the organizers. Talking to other gods could lead
feels at the beginning. More clues should come them on a wild goose chase since none of the
when talking to the persons involved and the main ones are involved but this could lead them
designs. to the lower profile deities that are associating
with James.
Arcane: The whole purpose of the parade is to
shift the belief in it and siphon its power to Weakness: James’ main weakness is the fact that
James and his accomplices. They can track new most of his artifacts and spells are not local so
magic around the route, the parade cars and he can’t draw any power locally. If the players
statues. If they do some more research they will research him they will find out that he can’t use
find that some of the dances and performanc- his powers on outer parts of the city so drawing
es also carry significant meaning for the local him near those places can tip the scales. Re-
deities. moving his artifacts will downgrade a lot of his
abilities, each item is protected but if broken or
Tracking: Tracking in the city will be arduous stolen he will start making mistakes looking for
and long. They have many leads but one option them.
could be to infiltrate these places to seek more
clues. One of their main tracks should lead them Strength: James is very hard to ambush and his
to an entrance to Mictlan, the Aztec under- combat prowess is incredible. If he has his full
world. That is where James is preparing most of list of artifacts he can deal with most attacks.
his rituals. This place will be heavily guarded. The fight should focus on removing access to his
devices.
Fighty

James himself is a formidable opponent. He's Xochitonal are lesser creatures that are waiting
an able fighter, and with his artifacts he can for an opportunity. James plan offers the best
put most enemies in a chokehold very quickly. option for this. They are a gigantic reptile that
Discovering he was a demigod came after some dwells in the entrance to the Mictlan. Their
military training so his abilities just became work is to watch the dead passage and is an in-
more powerful. strumental piece in James’ plan. They should not
be underestimated and can put the demigods in
This is a list of abilities and moves that require the a very hard situation.
use of his artifacts, use them cautiously remem-
bering he is unlikely to reveal all his secrets in As a hard move, Xochitonal may influence the
the first fight. player to leave the Mictlan or pass through the
doors to the underworld. Ask a player to roll 2d6
Health: roughly 4x the number of demigods in + ( any physical or mental stat against magic)
the Weave. 8-20 for initial health. Some of his
artifacts may increase this. On a 10+ they ignore the call to leave or enter.
On a 7-9, the player chooses one.
Nice suit: 2 points of armor that can be ignored if > Take 3 harm and leave.
they ambush him. > Take 2 harm that ignores damage and stay.
> Take no harm but cross into the underworld.
The watch: Able to track the movements of his
agents and call reinforcements. Weakness: Xochitonal is not as strong if faced
with any reminder of the living. Ofrendas, Cem-
Hidden gun: His gun may appear normal but is ac- pasúchil, and flowers can appease them and will
tually an epic ranged weapon that deals 4 Harm. open them to negotiation.
It is always considered concealed until drawn,
and mortals will actively ignore it until then. Traitor demigod
A demigod that is supporting James offering the
Miracle escape: on a Hard move, he can escape entrance to Mictlan, introducing them to the lo-
the room or battle. He needs all his artifacts for cal creatures and protecting him from the other
this to work. gods. He could be a red herring that the players
could avoid or interrogate.

James' agents SCENARIO REWARDS

James' mortal agents have minimal information Tailor your rewards to your Weave necessities.
on the higher powers involved but they are also James' artifacts are great rewards for a Weave
equipped with magical artifacts. They usually and can be used in many different contexts.
travel around him or protect the entrance to
Mictlan. The car: A car charged with magical power and
meaning. Any player that uses it will be able
On a hard move, they will capture or render un- to do even the most outrageous maneuvers. In
conscious. addition, the car has a limited power to generate
tools to adapt to any situation.
Ahuizotl are aquatic creatures that are curious
about humans and think they taste delicious. The watch: a watch that can be used to reveal
They usually need pools of water but make won- hidden items in its vicinity.
derful guardians of places that you don’t want
anyone coming nearby. They are giant black
crocodiles with obsidian spikes on their back.