Digging (Previously posted on a forum somewhere)

I ran a LARP long ago in Albuquerque. Within the game, there where the ruins of an ancient civilization buried far beneath the city that the game took place in. PCs playing the Nosferatu in the sewers figured this out, and thought it might be Enoch, or some other city of the Antediluvians.

So they kept digging. Despite cave-ins. Despite random follower deaths. Despite followers suddenly getting religious and deserting them.

Eventually, they found a cavern with a black river that killed the ghoul who touched it. At the opposite bank was what looked like an old city wall.

So they hauled boats down there. Undead monsters attacked and tried to pull them under. They fought them off and crossed it. The gates were sealed. They get some other PCs to help them, and came back to smash the gates open. I ask "Who has Awareness and Auspex. Okay. You get a creepy feeling."

So folks activate Auspex, and they can see ghosts escaping the city through the newly broken seal. Not sure what to make of it, the PCs head further in, Auspex still going.

After a few blocks, there's another gate, also sealed. They break it open. Now a powerful-looking spirit struts forward, all dressed in kingly regalia. He non-chalantly grabs other ghosts every few steps, rips them open and sucks out their juicy ectoplasmic centers. The PCs try to interact with him, but can't. He walks out of the city and across the surface of the black river without a word.

The PCs keep delving deeper. Gate after gate, seal after seal, getting deeper into the city, and then into a huge temple, and then into the temples inner chambers. There was lots more detail, but let's skip ahead. Eventually I said "So, now you're standing before the 6th Seal. Do you open that one too?"

Everybody swallows hard. They ask, "Did you say THE SIXTH SEAL?" All but 2 PCs immediately flee to the surface.

The other two break open this seal. "Behind it is a room lit by four flaming pillars, angelic in their beauty. Since you can see them, take a level of Agg and make a Courage test."

One PC passed the test and stood his ground. "Behind their heavenly trumpets, you can see a 7th gate with a 7th Seal. Take another Agg and another Courage test. What do you do?"

Eventually, he bails. With a lot of Agg damage and no Willpower left. If he'd made one more courage test, it could have been game over. I love giving players more power then they can handle.