An Old Priest & A Young Priest is a mini RPG where you play Priests beholden to an ancient Triumvirate in a battle against a Demon that has possessed a human Vessel.

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The ritual is an ancient one and not many who speak the words of your faith still perform it. It is a cleansing, an eviction, a banishing; the ultimate test of all the power that your order wields to save an innocent from true damnation, or to stop that which should never be from seeing the light of day.

Your bag is packed with holy scripts, hallowed relics and, though you pray you will not need it, a heavy old pistol loaded with just two bullets. You are here to pit your very souls against this thing. Your lives are already forfeit.

You are an Old Priest & a Young Priest and tonight… you will perform an exorcism.

How To Play

An Old Priest & A Young Priest is a game for two players. You’ll take on a DEMON that inhabits a mortal VESSEL and attempt to drive it out with RITES that will test your Faith, harden your Resolve and tear at your Soul. To do this, you’ll draw cards from a deck, roll dice and pull blocks from a tower.

You will need:

• A handful of d10s
• A standard 52 card deck (The DEMON DECK)
• A tumbling block tower
• A way to write things down

The Priests

You are worshippers of a Triumvirate; a vengeful father, a possessive spirit, and a sacrificial lamb who share the same ancient body.    

You are here to perform a set of Rites that will allow you to banish a DEMON from an innocent VESSEL.

You have three BASTIONS, which each start at 3. If any of your Bastions reach 0, you are struck down and devoured by the DEMON.

FAITH – Your belief in your god

RESOLVE – Your belief in yourself

SOUL – What was of you before and may continue after

One of you must be The Young Priest, the other The Old Priest. Decide between yourselves, then find out more about your character below.

The Young Priest

Give yourself a name and make a mark next to 2 statements that apply to you:

• I have studied the scriptures and learned the canticles. Each morning is an exultation (+1 Faith)
• I have scarred myself with the marks of penitence. I am as pure as a flawed vessel can be (+1 Faith)
• I came to this world with nothing and I have built myself upon the rock of faith and virtue (+1 Resolve)
• I felt the cool breeze this morning and saw time stand still before the rising sun (+1 Soul)
• I have spent a year in solitude and know myself before all others in my place before god (+1 Soul)

Next, answer…

WHO inspired you from an early age? Why are they the reason for your faith?

WHAT do you carry with you that displays your faith to others?

WHY did you become an Exorcist, when so many other paths lay before you?

The Old Priest

Give yourself a name and make a mark next to 2 statements that apply to you:

• I have knelt before the corpse of my avenging father’s son and spent hours on the cold stone floor of his forgiveness (+1 Faith)
• I have endured the trials of a life of sin and know the horrors of the darkness that lies beyond the bastion of my spirit. (+1 Resolve)
• I am a stumbling up this ancient hill. I bear the instrument of my demise upon my crooked back. I am ready to fall. (+2 Resolve, -1 Faith)
• There is a place I have been to each day since I was young. A place I have razed and will raze again. (+1 Soul)
• I have learnt to raise in others the lie I cannot live myself. By inviting them to blindness I save them for a while. (+2 Soul, -1 Faith)

Next, answer…

WHO did you look up to, that you now despise? Why did they lose your trust?

WHAT scars do you carry that show the perils of your calling?

WHY do you continue to be an Exorcist, when this life has brought only pain?

The Vessel

THE VESSEL is a mortal whose body has become home to a DEMON. Their soul hangs in the balance while their physical form is wracked and tormented.

Give THE VESSEL a name and then expand on these 6 ASPECTS before beginning The Exorcism.

o A unique part of their appearance o A rare or special talent  o A memory from childhood o An activity in which they find joy o A scar or birthmark o A hope for their future

Whenever THE VESSEL receives a SCAR, mark off 1 ASPECT, which is taken from them by THE DEMON. If THE VESSEL receives 6 SCARS, then all that they are is consumed and they do not survive the Exorcism – their body is broken and THE DEMON is unleashed – pray for your souls and end the game.

The Exorcism

The Exorcism takes place over the 6 hours between Midnight and Dawn. At the start of each hour, draw 6 cards from the DEMON DECK and lay them face down.

Whenever a Priest begins a RITE, turn over a card and resolve it immediately.

• If a Priest succeeds in a RITE, pick 1: Discard the most recently turned card to the BANISHMENT pile, increase a BASTION by 1, remove a SCAR from THE VESSEL
• If a Priest fails a RITE, turn over another card and resolve it immediately

If there are no more cards to turn, the hour ends. Compare the number of turned cards to the number of cards in the BANISHMENT pile. If the number of cards in the BANISHMENT PILE is equal or higher, make a HOLY MARK; otherwise, knock down The Tower.

Whenever The Tower is knocked down, that hour is lost to THE DEMON. Make one DESECRATED MARK and place a SCAR on THE VESSEL, then begin the next hour.

After the 6th hour has ended, Dawn has come. Compare the number of HOLY MARKS to the number of DESECRATED MARKS. If the number of HOLY MARKS is EQUAL or HIGHER, then you have learnt THE DEMON’S name and may speak a final prayer to cast them out.

If it is LOWER, then all is lost – THE DEMON is made manifest through the coming of the dawn. You may choose to end your lives before THE DEMON claims you.

Rites

RITES are outpourings of devotion that call upon the power of The Triumvirate to dispel the DEMON from this world. Take it in turns to perform RITES.

Each RITE consists of a prayer that includes the name of the RITE, the BASTION which you are activating, any RELICS used, and an invocation to one or all of The Triumvirate.

When you perform a RITE, activate a BASTION and pick up d10 equal to its value. Next, give the RITE a name:

d10	The	Of
1	Passion	Saint Unctuous The Just
2	Triumph	Our Carrion Father
3	Dedication	The Wandering Crow
4	Sacrament	Our Faithless Mother
5	Exultations	Saint Jeah Of Dawn
6	Chorus	Canoness Tyria
7	Excruciation	The Wingless Dove
8	Mutilation	Pope Austere XIII
9	Anguish	Our Avenging Host
10	Lamentation	The Sacrificial Son

Then, choose which RELICS your RITE will require. Your RITE does not need to use any RELICS, however for each RELIC used you will add +1 to your roll. Any RELICS used are consumed by the RITE and cannot be used again.

o The Finger Bones of St Aurelia            o The Femur of The Lonesome Mother

o The Heart of Our Martyred Reverend   o The Crown of The Weeping Child

o The Cross of Rusted Nails                   o The Iron Crest of Mourning

o The Skull of St Leviathan                    o The Surplice of Pope Evangelous III

o The Fractured Urn of Father Osuous    o The Powdered Blood of Saint Lycea

o The Brass Censer of Lady Gwynedd     o The Holy Waters of The River Eis

o The Shinbone of Rechel The Pious       o The Scribblings of August The Lost

o The Chalice of The Unconscious Sin    o The Silver Eye of Mother Cruxious

When you have prepared your RITE, speak the prayer and roll all your d10s. Take the highest and apply any modifiers. On 8+ the RITE is successful.

On 7 or below you may choose to draw on a BASTION. When you draw on a BASTION, select one of your BASTIONS to draw on and pull blocks from The Tower. For each block pulled, add 1 to the total rolled for your RITE. If The Tower is knocked down while you are drawing on your BASTION, reduce that BASTION by 1.

The Demon Deck

As each RITE begins, THE DEMON will appeal to the darkest parts of who you are. Each time you turn a card, use the prompt to confess a sin, dark desire, or inner turmoil.

Once you have made your confession, roll a d10. If the number is EQUAL to or HIGHER than your active BASTION, reduce that BASTION by 1 or place a SCAR onto THE VESSEL.

	CLUBS	DIAMONDS	SPADES	HEARTS
A	The suffering you left in your wake	The failure that holds you back	The prayer that always goes unanswered	The misery you wish to inflict
2	The life you ruined with inaction	The lie you tell yourself to survive	The loss you can never overcome	The power you would take for yourself
3	The cruellest act from your youth	The memory that you cannot forget	The act of betrayal you witnessed	The lie you would have the world believe
4	The reason you never go home	The mistake you strive to correct	The first time you questioned your faith	The conceit you take in achievement
5	The life you let fall from grace	The strain that will eventually break you	The pardon you should not have given	The wisdom you imparted as your own
6	The cruellest act of your adulthood	The vice that you keep hidden	The emptiness you feel when you’re alone	The lie that you tell to claim glory
7	The secret you keep from everyone	The reason you despise yourself	The hymnal that dies on your lips	The vengeance you would take on another
8	The spirit you broke with your words	The fight you will always lose	The faith you placed in vain	The promise you never intend to keep
9	The life you left to the cruelty of others	The truth you have always hidden from	The doubt that sits in your mind	The daily bread you denied to the starving
10	The life you ruined with your actions	The struggle you bring upon yourself	The desires that tug at your conscience	The lust that you keep in your heart
J	The glory you stole for your benefit	The voice that keeps you up at night	The words you question every night	The desire you indulge in secret
Q	The blood that stains your hands	The burden you choose to carry alone	The passages you wish you had not read	The riches you kept for yourself
K	The words you can never unhear	The lie you buried to save yourself	The prayer that catches in your throat	The sin you are glad you committed