|
|
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | <b>Name:</b> Undire-Oh-Nagi, Prince of Nine Pains<br>
| |
| − | <b>Heritage:</b> Demon-Blood<br>
| |
| − | <b>Demeanor:</b> Defender<br>
| |
| − | <b>Nature:</b> Martyr<br>
| |
| − | <b>Concept:</b> Infernal Hero<br>
| |
| − | <b>Merits:</b> Call of the Blood, True Love, Ordination of Pain, Mutation (multiple)<br>
| |
| − | <b>Flaws:</b> Disturbing, Secrets, Nightmares, Amnesia, Affected by Wards, Unholy, Sires Enmity, Diminished Attribute
| |
| | | | |
| − | <b>Attributes:</b><tt><br>
| |
| − | Strength 9, Dexterity 5, Stamina 8<br>
| |
| − | Charisma 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 1<br>
| |
| − | Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 2</tt>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Abilities:</b><tt><br>
| |
| − | <b>Athletics</b> 5 (Climbing + 2, Jumping + 1), Awareness 3, <b>Brawl</b> 4 (While Enraged +3), Dodge 3, Endurance 2, Lore 2, <b>Medicine</b> 3 (Diagnosis +3), <b>Occult</b> 3 (Demons + 3), <b>Resistance</b> 5 (Resisting Tourture + 2), Survival 1</tt>
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Backgrounds:</b> Inheritance 3, Patron 3, Artifact 5, Manse 4, Whispers 1, Thaumaturgy 3, Resources 3, Allies 4
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Virtues:</b><tt><br>
| |
| − | Compassion 5, Conviction 4, Temperance 1, Valor 3</tt><br>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Willpower:</b> 9<br>
| |
| − | <b>Health:</b> -0,-0,-1,-1,-1,-2,-2,-2,-2,-2,-2,-2,-2,-2,-2,-2,-2,-4,Incap<br>
| |
| − | <b>Essence:</b> 2<br>
| |
| − | <b>Essence pool:</b> 41
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Charms:</b>
| |
| − | *<b>Compassion</b><br>
| |
| − | Touch of Grace<br>
| |
| − | Messure the Wind
| |
| − | *<b>Valor</b><br>
| |
| − | Principle of Motion<br>
| |
| − | *<b>Agony in Existence Path</b><br>
| |
| − | Infernal Sufferance Technique x 3<br>
| |
| − | Ecstasy in Agony<br>
| |
| − | Lacerated Torturers Touch<br>
| |
| − | Sympathetic Anguish Enforcement<br>
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Thaumaturgy:</b><br>
| |
| − | *<b>Art of Exorcism</b> - Trained<br>
| |
| − | <b>Aspects:</b> Demons
| |
| − | *<b>Science of Alchemy </b>
| |
| − | <b>Skill Level:</b> 5<br>
| |
| − | <b>Formulas:</b> Blood-Staunching Compress, Venom-Allaying Draught, Wound-Cleansing Unguent, Hero’s Recovery, Draught of Blessed Respite, Munificent Antivenin, Seven Bounties Paste, Maiden Tea
| |
| − | *<b>Science of Geomancy</b><br>
| |
| − | <b>Skill Level:</b> 2
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Equipment:</b> Medical bag, Obfuscated Courtier’s Mantle, the black dagger
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Combat:</b><br>
| |
| − | <b>Base initiative</b>: 6<br>
| |
| − | <b>Soak</b>: 12B/8L/0A (unarmored)<br>
| |
| − | <b>Dodge</b>: 8<br>
| |
| − | <b>Attacks</b>:<br>
| |
| − | Claws: Spd 8, Acc 10, Dmg 9L, Def 10<br>
| |
| − | Kick: Spd 4, Acc 10, Dmg 12L, Def 6<br>
| |
| − | Bite: Spd 7, Acc 10, Dmg 11L, Def 6<br>
| |
| − | Black Dagger: Spd 8, Acc 6, Dmg 11L, Def 2
| |
| − | ----
| |
| − | === Character Description ===
| |
| − | <b>Appearance:</b> A blasphemy stands before you, in defiance of all that is holy and right. Even before you see his face, even before you know his name, a hot wind from Malfaens itself blasts through your soul as the stooping figure straightens slowly to tower above you. The Prince of Nine Pains stands cloaked in shadow and obscurity, something gray and impossible to define, blurred around the edges even as you look straight at him. Engulfed by a great hood, the face of this monstrosity is masked in absolute darkness but for his eyes, a burning pair of pain-pink orbs glowing out of the darkness. Then, the moment you dread comes, and Undire-Oh-Nagi throws back his hood and revels his dreadfulness in it’s full infernal glory.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | He bares the shape of a man, but could never be called one. The face that greets you is too smooth, the chin too sharp and pointed. It bares no nose, only a slight ridge crested scales with where one should be and fangs of polished ebony gleam from his mouth. His hide-like skin is black beyond any natural pigment, as deep and absolute as the rotting hearts of the Yozi themselves. Only two other shades grace the whole of his body; the pale gray at the edges of the heavy crests which ripple seamlessly into a mane around his inhuman face and at the joints of his body and the burning hot pain-pink of his eyes, shared by every wound upon his skin and the ritual scaring across his face. With scars that swerve like flame from between each finger, his broad hands curve naturally into wicked claws that he clicks together impatiently at your silence. Upon the ground behind him, you notice a stirring and the hiss of something sliding across the ground and only catch a glimpse of the tail swishing through the air behind him.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | There is a scent around him, something cloying and sweet wafting from under his heavy cloak, like sugar plumbs or sweet peach juice. You know from this moment onward, you could never bare the taste of either again. From his long throat a rumble emerges, a soft predators purr that belongs to no feline you could name and certainly none that come from this world.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | “<b>What do you seek, friend?</b>” he asks you in a voice far too soft not to be threatening and far too kind not to be a deception. To flee or to lie, you know, are the only two options, for there is no force in Creation which will make you answer that question truthfully and sell your soul to this denizen of hell.
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | === Expanded Backgrounds ===
| |
| − | <b>Inheritance 3</b> – Demon of Unknown, Terrible Power<br>
| |
| − | Undire-Oh-Nagi knows nothing of his infernal sire; who it is or towards what purpose it created him. He does not know if he was born as he is or was remade in this fashion to befit some dark necessity. Whatever the circumstances of his birth, the Prince of the Nine Pains was born of a demon of earth-shaking power. There are a handful of beings which may know the truth of who his sire is. The Skylord may be one of them, as could be the demon-blooded lover of his son. Yet the one who is certain to know, Undire’s sire itself, is the last one the half-damned wishes to meet to ask. Undoubtedly, the demon has been hunting for it’s wayward child and will see little reason to allow the Prince of Nine Pains freedom to continue his life as he has come to know it.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Patron 3</b> – Giddeon Everclear<br>
| |
| − | How two beings could despise one another so completely, yet rely upon one another so absolutely is something Undire-Oh-Nagi wonders about constantly. His debt to the Skylord is deep and unending. His hated of the manipulative weather god is just as vast. The little god makes open his contempt and dislike of the Prince of Nine Pains, how much he would enjoy to crush the little half-breed if he did not have use of him. Giddeon Everclear keeps and protects the one thing Undire cares about most, while at the same time employing it to extort favor after favor from the Hellborn. Undire labors and engages in tasks Giddeon himself cannot risk being associated with openly. The Skylord treats the half-damned as his knight and supports him with all the same strength as he does his own son, but both know that one day their mutual need for one another will come to an end and it then it will only be a contest of wills to see who survives to see the next day.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Artifact 5</b> – Obfuscated Courtier’s Mantle, the black dagger<br>
| |
| − | Nearly all of the tools Undine-Oh-Nagi employs were provided to him by Giddeon Everclear. The sole exception is the black dagger, which the Hellborn carried with him on the night he stumbled bleeding and half-dead into Four-Roads.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Manse 5</b> – House of Thorns<br>
| |
| − | Reveled and gifted to him by the Skylord, Undire-Oh-Nagi’s personal manse is known as the House of Thorns. A terrestrial manse aligned to the element of wood, it sits at the center of a large swath of dangerous, spirit-infested thorn-brush known as the Sea of Brier. Just as it’s name implies, the manse is a twisted and barbed thing. It seems more grown than built. Rising out of the Sea of Brier, it’s monolithic walls crafted in frightful detail to resemble gigantic thorn-branches. Gnarled together into an almost seamless mound, it bristles on all sides with razor-edges throws, a giant fortress of nature defying the heavens to touch it. A single path which revels itself only to those who the master of the House of Thorns makes welcome leads through the Sea of Brier to the doorstep of the manse. The clean white-bones of a hundred would-be intruders lay twisted through the gray-green vines of the thorn brush as a warning to any who would trespass.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Yet ugly and foreboding outside, within the House of Thorns revels a face far different. It’s floors as polished oak and warm, still-living carpets of red-grass tickle underfoot. Roses bloom freely from the walls and they are not merely the red or white flowers of the East, but a magnificent array of colors and textures. Roses of glass and ivory or ones with petals of solid gold grow freely beside vivid green and deep crimson blossoms. During the day, all of the lighting with the House of Thorns comes from great stain-glass windows, invisible from outside, which serve as murals depicting the majesty of the first age. When night falls, the entire manse glows as glittering moon-roses, closed into tiny buds during the day, blossom and spread their silvery luminescence through-out the manse.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The House of Thorns is capable of producing the following Hearthstones:
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Blood Reservoir Jewel</b>
| |
| − | <pre>Manse **
| |
| − | Trigger: Varies.</pre>
| |
| − | This lenticular gem is a deep carmine color, like arterial blood. In fact, it -is- full of blood, which is magically transferred to the bearer when he needs it. The volume of blood inside the stone is approximately the same as what is in its owner's body; as a result, he can bleed twice as much without dying. Mechanically, the gem holds as many health levels of blood as the character has normal health levels. For example, a character who has seven health levels would find that he can lose seven health levels' worth of blood without experiencing any ill effects.
| |
| − | In addition, the stone can inject all of its blood into the bearer at once, completely replacing his. This requires intense concentration, and is extremely painful; the character will be completely incapacitated for three turns as blood spews from his nose, mouth, and even the pores of his skin, forced out to make room for the new blood. Besides creating an enormous mess, this immediately halts the effects of any nonmagical poison or infection. Use of this power completely drains the gem, which must be full to capacity in order for it to function.
| |
| − | As the gem is used, it becomes paler and paler, eventually fading to a pale transparent yellow when it has run completely dry. The blood replenishes itself at a rate of one health level per day.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Gem of One Thousand Heavenly Perfumes</b>
| |
| − | <pre>Manse *
| |
| − | Trigger: None.</pre>
| |
| − | This oblong stone is colored a translucent lavender, and exudes a mild perfume. When attuned, it causes the bearer's sweat to take on a delightful herbal scent, ensuring that he always smells pleasant. Mechanically, this adds one die to any social roll having to do with first impressions or friendly interaction. It also confounds any powers which rely on scent to determine the character's mood or emotions unless the observer makes an Intelligence + Awareness roll at difficulty 3.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Whispers 1</b> – Dream Voices<br>
| |
| − | They come only in the night, only in the fevered terror-dreams which plague him when he achieves dream slumber. Then alone, can he hear them. They call to him, demanding service and loyalty, promising him nothing but pain. Their voices are absolute fire and unbearable agony, they are hatred and anger. At once, he feels himself sympathize and reject them. Something within him always stirs in longing for their familiar brand of torture, yet the being he has become screams in defiance to drown out their deceitful words.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Thaumaturgy 3</b> - Pupil of the Elder Joachim<br>
| |
| − | The people of Four-Roads always liked and respect Elder Joachim, yet none knew the old alchemists true power or experience. Undire-Oh-Nagi and Medow alone would ever come to know or understand the length of Joachim’s experience or how much strength his spindly frame held. Elder Joachim had traveled with Dragon-Blooded and survived encounters with Raksha nobility. He once wore the war-caprice of a gunzosha and stood as the squire to a powerful Prince of the Earth. Trading his days away for glory and excitement, Joachim was a powerful mystic, not merely the bookwormish old doctor many took him to be, and the Prince of Nine Pains could have asked for no better tutor.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Resources 2</b> – Medical Practice and Retainer<br>
| |
| − | There are two paths to which the Prince of Nine Pains looks to achieve wealth to support himself. The first, and that which he most greatly prefers, is the role of a doctor and a healer within Four-Roads or other communities close to the House of Thorns. While he must always disguise himself to interact with others, he has still managed to achieve a reputation as a skilled and able physician and can make a health profit selling herbal remedies crafted from the harvests of his gardens. The second is his rather despised retainer, or “allowance” as Giddeon is fond of calling it, provided to him by the Skylord in order to ensure that Undire-Oh-Nagi will not suffer in his service for want of simple things.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Allies 4</b> – The Brier Spiders<br>
| |
| − | There is not one, many Brier Spiders living within the vast endless thorn-bush which surrounds the House of Thorns. Lesser elemental spirits of wood, the Brier Spiders more closely resemble the harmless minor servant-spirits of Yu-Shan than the menacing Wood Spiders who dwell within Creation, yet if anything the Brier Spiders are even less threatening than their celestial cousins. Brier Spiders are energetic, some would even call them hyperactive, and easily excitable dog-sized beings beholden to serve anyone who claims mastery over the House of Thorns. Dutiful and able servants, they make poor guardians. Their ecstatic jumping up and down and proclamations of how “cute” any approaching creature is or dire warnings of their own ferocity given in chirpy voices while tiny mandibles are waved through the air threateningly may be more likely to cause invaders to break down in laughter than slow their advance. Never the less, they can serve well in the capacity of house-keepers and gardeners.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The Brier Spiders cannot leave the area of the Sea of Brier or the House of Thorns for longer than a hours before they begin to weaken. For every hour outside of the first three a Brier Spider remains away from it’s home, it looses 10 motes of Essence. Upon reaching zero motes of Essence, the Brier Spider will dissipate and vanish from Creation, so the Brier Spiders are very mindful of how long they travel beyond the boundaries of their world.
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | === Expanded Merits and Flaws ===
| |
| − | <b>Merits</b><br>
| |
| − | <b>Call of the Blood</b><br>
| |
| − | Their presence makes him itch. Every scar upon his wretched form comes to life, crawling and tingling with sympathetic memory. The faint sensation only grows worse as they come closer. The itch becomes a burning as his body remembers the punishment they once inflicted upon it, even though his mind does not. Undire-Oh-Nagi always knows when his infernal brethren draw close and part of him always fears when they do.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>True Love</b> - Meadow<br>
| |
| − | She is not the most beautiful woman in Creation. She is not cultured or refined. Her body is rather more waifish than full of curves and freckles show upon her checks when she blushes. There are a million women more attractive, more refined, more elegant, more sensual; yet there may be none more gentle and loving than Meadow. Every young boy and more than a few married men in Four-Roads was helplessly in love with the young apprentice. A line would form whenever she took Elder Joachim's place at the their little stall in the village, many a man developing a sudden stomach ache which needed her close inspection. She would always smile and greet each by name and playfully dodge their flirtation or pleasantly refuse proposals of marriage.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | It was Meadow who found Undire-Oh-Nagi upon the north-east road to Four-Roads. Without thought for his appearance or care beyond the sight of a creature in pain, she threw every inch of her lean frame into the Herculean task of dragging the half-damned being back to the home she shared with her master, the Elder Joachim. And so too was it Medow who cared for him on the long road to recovery, who soothed his pain and calmed his nightmares with her presence, who showed him compassion where others saw only his hateful heritage and taught him to accept and care for others in spite of how they regarded him. The demon-blooded man came to love her as strongly as any in Four-Roads and was perhaps the only creature in the village whom she returned the affection to.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | When Meadow was struck by a sudden fever nothing seemed able to pull her from and she seemed to stand on the brink of death, it was then that Undire-Oh-Nagi made his devils bargain with Giddeon Everclear. A life of service for the continuation of her own life.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Meadow lives now in the Glass Bastion, Giddeon's home upon Creation; immortal, healthy, and whole so long as she never steps foot outside of the manse. The Skylord has allowed the Prince of Nine Pains few chances to visit his beloved, but the bonds between them have never shaken and Undire-Oh-Nagi would challenge the Unconquered Sun himself if it meant she remained safe.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Ordination of Pain</b><br>
| |
| − | As with most his life, the Prince of Nine Pain's remembers the endless years of torture and agony he suffered through only by the scars upon his flesh and the fevered nightmares that haunt his sleeping hours. Doubtlessly the work of his demon-sire, through medium if not by his own hand, Undire-Oh-Nagi has known pain and known suffering and known anguish which would drive a normal mortal insane and could have well been what blasted the memory from his mind. The imaginations of mortals or Exalted alike could not match that of the Yozi's in the art of suffering and of all things Undire-Oh-Nagi fears, the threat of torture is something he would over.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Mutation</b> - Tough, Inexhaustible, Armored Hide, Sturdy, Tail, Large, Fangs, Claws<br>
| |
| − | No one would question Undire-Oh-Nagi's lack of humanity, at least in physical form. He does not so much resemble a mortal man as he does some bizarre mix between man, lizard, feline, mountain, and some nameless fear which lurks in the depths of every mortal's mind. Though he walks among them regardless and he seeks to aid them in the face of their prejudice, the Prince of Nine Pain's monstrous form will never find acceptance among mortal kind. But the very things which see him so far rejected are also a boon unto themselves and Undire-Oh-Nagi knows how to make the best of the dark-gifts given to him by his sire.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Flaws</b><br>
| |
| − | <b>Disturbing</b><br>
| |
| − | Even for his alien appearance, there is something unnerving about Undire-Oh-Nagi's presence to other creatures. He puts them on edge, sends them into nervous retreat or forces them to put on a mask of bravery just to meet his eye. Yet, almost willfully selective, there seem a handful of beings who take no notice. Meadow and Elder Joachim both seemed unphased and undaunted by his alien-aura. Though he despises him, Giddeon Everclear is never daunted or hesitant when facing the Prince of Nine Pains. And of course the Briar Spiders are cheerfully indifferent to his looks or the air around him, happily proclaiming him cute as they do every other thing in Creation.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Secrets</b><br>
| |
| − | Something lurks in his past, though he knows not what. It is terrible and dark. So overwhelming was his crime and his punishment for it that his mind locked it and all before beyond the reaches of his waking moments. There are some who know what he has done. Giddeon Everclear has hinted at this knowledge and may one day seek to hold it over the half-damned as blackmail. The lesser demon-blooded lover of the Skylords son, too, has passed clues to some knowledge of what sin Undire-Oh-Nagi committed that blasted his very memory into darkness.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | And still others know whom the Prince of Nine Pains has never met. Men seek him out even now. Powerful men with powerful allies who have sniffed out his trail for years and will stop at nothing to bring him to justice for a crime that he does not remember committing and would not, as the man he is now, have the will to commit.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Nightmares</b><br>
| |
| − | Restful slumber is not something Undire-Oh-Nagi has known since Meadow was taken from him. As if she had been a dam holding back treacherous memory and insidious thought, since the night Meadow kissed him good-bye and stepped into the Glass Bastion, Undire-Oh-Nagi has been hunted in his sleep by visions of a life that might have once been his own and the voices of things too terrible and vast to comprehend. His dreams are all red and pain, visions of burning endless tunnels which stretch forth sickeningly far, dims of hideous laughter and clashing bells and howls of pain. These are never so bad as the voices, however. Whispers that seek to fill his mind with words that are not words, who try to ride him upon emotions not his own and urge him to give himself over to their needs. Nearly every night he awakens with a howl of defiance against them, even on the nights he can force his mind to be calm and shut the voices out, but he longs for his lovers gentle arms again and for the presence of the woman who seemed forever able to hold back this bloody tide within him.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Amnesia</b><br>
| |
| − | Before the night of pain on the rain-slicked road to Four-Roads, there was nothing but darkness. As if just born into the world at that very moment, a wall stands rigid in his mind between one step and the next. Who he was, where he was going, how he came to be stumbling and bloody on that road on that night lay blanked by a heavy fog no soul-searching can ever penetrate. What few clues he has uncovered about his past have left Undire-Oh-Nagi no long certain he even wishes. Before Meadow came and took him to safety and gave him a new life, he has strong reason to suspect the creature he was had been nothing in resemblance of what he has become. So while others in his condition might quest for their lost selves and stop at no length to remember who they were, the Prince of Nine Pains is happy to let it lay untouched in the darkened corners of his mind and haunt him only in slumber.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Affected by Wards, Unholy</b><br>
| |
| − | Power comes at a cost, even when one doesn't ask for it. For the Prince of Nine Pains, this cost can be great and dangerous. So closely aligned with his infernal blood, nearly all things in Creation designed to turn them away or bring them harm will seek him out as well and his mere existence is a walking blasphemy against Creation which it can actively strive to bring down.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Sires Enmity</b><br>
| |
| − | Not his sire proper, but at least his patron, there is no loss of love between Giddeon Everclear and Undire-Oh-Nagi. Their relationship is one of necessity and mutual need. They use each other towards their own goals and both know once those goals have been achieved, there will be nothing to stand between them from tearing each other appart. For the moment, however, Giddeon holds the upper hand and it is Undire-Oh-Nagi who serves and thus suffers for this animosity.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | More recently, something has changed only for the worse between the Skylord and the Hellborn. Giddeon has been more insistent upon using Undire-Oh-Nagi and less inclined to allow him right to visit his beloved Meadow. The half-damned man fears that Giddeon has been using Meadow in some way, but the truth of it may be far worse than he imagines. Like every man she has ever met, Meadow has unwittingly ensnared the heart of the weather god and awakened in him unwanted feelings of compassion. That she has politely rejected his attentions and his generous offers of god-hood by his side in favor of a half-breed whelp only burns the Skylord deeper. Yet, he cannot bring himself to rage against her, so his ire and loneliness instead is taken out upon Undire-Oh-Nagi.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <b>Diminished Attribute</b><br>
| |
| − | Undire-Oh-Nagi is too alien to be beautiful. He is too strange in nature to inspire faith. He is too untrustworthy by his mere heritage to ever learn the art of swaying others. Some demons are attractive, are persuasive, and are masters of lies - none of these leant their prowess to the Prince of Nine Pains.
| |
