Revision as of 00:35, 6 April 2010

NPCs for the Southern Abyssals game

These are the NPCs that have shown up so far in my Southern Abyssal games, a tiny bit of information about each of them, and other things that come up that I think might be important. It's mostly a memory aid for me, so that I keep track of stuff that's happened in games and have the names of all the important and even minor NPCs recorded. Important stuff, in general.

the Major Recurring Cast

Those In the Service of the Deathlord:

• Star of Dirt and Doubt is a young-seeming spirit, that has been in the service of the Eye and Seven Despairs for longer than any of his Abyssal servitors, and still serves him totally and loyally. Quite well-beloved of the Deathlord, she oversees a lot of the mundane duties of the Cold House and is sometimes referred to as 'the lady of the house'. A spirit of impeccable beauty, she belongs to only one: the Deathlord. She is, however, quite active in the assistance of his Abyssal servants -- especially in seeing them back to health, if they should be wounded.
• The White Haired Woman is a tall thin woman with long white hair, commonly found in the Great Hall of Cold House or in one of the myriad subrooms that wander about the House. She demands respect from those who address her, and has the power to back that up. The exact nature of this woman is somewhat unclear, except that she doesn't seem to be an Abyssal. She's been noted to leap extreme distances, kill mortals with a glance, and display prodigious strength. She usually knows where the Eye and Seven Despairs can be found, and is good at providing directions around Cold House. The other servants answer to her (and defer to her, except for the Butler).
• The Butler is another ancient inhabitant of Cold House, some whisper he's been there even longer than the Deathlord himself. If this is so however, he shows little care for the powerful spirits usurpation and serves loyally as the 'master of the house' when the Deathlord is otherwise occupied (which is quite often). Unlike the Star of Dirt and Doubt, The Butler's eyes have long since gone the dull glossy black of the Nephwrack.
  • He is currently looking after the Abyssals while the Deathlord is 'busy with other matters'.
  • Mouse and Salia both have trouble with the Butler, though Mouse has gotten used to dealing with him superficially, and find his demeanor troubling. The Princess is more intrigued by him, as 'his gaze promises death'.
• the Maid is commonly found soon after someone dies in the House, but demands total solitude before she sets about whatever tasks she undertakes in the service to the Void. She also cleans up the Manse quite often, though only rarely is seen in such a capacity. Usually, if someone returns to 'their room', they simply find it the way it was when they first arrived. She instructed the character's to locate Salia.
• the Steward is another important servitor of the House, and the one most often seen by those inhabitants still living. He leaves meals and occasional changes of clothes for those guests who are especially blessed by the house, though he's also been known to abandon those guests just as quickly, thereby leaving them to starve to death abandoned in the house. He seems to be a corrupted spirit of some kind, but his exact nature is unknown and at the very least he's part-Ghost by now.
• the Groundskeeper is a mortal man, who has sold his name to the Deathlord but is not an Abyssal Exalted. He cares for the estate and is responcible for minor repairs about the house. He was digging a hole last time the player's saw him.
• Dhara Daen the former mortal head of Monument's Cult of the Dead Gods, his second hand woman and the leader of the Inner Circle. While some other members of the Inner Circle were sent into hiding here and there, Dhara Daen was ritually sacrificed with the aid of necromancy and now survives in the employ of the Eye and Seven Despairs as a free ghost.

the Guests of Cold House are always searching for something; they don't realize that thing they search for is their own fall to oblivion.

• The Restless Wanderer has been in Cold House for over two years, having previously been a Scavenger Lord from Nexus -- exact name unknown to the player characters -- who came to Cold House and was trapped within it. He searched relentlessly for "the Jewel of the Sister", some mythical amulet that he was convinced was somewhere within the house.
  • Recently interacted with the Circle; he was starving to death, and couldn't even stomach food. Wasted Rook ended his suffering, sending him onto Death and into the care of the Maid.
• The Little Girl is a ghost, unable to see or interact with the living (including Abyssals). She is searching for her mother, moving unceasingly through the maze-like hallways and rooms of Cold House. She leaves spectral roses behind her as she travels.

the Kiri Circle is a large group of Solars that was gathered together under circumstances the Abyssals do not yet understand, and spent about three weeks in fierce opposition. Infighting then died down, for a while, but the Solars are still out there -- apparently in, or at least operating within, the town of False Pearl. They've been damaging the Deathlord's guild ties in subtle ways, avoiding the notice of the Wyld Hunt so far.

• Salashi is the warrior of the Group, whose accent places him from the Lap. Very little is known of him, in general, as he's kept a low profile and done little that was visible against the Abyssals. He is a surpassing Martial Artist, however, and perhaps the most lethal and dangerous member of the Kiri Circle.
  • The main way that the Abyssals know Salashi is through an attack the Kiri Circle made on a guild-shipment of Drugs back to the cult, which the Solars attacked as the drugs were on their way back to the Cults holdings. The ambush only lasted a minute or so, and was deemed a failure as the shipment only lost one packet of drugs, but none the less established the Solars as a dangerous threat.
  • Shortly after the above encounter, Salashi and the Princess met on a shadowed road outside of Kirighast. After a bit of friendly banter, the two got involved in a 'friendly duel', each intending to take down the other. Yet, try as they did, neither could gain an advantage over the other and after a period of time the two went their separate ways with a newfound respect for each other.
• Falcon is the groups Zenith caste, and is a close-in hand to hand fighter. He's also been one of the easiest of the Circle to track down information on, and is apparently a minstrel and performer. Much of his efforts against the Abyssals (aside from a single attack on a drug-shipment to the Cult, where he wounded Mouse) took the form of various performances which turned segments of the population against the Deathknights. This Zenith's subtle sway over the population is probably partially responcible for the arrival of the Wyld Hunt.
• Dewdrop is the least visible of the Circle, but one of the most sought after. A Master thief and a member of the Night Caste, she is a member of a shadowy organization called the Five Sided Star as well as a thief of legendary reputation -- but little real fact -- throughout the South for having commited a number of crimes.
  • A little known crime, but one of important to the players, was the theft of the main 'prayer book' of Monument's cult -- from right under the nose of the Abyssals, as they were engaged in a secretive meeting of the Inner Circle! This crime especially embarassed Mouse, who holds a grudge and is quite anxious to bring the 'spunky blonde' down.
  • Last spotted in False Pearl, where she apparently stole something of great value that was to be a gift from the Eye and Seven Despairs to the Guild Factor that dwells there. The recovery of this object is of vast importance.

Other Important Characters

• the Butcher Exaultant in Cold Steel who trailed the characters almost all the way back to Cold House after they 'stole' the Witch in White away from his Deathlord, the Father in Darkness.
  • He set up an ambush, with the full intent of destroying the circle. While his plan seemed solid, within moments of entering battle with the Circle, the Princess had disarmed him (both in blade and actual arm) and done grevious bloody harm. Within another two heartbeats, he was dead from the scream of the Mouse and an arrow of the Rook's burrowing into his skull. He was beheaded and the skull given as another gift to the Eye.

the Gold Faction in Kirighast

• An Ending to Sorrow is a long time adversary of the Deathlord, and much like one would expect, she has accomplished such longevity by being a damned hard woman to pin down. Slipping away from any trap, she's been a thorn in the side of the Eye and Seven Despairs for years.
  • Prior to the beginning of the game, the Circle (Broken Blade, the Princess Who Did Not Die, and Hidden Mouse Moon) had a short confrontation with this Sidereal. This confrontation was cut short with Avoidance Kata, resulting in the memories of that encounter being...strange, to say the very least. The Abyssals in question remember the short encounter, but are also quite sure that it never occured.
  • A long-held suspicion of the Eye, since he learned of their presence, is the fact that the Solar Circle operating out of Kirighast are the servants and followers of his long-term nemesis. So far, he's only shared this suspicion with the Hidden Mouse Moon.
• The Sidereal known as Twelve Virtues was almost certainly a servitor or companion of an Ending to Sorrow, but one that the Abyssals had not heard of prior to their meeting. Said meeting went poorly, and now Twelve Virtues' skull lay in the posession of the Hidden Mouse Moon.
  • The skull of Twelve Virtues, once it was properly polished and decorated, was given to the Eye and Seven Despairs by Moon, who felt his master might have "entertaining" uses for it.

Important Folk of Kirighast

• Kidgi Delasanti, the Warden of the Palace Gardens, is a weak God-Blood who tends after and is 'in charge' of the Grounds of the Palace and especially the extensive Gardens. Of uncertain parentage, she is not well-known to most of Kirighast, as she seldom deals with anyone except those that invade her territory. She's known to have some amount of control over the Grounds, and perhaps other powers as well.
• Balan Dial is the High Priest of Ahlat, the God of Cattle and War, beloved of the People of Kirighast. A skilled magician and priest, Balan is renowned for his mastery of geomancy and his control over the weather. The palace is very geologically auspicious, as are many of the fortifications and churches of the nation, while the skies over Kirighast are often clear and the worst storms loose their fire. Beloved by the people, the High Priest is nearly as important in many people's eyes as the king.
• Cheryn Delaryn is a well-respected and wealthy glass merchant who came to Kirighast from her previous home in Chiaroscuro. She is well knwon throughout the city for her charitious ways, and the fine goods she produces, which include some of the finest glassware produced outside of Chiaroscuro itself. Quite well liked locally; many nobles own some glassware done by her, and glass windows are coming into fashion somewhat due to her influence.
• Seria Ox-Blood is the oldest and most powerful of the currently living Children of Ahlat, an honorary member of the Harbourhead Royal Guard, and a ward of the Royal Family. Renowned as a warrior, she is one of the largest heroes of Kirighast, celebrated by it's people and regarded as god-touched and vital. She's still unmarried, but unlike most of the Royal Guard (of which she is only an /honorary/ member) she is not a virgin. This causes her a bit of distance/difficulty with her fellow Guardswomen.
  • "Killed" the Princess Who Did Not Die By Another's Hand, but in the Abyssals final moments was killed herself.

the Royal Family

• Faros Muan Intheros is the rightful King of Kirighast. A fairly old fellow, but still very much alive. Not the most beloved leader of the people, he none the less has the support and approval of the Nobility, which is important thing. He does what the King of Kirighast must do; start a great number of wars with their weaker neighbors, for the purposes of acquiring slave labor. He also initiates a number of grand public works with which to use that slave labor, a fact he makes up for by starting yet more wars.
• Nalan Muan Intheros is the oldest surviving son of the King, his father Faros, and the rightful Prince of the nation. An accomplished warrior and leader of men, Nalan is largely accepted by the populace, and with the death of his father the transfer of power should go easily. He gets along quite well with many of his siblings, and is extremely protective of them.

Minor Characters

• Old Netty was a minor contact who gave Mouse a little information about Dewdrop, and introduced him to the concept of the All Seeing Eyes. He was killed in the preparation for the arrival of the Wyld Hunt, to tie up loose ends, but might come back as a Ghost possibly with a grudge or other problems with the PCs.
• Olite is the leader of the small town of Kant, located in the mountains just a ways away from the Cold House. He fears and hates the Abyssals and is constantly enacting various plans to keep them out of his town. These plans never work, but the Abyssals find him amusing and allow him to remain none the less.
  • Previous methods have involved champions, attempts at blocking the road out of Cold House, and blanket appeasement.
  • The last such attempt was a Ward against Abyssals, which the Mayor made /much/ too weak, so the Abyssals effectively ignored it. Exactly how he figured out how to make such a Ward was never decided, and the Abyssals didn't consider it important.

Sideplot NPCs

• Cerene Intheros is a young, mostly forgotten child of Royal Blood. Born to a less favored wife, Cerene is housed in the Palace more or less by default and spends most of her time reading books and talking with the aids and seconds of diplomats and messengers that come to see. Despite her great facility for languages and calm personable demeanor, Cerene is more or less ignored by her line in favor of her more important siblings and thus is destined to be little more than a overlooked noble girl...or is she?
  • The Abyssals have orders to kidnap this girl, and bring her to Rook's Shadowland, to await the opportunity where she can be secreted to Cold House and into the clutches of the Eyes. The reason for these orders are unknown, and would be baffling to anyone familiar with the girl (what is important aboutCrownedSun/AbyssNPCs/CERENE/ after all)...
  • Those orders were /fulfilled/, and Cerene Intheros is now in the gentle care of the Eye and Seven Despairs.
• Salia, also known as "Chorus at Midnight", is a young 16 year old girl. She was brought into Cold House by her parents, including her father Roderi who was 'seeking some treasure within'. They had been abandoned by the Steward, and were starving to death, and planned to begin eating their children starting with the youngest -- Salia. She was Exalted by the Eye and Seven Despairs, but tried to flee Cold House afterwards. The Abyssal's caught her before she could leave, won her trust, and led her to the Butler.
  • NOT yet sold her name, or been trained. Even so, a fairly powerful Deathknight none the less.
  • Extensive physical change; she's middling between "attractive" and "zombie-like" -- currently has long blood red hair, and pale sallow skin, similar to some of those hot goth chicks that paint themselves so they look dead.

Former PCs

Transcendent Monument of Bliss was the leader of a large death cult in Harbourhead, which was coming under attack by the Solars. He'd arranged several plans to liquidate the entire cult even before the Solars attacked, and when he discovered that Princess had managed to call down the Wyld Hunt on the circle after one exposure too many, he had most of the infrastructure gone in a matter of hours. He's currently in the Underworld, on the Eyes' orders, off-stage and out of camera.

The Broken Blade Reforged In Shadow is a tall man in his early twenties, possesed of the milk chocolate skin of the South East, his long tawny hair worn in a top knot or allowed to flow free over his shoulders as it takes his fancy. His face, as befits his good breeding is pleasing to look at, deep dark eyes, cheek bones suggesting command without overwhelming and full lips, often bearing a faintly pleased smile. He dresses, always, in fine silks, though the colour of them varies with his mood, though black and white comprise much of his wardrobe. Whatever he might wear undeath he is rarely without a long black cape to cover it, and the elegantly crafted Soulsteel Reaper Daiklaive at his side. Adorning his fingers there are usually several rings, though he is never without the signet ring of his house.