Christopher Howard
May 1, 2000 (08:34)
As promised, I am posting some of the information cut from Denizens of the Dreaming. I will be eking it out in a piece meal fashion over the next week (in a pathetic attempt to prolong my meager 15 minutes of fame), starting with the character templates and then moving onto the short fiction, excised movers and shakers, and other information. Please keep in mind that these templates never made it past the first draft and, thus, never enjoyed the development magic of Jackie and Nicky. The second template posted here is by Tadd McDivvit.
<1>Appendix I: Oh Brave New World
<3>(Character Templates)
O brave new world, That has such people in't! — William Shakespeare, "The Tempest"
<1>Acheri Renegade Healer
Quote: “The fever’s down; she should be all right. I’m happy to help, just don’t tell anyone you saw me here.”
Background: You wandered away from the village. Well, not wandered so much as ran. The cruelties of an acheri village are sometimes too much even for the acheri, and you were a child to boot. The older village boys showed you how to bring illness and corruption to the weak, though before you were permitted to try your skills on outsiders they gave you a very thorough initiation to your Birthrights. It was too much to stand. Even after they permitted you to follow the rest of the tribe and spread sickness in the valley (the valley was inhabited by the Vul, a slow witted chimerical race), you yearned to leave. Then one night, as you wandered the Vul village looking for someone to sicken, a great white cloud arose around you. Sirens wailed and strange beings ran blindly past you in the stinging mist — coughing, vomiting, dying.
The creatures fell in the muddy streets. They called themselves "humans," but you didn’t know that then. It was the morning of December 3, 1984, but human dates meant nothing to you. The town’s name was Bhopal, but you didn’t know that either. All you knew was that you were surrounded by death on a scale unheard of in decades. Any other self respecting acheri would have settled in for the feast, but it repulsed you. A child, no older than you really, ran by you. He was bare-footed and his eyes streamed with blood. You gave chase, but phantom hands could not stop him and he could not hear your warning before he pitched blindly down the hill into muddy brook. His face was half in and half out of the water. You cried helplessly as he gurgled his last few breaths and then watched as his body slowly floated away.
Roleplaying Hints: It’s a living and a good one too. India, Bangladesh, even the rural poverty of the Appalachians in America, you are a young and impassioned healer. Sometimes you wonder why you bother though. No matter how hard you try, things just seem to be getting worse and worse in the world. Your fellow acheri don’t help much in that regard. At best, they view you as going through a juvenile phase before you grow up and face your "real responsibilities." To others, however, you are a traitor — a weakling who betrays your Adhene’s holy cause. But you are not weak. Compassion is not easy to maintain in this world, where the easiest course is always to do nothing or join in the brutality. That urge is buried within you, but you resist it with all your might. An idealist and a fatalist at the same time, you do what your conscience dictates even in the face of a world in flames.
Equipment: Modern doctor’s bag, healing herbs, light pistol (for defense only).
Adhene: Acheri
Concept: Renegade Healer
Primary Ariá: Apolliae (Squire)
Secondary Ariá: Dioniae (Saint)
Tertiary Ariá: Araminae (Outlaw)
Attributes
Physical: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2 Social: Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2 Mental: Perception 3, Intelligence 4, Wits 3
Abilities
Talents: Alertness 1, Dodge 1, Empathy 1, Intimidation 1, Kenning 2, Subterfuge 3
Skills: Drive 1, Stealth 2, Survival 2
Knowledges: Computer 1, Enigmas 1, Gremayre 1, Law 1, Linguistics 1, Lore (Autumn) 2, Lore (Changeling) 1, Lore (Denizen) 1, Medicine 3, Science 3
Backgrounds: Dreamers 2, Remembrance 2, Resources 1
Arts: Autumn Way 1, Primal 4
Realms: Actor 3, Fae 2
Glamour: 4
Willpower: 4
Banality: 2
Other Traits: Evanescent (2 point Merit)/Banished (4 point Flaw)
Birthrights/Frailty: Plague Nervosa (can cause chimerical disease), Enticement (+1 to Charisma and Manipulation when corrupting), Rebound (must cultivate a vice), Scarlet Ban (may not use Birthrights against those wearing red)
<1>Aonide Music Groupie
Quote: “Oh I get backstage at every show. Usually a stage hand just points me out to the band and I’m in; what happens next is a trade secret.”
Background: You have always been a muse of music. You live to listen to new songs and to be near talented musicians. Since returning to the Autumn World, you have found that music has changed much. The world of electronic music is new and fresh to you. Granted, some of the new technologies make it a bit too easy. Some of the musicians do not really have much talent atall; they just hit buttons on computers and drum machines. Others, however, have managed to take these new instruments and make wondrous new sounds. You have noticed that the music of today has more anger and sadness to it. These powerful emotions intoxicate you, as do the reverberations, distortions and echoes that were impossible in the days of old. Music today is the art form of rebels and revolutionaries (or at least so you see it). It seems as if the essence of "Rock and Roll" is an expression of the Dreaming’s outrage over the rise of Banality. You spend much of your time catching up on the arts of sound and how it has evolved during your absence. Today’s dark and macabre music fits the world as it has become. Learning the evolution of modern music has taught you more about what has happened to the spirit of the Autumn World than any history book ever could.
Concept: You go to all of the concerts you can and use your charms to worm your way close to the artists themselves. From there you listen and inspire as any true muse would. It could be said that musicians use the groupies that they escort back stage, but you use them as well, for Glamour and affection. You immerse yourself in the "on the road" lifestyle, and know that a musician’s ego can easily be flattered. One of your goals is to hear songs that you know were written about you and to get them out over the radio waves. You have no need for a job; successful musicians usually have money in abundance. You have found that all it takes is a bit of sweet talk and seduction to get your Dreamer musicians to spring for the food and shelter you need. You have no permanent home because you are always on the road or in hotel rooms with whatever band catches your fancy.
Roleplaying Hints: You are smooth and seductive. You have a way of charming any good musician that you encounter. Be aggressive when it comes to other groupies and bump them out of the picture by monopolizing the attention of whatever band member you are musing. You like to make suggestions and critiques to the Dreamer whose company you currently share.
Equipment: CD collection, ticket stubs from many concerts and a makeup kit.
Adhene: Aonide
Concept: Music Groupie
Primary Ariá: Dioniae (Troubadour)
Secondary Ariá: Apolliae (Peacock)
Tertiary Ariá: Araminae (Troubadour)
Attributes
Physical: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2 Social: Charisma 3, Manipulation 6, Appearance 3 Mental: Perception 3, Intelligence 2, Wits 4
Abilities
Talents: Alertness 1, Athletics 1, Dodge 1, Empathy 2, Intimidation 1, Kenning 1, Persuasion 2, Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 1
Skills: Drive 2, Etiquette 2, Firearms 1, Performance 3, Stealth 1
Knowledges: Lore (Autumn) , Lore (Changeling) , Lore (Denizen)
Backgrounds: Contacts 1, Dreamers 3, Holdings 1, Resources 4
Arts: Autumn Way 2, Chicanery 1, Oneiromancy 1
Realms: Actor 3, Fae 2, Scene 1
Glamour: 4
Willpower: 2
Banality: 2
Other Traits: Evanescent (2 point Merit)/Blackmailed (2 point Flaw)
Birthrights/Frailty: Grace of Calliope (add +2 to Manipulation), Adonis’s Ravaging (may use seduction to steal Glamour), Arachne’s Folly (overly competitive)
Next: The Fir-Bholg Corporate Meteorologist [?!!] and the Fuath Avenger.
-- Christopher Howard
