GMPCs

This is a place for write-ups of the PCs as the GM knows them. It includes facts not found on the regular PC page, including the Virtues and Flaws of the characters.

Akakios

Appearance Akakios is a slight boy with a morose expression. He wears his curly black hair in a shoulder length style. He dresses in finely made clothes, which look to be in need of some repair. A typical outfit would be a black tunic and dark grey hose.

Akakios is the son of Kallisto, a hedge witch from the Thebes Tribunal. She was slain by a member of House Flambeau. Hugh took Akakios as a spoil of war.

Akakios never knew his father, and he has dealt with his mother’s death well. Having her ghost with him has made things a little easier. His mother’s change has left him morose and withdrawn. He has always seen ghosts and knows that most are very unhappy or otherwise troubled. They often talk to him and haunt his dreams. He doesn’t want his mother to remain in this state and will do whatever it takes to prevent others from dying untimely deaths and becoming ghosts also.

Akakios doesn’t know much about his mother’s magic or her tradition, but he knows that she dealt with spirits. When Kallisto discovered that her son could see the dead, she taught him something regarding them. Akakios has gained additional knowledge over the months since his mother died. He knows that his mother left her coven shortly after he was born, and she told him it was for his own protection. Kallisto has told Akakios that the magi of the Order of Hermes are a mixed bag and some are good and others are bad. She hasn’t told, and refuses to tell, Akakios why Accitus killed her, merely stating that he’s too young to understand.

Hugh was in a hurry and handed Akakios off to Redcaps after writing a long letter describing everything he knew about you, putting the letter in a leather sleeve and sealing it with his Sigil. Rather than keeping you in Thebes, these Redcaps sent you west by ship, and you have been handed off to Master Arnulf, a middle-aged and loquacious Redcap from the Rhine. You don't understand a word he says. Arnulf has Hugh's letter now and keeps it very close, along with similar letters relating to other Gifted children whom he is temporarily in care of.

Ideas for Development of Akakios

All of Akakios’s Virtues and Flaws are subject to change over the course of his apprenticeship, depending on how his master trains him. Most likely, he will lose Student of Infernal/Magic, Inconspicuous, and Premonitions. He could gain Summoning, Great Characteristic (Intelligence), Improved Characteristics (+2 Pre), a Magic Focus on Spirits, Spell Binding, or Affinity with Rego/Vim. Given his focus on spirits, he should probably retain Second Sight. He has also has a spare Virtue to fill in any holes.

Akakios doesn’t know if his mother was a Witch of Thessaly or Daughter of Erictho, but he will eventually find out if he’s got Infernal or Magical Lore. His mother is only interested in protecting him. Eventually, she will pass on when she feels he is able to care for himself, presumably at Gauntlet or after she’s imparted her knowledge of Chthonic Magic or Hermetic Sorcery to him.

Secrets

Akakios does not know it, but Hugh is in fact his own father. Kallisto was the love of his life; he met her in 1195 when he was ordered to investigate her coven by the Order. He found them harmless, and fell in love with her. His longevity ritual prohibited them from having children, but when she learned that he was to be recalled she invoked dark powers of the underworld and conceived. The other witches learned what Kallisto had done and feared the child; she left the coven and sailed to a remote island, where she raised Akakios with no knowledge of his father.

A year ago, Hugh returned. He found the witches' coven, but Kallisto was not there and the witches tried to kill him. He defended himself, killing most but not all, and followed the trail to Kallisto's island. The pair were reunited, but Hugh learned the terrible truth about his son: in payment for Akakios being born, Kallisto's soul was forfeit after ten years. She sought his help and, to save her soul, he killed her and performed rites over the body which prevented her soul from being claimed.

Hugh has no idea Kallisto became a ghost; he could tell Akakios had the Gift and wanted him close by, but he could not reveal to the Order his own connection to Kallisto and Akakios. So he wrote a letter explaining he had found Akakios for the first time, and arranged for him to be sent to the Alps. He tried to adopt Akakios as his apprentice, but Sabastian had superior influence and claimed the boy first.

Breandan

Int +2 (+3), Per -2 (0), Pre -1 (1), Com 0 (2), Str -5 (-3), Sta -1 (1), Dex -1 (1), Qik -1 (1)

Size -2

Age 11 (11)

Confidence 1 (3)

Virtues (+5) The Gift, Flawless Magic (Inherited, +3), Deft Intelligence (+1), Inconspicuous (+1)

Flaws (-5) Covenant Upbringing (-1), Compulsive Liar (-1), Turbulence Prone (-3)

Abilities Area Lore: Cherbourg 1 (geography), Area Lore: home covenant 1 (history), Athletics 1 (running), Awareness 2 (alertness), Folk Ken 1 (covenfolk), French 2 (Cherbourg dialect), Gaelic 5, Guile 1 (fast talk), Hermes Lore 1 (history), Latin 3 (hermetic usage), Legerdemain 2, Stealth 3 (sneak)

Personality Traits Acquisitive +2, Disciplined +1, Scheming +3

Combat

Dodge Init: -1, Attack --, Defense -1, Damage --

Fist Init: -1, Attack -1, Defense -1, Damage -5

Kick Init: -2, Attack -1, Defense -2, Damage -2

Soak 0 (-1)

Fatigue levels OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties ‑1 (1‑3), ‑3 (4‑6), ‑5 (7‑9), Incapacitated (10‑12), Dead (13+)

Arts Cr 0, In 0, Mu 0, Pe 0, Re 0, An 0, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 0, He 0, Ig 0, Im 0, Me 0, Te 0, Vi 0

Equipment traveling clothes

Encumbrance 0 (0)

Breandon’s past is largely unknown, he doesn’t share it easily. He speaks French and Latin, but these are obviously not his native language, and few can place his accent. When discovered on the streets of Cherbourg, he was surviving as a thief, and he wasn’t too bad at it. He was discovered by Marguerite of Flambeau, but she didn’t confront him, and instead sent the information onto her superiors in Fengheld. No one was in need of an apprentice, and they acquired him and sold him to a master in the Greater Alps.

I may change the magus who discovered Breandan on the streets of Cherbourg; I'm waiting for a good idea to come to me. Regardless, Breandan has been handed off to Master Arnulf, a middle-aged and loquacious Redcap from the Rhine with whom Breandon's' halting Latin is just sufficient to communicate. Before they parted, the maga who found Breandan wrote a long letter detailing everything she knew about Breandan and his situation; this letter was put into a leather sleeve, marked with the maga's Sigil, and delivered to Arnulf, who keeps it very close, along with similar letters relating to other Gifted children whom he is temporarily in care of.

I'd like to develop the back story when The Contested Isle comes out. His master may know some of it, because he probed the apprentice’s mind, but that doesn’t mean the PCs know it or it has any bearing on the stories now does it? For the future progression, I envision Deft Characteristic becoming either Improved Characteristics or Great Intelligence. I can see Inconspicuous morphing into Deft Form (for a dominant form, if it makes sense, not sure how excited I'd be about Deft Animal) somehow. I don’t care if the players know if he speaks Gaelic, or that he has knowledge of a covenant somewhere in Hibernia, but I think we can play it silently well enough for a while until the book is released (scheduled for September).

Eva Wiebke

Future House: Jeremiah has chosen Verditius

Future Sigil: Scent of mineral oil, sound of creaking gears

Age: 10

Virtues (+5): The Gift (0); Affinity with Craft: Metalsmith (1), Faerie Blood: Dwarf (1), Inventive Genius (1), Puissant Craft: Tailor (1), Special Circumstances: In Fey Auras (1)

Flaws (-5): Driven (-1), Faerie Friend (-1), Humble (-1), Small Frame (-1), Susceptibility to Faerie Power (-1)

Int +1 (+3), Per -2 (0), Str -2 (0), Sta -2 (0), Com -2 (0), Pre -2 (0), Qik -2 (0), Dex -1 (+1)

Abilities: Alps Lore (Legends) 2, Athletics (Endurance) 1, Awareness (Flaws in Construction) 2, Concentration (Games) 1, Craft – Blacksmith (Iron) 3+1, Craft – Tailor (Dolls) 2+3, Craft – Mason (Decorations) 1+1, Etiquette (Faeries) 1, Faerie Lore (Gnomes) 2, German (Talking about Construction) 5, Stealth (Natural Areas) 1, Swim (Underwater Maneuvering) 1

Personality: Curious +3, Driven +1, Humble +1

Size: -3

Soak: 0 (-2)

Initiative: -2

Confidence: 1 (3)

Reputation: Apprentice 0 (Hermetic Magus)

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, 0, -2, -4, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: -1 (1-2), -3 (3-4), -5 (5-6), Incapacitated (7-8)

120+75=195 XP

Notes on Development: Jeremiah wants Eva to initiate the Inner Mystery of Craft Automata. She will lose her Special Circumstances and her Puissant Sewing in favor of new Virtues (Minor Magical Focus: Automata and Careful with Craft Automata). When she initiated into an Inner Mystery, she will have lost Humble and gain Hubris.

Eva Wiebke was born in 1195 in one of the villages in the bishopric of Salzburg, kingdom of Austria, Holy Roman Empire. As her birth would provide her peasant family with its first child, Eva’s arrival in the world was eagerly anticipated by her parents. Unfortunately, she was immediately a disappointment to the family. The close proximity of the family farm to a wild wooded area had an inauspicious effect on Eva in the womb. Local legends regarding goblins and powries strengthened the faerie aura of the place… which crept into the Wiebke farm upon occasion. From the moment of her birth, Eva’s parents knew that she was different: she just felt wrong, while her stunted stature hinted at something unnatural in her birth. Eva’s parents have always been cold toward her, viewing her as poor marriage material and incapable of backbreaking farm work. Despite her shortness, she is as strong as boys her age and her dwarven faerie influence imbued upon her better than normal endurance.

​With the birth of her younger brother, Eva became even more isolated from her family. She occasionally helps with farm work, household chores, and sewing alongside her mother, but in most cases, her younger brother (four years junior) views her as a something unnatural – and teases her mercilessly on those grounds. Meanwhile, her parents worry that she will somehow bring a curse upon him or bring ill upon their livestock, prompting the pair to indulge her strange fondness of the forests near the family plot. Last year, she stumbled upon a cave in these woods, finding a mole inside. The animal was nearly as big as her brother and could speak. After talking with the animal for a while, he introduced himself as Gero the Gnome and revealed his true diminutive fey form. He proposed that they play a game: he would tell her the secrets of the earth (including the stones and metals in it), while she would tell him stories about the area and all of the fabled natural treasures to be found within. When he heard that she didn’t know stories of these things, the gnome told her some of his own or just encouraged her to spin new fables each time they were together. The ones he liked, he would encourage her to tell to any child or grandmother who would listen.

​Eva’s parents would be thrilled to pawn her off on a visiting magus if given even the flimsiest bluff that he would be taking her to a monastery or to be engaged to some fictional adolescent relative. Gero, however, would not be eager to see her go, as he has been feeding off of her fables for the past year, strengthening the fey aura around his home. He knows that belief and stories are powerful tools for the fey and her circulation of legends sustains and enriches him. Gero would be reluctant to follow her into Vienna in summer months, but would not be hesitant to do so when the warmth and heat of summer are distant memories.

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Eva was more or less abandoned by her parents when a strange knight stayed at their home one evening. He appeared to be passing through, on some kind of traveling adventure, and called himself Sir Ioannes of Acer. He was young, handsome, and magical, wearing bronze scale armor polished to a mirror brightness and riding -- of all things -- an enormous stag as a mount. Your parents were too terrified to refuse when he asked for shelter in the rain. You happened to be out with Gero at the time, but met Ioannes when you returned that evening and he seemed to recognize something about you at once.

Ioannes would not shut up about his heroic quests and adventures. He paid your parents some magical gold which, he later laughingly told you, would vanish at dawn. Then he escorted you to an inn run -- you eventually learned -- by Redcaps, wrote a long letter detailing everything he knew about you, put this letter in a leather wallet and sealed it with his Sigil. Then he bid farewell, and rode off into the forest.

The Redcaps took care of you and treated you kindly. Gero soon appeared, having followed you. You kept him a secret from the Redcaps. Eventually you were passed off to Master Arnulf, a middle-aged and loquacious Redcap from the Rhine. Since you and Arnulf both speak German, he has warmed to you and treats you like a favorite niece. Arnulf has Ioannes' letter now and keeps it very close, along with similar letters relating to other Gifted children whom he is temporarily in care of.

Arnulf traveled around the Rhine and Normandy a bit longer, picking up many more children, before heading south into the Alps. With a pair of burly Grogs for company, along with about twenty Gifted children of various ages, he has led you up into the mountain passes. Arnulf -- who seems a good sort -- has told you all about this current business, which has been years in the planning, involves collecting unwanted children from around Germany, Italy, and France, and bringing them to the Alps where you will all be apprenticed to master wizards. He seems to consider you all very fortunate for, while wizards can be very odd, they are all exceedingly rich and live for centuries. He considers bringing you all to the Alps to be a charitable, Christian act which will reflect well on him in Heaven, perhaps making up for past misdeeds he does not share with a ten year old girl.

Arnulf and his Grogs have spotted a small animal following the group but have been unable to get a good look at it. You are certain this is Gero, who hides in the stone. Soon, Arnulf tells you, he will meet up with the Alpine Redcaps, deliver all of you, and be paid a positively obscene amount of money. After which he intends to retire to Iberia and raise fighting roosters, which is apparently a fine way to spend one's sunset years.

Gustov

Age 6

Size -2

Confidence 1 (3)

Reputation None yet

Virtues (+8) The Gift, Major Magical Focus: Binding Beasts (inherited, +3), Affinity with Rego (inherited, +1), Animal Ken (0), Inoffensive to animals (+1), Affinity with Animal (inherited, +1), Affinity with Animal Ken (+1), Puissant Animal Ken (+1)

Flaws (-8) Chaotic Magic (inherited, -3), Difficult Spontaneous Magic (inherited, -1), Incompatible Arts: PeAn and MuCo (Inherited, -1), Magical Companion: Cassandra the Raven (-1), Optimistic (-1), Oversensitive: Restriction (-1)

Int -2 (+2), Per -5 (-1), Pre -2 (+2), Com -3 (+1), Str -5 (-1), Sta -2 (+2), Dex -4 (0), Qik -5 (-1)

Abilities Normandy Lore 1 (forests), Animal Ken 2+2 (5) (birds), Animal Handling 1, Athletics 1, Awareness 2, French 5, Stealth 1, Survival 2 (forests)

Personality Curious +3, Compassionate +2, Willful +1

120 + 15 = 135 XP

Combat

Dodge Init -5, Def -5

Punch Init -5, Atk -4, Def -5, Dmg -5

Soak 0

Wounds 1-3 Light; 4-6 Medium; 7-9 Heavy; 10-12 Incapacitate; 13+ Dead

Advancement: Gustov will be apprenticed to Kentigern Ex Miscellanea, and from him will acquire Summon Animal and Study Requirement.

René de la Croix

Age 14 (14)

House Flambeau

Virtues (+7) The Gift (0); Apt Student (+1), Enduring Constitution (+1), Improved Characteristics (+1), Long-Winded (+1); Puissant Great Weapon (+1), Reserves of Strength (+1), Tough (+1)

Flaws (-7) Black Sheep (-3), Necessary Condition: Sign of the Cross (-3), Pious (-1)

​Int +1; Per -2; Str +3; Sta +3; Pre -2; Com -2; Dex +2; Qik +2

Abilities Animal Handling 2 (falconry), Athletics 3 (running), Awareness 2 (keeping watch), Brawl 2 (punch), Etiquette 2 (nobility), French 5, Great Weapon 3+2 (Greatsword), Hunt 2 (game hawking), Ride 3 (in battle), Survival 2 (mountains)

Combat

Size 0

Soak +10 (Full Boiled Leather over a Gambeson, Protection 4)

Confidence 1 (3)

Encumbrance 0 (Load 6 from armor, Burden 3-3=0)

Punch Init +2, Atk +5, Def +5, Dmg +3

Cudgel Init +3, Atk +11, Def +8, Dmg +10

120 + 135 = 255 XP

An arcane warrior, René de la Croix utilizes his Gift to strengthen his sword arm in the service of God.

At age 7, René was removed from his father’s house to the court of his future patron, whom he served as page. At age 14, he was meant to become an esquire. However, the Lord provided him with a new path when he made manifest “the Gift.” Mortified that this viper was living beneath his roof all along, his patron banished the onetime squire to a covenant, swearing that were he ever to return René’s head would decorate the battlements.

I've not decided yet who his lordly patron was in Normandy; I am waiting for a good idea to come to me.

Regardless, your former patron was in a hurry to get rid of you. He briefly handed you off to one Sir Rotgiers, an intimidating knight and jouster said to ride a magical steed and wield weapons blessed by the Devil. Rotgiers gravely questioned you about your past, cast some spells on you, and then wrote a long letter, which he placed in a leather envelope and then sealed with his Sigil.

You were briefly housed in Rotgiers' estate before he handed you off to Master Arnulf, a middle-aged and loquacious Redcap from Germany. You don't understand a word he says. Arnulf has Rotgiers' letter now and keeps it very close, along with similar letters relating to other Gifted children whom he is temporarily in care of.

Arnulf traveled around Normandy a bit longer, picking up a few more children, before heading south into the Alps. With a pair of burly Grogs for company, along with about twenty Gifted children of various ages, he has led you up into the mountain passes. You are by far the oldest and strongest of all the children, some of whom speak French and have turned to you as an unofficial guardian. Every morning Arnulf -- who seems a good sort -- patiently waits for you as the French children ask you to lead them in prayer. You're still wearing your boiled leather armor over a padded coat, but you have no weapon. Arnulf has given you some supplies to carry; it's no trouble for you.

Notes on Development: Rene will gain Major Magical Focus: Arms and Armor from his master, and gain Overconfident soon after.

Tomas

"The Morose Troublemaker with Problems at Home."

Age 13 (13)

Future House Tytalus

Virtues (+7) The Gift (0); Bee King (+3), Cyclic Magic: Spring/Summer (+1), Minor Magical Focus: Disguise (0 from Mythic Blood), Mythic Blood: Maugris (+3)

Flaws (-7) Turbulent Prone (-3), Faerie Upbringing (-1), Mentor (-1), Social Handicap (Morose) (0 from Mythic Blood), Weakness: Pretty Face (-1), Weird Magic (Inherited, -1)

Int +1 (+2), Per 0 (+1), Pre -2 (-1), Com 0 (+1), Str -2 (-1), Sta +1 (+2), Dex -1 (0), Qik 0 (+1)

Abilities Artes Liberales 2 (alphabets), Athletics 1 (sprinting), Awareness 2 (detecting ambushes), Brawl 2 (dodge), Etiquette 1 (Faerie courts), Faerie Lore 2 (Customs and Rules), Folk Ken 1 (fae), French 5 (Norman), Guile 2 (fae), Intrigue 2 (fae), Latin 3 (medical terms), Legerdemain 2 (opening locks), Stealth 2 (being quiet)

Size -1

Soak +1

Confidence 1 (3)

Combat Init 0, Atk -1, Def 0, Dmg -2

Dodge Init 0, Def 3

Punch Init 0, Atk +1, Def +2, Dmg -2

Personality Traits: Morose +3, Arrogant +2, Combative +2

120 + 120 = 240 XP

Notes on Development: Turbulent Prone will become Twilight Prone. Weakness for a Pretty Face will become Lost Love. Tormenting Master may be added.

He served for a period as the apprentice to the Istoric, Secretary of the Faerie Queen, Oriande Le Fee, before a magus tricked the Secretary into giving the magus the boy. This magus sees claiming him as a coup against the Merinita. Tomas still respects his old master from the Faerie Court, and considers him a mentor.

His Cyclic Magic waxes in the months when the bees are active.

His Mythic Blood Power would be like Wizard's Sidestep, but he can shift his image 5 paces away (ArM5, page 147, but with a base of 3, not 2). He can invoke this power without words or gestures.

His MMF of Disguise covers the narrow aspects of (Re/Mu Im and MuCo) involving changing his appearance, not changing form.

Tomas has a light but wiry build with dark brown eyes and black hair, standing about 4'5" tall. He has a caucasian complexion and often sour look on his face.

I have not yet decided who lured Tomas away from Faerie, but judging from his Weakness, she was probably beautiful. In any case, Tomas has been handed off to Master Arnulf, a middle-aged and loquacious Redcap from the Rhine with whom Tomas' halting Latin is just sufficient to communicate. Before they parted, the maga who stole Tomas wrote a long letter detailing everything she knew about Tomas and his situation; this letter was put into a leather sleeve, marked with the mag's Sigil, and delivered to Arnulf, who keeps it very close, along with similar letters relating to other Gifted children whom he is temporarily in care of.

Garcette

Age 8

Future House: Guernicus

Virtues (+10) The Gift; Apt Student (+1), Book Learner (+1), Deft Intelligence (+1), Elemental Magic (Inherited, +3), Great Intelligence (+1), Improved Characteristics (+2), Personal Vis Source: Hair (+1)

Flaws (-10) Curse of Venus (-3), Late Bloomer (-1), Turbulence Prone (-3), Wrathful (-3)

Int +2 (+4), Per -3 (+1), Pre -2 (+2), Com -4 (0), Str -4 (0), Sta -3 (+1), Dex -3 (+1), Qik -3 (+1)

Size -2

Soak 0 (-3)

Abilities Athletics 2 (run), Awareness 2 (search), Brawl 2 (kick), Folk Ken 2 (suspicious), Middle English 5, Stealth 2 (hide), Survival 2 (forests)

Combat Init -3, Atk -3, Def -3, Dmg -4

Dodge Init -3, Def -1

Punch Init -3, Atk -1, Def -1, Dmg -4

Kick Init -4, Atk 0, Def -1, Dmg -1

Garcette is a Late Bloomer with Extra Characteristics, so the idea is that she seems especially pitiful and weak at the beginning, but blossoms into a Big Damn Hero.

"Aelfeva" is the Latinized form of her given name Aelfgifu, which means "Elf Gift".

Development: Turbulence Prone becomes Driven to Uncover and Punish High Crimes; Wrathful becomes Minor. She has some kind of traumatic incident in apprenticeship which damages her Gift (Weak Parma and Deficient Form).