by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
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by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law |
| Weapon/Attack | Init | Atk | Dfn | Dam |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longsword | +4 (+6) | +10 (+14) | +10 (+14) | +6 (+6) |
| Numbers in parentheses reflect statistics when using Ishmalim's aid. | ||||
Soak: +1
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)
Abilities: Animal Handling 2 (Raptors), Arabic 5 (Jinn), Artes Liberales 3 (Arabic), Bargain 2 (Jinn), Concentration 4 (Summoning), Elemental Control 4 (See Below), Folk Ken 2 (Nobles), Greek 3 (Demons), Hunt 2 (Falconry), Infernal Lore 2 (Demons), Kashgar Lore 2 (Magicians), Faerie Lore 4 (Jinn), Leadership 2 (Intimidation), Magic Lore 5 (Elementals), Penetration 4 (Commanding), Persian 3 (Spirits), Philosophiae 2 (Moral Philosophy), Profession: Falconer 1 (Grooming), Ride 2 (Camels), Silk Road Lore 2 (Jinn), Second Sight 2 (Jinn), Single Weapon 3 (Long Sword), Survival 2 (Deserts), Theology: Islam 1 (Heresy), True Name of the Buran of Yenghissar (Spirit, Magic Might 20)*, True Name of Ishmalim the Green (Demon, Infernal Might 15)
Power:
Goetic Arts: Binding 9, Commanding 10, Summoning 8 (all Infernally aligned)
Equipment: Al-Sayf al-Kamil (Arabic: "the Perfect Sword", a longsword with Ishmalim the Green bound within), signet ring of Leonidas (worn), drinking horn, falconry gauntlet and kit. In addition, Salih carries a short bow and case of twenty arrows on his mount, a black-furred Bactrian war-camel.
Encumbrance: 1 (1)
Description and Background:
Salih is a tall Persian man, usually dressed in blue-green finery with an ornate ancestral longsword hung at his side.
Born into a noble family in ma wara'a al-nahr (Arabic: "the land beyond the river"), Transoxiana, far from the influence of the Order of Hermes, Salih grew up a privileged younger son of a minor emir in Samarkand, near the frontierlands of Khwarazm. With little prospect of inheriting his father's estates, but time and books at his disposal, he devoted his younger years to occult learning under the direction of his father's vizier, an elderly Arabian spirit master called Abu'l-Kabra ("the Elder"), who specialised in commanding and binding spirits to aid his patron's political manoeuvrings.
Salih firmly believes that his powers are not Infernal in nature, lacking any ability to truly discern Infernal tainting in any of his powers. Even if presented with evidence to the contrary, such as his increased strength in auras of Infernal power, he maintains this delusion, convinced that his power allows him to deal with forces other spirit masters are too weak to command.
Although able to summon spirits that he has an Arcane Connection to or scour for unknown spirits, Salih prefers to rely on the powers of a small selection of spirits that he keeps close at hand to accomplish his goals. He prefers to coerce spirits, having learnt well from the example of Leonidas that bargains can have an unexpected price. Although arrogant, he is practical and often spends significant time searching for an appropriate spirit to add to his followers, rather than risking his ego by summoning a spirit or demon that is too powerful for him to control.
Faerie Might: 5 (Aquam)
Characteristics: Int 0, Per +1, Str n/a, Sta n/a, Pre +3, Com 0, Dex n/a, Qik n/a
Size: -2
Virtues and Flaws: None
Personality Traits: Calm +3, Trusting +2
Reputations: Friendly 1 (Home Village)
Abilities: Home Stream Lore 4
Powers:
Natural Weapons: None
Vis: 1 pawn of Aquam vis left behind as a small pool of pure water when destroyed
Description and Background:
To those with Second Sight, the spirit appears as a small, spectral blue-green dragon river-spirit that shimmers and ripples as if made of water.
A common enough example of a spirit commanded along the trade routes through the deserts, this minor Faerie spirit or shen was one of the first entities that Salih successfully bargained with and bound into his own drinking flask during his early training under Abu'l-Kabra, using a stone worn perfectly smooth by the waters of its snowmelt stream. Having left the stream to dry up because of his binding does not seem to concern Salih overmuch, although he has heard that the village crops have yielded poorly in the years since he visited it.
Order: False Gods
Infernal Might: 10 (Animal)
Characteristics: Int -1, Per +2, Str -6, Sta +1, Pre 0, Com -2, Dex +4, Qik +6
Size: -3
Confidence Score: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: Piercing Gaze; Proud (Minor)
Personality Traits: Haughty +3
Reputations: Fearless Hunter 2 (Kashgar)
Hierarchy: 0
| Weapon/Attack | Init | Atk | Dfn | Dam |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claws | -1 | +2 | +3 | +2 |
Soak: +1 (Stamina)
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-2), -3 (3-4), -5 (5-6), Incapacitated (7-8), Dead (9+)
Abilities: Athletics 3 (Flying), Awareness 4 (Prey), Brawl 2 (Claws), Hunt 4 (Prey), Survival 3 (Desert)
Powers:
Weakness: Running Water
Vis: 2 pawns of Animal vis in claws
Description and Background:
Sharif is normally seen as stunningly beautiful golden eagle with intense black claws and beak, perched on Salih's saddle pommel and wearing a hood.
Sharif is in fact a famulus rather than just an exceptional eagle, although the demon takes pains to prevent Salih from discovering this fact using its Shroud the Stench of the Pit power. The wily Leonidas has guessed the truth about the unusual eagle but keeps silent out of fear that the famulus will unleash the buran bound within Salih upon him. In his arrogance, the spirit master believes that his animal companion is an Eagle of Virtue or ancestor spirit that was voluntarily attracted to him early in his career due to the aura of power that he conveys to those around him. It is the only creature that Salih seems to bestow genuine praise on besides himself.
For now the demon is content with Salih's reliance upon it. More subtle than most famuli, Sharif is chiefly responsible for Salih's manufactured ignorance that his powers are not Infernal in nature and so far has managed to deceive those around him that he is merely just a powerful spirit master. The demon secretly helps keep Ishmalim in check and orchestrated Salih's summoning of the buran of Yenghissar to increase its protégé's power. Inconspicuous use of its powers as a False God are responsible for Salih's wealth and his initial contacts with minor demons and ghosts, but so far Sharif has not revealed its ability to create a homunculus from itself and has not granted Salih the benefit of its Lend Senses power for fear of revealing its Infernal nature, preferring to wait until Salih is overcommitted to his powers before revealing itself. It does however use its Possession power to hide within Salih's mundane servants, when its eagle form is too conspicuous or it desires to cross supernatural wards. Sharif is content to encourage Salih's development more indirectly since the binding of the buran, as the feat has granted the spirit master exceptional resistance to its influence, but it is certain that Salih will complete his own corruption. Salih rarely calls upon Sharif's powers and characteristics, preferring to treat the eagle as more of a familiar than a servant.
Although he is not bound to any object, Salih often summons Leonidas each morning using his signet ring to advise him or draw upon his knowledge.
Magic Might: 10 (Vim)
Characteristics: Int 0, Per +2, Str n/a, Sta n/a, Pre +2, Com +1, Dex n/a, Qik n/a
Size: 0
Virtues and Flaws: Wise One, Outsider (Jew); Summoning; Second Sight, Student of Magic; Fear (Buran), No Sense of Direction
Personality Traits: Vain +3
Reputations: Proficient Necromancer 2 (Infernal)
Hierarchy: 2
Abilities: Bargain 4 (Ghosts), Infernal Lore 2 (Demons), Kashgar Lore 4 (History), Magic Lore 6 (Ghosts), Penetration 4 (Summoning), Second Sight 2 (Ghosts)
Powers:
Goetic Arts: Summoning 12
Vis: None - Leonidas has no ability to form a body, and thus cannot leave a corpse
Description and Background:
Leonidas can only be seen by those with Second Sight. He appears as he did in life, a gaunt man dressed in the sand dusted robes of an itinerant hedge wizard. He carries nothing, having died without possessions.
Leonidas was a modestly successful Jewish hedge wizard in Kashgar, known for his ability to converse with the recently departed for a price. Although his tradition was not an infernalist one, his vanity and the pride that he took in his necromantic ability was his downfall. One day, confident in his powers and scorning the customary protective preparations in his arrogance, he decided to scour the desert to call forth a desert storm spirit to replace his unglamorous spirit ally - the ghost of his mentor. Sadly, he botched the scouring, summoning a powerful sand demon that was beyond his power to bargain with. The demon easily rended his ghostly mentor, leaving Leonidas cowering and defenceless. Threatened with death, he hastily tried to bargain with the demon, overconfident he would be able to learn the creature's own True Name through his otherworldly contacts and worm his way out of the bargain later. Unfortunately for Leonidas, the turbulent arrival of the sand demon had frightened away his ass with all his belongings and had swept away his tracks through the sand. All the while thinking that he was heading straight back to Kashgar, he became lost in the desert and repented, ironically dying of thirst just out of sight of the main trade road. Within hours of his death, his body was found by an outriding caravan guard who looted his signet ring and sold it upon arrival in Kashgar at the Sunday market for the price of new camel.
Salih tracked down Leonidas' signet ring and successfully summoned his ghost, an accomplishment that fanned the emir's pride in his own Goetic Arts. Through patience and constant coercion, Salih then forced Leonidas to teach him more about Summoning and the skills necessary to become a great spirit master. Although Salih has threatened to bind Leonidas to his signet ring (currently Salih's only Arcane Connection to the ghost), he prefers merely to command him to appear when necessary, now that he has bound the spirit of a buran to himself, as the necromancer's ghost is an unsettling reminder of the risks of dealing with powerful entities.
Order: Furies
Infernal Might: 15 (Ignem)
Characteristics: Int -1, Per +1, Str +2, Sta +2, Pre -2, Com -1, Dex +2, Qik +4
Size: +1
Confidence Score: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: Greater Immunity (Fire), Shapeshifter; Berserk, Magic Sensitivity, Second Sight
Personality Traits: Greedy +3, Self-Controlled -6, Wrathful +4
Reputations: Unscrupulous Mercenary 2 (Kashgar)
Hierarchy: 2
| Weapon/Attack | Init | Atk | Dfn | Dam |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Sword | +6 | +14 | +13 | +8 |
Soak: +2 (Stamina)
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-6), -3 (7-12), -5 (13-18), Incapacitated (19-24), Dead (25+)
Abilities: Arabic 5, Athletics 3 (Running), Awareness 2 (Alertness), Brawl 4 (Dagger), Bows 5 (Short Bow), Leadership 4 (Battle), Magic Sensitivity 2 (Auras), Ride 3 (Camels), Second Sight 2 (Jinn), Single Weapon 7 (Long Sword), Shapeshifter 4 (During Battle)
Powers: (As a former jinni, Ishmalim has slightly different powers to many of the other demons within the Order of Furies)
Weakness: Protected Group (Jinn of his Tribe)
Vis: 3 pawns of Ignem vis in Green Metal Long Sword
Description and Background:
Ishmalim appears as a large green skinned man with ibex horns carrying a curved green metal long sword. Currently the demonic jinn is bound into Salih's ancestral sword, which is a slightly curved long sword with an elaborate guard and hilt set with green jade.
Ishmalim was once a cruel mercenary jann or minor jinni, the brother of the caravan guard Najib the Blue, who fell to the temptation of the Infernal. He has become a minor demon of the Order of Furies dedicated to promoting discord and war. Having travelled along the whole Silk Route from Bukhara to Xian, Ishmalim has visited most of the important oasis towns along the edges of the Taklamakan.
Salih learnt Ishmalim's True Name from Leonidas, who in turn had bargained with an ancient ghost to use the name in a later bargain. He was bound by Salih into his father's ancestral sword early in the spirit master's career, but is kept on a tight leash as Salih has realised from experience that the demon is prone to inciting trouble and violence in others through his powers if kept idle. Ishmalim is responsible for Salih's famed ability as a duelist – when pressed in combat, Salih commands Ishmalim to aid him with his exceptional Quickness and Single Weapon (Long Sword) score, and he has not lost a duel yet (see above for the effect of Ishmalim's aid on Salih's combat statistics). He prefers not to invoke the demon's Berserker Rage power, however, for fear of losing his control over the demon in the heat of battle, although Ishmalim has a tendency to curse his opponent with this power to create a more entertaining spectacle and increase the risk of mayhem and destruction.
The buran is currently bound through compulsion within Salih's body, granting him Magic Resistance equal to its Might score. While trapped within his body, the spirit does not fatigue, cannot be wounded and cannot engage in combat.
Magic Might: 20 (Auram)
Characteristics: Int -5, Per 0, Str n/a, Sta n/a, Pre +3, Com -2, Dex n/a, Qik n/a
Size: +4
Confidence Score: 1 (3)
Virtues and Flaws: Berserk, Strong-Willed, Wilderness Sense; Fury (Major, When Summoned)
Personality Traits: Untameable +5
Reputations: Scourge of Yenghissar 1 (Yenghissar)
Abilities: Survival 5 (Desert), Taklamakan Lore 5 (Legends), Wilderness Sense 2 (Weather)
Powers:
Vis: 4 pawns of Auram vis, left behind as Black Sand when dispersed.
Description and Background:
The buran appears as a giant shapeless vortex of raging black sand. To those with Second Sight, a giant humanoid shadow can be discerned within the sandstorm.
The original target of the unfortunate Leonidas, this wild desert storm spirit, or buran, once plagued the small village of Yenghissar along the southern trade route to Khotan, bringing devastation to the crops and herd animals every seven years using its powers over the sandstorms of the Taklamakan Desert. Through his study, Salih discovered the True Name of the buran in the diary of a kabbalist who once dwelt in the town and set out to bind his ghostly mentor's bane to his will using the power of a small Infernal aura on the outskirts of the town. With animal sacrifice, a great amount of luck and Leonidas' reluctant aid, Salih's self-confidence helped him successfully to summon this destructive elemental spirit. He then coerced it into allowing itself to be bound into his body for forty years, a bargain that the usually untameable spirit uncharacteristically accepted - unbeknownst to Salih, his cunning famulus helped convince the buran to serve the budding spirit master, although Salih believes in his pride that the storm spirit was impressed with his power.
Salih commonly calls upon the following Auram effects (ArM5, pages 125-128) up to level 20 from the buran, which has earned him his reputation as a powerful desert sorceror in the local area: Broom of the Winds, Charge of the Angry Winds, Circling Winds of Protection, True Sight of the Air, Whispering Winds, Sailor's Foretaste of the Morrow, Talons of the Winds and Quiet the Raging Winds.
Salih has kept this rebellious buran bound within him for the last nine years and can now use its powers as required. He must still bargain with it to grant him its Strength, Stamina or other characteristics and is reluctant to do so unless sorely pressed as he is aware of the consequences of deepening his debt to the spirit or provoking its ire. He realises he will not be able to summon the buran again easily if he ever releases it, despite his great pride, and dares not release it for fear of its vengeance. Although Salih has not aged a day since this binding and can now call upon sandstorms at will, the spirit's constant raging within the back of his head has worn away at his resolve and character. He has become increasingly stifled by what he sees as the restrictions placed upon him by religion, tradition and society and has begun to speak out against the leaders of organised religion, acquiring the Depraved Minor Personality Flaw through Warping. His pride refuses to allow him to see the dangerous path down which he has begun to tread.
*Note: Although a Magic spirit, Salih has effectively learned the buran's True Name by spending 5 XP while reading a text on Magic Lore that contained the spirit's True Name (as per RoP: I, pages 34-35). This grants him a +5 Penetration bonus to all magical activities involving this spirit. This is an extrapolation from the official rules - Storyguides preferring to confine the learning of True Names to Infernal beings should substitute a bag of pure black sand left in the wake of the spirit's greatest act of destruction that is effectively a "fixed" Arcane Connection with a +4 Penetration bonus. In this case, add Yenghissar Lore 1 (History) to the list of Salih's Abilities.
Text copyright © Lachlan Hayes 2006. Artwork copyright © Stephanie Pui-Mun Law 2006.