The man watching the TV slowly turned his head towards the visitors. Palmer was aghast at the lobster-red color of the man's skin. He looked as if he'd been boiled alive. The man opened his blackened lips and let his jaw drop.
Sonja was suddenly back pedalling, trying to escape into the hallway. Palmer stared in horror at the smoke and steam leaking from the boiled man's ears and nostrils. He almost looked funny; like one of those old Tex Avery cartoons.
A gout of flame leapt from the boiled man's throat, striking the wall a foot from Palmer's head, some of it splashing onto his shoulder. Palmer was too surprised to cry out, although he could smell his hair crisping.
-- Nancy A. Collins, In the Blood<
Traits
Powers: (Required) Hazardous Breath (12; fire/napalm, 4 Health Levels, caustic, aggravated), Immunity (6; fire), Immunity to the Delirium (1), Phoenix Fire (5); (Suggested) Toxic Secretions (2+)
Taints: (Required) Atrophy (4; All Mental Attributes 3), Derangement (3; ADD), Disintegration (6; Immunity), Doomed (5; 1 month), Inner Volcano (5), Ugly as Sin (1)
Description
Image: Boiled person. The human body is not capable of containing the burning energy of a Furmling, and it seeps out through every pore and orifice. Within a few minutes of possession the fomor's skin turns a blistering red, their eyes gel and their lips blacken. Over then next few weeks the fomor will be consumed by the bane; their skin blistering, exuding a smell like barbecued pork, smoke and steam rising from their flesh. Clothing worn by the Pyrotic will be charred and blackened by this process, but will otherwise remain intact until the inevitable meltdown. The Pyrotic is a horrific sight, dripping sizzling body fat as it moves. The fact that it smells so appetising will simply add to the horror of any onlookers.
The innards of a Pyrotic are consumed by the bane over the course of the possession, turning into a napalm-like gloop. This can come as a very nasty surprise to anyone fighting the fomor, particularly Garou, with their big gnashy claws. Anyone striking the body and causing more than two levels of lethal or aggravated damage will release this thick burning fluid in a torrent, suffering damage as per a chemical fire (main Werewolf rulebook). Should the fomor be killed before it's body becomes uninhabitable (roughly 4 weeks), then the Furmling uses this napalm to Materialize, and flows out of the body to "avenge" itself on it's killers. This is another nasty shock for stupid poxy fleabag Garou.
By the end of the first month of possession, the fomor is so cremated that it simply falls apart into a mass of burning goo. The Furmling returns to the Umbra (and probably starts looking for another host), and the remains are made into weaponary.
The downside to this breed, unfortunately, is that they are not very focused individuals. To put it mildly. Once created, nothing makes them happier than to sit down and watch TV while their body disintegrates, much to the upset of potential "employers" (Pentex has given up sending them into the Amazon, despite their efficiency there - they simply wander off in search of a distraction the moment they are out of eyeshot). On the other hand, Pyrotics make great sentries: set them up on a perimeter with a chair and a TV, and they'll happily sit there for weeks, flaming anyone who comes near without their leaders' impressions.
Genesis: Though only recently "uncovered" by Pentex, Pyrotics are an old, old breed of fomor. This is partly due to the relative ease with which they are created, and partly due to the nature of Furmlings. A few rites, and a slightly-tarnished soul, are all that is required to create a Pyrotic. No long-winded corruption or enticement to the dark side, just grab someone with few morals (an easy task in this day and age) and tie them down while you preform the chants above them. Possession by a Furmling burns out much of the fomor's brain, and the bane becomes the dominant partner in the fomor. In effect, the original personality is consumed, and no trace of it is left behind at all. The Furmling is greatly taken by this experience, and soon becomes "addicted" to the flesh, willing to enter anybody, anywhere.
History: Pyrotics are something of a rarity amongst Fomori, though they are relatively easy to create. Pyrotics have been in existence for thousands of years - the rites used to create them are bastardisation of an ancient spell used to bind humans and fire elementals to form potent, if short-lived warriors for Gaia. In time the servants of the Wyrm learned of this practise, and determined how to work it for themselves. The only reason that Pyrotics are not more common is because they are really not much use for much beyond sentry duty, and their lifespan (and occasional tendency to burn down whatever they're guarding) hampers them even in that. They are more popular amongst independent sorcerers than in Pentex, and there have even been a few reports of particularly vicious (and suicidal) vampires using them to guard their havens.
Roleplaying Hints: Pyrotics aren't really designed to be PCs, in the same way that sharks aren't really designed to be vegetarians. But if Normalites and Sicklungs are regarded as PC material, then...
Form. I have form. (I've always had form?) No more slinking about in the Umbra. Now I am here. I will remain here. (I've always been here, what am I talking about? What's going on?) This world is good. It is fuel, ripe for consumption. (whatsgoingonwhatsgoingonwhatsgoingonhelp!!) Now I will consume. Now I will... ... ah, TV.
Furmling
Rage 10, Willpower 5, Gnosis 5, Power 30
Charms: Balefire, Airt Sense