COLLECTOR
By J.A. Stuart (ian@ialas.demon.co.uk)
"And it absolutely will not stop, until you are dead, Sarah."
-- Reese to Sarah Conner, The Terminator
Notice
After the Collector's visit to WRAITH-L, the helpful comments of Jim Burdo, Marc Peters and RHJ. Rees have pointed out a few changes that need to be made. The Collector, as it is now, is a hit and run device, a stripped down Wraith designed purely to gain Oboli for the Deathlords. It flagrantly breaks Charon's code, but as yet the Deathlords have kept it quiet (You see, I view them as very similar to the typical Cyberpunk government, all black and grey projects and covert operations). Either way, enjoy.
Introduction
The Death Lords are acutely aware that one force in all creation is more powerful than intimidation or military and political might. Money. In their constant efforts to increase their own economic power, the Death Lords have now begun to encroach on the worlds of the living. The Collectors are only the first stage in their machinations.
Purpose
The primary function of the Collector is to ensure that new Wraiths are guided to the Shadowlands. Where people stand between life and death, the Collectors hover, and, where necesary can tip the balance.Their secondary purpose only comes into play when the balance is tipped against them. When someone who should have died survives, a Collector is empowered to enter the World of the Quick and employ any method necessary to gain the soul. For example, if someone who should have been killed in a car crash survived, the Collector would trigger a rockfall or try and cause the paramedic who treats them to make a fatal mistake. In short, their one overriding purpose is to ensure a steady stream of traffic into the Shadowlands.
Personality
Collectors were once Wraiths but have been brutally moliated and changed until very little of the original person remains. They were all people obsessed with order in life such as Judges, Cops, Accountants, Share Dealers etc or those who believe their death was unfair. This obsession with order is the only part of the original personality allowed to remain and is made the driving purpose behind the Collector. In fact, they are moliated and changed in such a way that any imbalance in order actually causes them pain, forcing them to take more and more desperate measures until the "itch is scratched."They have no free will or personality, only an overriding sense of purpose. In essence, a Wraith who becomes a Collector becomes little more than a Bloodhound. As a result, they will always take the most direct route to a target, and are quite capable of killing anyone who gets in their way.
Appearance
In some cases, the Collector will appear as a stylised version of what it was in life (A cop will still be in uniform but his face will be utterly featureless for example). More often, they will be stylised humans, light grey in colour with a featureless head. Every movement is precise and ordered, with each footstep being precisely the same length, each arm swinging an identical amount and, when they stop, their feet coming together exactly.Their appearance in the world is entirely dependent on the situation. Often, they will not appear at all, content to use Puppetry to get their jobs done. When they do manifest however, they will often use Inhabit to take over Machinery or appear as a form of lightning (Indeed, the few Arcanum Members who have heard rumours of the Collectors search for records of their presence by looking for phrases such as "Cold Lightning").
Attributes
As stated above, often not applicable. When in the Shadowlands however, an average Collector would have the following stats:Strength *** | Charisma - | Perception ***
|
Dexterity *** | Manipulation - | Intelligence *
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Stamina **** | Appearance * | Wits **
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Fetters None
| Passions Order (Love) **********
|
Corpus ********
| Willpower **********
| Pathos Justice (love) ********
|
Arcanos
Inhabit
* Surge
** Ride the Electron Highway
*** Gremlinize
**** Claim
***** Empower
Inhabit
* Skinride
** Sudden Movement
*** Master's Voice
**** Rein in the Mind
***** Obliterate the Soul
Pandemonium
* Weirdness
** Befuddlement
*** Dark Ether
**** Foul Humour
***** Tempus Fugit