PENITENT LEGION

By Dave and Kim Seward (sewaka67@telenet.net)

Prelude

They were cleaning out his room. He didn't understand why, but it didn't matter to him now. What's cleanliness to a dead man. Well that's okay; he liked a clean haunt. They were talking about him now. Saying mean things that hurt his feelings. Well that's okay too. This is the middle of the night. Anything can happen, especially in a room that was occupied by a deadman. The tall one's afraid of bugs, and the short one, he's afraid of the dark. Mmmmmm...this feels good. It feels like revenge.

Description

Madness, the fracturing of the mind to deal with a reality the psyche cannot. This shattering of the persona leaves these wraiths in an awkward battle between themselves, their madness, and their shadows.

You would think that their madness would tear this legion apart, yet it binds them strangely together. This legion is notorious for its loyalty. A brotherhood of understanding to some, a brotherhood of madness to others.

Note: All Penitent Legions start with a derangement.

Common Archetypes (Ranked by Frequency)

Deviant, Bon vivant, Avant garde, Child, Dreamer, Conniver

Common Shadow (Ranked by Frequency)

Leech, Parent, Monster, Freak

Merits & Flaws

Aura: 2pt merit. When your madness is about to strike you, you will get an advanced warning. A facial tick, a voice, something that will alert you to the rising of your delusions.

The Madness Escapes you: 5pt flaw. Sometimes your madness escapes you and your pandemonium will get out of control. This happens without warning and any costs for the arcanos has to be paid.

Arcanoi

Common Arcanos

Not surprisingly these wraiths are able to channel their madness through their pathos. With the use of Pandemonium some wraiths find a little ease of mind by freeing their demons.

Legion Arcanos: **** Instill the Madness

With the use of this art a wraith may instill one of his derangements into another. He doesn't lose that derangement, but simply shares it.

System: Roll Manipulation+Pandemonium. Diff is the target's permanent willpower. The wraith chooses one of his derangements and it is instilled into the target for one scene. The wraith will not suffer from this derangement for that one scene. When the scene is up, the wraith then gains the derangement back. This art costs 2 pathos, 1 willpower, and 1 temporary angst.

Rarest Arcanos

It is not known why Keening is hard for these wraiths. Some say it's only in their delusions, others say it's because the voice of their madness drowns the voice of their soul. All pathos, willpower, and angst costs are increased by one.

Famous Circles

The Cleaners: This circle specializes in exorcising the living from haunts. They are in high demand ever since the Amityville job.

The Redmen: When a wraith's madness becomes too much for him he becomes a danger to him and his fellows. These are the wraiths who are called upon to retire him. Those who are retired usually end up as equipment for the legion.

The Laughing Lady

She is many things, beautiful, grotesque, charming, uncouth, all these describe her and much more. She is never far from constant politicking and is very keen at it. She supports those she picks on a whim and is truly a wild card in any polotical arena.

History: After her execution, she found herself in the middle of a debate over her by the Grim and Penitent legions. She ended this arguement by joining the Penitent legion. She quickly proved her worth by spying on the other legions for her Lord. She was seen as a useful asset and was afforded special privilages. All this ended in 1946 when Frederick Nietzche lost his battle with Oblivion. She quickly seized power and took over the Lordship.

The Laughing Lady Mata Hari

Life: Exotic Dancer/Spy
Death: Execution
Regret: Guilt
Nature/Demeanor: Bon Vivant/Avant Garde
Backgrounds: Legacy 2, Notoriety 3, Status 9

Mata Hari loves her new "life" as a Deathlord. Her spies bring her information she uses to decide which way to vote. She knows the real powers are the Grim and Gaunt alliance and votes with them on certain things. Other times she votes with the Quiet Lord.

Relations with others

Allies: None
Opposed: None
Neutral: All

Views on the Others

Silent: They found life so painful they decided to end it. Great. Now they found themselves in even greater pain.

Pauper: Who am I, they ask. Who knows. All that matters is this side of the shroud. They can really appreciate that.

Emerald: These guys really know how to deal with life's little unexpected problems. Now if only they could handle deaths problems.

Grim: I'm not a cog in the machine, but they are. In order to do anything forms have to be filled out in triplicate. Give it a rest guys.

Gaunt: Cough! Cough! Uch! Oh sorry that's how they were in life. Let me show you how they are in death...

Iron: Well these old farts are great. They talk up a storm, but watch 'em hit the high road when trouble comes.

Fate: Our spies say there is something up. Scary bunch.

Renegades: These guys know what's up. They fight against a government that they just don't understand. Sounds rational to me.

Heretics: And they say I'm crazy!

Transcendence: I believe in it, but I know the reality that I'll never see it.