Dark Age Rogues Gallery — Feng Shui characters based on the Collectible Card Game

Dark Age: Feudal Lords is a collectible card game produced by FPG in which rival gangs battle for survival in a postapocalyptic world. The product of the combined efforts of several of todays hottest fantasy artists, the result is a card game which features some of the most spectacular artwork on the market. The game is no longer being made, but the artwork still serves as a rich pool of inspiration. I've delved into this pool, and created a number of Feng Shui characters based on the cards. The ideas here aren't based on the characters in the game itself, but rather the artwork featured in the game. Each entry has a thumbnail scan of the character which links to a larger portrait, so you can see the artwork which inspired the character.

This gallery is an ongoing process, so check back periodically to see what's new.

Nemesis

In the S & M club scene, and in the criminal underworld on both coasts, rumors have spread about a mysterious figure known only as “Nemesis”. A shadowy figure without a past or an identity, after five years he has grown into something of an urban legend with hundreds of wild exploits attributed to his name, many of them contradictory. To some, he is a dark avenger of the night, fighting crime with swift and savage justice. To others, he is a ruthless assassin who guards his identity fiercely, and who can be had for the right price. Some say he is an angel of retribution, and that if you can find him, he will help you in your time of need. Others say that he is the ultimate master, an elusive figure who promises unimaginable ecstasy to those he deems worthy. Finally, some say he is nothing more than a myth. The truth is that he is often less than his legend, but much more than anyone could imagine.

Nemesis' real name is Brian Seaver, and he is a native of the 2056 juncture. A loyal follower of the Buro state, he joined the military at an early age and served as a simple grunt. His story might have ended there, had he not been “found” by the CDCA. They had been looking for test subjects for a radical new development in arcanoscience, and Brian's unusually high attunement to chi energy waves made him an ideal subject. The CDCA had been working on a way to create arcanowave-enhanced soldiers without the inevitable degeneration that accompanied it. They believed that they had found a way to alter human beings on the molecular level so that their DNA would accept the arcanowave implants without being subject to the accompanying mutations. Brian volunteered willingly and was subjected to the process, which went horribly awry. The treatment not only enhanced him physically, and it also heightened his senses to incredible levels and it made him immune to further mutation, but in the process his body was horribly warped and disfigured. Essentially, Brian suffered full-fledged arcanowave mutation all at once, stopping short only of transforming him completely into an abomination. He was left a hideously deformed freak, wracked with pain, and blind as well.

The scientists wrote Brian off as a failure, and he would have been locked away for good had he not managed to escape the lab. For weeks he hid out, until finally he made his way into the Netherworld, and eventually into the modern juncture, where he disappeared into the streets of New York. For weeks he lived in a pitiful state, constantly hungry, cold, afraid, and in agony, until the night he met Tara Quinn. She had been walking home from the subway late one night when she was grabbed by a gang of thugs who planned to rape and murder her for kicks. Huddled in the garbage in the alley, Brian witnessed this attack, and despite his misery, he knew that he couldn't let this happen. He attacked the gang and sent them fleeing in terror. Expecting the same from Tara, he was surprised when she responded to him with pity instead of revulsion. In gratitude for saving her life, she took him home and took care of him. Over the next few weeks she learned his story, and although she it didn't make much sense to her, she agreed to let him stay.

Once Brian was situated with Tara, his thoughts turned to revenge, and so Nemesis was born. He drew his inspiration from Tara's lifestyle: she was a professional dominatrix, and so she helped him create his distinctive leather suit. She also steered him toward doing more than simply waging war against the Architects. Tara instilled in him the idea that he should use his abilities to make a difference in the world, and that he had to stop feeling sorry for himself and use his powers to help other people, just as he had helped her and she him. Of course, she didn't really believe in the stories about the Buro and the future, until they tracked Brian to her apartment and destroyed it in an attempt to kill him. Since that time they've gone underground, and from there the legend of Nemesis really took off. Brian has made it his priority to fight the Architects in the modern juncture whenever and wherever possible. However, these instances are often few and far between, and so he also contracts out as a killer, but only against other criminals and the like. Tara acts as his agent, and so his reputation in criminal circles as a highly skilled assassin has spread worldwide. The money he makes keeps them both alive, but it's also true that he'll take on missions to help those who are truly in need. He makes no money off of these jobs, but he feels that in some small way it helps him atone for who he was.

When Nemesis is seen, which is usually only before he makes a kill, he is always seen in his outfit. Only Tara and a few high-ranking Buro intelligence officials know who he truly is, and only she ever sees his true face. She is also the only one to ever use his true name — even he thinks of himself as Nemesis now. Needless to say, he is extremely imposing, and when he speaks, which is rare, his voice is deep and hollow. Nemesis has been known to aid other factions in the secret war, but only when it furthers his agenda of thwarting the Architects. He is too much of a loner to ever join a group. The Architects are actively hunting him, but with little success. A few of the more powerful members of the Lodge know who he is, and they are keeping their eyes on him while they decide what to do with him. In truth, he's been as much of a problem as he has an asset, but the fact is, even they have trouble keeping track of him at all times.

Tara Quinn, a.k.a. “Black Rose”

Tara Quinn, or, as she is known in her profession, “Black Rose”, is many different things: a high-class dominatrix and well-known member of the S&M club scene, an agent who contracts out professional hits on underworld figures, a fugitive from the Buro police state, and the partner of the mysterious figure known only as Nemesis.

Tara prefers not to speak of her past much, but what is known is that she ran off to New York City at a young age, where she became involved in a lot of unsavory things, including prostitution and drug abuse. Eventually, she wandered into the realm of S&M, and she carved out a niche for herself as a professional dominatrix. One night, while walking home from the subway after a job, she was jumped by a gang of thugs intent on raping and murdering her. She struggled wildly, but certainly would have been done for had a mysterious figure not intervened. She watched in shock as something out of a nightmare dispatched her attackers with incredible speed and ferocity, seemingly impervious to their blows. Only after the fight did it retreat in the alley, and she saw that her rescuer was no monster, but only a man in great pain and misery. Where others would have run in terror, she approached her rescuer and comforted him, and then took him home to care for him. Over the next few weeks, she learned that his name was Brian Seaver, and that he claimed to be from the future. He told her that he had been the subject of an experiment conducted by an all-powerful world government that had given him amazing physical prowess and heightened senses, but which had also left him blind and deformed. Although she didn't know what to make of his story, Tara took pity on Brian, and allowed him to stay with her. This was a decision that would change her life forever.

Over the next few weeks, Brian made the transformation into the dark avenger known as Nemesis. She saw that he was hell-bent on revenge against his former masters, and that if she didn't intervene, he would grow into a hateful killer. She convinced him that, despite all he had suffered, he had an obligation to use his powers to do good, and to help those who needed it. She helped design his costume — a full leather bodysuit with spiked armor — and she set him on the path of the masked avenger. What she didn't know was that the Buro was real, and that they were hunting him. They eventually tracked him to her apartment, and the two barely escaped with their lives.

Since then, Tara's life has changed radically. She still frequents the S&M club scene, though this is to maintain contacts, not to make money. Her primary income comes from acting as an agent for Nemesis. She contracts out hits for him to various underworld sources for a hefty price, but only against other criminals. She has let the rumors spread that those who want to reach Nemesis have to go through the Black Rose, and she is careful to screen her potential clients carefully, always on the lookout for traps. However, she has also been known to help out those who come to her truly in need of help. These jobs are passed on to Nemesis, not for the money, but because they are the right thing to do. The two of them are always on the move and constantly on the lookout for a chance to disrupt the Architects schemes while at the same time staying ahead of their killers.

Tara has had a hard life, and as a result she maintains a distance between herself and everyone. She has no real friends, only acquaintances from the S&M scene, and in that setting she always maintains an air of jaded detachment and cool indifference. She is aware of the practical realities of her situation, and so she has no problem taking money from criminals in return for the deaths of their colleagues. However, despite the mercenary persona she's cultivated, deep down she still knows right from wrong, and though she doesn't feel capable, she aims for the former whenever she can. She's harsh on those who come looking for Nemesis, but if their need is genuine, she'll help them out. The only person she has any true affection for is Nemesis, and even that she rarely lets show. In truth, she owes him her life, and she also cares for him very deeply.

Jalissa Singh

Jalissa Singh is a servant of Pui Ti, the Queen of the Ice Pagoda, continuing a tradition in her family that began eight generations before. Originally, her family came from India, where they served in the court of Li Ting, the King of the Fire Pagoda. A series of court intrigues led to her family being accused of treason, and Li Ting ordered her whole line utterly exterminated. Most of them were killed in the purge, but her distant progenitors managed to escape to the north, where they sought sanctuary with Pui Ti. She granted this request, but in return demanded that the firstborn member of each generation of her family be given over to her service. The deal was struck, and so in every generation one of Jalissa's family has served the Ice Queen. Jalissa is the latest to honor the deal.

Almost as soon as she could walk and speak, Jalissa was given over to Pui Ti and trained to serve her mistress. Decades earlier, the Ice Queen had made a wise bargain, for magical talent ran strongly in Jalissa's family, and Jalissa herself was no exception. She was trained rigorously not only in the arts of sorcery, but also in hand-to-hand combat, espionage, and all the other skills she would need to act as an agent, spy, enforcer, and assassin. At 18 her training was complete, and she was sent out on her first mission: to assassinate a high-ranking member of the Fire King's court, who was in secret negotiations with a similar courtier from the Darkness Pagoda to combine their forces to move against the Ice Queen. Jalissa not only killed the courtier, she also eliminated eight of his guards and the Darkness courtier and her retinue, and she made it look like the two groups had turned on each other, destroying any possibility of an alliance. That was over 10 years ago. Since then, Jalissa has grown into one of the Ice Queen's most valuable and competent servants.

Jalissa is completely loyal to Pui Ti, even if she doesn't always understand her motives. She was already an experienced innerwalker when the Monarchs fell, and so she remembers the world as it used to be. Personally, she would like to see things go back to what they once were, and she doesn't understand why Pui Ti isn't working toward that goal. Nonetheless, she obeys her orders without question, despite that fact that she could have easily broken away during the fall. Recently, however, she has found herself faced with a dilemma of a different sort. The critical shift that deposed the Monarchs also wiped the memory of most of her family, who stayed behind in the modern juncture. This has left Jalissa with the duty of providing the next servant for the Ice Queen. Needless to say, not only would this end her current service for the Queen, but she has had no experience with child raising or even with romance. Like her mistress, she maintains an air of cold reserve and distance, and she has totally dedicated herself to her work. As a result, she has never learned to love anyone.

On her 18th birthday, Jalissa was bought before the Pui Ti to officially pledge her service. At this time, the Ice Queen presented her with a magical weapon as a mark of her status. This weapon is simply known as the ice gun, though it is far different from the common variety ice rifles used by the Queen's soldiers. The ice gun is a bulky, stainless-steel pistol with a small barrel and a curved clip. The clip doesn't actually contain bullets, but rather acts as a battery of magical energy. The weapon fires an ice-blue beam of energy of biting cold which bypasses Toughness entirely, and takes out unnamed characters on an Outcome of 3 or less. Jalissa rarely carries more than one extra clip, if any, when on a mission, and so she uses the gun sparingly. Only about a dozen of these guns are rumored to exist.

Ice Gun: 10/4/10**

Lia Istrate

Lia Istrate is a relative newcomer to the secret war, but her name has already spread throughout the Netherworld. She has garnered a reputation as a top notch ring fighter, skilled and strong and without fear. This stature is not unearned, for Lia is indeed an excellent gladiator. She has bested every opponent in the ring so far, including warriors much larger and stronger than herself. Partially this is because of her superior skills, partially because of her excellent physical condition, and partially because of her steely nerves. Mainly, though, it comes from a lifetime of struggle.

Lia is as distant as she is powerful, and so few know anything about her. She has no friends, but those few who have managed to engage her in conversation have come away with a strange story. Lia claims to come from the future, more than 50 years after the time of the Architects. In this future, she claims that the earth is in ruins after a war of genocide between Homo Omega and the Architects of the Flesh. Sometime in the Architect's future, Omega managed to turn the Abominations against their masters while at the same time crippling the Buro's defense capabilities everywhere. The Architects responded by activating a fail-safe program which triggered their entire arsenal of nuclear missiles, neutron bombs, and orbital fusion lasers. Most of both sides, as well as everything mankind had built, were utterly destroyed. Only a tiny fraction of humanity survived. Unfortunately, so did Homo Omega. He continued his campaign of extermination against humanity and, according to Lia, he's winning.

Most of the people who've heard her story, or rumors of it, have laughed it off as nonsense and delusions, and in truth Lia could care less. A few others have taken her seriously, and they've asked her to join them to help change the future. Lia has turned them all down. She fights for no one except herself, and she has no interest in changing the future, or in anything else. Rumor has it that she turned down an offer from the King of the Thunder Pagoda to join the ranks of his champions after she singlehandedly defeated 10 of them in a row in single combat. This isn't entirely true; she only defeated one of them, though it was his top fighter. She did, however, turn down his offer, and thus earned his scorn, and the undying enmity of Cargus, his champion, who was banished by Huan Ken after his defeat. None of this concerns her. She has no home, and doesn't seem to want one. She also seems to have no emotions or desires, and no one knows what motivates her. Her only interest seems to be in winning enough money in the fights to survive, and so she wanders the Netherworld (and occasionally into other junctures), always looking for a new match, her reputation growing after each one.

Lia may seem to have no feelings, but she does have some secrets. One of them is that she has a younger brother, Alexander, who also escaped to the Netherworld with her. Although the two cross paths every once in a rare while, she wants nothing to do with him or his crusade, and she shows as little emotion toward him as she does everything else. Her other secret is that she is being hunted. An abomination known as Archon has pursued both she and her brother into the Netherworld with the intent of destroying them both. Her constant movement, and the fact that her brother has been vocal in his attempts to gather support for his cause has largely kept Archon off her trail. They've only met twice since she entered the Netherworld, and both times it nearly ended in her death. She doesn't fear Archon, but she doesn't know if she can defeat him either. She would rather have nothing to do with the whole situation, but deep down she knows that she'll have to face him again, and that she'll need her brother's help to defeat him.

Alexander Istrate

Alexander Istrate is a crusader in the secret war, and though he is a recent participant, his name has become known to most of the major factions, even if his credibility is less than widely accepted. Alexander is unique in that he claims to be only one of three individuals to hail from an unknown juncture over 50 years after the time of the Architects of the Flesh. Alexander claims to have stumbled onto a portal to the Netherworld from his own time, and ever since then he has spread his story as far and as widely as possible, hoping to rally as many people to his cause as possible. That cause is making sure that his future never comes to pass. Unfortunately, getting people to believe him is another matter entirely.

According to Alexander, in his time the earth lies in ruins, the result of a catastrophic war between the Architects of the Flesh and Homo Omega. Sometime in the Archtiect's future, Omega managed to turn the abominations against their masters while at the same time crippling the Buro's defense capabilities everywhere. The Architects responded by activating a fail-safe program which triggered their entire arsenal of nuclear missiles, neutron bombs, and orbital fusion lasers. Most of both sides, as well as everything mankind had built, were utterly destroyed. Only a tiny fraction of humanity survived. Unfortunately, so did Homo Omega. He continued his campaign of extermination against humanity and, according to Alexander, he's winning.

While this story has sparked a lot of interest, the support it has garnered has been spotty at best. The most enthusiastic audience so far has been the Jammers, and for a while Alexander believed he had found the ideal group of supporters. However, he was horrified when he learned of their anarchic dogma. Although he has little concept of Feng Shui, he comes from a future in which everything is in ruins, and so the last thing he wants to do is unleash more destruction upon the world. Although he has worked with the Jammers from time to time, relations between the two are cool. Things are only a little better with the Dragons. Although he feels that he and they are kindred spirits, he can't understand why they won't support him wholeheartedly. The Prof, for her part, believes his story could be true, but as she points out, the Dragons oppose tyranny across the timestream, and can't afford to commit to fighting just one enemy. Alexander has had similarly poor luck with the Guiding Hand and the Ascended. Alexander shares the Hand's hatred of the abominations and their Architect masters, but he's found them to be too rigid and slow-moving for his tastes, and he refuses to accept their world view or authority. The Ascended are even worse. Although they share his goals, Alexander recognizes them for the ruthless vipers that they are (though he doesn't know about their true heritage). He's also made appeals to all of the Four Monarchs, but found them all to only be interested in how his information could improve their positions, except for the Ice Queen, who expressed sympathy but would not commit her support. In fact, the only major faction that he hasn't approached, or vice versa, are the Eaters of the Lotus, for obvious reasons.

Of course, the other faction interested in his story are the Architects themselves. Rumors have spread to them about Alexander's story, and they would very much like to question him. So would Homo Omega, who is extremely interested to find out what Alexander knows, and how it could affect his future plans. Needless to say, Alexander seeks only to destroy both of them, and he has clashed with Buro agents on more than one occasion. However, his most relentless pursuer comes not from the 2056 juncture, but from his own time. Alexander is being hunted by Archon, an abomination sent by the Homo Omega of his time to hunt him down and prevent him from altering the timeline. Alexander has clashed with Archon several times in the past, and it was only luck and the intervention of others that saved him. In fact, Archon would no doubt have caught him by now, were it not for the machinations of other interests in the secret war.

Alexander now wanders the Netherworld and the junctures, looking for support wherever he can. In some respects, he resembles the questing knights of old, and in truth his manner is chivalrous and brave. He is also a natural leader, with an uncanny knack for winning people over to his cause. Unfortunately, most people only can or will help him in small ways. What's more, those who have flocked to his banner have often been unstable, or unhelpful, or motivated by self-interest or even desperation. Many of them have ended up dead as well, casualties of Alexander's personal war. Alexander also has a sister, Lia, who wanders the Netherworld. However, she is as emotionless and cold as Alexander is passionate. She refuses to join him, or even to have anything to do with him, and their meetings are infrequent and strained. Thus, Alexander continues his lonely crusade alone, with only his conviction to keep him going.

Archon

Archon is an inhuman hunter from a very dark future, an unnatural product of advanced arcanowave technology, and far more advanced than anything produced by the Architects of the Flesh, with the exception of his master, Homo Omega. Highly intelligent, lethally armed, and completely relentless, his mission is to track down two refugees from his own juncture and prevent them from altering the future, a future in which the earth has been devastated, and Homo Omega leads a campaign of genocide against the few remaining survivors.

Archon comes from a previously unknown juncture, one set over 50 years after the reign of the Architects. A random portal opened to this juncture, allowing two humans to escape into the Netherworld. Before the portal closed again, Homo Omega was able to dispatch Archon to the Netherworld to hunt them down. His fear is that they could potentially alter time and wipe out his existence. It is a real possibility; the Architects control more than enough Feng Shui to change reality, and they would certainly destroy Homo Omega if they knew what the future held. Thus, Archon has been assigned to eliminate the two refugees, a brother and sister named Alexander and Lia Istrate. An abomination born of advanced arcanotechnology, Archon is ideally suited to his task. His supernatural heritage means that he needs no food or sleep, he never tires, he can regenerate damage, and can even be revived from near destruction. His technological aspect has provided him with a host of deadly powers and weaponry. He is one of the most lethal killing machines ever created, and he is utterly without mercy.

Despite all this, Archon has so far been unsuccessful in his mission. Lia has managed to keep a low profile and is constantly on the move, while Alexander has enlisted numerous sources of aid which have saved his life on more than one occasion. However, the true impediment to his mission has been the Architects of the Flesh, who have heard rumors about his existence. They don't know the whole story, and so they are extremely eager to locate Alexander, Lia, and Archon. In fact, it is Archon in whom they are most interested, for he represents a leap forward in arcanowave science. Were they to capture him, the information they could garner from him would give them a tremendous edge in the secret war. Thus, they have directed a great deal of their resources toward finding and holding him. Archon has clashed with the Buro forces many times, and in several instances came away grievously wounded or even at death's door. He has regenerated in each instance, but these have meant time-consuming delays.

The Architects are not the only ones who are interested in Archon. All the factions have crossed his path in some way or another, but aside from the Buro, Archon's greatest trouble has come from Homo Omega himself. Omega has learned of Archon, and needless to say, he is anxious, almost desperate, to find him. Archon has knowledge that could not only destroy him, but which could also dramatically alter his plans. He too, has expended great effort (although secretly) to find the abomination. However, the Omega of the future anticipated this, and he instructed Archon to avoid his earlier self. The situation is too unpredictable, and the future Omega knows that any meeting between his earlier self and Archon could just as easily be disastrous as it could be fruitful.

Archon is a being of great intelligence and intense evil. His only interest is in completing his mission, and he can and will do whatever it takes to achieve this goal, with no concern for anything that gets in his way. He carries out his duties with ruthless efficiency, and he has no concept of pity or compassion. In fact, the only thing close to an emotion he seems to demonstrate is a mildly sardonic attitude. Eerily, he seems inquisitive, and almost polite when he speaks, but his voice always betrays his true malevolence. He has no regard for life, and kills without remorse or hesitation.

Cargus

Formerly a Thunder Champion in the Huan Ken's court, Cargus was also the reigning master of the battle arena, and a favorite of the Thunder King. A braggart and a bully, Cargus was also a skilled and powerful warrior, and he was undefeated in the ring. That all changed the day he faced off against Lia Istrate, a powerful ring fighter with a growing reputation. After a feirce battle, she defeated him in front of his leige, and then turned down an offer to join the Thunder Champions. Enraged, Huan Ken took out his rage on Cargus, banishing him from his court. Since then, Cargus has grown bitter and vengeful. His obsession is to find Lia and kill her in single combat, thus reclaiming his former status.

A native of the Netherworld, Cargus grew up in a nameless exile village. Early on, he learned that the strong flourished, and the weak were trampled underfoot. He adopted this attitude fully, and his youth consisted mainly of an endless series of brawls that taught him how to fight. When he grew into manhood, he took up the life of a ring fighter, travelling from village to village and earning money by battling local champions for sport. His skills, combined with his natural strength and size made him a formidable opponent. With each victory his reputation as a powerful and vicious fighter spread. Eventually, his name reached the ears of the Thunder King, and he was invited to demonstrate his mettle in the arena. Cargus eagerly accepted, and then defeated several opponents with ease in single combat. Impressed, the Thunder King offered Cargus a place in his ranks, and Cargus, knowing a good thing when he saw it, agreed. From the onset, it was obvious that Cargus was too strong to be a simple knight, and so Huan Ken made him one of his champions. This opened the door for Cargus to learn exotic kung fu powers, and he became an even greater fighter afterwards. Although he was not much of a leader, he was a superb fighter, and so Huan Ken made him master of his arena. Cargus proved himself by defeating opponent after opponent in the ring. Eventually, he earned the reputation of being the strongest fighter in Huan Ken's retinue. While this was not strictly true, what was true was that, in the arena, he was indeed the best.

Serving the Thunder King meant living the good life, and Cargus exploited this to the fullest. A great carouser, Cargus was fond of wandering into nearby villages and bragging about his status. He would then pick a few fights, just to demonstrate his prowess, and he was soon despised as much as he was feared. However, this would prove his undoing. One day he happened to choose an inn that was also the lodging of Lia Istrate, a wandering ring fighter with a mysterious past. Cargus began his usual round of bragging, only to find himself confronted by Lia. She claimed that she was his better, and the enraged champion responded by challenging her to back up her words. She agreed, but demanded that the fight be held in front of the Thunder King, and that she would be rewarded if she won. This put Cargus off for a moment, but his arrogance prevailed and he agreed to the terms. The Thunder King was intrigued when he heard the news, and he offered up a substantial prize in gold to the winner. Thus the two met in the arena before a vast crowd, all of whom had heard the news of the challenge. The battle between the two was long and brutal, with Cargus holding the edge in size and strength. However, Lia was the better and smarter fighter. She disarmed Cargus, and then stuck him repeateedly in his vital areas until he fell. Huan Ken, delighted by the spectacle, offered Lia a place in his retinue before the assembled crowd. However, his pleasure turned to anger when Lia refused him, saying all she wanted was the money. Spurning the King was a tremendous insult, especially in public. However, because it was in public, Huan Ken had to swallow his pride. He did not, however, contain his anger, but instead redirected it to his fallen champion. He stripped Cargus of his rank and title, and banished him from his presence.

Since that day, things went from bad to worse for Cargus. Outcast by his king, he was forced to make his own way. However, his reputation still proceeded him, and no ring fighter would face him. Destitute and friendless, Cargus has become a bully and a renegade, preying on the denizens of the Netherworld, and then moving on before he can be captured. He has become obessed with finding Lia and killing her. He believes that by doing this, he will regain his reputation and the favor of the Thunder King. Cargus is still a bully at heart, and he cares about no one but himself. There is no kindness, compassion, generosity, or pity in his soul.

Magellan

Common wisdom is that when you need someone to guide you through the Netherworld, you need to find Magellan. It's said that no one has traveled farther or more widely than he has, and that no one knows it's countless passageways and portals better. This is no lie; although there are many willing to act as guides in the Netherworld, some of them even competent and honest, none are as good as Magellan.

No one seems to know much about Magellan, though countless legends have sprung up about him through the seedy dives and exile villages of the Netherworld. No one knows his true name or origin, but rumor has it that he was once a Special Forces commando from the modern juncture, or an agent of the Ascended who went rogue. Others maintain that he's from the 1850s, or even A.D. 69, while others maintain he was born in the Netherworld. The one thing, however, that everyone can agree on is that he's the best at what he does. Magellan himself tends to be rather taciturn about his past, and most everything else. He does, however, possess a seemingly endless knowledge of the geography of the Netherworld, no mean feat considering its size and unstable nature. He knows the locations of dozens, if not hundreds, of portals and where they lead, and he knows the quickest and the safest routes throughout the Inner Kingdom. He's also wandered farther than anyone else, and on the few occasions when he can be induced to tell a story, he's spoken of strange and wondrous places hidden in the far off corners of the Netherworld. Nonetheless, no matter how far he's traveled, or how much things have changed, he always seems to be able to find his way around.

Magellan has no set home, but rather wanders from village to village selling his services as a guide. Finding him can be somewhat difficult, but if word is put out, he usually finds his prospective clients himself. Magellan appears to be completely neutral in the secret war. He's worked for all of the factions at one point, but he tends to avoid the Architects and the Lotus. Rumor has it that the Buro once pressed him into service as a guide for a crack team which planned to stage an ambush on one of the Buro's enemies. As the story goes, Magellan instead led the team through an unsafe area into a deadfall, and then dispassionately left them to die. Magellan is well versed in the currents of the secret war in the Netherworld, which means he knows who holds what area, and which places are best to avoid. Nonetheless, his skill with a gun is enough that he can take care of himself, though he prefers to avoid violence.

Magellan is a quiet, straightforward person not given much to idle chatter. It isn't that he's aloof, it's just that he usually only speaks when he has something important to say. He's also known to have a somewhat morbid and sardonic sense of humor that tends to put most people off. However, if caught in the right mood, a few pints of ale or a good cigar have been known to get him to talk a little about his travels. For the most part though, he keeps his past shrouded in secrecy.

Dr. Harold Weissman, Ph.D., M.D.

Harold Weissman was born in 2022 and grew up in a chaotic world that would eventually fall under the sway of the Architects of the Flesh. Pudgy and socially inept, he was a classic nerd all through his youth; brilliant at his studies, shunned and victimized by his classmates. Constant harassment and abuse at the hands of gangs in his disintigrating neighborhood left him with a strong streak of cowardice and a tendency to submit to those stronger than himself. In other words, he was a perfect candidate for employment in the Buro state. Harold's physical and social shortcomings were counterbalanced by a brilliant mind that propelled him through medical school and eventually into the CDCA, where he grasped the fundamental's of Dr. Dao's work readily. His talents were thus chanelled into developing arcanowave devices that could be directly implanted into future generations of Buro Supersoldiers.

However, Harold's deficiencies would come back to haunt him even in this role. Largely clueless when it came to political infighting, Harold failed to account for the machinations of his jealous and paranoid colleagues, none of whom particularly liked him. Harold soon found credit for his achievements going to other, better connected scientists. He was passed over for promotions, and relegated to thankless projects. Finally, Harold decided to make a stand for once in his life, and naturally he did it in the worst possible way: by raising a stink in front of his colleagues at a department meeting. Within a week he found himself assigned to frontline duty in the Netherworld, a “prestigious reward” for all his hard work and service.

Isn't wasn't long before Harold's worst fears were recognized. He was called into the feild to support an attack against a suspected rebel stronghold. However, the assault turned into a debacle as the Buro troops were cut off and decimated by carefully planned Jammer ambushes. During the fighting Harold's unit was isolated, and when the smoke cleared, Harold found himself face to face with a heavily armed, cybernetically-enhanced gorilla. An angry, wounded gorilla. At that moment, something inside of Harold snapped. His professional instincts took over, and he began treating the creatures wounds. Surprisingly, instead of killing him, it dragged him back to a Jammer stronghold where it put him to work tending the wounded. For hours Harold performed primitive field surgery, patching up wounded Jammers, including those with cybernetic implants, all the time working with absolute calm and quiet confidence. When he was finally finished, the Jammers made him an offer: join them or… well, it wasn't really a choice.

Since that time, Harold has worked for the Jammers, and for once in his life he's actually happy. He's still terrified of violence, but when he's in the thick of things he becomes focused and confident. When not working, he spends time performing biotechnological experiements. He's taken to it as quickly as he did arcanotechnology, and he often works with dump warriors trying out new ideas. No one bullies or insults him, and his new comrades actually appreciate his work.

As part of his ongoing experiements in human modification, Harold has come up with a few items which he's tested out on himself. These include:

• An adrenal booster. This increases REF by 2 for one sequence. Using it requires a CON check, with the difficulty equal to 10 plus the number of times it's been used in the last 24 hours. Failure means that Harold takes 10 points of damage and is at −2 impairment for the next hour.
• A pain suppressor. It negates all impairment for an hour, then doubles it for the next two hours. Using it requires a CON check, with the difficulty equal to 10 plus Harold's current impairment level. Failure means that Harold suffers a −2 penalty to his REF for the next hour.
• A neural stimulator. This works just like the arcanowave device of the same name, and has the same drawbacks.

Chud

In the year 2056, there's a rumor going around the city of New Angeles that something deadly lurks beneath the streets. According to the story, the thing lives in the maze of sewers under the city, coming above ground only to hunt and kill it's victims before disappearing into the darkness again. No one knows what it is, but those who tell the story claim it has a name: Chud. The city PubOrd commisioner has denied that such a thing exists, or that there have been any murders or mysterious disappearances at all, but this is a lie. The rumors are true. The thing known as Chud is actually a supernatural creature that was “collected” by a Buro capture squad during one of their forays into the A.D. 69 juncture. Designated #A170114, it was transported through the Netherworld to the 2056 juncture, where it was designated for “conversion” at the New Angeles CDCA processing center. However, its arrival coincided with the explosion of a Jammer bomb, and as a result #A170114 was able to escape and make it's way into the sewers. Once the situation had been assessed, the Buro dispatched a team of monster hunters to locate and retrieve it. The team was ambushed and slaughtered by the creature to the last man. Since then, the creature has been responsible for the destruction of a second capture team, a heavily armed PubOrd tactical team, 5 individual PubOrd officers, 4 sewer maintinence workers, and 5 civilians. Somewhere along the way a veteran PubOrd officer began referring to the thing as “Chud”, taking the name from a movie that had been old even when he had seen it on TV some decades ago. Somehow, the name stuck, and spread out onto the street.

It's no mistake that Chud has survived for as long as it has. Physically massive, the creature is nontheless inhumanly fast, with superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes. It can see in the darkness of the sewers without problem, and it has come to know all of it's passages and byways intimately. Desipite its bulk, Chud can move very quietly when stalking its prey, and it has the ability to strike from darkness and then seemingly disappear again. This is exactly how it has managed to defeat everything the Buro has sent against it so far. Although it would be no match for a capture squad in the open, in the narrow, dark confines of the sewers it has managed to kill it's enemies by picking them off one at a time, or by attacking them in places where they can't bring their numbers or firepower to bear. On top of all this, Chud is possessed of wickedly sharp talons, and it heals from wounds almost as quickly as they are dealt. As a result, it has proven impossible to subdue so far, and the sewer workers of New Angeles have refused to venture underground so long as the situation remains this way.

Chud stands roughly eight feet tall, with gangly arms that reach down to it's knees and fingers which end in black claws. Despite it's ungainly appearance, it is actually quite swift and agile, and it can move through the sewer tunnels with phenomenal speed. Its face is an inhuman nightmare of glowing yellow eyes and razor-sharp teeth, and its body is hairless and covered with warty, purplish-gray skin stretched tight over misshapen bones. In the darkness, the only warning that it is approaching is the stench of death and decay which surrounds it.

Anya Khrolovich

Anya Khorlovich was born 30 years ago in the frigid northern regions of a Russia ruled by the Queen of the Ice Pagoda. Her father was a high-ranking official in Pui Tui's court, and at an early age she was chosen to serve as a personal agent to the Ice Queen. Through a mixture of determination, natural talent, and aggression Anya grew to excel in her training, surpassing all her peers except one. Jalissa Singh remained her equal, slightly inferior to her in physical combat, but stronger in innate magical talent. Anya became obsessed with beating her rival, an obsession that grew into hostility which was exacerbated by the fact that Jalissa herself refused to acknowledge that the rivalry even existed.

However, Anya never got the chance to prove her superiority. Her father was caught in an act of treason, and Pui Tui ordered him executed. The rest of her family was sold into slavery, and Anya herself was cast out into the wilderness, to die alone in the cold. However, this was not to be the case. Through her spies, the Queen of the Darkness Pagoda became aware of the situation, and so she sent an emissary to offer Anya a choice: become a servant of Ming I, or perish in exile. Needless to say, it was not a difficult choice.

In Anya Khrolovich the Darkness Queen found the perfect tool. Not only was she already well trained, but also naturally ruthless, full of rage, and thirsty for revenge. Ming I completed her training, and then set her loose. Anya proved to be a highly efficent killer with a real taste for her work. If anything, Ming I found she had to curb Anya's exuberance for bloodshed, especially when servants of the Ice Queen were involved. Needless to say, Anya was obsessed with revenge on Pui Tui. Since this was a practical impossibility, she transferred all of her hatred to her old rival, Jalissa Singh. The few times they crossed paths in the field were explosive, but indecisive. Since then, the Darkness Queen has had to order Anya not to go after Jalissa, because she does not want to risk losing such a useful servant for nothing.

In the present day, Anya serves Ming I in the netherworld as she did on earth. Although she remains unquestionably loyal, her real motivation is her undying hatred for Jalissa Singh and Pui Ti. She is, of course, quite insane, her obsession having driven her over the edge a long time ago. If anything, however, this only makes her more useful. In combat she is a tempest of destruction, deadly with her sorcerous abilities, but prefering to fight in close combat whenever possible. She is arrogant, short-tempered, vicious, and sadistic. She never laughs, unless it is over a helpless opponent, and her only “hobbies” are interrogation and torture. Mercy, compassion, and pity are completely alien to her.

Anya wears a magical suit of armor in combat, bestowed upon her by the Queen of the Darkness Pagoda, that provides 2 points of protection without imposing any Agl penalties, and which reflects magical blasts back upon their caster. If a character targets Anya with a blast spell and misses, Anya may immediately make a Sorcery task check at 0 shot cost, with the casters Sorcery rating as the difficulty. If successful, the caster is hit by her own spell. Note that this does not work if Anya actively dodges the blast, but it does work if she actively parries it.

All content copyright ©1997-2004 by David Eber, unless stated otherwise. (Read the legal fine print.)

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