Exigent of Murder

BLOODY HAND Bloody hands are gods of murder. They prefer cities, especially violent and lawless cities such as Nexus, where they can bear witness to the taking of human life as often as possible. A bloody hand’s purpose is to observe murders, rather than commit them. A few still do so dispassionately, but most enjoy watching humans dispose of each other in cruel and painful ways. Many bloody hands collect trophies from murder scenes, and some encourage murderers to ever more baroque methods to satisfy the gods’ own lust for death. Despite most bloody hands’ taste for murder, few kill on their own except in self-defense. They prefer to observe and occasionally offer advice. Some assassins have found bloody hands to be useful allies; the gods will happily lure victims away from safety where they can be easily (but creatively) killed. In exchange for these services, bloody hands will demand that the murderer kill his victims in unusual ways. These methods range from using an exotic weapon or poison to deaths so gruesome only the most hardened killers are willing to perform them. While bloody hands enjoy witnessing murder and are willing to help murderers to a point, the gods rarely warn the mortal of approaching attackers who wield unusual weapons. An attacker who intends to kill a murderer she suspects of working with a bloody hand will typically arm herself with an exotic weapon in the hopes that the god will be more interested in seeing the weapon in action than in protecting or warning the god’s mortal confederate. Occultists and murderers know of a number of rituals used to attract a bloody hand’s attention, and all require human sacrifi ce. In most places, possession of a copy of one of these rituals is considered the same as intent to murder at least twice, and the owner is punished appropriately—torture until death is popular. Some desperate individuals call a bloody hand to assist with a single murder, a request any bloody hand will almost certainly grant. Unfortunately for such people, bloody hands are willing to go to great lengths to sate 30 their hunger for observing murder and will often black- mail their summoners into committing more murders. Those who refuse fi nd themselves quickly arrested and convicted of the murder, sacrifi ce and possession of the ritual to call a bloody hand. Investigators who track dangerous or high-profi le murderers are sometimes tempted to go to bloody hands for information. Since bloody hands are witness to numerous murders, they’re almost certain to have the information an investigator might need to track down his quarry. The price for such information is to commit at least one murder for the bloody hand—two if the bloody hand is working with the murderer in question. For many investigators, a relatively worthless life or two is cheap compared to capturing quarries the investiga- tors may have chased for months or even years. The fact that this is possible is enough to serve as deterrent for some would-be murderers. Others prefer to fi nd a way around doing the deed themselves or even hire hands in advance to identify investigators who would be willing to use this method to track the mur- derers down. This simply serves to complicate murder and assassination of important people in Creation to a Byzantine level. As a counterpoint, some offi cials in Creation are unwilling to sanction the use of murder to solve murder. These incorruptible few prefer to fi nd other means to solve such crimes, and are less tolerant of subordinates and colleagues who try to take the easy way out. Others not only sanction the use if murder to solve murder, they have offi cers retained solely for the purpose of dealing with bloody hands. Such men are dangerous for their lack of principle or conscience. Bloody hands appear as disturbingly slender humans with brilliant carmine lips and long, bloody claws. They can alter their appearances to look like any human, but blood always drips slowly from one hand. A bloody hand can hide this with a glove or bandage, but this disguise must be changed regularly or it will seep or overfl ow with blood. Sanctum: Bloody hands live in horrifi c sanctums deco- rated with murder weapons and the trophies of murders they have witnessed. Most reside in cities and place their sanctums in poor and dangerous neighborhoods. Those who ally themselves with murderers must be prepared to move on short notice. Unfortunately, this often means temporarily leaving sanctums behind or moving a sanctum to one of the murderer’s possessions—a purse of some kind is the most common item. Motivation: Witness ever more exotic murders. Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Stamina 5; Cha- risma 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 1; Perception 1, Intelligence 3, Wits 4 Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, Valor 4 Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Dodge 5, Integrity 3, Larceny 4, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: Varies; usually the local language and a trade language) 2, Lore 2, Martial Arts 5, Melee 5, Occult 1, Performance 3, Presence 3, Resistance 3, Socialize 3, Stealth 5, Thrown 5 Backgrounds: Allies 1, Contacts 2, Infl uence 1, Sanc- tum 2 Charms: Benefaction—Murderers Harrow the Mind Hurry Home Materialize—Costs 55 motes Measure the Wind Paralyze—Crippling effect; -3 dice with a successful claw attack Possession—Murderers Shapechange—Any human form Sheathing the Material Form—+12B/+6L against weapons Spirit-Cutting Stoke the Flame—Only one target at a time Tracking First (Ability) Excellency—Martial Arts, Performance, Socialize Third (Ability) Excellency—Performance, Presence Join Battle: 8 Attacks: Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 12, Damage 8L, Parry DV 5, Rate 3 Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 10, Damage 5B (P), Parry DV –, Rate 1 Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 8B, Parry DV 4, Rate 2 Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 5B, Parry DV 6, Rate 3 Throwing Knife: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 7L, Range 15, Rate 2 Soak: 9L/15B (Jade reinforced buff jacket, 7L/10B, -1 mobility penalty; Hardness: 5L/5B) Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap Dodge DV: 6 (7 without armor) Willpower: 8 Essence: 3 Essence Pool: 70 Other Notes: Blood from a bloody hand can be fashioned into a powerful paralytic poison equal in potency to arrow frog poison, but doing only bashing damage. The ritual to call a bloody hand is part of the Art of Spirit Beckon- ing (see The Books of Sorcery, Vol. III—Oadenol’s Codex, p. 140): Beckon Bloody Hand (2, Charisma + Performance, 3, one hour). It catches a bloody hand’s attention and draws its interest, but doesn’t compel it. This always requires a human sacrifi ce.”