Historical, Novel and Movie characters of Gothic Earth

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

Lady Ligeia, if you have an idea for a character just type it up and post it. I do have ideas for several characters myself, but I am writing full articles about them all

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Ebeneezer Scrooge
Neutral good human* intellectual/tradesman

As you can see, it's not a particular departure from Dickens' book, but maybe some of you good people have other ideas that we can add into Scrooge's character.

I like it. At the risk of demanding that every character have a dark element, I think that a good shadow in the Light of Scrooge would be his old partner, Jacob Marley.

Marley's success in helping to redeem Ebenezer turned to ash as he saw that this redemption held nothing for him. Having fostered in his cold heart some thought that redeeming Scrooge would bring an end to his torment, Marley spent many cold nights screaming to his unseen tormentors that his punishment was no longer just. Days blended into weeks, months into years, until finally Marley got an answer...from the Red Death!

Marley's ghostly powers have expanded fourfold in the service of the Red Death, and he has been given a fearsome gift that mocks his role in redeeming his old partner. Marley can now sense when a sinner repents,* and he sees to it that their past comes back to haunt them time and time again until they return to their wicked ways in futility. Like the Tannhauser of old, Marley's victims are carefully shepherded back into the lives of misery and debauchery, believing that they are beyond redemption.

Scrooge, of course, knows personally that no one is totally beyond redemption. His support of the cause of good has brought him into conflict with his old partner on several occassions, but Marley leaves few hints as to his true identity, and Scrooge has ignored the few that remain. After all, Marley helped redeem him; how could he possibly be in the service of evil?

Ebenezer has made a grievous mistake of late, having begun to seek out his old partner through seances in the hopes of helping Marley continue the work that Scrooge presumes him to still be a part of. The few clues Marley has left behind have convinced Scrooge that Marley and he were working to redeem the same person, who nevertheless refused. Scrooge hopes to prevent such failures in the future, but he has no idea that he is setting himself up to be Marley's coup de grace.

*In game terms, Marley can sense when someone atones for a dark powers check, lessening their connection to the Red Death.

[Lady Ligeia]

I love the takes on Scrooge and Marley! A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite stories.

I agree that we do need more "good guys," though.

How about this?

Glenda, the Good Witch of the North
NG Half-Celestial Adept/Mystic
Glenda is the major force for Good in a rarely-traveled demiplane known as Oz. Unfortunately for the whimsical and peaceful inhabitants of that plane, the Winkies and the Munchkins, the Red Death has permeated the Eastern and Western borders of Oz. Glenda and her sister, the Good Witch of the South, constantly battle the two major agents of the Red Death in Oz, the Wicked Witches of the East and West. Other agents of the Red Death, such as the Gnome King and the Growleywogs, are also working to snuff the light of the near paradise that is the Land of Oz.

Although Glenda desperately tries to be Lawful Good, her own innocence and naiveté lead her into occasional errors in judgement. For example, she once believed the wild claims of a charlatan and called him to Oz to help her fight the Wicked Witches. Unfortunately, the man turned out to be a fraud. Unwilling to admit her error, Glenda installed him as a Wizard in the Emerald City to cover the mistake. Glenda is also not above taking extreme measures to accomplish simple goals -- she transformed the Queen of Oz into a boy just to hide her from the forces of evil. She has also been known to summon innocent souls to Oz against their will in order to enlist them in the fight against the Red Death's agents. In short, Glenda is a fallible but well-meaning agent of Light who does what must be done when it needs to be done, but is not above subterfuge and half-truths to accomplish her goals. She over-reacts at times, but always has the defense of Oz at heart.

The demiplane of Oz is a very magical place, strong in the Light but slowly decaying under repeated assaults from the agents of the Red Death. Many strange and unusual creatures dwell there, such as intelligent golems of tin and straw, awakened animals, palaces made of precious stones and metals, and other more wondrous things. Now that Glenda is aware that the Red Death has also crept into Earth, she might provide certain charms or magical items to Earth's agents of Light to help them drive off the darkness. Of course, such boons must be repaid, and Glenda will demand their service in Oz if need be.

(From the many books of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Just think ... if you let the Wicked Witches find a way to Earth, you could have all sorts of evil flying monkey fun!

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

I like your take on Oz. How about having it connected only to the United States, the same way I've said that Wonderland and Neverland can only be travelled to through Britain.

[Lady Ligeia]

I like your take on Oz. How about having it connected only to the United States, the same way I've said that Wonderland and Neverland can only be travelled to through Britain.

That works.

The only major problem I have with my concept there is that words like "Winkie", "Munchkin", and "Growleywog" kinda take away from the Gothic Horror feel of the setting.

[Lady Ligeia]

Here is another "good guy" ... er ... "good girl" that is ...

Mary Poppins
LG [I don’t have the MotRD book yet, so I’m not sure what class(es) would be most appropriate]

With all the evils and depredations of the Red Death taking much of the attention of those who are aware of it, few people seem to care how ghosts, night terrors, and other monsters might be affecting the children.

Mary Poppins seeks to address that oversight. A highly trained and vigilant governess, Ms. Poppins is ever watchful for children in danger of being corrupted – directly or indirectly – by the Red Death. Her own childhood was one of horrors too terrible for her to relate as an adult, and as a young adult Mary dedicated her life to battling evil wherever it could be found. Now a grown woman and a true champion of Light, it is her sworn duty to save other children from experiencing first hand the true depth of Evil that seeps into the world from places beyond. To this end she employs a network of informants culled from nearly every layer of society from the lowest scullery maids to other governesses and chimney sweeps all the way up to the upper classes and, some say, even the Queen herself. She has worked with VanHelsing on more than one occasion when a child was threatened by some manifestation of the Red Death.

Although at heart Mary Poppins is deadly serious about her mission, she never lets this seriousness show to her young charges. At all times she is merry, playful, and adventurous towards the children she protects, never letting them see anything but a ray of sunshine from her. She is seeminly an angel on earth (and some say she is literally so, and there may be some truth to that). If her children are ever put in direct danger, however, Mary will spare no ounce of her considerable magical abilities to defend them. As a spell-caster, Mary concentrates primarily on spells of illusion (to amuse children) and abjuration (to protect them). Her demeanor can change from a benevolent, jovial nanny to a fierce protector displaying righteous wrath in a moment if her charges are harmed.

Some who know of Mary Poppins disagree with her, suggesting that she is doing children no favors by protecting them from even knowing the true nature of Evil. They say that doing so makes them incapable, as adults, of dealing with the horrors they may face because they have never experienced it. Mary will heed to no critic, however, and refuses to alter her methods.

Mary travels throughout the world looking for children to protect, but mainly operates in England, her homeland. Her main mode of transportation is an umbrella enchanted with the power of flight (treat as a broom of flying from the 3.5e DMG).

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

Now for a fallen God...

Gwyn ap Nudd
Gwyn was born to the water Goddess Nudd (Nuv), who in turn was born to Nemain (No-wen), the only God in the history of the celts to have his mother recognised as his parent that was the mother rather than father. He was a violent child and rogue in his action, growing into his position of the Lord of the Last Hunt. With the coing of the Romans, and later the Saxon and Viking invasions, Gwyn's power grew and overwhelmed that of many of the other gods of Britain. The Red Death was not ignorant to this growing power in the world, for each time Gwyn ap Nudd rode this Last Hunt to fetch another soul the god grey in power and stature. Eventually, the Lord of the Gods of Ancient Britain, Mawr, father of all was forced to entrap Gwyn ap Nudd forever in the Underworld, leaving his cousin Morgan as his guard.

While imprisoned in the desolate demiplane where the cursed souls and unwelcome entities are damned to spend eternity, Gqyn ap Nudd grew closer to his cousin and fell in love with her, she in return fell for him. The pair plotted Gwyn ap Nudd's escape, but the Red Death intervened at a key moment in theur plan and seduced Gwyn ap Nudd through his lover.

Mawr discovered Gwyn ap Nudd's plan and Morgan's betrayal, entrapping them both in the Underworld, but the Red Death's dominion had spread far and wide, allowing Gwyn ap Nudd to escape the permanent damnation for but a single night each year. On the night of Samhain (Sow-en) Gwyn ap Nudd leads his Last Hunt again, seeking out the souls of the recent dead to feast upon that night before being cast once more into the Underworld.

Gwyn ap Nudd's Last Hunt is comprised of countless souls that appear in all manner of forms, from the lowest of prey to the mightiest of hunters, however, most is comprised from souls of the damned that he leads out of the Underworld each year. Gwyn ap Nudd's ultimate goal is the hunt down Mawr, suspecting the older god to have perished some centures ago, though the fate of his prey is far from uncertain, though possible, given that Mawr has not been seen by the other Gods for many centuries. Gwyn ap Nudd Will gladly hunt any prey he encounters, fresh souls are his preferred prey, though any will do by his reckoning.

[Lady Ligeia]

Very nice!

The Bell Witch is one I'd want to add as well, but I need to do a little more research. The Bell Witch Cave could be written up as a lair, too.

[Lady Ligeia]

The Jersey Devil
(Chaotic Evil half-fiend, classes to be determined)

The Jersey Devil is the half-fiend son of a woman named Leeds. Mother Leeds was a witch, and a follower of the Dark Man of the Woods (a figure of witchcraft-lore, preseumably the Devil himself or a manifestation of the Red Death personified).

Mother Leeds bore many children as a result of her unions in dark orgies in the secret groves of the dismal Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey . She birthed 12 children, and in 1745 when she found she was pregnant with yet another child she cursed it with ever fiber of her being. Having grown to hate children throughout her harsh life, she wanted no more. The Dark Man heard the curse, and granted her wish. The child was born a half-devil creature and flew off into the night.

Over the years, the Jersey Devil has appeared hundreds of times. It stalks the Pine Barrens endlessly, screeching in the night. It was effectively exorcized in 1750, when a knowledgeable priest was able to banish it back to Hell. With the portal sealed, the Jersey Devil was seemingly gone for good. It managed to find a way back to New Jersey in 1890, however, and once more stalked the Pine Barrens. In 1891 The Jersey Devil found his mother’s books of magic in a secret sub-basement of the Shroud House, and managed to learn several spells to bolster its already deadly arsenal of innate diabolical magic.

The Jersey Devil now dwells in that sub-basement, venturing out very infrequently to explore the changing world and learn what it can of it.

[Lady Ligeia]

The House of Usher
Wrecked House, possible sinkhole of evil, ethereal resonance, or phantasmagoria
Biography: What exactly happened on that fateful night when the House of Usher collapsed is still uncertain; however it took with it the last surviving members of the Usher family line. The only survivor, a family friend of the Ushers, spoke only tales of madness and terror, and is now old and feeble or dead.
Current Sketch: The House now lies in smoldering ruins, never examined further because of its infamous reputation. However, recently some nosy investigators have decided to examine the collapsed house to get the true picture.
Forbidden Lore: The ruined mansion seems to have taken on a decayed but sinisterly aware atmosphere, and the surrounding populace gives it a wide berth. Rumors of strange, unexplained noises like incoherent rambling still persist. Nearby gravesites sometimes witness unknown vandalisms where the coffins look like they have been broken from the inside out.
(Source: Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher)

I like this! Could we start a "Lairs" thread to desrcibe locations from history and fiction? I have a few ideas for that one, but I don't know the Lairs rules yet (I really need to get this book so I can more fully participate in these idea thread! )

[Lady Ligeia]

Inspired by the write-up of Shere-Khan, two more undead Big Cats ... this time from a historical source:

The Ghost and the Darkness
aka the Lions of Tsavo

Restless Prey Lions (2)
(Restless Prey template can be found here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20030531a)

In March 1898 the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in East Africa. Over the next nine months, two large male lions killed and ate nearly 140 railway workers. Crews tried to scare off the lions and built campfires and thorn fences for protection, but to no avail. Hundreds of workers fled Tsavo, halting construction on the bridge.

Before work could resume, chief engineer Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson (1865-1947) had to eliminate the lions and their threat. After many near misses, he finally shot the first lion on December 9, 1898, and three weeks later brought down the second. The first lion killed measured nine feet, eight inches (3 m) from nose to tip of tail. It took eight men to carry the carcass back to camp. The construction crew returned and completed the bridge in February 1899.

Although Patterson had killed the lions, this was not the end of his ordeal with them. The remains of the two lions reanimated days later as Restless Prey. Fearful for his life, Patterson went into hiding and has not been heard from since. Now stalk Kenya and add more and more deaths to their already impressive tally of kills.

[Dr Bloodworth]

The Gray Sailor (Fungoid Zombie* explorer/scout)
Sailors in the Pacific may encounter an eerily deserted freighter looming out of the fog. As they draw nearer the vessel, they may hear a plaintive cry, a plea for food and fresh water, the caller never seen. This is the Gray Sailor. The Gray Sailor is the voice of the "survivors" of the ship Albatross, a wrecked Australian vessel.

When the survivors made their way onto the abandoned freighter, they found that the entire ship was covered in a type of gray mold. The gray mold was sentient in some way and soon the survivors had all become dominated by the fungus -- both mentally and physically, their bodies now transformed into fungal matter.

The one now known as the Gray Sailor is possessed of a clear mind, but is compelled to lure the merciful and good-natured onto the vessel where they are made into the fungal monsters the survivors have become.

* Treat these fungoid zombies as per MM zombies, although they also have Plant traits.

-- Altered version inspired by "The Voice in the Night" by William Hope Hodgson and the film drawing its inspiration from that story, the Japanese movie Matango AKA Attack of the Mushroom People (1963). The freighter itself is also being written up in the "Lairs" thread.

[Lady Ligeia]

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
(c. 1898)

Young Master Tolkien is a 6 year old boy who lives in Birmingham, England. He is an adventurous youth, and has many imaginitive tales to tell of his many adventures in the fields and pastures around his home. One such tale involves a cave near a pond he discovered which, the young boy claims, leads to a fantastic world of elves, dwarves, and high adventure. Of particular interest to the lad are creatures called hobbits, which he claims are fully grown but are no bigger than he. His mother and brothers dismiss his wild tales as the idle imaginings of little boy with too much of an interst in fairy tales, but his descriptions of places and people are far to detailed to be mere fancy. There may be some truth to Master Tolkiens stories after all. The boy refuses to show anyone the cave he has discovered, however, and this only adds to the disbelief of his peers and parents.

[William Blackmoor]

Very nice additions
I'm currently working on a write-up for the elflord Midir of BriLeith.
Being one of the remaining good elves who didn't went to Tir'nan'Nog, he's hunting for some of the Red Death's Minions who are connected to his history.
But it will probably take some time because i'm quitem busy with my job at the moment

[Lady Ligeia]

May the ghost of Hans Christian Andersen and the good people of Copenhagen forgive me ...



The Sea-Foam Ghost
(Neutral Evil merfolk ghost)
The shores of the Baltic Sea are the haunting grounds of the harrowing shade of a girl who met a particularly tragic end. Her name is unknown, but local legends claim that she is none other than the ghost of a mermaid who was magically transformed into a human. This mermaid, the story goes, sold her voice to a wicked sea hag in exchange for a human form. In this form, the lonely mermaid hoped to win the heart of a prince who lived near the sea, whom she had spent many days watching with longing deep in her heart. The hag gave her only a few short weeks to win the prince’s heart, and should she fail, she would die and return to the water as green sea foam. Unfortunately for the mermaid, the prince fell for another, and she was destined to die. Her sisters, concerned for the little mermaid, sold their hair to the sea hag in exchange for a dagger. Should the little mermaid kill her lost love with this dagger and bathe in his blood, her mermaid form would be restored and she could return to the sea. Unable to bring herself to perform this evil act, the little mermaid died and returned to the sea as foam.

Now her forlorn ghost stalks the shores of the Baltic Sea, a whispy, humanoid shape formed of blowing sand and sea foam. In her eternal torment of loneliness and despair, she stalks and terrifies young men with her frightful visage – yet she is still unable to make a sound thanks to the dreadful curse of the sea hag that robbed her of all happiness. She stops short of killing the young men she encounters, however, for even though she is twisted in her rage she still cannot bring herself to commit murder. Rather than killing them with her ghostly powers, she dissipates in a dank cloud of green mist, leaving them as raving madmen unable to speak.