DRYH: Ashes of Gods - Setting Details

MAJOR NIGHTMARES

The Raven King - Pain 12 (15 when using Voice)

The Raven King is an old Nightmare. And once ruled the Mad City completely before the Red Queen and Mistress When toppled his reign and stole his power. At a distance the Raven King is a mere silhouette of a lanky man in a long coat with a raven's head and eyes that glow a terrible sickly green.

The presence of any of the Awakened too near him reveal his true form, all flesh falling away like shadow leaving a blackened skeleton that is mostly human, with a raven's skull and taloned hands and feet.

The Raven King does not speak directly to anyone. It is said his voice is death to any who hear it [Pain 15]

The Fool and the Hound Masterare the Raven King's loyal Lieutenants.

The Blood Queen - Pain 3/6/9/ (by Watch)

The Blood Queen is first and foremost the Nightmare to Nightmares.

In all her incarnations she appears as a bloodsoaked female. In the First Watch [from the first through the fourth hour] she manifests as a little girl [Pain 3]. In the Middle Watch [from the fifth through the eighth hour] she manifests as a stately woman [Pain 6]. In the Last Watch [from the ninth through the twelfth hour] she manifests as a gnarled crone with jagged nails and teeth [Pain 9]. No one even whispers about what she becomes during the Thirteenth Hour or what Pain she brings then.

Special: The Pain Rating of Nightmares who come within sight of the Blood Queen drops two points and remains reduced while in her presence. Only the Raven King and Mistress When, (and perhaps the Keeper) are known to be immune to this effect. Inklings, for whatever reason, add one pain to their rating in her presence and tend to congregate near her unless ordered to do otherwise.

Mistress When - Pain 10

Mistress When is a striking beauty whose features match the expectations of whoever gazes upon her. Considering her position, most expect exquisite. And Mistress When is nothing if not exquisite. It is said her long war with the Raven King began with his visit to her Tower in the early days of his reign. Mistress When expected to gain influence and power at that visit, but when he entered, her beautiful body began to seep and sag, what was supple and soft turning into something flaccid and rough, a putrid bag of black and rotting flesh. Reportedly, she screamed blood, demanding if this was the form he expected.

To her horror, he simply replied that he had come without expectations. Then he turned and walked away, the implication hanging in the air like judgement.

It is rumored that Mistress When cursed his voice with the spectre of death that day in retribution.

That she allied with the Blood Queen to Unmake the Raven King is more than mere rumor, though her success was not as complete as she once imagined.

The Wretched are Mistress When's faithful Lieutenants and the Menagerie are hers to command and contract as she pleases.

The Keeper - Pain 8

The Keeper is a hulking black figure with eyes like embers and the skeletal head and horns and hooves of a great bull. Brands tattoo every inch of his hide, glowing and fading like red-orange coals, echoing the Keeper's every breath.

The Keeper bears no weapons, and for all that his form takes on the vital aspects of a great bull, he has never been known to trample or gore. A confrontation with the Keeper is a confrontation of subtlety and magics. Whispers of the mind, a snort of breath, a flick of his fingers; the elements of earth and ice and fire are the Keeper's to command.

Special: When the Mad City is close enough to the City Slumbering to produce Labyrinth, the Keeper is able to come and go between them without need of the Portals and Ways.

The Hartshorn are the Keeper's sworn Lieutenants.

Haggler King - Pain 6/1

The Haggler King is the uncontested Lord of the Bizarre Bazaar. Nothing is bought or sold in his Bazaar that he has not approved it. The Haggler King manifests as a bearded, turbaned old man with weathered skin and gold rings on every finger and hanging from his ears. His eyes have been torn from his skull and his mouth is stitched shut.

In his right palm is set a single darting eye and in his left a mouth with a forked tongue full of vicious pointed teeth.

Within his demesne the Haggler King wields considerable Pain. Outside the Bazaar he commands only Pain 1.

Cat O' Nine - Pain 9 (- special)

Towering head and shoulders over his Lieutenants, Cat O'Nine has the upright posture and form of a large man with the head, claws, and tail of a great cat. He is a monster of red fur and mangling scars, his left ear and eye long ago ripped away and his tail bobbed. He wears a vest and trousers and a bowler hat cocked down over his scars and wields a roman style scourge of nine braided whips of human skin tipped and studded with bone and iron hooks.

Nine Lives: Defeating Cat O'Nine doesn't necessarily take him out of the fight. When defeated, subtract 1 from his total Pain rating for each character who had a hand in his defeat. He can immediately force another confrontation at his new Pain rating if he chooses, but he will never willingly risk dropping to Pain 0.

The Catspaw are Cat O' Nine's to command.

The Traveler - Pain 5

The Traveler is a towering wraith of a figure, indistinct and uncertain, sometimes made of mist, others of mere shadow, others of nothing at all. It is rumored that the Traveler is the bit of the Raven King that he left behind when he fled Mistress When and the Blood Queen. That the Traveler is the straw man they 'killed' when they thought they were slaughtering the Raven King himself, and with the Raven King's return this wispy bit of himself is awakening again, this time independent and aware on its own.

It is believed that the random patterns of the Wisps can be commanded and controlled by the Traveler.

Special: The Traveler carries with him a bone staff as tall as himself. Unlike the Traveler, the staff is incredibly solid, ringing against stone and pavement and earth like an iron bell. It is believed that this artifact is the last craft of the Five Smiths and that it grants the Traveler his autonomy from the Raven King.

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NIGHTMARE LIEUTENANTS

The Fool - Pain 5

The Fool is a thin androgynous figure in black and white motley and an oval mask, half black, half white with only a bare rectangular slit for each eye and the mouth. The Fool does not speak, but can communicate quite fluidly through pantomime. In certain light, with certain movements, the observer would swear the Fool to be a lean young man under that mask, while in other light with certain other movements, the observer would be equally certain the mask hides a slim young girl.

The Fool is the Raven King's primary means of communicating directly with the Awake when he wishes, though the Fool will often set forth on its own agenda as well.

The Fool commands the Inklings.

The Hound Master - Pain 4

The Hound Master is a tall gaunt man with the image of a skull painted on his dark face and a green glint in his eyes. He always manifests shirtless in a tattered black suit with tails and top hat. Two great black hounds accompany him at all times, increasing his effective Pain rating to 6. The Hound Master commands the Black Dogs of the Raven King.

Special: The Hound Master has a terrible reputation both in and out of the Mad City. Minor Nightmares, will avoid the Hound Master and his Black Dogs, fleeing from his presence for dear life. Lieutenant level Nightmares not directly allied with the Raven King will viciously and immediately attack him on sight. When being attacked by other Nightmares, the Huntsman's Pain increases by 2 + 1 for each additional Nightmare beyond the first to a maximum Pain rating of 12.

If a major Nightmare attacks the Huntsman, he can blow his Horn to summon the Raven King.

The Huntsman's Horn: The Huntsman bears a bronze bugle etched about with runes that seem to devour any light that touches them. At need he can blow this horn to summon the Raven King. It is rumored that his ability to add pain against other Nightmares comes from this Artifact.

The Wretched - Pain 3

The Wretched are women of the Menagerie who have grown beyond their station to become Mistress When's Lieutenants. The Wretched always manifest as gaunt women in proper modest garb with their lower jaws ripped away and black blood constantly seeping out of the wound that remains. All animalistic aspects from their time in the Menagerie are gone, but a twinkle of mad lust and invitation remains in their eyes.

The Jack - Pain 4

Once the brother of the Raven King himself, the Jack has become nothing more than a mad beast of smoke and claws and ravening teeth. The Jack is an eyeless beast, shifting constantly between Ursine, Vulpine, and Lupine manifestations, black fur bristling, black claws lashing out, black teeth constantly bared.

And the Jack is completely silent, moving in and out of reality in billows of black smoke.

Special: The Jack is rarely encountered except that he is called or summoned by an Awakened, usually through inadvertently interacting with the discarded broken toys of the Scampers.

The Hartshorn - Pain 3

Three shadowy figures, the robed figures of tall men with the skulls of great stags hovering where their heads should be, wander the Ways between the Mad City and the City Slumbering, doing the Keeper's bidding. No one knows if the Hartshorn are real Nightmares born from the souls of men or if they are creations of the Keeper, but their loyalty and devotion is uncanny and unquestioned. Tricks of the mind are the demesne of the Hartshorn, weaving the mists and damp into illusions of loss and pain in the minds of their prey.

Old Scratch - Pain ?

Old Scratch appears as a shrewd, dark haired fellow with amber eyes, perfectly white teeth, and a finely groomed goatee. He is always seen in an impeccable white shirt, and matching vest and trousers of dark worsted wool and a fobbed pocket watch at his belly. His black leather shoes shine like glass.

Old Scratch is often encountered during the Thirteenth Hour and he will typically only talk Deals. He wastes little time on anything else. He offers no goods or services, only asks what is desired, then names a price to obtain it. Scratch never fails to fulfill a bargain. But he also never fails to collect its price.

Old Scratch's Pain rating is not known.

Catspaw - Pain 4

Slinking humanoid figures with feline heads, tails, and claws, the Catspaw function like an organized gang, collect 'protection' and hassling transients for tolls of passage through their tattered fiefdom. On the other hand, they mercilessly root out any other criminal element in the Wharf and will fight off encroaching Nightmares and Awake alike if they feel they are a threat.

The Catspaw can leap great distances and always land on their feet.

Techno Babblers - Pain 3

Challenging the Catspaw for dominance, the Techno Babblers are an odd blend of human and machine forms, travelling in odd derelict packs, wreaking havoc where they can. Some evidence suggests leadership, but no one seems to know what Major Nightmare the Techno Babblers answer to.

Special: Static. Techno Babblers can release electric energy that interferes with other technology, masking it with white noise or intermittently interrupting the flow of power, causing flickering and other fluctuations in their presence.

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MINOR NIGHTMARES

Urchins - Gas Mask Faced kids in wartime period garb, England WW1. Minor Nightmares

Raggle Taggle Hagglers - Nightmare Hagglers as RK

Scampers - as per RK

The Menagerie - as per RK

Black Dogs - Massive black hounds

Willow Women - as per RK

Barnacle Boys - as per RK

Plaguerats - as per RK but rattier, less hominid

Leaping Lepers - as per RK

Hermit - as per RKish

Gibbering Prophet - as per RK

The Rag Girls - Molly Rags of RK

Inklings - as per RKish

DENIZENS

Hagglers - Denizens of the Bizarre Bazaar

Cogs - as per RK

The Eyeless (wax king esque)

The Fallen Legion - as per RK soldiers, gang members, etc

OTHER

Clockwork Insects

Wisps - as per RKish

The Nethsers - places where the Mad City bleeds over into the City Slumbering wholesale

The Bizarre Bazaar - as per DRYH/RK

The Labyrinth - an overlay of confusion when the Mad City is close to the surface of the City Slumbering