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 Master are 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.

---

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 Hound Master'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 Jack - Pain 4 (+ special)

Once the brother of the Raven King himself, the Jack's power was torn from him by one of the Awakened at the behest of Hell itself. It is rumored that the Hound Master saved the Jack from destruction, but the once great Nightmare has become little more than a mad beast of smoke and claws and ravening teeth.

An eyeless beast, the Jack shifts constantly between Ursine, Vulpine, and Lupine manifestations, black fur bristling, black claws lashing out, black teeth constantly bared, utterly silent, moving in and out of reality in turbulent clouds of billowing 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. When summoned in this fashion the Jack adds the summoning Awakened's current exhaustion AND any permanent madness to his Pain rating.

The Jack is the only Nightmare known to serve lesser Nightmares - whether by weakness, madness, or design - and the Major Nightmares allow it. They do not approach the Jack or interfere in his designs.

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 Hartshorn - Pain 3

Three shadowy human figures in rugged tasseled buckskins, tall and lean, 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.

The Nightling Gale - Pain 7

With the chiming of the Thirteenth Hour, the Rooftop Jungle becomes a particularly uninviting place as the Nightling Gale rushes among the rooftops, sweeping away anything not properly anchored as it rages through the hour. The Nightling Gale has no sentience or thought. It will not attack with malice or tactics, but when it arrives it is an unrelenting force of madness.

Awake who find themselves in the Jungle at the striking of the Thirteenth hour are well advised to find a portal or descend quickly. Those caught in the Gale must roll against Pain 7 or be swept to a random location selected by the GM. In a successful encounter, the character selects where they end up or are able to anchor themselves against the Nightling Gales mindless rage.

Special: If sufficiently threatened, the Night Callers are able to summon the Nightling gale outside the Thirteenth Hour. They must roll their collective Pain versus the current exhaustion of all Awakened present on the scene. Dominance does not play into this roll and players do not have to roll any dice.

---

MINOR NIGHTMARES

Willow Women - Pain 1 (6 during a Forced Gaze)

Lithe and flexible and tall, the Willow Women are fair skinned with extremely long limbs and hands and feet and toes and fingers and their hair drops down all about them in a curtain of fine pale braids, like the hanging branches of the willow tree, hiding their faces and most of their form. The Willow Women will not willingly move aside their braids and look directly on another being and tend to keep their heads down and their faces hidden, but if someone were to part those pale braids, stark black eyes with no color or whites would stare back. Anyone caught in that naked gaze faces Pain 6 in a confrontation that cannot be avoided. In this special encounter all 6s rolled for Pain count towards Madness instead when determining dominance.

Not only do the Willow Women never speak, they have no mouths to do so.

'Special: The Willow Women typically do not engage in conflict, but if defeated they (each) add one madness die to the character's next roll, whatever that roll may be, at which time the Willow Woman passes from existence forever. This die does not count against the total madness dice allowed to a character, but any madness dice that come up six during that roll count as two sixes for the purpose of determining strength. Further, any madness dice in the pool when the Willow Women were defeated do not fall off until the end of the next roll. These dice do count against the character's allowed total since they are his own dice, just hanging around for one more roll.

If other characters added dice to help the main protagonist defeat the Willow Women they share his fate on the subsequent roll as well.

Inklings - Pain 1

Made of shadow, inklings resemble children in form but with huge hands and feet and great grinning maws full of shadowy teeth. Inklings are three dimensional in form, but being made of the stuff of shadow they are somewhat translucent, except for the inside of their mouths beyond their shadowy teeth. That is black as never.

Silent as death, Inklings are never seen unless they wish it, but they are everywhere, watching from the shadows and - via the Fool - acting as the Raven King's eyes in and out of the Mad City.

When Inklings attack, they attack they attack in swarms. And though they are utterly invisible while they are ensconced in shadow, they do have to leave the shadows to attack. Their hands have no grip and their teeth have no bite if their bodies are in shadow.

Only during the Thirteenth hour are Inklings truly vulnerable, taking on the form of mute children wandering derelict. During the Thirteenth Hour an Inkling's Pain rating drops to zero effectively turning them into mere Denizens. For better or for worse, Inklings caught in this state within the confines of the Bizarre Bazaar do not revert back to their Nightmare form at the end of the Thirteenth Hour.

Black Dogs - Pain 2

Massive black hounds with slavering jaws and glowing green eyes, Black Dogs hunt at the behest of the Hound Master. They can scent guilt and fear and track their prey tirelessly. When they have brought their prey to ground, their Howls call the Hound Master to their location.

Scampers - Pain 0

No one has ever seen a Scamper, but many have heard them, their little feet skipping or dragging across the cobbles, childlike laughter or sobs ringing out from the gutter, the alley, the next street over, the alcove just passed. Investigation will never turn up a Scamper, but will instead lead to a toy set in the middle of a street or gutter or alleyway siting in the middle of its own little puddle of light all alone as if under a streetlamp that just isn't there.

The toy might be anything - a teddy bear, a doll, a jack in the box - battered and well loved and oddly compelling. Picking up the toy will have one of two effects; characters with Discipline equal to or exceeding their current Exhaustion dice immediately lose all exhaustion. If, however, the character's current Exhaustion exceeds their Discipline, the toy summons the Jack.

Regardless of the effect, the toy immediately fades away.

The Night Callers - Pain 1

The Night Callers crowd the Rooftop Jungle, leaping from one building to another with fearless abandon, shouting to one another as they go through their constant game of motion. They are of a size and shape with little children but have the faces of birds and beasts and might have fur or feathers or tails to match the face, though their main limbs remain more human than beast. For instance while one might have feathers on it's arms that hang down like wings, they are still arms, not actual wings. Not that that makes them any less mobile as they flit about from spire to spire.

In particular, when the Night Callers spot one of the Awake in their domain, or other surface dwellers climb up, they let out an odd warbling cry that brings more of their kind and - perhaps more importantly - summons the Nightling Gale. [See Special]

Special: If sufficiently threatened, the Night Callers are able to summon the Nightling gale outside the Thirteenth Hour. They must roll their collective Pain versus the current exhaustion of all Awakened present on the scene. Dominance does not play into this roll and players do not have to roll any dice.

The Broken Ones - Pain 2

The Rag Girls - Molly Rags of RK

Plaguerats - Pain 2

Smaller than the Catspaw, Plague Rats are even more ratlike than the Paws are catlike, but still move mostly upright and have some humanoid characteristics. Though they do not actively provoke the Catspaw, Plague Rats have no interest in order, shakedowns, or protections. They simply do as they wish and slink away into the shadows.

The Rats are not terribly brave unless they know they have numbers or their prey is otherwise helpless.

Special: Should Pain dominate in an encounter with Plague Rats, one Pain die lingers with any characters involved in the encounter. That pain die is added to the Pain rating the characters face in their next confrontation.

Barnacle Boys - Pain 2 (6 when being skinned)

Vaguely shaped like small boys but covered head to toe in a carapace of thousands of living barnacles, the Barnacle Boys hang out on the docks and piers and jetties collecting information for the Catspaw and the Night Callers alike, as well as for any Awake that can pay their price.

When crouched down against a piling or the base of a dock or storefront, Barnacle Boys all but look like a bit of crumbling foundation. They are also very agile and adept, able to use their bony growths to quickly shimmy up pilings and walls to the rooftops of the Wharf and even up to the Rooftop Jungle.

If attacked and defeated, Barnacle boys break and get smaller, but as long as one barnacle remains, they live and will regrow.

Barnacle Boys have a vicious unreasoning hatred for Plague Rats and will attack them on sight.

Special: The barnacled hides of Barnacle Boys are worth much in trade to certain factions within the Bizarre Bazaar. It should be noted, that removing a Barnacle Boy's hide is the only way to actually kill it, so they tend to be alive and screaming throughout the process. Pain 6 to skin one.

Raggle Taggle Gypsies - Pain 1

Mischievous denizens of the Bazaar, the Raggle Taggle Gypsies flit about the crowds in scraps of colorful billowing silks and sashes, never stopping long in any one place, and are ubiquitous simply by virtue of the fact that they are literally everywhere. Though newcomers to the Bazaar might be tempted to worry about thievery, the actual purpose of the Raggle Taggle Gypsies is more subtle, and often more dangerous. Anyone entering the Bazaar with even one current exhaustion die are subject to become a target for their antics.

Converging on their mark in packs to gain the cumulative affect of their Pain, the bulk of the Gypsies act as a whirling distraction while one of their number places a stolen item on the protagonist's person. Infused with the bizarre madness unique to the Raggle Taggle Gypsies, the rightful owner of the stolen item immediately knows who has it and believes that they stole it.

Special: The First Rule of the Raggle Taggle Gypsies is Do Not Talk About the Raggle Taggle Gypsies. Any attempt to describe these ubiquitous denizens of the Bazaar will be met with amused disbelief and appreciation for a fine tale that might earn a mug in a friendlier place than the Mad City. Despite the fact that they seem to be everywhere, apparently only the Awake are actively aware of them.

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

Gibbering Prophet - as per RK

Hermit - 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 Nethers - 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