As I’ve been working on Mutants & Heretics as well as the Dark Eden campaign, I’ve been having fun stat’ting up NPCs for the Mutant Chronicles. Here’s a couple of new NPCs:

Avena Reznik [NEMESIS]

“The pin-up of CEN” as she is known in Luna PD (although not to her face), Avena is a detective, first grade in Luna PD’s Homicide Division. No other detective in the division has such a high clear-up rate. She has featured in a number of high-profile media cases, but was once the subject of a case herself.

As a rookie Luna PD cop, Avena was captured and held prisoner for three weeks by Grigor Valentinov, the infamous “Rookery Raptor”. Starved and subjected to all manner of foul depredations, Avena somehow kept her sanity. At least, that is how the psych reports read. The autopsy reports of Valentinov state that he fell into the industrial machinery of the disused factory where Avena was being held. The post-mortem wounds were consistent with such injuries.

The truth is far darker. Chained to a a steel pipe, Avena was weak from starvation, but had worked a part of the pipe loose into a makeshift shiv she hid in her sleeve. Then Valentinov came to visit, looking forward to ending her life, whispering vile suggestions and atrocities into her ears. Unable to bear it any longer, Avena plunged her shiv into his neck.

Valentinov bled out in front of her and Avena couldn’t help but smile. Still chained to the pipe, Avena was still trapped, alone, and so very hungry… But there was fresh meat in front of her, and within reach. And at that point, Avena was lost to the Darkness, as the Black Hunger took hold. With the first bite, she was privy to Valentinov’s memories, and where the corpses of his victims were hidden.

Found staggering through the Nines by a routine patrol, she was the only survivor of the Rookery Raptor – and the press ate it up. Once she was cleared, she led Luna PD to every one of the graves of the Raptor’s victims with her “unique” psychological insights. Fast-tracked through the ranks, she quickly found her place in Homicide.

She has fallen under the sway of the Dark Apostle Algeroth, although she is unaware of it. The Black Hunger, her cannibalism, is quickly leading her down the path to damnation.  She has rationalised her behaviour by the ability to catch killers, often leading to a convenient fatality outcome. By consuming the flesh of the victims she gains insights into the identity of the killers. However, the growing urge to kill and feast on the flesh of killers is growing…

She often uses her Dark Gifts to conceal her kills, and her abilities mean she gains some insight into how an individual died. She is very careful to herself concealed from the Brotherhood and does everything by the book.

Avena is a statuesque 6′ 2” black woman, with dark-blonde hair (which she keeps close-cropped and short) and has striking blue eyes. She dresses like most of the Luna PD in functional clothing – although it is of the highest quality, owing to corporate sponsorship. She also fronts some CEN ads for beauty creams, appearing as a women of twenty-something years old. She is older than that, but no one has looked at her personnel file to affirm this. Her “diet” allows her to appear far younger than she is.

Avena can easily become part of the Investigators’ world. They may know her from the CEN broadcasts, or she takes a personal interest in their investigations. She is the ideal a rookie Luna PD looks up to. She may even be a mentor to one of them.

Avena works closely with Manny Leibovitz (see below) who knows her appetites and sees her as one of his best “customers”.

Soak: Ballistic Nylon Trenchcoat, Heavy Civilian Shoulder Pads: (Head 0, Torso 1, Left Arm 2, Right Arm 2, Legs 1)

Wounds:

• Head 3
• Torso 8
• Arms 4
• Legs 6
• Serious 6
• Critical 4
• Mental 8

Attacks:

• Piranha Handgun (ranged): Range C, 4+[DS]3, Semi-Automatic, 1H, Close Quarters, Hidden 1
• Dagger (melee): 3+[DS]4, 1H, Armour Piercing 1, Hidden 1

Special Abilities

• Personal Dark Symmetry (4)
• A pound of flesh: By consuming a pound or more of a corpse’s flesh as a standard action, Avena can learn who the corpse was and sees the last moments of the corpse’s life.
• Black Hunger: After suffering a Repercussion in combat, Avena enters a berserk, cannibalistic fury, gaining the Braindead special ability. In this state, she gains one bonus Momentum on all Close Combat and Unarmed Combat skill tests, but all attacks against her gain one bonus Momentum as well. When in this berserk state, she must devour her foes as well. After killing a creature, Avena may stop to feed. She can feed for up to three turns, regaining [DS]3 wounds at the end of each turn. Under normal circumstances, this is voluntary, but if she has succumbed to the Hunger, she must feed as often as possible, for as long as possible, and it will only stop feeding if she is attacked – at which point, she will attack the creature that interrupted her feeding.

Dark Symmetry Spend

• Dark Gifts: Avena can use the following Dark Gifts as a Heretic of Algeroth: Call Karnofage, Dark Curse, Dark Ward Painless, Summon Malignant, Swift Portal, Swift Shadows of Unrest.
• Call Karnofage (Dark Soul): By spending two Dark Symmetry points, the Heretic summons a Karnofage, calling one lurking in the vicinity. The Karnofage appears within Close range of the Heretic, and may not act during the turn it is summoned. Multiple Karnofages may be summoned, increasing the Dark Symmetry point cost by two for each additional Malignant summoned. The Karnofages remain for as long as the Heretic concentrates on this Gift – as soon as he stops concentrating, the karnofages vanish, scuttling into shadows. See Dark Soul for more info on Karnofages.
• Summon Malignant of Algeroth: By spending two Dark Symmetry points, the Heretic summons a Malignant, calling one lurking in the vicinity, or summoning one from one of Algeroth’s abyssal realms. The Malignant appears within Close range of the Heretic, and may not act during the turn it is summoned. Multiple Malignants may be summoned, increasing the Dark Symmetry point cost by two for each additional Malignant summoned. The Malignants remain for as long as the Heretic concentrates on this Gift – as soon as he stops concentrating, the Malignants vanish, scuttling into shadows or vanishing in a sulphurous cloud. See Dark Soul for more info on Malignants of Algeroth.
• Swift Shadows of Unrest: This is one of the few Gifts in Algeroth’s pattern that is not directly martial in nature. It was given by Muawijhe, as a way of spreading discord, though Algeroth’s followers more commonly use it as a distraction before a battle. By spending one Dark Symmetry point. The Heretic produces a cacophony of screeching and terrifying murmurs, followed by a maelstrom of vaguely humanoid shadows. They can be directed to assail any the Heretic wishes to impair, so long as he is able to see them. The shadows are terrifying figments, appearing to claw at their victims, yet while their touch is chilling and uncomfortable, it inflicts no harm. While this Gift remains in effect, the Heretic can spend a Free Action to direct the shadows to assail a living, intelligent creature within Medium range. That creature must attempt a Willpower test with a difficulty equal to this Gift’s difficulty or suffer a mental assault.

Manny Leibovitz [Trooper]

Manny is a familiar sight to many of Luna PD, as he works for the Coroner’s office. He also maintains the nearby crematorium, where the bodies of homicide victims are disposed of after autopsy.

A cheery individual despite his vocation, Manny has a sunny disposition. Slightly overweight, he dresses smartly no matter the circumstances. He wears thick glasses, and is near-blind without them. He is a stickler for paperwork and procedure, almost to a fault, as many rookie PD officers find out.

Manny’s cheerfulness hides his dark and ghoulish side-line. He sells access to bodies. He doesn’t care what happens to a corpse as long as he gets paid. Over the years he’s been paid to alter autopsy records, lose forensic evidence, provide body parts to heretics, and cremate bodies without death a certificate. Some Luna PD Detectives have used him to frame would-be killers. Heretics may also use his services to dispose of their victims. There are also those like Avena Reznik whose appetites run to more sophisticated or depraved levels.

Manny is the kind of character the Investigators could encounter a lot in their investigations. He is the clean-up crew after the shoot-out, the pathologist on the scene. Discovering Manny’s secret will come as a shock to the Investigators.

Wounds: 5

Soak: None

Attacks:

• Scalpel (melee): 1+[DS]3,1H, Armour Piercing 1

Special Abilities

• First Responder: Manny is knowledgeable about human anatomy, and may re-roll a single d20 when making a Treatment or Medicine test, but must accept the new result.