Bestiary

Yazid isn’t really a flesh-eating monster or a vampire, but other djinn know him as “the ghul” because they consider the way he spends most of his time... well, ghoulish. Like all djinn, Yazid enjoys absorbing human emotional energy. His kin all understand this and they can even accept that his favorite flavors are hopelessness, heartbreak, and regret. But must he really spend so much time lingering at battlefields, hospices, orphanages, and abortion clinics? It’s all so dreadfully morbid, and most are content to let him go it alone.

He visits the physical world frequently, but with great caution, preferring that humans never know he is nearby. If someone does notice him, he’s seen enough ghosts over the years to create a pretty convincing impression that he is one himself. Phrases like

“Why have you disturbed my slumber?” and “No one can help me…” delivered in a suitably spooky tone serve him well in this regard. Likewise, while Charms like Soul Reading, Terror, Short Out, Shatter Glass, Inhabit or Possession might not fool a Taftani, a real ghost, or a savvy Hermetic or Chakravat, other mages are easier. If a spirit talks like a wraith and uses powers that seem ghostly, they will usually conclude it’s a wraith. Being able to absorb a little of their fear can be a nice bonus, but his main goal is to escape without anyone learning what he really is. After any escape from a mage — or any other human able to see him before he Manifests — Yazid becomes rather skittish, and he returns to the Umbra for days or weeks until he’s feeling safe again.

His ghost impression is usually unnecessary with dying people, since he prefers those who are comatose or delirious. When his source of emotional energy is a living person, such as a child living in an orphanage, he relies upon their loneliness and lack of self-confidence to keep them from telling anyone about him. “Tell me your story,” he whispers to the person. Then he listens, asking follow-up questions if they need prompting, and feasts upon whatever feelings the story stirs up for the teller. Insight and Influence can help with steering the tale toward his favorite emotions. Dream Journey and Mind Speech allow him to ask his questions even if the person is unconscious or hesitant to talk to him.

It might sound as if Yazid has compassion for human beings, but this is rarely the case. Humans are responsible for breaking his people, corrupting them, and taking most of his family by force. He has little love for them as a species, so when listening to the life stories of those whom other humans have destroyed or discarded, he most often feels a sense of satisfaction and poetic justice. Good, he thinks. You and all your accursed race should suffer at least this much for your crimes. If I had been responsible for your misfortune, I would have made it hurt more, and drawn it out far longer, before finally allowing you the peace you scarcely deserve. He has no qualms about taking a dying person’s wedding ring, or someone’s only picture of their dead parent or spouse, if it’s infused with great emotion or even if it just catches his eye.

But he isn’t always so heartless. As often as once or twice a month, one of the stories touches him enough to use Lullaby, Ease Pain, or Dream Journey to give the person a short reprieve. A few times a year, he meets a dying soul whose nobility, faith, or self-sacrifice is strong enough to bring a tear to his eye, causing him to use Healing to ensure their story need not end just yet. He has also been known to rescue a few of the kindest and most humble orphans, teleporting them near a friendly household holding a persuasive note from a fake relative. Once every few decades, he finds an unfortunate person he considers truly worthy, using Spirit Away to provide them a short trip to the magnificent City of Brass before their time on Earth ends.

He avoids Manifesting unless compelled to do so, either through magic or by a circumstance that requires it. If directly threatened, he prefers to Teleport, Re-form, or duck behind something to Shapeshift, after using Flee to boost his chances.

If unable to escape, he might use Disorient, Terror, Smoke Screen, Sand Swallow, Mislead, Mirage, or Heat Metal. When truly in fear of destruction or enslavement, he can Possess an attacker and turn them against their allies, or use Spirit Away to drop them all into an Umbra Storm of his own creation.

Willpower 6, Rage 1, Gnosis 8, Power 30

Charms: Disorient, Dream Journey, Ease Pain, Flee, Heat Metal, Inhabit, Lullaby, Manifest, Mind Speech, Mirage, Mislead, Possession, Re-form, Sand Swallow, Shapeshift, Shatter Glass, Short Out, Smoke Screen, Soul Reading, Teleport, Terror

Materialized Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Charisma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 1, Perception 2, Intelligence 4, Wits 3

From the lofty reaches of godhood and the muddy depths of mortal life, countless entities fill the spaces gaping between our grubby everyday lives and the sublime Courts where divine entities hold sway. Because mages often travel in that in-between space, the so-called “lesser” spirit entities – the ones most often known as Umbrood – are the spirits a wandering mage is mostly likely to deal with in her journeys, rites, and occasional nightmares.

Abilities: Academics 3, Alertness 4, Athletics 2, Awareness 5, Cosmology 4, Empathy 3, Etiquette 1, Intimidation 5, Investigation 4, Leadership 3, Medicine 5, Occult 5, Streetwise 2, Stealth 5, Subterfuge 5

Materialized Health Levels: 6

Image: Yazid has no constant appearance.

Roleplaying Notes: For his part, Yazid just likes what he likes. In his youth, humans frequently died as casualties of war or from outbreaks of the Black Death. The despair and bittersweet nostalgia of those who felt they shouldn’t die so young became his comfort food. He’s not the type of djinn to sit up late at night by candlelight, sipping absinthe and smoking a clove while reading Edgar Allen Poe. He just wants to enjoy good, hearty meals that remind him of times he misses.