Aerinidae

Some young women have the misfortune to bear a passing resemblance to the infamous Lady Aerlin, also known as the Ballripper. They are young, tall, thin, attractive, and redheaded. This proved to be their downfall. As a result of their traumatic experience, all have the traits Light Sleeper and Nightmares. Most of the girls suffer from at least partial amnesia. They retain few or no memories of their lives before the kidnapping. They may retain skills, but cannot tell you how they know something. Few remember anything about their homes or families. A disturbingly large number cannot even recall their own names. A Citadellian Vampire was obsessed with the Elven martial artist named Aerlin. He stalked her across two continents. She, quite reasonably, wanted nothing to do with this perverse creep. He was nearly destroyed by the Lady--following an attempt to slay her travelling companions--and narrowly escaped, dragging his severed lower half to safety. Thereafter, he kept a greater distance from the object of his delusional infatuation. Returning home to Citadel, he took advantage of the newly founded undercity, Infernus, and the growing influx of new blood to the city, especially the redheaded Heldanns. If he couldn't have her, he'd build his own. He would make his own Aerlin, make her exactly like the original, and make her love him. He'd create a veritable army until he got it right.

As most of the Aerenidae do not remember their identities--or indeed most of their prior lives--the majority have collectively decided to use numbers for their names. However, few of them agree exactly how they should be so numbered. Some from the second batch of rescuees wanted to use the number they were in line to receive clothes and food immediately following their escape. Others, especially from the first group, opted to use their room number in the Coop (their residence). At least this was true before they were obligated to take on roommates from that second batch. Thus, one may meet an Aerenidae named Twenty-seven ("Because names with hyphens are cool"), or one named Tutu (from second floor, room two) or another named Vi (that is, six) and yet another one named Forby (first floor, room four, and B as she was the second to move in there). There are at least two who call themselves Ivy; one is Forby's roommate (from IV) and the other lives two doors down (I-VI).

There are three broad categories of Aerenidae, depending on what atrocities were committed against them. Some are still living, and may or may not have had their appearance surgically altered. Some were killed and reanimated into Undead clones of the Lady Aerlin. A handful were instead turned into Vampires. After discovering that Lady Aerlin was not a full-blooded Elf, but was in fact one of the Lillin, the Creepy Vampire Stalker experimented with adding demonic ichor into his atrocious procedures. The results were neither successful nor pleasant. None of these unfortunate victims--a potential fourth category--are known to have survived any of these procedures.

Still Alive: Living Human or proper Elf
These are the more recent victims rescued from an early stage of the modification process. Most of this set are Human, with the occasional Elf. Some of the Human girls have been biomantically and surgically altered to appear Elven and look more like the original Aerlin. For these women: ears were pointed, limbs lengthened, their faces remodelled, permanent scleral implants gave their eyes the gem-like Elven quality, and their pinkies and little toes were chopped off. Roll attributes, traits, et al. as normal. Minimum Appearance is 16, even if not surgically remodelled. Increase that attribute to this minimum if the roll falls short.

Due to scarring, other side-effects of these alterations, and the horrifying experiences they underwent, a living Aerinidae may choose one bonus trait: Hard to Kill, High Pain Tolerance, Sturdy (Stamina), Survival Instinct (Willpower); or instead select all of the triple combo of:  Tough, Phobia, and Speech Impediment (Personality). These are in addition to the normal trait rolls.

Ravager: Rebuilt and reprogrammed Undead masterpiece
These unfortunate ladies have undergone far more modifications than a comparatively simple appearance change. Not only were they kidnapped and imprisoned--possibly experimented upon or otherwise abused--but they were then murdered. Even death was not an escape. Their corpses were reanimated and further transformed. All ravagers have been reprogrammed via a convoluted variant of the Todesracher spell, the necromantic ability Augment Undead, and from brainwashing--before and after their deaths. The idea was to imprint Lady Aerlin's personality and memories on the ravagers. They were to think as her, and think that they were her. With their new-found freedom, most of the ravagers regained a sense of self and a unique identity, even if most (if not all) of the memories of their old lives are still lost. All ravagers are almost completely identical in appearance.


 * Appearance: 23 [flat score, no roll] (Gleam, Distinctive/Forgettable)
 * Personality: 2D6
 * Grace: 3D6-8 (Threatening)
 * Knowledge: 3D6
 * Wits: 3D6+4 (Wicked Quick)
 * Willpower: 3D6+8
 * Agility: 3D6+3 (Balance Well, Lean x2)
 * Stamina: 0 [Undead]
 * Strength: 3D6+4 (Powerful, and either Stout or Brawny)
 * Awareness: 3D6-3 (Heightened Hearing, and either Olfactory Flashbacks or Paranoid:  Nervous)
 * Speed: 3D6+10
 * Common Sense: 3D6-4

Averages: Appearance:  23, Personality:  7, Grace:  3, Knowledge:  10, Wits:  15, Willpower:  18, Agility:  14, Stamina:  0, Strength:  14, Awareness:  8, Speed:  21, Common Sense:  6

Having a Distinctive/Forgettable appearance (the combo of both of those traits) means that while you do stand out as one of the Aerenidae, you all look alike. Though you were once Human, you look like an Elf.

Zombie Toughness: 4D6 maximum hit points and no life points. You are immune to Shock from pain or combat damage, and do not take Wounds. You cannot die from starvation or thirst, and resist all but the most extreme climates. You do feel hunger--and can eat literally anything organic--but never actually need food to continue existing. The outward signs and mental anguish of such prolonged privation are still there, however. You are completely immune to all diseases and poisons--you can't even get drunk. You are Undead, and subject to spells that detect or affect such. However, you are not affected by the Command Undead ability of necromancers and shadow lords. Additionally, you are not summoned by the spells Bringing Out the Dead or Mourning Bell, but are still unable to hear anything else for the duration of the latter. A necromancer can repair even the most severe damage in a few hours, but your body no longer heals on its own.

Candle Burns Twice as Bright: +3 initiative, +2 to attack. These are in addition to bonuses from attributes, traits, et al. It is unknown how long the Aerenidae ravagers will last, but none have burned out yet. You may last for a few more weeks, decades, or forever. You just don't know. You constantly have energy and drive. You never need sleep and do not get physically tired (you may still take stress points, but not fatigue per se) and never need to make system shock rolls. That last bit means bullets mostly just poke little holes in you and piss you off; they don't instantly kill as they can a mortal. Even after a week straight of constant intense activity and no food, you still have vivacity, if not verve; it's more like your inner flame settles into hot coals. You look, smell, and feel alive. You are even warm to the touch--very warm, actually--with a body temperature of about 103°.

Mindcrime: Most of the following skills were automatically programmed (or beaten) into the Aerenidae in an attempt to replicate the mind of the original Aerlin. Some of these were gained independently during their imprisonment or shortly after their escape. Their minds and personalities remain their own, as this part of the process was unsuccessful--for the escapees, at least. All of these skills take five slots total. Additionally, you can learn to be a martial artist in nine months (costing nine skills) without the Stamina requirement, or a Hellhound in four weeks (for three skills).
 * Akijutsu I -OR- Disarm apprentice
 * Ambidexterity
 * Bartending apprentice -OR- Cooking apprentice -OR- both Grooming and :Make-up I
 * Cries in the Night I -OR- Predation I -OR- Not original
 * Couch surfing -OR- Travel Sense I
 * Speak (Elven) journeyman

Imprinted Mystic Knowledge: From the Augment Undead necromantic ability, these mystic skills are effectively instinctual, and can be increased with experience and practice.
 * Black Thumb apprentice
 * Consume the Dead
 * Dispel Magic
 * Grim Visage I
 * Hands of the Sith
 * Intuitive Reflexes
 * Restore Bone
 * Telekinesis I
 * Wayfarer apprentice

Additional Traits: Bad Tasting, I.P.B.S., Remorseless, Tough, and Phobia (that the Creepy Vampire Stalker is still after them, possibly other fears). Roll 1D4 additional random traits instead of the full 2D6+4 like other characters.

Vampire: For when the Creepy Vampire Stalker got impatient or lazy
A small number of Aerenidae were turned into Vampires. This was a simple matter to their kidnapper, as he was a Vampire himself. All of those rescued were past the fledgeling stage: +4 to Strength and Awareness, +3 to Wits, +1 to Grace, Willpower, Agility, and Speed. These modifiers are before Blood Purity is added. Stamina is of course zero. All of these Vampires are--or were--Human. These seem to have been a recent experiment, or perhaps all of their predecessors were later drained by their tormentor. The escaping Vampire Aerenidae have been Vampires for 2 years +1D12 months, unless of course the Gamemaster chooses to advance the timeline of the campaign for them. However, the occasional new vampiric Aerenidae is rescued from imprisonment, or discovered wandering Infernus, despite the destruction of their progenitor. Perhaps a new Vampire menace is threatening young women in Citadel, or perhaps the Stalker's death was not so permanent after all.

Most were Reworked into nearly perfect physical copies of Lady Aerlin (mystically, not surgically, so that regeneration or the nightly reset doesn't restore your original Human appearance or even rounded ears). Some were reprogrammed as the ravagers were. Many were metamorphosed in both body and mind, having the cloned appearance as well as the innate skills. None have any memories of their former lives or identities. Those whose appearance has been necromantically transformed also have: Gleam, Distinctive/Forgettable (both Appearance traits), and Lean x2 (Agility).

Vampire Aerenidae start with a Blood Purity rating of 1.6%. Their minimum Appearance is still 16 (including Blood Purity: the Stalker wasn't quite as picky with these quick-start Vampire Aerenidae) and have the bonus traits:  Light Sleeper, Phobia, Sturdy, and Tough. They are otherwise generated as a normal character. The inherited Dark Gifts are Mesmerize and the ability to remove one Dark Flaw of their choice. The Dark Flaws they inherit from the Creepy Vampire Stalker are Thirst for Warmth and some form of vampiric insanity (pick one): god-complex, homicidal, morbidity (these three are as the usual insanities in the Death supplement), intense obsession with a specific person or object, revulsion with regards to anything Lady Aerlin (might pretend to have never heard of her, or possibly even pretend she's not even there if you were ever to meet in person), or the delusion that you really are the Ballripper herself. These are in addition to the 0-3 random Dark Gifts and Flaws, as with any Vampire.