Ferdinand [Baphomet]

[vile]

Player Nickname: vile

Name: Ferdinand Abbate
Codename: Baphomet
Age: Old af
Date of Birth: January 1st

Height: 5’1
Weight: 115
Hair Color: Jet black
Eye Color: Dirt brown
Place of Origin: Ancient Italy
Nationality/Race: European
Classification/Origin of Powers: Magical - demonic

Status: Other
Occupation: Priest and demon/witch/vampire hunter. On and off Rivals member

Personality Profile: Quiet and reserved. Prefers working problems out with words and reasoning. Isn’t adverse to calling in favors and using bribery and extortion to accomplish his goals. Equal parts off-putting and warm makes it a crapshoot whether he’ll have a good or negative impression on someone. Years of walking the earth has dulled his ability to care unless the person requires his assistance.

The thing that drives him through the years of hardship and struggle is the desire for equality. Years spent trying to balance power and ensure there’s some fairness in the world. The passage of time gradually shifted his focus to helping those in need. Protecting the weak, feeding the hungry, and sheltering the homeless. Only a serious threat can push him to use violence nowadays.

Ideally he would end any conflict with words or threats. Next is intimidation. Only after he’s exhausted other methods does he use force. Even then he does his best to incapacitate an enemy and subdue them with as little harm as possible. If facing a magical foe he’ll aim to neuter or strip their powers first. Only if that’s a scratch does he move on to violence.

Physical Description: Skinny and short. Pale and gaunt. The passing of time has not treated him well. Shadows accumulate under his dirty brown and beady sunken eyes and sharp cheekbones. The darkness contrasts starkly with his slightly transparent and waxy skin. To the touch it’s barely damp and clammy. Just enough to make one uncomfortable. Veins show through as colorful river-like tracks. Little care is given to his short black hair so it’s generally a mess. The nails on his long thin fingers look sharp enough to cut.

The only clothes he owns seems to be the black shirt, pants, and dress shoes of a priest. A small white patch rests in the collar of his shirt. Years of constant use and mending has left his clothes in sun optimal condition. The hens and edges fray and wear thin. The top of his shoes have dry cracking leather and the soles are flat from erosion.

Oddly enough he looks considerably more human and less creepy during the dark night. The sunlight appears to intensify the wrongness and gives him a more monsterous appearance.

---------------------------------

General Power Information: Magic devouring demon spellcaster

Ability One: Delicious magic

Absorb magic from the wild, ley lines, and from a target. Living entity or an object. Invulnerable to magic damage due to absorption. Devouring ability extends to the souls of magical creatures. Such punishment is saved for the worst of the worst. Creatures who would not be stopped by death alone. Ferdinand prefers to end disputes with words or threats.

Spells: Windy: Release unforgiving winds from the second circle of Hell. They howl and deafen while relentlessly blowing through the target area.

Handsy. Summon hands from the fifth circle in Hell. Driven by a frenzy of anger they reach and grasp for the target in an attempt to drag them back to Hell. In reality they try to pull themselves from the River Styx and back to the overworld. Can be used to transport targets to Hell. Used to ferry Ferdinand to and from his residence in the city of Dis.

Harpies: Summon harpies from the seventh circle of Hell. An unnatural mix of human and vulture. They hunger for human flesh and thrive on torment. Can be controlled and used for non-violent means.

Icy grip: Whip freezing cold air from the ninth circle of Hell. If left in the frigid winds a target can freeze or be partially frozen.

Ability Two: Possession of sentient and non sentient beings.

Take control of a target entity. Target must be in a reasonable distance and make eye contact with Ferdinand. Control doesn’t typically last for an extended period. Can be fought off by target or fail entirely. More likely to succeed if the things Ferdinand wants are also things the target is open to doing. Difficult to impossible if the target wouldn’t do such things to begin with. Target remembers what happened during possession.

Typically possessed animals and the weak-willed to speed up the process and make control easier.

Ability Three: Physical shifting

Shift between human, demon, and between forms. Human blends in with society easily and demon has better control and influence over magic. The larger size of his demonic body makes it more resilient whereas the human is more agile, lithe, and lacks the undertones of terror that the demon carries with it. Generally prefers a place between the two. Human with creepy and an unsettling aura.

Drawbacks & Weaknesses:

Delicious magic: Cannot generate his own magic. If he’s to use magic for any use it must be taken from another being or object. Magic can be stored for future use but degrades over time.

The demonic side of him hungers for power. Morality and worldviews generally mean that snacking on living magic creatures is a no-no. Magical objects have a sort of siren call. A particularly strong enchantment can become an obsession and a minor one can derail his train of thought and become a bargaining chip. Ferdinand is a terrible person to visit a museum with and is banned from quite a few of them. Some gods and demons have a particularly strong dislike for him after he was caught taking defiling their idols and sigils.

Books are also very distracting for him as well. Doubly so for magical ones. Generally speaking books are safe from being a snack. However they still have just as strong of a pull as a prospective meal.

Possession: Ferdinand’s body is left completely vulnerable while he possesses a body. Takes a considerable amount of focus and power to maintain. There’s a possibility that his soul could be lost during the transfer or his own body taken by another demon or supernatural force. Beings with a higher level of consciousness can be tricky or impossible to take. Animals and the weak-willed are far easier so he tends to stick with them.

Physical shifting: Painful, grotesque, and attention-grabbing. Ferdinand’s human body is easy to overlook or ignore. Blends in easily with a crowd when fully human with no demonic undertones. The aging human body is frail and won’t hold up well in a fight. Old bones are weak and thinning, muscles are weak, skin tears easily, and joints are stiff and slow to respond in the morning and cold. He can certainly fight but can’t take much damage.

However his demonic body is anything but. 9 feet tall with the head of a 4 horned fanged goat, cloven hooves, and thick black fur. That, coupled with glowing red and black marbles eyes, and a wholly unsettling air of wrongness, makes it impossible to overlook. The large body is strong and resilient. Good for physical battles and handles magic better as well.

Skills: Experienced linguist from necessity. Speaks a very wide array of languages.

Years of life in the rough countrysides has left him adept in combat. Handheld weapons such as spears, halberds, swords, and daggers are second nature to him. Archery and crossbows are just as easily wielded.

Background: Born in ancient times to a small village in what would later become Italy. Joined a small sect of extremist priests with radical initiation rites. After a 40 day trip through the circles of Hell he completed his journey and returned to the normal world. The extended time in the underworld left him twisted and unclean. Additional rites and weeks of prayer warped his body further so he could have the strength necessary for future endeavors.

The following years had him on foot and horse with a group of fellow priests. They controlled, dampened the powers of, or eliminated threats to humanity. The severity was dependent on the demon, witch, warlock, or old god’s power and threat to humanity.

With the rise of Christianity the world changed. The Lower Order wasn’t immune. Some converted and others fled. The villages and towns of the unconverted left razed. Ferdinand opted to join the Crusades with the Templars. While their main goal remained to spread their faith Ferdinand continued his calling. It was convenient and aided the cause.

The Templars were later disbanded and disowned by the church. Ferdinand went into hiding for many years. As time passed he found opportunities to lend his hand in keeping the world safe from unseen terrors in the dark night.

Recent years have brought him to Salem as a universal priest. He runs an old worn-down and basic church in a seedier part of town. The church welcomes all who needs help and turns away few. Ferdinand is an occasional member of The Rivals when need be. The priest loathes the attention and publicity but values the protection of the word more than his own feelings. While he won’t admit it he’s got a few figurines of himself produced over the years.

Criminal Record: None

Quirks, Extras, Random Character Facts:

Not afraid of technology by any means but he’s not a fan of it. Complains that tech changes far too often and is too difficult to keep up with. Uses non-tech when able and grumbles about whatever new fad is going around.