Sample Sanctum: Inhabitants of the Wending

The Wending though abandoned contains multitudes. These residents include not only spirits and magical artifacts but also flesh and blood people. And beings who possess power to match the mightiest of mages. Meet the inhabitants of the Wending.

Shards of the Archmages

Archmagi have few that they can truly trust. Many turn to creating agents from fragments of their own souls. The Circle of Four were no different. Needing to be in many places at once they created avatars to aid in their work. Now that they have Ascended, these fragments try to keep the Wending stable and true.

The Wise Man

The orphaned subsoul of the original leader of the Circle of Four, the Wise Man accepts no other name. Unlike many of his former comrades, he has come to see some of the acts of the Circle as misguided or at least more trouble than they were worth.

This weary old servant would have long ago sought the long sleep except for a sense of duty to the tribe of humans within the Wending. A duty now threatened by an act by his creator.

Specifically the Circle once found a fallen god of flame and the void cast down upon the earth. They chose to bind it and seal it away. To aid in this they created two guardians whose duty it was to topple any civilization or organization before it reached a level where it might be able to undo their work. In essence they created two monsters whose job it was to destroy the civilizations of man.

And now one has come home.

This leaves him in a bind. Though still strong enough to destroy the creature, the act would cause the destruction of the Wending and its inhabitants. But he does nothing, the evil spirit will corrupt and murder his wards.

Description: A gray-haired man resembling a weary and clean-shaven Native American, the Wise Man dresses simply in natural materials.

Attributes: Mental 8, Physical 13, Social 10
Virtue: Charity, the Wise Man gives to others easily.
Vice: Pride, as the mightiest of the Circle's remaining creations (besides the stolen Stele), he has much to be proud about.
Gnosis: 5, but possessing infinite Mana
Arcana: Fate 3, Life 5, Matter 4, Mind 3, Prime 5, Space 4, Spirit 5, Time 3

Notable Traits:

• Though old, the Wise Man's physical attributes function at superhuman levels. He heals 1 lethal or bashing per round and moves so fast as to grant him Armor 3 (which stacks with the magic below)
• He possesses a measure of the Circle's Legacy. This imposes a -5 penalty to perception rolls to detect him, Occultation 5, and the ability to read Auras from people's tracks.
• Further magical enhancements give him Armor 5 and the ability to deal Lethal damage with his bare hands.

The Old Woman

Another orphaned subsoul, this one stays within the Yucatan Wending. Unlike the Wise Man, she feels no duty to humanity.  Bitter and hateful from millenia of life, she claims other mages (and by extension Humanity) have soiled the gift of the dragons.

She opposes any and all intruders on general principle. She however refuses to kill interlopers directly instead destroying their tools and magical implements, misleading and separating them, and then letting nature do its bloody work.

Description: This ancient looking woman lets her long white hair flow freely and dresses in little more than a leather shawl.

Attributes: Mental 12, Physical 8, Social 8
Virtue: Fortitude, the Old Woman relishes her enduring nature.
Vice: Envy, the Old Woman is undying but not unaging. She hates those who still enjoy youth.
Gnosis: 5, but with infinite mana
Arcana: Death 5, Matter 5, Mind 4, Prime 5, Space 4, Spirit 5, Time 4

Notable Traits:

• The Old Woman can't die. No force below that of an Archmage will end her existence. Further bullets and blades deal only bashing damage to her.
• She possesses a measure of the Circle's Legacy. This imposes a -5 penalty to perception rolls to detect her, Occultation 5, and the ability to read Auras from people's tracks.
• Further magical enhancements grant her Armor 5 plus she can speed up her own personal time granting an additional 4 Armor.

The Menagerie

The Circle created or gathered many servitor creatures, allies, and experiments within the Wending. When they passed beyond, these creatures and people were left behind. Many perished. Others escaped. A few still linger.

The Deer Woman

Descended from cryptids created by the Circle, the Deer Woman is now the last of her kind. The rest fell prey to decaying Wendings, other inhabitants, and recently an evil spirit that has corrupted the human tribe within the Wending.

Her people lived in perfect coexistence with nature and the unseen worlds. Though she sees herself as but a simple being, she possesses strange powers that render her immune to many of the dangers of the Wending.

Description: The Deer Woman resembles a pale human woman with antlers emerging from her forehead, just below her wild brown hair. Unbothered by cold or the heat of the sun, she wears only a hide loin cloth and several necklaces of animal bones. A pouch of oddments hangs within the strings of leather and bone. Her blue eyes seem to look through people into their inner nature.

Attributes: Mental 6, Physical 6, Social 6
Virtue: Hope, despite everything the Deer Woman hopes for a better tomorrow.
Vice: Fear. Skittish around strangers, she has no reason to be trusting.
Power Stat: 3

Notable Traits:

• The Deer Woman can change into a deer, boosting her physical attributes by 2.
• At all times she regenerates 1 bashing/turn and a 1 Lethal every 15 minutes.
• She can see and pass into Shadow or Twilight at any time effortlessly. It is possible this extends to the Hedge and other hidden realms but since these realms exist beyond the Wending, one alive knows.
• She possesses the power to heal the wounded and ailments of others. Though it takes some time (1 hour per disease or dot of damage), she can heal anything.
• She can speak the spirit tongue as well as communicate with any animal.

Horned Serpents

These anaconda sized serpents sport massive ram horns atop their heads. Natice the Yucatan Wending they sometimes wander to other realms. Part flesh and part spirit, they hunt anything within their reach, especially man.

Attributes: Power 4, Finesse 4, Resistance 4
Speed: 15           Defense: 4 [Armor 3]
Initiative: 8        Size: 6

Traits:

• Gore: 8 dice pool for 2 Lethal plus successes. Successful attacks also cause the victim to be knocked down unless they make a Strength + Stamina roll at a -4 penalty.
• Bite: 8 dice pool for 1 Lethal plus successes. After biting an opponent they try to grapple them.
• Grapple: 8 dice pool. Overpower maneuvers cause an additional 2 Bashing damage.
• Antimagic, resist all spells with 5 dice (in addition to any other rolls).

The Tribe

Finally we have a community of mundane humans within the Wending. Descended from the Circle's Sleeper followers, these tribal people dwell in a small village along the banks of a large river. They support themselves with a mixture of fishing, hunting and gathering.

Numbering only a few hundred, their culture is dying along with the Wending. Even if their world doesn't collapse, time and declining population will soon end them.

As a threat they can raise some 60 fighting men within a couple of hours, armed with spears and perhaps a few bows. Their average dice pool is 6 dice.

A few potentially important members of the tribe:

• Chief "Rock Beneath the Lake": this older well fed man worries about the changes in his world, both in terms of the recent decline of game and with the new religion taking root in the tribe. However he is weak and easily swayed.
• "Tall Tree in the Storm": The Chief's son distrusts interlopers and acts aggressively to any threat to the tribe or his family. While not a bad sort he is a close friend of the local troublemaker “Deer in the Thick Brush”.
• "Follower of the Clouds" acts as the tribe's shaman and has come under the thrall of an evil spirit. It preaches that the tribe has been oppressed, kept in the dark about the truth of their world and left to languish in a primitive state. It urges her to forsake these false gods and lead the tribe to the 'light' (in other words to the dictates of a murderous spirit).
• “Floating Log”: this easy-going man fishes along the river and is likely the first person visitors will encounter. He is close friends with “Finder of Catfish”, one of the tribe elders. he has also been marked by death by the evil spirit.
• “Spring Flower”: the attractive daughter of“Knower of Root”, the Herb Woman, she is betrothed to "Tall Tree in the Storm" but lusted for by his friend“Deer in the Thick Brush”.
• “Knower of Root”: knowledgeable about herbs and mother to "Spring Flower", she contests the spiritual leadership of "Follower of the Clouds", urged by the same evil spirit that leads the tribe's shaman astray.
• “Summer Thorn”: the rebellious granddaughter of the town elder, she loves "Tall Tree in the Storm" and works to break up his betrothal.
• “Finder of Catfish”: is the eldest person in the tribe and distrusts"Follower of the Clouds". Unlike many, he is open to the word of outsiders, knowing more of the secrets of this world than most. He is good friends with "Floating Log" but disliked by “Deer in the Thick Brush”.
• “Deer in the Thick Brush” is the tribes troublemaker and fool. Recently elevated to the role of guardian to"Follower of the Clouds", he is also friends with"Tall Tree in the Storm". He dislikes being made a fool of and wrongly blames “Finder of Catfish” for some of his early failings.