Veles

Veles

Moros; Guardians of the Veil (Prophets); Tamers of Stone; Lamplighters (Position)
Disciple 1º
Konstantin Voroshilov; Faith/Wrath; Lord of the Underworld

Background

• Veles led the Salem cabal known as Bastion, responsible for seeing to the defense of Salem.
• He also acted as the Reeve of Salem.
• Recently, Veles broke with Bastion and petitioned for permission to enter the Consilium of Roses as a member.
• After an interview with the Hierarch and Council, he was given permission, and assigned to the newly formed Lamplighters cabal.

Rumors

There are a variety of rumors about Veles:

• He once served in the KGB, until he was recruited by a Guardians Labyrinth.
• He actually grew up in a Siberian gulag, the son of political prisoners, and earned his gang contacts and tattoos there.
• As an agent of the Guardians, Veles has acted as Interfector in Salem every time someone needed to be killed.
• Veles adheres to a strange code of honor.

Traits

• Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 3; Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3; Presence 1, Manipulation 3, Composure 3
• Abilities: Investigation 3, Occult 3, Politics 2, Science 1; Athletics 2 (Thrown), Brawl 3 (Punch), Drive 1, Larceny 2, Stealth 3 (Urban); Empathy 1, Intimidation 3, Persuasion 3, Socialize 1, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 2
• Merits
  • Mental: Language (Russian); Trained Memory
  • Physical: Fighting Style, Boxing 1
  • Social: Allies, Criminals 2; Allies, Laborers 1; Allies, Security 1; Allies, State Government 1; Contacts 3 (Police, Society, Architects); Resources 5; Status, Society 2; Status, Underworld 3
  • Awakened: High Speech; Masques (Crown of Eyes, Lord Asp, Weaver of Whispers); Network Spider; Occultation 3; Sanctum 2; Status, Guardians of the Veil 3 (Contacts, Status, Occultation); Status, Consilium 2
• Advantages: Health 8, Willpower 6, Wisdom 5, Size 5, Speed 10, Defense 2 (Armor 4), Initiative 5

Magic

• Gnosis: 4; Arcana: Death 2, Matter 4, Prime 1, Space 2
• Spell Tolerance: 2/3; Spell Control: 5/6
• Rotes
  • Night Walking: "Animate Shadows", Death ••, Manipulation + Stealth + Death; Performed at night +2
  • Apart at the Seams: "Decay", Death ••, Resolve + Intimidation + Death; Study target object for one turn +1
  • Biting the Bullet: "Breach Point", Matter • + Death • + Space •, Strength + Streetwise + Matter
  • Conflict Foresight: "Alter Accuracy", Matter ••, Composure + Brawl + Matter
  • Unsafe Hands: "Backbite", Matter •••, Strength + Brawl + Matter; Punched the wielder of the weapon between one and three turns before +1.
  • Thread Across the Doorway: "Intrusion Warning", Space ••, Wits + Investigation + Space; Tying a thin thread across at least one entry to the area being protected +1
  • Fool the Long Gaze: "Ward", Space ••, Manipulation + Subterfuge + Space; Spend one minute whispering lies to the space to be protected +1, ten minutes +2, sprinkling space with charcoal dust +1
  • Future Rotes: Scrying, Weaponize Object, Apportation
• Active Spells, Self
  • Unseen Aegis + Grim Sight (Matter •• + Death •): Potency 3/3, Duration 4/4. These spells are cast on Veles personally, and renewed once a month. (Average Casting Time: 5 hours)
  • Angle Vision + Omnivision (Space •): Potency 6, Duration 4. This spell is cast on Veles personally, granting him 360º vision, and the ability to see around all corners and obstacles to his line of sight. (Average Casting Time: 5 hours)
  • Magic Shield + Armor of the Soul: Potency 5, Duration 4 Cast by Gutenburg
• Active Spells, Other
  • Alter Accuracy + Weaponize Object (Matter •• + Matter ••): Potency 5/5, Targets 4/4, Duration 5/5. This spell is cast on Veles' diamond-studded rings (4 total) and the throwing coins he keeps with him (a dozen total at any given time).
  • Breach Point (Matter •, Death •, Space •): Potency 5, Targets 4, Duration 5. This spell is cast on Veles' throwing coins, granting them +3 effective points of damage for the purpose of piercing cover.
  • Shape Liquid (Matter ••): Potency 7 (3 Volume, 4 Strength), Target 4, Duration 5. Hidden in Portland somewhere, Veles keeps four steel kegs, filled with water on which he has cast this spell. If in a dire situation, he will Apporate the kegs to him (using 2 Target Factors to summon all four) and then manipulate them to his own ends, up to an including using Transmute Water to turn the water streams into gasoline or similar substances.
• Legacy: Tamers of Stone.
  • 1st - Master of the Demesne: Ward effect on any building overseen the building of, with Potency of Matter + Gnosis, and spending 1 Willpower dot. Activate Ward in any building being studied with Wits + Investigation + Space, requiring one scene to study the building; remains for one scene after the Tamer departs the building. Permanent Find the Hidden Hoard at Matter Potency rating.
• Nimbus: A darkening of the light, as though a great shadow passed in front of all sources of light. From beneath the ground, a wailing emanates, the howling of the furious dead, just at the edges of hearing.
• Masques
  • Crown of Eyes: The Crown is a collector of secrets, of all manners. (Token: Camera or notebook; Benefit: +2 to Streetwise; Drawback: -2 Expression)
  • Lord Asp: The Lord follows a strident code of honor, and extracts brutal retribution to those who cross him (Token: Armed at all times; Benefit: +2 Brawl; Drawback: -1 Composure)
  • Sighing Tower: The important figure who uses his position to sate his lusts. (Token: Status ••• in organization; Benefit: +1 to Persuasion rolls; Drawback: -1 to Resolve rolls.)
  • Weaver of Whispers: The Weaver lends help, not by his own effort, but through a network of others. (Token: Notebook or cell phone; Benefit: +2 to rolls involving Allies and Contacts; Drawback: -2 to Intimidate)
  • Future Masques: Opener of Ways, Runehold, Prince of Feasts

Equipment

• Possessions: Plenty of cash on hand in billfold, fine-cut suit, smartphone, limo and driver.
  • Magical Tools: Black wool scarf (Order Tool); Diamond-studded ring (Matter Tool; also diamond used in reading resonances for +3)
  • Weapons: Set of diamond-studded rings (Durability 4; Damage +4 when used with Weaponize Object spell), high-carbon steel discs (Durability 3; Damage +3 when used with Weaponize Object spell).
• Other Notes: X

Flaws

• Wanted: The Portland Organized Crime Task Force and the Oregon State Police have all heard rumors of a gang of Russian mobsters who seem to run a great deal of the organized crime in the state. They've heard of a kingpin figure who seems superbly connected and incredibly devious. He's the Siberian Devil to the motorcycle gangs who run drugs and arms in and out of the state, the Gentleman to the hard men that run the prostitution rings in the state's main urban areas, the Diamond Tzar to inner city gangs. The authorities have almost had him (or at least, the Russian they think is him) multiple times. He's also been reported killed - with a body, even - several times. The FBI reportedly refers to "Oregon's Kaizer Soze" when speaking of him, a mocking reference guaranteed to infuriate Oregon law enforcement.

Experience

• XP Earned: 119; XP Spent: 109; Current XP: 10
• Arcane XP Earned: 32; Arcane XP Spent: 31; Current Arcane XP: 1

Magic XP Purchases Death 2: 12 XP Occultation 2: 3 XP Sanctum 2: 3 XP Rotes: 6 XP Masques, 3: 6 XP Rote: Alter Accuracy: 4 XP Masque, Sighing Tower: 2 XP Status, Consilium 2: 0 XP (End of Chapter Two reward) Gnosis 4: 31 Arcane XP + 1XP Matter 4: 24 XP Prime 1: 7 XP Rote: Scrying: 4 XP Rote: Weaponize Object: 4 XP Rote: Apportation: 4 XP Geomancy: x XP Prime 2: 14 XP Space 3: 18 XP

Mundane XP Purchases Status, Underworld 3: 6 XP Status, Society 2: 3 XP Allies, Gangs 2: 3 XP Allies, Laborers 1: 1 XP Allies, State Government 1: 1 XP Contacts 3: 6 XP Trained Memory: 2 XP Subterfuge 2: 6 XP Fighting Style, Boxing 1: 2 XP Science 1: 3 XP Investigation 3: 6 XP Allies, Security 1: 2 XP Allies, Security 2: 4 XP Allies, Gangs 3: 6 XP Science 2: 6 XP Fighting Style, Boxing 2: 4 XP Stamina 4: 20 XP X: X XP X: X XP

Merit Details

• Resources: True to vory traditions, Veles owns nothing permanent. His extravagant lifestyle is purely afforded by his constant influx of criminal funds from across a significant portion of Oregon's crime trade, particularly the drug industry, gun running, smuggling and prostitution. He has what he refers to as "investments" all over Portland, Salem and Eugene, as well as a few out of the way places: people (often former criminals) who wanted to start businesses whose products or services might be of use to him, so he lent them start-up capital and in return gets access to lush hotel rooms, hidden-away safehouses, car and messenger services, and the like.
• Fighting Style: Boxing
  • Body Blow (•): Your character can deliver powerful blows that leave opponents reeling and gasping for air. If successes inflicted in a single Brawl attack equal or exceed a target's Size, the victim loses his next action.

Labyrinths

Calavera Set

A Mexican street gang, with a Santisima Muerte cult imbedded in its traditions. Veles controls them through the use of the Weeping Bride, the ghost of a woman killed on her wedding night, which Veles keeps bound to his service. The Calavera Set who've seen her assume that she's a visitation from La Santisima Muerte. The gang uses skull iconography and Dia de los Muertes themes in their gang symbolism, including the use of white stocking masks painted with designs to make them look like Dia de los Muertes skulls. They are part of Veles' Allies (Criminals) Merit.

• Crimson Veils: Those who have achieved the Crimson Veil in the Calavera Set are called los Novios - "the Grooms". Each of them have been visited by the Weeping Bride when they were alone. Los Novios gather in their own spaces, consecrated back-alley altars to the Weeping Bride, ready to act on her commands.
• Connection to Veles: The Novios know that their set is also connected to a larger criminal network by a man they call El Primero (the First) because many of them believe he was the husband the Weeping Bride married on the night she was killed, and that he secretly works to avenge her death at the hands of her assailants. (This is Veles in a Lord Asp Masque.)

The Oregon Architects Institute

A trade organization for Pacific Northwestern architects, the OAI is basically an advocacy and legal aid organization for its membership, as well as a social club. It is considered the go-to organization for young or newly arrived architects in the region, and it maintains an archive of the plans worked on by its members. It also hosts a secretive inner circle of those who are interested in the long-standing traditions of urban geomancy in Portland. They are part of Veles' Contacts (Architects) Merit.

• Crimson Veils: A few members who have proven their loyalty are given keys to the Willamette Lounge. These few men and women - known as keyholders are aware that they are part of something bigger. They are also initiates of a discipline of urban-scale geomantic study, mostly as a casual interest shared among the keyholders.
• Connection to Veles: Veles frequently attends these meetings as a keyholder, using his Crown of Eyes Masque. He is known in OAI as Valmar Reyen.

The Adytum Rite

A Masonic Co-Fraternity (that is, an organization that only accepts full master Masons, providing degrees that add to those received as a Freemason), the Adytum Rite has something of a reputation among the Masonic fraternities as somewhat esoteric and weird. They still work with many of the old Masonic rituals no longer in favor, and have pursued others, focusing on the themes of the "construction of the Temple" as ritualized endeavors intended to build one's society and self. The upper echelons become even more occult as the degrees advance, to the 33rd Degree. They are part of Veles' Contacts (Society) Merit.

• Crimson Veils: X
• Connection to Veles: X

Rose City Conservation & Heritage Society

A philanthropic organization made up of many of Portland's local upper-crust, the RCCHS is based around ideas of city pride and conservation of historical sites. Hidden within its membership is a secretive cult to a local goddess: Portlandia, the goddess of Portland, as depicted in the copper statue on the Michael Graves' Portland Building. They are part of Veles' Contacts (Society) Merit.

• Crimson Veils: X
• Connection to Veles: X

Staroye

A small group of Russian immigrants and their descendents, the Staroye (which means "Old Ways" in Russian) seems to be simply a Russian heritage society. In truth, they are also a group of ved'ma and koldun, witches and cunning men who practice old Slavic sorceries. Because so many of them are blue-collar workers (including more than a few criminals), they are part of Veles' Allies (Criminals and Laborers).

• Crimson Veils: X
• Connection to Veles: X

Enhanced Items

The following are enhanced items created by Veles. All of them have been cast on the items, and then the item treated with Bundle Enhancements, followed by the expenditure of a Willpower dot to make permanent.

• Diamond Rings & Ferryman's Coins: A set of four chunky diamond rings and a dozen titanium steel discs about the size of half-dollars, given the following enchantments.
  • Weaponize Object (Matter ••): Item can be used as a weapon, inflicting +(Durability) damage. (+4 for diamond rings, +3 for discs)
  • Breach Point (Matter •, Death •, Space •): Items are considered to have +3 effective damage for the purpose of penetrating the Durability of cover.
  • Armor Piercing (Matter •••): Items ignore 1 point of armor when striking a target.

Lifestyle

Veles' normal, regular day-to-day life consists of a couple of facets which are reflections of both his vory lifestyle and his Guardian paranoia.

• Money: Veles is usually quite flush with cash, carrying multiple thousands of dollars on him at one time. He receives these handfuls of cash multiple times a week from a variety of mostly criminal sources. His kick-back from legitimate investments (who can't always easily hand off cash without awkward accounts balancing) instead deal out use of their resources and services. One of his bolt-holes (see below) is a vault where he routinely places cash and other valuable goods he receives.
• Communication: Though he carries a high-end smartphone, it's always different. Having helped to fund a former hacker's legitimate mall kiosk front, Veles has the man constantly set up temporary accounts in a variety of names, cloning them to his phone on a routine basis.
• Food: Veles almost entirely eats out at restaurants, frequently springing for meals at extravagant eating establishments for important allies (particularly in society) or at almost-anonymous hole-in-the-walls for criminal and poorer contacts. The main exception to this is when he accepts an invitation from a society contact to dinner, or when he has a meal at the home of someone who is part of his Staroye labyrinth, when he really misses good home-cooked Russian food.
• Housing: X
• Days: X
• Evenings: X

Bolt-Holes

X