Bishop Saul O'hara
Bishop O'hara is having a rough time after his recent trip to hell... (Violent Content, discretion advised)
(The year is 1641, in Galway Ireland.)
It all went downhill after that witch finding freak Gabriel (A Player Character) managed to trick Saul into thinking that they were buddies. Worse, Gabriel obviously had some kind of perverse curse that he could lay on people that prompted them to divulge their most deleterious secrets.
Saul had spoken freely about his issues with the Catholic church, the covert assassins the church was using, and worse, his involvement with Selmy, the Barrister of Galway.
Saul barely managed to convince Gabriel to relent long enough to get in touch with Selmy to decide how to move forward. Submitting to a stint at a monastery would allow Saul to disappear if he played his cards right...
Selmy was surprisingly calm. He shared a drink with the Bishop and offered to show him the tract of land he'd purchased thanks to their previous scheming.
Saul didn't see Selmy casting the spell that wrenched open a portal under his feet that landed him in hell.
The heat was dry, oppressive, scorching his mouth and throat as he took in his first panicked breath. The stone slab beneath him was rough on his exposed flesh, digging sharply into his elbows and the backs of his thighs. He was bound, the manacles and chains clinking as he first began to move and writhe.
He looked around at the dim red cave, just in time to see the black arachnid descending from the ceiling towards him.
Saul felt the creature's stinger pierce into his abdomen and tear through his entrails. The creature withdrew the stinger, greedily moving to slurp up the blood that spurted and seeped from the wound.
Saul cried, until a strange sedate calm wrapped around his psyche. He watched detached as the creature continued to drink his blood, eventually stopping once it seemed Saul was dry. The thing raised a single leg, running the sickle-shaped claw at the end across his body, savagely splitting him open.
'Weak. Can fix. Must improve.' The creature muttered as it worked, plucking out Saul's bones before his very eyes, turning them around in its mandibles and replacing them once they had been enveloped by a black material.
The pain crashed over Saul, threatening to smash through the poison induced stupor that kept him docile. The last thing he remembered seeing was the thing grasping his head and beginning to spin that black... casing... over his face.
'Still weak. Mind broken. Useless.'
Selmy listened as the Bone Stitcher reported on the Bishop's condition. He interlaced his fingers and cracked his knuckles.
'Behavior strange. Logical reason for action does not exist.' The Stitcher cocked its head and looked at him.
Selmy rolled his eyes. 'Stop trying to analyze every little thing I do. I'll work on the Bishop's mind, and we'll get a volunteer to furnish us some skin to make him look less... macabre. Wouldn't want him to scare his congregation before the right time.'
Bishop Saul O'hara is now possessed by a demonic spirit that has consumed his mind. Augmented by the Bone Stitcher, Demon Saul O'hara now stands as a significant threat to my players.
Effects of Augmentation:
- O'hara's limbs are twice as difficult to cripple as before
- Massively increased resilience and health, all his vital organs have been encased in extremely durable solidified black gunk.
- Increased strength and speed
- His new demonic possessor is an accomplished spell caster
- O'hara can sprout wings, a bladed tail that can be used as a weapon, as well as horns. Oh, and breathe fire.
- Thanks to Selmy and the generous 'donation' of human skin, O'hara doesn't bear the horrible scarification and prominent stitches that almost all recipients of a Bone Stitcher's services receive.
Of course, as a Bishop, O'hara is a dignified member of society with a high rank within the church, so Gabriel and the other PCs might find it very difficult to bring him down without political fallout from the Catholic Church.
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? Responses (5)
Poor Saul.
I feel there's some part of the tale we're missing here involving Saul, Gabriel and Selmy. Other than that, interesting example of possession.
And fascinating use of Scras' Bone Stitcher in a genre-bending way!
Good luck to your players. Saul sounds like he's now ready to kick some ass.
Excellent! I am very partial to the Bonesticher!
Hey Ted, just realized you may want to throw in some dates, or at least 1 date :) Just remembered this is from your 1640's campaign. Might help the readers having an idea of time/place/genre.
Update: Quick update for historical frame of reference (Thanks Muro)
Really great stuff here funny, interesting and very visual