This week's NPC is a halloween special for all of you. He's a wonderful tragic villain, thrown into a situation that has forced him into evil ways. He's perfect for a Beyond the Supernatural or Nightspawn campaign and could be easily adapted for any of Palladium's other settings including the Palladium Fantasy RPG and Rifts. In Rifts simply change him into a Shifter or for Palladium Fantasy RPG change him into a Summoner. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy!

Suggestions, requests or comments? Feel free to ask. E-mail: [email protected]

     Favian Jabes was always a curious and ambitious man. From a very young age favian took an intense interest in ancient cultures and history, particularly as it related to magic. He was the little boy who never ceased to believe in magic and monsters. As he got older he began to take trips to the library to research mysterious phenomenon and ancient magical stories. Once at the library he met a man with a similar interest who befriended Favian, he took Favian to his home, actually a mansion and showed him his personal collection of ancient texts which purported to contain actual magical rituals and spells. Favian was awestruck. He went to the man's library almost every day, each time finding something new and becoming more and more convinced that it was possible for him to learn magic.
    When his parents discovered his activities they were furious and forbade him to visit the man anymore. Favian visited one last time and slipped several of the most important texts he could find into his backpack and took them home. A few weeks later the old man died of a heart attack, never fulfilling his life dream of discovering "real" magic. His home and all his property was quickly claimed by relatives and his extensive book collection left for europe never to be seen again. Fortunately for Favian he was far enough along the road to becoming an arcanist to complete his studies and cast his first successful spell shortly after leaving home...
    Over the years Favian continued his studies. He became an accomplished and proficient arcanist in his own right but his ambition and curiosity was only increased with each success. Through careful use of magic Favian had become respectably wealthy and made many contacts and inquiries in the world of the arcane. When an ancient tome containing completely new magical spells and invocations came into his possession he couldn't resist the urge to try and perform the rituals he found within.
    One such incantation particularly interested Favian. He could tell it was extremely potent but was unable to determine what it did. Curiosity got the better of him and he resolved himself to try it out to see what it did. He waited for a full lunar eclipse later that year to provide the nessicary mystical energy and performed the ritual ecstatic in anticipation of the results.
    At first he thought the spell had done nothing. He felt bitter and cheated. Then suddenly he felt the tremendous rush of magical energy surrounding him, swirling around him in tiny eddies. The room was bathed in a faint blue glow and Favian could perceive what looked like a crack opening in midair before him. He backed away cautiously but kept his gaze firmly on the portal that was opening before him. The light, the colors, the cool wind were invigorating. Favian smiled to himself, he had opened a door into another reality, this was more than he had ever hoped for! He was so entranced by what he had done that he hardly noticed and had no time to react to the thing that leapt from the shining tear just before it snapped shut.
    The creature gripped onto his back like a giant claw. Favian fell to the floor in agonizing pain as he felt the bizarre creature's tentacles wrap around his body. He screamed as he felt something piercing the skin in his upper back. A few instants later he lost all feeling in his lower body. He continued to scream. Clawed tentacles wound up over his shoulders and impaled themselves in his upper chest. Favian's mind flooded with terror, then oddly enough he found that he wasn't afraid. In fact he felt invigorated, happy, almost ecstatic. Somehow he felt faster, stronger, more confident.
    The next morning Favian looked at his back in the mirror. Something was attached to his back. It looked something like a giant earthworm with arms wrapped around his shoulders that disappeared into his flesh. He was surprised that there was no pain. Over the next few days he discovered that he had more energy and strength then he had in years. He also found that he felt extremely unfulfilled. Hungry somehow. Soon however he discovered what was missing.
    Favian was at the bank to make a withdrawl from his account when a pair of men wielding sawed-off shotguns burst into the building and demanded that the cashier give them a hundred thousand dollars. Favian felt a sudden rush, he felt as though he had the strength of ten men and could move as fast as a tiger. He leapt on one of the men, disarming him, when the other turned Favian cast an energy bolt on him, something that he would normally never do in public. The man staggered back and dropped the gun and proceeded to run out of the bank screaming. Favian felt energized, incredibly satisfied. Later he discovered that he could sense other people's emotions, in particular fear, and it felt good.
    Ever since that incident Favian has been occupying a significant amount of his time trying to frighten people. The better the scare the better the rush. If he doesn't scare someone badly at least once a week he begins to feel tired, sluggish and depressed, as a result he's made it a regular habit to wander the streets looking for "victims" using his spell casting abilities to best effect without exposing himself. He also frequents horror movies and amusement parks frequently to feast himself on the fear of those present. Favian's lust for the rush he experiences is increasing and he's beginning to devise bigger and bigger plots to push more and more people to the very limits of terror.
    The creature that attached itself to Favian's back is a symbiote that is an emotional vampire that feeds primarily on the emotion of fear. The feeling that Favian experiences when people are frightened is the result of the symbiote releasing chemicals into his brain the provoke a pleasurable sensation. In addition to "rewarding" Favian for feeding it fear the symbiote can also stimulate or suppress various bodily functions in Favian's body with the result that he can stay awake for longer periods of time, or gain increased strength or speed, or a variety of other effects. The symbiote performs these feats when it senses the need in its partner such as when he is in pain or if it senses angry minds approaching. The symbiote operates solely on instinct and has no real intelligence of its own, it only wants to feed and uses its host to that effect.

Note: I've used the Sorcerer O.C.C. from Nightspawn rather than the Arcanist O.C.C. from Beyond the Supernatural since I want this character to be compatible with Nightspawn and all of the new second addition books including second edition Beyond the Supernatural. I'm fairly confident that the Arcanist in second edition will be basically the same as the Nightspawn Sorcerer so this should work out.

Real Name: Favian Jabes
Aliases: The media, particularly the tabloids have christened him "the Boogey Man".
Alignment: Anarchist
Hit Points: 36    S.D.C.: 38
P.P.E.: 93           I.S.P.: 60
Attributes: I.Q.: 15, M.E.: 11, M.A.: 8, P.S.: 8, P.P.: 9, P.E.: 15, P.B.: 13, Spd.: 19.
Experience: 7th level Arcanist/Sorcerer
Weight: 142 lbs.    Height: 5'10"    Sex: Male    Age: 33
Disposition: An intensely curious and timid man the symbiote has made him much more confident and brave then he every was before. He's beginning to honestly enjoy frightening people just for the sake of it, enjoying the challenge. He still relies almost entirely on his magic knowledge and cunning however and tries to avoid coming into direct contact with people for any length of time. He prefers to be at home with his books or sitting in the shadows observing rather than dealing with people one on one.
Natural Abilities: Sense Ley Lines and Nexus Points (see Nightspawn pg. 116), in addition to the powers from the symbiote below.
Magic: Cloud of Smoke, Death Trance, See Aura, Befuddle, Climb, Mystic Alarm, Energy Bolt, Invisibility: Simple, Paralysis: Lesser, Charismatic Aura, Energy Field, Trance, Escape, Apparition, Animate/Control Dead, Control/Enslave Entity, Summon Lesser Being and Dimensional Portal.
Psionics: 30 I.S.P. and the powers of Mind Block Auto-Defense, Nightvision and Empathy.
Combat: Hand to Hand: None. 2 attacks per melee (based upon PFRPG rules not the automatic 2 that you're all pouting about). If faced with a combat situation Favian is more likely to run covering his escape with magic then to stand and fight.
Bonuses: +4 vs magic, +2 vs psionics, +6 vs horror factor, +4 vs possession, +2 vs mind control, includes bonuses from the symbiote.
Vulnerabilities/Penalties: Needs a regular "meal" of fear or he will become weak and depressed. Also if the symbiote dies he will as well and its hard to conceal the symbiote except under jackets and coats.
Skills of Note: Language and Literacy: English=98%, Language: Chinese & Hindu=95%, Literacy: Latin=75%, Literacy: Hindu=70%, Basic Math=98%, Computer Operation=85%, Research=98%, Lore: Geomancy=80%, Lore: Religion=80%.
Allies of Note: Favian has several associates within the magic community as well as collectors that he can count as friends.
Enemies of Note: Favian's activities have been noticed by the police and while they don't know his identity and for the moment he's little more than a minor concern.
Weapons & Equipment of Note: Favian carries a dagger but doesn't really know how to use it (no W.P.). He also has a mint condition 1980 Cadillac and a large library of books on magic and the occult.
Money: Has a healthy $110,000.00 stashed away in bank accounts and stock. Has $15,000 available as cash at any given time.

The Fear Vampire Symbiote

    For those who wish to use the symbiote in their own campaigns or create alternate versions of Favian for other settings the following are the statistics for the fear vampire symbiote. The symbiote can sense emotions as per the psionic power Empathy (equal to a fifth level psionic) and feeds on any and all fear within range. Note: Magically or psychically inducing fear spells/powers such as the spell Fear, and the psionic Empathic Transmission: Fear produce artificial fear, which is acceptable as nourishment but terribly unfulfilled for the symbiote.

Host Type: Humans and humanoids, no supernatural beings or creatures of magic.
Host environment: The creature attached itself to the host's back sending tendrils over the shoulders and down the small of the back. Within six months of bonding the symbiote will be completely covered by the host's skin, though it will still form a noticeably hump.
Hit Points: The symbiote alone has 1D4x10+25 hit points independent of the host. To strike the symbiote the attacker must be able to see it and make a called shot.
Average Life Span: Equal to that of its host.
Alignment: Effectively anarchist, although protective of its partner/host. It has no goals other than survival.
Powers/Bonuses:
The symbiote can confer the following powers when it senses the need to do so.

1. No Sleep: The character can function without ill effect for three days. After this period, he must sleep for 16 hours, otherwise his speed, number of attacks, skill proficiencies and bonuses are all reduced by half.
2. Calm Self: Keep heart rate steady and even, not become excited, anxious or nervous. +1 to save vs magic, +4 to save vs horror factor, +4 to save vs mind control/hypnosis whether it is induced by drugs, psionics or magic. Afterward, has a headache for one hour -- no penalties.
3. Adrenal Rush: +2 on initiative, +1 to strike, parry and dodge, +4 to P.S., double speed and add one melee attack. Duration: Five (5) melees. Side Effect: -1 on initiative, strike, parry and dodge for one hour afterwards.
4. Slow Metabolism: The character becomes slow and lethargic. Reduce his speed, number of attacks and bonuses by half. The condition also reduces the effects, duration and damage of poison, drugs, gases and disease by half. Duration: As long as necessary, at least four melees.
5. Accelerated Healing: Instantly restores 14 S.D.C. or 7 hit points once every 12 hours. In addition, the normal rate of healing is doubled and there is no scarring. Durations: Five hours. Leaves the character feeling a bit drained/tired; reduce speed 10% and -1 on initiative for one hour.
6. Physical Bonuses: +1D4 to P.E., +1D6 to Spd., and +30 to S.D.C.
7. Mental Bonuses: The character gains the psionic powers of Mind Block Auto-Defense, Nightvision and Empathy in addition to a bonus of +2 to save vs psionics and horror factor.

Hook: The characters hear reports of a street person being found dead of a heart attack in a downtown alleyway. One of his chums claims that a monster was chasing him. The police have disregarded the report as a drug induced hallucination and ignored the case.

Line: The "witness", Willy Carlye or Mooch as the other street people call him is infamous for his wild stories about monsters. None the less he is completely serious when he tells them about some sort of monster that chased his friend before he grabbed at his chest and collapsed. The monster turned around and left.

Sinker: Favian has discovered that sending lesser demons after street people is extremely effective in causing unmatched terror and prolonging it sometimes for hours. He always orders the creatures to frighten but never kill, Favian doesn't like the idea of killing people and any ways you can't scare a dead person. The death of the street person was an accident but may become one of many if Favian doesn't stop using this technique or if he loses control of one of the monsters.

Hook: The corpse from a recent unsolved murder in the city has gone missing from the city morgue. No evidence can be found as to who did it or why.

Line: Careful inspection by magical or psionic means will lead the characters to an old warehouse close to where the body was first found. Investigating the actual murder will bring the characters to a wealthy corporation but won't provide enough evidence to find exactly who is responsible or why they did it.

Sinker: Favian knows who committed the murder and has been observing the guilty party for some time now, enjoying their fear of being discovered. He's decided to take advantage of the situation and has stolen the corpse to do so. He intends to sneak into a secret meeting of the guilty parties with the corpse and use the spell Animate and Control Dead to make it appear as though the deceased has returned from the grave for vengeance.

Hook: Its Halloween. The kiddies are out and there's a party on every corner.

Line: There is a haunted house in town that has been advertised on the media as being incredibly intricate and well done. The builder of the haunted house is donating the admission to local charities to boot!

Sinker: Favian has built an extremely elaborate haunted house using not only conventional techniques but also by using various magic spells and rituals. Over the course of the evening Favian is overwhelmed by the fear that is created and loses control. People are at real risk of being hurt but don't realize it. They think its all part of the show. The characters have to do something to prevent innocent deaths!