Demon of the Second Circle,The Expressive Souls of the Fountain of the Depths
Quote: You, me, the Primordials…everything is a big joke, didn’t you know it? You’ll understand it soon, don’t worry. In the meantime, let me put a smile on your face.
Jumet, the Dreamcatcher was a restless and joyous spirit even after the Primordial’s imprisonment, for he could always travel inside the dreams of mortals and demons alike, never feeling really trapped inside the Demon City. On his last journey he entered the dreams of his own progenitor, Oramus. It’s hard to say what he saw inside the Dragon Beyond the World’s dreams, but the experience completely broke him until Mannares, the Bloodthirsty Joker emerged from them mad but powerful.
Many stories and records, both in Creation and Malfeas, say that the demon learned nine secrets from Oramus’ dreams. He has only revealed two such secrets on different occasions. The first time it was to an exalt while the second time it was to one of the Ebon Dragon’s souls.
It’s not unusual on certain zones in the threshold to leave a small porcelain doll in the bed of newborns. This tradition is due to Mannares, although it offers no protection against him. The Bloodthirsty Joker enjoys taking away the children of a town, luring them with great gifts if they enter his sanctum. Once inside, he shapes them into porcelain dolls and adds them to his already big collection.
The demon also lures adults, although they suffer a different fate from children. Mannares searches Creation for the ones as broken and frustrated as him to offer them the power to make their dreams and ambitions a reality. He brings the candidates to his sanctum, using sorcery to turn them into loyal servants that further extend the place’s madness, also acting as his emissaries and bodyguards. It’s rare for him to hold more than a dozen such servants at any given time, although there are several thousand mortals inside the place whose dreams Mannares use to further change and improve his sanctum.
Savants during the First Age speculate that Mannares was slowly turning into a new Third Circle Demon, although he needs a catalyst to complete the transformation. If the theory proves to be true, the changes this could bring to the Dragon Beyond the World are unknown.
The Bloodthirsty Joker appears as a tall and extremely thin man wearing off-color harlequin robes and a hat with sleigh bells that never make a sound. His face is a porcelain mask similar to those of his dolls with a single black tear under his left eye.
Sanctum: Crafted from mortal’s dreams and nightmares, the place known has the Maze of Laughter can only be entered by a special movable portal only Mannares knows how to summon and from one of the many temples around Oramus, since this place is also a Manse that taps a portion his mighty essence. Inside this strange realm the Bloodthirsty Joker watches in fascination the large collection of porcelain dolls he has made over the centuries while attended by his many magical servants. Since the Maze constantly changes due the mad whims of his creator, several records from the First Age contradict themselves on how the place looks, although it’s a general agreement that it’s composed of several changing layers, each one the domain of a different servant.
Summoning: (Obscurity 4/5) Sorcerers often summon the Mannares to torment their enemies bringing madness to their entire family or to harvest gossamer to craft a wonder, since only desperate or ignorant summoners will keep the Bloodthirsty Joker close to them for long period of time. Sometimes, the tears of an infant mixed with honey can open a crack that allows Mannares to enter Creation. Each scene that the demon is compelled to behave seriously or to reveal any of the nine secrets (even when he is not going to do that) he rolls a number of dice equal to his Valor, each success giving him a point of Limit.
Motivation: “Laugh to forget”
Intimacies: Dannara (Contemplation), Humans (Unhealthy Curiosity), Maze of Laughter (Enjoyment), Oramus (Wariness), the Nine Secrets (Impotent Terror),
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 6, Stamina 4, Charisma 4, Manipulation 6, Appearance 2, Perception 5, Intelligence 6, Wits 8
Abilities: Athletics 3 (Daredevil Acrobatics +3), Awareness 4, Craft (Fire) 4 (Porcelain Dolls+2), Craft (Glamour) 6 (Innocent Dreams +1, Nightmares +1), Dodge 7, Integrity 4 (Seriousness Imposition +2), Investigation 3 (Shameful Secrets +1), Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Firetongue, Riverspeak, Skytongue) 3, Lore 4, Martial Arts 2, Melee 6 (Herald of Laughter +2), Occult 4, Performance 6 (Sadistic Jokes +1), Presence 3 (Children +2), Resistance 4, Stealth 6, Thrown 4
Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 1, Temperance 2, Valor 5
Backgrounds: Allies (Amalgams) 5, Cult 2, Followers 5, Gossamer 2, Sanctum N/A
Charms:
Amethyst Awareness
Animating Management – Mannares can posses his porcelain dolls.
Calculated Order of Immediate Action – the Bloodthirsty Joker can shape his Sanctum in any way that pleases him.
Capture – Mannares can force people to enter his Sanctum or if they are already inside he can teleport them to any other part of it.
Creation of Perfection – the Bloodthirsty Joker can turn children into porcelain dolls with a Craft (Fire) procedure lasting one hour. Victims are still alive and sentient as dolls although they can’t perform any action. The Bloodthirsty Joker can use this Charm to reverse the change later, although he never does so unless compelled.
Divine Decree – Mannares can set the rules inside his Sanctum.
Divine Prerogative – the Bloodthirsty Joker cannot be compelled to reveal the secrets he learned from Oramus’ dreams.
Dreamscape – Mannares can play with the dreams of children, generally to lure them to leave their homes and follow him to his Sanctum.
Essence Plethora (x5)
Harrow the Mind – the Bloodthirsty Joker torments his targets with their shames and frustrations.
Hurry Home – Anywhere inside his Sanctum or the location near any of his porcelain dolls.
Impromptu Messenger – Mannares can hear, see and speak through his porcelain dolls.
Landscape Travel – the Bloodthirsty Joker can have any form of locomotion inside his Sanctum.
Materialize – 90 motes
Memory Mirror – Mannares can know the most shameful secret or frustration someone has in addition to his Motivation and Intimacies.
Mimic of Tongues – Humans always understand the Bloodthirsty Joker and he can similarly understand them.
Ox-Body Technique (x4)
Portal – Mannares version of this Charm allows him to alter an existing door, arch or gateway to transport anyone crossing it inside the first layer of his Sanctum instead for as long has he commits the motes.
Principle of Motion – Up to ten banked actions
Reserve of Will (x2)
Tracking – the Bloodthirsty Joker can sense the location of any of his porcelain dolls and Amalgams.
Worldly Illusion – Mannares can force a target to enter an alternate reality to exploit a personal shame or frustration of the victim.
First (Ability) Excellency – Athletics, Melee, Performance
Second (Ability) Excellency – Awareness, Craft, Melee, Stealth
Infinity (Ability) Mastery – Dodge, Melee, Performance
Divine (Ability) Subordination – Dodge, Performance, Integrity
Sorcery: Mannares knows the following spells of the Terrestrial and Celestial Circle: Disguise of the New Face, Emphatic Wind, Hideous Confusion of Tongues, Imbue Amalgam, Sorcerer’s Irresistible Puppetry, Theft of Memory and Travel Without Distance.
Join Battle: 12
Attacks:
Caustic Grimscythe (Mirthful Herald): Speed 6, Accuracy 16, Damage 19L/4*, Parry DV 5, Rate 2, Tags 2, O, P, R
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 6, Damage 3B, Parry DV - , Rate 1, Tags C, N, P
Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 6B, Parry DV 3, Rate 2, Tags N
Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 3B, Parry DV 5, Rate 3, Tags N
*Reduces the target’s effective Hardness by half.
Dodge DV: 11 MDV (Dodge): 11 (Seriousness Imposition: 12)
Soak: 9L/9B (Harlequin Gossamer Clothes: 7L/5B)
Willpower: 10 (12)
Essence: 8 Essence Pool: 180 (172)
Health Levels: -0/ -1 x10 / -2 x10 / -4/ Incapacitated
Other Notes: For the purpose of Mannares’ Charms “children” encompasses any sentient humanoid creature with 12 years old or less.
Mannares can use Imbue Amalgam to infuse targets with themes appropriate to the five elements of Creation, although his targets always have the opposite nature to the one associated with that element (see Oadenol’s Codex, p. 48 and Manual of Exalted Power: Dragon-Blooded, p. 112-121). They always bear a gemstone on their chest or forehead with the symbol that represents the element which can be used to travel from one layer to the other inside the Maze of Laughter.
Summoning: (Obscurity 4/5) Sorcerers often summon the Mannares to torment their enemies bringing madness to their entire family or to harvest gossamer to craft a wonder, since only desperate or ignorant summoners will keep the Bloodthirsty Joker close to them for long period of time. Sometimes, the tears of an infant mixed with honey can open a crack that allows Mannares to enter Creation. Each scene that the demon is compelled to behave seriously or to reveal any of the nine secrets (even when he is not going to do that) he rolls a number of dice equal to his Valor, each success giving him a point of Limit.
Motivation: “Laugh to forget”
Intimacies: Dannara (Contemplation), Humans (Unhealthy Curiosity), Maze of Laughter (Enjoyment), Oramus (Wariness), the Nine Secrets (Impotent Terror),
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 6, Stamina 4, Charisma 4, Manipulation 6, Appearance 2, Perception 5, Intelligence 6, Wits 8
Abilities: Athletics 3 (Daredevil Acrobatics +3), Awareness 4, Craft (Fire) 4 (Porcelain Dolls+2), Craft (Glamour) 6 (Innocent Dreams +1, Nightmares +1), Dodge 7, Integrity 4 (Seriousness Imposition +2), Investigation 3 (Shameful Secrets +1), Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Firetongue, Riverspeak, Skytongue) 3, Lore 4, Martial Arts 2, Melee 6 (Herald of Laughter +2), Occult 4, Performance 6 (Sadistic Jokes +1), Presence 3 (Children +2), Resistance 4, Stealth 6, Thrown 4
Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 1, Temperance 2, Valor 5
Backgrounds: Allies (Amalgams) 5, Cult 2, Followers 5, Gossamer 2, Sanctum N/A
Charms:
Amethyst Awareness
Animating Management – Mannares can posses his porcelain dolls.
Calculated Order of Immediate Action – the Bloodthirsty Joker can shape his Sanctum in any way that pleases him.
Capture – Mannares can force people to enter his Sanctum or if they are already inside he can teleport them to any other part of it.
Creation of Perfection – the Bloodthirsty Joker can turn children into porcelain dolls with a Craft (Fire) procedure lasting one hour. Victims are still alive and sentient as dolls although they can’t perform any action. The Bloodthirsty Joker can use this Charm to reverse the change later, although he never does so unless compelled.
Divine Decree – Mannares can set the rules inside his Sanctum.
Divine Prerogative – the Bloodthirsty Joker cannot be compelled to reveal the secrets he learned from Oramus’ dreams.
Dreamscape – Mannares can play with the dreams of children, generally to lure them to leave their homes and follow him to his Sanctum.
Essence Plethora (x5)
Harrow the Mind – the Bloodthirsty Joker torments his targets with their shames and frustrations.
Hurry Home – Anywhere inside his Sanctum or the location near any of his porcelain dolls.
Impromptu Messenger – Mannares can hear, see and speak through his porcelain dolls.
Landscape Travel – the Bloodthirsty Joker can have any form of locomotion inside his Sanctum.
Materialize – 90 motes
Memory Mirror – Mannares can know the most shameful secret or frustration someone has in addition to his Motivation and Intimacies.
Mimic of Tongues – Humans always understand the Bloodthirsty Joker and he can similarly understand them.
Ox-Body Technique (x4)
Portal – Mannares version of this Charm allows him to alter an existing door, arch or gateway to transport anyone crossing it inside the first layer of his Sanctum instead for as long has he commits the motes.
Principle of Motion – Up to ten banked actions
Reserve of Will (x2)
Tracking – the Bloodthirsty Joker can sense the location of any of his porcelain dolls and Amalgams.
Worldly Illusion – Mannares can force a target to enter an alternate reality to exploit a personal shame or frustration of the victim.
First (Ability) Excellency – Athletics, Melee, Performance
Second (Ability) Excellency – Awareness, Craft, Melee, Stealth
Infinity (Ability) Mastery – Dodge, Melee, Performance
Divine (Ability) Subordination – Dodge, Performance, Integrity
Sorcery: Mannares knows the following spells of the Terrestrial and Celestial Circle: Disguise of the New Face, Emphatic Wind, Hideous Confusion of Tongues, Imbue Amalgam, Sorcerer’s Irresistible Puppetry, Theft of Memory and Travel Without Distance.
Join Battle: 12
Attacks:
Caustic Grimscythe (Mirthful Herald): Speed 6, Accuracy 16, Damage 19L/4*, Parry DV 5, Rate 2, Tags 2, O, P, R
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 6, Damage 3B, Parry DV - , Rate 1, Tags C, N, P
Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 6B, Parry DV 3, Rate 2, Tags N
Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 3B, Parry DV 5, Rate 3, Tags N
*Reduces the target’s effective Hardness by half.
Dodge DV: 11 MDV (Dodge): 11 (Seriousness Imposition: 12)
Soak: 9L/9B (Harlequin Gossamer Clothes: 7L/5B)
Willpower: 10 (12)
Essence: 8 Essence Pool: 180 (172)
Health Levels: -0/ -1 x10 / -2 x10 / -4/ Incapacitated
Other Notes: For the purpose of Mannares’ Charms “children” encompasses any sentient humanoid creature with 12 years old or less.
Mannares can use Imbue Amalgam to infuse targets with themes appropriate to the five elements of Creation, although his targets always have the opposite nature to the one associated with that element (see Oadenol’s Codex, p. 48 and Manual of Exalted Power: Dragon-Blooded, p. 112-121). They always bear a gemstone on their chest or forehead with the symbol that represents the element which can be used to travel from one layer to the other inside the Maze of Laughter.
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