The Nemean
Quote: Have you ever eaten a human heart? Neither have I, but your incompetence is making me positively famished.
Background: The Nemean originally went by the Shadow Name of Savham, but before that, he was Mark Long, a high-school dropout who came of age in the late ‘60s. Mark cleaved to the hippie stereotype, experimenting with drugs and exotic spirituality. He was, however, more than a dilettante. Frequent hallucinations made it impossible for him to hold a job, and drove him to seek spiritual comfort. He bounced between new religions and drugs to keep the voices out. The result was occasional work as a small-time dealer; he carried over a thousand hits of LSD with him to Boston.
Mark had discovered Wicca and hoped the drug money would fund an extended stay in Salem, where he hoped to join the growing neo-pagan community. His plans changed when bikers nearly beat him to death for selling on their turf, triggering his Awakening.
Mark climbed the Thyrsus Watchtower from a bloody curb in Boston, and returned as Savham, a mage flush with Life magic and a brutal temper. He made it to Salem, after all, and wasted little time virtually enslaving a handful of Wiccan Sleepers. Threats and miracles made him their living god.
The Ebon Noose quickly apprenticed Savham. His voices were made little more than whispers, and he could devote his full concentration to the Arcana and associated lore. He grew powerful enough to be the right hand of the cabal, and acted as Consilium Sentinel by 1982. Savham spent a decade terrorizing mages who disobeyed the Consilium. Finally, he attained Life mastery and challenged the leader of the Ebon Noose. The then-leader lost and left Salem, and Savham became the Nemean, the 22nd leader of the cabal. He claimed the Hierarch’s chair without controversy.
Description: Broad shouldered and settling into late middle age, the Nemean looks like an old lion, rudely stuffed into tweed and khakis, and grimacing at the experience. Long, gray-shot hair frames a wide, bearded face. His nails are unusually long and slightly pointed. His Nimbus appears as a pack of predator animal spirits, prowling and growling around him, ready to leap upon any threat.
Storytelling Hints: Some Hierarchs style themselves after legendary sages. Others prefer modern CEOs. The Nemean scoffs at such gentleness and enjoys being something of a monster. Boston’s mages have learned to fear the displeased tap of his nails on the Cormant House conference table.
The Nemean prefers simple, violent solutions. He does not encourage proactive efforts to improve relations between mages. He prefers Awakened Boston to be a fractious place where his cabal’s power is hard to challenge. For the most part, he intervenes little unless there’s a serious threat to regional security, but he is fond of influencing affairs with threats. He levies onerous burdens on unpopular mages who cross the line, but who don’t deserve death or exile. New cabals often suffer this penalty. They are sent to acquire Mana, artifacts or occult curiosities according to the Nemean’s dictates.
Dedicated Magical Tools: Flint knife, crow feather (Spirit magic)
Real Name: Mark Long
Path: Thyrsus
Order: The Silver Ladder
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 5, Resolve 4
Physical Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 4
Social Attributes: Presence 5, Manipulation 3, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Crafts 3, Investigation 4, Medicine 3, Occult (Neo-paganism) 5, Politics (Threats) 3
Physical Skills: Brawl 2, Firearms 3, Stealth 3, Survival 4, Weaponry (Knives) 3
Social Skills: Intimidation 5, Persuasion 3, Socialize 3, Streetwise 3, Subterfuge 4
Merits: Allies (Neo-pagans) 4, Dream 4, Hallow (personal) 2, Holistic Awareness, High Speech, Sanctum (personal) 3, Resources 3, Status (Consilium 5, Order 3)
Willpower: 8
Wisdom: 4 (Suspicious)
Virtue: Fortitude
Vice: Wrath
Initiative: 6
Defense: 7
Speed: 11
Health: 9
Gnosis: 5
Arcana: Death 2, Life 5, Mind 1, Prime 3, Space 2, Spirit 5
Mana/per turn: 15/5
Armor: 3 (Life Armor)
