Villain Profiles

Copyright (C) 2011 by Kevin L. O'Brien

A.I.Vi.L — "Artificial Intelligence Virtual Lifeform"; popularly known as Livia; artificial intelligence that controls the integrated computer system of PARASol Unlimited

Amadan Mor — "Great Fool"; second most powerful of the Aes Sídhe and their enforcer/protector

Adm. Ayhirnia Nemo — Descendant of Captain Nemo, inventor and commander of the Nautilis; currently ruler and benevolent dictator of the undersea city complex of Templemir

The Baobhan Sìth — "Fairy Woman"; Scottish vampire spirit that seduces men and drains their blood

Beast of Exmoor — Cat From Mars that terrorizes the Exmoor region

Birog — Pre-Hyborian Age (c. 18,500 years BP) sorceress from Acheron

Catarine fel Amigortue — Patron and collector of the arts and salonnière in the Dreamlands; former smuggler, wrecker, and slaver fav.me/d3k1iig

She was born in the small coastal village of Rinne in The South, the lands just below Dylath-Leen and the Forest of Parg. Her father may have been a pirate, but if he was he was a nobody, just a simple sailor who raped her mother when his ship raided her village for supplies. Her mother survived the birth, but named her Katie. Because she was a bastard, she was adopted by the village and so named Katie Rinne. At 14 her mother threw her out, unable to bear the shame of her violation or her daughter's disrespect. Katie went to join a group of wreckers and smugglers who used the village as a base. At first, they intended to sell her in Dylath-Leen, but their leader, an old woman, chose instead to make her one of them. What she ultimately had in mind can never be known, because when she turned 19, Katie poisoned her and took over the operation, with the collusion of her lover, the chief of the gang. He barely lasted a year, however, before she killed him in an arranged accident. By then she had five henchmen who were loyal to her and not the organization, and so was able to take full control with little resistance. She expanded their operations to include slave trading, and thereby became associated with the Men of Leng and their masters, the Moonbeasts.

At 23 she stumbled across a fabulous treasure. Though big enough to pay a hefty cut to the Leng Men and still make everyone in the operation filthy rich, she kept it a secret, then had her henchmen kill the rest of the people in the organization. Taking what they could carry of the treasure, they went to Creachabh in the Six Kingdoms and she made a deal with the Thieves Guild, to allow them to fence the treasure in exchange for providing her with a very generous stipend. At the same time, she also made a similar deal with the Leng Men, and thereby played both groups off against one another, to prevent either one from killing her and taking the treasure. On top of that, she kept the location of the treasure a secret; only her henchmen share it, and they are far too loyal to betray her. She then bought and furnished a mansion in the city and created a new persona: Catarine fel Amigortue.

Her story was that her mother was a royal princess of the blood from one of the kingdoms on the southern continent, who was kidnapped by the famed pirate, Amigortue. Originally holding her for ransom, he fell in love with her, and she reciprocated during a night of passion. He then returned her safely to her kingdom. Nine months later, she died while giving birth to a daughter, living just long enough to name her Catarine. Because she was of mixed birth, she could not be part of the succession for the throne, but as granddaughter of the king she could not be simply set aside, so instead, she was made the Archduchess of Pikele, which placed her above all nobility and royalty except the king himself. When she was 14, he father came for her and took her away to live with him. She eventually commanded her own ship in his fleet, but when he was betrayed by his most trusted lieutenant and his fleet destroyed by her grandfather's armada, she managed to escape, but not before killing the traitor in savage hand-to-hand combat. She is unable to return to her mother's people. The people of Creachabh accepted her story and welcomed her.

She became a patron and collector of the arts. To further that end, she opened a salon where the social elite of Creachabh could meet artists, poets, storytellers, musicians, and intellectuals on an equal footing. She also donated large sums of money to the city to be used to improve and beautify it. She has become so respected for her service to the city that she was awarded the Legion of Merit and made Countess Stormhold, thereby making her a citizen and part of the social elite.

Her patronage and charitable works are no scam; she has retired from criminal life and cultivates an air of social gentility, with just enough scandal to make her titillating. She made her henchmen part of her household staff: Bertuccio, a one-time bandit chief, became her majordomo; Haydée, a black-widow and child-killer, became her lady's maid (and secret lover); Ali, a mute former member of The Knives of Dylath-Leen, became her bodyguard; Baptistin, a renegade spy from Ooth-Nargai, became her chargé d'affaires; and Vampa, a marooned pirate, became the chief of her household guard. Despite their inferior status, she rewards them generously for their loyalty, and they in turn realize their best fortunes lay with service to her. However, she maintains contacts with the Thieves Guild and the Leng Men because of the treasure and passes information to them that could net them lucrative profits. She also funds criminal activities for a cut of the take and she occasionally deals in stolen goods and art forgery. She has also forged alliances with Marseilles Sheraton and Gloriana the Cat for mutual benefit and protection. The treasure is so large that even after so many years she has barely made a dent in it, but now most of her fortune comes from investing, and she uses the treasure stipend to fund her social activities.

Despite a crust of respectability, however, she is still a bloodthirsty cutthroat, and would not hesitate to ruthlessly eliminate any threat in any way necessary. Though a number of people are suspicious of her, none have been able to discover the truth about her. One who came the closest was Marie Delacroix, the Impressionist artist from Ulthar, and she barely escaped with her life, thanks to Medb hErenn and Descartes the Cat. However, few believe that even if the whole truth came out Catarine would be ruined. She has become too permanent a fixture in Creachabh society, and has cultivated a number of important and influential lovers. Besides which, Creachabh is a pragmatic city, with just the right balance of idealism and corruption. As long as she wasn't a threat to the city itself and continued to fund it, her presence would most likely be tolerated, though her "taxes" would probably increase substantially.

Chamberlain in Green — Carcosan royal family; represents wickedness and cunning; secret lover of The Queen and pits The Princess and The Prince against each other for his own purposes

Countess of Salisbury — Satanist with the power to command devils; seeks to gain sufficient power to control Her Majesty's Government

The Daemon Sultan — Avatar of Nyarlathotep who sits enthroned in the fortress of the Great Ones on Mt. Kadath in the Cold Waste in the Dreamlands

Deborah Alice Wechsler — Founder, President, and CEO of The Mhorrigan Group

The Duke of Holdehurst — Member of the British Peerage and political heavyweight within Her Majesty's Government

Dullahan — Headless rider terrorizing County Tyrone in Northern Ireland

Elatha — Fomóraigh ruler of the city-state in Hazuth-Kleg and nominal high king of all the Fomóraigh in the Dreamlands

Eochaid Bres — Fomórach/Human son of Elatha mac Delbáeth, Lord High Steward of the city-state in Hazuth-Kleg, and Lord High Chancellor over all the Fomóraigh in the Dreamlands

Doge Gaius Zilach — Etruscan (675 BCE) Vampire of the Voltura strain; tried to usurp the Conclave but was defeated

The High Priest of Leng — Mysterious entity, robed and veiled in yellow, that resides in an ancient monastery on the Plateau of Leng in the Dreamlands

Hyaline Maximilia de Grymm — Pre-Thurian (27,000 years BP) Vampire of the Mousterian Strain; oldest Human Vampire extant

Jack the Ripper — Needs no explanation

Jester in Violet — Carcosan royal family; represents torture and death; more enforcer than fool, and executes the will of the rest of the family, having none of his own; his jests are particularly gruesome and macabre

Kanyth Tyree — Female Homo praedatoreous who runs a strategic electronics firm

Killer Klown — Paranormal entity that takes the form of a clown at regular intervals to commit killings

King in Yellow — Carcosan royal family; represents pestilence and decay

Lich Queen — Thurian Age (c. 20,250 years BP) sorceress from Valusia

Marseilles Sheraton — Celebutante and criminal overlord fav.me/d3cluds

Masako Hojo — Onna-bugeisha, former samurai and kunoichi, who lives in the city-state of Yeddo in the Dreamlands

The Master of Rats — Priest of Luchóg Mhór, the Rat Demon

Medraut Pen Draig — Illegitimate son of Artur Pen Draig cursed to remain alive until the return of Artur

The Mehakebar — Prophesized offspring of Nyarlathotep and the Bride of the Crawling Chaos, who will rule the Dreamlands in the name of her father

Miranda Pendragon — Maternal aunt of Sir Differel Van Helsing fav.me/d3ke1um

The Mirror Devil — Supernatural entity trapped in the silver backing of an antique mirror and able to open a portal to Hell through the glass

Modron l'Fae — Sorceress from the city of Lelga-Leng, who specializes in illusions and phantasms; she was an ally of Sysphius Tyrannia in her attempted coup d'état and is now rumored to be her eyes and ears in the Dreamlands

Monsignor Canarde — Leader of Vatican City's Holy Order of St. Antony Demons-Bane

The Nurse — Hired to care for Sir Henry Van Helsing, father of Sir Differel Van Helsing, when he fell ill; later revealed to be a fully mature Fomórach

Nuthia Su'h — Human/Predator hybrid and Telemaraine Wizard, Black Onyx Level; born during the Black Death (1349 CE) in Europe

Owlman — Paranormal being posing as the cryptid native to Cornwall

Prince in Blue — Carcosan royal family; represents depression and grief; the family rebel, seeking to overthrow the current order, and has a fanatical hatred of his sister

Prince of Dylath-Leen — Ruler of the city-state of Dylath-Leen in the Dreamlands fav.me/d3j6wvh

Princess in Orange — Carcosan royal family; represents madness and depravity; has a fanatical hatred of her brother

The Purple Fool — Avatar of Nyarlathotep associated with the Boyar of Malebolg in the Dreamlands

Queen in Red — Carcosan royal family; represents bloodlust and carnage

The Red Death — Avatar of Nyarlathotep associated with the Prince of Dylath-Leen fav.me/d3kr8jt

Shoulder Devil — Personification of Sir Differel Van Helsing's evil, selfish side who appears to her to give advice on moral and ethical dilemmas

The Spirit of the Oaks — Paranormal being associated with old-growth oak forests of 300+ years; the older the forest, the more powerful the resident

Spring-Heeled Jack — Interdimensional explorer equipped with a highly advanced steam-based technology; displays an irreverent attitude towards his work

Sysphius Tyrannia — extremely powerful sorcerer from the city-state of Lelag-Leng in the Dreamlands, who specializes in daemonology; she was a one-time member of the Ruling Council until she tried to mount a coup d'état and was banished from the city; her current whereabouts are unknown

Lady Tamora Draconae — disgraced Knight of Celephaïs in the Dreamlands, who attempted to assassinate King Kuranes for personal revenge and as part of a coup d'état

Dr. Uriah Silas Huer — Mad scientist specializing in cognitive theory, neurophysiology, cybernetics, psychology, and semiotics; excels at developing methods of mind control and behavioral modification that involve virtual reality and symbols

Venke Myhre — former adventurer and now waitress at the Forenoon Tavern in the town of Ulthar in the Dreamlands

Vincent O'Shaughnessy — "the Weasel"; a former gangster who runs a cabaret outside of the town of Ulthar in the Dreamlands

Warrior Nun Walpurga — Member of the disbanded Daughters of Cwenthryth, an all-female military religious order that combined features of the Knights Templar with a contemplative order; went underground when Pope Julius II decreed that all female religious orders must renounce violence and return to the cloister (though pertaining to all institutions, the DoC was the only military order left, so no one doubted the bull was directed at them); as a result, all members were excommunicated, which has never been rescinded; a popular legend states that when enough sisters have been sent to Hell, they will rise up in revolt and overthrow Satan to end his rebellion and restore the rule of God

The White Dragon — Symbol of the Saxon invaders, and mortal enemy of The Red Dragon, the symbol of the native Britons

Xenomorph Queen/Human hybrid — Xenomorph queen that acquired human DNA from Sir Differel Van Helsing when it's chestbuster was incubated inside her; acquired human thought patterns imprinted onto its ancestral instincts and behavior