Day 15: Abel Cruz, sorcerer

 A sorcerous character for Sigil & Shadow

Abel started getting interested in magic as a child. Deedee, the lady next door, read tarot cards and helped the unhappy with folk medicine and rituals. It was very interesting, and a little scary. In the end it was all done in service to compassion. 

Abel encountered magic again when he went to university. Hoary old sociologists like Durkheim,  Mauss and Malinowski covered magic as a societal and psychological tool, a crossroads of faith, performance and pragmatism. Yet they always treated it from the outside looking in. Abel’s roommate called it “colonialist sociology”. 

Abel started attending seances, masses, and esoteric retreats. Most were underwhelming, until he met the Tired Man. His skin was yellow like old newspapers, his teeth were lead-gray, and his eyes were a sky with drifting storm clouds. The Tired Man always dragged his feet to the gatherings, but always left with a kick in his stride.  

Once Abel confronted the Tired Man. He found himself in a ditch the next morning, weak as a kitten, and covered in a bile-like substance. 

That was when Abel’s magical studies began in earnest. He sought out that which could be used as a weapon, and found that in addition to faith, pragmatism and performance, emotion was needed. His magic shaped itself around fear, retribution, and a deep urge for truth. 

These days Abel is an itinerant defender of the unwary. There are predators like the Tired man out there, and Abel sees himself as a defender, much like the guardian angels on the subway.

Abel Cruz

Casting: Protector

Drive: Safeguard

Protectors recover a Bone during any scene where they work to protect others from paranormal  threats. This can be in the form of preparations anticipating a threat, or reactively putting themselves in harm’s way in order to guard another.

Background: Recluse

Bones: 4

STR 50 DEX 45 LOG 60 WIL 55

Damage Bonus: 0

Health Points: 25

INIT: 1

Damage Resistance: 0

Skills

Arcana (trained) LVL 1 (+10%) (Umbra)

Combat 

Education (trained) Lvl 1 (+10%) (Social Studies)

Investigation

Larceny (trained)

Medicine, 

Mysticism

Social

Survival

Technical

Special Features

Perks

Off the Grid

The character has managed to leave little to no record of their existence – any search

online or in public databases yields no results.

Powers: 

Magic!

Go-to Spell

ENTROPIC GLANCE

Umbra/Low/Project Inhibit

The occultist gazes at a subject through the reflection of a mirrored surface, invoking the spell in whispers while trying not to blink. Upon completion, they close their eyes, and the subject will be inflicted with a condition such as dazed, demoralized, fatigued, or frightened.

Descriptors

Curmudgeon

Heroic

Equipment

Sickle 1d+3

Cigarettes (for bartering) and lighter

Taser (Stuns)

City map with annotations

Occult pack: Contains a variety of weird odds and ends, coloured chalks, assorted trinkets, curios and strange reagents required for performing rituals and magic

Lifestyle Rating: Lower Middle Class (2)