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Bandakros, Keeper of Lost Words

Demon of the Second Circle

The Indulgent Soul of the End of All Wisdom

Description: The most ancient texts speak of Bandakros as a warrior-savant and a wise judge keen in the way of the world. It is said that he rules over a mighty fortress-library on the outermost layer of the Demon City, one both grand and filled with vast lore. There he studies and masters the laws of Cecelyne, and collects and catalogues the forgotten lore that seeps into the Demon Realm. The Fortress-Library of Bandakros is visited often by the various lesser denizens of the Demon City, and even those fellow citizens who desire to share lore or discuss matters of law with the Keeper of Lost Words.

Often, also, Bandakros is called to sit as judge over the greater and lesser crimes of the Demon City. Sometimes he performs these tasks for his Master Orabilis, for even the End of All Wisdom occasionally needs the studied lore of his lesser. Othertimes he stands as Judge for the sake of another citizen, for some of the greater denizens of the First Circle, or for ineffable reasons that are his own to know. It is the nature of Bandakros that he is bound to the law and to his word, and thus his judgements are above question. Indeed, so tightly bound is Bandakros by the law, that he was often summoned as an aide or advocate in matters of law and judgement.

Bandakros has the form of a man, red of skin and muscular. He stands some seven feet tall, with burning yellow eyes and an angular head bereft of any hair. He dresses always in voluminous robes of brown, removing them only for the purposes of pleasure or sleep. In his left hand he holds his demon staff, called the Judges Temper, upon which is marked every matter of law upon which he has stood as justice.

When he is free of sorcerous control in the lands of Creation, Bandakros searches for matters that demand his judgement or studying the lore and laws of Creation. Few mortals have the ability to deny the demons authority, and his judgements are often harsh yet fair. Those who Bandakros' judements are lucky to simply die, with the unlucky ones suffering in ways both poetic and disturbing.

Recent History: Five or so years ago, some time before her disappearance, the Scarlet Empress summoned the Keeper of Lost Words in her summoning chamber deep within the Imperial Manse, naked and bereft of his objects of power. Some time after his summoning, and before he was released or sent home, the Scarlet Empress disappeared. Due to the power of the summoning chamber into which he had been caged, Bandakros was left imprisoned and powerless, for over five years.

Eventually, after finding a strange magical transportation system in the depths of Del Roh, Balthasar and Johann found themselves for a time in the Imperial Manse and managed to blunder upon the sorcerous chamber where Bandakros was being held. After bargaining for a time, Balthasar agreed to free the demon in exchannge for him giving them a distraction so tha they could safely leave the way they had come.

Bandakros spent roughly 30 minutes moving throughout the Imperial City, striking down mortals at his whim and taking what bits of lore he could find in the short period that was available to him. The Demon even slew two of the first Dragon-Blooded present on the scene, and gathered up a small handful of mortal souls as well. Upon the arrival of the first of the Immaculate Monks, the Second Circle demon fled back to Malfaes, anxious to determine what happened to his Fortress-Library and Kingdom upon his long departure.

Nature: Judge
Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 4, Stamina 6, Charisma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2, Perception 6, Intelligence 6, Wits 3
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 5, Temperance 5, Valor 3
Abilities: Brawl 2, Melee 4 (Staff +2), Endurance 3, Performance 3 (Oration), Presence 5 (Judgement +3), Resistance 2, Survival 1, Investigation 6 (Research +2), Lore 7 (the Law +3), Occult 5, Athletics 2, Awareness 3, Dodge 4, Bureaucracy 3, Linguistics 5, Socialize 3
Backgrounds: Artifact 3 (Staff of Law), Influence 2 (in Malfaes), Manse 4 (the Fortress-Library, an Infernal-aspected Manse), Resources 2 (your Malfaen Treasures)

Cost to Materialize: 78 motes
Base Initiative: 7
Attack:

Other Notes:
Any demon or Exalt can invoke the justice of Bandakros, willingly and under his own will. Bandakros will stand as judge, according to the laws of the Yozi or whatever other authority is invoked, to the best of his ability to do so. Mortals can attempt to invoke the justice of Bandakros, but he only answers these invocations at his own will. Bandakros is very rarely summoned into creation naturally by an act of great and tragic injustice that catches the attention of the Yozi.

Bandakros can, as a simple action that does not count as the use of a charm, enforce justice on a given crime that he has either judged or assisted in the judgement thereof. This ability costs 20 motes, and 1 willpower. The exact effects are up to the Storyteller, and are not fully in the control of Bandakros or the sorcerer who commands the demon to use this power. The punishment tends to be some kind of poetic and horrible twist on the crime in question.

Limit Profile:
Bandakros is a Hunter, and his hunt is the eternal quest for Justice. Whenever he is left idle and unable to help arbitrate matters and seek justice for extended periods, he rolls his Conviction to gain limit. The Sorcerer can reduce his limit by giving him law and lore to pour over, but eventually must give him some matter of justice to oversee.

Sorcerous Limitations:
Bandakros cannot be forced to share his knowledge of lost and forbidden lore, even under a Sorcerous binding, though he can be told to perform tasks where he will use his knowledge on the behalf of the Sorcerer or otherwise indirectly move around this limitation. Also, Bandakros can be ordered to share his knowledge of law.

the Charms of Bandakros

Bandakros the Judge

• Truth-Telling Charms
  • Bandakros has a 3 mote, 1 willpower charm that lasts one scene. It allows him to add his Compassion in automatic successes to all Awareness type rolls.
  • Bandakros has a 7 mote, 1 willpower charm that lasts one scene. It allows him to tell whenever someone lies to him. This charm fails on beings with a higher Essence rating.
• Curse-Charms
  • Bandakros may spend 8 motes to reflexively curse anyone who tries to lie to him. The exact affects of this depend on the lie in question, and are poetic in nature. This curse is permanent and instant of duration unless the target immediately retracts his lie and tells the truth, in which case it only lasts one day and the essence is commited.
  • Bandakros can spend 15 motes, 1 willpower to scourge the targets Lore, lowering his Lore or Occult ability by 4 for a duration of one week. He can also lower the targets Perception and Intelligence by 1 if he wishes to do so. He may alternatively spend 20 motes and 1 permanent willpower to lower a targets Lore, or Occult by 2 permanently, or their Intelligence or Perception by 1 permanently. Both of these are simple charms.
  • Bandakros may spend 30 motes, 3 willpower in order to geas a subject into an agreement that he agrees upon. This geas is fully binding on Bandakros, and on most mortals, but Exalts and Heroic Mortals can break the oath with little effect. However, Bandakros can use his Scourge charm without the cost of a permanent willpower on an Oathbreaker.

Bandakros the Sage

• Lost Secrets Charms
  • Bandakros may spend 3 motes to understand any mortal language, code, cipher or other method of obscuring or communicating language. He may also use this charm to observe mortal dreams, or eavesdrop on charm-, sorcery-, or artifact-based communication. This is a reflexive charm, with a duration of 6 minutes.
  • Bandakros may spend 5 motes, 1 willpower to read a specific mortal, exalts or demons surface thoughts. This requires a Perception + Temperance roll, with a difficulty equal to the subjects Essence rating. This is a simple charm, with a duration of 15 minutes per success.
  • Bandakros may summon any text from his Fortress-Library into his robes as a 10 mote, 1 willpower refleive charm-action. Bandakros' library contains a number of books, including an exhaustive collection of books on matters of interest in the Demon Realm. It also contains more mundane mortal tomes, but only a modestly impressive selection thereof. Bandakros may spend 1 mote to attune himself to any book from his library, gaining a complete recall of the contents contained within.
  • Bandakros may spend 20 motes, 2 willpower to ask Cecelyne or Orabilis one question. Neither the Yozi nor Orabilis are required to answer this question, but generally will unless they have a reason not to.

Bandakros the Warrior

• Material-World Charms
  • Bandakros has the Materialize charm, and can use it for 78 motes. He can also manifest as a ghostly immaterial type form for 2 motes, as a reflexive non-charm action, allowing him to converse and use some social abilities.
• Staff-Warrior Charms
  • Bandakros can add up to his Valor rating (3) to his Dexterity + Melee attack rolls, for one mote per extra die. This also reduces any difficulties to his attack roll by 1, whenever he uses this charm in combat. This is a supplemental charm with an instant duration.
    • Bandakros can spend 5 motes as a reflexive-charm action in order to make a free disarm roll at difficulty 1 after he successfully parries someones attack with his staff. This charm has a duration of instant.
  • Bandakros can make two attacks with his staff using a single attack roll, at the same opponent or two opponents in close proximity. This costs 4 motes, and is an extra action charm with an instant duration.
    • Bandakros has a variant of Principle of Motion that lets him purchase hanging extra actions for 4 motes/action. He can only have a number of these actions equal to his Essence rating, and can only use them with a staff. He can refresh this pool as a Reflexive charm-action at any point during a turn. This charm has a duration of Indefinate.
    • Bandakros can dodge all attacks aimed at him in a turn with a Dexterity + Dodge roll, without adding his Essence as a bonus, for 6 motes, 1 willpower. This is a reflexive charm-action which Bandakros in a combo with most of eligable combat charms.
• Desert-Control Charms
  • Bandakros can talk to any desert animal for 1 mote, as a Simple charm-action.
  • Bandakros can spend 10 motes, 1 willpower in order to gain numerous abilities related to surviving and prospering in the desert. This includes walking over dunes, finding food and water if he should desire it, and other such. He can add his Essence score to any Survival rolls he has to make while in a Desert when this charm is active. This charm has a duration of Indefinate.