Character

Publish-or-Perish

Aspects

Novel Title:

"FIRE IN THE SKY!"

Skills

Stunts

Doomed to Burn:

-Tap: Trapped in the cellar after the axe-murderer-cultist knocked him out, Robert tries to start a spark that can help him burn the ropes tying his hands. The smell of brimstone wifts through the room as his ropes begin to smoke.

-Compell: Hiding behind the car for cover, a few rounds from the police officer's impacted near him. As gas began to spill from the tank Robert knew to run, as things near him tended to catch fire mysteriously. Flushed from cover, Robert is wounded as the car's gastank explodes spectacularly.

Haunted by the Past:

-Tap: Spirits of the dearly departed whisper on the wind and send omens to Robert, warning him of the Thing from Beyond's approach and schemes. The scent of burning oak wafts into the room as Robert shakes hands with his new informant, alerting the doomed musician to the dastardly intent of the man.

-Compell: Angry, accusing faces and voices distract the doomed musician long enough for him to lose the cultist he was tailing.

Voodoo on the Bayou:

-Tap: When Grant mysteriously fell ill, Robert visited to pay his respects. Grant's wife opened the door, wearing a new necklace of bone and gem. Robert had seen this type of talisman before, a pestilence curse!

-Compell: Robert knew accepting the various trinkets and talisman from his acquaintances down south might come with some consequences, but when the old woman's spirit posessed him and forced him to steal the snakes from the zoo and perform a blood ritual, he began to regret his decisions.

Music in his Blood:

-Tap: Walking into the hick bar, the mood was sour as the assembled crowd eyed the young black man. Glancing around the doomed musician felt the energy of the place, pulling music from somewhere unknown. The crowd, surprised at how similar this music was to their own, settled down to their drinks and smiled when he looked at them.

-Compell: The night was long, staring quietly out from the shack they had taken cover in. Occasionally a shambling undead would walk past, hearing nothing and moving on. Soft notes floated out beyond the shack, Robert realizing he had begun playing his trumpet to break the oppressive silence. The shambling thing stopped, turning its head and eyeing the shack.

The Magic of Music:

-Tap: Strange things happen when the young trumpet player's eyes roll back and those haunting notes leap unbidden from the horn. The team had entered the warehouse, tipped that a group of cultist bug-heads were using the place for rituals. After a fruitless search, Robert lifts his horn and begins to play, seeking inspiration about where to find the evil bug-heads. A whisp of the mist outside swirled into the room, seemingly dancing to the doomed musicians music. As the melody ends, the whisp drifts to the floor, seeping through the false floor the investigators had missed.

-Compell: Playing a gig at the speak easy, a muse strikes the young trumpet player. As he improv's the music, he is obvlivious to the effect the music is having on the patrons. As the music spirals faster and faster, anger flares among the audience and fighting ensues. When Robert becomes aware of the altercation and stops, so does the fight, with everyone staring around at each other confused and scared.

Heart of the Lost:

-Tap: Compassion for others leading a cursed existence oozes from the doomed musician. The innocent and helpless feel this dark empathy and respond to it. The feral child with the apocalypse talisman eyed the group threateningly, ready to blast them all into nothingness. Robert, an expression of sorrow and understanding, approaches the child slowly, reassuring the young man that everything is fine gently lifting the talsiman from the young boys hands.

-Compell: This compassion manifests itself as outright uncontrollable rage towards those that take advantage of the lost and helpless innocent. Seeing the young child chained in the basement, the doomed musician turns on the estate owner, bashing the fellow in the face with his horn.

Protecter of the Innocent:

-Tap: When attempting to protect others than cannot save themselves, the doomed musician seems to defy the laws of reality. As the kidnapper turned the corner, infant in hand and ready to throw it into the nearby river, Robert poured on a burst of speed. Closing the distance in the blink of an eye, Robert leaped into the air to catch the child, cradling it in his arms and shielding it as they both splashed into the water below.

-Compell: The cultist pushed the young girl off the platform, onto the tracks. Paralyzed with fear, the girl doesnt move as a train approaches. Robert, unable to leave the girl to her fate, leaps onto the tracks trying to free her, allowing the cultist to escape.

Descent into Madness:

-Tap: The strange words in the book meant nothing to the others in the room. As the doomed musician glanced over the symbols something began tugging at his mind, gnawing at the frayed edges of his sanity, and the words 'virgin sacrefice to raise the dead' floated out from the whirling symbols in the book.

-Compell: The stress of the days events finally overwhelmed the young trumpeter. The wild look in his eyes told his friends to stand back, the occasional seizures and strange language spewing from the doomed musician were not far away.

Hellfire:

-Tap: Fires around the doomed musician burn hotter than normal. Whipping out his lighter, the strange sulfer smell fills the room as the unnatural flame melted through the chains of the handcuffs.

-Compell: His strange influence over fire manifests, making fires in the area flare, often making visiting churches more noteworthy than he would like. The wafting smell of sulfur is obvious enough that clergy find his presence disconcerting.

Pursued in the Dark:

-Tap: Having chased cultists through twisting ruins and cavernous warehouses in the dark, Robert is able to guess which direction the axe-murderer-bug-head has run and close the distance despite the lack of light.

-Compell: A sense of dread tends to linger over the young trumpeter in the quiet dark, driving him to distraction. Trembling, he reaches for his lighter or trumpet, needing to fill the void with something.

Publish or Perish