Characters / Shadows Of Sandfield

---

This page is a listing of characters in Shadows of Sandfield. Beware, for there may be unmarked spoilers.

---

Main Characters

Introduced in Shadows of Sandfield (Investigation Club)

Mina Parker

Played by: JumpingFruit

The nerdy daughter of businessman and Umbral cultist Conrad Parker. While Mina begins the roleplay unconfident and insecure she quickly gains faith in herself. Mina is quite a versatile magic user, but tends to rely on earth magic to transform the battlefield to her advantage.

---

• Broken Pedestal: Mina highly looked up to her mother, and her original goal in the investigation was to figure out where she'd disappeared to. Then she finds out her mother was a member of the Umbral Horde. Needless to say, she doesn't take it well.
• Dating Catwoman: Officially went on her first date with Xander..
• Dishing Out Dirt: Can create tremors and outcrops of rock by stomping her feet.
• Hope Bringer: From how Tom describes her broadcast, it's very clear that it provided an immense boost in morale to the 317th division.
• Large Ham Radio: Mina tends to adopt this persona when narrating her impromptu broadcasts.
• In Love with the Mark: Though the relationship was initially a ruse, her behavior indicates that she feels a genuine attraction to Xander.
• Lonely Rich Kid: Mina had very few friends outside of Tom.
• Super-Scream: Appears to be developing this power during the Mech fight, tying into her new role as a radio host.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: She pretends to be far more fragile and naive than she actually is in order to get the Umbrals to trust her.
• Playing with Fire: Demonstrates a great deal of affinity with Fire Elemental Magic...though perhaps a bit too much affinity.
• The Smart Guy: The member of the team with the most academic knowledge, as well as probably the most obvious nerd.
• Shrinking Violet: As a character she is extremely shy and incapable of speaking without a stutter.
• Voice of the Resistance: During her time in the safehouse, Mina starts a series of radio broadcasts condemning Gibbs and encouraging rebellion.
• The Woobie: How much of this she actually is is unclear, but this is very much how most people view her, even the normally amoral Umbrals.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: A rare heroic example. Mina deliberately holds back against the Gibbs milita and lets them shoot her in order to make them look especially heartless.

Dave DuVale

Played by: TheFullestCircle

• The Stoic: Dave is generally extremely aloof and does not express a great deal of emotion.

Jayden Gardner

Played by: LilyTheLitten

Ready to believe six impossible things before breakfast.

^{Click here to see him in Shadows of Sandfield II} Fifteen years old and very tired.

Sandfield's premier Cloud Cuckoo Lander, believing in everything from vampires to aliens to alternate dimensions. Jayden eagerly leaps at the idea of a true paranormal investigation, only to find so much more than he bargained for. He is a Fiendbonder, a mage who gains their power through consorting with demons, and his manifest as creating shadow swords.

---

• Afraid of Their Own Strength: After his furious beatdown of the Feral Shadow, he comes back to his senses and is clearly horrified.
• Agent Mulder: His whole thing before he Took A Level In Cynicism.
• Bad Powers, Good People: Jayden ends up becoming a Fiendbonder, whose entire deal is making Deals with the Devil for power. He's a perfectly nice person.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: More than anything, he wanted to witness the supernatural with his own eyes. Now that he has, he's completely terrified of it.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: Starts off the roleplay monomaniacally obsessed with all things supernatural. After being introduced to what is actually behind the masquerade, he soon craves utter normalcy.
• Berserk Button: The Feral Shadow bringing up his deceased father is enough to send him into a murderous rage.
• Black Sheep: The rest of his family is overtly normal, meaning that Jayden's exuberance about the supernatural causes them a great deal of embarassment.
• Break the Cutie: At the beginning of the narrative Jayden is extremely passionate and upbeat. Envy towards his compatriots, being made to consort with dark mages, and finding out that his mother is knowingly an accomplice to a villainous faction quickly reduces this enthusiasm to the point where he has basically no motivation to continue.
• The Call Knows Where You Live: Jayden tries to ignore the supernatural, a strategy that works until Sandfield becomes a battleground between magic users and the Milita.
• Can't Catch Up: One of his initial grievances is just how quickly everyone around him takes to the supernatural compared to him. The power gap gets wider over the timeskip, where he is the only one to lack a unique magic type of his own.
• Casting a Shadow: Develops the ability to hide himself by cloaking himself with shadows over the timeskip.
• Character Development: As the story goes on, Jayden becomes less excited and more wary when it comes to the supernatural, especially since the Genre Shift means he isn't investigating the supernatural so much as he is thrown headfirst into it.
  • Indeed, it could be said that Jayden is a rare example of negative Character Development, going from overeager Cloud Cuckoo Lander to quiet and sullen, having lost most of his passion for the supernatural. By the end of the RP, he's mostly recovered, although he clearly wants nothing to do with the magical world anymore.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Because of his beliefs, and because he's not good at socializing, he behaves this way a lot.
  • The Cuckoolander Was Right: Jayden's suspicions that his mother is a mad scientist are actually correct, though most of his other theories are flat out wrong.
• The Corruptible: The Umbral Horde certainly thinks so - due to his dark emotions, he's targeted by Dhakar and Reiji for corruption and tutelage in the art of Fiendbinding.
• Dark Is Not Evil: His powers manifest as shadow swords, but he's perfectly nice, if sullen.
• Deadpan Snarker: Somewhat, but he really cranks the snark up for the final battle.
• Despair Event Horizon: His anxiety and feelings of inadequacy culminate in an argument with his family, he has a nervous breakdown and comes close to giving up on the investigation.
• Disappeared Dad: Like most of the Investigation Club, he only has one parent. Unlike most of the Investigation Club, he lost his father to something completely mundane—car accident.
• Deal with the Devil: Jayden gains his ability to summon black sword via this method, although the demon in question was coerced.
• Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: He pretends to be secretly betraying the Investigation Club whilst actually spying on Reiji for them.
• Driven by Envy: His abilities are fueled by it, and at one point he even attacks his teammates out of jealousy. Becomes less prominent later as he gains more power.
• Eating Lunch Alone: At the end of the RP, he distances himself from the rest of the club and eats lunch alone in the cafeteria during their meeting. All things considered, though, he doesn't mind much.
• Exhausted Eye Bags: They're hard to notice, but they're there. Become much more prominent in the sequel.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: In the original RP, Jayden had short, relatively neat hair that partly covered one of his eyes. In the sequel, it's far messier and done in a ponytail, and his bangs have been done away with.
• Fiery Redhead: Maybe not fiery, but he has bright red hair and is extremely passionate and upbeat. Slowly subverted as the RP goes on and his enthusiasm dies significantly.
• Friendless Background: Jayden's interests—and his sheer zeal in pursuing them—alienated everyone around him, and he has no friends when the RP begins. Even after joining the club, he doesn't really befriend any of them, and it's implied he ultimately sees them more as teammates than friends (not without reason).
• I Just Want to Be Normal: After saving Tom, he wants absolutely nothing to do with the supernatural.
• Intangibility: Jayden's shadow form allows him to phase through walls with ease.
• Jumped at the Call: Was extremely excited to investigate Tom's disappearance and even more so to develop magical powers. Later events cause his excitement to dim significantly.
• Nerd Glasses: He wears glasses, and given his interests, he definitely counts.
• No-Sell: The Feral Shadow's first volley of insults completely fail to affect him in any way, since he's apparently heard it all before. Repeatedly. To his face.
• Out of Focus: The finale of the RP doesn't involve him in any way, by virtue of him being in a completely different place than everyone else.
• The Power of Hate: Well, technically envy. His first use of magic involves him punching a pillar into dust, running solely on jealousy of the others being able to use magic easily.
  • It's then taken to a whole new level in the fight against Marco, where he gives into his jealousy and gains a major power boost in the process.
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Due to the stress he is placed under, Jayden decides to avoid the supernatural after saving Tom.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Jayden is a mundane, if somewhat odd, guy who is brought into a world of the supernatural. In fights he freezes up in fear, since he's never experienced such threats to his life before.
• Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Parting ways with the supernatural is an immense relief to Jayden. His newfound appreciation for his ordinary life leads to him becoming far more cheerful than he was even at the beginning of the roleplay. Sadly, this is undone by the Broken Masquerade.
• Vision Quest: Thanks to some odd deal made by an "ancestor", he is put into one suddenly - letting him experience the occasion his distant ancestor Sir Rhodric was in when he fought Korir and Wenillro in Viking Era England.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Jayden has exactly one ability: summon shadow swords. And he uses it in exactly one way: stab the opponent from several angles. Thing is, he's gotten surprisingly good at his one technique.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Jayden expected the investigation to be an exciting and straightforward encounter with the supernatural. Instead he finds himself out of his depth in a situation with high ethical and emotional stakes for all involved.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: It looks like Jayden is going to get enjoy an ordinary life; and then the Gibbs Militia moves into Sandfield.

James North

Played by: bobbitwormhobbitwyrm

A gregarious but somewhat distant boy and one of Tom's closer friends. Despite his normally easygoing personality, James has a strong sense of duty, and regularly struggles with the ethical and pragmatic quandaries their investigation unearths. He has some proficiency with construct magic, but primarily uses spells that involve fire, light, or holy energy.

---

• Bad Powers, Good People: Utilizes a Hex against Marco, which in New Dawn is an off-shoot of Curse-Type magic. Very much one of the heroes.
• Black Mage: James focuses on hitting enemies at a range with powerful flame based spells.
• Because I'm Good At It: In addition to wanting to help people, James has a much greater affinity for the supernatural than with anything in his mundane life, causing him to lean into the magic side of things.
• Character Development: James becomes more strong-willed, determined and ready to lead as the RP goes on.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: After acquiring some Mana Training, fighting against Tristan Frentescu's goon squad is not exactly challenging. To an almost alarming level.
  • Takes an even more horrifying turn during the raid on the Gibbs Base. A whole group of armoured militia men are reduced to burnt corpses by one of his spells.
• Fiery Stoic: Despite mostly using flame based spells, James is relatively calm and level-headed.
• The Leader: Out of all of the heroes he takes charge - he notes how Heather was responding to things, and planned their course of action with Matthew.
• Light Is Good: James uses magic based on light and extremely bright flame and is unambiguously a good guy.
• My God, What Have I Done?: James is struck with intense guilt when he realizes how he and his teammates manipulated Xander in order to gain access to the enemy base.
• Holy Hand Grenade: Uses holy spells when fighting demonic force, both in addition to and in conjunction with his pyromancy.
• Paranoia Fuel: Whatever it is Xander was talking about got laughed off at the time, but afterwards, it weighs down heavily on James.
• Playing with Fire: James supplements his combat abilities with fire-based magic.
• Ridiculously Average Guy: Though he's fairly intelligent, his lack of drive and charisma means James doesn't stand out in most respects.
• Sacred Flames: James' flames are imbued with holy energy.
• Spontaneous Weapon Creation: James' standard tactic in a fight earlier on in the roleplay.
• Sword Beam: Using a short sword given to him by Matthew. It seems he takes to this kind of magic.
• Technicolor Fire: James's flames are often pure white.
• White Magic: His powers are much more based on offense than usual for this trope, but there is a heavy focus on holy energy and heavenly fire in his spells.
• We Used to Be Friends: The increasing feeling of his and Tom's relationship. There was a three month gap where James was hidden away, and Tom became a Super-Soldier fighting in a war. While Tom by necessity has had to kill, and quite readily at that, James is still leery about taking a life and remains more idealistic. There is beginning to be a steady gulf between the two owing to this.
• Wound That Will Not Heal: James has a scar from when he was attacked by some sort of multicolored bird. This scar changes shape with the passage of time but always takes an oddly geometrical appearance.

Merry Winston

Played by: TheGeekArtist08

---

• Kick Chick: Merry's combat style almost entirely of magically enhanced kicks.

Heather Smythe

Played by: Pentigan

At face value nothing more than an aspiring cool person, Heather is one of the more inscrutable members of the team. Her longterm goal is to oppose the gods that govern the world, a level of idealism that distances her from her comrades. A lover of media both popular and obscure, Heather frequently references various tropes or characters has incorporated this tendency into her abilities employing a unique magic system that draws upon archetypes through the medium of mundane objects.

---

• Angst? What Angst?: Is completely unaffected by the fact that Marco murdered several security guards and Jayden almost went rogue and responds by suggesting that the group go out for pizza. Though this does seem to be changing as things go on.
  • Not So Above It All: While at first she appears chipper and light-hearted even in the face of extreme peril, it later becomes clear that she is just as plagued with doubt as the rest of her companions.
• Alpha Bitch: Aspires to this role, but fails due to her disdain for many popular people and association with nerds. Later on she begins to invoke this trope in full, becoming much more popular socially.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Heather's dragon totem is this, at least at first. While summoning a dragon is undeniably cool, the dragon is an externally existing being. This means that its injuries remain between summonings. As one would expect this makes using it increasingly risky. There is also no flow of information between Heather and the dragon, meaning the transformation is quite disorientating for both parties.
• Blood Knight: Whilst she is more moral than most examples, Heather finds combat exhilarating losing herself in a fight without thought to her own safety.
• Closet Geek: Very clearly has knowledge of areas such as video and tabletop games but she generally avoids expressing these interests.
• Cloudcuckoolander: She has an entire made up system of magic which she talks about with no context, and peppers her dialogue with strange allusions. She makes no acknowledgement of this and acts like her behavior is entirely normal.
• Discard and Draw: Heather breaks the sunglasses she uses to summon her "soul katana" during the final, prompting her to develop a whole new totem.
• Dragon Hoard: Heather sacrifices several minor magical artifacts to invoke this, amalgamating them into her new dragon totem.
• Fridge Logic: Some of Heather's totems call upon characters from works that came out after 2016, the year the roleplay is set.
• Godhood Seeker: in order to topple the Gods, Heather wants to match them in strength.
• Heroic BSoD: Heather shuts down briefly after finding out that the God's destroyed the previous universe.
• Heroic Host: Her draconic form is a wholly seperate entity over which heather has no control, though the dragon in question appears benevolent.
• Mundane Utility: Heather uses the charisma boosting abilities of her totem "Dead Red" solely to become more popular at school.
• Omnicidal Neutral: Is equally opposed to both Dark and Light factions.
• Paranormal Mundane Item: The "totems" used by Heather are just sundry objects, such as a hat or a pair of sunglasses.
• Pop-Cultured Badass: Makes constant references to pop culture, even incorporating them into her view of magic.
• Rage Against the Heavens: Heather despises both pantheons of deities and in fact wants to overthrow them. It is not clear that this is a realistic goal.
• Spontaneous Weapon Creation: The first combat technique Heather properly used to fight with. Using the sunglasses accessory she summoned a blade of energy she dubbed a 'soul-sword'.
• Stepford Snarker: Uses quips and references to distance herself from the immense amount of stress she feels.
• Wolverine Claws: Heather's second "totem" allows her to conjure blades between her fingers.
• Wrong Context Magic: Heather is completely incapable of using conventional forms of magic, instead channeling the abilities of figures from pop-culture through mundane items. While such a system isn't entirely unheard of, it is still very far outside the norm for mages.

Pablo Martinez Olivares

Played by: Blueace

A good-natured athlete, Pablo is not originally part of the investigation, only joining after helping the others defeat Marcus. Despite his unfamiliarity with Tom and relative disinterest in the supernatural, Pablo's desire to protect others makes him a dedicated member of the team. In combat he tends to use spells that are a natural extension of his athleticism, magically enhancing his normal punches and kicks.

---

• Animal Motifs: Many of Pablo's attacks are shaped like or invoke one animal or another.
• Elemental Punch: Fights using both fire and ice with his fists.
• Full-Contact Magic: Almost all of the magic Pablo uses is conducted through his normal punches and kicks.
• Grease Monkey: Spends a great deal of time tinkering with bikes and automobiles.
• The Lancer: He seems to be settling into this role. Interestingly, with no conflict with James.
• Lovable Jock: He is one of the few members of the football team to not torment the protagonists and shows genuine concern for other's well-being.
• The Quiet One: The least talkative of the group, being terse and straight to the point in what he says.
• Sixth Ranger: A minor example, joins the story at the beginning of the second arc after the formation of the original group of characters.
• The Stoic: Pablo is quite calm and unemotive. This is true even when facing mortal peril, such as when halfway to unconsciousness from blood loss.
• Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Pablo's unique magic type "the Wild Armory" allows him to conjure a variety of weapons themed after animals.
• Super-Strength: While all mages can enhance themselves physically, it is far more pronounced in Pablo's case, to the point where he can single-handedly hold the Eye of Wagner in place.
• Tranquil Fury: While perfectly capable of anger, Pablo never displays it particularly strongly.

Duane Logan

The younger brother of the deceased Coolidge High Quarterback Owen Logan, Duane has both seen evidence of Tom's fate and has some secrets of his own. The truth about him is rather unpleasant.

• Aerith and Bob: Duane and Absalom.
• Body Horror: Duane's wound, and the fact he used to be merged to another person before the nightmarish surgery happened.
• Cain and Abel: Played with: Duane and Owen seem like a standard example, but Duane is disturbed and vengeful, openly planning to murder people. Owen was responsible for a lot of horrible stuff happening in the backstory, and was terrible to Duane - but acted like Matthew's supportive big brother earlier.
• Creepy Twins: The reveal - Duane Logan is actually a separated conjoined twin - his "other half" being Absalom. Duane actively looks forward to hurting and killing those involved with his case.
• Fashion-Victim Villain: He shows up to school wearing alligator leather pants.
• Homoerotic Subtext: Duane has a lot of it regarding Jackson White and Tom. He blatantly enjoyed looking at Jackson's "Jay-Jay Hotstuff" secret identity, and he seemed to be very close indeed to Tom.
• Madwoman in the Attic: His brother is kept locked away in the Logan's home. Few people even know he exists.
• Mask of Sanity: In light of the recent reveals, it seems that his friendship with Tom and enjoyment of geeky pursuits was a mask to cover up his vengeful tendencies.
• Perky Goth: He dresses the part, having some dark interests and yet refusing to believe Tom is dead, and working with others to try and find him.
• Revenge: Seeks vengeance on the socialites and high society people who poked, prodded and treated him and his brother like a quaint curiosity before torturously having them separated.
• Sanity Slippage: Duane comes a little more unglued the further he goes into his labyrinthine, Winchester Mystery House like home he goes. This leads into The Reveal of his true nature.
• Token Evil Teammate: His mistreatment was really quite horrible, but his sadistic glee in taking revenge, even against minor figures in his abuse makes it hard to see him as a good guy. Most of the Club is unaware of his activites.
• The Unfavorite: It is clear that his parents vastly favored his brother. It's even worse for his twin Absalom, who they keep locked in a room.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Disappears completely for the endgame apparently leaving town on his quest for revenge.
• Wound That Will Not Heal: The wound from his separation from Absalom is still very nasty looking.

Introduced in Shadows of Sandfield II

Seraphina Twilight

Played by: Cutegirl920fire

A gun-wielding mage dressed like a flapper who came back from a weeks-long vacation in Los Angeles only to find the town of Sandfield in complete chaos.

---

• The Flapper: Having came of age during the 1920s, Seraphina wears typical flapper fashion such as a period accurate black dress with some fringe that reaches her knees and bobbed hair. She's also pretty independent like any other flapper.
• Guns Akimbo: The first demonstration of her magic involves her cloning Clara Bow, her Tommy gun, with magic to wield one in each hand.
• The Gunslinger: Carries many, many guns. Even her magic is themed around it.
• I Call It "Vera": Each gun in Sera's collection is named after a famous flapper.
• Older Than They Look: Despite looking like a young adult, she's 116-years-old.

Cendrillon

Played by: enirboreh

"Salut, faux amis."

---

• Artificial Human: She's a homunculus created by Malcaba with magical and mechanical means.
• Born as an Adult: She was created in a body equivalent to that of someone in their mid-twenties.
• Blood Knight: True to her purpose, Cendrillon pretty much lives for violence.
• Instant Armor: Has a magitek bodysuit that is resistant to attacks and can fit into portable wad of fabric that unfurls itself into armor in very short time.
• Psycho for Hire: Works as mercenary primarily for her love of bloodshed.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: Her lack of empathy and love of violence is paired with her black combat bodysuit with glowing red details.
• The Sociopath: Explicitly incapable of truly empathising with people, to the extent that she sees absolutely no issue with taking innocent lives.
• Statuesque Stunner: Stands at the enormous height of 6'' 10 and uncannily attractive.
• Token Evil Teammate: While the other player characters range from steadfastly selfless to somewhat egoistic, Cendrillon stands out for her utter lack of regard for life.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Has pure white hair and, as indicated above, is not exactly a saint.

Katarina Kato

Played by: kkhohoho

---

• Animorphism: Has the power to turn into various forms of cat, including mythical ones.
• Cat Girl: A more anomalistic example than most, Katarina resembles an anthropomorphic cat.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: Katarina is primarily motivated by finding her adoptive mother, helping the 317th being an afterthought.
• Steven Ulysses Perhero: Girl named Katarina Kato turns into a cat—what are the odds?

Veda Valentine

Played by: kagescorpionakki

---

• Added Alliterative Appeal: Veda Valentine.
• Blue-Collar Warlock: Most of the cast is this, but Veda especially stands out, being a magical genius from a poor working class family.
• Gentleman and a Scholar: Highly intelligent and just as compassionate.
• Goggles Do Something Unusual: Outstanding Oculus, Veda's enchanted eyewear, enhances his vision in multiple ways (allowing him to see magical energies, for example), and can take pictures and connect to nearby devices.
• Mark of the Supernatural: Veda's eyes are purple as a result of his magic talent.
• Science Wizard: Applies his mundane education to his study of magic.

Ross Chase and Lil' Katie

Played by: JackCossack

Ross Chase, along with his sentient Toyota Pickup, Lil' Katie, is a resistance's driver. Timid and unsure of himself outside of the car, he turns into a (self-described) Sandfield's #1 driver behind the wheel.

---

• Die or Fly: Part of Ross's backstory; he first established the link with his car when he, as a child, accidentally set the car rolling down the street with an imminent crash.
• Grease Monkey: Ross is fascinated with just about anything to do with car, and is noted to do some tinkering himself.
• Kids Driving Cars: The empathic link he developed with Lil' Katie allowed him to get driving lessons from her, starting at age 13.
• Love Imbues Life: Possibly the reason that his car is magical.
• Sentient Vehicle: Ross primarily fights by using his car Katie, who he has an empathic link to.
• Venturous Smuggler: Ross has spent most of his time under the occupation transporting supplies between the various resistance factions.

Rebecca "Becca" Weathers

Played by: RapidFirestormer

A member of a long line of magic users, Becca does not give up easily, and has trained hard in the use of ice magic. However, her refusal to quit hasn't always been a good thing, and she now uses magic constantly to function and constantly wears winter cloves covering just about every part of her body as a result of her nonstop practice. She had the bad luck of visiting Sandfield when the Green Wall came up, and has reluctantly agreed to work with the Investigation Club in order to get past it.

---

• Ambiguously Related: Her mother's maiden name is Winters, but whether this is coincidence or she is actually related to Tom is unclear. She doesn't show any sign of knowing who Tom is even after he introduces himself or react to hearing about his mom dying, indicating that they don't have a close relationship, at the very least.
• An Ice Person: Becca specializes in ice magic, being able to create ice constructs and lower the temperature around her.
• An Ice Suit: Becca wears winter gear covering herself from head to toe, despite it being the middle of June.
• Black Magician Girl: A self assured and aggressive magic user who specializes in ice and weather magic.
• Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: Becca's character art shows that the little bit of her face uncovered includes dark circles under eyes.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: What little of Becca's head is visible reveals she has brown hair and skin noted to be pale to such a degree that it can't be natural.
• Hammerspace: Becca has the ability to summon the Weathers Tome whenever she needs it, and send it away so she doesn't have to carry it everywhere.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: Becca's top priority is to open a Hazard Gate and get past the Green Wall. What's happening inside Sandfield isn't much of a concern for her. The only reason she's working with the 317th Brigade is because they're trying to find out about the demons interfering with said gates, and even then she's made it clear she fully intends to move on once they can't help her get out of Sandfield.
• Power Stereotype Flip: Zig-Zagged. Becca uses ice magic, and is aloof about the efforts to save Sandfield, caring more about finding a way past the Green Wall and would prefer to do so by herself. On the other hand, she is noted as having a bullheaded and choleric personality.
• Spell Book: Becca possess the Weathers Tome, a book containing various information on a magic spells that's been in her family for generations.
• Thermal Dissonance: The air around Becca is much colder, thanks to her temperature controlling magic.

Billy Slate

Played by: bestmand902

---

• Dishing Out Dirt: Billy can absorb earth-based materials like rock, glass, and metal into his body to increase his size and boost his combat capabilities.
• Golem: Billy's body was turned into rock thanks to being subjected to experiments.

Colt Griese and The Aspirant

Played by: yayakuza

• Blue-and-Orange Morality: The Aspirant possessing Colt has the bizarre goal of a world where all death is necessary and justified.
• Celibate Hero: In order to use his power, Colt is required to take a vow of chastity.
• Hive Mind: The Aspirant has possesses countless members of its bloodline in order to bring about its goal.
• Super-Powered Alter Ego: The Aspirant plays this role to Colt, while he can channel its magic without switching over, he is actually fairly weak. Only by allowing the Aspirant full control can he wield the bulk of his power.

Family members

Conrad Parker

Mina's father. A wealthy man who makes regular "business trips", though Mina doesn't quite know what he actually does with his time.

• Affably Evil: Maintains his polite disposition around Mina, acting the part of a decent if often distracted by "business" father while also working with the murderous cult, the Umbral Horde.
• Bio Manipulation: He has knowledge of dark spells related to creating approximations of life.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: With aspirations of political glory. His discussion with Nyczus vaguely alluded to power he was seeking. And he is aligned with the cult.
• Deliver Us from Evil: While he didn't leave the Umbrals, Conrad did largely abdicate his duties as a result of his daughter's birth, dedicating himself to his civilian persona as a father and businessman. Notably very much not the case for his wife.
• Give Him a Normal Life: Conrad didn't introduce Mina to the Umbral Horde nor tell her the truth about magic.
• Helicopter Parents: As soon as he hears that Mina is seeing Xander he immediately begins work on creating Bryce to watch over the relationship.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: In comparison to his predatory wife and his bosses in the Umbral Horde? Yes.
• Mellow Fellow: Surprisingly mild mannered for a cultist. He projects the image of a bumbling suburban dad - even when he's doing things far darker than what might be expected of such a character.
• Pet the Dog: Conrad could almost certainly have stopped the militia from roughing him up, but he refrained from using magic so as not to draw suspicion towards Mina.
• Post-Modern Magik: His business room includes phones, desks, a laptop and a massive black cauldron for use in his fiendish spells. He specifically mentions a "son", when he only has a daughter...
• Religion of Evil: Worships the Dark Gods. It is unknown if he worships a specific one, or the whole pantheon in general.
• Unholy Matrimony: He is married to Veronica Parker and, as far as can be told, they do genuinely appreciate one another despite the complications of their relationship.

Veronica Parker

Mina's absentee mother - initially, she was thought to be a victim of the cult's machinations. In reality, the truth about her is...rather more unpleasant.

---

• Ax-Crazy: Kethyll describes her as having intense bloodlust and zeal.
• Eviler than Thou: Unlike her husband, who is surprisingly mild mannered for an Umbral, she is an extremely enthusiastic servant of the Dark Powers. This greatly surprises Mina, who though that her father had done away with her. Instead, as Kethyll outright stated, Veronica was always the more frightfully devoted of the two - leaving such that she could continue her work rather than commit to motherhood.
• Evil Matriarch: Mina comes to see her mother as easily more dangerous and evil than her father.
• Fair Cop: She worked as a police officer before she decided to fake her disappearance.
• Family Versus Career: A very dark example - she rankled at the idea of becoming a mother rather than continuing the Umbral Horde jobs of murder, plunder, raiding and placing hexes on people. Instead, Conrad retired to try and give his daughter a more normal life.
• Hot Witch: She's described as being very attractive, and oversaw the rites to create the Umbral's evil lair.
• Missing Mom: She doesn't seem to think her absence is particularly strange, casually adressing Mina at the Umbral Gala.
• More Deadly Than the Male: Her relationship with Conrad.
• Older Than They Look: Says her own commencement was centuries ago.
• Pædo Hunt: She takes an unhealthy degree of interest in Xander. Especially creepy when you realize she's almost an order of magnitude older than she looks.
• Red Right Hand: One of her eyes is scarlet.

Bryce Parker

Mina's...brother? Bryce was seemingly found and adopted as Mina's "younger brother" by Conrad Parker, but the reality is, most likely, Bryce was put together out of "spare parts" and a Mandragora by Conrad, a living construct of Biomancy. What his purpose is is unclear, but he possesses a strange and uncanny manner to him.

• Ambiguously Human: Exactly how human is Bryce, anyway? We see him apparently put together in a cauldron using human meat and plant parts...
• Artificial Human: Made in a cauldron by Mina's father.
• Become a Real Boy: Bryce wants little to do with the Umbral Horde's schemes, instead wanting to fit in with his peers and live a relatively mundane life. Mina comes home from the Gala to him not being creepy, but doing a relatively normal teenage boy thing - making out on the couch with the girl he likes...which still freaks out Mina a bit.
• Born of Magic: Bryce was, as far as anybody can tell, fabricated enturely by Conrad Parker's biomancy.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Pale and dark haired, blatantly inhuman...he fits.
• Humanoid Abomination: Whatever he is, he's not as human as he looks. He resembles a statue that got up and started moving, he's apparently made out of dead skateboarders and an evil plant, and he's very slowly learning human mannerisms and behaviors.
• Innocent Fanservice Guy: Bryce is extremely attractive and takes a day or so before he understands how to wear clothes.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: Technically younger brother, but Bryce does not take kindly to Xander. The two of them had a very terse standoff at Mina's place, and the very next time they have any sort of involvement at school they spend it getting into fights with each other - only holding off of involving magic due to onlookers. And it seems going by events that Bryce is the instigator of these exchanges.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: He takes the trope to a very violent conclusion. He does not approve of Mina and Xander even potentially being a thing.
• Naked on Arrival: Implied that he crawled out of the cauldron nude, and Conrad only got a pair of shorts on him.
• Plant Person: Bryce is revealed to have some rather disturbing interior redecorating habits - covering the walls and floor in vines. Vines with mouths and eyes, at that.
• Sculpted Physique: Bryce was put together by Conrad Parker, and seems to resemble the statue of David in his physique.
• Speech Impediment: Bryce initially couldn't talk very well, stumbling over his words awkwardly. The longer he's been alive, however, the less prominent this is, suggesting he's slowly growing out of it. That said it does occasionally happen still, which Bryce regards with embarrassment.
• Uncanny Valley: It is noted that his hyper-idealized physique makes him seem more inhuman than attractive.

Helen Gardner

Jayden's mother. A scientist at Helix Labs.

---

• Chekhov's Gun: The characters are informed that she is creating robots, but it doesn't become relevant until the very end of the story, when they actually get chased down by one.
• Continuity Nod: To the main New Dawn continuity - she worked for Shannon Roman prior in exchange for a lot of money, and is the person responsible for the mechs that showed up in that time frame.
• Evil Genius: Going by her quotes and recordings, she's likely involved with the third faction this capacity - more or less as their Gadgeteer Genius. She's been working on producing more Mana Accelerator Cannons, though her exact reasoning may well make this difficult to quantify.
• Punch-Clock Villain: She seems to treat manufacturing deadly weapons for an anti-magic conspiracy as nothing more than a job.
• Secret-Keeper: Has said utterly nothing to Jayden or most likely Kyle about her employment.
  • She finally admits to her involvement with Gibbs at the end of the first Roleplay.
• Struggling Single Mother: Downplayed. She works as a scientist and is implied to make good money from it, but she's constantly tired and stressed (though that may be more to do with her job than her children).

Kyle Gardner

Jayden's older brother. A linebacker on the football team, and a friend of Jackson White.

---

• Aloof Big Brother: He and Jayden don't get along very well.
• Terse Talker: Very much so. His dialogue tends to be a few words at most.

Amy Gardner

Jayden's younger sister.

---

• Flat Character: Compared to Helen and Kyle, Amy has gotten relatively little characterization outside of being Jayden's sister.

Arthur Gardner

Jayden's father. While he died long before the roleplay began, he left a heavy impact on his children, especially Jayden.

---

• Deceased Parents Are the Best: All things considered, he was probably one of the best parents in Sandfield. He is also long dead.
• Irony: Multiple layers of it. He was drinking buddies with the same guy whose habit ended up killing him - Carl Kesper. And it seems going by the diary entries, they knew each other rather well. Both had a bit too much to drink one night - the same kind of situation that would end up killing Arthur.
• Life Will Kill You: Arthur was killed, not by magic or monsters or even by knowing too much about one of the many conspiracies and needing to be silenced, but by a completely mundane car crash.
• Parents as People: Arthur had quite a social life, up to and including having a morbidly ironic drinking buddy. Occasionally getting too involved in drink due to complications of life in Sandfield.
• Posthumous Character: His death took a huge toll on Jayden, whose interest in the supernatural stemmed from him trying to find a way to communicate with Arthur after his death.

Notable Sandfield Residents

Tom Winters

A high school student who vanishes into the woods one day. His disappearance kickstarts the plot. After the 3 Month timeskip, Tom has evolved in terms of his role - becoming a 317th frontline fighter.

---

• Forgotten Fallen Friend: Initially, the Investigation Club's goal is to find him. Shortly after the Genre Shift, that goal is completely dropped in favor of investigating Sandfield's other mysteries. It's especially egregious since the investigation into his disappearance was the main plot.
  • Subverted when it turns out Tom is the crux of the Big Bad's plan. Kellon Nyczus despite openly contesting efforts to create a challenger to the front runner for Scion of the Eight Dark Gods wants to turn Tom into his Puppet King.
• Heroic Build: Post-joining the 317th Brigade, Tom is ripped...and taller than usual. Deconstructed, to a degree: Tom's post-317th physique and stature make him radically different, and is a symbol of how joining the 317th has changed him.
• Heroic Lineage: His potential possibly includes descent from the "Line of Vonh", a mythical hero king's lineage that often bequeaths great magical potential.
• He's Back!: Tom is officially an active part of the story after his rescue. Even moreso after being revealed to have been looking for the Team during the 3 Month Timeskip, having taken a lot of frontline work.
• Jumped at the Call: Tom is surprisingly excited to explore the magical world, considering that he was introduced to it after being kidnapped by a demonic cult. He took a further jump at a military call during the 3 month timeskip.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: In case of something his armor and enhanced physiology can't handle, Tom carries a magitek shield.
• Power Armor: Power Armor is standard issue for the 317th Division and Tom is no exception.
• Revenge: Tom in particular has it out for the Russian "Wagner" mercenaries due to them being responsible for his mother's death - on top of their many, many atrocities.
• Super-Soldier: Whatever was done to Tom, he has become much more capable and powerful - leaping right into the thick of it with many opponents and cutting through all of them with no trouble.
• Took a Level in Badass: Tom joined a unit of Magitek Using Resistance Fighters and has evidently been taking jobs exclusively on the frontlines - some of the most dangerous work, to look for his friends.
• Took A Level In Cynicism: Even after being held captive by Kellon for months, Tom is shown to be quite innocent and cheerful young man. However, after becoming a soldier Tom comes across as extremely jaded, having come to terms with taking lives.
• You Killed My Father: Tom's mother took part in a protest against the Militia, which cracked down upon the dissident brutally, killing all of them. He now seems primarily motivated by inflicting similar violence on their ranks as vengeance.

Sam Delaney

The 317th's head doctor, Sam Delaney started the first RP as one of many characters to watch the beginning of the occupation. After the three months, Sam is now a member of the 317th, having undergone a physical change like most of them.

• Gentle Giant: Even among the muscled 317th young men, Sam is a big one. He's also one of the nicest.
• Martial Pacifist: Sam prefers to not hurt anyone, and the ferocity of the 317th's soldiers seems lost on him...though he still carries a monstrously huge mace that he wields easily. "I prefer to heal...but if I must cause harm to head off more harm, I will."

Corpheus Scyllo

The "Priest of the Poor", Corpheus is an incredibly aged priest who spreads a social gospel. He believes the wealthy were responsible for the death of Tom, and led a mob of his followers purely to publicly accuse them at Monroe.

• Ambiguously Evil: The Reveal paints him as an Umbral Horde member, but Kellon is actively lying to him. Though they're both in the same Branch, in general Kellon is depicted as worse than the average Horde member. This also gave him ample opportunity to simply murder Damien Winston, but he chose not to.
• Eat the Rich: His gospel is notably in this direction. He chooses to live in poverty, and he dislikes the influential wealthy people of the city.
• Evil Old Folks: A secret member of the Umbral Horde.
• Foil: A left-wing preacher who lives among the poor. A notable contrast with the wealthy and nominally Evangelical Kellon Nyczus. Played with in The Reveal - while they are on the same side, ultimately, Kellon is actively deceiving Corpheus on how far along his plan is.
• Good Samaritan: Corpheus randomly assists Mina and Duane when they're at their most desperate, needing to help Damien get healed up.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Brings up that bringing a wounded cop to the hospital would logically result in a call to the police station, at a point in time when the police have been supplanted by...someone.
  • Corpheus agreed to help Kellon in his plan to make a substitute Grandmaster, likely due to believing as Kellon did that the new Grandmaster per the Designation was...unsuitable. And what happens when he trusts Kellon Nyczus? Manipulated and lied to.

Kellon Nyczus

A sinister "Prosperity Gospel" type preacher who seems to be involved in something dark with Mina's father Conrad. He gave some sort of item to Conrad before some sort of argument. Nyczus notably has a son, Xander Nyczus.

• Abusive Parents: He casually admits he likes the idea of killing Xander's friends purely to teach him how "foolish" such connections are. Not that Xander didn't make it very clear what kind of father Kellon is from the word go.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: Soundly averted in his case. Despite being a relatively high-ranked Umbral, but he's no match for the Investigation Club. Justified given that his role in the Umbrals requires abilities that lie more in the social sphere.
• Anti-Climax Boss: Despite being the main villain of the RP, when it comes time to fight him, Kellon goes down almost comically easily. Jayden even lampshades it.
  Jayden: Nyczus, it's clear to everyone you're not gonna win. Can you just spare us the trouble and surrender?
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: A septuagenarian priest, who is not even a frontline fighter usually, more involved with media manipulation and corruption, would of course go down easier in a pitched fight against five mages in the prime of their lives.
• Bald of Evil: Described as completely bald, down to even having no hair on his eyebrows.
• Big Bad: More or less, Kellon is the main villain of the RP - while not appearing all that much so far.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Kellon doesn't try to justify or deny his actions. He is extremely frank about his devotion to the dark gods and his utter disregard for everybody around him.
• Corrupt Church: You've seen him before. Kellon Nyczus is the kind of man who urges his gullible viewership to tithe him money to increase their favor with God. With which Kellon buys very expensive limousines...which he assures you God wants him to have. The question is which God...
• Enemy Summoner: Most of his spells involve summoning monsters, evil spirits and demons, with his Darkness Concerto summoning a wall of screaming and cackling evil spirits. And then he resurrects Zombiestein...
• Eviler than Thou: By comparison to even most of the other Umbrals. Conrad is humanized by his connection to Mina and Bryce, Xander very much likes Mina honestly, Reiji and Dhakar are just kind of amusing...but Kellon? He is introduced as a televised conman, peddling an extremist Christianity he never even once entertained - just to swindle his viewership of their "tithe" purely to funnel it to the Umbral Horde. He's even indicated to be verbally and, according to mainline New Dawn, physically abusive to Xander. There's even an argument to be made that he's even worse than his boss.
• Evil vs. Evil: Matthew confirms that whoever was in the police station, it was not the Cult Kellon belonged to. In fact he seems just as panicked about this as the heroes, according to Matt.
• Humiliation Conga: Beaten by a group of teenagers, sees his ultimate monstrous creation destroyed, has all of his projects cancelled due to his attempts to go around the Designation, and Xander finally bit back after years of abuse. Kellon Nyczus has not been having a good day.
• Hypocrite: Openly castigates Conrad for wanting to go against the Designation and make a back up Grandmaster. Is doing exactly that in secret.
• Greedy Televangelist: Basically his entire mundane persona. Kellon is a "prosperity gospel" type who encourages his followers to give him their money and possessions in the hopes that God will reward them for it.
• The Man Behind the Monsters: Kellon is the one responsible for unleashing the monster that grabbed up Tom at the beginning, and in general seems to be in charge of most of the Umbral Horde monsters, though there is implied to be a "Dark Father" superior even to him.
• Manipulative Bastard: In line with his day job as a Prosperity Gospel preacher. He fleeces people of their money and makes them think they're sewing future success, and is cunning in his personal dealings.
• Religion of Evil: Confirmed to worship the Dark Gods in secret. His flock even includes the seemingly obligatory dark cloaks and hoods, and demon summoning.
• Sinister Minister: It is obvious something dark is going on with Kellon. Beyond the fact he's a corrupt televangelist. He's actually a minister of the Dark Gods, and responsible for a lot of the plot, with what was revealed to Pablo, Mina and Jayden in mind.
• Squishy Wizard: For all his political importance and role in the story, Kellon is not a frontline fighter. With the trained up Investigation Team facing him, he quickly ends up backed against a wall.
• This Cannot Be!: Claims the group's victory is impossible just as he gets beaten.
• Would Hurt a Child: He knew damn well what unleashing that creature would do.

Xander Nyczus

The son of the above Kellon Nyczus, Xander's first appearance is small but he makes a very big impression in the end of the second arc. In the same cult as his father, Xander recruits Carter, Eli, Alan Godfrey and possibly others to come with promises.

• Casting a Shadow: Xander's powers appear to involve strange tattoos across his body and shadows that seem to emerge from them. Clarified later that Xander is a Fiendbonder, a power set involving channeling the power of demons through tattoos.
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: Xander very casually says he's had to kill people as if it's just a normal thing for him. It's made clear he has had to do so due to Umbral Horde members not exactly being accepted members of magical society.
• Convenient Replacement Character: Not intentionally, but given their similar powersets, he comes off as one to Jayden.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Xander seems to think this about the Umbrals as a whole.
• Dark Messiah: Xander's methods are eerily reminiscent of a dark interpretation of a shonen anime hero recruiting friends by helping them, with even his powers more or less being weaponized Defeat Means Friendship - as applied to demons. Hence, given the usual messianic motifs involved there, Xander fits into this neatly.
• Dating Catwoman: Made official in the date at the skate park. Mina and Xander are officially in a relationship, and Xander even gives his backdoor key to his dad's secret base.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Raised in a cult / religion that has spent the majority of its existence hunted, attempted to be exterminated, and living with the idea people want to kill him simply for his beliefs has...affected Xander's morality and value system.
• The Dog Bites Back: After years of abuse, Xander finally reorganized how things work in the Nyczus Household. It's unclear what happened, but Xander sure seems to be happy that it happened.
• The Dragon: Apparently. He ultimately has to answer to his father, along with other Umbral Horde higher ups. It is made clear however that due to his affection for Mina, even though he and his group know the Investigation Team are looking into the cult, Xander has his own agenda.
  • Dragon with an Agenda / The Starscream: A more sympathetic example. Xander is ultimately more loyal to The Umbral Horde itself or Antonius, the head of the branch, as opposed to his father - who due to his abusive qualities, Xander is more than happy to betray.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Light brown haired, pale skinned, and a talented murderer.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His affection for Mina is by all accounts quite genuine, at least as far as any of the Umbrals can discern.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: Xander is...kind of on Mina's side, while remaining loyal to the cause of the Dark Gods, he's not loyal to his father any more. This makes him no longer a problem in regards to the story as the heroes move on to face Kellon Nyczus.
• Hidden Depths: Enjoys karaoke, which he indicates his father disapproved of, and according to a commissioned picture of him, is also a karateka.
• Manipulative Bastard: Like father like son. He could tell Carter was in a dark emotional place, and made his entrance exactly then. This seems to be Xander's standard operation speed - gaining people's loyalty by being their best friend and saving them from their circumstances.
• Moral Myopia: In line with Xander being a deconstruction of a typical Shounen hero. If you're in his friend circle or someone he likes - such as Mina - he does everything he can for them. But not being so? He sees utterly nothing wrong with killing, manipulating or harming them. He cites something that's coming as his rationale for this mentality, not sharing whatever it may be.
• Mr. Fanservice: Looks very dashing in a suit, and according to Veronica, resembles Tanner Buchanan heavily, himself just as well an example of this.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: His advice to James and the others, with a side order of Starting a New Life. He vaguely hints at "them" knowing who the Investigation Team and needing to pick a new name. The ease with which he suggests this is telling. He later on pitches a vastly more romantically tinted version of his plan to Mina, advocating that they simply skip town together on the bus and leave Sandfield to its fate, whatever it may be.
• Uncertain Doom: Xander's final scene in Shadows of Sandfield has him and Dhakar squaring off against the militia. They don't reappear after the timeskip as of yet, leaving their fates ambiguous.
• Villainous Crush: Appears to be genuinely romantically interested in Mina, a fact that the Investigation Club is trying to exploit. The fact he's so genuine is quite disturbing considering everything else we know about him, from his Us vs. Them mentality likely drilled in from an early age, a harsh survivalist streak...that someone like this is interested in Mina could hint toward something.
• Villainous Rescue: In an Evil vs. Evil sort of way - Xander kills a pair of anti-magic troopers who were in the process of trying to detain Mina.
• Villains Love Entertainment: Xander has a passion for karaoke of all things.
• Willing Channeler: Of a sort. Xander's powers involve a rather vitriolic approach to Defeat Means Friendship - fighting demons until they agree to share a portion of their power with him. As long as that demon exists in some form, that power continuously restores.

Jackson White

The aggressive, temperamental and incredibly nervous Quarterback of Monroe High's football team. He chased Tom off into the infamous "Phantomwood Forest" in a rage due to Tom calling Jackson gay due to how obsessively homophobic Jackson is. Jackson and his family have quite a few secrets...

• Armored Closet Gay: Well, bisexual. His sheer temper sensitivity and nerves in regards to his sexuality being alluded to basically incited the plot. Jackson doesn't even really bully people for much of anything outside of homophobia and nerd-shaming. And then it turns out Carter was conducting a private investigation of him which revealed Jackson is secretly attending gay circuit parties under the cover identity "Jay-Jay Hotstuff".
  • He's recently becoming more open though, even stepping in to rescue Kyle from Marco's brainwashed teens. Though he's still very, very nervous (for good reasons as well) about trying to ask Kyle out.
• Beauty Is Bad: Jackson is, putting it lightly, a total hunk. He's also incredibly aggressive and homophobic, in order to keep his father's attention off of him.
• Bi-Wildered: Jackson honestly saw himself as straight - which made his equally intense attraction to men quite alarming to him, considering he was raised with a strict far right understanding of sexuality, and intense fear of his father.
• Big Brother Is Watching: Anticipates his dad having people spying on him.
• The Blacksmith: Jackson becomes this during the three month timeskip. What was once his father's mansion is now an immense magitech forge reigned over by him. He's gotten good enough to make better mecha than the militia.
• Boomerang Bigot: Despite being bisexual, earlier on he was extremely homophobic to cover up his own attraction to men.
• Character Development: Jackson gradually becomes less vile, dangerous and evil, which seems to be tied to him being more honest with himself. He even agrees to help out the protagonists, though he seems to think there's an element of blackmail still present in it owing to his phrasing.
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: His perception of friendship and companionship is...skewed.
• Cyborg: The human agents of the Forge are outfitted with cybernetics in the same cobbled fashion as the mechs. Their weapons are occasionally outright built into their bodies.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Jackson's past is...unpleasant. He was adopted into a family that turns out to be big and screwed up, possibly saw his mother (the one figure of kindness in his life) dragged out in a tarp covered in blood, indoctrinated into self hatred and dealt with his issues by drinking, sleeping around, and concocting a secondary persona. If his father isn't neglectful he's cruel, and every day Jackson deals with paranoia about his dad figuring out he's bisexual, and possibly killing him. Small wonder he's a neurotic, armored closeted mess. It's even further implied that Carter is blackmailing him, and this isn't the first time he was left paying someone not to say something or do something. Disturbingly enough, he seems to think its normal for friends to extort each other for services.
• Eternal Engine: The Perpetual Forge consists of the entire converted mansion, as well as going deep underground. It's even divided up into five fiery sub-forges, the largest of which being Jackson's personal Yuex Forge. Each Forge is allowed to be independent on the caveat that they support Jackson in his moves.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Though less evil lately, Jackson has his fellow jocks. He's incredibly worried and aggressive due to what Marco did to them, and took it out on the heroes. Even more with Kyle, who Jackson put himself in a lot of danger to rescue.
• Forced Out of the Closet: Carter, quite cruelly, Outs Jackson - knowing full well what kind of family he comes from, and intending to extort even more money from him.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Jackson's new role three months later - masterminding the Perpetual Forge, a powerful third faction. He creates mechanical monstrosities out of the remains of any tech left around - and despite their cobbled together look, they're better than most of the militia's mechs.
• Gym Bunny: In trying to be as masculine as possible, Jackson inadvertently falls into a certain subculture. Jackson works utterly diligently on keeping his physique at its absolute best, even worrying about working off the calories of his drinking episode.
• Heel–Face Turn: Starts out as an adversary of the team but soon becomes willing to help them out after he is outed.
• Ladykiller in Love: Even though he's been with countless women (and men) before, Jackson can't help but feel flustered around Kyle.
• Love Confession: Fessed up to liking Kyle...in a sauna. While wearing just a speedo. "Ohhh my~" He had a lot more dramatic a confession in the middle of the Marco battle.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Jackson can see that Duane was affected by Alan Godfrey's magical voice. It's not stated if the effect can only be seen by those in the know. So it could be Jackson is more than he may seem, or he's just capable of seeing it like anyone...
• Out of the Closet, Into the Fire: Jackson coming out on his own accord is a nonstarter. His father is a cruel and bigoted Trump Supporter currently out in Washington trying to get a job from the man himself.
• Parental Neglect: Jackson's father is...never really there. Not that Jackson particularly likes it when he is.

Matthew Streiss

The Hero of Another Story, Matthew is the Quarterback of the other football team in town, Coolidge High. He seems a lot more friendly than Jackson, and it seems he's dealt with a lot.

• Big Good: Assumes this role in the second roleplay, being the head of the 317th.
• Fair Cop: More or less a magical military policeman, and very handsome.
• Healing Shiv: Matthew can use his weapon magic to create such a sword, and uses it to heal Heather and Pablo after the final confrontation.
• Heroic Build: Matthew, it's not an understatement to say, is in God of Thunder shape.
• Hero of Another Story: Matt has had his share of adventures before the RP. In one scene showing what Matthew's doing when he's not around, he's fighting a dragon.
• The Leader: Of the 317th Brigade, who regard him as their Lord Commander.
• The Mentor: The role he's entering into with the other kids.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Depending on how much stock you put into Duane's stories, Matthew is a well intentioned example, but he possibly sent Duane's mother into the cult's hands due to the line of questioning he used, and the way the "interview" played out.
  • Really, his entire mentor attempts could count as this: Jayden burns out on the supernatural completely, Heather starts neglecting her mundane life in favor of fighting it (and both Took A Level In Cynicism), and it's implied that the other kids aren't doing so hot either.
• Occult Detective: "Matt Streiss, Warder with the Association. How can I help you?" Matthew has more or less grown into the role by this point, as a ranking Warder. He takes a lot of cases in his offscreen time, and is even shown fighting a dragon.
• Pals with Jesus: He seems to be on very good terms with Parallaxus, a dragon older than the universe and a contemporary of the Light and Dark as well as being friends with the Magic God Thor.
• Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Matthew makes swords among other weapons. He's notably a Weapons Magi - he can't do many spells outside of enhancement, making things for him to fight with, and some...other spells.

Marco Di Gracia

A deranged and obsessive "fan" of natural disasters, Marco apparently had a reputation of chasing tornadoes and such things before he obtained magic. After, he became a powerful and even further crazed Mage / Supervillain themed around Nature. He is obsessed with ousting the adults in town and destroying the "relics of the past". His Magic Type is Natural Disaster Magic, which included lightning bolts, tornadoes, earthquakes and windstorms.

• Ax-Crazy: Marco does not have the best grip on his sanity. He's fond of dropping lightning bolts on people and even seems to think "Mother Earth" wants him to murder people.
• Bolt of Divine Retribution: How Marco stylizes his lightning bolt strikes - Mother Earth giving him a lightning bolt on command.
• Evil Luddite: Marco is a violent psychopath who wishes to do away with modern civilization entirely.
• Gaia's Vengeance: At least as far as Marco presents himself - he sees himself as an agent of Gaea's revenge.
• Irony: Despite all his talk about being a savior of the environment and nature's avenger, Marco's powers are probably playing havoc on the local ecosystem.
• Knight Templar: Marco's insanity takes this dimension. He may well be deluded enough that he legitimately thinks he can hear Gaea telling him to fry people.
• Magic Staff: Channels or at least is only consciously able to use his magic through his staff.
  • Sanity Has Advantages: Marco is enormously powerful - and if his own words can be taken literally, he's a Person of Mass Destruction. However owing to his delusions and implicitly not being all that used to his magic, Marco primarily uses it with his staff. No one else needs this crutch when using magic.
• Psycho Electro: He's completely insane and believes that the planet wants him to kill all adults.
• Shock and Awe: He attacks the school with lightning, killing several people in the process.
• Teenage Wasteland: Marco's ideal world would call for the adults to get burnt to a crisp for being "untrustworthy" and "more concerned with profit", and leave him and other teens to inherit the world.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Gaining the power to drop lightning bolts and create disasters did not do anything good for Marco's mental health.

Tristan Frentescu

A violent and reactionary hockey player who becomes an enemy of the investigation club after they step in to help Jackson deal with being outed.

• Balkan Bastard: Tristan is Eastern European and terrorizes Sandfield with the rest of his gang.

• Heteronormative Crusader: Is very explicitly homophobic, frequently using slurs.

• Jerk Jock: Speaks for itself, he is introduced to the cast trying to beat up Jackson for being gay

• Lower-Class Lout: Tristan is crass, bigoted, violent, and lives in the poorer part of town, where he periodically terrorizes the locals with his gang. When his gang was defeated by James and Pablo, it explicitly made Downtown Sandfield much safer.

• Mugging the Monster: Tristan and his gang try to jump James and Pablo after they have recently awakened their magical abilities. The ensuing fight is rather one sided.

• Right-Wing Militia Fanatic: A card-carrying member of the militia in Shadows of Sandfield II.

• Witch Hunt: After anti-magic sentiment becomes common, Tristan leads nightly patrols around Sandfield rounding up anybody he thinks might have something to do with magic. This trajectory continues with his reappearance in Shadows of Sandfield II, in which he has joined the militia.

Anton Lucid / Antonius Lucidius Malvo

The head priest of the Umbral Horde, superior to Kellon Nyczus, and one of the oldest Umbral Horde members in the entire town. He has existed since the pre-Roman Empire days, turning from service to the Roman Gods to the Dark Gods during the Gracchi Brothers' revolutions. Do not be fooled by his age and doddering nature.

• Affably Evil: Lives and breathes this trope. Antonius comes off like a doting grandfather more than a sinister cult leader, but that might well make the reality of what he's doing hit harder. The fact he can afford to be constantly nice in the face of it all drives home how dangerous and powerful he is.
• The Dog Is The Mastermind: The sweet old teacher turns out to be involved in high level Umbral Horde leadership.
• Evil Old Folks: Looks and sounds like a sweet old grandfatherly type. Calmly presides over an utterly nightmarish ritual without even breaking a sweat. And if his history holds? There's more than enough blood on that cane he walks around with. He's also old enough at this point to have been around to crown Mordred Pendragon as the first Umbral Grandmaster.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The head priest, giving orders to Kellon himself. Though an even further villain might be coming around soon, once the Designation is done.
• High Priest: The leader of this specific sect of the Umbral Horde.
• Humanoid Abomination: Recent descriptions suggest Anton has moved to a more demonic multi-armed form.
• Like a Son to Me: He is much more parental and kind to Xander than his own adoptive father is. It's clearly obvious that this approach has won a more lasting good regard than the "fear and control" approach Kellon preferred.
• Wise Old Folk Façade: He lives by and disguises himself through this. The reality is he's a cunning cultist who has crowned every single Grandmaster to live, serving as their senior adviser.

Outsiders

Elijah Gibbs

Helen Gardner's boss, the leader of the Gibbs Militia, and unifier of the various paramilitary groups converging on Sandfield in the wake of The Unmasqued World. Dedicated to the Anti-Magical Faction cause.

• Affably Evil: He comes across as quite pleasant as long as he isn't interacting with magic users. His concern for Jayden seems quite genuine.
• Anti-Magical Faction: Believes that Magic runs in opposition to God, and that Mages are all just like the Umbral Horde and Justin Henderson.
• The Big Bad Shuffle: Elijah started as just one of the contenders for Big Bad, working against Kellon Nyczus and the Horde in Sandfield. He however outlasted Nyczus and has successfully begun to make his move.
• Dehumanization: From the way he speaks about them, Gibbs seems to view magic users not merely as immoral but actually subhuman.
• Foreshadowing: He was actually mentioned far earlier, coming up on the news broadcast during the drive out to the Further House.
• Knight Templar: Unlike previous villains Gibbs seems to have extremely strong moral convictions. It's just that those convictions tell him to wipe out anybody who uses magic.
• The Man Behind the Man: He's the one behind the fake police force, the man behind Helen Gardner, and ultimately, the man behind an imminent attempt at takeover - stirring up parts of the town against Magic.
• Right-Wing Militia Fanatic: He's concocted an interconnected alliance of South American Deathsquads, East European Mercenaries, American Militia, Russian Wagner forces, and dedicated Mikinomi Family Anti-Magical Faction paramilitaries, with himself as the head.
• Sinister Minister: A more authentic example. He's involved in both the megachurch and American Militia movement.

Justin Henderson

A former hero and current cyborg zealot, Justin Henderson is a repeated foe of Matthew's. He permanently destroyed The Masquerade in a big way.

• Came Back Wrong: Justin was a hero before he died. Unfortunately, after being brought back to life using a combination of technology and magic, he was thoroughly insane.
• The Ghost: For all his part in the Wham Episode, Justin has not physically appeared.
• Resurrective Immortality: Matthew has indicated he's tried to put Justin out of his misery. Over and over and over again. Yet he keeps coming back, more dangerous than ever.

Thor

Owing to how Magic God "Approximation" works, the Thor. A Magic God met in the Bar Bizarre, and a friend of Matthew's. Unlike the majority of Magic Gods, Thor is positively involved with the human world, and takes his mythical "Protector of Midgard" role as an actual obligation.

• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Thor has blond hair, and given how kind he is to Tom and his friendship with Matthew, is a fairly good person.

• Hot God: Thor is of course a deity, and in proper Shadows of Sandfield form, is a total hunk.

• Token Good Teammate: Other than Thor the Magic Gods tend to be at the very best, extremely egoistic.

The Dark Gods and Umbral Horde

In General

An unnerving Pagan Pantheon of Gods who seem to have tremendous influence among the upper crust of Sandfield. The Investigation Club stumbled upon their ritual site. Are they involved in the disappearance of Tom?

• Ancient Conspiracy: Relatively so, Downplayed. Considering the number of cults in the area, historically, you have to wonder...
• The Call Knows Where You Live: Mina's father Conrad worships them.
• Dragons Are Demonic: One of them is a darkly gleeful looking dragon, having a spot among this dark pantheon makes it this, this being Varancain - the most explicitly Satan-like of the Eight.
• Evil vs. Evil: The old guard Mage Association Versus the Umbral Horde. The former was willing to hunt down and eliminate any and all Umbral Horde membership, and their hardline politicians on the Association now are explicitly trying to go back to this idea. The Umbral Horde itself is a frightful cult of worshipers of the Dark Gods, at worst actively murderous and scheming to launch some sort of widespread war, and at best morally questionable people forced into morally dark actions due to severe prejudice stretching back thousands of years.
• Hidden Evil: The Investigation Team knows little about this ancient pantheon...except for how far it stretches back. All the way to the Vikings and beyond.
• I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: Oron'gur (wherever or whatever it is) has the kind of sound of a Tolkien-esque bad place. And it has a lot of something very bad going down there.
  • Orcath, similarly.
• Obviously Evil: The idols of the gods are all monstrous, and in one case crawling with parasites.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: There's some vibes of this. In the old days, there were warlords, and then there were the mainline, majority Dark God worshipers, who'd largely just wanted to be left alone. Then the Light God worshipers, and the Association following, started actively and severely persecuting them. The Umbral Horde as we know it formed as a result, the union of the warlords and the worshipers. They now explicitly organize in cults and warbands, and operate in the shadows.
• Time Abyss: Demons are often quite old themselves, but the Gods are actually OLDER THAN THE UNIVERSE.
• Token Good Teammate: Daeth, the Dark God of Time appears to be this, Jayden is visited by Isabella, who is associated with the Dark God of Time, Daeth. She is nothing but helpful and forthcoming. Isabella's also a talking magpie whose head can become a galaxy to transport Jayden into his vision. This impression is later confirmed by canon. Daeth is much nicer than the other Dark Gods, and spends his time protecting the integrity of reality and the Timestream. He is however, somewhat loopy.

Azekred

A god of Bargains. Azekred is referred to as the Dark God of Lawyers. He officiates Deals, bequeaths power, but is not so unfair that he won't hear out counterarguments. He is introduced through a book in which a lawyer argues against the Dark God itself on behalf of a client ensnared in the spider's web.

• Deal with the Devil: Azekred embodies this idea. He is introduced in a short story where he argues with a lawyer so he can have a man's soul. Azekred in general seems associated with deals, lawyers...and spiders.

• Lawful Evil: Given his association with laws and demonic pacts, he is presumably this.

• Spiders Are Scary: Azekred takes the form of a massive scarlet spider, and is a decidedly malevolent presence.

• Pest Controller: In addition to his power over bargains, Azekred can command hordes of his smaller brethren.

Kethyll

A demon who Frank Further bound to the third floor of his mansion. Briefly speaks to the Investigation Club before Mina accidentally frees him.

• Historical In-Joke: Kethyll was around since the days at least of the Roman Empire, contributing to the reign of Elagabalus, who Kethyll claims found him and his kind of fun appealing. He was also a repeated house guest and friend to the likes of Caligula.

• Institutional Apparel: Wears a straightjacket disturbingly molded into his skin.

• Manipulative Bastard: It's subtle, but very present - Kethyll managed to acquire his release from Sealed Evil in a Can via some word play and use of his position. Smarter Than You Look definitely applies here.

• Red Baron: Known as Kethyll "The Perverse", likely for reasons related to his historical activities.

• Sealed Evil in a Can: Was bound to the third floor of Frank Further's mansion, until a combination of Mana-laced action and Exact Words set him free.

• Succubi and Incubi: Explicitly a Demon of Lust. Unlike the stereotype of a handsome man or a beautiful woman, however, Kethyll is a repulsive human / cow hybrid.

• Villain Cred: He has quite a lot of esteem for Mina's mother Veronica as a fellow Umbral Hordier.

• Was Once a Man: Was likely human prior to "demonisation".

Vicelogia

The Dark God of Knowledge. Reiji revealed his association with this Dark God, as a Scion. Vicelogia seems to have a rather strained relationship with Reiji, with Reiji seeming to be on edge or just not liking to talk about his Dark God. Specifically, Vicelogia is the Dark God of Forbidden Lore and That Which Man Was Not Meant To Know.

• Eldritch Abomination: Depicted in one of the most Lovecraftian manners of the Dark Gods in his totem.
• Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge: Vicelogia's thing.

Varancain The Deceiver

The Dragon God of the Umbral Horde. He reigns over the aspects of dragons, as well as ill fortune, and the negative aspects of providence and luck. An openly spiteful and deceptive deity, Varancain is the Dark God who most enjoys meddling in the affairs of mortals. Most often, to their severe detriment.

• Deal with the Devil: Following Mina's little chat with him, she makes a deal for some luck to use later down the line...in exchange for making Xander and Bryce attempt to kill each other.
• Dragons Are Demonic: The Dragon God of the Dark Pantheon. And explicitly a deity of such things as spite, burning crops, and random destruction.
• The Dreaded: Out of all the Dark Gods, he is most likely to be treated with dread rather than reverence.
• Manipulative Bastard: Is not called The Deceiver for nothing.
• Satanic Archetype: A destructive deity and explicitly linked to deception. Varancain is the Dark God most easily linked to Satanic imagery. By and large except for those who worship him, a brave lot indeed, the Umbrals themselves pray to keep him happy and pointed elsewhere.
• Slasher Smile: Depicted with one on his idol.

Dhakar "The Everliving"

A monstrosity seen in the woods by Mina through the Scrying Pool in "Oron'gur". It quickly and easily killed 19 cops, and then let Damien know that it's "back in town", showing there is some history there.

• Demonic Possession: The Everliving does this to a much larger degree than most demons. He possesses 10 Police Squad Cars, and sculpts them into a nightmarish body.
• Flechette Storm: Fires jagged shards of metal from his hands.
• Fog of Doom: Lets out the exhaust from the police cars that formed his body through the valves on his back, giving an imposing image.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Ends up as this over time. Dhakar gets involved in some rather comedic scenes, and randomly acquired a construction worker hat to wear when Jayden arrived to do his ritual. He's outright on a patch of bad luck, and its likely attacking the cops was the first thing to go right for him in a while.
• Knight of Cerebus: The first explicit monster in the RP. He very quickly sets the mood of what one can expect from Demons of the Dark Gods. Well, at least at first.
• Large Ham: Dhakar knows no voice tone but LOUD, highlighted by his every word being bolded.
• Mook Horror Show: The police literally stand no chance against The Everliving.
• No-Respect Guy: Dhakar, along with Reiji. He deems it as just "some poor fortune". His motive is trying to restore the esteem others apparently used to have for him.
• Red Baron: The Everliving is his title.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Turned police headlights into his eyes via some sort of mechanical mutation.
• Sword and Sorcery: The Sword to Reiji's Sorcery - a huge, brutish monstrosity who basically embodies "tank".
• Villain Team-Up: Dhakar and Reiji are working together as a team - they bicker a bit, but have very similar goals.

The Red Haired Berserker

Aaron Cascade is one of the three missing young people, whose disappearance happened mere months before Tom's did. In truth, Aaron became one of the Umbral Horde's "Scions" - champions of the Dark Gods. Aaron is Scion to Shiryu, Dark God of War.

• Blood Knight: Kerron Casteller indicates Aaron would prefer to head to the surface to fight everyone purely for its own sake. He doesn't, purely because of the nebulous figure of "Grandmaster Dekeren".
• Masculine, Feminine, Androgyne Trio: As the Scion of a war god, Aaron is a hulking brute with an almost comical musculature. The two other new Scions are Elwood who is noted to have a feminine build, long hair, and a pale complexion, and Tobias, who is so covered in armor that his features and gender are basically indiscernible.
• Omnicidal Neutral: Played with: Aaron desires to simply burn the whole town and kill everyone both in the Militia and in the town, while still being associated now with the Umbrals.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: It seems worshiping Shiryu to such an extent stains your eyes blood red.
• Villainous Friendship: Aaron and Kerron are best of friends, and Aaron indicates he missed Kerron.

The Serpentine Hedonist

Elwood Sexton is one of the three missing young people, whose disappearance happened months before Tom's did. Elwood however became one of the Umbral Horde "Scions" - in particular, he became Scion to Zayufur, Dark God of Desire.

• Chekhov's Gunman: Him and the rest of the Umbral Scions, being mentioned as having gone missing at the very begining but not making an appearance until the end of the first roleplay.
• Fashion-Victim Villain: Sexton is shown making the very questionable fashion choice wearing neon pink, yellow, blue and orange scale like armor adorned with peacock feathers.
• Humanoid Abomination: Elwood seems much more obviously inhuman while retaining some elements of his humanity. His serpentine armor, additional Magitek arms, and his stringy haired appearance all give unsettling vibes.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Elwood's new form has four arms.
• Shipper on Deck: In a perverse sort of way. His first response to the friendship between Aaron and Kerron is to ask when they'll fuck.
• Sissy Villain: A downplayed example, given his effeminate appearance and suggestive mannerisms.

The Rancid Reaper

Tobias Hynemann is one of the three missing young people, whose disappearance came months before Tom's. Tobias however became one of the Umbral Horde "Scions". Tobias became Scion to the Dark God Silmarul, Dark God of Decay.

• Body Horror: From what little we do see of his body, it seems that the process of becoming a Scion turned him into something more resembling a corpse.
• Incurable Cough of Death: Originally a sickly young man, his cough remains in his new state, but is more a consequence of his new form's speech.
• Mighty Glacier: Tobias indicates he now moves quite slowly. And being a Scion, he's got the "mighty" part covered.
• Sinister Scythe: Carries around a menacing scythe that gleams bright - though this is not to say it's clean whatsoever.
• The Undead: Tobias changed the most out of all of them. Aaron got red eyes, Elwood gained a suit of magitek armor...and Tobias became an armored ghoulish abomination lugging around a scythe.

Reiji "of the Million Spells"

The dark red haired sorcerer of the Umbral Horde, sworn to one of the Gods. Reiji is...not exactly how one would assume he'd be. Awkward, insecure, prone to self doubt, physically rather error prone, and yet perplexingly powerful, Reiji is one of the hints toward what goes on in the woods.

• Adorkable: For all his membership in the Umbral Horde, Reiji is...kind of adorable.
• Almighty Janitor: Despite his immense power his position in the Umbral hierarchy is extremely low.
• The Archmage: That title? It isn't an exaggeration. If anything, it's underselling it.
• Butt-Monkey: Reiji's text messages go ignored, and he gets very insecure very fast, immediately thinking Jayden's laughing at him. He also trips over himself on the way to talk to Jayden, and undercuts his own mystique multiple times.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: One would assume from his awkward demeanor and low stature in the Umbrals that he was extremely weak, but Matthew makes it clear that he possesses an unparalleled command of magic.
• Establishing Character Moment: Ominously reveals he knew about Jayden's darkest emotions, detected his mental episode, and that he could acquire phone numbers very easily! ...And then just as easily undercuts himself immediately. Such is Reiji.
• The Reveal: Reveals the name of the cult...in the context of admitting he's probably not a "cool Umbral".
• Villain Team-Up: He and Dhakar. One wonders how Dhakar and Reiji met in the first place.

The Grandmaster

Caine Dekeren is the newly crowned Grandmaster, the Scion of the Eight Dark Gods...and the adopted son of Elijah Gibbs. He is introduced at the end of Shadows of Sandfield, finally appearing in the flesh after a long time of simply being alluded to or existing as The Ghost.

---

• Affably Evil: Almost certainly malevolent given his status within the Umbral Horde, but still quite friendly towards Jayden.
• Black Eyes of Evil: Caine's eyes are unnaturally black.
• Mutually Unequal Relation: Seems convinced he and Jayden are buddies despite the latter's mistrust, though this is probably an act to some extent.
• Obvious Judas: He is so obviously up to no good from his first appearance that Jayden doesn't even try to talk to him, ignoring him whenever he attempts to strike up conversation.

Carter Bristolm

Starting out as merely a prickly member of the school football team, Carter turned out to be much more unpleasant. Engaging in blackmailing Jackson White over his sexuality, joining the Umbral Horde first as a Junior Horde member, eagerly answering to Kellon Nyczus, Carter took any opportunity to advance himself...which leads into his reappearance in Shadows of Sandfield II, in which he has joined Scythirax as an understudy.

• Bastard Understudy: Multiple times, even! He'd studied under Xander, willingly subordinated himself to Kellon, and now is working for Scythirax the Manifold. Say what you will about Carter, he's eager to learn.
• Bread Milk Eggs Squick: Casually states in the middle of reminiscing about his school days about how he'd love to gut Mina like a fish.
• Power Armor: His is less advanced than most, and does not include a helmet - signifying his lower status and letting his face be seen to confirm his identity.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Played With: Carter's a jock rather than a nerd, despite his glasses. He is however possessed of a rather low cunning that makes him dangerous - and he's keen on becoming more dangerous still.
• Smug Snake: Carter loves to gloat, and being in a powerful position is one of his favorite things. He started pretty easily pushed down when he got smug, but has been taking a turn toward higher functioning lately.

The Demon-Beast

The horrible monster that was responsible for the disappearance of Tom. Recently seen more or less in the flesh by Pablo, appearing more like a bruise on reality until it gets close enough. Then its true shape becomes visible.

• Ax-Crazy: Insanely aggressive and dangerous.
• Body Horror: Among other things, its flesh is described as looking like it was boiled, its back is lined with tendrils, its tongue is too long, it has extremely long legs and arms, to the extent the joints are positioned up in the air, and its jaw snaps shut like a pair of scissors.
• Cannot Cross Running Water: It for whatever reason cannot cross flowing rivers. Attempting to do so injures it until it gives up on pursuing Pablo.
• Combat Tentacles: Makes use of a number of tendrils, described as like they're full of ooze until they "go lean" and start whipping around.
• Fusion Dance: With the "Zombiestein" monster below to create something new and altogether more horrific still.
• He Who Must Not Be Seen: Initially, appears as nothing but a distortion, only able to be identified by the way it distorts the world around itself.
• Nightmare Face: Its bulbous face provokes a shout out to Predator from Pablo. It has four eyes, and a mouth full of nasty teeth.

Frankenstein's Monster / Zombiestein / Devilstein

A monster created by Kellon Nyczus with something called an Adaptation Core inside of it, empowered by lightning and set loose to silence Damian Winston - and murder all of the Investigation Team at that. At first simply flinging electricity and its chain, there is more to this monster than meets the eye.

• Back from the Dead: Resurrected yet again to serve as assistance for Kellon Nyczus, who is quickly being overwhelmed by the Investigation Team.
• Everything's Deader with Zombies
• Increasingly Lethal Enemy: Frankenstein initially could kill a man with his bare hands, but was slow, cumbersome, and was defeated in a single page. Zombiestein on the other hand is frantic, fights brutally, slings his foes around, and is incredibly resistant to harm.
• Monstrous Humanoid: It is initially in a way more like the classic Hammer Horror Universal Movie Monster...and then it got so much worse. And then it evolved again by combining with the Demon-Beast, becoming much closer to an Eldritch Abomination than a humanoid of any kind.
• One-Winged Angel: By way of Power-Upgrading Deformation. Cracks spread all over the monster, followed by boiling off its skin and revealing a hideous abomination that resembles a rotten, zombified corpse covered in bony armor. It's weapon even gets in on the action, going from a chain and electrode plugs to a heavy maul.
  • Its next form of Devilstein involves a new head, a chest burster secondary head on its chest, larger talon claws and wings.
• Screaming Warrior: Goes from grunting and groaning like the classic to screaming its lungs out as Zombiestein.
• Shock and Awe: Demonstrates the power to sling electricity conducted through its chain. This ability is more fine-tuned after its momentous transformation.
• Silent Antagonist: You'll get no lines from Frankenstein's Monster or Zombiestein - just grunts from the former and pained screams of rage from the latter, meanwhile, Devilstein opens with something new: demented laughter.

Zayufur

A god of sex, taboos and general depravity, Zayufur is the first deity that the Club uncovers.

• Hermaphrodite: Zayufur in a certain way, in keeping with their "profane duality" theme. They are depicted with the upper quarters of a beautiful woman...and the lower quarters of a male goat in rut.

• Hot God: A disturbing subversion. As detailed before, Zayufur has the upper body of an attractive woman, but the lower form of a hideous male goat.

• Liminal Being: Zayufur is half-human and half animal as part of their Duality Motif.

• Love Goddess: They have dominion over lust and carnal acts, as well as over other forms of excess, temptation, taboo violation...

Khaos

The head of the Umbral Pantheon, Khaos rules over dark forms of justice as well as curses, independence, and self-determination. He is noted for not directly interacting with the world, preferring to send his Furies in his place.

• Badass Unintentional: Whereas most Dark Gods consciously create their demonic underlings, Khaos only ever personally elevated Alecto, Queen of the Furies. Instead, his negative emotions, grief, and the curses he ranted at the loss of Lishana all took animate form. His grief became the deadly Morticus Demon, and the curses turned into "Curse Worms", writhing living animosity with a tendency to latch on to other things and give them a Deadly Upgrade, particularly if those other things are in a dark spot.
• Being God Is Hard: He certainly takes this perspective. Khaos despises his own divinity, holding his position only out of a warped sense of responsibility.
• God of Order: He presides over the darker aspects of justice such as vigilantism.
• Gray Rain of Depression: Khaos' sphere of the Realm of the Gods is called the Sphere of Gloom - a vast, empty desert where it constantly rains. It's rather clear the environment matches Khaos' mental state at losing Lishana.
• Non-Indicative Name: Despite how closely his name resembles the word chaos, he is still a god of law, albeit a somewhat twisted one.
• Top God: Rules over the rest of the Umbral pantheon.
• Viewer Gender Confusion: Though he is depicted as a Lady Justice, Khaos is confirmed to be male.