Tullius Ballad
| Strength 7d |
Agility 4x |
Intellect 5c |
Willpower 12d |
| Hand Size: Edge: |
4 (25) 2 |
Powers:
Schooling: Tullius is a disciple of Voodoo magic. This is because he has mastered at least five magical spells from this school of sorcery, which is a curious blend of entreatism and alchemical magic, along with a little clericism thrown in for good measure. Tullius has demonstrated the following magical abilities to date, though he may have access to more:
Vodun (s) (w): this spell, intrinsic and vital to the Voodoo school of magic, allows Tullius to perform a special ceremony that invites a Loa, a sort of spiritual entity, to inhabit his body and 'ride' it for a time. While in this possessed state, Tullius may manifest special abilities based on the nature of the Loa 'riding' him, determined on a case by case basis. This is an intensity 12 spell.
Now, if Tullius performs this ceremony for a mere exchange, he'll likely just attract a random Loa to 'ride' him for a time. In order to grab a specific Loa's attentions, Tullius must pass an 'impossible' difficulty vodun action, though each exchange spent performing the summoning ceremony reduces this difficulty by one difficulty level. Or, he can learn specific entreaties, like the one below, to guarantee his success:
* Chain Beast Entreaty (e) (w): while the vodun spell allows Tullius to perform a ceremony to attract the attention of the Loa in general, he knows how to invite a specific entity, the so-called Chain Beast, to inhabit his body. This Loa enhances his Strength score to 10, as well as granting him the ability to wield chains in battle as if he had world-class skill with such weapons.
In other words, consider him to temporarily wield the whips talent (specialized for chain lengths) with world-class skill. If Tullius doesn't have any chains handy, the Beast will manifest some for him out of thin air, which will be attached via manacles to his wrists. These spontaneously created, +3 chains have a material strength of 10, which is the intensity of this particular entreaty spell.
Enchantment (s) (i): Tullius has the ability to enchant seemingly ordinary items, and then combine them in various ways to produce materials that, when consumed or otherwise utilized, will produce a magical effect. Potions, powders, and the like are typical with this form of magic. He can use this spell at intensity 8, though the specific formulae he can produce have yet to be revealed.
It is important to note, however, that Tullius cannot use this school spell to create permanent magical artifacts; he can only wield it to make the temporary, one-shot items described above. He will not gain this ability until he has attained adept level mastery of Voodoo magic; considering the events that took place during his last appearance, this isn't very likely...
Sympathetic Magic (p) (i): by using a part of a person, such as a drop of blood or a lock of hair, Tullius can exert some influence over them. For one thing, he can peer in on what they are doing at any given time, if he can pass a desperate difficulty sympathetic magic action, or he can inflict intensity 10 - this spell intensity - damage to them before the spell is broken, and he must gain another bit of them.
Stereotypically, this involves grafting this part of the person into a 'voodoo doll' or some such, but it's really not necessary; the doll is merely a focus for the magic. If Tullius has no 'doll', the normal easy difficulty of using this spell to harm others is increased by one difficulty level. The same applies if Tullius lacks a part of his target, instead only having one of their possessions...
Warding (u) (i): with this spell, Tullius can ward an object, person, or area. Warding involves imbuing the subject with a one-shot magical effect, an effect that will go off under the right circumstances (somebody enters the warded area, or touches the warded object or person, for instance). Tullius can do this at intensity 10 - which is the strength of his wards.
Now, Tullius can create a ward of any nature, limited only by his own spell selection; in other words, if he can otherwise produce the magic effect, he can impregnate it into a ward he's devising. Furthermore, it must be noted that the ward will last until triggered, but for every ward he creates, the difficulty for creating another is increased by one difficulty level (he can only maintain so many at a time).
Limitations:
Belief-based Magic: Voodoo is a curious form of magic, indeed, in that it is subject to the beliefs of those it would be used upon and those watching it in action. This is why Voodoo Houngans and mambos wear such garish, intimidating costumes - to make sure their magics work. If folks actually believe Tullius to be powerful, all of his actions are made at one difficulty level lower than usual.
On the other hand, should an opponent manage to make Tullius look foolish, stupid, or weak somehow, his magical power against the people involved will drop dramatically. In fact, against such persons (and the people that witnessed such an event), the difficulty of any action Tullius attempts will be increased by one difficulty level. As such, he goes out of his way to appear invulnerable and dangerous.
Hindrances:
Obsessive: ever since he was a wee little boy, Tullius has been obsessed with utterly destroying his twin brother, Lucian. As such, whenever presented with an opportunity to do so these days, he will be reduced to zero in all ability scores if he doesn't immediately act on the impulse to do so. Isn't he just the picture of family unity?
Skills:
Intimidation (w): this is the skill of terrifying folks into doing or saying one's bidding. Being a two-handed Voodoo Houngan, this skill helps him to keep his servants at bay, and allows him significant freedom from the specter of spell power loss due to folks not believing him to be powerful (he's real good at being a menacing type...).
Lore (i): while he knows a lot about the magical community in general, Tullius is an unabashed expert on happenings in Haiti, his home and center of power. As such, he likely knows just about anything of significance concerning this nation and its history, and would be a useful font for such information were he not such an unpleasant soul.
Occult (i): a Voodoo Houngan, Tullius naturally has extensive knowledge concerning the occult. For instance, he knows all sorts of things about magic items, history, and most current magical 'secret' societies. Furthermore, this skill will allow him, once he becomes an adept at voodoo magic, to craft permanent magical items...
Wrestling (s): Tullius has a sort of combat style that mirrors the abilities offered by this skill. As such, if he scores a 'hit' in unarmed melee combat and scores damage, he can make a contingent attack to hold on, an average difficulty Strength (strength) action. If this succeeds, Tullius can inflict the same amount of damage on each subsequent turn, until the hold is dropped or broken somehow.
Calling:
World Domination: while Tullius may not actually be out to conquer the world, he definitely has aims for at least one corner of it: Haiti. Most of his crusade for power (aside from killing Lucian) has been about just that. If not for Nightmask's heroism, he might have already achieved this goal. Now, he's likely rebuilding his power base, planning to cause trouble once again...
Costume:
While acting the part of the Voodoo Houngan, Tullius typically wears a pastel green cape with exceptionally large collars, purple pants, and two strands of shark teeth - one around his neck and one around the belt loops of his pants. Further, as an accessory, he carries around a wooden staff, though this is mostly for effect.
Personality:
Tullius is evil. Not quite evil incarnate, but definitely up there. For one thing, his driving goal throughout the years has been the death of his twin brother, Lucian. To this end, he became a rather powerful Voodoo Houngan, a sort of priest, and has practiced dark magics in order to slay him at long last. With his recent defeat, he has also become resentful and hateful towards the world in general.
Real Name: Tullius Ballad
Occupation: Voodoo Houngan, outlaw
Legal Status: Haitian citizen with a rather long criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: Doctor Lucian Ballad
Group Affiliation: none
Height: 6' 0"
Hair: black, going gray
Eyes: brown
Weight: 170 lbs.
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none
Story:
Tullius Ballad's story is one filled with anger, lust for power, and poorly repressed rage. This state of affairs began during his childhood, when his feelings for his twin brother quickly turned to hatred. This was, of course, because Tullius believed that Lucian, his twin, held part of the soul they supposedly shared, and he wanted it all for himself, in accordance with Voodoo beliefs.
Lucian, on the other hand, thought Tullius ridiculous for this, and when he was of age, left for America with one Doctor Salinger to learn medicine - psychology, in particular. Left behind with only his seething anger, Tullius turned whole-heartedly towards the art of Voodoo, and he didn't use it nicely; in fact, he quickly became a Voodoo Houngan that practiced with both hands.
In other words, he practices the darkest of black magic.
Though the Ballad twins' mother kept Tullius at bay, she eventually passed on, and when she did, Tullius acted at long last. He traveled to America, kidnapped his twin brother, and took his place for a time, acting to sabotage his personal life before dragging him back to Haiti to destroy his physical existence. And, as insurance against Lucian's friend Keith, he took Teddy Remsen as well.
However, Mambo Matilda, one of Haiti's more powerful Voodoo priestesses, acted to prevent Tullius' plan. She sent her disciple, Martine, to bring Keith to Haiti, and once he arrived, he confronted Tullius in a special Nightmask costume made by Matilda. This suit allowed him to utilize his dream powers while awake, to an extent - abilities that Keith didn't yet know he had.
Once there, the two fought, and though he was doing well, Keith simply couldn't fight Tullius forever. As such, his sister, Teddy, threw Keith a bottle of perfume that Lucian had proven rather allergic to, and he sprayed it into Tullius' face. When it puffed up like a ripe fruit, his followers lost faith in his power, and as such, it waned to the point that Tullius had to flee.
He hasn't been seen since, in fact. However, he may eventually manage to rebuild his power base anew, and as such, the threat of Tullius and his dread Voodoo magics should not be underestimated. After all, who in their right mind would ever forget about a madman who could theoretically return with powerful and dark magics at his command?
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