NPC Casting: Coriolis – The Great Dark | Merkud agent
Once again, today’s NPC comes from the Coriolis – The Great Dark system by Free League Publishing. I’ve borrowed a few ideas from the last inspirational short (see below), but he can also be used independently.
The Forbidden Exhibition
There is a legend among the students of the Cherolab Academy of Arts & Crafts (p. 162) on Ship City: a forgotten artist (?), known only as Alghuraf, is said to have attempted to create a true masterpiece of mural painting as her graduation project decades ago. However, according to the stories, the result was… disturbing. The paintings, kept entirely in yellow, are said to have had a distressing effect on the minds of viewers, manifesting itself in nightmares and anxiety. Allegedly, there was also a case in which an effect occurred that is very similar to what is referred to as ‘Lost in the Pale Halls’ (p. 128). What is said to have happened then is even more vague, although most assume that the Merkud (p. 136) sealed the exhibition. Of course, such a story cannot be told without mentioning that the exhibition is still out there somewhere. Depending on whether one believes it was in a room, a cavern or even a spaceship, it is thought to be in the Turbine Hall (p. 162), the Inbetween (p. 166) or even Hull Town (p. 160), where a figure in a pale mask invites visitors to view the work. This horror story is one of the most enduring and popular among young artists, with numerous variations: sometimes the yellow paint was supposedly mixed with a special kind of orchid dust (p. 92), other times Alghuraf is possessed by a terrible spirit from the Old Horizon, and so on. The fact that the records show that no such person ever attended the academy does not change this.
Aurashspa Mehrzad
Who is she?
Orchid Dust, Glyphs of the Portal Builders: There are many new influences on the minds of Ship City’s artists. Are they all harmless? The preliminary answer is as simple as it is inconclusive: no one knows.
To get to the root of this, Aurashaspa was recruited for the Merkud (p. 136), the secret service of the Machinists Guild. He comes from the Alamasy Gallery (p. 184), the space station of the eccentric Coriolite art collector Galatea Alamasy in the Gamaru system. His parents, a maintenance technician and a chambermaid, entrusted their fourteen-year-old son to the Mechanists Guild on a passing supply ship so that he could receive a solid education and, above all, escape the increasing madness of the station. On Ship City, he worked in repair and maintenance, thanks to his father’s teachings, but his sensitive eye for all forms of art was quickly noticed. So the Merkud recruited him to examine depictions for threats. This is not about censorship, but about the possibility that certain depictions could cause unwanted memetic thoughts or have other harmful effects on Cherolab. This suspicion is based on certain incidents and increasing knowledge about the Portal Builders, which suggest that the mind is also affected by things that originate from the ruins.
In his official position as a maintenance mechanic for environmental systems, Mehrzad can be sent to a great variety of locations. His calm but friendly manner and his ability to engage in sophisticated conversations about art open doors for him even further. Lately, however, he has been noticeably more reticent towards his colleagues and superiors. He can’t quite put his finger on it, but he has a feeling that something is going on.
Stats
Attributes
| Strength | 3 |
| Agility | 3 |
| Logic | 4 |
| Perception | 4 |
| Insight | 5 |
| Empathy | 5 |
| Health | 6 |
Talente
Disguise 1, Interrogator 1, Investigator 2, Mechanic 2
Equipment
Fussilard cricket, electronic lock kit and lockpicks (hidden in toolbox), depend on his cover up job either fine or heavy tools, notebook and pen, has access to many specialized espionage tools, if needed
Use in the game
Aurashspa Mehrzad can be used in different ways. Depending on the scenario, he can act as an antagonist who tries to steal something from the group or the Explorers Guild, or he has already done it and they have to solve the case. Conversely, he may hire them for a similar reason, or he may simply be the client for a Delve because he believes something is hidden in a specific ruin.
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