Eustace the Monk

The pirate lord Eustace has seized the Isle of Sark, in the English Channel. His fleet is so powerful that the kings of England and France vie for his services; mariners along the coasts of his watery domain fear his name. Rumors swirl about the port cities of the Channel, saying that, as a boy, Eustace gave his soul to the devil in exchange for magical powers and Infernal servants.

Eustace's fleet is unchallenged, and the island of Sark is a natural fortress. Can the player characters discover the truth of Eustace's power? Can they destroy his fleet and stronghold without a direct confrontation? Can they avoid a pitched battle and win without flinging their mightiest spells against a villainous sorcerer and his minions?

Do they want to?

Eustace the Monk is a pirate and diabolist who controls a small island in the English Channel. His fleet is so powerful that the kings of England and France bid for his services during their wars. The characters need to disperse Eustace's forces. They may do this with a naval battle, followed by a siege of his harbor, or by raiding his island base. A surprise invasion of Sark circumvents a battle with Eustace's fleet, but makes the fight for the island more ferocious.

Characteristics: Int +2, Per 0, Pre +1, Com 0, Str 0, Sta +1, Dex 0, Qik 0

Size: 0 Age: 50 (50) Decrepitude: 0 Warping Score: 5 (0) Confidence Score: 3 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Knight, Amorphous*, False Powers**, Wealthy, Aptitude for Piracy***, 2 x Mentored by Demons****, Second Sight, Student of the Infernal, Temporal Influence, Proud, Tainted Life, Corrupted Abilities, False Power, No Tradition, Overconfident, Tainted With Evil, Witch Marks.

• * Character can change shape to any single human form at midnight, so long as the form does not belong to a specified individual.
• ** See Powers, below
• *** +3 on all Profession: Pirate rolls, so long as they are used for sinful ends. –3 if used for neutral or good reasons.

**** Character has 100 additional XP. He knows he was taught by demons.

Personality Traits: Proud +5, Ruthless +3, Derogatory +1

Reputations: Pirate lord 6 (everyone who uses the English Channel), Infernal wizard 2 (just about everybody), Hero of the peasantry 3 (Brittany).

Short sword: Init +1, Attack +12, Defense +10, Damage +5

Soak: +5, lightly armored.

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5. Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6– 10), –5 (11–50), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+)

Abilities: Area Lore: Breton Forest 5* (guerilla warfare), Athletics 1 (in forests), Awareness 2 (ambushes), Brawl 4 (with drunkards), Civil and Canon Law 3 (as relating to Bretons), Etiquette 3 (Breton court), French 5 (nobles), Hunt 1 (forest), Infernal Lore 4+2 (servile demons)*, Intrigue 4 (Breton court), Leadership 6* (pirates), Music 1 (monastic singing), Organization Lore: Fleet 4 (governance), Profession: Piracy 7+3*** (planning raids), Ride 3 (in battle), Single Weapon 8 (short sword)*, Survival 4 (forest)*, Carouse 5 (pirates), Charm 3 (people he hates), (False) Second Sight 3 (demons)**, Swim 3 (sea), Theology (monastic duties) 2

• * Corrupted: –3 if used for neutral or virtuous causes.
• ** Infernally tainted Second Sight. No mechanical effect, but changes what he sees so that he is more likely to sin.
• *** Provided use is sinful, –3 if neutral or virtuous.

Death prophecy, 0 points, Init 0, Vim: Eustace must die at sea. He's simply unable to die on land. Regardless of how much he suffers on land, his servants can eventually put him back together.

Honest liar, 0 points, Init –4, Mentem Eustace can tell the truth in ways which cause his victims to misunderstand him, and suffer for it. For example he was once stopped by his enemy, who stopped him on the road and asked "Have you seen Eustace the Monk today?" and Eustace answered "I saw him on this highway, my lord, but you'll never catch him." The deluded nobleman then spurred away at speed, mistakenly believing the reply to mean the Eustace was far away. Mechanically, this power grants a Personality Trait, Gullible +3, for the rest of the day, but this clouded thinking only affects what Eustace has said.

(Base 15 (Debauchery/Psychomachia, Realms of Power: The Infernal page 112) +2 Voice, +2 Sun)

Invisible Raiders, 0 points*, Init –4, Imaginem.

Eustace can make his ship undetectable. It is invisible, the sounds of his crew do not carry, and it leaves no displacement on the waves to mark its passage. Eustace can also use this power to make any group being carried in something invisible, so a wagon load of pirates, or the wearer of a shoe, are equally plausible targets. He can, however, only make himself invisible while at sea. This limit has been placed on him as a form of torture by his mistress, since it has been prophesied that he will die at sea.

(Base 5 (Debauchery/Phantasm, Realms of Power: The Infernal page 110) +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +3 Structure)

Eustace has no Might so spends a Fatigue level to activate this power.

Equipment: Lightly armored if expecting battle. Uses a short sword, as it is more useful in the confined spaces aboard ship than a long sword.

Appearance: An elderly pirate, once charming but now debauched and menacing.

Eustace is a skilled warrior, and has some magical talents granted by his Infernal masters, but is less mystically formidable than his reputation might lead characters to believe. Storyguides wishing to make him more formidable could, for example, give him Magic Resistance and increase his combat scores.

Roll: 12+

Result: Before joining the Church, Eustace spent some time in Italy, then in Toledo, where he developed skills useful to his current career of sin. In Northern Italy he learned the ways of Mediterranean piracy. These techniques were novel in the English Channel. He studied the black arts in Toledo.

Result: Returning from his studies, he took vows as a monk at the monastery of Samer, eight miles south east of the city of Boulogne. He cast spells in the kitchen of the monastery. His initial curses were experiments, which forced the monks to curse when they should pray, fast when they should eat, and go barefoot in snow. Later he took complete control of the monks, stole all of their valuables, and then gambled them away against an innkeeper. The monastery was abandoned, and is in ruins.

Roll: 18+

Result: Eustace was approached by representatives of the French, who bought his allegiance. King John responded by torturing Eustace's daughter, then burning her alive. Eustace fled England with his wife, and five galleys of loyal or desper-