Sin-Eater Concept - Helldivers: Into the Underworld

Helldivers

In Wraith: The Oblivion, a Helldiver was a scout who was brave/stupid enough to explore the lower regions of the underworld.  Some did it out of a sense of duty, while others did it for the excitement.

In Geist: The Sin-Eaters, we now have an explanation of what the underworld is like in the nWoD.  

In essence, the new underworld starts as a series of caves connected to our world via Avernian Gates.  Once you're in, the caves branch and loop back on one another like a giant ant farm, but the topography is relatively solid.  

This means that the caves don't shift or move around like a metaphysical tinker-toy.  They stay where they are.  Given enough time and bravery, they can be mapped.

This is where Jacob steps in.

Jacob was a mousy engineering student with a focus on city planning during his time at (INSERT CITY HERE) University.  He is very "hands on," following the "city as a living organism" philosophy almost like a religion.  Streets are circulatory systems moving the red and white blood cells (workers and maintenance) to where they need to be, City Hall is the heart in charge of keeping everything pumping , Sewers are the bowels processing and moving the city's waste, etc.

While running a solo after-hours exploration of an abandoned sandhog mine, Jacob found himself stuck in an exhaust vent miles below the city.  As the hours passed, he slowly ran out of air as the CO2 in the tunnel grew, and he died alone.  None of his friends knew where he was, and he was unable to get a signal on his cell phone so deep below the surface.

Finding a kindred spirit and sensing Jacob's will to live, the lanky and hunched Sallow Miner merged with Jacob.  The Miner's keystone is an old whale-fat lantern that burns cold to the touch, and produces a blue-tinged light like a halogen beam.

After bonding with The Sallow Miner, Jacob turned his focus to exploring the underworld.  If a city can be understood by exploring its infrastructure, maybe death can be understood by exploring its landscape as well.

While his explorations have been fairly shallow so far, he's already collected miles worth of maps in his sketchbook, which he's willing to copy and share with other Sin-Eaters in return for gear that would aid his explorations.

On of his most prized possessions is the deathmask of a Canadian soldier who died in the trenches during the Great War.  As a man, the soldier was unable to secure his gas mask in time to escape the fog of mustard gas crawling across the field.  In death, he led a quick, but violent life as one of the Torn, and was eventually put down by a local krewe.  His deathmask is a stylized WWI-era gas mask with the Stigmata Key.

Here are some tips to help play Jacob.

#1 - Exploring the underworld is Jacob's main drive.  He hasn't been at it long, but he's acquired a lot more knowledge about the surface tunnels than most krewes discover during their lifetimes.  To Jacob, his effort to map the underworld is part thrill, part addiction, and part religious fervor.  He hasn't crossed more than the first river, and luckily he hasn't come across any threat that he couldn't run away from.  The addiction comes from drinking the natural plasm that drips from the stalactites into puddles around the underworld.

#2 - Jacob uses his manifestations to their fullest to explore the underworld.

Cold Wind Caul (2) - Allows Jacob to move quickly and quietly, and also allows him to float over rough or liquid terrain.

Passion Caul (2) - Allows Jacob to bond with his Geist to expertly craft his maps (as a rote action).

Stigmata Caul (2) - Allows Jacob to avoid fatigue and hunger while in the underworld.  Also protect Jacob from any poisonous vapors since he no longer needs to breathe.  Finally, Jacob is able to control his blood with an artist's focus, which makes a fun and thematic way to draw blood sigils for his Finding Ceremony.

Cold Wind Shroud (1) - Gives Jacob some armor and protects him from extreme cold while active.

Passion Shroud (1) - Helps protect Jacob's sanity while active.

Stigmata Shroud (1) - Helps protect Jacob from numina while active.

Stigmata Boneyard (1) - Good for discovering new Avernian Gates and for getting the best lay of the land in the underworld.

#3 - By leaving markings in the underworld using his own blood, Jacob is able to use the Finding Ceremony to find his way back roughly to where he last left off with his map.

#4 - Jacob would love to join a krewe, as long as they were passionate about exploring the underworld too.  He's polite and mannered around his peers, but otherwise uninterested in "normal" life anymore.  The extremes of the underworld are the only things that get his heart beating again (figuratively).

#5 - Jacob recently heard of a ceremony from his Geist that would allow him to open new gateways (Create Deathly Passage pg 166).  This ceremony creates a wrinkle in his underworld theory, and he is obsessed with finding more about it.

#6 - Jacob's starting Synergy is fairly low for a new Sin-Eater.  This is mainly due to the reverence he feels towards his Geist.  Without his Geist, he would have died a needless and stupid death.  Now he has a second chance to learn so much more about the world and he feels greatly indebted to his Geist for bringing him back and giving him the tools he needs to explore.

Character Sheet

http://tragick.net/pdf/helldiver.pdf

Special thanks to Mr. Gone for the character sheet template!

I really like the use of the finding ceremony as a tool for hell diving.
The mental image I get of Jacob roaming the tunnels of the Underworld in his deathmask, with his keystone lighting the way, leaving bloodied marks on walls. Awesome Tome.
Its weird but after looking through slasher again I had been looking at using a customized gasmask as a keystone for a reaper with a former slasher as a geist.
They are creepy bloody things arent they.

I really like this and it is an amazingly cool idea. Jacob is a very interesting character, and I may want to steal him and use him in a game if I get the chance.