curse of sturm

Slowly getting back into drawing. I've been doing studies from a plaster cast head, and for character practice I chose Hampsicora.

You know Carthage, right? I thought it would be pretty ironic to make a Baali from there and send him to Rome 👍

A short introduction: he is a priest of Ishtar/Astarte who believes in maintaining balance in the world through destruction and rebirth. Existing somewhere on the boundary between masculine and feminine, he sings well, performs elegant occult dances, and hunts demons. His goal is to keep them locked away where they belong, so they cannot disrupt the balance of the world with their destructive entropy that brings no renewal.

Within the same concept, and considering the Baali curse, there is another layer of irony: this deeply religious Cainite can no longer be near sacred religious objects. As a result, he has come to believe that the Goddess has abandoned him.

Why?

Because of the nature of his cult. As the embodiment of rebirth from the masculine aspect (Melqart), which must die, into the feminine aspect (Astarte), he was meant to undergo a ceremonial death as a sacrifice.

Then the Baali became involved. Their Embrace is very specific: they throw their drained childer into the bottom of a well and leave only a single heart filled with their sire's vitae among countless corpses. The choice is simple — either die or be reborn as a Cainite.

He was prepared to let go of his life and simply remain there without touching the heart. But in the end, he was afraid of death and chose Cainite existence instead.

To him, this feels like blasphemy. Rebirth was never meant for him, and now he believes he has angered the Goddess

He sincerely hopes she will forgive him once he fulfills his duty and locks every demon away forever.

How did you come up with an idea of him?

To be honest, I’ve played him before. Or rather, not exactly him, but the “initial concept,” the backbone he grew out of — though later he became a completely different character.

I used to have a shadar-kai Hexblade warlock whose concept I really liked, but unfortunately the campaign ended just a couple of sessions before the finale, and because of how it fell apart I couldn’t continue playing that character anywhere else. Essentially, he was the son of one of the families close to a local prince. Each of those houses had its own area of expertise, and when Enoch grew up, he didn’t really have one. So he pushed his way into becoming a researcher of the Shadow Realm, hoping to find something impressive there and prove his worth to his family. That’s where he picked up his patron — which turned out to be some kind of primordial entity tied to the great nothing and cosmic themes. And then, well… it decided to take over the local plane. (here's old ass sketch)

What are his Nature and Demeanor? What is his Road, and why did you choose it for him?

His Nature is Celebrant, and his Demeanor is Enigma. He follows the Path of Humanity.

Demeanor: The way Enoch presents himself tends to come across as strange to others. He speaks in convoluted, heavy sentences that are hard to fully grasp. (My main inspiration for this was… Marcus the Worm — literally his manner of speech.) This is, of course, tied to the fact that he partially lost his ability to speak after a prolonged stay in the Abyss. He deliberately leans into appearing odd, almost otherworldly, playing the role of a fool who can do nothing but fight. A kind of blunt, unaware crusader archetype. Though, even in life, he was too straightforward, which likely clashed with the refined manners of southern France at the time.

Nature: Enoch is… a deeply obsessive man. Passionate about whatever captures his interest, and willing to go all the way to understand it as deeply as possible — to the point of fixation, almost dedicating himself entirely to it. Writing this now, I realize he could have been embraced as a Toreador rather than a Lasombra… huh. In any case, he will pursue his passions to the very end, whether that means sacrifice, a journey into absolute nothingness, or overthrowing his own father. Which… makes him quite vulnerable, if anyone ever learns about this trait.

Road: At first, I wanted to give him the Road of the Abyss. On paper, it fits perfectly — secret knowledge, darkness, all of that. But there’s one sin that made me hesitate: expressing reverence for creation. Before his journey into the Abyss, he might have fit that path and surrendered himself fully to the void. But in his current state, after returning, he can’t help but value creation. The Abyss erased almost all of his memories of the real world, so now he clings to small things — blooming flowers, the smell of good food, the sight of beautiful men walking down the street. In that sense, he wants to experience life and be enveloped by it. So it ended up being something almost opposite to his nature, but very close to his humanity. Also, his sire follows that Road. Or followed it? I’m not actually sure what happened to him yet.

I like building characters through contrast — Enoch, with his chthonic nature and appreciation of life, is no exception.

How was he embraced? Did the usual Lasombra “breaking the fledgling to see how they cope” trials happen to him?

This is the hardest question, and unfortunately I can’t answer it fully because it’s part of his personal quest. Due to the Abyss and his prolonged time in it, he lost almost all of his memories. But there are things I’ve managed to piece together during session zero and in discussion with the GM.

His sire, Victorien Loyola, came to him to offer answers — and to listen. At that time, Enoch was in a very unstable mental state, deep in psychosis and obsessed with knowledge beyond human understanding (I’ll elaborate on this in his backstory below). So the offer of answers and more knowledge felt almost like mockery — like tempting an addict.

Victorien appeared to him more than once, not only in his human refuge, but also in cities and places where Enoch fought. Always somewhere at the edge of perception. (Victorien and Raymund(Enoch) himself)

As I mentioned earlier, Enoch’s mind was severely deteriorating due to psychosis. He was doing questionable things and, apparently, his research led him to something… forbidden. Possibly even by Cainite standards. At some point, he remembers engaging in a serious confrontation with his sire — after which… he somehow survived. If we can call it survival in un-life.

When he returned to his former refuge, he found the roof broken open, and inside — a large occult stone, split in half.

As it turned out, Victorien was a vampire scholar researching the history of their kind, and apparently needed an assistant with a similar hunger for knowledge. They traveled through significant cities, took part in excavations, and spent a long time researching. Eventually, they encountered a problem that couldn’t be solved through ordinary means. There is... uhh... a little bit of gay connotation. Art by sturm

Victorien is a very old Lasombra, effectively a Methuselah at this point — around 1400+ years old, though I’m not entirely sure. He is deeply passionate about his field, studying the Abyss, the Umbra, and likely many other things I’m not aware of. (Possibly for the best — for both me and Enoch.)

The “trial” part will come up in later answers so I don’t repeat myself. I hope I can convey my ideas clearly.

Here’s a track I associate with his embrace: https://youtu.be/j9Y5Pds0Ass?si=U1niQMiiE2gLsPo8 before embrace little pic.

And after in long jorney at fucking desert (he hates it, his sire seems like adore it, but... you know. The artefacts and so on. ignore boobs and my ugly trying to figure out how tf muscle work.

Who was he before the embrace? How did he take his new un-life?

This will probably be the longest part.

Short version: — a crusader of the Second Crusade; — a bastard of the Count of Toulouse; — a war criminal; — obsessed with knowledge beyond human comprehension; — arguably… something of a maniac.

Now, the longer version.

Once known as Raymund of Toulouse, he now goes by Enoch.

Raymund was born a bastard to one of the Counts of Toulouse. His father, who fought on the southern borders, saw in his son a chance at redemption — and a way to preserve the family name. His childhood was filled with games, training, and troubadour songs about the heroes of the First Crusade, shaping his dreams of knighthood, glory, and honor.

At thirteen, he was sent east as a squire during the Second Crusade. There, he saw war without illusion: hunger, disease, crushing defeats, and the meaningless deaths of comrades. Years later, he was knighted, but by then his belief in heroism had already collapsed. In its place grew a fierce ambition to claim the throne of Toulouse. Bastard or not, Raymund knew how to make it happen. War is a very convenient tool for removing inconvenient heirs. A few successful gambits, and everything was in place. It’s not a war crime if it’s your hyperfixation.

One night, however, he saw “holy men” assaulting a woman and intervened. He felt no guilt, even after realizing she was Muslim. He let her go — but remembered her face.

On the journey back through the desert to Occitania, his company dwindled: men died from wounds, illness, and sudden attacks. When only a few remained, a group of Arabs approached their campfire one night. Among them, Raymund recognized the woman he had once saved. This time, she saved him. The survivors were led to an oasis, where, in return, they were asked only for a cup of blood each.

There, Raymund witnessed an underground ritual. He didn’t understand it, but for the first time he felt something shift: darkness might not be evil — it might be knowledge. His hunger for power, his ambitions, and court intrigue lost their meaning. Something else took their place: a hunger for hidden knowledge. That thought took root in his mind and became an obsession.

Back home, he began searching for answers. Raymund spent money on rare books and scrolls, supported Cathars and secret scholars, and conducted nightly experiments. Sometimes people died. People tend to die in general — he learned that well during the war.

For seven years, he barely left his home during daylight, building a library and sinking deeper into obsession. Each new text further destabilized his mind and worsened his psychosis. Desperate, he tried to recreate the ritual from the desert, constructing a small sand-filled basin in his tower. And to reach the Abyss… he began feeding it with pure, untouched souls. just silly significant memes that describe him in two pics

What is his attitude to the Abyss? How does he perceive it?

At first, when he entered the Abyss, he was terrified — despite his determination. Over time, after about fifty years there, he seems to have… adapted. In a strange way, it calms him. For him, the Abyss has become something almost familiar. Even though he understands it is destroying him.

It’s like an abusive relationship.

I tend to imagine his Abyss as an endless, lethal, empty cosmos — but one not entirely devoid of light, filled with dead, distant stars. And yet, in the world of the living, it leaves him feeling profoundly alone. He doesn’t know whom to blame: himself for making that choice, his sire, or the Abyss itself — for taking him away from himself, erasing almost all memory of his past, leaving Raymund of Toulouse somewhere behind, traded for the one thing he valued most: knowledge. scene from session 0, where he found out how to escape the abyss. but with... a guest in his sword. Which is... his anchor. Art by sturm again. (He's my GM, btw)

Back to the Trial.

My theory is that Victorien orchestrated it through: — the onset of his psychosis in the desert; — and sending him into the Abyss for fifty years. Not that fifty years is much for a Methuselah — more like putting the kettle on while your childe deals with his issues.