Meremoth

Shedite Captain of Death (Saminga)

Demon of the Bad Death

Created by Doug Atkinson <douga@earlham.edu>

I think we'd all agree that one of the great fears which all of us must deal with on a purely personal level is the fear of dying...A corollary to this is that there are 'good' deaths and 'bad' deaths; most of us would like to die peacefully in our beds at age eighty (preferably after a good meal, a bottle of really fine vino, and a really super lay), but very few of us are interested in finding out how it might feel to get slowly crushed under an automobile lift while crankcase oil drips slowly onto our foreheads.

--Stephen King, Danse Macabre

[no stats]

Meremoth specializes in the kind of death that makes you cringe to hear about it, the deaths of urban legend. If you hear the story and fold your arms protectively, he's done his job. (Remember the story about the student who killed himself during an exam by putting pencils in his nose and falling forwards? Meremoth did that.)

His career began to shine while possessing torturers and driving them to depths of depravity; he came to Saminga's attention after inventing a certain Chinese torture involving a mail shirt and a cheese slicer. Saminga turned him loose to find his own level, and he soon found his current niche. Meremoth considers himself a homicidal artist; he works towards quality, not quantity. His MO is to possess a human and work out a way to kill them in the most memorable (and discomfiting) way possible. (He's become quite adept at exiting before the moment of death, avoiding dissonance and leaving the human alone to contemplate their fate.)

Kobal has become fond of him; Meremoth would prefer to have him as a Superior (their temperaments are much more similar, and he'd love to team up with the Demon of Silly Deaths) but can't find a good way to switch without alienating Saminga. He's also given Nybbas permission to use any of his ideas, the better to spread the bad word.

Personally, Meremoth is a cheerful, outgoing sort with other demons; he's quite secure in his art. Those who know about him are edgy; his Word is also served when bystanders die badly, after all. If celestials are nearby, he will often abandon a project (but not before setting up the host to die somehow, even if it's not up to standards.) Most of his time is spent "on the job."

Numbers-wise, Meremoth has 13 Forces and any Songs, Skills, etc. the GM considers appropriate. He has a special Rite; any time word of one of his deaths spreads, he gains 1 Essence. (This does not occur every time the story is retold, but every time it goes up a level; for example, from local to regional news, from regional to national, from national to world, and from world news to urban legend.)


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