Maxwell Nightshade
Maxwell Nightshade is a Mastigos Adamantine Arrow from Chicago, Illinois.
Overview
Quote: "Tonight we will, quite literally, cut through the illusion, ladies and gentlemen. Those with weak stomachs will surely want to avert their eyes or take leave until the next act... may I have a volunteer from the audience?"
This member of the Abattoir was the only mage who approached the Chevalier to join the cabal instead of being asked. Albert Hilliard spent several years on the performance circuit as "Dr. Malice," the brooding magician with a frightening edge to his act, and was ready for the companionship of others like him.
He Awakened in his late 30s, and the process almost drove him mad. Being forced to reconcile a strict Existentialist philosophy with a newfound perception of meaning to reality tested his sharp, skeptical mind and resulted in an inward struggle for purpose. Rather than giving in to the notion of insanity. Albert sought out a teacher, and found guidance from a cabal of Adamantine Arrow mages in California. Their stoic discipline and daily rituals made sense to him, and he learned how to keep his mind in order after spending nearly half a decade in their midst.
Eventually, as many performers do. Albert hungered once again for an audience. He realized that he could continue to do stage magic while learning about the Arcane truths of the world. In fact, dealing with Sleepers and learning how to pull the wool over their eyes while gaining their adoration (or, often more accurately, their shock and fear) had made him a remarkably shrewd mage.
He's had a few threatening run-ins with the Guardians of the Veil, and is, at best, not fond of their practices. One more warning about how he chose to perform for Sleeper audiences, and he might have done something rash. The solitary life was proving to be a dangerous one, and when the Chevalier's cabal traveled through Hilliard's town, he saw a golden opportunity. It turns out that Madame Strega had guided them to California to settle a problem that, in her words, "would have led to the loss of a mage who's time had yet to come to pass." Hilliard had become so good at hiding his true nature, though, that he had to make himself known. When he asked for Sartordi's help avoiding the wrath of the mages who would be Hilliard's undoing, the answer was obvious. The Chevalier assured the local Consilium that they'd be troubled no longer by the perceived indiscretions of one man, and Albert left for a life on the road.
To further represent this new beginning, he shed "Dr. Malice" like a moth-eaten coat and became the flashy "Maxwell Nightshade." His performances still have the edge he's known for, but the truly horrific parts of his performances are sandwiched comfortably between more traditional stage magic and the acts of his companions.
Description
Albert Hilliard is a slightly overweight, middle-aged man with wavy, black hair that's cut just a little too long for his frame. There are white streaks spaced unevenly through his hair and one tiny steak running down the length of the goatee he sports. Usually dressing in flashy black and lavender Victorian-style "magician's" clothes, he sometimes seems a bit out of place in more conventional settings. He has dark blue eyes that are framed by hypnotically pointed eyebrows and often exudes a faint smalls of lavender and sandalwood.
His Nimbus is an effervescent aura of light around his hands, giving off drifting and glowing letters of light.
Stats
Dedicated Magical Tool: Obsidian wand (fashioned to look like a stage magician's traditional wand)
Real Name: Albert Hilliard
Path: Mastigos
Order: Adamantine Arrow
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 4, Composure 2
Mental Skills: Academics 3, Occult 4
Physical Skills: Larceny (Sleight of Hand, Escape) 4, Firearms (Pistol) 1
Social Skills: Expression (Stage Magic) 4, *Intimidation 3, Persuasion 2, Subterfuge 4
Merits: High Speech, Occultation 2, Resources 2, Sanctum: Size (Shared) 4
Willpower: 5
Wisdom: 4 (Narcissism, mild: 5)
Virtue: Fortitude
Vice: Envy
Initiative: 5
Defense: 3
Speed: 10
Health: 7
Gnosis: 3
Arcana: Mind 4, Space 2, Forces 2
Rotes: Mind - Aura Perception, Third Eye, Mental Shied, Misperception, Psychic Assault, Telepathy, Breach the Vault of Memory; Space - Finder, Ward; Forces - Influence Light, Invisible Object
Manna/per turn: 12/3
Armor: 4 ("Misperception," Mind **)
References
- CofD: World of Darkness: Chicago, p. 342-343