PCs vs. The Akuma from D.Gray-Man: Or, A Good Way To Show The BBEG Is Utterly Evil.

[Leliel]

Well, I've been a fan of the anime/manga D.Gray-Man recently, and watching it has given me an idea: how about making the Akuma a type of constuct? A type of constuct that requires a lack of any kind of moral conscience to create, but a construct nontheless? For those of you who are wondering, the proceess is outlined here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akuma_%28D.Gray-man%29#Akuma). It basically involes tricking a mourner into summoning the soul of their lost loved one so that you can use it to power a psychopathic, muderous android that will kill the trickee so it can "wear their skin". It's as bad as it sounds.)

Of course, I'm not exactly good at statting things, and I have trouble thinking up plot hooks that would introduce them, so...

How would you introduce these vile, ghastly machines? On a second note, how would you reveal to your players what they are and how they're made?

[Revanmal]

Just showing the players how it works would be a pretty good intro on how damn evil their creator is. Perhaps a rescue mission. Someone hires the heroes to rescue a loved one from a group of monsters, only for the captive to be dead when they arrive. The mourner is contacted by the Earl and summons the Akuma to life with the players in audience. The players would be SERIOUSLY wigged out if you describe it in detail.

[Leliel]

Surely someone else is intrested?

[kamikasei]

What do they do once they wear the skin of their summoner? Can they pass as human, impersonate their victim, act as spies? Or are they basically just really horrible flesh golems or similar?

The possibilities are much more expansive and offer much more scope for surprise if they can seem like regular people when the party first encounters them.

[Leliel]

What do they do once they wear the skin of their summoner? Can they pass as human, impersonate their victim, act as spies?

Yep. The Type 1 Akuma use the skin to impersonate humans, although it absorbed into them as they upgrade into Type 2-Essentially, the "Monster of the Week"-level.

Or are they basically just really horrible flesh golems or similar?


Kind of. Akuma are completely beholden to the will of their creator, although they develop their own (delightfully twisted) personality.

[kamikasei]

Yep. The Type 1 Akuma use the skin to impersonate humans, although it absorbed into them as they upgrade into Type 2-Essentially, the "Monster of the Week"-level.

Well then there you go; surprise the players. Have someone with enough power to seek out forbidden resurrection techniques known to them. Have this person lose a loved one. (A nobleman who hires the PCs to rescue his family-member-or-lover is an obvious candidate.) The loss of the loved one is known to the PCs. When they haven't seen the person for a while, on their next meeting, it's revealed he's been replaced with an Akuma.

So, they investigate (probably after destroying it in the fight of their lives). They learn the nobleman was visited by a mage. They can track the mage's movements, and learn that he's had contact with a number of powerful individuals soon after those individuals were bereaved... people who may now be Akumas. And he was last seen heading towards another settlement, from which messages have just arrived seeking adventurers to rescue the baron's kidnapped daughter...


Kind of. Akuma are completely beholden to the will of their creator, although they develop their own (delightfully twisted) personality.

Well, my point was more in appearance and how they can be used as monsters. If they were just constructs with a coating of skin, you'd basically be stuck using them as you might use flesh golems or anything else in that vein. If you can have them disguised, as above, it's more interesting.

I would recommend changing the name, though. "Akuma" pretty much just means "devil" or "evil spirit". Maybe something similarly non-specific, like "abominations", or "anathema".

[Mewtarthio]

How about this:

The PCs travel around as usual, occasionally fighting these things. Be sure to give them the power to actually destroy them. The Akuma should just be in the background for now: Drop a few hints that people who become Akuma have generally lost loved ones or close friends recently, but don't go into any details. Then, wait for one of the PCs to die normally in the course of the adventure...

[The Sandman]

If you want to make it extra fun, have Akuma-creation be a resurrection method that works under any circumstances. Including those that would normally prevent resurrections, perhaps even those which prevent the use of wish or miracle for a resurrection. That makes it more likely to be used, especially if you eliminate a PC in such a manner. It might be better, however, to create an NPC that travels with your characters, get them to like him, and then kill said NPC in such a manner.

Also, to add to the paranoia level, make it so that the only way to tell if a person is actually a Type 1 Akuma is with true seeing or something similar, at a very high DC. After all, in the manga Allen is the only person who can see them before they reveal themselves.

Oh, and make it clear that destroying an Akuma annihilates the soul used to create it. And that, barring the acquisition of certain legacy weapons or relics (Innocence-analogues), there isn't any way to avoid that.

[UglyPanda]

Yep. The Type 1 Akuma use the skin to impersonate humans, although it absorbed into them as they upgrade into Type 2-Essentially, the "Monster of the Week"-level.

There are at least two Level 2 Akuma who continued to use their shape-shifting abilities: Eliade, Krory's former companion; and Chomesuke, the reprogrammed Akuma. Eliade was an evil manipulator, while Chomesuke did it to pass off as human while performing tasks.

[Leliel]

There are at least two Level 2 Akuma who continued to use their shape-shifting abilities: Eliade, Krory's former companion; and Chomesuke, the reprogrammed Akuma. Eliade was an evil manipulator, while Chomesuke did it to pass off as human while performing tasks.

Yeah...I got into the manga only recently.