| Anshelm Zaghloul | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Anshelm Zaghloul | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Anshelm, upon first inspection appears to be a tall, stocky man, with a well-built yet unmuscular physique. He looks like he would be obscenely muscular if he’d ever work out. On closer inspection, he is less obviously human-like. His skin is porous and slightly pearl-coloured and he has wide eyes with small pupils. He has a long, beak-like nose. His facial structure is somewhat Egyptian in shape, and can put one in mind of an Egyptian Pharaoh. He would carry himself with a dignified, kingly posture if he didn’t slouch all the time. He has a curious, shuffling gait that makes it look more like he’s sliding along the floor then walking at times. Anshelm's body is actually far more alien, as he has no skeletal structure, and eyes on his back, hips and upper arms. He has a reasonably sized wardrobe, but prefers wearing concealing clothes. When using his powers his arms elongate into long, thick tentacles covered in eyes. His head expands into a vaguely spherical tumour-like growth the same colour as his skin.
Personality
Anshelm is a troubled, yet serene man. He comes off as quite timid, but is occasionally possessed by bouts of bravery. He is cunning and manipulative, but occasionally shows a caring side. He dislikes talking about his family.
Special Skills
Skilled in the sciences, specifically those related to the arcane and supernatural. Skilled with his chosen weapons.
Anshelm is capable of incredible feats of genetic engineering. He has created a number of unique creations in his laboratory. He is also adept at reading and decoding ancient languages. His unique lifestyle has also given the surprisingly spritely scientist parkour skills.
Special Abilities
- Eldritch Mental Defence
- Due to his heritage, Anshelm has the ability to view or read horrific eldritch things without his mind rotting away. This also gives him slight resistance to mind control.
- Poisoned Blood
- Anshelm’s blood is partially acidic, and contains a highly fast-acting carcinogenic and poisonous compound. This compound is incredibly disgusting too, making him a really unappetizing meal.
- Eldritch Attack Mode
- Anshelm can enter a state that allows him to weaponise his hybrid biology. Anshelm’s arms can transform into durable tentacles, which he can split and merge together at will. These tentacles are used to whip, stab and slam enemies (Think of the Kos Parasite moveset in Bloodborne here ) He can spit a highly acidic substance from his mouth, capable of melting stone. He can fire a devastating short-range eldritch energy blast from his head, but this tires him out to near exhaustion. He can teleport short distances in clouds of eldritch energy while in this state. He lacks long-ranged attacks, and is weak to slicing and ice attacks.
Equiptment
- Blood-Pearl of K’Baa
- A mystical stone that resonates highly with anything mystical or paranormal. Is emits a red smoke in the presence of things of the mortal plane, but emits a blue smoke when near non-humans and mystically/psionically gifted humans. One of the artifacts gifted to Anshelm by Nyarlathotep
- Necronomicon
- An (abridged) copy of the book written by Abdul Alhazred . Anshelm can cast Eldritch Rites from the book, allowing him to fire abyssal energy blasts or summon tentacles from surfaces. Some of the rights require special prior preparation, such as needing virgin blood for example.
- Ritual Knife of Yeb
- Not strictly a mystical item, but it’s still a good knife. It’s extremely sharp, and it is designed to get stuck in flesh easily due to it’s blade being lined with small hooks instead of normal serration.
- The Dream-Crown of Nyarlathotep
- A crown that allows the wearer to enter the Dreamlands (An alternate dimension normally only enterable by the dreaming) physically. Anshelm uses it to talk to his father, but it can be used to move throughout the world, as the Dreamlands and mortal world are perfect mirrors of eachother.
Background
Anshelm Zaghloul was born to a human university, who was seduced and impregnated by the Outer God Nyarlathotep, who was in the guise of a human pharaoh at the time. Anshelm’s birth drove his mother insane. The infant was adopted by a dean at the university, and he later became a professor at the university at a young age. During a visit to the city of Dunwich to study local legends, Anshelm was struck in the back of the head near a summoning circle where a child of Yog-Sothoth had been killed some time prior. While he was unconscious, he saw a vision of Nyarlathotep, who told him of his heritage, awakened his power and provided him with some of his mystical artifacts. Anshelm decided to dedicate his life to the study and exploitation of the paranormal.
Sometime after his family reunion, he was contacted by an organisation known as 'PHAEDRA', who gave him the resources necessary to experiment on a wider scale, including a lab in Chicago, a science team and test subjects.