Tai Ren, Baroness of Envy
ASPECT: 0 5 AMPs
DOMAIN : 1 5 DMPs
PERSONA: 5 5 PMPs
Secondary Persona (Hell): 4
TREASURE: 0 5 TMPs
Gifts
Green-Eyed Gaze (Lesser Creation of a group of Estates, simple-1, local-1, limited-2, uncommon+1, group of Estates x2 =2). Creates envy or related sentiments (suspicion, schadenfreude), or creates actual poisons which can have various effects
Immutable
Bonds/Afflictions
[4] Bond: Song of Hell
[3] Affliction: I recover rapidly with the exercise of power
[2] Affliction: Untouchable
[1] Affliction: I can see the worst of you, and can quite possibly see the rest
[1] Affliction: Poisonous beauty
[1] Affliction: Summonable by magical rite
[1] Bond: I am served by a mystery cult, the Order of the Burning Eye
Mundane Abilities
Skill: Cruelty Artist 3
Passion: How dare you be superior! 5
Shine 5
Estate Properties
Envy desires harm without benefit to itself (1)
Envy is very hard to give up (1)
Envy is ubiquitous in society (1)
Envy is intangible (1)
Envy cannot be touched by reason (1)
Envy poisons the soul (1)
Envy prevents contentment and happiness (1)
Design: Bramble, the flower (well, the plant) of envy, and gray mushroom, signifying suspicion, on a virulent poison-green circle lightly patterned with translucent darkness
Notes:
Envy is not to be confused with jealousy. Jealousy wants the other guy’s love, fame, or success for yourself. Envy just wants him not to have it; it would rather see a good thing destroyed than in the hands of the envied person. As such, it has been called the “sinniest” of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Tai Ren would agree, and revels in it. Insofar as she can revel in anything: envy is barely compatible with bursts of joy, and completely blocks all possibility of contentment or real happiness. (Although she would be unlikely to say it in so many words, Tai Ren thinks that happiness is overrated.) Certainly she is one of the most strongly Hell-aligned Powers on Earth, with few of the redeeming features that many such Powers have: Tai Ren is a creature of poison, torment and decay.
In addition to her direct power over her Estate, Tai Ren has miraculous power over the omnipresent influence of Hell, using the Realm Properties on p. 82 as if they were Estate Properties. One of them has even become a permanent Affliction, although an Emulation will still make it a lot more powerful than the permanent version.
Tai Ren can be summoned with black magical rituals: the precise elements used are less important than the intent to call her up and the willingness to suffer rottenness and filth in order to do so. She is not likely to help those who summon her, but it doesn’t take much to get her to harm their enemies. In addition to whatever action she takes herself, she’ll let the summoner use her Shine to accomplish such goals. She will not usually allow her Shine to be used to make anyone’s life better; that is not the point.
Tai Ren has been the Baroness of Envy for over a thousand years since her enNoblement during the Tang Dynasty. For all her awfulness, she is a valued combatant in Valde Bellum. In particular, “seeing the worst of you” is a good way of detecting Excrucian taint.