World Enigma United HQ (Bestiary and Magic Glossary, Characters and case discussion)

[Ambiguous Storyteller]

The primary location of this RP will be the Salem, Massachusetts HQ. Though you may have a character from any branch across the world, there may be cases that take Enigma agents across the borders. There will be discussions for potential claims; not every Cryptid will be killed, and not every investigator will survive. On a side note, investigators do not have to be human, but they have to have a human disguise. There will be a pool to select a case; if there are over 2 investigators, the more cases can be done simultaneously. However, there will be extreme cases where they will need 2 to 4 investigators. Players can make any type of character they wish to in the world. Agents will have lives outside of Enigma United and the world isn't empty. However, if you want to take part in the investigations. Or be a human aware of the supernatural would a player would have to list that for their characters.

Magical items are available though they are limited to their uses and applications. Magic is taxing to cast unless you are a witch or a warlock and born with the ability to use magic. Most magic comprises the natural world, although mild fantasy is allowable. Very mild. Some Magic users such as Witches and Warlocks have different taxation depending on the magic they use. A witch using white magic might mix a healing potion or smudge a house, but if they were to do some real spell casting, it could take days to prepare the spell depending on the level of complexity and the spell's effect would be. Items that have been enchanted with magic are few. They rarely come in weapons, but the most powerful of these magic items are the books. Some books can be reasonably safe to read from. Other books are so dangerous we keep them under lock and key. The only people allowed to read their pages were the occultists of Enigma. Most of the weapons that magic has enchanted have been found and kept in the British HeadQuarters. The Salem headquarters are keeping most objects and books of magic.

The building that was chosen as the HeadQuarters of became the Proctor house in Salem, Massachusetts, after the witch trials in 1692. The headquarters modernized but still holds secrets from its original construction. Secret rooms from the den and library house Enigmas secrets. Journals and grimoires, items from history that have significant magic power. Demons and spirits trapped in items. There are five known ghosts of the Proctor house. Two of which are from the 17th century. The other three are from various places. Reith Vond is a spirit bound to a book no one knows who she was, where she came from or what her life was like before she had died. But she is a friendly spirit. Other spirits are the Librarian, and Elizabeth Bassett is another spirit that lives in the manor. She remains trapped in an ouija board made from the tree they had hung her in after being convicted of witchcraft. She is a dangerous spirit and kept under constant lock and key. Elizabeth Bassett kills the living, so she remains trapped in the ouija board kept in a basement only the Handler has access to.

"Hello, welcome to Enigma United. I am Special Agent Jacob Bishop." He places his bag on the table. "We have given you the same bags. These are your best friends." Jacob opens his bag and starts pulling the items out. An iron pipe roughly six inches long. "The bag is magic. You can put everything you will ever need on a case in it." Jacob removes some charms and pendants that connected to various faiths. Boxes of silver ammunition, iron and Oak stakes. Along with various electrical devices and some plastic bottles containing liquid. So many items it would be strange how they all fit in the small doctor's bag. Meant to only carry a stethoscope and some basic medical tools. "The bags act as a small dimension you can stick things in. We will fill each of your bags with the basic needs of an investigator. Plus a service pistol." Jacob removes the Black Desert Eagle from his bag and the spare magazines.

Humans: we can categorize Humans into two classes: magicians and regulars. Regulars are ordinary people who do not know how to use or even that magic exists. There are some Regulars that are investigators, but we give them the less extreme cases. Unless they are skilled. The Magicians can use magic. These are known as witches and Warlocks. Witches often belong to a covenant and are not all bad. Some witches are helpful and even work alongside Enigma Agents. Witches, however, are mortals and will pass on with age, though they keep their power in spirit form. Warlocks and sorcerers are magic users that had dabbled in dark magic that is forsaken since the middle ages—granting them immortality. They can be killed if you sever their heads or break the curse they used to gain immortality. Warlocks can use magic items such as tarot cards to warp reality. They are considered extremely dangerous. A skin walker is a type of warlock.

Vampires: Not all vampires are evil creatures that thirst for human blood. Scattered around the world, there are vampire communities that live with humans peacefully. There is a local blood bank where they can get their blood, alarming no other citizens. However, there are still those vampires that are bad. They live in the old ways, and often they aren't what they appear. Jeffery Dahmer. He was a vampire. True story. Vampires have various magical abilities. Hypnosis, enhanced speed, enhanced strength, the strongest of vampires, known for have shape-shifting and telekinetic powers though Enigma has never encountered such a vampire. The older the vampire, the harder it is to kill. The oldest known vampire origin legend comes from Greece. But they directly linked most modern vampirism to Necromancy.

Spirits/ghosts/angels/Demons: Spirits are often aware and much more potent than your average ghost. We know spirits as phantoms, poltergeists, intelligent hauntings. Ghosts are lost souls that haven't crossed over, but both can be dangerous. Burning the bones of a spirit doesn't kill the ghost; you can't kill a ghost; they are dead. You can force them to cross over or bind them to an object. If you can convince a spirit to cross over, it will be easier to force them to be more arduous. Demons are an entirely different beast; they often take advantage of vulnerable people and make them do terrible things. Remember the Amityville horror. Enigma couldn't allow the truth to escape. Demons get sent back to wherever they came from when their physical body dies or the demon is exercised. Sometimes both. Angels are the same. They can possess humans and use magic on humans. But that is the limit.

Cryptids: These are the monsters in the forests, the strange sightings—the Loch Ness monster, the dogmen. Yes, Werewolves and Lycanthropes, you too. All creatures of an unnatural origin. The Moth Man, the swamp creatures. Ashmen Wendigos, Chupacabra Bunny Yips and Pudwudgees. Sea monsters fall under Cryptids as well. Some of these beasts are just meant to be tracked and observed, then left alone. Others have to be moved because of the human invasion of their territories. Other creatures, such as Ashmen and Wendigos, have to be killed with fire. These Cryptids show some signs of intelligence, but they are still just wild animals, some active predators.

Shifter: The shifters' lore will encompass all things that involve changing forms or shape-shifting. There are many types of shifters and many ways to shape-shift using magic. From Vampires to werewolves, the otherworldly creatures that fall into this category can be from other areas. Even ghosts can have shape-shifting capabilities. We start first with the Eponymous of the shifter category. Werewolves or Lycanthropes have a long history. Dating back further than Greece. Shape-shifting into a wolf is as old as the epics of Gilgamesh. Shifting or shifters are one of the oldest of all supernatural beings. We suspect that shape-shifting came into vampires during the late 18th century, when necromancy was at its highest practice. We believe vampires pick up traits from blood they feed on. So it is possible that a vampire at some point fed on a shape shifter and adopted that trait.

This is all for now. We will go further in depth into each of these things and more until then. DM questions. there may be a discord in the future.

 

[Ambiguous Storyteller]

Ghosts, Demons and Angels

For as long as human beings have been self-aware, it seems they have also been aware of ghosts. The concept of ghosts and ghost stories dates far back into human history and has captivated and mystified generations' human race.
A rustle in the bushes, the sound of something creaking, and the anxiety entwined in our instinct to survive - makes us see or feel things that may not be there. But also, besides this, the human belief that something beyond death could exist.

What is a ghost?
What we understand as a ghost today has its roots in the myths and beliefs of ancient cultures. Ghosts were and sometimes still are believed to be the spirit of a person after the body has died.
Because of these beliefs, funeral rituals initially took place and were practised as a passage of rights to the next world, a way to say goodbye and prevent the spirit from remaining on Earth and 'haunting' the living.
Further to this, ghosts' existence is believed because of the human experience of feeling haunted or being in the presence of a spirit. This can range from hearing, seeing, or other unexplainable, spooky happenings. For example, we often cite an inanimate object that moves freely of its own accord as being caused by a ghost.
Not all ghosts that cause harm to the living are evil; some spirits are unaware of being dead and lash out at the residence without realizing they are dead. We refer these ghosts to as wraiths. They can be challenging to deal with sometimes. Some spirits act as memories replaying events repeatedly; they are harmless aside from a good scare. Other ghosts are intelligent and want to cause harm to the living; We often refer these ghosts to as phantoms. Phantoms are the most complex spirits to deal with as they understand that, as spirits, they have the choice to cross over. It is significantly more complicated to deal with phantoms than any other form of spectre. Phantoms and wraiths are both classified as poltergeists. They can inflict harm and even kill the living. Phantoms, depending on who they were in life, may even have some magical capabilities. There is no way to kill a ghost, though there are methods of trapping them. Or forcing them to move on. The more intelligent the spirit, the harder this will be. Ghosts cannot cross a solid line of salt and because of the magnetic properties of iron. Ghosts who are powerful enough to form physical apparitions will have their forms scattered. It takes time for the spirit to produce that energy though it will only make them angry. Ghosts do not have to be visible to harm people. They can throw inanimate objects of various sizes depending on their power, and if they generate enough energy, they can even physically harm the living from beyond the grave. Some phantoms can even take control of the living and force their will upon the person being possessed. But this is quite difficult for a ghost and usually only lasts between 1 minute to an hour.

Demons
What is a demon?
demons can be divided into two classes: Guardians and Wanderers. Guardians are tied to a specific place; their demonic activity is topographically defined, and their function can be benevolent towards those who have the secret knowledge to face them. Demons protecting the underworld may prevent human souls from entering paradise. Only by knowing the suitable charms is the deceased able to enter heaven. Here, the guardian demons' aggressive nature is motivated by protecting their abodes and not by their evil essence. Demons guarded sacred places or the gates to the netherworld. These demons are servants of the 12 or act as protectors from those who were foolish enough to wander into their domain.
The wanderers are associated with possession, mental illness, death and plagues. Many of them serve as executioners for the significant deities when ordered to punish humans on earth or in the netherworld. Wanderers can also be agents of chaos, arising from the world beyond creation to bring about misfortune and suffering with no divine instructions, led only by evil motivations. The wanderers' influences can be warded off and kept at the human world's borders by using magic, but they can never be destroyed. Wanderers' subcategories are nightmare demons, which were believed to cause nightmares by entering a human body. In short, Demons are not as we perceive them. They do not have human emotions and do not have the same interest. In history, people have had different beliefs about demons. It is said that before man existed when titans walked the earth. There was a great rebellion in the angels that created the original 12 demons. These 12 demons have collected human souls, creating more demons. But all demons we know today came from the original 12 and the 12 were once angels.

Other types of demons
Djinn or Jenies are commonly accepted as a type of demon; We know them for being malevolent, but not in a more mischievous way. They grant wishes to people who either find or trap them. But they often deceive those foolish enough to make a deal with a Djinn for a desire and not knowing how to make things benefit them and lead to their deaths by the Djinn. Demons, like ghosts, do not have physical bodies of their own. But unlike ghosts, demons have never had a physical body and cannot produce an image of their physical appearance. In contrast to spirits, demons can take possession of a living body easily. Even live as the person they are possessing. We consider demons a form of a parasitic relationship. If the host dies, the demon is forced out of the body. Demons are affected the same way ghosts are when iron is used on them. When a person is possessed by a demon, iron will burn their skin.

Angels
Traditionally, when people think of angels, they think of celestial beings that are good. That is only a half truth. Angels are not benevolent beings like people think. Rather, they are keepers of knowledge. They do not have emotion and only intervene in human conflicts when needed. There was a time when angels were the superior beings. Then there was the great rebellion that created the fallen. The fallen are 12 angels that taught humans forbidden knowledge and ultimately gave them the power to wield magic. Though it came at a price. Humans killed each other for the knowledge that the fallen had given them. The angels who remained ascended cast the 12 from the realm, forcing them into the realm of chaos. The dark forces of chaos had altered the angels and turned them into what people call demons. These original 12 demons blamed humans for being sent to the chaos realm. Because it was the angels that created these demons, they feel a responsibility to keep humanity safe from these demons. Thus, it was decided that 3 angels would take human avatars and keep the 12 from escaping the realm of chaos. I knew these 3 angels as the messengers. Like demons, they have had many names throughout human history, but they always have referenced in trinity. Sadly, like Enigma United, there are organizations and groups that wish to free the 12 demons. It is Enigma United's mission with the trinity to stop these organizations from opening the gates to the realm of chaos. Angels like demons have never had a physical body, so while they can interact with the human world in order to exist within the physical world, they have to possess humans. Though it differs from a demon possessing a human, angels possessing humans do not harm the human under their possession. Angels are affected the same way that ghosts are in iron. Though a person under possession of an angel is invulnerable, as the angel can heal them almost instantly. But a person with the expertise could banish an angel to the chaos realms.​

 

[Ambiguous Storyteller]

Shapeshifters
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the power to physically transform through an inherently supernatural gift, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ability. Shapeshifters are a variety of beings that have control over their transformation. Some can only turn into one thing others can turn into multiple things. Two of the most common shapeshifters, Enigma agents, encounter Doppelgangers and Skinwalkers. Though some warlocks, witches and even vampires can use magic to shapeshift. Doppelgangers, some witches and warlocks pose no threat to human society as they want to live peacefully with the others. This is not the case for all shapeshifters, there are nomads that are killers who kill humans and eat them like skinwalkers. Skinwalkers are witch doctors from Navajo culture that practice what is called bad medicine. Navajo variation of bad magic. They have become immortal through the use of this bad medicine. Skinwalkers are among the most dangerous things to hunt. Not only are they cunning but they have superhuman abilities. Many often associate Wendigos with Skinwalkers but rest assured these two things are completely different. The only known way to kill a skinwalker is by shooting it in the neck with a bullet covered with juniper ash. Many Navajo reservations use Juniper to ward off skinwalkers and the evil follows.

Werewolves
What is a Werewolf?
A werewolf is either cursed or bitten (sometimes inherited) they only turn on a full moon, and they can't control it, they also can't control themselves in that state. A werewolf is a humanoid, meaning they look like a wolf that has human hands, stands on hind legs, and is the size of a normal man or larger depending on how strong the curse is. Werewolves are not like shapeshifters as the curse dates back to ancient Greek mythology and when the full moon rises the beast awakens with a bloodlust.

Most people think that Werewolves originated in Europe in the middle ages with vampires. But Werewolves are actually much older than that. Their history dates back to the epics of Gilgamesh, from 2100 BC. When Gilgamesh turned down a woman because she turned a previous lover into a wolf. In Nordic folklore there is a father and a son who dawned wolf pelts and turned into wolves for ten days. Though that story refers to the power of the skinwalkers rather than a curse commonly associated with Werewolves. Werewolves also have some references in greece. When a king named Lycaon, murdered a protected hostage of Zeus. The infuriated Zeus turned the man into a wolf-like creature, Latin texts depict the transformation as a curse. His murderous tendencies reflect his hideousness. This is when the werewolf curse was referred to as Lycanthropy.

How to kill a Werewolf?
There is no known way to reverse the effects of the werewolf curse if performed by a witch or a warlock. There is some historical reference that if a werewolf eats the heart of the werewolf that bit them and passed the curse on to them then the curse will be broken. So far the only known methods of ending the curse is to kill the werewolf with decapitation (destruction of the brain works too) or piercing their heart with silver.
Fireworks as well. But fire works on almost everything. Because werewolves can only heal slightly faster than humans it is significantly easier to use fire to kill a werewolf. However, it is equally as hard to get them into a fire.​

 

[Ambiguous Storyteller]

Magic
Magic is a broad term for things; you have showmanship like Penn and Teller; they can't use magic. But some humans can use magic or gain the ability to use magic through pacts with demons or angels. Magic itself is just another form of energy. A magician is a conduit, just like good and evil, yin and yang, positive and negative. Magic is either white or black in purpose. These two categories then split off into various methods of using magic—elemental based with fire, water, wind, earth, and electricity. Alongside these elemental magics, there are subcategories such as primary, conjures, spells, crafts and summons. There is no real difference between white, and black magic other than White is commonly associated with healing and sound, the other is frequently associated with death and evil.

Primary magic requires minimal effort to get the hang of it. Magicians have been known to snap fingers and cause things to combust. Or combine magic with psychic abilities using static electrical signals in the human nervous system and suggestive language. However, this has been proven relatively easy to counter with a strong mind or a strong-willed person.

When. A magician. Conjures something they are tapping into the spirit world, often from demons or angels and using magic to cause some effect. With the right amount of time and skill, a magician can even look at environmental memories from the past using earth magic and spiritual influence, and white magic. They can gain context of past events. However, a conjuring would take time to set up and often requires specific times and settings to work.

When a Magician uses a spell they are speaking; the episode consists of keywords that require them to be spoken aloud or written down. Making runes is a form of spell work. White magic spells involve mostly healing, and enchantments are objects or people. Most attacks are unique to the item or the magician casting the spell. Black is used for curses; curses aren't just bad things happening to people; they can be used strategically to gain items. Take the story of Dorian Grey; you can find his portrait in the vault. Dorian Gray was a powerful warlock and the mentor of Adam J. Seymour, currently under the alias of AJ Seymour wealthy philanthropist. Dorian Grey, to obtain his magic abilities, conjured a demon to paint his portrait the devil out a small on the picture, granting Dorian Grey Immortality until he looked at the painting.

Crafting falls under a vast spectrum in natural magic that anyone with the right expertise could perform. However, crafting is known to be the most challenging type of magical application to master. Alchemy isn't the most complex form of magic crafting and the easiest as an amateur. If the alchemist moves a potion wrong, it could be fatal. Many of these alchemists use wild animals for testing or themselves. Voodoo has deep roots in Louisiana and Africa Voodoo also covers a form of zombie hypnosis. The most peculiar aspect is voodoo dolls. These are known as hex items. There are several ways to apply hex items. Some can be used to make someone vulnerable to magic, other can be used for bad luck; hexes are using things that are given to people, but they are essentially loaded guns, and anyone that might come into contact with it could be hurt. Much like curses and spells, hexes can be unique to the caster, but enigma has uncovered many similar charms, suggesting group practice might be.

Magicians can use magic to summon entities, opening doorways for these entities to come into the physical realm. Traditionally these entities were referred to as demons and angels or devils and gods. But Enigma believes there are infinite alternate dimensions. Though they haven't had a chance to explore, it is suggested that the portals that summon can act as doorways into these alternate dimensions. There some entities so powerful they no longer have to return to their dimension and can take on a form ranging from mist to apparitions. Entities ancient civilization used to sacrifice humans for. Some entities are spirits of dead humans. Some are dangerous, some can be helpful, most are harmless. Enigma United is studying inter dimensional gates around the world. Trying to use them in some way. It is also possible to summon objects. Merlin Summoned the sword of King Arthur to use against monsters and dark covenants​