When you really owe the wrong people….

You have a debt. A really, really bad debt.

But this isn’t the kind of debt that you declare Chapter 11 on. No, this is deeper than that. This is the kind of debt that you literally can’t escape, but also can’t pay. Such as your soul. The Debtor is the avatar of the man on the run. He has made a Faustian bargain, and knows that he can’t escape it. But he has to try….

The Debtor is often an unconscious avatar, as the concept rests on owing a debt you can’t repay-few wish to be Debtors, especially with the harsh consequences for both failure and ‘victory.’ The debt does not have to be magical in nature (though it often is), but it must be significant and have a permanent physical or mental effect on the person. No matter how much money you owe, losing all of your material goods can be overcome. But losing a hand, or a leg, or a family member-or your soul-can’t be ignored or dismissed. The consequences for paying the debt could be as mundane as having your back broken by the mob, to having the skill you’ve gained magically stolen by your creditor, leaving you unable to ever use it again. The consequences of ‘repayment’ should trigger at least a rank 7 Madness check in Helplessness or Self, as you give away something irreplaceable or have it taken away.

The Debtor also shows an unusual musical bent-the avatar often comes from musicians who barter some piece of themselves for skill. Some claim that Robert Johnson actually ascended and causes this affinity, while others dismiss it as a coincidence about the avatar.

Aside from the ordinary Taboo, Debtors suffer under an additional penalty-if they ever repay their debt in any form (whether they suffer the full consequences, pass it on to someone else, or escape through extraordinary circumstances), they lose all connection to the Avatar, and much (but not all) of what they gained from the bargain. If this occurs, the skill in question is either brought down to 25% or the number of the former Avatar skill, whichever is lower.

Nicknames: Borrowers.

Symbols: The open road. Empty pockets. Anything associated with fleeing a terrible fate.

Masks: Faust is the first and greatest mask of the Debtor, both for his supreme sacrifice and the power he gained in exchange.

Suspected avatars in history: The blues guitarist Robert Johnson, who was believed to have sold his soul for being the best guitar player in the world. Many musicians who die young are suspected to have been avatars as well, such as Jimi Hendri, Janis Joplin or Kurt Cobain.

Taboo: A Borrower must never attract attention to themselves through the product of their bargain. A piano player plays in one bar and skips town the next night. A lawyer argues only three cases before applying to the bar in another state. Any significant or prolonged display of your skill attracts the attention of the people seeking you, putting you in grave danger.

Channels

01-50%: You made the deal for a reason, and this is the result. You gain a skill and roll on it with your Avatar: Debtor skill. This skill can be mundane or magical, though (for obvious reasons) you cannot have another Avatar as your skill in this channel. However, many people choose to become Adepts in magical deals, and this makes the Debtor an unusually pliable combination for most Adepts, save for those that rest on some kind of permanent place or ask for attention. A special grace/curse affects those who have gained a performance related skill in this channel: any successful role makes them stand out from other performers. This helps their success, but obviously it also risks breaking taboo.

51-70%: As time runs out, the Debtor begins to feel eyes watching him. Once every day, a Borrower can ‘sense’ that they’re being watched, with a successful roll on their Avatar skill. If they succeed, they know where the watcher is. If the observer has a magical skill as well, they can roll to try and mask their observation; if both parties are successful, then the Debtor only gets a brief feeling of being watched, not the full information on where the observer is. The Debtor can try as many times as he wishes after a failure, but once successful, he cannot try again until the next day.

71-90%:It’s always good to know when it’s time to leave. Once a day, when someone with the intention of harming the Debtor enters the same area (usually defined in urban terms), the Debtor can roll on his avatar skill. If he succeeds, then he knows someone has come to harm him. He does not, however, know who it is or why. This roll can only be attempted once per day, and cannot be consciously triggered; however, if the person in question remains in the area, the Debtor may make the roll again, once every day.

91-98%: Even in the worst situations, the Debtor knows a way out. In any combat situation, a Borrower can spend a round looking for a way out, and know how to escape at the beginning of the next round. The escape route must be relatively safe; “running along the subway tracks,” for example, won’t come to mind. The Debtor can then head for that escape route and get out of combat. However, they cannot make an escape where none exists-if the only door out a windowless room is blocked by guards, this channel only tells them what to do after getting out of the room. This channel only works for the Debtor themselves, and does nothing to help any friends they might be with.

What you’ve heard: The Godwalker of the Debtor is still on the run, and can make people forget he’s been there. No one knows who he is, but rumor says the Godwalker of the Merchant is the one that’s after him.