The Book of Knots - Jags

Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling
hot--
And whether pigs have
wings’
-- A coversation before lunch.
Through the Looking Glass
and What Alice Found There
Overview
In the mad city of Durithel
where there are no right
angles and the buildings stand
like crooked teeth, there is
a massive dark estate that is
The Asylum. Within it are the
offices of the Hypotherapist, a
being who has devoted himself
to studying the “lie” that is
consciousness.
He is a great 2000-pound Walrus usually appropriately dressed in a suit
with tails and he sports a monocle. He has Doctorates in Philosophy
from all the most prestigious schools, lectures before the esteemed
masses and he knows his business.
His business is that of despair. He believes that all
“reasons to live” are simply the result of a pragmatic
biological survival instinct (indeed, many of those
who have been subjected to his therapy have
committed suicide). He believes that love is a form of
denial. That hope is always self-deception.
His method of therapy is to pose hypothetical cases
which he uses like a jeweler’s hammer to try to shatter
the subject’s inner faith, strength, or integrity. He isn’t
explicitly cruel in this (although he can seem so)—he
is scientifically examining a phenomena. All emotions
are lies anyway.
His subjects are patients in the Asylum—many are
non-human things captured or interred for a variety of
obscure rationales. Some are captive humans. Some
are shadows. A very few beings come and see him for
regular sessions—his acumen and insight is powerful
if it can be harnessed safely.
As he conducts his experiments on the nature of
sentience, he writes great twisted books (and studying
Name: The Hypotherapist Caretaker
PHY 26 STR 14 BLD 81 CON 14
REF 11 COR 11 REA 11 AGI 11
INT 16 RES 16 MEM 16 WIL 16
DP 210 Minor Major Critical
Wounds 70 210 420
To Hit 14-
To Be Hit +3/+3
Armor 3/18
Damage 35 IMP
Description: He has the air of a stuffy professor and a dark, shadowed aura about him. He
moves with surprising speed for something of his bulk and he reads voraciously. His flippers
form as hands holding anything he needs to.
Therapy: Having the Hypotherapist treat you is taking a terrible risk. If you engage him
in therapy he can easily drive even a stable person to suicide. Usually this is handled by
comparing his 19- Psychology roll (Level 4) against either the Psychology roll of the target
or the target’s WIL. There may be bonuses (as the GM deems appropriate) for a strong
will to live. A roll the character loses by 10 will result in the character doing whatever the
Hypotherapist asks (usually self-destruction). A roll lost by 5-9 will result in the acquiring of
a major psychological defect. A roll lost by 1 to 4 a minor one. A therapy course is usually
1-3 rolls
41
Book of Knots - The Caretakers