Ponomancer

A ponomancer is a mage who generates arnum, the energy of pain and punishment, through torture and uses it to predict the future or invoke other powers. They have special tools they use to do this. In order to be able to wield the arnum they produce, they themselves must perform a ritual of pain every morning.

Self-Flagellation

Every morning, a ponomancer must inflict six lashes upon themselves with a special implement called a mastigio. While they flagellate themselves, they must chant words of power given them by another ponomancer, passed down among ponomancers for Ages. 

Whips

The whips they use, mastigio, are made of vasan leather and venom, with tiny hooks on the ends made of stinging nettles, vasan stings, or basic needles dipped in bullet ant venom.

Torture

A ponomancer must torture a victim for at least an hour to start producing arnum, but to be able to capture and use arnum, they must torture them for six hours at least. In order to make a prediction, they must torture someone for six days. To imbue themselves with powers, they must torture someone for at least six days, or days in multiples of six, up to six weeks.

Meat Hook

The most common tool of torture a ponomancer uses is a meat hook. They use it to rip flesh, scrap bones, break bones, drag people around, hang them up, or flay them. The most commonly used materials include blood-stained iron, lapis albus, trantafyllo, empowered trantafyllo, chokeberry wood, or vasan bone. They wash their hooks regularly in saltwater or mild poisons.

Flaying

Ponomancers culminate a torture session by flaying their victims if they intend to make a prediction of the future. They interpret the screams, patterns of blood spray, rips in the flesh, and contortions of the body to find signs of what is to come. If they do not have a meat hook, they use a flencing knife or other very sharp object.

Mantles and Aprons

A ponomancer will take the skin of the first person they flay to create a special mantle and apron to wear. The apron is only worn while they work. The mantle is for formal occasions. They are both imbued with power to absorb arnum, thus making a ponomancer immune to stun.

Brands and Branding

If a ponomancer does not have the tools to flay someone, they may use a hot iron or trantafyllo brand to burn them and read the patterns of the brands to make a prediction. This is less effective and more likely to be biased by the ponomancer.

Acid or Peppers

Another method of generating arnum for predictive purposes is to throw acid on someone. If acid is unavailable, they may use hot pepper sauce, pouring it down their throats, noses, and eyes in order to torture them and read their screams, contortions, and tears. They can use any significantly hot pepper, but atteriturs (pallid peppers) work especially well, as they have arnum in them.

Torture Devices

Ponomancers with space for a torture chamber often use one of the following:

• Racks
• Iron maidens
• Thumbscrews
• Picana electrica
• Brazen bulls
• Dunking tanks
• Boiling tanks
• Pickling barrels
• Stakes and ropes
• Iron spiders
• Breaking wheels
• Pillories
• Pears of anguish
• Instep borer
• Mancuerda cords
• Scavenger's daughters
• Witch's bridles
• Stocks
• Wooden horses
• Pressing stones
• Iron chairs
• Rat sacks

Other Methods

Other methods include staking peopel out over bullet ants, water torture, tapping torture, loud noises, sleeplessness, hallucinogens, non-fatal poisoning, stenching, temperature shifts, hornets, toil, eyegouging, maiming, and any other form of physical pain that does not (immediately) kill.

Speaking to the Face

The tortures of a ponomancer culminate in the removal of the flesh from the face of the victim. They nail this face to the wall and ask it questions (while the victim lives). What they hear from the face is usually a cryptic message about greater events (plagues, wars, disasters, deaths of leaders) or long-term personal events (eventual deaths, divorces or heartbreaks, loss of loved ones, loss of fortunes). They only speak of bad events, however. They then return the face to the victim once this is done, leaving them in enduring agony.

Powers

• Stunning Touch: touch with stun power of 10+.
• Skin-Scouring Touch: causes intense itching that makes the victim scratch their skin til it bleeds (power 10+).
• Nauseating Gaze: the ponomancer's gaze, if held, causes intense nausea at power 13+.
• Breath of Agony: breathing on target causes pain at power 13+.
• Acidic Blood: the ponomancer's blood, if spilled, acts as an acid of power 16+.
• Bonebreak Shout: the ponomancer's shout breaks bones at power 16+.
• Wave of Torment: the ponomancer can create a wave of arnic power that causes permanent pain to targets at power 19+.
• Soulbreaking Touch: the ponomancer can break the metaphysical essence of a target by touch, power 22+.
• Perdition: the ponomancer causes eternal pain even beyond death, power 25+, by kissing a target.
• Namebreaking Touch: the ponomancer breaks the body, mind, soul, and heart of the target by touch, power 28+.

Creating Abominations

See each entry of the abominations.

Variations

Ponomancers have different names in different cultures, but there are a few that are distinct variations:

• Rackmaker: ponomancers who focus their powers on creating torture instruments more torturous.
• Suspensionist: performance artists who draw power from pain.

Societal Role

Ponomancy is considered a vital tool by most autocratic, feudal, or capitalist governments. They are the purveyors of persecution in most places, agents of the state. They are hated by the people for their work, but they enjoy wealth and status from the ruling classes.

Skills

Some skills ponomancers commonly have:

• Anatomy
• First aid/medicine
• Butchering
• Cooking
• Leather making
• Stitching
• Gardening
• Torture

Stats

The typical ponomancer will have the following variations from the base stats of their nation/species:

PRO +2
ATH /
STR +2
AWA +2
WIL +4
STH /
PRS -3