Grinning Jen

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Grinning Jen				CMD 8
SPD	STR	MAT	RAT	DEF	ARM
6	5	8	5	15	13
Skinning Knife
M		Special		POW	P+S
		-		3	8
Skinning Knife
M		Special		POW	P+S
		-		3	8

Grinning Jen's Damage					5
Point Cost					30
Field Allowance					C
Victory Points					1

Base Size: Small

Description

One by fire

Two by ice

Three by pain

Four by vice

Five by cough

Six by dice

Seven by love

Eight by hate

Eight ways for man to end,

But Jen's here to bend,

The very strings that fate doth set,

To find you just a bit earlier yet.

Eight ways to a gruesome end,

Eight tools of I, Grinning Jen.

- Common Rynnish nursery rhyme (date unknown)

Grinning Jen, Llael Character Solo

All stories with a moral have an underlying grain of truth to them, however fanciful or outlandish the tale. Likewise with nursery rhymes, especially those dating from the time where even the Orgoth had yet to make landfall upon Western Immoren. Such rhymes are often more than a little disturbing, and have faded with time as the dangers they were made to caution against have faded. Others, however, are still told to misbehaving children - and even then in hushed whispers. While tales of the Old Witch and her rusty talons are common among Khards, Umbreans, and Skirovs the Rynnish people have always told the rhyme of Grinning Jen.

Even among those who study such folk tales are unable to pinpoint the time period where the ominous rhyme was first developed, but all concur that for a rhyme to remain unchanged for centuries is nigh unheard of. The tale of Grinning Jen seemingly remains identical no matter how far back the legend's origon is traced. Most disturbingly is how even those who would seemingly know better still tell the story in hushed whispers.

Always the tale speaks of Jen's Rhyme, a haunting dirge told to be sung by none other than Jen herself in the dark places of the world. The horrible exploits of Jen are told to children as both a cautionary tale and a warning, with one of the eight tools reprented in the stories leading to the gruesome death of the unfortunate victim.

The thing the scholars cannot grasp is that the tale of Grinning Jen is not told as a story. The tale is told to children as a warning. Every time a man is found murdered without an obvious culprit, the Rynnish peasentfolk always whisper Jen's name in the fright of the moment. She exists as a bloody harbinger of blight, destruction, and death among the populace; and her signature wilted rose is always left at the doorstep of her victims. For centuries on end she has lurked at the edges of communities, picking off seemingly random individuals, with only the wilted husk of a rose to mark her involvement.

The truth as to how a single individual can have lingered for such a long stretch of time is more than anyone wants to dwell on for too long. The truth, oftentimes, is more horrific than even the stories.

Anyone putting all the stories of Grinning Jen together will quickly isolate three main items present in every tale; one of the eight tools, a wilted rose, and Jen's grinning red mask. Every tale describes it differently, often somehow pertaining to the tool used to dispatch the victim. It has at times been embellished to possess anything from a wreath of fire to a half grin/half frown of the playhouses. No one tale is ever the same in describing Jen's mask. No one has ever comprehended that the mask itself is Jen.

Jen is immortal; a mask imbued with centuries of psychotic pleasure in the act of murder. Overwhelming the mind of the poor soul that dons the grinning red mask, Jen quickly shapes the body to that of a lithe young woman identical to the first wearer of the mask so very long ago. With a host, Jen does not hesitate to begin her bloody work yet again. Only in death can the true form of Jen's host be discerned, often casting shame on the deceased as the 'true' culprit behind the rash of murders upon apprehension. In turn, Jen flits from evidence locker to evidence locker always awaiting some foolish deputy to be curious enough to don her.

In recent days, sightings of Jen have become more and more common among the people of Lleal. Daily, wilted roses are found on the bodies of Khadoran patrolmen who did not pay attention to the tales of Grinning Jen. However, watchmen and regional sheriffs have found not a single citizen of Rynnish descent dead in such a fashion. The best minds have only been able to discern that someone is directing the nightmare creation, and as the death toll rises the Khadoran High Command has even begun to take interest.

Especially when bodies began turning up skinned.

Special Rules

Grinning Jen

Anatomical Precision- If Grinning Jen's melee damage rolls fail to exceed target living model's ARM, the target automatically suffers one damage point.

Bloody Murder- Immedediately after an attack in which she destroys an enemy living model, enemy models/units in her command range with LOS to Grinning Jen must pass a command check or flee.

Fearless- Grinning Jen never flees.

Infiltration- Grinning Jen does not have to be put in play at the start of the game. Grinning Jen's controlling player may put her in play during their control phase during any turn after the second. When put into play, place Grinning Jen completely within the opponent's deployment zone.

Terror- Enemy models/units within melee range of Grinning Jen must pass a command check or flee.

Unending Cycle- If Grinning Jen is destroyed by a living non-warcaster/warlock warrior model in her melee range, the model making the attack must make a command check using its base CMD. If the check fails, destroy and replace the model destroying Grinning Jen with the Grinning Jen model. Remove all damage points on Grinning Jen if she replaces a model in this way. If the CMD check suceeds, or if Jen is destroyed in any other fashion, place a Mask token at the point where Jen was destroyed. If a living non-warcaster/warlock warrior model ends its movement within 3" of the Mask token, it must make a command check using its base command or be destroyed and replaced with the Grinning Jen model. Remove all damage points from Grinning Jen.

"You're Next"- When an enemy model/unit flees in Grinning Jen's command range, Grinning Jen may move up to her SPD in inches. Grinning Jen is not subject to free strikes during this movement.

Concept Notes

Bloody murder. Pure, unrestrained bloody murder.

That's Jen in a nutshell. During development I cut out a massive number of potential abilities in favor of making her playable, and I ended up making a rather brutal model to be in melee with. I considered giving her a way to increase her number of attacks, but then I realized that fluffwise she would simply take her time with the first poor sap before she moved on to the second.