The Artificer

Real Name: Benjamin Jorglain
Hero Name: The Artificer
Title: Mauled Mask
Alignment: Chaotic good
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Yellowish Green
Height: 5’8
Weight: 145 lbs
Blood type: AB







 Benjamin, externally, seems a kind and happy sort. He’s not quick to trust, but he’s not quick to distrust either. Everyone starts neutral in his eyes. He's always quick to the defense of those that need it and is more than happy to socialize and make friends. Though, once he dons the mauled mask, he's almost a different person. Cold, cynical, jaded. He’s seen a lot, and isn’t easily surprised. Of course, while it’s not the most prevalent, Benjamin also suffers from a fair amount of paranoia gained from his night job. He’s always making speculations and deductions, trying to connect one thing to another even if there may seem like there’s no relation at a first glance. He leaves no stone unturned.




‘Happiness comes with a bill’ is what Benjamin’s mom used to occasionally say. He wishes he knew the meaning of those words sooner.

Benjamin Jorglain was born to Ailana and Jack Jorglain, a wealthy pair of individuals who ran an alcohol brewing business in New Orleans. The Jorglain couple was always considered mysterious by many, as they built their wealth on an alcohol business…yet no one knew where they got the money to start it. There were even investigations opened on the subject, but they all turned up nothing. Des[ite the scrutiny upon their family, Ailana and Benjamin worked tirelessly to give Benjamin the best life that they could. From the moment he was born he had all the best. The best diapers, the best toys, even the best bath soap. This extended even further as he got older. He went to the best private school in the entire state and was never short on spending money as long as he got decent grades, which was never a problem with the eidetic memory he inherited from his parents.

It was due to all this that most of Benjamin’s childhood was a breeze. He was free of worries save for tests, girls and average school drama. Yet he never let himself get spoiled. He always saw himself as being born in the right place, which wasn’t something that made him better than anyone else. Even to this day, he longs for such simplicity once more.

One night, he saw his parents leaving the house to make their way out into the swamp, taking a goat with them. He found it odd that they were going into the swamp at night. They always told him not to because of the gators.

His life only seemed to get stranger in his household after that incident. Within the next two years his parents seemed to get more paranoid and distant. Where they had previously been close as can be, his parents now spent all their time hiding in their room while speaking in hushed whispers. Benjamin could never make out what they were saying. This went on for two years until Benjamin finally confronted his mother. The words she spoke in response to his demands for an explanation are forever etched in his mind. ‘There’s…..there’s a bill we need to pay’.

That bill arrived the next day in a way Benjamin could have never predicted. He arrived home from school to find his family’s estate in flames. After calling the police, he ran into the building to find his family. In a slurry of adrenaline and desperation, he was able to move aside the fallen rubble and support beams. After fighting his way through the burning ruin that his home was becoming, he finally arrived at his parent’s room. He kicked open the locked door to find the fire’s source on the other side. A being made of flames with glowing black eyes was floating only a few feet off of the ground, two charred bodies in the burning bed behind it. It’s hissing voice assaulted his mind as it spoke to him telepathically. “You were not born when the deal was made, thus you are exempt. What a lucky child.” It then disappeared in an explosion of flames that brought the ceiling down upon Benjamin.

The next thing Benjamin remembered is waking up in the hospital, the white ceiling above him. Everything he knew was gone within the span of a few hours.

Following the incident, he received a sizable inheritance from his parents. He used this to move out as fast as he could. He couldn’t stand staying in New Orleans after what happened. No one believed him when he tried to tell them, and many tried to send him to an institution...But he knew what he saw. With no home to return to at 18 years old, he began traveling the world with the money he had inherited in what most suspect to be a slurry of parties and alcohol consumption to drown the miseries of his loss. It was that at the start. Though no matter of alcohol quelled his rage. His need for retribution. He found himself not only paying for classes in the martial arts, but also researching the occult. Soon enough, he went off of the radar as preparing, and searching for how to get revenge consumed his life. The next six years were spent training his body and sharpening his mind to the darkness that lurked in the shadows of society. He learned more than the average human would ever find out, and even knows how to put some of that knowledge to use. Despite all his searching however, he still seeks the thread that will lead him to finally lay his parents at ease.



Rune Carving: In his studies, Benjamin learned to write runes of power. These runes are of the elder language, and take a unique effect when activated. To the normal human gaze, these runes are impossible to comprehend and staring at them for an extended amount of time can cause headaches and irrational paranoia for the uninitiated.

P̴̦̯̓̓͆̚͜ų̶̮͓̑̌̒̆ͅl̷̳̕s̸̼͍͕̯̈́̚ĕ̷̹̳̾͠͝ : A simple rune which causes a kinetic pulse of energy upon activation. Factors of this pulse are able to be lightly controlled upon activation by the activator’s mind. These factors being the direction of the pulse from where the rune is centered and whether the pulse is an explosion or implosion. Placing multiple runes in the same spot increases the pulse intensity.

P̸̩̎o̸̞̿w̸̪͐ĕ̶̦ṛ̷͗ ̴̲̕V̵̻̊o̷͚͝ī̷̘d̷̖͘:̷̗̈́ : A rune which, like much eldritch natured things, is the bane of technology. Whenever activated, this rune temporarily neutralizes all the technology within a small radius of it. Oddly, the energy that shuts down the technology isn’t electromagnetic, and isn’t able to be picked up by tech.

B̴̲̱̏ă̸̼̐r̸̻͎͌r̷͎͍͑ỉ̴̭̎ȅ̵̃͜r̷̖͆ : This rune produces a square shaped kinetic barrier of green energy from the point that the rune is activated. From there, the barrier will move with the rune wherever it goes, effectively creating a deployable shield.

V̴̜̾e̷̩͛i̷͙̇ḻ̴́ : A rune that releases a cloud of smoke from the point of activation. Simple but versatile.



Forbidden Knowledge: Benjamin has traveled further into the black sea of infinity than men are meant to. He has learned things that make the human mind tremble with unease and incomprehension. Due to extended study, Benjamin has formed a certain tolerance. Though that only takes him so far. Repeated use of these runes weighs on his mind, causing headaches and migraines. Using the runes further past this point can lead to hallucinations and delusions. In order to make these things cease, he must go without using the runes for a bit until his mind calms down and the tremors caused by the forbidden knowledge stop rattling his mind.

Emotional Turmoil: In order for his runes to work properly, Benjamin needs to be calmed and focused. The runes have a chance of misfiring, going haywire, or fizzling out completely when Benjamin doesn't retain a cool head.


Deck of Cards: A simple deck of cards he uses to draw his runes upon to use as traps and for whatever other purposes he can think of.

Gumballs: He always keeps these on his person, as they are excellent for drawing runes upon and throwing to create ranged attacks.

Aztec Death Whistle: Particularly effective against any supernatural beings of the Americas. Benjamin doesn’t know why this is. If he were to guess, it’s because the noise imitates something so ancient and terrible that it even gives the great wendigo pause. Perhaps that was why the Aztecs used it. As to what could be so monstrous as to strike hesitation into a wendigo? Benjamin isn’t sure he wants to find out. This has no effect on supernatural beings that are not from the Americas.

Blessed Knuckles: A plain old pair of brass knuckles. Benjamin carried them along for self protection in his studies and got them blessed and enhanced with every supernatural creature bane that he could find. So far, he punches them and it hurts them more than just his fist would, so he figures that was the right call. Not to mention the burn mark it leaves. However, it's only a normal pair of brass knuckles when used against humans.

Rune Gloves: A simple makeshift design, these gloves have a circle of whiteboard textured plastic in the palm region to be drawn upon while the fingers have eraser material so whatever is drawn can be quickly erased. The rest of the glove is simple leather.

The Mauled Mask: The metal alloy mask he wears. It’s lightweight so as to be easily worn, and covers his head from all sides in order to protect his skull. However, the mask provides more protection than just physical. Much like the knuckles, this mask is magically enhanced through rituals and blessings to counteract any mind altering supernatural effects such as perception manipulation, drowsiness, illusions, etc. It is not immune to casted magic such as spells or incantations. Only the natural effects caused by supernatural beings themselves or being in the vicinity thereof.  

Rune Bullets: For when Benjamin believes a firearm is needed against the supernatural threat he faces, he's got a few magazines on his person filled with bullets that have his runes carved into them. What type of bullet exactly shifts depending on what the weapon he's brought with him chambers, but the bullets always have an even mixture of all his applicable runes carved into them. Current applicable runes are Pulse and Power Void.

N/A

Fighter: Though he’s not superhuman, Benjamin is trained in various forms of martial arts from around the countries that he has traveled in order to further increase his chances of success against whatever it may be that he ends up encountering during his night job.

Firearms Training: Though he doesn't kill humans, there are plenty of threats Benjamin has no hope against without a firearm. He's taken a myriad of shooting classes to keep sharp should he run into something that requires the use of a gun.

Parkour: Yet another thing he’s trained himself in, there won’t always be a clear path of escape if he needs to run. Thus, he has trained in how to traverse any environment he finds himself within in order to bolster his chances of survival. It also pairs well with his runes and martial art abilities.

Investigative Skills: Benjamin, since the supernatural isn’t easily found, has come to be a proficient tracker over the years. He’s able to take the details of the environment and form a trail he can follow much like a real detective would. However, his way is much more erratic due to the leaps of logic he has to make in order to properly scan a supernatural crime scene. It makes normal crime scenes easy to read by comparison.



Colorado Denver. A beautiful city with breathtaking scenery, be it man made skyscrapers or the natural mountains in the distance. However, no matter how populated by the progress of humanity this place was, it was still wild. Sure, one didn’t see wild moose or buffalo roaming free…But nature had a different side to it. One that was more wild and ancient than any animal would ever be.

In the shadows casted by the pitch black Colorado night, the Artificer rested against the wall in an alley. Where most heroes would brood atop a skyscraper, he had a different thought process. In his line of work, he wasn’t going to see anything of worth just by hanging out on top of a building. His targets awaited on the ground level, lurking in the ever present shadows. The things he hunted weren’t in the mainstream news. No, they were in seedy market tabloids and gossip magazines. Sightings no one believed, haunted house stories and old unsolved crimes. He found half the time that they were more truthful than people gave them credit for.

His target tonight? The very place this alley led to. An abandoned apartment complex. After having taken a moment to mentally prepare himself once more, he makes his way to the other side of the alley to arrive at the empty black parking lot of the apartment complex. It was a sizable complex consisting of five floors. It would take him an eternity to search the place. Luckily, he didn’t need to. He only needed to give what was in there a little scare. He pulls the old Aztec death whistle from the belt at his side and blows into it, that horrid screech echoing across the parking lot.

After a moment or two of silence, he got a response. He could hear it, panicked shuffling on the third floor. Claws scraping the rotting hardwood. With the location of his target acquired, he slips the brass knuckles onto his fingers and pulls a gumball with a pulse rune drawn on it into his left hand. It was time to hunt.