Pseudo Slayers

Meetings all day today, so here is a post I had ready a while back.
I have used this in my own Ghosts of Albion games as a way to introduce slayers without the ick factor that later came with them.

It is no secret that I hated the "official" explanation for Slayers. It is a thinly veiled gang rape sequence that implies that a woman can not be empowered until after she has been subjected to a defilement by men (see "I Spit on Your Grave" for a glaring example of this, a movie Whedon as discussed in the past).  Sorry, gore-porn doesn't do it for me.  It is also no secret that I also prefer my own "Angelic birthright" explanation ("Every Angel is Terrifying: The Secret and True Origin of the Slayer and Watchers").

But that doesn’t mean I can’t use this for my own purposes. Let’s go with the idea that Slayers are the offspring of Lilith, but the Watchers, in their own hubris and arrogance decided to try to create a Slayer of their own, using the methods seen (well, seen by you all, I won’t watch it) in Season 7. What they produced though was almost, but not quite a Slayer. And if the Watchers tried doing it you can be assured that they were not alone.

Pseudo Slayers

There have been various attempts to re-create the same circumstances that created the Slayer over the last few millennia. Some have met with success, but most have been abject failures. What follows are three different types of pseudo slayers, one created by the hubris of the Watchers, one created as a tool by the Government and a third group as soldiers in a private war.

All pseudo slayers share the same basic abilities of a natural slayer, save for the visions.

Despite the lack of visions slayers and pseudo slayers instantly recognize each other for what they are. There is at least that level of psychic communication to allow that.

How a Slayer deals with a Pseudo Slayer will depend on the Slayer in question.

The Demonic Slayer

This Pseudo-Slayer was created by the machinations and hubris of a group of Watchers. Already believing the lies told to them by the Demon Belial it was not difficult to convince them to try this blasphemy. What transpired here was later recorded in the official records as the "true" version of the Slayer’s origins. But what was not included was the fate of girl they violated.

The demonic Slayer was a normal girl from a local village subjected to attacks by vampires. The Watchers came to the village claiming they could help, but in exchange they needed a young girl. Fear makes people do things they would not normally consider, so the girl was given to them. After the process the Watchers claimed a new Slayer was discovered and she would fight the creatures of the night. And fight she did. It was not so much of a battle as it was a slaughter. Vampires troubled the village no more, but that was only the beginning of the nightmare. The girl became more and more troubled. She was violent, irrational and many times regressed to a state like that of a much younger child. She alternated between periods of being "The Beast" a mindless killing machine that could not tell friend from foe and "The Child" a helpless creature with the mentality of a five year old. The village begged the Watchers to make her right again; to bring back the young woman they had destroyed. They never got the chance. During one of her episodes as "The Child" the Watchers lured her back to place where they had "made" her. In her fear with memories of her pain and suffering flooding back she reverted to "The Beast" and killed them all. The villagers last saw the girl running into the night. Other Watchers came, tried to find her, but in the end took the writings of their dead brethren and returned to their own lands. It is unknown if she is still alive, but reports as late as 1987 has speculated that her conversion process has kept her alive.

Demonic Slayer

Motivation: Kill
Attributes: STR 9, DEX 9, CON 8, INT 1, PER 7, WIL 5
Ability Scores: Muscle 24, Combat 26, Brains 16
Life Points: 97
Abilities: Attractiveness -1, Hard to Kill 5 (total), Slayer* (no obligation, no visions)

Combat
Name Score Damage
Dodge 26 -
Kick 25 20
Punch 26 18
Stake 26 18

The Initiative Slayer

There is an old saying in the halls of Government. Why build one thing, when you can have two at twice the price. The Initiative fully endorsed this principle. While Maggie Walsh’s ADAM project was deemed a categorical failure it did produce positive research gains. These research notes, as well as some Slayer DNA the Initiative acquired lead to their next project. Not a demonic army they could control, but rather a Slayer Army.

Slayer DNA has proven to be outrageously difficult to clone, so adjustments needed to be made with the DNA of various demonic creatures. Based on data obtained by the Bureau, Lilim and Seraph DNA was acquired. After many trials, a viable clone was created.

The clone, named Galatea, appears to be identical to her template, Buffy Summers, with minor augmentations. Her strength and speed have been enhanced. Her biology has been advanced to what has been described as the "Slayer Sweet Spot" of ability, or about 17 years of age. Galatea also has one other difference from Buffy. Galatea’s eyes are blue.

Galatea is aware of Buffy, they are linked on some sub-psychic level, and Buffy may even be aware of her. Currently Galatea is bidding her time, she is still employed by the Initiative (though they consider her "property") but she will make her break from them and her first stop is wherever Buffy Summers is.

(This is al loosely based on the JLU episode "Fearful Symmetry" and an off comment once comparing Buffy to Power Girl. Galatea is of course from Pygmalion).

Initiative Slayer "Galatea"

Motivation: Kill for her country; find Buffy Summers
Attributes: STR 9, DEX 9, CON 8, INT 3, PER 5, WIL 6
Ability Scores: Muscle 24, Combat 26, Brains 20
Life Points: 109
Abilities: Attractiveness +3, Slayer* (no visions, but knows what Buffy knows)

Combat
Name Score Dam
Dodge 26 -
Kick 25 20
Punch 26 18
Stake 26 18

The Thaumaturgic Slayer

Where the Demonic and Initiative Slayers were created as a means for two groups to control the power of the Slayer in some fashion, the Thaumaturic Slayer (also known as the Necromantic Slayer) was created simply as the best tool for a job.

The first group of Thaumaturgic Slayers (they are always created in groups in 4 or 5) were created by a faction of Mages to battle another faction.

The Delor and Animus factions had been fighting each other for unknown centuries. In the latest round of battles the Animus clan had been cursed by the Delor to a "living death"; their elders do not die, but instead persist in a semi-dead state. This is anathema to a group of mages that rely on the spirits of their dead elders to guide them. In turn Animus cursed Delor and Delor sent more undead monsters to fight Animus. As Mages, Animus felt that physical combat was beneath them (as do the Delor), so given that they were being attacked by undead monsters they discovered the means of replicating the Slayer. They take young girls, 15-17, and ritually kill them. They are then reanimated in new bodies made from magic. These new bodies are identical to their own save they are much stronger and faster. The girls are then summoned by agents of Animus to fight the monsters set out by Delor.

As of 2006 the battle has taken a new turn. Delor is now in passion of the magical tome that Animus uses to create their own Slayers. In the last creation five girls in New York City were converted, but one, Lise, was killed and taken by Delor. The other girls, Kate, Rachel, Rose, and Claire, have been converted and know they must battle Delor directly. If they succeed they will be allowed to return to their old lives.

Thaumaturgic Slayer

The thaumaturgic slayer uses same stats as a standard Slayer. While they do not receive visions or prophecies, they are aware of each other and when and where they are needed.
(Note: The Thaumaturgic Slayer is very loosely based on the Anime "Red Garden" and "Red Garden: Dead Girls", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Garden)