31 Days / 31 Characters - BLOODY SUNDAY

This character is an NPC with a rather strange origin, one I admit I may not be remembering accurately. I'll be doing the best I can to recall as much as I can. I created it and have been using it across a variety of different genres and systems since sometime in the 1980s. It's been a while since I've brought it to the table but would like to find a way to do so this coming year. 

Character: Bloody Sunday

AKA: Bloody Sabbath, The Bloody Gentleman, The Bloody Lady, Bloody Mary

Player: Non-Player Character

System(s): Villains and Vigilantes. Stalking The Night Fantastic, Chill, Ghostbusters, Champions, and more.
 
Nature: Numerous Short Campaigns and a handful of Long Campaigns. 

Gamemaster: Adam Dickstein

Circa: The first version of the character appeared in the early 1980s. The last incarnation was probably used around the early-to-mid 2000s. 

Origins: I created the character of Bloody Sunday for a creepy short story I wrote for...some reason. It was most likely a school assignment of some sort. I barely recollect the details except that that character was originally called Bloody Sabbath and the story was focused on the theme of pointless or unnecessary violence. 

That theme remained a key component of the character, who first showed up in an RPG as a supervillain in our Heartland League campaign (mentioned in the previous entry). According to that campaign, the organization known as Intercrime was lead by someone named 'The Crime Lord', only that was a title and not an particular individual. At some point early in the campaign, the then current Crime Lord was murdered and replaced by a mysterious criminal called Bloody Sunday. We would eventually confront him only to discover 'he' was some kind of supernatural entity; essentially the physical incarnation of senseless violence. Weakened by the heroes saving lives and preventing others from taking them, Bloody Sunday flees the scene vowing vengence.

I used the concept of this entity again and again through the years in various, varying its demeanor, appearance, and even its abilities. Some of my favorite versions of Blood Sunday manifested in Comedic Horror games such as Stalking The Night Fantastic and Ghostbusters, always easing off the humor and upping the creepiness. I often portray these incarnations of Bloody Sunday as self-hating and sad, not wanting to be what it is but unable to not be who it is. I know, its sounds a little complicated for what is basically a being of otherwise mindless anger but that's what makes the character more than just another scary monster. 

Backstory: There's been several variants of Bloody Sunday and trying to write up them all would make this entry twice as long as it already will be. What I'll do is split the difference between the versions and give a sort of gestalt of the character. This will be less Comic Book Supervillain and more my preferred way of portraying Bloody Sunday as tortured supernatual being.

American legends and folklore surrounding Bloody Sunday date back to the Revolutionary War but tales of similar spirits abound in many cultures, especially those that would have been present during the early European colonization of North America. In addition to the stories of of American and Mexican Indigenous tribes, ghostly beings in white with blood stained clothing are related by the England, Irish, Germans, and countless others. Bloody Sunday's mythology shares many elements of these other entities but we'll focus on the points unique to itself. 

Bloody Sunday appears during or just after acts of violence considered senseless or extreme. It is especially likely to show up if, for example, soldiers continued fighting after a ceasefire was called. If innocent bystanders or civilians are killed in a conflict between two other parties it is practically a guarantee that the Bloody Sunday entity would manifest. 

If bloodshed could have been avoided but wasn't, expect a visit from this disquieting spectre.

Overview: It has been seen as a male, a female, or an androgynous being, usually around 6 feet tall, finely dressed in quality white garments slightly behind the times (whatever those times may be). Its garments always display blood stains, ranging from a light dappling to being virtually soaked. Some white is always visible however.

The being's facial features are never clear, completely covered in a blend of blood and shadow. Its head is covered in a torn sheet, blanket, or some kind of tattered hat. The phantom leaves behind proof of its passing (though doesn't if it doesn't wish too), most commonly drops of blood or bloodied footprints. It moves very quietly when it wishes to and rarely speaks. When it does, its voice is low, raspy,  and laced with sorrow and anger. 

When Bloody Sunday is present, it attempts to make bad situations worse. It will spur on or antagonize the most short-tempered, violent people present in an attempt to cause even more fighting and death. It rarely goes into battle itself, prefering to generate violent acts and chaos while fading into the background.

Such conditions do empower it however and if directly attacked by anyone capable of doing so - other supernatural entities or those with weapons that can hit ghostly beings - Bloody Sunday will engage opponents with the goal of getting away as quickly as possible. Apparently, Bloody Sunday gains nothing from causing pain and injury on its own. 

The entity possesses incredible strength and speed, made greater by the amount of bloodshed and violence that has recently occurred [or is currently happening]. It has thrown individuals across parking lots and smashed other straight through car doors but has never be seen lifting a car, so its exact level of might remains in question. As implied above, it can not be harmed by physical hits or conventional weapons but only other paranormal beings and/or attacks specifically designed to effect such beings (such as certain Magic Spells, the Ghostbusters' Particle Streams, etc.). Once it gets far enough away from its opponents - say 50 ft. or more - Bloody Sunday will disappear, rapidly fading from sight. 

The Highlights:

A rash of very brutual turf wars between various New York street gangs was getting out of hand and starting to spill out into the surrounding neighborhoods and threatening common citizens. Bureau 13, a super-secret organization dedicated to protecting people from supernatural and paranormal dangers, is called in to investigate a possible unnatural cause for what was happening. After a few days of looking into the problem, the Bureau 13 Agents encountered evidence and references to the Bloody Sunday entity, soon after coming into direct contact with it.

Using a combination of occult items and paranatural abilities, a few of the Agents delayed the entity (and got their butts kicked pretty badly) as the remaining members of their team talked the gangbangers out of continuing their foolish conflict. It was a truly heart felt speech by one of the Bureau 13 operatives who was in a gang himself as a young boy and appealed to the thugs sense of family and community in a way most outsiders wouldn't relate to. Bloody Sunday got less and less powerful and eventually departed by disappearing before the Agents' eyes.

The Ghostbusters appearance of Bloody Sunday was awesome as I remember but I can't picture the details and specifics. There was humor in the way the PCs interacted with each other and with this being, at least initially, but the overall narrative was actually serious and spooky. 

Game Info:

I don't have any of the write-ups for this character (think I lost them in a transfer of files to a new computer long ago). Instead, I did a new information sheet using my homebrewed Ghostbusters kitbash (combining Ghostbusters, InSpectres, and ALIEN's Year Zero system).

Notes:

I think of this character as falling into the same [or into a very similar] category as The Red Rider. I have a few of these. Hmm. For a guy who isn't really into the Horror genre, I definitely have some spooky NPCs, no?

What makes this character interesting and cool in my personal opinion is how the players and their PCs deal with him. With the right group, Bloody Sunday can generate some intense moments and fantastic dialogue. With a more traditional party of hack-and-slash types, this character is either wasted or - if you are a particularly evil GM - their activities would result in making the entity incredibly powerful. Imagine setting up situations where the PCs could talk their way out of them but resort to violence instead. When they finally encounter Bloody Sunday they'd be facing off against an extremely dangerous opponent indeed.  

Legacy:

It's been quite a while since I've made use of this character but I'd love to put him in effect in a game of InSane, Castle in Gray, or other Japanese Horror RPGs. 

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