Doctor Phineas
The stories always start the same way. A settlement has a problem. Something crawling out of the Mortis Amaranthine, something that local Graverobbers cannot handle, something that keeps getting worse. Then a figure arrives: brown and black robes, a plague doctor's mask with hollow eye sockets, loose clothing that hides every identifying detail of the body underneath. Doctor Phineas. No one knows when they got there. No one saw them arrive.
Phineas has been part of Murder Inc for nearly as long as the organization has existed. That alone should tell you something. In a world where killers are killed regularly, where the grave reclaims everyone eventually, Phineas endures. They have been spotted along the east coast, in the deep south, in the western reaches of the wastes. They appear where they are needed and vanish when the work is done.
What makes the Doctor unusual among Murder Inc legends is the method. Phineas does not kill, at least not as a first resort. They teach. When a town is drowning in Mortis Amaranthine activity, Phineas guides the people there to fix it themselves: showing techniques, correcting approaches, standing back while others do the work. Only when the situation demands it do those robed hands get dirty. The restraint is deliberate. Phineas understands that a settlement that learns to solve its own problems survives longer than one that depends on a savior.
But Phineas does not only appear for the Mortis. Manufactured plagues, city-killing technology, cult leaders whose influence could twist entire regions: where the threat is large enough to warrant the attention of the Watch of the Bone Chapel, the plague doctor is likely already there, watching from the periphery.
No one knows what Phineas looks like. Lascarian, some say, pointing to the covered skin. Pure Blood, say others, citing the quiet authority. Merican, say a third camp, because who else would do this out of sheer stubborn principle? The mask says nothing. The robes reveal less. The Doctor keeps their secrets the way they keep everything: completely.
Phineas has been part of Murder Inc for nearly as long as the organization has existed. That alone should tell you something. In a world where killers are killed regularly, where the grave reclaims everyone eventually, Phineas endures. They have been spotted along the east coast, in the deep south, in the western reaches of the wastes. They appear where they are needed and vanish when the work is done.
What makes the Doctor unusual among Murder Inc legends is the method. Phineas does not kill, at least not as a first resort. They teach. When a town is drowning in Mortis Amaranthine activity, Phineas guides the people there to fix it themselves: showing techniques, correcting approaches, standing back while others do the work. Only when the situation demands it do those robed hands get dirty. The restraint is deliberate. Phineas understands that a settlement that learns to solve its own problems survives longer than one that depends on a savior.
But Phineas does not only appear for the Mortis. Manufactured plagues, city-killing technology, cult leaders whose influence could twist entire regions: where the threat is large enough to warrant the attention of the Watch of the Bone Chapel, the plague doctor is likely already there, watching from the periphery.
No one knows what Phineas looks like. Lascarian, some say, pointing to the covered skin. Pure Blood, say others, citing the quiet authority. Merican, say a third camp, because who else would do this out of sheer stubborn principle? The mask says nothing. The robes reveal less. The Doctor keeps their secrets the way they keep everything: completely.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Doctor Phineas has existed for nearly as long as Murder Inc itself. No one can say with certainty what Strain they are. Some claim Phineas is a Lascarian, which would explain the full-body concealment beneath the plague doctor's mask and brown-black robes. Others say they are a Pure Blood with family influence. Still others insist they are a Merican who simply wants to do what is right. The truth remains hidden behind loose clothing that obscures build, height, and skin.
Phineas wanders the wasteland as a member of the Watch of the Bone Chapel, appearing wherever the Mortis Amaranthine threatens or wasteland-scale dangers emerge: manufactured diseases that could kill thousands, technologies that could destroy cities, cult leaders who have accumulated too much power. Their approach is that of a teacher, not a soldier. Phineas guides town members through solving their own problems and steps in only when absolutely necessary. Recent sightings have placed them along the east coast, but they are equally likely to appear in the deep south or western wastes.
Phineas wanders the wasteland as a member of the Watch of the Bone Chapel, appearing wherever the Mortis Amaranthine threatens or wasteland-scale dangers emerge: manufactured diseases that could kill thousands, technologies that could destroy cities, cult leaders who have accumulated too much power. Their approach is that of a teacher, not a soldier. Phineas guides town members through solving their own problems and steps in only when absolutely necessary. Recent sightings have placed them along the east coast, but they are equally likely to appear in the deep south or western wastes.
Ancient wandering Graverobber of the Bone Chapel. The plague doctor who appears wherever the grave threatens to swallow everything.
Children
