Character Base

• Character Name: White Mask Varré
• Age: Adult, probably hasn't slept in 18+ years
• Canon (Date/Year Released)/Canon Point: Elden Ring (25 Feb 2022)/Character plot end
• Items Coming Along:
- A sacred flask, which can be used to restore health or magic, depending on how it's prepared. As an NPC, Varré only has one charge.
- His clothes, composed of a war surgeon's uniform, toolbelt, and mask. The mask "enlivens the wearer when bloodletting occurs".
- 6 Festering Bloody Fingers, which can be used up by others to grant them the power to invade (see Canon Powers section).
- Rose hips from a bloodrose plant. They contain viable bloodrose seeds, or can be used to make medicinal or harmful concoctions.
- His hammer, shaped like a charming bouquet of roses.
- A formless sacred seal, used for channeling magical incantations. It doesn't physically exist, but it takes up an inventory slot so it still counts as an item.

• Content Warnings for Character: Blood, gore (esp. finger trauma), death, kidnapping, cult indoctrination, mention of an abusive one-sided relationship between two other characters.

Character Background

• History: The wikis are very focused on mechanics rather than character, so I'll do my best to summarize. Spoilers for Elden Ring below.

Varré was a war surgeon in one of the armies that fought for control of the Lands Between, following the breaking of the Elden Ring. As the demigods sunk deeper into madness, blasphemy, and rot, the role of a surgeon became one of final mercy: Find the injured, friend or foe, and kill them. Varré acted in this capacity for an unknown length of time, before he and at least three other war surgeons were abducted by the Lord of Blood.

Mohg was a demigod Omen, cursed from birth. He sought to legitimize his claim to power through two ways: contact with an Outer God who set his cursed blood aflame, and beginning a new dynasty by abducting his sleeping half-brother, Miquella, an Empyrean capable of ascending to full godhood.

The war surgeons were exposed to Mohg's cursed blood, but none of them were able to tame it, except Varré. He became a devoted follower of Mohg's cult, acting as one of its agents. Among other duties, he found sacrifices and converts for the Mohgwyn Dynasty. One day, Miquella would awaken, and the cult would be summoned to usher in the new dynasty, basking in their triumph and the love of their patrons.

At some point, the reigning Golden Order faith called for the exiled Tarnished to return to the Lands Between, kill the demigods, take their shards of the Elden Ring, and reforge it within the Erdtree, becoming the next Elden Lord and consort to the god-queen Marika. Varré took up a prime location along the path to Stormveil Castle, the home of the weakest extant shardbearer. Pretending to be a faithful adherent of the Golden Order, he directed passing Tarnished to the castle, assessing their suitability.

When one suspiciously player shaped Tarnished crawled out of a nearby tomb, he initially dismissed them with some degree of amusement--they were Maidenless, unable to access the strength of runes. He directed them onwards anyway. And somehow, they succeeded. They killed the shardbearer, and gained an audience with the Two Fingers, the strange intercessor for the Greater Will of the Golden Order. The Tarnished was taken aback by the Two Fingers' decrepit appearance, as Varré had hoped--their willingness to doubt the Golden Order made them a potential recruit, and a strangely compelling one.

The Tarnished passed further trials by attacking three fellow Tarnished, and Varré bent the rules on their behalf--maidenless as they were, they still seemed worthy to be elevated as a knight of the new dynasty.

Varré happily anointed them by injecting cursed blood into one of the Tarnished's fingers, marking them as one of the cult. They were given a medal that would allow them to answer that long-promised summons, on the eve of the new Mohgwyn Dynasty. They would just have to wait until that day.

For unknown reasons, the Tarnished did not wait. They entered the cult's sanctum, and found Varré. This betrayal came as a shock, but he attacked them for the tresspass. They mortally wounded him. As he lay dying, he pleaded for Mohg to grant him the strength that had been promised. He received no answer. Despite this, his last words were a prayer to bless the Mohgwyn Dynasty.

• Core Relationships: Varré is an extremely lonely and emotionally unbalanced man, as per usual for a FromSoft character. His most important ties are to Mohg, to whom he has sacrificed everything. Mohg's forces kidnapped him, but he's since been thoroughly indoctrinated, a true believer who's especially latched onto the promises of love that Mohg has made. However, Mohg is completely focused on Miquella, and the continuing delay on the Empyrean's awakening certainly seems to be taking its toll on Varré.

His fixations carry over to his other core relationship to the Tarnished--while others who want something from the player usually speak in terms of power and influence, Varré talks of love. He very quickly latches onto the Tarnished once he realizes they might potentially join the cult one day, calling them a pet name well before they've even been inducted. He doesn't take rejection well either--he's quite caustic if the player rejects his offer to join the cult, though he will accept someone who changes their mind. He considers the Tarnished to be "lowborn", likely because they aren't marked by cursed Omen blood like Mohg, nor as thoroughly inoculated with it as Varré is.

One should note that while in English he calls the Tarnished "my lambkin", in the Japanese script the words used are "watashi no anata", a term of endearment used by wives to refer to their spouse. Varré seems desperate for connection with others, but has no sane outlet for that desire.

Character Personality Through Key Moments

(2+) Positive Experiences:
Varré is a canny individual. While it's fairly obvious he wants something from the Tarnished, he hides his affiliation well. There's a fair chance that a player might not ever learn he's part of the cult, if you exclusively answer his questions in ways that signal you're devoted to the Golden Order. He'll respond in kind, and send you on your way.

Varré is devoted to his calling. He's found something that gives him purpose and the promise of something better in the decaying hellscape that is your average FromSoft game, and he's determined to make it work. Is this folly? Almost certainly, again, it's FromSoft. But it's a stark contrast compared to most people in the Lands Between. He hasn't lost his sense of self, or (most of) his sanity. He's still lucid and focused on a goal, which is no mean feat.

(2+) Negative Experiences:

Varré can be merciless in conversation, combat, and cult recruitment. And of course, a cultish atmosphere tends to bring out manipulative sides of people. If sufficiently motivated, Varré will say whatever will get people to act the way he wants. Otherwise, he's notably sharp-tongued, both in his first assessment of the Tarnished, and if you refuse his offer to join the cult. War surgeons were known for meting "charitable" quick deaths, with no discrimination between friend and foe. And as a cultist of the Blood Lord, Varré obviously delights in the pain he inflicts as part of his work. It's holy, as far as he's concerned. Intimate, even.

Varré is also pretty obviously lonely, and not handling it well. Mohg has promised a lot of emotional fulfillment, which Varré seems desperate for. He latches onto the player very quickly, though his focus is still on Mohg. He was made to feel special, but he's not really treated that way... and he's choosing to ignore it.

Deer Country Attributes

• Canon Powers: Varré's canon powers are going to be complemented by his blood type, as he's basically already experienced blood ministration with the local equivalent of Vileblood.

Most of the following powers would not immediately be available to him upon arrival, as Varré will not be able to draw power from his cult's Outer God patron, or from the Omen blood of Mohg. As per an answered question by one of the mod team, Varré will either have to figure out how to recreate the effect with local blood magic, or find a minor Pthumerian who can grant equivalent powers. Those powers he can access from day one will be specifically mentioned below.
Varré can cast three incantations with frankly terrifying speed. I wish my character's dexterity was as high as his.
Catch Flame- Your standard FromSoft short-range pyromancy. Can be chain-cast following another action. This will be immediately available upon arrival.
Bloodflame Blade- engulfs a weapon in bloodflame, which adds extra hemorrhage buildup. Can be cast while in motion. This can likely be accomplished through Deer Country blood magic.
Swarm of Flies- Creates a short-lived swarm of bloodflies that fly towards a target. If they connect, they deal damage and build up blood loss. Can be cast while in motion. I honestly don't know if this counts something Varré can do unassisted, so I'm going to lean towards no, this will take some blood magic fiddling.

And finally, a power he will definitely need Pthumerian assistance for: As a Mohgwyn Dynasty cultist, Varré has been granted a Bloody Finger--an infusion of cursed blessed blood that permits him to enable PvP evade the barriers set by the Two Fingers, which would usually keep most people from interacting with or attacking each other in the Lands Between. While this power usually selects a random target, it can occasionally be used against specific individuals, as demonstrated by Varré's own invasion and death at the hands of the Tarnished.

Functionally, this means that if Varré has a valid target and is within the same general vicinity in 3D space, then he can sidestep any barrier of distance or higher-dimensional separation. He appears in the general vicinity of his target, in a semi-spectral form, rising out of a small pool of blood. Because he's very on-theme like that. Additionally, when he's used this capability to target someone, he gains a general idea of where they are.

This power does not actually teleport him anywhere--while his real body is inaccessible for the duration, he has to return to it if he wants to leave the area. Once he's killed his target, been defeated himself, severs the connection, or the connection is severed by the target, he returns to the place where he started. As a final note: While an invading player character gets reset on defeat, NPCs usually do not, and are considered dead. However, there are some exceptions, and some lore reasons to believe that the deaths are really just a matter of perspective. In this essay, I will--
• Blood Type: Vileblood. How can I turn down blood that smells like flowers for Varré?
• Omen: Mohg A crow with teeth.
• Blessed Day: 25th February, the day of Elden Ring's release, and marks the day Varré's lines were altered to no longer tell players "feel free to go and die in a ditch somewhere," as he did in the beta test.
• Patron Pthumerian: The Doorway. Again, roses! Relationships! It's perfect for this terrible man. However, he's going to remain faithful to his Lord.
• Blood Power Manifestation: Varré has a canonically exceptional talent for taming cursed blood, and so the manifestation of his vileblood will mean an affinity for blood ministration. His methods aren't necessarily kind, but they are effective. He advises his patients to, quote, "clench their teeth or something."

Writing Samples

One: His TL in the TDM, bouncing off five different characters. For two different moods, please consider his interactions with Himiko (CW blood, cult indoctrination) and with D (CW blood, death, kidnapping, torture, body horror, self harm, blood drinking).
Two: Just in case, Tagging Shen Yuan on the TDM (CW blood, cult indoctrination, oblique mention of Mohg's whole creepy deal with Miquella).

The Player

• Player Name: Spider
• Player Age: Old enough to have been active in LiveJournal rp in high school. Old enough to have read my first fanfic on a Pokémon GeoCities fan page.
• Player Contact: CellarSpider#9984 or PaleAntiquarian
• Permissions: Here.

((Feel free to start a thread, either following the starter below or with your own. If we're not acquainted, please drop me a message via DMs or at CellarSpider#9984. Visual aids are provided for those who are unfamiliar with Elden Ring, and I'm happy to give more information as desired.))

Its omnipresence was still daunting.

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