Carlos
Carlos's Vitals
Name: Carlos Estefan de Morales
Race: Human
Shortdesc: Average height/build, Latino, mustache and goatee.
Position: Chicago PD. Fugitive Apprehension Unit Detective.
Fame: A newly minted detective.
Temperament: Level, polite, professional. Hard to get a rise out of.
Themesong: Goodnight Moon - Shivaree
Eric Balfour as Carlos Estefan de Morales
Carlos.jpg

Info

WARNING: This information should be considered OOC Knowledge unless one has the IC means to access it.

General: New in town, possibly in law enforcement of one kind or another.

Faith: A devout worshiper who attends mass on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, work permitting. Seems to be looking for the right church.

Occult: Related to Zelio de Morales, founder of the Umbana faith. Generally considered a South American 'power' family in mystic circles.

Police: New Detective in the Fugitive Fugitive Apprehension Unit, seven years as a patrol cop in Miami.

Carlos Estefan de Moraes is the grand-nephew of the founder of the syncretic Afro-Brazilian faith that he called Umbanda. Growing up in the shadow of a latter-day prophet was certainly an experience that shaped the way Carlos thought and put him down the road of his faith and to this day, some of Zélio de Morales’s inner circle believe that Carlos should have followed in the great man’s footsteps and assumed a leadership position in the faith.
Carlos was raised in Umbanda, a faith related to such spiritual practices as Santeria and Candomble but incorporating a heavier influence of 19th century Spiritualism and a loose form of Catholic belief by virtue of having parents who were tasked to bring the religion to the United States before he was born. His training was both extensive and catholic (small c), in that he was exposed to the traditions and rituals of many faiths and cults, thanks to the emphasis on syncretism in his own religion.

Unfortunately, while Carlos is absolutely devout to his faith and his personal patron of Omolu, the god of death, disease and healing, to whom he has felt a powerful connection since childhood, he does not feel he was called to be a priest primarily but rather to serve as a protector and avenger of those who die an unnatural death, especially by supernatural means.

While some with a similar vocation might decide to step outside the law, Carlos has decided to embrace it, instead. He was raised American. And if his religion is strange compared to the average citizen’s, well, unlike Christianity, Unbandans aren’t required to proselytize or recruit. Those who should come to the spirits will, if a priest is available to them. Part of his American identity is a belief in the justice system and a strong moral code that tells him that men (and monsters) should not kill. Such decisions belong to the greater spirits, the Orixas and God himself.

Thus after college, (where he barely scraped by, unfortunately) he enrolled in the Police Academy in Miami. After several years as a beat cop there, he began to feel that his career was limited where he was and cast auguries that led him to apply to be a police detective in Chicago. The occult underground suggests that the city could use some help.

Faithful – Umbanda.

Think of this faith as ‘Voodoo light’. Umbandans are specifically forbidden from using live animals as sacrifices, playing with blood or other bodily fluids for religious purposes or enacting some of the more wild and colorful rituals of the faith’s other Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Caribbean cousins, like Voodoo and Santeria. If Santeria is the Baptist analog of Afro-centric syncretic faiths, Umbanda would be the Church of England.

Umbandans believe in not only God and the Orixa (Orisha) but in both reincarnation and a spirit world like that of the Theosophists and Spiritualists of European and North American belief in the late 19th and early 20th century. In effect, ghosts and spirits are a part of their religion and when a Umbandan person of preternatural Faith draws upon their faith, the ghosts are usually the ones who answer.

Attention from the Orixa is rare and almost always double-edged. In practical game terms, this basically means you just replace generic ‘angels’ or ‘small gods’ with generic ‘dead people’ and flavor text to match.

Cnotes

Omolu, Babalu Aye, etc. is Carlos's personal patron spirit and intercessor with the most Divine. He's also the patron god of death, disease and madness. But with proper reverence, he's also the god who can help with getting rid of those problems. One doesn't so much worship Omolu as appease him, with offerings of food and lengthy prayers praising his wisdom and begging that he spare we poor, pathetic mortals when he can.

In general, this tends to take up at least an hour of Carlos's day, with protection being sought with the dawn and absolution at midnight. This is addition to attending Catholic mass several times a week and obeying the rituals and rules thereof, since Umbandans see themselves as Catholic Plus, rather than something else entirely. They just don't share that opinion with the Catholic priests as a general rule.

In Carlos's case, Omolu has a very personal interest and will occasionally send him portents and visions to guide Carlos to investigate a preternatural crime or just a death or disease of preternatural origin that offends him. The only appropriate answer to this calling is 'yes'. Anything else starts a string of bad luck and escalating catastrophe ranging from mild colds and disorientation all the way to major illness and full on madness that will only abate when Omolu is satisfied. The same thing can happen if the Orixa believes his human servant is dragging his feet about fixing the problem.

While going about Omolu's business (which is to say dealing Preternatural events or beings who are threatening human life), Carlos may draw upon his faith by means of showing his cross and chanting the ritual prayers and invocations to the Saints and Orixas, with specific entreaty to Omolu himself.

Carlos can add 1dfaith to his effective skill for the purpose of a medical roll to combat preternatural infection, curse or damage inflicted by preternatural means upon a human being. This is straight up faith healing. Not instant or flashy but it can repair damage that conventional medical science could not. (No regeneration of lost bits, though. And it will not work on Preters. Omolu doesn't care if they live or die.)

Carlos can add 1dfaith to his Summoning rolls (both the invocation and control) if he calling on the spirits of the dead or even a lesser Orixa to help stop somebody from being harmed by preternatural means or beings. If in Omolu's opinion the use of this Summoning is frivolous, however (IE: the staffer running the scene thinks so), Carlos immediately takes 1dfaith drain AND the spirit summoned is considered to be hostile to Carlos (and only Carlos, unless somebody tries to get in its way.)

Blessed silver cross (under his shirt), badge and ID from Chicago PD, Glock 19 with 2 ammo clips, (1 silver, not usually loaded), handcuffs, cell phone, and netbook. In dangerous situations with foreknowledge of same, a bullet-proof vest and tactical helmet can be added to that.

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