Tobias "The Hobo King" Blackbriar - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know

Appearance

When mortals look upon the Hobo King’s Mask, they see a short man (5 feet, 10 inches) of relatively stocky build and slightly stooped posture. At first glance, he seems to be in his late fifties or early sixties (he’s actually in his forties), giving him a somewhat grandfatherly appearance. Tobias has unkempt brownish-gray hair, a wildly bushy beard, a wide forehead, and dull green eyes the color of old dollar bills. Courtesy of living outdoors, his hands are rough and calloused, and his skin tanned and weather-beaten. He’s in a perpetually filthy state – his face smudged with grime, dirt under his fingernails, and an odor like a landfill. He dresses in fouled, patchwork clothing, a raggedy gray overcoat, gloves with finger holes, and mismatched shoes. As befitting a king, Tobias sports a crown and scepter (a Burger King crown and a piece of a curtain rod), travels in a chariot (a shopping cart that he pushes, not rides), and has a throne of crates from which he delivers his royal proclamations to the masses.

Tobias is a Fatemaker. His mien is that of a man with skin of coarse parchment the color of beach sand. Inscribed upon his paper-hide is a confounding jumble of gold-hued script that covers every inch of his body like an extensive network of tattoos. Those who attempt to decipher the unintelligible writing will note, paradoxically, that the characters reflect no known human language – and every human language – simultaneously. The writing is normally static, unless the Hobo King employs his Talecrafting ability. Any successful manipulation of Fate causes the writing to writhe and glide across Tobias’ mien as though attempting to break free of his skin, and each character within the writing glimmers with an inner light. Every movement of his body produces a sound like the rustling of leaves, and his voice has the quality of crumpling paper. Those standing close to him will occasionally catch a faint whiff of ink or musty parchment.

 

Background

Tobias Blackbriar was born Montgomery Tobias King in Great Falls, Ohio on October 15^th, 1969. Born into a well-to-do family of local politicians, Toby lived a life of privilege in an upscale Ohio suburb. He enjoyed all the perks of growing up rich and connected, going to the best schools and partying at the swankiest digs high society had to offer. After college, Tobias applied to and was accepted into the prestigious postgrad program at the Ohio State Law School. His intentions were to eventually start his own law firm in Great Falls and continue bringing pride to the King family name.

However, things didn’t work out quite as planned. On a moonlit night in 1992, one year into his law degree, Tobias was abruptly stolen away from his campus by the True Fae and dragged to Arcadia. Long story short, he spent the next decade in the keeping of an inscrutable Gentry who he came to refer to as The Yawning Void (see The Durance below). As with other Lost, Tobias was fortunate enough to finally escape his Keeper, surviving a dangerous trek through the Hedge and back to the mortal world.   

Tobias arrived back in Great Falls within a derelict train yard inhabited by the homeless. Collapsing from exhaustion and half-mad with fright, the newly freed changeling would likely have died were it not for the tender mercies of the local hobos who shared with him their food, water, and blankets. Tobias endured the next month curled up inside a boxcar, terrified that his Keeper would come to retrieve him. It was during this dark and confusing time that Tobias discovered the extent to which his experiences in Faerie had changed him. He was no longer human; the transformation he’d undergone in Arcadia stayed with him in the mortal world. He was now a man seemingly made of paper, and his time away had aged him by nearly three decades.

When it finally seemed apparent that his Keeper wasn’t coming, Tobias worked up the courage to leave the train yard and contact his family. He returned to his family’s estate, but was shocked by what he found there. From a distance, he observed his family in the presence of another Tobias – a man who looked exactly like him, but wasn’t. Though the changeling didn’t understand it at the time, he’d just witnessed his own Fetch. Unsettled and afraid, he retreated away to decide his next course of action.   

Tobias spent several weeks surveilling this faux Tobias or “Fauxbias” around Great Falls. The imposter appeared to be living the mortal life that had been meant for Tobias, which included marrying Tobias’ college sweetheart, starting a family, finishing law school, and even opening his own legal practice (King & Associates). The creature was a perfect copy. It didn’t take long for Tobias to determine that Fauxbias was some form of magical replacement left by the True Fae. A monster wearing his face.

It was in a parking garage that Tobias eventually confronted his Fetch. Fauxbias was fully aware of its true nature, having “activated” when Tobias first exited the Hedge. The encounter was brief and tense, but the two agreed to a truce (cemented by a Good Neighbor’s Pact). So long as Tobias left the Fetch alone and didn’t attempt to destroy it, Fauxbias would stay out of Tobias’ business and continue caring for his mortal family.

Tobias spent the next several years learning to survive as one of the homeless. He learned how to live on the streets, how to panhandle, and how to employ his Contracts. This period of time also saw the rise of the Hobo Nation as Tobias became a prominent leader among the hobo community of Great Falls, earning him the fateful monicker of “Hobo King.” In addition, the changeling sought out and found other fae. He learned about changeling society, freeholds, the Seasonal Courts, and other aspects of being one of the Lost. He met back up with an old acquaintance, Eric Pendrake, and the Darkling introduced Tobias to what would eventually become his first motley – the Hedge Trimmers.

 

The Durance

Tobias recalls little of his durance. What he does remember is extremely hazy, and the Fatemaker is uncertain how much of it actually happened, and how much of it is the product of madness. Nevertheless, as the power of his Wyrd increases, Tobias has begun to recollect minute snippets of dreams concerning his time in Faerie. 

He remembers being dragged off into the darkness by a mysterious assailant. He remembers a vast library of cyclopean dimensions, composed of non-Euclidean geometries that were painful to the human eye, and overlooking a great chasm filled with a sea of stars. He distantly recollects the form of his Keeper: a humanoid mass of starlight and darkness in the silhouette of a woman, with hands of blistering cold and a voice as sprawling and empty as eternity. He vaguely remembers that voice binding him to a desk made of bleached white bone, commanding him to practice the writing of strange symbols till his fingers broke and bled, commanding him to read tomes containing sanity-crushing lore. He was repeatedly told to “find the pattern.” The meaning of this was never explained to him. All Tobias understood was that failure to find the pattern periodically resulted in terror, pain and blood.

Tobias studied reams of knowledge and read literal mountains of books. He perused history, philosophy, literature, science, and fields of research too alien to express in human terms. He analyzed maps, star charts, timelines, and more, trying to understand how everything and everyone were interconnected. He was force-fed queer goblin fruits to keep his mind limber and his eyes from slowly going blind from the endless hours of study. His Keeper - a Gentry known as The Yawning Void - would sporadically check his progress, watching over his shoulder and asking if he’d “found the pattern.” Tobias grasped that his Keeper was using him to find something she couldn’t discern herself, and so he studied long and hard, perfecting his perverse scholarship till his body took on the mien of the parchments he so closely scrutinized.

Tobias’ memories of his escape are similarly fuzzy. He has the lingering impression that his escape involved using some of his newfound learning to engineer a path to freedom, but the details are unclear. He remembers desperately dashing through miles of shifting, mucilaginous thorns; sometimes moving from trod to trod, other times bounding through the Brambles themselves. He recalls the baying of hedge beasts somewhere in the distance, and the ravenous cries of his Keeper’s hobgoblins as they pursued him. At some point during his escape, Tobias accidentally encountered another changeling – a Darkling – who’d been hiding in a small cavity along one of the trods. The Darkling appeared to be in similar straits (also on the run from his Keeper), but was wounded and unable to ambulate on his own. Though the Fatemaker contemplated leaving the other changeling to fend for himself, he ultimately decided to take the Darkling with him.  

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Tobias remembers helping the other changeling to his feet and supporting him as they traveled. Aided by the Darkling’s Contracts of Darkness, the two changelings staggered the rest of the way to the mortal world. The Darkling later revealed his name to be Eric Pendrake. Though the two changelings separated immediately upon leaving the Hedge, they remained in contact for the next several years until eventually becoming motley mates.

 

Symbols of the Wizened &
the Autumn Court

Personality & Goals
    As with other changelings, Tobias was irreparably damaged by his time in Arcadia, leaving him a mere shadow of the man he used to be. A confident and gregarious individual before his durance, the Fatemaker is now reclusive, awkward, and delusional. He spends much of his time scouring Great Falls for useful refuse, collecting cans for his shopping cart, and begging for spare change on the street. He tends to behave in erratic and illogical ways, suffers severe episodes of psychosis, and has no regard for his appearance or personal hygiene. These quirks have rendered Tobias unable to adequately re-assimilate into normal human society. As a result, he’s chosen to live in society’s fringes as one of the homeless.

Though Tobias has never sought to reestablish contact with his mortal family, he still keeps occasional tabs on them, usually observing them from afar when they make a trip into town. Tobias takes the pledge he made with his Fetch very seriously, and as a result, he never does anything to directly approach his family or indicate to them that their Tobias is fake. In truth, Tobias is careful to avoid contact with anyone he knew from his pre-changeling, mortal life. While the Hobo King looks drastically different from his Fetch, he nonetheless doesn’t want to risk an old friend or acquaintance recognizing him, or noticing the Hobo King’s strange resemblance to Fauxbias the lawyer. Consequently, Tobias has tried to isolate himself from the relationships of his former life, though his notoriety as the “Hobo King of Great Falls” (and as a wanted fugitive) has made this tricky.    

Despite their pledge of mutual non-interference, Tobias likes to pay his Fetch discreet, periodic visits. This monthly practice has become a bizarre sort of ritual between the two. Tobias sits himself down across the street from his Fetch’s law firm and begins panhandling. He does this very early in the morning, making certain that the Fetch catches sight of him while coming into work. As soon as Fauxbias sees him, the Fetch always makes his way across the street to drop some spare change into Tobias’ tin. Neither gives any indication that they know or recognize each other. Actually, not a single word is ever spoken, though both changeling and Fetch exchange a look that implies a clear understanding of the situation: This is a reminder not to fuck with me.   

Tobias is generally a friendly, polite and good-natured person. He’s kind-hearted, works well with others, and has a high regard for life, both mortal and changeling. As is typical of Wizened, the Hobo King has little in the way of social savvy. However, he enjoys the company of others, particularly hobos and fellow Lost. Since returning from his durance, skilled conversation has yet to come naturally to Tobias, but his years of panhandling have forced him to learn how to make small talk, and his time as King of the Hobos has taught him a degree of diplomacy (or rather, his interpretation of diplomacy). Unless one is accustomed to his eccentricities, Tobias’ madness and erratic thinking can often make conversing with him a somewhat off-putting, surreal, or frustrating experience. He has a tendency to go on tangents, suddenly change subjects, make inappropriate observations, use non sequiturs, or even just spout gibberish. He consistently mixes up facts, mispronounces names, and makes outrageous claims. Still, those who demonstrate the necessary patience are oft surprised to discover that Tobias can be quite insightful and intelligent, especially on matters of the occult.   

Tobias sees himself as a powerful and respected leader, but also considers himself a man of the people – a regular Joe who didn’t ask for greatness, but nevertheless had it thrust upon him. In his eyes, he is as much a victim of Fate as he is a wielder of it – the ultimate irony. Surprisingly, his position of power among the hobos has not made Tobias a terribly proud or egotistical man. However, in keeping with his royal status, the Hobo King attempts to maintain a certain level of decorum. This means that he avoids doing things that, in his mind, are unbefitting a king: swearing or making idle threats, being needlessly disrespectful (especially to other leaders), and engaging in violence or casual brutality (unless it’s against the Gentry). Such activities are for less enlightened individuals.   

Tobias only has fleeting memories of his captivity in Faerie (mostly in the form of muddled images and sensations), but he can sense that he once had knowledge beyond mortal imagining at his fingertips. Since his return to the mortal world, however, he’s been unable to recall any of what he’d learned while in Arcadia. This frustrates him to no end. Still, his time in Faerie has left him with a hunger for learning. As a result, Tobias is a voracious reader. He’ll read nearly anything of a scholarly nature, but particularly craves information concerning the occult – fae magic, oneiromancy, the Gentry, the Hedge, and the Wyrd. Magic greatly fascinates the Hobo King, and he is easily distracted by talk of magic or magical trinkets. Though Tobias has forsaken most material wealth, he still heavily prizes books and other sources of knowledge. He eagerly collects tomes of esoteric lore, storing them away in his Hollow for later perusal. Books (as well as alcohol) are an especially good way to bribe him or barter with him.

Understandably, Tobias bears a hefty grudge against the Gentry. He hates the True Fae for what they did to him (and others) and longs to even the score. However, the Hobo King is not blinded by hatred, and he’s wise enough to fear and respect the power of Faerie. As such, it’s rare for him to oppose the Arcadian Lords & Ladies in any direct manner. Instead, the Fatemaker chooses to fight the True Fae opportunistically, taking action against them when the risk is lowest to he and his motley. Yet even then, Tobias prefers to act via proxy (such as Fate). In fact, this is one of his main impetuses for the pursuit of mystical secrets regarding Wyrd, talecrafting, and dreams. Though talecrafting and oneiromancy have their dangers, Tobias considers them tame compared to the dangers inherent in directly facing the Gentry or a Wild Hunt.

Tobias’ feelings toward the True Fae mean that he shares an affinity with the Summer Court and its chosen emotion, Wrath (his Vice is Wrath). However, he also appreciates the subtle modus operandi of the Winter Court, which is more his style. Still, the Hobo King was courtless for many years, unable to decide which season reflected him best. It wasn’t until recently that he finally joined the nascent Autumn Court of Great Falls. Tobias has little interest in furthering the purposes of fear (and actually dislikes this aspect of the Leaden Mirror), but he adores the Ashen Court’s focus on magical studies, and its approach toward fighting the Gentry is undeniably parallel to his own. As such, the Hobo King served the local Autumn Court as Legate of Mists, aide-de-camp to the Autumn King himself, Dan fucking Carlin. Following the complete decimation of the Leaden Mirror in Great Falls, Tobias is currently the only Autumn courtier in the region.

When it still existed, Tobias was a loyal member of the Great Falls Freehold and offered his services in the form of academic assistance, oneiromancy, talecrafting, and consultation on occult topics. Changelings knew they could find him in the gutters, alleyways, and abandoned squats of Great Falls.

 

The Hobo Nation

Aside from his motley, it’s among other hobos that Tobias feels most comfortable. Hobos were the first people Tobias encountered upon his return from Arcadia, and it was bums and tramps that cared for him in the disorienting first few weeks following his escape. Accordingly, the Fatemaker has come to embrace homelessness as his salvation, and this is perhaps the reason why it’s become the focus of his insanity. 

Tobias suffers from the delusion that he is hobo royalty. In his own mind, the Fatemaker believes he is the “King of the Hobos” in Great Falls, and that the local homeless are his “chosen people.” He believes his regal position is supported by Divine Mandate (“divine” meaning the Wyrd), and no amount of logic or rational argument will dissuade him from this belief. Over time, the delusion has evolved into the hobos’ train yard becoming a full fledged micro-nation, complete with its own territorial borders, flag, anthem, and even military (the Hobo Army). Many of the hobos have been bequeathed official positions in Tobias’ regime.

Whether this fantasy of authority is a reaction to having been powerless for so long in Faerie, or simply the result of Hedge-induced psychosis, is unclear. What is certain is that Tobias takes his “leadership role” very seriously. He feels a sincere responsibility to the people he rules and tries to behave the way he thinks a good leader should. As part of his royal duties, the Hobo King regularly aids his homeless subjects by giving advice, mediating disputes, distributing supplies (food, blankets, medicine, etc.), and providing a small measure of good will and entertainment to their bleak, meaningless lives. He’s even been known to intervene in situations between the hobos and the city, especially when police are involved. Furthermore, Tobias protects the local homeless from supernatural threats such as vampires, spirits, and other changelings. Monsters have a tendency to prey on those living in the fringes of society, knowing that such people aren’t likely to be missed. Since the homeless (and most humans, in general) are ill equipped to defend themselves against the supernatural, the Hobo King takes an active hand in keeping his people safe.

To their credit, the hobos of Great Falls are very tolerant of Tobias and his delusions of grandeur. Psychological issues are nothing new among the homeless, and if anything, the changeling’s insanity serves to mark him as one of their own. They rarely do anything to challenge his delusions, and some of the hobos will even play along from time to time if it suits their interests. On the whole, Tobias’ eccentricities are ignored by the surrounding homeless. For example, when the Hobo King delivers a royal decree from the top of a boxcar, the hobos simply continue talking amongst themselves, reading, napping, or otherwise paying no attention. However, Tobias’ delusion is such that he generally doesn’t notice impertinence on the part of the hobos, instead perceiving their lack of interest as fervent devotion. As far as he’s concerned, his subjects are passionately absorbed in his orations and follow his decrees to the letter. It would take an extremely blatant act of dissent for one of the hobos to breach this aspect of the delusion.

In addition, Tobias has accomplished some good for the hobos of Great Falls, including coordinating with local churches and soup kitchens to help keep his subjects fed and clothed. For this reason, several human interest stories have appeared in the Great Falls Gazette about Tobias, and even the city’s mayor has referred to him as an “ambassador to the poor.” Consequently, the hobos of Great Falls are patient with their king and are often willing to provide him with rumors, news, and information (i.e. the Contacts Merit). Furthermore, Tobias’ exploits have made him something of a minor celebrity in Great Falls. This has usually worked in his favor, since it guarantees him lots of spare change, free coffees, and photo opportunities. As “King of the Hobos,” Tobias is well-liked and well-recognized by most Great Falls citizens, though regarded as little more than an amusing local oddity.

      Despite his severe disconnect from reality, Tobias understands the importance of keeping his fae nature a secret from the other hobos. The Fatemaker would never display his mien or employ his supernatural abilities in front of his fellow bums unless absolutely necessary. Even when accessing his Hollow – the entrance of which is located under a boxcar in his train yard – Tobias is careful to make sure no one is watching. However, even if one of the hobos happened to accidentally glimpse something he wasn’t meant to see, enough of them are crazy, inebriated, or drug-addled that the sight would likely garner little attention.

The Hobo King performs a careful juggling act between the obligations he has to his subjects, his motley, and his freehold.