Flatliners

The Flatliners are a group of criminals turned ghosts that play a major role in the events in Orpheus. Sentenced to death row at Marion Federal Penitentiary, they were chosen by the Orpheus Group as part of the initial projection experiments, also known as Project Flatline. Each of them were forced into projecting their spirits from their bodies a number of times by means of sleeper-style cradles. Finally, they rebelled against their tormentors and refused to return to their bodies; to cover up their mistake, Orpheus had arrangements made to burn down the death-row wing of Marion, destroying both the Flatliners' bodies and the evidence of Project Flatline in the process. There are twelve Flatliners in all, though only eleven are mentioned by name; the other one is left open for the Storyteller to create as needed.

The Followers of Bishop

 * Uriah Bishop: The unofficial leader of the Flatliners. A charismatic, dispassionate religious man, Bishop was sentenced to death after poisoning parishioners at a church picnic after they refused to follow him.  He instigated the revolt that lead to the Flatliners fleeing, and as a result half of them followed him to help him accomplish his goals.  He is now the head of the Missionary Works of the Holy Ghost and a close ally of Grandmother.


 * Ethan Torrance: Serves as Bishop’s enforcer at the Missionary Works. He constantly toyed with authorities by murdering several people and then revealing their whereabouts one at a time when he was about to executed.  The cycle ended when he was chosen and later died as part of Project Flatline.


 * Jason Hein: A former con artist who was sentenced to death for killing a fellow prisoner, Jason appears to the cultists of the Mother of the Temple of Vision as the "angel" Nacrael. Through these visions, he manipulates the cult into doing his (and Bishop’s) will.


 * Bruno Tavourlaris: A loyal follower of Bishop, Tavourlaris possessed the Reverend Cale O’Reilly, the head of the Church of the Angelic Host. O’Reilly was dying of pancreatic cancer, but miraculously "recovered" thanks to Tavourlaris’ influence.  He taints the church’s sacramental wine with pigment, allowing followers to see "angels" and forcing them to become addicts.  However, he cannot truly cure O’Reilly’s cancer, only disguise it using the Skinrider skill Contaminate, something that may cause problems down the line.


 * Harper Forester: A former mob accountant who killed two police officers while resisting arrest, Forester is an extremely loyal follower of Bishop. Forester works closely with Dr. Sarah Franks, head of the First Step recovery group, and John Star, the head of the Aphrodite Society.  Dr. Franks is a pigment addict herself, and depends on Forester to keep her and her patients drug of choice coming.  He also supplies pigment to the Aphrodite Society, which encourages self-discovery through drug use.

The Blasphemers

 * Lucas “Big Man” Broad: The head of the Blasphemers, Broad went to jail at a young age for running with street gangs. He continued this both in prison and in death, forming the Blasphemers from the ghosts of dead gang-bangers to work as ghost-mercenaries.


 * Stephen Moluxe: A radical activist turned conspiracy maniac, Moluxe wants to create an empire dedicated to the Hispanic people in place of parts of the United States of America. He helps run the Blasphemers as an eventual means to reach his goal; however, he has begun to split off from the main group in pursuit of his ideals.


 * Jeffrey Rose: The most unusual Flatliner, Rose has multiple personalities, each one a serial killer with a different type of target. Together, his seven personalities killed over 150 people.  After becoming involved in Project Flatline, he still has his personality disorders.  However, an eighth personality dubbed "Granny Victoria" has asserted itself since his death; it seeks to hunt down and destroy Spectres.  He tends to possess bodies that match his personalities.


 * Carlton Jackson: Helps Broad run the Blasphemers. Little is known about him other than he regards Moluxe and Rose as jokes and uses them as screens for the Blasphemers’ true goals.

Independents

 * Terrance Green: A Flatliner uninterested in Bishop’s twisted plans, Terrance is a gifted Haunter and the voice behind Radio Free Death, a brief nightly broadcast that informs ghosts and projectors of the happenings in the world of the dead. He disguises the broadcasts as bursts of static on a satellite TV station, and knows a great deal of information others would love to keep quiet.  He works closely with Grace Ishida, a former Terrel and Squib agent and talented Phantasm out to reveal the truth about her ex-employers.


 * Theodore Albert Walters: A serial rapist and murderer, Walters took advantage of his new "life in death" to resume his old habits. He will sadistically possess the close companions of a selected woman and use them to commit his crimes.  A former detective assigned to Walter’s case noticed the pattern of violence and notified Orpheus to Walter’s activities; unfortunately, the company was destroyed before anything could be done about it.