Jacob Arnold, aka. Jacobus the Amazing

Description: 5' 8", 160#, trim black hair with a moustache, narrow goatee, roman nose, slightly big ears, thin dark metal glasses (silver-framed glasses as Jacobus), typical business clothes of the era (formalwear with a long deep red cloak, deep red top hat, deep red sash and silver chains as Jacobus), Massachusetts accent (more neutral accent as Jacobus). He moves unobtrusively (exaggerated graceful motions as Jacobus)

Jacob Arnold was born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts to a poor family. His father ran (but did not own) a local grocery and his children all helped out. As a young boy, he often noticed things that others did not. He felt the presence of the spirits but did not understand what has happening. He also found that he was gifted at reading people, that is learning about them from their mannerisms, speech, postures, skin, looks, the way the would ask questions, etc. He kept all these things to himself, fearing the repeat of the Salem witch hunts of the past with him as a target. Jacob was intelligent and liked to read so spent time in the library pursuing explanations for what he was experiencing. He found a couple of books of the occult and learnt that his feeling the spirits was an occult gift, but not that well understood or documented by varying greatly by individual. He would spend hours each day in his secret place trying to communicate with the spirits and improved over time. Occasionally he will find that when dealing with other people the spirits would assist him and give him added insight about them.

Sometimes the spirits would lead him to unusual locations where odd events had occurred in the past and occasionally would be asked to do something for them. This has continued from his childhood into his adulthood as well. His curiosity has got him into all sorts of odd situations.

After finishing with the public schools of Salem and bored with helping around the grocery, he decided that he would let his other brothers work with his father in the grocery and left to find guidance in his gifts. He traveled to New York City and checked out those who claimed to talk to spirits. Many were pure charlatans but a couple seemed to actually communicate with the spirits. He choose one, Zelda, a self-proclaimed spiritualist, and persuaded her to teach him in what see knew of the art in exchange for acting as her aide. He served her for a year learning in the time between her shows all she knew about her gift, allowing him to hone his skills to better serve his gift. He went to another mystic, Alphonso the All-Knowing, and persuaded him to the same deal as with Zelda. Alphonso's specialty was serving as a medium for the spirit world. Jacob learned this aspect of his gift and how to protect himself from takeovers, where the spirit would gain control of his body. After working the Alphonso for about 3 months, Alphonso asked him to be a secondary medium for him, to permit the spirits to interact through two bodies, and his education continued. His will strengthen with the contact with the spirits, some very hostile towards him. He stayed with Alphonso for a couple of years, before deciding to set off on his own.

He realized to be successful, he had to be a showman, so he acquired sets of showy clothing to add an air of mystery to him and build a flamboyant persona to go with it. Jacobus the Amazing was born. He found an agent to help him find gigs.

His show consisted of reading the people and listening to the spirits and then telling the crowd what he thought. He tended to be fairly accurate, only occasionally guessing wrong or misreading the spirits. Sometimes he would permit a non-malevolent spirit to speak through him to the crowd or more often to one or two particular people. He also would hold private sessions as well, with medium activity being more likely. Sometimes he would put on a private séance on an off night in response to requests from his clientele. Usually he was arranged as one show among many, performing one or two acts in an evening (with a private session or two, squeezed between).

He traveled to many cities and towns, staying as long as he was welcome and generating interest and then move on. Most people did not realize that Jacob Arnold, a quiet thoughtful man, and Jacobus the Amazing, the outgoing fiery entertainer, was the same person. He had chosen for protection to carry a pistol with which he practices in out-of-the-way places. His skills in reading people and the spirits have continued to grow as he gained more and more experience.

He recently got an offer to perform in small college town in Massachusetts and being tired of the town were he was performing, he accepted arranging through his agent to perform in Arkham.


Jacob the Amazing's Stats and Skills.


Back to the presentation of the Investigators.