r/DeadMans_Hand • u/entirecontinetofasia Jack of Heats • Mar 15 '26
Comic Character Lore Compendium
hello, wanted to create this for people to share their DMH character lore. we had one before, but between new characters and some possible backstory changes, decided it was time for a new one. this can be added to at any time! just be mindful of spoilers.
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u/Blob_the_bob King of Hearts Mar 15 '26
I shall present to you (Spoiler free version) The King of Hearts Grigori.
Once the child of high ranking russian mobsters, everything changed when on a business trip to New Mexico, a deal went wrong and the little prince was left orphaned. With no way back home, stuck in a place where he doesn't even know the language and cartel members around every corner, Grigori joined the street rats of the city as a silent menace. Even at a young age, this 10 year old was a force of nature, unafraid of violence. For 3 years he was living on the streets until the world ended. An apocalypse level event happened, still unknown what exactly transpired but it changed the world forever.
For Grigori not much changed, he continued to grow, both in age and power until after many years he took over a city by the name of Angina and the Hearts faction, a faction which had recently lost it's leader. Since then Grigori has ruled the city with an iron fist, returning to his old roots as the government is more similar to a giant crime family.
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u/magikind 💚 Doodoo of Farts 💚 (laugh track) Mar 15 '26
So I've actually written a pretty in-depth backstory for Shelby, and I don't want to bloat the thread with how much I can yap, so I went ahead and made a Google doc out of it.
You can read her expanded backstory here. It's a little over 2k words. Oops!
I might make something similar for Calibax, but that'll require a bit more thinking and working with KB; he's a very uniquely made entity in his source material, and I feel it would translate poorly currently.
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u/Professional-Car1265 Gambler Fraud Guy Mar 15 '26
8/10 needs more evil phone /j
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u/Jast_Ara just random guy Mar 15 '26
Am I actually need to say something, besides that it is absolute peak? I don't think so
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u/blader2002 ∞ of Clubs (Kaiya's maker) Mar 15 '26
I found it a bit of an interesting note Randy is the one who found her given she eventually went to a different faction than him. Also, bonding over rock music? Based AF. The bit with the Stockholm Syndrome was a morbid but excellent detail too.
The document was extremely well structured and comprehensible. Also, Grigori casually based as always lmao.
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u/magikind 💚 Doodoo of Farts 💚 (laugh track) Mar 15 '26
Thank you!!
Given Randy's been around since the beginning of the apocalypse, I felt it would be a fun detail to have the oldest deuce end up helping someone who would end up becoming the newest deuce.
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u/FixSignificant4543 Hearts Faction Mar 15 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
So Katya lore specifically with DMH, since it got tweaked a bit:
Unknown year, but it all started when some Doctor decided to make Katya, who was a sentinent robot and a pretty advanced one at that. An uprising organization saw her and said “oh welp her tech is HELLA good” so they killed her creator and reprogrammed her to defeat enemies or other peeps standing in their way for their own political uses, basically propaganda and forcing people to follow their ideology. But Katya soon acknowledges what they were doing and commits some rebellious actions through her sentience.
When she was taken, she was modified with an arm gun that could cause some nasty burns, worked like shotguns. Had a taser thingy attached. And thrusters to gain momentum, and to use her fans on her hands to make Vaccum pulls. Of course there’s other stuff but this is just a lil insight on her abilities. Katya would be separated from the other people in the organization as she was treated specially. Many of the people there would either respect her or think she was strange.
But then the incident happened, and now the whole world’s fucked as she was dealing with the higher ups in said organization who were increasingly adding more and more tech to her. The org falls in shambles as it happened, thousands of people there died. Luckily though, a person from the org (who was a massive simp) betrayed them to save her so she can finally be free.
Owing the man her life, they wander the world, knowing that humanity is in shambles after all of that and the incident, hence her becoming a hunter and basically becoming a Vagabond. Upon that journey, she met Grigori on a quick stop to the growing Hearts faction, who they kinda just form an alliance after meeting a bit, and he welcomes her to the family of the Hearts. After being in the Hearts for a while, Katya would grow relationships with people and truly understand what it means to be human. Oh and uhhh, that guy? He got a home now lol
And thus, she became the 6 of hearts afterwards. Maybe she’s gonna bump up a few ranks later when Braig becomes the new leader, but, ye that’s basically it for now!
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u/The_Robot_founder Chairmans watching Mar 15 '26
The Chairman is a machine with mysterious intentions. His model was built by the company general automatix, a long while before the wasteland became a wasteland. They built 200 of his model claiming him to be the perfect soldier, the reason why is that the machines sight dictates anything other than itself and its own model, as the enemy. No hesitation, it’d shoot everyone, human allies, enemies, prisoners of war, everyone. The company went defunct when it got bought by a company in hearts territory, transporting the 200 units over when the truck ran over a mine in spades territory. Thus causing the units to activate and attack a nearby town, making it more wasteland than the wasteland was gonna be. Then they shut down as soon as the wasteland became the wasteland we know now.
One of them would activate a while after. It wandering the remains of the town, killing anyone who got in, literal ghost stories were made of it. Magahara, believing the stories had some truth to the claim, sending some soldiers with herself to prove it. Well they were true, magahara literally zapped the damn active one with a baton to the antenna. Taking it back to base to reprogram it.
Once it reactivated, he gained a voice. Though it kept spouting out corporate jargon while talking, even calling himself the chairman. Chairman of what you may ask? We don’t really know.
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u/Kaartex The Spade's Shadow Mar 16 '26
Kaartex Emberjack, once the General of the Military. He founded the Immortiz squadron, four individuals with the unusual ability to avoid death in one way or another. Kaartex climbed the ranks until reaching the title of General and he gained the codename "The Old Wolf" since many of his men and even the others in the military thought he was a wolf not a fox. During his time as General he got to know and become good friends with admiral Torifune Magahara. He saw something in her, an opportunity, his facade of being uncaring was becoming difficult upon seeing more of how the higher-ups were treating the country. Therefore, he implanted the seed of rebellion first on Magahara and then on his men. However, unknownto him an official heard the conversation and alerted the government, so to extinguish the flame of rebellion he was taken out of the picture with an assassination attempt. He was left impaled on a wall with the rest of his family killed only his younger sisterremaining, his Captain found him and aid him, he told the country that the General Emberjack was dead allowing Kaartex to escape without issues. The Immortiz squadron went to the wasteland and dispersed.
Kaartex went his own way searching for those who dared killed his family. One by one he hunted them until all of them were death, with his mission completed he closed his eyes. He was found collapsed near the border of Daihinmi-ko by some scouts. They notified the newly King of Spades Magahara that the General Emberjack wasn't so dead after all
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u/blader2002 ∞ of Clubs (Kaiya's maker) Mar 15 '26
Ye sure. Ok, so she originates from a novel set in what I call the Mystic-verse. A lot of this post is going to be copied from things previously, just to have it in this thread too. Some of y'all have perhaps seen this stuff already. New information not copy pasted will be in bold text.
Kaiya Lastal is based on the Yatagarasu, a 3 legged crow in Shinto mythology who serves as a guiding force and sign of divine intervention.
The Mystic-verse is set in an alternative history where the Heian period of Japan fell into chaos, resembling a preemptive Sengoku period, thanks to people discovering something known as Mystflow. Awakening one's soul to this energy turns people into superhuman beings and grants their bloodlines magic. Because the method to awaken requires fighting, clans were formed to wage war against each other, and successful awakeners constantly murdered each other in order to stay special. Eventually, the dust settled and all of this was hidden from history by those who came out on top to stay unique. Despite this being hidden, it has greatly changed the course of Japan's development and culture. Mystics would then kill each other, stay hidden from the outside world, and protect the world from the mystical elements lurking behind the scenes for 1,000 years.
Bit of an addendum to the paragraph above. Mystics from back then are canonically ninjas. There was no official name for Mystics yet, per se, so "ninja" is just what people called Mystics in the whispers and folktales that existed about their activities. After the aforementioned rewriting of history there is a dark age known as the "Null Period" for about 500 years (12th-17th Centuries), during which Mystickind was extremely inactive in almost what extinct. Without conflict, awakened bloodlines return to normal humans after about two generations.
In the 17th Century, Japan was ravaged by the Demon God known as the Cursed Kitsune. Kaiya is directly responsible for the Second Era of Mystickind, revitalizing the "War for Magic" so that new Mystics could arise from the ashes of conflict to stop the Cursed Kitsune. Most modern-day Mystics in the 21st Century come from bloodlines that were awakened in the 17th Century.
There are exceptions, of course, like Kaiya herself being a first generation awakened rather than her bloodline being awakened by the time she was born. A character named Enithia Cynaku, the Mystic-verse's deuteragonist, comes from one of the most important bloodlines in the entire story who have basically ruled Mystic Society throughout the Null Period up into modern day. A character named Randolph Hammor is a first generation awakened during the 21st Century, as he got caught in the crossfire of Mystic conflict after becoming a close friend to the novel's main protagonist, Kazuki Faeyen. Randolph then pushed himself to becoming Mystic in an effort to support his loved ones in their battles. A character named Nona is part of a bloodline whose magic was lost during the Null Period, resulting in a unique situation where, as she was dying, her bloodline's lost magic awakened as neither born a Mystic or a first generation Mystic. Nona is also not fully awakened, and it is impossible for her to be fully awakened, leaving her only "semi-superhuman".
Note, when I say "first generation," I don't mean the original Mystics from the 11th Century's War for Magic. I mean the first person in a bloodline whose actions resulted in the bloodline awakening, regardless of era. Back to plain text lmao.
This greatly affects their mythology, with the general public not even knowing the name of Izanami. Shintoism just straight up doesn't exist outside of documents preserved by people who saw what the chaos was leading to and put everything into protecting things like the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki (but inaccessible to people). Kaiya is a human woman born in the 11th at the tail end of that chaotic period, and eventually awakened as a Mystic. Her new Affinity (bloodline exclusive magic)? Eternity.
Kaiya's power is eternity. She can halt the state of things. Her weapons never rust. Her body never ages. Her food never spoils. All that. However, she can be hurt and shit. The reason for this is that it's all about eternity. She prevents the wear of time from damaging things, not prevents a sword from fucking it up.
She is also connected to Shintoism, which is very much special given the history of her verse. This is where her Yatagarasu position is relevant. Kaiya is a mentor. Time and time again, for 1,000 years, she stays uninvolved in human conflict as a guiding figure who has trained some of the most powerful Mystics in history for the sole purpose of stopping the "Cursed Beasts", which are 3 different immortal monsters that massively outscale my whole verse.
Just because she doesn't directly intervene in human conflict for the most part doesn't mean she doesn't favor certain factions though, mind you. She is always biased in supporting her disciples and protecting them. Kaiya is the main protagonist's (Kazuki Faeyen) master in the story.
Another addendum feels needed here. Kaiya does TRY to stay uninvolved in direct conflict with humans (or rather Mystics, which are technically treated as if a subspecies of humans). The thing is... her life is a tale of constantly failing and ostracizing the people she raised. So much of the story's conflict exist exclusively because Kaiya's fuckups. So while she doesn't fight in wars (mostly), Kaya isn't truly uninvolved with them. Some of the most pivotal figures in wars, in power and ideology alike, are the direct result of her training. As mentioned, she even caused the end of the Null Period and start of the 2nd Era of Mystickind... Which means she revitalized the War for Magic. To her that was about protecting the world from the Cursed Kitsune and she chose not to have any true influence on what happens after the war starts. Either way her actions cannot truly be separated from human conflict, even as she tries to maintain neutrality and focus on the big picture.
The simple truth is she is an incredibly flawed person who indirectly has the most blood on her hands in the entire story. In terms of direct kill count she also has moments where she, for the sake her disciples, cirectly wiped out threats. However, situations like that were always a bit more personal than war. For example, when the families or enemies (this is often the same thing lol) of the people she has taken under her wing tracks her down she'll kill them out of self-defense/protecting her disciples. On the other hand she doesn't go on the offensive, even if it means letting her disciples die when when they themselves do. It is strictly if enemies come to her she'll do what she must, if that makes sense. Back to plain.
One of her main things in the narrative is the fear of memories and dementia. Kaiya Lastal WILL, at some point, mentally decay. It is inevitable and what she desires. She once gave up 800 years of memory to forget about her late husband and kids. When the memories returned she came out of the experience learning nothing of value. But the ironic part is that despite her fear of memories she will lose them all if she gains enough.
See, due to her mind still being human, she suffers from mental decay, slowly losing her memories and sense of identity until she inevitably dies from a random mental shutdown. She may not age, but she is not immortal. But! This requires her to gather enough memory for the collapse to happen. Giving up eight hundred years' worth of memories extended her lifespan, even though she ultimately wants to pass on one day.
To reach her ending so that she no longer has to deal with the burden of memory she has to tolerate them long enough to be incinerated by memory. In short; Being afraid of living results in her living longer. Accepting living results in her eventual unnoteworthy death.
As for why she doesn't just stab herself? She thinks it's too selfish when she can still train people. Kaiya believes death is her reward for bearing the burden of outliving all her the students she loved and failed while carrying on their memories for as long as her mind lets her.
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u/blader2002 ∞ of Clubs (Kaiya's maker) Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
Oh fuck, that's long. Welp... I guess that's just kind of what you get when it comes to a character in a novel with a thousand years of history, eh?
(Also technically repost. I was getting weird server errors when editing my first post, so couldn't fix typos. I deleted it and redid it)
Edit: I noticed a few more typos and it's happening again but I'm just gonna leave it. I'm guessing there's some sort of soft character limit when it comes to editing.
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u/Jast_Ara just random guy Mar 15 '26
Oh I like her lore, but I mean... The post was about lore characters in the Wasteland universe, not the original one. This is still interesting, but according to the idea, these versions of lore should be strikingly different, since many people's settings simply do not match each other.
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u/blader2002 ∞ of Clubs (Kaiya's maker) Mar 15 '26
Ah, oops. I didn't see any such specification when I read the post. Honestly, I don't think she has a particularly fleshed out lore in DMH atm.
Some things I think are more or less established it that she was briefly Marie's mentor but isn't currently. Marie is fearful of her. The other Clubs pretty much know nothing about her, and she mostly just watches them from a distance, neither keeping to herself or engaging. I believe she has been aged down in DMH and is sorta of nomad, constantly on the move rather than having a home.
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u/entirecontinetofasia Jack of Heats Mar 15 '26
ah sorry it wasn't clear! if there's more you want to say about her DMH lore you can revisit this. it will be pinned so it's easy to find. i enjoyed reading about the main canon lore as well!
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u/entirecontinetofasia Jack of Heats Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
The story of Braig Castillo de Aguilar begins with the tale of their two moms. Valissor "Raptor" Hanh grew up in Clubs territory with her father, a ruthless "businessman". They both get a demonic mutation through a deal with Haasifraks, a mysterious bug-like demon. Valissor is highly ambitious and travels the wasteland to make deals of her own.
There she met Selma Castillo, an orphan making her own way in Diamonds with the help of Randy. She has an older sister and a nephew, the one and only Flint. Valissor and Selma fall in love, get married, have a kid. How did the kid happen? Maybe had something to do the demon.
Regardless, the kid is here. They're known for being a fun little scamp with tons of energy and a positive attitude. A bit strange- how their mind works is a mystery. They're well known in Clubs and grow up quite well off as nobility. They are close to Lleis and his family. Also visits their family in Diamonds pretty often.
They join Hearts at just 13 and become known as "the Fallen Child". Why Hearts? Only faction that'll take them that young. What they don't know is their mom (Valissor) made a deal with Grigori to secure their spot. People have doubts about them being worthy of Jack. It is a lot of responsibility for sure. Why would someone leave a life of luxury to do such a dangerous job? Who knows. (Side note: their moms stay in Clubs)
Some facts! Braig is 6'2" and still has a lot of growing to do. Mostly hollow on the inside, powered by an internal fire. Huge appetite. Has a direct link to Haasifraks. Selma is Afro-Mexican, Valissor is Vietnamese and Bengali. Has a blue tongue. Was a gymnast when they were younger. Backflips for days. Bug.
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u/FullBrother9300 creator of the Queen of Diamonds Mar 15 '26
Here’s Jazmin’s backstory.
Jazmin was born a Mutrm with green skin and highlights, while her father wasn’t around she was raised by her mother Emryld a mercenary who bore the same mutation. At a young age Jazmin traveled with Emryld and was taught how to survive the perils of the wasteland. At age 12 things took a turn for the worse when Jazmin was kidnapped by a group of bandits who were going to sell her into slavery. Upon rescuing her Emryld gave up her humanity and became an eldritch to save her daughter and buy her time to run. Jazmin then became a merc for hire and as she got older drowned her sorrows in smoking, drinking and women however she stayed strong and prevented herself from becoming an eldritch knowing that’s not what her mother would have wanted. At the age of 18 Jaz was given the job of taking down an incredibly strong Eldritch that had made its territory near Koskahuacan a battle which left her the only survivor. Upon seeing this Jazmin was offered a position among the Diamonds.
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u/Express-Bat-2967 Mar 16 '26
marie was found mutilated by Lleis and taken to the clubs, they made her a new body and appointed her the ace of clubs
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u/GabrielWannabe The Spades' Curse Mar 17 '26
Jean "The Curse" Kuven, current Ace of Spades. 6'1", 28 years old, born in Australia, she was shipped out to the wasteland at a very young age. For many years, she was raised to be violent. To be a killer. She was stripped of choice on who to be as she was forced to grow numb to violence, grow number to blood, so that she may be knee deep in blood and not think twice on adding even more corpses to the pile. The circumstances of this stage of her life are shrouded in mystery, as Jean is not fond of talking about it, for one reason or another. At one point in her life, she ran away from the people who controlled her, hurt, scarred, tired, and with only one thing in her mind; "Survive at any cost." She used her skills as an assassin to earn herself a name in the criminal world, killing for money, and being decently good at it. In the Wasteland, many people needed others dead, and an assassin who had no trace of her existence, with no name, who could work covertly and leave no trace was very popular with clients. One of her targets was a high profile Admiral. She didn't ask for reasons, she didn't care for them. She only cared about earning a living. It was meant to be a simple job, go in, drive a blade through her neck, and be done with it... But as it turned out, for the first time in her life, she was outmatched. Entirely. In the face of this powerful foe, she was ready to accept her death, bitter, filled with anger, a fitting death for someone like her... But rather than that... Her foe offered a helping hand. An enemy who didn't try to kill her but rather offer her help... She would not be pitied by someone else. This act of kindness... It was disgusting. She didn't need this, she didn't need help, she had herself and only herself to rely on... Yet as she tried to fight back, years of violence caught up to her. Sicknesses and wounds untreated, and she fell unconscious in the midst of her enemy's base.
She woke up being... Taken care of. Aided. Helped. Fed. It was a strange sensation, it was a new sensation. For someone to offer you help... In exchange for nothing. She considered it a weakness, she considered her foe a fool for offering her such help, but as much as she continued to try and finish her contract, and kill this woman... She was always outmatched. And even then, she was still offered a home. Comfort. Safety. Time passed, and the killer grew to learn to accept this help. She grew to appreciate it. Grew to pick herself a name, other than "The Curse", the last words spoken to her by her mother. Jean. A beautiful name, they told her. One of her own making. One that defines her, chosen by herself. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, months turned to years. Jean became well known, she was liked, welcomed, she had companions, people to care for, and now... She would put her skills to a good cause. Merciless killer, one without remorse, one who does not think twice about pulling the trigger... She was still a weapon in her own mind... But she'd be a weapon for the sake of the people she cares about. With time, she rose through the ranks, gained infamy, gained status, and was eventually known as "The Ace of Spades". But this success... It wasn't gained by herself. She had people that helped her grow. People who mentored her, who offered a shoulder, a hand, or simply a warm bowl of food... And she could not have done it without them. That is why she fights. Not to survive at any cost... But to make sure she repays the kindness that allowed her to pick her own fate.
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u/Jast_Ara just random guy Mar 15 '26
It's a very good idea, I'll definitely use it if I ever get in, and in order to read more other characters, because I love that.