“Run, run as fast as you can!
You can’t escape me
I’m the Gingerbread Man!”
Name: The Gingerbread Man
Alias/Nickname: John Dough, GM, The G Man, Gömböc, Johnny Cakes, Boss
Tale: The Gingerbread Boy
Physical Age: Late 50’s
Actual Age: Unknown, though his tale was popularized in print in 1875
Height/Weight: Human Form - 5’9” / True form - 10”
Gender: Male
Physical Appearance and Attire: As with most of the inhuman looking Tales who could afford them, The Gingerbread Man has paid for a magical item that grants him a human form. As a human, GM looks like a man in his late fifties with shoulder-length dark hair and a mustache. He always wears a pinstripe suit, though he tends to change the color of the suit depending on the day.
The GM’s true form though is much more gruesome. The Gingerbread Man is a small, man-shaped cookie as you would expect, but that is all he has in common with his misleading name. He is not composed of Gingerbread at all, or perhaps not any more. He is a mixture of various foodstuffs, like bread, cheese, meats, etc. But such things have long since perished, as his body is composed of completely rotten ingredients. Whenever he goes about in his true form, a foul stench permeates around him.
Personality: The Gingerbread Man is gruff and overbearing, often prone to anger and violent flares of temper. He is also shrewd and cunning, and was able to make his gang one of the leading criminal enterprises in New York City in just under five years. He also has a habit of eating his enemies, which makes him very feared in the Underworld.
Despite his vile reputation, he acts as a sort of paternal figure to his underlings and treats them, if with not kindness, then with care. This is especially true with his lieutenant Swan, whom he almost acts like a surrogate father to. A foul-mouthed, violent, cannibalistic father, but a father nonetheless.
Background: Unlike the popularized version of his tale which made him famous, his origins were much, much different to that of the printed story. Instead of being chased around by people trying to eat him, the opposite was true. Upon being created, he felt an overwhelming hunger that drove him insane. First he ate the old woman who baked him, then her husband. Then he ate everyone in the small village they were in. He quickly moved to another. Then another. Then another. In less than a month, he had devoured an entire kingdom and his appetite was finally sated.
With hunger gone, sanity resumed. GM found himself alone in the dead kingdom. Instead of seeing tragedy in his actions, the GM saw opportunity. He went off in search of a band of bandits, and upon finding them killed (and ate) their leader. He then announced to the bandits that he was now the new leader of the band; those who refused to acknowledge him he ate as well. He then took his new gang of bandits and plundered the riches of the dead kingdom. With a coffers filled to bursting, the Gingerbread Man used it to fund the formation of a large criminal network which operated in three different kingdoms.
By the time of the Exodus, things had changed. His once wealthy and powerful organization had all but faded. The Gingerbread Man knew the direction the wind was blowing, and knew that he would have to join the Exodus in order to survive. He took the last remains of his once vast wealth and left for the human realm. He then paid a sorcerer from the White Lotus Lodge to make him an item that would give him human form. With new body at hand, the GM headed for New York.
He took the name John Dough and settled in with the other Tales in the Homelands. Unlike his brethren though, The Gingerbread Man saw opportunity in this new world. He pulled the same thing here that he did back home, i.e. finding a local street gang, killing their leader, then taking his place. Needless to say, he ate well that night. In a few short years, he transformed that small street gang into profitable criminal enterprise that dealt in selling narcotics, weapons and other black market goods. GM dubbed his new gang
The Breadwinners. Although the organization wasn’t as large as his previous one, Gingerbread Man knew that it was only a matter of time. He had his sights set on the future.
Skills and Abilities: -Speed: In his true form The Gingerbread Man is extremely fast and agile. He can outrun almost any Tale and can easily cut someone’s throat in the span of an eyeblink.
-Crime Boss: GM has a criminal gang, and thus has the resources being a crime boss entails. He has various thugs working for him, both Tale and mortal. He has access to guns, knives and explosives, and has connections in the local and state government. He also has the greatest weapon in the human world: money. He knows from experience that if a threat can’t be beaten, it can usually be bought off.
Starting Items/Trinkets: -Jade Fox Statue: This magical item is what allows The Gingerbread Man to shift from his human and gingerbread bodies. If it were to be destroyed, then GM would revert to his true form. The statue was created by a sorcerer from the White Lotus Lodge, and stands about two feet tall and is composed entirely of dark green jade.
-Knives: The Gingerbread Man never goes anywhere without at least one knife on his person. Not only is he deadly with a knife in his true form, but it comes in handy when he has to eat someone out in the field.
Weaknesses and Flaws: -Bad BO: GM’s true form is made out of rotting, spoiled food. That stuff stinks. If you start smelling rancid food, then it’s a dead giveaway that the Gingerbread Man is around.
-Made of Bread: Despite his ability to kill quickly and accurately, The Gingerbread Man’s true form is pitifully weak since he is composed mostly of (rotting) bread. A single blow could damage him severely, though like all Tales he can heal his wounds in time if he is in recovery.
-Hunger Madness: Gingerbread Man has to eat. If he goes for more than a few days without food, the madness that struck him on the day of his birth will return. When hungry he gets irritated, then violent. Thus he must have regular meals or he will lose himself.
-Foul Mouthed: The GM has a potty mouth, one that can make sailors blush. This often leads him into conflict with less abrasive folk. (If his swearing gets too offensive, I can tone it down.)
Other: -The Gingerbread Man’s main headquarters is in the Homelands. Not only does it put him near his own kind, but the wards help keep mortal authorities away from his place of business. He rebuilt an old abandoned hotel to its almost former glory, even allowing wealthy Tales to enjoy the accommodations so long as they were willing to pay the expensive tab, as well as mind their own business if they see anything less than legal. Most locals jokingly refer to the hotel as
"The Bakery." -GM makes his Breadwinners dress in dark suits and ties, a sort of uniform that he believes lends them an air of class. That is, if gorillas in suits were ever classy.
-The Breadwinners are composed mostly of mortal thugs, but he keeps some Tales employees on hand, such as Swan. And though most of his businesses lie outside the Homelands (as those make the most money) GM does have some small time operations occurring in the area. Despite being criminals, the Breadwinners act as a sort of unofficial peace keepers for his part of town. The Gingerbread Man likes to keep his house in order, and he considers his hotel and the surrounding area
his. Thus his men stop any muggings, fights, vandalism, and any other job that would usually go to police, if the Homelands had them. This, ironically, has made the Breadwinners’ territory much safer for the Tales living there than those who live outside of it.
