Eldritch City (3E MM)- OOC

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Spectrum
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Spectrum »

Doctor Malsyn wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:03 am Mmm, reading this over has already given me a good impression. I have an idea to play a supertnautal creature, possibly something along the lines of a Changeling or another type of fae.
You have me curious! If you do go with a defined race, expect there to be a significant amount of politics around the character.
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Spectrum
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Spectrum »

FuzzyBoots wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:13 am There's a part of me that wants to pull out my "Binder" character again, but honestly, he was a bit lackluster the last time. How would you feel about someone whose primary attack is a randomized Affliction? It's +2 to be able to choose each Affliction each time, but if I randomly roll for each one, what are your thoughts? The concept would be more or less a biokinetic who doesn't really know how his power works. It just sort of randomly scrambles his target's vitals.
Which Binder are you thinking of? I see at least three different versions on that page. Please copy over to here.

I'll need to give some thought to the randomized Affliction. How do you see it working within the flow of an action scene?
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Spectrum
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Spectrum »

EpicEclipse wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:42 am One of the ideas I have is a sentient magical sword that has developed enough magic for form a body to be able to live as a human. A sort of twist on the 'living weapon' trope. Fluff aside it would be basically a magic swordsman/woman. (Thinking something based on Excalibur to give it a more knightly personality, though there are plenty of swords of myth that I could base this sort of concept on)

Alternate idea is someone who has had a demonic or shadowy entity bonded to their soul. It wants to take over and is constantly trying to influence the character, but on the flip side, the character has access to dark powers. (This is a similar idea to a warforged Warlock I built years ago and would like as not have a similar build, maybe with a few tweaks)
I'm curious to hear more about both concepts before saying much more. Right now, I have a caution light on but I think that's more because I don't know how those characters would work in a game. Lots of details would need to be sketched out.
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Spectrum
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Spectrum »

MacynSnow wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:50 am
Spectrum wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 1:27 am I like rich backstories especially if people are willing to work on the details.

Also, to clarify, I'm okay with people that delve into the occult. I just want to have them defined in how they deal with the occult. They are rare and not publicly known (or at least easily publically dismissed)- and have areas of knowledge rather than the generic area of magic.

I'm curious to hear what you're thinking about.
I happen to have a character made for a different game called Cerberus.He used a Greek/Roman theme to his magic(Artemis' Shield,Prometheus' Flame,Pegasus Wings,Hippolyta's Belt,The Gates of Olympus,Hercules' Might,Hades Kennel,Argus' Sight,etc.) who was taught by his "Crazy" Uncle Omar,a major NPC Sorcerer in the magical underground of the game setting(basically a more scholarly,non-active version of Dr.Strange).I didn't want to step on your GM toes and add something you might not want added,so i thought i'd better run it by you first.........
Lots of artifacts in one place and artifacts that a lot of people would like to get their hands on. Also, would these be purchased as powers or as removable? If removable, I'll need to come up with fun ways to justify the purchase discount. :twisted:
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Spectrum
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Spectrum »

Heritage367 wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:07 pm Out of curiosity, how do you feel about psychics, or are you just looking for magic users?

Edit: scratch that, I just remembered I have a 3e build for a police detective/ritualist/artificer lying around somewhere, who I think is a PL8. She got her doctorate in Archaeology and Social Anthropology before she joined the force, motivated by her policeman father being kidnapped by a cult. She doesn't have to be a cop, she can be a private investigator.

Morena Colby has no magical powers of her own, but she does posses three powerful fetishes she made from items that belonged to her late father: a pair of glasses that let her see mystical phenomena, a super-sharp K-Bar knife, and a protective fetish made from his old dogtags. Otherwise she either just does rituals or creates fetishes for any desired magical affects.
Awww, I wanted to hear about your potential for psychic powers.
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Spectrum
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Spectrum »

General note, on several of the concepts so far, seems that similar ground is being covered. I'm not a big fan of the competition for slots that come with so many games- instead, I'm going to challenge you to find ways to set your characters apart, even if it comes to significant differences in the way that your characters view the world.
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FuzzyBoots
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by FuzzyBoots »

Spectrum wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:24 pmWhich Binder are you thinking of? I see at least three different versions on that page. Please copy over to here.

I'll need to give some thought to the randomized Affliction. How do you see it working within the flow of an action scene?
Sorry. I should have been more specific.

Joshua can be found here.

----

As regards the Biokinetic, the mechanic effect I was thinking was to simply roll d6, d7, d6 on each attack to determine what his target would get. It would probably be arrayed with a straight Damage effect that represented a much more lethal sort of biological scrambling. I'll admit that I had not put a lot of thought into the rest of the character yet, in part being curious about the use of the randomization. I always liked the Confuse power in 2E and how you never knew exactly what effect it might have on a target.

----

^_^ And before Heritage367 suggested their artificier, I was tempted to submit Le Main de Dieu, a dabbler who specializes in odd artifacts which only seem to work for him. I've built him a few times. This 3E build is actually a slightly reskinned Costumed Crimefighter from the Quick Character Generation tables. But honestly, I generally don't tend to enjoy playing that sort of character, defense and attack shifted. I liked the rest of how he was built... :-D
Last edited by FuzzyBoots on Tue Dec 12, 2017 2:29 am, edited 3 times in total.
Heritage367
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Heritage367 »

Spectrum wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:31 pmAwww, I wanted to hear about your potential for psychic powers.
Well okay, then! I have a psychic character I've used in a few games that never seem to go anywhere. She's a little Southern spitfire who's trained as a paralegal, which gives her some decent investigator chops. In terms of powers, I've built her a few different ways, but for this game's power level, I'd probably stick with the basics.

1. Limited telekinesis. Upper end would be lifting a small car, but I'd happily go weaker. She might also be able to use it to fly, or at least levitate.

2. Psychic invisibility. Still shows up on cameras, but people can't see her. Basically the Shadow's ability to 'cloud men's minds'.

3. Emotion Control. Sometimes I've gone with just a fear effect, but I wouldn't mind going broader.

4. Mental senses. This can do a lot of ways; it can just be sensing living things by their thoughts, or it could go as deep as reading surface thoughts. I know telepathy can be a game breaker, so I defer to the GM.

I'd probably be happy with any three of these, or would of course run with all four if you were okay with it.
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Doctor Malsyn
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Doctor Malsyn »

Spectrum wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:18 pm You have me curious! If you do go with a defined race, expect there to be a significant amount of politics around the character.
Cool! I'm glad to have at least mild approval on that front. And yes, I really shouldnt expect anything less when it comes to Fae and their internal politics. I'm definitely going to try for a Changeling, borrowing from a few different sources for her.

Question, and this is a weird one- How exactly woud I go about on making a say... Consume Emotion ability? I'm taking a bit from WoD and having emotions be the source of her magic, needing to have her 'recharge' every so often to keep up whatever supernatural abilities she'll have.
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Flynnarrel
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Flynnarrel »

Phillip K. Dremmond, Paramedic/EMT

Image

Phillip didn’t believe in Vampires. He really didn’t. Not until the night he was called in to 5150 a crazy homeless guy loitering in front of the blood donation office scaring all the others who needed to get their spending money before the liquor stores closed. The homeless guy was yelling and screaming but came quietly when the med wagon came to pick him up. He was quiet up until he was alone with Martin in the back. Martin woke up in the morgue several days later, and man, those tables are cold!

Vampires aren’t all about the sucking of blood (which is good because Martin actually gets a little queasy thinking about it). They aren’t all dark and broody either. Black tends to slim him down so much he looks like a refugee, and leather chafes. They aren’t sparkly and happy and unicorn rainbows either. Ever. Period. You can stop snickering about it any time now.

Phillip was able to prove that reports of his death were greatly exaggerated even if the EMS that found him in the abandoned warehouse were certain of it.
> He had unexpected help in this regard. It was unexpected but a call that he and Jodi responded to 3 years back resulted in them pulling a late-20s female from the river. The two of them were accredited with saving her life by the papers but the media buzz died down quickly and the patient, a pretty paralegal was still in a coma last he'd heard. Well, apparently she awoke and wanted to thank her rescuers. This hellcat named Darlene didn't balk when she discovered the clusterf#<& that was Phillip's life. She jumped right in and found what paperwork and legal hoops he needed to jump through to get his life and job back. It was awkward when she said she needed him to attend some daytime court appointments. She became the first person that he admitted that he was a member of the 'metabolically challenged' to. He expected her to freak out but she almost reacted like she'd already known and come to terms with it. He didn't share the full extent of his abilities with her (he still didn't know them himself) but he told her enough that she wouldn't make him go out in daylight.
His partner, fellow Paramedic Jodi Milhouse, has never been found or heard from. Darlene tried to help in that regard too.
Phillip was able to switch to the night shift of a different ambulance company, never fully understanding what happened to him.

In the stories, Vampires get the supernatural charm or the ability to fly or turn into mist. Phillip got rats. He can talk to them, control them, experience through their senses, even turn in to one. That's cool... I guess... Except when rats show up unexpectedly, drawn by his abilities.

The night shift was far different from the day shift. There were crazies and drunks and druggies and... more. While Phillip and his new partner Marty were at a recent crime scene waiting to take charge of the corpe and contaminated waste (that wasn't evidence) Phillip was called over by a big guy in a trench coat. He immediately knew the man smelled 'off'. The pale man identified himself as a P.I. and offered to pay for any information Phillip could provide. Which was a lot. (the local rats wouldn't shut up about all they saw/smelled, really, and the thing particularly stank to Phillip's heightened senses). Phillip was getting tired of the horrible state of affairs of the city and offered to do more than just give information. He lead Fortinbras to an abandoned warehouse where the thing nested in between 'meals'. Phillip said he knew Native American tracking techniques in a lie that didn't fool anyone. The confrontation was... much more sparkly than Phillip expected but Fortinbras had the creature's eradication well in hand. That's when the thing's mate struck from the shadows. Phillip stepped in the way of Fortinbras and the thing used Phillip as a squeaky toy until Fortinbras could shift his attention. No lie about Native Americans could cover the lack of red blood, the crazy Hunger eyes or the claws that reflexively sprouted and Phillip told a second person about his status. Fortinbras let Phillip in on a few other cases at that point seeing the utility of it.

Sure, he's not the greatest fighter in the world but his undead physiology keeps him going for quite a bit. He's not completely worthless.

During this time Phillip was also contacted by a representative of the vampire court for a long overdue initiation and orientation. Phillip showed up to avoid giving offense but otherwise made it clear he'd be staying out of the way. It was likely this stance that led him to be contacted by a member of the disenfranchised, a thug-minded vampire by the name of Shawn "The Snake" O'Connor, a much older Irish rebel vampire. Shawn initially tried to brow beat Phillip into servitude but when a veritable mountain of the city's rats responded to Phillip's distress Shawn relented and sought for ways they could work together. There aren't many of those and Phillip doesn't particularly 'like' the mohawked criminal but the arrangement is useful.

Too bad being undead didn’t cure his nearsightedness or give him the ability to not feel awkward around women. Guess you can’t win them all.

Phillip doesn’t dislike humans or want vengeance or see them just as Happy Meals on legs - many of the motivations of vampires in movies and literature. He genuinely cares for the innocents that get caught in the crossfire or subject to unspeakable horrors.

Note, Ambulance companies are often hired to transport blood bags from collection sites to hospitals, I see him as someone who can pass that info on... occasionally... to other vamps even. He justifies it to himself that at least they aren't out there hurting people. He, in fact, will arrange for himself to be 'robbed' and split the take with another like-minded vampire. If he absolutely must, he feeds very sparingly from those either healthy enough to recover from it or too far gone that is doesn’t matter and only those unconscious so as to not to feel the pain of it (less likely to get caught too).

tl;dr

Relevant Timeline:

37 years ago - Phillip was born to an aging couple given this chance by fertility science. Only child.
15 years ago - Phillip lost first one parent then the other. Natural causes. Assuming you count heavy drinking and smoking and a diet of salt and fatty meats 'natural'.
3.5 years ago - Phillip and Jodi pull Darlene from the river, saving her life
8 months ago - Phillip and Jodi respond to a crazy person call. Results: Phillip turned into a vampire, Jodi disappears.
7 months ago - Phillip transfered to night shift with ambulance company even though his legal status is still in question [they are THAT desperate for night-driver paramedics]. Phillip starts to see some of the crazy stuff that goes on in the city after dark. Meets Marty. Figures out alternative methods to getting the blood he needs.
6 months ago - Darlene recovers from a coma, helps Phillip get his legal affairs in order during which he has to tell her vampires are real and he's one.
5 months ago - Phillip approached by Fortinbras and sees a chance to make the city a little better. It's only a few cases at first but becomes increasingly frequent that they fight crime together.
3 months ago(?) - Phillip starts getting (and telling Fortinbras) about conflicting reports from rats about a mysterious woman involved in several altercations where victims were saved. The confusion centers around there be accounts of things like bright crackling fire or creatures appearing, but no actual scent trail of them or smell of burning or evidence of charring. Weird.
Present Day.

Current relationship(s): Marty Plotz, E.M.T. - Current partner on the night shift. He secretly fears he has narcolepsy as he's always falling asleep on his shift. (i.e. Phillip uses Song of Serenity on him to keep him out of the way if he has a shady deal going on.
Shawn "The Snake" O'Connor - This mohawk-wearing, goth-punk, Irish-ex-pat vampire is Phillip's only really tie to the seedy under dealings of the vampire world. Phillip will (sparingly) sell blood packs skimmed from a re-supply run to Phillip for extra cash and the flimsy justification of 'At least there won't be someone hurt for a meal'.

Interests: Keeping out of vampire politics. Online dating. Forensic medicine (he's going to continue with his night classes some day, he swears).

Complications:
Needs Blood: Phillip needs some amount of blood daily to function. If not sated the temptation and Hunger grow, slowly eating away at his rational self until the Need to feed is overpowering and dwarfs even his paramedic vow to 'Do no Harm'.
Vulnerabilities(Vampire): Depending on how Vampires are set up in the Eldritch City world Phillip could take damage and/or be weakened in the sun, be unable to cross running water, not show up in mirrors, etc. [LET ME KNOW].
Vampirically Apolitical: Phillip tries to remain neutral and apolitical in the drama-rich world of the vampire courts. Unfortunately others seem to want to involve him / use him as a pawn when he just wants to coast under the radar.
Secret (Undead): Phillip has no pulse or body heat, dead for all intents and purposes. He's been keeping that a secret for now. He's got a job to keep.
Soft-Hearted: Phillip is not a bloodthirsty (well, you know what I mean), kinda guy. His vow to 'Do no Harm' is something he takes seriously. He'll try to protect life/minimize violence as much as possible.
Jodi Milhouse: Phillip's partner also went missing on the night he was turned. He's been quietly searching for her at least wanting to know if she is still alive or... otherwise. (He'd had a crush on her that he tried to keep secret).
Rats: rats like Phillip, something about his scent or aura draws them. They want to be around him. Though still wary of humans, they'll be drawn out to maybe talk to him.. You can only be responsible for the closing of so many restaurants before you start to get the hint and not want to stay out in public over long. (So many of Phillip's OKC and Tinder dates have ended poorly because of this).

PL 8 120

Attributes [6pp]
STR 0/5
STA --
FGT 2
DEX 0
AGI 0
INT 2
AWE 4
PER 0

Saves [20pp]
Toughness = 8

Dodge 8pp + = 8
Parry 2+ 6pp+ = 8
Fort =
Will 4AWE+6pp = 8

Skills [13pp]: Perception 6(+10), Insight 4(+8), Technology 1(+3), Investigation 6(+8), Treatment 9(+11), Vehicles 7(+7), Area Knowledge- City 6(+8)

Advantages [6pp]: Benefits - Paramedic, Improved initiative, Interpose, Equipment 3

Equipment: Ambulance (Truck with Speed +1, Toughness +1, Benefit - Emergency Service vehicle [Sirens/Park in places illegal to others], Radio, GPS,) Dremmond carries: Bumpkey (like a lockpicking gun), First Aid kit, fire extinguisher


Powers

Undead: Immunity to Fort [30pp]
Protection 8 [8pp]
Regen 1 [1pp]
{Heal Normally}
Regen 4, Source - Blood [2pp] {Complication: not 'burning' damage such as from fire or sunlight}
{Drink blood to heal quickly}

Potence: Str 5, [10pp+ 1AE]
AE: Wall Crawling 2, Leaping 2, Speed 4

Auspix:
Super-senses; Scent, Tracking, Detect Supernatural (Scent), Acute Detect (differentiate type), Extended (hearing), Dark Vision [7pp+1AE]
{Complication: Can not see through magical darkness}
AE: Detect Rats(Mental), Ranged, Radius, Extended, Accurate, Acute

Vampire Disciplines Array
Animalism; [12pp +3AE]
...Linked Comprehend Animals, limited-Rats pr2 [Speak and Understand] (2),
...Linked Mind Reading, Area-Perception, Limited-Animals, Limited-Rats, Sensory Link, Limited to Sensory Link, pr 6(3)
...Linked Communication (Mental), Limited-Animals, Limited-Rats pr 2[1 mile] (4),
...Linked Mind Control, Affliction, Area- Perception, (Entranced, Compelled, Controlled), Limited-Animals, Limited-Rats pr 6(3)
{This is an ability to influence and perceive through the senses of rats. He also has limited ability to command them (DC16 if it matters).}
AE: Advanced Animalism (Song of Serenity); Affliction, Area-Perception (Hearing), Limited to One Target, (Resist by Will, Entranced & Impaired, Compelled & Defenseless, Controlled & Asleep) Limited to One Command "Remain Calm and Peaceful", Cumulative, Duration-Concentration, Instant Recovery, Extra Condition, Activation - Move, Quirk-Must hum/sing, Subtle {although Phillip is humming/singing, no obvious supernatural effect}, Insidious, PR 6
{One target that can hear him, (DC16 Dodge negates), Must make a DC16 Will check or suffer Affliction. As long as Phillip keeps the soft hum going DC16 Will to either recover or fall further under the sway.}
AE: Protean(Claws); Damage 1, Str-based, Multi-Attack 6, Accurate 4, Improved Crit 1
AE: Advanced Protean(Ratform); {Complication - equipment/clothing doesn't change}
...Linked Shrinking 12, Activation - Standard (10pp) {6-inch rat, -3Str, -1 Ground Speed, +6 Active Def, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidate}
...Linked Protection -6 (-6pp)
...Linked Morph (rat), Activation - Standard (3pp) {So Shrinking and Morph happen at the same time}
...Linked Comprehend Animals, limited-Rats pr2 [Speak and Understand] (2pp)
...Linked Enhance Skills, Acrobatics +9 (3pp)
{Active defenses while in ratform are DC 24 to be hit, Toughness 2}

Combat
init +4
Unarmed +2, DC 20 Toughness
Claws +10, DC21 Toughness [19-20], Multiattack
Song of Serenity, DC16 Dodge negates, if Failed DC 16 Will, (Entranced & Impaired, Compelled & Defenseless, Controlled & Asleep) Limited to One Command "Remain Calm and Peaceful", Cumulative, Concentration, Instant recovery, Subtle, Insidious, Move Activation.


Abilities6 + Saves20 + Skills13 + Advantages6 + Powers75=120


*********************************************************************

Now, if you want an set of adventurers that can operate in daytime I can have Phillip with a rare totem or spell to do so. That would be another of his complications.
Last edited by Flynnarrel on Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:07 pm, edited 9 times in total.
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Psistrike
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Psistrike »

Dropping my first two initial concepts, struggling too much to figure out a way to fit either of them into the basic setting plus make the character enjoyable for me to play as well. So going with this instead. There are two types of reapers in the world, the scythe wielders who usher the dead to their proper afterlife and hunt down those spirits who have escaped back into the world of the living. And the spear wielders, those charged with protecting the world of the living from supernatural threats while keeping the public from learning the truth. Female whose father was a spear-wielding reaper who retired on Earth and kept his old spear around in the attic. She stumbles upon it and now is charged with taking up his old job.
Heritage367
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Heritage367 »

Image

Name: Darlene Lampwick
Occupation: Paralegal/adventurer
Base of Operations: Aurora, CO
Affiliation: First Responders
Age: 31
Height: 5’3”
Weight: 109 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Blonde
Power Level: 8

ABILITIES
Strength 0
Stamina 2
Agility 3
Dexterity 3
Fighting 0
Intellect 2
Awareness 2
Presence 4

POWERS
Cloak of the Mind
• Precise Concealment 10 (All Senses but Tactile, Limited to Lifeforms/Mental effect) – 11 points

Grasp of the Mind
• Precise Subtle Move Object 8 (6 tons) – Dynamic array, 23 points total
AP: Subtle Flight 6 (120 mph), Dynamic
AP: Reflective Deflect 8, Dynamic

Night Breed Nature
• Regeneration 2 – 2 points

EQUIPMENT
Binoculars – 1 point
Car (Mazda Miata) - 11 points
Fire Extinguisher (in car) – 1 point
Laptop computer – 1 point
Smartphone (Camera, Internet, GPS, etc) – 6 points

ADVANTAGES
Attractive
Connected
Contacts
Defensive Roll 6
Great Endurance
Equipment 4
Languages 1 (Spanish)

SKILLS
Deception 6 (+10/+12)
Expertise: Law 2 (+5)
Expertise: Night Breed 2 (+5)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 1 (+5)
Investigation 8 (+10)
Perception 3 (+5)
Persuasion 6 (+10/+12)
Ranged Combat (Move Object) 5 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

OFFENSE
Initiative +3
Move Object +8 (Ranged, Damage 8 )

DEFENSE
Dodge 8
Parry 7
Fortitude 6
Toughness 8/2
Will 8

APPEARANCE
Despite her petite size, everything else about Darlene is big; her smile, her laugh, and her flashy/trashy taste in clothes. She favors leather and pleather jackets, revealing tops, tight pants and high heels, either pumps or ankle boots. She also never goes anywhere without an oversized purse and a pair of sunglasses, typically perched on top of her head. As comfortable as she is in these outrageous outfits, at least part of her appearance is an act; she knows people tend to underestimate a 'blonde bimbo'.

PERSONALITY
Very extraverted ever since she was small, Darlene has become a bit more reflective since recovering from her coma; sure, she can still turn on the charm and Southern sass when she wants to, and she's still a lot of fun at a bar or party, but now there's a somber undertone beneath her oversized persona. Dar has seen the darkness people are capable of, the suffering of those at the brink of death, and what returning from death can do to a Night Breed; now her compassion for others burns as bright as her quest for justice.

BACKGROUND
A pint-sized Southern dynamo in three-inch heels, Darlene Lampwick was a party girl waitress until her big sister Louise, sick and tired of her devil-may-care lifestyle, encouraged her to try to make something of herself. So Dar enrolled in the paralegal program at Athens Technical College; after graduation, no one was more shocked than Darlene when she found out she was actually good at her new job. Things seemed to be looking up for the feisty young woman.

But then three years ago, she was sexually harassed by Charles Raymond, a senior partner at the Atlanta law firm where she worked. When she complained, her concerns were dismissed; enraged, she did a little digging into his background, and came upon some very dirty secrets, secrets someone was willing to go to great lengths to keep hidden.

The driver was just supposed to scare her, not run her MINI off the road and into a river; she was trapped inside the flipped-over car as it slowly flooded with water, unable to get the doors open. Darlene ended up in a unresponsive coma for three years, during which she believes she was in touch with 'outer entities', faceless beings whom she claims taught her new ways of seeing the world. When she awoke, she found she had unusual mental abilities and a passion for justice, whatever the cost. She's also being reading a lot more (Dar might be one of the few people to wake up smarter from a traumatic head injury), especially about others like herself, which led to a certain hospital in Colorado...

COMPLICATIONS
Motivation: Justice. Darlene is sick and tired of seeing powerful people get away with murder, sometimes literally. She’s no killer, but her thirst for justice can take her down some fairly dark paths.

"Ah’m with the band.”: Even though her life has changed in so many ways, Darlene’s fashion sense has not; she still dresses like a groupie hanging around backstage at a Van Halen cover band concert, which is not always appropriate.

“Ah missed some stuff.”: Three years out of your life is like ten years in pop culture reference years; Darlene has a very full TiVo and a lot of catching up to do.

"You ain't stickin' me in no damn box!": Her harrowing experience has left Darlene with fairly acute claustrophobia; among other things, she will now only drive a convertible.

"They made him a what now?": During the time she was comatose, the man who put her there, Charles Raymond, has become a senator. And he is very unhappy to find out she's awake...


POWER POINTS
Abilities 32 + Powers 35 + Advantages 15 + Skills 19 + Defenses 22 = 123 Total
This is the original version of my psychic from RA; a few things would have to be changed, but this gives you the basic idea.
EpicEclipse
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by EpicEclipse »

Spectrum wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:27 pm
EpicEclipse wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:42 am One of the ideas I have is a sentient magical sword that has developed enough magic for form a body to be able to live as a human. A sort of twist on the 'living weapon' trope. Fluff aside it would be basically a magic swordsman/woman. (Thinking something based on Excalibur to give it a more knightly personality, though there are plenty of swords of myth that I could base this sort of concept on)

Alternate idea is someone who has had a demonic or shadowy entity bonded to their soul. It wants to take over and is constantly trying to influence the character, but on the flip side, the character has access to dark powers. (This is a similar idea to a warforged Warlock I built years ago and would like as not have a similar build, maybe with a few tweaks)
I'm curious to hear more about both concepts before saying much more. Right now, I have a caution light on but I think that's more because I don't know how those characters would work in a game. Lots of details would need to be sketched out.
Sure, I can help there.

The living weapon idea stems from the idea of a magical weapon of mythology having developed a sentience and over the centuries, accumulated enough magical energy to form a body, personifying itself (IE: Excalibur would be a somewhat knightly type person) and would have abilities revolving around its legends, if possibly loosely. The intention would be to pick one wielded by a more noble person from myth, rather than an evil one. Excalibur, Caladbolg and Durendal are some that come to mind.

Build wise, it wouldn't be anything too strange (unlike my old Illumina build. That build was powerful and a little mechanics heavy with what it was intended for). The character would have their base body like anyone else, be able to summon their weapon form, to wield and have myth-appropriate abilities to that end. Excalibur is the one I am leaning towards especially for the personality potential, and I'd do a bit more research into what abilities legend gives it and possibly it's sheath as well since that was a thing too.

All in all, the weapon would have given itself a mortal body that doesn't necessarily age, but succeptable to all the same things humans are, sans whatever it's mythical abilities would provide. I entertained the idea of Morph with Metamorph to have an actual weapon form, but that kind of thing can be VERY tricky mechanically and I'm trying to keep it simpler. Long and short, it would be a warrior build with a few supernatural abilities/magics.

***

The OTHER idea, the idea was the character found a relic which was in fact the prison to a dark entity. In tampering with the prison, he took the entity into himself, imprisoning it there. The entity's nature isn't exactly clear aside from it uses darkness, fueled by negative emotions and the darkness in all human hearts and is able to grant the character the ability to give darkness a tangible form as power. The entity uses this as a means by which to try and convince its human host to relinquish control of his body which would inevitably lead to the human's soul being lost in darkness with the dark entity in control. Instead, the human uses these new abilities to fight supernatural threats he can now sense (one of the side effects of the dark entity being inside him).

Mechanically, the powers come from his own heart's darkness, a sort of play on human potential given form as energy, just in this case, through a filter of darkness due to the nature of the entity in the human. He can deliver this power by means of energy expulsions in short range bursts and infuse his body with temporary strength and toughness. Some of the powers will be a double edged sword just due to the destructive nature of the power involved.

The character will also have magical counsel in his head by the way of the entity there which will have its own knowledge of the supernatural. The character is intended to have this sort of dynamic of bargaining with the entity within which wants true freedom, but will give small insights and power to tempt the human to give more and more freedoms, though it knows if the human host dies, it will be destroyed as well, so can't be too careless.



Neither character is really reliant on Ritual or Artificer and both fit more into a warrior niche, though somewhat differently with the living weapon being a bit more traditional warrior while the empowered human is a little more energy controller with a very narrow scope (though still more warrior than blaster). The living weapon is also a more blatant " inherently light" character while the other is more a "struggling against the darkness within" type.

Let me know if I can elaborate on anything more for you for either.
RainOnTheSun
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by RainOnTheSun »

Spectrum wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:18 pm
Doctor Malsyn wrote: Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:03 am Mmm, reading this over has already given me a good impression. I have an idea to play a supertnautal creature, possibly something along the lines of a Changeling or another type of fae.
You have me curious! If you do go with a defined race, expect there to be a significant amount of politics around the character.
This sounds interesting to me. Is there a lot of paranormal interaction under the surface, with different races or factions working together or against each other? It would be fun to play something like a supernatural negotiator--somebody whose job is to make sure that nothing gets so out of hand that the police or the major crime families get heavily involved. Or whoever the major "conventional" authority is in that city. You mentioned Batman as an inspiration, so I'd probably make him a little like a Gotham City criminal, someone who's a little nuts. Maybe with a psychic split personality.
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Doctor Malsyn
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Re: Eldritch City (Recruiting, 3E MM)

Post by Doctor Malsyn »

Image
"
PL 8
Name: Layla Bluebriar
Occupation: Waitress at a downtown Bar and Grill / Indentured Servant to the Court of Winter
Age: 25
Height + Weight: 6'0" 120lbs / Variable
Ethnicity/Nationality: Changeling, 'Caucasian American'
Distinguishing Characteristics: Black eyes, pointed ears with shadowed tips, feint pink hair
Languages: Firstspeech

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Complications
Responsibility: Keep the Mask Humanity is little more then the pawns in the grand fourth dimensional game of chess the First Ones play. Their race was never supposed to know of what went on just above their sight-line, forbidden from learning of the Secret. It is for this reason that almost all fae are determined to uphold the mask, prevent humans from getting involved in things they knew nothing about.

Servant to the Court: All of the Lesser Fae are bound to serve one of the four Seasonal Courts. Though Layla like many others have tried to escape them, her True Name still remains tied to King of Winter and binds her to him and his subservants. To blatantly resist the will of her Court is to invite pain and suffering, but every contract their loopholes. One simply needs to be clever.

Emotionally Distant: Members of the Winter Court are not typically known for exuberance and zeal. While they may experience hope, pride, joy, and love like any other, these emotions always lay hidden just under their frosty mystique.

A passion forbidden: For the past three years, Layla has found herself not under the sway of her courtly masters, but under that of a human man named Author Moore. She met the young man during his final year in college where he studdied law, bumping into him at the park on a midwinter's day. She can't fathom how her heart continues to beat off kilter with each fleeting kiss and caress, and she craves more even when she knows how dangerous this relationship could become.

Scorned by Iron: As powerful spirits of the natural world, their true weakness is the raw proof that humanity has the ability to forge their own destiny. Iron cuts deeply into their skin, causing them great amounts of pain and draining their innate magic.
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Biography:
Changeling children are born not of the courts, but of humans who've made deals they were unprepared to keep. Regardless of whether they knew what they were asking or if they even received their expected end of the bargain, the payment is always to be payed in full. Their firstborn child, gifted to unseen masters in the dead of night so that they are then turned, corrupted, and twisted into servants eternal.

Layla is but one of many who've never had the chance to know the ones who gave her away for reasons selfish and undefined.

She spent the better part of her life in the direct service of her lords and maters, tending to their extravagant mind-bending manners as a simple scullery maid. Ambition and cunning was well rewarded in the upper echelons of their society, however, and even a Bargained Child such as herself might one day find themselves mustering into life of nobility and extravagance.

These dreams were not the ones that tempted the girl however. It was her desire more then anything else to brush her feet against the rough uneven grass kept in the gardens of humanity. Find the life that was stolen from her as a babe, to live among their kind. A world without the backstabing smiles and twisted words of sway, where she could find simple joy in a simple world.

When she finally made the jump to gamble for her freedom, the terms and conditions of her contract continued to choke and chaff around her neck. To escape the court's will was impossible so long as the Lord of Ice and Snow held her True Name in his grasp. Yet her struggle was not without some concession.

Her dream was granted in a limited fashion, but this was merely so that she could tend to the interests her benefactors held within the Dullen World. As long as she kept the Mask and did as she was told, Layla was free to enjoy the life stolen from her. Experience their simple joys and pleasures, make lasting friendships and stumble into feelings unknown.

Yet could this really be considered freedom when she felt the noose of her masters digging into her neck? It would only take one false move for her to slip and have everything vanish in a flash.
-------------------------------------

Abilities: 4+8+2+0+8+4+4+8= 38
Strength 2, Stamina 4, Agility 1, Dexterity 0
Fighting 4, Intellect 2, Awareness 2, Presence 4

Advantages 22
Defensive roll 4, Evasion, Power Attack, Precise Attack, Redirrect, Set-Up, Takedown, Uncanny Dodge, Luck 1, Diehard, Instant Up, Trance, Animal Empathy, Connected, Fascinate, Improved Disarm, Improved Critical 2(Claws), Improved Trip

Skills 20(60)
CC: Claws 6(+10), Deception 9(+13), Ex: First World Magic 9(+11), Ex: Culinary 3(+5), Insight 3(+5), Intimidation 6(+10), Investigation 3(+5), Perception 3(+5), Persuasion 9(+13), Stealth 6(+7),

Powers 25
Otherworldly Nature: 3+3+6+8+4+1=25
..Skin like Porceline: Protection 2, Enhanced trait (Attractive 1)3
..Winterborn Nature: Immunity 6 (Cold enviornments, Emotion effects {Half-effect} 3
..Truesight: Senses 6 (Counters Concealment(Invisibility), Counters Illusion(Visual), Darkvision 6
..Firstspeech: Comprehend 4 (Can understand and be undeerstood, can read all Langagues) 8
..Changeling Claws: Strength-based damage 4 4
....Glamour: Morph 2(Female Humanoids) (Limited action; Standard) 1


Offense
Initiative: +1
Unarmed: +4 DC 17
Claws: +10, DC 21, Crit 18-20

Defense 4+1+2+8= 15
Dodge 4 (+5), Parry 1 (+5), Fortitude 2 (+6), Toughness 4 (+8), Will 8 (+10)

Power Points
Abilities 38 + Powers 25 + Advantages 22 + Skills 20 (60 ranks) + Defenses 15 = 120

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Last edited by Doctor Malsyn on Wed Dec 20, 2017 1:57 am, edited 3 times in total.
Am I dead? Am I alive? The answer may surprise you!
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