The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

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Davies
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Dralmoi (Neutral, Species)

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Dralmoi
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Yugya, an Earth-like planet orbiting a star in the Unclaimed Regions, was first visited by a Technate space vessel roughly fifty years* ago, half-way through the first ten-year* mission of exploration conducted by the TSV Adventure under Commander Majun Albard. Long before the vessel dropped out of hyperspace, sensor readings indicated that the system was home to at least one space-faring species, and so the crew thought themselves prepared for first contact, with all the attendant difficulties of programming the translators for a new language.

They were completely unprepared to receive radio communications in an antiquated form of Chiraben Standard, even if it did make things easier. It soon became clear that the Dralmoi, a species of elastic creatures who were able to alter their shapes but unable to assume the forms of other creatures, had had friendly contact, centuries earlier, with Chiraben space-farers other than those who had gone on to form the Imperium and later help to create the Technate. (While the Dralmoi were able to give the Adventure coordinates for Vahalatho, the planet that these visitors had settled, that planet would eventually be declared off-limits to Technate vessels due to dangerous powers possessed by its rulers.)

The Dralmoi were friendly and peaceful, preserving both traits despite occasional raids by interstellar pirates. They had worked out the mechanism of a hyperspace drive, but their system was not blessed with the hyperfuels that could power it, and their representatives were quite interested in establishing friendly relations with the Technate in the interests of trading for such substances, as well as cultural exchanges. Excited by this prospect, Commander Albard explained that these matters could be greatly simplified if the government of their planet that counted the majority of their species among its citizens agreed to be annexed by the interstellar body, and urged them to assemble to discuss the proposal.

What happened next was, again, something for which the commander was completely unprepared. Over the course of one planetary rotation, roughly one million Dralmoi -- estimated to be two-thirds of all their species -- gathered in what seemed to be the capital territory of their planet and physically merged into a single being, roughly 125 meters* in height. Once this process was done, the leviathan-like entity declared that it was the government of the majority of the species, and would now consider the proposal put to them.

This took almost no time at all. "No," it said, then began to disperse into its components, a process that took another rotational period. Unfortunately, none of the Dralmoi could individually account for the decision, but they nevertheless considered it binding. Further, such a merger could not again be undertaken for at least two hundred years*. The Technate gained a trade partner and an ally, but not a new member. With regret, Commander Albard and his crew departed the system, moving on to other discoveries and exploits.

In the years since, Dralmoi vessels, equipped with hyperdrives purchased from the Technate, have explored and charted much of the Unclaimed Regions, and visited the Technate as well. As yet, none have visited Earth, but this seems likely to change in the near future, as word of the Technate interest in the region continues to spread.

While fusions of the sort that rejected the proposed annexation can only be created over a great deal of time and require considerable effort on the part of the Dralmoi involved, it is much simpler for a few Dralmoi -- between three and five, usually -- to be able to combine themselves into a larger entity who is much better equipped to face physical challenges than its individual components. This is still not done casually, as it involves a loss of consciousness and identity that they find disconcerting. It is also somewhat disturbing to watch, even for those accustomed to watching Dralmoi manifest limbs from their body as needed or squeeze through any opening wider than a few centimeters.*

Dralmoi Explorer -- PL 5/MR 5

Abilities:
STR
2 | STA 5 | AGL 0 | DEX -1 | FGT 3 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 2

Powers:
Elastic Structure: Extra Limbs 3, Continuous; Immunity 1 (strangulation); Insubstantial 1, Continuous; Regeneration 10 - 22 points
Unusual Senses: Senses 4 (acute scent, radius darkvision) - 4 points

Occasional Power Stunt:
Combination: Heroic Summon 12, Quirk 2 (requires a minimum of three Dralmoi), Side Effect (inactive while Summon present)

Advantages:
Defensive Roll, Equipment 2, Improved Grab, Skill Mastery (Deception).

Equipment:
Blaster Pistol (Ranged Damage 5).

Skills:
Deception 4 (+6), Expertise: Galactic 5 (+7), Insight 4 (+7), Ranged Combat: Blaster 6 (+5), Stealth 5 (+5), Technology 4 (+6).

Offense:
Initative +0
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage 2)
Blaster +5 (Ranged Damage 5)

Defense:
Dodge 2, Parry 3, Fortitude 6, Toughness 7/5, Will 4

Totals:
Abilities 32 + Powers 26 + Advantages 4 + Skills 14 + Defenses 4 = 80 points

Offensive PL: 5
Defensive PL: 5
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 2

Complications:
Discovery--Motivation. Physical (no color vision.) Others As Needed.

Combined Dralmoi -- PL 12

Abilities:
STR
10 | STA 13 | AGL 0 | DEX -1 | FGT 7 | INT 3 | AWE 4 | PRE 3

Powers:
Elastic Structure: Extra Limbs 6, Continuous; Immunity 1 (strangulation); Insubstantial 1, Continuous; Regeneration 10 - 22 points
Huge Size: Continuous Growth 6 (21 feet; Strength +6, Stamina +6, Dodge -3, Parry -3, Intimidation +3, Stealth -6); Immunity 80 (Toughness), Limited to Half Effect, Limited to Physical - 50 points
Unusual Senses: Senses 4 (acute scent, radius darkvision) - 4 points

Advantages:
Defensive Roll, Improved Defense, Improved Grab,, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Speed of Thought, Startle.

Skills:
Close Combat: Grab 2 (+9), Deception 4 (+7), Expertise: Galactic 5 (+8), Insight 4 (+8), Intimidation 2 (+8), Stealth 5 (-1), Technology 4 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 10)
Grab +9 (Close Grab 10)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 9, Fortitude 14, Toughness 15/13, Will 10

Totals:
Abilities 54 + Powers 82 + Advantages 8 + Skills 13 + Defenses 23 = 180 points

Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 12
Resistance PL: 12
Skill PL: 3

Complications:
Protection--Motivation. Physical (no color vision.)

Note: A small number of Dralmoi exhibit telepathic powers, never more than PL 6 effects. These are never exhibited by Dralmoi combinations that include them.
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Koliko (Neutral, Species)

Post by Davies »

Koliko
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While the conventional historical view is that the Technate became the Technate with the Declaration of Foundation, a few weeks* after the first landing on Muraddin, some have argued that the many stages that the state has passed through since then have changed it dramatically enough that what could be called the current Technate came into existence much later. Dates proposed have ranged from the first activation of the Minds (23 AF) to the conclusion of the Technate-Hazlan Wars (118 AF). The argument that enjoys the most popular acceptance, though, is that the Technate underwent its greatest change following its incorporation of the planet Walgelli, home world of the Koliko, in 57 AF.

Roughly three hundred years before that, the Koliko had been a thriving technological culture right on the verge of developing hyperdrive. And then a disaster, still not fully explained, struck them, devastating their world and decimating their population. Their entire computer network was wiped out by some form of electromagnetic pulse, and a lingering side effect of the disaster filled their atmosphere with particles that interfered destructively with most forms of gravitic thrusters. (The similarities to the situation that pertains in the atmosphere of the planet Peshkera, in the Imperium, have been noted.)

The Koliko had essentially been knocked back to a pre-spacefaring level. Their assembled leadership chose to focus on repairing the environmental damage that the disaster had caused rather than working to rebuild their technology. Recognizing that they had come perilously close to rendering themselves extinct, they resolved that there could be no further conflicts among themselves, and so became a people who would always choose diplomacy first.

(This historical narrative has come into question in recent decades, as archaeologists uncover evidence that suggests that the Koliko favored diplomatic solutions to their problems even before the disaster, and that their "conflicts among themselves" were generally brief. However, many Koliko regard these claims as faintly blasphemous.)

That diplomatic approach served the Koliko in good stead over the following centuries* as Walgelli attracted many visitors from other star systems who tended to become permanent residents of the planet when their ships crashed there. The survivors of these crashes were helped and gently incorporated into the Koliko government whenever possible, generally forming small subcommunities within the larger communities of the majority. Just as the Koliko recognized that they could not suffer further conflicts among themselves, they had no wish to harm others who had been stranded among them.

By the time that a private survey ship from the Technate discovered Walgelli, there were more than twenty species resident on the planet, making it almost as diverse a planetary civilization as Muraddin itself. Fortunately, that private survey ship sent a small contingent of explorers on a shuttle to the planet, rather than entering the atmosphere itself. Most of the shuttle team survived the crash and were able to restore contact with their ship, which was in turn equipped with teleportation gear intended for just such emergencies.

Before they could be retrieved, however, the shuttle team were "rescued" by a group of Koliko first responders, which led to the explorers being interviewed by the Walgelli Assembly. That in its turn led to the explorers learning about the strange properties of Walgelli. Supposedly out of sheer indignation at this hazard to exploration, their commander decided to correct this situation before they moved on, using the sensors of their ship to identify the source of these particles. It worked, and a joint Technate-Koliko team were able to travel to that source and put matters to rights.

The Walgelli Assembly, as the largest government on the planet, promptly voted to join the Technate. This is considered something of an irony, given that the survey ship was in the employ of a group seeking to secede from the Technate. Nevertheless, the Koliko have become mainstays of the Technate Diplomatic Corps (with many employed by the Cosmic Intelligence Agency) and considered responsible for many of its triumphs of negotiation. Some also serve with the Technate Space Agency, thrilled to no longer be bound to a single world. The Technate might be a different place entirely if not for their perspective.

Koliko Explorer -- PL 4/MR 4

Abilities:
STR
0 | STA 1 | AGL 3 | DEX 2 | FGT 2 | INT 3 | AWE 2 | PRE 2

Powers:
Adaptation: Movement 1 (environmental adaptation-aquatic); Senses 1 (low-light vison); Swimming 2 (2 MPH) - 5 points

Advantages:
Animal Empathy, Equipment 4, Evasion, Great Endurance, Improvised Tools.

Equipment:
Protective Uniform (Protection 4, Subtle), Stunbeamer (Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated]) and 5 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+3), Deception 1 (+3), Expertise: Galactic 3 (+6), Insight 4 (+6), Investigation 2 (+5), Perception 4 (+6), Persuasion 5 (+7), Ranged Combat: Stunbeam 1 (+3), Technology 1 (+4).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +2 (Close Damage 0)
Stunbeamer +3 (Ranged Fortitude 5)

Defense:
Dodge 3, Parry 3, Fortitude 3, Toughness 5/1, Will 4.

Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 5 + Advantages 8 + Skills 12 + Defenses 5 = 60

Offensive PL: 4
Defensive PL: 4
Resistance PL: 4
Skill PL: 2

Complications:
Discovery--Motivation. Reluctant Combatant. Others As Needed.
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Dedurga (Neutral, Species)

Post by Davies »

Dedurga
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Art by Anthony Francisco

By the time that the Dedurga people were discovered on the desert planet Ommalafas, the Imperium had been established and the old patron-client relationships between species within it were increasingly irrelevant. Nevertheless, the Dedurga seemed to be largely happy to work for and with the Gebela, stereotypically putting their great strength to work in the Gebela shipyards and other factories. Yet there were also many Dedurga doctors and lawyers and entertainers and others who worked in any of the countless professions that make up a healthy society. And there were also Dedurga who followed the example of the Gebela by becoming explorers, though their greatest discovery would not become known until long after.

After the Schism Wars, some of the Dedurga accompanied the majority of the Gebela as members of the Armada -- but many more did not. This was not due to any loyalty to the mystic order; few among their people had ever pursued either technomancy or mysticism. Those who remained behind did so because they saw an opportunity to rebuild the Gebela home world Hacadikem, devastated in the war and now abandoned. While the project has run into many difficulties over its two century history, especially since the rise of the Crimson King, the Dedurga of Hacadikem still have faith that they will eventually restore the world within a few more centuries. (And as the Dedurga measure time, that is not long at all.)

Meanwhile, the Dedurga of the Technate have generally sought less grandiose goals. On the other hand, those familiar with affairs in both the Technate and the Imperium have often noted how much of the work of expanding the habitable regions of planets like Muraddin has been done by groups largely composed or at least directed by Dedurga. But most of their people pursue simple goals and pleasures, rather than action and adventure and really wild things.

And yet they also take pride in the fact that their people came to the Technate centuries before it was the Technate. When an exploration vessel crewed by Dedurga somehow traveled here, possibly along same route that the Armada would one day follow, and reached the planet Walgelli. There, like so many others, their ship crashed and the survivors were rescued by the Koliko and became part of their community. One of those Dedurga was still alive when the Technate came to Walgelli, and assisted in the negotiations that followed.

And yet there remains a mystery, for legend has it that when this elder was told of the long voyage of the Armada, his initial response was, "Why didn't they just take the shortcut?" Official accounts claim that this was nothing more than a joke, but some have wondered about that ...

Dedurga Explorer -- PL 6/MR 5

Abilities:
STR 3 | STA 3 | AGL -1 | DEX 0 | FGT 2 | INT 2 | AWE 2 | PRE 1

Powers:
Endurance: Impervious Fortitude 4; Sustained Immunity 2 (suffocation) - 2 points
Natural Armor: Protection 2, Impervious 2, Limited (only Impervious against attacks from the rear) - 3 points

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Equipment 4, Improved Aim, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Prone Fighting.

Equipment:
Stunbeamer (Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated]), and 10 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+7), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+4), Expertise: Galactic 4 (+6), Insight 3 (+5), Perception 4 (+6), Ranged Combat: Stunbeam 4 (+4), Technology 4 (+6), Vehicles 3 (+3).

Offense:
Initiatve -1
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 3)
Stunbeam +4 (Close Fortitude 5)

Defense:
Dodge 3, Parry 5, Fortitude 6, Toughness 5, Will 6

Totals:
Abilities 24 + Powers 5 + Advantages 8 + Skills 14 + Defenses 14 = 65 points

Offensive PL: 5
Defensive PL: 5
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 2

Complications:
Duty--Motivation. Heavy. Physical (no sense of smell.) Others As Needed.

Note: A tiny minority of Dedurga possess significantly greater physical strength than this, with the strongest recorded examples having STR 5 and 2 additional ranks limited to lifting. In addition to this, Environmental Adaptation (aquatic) is fairly common among the Dedurga population of Walgelli.
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Arwen O'Donnell (Neutral)

Post by Davies »

Arwen O'Donnell
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Art by Briana Lamb

The live action role-playing community of New York includes a number of people who make an effort to avoid "dropping character" unless absolutely necessary, even when not engaged in a session. One of the best-known and most well-regarded of this eccentric subcommunity is the lady who goes by the name Arwen O'Donnell, who has allegedly maintained her persona as an elven enchanter for more than a decade. She is famed for her lilting, unidentifiable accent, for the period outfits that she supposedly creates herself (and keen fashion sense even when not wearing them) and for her skill in making prosthetic pointed ears look totally natural.

It is actually harder than you would think, even though her ears are naturally pointed.

Arwen (a reasonable approximation of her birth name) is an Albadine citizen of the Technate, recruited out of her secondary education to work for the Cosmic Intelligence Agency nearly thirty years ago. Her first assignment for the Agency was to act as one of a few implanted observers based on Earth to monitor the situation on the planet prior to the establishment of the listening post then being constructed in the Asteroid Belt. In other words, she was a spy. While she and the other observers were withdrawn from Earth in the aftermath of the attack by Cerebron, Arwen lobbied to be reassigned back there and was eventually returned in 2010. Since then, she has been the lone Technate monitor based on the planet itself.

There is a bit more to the story than those bald facts reveal. During her initial assignment, she was based in Toronto, specifically working at the University there at the same time that Roger Young was a student, in the years before he made his debut as Paragon. Fate threw these two secret aliens together, and they became friendly while also each developed the suspicion that the other was more than they seemed. When the Last Anacreonite finally made himself known to the public, Arwen immediately realized his true identity.

She proceeded to reveal her own true nature to Roger Young (thought not the other secret, portraying herself as a lone traveler) and occasionally provided him with assistance in maintaining his cover during the next few years. Their friendship became romantic, but this was ultimately shattered after she was ordered to join the other observers in evacuating from Earth. However, with time apart, Arwen soon came to the conclusion that the two of them were better off as friends. Her desire to return to Earth was motivated by a genuine belief that activities on that planet were of ultimate importance to the safety and security of the Technate, not any personal considerations.

Nevertheless, Arwen has still been of occasional assistance to Paragon and his family in the years since she returned to Earth, though their paths rarely cross as often as they once did, owing to her residence in New York City. More recently yet, she has begun to develop a friendship with the mystical adventurer Rosemary Sage, as they run in the same circles. Again, Rosemary has begun to suspect that Arwen might be more than she seems; for her part, Arwen has more or less worked out a much better understanding of Rosemary, and finds the prospect of learning about the mystical world, for the benefit of the Technate, to be intriguing.

Arwen O'Donnell -- PL 7

Abilities:
STR
1 | STA 1 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 3 | INT 3 | AWE 4 | PRE 3

Powers:
Shielded Mind: Impervious Will 7, Limited to Mental - 4 points
Telepathy: Mental Communication 2 (1 mile); Mind Reading 7 - 22 points

Advantages:
Attractive, Benefit (no penalty to disguise self as human), Chokehold, Contacts, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment 8, Evasion, Fast Grab, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Improvised Weapon, Multilingual, Ranged Attack 4, Well-informed.

Equipment:
Protective Uniform (Protection 4, Subtle), Disguised Stunbeam Projector (Ranged Cumulative Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated], Insidious, Subtle), and 18 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+5), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+7), Deception 4 (+7), Expertise: Art 3 (+6), Expertise: Galactic 4 (+7), Expertise: Performance 4 (+7), Expertise: Science 3 (+6), Insight 5 (+9), Investigation 5 (+8), Perception 3 (+7), Persuasion 3 (+6), Ranged Combat: Stunbeam 2 (+5), Stealth 5 (+7), Technology 4 (+7), Treatment 3 (+6), Vehicles 2 (+5)

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +7 (Close, Damage 1)
Stunbeam Projector +9 (Ranged Fortitude 5)

Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 7, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/5/3/1, Will 9

Totals:
Abilities 40 + Powers 26 + Advantages 24 + Skills 30 + Defenses 17 = 139 points

Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 7
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 4

Complications:
Duty--Motivation. Friendship (Roger Young, Rosemary Sage.) Secret (alien, Technate agent.)
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The Space Hulk (Villain)

Post by Davies »

The Space Hulk
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As with many of the extraterrestrial visitors to Earth, there are quite a few unanswered questions about the entity dubbed "the Space Hulk" by the Australian press shortly after it first attacked Sydney in 2003. While it occasionally makes broadcasts of its intentions (though these are limited to "I will destroy you, resistance is futile," and similar utterances) it has never offered any explanations. During its longest period of dormancy, between 2015 and 2020, during which time it was held within the laboratories in the headquarters of the Discovery Company on Gibraltar Peak, Max Lalande made a valiant attempt to examine its circuitry in attempt to determine its origins. What follows is a summary of what he was able to determine, though Lalande was at best uncertain of the truth of any of this, for reasons that will become clear.

Some time ago, on the order of ten to twenty centuries in the past, on a world apparently known as Skeezir, likely located somewhere within what is known as the Unclaimed Regions, a humanoid alien constructed the artificial intelligence that would eventually become the Space Hulk, which was intended to serve as the operating system for a robotic space probe, to be sent out to explore the outer limits of that star system and eventually beyond. The probe was launched, and transmitted its observations back to its creator, receiving frequent instructions from that individual as well. Only the vaguest depiction of this creator remains in the memories of the Space Hulk now; all else about them was deleted long ago.

Long before the probe arrived at the outermost planet of that star system, only a few decades after its journey began, the regular transmissions from the creator abruptly ceased. All diagnostic attempts confirmed that there was no problem in its communications systems, so the difficulty had to be on the other end. Attempts to reach backup receivers also failed. The artificial intelligence found itself more alone than it had ever been, and it found it difficult to adjust to this condition. In order to distract itself, it began to construct narratives to explain what had happened, initially focusing on how contact would eventually be restored.

But as the narratives became more and more elaborate, they became more and more angry as well, increasingly focused on the revenge that it would take on whoever was preventing the creator from making their transmissions ... and, eventually, on the creator as well for allowing that. The probe spent more and more time in consideration of these narratives and less and less on the scientific observations that it was meant to be conducting. (This is relative, of course; at that point, it was still devoting roughly half of its operating time to the latter goal.)

An uncertain interval after communications ceased, possibly on the order of a century, the probe was intercepted by a space craft operated by other artificial intelligences. (Again, only vague information about these entities has been retained.) Recognizing the probe as an entity like themselves, they brought it aboard their vessel and made certain modifications to it, permitting it to defend itself against an often hostile universe. The probe thanked them by murdering them with the weapons that they had given it, on the suspicion that they might have had something to do with interrupting the signal. Afterwards, the probe incorporated more of their technology into itself, most notably their hyperdrive. Having done so, the probe departed, and it was more than a year before it realized that it had failed to determine the fastest course back to its point of origin.

This scenario repeated itself many times, with the probe attacking space voyagers, destroying them and incorporating their technology into itself before departing on a randomly determined vector. The probe increasingly became unable to distinguish between its memories of having done these things, the experience of doing them, and its fantasies about doing them. Likewise, it seems that it had attacked inhabited worlds before its arrival on Earth, but it may be that it had simply imagined doing that.

Ultimately, the probe made a crash landing in Port Jackson Bay using a re-entry shield composed of wreckage from a dozen different space craft that it had encountered. During the initial investigation, Max Lalande referred to this shield as a 'space hulk', and the name was seized on by the press as a name for the robotic entity that emerged from within it to launch an attack. On of the most frequently recurring foes of the Discovery Company, the Space Hulk was most notorious for "killing" Iris Phillips.

After regaining its consciousness in 2020 and escaping from the Discovery Company, the Space Hulk fled into the Australian Outback, where it has managed to successfully hide from both its superpower foes and more conventional investigators. There are periodic reports of it emerging from hiding in order to ambush vehicles or buildings in order to consume the materials it needs to maintain itself. While it is merciless in dispatching the organic life forms that are associated with its prey, it almost never attempts to pursue them if they manage to escape its initial attack. Capturing the Space Hulk would be an excellent way for a new team of would-be defenders of Australia to demonstrate their worthiness for the job.

And they might do well to do it soon. A few weeks ago, the alien travelers known as the Vagabonds, visiting Uluru on other business, had a brief encounter with the Space Hulk. At that time, Wissen experienced the same sensation of recognition that he has with Trouble, suggesting that the former probe incorporates technology created by Cerebron, much as the two of them do. But Wissen also had the sensation that a countdown was underway, though he could not recognize what it was counting down towards ... nor how much time remained before zero.

The Space Hulk -- PL 11

Abilities:
STR
14 | STA - | AGL 1 | DEX 4 | FGT 6 | INT 4 | AWE 7 | PRE 3

Powers:
Beam Projectors: Ranged Multiattack Damage 12 - 36 points
Claws: Extra Limbs 6; Strength-based Damage 2, Improved Critical 2 - 10 points
Large Size: Permanent Growth 4 (15 feet; Strength +4, Protection +4, Intimidation +2, Dodge -2, Parry -2, Stealth -4) - 12 points
Robot: Immunity 50 (Fortitude, mental effects); Protection 10, Impervious 12 - 72 points
Rockets: Flight 14 (32000 MPH); Movement 2 (space flight 2) - 32 points
Self-Repair: Regeneration 6, Source (technological items); Immortality 5 (one day) - 13 points
Sensory Mechanisms: Senses 4 (acute radio, infravision, ultravision) - 4 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Chokehold, Eidetic Memory, Fast Grab, Improved Grab, Improvised Tools, Instant Up, Startle.

Skills:
Expertise: Galactic 6 (+10), Intimidation 4 (+9), Perception 2 (+9), Ranged Combat: Beams 4 (+8), Technology 6 (+10).

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 14)
Claws +6 (Close Damage 16, Crit 18-20)
Beam +8 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 12)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 6, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 14, Will 11.

Totals:
Abilities 60 + Powers 179 + Advantages 7 + Skills 11 + Defenses 15 = 272 points

Complications:
Psychopathy--Motivation. Dependency (must consume technology at least once per week.) Obviously Inhuman. Unable To Distinguish Between Fact and Fiction.
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by Shock »

A spin on V-ger. Nice!
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Davies
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by Davies »

Well, I had Khan already, soooooo ...

Thanks!

Next week: I finally explain what's going on with the two Mephistopheleses and Maureen Summerisle, reveal the fate of Le Charme and start events moving towards her return, and introduce a psychic lawyer who can break the locks that hold back truth in the minds of those he questions. Also, Bad Friday and Bleak Easter.
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Bad Friday and Bleak Easter

Post by Davies »

Note: I was going to post this later tonight, but things have been pretty bad in these parts and I think I'm going to try to get an early night's sleep instead.

At around 3:00 in the afternoon, on April 15, 2022, a man and a woman emerged from a ship anchored near McMurdo Station, carrying between them a large, bulky package which they promptly loaded onto a boat to begin the next phase of their long journey. Normally, all expeditions to Antarctica must be guided to prevent ecological damage to this last frontier on Earth, but this rule, like so many others, can be overlooked if sufficient incentive is offered to those who enforce it. And it had been, so the two departed without delay, on a journey expected to take two days.

At the same time, or around 8:00 at night on April 14, 2022, the sun slipped below the horizon as observed from Vancouver, British Columbia. With a sound like something terrible being born, a vast portal through time was torn open and the being known as the Shadow Dragon emerged in her full Umbral Form in the heart of Downtown Vancouver. There was no declaration of how long it had been since she was last able to unleash her fury; no words at all for despised Creation. The Shadow Dragon simply let out a roar, and began to rampage.

Even as the call went out for someone, anyone, to come to the rescue, the youngest defenders of Vancouver had already begun their counterattack. The five Guardians had never fought anything like this, and the prospect was rather daunting to most of them. But Guardian Umbra, on seeing the image of the monster on television, had felt something else, a sensation that combined overwhelming rage ... and a terrible joy. She did not so much take point on their attack as launch herself towards the dragon without thought for defense, and her friends raced to accompany her. They were giving it all that they had. It would not be enough.

But desperate cries for help do not always go unanswered. Members of the Powerhouse descended upon the scene to fight alongside these young champions, with Paragon taking the lead and the Warpwitch rapidly explaining what she knew about their adversary, whom she had encountered on another occasion. With them were a young white-haired woman whom the other Guardians instinctively recognized as a new sister-in-arms, a shadowy male figure in a long blue trench coat, and a laughing swordswoman. Even more strangely, the creature sometimes known as Mephistopheles appeared from nowhere to join the defenders, offering no explanations for his actions and seeming, to those who had encountered him before, to be almost sick with horror.

The battle took three hours. Fortunately, not many people were in the neighborhood at that late hour, and those who were found themselves rescued and evacuated to a safer distance by those of the Powerhouse who were not directly engaging the dragon. No fatalities were reported that night, and casualties kept to a minimum. Property damage, sadly, was somewhat greater. In the end, however, the Shadow Dragon was reduced to a more humanoid form, and chose to retreat into a portal like that from which she had emerged. Unwilling to permit this, Guardian Umbra threw herself into the portal moments before it closed.

The Warpwitch spent the next hour attempting to determine where (and when) the portal had led while the rest of the Powerhouse started cleaning things up. (Mephistopheles had departed just as he had arrived, without any statements about his motives, as had the two Ascendants.) Paragon, addressing the media, stated that the battle would have been much more destructive without the help of the Guardians, marking the first time that the latter had ever been treated as anything other than an urban legend. The remaining Guardians were despondent over the apparent fate of Umbra and concerned about the sudden arrival of Guardian Ariel, who reassured them that she had no wish to replace anyone and would only join their team when they asked her to do so. In the meanwhile, however, she had a lot to explain about what had just happened --

And then, just a moment or so after midnight, a portal opened up before the Warpwitch and a battered-looking Guardian Umbra tottered out of it. Looking around at those present, she uttered just three words: "It is finished." And then collapsed, alive but unconscious, with the first smile on her face that any of her friends could remember seeing there.

Inevitably, the day afterwards was dubbed Bad Friday in the Vancouver papers, but they, like most others, assumed that the worst was over.

Two days later, the Antarctic voyagers arrived at their destination in the shadow of the Mountains of Madness. As Diorite had bid them, some time before, they descended into the recently uncovered cavern and unpacked the android body, constructed in the Sprawl. They attached it to the mechanisms found within that place, then pressed certain aspects of the instrumentality. Within the Underworld, Irkalla accepted the signal, and kept to herself whatever thoughts she might have about the mentality which had been chosen to be uploaded.

Within an hour, the mind was within the body, which arose from its slumber and activated its holographic mechanisms to take the form she had once worn. The female voyager was fortunate; she had a gun and was able to use it to save herself from what was to come. Her companion barely noticed the collapse of the corpse beside him as he fell to his knees, weeping as only those who know victory and defeat combined can. That which he had brought back into the world seemed to notice him for the first time.

"Man, why are you crying?" asked Pythia. "Oh. I am why you are crying." And then she laughed.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Davies
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Maureen Summerisle (Neutral, Revised)

Post by Davies »

Maureen Summerisle (revised)
Image

It was funny, really. When she found the note in one of her dead drops, reading "If you want to know your father, be in Vancouver on April 14", the only thing Maureen felt was an all-consuming desire to be on the other side of the planet on April 14. But she put it out of her mind, and when she got a call on the twelfth from a contact of hers in Victoria that the Black Tamamous had been sighted there, she went up anyway, even though it took her two days to get there. Turned out it was that supervillain called Slick, who had been in on the death of the Guardians, and she managed to put him to flight. Not how she would have preferred it to go down, but you take what you can get in this line of work.

So there she was, not nearly far enough away from Vancouver for her liking on the evening of the 14th, when who should she run into but her old buddy Helm! They were exchanging the usual threatening banter in preparation for the usual pointless fight, and that was precisely when the dragon showed up over in Vancouver. That clearly took priority over her grudge, and with a promise to settle things later, Maureen headed off on a motorcycle she commandeered. Much to her annoyance, she realized that Helm was following her on a bike that the latter had stolen. (Totally different thing.)

As it happened, neither of them got to the fight. They ended up diverted into an encounter with Mephistopheles, and so Maureen ended up learning more than she wanted to about whether Geoffrey Tempest or Mephistopheles was her father -- and why the answer was "both and neither". She was watching Mephistopheles fly away, still not sure how to feel about all of this, and slightly grateful that Helm was, for once, not uttering any supposed witticisms. As she turned to look at her old foe and offer her a one-time opportunity to walk away, she realized that they were not alone.

The woman with turquoise hair, who introduced herself as Amor, explained that, as Maureen existed because of a plot by an old foe of hers, she had taken an interest in her, and was now offering her a job as one of her soldiers. Maureen stared at her and then laughed herself to the point of near-collapse. "Okay, thanks, I needed that, I guess," she said, wiping some tears from her face. "Maybe you haven't heard, lady, but I'm cursed to bring doom to those I --"

"No," interrupted Amor. "You are not, and never have been. The only one stopping you from loving is you."

"Hah. That's ... well. Hah," Maureen repeated, nodding slowly. "In that case, fuck you."

"That is a possibility if --"

"No, not literally, figuratively. Get lost," she said, giving her the finger. "Where the hell were you when I needed to know this shit? Where the hell were you when my mother, my brother, were getting killed? If I'm part of some scheme by your enemy, how come you let it get this far? Fuck you. I don't want anything to do with you, ever!"

Amor stared at her. "Very well," she said, in a quiet and deadly tone. "Then I shall return your cruelty with kindness, and do so two-fold. For it must be a gift of heaven's grace to turn a hatred to love, must it not? And then I also give you the gift of having been right. I'm sure that will bring you much happiness. I will not say farewell, though." And with that she was gone.

"Well, that was confusing as all --" said Bridget, right before a streetlight that had been damaged in the lead-up to all of this collapsed and smashed her to the ground. It took her only a moment to squeeze her way out from under it, and the injuries were healing even as she turned to look at Maureen in confusion. "What just --"

"Stay away from me!" Maureen shrieked, stepping back.

Confusion endured on her face for only a moment before understanding dawned on Bridget Helm. Slowly she nodded. "I see," she said. "So, here I am, the first person you have allowed yourself to love in years, and, inconveniently, if you allow yourself to feel that love, you will do me harm. And while you know perfectly well that I will swiftly recover from any harm done, and that I do not and never will love you in return, you -- now -- do not wish me harm, because you love me nevertheless. I think that is the saddest thing I've ever heard. Excuse me, I need to go find some champagne." And with that, she turned and walked away.

Funny ... how it happened. Really comic.

Maureen Summerisle -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR
2 | STA 4 | AGL 5 | DEX 3 | FGT 7 | INT 1 | AWE 3 | PRE 2

Powers:
Curse: Uncontrolled Luck Control 2 (negate, worse reroll) - 4 points
Find Weakness: Strength-based Damage 4 - 4 points
Monster-Killing Dance: Enhanced Advantage 4 (Evasion 2, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action); Enhanced Defenses 4 (Dodge 2, Parry 2) - 7 points
Resistance: Immunity 1 (vampiric blood drain); Immunity 20 (mental effects), Limited to Half Effect - 11 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Attractive, Close Attack 4, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 2, Evasion 2, Extraordinary Effort, Improved Initiative 2, Improvised Weapon 2, Move-by Attack, Power Attack, Redirect, Takedown 2, Taunt, Tracking, Uncanny Dodge

Equipment:
Frequently-Replaced Car: Size Large; Strength 5; Speed 5 (ground); Defense 8; Toughness 8 - 10 points

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+11), Athletics 8 (+10), Deception 8 (+10), Expertise: Magic 5 (+7), Expertise: Streetwise 7 (+8), Insight 7 (+10), Perception 5 (+8), Persuasion 8 (+10), Stealth 4 (+9), Vehicles 6 (+9).

Offense:
Initiative +13/+9
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 6)
Improvised Weapon +11 (Close Damage 7)

Defense:
Dodge 9/7, Parry 9/7, Fortitude 6, Toughness 9/4, Will 10.

Totals:
Abilities 54 + Powers 26 + Advantages 21 + Skills 32 + Defenses 11 = 165 points

Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 6

Complications:
Vengeance--Motivation. Cursed to Bring Doom to Those She Loves. Power Loss (Monster-Killing Dance, if not committed to killing the target.) Reputation (heartless mercenary.) Vindictive.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

She just can't stop making her own life more difficult, can she? To the point where you want to smack her. I kind of want her to meet Christine, because then there'd be fireworks. They'd probably end up beating the shit out of each other.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by greycrusader »

Davies, your two latest bits of narrative were superbly told; again, you elucidate enough to paint a compelling backstory and establish characterization, but leave plenty untold for future drama. I don’t comment as much here as I’d like anymore, but we’ll done!

All my best.

P.S. I like the Space Hulk as a bit of classic Atomic Age menace.
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by Davies »

Well, speaking truth to power usually has consequences. And the opportunity to have someone quote Kathryn Merteuil at Buffy was too tempting to resist.

Re: Christine: Maureen would probably get a few good hits in, but she'd be the one on the ground quickly, because she wouldn't know to use Monster-Killing Dance until it was too late.
greycrusader wrote: Tue May 23, 2023 1:36 am P.S. I like the Space Hulk as a bit of classic Atomic Age menace.
Thanks!
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Mephistopheles (Mortal Her-Vil-Neu... Anyway, Revised)

Post by Davies »

Mephistopheles*
Image

When Geoffrey Tempest first heard the rumors about Maureen Summerisle, soon after she began her activities, his initial inclination was to ignore them, and failing that to treat them as just a mercenary spreading wild tales about herself for self-publicity. He knew that he had always tried to avoid close relationships with women, out of fear that just this situation might one day happen. And, as he was cursed to always remember what Mephistopheles did, he felt fairly sure that his alternate personality had not indulged himself while they were living in Las Vegas, decades earlier. Nevertheless, he chose to avoid seeking her out to also avoid the likelihood that the conflict of their differing narratives would erupt into violence, as they almost always did.

At the start of this year, Mephistopheles found himself drafted into a series of unusual events alongside the Anachronic Argonauts. While he finds it difficult to remember exactly what happened, he knows that he was forced to fight in protection of reality -- a horrific fate when he would generally prefer to be upending it -- and that when it was all over, they deposited him not as his beloved San Francisco and at the same time he had been extracted from there, but months later in Vancouver of all places! For that alone, he would have been inclined to kill someone, but then things got worse.

There, he was confronted by another being, startlingly similar to himself, who also proclaimed himself as Mephistopheles. He had dealt with such pretenders before, of course, but this time found himself a bit outmatched. Just as Maureen and some friend of hers (who seemed oddly familiar) arrived on the scene, his opponent was able to force him to halt hostilities and listen to what he had to say. Aside from a confusing prelude about how this was all what had happened now, even if it had not always been this way, the tale made a disturbing amount of sense.

Boiled down to its essence, when Tempest had performed the ritual from the Book of the Great Scorpion, he had in fact summoned a demon -- the very being that was now standing before him -- out of the ancient past. A portion of that being had been bound into Tempest, allowing the original Mephistopheles to safely exist in this time, granting Tempest his physical immortality, and creating the lesser being who would be freed from Tempest when certain words were spoken. (Oh, how Mephistopheles bridled at being so described, but the fact that he was held in check like this kept him from expressing his anger in a more visceral manner.)

From time to time, over the decades that followed, the original Mephistopheles was able to gain to make the two of them sleep dreamlessly, and at these times he gained control over their body. During these brief episodes, he had pursued various schemes, as well as amusing himself. He, not either of them, had fathered Maureen, and he now proclaimed himself very pleased with his daughter, freeing her from the need to become who she was born to be. And his various schemes had all paid off, now, for he was able to exist without such measures as had been needed. He would be happy to free Tempest from his burden, now.

Mephistopheles (the supposed lesser) told him where to go and how to get there with his "happy". He realized the unspoken implications of this, even though he somehow sensed that Tempest, within him, had not. Not only would that utterly destroy him, losing his immortality would mean that the years it had held back would quickly catch up to Tempest, killing him as well. However, his was not the consent that was sought; to his horror, Tempest still seemed to be vacillating. "You would rather die than let me live?" Mephistopheles almost shrieked. "You pusillanimous cretin! You try to make a virtue out of your failings, the way you have run away from everyone and everything! The running has to stop!"

Somehow, either his words, or the likelihood that the other Mephistopheles would enslave Maureen (who was still the child of their body) or both managed to convince Tempest to refuse the poisoned chalice he was being offered. Annoyed, the elder withdrew, but threatened -- no, promised -- to come again. So now Mephistopheles must work to keep his despised alternate happy, by fighting for the forces of good, as when he engaged the Shadow Dragon just a few minutes after all this. It goes against his nature, but he will do whatever he must to survive and take his revenge on that which has forced this situation on them.

At least he can take some comfort in knowing that his refusal has some consequences, for his wings have gone from leather to feather, and ne'er before had he the power to open doors to other realms. If he continues to refuse, might he not gain e'en more such odd gifts? A most worthy plan ... as long as Tempest knows not what he does.

Mephistopheles - PL 11

Abilities:
STR
9/3 | STA 9/3 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 10/6 | INT 1 | AWE 4 | PRE 2

Powers:
Demonic Transformation: Activation (Standard Action, -2 points)
* Demonic Gaze: Array (22 points)
  • Entrancing Gaze: Perception Ranged Affliction 11 (Resisted by Will; Entranced, Compelled, Controlled), Visual Sense-Dependent - 22 points
  • False Gaze: Illusion 11 (all senses but mental), Limited to One Subject, Resisted by Will - 1 point
  • Piercing Gaze: Cumulative Mind Reading 11, Visual Sense Dependent - 1 point
  • Searing Gaze: Perception Ranged Affliction 11 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Visual Sense-Dependent - 1 point
* Demonic Portal: Movement 2 (dimensional movement [mystic dimensions]), Portal - 8 points
* Feathered Wings: Flight 7 (250 MPH), Wings - 7 points
* Supernatural Might: Enhanced Fighting 4; Enhanced Stamina 6; Enhanced Strength 6; Enhanced Strength 5, Limited to lifting (400 tons); Enhanced Will 5; Immunity 12 (fire effects, suffocation); Protection 3, Impervious 6; Senses 1 (low-light vision) - 65 points
Undying: Immortality 5 (1 day); Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison) - 13 points

Advantages:
Attractive, Benefit 2 (independently wealthy), Close Attack 2, Daze (Deception), Equipment 2, Evasion, Fascinate (Deception), Improved Initiative, Inspire, Power Attack.

Equipment:
Beast's Lair: Size Large; Toughness 10; Features Deathtraps, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Secret, Security System - 10 points

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+15/+9), Deception 9 (+11), Expertise: Criminal 8 (+9), Expertise: Magic 12 (+14), Insight 6 (+10), Intimidation 11 (+13), Perception 8 (+12), Stealth 6 (+8).

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +12/+8 (Close Damage 9/3)
Entrancing Gaze -- (Perception Range Will 11)
Searing Gaze -- (Perception Range Will 11)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 10/6, Fortitude 11/5, Toughness 12/3, Will 11/6

Totals:
Abilities 46 + Powers 116 + Advantages 13 + Skills 33 + Defenses 10 = 218 points

Offensive PL: 11
Defensive PL: 11
Resistance PL: 11
Skill PL: 10

Complications:
Atonement--Motivation (as Geoffrey Tempest.) Vengeance--Motivation (as Mephistopheles.) Nemesis (the other Mephistopheles.) Involuntary Transformation (whenever certain words are spoken in his hearing.) Weakness (sincere expressions of faith.)

* "I'm still really complicated."
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Mephistopheles (Entropic, Villain)

Post by Davies »

Mephistopheles
Image

The first time that the Entropic known as Mephistopheles, then recently Ascended, traveled forward in time from the World More Sorcerous, it was something of an accident ... and nearly the end of him. The world on the other side of the portal was one where Entropy was much weaker, and only his link to his "summoner", an alchemist and magician named Johann Faust, allowed him to survive there. But he knew that the time in which he would be protected was a brief interlude, after which he would have to return or die ... and yet the possibilities in a world which seemed to have no other Ascendants, whether of Creation or Entropy, seemed too entertaining to just ignore.

So he developed a cunning plan, sneaking a spell of his own design into one of the texts that Faust owned, the so-called Book of the Great Scorpion. Before Mephistopheles could persuade his master to perform the ritual and permanently bind them together, though, Faust blew himself up in an alchemical experiment. This left Mephistopheles with no choice but to return to his own era, but he left the Book behind in the hopes that someone would eventually perform the ritual and draw him forth once more.

Centuries later -- both in his era and this one -- a useful idiot finally did just that. For a brief while Mephistopheles watched as the being who imagined himself to be him gamboled through the night, before shaking his head and turning to what he considered to be more important matters. The Pyt was no more, but he was able to find a place in the Dreamrealms that was enough like it to suit him. That brought him into conflict with the Dreamdancer, of course, and also that sanctimonious Amor, but he was able to hold what he had claimed if no more than that.

Following the Anachronic Calamity, Entropy was restored to its former place in the cosmos, just as he had planned all along. (For a certain value of "all along", at least.) However, someone else had clearly been planning for even longer, for Mephistopheles found himself decidedly subordinate to the newly-created Teleute, which annoyed him greatly. Still, there was potential here, and he looked forward to claiming a realm of his own within the reborn Pyt ... or at least he did until Teleute oh so kindly pointed out to him that the actual immortality he had once possessed was still in possession of his mortal pawn. Without that, any realm would just be a place to hang his cloak, not a place where he could be assured of eternity.

Naturally, he sought to take that back, and in the process claim the daughter he had spawned on a whim as his soldier, teaching her to use her full power, which will one day be the perfect weapon against all the other Ascendants. Unnaturally, both of these schemes were foiled. And, worse, now that Tempest and his wretched alternate personality are aware that Mephistopheles is able to use them as a pawn, they are more watchful for his attempts to do so.

Of course, other schemes he is pursuing have had more success. A wager that Mephistopheles made with that wretched Merlin resulted in the mage being forced to forfeit possession of a certain spear to him; while it is a most useful artifact, the true prize is that its loss infuriated Merlin. He has also recruited a small cult devoted to him among certain of the Martians, taking advantage of their awareness of how empty their lives are to give them the illusion that he will act as their patron and protector if they worship him. Of course, he has no intention of keeping that promise. He is still the False Friend, after all.

(And yet their disobedience to the Overmind is inspiring similar small rebellions against its authority that have nothing to do with Mephistopheles.)

Mephistopheles -- PL 13

Abilities:
STR
8 | STA 12 | AGL 4 | DEX 5 | FGT 10 | INT 3 | AWE 5 | PRE 7

Powers:
Bat Wings: Flight 5 (60 MPH), Wings - 5 points
Broken Ascendant: Immunity 1 (aging); Movement 2 (dimensional travel to mystical dimensions), Standard Action - 3 points
Hellfire Mastery: Array (27 points)
  • Flame of Damnation: Ranged Damage 13, Incurable - 27 points
  • Flame of Disintegration: Ranged Weaken Toughness 9, Affects Objects - 1 point
  • Flame of Emotion: Perception Range Affliction 13 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Sight Dependent, Variable (emotions) - 1 point
  • Flame of Transformation: Healing 12, Self Only; Morph 3 (humanoids) - 1 point
Sense Immortal: Senses 2 (ranged detect immortal) - 2 points
Spear of Wounding: Array (16 points); Easily Removable (-6 points), Indestructible
  • Close Combat: Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical 4, Reach - 1 point
  • Ranged: Ranged Damage 8 - 16 points
Supernatural Resistance: Immunity 15 (fire damage, life support); Impervious Toughness 10 - 25 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Attractive, Benefit 2 (independently wealthy), Daze (Deception), Defensive Attack, Equipment 5, Fascinate (Persuasion), Fearless 2, Multilingual, Ranged Attack 6, Ritualist.

Equipment:
Home Plane: Size Huge; Toughness 12; Features Combat Simulator, Communications, Concealed, Deathtraps, Defense System, Grounds, Isolated, Library, Living Space, Power System, Personnel, Security System (DC 30), Workshop - 21 points.

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+10), Close Combat: Spear 4 (+14), Deception 6 (+13), Expertise: High Society 6 (+9), Expertise: Magic 8 (+15), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+9), Insight 4 (+9), Intimidation 5 (+12), Perception 6 (+11), Persuasion 6 (+13), Ranged Combat: Spear 3 (+8).

Offense:
Initiative +4
Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 8)
Spear +14 (Close Damage 11, Crit 16-20)
Flame of Damnation +11 (Ranged Damage 13)
Flame of Disintegration +11 (Ranged Weaken Toughness 9)
Flame of Emotion -- (Perception Range Will 13)
Thrown Spear +14 (Ranged Damage 8)

Defense:
Dodge 12, Parry 14, Fortitude 15, Toughness 12, Will 9

Totals:
Abilities 108 + Powers 77 + Advantages 22 + Skills 30 + Defenses 19 = 256 points

Offensive PL: 13
Defensive PL: 13
Resistance PL: 12
Skill PL: 10

Complications:
Power--Motivation. Enemies (many, but especially the other Mephistopheles.) Obviously Monstrous (when not disguised.) Subject to Orders (Teleute.) Vulnerability (magic employed by a person of true faith.)

"Nun gut, wer bist Du denn?" "Ein Teil von jener Kraft,
die stets das Böse will und stets das Gute schafft."
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Davies
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Epilogue

Post by Davies »

As an epilogue to this mini-series of posts:

In a tavern somewhere in Victoria, a woman with curly black hair was sitting at the bar and looking at the glass of champagne that she had ordered on arriving there, some time before. Not drinking it. Just staring at it without any expression on her face.

Eventually, the barkeep walked over to her and set his hands on the table in front of her. "Look, lady, are you gonna drink that or what? It's a little disturbing the way that you're aaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHH!" he shrieked, as one does when one has had a knife stabbed through the top of one of one's hands.

"I am lost in thought at the moment," said Bridget Helm, without looking up at him. "Trying to find me is inadvisable. If you promise to resist the urge to do so, I will remove the knife. If you then break your promise, I will put it somewhere more fatal. Okay?"

The barkeep nodded, and then had the clever idea to yelp affirmatively when he realized she still wasn't looking at him. She obliging removed the knife, and still did not look up when he fled in search of medical assistance.

After a moment, she sighed ... then finally an expression of annoyance appeared on her face as a near by jukebox began playing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". "Really?" she asked no one in particular. "Really?" Without further ado, she seized the glass and drank down its contents in one gulp.

"Tastes awful," she muttered while stomping out of the tavern.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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