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

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Commander Titan
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by Commander Titan »

Davies wrote: Mon Jan 16, 2023 7:34 am Thanks! I was a bit worried that he'd go over like a limp balloon since his primary source (a Canadian cartoon from the late 90s titled Monster by Mistake) is really obscure.
Well, I didn't know the cartoon, but take it as a testament to your skill that I still found him compelling! Plus, I was a big cryptid fanatic as a kid so I have a soft spot for seeing them integrated into other settings and frameworks.

The Erlking is a suitably grim reminder that "nature" can be red (er, green) in tooth-and-claw as much as it can be beautiful.
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by greycrusader »

I really like Jerry Gimlin; he comes across as the kind of character we don't see often enough in today's comics-an aspirational, if minor, hero, but one who is still very much a believable human teenage boy. Boy Scout wasn't always an insult. He honestly reminds me of the best versions of Superboy (by which I mean young Clark Kent), or Jack Kirby's teen heroes.

All my best.
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by Davies »

Biānpào/鞭炮
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As one of the most publicly visible members of the Sīfa Zhuānjiā, much has been revealed (and confirmed) about the personal history of Yang Dongmei, alias Biānpào ("Firecracker"). Born in Beijing in 1992, she was only thirteen years old when, for the first time in decades, fireworks were permitted as part of the celebrations for the Spring Festival. She remembers staring up in amazement at the lights in the sky, and claims that she knew what she wanted to do with her life at that moment.

The latter part might be exaggerated, but she did grow up to work in a fireworks factory (and suffered a serious hearing loss while doing so.) Her dream was that one day she would get to work in designing the displays. To that end, she did a great deal of private study of how they worked, in the process developing a number of inventions of her own.

Unfortunately, by the time she was in her early twenties, public opinion had shifted against fireworks once again, and Dongmei found herself not only frustrated in her ambitions, but out of even the job she was doing to support them. Supposedly, she considered using her inventions to go on a criminal rampage, but stopped herself before she started. She was someone who wanted to share beauty with the world, not terror. To do that, she was going to have to break the law, but she would have to do this in a smart way.

So she got in touch with the Sīfa and began to use her talents and inventions for them. In the process, she learned that she had a very minor superpower and was able to calculate the passage of time down to the thousandth of a second, which she employs to set up her fireworks to go off with exacting precision. Dongmei has also studied with the hyperbrains of the group, unable to imitate their discoveries but able to incorporate some of them into her devices.

Biānpào is currently planning to accompany a small group of the Sīfa on an expedition to the Sprawl, and expects to learn a lot to advance her gear. Plus, it sounds like a blast! (While taking her work of bringing beauty -- and thus truth -- to the world seriously, she also intends to have as much fun as she can doing so.)

Biānpào -- PL 10

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

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-out Attack, Attractive, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Fearless, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+9), Deception 7 (+8), Insight 10 (+10), Perception 10 (+10), Persuasion 8 (+9), Ranged Combat: Fireworks 6 (+9), Sleight of Hand 8 (+11), Technology 7 (+12), Vehicles 6 (+9).

Powers:
Expert Timing: Senses 1 (time sense) - 1 point
Firecracker Arsenal: Array (25 point); Removable (-6 points)
  • 反沖/Blowback: Linked Ranged Burst Area Damage 5; Linked Burst Area Move Object 5, Limited to moving away from the center of the effect - 25 points
  • 輝煌/Brilliance: Linked Ranged Damage 6; Linked Ranged Cumulative Affliction 6 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Fortitude; Visually Impaired, Visually Disabled, Visually Unaware), Limited to One Sense - 1 point
  • 燃燒/Combustion: Ranged Damage 8, Secondary Effect - 1 point
  • 混亂/Confusion: Ranged Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 8 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed, Compelled, Controlled), Limited to compelling or controlling erratic behavior - 1 point
  • 閃電/Fulmination: Ranged Multiattack Damage 8 - 1 point
  • 著迷/Spellbound: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 6 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Will; Hindered & Vulnerable, Defenseless & Immobile, Paralyzed), Extra Condition - 1 point
Protective Costume: Protection 2; Removable (-0 points) - 2 points

Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 0)
Fulmination +12 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 8)
Combustion +12 (Ranged Damage 8)
Brilliance +12 (Ranged Damage 6 and Affliction 6, Resisted by Dodge)
Spellbound +12 (Ranged Affliction 6, Resisted by Dodge)
Blowback -- (Ranged Burst Area Damage 5)
Confusion -- (Ranged Perception Area Fortitude 8)

Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 9, Fortitude 5, Toughness 10/8/5/3, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 40 + Powers 27 + Advantages 14 + Skills 33 + Defenses 17 = 131 points

Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 7

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Hard of Hearing (wears hearing aid, Disabled on auditory Perception checks without it.) Hunted by the Authorities. "Let's Get Loud" (subtlety is not an option.)

Note: Inspired by EternalPhoenix's Firecracker archetype.
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Davies wrote: Tue Jan 17, 2023 10:46 pm Biānpào/鞭炮
Image

Note: Inspired by EternalPhoenix's Firecracker archetype.
Happy to be of service, as always. :D
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Connor Roberts (Hero)

Post by Davies »

Connor Roberts
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Imagine being a kid with superpowers. Now imagine being a kid who wanted to have superpowers, and now has them ... but finds that they do nothing to make people, especially those who also have powers, accept him as an adult. Such is the life of Connor Roberts, made slightly worse by his strange certainty that if things were just a tiny bit different, he would have what he wants. He is not sure why he believes that, but he does.

Most kids want to be a superhero at some point in their lives, other than those who want to be a supervillain. (Definitions being as subjective as they are, there is a fair amount of crossover between these groups.) Connor certainly did, but was not blessed with superpowers in his youth, or his early adolescence. He decided to train himself to be ready for a chance to gain them, studying and practicing at a variety of subjects that he thought might be useful. He was helped in this by the benign neglect of his parents, more focused on the problems of his two older siblings and grateful that he seemed to be keeping out of trouble.

Definitions being as subjective as they are, it should not come as a surprise that a fair chunk of what Connor did could have gotten him into a lot of trouble. Case in point: exploring closed off mines in the Wyoming Valley was what some might consider trespassing, and many might consider dangerous. That said, Connor would have claimed that he was being careful, using a "Digital Canary" app on his smart phone to avoid gas concentrations. While making his escape from one of them, he tripped over a weird-looking rock that he reflexively picked up.

Only when he got back to the surface and examined his finding did he start to get excited. It looked just like the power prisms that he had seen being used by both El Dorados and their mysterious female ally. And, sure enough, it allowed him to surround himself in a force field and take flight just like they could. His dream was coming true! He shaped his force field to disguise himself, and began venturing out as Kid Comet, dealing with street crime in his native Scranton.

Fairly quickly, his activities came to the attention of those other power prisms, right when the original El Dorado returned from his journey in space. Initially, Connor was grateful to have the help of these more experienced heroes, especially when he found himself menaced, first by the villainous power prism user who also showed up and then by the Saturn-affiliated street gang that included his older brother. But that gratitude turned to anger when the old -- ahem -- when Edeth said that she had never heard of someone as young as Connor being trusted with a prism before.

The El Dorados apparently convinced her not to take action but it was clear to him that he was not going to be welcome in their company for a while to come. Well, so what? He would join the Minor League, or maybe attend the Futurian Academy, and be welcome among them instead! Except that both groups indicated that, at fourteen, he was just a bit younger than they wanted. So he has found himself packed off to the Bethany Ryan School, with the other super-babies. It is beyond frustrating.

Nevertheless, Connor fully intends to go on being a superhero, rather than letting the anger he feels turn him down a dangerous path. The question now is how subjective his definitions of superheroing will be ...

Connor Roberts -- PL 7

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

Powers:
Power Prism: Removable (-12 points)
* Flight Mode: Flight 7 (250 MPH), Aquatic; Insubstantial 3, Standard Action - 24 points
* Force Field: Linked Sustained Protection 8; Linked Sustained Immunity 10 (Life Support) - 18 points
* Offensive Applications: Array (16 points)
  • Basic Blast: Ranged Damage 8 - 16 points
  • Exo-Armor: Enhanced Strength 5, Affects Corporeal 6 - 1 points
  • Force Objects: Moveable Create 5 - 1 point
  • Tractor-Pressor Beam: Move Object 8 (6 tons) - 1 point
Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Redirect.

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+4), Deception 3 (+4), Expertise: History 2 (+4), Expertise: Science 3 (+5), Insight 3 (+5), Investigation 3 (+5), Perception 3 (+5), Ranged Combat: Power Prism 3 (+6), Treatment 1 (+3).

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +2 (Close Damage 6/1)
Basic Blast +6 (Ranged Damage 8)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 3, Fortitude 4, Toughness 9/1, Will 6.

Totals:
Abilities 28 + Powers 49 + Advantages 5 + Skills 12 + Defenses 11 = 105 points

Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 7
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 0

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Hates Being Treated as "A Kid". Power Loss (prism energy depletes.)

Note: Based on a character concept by Voltron64.
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Of course, that does kind of beg the question of how a Power Prism ended up in an old mine in New Jersey.
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by Davies »

EternalPhoenix wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 3:40 am Of course, that does kind of beg the question of how a Power Prism ended up in an old mine in Pennsylvania.
(Fixed.) One of many questions Edeth would like answered.
Spoiler
The answer is that Connor's World More Grim counterpart sent it there as his last conscious act. It is one of the only physical objects from that universe that still exists.
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Magnificat (Neutral)

Post by Davies »

Magnificat
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In the years after Tanelorn was established, and its interdimensional gates began to see regular use, it saw many arrivals from other worlds, both sapient and otherwise. While the portals could be controlled, and dangerous visitors were usually prevented from entering, things nevertheless slipped through. One of them was a large orange tomcat which resembled a Persian Tabby, who strolled through the portal from which he emerged with a facial expression that conveyed a detached lack of concern, verging on disdain, for his surroundings.

The cat was soon witnessed engaged in contests of dominance with the local cats, who had been mutated like all life in Tanelorn. Most of them were able to assume a two dimensional state ("flatcats", to use their nickname) while the new arrival demonstrated a different power. He was able to switch between an immense, 24 foot tall form and his normal size, which seemed to demonstrate unusually fast reactions. Having been accepted as dominant by most other cats in the city, he soon found himself dubbed Magnificat by human observers.

Just what he thinks of that name is unclear, as is what he thinks about everything else. While demonstrating human-level intelligence, attempts to communicate with Magnificat have universally failed. He does not respond when spoken to by persons able to communicate with animals, and his mind is almost impossible to target for psychic probing. Judging by his expression, it seems apparent that he views responding to any communication by humans, regardless of source, as completely beneath his dignity. However, this lack of interest should not be confused with hostility. Magnificat has occasionally demonstrated a sort of regal kindness towards human children who interact with him, even suffering to allow himself to be held and his tail to be pulled ... within limits.

While some observers believe that he shows some signs of aging in the decades since his arrival in Tanelorn, he has outlived most of the cats who were present at that time. He has fathered a handful of mixed breed children with the local cats, none of whom have demonstrated powers like his own. Despite that, he apparently does not regard kittens as a threat to his territory, instead viewing them with the same sublime indifference as he regards everything else.

Magnificat -- PL 8

Abilities:
STR
7/-3 | STA 6/-2 | AGL 3 | DEX 0 | FGT 3 | INT -1 | AWE 3 | PRE -1

Powers:
Feline Senses: Senses 5 (low-light vision, extended acute scent, extended ultrahearing) - 5 points
Shielded Mind: Permanent Mental Concealment 2 - 4 points
Sizemorphing: Array (30 points); Quirk (full power only)
  • Huge Size: Continuous Growth 8 (24 feet; Strength +8, Stamina +8, Speed +1, Intimidation +4, Dodge -4, Parry -4, Stealth -8); Impervious Toughness 6 - 48 points
  • Tiny Size: Continuous Shrinking 8 (~1 foot; Strength -2, Intimidation -4, Speed -1, Dodge +4, Parry +4, Stealth +8); Enhanced Defenses 12 (Dodge 6, Parry 6); Speed 1 (4 MPH) - 1 point
Unusual Longevity: Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison) - 3 points

Advantages:
Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Fast Grab, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Initiative, Prone Fighting, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+7), Deception 8 (+7), Insight 6 (+9), Perception 7 (+10), Stealth 0 (+11/-5)

Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 7/-2)

Defense:
Dodge 13/7/3, Parry 13/7/3, Fortitude 8/0, Toughness 11/6/3/-2, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 8 + Powers 60 + Advantages 8 + Skills 15 + Defenses 6 = 97 points

Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 5

Complications:
Survival--Motivation. Does Not Speak. Poor Manipulators. Proud.

"... still I am the Cat that walks by himself, and all places are alike to me." -- Rudyard Kipling
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Nyx (Extratemporal/Villain)

Post by Davies »

Nyx
Image
Art by Jacob E. Blackmon

Long ago -- longer ago than this language has words to describe -- a group of extraordinarily powerful entities, whom we could call the Old Ones, realized that they needed still more power in order to accomplish a task that they had set for themselves. The Ascendants of the World More Sorcerous, heirs to the Old Ones, have only legends of this time and the decisions that were made then. But according to at least some of those legends, the decision to hide the creature later dubbed Ananke in a reality less magical than their own, where the powers of entropy were notably weaker, was made to ensure that she would be forever out of the reach of the Old One who embodied those powers. If so, then Nyx, last of the Old Ones, has had the last laugh, for he has endured long enough to see that reality become one that he can reach. Can, and will.

As "Hierarch" of Entropy, it was his ostensible responsibility to oversee the corruption and destruction of mortal life. While callously permitting any number of schemes towards those ends, it was obvious to most observers that his own plans were exclusively directed towards preserving his own position in the hierarchy, which necessarily required him to preserve that hierarchy itself. To do this, he was quite willing, at times, to cooperate with Ascendants of the four spheres of Life, though he frequently manipulated them to bad ends. By the time of the Anachronic Calamity, however, he had apparently become sufficiently certain of his position that he believed he could survive even the disintegration of reality that the Calamity would cause if allowed to continue.

Strangely, however, he did not believe that he could survive an assault by an unprecedented alliance of renegade Entropics and a collection of Eaters of Worlds, and agreed to support the plan to stop the Calamity if the Argonauts would protect him from them. This oddity was noted by some at the time, and has been speculated on since. It seems likely that he had known of the prospective ambush (though perhaps not of the rebellion) beforehand, and chose to allow it to continue in order to evaluate the capabilities of the assembled defenders of reality. For he had seen an opportunity taking form, and his actions were all carefully chosen to allow him to seize it.

And now the World Less Magical is no more, and entropy in that reality possesses its spiritual qualities that it previously lacked. So Entropics can travel there safely. Nyx will not go there himself, initially; he will send a catspaw to clear the way for him, likely a certain rebellious Shadow Dragon who has a grudge against creatures from that distant future. But once the way has been cleared, he intends to travel there and seize power in that era, escaping the doom that it sure to come to him if he remains in the World More Sorcerous that will now end a few scant hundreds of millions of years from now. Nothing in that reality can hope to challenge him ...

... but perhaps, if they do, that will be interesting as well.

Nyx -- PL 18

Abilities:
STR
15 | STA 18 | AGL 4 | DEX 3 | FGT 9 | INT 9 | AWE 9 | PRE 8

Powers:
Ascendant: Immortality 5 (one day), Only When On Home Plane*; Immunity 1 (aging); Movement 1 (dimensional travel to home plane), Reaction (death); Movement 2 (dimensional travel to planes of the Sphere of Entropy)**, Standard Action - 10 points
Chill of the Grave: Perception Range Damage 18, Resisted by Will**, Insidious, Subtle - 74 points
Divine Body: Immunity 10 (life support); Impervious Toughness 16 - 26 points
Divine Mind: Impervious Will 16, Limited to Mental Effects; Reaction Damage 6 (when subject of mental attack, mental communication or mind reading), Resisted by Will; Senses 7 (vision counters all concealment, vision counters illusions) - 45 points
"For The Dead Travel Fast": Accurate Extended Teleport 13 (30 miles/8000 miles), Turnabout; Enhanced Advantages 6 (Close Attack 2, Evasion, Improved Initiative 3), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against targets with a lower Initiative total); Enhanced Defenses 18 (Dodge 9, Parry 9) - 76 points
Grip of the Grave: Affects Insubstantial 2 on Strength Damage - 2 points
Sense Immortal: Senses 2 (ranged detect immortal) - 2 points
Tentacles: Extra Limbs 4; Elongation 2 - 6 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Assessment, Chokehold, Close Attack 2, Evasion, Fast Grab, Fearless, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative 3, Jack-of-all-trades, Power Attack, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Deception 8 (+16), Expertise: Dimensional 7 (+16), Expertise: Magic 7 (+15), Insight 8 (+17), Intimidation 10 (+18), Perception 8 (+17), Persuasion 8 (+16).

Offense:
Initiative +18
Unarmed +11/+9 (Close Damage 15)
Chill of the Grave -- (Perception Range Damage 18)

Defense:
Dodge 18/9, Parry 18/9, Fortitude 18, Toughness 18, Will 18.

Totals:
Abilities 150 + Powers 241 + Advantages 9 + Skills 28 + Defenses 14 = 444 points

Offensive PL: 18
Defensive PL: 18
Resistance PL: 18
Skill PL: 13

Complications:
Power--Motivation. Aura of Death (kills mundane insects and plant life in his immediate vicinity.) Obviously Inhuman. Whimsical Sadism.

* When he emerges in the present, he does not have a Home Plane. This represents an opportunity to permanently destroy him. However, he will be aware of this vulnerability and seek to correct it. If he succeeds, add Equipment 5 (Home Plane) to his sheet. (It should also be present on his sheet in any depiction of him in the World More Sorcerous.)
** This division of reality does not exist in the current era; given time, it will become "mystical dimensions". Allowing him that time may be unwise.
*** Characters with Immunity (aging) are also immune to this effect, unless the GM gives them a Power Loss complication. ("How does it feel to be a billion years old?")
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by Davies »

And now for the return of theme weeks, with a series of portraits of heroic types from the World (or technically Era) More Sorcerous.
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Alharund (Hero/Extratemporal)

Post by Davies »

Alharund
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Three are the stereotypical traits of the wood elves of Elphaim, and to an extent of all elves. They are all skilled magic-wielders. Utterly false, even absurd -- sorcerous abilities are not given to every member of any of the peoples of the world. They are all brilliant archers. While it is a given that every elf has learned to string the bow and to let fly, the accuracy with which they do so varies from person to person, and the hunters of Elphaim are more prone to use spears in their chase than the bow in any event. They are all merry and cheerful, gamboling about in the woods in a never-ending celebration of -- Oh, no, no, no. This one really irritates those of their kindred who strive for a stern and serious demeanor.

Alharund, a wandering soldier of fortune currently employed by the Republic of Tohrukin to train their archers, is one such stern and serious elf who has grown quite irritated with the stereotypes. That he is an amazing archer would seem to reinforce one of them, but he will strive to disabuse anyone of the notion that his skills, acquired through long training and hard work, are any sort of "natural talent". As he is also a private individual, he will not often speak of the sorrow that these skills have brought him.

In his youth, roughly a century past, an orphaned Alharund was given into the care of one of the masters of the ancient art of yakha, a meditative discipline that used archery as a metaphor for the development of a focused mind. He applied himself to his lessons, and soon developed the mentality that his master sought, in which he no longer depended on his imperfect bow or untrustworthy hand to strike the targets before him. Pleased with his development, his master declared that Alharund would now move on to the next phase of yakha, in which the bow itself was set aside.

That was where the problem started. The young elf had not realized that he was supposed to eventually let go of the bow, rather than use it for its ostensible purpose. That purpose was deeply tied to a desire he had hidden in his heart all this time, the desire to hunt the beastfolk that had orphaned him decades before. His master, frustrated to realize that he had failed to purge Alharund of such base and worldly desires, warned him that he was setting out on a road that led only to a meaningless death, but the archer refused to hear anything of it. So he left his master and eventually his homeland.

Unfortunately, he was soon to find that only in Elphaim were beastfolk considered monsters to be slain out of hand. In the lands beyond the forest, they were as often honest citizens as they were raiders and bandits, and Alharund ended up spending more than one night in the stocks after he assaulted an innocent bystander. He has never quite gotten past his suspicion of their kind, but generally just tries to avoid them in his current life. His personal goal is to advance his skill at shooting until it becomes perfect and he achieves the sort of enlightenment that his master insisted could only be found if he stopped using a physical bow instead of the arrows of the mind. He is certain that he can eventually do this, and would welcome the opportunity to test himself against unusual threats -- or mundane ones that happened to be beastfolk.

It seems likely that his master was right, and Alharund is walking a path that leads nowhere. But perhaps his master did not know as much as he thought, even if he was an Ascendant of Mind posing as a mortal ...

Alharund -- PL 7

Abilities:
STR
2 | STA 2 | AGL 4 | DEX 3 | FGT 4 | INT 2 | AWE 6 | PRE 2

Powers:
"Aim With the Eye, Shoot With The Mind": Enhanced Advantage 1 (Benefit [make Ranged Combat: Bow checks with Awareness]) - 1 point
Ranger: Movement 2 (safe-fall, sure-footed); Speed 2 - 6 points
Wood Elven Gifts: Immunity 3 (aging, disease, need for sleep); Regeneration 2; Senses 1 (low-light vision) - 6 points

Advantages:
Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 2, Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (bow) 2, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Quick Draw, Trance, Ultimate Aim.

Equipment:
Sword (Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical), Bow (Ranged Damage 3), and 3 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+7), Athletics 6 (+8), Close Combat: Sword 3 (+7), Deception 4 (+6), Expertise: Magic 4 (+6)*, Expertise: Philosophy 6 (+8), Perception 4 (+10), Ranged Combat: Bow 5 (+11), Stealth 5 (+9), Treatment 4 (+6).
* INT-based.

Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +4 (close Damage 2)
Sword +7 (Close Damage 5, Crit 19-20)
Bow +11 (Ranged Damage 3, Crit 18-20)

Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 7, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/2, Will 8

Totals:
Abilities 50 + Powers 13 + Advantages 12 + Skills 22 + Defenses 10 = 107 points

Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 7
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 5

Complications:
Self-Improvement--Motivation. Hatred (beastfolk.) Tactical Preference (seeks the high ground.)
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Elwasse (Hero/Extratemporal)

Post by Davies »

Elwasse
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Everyone knows that bards are spies. Everyone takes it for granted that, as the bards wander about looking for tales to turn into songs, they learn all sorts of other interesting and dangerous things that they invariably pass on to their patrons, who are typically magnates of the various realms. So most people are careful about what they reveal when they think a bard might be listening. And nobody really believes in the so-called free bards, who claim to owe no allegiance to any lord but only to their craft.

Elwasse of Surbrook is a free bard. Raised by the first of her calling from the gutters of the city from which she takes her name, she sells her songs for food and lodging, but never sells the secrets that she has learned to anyone, high or low. Most who have learned a bit about the free bards assume that their first, the playwright Calum Pikesway, acts as their patron, collecting the secrets that they gather and secretly selling them to the highest bidder. They are wrong.

While Calum has, from time to time, advised Elwasse of matters that she might want to investigate, he never asks her to report on anything, trusting in the sense of duty he has instilled in her to keep her on the right path. Her adventures are guided by that sense of duty, by her faith, and by her periodic glimpses of potential futures, most of which show her things that she seeks to prevent. She does her best to keep these visions a secret, as she fears that she would be regarded as a servant of one of the prideful Ascendants if they became known. (Her belief is that such beings are deceivers seeking to prevent mortals from coming to the understanding of the Shaper of Worlds.)

Typically, on learning of a situation that demands her involvement, Elwasse will recruit allies from other adventurers, ideally those with whom she has worked well in the past. When needs must, though, she will take whatever help she can get, and hope for the best. This might lead to her being allied with nearly anyone, depending on the circumstances. The ally of today might be the enemy of tomorrow, after all.

Sometimes, she wonders why Calum chose to train her, and the other free bards, in this way. In her darkest moments, she fears that he might be a pawn of one of the Ascendants, making her one by proxy. He wears a symbol that she has seen nowhere else, a sort of stylized eye. When she asked about it, he told her a strange tale, of a giant with many eyes who was lulled to sleep and then killed as part of some scheme. "So I wear this so that one of the eyes of Argus is always open. Wherever and whenever."

The name meant nothing to her, of course.

Elwasse -- PL 5

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

Powers:
Oracular: Senses 4 (precognition), Unreliable - 2 points

Advantages:
Attractive, Connections, Contacts, Equipment 3, Fascinate (Performance), Improved Defense, Jack-of-all-trades, Uncanny Dodge.

Equipment:
Armor (Protection 2), Rapier (Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical), Throwing Knives (Ranged Multiattack Damage 1), Masterwork Fiddle (+2 circumstance bonus to Performance checks) and 7 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Close Combat: Rapier 2 (+5), Deception 2 (+6), Expertise: History 6 (+9), Expertise: Magic 4 (+7)*, Expertise: Performance 6 (+10), Insight 8 (+10), Investigation 4 (+7), Perception 6 (+8), Persuasion 4 (+8), Ranged Combat: Throwing 4 (+5), Stealth 4 (+6).
* INT-based.

Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage 0)
Rapier +5 (Close Damage 3, Crit 19-20)
Throwing Knives +5 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 1)

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

Totals:
Abilities 32 + Powers 2 + Advantages 10 + Skills 23 + Defenses 13 = 80 points

Offensive PL: 4
Defensive PL: 4
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 5

Complications:
Duty--Motivation. Faith. Honor (code of the free bards.) Secret (oracular visions.)
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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EternalPhoenix
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Now, how ever did an Argus agent end up millions of years in the past? I smell a tale worth telling over a tankard or two. :mrgreen:
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Davies
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Re: The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

Post by Davies »

EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 6:07 am Now, how ever did an Argus agent end up millions of years in the past? I smell a tale worth telling over a tankard or two. :mrgreen:
Calum: I'd consider it, if I understood a blessed bit of it in the first place.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Davies
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Maggan (Hero/Extratemporal)

Post by Davies »

Maggan
Image
Art by Danila Kalinin.

Much like the island of Teyango, the Paaxetani archipelago was absorbed into the Empire of Troas long ago but treated just as a source of sorghum rather than a potential colony. Unlike the people of Teyango, who were content to largely ignore their rulers in return, adventurous children of the archipelago frequently came to metropolitan Troas in search of fame and fortune. Most found only disappointment and death instead, but that is true of all who would walk the glory road. And then there is one Etani who has managed to find both.

Maggan Rimasdar believed that she was on the way to achieving something worthwhile with her life. She had been accepted into the college of heralds within Troas itself, to be taught arts both magical and martial in the service of ... not so much the Empire itself but the ideals of stability and security that it seemed to represent. She was aware that there were those who thought that an Etani had no business striving to stand among her betters in this way, but hoped that she could show them her worth and earn their respect.

Last month, she awoke from what she remembers as a nightmare that never ended, where she rose high in the college of heralds, earning honors both worldly and arcane, only for every victory to turn to ashes in her mouth, for every friend she ever made to die or betray her or both, and for her life to end by a lengthy and painful public execution. Just a dream, she told herself in the moments after awakening, just a horrible dream. Then she met her face in the glass and saw that her hair had turned white, as it was at the end of the nightmare, and she realized that she had all the magical might that she had gained in those imaginary years.

Something has happened. Maggan remembers stories claiming that those who die before fulfilling their destinies are sometimes given another chance by the immortals on some other world. But this is no other world but the one she knew, or thought she knew. She has already encountered events that seem to recall similar ones from her memories of the early parts of the bad dream, which she has chosen to turn differently. Most notable of these are the choice to walk away from the college of heralds despite working so hard to earn entrance into it, confusing friend and foe alike.

She cannot guess what consequences such choices will have. She only knows that she does not want to live through that nightmare again. The problem is that she did not then, and does not now, truly understand the events that brought her to the end that she remembers. She needs to gain that understanding, and where she withdrew from the world in that life she recalls, she will be in the world if not of it in this second chance.

Maggan -- PL 8

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

Powers:
Aura of Healing: Array (16 points)
  • Lifegiving: Healing 8, Resurrection, Side Effect (target takes Damage 8 on a failed check) - 16 points
  • Painstaking: Restorative Empathic Healing 8 - 1 point
  • Shadowslaying: Burst Area Damage 8, Resisted by Will, Limited to Entropic creatures - 1 point
Enchanted Sword: Strength-based Damage 3, Accurate, Affects Insubstantial, Improved Critical, Penetrating 6; Easily Removable (-4 points) - 8 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Equipment 3, Fearless, Improved Critical (sword), Improved Disarm, Inspire, Leadership, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3, Takedown 2, Teamwork, Weapon Bind.

Equipment:
Armor (Protection 5) and 10 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+8), Close Combat: Sword 3 (+8), Expertise: Magic 4 (+7), Expertise: Theology 6 (+8), Expertise: Warfare 7 (+9), Insight 5 (+8), Intimidation 5 (+8), Perception 3 (+6), Persuasion 4 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +5 (Close Damage 3)
Sword +10 (Close Damage 6, Crit 18-20)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 7, Fortitude 7, Toughness 9/4, Will 8

Totals:
Abilities 46 + Powers 26 + Advantages 17 + Skills 21 + Defenses 14 = 124 points

Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 3

Complications:
Change Fate--Motivation. Confused Memories Of What Might Be. Friends (other heralds.)
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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