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I am Communist
Apr 19, 2002

I can show you what endless looks like
I can show you a single infinite thing
I can let you taste the sweet and sour of forever
Unending. Eternal. Inevitable
Taste my darkness
Climb into my abyss
Fall into me. Into my eyes
Look at them. Depths unfathomable
Pain immeasurable
A cruel promise fulfilled
Welcome to recruitment for: The Stars are right!

:siren:Your characters come from somewhere else other than the game world.:siren:

This gives you flexibility on who or what they can be and their history. Are you an elven gunslinger? An orcish surgeon? Cyborg shaman? I will take multiple of the same race and “classes”. Yes two human warriors even if they are interesting enough. Submit the characters you want to play!




CHARACTER CREATION
You don’t have to play as one of the major races in the game. Humanoids are most common. Other standard fantasy races are around, if you have an idea or question please ask! Remember, if you’re 12 foot tall pink centaur sentient golem with wings expect that to be noticed and people to respond to it.

Your character should consist of [+6] in mortal qualities, a single [+2] divine item (with potential domain) and one [+2] Flaw.


Mortal qualities: can be pretty much whatever you want them to be, are you great with a sword, very strong, handsome or pretty, know lots of esoteric lore, etc.

Divine Item / First Potential Domain -: Can be nearly anything, it represents your character's burgeoning divinity. Pick something you think you’ll be able to use, and that will have interesting effects.

Character Flaw: This is some sort of inherent character flaw. These can be driving forces like Love, Pride, Anger, or Greed, or end goals like Peace, Conquest, or Asceticism. When your god acts on a Flaw without regard for the consequences, gain a [+2], [+4] or [+6] bonus to the act at the cost of gaining 1, 2, or 3 Flaw Points (FP).


about : Flaws
When acting directly against another god or to undo or undermine their actions or achievements, you can spend 1FP of theirs to gain a +2 bonus. Your action has to be relevant to one of their Flaws. This is on top of whichever Divine Power you use on your roll. (combinations to not exceed +8).

At certain points, the GM may offer you the choice to fully descend into the ugliest depths of your Flaw and commit a dark and terrible deed, in exchange for your FP being completely erased. [This act will automatically succeed.]



SYSTEM
I’ll be using PDQ for this game. It’s a pretty simple and rules light system. I’ll be doing all of the DC setting and rolling behind the curtain.


APP FORMAT
What I want from you:
A name - I feel like this goes without saying. However, of note please don’t pick a name that is exceptionally long or exceptionally hard to spell. A rule of thumb, if I can’t read your character’s name out loud without a pronunciation dictionary it is not a workable name.


A Picture - Most games have this be optional, but I really want you to include one. They tell me a lot about character and they’ll make it easier to remember who your person is.



Description - Tell me about your character, what do you look like. If your character is monstrous, inhumanly beautiful, or completely alien looking, it will not go unnoticed. How people react will vary, but they will react.



Who are you? - Give me some details, this is a chance to flesh out who your character is and their motivations and history. The more detail you give me, the better I’ll be able to set things up for your character if they get picked.



Mortal Qualities - What’re you good at, what sets you apart? Feel free to spread out your [+6] any way you want. Anything your traditional fantasy hero could do can be used as a mortal quality. Ranging from being a swordmaster, fire-mage, pickpocket, charismatic speaker, politician, general, etc. Magic is kosher as a Mortal Quality, but generally its power-level should be tied into the number of traits it take up. So even if you put Archmage[+2] it’ll still be less mechanically effective than bumbling apprentice[+4]. Your mortal traits can be exceptional, but try and keep them from getting too super-human. Technology/Artifice is allowed BUT like magic it will be hard for people other than you to do it and reproduce anything close to what you do effect and knowledge-wise.
However, don’t try and cheese it and put something overpowered in here. If I see Destroy the World[+2] or something like that I will a) never pick you, and b) yell at you. If in doubt whether a trait should be mortal or divine please ask me and I’ll help you.



Divine Item / First Potential Domain - Your character is in possession of an item that could begin their transformation into godhood. List their first potential domain, a +2 supernatural quality of some sort. The description and or history of the item is flavor for your character. It doesn’t have to be a fantasy item and can even be sci-fi or modern-ish in theme.(but remember it is still divine in nature)
The object grants you an ability that’s something clearly super-human, do you have command over an element, do you control some fundamental concept of the universe? This may seem to have some overlap with magic or other Mortal Qualities, but keep in mind a Potential Divine Domain will always be more potent than a Mortal Quality. If you’ve got the domain of Fire[+2] you’ll be able to suppress the fireball of the most experienced fire-mage[+12], or make it explode in his hand, or some other thing. It can range from an element, to an abstract concept, to something more concrete, but it's a sphere your character will be able to exert tremendous influence over with that object.
As the game progresses and you reach your potential something will happen.
An example of an item:

The Grimoire of Eternal Hatred and Darkness [Necromancy +2] - A book written in humanoid skin and blood passed down for generations of the Von Karltoiz family. It’s dark history only pales in comparison to the rituals contained within. Raising the dead and binding souls into slavery, it passed into his hands after his decadent family enacted a ritual so heinous it erased the minds of everyone present.
Example #1 of Potential Reached: Young Von Karltoiz angry at the world and loss of fortune campaigned against the living and the White Paladin order throughout the game. His armies of the dead were legion, his plagues a scourge upon his enemies, the living merely tools to be bound to his will in death. As he reaches his potential, the GM grants him his first domain. Depending on how he reached his potential and wielded his Divine Item, he might have power of Death [+2], or Necromancy [+2], Decay [+2], or Black Magic [+2].
Example #2 of Potential Reached: Young Von Karltoiz was so repulsed by his ancestral ways he used the book to banish demonic forces, lay to rest the restless dead and became renowned as a ghostbusting faith-healer. He routed the dread forces of the Blackguard Gol and destroyed his ghoulish followers. Hailed as a hero throughout the lands, he carried his heavy burden with him. The dread book always whispering to him of power, bound to his soul. As he reaches his potential the book crumbles to dust and the earth screamed as this dark force passed from existence. The GM grants him his first domain. Depending on how he reached his potential and wielded his Divine Item, he might have power of Death [+2], or Holy [+2], White Magic [+2], or Faith [+2] etc.


Character Flaw - What is your character’s biggest flaw, either personality-wise or physically. Make it something you would be comfortable invoking, and know that I reserve the right to invoke it for you when I feel it's appropriate. Also, this can change over the course of the game as your character changes, so don’t feel stuck with this.



What do you want out of the game?- Give me an idea of what sort of gameplay experience you're looking for. What do you want your character to accomplish, what sort of things do you enjoy?
If you have any questions or need advice on Qualities, Divine Item/Potential First Domains or Flaws, feel free to ask me about them.
If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via PMs. You can also often find me in #ohgod on synirc. I’m happy to help with questions about the game or your character.
I am looking for 5ish players.

More stuff and how it's handled in this game:
STRIFE BETWEEN GODS

Interference
When you directly oppose another god's action or results of an action, The opposer must beat the roll and equal or beat the original target number to succeed. If they equal or beat the target, but don't beat the result of the original roll, then they get a mixed success – you impede them, but not totally. The scope of this will change as the gods progress in power and ability.


Conflicts
War between the gods is rare and devastating. Attacking another god is an opposed roll unless your target allows it to happen. If they let you attack, or you beat their roll, you can pick one of their Domains to damage. If two fighters draw, each picks a Domain of their opponent's to damage. After your attack, your opponent can retaliate or retreat if they wish, and until then bargain with or threaten you (and likewise). Damaged Domains can't be used, and gods heal one Domain of their choice as time passes(the GM will have stopping points to advance the plot and healing) If all of a god's Domains(there will be more later) are damaged, a further blow will put them on the brink of death.


New Power
When a god dies, others can snatch their power and authority for themselves. Any nearby god can swap one of their Domains for one of the dead god's. (Or if this happens before potential is reached by the players they can swap Divine Objects) Whoever landed the killing blow has the uncontested first choice, if they want to take one.


Challenges
There are other ways to resolve disagreements between gods (and mortals). For example, competing to see who can weave the most beautiful tapestry or fire an arrow the furthest. These are Challenges rather than Conflicts – in and of themselves, they're minor acts that any god could easily do, but the real difficulty is beating your opponents.
When you issue a Challenge, you first set the terms. What will the reward be? Who will give it? How will the Challenge be resolved? All parties must agree to the terms before the Challenge can begin. The Challenge itself is an opposed roll. Whoever wins the roll wins the Challenge – ties are broken by the tied Challengers re-rolling.
While Challenges are typically minor acts, you can wager your life on a Challenge; this is called a Duel (and it can be an actual fight). In a Duel, only the winner(s) survive; all opposing Challengers die instantly. When you choose to Duel, you have to live and die with that choice.

I am Communist fucked around with this message at 04:19 on Jun 23, 2017

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I am Communist
Apr 19, 2002

I can show you what endless looks like
I can show you a single infinite thing
I can let you taste the sweet and sour of forever
Unending. Eternal. Inevitable
Taste my darkness
Climb into my abyss
Fall into me. Into my eyes
Look at them. Depths unfathomable
Pain immeasurable
A cruel promise fulfilled
Also there is a discord channel for any questions or to hang out:

https://discord.gg/qRPXgfF

Edit: Deadline for applications will be 7 days from the OP. That is 29 June 2017. America time est.

I am Communist fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Jun 26, 2017

Sax Battler
Jul 31, 2007

Another bloody customs post,
Another fucking foreign coast,
Another set of scars to boast,
We Are The Road Crew.

nm

Sax Battler fucked around with this message at 13:30 on Jun 27, 2017

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Interest marker. I have a couple of ideas I'll be running past you first.

Caufman
May 7, 2007
Riley - An Orphan Dream-mancer with a Flute of Resurrection



Description - 12 years old, generally unkempt, and slight even for her age.


Who are you? - An orphan for as long as she could remember, Riley lives among the gangs of street kid that make their burrows like rats in the alleys of the City. Quick-witted, resourceful, and extremely distrustful of grown-ups, Riley gets by chiefly by stealing food, clothes, and trinkets. An older girl, Sarah, sells what Riley and the other kids steal and divvies up the spoils. Sarah is fair, even kind to Riley, but both of them are subservient to Garret, the oldest boy. Riley suspects Garret is behaving more like a grown-up every day.

Aside from her duties as a pickpocket, Riley also cares for the younger kids in the gang. It reminds her of how she was cared for ever since she was abandoned.


Mortal Qualities -
[+4] Dream Weaver: Since birth, Riley has always been aware of the dreamworld. By the time she was making memories, Riley was already mastering control over her dreams, using her abilities to meet the fascinating creatures of the other side. Later she learned how to enter other people's dreams, even the dreams of animals. It's harder to enter someone's dreams when they're farther away, and some people sleep with very strong barriers.

[+2]Sneaky: Nimble, subtle, and fast; Riley is a practiced thief. She can fit through spaces adults can't, which she uses to get around blocks and to make getaways. In places with lots of street kids, Riley can also blend in and get lost in a crowd.




Divine Item / First Potential Domain - Leopold's Flute [Resurrection +2]

Although she was not aware of the date, Riley woke up on the morning of her eleventh birthday to find her best friend and pet mouse Leopold had died. Riley spent that morning panicking. She spent the day praying. And she spent the night crying. She fell asleep next to his sad, lifeless body.

But when she dreamed, Leopold was still with her and still alive, and he sat on top of a scrimshaw whalebone flute. She took the flute, and when she woke up, she was holding the flute in her hand. It was the first time Riley brought something back from the dreamworld.

Riley improvised a tune for Leopold, and the mouse came back to life. He even looked healthier than he was before. Riley was overjoyed, but she kept the flute a secret, even from Sarah, because she knew how valuable it was.


Character Flaw - Acedia. Riley's favorite places are all in the dreamworld. The real world is dirty, smelly, loud, and dangerous. She prefers to spend as many hours as possible exploring the dreamland with Leopold and the younger orphans. Some days Riley barely gets up at all except to eat, drink, and go to the bathroom. Frequently someone has to wake her up to remind her to find something valuable to bring to Sarah.


What do you want out of the game? - Show me other worlds, Dream Master.

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....
Emilio Ughi


Who are you?
"Certainly you jest? Three marks of gold for this antique?"

Emilio leafed through the book as he addressed the elderly antiquarian, "I shall admit it is of good make, most splendidly decorated, and expertly preserved. But it is but a ledger, empty at that! More of a decoration than an actual book. I must say my good man, if you ever wish to get rid of this thing, a more reasonable price is a necessity! For a person looking for conversation pieces and old curios is the only one who would ever buy this, and rare be the sort who would sink enough funds for ten lengths of Khemeshian silk into such idle pursuits", Emilio flashed a shining smile. Some would say that a merchant of as modest means as him should not be using their money on whitening paste, for the northern white clam was endemic only to a specific region, and the paste was not easy to come by. Nevertheless, Emilio would insist that it was an investment.

"No, no, my good man. You will not make a sale, indeed, any sale with such prices", and indeed, whilst the old man was no doubt knowledgeable in old treasures, Emilio could tell by his mannerisms that he was desperate to make a sale, any sale, just to keep eating. His fault for selling such esoteric goods in such a relatively small city, thought Emilio. But still, the old man's poor life choices were his opportunity, and he had never been one to let those slip by, "Ten marks of silver, more than a handsome price for a decoration like this. No more", it was a huge lowball, certainly, but the man didn't seem that adept at haggling. Which proved to be true when Emilio walked out of the store mere ten minutes later, book in hand, twelve silver marks poorer. Emilio idly leafed the book over once again. The patriarch of the Acardi family was a known lover of rare tomes after all, and Emilio would gladly trade mere twelve silver marks for a good first impression with such an important figure.

The merchant was just about to stash the tome away, when by accident, or perhaps fate, he happened to glance the first page of the tome once more. It had text, now.

The Ledger of Souls posted:

For twelve [12] Amagnian silver marks, to be paid to Giorgio Elena of Amagnia, son of Giovanni Elena of Amagnia, shall Emilio Ughi of Amagnia, son of Nestore Ughi of Amagnia, thus become the sole possessor and rightful owner of the Ledger of Souls.

The deal is struck.

Emilio's eyes widened. A magic book? Magic was exceedingly rare and sought after. Purely by accident, he had struck metaphorical gold. And he would soon learn exactly to what degree.



Description: Emilio is the 36 years old scion of a petty merchant family of modest wealth, not poor by any means, but not obnoxiously wealthy either, and his look matches this. Fine clothing, if perhaps a bit dusty due to his traveling nature, but still largely well maintained, signaling wealth but not obscene amounts of such (as in, largely lacking in jewellery and other very expensive high status paraphernalia). A fine manner, a silver tongue, and an unflappable smile of gleaming teeth are other important fixtures of his character, and he can be trusted to not lose his cool easily. As a former traveling merchant, Emilio is quick to adapt as well, smoothly mimicking mannerisms and habits from the cultures surrounding him, feeling at home almost anywhere. He comes from a society of early-to-mid Reneissance era technological development, so gunpowder and simple clockworks are known to him, and whilst he knows magic, it is exceedingly rare in his own world.

Mortal Qualities:
Merchant [+4]: Emilio is a scion of a trading family, and has been learning the subtle tricks of the trade since early childhood. Reading others, appraising the true value of goods, and just an all around good intuition for making a profit at the expense of others whilst making them believe they are getting a good deal, this is where Emilio excels.

Social Chameleon [+2]: A new place? A new person? A new culture? A new World entirely? No sweat. Emilio has sailed the seas and traveled with many a caravan, and knows the ins and outs of how to properly navigate social situations of all kinds without stepping on too many mines, even if they are ones completely new to him.

Character Flaw:
Greed: Deep down, Emilio has always resented his relatively modest means (certainly commoners would consider him rich, but he was comparing himself to the upper classes), and is focused almost entirely on bettering his personal fortunes. And whilst no fool, his desire for possessions can drive him to risks perhaps not worth taking.

Divine Item / First Potential Domain - The Ledger of Souls

Deals [+2]: The Ledger of Souls is an artifact of unclear origin, but whoever fashioned it must be a potent force indeed. It records all deals made by its rightful owner (indeed, it seems to never run out of pages even though it never grows), and uses its divine power to enforce them to the best of its ability, and is capable of smiting anyone who tries to break a contract with its owner to an extent. But this is not its main attraction. No, that would be its ability to grant all sorts of miraculous powers and services for a price. And such miraculous powers, of course, require miraculous payment as well, from which the book gains its name.

What I want: Emilio is meant to be a fairly mobile character, traveling the World, collecting treasures and binding souls to his service. Mobile in the sense that I would like active interaction with other players, to avoid the typical smallgods issue of everyone doing their own thing for half a year without talking to other characters. Also, INFINITE GHOST LEGIONS.

Theantero fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Jun 23, 2017

JamezBfod
Jun 13, 2003

there may be people who
find a blender sexy - I
would do well with a more
humanoid model, myself
Patak - The Outcast Warlord



He wears the rags of a slave and his hard won Banner on his back. Blonde hair, strong build with striking keen eyes. Taller than the average human but not freakishly large.

Warlord +6 - A mastery of weapon, armor, body, tactics, strategy. It is Patak’s trade and he is Master-Class.

Since before he could remember his life had been about war. His entire world had been a seething mass of ever-shifting alliances, new empires rising to and falling under new warlords. Patak was born a slave but forged his empire by his own hand. Those lesser warlords who would not submit were subjugated. Within three decades the entire mortal realm was under his heel, but it was not enough...

War God’s Banner +2 - A powerful relic capable of bolstering the capabilities of the host under it and undermining all who would oppose its master.

Patak took his conquest to the gods themselves. His vengeance was terrible and his retribution swift. When he breached the center spire of the War God’s realm he fought the War God Mogh from the gate to the tier. Though bloodied and weary, Patak proved victorious and threw Mogh’s corpse from atop the spire and claimed his banner by right.

The other gods acted quickly; before he could fully consolidate the prized territory they came in force, stripping Patak of all but his natural faculties and banishing him from their domain.

But as he left, the Banner came with him. For it was his by right of conquest, by their own laws.

Flaw: Justice: His entire rise to power was driven by his sense of justice. From stopping the lash arm of his slave-master to ursurping and casting down the warlords and Emperors of his world to his attack on the Mogh himself for the crime of fostering eternal war at the mortal's expense.

So Patak possesses the ragged clothes on his back and this War Banner while he coasts through the blind eternities.

What I want. Sometimes you just want to smash through stuff. Maybe stuff irl isnt going my way and I am frustrated. I understand that I would be playing a heel character and intend to try to discuss matters ooc calmly with anyone I come into conflict with.

JamezBfod fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Jun 26, 2017

TheFireMagi
Nov 6, 2011

...She's behind me, isn't she?


I lied and am now doing golem dad because oh my god this picture.

Name: Abdul the Unbound

Description: A very tall, very well built (one might even say sculpted) golem with very human-like qualities. Both in personality and appearance, Abdul is as unsubtle as it gets, and is hard to miss. He doesn’t mind though.

Who are You?:
If you asked Abdul who he was, he’d likely look at you with a serious expression and say something like, “I’m a real jaded individual,” before bursting out into strange yet comforting, guttural laughter. If you asked more insistently, he’d eventually let out a groan, tell you to settle down, and tell you about the Before. Before, when there was no metaphorical light in his eyes (they still shone, however), and the concept of free will quite literally did not exist for the golem. Before, when he was still just one Bound to the Master’s will, and Master was all that he was to Abdul, for he considered the golem unworthy of a name. His, and the golem’s. Before, when the only thought that ran through Abdul’s mind was how best to serve. Admittedly, that part hasn’t changed so much. But he does so willingly now, so… details.

Next, there was the Accident That Was Probably Not An Accident. It was one matter when the Master’s laboratory exploded. It was another entirely when the golem entered the wreckage and saw his Master’s body tied to a chair, gagged so he couldn’t cast any spells. Very odd indeed. But for some reason, the golem did not particularly feel interested in investigating the death. No, not for some reason, but one reason: he was freed. No oppressive presence, no controlling influence. Just… free. The golem was uncertain what this meant, what he should do. So, he sat like a rock. For how long, the golem wasn’t sure. Long enough that his Once Master’s body was now a skeleton, at the very least. And with that waiting, the golem eventually experienced something for the first time: boredom. And it was the desire to quench the boredom, his first desire, that caused the golem to leave the ruins of his Once Master’s tower.

And then, there was the After. The countless suns and moons that had risen and fallen as the golem traversed the land, in search of amusement, of purpose. He did not find the latter, not even now. But the former, well, he had found much of that indeed. Not at first. At first, most were frightened wherever he arrived. Golems were not a common sight, and when they were seen, mages tended to follow. And nobody likes mages. His eerie glare, stoic expression, and intimidating silence hardly helped either. Shunned and feared, it seemed certain that the golem would be ostracized by all communities he came across. Yet, it was not to be. For children are daring, foolishly so, where adults are not. It was the children who played with the golem, tricks at first, but eventually games as they slowly realized he was not hostile. And from them, the golem began to learn. Words, gestures, expressions. From there, the golem began to communicate to the adults he met, though his speech was rather broken at the beginning. And through communication… acceptance. Slow, hesitant, but eventual.

Mortal Qualities:
Body of Shaped Stone [+0] - Though it is at times easy to forget with how jovial and prone to jests and japes he is, Abdul is still a golem, a creature created by mages to serve in labor and war. While he may be adverse to violence, the golem is as strong as any man, and his exterior is difficult to pierce with arrow or blade. Not so much magic, however. The mages were careful in that regard, in case their golems ever rose up against them.

Mind of Astute Aide [+2] - His shackles may be broken, but Abdul still often finds himself being of service to those he comes across. It is still part of who he is, after all, to play the dutiful assistant. Although much of his usage to his previous and only master was through physical work, Abdul has picked up a number of other handy skills over his many years of freedom. Minor ones, admittedly, but ones that most folk are glad to have. Cooking, cleaning, a head for finances… if a talented butler or maid (or a househusband) could be expected to have it, then it is likely Abdul does as well.

Heart of Guileless Gold [+2] - While his strength and intelligence may match that of an adult, Abdul is rather innocent, even childlike in nature. In spite of that, or perhaps because of, his sincerity and openness leads him to be easily trusted by those with good intent. Even those with not quite the best of intentions can find their guards being lowered, even if only temporarily. Of course, such warming and welcoming presence lasts only if Abdul himself is hiding nothing.

Divine Item/First Potential Domain:
The Crown of Abdul-Sa’Ord - Truth [+2]: When the golem left his Once Master’s tower, he did not leave empty-handed. Instead, whether it was by whim or fate, the golem felt the urge to take with him the greatest artifact in his Once Master’s collection: the crown of an ancient and very powerful king, whose bloodline was said to descend from the divine themselves. While that particular detail has been much argued over by scholars and historians, none can question the power of the crown itself, for those in its presence are compelled to answer all questions truthfully. At least, whatever they consider the truth. A useful tool, when one is surrounded by a court of royal intrigue. Abdul (the golem, having taken the original owner’s name for himself as he had no other), for the most part, uses it to settle various disputes and disagreements he comes across in his travels. But a clever sort might come up with other, less… beneficial uses for such a thing.

Character Flaw:
Pacifist - Although Abdul would rarely if ever actually regard it as an actual flaw of his, the golem detests the use of violence in almost any capacity. Almost, in this case, being used because Abdul imagines there must be some scenario out there where he would condone violence. He just can’t think of one. What he doesn’t realize is that this pacifism is another safeguard implemented by his creator, in the event the golem’s chains of servitude were ever broken.

What do you want out of the game?: I want to make bad dad jokes, completely misunderstand social situations, and maybe, just maybe, make the world a better place. Probably just bad dad jokes though.

TheFireMagi fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Jul 31, 2017

The Unlife Aquatic
Jun 17, 2009

Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars


Name: Ksenija Ceranic

Theme Song: Perturbator - Femme Fatale

Backstory

Ksenija is a woman in her late 20s, she's tall, lanky, and a smile is never far from her face. Her accent is oddly unplacable and always pins her as an outsider, no matter the social group. She's enrolled in the imaginary mathematics postgrad program at Perdition City University (Go PCU!) and lives with her girlfriend, a nurse for a surgeon who installs cybernetics and wetware, in a ratty little studio apartment. They don't have much besides one another. Her primary field of study is the interaction of infinitesimals and complex negative numbers. It's a subject as boring to the layman as it is useless.

At around 3AM on a Thursday morning, riding high on caffeine, cannabis and several (very illegal) stimulants, Ksenija discovered what she now calls "Anti-Real Math". A process by which the answers to extremely complex equations can disrupt basic mathematical constants locally for short periods of time. Pi is suddenly 3.41578, two and two make five, and don't even ask about square roots you'll get a nosebleed just thinking about it. These effects often lead to mishaps, odd accidents, sometimes even disasters, and are especially disruptive to the function of automated and/or electronic equipment. Oddly, she doesn't seem to be able to replicate these answers on any computer but her own laptop, it doesn't stop her from trying though - she could really use the grant money.



Home: Perdition City

Neon lights shine across the great towers of black glass in Perdition City. The sky is wreathed in rain and fog. There is no "daylight" in Perdition City, only bright hours and dark hours. Perdition City is seemingly endless, and Ksenija has known nothing else. Technology is extremely advanced, especially computer science, medicine, and cybernetics. Magic is totally unknown.

Mortal Qualities

Jury-Rigging Genius (+4): PCU's compsci/math department is criminally underfunded. (Literally, most of their funding comes from the mob) As a result Ksenija has spent almost as much of her career fixing equipment on a shoestring budget as she has on math. She can rewire nearly anything, effectively use a variety of programming languages, she's even had to teach herself to weld. When you need to fix something in a pinch, or make a contraption from hope, swears, and duct tape, or maybe even someone who can handle theoretical math, Ksenija is the woman for you.

Streetwise (+2): Living in a dystopian cyberpunk metropolis teaches you how to survive, or it kills you. It's mostly done the former for Ksenija, sure she's been stabbed for her credcard a few times and even shot once or twice, but she's still here. Ksenija is an expert at moving through urban environments, watching her back, figuring out which dumpsters are safe to dive for food, and general urban survival.

Character Flaw

Head Down (-2): Another byproduct of living in a dystopian cyberpunk metropolis, and the everpresent specter of poverty, is Ksenija's inability to think about anything but what's right in front of her. When things get too weird or she tries to think ahead too far her brain just shuts down and she goes into survival mode. She struggles to plan for the future, and she has trouble understanding the consequences of her actions.

Divine Item / First Potential Domain



Ksenija's Laptop - Murphy's Law (+2)

Ksenija's most prized possession and one of the only two electronic devices capable of handling Anti-Real Math (the other being her wetware). Anti-Real Math allows Ksenija to dramatically up the likelihood of accidents and mishaps in an area briefly, and is especially ruinous to machinery and electronics.

Last week, it screamed. Yesterday, it was made of steaming pork for five minutes.

It's probably fine.

Artifacts

Shadowsilk Sneaking Suit

Stealth (+4): The Shadowsilk Sneaking Suit allows Ksenija to turn invisible...with conditions.

Plain Sight Inoperable (-2): The Suit cannot activate while someone is looking directly at Ksenija or during combat. It also deactivates if she attacks someone.

Percival



Percival, Sword of Light [+2]: She can provide light, never needs to be sharpened, and always cuts true. Comes with snide commentary.


What I'd Like

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure.

The Unlife Aquatic fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Aug 18, 2017

Platonicsolid
Nov 17, 2008

Well all my other games have blown up....consider me interested.

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

Isiah Incipio


Description
A head taller than most men in his home country and broad enough in the shoulders for his height to not be noticed unless looming over someone Isiah is an impressive sight. Some men have been known to quake in fear at the sight of his lupine golden eyes.

Death +2

Divine Body +2

Mortal qualities:
Warrior Prince +4: Raised from birth to rule, Prince Incipio is skilled in the arts of command and administration. Assassination is common in his home country, so he is also skilled in the subtle art of poisons and the less subtle arts of hacking your opponents apart with a sword or trampling them beneath the hooves of your warhorse.

Werewolf +2: Isiah is a werewolf from a nation of werewolves. In all the ways that wolves are stronger then men, he too is superior. His immense animal vitality was what allowed him to claim his divine item.

Dread Legion Captain [+2] Which gives you access to training, weapons, and skills that can be used in a roll like your warrior prince. Also to order around those in the company that you outrank. A status as well as a mortal skill.

You gain the mortal quality Zombie General [+2] as long as you have Zombie General Lernean with you.

Kalis, Necromancer Apprentice and ex-Black Legion Officer

Divine Item / First Potential Domain -:

Lich's Bane, The Bone Blade [Necromancy +2]: This terrible blade is nothing less than the 4th rib of the Archlich Nheg'vaed, ripped from his chest by Isiah himself during their battle. Some part of the old necromancer lives on; whispering in the mind of its wielder. Those foolish enough to listen to the whispers can use the blade to command the living dead. If the listener is strong of will, they may even avoid being dominated by the blade. May. So great is this remnant of the defeated archlich's hatred for the living that mortals slain by the blade often rise again to serve their killer.


Character Flaw:
Steeped in Violence
Born in the midst of a decades long war between the surviving mortal nations of the south and the legions of the dead to the North, Isiah has a hard time imagining solutions to problems that don't involve violence. He has solved so many of his and his nation's problems with violence the he has come to believe that anytime killing people doesn't solve the problem, it just means he didn't kill enough people the first time.

What do you want out of the game?-
Want to be an evil necromancer leading my armies of the dead to crush all before me. Problems will be promptly converted into obedient skeletons. A simple and straightforward character.

LLSix fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Jan 2, 2018

Shardix
Sep 14, 2011

The end! No moral.
Nikita


Description - Nikita is a giant of a man, composed primarily of muscle, sinew, and bloody-minded stubbornness. His blasphemous ancestry is obvious, bearing features of the most inhuman denizens of the sea. Gills, fins, an array of tentacles, the vicious teeth of a shark, and a hard, blackened shell on his brow.

Who are you? - Things lurk within the seas. Hungry things. Powerful things. Things with sway over the winds and water. Such a being did a witch-woman conjure forth, in the face of a hurricane that threatened to destroy all it passed over. The being listened, and terms were agreed upon. The hurricane dissipated as if it never were, and many months later Nikita was born.

Nikita was a burlak, hauling barges upriver. It was hard, thankless work and the trade demands ensured that it was never ending. The drovers that oversaw them were merciless, and many of his fellows simply died of exhaustion where they stood, only to be trampled into the mud by the still living. It was often said that the shores of the river were not formed of mud, but of the flesh of the burlak. Even in the winter, work did not cease for Nikita. The rivers might be frozen but the whaling ships always had need of sailors. And so Nikita's work continued, trading the drudgery of hauling boats for the dangers of the open ocean. Risking foul storms and pirates for the pittance granted a man of his low station, he went about his work silently as his resentment grew. Only the sea granted solace; like his life it was unending, uncaring, giving and taking at a whim. But only because that was its nature. Unlike men, there was no greed or malice behind it. He could respect that.

Life is not easy for a beastly man like himself, yet his strength has been enough to shrug off the blows and insults. He has survived and stayed his hand thus far mostly out of spite, intending to prove himself to a people that have no desire to accept him. It is simply life, and his is no harder than most. Just different.

Mortal Qualities -
[+2]Indomitable: Nikita possesses a seemingly endless well of fortitude and strength. He does not tire easily, can shrug off most illness, and can ignore wounds that would cripple the average man.

[+2]Sailor: Nikita is man of the sea, and what he does not know of a ship he can easily figure out. Aids in captaining, serving upon, maintaining and repairing ships as well as associated skills such as navigation, fishing, rope-work, and sewing.

[+2]Witch: Nikita's mother was a witch, and defied tradition by teaching the boy her skills. It is a subtle art. No great cataclysms from the sky, or flying about on broomsticks. Instead it is a rather 'earthier' science. Knowledge of herbs and healing, casting and breaking hexes, reading the stars for omens and warding against dark spirits.

Divine Item / First Potential Domain - Pleiades [Oceans +2]

When Nikita's mother died, there was little enough estate remaining. They had never been wealthy, and her lingering illness had resulted in most fine things she owned being sold to cover the expenses. When she was burned and given to the sea, all that was left was an empty house and her seven fine silver rings, a gift from many many years ago, that she had never been willing to part with. She had never said where they came from, but Nikita had his suspicions.

Though he could have sold them for a tidy sum, there were too many memories attached to the jewelry. Pleasant times and youthful naivete.

The rings grant him a measure of control over the ocean and the creatures within. Calming a swell, encouraging fish to bite, or convincing a shark to seek its meal elsewhere.

Character Flaw - Man of the People. Nikita is monstrous and not easily trusted, but he nevertheless feels a kinship with those on the bottom of the social ladder. Men and women who work for a living, scraping by while the merchants and nobility grows fat on their labor will always have an ally in him. Consequently, he is loathe to abandon anyone he calls brother or sister. Betraying them for personal gain is unthinkable. Holding those he cares about hostage or threatening them is the easiest way to manipulate the man.

What do you want out of the game? - Meet interesting people and win them over. Make the world a better place for the common, working class folk. Stand strong against the schemer and the malefactor and shatter their delusions of grandeur. Maybe find true love while he's at it.

Shardix fucked around with this message at 00:51 on Jun 24, 2017

Valhawk
Dec 15, 2007

EXCEED CHARGE
Hakon



Hakon was born to a poor and sickly mother in the slums of Bulliston, capital of Acre. He never knew his father, and his mother though she did what she could died when he was only a young child. Growing up in the streets was not an easy experience, but Hakon survived. He learned how to steal and how to grift, and how to use a knife. Life in the slums was dog eat dog, and Hakon absorbed that ethos. People only really cared about themselves, so take what you want, because others will do the same to you.

As he aged he grew more and more bold. A trait that ended poorly for him when he was caught by the guards and arrested for the robbery. He hadn't committed that particular robbery not that it mattered, he was convenient and he'd committed more than enough robberies to make a useful scapegoat for the guards. The trial was a farce, but Hakon never expected anything less. The powerful did as they pleased, and he didn't have the power to compete. The sentence was death. Before his hanging, however, he received strange news. His sentence had been changed, a last minute mercy exile to a remote order of monks on an equally remote island.



Hakon spent the next five years wishing he had been executed. Life as a monk was torture. Rise early, pray, eat a breakfast of porridge, work all day maintaining the monetary, eat dinner, pray, repeat. His beard and head shaved, wearing itchy robes, all structure and discipline, he hated it. Still he adapted, learning the stories, trying to earn the monk’s trust, find a way to escape. Eventually he was shown the treasure the monastery existed to guard. From the moment he first laid eyes on the gem, he knew he must have it. When he learned the story of its power it only increased his interest more, for his was a world without magic, and if by some trick of fate the legend was true, the power of the gem, the ability the to bend any man he wished to his will. To have the guards that hunted him down worship the ground he walked on as the nobles eagerly handed over all their fine belongings, well that was worth almost anything.

So, Hakon planned to steal the gem, it was not an immediate thing, for what was the point of stealing it if he was still stuck on the island, first one year passed, then another, then half way through the third year of planning Hakon simply snapped one night. He had learned to be patient, but even he had his limits and when he couldn’t put up with one day more of a monk’s life he grabbed the gem drat the consequences. By the time he fully realized the implications of what he’d done it was too late. He had no way off, in a fit of pique he had ensured he would never escape for the monks would kill him for sure once they found the gem missing. In a panic, he fled out into the island's forest. It was new moon, no light to see by, so he tripped over a root, and cut his hand. Some of his blood fell upon the gem, and to his shock he could feel a link form with it, the once dark gem starting to gently glow in his hands. What he did not realize was that this was his last moment on his native world.

Qualities:

Former Thief[+4]
Growing up in the slums you learn to make good use of your hands fast, or you starve. Stealthily liberating various valuables, keeping out of sight, how to use a knife. These skills are beaten into you by the depredations of everyday life. Though he’s been forced to be a monk for half a decade and is a bit rusty, it takes more than 5 years to lose a lifetime of training.

Practiced Con-man[+2]
Hakon grew up in the slums, you learn quickly there how to grift, how to lie with a straight face, how the minds of people work and how to manipulate them. Though he has no formal schooling, years of experience with starvation on the line have given Hakon and intimate and intuitive understanding of how the minds of men work and how to manipulate them.

Minor Spy Ring[+2]
- After taking over Mistress Greybeard's orphanage, Hakon now has a small army of orphan thralls acting as his eyes and ears throughout the city.

Alpha and Omega Servant[+2] - With the transformation of the captive orc into Daor, Hakon has gained a servant who he is psychically linked to, and is dominated even more thoroughly than even the other thralls.


The Eye of Davos - (Domination[+2])


Legend says that once long ago there was a man named Davos. It is said that he had 3 eyes, the third of which has terrible hypnotic powers. The legends say Davos built a great empire of slaves using his power, and that eventually a coalition of God's vanquished him. However, the gods were jealous of Davos’ power, and so before they destroyed his body, they plucked out his magic eye, transforming it into a gem. The left the gem in the care of an order of monks created to protect it all of whom swore to never use it's power.

So it has sat for centuries. It is said that the gods made use of the Eye on a few occasions but many consider the gods to be little more than legends themselves. Still, to this day the order remains in place, guarding the Eye with their lives.

The Eye itself is a gem of unearthly beauty, even in it's dormant state it is vaguely hypnotic. However, should a person expose it to their blood, it will bond with them and become active. This bond lasts until the wielder’s death, and there can be only one wielded at a time. Once activated by bonding with a wielder, the gems magic activates and it becomes not merely captivating but utterly hypnotic. To look upon it is to make your mind putty in the wielder’s hands, to be reshaped however he or she desires. The Eye glows faintly allowing it to be used in the dark, but for those who are for some reason or another unable to see it there is no effect, sight is the mechanism by which its terrible magics work upon the victim’s mind.

Flaw

Gluttony: Hakon grew up with nothing, and now he holds in his hand the power to bend the minds of other to his will, to remake them to fit his desires. He wants it all, the most luxurious palaces, the finest clothing, the most delicious cuisine, thousands, millions of people worshiping the ground he walks on and dedicating their entire lives to his happiness. Hakon never learned when to stop, when it was enough. Maybe when the entire world bows, all life caters to his slightest whim, perhaps then it will be enough.

What do you want out of the game?

To recruit loyal lieutenants, twist the minds of millions, remake cities and civilizations. Basically, I wanna take over the world. I like interacting with and altering NPCs, seeing and changing the rules of various societies I encounter. Basically, for me in these sorts of game the world is people and I like seeing how we impact and change the world by our passage.

Valhawk fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Jul 28, 2017

I am Communist
Apr 19, 2002

I can show you what endless looks like
I can show you a single infinite thing
I can let you taste the sweet and sour of forever
Unending. Eternal. Inevitable
Taste my darkness
Climb into my abyss
Fall into me. Into my eyes
Look at them. Depths unfathomable
Pain immeasurable
A cruel promise fulfilled
:siren:Round one of feedbacks!:siren:

Riley - An Orphan Dream-mancer with a Flute of Resurrection

Description - 12 years old, generally unkempt, and slight even for her age.
Who are you? -
History looks good!

Mortal Qualities -
[+4] Dream Weaver
Dreamtime magic. Mechanically sound.

[+2]Sneaky
East to understand and mechanically sound.


Divine Item / First Potential Domain - Leopold's Flute [Resurrection +2]
Mechanically sound

Character Flaw - Acedia.
Hmm. While this is a good flaw I don't see it coming into play much? Is it more like a laziness thing or will she be asleep half the adventures?



Emilio Ughi

Who are you?
Nice background. Good detail
Description:

Mortal Qualities:
Merchant [+4]:
Easy to understand. Mechanically Sound

Social Chameleon [+2]:
Mechanically sound. Good explaination.

Character Flaw:
Greed:
Mechanically sound.

Divine Item / First Potential Domain - The Ledger of Souls

Deals [+2]:
Just remember at +2, while a divine item it will have its limits in scope and power. Been a while since a wishmaster submission





Patak - The Outcast Warlord


Warlord +6
All in!

War God’s Banner +2
Mechanically sound

Flaw: Domination
Oh breaking this flaw out will be a treat. Hopefully delicacy and reason aren't a shirt or long term goal.






Name: Ksenija Ceranic
Backstory
Gets the job done. Nice

Mortal Qualities
Programmer (+4):
Limited uses but like we talked about if you're ok with it. I'm ok with it.

Streetwise (+2):
Streetwise/streetsmarts. Mechanically sound

Character Flaw
Head Down (-2)
Mechanically sound.

Divine Item / First Potential Domain

Ksenija's Laptop - Murphy's Law (+2)
Hex powers, gotcha. Mechanically sound.

What I'd Like
Honesty is the best policy! Welcome°




Isiah Incipio


Mortal qualities:
Warrior Prince +4:
Mechanically sound

Eyes of Gold (keen sight)+2:
If it's an effect like fear keep it. If it's just a flavor of how he looks you can make this +2 a different useful skill.

Divine Item / First Potential Domain -:

Lich's Bane, The Bone Blade [Necromancy +2]:
Savage. I like it.

Character Flaw:
Steeped in Violence
Mechanically sound.




Nikita


Description -
Who are you?
Good stuff!

Mortal Qualities -
[+2]Indomitable
A good clear description.Mechanically sound.

[+2]Sailor
Mechanically sound.

[+2]Witch
Mechanically sound.

Divine Item / First Potential Domain - Pleiades [Oceans +2]
[I]Mechanically sound.


Character Flaw -
[I]Protective got it.

I am Communist
Apr 19, 2002

I can show you what endless looks like
I can show you a single infinite thing
I can let you taste the sweet and sour of forever
Unending. Eternal. Inevitable
Taste my darkness
Climb into my abyss
Fall into me. Into my eyes
Look at them. Depths unfathomable
Pain immeasurable
A cruel promise fulfilled
Hakon

Quality background!

Qualities:
Former Thief[+4]
Mechanically sound.

Practiced Con-man[+2]
Mechanically sound.

The Eye of Davos - (Domination[+2])

Mechanically sound.

Flaw
Gluttony:
Good flaw!

Plutonis
Mar 25, 2011



Name: Arthur Shinryuu


Origin: Dai Londinium is the capital flagship of the United Families of Orteuze , an advanced magitechnological civilization that dwells in flying city-states and divided in several squabbling families of Magi that fiercely compete with each other for supremacy and intermarry with each other in attempts to empower their own bloodlines. Those who do not belong to the Families are considered to be second-class citizens, and are only valued as servants.

Backstory: A member of the powerful Shinryuu family and a student of the Vortigern Magician Academy, Arthur is a handsome, if bored-looking young man, usually dressed in his school uniform and carrying a backpack that contains his books, lunchbox and his arcane crafted broadsword. He is two years older than most of his colleagues due to failing two years in a row, and is known as a mediocre and lazy student, as well as a failure of his high-ranking clan. Tired of the nagging and politicking of his parents, who are starting to believe that he is actually faking his ineptitude, Arthur decides to scurry away from Londinium after a quite rough spat, and decides to instead travel and find a place to take it easy away from his family's reach.

Mortal Qualities

Irregular Magician (+6): To the embarassment of his parents, Arthur has flunked two years in a row at the Londinium academy, with lower than subpar grades on every possible subject, and has performed extremely poorly on several competitions within the school, up to the point he has earned the reputation as the weakest duelist in the academy. Of course, if he actually did try a serious effort, he would in fact upstage several of his teachers, but this is too much of a chore...!

Character Flaw: - Lazy. Arthur believes in avoiding responsibility and getting dragged in his familial troubles by being a permanent underachiever, and therefore tries his best to hide his massive potential on any situation. He also avoids getting in deep relationships with most people, and just wants to 'ride the wave' for the rest of his life.

Divine Item: Draconii Fatum - Bloodline's Broadsword of Draconic Destiny


The most ancient heritage of the Shinryuu clan, stolen by Arthur before he scampered away from Dai Londinium. This sword was forged from the heart, soul, teeth, bones and claws of the family's draconic ancestor, a "Divine Dragon" that hails from a time before mankind ever left their caves. The Draconii Fatum is tied with the clan's blood itself, growing stronger as their ancestry becomes more apparent and it is said that eventually it will attune with one of the most apt members of the Shinryuu to turn him into a Divine Dragon himself. But of course, it's not like some failure like Arthur can do that, can he?

What do you want out of the game?: Having fun. Also it not dying within a month or week.

Plutonis fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Jun 24, 2017

Rhjamiz
Oct 28, 2007

Silth


And here, something to give a very rough idea of relative size.


Silth, and the Silth in general, is a molluskoid creature roughly the size of a human child, approximately six feet long at relaxed length. It is native to the planet Silth, a storm-ravaged world from which it derives its name. Able to deform itself as most molluskoids can, and slippery to the touch, it is best suited to water but capable of locomotion on land by using spines and spindly limbs to crawl and climb across rain-slick rocks. These spines can be used defensively when threatened, injecting a paralytic venom. The defining feature of a Silth, however, is its parasitic nature. A Silth can enter a host body, usually through the mouth, and chew its way into the body cavity, where it hijacks the central nervous system directly via the spinal cord, and consumes the brain. This process kills the host. Using information stolen from the host brain, it then imitates the host in order to deceive members of the host's species, or friends and relations. A Silth can also heal or regenerate a host body to a limited degree, but too much wear and tear over time, or too much damage all at once, will force a Silth to abandon its host in search of a new body to hide in. It is for this reason that Silth are considered extremely dangerous.

Backstory:


Silth: its name, its species, its home. The Silths' grasp of names was nascent at best. The Silth who would become known simply as "Silth" lived on the storm-swept planet known as only as Silth. Its life there was typical, by Silth standards, though somewhat blessed on account of its shiny rock. Idyllic. And then they came; two-legged beasts with hide like rock, and the roaring things that belched heat and light and were harder still. Humans and Starships, as Silth would later learn. They came for rock. They came for other things that the Silth did not understand. But the Silth understood killing; they did it sometimes. When they ate, or when they stole some beast's body. But never for no reason. The humans killed, Silth and beast alike. Some they took. They cut, they poked, they prodded, they caged. The Silth were best described as vaguely molluskoid creatures the size of an adolescent human; boneless and lithe, they moved easily in water and with some aptitude over land. They were omnivores and appeared to have some sapience. But they were also unnecessary; they were in the way. And so Silth was taken off world with all the rest of their plundered wealth. But they did not understand the Silth, and they did not know the Silth could take bodies. Unfortunately, Silth would find his opportunity far too late. Only after he had been delivered to some zoo on some far off colony did Silth catch a caretaker off guard, stealing his body. And ever since, Silth has traveled from star to star, body to body, searching for long lost Silth. And for revenge.



Silth

Endless storms batter the barren and rocky surface of Silth. Little sun pierces those roiling clouds, the surface illuminated only by frequent flashes of lightning. It is here, in those rippling pools and on those rain-swept plains that the Silth dwell. The entire surface ecosystem revolves around lightning, not sunlight, to generate the energy necessary for life. Towering plant-like organisms draw in repeated strikes, storing the collected energy in capacitor-like vacuoles. Smaller plants grow in a radius of some dozens of feet, siphoning off what excess energy reaches the ground through their towering trunk, an interconnected electric grid of roots spread beneath the rocky surface. Herbivores feed on these, while carnivores feed on them. The Silth are omnivores; opportunistic, parasitic. Lacking culture or civilization, they gather in tribal pools where they spawn, or roam the crags on spindly claws suited for scaling rock. It is all they have ever known.

Mortal Qualities

Parasite (+2): The Silth are facultative parasites; capable of surviving without a host body, but far more effective with one. The Silth have several traits that make them effective parasites. As molluskoidal beings, their boneless bodies easily contort or conform to tight spaces or unusual bodies. They are able to interface directly with the nervous system of a host body, usually via the spinal chord or equivalent. They have strength for their size but cannot leverage it out of either water or a host body. Armed with numerous spines, they are capable of delivering a potent paralytic venom to their victims or attackers. These spines can be made to protrude from a host body's skin or hide. Lastly, they are able to induce a limited accelerated healing and minor regeneration in a host body. Severe trauma cannot be repaired, and a dead host body will have extremely limited functionality while it slowly deteriorates.

The Gleaning (+2): When Silth inhabits a host, the final step is consuming the brain. Consumption of the grey matter allows the Silth to electrically read and process the thoughts, memories, and personality contained within. This information is then transferred to a specialized organ where the host's mind is simulated, for lack of a better term. This process is called the Gleaning. Each successive host overwrites the old host simulation, leaving behind only fragments of the previous host, like a past life. This quality will be used to utilize information and skills of the current host body, or to recall small bits of information of past hosts.

Guile (+2): Silth is particularly clever for its kind, and with every new host, its understanding grows in bits and pieces. Time spent manipulating humans in its quest for revenge has taught Silth the value of subtlety.

Character Flaw

Wrath: Its forced abduction from its home has left Silth angry and vengeful, with a vindictive streak a mile wide. Every once in an while, it will go out of its way to indulge these feelings.

Divine Item / First Potential Domain



Silth Stone - Storms (+2)

Ground down by wind and water, sparkling with the fury of a thousand bolts of thunder, this stone encapsulates everything that is Silth. Where it came from Silth could not say. It shined in a pleasing way, it had a pleasant smoothness and a certain warmth. So Silth ate it. It keeps it safe, tucked away inside, regurgitating it now and then to take comfort in its splendor. Through some happenstance far beyond the understanding of the Silth, the Silth Stone is imbued with the very essence of Silth; wind, storms, and lightning.

What I'd Like

I'm curious how a body-snatcher will play. I'd also like to terraform the world into a recreation of Silth (the planet).

Rhjamiz fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Aug 16, 2017

I am Communist
Apr 19, 2002

I can show you what endless looks like
I can show you a single infinite thing
I can let you taste the sweet and sour of forever
Unending. Eternal. Inevitable
Taste my darkness
Climb into my abyss
Fall into me. Into my eyes
Look at them. Depths unfathomable
Pain immeasurable
A cruel promise fulfilled
:siren:
Additional feedbacks / GM questions
:siren:


Name: Arthur Shinryuu
Origin:
Backstory:
Very nice level of detail.

Mortal Qualities
Irregular Magician (+6):
I'm not sure about the flavor of this but mechanically it works. If picked it would be interesting to see in practice.


Character Flaw: - Lazy.
This can be invoked at very inopportune times. If invoked by another character it could be frustrating. But as long as your2e good with it. Mechanically sound.

Divine Item: Draconii Fatum - Bloodline's Broadsword of Draconic Destiny

Dragon transformation. This can work.






Silth

Backstory:
Very unique

Mortal Qualities
Parasitic (+2):
Mechanically sound

The Gleaning (+2):
So the gleaning is keeping skill or memories. Hence a referencing roll will be made if the correct brains were consumed and he wishes to use any past skills. Correct?

Guile (+2):
Mechanically sound.

Character Flaw
Wrath
Mechanically sound

Divine Item / First Potential Domain

Silth Stone - Storms (+2)
Mechanically sound.

I am Communist
Apr 19, 2002

I can show you what endless looks like
I can show you a single infinite thing
I can let you taste the sweet and sour of forever
Unending. Eternal. Inevitable
Taste my darkness
Climb into my abyss
Fall into me. Into my eyes
Look at them. Depths unfathomable
Pain immeasurable
A cruel promise fulfilled
:siren:Feedback/comments:siren:


Name: Abdul the Unbound
Description:.
Who are You?:

Mortal Qualities:
Body of Shaped Stone [+2]
Defense skill. Mechanically sound

Mind of Astute Aide [+2]
Mechanically sound.

Heart of Guileless Gold [+2]
As written this works.

Divine Item/First Potential Domain:
The Crown of Abdul-Sa’Ord - Truth [+2]
Mechanically sound

Character Flaw:
Pacifist
Many have tried and failed with this. But it works.

Rhjamiz
Oct 28, 2007

Adjusted sheet based on feedback, clarified The Gleaning.

The Unlife Aquatic
Jun 17, 2009

Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars
Thinking about it, I did decide Ksenija's ability is just a little too underpowered. So, I posted a new skill (Jury-Rigging Genius) that can replace Programmer with approval.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker


Name: Doctor Elton Schoenberg


Origin: An age of reason and enlightenment, a time of exploration and discovery, of industrialisation and mechanisation. New technologies are enabling humanity to explore the last areas of terra incognita on the map, from sweltering jungles to near-airless mountains to the long-frozen poles. It is a time of great deeds and derring-do, of heroes and heroines mapping out the last of the wilderness in the name of science and motherland. Great powers vie on the international stage, fostering their colonies like broody hens on clutches of eggs, though the spectre of a war between them at this point is unthinkable.

Backstory: A brilliant scientist and explorer, Dr. Schoenberg dedicated his long and fruitful life to unravelling the mysteries of the universe and the natural world, writing theses in the areas of physics and chemistry which retained their groundbreaking cachet throughout his decades. He conducted numerous expeditions into the unexplored jungles, making copious notes on the flora and fauna and their potential uses. He dabbled in anthropology as well, and was delighted at the chance to explore the occasional forgotten ruin where no-one had trod for centuries. It was in one such ruin that he came across the curious object that would come to be known as the Cup of the Fountain: It seemed capable of indefinitely refilling itself, and the liquid contained within had apparently impossible properties of healing and rejuvenation. The then-elderly Dr. Schoenberg was only too happy to use it to extend his life, although having such a powerful tool lent him a certain recklessness. He had reason to regret that as it resulted in his current state. Rejuvenation, whist exceedingly effective, does have its limits, and he came perilously close to them.

Dr. Elton Schoenberg in his younger days

Mortal Qualities

Adaptive Scientist +2: Possessed of a genius intellect, he comes of an era and an environs where practical applications outshone purely theoretical work, and he has a real knack for making good use of physics and chemistry in surprisingly useful ways, improvising through a variety of obstacles and challenges.

Long-lived Explorer +2: He has trammelled vast expanses of jungle, desert and icy waste, uncovering secrets and mysteries galore for the betterment of mankind. A masterful navigator, survivalist and orienteer, he is never truly lost even when he doesn't know where he is. He earned his skills over long years of trial and error and has lost none of them.

Quick study +2: Dr. Schoenberg tends to grok new concepts and experiences remarkably quickly, which lends him something of an unflappable demeanour even in the face of the truly novel. When confronted by something with which he is entirely unfamiliar, he usually has a good shot at 'figuring it out from first principles'.

Character Flaw: - Childlike Mien. The upside of rejuvenation is it can undo the most heinous damage or disease. The downside is if you indulge in it too much, you can approach the obvious limit. When faced with a situation where his choices were certain death or use the Cup of the Fountain almost to excess, he chose the latter, and it has left its mark. It has left him smaller, weaker, less enduring, and visually far easier to discount, ignore, belittle or devalue. Those who look upon him see a child with all that that entails, a source of no end of frustration and impedance.

Divine Item: The Cup of the Fountain


Retrieved from an ancient, abandoned ruin, next to a dried-up natural spring surrounded by thousands of too-small bones, hopefully animal. The unemptiable waters of the cup have the power to rejuvenate the one who imbibes them, easing aches and pains, reversing disease, even regenerating lost limbs. The price, for nothing is truly free, is paid in years: The greater the injury, damage or just the marks of long life, the greater amount of time it spools back along their existence. Whilst this would usually be considered all-upside, it can, and has been, used as a truly horrific weapon in time of direst need.

What do you want out of the game?: Adventure! Exploration! Discovery! Dr. Schoenberg is a man of science, no matter his diminutive stature, and there is always so much to learn.. Living long enough to need a new flaw would be a bonus.

I am Communist
Apr 19, 2002

I can show you what endless looks like
I can show you a single infinite thing
I can let you taste the sweet and sour of forever
Unending. Eternal. Inevitable
Taste my darkness
Climb into my abyss
Fall into me. Into my eyes
Look at them. Depths unfathomable
Pain immeasurable
A cruel promise fulfilled
:siren: Feedback incoming.

Also, If anyone makes changes make sure to post in here that you have done so like others have. That way I know to go back and look. Lots of submissions, keep them coming guys!

:siren:


Name: Doctor Elton Schoenberg
Origin:
Backstory:
Nice level of detail.

Mortal Qualities
Adaptive Scientist +2:
Mechanically sound

Long-lived Explorer +2:
Mechanically sound.

Quick study +2:
For ideas outside of science as well. Mechanically sound.

Character Flaw: - Childlike Mien.
This works.

Divine Item: The Cup of the Fountain

How exactly would this be used? Other than to make hundreds of immortal NPCs for me to keep track of?

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker

I am Communist posted:


Divine Item: The Cup of the Fountain

How exactly would this be used? Other than to make hundreds of immortal NPCs for me to keep track of?

The number of immortals created by the cup is precisely one, or zero if you factor in that it does not constitute invulnerability upon its bearer. Doctor Schoenberg is a scientist first and foremost: He is well-versed in his world's version of the Malthusian catastrophe hypothesis. If no-one dies, but everyone still needs to eat or otherwise consume resources, everyone dies once demand for resources outstrips supply. Since causing a mass die-off of humanity through widespread famine and an accompanying deep antipathy towards so-called immortals would be A Bad Thing, he has no intention whatsoever of creating any cup-dependent immortals. The whole idea has a cultish feel to it that rubs him the wrong way as well.

In terms of actual use, healing through rejuvenation as a one-off is about as far as he's willing to go with most people, in addition to the offensive use of forcing it upon an enemy until... they are no longer a threat.

In terms of the mechanics of divinity, it confers power over age, youth and the ageing process, currently in an unidirectional form but potentially broader in scope as powers develop.

The long and the short of it is Elton isn't going to be making any immortals because he can do the math.

Rhjamiz
Oct 28, 2007

I added a token :v:

JamezBfod
Jun 13, 2003

there may be people who
find a blender sexy - I
would do well with a more
humanoid model, myself
Changed my flaw.


Flaw: Justice: His entire rise to power was driven by his sense of justice. From stopping the lash arm of his slave-master to ursurping and casting down the warlords and Emperors of his world to his attack on the Mogh himself for the crime of fostering eternal war at the mortal's expense.

Still going to be a raging rear end in a top hat, but now I will be a self-righteous one instead of a completely unreasonable one.

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

JamezBfod posted:

Changed my flaw.


Flaw: Justice: His entire rise to power was driven by his sense of justice. From stopping the lash arm of his slave-master to ursurping and casting down the warlords and Emperors of his world to his attack on the Mogh himself for the crime of fostering eternal war at the mortal's expense.

Still going to be a raging rear end in a top hat, but now I will be a self-righteous one instead of a completely unreasonable one.

Isiah Incipio remains violently unreasonable.

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

Updated the Golden Eye trait to werewolf since werewolf does everything I wanted golden eye to do and is easier to understand.

Rhjamiz
Oct 28, 2007

LLSix posted:

Updated the Golden Eye trait to werewolf since werewolf does everything I wanted golden eye to do and is easier to understand.

Golden Eye should have allowed you to summon a laser from space.

I am Communist
Apr 19, 2002

I can show you what endless looks like
I can show you a single infinite thing
I can let you taste the sweet and sour of forever
Unending. Eternal. Inevitable
Taste my darkness
Climb into my abyss
Fall into me. Into my eyes
Look at them. Depths unfathomable
Pain immeasurable
A cruel promise fulfilled
Thanks to those who posted their changes / tweaks. It makes it easier to tell. A good round of submissions. A little on the grim side, but I'm sure the protector submissions will show themselves too.

Coming up next will be some GM questions. To gauge continued interest and get further ideas about the players/characters.

JamezBfod
Jun 13, 2003

there may be people who
find a blender sexy - I
would do well with a more
humanoid model, myself
My guy is a protector :confused:

I am Communist
Apr 19, 2002

I can show you what endless looks like
I can show you a single infinite thing
I can let you taste the sweet and sour of forever
Unending. Eternal. Inevitable
Taste my darkness
Climb into my abyss
Fall into me. Into my eyes
Look at them. Depths unfathomable
Pain immeasurable
A cruel promise fulfilled
:siren:Part 1 of scenarios / questions
More to come! :siren:


Riley - An Orphan Dream-mancer with a Flute of Resurrection

Question: You and a band of companions have been through thick and thin. They take you on many adventures. They care for you and you care for them. However the leader of your group sways the others to raid a village of kobolds. It is mainly a village of the elderly, women, and children. You can hear the cry of babes on the wind. You can use your power to change their minds through dreams through force and dominion, but they will know what you have done. Utterly breaking their trust in you and ending years friendship.

Do you go along with it? Or stop it?




Emilio Ughi

Through a series of events and mishaps, you find yourself at the end of the world. Squatting on a broken throne of iron, a grotesque figure awaits. The stars roll by and the weight of moment is upon you. The figure speaks and you understand him easily. "There is no heavens nor hell, only eternity and the laughter of an unthinking universe. I offer you a choice. Sacrifice yourself and heaven will become a reality, the cold dark maw of unmaking and eventual consummation of the beast will be spared future souls. No one will know of your sacrifice nor will they be thankful to ye."

The creature shifts. "Choose. Your own unmaking to save the souls of a universe or everlasting power and eternal life."





Patak - The Outcast Warlord

Patak walks through a frozen wasteland. His footsteps echoing and crunching in the ice and snow. The ice has been killing the world and resources scarce. The thief was close now. The law demanded that they be punished. Theft of food and resources would doom the remnants of the community. Enough was taken that many would starve as rations were already meager. You have tracked the thieves to a cave. As you come upon them a man springs in front of you. The food stores stolen over weeks stockpiled in a corner of the cave. The man shouts over his shoulder to his accomplice, a young woman. "Take the babe and run! I'll buy you time!" Turning to face you he is fearless. "I did it for my family. What you gave was not enough, we are dying while others in the tribe get more who do far less. Please... let us go." His voice trembled with emotion. His wife would not last long in the frozen world without him even if she escaped you.

Patak can kill the man easily with enough time to finish the other thief or he could let them go. Which would be just and Patak's choice?






Name: Ksenija Ceranic
You've been on the run for days, the local lawgivers believe YOU were the one who shot the food cart seller. If they caught you, it would be the pain simulations for you until you confessed. They would get the truth from you, the ThoughtPolice had the tech to know the difference. The session could last a second but in her mind it could last decades. Interrupting that thought, the door to your hovel is kicked open by the jackbooted enforcers. They are not gentle when they take you. The thought police give you a taste of the pain Sims. Just a few weeks worth. "Now" says the interrogator with too perfect teeth. "That was every second stretched out for a week. 5 seconds, five weeks. Just tell us you did it...or give us the one who did. We'll know if you're lying, even though legally we can't take the information from you. Be easy on yourself, tell us. Help us. Help. You.."

You know who did it. It was your girlfriend. You could tell them. Make the pain stop. Or you could let them work on you. It would take a long time for your heart to give out. Thousands of years.[/b]




Isiah Incipio

Happiness. Bliss. You didn't deserve it, but you had it. The magical amulet created this world, your wife and family, a perfect world where every day you were content and happy. King of the world the sun never set upon your empire. But you knew that outside of this realm, the world you came from waited. A world of struggle and violence, unhappiness a weary unending fight. You could leave anytime you wanted the amulet told you. But your friends, descendants, and empire within would die in agony. They were real. As real as anyone outside, the pocket dimension where your twin sons were born and grew into young men. The only thing preventing a never-ending nightmare for the rest of their existence was your presence. You were that which shaped and protected this micro-reality. You conquered it and made it paradise. The sorceress who gave you the amulet sustained your body in the real world. Trapped you. Or truly freed you from everything.
Would you choose heaven and keep your blood safe or choose the struggle and free yourself? Take up old goals and know that the price would be paid by those you loved and loved in return? Choose.






Nikita

Money. Wealth. The bounty of the sea, you found it's treasures and had enough. Enough to buy all of the slaves' freedom. Then she caught your eye. She sang to you, said she loved you. When she was done with you she left you. Broken. Just like your promises to free the others. A lot of them were dead now. Waiting for you. Your money bought the siren an army. You know now she had enspelled you. What she did. Made you feel joy and love even through all of the mistreatment.

You could go after her and get revenge or beg her to take you back. What kind of man will you be in this life Nikita?




Hakon

Destiny. You were chosen by the three sisters of fate. The crone cut your thread and tied it to her sister. "You will be bound to serve others, a life of service and kindness." The other sisters echoed her. "Your reward will not be in this life nor in the next. The wheel will turn and only at the end of its turning will you know reward." Hakon could see a life, many iterations of it playing out before him. Bowing, scraping, helping. All with a guarantee of reward at the end. How did that feel? To never know greatness but know his reward would be eternal? The sisters vanished. Then a golden haired youth appeared. His eyes sad. He held out the shears the crone had used. "You don't have to. But all those people, heroes & kings will die with you not there. You won't be guaranteed anything, not even another turn of the wheel."

You can choose a certain existence with a reward, or an uncertain freedom at the cost of many ruined futures. Which will it be, needs of the many or of you?








Name: Arthur Shinryuu
No one bothered Arthur. He had no responsibilities, he could do what he liked. No pressure or challenges. "You're so great!" His classmates and teachers would admit. His own family long having since given him his due. But this wasn't quite right. And then he remembered the mirror. An underclass student bumped into him. "Arthur!" She hissed. "We have to go. Please we're sorry for trying to trap you in here. It was a prank. The denizens of the mirror are going to realize we don't belong here and Eat US!"
The clique shuffled behind her. They didn't have half the ability Arthur had and couldn't break out. But that would be.. effort. One of the mirror students grabbed one of the clique and bit off her arm. The rest shrank away from her as she screamed, the passing mirror folk not even pausing to stop. "Please." another of the clique begged. "We'll do anything."
Arthur was quite safe. His own wards haphazardly done but more than powerful enough to stay here forever. He was also powerful enough to go. It would be easier if he left by himself though. Choices choices.

Will you leave the clique to their fate or take them with you? Arthur is powerful enough and smart enough to do whatever he chooses. It would serve them right if he left them, but did they deserve to be eaten?







Silth

The host was a mother. Silth made the beds. Hateful creatures. She greeted husband/father as he came back from the fields of colony regina4. Potatoes. The spawn screeched and clutched at husband/father curiously. Love. The organ produced interesting concepts. Silth/Mother made nutrients for the spawn & husband/father before putting the spawn in their cradles to recharge their minds. "...I said, how was your day hun?" Husband/father said curiously. Silth/Mother had been examining her...feelings and not noticed it speak. "Fine dearest." Smile. Silth smiled. The man relaxed.

It continued this way. Mundanely for quite a while. Seasons changed. Then school started. Silth/Mother stood at the doorway as she watched then go. Alone at last. Moisture was leaking from her host. Odd. Silth went about the empty house, doing chores. Silent. Empty. When they returned Silth felt oddly. Not silent. Not empty. Silth/mother smiled. Time passed. Soon Silth/Mother found that her host was dying.

Family gathered around her bed she could leave this host and eat the rest of them now.
Silth could keep hold of the feelings, let the host die and be buried, then be on Silth's way. Father/husband. Spawn. Miss them even. What would Silth do?

I am Communist
Apr 19, 2002

I can show you what endless looks like
I can show you a single infinite thing
I can let you taste the sweet and sour of forever
Unending. Eternal. Inevitable
Taste my darkness
Climb into my abyss
Fall into me. Into my eyes
Look at them. Depths unfathomable
Pain immeasurable
A cruel promise fulfilled
:siren: Part 2. I think that's everyone! :siren:


Name: Abdul the Unbound
The dogmen charged screaming. Your companions fighting valiantly, guns blazing hot balls of lead into the charge. Many fell, but many more filled the caves. "We can't hold out anymore." Victoria screamed. She was the gentler of the group, spending long hours speaking with Abdul about existence and delighting in his views. She was hurt, and like the others flesh. Turning Abdul could see that he could being down the tunnel and save his companions. But it would bury himself under tons of rock. He may be dooming himself to an eternity of buried immobility. Especially if they did not come back for him.
Does Abdul trust these humans enough to come back for him? Or will he leave them to their fate. The dogmen could not harm him after all.







Name: Doctor Elton Schoenberg
The sister hummed to herself. She took care of all the children. Though mentally Dr. S was no child, he found this society quite cruel to younger people. Often selling them into workhouses or worse. He had killed a few would be flesh peddlers with his latent object of power. But found it exhausted him, which made it worse the next time they found him. He needed rest and this sister protected him and the others. She coughed wetly into a white handkerchief. She was in the final stages of the disease he hypothesized. The sister worked tirelessly. He stayed with the other children but soon the sister could rise from her bed no longer. "I'm sorry." Her tiny voice whispered. "You'll have to take care of yourselves from now on. Be safe little ones. Go with g..." She faded into a coma. The decision was upon Elton. Her damage was extensive, if healed who knew how young she would become. But without her, the children would suffer. It wasn't fair. His position was never fair.
What was he to do? Heal her and possibly return her to a child state? Or let her die and the children fend for themselves?

The Unlife Aquatic
Jun 17, 2009

Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars

quote:




You've been on the run for days, the local lawgivers believe YOU were the one who shot the food cart seller. If they caught you, it would be the pain simulations for you until you confessed. They would get the truth from you, the ThoughtPolice had the tech to know the difference. The session could last a second but in her mind it could last decades. Interrupting that thought, the door to your hovel is kicked open by the jackbooted enforcers. They are not gentle when they take you. The thought police give you a taste of the pain Sims. Just a few weeks worth. "Now" says the interrogator with too perfect teeth. "That was every second stretched out for a week. 5 seconds, five weeks. Just tell us you did it...or give us the one who did. We'll know if you're lying, even though legally we can't take the information from you. Be easy on yourself, tell us. Help us. Help. You.."

You know who did it. It was your girlfriend. You could tell them. Make the pain stop. Or you could let them work on you. It would take a long time for your heart to give out. Thousands of years.

Ksenija stares at the cerama-table in front of her. Her eyes follow the little scratches in the table-top. She imagines how many people have been slammed into it, how many people have sobbed on it. It's not much better than thinking about what's going to happen to her. Hannah always did have a temper, it was a much a part of her as those wonderful hands or her beautiful red hair, streaked black and silver. Ksenija imagines her smile, the taste of kaf and blood on her lips. She would chew the inside her mouth during a surgery, and it always left the taste of blood on her breath. She idly wonders how long it will take her heart to give out. It provokes her implant. She can feel it hum for a moment.

Approximately 345,000 milliseconds at the highest setting. Perception of approximately three-point-two times ten to the fifth power number of years of pain can be inserted into that timespan.

The cuffs dig into her hands. She grimaces. How could she give away the woman she loved? More than that, how could she live with herself if she did? She'd probably just throw herself out the window after a few days of drinking. Another piece of splatter art on the streets. An honest death was better than a snitch's life.

"Put me back in the machine." She says.

Ksenija imagines they'll be the last words she ever speaks. She hopes Hannah can learn to control her temper one day.

The Unlife Aquatic fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Jun 27, 2017

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker

I am Communist posted:


Name: Doctor Elton Schoenberg
The sister hummed to herself. She took care of all the children. Though mentally Dr. S was no child, he found this society quite cruel to younger people. Often selling them into workhouses or worse. He had killed a few would be flesh peddlers with his latent object of power. But found it exhausted him, which made it worse the next time they found him. He needed rest and this sister protected him and the others. She coughed wetly into a white handkerchief. She was in the final stages of the disease he hypothesized. The sister worked tirelessly. He stayed with the other children but soon the sister could rise from her bed no longer. "I'm sorry." Her tiny voice whispered. "You'll have to take care of yourselves from now on. Be safe little ones. Go with g..." She faded into a coma. The decision was upon Elton. Her damage was extensive, if healed who knew how young she would become. But without her, the children would suffer. It wasn't fair. His position was never fair.
What was he to do? Heal her and possibly return her to a child state? Or let her die and the children fend for themselves?


Dr. Elton Schoenberg

Life wasn't fair, it was true. Life was even less fair to those in whose company he found himself, waifs and strays, orphans and runaways. He'd personally faced the thousand hells of their existence, and no matter how much it took out of him, every one of the vile panderers whose lives he had, er, 'ended' had been worth it. One of them gone was a dozen children saved from the worst of fates, maybe giving those here, all those the Sister had saved, a fresh chance, a better opportunity of reaching adulthood.

How much more,then, could she still accomplish? It was true he did not share her faith, indeed was not overly enamoured of the whole concept of 'faith', but he could respect it in her, her drive, her commitment, her sheer determination to altruistically give her all. So, time to look at this problem rationally. Let her die, and all those she cared for are so much chum thrown to the sharks. So many lives she touched, so few of them stood a chance without her, even in the most optimistic of daydreams.

Intervene, and let her live? The problem might recur down the road, or she might think to bring along or raise up an acolyte to keep things going. Perhaps he might advise her in that direction, if she was still willing to bear the mantle. If it rendered her a child? It was still very much worthwhile. Her mind would be as sharp as ever, her heart as broad. She would be at a slightly higher risk, but in these parts of town there were those for whom monastic robes gave little pause, so doubtless she could cope as she had coped, with feather-light grace and a charitable core of righteous steel. It was her will that was the safeguard of these children, and her will would be untouched.

So, for the greatest good of the greatest number of innocent lives, he touched the Cup of the Fountain to her lips...

Valhawk
Dec 15, 2007

EXCEED CHARGE

I am Communist posted:

Hakon

Destiny. You were chosen by the three sisters of fate. The crone cut your thread and tied it to her sister. "You will be bound to serve others, a life of service and kindness." The other sisters echoed her. "Your reward will not be in this life nor in the next. The wheel will turn and only at the end of its turning will you know reward." Hakon could see a life, many iterations of it playing out before him. Bowing, scraping, helping. All with a guarantee of reward at the end. How did that feel? To never know greatness but know his reward would be eternal? The sisters vanished. Then a golden haired youth appeared. His eyes sad. He held out the shears the crone had used. "You don't have to. But all those people, heroes & kings will die with you not there. You won't be guaranteed anything, not even another turn of the wheel."

You can choose a certain existence with a reward, or an uncertain freedom at the cost of many ruined futures. Which will it be, needs of the many or of you?

Hakon stops and looks, paralyzed by the choice. Could he really reject an eternal reward for the chance at something more? That choosing to cut the thread would mean countless ruined futures meant little to him. He had been learned the hard way that when push comes to shove other people would throw you to the wolves without a second thought, and if they would do it to him, he saw no reason not to return the favor. Still, the risk would be great, and the reward... Hakon thought back to the thread, looking at it's end where the reward lay, the place of a saint, exalted but only slightly above the rest and below many other, the doubts started to grow. Then the realization came, and with one smooth motion he cut the cord.

He looked at the boy, "It was a tempting offer, but If I let this occur, lifetime after lifetime of powerlessness and servility would make me into someone else. I would become someone weak and pliant, a shadow of what I am. I have see what such things will do to a man in one lifetime, in a hundred it will mean complete destruction of all that strives in me, ground away to nothing beneath millennia of being someone else's follower and help-meet." He turns to look off into the distance, with each word his confidence rising, "No, rather than allow fate to make me its slave by taking the safe and mediocre road, I will seize fate with my own hands. I will gamble, and I will win!"

Theantero
Nov 6, 2011

...We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you....
Emilio Ughi


I am Communist posted:

Through a series of events and mishaps, you find yourself at the end of the world. Squatting on a broken throne of iron, a grotesque figure awaits. The stars roll by and the weight of moment is upon you. The figure speaks and you understand him easily. "There is no heavens nor hell, only eternity and the laughter of an unthinking universe. I offer you a choice. Sacrifice yourself and heaven will become a reality, the cold dark maw of unmaking and eventual consummation of the beast will be spared future souls. No one will know of your sacrifice nor will they be thankful to ye."

The creature shifts. "Choose. Your own unmaking to save the souls of a universe or everlasting power and eternal life."


"Aha, a question of philosophy, is it?" Emilio, somehow, managed to keep his smile and his voice from unduly wavering even though he was suddenly faced by some unimaginably powerful magical entity, "Well, as far as I understand from your description, my good patron, Creation has always been the way you describe it, yes? Now personally, I fail to see what exactly it is that I owe the no-doubt perfectly fine populace of this Universe. I hurt no-one by picking either option, and am under no obligation to sacrifice my life for the benefit of others, am I not correct?"

Scratching his chin in thought, Emilio continued, "Now certainly some would say that it would be distasteful of me not not sacrifice myself in a situation such as this, but I ask: How many of them spend their lives to toil for the benefit of the less fortunate? How many of them do anything but give the occasional alm to the poor to feel better about themselves? Who are they to demand someone else give their life for their benefit, when they no-doubt work much more for their own sake than anyone else's? Hypocrites, all of them, say I!"

Emilio flashed a gleaming smile, that somehow managed to seem genuine instead of smarmy (he had that sort of thing down to an art, after all), "But not I! I would never make such a selfish claim, for I am a man of morals and principle! So must I say, my good patron, that a single serving of Immortality and Power it'll be for me, if you'd please."

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

I am Communist posted:

Isiah Incipio

Happiness. Bliss. You didn't deserve it, but you had it. The magical amulet created this world, your wife and family, a perfect world where every day you were content and happy. King of the world the sun never set upon your empire. But you knew that outside of this realm, the world you came from waited. A world of struggle and violence, unhappiness a weary unending fight. You could leave anytime you wanted the amulet told you. But your friends, descendants, and empire within would die in agony. They were real. As real as anyone outside, the pocket dimension where your twin sons were born and grew into young men. The only thing preventing a never-ending nightmare for the rest of their existence was your presence. You were that which shaped and protected this micro-reality. You conquered it and made it paradise. The sorceress who gave you the amulet sustained your body in the real world. Trapped you. Or truly freed you from everything.
Would you choose heaven and keep your blood safe or choose the struggle and free yourself? Take up old goals and know that the price would be paid by those you loved and loved in return? Choose.

A perfect world. I luxuriated in it. If the chance had been left to me, I might have stayed. I might have grown old there, comforted in my old age by the vigor of my sons, now worthy men themselves. I do not think it would have been wrong. I might not deserve peace, but what man does not long for it? When men have never known a thing but in tales, they make a talisman of it. So it is with us and peace. But while the world was perfect, my dreams were not.

Lich's Bane, the Bone Blade, could never rest easily in such idyllic surroundings. It whispered to me while I slept. It reminded me again and again, that there was another world. A world where I could slay the witch who would condemn my sons should I leave them. A world where I could claim her sorceress soul and torture it in a never-ending nightmare a thousand times worse than any she could dream to inflict on my sons after I left the amulet world. A world where I was needed. A world even now being ravaged by our ancient enemy in my absence. I had slain one necromancer, but there were many more. Worse, there were mortal men and women who served the dead. Possibly this sorceress who had trapped me was one such. It was that whisper that drove me from the amulet world. Drove me back into bloodlust and slaughter. I could not allow an enemy to live. Too many times had I shown mercy only to have it thrown back in my face. Now and forever, I would slay all who harmed me, lest they slay me when I turned my back.

I slew my family in the amulet world. I crushed their necks with my own hands, so that their suffering could not tempt me to return once I left. Black slaughter complete, I forced my way back into the old world with a wild howl on my lips. I tore the amulet from about my neck and Lich's Bane practically lept into my hand. Obedient to the whispers in my mind, I delicately pierced the amulet with just the tip of my blade. Blackness spread through the amulet; necromantic energies twisting and changing it. Hanging the amulet around my necklace once more, I stalked out into the castle to hunt the Sorceress. This once lovely little trinket now tortured the countless souls of my followers. It would torture one more before this night was through. The foul witch who'd thought to chain me with it would be its next and final victim. When it broke her; she would serve me in death as she had failed to in life.

JamezBfod
Jun 13, 2003

there may be people who
find a blender sexy - I
would do well with a more
humanoid model, myself
Patak regarded the thief and his mate. “If you had only taken what your rations were and took your chances traveling South I would have not followed.” He pointed to the stockpile and bellowed. “The lottery is the law of your people! You took too much, and the punishment is death.”

A short time later Patak left the cave pulling the food-sled and cradling a small bundle under his coat to shelter it from the wind and share his body heat “Now, what shall we call you, little one?”

The parents must die but I am claiming the child.

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Shardix
Sep 14, 2011

The end! No moral.

I am Communist posted:

Nikita

Money. Wealth. The bounty of the sea, you found it's treasures and had enough. Enough to buy all of the slaves' freedom. Then she caught your eye. She sang to you, said she loved you. When she was done with you she left you. Broken. Just like your promises to free the others. A lot of them were dead now. Waiting for you. Your money bought the siren an army. You know now she had enspelled you. What she did. Made you feel joy and love even through all of the mistreatment.

You could go after her and get revenge or beg her to take you back. What kind of man will you be in this life Nikita?

Nikita had known better. He was a pragmatist. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Alas that some lies are just too beautiful to see past until it is far too late. Promises to and by him lay shattered. Though the woman's greed had been the catalyst, his folly had seen it done and Nikita would not pretend otherwise. His sins were great, but self-delusion would not be among them. So let it be a lesson to be wiser. Etch cunning upon his heart and stop his ears against poisonous words.

But first things first. Whatever they might think of him, he owed the slaves their freedom. And so Nikita went to work. It cost him. Money and blood, and by the pound, but he labored. Whether through legitimate means or by violence and subterfuge, those that still lived were given their freedom and means to go where they will. He accepted their hate and derision silently. He fed on it, letting it empower him, to hone his focus and sharpen his appetite. When the time came he would use it to stand strong against Her wiles and not be deceived again.

In the end it was a simple enough affair. Her army had won her a satrapy, and they were deep in celebration when Nikita made his move. Her lieutenants and favored servants could not stand against him. He came before her grievously wounded but alive. She pleaded her case, attempting to ensnare his mind once more, to no avail. Only a black and bitter anger over how she had used him found any purchase within his heart. Yet even so he could not find it in himself to kill her - Lies or no, she had given him some measure of contentment.

In the end, Nikita left her alive, though whether it was a mercy or not is difficult to say. With blood and a single pronouncement he twisted her utterly. The treachery she had shown him would now be revealed to all with every word she spoke. Never again would a pleasant song cross her lips. No soothing words whispered in the dark. Let the siren become a harpy, speaking only hateful truths, and know she had reaped what she had sown.

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