Eldritch City (3E MM)- OOC

[Heritage367]

Name: Darlene Lampwick
Occupation: Paralegal
Base of Operations: Eldritch City
Age: 31
Height: 5’3”
Weight: 112 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Blonde
Power Level: 8
Hero Points: 1

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

SKILLS
Acrobatics 2 (+5)
Deception 6 (+10/+12)*
Expertise: Cooking 3 (+5)
Expertise: Dance 1 (+3/+5 when Performing)
Expertise: Law 8 (+10)
Expertise: Mystical Phenomena 3 (+5)
Expertise: Psychology 3 (+5)
Insight 3 (+5)
Investigation 8 (+10)
Perception 3 (+5)
Persuasion 6 (+10/+12)*
Ranged Combat: Guns 2 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Vehicles: Driving 3 (+5)

OFFENSE
Initiative +3
Light Pistol +5 (Ranged Damage 3, DC 18 Toughness)

DEFENSE
Dodge 8
Parry 8
Fortitude 6
Toughness 8/2
Will 10

ADVANTAGES
Attractive
Contacts
Connected
Defensive Roll 6
Equipment 4
Languages 1 (Spanish)
Luck 1
Skill Mastery 2 (Deception, Persuasion)
Taunt
Well-Informed

EQUIPMENT
Car (Mazda Miata) - 10 pts
Light pistol (S&W .38 Special Ladysmith) - 6 pts
Smartphone (Camera, GPS, Internet) - 4 pts

POWERS
Telepathy (23 pt Array) (Psychic)
• Insidious Subtle Mind Reading 8
• AP: Insidious Subtle Perception Area [Visual] Affliction 8 (Will Save) Entranced, Compelled, Controlled [Charm]
• AP: Insidious Subtle Perception Area [Visual] Affliction 8 (Will Save) Impaired, Stunned, Paralyzed [Fear]
• AP: Insidious Subtle Perception Area [Visual] Affliction 8 (Will Save) Fatigued, Exhausted, Asleep [Sleep]
• AP: Subtle (x2) Dimensional Mental Communication 3 (Long Range)
• AP: Precise Concealment 10 (All Senses but Tactile, Limited to Lifeforms/Mental effect)

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

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

When she's not fighting crime or the forces of darkness, Darlene enjoys cooking huge Southern-style meals for her friends and Latin dancing. She also loves to drive fast cars, and is fairly impressive behind the wheel.

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

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

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

Darlene has returned to her old job at RS&W, claiming to have no memory of the incidents that led up to her ‘accident'; for now, she continues to discretely dig into both Raymond and the firm he helped found, shining a light into the dark recesses.

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

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

"I love you, too, Lou.": Darlene loves Louise but now worries that the dark forces might try to target her through her big sister. She might be right.

"I got a bit of a temper.": Sometimes Darlene has a hard time holding her tongue when she's upset.

“It's still a bit fuzzy.”: Darlene claims to have lost some memories due to her 'accident' to maintain her cover at the firm, but nothing could be farther from the truth; she remembers everything.

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

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

POWER POINTS
Abilities 32 + Powers 23 + Advantages 19 + Skills 21 + Defenses 25 = 120 Total

Darlene's final form!

[EpicEclipse]

Holiday season is upon me and running me a ragged. Will catch up soon!

Holiday season = worse time to kick off a game = plenty of time to construct a character. :p

I should have SOMETHING up tonight

[Yojimbo]

Okay, here's my first stab at a third edition character. I think my math works and he basically does what I want him to do (I think).

Fortinbras
The creature that calls himself Fortinbras was given life forty years ago by the alchemical genius known as Count Urlich. Fortinbras was one of Urlich’s earliest creations, a humanoid creature made from scavenged body parts stolen from cadavers and given unholy animation through the combination of esoteric chemicals and electricity. Fortinbras was an important and early stage in Urlich’s development of his skills, and the long quest to construct for himself a Philosopher’s Stone. But Fortinbras was only one of the Count’s servants and Urlich’s skill in creating them only grew with time.

Fortinbras’ first decade of life was spent doing the Count’s dirty work: acquiring new specimens, assisting in various experiments, breaking the legs or necks of anyone who crossed the Count and drew his ire. At first Fortinbras followed through with the Count’s every wish with zeal. Gradually, however, as his awareness grew and he met people outside of the Count’s circle, his eyes were opened to the possibilities of life and freedom. Or perhaps some remnant of the life he once lived before his resurrection began to bleed through into his consciousness, and give him aspirations towards something better. The hatred towards Count Urlich came later, but it was no less fierce than Fortinbras’ desire to be free and find his own way.

In time Fortinbras was pushed aside by new and more loyal and powerful creations. He was forced to do more menial and less prestigious tasks. He began to think of escape, believing that he might disappear unnoticed if he was careful and cunning. Nothing could have been further than the truth. When Fortinbras fled, Urlich sent his best hunters after his wayward creation, lamenting that he had allowed Fortinbras to develop free will.

But that free will, and the determination to remain free, allowed Fortinbras to elude his pursuers when he could and to fight them when he had to. The years passed and Fortinbras made his way in the living world, amongst normal humanity in all its beauty and horror, occasionally running afoul of his old master’s servants. Fortinbras found a home in Eldritch City after years of wandering, setting up shop as a consulting detective.
PL: 8
Abilities: STR: 8 STA: 8 AGI: 4 DEX: 4 FTG: 8 INT: 3 AWA: 3 PRE: 0
Skills: Deception 6
Expertise: Streetwise 3 (+6)
Insight 6 (+9)
Intimidation 6
Investigation 6 (+9)
Perception 6 (+9)
Advantages: Diehard
Power Attack
Ranged Attack 3
Powers: “Living Dynamo” Immunity 5 [Electricity]

“Spark of Life” Regeneration 10

• AP: “Jump Start” Healing 10 [Self Only, Source (Electricity), Persistent, Restorative, Stabilize]

“Lightning Bolt” Ranged Damage 4

Offense: Unarmed +8 [Close, DC 23], Thrown Object +8 [Ranged, DC 23], Lightning Bolt [Danged, DC 19], Init +4
Defense: Dodge: +8, Parry +8, Fortitude +8, Toughness +8, Will +3
Complications: Motivation [Acceptance, Doing Good], Complications [Enemy (Count Urlich), Power Loss (Immersion in Water), Prejudice (Created)]
Description: Fortinbras is a tall and powerfully built humanoid creature with pale, almost translucent skin and vivid, unsettling scars patterning his entire body. He has long dark hair that only grows on the top of his head and intensely blue eyes that occasionally flash with electric light when he is feeling intense emotions. The faint smell of ozone follows wherever he goes. Fortinbras wears black or blue almost exclusively, often bought secondhand or at thrift stores.

There is a wellspring of electricity within Fortinbras’ sturdy frame, which fuels his powerful musculature and durability, and serves to heal him from any damage he may acquire. Normally, his body recovers from wounds at an accelerated rate, although if he has direct access to a source of electricity, he can be supercharged and heal almost instantly. He has learned to generate short range bolts of electricity from his hands, which strike with all the power of a large handgun. He can be stunned and “short-circuited” by immersion in water, however, and avoids swimming or large bodies of water whenever possible.

He is haunted by the dark deeds he performed as a servant of Count Urlich, and strives to make up for them by doing as much good as he can now. Of course, few people trust or turn to a hulking, scarred monster like himself. Those that do will find a dedicated ally.

Notes
I want to do a Frankenstein Monster crossed with Sam Spade kind of guy, a private investigator who doesn't carry a gun because he can lift a car. Count Urlich doesn't have to be his origin or even impact future stories if there's something/someone already present in the setting that does the job.

[EpicEclipse]

Background: Deep in Earth's history was a swordsmith of exceptional renown. The master swordsmith Masamune made tashi and tanto from the 13th into the 14th century, or so it is beleived, though it is widely accepted there were no finer bladesmiths anywhere. Masamune at one time had a pupil by the name of Muramasa, a talented swordsmith in his own right, but arrogant. Muramasa challenged his master to a contest of who could craft a finer blade.

Muramasa forged a blade called Juuchi Yosamu ("1,000 Cold Nights") which he dipped in a creek with the blade facing the current. Leaves, fish and the very air itself was cut in its passing. Muramasa was confident he had won. Masamune in turn placed the blade he forged, Yawarakai-Te ("Tender Hands") in the creek with the blade facing the current. Leaves would glide gently past the blade, fish would approach it, and the air sang softly.

Muramasa mocked his master for a blade that would not cut, but a monk who had been observing the contest spoke up. Surely Juuchi Yosamu was a fine blade, but it had a dark soul, it would cut all things indiscriminately. Yawarakai-Te was by far the finer blade however, for it would not needlessly cut that which was innocent or undeserving. Furious, Muramasa took his blade and disappeared to parts unknown and Masamune returned to his work, disappointed in his pupil. And so the legend goes. No-one knows what became of Juuchi Yosamu or Yawarakai-Te.

Centuries later, Yawarakai-Te resurfaced, though not as a katana, but a human. In truth, such was the effort and spirit placed into the forging of Yawarakai-Te, it was imbued with a sort of magic which over the centuries grew into a sentience and intellect which became curious and eventually gathered enough magic to form itself a human body and named herself, Yasuko ("Gentle Child").

While Yasuko did awaken in Japan, she did not linger there long. Learning swiftly that the world had vastly changed in the last centuries and there was easier than ever means to travel to distant lands, Yasoku set out to travel, working odd jobs and eventually finding her way to Eldritch City. From her employment in a bar as a waitress (while working on getting her serving license) she learned there were quite a number of supernatural going ons in the city, including a particular murderer said to wield a scarlet katana.

Yasuko knew of the katana forged by Muramasa, and if she had gained the ability to take a human form, there was no reason to assume Juuchi Yomasu had not been able to as well. Yasuko decided she would make her home in Eldritch city and make a name for herself that Juuchi Yomasu would seek out so she could stop the evil sword.

Personality: Being a sword, Yasuko doesn't fully understand humans and as a result is sometimes quirky and often curious, though as a sword, she has an intimate understanding of combat and has a certain calmness to her during battle as a result. All in all however, she is true to her given name and legend, gentle, not enacting needless violence, but when pushed to action, acts with a skill and grace befitting a sword the legendary Masamune.

Powers: Yasuko has no major powers to speak of. She is a master swordswoman and is able to summon forth her blade form, Yawarakai-Te from a sort of magic sheath within herself. She is also able to imbue her attacks with a small amount of magic to enhance the effects of those attacks into a number of magical sword techniques, or "mahoukenjutsu", though this is the extent in which she is able to expend magic, having no formal training in the manipulation of her magical energies. Sword techniques simply come naturally, so she is able to manipulate her magic through them.

Name: Yasuko / Yawarakai-Te
Gender: Female
Age: Centuries
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 98lbs
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black
Skin: Asian
Power Level: 8
Power Points: 120
Hero Points: 1
[36]ABI [21]DEF [18]SKI [26]ADV [19]POW

[36]Abilities
Strength: 2
Stamina: 1
Agility: 3
Dexterity: 2
Fighting: 6
Intellect: 0
Awareness: 3
Presence: 1


[*]Combat[*]
Initiative: +7
Unarmed: +6 DC17 Tgh (Bluedgeon)
Hissetsu: DC18 Will
Mahouken: +10 DC21 Tgh (Slashing, Magic, Varies*), Crit 16-20 (Fire, Ice, Electric, Light)
Midare. S: +10 DC21 Tgh (Slashing, Magic, Cold/Ice, Light), Crit 17-20
Minazuki: +10 DC21 Tgh (Slashing, Magic, Light), Crit 17-20
Nijigasumi: DC16 DC23 Tgh (Slashing, Magic, Cold/Ice, Light)


[21]Defenses
Toughness: +6 (1+5)
Dodge: +10 (3+7)
Parry: +10 (8+2)
Fortitude: +8 (1+7)
Will: +8 (3+5)


[18]Skills(45sp, 4csp)
Acrobatics 7(+10), C.C (Katana) 4(+10), Expertise (Japanese Lore) 3(+3), Insight 7(+10), Perception 7(+10), Persuasion 8(+9), Stealth 7(+10), Vehicles 6(+8)


[26]Advantages
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Assessment, Benefit (Cipher), Connected, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 5, Equipment 2, Extraordinary Effort, Great Endurance, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Language (Japanese), Move-by Action, Quick Draw, Uncanny Dodge, Weapon Bind, Weapon Break, Well-Informed


[10/10]Equipment
Motorcycle (Size: M, Str: 1, Spd: 6, Def: 10, Tgh: 8)


[19]Powers
[ 2] Hisomu Saya "Hidden Sheath": Movement 1 (Dimensional Travel), Affects Objects Only, Attack, Reversible, Limited to Yarawakai-Te

[10] Hissetsu "Certain Kill": Perception Range Affliction 8 (Resisted by Will; Vulnerable, Defenseless), Insidious, Subtle, Conditions limited to Yasuko's attacks, Limited Degree, Quirk (Conditions are removed after a successful attack on the target)
[ 1] Undō no Jiyū "Freedom of Movement": Alternate effect, Multiple Powers;
-[6] Movement 5 (Environmental Adaptation (Urban), Safe Fall, Sure-Footed 2, Wall-Crawling 1), Limited to Moving in Urban Environments (4 ranks)
-[1] Leaping 2, Acrobatics Check Required (DC11)
-[1] Speed 1

[ 6] Yawarakai-Te, Easily Removeable (10, -4points)
-[7] Mahouken “Magic Sword”: Strength-Based Damage 4, Improved Critical 1, Variable Descriptor (Base elemental energy types)
-[1] Midare Setsugekka “Chaos of the seasons”: Strength-Based Damage 4, Improved Critical 3, Multiattack(6), Distracting(6)
-[1] Minazuki “All things end": Strength-Based Damage 4, Improved Critical 3, Secondary Effect(6), Distracting(6)
-[1] Nijigasumi “Rainbow Mist”: Strength-Based Damage 6, Area(Cone)(8), Distracting(8)


Complications:
Motivation(Doing Good): It’s simply in her nature to do the most good while doing the least harm and using her abilities to help those who would be helped by her abilities.

Enemy: Just as Yawarakai-Te formed her own body, Juuchi Yosamu has also reappeared in the modern world and shares his creator’s fury at Yawarakai-Te for being named the finer blade. Unlike Yasuko, Juuchi Yomasu never learned to form a human body, but is able to possess the mind and body of anyone who draws him. (Juuchi Yosamu would have similar capabilities to Yasuko, though utilize different sword techniques, generally more vicious, not caring about collateral damage and so on. He would also command some level of illusions, changing his hosts into a more suitable human appearance, akin to an on, but the illusions are also to deceive victim's and would-be avengers.)

Honor: Being ‘born’ in the age of samurai, Yawarakai-Te is instilled with the tenets of Bushido. ‘Righteousness, Heroic Courage, Compassion, Respect, Integrity, Honour, Duty and Loyalty, and Self-Control’.

Quirk: Despite living in the modern era for some time now, Yasuko is still catching up on modern customs, especially having traveled from Japan to America, so she just doesn’t quite understand some things.

Progression: If Yasuko makes the cut, her intended progression would lean more towards the skills and less combat focused powers. She's already a masterful swordswoman after all with the innate ability to perform her magical sword techniques, coming up with new ones on the fly (stunts) as needed and so on, so her progression would be in weaker areas aside from improving her strengths when/if the PL rises. More skills as she learns more about the modern world (besides how awesome motorcycles are), possibly some magic-embued utility abilities like air walking, but nothing too crazy. At most maybe a new ability on her sword form itself, but I don't know what it would be off hand. Maybe protect if/when the PL goes up.

Just to explain what I envision for her attacks;
Mahouken: Basic sword strikes imbued with magic. Variable descriptor is to cover basic element energies (heat, Ice, electricity and light specifically)

Midare Setsugekka; This attack is three slashes in a rapid combo that is based on the Japanese art theme of Snow(Setsu), Moon(Getsu) and Flowers(Ka) which represent the seasons of Winter, Autumn and Spring respectively. This attack has two variations, single target and multiple foes surrounding. The single target version starts with a frigid icy thrust followed by an upward radiant crescent slash and finishes with an elegant flower blossom horizontal slash. The other variant performs wide, circular arc slashes which release magical icy snow flurries, radiant moonlight and elegant cherry blossoms.

Minazuki: Based on the old saying "Memento mori" or "Remember your mortality", Minazuki is a seemingly simply slash attack that seems to suck in light, only for a second slash to occur mements after the initial attack, with radiant light following the line of the first cut.

Nijigasumi: This attack sends out first a wave of cold that creates miniscule shards of ice from the moisture in the air, then the slash scatters the light into rainbow colors through the ice like prisms which shread everything in their path as they are launched by the air pressure of the slash.

[pathfinderq1]

-Another setting question: with the Dresden-verse listed as an inspiration, are you planning on using the Nevernever (and the Ways), or something similar?

[Bladewind]

Hey there Spectrum!

Been reading and lurking in this thread for a few days now, and I gotta admit the premise inspires me. I have a few ideas percolating in that black hole I call my mind, and I figure I'd ask before getting in too deep in terms of creation. Most of these (if not all, truth be told) are oWod inspired but drop most of the baggage to fit the game.

1) Although a completely new character, something along the lines of Stalks-from-Shadow Which, oddly enough IIRC a character from the first game you and I played in together on MnM boards. In this instance though, I was thinking I would simplify. The various forms would be mostly physical changes, perhaps heightened senses from one to the other, but no complete rewrite of Gifts and whatnot.

2) Same as above, but the Crinos form would use Holding Back from Hero High, Revised.

3) A recently resurrected Mummy with nods to oWod. However. I was actually thinking more along the lines of technological than mystical, using the Go'auld (without the System Lords or most of the mythos) as inspiration. More of a Tok'Ra than a System Lord in terms of concept, this one is actually quite developed conceptually but not mechanically.

4) a Werespider

[Spectrum]

So (never too) many awesome choices. I'm going to have a really hard time choosing.

If you want to put in a character but haven't yet, please say something soon. I'm going to be closing down to new interest shortly.

Thank you to all!

[Spectrum]

Saving this ghost town classification list for later.

[Spectrum]

Began sketching out history here. Still lots to write. Questions will help things rise to the top.

[Spectrum]

Hey there Spectrum!

Been reading and lurking in this thread for a few days now, and I gotta admit the premise inspires me. I have a few ideas percolating in that black hole I call my mind, and I figure I'd ask before getting in too deep in terms of creation. Most of these (if not all, truth be told) are oWod inspired but drop most of the baggage to fit the game.

1) Although a completely new character, something along the lines of Stalks-from-Shadow Which, oddly enough IIRC a character from the first game you and I played in together on MnM boards. In this instance though, I was thinking I would simplify. The various forms would be mostly physical changes, perhaps heightened senses from one to the other, but no complete rewrite of Gifts and whatnot.

2) Same as above, but the Crinos form would use Holding Back from Hero High, Revised.

3) A recently resurrected Mummy with nods to oWod. However. I was actually thinking more along the lines of technological than mystical, using the Go'auld (without the System Lords or most of the mythos) as inspiration. More of a Tok'Ra than a System Lord in terms of concept, this one is actually quite developed conceptually but not mechanically.

4) a Werespider

I'm curious about options 1 and 4. 2 might work but Holding Back seems horribly OP.

[Bladewind]

Cool. I'm actually working on option 1 right now. Option 4 is a real challenge to do correctly in MnM.

(I dunno why, but I just got a huge feeling of deja vu. Odd.)

[Spectrum]

-Another setting question: with the Dresden-verse listed as an inspiration, are you planning on using the Nevernever (and the Ways), or something similar?

Many, many planes in parallel (and echoes), some characters may be closer attuned than others-

The Shade/Shadowlands/Dark Umbra- land of the dead, in a constant state of decay. Ghosts are held by attachments to the living world. Mediums are good for contact with the world of the living. Necromancers can enslave the dead.

First World/Umbra- primal energies and spirits. In some places turns into the nightmarish The City

The Silver/Astral- Silver mist, astral cords. Related to the Akashic Record, the library of everything that man has ever known or can know.

'The Dreaming'- land of the fae, brighter brights, darker darks, the land of fairies and absinthe dreams

The Maze- an endless labyrinth of countless doors- leading to the right place if you but know the right door.

Many many more. There are places where the difference between this world and another is shallow, others where they may be very close together.

Also answered in the setting/character thread.

[Spectrum]

Cool. I'm actually working on option 1 right now. Option 4 is a real challenge to do correctly in MnM.

(I dunno why, but I just got a huge feeling of deja vu. Odd.)

Lessons learned at time, my friend. Often with too high a cost.

[Spectrum]

Fortinbras- I really like the concept but wow.. that is really fast healing. Knock it down significantly and we might have something.

[Spectrum]

Darwin- might work, but to fit campaign concept more, less science fiction and more Thing From Elsewhere. Also, can his appearance be changed to something that can hide under a trenchcoat?