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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

EternalPhoenix wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:58 pm You know, I had been wondering when Thespian's influence would show up. Welcome to 2023, World In The Aftermath.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jan 04, 2023 6:24 am I'm digging these new developments for the Primals and possible rogues like Salamon above.
Thanks!
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

Labrys
Image

As she watches Ligyron try to deal with the burden of the legacy of Kent Wildman, Agnes Tanaka feels only sympathy, but knows that it would do no good to tell him about how she has coped with her own burden of legacy. The cases are too different, for while her mother was also one of the first guardians of Tanelorn, Theresa Pantazis was the first of that group to fall, when her only daughter was little more than a child.

Theresa Pantazis was born in the Greece of a long-lost alternate world, where she became the vigilante known as λιποτάκτης -- the Renegade. She had no powers beyond fury, but wielded an ancient double-bitted axe that she dubbed Anísychi Psychí, "Restless Soul". While following the traces of an international conspiracy, her journey led her to first fight against, then ally with, Kent Wildman. A decade or so later, her labrys was used as a key component of the device that hurled the city that became Tanelorn away from that world as it began to die in nuclear fury.

Afterwards, Theresa married one Harry Tanaka, a long-time ally, and their daughter came along in due course. Agnes was only six -- or thereabouts, timekeeping was difficult when Tanelorn floated in the dimensional void -- when her mother was lost in a the first battle of the numerous proxy wars between Tanelorn and the Sprawl. Her labrys survived, and Harry, against his better instincts, agreed to train their daughter to fight with it when she was a little older. Possessed of the exotic ability to perceive points of weakness in her targets, Agnes undertook the training to be one of the guardians and met Ligyron and Armonia, later fighting at their side.

In the aftermath of the Anachronic Calamity and the loss of the guardian power, Agnes considered retiring from superheroics to focus on training the next generation to defend Tanelorn. But concern for Ligyron has kept her in the harness, especially after they both learned about the resemblance between Armonia and the woman called Pythia. Unlike her friend, Agnes fears that there could be some darker implications to that similarity.

In addition to finding Armonia, Agnes also seeks to learn as much as she can about the structure of the multiverse, ideally from the one called the Warpwitch. While her axe is able to hew open portals that connect the dimensions, she has only ever used this as a "bug out button" for her missions, and opening a door to the former dimensional coordinates of Tanelorn will now do no one any good. She is also curious to learn whether she (or her mother) have counterparts on this world, like many others from Tanelorn ...

Labrys -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR
4 | STA 5 | AGL 5 | DEX 3 | FGT 9 | INT 3 | AWE 4 | PRE 1

Powers:
Anísychi Psychí/Restless Soul: Linked Strength-based Damage 3, Penetrating 5, Accurate; Linked Weaken Toughness 7, Affects Objects; Movement 3 (dimensional travel 3), Portal; Easily Removable (-14 points) - 21 points
Discern Weakness: Enhanced Advantage 2 (Improved Critical 2), Variable (weapon); Senses 5 (analytical vision penetrates concealment) - 8 points

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Takedown, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+11), Athletics 6 (+10), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+11), Expertise: Civics 6 (+9), Expertise: Dimensional 6 (+9), Insight 4 (+8), Perception 6 (+10), Persuasion 6 (+7), Stealth 3 (+8), Technology 4 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +9
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 4)
Restless Soul +11 (Close Damage 7 and Fortitude 7, Crit 18-20)

Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 11, Fortitude 5, Toughness 7/5, Will 9.

Totals:
Abilities 68 + Powers 29 + Advantages 9 + Skills 23 + Defense 11 = 140 points

Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 6

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Family (father.) Legacy.

Note: Should stats for her PL 14 Guardian incarnation be required, add Enhanced Ability 5 for all abilities.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
Commander Titan
Posts: 338
Joined: Thu May 19, 2022 3:14 am

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

Post by Commander Titan »

I like the "Discern Weakness" power a lot - I've always had a soft spot for that type of skill (I like Karnak of the Inhumans for the same reasons). After all, the challenge becomes exploiting a weakness, once you've seen it, if that's one of your only powers.
Current Setting Projects:
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

Mihael Teng
Image

Much as with streamers in the World in the Aftermath, many young people in the Sprawl turn to what they call "simming" as a way to make money and gain fame -- typically petty amounts of both, but for those who have neither, any is better than none at all. They demonstrate their ordinary or extraordinary lives for the amusement of others, with the best results coming to those who have availed themselves of cybernetics to enhance their performance. Mihael Teng is one of these multitudes, who has boosted his reflexes to allow him to excel at urban acrobatics -- not called parkour, here, but he would recognize the similarities between what he does and that art if he were to learn of it.

And he would like to learn of it, for what little he has been able to learn about the world beyond the barricades of the Sprawl has utterly enchanted him. From various pirated feeds, Mihael has been told of a world more magical than that where he and his family live, and welcomes any intrusion from that world. There has to be more to life than living on what scraps the corps leave to the proles, and he yearns to work with those who want to remake the Sprawl in the image of that world beyond.

Alas for Mihael Teng, the outsiders in whose company he now travels do not have such noble goals. While engaged in a simming run, he stumbled across a conflict between Mercedes Blaze, her entourage, and a trio of Bloodhounds. Impulsively coming to the aid of the visitors (whom he recognized as such from the way that they spoke a language other than Patois) he turned the tide of the conflict. He subsequently volunteered his services to them as a local expert in the belief that they were outsider heroes who wanted to make life better for the people of the Sprawl.

If Mihael were to learn that Blaze is trying to exploit the Sprawl, rather than improve it, he might seek out help to oppose her. Or he might double down and come up with some excuse for why having their technological and biological distinctiveness assimilated into that of a small cabal of outsiders is really in the best interest of the Sprawl. For now, though, he is happy to be useful to his new friends while learning as much as they will tell him about the world outside, which might be more than they realize that they are telling him. Notably, Blaze does not yet grasp how much of her operations he has recorded ...

Mihael Teng -- PL 7

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

Powers:
Boosted Reflexes: Enhanced Advantages 8 (Close Attack 2, Evasion, Improved Initiative 3, Uncanny Dodge), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against opponents with a lower Initiative total); Enhanced Defenses 6 (Dodge 3, Parry 3) - 12 points
I Am A Camera: Features 1 (record audio and video); Senses 2 (low-light vision, ultrahearing) - 3 points
Striking Strength: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points
Urban Acrobatics: Leaping 1 (30 feet); Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation-Urban); Movement 4 (Safe Fall, Sure-Footed 2, Wall-Crawling 1), Limited to Urban Environments; Speed 1 (4 MPH) - 8 points.

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Close Attack 2, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Critical (unarmed) 2, Improved Initiative 3, Improved Trip, Instant Up, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Prone Fighting, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+11), Athletics 8 (+9), Close Combat: Unarmed 5 (+8), Expertise: Performance 8 (+11), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+7), Perception 6 (+8), Ranged Combat: Throwing 4 (+6), Stealth 6 (+10), Technology 6 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +16
Unarmed +10/+8 (Close Damage 3)

Defense:
Dodge 10/7, Parry 8/5, Fortitude 4, Toughness 4/2, Will 6

Totals:
Abilities 36 + Powers 25 + Advantages 11 + Skills 28 + Defenses 11 = 111 points

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

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Maintenance. Naïve, While Imagining Himself Canny. Secret.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

Olympians
Image

Sometime towards the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, a group of Titans visited the Sol system and Earth -- likely not for the first time -- and discovered an intriguing species there. Even then, occasional examples of homo sapiens demonstrated abilities outside the norm for their species. As would much later be said, there were giants in those days. The Titans perceived them as potentially useful and took some of them with them when they left, creating numerous lines of cloned soldiers -- later dubbed Spartoi -- and more individually bred officers -- the Olympians.

Eventually, the Olympians overthrew the Titans, ruling much of the stellar territory now known as the Technate and the Imperium from a capitol that orbited a star roughly 800 parsecs from the Sol system. (Neither the planet nor the star exist any longer; the latter became the supernova identified as SN 393 thanks to the efforts of the Destrons.) In their turn, the Olympians fell from power around 2500 BCE and were long believed to be extinct save for a few isolated examples.

This was recently proven untrue, with a group of forty-two survivors emerging from suspended animation in a chamber buried deep within the Jovian moon Ganymede. Led by Metis, they have begun to construct a settlement on the surface of the moon, resuming the cultivation of ambrosia in environmental habitats, and have engaged in diplomacy with certain residents within the planet it orbits, as well as other spacefarers within the Solar system. They have also fought off an attack by a small party of Martian raiders, which they are inexperienced enough to view as more of an assault than it actually was.

Most of the Olympian survivors were ordinary citizens of Ganymede, not possessing any unusual powers or training. Metis has attempted to teach some of them psychic techniques without apparent success. As yet, none of them have left their sanctuary to visit other planets of the Sol system, but many are curious to see what has become of their kingdom in the centuries since its fall. Unfortunately, those who are most curious take it for granted that they will be welcomed as long-absent deities and worshipped.

The reality is likely to be rather different from their expectations ...

Olympian -- PL 7/MR 7

Abilities:
STR
5 | STA 6 | AGL 4 | DEX 3 | FGT 8 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 3

Powers:
Olympian: Immunity 4 (aging, cold, disease, poison); Impervious Toughness 6; Regeneration 5 - 15 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Fearless, Improved Grab, Improved Hold.

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+8), Close Combat: Grab 1 (+9), Intimidation 4 (+7), Perception 4 (+6), Technology 4 (+5), Vehicles 4 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +4
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 5)
Grab +9 (Close Grab 5)

Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 8, Fortitude 8, Toughness 6, Will 5.

Totals:
Abilities 64 + Powers 15 + Advantages 4 + Skills 10 + Defenses 7 = 100 points

Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 7
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 3

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Power Loss (Olympian, must consume Ambrosia weekly.) Others as Needed.

Variations:
Archer: Reduce FGT to 6; replace Improved Grab and Improved Hold with Equipment 2 (powerbow [Ranged Damage 5]) and add Improved Aim and Tracking; replace Close Combat: Grab with Ranged Combat: Bow 5 (+8) and reduce Vehicles to 2 (+5); increase Dodge to 8.
Boxer: Replace Improved Grab and Improved Hold with Defensive Attack and Power Attack, replace Close Combat: Grab with Close Combat: Unarmed.
Crafter: Drop All-out Attack, Improved Grab and Improved Hold, add Skill Mastery (Technology); drop Close Combat: Grab, increase Technology to 9 (+10).
Hoplite: Reduce FGT to 5; add Body Armor: Impervious Protection 2, Removable; replace Improved Grab and Improved Hold with Equipment (Spear [Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical]) and Power Attack, add Improved Defense; replace Close Combat: Grab with Close Combat: Spear; improve Parry to +6.
Runner: Reduce STR to 4; add Speed 4 (30 MPH); drop Improved Grab, Improved Hold; replace Close Combat: Grab with Athletics 4.


Note: Older and more experienced Olympians will have, naturally, higher skills and defenses; their Impervious Toughness is always equal to their Toughness. If any of them have psychic powers, they are keeping them a secret from Metis ...
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

Going to be travelling this week, so no posts on Wednesday or Thursday. However, tomorrow's post will be a three-for-one.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

April Danza
Image

Until she was ten years old, April Danza lived a comfortable and happy life with her parents on their estate in rural Connecticut. They were much less wealthy than they had been even two generations before that, but that was of little concern to their only daughter. When she demonstrated that she had some of the old talents, there was idle talk of sending her to be educated at the scholomance in the Berkshires, or its rival in the Miskatonic Valley, but her mother and father decided to postpone such decisions until after they came back from their trip to Athens, where they planned to discuss business with a distant relative.

They never came back, caught up in the first clash between that relative, Simon Munroe, and the novice superhero Nike. It would later be clear that Nike had tried to save them but failed. Even if she had known that at the time, though, it seems likely that April would have lacked the perspective to appreciate the distinction. Her parents were dead, a superhero was involved, therefore it was her fault, and therefore April would have vengeance on her in this world and all the worlds to come.

After three years of study and preparation, the young witch managed to make contact with certain old family associates who offered her a weapon for her war: an ankh-shaped talisman that granted her command over a giant of a man, eventually dubbed the Maniac. Even then, April recognized that she was being used by these inhuman beings for their purposes, which likely had nothing to do with her grief and rage. Nevertheless, she took what she was offered and traveled across the Atlantic to Greece, and prepared an ambush for her enemy.

Despite the might of the Maniac, the skill with which Nike fought allowed her to survive and triumph. During their third conflict, on the roof of the Piraeus Towers in Athens, April misjudged her footing and slipped off the side of the building. Swifter than an eagle, Nike flew down to stop her fall, despite knowing that the fight would be over if she just did nothing. That act of clemency shook April, destroying her certainty that she was doing the right thing. So did her realization that she was treating a thinking being, the Maniac, as a slave who had no choice but to obey her commands. The sort of person who did that was not the sort of person that her parents had raised her to be.

So she made peace with Nike and tried to give the Maniac his freedom. The latter part of that did not work out as well as she hoped, and so April found the new goal of finding a way to end his compulsion to obey whoever held the talisman. To do that, she knew that she would need to study. While the library at New Worminghall would have been ideal for her purposes, she decided that the Futurian Academy was a safer place to pursue these goals, and became a student there in 2018, employing her own talents and heirloom magic ring to sometimes assist the other would-be heroes there.

However, April has never really felt all that inclined towards heroics herself; there is only one person she cares about helping without any reward. After concluding that she had gotten as far with her attempts as the resources at the Academy will permit, and becoming concerned about the recent changes there, she has dropped out of the school. When asked where she was planning to go, she speculated that there might be some useful secrets to be found in Turkey. That may or may not have been disinformation. Regardless, she has left Cardiff, and the journey of this sorcerer continues.

April Danza -- PL 8

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

Powers:
Defensive Talismans: Sustained Impervious Protection 8, Fades; Removable (-1 point) - 7 points
Mystical Awareness: Senses 4 (acute radius mystical awareness, danger sense) - 4 points
Prodigy: Quickness 3, Limited to designing magical rituals - 1 point
Ring of Passage: Concealment 8 (all sense groups except tactile and mental), Passive; Linked Insubstantial 3; Linked Movement 3 (safe fall, wall-crawling, water-walking); Linked Speed 6 (120 MPH); Removable (-7 points) - 28 points
Shielded Mind: Impervious Will 8, Limited to mental effects - 4 points

Advantages:
Benefit 3 (millionaire), Connected, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Fascination (Persuasion), Improved Defense, Ritualist, Seize Initiative, Taunt.

Skills:
Deception 6 (+13), Expertise: Magic 5 (+12), Insight 6 (+10), Investigation 6 (+9), Perception 5 (+9), Persuasion 4 (+11), Stealth 6 (+8).

Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +1 (Close Damage -1)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 3, Fortitude 3, Toughness 11/9/3/1, Will 8.

Totals:
Abilities 38 + Powers 44 + Advantages 11 + Skills 19 + Defenses 11 = 123 points.

Offensive PL: 0*
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 8

Complications:
Responsibility (Sort of)--Motivation. Secret Identity. Vanity.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

Blakestone (I, II, III)

When Jennifer Chase won a riddle game with the spirit of the House of Riddles in 2004, she had already learned a few details about the previous individuals to win mastery of the House and with it the name Blakestone. In the years since then, she has continued to seek out more information about her precursors in the role, out of both genuine curiosity and a sneaking suspicion that their stories might yet impact her own, or those of people she cares about. It has been difficult, but she thrives on challenges like this. Here is what she knows.

The first Blakestone is and likely will remain the most mysterious. He appeared as if from nowhere in south London in 1922 to acquire the lot on which the House of Riddles was to be built over the next two years. The title for the property is framed on the wall of the main office of the House, and plainly states that it is in the name of "Blakestone T. Magician". It seems likely that his stage name was inspired by the American magician Harry Bouton Blackstone, but no one has ever discovered any indication that he used any other name for any purposes.

He justified his title of magician by performing stage magic for children in the vicinity of the House, with witnesses not seeing any evidence that he used any occult powers in these performances -- save for the illusory guise which he used at all times. While easily identified as an illusion, it proved impossible for anyone, no matter how adept, to see through it or neutralize it. Aside from these episodes, he rarely departed from the House. Invitations sent to his address would receive polite demurrals; visitors would be greeted at the threshold but gently turned away. Those who broke in were never seen again; the current Blakestone has found evidence that at least one such would-be intruder left by means other than the front door.

Blakestone The Magician passed away quietly in 1949, and his will left the management of his personal fortune and of the House in the administration of a trust run by his attorney, one Hadrian Murtaugh. According to the terms of that trust, the House would pass into the ownership of any individual who was able to spend a night within it and emerge with their reason intact, and the new owner would also receive the right to be called Blakestone, provided that they maintained the House in good condition and returned to it for at least one day out of every subsequent month. Failure to do so would cause the property to revert to the trust.

Nowhere mentioned within these legal documents was that the House itself, or more accurately its genius loci, would challenge each prospective owner to a riddle contest, with their sanity as the stakes. It is not known precisely how many would-be Blakestones came into the House between 1949 and 1956, nor has the current Blakestone had much success in determining their eventual fates. Hadrian Murtaugh was known to be the benefactor of a number of sanitariums throughout the United Kingdom. There is, interestingly, evidence that someone succeeded in winning the contest in 1950, but whoever did so abandoned the House within less than a month.

The first person to win and retain the House was one Charles Cameron Calder, about who somewhat more has been discovered. Born in late 1926 and raised in a Westminster orphanage, it seems likely that he was one of the children entertained by Blakestone The Magician during his childhood. At the age of twelve, his own magical talents were discovered and he was offered a scholarship at New Worminghall, one of several endowed by the government of the United Kingdom with the intention of eventually employing these gifted students for the secret benefit of the realm. They were to be disappointed in Calder, who was only interested in his own gain.

Prior to becoming the second Blakestone, he had been engaged in a career of chicanery against many of the ancient families of Great Britain, appropriating their treasure and lore. It does not seem that he had any larger goal in mind, such as world domination or immortality, focusing entirely on acquisition for its own sake. Gaining the name of Blakestone afforded him greater opportunities for schemes of this nature, and he embraced these possibilities with gusto. While not the most famous sorcerous villain of the first age of superheroics, he was more frequently successful in his aims due to his avoidance of conflict with superheroes whenever possible. However, the second Blakestone was ultimately killed in 1972, after an unknown person stole his enchanted corselet and an angry victim of his attacked him outside the House while bereft of his defenses. The identity of the thief, and the whereabouts of the corselet, remain mysteries.

At the time that the House became vacant, Leonard Valentine would have seemed an unlikely candidate for its mastery. While also a New Worminghall graduate who had been known in the mystical community since 1967, and had occasionally corresponded with Jeremiah Wander, Valentine had no noteworthy accomplishments to his name at that point. Nor did he seem to have any interest in achieving such, focusing on advancing his own knowledge of the arcane for its own sake rather than for any purpose, whether criminal or altruistic, as well as satisfying his somewhat hedonistic impulses.

That changed in 1974, when a botched magical experiment endowed him with self-regenerating capabilities and caused a dramatic shift in his personality, as though the energy which allowed him to rapidly recover from injuries demanded that it be used to that end, compelling him to a more violent way of life. To that end, he traveled extensively throughout the world, notably visiting the United States and Brazil, where he became involved in many occult mysteries, and crossed paths with numerous luminaries of the era.

Returning to his native London in 1983, he seemed to settle into the role of Blakestone almost as an afterthought. His was a much shorter mastery than either of his predecessors, as he was assassinated in 1987 by persons unknown using a bullet that suppressed his auto-regenerative abilities. It is believed by the current Blakestone that he was killed because of his refusal to assist the British government in its response to the Pythons, in an act that left them even more vulnerable to a different threat.

As of February 2022, Jennifer Chase has held the mastery of the House of Riddles for almost eighteen years, longer than any person since the original Blakestone. It is a streak that could end at any moment, thanks to her current situation, and she wonders what subsequent masters will think of her. She does not bother to think about the two previous masters. "They were both pricks."


Blakestone (I) -- PL 8
Image

Abilities:
STR
0 | STA 1 | AGL 0 | DEX 2 | FGT 1 | INT 3 | AWE 4 | PRE 5

Powers:
Disguise Spell: Continuous Morph 2 (humanoids) - 12 points
Mystical Awareness: Senses 4 (acute analytical radius mystic awareness) - 4 points
Shield Spell: Linked Enhanced Advantage 2 (Defensive Roll 2); Enhanced Defenses 8 (Dodge 4, Parry 4); Subtle - 11 points

Advantages:
Benefit 3 (millionaire), Connected, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 3, Fascinate (Persuasion), Multilingual, Ritualist, Trance.

Skills:
Deception 6 (+11), Expertise: Magic 8 (+13), Insight 8 (+12), Investigation 6 (+9), Perception 6 (+10), Persuasion 6 (+11).

Offense:
Initiative +0
Unarmed +1 (Close Damage 0)

Defense:
Dodge 4/0, Parry 5/1, Fortitude 3, Toughness 6/1, Will 9.

Totals:
Abilities 32 + Powers 27 + Advantages 11 + Skills 20 + Defenses 7 = 97 points

Offensive PL: 1*
Defensive PL: 6
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 8

Complications:
Comfort (?)--Motivation. Secrets (many!)



Blakestone (II) -- PL 9
Image

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

Powers:
Corselet of Adamant: Protection 12, Impervious 6; Removable (-3 points) - 15 points
Mystical Awareness: Senses 4 (acute radius mystic awareness) - 3 points
Sorcery: Array (24 points)
  • Mystic Blast: Ranged Damage 12 - 24 point
  • Mystic Binding: Ranged Affliction 12 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Will; Hindered & Vulnerable, Defenseless & Immobile), Concentration, Instant Recovery - 1 point
  • Mystic Passage: Extended Teleport 8 - 1 point
  • Scrying: Remote Sensing (vision) 8, No Conduit - 1 point
Advantages:
Connected, Daze (Intimidation), Equipment 3, Ritualist, Startle.

Skills:
Expertise: Crime 6 (+9), Expertise: Magic 7 (+11), Intimidation 6 (+10), Perception 6 (+8), Persuasion 4 (+8), Ranged Combat: Sorcery 5 (+6), Sleight of Hand 6 (+7), Stealth 6 (+6).

Offense:
Initiative +0
Unarmed +0 (Close Damage -1)
Mystic Blast +6 (Ranged Damage 12)
Mystic Binding +6 (Ranged Affliction 12, Resisted by Dodge)

Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 4, Fortitude 2, Toughness 12/0, Will 8

Totals:
Abilities 18 + Powers 45 + Advantages 7 + Skills 23 + Defenses 18 = 111 points

Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 6

Complications:
Greed--Motivation. Power Loss (Sorcery, if unable to speak and gesture; at half-power if only one.) Reacts Badly To Surprises (Surprise Attacks render him Defenseless instead of Vulnerable.)


Blakestone (III) -- PL 9
Image

Abilities:
STR
1 | STA 11/3 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 3 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 4

Powers:
Healing Factor: Enhanced Stamina 8; Immunity 3 (disease, need for sleep, poison); Regeneration 10 - 29 points
Mystical Awareness: Senses 4 (acute radius mystic awareness) - 3 points
Synchronicity: Variable 5 (apparently random events), Check Required (Expertise: Magic, DC 20), Free Action, Insidious, Subtle, Unreliable -- 32 points

Advantages:
Contacts, Equipment 3, Fascinate (Intimidation), Fearless 2, Improvised Weapon, Ritualist, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+7), Expertise: Magic 8 (+12), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+10), Insight 8 (+11), Intimidation 6 (+10), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 6 (+9), Stealth 6 (+8).

Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 1)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 7, Fortitude 11, Toughness 11, Will 7.

Totals:
Abilities 42 + Powers 64 + Advantages 10 + Skills 26 + Defenses 11 = 153 points

Offensive PL: 4*
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 7

Complications:
Discovery--Motivation. Cruel. Numerous Vices (drink, drugs, sex, others.)
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

Jerry Gimlin
Image
Art by Gary Hanna

Back in September, things were going pretty good for twelve-year old Jerry Gimlin. While the summer camp that he and the rest of his Boy Scout troop had been planning to attend had been delayed because of that whole alien invasion thing, so had the start of the school year, so they got to go on an early autumn camp instead. It was in a different part of the Ponderosa State Park than they usually visited, so it was all new to him, and he was really excited! And this is the point in the narrative when he usually lowers his voice to add, "I could never have known the horror that was about to begin."

While he was occupying himself with a study of some of the trees in the Meadow Marsh area, Jerry stumbled across a hidden cache that contained a weird fur suit. It was so out of place that it took him a moment to recognize it as intending to look like a Bigfoot. Clearly, someone had intended to film a hoax video or possibly scare some tourists, but had been unable to do so. (Likely for the same reason that everything else had been a little out of schedule lately.) In a moment of impulsive mischief that he would really regret, Jerry decided to put the costume on and give the troop a little scare.

As soon as he was inside the thing, Jerry realized that something strange had just happened when he looked down and realized that he had somehow grown about three feet in height, and could not figure out how to get out of the costume. Panicking, he ran back to the campsite and proceeded to give the other scouts and their leaders a much bigger scare than he had intended, since he could not make himself understood, either. After fleeing back into the forest, he watched in horror as the rest of the troop left in their vehicles, abandoning him to the tender mercy of whatever hunters showed up to deal with the situation.

Fortunately, the first hunter on the scene was one Maureen Summerisle. Recognizing that the monster had not harmed anyone yet, she was only interested in trying to capture it, and worked out what was going on. With difficulty, she was able to teach Jerry how to get out of the "sark", as she called it, but the thing was bonded to him now and for the foreseeable future. Reuniting him with his parents, she recommended that they contact the Bethany Ryan School for Accelerated Studies, whose teachers would hopefully be better equipped to handle their now-superpower son.

All this has cured whatever mischief remained in Jerry; he is now completely devoted to using his strange talent to make sure that no one else is ever as alone or afraid as he was for the week before Maureen rescued him. During that period, he constantly recited the Boy Scout Oath to himself to keep his panic at bay, and has thoroughly internalized it by this point. His tutors have not yet realized that this intense focus on doing the right thing at all times has caused him to develop a hidden resistance to any sort of mental influence. His teammates in Kids Unlimited often view him as a bit of a cornball, but appreciate his courage and might.

Jerry Gimlin -- PL 6

Abilities:
STR
8/-1 | STA 8/-1 | AGL 0 | DEX 1 | FGT 0 | INT 1 | AWE 1 | PRE 0

Powers:
Pure Heart: Immunity 20 (mental effects) - 20 points
Transformation: Linked Enhanced Advantages 4 (Great Endurance, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Smash); Linked Enhanced Stamina 5; Linked Enhanced Strength 5; Linked Continuous Growth 4; Linked Immunity 1 (cold); Linked Protection 1, Impervious 7; Linked Senses 1 (low-light vision); Activation (Standard Action) - 48 points

Advantages:
Evasion, Great Endurance, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash.

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+4), Expertise: Survival 2 (+3), Insight 2 (+3), Intimidation 0 (+2/+0), Perception 4 (+5), Stealth 6 (+6/+2).

Offense:
Initiative +4
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 8)

Defense:
Dodge 3/2, Parry 4/3, Fortitude 8/-1, Toughness 9/-1, Will 4

Totals:
Abilities 2 + Powers 68 + Advantages 3 + Skills 9 + Defenses 10 = 92 points

Offensive PL: 6
Defensive PL: 6
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 1

Complications:
Doing Good--Motivation. Difficult Speech
(in alternative identity only.) Minor OR Monstrous Appearance.

Note: Yes, he's a big blue boy scout.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
Commander Titan
Posts: 338
Joined: Thu May 19, 2022 3:14 am

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

Post by Commander Titan »

I quite like the various Blakestones. The history is fun, and seeing legacy titles, especially those that have passed between "hero" and "villain," adds a lot to the weight of whoever has it now.

And Jerry Gimlin is great all around. I was never a Scout, but I have family and friends who were and it meant a lot to them (I really like it whenever someone is able to turn an oath or a mantra, a real world or fictional one, into a source of strength like that). And the mystical bigfoot suit is an inspired touch.
Current Setting Projects:
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

Commander Titan wrote: Mon Jan 16, 2023 2:55 am And Jerry Gimlin is great all around. I was never a Scout, but I have family and friends who were and it meant a lot to them (I really like it whenever someone is able to turn an oath or a mantra, a real world or fictional one, into a source of strength like that). And the mystical bigfoot suit is an inspired touch.
Thanks! I was a bit worried that he'd go over like a limp balloon since his primary source (a Canadian cartoon from the late 90s titled Monster by Mistake) is really obscure.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

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

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Nah, he's just fine.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

The Erlking
Image

There is a romantic notion that the further one goes back in time, the more that people of that time had respect for the natural world. From a certain perspective, that is true ... but only if one confuses respect for fear. In the world lit only by fire, most people regarded the world beyond their village palisades with suspicion and mistrust, and even those cast out beyond their protection typically came together in smaller communities, for a human being alone in the wilderness was sure to become a victim of it.

Except when they did not, as did the man who became the Erlking. Even in his earliest mortal life, in the Jutland of the 9th century, he was someone who rejected his own humanity and sought to live in the wild. In part, this was due to his disgust and disdain for other humans, but there was also a part that could be explained by his psychic connection to plant life. Had he been another, more empathetic person, his story might have been a different one.

As it happened, he was to become part of the story of the man who became Merlin. Just how their paths crossed is something that neither of them chooses to discuss, but if (as seems likely) they initially met in battle, they reached an understanding of sorts that kept it from becoming a terminal affair. Merlin claims to have been impressed that the man, despite lacking any real talent for magic, had learned enough to manage some limited feats. He decided to show him how to do more in the expectation that he would become a menace that would-be heroes could overcome, expecting him to be destroyed by one of them eventually.

And the Erlking did indeed become such a potential threat, notably crossing paths with the Jutish chieftain Amleth at one point, but he proved more resilient than Merlin expected and more talented. As with Merlin, he found a way to bind his soul into the substance of another plane of reality and become immortal. Also as with Merlin, this proved to be his last act before falling into a deep sleep that would last up until the current year, when he was awakened by the Dreamdancer.

The Erlking despises the world into which he has awakened. There are so many people now, and they no longer tremble in the darkness but light up their nights. He is not, as one might expect, angered by the environmental situation, as the modern view of nature as something fragile and in need of protection is not something he is intellectually or emotionally equipped to accept. Even if someone were to explain the goals of the environmental movement to him, he would reject them as something designed to allow humans to continue to prosper. He does not desire the respect of humans but rather their fear.

His primary agents in his misanthropic aims are his "daughters", smaller plant creatures who present as human females. (It takes him roughly a month to grow one of them, so they are not Summoned minions as such; however, they are plants and can be used as mediums for his Greenbond.) He has dispatched several of them to spy on human communities and find ways to sabotage and destroy them, with some of them playing the old trick of luring vulnerable humans into the woods to be murdered and used as fertilizer for more daughters.

One of them, however, has come to develop a certain sympathy for humans, specifically the nature-loving group into whose company she has fallen, and has taken the human name Manon Kilde. This betrayal infuriates the Erlking, but the fact that it happened at all means that the other daughters might do so as well. His paranoia forces him to keep an eye on all of them, and so he has been unable to devote as many resources to destroying the traitor as he would like.

The Erlking -- PL 13

Abilities:
STR
9 | STA 8 | AGL 3 | DEX -1 | FGT 10 | INT 3 | AWE 2 | PRE 0

Powers:
Ascendant: Ascendant: Immortality 5 (one day), Only When On Home Plane; Immunity 1 (aging); Movement 1 (dimensional travel to home plane), Reaction (death); Movement 2 (dimensional travel to mystical dimensions), Standard Action - 10 points
Greenbond: Remote Sensing 5 (Auditory, Olfactory, Visual; 30 miles), Medium (plants), Simultaneous, Subtle 2; Senses 4 (postcognition), Limited to while in vegetation - 20 points
Just A Tree: Continuous Morph 1 (tree) - 6 points
Large Plant: Elongation 4; Permanent Growth 4 (14 feet; Strength +4, Stamina +4, Intimidation +2, Dodge -2, Parry -2, Stealth -4), Innate; Immunity 3 (need for sleep, starvation & thirst, suffocation); Protection 6; Regeneration 10 - 36 points
Plant Influence: Array (52 points)
  • Pollen Cloud: Perception Range Cloud Area Affliction 13 (Resisted by Fortitude; Fatigued, Exhausted, Asleep) - 52 points
  • Rapid Growth: Continuous Create 12, Moveable, Subtle - 1 point
  • Root Shift: Accurate Extended Teleport 13 (30 miles/8000 miles), Easy, Medium (plant life) - 1 point
  • Tanglevines: Selective Burst Area Cumulative Affliction 12 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Damage; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobile), Extra Condition, Limited Degree, Indirect 3 - 1 point
Sense Immortal: Senses 2 (ranged detect immortal) - 2 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Chokehold, Equipment 5, Improved Grab, Improved Smash, Ritualist, Startle, Tracking, Trance.

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+11), Close Combat: Grab 2 (+12), Expertise: Magic 10 (+10), Expertise: Survival 8 (+11), Intimidation 6 (+8), Perception 8 (+10), Stealth 10 (+9).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 9)
Grab +12 (Close Grab 13)
Pollen Cloud -- (Perception Range Cloud Area Fortitude 13)
Tanglevines -- (Burst Area Affliction 12)

Defense:
Dodge 10, Parry 12, Fortitude 11, Toughness 14, Will 10.

Totals:
Abilities 52 + Powers 129 + Advantages 13 + Skills 23 + Defenses 20 = 237 points

Offensive PL: 13
Defensive PL: 13
Resistance PL: 11
Skill PL: 6

Complications:
Misanthropy--Motivation. Paranoid. Unfamiliar With Modern World or Technology
(or environmentalism.)


Daughters of the Erlking -- PL 8/MR 7
Image
Abilities:
STR
4 | STA 3 | AGL 2 | DEX 1 | FGT 4 | INT 0 | AWE 3 | PRE 2

Powers:
Human Disguise: Morph 1 (human form) - 5 points
Plant Creature: Immunity 3 (need for sleep, starvation, suffocation); Impervious Protection 6, Noticeable; Regeneration 10; Visual Concealment 4, Limited to while in vegetation - 28 points

Advantages:
Daze (Deception), Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Taunt, Tracking.

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+7), Deception 6 (+8), Insight 3 (+6), Investigation 6 (+6), Perception 6 (+9), Stealth 4 (+6).

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 4)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 7, Fortitude 7, Toughness 9, Will 6

Totals:
Abilities 38 + Powers 33 + Advantages 7 + Skills 13 + Defenses 13 = 105 points

Offensive PL: 6
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 4

Complications:
Obedience--Motivation. Secret
(inhuman.) Others as Needed.

Note: Manon Kilde is a non-minion Daughter with Acceptance as a Motivation, and the additional complication Friends.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

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

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Davies wrote: Sat Nov 19, 2022 4:53 pm One of these days, I'm not going to be impressed beyond words by what you come up with. Not today, though.
I echo this sentiment often for your posts.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

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

Post by Davies »

😊😊😊
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
Post Reply