The Lumination (Interest Check - LGBTQ friendly, Extreme, Freeform/Sandbox)

[AndyZ]

Name: Lyra Luminatti
Age: 22
Race: Doppelganger
Description: Attempting to recognize Lyra by a description is an exercise in futility.  Although she is nearly always beautiful, usually female and often human in appearance, the only commonalities by which she can easily be recognized are the scent of vanilla (which takes some effort for her to suppress) and the sapphire-pommeled short sword she wears on her back.
Personality: Like most doppelgangers, Lyra is a mercurial and mischievous creature, easily enraptured and all too quickly bored.
History: The species of doppelganger has been well known for centuries, but not often understood.  Perhaps the most common tale of the creatures is that of Lyra, the Uncrowned Queen.

The tale of Lyra begins in the kingdom of Abernor.  With King Ednes dead, the kingdom's petty aristocrats fell prey to the threat of imminent civil war.  In order to handle the situation, it was decided that the kingdom must be divided amongst his four children.  Only when three of them died would the last remaining noble be allowed to take over the entire kingdom.

Two of the children were quick to die, and though it was never proven, poison was expected.  Legend attributes the foul deed to Anarra, because Justar could not have been responsible.  He had no true ambition, showed no real interest in ruling and simply desired the tender affections of his manservants and the comforts of extravagant living.

When Anarra finally died of old age, Justar was offered the crown but simply shook his head.  He said he was bored of the disguise, and transformed into the natural shape of Lyra the doppelganger: a pale, gaunt figure with frost-white hair that dropped down to her waist and milky eyes that took in a room but were difficult to read.

Legend states that the man Lyra chose for the throne led his kingdom admirably, with each of his children guiding better than the last.

Doppelgangers are best known for their shapeshifting, but also have the capacity to read people, sometimes learning to understand them better than they know themselves.  They can manifest clothing but not inorganic substances, and wearing cloth or silk is common but a set of steel armor is beyond them.  However, doppelgangers cannot have children except with other doppelgangers, and only as their born gender.

How Darian Luminatti managed to have a daughter by one remains a mystery.  If Lyra herself even knows, she has decided not to share.  When she showed up at the Lumination, she appeared in a manner unusual to any doppelganger: her natural form. 

Dismissing her disguises and appearing au natural is her way of opening up, something she doesn't do often.  Different appearances can affect her personality, and she's not always perfectly truthful, but when she takes off her mask, it's an attempt to be herself.

It's rare for a doppelganger to have anything remotely resembling a family.  Now that she has one, she won't give it up easily.

Skills/Power: Shapeshifting: Lyra can assume any sort of humanoid form, along with clothes and a few other organic things (such as bone or wood).  Magically forcing her to revert to her normal form reveals her as the chalky, naked creature she is.  Hiding her vanilla scent takes some concentration and she rarely does so unless she truly deems it necessary (like to surprise someone).  Anything that detaches from her, whether fluid or discarded clothing, dissolves into a sticky vanilla paste within moments, so it's more common for her to simply reabsorb clothes when she undresses.

Mind Reading: Although it takes serious concentration to actually pick up on surface thoughts, a doppelganger can usually understand an emotional state of someone within her purview, and can usually get a feel for that person's kinks and limits relatively quickly.  Some claim that that particular talent makes them even more dangerous than their shapeshifting.

Light Blades: Lyra has an exquisitely crafted short sword, the only gift from her father.  The pommelstone is a perfect sapphire and the name Lyra has been lovingly crafted into the blade.  She also has a bit of talent with daggers, but she prefers her sword.

On&Off: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=102977.0
Player: AndyZ

[Chrystal]

Hey Andy.

I noticed you don't have a pic, obviously because Lyra changes what she looks like. Not sure if you'd be interested, but...

http://digital-art-gallery.com/oid/113/679x1000_19511_Banshee_2d_fantasy_ghost_banshee_girl_white_hair_picture_image_digital_art.jpg
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs36/f/2008/273/e/f/Witcher_Comp__Wraith_WIP10_by_HyperDivine.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/56/3a/12/563a12cd4876a709f6c856753c16048a.jpg

They all share certain traits of your description of her "natural" form.

[AndyZ]

I toyed with getting a pic but ultimately decided there wasn't much point.  The banshee picture is pretty close, though ^_^

Here's some D&D pictures of doppelgangers, at least one of the versions.

(Blinkin, they look more like pale, gaunt humanoids than the older versions.  The Eberron changelings would probably be a closer match to what you're used to, but white instead of gray.)

[Chrystal]

AGH! You know what, I bet that if Blinkin read your description the only thing you really need to say about those pics is what they are wearing! And the reason I say this is because, never having seen one before, what I was searching for but couldn't find is exactly what you have there (only with no clothes on, but that's cause I'm a pervy old dyke).

The three pics I linked too, all have the silver hair. The first one has the young-looking face and figure, the second one has the gaunt-ness (perhaps a little too gaunt), and the third one has the eyes. I was looking for something that combined all three of those traits and couldn't find it!

[AndyZ]

To be fair, I knew exactly what I was looking for because I saw the pictures in D&D books, so I knew exactly what I wanted to find.

Part of the reason I wanted to make the clarification was because old-fashioned D&D doppelgangers look like weird alien things, as displayed below.



There's a few other changes I made, like being able to manifest clothing and not being able to procreate with other races, mostly for flair and such.

With shapeshifters that can take brand new forms on command, I tend not to worry too much about making sure the pictures fit.  If Lyra had a particular form she stuck to a lot, I'd have a picture of that.  I imagine darn few outside of the sisters have seen her natural form.


By the way, is Red's desire to return to her home plane well known?

[Chrystal]

I figured as much! I think the mistake I made was in searching for "wraith " because the description reminded me a lot of the race from Stargate Atlantis:



It didn't even occur to me to search for "Doppleganger", mostly because I've not played D&D for about 3.5 decades! When I did, I saw that picture you just posted, and realised it was not what you were after.

By the way, is Red's desire to return to her home plane well known?

That depends upon what you mean by "well known". She isn't going to make a secret of it, and anyone who learns her "true form" and realises what she is, is probably going to be able to figure it out. But at the same time she isn't going to go around telling people, "I'm a fire elemental, I'm trapped here and I wish to find a way back home", for the simple reason that spreading information about oneself in a hostile world is never a good idea!

As we're trading questions, how does Lyra take on a new form? Does she have to touch the person, or can she do so by just looking at them? And if it is by touch, does that affect the other person in any way?



Now we need some characters who aren't shape-shifters! *giggles*

[bubby]

I'm just loving the fact discussion is going on! ;)

[AndyZ]

I can see some resemblance to those things ^_^

As far as taking forms, it's not too different from Mystique from X-Men, albeit with different special effects.  Her body more blurs a little as it shifts into the particular hue and design.  She doesn't have to copy particular people, and it's rather unusual for her to do so, unless she's attempting a prank.  And she's been really good about not doing any pranks for the past few months...so one is due.

I also had the idea, if you like it, that Red may have (accidentally or otherwise) burned Lyra in the past, so Lyra gets just a bit leery of ever getting too physically close.  Scorch me once, shame on you and all that.

[Chrystal]

I'm just loving the fact discussion is going on! ;)

Well for one thing it keeps the thread bumped!

But it also means that when we start we can actually have some sub-plots worked out. I've had a weird urge to play a fire elemental for about twenty years on-and-off, but never managed to come up with the right setting/story.

So I'm pretty excited about this, and willing to participate in pretty much any sub-plot anyone cares to come up with, subject to my O/Os of course.

I can see some resemblance to those things ^_^

Mostly the pale skin, white hair and gaunt look. SG-A Wraith are acctually hybrid creatures created by the "Ancients" by gene-splicing humans with a rather vicious race of arachnid, with a view to creating an invincible soldier. It worked, but unfortunately the Wraith turned on their creators...!

As far as taking forms, it's not too different from Mystique from X-Men, albeit with different special effects.  Her body more blurs a little as it shifts into the particular hue and design.  She doesn't have to copy particular people, and it's rather unusual for her to do so, unless she's attempting a prank.  And she's been really good about not doing any pranks for the past few months...so one is due.

I like Mystique, I think she's my favourite X-Woman! A prank is due, huh? That sounds fun! *snigger* Next question (sorry, but these are things I'm curious about, that you don't actually mention in the profile but may be important?): Can she take on the shape of anything, only animals, or only people? So could she become a table, for example, or a dog?

If I knew D&D I'd probably know the answers already, but I'm quite likely not the only person here who doesn't.

I also had the idea, if you like it, that Red may have (accidentally or otherwise) burned Lyra in the past, so Lyra gets just a bit leery of ever getting too physically close.  Scorch me once, shame on you and all that.

I have no objection to that, I'm not sure how it can serve as a plot device though. My best suggestion is that Red doesn't realise it was Lyra, because Lyra was in a different form. I'm not sure how Red could burn someone by accident, as she is in full control of her abilities, and the only reason she would burn someone deliberately is if they upset her (by trying to pull her arms off or throwing her in a lake, perhaps).

But certainly we can come up with something to give the two of them a past.

[Hazy Sky]

Just to jump in on this discussion and say that anyone who wants to work out a history or connections with Bjorn with me is very welcome to do so.

[AndyZ]

She has to stay humanoid but there's some degree of size limitation.  She could take the shape of a human or an elf easily, but a dwarf would be fairly tall and thin for a dwarf, and halflings are right out.  Similarly, she couldn't turn into the big furry monster from the Nextgen episode The Dauphin for enhanced strength.  Maybe she could make herself that big and be sore afterwards, but she'd also be very light in proportion while doing it.

She could grow fur, though, and presumably scales if she really wanted to in order to fight with some degree of better armor.  I imagine that she's tried this and decided that it slowed her down too much, so she'll stick to leather for an actual battle.  She's tried turning her arms into wings before but has never been able to fly, although maybe she could keep herself from dying if she fell from a great height.

If you're curious, 3.5 doppelgangers simply could change into any Small or Medium humanoid, which would include halflings and the like (generally ranging from 2 feet to 8 feet tall).  4e could only do Medium (allows dwarves, doesn't allow halflings) and D&D Next is any Small or Medium humanoid it has seen.  None of the D&D ones allow for creating clothes.


Depending on how much of Red's story Lyra knows, Lyra may have an interesting idea.  Fire tends to make more of itself, and one fire can easily turn into two.  Lyra could therefore end up believing, if she had enough info to come to the idea, that Red is just an aspect of fire that just consumed the original sorceress and thus made more fire.  This would make Red a sort of progeny between the original fire elemental and the sorceress, the former back in its original plane and the latter consumed by the magical force.

Is this at all accurate?  Probably not.  Lyra's not exactly trained in magical abilities.  Could be an interesting subplot to consider possibilities, though, especially if none of the characters have any better ideas.

Agreed that there's no real subplot ideas to the scorching concept and we can nix that.

Just to jump in on this discussion and say that anyone who wants to work out a history or connections with Bjorn with me is very welcome to do so.

I imagine that Lyra would start out fascinated by someone who doesn't mind wandering around naked from time to time.  She probably recognizes both his forms by now and has no issues with his lack of etiquette, but is probably less than amazed with his abilities by now.  Once the shock wore off, she'd still be his friend but would lose that sense of childlike wonder within the first few times she saw him.

[Chrystal]

Just to jump in on this discussion and say that anyone who wants to work out a history or connections with Bjorn with me is very welcome to do so.

Did he arrive by train with a label on his duffel coat saying "Please look after this werebear"?

*giggles*


Okay well, I think that Smokey-Bjorn and Red could possibly have come across each other...

Bjorn might well have encountered Red sitting in the middle of a fire-ravaged pine forest after one of her vain attempts to get back home...!

She has to stay humanoid but there's some degree of size limitation.  She could take the shape of a human or an elf easily, but a dwarf would be fairly tall and thin for a dwarf, and halflings are right out.  Similarly, she couldn't turn into the big furry monster from the Nextgen episode The Dauphin for enhanced strength.  Maybe she could make herself that big and be sore afterwards, but she'd also be very light in proportion while doing it.

She could grow fur, though, and presumably scales if she really wanted to in order to fight with some degree of better armor.  I imagine that she's tried this and decided that it slowed her down too much, so she'll stick to leather for an actual battle.  She's tried turning her arms into wings before but has never been able to fly, although maybe she could keep herself from dying if she fell from a great height.

If you're curious, 3.5 doppelgangers simply could change into any Small or Medium humanoid, which would include halflings and the like (generally ranging from 2 feet to 8 feet tall).  4e could only do Medium (allows dwarves, doesn't allow halflings) and D&D Next is any Small or Medium humanoid it has seen.  None of the D&D ones allow for creating clothes.

Okay, thanks for clarifying. So Lyra could look like Red's human form, but obviously not her true form, and while she could change to look like Bjorn she would be much smaller.

On the subject of flight, I have given Red that ability simply because in her true form she is lighter than air and can be any shape she wants. Plus fire does fly, in the form of sparks and ignited "combustible gasses" - i.e. smoke.

Depending on how much of Red's story Lyra knows, Lyra may have an interesting idea.  Fire tends to make more of itself, and one fire can easily turn into two.  Lyra could therefore end up believing, if she had enough info to come to the idea, that Red is just an aspect of fire that just consumed the original sorceress and thus made more fire.  This would make Red a sort of progeny between the original fire elemental and the sorceress, the former back in its original plane and the latter consumed by the magical force.

Is this at all accurate?  Probably not.  Lyra's not exactly trained in magical abilities.  Could be an interesting subplot to consider possibilities, though, especially if none of the characters have any better ideas.

It is an interesting idea, and it is certainly one that we could pursue. I think I'll keep the answer to myself for now, because a) it would spoil the fun and b) I may change my mind several times between now and when it becomes necessary to reveal it! So we can have the two of them start to talk about their abilities, over a nice glass of brandy around a nice roaring fire (or in Reds case, in a nice roaring fire) and Lyra could come up with her suggestion.

Incidentally, I very deliberately didn't mention that Red had inherited any magical abilities from the sorceress, because she hasn't, with the possible exception of being able to create garments out of smoke for herself. And I only put that in because the last shape-shifter I created always ended up running around naked!

[Hazy Sky]

Chrystal - Bjorn's bear form in the other game he features in is known as Smokey, which I personally thinks is great fun. I only didn't bring it over to this game because it wouldn't make sense for the setting Bubby has described. I'm not at all averse to his bear form being known by that name.

I think that Bjorn would probably put the fire out, scold Red a bit and then gave her a very understanding hug once he understood why she had done it in the first place. He tends to be quite protective of the forests he lives in, but once he realized that Red isn't really a threat to him or the forest he would be fine with her from then on. It might make a fun intro to actually play that out in game.

Andy - That sounds good to me. Bjorn is very easy going once he gets over his initial moments of suspicion.

I will warn everyone in advance that he tends to use nicknames as much as actual names with people that he likes. Just another of his quirks.

[Chrystal]

Chrystal - Bjorn's bear form in the other game he features in is known as Smokey, which I personally thinks is great fun. I only didn't bring it over to this game because it wouldn't make sense for the setting Bubby has described. I'm not at all averse to his bear form being known by that name.

Yah, that was just me being me... I don't think the nickname "Smokey" would fit in this context, I was just pointing out the obvious clash between a bear-spirit and a fire-spirit, and using the US National Parks icon to do so.

I think that Bjorn would probably put the fire out, scold Red a bit and then gave her a very understanding hug once he understood why she had done it in the first place. He tends to be quite protective of the forests he lives in, but once he realized that Red isn't really a threat to him or the forest he would be fine with her from then on. It might make a fun intro to actually play that out in game.

If you wanted to play it out, it would have to occur as Red was passing through the forest on her way to The Ilumination, effectively as their first meeting. I sort-of have my opening post already planned in my head - involving a small demonstration of what she is capable of, as she escapes from the gaol in a nearby town, where she's being held awaiting trial on charges of ... well you can probably guess.

I will warn everyone in advance that he tends to use nicknames as much as actual names with people that he likes. Just another of his quirks.

Doesn't affect Red as she doesn't have a name, only nicknames.

Well, strictly speaking she does have a name, but she can't remember it and anyway it sounds something like the first few seconds of this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvPJzClMIIg

[Hazy Sky]

I can guess what she's been up to Chrystal, but yes it would definitely be an interesting first meeting for them and I would definitely be interested in that if you are.

[Chrystal]

Works for me... All we need now is a thread to play it out in.

*waits patiently*

[Bloodied Porcelain]

I finally sent my sheet to bubby. It's crappy, but at least it's done.

For those who are wondering, this is the model I went with:

[Chrystal]

Pretty :)

[Hazy Sky]

Pretty :)

Like Chrystal said. Purdy.

*Sets out another chair in his camp for Chrystal. Settles back into his chair, takes the bookmark out of Calvin and Hobbes and goes back to reading. *

[Chrystal]

*Puts the Led Zep Remaster* CD in the "ghetto Blaster", pulles the cork on a bottle of South American red wine, fishes out a couple of glasses and pours them full then settles down with Skyre to wait.

[Deamonbane]

I do love me some South American Red Wine!*pulls up a chair and sits on the floor*

[Chrystal]

*Produces more glasses and offers the wine around, which is somewhat surprising as it seems to be able to fill an unending supply of glasses in spite of being a normal sized 70 cl bottle...*

[Deamonbane]

I love it when normal 70 cl bottles do that...

[Bloodied Porcelain]

Name: Sylphie Luminatti
Age: 17
Race: Immortal Human/Dragon Kin (draconic blood, though not enough to manifest outwardly)

Description: Standing a mere 5’0” with soft, fair skin, silver-blue eyes, and flame red hair, Sylphie almost seems too soft and demur to be one of the Luminatti sisters. Her clothing can vary, usually reflecting her mood and magic. Some days she dresses herself in soft, cool colors like white and pale blue. Other times it’s earthy tones like greens and browns, and still more times where she opts for dark colors and her skin bears magical markings used in her casting.
Scent: Honeysuckle

Personality: Over all, Sylphie is a soft spoken and polite young woman, though this is not to say that she is in any way weak. The youngest of her sisters, she prefers to leave the more brash and demanding behaviors to her siblings and instead opts to focus her strength in to the pursuits of the gifts her bloodline gives her. She is not as overtly powerful as most of her sisters, though she is highly versatile, and this is perhaps her biggest strength. While others might be more forceful and boisterous in the way they handle things, Slyphie is usually almost eerily calm and collected, well-informed before she will confront a situation.

Always with her nose in a book (often written in ancient, cryptic languages), Sylphie isn’t the type to initiate contact with people unless necessary, though when approached she can make conversation easily, with a soft smile and dancing eyes.

History: The youngest of the Luminatti sisters and potentially the least powerful in terms of raw focused energy, Sylphie comes from a family line (on her mother's side) of dragon kin. Several generations prior was a half dragon, and over the generations, the draconic blood in her family line has been watered down more and more until there is only Sylphie. It is unclear exactly how much draconic blood she possesses, though it is obvious that perhaps she has a more natural ability to tap in to it than some of her forbearers, for she has a strong talent for wielding powerful magics.

As a baby, Sylphie was taken from the arms of her mother, who died shortly after giving birth to Sylphie and a stillborn twin and brought to The Lumination to be raised by her sisters. Over the years, she has developed a strong bond with her siblings, and even more so with the land. The river and hot springs are her favorite spots and her sisters learned when she was just beginning to walk that there is little need to fear for the tiny girl when she plays around water. In fact, she fell in to the river once, long before she could swim, and when her sisters ran to save her, they found her quite unharmed and thrilled as the river flowed around her. To be honest, she was  more upset by being pulled from the water than falling in!

Since then, Sylphie’s sisters have indulged her in her seeming relentless search for knowledge and interest in magic. All magic, from elemental to arcane, from new to ancient, interests her and she seems almost insatiable, spending days, sometimes weeks, locked in the library of the manor, or in her rooms, surrounded by parchment covered in ancient runes and texts, books open around her, odd items she’s studying or intending to use in her next spell placed randomly around the room. 

Skills/Power: Being dragon kin, Sylphie has a range of powers, primarily of the arcane and elemental magic variety. Her draconic blood also gives her a few leanings and resistances.

• Elemental Strength/Resistance – Having draconic blood, Sylphie has a natural resistance in regards to the elemental of her draconic forefather. This element is water. Her resistance allows her to withstand water magic, and she is also more gifted in wielding water magic than most. This also means that she feels most comfortable when near or in water, and water is one of the best mediums when attempting to heal her.
• Elemental Magic – Sylphie has a connection to the elements, and though she is not immune to any of them and only resistant to water, she is capable of tapping in to and wielding most of them to some degree. Though she shows obvious preference toward water, she is actively working to strengthen her ability to wield them in the future.
• Arcane Magic – Through years of study and a natural inclination toward magic on both sides of her bloodline, Sylphie has found her magic is not at all limited to the elements and in fact extends in to the arcane. She is able to tap in to the forces of the universe as well, to pull pure energy to herself and attack and defend herself. She can cast curses, heal, etc with this energy, though because it is linked to her draconic blood, it is thus far weaker than her elemental affinity. She is often left weakened and potentially ill after wielding this pure energy.
• Multilingual – Sylphie is exceptionally skilled at deciphering and interpreting different languages, though her focus is usually in long dead languages books of magic are often written in.
• Oracle – Largely uncontrollable, Sylphie is often prone to minor shows of precognition ranging from vague “feelings”, to brief snippets of sound or visions, to more extreme things showing entire events with crystal clarity. The more specific and intense the vision, the worse the aftermath for Sylphie. It takes a physical toll, much like her arcane magic. Small visions have little to no effect, though larger ones can leave her bedridden and ill, sometimes for days. As such, she often dreads the worst ones and will try to avoid possible things that can spark them… random physical contact (especially skin on skin) with another person, high emotions, prolonged eye contact, etc. During vision itself, Sylphie is often rendered near-catatonic. She cannot see or hear anything around her and often goes rigidly still until it passes, sometimes resulting in a loss of balance or consciousness.

On&Off: Mine
Player: Bloodied Porcelain

[bubby]

As you can see, baby sister has been approved, and Daddy has been approved as well. I'm out for the rest of today/night due to having to work early. I had pondered maybe starting things this weekend, time allowing. I had hoped to maybe wait for Howling, but eeevverryyyone know how slow he is...  ::)  I promise though, that if I can't manage to get things started this weekend,it will DEFINITELY happen next weekend!