[E X A L T E D] Pseudo-Modern Action Fantasy; Recruiting a Full New Team!

[Aethyrium]

@Amarlo Oh let's see what we see about Mugi, shall we?

Stats look good. Shimmer is neat. Silenus trait seems on point.

Weapon is... Maybe neat. Lol. Okay if I'm understanding here, the idea is that the hard light umbrella is the weapons second mode - it's a stationary, bubble shield? And the amplification of the attack is it's property, which empowers consecutive swings. But it is purely a 'damage' bonus, not say, a shifting of the weapons weight?

Actually, I think... That's my only question. Mugi's a great addition, and I love the natural tie ins your built to the world.

[TheFluffyOne]

Strength ●● | ● ○ ○ ○ ○
Stamina  ●● | ● ● ○ ○ ○
Speed    ●● | ● ● ● ○ ○
Shimmer  ●● | ● ● ● ● ○
Soul    ●● | ● ● ○ ○ ○
Brawl    ●● | ● ○ ○ ○ ○
Melee    ●● | ● ● ● ○ ○
Ranged  ●● | ● ○ ○ ○ ○

Elemental Affinity | Weakness
Air | Water

Terrain Specialty | Weakness
Forest | Aquatic

Hulta Elderfond

TheFluffyOne

Ancestry: Elf
Gender | Pronouns: Cis-Female | She/Her
Sexuality: Bisexual

Age: 19
Height: 5’9
Body Build: Slender yet toned
Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Brown

Weapon
Staff of Metis – A thin smooth staff that has small elvish carvings down the body. The staff can be slotted into one single form or be released into two arm length wooden staffs. When channelling her shimmer through the staffs, they seem to sing with an ethereal light hum.

Shimmer
Hulta can manipulate thin tendrils of air, roughly the size of thick ribbon. She can soften them to gently distract, and she can sharpen them to slice through objects. She cannot use them to bind people or grab and drag objects or individuals.

Special Trait –
The whispers of her kin
The knowledge that Hulta has sapped up regarding the Elf race has her reasonably wise in regards of the ‘known’ knowledge. After years of lessons, she has gained the uncanny ability to remember names especially those of elf origin.

Where were you born? Whom, if anyone, do you consider family? Where are they, and what is your relationship with them like?
Born to Perdan & Torfina Eldenfond, Hulta was a happy accident. Her parents are incredibly intelligent and easily settled into academic roles with their community in Tabor. Perdan and Torfina craved answers to the questions that the texts left unanswered. They were easy candidates for the Jade Summer. Hulta was raised partly in the community of Tabor and partly in the Jade Summer. Knowledge was everything to the Eldenfond family and Hulta quickly learned to greedily take in whatever information came her way.

She has no siblings yet other children who grew up with her in the Jade Summer became her siblings. One in particular Miayra Aldermoon was someone that Hulta would class as a sister. They were inseparable as children and their friendship remained solid even after Hulta was taken for her lessons.

Hulta’s relationship with her parents is closer than expected. While the two academics might come across as cold and lifeless to others, they cherish their only daughter. She has excelled in their expectations and Hulta does whatever she can to keep them happy and safe.

What sort of life did you have before you decided to attend a Battle Academy? How did people react to your decision?
Life before her 10th year was carefree. She lapped up any wisdom that her parents gave her, but she still played like a child. She was carefree and naïve. Her shimmer meant that she could sometimes be a terror for her parents associates as she frequently liked to ‘brush’ their papers off the table.

Around the beginning of her tenth year, she started to notice that the adults were talking more. Their voices low and hushed. The words stopped when Hulta came within earshot. An idea had been floated amongst the Jade Summer. There was hidden knowledge. The Champions. Instructions came to her parents, and they explained her new task. She was to become a champion. Learn. Return. The knowledge could be adapted for their kin. That knowledge could prevent another loss to their history. The fate of all that her parents held dear was placed heavily onto her ten-year-old shoulders.

The next nine years felt like they were the same repeated year over and over again. Lessons. Lessons on defensive training. Lessons on Elf history. Lessons on hand-to-hand combat. Lessons on fighting with a staff. Lessons on the importance of retaining Elf Heritage. Lessons after lessons. Little time could be gained for being a teenager, but she had her ‘sister’ to help her with that.

It was expected that she would attend Battle Academy…nay it was required. Her parents are proud of her, those within the Jade Summer are proud of her and Miayra…well, she just wanted Hulta to be her own person and not a tool created for one purpose.

Why have you decided to become a Champion? What are your goals, your reasons, and your fears?
As much as it was required of her, Hulta has always wanted to aid her people. Not only through information but also as a physical protector. She was often sent to sleep with stories of the Great War. She needs to stop another loss like that from happening in her community. She wants to protect her family, her home and her people.

Hulta is terrified that she will fail. That she will not get the information required or that she will forget details. There is so much riding on her shoulders that the pressure makes it hard to breathe.

How did you acquire your skills before coming to Hammer? Who taught you?
Ser Luran. An elf in his late forties. Trained as a soldier and determined to train Hulta to the same standard. She began lessons with him in her tenth year and continued until she left for Battle Academy. It was through his tutoring that she learned her skill with her staff and how to utilise her shimmer with her weapons.

Lady Trina. An elf in her sixties. She aided Hulta in channelling her shimmer and utilising her abilities. It was through Lady Trina that Hulta developed the ability to sharpen her ‘ribbons’ and use them to slice through objects. First pieces of paper, then fruit and onto larger items. The largest she got to with Lady Trina’s tutorage was a large oak tree that had rotten.

Hulta views Lady Trina as an additional grandmother, whereas Ser Luran is that grumpy yet kind Uncle.

What is your greatest accomplishment or thing you are most proud of? What is your greatest failure or thing you regret the most?
Immense pride comes from the belief that she is special enough to be selected for such an important task. Her greatest accomplishment was the day that she scaled one of the oldest oaks in Tabor to gain the branch needed for her own staff. It took all of her skill, but she succeeded and her staff is a testament to what she can achieve when her mind is put to something.

Hulta regrets the day that she left her family home for the academy. She couldn’t bring herself to saying goodbye to her parents. All she left was a note and a final glance. Sometimes when she is alone, she wishes that she had that final embrace to make her feel at peace.

Briefly talk about your character's initial reaction to being partnered and then teamed. Were they excited? Hard to work with? Distant? Friendly and engaging?
Hulta knows that she probably rubbed people up the wrong way when she arrived at the academy. She can be eager and can often ask the wrong question. Having only really had one true friend, Hulta can be seen as desperate for companionship. There are so many new people and so much untapped information hidden in their heads. She probably came across as ditsy or ill-prepared for what was to come but the first example of her skill proved to many people that she was worthy of her placement.

List three (or more!) notably truths about you that your teammates have learned over the last month together.
Hulta adores her mother and father. She has her mother’s hair but her dad’s eyes.

Hulta will do nearly anything for sweeties. She has a notorious sweet tooth and always has a stash of lemon drops in her pocket.

Her time at the Battle Academy is her first time outside of her home, Tabor, and she feels a little overwhelmed at things that are normal for others. She will also try everything that she can, wanting to experience the world even if it is sometimes rather scary.

The words on her staff are her name, her parents name, her ‘sister’s’ name and the small circles are meant to represent lemon drops.


List one or more (different!) things that people outside of your team might have noticed about you while attending Hammer
For someone so graceful in their fighting, Hulta is clumsy. The more excited she is, the more her feet get tangled underneath her.

Hulta will frequently re-curl locks of her hair with her shimmer. Twirling them around and around until they form the perfect curl.

List two or more things that you have done in the last month, beyond going to classes and learning?
Every night, she returns to her room and records every one of her notes in a set script. These notes are then either hidden under the floorboards or attached to the ankle of a carrier pigeon named ‘Smidge’. These notes are normally a strict record of what was completed that day though sometimes she will just write letters to her parents.

On one of her first trips outside of the academy, she had the bad luck to find her pockets emptied by a small gang of pick pockets. The dastardly foes stole every last sweetie that she had on her person. While she was initially petulant and downtrodden, she realised that many of the other students were losing out on cor every time they left the academy. Enlisting a small group of fellow students, Hulta managed to slice through the pick pocketing group and bring a tiny bit of safety back to the streets. It was the first real event that had her showing her skill to her fellow students. She is still very proud of that accomplishment because it actually did something good and lasting.

It didn’t take long for her fellow students to realise that Hulta had never attended a dance or even snuck out late at night. These were both quickly rectified by a late-night sneak out to a dance in a dingy parlour down an even dingier alleyway. Hulta finally achieved that little taste of true freedom. Of doing something that she shouldn’t and feeling free to be just a teenager. The night ended with a sore head from the noise of the music, hiccups from the number of drinks that she downed and a smile that refused to budge even when they narrowly missed being caught.

List a few (3-5) things that you values and seems to play a role in how you interact with the world.
Hulta values information and friendship. She wants people to like her for her. She loves being outside and climbing. If she is missing, she will probably be in a tree somewhere. She appreciates people who are confident in themselves and people who treat everyone with respect. She is 100% a teachers pet and will blindly follow orders.

Finally, come up with one plot hook that you would like to explore with your teammates. Something about your character / their story that you're very eager to showcase or have play an early role in their experience.
Hulta is used to being in full control of her situation. She was trained to be independent, yet she is steadily learning to be a team player. The dire need to rely on someone else to save her would be enough to solidify that she does not need to walk through this life alone.

Hulta is like a hot cup of tea, a teaspoon of optimism, a swirl of blind obedience and a dash of doubt. She will not be everyone’s cup of tea. There will always be someone who is jarringly different to her, but she has yet to meet anyone who has felt like a solid brick wall against her attempts at friendship.

[VVitch]

Strength ●● | ● ○ ○ ○ ○
Stamina  ●● | ● ● ○ ○ ○
Speed    ●● | ● ● ● ○ ○
Shimmer  ●● | ● ● ● ● ○
Soul    ●● | ● ● ○ ○ ○
Brawl    ●● | ● ○ ○ ○ ○
Melee    ●● | ● ● ● ○ ○
Ranged  ●● | ● ○ ○ ○ ○

Elemental Affinity | Weakness
Air | Water

Terrain Specialty | Weakness
Forest | Aquatic

Hulta Elderfond

TheFluffyOne

Ancestry: Elf
Gender | Pronouns: Cis-Female | She/Her
Sexuality: Bisexual

Age: 19
Height: 5’9
Body Build: Slender yet toned
Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Brown

Weapon
Staff of Metis – A thin smooth staff that has small elvish carvings down the body. The staff can be slotted into one single form or be released into two arm length wooden staffs. When channelling her shimmer through the staffs, they seem to sing with an ethereal light hum.

Shimmer
Hulta can manipulate thin tendrils of air, roughly the size of thick ribbon. She can soften them to gently distract, and she can sharpen them to slice through objects. She cannot use them to bind people or grab and drag objects or individuals.

Special Trait –
The whispers of her kin
The knowledge that Hulta has sapped up regarding the Elf race has her reasonably wise in regards of the ‘known’ knowledge. After years of lessons, she has gained the uncanny ability to remember names especially those of elf origin.

Where were you born? Whom, if anyone, do you consider family? Where are they, and what is your relationship with them like?
Born to Perdan & Torfina Eldenfond, Hulta was a happy accident. Her parents are incredibly intelligent and easily settled into academic roles with their community in Tabor. Perdan and Torfina craved answers to the questions that the texts left unanswered. They were easy candidates for the Jade Summer. Hulta was raised partly in the community of Tabor and partly in the Jade Summer. Knowledge was everything to the Eldenfond family and Hulta quickly learned to greedily take in whatever information came her way.

She has no siblings yet other children who grew up with her in the Jade Summer became her siblings. One in particular Miayra Aldermoon was someone that Hulta would class as a sister. They were inseparable as children and their friendship remained solid even after Hulta was taken for her lessons.

Hulta’s relationship with her parents is closer than expected. While the two academics might come across as cold and lifeless to others, they cherish their only daughter. She has excelled in their expectations and Hulta does whatever she can to keep them happy and safe.

What sort of life did you have before you decided to attend a Battle Academy? How did people react to your decision?
Life before her 10th year was carefree. She lapped up any wisdom that her parents gave her, but she still played like a child. She was carefree and naïve. Her shimmer meant that she could sometimes be a terror for her parents associates as she frequently liked to ‘brush’ their papers off the table.

Around the beginning of her tenth year, she started to notice that the adults were talking more. Their voices low and hushed. The words stopped when Hulta came within earshot. An idea had been floated amongst the Jade Summer. There was hidden knowledge. The Champions. Instructions came to her parents, and they explained her new task. She was to become a champion. Learn. Return. The knowledge could be adapted for their kin. That knowledge could prevent another loss to their history. The fate of all that her parents held dear was placed heavily onto her ten-year-old shoulders.

The next nine years felt like they were the same repeated year over and over again. Lessons. Lessons on defensive training. Lessons on Elf history. Lessons on hand-to-hand combat. Lessons on fighting with a staff. Lessons on the importance of retaining Elf Heritage. Lessons after lessons. Little time could be gained for being a teenager, but she had her ‘sister’ to help her with that.

It was expected that she would attend Battle Academy…nay it was required. Her parents are proud of her, those within the Jade Summer are proud of her and Miayra…well, she just wanted Hulta to be her own person and not a tool created for one purpose.

Why have you decided to become a Champion? What are your goals, your reasons, and your fears?
As much as it was required of her, Hulta has always wanted to aid her people. Not only through information but also as a physical protector. She was often sent to sleep with stories of the Great War. She needs to stop another loss like that from happening in her community. She wants to protect her family, her home and her people.

Hulta is terrified that she will fail. That she will not get the information required or that she will forget details. There is so much riding on her shoulders that the pressure makes it hard to breathe.

How did you acquire your skills before coming to Hammer? Who taught you?
Ser Luran. An elf in his late forties. Trained as a soldier and determined to train Hulta to the same standard. She began lessons with him in her tenth year and continued until she left for Battle Academy. It was through his tutoring that she learned her skill with her staff and how to utilise her shimmer with her weapons.

Lady Trina. An elf in her sixties. She aided Hulta in channelling her shimmer and utilising her abilities. It was through Lady Trina that Hulta developed the ability to sharpen her ‘ribbons’ and use them to slice through objects. First pieces of paper, then fruit and onto larger items. The largest she got to with Lady Trina’s tutorage was a large oak tree that had rotten.

Hulta views Lady Trina as an additional grandmother, whereas Ser Luran is that grumpy yet kind Uncle.

What is your greatest accomplishment or thing you are most proud of? What is your greatest failure or thing you regret the most?
Immense pride comes from the belief that she is special enough to be selected for such an important task. Her greatest accomplishment was the day that she scaled one of the oldest oaks in Tabor to gain the branch needed for her own staff. It took all of her skill, but she succeeded and her staff is a testament to what she can achieve when her mind is put to something.

Hulta regrets the day that she left her family home for the academy. She couldn’t bring herself to saying goodbye to her parents. All she left was a note and a final glance. Sometimes when she is alone, she wishes that she had that final embrace to make her feel at peace.

Briefly talk about your character's initial reaction to being partnered and then teamed. Were they excited? Hard to work with? Distant? Friendly and engaging?
Hulta knows that she probably rubbed people up the wrong way when she arrived at the academy. She can be eager and can often ask the wrong question. Having only really had one true friend, Hulta can be seen as desperate for companionship. There are so many new people and so much untapped information hidden in their heads. She probably came across as ditsy or ill-prepared for what was to come but the first example of her skill proved to many people that she was worthy of her placement.

List three (or more!) notably truths about you that your teammates have learned over the last month together.
Hulta adores her mother and father. She has her mother’s hair but her dad’s eyes.

Hulta will do nearly anything for sweeties. She has a notorious sweet tooth and always has a stash of lemon drops in her pocket.

Her time at the Battle Academy is her first time outside of her home, Tabor, and she feels a little overwhelmed at things that are normal for others. She will also try everything that she can, wanting to experience the world even if it is sometimes rather scary.

The words on her staff are her name, her parents name, her ‘sister’s’ name and the small circles are meant to represent lemon drops.


List one or more (different!) things that people outside of your team might have noticed about you while attending Hammer
For someone so graceful in their fighting, Hulta is clumsy. The more excited she is, the more her feet get tangled underneath her.

Hulta will frequently re-curl locks of her hair with her shimmer. Twirling them around and around until they form the perfect curl.

List two or more things that you have done in the last month, beyond going to classes and learning?
Every night, she returns to her room and records every one of her notes in a set script. These notes are then either hidden under the floorboards or attached to the ankle of a carrier pigeon named ‘Smidge’. These notes are normally a strict record of what was completed that day though sometimes she will just write letters to her parents.

On one of her first trips outside of the academy, she had the bad luck to find her pockets emptied by a small gang of pick pockets. The dastardly foes stole every last sweetie that she had on her person. While she was initially petulant and downtrodden, she realised that many of the other students were losing out on cor every time they left the academy. Enlisting a small group of fellow students, Hulta managed to slice through the pick pocketing group and bring a tiny bit of safety back to the streets. It was the first real event that had her showing her skill to her fellow students. She is still very proud of that accomplishment because it actually did something good and lasting.

It didn’t take long for her fellow students to realise that Hulta had never attended a dance or even snuck out late at night. These were both quickly rectified by a late-night sneak out to a dance in a dingy parlour down an even dingier alleyway. Hulta finally achieved that little taste of true freedom. Of doing something that she shouldn’t and feeling free to be just a teenager. The night ended with a sore head from the noise of the music, hiccups from the number of drinks that she downed and a smile that refused to budge even when they narrowly missed being caught.

List a few (3-5) things that you values and seems to play a role in how you interact with the world.
Hulta values information and friendship. She wants people to like her for her. She loves being outside and climbing. If she is missing, she will probably be in a tree somewhere. She appreciates people who are confident in themselves and people who treat everyone with respect. She is 100% a teachers pet and will blindly follow orders.

Finally, come up with one plot hook that you would like to explore with your teammates. Something about your character / their story that you're very eager to showcase or have play an early role in their experience.
Hulta is used to being in full control of her situation. She was trained to be independent, yet she is steadily learning to be a team player. The dire need to rely on someone else to save her would be enough to solidify that she does not need to walk through this life alone.

Hulta is like a hot cup of tea, a teaspoon of optimism, a swirl of blind obedience and a dash of doubt. She will not be everyone’s cup of tea. There will always be someone who is jarringly different to her, but she has yet to meet anyone who has felt like a solid brick wall against her attempts at friendship.

So happy I poked you! Always excited to write with you.

[Aethyrium]

A Fluffy One has appeared! What a glorious day! I'm so excite to see your character. And finally, not another Silenus, woooohooo!

I'll get back to you and Jugg with thoughts and feedback... This eveningish probably!

[Rashol]

This is a work in progress. Nominally "He" but I have to change the name to stop confusion. And could easily be she.  Other bits of the submission will also have to change in light of other submissions. ;)

Briefly talk about your character's initial reaction to being partnered and then teamed. Were they excited? Hard to work with? Distant? Friendly and engaging?

He was initially a bit concerned about being partnered, but as soon as he got over the initial shock of it, he became quite open, and even more so once he was in a team.

He was eager to record names and get photos taken and all sorts. If quizzed on it. “I have to remember the people, just in case nobody else does.”

List three (or more!) notably truths about you that your teammates have learned over the last month together.

He is very carefully neutral about gangs and their activities because nearly every Tomb Drive has some illegal cargo on it.

He cares very much about his ‘family’ and the Tomb or engine he used to ride and work on.

He collects things about people. He doesn't steal but a lot of work has gone into his collection, the newest items are sportswear with the Hammer logo on it, but there are quite a few mercenary company badges there too.

He is something of a trainspotter regarding arcanite transporters. And knows a lot about said transporter routes.

He knows a lot about unrefined arcanite, mostly how to transport it. And has demonstrated a skilled hand at engineering, building working model transporter toys

List one or more (different!) things that people outside of your team might have noticed about you while attending Hammer

He is superstitious and religious to a certain degree and seems to have lots of “lucky charms”

His gear is utilitarian, mostly, and lacks refinements that come with wealth.

List two or more things that you have done in the last month, beyond going to classes and learning?

He attended the engine wake at central station and met his parents there briefly before they had to travel again.


He was almost born on the heavy haulers that travelled to the mines west of onyx and along the mountain chain and back again, bringing arcanite to the city for processing.

Hauling is a dangerous job with potential for attacks by raiders and hollows entirely possible. So the haulers are frequently heavily armed, and companies usually employ mercenaries to help keep them safe. Every so often, for particularly important hauls, champions from Hammer itself might take an interest in protecting the cargo routes 

His ‘family’ are a mix of miners, mercenaries and haulers. With so many different types of people together professionalism can become blurred.

He is brawny and tough looking but if you catch him off guard, there is a shadow under his eyes. His ‘family’ has seen terrible things done, and done terrible things. To lose arcanite transports to hollows, or even militant attacks is not uncommon, and he can only thank whatever stars he has that he survived as long as he has.

 His father and mother both worked on Engine 6, “Old Reliable”, like all transport units it’s heavily armoured and heavily armed, with an everchanging crew of mercenaries, miners and other arcanite specialists. One day, He cheekily asked the mercenary captain if he could have a company badge to remember them by. The captain laughed at the young lad, but then asked why. He said “They call these assignments tomb drives, because we always get attacked, and yet they have to keep bringing the arcanite in. and just hope that we aren’t the ones attacked. All the faces change around here, and I just want to remember at least the mercenary company, in case no-one else does.”

 The Tomb Drivers are a superstitious lot. Seeing the aftermath of hollow attacks, they developed a habit of carrying good luck tokens, and thanking the transport and the gods for a safe journey. These little rituals persevered with Alex, even as he attends the academy. He also has something of a don’t look, don’t ask questions outlook. It’s not because he’s necessarily stupid, but because his father told him. “It’s the arcanite that’s important to everyone, not the people. So what happens is.. sometimes someone wants to load something on the train that ain’t arcanite, might be people, might be weapons. The important thing is, don’t see, don’t ask, don’t look. More than a few Driver families disappear because of that. We aren’t important enough for people to care about.

He has a fairly practical exposure of handling arcanite, how it’s stored and transported. His father also took him aside and showed him another side of unrefined arcanite. Arcanite bombs. He said that Alex had to understand why they were attacked as well as who might attack. He also is fairly well versed in the various transport routes into and out of onyx for arcanite.

[CurvyKitten]

Strength ●● | ● ● ● ○ ○
Stamina  ●● | ● ● ● ○ ○
Speed    ●● | ● ● ● ● ○
Shimmer  ●● | ● ○ ○ ○ ○
Soul    ●● | ● ● ○ ○ ○
Brawl    ●● | ● ● ● ● ○
Melee    ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Ranged  ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Elemental Affinity | Weakness

Lightning, sonic | Water
Terrain Specialty | Weakness
urban | Mountain

Aurora"Roar"Torvoe

curvykitten

Ancestry: Human
Gender | Pronouns: She | They
Sexuality: Pansexual
Age: 19
Height: 5'8"
Body Build: leanly muscular, lithe, and well tone
Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Blue

Weapon

Two bands(bracers?) , one on each leg, are now permanently around Roar's ankle and lower shins. They were keenly developed to work with their quick kickboxing style. These bands have places held within them that can have different Arcanite placed within it to have different effects take place. The tech developers at the academy are working on figuring out what Arcanite to use and what effects it has. But they are realizing rather quickly they are having to be very careful of the strain this particular weapon is having on the wielder.

Shimmer

Roar's shimmer comes with the roll of thunder but its the flash of lighting that is the real power. She moves through it with speeds nearly unseen before now. And then strikes with the force and energy of a lighting strike. This ability takes time to build up over the course of a encounter.(think having to build up energy or static to fill a battery)

Special Trait -

Roar has studied opponent after opponent for the past three years straight. Roar has learned to study an opponent for a short period of time during a battle and become able to figure out their weak points. 

Where were you born? Whom, if anyone, do you consider family? Where are they, and what is your relationship with them like?

Even in a place like Unovia there are those that are less than fortunate. Those that get walked on and live in the area that are "bad" neighborhoods. Her family being of low worker social standing. She has five six younger siblings all of which she has been taking care of since her parents' passing. She has been taking care of them, acting as the adult even before she was one herself.

What sort of life did you have before you decided to attend a Battle Academy? How did people react to your decision?

It was a rough life despite living in the richest of cities. Aroura and her family were the working class that supported that grand city. After her parents died she became the breadwinner for the household. When the opportunity came up to join the academy it seemed too good to resist. Yes it meant time away from her family, but it meant she could support them better. She could send them money and support them in ways that wouldn't be possible if she stayed with them. And honestly Roar knew it was just a matter of time before she died in those pits under the city.

Aurora found herself becoming a champion in the pits, taking on the show name Roar. And fighting with these boots augmented to be weapons that worked perfectly with her enhanced speed and kick boxing style. With these weapons and the need to support her family she faced bout after bout and took endless punishment to support them. So when Brice Aldrin watched one of her fights and approached her about possibly joining the battle academy, Roar jumped at the possibility.   

Why have you decided to become a Champion? What are your goals, your reasons, and your fears?

Roar's main reason for becoming a champion is her family. They are her main driving force, she would face the world for them. Her only fear is letting them down, and not being enough to protect them. Failing them, and having them face the darkness of the world ill prepared.

How did you acquire your skills before coming to Hammer? Who taught you?

What is your greatest accomplishment or thing you are most proud of? What is your greatest failure or thing you regret the most?

Her ability to fight all started with her fathers need for her to learn to defend herself. And to attend the best school possible. Granted to do that she needed a scholarship. Which she gained by becoming a track star. She held many records for her school and the city when it came to her times. But when her parents died everything fell apart. She had six siblings to take care of. So she dropped out of that fancy school, and started working odd jobs trying to keep up her family. She hates having to leave her friends behind at school, but most of all she hates giving up on the all that potential she had before. 

Briefly talk about your character's initial reaction to being partnered and then teamed. Were they excited? Hard to work with? Distant? Friendly and engaging?

Open, easy to get to know, but clearly determined. Roar would want to get to know their team. Knowing all too well it takes a village. And more than anything missing her village. It's probably way too quiet for her here. Especially in the dorms. As tough as Aurora seems...cuddles they need cuddles.

List three (or more!) notably truths about you that your teammates have learned over the last month together.

Roar has six younger siblings that they love dearly, pics and letters roll in and out all the time. Most of the money she gets goes to the family. So Arcanite isn't something she gets really often. So Roar's trains to fight without it while having to fight who knows what is coming her way. She'd ask to spar against you or any other students whenever she had a chance.

They would eventually see countless scars on her body from the pit fights. She'd dance around the subject for a long while. Saying she'd do what needed to be done to help her family survive. But if probed a bit more later on, she'd open up eventually about getting into some fights. And how some were paid for, the cash helped when the money was really tight.

She has never been outside of the larger cities, so in all honesty survival in the outdoors is not her thing. Bugs, dirt, no indoor plumbing, weird animals. Give her the concrete jungle any day and Roar will survive anything you throw at them. But through them in the middle of the woods they would be lost for days.

She pinches every penny! But not because she wants to be cheap, but because she has a lot of responsibilities to pay for. 

List one or more (different!) things that people outside of your team might have noticed about you while attending Hammer

Roar is protective of her teammates, and she is a little quick to anger when it comes to do so.

Roar is a hard worker, constantly challenging others to spar and is known for learning what makes you tick.

Roar is a bit of a player and a flirt, but doesn't seem to be committed to anyone. And doesn't seem eager to change that.

List two or more things that you have done in the last month, beyond going to classes and learning?

Roar knew she needed to send as much money as possible home, but she also needed money for school, arcanite, and food...yeah food would be nice. Thankfully Roar had a source of income that she could always fall back on. And it was one that she could easily find her way into. After a few phone calls Roar had the location of the underground fights within the area. Not wanting to get kicked out of school. She wears a hoodie and mask, most think of it as a gimmick, but Roar it's a way to keep the two worlds separate. Roar has quickly been working their way up the ranks till finally just recently taking on and taking out the champ! The bulk of the winning she sent home of course.

Hanging out, kicking back (secretly healing) and hanging out with her teammates whenever they were just around to do so. Roar wouldn't have the funds to just go about and paint the town red. So she is very much a homebody, not used to being able to go. Having a family to look after, six siblings to wrangle, and finances to worry about. This is all so strange and going to take a lot of getting used to. She still sleeps with several pillows around her.

List a few (3-5) things that you values and seems to play a role in how you interact with the world.

Family - It's easy to see that family means the most to Aurora. It kills her to be away from hers, but with regular check-ins, the fact that she has a team by her side helps.

loyalty - Roar admits that once you are part of her unit or family that she is utterly loyal. But she also admits that it goes both ways.

effort/work ethic - Roar is no stranger to work. Working hard was something her family always instilled in her of course. But after her parents passed she had to take on everything just to keep her family together. And she did it, Roar fought, figuratively and literally, she worked and fought for them all. And still does. So she hates lazy people or people who won't even try.

Finally, come up with one plot hook that you would like to explore with your teammates. Something about your character / their story that you're very eager to showcase or have play an early role in their experience.

OK So Roar is still going to underground fights to get extra money for school and her family. So she probably has mystery bruises and so forth.  Would love to play with that.

Anything with her family, or the fact that she feels lonely now. Sleeps with six pillows, and writes letters home all the time, calls or gets calls, even late at night when the youngest can't sleep, sort of deal. Or the fact that the team may be becoming a sort of family itself. <,<...>.> this is totally not an excuse for cuddles...totally.

The fact that her weapon does at the moment take a toll on her. As her ankle bracers are still under development.

[Crash]

Welcome @TheFluffyOne Love her.  Sort of want Meena to be one of the people at that dingy parlour.

@Aethyrium - Meena won’t know what to do with herself being suddenly surrounded with Silenus. 😁

She needs someone to fangirl over Professor Beach with!

[Amarlo]

@Amarlo Oh let's see what we see about Mugi, shall we?

Stats look good. Shimmer is neat. Silenus trait seems on point.

Weapon is... Maybe neat. Lol. Okay if I'm understanding here, the idea is that the hard light umbrella is the weapons second mode - it's a stationary, bubble shield? And the amplification of the attack is it's property, which empowers consecutive swings. But it is purely a 'damage' bonus, not say, a shifting of the weapons weight?

Actually, I think... That's my only question. Mugi's a great addition, and I love the natural tie ins your built to the world.

High praise coming from you! Thank you. :O

As for the weapon, I guess in a way it does transform. Think of the kanabo as the shaft of an umbrella. When it goes into hard-light panel mode the 'umbrella' opens. It doesn't turn into a bubble, although it could if she feeds it soul. It's attached to the top of the kanabo itself and looks like the canopy of an umbrella. So yes, it's the second mode. Also, attack amplification is indeed its property, as you said. And yes, it is a damage bonus, not a weight change.

I'm also open to changes and suggestions as far as the weapon's abilities go. ^^

[Aethyrium]

More sheets! You love to see it.

@Amarlo Okay, so yeah. I wanted to make sure that the hard light shield wasn't another property, but an actual mode of the weapon. So two notes on the weapon then.

1. How does it inflict more damage, like, what's the... "Damage" doesn't exist in the game world. So while mechanically you say something like, "every time it hits consecutively, it does +2 damage" or whatever (as an example to illustrate the concept, not actual numbers) but what is it doing in the narrative of the world? You mentioned glowing, so my intuition says that it's heating up by absorbing some impact and creating extra damage. But it doesn't need to be that... I just wanna get a feel for what the vision is.

2. Weapons don't really channel Soul to have increased effects. Typically. I would say that this is another property. It would need to be tethered to a single thing, so like "this weapon has a property that allows channeling of the soul to increase the power of the hard light" or "this weapon has... to make the increased damage more effective", but each of those would be a property unto themselves. And the weapon already has a property in its increased damage, and character's weapons may only start with one property. So this can be something she wants, and gets obtained sometime during game. Or you can change this out with the increased power property. But I don't think we can sneak both of them in there right away.


@Rashol goodness! Once again you have really fun ideas that anchor so nicely to the world. I really appreciate the idea of Tomb Drives and I feel like you did a wonderful job of incorporating the feel of the setting into the story, staying true to it.

You really have a great start here, and I am very eager to see the rest of the sheet. Keep at it, awesome job so far!

[Crash]

@Amarlo As an example.  Meena’s weapon, Heart of the Mountain, is a two-handed hammer that changes its density as she swings it.  So the damage increase of her weapon is due to it increasing its density as it impacts someone or something.

[Aethyrium]

Alright, let’s see what we can do about some sheet feedback since we have some all nice and lined up.

@Juggtacular let's see what we see starting with you!

Stats look good. Shimmer seems fine. Weapons are neat!

Let's talk Silenus trait and tail. As I pointed out with Yukina's design, the Silenus' traits are meant to be somewhat minor - in the scope of "+1 dot". I think the Van der Waals, as written, probably go past that. Right now it feels very much like a Shimmer level ability (in fact, there is a Shimmer in an NPC that does exactly this). I think we can fix that very easily just by saying two things: it's not strong enough to carry other people, and he needs to maintain full four-point contact. This is something he can use utilitarianly, but if it's beyond that it really starts getting beyond the scope of silenus traits as designed for player characters...

...However, this buts up with his tail. In addition to their advantage, all Silenus have traits (like his tail, or Torina's wings, or ears, eyes, horns, etc). Most Silenus have one, some have two, but these are almost always aesthetic differences, rather than practical ones. If his tail is so strong and capable that it can be readily used as part of his fighting style, it needs to be his Silenus Trait. Which, I am perfectly happy with - a totally functional tail that can be used to assist in combat and other things makes for a very interesting trait.

Either way, either the tail and it's practical use need to be removed, and Van der Waals needs to be dialed back, or the tail can replace Van der Waals as is.

* On a bit of a personal note, I'd like to say that there's a lot of overlap here with Marlowe. While they are on different teams, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue, if you had a secondary idea for weapons, or fighting style, that might be neat to explore. Lolo also uses punching gloves with the same kind of piston hammer system, she is also a dedicated brawler, and she also has a shimmer that acts as speed/strength "limit break". This is by no means a requirement, but a thought that I figure is worth sharing since you may not know it exists!

While no change is needed, I have a big question about Bludwing. If they were all about recruiting Silenus and their freedom... Why are they in Onyx, and not Mirat? It seems like the sort of institution that would have found a very nice home building up there. What's your vision for this, and why they stuck where they did? I think in particular, there's the line about gathering the best the Silenus had to offer - but I think in general, the best the Silenus had to offer went to establishing their city. Not that some could have stayed, it's just an interesting question of why this happened the way it did that I'm interested in!

Another note (though this isn't necessarily you specific and tailored to anyone who reads this part) is that we have a number of concepts that live in this "world elite" class bubble. I won't mandate anyone change this, but it's something to consider, if you have another route to go. It's important to remember that Toil isn't very large, and 'global' anything is... Rare beyond rare. Which is to say that, I'm probably not going to select a bunch of rich characters to all be present. In part to avoid a ton of overlap, but also because there just aren't that many rich folks. If you're really drawn to it, ignore this entirely, just offering some preemptive selection food for thought.

Interesting that you have him poised as a member of the Red Fang. If selected, we will definitely need to do a bit of plotting regarding that. But it's an excellent way to be grounded!

All in all, I think Axel is a cool submission, thank you! Great attention to detail. I think only the Silenus Trait & Tail bits are my only concern. So if we can straighten that out, I think he'd make a fine addition.

[Aethyrium]

@TheFluffyOne Let's take a peek at Hulta shall we?

Stats look good. Weapon is neat (love that it has some play with her Shimmer). Shimmer is fun!

...And past that I don't think I have any specific notes for you. This is a really well put together sheet. She's got great anchoring to the world, so I love that. You did an awesome job having her be from somewhere else, but having a story-relevant reason for being here instead of that, so thank you for that. And I've got some very fun thoughts about ways to play with that. Seems like she has a fun personality, that'll play nice with others, and I appreciate that.

All in all this is an awesome character you've put together, and I think she'd make an amazing addition to the game. Thank you so much for submitting her.

Actually I do have a note. Smidge the pigeon. I think this is a very cute idea, and I don't necessarily want to see it change, but just as a point of reference Onyx is ~480 miles away from Tabor. So while she can definitely get messages there in secret this way, that's a long way. It's going to be both slow, and, well, run the risk of poor Smidge getting eaten by a Nevermore or some other nasty critter in the wild. Just something to keep in mind!

Actually actually... A pigeon can apparently fly like ~700 miles a day. So this... Is not as far fetched as I first believed. Huh... Who knew.

[Aethyrium]

And then we have @CurvyKitten with a whole new idea for us. Let's see here...

Stats look good. Shimmer seems solid. Yay a human!

Weapon looks good, but I have a question about them. You say they are now permanently around her legs - why? How? What's going on there?! The weapon places some kind of strain on Roar, what is it? Is this the weapons property, what does it actually do?

I think you have a lot of good bones here. But we do have some things.

First is that she's from Unovia. There doesn't seem to be a strong story-relevant reason why she's not there. Pearl has a Battle Academy - Light - and it would have been much easier and less dangerous to attend there. You say the opportunity came up, but what kind of opportunity takes her across the world in such a dangerous world? I recognize that the desire here is to separate Roar from her siblings to have that longing, but we need a stronger reason for her to have left Unovia if they're going to be from there.

This also is complicated about her wanting to send things back to her family. Toil isn't well connected. Getting things from one kingdom to another is not as easy as sticking something in the mail. Most transit like that is military oriented. So her being so far away is kinda shaky that she wants to get things sent to them - remember, travel is extremely dangerous, even for the mail man. So they just don't have mailmen! XD

It's fun that you point her to underground arena fighting, we just recently had a neat scene involving this. So there's very solid grounding for her in that to be enjoyed.

The other big thing is that you have her having attended a fancy school that she dropped out of. Toil doesn't have generalized education like that, people learn specifically the skills they need - "on the job" training, of a sort. Now this is easy enough to glance over and just assume it was a "school" dedicated to whatever it was she was learning, but I think that distinction is important to keep in mind. Might be worth specifying what it was she was learning there.

Things to just know, for your potential IC knowledge. The actual money needed to attend the Battle Academy is covered by the city. And each champion is given a stipend (assumed to be used for supplies/weapon upkeep/arcanite/etc) during their time there (though nothing is stopping her from trying to stockpile that). But food is provided free of charge. So, this is probably pretty cushy for her.

I like what you're building here, really. I think the Unovia bit is really my largest concern. If a character is going to be from somewhere other than Onyx, they need a really compelling reason to be in Onyx presently.

[Juggtacular]

Alright, let’s see what we can do about some sheet feedback since we have some all nice and lined up.

@Juggtacular let's see what we see starting with you!

Stats look good. Shimmer seems fine. Weapons are neat!

Let's talk Silenus trait and tail. As I pointed out with Yukina's design, the Silenus' traits are meant to be somewhat minor - in the scope of "+1 dot". I think the Van der Waals, as written, probably go past that. Right now it feels very much like a Shimmer level ability (in fact, there is a Shimmer in an NPC that does exactly this). I think we can fix that very easily just by saying two things: it's not strong enough to carry other people, and he needs to maintain full four-point contact. This is something he can use utilitarianly, but if it's beyond that it really starts getting beyond the scope of silenus traits as designed for player characters...

...However, this buts up with his tail. In addition to their advantage, all Silenus have traits (like his tail, or Torina's wings, or ears, eyes, horns, etc). Most Silenus have one, some have two, but these are almost always aesthetic differences, rather than practical ones. If his tail is so strong and capable that it can be readily used as part of his fighting style, it needs to be his Silenus Trait. Which, I am perfectly happy with - a totally functional tail that can be used to assist in combat and other things makes for a very interesting trait.

Either way, either the tail and it's practical use need to be removed, and Van der Waals needs to be dialed back, or the tail can replace Van der Waals as is.

* On a bit of a personal note, I'd like to say that there's a lot of overlap here with Marlowe. While they are on different teams, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue, if you had a secondary idea for weapons, or fighting style, that might be neat to explore. Lolo also uses punching gloves with the same kind of piston hammer system, she is also a dedicated brawler, and she also has a shimmer that acts as speed/strength "limit break". This is by no means a requirement, but a thought that I figure is worth sharing since you may not know it exists!

While no change is needed, I have a big question about Bludwing. If they were all about recruiting Silenus and their freedom... Why are they in Onyx, and not Mirat? It seems like the sort of institution that would have found a very nice home building up there. What's your vision for this, and why they stuck where they did? I think in particular, there's the line about gathering the best the Silenus had to offer - but I think in general, the best the Silenus had to offer went to establishing their city. Not that some could have stayed, it's just an interesting question of why this happened the way it did that I'm interested in!

Another note (though this isn't necessarily you specific and tailored to anyone who reads this part) is that we have a number of concepts that live in this "world elite" class bubble. I won't mandate anyone change this, but it's something to consider, if you have another route to go. It's important to remember that Toil isn't very large, and 'global' anything is... Rare beyond rare. Which is to say that, I'm probably not going to select a bunch of rich characters to all be present. In part to avoid a ton of overlap, but also because there just aren't that many rich folks. If you're really drawn to it, ignore this entirely, just offering some preemptive selection food for thought.

Interesting that you have him poised as a member of the Red Fang. If selected, we will definitely need to do a bit of plotting regarding that. But it's an excellent way to be grounded!

All in all, I think Axel is a cool submission, thank you! Great attention to detail. I think only the Silenus Trait & Tail bits are my only concern. So if we can straighten that out, I think he'd make a fine addition.

@Aethyrium okay here we go

Aggggggh the choices, they burn!!! I didn't even realize an NPC could cling to walls and such. I actually picked VdW as a trait because geckos climb over my kitchen window at night all the time and it's fascinating to watch them scurry by and just chill under the A/C for no reason other than they can. As fun as the concept is, it was primarily so he could just be a cool lizard guy and climb on walls. But if I have to choose, his tail is far more useful as a weapon and another "arm" so I'll stick with that.

The reason I had them in Onyx was primarily because the rules bit about people only being from Onyx.

"I want to come from somewhere other than Johtan/Onyx, may I?
The short answer is no. In fact, ideally, all characters from this round of recruitment will come from Onyx specifically. Traveling around the world is rare, and in the first round of recruitment we already (unintentionally) opened the door to a lot of characters who came from far away. Most people, unless they are Champions, don’t ever leave the place they are born."

I just assumed that was a hard rule as I was basically reading everything all at once to get Axel done before it got too far along in the recruitment. But since that isn't the case I can easily change their base of operations to Mirat and Axel is a transfer student. It would also add to the difficulty of finding his brother since Bludwing would have a presence in Onyx, but not a power base like back in Mirat. And the primary logic behind them is that Bellicus(super great granddad) experienced not only the awful treatment of the Silenus, but the horror of the war and he wanted to guarantee that if anyone ever tried anything like that again, there would be a bulwark there to stop them. So while Bludwing are indeed a mercenary corps and fight for anybody who pays them, if the Silenus as a race are threatened, they'll be the first to stand against their people's would be oppressors no matter who they are. So they want the strongest and most skilled Champions for their cause just in case. 

*I did notice the overlap with Marlowe. It's actually kinda funny how similar they are since Axel is basically a rehash of a Faunus character I played in a RWBY game years ago. I didn't think it would be an issue to have such close styles but if it's an issue I have one or two other ideas I can go with. One is that his style focuses more on using his claws and talons than punches and kicks but is still primarily up close/melee focused since that's my favorite type of character. The other is a staff/spear combo that I'm still workshopping where he'd mix in martial arts along with the weapon.

I'm not married to the idea of him being a rich kid. Just most private militaries get paid a lot because they can act in ways and do things proper militaries can't, so I figured with Bludwing spanning several generations and being so successful, they'd be decently well off by this point. I could easily edit it so it's a "His family is rich, but he's not rich" type of thing where part of his growing up away from home is that he has to get used to supporting himself and whatnot so he doesn't have access to his family funds. Or they live modestly and put most of their excess funds back into strengthening the Silenus as a whole and giving Bludwing the best equipment and tech possible.

Also yes, he is extremely proud of his heritage and respects the hell out of Red Fang for doing what they're doing. SO he joined up as soon as he could.

I think I covered everything, so if you tell me what sounds good I can make revisions ASAP.

[Amarlo]

More sheets! You love to see it.

@Amarlo Okay, so yeah. I wanted to make sure that the hard light shield wasn't another property, but an actual mode of the weapon. So two notes on the weapon then.

1. How does it inflict more damage, like, what's the... "Damage" doesn't exist in the game world. So while mechanically you say something like, "every time it hits consecutively, it does +2 damage" or whatever (as an example to illustrate the concept, not actual numbers) but what is it doing in the narrative of the world? You mentioned glowing, so my intuition says that it's heating up by absorbing some impact and creating extra damage. But it doesn't need to be that... I just wanna get a feel for what the vision is.

2. Weapons don't really channel Soul to have increased effects. Typically. I would say that this is another property. It would need to be tethered to a single thing, so like "this weapon has a property that allows channeling of the soul to increase the power of the hard light" or "this weapon has... to make the increased damage more effective", but each of those would be a property unto themselves. And the weapon already has a property in its increased damage, and character's weapons may only start with one property. So this can be something she wants, and gets obtained sometime during game. Or you can change this out with the increased power property. But I don't think we can sneak both of them in there right away.

1. Originally I just wanted it to multiply her strength in general, but I can see how my description came off otherwise. However, with the way you talk about it I kind of like it better. The idea would be that each Hit absorbs and stores a percentage of the impact energy of the last attack. Up to x amount of times and/or before x amount of time passes between hits before it resets.

2. oh, well. I suppose we will just have to nix the part about soul then!

[Rashol]

@Aethyrium 
Thanks.

Unfortunately the avenues I was relying on for my stats/shimmer/weapon have closed again. So a lot of what is in my head is going to have to get edited again.

My back up shimmer still works but not with the weapon I may now have to use.

[Aethyrium]

Haha, I know they do @Juggtacular, I know they do. I'm so sorry!

And it's totally fine. I don't think there's a way you could have known that without poking me. But that's fine. Even if the NPC wasn't there, it's still too big an ability just for a Silenus trait - at least as is.

If you're happy with the tail as an extra arm, I am happy with it too!

Oh, yeah, I didn't necessarily mean like... Why isn't your character from Mirat. You 100% did the right thing by having them based in Onyx. My question is more from a narrative perspective - a world building one. Why did they choose to do that, instead of going to Mirat. It's entirely fine if you don't have an answer - I may come up with one if it ever becomes relevant. This was totally just curiosity about what your thoughts on that were.

So no need to change anything in that regard! Or on the family wealth level either. Like I said, that was more something for you (and anyone else) to consider. It's just a reoccurring theme that I've picked up on and I like to set out those road flares so no one is surprised if/when they come up.

In regards to the overlap with Marlowe, I'm happy with you staying where you. Overlap isn't a thing that bothers me any, it was entirely a heads up for your benefit. So if you're happy, I'm happy.

I think then, only edit needed is the tail being moved down! With that, I think you're good to go. He's an awesome submission. Thank you for taking the time, I appreciate it.

Just... Hangout now until deadline and final character selection!

[Aethyrium]

1. Originally I just wanted it to multiply her strength in general, but I can see how my description came off otherwise. However, with the way you talk about it I kind of like it better. The idea would be that each Hit absorbs and stores a percentage of the impact energy of the last attack. Up to x amount of times and/or before x amount of time passes between hits before it resets.

2. oh, well. I suppose we will just have to nix the part about soul then!

Oh oh. You meant like, her physical strength, not her... Okay. I see. Well, either way, if you're happy with that update, so am I. I like the idea of it "holding onto" impact and reusing it. Kinda like Marlowe's shimmer in a weapon sorta! Neat.

And yeah, drop that in an edit and you're also good to go! Time to chillout and relax until submission time is closed and wait for character selection. Thanks so much for your effort, I really appreciate it! ^^

Unfortunately the avenues I was relying on for my stats/shimmer/weapon have closed again. So a lot of what is in my head is going to have to get edited again.

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that!

You can have overlap, just so you know. There's nothing that forbids it. I get not wanting it though. Any way that I can help?

[shengami]

@Aethyrium
Thanks.

Unfortunately the avenues I was relying on for my stats/shimmer/weapon have closed again. So a lot of what is in my head is going to have to get edited again.

My back up shimmer still works but not with the weapon I may now have to use.

I really really wanted to see how that premise played out so so so much. It was really cool. Show us what you got! Who knows, we may absolutely love it!

But if you don't, I get it.

[CurvyKitten]

And then we have @CurvyKitten with a whole new idea for us. Let's see here...

Yup, hopefully you like it?

Stats look good. Shimmer seems solid. Yay a human!

hehe yup, and oh good I was worried about the stats you know I always fidget with them forever.

Weapon looks good, but I have a question about them. You say they are now permanently around her legs - why? How? What's going on there?! The weapon places some kind of strain on Roar, what is it? Is this the weapons property, what does it actually do?

I was trying do make a down side really, make them a little even on the power scale? Is that right? or ok? or was I thinking wrong?

I think you have a lot of good bones here. But we do have some things.

First is that she's from Unovia. There doesn't seem to be a strong story-relevant reason why she's not there. Pearl has a Battle Academy - Light - and it would have been much easier and less dangerous to attend there. You say the opportunity came up, but what kind of opportunity takes her across the world in such a dangerous world? I recognize that the desire here is to separate Roar from her siblings to have that longing, but we need a stronger reason for her to have left Unovia if they're going to be from there.

This also is complicated about her wanting to send things back to her family. Toil isn't well connected. Getting things from one kingdom to another is not as easy as sticking something in the mail. Most transit like that is military oriented. So her being so far away is kinda shaky that she wants to get things sent to them - remember, travel is extremely dangerous, even for the mail man. So they just don't have mailmen! XD

Yeah I wanted to really separate her from her family. But I can always keep it in the same city and make it rp possibility that the players meet them sometime. Or hell they get messed with ~cough GM Hint cough~ or something. lol I will make that edit. will take a moment but that is totally fine for me.

It's fun that you point her to underground arena fighting, we just recently had a neat scene involving this. So there's very solid grounding for her in that to be enjoyed.

Woot yeah she is definitely still involved in that.

The other big thing is that you have her having attended a fancy school that she dropped out of. Toil doesn't have generalized education like that, people learn specifically the skills they need - "on the job" training, of a sort. Now this is easy enough to glance over and just assume it was a "school" dedicated to whatever it was she was learning, but I think that distinction is important to keep in mind. Might be worth specifying what it was she was learning there.

Things to just know, for your potential IC knowledge. The actual money needed to attend the Battle Academy is covered by the city. And each champion is given a stipend (assumed to be used for supplies/weapon upkeep/arcanite/etc) during their time there (though nothing is stopping her from trying to stockpile that). But food is provided free of charge. So, this is probably pretty cushy for her.

No worries here I can take that bit out, that wasn't a bit deal to me. I 'm not to attached to that bit. :)

I like what you're building here, really. I think the Unovia bit is really my largest concern. If a character is going to be from somewhere other than Onyx, they need a really compelling reason to be in Onyx presently.

Sweet! I shall work on that and get her reposted today hopefully. :)

[Rashol]

@shengami
@Aethyrium
Well the hollow sense shimmer doesn't feel right for this character. Though it may still work if I move some other things around/find another angle.

Current thoughts are:
SandStorm: His shimmer allows him to create a local "sandstorm" for a few seconds or so using a handful of gravel/soil/dust. On its own, not impressive and this bit might be a bit gamey.

But, arcanite could theoretically maybe be powder. So it his shimmer activates and he throws arcanite powder. Maybe the arcanite he throws influences what cloud he actually gets. So red arcanite gets fire, black arcanite gets a burst of light, etc. But his shimmer effect is still "create a sandstorm from dust"

I was thinking of tonfa/shotgun to lean into this, so he loads an arcanite cartridge into it, triggers his shimmer as he fires it, so he can give it direction, instead of all around me.

If I go with the hollow sense power . Maybe I'll Have to go heavy machine gun or something. But then he probably won't be able to lug many more weapons around.

[shengami]

@shengami
@Aethyrium
Well the hollow sense shimmer doesn't feel right for this character. Though it may still work if I move some other things around/find another angle.

Current thoughts are:
SandStorm: His shimmer allows him to create a local "sandstorm" for a few seconds or so using a handful of gravel/soil/dust. On its own, not impressive and this bit might be a bit gamey.

But, arcanite could theoretically maybe be powder. So it his shimmer activates and he throws arcanite powder. Maybe the arcanite he throws influences what cloud he actually gets. So red arcanite gets fire, black arcanite gets a burst of light, etc. But his shimmer effect is still "create a sandstorm from dust"

I was thinking of tonfa/shotgun to lean into this, so he loads an arcanite cartridge into it, triggers his shimmer as he fires it, so he can give it direction, instead of all around me.

If I go with the hollow sense power . Maybe I'll Have to go heavy machine gun or something. But then he probably won't be able to lug many more weapons around.

Oh, still noodling the Hollow sense? It is a neat one. The fear variant or the minimap?

I think shimmers that have variable effects and interreact with arcanite like that have been softly nixed. While potent, it should be a single trick. Simple, straightforward rules but the varations lie in how it is used. Like Farrah's? If she focuses, uses her Shimmer dots, she pulls bigger things. But all it does is pull things towards her. Still, she's used quite creatively. She just used it to collapse a roof! It was destabilized and on fire, but still. There's also more passive Shimmers like Meena's that enhances plants and medicines. Or like Haim's Shimmer which allowed him to 'see' sounds like ripples in the air. Always on. It affects how he did everything. Anyway. Simple but potent effects seems the idea.

So, SandStorm, maybe just whips up air in a localized space? Tears up and flings about whatever is around. If it's in the desert, sand. In a city, bit of concrete and garbage. In a forest, leaf litter and soil. Really strong winds if he focuses?

For a heavy type, that sort of effect localized on them could work quite effectively to clear out anyone that gets too close?

And the type with the heavy machine gun usually doesn't have anything else other than a side arm. But the heavy machine gun could also break apart into a pair of submachine guns or pistols or whatever. Modularity like that is very fair game for weapons. Could even incorporate a back mounted third arm type system to aid in hauling it. But I played too many trolls in Shadowrun! heh.

I just know one NPC in the game has a pair of pistols that he can sort of rearrange into an assault rifle. Another has a staff the rearranges into a sniper rifle. So, there's a lot you can do with the machine gun.

[FyreFoxx]

Yeah I wanted to really separate her from her family. But I can always keep it in the same city and make it rp possibility that the players meet them sometime. Or hell they get messed with ~cough GM Hint cough~ or something. lol I will make that edit. will take a moment but that is totally fine for me.

Figured I'd chime in here a bit. Instead of having her family be in Unovia, a completely different continent that is causing distance issues, why not just have them be from outside the city? That way they are still in Johtan, can still be seperated, have that longing to be with them again and see them, but they live somewhere else, so it's more feasible to manage.

Examples are people like Marlowe, who come from Evergreen just northeast of Onyx Prairie, or Velvet and Chee, who originally hail from Seabreeze to the east. Even Haimehen is from Cordes sur-Ciel, off in the far northwest. All far outside the city, but all still on the Johtan continent.

Maybe she hails from the far south (or north or wherever) and had to travel a long way to attend Hammer. Just.. not as far as two entire continents away, where attending Light would have made more sense if her goal was going to a battle academy to provide for them.

Just some thoughts!

[Juggtacular]

REVISED

Strength ●● | ● ● ● ● ●
Stamina  ●● | ● ○ ○ ○ ○
Speed    ●● | ● ● ● ○ ○
Shimmer  ●● | ● ● ○ ○ ○
Soul    ●● | ● ○ ○ ○ ○
Brawl    ●● | ● ● ● ● ○
Melee    ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Ranged  ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Elemental Affinity | Weakness
Earth | Sonic

Terran Specialty | Weakness
Urban, Forest | Arctic, Grassland

Axellion "Axel" Volündr

Juggtacular

Ancestry: Silenus
Gender | Pronouns: Male | He/Him
Sexuality: Heterosexual

Age: 19
Height: 7'
Body Build: Muscular, Athletic
Hair Color: Black w/ Colored Highlights
Eye Color: Gold


Weapon
Brute Rhapsody

Axel's weapons exist as a pair of gauntlets and greaves worn over his forearms/hands and shins/feet, as well as a tail covering known collectively as "Brute Rhapsody". They are branded with his family crest, and each piece is fitted with a pressurized piston that can be "fired" on impact, drastically increasing the force of his blows and even causing damage through armor.

The tailpiece doesn't have a piston and can instead project stone spikes along its length to increase the lethality of Axel's swipes and slams with his fifth appendage. In place of an alternate form, Brute Rhapsody can launch grappling chains that allow Axel to maneuver around his environment faster or even temporarily incapacitate opponents.

Shimmer

Axel's Shimmer allows him to access the primal nature of his lizard Silenus ancestry. When he taps into this ability, his adrenaline and endorphins spike to levels off the charts, and he can actively shut off the limiters the brain puts on the body to utilize greater levels of strength and speed while ignoring pain and injury due to the surge of chemicals.

Silenus Trait - Tail
Axellion is a Dracolisk Silenus, a race of lizards who are said to be descended from dragons. While he doesn't have wings, he does have a fully controllable tail just above his butt. He can and does wrap it around his waist like a belt so it doesn't drag, but he can also use it as a personal stool and as a third arm since it's prehensile. It measures a bit over 2 meters(roughly six feet) in length and he has trained to the point where he uses it in combat as an extra method of attack as well as using it like a rudder to make quick course corrections while moving at high speeds.


Special Trait - ?
?


Where were you born? Whom, if anyone, do you consider family? Where are they, and what is your relationship with them like?
Axel was born in the Northern Quarter of Onyx as the eldest son of Bellion and Zirena Volündr, the current co-heads of Blüdwing, one of the oldest and premier Silenus-led mercenary corps in Toil. There are also his grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and several younger siblings in his family, most employed with Blüdwing in some capacity or retired. Axel hails from a long line of Silenus' tracing their family heritage all the way back to the original appearance of the Silenus, and while their power base is back in Mirat being run by his uncle Zefros, they have expanded to Onyx in recent years and have a headquarters just outside the city as well.

His several times great-grandfather Bellicus fought in the Great War and was one of the first Silenus to rebel and help break the yoke of oppression the elves and humans had placed on their people. Once they had their freedom, he established Blüdwing, gathering the greatest Champions and warriors the Silenus had to offer to not only give them a place of belonging and acceptance, but a way to provide for themselves and their families for generations to come, doing what some of them did best.

Axel has been raised from childhood with a mixture of love and discipline as his parents knew he would take over for them as soon as he was born. He has not only accepted this responsibility, but embraced it, and has put his all into training and learning all he can so he can make them proud when his time comes. He has worn the weight of responsibility and being the "chosen" son on his shoulders since his youth, and while he's butted hands with his parents like any child would, he has toed the line for the most part, seemingly eager to take his place and make his family proud.


What sort of life did you have before you decided to attend a Battle Academy? How did people react to your decision?

Axel has lived a life not only of means, but of hardship, adventure, and harsh training to prepare him for being the Commander of an entire Mercenary Corp. While he has enjoyed the finer things in life, vacations, and the like, from a young age Axel has also had to endure and understand the sacrifices that come with making such a lifestyle possible. From childhood he's had to wake up early for drills, spend hours training in combat each day, studying, listening to strategies and tactics, you name it.

He rarely had free time, and the free time that he did have, he had to earn and use wisely. In a word, you could call his life and upbringing "structured". As he got older, his father and uncles even began taking him on missions so he could get first-hand experience of what life was like in the field. He's done everything from recon and security to seeing direct combat against other forces and Hollows.

His decision to join Hammer was more of a foregone conclusion, as becoming a highly-skilled Champion would only add to his accolades and make him a better fit to lead Blüdwing in the future. His parents were proud, but it was expected as they and many more of his family had graduated from an Academy and become Champions themselves. After what happened to his brother, he and his siblings were rarely allowed to go out without an escort or some family member with them, which added another layer of frustration to his life, even if he understood the reasoning behind it.

Why have you decided to become a Champion? What are your goals, your reasons, and your fears?
While becoming a Champion is essentially a prerequisite to taking over the family business, Axel has grown up hearing stories about their tales and adventures and he wants to experience that for himself. He wants to help people. He wants to kill Hollows.

He wants to make the world a better place and knows he has a much better chance of doing that with the title "Champion" in front of his name. It will also make his family proud, which is one of his biggest wants in life, even knowing he's already done everything they've asked of him. A deeper, more personal reason is that he wants to personally stop things like what happened to his little brother from ever happening to anyone else.

How did you acquire your skills before coming to Hammer? Who taught you?
Axel has received training from multiple instructors over the years in various forms of combat, but his primary teachers have been his parents, his uncles, and his grandparents. All of them are current and retired Champions with multiple battles and victories under their belts. His father and grandfather have been his two most influential Masters, and his fighting style of unpredictable unarmed combat is heavily shaped around their own personal up-close techniques.

What is your greatest accomplishment or thing you are most proud of? What is your greatest failure or thing you regret the most?
During one of his deployments, he helped his father and uncle Zefros fight off a pack of Hollows and landed the killing blow against a Nevermore. He wears the scar over his eye and the scars on his chest with pride, and the brothers still tell the story of their victory that day whenever the family gets together or they have a rowdy night at the Mess Hall.

Axel's biggest, more regretful failure is the day that the Black Lotus abducted his younger brother Veyron. They were out enjoying the city(one of the rougher areas admittedly) with some of their friends when the girl Veyron had been dating drew him away from the rest of them. Axel believes she used her Shimmer to make him leave the group as the brothers were each others best friends and he never would've left without telling him.

By the time he realized his brother was gone and caught up to him, he saw him being restrained and loaded into a car followed by his "girlfriend" while surrounded by armed men. He tried to find out what was going on, but was told it was none of his business. He immediately attacked the group, but he was outnumbered and outgunned. He managed to escape, but he couldn't get to his brother. The only thing he knew was that he'd seen a Black Lotus tattoo on one of the men. Since then his family have spared no expense trying to find Veyron, but have still had no success. He blames himself and has thrown himself into training ever since so one day he can bring his brother home and bring the Black Lotus down.

Briefly talk about your character's initial reaction to being partnered and then teamed. Were they excited? Hard to work with? Distant? Friendly and engaging?
Axel grew up in a big family as well as an even larger extended family with Blüdwing, so he is used to working with partners and as a team. He's pretty sociable and likable, gets along well with everybody and doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He does like to tease as a form of affection though.

List three (or more!) notably truths about you that your teammates have learned over the last month together.

1. Axel is the heir apparent of Blüdwing and a child of privilege but isn't arrogant or stingy with his wealth. He has no problem using it to help himself or those close to him if they need it.
2. He is hard on his teammates and even harder on himself because of the guilt he feels at what happened to Veyron. He wants the people around them to be able to protect themselves so nothing bad can happen to them.
3. Axel is openly antagonistic toward the Black Lotus and anyone who supports them in any fashion.
4. He hasn't had much time for a real social/dating life, so he's making up for lost time.
5. He spends so much time training that when he doesn't have to, he can be found lazing or napping in a comfy spot with lots of sunlight.

List one or more (different!) things that people outside of your team might have noticed about you while attending Hammer

1. He trains. A Lot. And he enjoys sparring given the chance.
2. He is somehow confident and flirty while also shy and withdrawn when the same energy is returned in the beginning. It's a conundrum.
3. He can randomly be found stuck to walls and ceilings all over the place.

List two or more things that you have done in the last month, beyond going to classes and learning?

1. He busted up a Black Lotus hangout during a drunken bender, injured multiple members, wrecked the place, and took any information he could find...he also chundered everywhere. (With a friend if interested)
2. He convinced his uncle to take him and some of his friends on a joyride(flight) around the city and the surrounding landscape.

List a few (3-5) things that you values and seems to play a role in how you interact with the world.

1. Axel is extremely loyal and caring to family and friends. He will put his life on the line for them without hesitation and square up with anyone or anything if someone he cares about is in trouble.
2. He loves animals and has several pets, including a few he's brought to Hammer with him.
3. Axel probably has the biggest appetite you've ever seen and eats a seemingly impossible amount of food per day.
4. He takes duty and honor almost to the extreme because of how he was raised.

Finally, come up with one plot hook that you would like to explore with your teammates. Something about your character / their story that you're very eager to showcase or have play an early role in their experience.


Axel has been following every trace, lead, and rumor about the Black Lotus he can find since his brother was abducted. He's willing to delve into Hell itself to find him and will stop at nothing until he does.

He is a proud member of the Red Fang and helps spread their message and does what he can to further their goals in Onyx.

Axel likes to get away from the prim and proper part of society he is born into and get down and dirty when he has the chance. It's also a mental exercise because that same activity is what lost his brother.

TBD

[CurvyKitten]

Figured I'd chime in here a bit. Instead of having her family be in Unovia, a completely different continent that is causing distance issues, why not just have them be from outside the city? That way they are still in Johtan, can still be seperated, have that longing to be with them again and see them, but they live somewhere else, so it's more feasible to manage.

Examples are people like Marlowe, who come from Evergreen just northeast of Onyx Prairie, or Velvet and Chee, who originally hail from Seabreeze to the east. Even Haimehen is from Cordes sur-Ciel, off in the far northwest. All far outside the city, but all still on the Johtan continent.

Maybe she hails from the far south (or north or wherever) and had to travel a long way to attend Hammer. Just.. not as far as two entire continents away, where attending Light would have made more sense if her goal was going to a battle academy to provide for them.

Just some thoughts!

Oh good idea thank you!! I shall steal it! Heheh