The Halfpenny Marvels [Victorian Supers]-Game Started, Still Recruiting

[Mathim]

Regrettably the GM from the previous game was unable to continue in that capacity but this game idea just has too much potential and interest to just give up on, and with their blessing, I'm rebooting this awesome concept for what will hopefully be as attractive as the first! So without further ado...

London, 1893... a city of wonders and dangers. The rule of Queen Victoria Von Doom has spawned an age of discovery in both science and sorcery . But there are some things man was not meant to know and while the sun never sets on the British Empire there are threats that watch from the shadows. Will you rise up to defend the realm or is yours a heart of darkness?



The Halfpenny Marvels  is a story set in a Marvel Universe that takes place in the waning days of the 19th century. The name comes from The Halfpenny Marvel, a British story paper aimed to provide wholesome entertainment for young lads, unlike that scourge on society known as the penny dreadful. It will be freeform and semi-sandbox, containing some overarching plots but plenty of opportunities for writers to create their own mischief. The rating will be Extreme, as this is the era that gave us Jack the Ripper and it can be a very unkind one.

While the primary setting will be this era's version of London, there will be global events leading for both outsiders to have reason to congregate there, and for native residents of the fair city to be on edge and getting involved if they were not otherwise planning to. Technology is still able to be advanced despite relying on Steampunk era tech so don't be afraid of depowering something like the Iron Man armor too significantly. After all, there's always magic to supplement when such things aren't enough. To this end, a few key points just to help set the stage:

1. There is a peace summit (though whether this is genuine or a covertly nefarious plot, or both depending on who you ask) that will give diplomats and/or leadership from around the world reason to travel to London for the conference. All nations are invited, as the intention is to create a United Nations sort of organization with as many member nations as possible.

2. Germany has just undergone a political upheaval. The Red Skull's HYDRA militia has seized power and has aspirations of expanding their dominion. Hence the urgency of the call for a peace summit from outside, and for the Red Skull to have reason for wishing to sabotage it. This has in turn inspired other dictatorial figures worldwide to start hatching their own plans for overthrowing the current governments or attempting military coups, making the summit even more appealing for those nations vulnerable to such treason, and an even bigger target for assassins and other political treachery. Nations like Wakanda may be (knowingly or otherwise) in the process of having such an event happen. Places like Asgard, Attilan and K'un L'un that aren't normally part of traditional Earth geography are also part of this timeline's Earth and are also in similarly unstable political situations.

3. It has been 10 years since the completion of the Titanic, an impossibly large bridge spanning the entire Atlantic from the shore of New York to the lowest point of Great Britain. This has enabled American industrialists to facilitate much faster delivery and transport of goods and materials to Europe (airships are available but much more expensive as transportation) and even set up secondary headquarters so that men like Tony Stark, Norman Osborn, Reed Richards, etc., can have a base in London despite being native to the United States.

4. An independent organization, consisting of people from countries all over the world, has surfaced and is attempting to do what they feel needs to be done in the absence of the United Nations, calling themselves SHIELD. A joint effort spanning from Europe, Africa, all the way to the Eastern end of Asia, has produced the airborne marvel known as the Helicarrier. A massive steam-powered floating headquarters the size of a small city, they patrol as widely as they can and monitor situations, dispatching agents wherever possible to stabilize hostile situations. While they aren't necessarily universally viewed as 'good', they have declared intentions to fully cooperate with the United Nations if the peace summit is successful and agreements are reached between enough member nations to contribute resources and more humanitarian political practices. They are currently the only reliable countermeasure against global terrorism and assassinations.

(I may add or delete these as needed if they overly complicate things.)


The OOC thread is up and ready for posting, though of course you're welcome to still post here if you'd like:
OOC Thread: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=307061.0
IC Thread: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=307090.0
Character Sheet Thread: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=307113.0


So there is a vital need for a Queen Victoria Von Doom if anyone is interested (this can be tweaked if need be, to regular ol' Victor Von Doom but I want to keep as much of the spirit of the old game as possible intact). Pretty much any other characters are not necessarily essential but all are welcome! Human, mutant, Inhuman, alien, etc., all are fair game provided they are tailored to fit the aesthetic as best as possible.

For those who have expressed interest and got character ideas in your head, below you'll find a handy dandy character sheet; please post character submissions in this thread unless you anticipate problems, then you can just PM them to me, I just find it easier to keep track of them when they're here and also then everyone gets to see it and know which ones are already taken and how awesome they are before we even start.

HOWEVER, while for the most part, it's first come first served for character reservations (get 'em while they're hot!), I will be PMing those who were interested in the last thread and see if we can fill some of the same slots, so priority will be given to their choices should they elect to return. But there's still plenty of opportunity with this idea for other characters!

Also please note that it is not necessary to make an olde-timey version of current characters, you are welcome to create an ancestor or alternative take on the bearer of the same hero's mantle. It's fine either way so it's up to you how to proceed, just know you have that extra freedom if you're just not fond of a costumed hero's alter ego. Also the sex, gender expression and orientation are entirely fluid and free to vary however you wish them to.

Currently Claimed Characters:

Character/Player
Captain America/BarbaraGordon
Sinister/RedPhoenix
Victoria Von Doom/Brittlby
Black Cat/Foxy Oni
Doctor Strange/DeMalachine
Taskmaster/Mathim
Black Panther/Writersblockade

Pending:

Ghost Rider

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[float=right][img height=300 padding=5]IMAGE LINK HERE[/img][/float]
[b]MARVEL NAME HERE[/b]
[b]Real Name: [/b]
[b]Also Known As: [/b]
[b]Place of Birth: [/b]
[b]Known Associations: [/b]
[b]Motivations: [/b]
[b]Quote: [/b]

[b]Origin and Background: [/b]

[b]Powers/Skills/Gadgets: [/b]

[b]Appearance: [/b]

[b]Personality: [/b]

[b]Vices: [/b]

Excelsior, and may God save the Queen!

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

(This is by no means how she's meant to look, I just found the image and thought it looked awesome for a potential Victoria Von Doom)

[Kadigan]

Very much still interested for captain America.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

MARVEL NAME HERE Captain America
Real Name: Eve Rogers
Also Known As: The Sentinel of the Seven Seas, Cap.
Place of Birth: America
Known Associations: Her crew
Motivations: Keeping the oceans and the world safe for freedom, the dream of American’s everywhere.
Quote: "America doesn’t hand you things on a silver platter. Sometimes all she offers is hope."

Origin and Background:

If you ask Eve Rogers for her background, depending on the day of the week or what sort of adventures she’s had, she’ll give you a different answer. Some days she’ll tell you she’s the last in a great bloodline, each of them descended from Lilith, bestowed with gifts beyond those of mortal men and women. Each new daughter eats a small piece of Lilith’s blood, in the form of rubies. Other days, she’s from a secret tribe in a far away land, who came to America seeking freedom. She agreed to protect the fledgling nation as well as all the interests of those who would be free. Some times she might just tell you she was experimented on by a pale woman with a glowing red forehead. Though sometimes she changes it up and she volunteered for the experiments from a kindly German man. She’ll also, at times, to be in service to the secret Queen of America.

Whatever she tells you, she’ll tell you this. Her parents worked hard, and were taken from her at an early age. They believed in the Dream though, the Dream that all men and women were created equal, and any could be born with freedom in their hearts, no matter where they were born. They taught her to work hard, to stand up for her beliefs, and that’s what she did and does. She patrols the high seas, the oceans, searching for those that would prey on any others out there, a pirate of pirates.  Her ship, though becoming a bit outdated thanks to some of the new inventions, is still one of the fastest out there.

Powers/Skills/Gadgets:

Eve has no powers per say but thanks to whatever runs through her veins keeps her at the peak of physical condition. Stronger then most men, Eve is the pinnacle of human physical perfection. She uses more portions of her brain at once then most people, allowing her to think faster. She produces less fatigue toxins then a normal person, is immune to most illness and disease, and has better then perfect eyesight.

Eve is trained in the use of most firearms and weaponry, as well as several forms of unarmed combat. She also carries a sword, as well as a shield that is made of a fantastic metal, with even more fantastic properties. There’s several stories for that as well, ranging from a gift from an African Warlord to a prize won after besting the princess of a hidden jungle land.



Appearance:

Whatever gives her powers insure that Eve is as fit as a human can possibly be. To call her perfection would be close. She keeps her blonde hair tied back into a tight pony tail when on attacks, preferring it to hang loose when she’s not. She has no scars thanks to her healing, or tattoos currently. Blue eyes watch the sea as much as they can.


Personality:

She possesses an old world flair, as if the weight of the world can be as light as a feather…though she often feels the crush of it all. Sometimes she possesses a deadly seriousness, other times appearing bored with matters of grave importance. She believes in what she believes to be right and just and herself to be on the side of such matters. Sadly for her, she feels, in secret, she was born into the wrong era, and her way of life is coming to an end with technology. She’s a woman out of sorts with a world she no longer comprehends with much of the advancements coming forth.

Vices:

Eve does love a good fight and brawl. She would love to just sail about the world for fun as well. Occasionally, she can’t help herself and does enjoy the occasional bauble they take from some of the pirates, before redistributing the wealth among victims and the poor.

[Mathim]

A'right! One down and, if my PMs are any indication, more to come soon!

[Juggtacular]

Gonna write up my Blackula tomorrow.

[RedPhoenix]

Just a boop for now. Tentatively interested in Doom and Sinister.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

SINISTER
Real Name: Nathania Essex
Also Known As: The Black Queen of the Hellfire Club
Place of Birth: Unknown
Known Associations: The Hellfire Club
Motivations: Evolution
Quote: "What a book a Devil’s chaplain might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering low & horridly cruel works of nature!" - Charles Darwin - 

Origin and Background: Sinister does not discuss her background. What is known is that she emerged in the public eye when she challenged the previous Black Queen of the Hellfire club several years ago and bested her for her current position. Since then she has used the power and wealth of the Hellfire Club to fund her labs and experiments, designing bespoke treatments for Hellfire lackeys and genetically designing offspring for the highest bidders and performing genetic enhancements on those who can afford them. She often makes references to events from centuries past, although it is unclear if she was actually there or simply trying to spook people. Her studies have largely focused on what she calls "Essex Factors" that she believes herald a new turn of evolution.

Following the publication of her first set of experiments, involving the discovery and dissection of several criminals and soldiers who displayed extraordinary abilities, the Church of England declared that she would not receive a Christian burial for the sins of her experiments and theories all of which defy the idea of a loving god that rules supreme. To which she replied that she would embody the virtues of the new age in opposition to the repressed minds of the church, and thus declared herself Sinister.

Powers/Skills/Gadgets: Sinister is one of, if not the, most foremost biological scientists on the planet. She has an understanding of human biology far in excess of even the most educated minds of the day, and it is only the equipment available that limits what she is able to do when it comes to altering the human body. Most of her experiments were done on herself - hence her unusual skin and striking appearance. She does not ever appear to age, and is fantastically strong and durable, although she does not like to display these powers. She has the knowledge to remove mutant abilities from her subjects, and implant them in herself.

Appearance: Classically beautiful with a body to die for - long black hair, unnaturally white skin, red marking in the center of her forehead, very poised, excellent posture. Typically wears a corset, opera gloves, thigh high heeled boots, and lingerie in the style of the Hellfire Club.

Personality: Ice cold but not distant, amused by many of the pleasures of life but in a clinical way, likes a challenge but likes to win more, Sinister can offer a lot to anyone, but the price she demands in return is always high - usually a living mutant. She seems to find something funny about those who dismiss her scientific accomplishments, or speak dismissively of women in general, because of their gender. She is completely amoral in many ways, but considers herself to be civilized, and does not believe in sadism or cruelty for its own sake, but rather sees herself in the vein of Nietzche's Übermensch - no longer bound by fanciful morality.

Vices: Unethical experiments on the unwilling. Pride. Self-Interest above all. Obsession with mutants.

Currently leaning towards just Sinister though. She's sort of stuck in my head and I think I'd rather play in a game where someone else plays Doom while I play Sinister. But that may change, we shall see.

[Mathim]

Gonna write up my Blackula tomorrow.

Curious if he'll be taking up the role of our version of Jack the Ripper? The way a vampire strikes and leaves their victims seems like the perfect analogue for a serial killer.

Just a boop for now. Tentatively interested in Doom and Sinister.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Currently leaning towards just Sinister though. She's sort of stuck in my head and I think I'd rather play in a game where someone else plays Doom while I play Sinister. But that may change, we shall see.

You can always do both, love. 

[Juggtacular]

Curious if he'll be taking up the role of our version of Jack the Ripper? The way a vampire strikes and leaves their victims seems like the perfect analogue for a serial killer.

You can always do both, love. 

I was thinking that. And he'd have a day job as a businessman from noble stock, or a doctor so he can be close to his victims and choose who he wants.

[Brittlby]

Just a boop for now. Tentatively interested in Doom and Sinister.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Currently leaning towards just Sinister though. She's sort of stuck in my head and I think I'd rather play in a game where someone else plays Doom while I play Sinister. But that may change, we shall see.

I’ll be your Huckleberry! I’d love to play Doom!

[RedPhoenix]

Oh fuck yes.

[Mathim]

Ooh, our first new face since the revival! Things are definitely looking up!

So if things keep on track this well we should have our OOC and IC threads up in the next day or two. I want a solid 5 profiles submitted before I commit to that but based on responses they're well under way.

[Brittlby]

I spent my last waking half hour picking a Victoria Doom picture and editing the color scheme but I’ll put something together tomorrow morning! Lol

[Mathim]

Can't wait to see it! Wasn't even sure how I managed to find one but I hope it's more interesting than the one I stumbled upon.

[Brittlby]

Going with "pre-accident" Victoria for now. Haven't found a great mask yet, but at this point, she likely wears it for some autonomy when she likes to get her hands dirty.

May very well crossdress to further hide her identity. A sort of “man of mystery” as it were in service to the Queen. (Hey, If people bought the whole IronMan is Tony Stark’s bodyguard for decades, this seems logically sound.)

[Mathim]

Going with "pre-accident" Victoria for now. Haven't found a great mask yet, but at this point, she likely wears it for some autonomy when she likes to get her hands dirty.

May very well crossdress to further hide her identity. A sort of “man of mystery” as it were in service to the Queen. (Hey, If people bought the whole IronMan is Tony Stark’s bodyguard for decades, this seems logically sound.)

A hot redhead? Yes, please! And yeah, she can be kind of like Queen Elizabeth from that one episode of Doctor Who where they were in a city on the back of a space whale, and the Queen was going around doing freedom fighter stuff while wearing a mask to conceal her identity. One doesn't accomplish much as a leader if they leave all the action up to their subjects, after all. Sounds like an awesome setup.

[Brittlby]

DOOM

Real Name: Victoria Von Doom

Also Known As: Doom the First, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, Long May She Reign

Place of Birth: Latveria

Known Associations: Hellfire Club, Brotherhood of Aether

Motivations: The greater good, she is a brilliant woman who wishes to remake the world and men into the best version of themselves. Unfortunately, this push lacks morality and is frequently led astray by her own arrogance and vanity. She has a code of honor, but otherwise lives without ethical compunction.

Quote: “Measure my crimes against what mankind does to itself, and I am a saint.

I have looked into the future, I have seen how one violent action after another spins the world toward a future where all that remains of Earth is a burned out cinder. Every time I have looked into the future, that is what I have seen. Every future but one.

Mine.”

Origin and Background: Upon the throne Victoria appears a youthful vision of grace and elegance. Well hidden documentation reveals her to be in her mid-seventies. In England, she is simply known as a distant claimant to throne, born in Latveria to Baron Doom and educated in Oxford in the advanced sciences.

In the distant sovereign kingdom of Latveria, the stories passed between the peasants and wandering Romani are unsettling and hopefully exaggerated. A bastard birth of the Baron and one of his gypsy mistresses, she was named for the Baron’s grandmother, Victoria. Born monstrous to look at, she was kept in the lower levels of the castle as a shameful secret. Educated by private tutors through a confessional screen, her mother would visit twice a month and fill in the gaps of her education with her gypsy occult knowledge.

Content with her studies and the protection of the shadows, she grew up like all trees choked off from the sun, stunted in many ways. She was brilliant and eager like a sponge for knowledge but with no goal to to direct her vessel, it was at first an aimless voyage. It wasn’t until the Baron found a young noble wife proper that she learned the motivational power of fury. By twist of fate, she also was a Victoria and she was of the opinion there was only room for one.

The Baroness filled the role of wicked stepmother, petty and vicious to her unaware of what lurked behind the frail woman’s gaze. The same age as her step mother, Victoria had spent decades learning philosophy, herbology, savage magics, physics and the rigid science of the occult. All theoretical, her step mother’s war on the bastard girl was the push she needed to move into practical applications.

A treatise on Tibetan mental extension and usury of the will coupled with a well practiced habit of astral projection, she chose her moment... when the Baroness was fallen ill with influenza and weak. Victoria poured her will into her stepmother’s skull like hot pig iron. Not without a sense of irony, she shackled the tattered fabric of the Baroness’ soul to her old body.

It was in the next five years that Baroness Victoria Von Doom took to the global stage. Her husband tragically went mad, insisting that his wife was some sort of monstrosity that had been kept in the basement. Yet as a wealthy widow she divided her time as a transient student at Oxford and as an “adventurer abroad”, delving into the far corners of the earth for knowledge of the past to better inform the future.

The stuff of penny dreadfuls (many penned by Victoria herself to influence public opinion) she became a darling of scientific dreamers and blue collar readers. Manipulating records during her stays in London, she slowly added greater legitimacy to her claim to the throne. It was when the former monarch fell ill that she found that she had not entirely escaped the curse of her birth.

At first a small blemish, she hid her returning deformity beneath makeup and in dark rooms. When her condition worsened, she hid herself away, claiming she was grieving for the King. Donning a mask and armor, she claimed to be an agent of Doom and reached out to a brilliant surgeon and geneticist for assistance. What she proposed was unethical, but for Essex, ethical violations occurred on days ending in “y”.

She reworked an urchin with surgery and genetic manipulation, crafting a facsimile of Victoria Von Doom. A few steps further down the evolutionary chain, Doom again played shell games with her soul. More radiant than ever and emboldened, with the passing of the current monarch, she “reluctantly” took the reins of state.

What followed was reforms, as she poured the empires finances into industry and science. Increased standards of living made her the darlings of both Houses of Parliament and blue collar mercantile unions. Only some in the higher echelons see the cracks in her mask and know the brutality that hides behind her serenity.

Powers/Skills/Gadgets: Victoria possesses a Genius-level intellect and an intimacy with the machines that borders on technopathy. She has been documented as wielding supernatural abilities with equal aplomb including mind transference and demonic summoning via sorcery and alchemy.

She has design a suit of armor which grants her superhuman strength and durability. This is further augmented by a forcefield generator, and a plethora of weapons and gadgets powered by her expertise in clockwork engineering, industrial steam theory and the physics of luminous ether.

All of these gifts dim in comparison to her most unsettling adaptation. Victoria has an iron will and single mindedness that leaves her thoughts glacial to the touch of psychic manipulation and thought thievery. When she applies this focus to the solution of a problem, elegance and efficiency are her primary concerns, with little interest left over for the morality of a solution.


Personality: Arrogant. She believes that humanity is on a course for destruction and only guided by her iron fist will it survive the coming storm of technology and magical power left to a race not yet ready for the responsibility to use it wisely. Well intentioned but ruthless.

Vices: The only vice that Doom allows herself is her pride. She enjoys having rivals and devotes time her brilliance might be better spent elsewhere on proving herself superior. Though her lusts are as exaggerated as her brilliance, at the core of everything is hubris and self love.

[Rinzler]

Tentatively reserving Dr Strange as a turn of the century decadent in the Aleister Crowley mould: a highly skilled magician, incumbent leader of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; an insatiably bisexual shagger, drug fiend, drunkard, braggart and all round shit who never pays his debts but is nevertheless well liked owing to his abundance of louche, self-regarding charm.

Additional tentative reserve for Wong as his butt-buddy.

If this appeals, then just give me a nod and I'll set to work on the character sheet asap. Please note I've never done a group game before so I don't really know what I'm supposed to do, but what the hell. Can't resist this opportunity, frankly. It'll be a hoot.

[RedPhoenix]

DOOM

I toot in celebration of this sheet!

Tentatively reserving Dr Strange as a turn of the century decadent in the Aleister Crowley mould

Yes!!! =)

[Juggtacular]

I've definitely gotta pull out all the stops for Drac The Ripper after reading that.

[Mathim]

Tentatively reserving Dr Strange as a turn of the century decadent in the Aleister Crowley mould: a highly skilled magician, incumbent leader of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; an insatiably bisexual shagger, drug fiend, drunkard, braggart and all round shit who never pays his debts but is nevertheless well liked owing to his abundance of louche, self-regarding charm.

Additional tentative reserve for Wong as his butt-buddy.

If this appeals, then just give me a nod and I'll set to work on the character sheet asap. Please note I've never done a group game before so I don't really know what I'm supposed to do, but what the hell. Can't resist this opportunity, frankly. It'll be a hoot.

Usually you don't necessarily have to ask, you can just submit your character sheets and unless there's something terribly outlandish about it or it goes against the setting of the game then there shouldn't be any problems with it. And since one of the Sanctums is already located in London, it's perfect that Strange would have shop set up there rather than over in New York.

[Foxy DeVille]

Well, gosh... if y'all are so keen to run with this I might as well add my kinky kitty to the mix... 

The Black Cat

THE BLACK CAT
Real Name: Félicité Armand
Also Known As: "The Queen of the Cat"
Place of Birth: Lyon, France
Known Associations: Her fellow courtesans, various patrons of Le Chat Noir, The Tinkerer
Motivations: A hedonistic desire for luxury and pleasure, vanity over her seductiveness and wits
Quote: "Zis pussycat will never be tamed!"

Origin and Background:
Félicité is the daughter of Gauthier Armand, alias Le Chat, an infamous thief who taught his daughter all his skills. He also though she should have the chance at a life outside of crime, so he enrolled her in ballet classes. Gauthier was arrested and imprisoned when Félicité was in her late teens, as a result she fled from Lyon to Paris where she she found work at Cabaret Artistique as a dancer. She also wasn't above using larceny and prostitution to add to her funds. After a few years Félicité got word her father had died in prison. She decided to quit France entirely and open a nightclub of her own called Le Chat Noir in London, named after the stray felines she saw while inspecting the location and took as an omen. Actually, "glorified brothel" would be more accurate. Her performers, most from France like herself, also provided other entertainment to the clientele. Félicité herself was a willing if selective participant, choosing callers that could be victims or patsies in her other favorite nocturnal activity... burglary. Over the past four years Le Chat Noir has become notorious, a place where both the blue-blooded and black-hearted could rub elbows. And looking down on them all is Félicité Armand.

Powers/Skills/Gadgets:
Félicité is a trained and experienced burglar, aided by her lithe and limber physique as well as gadgets supplied by a tinkerer named Phineas Mason. These include a claw-like grappling hook and goggle that amplify low levels of light. While in Paris Félicité trained in savate to be able to defend herself from both ruffians and the gendarmes. In addition to French and English, she speaks Spanish and Italian.

There is a poltergeist that protects Félicité, possibly the ghost of her father. This protection manifests as "bad luck" happening to those that oppose her. While the spirit is invisible, some people have seen the shadow of a cat when Félicité is around, usually out of the corner of her eye and quickly vanishing.

Appearance:
A pale exotic beauty with platinum blonde hair that is almost white, her green eyes are appropriately cat-like. Félicité is quite slender, weighing 116 pounds while standing at 5' 7." Her breasts are large for her frame and her perky bottom is quite saucy. Black and white are her favorite colors to wear in outfits that usually show a scandalous amount of skin. Félicité moves with a fluid grace and has trouble sitting still, frequently moving her body from one position to another. There is always an air of slyness about her, like she knows a secret no one else does.

Personality:
Félicité is a strong believer is personal freedom from the laws and standards of society. Her crimes are practically a political statement. She is a libertine that loves her hedonistic lifestyle. The death of her father in prison had a profound effect on Félicité and she would do anything to avoid such a fate. She enjoys the arts and being around artists of all kinds. Félicité has quite the sentimental streak and is willing to help someone if her heartstrings are pulled enough. She can also be quite vain, positively purring when showered with affection and raging at those who cross her.

Vices:
Her life is pretty much a collection of vices. Félicité is a regular consumer of absinthe and opium, thus far these habits haven't had much negative impact on her but this might not last forever. She is an exhibitionist who enjoys flaunting her body, which she frequently does at her establishment. Félicité has a voracious sexual appetite and eagerly does what other in society would find shocking, including a fondness for anal sex. Her past partners have included both men and women. Félicité has a masochist streak, quite willing to have her pale flesh punished in all kinds of ways. The only thing she rejects is anyone telling her that how she seeks pleasure is wrong.

[Rinzler]

Usually you don't necessarily have to ask, you can just submit your character sheets and unless there's something terribly outlandish about it or it goes against the setting of the game then there shouldn't be any problems with it. And since one of the Sanctums is already located in London, it's perfect that Strange would have shop set up there rather than over in New York.

Splendid! I'll get a character sheet sorted as soon as poss then.

[Kadigan]

If anyones interested in being a known assoxiate rival or shipmate send me a pm.

[Rinzler]

Sorted!

Dr Strange

Dr Strange
Real Name: Dr Vincent Stephen D'Onston Strange
Also Known As: Dr D'Onston Strange; The Great Shit of London (attributed to MacGregor Mathers)
Place of Birth: Aldwych, London
Known Associations: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (present leader); The Theosophical Society (former member - expelled); The Freemasons (reputed); The Hellfire Club.
Motivations: The pursuit of both magical knowledge and the gratifications afforded by a surfeit of drugs, alcohol and sex.
Quote: "I conceive of every possibility that a plateau of ultimate ascetic refinement can be wrought through the most turbulent excesses. Therefore, let it be announced: thy whim shall be the whole of the law."

Origin and Background: Descended from the D'Onston-Stranges' of Baltimore - a wealthy and stridently religious Huguenot-American family which made its fortune in the distillation and supply of medical alcohol - Vincent Stephen D'Onston Strange was born in London to United States emigres who settled in England to escape the austerely Calvinistic confines of their pedigree. In spite of his parents' liberal and hedonistic outlook, the young Vincent Strange grew up as an abstemious, dedicated and somewhat priggish scholar, much to the disappointment of his mother and father. Eventually, his single-minded pursuit of knowledge and clean living led him into the study of medicine - with an emphasis on surgery - in Edinburgh, with the ambition of gaining admission to the Royal College. His plans, however, were savagely curtailed shortly after he received his doctorate, where a catastrophic incident involving a Hansom cab in which he was a passenger left him with an insoluble nervous condition and, eventually, a dependence on ether.

It was after such events that his biography becomes hazy, though it was known that in his despair, he resorted to seeking respite from his ailments through mysticism and esoterica. Despite sincere advice to the contrary, Strange took his newfound studies seriously, with the result being a disappearance of several years - and a subsequent return where he proclaimed himself a disciple of a Tibetan Theosophical Master known as The Ancient One. He went on to join the Theosophical Society, albeit - as it transpired - under false pretences. Again, this particular juncture of his life becomes unclear, but it is known that he had a heated exchange with the Theosophist leader, Madame Helena Blavatsky-Mordo, in Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead*. Peculiarly, on the night of the confrontation, the roof of the building exploded in green fire and Blavatsky-Mordo was never seen in society circles ever again. Strange himself was summarily dismissed from the Society, though this did not prohibit him from extolling what he claimed to have learned from this so-called Ancient One: that the route to true mystical enlightenment lies not through the disciplines of denial but the rigours of excess. As such, he gained a not unjustified reputation as a cad, an inebriate, a sensualist - and in more recondite and secretive circles, as a genuine sorcerer of astonishing ability.

Further trouble followed Strange when he gained membership another esoteric society - the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn - and drunkenly challenged its then director, William Westcott, to a magical duel. It was conducted behind closed doors, but it was soon clear that Strange had triumphed when Westcott fled, ashen-faced, from the scene. Subsequently, Strange acquired stewardship of the Order, much to the fury of Westcott's friend and confederate MacGregor Mathers, who proceeded to take out full page advertisements in a number of libertine periodicals where he lambasted Strange thusly:

"He is a turd. A reprobate. A licentious, slovenly, degraded facsimile of a man. His veins run, when they are not ice-cold, with every opiate picked out from the stinking sandals of whatever Afghan root-digger you should care to imagine. His guts spoil with absinthe, brandy, wines of suspicious vintage and cheap ale. His lewdness is despicable; he sees no distinction between the courting of gentlewomen and tupenny uprights in Stepney alleyways. He is a beast; a pig. He is the great shit of London!"

In spite of the widespread controversy - one tabloid even went so far as to dub Strange as 'the wickedest man in the world' - Strange was sanguine to the point of seeming vaguely amused by the insult. "I suspect Mathers is merely envious," he is recorded as saying. "It is the nature of little shits to be sour about the great ones."

And so Strange's reputation was sealed, both as a decadent and, in certain discreet, important salons, as a man of such magical ability as to be feared.

*A former Sanctum Sanctorum of Strange's order. Nowadays, the Sanctum is located in Greenwich, London, and serves as both Strange's base of operations and his home. It is also presently disassociated from the Theosophical Society, with the organisation having become fragmented and heterodox after the disappearance of Blavatsky-Mordo.

Powers/Skills/Gadgets: Mastery of numerous magical and mystical disciplines such as astral projection, utilising the powers dispensed by cosmic entities, and command of magically charged devices and amulets. He can open and cross dimensional portals, both physically and astrally. Great knowledge of magical and mystical traditions from throughout the world. Highly mentally disciplined, despite often being addled by various substances. Still retains a good deal of medical knowledge from his former studies. 

Appearance: Tall, austere in his features and lean. Has a distinct favour for top hats and long, embroidered frock coats when travelling. Maintains a trim goatee-style beard and prefers to keep his dark - albeit greying at the temples - hair short and neatly clipped.

Personality: Highly decadent and can be combative when inebriated. Boastful and often of dismissive those he considers beneath him. Finds amusement in courting controversy. Prone to not paying his debts. Conversely, he is extremely calm when faced with danger and has a strong inclination to help those who he believes to be in peril - especially if the source of the danger is magical in character. In such instances, he'll dismiss his apparent concern as simple curiosity about the situation, though secretly, he takes an unwholesomely wholesome delight in helping people.

Sexually, he is bisexual, with a decided leaning towards women. For males, he favours those with a feminine manner and appearance.

Vices: It may be easier to list the ones he doesn't have. But anyway: drugs, particularly of the opiate variety; ether; cocaine; tobacco; hashish; nitrous oxide; wines, ales, liquors and spirits; reneging on debts; boastfulness; self-aggrandisement; sexual promiscuity.

[indarkestknight]

Even though my first choice is off the table due to requiring a writing partner, and the one I have in mind isn't joining new games at the moment, I still have an embarrassment of concepts, so hopefully you lovely folks can let me know which ones tickle your fancy most?

• Vision as a sort of Frankenstein's monster/Golem/Promethean the Created-inspired creature, longing to find a place amidst humanity.
• Early 1890s is still in the same time period as the Wild West, so a gunslinging cowboy Ghost Rider is also an option, likely with Josh Hartnett as the faceclaim.
• Some version of Bruce Banner/The Hulk with Harry Treadaway as the faceclaim. Least sure about the execution on this one, but probably taking inspiration from Ewing's recent Immortal Hulk run.

[Mathim]

Well, gosh... if y'all are so keen to run with this I might as well add my kinky kitty to the mix... 

The Black Cat

THE BLACK CAT
Real Name: Félicité Armand
Also Known As: "The Queen of the Cat"
Place of Birth: Lyon, France
Known Associations: Her fellow courtesans, various patrons of Le Chat Noir, The Tinkerer
Motivations: A hedonistic desire for luxury and pleasure, vanity over her seductiveness and wits
Quote: "Zis pussycat will never be tamed!"

Origin and Background:
Félicité is the daughter of Gauthier Armand, alias Le Chat, an infamous thief who taught his daughter all his skills. He also though she should have the chance at a life outside of crime, so he enrolled her in ballet classes. Gauthier was arrested and imprisoned when Félicité was in her late teens, as a result she fled from Lyon to Paris where she she found work at Cabaret Artistique as a dancer. She also wasn't above using larceny and prostitution to add to her funds. After a few years Félicité got word her father had died in prison. She decided to quit France entirely and open a nightclub of her own called Le Chat Noir in London, named after the stray felines she saw while inspecting the location and took as an omen. Actually, "glorified brothel" would be more accurate. Her performers, most from France like herself, also provided other entertainment to the clientele. Félicité herself was a willing if selective participant, choosing callers that could be victims or patsies in her other favorite nocturnal activity... burglary. Over the past four years Le Chat Noir has become notorious, a place where both the blue-blooded and black-hearted could rub elbows. And looking down on them all is Félicité Armand.

Powers/Skills/Gadgets:
Félicité is a trained and experienced burglar, aided by her lithe and limber physique as well as gadgets supplied by a tinkerer named Phineas Mason. These include a claw-like grappling hook and goggle that amplify low levels of light. While in Paris Félicité trained in savate to be able to defend herself from both ruffians and the gendarmes. In addition to French and English, she speaks Spanish and Italian.

There is a poltergeist that protects Félicité, possibly the ghost of her father. This protection manifests as "bad luck" happening to those that oppose her. While the spirit is invisible, some people have seen the shadow of a cat when Félicité is around, usually out of the corner of her eye and quickly vanishing.

Appearance:
A pale exotic beauty with platinum blonde hair that is almost white, her green eyes are appropriately cat-like. Félicité is quite slender, weighing 116 pounds while standing at 5' 7." Her breasts are large for her frame and her perky bottom is quite saucy. Black and white are her favorite colors to wear in outfits that usually show a scandalous amount of skin. Félicité moves with a fluid grace and has trouble sitting still, frequently moving her body from one position to another. There is always an air of slyness about her, like she knows a secret no one else does.

Personality:
Félicité is a strong believer is personal freedom from the laws and standards of society. Her crimes are practically a political statement. She is a libertine that loves her hedonistic lifestyle. The death of her father in prison had a profound effect on Félicité and she would do anything to avoid such a fate. She enjoys the arts and being around artists of all kinds. Félicité has quite the sentimental streak and is willing to help someone if her heartstrings are pulled enough. She can also be quite vain, positively purring when showered with affection and raging at those who cross her.

Vices:
Her life is pretty much a collection of vices. Félicité is a regular consumer of absinthe and opium, thus far these habits haven't had much negative impact on her but this might not last forever. She is an exhibitionist who enjoys flaunting her body, which she frequently does at her establishment. Félicité has a voracious sexual appetite and eagerly does what other in society would find shocking, including a fondness for anal sex. Her past partners have included both men and women. Félicité has a masochist streak, quite willing to have her pale flesh punished in all kinds of ways. The only thing she rejects is anyone telling her that how she seeks pleasure is wrong.

Welcome aboard! I'm glad we were able to have you back. Now if only we had a Spider for her to play with. I might just take up that role if nobody else claims it.

Sorted!

Dr Strange

Dr Strange
Real Name: Dr Vincent Stephen D'Onston Strange
Also Known As: Dr D'Onston Strange; The Great Shit of London (attributed to MacGregor Mathers)
Place of Birth: Aldwych, London
Known Associations: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (present leader); The Theosophical Society (former member - expelled); The Freemasons (reputed); The Hellfire Club.
Motivations: The pursuit of both magical knowledge and the gratifications afforded by a surfeit of drugs, alcohol and sex.
Quote: "I conceive of every possibility that a plateau of ultimate ascetic refinement can be wrought through the most turbulent excesses. Therefore, let it be announced: thy whim shall be the whole of the law."

Origin and Background: Descended from the D'Onston-Stranges' of Baltimore - a wealthy and stridently religious Huguenot-American family which made its fortune in the distillation and supply of medical alcohol - Vincent Stephen D'Onston Strange was born in London to United States emigres who settled in England to escape the austerely Calvinistic confines of their pedigree. In spite of his parents' liberal and hedonistic outlook, the young Vincent Strange grew up as an abstemious, dedicated and somewhat priggish scholar, much to the disappointment of his mother and father. Eventually, his single-minded pursuit of knowledge and clean living led him into the study of medicine - with an emphasis on surgery - in Edinburgh, with the ambition of gaining admission to the Royal College. His plans, however, were savagely curtailed shortly after he received his doctorate, where a catastrophic incident involving a Hansom cab in which he was a passenger left him with an insoluble nervous condition and, eventually, a dependence on ether.

It was after such events that his biography becomes hazy, though it was known that in his despair, he resorted to seeking respite from his ailments through mysticism and esoterica. Despite sincere advice to the contrary, Strange took his newfound studies seriously, with the result being a disappearance of several years - and a subsequent return where he proclaimed himself a disciple of a Tibetan Theosophical Master known as The Ancient One. He went on to join the Theosophical Society, albeit - as it transpired - under false pretences. Again, this particular juncture of his life becomes unclear, but it is known that he had a heated exchange with the Theosophist leader, Madame Helena Blavatsky-Mordo, in Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead*. Peculiarly, on the night of the confrontation, the roof of the building exploded in green fire and Blavatsky-Mordo was never seen in society circles ever again. Strange himself was summarily dismissed from the Society, though this did not prohibit him from extolling what he claimed to have learned from this so-called Ancient One: that the route to true mystical enlightenment lies not through the disciplines of denial but the rigours of excess. As such, he gained a not unjustified reputation as a cad, an inebriate, a sensualist - and in more recondite and secretive circles, as a genuine sorcerer of astonishing ability.

Further trouble followed Strange when he gained membership another esoteric society - the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn - and drunkenly challenged its then director, William Westcott, to a magical duel. It was conducted behind closed doors, but it was soon clear that Strange had triumphed when Westcott fled, ashen-faced, from the scene. Subsequently, Strange acquired stewardship of the Order, much to the fury of Westcott's friend and confederate MacGregor Mathers, who proceeded to take out full page advertisements in a number of libertine periodicals where he lambasted Strange thusly:

"He is a turd. A reprobate. A licentious, slovenly, degraded facsimile of a man. His veins run, when they are not ice-cold, with every opiate picked out from the stinking sandals of whatever Afghan root-digger you should care to imagine. His guts spoil with absinthe, brandy, wines of suspicious vintage and cheap ale. His lewdness is despicable; he sees no distinction between the courting of gentlewomen and tupenny uprights in Stepney alleyways. He is a beast; a pig. He is the great shit of London!"

In spite of the widespread controversy - one tabloid even went so far as to dub Strange as 'the wickedest man in the world' - Strange was sanguine to the point of seeming vaguely amused by the insult. "I suspect Mathers is merely envious," he is recorded as saying. "It is the nature of little shits to be sour about the great ones."

And so Strange's reputation was sealed, both as a decadent and, in certain discreet, important salons, as a man of such magical ability as to be feared.

*A former Sanctum Sanctorum of Strange's order. Nowadays, the Sanctum is located in Greenwich, London, and serves as both Strange's base of operations and his home. It is also presently disassociated from the Theosophical Society, with the organisation having become fragmented and heterodox after the disappearance of Blavatsky-Mordo.

Powers/Skills/Gadgets: Mastery of numerous magical and mystical disciplines such as astral projection, utilising the powers dispensed by cosmic entities, and command of magically charged devices and amulets. He can open and cross dimensional portals, both physically and astrally. Great knowledge of magical and mystical traditions from throughout the world. Highly mentally disciplined, despite often being addled by various substances. Still retains a good deal of medical knowledge from his former studies. 

Appearance: Tall, austere in his features and lean. Has a distinct favour for top hats and long, embroidered frock coats when travelling. Maintains a trim goatee-style beard and prefers to keep his dark - albeit greying at the temples - hair short and neatly clipped.

Personality: Highly decadent and can be combative when inebriated. Boastful and often of dismissive those he considers beneath him. Finds amusement in courting controversy. Prone to not paying his debts. Conversely, he is extremely calm when faced with danger and has a strong inclination to help those who he believes to be in peril - especially if the source of the danger is magical in character. In such instances, he'll dismiss his apparent concern as simple curiosity about the situation, though secretly, he takes an unwholesomely wholesome delight in helping people.

Sexually, he is bisexual, with a decided leaning towards women. For males, he favours those with a feminine manner and appearance.

Vices: It may be easier to list the ones he doesn't have. But anyway: drugs, particularly of the opiate variety; ether; cocaine; tobacco; hashish; nitrous oxide; wines, ales, liquors and spirits; reneging on debts; boastfulness; self-aggrandisement; sexual promiscuity.

D'Onston? Never heard of a name like that before. But otherwise, good job, looks like a fun take on the character.

Even though my first choice is off the table due to requiring a writing partner, and the one I have in mind isn't joining new games at the moment, I still have an embarrassment of concepts, so hopefully you lovely folks can let me know which ones tickle your fancy most?

• Vision as a sort of Frankenstein's monster/Golem/Promethean the Created-inspired creature, longing to find a place amidst humanity.
• Early 1890s is still in the same time period as the Wild West, so a gunslinging cowboy Ghost Rider is also an option, likely with Josh Hartnett as the faceclaim.
• Some version of Bruce Banner/The Hulk with Harry Treadaway as the faceclaim. Least sure about the execution on this one, but probably taking inspiration from Ewing's recent Immortal Hulk run.

I found an image of Vision while looking for the three icon pics at the top, I thought it looked pretty cool:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

But me personally, I don't see Ghost Rider often enough in games so that would be pretty great to have here. But it's ultimately up to you. And you're welcome to do more than one if you'd like.