The Encroaching Madness - alt historical Earth, Recruitment

[Nowherewoman]

LOL 'Triffy the Vampire Slayer'



I expect she and Alex well get along...very well

[Athem]

Looks good, please notify me when you finish it!

Now finished.

Need to decide whether or not YC should be an Agent of the Society or more of a freelancer - a bit like Buffy. So if you have any preferences.

I'm guessing the Society is a bit like the Diogenes Club of Kim Newman's stories - freelance but secretly doing work for the government - which would be ideal.

[TheGrandAdmiral]

And she is approved! Please post her CS in the Characters thread

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=329317.0

[Cirus]

While powerful, Orleon's use of his N'tari language on this new reality has been reserved Fearing major arcane spell failure, he has limited his use to simple illusions and other parlor tricks until he is more confident of his currently reality.

@GrandAdmiral, I included the above in his bio as a plot device that inhibits his use of his spells in this new reality. Arcane spell failure must have a serious kickback for him. If his language alters the reality of his universe, perhaps this universe must a different syntax or technique. Nonetheless he is unsure and experimentation must continue.

Also, right now I haven't considered if he can even return. Orleon may be having "too much fun" to try to return.

[Mythril]

Name: Travis Stone
Gender: Male
Age: 28?
Nationality: Presumably American, but not sure.
Sexual Preferences: Heterosexual
Physical Description: Powerfully built and raven-haired, Travis dresses like a gentleman, swears like a sailor, and dances like a dandy. He is pretty certain he isn't any of those. In fact, his first memories are awakening in an opium den as he was being arrested and thrown into Bedlam for about a month, at which point it was decided that he was suffering from amnesia, and seemed to be no threat to society at large.
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 175 lbs.
Skin color: white, but generally a little on the tanned side. Possibly of Mediterranean descent.
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Piercing blue

Personality: He seems a bit distracted sometimes, but that's probably because he's just seen or heard something that half-reminds him of something. It is frustrating. When he is focused on something, he is witty, perceptive, passionate, and as reasonably fearless as one would expect...except he isn't sure why he's like that.

Quirks: Is very interested in anything relating to the mind. Also experiments with various drugs to see if they will help him get his memory back. So far, nothing, and once he has tried something, he will probably not try it again. He has a marked dislike of snakes, and will go out of his way to kill them.
Likes/dislikes: Likes: A good full meal. Strong drink. Getting caught in storms and bad weather. Physical exertion of certain kinds (running, mountain climbing, diving). People who don't take themselves seriously.
Dislikes: People who are rude to others with no reason to be. Not having his memories. The dark forces that are so close to the surface that man does not know about.
Strengths/weaknesses: Strengths: Physically powerful and fast. His endurance is quite a thing. His morality keeps him from taking advantage of these traits, and apart from keeping man safe from monsters and regaining his memories, he is not very ambitious. Weaknesses: Can be a little lazy when he gets into a funk about his condition. Sometimes others have to push him into things, but once he gets started he will finish, which can be a weakness. He assumes that others are as physically tough as he is, which can get people killed. He has little concern for his body since he heals quickly enough and should really stop trying other means of getting his memories back.

Power: None that he knows of. He is very fast and very strong. If he were a bare-knuckles boxer he would most likely kill his opponents. Unfortunately, he knows this because he has killed several men with his bare hands. Men who probably didn't deserve it. He won't fight for fun. He is gentle with anyone he isn't looking to destroy.

Weapons: As a gentleman, he carries a walking stick that contains a rapier. He is very good at it, but will only use it against someone with a weapon. If someone unarmed attacks him he will either use his hands or the stick. He has no problem killing evildoers but doesn't look to kill as a first option. He carries a straight razor and an M1911A1 pistol.

Short Bio: He is an amnesiac. His oldest memory is awakening from a fog in an opium den. He isn't sure how long he was there, and nobody seemed to remember his arrival. Nobody knows anything about him or even that he existed on both sides of the Atlantic (Scotland Yard checked). Confined to an insane asylum, it took the legislatively proscribed month before he was released. He seemed very rational, kind, and helpful. Finding out after a failed mugging that he was good at fighting, he started to fight in the underground clubs and made a good deal of money quickly. When he discovered that three of his opponents were not just knocked out but were in fact dead, he quit immediately. It was during his research into his memory problems that he started to learn about the secret world that people simply did not want to know about. He frequents a few pubs-one for fun, one for work, and when he tracks down cultists or other monsters (like serial killers) he usually wears a scarf over his lower face so he will not be identified.

Face Claim: Sam Heughan

[TheGrandAdmiral]

Looks good, just one thing about him healing fast. Normally it would not be a problem, but just need to know whether or not he is immortal or is there a way that he can be killed. I am not planning on doing that (unless the player wants me to or am forced by extreme circumstances) just need to know as there should be some sense of danger for the character.

@Cirus I am sorry for the delay in coming back, I needed some time to think. That is a start, I feel that it would be best if you could describe a bit more by reality changing spells. The problem with characters based on comic books is that they have tailor-made enemies and here most of the "monsters of the week" (aside of the big bad and Cthulhu) don't possess comparable powers. So you understand now that we are hunting for Jack the Ripper, who has a mystical element to him, but he operates in a similar way like he did in the 19th century, so when your character comes it would be like Doctor Strange facing against the Rhino or some of the other Spider-Man villains or other street level enemies, who are strong in their own stories, but when facing a character like Stephen it is an unfair match.

Though now that there are more players I am considering splitting the teams so that they can face different enemies (instead of one "monster of the week", there could be two), but their relative power level remains.

Though when facing Cthulhu or similar entities I will mostly keep the Lovecraftian canon where the characters can't defeat him (it will mostly involve stopping the summoning ritual), though will break the said canon by not having the characters go insane for the obvious reason, though everyone will be at least traumatized by the experience.

So you see my dilemma and I think a more detailed explanation of the powers will help a lot.

Once again I am sorry for being difficult about it (I have been in a similar situation on another site and another game, so I know it can be frustrating), but I am sure you understand.

[Mythril]

Admiral,

I was basing him on one of the scions of Amber (from Roger Zelazny's books). When it comes to old age, he might be immortal. Zelazny didn't tell stories long enough to say so or not. However, several members of the Royal Family of Amber are killed during the books, so they can be slain by violence. There is no regeneration after death a la a troll in Dungeons and Dragons.

Fast healing means that if he were to break his arm, it would heal in a week or so. No instant Wolverine healing for Travis. So he would be a little more resistant to poison and disease than a regular human, meaning it would take a massive dose of poison to kill him and any disease that killed him would probably be supernatural in origin. Bullets, blades, tentacles, buildings falling on him...all the same as the next guy.

Travis knows that he is tougher than the average bloke, but has no idea why, and I have no plans on ever letting him find out. In fact, as he runs into things that fray his sanity, he will realize that it is making it less likely that he will get his memories back, but in the truth mold of a hero, will take that hit for the team and keep doing the dangerous behavior. It would take away his motivation for fighting Great Cthulhu (Ia! Ia! - oops, carried away, figuratively) and for keeping his adopted home of London safe.

In the Amber books, the main character spends about four hundred years on Earth and doesn't appear much older than thirty-five. He is probably over five hundred years old in the Amber books. But he gets stabbed a few times, gets in a car accident and breaks both legs, which heal in a few weeks. He also has his eyes ripped out of his head and grows them back over the course of a few years.

Travis is not Corwin, and if he could even do that it would take much, much longer. (FYI - you are not being difficult. Thank you).

[TheGrandAdmiral]

Oh, I loved Amber! Been a while since I last read the series and thank you for the clarification! I just wanted to know about the regeneration if it was en par with Wolverine's, which would have been problematic for the reasons I mentioned in regards to Cirus' character. But you answered my question I can say that your character is approved.

Also the age is not a problem as we have a couple of long-lived characters.

[Dashenka]

I suppose you've already started?

And I also suppose you're still recruiting?

[TheGrandAdmiral]

Oh it is going, but I am keeping it open for new recruits :)

Feel free to make a CS.

[Dashenka]

Gotta read up a bit first :)

[TheGrandAdmiral]

Sure thing! Hope you will decide to join!

[TheGrandAdmiral]

@Athem and @Mythril, please follow the OOC thread, I usually post there roughly when I am about to post and for general OOC chit-chat and fun :)

OOC Thread

[Cirus]

I slammed Orleon's power down to the most rudimentary. If it is at 0, there is no way to go but up no?

[TheGrandAdmiral]

Thank you for understanding! Approved!

I think it can be a good plotline for him to start regaining (or discovering new) his powers, since he is a scientist of sort. Think of it like a video game where you unlock the cooler abilities later in the game :)

Please post the CS in the CS thread. I will tag you in the next update along with the other new characters :)

[Cirus]

I think it can be a good plotline for him to start regaining (or discovering new) his powers, since he is a scientist of sort. Think of it like a video game where you unlock the cooler abilities later in the game :)

Yes, exactly! What are the links to chaacter sheets and main threads?

[ihinka]

Hi there, new to the forum. I was feeling my way around E when I stumbled onto this and thought of a character idea I had quite a while ago that might fit this with some tweaks.

So I was wondering if you had more space and would not be opposed to someone new to the forum joining the game, then maybe I could take a stab at fiddling with my character idea to adjust her for this?

[TheGrandAdmiral]

Sure thing, the game is still open to new players :)

[ihinka]

Alright then, let me give it a try. Now, as this is not a mundane human character, I'll leave her powers and abilities as I originally envisioned them and let you tell me what needs to be altered to fit the setting and game.

Also, I'm sorry, but I'm never able to do short bios The personality section for this one is also longish, but the character's specifics kind of demanded it.

Name: Subject #46584354; Tiponi Camacho
Gender: Female
Age: 37
Nationality (Race if a Magical Creature): Peruvian (Wraith possessed)

Sexual Preferences: Strong preference for female companionship

Physical description (picture if applicable): Po is distinctly Latina with her mocha skin, dark hair and chocolate colored eyes. Not overly tall she is fit and athletic after years of martial arts training. To strangers she appears the typical beautiful Latina with her darker complexion and exotic charms. No one would say that if they saw her other half rear its ugly head. Due to a tragic portion of her early childhood Tiponi has been merged with a wraith entity with which she must forever live in a sort of a reluctant symbiotic relationship.

Height: 5'2"
Weight: 115
Skin color: Mocha
Hair color: Mahogany
Eye color: Chocolate brown

Personality: Po is a complex person. She’s lived through horrors no human should be made to endure. A child even less so. But to be made to inflict such horrors is even more damaging to a young mind. Tiponi was raised by deranged cultists who manipulated and brainwashed her during her formative years. The fact that she isn’t a complete basket case or a serial killer is largely due to her adoptive mother and rescuer from said cult.

She is a well-adjusted individual as much as that could be said of someone with her background. Years of deprogramming work have helped her to find a sort of piece with what’s been done to her.  Still, her early life ordeal has left its mark on her. She is slow to trust and will evaluate each new connection with unrelenting care. However, because of that, whenever she does accept someone within her inner circle, she is loyal to that person to death. She is a cautious person by way of what she’s been through.

She has a soft spot for victims of violence and especially those of manipulation and psychological abuse. After being rescued from the cult by her adoptive mother and discovering the glorious gift of nurturing someone back to health and sanity through love and devotion, she is dead set on propagating that gift and tries to always be kind and gentle to people, especially children. She gives love where love is needed, but she is no flower child. She knows the face of ugliness and insanity and is prepared to fight it to her last breath.

Po has a unique relationship with her other half, the Wraith. The entity to which she was bonded by mistake when she was but five years old. The Wraith is a ravenous incorporeal creature that hungers constantly for Life Force energy. Its hunger knows no bounds and is insatiable. It is neither good nor evil. It is simply hungry. Ravenous! After being forcefully pulled out of its shadowy realm and bonded to little Po its existence had to change. It knows itself and Tiponi are merged for life and so it offers its services and abilities to her in exchange for sustenance.

If they don’t feed on regular basis it can reduce Po to manic behaviors and crazed outbursts. It cannot take over completely, but it can make her existence a living hell. It is a constant voice in her head, urging her to make choices based solely on their hunger level. Which is ever and always present.


    Quirks: Can often be seen with her head on the side, as if having a conversation with herself in her head; Talks to plants as if people or pets
    Likes/dislikes: Likes nature, rain and thunderstorms, children, a quiet night in, etc.; Dislikes abusive behavior and tendencies, cultist mentality, progress at all costs mentality, inconsiderate people, etc.
    Strengths/weaknesses:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

THE WRAITH


Life Force Absorption – The Wraith entity bonded to Tiponi needs Life Force to exist. If it does not feed it will begin draining its human host and both Po and it will cease to exist. As such both of them possess the drive to prevent that from happening. Tiponi feeds regularly on any and all lowlifes she can find, and occasionally gorges on the Life Force of the most depraved and deranged. She can control the feeding process and leave her victim alive. But she is perfectly capable of draining her target of its last Life Force, killing them in the process. She does need to be in close proximity to her victims, but actual physical contact is not required.

Consumption Psychometry – Whenever Tiponi feeds off of someone’s energy she instantly becomes familiar with who this person is and their entire history and memories. However, as her brain cannot retain the information for long periods of time all she learns after a feeding begins to fade away after about two days, to disappear completely within five.

Decelerated Aging – As the Wraith within her is an eternal entity that subsides off of pure energy, it grants its host the gift of decelerated aging and cell degradation. Thus Tiponi may very well live past the average human lifespan.

Fear Inducement – Whenever Po allows the face of the Wraith to surface, its horrific countenance is able to induce mind numbing, paralyzing fear. People prone to heart failure and strokes could die if she unleashes the Wraith’s countenance upon them.

Healing Factor – The absorption of Life Force grants Tiponi a moderate healing factor. The closer she is to a feeding, the more and the faster she can heal. The effect fades if she hasn’t fed for a long while.

Weapons/Possessions: Walther Model 4 pistol, which she avoids using unless absolutely necessary; A walking stick, doubling as a fighting stick; Wolf Vixen motorcycle; A locket with the picture of her adoptive mother and savior

Short Bio:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

When Tiponi was five years old she was kidnapped by the members of a cult worshiping a formless malignant deity known as the Disintegrator. Apparently the cultists got it into their heads that they would bring their incorporeal beloved dark god into flesh. After an extensive search for the perfect vessel, little Tiponi Camacho was forcefully taken from her parents, who were brutally murdered trying to protect their child from being abducted.

The ritual was prepared and executed to, in the cultists’ mind, perfection. Alas, their stupidity obviously knew no bounds. As instead of their God incarnate in flesh, they managed somehow to bond an unknown wraith entity to little Tiponi. Some members of the cult dared to suggest it was punishment from Disintegrator for deigning to force it into a meat sack when it was perfectly monstrous in its aura form. Those cultists were never heard of again.

Mistake or punishment, the cultists had to make the best of the botched ritual. They’d kidnapped the little brat and the wraith entity stuck within her body and soul wasn’t completely useless. The cultists quickly came to realize its power and abilities. Now all that remained was to indoctrinate the child into the faith. A task made easy by her tender age. Between the non-physical torture and the daily programming sessions little Tiponi quickly forgot her parents and her life before the cult. She became its most prized instrument. She became the Conduit of the Will of the Disintegrator. She would be called upon during various rituals. Indoctrination ceremonies, sacrificial ceremonies, deranged sexual rites.

By the time she was fifteen this twisted world of depravity and evil worship she lived in had become the norm for her. She was the Conduit of the Will of the Disintegrator. It was her job to punish the heathens and the week by sucking their Life Force. It was her duty to instill fear in the hearts of the hesitant. And by the Will of the Disintegrator she was spared the pain of physical harm and aging and was granted the knowledge of all she consumed.

And yet somewhere, buried deep, deep within her, was the doubt that all of this was not normal. Not right! It was wrong and disgusting, deranged and deprived. And she was made to be a part of it almost willingly. She remembered knowing what it meant to be a good girl, but her cultist family taught her that she’d been lied to. And so they taught her anew. But it felt wrong. And so she suffered. Every time she was made to suck the Life Force out of someone. Every time she had to induce mind numbing fear into the doubtful. Every time she attended the sex rites.

Her suffering only served to make her Wraith even more ravenous with hunger. And so she fed, while suffering. It was a vicious cycle the little girl could not possibly know how to escape. As it turned out, she didn’t have to. A group of archaeologists and anthropologists and a mix of other scientists working in the Peruvian Amazonia region found the cults lair and through a great risk to their own safety studied its routines and learned of the atrocities it had performed in the name of their dark god. Reporting this to authorities all over the world a task force was formed that acted with swiftness and decisiveness.

Tiponi would have been made to suffer the same fate as the rest of the cultist had one of the scientists not seen through the years of torture and brainwashing she’d endured. Melissa Camacho recognized the signs however. She also possessed the ability to see ghostly beings and discovered the Wraith bonded to little Tiponi. She pleaded with the authorities to show leniency towards the girl as she was as much a victim of the cult as any other. It also helped when it was discovered that she matched the description of a little girl who had gone missing from a local community and her parents being brutally murdered right about at the same time.

So began Po’s new life with Melissa. It was not easy at first. It took almost two years to reliably break the cult’s brainwashing and effectively deprogram Tiponi. It took even more for her to be able to live with what she’d become and what she’d done for the ten years she was with the cult. Melissa gave her the opportunity to study under all kinds of teachers, thinkers, scientists and philosophers. She also allowed the girl to help her with her work. The damage of introducing her fragile mind to the horrors of the world had already been done. Doing this she hoped it would give the little girl a form of structure and discipline to help her with her healing process.

She also was the main reason for Po to come to grips with her other half. The Wraith. She taught Tiponi how to temper its urges. How to keep the hunger at bay without harming innocence. Little by little the traumatized child Melissa’d rescued, grew into a stable, respectable young woman who valued human life and abhorred violence.

One thing however remained unchanged... The Wraith is ever hungry!

[TheGrandAdmiral]

No problem with short bios, the more info you can provide about a character the better. Also great choice of face claim.

One tiny advice, better to use

Code Select Expand

[img width=(put a number here, I usually use 300 for CS pictures) padding=5]GIF link here[/img]

As the wide gif distorts the CS a bit.

So now back to me being difficult. 

Just to clarify something the Wraith and Tiponi are tied, from the way you describe them they look like Venom and Eddie Brock from Marvel? Basically one body two minds? Because can't have the Wraith run around on its own as I stated at the beginning that Angels, Demons and Spirits are off-limits. If it is more of a "gimmick" (for a lack of a better word) for her to have her powers, should be fine.

I am a bit wary of the strengths, though you put some limitations, I was thinking that due to the botched ritual Tiponi does not have full access to the powers, think of it as a video game where her powers are still more or less basic (or like a TV/anime series where the character needs to develop the powers and so on).

One power that I prefer to be avoided is the ability to learn everything about a person as it will just beat the purpose of any investigation and will provide a shortcut. I am willing to make a compromise if for example reading the personality is very traumatic and difficult for her, so she will use it only as a last resort of sorts.

I hope this rambling made sense...



@Cirus, please post Orleon's CS in the CS thread so that I can tag you in the game 

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=329317.0

[ihinka]

Yeah, still feeling my way around this forum's coding practices... I'll get the hang of it with regular posting. Any and all advice is appreciated, however 

Now, as I stated, I left her powers in their original form so we could have a basis to work from where both you and I agree where we want them.

Yes, Tiponi and the Wraith are two entities sharing one body. The Wraith is locked within Tiponi's body and cannot take over or roam free in any way, shape or form. It is in a way a Venom/Eddie sort of a situation. Only the Wraith is bonded to Po's body and barring some inhuman exorcising rituals and abilities, nothing can separate them.

For the Consumption Psychometry – which is what gives Po insight into the person she feeds off I don't mind diminishing the effects of this power. Though it wouldn't make sense for it to be traumatic or difficult, as it simply happens with the transfer of energy/life force during feeding. However, feedings for her are generally quite traumatic and difficult. Which is why she only feeds on lowlifes and baddies. But like I said, if you wanted to limit how much she learns, how clear or distorted the information is, and for how long she retains the memories of what she learned, I'm totally fine with that.

We could limit the strengths and effects of her other powers further if you'd like. I don't mind. But again, since she's been bonded to the Wraith from an early age, and has been actively using said powers ever since, it would make little sense that at 37 she still wouldn't have figured out how the powers she's gained work. With the ritual being botched it does make sense that she didn't get the full range of the Wraith's power though. So again, tell me how you would like to limit the rest of her powers and I'll most probably be fine with it 

[TheGrandAdmiral]

That works, about the sharing of the body.

Well for the traumatic element I meant that it will also "suck" the moment of their deaths as that will create strong emotions and so on.

You are right, that her being 37 and being bonded with the Wraith for so long means that she had mastered most of its abilities. I mostly had issues with the Consumption Psychometry as it will just unlock information for her, though I don't want to fully get rid of it as it could be a nice plot point, like a skill that can only be used at certain points that will unlock important information.

[ihinka]

How about this... as the Consumption Psychometry is mostly a side effect of her taking in the essence of the people she feeds on, you'll have full control over what she learns if anything. And, yes, I'm totally okay with her also absorbing traumatic memories and information about her feeding victims. And her being traumatized by those in consequence.

So in other words, she can either get a glimpse of something useful, nothing at all, or a load of traumatic memories from her feeding victim that will shock and incapacitate her for a moment. Whatever you decide to give through this ability, I will be okay with

Would that work?

Edit: Also, I just noticed your location is Bulgaria too 

[TheGrandAdmiral]

Yes, that can work.

Well you have my stamp of approval, and feel free to post the CS in the Character Thread (you can see a link to the thread a bit above).

[TheGrandAdmiral]

Forgot to mention:

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=329318.0 this is yhe OOC thread

And this is the game thread https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=329316.0

Feel free to catch up with the game, I will tag you in the next couple of days (hopefully), and welcome to the game!