Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
How did I shot thread?
Huddled In The Dark (OOC Thread) [Broken]
- Thread starter Grey
- Start date
MorkaisChosen
One Thousand Club
*groan*
For the delectation of the other players (I've been discussing this in PMs with Grey), my concept, which I am currently writing up, is one of the guards of a First Age Solar's manse. The various created servants Jeid the Illuminator, Eclipse Caste, left when he had an unfortunate accident involving Usurpation have been living there, forming their own culture and slowly losing any knowledge of the outside world. But now Guard Twenty-First of Forty-Nine has decided to defy the priesthood and has left to see if there's more to life than waiting for the Creator to return...
For the delectation of the other players (I've been discussing this in PMs with Grey), my concept, which I am currently writing up, is one of the guards of a First Age Solar's manse. The various created servants Jeid the Illuminator, Eclipse Caste, left when he had an unfortunate accident involving Usurpation have been living there, forming their own culture and slowly losing any knowledge of the outside world. But now Guard Twenty-First of Forty-Nine has decided to defy the priesthood and has left to see if there's more to life than waiting for the Creator to return...
Haku1
Ze Hamster of Lurkdom
When exactly is the game set in? ie actual start date in Creation as that would help solidify histories. 8)
Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
Shortly before the disappearance of the Empress, by maybe six months. I forget the precise date.
MorkaisChosen
One Thousand Club
Also, where?
Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
West or South-West, unhabited region.
Haku1
Ze Hamster of Lurkdom
So aquatic types are okay? or not suggested unless it's a land/water type?
MorkaisChosen
One Thousand Club
Background! It doesn't have quite as much on the character's early life as I often write, but I might add to that at some point, and I'll probably write a paragraph or two on personality at some point, too.
Poetry's probably going to come up a lot. Fortunately, it's not entirely OOC if it's a bit bad.
Poetry's probably going to come up a lot. Fortunately, it's not entirely OOC if it's a bit bad.
Guard Twenty-First of Forty-Nine
In the beginning, the light of the Creator shone among us. We were birthed to serve him, each caste in their own way, and to keep his house for his return. And so we wait and hope that one day, he will shine upon us once again.
Until that day, we must keep the Commandments of the Creator we love and stay at our stations.
There is a manse in the West. Once the property of Jeid the Illuminator, an Eclipse Caste of the Solar Deliberative, it was his home, his fortress and his place of relaxation- but it now lies abandoned and forgotten.
Abandoned and forgotten, but not uninhabited.
For what good would a place of relaxation be without servants? Jeid was not only a diplomat, for the Solar Exaltations are flexible, and like many others in the First Age, he had acquired a certain degree of skill at the creation of new races. Nowhere was this more evident than among his servants- four-armed cleaners , hulking, armour-plated guards, and technicians with glowing third eyes to spot errors in the manse's Essence flows.
That these created servants were not true people seemed obvious to Jeid. They didn't need names, just numbers. Still, it made sense to allow them to breed- and breed true- since a Solar would surely outlive his servants, even those as long-lived as those he created, and it was simply so much easier than creating a new batch when the previous one died out.
Jeid didn't plan for the Usurpation.
His servants had been commanded to stay, and so they stayed. They had been commanded to keep their lines pure, and so they did. And slowly, the Solar's handservants, always the proudest and most privileged of his created, became his priesthood.
The Solar's quirks continued to have an effect long after his death. He was a great believer in the necessity and utility of teaching the unwashed masses to read- partly for ease of propaganda dissemination, it must be said- and that attitude extended even to his servants. All of them, even the guards, were taught to read, and this sacred duty has continued for two thousand years. Its latest result is strange, to say the least.
Guard Twenty-First o the Forty-Ninth Generation is entirely unremarkable to look at, if one is familiar with Jeid the Illuminator's created races. Seven feet tall and thickly muscled, with a shining, dark brown carapace reminiscent of a scorpion's. His hands are surmounted with vicious claws, his feet near-solid chitin, and his face an almost beetle-like mask, with little expression in the solid brown armour.
Yet his mind is quite unlike those of his fellows. Long hours spent learning how to stand still, rather than dulling him, made him introspective. As he approached his coming-of-age, he began to question his existence and the truth of what the Priesthood were telling him. Knowledge of how his fellow guards worked allowed him to steal into the Solar's library, read anything he could get his hands on. It became obvious to him that there was something outside the Creator's House, and he became determined to see it.
There was more. Among the reports, the summonses, the letters to friends and comrades, he found poetry. Achingly elegant poetry that described things and feelings Twenty-First had never seen. It was, quite simply, beautiful, like nothing he had seen before.
Of course, his illicit reading could not go unnoticed forever. He was caught one night exiting the library- a direct and obvious contravention of the Commandments, which stated that the Library was for the Creator and his peers only. The sentence was death.
Yet for all their hidebound lives, the priesthood were not malicious, and perhaps they always regretted the slaying of one of their number. When Guard Twenty-First told them he had read of another way in the Library, they were at least predisposed to listen, and he taught them a new word.
That word was Exile.
Since there was nothing outside the Creator's House, they reasoned, but the secret ways of the Creator, surely it was as good as death to leave the House, leave its food sources and safety? They were not betraying his wishes, merely allowing the convicted to choose the manner of his own demise- not unusual for one who had confessed his guilt so readily.
And because they were not malicious, it was with sad hearts that the people of the Creator's House assembled to cast Guard Twenty-First of Forty-Nine into the burning of the Outside.
He was infinitely relieved when he found that the tales he had read of the world outside the House were true.
Perhaps, one day, he would return to the House with his mouth full of song and show them what they had lost.
EDIT: First draft of the sheet.
In the beginning, the light of the Creator shone among us. We were birthed to serve him, each caste in their own way, and to keep his house for his return. And so we wait and hope that one day, he will shine upon us once again.
Until that day, we must keep the Commandments of the Creator we love and stay at our stations.
There is a manse in the West. Once the property of Jeid the Illuminator, an Eclipse Caste of the Solar Deliberative, it was his home, his fortress and his place of relaxation- but it now lies abandoned and forgotten.
Abandoned and forgotten, but not uninhabited.
For what good would a place of relaxation be without servants? Jeid was not only a diplomat, for the Solar Exaltations are flexible, and like many others in the First Age, he had acquired a certain degree of skill at the creation of new races. Nowhere was this more evident than among his servants- four-armed cleaners , hulking, armour-plated guards, and technicians with glowing third eyes to spot errors in the manse's Essence flows.
That these created servants were not true people seemed obvious to Jeid. They didn't need names, just numbers. Still, it made sense to allow them to breed- and breed true- since a Solar would surely outlive his servants, even those as long-lived as those he created, and it was simply so much easier than creating a new batch when the previous one died out.
Jeid didn't plan for the Usurpation.
His servants had been commanded to stay, and so they stayed. They had been commanded to keep their lines pure, and so they did. And slowly, the Solar's handservants, always the proudest and most privileged of his created, became his priesthood.
The Solar's quirks continued to have an effect long after his death. He was a great believer in the necessity and utility of teaching the unwashed masses to read- partly for ease of propaganda dissemination, it must be said- and that attitude extended even to his servants. All of them, even the guards, were taught to read, and this sacred duty has continued for two thousand years. Its latest result is strange, to say the least.
Guard Twenty-First o the Forty-Ninth Generation is entirely unremarkable to look at, if one is familiar with Jeid the Illuminator's created races. Seven feet tall and thickly muscled, with a shining, dark brown carapace reminiscent of a scorpion's. His hands are surmounted with vicious claws, his feet near-solid chitin, and his face an almost beetle-like mask, with little expression in the solid brown armour.
Yet his mind is quite unlike those of his fellows. Long hours spent learning how to stand still, rather than dulling him, made him introspective. As he approached his coming-of-age, he began to question his existence and the truth of what the Priesthood were telling him. Knowledge of how his fellow guards worked allowed him to steal into the Solar's library, read anything he could get his hands on. It became obvious to him that there was something outside the Creator's House, and he became determined to see it.
There was more. Among the reports, the summonses, the letters to friends and comrades, he found poetry. Achingly elegant poetry that described things and feelings Twenty-First had never seen. It was, quite simply, beautiful, like nothing he had seen before.
Of course, his illicit reading could not go unnoticed forever. He was caught one night exiting the library- a direct and obvious contravention of the Commandments, which stated that the Library was for the Creator and his peers only. The sentence was death.
Yet for all their hidebound lives, the priesthood were not malicious, and perhaps they always regretted the slaying of one of their number. When Guard Twenty-First told them he had read of another way in the Library, they were at least predisposed to listen, and he taught them a new word.
That word was Exile.
Since there was nothing outside the Creator's House, they reasoned, but the secret ways of the Creator, surely it was as good as death to leave the House, leave its food sources and safety? They were not betraying his wishes, merely allowing the convicted to choose the manner of his own demise- not unusual for one who had confessed his guilt so readily.
And because they were not malicious, it was with sad hearts that the people of the Creator's House assembled to cast Guard Twenty-First of Forty-Nine into the burning of the Outside.
He was infinitely relieved when he found that the tales he had read of the world outside the House were true.
Perhaps, one day, he would return to the House with his mouth full of song and show them what they had lost.
EDIT: First draft of the sheet.
Name: Guard Twenty-First of Forty-Nine
Concept: Hideous Poet
Created: First Age Solar's Guard
Strength: ooo
Dexterity: ooo
Stamina: ooo
Charisma: ooo
Manipulation: oo
Appearance: o
Perception: ooo
Intelligence: oo
Wits: oo
Favoured Ability: Performance: ooo
Martial Arts: ooo
Melee: o
Integrity: ooo
Presence: o
Resistance: ooo
Lore: oo
Athletics: o
Awareness: ooo
Dodge: oo
Stealth: oo
Linguistics: o
Compassion: ooo
Conviction: oo
Temperance: oo
Valour: ooo (3BP)
Not finished yet, I need to work out exactly what I can do with backgrounds and spend all those BPs.
For mutations, I was thinking Large, Talons, Armoured Hide, and possibly Toxin and some Awareness-related ones. If there's an Insanely Loud Voice one somewhere, that'd make sense, too. For added tragedy, I could bung him down to Appearnce 0, too.
Concept: Hideous Poet
Created: First Age Solar's Guard
Strength: ooo
Dexterity: ooo
Stamina: ooo
Charisma: ooo
Manipulation: oo
Appearance: o
Perception: ooo
Intelligence: oo
Wits: oo
Favoured Ability: Performance: ooo
Martial Arts: ooo
Melee: o
Integrity: ooo
Presence: o
Resistance: ooo
Lore: oo
Athletics: o
Awareness: ooo
Dodge: oo
Stealth: oo
Linguistics: o
Compassion: ooo
Conviction: oo
Temperance: oo
Valour: ooo (3BP)
Not finished yet, I need to work out exactly what I can do with backgrounds and spend all those BPs.
For mutations, I was thinking Large, Talons, Armoured Hide, and possibly Toxin and some Awareness-related ones. If there's an Insanely Loud Voice one somewhere, that'd make sense, too. For added tragedy, I could bung him down to Appearnce 0, too.
Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
Aquatic is fine. It'll provide a suitable obstacle and point of drama to cope with if the group does end up on mainland.Haku said:
Morkais: Fucking. Beautiful.
I'd allow dropping his appearance to 1, and redistributing those two dots elsewhere.
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
Which Heroic Mortal chargen rules? The ones from the main book, or the ones from Scroll of Heroes?
MorkaisChosen
One Thousand Club
He's got Appearance 1 already, no messing around needed for that, it was more Zero I was looking at.
Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
Ah, right, sorry. Misread. Up to you, really.
Scoll of Heroes rules.
Scoll of Heroes rules.
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
Grey has already seen my character’s background, but here it is again:
It’s an old story. You probably know it already.
The humble farmer and her husband had no child, so they went to beg the old witch for one. The witch (who lived deep in the forest, surrounded by her beast offspring) would not part with any of her children, but offered to loan one to the couple for a while. On her fifteenth birthday, however, the child would have to return to the forest to complete her destiny.
The farmer and her husband agreed (desperate people will agree to anything) and the bargain was made. The story doesn’t say whether the woman actually gave birth to the witch’s child herself, or if she found the baby on her doorstep when she and her husband returned home. It does say that the child was a beautiful little girl, perfect in every way -- save for slightly pointed ears, and two odd splotches on her back. These were easily concealed, though, and her parents quickly came to dote on their new daughter.
Dancing Fox had a happy childhood. Life in the Age of Sorrows is never easy, but her mother and father cherished one another and her, and she had many playmates in the village, drawn by her grace and laughter. Yes, her childhood was happy…so long as she remained a child.
It was on her thirteenth birthday that her mother noticed the lumps on her back. After that, things went downhill with the speed of a runaway wagon.
The lumps grew and grew, taking on an unmistakable shape. Dancing Fox’s parents talked about strapping them down, but the attempt caused her such agonizing pain that they gave it up. Almost as bad, her ears seemed to be growing longer too, so that her hair no longer sufficed to cover them. Whispers followed her everywhere, as did words like “mutant†and “changelingâ€. Her former friends pretended not to know her. Life in the village became torment, but the farmer and her husband forbade their daughter to go anywhere near the forest. As time passed, they seldom liked to even let her out of their sight.
On the eve of her fifteenth birthday Dancing Fox’s mother and father grew even more agitated. Speaking harshly to their daughter for the first time in her life, they ordered her into the cellar, pushed bits of wool into her ears, bandaged her eyes, and bolted her in. She huddled in the dark for an unknown length of time until hunger, thirst and resentment drove her to rebellion: she unbound her eyes, took the plugs from her ears, and found food and water. She then called to her parents, but no one answered.
Going up the stairs, Dancing Fox found the cellar door unbolted, and no trace of her parents anywhere. But the table and chairs had been upset, and in the dirt outside her front door she saw the tracks of many animals.
Dancing Fox walked away from the village that moonless night, away from the people who shunned her as a monster and the house that was no longer her home. She set off into the forest in search of her parents…and somebody else, who could do what her parents were unable to do.
As she opened her large ears to the music of the night and let her leathery wings stretch out for the first time, she thought, What I need is someone who can teach me how to fly.
It’s an old story. Perhaps one of the oldest.
And her (tentative) stats:
The humble farmer and her husband had no child, so they went to beg the old witch for one. The witch (who lived deep in the forest, surrounded by her beast offspring) would not part with any of her children, but offered to loan one to the couple for a while. On her fifteenth birthday, however, the child would have to return to the forest to complete her destiny.
The farmer and her husband agreed (desperate people will agree to anything) and the bargain was made. The story doesn’t say whether the woman actually gave birth to the witch’s child herself, or if she found the baby on her doorstep when she and her husband returned home. It does say that the child was a beautiful little girl, perfect in every way -- save for slightly pointed ears, and two odd splotches on her back. These were easily concealed, though, and her parents quickly came to dote on their new daughter.
Dancing Fox had a happy childhood. Life in the Age of Sorrows is never easy, but her mother and father cherished one another and her, and she had many playmates in the village, drawn by her grace and laughter. Yes, her childhood was happy…so long as she remained a child.
It was on her thirteenth birthday that her mother noticed the lumps on her back. After that, things went downhill with the speed of a runaway wagon.
The lumps grew and grew, taking on an unmistakable shape. Dancing Fox’s parents talked about strapping them down, but the attempt caused her such agonizing pain that they gave it up. Almost as bad, her ears seemed to be growing longer too, so that her hair no longer sufficed to cover them. Whispers followed her everywhere, as did words like “mutant†and “changelingâ€. Her former friends pretended not to know her. Life in the village became torment, but the farmer and her husband forbade their daughter to go anywhere near the forest. As time passed, they seldom liked to even let her out of their sight.
On the eve of her fifteenth birthday Dancing Fox’s mother and father grew even more agitated. Speaking harshly to their daughter for the first time in her life, they ordered her into the cellar, pushed bits of wool into her ears, bandaged her eyes, and bolted her in. She huddled in the dark for an unknown length of time until hunger, thirst and resentment drove her to rebellion: she unbound her eyes, took the plugs from her ears, and found food and water. She then called to her parents, but no one answered.
Going up the stairs, Dancing Fox found the cellar door unbolted, and no trace of her parents anywhere. But the table and chairs had been upset, and in the dirt outside her front door she saw the tracks of many animals.
Dancing Fox walked away from the village that moonless night, away from the people who shunned her as a monster and the house that was no longer her home. She set off into the forest in search of her parents…and somebody else, who could do what her parents were unable to do.
As she opened her large ears to the music of the night and let her leathery wings stretch out for the first time, she thought, What I need is someone who can teach me how to fly.
It’s an old story. Perhaps one of the oldest.
And her (tentative) stats:
Name:[/b] Dancing Fox
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2; Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3; Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 3
Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 3, Valor 2
Abilities: Athletics 3 (Flying +1), Awareness 3 (In Poor Light +2), Dodge 2, Integrity 2, Investigation 2, Linguistics 1, Lore 1, Martial Arts 1, Occult 1, Performance 2, Resistance 2, Survival 3 (Jungle +1), Thrown 2
Backgrounds:
Mutations --
Poxes: Claws, Enhanced Hearing, Fangs, Night Vision, Sonar
Deficiency: Disturbing Voice
Debilities: Albino, Diet (Nectar)
Abomination: Wings
Willpower: 6
Essence: 1
Dancing Fox looks like your typical spooky vampire girl -- however, she’s completely non-threatening, as she can’t eat anything except nectar (or honey in a pinch). Not that the people who see her fangs and leathery bat wings would believe that…
(And yes, I know flying foxes don’t use echolocation. She’s a crafted creature, after all.)
I haven’t picked out any Backgrounds yet because I’m not sure what she should have. The old Lunar would work as a Mentor or Patron, or she might have a real bat as a Familiar. She might also own a good luck charm -- bats are lucky animals!
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2; Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3; Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 3
Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 3, Valor 2
Abilities: Athletics 3 (Flying +1), Awareness 3 (In Poor Light +2), Dodge 2, Integrity 2, Investigation 2, Linguistics 1, Lore 1, Martial Arts 1, Occult 1, Performance 2, Resistance 2, Survival 3 (Jungle +1), Thrown 2
Backgrounds:
Mutations --
Poxes: Claws, Enhanced Hearing, Fangs, Night Vision, Sonar
Deficiency: Disturbing Voice
Debilities: Albino, Diet (Nectar)
Abomination: Wings
Willpower: 6
Essence: 1
Dancing Fox looks like your typical spooky vampire girl -- however, she’s completely non-threatening, as she can’t eat anything except nectar (or honey in a pinch). Not that the people who see her fangs and leathery bat wings would believe that…
(And yes, I know flying foxes don’t use echolocation. She’s a crafted creature, after all.)
I haven’t picked out any Backgrounds yet because I’m not sure what she should have. The old Lunar would work as a Mentor or Patron, or she might have a real bat as a Familiar. She might also own a good luck charm -- bats are lucky animals!
MorkaisChosen
One Thousand Club
Oh dear. I kinda haven't got that. Anything I need to know?Grey said:
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
The main difference is that you can pick a profession and get three free dots in your professional Abilities. Also, Merits and Flaws for any aptitudes, disabilities or weird story hooks not covered by the main rulebook.
Dancing Fox’s mutations aren’t set in stone, since I’m not sure whether she should be more “bat-likeâ€:
More “monstrousâ€:
Or more “demonicâ€:
Thoughts?
Dancing Fox’s mutations aren’t set in stone, since I’m not sure whether she should be more “bat-likeâ€:
More “monstrousâ€:
Or more “demonicâ€:
Thoughts?
Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
...Delicious monster is delicious.
*ahem*
I mean, that really depends which is most appealing to you. Your stats as written are fine by me.
*ahem*
I mean, that really depends which is most appealing to you. Your stats as written are fine by me.
MorkaisChosen
One Thousand Club
I can miss Merits and Flaws, I think, but Profession sounds handy. Since he's been trained for guarding, would that be his profession, or should I look more at what he actually wants to do now he's out of the Creator's House? Namely, travel round, experience the world, write some poetry, and possible return to his people in pseudomessianic fashion.Arynne said:
Myllinnia
The Bladed-Wings of Timespace
Sweet. I'll be getting my concept draft out here in a few hours. ^^ Because I like them, I'm thinking of a half snake critter with some other oddities.
Haku1
Ze Hamster of Lurkdom
So generic heroic mortal with mutations like mad? 8)
Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
Baaasically, Haku. Unless you have a more interesting alternative.
And Morkais, the Profession, IIRC, is what you have been doing up to this point. I'll need to figure out where my Scroll of Heroes is hiding and get back to you.
And Morkais, the Profession, IIRC, is what you have been doing up to this point. I'll need to figure out where my Scroll of Heroes is hiding and get back to you.
Haku1
Ze Hamster of Lurkdom
Just checking... :lol:
Sounds like it's time for some mermaids or maybe... harpies. :lol:
Sounds like it's time for some mermaids or maybe... harpies. :lol:
Crocodile
Mister Zero
Alright, here is what I've managed to come up with for what I thought would be an interesting bioconstruct.
Background:
Background:
Hidden deep in the South within the range of volcanoes is the manse of the Night Caste Shifting Shadow. Shifting Shadow was a master spy who put his skills to great use during the time of the Solar Deliberative. He was also a powerbroker because of it, knowing things that others shouldn’t. His success was mainly due not only to his own talents but also from his dabbling in the creation of new life.
Shifting Shadow’s obsession with the collection and utilization of information fomented into the creation of the Xahax. The Xahax are beetles who on their own while quite clever on a very primal level have no mind of their own. The beauty of their design is that the Xahax are a hive species, whose particular feature is an essence link between the beetles which connects their minds together. The more Xahax there are in a hive, the more intelligent the hive is overall.
The hives can achieve a degree of sentience and intellect once large enough. The beetles are also compelled at their most basic level to construct once this occurs. The beetles will craft a husk of distinct humanoid shape. The husk operates as the hive’s body/container, allowing the entire group to assume a seemingly single shape. However the plates of it can easily open to allow Xahax beetles to pour forth in any amount. This allows the hive to defend itself as well as to permit small amounts of Xahax to depart for the purposes of espionage.
Shifting Shadow created a large number of Xahax, giving them the capacity to breed as well. The beetles were loyal to their master, ever faithful and willing to go forth out into Creation to spy for him and collect information. It was through this that the Xahax learned of the coming Usurpation and attempted to warn their master. Sadly by this time Shifting Shadow had fallen deeply under the sway of the Great Curse, becoming so egomaniacal that he wouldn’t listen to their warnings. Shifting Shadow’s manse was soon surrounded by the Dragon-Blooded forces determined to exterminate their old masters. The siege was long and bitter but in the end Shifting Shadow took his own life. He shifted the geomancy of his manse to cause a rapid essence build up which caused a massive explosion. The entire side of the volcano was annihilated along with the Dragon-blooded laying siege to it.
The only survivors of the horrific final act were the Xahax. The beetles were lost without their master to guide them and scattered across the South for their own survival. For generations, the Xahax have lived in the south operating as mercenaries and spies. Their drive to serve compels them to do this, though admittedly it is not for payment. All refer to themselves by their species name even if each hive is an independent entity unto itself. The Xahax are not organized but when two hives meet they willingly exchange all knowledge with one another for mutual benefit.
Over time, the Xahax have evolved past a mentality of subservience. They desire to have purpose and meaning now, attempting to adapt to untold centuries without a true master. Many of the hives have also been hunted down and killed within the last few centuries by decree of the Scarlet Empress. She apparently has no desire to see these natural spies and thieves fall into the hands of anyone aside from herself. At least one hive has survived the extermination, hiding its appearance beneath cloth and armor when it can. It seeks to continue to develop and above all else to survive.
Sheet:
Shifting Shadow’s obsession with the collection and utilization of information fomented into the creation of the Xahax. The Xahax are beetles who on their own while quite clever on a very primal level have no mind of their own. The beauty of their design is that the Xahax are a hive species, whose particular feature is an essence link between the beetles which connects their minds together. The more Xahax there are in a hive, the more intelligent the hive is overall.
The hives can achieve a degree of sentience and intellect once large enough. The beetles are also compelled at their most basic level to construct once this occurs. The beetles will craft a husk of distinct humanoid shape. The husk operates as the hive’s body/container, allowing the entire group to assume a seemingly single shape. However the plates of it can easily open to allow Xahax beetles to pour forth in any amount. This allows the hive to defend itself as well as to permit small amounts of Xahax to depart for the purposes of espionage.
Shifting Shadow created a large number of Xahax, giving them the capacity to breed as well. The beetles were loyal to their master, ever faithful and willing to go forth out into Creation to spy for him and collect information. It was through this that the Xahax learned of the coming Usurpation and attempted to warn their master. Sadly by this time Shifting Shadow had fallen deeply under the sway of the Great Curse, becoming so egomaniacal that he wouldn’t listen to their warnings. Shifting Shadow’s manse was soon surrounded by the Dragon-Blooded forces determined to exterminate their old masters. The siege was long and bitter but in the end Shifting Shadow took his own life. He shifted the geomancy of his manse to cause a rapid essence build up which caused a massive explosion. The entire side of the volcano was annihilated along with the Dragon-blooded laying siege to it.
The only survivors of the horrific final act were the Xahax. The beetles were lost without their master to guide them and scattered across the South for their own survival. For generations, the Xahax have lived in the south operating as mercenaries and spies. Their drive to serve compels them to do this, though admittedly it is not for payment. All refer to themselves by their species name even if each hive is an independent entity unto itself. The Xahax are not organized but when two hives meet they willingly exchange all knowledge with one another for mutual benefit.
Over time, the Xahax have evolved past a mentality of subservience. They desire to have purpose and meaning now, attempting to adapt to untold centuries without a true master. Many of the hives have also been hunted down and killed within the last few centuries by decree of the Scarlet Empress. She apparently has no desire to see these natural spies and thieves fall into the hands of anyone aside from herself. At least one hive has survived the extermination, hiding its appearance beneath cloth and armor when it can. It seeks to continue to develop and above all else to survive.
Sheet:
Name: Xahax
Concept: Last of its Kind
Created: First Age Spy and Thief
Profession: Master Thief
Strength: ooo
Dexterity: ooo
Stamina: ooo
Charisma: oo
Manipulation: oo
Appearance: oo
Perception: ooo
Intelligence: ooo (4 BP)
Wits: ooo (4 BP)
Athletics: ooo
Awareness: ooo
Dodge: ooo
Investigation: ooo (4 BP)
Larceny (Favored): ooooo (2 BP)
Linguistics: o (Old Realm, Firetongue)
Lore: o
Martial Arts: ooo
Resistance: oo
Stealth: ooooo (2 BP)
Socialize: ooo (4 BP)
Survival: ooo
Specialty: (1 BP for Larceny)
-Lock Picking (Larceny)
-Picking Pockets (Larceny)
Compassion: oo
Temperance: ooo
Conviction: oo
Valor: oo
Willpower: ooooo
Background:
Resources oo
Familiar ooo
Mutations:
Abominations: Hive (x2), Regeneration
Blights: Wall Walking
Pox: Claws
Deficiency: Hungry
Debility: Diet (Raw Flesh)
Concept: Last of its Kind
Created: First Age Spy and Thief
Profession: Master Thief
Strength: ooo
Dexterity: ooo
Stamina: ooo
Charisma: oo
Manipulation: oo
Appearance: oo
Perception: ooo
Intelligence: ooo (4 BP)
Wits: ooo (4 BP)
Athletics: ooo
Awareness: ooo
Dodge: ooo
Investigation: ooo (4 BP)
Larceny (Favored): ooooo (2 BP)
Linguistics: o (Old Realm, Firetongue)
Lore: o
Martial Arts: ooo
Resistance: oo
Stealth: ooooo (2 BP)
Socialize: ooo (4 BP)
Survival: ooo
Specialty: (1 BP for Larceny)
-Lock Picking (Larceny)
-Picking Pockets (Larceny)
Compassion: oo
Temperance: ooo
Conviction: oo
Valor: oo
Willpower: ooooo
Background:
Resources oo
Familiar ooo
Mutations:
Abominations: Hive (x2), Regeneration
Blights: Wall Walking
Pox: Claws
Deficiency: Hungry
Debility: Diet (Raw Flesh)
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
So, we have one vote for Gargoyle Girl... :wink:
Crasical
Member
Theoretical backstory:
Years ago, in the south, there was a Lunar lord who crafted new life, to serve as his soldiers, entertainers, and diplomats. Although the lunar was both wise and powerful, years of conflict with the Immaculate Order and war with mortal, exalt and god alike led to the death of hundreds of his creations, and slowly pushed him to the south, to the edges of Creation. His travels led to increasingly militant set of mind, and more and more of his creations lived to act as soldiers for their lord. However, of his creations, one of the least but most beloved, was a strange fusion of cactus and human, bred to survive easily in the most scorching southern desert. She was trained to simply dance for her lord's amusement, a reminder of the heavenly entertainers he had once created.
One day, her lord left her. She never questioned it when he was ordered to flee the small Manse the 'breeding projects' took place at. From atop a dune, she performed a simple dance as she watched the amassed beastmen march away, her lunar lord at the head of the column. For the next week, she waited atop her dune, sleeping during the day and dancing through the night, watching the manse in the distance. When she finally decided to return to the manse, she waited another week, wandering abreast for food and water, waiting for her master.
Her lunar master is gone, most likely dead. But Thorned-Dancer-Smiling, Now merely Thorned-Dancer, will patiently await his return, confident that one day he will return and find her, no matter how far afield she wanders, a strange creature in the age of sorrows.
EDIT:
And here's a tentative character sheet.
One day, her lord left her. She never questioned it when he was ordered to flee the small Manse the 'breeding projects' took place at. From atop a dune, she performed a simple dance as she watched the amassed beastmen march away, her lunar lord at the head of the column. For the next week, she waited atop her dune, sleeping during the day and dancing through the night, watching the manse in the distance. When she finally decided to return to the manse, she waited another week, wandering abreast for food and water, waiting for her master.
Her lunar master is gone, most likely dead. But Thorned-Dancer-Smiling, Now merely Thorned-Dancer, will patiently await his return, confident that one day he will return and find her, no matter how far afield she wanders, a strange creature in the age of sorrows.
EDIT:
And here's a tentative character sheet.
===-----
VITALS
===-----
Name: Thorned-Dancer
Player: Crasical
Archetype: Priest
Profession: Hermit
Motivation: Await his return.
Concept: Cactus-Girl, left behind
===-----
ATTRIBUTES: 6/4/3
===-----
PHYSICAL:
Strength: **---
Dexterity: ****-
Stamina: ***--
SOCIAL:
Charisma: **---
Manipulation: *----
Appearance: ***--
MENTAL:
Perception: **---
Intelligence: **---
Wits: ***--
===-----
ABILITIES: 25 + 3
===-----
Archery: -----
-Martial Arts: ****-
Melee: -----
Thrown: ***--
War: -----
Integrity: **---
-Performance: ****-
Presence: -----
Resistance: ***--
-+Survival: ****-
Craft: -----
Investigation: -----
Lore: **---
Medicine: -----
Occult: -----
Athletics: ***--
Awareness: -----
Dodge: **---
Larceny: -----
Stealth: -----
Bureaucracy: -----
Linguistics: *----
Ride: -----
Sail: -----
Socialize: -----
SPECIALITIES:
Perform: Dance
Martial Arts: Natural Weapons
Thrown: Natural Weapons x2
Survival: Desert x2
===-----
ADVANTAGES:
===-----
BACKGROUNDS:
Library: ***--
Manse: *----
Resources: *----
_________: -----
_________: -----
_________: -----
_________: -----
MUTATIONS:
Longevity: Lives much longer than a mortal. You will live to a base age of 100 years plus 10 years for every rank of essence. After this time, must make a Stamina+Essence roll at difficulty 2. Success gaurantees another 10 years of life, failure results in old age sometimes in the next decade.
Night Eyes: All penalties for poor visibility due to lack of illumination are eliminated.
Talons: Punch attacks deal damage 2 dice more and dea lelthal damage.
Supernatural Quickness: Dex +2 for the purpose of movement only
Quills/Thorns: Punches inflict +1L damage with an Accuracy +1, Rate 3, Range 15 if thrown. One die to any parry made, anyone attempting to grapple takes 3L damage.
Healing Factor: All but the most horrible/unusual wounds mend without scarring. Heal levels of bashing, lethal, and aggravated damage as if they where an exalt. Automatically staunch bleeding on any tick they can act. Bleeding stops automatically after 5 seconds out of combat, disabled wounds heal after a week of rest or 2 weeks of normal activity and do not require surgery. Gain 2 bonus dice for any roll to avoid Disease, poison, Infection.
Armored Hide: Skin has changed and is now covered in Thick, tough plant skin similar to a cactus. You gain four dice in all survival rolls and do not need to wear clothing. Soak has increased by 4L/4B but cannot be hidden.
COMBOS:
===-----
ESSENCE:
===-----
ESSENCE:
Perm: O+++++++++
Regeneration:
Personal Essence Pool: x/x
Peripheral Essence Pool x/x
Committed Essence: x
WILLPOWER:
Temp: OOOOOO----
Perm: OOOOOO++++
===-----
VIRTUES:
===-----
Compassion: ***-------
Conviction: ***-------
Temperance: *---------
Valor: **--------
===-----
COMBAT:
===-----
Dodge DV: (dex+dodge+Ess)/2 round up
Dodge MDV: (will+integ+Ess)/2 round down
Soak: 0A/0L/0B (add armor and 0A/(Sta/2 round down)L/(Sta)B)
Pierced: 0A/0L/0B (add half from armor and full from stamina)
Hardness: 0A/0L/0B (armor only)
Health
â–¡ -0
â–¡ -1
â–¡ -1
â–¡ -2
â–¡ -2
â–¡ -4
â–¡ Incapacitated
â–¡ Dying
â–¡ Dying
â–¡ Dying
one Dying level per dot of Stamina
Experience Points:
X/21BP
Longevity Pox: 1BP
Night Eyes Pox: 1BP
Talons Affliction: 2BP
Supernatural Quickness Affliction: 2BP
Quills Blight: 4BP
Healing Factor Blight: 4BP
Armored Hide Blight: 4BP
Specialty: Natural Weapons 1BP
Specialty: Natural Weapons x2 2BP
VITALS
===-----
Name: Thorned-Dancer
Player: Crasical
Archetype: Priest
Profession: Hermit
Motivation: Await his return.
Concept: Cactus-Girl, left behind
===-----
ATTRIBUTES: 6/4/3
===-----
PHYSICAL:
Strength: **---
Dexterity: ****-
Stamina: ***--
SOCIAL:
Charisma: **---
Manipulation: *----
Appearance: ***--
MENTAL:
Perception: **---
Intelligence: **---
Wits: ***--
===-----
ABILITIES: 25 + 3
===-----
Archery: -----
-Martial Arts: ****-
Melee: -----
Thrown: ***--
War: -----
Integrity: **---
-Performance: ****-
Presence: -----
Resistance: ***--
-+Survival: ****-
Craft: -----
Investigation: -----
Lore: **---
Medicine: -----
Occult: -----
Athletics: ***--
Awareness: -----
Dodge: **---
Larceny: -----
Stealth: -----
Bureaucracy: -----
Linguistics: *----
Ride: -----
Sail: -----
Socialize: -----
SPECIALITIES:
Perform: Dance
Martial Arts: Natural Weapons
Thrown: Natural Weapons x2
Survival: Desert x2
===-----
ADVANTAGES:
===-----
BACKGROUNDS:
Library: ***--
Manse: *----
Resources: *----
_________: -----
_________: -----
_________: -----
_________: -----
MUTATIONS:
Longevity: Lives much longer than a mortal. You will live to a base age of 100 years plus 10 years for every rank of essence. After this time, must make a Stamina+Essence roll at difficulty 2. Success gaurantees another 10 years of life, failure results in old age sometimes in the next decade.
Night Eyes: All penalties for poor visibility due to lack of illumination are eliminated.
Talons: Punch attacks deal damage 2 dice more and dea lelthal damage.
Supernatural Quickness: Dex +2 for the purpose of movement only
Quills/Thorns: Punches inflict +1L damage with an Accuracy +1, Rate 3, Range 15 if thrown. One die to any parry made, anyone attempting to grapple takes 3L damage.
Healing Factor: All but the most horrible/unusual wounds mend without scarring. Heal levels of bashing, lethal, and aggravated damage as if they where an exalt. Automatically staunch bleeding on any tick they can act. Bleeding stops automatically after 5 seconds out of combat, disabled wounds heal after a week of rest or 2 weeks of normal activity and do not require surgery. Gain 2 bonus dice for any roll to avoid Disease, poison, Infection.
Armored Hide: Skin has changed and is now covered in Thick, tough plant skin similar to a cactus. You gain four dice in all survival rolls and do not need to wear clothing. Soak has increased by 4L/4B but cannot be hidden.
COMBOS:
===-----
ESSENCE:
===-----
ESSENCE:
Perm: O+++++++++
Regeneration:
Personal Essence Pool: x/x
Peripheral Essence Pool x/x
Committed Essence: x
WILLPOWER:
Temp: OOOOOO----
Perm: OOOOOO++++
===-----
VIRTUES:
===-----
Compassion: ***-------
Conviction: ***-------
Temperance: *---------
Valor: **--------
===-----
COMBAT:
===-----
Dodge DV: (dex+dodge+Ess)/2 round up
Dodge MDV: (will+integ+Ess)/2 round down
Soak: 0A/0L/0B (add armor and 0A/(Sta/2 round down)L/(Sta)B)
Pierced: 0A/0L/0B (add half from armor and full from stamina)
Hardness: 0A/0L/0B (armor only)
Health
â–¡ -0
â–¡ -1
â–¡ -1
â–¡ -2
â–¡ -2
â–¡ -4
â–¡ Incapacitated
â–¡ Dying
â–¡ Dying
â–¡ Dying
one Dying level per dot of Stamina
Experience Points:
X/21BP
Longevity Pox: 1BP
Night Eyes Pox: 1BP
Talons Affliction: 2BP
Supernatural Quickness Affliction: 2BP
Quills Blight: 4BP
Healing Factor Blight: 4BP
Armored Hide Blight: 4BP
Specialty: Natural Weapons 1BP
Specialty: Natural Weapons x2 2BP
Haku1
Ze Hamster of Lurkdom
To the average mortal of Creation in the grim and dark Age of Sorrows, Puffarians would appear to be horrible monstrosities. Possibly an unknown species of demon or fae spawn. As opposed to what they were; bio-engineered humans designed to work safely within the manse and demanses of the Ancient Solar God King of Ages Past, the Eclipse Slaneeshi.
Given that Slaneeshi was more interested in congress with various entities not of Creation, that venerable Exalt's sense of aesthetic didn't quite match mortals and those whose mindset hewed close to them. As such, his servants were varied in their appearances and mindframes. What was deemed normal by them was hardly so by others in Creation.
Still, it was with concern that one day after the Puffarians woke up from their sleep chambers after yet another series of modifications... they found things were different. That the city of their master lay in ruins, overgrown with plants, here and there could be seen signs of essence charged battle long ago.
As such, the majority of the Puffarians have set to repairing the city of their master, in the hopes that their master would not be... upset with the state of his territory. After the repairs were completed, they waited and waited. But their master didn't return.
As such, Seraphium and some of the more hardier Puffarians set forth into the world beyond all that they had known in the hopes of locating and brining back their master.
***
Out of character information...
Basically, the dragonblooded rebelled, killed the solar, but couldn't not get into the manse at the heart of the city.
And then there was the contagion and the wyld/fae incursion... which resulted in a depopulated and abandoned city around a manse that no one has yet to find in the west on an island.
Puffarians are NSFW
Given that Slaneeshi was more interested in congress with various entities not of Creation, that venerable Exalt's sense of aesthetic didn't quite match mortals and those whose mindset hewed close to them. As such, his servants were varied in their appearances and mindframes. What was deemed normal by them was hardly so by others in Creation.
Still, it was with concern that one day after the Puffarians woke up from their sleep chambers after yet another series of modifications... they found things were different. That the city of their master lay in ruins, overgrown with plants, here and there could be seen signs of essence charged battle long ago.
As such, the majority of the Puffarians have set to repairing the city of their master, in the hopes that their master would not be... upset with the state of his territory. After the repairs were completed, they waited and waited. But their master didn't return.
As such, Seraphium and some of the more hardier Puffarians set forth into the world beyond all that they had known in the hopes of locating and brining back their master.
***
Out of character information...
Basically, the dragonblooded rebelled, killed the solar, but couldn't not get into the manse at the heart of the city.
And then there was the contagion and the wyld/fae incursion... which resulted in a depopulated and abandoned city around a manse that no one has yet to find in the west on an island.
Puffarians are NSFW