The Black Conference (Abyssals, Recruiting)

[Bardlebee]

Not done of backstory yet, this is just a base for now.


Picture and Backstory

Spoiler

It was not always so simple. In fact it was never simple and it was all just a horrible treacherous lie. In my mortal life I was born in Paragon, the South of Creation was a hot and desperate land, Paragon being one of the few refuge points in it. My early years where full of good times, the sun when it didn't annoy me back then was always shining and hot. What I ever saw in that world is confusing. Before I even turned five years of age my mother was slaughtered and I was sold into slavery by raiders. We lived on the outskirts of Paragon, you see my mother was a slave herself and she was putting forth her five years of servitude to the Perfect when this all happened to be granted her 'freedom'. It is ironic that she was almost done before a cold blade ended her mortal life. They came in the dead of night, no rhyme or reason. They barged into me and my mother’s room. I remember hiding under the bed, so afraid I was shaking. The tears I can still feel on my face, it is that vivid. I remember seeing my mother’s body falling dead lifeless, her blue cold eyes staring me dead in the face. She was dead and blood pooled towards me as if it was tracking me out. Quickly I was pulled from under the bed, I attempted to grab onto the carped but it was no use. I kicked, I screamed, and much like Creation's fate to be sucked into the Void I was surely dead. But, apparently these men had other plans for me.


Shortly I was sold on the slave market. At first I was frightened and I cried almost every night wondering what will become of me. Eventually I got sold to a man who raised small girls like me to be part of his brothel much later in life, his name was Juchek. For the time being however I was trained as a tax collector and a thief, extorting money for Juchek. At this time I lived in that glass city Chariauscuro, I can still remember the suns reflection off everything, ugh! During my entire slaved years I was beaten and abused weekly for fourteen years, I attained many scars. Especially on my face. Juchek was a tyrant and he performed these actions on his slaves to 'keep them in line'. Looking back at it now, that is the worst way to keep someone in line. Every time I was sent out to do a job I was looked at like a monster for my hideousness. It's funny how I can look back at this and laugh, that all that is meaningless and that it will mean nothing once Creation is finally consumed in the void, like it ought to be.


I digress, where was I? Ah yes. Once I turned fourteen Juchek felt I was able to join his illustrious ranks in his brothel. When I refused, I was beaten within an inch of my life and thrown out onto the streets to "think about it". After some time I went back to Juchek, it was the only place I knew that provided food and shelter. After five years of being his slave of lust I decided enough was enough. No more beatings and no more whoring out for him. So, one night as went all nights, the incense was burning and the candles were lit, however I brought with me a stabbing knife in the shape of a hair pin. Just before we were going to get down to business I pulled the pin from my hair. Not quietly, not quickly, but brutally and bloodily I stabbed him. Again. Again. And again. The sheer white sheets and carpet where a fine pink when I was done with it. At the time I was traumatized, but now its hilarious and I should have done it long ago.


I escaped outside a window of his and lived with another man who gave me shelter. His name was Rollo and I decided to lay low in the New City section so that I was hard to find. He was a kind old man; he made the best tea if I remember correctly. But, like all men in Creation, they are flawed and evil. Little did I know there was a bounty on my head. Color me surprised when guards were at the front door. Rollo had sold me out. I was surrounded by twenty men. There was no were to go but death. Walking outside with my small knife I lunged at the first man I saw, I may have killed two before I was stabbed by Rollo himself. Irony.


That is when it happened and my true identity bloomed. When I used to cry because of all the pain, it is replaced with laughter, unbridled laughter.

Spoiler

Laughing Beauty with Crimson Tears


Exalt Type and Caste: Abyssal Moonshadow


Anima


Motivation: To destroy slave trade organizations in all of Creation in the most grueling and visceral way possible.


Backstory


Attributes


Physical


Strength â—â—â—


Dexterity â—â—â—â—


Stamina â—â—


Social


Charisma â—â—â—


Manipulation â—â—â—


Appearance â—â—â—â—â—


Mental


Perception â—â—


Intelligence â—â—


Wits â—â—â—


Abilities


Archery


Martial Arts â—â—â—â—


Melee


Thrown


War


Integrity â—â—â—


Performance â—â—


Presence â—â—â—


Resistance


Survival


Craft â—â—


Investigate


Lore


Medicine


Occult


Athletics â—â—


Awareness â—â—


Dodge â—â—â—â—


Larceny


Stealth


Bureaucracy â—â—â—


Linguistics â—


Ride â—â—


Sail â—


Socialize â—â—â—


Backgrounds


Artifact â—â—â—


Liege â—â—â—


Spies â—


Merits


Flaws


Artifacts and Equipment


Charms


First-Excellency of: Martial Arts, Presence, Beuaracracy, Socialize, Ride, Sail


RAPACIOUS LAMPREY TECHNIQUE


Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2;


Type: Reflexive (Step 10)


Keywords: Combo-Basic


Duration: Instant


Prerequisite Charms: Inescapable Iron Grip


INESCAPABLE IRON GRIP


Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2;


Type: Supplemental


Keywords: Combo-OK


Duration: Until released


Prerequisite Charms: Dead Man’s Grasp


SANITY-ERODING DIATRIBE


Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 3;


Type: Simple (Speed 6 in long ticks)


Keywords: Avatar (1), Obvious, Social


Duration: Instant


Prerequisite Charms: Any Presence Excellency


EXQUISITE ETIQUETTE STYLE


Cost: 1m; Mins: Socialize 2, Essence 1;


Type: Reflexive (Step 1 for attacker, Step 2 for defender)


Keywords: Combo-OK, Mirror (Mastery of Small Manners;


Exalted, p. 239), Social


Duration: Until next action


Prerequisite Charms: None


OWL SEIZES MOUSE


Cost: 3m or 3m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2;


Type: Reflexive (Step 1)


Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious


Duration: Instant


Prerequisite Charms: Dark Messiah Form


Join Combat:


Defenses


Dodge DV


Parry DV


Soak: B/L


Health


-0 [ ]


-1 [ ][ ]


-2 [ ][ ]


-4 [ ]


-X [ ]


Mental Defenses


Dodge MDV


Parry MDV


Virtues


Compassion â—â—â—


Conviction â—â—â—


Temperance â—


Valor â—â—


Virtue Flaw / Flawed Virtue


Intimacies


Deathlord, out of insane love (Love)


Willpower â—â—â—â—â—â—:


Essence


Permanent: â—â—â—


Personal: X/X (X Committed)


Peripheral: X/X (X Committed)


Bonus Points


Essence to 3 (7bp)


4 points on favored skills (4bp)


Experience Points

 

[cyl]

The Last Guardian.


Pic:

Spoiler

Background: (may have to be edited here and there)

Spoiler

If this letter reaches you, then my journey has come to an end...


People will come asking questions and you will not be able to give them answers that will satisfy their curiosity, but this is for your eyes and you only.


This is my story.


Once I was a man, a noble lord of our dear province High Gralt in the Confederations of Rivers.


Born the third son of King Fark, it was my destiny as the ones before me to be given to the order of the Flaming Rose for training and serving.


In these less civilized lands evil lurks and beasts of the darkness prey on men and we did not have the Immaculate Order to protect us because long ago we rejected the Scarlet Tyrant, so to protect man from evil, a few men of good will and great powers created the Order and made pacts with the Lords, Kings and Governors of the Confederation to send regularly young educated and strong men to serve.


I never chose this life, but accepted my fate as it was taught to me since I was able to understand words that it was my place in this world.


And so I was taken from my home at an early age to be taught and trained to fight the many shapes evil can take to poison the existence of man.


I was taught in various arts, the swords, the bow, how to detect the presence of evil, how to fight spirits, who to seek the corrupt and the damned and bring the fires of hell to their hearts... as well as a blade.


By the time thirty winters had passed over my head, I was a distinguished Exorcist, a holy bounty hunter, a mercenary of heaven, paid to fight off demons and their cultists, ghosts and the undead, and many horrors that used to haunt my dreams, wandering the East from south to north in an endless war against what is most evil in Creation.


One day that I was coming back to one of the resting grounds of the Order someone told me that my father and my elder brothers had all died in a war against a neighboring kingdom, but that my lands were safe and my people needed me.


I recieved permission from the Order for a temporary leave of my service against the promise of giving them one of my children as it was the custom, and so I came back to High Gralt.


The war had destroyed many villages around, and the plague was striking the people, but we managed to stop our lands from dying with the help of the Gods of Great Forks.


A few years passed, I had to learn to rule without any motivation other than my duty, I took a wife and we had a child... seasons came and went, and it seemed that High Gralt was safe and prospering.


Deep down I knew there never was such a state as safe and prosper... too many times had I seen the horror in this world, spirits eating human flesh, anathemas, demons poisoning the minds of nations, the dead rising from the grave...


On my thirty fifth summer, a rumor spread throughout my lands. A witch was killing young virgins and damning their souls to the Underworld. Against my wife protestations, I took my horse and my weapons and went chasing her trail. This was my last act of bravery as a man.


I finally found her, and we fought for hours in the woods where she was hiding, but at the end, I died, I was no match for her necromantic powers and she had been trained too well by her dark masters.


Yet this night I did not accept my fate, and when my last breath left me, time stopped and a dark presence came to me.


I knew I was in the presence of a greater evil, a Deathlord. He told me his name, told me that I had been wrong about my side of the battle, that I did not need to die this way and that if I chose to serve him, he could offer me back my lands and more, and give me powers beyond imagination.


I would have been a fool not to accept his offer, yet I did not do so for the obvious reason. I had a chance of getting closer to the devil and took a risk. I decided to lay down with the dead, so I could learn how to fight them, and their rivals.


The one I call now "My Lord" kept his end of the bargain, though I suspect he regrets it every day, and I went deeper in the darkness than ever before... I saw things... old presences I could not describe you in the form of words, and I made sure they accepted me as one of their own so that I could stab them with all of the strength that they would grant me.


Once again I was taught, trained, broken and remade into another man... but they never understood that I never became like the reed, bowing to the greater power that is the wind. No, instead I chose to bend in order to catch them off guard !


I went back to High Gralt under the command of my master, to protect his interests in the fief and make sure that in time it would become part of his shadowrealm, and posed as a Lord there. I saw my child and my wife, my people and my lands... but they were no more mine, and I was no more theirs.


My three dearest comrades from the Order of the Flaming Rose came to visit me and I entrusted them with my secret. One of them tried to kill me, the second begged me not to kill him and the first, and the third... well... he will explain it better than I will, but we made some arrangements and let's just say there was more to him than I could ever had suspected.


For some time I continued to pose a pawn of the deathlord, occasionally hunting his enemies, making sure to take as much of his resources in the process, and if possible slaying his minions, and my comrade helped me cover my tracks and sent me on some other hunts through the Order, using my dark powers to fight the dark ones.


Tonight as I write these lines, I have to leave my home and my duty to pursue the will of the dark ones, masters of my liege.


I don't know if this is a trap or an opportunity yet, but I am sure that unless I taint my soul further I will not be coming back to you.


Know that I love you my son, and that even if I threw my soul to the Void and committed atrocities in the name of the greater good, I made these choices to make a better world for you and your children, to show the forces of evil that even darkened, the light of hope can still shine fiercely and make them hide further in the shadows out of fear of the just and holy wrath of man !


I hope you never have to make these choices.


Be a good man, be good to our people and our lands... and warn them that if they stray too far in the darkness, someone will come for them there, and hunt them.


Your Father,


Jehan of High Gralt.[/i]


The Five Ordeals for Sorcery:





The Station of Humility[/b]: Being taught sorcery by someone who kills people with a snap of the finger or a glance is probably not the easiest way to learn, and yet the Slayer of Nations. By having me do insignifcant and meaningless tasks like mopping the floor of his courtroom, or delivering messages around the city, or standing guard up late, he taught me to understand how the essence of Creation worked. Simple, pure, functional, only when I had realized that everything had to have its place for a reason and had told him so that he smiled to me and said that I was ready to learn.


The Station of Tutelage: I always thought that the Mask of Winters was going to teach me himself, but he sent me to this old crazy man he knew, Kolya. A lonesome duelist who taught me more about the arts of blade than sorcery, yet he made me realize that each movement, each action was a manifestation of will and that will was power. After a time he sent me back to my liege.


The Station of Journey:This was probably the last quest I had to endure. The Slayer of Nations once kidnapped me in my sleep, and cast a spell on me. When I woke up, I was in the middle of a random jungle, with no idea where I was and he had left me a simple note: come back to me child !


It took me almost a year to get out of the bloody jungle, but I finally managed to realize that I was near to farhold, and during that time I was one with Creation... even if my whole body felt discomfort due to my nature, it was then that I realized the beauty of this world, and how precious it was, and how far I would have to go to protect it.


I finally came back to my lord... I think he was actually surprised.


The Station of Terror: Being a deathknight, there is practically little fear left in you, you have seen the horrors beyond the veil, stared at Oblivion. After this, fear is your ally, your best friend, your war buddy !


Yet only a deathlord can teach you that fear can also become your enemy. I always knew that I feared to be lost in this monser of mine I had created with the help of the Neverborn, and strangely, it was an act of direct disobedience to an order coming from my liege that made him realize I was almost ready. He had asked me to slaughter a slave caravan of the guild with the help of his men. We killed the guards and the merchants, and when the captain ordered to kill the slaves, I objected I had recieved no such order, and he said his orders came from the master himself, and I knew from his look that I had to kill the men before they could hurt the poor bastards.


Killing them was easy, but coming back to my master afterwards was the most terrible experience of terror... and that was precisely the point, I had to feel fear, surpass it, and come back to him to face the consequences of my actions. I still have some scars for that, but he kept teaching me.


The Station of Sacrifice: The sacrifice... well, I never had much for starters, so sacrificing anything was going to be a bit harsh... but I had this bloody ring on a chain, a gift from my mother when I was taken to the Order, it was the only symbol of my past I had kept, the last remnant of an innocence long lost. I had to give it so it could be melted into the metal of my blades, so they would be connected to me. I did not know deathknight could cry, but apparently we can... and they are regular human tears.


The Trials of the Void:





Melancholy[/b]: Before I was sent back to Creation to rule my domain, my master had sent me in the underworld to Stygia to serve as a bodyguard for his emissaries. One of them told me that my people had died from the plague, and that the Order had been dissolved. I could not believed it at first, but rumors spread in Stygia, and finally I came to accept the fact that everything I had ever cared about was gone... and that was when I was sent back to Thorns and greeted as a student again.


Memory: I never knew why, but... Mask of Winters opened up to me. He summoned me for a whole week in his chambers, and told me about the tale of Larquen Quen. Apparently he was someone he knew a long time ago, an ambitious solar who had survived the Usurpation because he was far superior to his peers. He told me a bit about how he thought he would have ruled the world with his vast power, but finally ended up alone and miserable, committing suicide out of desperation and self loathing. That guy had an amazing life... I wonder if his incarnation is anything like him.


Stasis: One day I was summoned and sent back to Creation and High Gralt, to my great surprise... I was still persuaded that everyone had died there. I rode to my domain once again, and found it unchanged, just as my mortal memories remembered it. The palace, the people, the streets, the fields, not one stone had been moved... it was like walking into a painting. I was both happy and sad at the same time.


Infliction:


Decay:


Sheet:





Name[/b]: Jehan of High Gralt / The Last Guardian


Concept: infiltrated monster slayer


Caste: Dusk


Motivation: Destroy all forms of Greater Evil


Deathlord: Mask of Winters


Intimacies: Creatures of Darkness (hatred), Servants of the Neverborn (loathing), Son and Wife (love), Order of the Flaming Rose (respect), Holiness (belief).


Attributes


Strength â—â—â—


Dexterity â—â—â—â—


Stamina â—â—â—


Charisma â—â—


Manipulation â—â—â—


Appearance â—â—â—


Perception â—â—â—


Intelligence â—â—â—


Wits â—â—â—


Abilities


Archery â—â—


Martial Artsâ—â—


Melee â—â—â—â—â—


Thrown â—â—


Integrity â—â—â—â—


Presence â—


Resistance â—â—


Survival â—â—â—


Investigation â—â—â—


Lore â—


Occult â—â—â—


(art of Warding and Exorcism – adept +1)


Athletics â—â—â—


Awareness â—â—â—


Dodge â—


Stealth â—


Bureaucracy â—


Ride â—


Linguistics â— (Native: Riverspeak, Learned: Old Realm)


Socialize â—


Backgrounds


Contacts â—â—â—


Helios (talismans and potion sellers – Great Forks) - met while hunting in the eastern forest.


John the Pious (Exorcist – member of the Order of the Flame) - met during childhood and training


Rezrn (Wandering poet – Scavenger Lands) - worked with him for a while in the south


Resources â—â—â— he still poses as the lord of a small region and have access to a decent sum of jade.


Artifact â—â— (Watchful Eye of the Sun – commit 4m)


Hearthstone amulet detecting the presence of Creatures of Darkness within a 100 yards and giving +3 survival to track them down.


Manse â—â—â— (The Iron Keep – located in High Gralt- produced a death sense stone.)


Artifact â—â— (The Devil Fangs – pair of short soulsteel klaves – commit 6m)


Artifact ◠(soulsteel breastplate – commit 2m)


Virtues


Compassion â—â—


Conviction â—â—â—


Temperance â—â—


Valor â—â—â—â—


Intimacies


Essence: â—â—â—


Willpower: â—â—â—â—â—â—â—â—


Charms:


Melee: 2nd melee excellency /Ravening Mouth of Melee / Elegant Flowing Deflection / Vengeful Riposte


Integrity: Eternal Ennemity Approach (hatred of creatures of darkness) / Undying Stagnation Defense


Resistance: Injury Absorbing Discipline


Survival: 2nd survival excellency


Investigation: 2nd investigation excellency / Crime Unveiling Wickedness


Occult: Emeral Circle / Iron Circle


Spells:


Sorcery: Emerald Countermagic


Necromancy: Iron Countermagic


Panoply:


BP: 0/15


+ 3 artifacts


+3 Manse


+6 abilities (Melee +3, Integrity/Investigation/Occult +1)


+3 Valor +1


XP: 0/50


-16 Essence +1


-8 Occult Charm Emerald Circle Sorcery


-8 Occult Charm Iron Circle Necromancy


-8 Arts of Warding and Exorcism (adept Degree)


-3 abilities +1 (Archery/Martial Arts/Thrown)


-4 Survival +2


-3 Athletics +1

 

[xarvh]

*stands up and claps to Cyl*


-sigh-, I'm moved, that was just... Awesome! ^^

 

[MorkaisChosen]

That Compassion 1's dead awkward. Necessary for the characterisation and stuff, but awkward for Intimacies (which I realise I haven't put in yet).


The Magister's Motivation is a result of his period of indoctrination. He was at a serious low in his life immediately prior to Exaltation, not really seeing the point of it all, so the teachings handed down (ultimately from the Neverborn) became the core of his goal, as he realised the order he was after could be a goal in itself.


But yeah, intimacies. He really ought to still have a tie to Star, despite all the training, so that should probably be the one to include.

 

[TherealBrickwall]

@Cyl: You realize that your pre-death background perfectly describes the life of an Exorcist, right? Because that's what they're called in Creation. Exorcists. Not "Witchers".


I mean, it's a stunning background otherwise, but there's really no need to change the name to sound more exotic. Exorcists are pretty much the most epic of holy mortals, the heroes who dare face demons with only faith in Heaven and themselves, with no need for magic blood to give them bravery. It's a name you should be proud to give your character.


@Mordakai: It's not baseline character creation, so feel free to take more intimacies than the book says you start with. But you still have the regular limit of Compassion+Willpower, and your existence as an Abyssal should mean more of those are negative Intimacies than positive.

 

[MorkaisChosen]

@Mordakai: It's not baseline character creation, so feel free to take more intimacies than the book says you start with. But you still have the regular limit of Compassion+Willpower, and your existence as an Abyssal should mean more of those are negative Intimacies than positive.

Yeah, that's fine- thanks...


I think the way to go here for other Intimacies, then, is a negative intimacy for Disorderliness rather than positive for Orderliness.


Anyway, thanks!


EDIT: Intimacies added. I think the three I've put in should do for now; one's plain negative, the other two are the sort of mixed-up craziness my Abyssal characters seem to love so much...

 

[TherealBrickwall]

I think the way to go here for other Intimacies, then, is a negative intimacy for Disorderliness rather than positive for Orderliness.

Yep, that's pretty much how you do it.


Oh, sorry for screwing your name up. It's getting past sane hours here, and I'm a bit malnourished.

 

[MorkaisChosen]

Ah, no worries, it's not like may parnts picked that when I was born or anything. That'd be weird.

 

[xarvh]

Good to know.


I will slap a few more intimacies myself then.

 

[d1ng0d0g]

Cestus is done, and boy can he grow a lot still. Planning to expand further into thrown, martial arts, melee, and as non favorites stealth, presence, resistance, and perhaps a little performance.

 

[MorkaisChosen]

Out of interest, how do you guys find pictures for your characters? I realise there is one for the Magister, but it's something of a special case- I very rarely have anything I've seen in mind.

 

[cyl]

Dude... pick a theme, a name of a character, or even a concept... sit back, relax, and let Deviant Art do the rest 8)

 

[cyl]

@Cyl: You realize that your pre-death background perfectly describes the life of an Exorcist, right? Because that's what they're called in Creation. Exorcists. Not "Witchers".
I mean, it's a stunning background otherwise, but there's really no need to change the name to sound more exotic. Exorcists are pretty much the most epic of holy mortals, the heroes who dare face demons with only faith in Heaven and themselves, with no need for magic blood to give them bravery. It's a name you should be proud to give your character.

I'm glad you (& xarvh) liked my work


I wanted to talk to you about that witcher/exorcist thing... since I did not plan for the Order of the Flaming Rose to be as holy as it may sound.


Being an exorcist is a vocation, a selfless dedication to the greater good (wether voluntary or obligatory)... being a witcher is a little different if you know the game.


Exorcists are saviors, witchers are bounty hunters, mercs... they do their job because they were taught and trained and it's the only thing they know, but they get paid for what they do, because maintaining the Order is costly and you have to reward being a good pro (and the Order takes a slice of the profit).


An exorcist would never fall for a Deathlord tricks and would probably be swallowed by Oblivion before he accepted the Black Exaltation... a witcher is a little less of a saint, so getting a little taint on him could be acceptable if it served his goals.


Obviously the Order of the Flaming Rose would be another facade for a Gold Faction boot camp, preparing the Scavenger Lands for the heroic rise of the solars and their heroic followers, stabilizing the region from the many enemies of Creation lurking in the east and generating vast amount of nearly untraceable resources through the bounties to support the cause.


It wasn't obvious but I planned to make it a Faction, with your approval of course, and take some Backing, but got too tired to finish the whole background :roll:


I have many many ideas about how to make this character's life a living hell a la Sleeper, but had only a few hours to work on it this week.


High season is a bitch in the tourism business and when your operational activities are at their peek, simultaneously you also have to process all the prices for the next year, negotiate with the providers, wrap up your brochure year +1, and answer the incoming requests for the next seasons... so I'm kinda working triple shifts at the moment :mrgreen:

 

[cyl]

Hmmm I realize I'm gonna need some tools to keep undetected and above suspicions !


Would something close to a Ring of Being working only against Creatures of Darkness be acceptable to you ?


A gift from my sidereal buddy to help me stay in the darkness continuing my side activities while protected... I might also want it to generate a neutralizing magic detection field... (definitely artifact 5).


I'm also thinking of having a low Whispers rating, but would like to get rid of it during the game to show his efforts to limit the taint as much as possible, is that cool with you ? (problem being : avatar charms :roll: )


Or could I consider it removed (paying the price and all) allowing me to buy avatar charms as prereqs for the subsequent charms but forever loosing access to their use.

 

[d1ng0d0g]

Out of interest, how do you guys find pictures for your characters? I realise there is one for the Magister, but it's something of a special case- I very rarely have anything I've seen in mind.

My picture finding skills are horrible. Especially when I already have an idea in my head. Sometimes I am lucky finding something. And sometimes I find something which I can change with my meager graphical editing skills using GIMP. Although I realize now that I am getting pretty handy at that.

 

[TherealBrickwall]

@cyl:


1. Exorcists are perfectly capable of being mercenary. There's probably more than a few of them who extort money (and more) from populaces by way of their profession. But even the ones who don't do it unscrupulously do have to eat somehow, and most would probably request donations, at least, for their hard work, if not an outright fee, out of sheer necessity (and, of course, a need to support their organization too). It'd basically end up exactly the way you describe. An exorcist is a supernatural-hunting mercenary, through and through; the holiness is really just a weapon against the baddies.


2. I'm not sure exactly what you want to remain undetected. Your Deathlord already knows your hatred of the unholy and foul, and the Neverborn probably do too. It's probably as much of a secret as Mel Gibson's racism. Otherwise, I'm not sure why you and your Deathlord don't get along. Either way, it's probably going to be more fun for the game if you try and be clever about being covert instead of just saying "My artifact makes it undetectable" every time you do something non-evil. I mean, that's just BORING, and we don't want that. Feel free to draw me up something specific if you still want it, though, and I'll take a look.


3. What Sidereal? This is really the sort of thing you should tell me about clearly and quickly. Sidereals are a pretty weird deal in Abyssal games.


4. If you want Avatar Charms, you need Whispers. If you lose Whispers, you aren't able to use them anymore. It's an intentional "foolish enough to attempt to resist the Neverborn" penalty built into the game, and I'm quite content to keep it.

 

[The Bushranger]

Added a pic :wink: to my character sheet.


And also...changed the Motivation.


Completely. :twisted:

 

[Tabby]

Out of interest, how do you guys find pictures for your characters? I realise there is one for the Magister, but it's something of a special case- I very rarely have anything I've seen in mind.

SUDDEN TOPIC INVASION.


depends on what kind of style you're looking for. Anime, manga type stuff, you'll want one of the -boorus, preferably Gelbooru or Safebooru, or possibly sankakucomplex. That's what I use primarily, I have like eight gb of that stuff now. A lot of shitty art, but also a LOT of extremely high quality stuff, and there's a fairly decent ratio of good:shit so it isn't hard to find a good pic once you figure out which tags to use for what. Deviantart is decent but the art quality is generally a LOT shittier, though there are a few standouts here and there, and it has more variety - can find more realistic stuff. Photobucket is an option, but not one that I really like - has too many stereotypical anime style drawings, very little of the legitimately good gelbooru stuff. 4chan's /c/ and /cm/ boards also have good stuff, for girls and boys respectively. If you want like... real life models... eh idk, fansites or something. I never use fo rael models for anything.

 

[Myllinnia]

I have not added a picture. Not sure if I will do so. xD Still I am looking, may have even found one. (Certainly not how I would picture an Abyssal however) Otherwise, aside from a Description block my character is as done as I dare it to be. Oo

 

[The Bushranger]

I simply use Google Image.

 

[cyl]

1- exorcist it is then :wink:


2- uh no I meant the magic is undected, like it does not shine DING DING DING MAGIC RING 5 DOT ARTIFACT OMG !!! when using essence sight.


Felt like it would give the character a cool schtick with the other player like "hey guys, you know that weird dude we've been traveling with lately... yeah, well I can't read him... like... at all, and that bothers me."


But obviously the liege and the Neverborn would know about the hatred of evil... though they might think Jehan has changed his conceptions about what is evil... or they know, do not care and are trying to screw with him to make an example.


3- I thought about having a sidereal Ally with who I could share infos & missions discretely. As there is no Immaculate presence in the Scavenger Lands, I thought the sidereals and especially the Gold Faction would have built a few exorcist cults (like the temple of the violet lotus in SotM) and I could create the Order of the Flaming Rose to be one of these.


If that's a no go, well I can change it to be a spirit, or a terrestrial exalt or anything that suits your needs and serves the game.


4- Yes, and I am quite happy with that too... my question was: do you allow me in my chargen to get 1 dot of whispers, to take a few avatar charms (in the event I have a prerequisite charm to the one I want to take with the Avatar keyword), and then to get rid the whispers dot, blocking my access to the charms.


I don't even know if there are some Avatar charms that actually are prereqs to other charms not having the Avatar keyword, but I wanted to know anyway, on the principle.

 

[TherealBrickwall]

An artifact that blocks the detection of magic is certainly a reasonable request. I'm surprised that one does not exist already. It's certainly nothing above a 3-dot artifact, though, especially as the absence of strange Essence will be suspicious if anyone knows you're supposed to have magic.


I have no problem with the Order of the Flaming Rose, no problem at all. The thing in question is your direct contact with some greater being that controls it. Sidereals especially aren't the type to have direct dealings with their agents if they don't have to. It's something you should be very specific and careful in defining.


As far as Avatar Charms, yes, you may purchase them and then drop your Whispers rating all in character creation. Keep in mind, though, that a large number of Avatar Charms require a Whispers greater than one, and you can't spend XP on background dots. Welcome to the dark side. The cookies you were promised are soap-flavored.

 

[xarvh]

Fluff-wise, how do you get rid of Whispers?

 

[TherealBrickwall]

Hmm...according to my sources, it's actually theoretically impossible. At least, not without extremely powerful Necromancy (higher than Iron Circle, at the very least). And apparently a few things in canon rest upon that fact. So, it looks like you can't get rid of your Whispers dots after all. Ah, well, nobody said being a heroic Abyssal was easy.

 

[Khantalas]

Well, my character has a simple solution to getting rid of her Whispers dots - kill the Neverborn. As in, even deader. That, or kill Creation so they'll finally fall into the Oblivion and stop dreaming. Either way works. Creating an easier way of getting rid of Whispers makes my character invalid.