The Spirits and Demons campaign that has been long in the waiting is nigh. I would to start as soon as possible, but first I will need an official roster of players and their characters. So that we can begin setting your character in the world I ask you discuss your ideas with me, with the ultimate goal of setting you up for IC posts. I would like to be at the ability-reviewing/editing stage within a week. Hopefully we'll be even ready to play by next Friday. I will elucidate further in the next few days, but do ask questions.
Appearance: He is an average built man of average height. Plain face and appearance wise there is nothing that sticks out about this man. He wears dark britches and shoes that can be found in almost any town with a white lace up shirt underneath a long non-descript black coat.
Personality: Cold, short, and no nonsense. James is a more a man of action than anything else, this does not mean he is rash however. He far from cocky and his ego is almost never seen, vanity and pride are a waste of time and can prove fatal in missions. Carful and meticulous; James makes back up plans for the back up plans of his back up plans. There are many things far stronger than he and the only way to make up the gap is with strategy. He cares little for social stereotypes and standing. A bullet sounds the same in every language and caste.
Backstory: James was born in a land on the other side of the ocean. That land was in constant war and was one of many kids orphaned from all the fighting. With no one to care what happened to him he was taken by strange officials, given a uniform, and sent away to a special barracks so that he may “better serve” his countrymen. There he was taught, subterfuge, assassination, survival, and many other skills required to “better serve”. He eventually graduated from his training and received his Tools of the trade to begin his work. For 10 years James served, killing high profile targets, poising water supplies, framing political figures. Whatever task they set out for him was accomplished with brutal efficiency until his last mission where he simply vanished. Two years later he can be found living in a small village in Altare with most of the items in his Tott being farm equipment. If asked, his neighbors would say James is a cheery and a friendly if reserved person. The James that the villagers see is just an act… at least it was. The other day he realized he could slip into his friendly guise with no effort, and sometimes without realizing it when he was alone. Strange…
Expertise Domain: Assassian/spy/ saboteur/ terrorist Inventory: Thompson Contender (8), Calico sub machinegun (6), First aid spray (2), Burst canisters (2), 10 Contender bullets (2), 90 Calico bullets (2). Future Items/ size examples. A large coil of rope and a grappling hook (9), Extra set of clothing (9), chicken egg (1), Herb (2), shotgun (12), sniper (14), flash bangs (2), Grenades (2), Crossbow (15), bolts (4), rations (3), Tent (48), RPG (16), assault rifle (16), combat knife (3).
All his weapons are mechanical and magical in nature. Throughout the weapons one can see dim blue pulsating veins that glow a little brighter when the weapon is shot.
8 Agility rank D
15 Expertise C Parameters: Str: F, Agi D, Tgh F, Res F, Ext C, Att D
7 Attache Passive (Mechanic) D, Creation James has an 'stock' parameter which defines how many units of stock he has available to use with his other abilities.
X F D C B A S SS Stock 4 25 31 40 Exp Cost 0 0 7
3 Tools of the trade Utility (Creation) F, Creation Description: It is a finite cache of weaponry and tools that resets its contents, both weapons and ammunition, every midnight. Specifically, the tools are unmade and created at midnight. Any and all untriggered traps set up are still considered part of the stock. While they may still remain during a reset, the total amount of tools in existence will not change. The size of this cache is represented by James's stock parameter. The tools that are eligible to be created this way are defined by James's other abilities.
13 Burst Canisters Defensive (Physics/Spirit) D, Ruin James hides these canisters all over his person. When attacked he pulls the pin and tosses it between him and his attacker. The Canister then lets out a forceful burst that knocks away physical attack and then implodes to absorb energy attacks. These canisters look like small round black balls. Property: Enables Burst Canister (2 stock) to be created via tools of the trade. Weakness: Burst Canister is used up in process.
15 First aid Spray Utility (Heal, Alchemic) D, Creation
This spray comes in small, green cans. When the wounded area is sprayed the target is healed 2 HP. If there is no external damage the contents of the can may be consumed to heal internal injuries.
Property: Enables First Aid Spray (2 stock) Minor weakness-: There is a 4 turn delay when healing Internal injuries Weakness: First aid spray is used up in the process Weakness: Melee Major Bonus: Heals an additional 2 HP over 3 rounds.
24 Contender Shot Offensive (Direct, Physical, Spirit Magic) C+, Ruin Property: Enables Contender Shot (1 stock) and Contender (8 stock) Minor Weakness: Consumes an Contender Shot Minor Weakness: Requires Contender Basic+ Weakness: One bullet clip size. Minor action to reload. James fires a loud and powerful shot from his .308 Contender. This shot is itself physical but also infused with red spirit energy.
4 Calico Fire Offensive (Area, Physcial) F+, Ruin Applies suppression (physical debuff) for 1 round. If an entity moves while suppressed they take 2 damage. Offensives made by suppressed entities are dodged as if they were one grade lower. Property: Enables Calico (6 stock) and Calico Clip (2 stock) Minor Weakness: Requires Calico Weakness: 30 clip sized used in 10 bullet spray. Minor action reload. Bonus: AOE (melee from target) Basic- Bonus: If Calico fire affects an entity out of cover, it deals 1 damage.
James Fires a third of his clip from his Calico sub-machinegun at an area.
Total Cost: 89
Bro, it is really difficult to keep my point cost exactly at 89. Like three abilities have to be tweaked to get everything good.
Can you be a beast but with multiple ancestry? Like a human/elephant/fish/bird thing?
The beast have a max resistance cap of B but the cost to get resistance to a B is not listed.
How much would self healing be? I talked about a really weak form of it before but I forgot what it would be. Like 1 HP every 4 rounds was what we talked about.
Would permanently increasing Toughness like Strength be roughly the same cost? I think not but I don't know how much more. It has less utility than strength I think but plays in more with the whole "not dying" thing.
How far can someone jump with respect to strength?
"Can you be a beast but with multiple ancestry?" -->It should mention somewhere that half-beasts are only capable of producing offspring with members of a similar breed. A half-dog cannot breed with a human or half-fish. Similarly, 'demonic beasts' are not a thing.
"The beast have a max resistance cap of B but the cost to get resistance to a B is not listed." -->Beasts gain a free increase to resistance. A beast who increased their resistance to C-grade would actually have a B-grade due to this increase (remember that the beast increases occur after any base costs).
"How much would... 1 HP every 4 rounds... [be]." -->D+
"How far can someone jump with respect to strength?" -->If you had a farmer jump as far as they could, that would be a F jump. If you had a man who went to efforts to train their body jump that would be in the D range. If you had an Olympic jumper do the same, that would be an expertise of C grade jump. A strength of C represents a creature with the capacity to outperform the physical limits of a human jump, however, it is still an untrained, unfocused, out-of-form jump; it could be challenged by a human who knew how to jump very well.
I feel it useful to note the non-effort to effort rule here (not described in any of the links I provided). When you make an effort to perform a "skill" such as jumping, you will roll the dice in a fashion that I will specify mid-play (maybe I say it's a jump based on your agility plus one grade). If you do not make an effort I will assume an absent-minded/automatic attempt which will have a smaller range of variability than the roll.
There is no tight relationship between the rank of a creature's strength and the distance they can jump across. If you're looking for C = 8ft no such table exists. A creature may not be in the best of health when they perform a jump, muscles may suddenly cramp, confidence somehow becomes good form, fear inhibits the jump, a freak occurrence in the spirit world propels the creature miles rather than feet, etc. Pseudorandomness will be employed for all attempts similar to a jump, and conditions will likewise be regarded. To summarize, my goal is to avoid situations where you measure out a distance and realize "I can jump that I have a rank C in <insert something>," but rather have you hope you can cross the distance with the advantages that you do have.
"What about my toughness question?" --> I missed it. Oops.
"Would permanently increasing Toughness like Strength be roughly the same cost?" --> No, you're right when you assume it'll be more expensive. High strength is priced on its utility, high toughness its priced on that it invalidates the need of defensives of a grade lower against a fair portion of threats.
"So a beast can only have one animal side is what im getting from this." --> Yes, but it isn't inconceivable that there are a few species in this fantasy world that do not exist on earth.
"And is there a lifting rate? I still cant grasp how strong a rank is besides an F." -->As a loose guideline, think that the pinnacle of one grade represents the average of the next. F, at it's best, can lift what D strength would do with moderate effort (3+3=6).
[*]Starting parameter caps of Str D, Agi D, Tgh D, Res C, Ext D, SpS C, SpC (Spirit Cloak) D.
[*]Theme Music:
Spoiler:
Battle Music:
Spoiler:
Appearance: Big and burly, clad in a shimmering silver armor gilded around the shoulders, chest, and legs. Sorin has long blonde hair, held in a low pony tail, with a filled out beard. His eyes are gold to gold-ish brown from the iris out. Kinda like this guy without the helmet (although, a battle helmet may be necessary for badassness; we’ll see):
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
Backstory: Sorin was born into a guild that serves the God of Justice, Tolk, and carries out his will; he trained on how to properly dispose of demonic entities along with his brethren. Tolk's following, the Judicatory Legion, is mainly gathered in the outer reaches of human civilization, but the influence covers all of Altare. Sorin's latest assignment was to investigate the human ran Church of Altare. After a few weeks, Sorin discovered that the church had developed a new kind of magic: Holy Magic. He reported back to his superiors, who seemed very interested in this new kind of magic, even if it was human created. Sorin was then put in charge of investigating this new magic and its potential; maybe some sort of political liaison could be created to better combat the evil in the world.
A blessing from the God of Justice, granting an extra powerful defense against demonic forces. Reduces health damage received by 2.
Major Weakness: Applies only to demonic sources of damage (abilities, magic, weapons)
Major- Bonus: Damage reduction is increased by 1.
(+41 XP)
Holy Nova
Offensive (Holy, CC) B, Green / Yellow
Fighting among the Judicatory Legions, Sorin has learned to depend upon comrades when needed. A last resort maneuver that Sorin uses to disable groups of demonic entities, Holy Nova releases a blast of divine light that stuns demons for a round per grade of demonic aura.
Major+ Bonus: medium-range spherical burst centered on self
Major Weakness: Only applies to demons.
Major Weakness: Requires a full round to charge.
Weakness: Costs 1 Green SP
Weakness: Can be opposed by the demonic aura parameter or resistance.
Backstory: Grew up under the servitude of a lord, known only as an orphan who showed prowess and abilities of a fighter at such a young age allowed the child to become a squire. Soon the child grew and became stronger than once thought he would reach, being a squire for the great knight of the land, he learned to be merciless and swift in his killings. The child began to show signs of his demonic birth and soon he was raced away from the land in which he grew. Zee Kal scoured the lands to find a place to call home, not being able to find any to call his own, now a teenager heading towards adult hood Zee Kal began learning his powers from which he came from and what he would be… Deaths Hand relieving people of their worthless lives as he saw fit feeding off of their energies. Zee one day was walking and a bandit stumbled upon him. Zee being the young age 13 had a sword with him that he had stolen when he left the Lord. The bandit sliced him on the spot, Zee being helpless laid there dying, Death then appeared and provided him a deal. Fight and kill in his name when called upon, and Zee would be saved, thats where he got his armor and lost the use of his arm. Zee upon reaching the age of 20 found a place where he could create a network of children who delivered him information from around the city. Zee found a place among the church, a place where his demonic side wasnt necessarily welcom but understood. Zee knew to keep his demon side contained but the ability to help others appeased his human side. Torn Zee finds some days harder than others for keeping his sides under control. Sins: He felt himself drawn to the “sin” of lies and deceit, with murder at the end to fully quench his thirst. Zee Kal was unable to discover the truth of his parents and his birth and sees his birth as the greatest deceit of all. He lives not fearing death but accepting it and allowing it to exist within him festering and protruding outwards upon the world slowly devouring it with his might.
Health parameters:10 health sp: red 7 green 5 indigo 8
Expertise Domain: Deceiver
Inventory: Greatsword of death, Bedroll, 20ft rope, map, and altare bible.
10 Strength C
10 Agil C
10 Res C Demonic aura D
Abilities
15 Death Spikes Attack (physical) D, Red Spikes Release from the ground at med range, then immediately retract back into the ground. Doing so causes 1 damage, because the ability uses life force to be used. Does an extra 2 base damge which increases as Zee grows stronger.
0
Sword Master
Passive (Physical, Mechanic) X, Ruin
Zee, in his years of service as a squire, obtained training in the use of the long sword. He is skilled enough with the weapon as to ignore its weight, enabling swift and lethal strikes. However that is not enough for him, so he has engaged in an lifelong quest to better his deathly art. Zee has an additional parameter called 'Long Sword Mastery (LSM)' which increases the damage of non-ability attacks delivered by long swords.
0 (-3 at toughness C)
Death's Armor
Passive (Character) X,
Zee has donned the armor of death, binding it to both his soul and flesh. It cannot be removed, for it has become his body, eradicating all traces of his former visage. While it gives Zee the resilience of a corpse, it does not come without a cost. Death has settled into his left arm, denying him use of the appendage.
Property: -20% to toughness experience costs
8 Soul Succubus
Utility (Demonic) D, Green
Zee feeds on the life force emitted by his victim, gaining 2 health.
Major Weakness: Zee must be grappling a living being.
15 Ghost Self
Utility (Demonic) D, Indigo
Zee creates a ghost image indistinguishable from himself. The image cannot move and if struck dissipates. Beings can walk through it however and will not dissipate the Illusion. Zee may freely dismiss the image, although it also vanishes if Zee moves beyond a short distance from it.
4
Starvation Free
Zee does not need to eat.
Last edited by Baby T on Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:15 pm; edited 15 times in total
Nusku Was the child of a high ranking Phoenix Clan member. Before he could receive the proper training to handle his ancestral power he witnessed the public execution of his father. His father had stood up against the recent raids on the local villages. He pleaded for morality and publicly opposed the decision of the Grand phoenix. He was quickly struck down. Nusku fled and became the clan's new number one target. No one left the clan alive. Their secrecy must be maintained. Fortunately during his grand exodus Nusku came across a wandering (Something from the church... like a priest... or a warband... or a trading caravan?) He pleaded for assistance but was struck down by an arrow from the shadows. After (Whoever i met) scouted the area and came up with zero results they decided to at least grant Nusku a proper burial. As soon as they touched the corpse, it bust into flames and quickly became a pile of ashes. A small ball of flame emerged from the ashes and spoke to the priest. He told the story of his father and the clan that had never been heard of. The man agreed to help this weird little emberling, and took the little flame home to live in his furnace. Soon after arriving at(wherever the hell the curch is) Nusku's Phoenix Rebirth ability(his immortality) was discovered after feeding the flame. Nusku was reborn in a bust of flames. Unfortunately the flames remained after his rebirth as his isolation began. Wanting a simple life away from violence, the church allowed him to become a blacksmith's apprentice and learn to shape metal. Nusku quickly caught on and with his ability to work directly with the metal, soon became a master in his trade.
5 Red 10 Yellow 5 Blue
Abilities:
10 Red Fire Aura
Passive (Fire) D, ??
Nusku's body is perpetually aflame. Nusku's deals 1 damage at the start of his turn to everything in melee range and to anything he touches.
This ability can be intensified on parts of Nusku's body, such as his hands, to facilitate ironworking.
Weakness: Applies only while Nusku is a human.
Minor Weakness: It's pretty much a pain to live with.
Basic- Weakness: Does not affect things of toughness rank B or higher
Basic- Bonus: deals triple damage to grappled entities
0 Yellow
Tokens
Passive (Mechanic) X, ??
Nusku's abilities create and consume 'tokens,' which are a kind of internal currency Nusku uses (the tokens do not actually exist). With the exception of phoenix tokens, Nusku may have at a maximum four tokens of each type. He may also only gain 4 tokens of each type a day (once again with the exception of phoenix tokens).
16 Red
Heat Siphon
Offensive (Cold, Direct) D, ??
Draws heat from a target and stores it for emberling form.
Property: Creates a flame token if any damage is dealt,
Bonus: Medium range
Weakness: Can only be used while human.
Minor Bonus: the target gains the 'Heat Loss' physical debuff for 2 rounds. If an entity with Heat Loss suddenly gains a large amount of heat or is hit for fire/heat damage, the debuff is consumed and they take 1 heat-typed damage.
9 Yellow
Shadow Curse
Passive (Shadow) D-, ??
Whenever a combat entity deals health damage to Nusku, Nusku is teleported in a gout of shadows behind the offending combat entity.
Property: Every trigger of this ability creates a shadow token.
Weakness: Only applies while human.
23 Red
Self Destruct
Offensive (Fire) D, ??
Nusku explodes in a conflagration of flame and shadow. Nusku loses all his remaining health, which is then converted into direct damage.
Property: Creates 20 phoenix tokens, a shadow token and a flame token.
Minor+ Bonus: Melee range spherical burst centered on self.
Minor Weakness: Can only be used while human.
Major- Bonus: Can create up to X flame tokens and Y shadow tokens where X + Y < health lost. Tokens created by this ability don't count towards the limits presented in the Tokens ability.
0 Blue
Emberling
Passive (Fire, Transformative, Mechanic) X, ??
A unique consequence of immortality and Pheonix Clan ancestry, Nusku transforms into a fire elemental upon bodily death after 1+d4 rounds. His type changes to spirit-being, his max health becomes 1, he has a physical 6" body, and he may still speak. Strength and agility are set to XX. This ability replaces the normal immortal process of regenerating the immortal form.
-3 Yellow
Phoenix Blessing
Utility (Fire, Spiritual) F, ??
Nusku lights an inner flame in the target, sealing its wounds and restoring 1 health.
Minor Weakness: Costs a phoenix token.
Basic+ Weakness: Can only be used while a spirit-being.
Weakness: melee range
6 Yellow
Shadow Blessing
Utility (Shadow) D+, ??
Applies the 'Shadow Blessing' spiritual buff to an ally for 1 round. Said ally may invoke the blessing as a free action(removing it) to teleport to a location within a short distance.
Basic+ Weakness: Can only be used while a spirit-being.
Weakness: Costs a shadow token.
Minor+ Weakness: The ally can only achieve a maximum vertical change of melee distance.
5 Yellow
Flame Blessing
Utility (Fire) D, ??
Applies the 'Flame Blessing' spiritual buff to an ally for 4 rounds. Allies with the 'Flame Blessing' buff gain Nusku's Fire Aura ability, minus the human restriction. When Flame Blessing is applied Nusku may choose to have the aura start as either active or inactive.
Basic+ Weakness: Can only be used while Nusku is a spirit-being.
Weakness: Costs a flame token.
Minor Weakness: Cannot self-target
0 Blue
Phoenix Rebirth
Passive (Mechanic, Transformative) X, ??
Upon gaining 50 or more phoenix tokens, an emberling-form Nusku will expand swiftly and reconstitute his immortal form. Nusku can gain pheonnix tokens through the burning of combustible material. Burning a corpse grants 2 tokens, a large tree grants 4, a chunk of coal grants 6, A small cottage grants 8 ect.
4 Exp
Last edited by Rock'emSock'emRabbi on Fri Jul 25, 2014 9:10 pm; edited 7 times in total
Name: Mecail Walassdin Subrace: Beast (Rhinoceros beetle) Theme Music
Spoiler:
Str C (B), Agi F, Tgh C, Res C, Ext F, SpS F
Appearance: Mecail is an 10’ 2” giant of a beast and prides himself on being manly and tough. He is covered head to toe in a black beetle carapace with the his back being a vibrant light blue that alomost glows with its own light. He has 3 large horns stick out of his forehead. When Mecail has sheds his carapace he looks just like a normal human in every way save for his giant size and short blue hair.
Personality: Mecail is a loud and boisterous man who works hard and plays harder. He is the type of man his enemies call arrogant and stupid while his friends would say confident and determined. He believes that nothing is impossible and that if you fail at something you just have to try harder to succeed. Background: Mecail hails from the Manslayer Marshes where he was born and raised. If asked about his village Mecail would say that it was the definition of boring. Everyone in the village lived by routine and no one shared his sense of adventure or wonderlust. Indead everyday was filled with elders complaining at him about silly things like, “Don’t surf on that crocodile” or “Stop trying to make a giant killer bee a pet”, it quickly got old. Mecail hungered for adventure, recognition, and greatness not this heavily ruled and monotonous life. So one night he just walked out of his hut and left to see what the world had to offer him.
Expertise Domain: Adventurer Inventory: Food, a few pairs of pants.
10 Rank C Str
9 Rank C Tgh
9 Rank C Res Abilities
34 Might Utility (physical) B-, Orange Major Weakness+: Has a -4 to both damage and grapple rolls A strong exoskeleton and structure of a beetle combined with the mass of a human; Mecail’s strength is monstrous to those that know him. This ability represents his extraordinary strength. Mecail’s strength is considered one rank higher.
17 Rapid Molting Utility (physical) D, Orange X: Mecail can shed his carapace and not speed its regrowth. Doing so reduces his toughness to an F.
Mecail Slams his Fists together and screams, channeling his fighting spirit and forces his body to rapidly heal. Damaged parts of his carapace molt off and regrow almost instantly. Heals self 3 HP.
Last edited by Elit3Fla5h on Wed Jul 16, 2014 6:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
Theme Music: Go The Distance (best thing i can think of at the moment)
Appearance: 6'4, 170, Long messy blonde hair, green eyes, fair complexion, dresses casually
Personality: Fun loving and always full of energy. He will always try to help those in need no matter who or what they are. He's never away from an instrument and will even tend to annoy others with his constant playing
Back Story: Note was always bored as a child. He felt like something in his life was missing. One day he heard a man playing strange sounds from a weird stick with holes in it and his body was filled with passion. He didn't understand what that sound was for music didn't have a name to it at the time. He approached the man and begged for him to teach him the ways of music. Many, many years have passed since then and now Note had traveled all across the land playing his music. He was starting to lose the passion for only love. He was drinking at a tavern when a robed man took a seat next to him and questioned him why he was looking so down. Note explained to him his sorrows and the man began talking to him about God. Note listened to every word this man had to say and began to get that feeling back. He began to wonder if God liked music. That maybe one day he could play his music for God. This was now his dream and he would do anything he could to make it happen
Expertise Domain: Musician (Plays instruments very well and is fast at learning new ones) Traveler (Knows how to survive on the land) Well Spoken (Very good at improving people's attitude)
Harmony Utility (Heal, Spirit) D, Blue Note strums a soothing tune on his lute that revitalizes his target restoring their life energy (2 Health)
Heavy Metal Offense (Range, Spirit) D, Red Note plays an earsplitting sound on his lute causing pain to his target
Jazzed Defense (Spirit Magic) D, Violet Note reacts swiftly to being attacked, pulling out his horn and playing a high pitched noise throwing his attackers aim off causing them to miss
Encore D 15 Utility (Buff, Spirit) D, Orange Note is impressed by the attack an ally made previously this turn and play an upbeat rhythm that allows them to use it again. (The character affected by Encore repeats the previous ability they used during there last turn. Works on C abilities or lower. Targets unable to perform the previous action or any action at all are uneffected by Encore. Note's action is still consumed upon use of a failed Encore) Bump to D+ once earn some exp because the hairy god king demands it
Last edited by Nailo41 on Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:53 pm; edited 4 times in total
I've done some math wrong. If you made a D grade ability based on the flat costs presented in Example Abilities.doc (cost 17), that ability is 2 experiance cheaper (actual cost 15). The same applies for D- and D+ abilities.
BACK UP CHARACTER Name: Xerbane Ferris Subrace: Human (Demon-Blooded)
Theme Music:
Spoiler:
Str F (C), Agi C (+20 XP), Tgh F, Res F, Ext F, SpS F
Background: Xerbane was born from the unholy union of his mother and a demon of wrath. Growing up was hard for Xerbane as it was hard to keep any social relations intact. Fits of rage and contempt were every day occurrences. His mother had him pulled from all education programs and, to her dismay, had to deal with his fits single-handedly. His father, being a demon, had left long ago (his mother was probably raped during an "indulgence"). As Xerbane drew closer to puberty, the stress he had endured over the years caused him to lose all control of his emotions; at one point he went into a rage that destroyed his small home and almost killed his mother. The village people gathered and unanimously decided that it was best to send Xerbane away; he was taken to a monastery with the hopes that the local monks could help him. Through the guidance of the monks after a few years, Xerbane finally grasped control of his anger. However, being half-demon, there are times when he has to succumb to his father's passed down quality; [to be continued]