OOC - Character Workshop

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Graybeard
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Re: OOC - Character Workshop

Post by Graybeard »

This one looks really good. As I said in PMs, a "hook" will be coming shortly in the Rinkaiel (Temple of the Divine Dwarf) thread to help get her introduced. And no, don't worry at all about the telekinesis representing a "superpower" or anything like that. It just doesn't.

Anybody else? All three active scenarios are at points where newcomers could be introduced easily and painlessly.
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Porcelain Fish
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Re: OOC - Character Workshop

Post by Porcelain Fish »

Presenting Porcelain Fish's Character Refurbishment and Rehabilitation Project!

“Turning your Old, Used, Discarded Characters into Shiny New Sources of Plot and Personality!”

We present to you, dear reader, a pilot project in finding new ways to gainfully employ those discarded characters you thought you never wanted to see again!

The prototype for this particular undertaking, ladies and gentlemen, is going to be the Artificer! Several of these trope template wannabes, some of them so promising at their inception, have been created and promptly discarded by unmindful creators – I would like to take what I consider the winning portions of their creative origins and create something new. From the desolate remains of the long-silent Cithule, the unfortunately dislocated Sasha, and the barely-born and soon-suborned Himiko, we bring forth a sparkling new creation!

Name: Jin-Liu Aikusu
Nationality: Tsuirakuan
Race: Half-Elven
Sex: Male
Age: 37

Yes, unfortunately Jin-Liu is yet another half-elf, but it ties into his backstory. Wait for it – it gets better.

His parents aren't dead. Admittedly, Jin-Liu isn't sure about his biological father, since he never actually met the guy, but he left his human mother in good health and spirits.

Exhaustive Backstory
Spoiler: show
He was conceived in the summer, when Maiuko Aikusu went to Tsuiraku following her high school graduation. It wasn't a move, just a visit – she planned to go for a week, see the city that was the birthright of every proud Tsuirakuan, and then return home to the somewhat provincial, but still wealthy mining town of Kinjuksu. In fact, if her boyfriend, who was with her at the time, hadn't convinced her to go out to a party the last night before they left, she probably would have returned home, married him in accordance with propriety and societal expectation, and they would have lived quietly together.

She met Crom (one of the junior functionaries in the entourage of the visitng Elven ambassador in town) just as he was leaving the lounge she'd accompanied her boyfriend and her traveling pals to, was completely taken with his exotic good looks, and ditched her boyfriend at the first opportunity to spend a couple of hours with him.

The expected occurred, and she went home with a hangover, an angry boyfriend, and though she didn't know it at the time, a product of conception. Everyone was entirely shocked, not least of all Maiuko herself, when the pregnancy became apparent. She left her boyfriend, moved out of her parents' home, bought a wedding band that had no mate, and got a job working with a lumber company on the other side of town, determined to be a productive, successful single mother.

She wasn't counting on the jilted boyfriend in question, one Liu Bei, to pursue her anyway with even greater determination than before, managed to stave off his advances up until six months after the baby was born, until exhaustion from caring for the infant by night and working scheduling for Uko Lumber by day, combined with his relentlessness, finally took their toll and she gave in. (Admittedly she wasn't graceful about it, but she did eventually cave.)

Maiuko found herself promptly installed in Liu Bei's house, where she was mildly taken aback by the fact that he already had a nursery set up, cut her hours to late morning and early afternoon at Uko Lumber, was frankly disconcerted when her in-laws took enthusiastically to her newborn son, and downright flabbergasted when she came home one day to find her own parents, whom she hadn't talked to in nearly a year, sitting in her living room, looking abashed at having been discovered, Jin in her father's lap while her mother spoon-fed him.

They had wanted to let her feel like she was accomplishing something on her own, but had, in fact, been sneaking over to her house and bribing her babysitter to let them have the baby from almost the moment she'd gone back to working full-time following her pregnancy.

Maiuko didn't take offense to the subterfuge. After all, stubborn as she was, she was also Tsuirakuan, so it wasn't as though convoluted proceedings were entirely foreign to her sensibilities. It was her father, Hantaro Aikusu, who took Jin with him to work when he was a toddler, to the assayer's office where they graded the ore dug up from the mines, but it was Liu Bei, one of the golemancers who maintained the golems that worked the mines, that Jin followed to work when he was old enough.

The other golemancers, geomancers, and staff called him Jin-Liu, since they thought of him as Liu's boy despite his plainly apparent foreign heritage, and the name stuck. It wasn't until five years later, when Maiuko was having tea with Liu Bei's mother Ono, who surreptitiously suggested she make another visit to Tsuiraku and see if she couldn't come home with another incipient babe, that Maiuko discovered from her that Liu Bei was infertile.

This led to a brief bout of suspicion on her part that Liu Bei had, in fact, arranged the entire thing, which of course wasn't true . . . (?)

Jin-Liu's skill with mechanics was such that he earned a scholarship to the Lesser Academy of Artifice, an offshoot of the private academy of Kani Mu Duair on Tsuirakushiti's outskirts. His talent, while not exactly flashy, continued to develop and flourish in the academy's workshops. He graduated with honors, was offered an engineering and research position with one of Tsuiraku's top golem manufactories, and declined in order to follow his dream, working with the man he thought of as his father at the Kinjuksu mines as a golemancer.

He was allowed to live that dream for six years before a trade agreement was reached with the Elves for some of the rare earth minerals, iron ore, and high-grade copper that Kinjuksu produced. It was an opportunity for Kinjusku. For Jin-Liu and his family, it was devastating.
Jin-Liu's skill with actual magic has never been acute, his spellcraft sub-par at best. His real strength is in the work of his hands. He's adept at putting together gadgets, cobbles together small automata from scrap as a hobby, some of which is useful, much of which is not, and he has a keen mind for discerning The Way Things Work.

If he were so inclined, he could conceivably construct a weapon of considerable power, but it really isn't in his nature to do so without extreme motivation.

He's tall, rather lanky in appearance, reflecting his biological origins in his sandy blond hair, long, dexterous fingers, and six and a half foot height, but his eyes, dark as moonless night, are unmistakably his mother's, inherited along with a quiet, determined stubbornness, tempered with an easy disposition he learned from Liu Bei.

His clothing isn't fancy, a thigh-length jacket of off-white canvas with lots of pockets, good, sturdy trousers in coal gray or dark brown, a plain, cream-colored shirt, and sensible boots. In comparison to his companions, he's rather bland. At any given time he's likely to have a couple of sets of tools on him, various pieces of small gadgetry in differing states of disassembly, and a few personal devices in case of trouble.

Desu Model B-26 - nicknamed “Saiho” - is a mining golem, squat, powerfully built with a wide abdomen and shoulders, about four and a half feet tall and bearing the wear and tear of years with patient endurance. It's non-sentient by design, what passes for a decision-making complex consisting of a prioritized list of “if/then” reaction instructions. Like its owner, the golem isn't all that fancy, but it's been at Jin-Liu's side since he was old enough to go with Liu Bei into the Kinjuksu mines. It carries most of his worldly possessions on the massive metal-framed pack on its shoulders, and occasionally does double-duty as Jin-Liu's transportation as well.

Pai-pai is probably just about one of the oddest safety measures one will ever encounter. It's a steel staff with four faces, one facing in each cardinal direction, curiously light for its composition. Originally a single entity with impeccable eyes for fractal geometry (to detect early warning signs of a cave-in), each face has developed its own personality, perhaps owing to their different perspectives on the world around them. This strain on the staff's sentience has led to a few other quirks, malapropism among one of the most noticeable, along with the fact that Jin-Liu has had to carve the staff a wooden “hat” to be worn while not underground. (All four faces complain bitterly otherwise.) Similarly, each face has a preferred direction it likes to gaze on, front, back, left or right, and having Left looking to the right, or Front looking to the back will inevitably result in more complaints. (Sometimes Jin-Liu will do it on purpose if Pai-pai is particularly irritating him, and he's been known to walk with Pai-Pai upside down if he's really put out with it.)

Pai-pai isn't much on supernatural powers, though its eyes can produce fluorescent blue emergency light – its main purpose is that of an early warning system.
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Graybeard
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Re: OOC - Character Workshop

Post by Graybeard »

So where are you planning on introducing this guy?

Very interesting concept, well thought through, well organized. One concern. Experience has shown that with the gadgetry like Desu and Pai-pai comes an unfortunate tendency for the gadget to play the character, rather than you. You're a good enough writer (to put it mildly) to avoid that trap, but it's always going to be lurking out there. Gotta show those gadgets who's boss. :evil:
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Porcelain Fish
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Re: OOC - Character Workshop

Post by Porcelain Fish »

How about the Divine Dwarf thread? The Southern Continent is a litle far afield, and from what I understand there's Tsuiraku-town nearby, so he would have followed the rest of the expatriates. I will have to follow up a little bit on what exactly is going on there to get the gist of the plot.
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Graybeard
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Re: OOC - Character Workshop

Post by Graybeard »

OK. I'll be in touch off-line to help construct a "hook" to get this guy introduced. It'll be nice to have another character in the Rinkaiel threads -- and new players are always welcome!
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Sareth
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Re: OOC - Character Workshop

Post by Sareth »

I was looking up some info on Lillith a short bit ago and realized how long it has been since I have updated the characters for the convenience of newer players. So let me do that now.

WALL O TEXT BEGINS NOW!

Name: Jamie Porter

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Occupation: Independent (read "half assed") assassin

Equipment: 2 1 dual action antique Gewehr pistols, 1 single action Gewehr pistol (antique), 4 single shot hold out pistols, 1 shotgun, and 1 long rifle. Also, 1 teddy bear. Yes, a teddy bear. All of which have been lost, broken, or lent out. To replace them she mostly has the clothes on her back and a few small "liberated" firearms that she hides in her clothing somehow (even I don't know how).

Appearance: Short blond hair, green eyes. 5'6" with small chest size (think high A or small B). Not the most curvey in the world, but curvy enough she needs bulky, bloomy clothes to ensure no one can tell she's a she when she's trying to hide her sheness.

History: Jamie was born to Jasmine Porter and Alexandre Porter. Alexandre was a reasonably decently placed and skilled member of the Gewehr, but Jasmine herself was not. Alexandre moved the family to Volkanenborg during an effort to expand operations from Kugelheim. Jamie was thus raised in Volkanenborg. Alexandre was killed (shockingly, his death was accidental, not due to his being Gewehr) when Jamie was only about four, and so she remembers little about her father other than stories. An uncle on her mother's side would come over from Kugelheim for visits, making sure that Jasmine was doing alright (Jasmine elected to stay in her home in Volkanenborg rather than move. She'd been there for several years, had a home that was more or less paid for, friends...) While visiting, it was he that taught Jamie to shoot, and also gave her the belief that assassins were cool. However her mother was less than thrilled at the assassin trade, and discouraged Jamie from pursuing such a life.

On her sixteenth birthday Jamie received as a gift two pistols, one of which she has still, a present from her uncle, and soon after was engaged on her first hit at the Beaverloo mine near Volkanenborg. However, shortly after her mother found out and declared she was flat out opposed to her darling girl ever joining the Gewehr, and her uncle stated he would honor that. Jasmine immediately began attempting to get her very... active bisexual daughter to settle down with a young man and start giving her grandchildren. Jamie, decidedly not interested in this, ran away from home shortly there after, finding her way to Kiyoka.

She has since managed to make enemies of both the Ensigerum AND the Gewehr (father's place not withstanding), become a patsy for the Eisenfaust against her will, vandelize a veracian church, send a necromancer enough mixed signals to leave him frustrated and unable to walk straight for the rest of his life, get tossed out of an amusement park, rescue an heiress, convince her mother to go haring off after her to bring her back and start making grandkids, dammit!, twice, cross an uncrossable chasm, murder a little girl's parents, adopt the little girl, rescue a catgirl kobold from sexual slavery, tangle with magically distorted monsters, almost become a magically distorted monster, fought with a dead man who refused to stay dead, and have sex with the catgirl kobold she rescued from sexual slavery. She is now in the process of blowing up, burning down, or otherwise inconveniencing town.

Personality: Aggressive and far from feminine. So much so she seems to go out of her way to antagonize her contact with the Ensigerum (who always gets the upper hand anyway). Jamie comes across as a tomboy who is trying to out boy the boys. Possibly this is part of the reason she sometimes tries to carefully dress and act in a way that causes confusion as to her gender and use such crude speech. She's also prone to violence, as can be attested to by those who have made the mistake of asking her what her gender is as well as her string of freelance assassination victims. Jamie is far, far from subtle.

She does, however, have a girly side. She enjoys dressing up, dolls, kitties, romance, and attention. But she suppresses these things as she doesn't think they're very assassiny. She'll never admit it, but she really misses that teddy bear. Fortunately she now has a catgirl kobold to snuggle with at night.

She's an excellent shot, but has little else in the way of appreciable skills. In fact, aside from killing people noisily and messily in a very public way, she seems to be almost hopeless and clumsy. Especially socially.

A pure bisexual, she has no preference for gender whatsoever. She's also not the dom you'd expect her to be, as can be attested to by the catgirl kobold.

Known Connections:
Eisenfaust:
Elke: Jamie, while still living in Volkanenborg, did Elke (and the Eisenfaust) a favor by killing the mine manager of the Beaverloo Mine before the Ensigerium could instead. Elke is now watching over Jamie under the instructions from the higher ups, who have plans for the petite little time bomb.
Moose: A long suffering enforcer tasked with the unenviable job of keeping Jamie's skinny ass from getting burnt by the fires she keeps lighting.

Gewehr:
Arty: (Deceased) Caused the events that led to his death.
Faye: Knows about Jamie's connection to the Gewehr.
Layla: Jamie precipitated the events that resulted in the death of Layla's husband. Layla knows Jamie was somehow involved in the death of her husband, but the exact role is not clear to her. Has met Jamie several times, but not realized that's who she was dealing with.

Adventurers
Ayiee: Lucas' golem. Jamie ogles the blue skinned female-like construct often. Whether that's curiosity about a neat toy, or interest in getting to know carnally no one seems sure of. Jamie last saw Ayiee back at the Waldhaxen Channel.
Boris: Marcus' skeletal... whatever. Boris seems to like to rag on Jamie. Jamie seems to blame Marcus for it. Again, she hasn't seen Boris since Waldhaxen.
Lucas: Hired him as her guide when she decided to find somewhere to lie low. Has since made a habit of getting into trouble liable to give him grey hair. Fortunately for him she misplaced him in Waldhaxen.
Grope: Has chatted with a couple times, as well as being rescued by. Grope makes Jamie nervous.
Marcus: Marcus and Jamie often pal around together, causing more trouble than really should be legal. In fact, often enough, legal has nothing to do with it. Marcus seems interested in some sort of relationship. Jamie seems to waver between "Dinner will get you everywhere" and "I'll break that hand off if you don't move it NOW." What she would eventually settle on remains undecided as she seems to have lost track of him back at the Channel.
Roger: Roger and Jamie tend to get on quite well, their relationship not quite flirty, and not quite friends, but clearly built on a mutual enjoyment of not quite playing by the rules. He has since left the party, however, so if that was going to go anywhere, it's in the past now.
Toivo: Jamie more or less tended to leave Toivo alone, considering the ag agent to be almost an alien species when it came to common ground. However, Toivo's "pet" piece of furnature, Stooly (long story) seemed to find Jamie's leg to be great fun, leading to frequent shouts of "TOIVO! Your pet foot stool is molesting my leg AGAIN!" Toivo has, however, since left the group, taking Stooly with him.
Tamina: The oft referred to catgirl kobold. After rescuing her from sexual slavery (on a whim, it has to be said) and getting her back home, Jamie seems to have hooked up with Tamina. By which I mean, apparently engages nightly in activities that would probably cause the entire Veracian Church to die of apoplexy.

Others:
Jasmine: Daughter to. Running like hell to avoid, lest she find herself married, barefoot, and pregnant before she knows what hit her.
Selvay: (ELF) Selvay got pistol whipped by Jamie for asking her gender. His motives were not only not pure, but in fact specifically because he wanted to know if she had a lock for his key, ifyouknowwhatImean. He then ran off with her MOTHER for precisely that same purpose, but with no uncertainty about whether she possessed a lock or not.
Nera: Jamie's adopted daughter (not that she admits to it. A shockingly happy and well behaved almost-toddler who is quite likely to grow up even more warped than Jamie.
Alec Fredriel: (Deceased) Former "owner" of Tamina, who wanted Jamie's ass as much as Tamina's, though for very different purposes. "Gabriel" took care of that issue.
"Gabriel": (Deceased, but still active. Yeah.) After being killed by Jamie and Tamina at least once while following Alec Fredriel's orders, Gabriel now is on the task gratis. Probably with an intent of doing a better job of death dealing than Jamie seems to be doing.

*********************************************************************************************************************************

Name: Jasmine Porter

Age: 38

Gender: Female

Occupation: Shopkeeper, obsessive grandmother-to-be

Equipment: At least one rifle and Jamie's teddy bear.

Appearance: Light brown hair (with some silver) Blue eyes, 5'6". Has aged VERY well. Yes, Jamie's mom has got it going on. So much so she won the attention of an elf for a day even at her age.

History:
Jasmine was the sister of a young, up and coming member of the Gewehr. Through him she met, was wooed by (some say she was the one that did the wooing) and married Alexandre Porter, another member of the Gewehr. Shortly after, Alexandre was sent to expand Gewehr operations into Volkanenborg. Alexandre started up some operations (smuggling, hits, protection rackets, things like that) while Jasmine started a little shop in town. A couple years later they had Jamie.

After Alexandre was killed in a freak accident, Jasmine continued to run the shop, becoming successful enough to be one of the social butterflies of the town. She never remarried, content to raise Jamie, over whom she obsessed. She tried very hard to make Jamie a society belle, hoping the girl would marry into a good family that would take care of her. Unfortunately, to her distress, Jamie is uninterested, having an almost masculine interest in mayhem, having a good time, and sex. Since finally getting a clue as to Jamie's whereabouts she has been obsessively chasing the girl to attempt to get her to settle down and start having babies, dammit!

Personality:
Jasmine comports herself as a lady, but has a whim of steel. She can badger almost anyone into doing what she wants. The only real exception is her daughter, who is just as stubborn as she is. Her desire to see Jamie wed and pregnant comes from a desire for Jamie to be pampered and taken care of like a princess, something Jamie doesn't care much about. One would think the presence of Nera would cause her to ease up on the pregnancy bit, but in fact she seems even more determined, uttering such phrases as "big sister" frequently. She seems opposed to Jamie dating girls or members of other species, but it appears her objection is mostly based on the fact none of them would be able to make Jamie's uterus actually do something useful and make grandbabies.

Jasmine can swear like a sailor when she wants to. Jamie's language was NOT learned from her classmates...

Known Connections:
Adventurers:

Jamie: Mother to. Determined to see Jamie married, pregnant, and behaving herself, to the extent that she's chasing her all over the place to drag her home by the ear.
Marcus: May have ambitions to see him make her daughter "an honest woman." She may not have caught on to Marcus' disappearance.
Tamina: Approves of as a healer and a (relatively) well behaved young woman, but not of as a mate (literal) to Jamie.

Others:

Selvay: (ELF) Selvay got pistol whipped by Jamie for asking her gender. His motives were not only not pure, but in fact specifically because he wanted to know if she had a lock for his key, ifyouknowwhatImean. He then ran off with Jasmine for precisely that same purpose, but with no uncertainty about whether she possessed a lock or not.

NOTE! Jasmine is meant to be an NPC that others can write and utilize as needed!

*********************************************************************************************************************************

Name: Lillith

Age: 34

Gender: Female

Occupation: Priestess (in training)

Equipment: Various religious items and implements carried in a backpack, and a goddess charm worn around her neck that would be recognizable to any reasonable expert in "apostate" religions.

Appearance: Brown hair worn long so as to cover the ears (most of the time. She will occasionally pull it back if she feels safe.) Dark complected, Brown eyes. 5'2". Curvy. Tends to dress in earth tones with long, flowing clothing.

HALF-ELF!

History:
Lillith's mother, Shamhat, was found by a priestess of an animist/sacred feminine religion somewhat outside of Veracian territory as an infant. Her parents were never found, and so the priestess took her in and raised her, training her to become a priestess of her nameless faith. About the time Shamhat turned 30, she was found by a ranger. However, before she could be killed, a half-elf passing through helped Shamhat escape. Knowing that the elves now knew about the presence in that village, the half-elf convinced Shamhat her only hope was to leave permanently, and so he brought her to Santuariel.

Shamhat was welcome in Santuariel, but always viewed as a bit of an oddity. She continued to practice her role as a priestess to the spirits and to the goddess. While no one actively messed with her, her habit of praying to trees and decorating particularly powerful rocks with paper charms and braids tended to get her some odd looks. She was always, therefor, treated as a bit of a kook and eccentric, and kept somewhat marginalized. She did manage to convert a very small fraction of Santuariel to her faith, but those who have joined her are generally viewed as being just as cracked as she is. In spite of this, someone (Shamhat never revealed who, but certain underworld connections figured out it was a very young Argus) evidently decided Shamhat was rather interesting, and the priestess became pregnant.

Lillith was the result of that pregnancy. Shamhat gave birth to the girl, and raised her in the same way she herself had been raised. Lillith has been trained up to be an animist priestess, and has shown a considerable knack for communing with the spirits of plant, beast, and element. At 34, Lillith reached an age where it was considered appropriate for her to take a spiritual journey, something her mother had been prevented from doing by the arrival of a ranger. She has thus been sent out into the world to complete this last step to becoming a full priestess.

Unfortunately, she bragged to some friends that as part of her quest she was going to find a spiritual power or weapon that would be able to prevent the elves from ever entering Santuariel. As such, she's been seeking out magical weapons and sites of mystic power from the Priest-Mage War. So far, she's only found one, and discovered just how terrible a task she has taken on. Since then she has been traveling with Sister Rose and Argus, seemingly without any purpose.

Currently she is bonding with her long lost father, wooing (or being wooed by) Rose's cousin Brad (it's at the sweet butterfly and flowers stage as everyone else reminds Brad she's probably not ready to settle down yet), and attempting to play matchmaker between Rose and Argus in true animist fertility priestess fashion. Between bouts of romanticism, she attempts to do what she can to "fix imbalances" between the spiritual and physical worlds.

Personality:
Lillith is unfortunately reactionary. She was raised to believe that the Veracian Religion is VERY intolerant of outsiders (meaning anyone not human, Veracian, and faithful to Luminosita). In reaction to this she has become almost as intolerant and bigoted as she believes the Veracians to be. Unfortunately, many of the Veracians she met prior to Sister Rose and Brother Miguel only helped to reinforce that negativity. Her own religious beliefs border on the fanatical, and while she knows well enough to not call attention to herself, she's not open to her faith being questioned. Her relationship with Desiree has been strained virtually from the start owing to differences of opinion about souls, for example.

Further adding to her narrow mindedness is her view of elves. Her view of her ancient progenitors is one of both terror and hate. She expresses a belief that all elves are bloodthirsty murderers who deserve to be slaughtered. Her response to elves she has met have always started with extreme fight/flight reactions. She fled from Drusia in a blind panic, and beat Selvey into a bloody pulp.

Fortunately for her narrow mindedness, traveling with Sister Rose has forced her to begin examining her bigotry. She is no longer inclined to automatically assume the worst of Veracians, though some of the Veracians she has met seem determined to help her get over her new found magnanimity. Additionally, the time she spent traveling with Drusia has helped her a bit with the elven issues. While she is still convinced that the elves are homicidal maniacs never to be trusted, she is (grudgingly) willing to admit that there may be exceptions.

Lillith's attitude towards Errants is a troubled mess. She has had the misfortune of seeing true Errants in the past. As a result, she is hyper sensitive to the risks of them. While she's no killer, she has just as strong a fear of Errants as the elves do, though for different reasons. She recognizes that Errants give half-elves a bad reputation, and provide elves the excuse for their attempts to exterminate half-elves. Even so, she is inclined to cautiously accept physical Errants, and only actively ostracize those shown to be truly dangerous. This attitude led to her angrily leaving Snamish after the birth and (debate over) death of a half-elf child with a hairlip.

She ranges from abrasive and confident to quaking in her boots and frightened of her own shadow. She's out of her comfort zone and it shows. However, there are certain things about which she has a clear confidence, those being exceptional animal handling and a strong connection to the spirit world. She can't do anything flashy or fast, but if given enough time to commune properly with the spirits she can learn just about anything about a given area or event, and create a spiritual maelstrom the likes of which most shaman have nightmares about.

She is remarkably capable of being both shy and sexual, seeing no conflict between the two. Though she ordinarily dresses in long, modest clothing and speaks quietly and unassumingly, she seems completely at ease with others seeing her body and quite willing to demand recognition of her sexual side. She treats Brad to girlish pecks on the cheek and butterfly sweet romantic titterings, while at the same time forcibly grabbing his hand and putting it on her breast. She seems equally at ease being the virginal maiden and the sexual priestess, to the degree she has gone so far as to blatantly tell Rose that she needs to blow off frustration through a good roll in the hay with Argus.

Lillith's Magic:
Lillith's magic is quite different from the more mainstream magics practiced by individuals such as Argus and Sister Rose. While their magics are connected to using good "method" to create effects, Lillith's magic is dependent on "spiritual persuasion." This means that Argus and Sister Rose can execute powerful and flashy moves (such as punching an elf in the nads with a stone column or creating a near perfect disguise) quickly and reliably simply by dint of being able to perform a technique extremely well. Lillith's magic, on the other hand, is slow and subtle, and not always predictable.

The source of Lillith's magics are the spiritual world in which she believes. She firmly holds that everything great and small has a spirit to it, and that these spirits are beings of power. For example, a tree on the slope of a forested mountain would have a spirit of its own, but would be fairly low powered. The forest would also have a spirit, and be far more powerful. The mountain, which was there before the forest and will be long after, is the most powerful of all. For Lillith, magic comes from persuading these spirits to meet her needs.

In this way Lillith's magic can be seen as akin to praying for miracles. She enters a conversation with the spirits and, if she is able to convince them to, they answer questions she asks, or changes things in the environment to match her needs. In theory, if she speaks to the right spirits and is persuasive enough, she could literally move mountains. Realistically, she'd have to do the spiritual equivalent of spray painting profanities on the side of a skyscraper with neon lettering and illuminating it with 10M candlepower search lights for the mountain to even notice her. But it is technically possible.

Note that, in all of this, nothing says Lillith has to be polite and gentle with her persuasion. Exorcisms, for example, entail her essentially shouting down a hostile spirit and browbeating it into leaving. However, with the exception of exorcisms, Lillith rarely resorts to "rudeness" with the spirits. After all, if they are the ones with the power to change the world in her favor, they also have the power to change it for the worse.

Of course, this is how Lillith would explain all of it. Others might have other suggestions. For example, it could be argued that these things don't exist. Instead, Lillith's faith temporarily creates these spirits to act on her will, much like Luminosita was created and maintained by faith expressed through the appropriate methods. The results she is getting come about because she is 1) a natural talent, and 2) unaware of what known methods declare can't be done. If this were the case, a trained Magus could probably take thaumaturgy into new directions through a scientific study and formalization of her practices.

The truth?

Well, we'll let the theologians and thaumaturgists argue that one out.

Known Connections:
Adventurers:

Argus: Daughter to. She was originally confused and even a bit resentful of this, but has since grown fond of him and eagerly calls him father. Further, she seems to delight in suggesting that he may be a bit too much of a gentleman in regards to Rose and that he needs to stop wasting time and bed her.
Harker: Cautious and a bit stern towards. She actually seems to view his existence as a far greater perversion than his sexual obsession. She appears to be willing to tolerate him, and has even suggested she'll indulge a few of his milder fantasies if he'll do as told without argument.
Brother Miguel: Happy for. While at first she disliked him intensely, the two of them were able to work out their differences and realize that they were both reacting out of childhood fears and a lack of understanding. He has since left the group, but maintained some contact. She expressed great pleasure at his announcement that he was engaged and stated she wanted to attend the wedding.
Sister Rose: Originally confused by, Lillith wavers between treating Rose as a surrogate mother and a sister. They are close in age, but owing to the difference in how humans and half-elves age Rose comes across as being far more mature. Lillith seems determined to move Rose and Argus further towards taking their relationship into the boudoir.
Drusia: Even after extensive interaction, Lillith still views Drusia with hooded distrust and dislike. She is willing to tolerate her, but that's about the extent of it. She seemed pleased by Drusia's intention to remain behind in Snamish.
Maduin: Lillith seems to view Maduin with amusement and some degree of friendship. She has openly expressed approval of his relationship with Bryce. How she would react if she learned Maduin has political designs on her person (and her father's person) that do not include Brad and Rose is anyone's guess.
Eli: Lillith still seems to be getting used to Eli. While she seems willing to be friendly with him, it is clear that he reminds her of Snamish and her anger at some of their practices.
Desiree: Cool towards. Lillith and Desiree have disagreed (somewhat strongly) over both Errants and the nature of souls. In spite of the fact the two have far more in common religiously with one another than they have in common with Rose, those arguments have gotten things off to a rocky start. Lillith's attitude towards Desiree shows that she still has a lot of her past to overcome.

NPCs

Kim: Lillith always kept her distance in regards to Kim, but it was never out of fear of the girl. Rather it was the same sort of distance one keeps with a frightened and injured bird, slowly and carefully closing the gap over time so as not to spook her. With Kim remaining behind to watch over Snamish, Lillith' slow approach has come to an end.
Bryce: Lillith clearly approves of Bryce, and his relationship with Maduin. She often giggles at the repartee between the two.

(Did I miss anything that anyone can remember?)
Last edited by Sareth on October 2nd, 2011, 11:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Graybeard
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Re: OOC - Character Workshop

Post by Graybeard »

Looks very good, and I should probably update Rose and Layla (and hangers-on) in similar style. One thing: could you write a little addendum on what's known about the various characters and magic? Lillith in particular has undergone interesting transformations on that count.

Want to take a shot at writing something similar for Brother Timothy, Alberich? I'd be interested in what backstory you come up with for him, and how it fits with what's been seen of him so far.
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Sareth
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Re: OOC - Character Workshop

Post by Sareth »

No problem. I've edited the above post to reflect her magic and what it has developed into from its vaguer beginnings. Let me know if anything seems off about it.
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Re: OOC - Character Workshop

Post by Graybeard »

Spurred by Sareth's good example :mrgreen: , here's an update on Sister Rose, with some modifications to the original to reflect "facts" that have come out later. One thing worth pointing out is that it was not my original intention to treat her as a player character. She was created as part of the staff at the Veracian mission in Kiyoka, to help set some plot directions and move things along, and I was going to let her go quietly back to being a nun there, while Brother Miguel became my "main" character in the Veracian threads. Thing is, though: she wouldn't let me. (Rose can be very persuasive.) So here's a little about her, with corresponding stuff on Brad to follow, and then things for the key people in Rinkaiel ...

Name: Rose Nuria-Lucas, aka Sister Rose
Occupation: Nun in the Reformed branch of the Veracian Church; ex-military (special ops)

Description: Hard to say, because she is so proficient with polymorph magic -- see below -- that her "normal" appearance is somewhat a matter of doubt. Most probably, she's about 38 but might look anything from 25 to 50, depending on circumstances. In that most probable "normal" state, she is of average height or a bit taller, slender physique, with fair complexion, medium-length light brown hair tinged with red, and startling green eyes. Her face is notable for sensitivity and serenity, matching her normally quiet, soft-spoken personality, although that too is "adjusted" to her actual appearance of the moment. However, she has been seen to shape-shift into states such as fashionable young explorer (think the Karen Allen role in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," but with lighter hair), large and high-powered businesswoman in her late forties, conservative and aging piano teacher, tidy and uptight military officer, and even, well, dominatrix. In all of these shapes, she has green eyes, the one thing about her appearance that she is totally unable to change.

History: Rose Nuria was born in Saus and raised in fairly comfortable circumstances, enjoying a reasonably happy early childhood. Her remarkable capacity for shape-shifting was discovered early, when she adopted an improbable, impromptu disguise to try to avoid punishment for some unspecified childhood peccadillo, a disguise that so completely fooled her worried parents that they kept asking the unfamiliar "Ashli" where her friend Rosie was. Eventually her green eyes gave her away, and it was decided that young Rose had such talent that she should be given over to the Orthodox Veracian Church for training as a nun -- and as a military officer to be. The training took (she has a capacity for magical Empathy as well as the usual basic spellcraft of Veracian clergy), but the theology didn't, and she moved from the Orthodox church to the Reformed -- to the relief of the Powers That Be, actually, because of the issues that the Orthodox church has with women in positions of importance. Her rise in the military was rapid, as she'd already become a major captain in the special forces before getting involved in the Albigenish Incident -- and meeting Kenny Lucas. One thing led to another, and she and Kenny were married soon after the Incident, not entirely to the liking of his ... unusual ... family at first, although that would definitely change with time. Alas, Kenny died under tragic circumstances (slowly being revealed) a few years back, shattering Rose, and causing her to leave the active-duty military with the rank of Major in the reserves. Her superiors in the Reformed church, who like her greatly, saw the newly-opened Veracian mission in Kiyoka as both a good place for her to get her life back together (which she's basically done successfully) and also a good professional opportunity, as its "fact-finding" (ahem) role is one that benefits from having someone available who can pass for Kiyokan -- or other things. She was at the mission for a few years, until she joined Argus in the quest for the missing Father Egbert.

Skills: Rose has all of the magical skills of a normally proficient nun of the Veracian church -- healing, detection/divination magic (although she's not particularly good at that, other than a specific knack for Empathy that allows her to understand the emotional state of others), rudimentary combat spells both offensive and defensive, and so on. In addition, she has learned basic telepathic communication from Drusia, and is adept enough with it to communicate mind-to-mind one-on-one with many, although not all, people. Her main magical ability is a capacity for a limited form of Polymorph (shape-shifting) magic, which she is able to perform extraordinarily effortlessly, as long as the shape shifting amounts to variations on a theme -- mid-to-late-thirtyish woman of more or less standard physical description. She can't use it to look male or non-humanoid (half-elf appearance is OK, but she can't make herself look like a troll), and she can't make herself look like another person's exact image; she can only change her appearance to match what is in her mind.
In terms of non-magical weapons, she carries (and, if put to the test, would be surprisingly proficient with) a dagger for self-defense, and also learned to use firearms during her stint in the special forces. However, she's reluctant to use the dagger or the handgun that she confiscated from her cousin. In fact, Rose has never taken a humanoid life (although troops under her definitely have...), and she devoutly hopes and prays that it'll stay that way.

Lest all of this sound too Pollyannaish, one should never forget that Rose has a playful side, to the point of being downright raunchy on occasion (as when she shape-shifted into a dominatrix back in Kiyoka, or a lady of the evening in Gervasiel). This can lead to embarrassment sometimes when she forgets about setting and context, because she enjoys the acting and throws herself into it when the role requires it. It's good therapy, however. She can also cuss like a sailor as a result of her time leading combat troops, although she much prefers not to.

Relationships:

Adventurers:
Argus: Slowly, gently -- kindly -- falling in love with. Rose was there when Argus started to get his life back together, and felt in him the same pain at loss of a loved one that she herself deals with daily. This produced a comfortable working relationship from day one that matured rapidly into a close friendship, and (she hopes) is becoming something more. She occasionally has to rein herself in from pushing too quickly for that "more," but Rose is patient.
Harker: Amused by, in an embarrassed sort of way. Rose spent enough time commanding enlisted troops that she isn't bothered as much by his ... colorful ... ways as one would think a nun might be. She wishes he wouldn't cause Argus so much heartburn.
Lillith: Has come to love practically as a daughter. She's concerned about Lillith's soul, in view of her decidedly non-Luminositan religious practices, but trusts that, for a person of good will, everything will work out somehow. She definitely encourages the romance that has developed between her cousin Brad and the half-elf girl.
Desiree: Still not sure what to make of, but any daughter of Drusia's -- see below -- must be someone that she'll at least give the benefit of the doubt. She has promised Drusia that she'll look after the young woman on the road, and Rose keeps her promises.
Maduin: Unsure about. The Orthodox Veracian Church definitely doesn't approve of same-sex couples, and while the Reformed church is more relaxed about such things, Maduin's relationship with Bryce still makes Rose uneasy. However, she values him for his concern for Argus, enjoys his quirky humor, and tolerates his flamboyance (although she might be a little less tolerant if she knew some of what Maduin is planning).
Bryce: More or less the same as with Maduin, but she's actually more comfortable with Bryce, recognizing in him a good, solid Veracian soldier. They aren't close, but Rose certainly isn't hostile to him.
Eli: Still doesn't know well, but generally likes. She sees a bit of herself in his wanderlust, although she wishes that he wasn't quite so trigger happy (and that he didn't call her "Major" -- she really doesn't like to be reminded of her military service, although recent events pretty well rub her nose in it anyway).
Brad: Loves her cousin deeply, but with a distinct hint of condescension -- the two cousins were close as children, but being a few years older, she has always dominated him a bit, the more so since she recognizes that he didn't get as much of the fabled Nuria blood as she did. She enthusiastically endorses his deepening(?) relationship with Lillith, never mind the religious differences, and will do whatever she can to help it work out.
Drusia: Originally suspicious of, but when she learned that Drusia was not only the founder of Snamish but also her late husband's many-times-great-grandmother, the relationship cleared entirely. Her ... uninhibited ... ways make Rose nervous sometimes, but Rose recognizes that she's an elf, and therefore -- different.

Others:
Benedict Lucas and the Lucas family: Loves deeply and unreservedly, as though she was a daughter of the family and not a daughter-in-law. They had a rocky start because of the deep-seated Snamishite suspicion of outsiders, but that got fixed rapidly as they came to know each other. Her relationship with sister-in-law Alia is still a bit rocky -- Alia blames Rose for taking Kenny away and getting him killed -- but she tries her best to patch it up when possible.
Kim: Mothers (Rose has a real weakness for taking in strays). She finds the young woman's time-ninja skills puzzling and even a bit disturbing, but that's entirely secondary to wanting to take care of her.
Brother Miguel: Close friend, and fellow Orthodox cleric. She's delighted to hear of his engagement to Sister Marilyn (whom she also likes, perhaps a bit more than her strait-laced twin Sister Eva) and hopes to make it back to Kiyoka in time to preside over their wedding -- with maybe another (ahem) relationship getting thrown in there at the same time.

Rose basically gets along with just about everyone, and tries hard to find the good in everyone as well. Sorry if that makes her boring ;) , but that's just the way she is.
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Re: OOC - Character Workshop

Post by Alberich »

Per Graybeard's invitation, here's a little summary on Brother Tim, such as he's known so far -

Name: Timothy Gantric

Age: 20

Occupation: Priest, militia officer, upstanding citizen

Description: Approximately 6'2", lean but strong, handsome, angular features, brown eyes, sandy brown hair, smiles a lot. Up the left sleeve of his robe he wears a large knife, more of a tool than a weapon. He's gotten over his youthful clumsiness. His singing voice is a pleasant lyric baritone.

History: Brother Tim has been in Umbartiel for several years, from before he was ordained. His family's from another town a little ways away - not close enough to be of any help. They're proud of him in a distant kind of way.

Tim has a very small patch of land, just large enough for the small house he built for himself and a vegetable garden. As a priest he has to be literate and was reasonably proficient at his studies, but by nature he's a more outdoorsy kind of priest, and prefers working with his hands, fishing, and especially talking to the townsfolk.

As an upstanding citizen, he's eligible to be, and is, a platoon leader in the local militia. On drill days, he discharges his obligations by finding out what his platoon sergeant wants to do, and then ordering him to do that. (That would happen anyway, so why fight it?)

At least one of the local young ladies blushes when she sees him, though whether that's from something that happened before or after his ordination, or simply her wish for something to happen, is not so clear.

Skills: He seems to be adept at healing magic, at least enough to have helped save Bishop Cyrus from a heart attack. He can also manage some low-level defensive magic. Beyond that, he simply hasn't developed his magical abilities. For weapons, he can use the halberd, sword, and knife, in reverse order of proficiency, and knows something about how to take advantage of his reach, but a real professional would get the best of him. He's also good at carpentry and woodcarving - that's what he was apprenticed to do before he was selected for the priesthood, and is a good way to pass the time when there's time to pass.
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