Evil's Return (redux): Sign-Up

[Bard The 5th LW]

Originally Posted by Toastburner B

Bard: It's an interesting concept...but there parts with it that don't work.

For one thing, I find it hard to believe that anyone would place a former (no matter how unwitting) cultist in the Protectors...who are going to have to take care of more than their fair share of cultists. I know it's a bit of a nit-pick, but it's a nit-pick that would come up in the course of the fiction. The same goes with using dark magic, which would break certain taboos among the Society and the like.

Makes sense. I tweaked his bio and past to shake off the somewhat evil vibe he gives off, but it's your call as to whether or not he makes the cut.

[lazy man]

I'm suddenly finding myself interested in this, but I can't really get some time to make a character until tonight or tomorrow night.

So I guess this is a placeholder until we see what happens.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Hawk: Good heavens, man, you want to invade Africa while your at it?

I'll let it slide, as long as you promise to share with others, and promise to stay relatively realistic about what you can carry at once. The moment you, for lack of a better term, "pull a rocket launcher out of your pants" is the moment when bad things start to happen to your character.

Oh of course, I don't intend to carry all of it at once, that's what the Hummer's for! Really I just added all that in case I wanted a chainge of weapon later on, or in the case of a major boss battle. And yeah, I intended to loan out the weapons if anyone wanted an extra gun or three.

Basically I watched Tremors again recently, so this guy is vaguely based off of Burt Gummer, hence the car full of guns and the Big Bore.

Although now you mention Africa....

And, yes...I know the infinite ammo sigil is a joke, but take it off so the temptation isn't there.

Ok, will do.

[Arcanum]

Character Name: Marcus Verreau

Gender: Male

Age: 37

Organization: The Astral Light: The Astral Light is a religious group committed to the preservation of life. The destructive attitude of demons towards all forms of life has convinced the group that the gates of Hell must be sealed. They have done their part for many centuries to help protect the Chosen. The group worships the stars themselves, believing them to be the givers of life. There is evidently some truth behind this belief since without the sun all life on Earth wouldn’t exist.
The Astral Light consists of three kinds of members. There are the Preachers, who spread the word of the Light to all those who will listen, as well as recruit new members. Then there are the Brothers and Sisters, who are the acting members of The Astral Light. They help protect the world from demonic attacks, and most Protectors who’ve originated from The Astral Light were Brothers or Sisters. The final type of members are the Elders, who ensure that everything is running smoothly among the other members, as well as regulate the flow of information. They’re also in charge of dealing with representatives from other organizations to ensure smooth cooperation.

Class: Divine Brother (i.e. a higher mage)

Special Abilities: Marcus has trained under the Divine Battle Creed. The Creed follows the belief of perfect harmony between offense and defence, using two distinct types of magic for their respective purposes.
Astral Fire: Marcus has a specialization in fire magic incantations. The Astral Fire is the offensive part of the Divine Battle Creed.
Cosmic Abyss: Marcus also has a specialization in ice magic incantations. The Cosmic Abyss is the defensive part of the Divine Battle Creed.

Bio: Marcus has always been a man of faith ever since he can remember. He has always believed in a higher power, and has always thought he was destined for something great. He got his chance at age seventeen when he encountered a Preacher of The Astral Light. The words the man spoke rang with a strange truth that he couldn’t help but believe. Marcus signed up and began his training and worshipping at The Astral Light principal monastery.
He ascended through the ranks and showed a natural gift for magic. He trained for six years using sigils before an Elder decided to train Marcus in Incantation magic. During this time of his life the Elder told Marcus about the Gates of Hell and the importance of the Chosen. Marcus was overjoyed when he heard this and believed that he discovered his purpose in life.
He began training under the Divine Battle Creed, wanting to prove himself worthy of being a Protector of the next Chosen. It was only shortly after he completed his training did he receive word that a new Chosen was discovered and that he would be one of her Protectors. Determined to prove himself, fulfill his purpose, and to spread the Light, it was with joy that Marcus accepted this assignment.

Marcus always carries himself with a respectable composure that can often confuse people into thinking he was brought up in a rich family. His shoulder-length light brown hair is usually tied back in a pony tail. His brown eyes sometimes hide behind thin reading glasses, but not too often (his eye sight isn't that bad). In terms of clothes he normally dresses casually but prefers white clothing. He believes, as do all members of the Astral Light, that purity of appearance helps show a purity of soul.

Equipment/Belongings: A small book that contains more complicated and lengthy incantations. A handful of talismans with various defensive sigils on them, ranging from barriers to imprisoning spells. A Berretta 92.

[Toastburner B]

Bard: Better...though you still have a bit about "dark magic" in your "pre-drawn sigils" thing. Plus, if your a mage, it's kind of a given that you're carrying sigils.

And I should probably warn you (as I already had this discussion with another person over IM) that illusion spells won't be terribly effective against demons, as they have other sense and stuff. Just an FYI.

Other than those nit-picks...it's alright. Approved.

Krylo: Actually, that is surprisingly not as over powered as I feared magic-tech would be. I'll let it pass. Approved.

Pyros:

...I am desperately trying to remember how you talking me into letting you have this character in the first place.

...Whatever. For old times sakes, approved.

lazy man: I'll probably keep sign-ups open for at least another day or so...possibly up through the weekend, depending on how wiped out I am after work this week.

Arcanum: Everything looks alright...except for the gun full of sigil-bullets. Rare, expensive stuff, remember?

...Yes, I know I just told Krylo he could have magic guns, but he also isn't busting out divine fire and ice on top of his guns.

Take off the sigil bullets, an you're good to go.

[Arcanum]

Fair enough. It was mostly intended as an extreme last resort for use in emergency cases, but I guess a normal pistol will do just fine.

[Teal Mage]

For some reason, I feel like this is late. To make the profile smaller, I put the bio in a spoiler. It's like a page long.

Character Name: Lynn Arious

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Organization: Society

Class: Mage Prodigy

Special Abilities:

Magic: He can use both sigil and incantation magic effectively. More details in equipment, there's a spell list! He can perform most of his spells by incantation as well as sigil, but doesn't know many spells beyond what's listed.

Cloudy Eyes: Due to magical experimentation, Lynn is able to see magic. Things like relics, mages using incantations, active spells like shields and wards will appear as a silvery glow. When using this ability, his eyes become a violet flecked sky blue. Interestingly, when active in low light, they let him see like he's wearing Night-Vision Goggles. They also glow in the dark. When inactive, his eyes are gray.

Appearance: A slim dark haired and pale skinned youth. If it wasn't for his personality, he'd be attractive. He usually wears an unzippered hoodie and jeans in battle, rather then a trenchcoat.

Bio: Born into one of the old families of the society, Lynn had a comfortable and happy childhood in his family's extravagant manor. Lynn showed an average amount of magical ability for a child, and his parents encouraged him to pursue it, tradition expected it after all. Surprisingly, his parents avoided pressuring him into following in their footsteps because of tradition, and kept their own status within the Society a secret. They tried to be good parents.

In most ways, they succeeded.

He had a sister, three years older then him. She was a magical genius and continuously astonished his parents with her mastery of the arcane, at an extremely young age. Still, they continued to encourage him, but, somehow, everything they said always seemed...qualified. He was good for his age, but, his sister was good for their age. It stung, but only served to push him to try harder-to the exclusion of all else.

Years past, and they both progressed, Lynn and his sister, Tiana. Lynn worked hard to surpass her, but, never even managed to get close. If his parents realized how frustrated he was becoming, they didn't say anything. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that his parents were favouring his sister more and more as she grew.

Lynn and his sister were introduced, formally, to the society and the world they represented when they he turned 13. Then their house blew up.

His parents had been performing magical experiments for the Society for years; he still doesn't know the details of them. But those experiments were determined to be the cause of the explosion. Lynn had been out walking, by chance, and was spared. Tia walked out of the rubble unscathed; she'd been protected by her magic. Their parents...weren't so lucky.

Lynn had tried to live with his sister for a few years. The explosion had changed her a lot, as if she'd been shaken to her core. She made efforts to get close to him, and get to know him. It hadn't taken her long to guess how much he resented her. So, she offered to teach him.

It wasn't well received. They had a fight, ending with Lynn storming out of their new house, which now had several burn marks and broken windows. He had money from his parent's will, and bought a small apartment. Without his knowing, his sister would eventually take up his rent with her own, extravagant, inheritance.

Lynn would not be happy to know he was still living off his sister. It's complicated. His own status as a prodigy in the Society is actually a product of his almost single-minded attempts to surpass his sister. To that end, he's experimented with enchanting objects and developing...personalized spells. Anything to prove himself as his sister's better. He's a bit driven.

That's why he volunteered to become one of the Chosen's Protectors. The society was...reluctant, but, thanks to Tiana's weight-she'd taken up her parent's research, it was important to the Society-he was given the job. He's good at what he does; the Society admits that, so there would be worse choices. Besides, there's a high fatality rate among the Protectors.

However, Tiana doesn't want him to die. Despite the possibility he might, one day, kill her. She'd like to make amends, but he isn't interested in hearing it right now. So, with the help of a few of her close friends in the Society, she drugged him, before performing a magical operation on his eyes. A small gift, but, she couldn't protect him any other way. She's fortunate that he doesn't know anything about her research; otherwise he might suspect she had a hand in the preparation.

He's been put in the Chosen's class this year by the Society, but remains in his small apartment. He doesn't talk much about his past-especially avoiding the subject of his sister. It's sore.

Equipment/Belongings:
Chain Ring, a chain attached to a ring. The ring is inscribed with various sigils that allow the chain to levitate and be controlled by Lynn. There's a spike at the chain's end. Normally worn as a unique bracelet.
Throwing Daggers, carries a brace of throwing daggers when in battle. He knows how to throw them with decent accuracy, but they're mainly spell mediums.
Decks of Cards, always keeps a deck of sigil covered cards with him. Most of his spells are on cards, they're thin and easy to carry in large numbers.
Apartment, Lynn lives in an apartment complex within walking distance of the chosen's school. His small set of rooms are, like most mage living quarters, warded.

Spells:

• Bright Flash, a spell that creates a large, blinding, flash of light. Sigil kept on a pen, carries two.
• Cold Fire, a spell that creates a ball of cyan fire, so cold it burns. Sigil is inscribed on throwing daggers, carries five.
• Cold Fire Storm, a magic grenade. Creates an explosion of cold fire, effective crowd control. Sigil stored on small rocks, carries three.
• Blaze Dagger, a spell that creates a shard of hot ice, thrown like a dagger. The ice slowly burns away at the surfaces it strikes. Sigils are kept in a deck of cards.
• Blaze Seal, creates a sheet of blaze ice along a surface, can be used to trap a target, or make a floor a skating rink. The seal eventually destroys what it's placed on. Carries one card with this sigil, requires an incantation as well. The sigils take a while to make.
• Shatter, a spell that freezes over an active sigil, like a ward. Once completely frozen, both spells are dispelled. Sigil stored on a card, requires long incantation.
• Nullify, generates a barrier around himself to protect against magical attacks. The stronger the spell, the harder it is to stop. Doesn't effect physical attacks. Requires constant incantation.
• Protection, generates a shield around himself, or a target. It isn't very strong, and can only take a few direct hits. Will stop a couple bullets before breaking. Carries two sigils on cards.

So, what needs work Toast?

[Toastburner B]

Teal Mage: Pretty much the only thing that hits me is that you have a lot of magic items going on there. Pretty much, the gloves won't be needed unless you plan to hold on to your spell. Most mages are skilled enough to throw the sigil medium right before they finish the spell. So really...all I can see this being used for is later on being able to say "Hey, guys! I can hold fire!" or "Hey! I can block fireballs with my hands!". I know you didn't intend it that way...but the temptation will be there.

Also...and this is probably just nit-picky...but it seems to me that, if you aren't trained in knife fighting, you won't go through all the trouble of acquiring an enchanted knife.

Also, I'm rather curious how "see magic" translates into "night vision."

If you can give me good reasons, I'll let you keep them. Otherwise, some editing is in order.

[Teal Mage]

All of that's easy enough. I cut out all the enchanted items except the chain, since that was the main one I wanted in the first place. The rest just seemed like something that would be...intelligent to carry, for various reasons. But in retrospect, a knife wouldn't do all that much against a demon, would it?

Originally Posted by Toastburner B

Also, I'm rather curious how "see magic" translates into "night vision."

In this case, I was looking to cat's eyes for inspiration. I'm pretty sure animals are normally thought to be better attuned to the supernatural then humans? The idea didn't seem like a stretch, supernatural eyes and all.

I've removed it in any case, if the reason works, I can put it back. If not? No harm done.

[Toastburner B]

Originally Posted by Teal Mage

All of that's easy enough. I cut out all the enchanted items except the chain, since that was the main one I wanted in the first place. The rest just seemed like something that would be...intelligent to carry, for various reasons. But in retrospect, a knife wouldn't do all that much against a demon, would it?

A knife in the right hands could do plenty. In untrained hands...not so much.

Originally Posted by Teal Mage

In this case, I was looking to cat's eyes for inspiration. I'm pretty sure animals are normally thought to be better attuned to the supernatural then humans? The idea didn't seem like a stretch, supernatural eyes and all.

I've removed it in any case, if the reason works, I can put it back. If not? No harm done.

Actually, the more I thought about, the more it kind of made sense. I'll tell you what...we'll compromise. How 'bout you can see in lowlight/dark, but not in full detail...sort of looking through nightvision or infrared viewers. Does that sound fair?