Project CITYFIGHT Sign-up thread: You must defeat an entire city to win the game

[Arhra]

Our Story
A strange invasive thing is expanding across the land.

It is a city.

You are to invade it and berate, befriend or battle everyone you meet until the problem is fixed.


How We Got Here
Long ago, there was no earth and no sky. No Sun, or Moon or stars. The only thing known to have existed before the world was Nous, the Creator of the World.

With the world not yet finished, Nous vanished or died or fell asleep.

A lot of people were very upset and this caused a lot of trouble. They fell to warring about how the world should be, for its laws were still fluid. Most troublesome were the incomplete creatures, abandoned drafts and concepts not yet fully worked into the world as it was for they found common ground in their disparate, corrosive natures and banded together.

But, one person stumbled upon the Last Words, the unformed final decree of the Creator. This person was the Sun. Expending the Last Word, she asked for the strength to defeat the hordes of unfinished spirits.

She received it and it broke the world.

Some of the incomplete creatures crawled into the depths of the earth to escape the light of the newborn Sun and others fled into the Outer Darkness. They all are called darklings now, for the light of the Sun (and of the Moon) harms them.

The elements were disarrayed and the border between life and death thinned by Sol's atrocious power. Since she scorched the earth, Sol travelled into the sky and became the Sun, endlessly roving through the sky to keep danger away.

But someone had to patrol the night as well. The Sun's sister, the Moon, volunteered. Using black magic, she cast a powerful spell to draw upon the reflected power of the Sun.

This continued quite seriously for a time, but the skirmishes between the Sun, the Moon and the creatures of the Outer Darkness are largely a formality nowadays.


Where We Are
This is a world of dreams and fairytales: magical, dangerous and wonderful. It is a world that is alive, where no part of it can ever be fully dumb, or blind or insensate.

This is a world large enough to get lost in but cozy enough to find your way home. It is filled with terrain of all types: tall mountains, ancients forests, placid lakes, mysterious caverns, sparkling deserts and wide oceans.

This is a world populated by wandering knights and beautiful princesses, martial-artists and monks, thieves and beggars, priests and healers, witches and magician, gods and monsters, merchants and craftsmen.

This is a world where the fantastic constantly threatens to spill into the mundane. A castle might float in the sky, a ghost might show up to your party and a city grow from a peculiar seed.

Anyone who lives here is probably more than they seem.


Terrifying Development: Humanity
Humans are heroes.

It is the nature of humanity to do great things and dream great dreams. A human has immense integrity of self. A human is difficult to injure and highly resistant to spiritual attacks, although they are slow to heal. A human might march into dark places where gods and demons fear to tread and scatter the forces gathered there.

Luckily most humans are content with a quiet life and do not do such things.

Many humans are cunning while many spirits are not. A human accosted in the night by an unfriendly spirit of much greater strength will still often get away through trickery.

Humans get along with each other well and frequently band together in small villages. They are easy going but it is not wise to excessively provoke them.


Something for Everything: Spiritual Beings
Spirits are everywhere.

Broadly, a spirit is any supernatural being or creature and come in endless variety. They might be called gods, demons, ogres, fairies, or any number of other things. Animals and objects can gain personality and life, becoming a kind of spirit themselves. Even a human can become one.

Others are tied to more esoteric concepts and principles. You might have a spirit of dawn, or rust or travel.

Ghosts are also classed as spirits.

All spirits embody a principle. They are remnants of the spent thoughts and words which gave reality its shape. A fire elemental isn't just a burning thing, it's a representation of the specifications to which fire exists.

Spirits share a weakness to various faith based and spiritual attacks, charms, wards and so on. They are more easily affected by faith than humans and spiritual damage can be fatal wounds. They may have additional weaknesses.

Many are not especially intelligent and the ones that are tend to dislike the company of other spirits for this reason.


Magical
Everyone has some measure of spiritual power and it is possible to improve it with devoted effort.

A human might pick up strange and wondrous abilities through dedication to their professions and hobbies or even develop a narrow, yet powerful gift inherent to themselves.

A spirit has marvelous abilities as an expression of its nature.

A magician is a person who studies natural phenomena in order to invoke them. Their power is based on exterior forces, not internal.

A serious magician is a bookish sort, their homes crowded with books, notes and strange relics.

Black Magic is slightly different. In the same way darklings represent forbidden and incomplete principles, Black Magic is learning to invoke these principles. To become a Black Magician, a sacrifice is needed. The user must give up a part of themselves, for it will not answer to anything that is whole.

Black Magic draws on strange powers and exotic principles outside of the normal order of the world (be creative) but it takes a heavy toll upon its user.


Life
Society is somewhat fractured. An important fact to remember is large scale cooperation essentially does not exist, except in the loosest of senses. Viewed at a large scale, the place is an anarchy. It is difficult to organise a place where a small number of people can use truly amazing forces. Any organisation beyond a city-state is quite rare.

Technology is very fragmented. There are some true wonders but anything beyond quite basic devices in most areas is essentially the work of dedicated hobbyists. An area might have telephones, but the people with telephones probably had to lay the phone lines themselves.

Getting resources for such things is tricky, but there are places that mine and trade. Mining towns tend to be technological oases, as enthusiasts are drawn to them.

Most places are mostly at peace with the spirits around them. It is typically the job of a priest or shrine maiden to keep them happy and they are given offerings to make them smile on the village and keep from causing too much mischief. The wilderness can be a very dangerous place however.


Death
A human that dies becomes a ghost. They typically dwell in the Underworld, although some may wander the earth until laid to rest. They can be very dangerous, because they are almost indistinguishable from humans.

While the Underworld seems to be a dull place to the living, the dead seem to have a good time. Ghosts have a lot of parties. When they eventually get tired of it, they depart to be reborn.

An afterlife other than the cycle of reincarnation that the Underworld uses is one of those darkling concepts that Nous flirted with. As a result there are hells in the underworld and heavens in the sky.

Ghosts do not naturally end up there, so angels and demons tend to be very bored.

Demons try to host very enjoyable parties, so as to attract ghosts to their hells.

Angelic creatures do not live in close proximity to ghosts and so they host less parties.

They are probably behind a lot of alien abductions.

Both angels and demons are darklings by the way.

A spirit that dies does something strange. Some become something like a ghost, others seem to transform, split or grow into something else if slain. The simpler creatures in particular often simply reform if no measures are taken.

Of course, people usually do not fight to the death. A robust surrender policy is in effect.


Who You Are
Name: A first name. Possibly even a second name.
Gender: Man, woman, child, robot, etc.
Race: Human or a class of spirit
Profession: Optional!
Appearance: Physical description and outfit.
Personality: How your character behaves. Unsociable assholes will receive free beatings!
Background: A little more about you.
Abilities: What you can do. A generalised ability is quite weak - people generally have practiced applications of their talents that are fairly specific.
Involvement: Why are you getting involved?


Who I am:

Name: Lia Kiparen
Gender: Female
Race: Spirit of Lost Things
Profession: Investigator First Class (self appointed)

Appearance: Golden eyes, sharp, delicate features and a lanky build. A propensity for warbling and whistling. Descended from magpies. Lia's hair is a patterned mix of black and white, with feathers scattered through it. Her clothes are a wild mixture, tending to give the impression she dressed inside a tornado. She wears a tight, tunic like skirt as the base layer, a pouch laden belt cinched around her waist and more pouches on a sort of sash. Over that she wears a loose vest and on top of this top of that she wears a bulky overcoat, giving her even more pockets. A long scarf is wrapped around her neck and goggles are perched on her head. Her stockings are different lengths and she wears mismatched bracers.

Personality: Lia is inquisitive to a fault, adventurous and social. She is prone to wild speculation and even wilder accusations. Also shouting and picking fights. She loves sticking her nose into things that are not her business. She has made it her business by declaring herself as an investigator.

Background: Lia is descended from several generations of spirits and her magpie ancestry is watered down. She keeps their inquisitive nature and attraction to shiny things however. The tendency of things vanishing in her proximity sometimes gets her branded a thief, something she hates. To keep herself busy, she has appointed herself an official investigator, looking for lost treasures, checking about strange happenings and generally getting involved with other people's business.

Abilities: Lia is a spirit with an affinity for lost things. She can pull things that are well and truly lost out of a strange place called the Super-Sargasso Sea. Lia also calls it her Nondimensional Ocean. Items have a tendency of going missing and being unexpectedly found around her. She is not a thief.

Bermuda Sign: Curses things to become lost. You might never be seen again. Not very useful for fighting. Better for payback.

Forgotten Armament: There are many fine weapons thought lost forever. Lia can temporarily call upon them, although she has trouble with picking the exact weapon she wants outside of a general type.

Grand Discovery: A powerful move. It relies upon two facts. 1) Some very large objects have been lost over the years and 2) Most people are vulnerable to massive blunt trauma.

Hidden Sense: Lia is sensitive to hidden and misplaced things. She can smell your secrets!

Getting Lost: In an emergency, Lia can close her eyes and spin wildly. No-one knows where she will end up, not even her.

Condensing Spirit Method: A very basic trick for manipulating spiritual energy. It lets Lia hit people very hard and turn her shed feathers, loose change and other flung objects into effective weapons.

Lost Art - Gap Vortex: In her foraging through the Nondimensional Ocean, Lia discovered this secret technique. The last person to know it died over a thousand years ago. She is reluctant to use it because if someone else learns it she will be unable to use the technique. Summoning a vortex of her own spiritual energy about her, she can spot flaws where her vortex touches and penetrate enemy's defences or turn their own techniques back on them. It is a very energy intensive technique to use.

Involvement: Lia (Investigator First Class!) will get to the bottom of this mystery!


Soooo, any questions?

[Menarker]

Haha, Grand Discovery and Bermuda Sign sounds HILARIOUS.

A few of you might remember this guy from quite a while ago (with a different name)

There is no denying the curative power of a restive state!

The below is a prototype idea. Would be nice to hear any ideas or issues with the below.

Name: Pier Caverly
Gender: Male
Race: Spirit of Slumber (Former Human)
Age: 800
Profession: Accidental Diety

Appearance: A LARGE healthy looking figure almost resembling a brawny human bear. Wears VERY outdated simple clothing and no jewelery or special markings. Has dark straight hair that reaches down to his eyebrows.

Personality: Rather lazy and seemingly always bored. Rarely interacts with others due to his rather extended amount of naptimes and people's general tendency to not bother talking to heavy sleepers. Pier is amiable to those who give him basic respect and downright petty to those who go out of their way to pester or offend him, and not completely not above using his abilities to inflict harmless but otherwise distressing misfortune to them. When awake but alone, he is calm and somber. Has a vigorous appetite when awake.
He is more or less almost always yawning or with drowsy glazed eyes even when he is actually in a state of complete attention and vigor.

Background: Pier is currently known as hierarchically minor but prominently respected diety named Erayo among a pantheon in a large town, especially among those with troubled sleep or insomnia and the physically suffering. In years past, his sleeping body was discovered by a host of wealthy nobles and priests looking for shelter during a bad storm during their trip from town to town. They thought him to be merely a surviving masterwork statue of a mining village destroyed by an earthquake, but elected to take it along in a container of their own. During the transit from its original location to their own village, they were accosted by vagabonds and were outnumbered. As a twist of unusual fate, the raiders had suddenly passed out into a deep sleep, face in the mud and they were swiftly dispatched. Blessing their good fortune, they made headway to town. Finally, when they arrived in town and removed it from its box, they discovered the "statue" had changed its sleeping position, surprising many including the head priest who claimed it as religious object, citing the good fortune the night before. The nobles however excluded him and his suggestion from the conversation as they fought over it, with the wealthiest of the nobles seizing it on his authority and keeping it locked in the corner of his manor. Several days later, the Pier disappeared along with several caskets of fine wine and a plethora of meat and gourmet sweets much to the dismay of the guards who could not explain their inattention or the several burst doors leading to the thief's escape. Enraged, the noble sent his guards to search for the statue by force searching the town and execute the one responsible for its theft. After an exhaustive and disruptive search, which quickly brought attention of the statue among the harrassed civilians and the other nobles, it was discovered in the high priest's temple of the pantheon, in front of another statue and a curiously empty offering plate.
The High Priest and the rest of the clergy including their priestesses and acolytes were all restrained and summoned in Pier in view of the rest of the town's citzenery, with the incensed noble planning to use this situation to expunge the current clergy and put himself and his association in charge of the place of worship under the pretense that the current wealth of the clergy were begotten by the same shameful means as this one.
The noble's guards serially approached, by order of execution, but all slumped on their knees and collapsed on the floor in a peaceful state just as they would draw their weapon. The noble then elected to do the deed himself, but Pier stirred standing in a broad tall stance, fearsome as the most grizzled of bears. With one raised arm, Pier slammed his palm against the noble's head, sending him sprawling against the floor, never to wake again. With one massive yawn, Pier merely curled up on the floor to sleep again.

Ability: (Summary) Spirit of Slumber and thus has an affinity based on keeping things at neutral/stopped state or benefit from a restful constitution. Such things may include power of sleep, sealing (specifically forced slumber), weakening, dulling of senses and pain, and rejuvenation via a rested state. Offensively, Pier tends to just brute force his way similar to a bear which also shares his innate tendency for hibernation. Foes "killed" by Pier may instead by induced by a sort of eternal sleep.

Specific Abilities:
State of Perpetual Rest: Pier radiates a powerful invisible aura which effects everything around him. To those who have his favor (as well as himself), their bodies never feel weariness or exhaustion, able to fight as if in their prime even onto the point of death itself, their strength roughly enhanced and their mental state alert as if they had a perfect sleep. To his foes, their strength and thus their physical abilities are sapped and numb and their mental state weary, tired and groggy. The weak in body or mind are put to sleep until some time after his presence have disappeared.
(Which has once or twice led to an hilarious incident when Pier was asleep and a few weakminded civilians who discovered him also fell asleep and those searching for the missing members found them and similarly conked out, repeating until someone with an element of mental fortitude sorted the issue out. Fortunately everyone woke up feeling great.)
A key point worth mentioning again is Pier's default and near constant state of brute strength, vigor and fortitude (both physical and mental) as the result of his body innate affinity to a perfect state of restfulness.

Restful Repose: A specific ability of Pier's Aura, those knocked unconscious near Piers by any means (who knocks them out or how doesn't matter) fall into a deep sleep. Hence someone who was punched 15 times in the face and flung against the wall by Piers may slump on the floor asleep as opposed to being DEAD.

Silence of the Sandman: A more specific exploit of his aura ability, Pier is skillful at moving within the reduced perception and blindspots of those feeling weak or drowsy or otherwise distracted despite his huge size.

Hibernated Through Armageddon: When in a state of deep sleep whether as short as 5 minutes or as long as several decades, he is for all purpose immortal, incredibly tough and lacking the need to fulfill any other biological or psychological function like eating or taking a crap. He would also be completely non-threatening if he didn't also radiate his passive aura in this state. He can practically be carried around like an inventory item and he'd have minimal awareness of the situation around him. This technique takes several moments of prep before he can induce this in any sort of stressful situation. He wakes up fully healed and dispelled of all negative influence.
This ability is his main reason for his accidental status as a diety. Rumors has it of an extreme situation where he survived an earthquake that leveled a town housing him in this fashion only to be discovered years later in the ruins and taken to a new town entirely, before he woke up mid-transit in a box, mistaken as an archaeological relic. There are persistant rumors that he can grant this "gift" to his favored ones or his most hated enemies in addition to himself. Also commonly spoken is the belief that this state grants him immunity to mental afflictions, judging from how he never seems to disturbed by nightmares. Much less spoken is the idea that Pier could actually be a nihilistic figure who seals himself by sleep so he would avoid life's daily trauma.

World Be Still: Forcing existance, creation and even magic itself to a sleeping halt, Erayo can slow or even seal off magic and energy (including natural energy) in an entity or in an area. The magic energies that permete an area or entity do not stir naturally or upon command, and casters find their resources do not flow like they could manage before. When used upon immensely strong beings (like PCs and special NPCs / enemies), it may utterly reduce its effectiveness in a variety of ways such as lengthening casting time, weakening its potency and so on but still leave them able to cast. Natural energy such as fire and lightning will cease to stir and go out. Can also be used as a counterspell if focused.

Slumber Party: Those in a deep sleep whether natural, willingly or successfully put snoozing by one of Pier's abilities can become sleep-walkers/talkers/fighters (Think of them almost like zombies). They possess all their abilities, although some of the more technical or delicate ones requiring an alert mind or a high level of intelligence might get botched spectacularly. Their loyalty is assured to be at least passive and harmless to Pier. While such walkers follow Pier's aura around, he can't actually control them to any significant degree. Hence large groups can be powerful, but can also result in chaotic clusterfucks where one randomly sleep-attacks and hits someone else prone to return fire (such as a group of martial artists trained to counterattack any incoming blows). Other interesting results might occur like the more peaceful ones hugging whoever they bump into, or confessing their admiration for someone they have been pining for (possibly to the actual subject in question or to a random shrubbery).


Involvement: Some invading guys from the city entered Pier's shrine by night and desecrated it with graffiti before they fell into a deep sleep. Some days later, they woke up in a prison with drawings of wangs scrawled on their faces with their own graffiti implements. Although amusing the first time, the novelty of it was gone the second, third and fourth time over several days. Pier finally had enough of the constant interruption and decided to put an end to it somehow.


On a side note, I'm trying to think of a way to use Sleep-Walking (Sleeping while fighting) or Sleep-Talking (talking to fellow PCs or NPCs while sleeping) but without combining it with "Hibernated through Armageddon", so I'm not always (or even mostly) invulnerable. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

For a moment, I also thought also Pier being chibi sized when in "Heavy Sleep Mode" to make it easier for others to carry him or some other weird gag. :3

Finding it a little hard to write up a background that goes more into his past as I'm having trouble trying to make him not one-dimensional without making him needlessly tragic. ^^;

And it just occurred to me that I'm basically roleplaying a Snorlax/Darkrai combo. :3

[Bard The 5th LW]

Ill try to think up something.

[Inbred Chocobo]

Name: Cale the Lost
Gender: Man.
Race: Human
Profession: Mage, both of black and white, and up and down.
Appearance: As a man, frail and a bit old. But that doesn't always stay that way. His robes have a hood that normally keep his face covered though, but you can sometimes see his beard (when he has one) on his face. His robes can be blue one day, and plaid the next, you are just never really sure. The only thing that stays the same is his ornate oakwood staff, topped with a beautiful white diamond. Its a powerful artifact that he was never really sure where it came from.
Personality: He is completely insane. His speech can sometimes be of the wrong language, most of the time its cryptic and useless. He may rhyme to his amusement, and once in a while world truths can be found in them. His reactions are never the same to the person, unless they are.
Background: Cale was an accomplished mage. Well, actually he still is an accomplished mage. He studied with some of the greatest minds, and had owned some of the most amazing library collections. However as he grew older, he became obsessed with power, wanting to become stronger, better, faster than any mage that has ever existed. He started to look into Black Magic for a source, thinking the unknown, but as he dug, as he researched, he could never figure out what to give.

This went on for years, and the fustration drove Cale mad. Until one day, he got up, grabbed a staff that was never there, donned a robe that had never existed, and burned the library down, including the amazing lore of the books, and countless eons of knowledge they contained. Then he did it again, and left the library fully intact.

Now he wanders, seeking that which he losts. Or maybe he has found it, and is wandering away from it. Or maybe he is running from someone. Or something. Or maybe he is on an epic quest to obtain a pet monkey.

Abilities:

Untapped Knowledge: He seeked to know, and to understand it all, to how to create and destroy the darklings, to understand how to manipulate the art of reincarnation backwards, and how to pull the greatest magic from all around him at something. He has gained it, for exchange of his Mind and Sanity. His knowledge of magic and spells is unparalleled, but for him to apply it, its a mystery.

The staff: He just picked it up the day the pact was made. Its nature is hard to say, but its a strange item. It has no power, nothing can touch it, nothing can displace it, nothing can break it. Someone once inquired about where he got his staff, and Cale told them "In the place where the first gods spoke, where the spell first cast, and the flames first toked, I saw the words as the slumbered, and they flowed like river's wine, my cup I held then ruptured, but the staff I took as mine."

Involvement: Yes.

[Overcast]

Name: Addins Mckay
Gender: Man
Race: Human
Profession: Logician
Appearance: Addins is a bit of an unassuming character, a dishevled mass of black hair falling on a pair of rounded spectacles that sit in front of dark green eyes. He takes a tidy organized outfit with his tweed jacket, grey slacks, white linen dress shirt and brown silk vest. He has a satchel of books hanging off his side wherever he might be and wears a pair of black dress boots, ever a trouble for him to shine in the morning All on a thin, somehat average form.
Personality: A relatively kind man, with a bright and sunny personality, even his enemies find him quite approachable. His trouble lies in his insatiable curiosity, and desire to understand how nearly all things work, and he can be quite bothersome, or lose his sense of place when encountering something he has not seen before. And in a world like this that comes quite often.
Background: Ad grew up in a relatively small and mobile town full of bandits and cutthroats. His parents had him moved around a lot, visiting some new town while they secretly, or obviously razed and robbed the places. He himself was not formally brought up as a bandit though, instead he was expected to become the next town Wiseguy. The leader and mastermind who would assure prosperity as the years passed by. Yet his education from various stolen tomes only really inspired in him an interest in all things, and at some point in the night he crept off from his town after beating a few of his good friends down, so that he might find a life out in the world where people were not screaming at his arrival so loud as to ignore his burning questions.

Through his travels he has taken up the title Logician, or man of logic who attempts to work out and understand everything he sees. Unfortunately his upbringing has not done much to give him a proper concept of personal belonging or space, and while his services are appreciated he has been forced out of a town or twelve for blunt thievery. But he continues on, sure that no one person is above the search for answers.
Abilities: Born to be a leader, raised by tricksters and thieves, and more than a fair bit smart Ad has gotten by quite a bit on his bare wits, his capable skill with his hands, his disarming personality and his lack of understanding the meaning of honor.

Underhanded: When Ad has come to the idea that he no longer has a firm grasp of a situation, and all his logic will not save him. Or if he is certain the best move is a fight he has fairly good knowledge of releasing a quick and brutal cheap shot to the groin, or groin equivalent on a spirit.

Non-Sequitor: Ad has an absurd habit of totally ruining the flow of a situation with a sudden phrase of his own curious nature. He has stopped a whole riot with one awkwardly dropped word that just made everyone respond with a sort of confused, "What." He will often use this as a chance to indulge in his curiosities if allowed.

Little Details: Ad, while often caught up in his own matters, is by no means lacking in senses. Quite the opposite. Even in the most hectic of scenes his eyes have a habit of picking up all the little things others might miss.

Trust me: People just seem to want to listen to Ad, things he says just make sense.

Unphased: It takes quite a lot to shake the nerve of a man who has seen the level of evil that Ad has.

Seen it Coming: Addin's keen senses tend to let him know when to get out of the way. If an attack is notably telegraphed, or a projectile is not incredibly fast he can usually dip out of the way barring he has a terrain error.

JUST SHUT UP: Despite himself Addins may continue to try to ask questions in the middle of battle, at times about the most terrible of things. The point is to inspire aggravation in his opponent, and when they reach the point where they are doing stupid things just to make him stop, he can unleash a devastating physical flurry based on their now quite predictable moves.
Involvement: A few days ago he heard about a City way out somewhere, a place that seemed to be growing at a rather interesting pace. Folks hearing about it only had distant images, and momentary explanations. And without details his curious itch desired a desperate scratching, so he packed his bag up and moved in, sure to find out what was happening!

[Arhra]

I should probably make it clear that the place is not being invaded by people who live in a city. It is being invaded by a city.

Menarker, the concept's fairly solid. I'd suggest dropping the Prelude to Phantasm ability though, since it's a bit outside of the main theme and looks like it'd be problematic to handle. Secondly, no invulnerability while asleep. Ridiculously tough, yes. Invulnerable, no.

The backstory's a little troublesome though. One of the basic concepts of this setting was 'no faceless mooks'. There are a lot of people who, when faced with a meddling demigod, would beat it up.

This sort of thing is also why there's not much large scale organisation.

Inbred, sorry but that character's just not going to work. First off, 'I knows an undefined ammount of teh magicks', well, is not going to happen on account of being a pain in the butt to GM. As the sign-up sheet says, there should be a few specific, well practiced applications of their abilities. Secondly, I've never cared much for generically crazy characters. Finally you don't quite seem to get what the idea is with black magic.

Black magic deals with things that should not exist, not things that don't exist. It's forbidden and dangerous because it deals with forces that don't fit properly into the world.

Overcast, looks good though I'm worried he might be a little undergunned.

[Menarker]

Originally Posted by Arhra

I should probably make it clear that the place is not being invaded by people who live in a city. It is being invaded by a city.

I thought it was a mobile city kinda like a floating fortress or a mobile continent, still with its own civilians and/or army. Is that still wrong?

Menarker, the concept's fairly solid. I'd suggest dropping the Prelude to Phantasm ability though, since it's a bit outside of the main theme and looks like it'd be problematic to handle. Secondly, no invulnerability while asleep. Ridiculously tough, yes. Invulnerable, no.

I'll take out Prelude to Phantasm. No problem with editing down to ridiculously tough.
On a related note though, I was wondering if you have any ideas for how to intergrate the idea of sleep-walking/talking/fighting into the character. (But not as a default state.)

The backstory's a little troublesome though. One of the basic concepts of this setting was 'no faceless mooks'. There are a lot of people who, when faced with a meddling demigod, would beat it up.

I found the backstory a little troublesome to write myself.
I guess I would have a few suggestions as to why/how it could be justified...
A: This happened a long while ago and they have gotten much stronger/better since then. (Of course assuming you have no problem with Pier's being 800 years old.
B: They are great at fighting, but an aura which bypasses typical armor just makes Piers a mismatch against simply armed soldiers. The priests and faith users who would have been a tremendous threats were the ones in danger who stood to benefit from any timely intervention.

Of course, this brings up my next big question. How is my primary technique , State of Perpetual Rest, going to operate in this setting where there seems to be no real difference in personal strength among NPCs? It is the ability by which my entire character and his functions are based around.
If they are all incredibly strong minded and viligant enough to resist sleep and drowsiness then the very core basis of my character is gone and he's basically just a human bear with counterspells and a team ability.

This sort of thing is also why there's not much large scale organisation.

You mean among the spirits or among the humans or in general? Is there any functional limitation why that is the case or is it just a coincidence that everyone tend to organize themselves as smaller groups and never seem to actually gather any larger?

[Inbred Chocobo]

Originally Posted by Arhra

Inbred, sorry but that character's just not going to work. First off, 'I knows an undefined ammount of teh magicks', well, is not going to happen on account of being a pain in the butt to GM. As the sign-up sheet says, there should be a few specific, well practiced applications of their abilities. Secondly, I've never cared much for generically crazy characters. Finally you don't quite seem to get what the idea is with black magic.

Black magic deals with things that should not exist, not things that don't exist. It's forbidden and dangerous because it deals with forces that don't fit properly into the world.

Thats fine, I can go back to the drawing board. To be far I just tossed him out as an idea anyway, let me see what I can come up with then.

Edit: I thought of a character, and I like him. Hopefully he will work out better


Name: Saruwatari Yoshitoki
Gender: Man
Race: Human
Profession: Dishonored Samurai
Appearance: First thing to notic, Yoshitoki is missing his left arm. His cloak stays tied so it always look like he is holding his left arm to his stomach, when its actually missing. Second, his goans are that of light brown to dark brown. He wears a straw hat upon his head, and complains about the sun all the time. He has a simple katana resting on his hip.
Personality: He is that strong silent type. Really isn't much for words, as he really has never found a use for them.
Background:
TLDR version: Yoshitoki has a village, loses it cuz dick stole something that a lot a bad things were guarding, Yoshi gains dark power from it and kills everything.

Yoshitoki was born and raised a warrior. His village he grew up in tended to focus on tradition passed on, and every first son of each family was to be apart of the militia of the village. Some become archers, others mystics, however Yoshitoki became skilled with the sword, and focused on those as a child growing up. The village was simply, and tended to be respectful of the spirits around them, having the village grow with both spirits and men to a sizable amount.

Yoshitoki found himself to be in his later years the kind of person he prefers not to sit at home, but instead a person to prefer wandering. Trying to help him coup with his wanderlust, he tended to get assigned duties that involved travelling with nearby traders looking for other vilalges, or patrolling the rodes. It suited Yoshitoki fine, as he enjoyed seeing new sites.

It was on one of these patrols that a raging spirit from the village attacked him. He knew the spirit, conversed with it before, but couldn't reason with it at all, and after arguing and defending himself from it, he ended up dispatching it due to his dismay. Unsure of what happened, he rushed to his village, which was days away from where he was at.

When he reached it, darkness had already taken the land, and the dark clouds hanging in the sky stopped the moon from shining its light. Spirits gone mad, beasts he had never recognized in form, nor ever could really think he could understand raged in battle, clashing in terrible bloodshed. Most of his friends and allies laid dead already. The beasts were many in number, and what they did to the spirits was something he could truly not comprehend, but it seemd to drive them mad, making them lash out at anything.

When the beasts turned to Yoshitoki as he ran into the village, Yoshitoki found why they had managed to take down so many so far. Each creature itself was nothing more than a swing of the blade to kill, but for each one that dropped, two more came from no where to take its place. He fought through the forces, taking serious injuries. The last line of defense in the village, held up in the town square, sounded an attack, and rushed to pull him in. With great walls of flame and fake sunlight from the few casters left, they managed to scare the beasts off long enough to drag the fallen samurai in.

The healers managed to stop Yoshitoki's wounds from bleeding, but told him his left arm would most likely never lift anything again. They told him other things, like he may not be able to stand, and to not lift more than 10 pounts for the next few months, and other things like that, but it was his left arm never having use again that got to him. He was useless, and for three days all he could do was watch his brothers in arms fall one by one defending this little town's last remains.

On the fourth day, one of the others that shared the healing den with him woke up. He had noticed him before, knew him as another mystic of the village. Though he had yet to be up, and it was reported he had been here before the attack ever started, exhausted, as he was the one that spotted them coming this way. Yoshitoki explained the situation the best who could to the man what had happened. The man had fear in his eyes, but spoke of a plan, but would need his help in it. He talked of a dark power he had discovered. One that would not give itself to someone without sacrifice.

The mystic pulled out a chest lined with runes, those designed to keep things out. However, the man explained, this time it was designed to keeps things in. The man explained a sacrifice was needed for its power, but when done, it would allow itself to be taken. Yoshitoki asked what kind of power, and the mystic said he didn't know. The mystic confessed that when he found it, he tried to sacrifice something for wisdom, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He offered to allow Yoshitoki to make a sacrifice to it, as he didn't wish to die here. Yoshi responded that he wasn't sure that no matter what power was given here, nothing was going to help him react to every single one of their attacks if they come all at once, but he agreed to it.

The mystic set up a ritual, setting the chest and Yoshitoki kneeling in front of it. The mystic whispered dark works, things said that felt uneasy to his ears. When done, the mystic handed Yoshitoki, telling him to make a sacrifce of a part of himself, and with luck, it would answer him. Yoshi thought back to what the healers said about his left arm that hung now useless in a sling, and with a grit of his teeh, cut off the left arm right at the shoulder, and collapsed from the pain that surged through.

The next thing Yoshitoki recalls is getting up, the chest long gone, and the circle missing too. Everything about him felt amazing, but his left arm was gone, missing entirely. No blood, nothing on the ground, or on his clothes from where the cut was made. He sensed something greater though, but before he could help he heard crashing from below. The mystic was no wher in sight either, but that didn't matter right now either.

First, when made it into the healer's den, he found them dead, slaughtered by the beasts there. The things jumped him all at one. He cut one down in midair a verticle slash splitting it in two and letting the peices fall behind him, he let another fall on his sword. Another one he butted with the end of his sword, and stabbed it when it hit the ground. The other two he cut them both down in a horizontal swing. He stood for a second after dispatching them as well, as he just couldn't understand what he just saw. 5 different beast jumped him all at the same time. He took all 5 of them out, in different ways, at the exact same time. He looked at each of the dead ones, and each one matched exactly what he remembered too. A scream caught his attention, and he ran off, to catch what was going on.

The final guardians left of the village dead, Yoshitoki watched as the beasts tore them apart, finally breaking past the barrier they had made. The creatures swarmed the building, filling it with darkness of the night. Yoshitoki in his rage drew his blade and charged, determined to take each one of them out himself if he had to in his rage. It felt like eons to Yoshitoki, hacking and slashing and gutting each and every one of them. To the beasts, he turned into a swarm, his blade appearing by the hundreds and cutting down the swarms in seconds. In a few brief moments, in undiluted rage and anger, Yoshitoki cut down a swarm of beasts that had for weeks plagued and swarmed a village.

Nothing remained of them and Yoshitoki, exhausted, collapsed one the ground he stood in the middle of the village, his mind remember each and everyone of the beasts. He remembered waking to sunlight hitting his face, growing discomfort with it. He saw the mystic again, looking around worried, trying to figure out what happened. The man ran to Yoshitoki, thanking him for saving him from those beasts. Yoshi, asking the mystic where did that chest come from. The mystic, a little worried from the look that Yoshitoki gave him meant business, explained that he had heard a rumor about one in a deep cave. It took a while, and the mercenaries he had hired died trying to help him get it, but he managed to retrieve it. With further questioning, Yoshitoki realized what the man had taken had lured the beasts to the village, killing everyone he ever knew, protecting this man and his chest of greed.

Yoshi's reaction to that was the same thing, no matter how many times he repeated it. The mystic laid before him in peices, and Yoshitoki remembered each and every swing of the blade at once. He realized now the dark pact allowed him to act. It was odd at first feeling it, but maybe with time he could get better. He looked around his ruined village, and realizing that nothing was left for him, sheathed his blade and left.

That was about 5 years ago, Yoshitoki has moved on from that, but over the years, while he still enjoys his wandering, found that he never really has much to say to people. He has also managed to come to an understanding of his ability, able to control and evoke it when needed.

Abilities:

Swordsmanship: Yoshitoki may only have one arm, but his ability to weild a katana, or really any sword, is hard to match. Think, cut an arrow out of mid-air, peirce the weakspot in armor kind of skill.

Black Magic: Yoshitoki can react to things in ways that people shouldn't.

For example, a guy with a giant axe swings at Yoshitoki to cut him right down the center. Whereas most people could go left, or most people could go right, Yoshitoki can go both. He can also go back out of the reach, and then also step forward and cut the axe at the handle while it comes down.

His ability with Black Magic and invoking it is that he can react to the same thing different ways. The reactions always come together in the end, most of the time in his favor but not always, and each one does a different effect. Back in the example, the Yoshitoki that stepped to the left of the axe could go in low, going for the knees while the one on the right would go in high, going for a decapitation. The one that stepped back would then dash in to stab, and the final one that cut the axe would bring his blade down to do what the axeman originally intend with him. Their attacks go through, and they all meet up with the middle one again, and its one Yoshitoki again.


Involvement: He is mostly just wandering into it than have really any true aim.

Additional Edit: If you reject this character, I'm making one based on Epic Sax Guy.

[Menarker]

Quick question about your Swordman, because it is quite an interesting approach. Does the double take damage like your normal one does and if so, does it cause any lasting effect if the double would take lethal damage and the other doesn't when the end of the effect calls for you to be combined?
Is there a time or distance limitation for how far this shadow counterpart can remain seperate from you, and is there a penalty if the shadow is unable to be reunited with you in a timely fashion as a result of capture, unconsciousness/sealing or something of that nature?

[Inbred Chocobo]

Here is how I see the power working.

Each one is him. They aren't magical clones that are created, they are him. He remembers each one as a separate event, like they would have some chronological order, but don't. Wounds from one would catch up to the others, but not right away. I could see one getting injuried, the other fighting, then due to fate's interferencing, he trips or lands a bad attack, and gets thrown into the injuried one, and has all his wounds from being thrown and the injuried one now.

It can work the opposite direction as well. Wear and tear on a body going through on that is rough, incredibly rough. He can only handle so much. Its why exploding in reactions made him pass out in his background, as he was only able to get through if via raw adrenaline and willpower.

Finally, the oddest part about this all, he doesn't see the other hims. At all. He can't interact with them, and he can run right through himself as if he wasn't there. Anything on him is under the same effect. Having the power after 5 years has taught him how to do it anyway, and after its all said and done he remembers why, but the actual experience of attacking an enemy on two different flanks at the same time is still a disorienting effect.