Welcome to Obsidian ~

Obsidian is a major American defense contractor that specialized in cutting edge, high tech weaponry. Led by the eminent engineer Bridgette Lapis and the progressive scientist Laurence Beryl, Obsidian rose from humble beginnings as a simple appliance company. However, the discovery of groundbreaking technology as well as Obsidian's partnership with a chemical research laboratory allowed it to delve into the lucrative field of core manufacturing and weaponry. We have a strong partnership with American defense forces as well as international research agreements.

What we won't reveal is that located deep underneath our headquarters is a sprawling research facility that houses our most advanced weapons. We call them Operatives and though they are in their early stages of development, trials have shown that they are extremely effective. We will not release their existence to the public, nor will we ever. Our operatives are Top Secret for a reason - so that we can do with them as we please. Obsidian has come far in the past decade, but our ambitions see us rising higher than anyone has ever gone before. Once we have perfected our Operatives, we're sure the world will quickly become familiar with them. But by then, it will be much too late to stop them.

Operatives ~

Operatives were once human, but using an injection called Quartz they have become something much more advanced. Quartz, developed by scientists working for Obsidian, not only enhances a person's speed, reflexes, stamina and mental capacity, but allows the subject to harness unique powers that humans have only dreamt of. Our subjects are similar to the Superheroes portrayed in popular culture. However, they are far from heroes. Our subjects, called Operatives, are essentially hired guns of extremely high caliber. They will only save the world if someone is paying a exorbitant fee for them to do so. Obsidian accepts extremely wealthy clients on an international scale who have demands ranging from espionage to assassination. Operatives must possess a very flexible moral compass, as many of the missions they are assigned lay outside of the law.

Very few people meet the qualifications to undergo the procedure to become an Obsidian Operative:

Condition One: You must have nothing left in the world to lose. You must be desperate and alone. Becoming an operative means you must give up your entire life. Your identity will be erased and you will be assigned a code name. You will cease to exist in the outside world and thus you can never belong to it again.

Condition Two: You must be deemed physically and mentally strong and between the ages of 18 and 34. The procedure requires that you have extreme strength of mind and body as the changes you undergo can be lethal to anyone unprepared.

Condition Three: This condition is more holistic and a careful study of the subject is required before they are deemed well suited to the procedure. In fact, once determining a potential subject, our Recruiters will track this person for a period of three month to determine whether or not they pass this condition. It is that you must be able to fit into a team dynamic and be able to succeed living the life of an operative. Though recruits have a variety of backgrounds, personalities and ideals, they must possess skills already suited to the kind of work they'll doing - something that can show itself in a variety of ways. Our recruiters have tracked people who are anything from hackers, physicians, soldiers, and even teenage prodigies. A wide range of recruits are pursued but you must display trainability and potential. Obsidian invests a lot of money into their operatives and their investment must promise a return.

If you are recruited by Obsidian it is because they recognized the above qualities in you and, intrigued and desperate, you agreed to the terms. If you rejected their offer, you would have been eliminated as you would then have possessed sensitive information. You will most likely begin your procedure in a large group of people. However, this group will eventually shrink to a much smaller sample. You are put through rigorous physical and mental tests to determine whether or not your body can handle Quartz. Once we determine that the probability of your survival is above 99.7%, you will undergo the procedure. If you survive, you will come to your senses to discover that your entire body has changed. You do not only possess advanced strength, stamina, durability and intelligence but you also possess a superpower. None of the scientists can predict how Quartz effects you as it has different results on different people. However, brain scans have shown that these powers are often related to subjects' varying personalities and strengths. A subject with an extremely volatile nature, might be able to produce flames from their hands while an extremely perceptive subject may find themselves hearing the thoughts of others.

Of course, how could Obsidian control an Operative with such advanced abilities? A Kill Switch. Each injection of Quartz contains a microchip that, if activated, would promptly stop your heart. Also, for certain subjects, a dampening collar will be used to stifle the effects of Quartz, returning their stats to that of a normal human.

Character Sheet ~
Name:
Codename:
Age:
Power:
Appearance:
Personality:
Strengths and Weaknesses:
History:
Other:

Accepted Characters ~
Paul "Polo" Phillips, Jr. (Alter) - Korbanjaro
Rustopher Ignacio Pinero-Santos (R.I.P) - Vistruction
Marie Jasper (Epsilon) - Dmytra
Lucas Myers (Zephyr) - Brainstew
Emery Jones (Nova) - Chezka
Katherina Ady (Citrene) - Estylwen
Randall Jones (The Cancer) - Raptorman
Vernita Gale (Lambda) - ADreamofStormySkies
Leila Marie Holmes - Equinox
Mia Jones (Machete) - Leonardo

Basic List of NPCs ~



Good luck - you'll need it. Obsidian does seem lucrative; if you can survive the procedure, the training, and the missions they throw at you. You are given a second chance and a new start. You will have community, power, and immense opportunity. However, Quartz is only a recent development and nobody knows how it effects a subject longterm. Also, Obsidian has only just realized the power they wield with their Operatives. What are their true motives? Power corrupts - are you willing to handle the consequences or might you be inspired to turn against the people who have essentially created you?

---

Rules:

1. Use common sense. Don't kill other people's characters without their permission. Treat others with respect, don't take anything personally, and be aware that the other players have a range of writing styles and may have a different approach to this than you.
2. This is an advanced RPG and you signed up knowing that. I understand that you all have lives, so sporadic posting is ok with me. Just make sure that when you have something to say, it's substantial and well thought out. Also, let everyone know when you're planning to go off the grid for a bit.
3. Have fun! This is kind of a given but I know that sometimes people get caught up in the semantics and miss out on the creative aspect of it. I've given you very few barriers and I hope that it'll inspire you to innovate and create. Throw out ideas and plots of all kinds and I'll always be down to consider them and make them happen. Collaboration is so important here, so work together and be flexible.

FAQs ~



I hope I've covered everything, but let me know if you're still confused about something and I'll be happy to sort it out with you. Also, any suggestions and plot ideas are always welcome. Post your finalized profiles below, or if you want, PM a draft if you're not sure about it.

Thanks,
Dmytra

Here and interested, I'll work on a CS ASAP.

e. A question, is there any chance that a prisoner would be selected for this program or would they more or less never be considered?

Yes, prisoners would make great candidates! I look forward to reading your profile.

I think that this could be interesting - If it's alright, I'll put together a profile.

If I could ask, what sorts of "powers" would you be looking for? Kind of "street-level superhero" kinds of stuff, or something more substantial?

RECRUIT REPORT OBSID-LAT40.LON-111
DATE - [REDACTED]
RECRUITER: J. O'HARA
Comments Updated by Someone Who Knows Me Better Than You Do

Potential Recruit: Paul "Polo" Phillips, Jr. CODENAME: ALTER (You know, the good-looking one.)

Age: 25 27

Power:

POST-PROCEDURE UPDATE

Post-procedure, Recruit has shown a remarkable capability to manipulate countless forms of technology, increasingly building more and more complex devices and weaponry. Has been key in improving Obsidian systems security, as well as equipping operatives with custom tools to augment and improve their abilities.

As per combat reports, Recruit has been shown to be very capable, especially through the use of his custom "Auto-Lock" armor, which he stores on his person.

PERSONAL NOTE

Since you guys can never seem to get this right - I'm a Biotech. I can manipulate about any tech that you throw in front of me, and I can graft it to work with organic matter. (Just ask Jasper about her improved Pacemaker sometime - Oh wait, that was a straight-up heart graft. Cause I'm awesome. Bam!)

I make all the coolest toys, the best weapons, and I make you guys all look good. It's who I am. (Cause I'm a giver. Lol.) Oh, and I can hack into these computer systems. I am the Ghost in the Machine. Boo!

Appearance:

Recruit stands at approximately six feet tall, with a sturdy build, and rounded stunning features. Sandy hair (cropped short), green eyes, rather pale skin. Though pale, Recruit is of a pan-Asian heritage, and that history can be vaguely recognized in the features of his face.

Personality:

Recruit is often cautious and contemplative, but also brash and bold when in the midst of competition.

True, true.

He seems to always be continually observing, organizing, and evaluating his surroundings, Adapting to varying situations quickly after determining the proper course of action.

Recruit also has a remarkably witty sense of humor.

Recruit is particularly adept at analyzing and understanding new and complex systems, be they a computer system or even weapons and tools. This talent must be encouraged, however, as Recruit has a penchant for quickly becoming bored with a system that he readily understands, and will move on to a new pursuit.

Why keep hitting the flint when you've already got a fire going?

This tendency for "constant challenge" has drastically hampered his connections with others in his pursuit to improve himself.

But it's a self worth improving, eh O'Hara?

Though Recruit's social sources have confirmed he is regarded as intelligent and capable in many respects, Recruit seems to have difficulty connecting well with others on more than a superficial level.

They just never understood my GENIUS!!

Recruit is known to be trustworthy, always willing to follow through on his word, but along with that trust comes a reluctancy to make too many promises.

With the right push, this individuals talents and skills could be turned to be extremely useful for Obsidian.

Strengths/ Weaknesses Future Strengths:

Remarkably strong in body and mind. Able to quickly adapt and learn new skills on the fly. Extremely analytical and adept at understanding complex systems.

Rather stubborn (I prefer "complicated"), has difficulty relating easily to others, possible superiority complex.

Not a complex if it's true.

History:

Recruit was born Paul Phillips, Jr, the oldest son of the Phillips family. Raised in a middle class home, with a distinct physical propensity owed to him and his brothers. Though Recruit excelled in multiple pursuits throughout adolescence, he never had the motivation to pursue any specific path, instead engaging in multiple courses at once. These included hockey, football, boxing, and water polo, though Recruit did not often stay with any specific activity past the time it took to understand it.

Graduated High School at 16.

Recruit's family took vacation to Europe during recruit's third year of University, and as such, recruit was unable to attend. Vacation ended in tragedy as airliner returning from Paris to United States met in disaster (See RPT-LUFT-00726).

[FURTHER RECORDS NOT FOUND]

Recruit was sole heir to a modest inheritance, completed University degree, but is currently dissatisfied with his work in the field of Computer Engineering.

Notes:

Though Recruit seems rather ordinary, it is highly recommended that Phillips be considered for procedure 32-C. Well duh, O'Hara.

Hello! Looks good to me Korbanjaro. It's much more elaborate than I had imagined but I like the detail you've added. To answer your question, I didn't really want to place restrictions on powers. Just make sure you're not God modding. Also, one suggestion was to base your power on your characters personality and strengths.

Also, I would like to ask where in the story the characters would like to begin their narrative. There are many options from when they were recruited, after their procedure, during training...etc. I think that personally I like the idea of starting after the procedure and putting recruitment details in the history. Thanks, and let me know.

Name

Real Name: Unknown

Operative Name: Rustopher Ignacio Pinero-Santos

Code Name: R.I.P.

Age

27 years old
(Dec 24, 1986)

Power

[center]
Omni-morph Duplication: The ability to bodily duplicate at will the physical properties of anything he touches, the power extends to both animate and inanimate objects.
There’s a wide range of different materials he’s capable of transforming his body into, some of which include steel, stone, and wood - adapting the strengths and weakness of said materials.[/center]
There’s no limitation on how long he can remain in his altered form, however, if he were to lose consciousness or concentration for whatever reason he would immediately revert back to his human form. He’s also limited to one material at a time, having to switch back to human form before being able to absorb the properties of a new material. His entirety is affected by the change and has no control over choosing specifics part of his body.

Appearance




Height: 5’11

Weight: 186lbs

Personality


Although quiet and somewhat of a recluse, Rust won’t shy away from a conversation and will speak his mind even when no one asked for his opinion.
He can and must times does, come of as disrespectful, outspoken, and rather blunt. He is straightforward not sugar coating anything for the benefit of others. In more than a few cases his sharp mouth has gotten him in heaps of trouble. There are few people he would ever regards as friends, but has quite the extensive list for enemies and people he dislikes.

Easily angered, but enjoys challenges and proving his superiority over others in matters he is good at. He tends to be brash and hardheaded, dealing with situations head-on. Not to say that he is stupid, his extensive training under the Army has shaped his mind into a calculative killer.

He is lead by a warped and complex moral compass, that at times can seem almost none existent.

Strengths

Rustopher is an accomplished fighter and strategist when it comes to the field or combat. He is well versed with hand-to-hand and a large arsenal of firearms. He’s also strong willed and loyal to a fault, to those he deemed worthy.

Weakness

Rust can also be outspoken and often is rebellious towards authority figures. Hot tempered and prone to violence. After all, what better way to win an argument that to knock your opponent on their ass?

History

There are several different types of people who join the military. First, the ones that are die hard patriots, the ones that believe that they are fighting for a righteous and just cause. Secondly, the ones that are simply just looking for a job with good benefits and that will get the bills paid- the ones looking for a quick way out. And thirdly…well, thirdly are men like Rustopher, psychopaths that are only looking for a legitimate way to kill.

Born in Tampa, Florida to single mother and housekeeper, Cynthia Rodriguez and raised in the island of Cuba. Rustopher’s younger years were mostly spent out on the streets fending for himself. Quickly becoming a recluse, he developed traits unbecoming of a young child, gaining a bad reputation with the authorities. When his mother’s employer discovered the child’s repulsive hobby of maiming animals, he had them tossed out of his property.
Desperate to escape poverty and their helpless situation, Cynthia moved them to Mexico in hope of finding a better life and dealing with her son’s condition. During his teenage years, Rustopher became more aggressive and constantly picked fights with other kids. He was enrolled into boxing in an attempt to derail his behavior and create a healthy outlet. However, it only made him all the more competitive and instilled a drive within him to be better than everyone else. Perfection.

When his mother passed away from a heart attack, Rust found himself relapsing into his old ways and became excessively violent during his matches. Subsequently, he was disqualified from the Boxing Championship. With nothing left in Mexico, he moved to the States freshly out of high school and enrolled into the United States Army. He showed great promised and excelled rapidly through the ranks, attaining a position in the US Army Delta Force specials ops unit. His unit was stationed in Iraq where he murdered four locals after a particularly hairy bar fight. However, no charges were pressed when it was found that the four locals were in cahoots with terrorists. Rustopher was still dishonorably discharged from the Army with no recognition.

He spent the following four years under the radar, drifting from place to place and keeping down low. Apparently, not low enough. He was approached by the organization Obsidian with an offer too irrefutable, even for him.

Other

Rust is of Hispanic heritage and is a fluent bilingual in English and Spanish.

I give up on the codes…spent half an hour trying to fix that crap. -_-

Looks great so far. I appreciate all the discussion! Check the original post for accepted characters and an update to the FAQ. Thanks everyone!

Name: Marie Jasper

Codename: Epsilon

Age: 26

Power: Light Manipulation. She can bend and shift light particles creating elaborate and realistic illusions, including making herself and other objects invisible. This power also enables her to create holographic projections that can imitate the likeness of both objects and people. She cannot produce her own source of light without using significant amounts of personal energy which weakens her immensely. She prefers to manipulate light from preexisting sources, which are anything from sunlight to LED. However, without a significant source of light, she is vulnerable and if she has to rely on her personal energy for too long she will pass out. She has thus cultivated a fear of the dark.

Appearance:


Personality: Epsilon is soft spoken and observant, often able to get right to the heart of a matter. She is extremely perceptive and analytical, making her a bit difficult to get along with. She is an avid truth seeker and the pursuit of knowledge is the most exciting to her. She is not much of a talker but enjoys listening and thus instills a sense of trust in those who talk to her. She is very active and has a hard time standing still. She can be extremely restless and distant emotionally, and it is difficult to understand what she's thinking and feeling. She has a convoluted justice over mercy belief system and finds it easy to kill as long as she can rationalize it in some way to herself. She reveals little to those around her and what she does reveal is an extremely calculated image. This makes her very chameleon-esque and very successful in different social situations - though not entirely authentic. She is clever and creative, often solving problems in roundabout ways. Because she is so focused on analyzing others, it's hard for her to be honest with herself making her a somewhat cold and unsympathetic person. However, once she comes to an understanding with someone and they gain her trust, she can be very loyal.

Strengths and Weaknesses: She is extremely creative and improvisational, making her a valuable asset in a situation with limited resources. She has the mind of an engineer and can often invent her way out of a problem with anything from a rubber band to parts of her semi-automatic weapon. Though she's a good marksman and has a range of experience with a variety of firearms, she is not good at hand to hand combat and will almost always be overpowered.Her small stature is an advantage when it comes to agility and speed, but when she's faced with multiple attackers, she must rely on her brain and not her strength. She is not a natural leader and tends to follow her own whims with disregard to her team. She faces stressful situations well, but prefers thinking fast as opposed to thinking ahead which can lead to her making mistakes.

History: She was one of Project Quartz's first recruits and the first subject to survive the procedure. She is also Dr. Eirene Jasper's daughter. Thus she has been in the facility for a much longer time than the other recruits. She has learned the ropes and gotten to understand the politics that exist within Obsidian.

She grew up estranged from her mother and was actually extremely resentful of her. Her mother was extremely neglectful and spent her days working and her evenings out, often forgetting about her in the process. Epsilon was essentially free to do whatever she wanted but remained a promising student throughout secondary school and had good prospects for college. However, she dropped out of secondary school after growing restless and seeking an outlet. She turned her brilliance in school towards arson and began orchestrating creative ways to set fires and cause explosions. She was eventually apprehended and was given an ultimatum - join the military or go to jail.

She chose to join the Marines and served three years as an enlisted Sergeant. When she withdrew, her mother was waiting for her. Though she had no special feelings for her daughter, Dr. Eirene Jasper identified Epsilon's skills and training as being a perfect fit for Project Quartz. Epsilon, seeing no other options for herself, agreed.

Though she has been at Obsidian for longer than most, she is no more experienced in the field. Because she was the first Operative to survive, she has been put through rigorous testing in order to improve the procedure for the other recruits. She still harbors resentment towards her mother and refuses to interact with her on anything more than a professional level.

Other: Epsilon will ultimately serve as a guide to Obsidian life for the rest of the recruits and will be my way of letting everyone in on the way the facility works. Otherwise, she starts at the same level as the rest of characters in this RPG as she has not been given the chance to pursue any missions or further her training solo.

This is not quite finished yet... but a while to think about it should allow me to nail down more of the fine details. Hope that's okay.

Name: Lucas Myers
Codename: Zephyr
Age: 26

Power:

Wind Manipulation – can control and manipulate air waves, and to a lesser extent, can control air pressure and air composition.

Capacity –

- Can generate bursts of wind strong enough to move upwards of one to two thousand pounds and sustained winds capable of moving human-sized objects and smaller. These abilities can increase exponentially when he is manipulating already-existing wind (such as storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes).

- Can (to a lesser extent) control pressure by increasing or decreasing air molecules.

- Can detect disturbances in air-waves or vibrating air molecules due to sound.

- Can achieve some flight (this is enhanced via the use of a wing-suit)

Limitations –

- Can only generate as powerful wind generations based on location—for instance, indoors Lucas can only generate so much wind vs. outdoors or in a storm where his powers increase exponentially.

- Is limited by extreme distance, must be in visual proximity to control air movement.

- Mental strength is weakened by constant use. Can be overwhelmed by natural sources of strong winds (such as tornados and storms).

Appearance:


Like this picture, with shorter hair (faded), no neck tattoos, but chest tattoos and arm tattoos are the same.

Personality:

Lucas is quiet, and incredibly reserved, completely opposite of the true nature of his power. Lucas enjoys the lonely life and only speaks with people he is particularly close to. He does not reach out for company, and instead allows company to find him. He answers questions with one-or-two word sentences. Beneath this demeanor is a man whose mind is constantly in work. Lucas has a conscious, but does not speak on them. He is a man of action instead of vocally voicing his opinion or concern.

He is an avid thrill-seeker.

Strengths/Weaknesses:

WIP

History

WIP

I have a question. What happens if you have regeneration for a power? Heart stopping in that case might very well not cause death.

I've done a minor update to the character profile. If that's too over the top, let me know. But it made me laugh.

Raptorman - Regeneration sounds like a good power but make sure that there are limits to it in some way. You're right that in this case the kill switch wouldn't stop your character's heart, but would it have any effect on them at all? That doesn't seem like something anyone could just walk off. Also, how many times could the character regenerate over a period of time? But I'm totally ok with you keeping regeneration as a power, just make sure it's a balanced one.

Korbanjaro - That is gold. I laughed SO hard...

Profiles look great so far!

That was likely a jab towards me but I loved it.

That picture is a placeholder till I find someone more realistic. :)

Great job everyone, the profiles are all coming along.

I would like to remind everyone as the profiles are coming in that multiple edits have been done to each one. Make sure you reread people's profiles just to make sure you catch all of the changes.

Also, general consensus is that the narrative will start after the procedure has been performed on all of you. Keep this in mind as you consider your introductory post.

I'm waiting on a few more profiles to be submitted, but I'll make the first post in the next few days.

Thanks a bunch,
Dmytra

I've been thinking lightly on this ... but the power I seem stuck on (as I already have general personality and background in my head) is shadow manipulation. Though I planned on having it differ from just being an opposite to Marie's light manipulation, I was a bit unsure if you'd feel comfortable with a character having an opposite (-ish) power.

That actually sounds like it could be a very interesting dynamic! I'd love to see the CS and I'm very sure that whatever you've thought of will work fine.

Hi there!

Very interested in your rp Dmytra but have a question.

I always make such dark characters but wanted to go the opposite route & make a type of angelic character instead.

Mother earth came to mind & so a nature manipulator sounded nice but its so op if you think about it because nature is every element.

To counteract that I would put that she’s still learning about her abilities & only knows a few things off the bat.

I am thinking that her emotions sometimes alter the weather for good or bad, animals/plants are prone to aid her occasionally, and she’s able to heal others in small amounts perhaps?

I was going to stay away from wind because Lucas deals with that.

Does that sound alright though or not so much?

I may not even end up going that power route & do something else entirely.