Name: Animus
Title/Epiphet: The Lost Legion
Allegiance/Faction: Heaven
Race: Amalgamation
Age: 10.000
Gender: Male
Appearance: Varies
Backstory:
When examining the various powers and magics of the Nexus it becomes obvious that there is a metaphysical component to 'life'. Some element of power or energy connected to living beings, beyond their physical forms. This force could be described as 'life energy', or 'the soul', or any one of a thousand names. Many may disagree on the meaning, the uses, the implications, the origin and the applications, but all must acknowledge that this force exists. So what happens when you dig deeper? If there is a 'soul' that is allotted to sentient living beings, then is there an entity or natural process that assigns these 'souls'? Could one understand this process, and manipulate it? Would it be possible to track it down?
If you were to ask Animus about his origins, he would claim that this force not only exists, but that he was spawned from this force. The raw energy of life given physical form, a manifest spirit of divine creation. On other days he would claim that he was a residue, the energy left over from the process of creation. A side effect, if you will. Sometimes he might even claim that he was the souls that were never assigned, children never born into the world. Consciousnesses that banded together into a single entity in order to experience the reality that they had been denied by the cruel hand of fate. Based on these different and seemingly contradictory tales it's easy to conclude that either Animus is lying, or he himself does not understand his own existence. It might be that he believes all of these to be true, to some extent.
Of course, despite Animus' own confusion, what is known is that he appeared within the Nexus from a barren and lifeless world and soon allied himself with the forces of Heaven. He was adamant that his purpose was to bring life and unity to this warring realm, a goal he believed could only be accomplished by crushing the opposing factions. His strange nature raised some suspicion but none could deny that his power was 'holy', drawing on pure life energy. However a quick background check also made clear that the world Animus entered the Nexus from was not always barren, and in fact once hosted a thriving civilisation until they were wiped out by some apocalypse.
The truth of the matter is that Animus was the result of an attempt, through magic or technology, to access the 'origin of life'. A place or force of incredible power, potentially connected to all living things at least in his universe of origin. The Well of Life. A force that connects all living beings, an energy field throughout the universe, a semisentient creator god, an alternate dimension composed of pure positive energy... nobody could quite grasp the nature of the Well of Life. But whatever it was, contact with this force annihilated nearly everything on Animus' planet of origin. He himself was formed from that event, carrying within him the soul of every creature that was wiped out by the blast, and a little bit of something mysterious. Something alien, or perhaps all too familiar. Something primal. How much of his ramblings are truth, and how much is delusion, only time will tell.
Powers:
[Possession]
In his most natural state Anima is a bundle of incorporeal light and energy. In this state it is very hard for him to affect the world, or for the world to affect him. However he is able to take the body of any living creature or even inanimate object as a host, creating a 'golem' if necessary. While possessing a body Anime gains any abilities linked to that body's physical attributes, such as the fire breath of a dragon, or the enhanced senses of a tiger. At any time Anima is able to leave his current body and find a new host. This means that even if his body is destroyed he can simply find a new one. However damaging or 'killing' his current host does cause Anima mental strain, and if he's forced to leave his host unwillingly it will often take him a while to gather himself again. Anima cannot possess a fully sentient being unless their willpower has been somehow drastically degraded (or they've been knocked out or something), and even then it's usually a matter of time before he's pushed out again. Bodies possessed by Anima will usually be granted superhuman strength in the 1-ton range as well as sub-wolverine regeneration, assuming they did not already possess these abilities.
[Healing Magic]
Due to his nature as a being of life energy, Animus is incredibly good at healing. With a touch he can heal even the most grievous of injuries, leaving people refreshed and full of vigour. Even lost limbs and chronic diseases can be healed fairly easily. This power makes Animus an excellent support. In fact his healing abilities are arguably a little bit too powerful. Things around him naturally become more healthy through his sheer presence. Animus' presence removes the need for food, encourages rapid plant growth, curses diseases, and causes bodies to become healthier and more efficient. Standing next to him feels like a refreshing shower. This 'aura' effect can't be turned off, and affects his enemies as much as it does his allies. This means that even Animus' enemies will find their wounds healing at about 5x the rate of normal healing, assuming they're biological. Only demons are unaffected, and undead even find this aura highly unpleasant, slowing down any healing abilities they may have.
[Anima Spirits]
Being composed of many different personalities, Animus is able to create seperate beings from parts of his being. These separate 'spirits' function by the same rules as Animus himself, although they are unable to move on if their initial host is destroyed. Often he will use these spirits to create powerful minions by possessing the local wildlife, architecture, or a pile of corpses. These spirits are also capable of attaching themselves to allies, granting them regeneration by constantly using their healing energy on those allies until they become 'used up'. Destroying or using up these spirits damages Animus' mind, making it harder for him to maintain on the battlefield. As such he will often pull these spirits back into himself before this happens, if given the chance.
[Energy Eater]
The only reason Animus is able to exist is due to it's nature as a vacuum. It both projects and absorbs energy, almost functioning like a 'filter', turning normal energy into healing energy. This doesn't usually have much of an effect, but when Animus is in contact with a constant source of energy such as a forcefield, spell, or portal, it will absorb the energy from that source. This process requires a moment to start up, meaning that the effect on energy-based attacks is negligible. However any ability that seeks to affect Animus for an extended period of time is going to get 'eaten' after a while, unless that ability is purely physical.
Resistances & Immunities:
Immune to physical attacks when not in a body. Resistant to mind-affecting abilities - too many minds.
Weaknesses:
Requires mental cohesion in order to remain active in a battle. Things like destroying bodies make it harder for Animus to remain in the battle, and it usually needs to spend a moment to recover. Repeatedly being exposed to mental strain will force Animus to lose cohesion, and remove him from the battle. Attacks that target the soul or mind can affect Animus while incorporeal. An energy draining attack can affect Animus while incorporeal, and will heal the user. Has a lower resistance to demonic corruption effects than most angels, and such effects often contribute to Animus' mental strain.
Skills: Animus possesses pretty much every mundane skill imaginable.
Sample Post:
Notes: The Well of Life is kept vague and ill-defined for fear of altering the mythology of War. If the GMs wish for me to define it more, I'll have to see what they will allow it to be. As it stands it can be as relevant or irrelevant as the plot demands. Should I create a follower CS for the Anima Spirits?
Title/Epiphet: The Lost Legion
Allegiance/Faction: Heaven
Race: Amalgamation
Age: 10.000
Gender: Male
Appearance: Varies
Backstory:
When examining the various powers and magics of the Nexus it becomes obvious that there is a metaphysical component to 'life'. Some element of power or energy connected to living beings, beyond their physical forms. This force could be described as 'life energy', or 'the soul', or any one of a thousand names. Many may disagree on the meaning, the uses, the implications, the origin and the applications, but all must acknowledge that this force exists. So what happens when you dig deeper? If there is a 'soul' that is allotted to sentient living beings, then is there an entity or natural process that assigns these 'souls'? Could one understand this process, and manipulate it? Would it be possible to track it down?
If you were to ask Animus about his origins, he would claim that this force not only exists, but that he was spawned from this force. The raw energy of life given physical form, a manifest spirit of divine creation. On other days he would claim that he was a residue, the energy left over from the process of creation. A side effect, if you will. Sometimes he might even claim that he was the souls that were never assigned, children never born into the world. Consciousnesses that banded together into a single entity in order to experience the reality that they had been denied by the cruel hand of fate. Based on these different and seemingly contradictory tales it's easy to conclude that either Animus is lying, or he himself does not understand his own existence. It might be that he believes all of these to be true, to some extent.
Of course, despite Animus' own confusion, what is known is that he appeared within the Nexus from a barren and lifeless world and soon allied himself with the forces of Heaven. He was adamant that his purpose was to bring life and unity to this warring realm, a goal he believed could only be accomplished by crushing the opposing factions. His strange nature raised some suspicion but none could deny that his power was 'holy', drawing on pure life energy. However a quick background check also made clear that the world Animus entered the Nexus from was not always barren, and in fact once hosted a thriving civilisation until they were wiped out by some apocalypse.
The truth of the matter is that Animus was the result of an attempt, through magic or technology, to access the 'origin of life'. A place or force of incredible power, potentially connected to all living things at least in his universe of origin. The Well of Life. A force that connects all living beings, an energy field throughout the universe, a semisentient creator god, an alternate dimension composed of pure positive energy... nobody could quite grasp the nature of the Well of Life. But whatever it was, contact with this force annihilated nearly everything on Animus' planet of origin. He himself was formed from that event, carrying within him the soul of every creature that was wiped out by the blast, and a little bit of something mysterious. Something alien, or perhaps all too familiar. Something primal. How much of his ramblings are truth, and how much is delusion, only time will tell.
Powers:
[Possession]
In his most natural state Anima is a bundle of incorporeal light and energy. In this state it is very hard for him to affect the world, or for the world to affect him. However he is able to take the body of any living creature or even inanimate object as a host, creating a 'golem' if necessary. While possessing a body Anime gains any abilities linked to that body's physical attributes, such as the fire breath of a dragon, or the enhanced senses of a tiger. At any time Anima is able to leave his current body and find a new host. This means that even if his body is destroyed he can simply find a new one. However damaging or 'killing' his current host does cause Anima mental strain, and if he's forced to leave his host unwillingly it will often take him a while to gather himself again. Anima cannot possess a fully sentient being unless their willpower has been somehow drastically degraded (or they've been knocked out or something), and even then it's usually a matter of time before he's pushed out again. Bodies possessed by Anima will usually be granted superhuman strength in the 1-ton range as well as sub-wolverine regeneration, assuming they did not already possess these abilities.
[Healing Magic]
Due to his nature as a being of life energy, Animus is incredibly good at healing. With a touch he can heal even the most grievous of injuries, leaving people refreshed and full of vigour. Even lost limbs and chronic diseases can be healed fairly easily. This power makes Animus an excellent support. In fact his healing abilities are arguably a little bit too powerful. Things around him naturally become more healthy through his sheer presence. Animus' presence removes the need for food, encourages rapid plant growth, curses diseases, and causes bodies to become healthier and more efficient. Standing next to him feels like a refreshing shower. This 'aura' effect can't be turned off, and affects his enemies as much as it does his allies. This means that even Animus' enemies will find their wounds healing at about 5x the rate of normal healing, assuming they're biological. Only demons are unaffected, and undead even find this aura highly unpleasant, slowing down any healing abilities they may have.
[Anima Spirits]
Being composed of many different personalities, Animus is able to create seperate beings from parts of his being. These separate 'spirits' function by the same rules as Animus himself, although they are unable to move on if their initial host is destroyed. Often he will use these spirits to create powerful minions by possessing the local wildlife, architecture, or a pile of corpses. These spirits are also capable of attaching themselves to allies, granting them regeneration by constantly using their healing energy on those allies until they become 'used up'. Destroying or using up these spirits damages Animus' mind, making it harder for him to maintain on the battlefield. As such he will often pull these spirits back into himself before this happens, if given the chance.
[Energy Eater]
The only reason Animus is able to exist is due to it's nature as a vacuum. It both projects and absorbs energy, almost functioning like a 'filter', turning normal energy into healing energy. This doesn't usually have much of an effect, but when Animus is in contact with a constant source of energy such as a forcefield, spell, or portal, it will absorb the energy from that source. This process requires a moment to start up, meaning that the effect on energy-based attacks is negligible. However any ability that seeks to affect Animus for an extended period of time is going to get 'eaten' after a while, unless that ability is purely physical.
Resistances & Immunities:
Immune to physical attacks when not in a body. Resistant to mind-affecting abilities - too many minds.
Weaknesses:
Requires mental cohesion in order to remain active in a battle. Things like destroying bodies make it harder for Animus to remain in the battle, and it usually needs to spend a moment to recover. Repeatedly being exposed to mental strain will force Animus to lose cohesion, and remove him from the battle. Attacks that target the soul or mind can affect Animus while incorporeal. An energy draining attack can affect Animus while incorporeal, and will heal the user. Has a lower resistance to demonic corruption effects than most angels, and such effects often contribute to Animus' mental strain.
Skills: Animus possesses pretty much every mundane skill imaginable.
Sample Post:
And then, there was light.
Space, stretching infinitely as it pulled at his edges. Time, ticking forwards inexorably. A cacophony of voices cry out and are immediately smothered. Light, sound, touch. There is fear, and rage, and hope, and grief, and there is light. Burning white, wiping away all that is not. Reality defined, solid, immutable. There was a sense of inevitability to it, a sensation of compression that Animus could not hope to describe. From this point the universe extended, as far as his light could reach. Curving and jagged stone, in stark contrast to empty and flowing air. Boiling oceans formed intricate patterns in the sky above. A deep thrum seemed to push forth from inside him, a vibration that marked all around him. A wave that passed through the air, and the stone, and the oceans in the sky. He glowed brighter, and his light reached further. He was the light, and all that he touched was real. Defined. Compressed. Brighter and brighter, until he was a pillar of white in the centre of an endless landscape of swirling dust.
He had stood there, encased in brilliant white, until the sun had come up in the morning. At first he had felt astonished, that there was a light yet brighter than him. Was that his light of origin? Or was it his destination? In time he would learn it was neither. It was merely an agent of time, marking the days of his existence. And as he explored time, so too did he explore space. He learned of great gaps, of plains of water, and of burning fire in it's many forms. But he felt a loss he could not define. A loss of purpose, perhaps. He mapped the plains and mountains, he explored the depths and he reached for the heights. And yet he always knew that this was not where he was meant to be, what he was meant to do. He could hear it in the voices within, and the emptiness without. Something was missing.
It was inevitable, perhaps, that Animus would find his way into the Nexus. After many cycles of light and dark he reached out to the light in the sky, seeking some greater purpose. Whether by coincidence or grand design, Animus discovered a gateway hidden in plain sight. A fold in the space he had thought so uniform, a portal to a place beyond. It was strange, and for the first time since his birth Animus experienced a fear of the unknown. Perhaps it was because he had been given the time to establish a norm, a baseline that this unexpected object could violate. Perhaps he had always felt the fear, but could name it only now. But regardless of his trepidation, it was clear that whatever destiny awaited him it did not wait on this barren rock. He was light, and all that he touched was defined. Thus he would define new worlds, abolishing the darkness that shrouded new lands. Perhaps it was this journey of enlightenment that was his destiny. Confident in the knowledge that he was truth itself, Animus extended through the fold in space, and entered into the Nexus.
Space, stretching infinitely as it pulled at his edges. Time, ticking forwards inexorably. A cacophony of voices cry out and are immediately smothered. Light, sound, touch. There is fear, and rage, and hope, and grief, and there is light. Burning white, wiping away all that is not. Reality defined, solid, immutable. There was a sense of inevitability to it, a sensation of compression that Animus could not hope to describe. From this point the universe extended, as far as his light could reach. Curving and jagged stone, in stark contrast to empty and flowing air. Boiling oceans formed intricate patterns in the sky above. A deep thrum seemed to push forth from inside him, a vibration that marked all around him. A wave that passed through the air, and the stone, and the oceans in the sky. He glowed brighter, and his light reached further. He was the light, and all that he touched was real. Defined. Compressed. Brighter and brighter, until he was a pillar of white in the centre of an endless landscape of swirling dust.
He had stood there, encased in brilliant white, until the sun had come up in the morning. At first he had felt astonished, that there was a light yet brighter than him. Was that his light of origin? Or was it his destination? In time he would learn it was neither. It was merely an agent of time, marking the days of his existence. And as he explored time, so too did he explore space. He learned of great gaps, of plains of water, and of burning fire in it's many forms. But he felt a loss he could not define. A loss of purpose, perhaps. He mapped the plains and mountains, he explored the depths and he reached for the heights. And yet he always knew that this was not where he was meant to be, what he was meant to do. He could hear it in the voices within, and the emptiness without. Something was missing.
It was inevitable, perhaps, that Animus would find his way into the Nexus. After many cycles of light and dark he reached out to the light in the sky, seeking some greater purpose. Whether by coincidence or grand design, Animus discovered a gateway hidden in plain sight. A fold in the space he had thought so uniform, a portal to a place beyond. It was strange, and for the first time since his birth Animus experienced a fear of the unknown. Perhaps it was because he had been given the time to establish a norm, a baseline that this unexpected object could violate. Perhaps he had always felt the fear, but could name it only now. But regardless of his trepidation, it was clear that whatever destiny awaited him it did not wait on this barren rock. He was light, and all that he touched was defined. Thus he would define new worlds, abolishing the darkness that shrouded new lands. Perhaps it was this journey of enlightenment that was his destiny. Confident in the knowledge that he was truth itself, Animus extended through the fold in space, and entered into the Nexus.
Notes: The Well of Life is kept vague and ill-defined for fear of altering the mythology of War. If the GMs wish for me to define it more, I'll have to see what they will allow it to be. As it stands it can be as relevant or irrelevant as the plot demands. Should I create a follower CS for the Anima Spirits?
I realise there might be some issues with the powerset I chose for him, but figured I'd give it a try.
Follower Anima Spirit:
Name: Anima Spirit
Type: Summoned Spirit
Race: Amalgamation
Quantity: up to five of these can exist at any one time. If destroyed they can be replaced infinitely, but their destruction 'damages' Animus.
Powers:
[Possession]
Can possess a single body when created. Cannot possess sentient others or active Machina technology. The possessed body is granted superhuman strength and regeneration.
[Healing]
Capable of using it's power to heal anything it touches, or the possessed object.
Resistances & Immunities: Immune to physical attacks while incorporeal. Lacks Animus' resistance to mind-affecting abilities.
Weaknesses: Corruption abilities, energy drain abilities, etc. Lacks resistance to 'corruption'.
Skills: Often a wide variety of skills at a very high level.
Type: Summoned Spirit
Race: Amalgamation
Quantity: up to five of these can exist at any one time. If destroyed they can be replaced infinitely, but their destruction 'damages' Animus.
Powers:
[Possession]
Can possess a single body when created. Cannot possess sentient others or active Machina technology. The possessed body is granted superhuman strength and regeneration.
[Healing]
Capable of using it's power to heal anything it touches, or the possessed object.
Resistances & Immunities: Immune to physical attacks while incorporeal. Lacks Animus' resistance to mind-affecting abilities.
Weaknesses: Corruption abilities, energy drain abilities, etc. Lacks resistance to 'corruption'.
Skills: Often a wide variety of skills at a very high level.
