”Why am I here? I can understand the question. I am not the strongest, or the fastest. I’m not extremely persuasive or clever. All I have is my blade and my resolve. Therefore, I’ll prove myself, so that no one questions me or my abilities.” Appearance: A lanky man with a tense air to him, his eyes wandering unless in conversation or actively focusing on something. His hair was black before, but his Noble Arm’s toll caused him extreme stress in the past, to a point where his hair began graying. His hands are unusually big, and covered with rough calluses as a result of constant training with his NA. Height: 6’3” Weight: 190 lbs Build: Fit and lanky
Name: Nico Makri
Age: 24
Nationality: Greek
Noble Arm Name & Appearance: Helios Rod, an ornate golden rapier.
Noble Arm Rank: B
Power: B-A (S) (Sun Stoked) Speed: C-B (S) (Sun Stoked) Range: E-D+ (S) (Wildfire Dance) Persistence: D-C (S) (Sunsetter) Precision: C-B (S) (Sunsetter) Potential: D (S)
Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Support/Melee, Sun and Fire, close-to-mid-range
Noble Arm Abilities:
Burning Edge: Nico can coat his sword’s edge in flames, making the sword akin to a plasma cutter, melting through most mundane metals with ease. When the edge makes contact with Moon- or Dark-themed NAs, Helios Rod flares up in an attempt to burn away the darkness. Nico isn’t immune to this ability, so if Helios Rod touches him, it will burn. (Sun Stoke makes the edge burn white hot, turning almost anything mundane touched into ashes)
Inner Sun: Helios Rod gives Nico slight pyrokinesis, granting his unarmed strikes an explosive effect. The force of the explosion is equal to double the force of the original attack. Nico has to worry about the recoil from these strikes, as too many consecutive blows can cause damage to his joints. (Sunsetter delays the explosive force for a few moments, giving the strikes an element of surprise and mitigating the recoil of the strikes.)
Sun Stoke: As day approaches, Nico’s speed and power are increased a rank higher than his usual, trading defense and subtlety for raw, overwhelming power. Helios Rod burns brighter and responds faster, and Nico’s reflexes and strength rise to match. This makes him seem like a living comet, rushing through the battlefield to get into close range combat. However, this isnt without costs. The more Nico uses his enhanced power, the more he heats up, running the risk of hyperthermia as a battle drags on.
Radiant Burst: A wave of light extends in a 20 foot radius centered on Nico, accelerating the healing process of himself and any allies in the AoE, closing up most moderate injuries (ie. slashes, burns, and small caliber gunshots). It also blinds any enemies caught within the radius, similar to a flash grenade. This ability shifts targets depending on who Nico considers an ally or enemy at the time, so even those fighting beside Nico may be blinded if he doesn’t trust them.
Wildfire Dance: During the hours of 11AM to 1PM, Nico’s strikes release waves of fire. These strikes can hit targets up to 100 feet away with the force of a missile. These attacks pass through allies harmlessly, following the rules set by Radiant Burst.
Sunsetter: As night approaches, Helios Rod’s abilities alter. It increases Nico’s persistence and precision by a rank, giving his strikes more finesse in trade for less raw power. This gives him immunity to his own flames and boosts his regeneration to a level where most superficial wounds heal instantly (ie. scrapes and glancing blows). Sunsetter also hones Nico’s mind, making his senses 4 times more acute than the average person.
Vanishing Step: Nico disappearing from one point for an instant and reappearing in a different point. This is a result of him using Helios Rod to mark a location, Nico maneuvering the opponent into having that spot outside their field of view, and returning to it in order to launch a surprise attack. He must stay within 30 feet of the mark, otherwise it dissipates.
Godspeed Dance: During the hours of 12AM to 2AM, Nico’s precision reaches a point that rivals even well trained Noble Arms Masters. He can act and react to the world around him in mere milliseconds without stumbling or pausing to reposition. However, this godlike precision is costly. It severely wears down on his stamina, so he prefers using it in short bursts, making rapid movements and evasive action.
Misc Abilities:
Alertness: Nico barely needs sleep, being able to get a good night’s rest in 3-4 hours. He’s constantly assessing the environment, taking note of strange objects and people alike.
Multilingual: Nico knows English and French, along with his native Greek. He learned French and English as electives in school and kept studying until he was able to hold conversation with tourists and the like.
Compass: Nico’s internal compass is better than the average citizen. He can ignore the sun’s glare and the darkness of night to find his way back to wherever he slept before.
Personality: As a newbie to the war business, Nico attempts to not let his doubts get in the way, burying them under a veil of pride. He's not arrogant and enjoys connecting with other people, wanting to learn more about the lives of those outside of Athens. For Nico, powers are something given to those who earn it. As such he tends to take training very seriously, being annoyed at lazy Arms Masters, particularly the strong ones, who for him are choosing to waste the strength they were given. At the same time, he wishes that the weak be allowed to grow on their own and walk newer paths, a gift granted to him that he wishes to help spread to everyone. Nico is out here to prove his resolve to the world, his pride is at stake. As for the Big Three, Nico tolerates Seven Virtues, thinking of them as a bunch of pricks with the right idea and bad execution, but sees Downward Descent as psychos and nihilists, viewing their ideals as complete insanity.
*Likes: Spicy food, sour drinks, cheese, parties, all nighters
Bio: Nico always had a fascination with knights and heroes of legends, having grown up in a country where some of the most famous myths came from. He was born in Athens at exactly high noon, a good omen. His family ran a small hotel near Athens Airport, so there was always some new person to meet, and a new story to hear. His mother and father encouraged his curiosity as a kid, letting him help around the hotel and talk to the guests. Once Nico left for university, he kept a hotel key with him as a memento.
Helios Rod appeared a month or so after Nico graduated from uni, at exactly high noon. Awakening his Noble Arm led him to take up swordplay just in case something ever happened. As he got better with the sword and his form improved, he realized that wanting to help people didn’t mean much if there weren’t many people in need of help. In lieu of the Greek Debt Crisis, he became a freelance mercenary for some form of steady income. Working with ASEAN gave Nico a chance to put his abilities to the test, to forge his will in fire.
*Current Goal: Protect those behind and beside him, and give others a chance to walk their path.
@Creative Chaos, How did he learn Filipino and Japanese? Also, a Noble Arm must be a single weapon, meaning that Helios and Selene will either be reduced to one sword or have to be connected to each other by a chain.
@Creative Chaos, I'd like another paragraph of the biography dealing with his birth, childhood, family situation and upbringing, but that's just me. Approval One given.
I’ll look at this more in-depth in a bit, but for starters, you have potential S. There’s no precedent for S as a stand-alone rank, it’s a qualifier. C (S) means generally C with a strong but attached. S on its own doesn’t mean much, unless you’re trying to say that his power’s adaptability and growth is all over the map.
Power: B = 4 Speed: C = 3 Range: C = 3 Persistence: D = 2 Precision: B = 4 Potential: D(S) = 2 Adds up to 18, divide by 6 for the average of all stats 3 = barely C
Mathematically speaking, Helios Rod is a low C-rank. Being able to access incredible A-rank Power at range for 2 hours each day should bump this to B for in-universe purposes, but in-game, it's not guaranteed that Nico's going to be fighting at noon very often at all - a competent enemy will certainly avoid challenging him at this time. The fact that he can only fight in melee at any other time of day might limit him more than you expect. If you don't mind that, go ahead and keep it - it would line up with his personality - but if you think you might regret having an NA that necessitates getting in someone's face without being blown away on the approach, this is your warning. With a potential stat of D, this weakness is unlikely to get any better with practice.
The full effects of Sun Stoked and Sunsetter aren't perfectly clear to me. Do they boost Nico's own physical abilities, like letting him run faster and lift great weights, or does boosted speed and power mean in the sense of making Helios Rod more responsive and hotter? Both? And what does greater defense mean - does Nico just get harder to harm? Does his usual regeneration get stronger? Does Helios Rod manifest a forcefield? And greater precision - does this mean he can more reliably land "critical hits," or that Burning Edge will no longer harm his allies? Does Burning Edge radiate heat, or does it only burn those who come in contact with the fire?
The bio and personality look alright to me, especially since Bee was willing to pass it.
After a tad bit of discussion on Discord, I edited both Regil's and Regina's backstories to fit the lore of the RP in accordance with what was discussed. If there's anything else that needs addressing, please let me know.