[OOC] The Fate of Lucumbro

[Kafka Komedy]

You live in the Kingdom of Lucumbro. Maybe you haven't for a majority of you life, but for now, you reside here. It's the year 2235, and things look like hell here. The countryside is ablaze, the castle is full of backstabbers, and towns are being raided. It's been like this for almost a century now, this war that's consumed the Kingdom. 94 years ago Sardiel, the Eternal King, revealed that he had been puppeteering the crown for over 1000 years. Up to that things had been shaky, but workable. Other than the poverty and issues with the political system, the Kingdom was at peace. Once the truth was out, the rising tensions exploded.

A half-demon girl by the name of Gennisi would lose her home soon after this, and become the face of the rebellion. Once the original leader died, she became Commander of the Firebird Empire at only 23 years old. Her fervent attitude and impassioned speeches on revolution gathered many to her side, and forced the small rebellion into an all-out civil war. The King, out of touch but still wise, erected military outposts and demanded a higher rate of production of weaponry and Lapi, unparalleled since nearly 300 years ago. But the Firebirds would not let up, and Sardiel was forced to play the long game, again sacrificing his citizens short-term well being for the longevity of the kingdom, and himself.

Ever since, neither of the two sides have let up. Sardiel is still ruling king, as youthful as the day he had revealed himself, while Gennisi seemed to have not aged either, and indeed has survived many grievous wounds. The war shows no signs of stopping, but you've had enough. Whoever you are, you have joined with six others in an effort to end the war. You may be just a motley crew now, but you've all got skills beyond a commoner, and an ally who seems to know just where to point you all. With luck, you might just be able to pull through.

---

Magic is used through rocks that can provide passive buffs, enchant weaponry, or be activated to launch spells. Basically Materia. A more detailed explanation is below.

How Magic Works

Magic is generally only used through small crystalline rocks called "Lapi." Said stones hold magic power, and by stimulating it with a fraction of your own energy, you can use its effects. These range from healing, to manipulation or generation of certain elements, to temporary alterations of your physical form. Some effects activate without having to activate them, and some almost unheard of ones are even stranger. Lapi are both amazing and odd, and scientists, scholars and alchemists alike can't figure out what makes them produce such outlandish affects, only that they form from even larger crystals deep underground. This makes Lapis production a challenge to all but the most high ranking of the Khint Alchemist Clan, who have excavated a crystal of their own and have found a way to force it to create Lapis at an accelerated rate, though even they aren't sure how to manipulate any other factors of production like strength or ability.

One can recreate a Lapis's ability without actually having said Lapi, but without much practice, familiarity, and experience, it's a dangerous game. Only the most skilled of Magi have even a few Lapi mastered, and even fewer have learned how to manipulate said ability once learned. Another unfortunate side of Lapi is it's effect on humans. If one is around or uses Lapi a lot during pregnancy, a human child can "absorb" its effect, coming out deformed or with uncontrollable magical abilities. Occasionally, one may escape physical alteration and self destructive magics, leaving only useful abilities. Why this happens only to humans, no one seems to know, though studies have been done and this may be linked to humans' propensity to mastering Lapi. It also seems to be happening more often, as more Lapi is used in war time, and the Khint have upped production, putting more Lapi into the hands of commoners.

Though only humans may be mutated by Lapi, other races are blessed with abilities, though this phenomena decidedly different to Lapi magic and is regarded as "Extranatural Talent" by scholars, ET for short. These are generally given to most if not all members of a race, and allow them a leg up on the competition. Demons seem to be the only exception of this rule, who seem to have completely random ETs. They also are unable to master Lapi, though they can use it just fine.

Here's the CS.

Character Sheet

[center][img]Appearance[/img]
[h3]Name[/h3][/center]

[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Race:[/b]

[b]Equipment[/b][list]

[/list]

[b]Abilities[/b][list] (List Lapi, ETs, or Mutations here)

[/list]

[b]Talents[/b][list]

[/list]

[b]Personality:[/b]

[b]Biography:[/b]

[b]Other:[/b]

[Pathfinder]

@Kafka Komedy
Wyrdstone is Lapis but the crystal that the Rakeesh get it from is... corrupted, for lack of a better word. Basically it comes in two forms, crystal and powder. The crystal is pretty much lapis but instead of having a wide range of spells at their disposal the Wyrdstone just makes the weapon more deadly, cutting flesh easier or piercing armor while causing whatever you attach it to to glow green. The powdered stuff is kinda like blasting powder, you mix it with other stuff and get some high energy ignition source and "Boom".

Thoughts?

[Pathfinder]

Eshi, WIP

Eshi

Gender: Male
Age: 19
Race: Rakeesh, Rat Men in the common tongue

Equipment

• Reinforced Leather: Bruise colored leather reinforced with iron rings. This armor protects Eshi as well as keeps him hidden in dark places, a staple of Rakeesh Warrior-Assassins. Highly modifiable.
• Tinted Goggles: Rakeeshi eyes are very sensitive in sunlight and thus Eshi where's this goggles outfitted with darkened glass.
• Bloodletter: Long and thin, this sword is a thing of precision rather than one of war. While not forged with Wyrdstone like the greatest of Rakeesh weapons, the Bloodletter is still quite the scalpel and wounds made with this blade bleed heavier than they should.
• Wyrdforged Daggers: Large, heavy, and unmistakably Rakeeshi. These daggers are infused with Wyrdstone and glow with a sickly green light when activated. However they are less weapons and more messages, this was a Rakeesh kill.

Abilities

• Cunning Linguist: Eshi is proficient in many languages, able to at least converse in the native tongues of all major players.
• Scurry: Rakeesh are quick and nimble creatures, outmaneuvering those they cannot overpower.
• Gutter Runners: A natural affinity for filth and mazes has led to Rakeesh being masters of the sewers, marshes, and anywhere filth reigns supreme.
• Vermin Connection: Rakeesh love vermin, especially rats. They see their best qualities in them and have a special bond that isn't unlike that of dogs and man.
  Tunnel Vision: All Rakeesh have perfect nightvision at the cost of intense light sensitivity, sunlight effectively blinding them.

Talents

• Rakeeshi Warrior-Assassin: Too big to be a Sneak-Thief, too small to be Ravage-Guard, and too dumb to be Wyrdstone Engineer, but a good enough mixture of all to be the face of the Rakeeshi people. Eshi is trained in the art of sneaking about, silently killing, and putting up a decent fight if thats what it comes down to. Have it be known that a rat doesn't have to be cornered to put up a fight.
• Poisons, Herbs, and Spices: As is the norm, some jobs need a more subtler touch. Thus every Warrior-Assassin is trained in the art of poisoning, Eshi is no exception. However he has taken this training further and knows which herbs can aid in the healing process. Also... he's picked up cooking somehere along the road, a touchy subject he doesn't like to get into. But if you have some spices, meat, and some vegetables... well you'll get some dinner.
• Climbing Higher: All Rakeesh are able to climb, however the Warrior-Assassins turn this into an art. As long as it isn't too steep or shear, Eshi can climb it.

Personality:
While still retaining his species characteristic caution and paranoia, Eshi is quite bold by Rakeesh standards. He isn't immediately afraid of those who are bigger than him and in fact needs a show of power to give anyone an ounce of respect, usually by showing military prowess or shrewd cunning. All of this isn't to say he is an honor bound fool, the last thing you'll see Eshi do is run howling and screaming "Honor!" into the fray. He picks his battles carefully and weighs every option he can because only fools rely on instincts.

On a personal lever it is difficult for non Rakeesh to gain Eshi's trust, especially if they are human. However he is pragmatic to a fault and will at least tolerate your presence until it's all over. However, should you somehow gain his trust you will find a steadfast ally in your endeavors.

Biography:
There isn't too much to be said about Eshi's story. He was the prized scratling born of a litter, possessing many great traits needed for becoming a Warrior-Assassin. The training was harsh and brutal, many of his fellow trainees dying from one reason or the other, but in the end Eshi was successful and began his life as the face of Rakeesh. Eshi spent many years running gutters, stealing food shipments, taking contracts from both the Firebrand and Kingdom, and generally being an annoyance towards both sides. Then the fires came. They burnt down Eshi's home nest. females and children roasted alive in their homes, warriors split open on the ground, and the caches raided. Eshi tried to kill them, no matter how futile it was. He failed, ran through and left for dead in the muck of the sewers.

As tradition dictates Eshi's name was stricken away and replaced with that of his clan, the last shame of the whole sordid affair. Alive but wounded, Eshi began the long process of piecing together how Man-Things found the nest and how to kill them as slowly as possible. Fast forward four years and Eshi isn't much closer to the answers he seeks, only uncovering the names "Galloren" and "The White Scars". In an effort to fund his search and possibly kill even more Man-Things, Eshi has accepted Linona's offer of joining her motley crew of killers... at least as long as it benefits him.

Other:
Wyrdstone: A very corrupt and deadly form of Lapis only found in the Rakeesh capital lands "Rakould", a barren and dour place. The properties of Wyrdstone are... well odd. In its natural crystal state it gives whatever weapon it's attached to increased durability, a deadlier edge, and a sickly green glow. When ground into dust it becomes a form of powerful blasting powder, igniting from any high energy source to become a great green fireball. Finally, if mixed with water and roots native to Rakould Wyrdstone creates a terrible poison. In high doses it will kill nearly instantly, but if diluted it will cause the victim unimaginable agony for days.

Queekish: The language of the Rakeesh, a very chaotic and fast spoken language consisting of squeaks, trills, chitters, and liberal use of body language and pheromones. It has not been deciphered outside of the Rakeesh people.

[BCTheEntity]

Akella Pyrope

Akella Pyrope

Gender: Female
Age: 19
Race: Human, with minor dwarven lineage

Equipment

• Miló - Akella's hand-crafted weapon, named "speak" in a Dwarven dialect local to her area of birth, seems to simply be a particularly-sharp double-edged blade of bronze, more specifically a type of shortsword often used by dwarves during fights in the confines of a mining tunnel, though the handle has, strangely enough, been crafted out of the same piece of metal with no covering, and only a single grey gemstone embedded into it. This, however, belies its nature as a remarkably strange object that only a skilled user of metal Lapi can use properly, and which only Akella herself actually knows how to use effectively - by applying small amounts of energy to the gemstone, actually a metal Lapis, in specific ways, one can force the weapon to change shape, flowing into various other forms, and apparently gaining and losing mass freely as a result of the transition. Alternate forms include a form of javelin with a similar blade on the end, again frequently used by dwarves in confined battles such as beneath the ground, which functions well as both a melee slashing and stabbing weapon and a ranged throwing weapon; what appears to be a rifle barrel, with no obvious parts other than the barrel itself, but the capacity to fire rounds endlessly nevertheless; the same rifle barrel, now with the shortsword-like blade on the end and split in two; and even a form with the blade fully intact on the end, intended to split rounds in two or even in four as they are fired in order to strike multiple targets. Miló's firing mechanism is described in the Other section.
• Akoúo̱ - Akella's shield, named "listen" in the same Dwarven dialect, is a reasonably large circular shield made of bronze with two semi-circular sections missing out of each side, again derived from a common dwarven style intended for underground combat. Naturally, it is intended to block and deflect attacks from both physical and magical sources, being pretty much fit for purpose in both cases; however, it also possesses an edge as sharp as that of Miló, potentially enhanced further by Akella's own metal magic, therefore allowing it to be thrown by one of the indentations to cause grievous damage to anything it hits, and seems to attach directly on to Akella's arm band with only a couple of fixed metal "clips". Other than this, it is not particularly special as far as shields go.
• Entolí - Akella's armour, named "command" in the Dwarven dialect, seems surprisingly bulky for the amount of agility Akella is able to show off whilst wearing it - though it is not explicitly made in dwarven style, it certainly has the bulk most dwarves are fond of in their armour, and it is more than thick enough to fend off most blows handily, yet Akella typically prefers to dodge attacks whilst wearing it, and is shockingly good at doing so. This is an intentionally misleading design: the green gemstones embedded at various points, up to and including those hanging on either side of her head, are all magnetism Lapi, and are designed to allow Akella to subtly bend any and all metal-based attacks - namely, most modern weapons from swords to arrowheads to musket balls - around her form or vice-versa, or at the very least ensure they only glance off her armour, giving the illusion of being untouchable in battle. They also allow her to move in ways that could be considered superhuman, for instance appearing to jump far higher than a normal human and hang in the air for much longer, or to strike with much more force than normal. Taking these effects to their logical extremes, a lot more stamina can be imbued into the Lapi to, for instance, generate a practical force field around Akella or allow her to hover and fly around in the air, though this is naturally quite draining.

Abilities

• Mastered Lapi - Akella is a master of both metal and magnetism Lapi, having had unrestricted access to both since childhood, and incorporates them heavily, though subtly, into her fighting style, as partially described above. A common trick against foes in chain or plate is for her to strike with Miló, and either break the armour it would otherwise clash against along the striking line to make it seem like she is strong enough to shear metal, or simply have the weapon pass straight through any offending metal to cause damage without obviously injuring the target. Once again, it is entirely possible for her to be more blatant about their use, e.g. by levitating both her weapon and shield to fight from a distance, but she prefers to avoid this sort of activity for reasons of conserving stamina.
• Other Lapi - Aside from the very specific-use wind and fire Lapi in Miló's handle, Akella does not really use other forms of Lapi, instead relying mostly on her own physique as augmented by her mastered Lapi to handle combat. She's also not cottoned on to the existence of electromagnetism yet, having not had any particular access to lightning Lapi in her life.
• Dwarven ETs - Though it is comparatively thin- almost surprisingly so, given her birthplace- Akella does have some dwarven lineage, and thus access to two somewhat watered-down dwarven ETs. First of all, her strength is notably greater than a normal human's - whilst not that much different from human compared to a full-blooded dwarf, she can nevertheless lift significantly more and strike noticeably harder than her build would suggest, and in fact benefits from being mostly human by not suffering any obvious reduction to agility the way most dwarves are afflicted, though that may be more a facet of not being built like a four-foot brick than her lineage proper. Secondly, she is fairly good at identifying metals, including ore quality, metal purity, alloy percentages, and even weak points in crafted metallic items; though most of these are not particularly better than a normal human for Akella, she has specifically trained her ability to identify weak points to the point that she can do so instinctively in the heat of battle, a very potent skill when facing off against, for example, an enemy knight.
• Mutation: Hands of Tálos - In ancient Dwarven folklore, tales are told of a dwarf who held great strength even by their own standards, but who was cursed to transform whatever they touched into the same substance, even the very air around them, trapping them in a shell of bronze even as it broke away from their skin. Akella is unfortunate enough to have developed something similar: though only restricted to her hands, any solid object she directly touches with them is transformed into bronze, up to and including living flesh, gods forbid, unless they have been specifically enchanted to avoid this problem the way her gloves and most of her normal clothing has been, or are otherwise flooded with magical power in the way Lapi is. Naturally, this is somewhat of a restriction when it comes to social interaction, though fortunately mitigated by samesaid gloves; nonetheless, she considers herself doomed because of it, and fears that she may one day mess up and accidentally touch somebody with her bare hands, granting them what she can only assume would be an excruciating death.

Talents

• Combat Expert - Akella has been trained from a young age to be an expert in just about all forms of traditional offense and defense in her home - the shortsword, javelin, shield, and heavy armour that are all incorporated into her equipment in some manner or another. Additionally, she has also trained extensively in the use of rifles, in particular the odd design of Miló's various gun forms that so defines its awkwardness in any hand that is not her own.
• Metalworker - Though she rather prefers to keep it low-key, Akella's metal Lapis mastery gives her a surprisingly good ability to craft metal into just about any form she likes with no need for the heat of a forge to make a sharp and hard edge, or a sturdy plate. As a profession, she would rather avoid it, simply because combat is more of a thrill to her; however, the fact that she managed to forge Miló in the first place is a testament to her skill in this regard.
• Lapi User - Mastery of metal and magnetism, minor use of fire and wind in equipment. Described above.

Personality

Akella is nothing if not friendly - contrary to what one might anticipate from a serious warrior, she does her best to see the world in the best light possible, making at least a token attempt to make friends with people who haven't been explicitly hostile toward her and doing what she can to avoid injuring those who are beyond what's needed to stop them. She also does her best to be polite to everyone as and when it is feasible, sometimes going as far as to apologise for damaging a foe if she would have rather not gotten into that particular fight, and she remains as patient as she can throughout. Furthermore, though not educated beyond a certain level outside of her combat training, she is intelligent enough to understand reasonably complex topics if they're explained to her, evidenced by her Lapi usage and ability to control the battlefield around her as needed, which perhaps contributes to how she acts in general.

Beneath all this, however, is a very insecure young woman. A combination of a near-crippling mutation and high expectations whilst growing up have not been kind to her, and a part of her exists which mostly wants to be normal, to not have so much responsibility any more, though she knows full well how unlikely this is. Indeed, she fears (perhaps irrationally) that the stress of the current war situation may one day kill her, or worse cause her to lose control of herself and do something she'll regret; she feels that if she can at least contribute to ending the stalemate between Sardiel and Gennisi in some form or another (though as far as her ideology goes, she considers Sardiel's victory the preferable option overall), she may at last be able to relax.

Biography

Akella's birthplace was the town of Broúntzos, a medium-small mining town composed of humans, dwarves, and various degrees of hybrid, that made heavy use of multiple sorts of Lapi so as to draw out from the ground ores of various types, in particular those required to forge bronze. Naturally, in such an environment, the rules on where and when Lapi was allowed to be put to use were enforced very clearly to prevent harmful mutation, but even so, the ambient magical aura of the place sometimes affected an unborn child... albeit not so noticeably at first, in Akella's case specifically. As she went from infant to toddler, though, it became more and more clear that the patches of bronze found all over her family's house were her doing, and they quickly took her to see an expert in the field after an incident where a small but notable chunk of flesh was transformed so. The diagnosis was declared, most notably that the effects of her mutation would get more pronounced as she grew older and gained more stamina, and in short order a pair of elbow-length leather gloves were fashioned for Akella to wear to ensure she did not accidentally turn to bronze anything else, a mark of her misfortune that would define her since then, new gloves being crafted and enchanted for her in advance of the old ones wearing out or losing their fit.

Naturally, this led to a certain degree of both attention and ostracising by her school mates once she began her education, and though friendly enough when talking to people, she often found herself not specifically seeking to interact with most of them, save her close childhood friend, a boy called John who had been fathered by a fairly large family shortly after their move to Broúntzos. Akella and John would often talk to one another about their lives, in a surprisingly deep fashion for young children, and they both realised that the other was confused about whether they deserved attention or not. In John's case, he wondered if his sisters overshadowed him, or whether he was babied too much to be useful; for Akella, she felt that her mutation singled her out, overshadowing other aspects of her being. They both promised the other that they'd make themselves worth the attention, and so both began training to become fighters in the town's local military outposts. Akella in particular already held a surprising affinity for two sorts of Lapi, and with focused training, she became very good at using them and the town's traditional weaponry in just a few years, drawing the attention of the head of the local outpost. This ultimately got her inducted into the town guard's junior regiment at the tender age of eleven.

It was shortly after this that Akella discovered she actually wasn't fond of attention. Or at least the amount of attention she got, anyway: noted as a potential source of "unique skill", and cited as being exceptionally useful for the war against the Firebird Empire should be become a full-blown lady of the realm, she was regularly pushed to her limits to master the weaponry available to her and her native Lapi, causing her excessive and undue stress which wasn't helped by her continuing anxiety about what had come to be known as the Hands of Tálos. Though she quickly became well-known within the town as a prodigy and a battle genius, her days often ended with her exhausted, and her nights were filled with terrors that left her even more exhausted the next morning. It was a cycle she found herself stuck within for the next five years, and it ended when she finally decided she couldn't live like that much longer. She went to the craftsman who created her gloves, and commissioned with the money she'd earned during her time appropriately-enchanted gloves to suit her for practically the rest of her life, as well as stealing from the armoury a single bronze shield, and from the ore storage enough bronze and Lapis to craft herself a suit of armour and a single-piece blade of some sort. The night that she received them, she spoke to John one last time, and found she would be sorely missed in kind. She was gone from the town by morning.

For the next few years, she travelled the world as a mercenary, acquiring money to survive off of in as ethical a manner as a hired thug can, as well as enough bronze to add to her armour whenever it was needed. In her down-time, she perfected her ability to manipulate metal and magnetic force alike with her magic, adding to and improving upon Entolí to suit her as and when needed, and frequently improving the function of Miló until it became an ungainly weapon which only she could reasonably utilise as effectively as possible. Akoúo̱ remained mostly unchanged, save for the addition of a sharp edge to its outer rim for the purposes of throwing. And yet despite her attempts to escape the world's notice, the unique appearance she wrought for herself and the skill with which she fought caused stories to spread about "the girl with hair like flame" throughout the kingdom, and it was rare for her to enter a town without at least a few people mobbing her for a tale of her most recent exploits, or offering her food and rest "after her long journey", regardless of how long she had been travelling before then. She would oblige these requests almost compulsively, feeling it was only fair to be kind to those who were kind to you, and often found herself with an excess of money and a dearth of time left to herself. Though throughout her life of combat her exterior has remained friendly, even humble, she has begun to despair on the inside of ever experiencing a life approaching normality, and though she knows logically that attempting to end the civil war is only likely to further boost her notoriety, it is the only route she sees to accomplish this... if only she could find a foothold to start off from.

Other

Weapon Mechanics
Miló has the ability to fire rifle rounds with no obvious source of heat, or indeed any obvious source of rifle rounds. This is thanks to a result of two separate realisations on Akella's part. First, she has realised that what pushes the projectiles out of a regular gun's barrel isn't the heat of the exploding gunpowder itself, but the pushing force caused as a result of the explosion, in other words the explosion's wind. With that in mind, Miló has an air Lapis hidden in the hilt of the weapon, the only use of which is to create directed, and surprisingly strong, bursts of air to propel projectiles out of the weapon; a fire Lapis is also present from prior iterations of the weapon, though it is there mostly because its removal would not affect Miló's functionality, instead serving to produce smoke and noise from the end of the barrel to hide how the weapon actually functions.
The second realisation is that a flat surface on a projectile actually provides more space for a given pushing force to work properly when compared to the standard spherical rounds, though Akella understands that this is perhaps not an understanding limited to her mind alone; since the vast majority of bullets produced nowadays are lead musket balls, Akella has taken it upon herself to enhance Miló's functionality by allowing the weapon to spontaneously generate its own ammunition, again via supplying energy to the embedded metal Lapis in a specific pattern, such that a pointed lead projectile may be formed within Miló's barrel whilst in one of its rifle forms, fitting snugly to the barrel's rifling without sticking when fired, thus producing a far more accurate (and cheaper) shot than most might anticipate from any projectile weapon.

Magnetism Lapi
The functionality of most forms of Lapi are reasonably obvious - a metal Lapis lets you control metal, a healing Lapis heals your body, and a necromancy Lapis lets you resurrect and command the dead. Magnetism Lapi is one of the more complicated forms of Lapis to figure out, mostly because the mechanics of magnetism known to modern science in real life have not yet been entirely established in this setting, and even those who have encountered magnets are only likely to know that iron and steel are attracted to them, never mind that electricity and magnetism are in fact closely intertwined. Essentially, however, the principle is the same: five basic types of magnetism exist, the most common of which is ferromagnetism, wherein parallel magnetic moments within the electrons are arranged in parallel with each other, producing a north and south pole within the substance, and which is strongest within metals such as iron, cobalt, and nickel. For the same reason, these are the metals magnetism Lapi is most effective on, requiring the least amount of stamina to affect under normal circumstances, as their magnetic moments do not cancel one another at room temperature, thus allowing natural ferromagnetism.
That being said, part of the functionality of magnetism Lapis is to actively induce the appropriate form of magnetism to achieve its effects (most often telekinetic in nature) in just about any material it is used upon regardless of its usual physical properties, often combining multiple forms of magnetism to both push and pull a target in certain ways. Therefore, whilst it may or may not take more stamina to do so, most metals both pure and alloyed can be affected by magnetism Lapi as well - for instance, Entolí is largely made of bronze, an alloy largely composed of copper, which is a substance that is naturally diamagnetic, such that the magnetism Lapi implanted into the armour only requires a comparatively small amount of stamina to induce a significant repulsive force against most metallic objects. However, less magnetically reactive substances may require an excessive amount of stamina to handle effectively with magnetism Lapi, and it is often more productive to simply acquire the relevant Lapi type, e.g. earth Lapi for generic soil.

[Orion]

So I have now completed Shamus's history. I have given the basics of his life and the rest should come out IC.

Just need the nod and I will move him to the character pages.

Shamus

Shamus O'Conner

Gender:Male
Age: 29
Race: Human

Equipment

• 15lb Sledgehammer - This works as both Shamus's primary tool and personal defense option. There is nothing special or glamourous about this item, it is just 15lbs of pig iron attached to a slightly curved oak handle. As a tool he can use it at a forge, in the fields or working in construction; there are many jobs that can only be fulfilled with a strong lad wielding a big hammer. As a weapon, well, 15lbs of metal, well swung will kill even the most heavily armored foe.
• Traveler's Cloak - A simple cloak spun from heavy wool and treated with goose fat. This cloak is waterproof, weatherproof and serves as a makeshift tent when the need requires. It comes with a hood and stretches to the ground. The cloak has several hidden pockets that are useful for keeping things such as tinder, flint, coin and anything else that the wearer wants to keep hidden.
• Woodsman Hatchet - A small curved hatchet that can be used in multiple roles. The hatchet can be used as a tool or a secondary weapon, if required. The hatchet was made for Shamus at the first smithy he worked at after leaving home, so it holds a certain amount of sentimental value to him.
• Travelers Pack - A pack that contains all of the necessary items for traveling across country. Shamus always tries to keep the pack stocked with a water skin, three days of trail rations, bed roll, basic maps and small items collected through his travels.

Abilities

(List Lapi, ETs, or Mutations here)


• Mutation - Stoneskin - Due to exposure to Earth Lapi he has a mutation that is common within his community. Shamus has skin that is as hard as stone. To the touch his skin feels normal if a little rough but it can turn a slashing attack and does operate in a similar way to normal armor. Due to his condition Shamus is resistant to heat but he is not fireproof. Once activated the Stoneskin also dulls Shamus's movements, he moves with a ponderous motion and his senses become dulled. The mutation itself is slowly hardening Shamus's nerve endings, in time it will harden his heart muscles and kill him.
• Earth Lapi - Earth Reform - A farming type magic that allows the user to control the density of earth and soil. It can turn the hardest packed earth into quicksand or the softest peat into a concrete block. The magic is not offensive in its nature but used correctly it can trap and ensnare a foe or give a much needed advantage in a dual.

Talents

• Jack of all trades - Shamus has spent a number of years turning his hand to a large number of physical jobs. He has learned that he is a quick study when it comes to working with his hands. Several masters wanted him to continue on with them, feeling that he could become something great. However Shamus's restless spirit and underlying mission never keep him in one place long enough.
• Man of the Land - Growing up in a rural community and as a farmer's son Shamus has a great deal of knowledge relating to animals and plants. More than once Shamus's knowledge of edible plants and roots has saved him when his rations ran out on the road. Shamus's knowledge stretches to almost all lowland and forest creatures, although he might not know them all he can apply his knowledge to make an informed guess.

Personality: Shamus is a restless spirit, he has never been able to find peace staying in one place to long. As a child Shamus would wander far and wide across the lands that surrounded his home. This wandering nature gives rise to the belief that Shamus is a lone wolf and shuns companionship, this could not be further from the truth. Shamus enjoys spending time with new people and learning about different cultures and traditions, however, he gets bored easily and feels the need to make new friends.

Shamus has strong political views and is strongly opposed to the feudal system that roles over most of the land. It is his belief that the land should belong to the people that work it and not the 'Noble Lords'. His experiences traveling the country have not changed his beliefs, infact they have been further reinforced. As such he has a dislike of anyone of 'high birth'.

He finds his great passion is for music. As he has no natural musical talent of his own he is fascinated by the way that it can control peoples emotions, raising them high or laying them low on a changing cord.

Biography:

Born into a large farming family Shamus never really knew solitude. He had 14 Brothers and Sister, Shamus fit somewhere in the middle of the litter. As well as his siblings he had no less than 25 cousins within a league of the farm. His father would often joke that you could walk for a day in any direction from the farm and still find an O'Conner, probably in a bar.

The family was poor, as is the lot for a tenant farmer but his Father would say that they had enough. They rarely knew hunger, they had clothes and roof over their head. The land they worked was no more or else fertile than any other, it was subject to the same bounty and famines that affected all rural communities.

The lord of the land was, actually a Baron, Charles De Monthorpe the 6th. Baron De Monthorpe was not a bad man but he had the same casual disregard for his people that most of his stature had. The thing that fascinated the Baron the most was Lapi and there ability to increase production and farming yields. The Baron spent a small fortune on Lapi to give to the tenant farms and in return they would provide him with information regarding there use and outcome. What no one knew was the affect that the Lapi was having on the unborn children of the next generation.

For a decade child after child was born with the same mutation, something the locals coined Stoneskin but the Baron ostentatiously called De Monthorpe Syndrome. For all there lack of formal education it didn't take the people long to realize what was happening and then came the rebellion, the famine and finally the mercenaries. Shamus doesn't really remember much about this time other than the hatred for the upper classes.

As with all such things the seasons changed, the flames of emotion died down and the lands needed to tended too. The old Baron died and his son took up his Title and lands. The new Baron was keen to mend the wounds caused to his people, he built a school and decreased rents and was generally thought of better than his father. Shamus never forgot the hatred.

When he was 16 he left the village that he had known his whole life and headed out into the world. It was hard but he had many adventures and made many friends and enemies along the way. Shamus was determined to find a cure for the condition that he knew would eventually kill him and a great many of his own family, it would not let their generation be the last for the O'Conner's.

Other: - Shamus hates shellfish, he calls them the insects of the sea, oddly he quite likes eating insects.

[Kafka Komedy]

@Pathfinder I'll go ahead and say yes. Not all of the crystals could have come out perfect, though the land around the crystal will have to be all but uninhabitable.

@Orion Seems good. Move him on over.

If any of you have ideas on how your characters could have come together, feel free to share them. I'm gonna go ahead and post my WIP CS so it can stop clogging up my notepad.

[Kafka Komedy]

Kait

Kait Arouraios

Gender: Female
Age: 17
Race: Beastman

Equipment

• Freyja - A light spear to hold off enemies that get too close. It's blade is too thick to penetrate particularly wellmade chainmail, but it's effective against weaker chainmail and leather.
• Armor - A cloak and hat with occasional bits of silver, designed to allow fluid movement and unimpeded casting.

Abilities

• Dark - A ball of dark energy that causes an explosive blowback once it hits an object. The blunt force is useful against enemies with a strong defense.
• Wind - Generate razor sharps winds that tear enemies apart. Not very strong, only able to damage enemies in leather at it's peak.
• Cure - Heal minor wounds and get rid of light negative effects. Cuts and bruises are easy. A deep gash is a challenge. She could set a bone, but completely healing it is out of her skill level.
• Rat Physiology - Though Rat Beastmen are weaker than humans, they're faster, and have better vision in dark places.

Talents

• Decent Spearfighter - Though she's by no means a master, Kait is above novice level when it comes to using her spear. Still, she prefers to use her Lapi.
• Aspiring Magus - Though she hasn't mastered any Lapi, she's certainly on the road to doing so. That is, if she could pick one and stick with it.

Personality: Curiosity is definitely the driving force in most of Kait's actions. Always observing, studying, asking questions, and being inquisitive. This is bolstered by her ambitious nature, mostly towards becoming a world class Magus. Despite how much she asks about others, she doesn't share much about herself, even if she's very casual. In fact, she's a bit too casual, it's hard for her to take much but her own dreams seriously. She's also quite materialistic, having been robbed of the finer things in life as a child. She's even been known to steal, though she's a good person at heart.

Biography: Kait was the middle child in a long list of children of the two beastmen parents, Kain and Kulain. The two lived in a city near the castle, Eorza. The two of them worked terrible paying jobs in an attempt to support their large family, meaning they weren't home often. This meant that Kait's siblings raised her, and she was always asking them what they did. They obliged by attempting to teach her their trade. The eldest was going to enlist in the army and was squire to a knight, and so whenever he had a chance, taught her basic spear fighting techniques. Her closest sister, in terms of age, taught her how to cook to lighten the chore load. But most importantly, her third brother, Kaiden, showed her what Lapi was.

Kaiden was apprentice to a Lapi shop owner. One day, he showed her around the shop when the owner wasn't around, and Kaiden even showed her the effects of a fire Lapi. Kait was absolutely astounded by this, mesmerized even. At this moment she knew she wanted to be a Magus. She even stole the Lapi as the two were walking out of the shop. Her parent's low paying jobs and large family meant she never really had anything to call her own, and so, when she saw this opportunity, she took it.

A few days later, as Kait was wandering around the city, a man came up to her. Quickly, she hid the stone from the man but he saw it, most definitely. He asked her what her name was. She told the truth. He asked her where her brother was. She told the truth. At that, he simply smiled and walked away. Kait was confused and unnaturally afraid, and decided to rush home. But it was too late. Kaiden's corpse was wrapped in a cheap sheet.

Kait was incredibly ashamed and saddened, and instantly threw the Lapis into the gutter. She refused to tell her siblings, couldn't tell her siblings. She could achieve her dream. Her brother had confided in the eldest brother that he thought none of them were going to be anything when they were older, and Kait had heard. She owed it to him to follow her dream, become something, even if he never got the chance to.

For three years Kait gathered money, doing odd jobs, begging on the streets, and finally she was able to get her hands on some Lapi. Every day she practiced with them just outside of the city. Eventually, it was time for her to leave the nest, since Rat Beastmen matured quickly, but instead of staying in the city, she left, opting to try and find a Magus to apprentice, and because, admittedly, she'd never left the city herself.

Other:

[Pathfinder]

@Kafka Komedy
Well, the Rakeesh are known for living in pretty shitty places. They already live in cramped tunnels, sewer systems, and general slums... why not barren magical wasteland?

[BCTheEntity]

@Kafka Komedy Nice character. As for meetings, I'd suggest "so you all meet up in a tavern"... or, "some of you meet up in a tavern, some meet up in other taverns, then your groups meet up in yet other taverns later on", just to put a twist on the cliché.

Now, regarding Akella... I don't know if I've inadvertently made her too strong, and I'll let you decide whether or not that's the case, Kafka. Personally, I'm thinking the area she lived in may have done something somewhat similar to Shamus' Stoneskin mutation - either her body emits a permanent diamagnetic field, like an overclocked RWBY aura that prevents people from getting particularly close to her without trying to bludgeon her to death (at least unless she finds a way to turn it off with magnetism Lapi), or she suffers from some sort of mutation that transforms her body into a metal statue over time, mostly hidden beneath her armour, but liable to kill her relatively soon unless she's either incredibly lucky as far as transformation order goes or finds a way to cure the condition. But as I said before, both are rather similar to Stoneskin, so I might try to figure out something else entirely. Get some other form of creativity going, if you will. If anybody has any suggestions, I'd also appreciate those.

[Orion]

@Kafka Komedy

@Pathfinder I'll go ahead and say yes. Not all of the crystals could have come out perfect, though the land around the crystal will have to be all but uninhabitable.

@Orion Seems good. Move him on over.

If any of you have ideas on how your characters could have come together, feel free to share them. I'm gonna go ahead and post my WIP CS so it can stop clogging up my notepad.

@Kafka Komedy

Shamus is a wanderer by his nature so he is easily railroaded into any introduction situation. Perhaps we are all in the same town and witness an event or be part of some round up of undesirable outside/possible spies.

[Orion]

@Kafka Komedy Nice character. As for meetings, I'd suggest "so you all meet up in a tavern"... or, "some of you meet up in a tavern, some meet up in other taverns, then your groups meet up in yet other taverns later on", just to put a twist on the cliché.

Now, regarding Akella... I don't know if I've inadvertently made her too strong, and I'll let you decide whether or not that's the case, Kafka. Personally, I'm thinking the area she lived in may have done something somewhat similar to Shamus' Stoneskin mutation - either her body emits a permanent diamagnetic field, like an overclocked RWBY aura that prevents people from getting particularly close to her without trying to bludgeon her to death (at least unless she finds a way to turn it off with magnetism Lapi), or she suffers from some sort of mutation that transforms her body into a metal statue over time, mostly hidden beneath her armour, but liable to kill her relatively soon unless she's either incredibly lucky as far as transformation order goes or finds a way to cure the condition. But as I said before, both are rather similar to Stoneskin, so I might try to figure out something else entirely. Get some other form of creativity going, if you will. If anybody has any suggestions, I'd also appreciate those.

@BCTheEntity

Perhaps she has something like the midas touch but instead of turning things she touches into gold she turns it into steel, a ferous touch if you will. The upside can be being able to sense iron/steel even with her eyes shut or in the dark, the down side being she can never touch anything with bare hands lest she turns them into steel.

[Footman]

If any of you have ideas on how your characters could have come together, feel free to share them. I'm gonna go ahead and post my WIP CS so it can stop clogging up my notepad.

@Kafka Komedy

We're in the same town, minding our business, when something goes down. The Royalists/Rebels hold sway, and are about to execute a bunch of innocent villagers/townsfolk for "collusion with the enemy". One of our characters dislikes this, and tries to stop them. Violence ensues. The other characters throw their lot into the carnage, and after the NPCs have been slain or driven away, we're left with a small group of like minded individuals who then come up with this great idea to try and bring the war to an end.

That's my two pennies with a mug of tea thrown in.

My character can literally appear anywhere though, as he is actively seeking individuals who can help him on his quest to stop the war, so i'm happy with whatever we go with.

[Dragonbud]

Yeah my character is a drifter as well, basically an aggressive tax collector at this point.

[Pink Snorlax]

Rane's a sellsword, so I guess there shouldn't be too much of a hassle there. He could be looking for work, or he could already the hired muscle for someone else. If we do start in a tavern, Rane would blend in perfectly.

[Kafka Komedy]

@BCTheEntity Thanks. I'll definitely be sure to have at least one player meet Kait in a tavern. It's practically a requirement in swords and sorcery.

As for Akella, she is, indeed, quite powerful. I'd assume this comes at the cost of very, very high stamina consumption. The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long, after all. Maybe make her a bit weaker? But I'm not sure how... Maybe reduce her Dwarven ETs? As for a negative mutation, Maybe the iron in her blood is getting thicker, making her liable to blood clots?

EDIT: Oh, I think I may not have explained this idea well enough; By having everyone meet, I didn't mean at once, I meant like, "While Kait is wandering, she met Izerk, who then hired Rane, and then blah, blah, blah, etc." That may be a bit too complex and an issue to organize though. I'm fine with the first objective being a fight of some kind that brings all the PCs together.

[Footman]

EDIT: Oh, I think I may not have explained this idea well enough; By having everyone meet, I didn't mean at once, I meant like, "While Kait is wandering, she met Izerk, who then hired Rane, and then blah, blah, blah, etc." That may be a bit too complex and an issue to organize though. I'm fine with the first objective being a fight of some kind that brings all the PCs together.

@Kafka Komedy

We could start broken up, but we'd need some kind of common goal that would send us in the same direction - so that would need hashing out. And if we did go with that option, it'd be best if we at least paired up so no one is left talking to themselves for ten posts.

Maybe one of our characters could act as some kind of ring leader, and has sent a message across the realm to "peoples of interest" calling them to a meeting place, where they can discuss how to bring the war to its end. Thus you have all of us coming in from different directions.

I mean personally I can handle anything. Big group gathering from the very start, or the lonesome road for a introduction period, s'all good with me.

What does everyone else think about all this?

[Kafka Komedy]

Man I'm shit at explaining things. I mean like, that lonesome road period is part of the backstory, but that might not work out too well. On second thought I think everyone coming together at once is much simpler, and a generally better idea.

[Footman]

Man I'm shit at explaining things. I mean like, that lonesome road period is part of the backstory, but that might not work out too well. On second thought I think everyone coming together at once is much simpler, and a generally better idea.

@Kafka Komedy

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH, my bad. Like a pre-written thing? Gotcha.

Oups.

Well hey, I'm happy to go with either option. Let me know if you need any help with setting things up, I'm always happy to spout ideas.

[BCTheEntity]

@Orion

This is a cool idea. I'd probably change the material to bronze, to fit the theme, but the concept is great, and I'll likely incorporate it shortly.

@Kafka Komedy I'd have proposed that she's well aware of how high her stamina consumption could be even with a stamina-boosting ET, and so deliberately limits herself to subtle Lapi manipulation of the sort mentioned in the character sheet thus far. Sure, she could go full Super Magnet and have half the soldiers in a small army stab themselves through the eye with their own swords, but what a waste of energy when there are plenty more to kill after that. That said, I might well limit her first ET in a more specific manner... is it incongruous to propose that dwarves have more natural stamina than most other races, even though most won't benefit from it due to most dwarves not being casters? I know I said something similar about dragons when building up Sardiel in the previous game, and the retro-justification for that could be that dragons, being legendary beasts with presumably-miraculous powers, might have impossibly high stamina and so an extremely large pool to draw magic from; such a strong ability in dwarves seems mildly excessive to me. Just the strength would do there, really.

[Kafka Komedy]

@BCTheEntity Yeah, I think it doesn't make a whole lot of sense if Dwarves have lots of stamina if they don't cast magic, just the strength is good. Just be aware that, since she's technically casting three spells at once to use her gun, if I read that right, that'll be a higher stamina action than just casting a spell regularly.