[OOC] Dawn Beyond Tomorrow: A Magitech distant postapocalyptic action-adventure RP

[NeverEnding]

@VitaVitaARI envisioned the Owl Folk as eschewing some of the more advanced tech due to their connection with nature. They prefer more down to earth things that rely less on magic and technology. But if that doesn’t fit your vision that’s fine. I’ll probably bow out.

[VitaVitaAR]

@Dead Cruiser: I'll have to see when it's a bit more fleshed out.

@NeverEnding: Unfortunately I think she won't quite fit then, sorry.

[Dead Cruiser]

Okay here's a quick sheet. I'll pretty it up once the kinks get ironed out.

Yuri, the Last Disciple

Name: Yuri Byrgenkirk

Age: 39

Gender: Male

Appearance: Yuri is a small man with a wiry build, with a tight, muscular frame and posture generally reminiscent of a weasel. His face is lined and drawn, and his hair has gone prematurely white, and so he appears much older than he truly is. One of his eyes is bright blue and alive with the spark of madness, and the other is clouded over with milky cataracts. Even when adventuring he wears spotless white robes overtop a grey jumper, giving him the impression of a doctor or priest of some description.

Personality: There isn't much left of Yuri's sanity, but what he has left he makes great use of. Despite his constant, delusional rambling, he is still quick-witted and pragmatic, traits that have kept him alive as an artifact hunter. He has the focus and determination reserved for the ranks of the mad, and when presented with a project he finds intriguing, he will pursue it for days on end without food or rest. While he is gregarious about sharing the asinine goings-on of his delusional mind, he stays tight-lipped about his past and his personal research.

Brief Backstory: Much of Yuri's early history is lost along with his mind, but it is known that he grew up in a city in the hinterlands of some great forest that was teeming with magic-infused beasts. He aspired to become a magical researcher from an early age, and became a respected name in his field. For a time, he worked directly with the Legendary Sage Hargrave the Enigmatic, but it is said that some cataclysmic accident both ended Yuri's apprenticeship and robbed him of his wits.

Since then Yuri has worked as a freelance artifact hunter, specializing in the most arcane and bizarre artifacts. While he doesn't mind selling off most of what he finds, he withholds certain artifacts in his possession viciously. Despite his insanity, he has proved surprisingly competent as a hunter, and has designed several tools himself to aid him in his adventures. He seems set on tracking down more bizarre artifacts to aid him in his private magical research, but to what end this research will hold, none can say for sure.

Skills: Even though he's lost his mind, Yuri is still an expert in magical artifacts, and has extensive knowledge of their construction and functioning. He's a capable artifact hunter, adept in exploration and combat when it is called for. He is also a capable engineer, and has designed some gadgets of his own to aid in his travels.

Abilities: Yuri has a knack for activating the most exotic magical artifacts that few others in the world could get to work. This includes the artifacts in his possession, the secrets to which he guards jealously.

Equipment: Yuri carries a variety of bizarre tools and arcane artifacts on his person, along with general-purpose hunter equipment. His primary weapon is the "Aspergillum," a chemical dispersal weapon of his own design. The Aspergillum can be loaded with a variety of chemical agents, such as incendiary fluid, liquid nitrogen, or an aerosolized toxic "quicksilver" concoction that Yuri also designed. These chemical fuels can also be loaded into grenade-sized bombs, which Yuri affectionately refers to as his "cocktails." Yuri's secondary weapon is more straightforward, an electrified mace with a spiked head, wreathed in blue sparks when activated.

The artifacts Yuri carries are among the strangest of their number seen in this world. He calls his most-used artifact the "Moon Augur," which at first glance does not appear to be an artifact as much as a small, magical creature. Its appearance is misleading, as it is an artifact that opens a portal only a few inches wide on activation. From this portal, one to a half-dozen powerful, sticky tentacles will emerge, which Yuri can direct mentally to grab things, push things away, or pull them closer to him. The portal only stays open for a few seconds at a time, after which it and the tentacles vanish. Sometimes small objects get stuck to the tentacles and get pulled through the portal; where they end up, not even Yuri knows for sure.

Yuri's other artifacts include the "Celestial Chorus," another creature-resembling artifact that creates magical projectiles that home in on enemies before exploding, and the "Heavenly Eye," an eyeball-shaped artifact that Yuri has replaced one of his own eyes with. The Heavenly Eye can be activated with great effort by Yuri to produce an arcane missile similar to those summoned by the Celestial Chorus, but cannot home in on enemies and is much more exhausting for Yuri to use.

Faction: None, freelancer. Formerly a student of Hargrave the Enigmatic.

[VitaVitaAR]

@Dead Cruiser: I can't help but notice all his equipment is fairly directly lifted from Bloodborne, and I think that should be changed up at least a bit before I look anywhere else.

Additionally, please don't involve any of the sages in a character's backstory without asking me first, as you'll need those details to know how to properly include them.

[Dead Cruiser]

@VitaVitaAR I just replayed it so that was my general idea. I could fuss with it but I find myself less committed to the character than I thought.

Might give my snakeman a go in a while.

[Rune_Alchemist]

@VitaVitaAR

Alrighty, I feel like I might have gone a bit too fantasy with the idea, but here we go.

Cremation Expert

Height: 5'5
Weight: She assures people, it does not all go straight to her thighs. (yes it does)

---

• Name:
  Meixue Yanqi
  (May-shwew Yan-cwee)
• Age:
  20
• Gender:
  Female
• Appearance:
  Hailing from the Fuso territories, Meixue is fairly easy to pick out in a crowd. Her more traditional Cheongsam garb with somewhat flashy colors and mildly ostentatious appearance is hard to not notice somewhere, save for the territories of Fuso itself, perhaps. She can often be seen snacking on her favorite fruit - apricots, or stuffing her face with less healthy foods...like pizza. The most standout feature though, perhaps is her long two-toned colored hair. It is usually tied back in a long tail that trails behind her.
• Personality:
  Initially, Meixue would come off as a fairly cute and prim and proper sort of person. She takes her job as an Undertaker quite seriously, acting as respectful as she can for the dead, no matter who they were in life. She will send all to the afterlife as peacefully as she can. This of course, is somewhat overshadowed by the fact she gets way to into the actual act of 'banishment' or 'exorcism'. This point embarrasses her to no end, and pointing out her rather rowdy and unladylike demeanor will get you on the receiving end of one of her 'exorcisms'
• Brief Backstory:
  Meixue was born in Fuso, a land once upon a time plagued by restless sleepers and specters of the past that at times, refused to stay sleeping when one passed for whatever reason. As such, the Undertakers were formed to bring peace to the restless souls who could not pass on, and ensure that those who were already sleeping did not wake once more. Of course, the land is much less dangerous today though undead still plague the territories.
  
  Meixue herself, was born twenty years ago to parents who were in the undertaker business themselves, and grew up learning all manner of methods, rites, and prayers to send those who should have passed, back into the afterlife. It was when she was about fourteen years old, whens she was helping her parents perform a service for some lost souls did she herself, start seriously on the path of the burial agency on her own.
  
  She met a kid around her age this day, the two quickly hitting it off. She didn't know it at the time, but he wasn't a human. A child that had long since passed. Some events happened and she had to personally send his spirit on herself. She doesn't like speaking about it, often becoming quite melancholic and evading the subject - but she has resolved to never let another situation like that happen again.
  
  After some time of distinguished service within the Burial agency, and a recommendation from her parents, she became tasked with dealing with the more
• Skills:
  Meixue as one might expect, is a fairly adept martial artist. Using both raw power and acrobatics as needed to dispatch foes and deal with the undead. She is quite literally, capable of punching ghosts with her abilities. Aside from her martial skills, Mexiue is well educated in burial rites, ceremony, etiquette and dealing with all manner of the dead. A fairly skilled masseuse, too.
• Abilities:
  Aside from her impressive physical and acrobatic abilities, Meixue does in fact, possess a degree of 'Supernatural' aptitude, thanks to either as a result of her birth or simply thanks to some trick of the cataclysm making those in her family naturally disposed to such things. It however, does not particularly manifest any notable skill aside from simply because able to directly interact with spirits, be they physical or incorporeal.
  Vermilion Wind Fist
  Focusing on agility and power, Meixue can manipulate the flow of energy within the living, spirits, and the dead - which is how she mainly interacts and performs her special brand of exorcisms. She also uses this to manipulate the flow of energy within her own body, achieving physical feats of agility and strength that could be considered beyond normal human limits, and well, adding some fiery flare to her punches or moving about as though she was the wind itself. That is to say, she moves fast and has a degree of ability to generate fire with her punches, usually on impact.
  
  While it might seem brutal outwardly, it is in fact, a highly trained technique for sending spirits directly to the afterlife. It is not just 'blasting them into the afterlife through sheer force'.
• Equipment:
  N/A
• Faction:
  Burial Agency

[VitaVitaAR]

@Rune_Alchemist: Accepted.

[Dead Cruiser]

Okay here's snakeman.

Nadre the Serpent

Name: Nadre, of Clan Blackfang

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Appearance: Being snake-kin beastfolk, Nadre possesses a blend of humanoid and serpentine characteristics. His yellow eyes' pupils are vertical slits, his mouth is filled with fangs, barbed predator's teeth, and a long, sensitive tongue. Nadre keeps all of the hair on his body shaved or waxed, his build is lanky but muscular, with dark skin and patches of black scales along his limbs, back, and belly. A short, black-scaled tail juts out just behind his rump, but typically stays tucked in his clothes. Knowing how mistrustful humans are of beastfolk, particularly the snake-kin, Nadre usually dresses in public in loose-flowing dark robes, including a hood and mask that cover his face.

Personality: Among those he is unfamiliar with, which is essentially anyone outside of his extended family, Nadre comes across as a stoic, humorless individual, with all of the unflinching pragmatism, predatory cunning, and wild-born brutality that the snake-kin are renowned and loathed for. Privately, Nadre is a voice of reason among his kin, open-minded and full of curiosity about the world outside his forest home. He loves his family dearly and would go to great lengths to ensure their protection. Nadre is also deeply spiritual, and is greatly reverent of his family's ancestor spirits.

Brief Backstory: Nadre, like most of the snake-kin beastfolk, was born and grew up in the Black Forest, a forbidden expanse of untamed wilderness at the outskirts of Fuso territory. Terrible creatures lurk within the Black Forest, and Nadre is one of them. He was brought up as a member of the Blackfang Clan, monk-like snake-kin who were trained from a young age to be the defenders of the Black Forest and their kinfolk within it. He and his brethren would hunt down and kill any interlopers into their territory, typically foolhardy artifact hunters, in order to keep their kin safe from persecution, and preserve the sanctity of their people's sacred artifacts.

For most of his life, Nadre was content with his role, keeping his family and their limbless kin safe from dangerous outsiders. However, the Black Forest has begun to face a new threat that Clan Blackfang are unprepared for: the dead have begun to rise within the Black Forest, including the bodies of scores of intruders that have trespassed over many years. None of the shamans or priests among their people could explain the phenomenon, and the crisis has resulted in many of Nadre's kin being injured or killed, despite their defenders' best efforts.

Determined to solve this problem, he has set out on his own (mostly) to either find the source of the sudden rise of the dead in his home, or to find some way of stopping it. He was entrusted with his clan's most sacred artifact for this mission, and has journeyed to Fuso to find out what can be done to stop the endless tide of the undead.

Skills: Nadre was trained as a killer from a young age, and can track and hunt down any warm-blooded animal with ease. An expert in the arts of stealth and subterfuge, Nadre prefers to hunt from the shadows and strike when his enemy least expects him. A skilled ambush-predator, Nadre has been known to set up intricate traps and diversions to confuse and terrify his foes before he silences them with his blades. Additionally, he is a master poisoner, able to devise toxins for a variety of purposes from both his own and his kin's venom, as well as toxic foliage and other animals.

Abilities: As one of the snake-kin, Nadre has many inborn abilities associated with snakes. Like all snakes, he is cold-blooded, making him difficult to track. His senses are different from that of a human, as he can not only hear, but also sense vibrations in the world around him, which gives him a preternatural sense of his surroundings. He typically communicates with his kinfolk through complex pheromone signals, which allow them to communicate in complete silence. He also can sense heat sources in his environment with the thermal sensory pits hidden in his nose, allowing him to track prey in complete darkness. Since his nose is given over to his thermal sense, Nadre can taste the air with his forked tongue, and can detect a variety of subtle traces and chemicals with it even hours after the source has dissipated. Nadre's fangs are functional and venomous, with a small doses able to induce crippling pain, and large doses capable of causing cardiac arrest.

Nadre has also trained himself to wield some of the spiritual magics of his people. With concentration, he can turn any of his bodily fluids to caustic poison, ensuring he is never without a source of poison for his blades. Given enough time and great effort, he can also summon his people's patron spirit, a gigantic snake capable of swallowing a man whole in an instant. However, the summoning is difficult and does not last long.

Equipment: Concealed in Nadre's robes are a variety of blades, darts, and needles, as which serve as delivery systems for the wide variety of different hand-made poisons Nadre also carries on him, concealed. He carries many poisons for different purposes, including deadly poison, paralytic poison, hallucinogenic poison, and poison that makes one lose control of their bowels, among several others. He also carries such tools as smoke bombs, rope, climbing pitons, and antidotes to some of his own poisons.

Nadre's most treasured possession is the artifact entrusted to him by his Clan for the duration of his mission: an ancient and deeply cursed blade. Nadre typically keeps it sheathed and tied to his back, but will wield it in dire emergencies. The sword is a two-handed, single-edged weapon called Bloody Shadow: Malakir, and its cursed blade inflicts a magical hex on whoever is cut by it. Wounds inflicted by Malakir do not clot, close, or heal unless by magic, making even a small cut from it a risk of exsanguination. However, the blade is hungry and curses even the wielder, as Malakir cannot be sheathed after being unsheathed unless it has tasted blood.

While not "equipment" per say, Nadre also typically carries tucked in his clothes several of his limbless "lesser kin," semi-intelligent venomous snakes. He can communicate with his diminutive partners using pheromones, and they are willing to assist him in his mission in exchange for food.

Faction: None, he only claims allegiance to his family in the Black Forest.

[Searat]

Apologies.
Will write up a proper backstory for Leo when I can.

[VitaVitaAR]

@Dead Cruiser: Sorry, this doesn't quite fall in line with what I had in mind for the beastfolk. Appearances are meant to be more humanlike then that.

[Searat]

Edited the background. Hope it's to your liking and please do notify me if there are still concerns to the character.

[Dead Cruiser]

@VitaVitaAR Can you describe what a snake person is supposed to look like then, so I don't have to guess at what you want? I'm fine with changing it as long as I can keep his abilities.

[VitaVitaAR]

@Dead Cruiser: Well, I thought my description was relatively clear but if it's not I'm happy to try and clear things up.

Rather then a humanoid snake creature, it would more be a human with some snake features. Fangs, a forked tongue, some scales, but overall more of a human appearance. I'm not decided if snake people would have legs or a tail actually, but regardless beastfolk are more human with some animal traits then animal in the shape of a human.

[Dead Cruiser]

@VitaVitaAR That's more or less what I intended to describe. He's just a guy whose face is all snake-ified. But I can just tweak it if that's the sticking point.

Edit: there, tweaked, have another look.

[KoL]

Oh, well, this took me less time than I though, so here it's:

Bird of Paradise

---

HEIGHT 156cm WEIGTH --- AGE --- GENDER Female

---

_NAME

Aerynne

_DESCRIPTION

A traveling scholar with a presence as fleeting as a midsummer breeze.

Aerynne has a smallish, slender build—one could almost describe her as petite—befitting her avian characteristics. Said avian characteristics are primarily evident in the bits of plumage sprinkled around her silhouette—most noticeably her fluffy feather-like hair. Her sharp gaze isn't the only evidence of her raptor heritage but also of her wits.

Aerynne's light clothing matches her amiable disposition as well as her sagely background.

As an only child, daughter of a couple of relic hunters who took her on trips even before she was "out of the shell", it was only natural that Aerynne would follow her parents' footsteps. It was the only life she knew, after all, and one she couldn't help but love.

In fact, the only things Aerynne might like more than relic hunting are her family, books, and freshly baked bread.

"I—I swear I'm not weak to it because I'm a bird person, ok!?"

Aerynne...moments before stuffing her face

She grew burrowed in a mountain of books, dreaming of knights and princesses, wisemen and realms of fantasy. Above all, she had a passion for history and relics of the past, as well as the smarts to figure out how they worked even before going out to study at a renowned academy.

Once she concluded her initial training, Aerynne came into possession of a powerful relic 「Phantasmal Fang: Carnwennan」 a staff which's in actuality an advanced magical computer controlled by a basic AI. It's capable of assisting and speeding up all kinds of data processing, including the calculations necessary to deploy advanced magical spells.

During her adventuring career, Aerynne received a proposal from many organizations—including, but not limited to, a constant courtship from Alhein research division—but she has yet to return a positive answer to any of them. However, she has to admit that having a salary beats having to eat dry bread and sleep on a bed of rocks more often than not.

The thing is that, even with all the hardships, it's hard for Aerynne to give up the freedom of being an independent Relic Hunter. Though, she does dream of being a teacher for small children someday, so she might consider it when she's ready to build her own nest.

_SKILLS

As an independent Hunter, Aerynne picked up several small skills in her life of adventure, at least enough to be able to fend for herself in the wild and ancient ruins. However, she's most notable when it comes to her perception acuity, especially when it comes to her sight and hearing. Thanks to her soft feathers she's very good at reading the direction and flow of even the faintest breeze.

Furthermore, she's a very nice person who makes friends fast as she forgets enemies, as well as a knowledgeable scholar who absolutely adores taking care of children.

_ABILITIES

Aerynne is an accomplished mage specialized in telekinesis and light-based magic like illusions, etc. She's quite adept at creative problem solving using her magical gifts. However, she isn't afraid of appealing to brute force when a hammer is the best tool for the job.

Probably what's distinguishes Aerynnethe most is that she's capable of deploying healing and enhancement to bolster others', a talent that isn't all that common among spellcasters of any kind.

_EQUIPMENT

Aerynne's most notable possession is a Relic named 「Phantasmal Fang: Carnwennan」, a hyper-advanced, staff-like computing device, controlled by a basic AI.

Carnwennan assists in channeling and conversion of magical energy, as well as the calculations necessary for spellcasting, amplifying Aerynne's magical capacity many times over. It can also interface with other mechanical and electronic devices, and even work like a battery to power them up, as expected of such an advanced portable terminal. Speaking of which, Carnwennan does work as a comms terminal, providing utilities like instantaneous translation and telepathy.

Carnwennan is capable of taking three different forms, the basic staff-like device, a dagger/shortsword-like weapon form, and a simple pendant-like gem, used for storage purposes.

Last—but not least—while many would only see a Relic like Carnwennan as an invaluable tool, for Aerynne, it's her most trusted and beloved companion. Despite the ups and downs of the Relic hunting life, it's always there to help her get through the day and thus, Aerynne does the best she can to take good care of it in return.

_FACTION

None/Independent.

[VitaVitaAR]

@Dead Cruiser: You still went too far with the animal traits, he'd have a pretty normal face and hair. Fangs and some scales are fine, forked tongue is fine. Unhinging jaw not so much.

Additionally you mention him disposing of bodies by swallowing them? Sorry, while this RP can easily get pretty dark I would prefer not to have cannibalism in the main cast.

@KoL: Accepted.

[Dead Cruiser]

@VitaVitaAR Okay I'll go back for another pass. Have you read the whole CS yet? I'd like to just fix everything in one shot instead of going back and forth like this.

[Bartimaeus]

@KoL I absolutely love your character art<3

[KoL]

@KoL I absolutely love your character art<3

@Bartimaeus

Thanks. It's supposed to be an Arknights inspired OC, I found while searching the dark corners of the internet. I thought this story would be a nice fit for such a concept.

[VitaVitaAR]

@Dead Cruiser: I'm still a little groggy from waking up late, but something else that immediately stood out to me was the mention of killing people from the Burial Agency.

They'd absolutely respond to that in force if they had even the slightest idea what was occurring and they're not a group you want as your enemies.

Also, I should have mentioned this but I struggled to fit it into the OP and forgot, but artifacts actually have a specific name system. It consists of "Title: Name", giving us things like Killing Edge: Muramasa or First Light in the Sky: Superbia.