For centuries Fuyuki City has hosted the Grail War, a tourney in which mages from all over the world participate, calling forth heroic spirits of the past to fight alongside them in hopes that after claiming victory... their wish will come true. The omnipotent wish-granting device has reappeared, summoning seven masters and seven servants in its wake.
The year is 1990, and a rather recent Volcanic Eruption has changed Japan as we know it. Dimming the historical "land of the rising sun" and causing temperatures there to drop, creating storms, producing frosts and floods, and generally darkening the landscape. This extreme weather has decimated harvests as well, leading to hunger, poverty, and displacement.
In the midst of all this, you have been called upon by the universe itself to fight. A deep desire within you, whether you are aware of it or not, has connected you to the grail like a moth drawn to the flame. The darkened sky is merely a foretelling of the tragedies to come and let us not forget the color we see when our eyes are closed. In the absence of light. Perhaps even in death? Eigengrau... the same color as that volcanic ash which has laid waste to the country.
General Rules
First and foremost the goal of this roleplay is to have fun! It is really important to know that we are not writing to win this war, that is pointless. Our focus is on the interaction between characters because who wouldn't want to see Cú Chulainn argue with Francis Drake?
We also have a focus on writing! Given that this isn't as fast-paced as something like discord, try and put a little effort into what you write. I'm not asking for a graphic novel, but a paragraph or three would be nice. There is also something called "writing too much" which we should be wary of! Sometimes fluff is not a good thing. Find a nice balance : )
I will be the first to admit I am not a Nasuverse prodigy. I do not know every little detail about the universe and I never intend too, because I am not Nasu. If you see something you do not like, feel free to mention it respectively! I can only try my best when it comes to the approval process, I am bound to miss stuff.
It is important to note that in a Combat Roleplay, all participants should come out a "winner". You can gain more from defeat than victory. Do not auto-hit or auto-dodge, that is not what this server is about. With a heavy focus on interactions, and a war setting, people are bound to die and 13 of us are going to lose. Respect one another and bounce off of each other in order to create the best scene possible. People are reading ya know!
Character Creation Rules
Do not make servants that were born after 1905. Anyone who is not dead is also inapplicable. Don't even try lost best stuff.
No pure divine spirits!
Please do not try and pull a Touko with your master. Mages can be really interesting WITHOUT having ninety different powers and a million Mystic Codes. Of course, you can make a powerful master, but be original and reasonable when doing so.
I am allowing canon servants but some are obviously going to be banned. Karna, Gilgamesh, etc. Definitely, most of the go-to's are going to be unsuitable. It's advocated that you make your own custom servant but not required if you'd prefer a canon one!
This is perhaps the most IMPORTANT rule for character creation, the nasu-way of writing might as well be its own branch of English. Using a bunch of scientific terminologies and ancient words, fluff after fluff leaves the reader in a dazed and confused state... of course this is allowed, but if you are going to do that, please add a paragraph blatantly explaining how your power works in the most watered down way possible. I should not have to read five wikipedia articles and get access to the Akashic Records to understand what it is you've written.
Name: Title(s): Appearance: Gender: Age: Alignment: Objective for the Grail: Command Seal:
Personality:
Bio: (Information about their family history as well as how they were raised, etc. If they are from an influential or old family, and therefore have strong magecraft, I should be able to read about that history here!
Magic Circuit Switch: (What activates your magic circuit. For example, Tohsaka Rin activates hers through the sound of stabbing herself in her heart.) Number of Magic Circuits: Number of circuits. Ranked A-E. Quality of Magic Circuits: Amount of magical energy one circuit can safely hold. Ranked A-E.
Elemental Affinity: (Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Ether.) Magecraft: (Include all schools of magecraft you know, including General Magecraft(Things students at Clocktower would know). We assume they do not know the basics unless the basics are included as an example.) Crest: (Rough age of the crest, thus family. The magecraft within the crest is assumed to be in your magecraft section.)
Weapon: (Mystic codes, other weapons, etc. Any magus should have a few mystic codes, it could be something as complex and extreme as the Volumen Hydrargyrum to something as simple as a magecraft-enhancing amulet.)
Name: Class: Appearance: Please have an actual picture. Personality:
Stats: Strength: E-A(Modifiers are caused by skills and should be covered in those skills) Endurance: E-A Agility: E-A Mana: E-A Luck: E-A
Class Skills: Personal Skills: Noble Phantasm(s): Name: Rank: (Any Noble Phantasm with a rank higher than A will be highly scrutinized) Type: (Anti-Unit, Anti-Army, Anti-Fortress) Effects:
Alignment: Changes: (This section is purely for things such as genderbending. If you make a male historical or mythological figure female, I want an explanation for it)
Assassin app. Not a Pseudo-Servant, I just thought the FC was both funny and fitting. I'll change the FC if Kirei actually exists.
EDIT: Clarified the intent of Torture Techniques in relation to the rest of his kit.
True Name: Peter Stumpp
Title(s): The Werewolf of Bedburg
Class: Assassin
Gender: Male (Wolf)
Birth and Death Dates: 1535 - 1585 A.D.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Personality: A demon of gluttony who wishes to eat to his heart's content. He feasts not only on flesh, but on the negative emotions of his prey. To the unfortunate souls who would encounter Peter, he would draw out their pain and fear with tooth, claw, and the edge of his knife. For those who already harbor such dark emotions, Peter would act as a tempter of sorts, allowing them to further succumb to their corruption before feasting on them as well. He is a manifestation of evil incarnate, a monster who seeks only to consume.
While Peter desires the Grail for a multitude of reasons, his primary reason for participating is to continue on his path of bloodshed and indulgence that he walked in life. The Holy Grail War in particular is a suitable place for the sort of darkness he craves to manifest, from the heroes whose tales are littered with tragedy to the desperate magi who command them. How could Peter say no to such a buffet?
Bio: The infamous serial killer of Bedburg known to transform as a werewolf, stalking and murdering his victims before feasting on their remains, the man known as Peter Stumpp is in truth a magus by the name of Abal Griswold, a genius of the dark arts who had been practicing since he was merely a boy. He had sought even the darkest forms of depravity as a means of painting his inner self with negative emotions in order to further perfect his cursing arts. This path had lead him to forming a pact with the Devil, asking for a single wish, one held deep within his darkened heart.
Abal simply wished to feast on others.
It was through this pact that Abal was able to draw upon the inner darkness within him, becoming the infamous “werewolf” of legend, a physical manifestation of the darkness held within him. He stalked the town of Bedburg for twenty-five years, hiding under the alias of Peter, a well-mannered farmer and a pillar of his community. When he was finally caught, the church chose to make an example of him not because of his overt nature as a monster, but because he was Protestant. He had announced his crimes proudly as he was put to the stands, indulging in the torture inflicted upon him in his final moments and dying with a mocking smile on his face. Appearance: Peter seems to be missing his left hand. Despite this, his killing ability has not been inhibited one bit. This nature seems to be apparent even when Peter activates his Noble Phantasm despite the nature of his transformation. It could be considered to be something of a curse.
Equipment: Despite sporting the fangs and claws of a beast, Peter carries a nice knife used for rituals and murdering. He also has a bag of sharpened implements made for a similar purpose. Strength: D++
Endurance: D++
Agility: A++
Mana: C
Luck: E Class Skills Presence Concealment: A- The capacity to hide one's presence as a Servant. Suitable for stalking one's prey. A natural predator who stalks the night to sate its hunger, it is nearly impossible to detect Peter even when under the effects of his Noble Phantasm. However, his insatiable hunger makes it difficult for him to mask his hostile intent fully. Much like prey instinctively run from their predators, lesser beings would find themselves filled with dread in his very presence. Personal Skills Consumption (Sin): -- The core of Peter's existence, the "evil" that exists within him. To consume all there is to his heart's content, and to be consumed by his own desires. An attribute that represents Peter's very being, and serves as the basis of his cannibalistic tendencies, his beast-like instincts, and his monstrous speed. Going beyond consuming the flesh of others, Peter has obtained an insatiable appetite for those negative emotions of his victims. Fear, suffering, lust, anger, and anguish; Peter finds sustenance in all these things as he is at his very core a vile beast who consumes the evil that others possess, becoming something greater in the process. It is a grudge (gluttony) within him that accumulates the grudges (sins) of others, strengthening his foundation further.
Cruel Beast's Logic: B A combat-focused way of thinking possessed by one who has taken the shape of both a man and a beast. However, rather than being a skill that is attained when one transforms into a beast, it is instead the mental acuity of one who already had possessed an inhuman mentality, sharpened further by adopting a bestial form. Instead of killing swiftly, one's mental processes are accelerated for the sake of finding the weak points of others. In Peter's case, this also extends to finding points of attack that would cause the most suffering against his intended target.
Torture Techniques: B+ The techniques possessed by one who has an outstanding talent in inflicting suffering. When utilizing torture implements as weapons, additional mental damage is inflicted equivalent to the amount of physical damage dealt. As one who has both dealt and received the most exquisite forms of torture in his time, Peter considers himself a savant of suffering, allowing negativity to fester within his foes through the pain he inflicts so that he may later feed on them. Even one's bare hands, teeth, and claws can be utilized as a tool for torture. Plus modifiers are applied due to synergy with Cruel Beast’s Logic.
Black Magic: C+ Knowledge and utilization of the Dark Arts, encompassing schools of magecraft such as witchcraft and the cursing arts. Peter possesses unique talents in both these fields, utilizing the knowledge of his inner self to fuel his dark magic further. Repurposing his body, including those he consumes, is a matter of course, and he is capable of tapping into his inner beast to enhance his physical capabilities temporarily. Curses are also within Peter's specialty, seen to him as another form of inflicting suffering on his victims. It could be said that the act of stalking and killing his prey could be a curse on its own, as those Peter chooses to devour are fated to die the moment he sets his sights on them. Plus modifiers are applied to utilizing his own cursed existence as a catalyst. Noble Phantasm True Name: The Devil's Apostle Title: Evil Incarnate Moonlight Maddening Rank: C Type: Anti-Unit (Self) Range: 0 Maximum Number of Targets: 1
The belt given to Peter by Satan through a pact, which was said to have turned Peter into the likeness of a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkled like fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharp and cruel teeth, a huge body, and mighty paws. In other words, a belt that would transform the wearer into a mighty werewolf of myth and legend. However, the belt’s true function and its usage by Peter is of a far more sinister origin. The belt is a superior Mystic Code, something similar to Mystic Codes made in the Age of Gods that draws what is kept within the wearer, and projects it outward. Rather than a belt that forces out the wearer’s true form, it is instead a focus that allows the wearer to project their inner self outward, appearing as what their inner self truly is.
When the belt is worn by Peter, the evil that is held within him is brought to the forefront, his inner beast taking the form of a black mass in the shape of a monstrous wolf, and the grudges he has accumulated serving as his skin. It is Consumption personified, a cruel predator that stalks the night, possessing physical power and instincts similar to that of the werewolf, becoming a superior life form that towers over other humans. In this form, Peter obtains combat abilities that rival even the three Knight Classes, receiving two plus modifiers to his STR, END, and AGI, as well as his very attacks possessing the Anti-Human attribute. This form can further be strengthened by consuming negative emotions from his foes, potentially growing into a true Monstrous Beast from the depths of Hell if fed enough. Even Peter’s aptitude for the dark arts is repurposed, the curses he inflicts on others serving as his fangs and claws. While in this form, his Black Magic skill is sealed as his attacks instead inflict a curse that represents his very existence, a “curse of the werewolf.” Those who are afflicted would suffer from a ceaseless hunger, both for acts of depravity and in a more literal sense. In other words, the desire for the flesh of their kin.
Transformation is near instantaneous, requiring only the donning or the doffing of the belt, and it is particularly hard to take off by third parties due to Peter's almost amorphous nature when it is on. It should be noted that while Peter is not a true member of the Phantasmal Species, he still carries a weakness against sacraments of the Church as his form is that of evil made manifest, a dark blessing granted by the Devil. Furthermore, while Peter becomes something of a monster when the belt is worn, he is incapable of becoming a Demonic Beast at the level of ■■■■■■■■ outside of the Berserker class. It should also be noted that the belt itself has been painted by Peter’s own self, and its effects do not work on others as well.
@Cu Chulainn Hey! So I really LOVE the choice you made. I think it is very creative and I've never seen him app'd before! Unfortunately, Kirei would exist in the universe, though he'd have no part in the roleplay. Changing the picture would probably be for the best, just to avoid confusion. I have to admit before I read anything I was SO scared I was about to read someone submitting him as a servant...
The only thing that concerns me is the double plus modifiers when his NP is activated, which I do understand to an extent, and considering that is his only Noble Phantasm, I think it should be fine. Just know that this roleplay won't take numbers TOO TOO seriously. They are more so a guide to tell us how good the servant is at something, an explanation for specific things they can and cannot do, not necessarily a law.
That being said, some type of recovery from the NP would be nice and feel more "fair" or perhaps if he does not feed off of enough negative emotions, he does not get the second +? I'm open to discussion, but for the most part this app is great. I love it.
@Cu Chulainn Hey! So I really LOVE the choice you made. I think it is very creative and I've never seen him app'd before! Unfortunately, Kirei would exist in the universe, though he'd have no part in the roleplay. Changing the picture would probably be for the best, just to avoid confusion. I have to admit before I read anything I was SO scared I was about to read someone submitting him as a servant...
The only thing that concerns me is the double plus modifiers when his NP is activated, which I do understand to an extent, and considering that is his only Noble Phantasm, I think it should be fine. Just know that this roleplay won't take numbers TOO TOO seriously. They are more so a guide to tell us how good the servant is at something, an explanation for specific things they can and cannot do, not necessarily a law.
That being said, some type of recovery from the NP would be nice and feel more "fair" or perhaps if he does not feed off of enough negative emotions, he does not get the second +? I'm open to discussion, but for the most part this app is great. I love it.
I get the concern, although I do feel the recovery is implied with the cost of activating a Noble Phantasm multiple times in a fight. While it wouldn't be at the cost of a true "final attack/transformation" Noble Phantasm, switching between the two forms constantly in combat would add up quite a bit in costs. There's also the action economy of donning and doffing the belt, which creates a minute but significant window of vulnerability. This, alongside his general playstyle, is why I feel the function of his transformation already comes with enough tradeoffs.
I suppose I should clarify his playstyle a bit, as well as the rationale behind the double modifiers. Stumpp's core gameplay loop goes against the grain of your usual Assassin. Rather than focusing on Master-killing and reconnaissance, he possesses a kit that mixes preparation and attrition fighting. Outside of his Noble Phantasm, he's essentially a worse Caster with a skillset that encourages staying in a fight.
The Noble Phantasm is meant to be an equalizer in that sense. The intent of the transformation is to let him fight in the same way as Knight-class Servants. This is achieved through physical modification, and a lot of that legwork comes from the modifiers. In this regard, he is a "monster" in a world of heroes, but even then his boosts are modest compared to actual monster transformations who walk into the room with A++ STR. Of course, he still has the chassis of an Assassin who lacks a martial legend, so he "balances out" vs the standard Knight-class Servant by lacking martial feats.
Most importantly, Stumpp's trump card is fighting at the baseline Knight-classes fight at. He's already fighting at a disadvantage against a Saber who could fight at his baseline (or potentially higher) without having to use a Noble Phantasm while still possessing a trump card of their own. His win condition relies on attrition so he could loop his skills properly, and adding a recovery cost to his transformation plays heavily against that.
I might try nabbing that Berserker spot if you don't mind.
Is an Einzbern on the menu in terms of master choice? Either one of them or a Matou appeal the most to me. As for Servant, I'll probably either app Magni or Jack the Ripper, depending on whether or not I wanna do canon shit.
Should also note I'm more than happy to pair up with someone else as opposed to playing both master and servant. Prefer it, even.
@Cu Chulainn Ahh! Ohhh! I see. This is my bad then, for misreading. Approved! Welcome aboard Assassin ; ) You can go ahead and post your OC in the characters tab. I will be making a roster once more people are done.
I might try nabbing that Berserker spot if you don't mind.
Is an Einzbern on the menu in terms of master choice? Either one of them or a Matou appeal the most to me. As for Servant, I'll probably either app Magni or Jack the Ripper, depending on whether or not I wanna do canon shit.
Should also note I'm more than happy to pair up with someone else as opposed to playing both master and servant. Prefer it, even.
It is yours! Absolutely you can play an Einzbern or Matou (so long as they aren't carbon copies).
That sounds cool! I'm glad you've taken an interest. A lot of people have expressed wanting to play only one character, so don't worry you aren't alone. The more people who apply, the more likely this will be possible!
Name: Iris Macinban Title(s): Deputy Macinban, Retina of the Rail Gender: Female Age: 26 Alignment: Lawful Evil Objective for the Grail: "A Rainbow-Ranked Mystic Eye. That is all I desire."
Command Seal: A simple sphere, tapering off on the side to give an almost crescent moon shape. Two smaller spheres reside within, the larger of the two overlapping the primary sphere. The smallest is the only sphere that doesn't have a break in it. with the massive quantity of tattoos covering her entire body, it is a bit difficult to pinpoint where her Command Seals are located - and with her Tattoo Magecraft, she is more than capable of moving the physical location of her Command Seals on her body.
Appearance: Iris stands at 5'10 and weighs 145 lbs. Her hair is a muted brown, cut short to prevent it from getting in the way during combat. Finding bare flesh that isn't covered in tattoos is difficult, and if you are particularly attentive, one may see the designs slowly shift and move across her body.
Her time on the Rail Zeppelin and traveling around Europe seems to have hardened her somewhat to the cool climate of Japan, as she sticks to long sleeve shirts rather than jackets. Formal wear is her preferred style of clothes, but in combat, she sticks to outfits that reveal her skin - this allows her to more easily release her familiars.
Personality: Iris is cheeky and manipulative, quick to push others into positions that benefit her. Loyalty, tradition, honor - none of it has any meaning if it can't be used for her own benefit. She would much rather force or trick someone else into doing the working or fighting for her, only to swoop in after the fact to snatch up the rewards. Because of this and her approach to magecraft, her main combat style is to chip away, use underhanded tricks, and strike when someone least expects it.
Most of Iris' personality stems from her hangup on her own Magic Circuits. Iris has a very traditional view of what a Mage is, and what defines a successful magus: If someone is born with good circuits, they will always be a better magus than someone born with worse circuits. And because she was born to a young family, Iris would never be a good Mage. If she was lucky, her grandchild might be decent - all she'd ever achieve was a small stepping stone in her family's history, inevitably forgotten.
But the Rail Zeppelin, with its ability to transfer Mystic Eyes from one person to another, shined like a beacon of hope to Iris. Even if she couldn't have perfect circuits, she'd at least be able to have something that few other Magi could aspire to possess. This idea led to her obsession with Mystic Eyes - both acquiring them, as well as hoarding them.
Greed and materialism are what drive Iris to action. If you can't attach a price tag to something, then there isn't really that much point in working for it is there? Reaching the Root is meaningless to Iris, as doing so would mean leaving behind everything that a Magi family has worked to gain and hoard over dozens or even hundreds of generations. This outlook is what separates her from the average Mage - while most Mages merely covet wealth in order to progress their research, Iris wishes to have it for the sake of holding onto that wealth and to give her a sense of fulfillment. While Magic Circuits can only be built generationally, a massive amount of Wealth can be generated over an incredibly brief period of time, given the proper conditions.
On most topics she seems to just be along for the ride, throwing out generic responses or whatever she believes will make someone feel a connection to her. Being respected is almost as useful as being feared in the world of magecraft, so Iris is careful to avoid burning bridges unless absolutely necessary. But when frustrated or pushed, she will quickly snap back, her hostile and abrasive nature boiling to the surface.
Iris struggles to build close bonds with those around her - interacting so much with Mages has led her to assume the worst in anyone she meets, and her line of work had seriously crippled her empathy. She isn't a sadist that gets pleasure out of seeing people hurt - she just couldn't be bothered to care. "Why would it matter if someone I don't know gets hurt?" is all she would say.
It is because of this apathetic nature that she is more than happy to accept surrenders or alliances - even if she is aware that an alliance in a Grail War (or in life) is short-lived, the end result will be a single opponent rather than six - much better odds. Of course, if someone could convince her to join their side with something more valuable to her than the grail, they would gain a powerful and 'loyal' ally.
As far as Servants are concerned, Iris is incredibly laissez-faire in their treatment - she rarely gives orders or limits her Servant's actions, only stepping in when they blatantly put her at risk. She views the war as a waiting game - why get into a bunch of fights and burn through her magical energy, when you can just let them kill each other? But just because she is not willing to crack the whip does not mean she is the submissive one in the relationship - she is perfectly happy to waste Command Seals forcing her Servant to obey her rare few requests, and will only restrain herself when brought to her last one. Iris has a fondness for younger Servants and Lilies, and she will reveal a softer and more maternal side to those that remind her of her brother. While she would normally be restricted to very weak Servants thanks to her poor circuits, she is perfectly fine with letting her Servant consume the souls of humans to gain energy, so she functions well with those of an Evil alignment.
Iris' wish for the Grail is simple. Mystic Eyes are all that she cares for, and having a truly unique pair would make her a truly unique Mage. She would need the best Mystic Eyes possible - those of the Rainbow rank. It didn't matter what it actually did - only that it was powerful, and people respected her for having them.
Bio: The Macinban family is a very recent family, barely a century old at this point. Their founder was a tattooed freak, who learned of magecraft from the man that ran the carnival that he worked for. The Macinbans had since laid their roots down in Ireland, hoping to be as close to the Clock Tower as possible while still avoiding the financial costs that came with living in London. The progress they've made in their short existence is notable, but trying to reach the Root by scribbling on your skin is absurd, to the point that the Macinban are laughingstocks even amongst the new families.
Iris is from the fourth generation of her family, and while her youth was a lot less rigid compared to most older families, she still spent most of her time as a child either studying magecraft, or strapped to a chair as a needle prints new designs on her skin. Despite this, she was a relatively happy child, and the birth of her younger brother gave her someone who she felt that she could confide in and protect.
When Iris turned 16, her family had scraped together enough funds to send her to the Clock Tower to study. It was here that Iris was finally exposed to the hazing and discrimination that newer families face - hypnotism that made her act out in classes, worse marks on her papers, and even theft of her precious few mystic codes. Iris would spend 4 months in the Clock Tower before eventually leaving.
Her brief but formative time at the Clock Tower made her realize that no matter how hard she tried or worked, she would never accomplish the goal of her family. At best, she might marry a better mage, produce an heir with better circuits than her, and pray that dozens of generations later, someone will finally succeed in reaching the Root - or at the very least, adjust their Magecraft to a more likely path.
Iris did not want to waste her life researching and placating the upper echelons of the magic world, only to risk not even accomplishing her family's goal. She had already lost her chance to become a skilled mage - no matter how hard she trained or studied, she would not be able to safely acquire more Magic Circuits. The only way to be a potent mage without proper circuits is by being born with a special ability - a psychic power, a unique bloodline.
A Mystic Eye.
Upon learning of the Rail Zeppelin four months into her study at the Clock Tower, Iris immediately dropped out, using the funds that should have gone towards her tuition instead to gain a position on the train. After a year of hard labor as a cook and waitress on the Train (and having successfully convinced one passenger to sell an eye), she was promoted to being a Deputy - someone who enforces the peace on the Rail Zeppelin, and searches for new Mystic Eyes to add to the Rail Zeppelin's stock.
She did this job for nearly a decade - searching Europe for strong Mystic Eyes, attempting to convince the holder to sell, and killing them if they refused. Her reputation as a hunter of Mystic Eyes grew to be widely known in the Association, to the point where many who crossed paths with her simply offered to sell a single eye in order to avoid being killed. She grew incredibly wealthy off of the commission she got from these eyes, which in turn she used to pay back her family and win new Mystic Eyes at auction. She believed that eventually, with enough searching, buying, selling, and killing - after she got enough money, after she got a strong enough eye, she'd eventually be a good mage.
And she'd fill that void in her life.
But every year, the options in Europe grew slimmer and slimmer. Eventually, the Deputies had to widen their search - the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.
And in 1990, after rumors of an exceptionally potent pair of Mystic Eyes of Distortion were discovered in Japan, Iris was quick to follow.
When Iris arrived in Japan, the nation was in despair - earthquakes and floods decimated the population, and you couldn't walk far without seeing the sick or dying. It was perfect - many Mystic Eyes mutated during life-and-death experiences, and Iris was sure to find at least a few potent ones before reaching her target.
But during her initial research in the area, she uncovered something that she had only heard in passing back in Europe - a great ritual constructed by three mage families and held in the city of Fuyuki, the winner of which would be granted a wish.
Reaching the Root or a True Magic was not something that Iris cared for - She knew just from hearing of the ritual that was the intention the mages had for it. A way to cheat centuries of research and reach their goal in only a single generation. But something deep in her gut pulled at her. If she could wish for anything, maybe she could skip all of this hunting and just get the Eyes she needed right away. Nothing would prove that she was a better mage than winning a war among mages.
Spending a sizable portion of her fortune on a proper catalyst, Iris made her way to Fuyuki. She was confident that she could handle the opposing Masters - she had fought mages for years.
But the Ghost Liners - the Servants. That would be an issue.
Magic Circuit Switch: The feeling of a hot needle piercing the eye. Number of Magic Circuits: D Quality of Magic Circuits: D
Elemental Affinity: Water Origin: Staining
Magecraft: Tattoo Magecraft: The art of inscribing one's own body with ink, utilizing various patterns in order to draw out the conceptual meaning behind the shapes inscribed on the user. It is based on the runic tattoos that Berserkers and Vikings were adorned with, which were designed to grant strength and courage in battle. The Magecraft could thus be described as an overspecialized mishmash of Runes and Reinforcement.
In essence, it focuses on creating spells that are permanently etched into the body, which can be activated by pouring energy into rather than reciting a Chant or using a Mystic Code. For example, the tattoo of an Eye could be activated to grant increased visual acuity, a bear could grant increased strength, or a flame might function like a lighter. The larger the tattoo, the more potent the effect - a small fire on the thumb might work like a lighter, while an entire sleeve of flames could shoot out short gouts of fire, provided they receive enough magical energy.
The main limitations of Tattoo Magecraft are the prep time involved, and the incredibly weak strength. While versatile and capable of a wide array of effects, only something large like a back tattoo would grant a supernatural edge over a normal trained person. And for their weak effects, the tattoos require quite the investment of time - even the simplest designs take dozens of minutes, while large and actually combat-applicable tattoos take up massive portions of the body, limiting the total number of tattoos and taking days to fully etch out.
With her limited magical energy and lack of training in her Magecraft, Iris almost exclusively uses Tattoo Magecraft in the creation of her Familiars - instead using her Mystic Eyes to combat others. Still, it's a fun party trick to make your tattoos dance and move around.
Familiars: Because she left the Clocktower before acquiring a proper education in Magecraft, the only aspect of General Magecraft that Iris is capable of is the creation and maintenance of Familiars. However, in conjunction with her Tattoo Magecraft, collection of Mystic Eyes, and specialization, Iris is in possession of a number of potent Familiars.
Rather than create Familiars the most traditional way, by stuffing leftover human thoughts into an animal's corpse, Iris instead uses the tattooed animals and plants on her body as a vessel. While much more fragile and weak due to not having a physical form, these familiars are also exceptionally fast and stealthy. Iris uses them for reconnaissance, seeing through their eyes and stalking her prey before eventually attacking them for their eyes.
The most notable attribute of these Familiars is their ability to be 'equipped' with Mystic Eyes from Iris' collection. While weaker at using them thanks to their limited Magical Energy, this effectively allows Iris to use over a dozen Mystic Eyes at any one time... so long as she is willing to risk losing the eyes if a familiar were to die.
Since she forms these Familiars with her Tattoo Magecraft, the Familiars that Iris creates must adhere to a 'surface' - slinking along the ground or walls like graffiti, or flittering on a piece of paper through the air. As a result of this and the ink that forms them, Water is both an impassable barrier as well as an easy method of killing them.
Crest: N/A. The Macinban family Crest was not passed to Iris due to her abandoning the research of her family Magecraft in favor of being a Spellcaster. Instead, it was given to her younger brother. Not a tremendous loss, considering the youth of the family.
Weapon: Mystic Eyes: Occasionally, a person's Magic Circuits will mutate and congregate in the area around the eyes, resulting in eyes that are capable of manipulating the world and casting spells through sight alone. These organs, Mystic Eyes, are very rare as they only manifest after extreme circumstances or the user is born with them. Mystic Eyes even come with their own Magic Circuits, allowing even a weak mage to have a hidden advantage over their opponents. Normally a person would only be able to use a single eye or two at most, but thanks to her unique application of her Magecraft, Iris is far stronger the more eyes that she has access to.
As one could expect from a Deputy of the Rail Zeppelin, Iris is in possession of a wide array of Mystic Eyes. Many of these were acquired from her own missions abroad, the occasional eye slipping into her possession or bought at the auctions that the Rail Zeppelin organizes. While she is only able to have two eyes at any time and must undergo surgery to replace them, her use of familiars in conjunction with them has led to her being a very intimidating Spell-caster to face.
While on the move, Iris keeps her Mystic Eyes in enchanted, hermetically-sealed vials - which she usually keeps in her belt pouches or pockets. While it is technically possible to implant these eyes in another being without the advanced techniques and facilities of the Rail Zeppelin, it would require some exceptional quality of the recipient - for example, the Eroding Detachment ability possessed by some Mixed-Bloods, or the Self-Modification skill.
She has brought the following eyes with her to Japan:
Binding: Nine. The most common Mystic Eyes, to the point that skilled mages are even capable of artificially reproducing them. The Mystic Eyes of Binding casts a disabling spell on anyone who looks into them, limiting their ability to move.
While one or two uses may be ignored, Iris' primary tactic is to swarm opponents with familiars containing these eyes - they will either look into them and be crippled or forced to look away and create blind spots. Either way, it allows Iris to shoot them with minimal risk. Despite the simple strategy, it is overwhelmingly effective on the unprepared.
It should be noted that the effect of these eyes on Servants is minimal at best. And even with that, the lowest ranks of Magic Resistance can allow these eyes to be entirely ignored.
Iris doesn't even remember where she got all of them from.
Piercing: Two. Mystic Eyes that are capable of seeing through deceptions and figments, such as Illusions or Shapeshifting. Even a Servant that is in their Spirit Form can be observed. These eyes see only the truth that is present before them and rejects lies, but they only penetrate visual illusions. Auditory or physical illusions are still just as effective at deceiving the user of these eyes as any other target.
They are superficially similar to the Pure Eyes, but those are more of a psychic ability rather than true Mystic Eyes.
The eyes were gotten from two separate individuals, who Iris convinced to sell to the Rail Zeppelin.
Keen Sight: Three. Capable of easily picking out details from long distances, with all three eyes being able to easily read a page from a book that is over 30 meters away - and 10 meters in near-total darkness.
Iris stole one eye from a mage in New York City, blackmailed an Aristocrat from the Clock Tower into buying the other for her at a Rail Zeppelin auction, and convinced an Iranian boy to sell one of his to the Rail Zeppelin - the funds from which he used to pay his tuition to the Clock Tower.
Flame: Two. One of these has replaced Iris' left eye. By pouring magical energy into them, a target that the user can see is instantly ignited, regardless of flammability. While relatively cheap to activate, they guzzle mana to maintain and will quickly dip into the user's own reserves, so Iris mostly limits its use to setting flammable objects ablaze before immediately cutting the flow of energy.
While igniting a mage's flesh is impossible thanks to their natural magical resistance, affecting clothes is well within this eye's power, and Iris finds it to be nearly as effective.
The first was taken from a Spellcaster that Iris drowned in ink, while the one she had implanted in her body was traded with an eccentric Aristocrat for a particularly rare vintage of wine.
Remote Viewing: One. The sole Gold-ranked Mystic Eye in Iris' possession, and the one that replaced her right eye. By focusing on a target who she can remember the face of, Iris is capable of viewing both the target as well as their immediate surroundings. She can do this at a range of dozens of kilometers, and switching between targets is as simple as blinking. A Bounded Field or a Caster's Territory is able to alert the target to this occurring, and stronger ones can even block the viewing from taking place.
But if Iris was able to obtain an item connected to her target (like their clothes, a pendant, or even their blood), this eye would be able to pierce nearly any barrier. The distance this operates at is given a similar boost in potency, with a strong catalyst allowing viewing of a target from a hundred or two kilometers away. Only an entirely separate world, like a Reality Marble, would be able to hide someone's location at this level - though exceptionally camouflaged or invisible opponents may be able to hide, only revealing their surroundings.
It is easily Iris' most treasured Mystic Eye, and as a result, it can serve as an excellent bargaining chip if one could somehow acquire it.
She does not share where she got this eye from.
Panoptes Lens: A tattoo design that covers the entirety of her arms, chest, and back. The hands taper off into crescents which when brought together form a large eye. This is a kind of Mystic Code that Iris had developed over her years working for the Rail Zeppelin, basing its function and design on the Mystic Eye Projector utilized by the train. By holding a Mystic Eye (or the transparent containers that Iris carries them in) and activating the Mystic Code, Iris is capable of utilizing the Eye at 10x the normal power, at the cost of burning out the lens and rendering it blind (and therefore, useless).
While it lacks the raw power that its progenitor is capable of, the Panoptes Lens can be deployed nigh-instantly and is 'carried' on her person at all times. It is her trump card, the last resort when stealth and subterfuge have failed to kill a target. The fact that she was able to make something like this when her magecraft had such a weak foundation is a testament to her obsession.
Familiars: A large number of Tattoos litter Iris' body - Chinese dragons and flowers, birds and wolves, countless eyes whose nerves split into wings or legs - all manner of lifeforms cover her flesh. With a command, she is capable of animating these as fragile familiars, which leap off of her body and slink along surfaces. Some, like the bird tattoos, are even capable of controlling how a paper floats on the wind, allowing a poor imitation of flight.
While weak enough that even a normal human could scratch and wipe one or two away, their ability to use Mystic Eyes and provide intel is invaluable in a war. And in a pinch, a large enough number could be used to drown someone in ink.
Normally around 10 can be animated at any time without strain to the user, but depending on the maintenance cost of her Servant, the actual number of familiars that Iris can keep active may be far lower.
A Gun: A simple handgun - a Beretta Mod 92, to be specific. While Iris is far from being a master marksman like the many Freelancers in the world of Magecraft, she values its raw efficiency and the countless mages who underestimate a firearm.
@Duoya This is a really cool concept! I really like it. Go ahead and post her in characters, great work. Fun read. She took an eye for an eye to the extreme, and never held up her end of that bargain...
Name: Brigitta Hackney Title(s): N/A Appearance: As standards go, Brigitta is your typical goth with a wardrobe consisting of multiple shades of black, grey, and purple. Her hair, makeup, and her clothes are all perfectly colored and sometimes all look the same color in certain lighting. But don’t be fooled! Brigitta’s hair is a solid raven black with reflections of purple, while her clothes are normally inky black. All a contrast to her alabaster white skin.
Frills are not Brigitta’s taste and she prefers spikes, studs, lace, and laces. Each outfit is riddled with lace trims and studded completely out. Spikes so big they might as well be used to puncture her enemies are what her jewelry is mostly made of. Aside from a black choker made from the noose of martyrs.
Gender: Female Age: 19 Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Objective for the Grail: Brigitta can find spirits and raise the dead, but she can’t find the one thing she truly wants; love. Her wish for the grail is to find the perfect match. Monsters are always cast out by society and Brigitta has been deemed as such. Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster — How could anyone like that ever find love? Command Seal:
Personality: Driven by pure morbid curiosity, the allure of death, and what comes after is what motivates this macabre mage. Every culture believes in a different afterlife, and in a way, she believes in them all. Interacting with the dead is like discovering a new story lost to time, a piece of history long forgotten. Knowing the unknown and cherishing what has been lost. Brigitta has turned her experiences with the dead into an unpublished book, one that tells the tragedies and acclaims of each spirit she’s interacted with. You could say Brigitta looked too deeply into Romeo and Juliet and tries to make everything reflect that.
Even though Brigitta's everyday life is full of death and sorrow, she makes it fun and uppity, but to most… it’s still dreadful and sorrow-filled. Among her writing, she has taken up theatrics to fill her time. Musical and just regular acting, Lights, camera, action! Brigitta likes to put on her own musicals by reanimating the dead and giving them a role to fill, sometimes she even gets them to perform soap operas. Who doesn’t love to watch a rotting corpse cheat on their wife with the maid? Brigitta sure does!
All in all, this mysterious girl is very whimsical and there are a lot of complexities that make up Brigitta Hackney. She may be fun and death-obsessed, but she is by no means a pushover and is quite a fearsome opponent. She’s one of the first to charge into battle, testing her limits, and seeing how far one is willing to go. For her? She’ll go pretty far. Brigitta is careless in that sense and given her family magecraft believes her extra layer of protection is enough to save her if things go horribly wrong.
Bio: All things begin with life and in the same cycle, all things will inevitably meet their end. A fate in which no one or nothing can escape. Cheating is only a temporary solution to a constant motion like death. Many try, and few succeed. However, there are a select few who can alter death’s plan and enforce their own upon the deceased; Necromancers. Death defiers, occultists, and most of all cheaters. The bane of death’s very purpose. With a natural affinity for the dark arts, these individuals wield great control over the dead, and with dedication and sacrifice, these death weavers can manipulate the soul and even their own body or another. Truly something to be feared, for it takes a demented mind to defile the dead in such a way.
In the 1100s, Decebal Lividus Hackney became more than a novice necromancer hiding from the hands of judgment —he became a Pontifex to a group of occultists, fatalists who sought to expand their reach in the afterlife. The young occultist was given the opportunity to learn secrets about his craft, secrets master necromancers spent their lives trying to decipher. In return for accepting to lead his fellow dark enchanters in a time of need, Decebal was granted power and knowledge beyond comprehension. The knowledge that bumped him from novice all the way up to grandmaster. Equipped with all the tools he needed to succeed in his task, Decebal never saw the man who dubbed him Pontifex again.
Throughout the years the grandmaster necromancer and his group of fatalists rose and fell like the push and pull of the tide. Whenever major world events occurred, you could be sure the occultists were there to clean up whatever mess man left behind. War, plague, and disasters that shook the earth, they collected each body and vanished. Of course, the Holy Church knew of their existence, but they left little to no mark and no reason to raise the Church’s suspicions. It was assumed the group had no real power due to no signs of reanimated bodies.
Little did the church know that the group took up residence in a small isolated town where they conducted experiments, with varying levels of extremity on the bodies of the deceased. But not even the living were safe for long… After rumors about a cult of necromancers spread, Decebal knew he had to act fast before the church sent out their elite to put nails in all their coffins. Left with no other option but the extreme, Decebal swiftly murdered the township's Lord and used him as a puppet to protect their work. Decebal's mastery over the dead allowed his puppet to move freely, talk, and most importantly take orders. This allowed the necromancers free reign over the town, performing their immoral experiments in a time when the land was plague-stricken, which meant missing people were not just expected, but planned for.
Having no one to inherit your power and knowledge is a mage's biggest fear and Decebal wasn’t going to let his knowledge vanish after his eventual death. No, he decided to carry on his legacy after courting and marrying one of the disciples — Delora, a gypsy with the gift to speak to ghosts of the past. A medium and a necromancer, she found solace and a purpose in Decebal’s cult and became one of his disciples. Soon, she became his wife and mother to his child. And the two had a plan to dub their newborn the township’s heir, the spawn of their dead lord. A plan that ascended the family to status and power among mages while gaining wealth and partial immunity to the church.
Over the years since, the Hackney family disbanded their secret organization in favor of keeping their knowledge within the family. They have risen, fallen, and gone into obscurity. Before returning, only to repeat the cycle again. According to reports from the Clocktower in the 1800s, the Hackney family had gone into hiding deep in the Netherlands, before reappearing briefly in the 1900s and then retreating to obscurity. As such, the family is known primarily for being businessmen first, and socialites last. But as of the 1950s, the Hackney family has been considered dead. As no mage had heard from the family for a long time, and no heir proper had arrived at the Clocktower. While some believe it was a result of internal family politics, some believe the family's dealings caught up to them and they were exterminated by a member of the Holy Church for breaking some kind of sacred law.
Introducing Brigitta Hackney, the surviving child of the Hackney Family's most infamous ritual. The ritual in question rewrote how the organs and parts of the body connected and acted with a survival rate that is unsurprisingly low, with Brigitta being the third child born of her parents… and the only one to survive. Which left her childhood undergoing training and experiments on her body, killing and reviving cells to see their reactions, to hopefully mutate her genetics and achieve a body fit for the Holy Grail War. Even then, she was still a student, and in order to help her achieve that, her parents had her enrolled in the Clocktower. Perhaps to make rivals, or to lord over it. However, Brigitta had no idea the Clocktower had shunned her family, not because of their practice, but because of how they went about it. No secret was a secret among mages, and word spread about their…endeavors in the middle ages.
It is likely the family’s general isolation meant they didn’t even know of a grail war against the forces of good and evil going on until a few months ago. A few months ago Brigitta became the first and only Master of the Hackney family, and the one to lead the family into a new era. Though let's be honest... She's got her work cut out for her.
Magic Circuit Switch: Dirt Filling a Grave (Real or Imagined) Number of Magic Circuits: B Quality of Magic Circuits: B
Elemental Affinity: Earth, Aether Magecraft:
♱ Necromancy
Something that is supposed to be the end is only the beginning for those who practice this dark art. Once dirt covers a body, it is left to rest in peace for eternity while its friends and family grieve their loss. Necromancers work against the laws of nature and preside over life and death, they defy the very fabric of what it means to be dead by decimating remains and giving purpose to those who may not have had it in life. Albeit a very selfish purpose determined by a necromancer's will and desire. Twisted and immoral whims are fulfilled through a reanimated corpse, and if their family members could see them now, they would pray for the expulsion of the very demon inhabiting the body of their loved one. Zombies of the living have no memory and lesser necromancers create monsters instead of fully realized ghouls. Only select families or individuals have the ability to keep a corpse's memory and abilities from their life intact. Most mages who delve into this taboo craft never live long enough to gain control over the monsters they raise. The ones who do have centuries of familial knowledge to guide them.
Undeath is much more complex than one might think. There are restrictions each practitioner must follow, guidelines they don’t tell you before your own creation mutilate you. To raise the dead, understanding the afterlife is the key to success. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong if you prematurely try to progress past your limits. But using the dead as weapons is only a small part of the cemetery of secrets and abilities that have been buried over the ages. Necromancy is not just the reanimation of corpses and calls of wraiths or spirits, it is invoking all that is dead and using it to your advantage. Being crafty is in a necromancer's nature, which is why many frowns upon the craft. Crafty means using your surroundings and sometimes your surroundings are unfavorable. How can one raise the dead in a concrete jungle? Well, even within the most unbeneficial of territories it is almost always a guarantee that sometime, somewhere, someone has died and bones make amazing constructs or weapons, perfect for a necromancer in unknown territory. Even their very own cells can be harnessed and used in unusual ways. With more than 200 thousand of a person's cells dying every hour, they have more than enough to work with.
Some bodies provide a better skill set and power boost than others, with mages and phantasmal beasts at the top of the spectrum. Human bodies are weak, fragile, and easily disposed of. While the body of a magus has natural resistances that can help slow down the wear and tear of a zombie magus. In very rare instances, a reanimated mage can carry a magical plague, affecting only those exposed to prana. The effect transferred is based on the magecraft the mage specialized in life and could range anywhere from the skin slowly rotting, to the crystallization of body parts and becoming so fragile, that they break. However, this is just a myth among necromancers and has been deemed untrue. Stories and lies necromancers tell each other to up-scale their abilities. Though mages are undesirable to fully raise due to their ability to go rogue and turn on their master. This doesn’t mean their body parts can’t be used, they prove to be very useful weapons and mystical objects harboring properties of the mages craft.
Funerary rites and incantations play a big role in keeping yourself safe. Every practicing necromancer should keep a few of them in their bag of tricks at all times. One day they might save your life if you find yourself in a bind and lose control over whatever beast you’ve created. Wayward spirits and rampaging zombies all share the vulnerability to conceptual weapons crafted with divine intent, experienced necromancers are smart to keep a cross around at all times. The simple gesture of holding it to the undead is enough to banish whatever force is animating it, rendering it just a rotting corpse. This only works on minor zombies and spirits, I.E humans and animals. Mages and phantasmal beasts are a little bit more reluctant, making it sometimes a difficult task. Requires an incantation and sometimes a rite to expel the mystic force at work.
Once the masters of their craft, the Hackney family was proficient in their craft and could raise armies of magi with phantasmal beasts as their defense. Even starting the first magi-transferred plague through one of their experiments. They were at the pinnacle of power before the Holy Church started observing the family with its ever-so-watchful eyes. Even going as far as to make the church believe they went through a ‘reform’, while never really changing, just recalling and dismissing many of their creations. There are still Hackney’s to this day that can still all their craft entails, just not to the degree of Hackney’s in past decades. Brigitta herself is a competent necromancer, but she isn’t a master and it shows. While she can reanimate corpses and raise spirits and even access every aspect of the dark art, she has very little control over her creations, backfiring more than usual and going rogue. Her control over the dead is not as fierce as others and she chooses not to utilize this aspect that often.
♱ Fleshcraft
With seven billion humans on the planet, the most abundant resource is human bodies, and flesh is the second most abundant. A form and branch of its predecessor — Fleshcraft is viewed poorly, often because of how... grotesque it is. It's hardly one of those flashy magecrafts, and you'll be carrying around a book made of human flesh. It's hardly a good look, and most mages would avoid being associated with something so deeply rooted in necromancy. Much less mold and work flesh-like dough.
Fleshcraft was more commonly used among necromancers in the 15th century before the controlling grip of Christian Doctrine crushed this particular magecraft into the dirt. It was favored among necromancers due to Flesh making a great offense. It's malleable. Used to shape, form, and mutilate their opponent's flesh, and even their own, practitioners were revered and many strayed away. Using flesh, meat, and bone as material for crafting objects. One is capable of shaping flesh, either into claws, or making flesh hard as rock and stone. With a greater understanding users of this magecraft are able to repair organs and perform risky surgery without the risk and allow for the creation of Mystic Codes.
Still existing in the Hacknet family magic crest, like a particularly nasty-looking wart. After inheriting her family’s crest, Brigitta discovered flesh craft and added it to her personal arsenal. Excelling at its usage, Brigitta can shape her own flesh and the others, though this process is extremely painful even for small things like claws or simple surgery. With this magecraft Brigitta is able to repair her mystic codes made from flesh. Brigitta is, however, not able to perform surgery on herself. Like a doctor holding a scalpel to themselves, she is blind-sighted and cannot see what needs to be done. Making it mildly inconvenient when she’s internally bleeding.
♱ Spiritual Evocation
A Thaumaturgical System that allows one to summon beings or perform spiritual possession. It includes "invocation", the technique of attracting higher spirituality into one's own self, and "evocation", the technique of invoking spirituality on the outside of the self. Necromancy makes use of this by contacting a former version of the dead, an alive version, and using this as grounds to invoke the corpse and reanimate it. This process is supposed to be clean and effectively bring back the person in question with full memory and functionality, however, many necromancers get lost in this process due to having to search for the spirit, and the dead love to lie. The result of bringing back the wrong spirit or the connection breaking during the journey back is a zombie. Most necromancers create zombies, not for lack of knowledge or experience, but because there are many interferences causing the ritual to be incomplete.
♱ The Body Burns
The Hackney family has a ritual. That ritual is performed with the birth of the new heir and is to protect them from death. Long ago, the Hackney family's deeds had a tendency to catch up with them. Witch Hunters, Assassins, and all manner of ill-tempered peasants had a tendency to take their rage out upon the heirs of the Hackney family. The family developed a method to strengthen the body, by making it harder and harder to kill. Organs are designed to carry the load of each other. If the lungs fail, the skin may breathe. The amount of redundancies is quite staggering and allows Brigitta to survive for a longer period of time than most other mages would if a specific organ were to fail or be removed. Unfortunately, it also makes any form of surgery not performed by a member of the Hackney family... Very very difficult.
A unique trait that allows Brigitta to survive organ destruction by placing the strain/use of one organ onto another. For example, if her lungs fail, or are punctured, her skin is capable of taking on the strain of breathing. Other organs are capable of fulfilling the usage of another organ for a period of time. The more organs that fail, the more strain that is placed upon the remaining organs to fulfill their role. This is not immortality, but a way to increase one's own survivability by placing strain on other parts of the body to fill in for the functions of damaged organs. There is no alternative to having a brain or heart though. Should the brain/heart be destroyed, it cannot be replaced.
♱ Complex Organ Systems (Weakness)
A weakness inherent only to the Hackney family. By reworking their organs to be capable of built-in redundancies to carry their own load, the body of the typical Hackney family member is... Very complicated. Careless surgery of the body, without understanding how it functions is likely to result in pain, organ failure, or worse... As such, members of the Hackney family perform their own surgeries, or with a team of assistants who know their bodies as well as they do.
Increases the difficulty of performing any sort of physical surgery on Brigitta. Anybody attempting to perform on-the-fly medical procedures (without magecraft) must have surgery or medical skill of B-rank or higher in order to perform it successfully. Otherwise, it is sure to fail.
Crest:
♱ Magic Crest
A Magic Crest is a collection of magic circuits of the Magus family. It is a potent tool in any Magus arsenal as within it are a number of stored spells from each of the Magi that contributed to the Crest, therefore, the older the Crest, the more useful it is. To access any spell recorded in the Crest, the Magus has to pour prana into it; causing it to show on their body, then they get access to all information needed for casting the chosen spell.
The Hackney family crest dates back to the 1100s during the Holy Roman Empire. According to what little public records exist of that time, the Hackney family was responsible for overseeing a small town in the Netherlands. The town itself bowed to the Holy Roman Empire, but in truth, it was utterly isolated and that loyalty was no deeper than ink on a page. The Hackney family turned that small village into a prison. They began breeding programs and would kill small children for their experiments. The isolated nature of the village kept outside interference from being involved.
Inevitably, when the 1200s rolled around, the family destroyed all public records of the small village they had turned into an experiment ground and moved on. Finding new domains to lord over, they became advisers to royalty and kept their experiments ongoing in secret. The Hackney family as it is now is built on the bedrocks left by the previous generations. The experiments are still ongoing, but the methods of gathering their resources have changed. In truth, the Hackney family has little to no interest in ever-changing.
The current heiress of the family is Brigitta Hackney, daughter of the family head Albert Constantine Hackney, and granddaughter of Bernard Cassius Hackney.
Like a nasty wart, this magic crest is littered with necromancy and a dark past. If it could talk, you’d hear the tragic stories of each victim: the Hackney family brutally mutilated or sent people running in fear. Even though the dark relic reeks of death, it has been taken care of since its creation in the late 1100s. Each head has added its own versions of spells and dark incantations, vastly different than the last. You can be sure there is a lot of knowledge to pick through and learn from to hopefully add their own spells. The Hackney family does not tolerate slackers.
Weapon:
♱ Noose of the Martyrs
In the 1600s, a group of nineteen Dutch scholars, clerics, and men of the cloth were hanged in the city of Brielle. The priests and scholars were executed in a turf shed, despite the pleas of several local government officials and the Prince of Orange. Their deaths led to the growth of nineteen white flowers to honor their faith and courage, despite the cruelty inflicted upon them. The noose used to end their lives was cut down and made into a stylish choker necklace… How ironic.
Brigitta wears the noose of the nineteen around her neck, which has been fashioned over the years into a black ribbon that is worn at all times. It is a cursed item, carrying the pain of those who suffered the deaths of martyrs. It is their wish that those who ended their lives be made to suffer as they had. Anybody who wears this necklace is the tool of that divine rage. As such, whenever injured, any injuries dealt to Brigitta are inflicted upon the aggressor. This does not include a servant's noble phantasm or anything that indirectly attacks her such as curses.
♱ Hand of Glory
The pickled left hand of a hanged man from the 1700s. Murdered in cold blood, the man was hanged for his crime and as a man does, they defiled his body by cutting his left hand off. The one that ‘did the deed.’. Sold as an oddity with no real power as claimed, a Hackney bought the pickled object and used their flesh craft to turn it into a mystic code. Any locks the hand touches are instantly unlocked, not including doors locked by magical means. Weak bounded fields touched by the hand are dispelled within a matter of seconds.
♱ Rotting Candles
A set of candles made from human flesh is passed down throughout the family. They burn far slower than normal candles but are also much hotter. Their scent has been compared to that of the legendary titan arum, more commonly referred to as the corpse flower. When one of these candles is placed within the palm of the Hand of glory and a personal (preferably flammable) object of someone is placed into the flame of the candle, it will instantly combust as the candle begins to burn. Until it burns out the person will have their movement severely hindered, or they will be rendered completely immobile if left defenseless.
Name: Matou Shinako Gender: Female Age: 21 Alignment: Chaotic Evil Objective for the Grail: Pest Control Command Seal: Personality: Shinako is many things, and startling few of them are positive. She is narcissistic and self-obsessed, believing herself superior to her contemporaries. It is not enough for her to defeat her foes, whether they be true enemies or merely individuals she sees as competition. No, she must conquer them, see them utterly dominated and humiliated before her very eyes. She is hungry for power of any kind, and relishes in the opportunity to hold that power over others, vying for dominion in almost every aspect of her life, desperate to cling onto whatever small semblances of authority she can dig up. She engages in the heinous and debased not out of any greater philosophical purpose, or even for the acts themselves, but because she can. It makes her feel strong, powerful, in control. She has, for many years, suffered under the cruelty of another, and to cope, she enacts the very same acts of cruelty onto others, relishing in their agony and the fact that she is capable of inflicting such onto them.
It would be unbecoming of her to simply allow this ravenous, unquenchable desire be shown, however, so she has carefully cultivated a persona to mask this—in her every day life she is sweet and caring, if a bit domineering, always at the forefront of whatever group she finds herself in, masking the darkness within her heart with all the manipulative skill of her sire. But it is just that: a mask. True compassion is something she has never experienced before, and has little interest in pursuing, seeing it as a frivolity that she can neither afford nor abide by. A truly rotten individual to her core.
Bio: The latest scion of the Matou family, a spark among the dying embers of a once promising clan condemned to the indignation of decline. The heirs of the Matou had, for generations before her, increasingly lost their potency. Exiled from their homeland and rejected by the lands of Japan, it was their lot in life to dwindle entirely, until not a single trace of magic could be found among their descendants. In an attempt to staunch this inevitable decline, the patriarch of the Matou, a cunning man with knowledge far beyond his years, bartered with what influence he still had, and obtained suitable breeding fodder for his dying bloodline. It was through careful augmentation and manipulation of this woman—of Shinako's mother—that she came into the world healthy, strong, and most importantly, worthy of continuing on the family legacy.
From her earliest years, Shinako was trained at the knee of her grandfather, learning the secrets of their lineage's magecraft. To say it was unpleasant was an understatement. It was agonizing, horrifying, vile work. It drove her to the brink of madness countless times, rendering her down to the thinnest scraps of humanity again and again, barely giving her time to recover before doing it all over again. But it never broke her. She was strong, after all. She endured. Time and time again, after days and weeks in that infernal basement, in that hellish realm, she endured. It didn't matter what it was that kept he going. Strength of will, hatred for her forebearer, an animalistic desperation to live; none of it mattered. Not to him. All that mattered was the power of the heir, carefully tending the ember that was Matou Shinako to be a worthy heir to the Matou. In that, she unfortunately provided.
As she grew from child to teen, from teen to woman, the grueling work became less and less grueling. She was allowed, as an act of backhanded mercy, to live a normal life among her peers, to go out and learn of the world around them to better prepare for the battles to come, where she would finally realize the ambitions of her family's five hundred year dream. It was no mercy. She could never be normal. Not after all she had been through. But every day life proved to be an adequate outlet for the violence she felt within, and she had long since learned to be discrete with her desires, so her grandfather never had cause to deny her what little pleasure she found in existence.
Until the volcano erupted, harbinger of her time of reckoning—the Fourth Heaven's Feel.
Magic Circuit Switch: The sound of gnashing teeth Number of Magic Circuits: B++ Quality of Magic Circuits: B++
Elemental Affinities: Imaginary Numbers, Water Attributes: Absorption, Reinforcement Origin: Consumption Magecraft: General Magecraft: Although not formally schooled at the Clocktower, Shinako received a comprehensive education under her grandfather, Matou Zouken, and therefore possesses all the cursory skills of a true Magi.
Absorption: The basis from which all Matou magecraft is derived. It is "the binding of things to one's self", the ability to consume that which is another's and use it for one's own purposes. It goes without saying, therefore, that this aspect of Shinako's magecraft is especially useful when employed against the brute force tactics of other Magi, turning their strength into her own.
Familiars: While Absorption may be the basis for the magecraft of the Matou family, the vector with which it is employed is through their familiars. Specially bred worms are the method through which Shinako's magecraft is employed, and combined with her unique elemental affinity, provide her with a dizzying array of familiars capable of a wide variety of tasks.
Bounded Fields: A particular specialization of Shinako herself. She prides herself in the strength and complexity of the Bounded Fields she is capable or raising. Using her familiars as the necessary catalyst, she is capable of rapidly raising complex barriers and dividing lines without the lengthy set up time usually required. By devouring the energy used to assail them, she can further reinforce their strength. As someone who herself feels trapped by circumstance, Shinako takes particular joy in sealing off every possible escape for her prey.
Number Space: A curiosity for most, this rare element has been carefully incorporated into Shinako's capabilities. It grants the possessor the ability to access the Imaginary Number Space, a plane different from the Material, where aspects such as time have no meaning. Primarily used as a "storage" space for her numberless familiars, it also imbues her magecraft with a peculiar potency against spiritual beings, while limiting its effectiveness against those of physical form. In combination with the Matou's fundamental aspect, to bind and absorb, it is possible to subsume these entities under the proper circumstances.
Crest: The result of five hundred years of ambition, the Matou family crest is not a simple sigil etched onto the skin of its wielder, but a living organism—a worm that lives within the flesh of the Magi. It feeds off the bearer's magical energy, and in return provokes the body to produce ever greater heights to sustain itself, functioning as an artificial circuit of sorts. The very magecraft of the Matou is contained within the worm, and by its torturous fusion with the host, it carves the knowledge of generations into their very nerves. Weapon: Shinako possesses a truly incomprehensible number of Crest Worm familiars, bred over countless years and stored safely within her number space, and in caches throughout Fuyuki. While the most ordinary of these is not particularly powerful, their sheer number can overwhelm unprepared or otherwise incapacitated foes. There are a number of more powerful varieties, however, bred for specific purposes. Some even form the basis of Mystic Codes, treasured tools used to further augment her effectiveness as a Magi.
The most notable of which are listed here.
Second Skin: A gelatinous organism formed from numerous Crest Worms, Second Skin serves the exact purpose for which it is named—it coats the user's body entirely, forming a secondary layer of protection. Fed directly by the user's magical energy, the malleable flesh of the Code hardens rapidly in response to harm, and while unlikely to do much against the weaponry fielded by Heroic Spirits, it provides consummate protection against mundane means of damage. When employed against enemy magecraft, it siphons off the very mana used to form means of attack, reinforcing itself against the effect in question to provide even greater heights of defense. As it is rather grotesque to look upon, Shinako usually restricts its cover to the portions of her body hidden beneath clothing.
Blade Wings: Carnivorous, flying insects that have been bred from the Matou's Crest Worms. They are fast, ravenous, and impeccably coordinated. Typically deployed in large swarms, they overwhelm their prey by attack from every direction simultaneously, stripping flesh from bone like winged piranhas. Shinako's primary combat familiar.
Death Worms: Huge, multi-segmented worms with massive, razor sharp mandibles and armored plating, these centipede-like creatures are Shinako's heavy hitters. She only has a handful of such creatures at any given point, as they are quite arduous to make, and so she deploys them only sparingly, using their powerful bodies to burrow beneath the battlefield and take her opponents by surprise. True combat familiars, befitting the expertise of the Matou.
Communicators: A specially bred worm with dozens of chitin plates across its body. In response to magical energy from its master, the worm will vibrate these plates synchronously, creating sound. They are complex enough to mimic human speech, and are used by Shinako to communicate at distance with orthodox Magi incapable of buying a Nokia.
Name: Jack the Ripper Class: Berserker Personality: Jack is, by all accounts, a very agreeable fellow. He is cordial, impeccably polite, and composed well beyond what one would attribute to a mad slasher contained within the Berserker container. That is, however, not to say that he is a total gentleman. As he is the very concept of the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, he is completely and utterly without scruples. To kill, maim, torture, devour, these things he approaches with the same dignified poise he embodies in all else. He will resort to whatever measures he deems necessary to achieve his goals, no matter how grotesque or underhanded those may be.
In regards to his Master, Jack is generally deferential, although he is certainly not above gently chiding them to see reason when they act in such a way as to jeopardize their shared goal. While it is not his desire, he will act against the wishes of his Master, but only when it becomes clear that doing so is the only way to ensure both the safety of his benefactor, and their assured victory. It should be noted that he is also particularly fond of female Masters, though whether that is a personal feeling, or simply an unfortunate quirk of his legend, is a mystery even to him.
While some Heroic Spirits may relish in the opportunity afforded by the Grail War, to once again do glorious battle, or to accomplish some long forgone dream they could not in life, Jack's goal is of a simpler sort. A mere amalgamation of the mythos surrounding Jack the Ripper, he simply desires truth—he wishes to know the true identity of the man behind the murders, and put to rest the speculation that led to his bizarre existence.
Stats: Parameters are determined by current transformation Strength: — Endurance: — Agility: — Mana: — Luck: —
Class Skills: Madness Enhancement: — Because Jack's fundamental attribute is madness, an inversion occurred during his summoning and this Skill is sealed. The seal, however, is extremely fragile.
Personal Skills: Thousand Faces: A As Jack the Ripper's true identity was never discovered, he is simultaneously nobody and everybody. This manifests as ability to transform oneself into any human occupation, animal or object that has been presented as the true identity of Jack the Ripper. The user is capable of making use of any Skills the target possesses, weakened to Rank E. Wanderer of the Misty Night: A Born from Jack's nature as a stalker of the night. Grants an equal rank of Presence Concealment as long as it is night. Ordinarily, this would only be applicable during night. However, as the conditions of current day Fuyuki match closely to the smog filled streets from which Jack's legend arose, the skill's applicability and potency have been increased.
Noble Phantasm(s): Name: From Hell: Evil Fog Perishes With the London Dawn Rank: A+ — E- Type: Anti-Unit Effects: Based on the theory that Jack the Ripper was a demon, this Noble Phantasm transforms Jack into a demon in the sense of a phantasmal species. Because it is rooted in the latent fear and unease of nearby people, its power changes in proportion to the population density within a radius of 5 km. In a desert wasteland, its strength is only equal to that of a large beast of prey. In an urban area, it displays a power equivalent to that of a Knight-class Servant.
Because it takes the form of a demon that humans envision as their own natural enemy, it inflicts particularly effective damage on humans.
Name: Natural Born Killers: That Is Not Worth the End of Tragedy Rank: B Type: Anti-Army Effects: A Noble Phantasm based on the theory that Jack the Ripper was a group. Enables the creation of multiple bodies according to the Master's magical energy. The last remaining body automatically becomes the main body. It can also be said that every body is the main one. The maximum number depends on the quantity of the Master's magical energy. The number of bodies decreases in proportion to the strength of the entity transformed into.
I'm new to this format so forgive any mistakes made.
Name: Mehmed the 2nd Class: Archer Personality:
-> Archer is a complicated personality. On an average day, he could be considered more of an academic than a true fighter at heart, being more comfortable catching up on a quick book rather than running from certain death. As he is summoned in his prime, Archer has yet to be fully consumed by his darker tendencies and naturally comes off as a rather childish individual. The latter is most prominently displayed in his impatience and inherently greedy disposition. As such, he will naturally covet what doesn't belong to him, the bigger and brighter the prize, the greater Archer's desire for it becomes. His greed doesn't just stop at material objects, however, as even the hearts of men are a prize sought after by the father of conquerors. If there is one thing he recognizes, it is that material objects last but a season, but the love of others, resting in the annals of history, is forever. All he has is his name, and if that is to be taken away, broken down, and sullied, Archer, will do whatever necessary to repay the measure in kind. He views the master-servant relationship in an awkward light. Rather than be subservient to his master, the latter is seen as nothing but an accessory to him until they have proven worthy of his service. Given that is the case, he will usually act on his own accord, unless a suitable degree of power is shown by his master. In such a case, Archer becomes a nearly robotic agent, conducting his masters' orders without even a hint of question.
Stats:
Strength: B Endurance: C Agility: A (+) Mana: D Luck: C
Class Skills:
-> Independent Action: C (+) ----> It is possible for a Servant to stay in the world for two days without a Master. However, this is the ideal value achieved by maximally conserving mana and avoiding battle and Noble Phantasm usage. After incurring great humiliation, the ranking of this skill increases.
-> Magic Resistance C ----> Cancel spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against magecraft on the level of greater magecraft and Greater Rituals. Archer possesses negligible resistance against magecraft despite his class container.
Personal Skills:
-> FIREPOWER SUPPORT (CANNON) A ----> Is a powerful ranged attack that is used to support tactical operations. Being nearly identical to that which is employed by Napoleon, it is an attack used in the form of a bombardment. Essentially a compound skill that comes included with the effects of the Tactics skill.
-> APPRECIATION OF ARTS D ----> Is infatuation with works of art. If one happens to see a Noble Phantasm that possesses artistic anecdotes, there is a small chance that he or she might be able to figure out its true name. Aside from being a conqueror, Archer is most known for his literary genius. Turkish historians say his library included books on such topics as geometry, religion, engineering, astronomy, arithmetic, archaeology, geography, and philosophy. Known to be a poet, the conqueror also had a great interest in the arts, having commissioned Renaissance painter Bellini to do his portrait.
-> CONQUERORS PRIVILEGE B ----> An alternative form of Imperial Privilege. After his destruction of Constantinople, Archer proclaimed himself Caesar and by extension, emperor of Rome. Rather than attaining the privileges of an emperor simply through one's will alone, it is the acquisition of skills previously unpossessed through conquering. By killing an individual, Archer may make his out of what was theirs, taking their “privileges” (skills) for himself. This does not apply to class skills. Additionally, all skills acquired through conquering, if above the ranking of this skill, drop to meet its level.
-> TRIUMPHANT RETURN C ----> Active only after having successfully escaped and re-entered combat with a target, it is the strengthening of combative power equal to the number of times he has faced an opponent. Its effects cap at three and are represented by temporary plus modifiers usable for any physical parameter. The latter are conditionally effective only against the target in question. Another famous conquest of Archer’s was his siege of Venice. He was forced to retreat a total of five times, and each time he returned supposedly stronger than the last, with his fifth charge being his strongest.
Noble Phantasm(s): Name: Osmanlı Topu: Bazilika Rank: A (+) Type: Anti-Fortress Effects:
The man who created this great invention was just that, a man. Intelligent as he was, those around him lacked the ability to separate intelligence from madness. Thus, the grand plans for the creation of the Basilic were fated to never be realized. That was until The Great Eagle, Archer, laid eyes upon it. There was no fund he wouldn’t spare to ensure its creation and ensure its creation he did. Its creator, Orban, died shortly after its conception alongside all of his workers. Such was the power of the weapon that it killed him, such was its strength that it was said to be capable of destroying the walls of Babylon. Alongside an array of much smaller cannons, it proved to have what it took to destroy even Constantinople, which marked the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
As a noble phantasm, it materializes in the form of a large, cylindrical cannon, carried by Archer on his shoulders. As Archer’s main weapon, it is both his primary form of attack and the sole reason for his classification as Archer. Ordinarily, it is used to fire large, consecutive bombardments, even despite his naturally lower capacity of mana. To unleash its full power, Archer points his cannon to the sky, focusing his magical energy on a single point. After having called the phantasm's true name, Archer takes aim at his chosen target. If summoned in the Rider class, he materializes the entire cannon array used to lay siege to Constantinople, however, as he is in the Archer class container, only the main cannon, Basilic, is used. With an attack that possesses the conceptual power to “blast the walls of Babylon itself” nothing, not even the strongest of walls can hope to stand against the mad conquerors' stampede.
@XerxesIsVerd This is really cool! Interested to see what he can acquire with Conquerors Privilege, would make for a fun game. I don't see anything wrong with it! As usual, I had to google who you made, your knowledge of random historical kings never ceases to amaze. You can go ahead and repost this in the character tab.
Saber's done, pending possible nerfs. Used his canon paramaters as default but as discussed, they can be tweaked!
Name: Arthur Pendragon Class: Saber Alignment: Lawful Good
Personality:
A righteous knight in shining armour as some might call him, Saber has a strong sense of justice. He strives to do good, dislikes underhanded tactics and isn't one to fight simply for fighting's sake. If he draws his blade, it's for a purpose. Once he chooses to fight however, he isn't one to back down. To this day, he remembers his resolve to defeat a certain beast, though he's unsure if it lingers still in this world.
In general, he's protective and loyal, readily following his Master's wishes and going to great lengths to ensure their wellbeing. To a degree, that is; he will not stand to see evil acts committed in his presence if he can help it. He's known to keep secrets, particularly about himself - but not to the extent he'd downright lie. There is also a more somber side to him, complete with hints of nihilism after everything he's seen and been through. He was once forced to strike down a person very dear to him, and he wants to make sure such a situation doesn't repeat. To that extent, he does his best to be a moral guide and keep his feelings at bay.
With that said, while normally somewhat formal, he does also have a playful, teasing side to him. It mostly comes out during more relaxed situations. He enjoys peaceful moments over good food in particular, but does find it difficult to relax if he feels his duties aren't fulfilled.
He has no wish for the Grail.
Stats:
Strength: B+ Endurance: A Agility: C Mana: B Luck: D
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance (A): He, who is in the Saber Class, is in possession of a high-ranked Magical Resistance Skill. It is generally impossible for modern mages to inflict damage on him.
Riding (B): It is possible for one to operate all vehicles and beasts freely except for Magical Beasts, Phantasmal Beasts and Divine Beasts.
Personal Skills:
Mana Burst (A): He is endowed with an extremely high-ranked Mana Burst Skill.
Instinct (A): At Rank A, it is essentially in the realm of predicting the future. Through this ability, it is possible to negate the penalties inflicted by visual and auditory interference to a certain extent.
Giant Beast Hunt (A): King Arthur fought tirelessly against the many Demonic Beasts that tried to trample Britain. This skill shows that he is experienced in battles against giant creatures.
Noble Phantasm(s):
Name: Excalibur Proto: Sword of Promised Victory Rank: C-EX Type: Anti-Fortress Effects: A Divine Construct in the form of a golden sword, sealed by both Invisible Air and the Restraints of the Round Table. In the unlikely scenario that seven or more seals were released, the sword's true power as a Divine Construct to save the world would be released. Normally however, it's simply a powerful Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm capable of repelling evil with a powerful beam of light. Even without releasing its True Name, Excalibur is able to release its slash of light that varies in strength, but is weaker than its Anti-Fortress attack. However, it can be further enhanced in its destructive power by his Mana Burst Skill.
Name: Invisible Air Rank: C Type: Anti-Unit Effects: A sheath of wind that covers Excalibur and conceals its true identity, so that it and its wielder cannot be identified too easily. It is made up of multiple layers of wind, which distorts the refraction of light and renders what is inside completely invisible. The air constantly whirling around the blade is essentially a weapon, but lacks the capacity to annihilate the enemy like Excalibur. The wind increases the damage and cutting power of an attack however, and provides for an increased accuracy and defense against opponents unfamiliar with the nature of the weapon. It is possible to implement the barrier on something other than the sword as well, such as a quick defensive wall of wind, which can be kept active with magical energy for a number of minutes. Invisible Air also acts as one of Excalibur's seals.
@Vertigo Yes! Will need some minor edits just so it isn't game-breaking. While I know this is a canon character, and I personally won't be taking these rankings TOO seriously myself, having everything be ABABABABAB, can be tricky.
Charisma should be much lower than B, especially if he doesn't use it often. You've said it focuses on hunting giant beasts, so make Charisma C-D, or even get rid of it. Up to you.
As for his parameters, just mixing and matching from different canon examples would be preferable. Right now he's kind of a master of everything? Which I get it, he's a staple of the series, but everyone needs to be equal irp! Feel free to contest my suggestion but I would say:
Strength: B+ (A plus modifier against beasts, since that is his forte) Endurance: A Agility: C
This Arthur focuses on hunting beasts from what I can gather, so being fast and strong is necessary and fitting of his lore but you can't be good at everything! Having C-Rank agility balances out the physical stats a bit.
Mana: B Luck: D
Emiya's Saber had D luck, I know it is a different version but I think that rounds the kit out a bit.
