[OOC] Fantasy 1775: The New World (looking for new players)

[Jotunn Draugr]

Name: Forseti Bjornson


Race: Haugbui/Draugr
-Magical Norse zombie, able to use dark magic to shapeshift and increase or decrease in size. His magical abilities are strengthened near graveyards and oceans, especially on cloudy days, but weakened the further he goes inland. Like other zombies, he is filled with a deep hunger for human flesh, but he also retains most of his human personality, allowing him to resist this desire.

Age: Chronologically 56, Physically 29

Appearance:
Forseti is a thin, gaunt man. His eyes are darkly outlined, giving the appearance of having not slept in many days. His skin is grey and lifeless, but his face is largely obscured by a thick beard. His body is likewise hidden by a thick navy-blue pea coat, leather gloves, formal pants, and tall, heeled leather boots. He stands with a stiff posture, and walks with a limp. His pockets are filled with herbs and tobacco, and a lit pipe is constantly hanging from his mouth. He carries a strong aroma of various burnt plants and alcohol. When on land, he waxes his beard and greases back his hair, giving the appearance of a proper sea-fairing gentleman. At sea, his hair blows free, and a primal energy radiates from his expression.

Personality:
Forseti is a very stiff, and heavily self-restrained individual. He upholds flawless posture, and strides with the utmost authority. Joy doesn't come naturally to him anymore, but he makes the effort to smile and play along with his comrades, for the sake of the group. He savours every opportunity to sit down, as though it relieves a great weight from his entire being, not just his legs. He's also a deeply spiritual man, who observes several pagan religious practices before going to bed. Over all, while he appears as a fairly young man, he displays the personae of someone far older.

Bio

Bio:
Forseti was a fisherman who lived and worked off the northern coast of Norway. His village had, of course, sworn itself to Njord, God of Storms, and patron of the fishmongers. Njord, however, recognized the strength of the Aesir, Norse gods of war, who rivaled Njord and the other peaceful gods. He erected several hidden shrines outside the village, honouring Aesir like Odin and Thor, and even devious Jotunn (giants) like Loki and Hel. Two days after his twenty-ninth birthday, his shrine to Hel was discovered, in a tool shed he'd forgotten to lock up before heading out. The village elders, fearful and furious, summoned Njord, and told him of this treachery.
As Forseti sailed out to his fishing spot, unaware of the elders' discovery, Njord himself appeared before Forseti. He told Forseti that his village had always been faithful to him, and had begged Njord to spare the fisherman's life. So Njord demanded Forseti's servitude, and repentance, in exchange for his life. Just as Forseti began to bow, he heard whispers in his head, commanding him to reject the demand. With a sudden rage, he pulled out a knife, and slashed and Njord's legs while he was in his mortal form. Wounded and betrayed, Njord stumbled off the ship, and into the ocean below. Sinking to safety within the depths, he summoned a great storm to kill Forseti. A mighty wave arose, and swallowed Forseti's boat, plunging him into the deep cold ocean. As the currents pulled him downward, he prayed to the whispers that had driven him to assault a god. The whispers answered, and Loki and Hel revealed themselves. They smiled and laughed, as Forseti squirmed and thrashed, water quickly filling his lungs. As the light began to leave his eyes, a third form swam around him. A great, slithering monstrosity.
He awoke on a beach in Scottland, still wearing his sailing gear. Able to speak English well enough, he got a job with a local fishing company there. He lead a normal life for a while, until one Friday night, when he was enjoying a beer with his coworkers at a local pub. He once again heard whispers in his head, but this time they were followed by complete blackness. When he awoke, the bar that had once been filled with laughing drunken sailors, was now filled with mutilated corpses. He fled from Scottland, and was fortunately never identified by the authorities.
Making his way to the south of England, he enlisted in the British Navy. Many years passed, and many promotions were gained, and it began to sink in that a man who was well into his forties hadn't aged since his twenty-ninth birthday. It wasn't just him either. The sailors beneath him began to joke, about the gaunt captain who didn't age. It was then, that the whispers returned yet again, although this time they didn't compel him to kill. Instead, they taught him of his new abilities. He was able to alter his appearance, either subtly, or into an entirely different person. While this ability carried a great deal of potential, he simply used it to make himself appear to age normally, so as to not arouse suspicion. The whispers told him of his inhuman strength, but he suppressed this. The whispers told him that he could survive beneath the waves, without air. He was fortunate enough to not need to test this.
At the age of fifty-four, he retired, and purchased a small beach-front residence in the distant nation of Seaside. Living off of his savings, and some light harbour work, he spent two years dedicated to worship, in a desperate attempt to lift the curse that had clearly been placed on him. The advantage of Seaside, is that it was a new world, and he could return to his twenty-nine year-old appearance without arousing suspicion. His reclusive cottage on the coast also meant he was able to experiment with the powers that had been granted to him, in case the gods required their usage.

Equipment/possessions:
-Steel rapier
-Flintlock pistol
-Fillet knife
-Oilskin coat
-Bone tobacco pipe
-Pipe tobacco
-Whiskey bottle
-Leather-bound prayer book
-Book of matches

Stats: (18 total)
Strength: 5
Endurance: 4
Agility: 3
Intelligence: 2
Will: 3
Luck: 1

Skills/Spells:
-Fencing
-Seamanship
-Alter Appearance (Spell: Changes appearance and size to suite the situation. Good for persuasion and stealth)
-Undead Strength (Spell: Double the result of a Strength roll)
-Lifeless Lungs (Immune to drowning/suffocation)

[TheUnknowable]

@Jotunn DraugrLet me consider the Undead Strength. It fits, and I'll probably allow it, but with a Rapier, it would be devastating to your opponent. You don't actually have any skill with a sword, though, which would lower your chance-to-hit until you learn it.

[TheUnknowable]

@Jotunn Draugredit: I'll allow it, but I might use it later on undead. Two quick questions, though:

1) Does Holy magic affect him the way it does demons/vampires, where they take damage any time holy magic is used on them, regardless of type?
2) What type of magic is the shapeshifting? It just matters so that I know which stat to roll. The undead strength is basically a set effect, so he'll just need to activate it.

[Jotunn Draugr]

@Jotunn Draugredit: I'll allow it, but I might use it later on undead. Two quick questions, though:

1) Does Holy magic affect him the way it does demons/vampires, where they take damage any time holy magic is used on them, regardless of type?
2) What type of magic is the shapeshifting? It just matters so that I know which stat to roll. The undead strength is basically a set effect, so he'll just need to activate it.

@TheUnknowable

I changed his first skill to fencing, to match his melee build. Gun proficiency can wait.

1) Uhh, I'm gonna say yes. Ideally, it would be cool to break down the holy magic by source, depending on where the caster gets their holy magic from (Gods that compliment the Aesir/Jotunn pantheons vs. those that don't, for example). My thinking is that Priest/Druid-esque holy magic, that draws from peaceful inspirations would be doubly harmful, while Paladin/Crusader-esque holy magic, that draws from indignation and aggression would be almost safe. Or if someone worships Isis or Athena it hurts, but not if they worship Sekhmet or Ares. If that seems a bit too convoluted, we can just go with a simple "holy=bad" approach.

2) The shapeshifting would be Demonic magic.

[TheUnknowable]

@Jotunn DraugrOk, it's approved.

Everyone: I started the Meetingwords doc. I also wrote a slight intro post, so that we could get started.

[Jotunn Draugr]

@Jotunn DraugrOk, it's approved.

Everyone: I started the Meetingwords doc. I also wrote a slight intro post, so that we could get started.

@TheUnknowable

So how exactly does Meetingwords work? You gonna send us a link?

[TheUnknowable]

The link is in the OP.
@Jotunn Draugr

[Letter Bee]

The link is in the OP.
@Jotunn Draugr

@TheUnknowable

Connection's being bad.

[TheUnknowable]

@Jotunn Draugr@Minato NamikazeAre either of you one right now? We've gone a little ways in the RP and were wondering if either of you wanted to contribute to it before we continue.

[Minato Namikaze]

Just got back home, Should I wait for you to introduce me or am I okay to make an entrance myself?

[Letter Bee]

@Minato Namikaze, Not TheUnknowable, but I think it'd be okay if you make an entrance yourself, as long as its on the MeetingWords page.

[TheUnknowable]

@Minato NamikazeIt's empty right now, but you can post how your character responds to what happened. I assume that since he's a merc and hangs out in bars he might have overheard and be interested in joining.

@Jotunn DraugrThinking over your "undead strength" skill, if we consider it a buff, then it should be limited by your END, which is only 4. So you can currently boost your strength by 4 with it. Once your END increases, you can go up to 5 again. Does that work?

[Jotunn Draugr]

@Minato NamikazeIt's empty right now, but you can post how your character responds to what happened. I assume that since he's a merc and hangs out in bars he might have overheard and be interested in joining.

@Jotunn DraugrThinking over your "undead strength" skill, if we consider it a buff, then it should be limited by your END, which is only 4. So you can currently boost your strength by 4 with it. Once your END increases, you can go up to 5 again. Does that work?

@TheUnknowable

Sure, that works.

[TheUnknowable]

I added all of the skills and spells to the OP, as well as listed what was needed to learn it. I might add some more stuff later, which NPCs may or may not use.

[TheUnknowable]

@Jotunn Draugr@Minato NamikazeLetter and I are on, in case either of you wish to join.

[Letter Bee]

@Minato Namikaze, Posting from phone. Wanna talk on the MeetingWords?

[Letter Bee]

@TheUnknowable, Up in the middle of the night; sleep is interrupted.

[TheUnknowable]

@Letter Bee@Jotunn Draugr@Minato Namikaze
Just a quick question for everyone. Where would your character end up if they die? Sarah, for example, would end up as a ghost, walking the astral plane. I assume Forseti won't go to Valhalla, as he's a Draugr, but I wasn't sure where any of you would go if you die.

I was considering having a "rescue them from the afterlife" arc if someone dies in one of the battles this arc.

[Letter Bee]

@TheUnknowable, Catholic Heaven, I think.

[TheUnknowable]

@Letter BeeEven though he isn't a good catholic? He wouldn't end up in purgatory?