Crowvette

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

I've edited the original WIP to add in my rough sketching of Dakota and also put some time limits on her enhancement (enhancements only last a few minutes, and extending that takes several minutes of unbroken focus so it's unlikely to happen in a fight). I don't think the image embeds very well so if it's an issue let me know and I'll just turn it into a link or put it in another hider.

It'd be fun to think of a knight but I don't have any specific inklings yet. Maybe soon

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

Looks good so far! I love the power, I think that's a great use of a none-combat oriented character being able to support others. I would add in there that the enchantment is not permanent. Maybe it has a cooldown of like 5 minutes? And then she would need to enchant it again. Would offer up some difficulty in battle and make it more useful for her knight to protect her from harm while she's re-upping the enchantment on their weapon, etc.

@HylianRose

That actually was something I wasn't sure about. I wanted to have her not really be well practiced in her magic (which might stand out amongst other nobles) so it may not last very long at the start, or be a little complicated for her to do. I'll definitely throw in that her current level of enhancement is only for a short while.

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

Dakota WIP

Dakota

Character Summary

Name: Dakota G. Marshall
Aliases: Kota
Age: 17
Class: 1
Gender: F
Speciality: Supportive Magic and Squad Tactics
Role, Rank, and Order: Student, ""Noble"" transfer student

Physical Attributes

Height: 5'11
Weight: Not telling
Build: A strong but not particularly muscular build.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Dark blonde
Skin Tone: Tanned
Tattoos/Scars/Piercings: None
Day To Day Attire: Modern casual clothing, without much care for formal appearances. Takes creative liberties with her school uniform. Wears an outdated military field jacket when it's cold outside.
Strengths: Reflexes, Spatial Perception, Endurance
Weaknesses: Sprints, raw explosive strength

Psychological Attributes

Outgoing * Positive * Brash * Flexible

Sexuality: Bisexual
Relationship Status: Mingle/Ready to single
Personality: Dakota has a very bright and cheerful personality, and isn't afraid to speak her mind. Her honest personality, positive nature, and tendency to charge forward rather than rely on cunning has often had others underestimate her as a ditz, but those who have paid closer attention know that she has a keen perception and sharp mind that has been honed by her strict upbringing. Her approach has always been to let people draw their own conclusions about what she's capable of - and then smash those expectations.

Dakota will not hesitate to stand up to unfair treatment, abuse of power, and violation of freedom - even if it runs counter to her own goals, or helps a competitor. Apart from those tenets, however, she is fairly open minded and accepting of other viewpoints. She is quick to forgive and forget, and unlikely to hold a grudge. She is a natural team player, and is excellent at figuring out how to support others even in the heat of the moment.
Habits: Rarely sits still, Hugs friends on sight
Hobbies: Collecting Military Memorabilia, Barbecuing
Fears: Loneliness, Tight spaces, clowns
Likes: Trying new foods, Friendly competition, Action movies, Dogs, Classic vehicles, Singing
Dislikes: Close-minded people, cheaters, cold weather, stuffy clothing, silence

Skills

A listing of skills, such as horseback riding or cooking. Levels include novice, apprentice, journeyman, expert, master.

• Skill (Level): CQC (Journeyman) - including small arms handling, defensive and offensive techniques (armed and unarmed)
• Skill (Level): Volleyball (Novice)
• Skill (Level): Driving (Apprentice)
• Skill (Level): Cooking (Novice)
• Skill (Level):
• Skill (Level):

Talents & Powers

A listing of unique talents, magic, or possessions. Teachers may have two major and two minor. 4th year Knights/Nobles may have one major and two minor. 3rd year Knights/Nobles two minor. 2nd year Knights/Nobles may have one minor. 1st year Knights/Nobles may have one minor.
For the Order of Shield, please fill out with specialized attacks/maneuvers/weapons/etc.
For the Order of Twilight, please fill out with magic/artifacts/specialized moves/etc.

**For this section, if you'd like some help coming up with talents, please DM me!
***Each new school year, your character will be able to pick up a new talent based on the current scaling listed above.

• Talent/Power/Item: Enhancement - Kota can temporarily enhance items to become more effective, though not in a way that drastically alters their usage (similar to a +1 enhancement). These only last a few minutes at most unless she spends several minutes focusing on extending the enhancement.
• Talent/Power/Item:
• Talent/Power/Item:
• Talent/Power/Item:

History

Parents: Father: (Retired) General John Marshall, Mother: Deputy Director of CIA National Clandestine Service Martha Marshall
Siblings: Lt. Col Dwight Marshall (eldest brother), Randall ""Randy"" Marshall (elder brother)
Childhood: Dakota lived all over the US as she was taken from various military bases to the next. Despite never living in one place for too long, her parents saw to her having a quality education, essentially a private military schooling, culminating in *actual* accelerated military school. Her mother vouched for her to attend Saint Valerius in order to expand her realm of experience beyond that of the United States, as well as have a more formal education on magic, a topic that was (in her mother's eyes) not taught as well in the States. While she is no ""noble"" in terms of royal pedigree, her upbringing and family dynasty of military and clandestine operations has made her one of the American equivalents of nobles - someone with the potential to shape and hold great power in her nation.
Adulthood: Maybe some day...
Special Moments: The day her father gave her his old field jacket to wear. The day she fired her first gun at the age of four. Attending her brother Randy's first concert before he became famous.
Current Events: Thinking about hamburgers.

Relations

* ☠ Enemy * ⚜ Unfriendly * ☯ Neutral * ☮ Friends * ღ Ally * ♥ Crush/Significant Other *

• Name:
• Name:
• Name:
• Name:
• Name:
• Name:

Extras (Optional)

Character Quote: "The only way forward is through!"
Theme Song: The entire Gettysburg EP by Iced Earth
Aura Color: Star-Spangled
Scent: Almond-Scented Shampoo
Partner:
Anything Else:

I said I'd at least have a wip so here. I need to elaborate on some parts (and I'm sure there will be some questions that will make me realize I need to add in other places too), and I'm kinda vague on some appearance factors (and no portrait yet) because I want to sketch her myself, so bear with me on those as I work them out

edit: added a sketch of Dakota and put a limited duration on enhancement power

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

Plugging away at my sheet. Hopefully I'll have it ready for review tomorrow.

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

I've been kinda getting the hankering to play a character from abroad who might be a bit of a fish out of water for the area (maybe since it came up in the conversation about worldbuilding) so that's probably the base idea I'll work off of.

I really don't know if a bombastic, cheeseburger-eating American transfer student would really fit, but it kind of makes me laugh thinking about it at the same time.

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

Hmm... That wasn't necessarily in the original plans, since a Knight/Noble pairing is meant to be a strong bond, but I suppose if we think about it their first Knight might not always be the best fit. I certainly don't mind having a first week were there are little to no pairings and the characters are getting introduced to one another however I do find that moments like that, we tend to get lost in the weeds, so to speak. We'll spend so much time on the intro and pairings that we'll never get to the good story bits. That's my only caveat to that.

@HylianRose

You've got some good points, I feel like maybe having no knight or no noble might have to be a special circumstance. Having at least a base ground for most knights and nobles would probably be best for cutting to the chase. If my memory of high school is anything to go by, there's plenty of drama potential even with people you're already well acquainted with.

There could always be some kind of situation or assignment where pairings are scrambled to do a task or something if we wanted shuffling around for shenanigans though.

I'm not really sold on ranking-based teams, sort of for the same reason you bring up.

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

On a side note, because I'm a sucker for drama, it'd be nice if the Noble-Knight pairings aren't set in stone. Have there be a process for swapping out one Knight for another Knight-student n such. Or have the opportunity to be a solo Noble or a mercenary-kinda Knight.

@ERode

Isn't there kind of a thing for that already where if a Knight is under punishment they get taken and a replacement knight is given until the punishment is up? Though that's not quite the same, admittedly.

I think it could be a fun thing to have knights and nobles potentially enter without a pair and have to make one before a certain time limit or they're kicked out or held back or something. It could be a "first arc" for at least some of the characters if we wanted to go that way.

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

I feel like it'd be kind of fun to have a split of old-world nobility and more contemporary people of power, there could be tension there where neither generally see eye to eye but have to interact since they're all playing on the same field. Perhaps that could be the difference between nations where some have nobility still and others (probably like America since it was brought up) have different systems entirely.

Perhaps Saint Valerius has a pretty well-defined amount of classic nobility students, but has got attention from other people wealthy or powerful enough to send students recently, and have got a number of people who may be foreign to the overall culture but are still there for the education offered? It could be a small side plot if characters "from abroad" are made.

If guns are being considered, then it would pretty cool if they were magic based weapons, since we already have examples of magic influencing technology/services and all that.

@Animal

Magical firearms would probably be way easier to write duels with than actual ones if we're having any at all, though I'm not married to having them either way.

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

It might be a bit early to start laying down super concrete character ideas but since there's a focus on a knight and noble pairs I feel like it'd be most fun to start at the dynamic between the two and work out the characters from there. If anyone wants to brainstorm a type of knight/noble duo let me know here or wherever, there's a lotta potential for fun there.

Maybe a pair that only recently were put together and butt heads? A meek noble paired with a brawler knight, and they both have to reign each other in to keep themselves from getting in trouble? A knight and noble so in sync that people mistake them for each other? Maybe something else entirely? It's tough to pick a direction someone halp

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

For some reason I didn't realize there were two three points. Oops.

3. For NPC handling I'd probably prefer to keep it vague unless someone has a specific idea or need for one. It's less work for you and we can still cooperate and put together an NPC for a good arc or scene if necessary without making some that might not end up seeing much use at all.

Also upon review I think I agree in that there's kind of a specific anime-ey battle high school feel that I think would necessitate having later teenage-age characters. I mean, there could be some differences in how long a high school education lasts in this world, but it'd probably be stretching reality a bit to have too wide of an age gap all in the same area (especially if fighting is something that is expected)