Hmm, I'm trying to make spells not an insta-death. Is there any way the vacuum could be an impacting blow that's non-lethal? A fireball to the face would leave severe burns, but not necessarily kill a person. Does that sound alright?
Oooh, that’s an important clarification you just made, useful for everyone here, not just me.
If that’s the design principle behind offensive spells, then sure! My point essentially remains the same, Vacuum and Void are as powerful as a Firebolt and Fireball respectively, yep.
Right, was curious about this spell. What are the conditions for activating this one in particular? And by effects, do you mean magical effects only? My immediate thought process would be to Fate Bond like, an insect with some guy, and then just squish the insect, thus killing the guy as well. Or do any variant of that with a suitably lethal but vaguely annoying spell to use in live combat.
Nah, it's more like, the guy receives the same bludgeoning force as the insect. That amount of force would be enough to kill the insect, but no more than a prod for the guy.
Good point tho, probably should be more specific on the wording.
I love your CS! The inclusion of Dremora is right on point. Do you have a way to point out on the map where you would like Tearmoon Glade to reside? Or you can tell me how many day's travel it is from Hathforth, and in which direction, and I can add it.
I only have a slight issue with the spells. Vacuum and Void sound like instant-kill spells if positioned at the head. How strong is the force? Is there a way we can make it so it's not instant-kill?
Thanks! For the glade's location, since Lilim are fey-touched people, then... this should be a good spot, near the Fey River.
Oh, that's a good point, hmmm... then I'll add a line or two clarifying that Vacuum and Void have similar destructive power as the Firebolt and Fireball spell respectively. For example: If a certain person would die from receiving a Vacuum to the face, then they'll also die from receiving a Firebolt to the face. Sounds good?
By the time the group had gathered under Hien's summons, Eve had awakened and fully recovered. Now clad in a fresh set of clothes bearing the exact same design as before, she occupied a spot around the central table, within the Ospreyan noble's sight. As usual, she began listening to what Izayoi's former protege had to say. The mere mention of her hated creator's name was enough to get her full attention. So, the tyrants had vested interest in this seemingly barren desert... but what exactly? Due to how she came to be, Eve's mind was quick to assume that they had a research facility there, part of their grand plan of playing god, but she realized it was a mere wild guess due to how little information they currently had. It could be anything, but whatever it was, nothing good could come from leaving Valheim unattended.
Of course, they were united under a common goal, not obedience to an authority figure, that much was obvious; Eve failed to see why Hien needed to mention such things, but then again, there’s a good reason why he's the future sovereign and not her. "For the benefit of those who weren't present at Atsu, I must inform you that I do not require any form of sustenance besides ether, so...." This time, it was Eve's turn to give Izayoi the side-eye, "Please do not insist on reserving our precious water for me." If rations are essential, then water is of the utmost importance. As far as she learned from adventuring with others, people could survive for more than a month without food, but water? Less than a few weeks. Of course, she'd be more than happy to be proven wrong here, the pseudolon had no illusion that her abomination of a body had its perks, especially from a purely pragmatic perspective.
Now, questions, well she didn't have questions exactly, but she did have something to say to the party, just in case, "Everyone, though we haven't yet identified the nature of Valheim's scheme there, if... if what we found there is an accursed facility similar to the one that created me, then we must do all in our power to destroy it." She paused, briefly glancing toward Galahad before addressing the party once more, "I firmly believe that what they're doing, desecrating the very sanctity of the Primals and life itself, is the cardinal reason behind the Blight's emergence. Assuming this is true, if we stop Valheim, then the Blight too will end."
"..." A barely perceptible frown curled the nanofiber muscles and synthetic skin of the Bionic Maid's visage as the dead man's switch triggered due to its host being, well, very much dead. Though her Master would already deem the objective to be successful after the elimination of the target, Lenneth had to admit that she... was looking for a convenient excuse to "sweep" clean the rest of these vermin. She had already severed the head of the snake, why not chop up the rest of its body? After all, the pristine world her Master envisioned had no place for their ilk.
Alright, fine, yes, she grew to enjoy this job, even more than before the incident that almost took her life. It unnerved her to dwell on it, but these vigilante pursuits became one of the few things capable of making her feel truly alive. During battle, she could ignore the constant creeping existential dread brought upon by her inhumanity. For many, lethal physical confrontations were something to be avoided; why risk life and limb when you can safely enjoy the same experience through a braindance? But for Lenneth, this was her braindance.
Besides, pragmatically speaking, as long as she protected her cerebral container, everything else about her could be repaired or replaced. This body of hers wasn't actually hers, she's merely piloting it.
With these thoughts coursing through the only remaining original part of her organic body, Lenneth's frown shifted into a subtle eager smirk as she drew Nibelung, her signature weapon, a custom-made rifle specifically designed to interact seamlessly with her systems. Then, she calmly sauntered to the middle of the lounge and stood there, making her stand. In the dimness of the weakened lights, the cold, unblinking blue glow of her bionic eyes became all the more prominent, as if emulating the very gaze of death itself.
Cold, pragmatic, and austere, the statuesque blonde's icy blue gaze chills the nerves of all but the most hardboiled men (and women). With unblemished fair complexion that seem too perfect, one would be justified to assume Lenneth is one of those sophisticated gynoids only the most affluent can afford, and they won't be entirely mistaken; every single part of Lenneth's body sans her brain is artificial, the end result of her Master's unwavering pursuit to save his cherished servant's life, no matter the cost. The explosion she took to shield her Master might have broken her body, but not her spirit. Now reborn, her new body may be artificial, yet her devotion remains genuine. Now armed with the H.A.Lo module and custom-made 'Nibelung' carbine rifle, the maid stands ready to serve, whatever Master's wishes will be her command.
FATE POINTS (FP) REFRESH: 3
APPROACHES:
❖ Careful: Fair (+2) ❖ Clever: Mediocre (+0) ❖ Flashy: Average (+1) ❖ Forceful: Good (+3) ❖ Quick: Fair (+2) ❖ Sneaky: Average (+1)
ASPECTS:
❖ High Concept:
Cyborg battlemaid devoted to her Master.
❖ Trouble:
I feel more machine than human.
❖ Want:
I wish to serve my Master until I can serve no more.
❖ Relationships:
Derek "ART-ficer" Burris is the Ripperdoc assigned to maintain my cybernetics, my Master vouched for his discretion and integrity.
❖ Extra:
My H.A.Lo (Heuristic Analyzer and Locator) module enables me to scan my surroundings in a radar-like fashion.
STUNTS:
❖ Because I Have a Bionic Body:
I can gain a +3 bonus on Forceful or Quick Physical actions via bypassing the safety limiters of my systems, then I gain +2 Stress due to the backlash.
❖ Because I Am Equipped With The H.A.Lo Module:
In the first round of conflict, I can create a situational Aspect 'weak spot detected' with 2 free Invokes.
❖ Because I Am Installed with Self-Repairing Functions:
Once per chapter / session, I can Recover 1 Severe (or lower) Consequence on myself.
TRIVIA:
❖ Color Code: 77bfef ❖ Faceclaim and Art Source: Asuma Toki from Blue Archive, official in-game art. ❖ Lenneth has no surname. ❖ Has a particular fondness for rabbits and rabbit-themed trinkets. Has a pet rabbit named 'Usachan'.
WRITING SAMPLE:
"W-... who the fuck-...?" The man went agape, his fingers - adorned with no fewer than three jeweled rings - trembled, losing their grip on the shot glass as it fell to the carpeted floor, thudding unceremoniously, spilling its contents onto the fabric. Caol Ila Single Malt Scotch: Aged 12 years, such a fine vintage, under normal circumstances, he'd be livid, but right now, caring for wasted scotch was the last thing on his mind. Instead, the sight of a tall golden-haired woman with eyes cold like ice clad in a maid uniform took his attention front and center, how could he not when his two bodyguards were laying lifeless at her feet?
"My utmost apologies for the inconvenience, sir," The icy eyed blonde curtsied politely as if she was addressing royalty, unfazed by the pair of fresh, still-bleeding corpses near her as she straightened herself, the silenced pistol in her right arm trained on the club owner's forehead, "But I must inform you that my Master sends his regards."
"Go to hell, bitc-...!" The man was promptly cut off as a sharp projectile closed the distance between the gun's barrel and his skull faster than the blink of an eye, the bullet wasted no time in puncturing through skin, muscle, bone, and everything else that lied between it and its grand prize: the greedy businessman's brain, the source of shady deals and crooked ventures. However, after the application of ballistics physics ricocheting through his neurons, he wouldn't be scheming anymore.
"Please accept our gratitude for your time and attention." Lenneth bowed once more, thanking the man slumped on his recliner; he didn't reply, rather uncouth, but judging from the coin-sized hole on his head, he could be excused. With the message sent, Lenneth's task was done as she promptly left, calmly stepping over a body before leaving through the door.
Another job well executed, as expected from Lenneth. After all, she's her Master's maid, she'd sweep any and all 'dust' he wishes to clean, bury any 'trash' he wishes to take out. By the time she's done, everything would be spotless.
Goal: Firstly, driven by a sense of loyalty to her mother, Matriarch Jezebel Tearmoon, and the coven she belongs to, Melisande strives to realize her ambitions of exerting the coven's control over the Glasic Fields by whatever means most convenient, whether through supporting the Wizard Queen or the Duke of Rhinecliff. Secondly, motivated by gratitude to the Dremora of Time, Kronos, who dwells within her, she wishes to search for a way to separate their conjoined souls so it can return to the Shade from whence it came. Thirdly, above all, she wishes to enjoy everything life has to offer before her borrowed time finally ends, whenever it'll be.
History:
The Lilim, a curious race of monogendered people; beautiful, physically delicate, and magically talented, these all-female sapients were said to have descended from ancient nymphs intermarrying with humans and elves. Regardless of the truth, it's clear that the mystical influence of the fey realm runs strong in them, which would indeed explain their peculiar traits. Then, the Dremora, shadowy creatures hailing from the Shade, dreaded and mysterious, they're a subject of innumerable stories and legends, malevolent anathema to the All-Force itself.
One might ask, what if a pair of Lilim and Dremora are forced to coexist? Melisande's very existence is a representation of such a concept.
Born as the first child of the current matriarch - leader - of the Tearmoon lilim coven, Melisande's struggle began right after she left her mother's womb. A sickly infant, the girl's early years were spent mostly bedridden and confined in her room, and even the best of the coven's healers were unable to cure her ailments, it was as if her fate had been set in stone, that she was to suffer through a short life of agony before she'd waste away into an eternal sleep. Something that the matriarch found unacceptable, her beloved daughter would live... by any means necessary.
After exhausting almost every option, Jezebel turned to the forbidden, in place of the so-called benevolent All-Force who couldn't save her daughter, she'd instead embrace the dark gifts of the Shade. Delving into eldritch knowledge was quite achievable for a Lilim of her stature, thus after no small amount of research, the coven matriarch prepared a ritual, one that would summon a dremora from the Shade and use its unlife-force to immortalize her child.
The ritual... succeeded, Jezebel summoned a creature of timeless existence and infused it into Melisande, freezing the progression of the child's affliction. However, meddling with the shade had its price, there'd always be a catch, and in this case, it's the harrowing fact that the otherworldly creature didn't quite disappear, instead its consciousness melded with Melisande's, practically turning them into a conjoined twin sharing a single body. Still, Jezebel deemed that it was worth it.
...and so did Melisande, as she grew up, she learned to coexist with her "twin", her 'other self', one she named Kronos. As for Kronos, it was resentful at first, being imprisoned in someone else's body, but due to the combination of Melisande's warm friendliness, its own curiosity about the material plane, and last but not least, the promise of one day being able to be separated and return home, it grew to tolerate its new life, one might say it might've grown fond of Melisande, though it'll never admit it.
At the tender age of sixteen summers, Melisande qualified for a scholarship from the Society of Young Magic to attend Hathforth Academy. There, she could hone her power over chronomancy, the arcane art of space-time and causality manipulation, using the best resources and tutelage the academy could offer. In addition, her mother tasked her with gathering any information that'd help the Tearmoon coven to rule over the Glasic Fields and obtain exclusive authorization to manage it, essentially supplanting the Royal Gardeners, but no one needs to know that... at least not before it’s appropriate to whisk the curtains.
Seed:Gemini - Melisande's Seed takes the form of a gem-encrusted golden star-shaped brooch. Perfectly symmetrical from the vertical axis, Gemini's primary function is to manipulate the fabric of space-time to conjure an identical copy of Melisande's body, including her current apparel, and either Kronos or Melisande herself can focus their consciousness to control said copy, which practically allows the twins to have a separate body each. The clone continuously consumes mana to maintain its existence and when dispelled through one reason or another, it'll simply vanish into fleeting motes of pure mana.
Magic:
❖ Swift: Enchants a target with magical vigor, allowing them to perform actions quicker. ❖ Slow: Hexes a target with arcane malady, hindering their movements. ❖ Hasten: Accelerates the progression of an effect, for example, an antidote that'd need several minutes to fully take effect can be manipulated into a single minute. ❖ Hinder: Impedes the progression of an effect, for example, a venom that'd have taken a minute to kill can be delayed to several minutes. ❖ Blink: Manipulates space-time to instantly change the caster's location to another location within sight or a maximum of several meters, whichever is closer. ❖ Reflect: Conjures a barrier that can reverse the trajectory of mundane projectiles, unable to affect magical projectiles. ❖ Vacuum: Generate a localized implosion at a designated point in space, damaging anything within that space with pure force. The size of each implosion can be no larger than an apple. --- ❖ Dimension Door: Connects two separate points of space within sight via a portal, enabling nigh-instantaneous travel between the two. If a portal closes while something is traveling through it, then the subject will either be wholly ejected into one end or if impossible due to one reason or another, severed in two. Can only conjure a single pair of portals simultaneously. ❖ Fate Bond: Intertwines the strings of causality between two separate individuals. If a bonded creature receives an effect, then the same will be applied to its pair. Can only work on creatures with a soul and no more than a single pair simultaneously. ❖ Void: Basically a larger version of Vacuum, this one can affect a volume of space as large as an adult horse.
Faction:Tearmoon Coven - Melisande is affiliated with the Tearmoon Coven, a society of Lilim (and their husbands or more rarely, wives) under the rule and guidance of the Matriarch, chosen by popular vote upon the death or abdication of her predecessor. While there are multiple covens scattered across the world, including Arrowfell, the Tearmoons are the most prominent among them. They're a little over a thousand members strong and host some of the best arcane practitioners in the region.
City:Tearmoon Glade - The patch of land dominated by meadows and rolling hills that the coven claimed as their ancestral home, dating back to centuries old. Though they're mostly self-sufficient due to the Lilim's talents in the arcane, they aren't xenophobic, in fact, it's the exact opposite. Due to how their race propagates, a Lilim can only bear Lilim daughters and as such, they need men of other races to take in as consorts.
Though each coven may differ in their culture and norms, Tearmoons in particular endorse Lilim-focused polygamy in that a Lilim is allowed to have multiple husbands (and/or wives, though husbands are preferred) and they do not acknowledge adultery if a husband or wife of a non-Lilim decides to marry one. The latter in particular is quite a controversial practice amongst outsiders as the Lilim's propensity for alluring comeliness means it's quite common for a married person to be tempted to elope on their spouse with a coven member.
In Tearmoon, only Lilim can become full-fledged coven members and they all share the same surname, which is the coven's name. People of other races need to be espoused to a member to be allowed to live within their enclave. Members who have come of age are encouraged to venture out of the glade, both to gather life experience and find a potential spouse to bring back to the coven.
Aside from providing services related to magic and alchemy, causing marital problems to non-Lilim women and men, and generally functioning as a self-sufficient enclave, the coven maintains neutrality in political affairs... until the Glasic Fields' sudden introduction into the region. Standing at the foremost of this newfound ambition is Matriarch Jezebel and her appointed agent, Melisande.
Assets: Arcane services, alchemical products, and... a popular emigration destination for individuals (mostly men) preferring an easy, docile life as a consort.
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@Estylwen Oh hey, this looks neat. I have an idea to pitch:
My main character will be the daughter of a Lilim coven mistress who's enrolled in the College of Hathforth, at least that's what she seems to be, in truth, she also acts as a spy and informant for her mother and coven, who has vested interest in exerting control over the Glasic Fields. The coven are opportunists, they care not who sits on the throne as long as they can rule over the seeds. After all, they're Lilim, daughters of the arcane.
And now, loredumping time, Lilim (plural and singular) are one of the many races of the world, they look almost indistinguishable from a Human to a layman's eyes. However, unlike humans, all Lilim are female (they can only bear daughters, which will be Lilim regardless of their father's race), notably more attractive on average compared to humans, and long-lived like the Elves. In general, they possess innate talent for the arcane arts, and in exchange, their physical prowess is quite subpar.
From a meta perspective, design-wise, I basically took traits from Humans, Elves, and Succubi then mashed them into this ultimate 'male fantasy' abomination.
With their plan prepared and set in motion, Remilia was quite pleased, finally some actual progress. Make no mistake, she didn't regret helping those villagers - well, perhaps a smidge due to the centipede incident - but the fact remained that all of them here needed to secure a way home, even if they decided to follow what Lavielle called them here for, it'd only be beneficial for everyone involved. Besides, a lady such as myself shouldn't be doing this alone, I need proper servants. What if the only way to return home was to accomplish Lavielle's goal? Ha, surely it couldn't be the case... right?
Before she could let the paranoia fester, Remilia's thoughts were interrupted by the emergence of trouble. There seemingly was a commotion at the settlement yonder, being seated quite high as she was, the Scarlet Devil was already in the perfect spot to scout. "Mmm... it appears the hamlet ahead is being accosted by... something." Sanae's reports confirmed her suspicions, it was quite fortunate they had able-bodied guardians among them, but judging by how numerous those dark purple ooze creatures were, indeed they could need some assistance.
The hired guards' refusal to help was not unexpected, they were paid to keep the merchant safe, sticking their nose into every little problem they came across would be in their employers' poor taste. However, none of Lavielle's abductees was beholden to such contracts, no? "Haaa... I suppose it falls on us to play heroes indeed." Remilia quipped in faux resignation, doing a poor job at masking her excitement. She stood up, spread her chiropteran wings, then casually floated off her 'throne', "Once more into the fray, comrades~"
The lilac-haired bloodmage grinned at Anne's suggestion, twas' a good plan, nay, a great plan, "I won't have it any other way, Lady Anne~" Yes, that's how it should be, she might not have Sakuya, nor Meiling, but these people could do. "Now cry havoc and let loose your fury!" As Fran, Youmu, and the others charged to join the Ent and the scissor-wielding blunette in their defense against the ooze insurgence, Remilia kept a watchful eye on their backs, ready to provide support to whomever needed it. After all, one couldn't form a proper spear with just the head.
I'm a fuckin' weeb, but one of my great-grandparents was Japanese and a Japanese can't be a weeb by definition so...
[h3]7/8 Weeb[/h3]
...[s]kill me.[/s]
[sub][i]Avatar drawn by [url=https://www.patreon.com/vayreceane]Vayreceane[/url][/i][/sub]
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I'm a fuckin' weeb, but one of my great-grandparents was Japanese and a Japanese can't be a weeb by definition so... <br><div class="bb-h3">7/8 Weeb</div><br>...<span class="bb-s">kill me.</span><br><br><sub><span class="bb-i">Avatar drawn by <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.patreon.com/vayreceane">Vayreceane</a></span></sub></div>
Cool Ghoul
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Estylwen
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