Red7VII

Council of the Night

It looks like we have about 7 players so far. I'm getting pretty excited!

Council of the Night

This is certainly just spitballing and its ultimately the GMs decision, but it might serve the game well if the Council was mostly in name only and its members served as remote agents of Dracula. In his missing status, all were summoned simultaneously and, upon gathering, met eachother officially for the first time.

Might make it easier to form bonds among players and characters alike being able to start fresh and provide the opportunity to really introduce themselves within the game.

Otherwise, if we're starting with a pre-established history with one another then I suppose there will have to be a significant amount of behind the scenes discussion to create that timeline, leaving a lot of plot "off screen".

Council of the Night

Certainly so, but do we need to arrange that basis of familiarity beforehand with each individual player or is there a safe level of assumption across the board?

Council of the Night

@Polyphemus, how familiar do you envision these characters are with eachother? If they are all on the council, should we already have a history with eachother and potentially know one another's strengths and weaknesses in-game?

Council of the Night

Nowhere to Hyde

Inspiration: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Abilities/ Skills:

Advanced Intelligence - Ward's father came from a scientific background and the young man has a natural affinity for knowledge in general. His modified genetics, thanks to his father's altered genes, also aid in his ability to process, analyze and memorize information. Because of this, his is multilingual, an expert chemist and fluent in most forms of technology. The nearly constant activity in his mind often gets in the way of his sleep. On any given day, Ward typically only rests for a couple of hours before getting back to work.

Highly Durable - While Ward can't flip a car over with his bare hands, his body is unnaturally fortified. While he can be broken, it would take a lot of concentrated effort. For example, if you were to hit him with a car, he would likely pick himself back up and dust himself off before going on with his business, but if you were to shove a grenade down his throat, he would most certainly be done for. Bullets will tear through his skin, but they wouldn't necessarily be able to make it through his bones unless they were high caliber armor piercing rounds.

Combat Proficiency - Ward's physical strength is comparable to any other human, however he has trained himself in various forms of armed and unarmed combat and is proficient with a variety of weapons, which aids greatly in the day to day operation of his criminal empire.

Telepathy - Ward's supernatural mind is so advanced that he soon discovered he could enter others' minds as well. While the ability to rapaciously read a person's mind is incredibly difficult, especially depending on the person, his ability to communicate with others through a mental connection is easily done. On weaker minded individuals (Read: mostly Trash NPCs), he can even induce behavior akin to hypnosis. While the limits of this ability are not currently known, he mostly uses it as a supernatural walkie talkie to direct his cronies or terrify his enemies.

History:

Dr. Henry Jekyll gave birth to Mr. Edward Hyde through chemical induction, creating a monster composed of his own evil. Mr. Hyde was conniving, harbored murderous intent and had a power of will that eventually overtook Jekyll's psyche. Soon Dr. Henry Jekyll ceased to exist, being consumed by his own creation. Eventually, there was only Hyde.

The potion that gave Hyde life also gave him power. His body and mind were forever altered, fortified and corrupted. As Edward Hyde made his way in the world, he satisfied whatever urge happened to pique his interest, including those of a carnal nature. That is where our story starts for our Ward, the one and only son of Mr. Edward Hyde.

Ward grew up a bastard to a whore. Nothing about him fit the mold of "normal". One need only be within a few paces of him to feel his eerie presence. Quiet and calculating, fearless and also horrifying, Ward is certainly his father's son but perhaps an improvement upon the original. Whereas his father was known to be a man of monstrous strength, Ward's greatest power does not live in the fibers of his muscles. Instead, his horrifying abilities come from his mind.

Growing up in poverty, Ward quickly learned meaning of survival on the streets. While his mother turned tricks, he busied himself with organizing scores, small time burglaries and pickpocketing with a gang of like-minded youths. His prowess for strategy and action was obvious to all and as the years went by, his small gang of street rats turned into a criminal empire with him at the head of the table.

Ward's abilities manifested when he was in his teenage years and were invaluable to cementing his status as top dog among his degenerate ilk. He would terrorize his foes, entering their minds and relentlessly haunting them, pushing them to the brink of madness until they surrendered to his will or forfeited their life.

Everyone in his hometown grew to know his name, but none would dare speak it. He was the living Boogeyman who ruled the city with an iron fist. He had one demand: Fall in line or bleed. Even his own mother grew to fear him. She lived alone in a luxurious home that Ward bought for her, filled with hired help that would see to her needs, but calling it a 'life' was a stretch of the word. She was an animal in an expensive cage from which she would never be allowed to escape. In Ward's mind, he was keeping her safe. To her, she was a prisoner.

Ward's supernatural infamy and penchant for bloodshed eventually caught the attention of the Lord of Darkness, who presented Ward with a lucrative offer. Join him and open up up his assets for Dracula's use and in return he would give Ward access to more power than he could ever hope to gain on his own. While Ward wasn't sure if he truly needed what the vampire was offering, his curiosity was formidable enough that he gave in and agreed to combine resources before formally taking a seat on the Council of the Night.

Goals:

Ward's goal is to conquer. He wants life to bend to his will and he will stop at nothing to accrue the power he needs to make that happen.

Theme Song: Killing Strangers

Notes: The original Mr. Edward Hyde (Senior) is said to still exist in the world, though Ward has no interest in seeking him out. In his mind, if his father wants nothing to do with him then, in return, he wants nothing to do with his father.

Council of the Night

For your consideration:

Nowhere to Hyde

Inspiration: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Abilities/ Skills:

Advanced Intelligence - Ward's father came from a scientific background and the young man has a natural affinity for knowledge in general. His modified genetics, thanks to his father's altered genes, also aid in his ability to process, analyze and memorize information. Because of this, his is multilingual, an expert chemist and fluent in most forms of technology. The nearly constant activity in his mind often gets in the way of his sleep. On any given day, Ward typically only rests for a couple of hours before getting back to work.

Highly Durable - While Ward can't flip a car over with his bare hands, his body is unnaturally fortified. While he can be broken, it would take a lot of concentrated effort. For example, if you were to hit him with a car, he would likely pick himself back up and dust himself off before going on with his business, but if you were to shove a grenade down his throat, he would most certainly be done for. Bullets will tear through his skin, but they wouldn't necessarily be able to make it through his bones unless they were high caliber armor piercing rounds.

Combat Proficiency - Ward's physical strength is comparable to any other human, however he has trained himself in various forms of armed and unarmed combat and is proficient with a variety of weapons, which aids greatly in the day to day operation of his criminal empire.

Telepathy - Ward's supernatural mind is so advanced that he soon discovered he could enter others' minds as well. While the ability to rapaciously read a person's mind is incredibly difficult, especially depending on the person, his ability to communicate with others through a mental connection is easily done. On weaker minded individuals (Read: mostly Trash NPCs), he can even induce behavior akin to hypnosis. While the limits of this ability are not currently known, he mostly uses it as a supernatural walkie talkie to direct his cronies or terrify his enemies.

History:

Dr. Henry Jekyll gave birth to Mr. Edward Hyde through chemical induction, creating a monster composed of his own evil. Mr. Hyde was conniving, harbored murderous intent and had a power of will that eventually overtook Jekyll's psyche. Soon Dr. Henry Jekyll ceased to exist, being consumed by his own creation. Eventually, there was only Hyde.

The potion that gave Hyde life also gave him power. His body and mind were forever altered, fortified and corrupted. As Edward Hyde made his way in the world, he satisfied whatever urge happened to pique his interest, including those of a carnal nature. That is where our story starts for our Ward, the one and only son of Mr. Edward Hyde.

Ward grew up a bastard to a whore. Nothing about him fit the mold of "normal". One need only be within a few paces of him to feel his eerie presence. Quiet and calculating, fearless and also horrifying, Ward is certainly his father's son but perhaps an improvement upon the original. Whereas his father was known to be a man of monstrous strength, Ward's greatest power does not live in the fibers of his muscles. Instead, his horrifying abilities come from his mind.

Growing up in poverty, Ward quickly learned meaning of survival on the streets. While his mother turned tricks, he busied himself with organizing scores, small time burglaries and pickpocketing with a gang of like-minded youths. His prowess for strategy and action was obvious to all and as the years went by, his small gang of street rats turned into a criminal empire with him at the head of the table.

Ward's abilities manifested when he was in his teenage years and were invaluable to cementing his status as top dog among his degenerate ilk. He would terrorize his foes, entering their minds and relentlessly haunting them, pushing them to the brink of madness until they surrendered to his will or forfeited their life.

Everyone in his hometown grew to know his name, but none would dare speak it. He was the living Boogeyman who ruled the city with an iron fist. He had one demand: Fall in line or bleed. Even his own mother grew to fear him. She lived alone in a luxurious home that Ward bought for her, filled with hired help that would see to her needs, but calling it a 'life' was a stretch of the word. She was an animal in an expensive cage from which she would never be allowed to escape. In Ward's mind, he was keeping her safe. To her, she was a prisoner.

Ward's supernatural infamy and penchant for bloodshed eventually caught the attention of the Lord of Darkness, who presented Ward with a lucrative offer. Join him and open up up his assets for Dracula's use and in return he would give Ward access to more power than he could ever hope to gain on his own. While Ward wasn't sure if he truly needed what the vampire was offering, his curiosity was formidable enough that he gave in and agreed to combine resources before formally taking a seat on the Council of the Night.

Goals:

Ward's goal is to conquer. He wants life to bend to his will and he will stop at nothing to accrue the power he needs to make that happen.

Theme Song: Killing Strangers

Notes: The original Mr. Edward Hyde (Senior) is said to still exist in the world, though Ward has no interest in seeking him out. In his mind, if his father wants nothing to do with him then, in return, he wants nothing to do with his father.

X-Men: The New Era - Avalon Rising

Not sure what happened, but much love back at ya, bud! Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Not that this is what you did (like I said, I missed the whole thing), but I tend to make it a point to make people feel uncomfortable just to see how they react. That's how you really get to know some folk so don't be too hard on yourself if something you did made someone else feel a little awkward. This is a forum of self-admitted nerds with weird ass fantasies, myself included. This is not, and should never, be taken that seriously.

Give yourself a break and, if I don't see you here, hopefully I can join you on another nerdy adventure elsewhere, homie!

X-Men: The New Era - Avalon Rising

Good to see ya, @PapaOso!

X-Men: The New Era - Avalon Rising

Drake “D” Edwards

---

Interaction/Mentions: @c3p-0h | Location: Ashford Institute > Danger Room

---

---

Drake's eyes followed Ashford as he paced, his stare zeroing in on the headmaster's lips. He heard his voice and knew that words were being formed. What Ashford was saying, though, Drake hadn't a clue. He was on autopilot, just going through the motions. After Ashford gave his speech, he left the room and suddenly there wasn't anyone to focus on, at least not immediately. Instead, Drake stared at the door that had closed behind the two figures of authority. He could feel his eyes start to move inward, becoming slightly crossed. His vision blurred but there was a strange comfort in it. It was like putting the world on mute while he stood there leaning against the far wall looking like he had just crawled out of a dumpster.

Drake's eyes were a nearly luminous crimson, except for a slice of azure, surrounded by dark sockets resembling pits of despair. Inevitably, the little bit of blue that was left in one of his irises would surrender to the red, but the young man was determined to put that off as long as possible. For a while now, Drake had been struggling with an internal battle, silently combating a foreign entity within his own mind. That alien force was at its strongest when Drake was unconscious and therefore the fire welding mutant decided to swear off sleep altogether. The toll it was taking on him was obvious. Nevertheless, he stood resilient. Stupefied, but tenacious.

Amidst the blur of moving bodies, he recognized the shape of Aya come into view for but a moment as she took her exit, seemingly in pursuit of the professors. And then, once more, there was just the door. Drake's jaw became slack and he could feel his eyelids embracing gravity. The darkness was welcoming and it beckoned him forth, tempting him with comfort and refreshment. His neck started to buckle under the weight of his head and his line of sight was beginning to travel south as the floor gradually came into view. Maybe just for a minute, he could safely do it. Maybe just for a minute he could nap and that might give him enough energy to get him through the rest of the day. Just one... quick... minute...

Suddenly, his pupils went wide and his eyebrows sprung up. A grimace appeared on his face as someone in the room let out a scream. His vision quickly refocused and his body sprung into a cautious landing position as if he had just planted himself after jumping off a cliff. Hurriedly, he scanned the faces around him to try and identify the source of the outcry. He played it over in his memory, analyzing the voice he heard. It didn't take long before he concluded who was responsible. The voice was his own.

"Sorry!" he said urgently, as if the apology would erase what had just happened so long as he said it quickly enough. "Sorry. There was a... spider." Drake immediately regretted that. Surely, there was something cooler he could have said. "But it's gone now. I killed it. With fire. I do fire." He bit his own lips shut, refusing to say anything more that would paint him as being simpler than he already appeared. He found himself wishing that someone, anyone would say something to take the spotlight off of him.

X-Men: The New Era - Avalon Rising

Drake Edwards

Peek-a-boo

Name: Drake Edwards
Nicknames/Aliases: "D"

Gender: Male
Age: 22
Physical Description:
6'1"
Fit frame with broad shoulders
Two different colors eyes - one blue and one red, a mutation called heterochromia. This has altered over time to where both eyes are nearly completely crimson.
Dark hair, beard
Various tattoos on his arms and back.
Dresses fairly casually. Usually in blue jeans, a dark t-shirt, leather jacket, boots and often sunglasses to hide his eyes.

Mutations: His mutation has been developing in stages. Initially, and to this day, he was completely fire-proof. Now, he has a fair, albeit unmastered, understanding of pyrokinesis and can produce and manipulate flames and heat at will. Finally, I want the stages of the mutation to end with him transforming into a demon-looking creature (triggered by anger or stress similar to The Hulk) that can command fire masterfully.

His powers are primarily fire-based. He cannot burn, he can control fire, and he can project fire. Once he achieves full mutation, his second form just adds a bit of strength and resilience at the cost of willpower.

Personality: Often sarcastic, analytical and initially more comfortable solo than in a group. It takes some effort to earn Drake's trust, but once you do, you've got a friend for life. Very loyal, willing to go to great lengths to keep his friends and family safe.

Background: Drake grew up in a normal environment. He was born to fairly normal parents in Texas and has a twin brother, Shawn, who still lives there. Shawn was definitely the favorite in the family and an overachiever to boot. His twin brother is on the fast track to achieving his dream of getting a PhD while Drake has always felt more comfortable with a wrench in his hand. While there was no real hard feelings between the brothers, Drake was tired of his parents' constant reminders of his brother's successes while Drake barely graduated high school and didn't even bother applying to colleges. To get out from under his brother's shadow, Drake moved out of Texas and tried to start over elsewhere, becoming a bit of a nomad in search of a purpose.

Recap of your mutations awakening: Drake is not aware of the full potential he possesses. One day while working as a mechanic at a small mom and pop shop, Drake received a new welding tank from the shop owners' vendor. A client had come in requested that a new muffler be welded onto his truck. Drake ignited the torch and suddenly the tank exploded. The shop went up in flames and engulfed Drake's body. Initially in shock and screaming out of instinct, it wasn't long before Drake realized he wasn't actually hurting. In disbelief and panic, he ran through the flames and out to the street, slapping at the scorched remains of his clothes to pat out the fire. Firefighters were soon on the scene and emergency medical personnel pulled Drake toward their ambulance and tried to screen him for injuries. To the shock of everyone, there were none. Other than Drake's clothes, he suffered no burns at all despite being in the heart of the explosion. It was obvious to him and his onlookers that something wasn't right. Drake was not normal. With a look of fear and shame, Drake shoved passed EMS and took off running down the street toward the parking lot where he left his motorcycle. It was time to fill a backpack with what little he owned and move again...