SSW

Fate/High Rollers

Ok, got a discord set up now.

discord.gg/zp7aNYf

Fate/High Rollers

I’ve been thinking of running a Fate Rp for a while, and now seems a pretty opportune time.

This RP will be set in Las Vegas, with a small cast of only one servant of each class and one master for each, with each person playing one character. There will be a couple minor NPCs, but I don’t intend to throw Beasts or the like at everyone. This will remain PvP the whole way through.

In addition, the masters will all be abnormal people able to fight defensively with a Servant. Since masters seem to trip people up, or at least be slow to fill, I’ll be offering archetypes for the masters that should make them easier, as well as assistance. Essentially, things like Dead Apostle, Church Knight, Atlas Sage, etc, serving as prompts to make a cast of characters with a little more variety than the usual spread.

Since the slots are so few, I’m uncomfortable offering them to the first person who expresses interest. Rather, it would be better to express interest in a slot or two, and make sheets for those.

So far, the only bars to go forward are me finishing said archetypes and interested people, so please tell me if this sounds good.

Fate Grand/Order, Epic of Remnant: Broken Boundary, Pseudo-Singularity - Fuyuki, Top/Brass Grail War

Sad Cow

Full Name: Eithne Fiadh Aoibheann O’Murricane

Aliases: White Cow of Kildare

Gender: Female

Age: 25

Crest: -

Family: O’Murricane

Species: Human?

Specialties: Milk

Character Objectives: Restore her body.

Personality:

A bitter woman who had her future stolen by inhuman creatures.

She has little patience for niceties, and speaks her mind without reserve. As stubborn as a bull, and just as quick to rage, particularly when her herd is threatened.

Despite that, she’s hardly uncaring. She has strong moral standards, and despises those who carelessly trample over the lives of others. She’ll step up as a hero when necessary.

To certain people, though, she can be as sweet as milk. Perhaps it’s the remnants of a personality that was trampled by hardships, or perhaps it’s simply her core nature. The calmness of a grazing creature. The softness of a protective mother. She simply cuts those parts away where possible.

She often has trouble telling if certain things are real. As if reality were simply an ephemeral illusion, that could burst apart like a dream at any moment.

Background:

The O’Murricane family began centuries ago. A druid, tending to a herd of cows, made a contract with the fae. He would be granted a core for a Magic Crest, but the fae would return in 700 years to reap the fruit of the family’s efforts.

The crest was borrowed, so the crest would be returned. Effectively, a time limit on his descendants’ ability to reach the root. And once the crest was taken, it would be as if a tree’s roots were removed. The family would essentially be destroyed.

So, the family came up with a countermeasure, of sorts. Rather than making the Crest an organ, they made it into a tree. Each family head would die and feed the tree’s soil, adding to the knowledge of the yew tree in the centre of their grove.

As further generations progressed, they took on the practice of beast magecraft. A dangerous method generally, but the family stabilised it - as the heads were overcome with the nature of the beast, they ate the poison of the yew tree, and passed on their knowledge to the crest. A brutal method, but effective, in a way.

As a tree grows, it branches, and sheds leaves. Even if the fae were to take back the tree, it was nonetheless a seven-hundred year project that had produced many things that would remain behind - planted in the grove, locked in vaults, entrusted to other families.

That way, the fae were deceived. Or so the family thought.

Foolish.

Perhaps the original words of the contract were lost. Perhaps the family simply convinced the ‘fruit’ of the family’s efforts could be nothing but the Crest.

Eithne was the next in line to inherit the headship of the family. She’d taken well to the teachings of the family, and had consumed the fruit of the tree. Her father was excited for her progression, as an intelligent child who had no problem securing a place to study at the Clock Tower. Perhaps it was the blind pride of a father, but he believed that his daughter would prove to revolutionise the entire family.

Two days before she was due to leave for London, Eithne disappeared. The fruit of the family’s 700 years was taken.

Seven years later, she found her way back to the world, after a long journey through an alien land. The fae had hardly considered her a prisoner - rather, her theft was meant to catalyse something interesting. The repayment of a debt, and the start of a heroic epic, just as all the various epics of Ireland began with the theft of a cow.

By her return, perhaps destabilised by the grief of her disappearance, her father had already given himself to the crest tree, which remained unstolen.

She could never return to the family’s work. The fairies had altered her body, stealing her fertility. Certainly, she had her own life to live. But as a Magus, she represented a dead end. After realising that, it was hard not to become bitter.

Upon hearing of the Holy Grail War, and the ability to make a wish - well, her attendance went without saying.

Country: Ireland

Affiliations: Mercenary

Rank: -

Alignment: Neutral Good

Magecraft:

Circuit Switch: The sensation of being milked

Number of Circuits: B

Quality of Circuits: B

Elemental Affinity: Fire, Water

Origin: -

General Magecraft

The basics.

Beast Magecraft

Magecraft based around bringing forth the aspects of beasts. In particular, Eithne makes use of cows and bulls. The strength of bulls, to fight. The fertility of cows, to align with druidcraft.

Familiars (Fae Cattle)

A herd of cattle consisting of both cows and bulls. Not true Fae cattle, but rather akin to half-bloods. Not created by the family, but bred over generations. Their fae ancestry can be glimpsed by their white colour and red ears.

Most aren’t true familiars, but rather simply a herd used to produce milk. The lead bull, however, as the guardian of the herd while Eithne is absent, is a true familiar, and has the strongest trace of Phantasmal blood.

Sacred Milk

The production of milk. Milk as a river that feeds the land. Milk as nourishment for the body. A mana-rich and nourishing milk that serves to encourage the growth of all life. Both that which grows in the earth, and that which walks the earth.

Druidcraft

A broad form of Magecraft revolving around nature and its cultivation, drawing out the meanings and power of trees and plants, healing techniques, and taking on aspects of animals.

In particular, Eithne specialises in the fast growth of plants into a grove, as well as the sacrifice of plants by fire for various effects.

Lamentation Engine Banshee

A fae modification, made to Eithne after her kidnapping. The removal of her womb, and its replacement with an engine that turns sadness into magical energy. It is coloured with those feelings, and can only be used as an invisible attack transmitted through a banshee-like screaming. The greater the loss, the greater the power.

The misery of being ripped from one’s home. The sorrow of being a living dead end for one’s own family. The mourning of the family lost in the time it took to return.

To the fae, even these were simply toys to play with.

Mystic Codes and Items:

Claiomh Solais

A sword received from fairies. A sword of light and fire. It is not ‘the’ Claiomh Solais, nor is it a mystic code imitating it. Rather, it is a single instance of the recurring fae phenomenon that is the sword Claiomh Solais. A fae construct received by completing three tasks within the land ruled by those beings.

It is a sword carrying the concept of light, sparking into fire as it is fed magical energy. Eithne has modified it to have a prana battery in the pommel.

Seeds

An enormous variety and quantity of plant seeds.

Sacred Milk

A large supply of the milk that Eithne’s cows can produce. More can be made, but a good starting supply is essential for her magecraft.

Non-Magical Talents:

Farming

The talent to run a farm. Includes economic management, animal husbandry, and various modern and ancient farming techniques.

Cooking

Culinary ability, particularly using dairy products and beef.

Swordsmanship

The ability to fight with swords. Of no particular style, learned among the fae. One can consider it an unpredictable, flashy method that might trip up even a veteran swordsman.

Fate Grand/Order, Epic of Remnant: Broken Boundary, Pseudo-Singularity - Fuyuki, Top/Brass Grail War

Caster

Caster of the Ladder



“In the name of God, I will smite you.”

ISRAEL

Aliases: Jacob, Patriarch of the Israelites, He Who Struggles with God

Gender: Male

Attribute: Heaven

Era: Genesis

Alignment: Lawful Good

Qualified Classes: Caster, Ruler

Character Objective: To achieve ‘Heaven’

Weapon: His own body. Nothing more is required.

Personality:

A strong father. A hero of justice. A calm and measured man who would be content to simply run a farm, though is willing to fight anything when it becomes necessary. One who believes that all should achieve heaven.

He’s not worried about his descendants; why should he be? Though there is enormous tragedy in the history of the people he fathered, God has already assured him that they will all eventually reach heaven. Rather, it is the rest of humanity that ISRAEL wishes to save.

Perhaps it’s conceited, wishing to impose a salvation upon humanity that they never wished for - but for ISRAEL, this is the firm hand of a father, granting something necessary, even if the children do not yet understand.

He has high standards for those who call themselves heroes. Basically, anyone who can’t defeat an angel with their bare hands is little more than a child. Though he doesn’t look down on those who fail to meet those; he would rather help build them up.

Of all his descendants, it is his son Joseph who is his favourite, his great-great grandson Moses who is the most impressive, and his descendant David who he is most proud of. Overall, he has the pride of a doting grandfather over those who followed in his family line, though he’s certainly not above favouritism.

Background:

One of the twin sons of Isaac, detailed in the book of Genesis. He was born wrestling his brother, Esau, and the two would continue to fight each other throughout their lives. His father favoured his brother, while his mother favoured him. Through his mother’s trickery and god’s will, he was able to usurp his brother’s inheritance and blessings.

His brother wasn’t content to let this lie, and vowed to kill Jacob as soon as their father died. Though Jacob wasn’t afraid of his brother, he listened to his mother's fears and fled to live with his uncle. On the way, he received a covenant from god; the assurance of Jacob’s ladder.

He spent 14 years in exile, marrying multiple women and fathering 12 children. He worked as a shepherd, looking after his uncle’s flocks with great care and the blessings of god, but eventually the mood between them soured. After the birth of Joseph, his favourite, he decided to finally return home.

On the way back to his home, he learned that his brother Esau was approaching him with an army of 400 men. As he prayed, an angel approached him. After Jacob demanded a blessing, the two of them wrestled until the angel was defeated, though his thigh was injured. It was here that he earned the name ISRAEL.

Upon reuniting with his brother, ISRAEL pacified his brother, calming his vengeful spirit with the elaborate gifts of his large flock of sheep. He settled in a small parcel of land with his family.

Though there are various anecdotes that take place after this, those are of ISRAEL the father of Jacob, within Jacob’s own legend. By that point, he was past his prime, and his own legend was largely finished.

Parameters:

STR: C ||| END: A ||| AGI: C ||| MAN: B ||| LCK: -

Class Skills:

Item Construction: B

The ability to construct various magical items, though it requires time to gather the necessary components and to complete the process of creation.

For ISRAEL, the most famous of these is the ‘coat of many colours’ that he crafted for his most favoured son. In this sense, the items that ISRAEL creates can contain multiple different contradicting attributes and functions together in harmony. Though the upper limit of what can be achieved with this skill is unavailable to ISRAEL, breadth and versatility, particularly of individual items, are higher than would be expected.

Territory Creation: -

The skill has been sublimated by Caster’s Noble Phantasms.

Personal Skills:

Jacob’s Limbs: EX

A method of hand-to-hand combat, primarily a form of wrestling. Caster is not simply a master of the art, but the inventor and point of origin for it. An unquestionably powerful combat style that, at this level, allows one to beat to death an ‘angel of destruction’ with only their own bare hands.

One who was wrestling even before his birth, as he grappled with his twin in the womb, being born grasping the heel of his brother Esau. The ability of one who endeavoured towards his goals with every tool at his disposal even in a state where all that existed was his own body and the body of his opponent. It can be said that this skill is the very essence of Caster’s being, a combat ability on par with a Noble Phantasm.

Since he prefers the name ISRAEL, he’d rather it was called ISRAEL’s Limbs, but the current name is fine, too.

Blessings of the Firstborn: A+

Blessings received from Isaac, ISRAEL’s father. Both blessings of good fortune and leadership, but also the ability to share blessings and curses among those that inflict them upon him. Even if the blessing is rejected, or the curse is countered, the attempt to give it to Caster results in it being returned to the originator, whether it ultimately connects to Caster or not. A powerful ability that spreads blessings among allies, and returns curses to enemies.

Though Isaac wanted to grant them to Esau, ISRAEL tricked his father with the guidance of his mother and his god, he was able to usurp the position of ‘firstborn’ from his brother. Because even though his father wanted to bless Esau, it was the will of god that he was to be blessed. So he struggled, and with fate on his side, succeeded.

The skill also denotes the ability to distribute blessings.

Revelation: A

The ability to hear the voice of the heavens, and act optimally in accordance. Not only is it a sixth sense during battles, but also has broader applications in the larger achievement of goals, such as choosing a path to travel or a place to settle.

Caster is one who received various dreams and guidance from both angels and god, in order to save him from various perils and inform him of his children’s destinies.

Battle Continuation: C++

A skill that allows for the continuation of a battle despite major wounds. Derived from ISRAEL's continuation of his struggle with the angel until dawn, even as it permanently wounded his hip.

Under normal circumstances, continuing the battle despite serious injury is possible, but when it comes to wrestling, he will never release a hold once he has someone grappled. The type of skill suitable for a stubborn fool who will never let go until he achieves his goal.

Noble Phantasms:

Israel
Father of a Nation

Rank: C
Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Range: 0
Maximum Targets: 1

One from whose body sprung forth the twelve tribes of Israel. Though not the first of the Israelites, he was the one who gave them their name, and the names of their tribes.

A body that is, conceptually, a ‘nation’, a ‘people’. To face its blows is to face the blows of a nation. To stand against it, one must be able to destroy an entire people.

A supreme power of both offense and defence that is fitting for the father of a nation.

It also has the bonus effect that while grappling another, that person is no longer considered within their own territory, but within ISRAEL’s, and therefore any bonuses from territory are nullified.

Jacob’s Ladder
Stairway to Heaven

Rank: A
Type: Anti-World
Range: 0-100
Maximum Targets: -

The actualisation of a vision that ISRAEL received, of a great ladder or stairway leading to ‘heaven’. Fundamentally, it is the ability of ISRAEL and the ‘chosen people’ that he fathered to achieve heaven. An assurance that those who god has selected will receive his blessings. A covenant on the level of the Ark given to his son, David.

But for ISRAEL, that is not enough.

Those who cannot hear the voice of god. Those who do not know his plan. It is they who suffer for it, as they struggle in futility against the preordained plans. The people who can fight the fate god has ruled - they are few indeed.

The world would simply be happier if they could see God's will.

Jacob’s Ladder is a method of achieving heaven. As a pact with god, a dream of assurance of the eventual fate of Jacob and his descendants, it is a vision, spread to the world with a force akin to gravity.

In another sense, a method of imposing ISRAEL’s own Revelation upon the world. The words of god, that Jacob hears, are spread over the world. And in being spread, they are imposed on the world. The fate ordained by YHVH is solidified into the world, in such a way that all within the territory are aware of it. A perception of the future that all can share - though naturally perceiving the future doesn’t mean one can change it.

The ladder forms a territory upon activation, starting small but growing to encompass an enormous area as ISRAEL gathers magical energy. It is a territory that is completely advantageous to him as the word of god ensures his success.

Fate/Top Brass

Got a Saber idea that could be fun.

Fate/Lost Epoch

Markansas Valdark Reschyshyn
King of Infinite Hells

Academy, The Banquet of Kings

Rather than attend himself, Markansas sent a puppet in his stead, disguised in a mask. Though enemy Masters might notice something wrong, not sensing the presence of a command seal, and with the puppet’s inhuman movements, there were plenty of distractions in any case.

In contrast to his usual bombastic persona, Markansas silently watched the various ongoings while trying to avoid notice.

Upon his Servant’s request, Markansas examined the competition. The various kings gathered around all seemed interesting in their own way. Many of the Servants reached ‘King of the Abyss’ in parameters, and others were at the level of ‘Deity of Chaos’. He reported this to his Servant without the usual flair; quiet and practical.

When the attack came, Markansas merely gave a chuckle. Whoever had decided to attack such a gathering of kings and heroes had been foolish indeed. For a moment, it seemed that the banquet was over as several Servants moved to chase down the intruder. But then, the doctor appeared.

"Come, then. Cull the disease. Slay the monster. Once more, the villain will be toppled, and the day will be saved."

How unfortunate. How truly, truly unfortunate.

For Markansas, the concept of ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ were one and the same. Identical in function, differing only in aesthetic. Both served to unite people, to inspire them, to exist beyond the ordinary of humanity. Just as curses and blessings are the same, just as a holy sword can become a demonic sword...

Of course, there was a difference between ‘saving others’ and ‘killing others’. But when two wishes clashed, it was often simply the victor who became a hero, who decided the definition of justice.

The nature of his ally was obvious now. Someone who fate had thrust the role of villain upon, who had attempted to embrace the role of a hero. A tragic story.

How impressive. Markansas spoke to his Servant. This war is truly impressive. Ah, but to think the glorious clashes between hero and villain would be so sad. I’ll use a Command Seal to bring you out if it gets dangerous. But I’ll be abandoning this puppet to see things to the end.

“You think a mere demon lord can compete with the King of Infinite Hells? Die in shame to my weakest of minions!” The pathetic voice of a cowardly master, one who swaddled himself in lies, one who hadn’t even attended the banquet himself. But in that moment, his voice did not waver.

A cursed birth that existed to prevent the success of heroes. One whose fate was always to be ‘ruin’. A person without malice, forced into the role of a villain.

There could be no question that such an existence was a ‘scapegoat’.

“I’m sorry, Hercules.”

The conditions had been set. The entity with the designation ‘Hercules’ became a being that took on the grudges of the living.

The starting penalty is five.

@ReallyDumb @Froppy @wug @Yankee @Over Illusion @BB @Phlogistinator @Crusader Lord @Aoko Aozaki @Phonic @Reflection

Fate/Aureum Mea

I'm the friend Cu was talking about doing a Master pair with, hello!

I've run stuff similar to this in the past, always fun to play into the mystery aspect of the Servants.

Is Berserker's 'boarish' nature deliberate, or is that a misspelling?

Fate/Lost Epoch

Astolfo

Foreign District, Crashed Plane

"Ma'am, the person who died here was not Santa, that is not a sleigh, and you are not the new Santa either."

“Huh? Huh? Huh!?” The barrage of revelations came thick and fast, leaving Astolfo with little response. “That doesn’t sound right. If I’m not the new Santa, then why did I already give my master one of my Noble Phantasms as a gift, then?” His response was accusatory and indignant, but it mostly just came out as cute. For some reason, that was the one counterpoint that he could think of in that moment.

“But wait… You were talking in red, so it must be true,” Astfolo said, placing a finger on his chin in thought. “Alright! I guess I’m not Santa after all! Honestly, I was getting pretty worried about how tough the job is, so it’s actually a relief!” He lifted his arm in a cheer of joy. Once again, the emotions he was displaying were wiped away in an instant to make place for the new truth, accepted in a moment.

“Well, that means I can focus on winning the Grail War! As the cutest Servant summoned in the strongest class, it should be a piece of cake.” At that, Astolfo struck a pose, holding two fingers around his eye, and opening his mouth wide in a smile that showed a small fang. “Oh, I should talk in pink, that would be even cuter.”

He looked towards his fellow Servant, as if really seeing her for the first time. ”I guess that makes us enemies, but you seem nice. We should be friends instead!” He held out his hand towards the Archer, beaming through closed eyes as he offered a handshake, a symbol of friendship. It was a strange thing to offer someone who had only spoken a single sentence to him, but that was just the kind of person Astolfo was.

”I’m Astolfo, one of the Paladins of Charlemagne. What’s your name?” After carelessly giving away his true name, he finally stopped babbling, giving the other Servant a chance to respond.

@Astarte @Cu Chulainn

Fate/Lost Epoch

Astolfo

Foreign District: Crashed Plane

“Huh, wait! I forgot to bring Hippo-kun! Oh no!” Looking up at the flying red dot in the sky, Astolfo had tried to summon his Hippogriff to go and say hello. Whoever was up there had a great idea, scouting the city from above, but he couldn’t join them. How sad, how sad.

For a moment, he wracked his brain trying to think of Servants that travelled in small red airborne vehicles. “Wait a minute- could that be Santa Claus?” He wasn’t sure about the timing, but even if that was wrong, Santa Claus could certainly have been summoned as a Servant. Would his Noble Phantasm be his sled, a method of traversing the entire world in a single night using the theoretical power of imaginary numbers? Would it be the machine of mass surveillance used to construct his list of absolute judgement? Or would it be the coal (curse) imposed upon naughty children? Any of them would be pretty hard to deal with. “Oh no, am I going to have to fight Santa?” Astolfo squeaked, terrified by the possibility.

As it turned out, that wouldn’t be a worry for long, as the red dot in the sky began to collapse towards the earth. For a moment, Astolfo smiled in relief at the knowledge that he would no longer have to fight Santa Claus. “Wait! That means someone else is attacking Santa Claus! That’s even worse!” Setting aside how powerful an enemy would have to be to deal with Santa’s omniscient machine and capacity to dodge any attack, it meant he wouldn’t be around to deliver presents to the world’s children! Astolfo took off on an immediate sprint, running towards the crash site.

Tears welled in his eyes as he saw that nobody had survived the crash. It didn’t really look like a sled, but by this point Astolfo’s imaginative theories had swelled to ‘fact’ in his mind. Picking up a tattered briefcase, a tear dropped from his eyes and splashed on the leather. “Don’t worry, Santa. I will inherit this burden. Yes, that’s right. There must always be a Santa, after all.”

Then, as if the sadness had never existed at all, he perked up. “Aha, get ready Fuyuki! It’s time for Astolfo-chan to deliver presents to all the good children of the city! Ah, but where do I start… And how do I tell who’s good?” Racked by the difficulty of the question, Astolfo sat in thought for a while, all considerations of the Grail War and the task given to him by his Master completely forgotten.

@Astarte @Cu Chulainn

Markansas Valdark Reschyshyn
Sewing-Life Chirurgeon

Western Farms: Tom Fruz’s Workshop

It had certainly been strange to learn of Hercules’ Master and the lengths he had gone to avoiding his various debts. Markansas would have to try harder to match the evils of loan sharks.

In any case, his method of ‘healing’ was highly compatible with these injuries. By now, the inner organs were all entirely functional and standard, and perhaps that had caused Markansas to go a little overboard on the eye. It was a pitch black obsidian orb with rings of many colours where the iris should be, flashing in and out of existence. Each ring was jagged, surrounded by a pentagram.

“You’ll probably have to keep the eyepatch,” He said, a note of sheepishness in his voice. Quickly, he followed up with a return to his usual bombastic style; “The evil eye of perdition is not something to be witnessed by mortals, after all.”

“Take some time to rest,” He said. “After all, it wouldn’t do if you go and die on me. Fufufufu….”

It occurred to Markansas that this sort of healing didn’t mix well with his image. While he’d been willing to talk to Hercules entirely seriously, his Master was another matter entirely. Yes, he needed some kind of excuse here. “If each of those organs was so valuable, their replacements must be just as valuable… Taking into account the cost of the materials- Yes, I expect to be paid back in full. A villain such as I would never act out of pure charity, after all.”

@ReallyDumb

Fate/Lost Epoch

Markansas Valdark Reschyshyn
Jet Black Antihero

Considering an Offer: Commerce District

Whatever Markansas had been expecting, it certainly wasn’t that. For his Servant to manifest in protection, and for the enemy hero to react in such a way, both were far from his fear-driven estimations. And some strange interference from a nearby master… Along with the strange and beautiful music that also began to play. Well, whatever they had been attempting to do, it seemed harmless enough.

Well, if this Hercules was speaking seriously, the least he could do was offer the same courtesy. Markansas’ tone shifted, away from his bizarre and dramatic speech, and his body relaxed, entering a neutral position after his strange poses. Behind his mask, his expression changed, too, from a fake confident grin to neutrality.

“I see. You two are similar, after all. As for myself, I chose this fate. If it were me alone, I would gratefully refuse this offer… But this is a partnership. And we both have our wishes to consider.”

There was another factor, too. Multiple masters were watching. The people who had been warned about Hercules appearing in public, who had been curious enough to attend. Markansas’ command seals burned. Regardless of whether accepting this offer was a good idea or not, it was something they would take notice of. Accepting would mean establishing the alliance as a threat - and perhaps even a danger to the secrecy of the grail war itself.

Even so, that man’s words were inspiring. If this Servant truly was the greatest hero of Greece, then perhaps none of that truly mattered. Overcoming the fate that the world imposed upon people - yes that was a desire shared by heroes and villains alike.

“Then I will accept your offer. That is, so long as my partner can accept this too. In any case, we should discuss this elsewhere.”

He turned towards the crowd, scanning it for potential enemies. If his mask had been off, he would have given an enormous smirk, but as it was, he simply settled for a bow. “Adieu, Servants and Masters of the Holy Grail War. I urge you, prepare yourselves.”

@Yankee@Over Illusion @Flood @Reflection @Crusader Lord @ReallyDumb