A Black Legacy

Alright, said I was planning on trying to join but I sadly won't. I won't be available this weekend and I'll probably have a hard time catching up when I get back.

Hope the rest of ya will have fun with this! ^^

edited 1st Oct '15 11:43:52 AM by Peldms63

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14431601290A96816900&page=2#29

And my SU is finished.

SO Vance's Legacy are those Chakras? How does he go about unlocking them? Just hard work?

Actually, Vance himself isn't special in any way. Anyone could do the things he does. He does have a ghost that sometimes shows up in his dreams to motivate him, but for now, his only powers are he's very physically fit, has really good mental discipline, and he's specially trained his body to make himself more durable and heal faster via meditation. The latter two are a bit more out there, but overall, it's all a result of training the powers humans already have. It doesn't even really matter that he's related to Ragnar: his great grandpa's just big on one of his descendants taking his place, so he only bothered to pay attention to his descendants. Later on he'll get crazier stuff, like turning his fists into metal or shooting energy blasts from his hands, but for now he's just a normal person with some really intense training under his belt and an ancestor that sometimes shows up in his dreams.

Great Grandpa Ragnar can possess him, but only while he's asleep, and for only a few minutes a day, and it takes a lot out of Ragnar, and Ragnar in ghost form is so weak that Vance would actually be weakened in that state, so it's generally not worth the trouble. In his history, when Ragnar possessed him for a while, that was before Vance started training. Now that he's been training for a while, he'd be stronger in his lucid state.

edited 1st Oct '15 9:08:24 PM by HeroicSociopath

How does he eventually get to unlock those other Chakras, though? Steady, hard training? Eating the hearts of other men?

Mostly training and meditation. The training is very intense, though. Most people wouldn't even try it, and most of the people who would wouldn't survive. Learning Muladhara required Akihiko to fast until he very nearly starved to death. It would have killed him, had he not already been used to eating very little and had Ragnar to guide him. Vadhishthana required him to deliberately have his bones broken. It was in very specific ways. Had he not known the proper method or taught himself his healing factor first, he would have weakened himself instead of becoming stronger.

That said, having a mentor wasn't strictly necessary. There are books that can teach you how to attain the chakras as well. But Vance didn't have access to a library. And he would have been a bit more likely to die that way anyhow.

Looks good, then.

Alright, so I think that when I start, half of us will be in a spooky superjail, the other half will be at a manor... being hired to break people out of said jail.

On the jail side, we've got Vance, Mitha, Tomsich, and Natali. On the manor side we'll be having Tanith, Velnae, Elaine, and Annie.

Also, a discussion thread with a map and crackers.

I'll see if I can get a post tonight, but most likely not.

edited 2nd Oct '15 11:12:23 AM by HazzyHaz

Uhh....What about Elaine?

Your eyes must be trickily tricking you

• Name: Maria Hopkins
• Species: Human
• Appearance: Short and frail looking, to be sure. Her face is thin and sallow from the diseases she has to constantly deal with, but otherwise is generally aesthetically pleasing. She keeps her black hair shoulder-length and cropped, and preferably underneath a bonnet or hat. The bags underneath her sockets are complimented with her almost grey-blue eyes. She has a taste for the frilly (if dowdy) dresses that only the rich could afford, but when she doesn't need to flaunt her status she generally wears unadorned cloaks.
• Age: 20
• Gender: Female
• Legacy: During the Winter Marshal's crusade, an necromancer residing incognito in a small farming town by the name of Daniel Hobb took the widespread chaos as an opportunity, and enacted a plan he had been waiting years for. He ascended to Lichdom, and used the many recently deceased in a plan to take over the entire southern continent. Swiftly, he had cut a swath through the fields and plains in a fiery path, intending to take the head of the king and place himself in the throne. The whole campaign was a brief one, lasting but a few weeks before coming to its conclusion. When confronted with the Kingdom of Alhest's capital itself, he ran into an obstacle. The militia and minor military elements he had faced up to this point were woefully under-equipped and short on men to take on the sheer numbers Hobb had in his forces. The army at the capital itself consisted of the best-trained and best-equipped men in the service, but the Lich's downfall was their ingenuity. They had plenty of advance warning to the incoming onslaught, and many after-battle reports detailing the exact weaknesses of the undead. When the gates to the city opened after 3 days of sieging, a regiment group of trained war-clerics, their holy radiance making them all but untouchable to the undead, cleaved through his forces and straight to the leader himself. Despite the headlong tactics he had adopted prior, Hobb did have a backup plan in place. His best kept secret was that he had a family, a loving wife and their two sons. By the time the clerics had made it to his tent, the Lich had crumbled into dust. He left a note, stating that he gave up immortality so that 10 generations from now, his descendants would grow powerful and take the Kingdom from within. Though his impact in life was ultimately minimal, his plans in death would be of much greater impact.
• Bio: Unfortunately, the family line of Hobb had run into a few snags. Though they kept their heritage a secret, chance had taken its toll. By the time the 10th generation arrived, the Hopkins line had dwindled to one family, who had sired only one daughter. This daughter was Maria Hopkins, born into a family of shipping magnates who had their fingers in every business of the Kingdom's ports. Maria herself had no idea as to the intended plan of her ancestor, as the matter had become little but a family legend down the line. So, she grew up with the usual life of the social elite, if a bit more susceptible to disease than most. She generally tries to act a bit more humble than the rest of her family, but can at times find those lower on the economic ladder a bit too rough for her tastes. Recently, her father's brief run for Mayor of the capital brought with it a number of political enemies. One particular opponent managed to dig up a large amount of tangential evidence suggesting the true nature of their heritage, and shared it with the Kingdom as a whole. Though the survivors of that war had been long dead, Hobb's Conquest had stuck in the nation's mind ever since. Their trading empire was broken, and they were imprisoned in separate facilities as "Potential Enemies of The State".
• Powers/Abilities:
  • Clinical Immorality: As she has become of age, the main effect of her ancestor's boon has been activated. She is entirely ageless, and though she will grow physically frail the longer time passes the more Lichlike and unkillable she will become. At the adventure's outset, it simply manifests as the ability to heal from wounds faster than the average human.
  • Familial Boon: His research indicating that being Undead is rarely good for your offspring's health, Hobb added a safeguard in place. Maria is immune to the damaging effects of poisons and disease, but not the superficial symptoms.
  • Ancestral Knowledge: Hobb had the intention of passing his necromantic knowledge down, and had a plan in place had the tongue of the Kingdom change in the future. All languages, written and spoken, are legible to Maria, no matter how esoteric or lost they are.
  • Charisma: The majority of her earthly training came in the form of pageantry and schmoozing, so she is quite the skilled negotiator.
• Sweg and Items:
  • Familial Wealth: Maria comes from one of the richest families in the entire country, and as such has quite a bit of disposable income available to her. Though they currently aren't the most popular family in the Kingdom, they have enough hidden assets and connections to leave most of their wealth available to them in emergencies.
  • Elere: Aside from her great wealth, the only item she generally carries around at all times her fencing foil. Fencing is generally the sport of the Kingdom's elite, and most of that caste are trained in it at a young age so they can show off to the other families. She has taken to calling her arm Elere, because all of the greats carry around a named sword, right?

edited 2nd Oct '15 11:27:43 PM by wikkit

• Name: Therin Vonquist

• Species: Vampire

• Appearance: Tall and somewhat lithe, Therin is a brown-skinned young man with a build that displays his years of combat-training. He keeps his black and curly hair wild, although he keeps the sides of his head shaved while the top and back remain untouched, giving himself a make-shift mohawk. He also possesses sharp and defined features, and crimson-red eyes. He has a taste for black clothing and armor.

• Age: 24

• Gender: Male

• Legacy: Centuries ago, during the campaign of the Winter Marshal, there lived a mage named Marius Vanquist. Marius was an ambitious man, and craved power and eternal life above all else, goals he wished to reach by practicing the dark arts. After hearing rumors of ancient necromantic tomes in the Heart of Darkness, he decided to venture into the mysterious forest, believing the tomes to contain the secrets to immortality. When he returned, he was no longer Human. He had become a Vampire, one that retained all of the magical power that he had amassed while he was still 'alive'. Upon his return, Marius embarked on a reign of terror across the country, feeding and killing without remorse, becoming stronger after every conquest, gaining an army of thralls from each village that he conquered, and turning the strongest of them into lesser Vampires under his command. After years of this, Marius and his brood traveled to the mountains south of the Heart of Darkness, creating Holdings for themselves, and becoming dormant. For years after this, Marius and his brood feasted on the inhabitants of the mountain, unchallenged. Until a group of holy warriors arrived, decimating Marius's army. Marius arrogantly allowed the warriors to enter his home, believing that he could kill the warriors with ease. Although he did manage to kill a large number of them, Marius himself was slain, and left to rot in the ruins of his castle. Unknown to the warriors, Marius lived on as a Shade, watching over the family that he had possessed in life. For centuries, he waited for the descendant that would be strong enough to claim the power that he had left behind. Eventually, he found such an heir in Therin.

Bio: Therin was raised on a small estate in the South, in the centuries following Marius's death his family had become wealthy nobles. Therin was raised like any other wealthy child, he was educated, and his Father made sure that he was trained in combat from a young age. His parents had hoped that he would enter the world of politics, and involve himself with other people of wealth. But Marius had other plans, he appeared to his descendant in dreams, urging him to travel to his old holdings in the mountains, and reclaim what their family had lost. Therin was at first reluctant to go, but at Marius's urging, the youth ventured into the mountains, eventually rediscovering Marius's old castle. Within the castle, Therin found his ancestor's bones, and within his bones, he found Marius's still beating heart, black as night. It was then that Marius appeared before his descendant, telling him his story, and that he had chosen Therin as his heir. Therin was horrified by this, and refused, but Marius explained to him that he had no choice. Suddenly Therin found himself held down by a small group of lesser Vampires, commanded by Marius's spirit. Therin's heart was ripped from his chest, and replaced with the heart of Marius, killing him...and granting him new 'life.' Therin awoke to find himself alone in the darkness, consumed by hunger. His disgust at being Marius's heir was replaced by a strange enjoyment of his new existence, and Therin decided to continue what his ancestor had started. But first, he had to feed.

• Powers/Abilities:
  • Vampiric Condition: As a Vampire, Therin possesses strength, speed, reflexes, senses, and much quicker healing than that of a Human. These abilities will only increase as he grows older and feasts on the blood of powerful opponents. He also does not age, and because of the fact that his form of Vampirism was born from magic, he does not possess a weakness to sunlight. Though his strength does weaken if he does not feed.

  • Shapeshifting: Therin possesses the ability to transform into a swarm of bats, giving him the ability to fly. Only time will tell if he has the ability to transform into other animals, such as a rat, or wolf.

  • Blood Magic: Marius's heart grants Therin the ability to use magic, although he doesn't know very much at the moment, his skill and knowledge in this area can be improved as he learns more about the subject, giving him more arcane abilities. But for now, the only magic that he is capable of is that which uses his own blood. Therin's blood can increase the rate of healing in others, and over time he can even learn to bind others to his will by making them ingest enough of it.

  • Combat Training: Therin is also rather skilled in combat, and his abilities only enhance this skill even further. He favors using a sword in combat, but he is just as deadly while unarmed.

• Items:
  • Uratha: Marius's former sword, an enchanted bastard-sword that can be summoned using Therin's own blood. The blade is decorated in a language unknown to Therin, and the handle bears the crest of the Vonquist family.

edited 2nd Oct '15 10:53:54 PM by TheSkylightThorn

Would multiple characters be out of the question? I've got a couple of hopefully neat ideas, but if I have to choose only one, I'd like to know before writing anything up.

To be honest, with all these characters popping out this is basically me right now◊

So I'm closing signups. I have all of tomorrow off so I should ideally be starting then.

Maria: Looks good. I'm assuming that her Legacy grows as she fully acclimates to her burgeoning necromantic powers?

Therin: Will he be making a new vampiric coven or something like that?

Not really, he's more interested in claiming power and his own territory than making other Vampires

Yes, as she gets used to it and discovers more of her family history, she would grow in power.

Alright. Congratulations, you're both starting in jail.

We begin.