The Kyūbi no Kitsune

• Identity: Eiju, Anti-ish Hero, no secret identity.
• Abilities:
  • Illusionism: Eiju has the ability to inflict hallucinations upon any person he wishes, up to three at a time if necessary. These illusions can either take place in real-time or with a slowed perception, allowing him to talk to certain individuals in a matter of milliseconds through his visions. Those with psychic abilities or increased mental fortitude can easily dispel them, however.
  • Foxfire: An extension of his life energy and true form, Eiju can generate foxfire from either his mouth or one of his many tails in fox forms, or his hands in humanoid forms. This foxfire, which is a purely spiritual substance, manifests as an ethereal fire or lightning. Foxfire can be used defensively by healing fleshly wounds, or offensively by gradually draining the soul of the one burned by it. Eiju can transform into his true form of pure foxfire for easy transportation, and can freely manipulate its tangibility and visibility due to its incorporeal state. The healing properties of foxfire cannot be used on himself, only others. Also, the draining of the soul can take anywhere from seconds to hours depending on if the victim is empowered or somehow extinguishes the flames.
  • Shapeshifting: The primary ability of a kitsune, usually attained at the age of 50 to 100 years of age, Eiju can transform into practically anyone or anything he wishes, usually either a small fox or a more discreet human form, which he alters according to his needs. The shapeshifting can be dispelled by higher powers or those with mystical or magical abilities, and he will revert to his true foxfire form. He will also drop his disguise in extreme terror, such as when faced with dogs.
  • Kitsune Physiology: Eiju possesses the agility and stealthiness of a fox, further enhanced by his powers. Every 50-100 years during growth, a kitsune grows a tail, increasing their magical abilities by a significant portion. Tail growth stops at the number nine, and the kitsune becomes a Kyūbi no Kitsune. After it has reached 1,000 years of age with nine tails, however, it ascends to heaven and becomes a celestial fox. Due to not having reached this state, Eiju can be killed by cutting off every one of his tails, which depletes his powers by a fraction. This renders his illusions weaker, his foxfire less corporeal, and his shapeshifting less convincing. If he flees before all tails can be destroyed, they will reform within a period of rest and recovery, along with his abilities in a form of regeneration. As long as one tail remains, he can rejuvenate his entire body in hours, granted if he is safe enough to go into a deep sleep. An important note is that a kitsune has an innate phobia of dogs, which can detect their presence even while in disguise.
• Appearance: As an immaterial spirit, constructed of ever-shifting foxfire, Eiju's appearance is inconsistent and constantly changing according to circumstance and his surroundings. However, he has a few favourite forms, as listed here.
  • Human Form (Female): His first human transformation, gained when he was 100 years of age with his original tail◊
  • Human Form (Male): His current favourite, and preferred form for human interaction, attained at 200 years and the manifestation of his second tail◊
  • Fox Form: His default physical body, his base form when not in his spiritual foxfire mode. His tails can meld together as one.◊
  • Giant Fox Form: Of about 25-30 metres in height, and 55-60 metres in length. Attained in his 900th year, and requires all nine tails to be intact to use◊
• Personality: As a yōkai of mature age, (his nine tails show he is nearing millennia) Eiju carries a lot of knowledge and wisdom of the world, having travelled and watched the events of old in shadow. He carries a grandfatherly mischievousness to him, and enjoys performing pranks to unsuspecting humans (the more powerful the better). He is pure of heart, however, and is not malicious in nature like some of his yōkai brothers. He hates seeing people suffer, and will happily intervene to help, but his spontaneous, unpredictable and occasionally ruthless actions to those he perceives as wicked may cause him to be mistrusted by others. Even though technically genderless by conventional means, Eiju is odd among spirits in that he usually identifies himself as a heterosexual male, unless he shifts into a female form, in which case his sexuality is reversed.
• Background: Eiju was born as the middle kit of a litter of twelve kitsune, and lived a playful first half of his life performing pranks and having fun. At least, that's what he'd tell you. In truth, due to his nature as a yōkai, a cunning and occasionally deceptive spirit creature, his actual origin is hidden to only himself. However, the details of the pranks and tricks are certainly true, as he became an expert of mischief from as early as he could walk. His cheerful, carefree nature hides a hint of loneliness, as his home realm, the Yōkai Realm, is notorious for being alienating and demeaning to their spirit neighbours. He truthfully wishes to have a litter of his own, however the worrying lack of luck in finding other kitsune is putting him off a little. However, he is still holding out for that possibility, and happily wanders around the world, playing tricks on humans and occasionally helping out when he feels as if they deserve it.

edited 25th Dec '17 6:45:22 PM by Enirboreh

Witch Hazel and Misty Blackburn

• Identity:
• Hazel Winterbloom, sorceress and former owner of Winterbloom's House of Mysticism. She's mostly heroic, though she's generally apathetic to the whole good/evil thing.
• Mercedes "Misty" Blackburn, Hazel's apprentice and employee, follows her teacher's example; while she'll occasionally ally herself with heroes, she's generally neutral.
• Powers:
• Hazel once possessed incredible mystical power over reality itself, but she lost it after she was banished from the realm of the Fair Folk. However, while she lacks the power to perform most of her instantaneous magic, she may know more about mysticism, alchemy, mythology, and folklore than potentially anyone else alive. She specializes in shields and wards, and her shop is virtually impenetrable to any malicious force. In addition, she can predict the future using her tarot cards, but only for other people, never herself. She can perform other types of magic using rituals or magical objects, but these take a great deal of time and components that make it fairly impractical for battle.
• Misty, meanwhile, has the potential to be the most powerful magician alive thanks to her natural ability to create portals that can travel through time and space, which she can use to transport herself and others or get stuff she needs.
• Unfortunately, Misty is very inexperienced, and Hazel's not exactly the best teacher- but she's willing to learn and quick to pick things up.
• Description:
• Hazel is short (4"7), unnaturally pale, and blonde. She wears a lot of flowing dresses with geometric patterns, sandals, and sunglasses to hide her semi-permanent hangover.
• Misty is heavy set, olive skinned and curly haired. She wears a lot of floral dresses and both her lip and eyebrow are pierced.
• Personality:
• Hazel has a lot of issues, mostly stemming from her belief that every time she tries to help it ends up screwing her over. There's also the fact that losing most of her power has left her with a persistent sense of powerlesness, one she tries to bury with copious amounts of alcohol. She actually does care quite a bit about the state of magic, but is very good at hiding it. She's not invested in much else on Earth, and she usually stays out of most conflicts unless magic is involved. She's sarcastic, lazy, and prone to insulting everyone, herself included, but she'll come through when it's most important. She's not the ideal teacher for Misty, but she's fond of the younger girl even if it’s hard for her to admit it.
• Misty is the one who does most of the actual work at Winterbloom's House of Mysticism. She tends to see the best in people, as her admiration of Hazel may attest, and she’s determined to learn everything sge can. Despite her life being pretty terrible, she's unfailingly polite and chipper, and she never fails to charm people or annoy them relentlessly. There's not much middle ground.
• Background:
• Hazel Winterbloom was a member of the ancient race of the Fair Folk: immortal, powerful, and hedonistic. About two hundred years ago, she helped a kidnapped human child return to her family, and in retribution she was stripped of nearly all her magic and banished from the realm of the Fair Folk. She spent most of the nineteenth century in Britain performing odd jobs, and in 1899 she migrated to the United States after deciding she needed a change (also she accidentally killed a man and needed to escape the law). There, she opened a shop selling magical memorabilia, Winterbloom's House of Mysticism. She was solitary for most of her life, though in 1963 she became a founding member of the mystical superteam the Arcanum Majorum. She didn't get along with her teammates - at all - largely due to her seeing them as irritating, pretentious, and completely incompetent. She returned to solitude in 1971, but in 2011, she gained an apprentice and employee.
• Misty came from an average family, but after her powers manifested, she became the target for a group of demons who wanted to use her to open a portal to Limbo to free their queen. Misty's parents and three brothers were killed, and Misty went on the run. She ended up at Hazel's shop by accident and Hazel saved her life. After much begging, Misty became Hazel's apprentice in magic and employee at Winterbloom's, where she's worked for the last four years. She can't leave the shop due to being easy prey for the demons if she leaves, but once she's learned enough she'll be able to hold her own and live alone.
  • A month ago, Hazel and Misty hired Simon Jones, the Traveler, as security detail for the shop, leading to their getting involved in rescuing Voron, a boy kidnapped by Queen Mab. Hazel, Misty, and Traveler were instrumental in saving the boy. And as a result, Hazel sold her shop and took on a consulting position for TALOS in Ireland. Misty went with her, and she’s training to become a field agent for TALOS. Their main TALOS contact is Mongrel. (Misty thinks he and Hazel are dating. Hazel refuses to comment either way.)

edited 29th Dec '17 7:57:57 PM by emilyorthoclase

Here we go, Not!Hydra

Fenrir

The great wolves who would swallow the sun, bring about the twilight of the gods and usher in a newer, better age.
Tsk

...

The most well-known origin of the Fenrir lies in twenty years proceeding The Great War and preceding its succesor. It was a coalition of men from around the world, from every ethnicity and culture, who saw past the mere limitations of skin color and sought to uplift a true master race from the human dredge. They would pathe the way for this race's ascension to global domination.

Mystical Origins

The true origins of the Fenrir were older than that. Long ago, when humanity was still young, The Monster raided the setting of The Shadow, as is The Monster's want. One of the least souls of The Shadow was captured and taken back to the ramshackle lair carved between the settings of his peers. Here, The Monster dripped snake venom into the captured extra's eyes, torturing it until insanity settled in and it transformed into a revenant.

Only then did The Shadow reveal his deception, that this lesser soul was half-dead and tainted by The Abomination. This impossible deed was done with flesh stolen from The Impossibility. The Monster recoiled in true horror and cast the unliving spirit from his presence before the taint could spread any further. It, now they, multiple and fractured in its monstrous insanity, had its emanations scattered across the universe. Their various personalities and identities were taken and taken by godlings, influencing them and being influenced by them in strange paradoxical manners; specifically Loki and all his children, including the great wolf Fenris.

Their greatest creation were the two brothers, travelling warriors, adventurers and mercenaries. The fallen soul appeared before them as a great wolf in a forest of iron and tore them apart. Upon the rise of the next moon, they rose again, changed, not quite dead or alive. They were super men who would eventually become known as Hati Moonhound the Berserker and Skoll Sunchaser the Betrayer.

They became the central figures of the Fenrir cult, the fathers to a new race of supermen that would conquer the world. Heroes, however, have never been in short supply. They were defeated upon one of their raids deep into the south of Europe, by the Bronze Bull of Crete and then banished from this world be the sorceress Medea. Skoll cursed them to betray one another before he was stricken from this world.

Skoll's curse comes true, and Medea betrays the Bronze Bull, leading to his death. As he bleeds out from a leg wound, his last thoughts are of the brothers for whom he truly blames for his predicament. With his last breath, he vows with a curse of his own to return in some shape or form and hound the brothers once more.

The Second Origin

Skoll had wormed his way back to Earth, only to find that the cult he had founded had forgotten him. He had been cast aside in favor of his brutish brother. Enraged, he infiltrated the cult and sought to destroy it from within. He would forge a new organization, one not as obsessed with spawning a master from his own loins as his brother was but his mind and imagination.

Through generations and alternate pseudonyms, he bid his time. It was the period between the World Wars that saw the genesis of his new Fenris as he gathered like-minded men from all over the world to his vision. Far more influential, far more driven, far more wide spread, they subsumed the old cult and replaced it with an organization and philosophy of mostly science and technology. The occultic influence of the old guard, especially in Europe, was never fully abolished, but the old cult was well and truly destroyed in time.

The final nail in the coffin for the old cult happened after WWII. They finally managed to break the Seal Of Medea and bring their god back into this world. The new organization took the opportunity to clean ranks and capture Hati. Skoll dragged his brother to a dark hole and had him disected in an effort to better understand both their biologies.

Second World War

It was during this tumultous time period that Fenris, Skoll's Fenris, saw the zenith of their power. They were spread all over the world, openly funded by the Third Reich and Imperial Japan, but their fangs sunk as well into the allies and especially indecisive America. In response, the flagging League Of Nations gave birth to TALOS and charged them with lighting a candle in the dark.

Throughout the war, TALOS fought from the shadows all across the globe against Fenrir. They countered the espionage happy branch of North America, the black art driven branch of Europe, the robotic and cybernetically inclined branch in Asia and genetic engineering of the African branch. TALOS helped to prevent any branch from gaining a foothold in Australlia, though they mostly credit that to Australlian forces themselves and something about drop-bears. To their later regret, they ignored the underfunded South American branch.

At the end of the war, TALOS stepped out of the shadows and was adopted by the League's succesor, the United Nations. The four major branches of Fenris were ousted one by one and forced to flee into the shadows. The surviving assets of all of Fenrir retreated to South America, coalescing their resources for a second coming.

The Hundred Hands Of The Hecatoncheires

From the ashes of Fenrir, a new organization arose, The Hundred Hands Of The Hecatoncheires. In reality, The Hundred Hands were more of a dummy corp, a front to hide the true return of Fenrir. After the cleansing of the old cult, a mysterious man called Deimos took to the reigns. In reality, this was the zombified corpse of Hati Moonhound, subjected to genetic and cybernetic enhancements and under the control of his brother.

Skoll Sunchaser took the identity of Grimwulf, a black robed figure with the head of a wolf skull. The story told to The Hundred Hands was that Grimwulf was the last remaining member of the old cult of Fenrir, spared by Deimos for his usefulness but permanently disfigured so as a show of power. From this position as vizier, Skoll continued to run the show.

The Hundred Hands set about their new task, to destroy the hated TALOS, to light a spark in the Cold War and to pathe the way for a new master race; them and whatever they create. TALOS is already infiltrated, sleeper agents created during the shadow wars of WWII. These agents indoctrinate more TALOS agents to the side of Fenrir, by hypnotic brainwashing or recruiting impressionable youths.

TALOS begins to catch wind of this and a civil war erupt within their ranks, agents against agents, no one knowing which side anyone is really on. They don't see this battle with their old foe as the smokescreen it partly is, albeit a particularly venomous smokescreen. Their gaze turns away from the movement of the Hundred Hands.

An all-out invasion is carried out against East and West Berlin. Horrors, genetic, robotic, cybernetic, arcane, everything Fenris ever created, are unleashed upon the armed forces and civilians alike. False reports are sent to the Americans and the Soviets that the other side is invading, and agents planted by the Hundred Hands within both governments, witting and unwitting, only further fan the flames. It seems the Cold War was damn near about to blow up in a Third World War.

TALOS gets its act together, cleansing their ranks of traitors in what his remembered as their truly darkest hour. The plans of The Hundred Hands, the pseudonym of their old enemy, is revealed and they are mobilised. Mutliple simultaneous campaigns are launched; espionage, diplomacy and military, to oust the agents of Fenris, prevent war and save Berlin.

Seeing that the jig is up, the guise of The Hundred Hands is cast aside. Some cleansing of the ranks follows, of those whose loyalties had been with the Hecatoncheires alone, but many more are relieved, or apathetic, to take up the old name. Though the flag of the Hundred Hands remains flying over Berlin, Grimwulf openly ascend to the throne. Deimos is "spared for his usefulness, but driven insane as a show of power", or so the ranks are told.

At the behest of Skoll Sunchaser the Betrayer, Hati Moonhound the Berserker takes to the field. "Deimos" leads a strike force of the very worst soldiers, warrior and monsters Fenris could raise and create, their elite, commanding the army of horrors already unleashed before. This is the opening move to Grimwulf's back-up plan, adding to the chaos and confusion as American and Soviet forces, mundane military and supers alike, move to quell it.

Deimos's strike force was one-half composed of Fenris agents with powers and abilities geared towards deceit, such a mind-bending illusionists, and one-half those with a bent for more straightforward warfare. The crowning jewel of the team was a shape-shiftic power mimic. That one spent the majority of the ability masquerading as other supers from both the Americans and the Soviets. Along with reports from political saboteurs from home, both sides are convinced that the other side is responsible for these Hundred Hands and conflict results.

An international coalition, with elements drawn from all over the world outside America and Russia, is led by TALOS into Berlin. For as much as their political and intelligence maneuvering is pulling the fangs of Fenris out from the Soviets and Americans one at a time, they know if they don't put a stop to the growing war in Berlin, it will be for naught. Not only would Berlin be wiped off the map, but the resulting fallout may very well spark a global conflict no matter how many Fenrir agents they manage to remove.

As the history books say, TALOS prevails. By force or reason, the militaries of the Soviets and Americans are made to stand down. Their supers are made to see reason or simply beaten into submission. The coalition, bolstered by some of the more reasonable Soviet and American super heroes, finally strike out against Deimos and Fenris.

Many brave souls die in that battle, including the Jade Turtle of China. His green power crystal eventually makes its way to a young Indian woman, who takes up the moniker of the Emerald Comet, and later Emerald. Rainbow Warrior of Rwanda, Africa, is credited with landing the killing blow on Deimos. She reported that Deimos smiled at the very end, as if he were finally at peace.

The resulting mop-up saw to the nigh-complete cleansing of Fenris once and for all. However, TALOS remains wary.

Now

The public has largely pushed Fenris to back of their minds, even TALOS. However, veteran agents still keep one eye peeled open for their old foe. The Shield Of Humanity is earmarked as a possible Fenris resurgence but they have only some pretty damn good conjecture so far. That the Invasion was a Fenris comeback was one of TALOS's original theories before they learned the truth. Afterwards, they leaked the theory out to let it become a competing conspiracy theory, shouting over all the others, including "it was aliens".

There had been numerous reports of Grimwulf's death or capture, each of them proving false or insubstantial. He is believed to still be at large and attempting to rebuild Fenrir. Only recently, the facility containing Deimos's body, still fresh after all these years, was raided and the corpse stolen. TALOS has been unable to figure out who did this, but veteran agents know who is at the top of their suspect list.

Santa Claus

• Identity: Nicholas of Myra, Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas, Father Christmas - take your pick. NPC.

• Abilities:
  • Magic:
    • Time and space manipulation

    • Slowed aging

    • Resistance to disease

  • Expert woodcarver, painter, toymaker, and sailor

  • He has a magic sleigh pulled by nine reindeer, enchanted so as to allow him to travel miles in a matter of seconds.

• Appearance: A rotund man of Greek and Turkish descent, with rosy cheeks and a long white beard, wearing red hooded robes trimmed with white fur. He appears to be in his late fifties. When incognito, he tends to favor more casual clothing, albeit with the same color scheme.

• Personality: Santa’s centuries of living have left him with a profound respect for every living thing, as well as making him a firm believer in the importance of helping others in any way. He is religious but not judgmental, kind but not naive, and full of joy in everything he does.

• Background:
  • The life of the man called Santa Claus begins in the fourth century AD, with the birth of Nikolaos in Myra, in what is today Turkey. His parents died in an epidemic when he was young, and young Nikolaos was raised by his uncle, a bishop also named Nikolaos who encouraged Nikolaos’ religiosity.

  • At the age of eight, Nikolaos was kidnapped from his home by spirits that fed on fear called the Awgwa. Treated alternately as a servant and a meal, he knew he had to escape, and when he was nine, he escaped. Unfortunately, he hadn’t completely thought it through, and he was lost in the Scandinavian cold in the middle of winter. He likely would have died if he hadn’t been found by an elderly wizard calling himself Woden. (Was he the actual god Odin? Who knows?)

  • Nikolaos spent the next few years learning magic from Woden: how to influence the weather, how to slip through small spaces, how to slow time. In his spare time, he practiced carving and painting and mending.

  • Upon reaching adulthood, he left Woden to travel the world. He didn’t get to travel the entire world, but he traveled as far east as Palestine and as far west as the British Isles. He provided three impoverished women with dowries so they could get married. He saved three boys from being cannibalized by a butcher during a famine. He helped deliver wheat to the people of Myra during that same famine. He saved an Egyptian ship during a particularly nasty storm.

  • While in Scandinavia, Nikolaos was kidnapped by pirates. Also being held in captivity was Alfhild, an elf princess who had left her home in the North Pole to become a pirate. They didn’t speak a common language, but Nikolaos won her friendship by carving her a wooden sword, which she then used to defeat the pirate captain. Nikolaos convinced her to let him live, and the pirates were grateful enough to become honest men.

  • Alfhild accompanied Nikolaos on many more of his journeys, until she was called back to her kingdom for her mother’s funeral, accompanied by Nikolaos. When Alfhild chose to remain in the North Pole to rule the elves, Nikolaos chose to stay with her.

  • Within a decade, Nikolaos had grown restless and unhappy with his lot as Alfhild’s king consort. Alfhild encouraged him to explore his interest in toymaking, and he set up a factory worked by elves for that purpose. To deliver the gifts, Nikolaos began traveling the world on Christmas Eve.

Mrs. Claus

• Identity: Alfhild, queen of the elves. NPC.

• Abilities:
  • Slowed aging

  • Enhanced physical attributes

  • Expert swordswoman and sailor

  • Like many of the elves of the North Pole, her main method of transportation is polar bear. Hers is named Snowball.

• Appearance: A six-foot-six-inches woman with pointed ears, light brown skin, and long black hair, now with streaks of silver. Appears to be in her late fifties. Usually clad in flowing multicolored robes or dark-colored leather armor, depending on what’s most practical.

• Personality: Alfhild is a wise, benevolent monarch. Much of her reign has focused on preserving elvish culture, particularly architecture, woodcarving, and textiles. She hasn’t lost her youthful mischievousness or love of adventure, and her warmth, joy, and compassion are why her people love her so (well, and the fact that she’s an excellent politician).

• Background:
  • Alfhild was the eldest daughter of the queen of the North Pole kingdom of elves, and as such, she was heir to the throne. Her days were spent learning the ins and outs of statecraft, but as with all fictional princesses, she wanted something more out of life. So Alfhild got her friends together and convinced them to become pirates, with her as their captain.

  • After a year of pillaging and high-seas adventure, they lost a battle to another pirate crew and were taken captive. After several months as a prisoner, Alfhild befriended fellow captive Nikolaos of Myra, despite their lack of a common language. Nikolaos carved her a wooden sword as a gift, and Alfhild used it to defeat the pirate captain and free her crew. (Nikolaos convinced her to let her pirate enemies live.)

  • Afterwards, Alfhild accompanied Nikolaos on many more of his journeys, until she was called back to the North Pole for her mother’s funeral, Nikolaos by her side. Realizing she had a duty to her people, she chose to stay and become queen, and Nikolaos remained with her.

edited 24th Dec '17 7:46:11 PM by emilyorthoclase

I love how you combined the real St. Nick, Santa's Origin by L. Baum, and your own ideas (especially badass Elf Queen Mrs. Santa.) Approved!!

Name: The Krampus (evil monster)

Abilities:

• Invisibility
• Scary appearance.
• Psychic Vampirism: becomes stronger in the presence of despair; similarly becomes weaker if deprived of it too long.
• Unaging.
• Equipment: whips, canes and chains. And a sack for carrying children. Sometimes leaves lumps of coal as well.
• Knowledge of supernatural secrets (of Nordic origin.)

Appearance: like a typical devil (satyr-like)

Personality: Sees humans only as a source of (psychic) food. Hates Santa Claus and his allies and wants to ruin his good name.

Background: Once, there existed a race of demonic creatures in northern Europe called the Awgwa. They fed on human despair, of which there was plenty in medieval times, specially during the cold days of winter. But that started to change when "Saint Nicholas" began to spread hope and cheer during Christmas. Incensed, they kidnapped him. But this brough the wrath of his supernatural patrons upon them; after a terrible conflict, all Awgwa laid dead.

...All but one, who had hidden away. He swore revenge, but knew better than to fight directly. Rather he tried to spread terror among children by threatening to steal them if they misbehaved; he even spread rumors that he was Claus' partner! (this is of course a lie, meant to ruin his reputation. Sadly, many believe it.) The Krampus remains a small threat to this day, trying to kidnap children during the holidays, and looking for some means to gain even greater revenge.

Note: The children he steals are not killed. Dead children are no use to him. But they are enslaved until they lose hope of rescue. That is what he feeds on.

edited 24th Dec '17 5:06:59 AM by Sijo

Concept: The Yōkai Realm

The spiritual plane of existence that exclusively contains the Yōkai, Japanese spirits that are formed by the manifestation of magic and consciousness in objects and animals over a long period of time.

The residents of the Yōkai Realm are numerous, including the tanuki (raccoon dog spirits), kitsune (fox spirits), kappa (turtlelike spirits), and bakaneko (cat spirits), just to name a few. Several kami have also been reported to appear as well, such as Tsukiyomi, Susano-o and Inari Ōkami.

The realm itself can only be entered and exited by a resident Yōkai via usage of several trees◊ scattered around the world, the most noteable one being in the sacred forest of Tadasu no Mori, however anything or anyone in direct physical contact with a Yōkai can obtain passage into the realm along with them. Exiting also requires contact with a Yōkai in the process of transportation. With precise dimensional manipulation and sufficient luck, one can slip into the Yōkai Realm via its sister realm, Fæland. The Yōkai Realm also has a gatekeeper; an oni known as Hogo, who exiles both mortal trespassers and especially untamed and chaotic Yōkai.

The appearance of the realm itself is like that of an eerie, darkened forest, with the hovels and homes of the yōkai scattered about sporadically, including the kodama (tree spirits)◊ who infest the forest trees like ants. There are occasional clearings and groves that have actual villages and towns, built in traditional ancient Japanese style, but these are few and far between. The society of the yōkai in general seems to be rather territorial and alienated from one another, usually resulting in distrust between different species of yōkai.

In the grander scheme of things, The Yōkai Realm is an offshoot of the generalized Spirit Realms, and is close to Fæland on the astral plane.

edited 28th Mar '18 2:27:58 PM by Enirboreh

Concept: The Disciples of Grime

After the first physical manifestation of the goddess Lhdwnr (better known as Elly), several people who truly believed her claims of godhood found themselves stronger and faster then they had been previously. These people became the genesis of a cult formed around the worship of the filth goddess, known as the Disciples of Grime. With worship bringing promise of power, their membership grew slowly and steadily.

This cult is unique in that an ideological dispute occurred barely a day after its founding, leading to an almost immediate split into two denominations. The Knights of the Goddess swear to follow the example of their patron and use their newfound power in the service of justice and can be identified by a sword and shield emblem on their left shoulder, while the Putrefactions use their power to their own benefit, generally by engaging in petty theft, although some simply use it to cheat at athletic competition or simply to make physical labor jobs easier. Just about the only thing unifying the Putrefactions is that they aren’t trying to be heroes.

• Abilities: Worshippers of Elly are blessed with enhanced strength, speed, and stamina, to a level slightly above the human limit, as well as protection from the negative ramifications of bad hygiene. However, if a worshipper bathes or washes themselves in any way, this blessing is revoked until their hygiene sufficiently deteriorates.

edited 25th Dec '17 7:19:28 PM by PossiblyQuiteInsane

The Yokai Realm is Approved.

The Disciples need a bit more detail, at least the Putre Faction (see what I did there? )

edited 25th Dec '17 5:05:17 PM by Sijo

1. Identity: Harvestmen, hero, nee: Mason Mateo though its not much of a secret. Mason's been openly using his powers for construction and demolition for years. His hero name is the same as his LLC's name.
2. Abilities: Gooey Worm that Walks - Mason is as much a colony of semi-independent cells as a human body. In the early times this manifested as regeneration—by partly dissolving into a hive of (things that look that harvestmen under a microscope) and absorbing anything (like the neighbor's overly-curious dog and the doctor's hand) that happened to be nearby. It took little time (and alot more reckless behavior) to teach Mason that he doesn't really have a vital area, his intelligence being dispersed throughout the swarm—as long as it's together—but burning out energy recovering or eating things that aren't "profitable" per se is its own problem).
   Of course, Mason can't do much with eaten material besides get correspondingly bigger. (Not necessarily stronger). Going kaiju-sized is right out. Thermodynamics and the Square/Cube Law would catch up with Mason long before then. As things are now, he can barely lift his laundry basket. However, pointing himself at something and dissociating into a swarm of ravenous harvestmen is a very quick way to make something disappear. That said, he has little control over what he does when disassociated beyond pointing himself at something and keeping a simple command, until reforming after the task is complete.
3. Weaknesses: The harvestmen are extremely easy to kill. The macroscopic ones can be stepped on, and the microscopic ones killed by any means that one would normally kill microorganisms from predation by bigger germs to rubbing alcohol. Their main defense is that they have reserves, lots of reserves.
4. Skills: Mainly getting his harvestmen to do complex tasks from prearranged instructions. Also a fair bit of law from business encounters. Furthermore, pretty much always had the layout of wherever he is well known soon enough—as he spends his nights swarming over the place.
5. Equipment: Besides a (completely unnecessary but very professional looking) briefcase and his everyday wear, Mason never carries around anything not even ID.
6. Appearance: A scraggly, dusky fellow who permanently looks mid-chew and with a black mane that proves to the world that his face has never seen a razor. (Technically). Despite this, he is almost never seen without an overly priced ulster coat (no matter how hot it is or how period appropriate it will never be), and a newsboy cap.
7. Personality: Mason's experiences have left him filled with bravado. He is loud and vain...and rather formal. Lacking much in the way of worldly desires (having long since given up settling down), he'll happily boast about any achievements and glories of his and jump at any call. OTOH, he's also extrememly judgemental, even in extreme danger, and will go out of his way to correct opponents even on things as mundane as spelling. Very much in contrast to being a collection of bugs, Mason very carefully cultivates a gentlemanly demeanor.
8. Background: Mason was born in Atlanta, Georgia to a pair of high-end department store employees. The store was high-end, not them. At least it had job security though. Mason's powers had long-since been noticed when he got his own job in demolition—and began to eat through random condemned buildings for kicks and practice. Atypically for a hero, his parents are alive and well and retired.

edited 25th Dec '17 7:11:46 PM by CenturyEye

Umm, CE, you need to post each character on a separate post each. Its easier to keep track of them that way (I link all posts to the Opening Post.)

1. Identity: Vitruvian, Villain, No secret identity but is popularly known as Aldawin Dagny a death-defying and collector.
2. Abilities: Biomancer—his body, those bodies he touches (of an phyla as long as it has cells and nucleic acids, proteins, etc), and anything within is completely under his control. If he swallows iron, he will not choke but can instead mold it into a suit of living armor. After his long experience, he can grow gills for underwater and, on a more mundane note, can keep whatever form is idealized for the time.
3. Weaknesses—Because of the aforementioned tendency to make idealized bodies, he's very easy to pick out from a crowd. Furthermore, he has no subconscious nervous function. He has to do everything (digestion, breathing, heartbeat) manually meaning both he never really sleeps and his concentration when he's awake is never really entirely on point.
4. Skills—he has millennia of experience and the assets to go with it. Furthermore, he has advanced knowledge of biology and chemistry and even physics. (His powers would be much lesser without).
5. Equipment—Powers aside, he will happily just shoot his opponents, and carries an expensive pistol to that end. Furthermore, to aid his bodily functions, he's always hooked up to monitors and the like.
6. Appearance: Pretty much just like the Vitruvian Man on The Other Wiki; though his appearance is variable.
7. Personality: Vitruvian is actually rather settled most of the time. I mean, the guy actually lives in a castle on the Elbe and is a prima donna to everyone he meets, but he has no great ambitions besides keeping the good times rolling—and being denied nothing that he wants. Vitruvian takes Entitled to Have You to whole new heights and has chased after some things for centuries. Certainly no law is getting in his way when there is something he deserves. Hey, but as long as you're on his good side, he drifts between whimsy and fierce Gentleman Adventurer.
8. Background: Vitruvian would say it was from his alchemy research, but this experiment has never been successfully repeated. Perhaps he was born that way, or doesn't realize he's missing something that was there at the time...

edited 8th Jan '18 8:30:39 AM by CenturyEye

1. Identity: nobody (yes, lowercase), Villain, John Smith (as long as he's in 2010s USA)
2. Abilities: Implacability—Besides being The Needless, and a tendency to get back up from anything, John simply disappears when no one is observing him—though never very far. His sheer average-ness, matching wherever he goes, is the problem. John's just so forgettable, that the police can't identify him even from High-Definition video footage, and he blends into crowds so well, eye witnesses to his chaos cannot later pick him out of a crowd in the same scene.
3. Weaknesses: That said, his strength is average like most everything else, and while he can't be killed by strangulation, any Joe on the street would have an easy time keeping him in a headlock—unless the person happened to look away. The same applies to his intelligence. Magnificent Bastard he is not.
4. Skills: Commercial driving and for very long hours as well as social engineering. Just walking into places he shouldn't be is second nature to him by now as well as acting perfectly innocent when the heat is on.
5. Equipment: Average equipment—a wallet, keys, a cell phone and (when on a job) a Saturday Night Special.
6. Appearance: A very forgettable man, who fits the average, look, voice, clothing, appearance, and even smell of wherever he is. Asking a witness to try to describe John is rather like asking someone to describe and set apart one particular patch of the daytime sky on a clear day.
7. Personality: Again, strictly average. Not that charming, not that cruel. John is, for the most part, True Neutral. The trouble comes when he wants something that isn't quite lawful to get. He rarely considers others, because none of them have ever stopped form getting to his prize—eventually. Though John's motivation is as average as everything else, nothing stops him from randomly returning to an issue. Not like anyone will remember his face.
8. Background: As per usual, there's nothing special about his origin. He was a truck driver with much the same habits and only slightly less forgettable. His parents are retired, living like average retirees. He lives in an average trailer attached to his average tractor-trailer. He eats, average food at average prices, and still makes average money. (Having average goals—like dine and ditching at a fancy restaurant—he doesn't go far enough off the beaten path for his employers to notice his criminal activity). John goes home to a stable, average marriage and average (if home/truck-schooled) children. And even they cannot pick John out of a crowd or a picture.

Concept: Wraith Force:

Between life and death exists ... something. A place, a force, a concept... It is all of those things, and it is called Wraith Force. Certain souls reach this place and face the choice: accept the Wraith Force or move on to afterlife. Prerequisite situation for souls who reach the Wraith Force... is unknown yet. While most have an undying wish for unfulfilled accomplishment or unquenchable thirst for vengeance, some, from a first glance, have no reason to return to life.

As Wraith Force is a power of life and death, it is formed of two forces: Death Force and Life Force. Death Force is an energy that brings death to creation of the universe, whether as a rotting decay or swift destruction. Life Force, in contrast, is a power that grants life to beings. Both of these Forces have connection to the wielder's cause of death. For example, a person who died from an infectious disease will have a Death Force that is associated with decay, while their Life Force will be healing.

There also exists a third Force: Dying Wish Force. It should be obvious what's this about. Dying Wish Force is a power that is meant to be a manifestation of wielder's wish before their death. However, not all possess this power, as there are those who accepted their death with no regrets.

List of users:

• Red Riding Hood (AKA Ko Yu-Na)

Note: Also a power to be used by anyone.

edited 26th Dec '17 1:08:05 AM by kaalban

All the above are approved.

Hmm, I'm thinking I should place the Concept links together, for the benefit of those who might want to use them.

Maybe under a separate subheading in the first post.

I would further suggest a separate list for NPC's.

First character in a villain team Cwest and I are making. Brace yourselves for more.

• Identity: Yoko, Anti-Villain, secret identity.
• Abilities:
  • Illusionism: Much like Eiju, Yoko uses hallucinations and visions in order to confuse and distract her opponents. Unlike Eiju, however, Yoko is considerably more proficient in it, being able to target up to five persons at once instead of Eiju's three. The visions are also more realistic and tangible, but Yoko's poor attention span and excitability can occasionally cause her to weaken them unintentionally.
  • Hypnotism/Psychic Suggestion: Instead of being proficient in foxfire manipulation (although she isn't bad, she only tends to use it in drastic situations), Yoko's abilities seem to be based more on misdirection and trickery. As such, Yoko can mentally "advise" certain weak-minded individuals, either via a mental push or influence, or through a mysterious voice that could be mistaken for their deity. The voice is that of Noboru, her split personality, and manipulates Yoko herself in the same way.
  • Shapeshifting: Again, like Eiju and other kitsune, Yoko can freely shift into both male and female forms (unless her tails are cut down to one, in which case she is stuck to only the fox and female forms.) However, the shapeshifting into her male form seems to affect Yoko's personality, becoming cold, sadistic, and manipulative, a terrifying 180 from her normally bubbly persona. Like Eiju, she can also shift into pure foxfire for quick movement and flight.
  • Kitsune Physiology: Yoko possesses the agility and stealthiness of a fox, further enhanced by her powers. Every 50-100 years during growth, a kitsune grows a tail, increasing their magical abilities by a significant portion. Tail growth stops at the number nine, and the kitsune becomes a Kyūbi no Kitsune. After it has reached 1,000 years of age with nine tails, however, it ascends to heaven and becomes a celestial fox. Due to not having reached this state, Yoko can be killed by cutting off every one of her tails, which depletes her powers by a fraction. This renders her illusions weaker, her foxfire less corporeal, and her shapeshifting less convincing. If she flees before all tails can be destroyed, they will reform within a period of rest and recovery, along with her abilities in a form of regeneration. As long as one tail remains, she can rejuvenate her entire body in hours, granted if she is safe enough to go into a deep sleep. An important note is that a kitsune has an innate phobia of dogs, which can detect their presence even while in disguise.
• Appearance: As she is now a being of pure foxfire, Yoko's true form appears as little more than a mass of ethereal flame. However, due to her shapeshifting abilities, she does have a few notable and consistent forms.
  • Human Form (Female): Her first and favourite transformation, gained at 100 years old and her original tail.◊ Note: Actually has slitted orange eyes like Noboru. Her mask is made of foxfire, and can be dematerialized if necessary.
  • Human Form (Male): Her second form, now completely overtaken by Noboru's personality. Gained at 200 and with the growth of her second tail.◊
  • Fox Form: Her "default" physical form, base mode when not in foxfire form. Can meld all her tails into one for discreetness.◊
  • Giant Fox Form: 25 metres in height, and 50 metres in length. Gained in her 900th year, and requires all nine tails to be intact.◊
• Personality:
  • Despite being ascended to a Kyūbi no Kitsune, and having lived for around 913 years, Yoko shows no sign of change from when she was a mere kit, bubbly, lovable, and yet dangerously naïve. She treats her teammates on Earth like a big, slightly unhinged family, however that hasn't stopped her from pranking them to hell and back and being a general pain in their necks. Yoko shows a suppressed jealousy for her bigger brother, Eiju, due to him showing more skill in foxfire usage, pranks, and shapeshifting. However, she would never act on it, as she shows a deep, albeit childish love for her brother. At least, in her female form.
  • In her male form (who calls himself "Noboru"), this all changes. Noboru is sadistic, manipulative, intelligent, and calculating, the complete opposite from Yoko's go-lucky attitude. He seems to have been the one to absorb all the wisdom and intelligence that had been fed to Yoko, however his continued presence causes damage to his/Yoko's mental state, requiring him to act mostly dormant until necessary, at least until he can find a way to better manifest. He absolutely despises both Eiju and his other self, calling the former "arrogant and overly privileged" and the latter "too stupid to do anything about it". Thankfully, Yoko seems to have been able to suppress his personality for now, although he is starting to break free from her defences slowly and surely.
• Background: Born as the fifth kit of the litter of twelve, directly behind Eiju, Yoko proved to be the most happy and energetic of the bunch, looking up to her bigger brother as her role model. However, over time it became apparent that while Eiju and her other siblings were growing up, her mental capabilities seemed stunted, like the information was only partially getting through to her. As she realised this, she began to feel immense jealously towards her brother and hatred towards her own inability to learn, which festered and grew even as she shoved these corruptive feelings to the back of her mind. Eventually, those feelings evolved into hatred, and became so potent and severe that it split off from her personality entirely, becoming its own entity known as Noboru. Although Noboru is locked away, Yoko occasionally feels influence from her other personality, as he is gradually weakening her walls. Yoko eventually journeyed to Earth to follow in her brother's footsteps of wandering, her pranking of the unfortunate humans in her way eventually attracting the interest of a mysterious masked man, who answered only to Vigil. He offered her a partnership, which Noboru subtly made her accept, however it quickly became apparent after several jobs that her foxfire was worse at healing than she initially thought. Setting out to find a suitable healer to join them, they eventually found it in school nurse Warren Smith, who could regenerate wounds with ease. After... strategically entering his house via the window in the middle of the night, (and after Yoko recovered from her chair-based concussion courtesy of Warren) they managed to persuade him to join their team under the new name of Salve. Yoko perceives her new team as a happy, slightly insane family, her antics balancing out the overt seriousness of her two friends.

edited 29th Dec '17 5:34:39 AM by Enirboreh

Name: Warren Smith.

Codename: Salve.

Alignment: Villain (Kinda? Technically?)

Age: 21.

Gender: Male.

Description: Because TV Tropes hates links, you'll need to go to the GD Character Sheet here and click on that link to see his pic. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N-yDqQF8sITCGFnodb-v90iXHVkNpv4GuWnUhisC7io/edit?usp=sharing

Backstory: Previously, Salve worked as a school-nurse. While it wasn’t the best paying job, he liked kids, and it wasn’t particularly strenuous; very few kids were sick or hurt enough to push the limits of his powers. And when one of them did get injured to that degree… well, he was pretty damn glad he’d been there to help.

None of this had prepared him for the day that a super-villain duo broke into his house in the middle of the night. So he did what any sane person would. He hit the one that looked oddly like a fox with a chair.

After that small scuffle, they did something very, very unexpected- they offered him a job. Apparently, they needed a healer- the Kitsune, as they explained, wasn’t able to heal. They had the muscle and the tricks- and now they needed a healer.

And Salve had accepted the position.

Why? He still isn’t quite sure. Maybe because something about them was charming; they didn’t seem like murderous psychopaths, nor cold-hearted killers. They seemed like people who needed help… even if that help was not quite legal.

Personality: Salve was not planning on becoming a super-villain. He is normally quite nice, likes kids, and had healing powers. As is, he’s adapted remarkably well, and has become very loyal to his team- and he cares greatly for all of them. Hurt them at your own peril. He often acts like the Team Mom most of the time- making sure everyone is alright and hasn’t blown themselves to pieces.

Powers:

-Healing Hands:

Salve’s touch can close wounds and repair injuries, as well as restore vigor and energy- hence his name. Minor injuries such as bruises, scratches, and scrapes require a simple touch and barely tire Salve at all.

Larger-scale injuries like bullet wounds, broken bones, and lacerations require more energy and time, possibly taking him out of a fight for a couple of minutes. Serious diseases and illnesses, as well as people at the very brink of death, require massive amounts of energy and regular visits from him.

-Regeneration

While Salve lacks any real abnormal endurance, his wounds do heal quicker than those of any regular human. While not at Wolverine levels of regeneration, Salve can survive things that would incapacitate most normal people, and is very difficult to keep down for long.

Equipment:

-Body Armor: Light-weight body armor designed to offer maximum protection while encumbering the wearer as little as possible. Made of an engineered material about twice as resistant as kevlar, it provides extreme protection- a must for any Metahuman without super strength and super endurance.

-Plasma Pistol: A state-of-the-art sleek pistol, designed to fire bolts of plasma. Despite the goal, these newer weapons aren’t much more effective than regular, kinetic ones, and the only real benefits that they carry are the ability to swap from stunning to lethal quickly, and the ability to use energy cells rather than other ammo clips.

-Flares: A satchel of roadside flares, both red and blue. These are designed for signaling, confusion, and other mundane uses.

-Headset and Helmet: A helmet and headset, designed to protect his head and allow Salve to communicate with his teammates. It hides his mouth and most of his head, and has a bullet-proof visor to allow him to see.

Weaknesses:

-Good, not Great: Salve is in good shape, but he isn’t a professional bodybuilder or a sprinter. He’s a natural shot, but he still isn’t an expert with a gun; and while he has a little bit of fighting experience (taught to him by his new… friends…) he isn’t a black belt, or even a regular brawler.

-Otherwise Human:

Salve has two things that one could call ‘powers.’ Aside from being able to heal others and regenerate damage, he’s physically normal; he doesn’t have super-strength, and he’s vulnerable to everything

edited 31st Dec '17 7:35:26 PM by Cwest5538

Concept: Sin Princes:

Sin Princes are demigod-like beings formed by sins of intelligent species. They each represent one or two sins. Unlike in a previous game, Sin Princes are aspects of Sin Lord, not its children. By sending its aspects to various universes and dimensions, it estimates the sin that is most spread among intelligent beings. Then, it becomes whole again, with the representation of the most common sin as the head. Sin Lord's ultimate goal is to create a multiverse wide hellhole.

So, where do they come from? There is a speculation that Sin Lord is a creation of the Shadow, Narrative Titan that is... essentially a dickery incarnate. But there is another theory (and more likely) that it is an anomaly of reality, an error that took form of the sin in its desire to satiate its curiosity about fall of civilization. And eventually, that curiosity turned to sadism, as Sin Lord realized that sin is the catalyst of constant self-destruction and wished to enact it.

One evidence to prove anomaly theory is that all of the Sin Princes have traits that contradicts their respected sin, as they are creatures of anomaly. Often, these traits are incredibly bizarre, unfitting for demonic entities. For example, Azur, Prince of Supremacy, adores little girls with pretty dresses precisely of his nature as an anomaly (just in case, he is not attracted them sexually).

They reside in an alternate reality, separated from time and multiverse. This place an be reached, but it is inadvisable, since Sin Princes are not exactly nice fellows (as obvious as it should be).

They are directly responsible for the mess that is Earth-66.

edited 27th Dec '17 3:46:33 AM by kaalban

If their contradictory behavior also winds up being self-defeating, then they're definitely The Shadow's kids, that's my headcanon.

edited 27th Dec '17 11:27:43 AM by God_of_Awesome

This is actually a character under control of Cwest 5538, I just wrote it out for him and he's just too busy to format it himself at the moment. So don't list it under me or anything.

Vigil

• Identity: Unknown, Villain, secret identity.
• Abilities: All of Vigil's abilities come from three porcelain stage masks he wears on his person. The masks are infused with an unknown power, which grants the user superhuman abilities. Vigil has discovered one set of three masks so far, but there may be more sets scattered around the Earth.
  • The Mask of Tears: A tragedy mask with dark blue tear markings. Upon wearing it, the user gains the power of water generation and aquakinesis, as well as an inability to drown. When worn, anyone staring upon this mask will be given a feeling of depression.
  • The Mask of Serenity: A comedy mask with a teal head crest. Upon the user wearing it, most persons who gaze at it will feel a psychic inclination to feel overtly happy and content, and will subconsciously follow the commands of the wearer and ignore pain.
  • The Mask of Determination: A hostile looking mask with red markings. Perception and reaction time is heightened, and every physical attribute is amplified to superhuman levels, as well as increased pain tolerance and stamina. Looking at the mask while it is worn will induce feelings of foreboding and fear.
  • The Mask of Majesty: A terrifying fusion between the three masks◊, forming into a golden triad that carries every ability of the previously mentioned masks, including a constant emission of an aura of might and awe. Prolonged usage will cause severe fatigue, eventually leading up to mental degradation and death.
• Equipment:
  • The Spirit Blade: A magically infused sword that can fold into itself, allowing Vigil to be able to harm lower level spirits and other intangible, magical or otherwise supernatural beings. He cannot harm those that are considered gods, however.
• Appearance: Wears a plain black full face mask underneath the others, so his identity is always concealed. All three masks can be seen on his person.◊
• Personality: The leader of the Triad, which includes himself, The Laughing Fox, and Salve. Vigil is normally blunt and stern in his behaviour, keeping mainly to himself unless he is issuing a command to his team. He is incredibly tactful and resourceful, concocting elaborate plans that effectively use every member to their best ability. Since the formation of The Triad, he has gradually shown himself to be more merciful and kind towards people in his crimes, and treats his team like close family; Yoko who he perceives as a daughter of sorts, and Warren whom he sees as his equal, a younger yet understanding brother in arms. His attachment for his team is so deep that anyone mocking or daresay even hurting them in the slightest will find themselves beaten to an inch of their life under Vigil's wrath. Those who kill them... well, they shall taste the full might of The Mask of Majesty. Vigil also has a strong attraction to ancient artifacts, enforced further by his discovery of the masks. This leads him to focus his team's missions primarily on museums and other locations that could potentially store more magical items.
• Background:
  • According to Vigil himself, the man who eventually became him was a treasure hunter with an interest in the supernatural, in the middle of exploring a rainforest in Africa, when he was suddenly separated from his group and stumbled across a large, three-sided pillar that appeared to be of unearthly origin, three porcelain masks being embedded on each side. Vigil mentions how he had felt drawn to them, like they were pulling him towards the pillar. As soon as he touched the closest one, labelled "The Mask of Serenity" in a language he could somehow understand, all three leapt out of their receptacles and latched onto his face simultaneously, creating The Mask of Majesty and causing him to black out from shock.
  • Upon awakening, (the masks having mysteriously fallen off his face and unfused while he was unconscious) he discovered he had incredible new abilities depending on the mask he was wearing. The tragedy mask allowed him to split a waterfall with a mere gesture of his hands, the comedy mask enabled him to seemingly hypnotize the nearby animals to do whatever he commanded, and the angry mask enabled him to lift entire trees and run faster than the jaguar. Realising the application of his new powers, he left the forest, returning to Easton and began a life of crime, primarily robbing museums in a search for more artifacts.
  • After a few successful weeks, creating a new costume and identity as Vigil, he stumbled across a young girl with foxlike attributes in the middle of performing an elaborate prank, seemingly having the powers of shapeshifting and some form of psychic illusions. Approaching her and asking for her to join him, inwardly preparing for a violent disagreement, he was surprised by her overly cheerful and naïve demeanor, accepting his offer with only a brief, albeit suspicious hesitation.
  • His new partner, who was apparently a fox spirit by the name of Yoko, proved to be quite useful in his jobs, providing both distractions and a new, previously impossible stealth approach to the operation. However, after a few too-close calls with some failed jobs (and Yoko's inefficiency in healing wounds), they realised that they required a third member of the team, one specialized in medicine.
  • They eventually found it in Warren Smith, a school nurse in the local highschool with the superhuman power of both self-regeneration and healing. By using Yoko's shapeshifting to get the location of his house, they broke in at midnight, which was retroactively a poor plan due to Warren's apparent combat skill with a chair. After Yoko had regained consciousness, they managed to get him to listen and explain their predicament. For reasons unknown even to himself, Warren agreed to join them, taking up the identity of Salve after Vigil graciously provided him with some military equipment and becoming the third and final member of the newly founded Triad. The three of them have gained a close partnership, almost like that of a family, becoming an effective team both for robbery and superhero fighting. As leader, Vigil is the surrogate father of the group, and wouldn't forsake his team for the world.

-pant, pant-

Longest... background... I've ever... written...

-dies from exhaustion-

edited 29th Dec '17 1:00:22 PM by Enirboreh

Jerome Tress, High Paladin of the Knights of the Goddess

• Hero, no secret identity, leader of the Knights of the Goddess.
• Abilities: Enhanced strength, speed, stamina, at a level just above the human limit, as well as immunity to disease. These abilities are negated if he bathes or washes in any way.
• Appearance: A broad-chested, long haired man in muck-splattered medieval armor, with a sword and shield emblem engraved on the left shoulder.
• Personality: A strict, harsh man with a strong sense of justice and a natural charisma. Despises those who have power and don’t use it to help people. A natural leader, but a hard man to get along with.
• Background: Tress has spent his entire adult life looking on as supervillains ravaged his city and wishing for the power to help. After an eventful day at the mall, he became one of the founders of the Disciples of Grime, and immediately and strictly began organizing them into a pseudo-police task force, an approach which led several of his contemporaries to splinter off and form the Putrefactions, while those who remained loyal and believed in his goal became the Knights of the Goddess, awarding him with the title of High Paladin.

Here are some Concepts from the game's previous incarnation. They aren't copy-pasted wholesale, though; I made a few alterations of my own, though I hope these alterations are in practice negligible. Regardless, since these were originally Sijo's ideas, let me know if any of this is unacceptable and I'll switch it back.

Galactic Community:

This organization has existed, under a variety of names, for as long as anyone can remember; they are the lawmakers of the known galaxy. Not all civilizations accept its rule - and quite a few oppose it - but most are at least neutral, as the GC maintains peace across the galaxy.

About a thousand Earth-years ago, the Community declared a law that forbid interference with 'underdeveloped species' - such as Humans - although this has been broken both accidentally and intentionally by certain races over the years. They also monitor Meta activity across the galaxy - Earth is noted as being a high-risk location due to a disproportionately-high number of Meta-powered individuals residing there.

Star Corps:

The Community's interstellar law enforcement agents, operating at the highest level of jurisdiction; well-respected but infamously secretive to the average Galactic citizen. Their members are hand-picked from the best of the best of more local military or law enforcement agencies, not only for their combat skill but also for their 'discretion'. Star Corps officers are remarked to be like entire police forces unto themselves, and are given near-limitless authority to detain any suspected criminals they encounter.

Their uniform is typically black with the Star Corps emblem (a stripe with a star on top of it) placed somewhere inconspicuous; they double as a spacesuit and come equipped with an automated linguistic interpreter as standard. Beyond this, a certain amount of customisation and species-specific tailoring is permitted.

Due to a day-long blackout I'm delayed a bit on reviewing the above submissions; I'll do it by tomorrow evening.