The Cruelest Animal Signup/OOC

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Excession

Infohazard
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LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
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Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
  2. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
Genres
Horror, fantasy, sci-fi.

“I have a private theory, Sir, that there are no heroes and no monsters in this world. Only children should be allowed to use these words.” - Alfred de Vigny, Stello

The last time you saw the sun, you would swear blind it was 1820 and His Royal Majesty George IV sat the throne of the Empire.
But one night, as you traveled by ship, the sky and sea were black as death with neither moon nor stars in sight. Another vessel, vast and decorated with frolicking skeletons, luminous in the dark and seemingly made of bone, emerged from the blackness to ram your ship.
They boarded, savage and ostentatious warriors wielding overlarge blades with inhuman strength, and slew anyone who stood against them. Those disarmed or who surrendered were bound in chains and taken away, the sacked ship holed and left to sink.

Now you dwell in Umbra - a vast, dark city in an unknown land where the sun never shines and strange moons cross the sky. When you arrived, you spent days in the Docklands as the Reavers took their tithe - slaves and lovers, prey and servants. That done, you were released into the City. You found that you were not the first to be taken, and people from the world over were trapped here too.

Called an Outlander, perhaps you joined the so-called Reclaimer Guild or the Governor's Office, sanctioned by the dread masters of the City to explore and restore its eerie streets. Perhaps you simply found a place to squat and make your living by honest trade or petty crime. Perhaps you found yourself enlightened by Umbra's defiance of God and reason, learning strange alchemies and raising the dead with electrical power.

Or maybe that's the story your parents tell you. Maybe you were born in Umbra; one of the Strange. Pale-skinned and dark-eyed, more at home in the shadows of the City.

Whoever you are, Umbra is waking up. The liche-lords on Lily Hill demand results and anarchists threaten to shatter the fragile peace. Where will you fit in?

@MelodicInferno
@Cloudburst
@SavannahSmiles
@Alexandra
@PixelWitch

  • Your character may come from any country, and any time between 1790 and 1890.
  • I strongly recommend everyone be a member of the Reclaimer Guild
  • If someone wants the added complexity, I will permit one Outlander character to be a theurgist; a mad scientist, of sorts.
  • Likewise, I will permit one Stranger to be a Weirdworker, harnessing the power of sorcery.
More details will follow in the Character Index, but for now please let me hear some character concepts.

Terms
Outlander - a normal human, taken from the outside world.
Stranger - the child of an Outlander, seemingly human but... different.
Reclaimer - As in a member of the Guild, charged with exploring Umbra and making it habitable.
Ab-Dead - The Vampires who dwell in the docklands, capturing Outlanders and enforcing the liche-lord's rule.
Undead - The liche-lords of Lily Hill; truly undead beings of great magical power dressed in finery and ornate funeral masks.
 
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I might need to refine some things once I get better context in the later character index threads, but my initial idea goes something along the lines of assuming that world history isn't terribly far removed from current history, then Not!England has considerable trade ties to Not!India.
My character is a Stranger - possibly claiming the sorcery role if you think they require the title - but they are the first generation born in the city, parents were Outlanders, slaves of the lowest Caste, bought/pillaged from India's shores.

Their idea is that they are attuned to Rats. Karni Mata temple in India depicts rats as holy, but in this squalid city, they are a plague, naturally. So yeah, small malnourished Indian Caste boy, very much paler than his parents, with grey hair instead of black, can control/summon his vermintide at will, a la Skitter, only with rodents.
 
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For now all I can say is that I will be making a character with the Reclaimer Guild, and an Outlander at that. Might grab that theurgist slot if I can think of a full character.
 
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I sense questions.
 
Sorry, been busy lately and haven't had a chance to really look at this. I love the idea of the lamplighters honestly. Should have a character ready in a few days. What age range are we looking at?
 
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Sorry, been busy lately and haven't had a chance to really look at this. I love the idea of the lamplighters honestly. Should have a character ready in a few days. What age range are we looking at?

16 and up, for a position like that.
 
My apologies. I was working on a few side things. Is there a character sheet, or should I just do something along the lines of what @PixelWitch did? Sorry if this has been explained.
 
My apologies. I was working on a few side things. Is there a character sheet, or should I just do something along the lines of what @PixelWitch did? Sorry if this has been explained.

As Pixel did is fine, for now, but you'll find more details in the character index. I can either assemble a template or you can ad-lib as suits you. The index is at the top of the first post here, now.
 
Alright. Apologies for taking so long.

After a bit of thinking, I've decided to be an Outlander Guardsman of the Reclaimer's Guild. A fellow on hard times in the normal life outside of Umbra- loosely based in the times of the industrial revolution. Once was a miner, working diligently to provide iron for the engine of progress that was the beginning of industrialization in Europe. Had a wife and son; both dead to working accidents. The wife to a fire, and his son to the embrace of a chimney. Brother died in the mines a little while afterward. With all of that tragedy, he had enough and decided to leave Europe for America. Naturally, things never turned out for him. A sea and sky blacker than the coal of the mines, a ship and warriors with intent just as black, and an attack with much more of a sting than any mishap. That is what seeking change got him.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do- and that is how he lived in Umbra. He saw others of his kind: the lost, kidnapped, and huddled masses of Outlanders- some of them taking to thieving, others to peddling off what others stole, but some were tasked with some duty from the Reclaimer's Guild. With little left to lose, he joined them and looked eyes-straight at the path ahead of him.

Outlander: +1 to acuity and Vigor | Guardsman: Core = Fortitude

Brutality: 2 Grace: 0
Poise: 2 Intellect: 1
Acuity: 2 Fortitude: 4
Vigor: 8

Hopefully this is both to someone's liking and acceptable.
 
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Would the Calling you choose have to be from the list, or can it be an original role one can put forward, provided your approval?
The closest my Rat Boy would fall under is a cross between Lamplighter and Guardsman... reconnaissance and scouting but also crowd control and intimidation...
 
Go with Lamplighter - the rat thing will likely be a natural Stranger Quirk, but let's see. If you really want Skitter-tier ratswarm, you'll need to be a Weirdworker. Which are technically not Guild, but you could be related to/friends with/subcontracted by another party member.
 
C'mon, folks, lemme see more characters or this'll never get off the ground.
 
Ah yes, sorry. My sister had her twins today so I've been a little distracted in the ensuing chaos. I will have something up after work tomorrow.
 
I'm so sorry, still having a whole lot of trouble with the move. It's taken several more days than anticipated. Expect my character in two days
 
My character would be an Outlander Lamplighter. Her mother was a prostitute but she herself wasn't considered enough of a beauty to actually follow in her mother's footsteps. She was tossed out before her teen years and grew up as a street rat, constantly stealing just to keep herself alive. Eventually, she found herself in the unfortunate situation of being in the same inn as several pirates when the authorities came knocking. Caught up in the crowd, she managed to wriggle out of her bonds and steal a weapon off one of their guards. There was enough of a distraction that she and a few of the other pirates escaped, one of them a female captain who offered her a place on her ship for her help. It's not hard to tell what happened next: A dark night, equally dark ship, and nightmare warriors who took down all who stood against them. She alone survived, her instincts urging her to just keep quiet and survive.

It took her a year to finally admit that the Reclaimer's Guild intrigued her more than returning to her street rat ways. She did manage to become a Lamplighter, however, and works just as hard as everyone else. If some people end up with lighter pockets than they thought, well, it certainly wasn't her fault, now was it?

Acuity (3): 1 (Outlander bonus) + 2
Brutality (0): 0
Fortitude (0): 0
Grace (3): 3
Intellect (2): 2
Poise (2): 2
Vigor (5): 2 (Required base) + 1 (Outlander bonus) + 1
 
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Ishaan Dhir

There are two things that go through the mind of anyone who encounters this young Stranger.
The first thing is how small and unassuming he is. How young and weak and simple.
The second thing is the razor sharp teeth of the vermintide he has sent to claws out your eyes.

Ishaan is the first generation of his family born within the city's walls, his parents Outlanders, slaves of the lowest Caste, pillaged from India's southern shores. They were simple laborers, and found life in this new metropolitan sprawling hell little different than the one they left behind. Old dangers for new ones.
They were no more surprised when their son showed signs of sorcery than anything else they encountered here.

Ishaan is petite, grey haired and dusty skinned, hands and feet stained black with filth and shadow. Hooded, dark red hazel eyes mark his Stranger status, and his heavy duster coat that he wears over his shirt and breeches is several sizes too big.

The roomy coat is not a mistake however, as lurking underneath is a writhing mass of rodents. They obey his commands seemly from intention alone, attack at his command, scout, track, and report en mass and despite their vermin nature, he is immune to their plague and free of contagion. He is the Rat King of the Umbran Narrows. The Vermintide.

---

Calling: Lamplighter - Scouts for the Guild who rove ahead or beside main mapping teams, moving quickly and stealthily to mark threats and places of interest. Frequently a dab shot with a rifle, but many prefer archery. Core Trait: Acuity

Stats
Brutality: 2
Grace: 2
Poise: 1
Intellect: 2
Acuity: 3
Fortitude: 1
Vigor: ?
 
Hrm, right, gonna have to tweak some values - didn't really anticipate such low Vigor scores across the board.
Also, yeah, my being forgetful during some editing meant that Wit should be replaced with Acuity.

Alright, these look great but everyone tack on 3 more Vigor.
I'll cover Talents, Quirks, and related shenanigans shortly.
 
Sorry for delays, friends and neighbours - life, you know?

So, after some consideration I'm giving everyone a base Vigor of 2, plus any bonuses and points you spend.

Please put your characters in the index thread, and today I'll get the Talents and things posted.
 
Do we still have those free three points that you gave us for vigor, or is this base of two the new and overwriting factor for it?
 
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