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=Elemental Championships 2024= OOC & Tournament Signups

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6/28/2024 23:59:15   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 Dawn curled across the sky, streaks of twirling gold and rose heralding the brightness of a new day. The first rays of sun danced out from the horizon, shaking the world free from the quiet blackness of the night. Currents of power stirred across Lore, tendrils rising to snake their way from every land and city in a weave towards Bren. They whispered - of greatness, of glory, of boons - and bloodshed. They whispered to all they passed, soft murmurs that quickened hearts and stirred blood. Power swelled with each tug. A flood that pulled at adventures near and far. Pulled at the desperate, the despairing, the brave. Pulled all who felt it to the heart of the storm.

And at its source, Bren stirred, shuddered - and awoke. Locals and strangers alike rallied together to join the call of the festivities. Music wound its way through the streets, inns threw open their doors, shops set out their finest wares, and the city itself swung its gates wide to welcome the crowds now pouring into it. Young and old, rich and poor, families and friends and foes alike - all caught in the eddies of the building tempest.

Building until Bren could hold the power no longer. Building until the stones shook, the tension snapped, and even the most mundane could feel the surge of power from the hill beyond. The Arena was awake once more.

Welcome, Esteemed Writers!

Welcome to the fighters and the mages, the heroes and the villains, the doers and the dreamers and everyone in between! Welcome, all that have assembled, to the 2024 Elemental Championships!


Why hello, everyone! Pull up a chair, grab your pencils, and let’s get ready to role-play! I have the privilege of serving as the Director of the festivities this year, and I am extremely excited to see what everyone comes up with!

Now that we have the music to set the mood, on to the important information:

The Elemental Championships (ECs) are a combat-oriented, collaborative, role-playing competition. In it, your characters are competing for the chance to earn a boon from the Elemental Lord that they represent. It takes place over two rounds of competition: the Paragon Phase, where competitors are randomly assigned to different arenas in order to demonstrate their skills, abilities, and dedication - and the Finals, where the top writer from each element is selected to compete in the Grand Arena for the crown of Champion. In each round, you will make posts that have your character interact with the arenas, react to others’ actions, execute your own attacks, and weave your story and reason for competing into the action that takes place.

ANYBODY on the AE forums, regardless of prior roleplaying experience, is welcome to participate in the ECs. To sign up, you will need to provide a character biography that passes my inspection and includes the following general requirements:

quote:

Name / Title
Element
Age Range / Maturity
Race (If non-human, provide near-human comparisons)
Appearance (Build, hair, skin, clothes, etc.)
Equipment (Armor, Weapons, etc.)
Skills, Spells, & Special Abilities
Personality / Backstory (Optional)


You must select a single element for your character to represent from the following eight elements: Wind, Ice, Light, Water, Earth, Fire, Darkness, & Energy. The element you select must align with your character in some way - whether due to their abilities, personality, values, backstory, or any combination thereof. The initial lore for these elements is drawn from AQ Classic, but Bren and the Elemental Championships are not part of any single AE game. While you do not need your character to fit within a specific AE game, their race/abilities/equipment should all be something that would not be unusual to see in one of them.

Any action performed in the tournament itself, including but not limited to spells, special attacks, and magical abilities, must have a reference in your biography. I will be reading (and judging) the submitted bios, and there will be consequences for those who attempt to pull off actions in the arena that I was not aware of prior. It is off of this list of abilities, skills, and so forth that your character will be balanced and admitted to the tournament. If you are new to balancing, I recommend checking out the Balancing 101 Guide , or bios from prior years. In general: aim for having an experienced fighter, but not for a Hero of Heroes.

Applications will be open until 11:59 PM (EDT - or AE Server Time) on Saturday, July 20th. Any bios still under review will then have 24 hours, or until 11:59 PM on Sunday, July 21st, to get their characters approved. Once submissions have completely closed, I will reveal the Paragon Arenas that will be utilized this year, and randomly assign participants to each arena. Voting on the musical themes of this year’s arenas will be open for two weeks and can be found here!

If your initial submission is not approved, you have until submissions are locked to either re-submit an updated application using Director feedback in a new post, or submit an entirely new character. To assist with re-submissions, characters not approved will be given an explanation why, and further clarification may be requested as needed. When revising bios after director feedback, you must submit an entirely new post containing the updated bio. Do NOT edit your bio after posting without my permission, as I must be able to trust that what I receive does not change after balancing or approval. Editing a bio without my express permission will result in the disqualification of that character, and you will need to submit an entirely new one to participate in this year's event.

I repeat, do NOT edit your bio after posting without my permission.

One more time for those in the back: DO NOT EDIT your bio after posting without my permission.

The preliminary round, or Paragon Phase, will begin on Sunday, July 21st and last for approximately three weeks, ending at 11:59 PM EDT on Sunday, August 11th.

At the end of the Paragon Phase, one finalist from each element will be selected to move on. It usually takes at least a day to process decisions and get the Finals thread ready. Anticipated start date of the Finals will be Monday, August 8th. More information on the Finals will be released when they are closer.

Now, the Official Rules:

All normal RP Boards Rules will apply. In particular, please read and be aware of the definitions of Bunnying, God-Modding, and Meta-Gaming - all of which can result in penalties up to disqualification. I have included definitions below so that people are aware of the pitfalls, but if you are in any way unsure if your actions cross the line into any of these categories, reach out to myself as Director for clarification.

quote:

God-modding is cheating the system of RP so that your character comes out either without a scratch or with absolute advantage in any situation. This is typically done without conversing with the RP's owner, and ignores their authority to control the situation of their RP. Examples: Complete ignorance of arena hazards, 'effortless' combat, and acting with total invulnerability to the actions of other characters.


Bunnying is taking control of characters when you do not have the authority to do so, and acting contrary to what their real owners would have them do. Unless you have direct permission from the owner of the character, you cannot control them. This is especially true in combat, where you cannot decide if your attacks hit. This also includes unfairly limiting the options of another character.


Meta-gaming involves applying Out-of-Character knowledge of a situation to your character's benefit. This is not always intended, but does not change the fact that the advantage is noticeable and generally unfitting with what the character would have done based on in-character knowledge and reactions. If you keep the distinction between what you know and what your character knows, this is easy to avoid.


Violators of the standard rules will be immolated, electrocuted, drowned, and pulverized. Survivors will be undone at an atomic level. Lists are kept of violators, and depending on severity, you may be barred from future participation. In addition, by participating in this Elemental Championships, you recognize my role as Director and my say as final.

1. Characters must engage in combat.
This is a combat RP event. Your character must be willing and able to initiate and take part in combat.

2. Do not use cross-element powers.
This is the Elemental Championship. Your character is competing for the favor of a single Elemental Lord in the preliminaries, and against the chosen of the other elemental Paragons in the Finals for the reward of a boon from your Lord. No Lord will choose as their representative someone who cannot win upon the strength of their element alone.

3. You must post regularly.
Consistent activity is required. Please do not enter the tournament if you are not committed to remaining active for the full duration. During the preliminaries, any competitor who does not post at least once every 4 days (counted from the time of your last post) will automatically be disqualified. Your character will then be considered free for the slaughter - any other character in the arena will be allowed to kill him/her/them/it. You are allowed to request up to 36 hours in extension, in 12 or 24 hour increments (so, either one 24 hour extension and one 12 hour extension, or three 12 hour extensions). Extension requests must be made via a forum post in your Arena’s OOC thread. In the case of emergencies that prevent posting, please reach out to me directly as soon as possible. If you learn upon completion of the Paragon phase you will not have the same commitment for Finals, please reach out to me as well so I can take that into consideration in making decisions.

4. Do not edit your posts or your bios once they have been submitted.
You may only edit your posts or your bios with the express written permission of me, myself, and I. Editing of bios or of posts without foreknowledge creates the suspicion of foul play. Proofread and double-check formatting prior to posting, and live with any errors you might have made once a post is submitted.

5. Each entrant is allowed one and only one character.
You may not enter in pairs, squads, platoons, battalions, armies, or swarms.

6. Death has Consequences.
Characters who die in the Elemental Championships are dead in the AE RP forums. This is a Canon event with regards to normal RP Board rules. Characters who die during the Paragon Phase are still eligible to be chosen as Finalists, but this is the only free pass to revival. Dying in the Finals is permanent.

7. On Collaboration.
Collaboration in an event like the Elemental Championships is not just good practice - it is a necessity. While you may be in competition with the other writers, it is the characters that are in combat, not the players. If you are attacking another character, involving yourself in someone else’s duel, or performing some other action that will impact other writers’ plans, those actions must be made clear both prior to your own posting and with enough time to facilitate planning for the other writers. Surprise posts and encroaching deadlines do not make for an enjoyable writing environment and can result in emergency extensions and confusing situations. If you are limiting your posts to only your own actions and reactions, then just a shared heads-up via Discord or the Forums is acceptable. If your post is actually containing new actions of other characters, then either yourself or the other writer involved must inform me either via Discord or the Forums that permission was given for doing so.

8. Have fun!
All these rules and regulations may seem daunting, but while this is a tournament and a competition, the entire objective is to have some fun. We all like to win, sure, but try to enjoy yourselves along the way!

The penalty for failing to follow the rules may result in immediate disqualification from the tournament. Failure to comply with the direction of the Director may also result in immediate disqualification from the tournament. While discussion of a ruling may be allowed, as has been stated prior, I have the final say.

General Information and Tips:
Collaboration Resources: OOC threads will be provided for each arena for the express purpose of communication with your fellow contestants and with the Director. I urge you to discuss combat options with your fellow contestants. You are free to make collaborative posts and elaborate battle sequences. Often such woven interplay is what enables your characters and writing abilities to truly shine. Please keep records of any collaboration discussions held in PMs, as they may be requested as tie-breaker material depending on how close the competition is!

Communication Resources: The notification system of PMs for the AE Forums is currently down. If you are collaborating with someone via the forums, please either use the public OOC threads, or be sure to check your inbox regularly. Additionally, you may make use of the AEF RP Discord Server. All AEF Rules apply to this server. This server is a privilege, not a right. If you do not follow the AEF rules or are disrespectful to others in the server, you will be banned, and you will need to rely on the forums for communication. The Discord server may be found here.

If you need to reach me directly, you can do so via PM, posting in the OOC threads, or using Discord. I do ask that any formal extension requests be posted in the appropriate OOC threads for documentation purposes.

Drafting Posts: When writing your posts, it is strongly encouraged to do this in any word processor that is NOT the forums. It has been known for the forums to log people out while they are drafting, which can result in losing an entire post when you go to finally submit it. Many people utilize Google Docs or similar so that they can share drafts in advance with others in their arenas, either to get extra eyes for editing or to confirm actions with other writers.

List of Accepted Entrants by Element

Wind [1]
Grim Ranger Lunara Song, created by Dragonknight315!

Ice []
Light []
Water [1]
Shalla of the 778th Hatch, created by Riprose123!

Earth []
Fire [2]
Vashiryn Est’de Al’darii, created by roseleaf320!
The Queen of Ashes Atzilah, created by nield!

Darkness [2]
Camellia Dictari, created by Chewy905!
Deandra Vill, created by Starstruck!

Energy [2]
Olivier Haith, created by Oddball!!
Epithet, created by Anastira!

Total: 8



< Message edited by Starflame13 -- 7/29/2024 0:08:46 >
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 1
6/29/2024 19:53:29   
  Chewy905

Chromatic ArchKnight of RP


 “With the gifts of The Provider, under the safety of the Protector, and through the guidance of The Presenter, I hereby recite my oath. The Oath of the Purger, Sister to the Dictari family”.


Name: Camellia Dictari
Pronouns: She/Her
Element: Darkness
Age: 28
Race: Half-drake


“Let The Provider’s gifts be my flesh, so that none may mar that which belongs to The Family.”


Appearance: Ceclia stands at a mighty 6-foot 6, her height raised by her dragon heritage. Her pale, slightly glimmering skin is accentuated by her deep purple hair, which has been cut short to barely reach her neck. The solid black sclera of her eyes highlight her pure white pupils, which seem to constantly burn with an ethereal fire. Iridescent scales line parts of her skin, creeping up from the exposed sections of her neck to surround the sharp features of her face. Most of her neck is covered by her armor; a scale mail colored in the same shade as her hair. This armor should form a lower-visor that would cover the bottom half of her face, yet it has been clearly torn away, leaving jagged metal edges near her cheekbones. Around her scowling lips are chain-link scars carved into her skin, and her closed mouth hides a few sharpened fangs among her teeth.

The rest of her form is covered by the same heavy, purple-scaled armor, scratched and worn from use yet still polished to a sheen. Her shoulders are weighed down by a pair of sculpted dragon heads, their maws held shut by decorative chains wrapped over them. Her left hand gauntlet ends in sharp claws, and both of her greaves bear sharp talons. Her right hand gauntlet has been torn off, exposing jagged metal that digs into her forearm whenever she bends it. This leaves the rest of her forearm exposed, revealing iridescent scales with chain-link scars etched into them. Her hand ends in natural claws, sharpened to a much deadlier edge than her gauntlet’s.


“Let this blade grant me resolve, so I may need no rest while enemies of The Family draw breath.”


Equipment:
Flesh of the Family: Camellia is almost entirely covered by her armor, with only her head and right forearm exposed, though the natural scales upon her forearm offer moderate protection. Her armor is enchanted, unremovable by herself and anyone other than The Family except through extreme effort; a process which inflicts severe pain on the wearer. In return for this limitation, the armor provides significant protection against all physical strikes, though fiercer blows will still shake Camellia’s balance. The scales also protect against extreme temperatures, and can disperse magical effects across her form, reducing damage to the armor upon the point of impact by spreading it equally across her body instead. Enough repeated physical blows can chip away scales of the armor, leaving those areas less protected against physical attacks, and entirely unprotected against magical attacks.

The claws upon her left gauntlet and on her greaves are sharp as a standard blade and laced with a mild poison. Once a foe has been cut by these claws, the poison reacts quickly, dulling the victim's senses and reducing their reaction time. These effects last only a few seconds as the poison quickly disperses through the body and becomes harmless. The claws upon her right hand are much sharper, but lack the paralytic qualities of her gauntlet.

The Purge: An ornate, two-handed greatsword, designed to appear as separate pieces of twisting and spiraling steel. Part of this blade has been snapped off at both the tip and the base, leaving the blade slightly unbalanced. The weapon’s crossguard is chained tightly to its sheath twice-over; once by a heavy metal chain made of green, gold, and silver links, and again by a chain made of purple links. Only Camellia is able to draw the blade from its sheath, a process which requires a short spoken ritual. Once drawn, the tri-colored chain will bind one hand to the handle, preventing her from setting down or sheathing the weapon until it has ended a life.

The blade’s enchantment allows it to develop an ire of its own towards a foe. Repeated strikes against the same enemy, even if they are avoided or are blocked, cause the blade to become sharper and feel lighter to wield, capping at four strikes. At this cap, the blade feels practically weightless, and can cleave most common metals apart. Those cut by the blade feel a mental compulsion that attempts to prevent them from fleeing from the wielder. This compulsion grows in strength with each cut, starting as something easy to ignore and reaching a difficult to resist urge after four cuts.


“Let the Presenter’s words mold my spirit, so I may deceive all who conspire against The Family.”


Abilities:
Belie: Camellia is able to slip into a state of nothingness, vanishing entirely from all physical and magical senses: she cannot be heard, seen, smelled, or detected in any other such manner. This state lasts for only a second or until she makes contact with another person, after which she reappears. Upon disappearing, Camellia leaves behind an image, frozen in an imitation of her at the moment at which she vanished. This image is identical to her in every way, fooling any magical senses as well as physical ones, but melts harmlessly into shadow if struck.

Camellia can use this ability up to 3 times consecutively, requiring only a few seconds between each use. However each consecutive use becomes more flawed; with the 2nd use causing her to continue to create sound and no longer fool magical detection, and the 3rd causing her to be visible as a shimmering outline in the air. Similarly, her imitation fails to fool magical senses and does not appear “alive” during the 2nd use, and becomes visually blurry and indistinct during the 3rd. Belie returns to its full effectiveness after about a dozen seconds of non-use.

Exert: Camellia is able to push herself beyond her physical limits, creating a sudden burst of speed and control that allows her to either launch into a dash from a standstill, or completely stop her momentum and redirect it into a different movement. Exert is an extremely physically taxing ability. While Camellia could use it once without issue, using it again in a short period would leave her heavily fatigued to the point of near exhaustion afterwards. After a lengthy period of non-use, Camellia would be capable of using exert again without issue.


“Let the Protector’s training grant me talent, so that I may serve at my finest.”


Traits:
Force to Break the Guilty: Camellia bears inhuman strength, durability and stamina, capable of denting strong metals with a few direct blows, while weathering those same blows herself without flinching. This makes up for her lack of speed and dexterity, both sitting at an average human’s capabilities.

Vigilance to Catch the Sly: Camellia is sharply aware of her surroundings, reacting especially quickly to motion within her line of sight, even in dark environments. At the same time, she often overlooks those that blend into the background or remain motionless.

Will to Ignore the Impotent: Camellia has come in contact with many mages of various ilk, but has never taken an interest in their art. While she can identify the presence of magic, and often identify spellcasters at a glance, she is unfamiliar with most types of magics and will frequently disregard them as ineffective regardless of their true strength and nature. However she has a distinct advantage against illusions and mind-magic. While she cannot perfectly resist this type of magic, it is much more difficult to fool or persuade her with.


“Thus I promise, as Sister to The Family, to uphold my duty and cast aside all else.
May these gifts be my flesh, may my will be my blade, may these words be my strength, and may our bonds guide my life…

No more.”
Post #: 2
6/29/2024 21:47:51   
Trualen Silverswift
Member

"They sought to break me, shape me -- yet my fate is my own, never can I be made a pawn."

Name: Trualen Silverswift
Element: Frost
Pronouns:: He/Him
Age:: 728
Race: Elven (Mutated)
Artwork(s)
Appearance: Sternly and proudly stood the elven, remaining far above from the rest of his kin granted that he, is rather a tall one (210 cm), pertaining a body that is well-maintained and warriorly built, his silverly hair that is braided from the right carressed those wide shoulders of his.

He fashions a blacken eyepatch that is strapped on his left eye and his facial expression is nothing if not coldly grim, yet perhaps suave from time to time.

Various runic facial tattoos can be seen upon his face, the most prominent one being the one that extends all the way down from the side where his eyepatch is to his cheekbone, aswell as the one that is under his lips. The meanings of those tattoos are known to him only, granted they are not of Elven origins, yet to the ignorant, it could be mistaken as so.

He wears a draconic plated armor, forged by the toughest silver, adorned by azure draconic scales that layered an extra means of protection the armor would be seen covered under a furred, gray cloak and there seemed to be no symbols or whatsoever engraved to show where his loyalty is laid -- only those who with a keen eye could see a somewhat erased symbol of the Rose. One could assume such mighty armor can be tough to carry yet somehow the elven seems to move under his plate as if nothing.



Equipment:

Ethala'falah, Magesbane: Originally wielded by the Dragoness Kreia, this blade was a rather interesting sight; a mighty two-handed greatsword, indubitably carrying the legacy of a Dragonforged might, yet it seemed to be bastardized by the craftsmanship of the Rose, now it stands as if an amalgam between the work of the Dragon and the Man, the steel itself was tall and sharp, thick enough to prove itself that it can take a fair amount of hits, no doubt this blade was made for both offense and defense -- but most of all, from time to time it could be seen crackling with draconic magic, it is augmented to drain ounces of mana from its victim whence the blade meets their being -- therefore the name Magesbane, as many of the Magi feared this blade for good reason.

"My kind had once feared this blade, subject, greatly so for they know it has taken the lives of many as shall the Apostates fear it -- and you -- all the same, they shan't stand in your way." - Dragoness Kreia


Gaze of the Dragonsworn: Ontop of the mighty armour that the elven wears, he could also be seen at times wearing a helmet of a similiar fashion, one that covers his visage entirely that has draconic horns extending from left to right, while the helmet on itself had no magical properties or whatsoever, it nonetheless provides Trualen another means of protection.

Abilities:

Spellsteal: Trualen is able to steal his opponent's magic and repel it right back at them, however the more powerful the magic is, the more will it drain on his stamina, once a spell is stolen, he is able to store the stolen energy and cast it back whenever he must, yet the more he holds onto the magic, the more it will eat on his lifeforce.

Mana Burn: Trualen is able to burn the very mana of his opponent from within, for those who have not harnessed their magick enough this can be painful -- but whether it pain them or not, a portion of their mana will be obliterated. Trualen is not able to do this consecutively, he would need to recover from the previous Mana Burn for a while before being able to cast it again.

Draconic Limbs: The whole visage of Trualen himself is but an illusion, under the form of an elven man, remains a mutated half-dragon, therefore he can drop down the illusion on specific parts to use them offensively, for example punching the opponent with a draconic fist, turning his head into a draconic head to bite on them and so on. Only two limbs can be active at a time and that is only if they are adjacent -- so he cannot have wings and fists at once.

Special Ability - Mutation Unleashed: Trualen would set his mutated draconic form free, growing in size and mass, this form of his bears exceptional strength and magic-absorbing capabilities, however in such a form, he is more attuned to his element, therefore more weak against of its counter, that being Fire, Trualen can only hold onto this form for a small time - either he would need to finish his opponent quickly or suffer a heavy withdrawal once the metamorphosis ends.



Traits:

Endure Pain: The years of torment had taken its toll upon the mutated elven, due to this, he has an incredible experience with pain -- he was compelled to endure it and turn it into raw strength.

Draconic Eye: Although he lacks the speed of a rogue or agility in general, thanks to his draconic eye, he is able to track the agility of his opponent and react accordingly, thus granting him exceptional reflexes.

Honour of the Knight: Though his draconic mutation might cause him to have a bad impression, Trualen is one that respects his opponent no matter what, he would not backstab or earn his victory in treachery, he would need to deserve it -- and expects his opponent to deserve their own victory.





Backstory: Among his kind, Trualen was always an anomaly, as he had the latency to harness magic -- to capture it and even nullify, he remained as a fair, noble knight until the Order of the Rose had taken interest in him, a Dragoness named Kreia had seen to his capture, overwhelming him and taking him -- to turn him into a weapon for the Order's efforts. Years of experiments, even going as far as infusing her own draconic blood into his being, he was remade. No more an elven man but never fully a dragonkin, he remained as an amalgam. In Rose's name, he was compelled to take the lives of many Magi, even earning himself an infamous name: Azrael, the Magereaper.

Yet being able to carry the blood of the innocent no more, Trualen had escaped, mortally wounding Kreia, one who would be his 'Master' and risking the life of a wanted escapee ever since, he now seeks a way to redeem himself from all the horrors he was forced to commit -- and joining the Tournament, in hopes to encounter people who could help his condition, the mutation may be permanent yet at the very least he could learn to harness it, use it for the good.

< Message edited by Trualen Silverswift -- 6/29/2024 21:51:15 >
Post #: 3
6/30/2024 19:42:17   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 And we are off! Let the bios come rolling in!

@Chewy905 -Good to see my fellow AK here kicking us off to a strong start! The majority of Camellia is well balanced (although I'd double check the name since I see one or two instances of Ceclia), but a couple points to work out.

First, The Purge. The ability to both increase your damage potential while decreasing your opponent's disability to engage is worrisome, particularly in the extremes listed here. Either lessen the effects of both, or choose one - my opinion is that increasing the blade's physical capabilities is easier to work with. I would also like to specify that it is four successive attacks against the same person - i.e., if there is significant time between two blows on Opponent A, or Opponent B is struck after Opponent A, then Opponent A's count should reset.

Second, while I am comfortable with both Belie and Exert as stand-alone abilities, the option to do these at the same time - particular in the quick succession allowed by Belie - is a bit too powerful even with the close to duo-use nature of Exert. If you want to keep the two in concurrence as an option, then this should cause enough fatigue to prevent either ability from being used right away to avoid spanning debilitating blows.

Get a new bio up with those revisions, and let me know if you'd rather tweak in a different direction. Otherwise should be good to go!

@Trualen Silverswift - welcome to the Elemental Championships! It's always lovely to see a new face - that said, we have a significant issue with your bio. The rules state - clearly, several times - that a bio cannot be edited without permission. You have edited your bio. As such, while you are welcome to enter with a new character, the character of Trualen Silverswift is Disqualified from this year's event.

That said, I'd like to give you some pointers to help your next character go through smoothly. A lot of the abilities are clever, but would need some clearer boundaries/definitions in order to work in a collaborative event. For example, something like Draconic Limbs will need much clearer a definition of what can be changed and how those changes impact the physical prowess (are draconic limbs faster/stronger? Do the wings have flight capabilities? Is a tail an option?). Something like mana burn, which impacts your opponents, would need a trigger - something like eye contact, physical contact, or focus/concentration on Trualen's part.

Something like Spellsteal is a very clever way of interacting with your opponents, but given the potential nature of multi-elemental magic, would need to be tweaked to more of a reflection from an Ice Mirror rather than a stolen prior to casting and storage. In general, copying or replicating moves are hard to pull off with the cross-elemental limitation. I'd also say outside of this ability and the Mutation, I don't get a very strong Ice feel from Trualen. It's perfectly fine if that's something that owuld come across more as a personality or a backstory note, but it's worth seeing what other abilities could align with the ice - for example, a Frost Burn effect (frost so cold it burns) to link into Mana burn.

Speaking of the Mutation Unleashed: while I am not against having an "ultimate" type ability, this one is too powerful. Time limit is a great start, but sheer size would be a concern, especially since some arenas have enclosed ceilings in the 20-30 foot range, as well as other inherent dragon abilities like a breath attack that would need to be defined and run the risk of being too great an AoE.

This is a character that is workable for another year - but given he cannot be used this year, let's take the time to use a non-Namesake character that's easier to modify, and focus on narrowing their scope and abilities to work specifically around their element.


This is a reminder - to all considering joining, whether a newcomer or a returning writer, to read the entirety of the rules in the intro post to this thread. Things do get refined year to year - do not make assumptions. When in doubt, ask questions.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 4
7/1/2024 13:06:03   
Dragonknight315
Member

"Even after this godsforsaken cure of yours, I will not be tamed. My talons are still mine.”

Name: Grim Ranger Lunara Song
Element: Wind
Pronouns: She/They
Age: ~27 years old
Race: Half-Elf, “Cured” Were-Owl

Appearance: At first glance, one can see that Lunara is a scarred, gloomy individual. Standing around 5’1, her tan skin has lost most of its color. Her hair is pulled back into a short ponytail, its hue alternating between vertical strips of brown and white. If one were to look closely, they might be able to make out a trace of cyan dye in her hair's tips.

Across her nose and under her eyes is a single massive claw mark. Hints of gold trace the center of her emerald eyes, but even on the best of days, there seems to be no spark in them, drowned out by the extreme bags below them. On the rare occasion Lunara speaks, her sharp fangs peek out from her mouth.

Gland in cloth and leathers typical of a forest hunter, her form is thin with any excess muscle or fat trimmed off. Her clothes are better suited to stealth and environmental protection rather than outright combat. Hanging from the tassels on her cloak is a mask reminiscent of a plague doctor’s except with a short curved nose. In terms of accessories and equipment, Lunara keeps to the bare minimum. To her side is a quiver for her feather-fletched arrows and a sheath for her daggers. Besides her bow, the only notable item in her possession is a necklace made from orange amber. Tucked beneath her shirt, it takes the form of a stylized sun.

Physiology:--- When Lunara was still a child, she and her family were attacked by a were-owl (a were-creature resembling a harpy.) As the only survivor, she was cursed with the same affliction. Growing up, she was more animal than person. Her turning had granted her enhanced senses, supernatural dexterity, and a strong affinity to wind magic, all of which were compounded by her elvish ancestry. Eventually, Lunara was picked up by a private military company and trained to be a ranger, allowing her to put her curse to good use.

However, one fateful day, Lunara was captured by an enemy force. Forcibly cured against her will, the process had excised the bestial part of her soul. As such, she immediately lost the majority of the power she had come to rely on. Over the last few years, Lunara has relearned how to function in her current state. While still dexterous and attentive compared to the average human, Lunara simply cannot take a hit like she used to. While not out of shape, the scars of her excision have left her body frail, something she must actively fight against through force of will.


Equipment & Abilities---

• Fallen Feather Arrows: As an experienced ranger, Lunara’s preferred weapon of choice is her shortbow. While the bow itself is ordinary, Lunara possesses 3 special arrows as her only source of ammunition. Made from enchanted bone and Lunara’s own were-owl feathers, these arrows are supernaturally durable. A Fallen Feather arrow is durable enough to withstand impact with the sturdiest of surfaces, allowing Lunara to retrieve them.

Furthermore, these arrows are especially receptive to Lunara’s magic. When nocked, Lunara can spend a brief moment of focus to imbue the arrow with her wind magic. When released, these imbued arrows will travel in a perfectly straight line (ignoring gravity and wind) unless impacted by another force. This does not grant the arrow any extra lethality.

However, if the situation calls for more drastic measures, Lunara can instead overcharge her arrow. This requires a few seconds of intense focus. When overcharged, a current of intense wind magic will swirl visibly around the arrow. Upon release, the arrow will fly straight (same as above); however, upon contact, the arrow will immediately shatter and disintegrate into a brief but sharp burst of wind. In a 10ft radius around the point of impact, any exposed flesh or softer materials may suffer lacerations (as though they passed through a bed of glass or nails) with those farther from the center suffering less severe injuries. This process renders the arrow unusable, destroying the attached fletching in the process.

• Twinswords: For closer encounters, Lunara possesses a pair of ordinary steel daggers. The blades are 4 inches in length and double-edged. Of particular note is their pommels fashioned into the shape of a ring.

• Hunter’s Mask: Made of enchanted white ceramic, Lunara dons a mask made in the image of a barn owl. While worn, it allows Lunara to be able to see in dimly lit conditions (though it cannot aid her in pitch-dark environments.) Furthermore, the mask acts as a magical air purifier, allowing Lunara to better withstand miasma or other forms of noxious/poisonous air.

• Mantle of the Were-Owl: Once Lunara’s prized possession, her brown leather cloak has fallen into disrepair. Sown into the hooded cloak are the leftover feathers from Lunara’s last transformation. Originally, the cloak was completely covered in said feathers; now, only a few dozen remain with numerous scars and holes taking the place of those absent. Though few in number, they still grant the cloak innate magical potential. When worn by Lunara, the mantle greatly suppresses any noise within a 2ft radius of her. Footsteps will disappear completely, while a shout may be reduced to a whisper. This goes both ways; while it allows Lunara to act more discreetly, it also prevents her from fully analyzing her surroundings. While years of experience have honed her instinct, this still poses as a potential vulnerability for her.

Lunara can activate and deactivate the Mantle’s noise suppression ability at will, requiring minimal focus on her part. However, the cloak possesses an additional ability. Lunara can choose to “invert” her cloak’s power. After a moment of intense focus, Lunara can release a wave of strong, deafening wind, blasting anything within a 5ft radius around her. Anything within this radius may be knocked back several feet and maybe be potentially deafened for a brief moment. While Lunara will remain in place, she too will suffer the deafening effects. Furthermore, upon using the concussive blast, the magic in her feathers will diminish, requiring several hours to recharge before Lunara can use its stealth or defensive properties again.

• Spectral Tether: Though her bestial soul was severed from her body, Lunara still holds some remnant of her old primal power. This takes the form of her Spectral Tether, a rope made from pure, ghostly winds. After a brief moment of focus, Lunara can manifest or manifest her Spectral Tether. When summoned, she can either create a single 15ft rope in her hand or two separate 5ft ropes in both her hands. She must have a free hand to manifest her Spectral Tether and the tether disappears if she were to let it go. After a Tether is manifested, Lunara must take a moment to gather herself before attempting to summon it again.

The Spectral Tether moves according to Lunara’s intent (though it must be aided by accompanying movements from Lunara.) Functionally, Lunara can use it as a grappling hook or a lasso. After wrapping it around a target, Lunara can will her Tether to contract in length, either pulling the target to her or vice-versa. The tether can be contracted down to a minimum of 1ft. However, if the tether is wrapped around a person/object, it cannot contract in such a way as to crush/sever an object, stopping just short of causing such damage. Through the same process, Lunara can extend the tether up to its maximum length (15ft for one rope, 5ft for two ropes.)

Though ethereal in appearance, the Spectral Tether is still a physical rope. While the nature of the magic makes it resistant to being severed by purely physical means, it is still possible with enough force. Furthermore, any magical means of severing the tether will be far more effective by comparison. When severed, the rope will immediately disappear and Lunara must take a few moments before attempting to summon it again.
AQ DF AQW  Post #: 5
7/1/2024 16:33:37   
  Chewy905

Chromatic ArchKnight of RP


 Round 2! Changes are boldened, and are broadly, thus:
- Removed the psychic impulse from The Purge and clarified that its buffs fall off with time or upon switching targets.
- Clarified that Belie's "clones" disappear after Camellia reappears, so I don't go spreading a hundred fake-Camellias everywhere.
- Activating Belie and Exert simultaneously now prevents either from being used for a moderate period.



“With the gifts of The Provider, under the safety of the Protector, and through the guidance of The Presenter, I hereby recite my oath. The Oath of the Purger, Sister to the Dictari family”.


Name: Camellia Dictari
Pronouns: She/Her
Element: Darkness
Age: 28
Race: Half-drake


“Let The Provider’s gifts be my flesh, so that none may mar that which belongs to The Family.”


Appearance: Camellia stands at a mighty 6-foot 6, her height raised by her dragon heritage. Her pale, slightly glimmering skin is accentuated by her deep purple hair, which has been cut short to barely reach her neck. The solid black sclera of her eyes highlight her pure white pupils, which seem to constantly burn with an ethereal fire. Iridescent scales line parts of her skin, creeping up from the exposed sections of her neck to surround the sharp features of her face. Most of her neck is covered by her armor; a scale mail colored in the same shade as her hair. This armor should form a lower-visor that would cover the bottom half of her face, yet it has been clearly torn away, leaving jagged metal edges near her cheekbones. Around her scowling lips are chain-link scars carved into her skin, and her closed mouth hides a few sharpened fangs among her teeth.

The rest of her form is covered by the same heavy, purple-scaled armor, scratched and worn from use yet still polished to a sheen. Her shoulders are weighed down by a pair of sculpted dragon heads, their maws held shut by decorative chains wrapped over them. Her left hand gauntlet ends in sharp claws, and both of her greaves bear sharp talons. Her right hand gauntlet has been torn off, exposing jagged metal that digs into her forearm whenever she bends it. This leaves the rest of her forearm exposed, revealing iridescent scales with chain-link scars etched into them. Her hand ends in natural claws, sharpened to a much deadlier edge than her gauntlet’s.


“Let this blade grant me resolve, so I may need no rest while enemies of The Family draw breath.”


Equipment:
Flesh of the Family: Camellia is almost entirely covered by her armor, with only her head and right forearm exposed, though the natural scales upon her forearm offer moderate protection. Her armor is enchanted, unremovable by herself and anyone other than The Family except through extreme effort; a process which inflicts severe pain on the wearer. In return for this limitation, the armor provides significant protection against all physical strikes, though fiercer blows will still shake Camellia’s balance. The scales also protect against extreme temperatures, and can disperse magical effects across her form, reducing damage to the armor upon the point of impact by spreading it equally across her body instead. Enough repeated physical blows can chip away scales of the armor, leaving those areas less protected against physical attacks, and entirely unprotected against magical attacks.

The claws upon her left gauntlet and on her greaves are sharp as a standard blade and laced with a mild poison. Once a foe has been cut by these claws, the poison reacts quickly, dulling the victim's senses and reducing their reaction time. These effects last only a few seconds as the poison quickly disperses through the body and becomes harmless. The claws upon her right hand are much sharper, but lack the paralytic qualities of her gauntlet.

The Purge: An ornate, two-handed greatsword, designed to appear as separate pieces of twisting and spiraling steel. Part of this blade has been snapped off at both the tip and the base, leaving the blade slightly unbalanced. The weapon’s crossguard is chained tightly to its sheath twice-over; once by a heavy metal chain made of green, gold, and silver links, and again by a chain made of purple links. Only Camellia is able to draw the blade from its sheath, a process which requires a short spoken ritual. Once drawn, the tri-colored chain will bind one hand to the handle, preventing her from setting down or sheathing the weapon until it has ended a life.

The blade’s enchantment allows it to develop an ire of its own towards a foe. Repeated strikes against the same enemy, even if they are avoided or are blocked, cause the blade to become sharper and feel lighter to wield, capping at four strikes. At this cap, the blade feels practically weightless, and can cleave most common metals apart. These properties are lost and the count resets if Camellia stops attacking the same opponent for a significant time, or if she attacks someone else instead.

“Let the Presenter’s words mold my spirit, so I may deceive all who conspire against The Family.”


Abilities:
Belie: Camellia is able to slip into a state of nothingness, vanishing entirely from all physical and magical senses: she cannot be heard, seen, smelled, or detected in any other such manner. This state lasts for only a second or until she makes contact with another person, after which she reappears. Upon disappearing, Camellia leaves behind an image, frozen in an imitation of her at the moment at which she vanished. This image is identical to her in every way, fooling any magical senses as well as physical ones, but melts harmlessly into shadow if struck or after Camellia reappears.

Camellia can use this ability up to 3 times consecutively, requiring only a few seconds between each use. However each consecutive use becomes more flawed; with the 2nd use causing her to continue to create sound and no longer fool magical detection, and the 3rd causing her to be visible as a shimmering outline in the air. Similarly, her imitation fails to fool magical senses and does not appear “alive” during the 2nd use, and becomes visually blurry and indistinct during the 3rd. Belie returns to its full effectiveness after about a dozen seconds of non-use.

Exert: Camellia is able to push herself beyond her physical limits, creating a sudden burst of speed and control that allows her to either launch into a dash from a standstill, or completely stop her momentum and redirect it into a different movement. Exert is an extremely physically taxing ability. While Camellia could use it once without issue, using it again in a short period would leave her heavily fatigued to the point of near exhaustion afterwards. After a lengthy period of non-use, Camellia would be capable of using Exert again without issue. Activating Exert and Belie simultaneously severely stresses Camellia’s physical and magical capabilities, leaving her unable to activate EITHER ability again for a moderate period.


“Let the Protector’s training grant me talent, so that I may serve at my finest.”


Traits:
Force to Break the Guilty: Camellia bears inhuman strength, durability and stamina, capable of denting strong metals with a few direct blows, while weathering those same blows herself without flinching. This makes up for her lack of speed and dexterity, both sitting at an average human’s capabilities.

Vigilance to Catch the Sly: Camellia is sharply aware of her surroundings, reacting especially quickly to motion within her line of sight, even in dark environments. At the same time, she often overlooks those that blend into the background or remain motionless.

Will to Ignore the Impotent: Camellia has come in contact with many mages of various ilk, but has never taken an interest in their art. While she can identify the presence of magic, and often identify spellcasters at a glance, she is unfamiliar with most types of magics and will frequently disregard them as ineffective regardless of their true strength and nature. However she has a distinct advantage against illusions and mind-magic. While she cannot perfectly resist this type of magic, it is much more difficult to fool or persuade her with.


“Thus I promise, as Sister to The Family, to uphold my duty and cast aside all else.
May these gifts be my flesh, may my will be my blade, may these words be my strength, and may our bonds guide my life…

No more.”
Post #: 6
7/1/2024 23:20:42   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 Moar bios. MOAR BIOS *ahem* Yay, more bios!

@Dragonknight315 - I think this might be the first cured Were-Creature I've balanced, neat! Lunara has a lot of fun traits, but a couple points I want to touch on and clear up.

First, for Fallen Feather. It seems unusual to me that a ranger, who specializes in the shortbow, would have only three shots of ammo. Even with the ability to recover her arrows, that isn't going to give you much of a chance to show off her skill there. I'd recommend either giving her some normal arrows, or else adding a "recall" of sorts to her were-feathered arrows - assuming the arrows aren't shattered. If you prefer to go with the latter, have either a minimum duration between an empty quiver and a full quiver, or tie it to her stamina.

Second, Spectral Tether. A reach weapon that moves by intent to a range of 15 feet is extremely powerful - for the trip potential if nothing else. If you wish to keep the full control, I would ask you to shorten this to 10 feet. The other option is once it gets *longer* than the 10 feet, she can only control it through physical exertion, not intent.

Lastly, just a comment on the Mantle of the Were-Owl. I reached out to you to clarify that this is meant to dampen sound as it passes THROUGH the range - i.e., sound generated outside of it will enter at a decreased volume, and then continue at that decreased volume as it leaves. If you could just make that a bit clearer in the wording, I'd appreciate it! I wasn't sure if it was only meant to impact sounds that generated within the range, or external sounds as well.

Looking forward to round 2!

@Chewy905 - Changes all look good to me! We further confirmed that Belie is intended to be when Camilia impacts a person rather than making direct bodily contact - i.e., a sword strike still counts to break the ability. With that, approved!

Keep them coming!
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 7
7/2/2024 10:37:03   
Dragonknight315
Member

Round 2 changes are up and underlined!

"Even after this godsforsaken cure of yours, I will not be tamed. My talons are still mine.”

Name: Grim Ranger Lunara Song
Element: Wind
Pronouns: She/They
Age: ~27 years old
Race: Half-Elf, “Cured” Were-Owl

Appearance: At first glance, one can see that Lunara is a scarred, gloomy individual. Standing around 5’1, her tan skin has lost most of its color. Her hair is pulled back into a short ponytail, its hue alternating between vertical strips of brown and white. If one were to look closely, they might be able to make out a trace of cyan dye in her hair's tips.

Across her nose and under her eyes is a single massive claw mark. Hints of gold trace the center of her emerald eyes, but even on the best of days, there seems to be no spark in them, drowned out by the extreme bags below them. On the rare occasion Lunara speaks, her sharp fangs peek out from her mouth.

Clad in cloth and leathers typical of a forest hunter, her form is thin with any excess muscle or fat trimmed off. Her clothes are better suited to stealth and environmental protection rather than outright combat. Hanging from the tassels on her cloak is a mask reminiscent of a plague doctor’s except with a short curved nose. In terms of accessories and equipment, Lunara keeps to the bare minimum. To her side is a quiver for her arrows and a sheath for her daggers. Besides her bow, the only notable item in her possession is a necklace made from orange amber. Tucked beneath her shirt, it takes the form of a stylized sun.

Physiology:--- When Lunara was still a child, she and her family were attacked by a were-owl (a were-creature resembling a harpy.) As the only survivor, she was cursed with the same affliction. Growing up, she was more animal than person. Her turning had granted her enhanced senses, supernatural dexterity, and a strong affinity to wind magic, all of which were compounded by her elvish ancestry. Eventually, Lunara was picked up by a private military company and trained to be a ranger, allowing her to put her curse to good use.

However, one fateful day, Lunara was captured by an enemy force. Forcibly cured against her will, the process had excised the bestial part of her soul. As such, she immediately lost the majority of the power she had come to rely on. Over the last few years, Lunara has relearned how to function in her current state. While still dexterous and attentive compared to the average human, Lunara simply cannot take a hit like she used to. While not out of shape, the scars of her excision have left her body frail, something she must actively fight against through force of will.


Equipment & Abilities---

• Fallen Feather Arrows: As an experienced ranger, Lunara’s preferred weapon of choice is her shortbow. While the bow itself is ordinary, Lunara possesses 3 special arrows in addition to her quiver of regular arrows. Made from enchanted bone and Lunara’s own were-owl feathers, these arrows are supernaturally durable. A Fallen Feather arrow is durable enough to withstand impact with the sturdiest of surfaces, allowing Lunara to retrieve them.

Furthermore, these arrows are especially receptive to Lunara’s magic. When nocked, Lunara can spend a brief moment of focus to imbue the arrow with her wind magic. When released, these imbued arrows will travel in a perfectly straight line (ignoring gravity and wind) unless impacted by another force. This does not grant the arrow any extra lethality.

However, if the situation calls for more drastic measures, Lunara can instead overcharge her arrow. This requires a few seconds of intense focus. When overcharged, a current of intense wind magic will swirl visibly around the arrow. Upon release, the arrow will fly straight (same as above); however, upon contact, the arrow will immediately shatter and disintegrate into a brief but sharp burst of wind. In a 10ft radius around the point of impact, any exposed flesh or softer materials may suffer lacerations (as though they passed through a bed of glass or nails) with those farther from the center suffering less severe injuries. This process renders the arrow unusable, destroying the attached fletching in the process.

• Twinswords: For closer encounters, Lunara possesses a pair of ordinary steel daggers. The blades are 4 inches in length and double-edged. Of particular note is their pommels fashioned into the shape of a ring.

• Hunter’s Mask: Made of enchanted white ceramic, Lunara dons a mask made in the image of a barn owl. While worn, it allows Lunara to be able to see in dimly lit conditions (though it cannot aid her in pitch-dark environments.) Furthermore, the mask acts as a magical air purifier, allowing Lunara to better withstand miasma or other forms of noxious/poisonous air.

• Mantle of the Were-Owl: Once Lunara’s prized possession, her brown leather cloak has fallen into disrepair. Sown into the hooded cloak are the leftover feathers from Lunara’s last transformation. Originally, the cloak was completely covered in said feathers; now, only a few dozen remain with numerous scars and holes taking the place of those absent. Though few in number, they still grant the cloak innate magical potential. When worn by Lunara, the mantle greatly suppresses all noises originating from within 3ft of Lunara to the outside world. Her footsteps will disappear completely, while a shout of hers may be reduced to a whisper. This goes works in reverse however; while the effect is active, any sounds originating from the outside world will be reduced in volume to Lunara and anyone within 3ft of her. As such, while the cloak allows Lunara to act more discreetly, it also prevents her from fully analyzing her surroundings. While years of experience have honed her instinct, this still poses as a potential vulnerability for her.

Lunara can activate and deactivate the Mantle’s noise suppression ability at will, requiring minimal focus on her part. However, the cloak possesses an additional ability. Lunara can choose to “invert” her cloak’s power. After a moment of intense focus, Lunara can release a wave of strong, deafening wind, blasting anything within a 5ft radius around her. Anything within this radius may be knocked back several feet and maybe be potentially deafened for a brief moment. While Lunara will remain in place, she too will suffer the deafening effects. Furthermore, upon using the concussive blast, the magic in her feathers will diminish, requiring several hours to recharge before Lunara can use its stealth or defensive properties again.

• Spectral Tether: Though her bestial soul was severed from her body, Lunara still holds some remnant of her old primal power. This takes the form of her Spectral Tether, a rope made from pure, ghostly winds. After a brief moment of focus, Lunara can manifest or demanifest her Spectral Tether. When summoned, she can either create a single 10ft rope in her hand or two separate 5ft ropes in both her hands. She must have a free hand to manifest her Spectral Tether and the tether disappears if she were to let it go. After a Tether is manifested, Lunara must take a moment to gather herself before attempting to summon it again.

The Spectral Tether moves according to Lunara’s intent (though it must be aided by accompanying movements from Lunara.) Functionally, Lunara can use it as a grappling hook or a lasso. After wrapping it around a target, Lunara can will her Tether to contract in length, either pulling the target to her or vice-versa. The tether can be contracted down to a minimum of 1ft. However, if the tether is wrapped around a person/object, it cannot contract in such a way as to crush/sever an object, stopping just short of causing such damage. Through the same process, Lunara can extend the tether up to its maximum length (10ft for one rope, 5ft for two ropes.)

Though ethereal in appearance, the Spectral Tether is still a physical rope. While the nature of the magic makes it resistant to being severed by purely physical means, it is still possible with enough force. Furthermore, any magical means of severing the tether will be far more effective by comparison. When severed, the rope will immediately disappear and Lunara must take a few moments before attempting to summon it again.
AQ DF AQW  Post #: 8
7/4/2024 1:04:29   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 Happy 4th of July for all of our US folk! And happy middle-of-the-week for everyone! Let's see if we can get a couple more bios before the weekend hits!

@Dragonknight315 - Changes all look good to me - Approved!
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 9
7/12/2024 18:28:57   
roseleaf320
Creative!


 Name: Vashiryn Est’d? Al’darii
Pronouns: he/him
Age: 142
Species: Dark Elf
Element: Fire


Appearance: Vashiryn is a tall elf, about 6’1”, with dark lavender skin and sharp features. His wavy hair, mostly tied back in a bun, falls loose in the front to frame his chin with purple tips that fade to white roots. His nose and mouth are covered by a black, shimmering cloth hung from a thin, tightly corded silver strand. His pointed ears are lined with silver piercings, and atop his forehead runs a band of silver threaded in a dense spiderweb pattern. His scale mail armor is a black, shining metal that sits overtop layers of black and gray cloth bearing embroidered flames. His dull silver eyes are in constant motion, surveying the details of the world around him as if analyzing a chessboard.

Equipment:
Umbral Mail: Vashiryn wears a scale mail made from an incredibly thin, lightweight metal from his homeland. This lightweight allows him to move freely, but means the armor is slightly less protective. The scale mail covers his collarbone and torso, thighs, and shoulders. The rest of his body is covered by several layers of cloth.

The scale mail provides little protection against blunt attacks, but moderate protection against slashing and piercing attacks; it would have to be attacked twice in the same place to pierce through to the cloth and skin underneath.

The armor is coated in a magical shield and provides moderate protection against magical attacks. This shield moderately protects the wearer from the brunt of most average magical attacks, such as a fireball or a wind slash. The wearer will still feel some of the attack, with stronger attacks likewise causing more damage to breach through the armor to its wearer. Like slashing or piercing attacks, it would take ~2 magical attacks in the same place to pierce through to the cloth and skin underneath.

Flame-bearers: Vashiryn carries four black stones, approximately the size of lemons, within a pouch on his hip. These stones are sourced from his homeland and have been refined to serve as miniature explosives. Vashiryn can use his Al’dar’s Breath ability to embed a gas flame within the center of the stone. After about 10-12 seconds, the stone bursts, causing an explosion with a five foot radius, sending stone shards flying and potentially causing mild-to-moderate burns for anyone within the explosion. The stone can be moved or kicked, and can take a significant amount of force before it is destroyed, which would cause the explosion to detonate early.

Fate’s Gaze: Within Vashiryn’s pouch is an obsidian mirror shard approximately the size of a flat hand. It is jagged and sharp, as if it shattered off from a larger source. He may use his Al’dar’s Breath ability to light the mirror on fire, coating it in a calm, low flame. This could be used as a weapon, though that is not its original purpose, and it would cut Vashyrin’s hand easier than it would cut his target.

Defend and Counsel: Vashiryn possesses two daggers made of reflective steel. Like the mirror, they may be lit on fire. The flames cause burns around any wounds made with the dagger, cauterizing them at the cost of inflicting increased pain.


Abilities:

Hearth of his People: Vashiryn wields the Al’dar, an eternal flame fueled by a well of natural gas deep in the earth. Through a ritual, Vashiryn took a breath of this eternal flame into himself to light his heart. The breath of flame within him is no longer fueled by gas, but instead by his will and devotion to his people; if it ever burns out, Vashiryn will die. (This does not exempt Vashiryn from dying by normal means).

This flame gives him the combat abilities detailed below, which draw on his strength, and will slowly exhaust him. They also provide insight into the long-term future of his people. This may be glimpsed through the physical flames he conjures, but is difficult for him to see, and always looks days, weeks, or more into the future. This will never detail anything related to his opponents or the fighting in the Elemental Championships.

Al’dar’s Breath: Vashiryn makes a hand motion and summons a basic orange and purple flame approximately the size of a softball just above the palm of his hand. Vashiryn can “hold” this flame for a few seconds before he must either throw it or let it dissipate. When thrown, the flame flies at approximately the speed of an arrow and has the potential to apply a mild burn to whatever it touches. Vashiryn is relatively accurate with this flame up to 40 feet, with decreasing accuracy up to 80 feet.

Widow’s Thread: Vashiryn calls upon the spiders of his ancestry to trap an enemy in their webs. Vashiryn signs, speaks, and draws a single line. As he draws this line, he conjures a thread of spider’s silk from his finger which forms a thin web up to 3 feet in total area which can be seen and ripples slightly. It floats in the air for ~10 seconds before dissipating harmlessly. If an enemy makes contact with the web, it sticks to them before catching fire and quickly burning away. Vashiryn can make contact with the web to set it aflame early, and cannot make a new thread until the current thread has burned or dissipated.

Ashen Judgement: Vashiryn signs and conjures an ashen spear in the sky pointing towards a location he determines when the cast begins. It takes about two seconds for the spear to fully form before it shoots towards the designated location as if it was thrown. If it hits a creature, the spear does damage as if it was a solid spear, accompanied with moderate-to-severe burning. Its magical nature allows it to have increased effectiveness against normal armor, though this does not guarantee it pierces through. If it lands on the ground, the spear stays in place as if wedged in for ~6 seconds before dissipating; for those few seconds, it can be picked up and wielded by Vashiryn as a normal spear, but to everyone else it is immovable and painful to the touch. Vashiryn cannot re-cast this ability until the spear fully dissipates, or would have dissipated should it have hit the ground instead of a creature.

Vashiryn needs at least one hand free to cast both Widow’s Thread and Ashen Judgement. Vashiryn may make the motion to cast Al’dar’s Breath while holding something, in which case, it immediately lights what he’s holding on fire.
Post #: 10
7/12/2024 23:23:29   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 Alright, I'm expecting a big rush of bios as we head into the final week of sign-ups! Let's get that started now!

@roseleaf320 - Good to see you! Definitely like the direction you're going with Vashiryn (it looks like the forums decided not to play nice with one of the symbols you used in his name). We clarified via PM that the Spider Web ability is literally spider web, so we don't have to worry about entrapment there while you use the other abilities. That said, using multiple of the Hearth abilities simultaneously should drain Vashiyrn much more significantly.

Since you've listed Vashiyrn as a Dark Elf, I do want to give you the chance to mention any specific racial traits that would differ from humans - i.e., leaning towards the traditional direction of elves being lither but less durable. Tentative approval as of now - but feel free to make a second post adding those, and we can balance those if needed!


AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 11
7/14/2024 17:15:22   
roseleaf320
Creative!


 Version two, with dark elf details and cementing the "using multiple significantly drains him" since I might as well on round two. Thanks for the opportunity to expand on his race- I think it adds to the character in ways I'm excited about!

Name: Vashiryn Est’de Al’darii
Pronouns: he/him
Age: 142
Species: Dark Elf
Element: Fire


Species Details: The Al’darii dark elves reach maturity around 50 and live for an average of six hundred years. Their civilization is built deep underground, which causes the following species traits: Vashiryn can see in total darkness for approximately 200 feet. This vision is dual-chrome: instead of shades of gray, he can see the red and blue scales of light. Vashiryn is more attune to changes in temperature, and has a resistance towards fire and heat, but is sensitive to light and light magic. All other traits and capabilities are similar to a human.

Appearance: Vashiryn is a tall elf, about 6’1”, with dark lavender skin and sharp features. His wavy hair, mostly tied back in a bun, falls loose in the front to frame his chin with purple tips that fade to white roots. His nose and mouth are covered by a black, shimmering cloth hung from a thin, tightly corded silver strand. His pointed ears are lined with silver piercings, and atop his forehead runs a band of silver threaded in a dense spiderweb pattern. His scale mail armor is a black, shining metal that sits overtop layers of black and gray cloth bearing embroidered flames. His dull silver eyes are in constant motion, surveying the details of the world around him as if analyzing a chessboard.

Equipment:
Umbral Mail: Vashiryn wears a scale mail made from an incredibly thin, lightweight metal from his homeland. This lightweight allows him to move freely, but means the armor is slightly less protective. The scale mail covers his collarbone and torso, thighs, and shoulders. The rest of his body is covered by several layers of cloth.

The scale mail provides little protection against blunt attacks, but moderate protection against slashing and piercing attacks; it would have to be attacked twice in the same place to pierce through to the cloth and skin underneath.

The armor is coated in a magical shield and provides moderate protection against magical attacks. This shield moderately protects the wearer from the brunt of most average magical attacks, such as a fireball or a wind slash. The wearer will still feel some of the attack, with stronger attacks likewise causing more damage to breach through the armor to its wearer. Like slashing or piercing attacks, it would take ~2 magical attacks in the same place to pierce through to the cloth and skin underneath.

Flame-bearers: Vashiryn carries four black stones, approximately the size of lemons, within a pouch on his hip. These stones are sourced from his homeland and have been refined to serve as miniature explosives. Vashiryn can use his Al’dar’s Breath ability to embed a gas flame within the center of the stone. After about 10-12 seconds, the stone bursts, causing an explosion with a five foot radius, sending stone shards flying and potentially causing mild-to-moderate burns for anyone within the explosion. The stone can be moved or kicked, and can take a significant amount of force before it is destroyed, which would cause the explosion to detonate early.

Fate’s Gaze: Within Vashiryn’s pouch is an obsidian mirror shard approximately the size of a flat hand. It is jagged and sharp, as if it shattered off from a larger source. He may use his Al’dar’s Breath ability to light the mirror on fire, coating it in a calm, low flame. This could be used as a weapon, though that is not its original purpose, and it would cut Vashyrin’s hand easier than it would cut his target.

Defend and Counsel: Vashiryn possesses two daggers made of reflective steel. Like the mirror, they may be lit on fire. The flames cause burns around any wounds made with the dagger, cauterizing them at the cost of inflicting increased pain.


Abilities:

Hearth of his People: Vashiryn wields the Al’dar, an eternal flame fueled by a well of natural gas deep in the earth. Through a ritual, Vashiryn took a breath of this eternal flame into himself to light his heart. The breath of flame within him is no longer fueled by gas, but instead by his will and devotion to his people; if it ever burns out, Vashiryn will die. (This does not exempt Vashiryn from dying by normal means).

This flame gives him the combat abilities detailed below, which draw on his strength, and will slowly exhaust him, growing exponentially should he use multiple abilities at once. They also provide insight into the long-term future of his people. This may be glimpsed through the physical flames he conjures, but is difficult for him to see, and always looks days, weeks, or more into the future. This will never detail anything related to his opponents or the fighting in the Elemental Championships.

Al’dar’s Breath: Vashiryn makes a hand motion and summons a basic orange and purple flame approximately the size of a softball just above the palm of his hand. Vashiryn can “hold” this flame for a few seconds before he must either throw it or let it dissipate. When thrown, the flame flies at approximately the speed of an arrow and has the potential to apply a mild burn to whatever it touches. Vashiryn is relatively accurate with this flame up to 40 feet, with decreasing accuracy up to 80 feet.

Widow’s Thread: Vashiryn calls upon the spiders of his ancestry to trap an enemy in their webs. Vashiryn signs, speaks, and draws a single line. As he draws this line, he conjures a thread of spider’s silk from his finger which forms a thin web up to 3 feet in total area which can be seen and ripples slightly. It floats in the air for ~10 seconds before dissipating harmlessly. If an enemy makes contact with the web, it sticks to them before catching fire and quickly burning away. Vashiryn can make contact with the web to set it aflame early, and cannot make a new thread until the current thread has burned or dissipated.

Ashen Judgement: Vashiryn signs and conjures an ashen spear in the sky pointing towards a location he determines when the cast begins. It takes about two seconds for the spear to fully form before it shoots towards the designated location as if it was thrown. If it hits a creature, the spear does damage as if it was a solid spear, accompanied with moderate-to-severe burning. Its magical nature allows it to have increased effectiveness against normal armor, though this does not guarantee it pierces through. If it lands on the ground, the spear stays in place as if wedged in for ~6 seconds before dissipating; for those few seconds, it can be picked up and wielded by Vashiryn as a normal spear, but to everyone else it is immovable and painful to the touch. Vashiryn cannot re-cast this ability until the spear fully dissipates, or would have dissipated should it have hit the ground instead of a creature.

Vashiryn needs at least one hand free to cast both Widow’s Thread and Ashen Judgement. Vashiryn may make the motion to cast Al’dar’s Breath while holding something, in which case, it immediately lights what he’s holding on fire.
Post #: 12
7/14/2024 23:18:07   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 Looking forward to seeing the bios rolling in this week, everyone! Keep them coming - I'm hoping to see between 12-15 approved by the time we get things rolling next week.

@roseleaf320 - And with that, full approval granted! Let's see what Vashiryn can do!

The winner of the Music Theme poll was Arena Theme 1! A teaser of that arena is below, but the three potential trials you can face this year will be: The Trial of Interchange, The Trial of the Submerged, and The Trial of Infinity!

Blackness encompassed all senses, pressed in from all sides. It swallowed sound and sight and left those within it shivering for lack of warmth. Then a single bright streak of starlight. Then another, and another, a shower of meteorites that raced across the sky in a never-ending arc of blazing silver. They cracked to the ground, one after the other, consolidating into a constellation of asteroids that sent flickers of light dancing across the veined marble below.

With a last cascade of gold, the glowing orb of warm sunlight sunk through the center of the arena, a rainbow of evening colors descending in its wake to paint the competitors in gentle, somber tones of twilight. The asteroids twinkled, then dulled, dark rocks hovering in the captured and frozen final rays of sunset.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 13
7/18/2024 23:20:20   
Oddball
Member

“Leave the paperwork to the ones with desk jobs, I’ll be out here doing our damn job.”



Name: Olivier Haith
Alias: “Veteran Officer Haith” “The Bureau’s Golden Shot.”
Age: Early-mid 30’s
Race: Modified Human
Element: Energy

Appearance:Olivier stands at roughly 5’6” with dark Red hair with navy Blue highlights. While resting, Olivier’s eyes are a dark Green, but when her pistol is charged they crackle with purple lightning.

Even while off-duty, Olivier wears her security vest at all times. Underneath her security vest, Olivier wears a padded jacket dyed in black and blue, with a white shirt barely poking out through the bottom. She wears a pair of baggy, padded pants that are fitted with flexible metal plates at the knees.


Abilities

Body Modifications: As a member of the Public Safety Bureau, Olivier underwent a series of surgeries to help her combat the growing threat to her city, with the main focus on allowing her to move at speeds unreachable by normal humans.

Her physical strength does fall behind the rest of her peers, but she is still comparable to those at peak condition.

While she can move incredibly quickly, she can only do so in short bursts if she doesn’t want to risk overloading her senses and passing out. She can cover roughly about 15 feet in a second while pushing herself, and can only do so once every 6 seconds. While travelling like this, she is followed by a streak of lightning that, while looking dangerous, does not interact with the world around it in any way.

Lightning Wielding: While not in the forefront like her speed enhancements, the other major change to Olivier’s body was the ability to conduct, and channel, lightning through her body. While lightning from other sources have little-to-no effect on her, Olivier is only capable of controlling her own created lightning.

As she fights, Olivier naturally creates electricity. The process is slow, taking 6 seconds of being in combat before her lightning starts to visibly appear. While there is lightning, Olivier’s weapons

Equipment

Standard-Duty Security Vest - The vest that Olivier wears is enforced with various strengthening enhancements, and has taken its fair share of heavy blows and explosions over her last 10 years as an officer. The vest is capable of absorbing a large amount of force, while the padded clothing underneath helps soften the rest of the blow. Together, these simple tools provide Olivier with a staggeringly powerful defence.

While her defensive capabilities are powerful, Olivier is still only human, and is bound to the limits of what humans can do. As such, she can only take so much damage before her body starts to give out on her.

T4S3R Mark IV - Conduit: The name of the pistol that Olivier carries with her. This weapon is specifically designed to be able to draw in the electricity that Olivier naturally creates over time, and uses it to charge itself. A full charge of the weapon takes roughly 6 seconds, and allows the weapon to fire four concentrated bolts of energy. Olivier is capable of ‘overloading’ this weapon if she wills it, which gives her up to 3 seconds of unlimited charge. But after this is used, the weapon cannot start charging again for 12 seconds.

Modified Stun Baton - A baton that doubles as a lightningrod. Any excess lightning that Olivier would create is stored inside of the baton. At the press of a button, the baton sheathes itself in a coat of lightning, the duration of which is dependent on how much charge it has accumulated but it cannot exceed 9 seconds. After this the baton is incapable of gathering electricity for 6 seconds.

Voltage Grenades: A set of triplet grenades that hang off of Olivier’s waist. By channelling a small amount of electricity into a held grenade, Olivier can store a charge of energy inside of it. Each grenade can hold up to a maximum of two charges, and each charge increases the effects of the thrown grenade.

Without any charge, the grenade has very little impact, and would do nothing more than release a pulse of static in a small area around itself
With one charge, the grenade is capable of disorientating more agile opponents, while still not having too much of an effect on larger enemies.
At two charges, the grenade’s pulse is capable of interrupting other electronics for just a second, while also disorientating larger foes and paralysing smaller foes for a second
AQ DF AQW Epic  Post #: 14
7/19/2024 17:02:16   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 @Oddball - Good to see you! Olivier may be ready to get the job done, but let's take care of her paperwork first.

To start, you rely very heavily on counting the seconds with this character. That's something that works very well in stricter formats, but timing can be a little loose in the ECs - especially since you have to align those seconds with the others in your arena. If there are areas to generalize, try using "the span of several seconds", or "a few moments to focus / concentrate", or "after several breaths" instead of locking it into, say, 6 seconds charge for 3 seconds use for 9 second cooldowns.

More specifically, and starting with the equipment, the Conduit pistol is especially guilty of this. It also needs a bit more detail about what is implied by bolts of energy - if we're expecting physical impact, electrical damage, or some other effect. My recommendation here to get away from the strict timing would be to scale the pistol one of two ways: either the longer she charges lighting, the more bolts she can store on it (with a cap of 4-6), and several moments to literally cool down without risking over-charging after firing the last of the grouping; or having it hold a single charge at a time that scales in power (to some maximum damage level) the longer it is charged. Either of these would adjust how over-charging works, but the concept can fit in with either direction - either as the ability to fire multiple shots without charging for longer or to fire a more powerful shot without charging for longer. The Stun Baton is also guilty of being overly-focused on timing - my recommendation here would be to give a set number of blows/strikes before the charge dissipates, with the amount of time needing to cool of linked to how long it took Olivier to shed the charge. If you would like to keep it to strict timings, then make sure to give me detail about the damage scales you are intending for the current level of charges expected.

Looking at the abilities: for Body Modifications, timings here actually work against you - since the 15 feet per second is actually about what an average sprint speed is. I'm assuming this ability is intended to take the place of sprinting, allowing Olivier to blip across the battlefield, as it were. If that's the case, then this works as-is, but if this is intended to compound on top of her sprinting abilities, we may need to talk scale a bit more.

Lastly: both Lightning Wielding and the Voltage Grenades need ranges on them. For the former, if it's just controlling the lightning across her own skin so as to cause nasty shocks for people who try to grab her, that's acceptable - but turning this into lightning whips that extend far beyond Olivier's body would be a different ability altogether and need further limitations. For Voltage Grenades, let me know if you have a specific range in mind, or if that's something you expect to scale with the charges. I will say, if you expected a two-charge grenade to have a significantly wider range, then there needs to be some drawback - perhaps over-exhausting Olivier to overload the single charge up to two charges.

On the whole, I do love the concept - I just want to streamline it a bit so that it's easier for you to write, and then clarify it a bit so it's easier for others to write with you.
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 15
7/19/2024 18:32:51   
nield
Creative!


 Name: The Queen of Ashes Atzilah

Element: Fire

Age: Adult

Race: Nazosir (Nazosir are functionally identical to humans)

Appearance: The Queen of Ashes is a woman who appears to be in her mid-late 30’s, who stands at 6’6”. She has skin like charcoal and straight pink hair that falls slightly past her waist. Her eyes are heterochromatic, with her right eye blue and the left green. The Queen of Ashes enters battle in her regal battle-dress, which is a mixture of ornate and practical, with armour covering her vitals and elaborately ornate designs elsewhere, hued in golds and reds.

Capabilities:

Atzilah Flare: An intense and cruel blue flame that attempts to consume all it touches, however this flame will not spread naturally, only spreading to things that actively come in contact with it. This flame is used with the Queen of Ashes’ right hand and can be thrown or imbued into an object. If thrown it travels slower than a thrown ball would. When imbued into an object, the Atzilah Flare will slowly warp and mar the object, while imparting greater destructive force. The Atzilah Flare is tenacious and even if fully smothered will only be significantly lessened in intensity so long as the fuel it is burning remains, it is capable of burning even without any oxygen. However, if it is fully immersed in water, it will go out.

Atzilah Grace: A less intense flame than the Atzilah Flare, this green flame that the Queen of Ashes uses with her left hand is still capable of burning foes, though that is not its main function, that being to shield the Queen and any allies from other flames and to lessen their wounds. Like the Atzilah Flare, the Atzilah Grace can be thrown, though its travel speed is faster than the other flame’s, being as fast as a thrown ball would be. The Atzilah Grace will not spread at all, only alighting where it is intended to. The Atzilah Grace can be put out easily by smothering it.

Flame-scarred Sceptre: A once-regal object that has been marred by flames, whatever colours it once held reduced to a scorched black smattered through with drops of red. The sceptre’s flanges are bent and battered and its haft is warped. The sceptre is made from a material with a high melting point, allowing it to withstand the Atzilah Flare better than most objects, though it is by no means fully inured to its destructive effect.

Kindling Vitality: The Queen of Ashes uses her stamina as collateral to control her flames, should they grow too large or persist too long they will end up draining not just her stamina but even her life-force, forcing her to maintain moderation. She can cause any of her flames to cease at will.

Battle-Queen’s Vigour: The Queen of Ashes is no stranger to battle, wielding her sceptre as a mace with significant finesse. Though she does not stand at the peak of fitness, the Queen is highly capable in all physical areas.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 16
7/19/2024 23:59:22   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 Due to the Boss Monster that is the adventures of Real Life Scheduling, Sign-Ups for the Elemental Championships are being extended for one week - only. That means 8 days left to get your characters submitted and approved!

@nield - Welcome and hail to Queen Atzilah! I like the concept of having multi-purpose fires based off of how she wields them, but both of Atzilah's fire types need some clarification and balancing.

First, Atzilah's Flare. As this is written, the ability for a non-smothering fire to burn all objects that it comes into contact with is too powerful - a burning torch can easily come into contact with multiple items, competitors, even parts of the Arena itself - and some Arenas are quite flammable! If you want to keep the flame powerful enough to consume any fuel without being smothered, then it needs to be limited to only what the thrown flame comes into direct contact with - i.e., not spreading to the rest of the object or to other adjacent objects. People should also have the ability to scoop or shake the flames off. Burning a hole in armor is workable - burning a hole through both armor and the person within it is not. If the ability for it to spread is more important, then the damage needs to be significantly lessened, and it should pass through rather than linger until things are consumed. Choose a direction, and we can balance further from there if needed. Additionally, the ability to imbue Atzilah's own objects is fine - but not imbuing an opponents armor with a throw of flame to roast them inside. Please limit this to items that Atzilah is both physically in contact with and already attuned with - like her armor and scepter - or items that she can spend several seconds of stillness attuning to - like loose items in the arenas.

Secondly, Atzilah's Grace. I'm a bit unsure of how you intend this ability to work by having it be both a damaging flame, and a shielding/healing one. Is the purpose of the flame dependent on Atzila's intentions, or does it both damage and heal simultaneously? If it's intended as a shield, is it more physical than typical fire to be solid enough to deflect - or is it just such a powerful fire that it would subsume another fire to come into contact with it? This ability is workable, just need clarity on the intent. As far as healing goes, I would mirror the amount the flame is capable of healing to the amount it is capable of causing damage.

Lastly, I would like the Scepter and Atzilah's armor both specified in an equipment section. I am making the assumption that the scepter is similar in size to a mace, but please include any highly differential details. For the armor, there needs to be details as to the extent of the protection - do we have shifting plates or some type of chain mail? How much protection is over which areas - torso, limbs, etc.?

Looking forward to round 2!
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 17
7/20/2024 0:11:46   
Riprose123
Member

"Images flash accompanied by sour smells easily recognized: fear, terror, panic. You know the answer instantly and it fills your mind: PREY."

Name: Shalla of the 778th Hatch, Warrior

Race: Kriete

"Invasion, conquest, subjugation. These are all you need to know. Everything else is not your concern."

Appearance: Shalla's appearance begins as all Kriete do. Standing at 7' with pale gray skin that stretches over her long spindly frame, Shalla's appearance is well in line with the rest of her caste. Plates of iron, steel and other metals pattern her body in a hodge podge assortment of effective armor, covering the vulnerable areas of her body. Bolts and screws and rods fasten these pieces directly into Shalla's body, with tight and puckered burn scars huddling around each connective structure. Her arms are more akin to an ape's in length, with her legs being long and spindly like a giraffe's, giving her a foreign and alien appearance befitting the invasive nature of her race. A long tail protrudes from her back, able to reach and strike around her body and over her head or help them keep her balance during combat. Mandibles click where a mouth should sit on a noseless face, sunken yellow eyes shining out even in complete darkness. While Kriete are able to communicate in a multitude of humanoid languages including Common, their own consists mainly of body language, clicking and the position of their four mandibles.

"Each scar is a lesson; each burn a victory. Remember the pests that gave them to you. Do not leave them able to remember you."

Equipment, weapons and items: Shalla's body is protected by plates of steel and other comparable metals that are forcibly bolted to their body. These cover her chest and back in the manner of a cuirass, as well as covering the fronts of her legs, forearms and shoulders, giving her coverage comparable to rudimentary armor. These pieces are augmented by sections of hardened leather and drapes of chainmail. Shalla's weaponry consists of four main pieces. The first is her Sha’kra, an ugly and jagged longblade that is wielded in one or two hands made of metal taken from the armor of her first kill. Given the violent nature of each Kriete's first kill, the fragments that remain from their victim's armor and weapons are collected and set before the mystics of their Brood. Over a series of arcane rituals and meditations that is unique to each Warrior, a weapon that reflects their wielder is produced. While some Sha’kra may look unwieldy and unstable while others may appear to be mastercrafts, each is perfectly balanced and wieldable. Any Shak'ra can be wielded normally by anyone Kriete or not, though doing so is taboo to all Kriete and can lead to severe social repercussions. The only tooling that adorns Shalla's Sha'kra are deep engraved channels running up and down the blade, allowing her to effectively coat her weapon in different liquids, including her own blood. Another blade is bolted into her tail, resembling a scorpion's claw. Groves and channels are carved into this blade as well, with blood dripping out of it at all times. Lastly, Shalla carries an ornate dagger on her hip that is used both for finishing off injured enemies and allies alike.

"Each piece of you is a weapon, a tool. You will be replaced either piece by piece or as a whole, just as every used tool is. While a tool may be cast aside, the mind that directs it remains. The Kriete remains."

Abilities and Powers:

Ars Sanguinis: Shalla's blood is heavy acidic and quickly eats through or burns most non magical organic materials. Things like plantlife and wood begin deteriorating and are worn though after several seconds of continued exposure while materials like skin and bone are severely burned for the first several seconds before being eaten away within a minute. Unfortunately, her blood is quickly rendered inert when exposed to oxygen, meaning that the worse that most will feel if exposed to a few droplets are painful burns, with more severe effects presenting through continuous exposure. Shalla can control the flow of her blood. From an open wound she can forcefully project it up to 10 ft, as well as cause it to solidify and liquify on command. If her blood is still in its active state, solidifying it retains its acidity, though it does not burn anything in contact with it until back in its liquid state.

Regeneration: Shalla's body readily produces blood at an accelerated rate due to her species's inability to clot blood. She takes nearly three times as long to bleed to death as a result. All Kriete also possess the ability to autotomy, with their limbs and tails growing back over a period of time. Tails normally return within a few hours while limbs can take up to a few days.
DF MQ  Post #: 18
7/20/2024 0:14:47   
Riprose123
Member

Element: WATER
DF MQ  Post #: 19
7/20/2024 23:57:00   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 Now we have a bit of extra time, let's see those bios keep rolling in!

@Riprose123 - Hello, hello! I'm definitely excited for the direction Shalla is going, and you've made some really clever choices with the blood-manipulation abilities. A few missing details, and then one spot of balancing.

For missing details: on your next submission, go ahead and pull the element (thank you for making a new post!) into the bio, as well as a rough estimate of age/maturity (young adult, adult, middle aged, etc.). Additionally, you mentioned having four main pieces of weaponry, but I've only counted three: the Shak'ra, the scorpion claw for the tail-blade, and the ornate dagger. Is there intended to be a fourth?

Now, balancing. You have a line in Ars Sanguinis that states Shalla can control the flow of her blood. I reached out to confirm this was intended to be a continuous control, similar to blood bending, which does need a little more detail so we avoid outright drowning everyone within 10 feet of Shalla. If you do want to keep that as the range of manipulation, then Shalla should only be able to control a single flow of fluid at a time. If you want to control multiple flows, then this range should decrease. In either case, I would limit that the amount Shalla can actively exert control over at any one point in time to several handfuls - or about a pint / 2 cups, if we're using formal measurements.

Otherwise, very cleverly done, so looking forward to round 2!
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 20
7/21/2024 0:18:22   
Riprose123
Member

Bio v2. Changes are Bold and Underlined.



"Images flash accompanied by sour smells easily recognized: fear, terror, panic. You know the answer instantly and it fills your mind: PREY."

Element: WATER

Name: Shalla of the 778th Hatch, Warrior

Age: Adult

Race: Kriete

"Invasion, conquest, subjugation. These are all you need to know. Everything else is not your concern."

Appearance: Shalla's appearance begins as all Kriete do. Standing at 7' with pale gray skin that stretches over her long spindly frame, Shalla's appearance is well in line with the rest of her caste. Plates of iron, steel and other metals pattern her body in a hodge podge assortment of effective armor, covering the vulnerable areas of her body. Bolts and screws and rods fasten these pieces directly into Shalla's body, with tight and puckered burn scars huddling around each connective structure. Her arms are more akin to an ape's in length, with her legs being long and spindly like a giraffe's, giving her a foreign and alien appearance befitting the invasive nature of her race. A long tail protrudes from her back, able to reach and strike around her body and over her head or help them keep her balance during combat. Mandibles click where a mouth should sit on a noseless face, sunken yellow eyes shining out even in complete darkness. While Kriete are able to communicate in a multitude of humanoid languages including Common, their own consists mainly of body language, clicking and the position of their four mandibles.

"Each scar is a lesson; each burn a victory. Remember the pests that gave them to you. Do not leave them able to remember you."

Equipment, weapons and items: Shalla's body is protected by plates of steel and other comparable metals that are forcibly bolted to their body. These cover her chest and back in the manner of a cuirass, as well as covering the fronts of her legs, forearms and shoulders, giving her coverage comparable to rudimentary armor. These pieces are augmented by sections of hardened leather and drapes of chainmail. Shalla's weaponry consists of three main pieces. The first is her Sha’kra, an ugly and jagged longblade that is wielded in one or two hands made of metal taken from the armor of her first kill. Given the violent nature of each Kriete's first kill, the fragments that remain from their victim's armor and weapons are collected and set before the mystics of their Brood. Over a series of arcane rituals and meditations that is unique to each Warrior, a weapon that reflects their wielder is produced. While some Sha’kra may look unwieldy and unstable while others may appear to be mastercrafts, each is perfectly balanced and wieldable. Any Shak'ra can be wielded normally by anyone Kriete or not, though doing so is taboo to all Kriete and can lead to severe social repercussions. The only tooling that adorns Shalla's Sha'kra are deep engraved channels running up and down the blade, allowing her to effectively coat her weapon in different liquids, including her own blood. Another blade is bolted into her tail, resembling a scorpion's claw. Groves and channels are carved into this blade as well, with blood dripping out of it at all times. Lastly, Shalla carries an ornate dagger on her hip that is used both for finishing off injured enemies and allies alike.

"Each piece of you is a weapon, a tool. You will be replaced either piece by piece or as a whole, just as every used tool is. While a tool may be cast aside, the mind that directs it remains. The Kriete remains."

Abilities and Powers:

Ars Sanguinis: Shalla's blood is heavy acidic and quickly eats through or burns most non magical organic materials. Things like plantlife and wood begin deteriorating and are worn though after several seconds of continued exposure while materials like skin and bone are severely burned for the first several seconds before being eaten away within a minute. Unfortunately, her blood is quickly rendered inert when exposed to oxygen, meaning that the worse that most will feel if exposed to a few droplets are painful burns, with more severe effects presenting through continuous exposure. Shalla can control the flow of her blood. From an open wound she can forcefully project it up to 10 f in a single tendril, as well as cause it to solidify and liquify on command. If her blood is still in its active state, solidifying it retains its acidity, though it does not burn anything in contact with it until back in its liquid state. Given the focus needed for this manipulation, she can only control one flow from one wound at a time. If her blood is separated from her, i.e. not projected from an open wound, she can no longer exert flow control over it, though she can still manipulate it's physical state. Shala can only control so much blood at a time as well, limiting to about a pint.

Regeneration: Shalla's body readily produces blood at an accelerated rate due to her species's inability to clot blood. She takes nearly three times as long to bleed to death as a result. All Kriete also possess the ability to autotomy, with their limbs and tails growing back over a period of time. Tails normally return within a few hours while limbs can take up to a few days.
DF MQ  Post #: 21
7/21/2024 21:59:39   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 @Riprose123 - Changes look good to me, approved!
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 22
7/22/2024 19:01:07   
Anastira
Member

Name / Title
Epithet (noun, an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned)

Element
Energy (example: Did you see that girl? She has such toxic energy / Sweet kid, but so full of energy! )

Age Range
400 years

Race
Fey

Appearance (Build, hair, skin, clothes, etc.)
Epithet appears childlike (late teens or early twenties at first glance) and yet also ageless. As a fey, no one knows her age, but she is solidly an adult. She is scrawny and about five feet tall, with cold slate-gray eyes, skin so translucent one can see the bluish veins beneath, and ragged hair cut evenly at her waist. Her teeth are sharpened - not enough to be a weapon, but enough to enhance the inherent nastiness of her entire aesthetic - and she wears an eternal twisted smirk on her grossly pale lips. Her hands are bony and haggard, with nails grown so long they resemble claws in terms of their length. She wears a black cowl and simple robe, and walks barefoot on filthy feet. She likes to shorten her name to “Pithy”, though it seems only she enjoys the irony of this name.


Equipment (Armor, Weapons, etc.)
Epithet can use either of her weapons to deliver an Insult as defined under the Skills, Spells, & Special Abilities section. The Insult may only be delivered in this way if, and when, her blade manages to connect with the victim’s flesh. If the blade is parried, she can only attempt to deliver the Insult verbally, if she is not silenced. Epithet’s weapons are twin shortblades shaped like sickles; both blades are limned with the light of words scrolling across the blades, like an ethereal veil of insults. If one looks closely enough , they might notice that the words there seem to be advice and criticism given to Epithet some time ago; the things they read seem to have been intended for a child or a student.

Unwanted Advice
Colored black with smoldering edges of red, Unwanted Advice is the larger of the two, slightly heavier and heftier - though not by much. The words scrolling across its blade are bold and red; they are almost easy to read.

”Constructive” Criticism
Sculpted in the colors of the moon - egg-white and silver-blue with a tinge of yellow - “Constructive” Criticism is slightly smaller and lighter than its twin, appearing friendlier at first glance; however, its blade is also the sharper of the two. The words scrolling across its blade are violet-blue, and they seem to flicker and glitch if one watches them closely. However, once in a while the words suddenly turn bold for an instant, shining a cruel silvery hue.


Insults: Skills, Spells, & Special Abilities
All of Epithet’s magical abilities are used via Epithet delivering an Insult verbally; if she is silenced, the only way she may attempt any of these is via channeling them mentally through her weapons in the instant the weapon makes physical contact with flesh. To deliver an Insult, she must be within line-of-sight and clear earshot of the victim, or have her weapons physically touching the victim’s flesh. Once given, Insults are not sure to succeed; certainly, an Insult that is not well-worded nor well-aimed may fall on deaf ears, and a victim with enough self-confidence may shake off the effects of an Insult without so much as flinching. Each time a weapon touches flesh, Epithet can attempt to deliver an Insult; that is, if she strikes twice in quick succession, she can attempt to deliver two Insults, so long as neither is Infect Thoughts, which takes ten seconds to speak and therefore would be the only Insult delivered in those ten seconds.

Despise Self
Epithet capitalizes on her victim’s insecurities, causing them to feel sudden and biting emotional pain. The crueler and more true the Insult, the deeper the Insult will hurt. This is Epithet’s favorite Insult; nothing gives her joy in quite the same way as a well-delivered Insult cutting so deep and true that she can physically watch the pain flash across the eyes of her victim.

Infect Thoughts
In a sudden burst of inspiration, Epithet gives a short (ten-second) speech which is so insulting in nature it may cause the victim to stop short in their tracks for ten seconds. This speech drains Epithet of mental stamina, and she cannot use it again for an hour, which she will undoubtedly spend coming up with a somehow even more insulting - and personalized - speech, to follow up the first.

Minor Elusion
Epithet gaslights the victim into believing a red flag is not, in fact, a red flag, suggesting they ignore one immediate problem at hand. For example, she may attempt to convince the victim that they should focus on her right-hand weapon and not her left; that they should ignore the immediate next movement of one person in the vicinity; and so on. This is limited to suggesting ignorance of one immediate action only. If the Insult is successful, the victim will be less aware of this single action, and may ignore it as it is happening. Of course, if this Insult means they focus on Epithet’s left-hand weapon and take a hit from her right-hand weapon, they will still register that they were hit and would respond normally; in this example, they would simply be less likely to be able to parry or dodge the blow before it happens.

Spare the Lying
If Epithet is severely wounded, she may tell a Lie to bolster her constitution and stay in the fight a little longer. This may heal the pain - but not the physical wound - of one injury, allowing her to believe in her Lie and ignore the pain for a time. However, she can only tell a Lie three times before even she is forced to face the truth.

Alarm Person
If Epithet is being attacked: Epithet implants a sudden fear into the mind of the victim, blowing out of proportion some preexisting possible danger. Although this does not have specific consequences for the victim, it allows Epithet to more accurately predict what her victim may do next; for example, rather than being directly stabbed, Epithet might dodge and instead take a glancing blow. However, a direct stab cannot be completely dodged this way. This ability may be used to temporarily break the concentration of her assailant, if applicable.


Personality / Backstory (Optional)
I despise you…because I despise myself.
AQW  Post #: 23
7/22/2024 23:22:37   
  Starflame13
Moderator


 @Anastira - Glad you made it! Let's take a look at Epithet.

I love the wordplay and the creativity of the Insults, but I do have significant concerns that the majority of this character's abilities relies on mentally influencing her opponents. While you have done a good job in accounting for how a target could not be suitable, this is still the type of character that depends heavily on collaboration and teeters dangerously close to bunnying if not written correctly. There are ways to make this work, but I would look into if there are also ways you could shift the Insults to be more self-targeting.

To avoid bunnying, an opponent must have a way to dodge, deflect, or break free from an ability. In general, relying on insults being line-of-sight and verbally, OR line-of-sight with physical contact to deliver the mentally, is a good balance. Additionally, this should also come with a physical distance limit - as well as a single-target limit. Epithet should not be able to shout "You have no chance of winning so just retreat now" from her spot entering the arena and cause all the other entrants to turn and run away in shame. This can vary depending on the ability - something like Despise Self works out to be a longer range (say, 20-30 feet), while something like Infect Thoughts would be a mid-range (say, 10-15) while something like Alarm Person is within physical attacking range. People can, of course, here and choose to react to the insults regardless - but the mental force should only be when they cross a certain boundary.

Looking at the specific abilities: Infect Thoughts is a bit long for a potential full-body stun, even for a one time ability - ten seconds is more than enough time to behead someone who can't defend themselves. Let's make this disorientation or perhaps slowed reflexes for the duration. I would also recommend turning it into a continuous ability - the person is impacted while Epithet is talking, for as long as either Epithet continues to make sense or until they manage to shake themselves free, with it being easier to shake free after repeated exposure. This allows you to have more than a one-time-use, but also gives other people something to work with rather than locking them out of the action temporarily.

Alarm person, now, trends a bit too far into locking opponents into their actions because it gives Epithet a premonition or prediction. While this is something that can work with collaboration, future sight is something that can cause headaches as people do like to adjust plans as more cool ideas come up. Let's lean back into the original idea - this is something meant to panic someone physically attacking Epithet, and so blows some fear in their mind out of proportion. By allowing the opponent to react to that, it gives you more freedom to engage rather than locking yourself in to the specific examples provided. You can in character still make a guess as to whether an opponent will engage or retreat, but that shouldn't be something predetermined because the ability is used. Similarly to Infect thoughts, repeated exposure should lessen how much someone would react to it.

Lastly, Minor Elusion. I'll admit, I have trouble trying to find a way to work this ability as-is without crossing the line into bunnying. Since the other main interactive abilities focus on engaging your opponents, my recommendation would be to shift this to something that would impact Epithet. Maybe they can convince themselves they never drew their sword - and suddenly it's sheathed again - or maybe they convince themselves that yes, the blade is in position to block that. The draw back here would be repeated usage would disorient Epithet herself, so she couldn't miraculously block all the blows in a fight without giving herself a severe migraine.

As a final note, if there are any unique traits that being Fey should give her - whether that's the more typical weakness to iron or increased dexterity - please note those here.

Give the abilities a bit of a brainstorm to see how they can best build interactions, rather than dictate them, and we'll see you again in round 2!
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 24
7/23/2024 10:50:41   
Anastira
Member

(Note changes have been bolded.)

Name / Title
Epithet (noun, an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned)
occasionally “Pithy”

Element
Energy (example: Did you see that girl? She has such toxic energy / Sweet kid, but so full of energy! )

Age Range
400 years

Race
Fey

Appearance (Build, hair, skin, clothes, etc.)
Epithet appears childlike (late teens or early twenties at first glance) and yet also ageless. As a fey, no one knows her age, but she is solidly an adult. She is scrawny and about five feet tall, with cold slate-gray eyes, skin so translucent one can see the bluish veins beneath, and ragged hair cut evenly at her waist. Her teeth are sharpened - not enough to be a weapon, but enough to enhance the inherent nastiness of her entire aesthetic - and she wears an eternal twisted smirk on her grossly pale lips. Her hands are bony and haggard, with nails grown so long they resemble claws in terms of their length. She wears a black cowl and simple robe, and walks barefoot on filthy feet. She likes to shorten her name to “Pithy”, though it seems only she enjoys the irony of this name.


Equipment (Armor, Weapons, etc.)
Epithet can use either of her weapons to deliver an Insult as defined under the Skills, Spells, & Special Abilities section. The Insult may only be delivered in this way if, and when, her blade manages to connect with the victim’s flesh. If the blade is parried, she can only attempt to deliver the Insult verbally, if she is not silenced. Epithet’s weapons are twin shortblades shaped like sickles; both blades are limned with the light of words scrolling across the blades, like an ethereal veil of insults. If one looks closely enough , they might notice that the words there seem to be advice and criticism given to Epithet some time ago; the things they read seem to have been intended for a child or a student.

Unwanted Advice
Colored black with smoldering edges of red, Unwanted Advice is the larger of the two, slightly heavier and heftier - though not by much. The words scrolling across its blade are bold and red; they are almost easy to read.

”Constructive” Criticism
Sculpted in the colors of the moon - egg-white and silver-blue with a tinge of yellow - “Constructive” Criticism is slightly smaller and lighter than its twin, appearing friendlier at first glance; however, its blade is also the sharper of the two. The words scrolling across its blade are violet-blue, and they seem to flicker and glitch if one watches them closely. However, once in a while the words suddenly turn bold for an instant, shining a cruel silvery hue.


Insults: Skills, Spells, & Special Abilities
All of Epithet’s magical abilities are used via Epithet delivering an Insult verbally; if she is silenced, the only way she may attempt any of these is via channeling them mentally through her weapons in the instant the weapon makes physical contact with flesh. To deliver an Insult, she must be within line-of-sight and clear earshot of the victim, or have her weapons physically touching the victim’s flesh; all Insults are single-target only, and if they affect anyone other than Epithet herself, they are additionally limited by a physical range as described below. If an Insult targets only Epithet herself, she may forgo the verbal component if she is holding at least one of her swords, as hilt-to-flesh is a worthy substitute to blade-to-flesh when applied to herself.

Once given, Insults are not sure to succeed; certainly, an Insult that is not well-worded nor well-aimed may fall on deaf ears, and a victim with enough self-confidence may shake off the effects of an Insult without so much as flinching. Each time a weapon touches flesh, Epithet can attempt to deliver an Insult; that is, if she strikes twice in quick succession, she can attempt to deliver two Insults, so long as neither Insult is too long to be delivered in that time frame (for example, Infect Thoughts).

Despise Self
Epithet capitalizes on her victim’s insecurities, causing them to feel sudden and biting emotional pain. The crueler and more true the Insult, the deeper the Insult will hurt. This is Epithet’s favorite Insult; nothing gives her joy in quite the same way as a well-delivered Insult cutting so deep and true that she can physically watch the pain flash across the eyes of her victim. This Insult can only be delivered when the victim is within 20 feet of Epithet.

Infect Thoughts
In a sudden burst of inspiration, Epithet gives a short speech which is so insulting in nature it may cause the victim to be disoriented for as long as the speech is given and Epithet continues to deliver a coherent, sufficiently insulting soliloquy; the victim may also break free by mentally “shaking” themselves free of the effect. This speech requires Epithet to be within 10 feet of the victim; however, if Epithet attempts to use this ability repeatedly, it will be subsequently easier and easier for a previously-”infected” opponent to break free…the game is up, Epithet!

Minor Elusion
(Affects self only.) Epithet reverse-gaslights herself into believing she is wrong about her opponents’ next move. Epithet directs this gaslighting inwardly, at herself, which causes her to change her next movement, causing her to be an unpredictable combatant - for better or worse. For example, Epithet might stupidly step into an obvious swing of a sword, sustaining a heavy blow; or she might miraculously parry a hit which no one could have seen coming. Successful gaslighting makes Epithet begin to spiral into an existential crisis; with each successful use - that is, one that results in a positive result - Epithet veers closer and closer to a full-on panic attack: she begins to feel lightheaded, her chest feels tight and she begins to hyperventilate. Epithet is uncomfortable with the fact that she can successfully gaslight herself the same as she can gaslight her victims; turns out Epithet can dish it out…but she can’t take it! Additionally, good Insults rely on confidence in their delivery; if Epithet is overtaken by her panic attack, the Insults will cease to flow; and she will be a very bad combatant indeed.

Spare the Lying
(Affects self only.) If Epithet is severely wounded, she may tell a Lie to bolster her constitution and stay in the fight a little longer. This may heal the pain - but not the physical wound - of one injury, allowing her to believe in her Lie and ignore the pain for a time. However, she can only tell a Lie three times before even she is forced to face the truth.

Alarm Person
If Epithet is being attacked: Epithet hurls a brazen lie at her victim in an attempt to cause unfounded fear. If this ability is successful, she will be better able to guess at what her victim’s intentions are: she has a better idea whether her opponent is on the offensive or defensive, giving her a better chance of reacting appropriately. However, with repeated successful Insults against the same target, the victim will become less and less easily offended by this Insult, causing the chance of success to lower significantly. This ability also requires the victim to be within 10 feet of Epithet. This ability may be used to temporarily break the concentration of her assailant, if applicable.


Personality / Backstory (Optional)
I despise you…because I despise myself.

(Out-of-Character Clarification)
As noted in private message, Epithet’s fey ancestry does not give her any actual abilities or advantages compared to a normal human combatant. Her “feyness” simply alters how she looks visually, her lifespan, and - most likely - her temperament (an explanation for why she’s so strange in the head!).

Hopefully the rewrite of Minor Elusion improves it: my intent in this revision is for it to be a Wild Magic, roll-the-dice style ability that can either help or hurt Epithet, but either way makes her unpredictable in combat and therefore harder for the opponent to “read” at the time the ability is used.
AQW  Post #: 25
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