[M&M] The City of Darkness: Shadowgate Breach

[Acathala]

[Avner]

[Saratek]

[Avner]

[Runetide]

All right, I've finished my application. Now to build the character! :P
I would appreciate some feedback if there's anything I could do to spice it up. I'm going to now go look through the other apps and see if I have some connections that could be forged!

[Avner]

I’ll provide everyone with feedback and I may extend the deadline if we need some more time for building stuff out.

[girlplay]

Thank you, Avner. The conceptual part is always the more difficult for me when it comes to M&M. I'm not a comic or Marvel or DC fan, so I'm not as versed in what's possible. And I try to create a unique character for each game I apply to. But I'll get there.

[Runetide]

Originally Posted by Avner

I’ll provide everyone with feedback and I may extend the deadline if we need some more time for building stuff out.

Excellent, thank you!

I have a very well fleshed out Herolab account, so I can build my character once I get it installed on my new laptop. If any other player needs help with theirs, I can help with that too! I helped a couple other players here out on a different game and I think I do all right with getting builds to honor the needs of the players!

Girlplay, that's totally fine, by the way. M&M is one of the best systems for making your own character do whatever you want! Making new concepts works perfectly well with it. I tend to build not from 'what hero am I emulating' but rather 'what do I want this person to do?' and then figure out how to make the 'powers' in the system fit it! (which is funny cause my current application seems to be a mishmash of a comic character and a video game one, but that was a post-inspiration realization)

[AlphaZ]

Hey Avner, very cool game idea. I've currently talked myself out of applying, but I am following along to check out all the cool applications.

[Saratek]

[PalladiaMors]

Really mighty Aphrodite Name: Venus Concept: A golem built by the Magnus Veritas during the dark ages to stand guard over a vault of confiscated items and relics of magical power that gained sentience by absorbing the magic from those items over the past centuries. Abilities: Superhuman strength and durability, resistant to magic, can sense magic, and has a number of minor magical abilities from items she's absorbed. Not the brightest, but has a savant-like knowledge of magical artifacts and relics. Role: The tank Quote: "You know, magic can be very dangerous if misused. I mean, I was created through an accident of magic, and I'm about to cut you in half!" Complications: Despite her sentience Venus is still bound to the Magnus Veritas and can be commanded by any of those with the authority to do so. As a slightly taller than average humanoid statue of enchanted marble it's hard for Venus to go unnoticed. Even with her armor on she's far from subtle. Venus's knowledge of the world beyond that of the Magnus Veritas is very lacking.   To almost anyone who sees her Venus is a tall, slender, humanoid woman wearing all-encompassing archaic-looking armor of steel, chain, and leather. Her features are hidden by a steel mask with a vague owl-like visage and a dark leather hood is draped over her head. She wields a two-handed sword that remains affixed to her back when not in use, her footsteps heavy and deliberate. The helmet she wears amplifies her voice somewhat and adds an imposing flair to it, even though the words she usually speaks don't quite match the menace it's trying to convey. Without the armor she looks like a tall, marble, Hellenic style statue of a nude Aphrodite (which is how she gets the name) though magically animate and articulated. Though she can wear clothes just like anyone else can, of course, it would still be obvious that her form is not one of flesh. Within the ranks of the Magnus Veritas very few have even seen her without the armor and the fact that she's a golem is not widely known. The fewer that know the better, and as her construction and abilities make her a devastating weapon against magical threats, it's something they would prefer remain a hidden asset. Although her own ability to keep this secret is quite lackluster, which has caused no end of irritation among the upper ranks within the organization.   Venus was sculpted by an unknown artist in the early 6th century, a commission for a member of the Magnus Veritas seeking to create a golem to stand guard over several magical treasures confiscated by the organization after the fall of Rome. For most of Venus's existence she was naught but an inert statue, enchanted and tasked with standing watch over this vault and the contents within, hidden away from the world lest they be misused. Part of the golem's creation was magic that would allow it to absorb magic in order to heal itself, making it an extremely capable guardian for the time considering its other defenses. However, as it turned out, the crafter's interest in securing these relics was unnecessary, as no attempt was ever made to steal anything from the vault, and likely nobody outside the Magnus Veritas even knew it existed. Over time the vault was largely forgotten, seen by the organization as naught but historical interest as the magical treasures contained within were of minimal power and interest compared to the surge in magic that resulted during the dark ages. For all of this time however the guardian golem, long ago named "Venus" for its similarity to other statues of the Roman goddess of beauty, had been slowly leeching the magical energy of the items placed within the vault. Nobody within the Magnus Veritas ever noticed, the hidden vault in the catacombs beneath Milan of no concern to the organization. At least not until 1994, when the organization received word that a statue had come to life within the church that housed the hidden vault. It didn't take long for agents of the organization to contain the breach of the veil, though it did take a bit longer to figure out what had happened. Most of the information came from the golem herself, who seemed to know most everything about the items placed within the vault, even things the Magnus Veritas didn't know. She also reported that the items were no longer magical, which they were able to confirm. It seemed that among all the treasures in the vault, the most valuable one was the golem assigned to guard it, a fact they had been unaware of until a peculiar twist of magic had given her animation and sentience. The magic had given her sentience, but not knowledge, and the organization set out to teach and train the newly awakened golem in order to serve their purposes. She proved to be invaluable when a heavier hand was needed, and will likely be of even more value now. Her intelligence and awareness have been increasing since her awakening however, and a distinct personality has emerged over the past quarter century. Though still loyal to the Magnus Veritas, she has started to have her own motivations and desires, and the organization isn't quite sure how they feel about that.   Venus is a member of the Magnus Veritas, sort of. It's complicated. Whatever her status may be she's loyal to the organization and takes orders from them. She hasn't really had a choice in the matter, and though her self-awareness is now such that she's aware of this fact, she hasn't had any reason thus far to question it.   "The wards picked up an incursion near the docks. Demonic energy, low power, but that may just be a side effect of having made the transition. The longer this demon is on Earth, the stronger it will become, so it's vital that you take it out quickly, before it can acclimate to the ley energies of our world and start feeding on them. It shouldn't be much of a challenge for you, given your... are you paying attention?" asked the Magnus Veritas agent sitting in the driver's seat of a van marked "McAllister Bros. Billiard Supplies". He was looking up in the rear view mirror at a tallish woman in the back seat decked out in all-encompassing armor, the ancient kind, not the modern kevlar variety. For her part, her attention was focused solely on the tablet held in her hands with a cartoon playing on the screen, clearly not paying attention. "How do Mabel, Dipper, and Grunkle Stan expect to defeat a horde of zombies by singing at them? That doesn't make any sense. You can't kill zombies by singing at them," she answered, eyes glued to the screen. "Venus, it's a cartoon, it isn't supposed to be realistic. Why am I talking about this? There's a demon down by the docks that you need to kill. Put the tablet down and-" "Oooh-oh! Girls do what we like! Oooh-oh! We're takin' over tonight!" she sang, still completely ignoring her handler. At least until he snatched the tablet away from her. She might be intelligent, but was a far cry from an intellectual, that much he was painfully aware of. "Hey!" she objected as he put the tablet into the glove box. "Later. Get your sword, kill the demon. Did you hear anything I said about it?" he asked, Vanus folding her arms across her chest in a pout. "It's a demon. Cut it up with Spellbreaker, try to avoid making a mess," she answered, taking the named sword from the back of the van and sliding the door open. There was noticeable relief from the van when she climbed outside, the armored figure's weight much more considerable than one would expect just from looking at her. "It isn't complicated. Not like it can hurt me or anything," she shrugged as she turned and started to walk towards the docks, leaving the annoyed agent in her wake. Fortunately it didn't take long to find it. Her own magical senses led her right to it, the demon's magic acting as a beacon. It had torn its way into a large refrigerator full of fish in one of the buildings, rending and tearing at it with vicious claws and teeth. And making a huge mess too, she couldn't help but notice. A mess somebody would have to clearn up, how rude. "Hey!" she yelled as she approached. "Why can't you demons ever eat with a napkin?" The creature just turned towards her and hissed, mangled fish parts dropping from its jaws. "I'll rend your flesh, feeble mortal," it threatened before lurching towards Venus, claws igniting with flame as it charged. "Oh that is... so wrong. In every way," she answered with a shake of her head, raising the sword to strike. It wouldn't take long before the mess of fish was the least of the problems to clean up.   Venus would probably know John Doe since they work for the same people, though given the size of the organization it's unclear how well. Her magical sense would tell her there was something strange about him, but her naivety would keep her from caring. Venus probably knows of Adam given that they are both agents of the Magnus Veritas. They probably had her on hand to serve as bodyguard whenever he met with anyone important within the organization, at least at first. She would likely know Aaron Greyson, and his father would know her. And wouldn't like her, given that she gained sentience by eating a number of magical items he quite possibly was in some way responsible for. She may unwittingly be serving as Aaron's "probation officer", a failsafe in case the dark magic he uses gets the best of him. Venus would know and have worked with Shiver given their mutual connection to the Magnus Veritas and complimentary skill sets. Likely Venus gets assigned bodyguard duty a lot when other agents are sent to take out particularly dangerous threats.   Weaver: "So you like... sew patches on the ripped and faded blue jeans of reality? Neat! You talk funny though." Adam: "So you've been made to be a weapon and don't like that you think your free will is an illusion? Nope, totally can't relate..." John Doe: "I can sense the magic around you, and it feels like how places where people dump their trash must taste. No offense." Angelika: "Eeeee! A kitty! Can I pet you? Please?" (she would say this no matter what size Angelika was) Venus: "Hey... haven't I seen you some- . . Oh, that's me. Embarassing." Herr Jerome: "Proper hocked ads? What? No I'm kidding, of course I speak Latin. It was still all the rage when I was made." Aaron Greyson: "Yeah, your dad was really mad at me for destroying a vault full of magic stuff. But if I hadn't, I wouldn't exist, so he can kinda get bent. At least you're good at hitting stuff, so we got that in common." Eric Prince: "I guess we're both protectors. Except you protect people by telling bad guys what to do, while I hit them with a giant, magic sword until they stop moving. To each their own." Sibyl: "I'm not really good at hunting things, I just hit what the MVs point me at. So if you're good at finding things, that'll work out well." Shiver: "I don't feel the cold so it's whatever. And she's good at shooting things while I hit them. She acts kind of weird around me though." Vidalia: "OK I admit I am very confused. Why an onion?" Killian: "Are you the cereal guy or the guy from those really bad moving pictures from around the time I woke up?" Irae: "I can't really understand death because in a way I can't understand life. I've never known either, and don't guess I ever will. It... makes me think." Banshee: "So some fey lady stole from you? Have you tried hitting her in the face with a big sword? That works well for me."

[girlplay]

Thank you, Runetide and AlphaZ. I appreciate the advice.

[Oghain]

Hieronymus, Count of Elbląg Name | Hieronymus of Riga, Imperial Count of ElblągHieronymus von Riga, Reichsgraf zu Elbing; a.k.a Herr Jerome Character Concept | Occultist and knight of a vampiric order devoted to, and practicing, a strange, alien power. Restrictions | Power Level | PL8 Abilities | Quote | "Propter hoc directiva ad purgandum, scire totum finem." Complications Responsibility: With their relatively unique and effective set of skills, the Order de Dracul relies on Ordo Pallidus to serve as a mixture of bounty hunters, secret police and emissaries. Particularly for sensitive matters, dangerous or otherwise, the Ordo Pallidus has a well deserved reputation built on reliable and regular success.Officium Ordo Dracul Responsibility: Though adherents to the order and structure lain down by the Order de Dracul, the Pale Order pursues its own goals within the framework permitted by de Dracul. Among the sundry duties hearkening back to their origins, it is not unusual for them to be called on by the Magnus Veritas for certain matters.Officium Ordo Pallidus Quirk: Depending on who is asked, Ordo Pallidus are either mad fanatics with a practiced veneer of sanity, poise and eloquence or are living proof that some powers are best not courted for the dire consequences they bring. Whichever is the case, Ordo Pallidus have a reputation for eccentricity bordering on psychosis. Often speaking to things that aren't there or in riddles with some inane profundity none but the speaker comprehends, and other such mannerisms. "Wan be their light, cold and distant as they are; the Stars yet employ their tools utterly." Weakness: The robustness of the vampire's physiology is matched by it's unique frailties and the Pale Order is no different, in most regards. The Sun, flames and decapitation remain as effective as ever. The vampires of the Pale Order have grown beyond the influence of religious iconography however, nor are they slain by a stake to the heart.Vampire Addiction: The Banquet of Starlight. A semi-ritualized practice of consuming the blood those they call the Starstruck. Feeding on mystics, the insane, holy persons, scholars of the estoeric, alchemists, etc. all sate a learned hunger in the knights of the Pale Order. Failing to sate this hunger has unpredictable and fearsome consequences for both mind, body and those around them.Convivum Siderum Description To the average observer Hieronymus cuts a striking but commonplace enough figure. Carrying himself with the stern, straightbacked posture of a military career and grey suits of such uniformity they could be mistaken for a soldier's habitual wearing of a uniform. Timelessness has captured his face and it's details in a classic profile, complete with non-descript yet perennial middle-agedness. Following a doctrine of simplicty he rarely varies his appearance. At present he maintains the affectation of eyeglasses he does not need and a beard maintained for the sake for blending in with contemporary trends. One of the few, obvious, changes in his appearance is the visibility of his armament; opting for subtler fare when not presently and directly 'on the job'. Though it occasionally conflicts with the general aim of passing among the ignorant unnoticed, he retains the unnatural aura and visage possessed by all vampires. Though not one to rely overly on the charms of beauty, he is not above using the preoccupation some find with his appearance to his advantage. Backstory   1236 ~ 1300 - Fall of the Brothers Anno Domini 1236. After a critical defeat at the hands of their pagan foes, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword faced a humiliating decision for any military order to face: dissolution or survival. Many accepted the honourable charity of the Teutonic Order, welcoming the autonomy afforded them in their new form as the Livionian Order within the Tuetonic Knights own order. Others, however, were less amenable. Already decimated by their defeat, the ones who broke away and refused the Teuton's offer numbered less than a hundred. Those whose faith was not entirely shattered withdrew from Christ and found solace elsewhere. Fledgling orders were founded by many who turned from the Teutons, albeit not all, and many were willingly or clandestinely influenced by outside and often eldritch forces. Retaining the ingrained discipline and devotion common to all military orders, those who survived for more than a generation only did so by turning their focus towards eldritch masters or perfidious allies. The fall of the Livionian Brothers was urgent but measured over the course of the following scores of years until, by the fullness of the century, it was complete. Some were inevitably purged more than a dozen persisted and several put down roots that would endure for centuries. 1300s ~ Mid 1400s - Ordo Milites Initiatio Sanguinium ad Contemplationem Pallide Pervenit Order of the Knights of the Bloody Initiation for the Contemplation of the Pale ReachesOrdo Milites Initiatio Sanguinium ad Contemplationem Pallide Pervenit was among the more enduring orders that arose from the death of the Livonian Brothers. One key to this success was the relationship the order developed with the Westphalian nobility the Tuetonic Knights had originally divided their holdings among in the previous century. Not as publically as the militant orders had done, the nobility's loyalties were divided along lines of fealty. Resultingly, despite the eldritch and perfidious company held by the splitered orders, those families that had supported them frequently continued to do so. the Pale OrderOrdo Pallidus was no exception. Influenced from its early days by the patronage of an opportunistic band of vampires, the Pale Order was quick to establish a codified relationship with its client families. Survival driven canniness wrought a social pact that was later codified as The Gentle Demesne: a tithe of the second born child of each family, each generation. Via this tithe, client families paid their dues while doubly ensuring their legacy and the Order had a steady supply of willing initiates. With their two primary needs, blood and bodies, met the Order's focus rapidly moved from mere survival to prospering. By the latter half of the 14th Century the vampiric order re-embraced it's esoteric heritage. Like its peers, the Order welcomed the occult as a replacement for their Christian observances and this urge to seek out the taboo was accentuated by their vampiric nature. Through combination of noctural musings, the practice of Astrology within the order and the investigation of more eldritch practices welcomed the second of the Order's name sakes into to it's vampiric heart. They discovered a region of constellations and solitary stars that seemingly no extant human chart of the night sky showed evidence of. The Pale Reaches, so named for the faintness of its stellar bodies and difficulty of discovery, became an object of obssession for the Order. Obssession grew to dedication, and dedication gave rise to study. Scant decades after their discovery of the Pale Reaches they developed their first, crude, abilities. In the beginning the consquences were dire; harsh but important lessons. Yet, with the allure of sating their long unfulfilled sense of fidelity, their desperate zealotry was tempered by an immortal's outlook and refined into a scholarly disposition. Late 1400s - Initiation of Hieronymus von Riga Born the second son of the Imperial County of, what was then, Elbing Hieronymus' future was all but set in stone from his conception. From his seventh birthday he was given to the Pale Order as a page. For the next eight years he served as the assistant and student of a full knight and their squire. At the age of fifteen he became a squire himself and this milestone also represented the first true deviation from the traditional knightly education within the order, with a further fifteen to twenty five more years before being eligible for knighthood. During those years Heironymus was expected, like other squires, to constantly train his skills as a knight potentiate as well as studying the cardinal notions of the Pale Reaches and serving as a private source of blood for their masters and mistresses. Every element served a function. The order learned quickly that the powers of the Pale Reaches were beyond the fragile, mutable, mortal form. Yet the theory of them could still be taut. Those prepared to serve as mentors were hence rewarded with the privilege of convenient and fulfilling blood. Even this privilege served a purpose, training while enduring the regular susumption of their blood instilled a necessary fortitude for later trials. On his thirty-seventh birthday Hieronymus received his knightly accolade and was subsequently initiated as a full member of the vampiric order. Henceforth his adaption of the past decades of training to his new physical capabilities, and his practical tutoring in the Pale Reaches would begin. In the following decades he split his time between errantry, scholarship and the dutiful bidding of the Order. For any other knight of the era Hieronymus' deeds, or indeed those of most any knight of Pale Order, of his early career would have been legendary. Ordo Pallidus measured legendary by different standards however, and it would be centuries before his star was in ascent. 1800 ~ 1901 - Custodian of Shadowgate By the beginning of the 19th Century Ordo Pallidus' influence and activities had expanded drastically, both under it's own potence and through it's bond with Ordo Dracul. The Pale Knights practices had been developed, honed, codified and refined to a degree that made them useful and potent. Among their demonstratoins of this were their Custodians of Shadowgate. A unique duty within the Order, Custodians were variously a solitary knight or small group assigned to a century long watch over the City of Darkness. Frequently a terminal errand, those assigned to the cause frequently earned the honour through feats of prowess or erranty wider afield. Hieronymus was assigned as one of a trinity of Custodians at the opening of the 19th Century, when Ordo Dracul made an exceptional request in response to rising tensions between a loose bloc of werewolf packs and a Fae-Magnus Veritas association. Conflicts in the latter half of the 18th Century and throughout the 19th Century sent a tide of denizens to the City of Darkness. The catalyst for three Custodians being sent was a trail of bodies implicating not only the two unions at loggerheads, but also other factions within the city. Their early efforts were met with immediate push back from all sides, creating a kind of satus quo that lasted for a time. Their enforced status quo was uneasy, regularly demanding one or all of their direct intervention to stablize. Amongst the other requirements of their Custodianship they continued to pursue their investigation in to the bodies that had summoned them. Progress stalled, despite their capabilities and those offered to them, until one of their number was slain. Not unusual in and of itself, the circumstances of their death took the remaining two Custodians deep into the bowels of Shadowgate. What they ultimately found there, few can say. The events were uniformly bound to secrecy by the Order de Dracul, Magnus Veritas, the Fae Courts and representative Werewolf packleaders. Present Day A century and a half after Hieronymus' Custodianship, in the face of an exceptional calls from the Order de Dracul and clandestine but equally exceptional calls from the Magistus Veritas, Ordo Pallidus issued a Writ of Errantry. Beckoning the willing, Ordo Pallidus sought those among their number who had the fortitude and courage to answer the call. None could have expected that a surviving Custodian would answer such a call, knowing the risks, and willingly seek it out again. The implications of such an act, however, made it impossible to refuse... Writing Sample   Directiva ad Purgandum The paper slowly turned to ash in his hands. There was no heat, nor sensation of burning. Only a growing sense of foreboding. Heart beating fast, he turned about in the small room. If something minor was out of place he didn't notice it, but something had to be off. There hadn't been more than five minutes during which it could have been delivered. They had to be close. 'Where did you... Who...' There was a clanging outside and all other thoughts vanished. 'RUN!' He burst through the door, splinters showering over him as he scrambled over the balcony edge and down the wall. Fingers stabbed into brick and mortal with ease. Looking over his shoulder in a panic, there was no sense of relief when no one was behind him. He knew he had seconds to get a head start. If he was lucky. An open window to his left! He lept, jacket flickering in the wind. Curtains tore and tangled aroudn his legs. Precious seconds wasted on stumbling through the apartment, fighting them off. A heavy thump on the wall! Laughter. A man and a woman? Distractions. Trivialities. The front door! 'Listen first.' One, deep, breath and his ear pressed against the wood. Nothing... Too much nothing. No laughter, pipes, sounds of life. One second. Two. Three. Six. Rustling and the creak of wood. A cautious hand on the doorknob. Brass squeaking. The hallway beyond dark, but empty. Cautiously, slowly, he steps out and waits. 'Come on. Where are you...' The silent question goes unanswered and he carries his caution with him to the foyer. The taste of victory as faint as the ozone in the air. ...ad purgandum... There are no bees in the city. It's too early for a cicada. Too humid for a moth. Too cool for a mosquito. ...directiva... ...ad purgandum... His hand waves away a fly that isn't there. Its buzzing just within earshot. He feels it again, but it's just his hand against his ear. An icy caress of his neck. He spins, fist at the ready. But there's no one there. Just the memory of a breeze running down the street. He has places to be. To run to. There's still time, surely. He's gotten lucky and been quick. ...directiva ad purgandum... It's unmistakable: the sibilant whisper of a sword being drawn. Panic returns, and is controlled. The streets are his. His hunting ground, they answer his design! He melts into the shadows. He can hear it now. Like a metronome. One, two. Three, four. Pavenment whispering to him. The streets betray the hunter to his prey. Now the hunted, and predator. He waits and it passes. One, two. Three, four. He see's it now, and is more himself. One, two. Three, four. He goes like an echo. 'I owe you. Something quick. Gratitude for that reminder.' No playing with this one. His respect was earned. They dance, slowly. A shadow and its echo; and like an echo sometimes he rings near and sometimes far, now high above and just below. Taunting. Capering. Flirting with the shadow. Drawing it farther, luring it with promises. Empty promises. Sweet nothings. He is so close now. All he has to do is reach out... SCIRE Ozone and the flash of light above aren't enough warning of what's coming. Thunder cracks and he's shot down an alley. Safety in the distance and the hiding. 'Bad timing.' It happens to everyone. There's less time now. Thunder will drown out the metronome. He can't lose sight, not now. He can practically taste the blood already. directiva. purgandum. directiva. purgandum. directiva. purgandum. Flies gather before the carrion falls. Blood is in the air now. He feels it. The carrion crawlers know it; celebrate it! directivapurgandumdirectivapurgandumdirectivapurga ndum The world is as it was always meant to be: predator chases meat and carrion crawlers follow predator. SCIREdirectivapurgandumSCIREdirectivapurgandumSCIR EdirectivapurgandumSCIRE His heart beats with their serenade. He's so close now! Closer than before! They're right on the edge - together! 'MINE.' They fall through the air, he can't see clearly but the warmth flowing over his fingers tells him everything. The echo has overtaken its shadow. He holds it close to his chest. No escpaing now. They'll land soon. He'll survive, and the pain will be worth the kill. finem Lightning blinds him to the landing. All he knows is he's standing and there's concrete beneath him. His legs should have felt it, but he quickly forgets that. The alley has a door. Some club, judging by the dim music. It's door has just enough light to inspect his kill... and there's nothing? It's impossible! Not even a scrap of clothing to show for it!? "But... I felt..." He whispers, confused, lost. Where there should be red is only black. The obvious escapes him momentarily. ...directiva ad purgandum...directiva ad purgandum...directiva... "...ad purgandum..." There are no bees in the city. It's too early for a cicada. Too humid for a moth. Too cool for a mosquito. Nothing for the fly to settle on. There's no breeze against his neck, only the ice and it's sultry revelation. He looks down, and finds the blood he was looking for. Fingertips rub together. The subtle grit of ashes and the words they had borne. "Propter hoc directiva ad pergandum, scire totum finem." The shadow proclaimed solemnly. 'Through this directive to cleanse, know the totality of the end.' His thoughts echoed as the night caressed his neck one last time. Character Connections Pending.

[Saratek]

[lydklein]