User talk:Bossmuff
Daphne 2.0 Protosheet
Name: Dominating Powerhouse Negotiator (Daphne)
Concept: Combat-Maid
Exalt: Alchemical
Caste: Soulsteel
Motivation: Battle and defeat the champions of the Realm, and prove Autocthonian superiority in Creation
Intimacies: Leaf, cigars, the Autocthonian Expeditionary Force, the Leaf Group
Stamina: ***** ** (+2 from Charm)
Manipulation: ****
Perception: ****
Strength: ***
Dexterity: ***** *(+2 from Charm)
Appearance: ***** * (+2 from Charm)
Charisma: **
Intelligence: **
Wits: ***
Athletics: ****
Awareness: ***
Dodge: **
Martial Arts: **
Melee: ****
Resistance: **
Integrity: ***
Larceny: **
Linguistics: **
Presence: **
Performance: *
Socialize: ***
Stealth: *** (Ambush)
Survival: *
Bureaucracy: *
Craft (Fire): *
Investigation: **
Lore: **
Medicine: **
Virtues:
Compassion: *
Conviction: ***
Temperance: **
Valor: ****
Backgrounds:
Allies: ** (Hess, Moonsilver Alchemical)
Artifact: ***** (Beam Grand Daiklaive (3m commit, 5 mote activation))
Artifact: *** (Essence Capaciter (gives three motes/h, 1 mote commit))
Artifact: ** (Precision Goggles)
Artifact: * (Flaw Scanner)
Artifact: *** (Victorious General’s Galea, Soulsteel)) (4m Commit)
Class (3 Free): ***
Eidelon: ****
Familiar: ** (Monitor)
Savant: *
Charms
Dedicated Slots (16)
Fourth Dexterity Augmentation (1m)
Fourth Dexterity Augmentation (0m)
Fourth Stamina Augmentation (1m)
Fourth Stamina Augmentation (0m)
Fourth Appearance Augmentation (1m)
Fourth Appearance Augmentation (0m)
Integrated Artifact Transmogrifier (1m) (Loom Server Migration, Essence-Muting Baffles, Deep Cover Mode)
Husk-Shaping Apparatus (2m) (Voice Modulator Field, Essence-Warping Anatomy)
Aim Calibrating Sensors (1m) (Inward Focus Refractor) [Array: Aggressive Engagement Suite]
Recursive Fractal Targeting Calculations (1m) [Array: Aggressive Engagement Suite]
Magnetic Joint Bearings (1m)
Auxiliary Essence Storage Unit (1m)
Subcutaneous Armour Plating (1m)
Exoskeletal Armour Plating (1m)
Transitory Invulnerability Engine (Valor) (1m) (Sustained Invulnerability Engine)
Body Reweaving Matrix (1m) (Pattern Restoration System)
General Slots (4)
Manifold Transhuman Implants: (Terrifying Mane, Claws [on the hair-tips, retractable], Wolf’s Pace) (1m)
Personal Gravity Manipulation Apparatus (1m)
Pain Suppression Nodes (1m) (Emergency Damage Compensators)
Alloyed Reinforcement of Flesh (0) (Death-defeating Processors)
Panoply:
Strain-Resistant Chassis Modification (3 -2 health levels) (1m)
Rogue Cell Isolation Protocol (0m) [Array: Interrogative Engagement Suite]
Transcendant Brutality Programming (1m) [Array: Interrogative Engagement Suite]
First Manipulation Augmentation (1m) [Array: Interrogative Engagement Suite]
Fifth Strength Augmentation (1m)
Hydraulic Musculature Reinforcement (1m)
Essence: 5
Willpower: 6
Personal: 21m (4m after install)
Peripheral: 51m (41 after commit)
Installed: 17m
Committed: 10m
Pool:
Personal: 4m
Peripheral: 41m
Bonus Points: 15 + 20 (Bonus from FBH)
Essence 3 (10 BP)
Alloyed Reinforcement of Flesh (1 BP)
Magnetic Joint Bearings (1 BP)
Artifact to 5 (Beam Grand Daiklaive) (2 BP)
Eidelon to 4 (2 BP)
Artifact 3 (Flaw Scanner, Precision Goggles) (1BP)
Artifact 3 (Victorious General’s Galea, Soulsteel) (1 BP)
Specialty (Stealth: Ambush) (1 BP)
Auxiliary Essence Storage Unit (1m) (1 BP)
Strain-Resistant Chassis Modification (3 -2 health levels) (1m) (1 BP)
Rogue Cell Isolation Protocol (0m) (1 BP)
Transcendant Brutality Programming (1m) (1 BP)
First Manipulation Augmentation (1m) (1 BP)
Fifth Strength Augmentation (1m) (1 BP)
Hydraulic Musculature Reinforcement (1m) (1 BP)
Fourth Appearance Augmentation (1m) (1 BP)
Subcutaneous Armour Plating (1m) (1 BP)
Exoskeletal Armour Plating (1m) (1 BP)
Transitory Invulnerability Engine (1m) (1 BP)
Body Reweaving Matrix (1m) (1 BP)
Recursive Fractal Targeting Calculations (1m) (1 BP)
Fourth Dexterity Augmentation (1m) (1 BP)
Fourth Stamina Augmentation (1m) (1 BP)
Fourth Appearance Augmentation (1m) (1 BP)
XP Total: 250
XP Spent:
XP Retained:
Essence to 4 (27)
Essence to 5 (36)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Dedicated Slot (4)
Submodule: Loom Server Migration (2)
Submodule: Essence-Muting Baffles (4)
Submodule: Deep Cover Mode (3)
Submodule: Vocal Modulator Field (5)
Submodule: Essence-Warping Anatomy (3)
Submodule: Emergency Damage Compensators (6)
Submodule: Inward Focus Refractor (4)
Submodule: Death-defeating Processors (6)
Submodule: Pattern Restoration System (6)
Submodule: Sustained Invulnerability Engine (6)
Array: Aggressive Engagement Suite (2)
Array: Interrogative Engagement Suite (3)
Dexterity to 4 (9)
Manipulation to 4 (9)
Stamina to 5 (12)
Athletics to 4 (6)
Awareness to 2 (2)
Awareness to 3 (4)
Martial Arts to 2 (2)
Melee to 4 (6)
Integrity to 2 (2)
Integrity to 3 (4)
Larceny to 2 (2)
Linguistics to 2 (2)
Presence to 2 (2)
Socialize to 2 (2)
Socialize to 3 (4)
Stealth to 2 (2)
Stealth to 3 (4)
Investigation to 2 (2)
Lore to 2 (2)
Medicine to 2 (2)
Valor to 4 (9)
Cassandra Reinhart Possible Statistics
Character
Template: Seraph: (+2 Physical, +2 Aleph, +1 Smarts, +1 Education, +1 Charisma)
Class: Lictor (+1 Pilot, +1 Charisma, +1 Rank)
Pilot: 7 [6+1] (21)
Aleph: 8 [6+2] (21)
Physical: 3 [1+2] (1)
Smarts: 5 [4+1] (10)
Education: 5 [4+1] (10)
Charisma: 7 [5+2] (15)
Specialties:
Pilot (Melee) 2 (3)
Charisma (Cute) 1 (1)
Education (Medical) (1)
Rank: 1 [0+1]
Command (Mecha Squadrons): 1 (1)
Conspiracy (Seraphim): 3 (6)
Tuneup (Crack Pilot): 4 (10)
Traits: Blademaster
Advantages: Type Master (Newtypes) 3
Disadvantages: Adventurous -3
Aleph Powers (18):
High-Level Control (3)
Limit Break X 2 (4)
Spatial Awareness (2)
Empathic Detection (1)
Newtype Flash (2)
Inspirational Aura (6)
Mecha: Oceanid
Rank: LV2 (10 + 4 (Tuneup))
Melee: 4
Firepower: 1
Defense: 2
Speed: 4
Special: (3) Alpha Edge, Aleph Matrix, Aleph Bits
Nexus Nation: Shard
(Work in Progress)
History
The Everpresent: The End of History
Humanity doesn’t always win.
Good does not always triumph over evil. Entire species succumb to heartless natural forces, alien despots, and their own hubris, their histories ending in blood and tragedy. Sometimes, the mad scientist succeeds, or the evil god enacts its vision upon the world. And sometimes, transhumanism does, in fact, lead to monstrosity.
In one version of the universe, civilization was destroyed by the hubris and dark otherworldly powers that other universes stave off or stamp out. In this particular facet of existence, there was no heroic holdout – not one that’s made a difference, anyway – and there’s no thrilling redemption in sight. Then again, it’s difficult to tell when virtually every instance of organic or synthetic life has been consumed by a monolithic, ever-growing entity.
The God that overtook the universe has had countless names given to it. Most of the civilizations that would have named it have long since been subsumed, or have given themselves to it in sacrifice. Amongst its own components, there is no need to refer to it, as it is eternally a part of each of its components. It is a part of their identity and their body, for it is Everpresent within them. This is as much of a name as they can give it; and in some part of their individual brains, they refer to this binding entity as such.
Very few creatures exist in its universe that are not a part of the Everpresent; aside from a handful of small post-singularity fragments, all organic and inorganic matter has been assimilated by the god’s body. It has grown so great that the stars themselves are its flesh, its protoplasm filling the expanse of space with intricate caverns of living and synthetic tissues. Entire worlds exist within the folds of its body, with new life and civilizations rising and falling within cavities, and cities forming of thousands of entities of every bizarre configuration. Everything it has assimilated is blended and transfigured, assembling components from many life-forms and even devices to form new life, all mentally subsumed to the giant, eldritch mind that governs the entire universe. The rebels swim amid these canyons of fat, desperately seeking the few yawning voids that exist in this universe, knowing that anything they find is a part of the titantic force that would consume them, reducing them to component parts.
The Extrusion: Exploration and Loss
Perhaps when the portal opened into the Nexus, it was curious. Perhaps it wanted to plunder a new universe, seeing an opportunity for new resources to break the monotony of its own creations. Perhaps it was merely reflexive, lashing out at something outside of itself as it had done to the few dwindling rebellions. At any rate, an extrusion was crafted from the surrounding fleshscape, extending through the gate in a tentacle composed of thousands of varied organic, inorganic, and synthetic compounds. The extrusion filled the gateway, forcing itself outward in a gigantic mass of bluish matter.
It’s not clear exactly what burst free of the biomass, tearing at it from the inside; it was most likely a rebel faction that had found its way to the area where the portal opened, desperate to escape its dying universe. The fish-like, tendrilled creature attacked the extrusion mercilessly, tendrils slicing huge rents in it while streaks of fire launched from its midsection, blasting apart the mass. It did tremendous damage before the thousands of monstrous arms seized it and crushed it, and the ragged appendage retreated so hastily that a sizable portion of it tore free, toppling through foreign space as the Extrusion and its attacker returned to their world. Seconds later, the portal imploded amid flashes of multi-coloured energy, no doubt forcibly sealed by the Everpresent. All that remained was a colossal slab of myriad matter, breaking apart as it toppled through space.
It was only a day before the damaged systems came back online, the fleshy mass quickening to life. Soon after, it began to fragment violently, sections peeling back to reveal small, buzzing forms rising from it. It was only as they escaped the fleshy mass that they were revealed to be ships, each bearing within it several different entities – all once symbiotic parts of the alien whole, now freed from the Everpresent subsuming their consciousness. They were no longer part of their god-body; they were free, a shard of amalgamated matter floating in an unknown see of emptiness.
They were, for the first time in their known history, alone.
Shard: Coping with Freedom
Without the Everpresent to guide them, the extrusion quickly separated into its component minds. Their second shock came from the realization that they WERE individual entities – the god had not dissolved their consciousness, but had rather overwritten it, manipulating it directly as an extension of itself. What’s more, they remembered their captivity perfectly, as well as the knowledge they learned through their psychic communication networks, and the experiences they accrued in their lives. Many understandings were fragmentary, contained with several different entities, but at least the wayward souls were not blank shells, with no understanding of anything.
Fortunately, due to the myriad and composite nature of the Everpresent, most knowledge was decentralized. The Shard, as they came to call it, was effectively full of organic computers, containing historical and technical records of civilizations long past. Even as stable individual minds separated, components that did not possess strong autonomy remained whole, and the general biomass did not disperse entirely. What remained with tough, vacuum resistant hide, containing natural life support and biomechanical supercomputers. Many remembered how to access these machines, and were allowed to, thanks to the survival of their most valuable component resource – the synergy paste. This substance, despite its innate ties to the Everpresent, remained stable, if inert, and could be quickened by the application of lesser minds.
It didn’t take long for the Shard to organize themselves into hierarchies. Individuals that acted as sub-controllers in the Everpresent hive-consciousness were given priority, due to their optimization towards leadership and direction, as well as their possession of the vital Control Cysts. The most sentient individuals appeared to be creatures derived from human templates, though nearly all were tremendously altered by their stay within the Everpresent; other entities, such as vessels or as war forms, ranged from low artificial intelligence to full sentience. Experimentation and debate led to a preliminary government, and to a decision to take the name ‘Shard’ as their special designation, as well as their national identity.
The cast-off mass managed to reach a star-system before the damaged worsened to fatal levels. Through the efforts of their scientists, the Shard managed to convert the mass into a more stable form, using its control relays to shape it into a spherical shape and to stabilize it. The result robbed it of its flexibility and much of its ambulatory systems, but effectively healed the damage, leaving it as an artificial, living planet in stable orbit around their star. The Shard immediately sent out to the surrounding worlds, eager to use their resources to build other settlements and to stabilize their position in this new world.
Decision hasn’t been made on what to do if any alien life-forms are found; the old Everpresent attitude of assimilation or destruction does not seem valid anymore. If life exists in this wide gulf, it is certain that it will be alien – as alien as the derelict that has been dropped into its tides.
Technology
Synergy Paste
<recovering data>
Statistics
Population: 2 (3)
Transhumanism: 4 (6)
Infrastructure: 2 (1+1)
Growth Potential: 3 (2+1)
Military Support: 2 (2)
Space Fleet: 2 (2)
Diplomacy: 1 (1) [-1 Rank with nations of Transhumanism Rank 1 or 2]
Espionage: 2 (2)
General Advancement: 1 (4)
Unique Technology: 3 (4+1)
Emergent Technologies: 3 (6)
Magic: 2 (2)
Magnate Nation
The Myriad Collective
In the Longshot colonies, manpower was always in short supply. Immigration being nonexistent and planetary environments often hostile, settlers needed as many people as they could get to fulfill their needs. Producing children was paramount, but incapacitating the female populace for extended periods - and waiting for the child to come to term - was simply not acceptable. A year could mean the death of a people, and the loss of a colony. No one could be wasted, and they needed more - human nature was their greatest enemy.
For colony that would become the Myriad Collective, it was necessary to change. The planet they landed on - dubbed Angrboda, in a bitterly ironic move – was host to dozens of bizarre monstrosities, harrying expansion and troubling the populace. The fearsome predators prevented anything but the most careful expansion, and made agriculture troublesome at best. The need for defense limited manpower in other areas, and the already-meagre labour pool shrank. Couples with the attrition rate with the local wildlife, extinction was a consideration.
Faced with a hellish world and total isolation from Earth and its other longshots, the geneticists decided to undertake a daring alteration. Using dozens of volunteer test subjects, the colony separated the female reproductive organs into a separate entity, designing a being solely tasked with producing children. The end result was a new life form - a non-sentient, living human womb, designed to produce scores of new members for the race. The population fears faded; the colony had its manpower, thanks to the first Genesis.
It wasn't long before the scientists began to refine their process, upgrading production and improving genetic stock. Inevitably, they turned their attention on themselves and their offspring, as well; conventional childbirth was, after all, no longer necessary. Leaps and bounds were made in genetic theory and development, fuelled by new discoveries on their monstrous world and greater attempts to study the wildlife.
When it was found after the Breakdown, by a Minkowski-crewed exploration vessel, Angrboda's people were barely recognizable. The Myriad Collective stretched across the planet, build around their sprawling Factories – where hundreds of thousands of their kind where bred, teeming out into space.
The Claves
The Genesis
The quintessential creation of the Myriad Collective, these strange creatures are the mother of all its members. Yet, they can barely be considered human - fleshy globes the size of a small hut, lined with folds that extrude the children for collection by Drones or other attendants and placement into nurseries. These creatures are completely nonsentient - they're little more than immobile baby factories.
Geneses are fed through dozens of mouthes on their underside, which are often hooked to feeding tubes by the engineers. Breeding factories contain hundreds of Geneses, attended by Drones and by Mainline Engineers. Children are collected by Drones and deposited in nurseries for proper education (or in other areas as noted below). A Genesis produces tens of thousands of children over its life-span, before succumbing to a menopausal condition that leaves them inert, and they are euthanized.
Geneses are entirely reliant on the rest of the Myriad for survival. However, they are physically resilent, protected by toughened skin and layers of ablative fat, and are capable of communicating their desires through a series of bellowing howls (which all members of the Myriad are conditioned to understand). Damaging a Genesis is a capital crime, and it unthinkable to most members of the society. Nonetheless, the factories are some of the best-guarded facilities on Angrboda.
Mainline
The vast majority of the Myriad population are Mainlines. They fulfill most of the roles of a sentient society;
Mainlines are surprisingly human-like, outwardly. They are universally lithe, even the most muscular appearing wiry, with angular features. They even have apparent males of females – however, these differences are merely cosmetic. No mainlines possess reproductive organs – they don't need them, because the Geneses and Drones handle breeding. Sexual dimorphism tends to be much more limited, and varied – traits are more assorted, with muscular women or effete men more regular. Their organs are more compact, their nervous and circulatory systems more efficient.
Mainlines develop faster than baseline humanity, reaching physical and mental maturity at 16. The average Mainline lives as long as most humans, and remains fit up until the end of their lives. Mentally, they are similar to regular humans, with similar wants and needs. They can even love and have relationships, which are identical to most other places in the Sphere, except for the lack of reproduction.
Drones
A Genesis has several dozen wombs, all constantly being fertilized and bearing children. Each birth consists of 5-10 children; out of these, one is always a Drone, containing the genetic information of its siblings.
Drones are the non-sentient breeding stock of the Myriad collective. They spend their lives nesting in the factories, moving from Genesis or Genesis and fertilizing them to maintain production. They are quite clever, able to understand complex commands and able to warn engineers when something is wrong with the Geneses or with their nests.
Drones are humanoid, strangely bulbous figures, standing at seven feet all with a hulking gait. Most notable is their lack of mouth, instead feeding through a prehensile tube hanging form their chin. They have short, broad fingers, designed for climbing.
If somehow the factory is damaged or shut down, Geneses can emit a low-key bellowing noise, demanding food. Drones instinctively respond to this, and can scavenge and even hunt for animals and plants to feed their matrons. Engineers train Drones to find food, cultivating their instincts – the Drones actually contribute greatly to the care and health of the Geneses.
Drones are well-treated, often given comforts for their necessary role in the growth of the Collective. Killing a drone is a capital crime, and harming one is more serious even than harming a Mainline.
Finally, Drones also possess an ability to incorporate DNA from mainlines, to add them to the breeding pool. Mainlines send genetic samples to the factories to be incorporated into a gel that is fed to the Drones, allowing unique or desirable mainline qualities to be carried on through the drones. Dead Mainlines are often recycled and added to this pool.
Factors
Factors, or 'Queens', are Mainliners who have been genetically modified to take a direct role in managing the Factories and the breeding stock. Through a mix of cybernetic and genetic fixing, Factors gain the ability to direct the Geneses and Drones on a level that other mainliners cannot.
Factors use a combination of complex pheremones, harmonics, and Aleph abilities to directly command the nonsentient clades. They can even convey complex orders to their charges, coordinating them to tasks they could never manage themselves. They can even control what genetics drones transmit and influence what qualities Geneses imbue to their children – their control reaches the level of mind control ,and even influences the cellular level.
Factors resemble the Mainliners they once were, except for the bulbus sack-like organs mounted on their backs, and large cybernetic fins extruding from their shoulders. The sacks contain their pheremones and the chemicals that encourage their Aleph abilities, and the fins broadcast harmonics. They are also implanted with large flight-capable glider units, attached to their backs, which protect the sacks and allow them to fly about.
There is generally one Factor per every fifty Geneses, tasked with monitoring it in conjunction with mainline engineers. In emergencies, a Factor can manage a factory alone, relying on the drones to keep efficiency. Factors are often derived from especially competant engineers, or Aleph-sensitive individuals, or both.
Minor Clades
Aside from the main body, several other nonsentient 'variants' of humanity have been produced for various reasons.
Guardians
The guard dogs of the Factories, these creatures are constructed from human DNA spliced with that of a vicious bear-like predator native to Angrboda. These hulking monsters patrol the factories, responding to distress calls from the Geneses with violent reprisal to anyone caught harming them. They also serve as assistants to law enforcement, and bodyguards for Factors.
Cognits
The data center of the Collective, these creatures are essentially giant cybernetically-enhanced human brains re-purposed into computers. Most operate as weak or even strong AI, managing the information networks and analysis software of their Mainline operators.
Skitters
Skitters are a combination of human DNA and a native beetle, designed as symbiotic custodians for the Geneses. They keep their charges clean and hygenic, removing dead tissue and filth; if the host is threatened, they can even swarm the attacker and sting them with poisonous bites. Skitters are about the size of a rabbit, though much flatter. They are popular pets, especially for Queens who can actually control them using their innate abilities.
History Paths
Exploration Era
1) Hell World: Adapt (Radical Morphological Change, +150 PIP, + 50 CIP)
2) Limited (+ 150 dust, + 5 SP)
3) None (+ 60 population, + 100 Wealth)
4) Nano-Factories (+ 100 Fabers, +100 PIP)
5) Backwater (+ 100 PIP)
Colonization Era
1) Longshot (+2,500 military, + 100 PIP, + 100 CIP, + 20 SP, +5 to SP limit)
2) Outer Expanse (+ 60 population, + 100 PIP, + 50 CIP, + 100 Faber, + 25 SP, + 20 transgene)
3) Pod People (+ 180 Population, + 300 Wealth, + 100 CIP)
4) Idealists (+ morale)
5) Civilian Government Sponsored (+ 60 Pop)
6) Whoever we could get (+60 pop)
7) Natural Disaster (+ morale)
8) Na'vi Attack (+200 Wealth, + 2,500 military)
Breakdown Era
1) Stability! (no modifiers)
2) Go Weird (+ 40 Transgene, + 100 CIP, +4 Logistics, 10,000 military)
War Era and Aftermath
1) "I'm a Magnate!" (+100 CIP, + 15,000 military, +20 SP, +5 morale, Magnate Tech Paradigm)
2) "We come in sixpacks" (+ 180 Pop, + 150 PIP, + 100 CIP, + 100 Wealth)
3) The Science of War (+20 transgene, + 1 logistics, ++ doctrines, + morale)
4) Future Government (+2 Morale, +20 Transgene)
Totals:
Radical Morphological Change
Pop: 600
Transgene: 100
Military: 30 000
Logistics: 5
PIP: 700
CIP: 600
Fabers: 200
Dust: 150
Wealth: 700
Morale: 10
Doctrines: 2
SP: 70
Glories Nation: Lotusgrad
Name: Lotusgrad (formerly Galava) Concept: Manufactured Paradise for Delusional Superweapon
History: A rich but poorly-militarized nation, Galava leaped onto the Glory bandwagon, pouring billions into magical and technological research. They developed quickly, no doubt due to superior funding, and rumours abound that the established black market provided them with several 'lost' research logs or procedures. And while they developed their rituals and picked their candidates, they started to experiment with other abilities that could be achieved using this method; when their first Glory, Dominika Slaputin was completed, they began to conduct tests to determine what other abilities could be achieved. One scientist Olga Frulvish, became fascinated with psychic development; she made waves when she used drugs to allow Dominika to read basic thoughts. Her experiments took time, as the product head, Mikhael Federov, refused to allow her to use the two subsequent Glories. She finally got Federov to allow
Dramatis Personae
Czarina Lotus, Guardian of the Elven Pasture
Real name: Sonja Dotzevii
Czarina Lotus was born under the name Sonja, to a wealthy trader based in Galava. She was the fourth Glory to be created, and was gifted with an experimental power - wide-range telepathy and mental manipulation, allowing her to conjure illusions and affect thoughts. This power allowed her to take control of entire armies and drive populaces insane with imagined horrors. What they did not expect was that it would affect her own sanity, as well.
After returning from her last official mission, Sonja revealed her hand. Unleashing her power on the populace, she gathered an army of civilians and military alike, marching on the House of Commons. She declared the end of the false nation, and the return of the ancient ways and revival of the true rules of the land - the fair folk, with her as their Czarina. She proclaimed herself Lotus, after the flower which supposedly bloomed within her mind on that battlefield, and renamed the capital Lotusgrad, and the nation the same thing. The other girls were prepared to fight her, but feared civilian death and her threats to cleanse the nation; politicians preempted them with attempts to negotiate.
The Duchesses
Dominika: The first Glory created by Galvana, Dominika is the de-facto leader of the others. She also suffers the most from Lotus' presence, due to the experiments performed on her giving her nascent psionics; she rarely sleeps and has horrid nightmares. For now, she obeys the Czarina, but is attempting to gather allies to overthrow her supporters and end this illusion.
Yuliana Wyrv: The second Glory, Yuliana is a shy girl with glasses. She is afraid of Lotus and her horrors, but thinks that she can coax the girl back to sanity. She and Sonja were great friends before her madness, and she hopes that some of her old schoolmate remains locked within the insane Fae Czarina.
Virgo Corvid full bio
The Virgo Wing made its name in the System Wars, like most famous examples of that era, by dying. Before their fatal emergence, they were an elite squad of combat suits, specializing in brutal, heavy-hitting tactics. They were mostly known for their teamwork – both their impressive coordination in battle, and their extreme personal dysfunctions outside of it. Conflicts ranging from petty rivalries, political differences, and romantic competition over the team’s single female member (who, complicatedly enough, eventually became squad leader) were thought to translate into deadly tactics, killer instincts, and the occasional act of merciless violence.
The wing consisted of Valerie Haven, the only female member and its eventual leader, a dutiful and charismatic soldier; The educated and reasonable Henry Kay, a sound tactician and the team’s liason to the brass; brash scrapper Diarmud Wilson, a hotshot with a strong affection for Valerie; pilot and mechanic Leroy Spears, Valerie’s on-and-off boyfriend; and the troubled Nathan Short, who specialized in hard-hitting close-combat.
Their act of fame, however, came from their final mission, where they were sent to prevent a devastating doomsday strike by League officer Lucille Vachelli, the pilot responsible for the war’s first colony drop. The resulting conflict – later referred to as the Wells Conflict - ended with the narrow aversion of utter destruction, but also in the mutual destruction of both Vachelli and the entire Virgo Wing. Only Haven and Spears survived, but both were severely injured in both mind and body. Valerie never recovered from the accident, and slipped into a permanent coma after three months in a mental health facility, after which she was euthanized. Leroy, not wishing to be near his damaged lover, took retirement to Earth’s Great Britain due to permanent injuries; he was found dead not six months after Valerie, stabbed in his home by a League sympathizer.
And that is where the pilot’s stories ended, with little fanfare. Their names were recorded on the Geneva Icon of Peace, the war monument in the capital; a statue was build in Diarmud’s hometown of Copenhagen in his unit’s honour; a thesis or two were written by International Relations graduates for their doctorates. But Virgo Wing had another act to play out, behind the curtain.
After the Wells conflict, the pilots’ remains were collected by the Sol-Fed military, and transferred to a group of scientists who had been monitoring the group’s missions. Their funerals were closed casket, with the official line being that there were no remains found. Valerie’s remains were turned over to them as well, and with Spears looking to live a long if sedentary life, was quietly assassinated with evidence planted to implicate League agents. His remains were finally brought to a remote Tenshi Corporation facility, where the scientist had gathered all of the remains and implants left of the Wing – and their recorded brain-scans, kept from early on when they were selected for the project.
Over the course of years, the Scientists used the DNA, scans, augments, and even whole limbs in an intensive and unprecedented reconstructive process. Using cutting-edge technology and Seraph gene-therapies and cloning technology, they generated something new – a single, sentient entity, composed of the genetic material of over a dozen individuals, and data from Virgo Wing’s brain-scans and cranial implants coupled with various combat algorithms. The subject – dubbed ‘Virgil’ as an ironic joke – was completed five years after the death of the last Virgo Wing pilot, awakening to sentience in a cold laboratory surrounded by his creators.
What happened next has been classified by the Tenshi Corporation and the Solar Federation; but it was largely believed that the original, Virgil, suffered from side effects of the treatment, which led to an emergency situation. All data of his growth and education are sealed and often lost; all that is known is that he expired, and was used to create a second, similar entity. This subject, named 'Virgo', was female; no such incident seemed to happen. Critics claim that the original male model was terminated and rebuilt because of internal power-struggles; some imply that the Seraphim movement favoring all-female transgenes was to blame. Regardless, there was no further incident - with the creation process, at least.
Given the last name ‘Corvid’, after the late director who authorized the project, Virgo was put through an intensive education and development regimen, to evaluate her mental and physical potential. Tests were promising – she showed complete human intelligence, capable physique, and standard empathy. Even more remarkably, tests showed an unusually high Aleph capacity, resulting in abnormal predictive and perceptive ability. However, they also noticed several troubling personality traits: bouts of emotional intensity, unusual speech quirks, and a troubling ability to forcibly override her own instincts and emotions for no apparent reason. A few of her handlers noted a possible echo of the Wing’s internal conflicts and tendencies for brutality, but this was deemed within limits.
Virgo completed her final training normally, at the Mars War Acadamy, where she graduated with distinction as a Suit pilot. Her heavy genetic augmentation and cybernetic implants placed her in the S-Class category, and a cover story of her being the son of a wealthy starship magnate placed her out of suspicion to most. Her early missions showed promise, and he was quickly commissioned to the counterterrorism unit INTACT.
Virgo appears to be a Caucasian woman in her late twenties, with long, black hair, and dark blue eyes. She also has what appears to be a form of chimerism – while her face is largely unblemished, her skin is a slightly lighter shade along her upper right jawline, running down her neck. Her torso is a barely-visible cross-stitch of several subtle shades of skin. Like the condition, different parts of his body have different DNA – but rather than two fraternal patterns, Virgo consists of several, altered by modification to prevent organ conflict. She has one visible implant by her right eye, which resembles a small, metallic knob protruding from the skin just above it. She is a small-boned, wiry-looking woman, with a long, smooth face extended by a slight widow's peak. Her long fingers and six-foot-five height further add to this. She has a precise, gentle voice, that raises to a firm clarity.
Virgo is aware of her nature, and can’t really see how it would be a problem. She is fascinated by humans and the kinship she has with them – she considers himself one of them in most senses, noting only a difference in ‘the configuration of the mind’. An educated woman, she nonetheless revels in her eccentricities – commenting blithely on various minutae that catch her interest. She is profoundly curious, to an almost oblivious degree at times. In combat, she tends to develop strange fixations on opponents, and favours a quick, unrelenting brutality.
Spending a short time as a test pilot, Virgo joined INTACT as a xeno-specialist and analyst, as well as an Aleph pilot. She is known for her acute fascination with alien artifacts, to the degree that she recalibrated a recon drone to detect alien signals. Her quarters and laboratory are littered with crystalline samples from alien sites that she studies, as a part of her placement as field analyst. This unsettling behavior only amplifies the rumours of Virgo using Aleph- and drug-assisted interrogation practices on prisoners, a controversy that began early in her INTACT career. While no formal charges have been laid, her presence tends to unsettle security officals and human-rights activists alike.
Mage Concept
Name: Dalton Weiss
Concept: Adventurer Paranormalist
Tradition: Son of Ether
Biography
Dalton Weiss was nothing more than the wealthy son of a banker, at first. He was content to study anthropology and radiology, and to assist his professor, Ingrid Brian, with her research until he earned enough cred to begin making his own discoveries. Over time ,they grew closer, and Brian took Weiss along on some of her digs and surveys.
Weiss's life began to change when they arrived at a newly-discovered Incan site in South America. While setting up the radio system, Weiss began to get strange babbling noises on his receiver. Later, while testing the age of some of the artifacts, Weiss was started to see a shape moving across the scope, despite there being no-one else there. When these kept happening, Weiss began to investigate, determined to prove them either real or his own delusion. Tests proved startling, as he was able to find more shapes and sounds using specially-designed equipment. He began to research older theories for possibly correlation, recalling old books of Victorian theories on astral planes and psychic phenomena.
Weiss initially worked on a radio to try and communicate with the presences, but as he finished it, he was called by Brian to help her investigate the depths of the caverns beneath the temple. Weiss found it strange that they were going alone into the site, and that the work crews seemed to all be absent – Weiss explained she wanted them to the first two down there. As they traveled, she explained how the site was originally built by an Incan Priest, Cachi, who had created a huaca here that supposedly allowed him to take the lives of the dead into himself, granting him their knowledge and vitality. She also said how he carried that power with him when he died, and could have been reincarnated with it. At the bottom, they came to a large, basin-like altar atop a dais, marked with symbols of human sacrifices that chilled Weiss to the bone.
It was about this time that Brian struck him on the back of the head, knocking him into the basin. As he sprawled, stunned, she stood over him, an Incan knife in her hand. “Thank you, Cachi.” She said to him, as she rose it over her head.
Weiss couldn't think. His head hurt, his mind was reeling. All he could do was look for a way out; his legs felt like lead. In a stupor, he did the only thing that came to his mind – he lifted the radio he had built, and whispered 'Help'.
He watched the ghosts of hundreds of Incan sacrifices swarm over Ingrid, knocking her off of the dais, before he lost consciousness. And when he awoke, there was no light in the room, and he was surrounded by the Incan ghosts, their chests gaping without hearts. As they spoke to him, he could not understand their alien babble, but with every syllable, something recognizable came from his radio. He restlessly began to tune and alter it, taking other bits of his equipment and modifying it while testing simple words. In what seemed like hours, he had finally managed to get the machine to give a clear signal, and managed to communicate with the spirits. They told him of how they were killed as part of religious rituals, left behind with no afterlife awaiting them, and he told them of what had happened since their deaths. They asked him to lead them to the surface; he did so, stepping over the body of Ingrid Brian, fallen on her own knife.
When he arrived above-ground, the spirits ran out into the woods, and vanished. And Weiss was left alone, and never the same.
After that, he's left the university, travelling and working on his Theory of Emanation. He was found by the Sons of Ether shortly after his Awakening, finding colleagues and tutelage among them. He is eager to discuss his theories, and to develop means to manipulate emanations further.
Paradigm
Weiss’s Spheres revolve around the study of psychic phenomena that he refers to as ‘emanations’. Drawn from radiographic science and Victorian theories on astral projection, Weiss’s theory operates on the precept that everything that exists also radiates an astral presence, which exists parallel to it. Living beings produce a much stronger presence, and this energy accumulates and radiates over time; when a living being dies, there is a massive release of bound-up emanation that persists as a collection of echoes of physical structure, but also of memories and actions.
Emanations account for the presence of ghosts or spirits, which are the accumulations of material beings that have become autonomous. Control of emanations can be achieved using proper frequencies of light or sound to influence the astral plane; Weiss has tested many wondrous devices to do just that.
Sphere Descriptions
Only spheres he has are listed. Others will be defined as he learns them.
Standard Focus: Technological devices
Matter: Emanation-tempering, or using matter-emanations to manipulate a material object, changing, bolstering, or degrading it by altering the emanations within it.
Focus: Chemical treatments
Spirit: Shaped Emanations created by all things, existing in the parallel Astral Plane.
Focus: Astral-wave Transceivers and Scopes
Prime: Raw emanation 'proto-matter', or blank energy that can be shaped into other emanations.
Focus: Tempered Astral-glass
Statblock
Nature: Avant-Garde
Demeanor: Bon-vivant
Essence: Dynamic
Attributes
Strength: **
Dexterity: ***
Stamina: ***
Charisma: **
Manipulation: **
Appearance: **
Perception: ***
Intelligence: *****
Wits: **
Abilities
Talents
Awareness ***
Streetwise *
Skills
Firearms ***
Research *
Survival ***
Technology ***
Knowledges
Computer: *
Cosmology: **
Linguistics: ***
Lore (Umbrood): ***
Occult: *
Science: ***
Backgrounds
Arcane: *
Avatar: ****
Library: ****
Other
Arete: ***
Willpower: ******
Spheres
Matter: **
Spirit: ***
Prime: *
Merits
Natural Channel: 3 Weiss's exposure to emanations has given him an 'astral shade' or presence in the astral realm. As such, he thins the Umbra around him, saturating it with spectral power. He reduces Gauntlet thickness by 1 around him, and can step through without magic if it's already weak.
Spirit Sight: 4 Weiss's astral shade also gives him some spectral qualities. He is able to see spirits, and is able to manipulate spiritual matter more easily (-2 difficulty to Spirit magic rolls).
Flaws
Haunted: -3 Amongst the spirits that surround him, one particular one is noteworthy – the ghost of Ingrid Brian, the ill-fated professor who tried to sacrifice him at the excavation site. Left with only her rage and inadequacy, Ingrid serves as a serious annoyance for Weiss.
Mistaken Identity: -1 The entire debacle that resulted in Weiss’ Awakening, and the death and haunting of Ingrid Brian, came about because she believed him to be the reincarnation of an ancient Incan Priest who supposedly learned how to extend his life. While he is not, Ingrid discussed this with enough colleagues while alive, and enough spirits while dead (see above), providing her 'evidence' as well. As such, the rumour has spread quite far, and follows him like a bad cold.
Strangeness: -1 Due to emanation buildup and the presence of his devices, random ghostly phenomena tend to occur around Dalton. This ranges from objects moving on their own, strange lights, electrical sources flickering, strange noises on the edge of perception, or other, weirder effects.
BP
Bonus Points (15+5)
Arete to 3 (8)
Avatar to 4 (2)
Library to 4 (2)
Natural Channel (3)
Spirit Sight (4)
Willpower to 6 (1)