Diana sighed, her eyebrow slightly raised, as she looked at the display that this Cross character had made. "Well, that was a time waster. This entire school is." Diana blurted at the end of his spiel. "I guess I should have specified what did you want from me, given that your ego makes you prone to overestimate how much I care about you in general at this moment in time." The lithe silver-haired student shook her head and began to walk towards the barred door. "Oh, so you like to lock things up with chains. Rude."
She made a hand gesture, and a small clatter could be heard at Cross' feet. "Too bad you neglected the ventilation shafts." She said as 20ft of bone snake erupted at Ward's back, scarcely making any noise, and levelling itself with Ward's face, a bleached skull full of needle-like teeth. "Now, would you kindly undo your power, or do you want me to lead you by the nose?" added Diana, without skipping a heartbeat.
@AtomicNut Sorry for the question spam, but I was wondering. I noticed you called it operation "Cold Iron" and I'm curious if things like silver and iron are going to play a role in dispatching Supernals
It might, it might not. You need to experiment... supernal and arcane lore is in diapers after all. Operation Cold Iron is merely the newest bombastic fancy operation name.
My idea is to keep it rather easy on the eyes of non-gun nuts like myself (some coaching will be welcome). But to answer your first question is: yes, a lot of witches would use guns if they could, they are just power drunk, not stupid. That being said, there are not that many due to how they went overboard with the destruction (remember, power drunk) and lost the means to acquire weapons (with the notable exception of South Africa)
Also the rule of thumb for enchanted weapons (that is, MUW), is that the more complex the weapon, the more difficult the enchantment, so yeah magical shivs and pointy sticks are the most common. (They also can be made with pre-industrial revolution methods).
@Jasper19Troopers can be medics but probably they can only afford customized uniforms if they are from Sydney. Magical healing is definitely possible (and sorceresses are encouraged to learn it) but it remains a critical asset (like yhe rest of GRAM sanctioned magic) and won't be used willy-nilly.
@MonkeyBusiness The choice is possible. But they would be criminally accountable (if applicable), have a killswitch implanted (like the rest of sorceresses) and shunned by most of their peers (for the same reason). Whether canned food, hot water and toilet paper (along all modern commodities) are a fair price for the loss of freedom is up to the individual.
I have a decent idea for a supernal character if you're willing to hear it out. A sort of half-giant, a human hybrid, who more or less resembles a massive man, but is possessed of terrible strength and hardiness.
Well I guess they can use a meatshield take pity on the poor monstrosity before dissecting it for science. Do tell.
Just some idea I am polishing still. Feel free to comment or show interest.
Greetings, Citizen.
Today, XX, XX, of the year 2XXX, you have been transferred to the Global Response Against Magic office. Please see the attached documentation for the more technical details on Operation Cold Iron. As of today, your family has VIP status and may apply for enhanced rations.
You have been selected from a wide array of prospective candidates to do all but one thing. Fight. Fight for every stone, for ever patch of grass, for every trinket out there. Much has been lost, yet we endure. You will be our hammer, the last torch. The last offense and defense against the great Enemy. You are GRAM, and you will be bane of Witches.
It's just a question of maths, really.
Humans are 7 billion (7,000,000,000) people.
Half of them are women. (3,500,000,000)
Approximatedly 1 in each 100,000 shows the genetic markers to become a Witch and manipulate arcane powers that defy comprehension (35,000)
Add that the ratio of arcane powers between women and men is 1000:1 (35,035)
This is a world where 90% of the wealth is accumulated on 10% of the people.
When these Witches awoke, be it because solar activity, climate change, pollution or cosmic alignments, how many of these were born in the 90% of the world who struggled to make a living?(31,532)
And... how many of those, having gained reality bending powers overnight, sought to overturn their situation?
The world as we knew... was torn aside in what we know as the Great Awakening, the Walpurgisnacht.
- Extract from the handwritten notes of a scientist found in Geneva, Switzerland
In the year 20XX, the civilization that man has once known has been brought to heel due to an unknown, mysterious power which resembles the magic of legends. On year 20XX, the world awoke to an event known as the Walpurgisnacht- the Witches' Night. Seemingly out of nowhere and overnight, one in ten thousand women (and a much lesser proprortion of men) suddenly awoke powers that defied reality or comprehension. We call this phenomenon now Magic. The distribution of these powers was evenly spread, and much unrest happened in the weeks to follow. Spurred by the turmoil of change, governments fell, and those in poverty rose against in arms to loot the rich as one by one, the governments of the world fell into anarchy.
The apocalypse was certainly underway. The remnants of the most influential nations pooled their resources together to preserve what was assumed to be a critical decay of the current civilization and knowledge level, who would usher a new era of Dark Ages. All armies were mobilized, all stockpiles were used. Defeat after defeat, it seemed that these Witches and Warlocks were too unpredictable to rely on any kind of known tactic, and the surgence of supernals - magical beasts of old long thought to be myths- crippled these armies even further, by causing widespread supply destruction and disruption of travel. The nuclear option was in particular disabled by a being people now call the King of Monsters, and whose name is not known, but his appearance is. The One Eyed Wyrm.
Four great bloody champions of the Witches arose in this era, who would later be known as West, East, North and South.
And then the Battle of a Hundred Fronts happened. It is hauled as the single turning point of this war of attrition and decay, where the forces of the old world managed a decisive victory and secured a few strongholds, but at great cost. It was then when the Allied nations command shifted from defensive warfare to evacuation, and Operation Iron Wall was issued. A massive evacuation effort, where what was left of the armies was burn through so the remaining people could flee towards these last shelters.
Operation Iron Wall depleted half of the then remaining resources, but it had a resounding success. It also brought forth the first use of Magic in warfare against Witches, led by the loyalist witch Morgan, who displayed a prowess similar to the Great Four.
Much was lost then, but we yet endure. Sydney, Nevada, Rome and Lhasa are the last strongholds of our world's inheritage and story. Stepping forth from this point is venturing a land of survival of the fittest, of barbarism and decaying technology. Thirty years have passed since, and we have been unable to move forward past the foundation of the Global Response Anti Magic forces, or GRAM for short. While we were able to retain our technology, we live tightly packed and under a near-perpetual martial law.
The retaliation will commence now. Operation Cold Iron has just started.
I will allow to play normal hunters as well a pool of magic-users. Supernal creatures are meant to be unplayable, but i am open to suggestions. I want to keep a demographic balance.
Themes are supposed to be dark. This is not a good vs evil setting, it's more Order vs Chaos.
I don't know much about guns and related, so the details on the militar side will be left quite vague.
Magic will be a "sky is the limit" kind of setting where any magic user is able to do anything without no rules or restriction... however there is a catch. I will also place the "fickle" rule. I reserve my right to make any kind of magic fail or even bounce back without warning nor explanation whatsoever. Magic is powerful, but dangerous. Also magic among GRAM ranks is both a boon and a curse. Magic users the best counter to witches, but they also face heavy discrimination and paranoia.
Play nice, play cool. I am not interested in antagonistic roles nor people who go solo for the time being. The whole world will be the enemy, no need to make more. Also, I doubt it needs to be said, but please be polite and respectful to fellow players.
I will stick to a bare minimum of a single paragraph every two weeks. I would also like to ask that if for some reason you are unable to post, please give me notice. Same for losing interest for whatever reason.
The world has suffered a tremendous geopolitical shift and even climate shift due to the sudden upsurge of magic. Humanity has suffered severe depopulation to an unprecedent scale due to the massive cataclismic clashes between the countries of old and the new powers of Witches and Supernals. Ironically, this seemed to allow nature to heal from the scars of the self-destructing consumism spiral of the late 20th and early 21st centuries... but barely any safe place is left, and people can die from plagues, disease or even predation by supernals at night. Practically no country has survived, except half of Australia and New Zealand. The combination of natural resources, sparse population and relatively developed lifestyle allowed them to agglutinate the last remnants of the old World's order in Strongholds, walled cities that are under the control of the United Nations (or what's left of it). These strongholds is where the GRAM draws its resources, funding and recruits.
Apparently, some Witches have managed to get something resemble societies working too, but they're hapzard, pale imitations of what used to be at best. (With the exception of Johannesburg, but that's a exception to the rule) Tales of hunters talk about dens of vice and abased debauchery, where life can be snuffed at the candle of the mighty and powerful, and sometimes inhumane, witches.
Despite how dire the situation is, strongholds still have access to the main commodities of modern life, and there's little if any shortage of anything. However it comes with a terrible price. Big brother is always watching, and regulations and rules are everywhere. The greater good is used as umbrella term to trample over even the most basic personal freedoms. Because witch genes are among the populace, there is no small sheer amount of paranoia and distrust among people. So, while the society is modern, it is also oppressive and stale, and makes many people join the high-risk high-gain ranks of GRAM, the only ones who venture outside the Strongholds to fight witches.
Sometimes, people aren't even given an option. Any confirmed witch match in the strongholds is forcefully recruited in their magic ranks, and kept under tight controls with a kill switch. Supernals, who are even rarer, are vivisected usually... Even the mere thought of one joining the GRAM ranks is rare.
The Global Response Anti Magic forces are pretty much the only force capable of trading blows with witches and not suffer the fate of the sundered armies before them. With cutting edge technology boosted by their own magic forces, these daredevils thread into the chaotic anarchic world of today to restore what once was. They have a looser structure than most forces, and at times they're little more than adventurers or guerrilla. Casualties are high, as expected, but successful GRAM veterans enjoy many boons that normal citizens cannot.
There are two branches in GRAM. The magic users, sometimes called the Sorceresses and Sorcerers (to distinguish themselves from the Witches and Warlocks) are often kept separated and trained by their own, and then lent to the normal branches, the Troopers, to offer their magical expertise as backup. There is no small amount of friction because of this formula, but this was the most sensible solution to avoid infighting that was discovered. It is forbidden to hide potential magic candidates from GRAM, and since they're military assets, vigilante killings are not allowed unless they're in self defense.
Sydney: The most populated and prosperous area that still adheres to the Old World's regime. Sydney still retains the control of half of Australia, and has a myriad of satellite strongholds and natural resources. Some Sydney citizens will never see a witch's magic in their entire lives. This has empowered citizens of Sydney with a certain elitist feel, and they're the ones whose prejudices are stronger against sorceresses and magic users in general.
Nevada: Nevada is what happens when you cram the former top secret Area 51 chock full of scientist and military personnel with nothing to lose. They all make the cool gadgets, and are the forefront in keeping the technology up and running, but they're near always under martial law and secret information clauses.
Lhasa: Due to the remoteness of the Tibet, Lhasa is very difficult to attack, and the unique shape of the terrain and cultural heritage gives the people of this stronghold a ferrous discipline and superb physical training. The best footmen can be found here.
Rome: Rome is a poem to people's tenacity. A city that by all means should have been taken over, and indeed is always up in flames due to urban warfare, the Old World Order stubborningly clings to whatever sectors of the city still control. Rome has always been an active front of warfare, and whilst the poorest equipped and trained, Roman soldiers are determined and fearless veterans. Due to the hands on approach and impredictability of Urban Warfare, Rome employs the most magic users of all strongholds, and they're not as heavily as prejudiced against magic as other strongholds are.
In this chaotic world, there are countless threats and war-drunk witches to count and classify. The usual formula is that a cluster of witches rules over a certain are like a city-state of old, and keeps acolytes and supernals under their thumb. Some witches are even nomads, which raid the corpses of the cities of Old and unguarded settlements for a living. It is worth noting, however, that there are four witches who have rose to prominence and notoriety due to their sheer power and followers.
The Witch of the North: Also known as the Winter Sorceress. Her stronghold is Iceland. She has relatively few people and followers, but has many dangerous supernals and beasts under her control. She is infamously for her ability to warp the weather and the climate to such an extent that men are frozen where they stand, as well as the only witch in the world capable of commanding an entire flock of dragons.
The Witch of the West: Also known as the Bloody Dawn. Her stronghold is Mexico. A sadistic woman who has a disturbing penchant for human sacrifice and blood magic. West is the most warmongering of all the great four, and the people she comands are feral reavers and pirates who abduct people for the mesoamerican gods of old, clad in feathers and pelt. She has a great cult and is worshipped as High priestess.
The Witch of the East: Also known as the Dead Queen. Her stronghold is Beijing. A powerful necromancer and spirit summoner, East is an eerie slippery opponent that rules a city where few denizens have a pulse, and can summon demons and spirits from unspeakable places. Dead Queen and Bloody Dawn have a long standing rivalry as they both compete for human sacrifices.
The Witch of the South: Also known as the Lady of the Flames. Her stronghold is Johannesburg. South is the only witch who has managed to retain a level of followers and management that match the strongholds of the the Old World order. Johannesburg can boast a large population and even trade, but it is a rotten city, a den of vice where all the worst cravings of men and women are sated, all overseen by the eyes of South and her retainers. South is also the most industrious witch, and is locked in an arms race with the Old World order. She also has a feud with North for unknown reasons.
The Fifth Witch: Also known as Morgan le Fay. An enigmatic Welsh woman who is currently the head of the GRAM sorceresses. For some reason she decided to side with the Old World order rather than start her own city country. While not widely acknowledged, many people think that Morgan was a keystone that allowed the survival of the Old World order and the creation of GRAM. To this day, Morgan is the only person who can strike any kind of fear in the other great Four witches (other than themselves).
King of Monsters - Marduk: A massive creature resembling the dragons of lore. Nicknamed the "one eye" due to a missing right eye. He is capable of flight even though it is so massive it should not. Suspect magic is involved. Apparently he is a termophile and even his own body emits massive quantities of heat. Nicknamed Marduk for his fondness of roosting among the ruins of Babylon, this massive monster is what neutralized the major nuclear powers almost overnight with his sheer might. It is rumoured he is the major backer of the Witch of the North. (more will be added)
Four Great Witches: The four most noteworthy individuals of the Walpurgis uprising.
GRAM: Global Response Against Magic. The forces
Cabal: An aggrupation of witches. Fairly common, as only very powerful witches can afford to go solo usually. GRAM posseses one cabal, comprised of Morgan le Fay and her battle tested veterans of Operation Iron Wall. Sorceress\Sorcerer: A sanctioned witch in the employment of GRAM. Nearly all of them are rather young, and there is no minimum age to serve as sorceress. They're fitted with explosive implants that grant their superiors a killer switch.
Witch\Warlock: Any unsactioned spellcaster. A variable lot, but usually more battle tested and powerful than the average sorceress.
Magic: The ability to perform reality defying feats by only using inner strenght, a few mnemotechnical tricks and discipline. One in 10.000 has the ability to it. It is genetical and recessive. The ability can also manifest in men, but more rarely at a 1 to 1000 ratio. So only one in 10.000.000 chance to be a warlock. Magic aptitude at its basic level, halts aging and allows the user to self-regenerate their wounds. It also allows timely discharges of energy that can be used as projectiles and barriers.
Supernals: Creatures with magical abilities that resemble beasts of myth. They're usually hostile to humans and only sometimes they allow themselves to be approached by magical users. Some of these supernals, like the humanoid dwarves and elves, do trade with humans, but they are very inclined towards Witches rather than GRAM.
MUW: Magically Upgraded Weapons. Quite rare and a strategical resource for GRAM. Weapons produced by witches are usually done with better enchantments so they're usually taken for investigation and reverse engineering.
Name: Age: Branch: (Trooper or Sorceress) Stronghold of Origin :(Sydney, Nevada, Lhasa or Rome) Skills: Magical Abilities description(If sorceress): Non-standard gear(Other than the basic guns and rifles, melee weapons and ammunition must be described here): Physical description(images or written, I am fine with either): Biography (Tell also some of the personality here. Single coherent paragraph at the bare minimum.) Other Anything that doesn't fit)
@Lmpkio Still have to finish my bio and refine my abilities. Once that's done and the sticker of approval is offered, we can have our century-old duel.
@Lmpkio Probably a three way with the ancient sumerian stabby immortal waif.
Name:Nungal -Last Name Unknown, chosen of Ereshkigal. Also sometimes Hand of Nergal.
Age:In excess of 6000 years. Appears to be a teenager.
Birthdate: July/23rd
Gender: Female
Nationality:Sumerian -Country has been dead for millenia, though.
Appearance:
Height: 4'8" Weight: 140 Fashion Sense: Nungal is painfully aware of the changing fashion sense through the eras, and has settled for baggy young woman's clothes, with hoodies and baggy jeans combined with training shoes in order to not catch much attention among crowds. Distinguishing Features: Nungal is a petite woman, often confused by a teenager. She is lean and toned, almost scrawny, with the physique of a dancer or someone who exerts a considerable level of physical activity, which is only apparent when she chooses to discard her otherwise baggy clothes.
Biography:
Personality Questions:
-You're fighting a worthy opponent who you're about to defeat, then they forsake their humanity and give up their self just to beat you, how do you react?
"It's on, bitch."
-A good friend of yours abandons you and everyone they know in the pursuit of strength, how do you feel?
"I would feel sad. Good friends are hard to come by. And then I would take my time to find the most throughout way to take them down before they can do the same to me. "
-Someone you have romantic interest enters a relationship with someone else, what do you do?
"Let it go... Let It GoOoO...cough, ack."
-How do you feel about explosions?
"Too noisy. Reminds me of thunderclap."
-You lost a fight, what are you going to do about it?
"Cut my losses, learn more and rethink my strategy. In the end it all matters who's left standing."
-Where do you go when you die?
"That's a good question. They've been trying to sort it out for over five millenia."
-What's your worst nightmare?
"Surviving the destruction of earth and spending an eternity choking in the cold void outer space until something else happens."
-Do you believe in karma?
"Oh you mean yet another system to represent retribution... sure why not? Whatever floats your boat."
-Can evil people be rehabilitated?
"Anyone can, with enough time and effort. The real question is, can we afford it?"
-Are you a bad person?
"To some yes. To others, not so much. It's in the eye of the beholder, but don't tell the gods."
Backstory: Once upon a time, during the dawn of civilization, a child was born in the ancient city of Uruk. A misbegotten girl, she did not resemble her parents, having inherited the paleness of the dead in her skin, and the red of blood in her eyes. Baffled, her parents offered her to the underworld and her Queen, Ereshkigal.
The temple shaped her into what she would become later, and the name Nungal was bestowed upon her. For she had been "adopted" by the goddess in a symbolic way, and to take after the actual goddess borne of the queen of the Underworld who would take punishment upon the wicked.
Her blades reached upon the wicked and the foul, those that Ereshkigal and her terrible husband, Nergal, desidered to be brought under heel, becoming one of Uruk's enforcers in the shadow while the tales of heroes and gods dazzled the populace of the budding city. Her life was monotonous, and hard... but she had earned recognition among those who turned their eyes into the terrible underworld and their spirits.
Up until the Sin of the Sky arrived. Without warning, and like a sword of fire it carved its way to the bosom of the earth...where those whose deeds were so foul for their names to ever be recorded, managed to bring a piece... of the edge of all Creation. When Nungal saw the mishappen rock, she could barely stay sane, her every fiber of being wanting to reject such impossibility.
That was when they struck her, so dazzled she was, she could not pay attention to their powerful arts and techniques, for these foul people were committed to perform the ultimate sacrilege: To assassinate gods. When her body ran cold due to bloodloss she thought she could hear her mistress whispering about her failure and inevitable dead. With such wounds sustained, it was impossible for her to survive.
Unless she bent the rules. Grabbing a shard of the unknown, eldritch power, her fractured mind understood. She could sunder. She could break. Even Death... could die itself. Stabbing herself in the heart, she killed the bond that all mortals had with the underworld, and rose again from the dead. This time, she was the one who caught her opponents flat footed, and managed to defeat them.
The Sin of the Sky disappeared not long after, destroyed by the very gods it would be pointed at... and only Nungal and her shard remained. The day was won, but not without cost. For her defiance, Nungal's soul was claimed by several gods for justice, including both Ereshkigal and Nergal... and each one bore ferocious arguments of who should smite her.
As a result , she would never die. She would never age. All damage would come undone, as she would await for her judgement. Eventually months became years. Years became centuries. Civilizations rose and fall, and some gods faded in obscurity to be replaced by newer ones... but the debate continued and raged. In the meantime, Nungal did what she was taught to do... to punish the wicked. In the meantime, she lived as best as she could, enjoying the commodities of each era.
Six thousands years later, things seemed to accelerate. New heroes and villains spring forth, and new skills were discovered. Maybe Nungal's fate will be decided once and for all... but it was a long and productive journey.
Abilities: Timeless Immortal: Nungal can't die. The other life is barred to her, so she usually ends up back in the realm of living. Soul entrapment works fine, but only for a limited amount of time, until she eventually breaks free and returns to her body. Since the world of the living is for live people, all injuries are healed like a tape gone in reverse. However the timescale of this "rewind correction" depends on how much her physical form was disrupted. Being atomized probably takes centuries to heal. It also does not give any kind of pain relief whatsoever.
Master of All: Nungal has had a long time to learn every single human craft known. One has to assume that she is a master of what she does with two huge caveats. One, she simply sucks at arts like singing or poetry (with dancing being the only art she can truly excel at), and technologies that bloomed in the past 40 years still evade her.
Timeless Mystic: However, for magical and the occult, Nungal is surprisingly powerful, since she knows all the ancient spoopy rituals that those living in the ages where gods and forces of nature ruled. She can whip up mean counterspells and even summon things that were probably long-lost to this world otherwise. However, she requires components and energy to do that, and the same bickering gods that make her immortality loophole work might take notice and end said discrepancy... thus killing her.
Nimble: Nungal's modest physique is rather dexterous and agile.
Equipment: Book of Irkalla: Also known as the Book of the Underworld, it is the book bestowed to any follower of Ereshkigal which includes all of their sorcery spells. It is a great find, provided you can decipher cuneiform scripture. The original was made in clay tablets, but at some point Nungal improved upon the design to make it a pocket-sized lecture. It also includes newer spells from more modern eras.
Unknown Weapon: A steel dagger made of an eerie iron meteorite. Rumoured to have come from the edge of the universe and having been tainted with ...whatever lurks beyond. Even Nungal isn't sure of what the thing is actually doing, but a good hit will damage anything, just by the mere fact of being of this reality. This weapon could potentially kill gods and disrupt abstract concepts, but usually the damage can be undone given enough time. The opposite also applies, as the dagger will recover from being shattered or broken given enough time. The dagger is usually sealed in a magically warded sheath, which can only be undone with the keyword "Sunder".
Other: Feel free to add past events where she angered others. She also is a foodie, and loves junk food with passion. It's one thing that she never got back in the old eras.
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FamishedPants