Brovo

How do you get by with few members in RP

Roleplay it anyway. It just means things will go at a much faster pace, and each character will have a greater narrative force.

Problems with partners...

I just usually doodle a little rule somewhere in my OOC thread saying "type this if you read everything: I'm not a moron" and voila. That filters idiots decently.

Underrated Video Games

Salvation Prophecy. An entire space sim complete with planetary invasions and fleet actions between four factions, followed up with an invasion plot line, strange powers, and of course, a prophecy about the salvation of your faction, complete with two choices about how to end the game.

Made by one guy. If you liked Star Wars Battlefront you'd probably like Salvation Prophecy. :p

Blorcs Command Thread

"Go get em', boy."

::Send Mr Whiskers up the tree to hunt anything up there while I get off and play lookout::
::Collect any corpses or food Mr Whiskers drops::

Trends in Entertainment, or Why Do We Eat this Crap Up?

Or you know, people like popular things because they like them. There's a reason they're popular. In fact, that's the definition of popular: A lot of people like it.

Though in all seriousness I'm pretty much here only address the idea that either the films or gaming industry are stagnant.

No. At least, not for games.

There were more games made in 2013 than there were in the entirety of the 80's. The indie scene is exploding, some of them even manage to have graphics engines and look good. The free to play market is also exploding, with games like League of Legends seeing humongous success spawning and advancing genres. The mobile industry came from nowhere and, profit-wise, is kicking the shit out of everyone in terms of expenditure versus profits. The modding communities for various triple AAA titles are bigger than ever, with games like Skyrim seeing entirely new areas to play in, new monsters to fight, new gameplay mechanics, new everything basically... For free. Then you have things like Kickstarter which gets new projects off of the ground with large budgets without any publishers at all, admittedly with mixed results because people haven't figured out how conmen work yet apparently.

The consumer has really never had it better from the industry in terms of choice and variety, and the industry is recording record high profits again and again and again. It barely even slowed during the world wide recession. As for costs, on release games cost more, but look at steam sales during the summer and winter: Anywhere between 33-95% off pretty much everything. Other online retailers like eBay have similar sales, or online distributors like GoodOldGames, have similar sales to compete.

Are there a lot of sequels? Yes. Why? Because people recognize the brand label. Why does that matter? Because people grow attached to things. Why did I buy Mass Effect 2? I wanted to see what happened to the characters and universe I grew to know and care about in Mass Effect 1. Sure, there were other sci-fi RPG's that came out that year, but Mass Effect was the one I was looking out for. Why? Because I grew attached to it.

As well, I can enjoy something that, for all technical purposes, is really just schlock or crap. I love Independence Day, but good lord it's a dumb movie. I also love Dynasty Warriors, but I'll be the first to admit that it's the definition of a mindless grind fest where you mash the attack button until your thumb is sore. The fact that these things are dumb or awful does not invalidate my enjoyment out of them in the same way that someone else's enjoyment out of the next Call of Duty game isn't invalidated just because Call of Duty is a shitty game from a technical standpoint. If people really love it, they can keep playing it in their corner, and I'll play my RPG's and strategies in my corner, and we never have to meet each other.

As well, things like the movie or game industry wouldn't even die anyway. They may collapse on their own weight, but after a few years of recovery, they'll be back to juggernaut status again. That would be a perfectly normal boom-bust cycle that you see in a capitalist economy. Even if the film or game industry is heading for a crash (and that's highly unlikely), there's no possible way it will kill the industry, because there will always be a demand for films and games. The entertainment industry is quite possible the biggest industry in the entire world. I'm pretty sure only the military complex is bigger, and even then, I'm not sure.

Plus, if you really want to look at films and how they change, look at the 50's. Compare it to now. Hell, look at the 60's, the 70's, the 80's, and even the 90's, and compare it to now. The face of television and film has changed multiple times over the decades, usually with each new generation. It will change again. That's just how it is.

So basically what I'm saying is if you hate what's mainstream, go look at the indie scene. There's always an indie scene. In films and in games... And, in all honesty, don't be afraid to enjoy something dumb once in a while. It's not a crime to sit down and watch a film with a series of broken aesops and terrible written schlock storytelling if you're there just to watch things go boom and eat popcorn.

That's about it really.

tl;dr: People who think that either the film or gaming industry is stagnant and/or going to crash are totally ignoring the economic and historical backgrounds of both in favour of personal nostalgia and doomsaying nonsense. You can hate a game for not innovating. That's fine. There's nothing wrong with someone else still enjoying that formula, even if it's the sixth Dynasty Warriors doing the same schtick for the sixth time in a row.

The Library

Valeric said
Wait, you're playing character?

Putting Kurotori away permanently and replacing him with this one actually.

EDIT

Besides, don't Hedya, Alpha, and Alta each have three?

The Library

Name: Daniel Constantine.
Appearance:


Artist, because I may be too lazy to learn how to draw, but I'm not too lazy to give credit where it's due!
Bio: Daniel Constantine was born to a wealthy family which got rich off of hunting monsters and researching the supernatural. They have their own estate a few miles outside of the capital, and many servants. Their name is known throughout the circles of minor nobility, as they are often hired by the nobility to take care of problems. They were once prominent even among the highest of nobility, but fell when his grandfather's uncle was discovered to be a vampire. This man was known as Julian, and while his body was slain, some still whispered that they saw his spirit from time to time.

Daniel, like his forefathers, trained in the art of killing monsters and supernatural creatures, and like his forefathers, contracted out to various nobles and corporations who needed problems resolved. He spent his whole life looking up to his older brother, Tolan, who often worked with him. Together they even ended up rescuing Daniel's present day wife, Soție, from, of all creatures, a vampire. Naturally though, all good things come to an end, and when Daniel turned twenty four, Tolan went missing in a mission for Aegis corp. Daniel spent two months searching for any trace of his brother, only to be told by Aegis corp that he had died. With no body to show, and not even a shred of his clothing or otherwise to remember him by, Daniel swore to himself to find the creature that slew Tolan, and slay it, so as to prevent such a powerful creature from living on to murder more people.

During this time, he read up on the history of his family to look for any sign of monsters that preyed on hunters specifically. While he found a few possibilities, he stumbled on the historical accounts of his uncle. Finding mostly sympathetic accounts, and knowing the power of spirits, he went to The Library to test his capacity as a holder. When it proved positive, he slipped away and used an old witch's ritual to summon the spirit of Julius to him. Julius, thus, became part of him, and immediately warned him of an impending attack that would kill his wife. He had seen it as a spirit approaching the family estate.

His family estate was attacked, just as Julian said it would be. While his wife survived thanks to Julian's warning, it was very clear that the attack was perpetrated by humans, targeting him and his wife specifically. Thus, to keep the rest of his family safe, he left for The Library with Soție, knowing that he owed them one anyway. In exchange for protection and sanctuary for Soție, he offers his services as a trained intelligence gatherer and mercenary.

Besides. He had to learn more about who his brother's killer was, and while Aegis Corp was not cooperative about such a thing, The Library might be more than happy to give him any potential leads as he sniffed out potential problems for them. A mutually beneficial relationship.

Branch: Intelligence. Daniel is a monster hunter, if he wasn't good at intelligence, he would be out of work.

Holder: Rook.
Spirit: Julius Constantine, AKA "Uncle." Julius was born roughly two hundred fifty years ago. He became a vampire, and was hunted down and slain by Daniel's father after he started to slip about the family estate. To this day, nobody is certain why, as no servants were slain. History told a more sympathetic tale, more like Frankenstein's monster, than the truth of it: Julius simply doesn't consider people in general as having any basic value. A person has to prove they worthiness in order to gain his admiration or respect, or to be spared from his lust for blood. He wears a masquerade of sophistication, and takes an interest in the arts. Coincidentally, he wears a pale white mask, and often keeps a human skull around which he named Whiskers. It is quite possible his only friend.

Weapons/Spells:

Război Ciocan: A light, two handed warhammer made out of silver, with a permanent red blood stain on the stabbing end of it. It can be used as a blunt weapon to break bones and cause extreme pain, or as a piercing weapon to get through heavy armour. Silver is a traditional weapon against supernatural creatures, though auspiciously, vampires are exempted unless you drive it into their heart. This one has been passed down the Constantine family from generation to generation, and although originally thought lost, Julian was kind enough to just... Hold onto it. With his chest. It's in mint condition otherwise, he swears.

• Blood Price: Using this ability, Daniel's eyes turn silver, and he gains a bonus point of agility per person he is facing, up to a maximum of 40% of his agility. (So at 10 agility he cannot gain more than 4 bonus agility to start with, even if there are more than 4 enemies.) This agility wears off after two posts, though each person slain (friend, foe, or neutral) in the area increases the length of the ability by one post. This is limited by the amount of POW he has. (40% of his own power is his limit. Behaves the same as his agility limit.) Once the ability wears off or when he stops using it, he grows extremely fatigued temporarily, and inflicts an agility penalty on himself based on the number of allies/neutrals/enemies slain, up to a maximum of 40% of his agility, for three posts. After that he cannot use the ability for another two posts, as he still has to regain his strength to use it again.
  
  Each person he personally slays using this ability also costs him in his own life force: As a blood tribute to Julian, who expects something in return for his services. The wounds sustained are up to GM discretion, with more powerful enemies causing greater wounds to Daniel. As a general rule of thumb though, killing more than six regular people or more than three people equal to his own strength should be enough to cause him to cough up blood and wheeze in pain. More than five of his own level of power should be enough to wrench or outright break a limb.
  
  For obvious reasons, if he switches to another weapon, this ability will cancel and give him the penalty attributed to it.

Valkyrie: A large mechanical crossbow, generally used to do as much damage to one specific thing as is possible. It takes one post to actually reload it, and it cannot be fired while moving... At least, not accurately. Julian especially seems to show a dislike for this weapon, though he has fashioned what he likes to call his own special recipe for it. Needless to say, this crossbow can also destroy locks or blow through certain kinds of material due to its empowered properties from Daniel's power. (Note: "certain kinds of material" are things like drywall, or thin layers of wood. Not concrete, and he certainly couldn't blow apart a five hundred year old tree, though he could do quite a number to it.)

• Hypnotic Bolt: Each crossbow bolt gains +30% of Daniel's POW score in terms of piercing and damage, and causes the target to become feverish and hallucinate. They also have a chance of becoming non-hostile, or perhaps even cooperative, with Daniel, assuming they aren't screaming in pain from the bolt. The poison lasts for two posts and remains in effect even if Valkyrie is switched out for another weapon. Targets with a high POW or SPI score resist this effect better. Notable, if Blood Drinker's active is used on the target while the poison is in effect, Daniel will poison himself and start having feverish hallucinations.
  
  Amusingly, if Daniel hits a target that is vastly inferior to himself and it doesn't die instantly, it may start referring to him as its master or mother. Julian likely infused it with his own hypnotic powers, and while they don't fully manifest against targets with supernatural strength or mind, that diluted effect turns out alarmingly well on weak little humans.
  
  Daniel may only use this ability once per mission due to its intrinsically high cost. Any further uses causes a permanent 10% drain on his POW for the rest of the mission, which can stack up to 100%. If he tried to use the ability after that, he would die from blood deprivation.
  
  Due to the size of the crossbow, it takes one post to actually coat the poison on the bolt. Overall, if he were to try and use it in rapid succession, he would have to wait one post to reload, then another post to coat the poison again.

Blood Drinker: An unusual weapon to be certain, it is a short sword with a red tinge to it. In the dark, it even glows dark red. By itself it holds no real special properties, and Daniel would be better off using Război Ciocan in melee. On the flip side, this is the weapon to be used against the last target in a room, or when committing to an up-close-and-personal assassination. Coincidentally, of his three weapons, this one is the one Julian is most fond of due to its lack of silver or piercing properties. Fancy that!

• Sanguine Embrace: Daniel cuts his hand open as an offering to satiate Julian, and then attempts to plunge the blade into the body of a hapless victim. The stronger the victim, the greater the amount of life force Daniel restores from any wounds he may currently have. Daniel also steals the target's POW stat. If he has damage to his POW stat from Valkyrie's active, it will heal that first. After that anything over and above is excess he gets to keep for two posts before the thrill of stealing someone's life ends.
  
  This does not remove the penalty effect from Blood Price, as that does damage to his agility. It can however heal the damage caused by it.
  
  This can be used each post, but failing to kill someone when used causes this ability to go on cool down for three posts, and will cause Julian pain... Though whether anyone cares if Julian is in pain is up for debate.
  
  There is a cap on the amount of temporary POW Daniel can receive from this ability: 20% of his maximum POW. (At 10 maximum that means he can have up to 2 bonus for 2 posts.)

Skills: 0 free.
WeaponATK+ (Rank 1): "One hit, one kill... It also makes restraining victims easier."
CritPOW (Rank 1): "The desperate fight harder than anyone to survive."
Wallflower (Rank 2): "Wait in the shadows for the right moment to strike."

Stats: 0 free.

• POW: 10


• SPI: 4.


• AGI: 6.

Other: Artist for the picture I used for Julius Constantine. Again, because credit should go to the artist. I'm evil, not... You know... Eeeeeevil.

Blorcs Command Thread

::Cuddle ferret, hop onto its back, climb the tree to my left slowly to see if it's safe for me::

The Library

Fallenreaper said
Thank the RP gods I didn't choose that mission... or things could've went to hell really fast like with Medusa....

Imagine Jester being free. He committed a double homicide-suicide using a praying mantis creature for fun.

The Library - Character Deposit

McKenzi Bishop

Name: McKenzi Bishop.
Appearance: Standing at roughly 5'9", this woman has a relatively lithe figure and long, raven black hair that flows to the mid-point of her back. Often found wearing baggy, thick clothing that can keep her warm in the cold, and although the specific articles vary from day to day, the same idea remains consistent throughout. Her most notable possessions are a hat with the shield insignia of her father's corporation, and a pair of black combat boots, one of which holsters a combat knife.

Her skin is pale as snow, and her eyes are sea green, often they look too warm to match her typically cold demeanour. If she wore more feminine clothing, a tan, and a smile, one might even be forgiven for finding her quite attractive, but as it presently stands, she's average at the best of times.

Although hidden from view, there's a small scar that runs across the lower left side of her belly, just shy of the bellybutton. Jester ended up leaving this behind on her when he committed his homicide-suicide in her third mission. A permanent reminder of his uncontrollable nature.
Biography: Split into two parts.

Pre-RP

McKenzi Bishop was born and grew up with a single parent, her mother having perished in childbirth. Her father, Alexander Bishop, was a man devoted to his work, and Bishop took after him in every respect. During her childhood she had few friends, not out of trauma or bullying but simply out of a lack of interest in social pursuits: She took the sciences at an early age, and was cold like her father, though behind closed doors they were kind and loving to one another. She has no other family to really speak of, and aside from the occasional incident involving her lack of feminine graces, there was nothing remarkable about her life either... Though what few things she learned of her mother, she grew to see her as being a figure of kindness and love, and thus she did grow to care for the common person.

Soon after Bishop turned eighteen, her father left to start a new research project with his company. She took this opportunity to blossom, and took a research post learning about spirits and whatever realms they may come from. It was here that she learned she was an unawakened holder, and with a burning curiosity she decided to awaken it in a rare moment of throwing caution to the wind. Jester, at this time, spotted an opening in the world of mortal men and took to it without hesitation. The very first moment she heard his voice she knew that what she had brought into the world was something far more terrifying than she had even imagined: A total mad man... Though, strangely, her nature affected his powers and how they manifested through her. Thus, she left to The Library to learn her own powers, and to use them to solve problems.

---

During the RP

McKenzi Bishop was pulled from the research division to go on her first official mission with two partners: A pirate, and a ladies man. The latter flirted with her or berated her as she tried to offer her advice, but, regardless, she followed his orders, even the ones she felt were foolish. Upon confronting their target, he paid the ultimate price for his arrogance: With his life. In that one moment of horror Bishop acted and with the assistance of the pirate, took the target down, and dispatched her minions.

During her second mission, an "unofficial" affair, Bishop arrived to the ball to celebrate the coronation of a new head of the Library. Here there was an attempt made on his life, and Bishop did what she could just to remain alive, though it was a close call. Later on during the following investigation, she found the corpse of her pirate compatriot: She was all alone again... Save for Jester, who happily mocked the situation.

With the third mission came a series of mishaps and failures. On this mission she was sent to apprehend some of the rebels, and decided to try and help some of the people here. Here she met Vologhn, who she didn't trust at first... A spirit who took over the form of its holder? How could one trust a spirit, with her experience handling Jester. Yet, she grew to realize that he was trustworthy in a fight, and had the same goal in mind as her: To keep her allies alive. Yet, some perished in the fighting anyway... And nothing could be done about it. Here, Jester showed his true malevolence, in the final battle, he took an innocent man that he had possessed and committed a homicide-suicide with its creature. This left Bishop badly wounded, and has left a scar on her abdomen from the incident.

Notable, Jester also met Mime, a creature he consistently referred to as an imitator and pretender.

Between this mission and the fourth mission, her father sent her a letter warning her not to pursue him. This left her distraught and confused. As well, Bishop was promoted to be the eyes and ears of the library by the head of the library himself, to which she tentatively agreed, though she felt conflicted by her father's letter.

The fourth mission involved infiltrating her father's company. Vologhn and Mime accompanied her on this mission, along with one other. She immediately bee-lined for his position, and to her horror, discovered the man she had once considered her father was now willing to torture her... Which, he of course, did. For a limited time, before her comrades came to save to her and extract the information they needed. Alexander escaped, however, and while the details of this mission are shrouded in mystery, the end result is not: Bishop was mentally scarred, and the only thing that stopped her from going completely cold was the gentleness of a person she once distrusted: Vologhn

What happens now, is anyone's guess... Whether she will become colder, or slowly open up to her allies, is a mystery... Then again, many things about this woman's psyche are.

Branch: Research.

Holder: Bishop.
Spirit: Jester/Trickster. He goes by other names as well, but usually sticks with Jester, to keep things simple. Whether "he" is even a "he" or a "she" or an "it" is arguable, it seems to change its shape and form on a whim, usually taking the form of a court Jester only for Bishop's sake. He often hints at being far older and far smarter than he lets on, though his insanity makes any of his claims rather questionable. He is a ruthless sociopath who will torture and murder others for the sake of his own amusement, but usually tries to keep Bishop out of harm's way.

He is, ultimately, enigmatic and whimsical, and sees the human race as nothing more than an amusing distraction from... Whatever it was he was doing before.

Weapons/Spells:

Mind Play: Mind Play is, to put it simply, mind control. Jester and Bishop are capable of possessing a target based on its highest stat versus her spirit. If she succeeds, she takes control of the target, though there are things to keep in mind about this power.

The more powerful the target is in comparison to Bishop, the more deadly the wounds sustained by the target will be to Bishop as well. Thus, if Bishop is barely retaining control over someone, and that someone is injured, Bishop will also sustain a similar injury, the magnitude of which scales based on their power. This effect continues one post even after Bishop breaks control, so if she causes a target to jump off a cliff to its death, then lets go of control, she can still be harmed by this connection.

If Bishop's SPI isn't enough to overcome the target's defense stat, she can push herself a little further, and add 20% to her spi score for taking control over the target. (ex: 10 spi + 20% = 12 spi in practice.) However, in doing so, she focuses entirely on this act, and loses control over her own body in order to retain control over Jester, thus becoming extremely vulnerable. As well, wounds sustained by the target are nearly equally deadly to Bishop. If the target dies while under her control, she will likely die soon after. Alternatively, Bishop can also leave Jester in control to retain control over her own body, though he is a malevolent sociopath, and will likely relish the chance to harm her allies and her enemies, and civilians, indiscriminately. Bishop is the only thing he will not attack.

If the target dies while Bishop is controlling it without the 20% bonus, there's a two post cooldown before she can use Mind Play again due to trauma. If the target dies while Bishop or Jester is controlling it with the 20% bonus, she suffers severe mental trauma that debilitates her for one post, and cannot use Mind Play again for three posts, assuming she survives.

She can choose to possess an ally PC if they give her permission. They retain control of themselves. This is mainly used for stat booster, to help an ally get out of harm's way, or otherwise.

• Stat Booster: Bishop can boost the weakest stat of a target she's chosen to use mind play on based on her spirit compared to the deficit. Specifically: Bishop's SPI - Target's weakest stat * 0.8. Example: Weakest stat is agility at 4. Bishop's SPI is at 12. 12-4=8. 8*0.8=6.4. Round down to 6. 4+6=10. She cannot use this ability in the same post that she takes control of a target.
  
  Both Stat Booster and Mind Play cannot be used with any of Bishop's other abilities, though they can be used with skills.

Surprise Party!: This oddly named power allows Bishop to turn herself or a target within eyesight invisible. This invisibility can be seen through by targets with superior spirit scores, or by powers that give a target some form of superior vision or sense of smell.

• Mirror: Bishop can choose to use surprise party's invisibility effect to reflect part of the damage of an ability back at the user. The rest is sustained by Bishop. The target's SPI is used against hers to calculate the damage difference. Approximately 5% of the damage is reflected either towards Bishop or the target who casted the ability based on how much higher one is above the other. ex: If Bishop has 12 SPI, and the target sustaining damage from the reflection has 14 SPI, Bishop will sustain 60% of the damage, and the target will sustain 40% of it.
  
  Using Mirror breaks Surprise Party! And prevents it from being used for three posts.

Jester's Gift: Allows Bishop to afflict a target with some of Jester's madness. The effect is totally random and can vary from being minor or major, ranging from uncontrollable laughter to insane levels of rage, to pure unending terror, hallucinations, and more. It's up to the GM to decide how the power works. Targets with a high POW or SPI score in comparison to Bishop will resist this effect better than most. She can affect up to three targets with this power, but has to hit them one at a time. If she uses mind play on a target afflicted with Jester's Gift, she is affected by Jester's Gift to a lesser degree.

• Bishop's Pain: Every target affected by Jester's Gift is riddled with extreme pain. The resistance stat is POW or SPI versus Bishop's SPI. The pain can be crippling. For every 2 SPI above the target's SPI or POW, the duration of the pain lasts an additional post. If Bishop's SPI is 10 points or higher than the target's resistance stat, the target is knocked unconscious from overwhelming pain.
  
  Using this removes the effects Jester's Gift has on the targets affected. While targets are still being affected by Bishop's Pain, Jester's Gift cannot be used on additional targets, unless a person is knocked unconscious by Bishop's Pain, in which case, they are no longer affected: They are unconscious.
  
  Bishop cannot use Bishop's Pain in the same post as using Jester's Gift. She can use one or the other per post, not both in the same post.

Skills:
PUNCH-2: "When things get desperate..."
SCAN-2: "I can't defeat an enemy I do not understand."
SPELLATK-1: "One empowered moment can be enough to overturn an empire."
TELEPATHY-1: "Jester's recent developments would be fascinating if it weren't for the fact that he can torture others with his incessant attempts at humour now."

Stats:

• POW: 5


• SPI: 16


• AGI: 3

Daniel Constantine

Name: Daniel Constantine.
Appearance:


Artist, because I may be too lazy to learn how to draw, but I'm not too lazy to give credit where it's due!
Bio: Daniel Constantine was born to a wealthy family which got rich off of hunting monsters and researching the supernatural. They have their own estate a few miles outside of the capital, and many servants. Their name is known throughout the circles of minor nobility, as they are often hired by the nobility to take care of problems. They were once prominent even among the highest of nobility, but fell when his grandfather's uncle was discovered to be a vampire. This man was known as Julian, and while his body was slain, some still whispered that they saw his spirit from time to time.

Daniel, like his forefathers, trained in the art of killing monsters and supernatural creatures, and like his forefathers, contracted out to various nobles and corporations who needed problems resolved. He spent his whole life looking up to his older brother, Tolan, who often worked with him. Together they even ended up rescuing Daniel's present day wife, Soție, from, of all creatures, a vampire. Naturally though, all good things come to an end, and when Daniel turned twenty four, Tolan went missing in a mission for Aegis corp. Daniel spent two months searching for any trace of his brother, only to be told by Aegis corp that he had died. With no body to show, and not even a shred of his clothing or otherwise to remember him by, Daniel swore to himself to find the creature that slew Tolan, and slay it, so as to prevent such a powerful creature from living on to murder more people.

During this time, he read up on the history of his family to look for any sign of monsters that preyed on hunters specifically. While he found a few possibilities, he stumbled on the historical accounts of his uncle. Finding mostly sympathetic accounts, and knowing the power of spirits, he went to The Library to test his capacity as a holder. When it proved positive, he slipped away and used an old witch's ritual to summon the spirit of Julius to him. Julius, thus, became part of him, and immediately warned him of an impending attack that would kill his wife. He had seen it as a spirit approaching the family estate.

His family estate was attacked, just as Julian said it would be. While his wife survived thanks to Julian's warning, it was very clear that the attack was perpetrated by humans, targeting him and his wife specifically. Thus, to keep the rest of his family safe, he left for The Library with Soție, knowing that he owed them one anyway. In exchange for protection and sanctuary for Soție, he offers his services as a trained intelligence gatherer and mercenary.

Besides. He had to learn more about who his brother's killer was, and while Aegis Corp was not cooperative about such a thing, The Library might be more than happy to give him any potential leads as he sniffed out potential problems for them. A mutually beneficial relationship.

Branch: Intelligence. Daniel is a monster hunter, if he wasn't good at intelligence, he would be out of work.

Holder: Rook.
Spirit: Julius Constantine, AKA "Uncle." Julius was born roughly two hundred fifty years ago. He became a vampire, and was hunted down and slain by Daniel's father after he started to slip about the family estate. To this day, nobody is certain why, as no servants were slain. History told a more sympathetic tale, more like Frankenstein's monster, than the truth of it: Julius simply doesn't consider people in general as having any basic value. A person has to prove they worthiness in order to gain his admiration or respect, or to be spared from his lust for blood. He wears a masquerade of sophistication, and takes an interest in the arts. Coincidentally, he wears a pale white mask, and often keeps a human skull around which he named Whiskers. It is quite possible his only friend.

Weapons/Spells:

Război Ciocan: A light, two handed warhammer made out of silver, with a permanent red blood stain on the stabbing end of it. It can be used as a blunt weapon to break bones and cause extreme pain, or as a piercing weapon to get through heavy armour. Silver is a traditional weapon against supernatural creatures, though auspiciously, vampires are exempted unless you drive it into their heart. This one has been passed down the Constantine family from generation to generation, and although originally thought lost, Julian was kind enough to just... Hold onto it. With his chest. It's in mint condition otherwise, he swears.

• Blood Price: Using this ability, Daniel's eyes turn silver, and he gains a bonus point of agility per person he is facing, up to a maximum of 40% of his agility. (So at 10 agility he cannot gain more than 4 bonus agility to start with, even if there are more than 4 enemies.) This agility wears off after two posts, though each person slain (friend, foe, or neutral) in the area increases the length of the ability by one post. This is limited by the amount of POW he has. (40% of his own power is his limit. Behaves the same as his agility limit.) Once the ability wears off or when he stops using it, he grows extremely fatigued temporarily, and inflicts an agility penalty on himself based on the number of allies/neutrals/enemies slain, up to a maximum of 40% of his agility, for three posts. After that he cannot use the ability for another two posts, as he still has to regain his strength to use it again.
  
  Each person he personally slays using this ability also costs him in his own life force: As a blood tribute to Julian, who expects something in return for his services. The wounds sustained are up to GM discretion, with more powerful enemies causing greater wounds to Daniel. As a general rule of thumb though, killing more than six regular people or more than three people equal to his own strength should be enough to cause him to cough up blood and wheeze in pain. More than five of his own level of power should be enough to wrench or outright break a limb.
  
  For obvious reasons, if he switches to another weapon, this ability will cancel and give him the penalty attributed to it.

Valkyrie: A large mechanical crossbow, generally used to do as much damage to one specific thing as is possible. It takes one post to actually reload it, and it cannot be fired while moving... At least, not accurately. Julian especially seems to show a dislike for this weapon, though he has fashioned what he likes to call his own special recipe for it. Needless to say, this crossbow can also destroy locks or blow through certain kinds of material due to its empowered properties from Daniel's power. (Note: "certain kinds of material" are things like drywall, or thin layers of wood. Not concrete, and he certainly couldn't blow apart a five hundred year old tree, though he could do quite a number to it.)

• Hypnotic Bolt: Each crossbow bolt gains +30% of Daniel's POW score in terms of piercing and damage, and causes the target to become feverish and hallucinate. They also have a chance of becoming non-hostile, or perhaps even cooperative, with Daniel, assuming they aren't screaming in pain from the bolt. The poison lasts for two posts and remains in effect even if Valkyrie is switched out for another weapon. Targets with a high POW or SPI score resist this effect better. Notable, if Blood Drinker's active is used on the target while the poison is in effect, Daniel will poison himself and start having feverish hallucinations.
  
  Amusingly, if Daniel hits a target that is vastly inferior to himself and it doesn't die instantly, it may start referring to him as its master or mother. Julian likely infused it with his own hypnotic powers, and while they don't fully manifest against targets with supernatural strength or mind, that diluted effect turns out alarmingly well on weak little humans.
  
  Daniel may only use this ability once per mission due to its intrinsically high cost. Any further uses causes a permanent 10% drain on his POW for the rest of the mission, which can stack up to 100%. If he tried to use the ability after that, he would die from blood deprivation.
  
  Due to the size of the crossbow, it takes one post to actually coat the poison on the bolt. Overall, if he were to try and use it in rapid succession, he would have to wait one post to reload, then another post to coat the poison again.

Blood Drinker: An unusual weapon to be certain, it is a short sword with a red tinge to it. In the dark, it even glows dark red. By itself it holds no real special properties, and Daniel would be better off using Război Ciocan in melee. On the flip side, this is the weapon to be used against the last target in a room, or when committing to an up-close-and-personal assassination. Coincidentally, of his three weapons, this one is the one Julian is most fond of due to its lack of silver or piercing properties. Fancy that!

• Sanguine Embrace: Daniel cuts his hand open as an offering to satiate Julian, and then attempts to plunge the blade into the body of a hapless victim. The stronger the victim, the greater the amount of life force Daniel restores from any wounds he may currently have. Daniel also steals the target's POW stat. If he has damage to his POW stat from Valkyrie's active, it will heal that first. After that anything over and above is excess he gets to keep for two posts before the thrill of stealing someone's life ends.
  
  This does not remove the penalty effect from Blood Price, as that does damage to his agility. It can however heal the damage caused by it.
  
  This can be used each post, but failing to kill someone when used causes this ability to go on cool down for three posts, and will cause Julian pain... Though whether anyone cares if Julian is in pain is up for debate.
  
  There is a cap on the amount of temporary POW Daniel can receive from this ability: 20% of his maximum POW. (At 10 maximum that means he can have up to 2 bonus for 2 posts.)

Skills: 0 free.
WeaponATK+ (Rank 1): "One hit, one kill... It also makes restraining victims easier."
CritPOW (Rank 1): "The desperate fight harder than anyone to survive."
Wallflower (Rank 2): "Wait in the shadows for the right moment to strike."

Stats: 0 free.

• POW: 10


• SPI: 4.


• AGI: 6.

Other: Artist for the picture I used for Julius Constantine. Again, because credit should go to the artist. I'm evil, not... You know... Eeeeeevil.