Estylwen

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

@SporkoBug Whoops, I must have forgotten I read the Bazaar bit. Sorry. ^^; Alright, thank you, in that case you're good to go! Please add them to the character tab when you have a chance. :>

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

Antonia Franchesca

Antonia Franchesca

Police Commissioner | 30 | She/her | 5’7 | 130 lbs

Goal: To restore order to the crime-infested city that is Nocturnia. She also wants to bring honour to her family's name, which has been dirtied by mafia ties for generations.

Secrets: It's an uphill struggle dealing with bribed cops, but her counter is that, since her instatement as a Commissioner, she has planted moles in each of the significant mafias and criminal organizations.

Fears: Being overrun by crime in Nocturnia. Being unable to protect her dedicated detectives. Being in a position where she's forced to divulge secrets.

History: It's true. It's her tragic backstory - mafia ties. The Franchesca Crime Family had a black hold on Nocturnia for seventy-five years. When she was born as an only child to her father as the crime boss, she was immediately groomed to inherent the Family from him.

However, when she was old enough to understand right from wrong, she refused the title. Her family's response was to exile her in the hopes she would come to her senses. However, it horribly backfired. Not only was she able to provide for herself, she finished her schooling and entered the police academy with flying colors, graduating from cop to detective incredibly quickly.

Her family began to actively hunt her down out of fear, determined to put her six-feet under. However, she had planned for that dark day years in advanced.

Every single significant member of the Franches Crime Family found cops at their door, and mass arrests were made. As each were summoned to the courts, massive files of evidence were laid out, incriminating each. Needless to say, most of the Franchesca Crime Family ended up residing behind bars for a minimum of twenty years. The rest of the family were put on watch, and the crime family disintegrated.

Destroyed seemingly overnight, the applause and limelight for Antonia's success was raucous. The public opinion for Antonia was incredibly favorable, and she was quickly regarded as a hero.

Her career was filled with even more successes after this, as she used unorthodox methods for catching criminal. These included disguising herself as a thug and getting hired as muscle, hoping to overhear snippets. This also included bribing members to plant listening devices in common mafia dwellings. More evidence was gathered, and other big-time mafia organizations collapsed under her watchful eyes. Some of her secret methods were certainly illegal… but no one cared as long as she got results.

When the previous Commissioner retired, the public demanded- no, begged for Antonia to be instated as the new Commissioner. The administration had no problem with this, and Antonia soon found herself in charge of the detectives she herself used to be.

Her speech as she took the title was heart-felt, as she vowed to put an end to crime in Nocturnia and make the streets safe again, for the innocent men and women, and for the children. She would not rest until every criminal was behind bars where they belonged.

__________

Alliance: Detective

District: Jeweled Bank

Jeweled Bank is at the heart of Nocturnia with its eastward side touching the river. It is known for its illustrious skyscrapers, all relatively new, mixed with its smaller three-story buildings over seventy years old, marked with brick, stone, and old architectural designs.

Jeweled Bank is most well-known for Verdant Park, its 15-acre greenery, one of the largest parks in the downtown area of Nocturnia. In recent years, a central fountain was installed, dedicated to Commissioner Franchesca.

Among the upscale eateries, lively nightclubs and posh taverns where reservations are usually three months out, there resides Nocturnia Prison, the main prison in Nocturnia. It's is a 87-storey building where the first five stories are dedicated to administering the detective and cop force within the city. The stories above that are all highly secured prison cells. So, its obvious that the higher levels are constructed in plain concrete and steel bars, while the lower levels are make of illustrious glass and stone.

The Nocturnia Prison is where Commissioner Franchesca's office resides.

Faction: Nocturnia Police Force

The police force of Nocturnia is like a pyramid. Cops at the bottom, split up by divisions. One detective leads each division of cops. Those detectives consult with one another on an equal plane. And those detectives report to Commissioner Franchesca. As commissioner she prefers not to interfere too much in detective business, but she certainly provides leads when she has them, and rewards the detectives that perform well. And if she weeds out some corrupt cops along the way, all the better.

__________

Gyft: Twisted Mirror

The ability to create portals into the Mirror Realm, a parallel dimension that runs alongside this dimension. These portals need to be first created, and then shattered to be entered. They are formed along the fabrics of reality, and are difficult to spot until cracked.

When Antonia enters the Mirror realm, she is able to create copies of herself up to twenty times. These copies mimic her moves in almost picture-perfect details, acting like reflections. If she raises her hand, they all raise their hand. if she aims and shoots, they all aim and shoot. Her reflections can be shattered with a single solid punch.

The only way to get out of the Mirror Realm is to cause instability to Antonia. This can be through physical harm or psychological abuse. Once Antonia is unstable, she can no longer maintain the Mirror Realm, and it shatters, returning everyone to reality.

Within Mirror Realm, if you understand it well, you can position yourself in the right place where you can see instances of reality running beside it. Antonia has used this to spy on occasion. However, this does create a ‘window' that the person being spied on can smash if they manage to detect the near-invisible portal, thus exposing Antonia.

Limitations and Weaknesses:

Antonia can only create portals up to twenty feet away from her. These portals can be approximately twelve by twelve feet, but no larger. If they remain unshattered, they cannot teleport anyone within. If someone is disconnected to their attack, like a bullet fired from a gun, the bullet will be teleported into the Mirror Realm, not the attacker. If the attacker punches the mirror portal, then it will teleport them.

Antonia can only have one portal active at a time, smashed or not. However, she is able to bend these portals.

A mirror within the Mirror Realm creates an infinity mirror. If Antonia sees this mirror, she will become transfixed and frozen.

Vincenzo "Vincent" Accardo

Vincenzo “Vincent” Accardo

Boss of the Thorned Roses | 31 | He/him | 6’2 | 161 lbs

Goal: To sow discord among the mafias. To become the most wealthiest mafia out there. To gain control of Nocturnia and make it his. To harness the unknown power source of Nocturnia for personal gain.

Secrets: Is secretly obsessed with the mafia scene in Nocturnia. Is also obsessed with Nocturnia's Gyfts. Prides himself in his collection of exotic Gyfts.

Fears: Having his source of wealth discovered and stolen. Anything happening to his collection of exotic Gyfts.

History: Vincent grew up in the mafia business. It was his ruthlessness and cunning that caused him to become the Consigliere of the Rose Spinose Mafia (Thorned Roses Mafia). A drive-by shooting killed the Don, and as his sworn duty, Vincent took over as Mafia Boss.

Now, Vincent was always fascinated by the “Great City Behind the Wall” - Nocturnia. The media always stressed never getting near the city, saying some media lie about toxins in the air. But Vincent always knew there was something interesting about that city. The gunfire he overheard with his long-range listening devices. The snippets of conversations he gleaned from fuzzy frequencies. The mention of “gyfts”.

It caused Vincent to start intercepting all the correspodence leaving the city. It caused him to come across one particular letter one day, a small bottle attached to it. Let's just say that, after that day, and a few more miraculous events, Vincent left the outside world permanently. He bribed the aid organizations to smuggle him, his men, and his armory into the city. From there, he took control of White Pine and Laterdale. He also corresponded with this mysterious individual, learning more about the truth of Nocturnia. A truth many would kill for…

__________

Alliance: Mafia

District:

White Pine

White Pine is a mid-range downtown filled with offices, businesses, apartments, and art galleries. Most prominent of these skyscraper apartment completed is the Hundred And First, where Vincent's penthouse resides.

White Pine is a bit more pious than other parts of the city, complete with three seperate cathedrals. These cathedrals are well-known and marked for being ‘neutral territory’, where mafia members can come for safety or to negotiate peacefully. Vincent, being a Christian, upholds these safe places.

The Irish Pint is an old tavern that sells craft beer and comfort fare. Little do people know that in the basement and backrooms of this establishment is a highly lucrative drug operation.

Laterdale

Laterdale, a piece of the heart of Nocturnia, is known exceptionally well for its entertainment. Laterdale is filled with theatres, broadway, opera houses, night clubs, bars, and a lively night scene.

Most notably is the Laterdale Jazz Bar, where all classes of society come to mingle in the smoky halls and listen to classy New York-inspired jazz. Among the dreamers the bar attracts, the Laterdale Jazz Bar is no stranger to the mafia scene, where bosses have been seen negotiating deals under the haze and low lights.

The Ruby Casino is also a hot spot for the upper echelon to shmooze. However, unbeknownst to most, in its upper office levels, a drug lab is incredibly active.

Faction: Rose Spinose Mafia (Thorned Roses Mafia)

Having been in the gilded cage that is Nocturnia for only a handful of years, the Thorned Roses Mafia has not had time to develop its reputation. However, they have marked their territory strongly, extorting the businesses and skimming off a protection fee tax from the residents. However, their main money-maker is certainly their illicit new drug that has started to gain popularity in Nocturnia.

The Thorned Rosses Mafia tries to sow discord wherever they go. However, they aren't against making a deal here or there. Blackmail is their bread and butter, and they try to get their hands on all the hot gossip in the city by sending their men on spy missions.

__________

Gyft: Aetheric Mental Manipulation

There are little ions that float through the air in Nocturnia. Completely harmless, except for one who has learned to manipulate them. Vincent has nicknamed this force ‘aether’, and can use it in a highly specialized way: hearing and manipulating thoughts, memories, and the brain.

Aetheric Hearing

Vincent can push his will into the aether around him, causing it to coalesce around one target. The target may begin to feel the air getting heavy, and may feel their hair standing up from the static electricity. Whatever the target would be thinking, he would be able to hear it in most cases. Occasionally there is static. He can only hear from up to twenty feet away.

(A 1d12 dice roll. If his is higher, he will be able to hear scraps of thoughts the victim is thinking. If his is lower, he will hear static. He can try again the next turn.)

Aetheric Dive

This is the true nature of Vincent's ability, and something he prides himself on. He is able to take his aetheric wisps, and sink them into the minds around him. From there, he can read, insert, and remove thoughts and memories. Essentially, the brain becomes his home, and he can fashion it how he likes. He can fashion commands that change the very structure of the brain, rewiring synapses and making the changes near-permanent.

It is possible for a target of his to fight against a thought implanted. However, they first have to recognize that the thought is foreign. This is a difficult thing to do, especially if Vincent inserts thoughts, memories, and commands that seem natural. If a person is prone to eating ice cream, and Vincent commands them to eat ice cream, it is very unlikely they will notice the foreign input, and instead go eat their ice cream.

However, if someone notices a thought is foreign, they can try to resist it. This is an incredibly hard thing to do as they are going against the rewriting Vincent has done to the mind, but can be done with consistent effort and time, typically a few days.

It is due to this that Vincent will often write in a command that will force a person to seek him out, so he can tamper with their mind again and solidify his hold. When he repeats his rewritings, they become stronger, less malleable, and more permanent.

Due to his influence in the mind, there is a sudden surge of chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, which flood the mind when he is done, giving the person almost a high. They'll become very happy for a few hours, before crashing and craving more. This too, can be overcome, though it is a difficult thing, just like any withdrawal and addiction.

(A 1d12 dice roll. If his is higher, he gets into the victim's mind successfully. If his is lower, he suffers mental recoil, unable to retry until two posts pass. An intoxicated mind or traumatized body takes -2 on their dice roll. A person can choose not to roll, meaning they allow Vincent into their mind.)

Limitations and Weaknesses:

If a person is listening to music or is otherwise actively shielding their thoughts with surface nonsense thoughts, like what they want to eat or what groceries they need, he is unable to dive past that in Aetheric Hearing.

If a person electrocutes themselves or him continuously, this will disrupt his influence and he'll be kicked out of a mind (if he is in one). It will also make him unable to enter into or hear a mind.

He can attack or hear multiple targets at a time, but can become quickly overwhelmed with the stimuli and be unable to move.

Ezra Blackheart

Ezra Blackheart

Boss of the Dark Aces Mafia | 35 | He/him | 6’0 | 130 lbs

Goal: To blow away the competition. Terrorize Nocturnia into submission. Show that through fear, Gyfts can be controlled. And if the world fears him, all the better.

Secrets: Is afraid of Gyfts getting out of hand. Is afraid of being bested by another's Gyft, or being unable to control a person's Gyft through fear. Is afraid of having their source of power taken away.

Fears: Being caught in one of their ‘corrective measures’. Being cornered and having to face the consequences of their actions.

History: Ezra's powers made him known as the ‘Midnight Man’ of the Dark Aces. Though he had a fearsome reputation, his mafia was small, and he was constantly shoved from one district to another like a pebble. The wars were too frequent and dangerous, and the men were too a-plenty.

That was when he was stopped in an alley by a man dressed in rags, holding a small vial. The raggedy man had a problem. Because Ezra knew the issue of people with power, specifically people who misused Gyfts. Ezra had been on the receiving end far too long, and the raggedy man could change all that. He only asked for one thing in return.

A way to put an end to Gyfts permenantly.

As time passed, and Ezra's strength grew, he quickly became the torturer and inciter instead of the victim. He was struck with inspiration. Yes, it was so clear. The answer. There was one way to be rid of the insects for good.

Oh, but they would hate it, though.

When the raggedy man heard of Ezra's plans, he was furious, and withdrew. But Ezra was a man on a mission. The product was ready. Now, he just had to time himself right…

Meanwhile, as he waits for the right time, he sees which insects are worth ‘saving’. This has caused him to listen to his victims a bit more instead of squeezing their ribcages until they snap…

__________

Alliance: Mafia

District: Unknown

Ezra has a place all to himself within Nocturnia that has yet to be discovered…

Faction: Dark Aces Mafia

The Dark Aces Mafia prefers dancing around a topic instead of killing someone head on. They have a habit of using homemade devices that ‘solve all their problems’. As their secondary income stream, they sell a lot of these ‘homemade devices’ throughout the city. They also smuggle them out for quick cash.

However, their main income comes from their unknown district, where they inaudible into cash. By this way, they're never strapped for cash. They usually have enough left over to bribe their way into bullying smaller or less-profitable mafias into doing their bidding.

__________

Gyft: Yume

Ezra's Gyft transcended from simple sleight of hand tricks to full on illusions. It's rumored that Ezra's very appearance is a big illusion, but that may just be hearsay. He is able to affect anyone, as many people as are around him. He can affect sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste, as well as pain.

Ezra typically uses his Gyft to entrap someone during negotiations. If he feels the negotiation will go badly, he'll catch them in his Yume so they can't escape. Then he can toy with them as he pleases, unless they are strong-willed enough to see through the illusion. He has used his Gyft during fights to temporarily blind his victims before mowing them down as well. Victims who are under his Yume influence become frozen still, unaware of themselves.

The act of entrapping someone is as simple as someone being within his energy field of about thirty feet. Then, his energies take over that person, suffusing their brain with new energy signals that that the brain interprets flawlessly. Most are completely unaware they are within a Yume unless something odd stands out, like an unlikely circumstance. Ezra is aware of these things, however, and will keep a Yume as normal as possible to avoid suspicion.

He has no limit to how many people he can entrap, as long as they are within his energy field.

Limitations and Weaknesses:

The victim can try to leave the Yume if they notice something out of place, like if their skin is melting or if they're vomiting crows. These would be torture methods that Ezra would use. Then they can roll a 1d12, and if they are higher, they break free of the Yume. Then he is unable to perform another Yume for at least two posts. If they fail, they are unable to escape the Yume for another two posts.

He can only simulate a few conversations at a time before he can no longer catch up, which can tip off his victim that they're in an illusion.

If he physically or mentally traumatizes them, they take -2 on their rolls to escape.

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

@SporkoBug Awesome! I love the sheets. The handmade art is a really nice touch. Webb is good to go, he's approved. As well as Calem, just please mark them as an NPC.

You decided not to take Bazaar?

Quick note on Harriet. The super sonic voice seems a bit out of place, and a little too over-powered. You could change it to echo-location if you wanted to keep something with the voice, or forgo it. What do you think?

---

Please welcome Nocturnia's Commissioner, who will be ensuring her detectives are well-armed to tackle the plethora of villainous entities within the city. ;)

Antonia Franchesca

Antonia Franchesca

Police Commissioner | 30 | She/her | 5’7 | 130 lbs

Goal: To restore order to the crime-infested city that is Nocturnia. She also wants to bring honour to her family's name, which has been dirtied by mafia ties for generations.

Secrets: It's an uphill struggle dealing with bribed cops, but her counter is that, since her instatement as a Commissioner, she has planted moles in each of the significant mafias and criminal organizations.

Fears: Being overrun by crime in Nocturnia. Being unable to protect her dedicated detectives. Being in a position where she's forced to divulge secrets.

History: It's true. It's her tragic backstory - mafia ties. The Franchesca Crime Family had a black hold on Nocturnia for seventy-five years. When she was born as an only child to her father as the crime boss, she was immediately groomed to inherent the Family from him.

However, when she was old enough to understand right from wrong, she refused the title. Her family's response was to exile her in the hopes she would come to her senses. However, it horribly backfired. Not only was she able to provide for herself, she finished her schooling and entered the police academy with flying colors, graduating from cop to detective incredibly quickly.

Her family began to actively hunt her down out of fear, determined to put her six-feet under. However, she had planned for that dark day years in advanced.

Every single significant member of the Franches Crime Family found cops at their door, and mass arrests were made. As each were summoned to the courts, massive files of evidence were laid out, incriminating each. Needless to say, most of the Franchesca Crime Family ended up residing behind bars for a minimum of twenty years. The rest of the family were put on watch, and the crime family disintegrated.

Destroyed seemingly overnight, the applause and limelight for Antonia's success was raucous. The public opinion for Antonia was incredibly favorable, and she was quickly regarded as a hero.

Her career was filled with even more successes after this, as she used unorthodox methods for catching criminal. These included disguising herself as a thug and getting hired as muscle, hoping to overhear snippets. This also included bribing members to plant listening devices in common mafia dwellings. More evidence was gathered, and other big-time mafia organizations collapsed under her watchful eyes. Some of her secret methods were certainly illegal… but no one cared as long as she got results.

When the previous Commissioner retired, the public demanded- no, begged for Antonia to be instated as the new Commissioner. The administration had no problem with this, and Antonia soon found herself in charge of the detectives she herself used to be.

Her speech as she took the title was heart-felt, as she vowed to put an end to crime in Nocturnia and make the streets safe again, for the innocent men and women, and for the children. She would not rest until every criminal was behind bars where they belonged.

__________

Alliance: Detective

District: Jeweled Bank

Jeweled Bank is at the heart of Nocturnia with its eastward side touching the river. It is known for its illustrious skyscrapers, all relatively new, mixed with its smaller three-story buildings over seventy years old, marked with brick, stone, and old architectural designs.

Jeweled Bank is most well-known for Verdant Park, its 15-acre greenery, one of the largest parks in the downtown area of Nocturnia. In recent years, a central fountain was installed, dedicated to Commissioner Franchesca.

Among the upscale eateries, lively nightclubs and posh taverns where reservations are usually three months out, there resides Nocturnia Prison, the main prison in Nocturnia. It's is a 87-storey building where the first five stories are dedicated to administering the detective and cop force within the city. The stories above that are all highly secured prison cells. So, its obvious that the higher levels are constructed in plain concrete and steel bars, while the lower levels are make of illustrious glass and stone.

The Nocturnia Prison is where Commissioner Franchesca's office resides.

Faction: Nocturnia Police Force

The police force of Nocturnia is like a pyramid. Cops at the bottom, split up by divisions. One detective leads each division of cops. Those detectives consult with one another on an equal plane. And those detectives report to Commissioner Franchesca. As commissioner she prefers not to interfere too much in detective business, but she certainly provides leads when she has them, and rewards the detectives that perform well. And if she weeds out some corrupt cops along the way, all the better.

__________

Gyft: Twisted Mirror

The ability to create portals into the Mirror Realm, a parallel dimension that runs alongside this dimension. These portals need to be first created, and then shattered to be entered. They are formed along the fabrics of reality, and are difficult to spot until cracked.

When Antonia enters the Mirror realm, she is able to create copies of herself up to twenty times. These copies mimic her moves in almost picture-perfect details, acting like reflections. If she raises her hand, they all raise their hand. if she aims and shoots, they all aim and shoot. Her reflections can be shattered with a single solid punch.

The only way to get out of the Mirror Realm is to cause instability to Antonia. This can be through physical harm or psychological abuse. Once Antonia is unstable, she can no longer maintain the Mirror Realm, and it shatters, returning everyone to reality.

Within Mirror Realm, if you understand it well, you can position yourself in the right place where you can see instances of reality running beside it. Antonia has used this to spy on occasion. However, this does create a ‘window' that the person being spied on can smash if they manage to detect the near-invisible portal, thus exposing Antonia.

Limitations and Weaknesses:

Antonia can only create portals up to twenty feet away from her. These portals can be approximately twelve by twelve feet, but no larger. If they remain unshattered, they cannot teleport anyone within. If someone is disconnected to their attack, like a bullet fired from a gun, the bullet will be teleported into the Mirror Realm, not the attacker. If the attacker punches the mirror portal, then it will teleport them.

Antonia can only have one portal active at a time, smashed or not. However, she is able to bend these portals.

A mirror within the Mirror Realm creates an infinity mirror. If Antonia sees this mirror, she will become transfixed and frozen.

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

Aweeeeesome.

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

@LanaStorm Sounds good! Given those considerations, you'll be free to add her to the character tab once they're added. :)

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

@LanaStorm Emily looks great, I really like her. The concept of a dirty cop and the Blue Bloods is great.

After some consideration, I would like to give you Gold Rim. It gives you space to expand as it's not too populated over there yet.

There's only a couple things I would add to Emily's power. I'd like to add a 12-sided dice roll whenever she uses her voice on a player. If she rolls higher, she succeeds in bending their will, within reason. If she rolls lower, it doesn't work, but she can try again the next turn. And inebriating her victim will cause them to lose -2 on their dice roll.

Does that sound alright? :)

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

I'm taking Hamlet and Bazaar! At least to start with ;)

I checked the area, and because there are no three Poor districts in the Hamlet area, I approved one Poor and one Comfortable. :)

Nocturnal Memoirs: An Urban-Fantasy Mafia Epic

Got my eye on Jeweled Bank, Newpoint, and Oliverfields. :)

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

Got a bit of friendly sparing up! I've left Wren in the lab to recover. :)