Hellion

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Legacy of Heroes: The New Age

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Cypher | Tessia Salinas

Full Name: Tessia “Tess” Salinas

Age: 19

Species: Human

Gender: F

Appearance: Standing at just under five feet, Tess doesn’t mind the fact that her smaller, petite stature keeps her hidden in plain sight which compliments her introverted nature. And being rather on the androgynous side, she leans toward gender neutral and simple wardrobes, especially those that don’t draw unwanted attention. She keeps her dark hair short most of the time, shaved down to the skin on one side, and a few ear piercings.

Equipment and Personal Belongings: For the most part, Tess has nothing other than the clothes on her back, as most of her needs are taken care of through the program she is a part of.

Physical Abilities: Tess has always had a natural gift to figure things out,, whether it is putting together a complex model with small, intricate parts, or even calculating risk in a game of strategy. Combat abilities are mostly basic self-defense techniques, something trained as a requirement while residing in the facility.

Superpowers: Technomancy (shadowjack) - ability to understand and manipulate/hack electronic technology through clever use of telepathic connects and obfuscation. With regard to general electronic devices, it allows the user to tap into the unit and “speak” to it to an extent, so on a simple scale, a microwave could be remotely hijacked.

Those devices, however, that are networked or connected to the internet, can be quite tricky and require a greater level of mental focus in order to “travel” through cyberspace. A user can easily get lost as well, their mind jacked into the framework for so long that it can take hours or days to come back.

Limitations: Like any telepathic ability, usage can be extremely mentally & physically draining depending on the level of challenge while interfacing with a particular electronic or computer system. There is even a chance that her mind could be locked into a system, while her body remains in a dormant state, which could prove fatal if left unchecked for too long.

Personality: A borderline introvert, for the most part, Tessia is quite friendly and outgoing to those she knows, and rather suspicious and close-minded to just about everyone else. Her relationship to technology and the like, however, seems to surpass any human connection, as her comfort level is always highest when surrounded by programming language and the warmth of a motherboard.

Place of Origin: Born and raised in South Boston to working-class parents in a low income part of the city, she was uprooted and the family moved to Kansas City due to work relocation. Otherwise, her upbringing was fairly normal, all things considered.

Background:Tess was an only child, which meant when her parents weren't up in her business, she spent a lot of time alone. But, as a tinkerer at heart, it was time well-spent, becoming interested in computers, electronics, and essentially how things went together. But even moreso, how they came apart and what was inside that made them tick. Time online helped to teach her just about anything, especially as she dove headfirst into the world of hacking. Sure, it wasn't all glamorous like the movies depicted, but to a girl who loved to explore, the internet was a sea of untapped playgrounds.

For the most part, Tessia Salinas was a typical introvert hailing from one bustling city on the East Coast, and moving to another a lot more lowkey than she’d expected, but also accepted. Kansas City was nothing like Boston, but it would have to do for now. While her family didn’t have much, they worked hard, both parents holding down jobs at “KC Tech” in the company’s industrial sector, assembling computer parts for military distribution. Their long hours had Tess home by herself most of the time, which was a blessing and a curse, especially for a latchkey kid.

Small hints of a power that had not yet surfaced peeked in and out of the young girl’s life. Faint unknown digitized voices, distorted and scrambled, were heard every-so-often as though calling out to her. Remnants of vibrations and electrical currents ran through her nervous system, but were simply shrugged off as “the chills”. It was only later in life that the build-up couldn’t hide any longer.

At nineteen years old -months after the explosion which rocked the world- the inherent hidden supernatural abilities that slept deep within her psyche since birth began to manifest. Perhaps she was a late bloomer, or this was normal for someone like her, but it triggered without warning. As she sat in her bedroom mindlessly trudging through a first-person shooter, the initial wave of a strange yet familiar telepathic connection came, fusing her senses with that of the gaming console. Digitized voices, binary waves, electronic pulses, cryptic code, and holographic images surfaced as though an imaginary “heads-up display” had appeared before her. Tess had no idea what to do, and was unable to essentially shut it off, and the mental exhaustion became too much, too soon. She cowered in the corner, her mind continuing to reveal more of this unknown world, lights flickered, the television fizzled out, and as the power within her grew, there began an incessant exchange of cryptic information that she couldn't quiet, as though every piece of technology within a small radius was reaching out to her like a beacon.

Eventually the sound of her own cries echoed from the bedroom, and both parents rushed in to see their daughter curled up in a dark corner, shaking her head and confused, while electrical devices in their house -as well as surrounding homes- behaved erratically. They were at a loss, But what could her parents have done? What could anyone have done? Tess did her best to explain the situation to her parents, however the magnitude of the events were simply too much for them to comprehend. That mixed with the media firestorms of "meta-humans" and "strange happenings", it wasn't long before they had to make a choice.

Seek professional help.

But the "help" offered by these government-run facilities came with a price. Through extensive -and somewhat invasive- testing sessions, they essentially knew what the girl was capable of, but as things usually went, wanted to know more. It wasn't enough to be able to communicate with the inner working of simple electronic devices, but rather to interface with networked systems and even the internet. Tessia's powers were put to the test, first "jacking" into a localized and controlled mainframe to travel around from computer-to-computer, learning to navigate while simultaneously keeping herself transparent to security protocols. The journey in and of itself was draining enough on her, but it didn't stop there, as gateways into the internet and outside sources were opened, which allowed the girl to travel into places a hacker would only dream. But, even then, these short trips, interfacing with unstable processes and systems, being kicked from servers, and a myriad of other ordeals, became extremely taxing on her physically, mentally, and emotionally to the point that she eventually blacked out from damage to her nervous system.

And so what was to be considered a "72 hour hold" turned into countless weeks of living, studying, and recovering under the strict supervision of top scientists and researchers in a facility just outside of Kansas City. No outside interference. Of course, to keep the parents satiated in the interim, substantial government compensation was given in the form of "hush money".

Tessia Salinas was now property, and given the handle of "Cypher" moving forward.

Legacy of Heroes: The New Age

Personally, I like the power as it stands and while I do wonder as to how it may be used down the line or how it may be expanded upon, I think it would be a unique addition to our already broad cast of characters.

@Alfhedil

I basically thought of The Matrix (or even the book, Neuromancer) while going through the descriptions myself. Just as a telepath can travel through the mind of a species, this ability allows for travel through the electronics (on a small level) and networks on a larger scale. They also sees themselves as a binary avatar while "traveling", in first person perspective, their hands would be a series of zeros and ones.

For practical application, say my character was tasked with disabling a security system in a building. Depending on the size of the building, the extent of security, firewalls, etc...this task may take a few minutes or a few hours, but would be extremely taxing mentally & physically (a huge limitation).

For all intends an purposes, they are a hacker first and foremost with a lot of knowledge therein, but also, their ability allows them to essentially "step into" a computer system/network and communicate, uncovering and retrieving information that may otherwise be difficult for the average (non-superpowered) hacker.

In any case, I'll submit the full CS in a day or two and we can go from there :)

D&D 3.5e - The Marches of the Savage Realm

“Thavaal”. The woman cursed under her breath, watching as yet another group of rats -displaced by the reckless actions of the soldier- scurried out of hiding and attacked. The initial attack, an arrow from the Wild Elf, whizzed by at lightning speed, only to miss its mark.

“Goli lemna ah’le kae...”. She signed, running forward to catch up to where the fight took place and momentarily gazing towards the heavens as though to apologize to Kavaki and Manethak for such behavior from ignorant companions, before turning her attention to the oncoming threats, as the towering Goliath focuses her attack on one of the rats attacking the human, Quentin.

We reap what we sow…

Effects against dire rat

Attack = 8
Damage = 17

Legacy of Heroes: The New Age

I do believe one of my co GMs has messaged Hellion about it.

@JessieTargaryen

@Alfhedil sent me a PM inviting me to the discord but nothing regarding the superpower I posted, so yes, please advise if it is acceptable.

Here's an updated version:

Technomancy (aka "shadowjack") - Technomancy (shadowjack) - ability to understand and manipulate/hack electronic technology through clever use of telepathic connects and obfuscation. With regard to general electronic devices, it allows the user to tap into the unit and “speak” to it to an extent, so a microwave for instance could be remotely hijacked.

Those devices, however, that are networked or connected to the internet, can be quite tricky and require a greater level of mental focus in order to “travel” through cyberspace. A user can easily get lost as well, their mind jacked into the framework for so long that it can take hours or days to come back.

I'm still working on a sheet.

Like Creator, Like Character.

A 5th Generation Toreador that goes by the name of Eva.

@Ruby

I know that Toreador...

As for me, every character I've created share a few of my traits, but I think one of the closest would have to be a character I made for a high school slice-of-life. They were quite introverted and generally absorbed in their creative endeavors, and picky about a lot of things, especially those they associated with.

Legacy of Heroes: The New Age

Interested

I have an idea for a character with the following ability, but wanted to run it passed you first:

Technomancy (aka "shadowjack") - ability to understand and manipulate/hack low level tech through clever use of telepathic connect and illusion. As skill grows, so does the level of anonymity while interfacing with said tech.

Their telepathic ability essentially only connects to electronics, not human minds.

The Perfect Li[f]e (Zitacamron95 & Hellion)

Their face lit up with excitement when Olivia mentioned giving them a ride later that day. "Of course I can help you!" Joss exclaimed, just about loud enough to make a few heads turn from other tables across the dining area. "I mean, it has been forever since we actually got to hang out, so I have no problem with that."

In their overly enthusiastic moment, something was off just a bit. "Wait, um, what time do you need a ride tonight?" They remembered that they had to be at Sonny's down on Twenty-third at eleven, but there's no way that Olivia would need a ride that late. Was there? The Italian restaurant Joss had to stop off at was only about fifteen minutes away so it wouldn't be a big deal either way. "You know what, we can make it work. I'm here for you, Liv, you know this." The Driver smiled, reaching across the table hoping to hold the hand of her friend. A friend they liked for a long time but wasn't up-front enough to tell her how they really felt about her.

Joss wanted something more, but also, didn't want to rush it.

Post a random fact about yourself.

@Gunther, those are the worst no matter the frequency. I tend to get them once every two weeks it seems. I used to get them more frequently years ago, but I think it was due to my posture while sitting and working at a computer or drawing.

I've since gotten better with consistent Yoga, stretches, and regular exercise, but when they do come, they come on hard and I pretty much want to die for that day.

Musings n' Dreams

But I was busy.
Just not in the way
most would understand.

I was busy taking deeper breaths.
I was busy silencing irrational thoughts.
I was busy calming a racing heart.
I was busy telling myself I was okay.

Sometimes this is my "busy",
and I will not apologize for it.