Lucius Cypher

Keratia: Blade Maiden’s Exploits

As you sneak towards the shadows, you could make out a vague shape. It was standing on it's hind legs, looking around the corner of a barrel waiting for you, not suspecting that you are in fact watching it. As you peer closer into the crevice of the boxes it was using as cover, you'd realize that it was no mouse, but something more unique. It was a pixie, but one with a notable damaged wing, carefully looking for any danger. She had a small splinter strapped to her delicate belt which she must be using a sword considering she also has a tiny string wrapped around an end like a handle. If you moved quickly you might be able to capture her instantly, or strike her. Or just surprise her.

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

Sorry for such a short response considering I haven't posted in so long. Holidays ya know? Also happy new years! Got a gift for ya once the day day rolls in.

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

"By choice."

The oracle's answer was short and painfully vague. It barely even glowed as it answered your question and once more you were left sitting in silence. If you'd try to ask any more questions, you'd simply be left with no response. It'll give you a lot to think about for tonight.

In The End (Code Vein RP)

"In the face of certain death, we rise."

You are in the lands now known only as Vein. A corrupted world of days now past. Monstrous creatures roam this realm known as Lost, bloodthirsty beasts who will stop at nothing to kill you to feed their endless hunger. Not even death can stop them. For each time a Lost is slain, it will return sooner or later, just as vicious and starving as it was before. Opposing the Lost are humanity's last defenders, Revenants. Humans who have taken on an alien parasite that allows them increased physical abilities which allow them to face the Lost, even returning from death. However this strength comes at a price: Human Blood. Should a Revenant fail to feed, or succumb to the cursed Myst that permeates the land, they too shall join the ranks of the Lost and terrorize what little life is left.

It is a fight for one's survival. Between the heartless Lost seeking total annihilation, factions of Revenants who won't hesitate to sacrifice others for their own gain, and other mysterious threats far beyond the scope of a single being, life in the Vein can seem bleak. But recently, there has been rumors. The Gael which had once kept both Revenants and Lost sealed within the Vein has broken. Though the cursed Myst still lurks, and many lost still roam, now there is a chance for Revenants to leave these cursed lands and find something else. Something new.

Hope.

Rules
1. Standard guild rules apply here. Though Code Vein is full of lewd ladies and hot dudes, keep everything PG-13. Additionally while blood and brutal deaths are part and parcel of the game and it's inspiration, let's keep violence short of gruesome. People and monsters die, no need to spell out just where and how one's sword enters an orifice and leaves another.
2. Secondary standard rule: My word is law. Some things won't make sense because I am specifically going against what is canon or normal. Often time these things will occur retroactively aka I make it up on the spot. If that bothers you, consider holding off an application.
3. This shouldn't have to be said but I will anyways: please don't make yourself OP. I know Code Vein is chuuni as fuck and with that comes the typical OP cool shit we all want. That being said, keep it fair. Taking on hordes of lost isn't impossible, but if your tactic is "walk into the crowd sword swinging", you'll soon learn about how resurrection works in this RP. If PvP happens, I will be especially harsh on actions I consider OP or Godmodding. If you're afraid of what is stepping over the line, consult me or don't do it. Not knowing what is or isn't OP will not save you from my ire.
4. More rules and stuff to apply as I see fit.

Meta Info
If you're here, I probably invited you to join because I like you, you know the verse, or some combination of both. For those who do and don't know much about Code Vein and it's universe, here are some important meta information to keep in mind. Do note I say meta information because your characters may or may not know this information.

1. The events of this RP takes place after the true ending of Code Vein, about a week. Information about what the heroes of the video game have done have not yet reached all of the Revenants, especially due to the aftermath of the only government in the area. If you know the verse, you know what I mean. If you don't, don't worry about it.

2. The next spoilers a major development in Code Vein. Those who know may read at their own discretion, those who don't will either be confused or be spoiled about some important developments in the video game. You've been warned.

Spoiler

The Aragami and the God Eaters do exist in this RP, however they likely won't have any plot relevance until much later. You certainly cannot play as a God Eater or anyone related to them directly. I say this mainly because I don't know shit about God Eater beyond the fact that Code Vein apparently shares the same verse. Most of your opponents will be Lost, both lesser and greater, as well as other Revenants, but if I bother to figure out just what an Aragami is maybe I'll sick one on you. No promises.

3. While possible in the video game, in this RP you cannot teleport to other mistle via mistle. While mistle still do serve as save points for the purpose of recovering health, Ichor, Regeneration, etc, if you wanna go anywhere you just gotta go there one step at a time. Some mistle are capable of teleportation, however these are the exception.

4. Frenzy and Blood Beads will play more of a role in this RP. In short, Frenzy occurs when you either haven't fed in a while, been exposed to the Myst, or have died too often. How much is too often can vary, but suffice to say just don't make it into a habit of dying. When you are close to Frenzy, you are statically stronger, however your ability to use your Gifts, whether passive or active, becomes more difficult. At some point you become little more than a mad beast capable of nothing but attacking, at which point you are a Lost. Blood Beads can help alleviate issues of Frenzy, or alternatively human blood. However once you go Lost, no amount of Blood Beads or Human Blood will ever allow you to return to normal.

5. Those who played the games will already know this, but for those who don't, here are some terms you should familiarize yourself with:

Terms and Stuff

Ichor - This is basically your Mana. All of your unique abilities and the strong attacks for Bayonets and Guns utilize Ichor. Some Blood Codes will have a naturally high amount of Ichor compared to others. When you run out of Ichor you can't use any of your abilities beyond your normal attacks, however there are ways to regain Ichor. Aside from items, you can gain ichor simply by attacking your foes, drawing their blood to refuel your Ichor. You can also use Drain Attacks, which vary on your Blood Veil, to do a burst of damage and drain a large amount of Ichor from your opponent.

Haze - The currency used in the Veil. Haze is crystallized fragments often found after slaying Lost or Revenants, with some lost dropping a large quantity or large sized crystal. Haze can be used at Mistils to strength a Revenant, making them subtly hardier and stronger as they consume more Haze. Haze can also be traded with merchants who can then take them to specialist who can use Haze as raw materials to make goods that otherwise would be impossible to get due to most forms of industrialization being destroyed. Be careful however: when you die, you also drop Haze, namely all the Haze you have on your person. For some reason or another they do not come with you upon Dispersal, so you have to backtrack and retrieve your Haze before someone else grabs it.

Dispersal - The general term for a Revenant "dying". When a Revenant receives a mortal blow they do not leave a corpse. Instead their body breaks down into a dust-like substance and disperses, reappearing at the last Mistle they had rested at. However not all Revenant disperses: it's possible to permanently kill a Revenant by aiming for their hearts and destroying it. As the parasites that grant Revenants their immortality rests in the heart, destroying the heart destroys the parasite, causing the Revenant to turn to ash and become unable to resurrect. It is possible to Disperse without harming yourself or losing any of your Haze by using a drug called Vivifer. It temporarily causes your body to Disperse without killing you. Alternatively if you do need to Disperse and aren't afraid of losing your Haze, you can just kill yourself.

Queen - For some, the Queen is little more than a vague boogeywoman of the past. For others, the Queen is a harsh reminder of why life in the Vein is so terrible. Regardless of who you are, the Queen was a powerful Revenant who created the Lost, and took a large army of Revenants to defeat. Though she was slain so long ago, the chaos she created still affects people to this day, such as the Lost who roam the lands, or the ruins left behind from her spikes. But it was also thanks to the Queen and the research around her that many Revenants today are able to have a fighting chance, whether due to the masks they wear, weapons they wield, or simply the lives they live.

Queen Iron/Steel/Titanium/Tungsten - A special mineral developed with help from the Queen. It contains a small amount of the Queen's blood and sheds a pale light after absorbing revenants or lost blood. Patterns etched with that light can be used to greatly enhance equipment. The only laboratory that could create this material was destroyed in Operation Queenslayer, and the method to manufacture it has been lost. As normal man-made metals aren't strong enough to withstand the strength of Lost, nor hard enough to break through a Lost's monstrously tough flesh, metals made with Queen's Blood is needed to create weapons capable of fighting the Lost. It's possible to find scraps after slaying the Lost or by scavenging the ruins.

Masks - The Myst that lurks through the Vein is capable of making any Revenant who inhales it go into a Frenzy, and so masks have been made to help Revenants navigate the ruins. As long as the Myst isn't too thick, the masks will allow Revenants to traverse through the Myst without any issue. Mistle and Blood Springs naturally filter the Myst out of the air, allowing Revenants to be in those areas without their masks. Lost are not affected by Myst, and in fact seem to be stronger in places with a higher concentration.

Status Ailments and Elements - In Code Vein, there's more than one way to kill a Lost than just to bash their heads with a weapon. Status Ailments and Elemental Damage can also damage the enemy, sometimes by a lot or not at all. Conversely, many enemies will also utilize specific elements and status ailments against you, so best to well versed in both.

Status Ailments

Due to the nature of both Lost and Revenants, it usually takes either a large dosage or multiple applications of an attack in order to truly affect someone with a Status Ailment. A single poisoned dagger won't be enough to actually poison your foe unless it was practically made of a frozen sharp of poison dipped in poison after you've poisoned your target. But once you do trigger the ailment, they can be very effective against your foe.

Venom - Your basic poison effect. Does a lot of damage over time.

Stun - Causes your target to be paralyzed for a few seconds. Though it has a very short duration, in that time you can lay down a lot of damage or back off to recover.

Inhibit - Weakens the enemy's attack power and ability to Drain Ichor from foes. Even greater Lost can be careless and unleash their strongest attacks with reckless abandon, and once Inhibited even the mightest of monsters would be reduced to panicked flailing.

Slow - Makes the enemy's movements and attacks sluggish for a while. While it doesn't stop enemies in their tracks like Stun, it often lasts longer and isn't nearly as resisted.

Leak - Depletes the target's Ichor. Both Lost and Revenants need Ichor to fuel their stronger attacks, and without it they're left with only their basic strikes and maneuvers.

Elements

Unlike standard ailments, Elemental Damage does damage alongside a somewhat minor effect. However unlike ailments, many greater lost are fairly resistant, though some may have a specific weakness for an element. Always study your opponent so you know what element will work best.

Blood - Blood is so important in the Vein one could say everything is borne in Blood. Regardless, Blood Element damage is highly effective for draining Ichor from the enemy, causing them to bleed more to feed your own strength.

Fire - The bread and butter burning damage. Foes who are adapted to colder environments will take more damage from the intense heat brought about by fire elemental attacks, and even those who aren't born in the cold can still burn. Fire damage is great if you just need to do more damage on top of the damage you're already doing.

Ice - Where there is warmth there is cold, and so there is Ice. While it's generally thought that fire would be Ice, sometimes the sheer cold can douse a flame as well. Even if your enemy is not particularly fire inclined, ice damage can still do massive damage against them by freezing their armor and shattering their defenses, making them easier to finish off.

Lightning - Shock and awe, thunder and lightning, very very frightening. Indeed lightning damage is highly effective at debilitating the enemy's energy, sapping their stamina and energy to fight back.

Character Creation
Some info you should know for character creation:
1. Everyone will start off with basic weapons. You can choose two of these following weapons: Queenslayer Blade, Pipe of Thralldom, Queenslayer Greatsword, Heavy Axe, Hammer of Thralldom, Queenslayer Hammer, Bardiche, Queenslayer Halberd, Queenslayer Bayonet, and Bayonet.

In addition to the above weapons, I have added two new categories of weapons you can choose from: Shields and Guns.

Shields are hefty, short range, and generally low damage, however they have excellent defensive properties, strike fairly quickly, and have a decent amount of impact, making them excellent weapons in tight spaces to stun heftier foes.

Guns differ from Bayonet guns in that these are small enough to be used with one hand and lack dedicated melee ability. They do very low damage and little to no impact but they can constantly be used at range and have a high rate of fire, excellent for racking up status ailments.

The following is added as an option for one of your two starter weapons: Heavy Shield and Light Automatic.

Additionally, in this RP Revenants are capable of Dual Wielding. When using a Sword, Gun, or combination of the two, you can wield both weapons at once, increasing your attack power but making it less effective to brace your weapons to block attacks. A Shield can also be wielded alongside a Sword, Gun, Bayonet, Halberd, or another Shield. Greatswords, Hammers, and Axes use two-hands by default.

2. Since you'll likely be stealing someone's face for your appearance, feel free to make up your own Blood Veil, aka your armor. Being a Revenant you're already supernaturally resilient compared to a human, so most armor aren't needed to protect you so much as they're there to provide you additional powers.

For simplicity sake, your Blood Veil will fall under the following categories: Light, Medium, Heavy. Light has low defense but high mobility, Heavy has low mobility but high defense, Medium is the average of the two. Additionally your Blood Veil will have a type: Ogre, Stinger, Hound, or Ivy. These are special attacks you can do via your Blood Veil that can drain a lot of Ichor from your enemies, which you need to use your Gifts.

Ogre types can create a massive claw to slash at the enemy, making them fast but short range. Stinger creatures a long spear-tipped tail which allows you to impale multiple foes from afar, though it needs some time to build momentum. Hounds create two wolf heads attached to your armor which lash out and bite the enemy, making them very powerful but difficult to aim due to their range and slow speed. Ivy shoots tendrils into the ground that allows them to shoot out thorns in a large area of effective, even guiding them to attack enemies from afar, though compared to other types they're rather weak.

3. Everyone must play a Revenant, and by being a Revenant that also means you have a Blood Code. Your Blood Code is basically your class, and some Blood Codes have unique abilities (called Gifts), stats, and functions different from others. Everyone makes their own Blood Code, but I will allow you to make Gifts that are similar to the ones in the games. That being said do try to be fair and balanced about this. Don't make a Blood Code that's basically Hades or Queen off the bat.

4. Everyone has a default healing ability colloquially called Regeneration. You start off with 3 uses of Regeneration after you rest at a Mistle. Using Regeneration restores some, but not a lot of your health back, useful to patch up from a nasty blow. Multiple uses of Regeneration will be needed if you're critically wounded. Additional uses of Regeneration, means of increasing it's potency, and other healing items can be found later as the RP progresses. Additionally, everyone also comes with the default ability called Restorative Offering. Basically you lose a certain amount of your own health to heal someone else. While you can never kill yourself using this ability, the less health you have the less effective this is, obviously.

5. Due to the nature of being a Revenant, feel free to look like whatever you want. As long as it only has two legs, two arms, a body, and one head, go for it. Additional appendages like wings, tails, fangs, claws, ears, horns, etc often can and do appear on Revenant, though they provide no functional bonus. Some may even consider them an annoyance since they can't really be meaningfully useful (Aka no flying or having extra arms to hold more weapons, cheeky plucks).

Character Sheet

Appearance: (Code Vein is Chuuni as fuck, and thus your picture ought to be anime.)
Name: (Due to the questionable geography of Code Vein, feel free to name yourself however you like. Heck you might be one of those Revenants who don't remember their own name and thus made one up for themselves.)
Age: (By default most Revenants are at least 20+ years old, with the oldest of Revenants going past 100. As Revenants don't physically age, just put in what your approximate age is when you first became a Revenant.)
Blood Code: (Please add a name and a general description of what your Blood Code specialty is. I won't ask you to put stats such as strength, mobility, and other stuff to this, but be descriptive. Just being "strong" and/or "weak" is not enough.)
Gifts: (You start with two unique Gifts. Passive gifts are always active and decently useful, such as a health boost, stamina boost, draining more Ichor per attack, etc. Active Gifts are things like special attacks or spells which buff, heals, etc.)
Gear: (Your two weapons of choice and your Blood Veil. You'll later gain access to stronger, custom weapons, as well as consumables and other nifty stuff.)
Memories: (Basically your backstory/personality. Feel free to enter whatever you want here, or perhaps nothing at all. Just know that whatever your past, it should at some point end with you being taken as a thrall by a powerful group of Revenants, where our story starts.)
Other: (Other stuff, like what your like or dislike, quirks, theme song, or talents not directly related to your blood code. Maybe you make bomb-ass jelly doughnuts or something.)

Overlord: Momento Mori

@Rockin Strings

Last I spoke with my Irish, we're good to do a lil back-and-forth between Gromgard and Mamoru. Just so you know, Mamoru wants to keep exploring the forest. I'm sure your goblins are more than capable of sending our new guests to the Chateau.

Overlord: Momento Mori

Mamoru stepped forward towards the wounded man, her hands folded neatly in front of her. Her expression however had no hint of pity or remorse, not even disgust from the man’s own emissions. When he asked her a question, Mamoru simply reached out and grabbed him by the neck. “I will be asking the questions here. Who are you, and the rest of these masked men, and where do you come from?” Despite only using only one hand and being of fairly lithe frame, Mamoru had no issues lifting this man up with one arm. “Speak quickly. You’ve harmed a comrade of mine and I have no patience for fools and fanatics.”

The cultist struggled against Mamoru’s grip, his hands desperately trying to get her’s off of his neck. There was a part of him that wanted to reach for the dagger on his belt, but he had the faintest feeling that would get his neck snapped. Quickly. He couldn’t even move his legs from either the shock to his system, or the fact that he might now be a parapalegic. ”I-I’ll tell you anything you want! Just don’t kill me! W-We’re followers of Ditronius...and we were looking for random drifters. People nobody would miss. I-I’m from Gronbell,” he would say, desperate to just not die in this moment.

Followers if Ditronius? Not a name that was familiar to Mamoru. Some sort of local deity perhaps? This truly wasn’t Yggdrasil. This got her very excited: she was practically exploring uncharted territory! However she could not reveal her excitement to the cultist. She was the Maiden of Steel right now, as cold and rigid as the executioner’s blade.

“I am not from these lands. Those names mean nothing to me. Listen well, scum. You live for as long as you are useful to me. Where are the rest of these cultists, what do they intend to do with these drifters, and where is Gronbell?” As a show of intimidation in case this man’s loyalty proved greater than the fear of his life, suddenly he and Mamoru would appear at the top of the tallest tree nearby. This time Mamoru held him below her, allowing the moon to illuminate her face as he would notice how previously high he was. Even if he had functional legs, a drop from this height will be a painful death.

The man would scream as he was suddenly atop the tallest tree, flailing about a bit. ”A-Alright, I said I’d tell you everything! Just don’t drop me!” he would say, physically trembling before he would continue. ”W-We’re making sacrifices to Ditronus...so we find random country travelers. I-In cities, we use the homeless instead. Our faith is...is all over, in secret corners. Nobody knows where the head church is though, I swear! You can ask any of my friends down there! A-And um...Gronbell is Southwest of here. About sixty miles…”

The cultist began trembling again, considering the possibility that now, Mamoru could use his home as collateral.

“Where are these sacrifices taking place? Vile scum, I’ve half a mind to sacrifice you to my creator myself. Pray to whatever god shall listen that the only thing that saved you is your weakness.” The more she heard this man speak the more Mamoru’s anger build. To exploit the weak and attack the innocent. Even when she was but a minion under her master’s command, they had always sought to hunt greater beast than themselves. They did not pointlessly slaughter the weak even for their own gain. Yet these cultist do so in reverence of a god. He probably doesn’t even get offered fine food and drink. “My patience, much like my grip, grows tired. Speak quickly now.”

”WE TAKE THEM IN THE WOODS AND DO IT! OKAY?” The cultist would shout, holding onto Mamoru’s hand to try and not get dropped.

Not even a dedicated grounds for these sacrifices? Barely even a cult. At this point Mamoru had enough of this man and quickly crushed his throat. A swift death as she descends back to the ground. As she did so she made sure to loot any items on this man, including his mask and weapons, using his own shirt to cover his face and bind his hands behind his back. Then Mamoru stabbed a Phoenix Feather into his chest. A low level revival item, as long as the target has died within one minute, it would restore them back to life with approximately 8% of their health. It also had the secondary benefits of healing wounds and toxins, so when this man would come to he would find his spine no longer broken and capable of walking. But he would have other problems by that point.

Around this time the goblins showed up, knocking the man out and questioning what they should do with him. Perhaps he could still be useful. Turning to the goblins Mamoru’s expression softened. “Take this one back to your master and let him know we have three prisoners to question. In fact, let us go together, there is much I need to speak to him about which will be important for our lord.” Once the goblins had the cultist secured Mamoru would escort them back to Gromgard.

“Greetings Gromgard. I apologize for my tardiness. I was caught in a conversation with our new guest here. He’s told me quite a few things of interest. Things which may keep us in these woods for a short while longer. Care to listen?”

@Rockin Strings

---

Meanwhile, the Mamoru clone had been looking for Rodias. She had taken careful precaution to avoid directly seeing or being seen by her fellow Chapter masters: they’d surely question the clone about why she wasn’t doing the task that Rodias had assigned them, and she didn’t want to tell them she was actually a copy made specifically to watch over him. Mamoru had no intentions of sharing this sacred duty with anyone else while the real copy had to go do some menial task. Plus, even though she was a clone, she had the originals own memories, thoughts, and feelings. She felt a certain dogged loyalty to Rodias now that she was without her Creator, but at the same time Mamoru wanted to understand. Understand what made the Creators so great. What Mamoru had to do to stand alongside the likes of her Creator as an equal, not and underling.

It was the combined emotions of wanting to protect and serve her master, while also getting stronger. Lazy as she can be, Mamoru still wants to be strong so she can afford to relax instead of constantly worried about the life and wellbeing of herself and her loved ones. She’s always had the Chateau’s walls and the Creators to protect her before, but now it was truly time for Mamoru to learn how to defend herself. And to that end, once she found Rodias she would follow him in silence and from a distance. She didn’t have many skills in stealth, but her sheer agility would hopefully make up for what she lacks in specific skills. It was here that Mamoru showed her restraint as she would follow Rodias to places like Flan’s kitchen and Oz’s forge, and refrain from trying to swipe any snacks or gawk at the constructs and creations. Mamoru had a job to do after all.

Keratia: Blade Maiden’s Exploits

Nito. Roll perception please.

Overlord: Momento Mori

@The Irish Tree

Gdoc will suffice. Send me a link when you’re ready.

Overlord: Momento Mori

@The Irish Tree

Could we do a lil Collab between Mamoru and the cultist? I don’t imagine it should be long depending on how quickly Mamoru can convince the cultist to start talking.

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

"Yeah... I know. Old habits die hard I suppose." Pylia laughed weakly. "I know you'll help if I ask. Really, I should. I just... Ah, here I am making up excuses again. I think we both know you're more than able to take care of yourself when it comes to these sort of things. Kind of makes me jealous honestly." Pylia smiled a little as she said this. She turned around and stoke the flames, causing it to raise a bit. "I've spent years a hermit, honing my magics and lore in preparation of what I must do. Even then, it's taken my so long to just build up the nerve. And here you are just... Throwing yourself at it. I don't know if that speaks highly of your courage or my cowardice." As Pylia continued to talk down about herself, Buddy wrote another note about his thoughts. "As a Paladin, I am more than able to handle any manner of undead or demon. Rely on us." Seeing this note, Pylia smiled more genuinely. "... Thanks Buddy."

Pylia climbed to her bed and laid down, feeling rather exhausted. "Truth be told, I had planned on doing this earlier in the day, but we got caught up in Ferric's request. I really hope the guilds take notice of our good deeds and rewards us and Ferric for it. I'd be very annoyed if they demand more from us after all we've done...." Buddy returned to standing menacingly next to the door, his arms down at his side. Shortfang hadn't shifted at all in his sleep, still bunkered down in his blankets mumbling something about bubbles. Dinah was sitting on your pillow still awake and just looking at you, as if expecting you to do something. Perhaps play with her or some such. "... In any case, there's two more people I need to see to settle some past matters. Though I only know about the status of one, a gravedigger on the outskirts of town. I hope he's doing well." Yawning loudly Pylia covered herself with her sheets as she looked over to you. "I think I'm going to turn in for the night Sylvia. And... Goodnight."