Lurking Shadow

Most anticipated Games of 2018-2019

Looking forward to Iron Harvest. Can't remember a good RTS since 2008 or maybe 2009. (Not talking about larger scale games like Stellaris with a focus on grand strategy, I'm talking about those with a focus on tactics and on occasion even operations).

Other promising games would include Call of Cthulhu: The Official Game, The Sinking City, Smash 5, Post Scriptum/World War 3 (both seem to be promising Battlefield style games set in WW2 and a modern war setting respectivly), and the last at the top of my head would be Rage 2.

I'd like to mention, while not a videogame, The Masks of Nyarlathotep as it is being updated for CoC 5e. Never played the original as I am only recently getting into tabletop gaming but I heard it is a strong contender for best campaign.

The London Hero Alliance [High Casual]

Work in Progress, Gideon

Name: Gideon McNeal

Age: 22

Alias: The Super Name you go by

Tier: 4(?, maybe 3.5?)

Years Spent in LHA: 2

Appearance:

Gideon prefers to cover nearly his entire body due to his most notable physical trait, bioluminescent blood. This blood is luminescent enough to be able to see a dim yellow glow traced over his veins. Other than that, he has pale skin, stands at an even 6’ (~1.83m) and weighs 125lb (~56.7kg), and dark brown hair.

Personality: Gideon enjoys conversation, and his general knowledge of a variety of topics support this, and he could easily talk for hours depending on how interested he is in the topic at hand, he however is slow to talk about things of a personal nature. He shares little about his past and rarely asks about others besides the general pleasantries.

Gideon is an incredibly focused individual, and often finds a solution to many problems in his path though this often comes detrimental as any problem proven difficult can boarder on obsessive for him and usually forgoes other things to some extent such as sleeping or eating.

While he refutes being fazed by criticism or for lacking progress on anything, he is rather insecure and significant amounts of stress simply leads to him not thinking. When this happens, he simply acts on instinct for an amount of time before ‘snapping out’ of it.

Skills: A passive interest in learning a little about various things means he has some degree of knowledge of a variety of topics. While this tends to be of a trivial nature, some information he learned is actually useful however.

Basic medical care- Knows enough to do things like applying pressure and elevating wounds to slow blood loss

Logical- Causes always leads to effects, it’s just a matter of knowing what causes lead to what effects

Hobbies: Debating, Google-ing various subjects as it comes to mind, Armored Warfare in The Great War and WW2

Weapons: Not really, although anything in your hand can constitute a weapon if you know and are capable of doing damage with it.

Equipment: None

Fighting Style: Prefers sheer force over dexterity and agility.

Strength: Variable (See ability) but generally has the strength of up to 50 men

Endurance: Far more resilient to injury than most others, can withstand about 5 times the force of other humans before the skin is pierced or the bone breaks. If an injury is sustained, it can be healed rapidly (bones can fully reform in days, tissue reforms in hours, etc.) but only during extended periods of rest (the majority of energy expended in combat goes to the muscles and thus lives little for cellular regeneration and other functions). If enough trauma is caused, he will fall unconscious and eventually die if the opportunity to recover is not provided. Requires less sustenance and sleep than others and has gone nearly a week without sleep (to minimal negative effect) and regularly fasts for a day or two.

Willpower: Will almost never stop at accomplishing at any task before him, however he is mentally unstable to some degree and simply stop making conscious decisions if stressed enough. If this were to happen, Gideon will still attempt to accomplish his goal if possible, but may result in unwanted consequences due to accomplishing the goal taking absolute priority over anything else.

Speed: Is capable of sprinting about twice as fast as the average human due to being able to exert a disproportionate amount of force compared to body mass.

Reaction Speed: Slightly above a normal human’s speed.

Name of Ability: Rìastrad (Translates roughly to ‘Warp Spasm’)

Class: Physical

Character Theme: Incapacitation of hostiles through blunt force. No need for maneuvers or calculating tactics, just a fist to a face.

Ability Capabilities: Stress triggers a surge of various elements and chemicals that serve to enhance the strength similar to having a surge of adrenaline. While undergoing a Rìastrad, Gideons appearance changes slightly with the body distorting slightly and most notably with his blood glowing a brighter shade. The brighter his blood illuminates the stronger he becomes and coincidentally can serve as an indicator to his current state. At rest, the light emits at 6 lumens (about half light output of a candle and has been observed to emit up to 60 lumens and is theoretically capable of getting even brighter for an even greater increase to strength.

In addition, Gideon exhibits an unusually tough body structure. Close examination under a microscope shows a different cellular structure than other humans but, alone, is not enough to explain the structural integrity. While not capable of extraordinary regeneration in combat, he is capable of generating another mix of biological chemicals and compounds that promote bone density and cellular division among other miraculous properties and leads to vastly decreased time to recover from injuries sustained. Blood transfusions have not yet been able to show a similar affect in other individuals (In fact it seems to negatively impact the recovery of tested individuals) and so far only seems to work in Gideon’s body exclusively

Qualities of Ability: Simply put, he gains a disproportionate amount of force relative to his body mass. While one would think that an increase in strength would lead to an increase of muscular tissue or at the very least mass of some kind, that is not the case for Gideon.

Strengths of Ability: Like stated above, can punch really, really hard. Can take hard hits. Can regenerate outside of combat.

Weaknesses of Ability: Due to the variable strength, Gideon on occasion may use excessive force, or perhaps not enough. While repeated training and combat encounters has allowed him to develop a sort of sense for this, it is not refined enough for complete accuracy. While using not enough force can be easily resolved by getting angrier, for example, there have been several incidents where excessive force has caused what most describe as unnecessary collateral damage.

Limitations of Ability: Increased strength increases proportionately with stress, there are limits to how livid a sane individual can get. Due to his shaky mental stability, it is probable at some point he may ‘snap’ and reach higher levels of strength at the cost of acting more bestial, or according to instincts, than to morals.

Biograph: Instead of a History You Will have 3 Events that were presented in the News. Something that defines their heroics.

Quote:

Reputation: [what is their reputation with the community]

Theme Song:

The London Hero Alliance [High Casual]

<Snipped quote by Lurking Shadow>

No it's all good. You're fine. No need for healing, already had a backup plan ready for that.

@AngelofOctober

so any preference then?

The London Hero Alliance [High Casual]

<Snipped quote by Lurking Shadow>

We'd love a healer. -prays-

@AngelofOctober

I dunno, while a healer would be useful I personally can't see much potential in being stuck exclusively in that role. I could make the necromancer-ish guy be able to heal others to some degree which would cement him as a supportive role.

The London Hero Alliance [High Casual]

I've been working on a few ideas and not sure which to pick. Thinking between the classic super strength when in a 'berserk' sort of state (like the hulk, though I more was inspired by Cù Chulainn) or necromancery (not so much bringing the dead back to life but more like animating of specifically dead tissue and bone which has no will and must directly be controlled mentally)

Any of these you prefer or should i try finding something else to emulate?

Project Phobia: Origins

I'm interested, though I want to ask how this 'phobi-ability' thing works. Is it some sort of physical manifestation or something more akin to imbuing an individual with some outstanding quality?

Could be interesting and I already have a handy dandy cheat sheet of phobias i can randomly choose.

(And does P.H.O.B.I.A currently mean anything or is it just for flavor text?)

What Are You Listening To?

The Void Lurkers

Charles

Name: Charles Pickman

Sex: Male

Age: 20

Appearance: Charles stands at about 5’ 4”, though it is hard to tell as he usually has a slouched demeanor, and such a slender build one would think he is nothing but skin and bone. He has pale skin and hair as dark as night. At first glance, the most notable feature would be the myriad of seemingly unnatural scars that virtually covers his body and are at various stages of healing. Less noticeable in the day and in lit rooms is his veins which illuminates a dim yellow.


Personality: Due to being uninterested in socializing, he has seemingly become somewhat apathetic and awkward at judging others moods or intentions. Secretly, he hides the fact that he generally cares for others and hates to personally injure another if he can avoid it.

Background: Charles Pickman lived a fairly solitary life. With no siblings and living near the forest, he elected to explore the woodlands at every available opportunity. During one of his early trips he encountered a family of deer in one of the clearings, while this would normally be uneventful, one of the fawns was interested in Charles when it sensed some berries he had, and Charles being a compassionate person offered it to the fawn. Over the following months he and the deer (which he nicknamed Spots due to its birthmark of a black ring over its eye) became more trusting of each other and the closest thing to a friend for Charles. Eventually, Charles would rarely go a day without seeing Spots.

Then there came the day Charles found Spots dead, ripped apart and partially devoured but enough left to recognize the rotting carcass. His heart broke leaving him in mental anguish as he lost his only friend. In retrospect, it seems quite peculiar his affinity would reveal itself at this moment, but Charles barely noticed as his mental pain became more and more physical and was shocked when he realized the corpse moved seemingly of its own volition. That was when his already vulnerable mind shattered further.

Charles does not remember much between that moment and when the letter came. Ever since, Charles never ventured to make another friend for fear of further heartbreak and that moment still occasionally haunts him in his dreams and even less frequently in his awaken moments. To this day, they say that spot where the abomination existed briefly, is a spot where living animals feared to tread, where plants refused to grow. A spot reserved for death.

Affinity Link: Reanimation. Charles is capable of animating and taking control of dead or decaying organic material. By simply touching a carcass, it can be revived and mobile (albeit, still rotting) within seconds or he can do it over a longer period at a distance if direct contact is not possible. This comes at the cost of part of his own life and concentration. Animating a corpse creates a visible bond between Charles and the reanimated in the from of a scar on his body violently erupting and bleeding his yellow blood into the corpses own veins, reanimating it, before clotting. Then Charles will have to mentally stimulate the joints of the corpse, like he would his own, in order for it to accomplish whatever task its wretched existence is for. As a result, he is only capable of animating a handful depending on the overall size of the individual corpses in question and if he were to ever lose concentration for any reason, such as from a suitable injury, the animations would collapse almost immediately (though larger specimens have been noted to remain standing, but unresponsive, for a longer period) and each corpse would only be an extension of Charles’ will, incapable of independent action.

Through some practice, Charles developed the ability to deconstruct and reconstitute tissue and fiber to a limited degree which with further training would theoretically enable him to combine two or more corpses into a larger abomination.

Charles prefers to animate corpses conservatively as he fears excessive use could kill him although he is capable of absorbing the life of any living material (including plants) by direct contact which could theoretically allow him to animate more corpses at a time although he is still restrained to the mental limit of only controlling a few at a time. This process will manifest visibly as color draining from the victim, and in the case of animals, the skin bursting open with blood oozing out and mingling with Charles’ own and creating another corpse for reanimation. This process is relatively long (the duration depending on the size and constitution of the victim) and direct contact must be maintained throughout for a continued effect. This is a process he has to be willing to do, he is capable of direct contact with others without any effect and Charles prefers not to. While he has become desensitized to animating, absorbing the life of an animal or person still distresses him and in a combat encounter he would prefer to avoid close contact when possible.

Other: The bond Charles shares with his abominations allows him to sense what his corpses would sense should they still possess the required faculties. He could for example, reanimate a condor and command it to give Charles a view from a higher angle.

Suffers from underlying insanity, while capable of sane and rational thought, if he suffers enough stress he might become erratic in his manner for a brief period.

Secretive of his past. Other characters would probably not know of his history prior to training IC.

The Void Lurkers

@Hydrophobe

cool. tbh, I was thinking this prob would not get accepted without a few changes. I'll move it to Char tab later today. Was going to proofread it one more time to make sure there are no errors spellcheck missed.

The Void Lurkers

@Hydrophobe Here is mine finished.

Charles

Name: Charles Pickman

Sex: Male

Age: 20

Appearance: Charles stands at about 5’ 4”, though it is hard to tell as he usually has a slouched demeanor, and such a slender build one would think he is nothing but skin and bone. He has pale skin and hair as dark as night. At first glance, the most notable feature would be the myriad of seemingly unnatural scars that virtually covers his body and are at various stages of healing. Less noticeable in the day and in lit rooms is his veins which illuminates a dim yellow.


Personality: Due to being uninterested in socializing, he has seemingly become somewhat apathetic and awkward at judging others moods or intentions. Secretly, he hides the fact that he generally cares for others and hates to personally injure another if he can avoid it.

Background: Charles Pickman lived a fairly solitary life. With no siblings and living near the forest, he elected to explore the woodlands at every available opportunity. During one of his early trips he encountered a family of deer in one of the clearings, while this would normally be uneventful, one of the fawns was interested in Charles when it sensed some berries he had, and Charles being a compassionate person offered it to the fawn. Over the following months he and the deer (which he nicknamed Spots due to its birthmark of a black ring over its eye) became more trusting of each other and the closest thing to a friend for Charles. Eventually, Charles would rarely go a day without seeing Spots.

Then there came the day Charles found Spots dead, ripped apart and partially devoured but enough left to recognize the rotting carcass. His heart broke leaving him in mental anguish as he lost his only friend. In retrospect, it seems quite peculiar his affinity would reveal itself at this moment, but Charles barely noticed as his mental pain became more and more physical and was shocked when he realized the corpse moved seemingly of its own volition. That was when his already vulnerable mind shattered further.

Charles does not remember much between that moment and when the letter came. Ever since, Charles never ventured to make another friend for fear of further heartbreak and that moment still occasionally haunts him in his dreams and even less frequently in his awaken moments. To this day, they say that spot where the abomination existed briefly, is a spot where living animals feared to tread, where plants refused to grow. A spot reserved for death.

Affinity Link: Reanimation. Charles is capable of animating and taking control of dead or decaying organic material. By simply touching a carcass, it can be revived and mobile (albeit, still rotting) within seconds or he can do it over a longer period at a distance if direct contact is not possible. This comes at the cost of part of his own life and concentration. Animating a corpse creates a visible bond between Charles and the reanimated in the from of a scar on his body violently erupting and bleeding his yellow blood into the corpses own veins, reanimating it, before clotting. Then Charles will have to mentally stimulate the joints of the corpse, like he would his own, in order for it to accomplish whatever task its wretched existence is for. As a result, he is only capable of animating a handful depending on the overall size of the individual corpses in question and if he were to ever lose concentration for any reason, such as from a suitable injury, the animations would collapse almost immediately (though larger specimens have been noted to remain standing, but unresponsive, for a longer period) and each corpse would only be an extension of Charles’ will, incapable of independent action.

Through some practice, Charles developed the ability to deconstruct and reconstitute tissue and fiber to a limited degree which with further training would theoretically enable him to combine two or more corpses into a larger abomination.

Charles prefers to animate corpses conservatively as he fears excessive use could kill him although he is capable of absorbing the life of any living material (including plants) by direct contact which could theoretically allow him to animate more corpses at a time although he is still restrained to the mental limit of only controlling a few at a time. This process will manifest visibly as color draining from the victim, and in the case of animals, the skin bursting open with blood oozing out and mingling with Charles’ own and creating another corpse for reanimation. This process is relatively long (the duration depending on the size and constitution of the victim) and direct contact must be maintained throughout for a continued effect. This is a process he has to be willing to do, he is capable of direct contact with others without any effect and Charles prefers not to. While he has become desensitized to animating, absorbing the life of an animal or person still distresses him and in a combat encounter he would prefer to avoid close contact when possible.

Other: The bond Charles shares with his abominations allows him to sense what his corpses would sense should they still possess the required faculties. He could for example, reanimate a condor and command it to give Charles a view from a higher angle.

Suffers from underlying insanity, while capable of sane and rational thought, if he suffers enough stress he might become erratic in his manner for a brief period.

Secretive of his past. Other characters would probably not know of his history prior to training IC.

[+]

Questionnaire:
Do you want to start in training, or post-training?

I think it might be interesting to start on the last day of training, to have the final test. Otherwise post-training then.

Do you want several, smaller squads, or 1-2 larger squads?

Indifferent. I’m good with whatever is decided upon.