Obscene Symphony

Obscene's Scratchpad

Name: Aaron Bachmeier (yep, him again) AKA when you know more about your supporting character than your main character
Age: 139 (born 1878)
Bio Highlights:
- Born 1878 in Munich, Germany
- Eventually decided to become a pastor
- Became pastor of a small church in a rural town
- Lured into a home by a report of a dying man needing last rights and attacked by a vampire (FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIT THIS IN WITH THE "VAMPIRES REPELLED BY RELIGIOUS STUFF" THING)****
- "Corpse" discarded in woods
- Has the fun experience of waking up in the forest covered in blood and snow and also mad with thirst
- Kills and feeds on a group of hunters before regaining some semblance of self control and being horrified at what he's done
- Goes all Don't Escape and tries to barricade himself somewhere he can't hurt anyone when his inhibitions leave him
- Adrian, who is traveling in a nearby city, hears stories of mysterious deaths and whatnot in the town and goes to investigate (suspects one of his first offspring perhaps?)
- Finds Aaron and talks him off the ledge (do older vampires have control over all young vampires or just those they themselves sired?)
- Adrian brings Aaron into his home and teaches him how to control himself, maybe helps him with some moral dilemmas?
- Aaron learns medicine along the way somewhere so he's a doctor now (he can't be a pastor anymore because vampire, but he still wants to help people and always had a fascination with medicine)
- Aaron has decided to stay with Adrian and help new vampires (he specializes in helping them through their inevitable moral dilemmas and personal crises, and also tends to them as they undergo their transformations. This plays into the compassionate nature which drove him to become a priest, as well as his wish to repay Adrian even though no repayment is due)

Personality Points:
- Very compassionate
- Religious, though it's complicated
-

Obscene's Scratchpad

Vampire Information (Tentative) (***** = subject to change)

Neutral Traits:
- Unusual/uncommon eye colour (attracts humans) (ex. gold, very pale, pink, purple, various types of heterochromia, normal eye colours very bright or saturated etc.)
- Some cases of change in hair colour, though uncommon (hair turns white)*********
- Lengthened and sharpened canine teeth, slightly sharpened adjacent incisors
- Stronger, whiter teeth (like, a little unnervingly white if you look at them too long)
- Harder, stronger fingernails (can act as claws capable of doing considerable harm if worn long or filed to a point)
- Uniform skin tone & clear skin (halted production of skin oils prevents acne and lack of normal bloodflow and dispersion of pigmentation prevents uneven tone)
- Decreased need for sleep (either a hibernation system or a comatose sleep during the day, yet to decide)*****
- Heightened sense of empathy (changes from a social skill to an actual sense, helps vampire gauge emotions in human prey and act accordingly)

Strengths:
- Heightened senses (all except touch, which is unchanged)
- Can determine blood type, health condition, general diet content and prescription/non-prescription drugs in blood through taste (takes some experience)
- Cat-like night vision
- Hearing sufficient to hear the breathing and heartbeats of all humans in an accessible radius (with practice, rudimentary echolocation is possible)
- Can smell blood and nearby humans (for example, they could smell someone bleeding down the street, or be able to tell by the scent if a human had been in their home)
- Dramatically faster reaction time
- Enhanced ability to process information (won't be overwhelmed by increased sensory input, can problem solve quicker - doesn't kick in until a little while after turning)
- Increased muscle function (AKA strong and fast)
- Transforming? ************

Weaknesses:
- Intolerance to sunlight (causes severe burns (direct), causes confusion and saps energy(ambient))
- When hungry (thirsty?) sanity and self control slips away until fed again (AKA vampires cannot choose to starve themselves, as their higher faculties will eventually leave them and they will go mad for blood)
- Appearance grows more monstrous as hunger grows (begins several days to weeks after last feeding, depending on size of last meal; teeth and nails elongate and sharpen, eyes redden, hair greys, features sharpen and become less human, face will age (depending on age of vampire))
- Hibernation? (vampires can go several days without sleep (though past a certain point the effects of hunger will start to set in, even if they are well fed), then enter a near-comatose state of hibernation lasting between a day and three days, from which they cannot be woken - very vulnerable during this time)
- Repelled by religious symbols (depending on size and number, this ranges from discomfort to a flight response)
- Repelled by garlic (it just smells absolutely ghastly)

Method of Turning:
Any human who is bitten by a vampire and not killed within roughly four hours will begin the transformation.

Transformation Process:
The first phase of transformation mimics the symptoms of the historic Sweating Sickness: (in order)
- Severe migraine, concentrated around the eyes and temples
- Weakness and confusion
- Rigors (seizures)
- Excessive hot and cold sweating
- Delirium
Within 18-20 hours, the victim will die and remain dead for three to five days while their body makes its transformations. At the end of this process, the newly turned vampire will wake up in a state of overstimulated confusion and extreme, desperate thirst (including the slip in sanity mentioned in weaknesses). Unattended, these fledglings will normally go into a state of savage bloodlust and attack the first human they encounter (and likely several more beyond them).
Some sires choose to support their offspring through this transformation process. One method which often helps with the "first thirst," as it is called, is to administer whole blood intravenously throughout the five-day transformation period (although CPR or other methods of beating the heart is necessary in order to distribute the blood throughout the body). Fledglings still wake up savagely thirsty, but not to the extremes of those who are left unattended.

The Fledgling Stage:
During a new vampire's early life, they will have to adjust to their new senses and abilities, and learn to cope with their new weaknesses. Without aid from a sire or other experienced vampire, many fledglings do not survive this stage, due to such things as being caught in the sunlight or alerting local vampires to their presence via a savage killing spree.
Supposedly to aid in this endeavor, the fledgling's sire has a measure of control over the new vampire until they can sufficiently control themselves. This control allows the sire to calm the fledgling or force them to stop whatever it is that they are doing. This seems to have developed as a way to prevent the new vampire from putting itself and the sire in danger by rampaging for blood, and is also what this skill is normally used for. The fledgling is also incapable pf willingly harming their sire until they grow out of this stage.

The Gladiators of Arlen

Obscene's Scratchpad

Name: Adrian Belgard
Age: 489 (born 1528)
Brief Biography: (Saving finer details for thread)
- Born in 1528 in London
- Turned in 1551, during the last known Sweating Sickness epidemic
- Sire unknown
- Rampant for decades and indiscriminate for almost two centuries, Adrian embodied the stigma of "monster" during is time as a young vampire
- Turned 3 offspring during this time, two of whom he abandoned before they ever woke up and one on whom he abused his power of control
- Realized the error of his ways somehow (TBD) and now avoids creating new vampires and acts as a mentor to fledglings without guidance
- Lives in a large estate with one attendant and any young vampires he is currently teaching

Personality Blurb:
- Chivalrous
- Constantly trying to atone for what he's done (being shitty to his offspring, killing hundreds of people, etc.)
- Does so by opening his home and offering guidance to new vampires (either of his creation or not)
- Also donates to various human organizations (hospitals, schools, museums, theatres, etc.)

Other:
- Has trouble with newfangled technology
- Has a long distance chess match going by post with one of his older offspring

Obscene's Scratchpad

✧ ultralight's sparkly new request thread ✧

Okay I need some sleep to be able to read straight but just from skimming I'm already extremely interested, I shall read in full (and probably PM) tomorrow morning!

Yearning for some good, indepth, morbid, heart wrenching, interest-catching, dark fantasy, unique beasts, truely unique RP...

<Snipped quote by Obscene Symphony>

Not quite sure what you are getting at

@Creeper

Just poking fun at the fact you put "read" in quotes at the end of your post. i.e. "Thanks for the "read"" XD

The Gladiators of Arlen

Okay so I know the second half of that post reads weird but it's because I need to write it kinda funny until we get the chance to reveal the thing (which isn't even that impressive but shhh let me have my fun)

For the same reason, I'm not gonna post my character sheet just yet. Totally that reason and not because I haven't gotten the chance to edit the character photo yet. Yep.

Very happy to be joining you guys at last!

The Gladiators of Arlen

Naea, Who Strikes

The humid coasts of Risha were a far cry from the arid sands of Ashar, but its crowded streets and bustling people were at least reminiscent of the great oasis cities which pumped trade through the desert like the hearts of a great creature. True, the buildings were different and everyone seemed so oddly dressed, but a desert traveler could almost feel at home in the busy atmosphere.

Unless, of course, that traveler happened to be a naga.

Yes, for a naga, things were different. Even within Ashar’s borders coming across one was a chance encounter; finding one near the coast was unheard of. The vast, vast majority of people in Risha would only perhaps have heard stories of naga, grossly warped, describing them as mere monsters. If one were old enough and lucky, they may have come across a black market naga skin at an outrageous price, left over from the days of the skin trade (or perhaps more recently, from rampant poaching). A Risha native would almost definitely never have laid eyes on a naga in the flesh, so imagine their shock to see one slithering down their narrow streets.

Reactions were largely negative, though differing in severity. Some chose to stare, mouths agape, in blatant shock and confusion. Others gathered up their children and hurried from its path; still others chose to glare or shout. These differing reactions, however, were all answered the same way: a dignified Beast passing by unshaken, unblinking eyes trained forward and head held high.

As luck would have it, the naga made it almost all the way from the sands of Ashar to Risha’s arena unmolested; though stereotyped and largely hated, the typical naga was a large and imposing creature, and few dared raise a hand against one or get in its way. Here and there was a pleasant surprise: a Jackal caravan offering food, a gruff ship captain open to bribes, a kind guard to grant access to Risha where it might otherwise be denied. Such things were welcome luxury, but any of the few naga travelling the realms knew not to expect them.

So, yes, almost all the way without an incident. Almost.

Now, with crowds parting and staring and rather tiring the naga of so much attention, there were barely a few yards left to get to the arena, and then its doors could close and the crowds would disappear behind its walls. But before the distance could be crossed, an errant bone flew from an errant hand and struck with decent aim on the false eye of the naga’s mostly folded hood. The hood only flared when threatened, and the traveler was careful to keep it folded civilly so as not to incite undue fear. However, reflex took hold of the hood when the bone struck it, and it spread about halfway open before control was regained and the Beast regained its composure. Looking down, it followed the bone as it rolled to the feet of the scarred man who presumably threw it. He threw out insult, but it was almost unheard. The rust-coloured slitted eyes remained on the bone for several seconds without reacting.

Was it anger building in the naga’s broad chest? Was there an internal battle to regain control over a hair trigger temper? As a matter of fact, no. The stillness of the naga’s form was due to a valiant effort to calm a pounding heart and steady the pace of quivering lungs. So ingrained was an ancestral fear of skin hunters and poachers that an unexpected strike could have sent the Beast into a defensive fury had so much effort not been put into remaining calm. Traveling in Ashar was stressful enough with poachers rampant; outside its borders, a naga was always on edge, wary of any who might be motivated to kill by the luxurious payoff should they manage to procure a fresh naga skin. A naga’s hood flares when threatened. This one had to make sure it didn’t seem that way.

Finally, slitted eyes met a scarred face as the naga raised its unblinking gaze to the perpetrator. The word, scaleback, didn’t bother the naga – it wasn’t kind, but certainly not the most creative slur out there. As for the rest of his remark, the Beast had little reply. Its hood shrank calmly back to its neck, and its back straightened once more, eyes forward. Nonchalantly, the naga readjusted the yellowed linen sack slung over its sand-polished shoulder and spared a glance back to the angry scarred man. Towering several inches above him, the naga had only a short, gruff reply.

“I am aware.”

Yearning for some good, indepth, morbid, heart wrenching, interest-catching, dark fantasy, unique beasts, truely unique RP...

The "read" as opposed to the "interpretive dance number"?