Sigil

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

Keystone considered the Paladin's words, and thoughtfully began, "It's not gold what motivates my hesitation just now. If I had to lay my hand on something, it'd be a hangaround sense of obligation. Whilst I was choking the poor bastich out, I told him I wouldn't let him come to any hurt. Buy us some time to talk without anyone getting dead."

"Don't get me wrong, gold's a right lovely motivator. Let's talk about that more in a bit. I can see the pull his tower would bring, but I think the two of us are I'll-equipped by our lonesome to go rummaging without getting hit by lightning or turned into a newt or given 'orrible, nightmare-inspirin' flatulence."

He looked to Erepar, noting the wizard's growing distress. "You look like you'd rather have a longer talk later. What do you want to do now?"

The Other Guys

@Joegreenbeen
Sure. Shoot me a character concept in line with the theme of the setting.

The Other Guys - Heroes Gone Sideways

Giving this one more bump. Always can use another active player or two.

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

"Concerning what happens to Reverin," began Keystone in what he referred to as his Business Voice, "and what I'm willing to go along with, I'm going to have to confer with my learn-ed colleague on the matter before I commit to an action. What's that you intend to do with him?"

While there was no love for the Elf on the floor, the phrase "he will no longer be a problem to me or anyone else in this town" sounded rather troublesome. Hell, he may deserve to be strung up by his still attached entrails for all Keystone knew, but he wasn't ready to give him over to that kind of justice just yet. He turned to his companion, and followed up in a low voice, "We're in one 'ell of a state right yet, Raa. You knew him before I did, what's your take? Law folk generally take umbrage with them that make dead things walk, I'm given to understand."

He looked at Erepar, then the naked sword-wielding creature, to the floor at Reverin, then back to Erepar. He wondered for a moment what his life would have been like if he had concentrated on more culinary pursuits.

The Other Guys

Maddie seems oblivious to the dangerous situation unfolding in front of her, and in fact looks a bit impatient with the whole affair. She looks into her purse and mumbles something about closing times for the local bank. Everyone else is clearing the street, lights or no. A terrific traffic jam is in place, and while no one is abandoning vehicles just yet, several door locks are clicking. No police in sight, no sirens. Just you and the Smiths.

@Silver Carrot
A clang sounds as Excalibat descends upon the forenoggin of the Smith in front of you, causing his head to droop at an unnatural angle. From inside, you hear the anticlimactic whine of a broken toy and sparks. While still standing, Smith #1 isn't happy. "target zzzt resistant to effortzzt <crackle> internal damage request PLAN B attempting delay zrrt"

Head still at a jaunty angle, it (as we can do away with "he" now) emits a tazer-like discharge from its hands. Well, hand. Only one is undamaged. It takes a defensive posture and backs up, blocking your direct path across the rest of the street.

@The Wanderer
Indestructi-Man has a handful of shirt collar, easy. So easy in fact that its feet try to keep going while its torso remains stationary. Off balance and seemingly very confused, it tries to gather its legs underneath itself. Rotating its head around (way too far) to meet your gaze, you can see it mouthing, "Hey buddy, how about that insert recent sporting endeavor? I like the insert local team."

The third obvious Smith moves to join the damaged one. It has not sparked up its hands as of yet. "...delaydelaydelay..."

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

He really put his foot into it this time, getting involved with spellcasters. At least with thieves or brawlers, you know more or less what you're getting into. One could also make oneself scarce if the situation got overly complicated, too. Wizards, not so much.

It was a bit late to back out anyway, what with their employer both mugged out and ensorceled, picked up by some manner of naked henchman and carried to a church. Not the best footnote to this contract; it looked more and more doubtful that he'd be getting that Letter of Recommendation from Reverin any time soon. Nonetheless, Keystone still felt obligated to see to his physical safety.

"I'd like to keep our mage very nearby, if you please. I don't trust him, but he is my charge." started Keystone, "And I don't particularly trust you just yet, either."

Upon entering the chapel, he declined to sit, but continued, "I'd like it if you'd answer the Knight's question from outside, before we got all chummy. Bloody 'ell is going on here? And why's your bodyguard all puckered and untucked?"

The Other Guys

So long as it's fluff and flavor text, sure. If it becomes an issue, ie will alter story or isn't quite believable to npc motivation, I will send you a pm and ask you to edit. Sound good?

The Seventh Division: AW2

...and it begins...

Captain Stabby

REAL IDENTITY

NAME
Dante Stabbington

AGE
42

GENDER
Male

APPEARANCE
Dante is tall and athletic, Caucasian, with shortish brown hair and hazel eyes. Sharp, intelligent features. Older than he looks.

OCCUPATION
Government Asset, Mercenary

LOCATION
United States, Oregon, smallish town outside of Portland in the Cascade Mountains

FAMILY/FRIENDS/OTHER
Dante has remained estranged from his family. He has no children, nor close friends. The only people with whom he retains any semblance of communication are his government contacts (usually to hand him an assignment). He has become very antisocial as of late, though he will get into the occasional conversation with locals when he goes into town proper to procure supplies.

ABILITIES/STRENGTHS

Powers:

Regeneration – Dante has been gifted with the ability to very quickly recover from any physical wound, including full amputations. Amputations, admittedly, can take a bit. His powers of recovery are mostly the reason he was utilized by the government, and later accepted into the Sixth Divisions. Keeping him dead has proved to be a very tough nut to crack thusfar.

Ultimate Skill – Melee weaponry. Forced psychogenerative mutation gave him an interesting and unexpected ability; his natural talent with melee weaponry increased exponentially. He has expressed more talent with this than anyone recorded to present day. Dante is able to perform feats of proficiency that anyone else would pass a kidney stone trying to imitate, short of breaking the laws of physics. While he has a preference for sharp weapons, this applies across the board. They just seem to speak to him.

Skills:

Military Background – Enlisted with the United States Army fresh out of school. Did remarkably well in officer training, eventually achieved the rank of Captain (not just a clever title for this guy), and volunteered for a long-term military career. He has training in weapons, tactics, history, leadership, military tech, and all the other interesting bits of knowledge that come with being a combat officer with respectable clearance.

Espionage – After acquiring his powers, he was moved from combat to Intelligence, where he received training in observation, tracking (and covering one’s tracks), appropriate technology, and the acquiring/trafficking of information.

Thrown Weapons – Knives, darts, rocks, small forest animals, beer steins, etc. If it can be picked up, he can more or less accurately hurl it at a target. Is not influenced by his Ultimate Skill; if the weapon leaves his hands, his Power doesn’t help. Nonetheless, he is formally trained and quite good.

Weapon Mastery – Proficient with every type of melee weapon imaginable.

Resist Domination – Or “Composure Under Extreme Interrogation”. While not a Power, persay, it is more along the lines of extreme conditioning to assist in resisting mental control from multiple potential sources. Keeps classified information classified, among other things, but is not a perfect defense.

Stealth – Again falling under the auspices of training, not Power. He is extremely adept at not being noticed for extended periods of time.

VICES/WEAKNESSES

At present, Dante has difficulty relating to anyone not directly involved in his professional life on a meaningful and productive basis. While he doesn’t fully monologue, he will sometimes ramble in a gravelly voice, Rorschach-esque. He tends to drink too much, though the act is ultimately futile as his powers prevent him from getting anything more than a buzz. After the failure of the Sixth Division, and the subsequent shunning of individuals of power, he has been particularly ethically flexible.

BACKSTORY

Ignoring his childhood dreams and aspirations, as Dante would have preferred, let’s just get to brass tacks.

A young Mr. Stabbington (actual name) enlisted in the United States Army directly following high school. Scoring well on placement tests, he easily enrolled in Officer’s Training and walked out a young, idealistic Lieutenant, attached to a combat unit where he served with distinction. Over the next few years, he rose to the rank of Captain, due to a mostly positive mission success rate. He and his unit volunteered for difficult assignments, be it open combat, reconnaissance, or infiltration. It came as no surprise when he was asked to be a part of something risky and experimental.

The government experiment involved psychogenerates. This particular scientific inquiry involved various invasive biological exposures in the hopes of imparting power to a talented and fit “normal”, in a manner that was stable with minimal detrimental side effects. The experiment killed many. Dante was the first and only to survive before the project was shut down. He survived, thrived, and became more than he was previously. He walked away from the <location undisclosed> complex at peak, human maximum physical condition and the ability to spontaneously self-heal at a greatly accelerated rate. For some reason, twist of fate, random mutation, extra blood getting to his brain, whatever, Dante found that his natural talent for melee combat improved. Dramatically. (details above, under Powers.)

After an intense training period, he was placed into Military Intelligence – Gathering, where he could be of immense use and could be properly observed. During this time much of his work revolved around the Fourth and Fifth Divisions, either to keep tabs on or run field work for them. He continued to take orders from his government superiors during this time, until his term of service came up for renegotiation.

It was at this time that the Director of Special Operations recommended him for the Sixth Division. While his powers weren’t as flashy nor as obvious, he training and experience made him very valuable. He served as a tactician, field operative, and covert agent for the Sixth, but still able to hold his own against more powered opponents due to pure perseverance and a good amount of prior planning, backed up by his own intel.

He was not one of the more mentioned or remembered affiliates of the Sixth, but his name is still spoken in whispers in certain circles. He is, to this day, an intelligence and counter-intelligence legend. Following AW, he sunk into obscurity. The government distanced themselves from him publically, but still threw him lucrative assignments as an independent contractor. All very hush-hush. They would even subcontract him out to their allies, giving him an extra paycheck and them plausible deniability. He otherwise lives moderately well off of dual government pensions in a state of semi-retirement.

He presently resides in a small mountain town in the Cascades, outside of Portland, OR. He selected for himself a moderate sized dwelling in a great expanse of woodland where he stockpiles weapons, electronics, and equipment, like a well-educated doomsday prepper who knows full well what kind of apocalypse could be any day now. He maintains his physical prowess and full range of training, and in fact doesn’t seem to have aged since he was 30.

DIVISIONS BELONGED TO

Dante worked with the Fourth and Fifth Divisions, but as he was active in the United States Military and Intelligence Community, he didn’t officially join the roster until the Sixth.

SUPERHERO PERSONA

NAME/TITLE
Captain Stabby
(Stabbs)

APPEARANCE

When working, Captain Stabby prefers functional BDU pants and high collared, black, form-fitting tactical wear. Over this, he prefers a long, black coat, suitable for concealing firearms and questionable things he carries on his person. He regularly paints his face grey and black to resemble a skull.

TOOLS/WEAPONS

At any given time, he will carry two large knives/machetes/shortswords/whatever. They’re different every time you see him, even if you just left the room for a minute to grab a soda. He has more on his person, with certainty.

He is fond of tactical asp batons, and will often carry two of them if a target must be subdued. He also makes liberal use of stable explosives with remote detonators/impact triggers, and isn’t above using firearms if needed. To this end, he prefers a pair of Detonix MTX .45 ACP Modular Government Issue sidearms. He prefers hollowpoint ammunition.

In any instance, he will equip himself with whatever is necessary to complete the task at hand, either from his own stash (which is excessive) or his handler’s.

TRADEMARKS

The long coat and skull facepaint are how he’s known publically, along with the ever-changing sets of sharp things. It’s more of a look than trademark, granted, as everything can be replaced or emulated if necessary.

The Seventh Division: AW2

@Palindromatic
Many thanks for the CS approval; posting in the next five.

The Other Guys

@The Wanderer @knighthawk

Characters who have not posted yet in the IC now have an opening. Game on.