Stern Algorithm

Pariah Online: Prologue [ closed ]

No, I did not miss Irish's CS. At all. In my review box.

@Gowi

Whoops. Maybe I should actually read who's being tagged before I run my mouth :P

Pariah Online: Prologue [ closed ]

@Tojin

I do not see a finished CS in the recent pages, so am I blind or just stupid? Help.

@Gowi

Is this the one you missed?

Behold!

Hawkwood

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G R A N T /// H A W K W O O D

“Time is the greatest teacher, but it winds up killing all its student's. How about I teach you instead?”

O V E R V I E W

_{N A M E}

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Richter Grant

_{A V A T A R}

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Hawkwood

_{A G E}

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34

_{G E N D E R}

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Male

_{V I S A G E}

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Beneath his armor of chain, leather, breastplate and gambeson lies a man of relatively average attractiveness, possibly more than average if he were the one writing this. Eyes of green, and skin a tone of slightly tanned salmon along with a round jawline are the most easily noticed thing about him beyond other incredibly obvious features. Usually keeping his dirty-blonde hair in a fairly normal crew cut, and his facial hair neatly shaved down to nonexistence, Richter is best described as looking "clean" at most any time you see him. In fact, that partially transitions to his appearance in Pariah with his armor and weapons, keeping them spick and span, lest they rust. He didn't know just HOW realistic Pariah was, but best not to let perfectly good armor rust away from blood and dirt. Given that he has no real qualms about his image mentally, his face, hair, and the like are all the same in Pariah, save for him perhaps being an inch taller, going from an infuriating 5"11' to a clean, even 6".

_{P E R S O N A L I T Y}

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A man who prides himself on educating others, Grant is extremely caring to those under his wing, quick to treat a stranger as a friend and even quicker to try and befriend them. He'd best be described as that one cool teacher you remember long after graduating, the kind that'd remember you if he heard your name. He's extremely loyal to people who reciprocate his feelings of friendship, and is often eager to learn something new, especially in the virtual landscape he's found himself in. Even when he should probably be doing something to make coin or improve his skill set, he can't help but immerse himself in learning about this strange fantastical land.

On the downside however, he can be a might bit annoying if you really don't want him as a friend, seeming to not be able to take a hint until being verbally accosted. He's also a bit of a dork when it comes to his field of work, and will not hesitate to exposit on his favorite historical figures, events, and a whole bunch of other things most people don't come to Pariah to hear about. He's a bit of a neat-freak, and will often stop to clean off his weapons after combat as long as there is time for it.

In regards to his aspirations, one could say that like any teacher, Grant really just wants to have his education matter to his students. Of course, beyond that, a raise and a vacation are always nice to the working man. He has doubts about whether or not he can actually make a significant impact in his student's lives in regards to what he teaches them, and also doubts his own ability as a teacher from time to time. If something he told you didn't work out in Pariah, he'd probably be heartbroken that his advice/teachings didn't help, and would take it as a sign that he needs to better himself before giving advice about something like that. After all, the path of learning is ever-winding, and teachers never stop learning.

_{B A C K G R O U N D}

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Born to a relatively well-off-enough household of a couple of newlyweds, Grant had felt blessed for the entirety of his childhood. Going to Normal schools, growing up to a normal, somewhat rambunctious teen, getting a normal crappy first job flipping burgers for an ungrateful slob, the works. What started to make Grant start looking above the haze of normalcy and into his future career as an educator was one Mr. Hawkwood, his High School Social Studies teacher. As dull as a Social Studies teacher may sound, Hawkwood was the kind of teacher that understood how little of a shit that high school kids gave in normal classroom scenarios, and as such would stage historical events out with the help of students, albeit with far less blood and violence involved. In addition, his class had less to do with doing homework and more about the actual studying of history. Richter fell in love with his methods of teaching, as well as just how genuinely enjoyable he made his high school experience, taking him for both his Junior and Senior years.

Life went on as it does, the boy grew into a slightly larger man-child that was in college. Time passed on back home as well, leading to the eventual death of his favorite elderly teacher at the age of 89. While he wasn't personally close to the man, it still felt only right for him to attend his funeral. After all, invitations were open to any who had his classes. Something sort of...sparked in Richter. Of course, it was just a small notion at the time, but some bit of him was telling him: "Y'know, teaching would work out good." And it did! Getting his doctorate, he managed to net a career at a 4-Year University after spending a few years as a Social Studies teacher at a local middle school in the city he'd moved to.

Time went on and as technology progressed, so too did its role in the classroom. Something as simple as projectors even started to become obsolete in this new virtual age, to the extent that the school even purchased some slightly outdated VR equipment for various class' uses. One rather popular feature among the University's faculty was the "Virtual Classroom" program, wherin students who weren't even at the University could experience a recording of the lecture in first person. Of course, this required a VR setup at home, but given the use of it by many students as an outlet for gaming, communication, or whatever other things kids (and adults) in a high-level education program did. Professor Grant was, quite frankly, smitten with the idea of experiencing history first-hand, and as such bought into the craze of virtual reality. Just about every kind of VR experience relating to some sort of documentary or first person recollection event was bound to be purchased by him at some point, and it was only a matter of time before the idea of a world with an entirely new history intrigued him. Pariah, a reality within a game that has infinite possibilities to learn, or even MAKE history. Given that the price wasn't the largest dent in his wallet he ever made, he invested into the new system as well as Pariah. Pressed by the system to know his character's name, Grant would naturally think back to the man who inspired him to become a teacher.

That and Hawkwood sounded pretty damn cool.

A T T R I B U T E S

_{R O L E}

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Tank/Support

_{A F F I L A T I O N}

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Tyhrien

_{P R O F E S S I O N}

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Knight

_{W E A P O N O F C H O I C E}

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At any given time, he will have:
A Rondel Dagger
An Arming Sword
A Heater Shield
A Short Spear

_{B E N C H M A R K S}

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Physical

Armored Accomidation: Hawkwood has spent an extremely long time in his armor most times of the day, having grown quite used to it. As a result, he doesn't get fatigued as easily when he wears it for extensive periods of time, and doesn't quite "bake" in the armor under the sun.

Fight the Good Fight With All Of Your Might: Crusader, Lord of the Realm! Hawkwood is quite easily inspired and performs far better with someone to fight for. He's had to face many a monster stronger than what his newbie teammates could handle, and he knew for a fact he couldn't let them down. A true knight fights to the last!

Equipment Caretaker - Advanced: His obsessiveness with maintenance of his equipment as well as his devotion to cleanliness have given Hawkwood the knowledge needed to ensure that his gear won't fail him when he needs it most. Even if it isn't the strongest of swords, you can leave it to him to make sure it won't break unless you smack it against a rock a few thousand times.

Cry of Heroism: Hawkwood has a damn loud public speaking voice, and can use his booming voice to inspire allies around him to fight their hardest, generally giving them a surge of endurance and vitality. So long as they don't find it just annoying. This also however tends to paint a huge target on his back, in regards to fighting beasts.

Mental

Encyclopedia Pariah: Because he gets around quite a lot and invests himself in learning about the world, he is generally always aware of where he is as long as he hasn't been knocked out and carried somewhere, or if the terrain isn't generic, even without a map to guide him. This also means it is incredibly easy for him to find his way around cities.

Teach And They Shall Learn: A teacher first and a knight second, Hawkwood may not be the best of trainers in this medieval land, but he sure can put a fire in your gut to get you learning. Someone who spars or trains in a skill that Hawkwood has basic familiarity with can often learn it a lot faster due to his instruction, although if they're of a higher caliber than him in the skill, then there's not much he can do to help there.

Plant Identification Minor: One can't exactly survive in the woods off of herbs and mushrooms if you don't know which ones are poisonous. As such, Hawkwood has familiarized himself with knowledge of the most basic plants so that he doesn't accidentally make a mushroom stew that kills a man in one sip.

Monster Identification Advanced: Many a novice under his watch has charged beasts, so of course he'd familiarize himself with knowledge of all but the most recluse and rare of beasts. Hawkwood can generally tell you what sort of feats a creature is capable of, and sometimes, even their weaknesses.

_{R O U G H V I R T U A L H I S T O R Y}

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Immersing himself into this strange virtual world, Hawkwood began his career as a knight of Tyhrian...who completely disregarded actually learning any of the valuable skills that a knight would need beyond fighting. In fact, he's more of some sort of Scholar class by this point than any sort of knight. However, that hasn't stopped him from donning his armor and choosing to help out the newbie players to Pariah, whether they be from Tyhrien, or any of the other Fraternities. So helpful and informative is he that he has quite numerously been mistaken for an NPC. Mostly because he...tends to stand in one spot most of the time.

Regardless of his nature of NOT being an NPC, Hawkwood has helped many a new player get into the groove of playing the game, as well as often helping out lost or injured adventurers in his own expeditions into the wilderness.

Took me way too long to get this out. Apologies for me being a procrastinating dick head.
Rip me a new one!

@The Irish Tree

Pariah Online: Prologue [ closed ]

@The Irish Tree

Haha, the two oldest characters are like complete opposites of each other.

Pokemon Gijinka [Always Accepting!]

Gredy Silvertongue

"We'll come up with a name for him later"

With Weedle captured, Gredy turned his head to answer Dante when he had the words that he had been waiting for from the people in the general direction of the police for a little while now. "You have permission to go."

Picking up the weedle's pokeball and pocketing it, he quickly scooped up Dante before he started to jog away from the riot before it got going because with the level of pokemon involved, he suspected that it would be absolutely brutal and he didn't want to be there when things started to get ugly.

It was only when he had managed to put a decent amount of distance between himself and the trainer house (and put himself and Dante in the general direction of the pokemon center) did he start to slow down and carefully put Dante back on the ground. Taking a second to catch his breath, Gredy looked at Dante and asked "If you want we can get you checked out at the center as well... no harm in that."

It was only a short trip to the Pokemon Center after that and it took even less time for Gredy to hand over Weedle's ball in order to be healed; If Dante joined him for a check up would be completely up to him. Once Weedle was returned, Gredy would let him out of the ball again to see how he was holding up now.

@Bright_Ops

In the safety and comfort of the pokeball, Weedle could feel himself getting healed by the delicious, magical science of the Pokecenter. Suddenly, a horizontal sliver of light cracked the darkness and expanded as whiteness engulfed him. When the light faded, Weedle found himself in the welcoming environment of the Pokecenter, and in front of him stood the human that had saved him. Weedle emerged from his ball in gijinka form, and patted himself down, verifying that his wounds had been healed. He looked up at Gredy in gratitude and awe, too starstruck to say anything.

@Holy Soldier

Mobile Suit Gundam: Throne of the False King

Despite Nalia's many responsibilities as the homemaker, there was one thing her father always told her, "Obey your brother." She had no qualms about this in the past, Damien wasn't particularly demanding, but she realized now what her father had meant. They were royalty, and with their father dead, Damien was king. His instructions were not for her to be a dutiful younger sister, they were for her to be a loyal subject. Nalia slumped a bit; at least Lieze already supported Damien's decision.

"Let's go, Theon," Nalia soothed the weeping boy, "Damien needs us to be strong." Theon followed wordlessly as she led him to the car to join the rest of their siblings. Nalia went back inside to pack her things as well as Theon's. It was hard deciding what to take and what to leave behind. She doubted if they would ever return. When finished she went back to the car. "Do you have a destination in mind?" She asked Damien, wondering if there was some family secret that had been entrusted to him alone.

Pokemon Gijinka [Always Accepting!]

If I read it correctly, they're not in pokeballs but rather green tubes full of what Cave Johnson would call Science Juice.

@Saltwater Thief

Rare Candy Extract

@Holy Soldier

Also, Gredy (@Bright_Ops) needs permission from Law Enforcement to take Weedle to the Pokecenter, since they're rounding up all the trainers and doing registration verification stuff.

Pariah Online: Prologue [ closed ]

You want me to critique you? Madness!

@Gowi

Only if you have time. I just don't want to make a sub-par character that slips under the radar. I also think your classless benchmark system is super-interesting, yet least understood, since I just want to make sure I'm doing it right.

Bored (18+ Seeking F)

Bump. May be looking for a plot related to corruption of a magical girl.

@BlazeGamma

Would you like to play as the corruptor or the corruptee? My preference would be to play as the magical girl that gets corrupted, but if that's the role you want I won't mind playing the other role.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Throne of the False King

"Lieze!" Nalia said with mild shock and disapproval, "No one's going to attack us. As long as we don't tell anyone what...Father just told us. Sure, it will be a little harder to make ends meet, but we can manage and continue with our peaceful lives." She looked at Damien, Lieze, and Colt. She had to try talking sense into them. As long as Damien did not come to a decision, Nalia was adamant to resist any of her younger siblings should they wish to put themselves in harm's way. "Think of Theon," Nalia said, referring to the youngest, who still clung to her, though his sobbing had quited considerably, "You might think you're grown-up, but he's still a child. Father wouldn't want us endangering ourselves. The people don't need us. Things are...peaceful enough under King Merrick..." This last part she said with little to no conviction. She was aware of the oppression, but hoped to shield her siblings from it as much as possible. She believed that she could be strong enough to allow them to continue living in a sweet dream.

Pariah Online: Prologue [ closed ]

Overview:
Well, this is probably something I should just like and move on but I do have some thoughts; they are constructive or silly, I promise. Oh and the character color isn’t over the sections (name, avatar) but that’s me being me.

Visage:
The futuristic-looking gear is fine as long as you recognize how esoteric and obtuse your requests to craftsmen will be! The most skilled craftsman capable of your request are likely residents (aka NPCs) of the world and will scoff or make it incredibly difficult for you— but then again money makes the world go ‘round, so I doubt they’d do much outside of thinking you’re a strange patron.

Personality:
I like the sort of “stoic asshole” approach you are going with here— the character will be very interesting given some of the more altruistic and emotional members of the cast.

Background:
I’m okay with Pariah modules being outsourced to ivy league universities and high level firms. No issue. We need less conventionally poor people and part-time jobbers, anyway.

Weapons of Choice:
Chains? Really? I mean I can’t argue with how or what you decide to beat wraiths, goblins, and abominations with— but that’s so interestingly unique I am going to give you some Chris Hardwick-edged points. Your character might even be called “The Esoteric Enchanter” now.

Conclusion:
Ailanthus in Chains is approved.

@Gowi

But I waaaaaaant Ochre to make Tessa's armor~

In that case, I'll dial it down a bit and create a character goal to work towards. I'll have Tessa wear a more conventional fantasy armor for the time being, and when Ochre @Xiro Zean becomes good-enough to surpass NPC crafters, then Tessa is going to commission him to make her mech-suit and become her 'Final Form'. They can even go on an epic raid together for the materials.

As for your previous comment about the faceclaim, I used her armor look since that's what most players will see 90% of the time.

Also, I hope I'm not asking too much, but I won't mind if you gave Tessa's benchmarks more scrutiny and critique.

That said, below is a revised CS. I just changed her current look (Mecha-Tessa will not be making an appearance...yet), and made all the headers in her character color.

Dr. Eileen Fang/Ailanthus Altissima

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E I L E E N /// T E S S A

“They say if you bring science into a fantasy setting, God kills a catgirl. I hate catgirls.”

O V E R V I E W

_{N A M E}

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Eileen Fang

_{A V A T A R}

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Ailanthus Altissima

_{A G E}

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32

_{G E N D E R}

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Female

_{V I S A G E}

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Under a dark suit of magical armor is the small, frail frame of Ailanthus Altissima. Though she could have been her ideal self, her PARIAH appearance is (other than being free of blemishes) unremarkable, normal, and bland. That is how she sees herself. She appears slightly younger than she actually is because society reminds her constantly that she hasn't matured because she's not married and still plays games. Her glasses form a very core part of her identity and followed her into PARIAH. When out of armor, she wears a white robe that acts as a closest approximation to a lab coat. She has no desire to 'stay in-character' or preserve 'immersion' for others, intentionally commissioning crafters to make her scientific- and futuristic-looking gear.

How she appears under the armor

Below is her face, 90% of the time:

_{P E R S O N A L I T Y}

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Tessa is a single, middle-aged woman whose work- and social-life has her stressed to breaking point, causing her to indulge in escapist behavior with the aid of electronic media. In some circles, she might be called an 'otaku', which would be true; while others might call her a 'fujoshi', which would be technically incorrect. High-strung and irritable, Tessa has difficulty keeping her stress from flowing into her leisure activities, and is often accused of 'spoiling the mood'. Some question why she even plays games as she has a tendency to become frustrated easily, a trait that stems from performance anxiety.

Though Tessa has difficulty enjoying a game if things don't go her way, she is addicted to the rush of things going right. Despite her thorny and at-times belligerent behavior, Tessa has a deep sense of responsibility, a need to not only pull her own weight, but to go above and beyond. However, she not only holds herself to this level of perfectionism, she expects the same from anyone unfortunate enough to be her teammate.

_{B A C K G R O U N D}

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Urban China was all Eileen ever knew, from the robotic and highly-competitive educational system to the robotic and highly-competitive high-tech industrial work environment. She never stood out when it came to academic excellence, but she did stick her neck out just far enough to warrant being bullied and socially sabotaged by her peers. She went through life with jaded bitterness and social awkwardness.

She retreated daily to social media, illegally downloaded anime, manga, and games, becoming addicted to MMO's in particular. She was known as a rage gamer, logging on alone, joining teams of people she didn't know to participate in dungeons and other party activities. She even attempted forum RP once but only ended up arguing with others, pissing people off, and finally, rage-quitting for good.

Living in the high-tech center of ShenZhen, Eileen is an engineer in a bloated company that produces and sells cheap, barely-functional healthcare devices. Her life is a wreck and she was so caught up in securing her place in the world that her nearer relatives are now suddenly concerned that she will never get married and have kids. Her daily routine has not changed since school: wake up, wash up, commute, attend class/work, commute home, eat, leisure, sleep, repeat.

One day, the company's R&D division wanted to play with the idea of therapeutic VR, and got several PARIAH headsets for the researchers to toy around with. But due to lack of a perceivable market, the project was dropped and the headsets were put in permanent storage. Eileen asked to take one home and the lax inventory manager gave her the OK. She wasn't that interested in VR, but figured she'd give it a go. She figured that the worst that could happen was that she'd lose interest and leave it in a corner to gather dust, which it would have done anyways if she didn't take it.

A T T R I B U T E S

_{R O L E}

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Control Mage

_{A F F I L A T I O N}

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Queon

_{P R O F E S S I O N}

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Enchanter

_{W E A P O N O F C H O I C E}

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Chains

_{B E N C H M A R K S}

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Physical

Exile's Burden – While Tessa has always veered towards the massive damage and control effects of mages, her poor gaming skills has had her lament her chosen characters' 'squishiness' on more than one occasion. As someone who is easily abandoned by her party members, Tessa decided, for survival reasons, to wear armor that is uncharacteristic of mages. This habit, combined with her tendency to hoard loot alone and overburden her backpack at the end of missions, has led to her being surprisingly strong at carrying heavy weight. On top of that, she has enchanted her armor to feel less heavy, allowing her to move freely in heavy armor despite being a mage who is otherwise not physically strong.

Tough it out – Tessa has pretty severe body dysphoria and believes that the body is the slave of the mind. If the body fails to obey the mind, then the body must be punished/forced until it complies. In PARIAH, she is even more dissociated from her body because it's virtual. As such, she is much more willing to put herself in harms way or try to force her body beyond its limits, such as climbing and jumping over an impassable mountain because she doesn't want to walk around it (who hasn't tried to do this in a free-roam RPG?). This has given her an innate toughness, especially when it comes to taking blows.

Artisanal Precision – As an enchanter and a perfectionist, (and Gunpla aficionado) Tessa is good at working with minute, tiny details, whether it's inserting magical gems or carving runes. She can thus enhance equipment with high-quality enchantments thanks to her constant practice of the art, and is herself completely decked out in gear she has enchanted.

Paranoid Perception – Having been abandoned and betrayed by her party members on more than one occasion, Tessa is understandably paranoid. Because of this, she has a strong awareness of escape routes, dead ends, and good ambush spots. Initially her paranoia resulted in a million false alarms, but over time she began to recognize the signs better and better. This benchmark makes it very difficult to sneak up on her or ambush her and her party.

Cock Block – When she was younger, Tessa was very socially awkward (well, she still is), and had a tendency to get in people's way, literally and figuratively. As she matured(?), she actively learned a bit better where to stand and where to walk to provide the least resistance to the flow of foot traffic. But in games, and in PARIAH in particular, Tessa has learned to use what once was sheer cluelessness as a weapon. Identifying her opponents' goals and/or targets, Tessa knows to place herself squarely in between and actively body block them, using her natural tendency to be a hindrance and a physical barrier. To her enemies, she always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mental

Short Spell List – Tessa has restricted herself to learning only a small handful of spells, choosing to go for quality instead of quantity. As such, her familiarity with these spells runs deep, shortening her cast time, increasing the efficacy, and making it more difficult for the casting to be interrupted.

Synergistic Specialization – Tessa's main spell is telekinesis, which she applies mainly to her weapon of choice: chains. The chain links have been inscribed with runes that increase their ability to be controlled and increase their magical affinity. Most of her other spells are conducted through the chains: electricity and vibrations. She has learned how these different spell effects work with one another, allowing unique synergy and a combat style that her opponents are unfamiliar with.

Stacked Auras –Tessa also has a handful of aura spells (areas of effect centered on herself). She learned over time how to cast and maintain multiple auras simultaneously, some offensive, some defensive, making her playstyle come out: area control. This makes her a veritable bunker; difficult to approach and a safe haven for party members.

Spider's Web – Tessa's chains are usually laid out radiating from her in all directions for several meters. She has learned to be extra vigilant of what goes on in her zone of control and can differentiate friend from foe with spells that would otherwise be indiscriminate.

Kick 'em while they're down – Tessa doesn't get along easily with people and has been bullied for much of her life. She takes a sadistic pleasure in lashing out, in having the tables turned by becoming the bully. Delighting in 'kicking her enemies while they are down', she focused so many spells on downed, incapacitated, or otherwise helpless targets that she has developed an interesting trait: her spells do higher damage to and ignore the magic resistance of targets who have been affected by any negative state, whether slowed, taunted, rooted, frozen, stunned, etc.

_{R O U G H V I R T U A L H I S T O R Y}

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Ailanthus Altissima, the scientific name for a plant commonly called the 'tree of Heaven'. It is an invasive species with the ability to clone itself through its roots in a technique called 'suckering', and is, like the mythological hydra, difficult to exterminate. It is considered a noxious weed due to the foul-smelling odor it produces. The tree also resprouts vigorously when cut, making its eradication difficult and time-consuming. In many urban areas, it has acquired the derisive nicknames of "ghetto palm", "stink tree", and "tree of Hell".

No one knows, or cares, why Dr. Eileen Fang chose this name, and most refuse to say it in full, earning Eileen the nickname 'Tessa' from Altissima. Since logging on for the first time, Tessa has been like her namesake, invading parties and raising a stink. Her initial desire had been to party up and quest with others, but her belligerence always got in the way.

Eventually, she turned her focus to enchantments, seeing a need in the community for those who only had access to crafted gear to attain gear that could compete with rare drops. While her enchantments aren't that good, properly crafted and enchanted gear at least had a fighting chance against Rares and Epics, and sometimes, a fighting chance was all some adventurers needed. Tessa found her niche, but still needed to satisfy her urge to actually adventure, so she would take enchanting commissions, find out what materials she needed for her enchantments, and then demand the ones who commissioned her to take her with them when they went to farm said materials.

Due to forcing herself into parties in this way, Tessa adopted a flexible, albeit lazy, playstyle: a confusing, semi-immobile walking disaster area, essentially claiming a large portion of the battlefield as her own and manipulating the positions of her enemies, doing some status effects and some damage, while still survivable enough to hold her own.

Tessa has not achieved fame for her enchantments; she instead draws clients by under-sellng other enchanters, a practice that has gotten her in trouble with guilds on more than one occasion.