Witch Cat

Ologies: A Study of Arcane Specialists {Paranormal Investigations and more}

<Snipped quote by jasonwolf>

I totally agree with everything you said, but I have to agree with @Witch Cat when it comes to someones faith. I think that hastily constructed crosses should still be effective, but how effective it is is based on someone's faith. Say, a cross made of sticks held by a minister is more effective than one held by a lab student. But steel crosses and the like are always effective.

Also, I think that MINOR mesmerization should be an ability. But other than that your list covers everything I thought of.

@AdobeFlash

Speaking of steel, I think some materials should act as a ward. Pure steel, enchanted iron, something like that. I don't have any ideas as to what metals would act as a ward, but I'll think about it.

Ologies: A Study of Arcane Specialists {Paranormal Investigations and more}

@Witch Cat Nah. They already got a second chance. Maybe you can revive Dracula, but he's THE vampire so.

@jasonwolf

Well, I am THE witch (well not yet, I currently am A witch. But hey, I can dream). Would be a cool little thing to have in the story much later.

Ologies: A Study of Arcane Specialists {Paranormal Investigations and more}

@Witch Cat Holy ground is sanctified. It doesn't change based on the people around it The building/ground is holy through ritual. An object yeah I think that'd be fine.

"I think maybe it should be changed so that a vampire can't enter a home without permission through a door. Windows, or holes in the walls allow a vampire to come in" No this is the exact reason why they have to be invited in. It's how it works.

garlic is just a minor ward. it messes with their enhanced senses driving them crazy for being around it. (fair warning Markiel, Jaklo, and I LOVE garlic so watch out).

They won't die to them, but a sword still cuts, a bullet pierces, and all force applied is applied. If we hit you with a car bones break and you go flying. They can heal those wounds amazingly fast, but I'm gonna say that Magic weapons kill, stakes kill, and then extreme destruction kills aka we lop of the head and tear the body to shreds. that'll kill.

@jasonwolf

Yay, some of my ideas got in! But what about the whole reviving them thing?

Ban the Person above you

Banned for having an argument!

Take a Letter, Leave a Letter

Tanler!

Ologies: A Study of Arcane Specialists {Paranormal Investigations and more}

@AdobeFlashsun burns. Holy water burns. Crosses burns. Crucifixes extra burns. Hot cross buns delicious, but might burn if they are too hot. Holy ground prevents you from going on it. You must be let into places by someone else (this is actually a thing in vamp lore). You are compelled (like ocd levels) to count small things scattered on thr ground.

You are stronger than even top athletes and faster by far. You have a bat form that can travel in the sun.

I'll probably think of more later.

@jasonwolf

I have some ideas, and I just thought I'll spout them out. I was thinking that crosses shouldn't be the only religious item that can burn a vampire, every religious item should be able to burn a vampire. As long as the person holding it has faith that it can. If the holder's faith in the, for example, cross wavers. Then the cross is just two sticks held together to a vampire. Same goes for holy places like churches or mosques. As long as someone inside believes the structure can protect them, it instantly becomes dangerous for a vampire to walk in. However hallowed-ground would be able to stop a vampire easily, whether someone has faith in it or not, and if a vampire is strong enough to walk on the hallowed-ground, his powers should be damped dramatically.
Speaking of powers, ever noticed how vampires are constantly romanticised? Well, people can't help it, vampires have an aura around them that can easily control and seduce anyone near them, charms and wards can help battle this effect though. And as for the not being able to enter a home without permission thing, I think maybe it should be changed so that a vampire can't enter a home without permission through a door. Windows, or holes in the walls allow a vampire to come in. Furthermore, vampires are alot more durable and can survive extreme conditions, given that they can survive in extreme trauma and not die of shock.
How to kill vampires should also be a detail that is discussed. First of all, garlic won't kill or maim vampires, some vampires can be allergic, but other than that small minority, vampires can't be killed by feeding them chicken and garlic pizza. Secondly, since vampires are superhuman and can shake off attacks like stab wounds or bullets, attacks directed at the heart or chest are like a vampire's weak point. Attacking the chest can easily knock them back, daze them, or kill them. Decapitation is also an instant kill. But! But vampires can be revived, by either sacrificing another vampire, or with a complicated ritual that can raise the dead. However, vampires brought back by the second option will only have a faint idea of who they were and would also be easily controlled by the caster who raised them. Ever heard of a vampire butler? Now you know why they're so obedient.
Well, that's a few of my ideas. Hope this helps!

Ologies: A Study of Arcane Specialists {Paranormal Investigations and more}

<Snipped quote by AdobeFlash>

They also have innate fear for sexy buff lizard men

@dragonmancer

Witches however have an attraction to them

Ologies: A Study of Arcane Specialists {Paranormal Investigations and more}

Coal

They laughed at him. They pointed fingers, pulled their children away and whispered in the streets. They burned his house and drove his from his home. He got even. Flame, shadow, disease and frost. These are the tools of the mighty witch and he wields them with a reckless power he can barely control. Though he may look frail and delicate, do not underestimate him. Many have, and they are counted among the burned and withered corpses in his wake.

Name:

Coal

Original Name:

Currently Unknown

Age:

17

Gender:

Male

Species:

Human

Appearance

While Coal may not have rippling abs, or a huge and muscular physique. He still shouldn't be underestimated. Within that lithe, thin, and tall body, is magic. Swirling, ebbing, and flowing. But he'd still rather remain under the radar. Without any amount of helpful physical strength, he tires to fit into any crowd, while adorned in black (like most modern Witches). Black jacket, black jeans, black shoes. Long gone are the days of comfortable, bright shirts, and shorts. His choice of clothes is due to a mixture of feeling self-conscious, and not wanting to be sniffed out by rouge hunters who want his head on a spike.

Personality:

Coal is that quite, shy, weird kid who sits at the back of the class. Incredibly shy, Coal prefers to stay away and wait for people to come to him rather than the other way around. Though underneath all that awkward shyness lies a good person wanting to make the world a better place. Coal always tries to avoid killing, harming, or fights. Out of kindness and self-preservation. And wanting to be that nice guy, he bottles up negative emotions and tries to always keep a cool head. However, if and when he does get mad, all that bottled up emotion bursts out in a fit of rage which leaves him exhausted and full of regret. Luckily, that's unlikely to happen near people he's comfortable with. Speaking of people he's comfortable with, if Coal feels safe and feels free from judgement, he can become very relaxed instead of uptight and nervous, and switch from his shy self to this talkative and fun guy. And he adores those moments that are sadly far and so little in between. Mostly because he is a nervous wreck. Riddled with fears like the fear of loosing, getting harmed, heights, and more, Coal will be less likely to take risks and would rather plan things out. But in a moment of desperation, he's always willing to take a deep breath and take a risk.

Background:

[+]

Long, long ago, in a place far, far away. Near the Middle East to be exact, a little over 300 years ago. There lived two families. One of Hunters, and the other of Casters. The two were joined by marriage, and lived merry. The Hunters usually took-care of troublesome demons on the side, and the Sorcerers and Witches helping along. All was well. No trouble arose and the two were peaceful. But good things must come to an end. One day, a Witch went rouge. Jamila Norooz(No-Ruse), a powerful witch seduced by demons, who made a pact with them. Vowed to spill innocent blood in exchange for power and a demon army of her own. She went on a killing spree, and targeted her own kin. Many died at the hands of the witch, and tension between the two families grew. Many escaped and fled to neighboring countries, while those who stayed and tried to stop Jamila were killed off. However, Jamila mysteriously disappeared before the deal was completed. No one is sure what happened to her. The Hunter side of the family believed God himself came down and casted the Witch back to hell, and soon adopted the idea that Witches must follow the same fate. Thus a small rouge hunter group formed that vowed to end the life of the Witch side of the family. The other hunters tried to stop them, but soon enough, all who believed in needing to "cleanse" the world of the Casters were long gone and already hunting. The Caster side didn't get much time to come up with an explanation of their own, as violent hunters were already hunting them down. The Casters, what little was left, fled in the opposite direction.
The years passed and both families grew. The Casters fading into obscurity, and the Hunters lurking in the shadows. Both constantly at each others throats as the modern world moved on oblivious to them. Until two lonely lovers chanced upon each other. Hossien(Hoe-Sane), a Hunter without the blood-lust or gall to murder an innocent Witch, and Sahar, a Witch with faith that the Hunters could change. Love blossomed between them and they both ran away, changing their names, fleeing their homes and putting all the troubles behind them as they moved to the West. Where they settled down and gave birth to a child. Coal.

---

Coal's life was a troubled one to say the least. His parents marriage sadly wasn't meant to last. Sahar left without a tarce, and Hossien became an angry alcoholic. With the mix of being sour after the break-up, and having to take care of a child, Hossien became very violent towards Witches again. Even to the point of disliking his own son for being birthed by one. And ever since Coal could walk, Hossien made it his own personal goal to shape his son into a witch-hating killing machine. But that dream never came true. Coal wouldn't ever listen to his father's biased rants. And even if he did, Coal wasn't fit to be an assassin. He grew up thin, and physically weak, and nice. Hossien despised that, outwardly expressing his disapproval of Coal being so "tame" and "effeminate". Causing Coal to grow up disliking himself, and lacking certain confidence.
And as Coal grew, nothing changed, and Hossien finally gave up. He cursed all the times he wasted trying to train Coal to aim, or try to teach him how to throw a strong punch. He now became this stranger to Coal who had to reluctantly feed and clothe him. A part of it was Hossien felt as if it was his "duty" as a man to take care of the child, but deep down, Hossien just secretly feared Coal. He wasn't well learnt on how magic works exactly, and he didn't know what Coal could do. So in the hopes of keeping Coal from trying anything, Hossien became cold towards Coal, trying to intimidate him. And for the most part, it worked. But not well enough. Behind the veils of the fake smiles, and the "I'm Fine"s, Coal was ripping apart every piece of knowledge he could find on magic. From Wicca books, to websites online. He was secretly training himself in whatever he could. Exploring, learning, and having fun with the powers he was blessed with. He was happy.

---

Happy as he may have been, hiding in his room with candles and chalk. There was an outside world he had to venture out to, and that wasn't always exactly pleasant. He was usually so quite, never making a peep, and thus never making a lot of friends. He kept up with his school work and managed to be a A/B student, while watching the world go by without noticing him. But some did notice, and were quite freaked out. Rumours of him being a cultist circulated, existing rumours got twisted and worse, and some people thought toying with him would be fun. He'd mostly ignore them as they swat his ear, or spilled his books, learning to keep quite and duck under cover as soon as someone even looked at him. He regularly thought of cursing everyone there and forcing them quite, becoming their God. However, he never had the gall to even make someone trip. Practising magic in secret was burning him up inside enough without even using it outside of school. Years of trying to battle your conditioning and bias against yourself can do that.

---

The digital clock in Coal's room beeped once, flashing the number "00:00". Coal stirred under his sheets and feel asleep again, drifting deeper into his own trippy dreamland. It was utterly quite. Nothing stirred, nothing moved. Everything was asleep.
Thump, Thump, Thump.
The sound of the heavy footfalls from Coal's father boomed and bashed against the empty, and carpeted corridor. Coal woke and raised his drowsy head, "Dad?" he asked faintly, his soft and slightly flamboyant voice barely making a peep, as he peered into the darkness. The foot-steps grew louder, and louder. More accompanied it, along with angry whispers outside his door. He didn't need clairvoyance to know something was wrong. "Hossien?", his voice grew in urgency as he got up from the tangle of thick sheets, sitting up straight, and wide-eyed with worry, as he let out an embarrassingly loud yelp when his door banged open. Hossien stood there, eyes burning with fury, and flanked by two other men. "What is this? What's going on?", Coal froze mid-action of getting up. He saw the glint of an arrow being aimed at him as his father huffed in annoyance.
"Did you think you could hide this forever?", Hossien thrusted out a piece of paper. Poorly made sketches of sigils and runes were drawn on it, and the mere sight of it seemed to tick him off.

"I don't know what you're-"

"Answer me!", Hossien's voice seemed to shake the room, the two men by his side raised what seemed like crossbows.

Coal let out a weak whimper as he tried to command his shaky voice to remain even, "L-look, I can explain. I was just-"

"Practising magic, and under my own roof! You're just like your whore mother, I should've killed you when I had the chance."

"Silence!", the three of them practically jumped back, Coal even scaring himself with how loud he was. Hyped up and not wanting this short boost of confidence to go to waste, he continued. "Just stop it, don't even think about coming near me with those things. Or, or." Coal raised his hand in warning, to which his father reacted the same to as if he just held out a live bomb. Which wasn't much reaction at all. He was determined to remain calm and intimidating, and continued with his cool, steely tone, "I'm giving you one last chance here, drop your hand or I'll-"

Shut Up!

No later than the second he thought it, his father immediately went dead quite. The veins on his neck became pitch black as he frantically clawed at his neck. Coal let go out of shock, hands clasped in disbelief, taking a step back as his father slowly got up.

"Oh no, please, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"I knew it."

Something rolled towards Coal's feet. It was small, it beeped once. And-

BOOM!

A ball of fire blew a chunk out of the house, fire engulfed and burnt the edges while debris blasted off in all directions. Coal watched silently from off in the distance. Wrapping his own arms around his thin body for warmth, while he stared at what used to be his room. They tried to kill me. HE tried to kill me, he thought to himself. He couldn't see his father from outside. The heat from the split-second blast still radiated off his skin. Maybe he died too, he tip-toed across the cold ground bare-footed, Yah right. His warm brown eyes moistened and watered, his tangled mess of wavy black hair sweeping across his face. He'd consider himself lucky, being able to manage a teleportation spell when that close to death. His limbs felt weak. His head spinning. He just wanted to rest.

"Maybe I'm better off dead"

And without a word, he vanished.

Current Life:

Escaping his old home, just like his parents long ago, Coal ran in whatever direction. He didn't have close friends or family he could turn to. So he just, ran. Relying on what magic he learned to survive. He found it much more difficult to hide and steal in a bustling large city, so he retreated to a nearby dense forest where he lived his days. Usually spending his time either practising what he knew, or finding some free wifi to stream some films while he enjoyed his stolen bagel. Having to live secluded from people was easy for him, his lonely childhood allowed him to be less bothered by being alone and found talking to the nice old lady at the counter human interaction enough. The thought of joining a coven crossed him from time to time, but he found it difficult finding one that wasn't either involved in Dark Magic or a group of teens playing pretend with herbs. But the Wells & Raick Private Investigations has peaked his interest and is debating whether or not he should join.

Schools of Study:

Arcanology (Main Focus), Ritualology, Demonology, Alchemy, and Morphology. (Self identifies as a Witch)

Specialization:

Control Spells(Voodoo, Elemental Control, etc.), Utilizing Magic Energy(Magic bolts, beams, traps, etc.), Summoning (Weather effects, plagues, flies, etc.), and Altering Reality(Levitation, teleportation, invisibility, etc.)

Spells:

Elementalist

A good Witch knows more than just a fireball and ice shard. A good witch bends nature to his own desires. The manipulation of the elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Lightning, Shade, etc.) comes easy to Coal. Note, this is only manipulation. Coal can not create any of the elements. They must be drawn from a source.

Seer

The stereotype of a Witch having a crystal ball is true with Coal. Just minus the crystal ball. With Divination, Coal can guess the most likely outcome of a situation, location of an object, see into the past and future, and into people's minds.

Parapsychology

Swish and Flick. However, telekinesis can do more than lift a feather. It has enough punch to it to throw a fully grown man back, levitate and manipulate objects great distances, and with enough concentration and force, make someone fly. Though this is a quick mana burner.

Planes Walker

Otherwise known as teleportaton. Self-explanatory. Coal can travel vast distances in an instant. Though this power has limits. Poorly defined limits. It usually relies on how much mana and concentration the caster can muster up.

Poppets

Voodoo is more than just poking a doll with a needle. Coal can use himself as a voodoo doll and face no damage himself, control limbs on a target or sometimes the target's whole body (alive or dead) for a brief amount of time, and inflict damage, or curses on victims.

Soul Traveler

Will your soul out of your body and roam free of constraints. Upon leaving the body, Coal will loose total control over his physical body, but gain a new "ghost" body. This ghost body acts like a ghost. Travel through walls, into people's dreams, tamper with small physical objects, and travel vast distances. Fly too far however, and risk never being able to get back in your body ever again. Wards can limit where Coal can go if it's powerful enough.

Blooming/Rotting

Witches can heal, but then again, there's no fun in that. With this, Coal can, well, manipulate a target's health. Heal flesh wounds, or poison them. This power can even raise the dead, but not permanently.

Tear of the Goddess

Create pure mana and use it however you like. From beams, to bolts, or even ticking time-bombs. They even can be used to create Light-Constructs.

Conjurer

It can be a drag to have to carry around talismans and vials everywhere you go for a ritual. But with a few clever words, Coal can summon ready made ingredients for rituals on the go. He can also summon any amount of items he wishes from different rooms, worlds, etc. With a quick ritual and focus, he can materialise almost anything

Bewitchment

Where would a morphologist be without his morphs? Coal can quickly shape-shift his body into small animals, usually a black cat, but his powers can turn into anything from a bird to a lion. Obviously, larger morphs take more out of him so turning into a T-rex won't be a common sight, and the transformation lasts only a brief time. Affective for a quick distraction to escape. This power can also be used to affect foes.

Abilities:

Multilingual

Being surrounded with so many cultures, and diverse magicks, casters tend to pick up some languages. Coal is fluent in magic languages like Enochian and Latin, and can also speak English, French, Arabic, and Persian.

Innocent

Coal may seem weak, and harmless. But that comes at an advantage. Make the opponent feel as if you aren't a threat, and you could easily sneak up on them or bargain your way out of danger

Sleight of Hand

Years of stealing (and middle school magic shows) gave Coal nimble, quick fingers. Helpful for quick drawing, or pickpocketing a shiny metal.

Shadow Walker

Coal learned to be quite and passive at a young age. Making it much easier for me to just stay quite and sneak around out of view.

Student

Coal, after a while of studying magic, is naturally curious, and an adept learner. He can quickly pick up new concepts and spells.

Prepared

Needing to always be on his toes, and ready to scrap a spell as soon as he heard someone walking up the stairs. Coal learned to be able to quickly prepare and arrange. This ranging from preparing ritual circles, to organizing a spice rack.

Apothecary

Working with herbs has always been a necessity for the modern witch. Being able to distinguish and locate herbs, know the effects of them, and for what spells they could be used for. This knowledge can be used in making magic, or just finding a nice spice to go with his home-cooked meals

Wild Witch

Sometimes there isn't enough time to cast a long complicated spell, and so in bursts of intense emotions, Coal can dish out serious magic without having to prepare first. However, spells casted through instinct and emotion alone are much weaker, and wilder, but in more intense and dire situations, more powerful spells can be triggered. Emotions also have an impact on spell casting. Controlling fire is easier when angry, and warding is quicker when you're filled with fear, and so on and so forth.

Equipment:

Athames

Handy for a blood sacrifice, or suspenseful close-quartered combat. This enchanted blade never dulls, can cut through steel, and helps increase the power of a ritual. However, when used to fight, it can get dangerous if used by someone with little training in knife combat. Someone like Coal. The knife can be summoned at any time by Coal.

Book of Shadows

Handy little spell book with never ending pages, filled out with spells and incantations. And there is always more room to write down more spells. The book can be summoned at any time by Coal.

Undetectable Extension Charmed Bag

Now have the Tardis in bag form. This never ending bag can fit anything into it as long as whatever you're fitting in can fit through the recess. Plunge your hand in and pull out anything you put in with only stating what it is you want.

Mystic Twig of the Horned One

Where would a witch be without his wand? Though his wand isn't needed for casting spells, it does help with casting more precise spells and reducing the chance of a failed spell. Also helps for adding a little dramatic effect. Wands may seem like "training-wheels" in the witch world, but it's hard to let go of the first thing you used to cast your first spell

Bewitched Baggage

Why would a caste ever go out into battle without protection? Due to Coal's weak physique, he can't really wear heavy armour to protect himself, so he enchants his clothes instead. So he can technically wear armour on the go. The clothes are capable of deflecting blades, magic, blunt force, etc. If the clothes can't block the attack a 100%, it just weakens the attack instead.

Familiar:

Cerberus

True, Coal can easily survive being alone for long periods of time. It can get lonely at times and it helps to have a familiar around to talk to. After successfully summoning and making a pact with a cat-demon, Coal had a new friend nicknamed Cerberus (according to the demon, his true name is impossible to pronounce by mere humans, and so, a nickname was made).
Cerberus is a Cheshire, a species of demon known for being clever tricksters, or lazy smiling-freaks who took advantage of their power. And so, Cerberus has a Cheshire physiology, giving him the ability to teleport, twist and contort his body in unnatural ways, go invisible, and speak even though they don't have proper vocal cords.

Other:

Coal isn't his real name. After fleeing his father, he decided he wanted to try to forgot his past completely and so named himself after a stray cat he found and took in in his younger years.
Coal always need a way to cast, he can never just will a spell to work. Spell casting methods include speaking, hand movements, and rituals. If he can't do at least one of these, he can't cast. Alternatively, Coal can infuse magical energy into an object as a back-up source for mana. Making circles, rings, necklaces, potions, or anything that doesn't require the magic of the user to work doesn't fall under this rule.

Ologies: A Study of Arcane Specialists {Paranormal Investigations and more}

<Snipped quote by Witch Cat>

There's 4 people viewing the page and I'm just waiting for one to post tbh

@AdobeFlash

THE TENSION IS HIGH!

Ologies: A Study of Arcane Specialists {Paranormal Investigations and more}

So I think I'm gonna have everyone who has posted a CS and has gotten me to sign off (so basically everyone but dragon. i still haven't gotten to look at everything. busy doing statistics.) Put their CS in the CS section.

@jasonwolf

I have no idea what you're saying, so I'm just going to post my CS in the CS tab. Hope I'm not going against your wishes by doing this, but that's all I could understand from your post.