Old World Monsters

[rhoenix]

Ah, thank you for reminding me, ComradeTortoise - I've added a "Languages" entry to my character sheet.

EDIT: Added description of natural form, and added one spell.

[Rukia]

added appearance as well.

[rhoenix]

The more characters that are posted here, the more interesting this game appears. Anyone else throwing their lot in?

[Shark Bait]

I'm gonna kick tvi in the shins and get him to hop in as well, i'd like to see him in as a revnant

[Marcao]

I am currently thinking of rolling up a wizard, but I have not worked out all the kinks yet. I will post a very brief overview in the near future.

[The Silence and I]

I'm most likely to go with a Golem based on past convos with Charon. I'll need to poke him a bit for updated details but I should have a character outline prepared soon.

[Charon]

And here's a fancy list of some of the NPC monster races that you may run into during the course of your adventures.

Sphinx

Creatures of immense knowledge but little wisdom, the Sphinx have plagued civilization for millennia. Usually these creatures are giants with great golden wings, the hind quarters of a cat, with the upper body and head of a woman. The Sphinx are usually giant, but have been known to shrink to fit where they want to go. To search for a sphinx is futile, as these creatures are notorious for only being found when they wish to be seen. The sphinx is very strong, capable of crushing a Grendel in full armor to pulp in moments, though they rarely use this physical strength. Sphinx are also extremely adept at counter magics. A sphinx lives for one reason, to ask riddles, and are also often found in the last place that they were wanted to be, blocking off some important pass and refusing to be moved until it’s riddle is answered. Those who fail to answer their riddle are often killed immediately, but if the riddle is answered correctly the sphinx goes mad with grief and kills itself.

Dragons

There is no creature on this plane of existence with equal or greater power than a dragon. These creatures came with thunder and fire from the lands of the barbarians and settled in Europe. These creatures wield magic equal to even the most powerful of wizards and have an immeasurable physical strength. Their scales have been known to shrug off cannon fire and it has even been recorded that a dragon picked a cannon ball out of the air and dropped it non-chalantly. A dragon’s fire melts even the hardest iron, their wings beat up gale storms, truly they are terrible beasts. Six dragons came to Europe, four now remain, and they defend their roosts quite well. From what has been seen of these beasts they are immensely intelligent, and some rumor that they very well know the languages of mortals even. Dragons keep immense hoards of treasure in their various lairs that they take from surrounding kingdoms, usually by force.

Demons

Almost nothing is known of these European abominations save that they exist. Rumors abound however that they live in the deepest reaches of hell and come out only to further their master’s plans, or their own. On the mortal plane it is unknown if these creatures have one weak mortal form, one indestructible form, if they possess other mortals, take on many forms at once, survive through multiple bodies, or many of these at the same time.

The Blessed

They have been known as many things over the millennia, The Shepherds, Godlings, The Hunters, but one thing has not changed, their renown as the antithesis of all other monsters. Many of the Blessed now work for the Catholic Church as Inquisitors or numerous other functions, such as the protection of Constantinople. There do remain however a number of blessed who still worship the pagan ways and assist their communities against occasional monster incursions. The Blessed have a number of powers, for one being almost completely immune to other monsters magics while still being able to perform their own minor magic. All Blessed also have an aura around them that they can suppress or bring forward that absolutely terrifies other monsters, in some cases this aura can be so strong as to prevent a monster from even being able to move. Furthermore many of the exact abilities of a Blessed seem to shift to best accommodate the Blessed against whatever monster it is fighting at the moment. Despite their amazing abilities, the Blessed rarely live much longer than a normal human would. Despite this however, stories are told of Blessed who have died before their duty was done coming back from the dead to continue their work.

[rhoenix]

I've edited my character sheet following a discussion with Charon about spells, and made a notation therein.

[The Village Idiot]

Visira

Revenant


Background: Not long ago, Visira was the retianer of a very powerful wizard. Mostly a spy for a power mad man, he spent his days aquiring various items and such for his lieges' experiments. Then one day it all turned wrong. His master requested a subject for a truely insane endeavor, necromancy. Before he knew what to say, he felt a sting and his body become heavy, the pull at the corner of his eyes drew him into unconsciousness.

He awoke some time later to find that he no longer drew breath, yet he still was ... alive? No, he had become undead.. He felt the pains of hunger and knew he must feast on human felsh in order to survive. Still one of morals he headed to the cities grave yard late one night, and began to dig.

After satisfying his craving he began the journey home, only to hear the whispers of rumor that the mad wizard had unleashed his abominable creatures he called experiments, upon the city. Fearing it was of him they spoke, Visira turned and fled the city in fear that his new "life" would be snuffed out if he was discovered. Visira has yet to hear word on his creators fate, if he had finally gone completly mad, if had been driven out, or if he had finally passed in his sleep.... or even worse....

Since that time he has kept to himself, traveling around, acquiring nowledge, and looking for work where to many questions aren't asked.

Appearance: A man of about average height, slender and muscular. His shoulder length dark hair pulled back to a pony tail, and a well manicured goatee upon his face. He appears to be in his late 20's, but to look in his light blue eyes, would convey a man of at least 20 more. He usually wears a long black cloak over well cared for dark leather, a sactchel slung low and a wide brimmed leather hat upon his head.

Personality: Formerly a man of sublty and resource, he is a quick thinker and very versital. Well educated, curious, and very laid back now that he has time to dwell. He likes to spend his time as if a normal man, but is all to quick to move on to the next town, if he fears anyone growing too suspicous.

Notable Vulnerabilities: Magic, the very thing that binds him to his body is the very thing that could more easily tear him away again. He is very weary, bordering on scared, of wizards and witches who may tear him asunder or worse.

Powers: Not fully practiced with the delicate nature to control the ebb and flow of life. Working best on the dead, able to keep their bodies from rotting, or to bring them back together once they have been torn to pieces. These powers even extend to mortals, able to heal or inflict wounds quickly, or to slowly suck the life out of a person, or slowly strengthen them against illness and age.

Religion:Pagan

Languages: fluent and literate in French, German, and English, he also speaks Italian and Spanish.

Haven: Visira moves from town to town, staying long enough to pick up a bit of knowledge and culture. Trying to find some place he can move into and call his own, far away from prying.

I will change this as needed.

[The Silence and I]

John Smith

Werewolf

Background
A well traveled and knowledgeable man, John was born in rural Finland some 40 years ago. His father was English and named him accordingly. He spent his early years as a hired hand on the farms but his aspirations were greater and he traveled to Helsinki to seek excitement. There he learned the ways of common martial weapons and served as a traveling guardsman for merchant convoys. In this capacity he was exposed to the whole of Europe and parts of Asia and Northern Africa. Not unexpectedly he is conversant in several languages and is familiar with many local cultures. After his years journeying John apprenticed with a blacksmith in Helsinki and afterwards he worked as a blacksmith for several quiet years.

Then the unthinkable happened. While he had been visiting the countryside during the summer he was attacked and bitten by a werewolf. As it happened the creature was interested in other prey and in its hurry the beast left him for dead. His injury was severe and his horse had fled so John was lucky again when he was discovered and attended to by other travelers. He survived, perhaps unfortunately, and life became a struggle against those that would kill him and the mindless horror within him.

Appearance
John stands 6 foot flat (1.83 meters) with broad, square shoulders and the solid build of a man who has seen his share of combat and heavy labor alike. His face is well shaped with the prominent cheekbones and carved jawline of a Northerner. His black hair is silvered with age and his light blue eyes usually seem tired. His face has aged well but there are lines around his eyes and forehead.

John wears brown and black rugged traveler's cloths and keeps a stout sword at his side. His pack is full of other unseen items but is not bulky.

Personality
John is very cautious about his nature and goes to great lengths to hide it from the world. He has good reason too, as it is hard to exaggerate the danger of werewolves, and he trusts no one with the knowledge but himself. He is easy to talk to although he keeps more or less to himself, and his travels have marked him as a worldly man. He is always restless and rarely stays in one place for long--part remnant of his youthful energy and part need to stay under the radar. He has no family--although he may have fathered children--and he does not seem to make friends, although it would be an easy thing to do if he allowed it. Something he prides himself on is his word. If he gives you his word he will keep it to the very best of his ability and he never gives it quickly. He is dependable and honest and doesn't much like beating around bushes.

Powers
John is forced to change into a savage werewolf devoid of all regulating intelligence every new moon (he is not unaware of the oddity of this, but different breeds of werewolf follow different phases) and the nights directly before and after--no matter where he is. He is not yet capable of willful transformation but when transformed possesses immense physical strength, speed, natural weapons and armor and regenerative abilities.

Weaknesses
John, like all werewolves, is highly vulnerable to silver. Wounds caused by this metal heal normally, unaffected by his regenerative powers and he is always harmed by it.

Languages
John's travels and birth have allowed him to fluently speak Finnish, English, German, Italian and Spanish. He is functionally conversant in French, Dutch, Russian and to a lesser extent Arabic. He can read Finnish, English and German.

Skills
John is skilled as a blacksmith and he is able to fashion many items of metal, be they farming tools or weapons. He is also familiar with the customs of much of the continent, some more so than others (see languages for a measure of knowledge). He is competent with sword and board and is accustomed to wearing padded chain. He is also skilled with the crossbow and to a lesser degree the shortbow. John knows what to do with most common weapons but to a lesser extent than the above.

Religion
John is Christian and firmly believes he has a chance for salvation if only he can keep his rampages under control and repent for his transgressions. Then maybe with the grace of the almighty his sins may be forgiven and he be allowed into paradise. That said he is not a particularly devout church attendee--in his eyes his problem is too great for regular church attendance to really help him all that much. Still he does attend from time to time.

[Charon]

All characters thus far are ok right now.

Additionally, I've made a few changes to creatures. Revenants have a weakness to magic. Werewolves are resistant to magic and the closeness of silver can drive them away.

[The Village Idiot]

Edited Languages and back story following brain-storm with Charon.

[Dark Silver]

Yeah, I won't be joining right now, maybe later if I get a idea for the character better than "Rar Frankenbeans!"

[rhoenix]

Yeah, I won't be joining right now, maybe later if I get a idea for the character better than "Rar Frankenbeans!"

There are some pretty compelling ideas for golems which could make very interesting characters. Failing that, there are also the Djinn that Charon and I hammered out.

[Comrade Tortoise]

*pokes thread and Charon*

[Charon]

Sorry. Had a busy week. Plus I just upgraded my computer, which finally allowed me to play Medieval: Total War II... so that kinda... was distracting a bit.

Anyway, some more info for you guys, and we should be starting soon.


You're going to be in the town of Wittenberge which is in the northern portion of the Holy Roman Empire. A very small town, fairly unimportant in the grand scheme of things but still populated as a stopping point for trade because it's situated along a river.

I'm imagining that you're all starting seperate from one another seeing as your character profiles are all rather different from one another. Though if you want to have your characters have some history together, I certainly wouldn't complain. Monsters are known to travel in "packs" so that they can support one another, varying powers means widespread safety, and when there's more than one of you around it's a lot harder for the possible angry mob with pitchforks to overwhelm you.

[Charon]

Sidenote: If people could add equipment to their character profiles, that'd be cool, so I know what kind of stuff you've got on you.

EDIT: In terms of firearms. The most common are Matchlocks and Wheellocks. England has begun production of Snaplocks, but those are a very tightly held military secret and not just freely given out to people. (you want to know what the hell I just said? Use Wikipedia.)

[Charon]

I'm making a point of this not because I think anyone has purposefully done this or for that matter done this yet (like I said, all your character sheets look good). I just think it's a good thing to point out now before we've started so I'm not springing this on anyone.

I, as the GM, reserve the right to retroactively change any character if I discover during the course of gameplay that they are overpowered.

[Cynical Cat]

I, as the GM, reserve the right to retroactively change any character if I discover during the course of gameplay that they are overpowered.

Maiming and crippling works well; mental, physical, or spiritual.

And on that note, I'm changing my character

Name: Paul
Character: Magic touched orphan.
Nationality: wherever another PC might pick up a lackey.
Languages: His home town's. That's it.

Background: He knows neither his mother nor his father. His age is sixteenish. He's skinny and quick and stronger than he looks (but still not that strong). He's smarter than most and has survived by begging, stealing, charity, and odd jobs. He bears odd, dark brands on his arms that he's had all of his life. Once when he was fighting for his life the power manifested and he blasted his attackers with bolts of eldritch fire. He has almost no skill and little control over his powers.

Powers: There is a well of dark power within him. He has no idea if he's of fae descent, magically gifted, or the inheritor of an infernal pact or worse.

Group Role: another player's servant.
Possessions: Ragged clothes, crappy shoes, rust spotted 14 inch knife of decent steel. A few pennies. Whatever his patron has given him.

He should be the weakest character in the game.

[Charon]

What could possibly go wrong with a well of unspecified dark power.

But yes, crippling works as well. I'm mostly pointing it out for my own faults as I have somewhat of a history in my GMing of ok'ing a characters concept and then discovering first session that they are utterly broken (Like in my Serenity campaign where one of the players was doing three times the damage a gun could do with his fists).

[rhoenix]

This is the revised entry for the Djinn - less of an itemized write-up, and more of a synopsis.


Djinn

These beings have gone by many names, depending on the location - they have been known as elementals or genies, to name but a few. They once viewed themselves long ago as superior to humans, but breeding rates and lack of overt prejudices among the humans have long since changed that notion. This is especially true because they've come to admit that they're more like humans than not. Even so, humans view them usually as strange, almost otherworldly, but equally frightening and fascinating.

There are four different sorts of djinn, being essentially elemental - air, earth, fire, and water. As such, they have a strong dislike (and weakness) to their opposing environment. Air-aspected djinn would get claustrophobic in underground places, and succumb to wanderlust easily - they of the four are most likely to test out and learn new ideas. Fire-aspected djinn don't like being around water, particularly large bodies of it, and tend to have a love of conflict - whether it be arguing or fighting, they get restless otherwise. Earth-aspected djinn are afraid of heights, don't like traveling much, and don't like change. Water-aspected djinn are afraid of fire, as well as avoiding conflict in favor of peace and harmony, tending to avoid conflict - however, though slow to anger, their fury is terrible to behold.

One ability all djinn have is that of being able to change their shape from their natural form - that of having humanoid upper bodies, with the abdomens down as manifestations of their element. To change their shape, but they require 5-10 years of study to understand a particular species enough to take it's form. They are individuals in whatever form they take, and as such cannot copy another being - moreover, any form they take has subtle colorings of their element. They also are limited to 4 different forms total that they can change into; once a form is chosen, it cannot be discarded or forgotten.

The other ability they are known for is being capable of magic - not quite to the same degree as humans are potentially capable of, but about to the same degree of a revenant or a vampire. Their choice of spells and manner of casting is influenced by their element. Moreover, all djinn have an inherent affinity with their element, which can be affected by their moods and emotions. The winds may shift direction or change in strength for air-aspected; flames get stronger, weaker, or even start spontaneously for fire-aspected; water churns or changes temperature around water-aspected, and the earth itself can move and shake for moody earth-aspected.

Their lifespan is typically much longer than humans; usually about 400 years. They mature faster than you'd expect, but not as fast as humans - djinn are considered children until about age 20, adolescents until 30, and adults for most of their lives. They don't begin to succumb to the perils of old age until well past their three hundred year mark. Culturally, they are quite similar to humans - they marry, raise children, fight wars, follow religions, and so forth. They follow the same religions humans do, and their choices are typically influenced by where in the world they hail from. Their practice of that religion is usually influenced by a subtle degree by their element.

Djinn of different elements can mate all they want, but only Djinn of complementary elements or the same element can breed (e.g. Earth with Water, Fire with Air, Earth with Fire, or Water with Air). The resulting child will always be of the mother's element, though will inherit a few quirks from both parents. Socially, dual-element marriages are quite rare amongst the djinn and will cause concern, though they do happen from time to time.

(EDIT: cleaned up first paragraph)

[Charon]

Err, Cat I was being sarcastic with that bit. The Paul character is not ok'ed. If you really want to use him we can discuss it and make some changes.

EDIT: The issue has been cleared up and the character is ok'ed.

[Cynical Cat]

Just a reminder, I need someone to be Paul's patron. So, who wants a lackey?

[Comrade Tortoise]

I'll take one

[rhoenix]

See, everyone likes minions.