name Amanda "Arc" Raikon
sex female
age 30
race human, magical
description This plain, yet attractive woman stands an inch or two above five feet. She has short, wavy brown hair worn up in a style that reminds you of a potted fern whose roots are ... blue. She has wide, limpid brown eyes which convey a sense of curiosity, confidence, and intelligence. Her eyebrows resemble a pair of thin, blue caterpillars lurking just over her eyes. Her face is bright, open, and inviting, and she has a small mouth and a slightly upturned nose. Her figure is trim, bordering on athletic, and she wears revealing, form-fitting clothing. alignment generally lumped into the chaotic neutral/good category; often selfish but fiercely protects her friends and the crew
occupation artificer, conjurer, playwright, and resident mad scientist (one of several) aboard the
Night's Tempest abilities, crafts, knacks, skills, and talents- artifice, certified journeyman (specialty: magical/mechanical hybrid devices) Arc has yet to distinguish herself in the field or artifice, but she's made strides in creating useful creations. All she needs now is to design a masterful piece and submit it to the Royal Academy of Magical Arts and Sciences to obtain her Master's certification, and she'll earn herself a fair bit of prestige and a hefty grant. Realistically, she has probably a half-dozen qualifying contraptions kicking around, but she can't be buggered to submit any of them.
- conjuration, advanced magical art (specialty: ancient, eldritch, vestigial beings) Arc has a dangerous addiction to the allure of summoned creatures. She revels in the power they afford her and the ease in which she can summon them. She invites them to use her body as a vessel for their essence, and she shares with them the experiences of a living, corporeal being. In exchange, they grant her astute awareness of her surroundings and powers beyond mortal comprehension. At the same time, she's loathe to call on these powers to frequently, preferring to use them only when they're desperately needed. She considers relying on the granted powers as "cheating."
- leadership, field commander (specialty: morale boosts and tactical coordination) Arc is a confident and competent combat tactician, who excels at putting her people in the right place at the right time. All of her allies within earshot are granted a bonus to their combat effectiveness, and are more likely to pull off complicated tactical maneuvers while she's coordinating them.
- mobility, unfettered movement (specialty: battlefield evasion and maneuvering) Arc is constantly monitoring the battlefield and always has several planned escape routes in mind for when things take a turn for the worse. She can quickly cross from one side of the melee to another using athletics or acrobatics, if necessary, and easily bypassing obstacles that would otherwise prove impassable. She is also a master of doing so without being seen; this is not so much invisibility as it is a matter of luck and precision timing. She simply manages to conduct herself in such a fashion that she is often unobserved in doing so.
conjurations, invocations, rotes, and spells - when fighting aboard the airship, particularly when airborne, Arc utilizes forceful wind-based attacks to deflect missile attacks and to push/pull/throw enemies overboard; similar to the spells gust of wind, wind wall, control winds, and she can manipulate the air temperature/pressure around her such that she can remain warm/comfortable at most altitudes; this isn't as effective when she's on the ground (but allows her to enhance the effectiveness of warm/cold weather gear she might be using), and is almost useless underground; these environmentally-based effects are some of the "gifts" she receives from the unusual supernatural forces she conjures
- when sudden, deadly force is called for, Arc can make use of force-missile-like projectiles delivered using her rifle "Jacob's Ladder" as a focus; she can directly manipulate the forces around her enemies, similar to telekinetic push/throw maneuvers, but these effects quickly drain her, so she uses them sparingly
weapons - rifle decorated with interweaving magical glyphs named "Jacob's Ladder" (more a mage's staff than a firearm; can be used to deliver "touch" spells at range)
- magically-charged, leaf-shaped short sword named "Helix" (creates a displacement/mirror image-like effect for about 1 min/day)
- Arc will occasionally create strange little mechanical or magical doodads that function as weapons, though they're usually limited in their usefulness and seldom last long after their initial introduction
familiarsPersonality:
Family/Allies:
player dither
background To create this, I tried to follow the format of a character class/prestige class entry in D&D: description, abilities, race, skills, proficiency, spellcasting, combat, religion, views towards others, other views towards her, combat, and advancement. I took liberties, obviously.
[spoiler]
A woman of many talents, "Arc," as her friends refer to her, is a highly-skilled, no-nonsense, high-spirited adventurer to the core. She lives fast and goes wherever the wind takes her -- and in the last thirty years of her life, it's taken her a number of places. A gunslinger, an avid tinker, and a studious conjurer of fell spirits, Arc throws spells and bullets with the best of them.
While her morbid sense of humor and oft-foul attitude towards the less intelligent might give one the impression of a poor upbringing and a dire temper, Arc has neither of these. Raised in higher society, Arc chose the life of an adventurer in order to give her unprecedented access to all four corners of the world and all that it has to offer.
She has a weakness for intelligence, wit, and beauty, which can lead to her undoing when confronted by an adversary who knows of her weakness and how to exploit it; though it's been years since Arc's met with a worthy challenger, but she never fails to keep herself in top physical and mental condition, by training the next generation of adventurers in the ways of wit and the sword.
Amanda favors strength, intelligence, and charisma. She trains daily with several apprentices, whom she keeps just as much to pass on her skills as she does to keep her own sharp. She engages with verbal wordplay and reads every scrap of news and lore that comes her way, and writes in every bit of free time she has. She's composed a number of plays, both for the stage, and for newer "broadcast" media, and she delights in performing for her friends and crew.
Amanda has a (possibly dangerous) infatuation with the ancient practices of mad wizards, who conjured inscrutable beings of unimaginable powers from beyond the limits of the known world. She dabbles in this addictive magic which has some of her friends concerned, particularly in her reckless abandon of new sources of ancient lore.
Often finding herself with more hobbies and interests than she has time for, Amanda finds herself (more often than not) saddled with lab work, roped into designing new magical devices to aid her and her allies in their forays into unknown and dangerous territory. When she can, though, she'll often squeeze in some time to test new theories for combining the aspects of her various interests, particularly in finding ways to make her conjurations more palatable to the less open-minded of her companions.
Amanda is an open-minded individual when it comes to members of other races, nations, and creeds. Having chosen the life of an adventurer for herself over the comforts of a quite life of high society, she's developed all the necessary tolerance for her career, and knows that someone in her line of work can never have too many friends, contacts, or allies.
She's also open-minded in the bedroom, as evidenced by the parade of male and female lovers she's taken over the years, of many different races, colors, and creeds. Amanda is often caught between the prospects of her interests and her chosen conquests, and forced to choose between getting what she wants and what she needs. As she's still alive today, it's not hard to assume that she often chooses the path that keeps her alive.
Amanda's been around the block more times than many people even twice her age. She's equally at home in arenas requiring cunning and guile, magic and spell-play, and those requiring blades and fisticuffs. She pays lip service to the gods that oversee whatever venture she's involved in but is quickly frustrated by zealots and evangelists, being just as likely to punch out a particularly narrow-minded devotee as she is to listen to his words.
She gets along with most people really well, but despises those who would try and limit her actions or rope her into politics. As she's said numerous times before: she left home to get away from the politics. However, her name's gotten around to a number of power-hungry individuals who would love the opportunity to get her support in whatever power-mad machinations they have in mind.
Amanda tries to remain cool-headed in most situations, and provide tactical advice to her comrades rather than engaging directly in combat. Though she's more than capable of handling herself, she knows that she's often better suited at guiding the action than many of those around her, and while the thought of missing out on a really good fight pains her, the thought of losing her comrades pains her even more.
When forced to fight, she will try to "one-shot" a strong-looking opponent with a magically-enhanced firearm or a similarly-powerful conduit for her magic. She tries to keep herself in excellent physical shape (both for health and for beauty), and she can therefore manage herself in a brawl as well, though she will quickly become fatigued in an extended fight (if she doesn't succumb to ennui, first).
While she doesn't boast about her exploits, her reputation precedes her, more often than not. She does nothing to dispel most of the rumors about her temper or penchant for violence or magic, nor her strange choice in lovers, or even her desire for obscure magic or lore. She is quick to refute any claims of her lack of dignity, intelligence, or beauty, however, the latter of which can be a sore spot at times. She remains confident in most situations as long as she can maintain her sense of superiority over her foe. Her confidence can quickly wane, however, when she is proven to be wrong in her assumptions, or repeatedly second-guessed and caught off-guard.
Amanda is rapidly approaching an age where she wonders what will lay in store for her in the future. She doesn't fear death, but she remains aloof in matters of the matters of the heart. She desires for herself a mate and children, but she doesn't want to give up her life as an adventurer. She hopes to find such things, though seems to be missing whatever vital thing she feels should be obvious to her after all these years of wandering.
[/spoiler]