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 Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 12:39 am
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 12:41 am
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The Bad:
These Residents are hostile in varying degrees and are, essentially, bad. These are the Residents you should try to avoid, though it seems almost impossible to do so, they're pretty much wherever you go.
Below is a list of a few of the "bad" Residents encountered thus far.
The Crazies:
Not in any way a technical term, "The Crazies" are the various people found throughout the Penfold estate. They come in all shape and sizes and are all human, they're just not sane anymore.
Most of The Crazies are violent to anyone, sometimes even to each other, but not all of them are this way. Some suffer from dementia in a variety of ways, ranging from crying, just wanting to be left alone, or even an almost dog-like admiration for people.
Most Crazies, when dispatched, will have a small variety of items and, in most cases, a silver coin.
All of the violent Crazies seem to not feel pain or just ignore it. Either way, they're not easy to put down. Some of the more vicious Crazies can push their bodies to the very limit.
The Infected (Stage 1):
The Infected, like the Crazies, are completely insane. The biggest difference between the two is The Infected are, well, infected with some sort of currently unknown disease.
Other noticeable differences include a slight change in appearance in the eyes. An Infected's eyes are black, cold, and glazed over. The veins and skin around their eyes are brown and cracked. Drool commonly runs down their mouths.
The less obvious differences that can only be seen if you get hit by one is the immense amount of strength that an Infected holds. They are much stronger, faster, more agile, and more resistant to pain than the average Crazy, though their intelligence and sanity appears to have degraded to an even lower state.
It is currently unknown as to how the disease is transferred, however, it's obvious that Infected are more of a threat than Crazies and should be avoided if possible.
Oh, and don't let them bite you or anything, even though the cause or transference of the disease is unknown, or even if it's contagious, it's better to be safe than sorry...
They don't seem to like direct light.
The Infected (Stage ?):
At this particular stage, a host has undergone massive mutations. Given that the virus evolves differently in each host, it can be assumed that there are several different mutations that can take place. So far, only one has been seen.
Here is an example of what could happen to a host at this stage of infection (as witnessed in the Wasteland):
(Partial concept credit of this particular subject goes to Venom and the club-arm to Bayer)
The creature is a dark, sickly brown, its skin rough, lumpy, and occasionally oozing brown fluid from seemingly random pores. The creature consists of a massively-muscled torso sitting upon four thin, long bird-like legs with bone spurs jutting downwards from the back of the knees far enough to touch the ground when its knees were bent. It doesn't appear to have any feet.
On its chest are two, large eyes, the left about the size of a softball and the right the size of a tennis ball. The irises are yellow and the pupil of the left is large and round, whereas the right pupil is slitted. Several limp tentacles of varying sizes protrude from where its head should be, or rather was, giving the vague idea of hair.
Its right arm is large and club-shaped, with several fleshy, spike-like protrusions dotting it in a random matter. Its left arm is much thinner, appearing to have been sucked up by the mass of muscle that was its torso. It comes to a rather unnerving point and has been shown to slink from its socket, exposing it as a much longer limb.
The center of its torso, just below its eyes, splits apart, revealing what could only be described as a large, sideways mouth with countless serrated teeth lining it.
Snowmen:
Found in the Snow Realm, Snowmen look just like regular snowman, however, they're usually exceptionally smaller (coming up to about three-quarters of the shin.) though it's been found that they can become larger.
The Snowmen don't seem too threatening, but they're still a threat. As of right now, they only seem to have clawed stick arms to attack with, but they have also been seen sinking into the snow only to jump back out in another location, larger from the snow it gathered from the ground.
They've also been known to combine with each other or the snow in the environment to increase their size. In the first encounter, four combined to create one Snowman, four-times the size with eight eyes and four, enlarged arms.
How big they can become is still unknown. If one is hit, the snow simply acts as it would if it wasn't alive and then the Snowman begins to rebuild itself.
So far, the best idea for dealing with them is fire.
Burning their hats seems to work quite nicely.
The Snowmen appear to be very bad at stopping after they charge.
They're notoriously good snowball throwers.
Nutcrackers (Halberdier):
The Nutcrackers vary slightly in appearance from Nutcracker to Nutcracker but all stick to the same, basic design. Being about a foot tall with a three-inch, fuzzy black hat, long, white beards, their generally bright and eye-catching designs painted on their chests and legs, and their stiff movement, they're often hard to miss.
The Halberdier Nutcracker is often larger than a normal Nutcracker (about eighteen-inches) and wields a decorative though sharp halberd that's about
twenty seven-inches in length.
Their abilities with the halberds have yet to be seen.
Nutcrackers (Rifleman):
The Nutcrackers vary slightly in appearance from Nutcracker to Nutcracker but all stick to the same, basic design. Being about a foot tall with a three-inch, fuzzy black hat, long, white beards, their generally bright and eye-catching designs painted on their chests and legs, and their stiff movement, they're often hard to miss.
The Rifleman Nutcracker is about twelve inches and they wield a black rifle and bayonet, simple in design. fires BB-like projectiles that cause a sting similar to that of a bee's sting. The long-term effects (if any) of these projectiles has yet to be seen.
These Nutcrackers can fire their rifles quite accurately and the range has yet to be determined. They must reload after every shot and carry a large pouch at their waste full of ammo.
Soldiers (Wasteland):
The soldiers of the Wasteland all wear dark green, fitted trench coats with large, yellow buttons, large black boots, thick rubber gloves, and gas masks of brown leather that seemed to be fashioned after German WWII gas masks. The color tint of the lenses seem to vary according to rank.
They tend to come in units of six and almost always populate the Wasteland's many factories.
They can use a variety of weapons and are capable of simple to complex combat maneuvers.
Field Officers have bronze reflective lenses (with the only exception being Colonels who have silver reflective) and usually possess better weaponry than the lower ranks in their unit, is better trained, and has more experience. Killing this individual will generally confuse or disorient the soldiers in their squad.
Lens Color and the Modern Rank Equivalent:
Green: Private
Yellow: Corporal
Orange: Sergeant
Red-Orange: Sergeant Major
Clear: Officer Cadet
Tinted: 2nd Lieutenant
Tinted: Lieutenant
Brass Reflective: Captain
Bronze Reflective: Major (Field Officer)
Bronze Reflective: Lt. Colonel (Field Officer)
Silver Reflective: Colonel (Field Officer)
Gold Reflective: Brigadier
White: General
Black: Field Marshal
Soldiers (Wasteland/Steamers):
"Steamers" have what seem similar to military flamethrowers, but in reality, these are "steamthrowers" due to the flammability of the air. They are essentially the flame, or rather steam units in the Wasteland.
These soldiers wear noticeably different uniforms than regular soldiers. They wear thick, obviously heat-resistant olive-green outfits, black rubber boots, and thick, black rubber gloves.
They wear thick belts across their waists with several pockets, and the straps holding the cylinders on their backs make an "X" pattern across their chest, where grenades are generally held.
They wear gas masks with a single, large face shield tinted orange.
On their backs, there are two cylinders and a steam gauge in the middle. In their hands they hold a copper pipe with tight nozzles attached to the front end and a handle with a trigger on the other.
The handle and mid-section of the pipes are covered with rubber.
A thin, flexible tube connects the gun mechanism to the cylinders.
Another variant has been found that wields perforated swords that expel steam, rather than throwers.
Medics (Wasteland):
Wasteland Medics are a variant of the Wasteland Soldier, they wear similar attire as the soldiers, but a different color scheme. They wear white, fitted trench coats with large black buttons and a large red cross on both the front and back, black leather boots, more lightweight than a soldier's boots, thin, black rubber gloves, and the same gas masks with bright red lenses.
They usually show up in pairs in the middle of a big gunfight and are extremely light of foot, seemingly excelling at a form of Parkour that they utilize to both avoid gunfire and to reach their comrades much more quickly. They also appear to have almost superhuman reflexes.
They are extremely efficient, a pair of them being able to heal a soldier in only a matter of seconds depending on the wound. While they do not typically fight and would first retreat before any kind of confrontation, they all carry standard handguns in case they have no other choice. It is extremely rare that any medic would actually fire their handguns as they are all extremely proficient at escaping and outrunning almost any situation.
They are a difficult target to hit, and they generally pose no other threat other than the reviving of more deadly soldiers. Whether or not it's ethical to shoot them is entirely up to the gunman.
They possess enough willpower to easily overthrow Orion's hacking attempts from a distance.
Wrecks (Mid-Sized Wasteland):
Behemoths of metal, steam, and gears, Wrecks are metal, steam-powered constructs tha generally tower all but the tallest Residents of Empyrea. Only encounter (thus far) in the Wasteland, they are fearsome machines of war and are not to be taken lightly. They supposedly come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from the nimble Light Wrecks, to the titanic Heavy Wrecks and every Wreck in-between. However, only one Wreck has been encountered, all others are still myths and stories.
A "mid-sized" Wreck is more balanced than the alleged Light and Heavy Wrecks, but comes in less variety. They generally stand a good seven or eight feet tall, but can sometimes stand up to ten feet tall and weigh up to a ton or more depending on the design. While model designs still vary greatly, they are almost all bipedal with two arms. While many are unarmed or armed with some sort of melee weapon, makeshift or otherwise, other, more advanced models, may be able to operate firearms and may even have such weapons built into their system. Some models may have some unique or different capabilities that others don't or abiities that may not be obvious, but nothng can be said for sure.
All Wrecks are powered by internal or external steam combustion and many Light Wrecks and few mid-sized Wrecks carry a backup battery of sorts.
Wrecks (Model H):
A mid-sized Wreck, the Model H stands eight feet three inches tall and weighs roughly half a ton. Its copper body is completely spherical, three feet in diameter, with a domed head with goggle-like eyes protruding from the top and a raised socket roughly six inches across on the bottom of the sphere. A yellow light glows from each eye. From the socket comes a thick bunch of copper piping and wiring connecting the body to the groin and thin copper legs of the Wreck.
Below the smooth "thighs" of the Wreck are the thin and exposed, almost brittle-looking shins and feet of the construct, the heavily-jointed feet of the Wreck takin on the appearance of bird's feet and legs. Its excessively long and somewhat thin arms extend from the sides of its spherical body all the way to the ground with rather small, humanoid hands, giving an overly awkward look and feel to the Wreck.
Upon its forearms is thin metalic tubing connecting the forearms to the main body. This tubing is secured to keep it from getting in the way. Also upon t's forearms are a number of breaks and bolts, suggesting that they can open up for whatever reason. On the surface of the forarms are a number of pores to vent steam. Behind the Wreck's knees are vents that release steam with every step.
The joints of the Wreck are completely exposed, revealing a number of gears and wires. The wires are sautered neatly to the gears to prevent any accidental snagging and to reduce exposure.
On its back, it carries what looks like an oxygen tank with steel pipes feeding directly into its "mouth". This is actually part of its internal-external steam combustion system. An internal combustion occurs within the body of the Wreck and the resulting steam is stored up inside the backpack, pressurized, then fed back ino the Wreck's steam engine to power it, located just below its head. The excess steam is then released through its arms, also creating a potential weapon.
Because of its awkward design, it constantly walks with a hunch.
While overall awkward and flimsy in appearance, the Model H is highly durable and strong, able to toss aside debris and take bullets with ease. They are not a threat to be taken lightly by any means.
When the Model H is close to being disabled, destroyed, or its head has taken enough damage, it will go into a frenzy, using anything and everything in one final attempt to kill their target before their systems fail.
Mick's Version: (drawing to come soon)
After joining Smith in the Wasteland, Workman Mick modified and activated an inert Model H Wreck located in the garage of the factory. As well as making it friendly, he also made several improvements: The Wreck now stands straight, making its total height about nine and a half feet.The combustion system is now completely internal to prevent it from being easily damaged and to allow more efficient combustion, the only external systems on the back are two steam vents that go up to about a foot above the head, which is now raised to allow a greater field of vision and improved cranial mobility. An antenna protrudes twelve inches above the rights side of its head.
As well as all this, its legs and arms have been more heavily armored (the legs more so than the arms) and its joints have been reinforced. Rather than a yellow glow from its eyes, the color is now white when idle and red when engaging hostiles.
It has shown to be stronger, quicker, more efficient, and, when fed directions via the radio antenna upon its head, smarter.
Santa "Claws"
Santa, or "The Boss", as the elves call him, as fallen victim to the infection despite the efforts of the elves to find a cure. This has caused the jolly, old fellow to go through quite a few changes:
Now, he stands stood tall, almost seven feet tall and much too thin, his dirty skin is dry and covered with brown veins. His thin, dark, oily hair falls straight and just past his shoulders. His face is completely covered by a small, canister respirator and his eyes are covered by reflective lenses.
He wears a dirty and tattered white shirt beneath his open and baggy jacket (of the sort one would expect Santa to wear) in the same condition of his shirt.
His dulled red and saggy pants have a hole over the left knee and the legs are tucked into his one, large black boot and into the socket of the red and white striped peg leg. His thick leather belt hangs loose, but still latched, and his sleeves are rolled up.
Probably his most outstanding feature are his brown gloves with what looked like veins running through them, the material looks similar to skin, now. And, of course, there are the long (approximately ten inches long), brown blades projecting from each of his fingertips and his thumb. Those are kind of important.
Santa, in his infected form, possesses great strength and resilience and has shown to be capable of short bursts of speed. For some reason, the MADHATTER has expressed an interest in obtaining a sample of Santa's blood, likely because Santa was a powerful Empyrean prior to becoming infected.
DECEASED
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 12:42 am
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 12:44 am
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The Neutral, Variable, and Uncertain:
These Residents have yet to present themselves as either friend or foe. A close eye should be kept on these Residents and caution should be exercised when interacting with them until they have proven themselves as either a friend or a foe.
Only a few have been encountered, here's a list:
The MADmen / The Dukes:
The Dukes, or MADmen, seem to have come from a different world, where a disease tore their population apart. Bringing the disease with them as they searched for a cure, the Dukes have stumbled into the world of Empyrea, where their Infected armies do battle with the forces of the Workmen.
The MADHATTER:
The MADHATTER is extremely tall, standing at almost seven feet tall with a thin, almost delicate frame, though the presence he gives off and the posture he stands with suggests otherwise. His skin is extremely pale, but his cheeks hold a flush of red and his brightly-colored features offset his nearly colorless skin. His curly, bright red hair hangs off to the sides of his face and spill just over his ears, but venturs no further down his face than the top of his thin, equally-red eyebrows. He has absolutely no facial hair apart from his eyebrows.
His eyes are interesting, not only because of their brightness and color, but because each eye is a different color, the right eye being purple and the left eye a golden yellow. Upon several encounters, one will find that the color of his eyes are not constant. He has very thin lips which are almost always smiling and slightly apart, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth.
On his torso, he wears a blue admiral jacket with silver buttons and silver lining. Over his jacket he wears a brightly-colored cape that looks to be either made of or modeled after peacock feathers. His slacks are a bright red, matching his hair, and his simplistic shoes are pink with no laces. He wears a red, yellow-spotted bow tie over a black necktie and white gloves on his hands.
In his right hand he carries a black cane with a golden, spherical handle whereas in his left hand he carries a teacup supposedly filled with tea.
Upon his head is a stout, black top hat with a white band running around it which resembles many pointed teeth in its appearance. Off to the right and just above the band is a small and shiny red orb, almost giving the idea of an eye to the teeth.
Apart from his impressive stature, he appears quite young.
His voice carries and he sounds rather young, but he also has a tinge of insanity attached to his voice, mixed with an accent that can only be described as a slight Irish, yet not Irish, accent. He is also utterly mad.
Munkwon A. Driskoll:
This Duke is about five feet eight inches and of average build.
He is in complete color and stands out from the colorless environment he was first encountered in.
He has crooked and slightly yellowed teeth. He wears a dark purple top hat with a yellow band, a lighter purple waistcoat that fanned out at the bottom and only had the two center buttons buttoned. He also wears a darker yellow shirt beneath the waistcoat, a magenta bow tie, neon orange gloves, pinstripe slacks matching his hat, an orange belt with a green, metallic buckle, and extremely shiny shoes that, rather than having a color of their own, reflect the colors around the Duke's feet.
Needless to say, he is quite colorful.
His skin is pale and his eyes are dark, almost black, but his hair that flows out from beneath his hat and to about his shoulders is a canvas of color, sporting every color from red to green and everything in between. He speaks with a slight, untraceable accent.
He is apparently pretty powerful as he is the assumed one to have been knocking Shepard and Carpenter around.
When witness outside of his colorless world, he himself is found to be quite colorless himself.
He is found to be one of the eldest of the MAD siblings.
Munkwon fights in a solid manner and fights in more of a street style, though some of his moves mimic that of a MCMAP practitioner. He delivers heavy blows while simultaneously countering or blocking his opponent's. He tends to use punches and low kicks with the occasional grapple, joint lock or manipulation, or pressure point, using any means to disable his opponent while holding his ground or pushing forward.
He has proven to be extremely durable and strong, even more so when his enemies are dragged into his very own world, where he uses his colors to his advantage.
Maria A. Driskoll:
Maria is rather tall, standing at about six feet, give or take a couple of inches, and her slim yet curvy figure shows clearly. She wears a form-fitting, long-sleeved black waistcoat that opens at her bosom to reveal a white collared shirt and a dark red tie. Her waistcoat is adorned with several miscellaneous fine golden threads and buttons and her tie is held in place with a gold tie clip. The back of her waistcoat extends down towards the back of her legs, clad in tight black slacks, and stops just above her black ballet flat dress shoes with red ties.
On her hands she wears black fingerless gloves made of silk and upon her fingers are a variety of rings, all extremely ornate. On each of her wrists are several golden bracelets, some dangling freely while others cling tightly to the sleeves of her jacket.
Above her fair and beautiful face she wears a large, black top hat with a dark red band that has a blank card stuck in it along with two large red roses decoratively placed at the base of the card.
The hat covers the top of her reddish brown hair that runs down between her shoulders and casts a shadow over her deep red eyes.
Perfect white teeth showed between her pink lips in a welcoming smile.
She speaks quickly and has a horribly thick accent. She is just slightly older than Martin, the youngest MADman.
She is apparently very agile and rather quick, but doesn't seem to make any strikes of her own in a fight, preferring to evade the enemy's attacks and disgruntling them by taunting them, dancing around, and making playful or inappropriate gestures towards them.
Before a fight, however, she throws down one of her roses. The purpose for this is unknown, but when it's on a suitable landscape, it grows rapidly, closing up and encasing itself inside a thorny case. It has not been seen to grow past this as of yet.
Elesariin's Rendition
Martin A. Driskoll:
Martin is the youngest of the Driskoll siblings, and looks to be about 21 years old. He travels often with his dear sister Maria, and likes to be with her as much as possible.
With fair skin and silver hair, Martin looks like he'd be a soft kind of person. His sparkling purple eyes are always curious and alert, like the child that he is at heart. Purple is his favorite color, for it is the color of royalty, and most of his clothes are in shades of violet and lavender. The only item that stands out in his wardrobe is a hypnotizingly shiny silver pocket watch, which he claims was a gift from the MADHATTER himself.
He carries with him a purple umbrella, no matter the weather. He uses it as a walking stick, and its capabilities are unknown. He is very reluctant to part with it. He is usually afraid to touch things, so he uses it and, failing that, wears a pair of gloves so that he never has to make contact with it.
Martin's voice is soft and clear. In fact, when he speaks, he almost seems to be lucid and sane. However, there are rumors about what happens when someone comments on his sanity...
He follows Maria faithfully and will do most anything she asks. His adoration for her is somewhat mysterious, but it is hypothesized that he might have a deeper feeling than simple family love...
Martin has yet to fight. He has no obvious weapons and no apparent skill in combat, but in this world, nothing is at it seems.
Maximilian A. Driskoll:
Max is of average height, fair-skinned, slim of figure, has dark, short hair, and piercing steel-colored eyes. He has a scar vertically crossing his right eye to the middle of his cheek and another scar crossing his left eye diagonally, starting from the middle of his forehead to the back of his jaw.
He wears a brown, collared shirt, opened down to the top of his chest with a few, small colored beads hanging from the collar. The shirt is tucked into a pair of darker brown slacks held up by a brown, leather belt that had a pocket watch along with several other trinkets, a steel flask, and miscellaneous, small devices hanging along it.
On his hands are brown, fingerless gloves, around his neck is a pair of brass-rimmed, wide tinted goggles, and on his feet are brown, leather shoes with a thick sole. Upon his head is a rather intricate, brown top hat. Wrapped around the hat in place of a band is a strip of scrap metal twisted around the hat and tied to the right with a large, brass pocket watch attached to the knotted metal. Over his left eye is a monocle. Attached to that monocle was two or three other lenses, including a curious red-colored lens, that could be flipped in front of the base lens.
Probably his most outstanding feature is the pair of large, copper wings, modeled after that of an angel's, protruding from his back.
He speaks and acts in a cool, calculating manner and appears to be rather intelligent and at times ruthless and cold-hearted.
Matthias A. Driskoll:
Matthias is rather short Duke, standing only 5'5", and so thin that he looks almost as though he is wasting away. His hair is gray, and though it reaches only a couple inches long at its longest it is wildly wavy. His rather unintimidating height is offset by a fierce, even wild expression, set on a face with a strong jaw and sunken eyes. Speaking of which, Matthias' eyes are both heterochromatic and of different sizes; the left blue eye is noticeably larger than the narrow green right eye. Burn scars on his jaw prevents a goatee from growing in completely.
The MADman wears a white double-breasted long coat, buttoned along the length of his torso, with the top three buttons open, exposing a white button-down shirt and a purple tie. He has his black-lensed goggles resting on his forehead, beneath the brim of his white top hat. He wears black slacks and high boots and a large black leather glove on his right hand/forearm, with a digital watch around the wrist.
On the outside of his coat's left arm is a mechanical creation, designed in a manner seemingly inspired by a spider, that appears to have a number of small associated devices, including miniature scissors, scalpels, and tweezers that were partly exposed - with a glance at it and a flex of his fist, they all retract to be within it. He has small devices of unknown purpose on his hands and feet.
Matthias has demonstrated that he can slide large machinery around, showing that he seems to have more physical strength than his emaciated frame would imply - the machine he moved was heavier than he should be able to move with his own apparent muscle mass (though that may be somehow augmented, a supposition supported by the observable bulk beneath the clothing on his arms and legs).
The March Hare:
The March Hare is a six-foot tall, lanky-looking... thing in a rabbit mask with disturbing, obsidian-black, shining eyes. It wears black slacks cut off halfway down its shins and a black vest over a white button-down shirt. Black fingerless gloves with metal plating on the back protects its hands. On its feet are black laceless dress shoes from which knee-high black and white striped knee socks emerged. Around his neck it has a blood-red silk bow tie. The rabbit mask appears to either be some sort of facial plating or a cover grafted or worn on its face, tied to the thing's scalp by strands of straw - possibly a hair-like growth. It stands casually with a hunting rifle over its shoulder and only seems to move when no one else is looking or when shooting and doesn't actually ever speak, but Matthias communicates with it all the same.
While not an actually MADman, the March Hare is closely associated with Matthias. Whether he created it or simply acquired its loyalty is unclear.
Others:
Anything that isn't a MADman.
Elves:
Encountered in the Snow Realm, these self-proclaimed "Elves" are considerably short, about the size of a Snowman.
They have pointed ears and sparkling eyes without actual irises, rosy, angular cheeks, and fair skin.
They tend to wear a pointed, green hat with a golden bell on top, a green tunic that goes down to their knees with a white collar and cuffs with golden buttons, and a thick, black leather belt with a simple gold buckle ran around their waists.
On their legs, they wear red and white striped tights with small shoes that are dark green and curl up at the toes.
Each Elf is different and has their own personality and interests.
Notable Elves
Mr. Jingles
Mr. Jingles is Santa's foul-mouthed, ill-tempered head elf. He looks almost identical to other elves, but his hair is gray and he looks considerably more mature.
Beetles (Bright-Orange):
These beetles appear to be like any other beetle except they're large, about the size and shape of the upper half of a large softball and they're bright-orange with long, black antennae and short black legs. They're small heads are black as well and their shells are outlined with black.
They almost appear cartoon-ish.
They're fast and seem to have limited flying capabilities. When threatened, they expand their wings and release a loud, high-pitched clicking noise.
Other than that, nothing else is know, but it's assumed by Henry that they travel in large groups. He was right.
The bright-orange beetles appear to have some sort of acidic nature and their blood has been discovered as highly flammable.
Other than overwhelming numbers, the acid, and the flammable blood, they are otherwise harmless.
They are harmless on their own and can (possibly) make good pets...that is, if you don't smash them or let them near other beetles.
They become rather docile when along and act almost dog-like in nature and seem to be able to see the disembodied souls of others.
Beetles (Blue):
All that's known about Blue Beetles so far is that they are similar in appearance to a Bright-Orange beetle with the exception that their shells are a light shade of blue and appear to be translucent with some sort of liquid (likely water) contained within.
They are extremely docile and seem to have no effective means of offense.
They can spit water and lack the ability to fly.
Beetles (Brown):
Brown Beetles are a little less than three times the size of the standard Empyrean beetle and have large mandibles. They are, if you haven't guessed, varying shades of brown and are rather meaty. Their shells consist of a hard outer layer with a tough, meaty layer underneath.
They are rather strong and can fly short distances. Their bite hurts, but that's the worst they can do. They aren't particularly ferocious.
Yetis:
The Yetis of Empyrea are much like the mythical Yetis of our world. In fact, they may be one in the same. They stand at about eight feet tall and resemble large apes. Their bodies are covered in long, snow-white hair, only leaving their gray, square faces, large hands, and large feet exposed.
They can, like almost any other living thing, come in all shapes and sizes, but stick to the same basic blueprint. Some may be slim while others may sport a beer gut.
It's all in the genes.
They're big, strong, and fast, demonstrating the ability to quickly gain upon sprinting humans and hit them with a large, thrown boulder from a distance. They have been shown to be extremely territorial and have only been encounter hostilely in the Chasm of the North Pole.
Recently discovered have been yetis that are smaller in stature (about half the size of most yetis) and that possess the ability to speak in human tongues at the cost of being unable to vocalize many of the yeti's growls and grunts that they use to communicate. This is likely due to one or more recessive genes. Why these yetis aren't as physically impressive as others is unclear. Because many yetis understand English but few understand yet, these stout yetis are used as interpreters to communicate with outsiders.
Any more on the Yeti has yet to be discovered.
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 12:45 am
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The Paranormals:
The word "paranormal" refers to anything outside of normal comprehension, some of its synonyms being "ghostly", "unearthly", and "metaphysical". Any of these words can be used to describe The Paranormals.
The Paranormals are, essentially, ghosts of all kinds, ranging anywhere from a Rewind Ghosts and Essence Ghosts, to Poltergeists, Elemental Ghosts, and more.
The Paranormals have no definite standing and therefore can be call neither "good" nor "bad".
No two are alike, each Paranormal is the soul of a human who was once a alive and therefore their standing depends on the Paranormal itself for each Paranormal is a separate being and each may have separate views on what to do.
Just because you were attacked by say, a Poltergeist, that doesn't mean that every Poltergeist is "bad", it just means that the one you ran into was.
So far only one type of Paranormal has been encountered.
Rewind Ghosts:
Rewind Ghosts are Paranormals who are forced to relive the last few minutes of there lives, over and over and over again. While they are going through those last few minutes, they are completely unaware of anything going on around them. However, shortly after they've gone through their pattern and have "reawakened", they are aware for only a short period of time before being sucked back into the sequence of those last few minutes.
Rewind Ghosts seem to be unable to interact with the environment (i.e. if one goes to pick up a bottle or open a door at any time during their sequences or "reawakening" period, the bottle or door remains in place on the physical work and while they may appear to be going through with the action or holding something, there is, in reality, nothing in their hand.
Rewind Ghosts pose no physical threat to the Guests as they cannot actually make physical contact with them, however, the scenes that Rewind Ghosts present may cause some mental harm.
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 12:46 am
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The "Good":
These are the Residents that have been declared as "good" by the first of the Guests. Remember, "good" is completely relative.
The Workmen:
The Workmen is a group that is apparently fighting against the MADmen to win back Empyrea. Little is known about them, and, so far, the only known members are Smith, Carpenter, Shepard, and now, Mick Anick, though other members are always possible.
Carpenter:
Carpenter is a mysterious figure who has only recently exposed himself to the Guests. He, for lack of a better description, appears to be stitched together from many different skins of many different hues and textures of green, brown, gray, and black, a few patches seem to be decaying.
There are a series of short, nail-like extensions on the top of his head and his eyes are a deep gray and radiate inner-peace.
He has no visible mouth; the spot where it should be is covered by a single, olive green piece of flesh. His fingernails are pitch-black and extend to about an inch from his fingertips and end in a dangerous point
He wears brown leather straps with large buckles on his arms, legs, and a thin, black vest on his chest. On his feet he wears leather boots.
When Carpenter speaks, his voice seems to come from all directions at once and his voice is young and smooth, his tone deep, but not too deep. He also tends to mock whoever is talking to and seems to like calling them "kid".
Though he seems to talk with a cocky attitude, it's obvious that he knows what he is talking about.
It's also obvious that no one in their right mind would want to intentionally piss him off. Carpenter appears to have somewhat enhanced strength, agility, and incredible speed.
As of now, his whereabouts are unknown, but he was last seen wearing a pair of ragged, worn-out, olive green hand wraps that flow down his arms and a similar, torn scarf that wraps around his neck and trails behind him.
In addition to the rags, he's now wearing a thick, heavy-looking, solid stainless-steel chain belt that wrapped around his waist and shoulders.
The buckle was a realistically colored steel skull with no lower jaw and four steel points behind it in a star-like pattern.
He is one of the Workmen.
Carpenter fights with impressive speed, stringing together rapid punches and the occasional kick aimed for a vulnerable point or pressure point, designed to more stun than damage, giving him an opening for a heavier, much more solid strike or a tackle while staying light on his feet and moving rapidly while evading or countering incoming attacks. He has proven to be able to shake off even massive amounts of abuse (such as being slammed into and breaking a stone wall) with relative ease.
He is suspected to be the oldest Workmen and openly admits to technically being dead.
When a sufficient opening arrives, Carpenter can deliver a devastating strike at the cost of his attacking limb, as the limb itself tends to be destroyed in the process of the attack.
This is first demonstrated when Carpenter slams Munkwon through the manor wall, losing his own hand and shattering his forearm in the process.
He's not a fan of fire.
Shepard:
Shepard was the second of the Workmen that they encountered after entering the first door. He appears to help them, although it is unsure if he does it out of altruism or because of Carpenter's words.
Shepard is bald, and his deep black eyes are always alert-seeming and awake. He wears clothes that cover as much of him as possible: a long black trenchcoat, buttoned up. It is snug around the waist and the collar goes to the tip of his nose, all around his head. He wears black boots and leather gloves. His skin is a faded gray color, but at least it's not in patches.
There are a myriad of pockets on the inside of his coat, containing who knows what. Shepard has yet to reveal them. He stands tall, back straight with a well-earned confidence, and is very well-muscled. He seems to almost have been designed to fight...
Shepard's voice is smooth and deep, but he has a tendency to talk quickly, and is somewhat curt in times of stress.
It is clear that Shepard shares a respect of Carpenter, although it seems to be in the form of a friendly rivalry. He will do a lot to show that he can surpass his companion, and at the same time realizes the necessity of cooperation and seriousness when needed. "Shows of Surpassment" are a common event for the two rivals.
In combat, Shepard moves very, very quickly and hits very, very hard. He is lazy and appears bored during a fight, but thus far has not been seen to receive a serious blow. He almost seems to know what his opponent is going to do...
As of now, he appears to be assisting the Guests.
Written by Joe
He doesn't appear to like the cold too much and he apparently smokes.
Added by me
Smith:
Smith is a tall, old-looking guy. He stands at at very least 6' 6", at 6' 8" with his boots. His frame is large and muscular as well, for whatever reason. He is balding - only a ring around the back and sides of his head still remains, and that hair is steel gray. It's long and thin; it hangs to at least his shoulder blades. A goatee, at least three inches long, adorns the very tip of his chin; his nose bears sunglasses. He wears no shirt and only an unbuttoned vest, revealing his rather huge chest. His chest bears a massive scar, almost precisely bar-shaped and raised at least a quarter of an inch raised from the rest of his chest. His pants are loose and long; they are over heavy boots with ridiculously thick soles, perhaps two or three inches. He wears large, very thick leather gloves, but takes them off when dexterity is needed. For weaponry he carries an extremely large revolver and a very large very thick hammer. Both are carefully fitted to be capable of being used both gloves on and off. For ability, he seems fairly fast (for his size) and powerful, but more powerful than fast; fast enough to be some sort of trained martial artists but strong enough to be a buffalo. Oooor thereabouts.
Smith is as good as the uncertain can get, really; he's honestly trying to help the guests get clear.
Smith has an assortment of troops back at his base in the Polluted Realm.
He is one of the Workmen.
Mick Anick:
Mick Anick is a less-frequently encountered Workman as he is always wandering around. He is wrapped in a hooded brown, belted cloak covering everything but his hands, feet, and face. His left hand appears to be made of or coated in stainless steel (as human as it appears), while the right is more rustic, though made of the same stainless steel. It consists of three mechanical fingers connected to an artificial wrist socket. His feet are encased in thick boots made of darkened steel.
His face is covered by a steel mask. The Upper part of the mask is dark and smooth whereas the mouthpiece of the mask is lighter and lightly perforated. The eye lenses are round and heavily tinted and there are two filtration canisters on either side of the mouthpiece.
He is always hunched over and carries a large (about four or five feet in diameter) pack filled with numerous trinkets, pieces of scrap metal, gears, wires, tools, and other miscellaneous objects all covered by loosely strewn pieces of old cloth. The pack is held together by several pieces of rope tied together in intricate knots and patterns to ensure nothing falls out and is worn as a backpack.
Mick appears to be rather husky and he stands at about 5'8" with his back hunched over.
He carries an oversized Wrench at his left hip.
When he speaks, the mask muffles his voice which sounds undeniably elderly, sick, and dull, focusing almost exclusively on his work.
He works incredible miracles with any machinery or electronic device.
Mason
Mason is a Workman. He wears a dark green cloak and a gray button-down shirt. His feet are in large steel-toed boots that seem to be partially covering steel greaves. His right arm is armored, and his left arm is enormously over-sized; it seems to be made of interlocking pieces of living stone with designs etched into it, generally emphasizing triangles and circles in their patterns. He typically has a steel mallet and a chisel hanging from his belt. His skin is pale and his eyes are gray.
Mason stands fully six and a half feet tall and is very muscular. He almost always stands at his full height.
His voice is deep and rough. He speaks slowly, pausing often.
Hunter:
Hunter is young-ish, at least in appearance. Mid twenties to early thirties. He stands at 6’2”, give or take a fraction of an inch, and is built along sinewy, athletic lines—like a gymnast or a competitive swimmer. His skin is a light nut brown, and is crisscrossed randomly with pale scars, some fresh and obviously still healing, some very old. His thick brown hair—only a few shades darker than his skin--reaches to just past his shoulders, and is usually pulled back into a simple tail.
His clean shaven face is full of sharp angles, with high cheekbones and dark, hawkish brows. It is here, however, that the apparent humanity ends. His fairly large, deep-set eyes are a bright, eerie gold, with slits for pupils, and they reflect the light like a cat’s. He moves like a cat, too, with a preternatural fluidity, strength, and speed that is simply not possible for even the most athletic humans. He also moves soundlessly. I don't mean quietly-- soundlessly. This, combined with his almost supernatural knack for remaining unseen, means that his presence usually goes unnoticed until he chooses to reveal himself.
He wears simple, loose olive-green slacks, boots, and a light tan muscle shirt. He also appears to have at least four knives of varying size on his person.
So far, he seems to be a calm, thoughtful, silently intense sort of person. He usually speaks in monosyllables, and his voice is quiet, smooth, with clear annunciation and a very precise, un-American speech pattern. In fact, he seems to have a slight hint of an accent, but it's much too faint to trace him to a specific region.
Other Important Residents:
Other "good" Residents that aren't Workmen
Dawn
Dawn is just a little slip of a thing— 11 or 12 years old, maybe 4’4” counting her hair—and all wiry, pre-adolescent muscle. She has just started to display the very beginnings of a little hourglass figure, but her chest is still flat as a board. Her skin is fair with pink undertones, and sports an occasional spattering of light freckles. Soft, almost cloudlike white-blonde hair floats down to just below her waist, and is pulled back from her face with a nondescript white headband. The heart-shaped face is dominated by the large, almost luminously green eyes, which are thickly surrounded by glittering white-blonde lashes. Under that is a small button nose and a little bow of a mouth that can extend into a bright, guileless smile at a moment’s notice.
As far as clothes go, she always seems to be wearing the same pristinely white sundress and little white sandals. God only knows how they stay so clean, considering what she probably gets up to.
So far, she seems to be bright, bubbly, and outgoing to a fault: one of those incredibly bold kids that will walk right up to adults and ask them innocently insulting questions about their appearance. She often looks like a livewire in human form-- forever dashing from place to place, seemingly for the sake of the movement itself. She loves to feel helpful and useful, and is very sweet and trusting, even when confronted with complete strangers… and, considering where she lives, there are some VERY strange strangers around. Her adoration for the Workmen—who appear to serve as her caretakers, at least to some extent—is obvious to anyone who has eyes… or ears, for that matter. All and all, she usually behaves like a much younger child; she wants to help with the battle, but seems to have only a fuzzy idea of what it really is. That’s probably a good thing, as her attention span isn’t that great, anyway.
She is, however, fast. Very fast. Especially considering how short her legs are. She can also dodge and weave like a rabbit. Aside from her obvious running skills, she seems to be ill-suited for combat; she’s just a kid, after all.
Mark and Cindy:
Cindy and Mark are brother and sister working under the command of Smith as soldiers in the Wasteland. They're both tall and appear to be in their early twenties. Cindy has medium-length, blond hair usually pulled back into a pony tail. Her features are smooth and child-like and her green eyes shine with kindness and intelligence. Mark has short, dark hair and shares the same face and eyes as his sister.
Cindy is kind, caring, and has an infectious smile. Mark, on the other hand, is a pessimist, blunt, and has a perpetually poor attitude. He would never let it show, but he does have the same caring heart as his sister.
Much to his sister's disdain, Mark smokes like a chimney, reasoning that "if I die of anything, it won't be this, I promise."
There is reason to believe that they originated from the same world of the Guests and are not actually native Empyreans.
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 12:49 am
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:34 pm
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The Unseen:
The Unseen are a mysterious group of nine (revealed) beings. They stand incredibly tall, towering over even Smith, and wear deep maroon robes, covering every bit of skin except for the tip of their wrinkled noses to their chins (four of them sport gray facial hair), save for the central figure who wears a robe purest of black and who's face is completely shrouded in darkness. They stand with their hooded-heads bowed and their hands unseen, held together in front of them and tucked into the opposite sleeves.
They only lift their heads to speak and immediately bow their heads once they finish speaking. The central black figure never speaks.
Their voices are monotonous and dull, but their words carry well and echo. Their mouths only move half the time when they speak, and even then, not they are only sometimes synchronized with the words.
Their speech is slow and deliberate, and they speak with a certain accentuated low-key moroseness to their tone, paused often, and sometimes stress the wrong syllable of a word.
When they wish to hold a council with a person or a group of people, a strange silence falls upon the area, and any lights around dim and the room around them begins to darken, as though they are vanishing from one world and fading into another world of absolute darkness.
Everybody begins to feel distant from eachother, though no one actually moves during this process, and utterly strange and alien thoughts begin to invade their minds. Everybody under effect feels a violent chill run down their spines.
Then the world around them fall into complete darkness.
They can see each other clearly, as though everybody has their own little spotlight illuminating their presence, but the area all around them is complete nothingness.
When someone speaks, their voice sounds distant, even to themselves, and their words echo.
Wristwatches go crazy, their hands going haywire, the second hand spinning quickly counterclockwise, the hour hand spinning slowly backwards, and the minute hand racing clockwise.
A digital watch is found to read as the 99th second of the 99th minute of the 99th hour of the 99th day of the 99th month of the 99th year, and it's counting down.
Whispers of an unfamiliar language flood the area around them.
in the center of everybody, candles begin to flicker, illuminating a fairly large area, but still revealing only nothingness. To everybody in the room, the candles appear to be directly in from of them, just far enough away for the individual to see the wide scope of the candles' light.
The whispering continues briefly before becoming completely silent once more.
Finally, without a sound, nine figures fade into view, all within the candles' light and side-by-side.
Each of the Unseen is said to be an aspect of Death, the central figure in black.
When one tries to back away from the gather Unseen, they can never seem to put any distance between themselves and the Unseen.
Little else is known about the Unseen.
The aspects are as follows:
(They are lined up as such, with Death being D and the aspects being numbered 1-8 from left to right when viewing the figures from the front.
1234D5678
Death:
Death is the central figure (D on the diagram), he wears robes of the purest of black, his face his completely hidden, and he never speaks.
Nihilism:
Sacrifice is indicated by the 1 on the diagram and can be determined as a female from her facial structure.
Loneliness:
Loneliness is indicated by the 2 on the diagram and can be determined as a male from his facial hair.
Intoxication:
Intoxication is indicated by the 3 on the diagram and can be determined as a female from her facial structure.
Destruction:
Destruction is indicated by the 4 on the diagram and can be determined as a male from his facial hair.
Sacrifice:
Nihilism is indicated by the 5 on the diagram and can be determined as a female from her facial structure.
Despair:
Despair is indicated by the 6 on the diagram and can be determined as a male from his facial hair
Rage:
Rage is indicated by the 7 on the diagram and can be determined as a female from her facial structure.
Greed:
Greed is indicated by the 8 on the diagram and can be determined as a male from his facial hair.
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:59 pm
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The Majesty of Colours
Thaumantias (White, Black)
Thaumantias is a woman wearing a pure white robe with a thick stripe of the purest black running down the front from starting from her collar and going down to the floor at slightly less than her waist's width. Across the torso of her robe is a symbol that appears to be the Greek letters Mu and Chi transcribed over each other. Her skin seems tanner than the others, but otherwise that of an old woman's. Her hair is gray, seemingly with age, and pulled up into a bun. Her eyes are a steel gray and she has an elegant and gentle appearance.
Adam (Red)
Adam is a man who wears a red robe with a green cloth wrapped around his waist, green shoulder pads, and green wristbands. His hair is messy and a vibrant red, his eyes are a very prominent green, and his skin is rather pale.
Chloe (Green)
Chloe is a woman and she wears a flowing green robe with a red collar, red cloth wrapped around her waist, and red hemming. She has shoulder-length green hair and vibrant red eyes. Her skin is pale.
Portokali (Orange)
Portokali is a man and wears an orange robe with a blue cloth wrapped around his waist, blue shoulder pads, and blue wristbands. His short, curly hair is fiery orange and his eyes are a stunning blue. His skin is rather pale.
Sian (Blue)
Sian is a woman and she wears a flowing blue robe with an orange collar, orange cloth wrapped around her waist, and orange hemming. She has waist-length blue hair, and orange eyes. Her skin is pale.
Kitrina (Yellow)
Kitrina is a woman and she wears a flowing yellow robe with a purple collar, purple cloth wrapped around her waist, and purple hemming. She has incredibly blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and bright purple eyes. Her skin is rather pale.
Phyrios (Purple)
Portokali is a man and wears a purple robe with a yellow cloth wrapped around his waist, yellow shoulder pads, and yellow wristbands. His hair was purple, wavy, and ear-length and his eyes were a bright yellow.
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