PRESS START
All right, so last time I did some crap about non-combat related topics concerning my characters. I am conciously choosing to ignore that thing about Loki because it is an organizational travesty. I probably wont be going back to it. But like I was saying, after mulling over all of that nonviolent nonsense, I realized something--I haven't been focusing all that much on the violence!! Zack and Steve were right when, so very long ago on a fateful afternoon so very similiar to this, they simplified the glorious game of D&D into a series of ridiculous roleplaying balderdash sprinkled over a heaping helping of monster-fighting action! Well actually, they weren't really right, but they sort of were in a certain sense so that's good enough! And that got me to thinking that I haven't really gone over how my guys handle a fight. Sure, they've got swords and knives and magic and stuff, which are all pretty self-explainatory in the ways they can be implemented. But I can come up with unique/interesting crap for that too, dammit!! So here it is! Insert one quarter and press any button to begin playing!
HEAVEN OR HELL!!
Let's ROCK!!
Let's ROCK!!
Quick Character Synapsis
Derek: A crafty assassin who relies on out-witting and out-maneuvering his opponents. He uses a variety of melee and ranged weapons as well as several stealth-, movement-, and illusion-based spells and the magic stored within a number of ensorcelled equipment.
Melopee: A quick-witted halfling rogue with an extensive knowledge on how to befuddle magic. She's a clever fighter who's also quick with the crossbow.
Rakashi: A powerful practitioner of both arcane and divine magic as well as an accomplished duelist. When not relying on his vast armory of spells he fights with a number of single-handed swords. His style of fighting has been likened to a ballet dancer practicing fencing.
Gnak: A deadly gnoll hunter who practices the dual-sword fighting style. His moves are powerful and precise and his skill can easily overwhelm even the most accomplished fighter. He is especially deadly against elves and other gnolls. And on top of that is an archery style that forgoes pin-pointing single targets for pummeling one or more targets with multiple arrows at once.
Kalidair: An inexperienced rogue who hates fighting. Prefers intimidation over fighting. When caught in a tussle, however, she falls back on pure instinct and relfexes to keep herself from getting killed.
Kalili: A self-taught knife-fighter who prefers theatrics and deception over murder. She uses a short, curved blade in conjunction with bardic magic and a (reinforced) wisplight lanturn which she uses like an off-hand weapon.
Loki: An elite warrior who fights with the passion of a zealot and the deadly calm of a master swordsman. Quick on his feet, fierce with a blade, and utterly immune to pain, he paints the picture of the perfect soldier. Is also an accomplished in psionics and, to a lesser extent, equestrianism.
Dalsta: A mighty warrior whose soul is melded with an ancient red dragon. Unmatched in strength and uncannily deft with the greatsword, she is a terror on the battlefield.
Fighting Styles Mk. I; One-on-one combat (against a humanoid)
(Breaking from tradition, we will be headlining with Derek)
Derek Stormblade
Derek is not a very strong man. At his most well-rested and plenty-of-warm-up-stretches-ed best he exhibits the strength of your average middle-aged human male experiencing the first hints of wrist-, elbow-, and shoulder-arthritus. It's not very noticable normally, but when the going starts getting a bit tough (or its raining or something) he's going to notice a pinch in his limbs, preventing him from bringing all of his mild-mannered might to the fore to impress the village gals just coming back from gather water from the creek. What I'm trying to say here is that he's kind of a wuss in the upper-body department, but he could still armwrestle a kid fair-and-square (and knowing him, he'd probably be openly proud about it without initially trying to be sarcastic). Superior physical strength just wasn't something he found himself in the need of over much in his days as a street rat and later as an employed thief and assassin. Daggers don't need to be swung very hard to find the heart, afterall.
No, when pitted one-on-one against a being of human-like proportions and such, Derek does not cross swords. Whether keeping his hands hidden with the inky sheath of his cloak or just springing from the shadows, he opts to catch his opponent by surprise and fell him with one well-placed blow. Against a standard opponent (ie., lacking in supernatural powers or otherwise beyond-human capabilities) he'll just use one of the many knives or daggers he keeps hidden on his person (or at his belt or whatever). However, he's got a meriad of "specialized" weapons for opponents wherein mundane steel just doesn't cut it, such as a "weeping" stiletto (by "weeping" I of course mean "poisoned" wink , a silver dagger, a cold iron longknife, an adamantine dagger, and of course a ghost touch dagger. He tends to go for either the neck or the back of the head.
Of course, this is all overlooking the simple comp-out of simply tossing a few throwing knives. He has a tripple-sheath belt around his waist that renews its supply of throwing daggers a few heartbeats after they've been emptied. Naturally, he's got a few other such knives somewhere on his person just in case he loses the belt somehow.
But, really, with his assassin spells and his phantom abilities, it's barely an effort at all for him to sneak up on even people who are looking directly at him. Invisibility, shadow form, or just a quick dimension door can instantly bring him out of sight and into sneak attack.
But then, what if that doesn't work? There are plently of humanoid-type creatures out there that can take a blow to the criticals like nobody's business, especially those that lack vitals in the first place. Or maybe they just aren't falling for the "strike from the shadows" schtick and can evade his deadly projectiles. When he's really drawn into a fight, that's when he brings out his most prized and well-known weapon--his fancy old sickle. It may not be the vampiric ace-in-the-hole held by Artemis, but it's got a few nasty quirks of its own. It has a spell-turning property which rebounds spells back at their casters and its deadly edge cuts deep, leaving wounds that cannot heal naturally. Anything it cuts stays cut.
But again, even with that fierce sickle of his, he lacks the strength to really "cross swords" as it were, so when he's locked in an even fight expect to see a lot of running and plenty of narrow misses and close-calls while he twists and dashes circles around his more-and-more-frustrated opponent. That cloak looks super cool when its trailing after his fox-quick fluid movements.
And if things are a bit too rough and showing off is making him lose more than he'd like, he'll steadily become more inclined to phase into incorporeality. He almost never starts a fight insubstantial if he can help it, because it's just not as fun if he cheats at the beginning. He can still strike corporeal targets as a phantasm, but it looks a lot more impressive on his part when he's easily evading his opponent's attacks rather than just letting them phase right through him. Plus, magic still has a 50/50 chance of hitting him even when insubstantial, and you never know who's got their hands on a ghost touch weapon these days. Personally, I blame the schools.
Melopee
Gnak
Against a single enemy without the gift of flight, Gnak's first and only instinct is to clash blades. Gnak is big, tough, and strong. He's pretty quick too, and it's his ability to meld his quick reflexes and his abundant strength into perfect harmony that really sets him above the rest. His blows start falling like a hailstorm's fury when he gets serious.
(Not done)
Rakashi
Humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, gnolls, goblins, and even monsters all carry the spark of life as well as the fire to keep it. Rakashi respects the power of life and would never willingly take it away from another living creature if he could help it, so against a natural enemy the druid always holds back. If hostilities are incited before he has a chance to stop it Rakashi will immediately begin a fight by trying to make carrying it out impossible for the aggressor. His favorite technique is to kick up a powerful gust to buffed his opponent--winds not powerful enough to send them tumbling helplessly through the air by adequately strong to keep them from advancing any further as well as making spellcasting and ranged retaliation nearly impossible. If the attacker is someone that Rakashi does not want to have further dealings will he will be more inclined to use something like a wall of stone to isolate himself away from them completely.
If his attempts to avoid combat are somehow rebuffed Rakashi almost always comes on guard by summoning his quicksilver rapier from its ring. The druid learned various fencing and dueling styles during the several decades he had spent on the haven island of Evermeet, so it's not just for show. It is, however, primarily used for defense despite its deadly-sharp tip and its hair-like width; Rakashi uses its preternatural quickness to parry and divert blows or not knock aside projectiles. He's pretty quick and agile, so his efforts aren't usually wasted, though as you can imagine this strategy helps very little with the long-term goal of ceacing hostilities. You could say, "Well, obviously he could just keep on the defensive until his opponent tires out," but then you'd be dumb because you forgot that Rakashi is a wuss and he would probably tire out on the defensive before a well-trained opponent on the attack would become too badly winded. But Rakashi can cast even while locked in a perilous duel, so I'm sure he'd be fine.
How, let's say we're dealing with a humanoid-like creature not of the goodly or living persuasion. An especially cruel vampire or a human-sized fiend would find themselves at a much more business end of Rakashi's repetiore, like conjured javelins or raking arcs of lightning. For the most part Rakashi uses primarily druidic magicks gainst such beings, saving his more impressive sorcery for truly dire situations. Defensive spells and magic to alter the battlefield might also make an appearance, especially if there are innocents around (animals and plant-life count as innocents). For melee combat, Rakashi has a choice among several different weapons: the quicksilver rapier is a favorite for him, since it's light and quick and it suits him well (index finger ring), a nearly black adamantine longsword that froths with electricity (middle finger ring), a simmering white sword that overflows with positive energy (the voidstone ring on his third finger), and a forward-curved shortsword that can cut that which dwells beyond reality (little finger ring). The dagger in the sheath on the backside of his belt he does not use in combat.
Now, let's get to just how our little Rakashi uses these fancy weapons of his. Despite being even weaker than Derek Rakashi does actually confront his opponents face-to-face. His nature is one of silence, quickness, darkness, and deceit, but he lacks the experience and the mindset to really use all of that to his advantage. He does, however, move a lot more than Derek does in combat. Lacking in any sort of physical strength whatsoever, Rakashi relies on the augmentations of the weapons he weilds and plenty of momentum to back his blows. His mode of attack requires that he utilize a lot of spinning and jumping to put any real force behind his weapons.
And Rakashi never, ever strikes for the face. Even against the most inhuman of monsters, he simply cannot desecrate a being's identity.
Kalidair
Melopee and Kalili did their best to raise the quiet young girl right, but Kalidair had never really been "all there," as it were. Ever since she could hold things in her hands Kalidair had clung to her father's cloak, shielding herself behind its dark and tattered folds from nearly everyone around her. When she learned to speak, she would only talk to her cloak, and when she could walk it was never out of her reach. Mel was not a strict mother, but she was a kind and she wanted her kids to be kind, and even though her father's whispers were all that she listened to she still grew up without the resolve needed to take a life. Kalidair was no killer, but she lived a shady life. She needed a weapon to keep herself safe, and Derek's sickle was right at hand.
She doesn't know how to fight, she mostly just intimidates to aggressors with a sharp blade held to the throat or the groin into submission. Without direct contact with Derek's spirit Kalidair is treated to heightened reflexes and only a few vague instincts concerning weilding a weapon or evading attacks. She cannot retain an ethereal state for very long and can only do so once in a while so she cannot rely on conventional steel simply passing through her. She's awfully small and very quick, so the she can use her father's influences to good effect. If her bluff is called, she'll probably heel and toe it out of there.
But should she be caught up in more than she can handle and her life is in danger Derek's spirit will make itself known by manifesting as a shadowy wraith to assail Kalidair's attacker. His spirit's absence is felt as a terribly cold emptiness in her chest, which only intensifies the further away his wraith-form drifts, so she's usually right behind him.
So far Kalidair has never taken a life.
(*) Now, you may remember me mentioning possession. That hasn't happened just yet, as I am saving that for something, but I guess I could get a little bit into it. The first spiritual domination of her soul can only be carried out if Kalidair conciously and willingly draws his soul into her body. The possession can last for as long as Kalidair stays concious, so falling asleep or fainting will sever the connection. After the first possession the path has already been paved, so it does not take a lot of effort to become possessed again and her concious will is not required to bring it about. But Derek's soul is not of the domineering sort, being fueled only by snippets of memory and torn streamers of emotion, most of which concern his family, so it's not like he'll be taking over his daughter every chance he can get. Derek's character has always been selfish but fenced in by a softness of heart, which remains true even in death.
Kalili
Loki
Dalsta
Fighting Styles Mk. II; Monster slaying
Derek
Melopee
Rakashi
The term "monster" is a very vague term. In this case, I'm not saying "vague" as in, "oh, a monster is just a term you brand a fear that you just can't get over" or something even whimpier, such as, "what is a monster to you might not be a monster to somebody else." And certainly none of that "humans can be the worst monsters--the most dangerous game" nonsense. No, when I mean that the term "monster" is vague, I am of course referring to the fact that monsters and beast can appear in such wildly diverse and disturbing and unnatural forms that it is difficult to really speak of them in a definite format. But I want to assure you that I'll be handling as many variants as I can think of but for reference's sake we'll just say that a monster is something that meets one or more of these requirements;
-Larger than a troll or smaller than a child/infant
-Destinctly non-humanoid in shape or function
-"Naturally" having more or less than four obvious limbs
-An anatomy that fails to meet the six requirements for being a "living creature"
-Has one or more "other" forms that is not a humanoid
-Is divinity or some sort
Anyway, my apologies for that derail. Let's get back to Rakashi.
As you can imagine, Rakashi's rapier isn't the most effective weapon against most monsters. Perhaps against certain monsters and fiends that use weapons or are less than ten feet tall it would be an effective blade, what with the ease and speed of its use and the precision of its strikes, but it is for the most part fairly useless against monsters of thick/hard skin or anatomies that can't be disrupted by a narrow puncture wound. The rapier is pretty effective against creatures that utilize tentacles or particularly long and slender appendages, however, as Rakashi can make excellent work of the weapon's speed to nutrilize such extremities. He can't cut very deep with such a slender sword and he can't put a whole lot of force behind a pierce without the help of magic, but quickness is never a problem.
Against tough opponents, Rakashi's black adamantine blade is most effective, and I'll be using this section to get into some detail about its abilities. As was alread mentioned, it is ensorcelled with lightning to electricute with each blow, carrying enough volts and amps and such to leave most natural living creatures paralyzed and utterly numb. The flares of lightning it spits out can also dazzle or blind enemies. It's not enspelled with the speed of lightning or anything, in fact it's fairly dense and heavy, so Rakashi has to hold it with both hands to wield it without the aid of strengthening magic. But it hits incredibly hard, even capable of breaking rock and smashing through steel if properly used. It is a very destructive sword, so you can imagine why Rakashi doesn't use it very much. However, there are times when such force is necessary, such as against golems and other such animated monstrosities as well as monsters with especially hard skin or scales. Rakashi has a couple of spells stowed away in his arcane repetiore that allow him to use the blade in one hand, giving him the chance to use another sword along with it. He doesn't have a lot of experience using two weapons, but he can use this black sword along with his rapier for a fearsome combination. Rakashi can still cast spells with both hands holding weapons.
If the monster besetting Rakashi is of the undead persuasion, then the blade carried in his voidstone ring can be put to use. This sword is brimming with positive energy, the energy that healing magic is rooted in, which might seem like a sort of oxymoronic concept, but it is like a flaming brand brandished upon trolls when used against the undead. A cut form this sword creates a glowing wound on an undead's form that slowly engorges, eating away at the negative energy fueling the undead creature's form or spirit and basically devouring its essence from the inside out. Particularly strong undead or those abominations aren't as affected so radically, so a single cut won't kill it, but each blow will weaken them more and more until they eventually crumble. Prolonged contact with the blade by undead (such as being run through without the sword being retracted) causes a phenomina that looks like silvery-white fire to appear, which can catch and immolate the monster like real flames. A few other interesting facts about this sword: pressing the flat of the sword against a wound on a living creature will heal the injury, and a wound inflicted by this sword on a living creature disappears over a short amount of time. Oh, and just in case you were wondering why Rakashi has a ring made out of voidstone, a dangerous material composed of crystillized negative energy, it is because its destabilizing effects nullify the dangerous radiation of pure lifeforce the sword releases.
(Not done)
Gnak
Kalidair
Kalili
Loki
Dalsta
Fighting Styles Mk. III; Surrounded!! (multiple opponents)
Derek
Melopee
Rakashi
Gnak
Kalidair
Kalili
Loki
Dalsta
Fighting Styles Mk. IV; Bare-knuckled (no weapons)
Derek
Melopee
Rakashi
Gnak
Kalidair
Kalili
Loki
Dalsta
Fighting Styles Mk. V; Co-op (working in pairs)
Derek
-Melopee
-Gnak
Melopee
-Derek
-Rakashi
-Kalili/Kalidair
Rakashi
-Gnak
-Melopee
-Kalili/Kalidair
-Dalsta
Gnak
-Derek
-Rakashi
-Dalsta
Kalidair
-Melopee
-Rakashi
-Kalili
Kalili
-Melopee
-Rakashi
-Kalidair
Loki
-Volk
-Meld
-Crael
Dalsta
-Rakashi
-Gnak
(Incomplete)
