Edgedancer he/him Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 (edited) Revised list. Known RAFO-bait questions are marked with asterisks now. Can you tell us anything about High Epic despots on the west coast? Besides Oregon and the cities that Obliteration destroyed, are there any parts of the Fractured States rendered completely uninhabitable? How long after Calamity's appearance was Oregon destroyed? What are some of the most common Epic powers? What is the approximate ratio between normal humans and Epics? What are the determining factors in an Epic's power level? Is there a correlation between Epic's past lives and their powers, or are their powers assigned at random? Are all Epics capable of communicating with Calamity, or was Regalia a special case? * Does Calamity talk to all Epics? Why has the number of new Epics dropped since Calamity first appeared? * Can Epics use motivator technology? It is strongly implied Conflux faced his fear, but did this remove his weakness as well? Can a weakness change? What would happen if an Epic was constantly exposed to his or her weakness? Can an Epic's weakness require said Epic to care about others--for instance, could seeing people an Epic cares about in some way suffer set off certain weaknesses? (This one might get rephrased when you and Twi are done hashing out definitions.) How many Epics have "unique" powers like Firefight or Mitosis? How many cells of Reckoners are there, and do they operate globally or strictly in the Fractured States? When were the Reckoners established? How many countries didn't pass an equivalent to the Capitulation Act? Can you tell us anything about how continents like Europe or Asia were affected by Epics? Are there still active global trade routes in the post-Calamity world? Is there anything you can tell us about the Epic named Night's Sorrow, gender, powers, or area of influence-wise? Can you tell us anything interesting about the Coven? Will the Oregon turf wars ever be elaborated on in the novels? If Vin were an Epic, what would her powers and weakness be? Is there any chance of you eventually publishing an illustrated guide to Epics as a companion to the Reckoners trilogy? How high were human fatalities before Annexation Day? Can a specific song become an Epic's weakness? That's a good point about specific song weaknesses and Mitosis. Twi, how would you like to rephrase that question in a way that answers your specific query? I would mark 12 as RAFO-bait, although Brandon's reaction may still tell us something on this one. On 15 maybe shift it towards "can an Epic's weakness trigger on something that goes against the impulses induced by the corruption, like carring about someone in a way that isn't selfish." For 28 it might help to shift the question towards how symbolic a weakness can be. Do we postpone questions about other namedropped Epics like Backbreacker or do we add him on low priority? Edited March 16, 2015 by Edgedancer
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted March 16, 2015 Author Posted March 16, 2015 (edited) Maybe it's just me but when I use the term love I generally exclude that whole "it's all about me" deal. That's probably a case of the English language being woefully flimsy when it comes to that sort of thing. I was going off the terminology CS Lewis used to describe the theme of Till We Have Faces: the difference between selfless and selfish love. It follows a woman whose love of others is entirely self-focused, contrasting it with the others-centered love of her sister and friends. Love isn't automatically unselfish. It's possible to love someone in a way that forces them to put your needs first, abandoning their own in the process. Revised list. Known RAFO-bait questions are marked with asterisks now. Can you tell us anything about High Epic despots on the west coast? Besides Oregon and the cities that Obliteration destroyed, are there any parts of the Fractured States rendered completely uninhabitable? How long after Calamity's appearance was Oregon destroyed? What are some of the most common Epic powers? What is the approximate ratio between normal humans and Epics? What are the determining factors in an Epic's power level? Is there a correlation between Epic's past lives and their powers, or are their powers assigned at random? Are all Epics capable of communicating with Calamity, or was Regalia a special case? * Does Calamity talk to all Epics? Why has the number of new Epics dropped since Calamity first appeared? * Can Epics use motivator technology? It is strongly implied Conflux faced his fear, but did this remove his weakness as well? Can a weakness change? What would happen if an Epic was constantly exposed to his or her weakness? Can an Epic's weakness require said Epic to care about others--for instance, could seeing people an Epic cares about in some way suffer set off certain weaknesses? (This one might get rephrased when you and Twi are done hashing out definitions.) How many Epics have "unique" powers like Firefight or Mitosis? How many cells of Reckoners are there, and do they operate globally or strictly in the Fractured States? When were the Reckoners established? How many countries didn't pass an equivalent to the Capitulation Act? Can you tell us anything about how continents like Europe or Asia were affected by Epics? Are there still active global trade routes in the post-Calamity world? Is there anything you can tell us about the Epic named Night's Sorrow, gender, powers, or area of influence-wise? Can you tell us anything interesting about the Coven? Will the Oregon turf wars ever be elaborated on in the novels? If Vin were an Epic, what would her powers and weakness be? Is there any chance of you eventually publishing an illustrated guide to Epics as a companion to the Reckoners trilogy? How high were human fatalities before Annexation Day? Can a specific song become an Epic's weakness? That's a good point about specific song weaknesses and Mitosis. Twi, how would you like to rephrase that question in a way that answers your specific query? How about "If a song or a type of music is an Epic's weakness, must it be one they wrote, or can it be music that has a strong emotional connection to their past?" Edited March 16, 2015 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted March 16, 2015 Author Posted March 16, 2015 Can Baxter say something about silverfish and make Backtrack faint? 2
Edgedancer he/him Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Can Baxter say something about silverfish and make Backtrack faint? I can probably work something in. 1
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted March 16, 2015 Author Posted March 16, 2015 I can probably work something in. Excellent, most excellent indeed. 1
Blackhoof Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 I'd disagree on the "churches are abstract" part. To the contrary, they are very concrete symbols of worship, to the point that destruction of a church is seen as immoral by some and construction of a church is often viewed as a sacred duty. Besides, wouldn't a church/mosque/synagogue be filled with holy symbols (crosses, prayer mats, Stars of David) anyway? It is important to differentiate for mechanical purposes wheter it is one great scale use of power or a small scale use, which matters both to his power limit and weakness effect. Now we only need to know if the Dalles have a well organiced lorist... or if the Reckoners are paying attention, because this guy would probably be right on top of their hit list. I'm not saying outright no (I don't even have the authority for that), his kind of character just comes with the feature that they are essentially an entire faction on their own, which makes them hard to just throw in an already going story. He could still enter churches, he would just be mortal within them. Anyway, unless you actually have a convincing argument you forgot to type after the "It's like asking why," I'm with Twi here. Even if there were no symbols inside a church, it would still argruably be the greates symbol of the religion's faith, unles said religion is based around not having something like a church. So saying they don't count is less like a handwave and more like plain old inconsistency. (On an aside, vampires are also a bad example here, not only because finding different sources that actually agree on what helps against vampires and what doesn't is near impossible, but also because an old-school vampire would not have been able to enter a church. (granted they couldn't enter any building unless invited but it still falls flat as an example. )) hmmm i guess you are right about the church thing. It would have done affect on him at least. Maybe if i change his weakness to specifically the Christian cross. I am a bit wary now that i made it too broad.... i was actually considering chucking in a cell of Reckoners that were hunting him. Honestly though, if the Reckoners cant guess his weakness based on the name Iconoclast alone i would be disappointed haha. The best place I can think of for this character is a new town entirely. What if we started a new thread in one of the small towns with mostly vanilla characters so this guy could come wreak havoc? That might also be an ideal place for the person (willingly) impersonating an Epic, too. On the churches thing: the one religion I can think of off the top of my head that actually does have a more "abstract" house of worship would be Wicca, although I would argue that interrupting one if their rituals would probably trigger his weakness, since they do form circles and breaking the circle is considered a breach of ritual. So if he entered their circle it would most likely trigger his weakness, although being outdoors in general (which is where many rituals are held) would not. Yeah, maybe I should wait for a bit... I can do that if need be. After a bit of research, it seems like the condition tends not to present itself until mid-late childhood, somewhere around six to nine. So they'd likely be in their late teens somewhere, if I want their status as an Epic to be ambiguous. ...Eh, I'm not sure about putting Mirrorveil in the same area as Iconoclast. They would literally go insane within days. He wouldn't even have to use his power on them, and Mirrorveil would effectively become one of his ghouls. haha that would be quite funny though Question about the Ghoully Guy, If his weakness is religious symbols, and Funtimes believes in the Flying Spaghetti Monster, could he be defeated by Funtimes throwing Spaghetti at him? Hahaha Unless I change his weakness i am going to say yes. Provided Funtimes legitimately and truly believes (which it seems like she does aha).
Mailliw73 he/him Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 They'd be facing all of them at the same time, though, which gives plenty opportunities to work around some PIs. Desolation might be able to keep away from Winterspell but in the air he's a target for Deathgale. Hawk is done for, if Mary gets to him and there's a chance of his weaness triggering. Metalmech, while I can't judge on his weakness, because Mail-mi needs to hurry up with deciding on something already, is pretty much useless after all the tanks get destroyed and could be imprisoned in a giant block of ice. The same might happen to Jag and even if Winterspell doesn't have enough water on hand to do the same to him they would probably still end up backing him in a corner. Smasher easily has the best chances of getting away unscathed but even then his weakness actually would have a chance of triggering. I'm also not saying that it would be a curbstomp but the stackes are probably higher than you make it sound. Sorry if I made it sound like that. I realize that itll be a vicious and bloody fight. Yes, fighting them all at once is he biggest issue, you're correct. Unless there's ton of water around, which there isn't, Winterspell's powers are severely lessened in the area they're in. Hawk does a good chance of dying, you're right. I have no idea how Smasher's would be set off though. I think I'll wait until at least Voidus and Mailliw can take a look at it. Do you think I should ultimately post it on the Humble Appeal thread, or start a new topic on it somewhere? I like the, I can't think of any right now, but if I do, I'll let you know. Did you go through the Firefight Pm and use those questions too? Somewhere in the Events forum is best. Thanks, first of all, for not getting offended with what I was saying. I realize how your Epics are going to pack a punch, I just want to make sure that we are on the same page with how this fight is going to go down. Having this many Epics who basically can't die is going to be tough to write. On your side, every guy has a PI. (How long does Hawk take to regenerate? That could potentially help to know.) On our side, we have several High Epics, but a few who aren't. I don't know how big weaknesses are going to play into this fight, but I don't mind giving mine up if it will help. I'm not saying that we make them publicly known, but perhaps in an Alan. If we also use those, we need to make sure that we work it in, rather than use it as a deux ex machina. I purposefully made Winterspell's to be hard to guess, but incredibly easy to exploit, so we can maybe use that to have your guys chink his armor. I think that these are all factors that we need to look into. Are you guys okay with setting up some kind of Alan to talk about this? Of course. I hope the same goes for you. I didn't have a set time for Hawk, but around a few minutes. The weaknesses should only be used if they're obviously going to happen anyways, which Jag and Hawk's could be. Let's talk more in the Pm. Also, once I get confirmation on something, I'll be posting for Freq/Edgerunner, Flashpoint/Electro in their respective threads.
Fatebreaker he/him Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Hahaha Unless I change his weakness i am going to say yes. Provided Funtimes legitimately and truly believes (which it seems like she does aha). This needs to be how he is defeated. 1
Edgedancer he/him Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 hmmm i guess you are right about the church thing. It would have done affect on him at least. Maybe if i change his weakness to specifically the Christian cross. I am a bit wary now that i made it too broad.... Yeah, maybe I should wait for a bit... I can do that if need be. It is a bit broad, yes, so slimming it down shouldn't hurt. I'm not sure, are there even any plans to open another location anytime soon?
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted March 16, 2015 Author Posted March 16, 2015 It is a bit broad, yes, so slimming it down shouldn't hurt. I'm not sure, are there even any plans to open another location anytime soon? Not at the moment, but it's a possibility. 1
Aonar he/him Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 (edited) I just realized that if the answer to #26 of the FUNTIMES list is yes, then this off-the-cuff backstory scene for Mirrorveil (and Shiasurprise): Shiasurprise was waiting for her. It was to be expected, with his precognitive powers, but still more than a little unsettling. He leaned back against the wall, bloody ax casually in hand. The Epic had been out killing again; collecting his 'tax' from the people of LA. His head rose and looked in her direction. "Just what do you think you're going to do with that gun, girl?" Sparks. That didn't take long. "I'm going to kill you, Shia." The Epic laughed loudly, amused and contemptuous. "And how're you going to do that, exactly? I'm immortal. You're an Epic so weak you might was well be a vanilla. Even if you did shoot me, you'd cause more pain to yourself than you would me." His expression changed, becoming something almost like hunger as he hefted his ax. "Of course, that wouldn't be objectionable." Mirrorveil couldn't help the feral smile the broke out over her face, a reflection of Shiasurprise's perverse anticipation. "All true. But you know what I can do? I can sing. Quite well, in fact." Her voice shook slightly with the last few words, as the Epic's emotions switched rapidly from excitement to anger to fear. "You're bluffing. I destroyed that." "Not every copy." She drew in a deep breath. "You're walking in the woods." Her voice nearly broke. The sheer terror emanating from the Epic was overwhelming. "There's no one around and your phone is dead." Mirrorveil raised the pistol, struggling aim as her hands shook. Shiasurprise dropped the ax, attempting to cover his ears. "Out of the corner of your eye you spot him- Shia Labeouf." The gun let out a crack, kicking back into her hands. Blood sprayed from the Epic's chest while Mirrorveil collapsed to her knees, gasping with the pain of a phantom wound. A her vision faded to black, she smiled slightly, remembering the last line of the song. You fall to your knees and catch your breath; you're finally safe, from Shia LaBeouf. Could become canon. Edited March 17, 2015 by Aonar Faileas 6
Kobold King he/him Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 I just realized that if the answer to #26 of the FUNTIMES list is yes, then this off-the-cuff backstory scene for Mirrorveil (and Shiasurprise): Shiasurprise was waiting for her. It was to be expected, with his precognitive powers, but still more than a little unsettling. He leaned back against the wall, bloody ax casually in hand. The Epic had been out killing again; collecting his 'tax' from the people of LA. His head rose and looked in her direction. "Just what do you think you're going to do with that gun, girl?" Sparks. That didn't take long. "I'm going to kill you, Shia." The Epic laughed loudly, amused and contemptuous. "And how're you going to do that, exactly? I'm immortal. You're an Epic so weak you might was well be a vanilla. Even if you did shoot me, you'd cause more pain to yourself than you would me." His expression changed, becoming something almost like hunger as he hefted his ax. "Of course, that wouldn't be objectionable." Mirrorveil couldn't help the feral smile the broke out over her face, a reflection of Shiasurprise's perverse anticipation. "All true. But you know what I can do? I can sing. Quite well, in fact." Her voice shook slightly with the last few words, as the Epic's emotions switched rapidly from excitement to anger to fear. "You're bluffing. I destroyed that." "Not every copy." She drew in a deep breath. "You're walking in the woods." Her voice nearly broke. The sheer terror emanating from the Epic was overwhelming. "There's no one around and your phone is dead." Mirrorveil raised the pistol, struggling aim as her hands shook. Shiasurprise dropped the ax, attempting to cover his ears. "Out of the corner of your eye you spot him- Shia Labeouf." The gun let out a crack, kicking back into her hands. Blood sprayed from the Epic's chest while Mirrorveil collapsed to her knees, gasping with the pain of a phantom wound. A her vision faded to black, she smiled slightly, remembering the last line of the song. You fall to your knees and catch your breath; you're finally safe, from Shia LeBeouf. Could become canon. No wait you got the weakness wrong! Shia surprise! There's gun to your head, and death in his eyes... 5
Voidus Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 (edited) I like the list and Edge already pointed out the problems with it that I had so I say go for it. Edited March 16, 2015 by Voidus
Aonar he/him Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 No wait you got the weakness wrong! Shia surprise! There's gun to your head, and death in his eyes... But you can do jiu jitsu... Body slam superstar Shia LaBeouf! 2
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted March 16, 2015 Author Posted March 16, 2015 Edgerunner's nickname for Reader made me realize that not ONE person has called him Reading Rainbow, of photoshopped him wearing his dopiest grin onto the cover of an I Can Read book. 2
Voidus Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Darn you Edgerunner! Lucy keeps trying to spiral into melancholy then you have to bring up pranking Reader, which there is no way she could refuse. 4
Mailliw73 he/him Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Edgerunner's nickname for Reader made me realize that not ONE person has called him Reading Rainbow, of photoshopped him wearing his dopiest grin onto the cover of an I Can Read book. That's one of my favorite parts of writing Edgerunner:coming up with nicknames for the others. Darn you Edgerunner! Lucy keeps trying to spiral into melancholy then you have to bring up pranking Reader, which there is no way she could refuse. That's Edgerunner's favorite thing to do: making fun of the others who think they're her superior. Arse the eyebrow master and Reader Rabbit. Deathwish may get an amusing nick make once I think of one and she he comes up. I also figured this was a good way to have the guard realize Reader is missing. 4
Comatose he/him Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 So, I'm kind of interested in joining this RP. I love the Reckoners, and the threads I've skimmed seem to be a lot of fun. I have to admit I'm a little intimidated though. It seems like there is a lot going on here, and I'm not exactly sure where to start in. If there are any "must read" parts, please direct my attention to them. For a character, I'm thinking of bringing someone new to Oregon (mostly so I can claim ignorance about most other characters, and learn about them as I go). Any suggestions on how I could do that, or how to get her involved? The character I have in mind is fairly solitary, and has a very specific mission that brings her to Oregon, and a very important secret she will do anything to keep Also, she's a shapeshifter. When I was looking through your list of epics, I couldn't find another straight up shape shifter, but if there is one, please let me know so I don't double up on power sets. Also, do we post characters here first, and then in the Epics of Oregon thread once they are approved, or do we send them to a moderator first? Anyways, sorry for butting in. I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Any pointers or suggestions will be much appreciated! As soon as I get some answers I'll put together a character description 7
Voidus Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 The first post in the Epics of Oregon thread has a list of most of the main characters and their factions, it's still a work in progress but probably a good place to start. We did do a story summary at some point too but I don't know how out of date that is and I think it was only for Portland.I don't think there are any shapeshifters in game at the moment so that shouldn't double up with anything.
Kobold King he/him Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Hello, and welcome to the RP! There's definitely a lot going on, but since most characters are about equally confused at the level of chaos that's enveloping the state, not knowing who's who isn't really a problem. We most certainly do not have a straight shapeshifter at this point--honestly, I'd be excited to see one in action. And even if we did have one, doubling up on powers isn't necessarily a bad thing--we have several teleporters and resurrection Epics in the game so far, after all. Character bios should be posted here on the Question thread for everyone to read and get acquainted with, with weaknesses either made public or sent to the GM. (TwiLyghtSansSparkles runs the game as a whole, but Edgedancer is the Game Master of What Happened in Astoria.) You're most certainly not interrupting anything--we're always excited to see new players! I for one can't wait to see what you bring to the RP. P.S. What Happened in Portland is currently closed due to the high number of High Epic characters already in town. What Happened in The Dalles is the default setting for newcomers, taking place in a city where normal humans have managed to maintain control. What Happened in Astoria takes place in the domain of the High Epic Lucentia, and is a newer thread devoted to large-scale battles between the most powerful Epics in the state.
Comatose he/him Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Thanks for the answers! I checked through the initial epic post, and didn't see any either. Still undecided whether I'd like to debut in Dalles or Astoria. I see my epic playing more of a supporting role to one of the more powerful epics, but she also has her own agenda, so she could end up in Dalles as well. Okay, here we go Epic Name: Taylor Swift. "That's right! I don't need a special epic name, because my name is already freaking special." Primary Power: Taylor swift is a powerful shape-shifter, able to adjust her shape and mass pretty much however she wants. It is difficult for her to maintain a form for more than a few seconds if it is more than five times or less than half of her total mass, but she can do it in a pinch. Also, the less humanoid a form is, the more difficult it is for her to maintain. For example, turning into a fully functional automobile might be totally beyond her, she would likely be able to change into a puddle of water for a few seconds, or a tiger or dog for a few minutes to a few hours depending on size and if she took liberties, but she could appear to be another person, complete with voice, eyes, and fingerprints, pretty much indefinitely (but why would she, she's Taylor Swift!). Being humanoid in shape gives her more flexibility (example: she can be a rubber skinned human much longer than she could be a cube of rubber). Generally, she stays herself, with helpful modifications when in battle (such as metal skin, sword hands, claws, growing to twice her usual size, or 'melting' to get through a crack in the door or window). She can only affect her own mass, but she's difficult to tie down or trap. Secondary Power: Not true secondary power, but her shape-shifting happens automatically when she's put in danger, granting her nearly prime invincibility. For example, if you tried to shoot her, either her skin would turn hard to repel the bullet, or it would shape shift AROUND the bullet, letting it pass right through her. If you tried to burn her, she shapeshift to withstand the fire. Try to drown her, she'd likely grow gills. The only way around this would be to somehow contain her (perhaps by using her weakness), and then either trap her underwater, in an airtight room, in a furnace, or some other environment that would require her to transform to survive, and then find a way to keep her there until she becomes unable to maintain the transformation any longer. This can be difficult, as she is able to 'reset' her clock by shifting to a new form, so the fewer ways for her to survive, the less time you would have to keep her contained. Weakness: SSSSH! That's a secret! Has to do with her secret mission. I'm going to include her weakness here in a spoiler, but it's not known to anyone, so only click the spoiler if you want to know more than your character, and feel like you will be able to keep it out of your mind while writing. Also keep in mind that it is a SPOILER, so part of her story will be spoiled if you peek (mods are, of course, encouraged to peek). First things first, she's not really Taylor Swift. Her real name is Kacey Jane Fernquist, Taylor Swift's number one fan (don't you DARE say she was number #2! Janice Garland was a hack and everyone knew it!). Upon discovering her powers, she quickly transformed herself into her idol. Her weakness is PROOF (not just suspicion) that she is not the real Taylor Swift. Proof can take the form of T-Swift trivia she does not yet know, interviews she has not watched, or pictures of Taylor at an event Kacey did not know about. The downside is that, if she gets out of a situation where her weakness is used against her, that particular bit of proof will likely not work in the future, since now that she knows about it she can still pretend to be Taylor. Meeting people who knew Swift personally prior to calamity will usually only weaken her powers, unless they have proof she is not really Taylor. Meeting the real Taylor Swift in the flesh would completely nullify her powers for as long as the true Taylor Swift remains in her presence. Because of this, Kacey has dedicated much of her time as an epic to hunting the real Taylor Swift down. She doesn't know what she will do if she finds Taylor (could she really kill her idol to protect herself?), but knows that she will not feel safe until she does. Rumour has it that in the early days of Calamity, Taylor, her team, and a group of friends from the music industry, absconded to a secret hideout in a secret remote location, and have been living in relative luxury there ever since. Modus Operandi: I know what you're thinking. "Taylor Swift became an epic, really? I mean, she was already super cute, really talented and filthy rich! Did she really NEED to get super powers and an evilish ego boost?" Do you think it's easy using these shape-shifting powers when my natural form is virtually flawless? I thought not. AND to top it all off, my evilness has totally killed my song-writing abilities! At least I can still perform the HELL out of 1989! Maybe, if you don't want me to kill you right now, instead you could listen to be sing "Out of the Woods" for the next five hours! Or I could just go all HULK-SWIFT on you and smash your head against that wall. Your choice . Personality: Let's just say that, since Calamity came, I've been a little more "Blank Space" than "Love Story." Appearance: History . . . And then she became an epic. After a dating a string of powerful High Epics, she's currently traveling the country with a handsome young Vanilla named Brandon. 7
Kobold King he/him Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Thanks for the answers! I checked through the initial epic post, and didn't see any either. Still undecided whether I'd like to debut in Dalles or Astoria. I see my epic playing more of a supporting role to one of the more powerful epics, but she also has her own agenda, so she could end up in Dalles as well. Okay, here we go Epic Name: Taylor Swift. "That's right! I don't need a special epic name, because my name is already freaking special." Primary Power: Taylor swift is a powerful shape-shifter, able to adjust her shape and mass pretty much however she wants. It is difficult for her to maintain a form for more than a few seconds if it is more than five times or less than half of her total mass, but she can do it in a pinch. Also, the less humanoid a form is, the more difficult it is for her to maintain. For example, turning into a fully functional automobile might be totally beyond her, she would likely be able to change into a puddle of water for a few seconds, or a tiger or dog for a few minutes to a few hours depending on size and if she took liberties, but she could appear to be another person, complete with voice, eyes, and fingerprints, pretty much indefinitely (but why would she, she's Taylor Swift!). Being humanoid in shape gives her more flexibility (example: she can be a rubber skinned human much longer than she could be a cube of rubber). Generally, she stays herself, with helpful modifications when in battle (such as metal skin, sword hands, claws, growing to twice her usual size, or 'melting' to get through a crack in the door or window). She can only affect her own mass, but she's difficult to tie down or trap. Secondary Power: Not true secondary power, but her shape-shifting happens automatically when she's put in danger, granting her nearly prime invincibility. For example, if you tried to shoot her, either her skin would turn hard to repel the bullet, or it would shape shift AROUND the bullet, letting it pass right through her. If you tried to burn her, she shapeshift to withstand the fire. Try to drown her, she'd likely grow gills. The only way around this would be to somehow contain her (perhaps by using her weakness), and then either trap her underwater, in an airtight room, in a furnace, or some other environment that would require her to transform to survive, and then find a way to keep her there until she becomes unable to maintain the transformation any longer. This can be difficult, as she is able to 'reset' her clock by shifting to a new form, so the fewer ways for her to survive, the less time you would have to keep her contained. Weakness: SSSSH! That's a secret! Has to do with her secret mission. I'm going to include her weakness here in a spoiler, but it's not known to anyone, so only click the spoiler if you want to know more than your character, and feel like you will be able to keep it out of your mind while writing. Also keep in mind that it is a SPOILER, so part of her story will be spoiled if you peek (mods are, of course, encouraged to peek). First things first, she's not really Taylor Swift. Her real name is Kacey Jane Fernquist, Taylor Swift's number one fan (don't you DARE say she was number #2! Janice Garland was a hack and everyone knew it!). Upon discovering her powers, she quickly transformed herself into her idol. Her weakness is PROOF (not just suspicion) that she is not the real Taylor Swift. Proof can take the form of T-Swift trivia she does not yet know, interviews she has not watched, or pictures of Taylor at an event Kacey did not know about. The downside is that, if she gets out of a situation where her weakness is used against her, that particular bit of proof will likely not work in the future, since now that she knows about it she can still pretend to be Taylor. Meeting people who knew Swift personally prior to calamity will usually only weaken her powers, unless they have proof she is not really Taylor. Meeting the real Taylor Swift in the flesh would completely nullify her powers for as long as the true Taylor Swift remains in her presence. Because of this, Kacey has dedicated much of her time as an epic to hunting the real Taylor Swift down. She doesn't know what she will do if she finds Taylor (could she really kill her idol to protect herself?), but knows that she will not feel safe until she does. Rumour has it that in the early days of Calamity, Taylor, her team, and a group of friends from the music industry, absconded to a secret hideout in a secret remote location, and have been living in relative luxury there ever since. Modus Operandi: I know what you're thinking. "Taylor Swift became an epic, really? I mean, she was already super cute, really talented and filthy rich! Did she really NEED to get super powers and an evilish ego boost?" Do you think it's easy using these shape-shifting powers when my natural form is virtually flawless? I thought not. AND to top it all off, my evilness has totally killed my song-writing abilities! At least I can still perform the HELL out of 1989! Maybe, if you don't want me to kill you right now, instead you could listen to be sing "Out of the Woods" for the next five hours! Or I could just go all HULK-SWIFT on you and smash your head against that wall. Your choice . Personality: Let's just say that, since Calamity came, I've been a little more "Blank Space" than "Love Story." Appearance: History . . . And then she became an epic. ... I like her. My first thought was "Taylor Swift? That's a pretty name. It sounds a bit familiar, though." It took a Google search to inform my pop culture-oblivious self who under Calamity's red light Taylor Swift is. (I viewed the spoiler tag, by the way. I know most characters' weaknesses, so I'm well-accustomed to separating character and player knowledge by this point. ) My only questions at this point are as follows: Does she have enough control over her shapeshifting to become certain pieces of technology--a gun, for instance? Since the RP is set ten years after Calamity, is it safe to assume that most younger characters will have absolutely no idea who she is? (Like me? ) 1
Comatose he/him Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Does she have enough control over her shapeshifting to become certain pieces of technology--a gun, for instance? Tech with lots of moving parts is more difficult. She might be able to turn her hand into a gun VERY briefly (less than a second), but I don't think she could maintain it long enough to fire, especially since firing would also require her to shift part of herself within the gun into gunpowder in the right amount, AND I think she would need to be holding the bullet she intended to fire, since I don't think she can separate pieces of herself like that. Her chosen method of killing is crushing things, slicing things, or going HULK-SWIFT on them Since the RP is set ten years after Calamity, is it safe to assume that most younger characters will have absolutely no idea who she is? (Like me? ) It depends. I chose Taylor Swift because it seems like she's the most famous popular culture type I could think of now-adays. Anyone who liked pop music before Calamity would likely still know and recognize her, though to people in David's generation only her name would be recognizable, or they might have no idea who she is, as you said. I also picked her because she's popular with tweens, so she would still be very recognizable to some young people. 2
Kobold King he/him Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Cool. Also, it just occurred to me: I have an Epic character in The Dalles named Glamour who's very into pre-Calamity pop music. If you choose to bring Taylor there, she might very well have a No. 1 fan of her own before long.
Tulir he/him Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the answers! I checked through the initial epic post, and didn't see any either. Still undecided whether I'd like to debut in Dalles or Astoria. I see my epic playing more of a supporting role to one of the more powerful epics, but she also has her own agenda, so she could end up in Dalles as well. Okay, here we go Epic Name: Taylor Swift. "That's right! I don't need a special epic name, because my name is already freaking special." Primary Power: Taylor swift is a powerful shape-shifter, able to adjust her shape and mass pretty much however she wants. It is difficult for her to maintain a form for more than a few seconds if it is more than five times or less than half of her total mass, but she can do it in a pinch. Also, the less humanoid a form is, the more difficult it is for her to maintain. For example, turning into a fully functional automobile might be totally beyond her, she would likely be able to change into a puddle of water for a few seconds, or a tiger or dog for a few minutes to a few hours depending on size and if she took liberties, but she could appear to be another person, complete with voice, eyes, and fingerprints, pretty much indefinitely (but why would she, she's Taylor Swift!). Being humanoid in shape gives her more flexibility (example: she can be a rubber skinned human much longer than she could be a cube of rubber). Generally, she stays herself, with helpful modifications when in battle (such as metal skin, sword hands, claws, growing to twice her usual size, or 'melting' to get through a crack in the door or window). She can only affect her own mass, but she's difficult to tie down or trap. Secondary Power: Not true secondary power, but her shape-shifting happens automatically when she's put in danger, granting her nearly prime invincibility. For example, if you tried to shoot her, either her skin would turn hard to repel the bullet, or it would shape shift AROUND the bullet, letting it pass right through her. If you tried to burn her, she shapeshift to withstand the fire. Try to drown her, she'd likely grow gills. The only way around this would be to somehow contain her (perhaps by using her weakness), and then either trap her underwater, in an airtight room, in a furnace, or some other environment that would require her to transform to survive, and then find a way to keep her there until she becomes unable to maintain the transformation any longer. This can be difficult, as she is able to 'reset' her clock by shifting to a new form, so the fewer ways for her to survive, the less time you would have to keep her contained. Weakness: SSSSH! That's a secret! Has to do with her secret mission. I'm going to include her weakness here in a spoiler, but it's not known to anyone, so only click the spoiler if you want to know more than your character, and feel like you will be able to keep it out of your mind while writing. Also keep in mind that it is a SPOILER, so part of her story will be spoiled if you peek (mods are, of course, encouraged to peek). First things first, she's not really Taylor Swift. Her real name is Kacey Jane Fernquist, Taylor Swift's number one fan (don't you DARE say she was number #2! Janice Garland was a hack and everyone knew it!). Upon discovering her powers, she quickly transformed herself into her idol. Her weakness is PROOF (not just suspicion) that she is not the real Taylor Swift. Proof can take the form of T-Swift trivia she does not yet know, interviews she has not watched, or pictures of Taylor at an event Kacey did not know about. The downside is that, if she gets out of a situation where her weakness is used against her, that particular bit of proof will likely not work in the future, since now that she knows about it she can still pretend to be Taylor. Meeting people who knew Swift personally prior to calamity will usually only weaken her powers, unless they have proof she is not really Taylor. Meeting the real Taylor Swift in the flesh would completely nullify her powers for as long as the true Taylor Swift remains in her presence. Because of this, Kacey has dedicated much of her time as an epic to hunting the real Taylor Swift down. She doesn't know what she will do if she finds Taylor (could she really kill her idol to protect herself?), but knows that she will not feel safe until she does. Rumour has it that in the early days of Calamity, Taylor, her team, and a group of friends from the music industry, absconded to a secret hideout in a secret remote location, and have been living in relative luxury there ever since. Modus Operandi: I know what you're thinking. "Taylor Swift became an epic, really? I mean, she was already super cute, really talented and filthy rich! Did she really NEED to get super powers and an evilish ego boost?" Do you think it's easy using these shape-shifting powers when my natural form is virtually flawless? I thought not. AND to top it all off, my evilness has totally killed my song-writing abilities! At least I can still perform the HELL out of 1989! Maybe, if you don't want me to kill you right now, instead you could listen to be sing "Out of the Woods" for the next five hours! Or I could just go all HULK-SWIFT on you and smash your head against that wall. Your choice . Personality: Let's just say that, since Calamity came, I've been a little more "Blank Space" than "Love Story." Appearance: History . . . And then she became an epic. Well, not objections here. Honestly, she would fit in quite well Edited March 17, 2015 by Tulir
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