Heritage

From the Journal of Adele St. Clair April 10th, 2009 Feeling a bit out of sorts these last few days; sure enough, I've earned the right to stay here in Freedom City, but I think my natural shyness has kept me from going out and making some sort of use of myself. Of course the lads here in the States are rarely shy, and I've received a lot of intriguing...offers, but I rarely take them up on it. Everyone talks so much faster than back at the Farm, and zoom their hands around when they speak! And of course, I can feel the stares. I'm not a stranger to male attention, and I've received my share of furtive glances back in the UK when I went to Town, but here they've been almost unrelenting; I feel rather like I'm strolling through a cage of wolves wearing a dress made of meat. Thankfully my gift has allowed me to make quick work of most of my errands, so my trainers needn't touch the pavement at all if I don't want them to, but one has to stand in the queue from time to time, and that's when you really feel it. But America isn't all bad; I've finally learned what all the fuss is about when it comes to American pizza, and I've sampled it in New York, Chicago and L.A. And the Mexican food! Goddess, I nearly passed out the first time I had chicken in mole sauce, and good strong coffee with cinnamon is a delight. The natural wonders are breathtaking, of course, and let's be honest, that often includes the lads as well. I can't stand the staring, true, but get one alone and their passion can be quite intoxicating! I've been reading the local papers, and I think the next thing to do is meet one of these heroic types that flits about at night, introduce myself, and see where it goes from there; I'm thinking the roof of my hotel is a good place to start watching the skies, so wish me luck!

Based on a suggestion by Shaen, adjusted some skill ranks so she can make better use of her mastered skills.

Should be fixed now.

I'm really not liking the current trend in superhero costumes; I understand not just wanting to do spandex, but the overly-complicated layered look makes me gag.

Oh crud, she's friendly and talkative; better mix a bit of truth in with the lies. Lynn shrugged and waved in an offhand manner. "I used to live out here; I was actually born out here, in Atlantic City, but I moved out West for awhile, with a guy, of course, but that.." And now she didn't have to fake it, because the pain was fresh, even now. "That, that ended...badly, and now he's gone." She grabbed a bar napkin to dab at her eyes, which had gone a little moist. "Damn it, there I go. Oh, thanks." She took the finished drink and had a sip. "Mm, that's good! You make 'em strong, like I like 'em. So yeah!" Lynn laughed awkwardly and waved her damp napkin. "Come back to familiar ground, maybe reconnect with some old friends. I dunno." The petite brunette sighed and drummed her hands on the bar. "It's good to be back, actually." She held her drink up. "To new beginnings and burying the past; what's done is done, so screw it." Lynn smiled, nodded to herself and took a big swig. "Gah! Oh man, that's good!" Lynn heard the redhead approaching, emerging from the scattered amorphous din of the Saturday night crowd; it was hard to pick out individual conversations here, and she hadn't expected to hit her own nerve chatting with the bartender, so this so-called goddess was right on top of her before she had a chance to prepare herself. Up close, she was striking; her hair and skin seemed to have this sort of...soft glow. And she smelled different than most people, somehow purer, with a hint of...olive trees? Dear God, I hope she has a brother...or a cousin! Hell, even a creepy uncle would do! Finally, Lynn felt she had to say something, since she felt a bit guilty about coming all the way to Morley's to, what, gawk? Laugh? "Uh, hi! You probably hear this all the time, from guys and girls and everybody, but you're...you're a very beautiful person." Yep, they make the drinks strong here. :oops:

April 4th, 2009 Evening Grimalkin goes to Morley's pub, hoping to meet or at least see Divine. Mystical Saturday

Okay, fixed a few things.

I went ahead and changed her entry under News to the 4th, just in case :)

Oh man, I have such a soft spot for that show! I figure it's a 'comic book death' - i.e. she's dead until someone wants to use her for something. That being said, maybe I should fix the errors in RQ's build so someone could use her, but I have no idea if anyone wants to do that. Oh crap, I forgot about him! Maybe I should change it to the White Queen, since we aren't in the Marvel Universe Oh, I didn't know we did that sort of thing on the sheets. Sure, I can add that detail; would it go under Description?

Well we know it's a Saturday night, so it can either be April 4th or the 11th. In Grims new section, she mentions the bar on April 6th, but I can easily change that date to the 4th.

I never know when to apply Attractive to my Bluff checks; I don't want to bandy it about all the time ("Dude, I'm totally hot, let me see the President!"), but facism is very real thing. Attractive people get breaks normal or unattractive folks don't get. This probably makes it one of those feats STs hate :)

Lynn Epstein stepped into Morley's for the first time, and decided right then and there she liked it; her sharp ears appreciated the slightly muffled acoustics that did nothing to mar the sound of the jukebox, and the scent of inexpensive perfume and cologne mingled pleasantly with the whiff of leather jackets and Utz potato chips. The old-fashioned lighting fixtures were neither too dim nor too bright, and the place felt real and lived-in; a lot of the bars on the West Coast felt like movie sets or hyper-twee tourist traps. Tonight Lynn was wearing an old army jacket, faded Bob Marley t-shirt and a pair of Levis with knees worn thin; her boots were calf-high and fashionable a year ago, and seemed to have lived a lot in that year. Over her shoulder, the slender dark-haired girl carried a duffel bag on a canvas strap which bumped against the back of her legs as she walked. Running a hand through her spiky hair, she approached the bar, dropped her bag to the floor and smiled at the barkeep. "Hi, could I have a Bacardi and Coke, please?" She pulled out a Washington State driver's license for examination, then had a look 'round the place. There, the redhead playing pool; that had to be her. Despite herself, Lynn took in a sharp breath and blew it out as she muttered softly. "Boy, they weren't kidding, were they?"

Should I add some Drawbacks or Complications related to her association to the Sisterhood? It sort of seems like she's missing something...

The fleshing out part is done! And now we await the arrival of the critics! :P

I think I've finsihed the hard numbers on the character, though math may still be off due to the late hour. Now I need to develop the actual character herself.

Ok, I think I fixed the Magic power, at least :)

Okay, so in going with the lighter tone for this character, I think Healing would be a good idea, maybe making her a stronger flier too, and get rid of RQ's lethal penetrating Strike attack. Any other suggestions before I start poking around?

Name: The White Rook PL 10 (150/151) Unspent PPs: 1 Alternate Identity: Adele St. Ternan Height: 5'10" Weight: 157 lbs Hair: Blonde Eyes: Blue Description: Adele is a beautiful young woman in her mid-twenties; tall, blonde, and blue-eyed, she makes a striking figure, yet she doesn't seem to actively 'work it', for lack of a better phrase. Instead of dresses and high heels, she favors leather, denim and wool, as well as comfortable boots, for in truth she's a country girl from the Highlands who's spent little of her life in major metropolitan areas. Her Scottish accent is fairly strong, but she can almost completly drop it in favor of a refined RP accent with a little effort, usally if she's making gentle fun of the English. Her magic, like that of all the Sisters, comes from a strange dimension known only as 'the White', though in day-to-day speech it's frequently known as 'whitespace'. The White is a realm of seemingly endless pure energy, which the Sisters use for protection and to heal, but it can also be focused into pearly-white shafts of power to strike at foes. There is also a noticeable white glow when she touches someone to heal them, or opens disc-like portals to teleport or fetch a clean sweater. History: Since the early morning of the earth, they have waited; the Sisters of the Sacred Grove have been vigilant, keeping their minds and hearts pure, practicing the old ways handed down from mother to daughter in an endless chain of knowledge. The Sisterhood knows that one day the old mad gods will spill out of their hiding places and attempt to retake the world that once was theirs for a brief black moment before the Age of Man. The Sisters of the Sacred Grove have guarded the land for centuries; to the outside world they have been a convent, a girls' school, a Utopian society, a hippie commune and now an artists' retreat. What shape they will assume in the future can only be guessed. The beautiful serene women of the Grove have never lacked for male companionship, and the men who've been drawn to them have gladly stay to help in any way they can, not as prisoners but free to come and go as they please. Men and women tend and shear the sheep, groom the horses and mend the fences together, living each day in artful union. The folk of the neighboring farms and nearby village of Cannich find the Grove's inhabitants to be a bit odd, but they make fine goat cheese and thick wool sweaters to sell to tourists, and are always polite, soft-spoken and pay their debts promptly. Adele was born on Aldergrove Farm, as it's now known, and like her mother and her mother's mother, she learned the old ways even as she spent time in the Farm's library, devouring its meager but nourishing contents by the time she was fifteen. She and some of the younger sisters begged the matrons for new sources of knowledge, something, anything. There had been a telly in a corner of sitting room for a few years, but it rarely worked and had terrible reception, and their only wireless set was in Mother Harriet's room so she could get the football scores. The girls were utterly gobsmacked when Mother Gertrude actually bought them a computer for the library; they sat there for nearly two days just staring at it, too frightened to even turn it on. It was Adele who finally got the courage to find the power switch and bring it to life, and the matrons shook their heads at the sight of them crowded around the damned thing until the wee hours of the morning; Not in my day, they would mutter. One day Sister Elenore found a 'chat room' used by people interested in the occult, and started up a friendship with a girl from Ireland called Faye; she was very interested in the Farm and the hints that Elenore let slip. Elenore appealed to the matrons to allow Faye to come visit; maybe it was time the Sisterhood looked outside its stone walls for new recruits to continue its traditions? After weeks of pleading and needling, the matrons reluctantly agreed. When she first arrived, the young Irishwoman charmed everyone, and proved to be a remarkably adept pupil; however in time it became clear what Faye was really interested in: knowledge of the old mad gods the Sisters were sworn to fight. The night before the matrons planned to confront her, she disappeared, along with several rare magical texts. In vain the Sisters sought to find her, but their errant pupil masked her presence from them, and after several years they stopped actively looking for her, returning to their training while keeping one eye on the horizon... And then a thief and assassin calling herself 'the Red Queen' appeared on the global scene; she was far from famous, but words of her deeds threaded through the magical community until they reached the Sisterhood. Recognizing their own magical secrets perverted to criminal ends, they chose three of their best warriors to track her down and bring her to justice. To protect their identities, they were given codenames similar to their prey; as the eldest, Sister Elenore became the White Queen, Sister Isabelle was named the White Bishop and Adele was called the White Rook. Together they would scour the Earth in search of this so-called Red Queen, and bring her back to Aldergrove, dead or alive. The hunt took several months, with the Queen seemingly always just out of reach; Isabelle almost had her in Sicily, and Adele herself had the drop on her in Guam, but the clever Queen, a mistress of both magic and technology (especially modern weapons) always wriggled away, usually leaving her hunters badly injured by some glyph or boobytrap. Adele was sure Faye had been in Freedom City, and spent weeks in a hotel room waiting for her to return, her mystical senses extended to their very limits. But then word came from the Farm; Elenore, the first of the Sisters to befriend her, had slain the Queen in Denmark, and they were all to return at once. However, Adele stunned the Sisterhood by refusing to come home; she had seen a great deal during the hunt for Faye, and the world she saw needed help. What good were their amazing powers if all they did was train and train and train, never honing their skills in actual combat, or finding peaceful ways to use their gift to help those in need? The matrons discussed among themselves, and as before they agreed with much reluctance; Adele could remain in the outside world, provided she remained in frequent contact with her sisters and allowed no harm to fall on them due to her actions. Delighted, she instantly agreed. Personality & Motivation: Adele is something of a paradox; in many ways, she is quite ignorant of how the 'real world' operates, yet she possesses a deep understanding of the human heart, and it's potential for both good and evil. With little exposure to the media or traditional Western education, she is something of an innocent abroad, and the hip slang of America's youth frequently baffles her. But America is also delicious coffee, beautiful landscapes and attractive young men who like to buy you delicious coffee. She will fight evil wherever she finds it, but she's also going to enjoy all that life has to offer while she's at it. Because of her cultural awkwardness, Adele sometimes comes off as shy or aloof, but to her a friendship once forged is never forgotten. When the roar of the city becomes too much for her, she'll use her magic to find some quite spot far from the chatter of humans and recover her composure. Since the Farm is now supposed to be an artists' co-op, all the girls have been taught to sketch, paint or sculpt, and Adele enjoys expressing herself artistically, especially in watercolors or clay. The White Rook has no traditional source of income, but the Sisterhood sends her 'care packages' of money (actual US dollars), art supplies and hard-to-find UK treats like Jaffa Cakes and HobNobs; the Farm also pays for her hotel room in some unspecified way. The young magical warrior keeps her possessions (the few she actually has) in a hole in whitespace; for some reason, Adele's little corner of the White seems to be accumulating a lot of new clothes... Abilities: [0+2+2+6+8+4 = 22pp] Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 12 (+1) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 18 (+4) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: [12+12 = 24] Attack: +6 Grapple: +6 Defense: +6 (+3 flat-footed) Knockback: -10 (-0 w/o Force Field) Initiative: +1 Saves: [5+4+4 = 13pp] Toughness: +11 (Imp 10); +1 w/o Force Field Fortitude: +6 (+1 Con, +5) Reflex: +5 (+1 Dex, +4) Will: +8 (+4 Wis, +4) Skills: [100r = 25pp] Bluff 6 (+8) Computers 1 (+3) Concentration 6 (+10) Craft (Artistic) 6 (+8) Diplomacy 8 (+10) Gather Information 8 (+10) Handle Animals 4 (+6) Intimidate 6 (+8) Investigate 8 (+10) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 8 (+10) Knowledge (Art) 1 (+3) Knowledge (Current Events) 1 (+3) Knowledge (History) 4 (+6) Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 1 (+3) Language 1 (Scottish Gaelic) Notice 6 (+10) Profession (Farmer) 4 (+8) Ride 4 (+6) Search 6 (+8) Sense Motive 6 (+10) Stealth 3 (+4) Swim 2 (+2) Feats: [5pp] Equipment 1 Power Attack Precise Shot Ritualist Skill Mastery (Diplomacy, Gather Information, Investigate, Sense Motive) Equipment: Camera, cellphone, flashlight, mini tape recorder, multi-tool Powers: Flight 3 (50 mph / 500 feet) [6pp] Force Field 10 (Extra: Impervious 10; PF: Subtle 1) [21pp] - Immunity 9 (Life Support, Sustained, Linked w/ Force Field) [9pp] Magic 10 (PFs: 7 Alternate Powers/Spells) [27pp] BE: Blast 10 AP: Comprehend 4 (Languages) AP: Dimensional Pocket 10 AP: ESP 9 (Global, Visual: PFs: Subtle) AP: Healing 10 AP: Illusion 4 (Auditory & Visual; Extra: Action; PFs: Progression 2) AP: Telekinesis 9 (Str 45; PFs: Precise, Subtle) AP: Teleport 9 (Global) Super-Senses 1 (Magical Awareness [Mental]) [1pp] Drawbacks: Power Loss (Flight, Force Field and Magic when unable to gesture -3) PP Totals: Abilities 22 + Skills 25 + Feats 5 + Powers 64 + Combat 24 + Saves 13 + Drawbacks -3 = Total: 150/151

After a whispered conversation in the chat with the good Doctor, it seems it might be easier to just start from scratch, using the old build, corrected for sanity, as the framework. Look for a 'White Rook' character submission coming soon!

And apparently despite the two approvals I got back in the day, the character has serious build problems :oops:

So I've been thinking of reactivating my barely-used villain Red Queen, who currently sits idling in the NPC folder where I asked Barnum to put her; at the time, I didn't think I had the moxie/nerve/chutzpah/whatever to play a villain, and I still might not. My question is, can we convert a villain into a hero? I had a thought of doing a vignette kinda thing where we see that Red was snatched out of time during her last thread (that art heist thing), brought before a sort of magic court, and given a choice: undo the evil she has done by using her powers (now powered by good mad gods, not evil ones) to fight crime and such, or be wiped out of existence. The other form of persuasion I thought of is they give her a glimpse of her future if she doesn't mend her ways, and it is terrifying (and entirely off-screen!). I know this sort of smacks of 'Angel' and would make both my characters ex-criminal types (even though Grim was a petty criminal), but I think she has a lot of potential, sort of a cross between a female Irish John Constantine and the reformed Black Widow. Just a thought :)

I think we all do! It might take a bit of time to build, but once at least two team up, they can either let it be known they are looking for more, or others can seek them out. I'm sure we can think of other ideas, too.

April 4th, 2009 So today I decided to see how much has changed since I left town, so I boosted a copy of the Word (hey, it's 35 cents, get over it!) and scanned the stories; a lot of the guys I remember have either skipped town or are laying low, not sure which, but a few new names have popped up, like this goofy 'Geckoman' character. He sounds like a piece of work. Some poor sap's house blew up in Riverside a few days back, which sounds pretty damn nasty. And somebody is fightin' crime in my old turf, and what's worse, he's probably doing a much better job! Ooh, I hate when that happens! And the last thing I read about before I dump the paper in the trash is about some wannabe 'goddess' who runs a bar in West End; now this I've gotta see...

Well in that very post he says, "I should point out that Nightrival is in a different place now. Though he still wonders about Grim, he has moved on." I think he means he changed his plans accordingly after Grim disappeared, not because he didn't care or anything, but because he is a soldier fighting a war, and he just changed tactics since the battle continues. The investigation mentioned later shows that the loss of Grim was not dismissed as insignificant. But now I'm splitting hairs for no reason, just doing the silly gamer thing of quibbling over small stuff; please forgive my knee-jerk 'I must be right!' reaction :bow: This is of course very true; however, I am going to make a conscious effort not to get involved into too many storylines at the same time, since spreading myself too thin is part of what caused me to leave last time. Still, partnership in two groups might be doable, so I won't try and rule anything out. I like the idea of teaming Grim up with 'lighter' heroes like Divine and Velocity due to the nice tonal contrast, but she doesn't have to be like the 'token Goth' or anything.

I'd like to spend Grim's 4 pp to get one rank of Create Object with Range dropped to Touch, the Duration extra and Precise and Subtle feats, please.