A Metal Abstraction

Prelude----

In the end there will be Aether, just as there was Aether in the beginning.

Throughout the history of the Earth, there have been interventions from realms not of our own in preparation for an event grander than any other, this happening is known as Aether Crossroad. Little is known of this event, except that its purpose is to judge and determine who shall lead Earth into the future, who will shape the destiny of the planet, and what will become of the planet Earth as a whole.
As mentioned, little is known about Aether Crossroad, as the event happens sparingly, and almost none who compete in it live to tell their stories. What little is known is known from the accounts of the demon Kokouri, and were once vaguely mentioned in books of demonology, though even this data has been lost over time. What was once recorded are the following pieces of knowledge:

1. Aether Crossroad is intended to test the limitations of a planet’s life-forms, and is intended to determine the course of that planets’ future.
2. Aether Crossroad is a sacred event to demonkind, as it is the only vestige of hope left in their race’s dream of establishing a demonic hierarchy over a planets life, after having been relegated to live primarily as ethereal terrors between dimensions.
3. Prior to the actual Aether Crossroad are a series of tests by which participants are chosen. These are referred to as Aether Paths, and can take place in many forms, and over great distances of space and time. Once ten Aether Paths have occurred, then the Aether Crossroad will begin.

This information has all unfortunately been lost to history, though it still applies in truth and there are a select few on Earth who know these pieces of wisdom. Humanity is currently standing within the preliminaries for the next Aether Crossroad, marking the return of an event which last occurred some 252 million years ago.

Setting---

In the early 1990’s the United States Senate allowed for the creation of the Weather Modification Operations and Research Board, after witnessing the destruction caused by Hurricane Hugo. Within three years, the department was able to effectively launch neutralization campaigns to mitigate any threat of hurricanes from striking the United States. With their primary function a resounding success, the department turned to using their research to perfect aesthetic weather changes.

Welcome to the city of Samhain, just inside the mouth of Delaware Bay, a sister city to New York and one of the strangest examples of urban structure as of the last 50 years. Samhain is a large metropolis divided into four districts throughout its body. It was this city, which had already begun the process of separating their city by a strange seasonal theme that agreed to host the prototype weather generators the department had created under the direction of the city’s mayor, Regina Augustus.

These weather generators were a mixed success. Originally intended to give a mild flavor of seasonal atmosphere to a given area, they instead created a permanent effect over the respective districts, eternally casting them into their titular seasons.
As noted above, the city is still divided into four districts.

Summer District: Located at the northernmost portion of the island, is a thriving metropolitan area that is populated by tourists and the obscenely wealthy. While it lacks a sense of culture and class, it compensates with its hedonistic appeal. Beaches are found along the districts north shore and most of the district is populated by hotels and casinos. As far as living accommodations are concerned, the premier two being the Four Seasons and the Lunasa, both owned by resort tycoon Victor Snell. There is a notable checkpoint separating Summer District from its fellows, so as not to let in anyone who would be a detriment to the over-all happiness of the tourists.

Autumn District: Sandwiched between Summer District to the North, and Spring District to the South. Autumn District is the cultural center of Samhain. It houses arts and history museums, historic buildings and monuments, and has a thriving upper-crust nightlife. It is also home to the government of Samhain, with the mayoral residence being a prominent centerpiece to the District. Within Autumn District’s spectacular colors are mansions new and old, and a very rustic charm. While it is less expensive to visit than Summer District, people residing in Autumn District are stereotyped within the city as elitists who do not remember their roots, as many of the successful artists came from lower-class cities or even the lower-class Winter District of Samhain.

Spring District: The largest of the four districts, located south of Autumn District and wrapping around Winter District on three sides, is the primary business and residential area of Samhain, as many people who work in the city do not actually live in it, but commute by ferry. Due to its large size, Spring District is divided into separate neighborhoods, most of which have their own image and subculture. Most people in Spring District are middle to upper-middle class. Spring District is also home to the docks and wharfs that are used as a prime harbor for Atlantic trade. The district is primarily rainy and also has a number of large parks within its lush green expanses.

Winter District: surrounded on three sides by Spring District and on the fourth by the Delaware Bay, Winter District is a cold, bleak environment that once housed a number of manufacturing plants, most of which have been shut down in the last decade and left to rot. Shoddy tenement apartments line some streets and crime is high compared to other parts of the city. The primary source of revenue for the people living here is the Samhain Arts Institute which is located in Winter District. The Art Institute draws a crowd of young artists who wish to experience a sense of grit to add to their artistic talents and repertoire. For this reason, a number of closed-down buildings have recently begun to be re-opened as underground art galleries and concert venues for the young. However, this small wave of re-gentrification is still minor and Winter District remains something of a blemish to the city’s reputation in the eyes of many tourism departments. Several times there have been arguments made to try to restore Winter District, but all of these plans have fallen through due primarily to lack of interest by those involved.

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Despite its condition, Winter District does house a series of notable individuals, though. A series of people from various walks of life all banded together under their patronage of Winter District, and under the group name of the Beltane Foundation.

To an outsider looking in, the Beltane Foundation is a series of charitable organizations run within Winter District to help the areas homeless population. Their institutions function in a similar manner to many homeless shelters and soup kitchens from across the country, providing aide to the poor families of Winter District while also helping them to seek jobs and steady themselves in the world. What has set them apart from other aide stations is their policy of not accepting volunteers who have the means to help themselves. Instead, the organization is overseen in its daily operations by the very homeless people that it provides for. Donations are accepted from others, but the actual labor force is made up of the poor and residents of Winter District.

The organization was founded by Henry Beltane, a former conman residing in Winter District. While to many others the group appears to simply be a charitable organization that the man runs, the charitable portion is primarily a front for the inner circle of the group known as the “Beltane Family”. This is a group of people who have been screened by Beltane himself and act as not only an administrative sector for the charity, but as something of a mafia within Winter District.

By mafia, I do not mean that they are dealing in drugs, racketeering, or are Sicilian. Instead, I mean that they are a small group who, through some means or another, have obtained influence in the city. The group primarily operates by simply obtaining part-time jobs around the city and using these jobs as a basis for establishing connections. The Family shuns criminal activity that might be considered “common”, actions such as thievery, murder, and drug dealing are all activities which are barred to Family members. They do occasionally commit crimes to further their aims, however. They are thought to be rather major figures in several blackmail cases that have occurred throughout the mid thousands, exposing the scandals of several powerful figures from behind the anonymous veil of public internet access and their own homelessness for said figures failure to pay blackmail fees. Despite this acceptance of blackmail, the Family is still mostly a small special interest group that just puts an intensive focus on establishing connections and putting its members on a fast-track to prominence in the city. There are several prerequisites for entry, however, listed below:

1) A member of the Beltane Family must have formerly been a member of the Beltane Foundation, and must be accepted into the Family by Henry Beltane.
2) Members of the Beltane Family must never identify themselves as such outside of meetings with other members. The Organization thrives in the looseness and low-key attitude of its members, having only Beltane as a face for the group.
3) Members of the Beltane must be financially independent. Though there have been a few circumstances of members who were 17, they are the exception and these members were the primary caregivers of a family. The Beltane’s will still provide help to homeless minors as a part of the Beltane Foundation, but they will most likely not be permitted into the Beltane Family.
4) If a member is found to be “compromising the secrecy, values, or structure” of the Beltane Family, then they may be expelled from the Family.

---Gameplay---

The first phase of the RPG will be a series of introductory situations to the story I have planned as we follow the Beltane Family and introduce the plot of the Aether Path that has begun in Samhain. It is during this phase that the RPG will follow a set of jobs the Family will participate in en masse to begin their involvement in the Aether Path.

After this introductory phase, the game will become an open-city RPG in which players may choose to go about the city of Samhain and explore it as they see fit, either becoming embroiled in various human-world problems or beginning to compete openly in the Aether Path. This open-city segment will take place day-to-day for one year in-game (excluding some events that may involve time travel). During this one year, I will make plans for most events the players want to embark upon. At certain times in the calendar year, a scheduled event will occur, such as certain boss fights or celebrations that will lend themselves more to the main plot of the RPG. At the end of the year, a certain number of characters will vanish from the world to take part in the Aether Crossroad. If your character does not get picked, do not worry, there will be other RPG’s in this plotline which your character may be taken from as well.

Most mechanics of competition will be dealt with in such a way that I hope will inspire a challenge for the players, a fair challenge, of course, but still a challenge. You need not fight to be considered a good participant in the Aether Path, as the Aether Crossroad is meant to judge the best of people in all facets of their lives, not simply those who can fight the most efficiently.

Throughout the year in which the Aether Path takes place in Samhain, and we follow the Beltane Family as they compete (willingly or unwillingly) there will be encounters with demonkind. Demons hold the Aether Paths and Aether Crossroad in high regard and as such, demonic and supernatural activity surges when an Aether Path begins in an area. Demons in this RPG are ranked into various hierarchies, and the higher ranked the demon, the more powerful they are. There are some unifying rules of all demons, however. For example, they hold night to be sacred, and may only gain sustenance by feeding upon emotions which they cannot feel. Fear, Pain, hate, anxiety, sadness, these are among the emotions which demons subsist upon. Demons will not actively seek to kill people for this reason. However, it is a consequence that in their hunts for these emotions, demons may end up killing humans. For this reason, there is a threat of death in this RPG.

Death will be handled in such a way that I think is fair. The rule essentially is to not do anything stupid. Now of course that’s subjective. However, bear in mind that at least at the beginning we will be playing normal humans. If an average human attempts to rush into a fight against a twelve-foot tall demon with axes for arms and all manner of supernatural powers, I would expect that player not be completely bewildered when their character is killed in this fight. However, to be fair, I am including a type of “status” measure for characters. Essentially, this will only come into play in a life-or-death situation. I will not OHKO characters without the players permission. However, if a player’s character is hit by something which would normally kill them, their status will be changed to “CRITICAL”. While in this status, the character should be considered gravely injured. If a character in CRITICAL status does not obtain treatment of some kind within a short amount of time in-game, or they are hit again in a separate post, they will die. Once a character is dead, they cannot come back unless a supernatural power to revive the dead is used. For this reason, I’d think it wise that you have at least two characters ready to be party members, should an unfortunate event befall one of them. (However, I would ask that you only control one active party member at a time, unless there is some reason you think you should control more than that.)

Later on in the RPG, powers will be introduced. These powers are formed by the result of a human becoming the host of a kind of demonic parasite called a Fy. Fy normally cannot communicate with their human hosts and survive off of their host’s emotions as well as the emotions their host inspires in others through the use of their powers. A Fy normally may grant their host three distinct powers, in a sort of leveling mechanic. Oftentimes, when a Fy’s powers level up the host will lose their previous power, though this is not the case with all Fy.

A single human body may host up to three separate Fy in a lifetime. Fy can be taken from other hosts, however taking a Fy from one person and giving it to someone who already has a Fy will result in the former Fy disappearing completely.


Finally, I will be awarding Achievement Points throughout the RPG for various accomplishments. If you roleplay in-character well, perform in ways which are new and exciting, or in general do well within the city, you will receive points which (while not made public), will be sent to each of the players via PM to keep track of. Points can be spent on various attributes for your character. These are listed below, and the attributes can be found in more detail in the character sheet:

New talent point: Number of point*2 = points required

Level-up Fy: 100 points

Level-up Directional Sensibility by one: 5 points

Blaze: 20 points. (Blaze is a special ability which can only be used when the character is in CRITICAL. Activating Blaze allows the character to gain a sudden surge of strength for up to one minute before promptly dying. If a character is killed after activating Blaze, they may transfer any remaining Achievement Points to their next character.


---Clause of Leadership---

All of my decisions on the game may be contested. If you feel that I have killed your character unfairly or the section that is being played out needs to stop, or needs to keep going, or any other questions of how the game is progressing, being run, etc. You may argue your case to me and we’ll see if we can come to a compromise. There are a few things in the game which I am very reluctant to back down on, like over-all structure, and presence of Fy powers. However I am willing to compromise if the players feel a particular aspect is too unfair in its current structure. For this reason, even if we fail to come to a compromise in a PM, you may put your motion to vote in the OOC and if a majority rules in favor of your decision it will take place.




and now, for the most basic character sheet, pertaining to members of the Beltane Family

---Character Sheet---

Name:

Age: (No younger than 18 unless you confirm it with me first)

Birthday: (When is it? Your character might get something on it)

Sex:

Sexuality:

Hometown: (Where does your character come from?)

Clothes: (Your character starts out with three sets of clothes. Hot (for hot weather), Cold (for cold weather), and Business)

Personality: (What makes your character tick? What kind of person are they?)

Relations: (While not common, I do not wish to say that these Family members are incapable of being loved. List any close family members or friends they have outside of the Beltane Family. Also, you may go and edit this to include members of the Beltane Family who your character particularly likes and works well with, though I do also request that you include some people who your character does not like in the group.)

Ambitions: (What does your character seek to do, to accomplish, to make themselves known by?)

Appearance: (What does your character actually physically look like?)

Likes: (what are some things your character likes)

Dislikes: (Some things your character would rather do without)

Fears: (What does your character fear? Note: you will be expected to behave irrationally around your fears, treat them as if your character is actually afraid of them.)

Trinkets: (What objects does your character tend to carry around with them? This is limited by holding space and common sense.)

Money: (Between 0 and 200 dollars. This is the money you are going to be starting out with. You can earn money by doing jobs or lose money by purchasing things. On average days in the city, your character will lose 25 dollars daily from normal expenditures unless you expressly state that they will forage, in which case a d20 will be rolled against their foraging skill to determine success.)

Foraging Skill: (All characters start with a 10 in foraging, you may also spend talent points in foraging skill to bring it to a maximum of 20.)

Directional Sensibility: (All characters start with 14 points in this area. I am currently working alongside Khanman to provide a comprehensive street map of Samhain. The current estimates I have show the map being divided up into 56 squares which encompass the land area of Samhain. This skill is your gauge of how familiar your character is with the area. While the map is still being worked on, this skill will have no effect on anything, but when the map is accomplished you will select a number of squares equivalent to your characters DS points on the map. While in these areas your character cannot become lost. When entering a square which your character is not familiar with, however, you will be unable to immediately direct yourself to a particular location within the square. A DS score of 56 means that your character has a comprehensive knowledge of Samhain and cannot become lost while in the city, ((Subway system excluded)).)

Background/Circumstances: (Give your character some background here. Tell us how they got to Samhain, what their family life was like, where they’ve been in life and how it has influenced them.)

Powers: (These will appear later.)

Talents: (Talent points are equal at the beginning to your characters age, use these points to distribute among different talents you can come up with. Talents can be anything from ‘good with animals’ to ‘obscure trivia of Family Matters’ to ‘Squirrel Wrangling’. The only stipulation is that you should have nothing that would be completely out of place for a modern setting, such as ‘Naginata mastery’ or anything that your character probably would be using to have a full-time job and a good life like ‘financial expertise’ or ‘neurosurgery’. You may spend up to five points in any talent, meaning you are a complete master in that field. As I said before, you may add however many talents you wish, but here is the catch. Whatever talents you have will also show up on everyone else’s character sheet. Meaning they must also spend points in that talent if they wish to use it to some degree as well. This works retroactively too. Successes at these rolls will be determined using a d6. If your character has 0 points in a talent, they will immediately fail the roll unless accompanied by someone with a higher number in said talent, in which case that persons talent is rolled instead. If they have a 1 in the talent, they will need to roll a 6 for a success, and so on and so forth until the player achieves a 6 in a talent, meaning they will always succeed.)

0 points in talent: (complete novice. you may be able to do it if guided)
1 point in talent: (amateur. You are about as competent in the talent as someone who is starting)
2 points in talent: (average. You are decent at this talent and can do some improvisation to apply it to other fields)
3 points in talent: (above average. You are well-versed and can accomplish your talent easily)
4 points in talent: (professional. You can improvise your talent well and are good at applying it wherever possible)
5 points in talent: (Master. You are a master of your talent)
6 points in talent (Supernatural Mastery. This is only obtainable when a character has demonic powers imbued into them. This character will never fail at said talent.*)


Here’s an example of how talent points are distributed.
Let's say I make a character who is 20 years old. This gives them 20 talent points. Now let's say I make up five categories and put four points into each one for this character.

A: 4 pts.
B: 4 pts
C: 4
D: 4
E: 4

Then I'll make another character, who is also 20 years old. However, for him I also invent some new categories, in addition to the ones my first character introduced. His points might be distributed thusly:

A: 3
B: 2
C: 4
D: 2
E: 3
F: 3
G: 3

Now, I would go back and alter Character 1's profile so as to include the changes introduced by Character 2, and it would look like this.

A: 2
B: 1
C: 4
D: 2
E: 4
F: 4
G: 3

A final clause regarding supernatural talents: if a character confronts someone that has a talent that directly and equally opposes the talent used, a coin will be flipped to determine who wins out in the conflict.

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Finally, you may answer anything else you wish about your character. Favorite Ice cream, Favorite food, movies, colors, etc. Any survey you go to the trouble of answering for your character I will go to the trouble of incorporating the information in somehow.


I hope we all have a good time, welcome to Samhain and to "A Metal Abstraction"

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ACCEPTED CHARACTERS LISTED HERE:

Protagonists

Henry Beltane - Leader and founder of the Beltane Family. An unhelpful conman with a flair for working his way out of situations.

Justin Carr - a college graduate and gothic type with a degree in Theoretical Academic Demonology. Not yet accepted into the Beltane Family but hoping to become a member soon.

Harold Millions - a grafitti artist and member of the Beltane Family looking to make a name for himself.

Chester Duvall - An out of work cardshark, formerly employed in Summer District. His luck ran out and he is now a member of the Beltane Family for his own reasons.

Edmond Lydell - An untalented writer who came to Samhain for inspiration. Fell in with the Beltane's due to financial difficulties and has not left since.

Rodger Tinsdale - A retired marine looking for his daughter in Samhain.

Riem and Jack Cruellor - Twin brothers who have fallen on hard times in Samhain and now work for the Beltane Family.

Jess McAvoy - A kidnapped Irishman who was left to fend for himself on the streets of Samhain as he grew up. He now seeks to aid his friend Lymerihck, an artist stricken with AIDS.

Anthony Letcher - A businessman living in Autumn District and an under-the-table sponsor of the Beltane Foundation.

Louie Blanchard - a former architect who has fallen on hard times, he hopes to one day have his sculpting works recognized.

Sno McCarthy - a solitary girl living in Winter District, she is not a member of the Beltane Family, and seeks to become a famous illustrator some day.


Minor Characters

Maria - A maid working for Anthony, she is hoping to help her family with the money she earns in her job.

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WIP


Name: Harold Millions

Artist Identity: The Clash Man

Age: 32

Birthday: 5/13/1980

Sex: Male

Sexuality: Straight

Hometown: New York City, specifically the Bronx

Clothes:

Business and Cold Business

Harold's power suit is a three piece suit that is shade of blue. It consists of a jacket, vest, and pants. The dress shirt underneath the jacket and the vest is an ivory white with grey buttons. The tie around his neck has a white and blue stripe design set at an angle of 30 degrees. The fedora he wears is the same shade of his suit. His right wrist has a golden wrist watch that exposes the inner workings with roman numerals. On his hands are black leather gloves with leather shoes that have black laces.

His other power suit is less formal and more of the thuggish variety, unfortunately. As an artist, street artist to say Harold puts on a gas mask with red tinted ski goggles, a thick black hoodie and slacks. He also has on a red puffed vest and underneath his clothing is black thermal underwear. Harold also wears very thick winter gloves. On his back is a black and white back pack, which he carries his gear and any supplies he might need.

Summer+ Autumn+ Spring

A forest green collar suit with a single white across the shirt and blue jeans for pants with a black belt and silver buckle. On his face is a pair of white sunglasses with red and blue lens like the old 3D glasses of the 50's. On his middle fingers are ivory rings and onyx rings on his pinkies. He wears a brown cap and sometimes a grey zip up grey sweater jackets.

Winter

Harold dons thick black gloves, a grey, black and white sport wear winter jacket that is also water resistant, a black winter mask, and a heavy fedora. The pants are usually jeans, blue or black with steel toe boots.


Personality:

Harold Millions is passionate and impulsive when it comes to his art either with a spray can or a brush. As a free lancer photographer/ reporter, Harold is unyielding when it comes to a scoop seeing it to the end. He has anxiety about the future and about his certain spray painting activities with getting away with it. However, regardless of his anxiety, Harold still goes out to create his art either out of bravery or pure stubbornness. In general, Harold can have quite the Ego, but is overall very friendly and loyal to his clients. The tarot card that best represents Harold is "The Chariot", always charging into the battle as if assured the outcome would be certain victory or certain death.

Relations:

-Henry Beltane, doesn't care for the man, but will work for him. If Henry asks for photos or any information on a person or an organization, then Harold will provide him with as much as he can find.

-Justin Carr

-Chester Duvall

-Edmond "Eddie" Lydell

-Rodger Tinsdale



Ambitions: To have his art featured on all the districts stirring up emotions, rekindling memories and the like.

Appearance:

Harold Million is short with a height of 5' 6" and a slender body. His hair is gelled and in the style of a quiff, which is a variation of the pompadour. The color of his hair is a dirty blond, and the irises of his eyes is a blue grey.

Likes: Reading, Paints, Spray Cans, Abandon buildings, Blank Surfaces, The Winter District, Psych, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Side Scrollers, First Person Shooters, Doofenshimtz, Jones Soda

Dislikes: His particular fear, Capcom's issue with Megaman, Matthew Mcconaughey, Chad Michael Murray, Perry, The CW,

Fears: Sexy female clowns. To Harold, they are impossible, couldn't be done. Everything else can become sexy, but clowns, no way. Its just a horror show for poor old Harold if some chick attempted that on Halloween. Its like combining It and a super model and if a result happened, Harold would be comatose.

Trinkets on his regular person:

-i phone

-Nikkon Camera

- Wallet


Money: 200 Dollars

Foraging Skill: 10

Directional Sensibility: 14

Background/Circumstances:


At age 17, Harold Millions attends the Samhain Institute of Art around august 1997. In the year 2000, Harold graduates, but the job market as he soon found out was cruel and cold. He was grateful for the Beltane Foundation's assistance as they helped him with some financial issues he had around his last year of studies and wanted to pay them back for it. Now despite having a diploma, applying for any job was made even more difficult than before as business owners and the like either expected that he would eventually find another job thus quitting the one he got or they assumed he was overqualified. Yet again, Harold tuned to the Beltane Foundation for assistance. He became a member of the family as shortly after he landed a job as a free lancer for the local paper.


2012, the media may have changed and the days of black and white papers are gone, but what remains the same is the needs of Harold's expertise. His investigative skills still remains the best there is, just his photo's have become even better thanks to modern technology and camera applications on cell phones.

Powers:

Talents:

Graffiti Art- 5

Video Gamer of Classic Side Scrollers, First Person Shoots, Rpgs, and Action Adventure -4

Investigative reporting-5

Encyclopedia Knowledge of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure- 3

Photography-4

Mythology Reader-1

Painting- 3

Photoshoping Manic-1

Mystery Marathon Watcher of current stuff and the past-2

Sandwich Maker-2

Cartoon Fan- 2

Sprinting: 0

Carrying loads of objects: 0

Hook, line, and sinker (a form of persuasive speaking Henry coined, meaning the feeling of impending closure a conman makes their mark feel to pressure them into buying.): 0

Boston Accent: 0

Keeping out of jail: 0

Establishing allies: 0

Long-distance running: 0

Trivia in general: 0

Being a curmudgeon: 0

Faking emotions: 0

Reassuring speech: 0

Theme Song: "Vanishing Point" by Sam Gorski, from the Brush with Death video.

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"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

I want to, but I want to make sure I didn't miss anything.

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"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

Well there we go, glad to know you're interested Mastermind. I look forward to seeing your sheet.

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Just need to ask, what is the current year for the rpg?

Edit: I know, its a strange question, but it helps me focus and organize my thoughts.

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"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

it's a fine question. The RPG begins in-game on April 25th 2012. The technology of the world is only different in some very minor ways. All present pop culture and historical events are still very much a reality and can help to make up your character.

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Looking pretty good so far Mastermind. I have to say, the "Encyclopedia Knowledge of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" talent will actually be a useful thing for him to have, not kidding.

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Name: Henry Beltane (occasionally uses the alias Henry Higgins)

Age: 47

Birthday: July 17th, 1964

Sex: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

Clothes: Warm: A long, beige overcoat over a blue long-sleeved sweater. He also wears denim blue jeans, worn black leather gloves, a black skull-cap and a long black muffler. For shoes, he wears brown Timberland hiking boots and wool socks.

Cool: A t-shirt from the Peachtree Road Race which he claims to have run when he was in college. Denim blue jeans, the same pair of hiking boots and only occasionally wears socks.

Business: A black button-down shirt with a worn-out black vest, black slacks and an old pair of brown loafers. He also owns a wool-black trench-coat which he uses both for his Warm outfit at times and to hide his products in.

Personality: Henry Beltane is above all other measures, a self-interested conman. He founded both the Beltane Foundation and the Beltane Family, neither of which have been terribly profitable ventures in the fields of monetary gain, however Henry's purpose has always been about gaining influence and status over money. Henry tends to stay only loosely connected to other members of the organization, preferring to oftentimes deal with his own ventures and goals separate of the Family members. Though he is mostly self-interested and lacking in scruples, he will help those that he is in debt to and those who he thinks may be able to provide him help in the future. Henry is a greedy soul willing to go to great lengths to establish connections, often signing up for ridiculous jobs or tasks that would not seem to be jobs at all hoping to turn some sort of profit out of it.

Though these may seem like simple eccentricities, Henry is in truth, a rather paranoid and damaged individual. He is often convinced that others are plotting against him and does not fully trust anyone. He has developed higher blood pressure in recent years for this reason and has also taken on a severe case of insomnia, often going some nights with only one or two hours of sleep.

Relations: Henry had a wife at one point, Amelia, who divorced him and abandoned him in the early 1990's. He now has no real connections outside of the Family and various students at the Samhain Art Institute who have talked with him and established acquaintance-ships over time

Ambitions: To become a wealthy man with massive political influence, untouchable by anyone.

Appearance: Henry is a tall pale man standing at 6'4", and weighing in at 229 lbs. He has something of a beer-gut from drinking and not eating properly. He is gaunt and looks as though he doesn't get enough sunlight, despite spending a good amount of time outside. He has greasy black hair that hangs over his face, which is cut haphazardly and is often messy from extended periods of wearing his hat. His eyes are green with dark circles forming underneath them due to a certain lack of sleep he has developed out of his deep-seated sense of paranoia. Despite being homeless, he is able to keep himself mostly clean through washing his hands and face in public fountains and bumming showers off of art-students in Winter district who are members or affiliates of the Beltane Family. Henry is not very strong, but is able to run quite well with a heavy load, a skill he picked up while running from police as a conman. Overall, while not the most threatening looking individual, he looks somewhat conniving and rather like a man who is very obviously hiding something; a fact which he is aware of and does not like.

Likes: Fish filet, red wine, the feeling of money, a good massage, having power

Dislikes: Sweets, bright colors, beggars (he maintains that a person should work for their money), children

Fears: Henry fears any flying, stinging insect; including bees, hornets, wasps, and yellow-jackets. He does not quite understand this fear, as he has never been attacked by any in some significant way, but nevertheless the fear persists, though Henry does not have to deal with it as much anymore now that he lives in Winter District.

Trinkets: Henry carries several fake Rolex watches which he tries to sell to unsuspecting passers-by, fake tickets for local theaters, a small cellphone (he cannot make calls with it, but he uses it as a camera), a lockpick (he has never stolen anything from anyone, he carries it more out of paranoid tendencies and an unwillingness to allow people their own privacy).

Money: 150 dollars

Foraging Skill: 17

Directional Sensibility: 14

Background/Circumstances: Henry Beltane was born in Boston and spent most of his childhood there. He came from a middle class family and moved to Samhain in his teens. He was able to go to college but fancied himself too smart and well-adjusted to study anything in detail, as such, he flunked out and began to work as a conman on the streets of Samhain. He did get married to a less-than-scrupulous woman who eventually kicked him out due to his continued shady dealings. After some time, he wound up homeless in Winter District and began to gather other homeless around him, forming a loose alliance which he called a self-help group. This later grew into the Beltane Family, around which Henry built the Beltane Foundation as a sort of cocoon, business front, and entryway into the Family.

Henry has helped quite a number of homeless and low-income people to advance their station, but he has never intended to do so for himself, reasoning that he has more power as the head of the Beltane Foundation than he ever would as a member of the middle-class working folk, and so he has stayed on for a full 14 years, the entire duration of the Family's existence thusfar.

Powers: (These will appear later.)

Talents:

Graffiti Art- 0
Gamer- 0
Investigative reporting- 0
Encyclopedia Knowledge of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure- 0
Photography- 1
Mythology Reader- 0
Painting- 0
Photoshoping Manic- 0
Mystery Marathon Watcher of current stuff and the past- 0
Sandwich Maker- 1
Cartoon Fan- 0
Sprinting: 3
Carrying loads of objects: 3
Hook, line, and sinker (a form of persuasive speaking Henry coined, meaning the feeling of impending closure a conman makes their mark feel to pressure them into buying.): 3
Boston Accent: 5
Keeping out of jail: 3
Establishing allies: 4
Long-distance running: 3
Trivia in general: 2
Being a curmudgeon: 3
Faking emotions: 4
Reassuring speech: 3
Black Sabbath aficionado: 0
Academic Demonology: 0
Quick hand-writing: 0
Intimidating Appearance: 2


total so far in use: 47 (40 in talents, 7 in foraging)



------------------------------------------

Name: Justin Carr

Age: 28

Birthday: October 29th, 1984

Sex: Male

Sexuality: ??

Hometown: Des Moines, Iowa

Clothes: Warm: A brown smoking jacket with a red and black plaid shirt beneath. He wears a red Ushanka and black sweatpants with black galoshes.

Cool: Justin wears a black t-shirt with a pentagram on it, torn black jeans and black tennis shoes.

Business: Brown smoking jacket, black button-down shirt, black jeans (he does not own slacks), black loafers.

Personality: Justin is a strange mix of pretentious demeanor and youthful optimism. He is usually fairly optimistic about most endeavors, but when approached directly on an issue, he tries to maintain a cool front of indifference and superiority, often to the annoyance of others. Justin does know some useful tidbits about trivial matters, but not much in the way of practical knowledge. He is of ambiguous sexuality and often hits on members of either gender, though seems uninterested in actually engaging in sexual or romantic endeavors.

While engaged in his work, Justin can become very invested in the topics and stoic to all else around him. However, this belies the joy he feels of finding new information regarding these topics.

Relations: Justin has been disowned by his family. His only positive relationship prior to joining the Beltane's that still remains with him is his online friend "Shinyshetland29", who claims to be a Nigerian prince.

Ambitions: to become the next Ozzy Osbourne.

Appearance: Justin is 5'10", has a buzz-cut blond head of hair and a long beard that covers most of his face. He is pale, though not nearly as pale as Henry, despite going outside less than the conman. He is skinny and lanky, weighing only 130 lbs. He has brown eyes and wears black horn-rimmed glasses. He has several piercings along his ears and one in his nose. Previously in his college days, Justin wore his hair in a long viking sort of style, though in an attempt to look "professional", he has since shaved the majority of the hair off.

Likes: Black Sabbath, Horror movies, surfing the internet, reading old books

Dislikes: Cheese products, people with high-pitched voices, mallrats (his term for pre-teens that others would describe as 'scene, skater, emo, or goth.), older people who dislike his choice in apparel and field of study

Fears: Justin mostly fears commitment, and the implications commitment to a cause has for himself and the other fragments of mankind. Because of this fear, it is rare that Justin stays focused or committed to any one project, group, idea, or person for very long or very strongly. As far as more physical, tangible fears are concerned; he hates snakes and fears them greatly.

Trinkets: Several types of trinkets which he says are good luck charms, a small dragon pendant and a set of role-playing dice. He also keeps a small pocket-knife close to him.

Money: 25

Foraging Skill: 10

Directional Sensibility: 14

Background/Circumstances: Justin was born in Des Moines, Iowa to an upper middle-class family. He was smart enough in school but was never very grateful to his parents and was incredibly lazy in his work, leading to poor grades. When he was a senior in high school, he applied to a local community college and was accepted in. His parents were hoping he would begin to study a useful trade. Their hopes could not have been more futile.

As soon as he got to college, Justin majored in a fairly new field that the college had begun to offer, "Theoretical Academic Demonology." Justin excelled in these classes, however he was soon disowned by his parents, who had become fed up with his laziness and lack of any desire to apply himself. He managed to eke out a degree while accumulating debt and has since lived off of friends good natures. He has traveled hither and thither since his graduation and has only recently arrived in Samhain. He has one connection here, a guest-speaker from his college days named "Harrison Ogden-Smith", a member of the Old Money families of Autumn District who is also a scholar in the Demonologic studies. Justin hopes to join the Beltane Family sometime soon, as he has been relegated to living in Winter District and has become quite accustomed as a member of the Beltane Foundation.

Powers: (These will appear later.)

Talents:

Graffiti Art- 0
Gamer- 0
Investigative reporting- 0
Encyclopedia Knowledge of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure- 0
Photography- 0
Mythology Reader- 3
Painting- 0
Photoshoping Manic- 0
Mystery Marathon Watcher of current stuff and the past- 0
Sandwich Maker- 0
Cartoon Fan- 0
Sprinting: 2
Carrying loads of objects: 2
Hook, line, and sinker: 0
Boston Accent: 0
Keeping out of jail: 3
Establishing allies: 1
Long-distance running: 1
Trivia in general: 3
Being a curmudgeon: 0
Faking emotions: 0
Reassuring speech: 2
Academic Demonology: 4
Black Sabbath aficionado: 3
Quick-hand writing: 2
Intimidating Appearance: 2


total so far in use: 28 (all in talents)

_________________
These are a few of my favorite things

It is a good series with a lot of crowning awesome moments, where the character generally need to be adaptive and creative with their stands. Anyways, thanks Burn, I'll keep updating for time to time.

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"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

Name: Louie Blanchard

Age: 52

Birthday: September 28, 1959

Sex: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Hometown: Clearwater, Florida

Clothes:

Cool - A t-shirt from a company he was employed by before it went under. A pair of carpenter jeans and old tennis shoes.

Warm - A faded grey coat that's missing a few buttons, a striped black and grey sweater, and a white undershirt. Also he wears black work jeans, a plaid dark grey snow hat lined with faux fur (like those Russian ones, I can't remember what they're called), grey gloves, and a blue/grey scarf. On his feet he wears a pair of old black work boots and of course warm socks.

Business - A dark grey suit, white button-down shirt, black loafers, and a dark blue tie. He usually wears a somewhat nice looking silver watch that stopped working long ago.

Personality: Lou is rather quiet and introverted. That is not to say that he is shy, more that he prefers to listen and after a while opens up to those he becomes comfortable with. Overall, Lou is a fairly nice, easy-going man. Once he makes a commitment, he remains loyal to it (as long as it stays reasonable). He tends to think things out and take the time to plan before doing things as timing is very important to him as is how time is spent. Logic and reason come before emotions to him. Not wanting to be the one up front and making decisions, he sticks back and observes. Sometimes this leads him to some creative ideas.


Relations: Marion Blanchard – His wife, a photographer. They met in college and married a few years after graduation.
Isaac Blanchard – His son. A young teenager still in school. An aspiring animator.

Ambitions: Start up his own animation company and produce timeless animated classics for future generations. Eventually to have his son take over and continue the company’s yet to be success.

Appearance: Lou stands at 6’1’’. His hair is a very dark shade of brown, almost black, his sideburns are grey. He has brown eyes. He’s not very athletic, about average weight. He usually has a 5 o’clock shadow or a short scratchy beard if he didn’t bother shaving for the day which is grey in color. Though his demeanor gives the impression of aged and wise, he looks fairly young for his age (like he’d be in his mid 40s).

Likes: Classical sculptures, Some modern sculptures, Opera, Physics, Fables,

Dislikes: Fine art, Oscar bait movies, Abuse of power, This generation’s concept of ‘good’ music, rottweilers and most big dogs

Fears: Louie has a fear of large dogs, particularly Rottweilers as he was attacked by one when he was a child.

Trinkets: His somewhat nice watch that he wears with his business attire. He carries a small sketchpad and a few pencils & erasers with him to capture down anything interesting.

Money: 110 dollars

Foraging Skill: 18

Directional Sensibility: 14

Background/Circumstances: Louie was born in Clearwater, Florida into a middle class home. His family fell into financial troubles and moved to the Winter district of Samhain where he enrolled at the Samhain Arts Institute majoring in sculpting. After graduation he married Marion and they moved to the Spring district where he started working for a new architecture company as a maquette builder. A year after the birth of their son, Lou’s company was no longer making any profit and within the next few years was laid off as the company filed for bankruptcy. Marion herself was having trouble finding work as a photographer and the two were forced to move back to the Winter district.

After being stuck in the Winter district for ten odd years, working as a sculptor for various projects (jobs were few and far between), he met Henry and joined the Beltane family as a means to gain some money and power to get his works recognized.

Powers: (These will appear later.)

Talents:
Graffiti art: 0
Gamer: 0
Investigative reporting: 0
Encyclopedic knowledge of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: 0
Photography: 0
Mythology reader: 0
Painting: 0
Photoshopping manic: 0
Mystery Marathon Watcher of current stuff and the past: 0
Sandwich maker: 0
Cartoon fan: 0
Sprinting: 0
Carrying loads of objects: 0
Hook, line, and sinker: 0
Boston accent: 0
Keeping out of jail: 2
Establishing allies: 0
Long-distance running: 0
Trivia in general: 0
Being a curmudgeon: 0
Faking emotions: 0
Reassuring speech: 1
Academic demonology: 0
Black Sabbath aficionado: 0
Quick-hand writing: 0
Intimidating Appearance: 3
Sleight of hand: 0
Card sharkery: 0
Stage personality: 1
Poker face: 2
Poker rules and strategy (various games): 0
Knowledge of jazz music and musicians, 30's through 70's: 0
Knowledge of magicians, fictional and real: 0
Looking on the bright side: 0
Ambidextrous: 0
Working under pressure: 3
Swing dance: 0
Art History: 2
Pistol Proficiency: 0
Carpentry: 3
Sculpting: 4
What goes up, must come down: 3 (understanding of physics & movement)
Time management: 3
Design 101: 3
Parlez-Vous: 2 (fluent in french)
Til the fat the lady sings: 3 (opera knowledge)
Basic knowledge of movies/film: 2
Creative problem solving: 3
Noticing the little things: 2
Welding: 2

Total in use: 52 (44 in talents, 8 in foraging)

there really isn't any sort of waiting list... or party limit.

_________________
These are a few of my favorite things

Definitely interested in this, I'll probably have a character sheet up when I can. :3

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Captain of Innuendo Strike Forces & Founder of Innuendo Striking Technique

Awesome. The more the merrier. I look forward to seeing it.

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These are a few of my favorite things

Blargh, gimme a few days to throw something together.

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“One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.”

Looking forward to all of these profiles.

_________________
These are a few of my favorite things

Name: Chester Duvall

Age: 68

Birthday: August 11, 1943

Sex: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Hometown: Bridgeton, NJ

Clothes: In all outfits – A pair of thick, round glasses, of an old prescription that is now slightly off.
Hot – A pair of beige cargo shorts; a collared, short-sleeve polo with blue and white stripes; and a light pair of sandals.
Cold – A dark brown duster; a pair of fingerless, black, woolen gloves; a knitted, dark blue cap; and layers underneath consisting of clothing from his other sets.
Business – A black tuxedo, threadbare now and of mediocre quality to begin with; a white undershirt, collared with long sleeves; a black tie, again old; a pair of black socks; and a pair of black dress shoes.

Personality: Chester is a natural optimist. He assumes things will go well enough, and when they don't he still tends to wave away the gravity of the consequences. He is not happy to such an extreme that he is entirely removed from reality, but he is relatively happy for someone that is homeless and frequently unemployed.

He is also a risk-taker. This is likely influenced by both his optimism and his history in a gambling atmosphere. While daredevil feats of physical fitness are beyond him, Chester still enjoys the tension of high-stakes situations, and generally performs better in them. When the potential prize is extremely big, Chester will even put his life on the line, as he has “already had a good run.”

Relations: Chester is friendly with many, but only friends with a few. He used to be close to most of the employees of Tir na Nog, including the other dealers and the more frequent musicians. He had a romantic entanglement with one of the cocktail waitresses, Diane Walters. He does not seem them often, but he would recognize most of them if they passed him on the street.

In his more current setting, Chester remembers a few of the people that watch him preform magic. Generally, the more generous a donation they make, the better he remembers them. One nuclear family in particular, the Palmers, stand out in his mind; both of the children enjoy his tricks, and the parents have been very kind to him.

As for members of the Beltane Family, that is to be determined.

Ambitions: To “win big,” a phrase Chester has applies liberally to many situations. He is not focused on any particular goal, as he has accepted that he is unlikely to achieve much more in his lifetime, but he wants to enjoy himself the rest of the way.

Appearance: At 68, Chester looks his age. He is a light, slender man, standing at 5'7” straight-up, though he has a significant stoop. He is Caucasian, neither incredibly pale nor tan, with wispy grey hair that has receded from the front half of his scalp. He has a weathered face, with pronounced laugh lines and often more than a little stubble. He has bright blue eyes and surprisingly nice teeth. His left leg is slightly stronger than his right.

Likes: Magic tricks, high stakes, jazz, children, the unexpected, and most jokes.

Dislikes: The jaded and disillusioned, drunkards, electronic music, and the two more extreme weather generators (Summer and Winter).

Fears: Fluids with unknown origins and/or properties. The greater the volume, viscosity, and color, the greater the aversion.

Trinkets: Two full decks of playing cards, plus a few extras; a set of three small balls and three shells; a Swiss Army knife; and a toothbrush.

Money: $29.76

Foraging Skill: 18

Directional Sensibility: 14

Background/Circumstances: Born in Bridgeton as an only child, Chester was raised by his single mother, as his father never returned from the second World War. From a young age, Chester was implanted with an interest in magic (particularly card tricks) from an uncle. In his late teens, his mother became seriously ill, and Chester spent much of his time helping her around the house and making an income.

When he was 23, his mother passed away, and Chester moved away from Bridgeton. Looking to make a name as an entertainer, he gravitated toward the larger cities, finally deciding on Samhain. The first place he tried his act was the Tir na Nog, a casino in the Summer district. While the owner of the establishment, Devlin Malachy, was not interested in a magician, he did take note of the man's card-handling. With a quick training session, Chester became a dealer, starting with blackjack and eventually expanding into other games. Secretly encouraged to use his sleight of hand, he became an asset to the house, and was generally called in to clean up patrons that had been too lucky for too long. Chester enjoyed the atmosphere and his coworkers, so he settled down in the area, buying a house on the mainland with some savings. His wages kept him comfortable through his time at Tir na Nog, an additional 26 years.

One night, he got caught, and it was over in an instant. Scrambling to maintain his institution's credibilty, Devlin feigned ignorance and fired Chester on the spot. As soon as he was outside, he was jumped by the “associates” of his intended target, and ended up in the hospital. Between the resulting bills and unemployment, Chester made it through, but he could not continue to make payments on his house. He was forced to move to the slums of the Winter District, where he's been ever since.

Chester was accepted into the Beltane Foundation, and soon the Beltane Family, soon after its creation. His knowledge of the Summer district, and numerous contacts within, have been of use to the organization, as most Winter residents are unwelcome in the area. He splits his time between the Family and performing magic on the streets in Spring.

Powers: (These will appear later.)

Talents:

Graffiti art: 0
Gamer: 0
Investigative reporting: 0
Encyclopedic knowledge of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: 0
Photography: 0
Mythology reader: 1
Painting: 0
Photoshopping manic: 0
Mystery Marathon Watcher of current stuff and the past: 0
Sandwich maker: 1
Cartoon fan: 0
Sprinting: 0
Carrying loads of objects: 0
Hook, line, and sinker: 2
Boston accent: 0
Keeping out of jail: 1
Establishing allies: 3
Long-distance running: 0
Trivia in general: 2
Being a curmudgeon: 1
Faking emotions: 1
Reassuring speech: 4
Academic demonology: 0
Black Sabbath aficionado: 0
Quick-hand writing: 1
Intimidating Appearance: 0
Sleight of hand: 4
Card sharkery: 5
Stage personality: 3
Poker face: 5
Poker rules and strategy (various games): 4
Knowledge of jazz music and musicians, 30's through 70's: 4
Knowledge of magicians, fictional and real: 3
Looking on the bright side: 3
Ambidextrous: 2
Working under pressure: 4
Swing dance: 1
American history: 2
Ability to come up with good ideas for books: 0
Ability to come up with horrible ideas for books: 1
Affable Appearance: 2
Sniper Rifle Proficiency: 0
Pistol Proficiency: 0
Carpentry: 0
Survivalist: 0
Break-dancing: 0
Stealth: 0

Current total: 68 (8 in foraging)

I have to say, I'm very intrigued by the concept of this RP, especially the leveling up system is enticing... but I'd have no idea what kind of character I'd make.

_________________

My advice would be to make a character just as a baseline to help you understand what the world is like. I like to characterize the attitude I'm going for as a cross between Earthbound, Tokyo Godfathers, No More Heroes, and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. The characters that people made in the beta of this RPG were predominantly street performers, which seemed to work out well enough for them, though I would advise your character has some semblance of sanity, as these are supposed to seem like real people thrust into a strange setting.

_________________
These are a few of my favorite things

*hasn't played/seen any of those*

_________________

All the more reason for you to join then, so you can vicariously try to glean some of the amazingness of them.

_________________
These are a few of my favorite things

Updated, my Cs. So there anything I should add, Burn?


Also loved Earthbound especially when I got to play as Jeff and then have Nes and himself save the day like two bad dudes.

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"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

Name: Edmond "Eddie" Lydell

Age: 40

Birthday: March 11, 1972

Sex: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island

Clothes:

On the off chance that Edmond ever does journey outside the Winter district his gear includes several pair of khaki shorts, multi-colored tee shirts, and a single pair of white sneakers. His usual attire however consists of jeans, a simple sweater, and a raggedy brown overcoat.

His only formal attire is a rather obviously cheap suit made of of some horribly gray polyester material. The jacket of said suit has multiple patches along the arms and lower back where it has been stitched back together.

Personality: Edmond absolutely adores writing and is seldom found without a pen and paper in his hand. Aside from this little quirk he is often described as being overwhelmingly friendly. So much so that many find him quite annoying. He is often quick to offer writing tips, all of which are horrible and should be followed by no one.

Relations: Edmond left his mother, father, and older brother on the main land and has spoken very little to them since then. Not out of spite, or some vengeful nature, but rather because "Great writers don't have time for family."

Ambitions: Edmond seeks to be the greatest writer that ever lived. Sadly his stories are terrible and as uninteresting as watching grass grow. Which, coincidentally, he wrote a book about.

Appearance: Edmond is of average height, measuring in at 5' 7" and weighing in the range of 150 lbs. His hair is a dull brown color and hangs loosely around his eyes and ears. Often times it is unevenly cut and unruly due to Edmond refusing to waist time seeing an actual barber and thus cutting it himself. Edmond's face is somewhat long and narrow, coming to an oddly triangular point at the chin. His eyes meanwhile are a kind of dull amber color.

Likes: Books, coffee, sandwiches made with focaccia bread, books, writing, books, and books.

Dislikes: Kindles

Fears: Edmond is genuinely afraid of fire, viewing it as the enemy of all written work. So great is his fear that he dares not even write about fire if he can avoid it for fear that some strange magic may take control and light set the paper aflame.

Trinkets: Edmond carries multiple pens with him at all times as well as several notepads for jotting down notes, ideas, and short stories.

Money: $75.00

Foraging Skill: 10

Directional Sensibility: 14

Background/Circumstances: Ever since Edmond could hold a pen he's dreamt of being a writer. It was this dream that inspired him to move to Samhain in his early 20's. Before that Edmond had spent much of his time at home writing various short stories, all terrible. His father and older brother quickly picked up on his lack of skill though neither of them ever said anything about it. His mother on the other hand treated his work as though it was equivalent to a modern day Mark Twain. It was perhaps this falsely placed adoration that led to Edmond's sticking with writing, despite his obvious lack of skill.

When Edmond finally did move to Samhain, his family was there to both see him off and attempt to talk him out of going. Edmond however refused, saying that Samhain was the perfect place for a "great" writer like himself to get inspiration. Indeed this turned out to be true, as Edmond found ideas coming to him on an almost daily basis. Granted none of them were any good but an idea was an idea in Edmond's mind. Edmond did soon discover though that the life of a professional writer was both a difficult and poor one. It was this discovery that led to his eventual joining and continued service in the Beltane family.

Powers: (These will appear later.)

Talents:

Graffiti Art- 0
Gamer- 0
Investigative reporting- 0
Encyclopedia Knowledge of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure- 0
Photography- 0
Mythology Reader- 4
Painting- 0
Photoshoping Manic- 0
Mystery Marathon Watcher of current stuff and the past- 0
Sandwich Maker- 4
Cartoon Fan- 0
Sprinting: 2
Carrying loads of objects: 3
Hook, line, and sinker (a form of persuasive speaking Henry coined, meaning the feeling of impending closure a conman makes their mark feel to pressure them into buying.): 0
Boston Accent: 0
Keeping out of jail: 3
Establishing allies: 2
Long-distance running: 2
Trivia in general: 4
Being a curmudgeon: 0
Faking emotions: 0
Reassuring speech: 4
Black Sabbath aficionado: 0
Academic Demonology: 2
Quick hand-writing: 5
Intimidating Appearance: 0
Ability to come up with good ideas for books: 0
Ability to come up with horrible ideas for books: 5

Could you go in and clarify what you mean by "Gamer" in his talents? Do you mean he's good at video games or just games as a whole? If you intended the latter, could you try to narrow it down to a particular subset of games?

Also, is he a member of the Beltane Family or just someone who received help from the Foundation once? The backstory doesn't mention the Family, but given that one of his relations is Henry Beltane, I'd assume he has at least some connection to the actual Family and not just the Foundation.


Other than those minor questions it looks good, and welcome aboard.

_________________
These are a few of my favorite things

ANNOUNCEMENT: It's come to my attention that there are some questions about what the points mean in terms of talents.

Saying a character has five points in a particular talent means that they are among the best in that particular field. For instance, a 5 in art means that one is among the best of that particular trade. Now here's where the question comes in:

"Is a person with a 5 in art on the level of Leonardo or some other great historical painter?"

Well, yes and no. In the case of something like art, there is a vast disparity in what one may consider "masterful" or "great art" or some such. One may still be a 5 in art, but this does not necessarily mean they are cranking out La Gioconda's left and right. They may be a master in modern art, or a particular technique of art. This is why the talents should be as specific as possible. I would find it hard to believe that someone who has a 5 in "art" is a master of ALL art, especially since art is such a vague category of objects. Contested rolls really only take place when two people with identical points in the exact same talent are competing against each other.

In addition, I've been questioned on how relations will be brought up mechanically within the story.
Basically, if two people are in a relation where they work well together, than any talent-roll they have to do is more likely to succeed. So let's say that someone with a talent in grave digging at level 2 is in a positive relation with someone with grave digging talent 4. These two can never fail at grave-digging when they work together. Similarly, two people in a positive relation that do not make it to 6 points do significantly lower their odds of failure at a talent.

Now how does animosity affect talent rolls then? Well, they can work in one of two ways. Let's use our grave-digger example again.

Grave Digger 1: 4 points in grave-digging
Grave Digger 2: 3 points in grave-digging

Grave Digger 2 hates Grave Digger 1. In this way, if Grave-Digger 1 is using their grave-digging talent, GD2 can attempt to sabotage GD1. This will subtract 3 points from the talent of GD1, leaving him with only 1 point for the talent roll. Hopefully, this will not be happening too often, as teamwork is good!

That being said, if GD2 is forced to work alongside GD1 to a common goal, their roll will not work in the same way that a roll for two Grave-Diggers who like each other will. Using these same two characters, they will still likely succeed, however, instead of the points adding up to seven, they will only add up to five. This is because GD2's animosity will still be in some way clouding their ability to work with GD1. How this is calculated is the person with the animosity will have their talent points halved for the success. So in this instance, the stats of GD1 are 4 and GD2 are 1.5 in Grave-Digging. This means they have a 5.5 chance out of 6 for success. So how this would work for me is I'd roll the dice and if I get a 1-4, the two succeed, if I get a 6 they would fail, and if I were to roll a 5 then I would roll a 10-sided dice to determine the decimal point.

I'm sorry if this is beginning to feel somewhat unwieldy. My main concern with talents is that people will begin to immediately assume a 5 in any talent makes one the pinnacle of human achievement, which, in some ways it IS meant to, though tastes can still vary. If someone is a 5 in Postmodernist Transgressive Art, then they will not necessarily attract a large amount of fans outside of their particular niche.

I'm hoping this makes sense to everyone, if anyone has questions or comments, feel free to pose them.

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