In a cavernous room, lit by countless candles, four distinct groups of robed summoners chant barely pronounceable words. An exhausted-looking master summoner leads each, standing in front of their own complicated circular diagram, while their lesser summoners frequently switch out, to be quickly replaced by a fresh mage.
No sudden event heralds their success. From one moment to the next, divine housecats appear where their sacrifices had just been, in the middle of each circle. The chants slowly quiet down, and three of the masters drop to their knees in relief. A cheer echoes through the room.
A similarly divine yet old and tired-looking ferret with fox-like markings quickly scampers into the center of the room and speaks up.
"That took long enough! I am Palm, one of the last from the last group. You are the first of this group. Our powers are draining, and soon you will need to stand without us to guard the people here.
A lich is channeling The Shadow, out on the edge of this kingdom. We should go put an end to it, and it should be an easy first test to get you used to fighting on this plane.
We're under the capital now. The Shadow has a slight presence here. It's not a real threat yet, and they can stop it on their own, but you could hunt it and get to know the people you'll be defending before we leave."HP: 14/14
Energy: 9/9
Skills:
Roar - a feline vocalisation powerful enough to send a human sized target flying a fair distance.
Targets: Single close range (6 power), or AoE at medium range (2 power). 3 energy.
Tough fur - More like a honey badger's coat than a cat's, Knix's chainlink like mess of hair does allow for some protection.
Intimidate - Bonus to diplomacy, the rough kind.
Metamorphic Healing - Form a magical egg around a living mortal. May fully heal a mortal who is on death's doorstep, over the course of a month. Healthier mortals will go faster.
The chrysalis is as hard as granite. It cannot be moved, and will disintegrate before doing so. The mortal will then emerge, unconscious and partially healed.
This requires a minute of concentration, and is easily resisted. It cannot be used on extremely magical beings like yourselves, lich phylacteries, or phoenixes.
1 energy.
Description: Physically, a very robust tomcat, with splotches of red and orange on a black coat. In his dimension, the only thing Knix cared about was pride, in being the strongest, toughest and most vicious. He's actually quite jovial to people who get along with him, but his hair trigger temper does put a damper on a lot of his nicer qualities.
HP: 9/9
Energy: 9/9
Skills:
Red wave - Marquis release a wave of red energy that harms all nearby enemies and ignore allies.
4 power. 4 energy. Medium range.
Sharp Claws - Marquis claws are covered with a few centimeters long red energy, sharp enough to ignore virtually any mundane material.
10/5/3/2 power, 7/2/1/0 energy.
Edge Shield - Invisible force that blocks attacks that are directed to behind Marquis, this barrier doesn't protect Marquis himself or blocks attacks that come from behind him.
Has a 150 degree arc, and is wide enough to protect two uncomfortably huddling humans on either side of him.
Costs 1 energy per 3 power redirected, rounded up.
Innate large-scale basic geopolitical knowledge of Mystica.
Description: Marquis looks like a normal black cat except from the red eyes.
Marquis is obsessed with protection and fear, as is your enemies are scared of you they will let your people safe, for that reason if he has a victory assured he will proceed to fight in the most brutal way possible but if his victory is in doubt he will fight in the most efficient way he can think.
He is also very rude and dislikes spending time with others unless necessary.
HP: 9/9
Energy: 15/15 (5 max at night or underground)
Skills:
Solar Flare - Archimedes builds up a charge of light energy, and fires a ray of plasma at his foe(s). The energy takes a certain amount of time to build, making immediate offense difficult. However, the charge can be released early for lesser affect. A sufficiently large charge can also be released much like a super nova all around Archimedes for massive damage. However, doing so consumes a large amount of energy, and as such is generally a last resort.
Charge skill. 5 power and 2 energy per turn. Charge cannot be paused or 'saved.' Charging may be done alongside another action.
At turn 3 or more of charging, may be released as an AoE centered on the caster, reducing power by 25%. Will hurt allies; other players take 25% damage. Non-shadow entities take 50% damage.
At turn 4 or more of charging, costs HP to cast, and will hurt a lesser amount to cancel.
Shielding Aura - Archimedes condenses a barrier of light around the target(s), protecting them from physical or magical harm somewhat. The aura also burns enemies that touch it, and keeps their surroundings perfectly lit.
Blocks 1 damage, plus 5 per 1 energy spent on cast.
Detect Evil - When others mean harm to him or his allies, Archimedes can tell. This form of detection isn't perfect, and it works best against creatures highly aligned with darkness or evil. Direct harm is the most obvious trigger, but duplicitous activities can trigger it as well. It acts as a low level "danger sense" in some respects for this reason.
Sunlit - Energy max and regeneration increased in sunlight, and reduced at night or underground.
Description: For a cat, Archimedes is relatively lightweight, being more reliant on speed than raw strength. He has a relatively bland tan coat with brown markings on his feet. Archimedes constantly radiates a small (generally insignificant) amount of light, particularly through his eyes, which glow golden. This light increases during combat and other stressful situations, though still generally minor.
His family was highly traditional, and they instilled the idea that it is an honor to do one's duty into him. He is generally calm and collected in manner, and begrudgingly follows orders. Yes, even the stupid ones. Archimedes likes his rest, and is most alert during the day, especially at noon time. He is mostly introverted, and because of this prefers the company of similar individuals.
HP: 9/9
Energy: 9/9
Skills:
Geomancy: Aric can control most "earthy" substances through simple will. This works best on sand, but can extend (with increasing difficulty) to dirt, rock, clay, and with extreme effort and willpower, metal.
4x 2 power attacks. 3 energy. May hit multiple targets. Fewer attacks on more difficult terrain (3 for 2 energy, 2 for 1 energy, or 1 for one energy). Minimum of 1 attack, due to Desert's Heart.
Flesh to Sand: Touching most beings' bare flesh allows Aric to turn them into a pile of sand. Although it is very soft and fine, the end result is quite mundane. It is, of course controllable through geomancy (and in fact, he often uses the new sand to manipulate the equipment of those he has transformed).
3 power, 1 energy. Requires direct skin contact.
Desert's Heart: The ground beneath Aric's feet is always hot and sandy, returning to normal only once he moves away. Sand can be pulled freely from this "shadow," but removing large quantities tends to be extremely draining.
May spend 1 energy to create enough sand for another geomancy attack. May be done multiple times per turn, but only lasts 3 combat rounds.
Description: A large, reddish cat which stays almost unnaturally close to the ground. A trickle of sand constantly pours from his fur, and the echo of some great heat can be felt in his presence.
Aric is a secretive, sly creature, fond of hiding despite the occasional flashiness of his powers. Curiosity and general craftiness both play a part, but it is obvious that he takes pleasure in the simple act of slipping through the cracks.
Author
Topic: Roll to be a magic cat, an RTD "on rails." Now with 50% more rails. (Read 3745 times)