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Design For Living - Player Characters
???
Player
???
Description
Looks kinda like a mysterious hooded figure.
Go figure...
Backstory
This Trump Card was found among Romanov's possesions.
Quite why this card was never found before is a question best left unasked. Then again, it's not like people often go rummaging around in Romanov's room. Found tucked down the side of a large keg of what can only be described as Water (Even if it is marked "Shadow Vodka"), this Trump was neatly stashed by itself all wrapped up in a patented "Romanov Trump Protector Sleeve". Basically a red satin pouch with pink silk lining.
Questionable colour taste aside, nothing seems to stand out from this card. The person pictured is quite concealed.. or they just look like that.. regardless, no more detail can be obtained from this mysterious figure then is seen at face value. It is a trump, as I have stated several times in the past few paragraphs.
The real questions are: Who is it? Why is it hidden so well? Why is it packaged so carefully? Why are they so damn concealed? Who wears black before Labor Day? And for that matter: Where the hell is Romanov?
Atikus
Player
Description
Eyes: pure black eyes no pupils or iris
Hair: black and always sticking upwards
Clothing style: Earth modern
Backstory
Born during the sudden rush for soldiers to fight in the Necrosis Wars, Atikus was recruited into the side of the Autobots. Choosing the path of a scientist over that of a soldier, Atikus was sent to a post far from the front line. Fate threw Atikus a duff card, and the outpost was attacked by a Decepticon scout party. His comrades were quickly cut down, and during the battle he was thrown into a power relay - and shut down.
Much later, he was found by an Autobot recovery team. They could not boot him up, but his spark was still active. They rushed him to an emergency facility, where he underwent repairs. Many of his sytems were critically damaged, and had to be replaced. Using a revolutionary system, designed by humans, Atikus was infused with Nanite Technology. These Nanites radically altered him beyond anything the Autobots had expected. He was... different. In the passing months Atikus went through many tests. He was able to perform strange feats of super-robotic strength and agility.
It was only months later that Atikus learned the truth. A Human appeared during a heated battle with the Decepticons. As he watched, the human stood up to a robot, five times his weight and weight, and simply tossed it to one side. The remaining Decepticons tried to run, but the Human simply waved his hands, and they were consumed in darkness and vanished. He gingerly approached the stranger - and made first contact.
Atikus was later sent as a diplomatic function to the home of the stranger, latter known as King Corwin. They had learnt all about the Shadows, Amber, Chaos and the impending war and the stranger, in return for aiding them in their battle against the Decepticons and the promise of much needed resources, asked that they form part of his army aimed at protecting a much larger segment of reality.
Much has chanced since those early days and Atikus has learnt of a much stranger past. That past may, at some point, be revealed here.
"Moo Cow Goes Moo." - Romanov speaks with Atikus
"This is worse than the time Stalin drank all my Vodka..." - Romanov Speaking More To Atikus
Unforseen Consequences
After an encounter with a chaos infection in a mysterious realm of chaos, Atikus became infected with a virilant form of chaos poisoning. In a brave move, Mei Lian removed the infection - at the cost of his original body. After the removal, Atikus was a different person...
With Atikus's life on the line, Mei Lian and Tag jumped between shadows to a safe location. There the attempted to reconstitute Atikus from all that was left of him - his soul. They were surprised to find, that Atikus was not a robot anymore. Instead in his place, there was a bemused looking Fae creature...
Tag and Mei Lian took the new Atikus back to Fennevel where his reception was lukewarm. After a breif fight between Atikus and Bloom (During which he spent time as a rock and breaking Tag's leg in the process of being a rock) he watched Athena and her mother (Fiona) walk the Design. The Fox, mortally wounded lay at the center of the design. As things unfolded, Atikus was eventually returned to his Fae form.
An army was raised to fight Chaos. A series of events unfolded, many of which are blurred in Atikus's memory. This all lead to Atikus walking the design (He put his foot on it). After successfully traversing the design, Atikus was empowered. His long lost memories were revealed to all.. but him.
Any trust he had had, was gone. Atikus was the long lost son of an Amberite. Given to the Unselee as part of a pact between Amber and the Fae, he lived a long hard life. The combination of his freinds dieing around him and the political troubles of the Fae, Atikus went Mad. He slaughtered many of the Fae before being taken down by the Nobility, His soul was then taken and Sent to a metal planet. where his soul was placed into a metal container which was placed in a humanoid robot.
Many milennia passed, with him forgetting the memory of each form as he died and was reincarnated and meny other this upto the point where he was changed back into his original form.
Even after Walking the Design he still participated in two missions to chaos, one to rescue Dara and another to rescue Romanov.
Diary
- Session 2.1
- Session 2.2
- Session 2.3
- Session 2.4
- Session 2.5
- Session 2.6
- Session 2.7
- Session 2.8
- Session 2.9
Athena
Player
Brief Description
A sword wielding Princess of Amber who loves her mother, Princess Fiona.
Bloom
Player
Description
Daughter of Princess Florimel, she is a Fae creature, who has an alternate shapeshifted form capable of flight. Her alternate form is her true Fae form. She appears to be a powerful sorceress. With short purple hair and always wearing purlpe cloths, she has secret powers within her that has not yet been found out, it is unknown to her and to everyone else only her mother and grandfather knew of it but will it hurt bloom and her friends or will it destroy all she loves and cares for.
She moves so graceful and grand, her powers come from all around her, she is powerful can be mean as a mad dog when she gets started, but can also be as gentel as a kitten, depends who she's talking to.
Check out Bloom's transformation to her Fae Form, [1]
Background
Born in the Fae Courts, Bloom lived mostly with her help mother Ethel, as her mother Flora was very busy in Amber. Flora was a good mother to Bloom, she always told Bloom of Amber, and would train with her when she could.
Bloom spent all her time training and working on her magic powers. When she was 19 Flora came to her room late one night and said 'it is time to go' Bloom knew better then to ask question, so she got dressed, got her horse and followed Flora out of Fae and into shadow.
A few days past and many shadows did as well, Bloom asked no questions, but Flora always told her when things were about to change. Then they were in Amber, Bloom was confused but dealt with it. Flora told Bloom to stay in her human form for as long a possible. After a brief look around Amber she met Athena, A sword wielding Princess of Amber, Mei-Lian, Athena's wife, (Bloom doesn't understand at first)and Athena's mother, Princess Fiona. Plus other members of the rather large family.
Flora took Bloom down to a room deep under Amber, to walk the Pattern, after Bloom walked the Pattern Flora explained about Amber, Chaos and shadow, and how to walk shadows,Bloom then started her training, safer 4 months of training with Athena and the family in Amber, Bloom went with Flora and the others to Chaos where a great battle had begun, there she met Tag A cyberpunk generation degenerate with a shady past. Then Romanov a Russian Trump Artist, who enjoys Vodka And Cheese Balls.
In the middle of battle Corwin sends all the young Amberites back to Amber. Bloom stayed with her new friends and after some time they decided to return to Chaos to find the elders of Amber and the family, and somehow stop the war that was growing more and more of a problem.
May the gods watch over us in this time of fear. - The words of Bloom.
Current Status
Princess of Fenneval
Bloom is currently in Fenneval, after finding out that she maybe Corwin's daughter, and is at the moment the princess of Fenneval and has walked the Design.
Diary
- Session 2.1
- Session 2.2
- Session 2.3
- Session 2.4
- Session 2.5
- Session 2.6
- Session 2.7
- Session 2.8
- Session 2.9
Fenneval shall not fall while I am its Princess! -The words of Princess Bloom.
Oops - The later words of Princess Bloom
Isawa
"If they fight, kill 'em. If they surrender, gut their minds for info. Then kill 'em."
Player
Description
"Whatever turns you on, Tag..."
Most of the time, Isawa appears as a tall, slender, oriental woman, although her almost permanent air of mild distraction has been replaced by one of controlled malice since walking the Design. She is naturally capable of shapeshifting, however, so this is sometimes subject to change without notice, especially when the added capabilities of her demon form are required.
What was...
"OK, that was...interesting..."
Born to Taiko and Yuki, upper echelon members of House Adjeron, Isawa seemed destined to play her part in the subtle dance of power and intrigue within the Courts of Chaos. As part of this upbringing, she was trained in the etiquette and protocol of the Courts, as well as the family's traditional sword forms, techniques that had long since become more art than weapon. Regardless, she studied hard, and learnt well, and was eventually considered ready for the final testing to determine her future place in the House.
Over six months, Isawa was tried and tested, sometimes almost to breaking point, in every aspect of her knowledge and being, until eventually, almost mercifully, the end was declared. The final trials of childhood complete, Isawa was welcomed into the House as a full adult, and presented with the symbol of her new status, Henshin, weapon, companion, and advisor. One odd thing did strike her, however. Throughout all of the accolades and ceremony, nobody had actually told her what her place was to be...
Less than a week later, that question was answered. Awakened in the night by her parents, she was hustled to a meeting with a figure she knew only by word of mouth, House Adjeron's resident master of the Logrus. A mysterious individual, bearing no name anyone could recall, he said little during the meeting, simply that she had shown herself worthy, and the time for her initiation was at hand. Things moved very quickly after that. A period of solitude for meditation, a conversation with her parents that seemed too much like a goodbye for her liking, and quiet, almost subdued journey to her destiny.
Things got very, very, disjointed after that. Darkness and light, sorrow and joy, agony and rapture, all mangled together, yet separate, her body and spirit ripped apart, yet at the same time made whole. Then another life, a simple one, accepted by strangers for her gifts of sorcery, gifts that helped herself and her new people. A life of relative tranquillity, despite the fact that she had no idea where, or even who, she actually was.
Nobody questioned the power, slightly erratic behaviour, or almost three centuries of life of this woman they referred to as "spirit made flesh", at least partly because when a rival warlord slighted her during a council meeting, she literally ripped out his spine. Purely by coincidence, her new people led a remarkably untroubled life after that incident...
When the dreams started, Isawa was unsure how to act. People and places she knew, but where utterly strange. Alien landscapes that changed at random, and beings that did the same, a dark mass of chaotic tendrils spreading through reality, and the silent voice in her head assuring her, often in the least comforting way possible, that she wasn't going mad. Just the opposite in fact. Then her world ended again.
Snatched literally by the guts, ripped out of her reality, dragged through the void between worlds, then slammed into a wall hard enough to break almost every bone in her body, Isawa felt she handled the situation remarkably well, since there were no people lying dead by her hand around her, and she was still breathing herself. She was, however, more than a little confused, a situation that hasn't got any better since her memory started returning in full force, and the fact that over 30 millennia had passed settled into her thoughts.
Isawa has found herself in the middle of a war, in a place she's never heard of, and surrounded by strangers who can't seem to decide whether they want her alive or dead.
What Is...
"I didn't do it, you can't prove I did, and even if you could, the rabbit made me do it."
Now that she has seemingly walked the Design, Isawa has started to become a lot more involved in the daily goings-on in and around Fenneval, although exactly what her position and expected duties are remains to be seen.
One thing that has achieved a little stability in recent days is her mind. Since walking the Design, and the associated (if faked) loss of both Henshin and her connection to the Logrus, Isawa has found her thoughts almost entirely clear for the first time she can remember, with the random bursts of strangeness mostly confined to her dreams, the main location where orders from the Logrus get handed down. This may not seem readily apparent to others, however, as her standard, non-nuts, personality has a tendency to be both sarcastic in social situations and brutally efficient when dealing with things she deems a threat.
Isawa is currently in residence in Fenneval, except when circumstances require her to take her particular brand of mayhem on the road.
What Is Yet To Be...
"I may be massively less stupid than you, but I still don't know what's going on here."
A new dawn seems to have spread across Isawa's existence, but it seems likely that the light it brings has cast some very deep shadows, and dark places can sometimes hide monsters...
Diary
- The WTF dialogues: Session 2.8
- The WTF dialogues: Session 2.9
- Shards of Reflection: Session 3.1
- Shards of Reflection: Session 3.2
- Shards of Reflection: Session 3.3
- Shards of Reflection: Session 3.4
- Shards of Reflection: Session 3.5
- Shards of Reflection: Session 3.6
- Shards of Reflection: Session 3.7
Malara
Player
Description
In her normal form Malara stands a little over six feet tall, an obviously feline creature with her ears standing proud and alert from her head. Her body moves like a dancers, flowing from one position to the next. A glance could reveal a power there, quickly hidden when she senses someone's eyes upon her.
Background
Diary
Mei-Lian
Player
Description
A Chaosian of House Sawall who broke all ties with Sawall, as is traditionally done, to marry Athena as part of a pact between Chaos and Amber.
Romanov
Player
Description
Alexei Romanov, unacknowledged son of Bleys, a Russian Trump Artist, who enjoys Vodka And Cheese Balls. He is, in fact, 103 years old though does not look a day over 29!
Backstory
As the story went, Alexei Romanov was killed during the revolution. A sufferer of Haemophilia, and heir to the Romanov throne, he was a weak child. Before the revolution, the Romanov family was approached by a monk. He claimed that he could cure Alexei’s haemophilia.
As the story went, Alexei was shot by soldiers twice. As the story went.
The monk was actually an Amberite. He had sensed Romanov’s Amberite lineage. To protect their son, and to protect their future, Nicholas and Alexandra (Romanov’s parents) sent Alexei with the Amberite, and got an impostor to take the place of Alexei. At the time of the Romanov Family execution, the real Alexei was in Amber.
Time passed, and Romanov got older and stronger. Upon completing his training, Romanov was allowed to return to Russia. When he learnt of his family’s fate, he started using a cover story to protect himself. Claiming to be a travelling blacksmith, adopted by parents long dead, Romanov followed the trail of the events that lead to his parent’s death.
The most recent events in Romanov's life, was the war against Chaos. At the brink of winning the war, the Amberites were suddenly pushed back by the Chaosian forces. Suffering much loss, the Amberites were pushed back to Amber. The elders were captured or killed, the King grew ill, the Pattern was losing power. Amber's defence lay on a knifes edge. Romanov and his companions set forth to locate any elders, and rescue them if possible. They were able to track down some of them. After following the trail left behind by Corwin, Romanov found a hidden Shadow, that held a great power. The ‘Design’ made by Corwin, was far more powerful than the fading Pattern. After doing battle with Chaos in an attempt to rescue an Amberite elder, they learnt of the betrayal of Benedict. During the battle, Romanov used trump to try and slow Benedict down. However, Romanov was overpowered. His only choice was to send his entire being into the Trump, and fight Benedict in his body. However, Benedict felt this, and took Romanov’s body in a switch. Benedict escaped in Romanov's body. Benedict’s body was decapitated. Thanks to the shape shifter in the party, Romanov survived, and had a new body made for him. Unfortunately, the body seems to have maintained a residual template - that of Benedict himself! Now Romanov is seeking Benedict, and his real body.
The Romanov Family Blade
Before the Russian revolution, way back at the beginning of the Romanov legacy, this sword was forged in honour of their ascension to the throne. This sword saw battle on few occasions, and only once in Romanov's lifetime.
Before the revolution, assassins were sent to kill the King and his family so that there could be a new ruler. Many assassins tried, but only once did any come anywhere near success. Alexei was 4 at the time. He was in his room, asleep. All of a sudden, there was a great disturbance in the corridor. Noises of gunfire and fighting could be heard outside his room. Alexei went to his door, and peered into the corridor. The guards were dead, and a single figure clothed in black was standing in the corridor. Alexei was about to close the door again and hide, but it was too late. The assailant had seen him and was moving toward his room. Alexei made it as far as his bed before the assailant was upon him. The assassin drew a blade, and made for the kill, when a sliver of silver appeared in his chest. The assassin crumpled to the floor, barely missing Alexei, with half his torso hanging off. Romanov's father stood there, scowling at the intruder, sword in hand.
Before Romanov was taken to Amber, his father gave him the sword to keep, along with the words:
- "Let the Romanov family live on, with you."
Upon returning to Amber after the destruction of the Pattern, Romanov found the sword he had carefully stashed away. It was broken...
'The Fall Of Romanov'
After finding the blade of his family shattered, Romanov became consumed by a zeal unlike any which had beset him before. He had learned earlier of the fact that Bleys lives, being tortured in Chaos, and intended to get him back. For this, he needed power.
Romanov travelled back to the Design, and (After much struggling to reach it) walked the Design. Using this new power, he set off to save Bleys. He entered Chaos, and with the help of Tag and Bloom, he rescued Bleys from the Choasians guarding him. However, on the way from Chaos, both Bloom and Romanov were struck down by an unknown force, supposedly Bleys. Tag decided to take Bloom and Romanov, and leave Bleys in the middle of shadow. Once Romanov learned of this, he trumped Bleys and pulled him through. It was at this point, that a mental battle ensued. A force, far stronger than Romanov was attempting to take Bleys. Romanov tried to defend, and came close with the help of the other party members, but Romanov and Bleys were teleported away... back to Chaos.
Romanov was immediately set face to face with Gramble, a lord of Chaos. However, Gramble was fooled by Romanov's body.. after all, he still looked like Benedict. Romanov played along, until the point that the party teleported in behind him. Romanov had drunk some of what Gramble called "Blood of the Serpent", and was otherwise incapable to act. He did however, get a strong sense of bad things about to happen.
The party set into Gramble, but they were quickly being beaten back. Seeing this as his only oppotunity, Romanov decides to save the others. Forcing them through a Trump Gate, Romanov sent his fellow party members and Bleys away from Chaos. With his last strength he pushed them as far away as he could. As the gate closed, all the party could see was Romanov turning to face Gramble, drawing what was left of Benedict's Sword, and then darkness....
The Return Of Romanov
Awaking without any memory of who, where, when or why, Romanov found himself in a mine. He worked there as a slave, until one of the Slave Masters realised he was not a 'normal' person. He shunted Romanov to another slave camp, where he was shunted again and again, until he ended up in a Chaosian prison.
There Romanov spent much time (Even if time is relative) and eventually he managed to piece together his memories. Fortunately for Romanov, he has his original body back. Unfortunately, that means Benedict is running around, impersonating him. His escape was by pure chance, as a group of Julian's troops stormed the prison. They expected to find Julian, but found Romanov instead.
Romanov was rescued, but he was struggling from the moment he left the prison. Something Benedict had done? Or maybe just a result of not having walked the Design in this body. Romanov tried to return to Feneval, but passed out and Julian's troops carried him back to the wood.
Romanov is good at finding impossible situations to escape from... and has done so again with Brand - and a strange new power.
Diary
Tag
Player
Description
A cyberpunk generation degenerate with a shady past who, after being found by Random, studied the Pattern to a considerable degree.
Background
Tag was born to a mother who he never really knew, she was your typical inhabitant of this society. She kicked him out onto the streets at the age of five. At which point he joined the local gang called the "Black Dragons". He quickly learnt how to get what he needed, Violence. He would often pick fights with people larger and older than himself, and often came out on top, getting what he needed. He was brought up within the gang and soon was more than proficient with firearms, with which he showed much promise. He quickly rose thorough the ranks of the gang to become the leader at age 16. He lead the gang for a while, under his "management" it became one of the most powerful gangs in the Metropolis. However Tag became bored with the running of the gang and started to absorb himself into the Rock music scene, this was all possible due to his social standing as a gang leader.
Shortly after he started getting into the music scene Random returned to this shadow. Random and Tag soon became friends and formed a band together called "Burnout". After a successful tour around the major clubs Random told Tag that he was his father, deep down Tag could tell he wasn't lying about that. Tag spent several weeks talking to Random about various subjects, and Random told Tag about Amber and explained about shadow, and how to walk it.
After the tour was finished Random took Tag to Amber where he walked the Pattern. They started walking the nearby shadow. Tag learnt about how to lead other people through shadow and practised walking more and more, eventually he did not need to see what he was doing as it seemed to come naturally to him. Tag and Random had many conversation on how to use shadow, and Tag learnt how to create a pocket shadow. This was the most peaceful time for Tag and he enjoyed not needing to harm others.
He followed Random through one of Random's "Trips", where he learnt to use a sword as well as the firearms he was accustomed to. During this trip a 6 ft brown furry assassin with razor like fangs, and armed with a crossbow attempted to kill Random, however Tag stopped the bolt before it could kill Random, they fled through shadow. Random recognised the race of the assassin, they then found a suitable shadow and raised an army. Tag and Random lead this army through the shadow and attacked the assassin's realm laying waste to the town from which the assassin came from.
Tag then retuned home to his original shadow, we then rejoined his gang, using his new found skills to make the gang more powerful, and using the wisdom of Random to enable him to find a more peaceful way of running the gang. He however felt homesick for Amber and eventually decided to travel back to Amber to live there, however just before he was ready to travel he received a message from Random requesting him to help in a battle. He lead his gang through shadow to the meeting point and that is when the Patternfall War began.
Diary
- Session 2.1
- Session 2.2
- Session 2.3
- Session 2.4
- Session 2.5
- Session 2.6
- Session 2.7
- Session 2.8
- Session 2.9
- Return to the Design For Living Pages.