User Tools

Site Tools


skills_and_traits

This is an old revision of the document!


The powers, skills, and traits explored in character articles are loosely-defined descriptors of what they are good at.

Supernatural Powers

Supernatural powers imply magic or psychic abilities. Strength is listed as either Minor, Moderate, Major, or Specific.

Transform Self/Transform Other

The transformation of a physical body (not including effects on the mind).

Minor: Changes can include color, gender, or other small changes to anatomy but cannot decrease or increase total body mass or species.

Moderate: This can include species change or size change, or material transformation such as into latex or gold.

Major: Drastic transformations such as a mist or liquid form, or into inanimate objects.

Specific: The user has limited alternate forms into which they can transform, but not modify. Example: Petra can transform himself into a male elf, but cannot adjust any of his anatomy or gender. Nicole can transform people, but only into copies of himself.

Hypnosis/Corruption

Hypnosis is used as a catch-all term for the direct influence over someone's mind, either through realistic hypnotic technique or psychic influence. Hypnosis implies a direct, conscious effort at effecting a character's mind. Corruption involves little or no direct effort of the user. It is a slow and permanent modification to a target's personality which the target is completely unaware of.

Minor: Subtle influences can be made to one's mind, including light suggestions. This sometimes means simply getting a target to relax.

Moderate: Long term suggestions or triggers can be implanted and called upon at later times. With repeated use, permanent modifications to behavior can be installed.

Major: Drastic, permanent changes to a mind can be done at this level, including the modification or removal of memory or the complete replacement of personality.

Subsume

Character with the ability to subsume can envelop another character entirely within their being, usually leaving them trapped and without control. Depending on the character, this may leave very little evidence of the subsumed character. The user may gain some access to the target's thoughts or abilites.

Draconic Element

All Dragon species characters are aligned with an “element”, which is the manner in which their willpower manifests. Usually displayed as an aura or breath weapon, the dragon uses this element to attack or influence other characters. Some elements are very clear and literal (like Cevex's lightening element), while others are more abstract (like Akasha's “Aether”, which she calls the starry substance she secretes).

Soul Siphon

This is the direct manipulation of a character's soul and usually implies the removal, consumption, or relocation of the soul. In this context, a “soul” contains a character's consciousness and unbroken line of perspective - the soul is who they are, now simply removed from their body.

Astral Body

The character has direct control over their soul and can willingly leave their body. This creates the potential for intense psychic attacks or espionage with no risk to the physical form, although souls separated from their body are extra vulnerable to psychic or magic attack. Astral ravel is a common method of entering or influencing a character's dreams.

Mundane Skills

Mundane skills imply hobbies, careers, or realistic abilities. Novice implies limited training or a slight interest. Professional implies the character can make a living with this skill or is otherwise highly trained. Master level skills place characters at the top of their field, making them capable of extraordinary feats.

Hack

Hacking is essentially hypnosis for robots and AI characters. This ability also implies aptitude with computer programming. Synthetic characters often have poor defense against a talented hacker, but a hacking character requires a direct computer interface with their target.

Alchemy

Alchemy is the creation or manipulation of chemicals or physical substances, usually with the goal of creating a substance with which to effect another character. This skill also implies realistic training in Chemistry.

Alchemy acts as a scientific or magical mean to effect a character as if with Transform or Hypnosis. It can often outclass these skills in strength and flexibility, but requires the target to consume or have contact with the substance. Alchemy is also the most common method of helping a character escape heavy hypnosis or transformation.

Traits

Traits carry significant meaning towards the abilities and weaknesses of a character. Traits are often a defining feature of a character's role or presence in art.

Parasite

Parasite characters require host characters to function. Without a host, they are often immobile or entirely useless and vulnerable. Parasites often express partial or total control over their hosts.

Synthetic

Synthetic characters include constructs or androids. They have no soul and their minds do not operate in biological ways - this makes them immune to many magic and psychic abilities, including Hypnosis. This makes them vulnerable to the Hack skill and may make them vulnerable to computer viruses. If a synthetic mind is destroyed without external backup, the character likely cannot be recovered.

Goo

A goo character's body may not be completely solid. It is malleable and soft, and maybe constantly drip. Goo characters often have no trouble recovering from being transformed and often have at least the slight ability to modify their own bodies.

Thrall

A thrall is a character whose soul has been removed from their body. In its place, an extension of the will power of another character exists. A thrall character is a puppet for another character, obeying their commands and whims as if the thrall's body was their own. If the soul of a thrall still exists, it likely has limited awareness of its body (it can see, feel, and hear through their body) but has no control.

skills_and_traits.1553639443.txt.gz · Last modified: 2019/03/26 22:30 by immelmann