Kinda makes me want to stat up an Ilya Muromets as a Servant.
Also to resist the urge to excessively notice the nomenclature that so easily connects this Slavic hero to a certain little Homunculus.
Kinda makes me want to stat up an Ilya Muromets as a Servant.
Also to resist the urge to excessively notice the nomenclature that so easily connects this Slavic hero to a certain little Homunculus.
Aquaman! Or: How to Lose the Holy Grail War from the Get-Go
Last edited by MissingMandible; December 1st, 2013 at 04:36 PM.
Hey man
Aquaman is(or was i don't know) in Injustice
Once more, with feeling.
faceclaim
Name: Su Daji, Thousand-Year Vixen of Calamity
Class: Caster
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
STR: E
AGI: D
CON: C
MGI: A
LCK: C
NP: A
Class Skills:
Territory Creation
The skill to build a special terrain that is advantageous to oneself as a magus.
- A: Creation of a "Temple", which is superior to a "Workshop", becomes possible.
Item Construction
The skill to manufacture magical items.
- C: Capable of making potions that dramatically affect one's health and condition. As Su Daji is primarily a 'designer' rather than a 'creator' of magical items, her rank in this skill has suffered somewhat.
Personal Skills:
Ethereal Reserves
Magical ability that lies well above human potential, likely the work of fiends or spirits.
- A: As a Húli jīng in service to the great goddess Nu Wa, Caster cannot even be compared to the likes of any modern magus in terms of magical ability. Acts of High-Thaumaturgy have their casting times cut by half, and her prana reserves surpass that of a natural human.
Performance (Instrumental)
The capacity to play a musical instrument skillfully.
- B: Caster can perform a playing of her Guqin that worsens the mental states of all those that hear it. Acts that require immense concentration or simple mental skills are, as a result, immediately disrupted; however, this has the potentially-ruinous side-effect of increasing an opponent's rank in skills such as Mad Enhancement and Mental Pollution by one full rank.
Eye for Art
Infatuation with works of art.
- D: Should she see a Noble Phantasm that possesses artistic connotations, she will without fail determine its nation of origin, with a small chance of determining its true name. While her preference was for lewd performances filled with debauchery, Su Daji was all the same a connoisseur of the world's arts.
Shapeshift
Refers to both borrowing bodies and appearance change. A method used by the millenary spirits of foxes and badgers of China that are put on par with Tamamo-no-Mae.
- A: Allows one to seamlessly assume a form that will allow them to integrate into any given crowd. Should she locate a particular woman that takes her fancy, Caster may also banish that person's soul and take their body for her own. The means by which Daji made her way into Zhou's court.
Witchcraft
The Dakini heavenly methods. It includes methods to discern one's time of death and secret arts to obtain influence, such as methods to attain status and fortune (for men) and methods to gain the favor of influential individuals (for women).
- EX: Unparallelled talent for gaining influence and exploiting it without the need for restraint. In terms of sheer Witchcraft ability, Su Daji has, at best, four potential rivals.
Noble Phantasms:
Name:Dòngwù XanaduFalse Paradise for The Fundamentally Depraved
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Army
While the monstrous Su Daji is remembered by history for her heartless depravity, so too is she remembered for her talent in designing a countless number of torture devices. This Noble Phantasm is a realm that incorporates these various designs and combines them with Caster's incredible magical talent to truly horrific effect. While the world created by this Noble Phantasm could potentially be compared to a Reality Marble, this would be a mistake; while a Reality Marble is taking one's internal world and imposing it onto the external world, Dòngwù Xanadu instead takes aspects of the external world and internalises them. Or, to put it another way, Caster seals people into her own internal, allowing her to inflict all manner of impossible tortures upon them without incurring the world's corrective impulses. While it can be used easily on normal human beings, the likes of Servants are normally beyond her capacity to imprison in this manner.
The world within Dòngwù Xanadu is primarily used as a means of collecting prana, namely through torturing its victims. While one might assume that this means the Noble Phantasm somehow devours the suffering of its occupants, this, too, is incorrect. After all, what Dòngwù Xanadu feeds on is hope.
Those within will wander in hope on an exit only for the myriad paths to become the burning Bronze Toaster; they will partake of the food in the Forest of Meat only to find it makes them hungry, and that the meat they have devoured still lives, squriming and screaming until they attempt to tear out their own stomachs; the Wine Pool does not satisfy one's thirst, and attempting to drown one's sorrows in drunkenness will only leave them with unbearable headaches; they will meet up with others like them and find what appear to be exits that in fact loop back on themselves without pause. Yes, even as they throw themselves into the Snake Pit to find death's sweet embrace, they will still be denied. Only when one has been robbed wholly of hope, until they are nothing but a husk of a human, will they be allowed to die, their bodies eaten by the animals inhabiting Dòngwù Xanadu for further prana.
While this can be a time-consuming process, the amount of prana that can be gained this way is incredible, to the point where a small street's worth of people can generate enough prana to keep Caster materialised without a Master for a week. Needless to say, it would be nothing short of a disaster if she was allowed to run free with this Noble Phantasm.
Name:Gāoxìng YángtáiDepraved Deer Gallery
Rank: EX (X, sealed)
Type: Anti-Army
The greatest work of Su Daji, a design for an illustrious gallery that would outshine all existing architecture. While it was never finished (and in truth, Caster herself never expected it to be, having devised the gallery as a means of ridding herself of Jiang Ziya), and is thus unavailable as a Noble Phantasm, its potential is truly absurd. While it would appear to be nothing more than a simple showhouse, this 'Happy Terrace' is in fact a prana generator. The many depictions of deities that would line its walls are not mere decoration, but instead siphon away the faith and mystery that is partially responsible for the existence of Divine Spirits. Due to the unique design of its hallways and its 49-foot height, Gāoxìng Yángtái would, upon completion, be able to drain this power from the entire planet, granting Caster truly untold amounts of power. Thankfully, Caster lacks the skills to bring it into being herself, and would thus need to secure a truly masterful craftsman to actually create it, not taking into account the level of time that would actually be required.
detail
I feel like it could use some expanding, but hopefully it's not too bad.
Sounds like this spirit was the inspiration for the younger, similar story of Tamamo no Mae.
Either way nicely done, save for one thing...
The only servant on record with five personal skills was Cu Cuhlainn.
And that was because, I believe, due to how memorable his legend was. For a servant like this who many may have no clue about, five seems a bit much. I'd make it four but I still think this is a wonderful design for a servant.
Nothing to do with memorability, Cuchulainn was just good at a lot of different things.
A while back I tried to adapt a Servant I made in this thread for a Forum-Based RP. It collapsed before it could get off the ground, but it means I still have the details I included with the application, including a rather lengthy bit where the Servant gives an in-character account of his legend.
So here it is: My second version of Rahmah Ibn Jabir as Servant Rider. It was copy-pasted so the formatting's a bit crap, but fixing all of it would take more effort than I'm willing to put in right before finals. I also adjusted a lot of this to fit with the guidelines and aesthetics of the RP, which didn't match up with canon in some respects (And were kind of bullshit in others).
Name: Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah
Class: Rider
Gender: Male
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Strength: D
Endurance: D
Agility: D+
Magic: C
Luck: D
NP: B+
Note: His Agility's D+ because in the RP, I had his "years of practice" allow him to draw hidden weapons faster than his normal movement. As for the B+, technically his NP ranking should be lower, as the B+ is due to him having the relatively unique ability to turn his Ride into a Broken Phantasm.
Skills:
Riding: E
Bravery: C
Charisma: B
Projectiles (Knives): C
Battlefield Preparation :: C+:: The skill to create a terrain that is advantageous to a warrior in battle.Rahmah may create defenses and defensive emplacements using available materials, but if no materials are available he may materialize them at a high Prana cost. This skill receives a + modifier if used on a Location or a recreation of a Location that Rahmah was familiar with in life; at present, only his ship Al-Manowar qualifies. If it is used on a Location that cannot be considered a "Headquarters," such as a battlefield, it will receive a - modifier instead. Full preparation requires a full day of work, but Al-Jalahimah may be used to hasten the process.
Equipment:
~Fear - A jeweled Scimitar that Rahmah carries with him. Despite being named, it is not a Noble Phantasm, or special in any way. Its purpose is to "look impressive" rather than to act as a weapon. While its presence can distract opponents from the many smaller weapons that Rahmah has hidden on his person, Rahamah considers this a secondary benefit to its decorative qualities as a "weapon befitting a Ruler." Rahmah only possesses a bare minimum of competency with this weapon, and thus is unwilling to use it against Servants in most cases except as a finishing blow against an incapacitated or helpless opponent. He will likely use it against Masters however.
~Knives - While throwing knives, they may also be used for close combat. Rahmah is very skilled at concealing these about his person and drawing them in a hurry. They are the weapon with which he has the most skill, but he dislikes using them, as they are "inelegant." His skill with throwing them is only passable compared to that of a hero for which it is a primary weapon. Rahmah's skill at using knives in close combat is quite considerable compared to his skill with other weapons, however.
~Dueling Pistols - Rahmah's preferred weapons for difficult opponents. He always has a large number concealed upon his person, as many as 35 at any given time. He is very skilled at quickly drawing and firing, the rate at which he does so essentially allowing him to fire these single-shot weapons without pause until he runs out of ammunition. Reloading them may take some time, however.
Noble Phantasm:
~ Al-Manowar - The Great Ship of Mercy :: Fortress :: C+
The incarnation of every flagship that Rahmah used. One of its advantages is its size, being slightly smaller than a football field. In keeping with his philosophies about defense, this ship can be compared to a Fortress in terms of defensive measures. In order to fully penetrate its hull, an attack must either be A-Rank or higher, or be Anti-Fortress. Lower-Ranked attacks will still damage the ship, but the attacker must put in great effort in order to punch a hole in the ship.
When the ship materializes, Rahmah may select people within its area to be taken into the ship with him; the ship will materialize around those people, the ship appearing with them inside it. Those not selected will be pushed aside as the ship forms, so that they are located outside of it. This latter phenomenon is not strong enough to harm a person, but inanimate and immobile structures will most likely break. When the ship forms, the captain’s cabin will be located at Rahmah’s position, with the rest of the ship forming around that point.
When called forth by itself, the ship is incapable of movement or attacking, but utilizes little Prana while in that state. It is only when used in conjunction with Al Jalahimah that it's true power comes into play.
When its sails are manned (See below), it is capable of treating a "nation" as an "ocean," sailing upon streets and buildings as if they were the surface of the sea.
When called, the ship is treated as if Rahmah had already spent 1 day using his Battlefield Preparation Skill to prepare it. Each time it is called, its defenses are in a different configuration, and the ship's entire layout changes. The layout does not have to make sense.
While in the Captain’s Cabin, Rahmah has full awareness of the ship’s status. He immediately detects any damage to the ship and its nature. Furthermore, anyone traversing through the ship while walking upon the wood will be detected if they do not take care to tread lightly, as Rahmah will “feel” their footsteps.
When dismissed, any damage done to this ship will remain, even when it is called again.
~Al Jalahimah - the Servants of Mercy ::Support:: C
The 2000 Servants of the Al Jalahimah family, who followed Rahmah throughout his various exiles. Having followed him in life, he can call them forth, but they remain "Serving Staff" rather than "Fighters." As they are not Fighters, they cannot be used for Combat -- the only exception being if they are manning a defensive post created by Rahmah's Battlefield Preparation. Instead, they are mostly used for construction or heavy lifting.
Under ordinary conditions, Rahmah may only call forth a maximum of 2 of these servants at a time. However, while Al-Manowar is existent, he may call forth as many as 350, but they will be unable to leave the ship. If one is killed, this permanently decreases their number (Subtracting them from the pool of 2000)
While on the ship, the Servants may either man defensive posts, man the sails, man the cannons, or make repairs. Each of the ship's 30 cannons requires two Servants present for it to fire. Each individual cannon fires a D Rank attack; if five Servants man a single cannon, this attack is upgraded to C Rank. Up to 100 Servants may man the Sails; each additional Servant increases Al-Manowar's speed of movement, with eight being the bare minimum required for the ship to move at all. The number of servants that can man defensive stations differs depending on the ship's current layout. At least 100 must be assigned to repairs in order for the speed of repairs to be at all useful during combat.
The Prana cost of maintaining this Noble Phantasm is what makes Al-Manowar expensive to use. However, so long as he has ten or less Servants materialized, the Prana cost is low enough that Rahmah may keep Al-Manowar in the world for hours on end. It is only when larger numbers are used that his reserves become strained.
Al-Ghatroushah - the Death of Mercy :: Anti-Army::B+
A recreation of Rahmah's death, where he blew up his own ship to kill his attackers. Technically not a separate Noble Phantasm, but more akin to using Al-Manowar as a Broken Phantasm. When Rahmah is aboard his ship, he may activate this Phantasm. Rahmah will immediately die, and his ship will detonate. The + Modifier applies to those the attack hits that are actually inside the ship; those outside but within range will be hit by an B-Rank attack instead.
History:
Hmm? No, it doesn't mean that I'm afraid, this face of mine. This sword is the only "fear" that I have.
You don't seem surprised, either. Do you know who I am, then?
You don't? Then why have me here at all? Allow me to enlighten you.
My family were the aristocracy of Kuwait. When I was twenty-two, my family and several others decided to seize control of the island nation of Bahrain, an action that would give those three families near complete control over all trade in the Persian Gulf. However, while the Al Sabah and Al Khalifah received their just rewards for their assistance in that venture, my family, the Al Jalahimah, were slighted, and ultimately were forced out of Bahrain entirely, to Qatar. Even though it was our fortress on the Qatar Peninsula that made conquering Bahrain even remotely possible! This injustice was something that I never forgot.
Our family constructed the fortress city of Khor Hasan to serve as a port of trade, but the only ships that came were those that had already stopped to trade in Bahrain. Every single ship that brought goods into that city was mockery at the hands of the Al Khalifah and Al Sabah. Our family, as a whole, resolved to have our revenge by taking Bahrain for ourselves alone.
It took twenty more years before anything could be done.
In those twenty years, the The Gulf of Persia was pushed and pulled by forces that sought to control its fate. The Wahhabi Reformation sought to "return us to the old ways," putting Arabia under their control. And England, desperate for a way to fight back against Napoleon, attempted to seize the Gulf through force rather than thought.
Through it all, the Al Jalahimah, now under my control, waited.
I was not idle during this time. Among other things, I struck at the ships that sought to trade with Bahrain, to weaken them by depriving them of trade -- though I was forced to allow British ships to pass unmolested, as I could not afford to provoke their Empire. To enact the other part of my vengeance, I had tried to push Kuwait into war with Oman. Al Sabah and Al Khalifah, as the ruling class of Kuwait, would likely be hurt by this war, and it would draw eyes away from the forces that I was amassing in Qatar. But in 1804, everything changed.
I was forty-four then, older than I seem to be now. And beyond my eyes, the Reformist movement had been growing. So great was their power by that time, that Oman and Kuwait united to fight them. I was irritated by the foiling of my plan, but I quickly talked the Reformists into an Alliance. With their support, I prepared to take back that nation that the Al Sabah and Al Khalifah had taken from me, continuing my raids upon their commerce all the while. Piracy, I know, but it worked. All of Bahrain feared my name, by then.
By 1811, my armies and those of the Reformists were finally ready, poised to roll over Bahrain like a crushing tide. And then things took another turn, for the worse. The Ottomans, fed up with the power that the Reformists had gain with my assistance -- of course it was my assistance that was key, not everything is in the histories you know -- convinced the Egyptians to intervene. WIth this new power threatening them, the Reformists were unable to spare the troops to assist in taking back Bahrain. And only days after they withdrew, the alliance of Oman and Kuwait struck at me in my weakness, hoping to end the threat that I had posed to them for so long. I lost an eye that day -- another indignity to lay at the feet of the Al Sabah and Al Khalifa. Not only that, but I was forced out of Qatar entirely, forced to hide out in the city of Dammam like a rat, no longer capable of being a threat to anyone.
Or so they thought.
You see, despite being in an entirely different country, Dammam was my city, through and through. I founded it myself in 1809, to aid in my acts of piracy against Bahrain. Infrastructure already in place, I once more played the waiting game, building up- my forces. Just three years later, I was once more a power to be reckoned with. More importantly however, was the status of Bahrain. That Island was at war, with both Oman and Persia.
Bahrain, I knew, was the most important thing. I had been unsuccessful for so long, but now I had a chance. I forged an alliance of my own with those who sought to conquer that Island. Even though it meant allying with Oman, it would allow me to accomplish my oldest goal.
Unfortunately, this proved to be a miscalculation. in 1816, the Reformists, angered that I was now allied with their enemies, struck. In a battle that raged for weeks, the Reformists managed to destroy my headquarters in Dammam, and forced me to flee once more. With no power-base whatsoever, it was believed that I couldn't possibly be a threat, even though I was still alive.
Fools. They should have known better. But I suppose that even they could have foreseen my return two years later -- after all, who could have possibly predicted that I could have taken control of an entire Egyptian army!?
I won't tell you how I convinced the Egyptian commander to place control of all the forces in the Gulf in my hands. That's a trade secret. But in the year after that time, my forces struck the Gulf like the fist of God. When the campaign ended, I was made Governor of Dammam, my own city. Learning from my past mistakes, I built up my Base there into an impenetrable fortress. No army, I felt, could make it into that place, could force me to run once more. I had everything that I wanted.
Except for Bahrain.
I did not have Bahrain, not yet… But I knew that I could have it with time. I returned to Piracy, this time with greater force and broader scope. I wouldn't take just their trade, but their everything. No quarter. No Mercy. Piece by piece, Bahrain would become a shell of what it once was… and then I would take it.
But again, things went wrong. Far too soon after returning me to my rightful place, the Egyptians left the Gulf entirely, leaving me without their support. Without armies at my beck and call, I returned to the one plan that didn't need them: pushing Oman and Kuwait into war. And through it all, my Piracy continued.
And then things went wrong again. Despite having tolerated me for over forty years, despite the care that I took to do no harm to the English, the British Empire decided to stand against my attempts to take back Bahrain.
At first, it was merely a demand for peace in the Gulf, not even directed at me. I ignored it, and instead forged an alliance with Persia, as they wanted Bahrain as well; I was willing to humor them if it got me what I wanted.
That got Britain's attention. In 1921 they demanded that the attacks stop, and Persia backed down. Not to be dissuaded, I managed to convince Oman to lend their assistance instead, but a year later mounting pressure from the British had forced them to cut all ties.
It was then that Bahrain, finally tired of living in constant fear of me, sent their fleets for my head. They sought help from the British fleets, but they refused, citing my fortress' defenses as being too risky to attack, the potential losses too great. The Bahraini fleets attacked on their own. All the Bahraini fleets. My preparations held true, however; for four years, these forces tried and failed to breach my fortress.
But in 1826, they were finally on the cusp of victory. Realizing the risk, I managed to slip my newest flagship, the Al-Ghatroushah, past the blockade.
Was I fleeing? No, of course not, have you not been paying attention? I have no fear besides my sword, no mercy besides my name. I was doing what I did best, forging alliances and recruiting soldiers to my cause.
I returned to find my fortress about to fall. The Bahraini had convinced the local tribesman to launch an assault against my fortress from the land. Their fleets, meanwhile, were poised to launch an attack from the sea.
With no other choice, my forces met them on the open water. The battle lasted for hours. Soon, nearly all of my forces were gone -- but so were most of the Bahraini forces, including all of those who had attacked by land. All that remained of the battle were seven Bahraini ships, and the Al-Ghatroushah. Undaunted, I entered battle with all seven.
The odds were against me, but I would not be going down without a fight, not to the Bahraini. Not those who should rightfully be under my rule. Six of those seven ships were destroyed before the flagship of the Bahraini fleet managed to attach itself to the Al-Ghatroushah, and boarding parties landed. As great as my ships were, the Bahraini soldiers were better than my own. The battle for my ship and my head continued for hours, but it eventually became apparent that the Bahraini would win.
Like. Hell.
Determined to not let the Bahraini see victory, I gathered the Al-Ghatroushah's entire store of gunpowder into one place, and then lit it. The explosion was so great, that the Bahraini flagship was completely annihilated.
So there the battle ended. Not a single soldier alive on either side was still breathing. It was the greatest battle of my life, but I had won.
What? No, it wasn't a draw. It was my win.
Well it's simple arithmetic. The Bahraini came into the battle with fleets and soldiers. I came in with fleets and a fortress. When the battle was over, they had nothing, but I still had a fortress. There was no one in it, but it was still there. Out of what we had brought to the battle, I was the only one with anything left--
I didn't mention it earlier? No, the fortress didn't fall, not at any point during the fighting. The British were right; it simply could not be conquered. At no point during my lifetime did that fortress ever fall, not even once.
So you see? Nothing can scare me, not guns, not weapons, not armies. Why on earth would I be afraid of you?
Say, I've been sharing my life story -- who are you anyway? Kind of rude not to introduce yourself when I've been doing all this talking.
Aingra Mainyu? What an odd name.
We knew the forum would not be the same. A few people, a few people
, most people were
. I remembered the line from the Nasu scripture, the Fate/Complete Material... "Now, I am become Death, the derailer of threads."
"Your report?", the man clad in red uttered as he sat down on the armchair.
In front of him a cloaked man knelt, his head bowed in deference.
"Your Eminence, we are monitoring key areas of the city, as ordered."
"What about the negotiations with local authorities?"
"Proceeding smoothly, your Eminence. The police is already yours to command.
The head of the Fujimura clan on the other hand seems to be in an alliance
with another Master."
"So the local mob still eludes our control? Anything else?"
"We are securing his grand-daughter as we speak."
"That should give us sufficient leverage, indeed."
The man in red rose from his seat and turned to face the window:
"See to it, that ere tomorrow we can come to an agreement."
"Most certainly, I shall take my leave then..."
Left alone the man straightened his back and strode to the door at
the other end of the chapel.
"Let the war begin then..."
A war that has already ended.
Servant Caster
---
Got a bit lazy towards the end, sorry. Seriously though, this man is underrated.
Last edited by ylas; December 10th, 2013 at 03:24 AM. Reason: Edited for great justice!
Black Keys are already supposed to be rapiers.
"Emiya. Take the weapon."
"Huh?"
He throws a long, thin object at me.
"Whoa. Is this a sword?"
It's a slender sword.
It's like a rapier.
It's a sword made for thrusting, not slashing.
But the blade's a bit too thick, and it looks like it'll be hard to use.
It's like Assassin's Dark made into a sword.
""
I lightly swing the sword.
…It's oddly-balanced.
It weighs about a kilo, but the tip is heavy.
It's more like an arrow than a sword.
Going by that quote, they are shaped like rapiers, but aren't weighted to be used like one. As someone who fences, I can tell you that this makes a massive difference. If the weight is balanced towards the tip like that, you can't use any of the sword styles I'm familiar with -- the most popular Spanish sword style, for example, requires you to be constantly making small movements with the tip while in the "guard" stance, which will be much more difficult that way, and it also takes a lot of force out of your thrusts as well. If you're using Capo Fero, the style I'm actually trained in, having it weighted toward the rather than the base would make you drop the sword any time you tried to use the style's signature blocking maneuver. And so on.Originally Posted by You
Edit: Furthermore, now that I've looked at a picture of a black key, the handle is the wrong shape to be used as a rapier as well. There's a reason rapiers are normally depicted with those elaborate hilts.
4142613292_b3985e6ec2.jpg
See the loop that goes over the base of the blade there? That's a necessary part. The proper way to grip a rapier is to have your thumb ring and pinky fingers on the handle, but have your index and middle fingers on the other side of the quillion -- gripping the quillion between your middle and ring fingers helps stabilize the blade. The part of the blade under the loop is not sharp, but without that loop your fingers would slide onto the sharp part, slicing them up. Furthermore, Capo Fero at least requires blocking in such a way that your opponent's blade will often hit the guard, and it's far from the only style that does that. However, a Black Key only has a quillion, which despite what pop culture would have you believe is not sufficient to protect your fingers in a swordfight (At least if you're using a Rapier -- it's different for other types of sword, obviously). This also means it's missing several other necessary components, such as a pommel (Which is necessary because it shifts the overall weight of the sword away from the tip like I mentioned before, as well as the weight's location allowing you to stabilize your grip on the sword). And on top of that, the handle is too short.
So yeah, Black Keys aren't usable as Rapiers. At all. Even the quote you provided shows that pretty clearly.
Double Edit: And anyway, the servant sheet says that he uses a single black key in the fashion of a rapier. Given that the rest of the church uses them as throwing weapons, and wields three in each hand when using them for melee -- something that isn't even remotely possible with a rapier -- the fact that he uses a black key as a rapier instead of the way the rest of the church uses them is something that should be noted regardless of whether it's a normal black key or not.
Last edited by Arkanian; December 9th, 2013 at 03:58 PM.
We knew the forum would not be the same. A few people
^Thanks to You and Arkanian for pointing out my mistake. The post was edited to following effect:
Caster uses a modified Black Key, shaped and handled like a rapier both to reflect the time-period and
conceal its nature.
---
I hope you enjoy the concept though. More a cerebral rather than a physical Servant...
In that respect, it was depressing how 4th War Assassin with its potential to be a major
antagonist was thrown out the window like that.
The only thing I'm concerned about is that the NP is way too unbalanced. Any tips in that
regard perhaps?
Personally I find being able to mentally control anyone for three days, regardless of mental fortitude, is a power far too great to be simple sorcery or Theurgy. That's power on par with True Magic. To weaken, I'd allow A-rank Mental Pollution to be immune. After all, how do you reason with the insane? Manipulation that works on the sane doesn't always work on the mad. Mad Enhancement of C or higher should be immune as well.
"On par with true magic"? You kidding? It's just mind control.
Very true. Given a sufficiently weak target, a modern magus could probably manage something similar. That said, some limitations are in order.
I think a fair way to do it is to remove the limitation against them being unable to take hostile actions against the Servant. It seems uneccessary to me (And a command seal would probably override it anyway). This also allows Mental Pollution to make things... interesting, as aside from that one caveat I mentioned the Phantasm appears to act similarly to the D&D spell "Charm Person" -- the target becomes the Caster's ally, but their actions are not controlled by the Caster and they simply act as they would if they were allies with the Caster. For some people, being their ally can be worse than being their enemy.
Given that the feat the Phantasm is based off of was an impressive act of persuasion, people who have no mind to persuade should probably be immune to it as Cheese implied. On that note, I think it would make sense that activating the Phantasm would require Caster to converse with the target, rather than just looking at them. Another reasonable limitation, I would think, is that anyone with Charisma higher than B would be able to resist it (Presumably the King had B Rank Charisma, given that B Rank is described as being sufficient to rule a country).
That said, I'm not certain that what you have is fitting for his Noble Phantasm. He was best known for more or less single-handedly abolishing feudalism and replacing it with the system of absolute monarchy. If I were making this Servant, I would give him a Phantasm that "embodies the concept that a King's power is both absolute and unquestioned," as I think Nasu would phrase it. There's a lot you could do with that.
Lastly, given that he's also famous for his patronage of the arts, Eye For Art should be one of his skills.
Last edited by Arkanian; December 9th, 2013 at 09:42 PM.
We knew the forum would not be the same. A few people
Thanks for your replies!
Wording of the NP has been updated to reflect the previous 3 comments.
(mad skillz to the mad/IT'S just MIND CONTROL!!/sounds like a D&D spell now)
Can't believe I forgot to add that skill. Also has some practical use for Caster specifically now.Lastly, given that he's also famous for his patronage of the arts, Eye For Art should be one of his skills.
The means through which he accomplished that feat though mainly were his machinations at the King's court. He "guided" that effort rather than effecting it himself.That said, I'm not certain that what you have is fitting for his Noble Phantasm. He was best known for more or less single-handedly abolishing feudalism and replacing it with the system of absolute monarchy.
That said, thanks for your replies again.
Thread needs more Renaissance Men, so here's one
Spoiler:
Name: Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci
Class: Caster
Gender: Male
Alignment: True Neutral
Strength: E
Endurance: E
Agility: E
Mana: C++
Luck: A
Noble Phantasm: A
Class Skills:
Item Construction: A
While unable to make marvelous potions and charms like Medea, Caster is capable of creating complex machines, devices and weapons. The more time he spends designing and crafting (or building) the item, the more powerful it becomes. While unpractical, it is possible for him to create items that equal Noble Phantasms in power, up to Rank A.
Territory Creation: B
Creation of a “Workshop” becomes possible.
Personal Skills:
Expert of Many Specializations: A
A total of twelve skills, among which are architeture, painting and engineering, can be used with proficiency of Rank A or higher, and several other such as metallurgy, carpentry and plaster casting with proficiency of Rank C or higher.
Eye for Art: A
Caster is capable of deducing the country of origin of a servant by simply looking at their clothing. Using a Noble Phantasm with any artistic connotation, be it small or widespread, will invariably reveal their true identity to Caster.
Eye of the Mind (True): D
While unsuited for use during battle, this skill is very valuable for planning attacks, allowing a detailed analysis of a place and the many possibilities should a confront happen there.
Inventor: A+
The manifestation of Caster’s skill in imagining and creating things that didn’t exist before, it grants a Rank-Up to Caster’s Item Construction whenever he is creating something completely new. At this level, it is possible to create items that can perform things previously deemed to be impossible.
Librarian of Stored Knowledge: C
Capable of remembering any information relative to one of the twelve skills he can perform with proficiency of Rank A or higher without the need for a check, and information relative to the skills he can perform with proficiency of Rank C or higher with a successful Luck check. Remembering information that does not relate to any of his skills require two successful Luck checks.
Noble Phantasms:
L’Uomo Vitruviano – The Perfect Body
Anti-Unit, Rank A
A Noble Phantasm that allows the transformation of any designed target into a being with a “perfect body”, including Caster himself. Evoking all of Caster’s knowledge of anatomy, proportion, and being based on the quest to define the measure not simply of beauty, but of perfection, the target acquires a perfectly proportional, healthy and strong body. While under these effects, a normal person will acquire strength, endurance and agility equal to that of a servant with Rank A in those three parameters, or if the target is a servant, their Strength, Endurance and Agility will change to Rank A. They will also receive the skill Natural Body at Rank A, with their Strength, Endurance and Agility always being treated as Rank-Up. Keeping the target under this effect continuously consumes a large amount of prana, meaning that it can only be kept active for a few minutes, maybe a dozen, before Caster runs out of fuel.
Officina Incompiuta – Army of Unfinished Machines
Anti-Unit, Anti-Army, Anti-Fortress, Rank E~A+
This can be Caster’s weakest Noble Phantasm, but it can also be his strongest. Caster sees being summoned to the Grail War as a chance to complete all the projects he left unfinished, specially the many machines he had designed for military combat. This skill can only be used if Caster is within 10 kilometers of an area which he is using as his workshop. Upon activation, he will be able to summon any number of automatons and war machines built by him during this Grail War, which can range from the mechanical knights, robotic lions, automobiles, flying machines, giant crossbows and steam-powered cannons he designed while alive, to completely new ideas he had after being summoned. As such, the Rank of this Noble Phantasm is relative to both the quality and the quantity of items he created in his workshop.
Codex Ambroise – Legacy of the Inventor
Anti-Unit, Rank C+
The collection of all the knowledge Caster had while he was alive, contained within a single book. It is a compressed version of all the manuscripts he left, including those that still exist and those that were lost. While the book isn’t all that useful for Caster himself due to his Librarian of Stored Knowledge skill, it is nearly invaluable for anyone else, because anyone using it will acquire the same skills as Caster in all his fields of expertise, and it also contains the designs and drafts of all of Caster’s inventions and ideas that were never finished. Should Caster die, the book will remain in the world for a whole day before disappearing. For a small cost of prana, any magus is capable of sustaining the book in this world indefinitely. However, the book will disappear once the Grail War comes to an end.
Servant History:
Spoiler:
Last edited by Zork Knight; January 30th, 2015 at 07:38 PM.
That's a heck of a reinforcement spell
Well. That is one interesting Da Vinci profile!
What I thought about when reading his NP:
Spoiler:
IMHO, Da Vinci is one of those figures that could never became servants (he has no "mystery" attached to his figure, only fame), but your sheet was fine.
Personal note: the best way to deal with a Caster Da Vinci would be making him an incredibly lazy personality (bonus points with parallels to Nasu), capable to design incredible things but too lazy to do experiments and/or actually build them. Cue the master trying desperately to get him to move on, and overall a clash between the two's personalities.
Well, he'd definitely be easily distracted. His master would have to waste at least one command spell to keep him working on the Unfinished Machines.
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