The vast majority of you can just ignore this. I’m running a long DnD-esque campaign and I need several threads to track everything safely. If you wish to watch feel free, but otherwise there’s probably not much here for most of you.
LAN
You smile up at Mash, as you fade-
BZZZT
You stand along the coast of an isle. In the water are dozens if not hundreds of Triremes.
“Magnificent isn’t it?” You feel a hand fall on your shoulder and turn to see a strange and corpulent ma-
BZZZT
Your Lord Gaius Julius Caesar! A man whose name is synonymous with Rome itself! It was so galling that others pretended to a throne that was rightfully his. Sure he lied and deceived but all in power did, it was simply part of the job! If you must have a leader then you would want the absolute best at the helm and no one could argue there existed a man better than your Lord!
You look back to the ships and smile, “It truly is. With this we will seat you rightfully on the throne for all time!”
BZZZT
Rome. 60 AD. Immortality.
Alaya?
BZZZT
That was strange. You should have someone check you, but you couldn’t possibly bother your Lord. He had more important things to do than check on the strange voices of mere subordinates. No you both had a job to do, you needed to reunite Rome! And put an end to those pretenders once and for all!
{You are under the thrall of an unknown force. Your motivations are to seat Gaius Julius Caesar on the throne of Rome at all costs and until confronted by an outsider about your motivations you cannot make another save. How do you wish to proceed in aiding your new Lord?}
Michael
Your vision of Fuyuki fades out as you ascend back to-
BZZZT
Before you fully lose yourself to the Throne your vision swims back into view and you’re standing amid an opulent structure. Roman soldiers and Centurions train and work around you, familiar work, the work of war.
“A new recruit,” a voice speaks behind you. You turn to see a red-haired youth smiling at you. No not a youth, a Heroic Spirit, you can sense the nature of this boy and it is one of a Servant. He notices you looking and you briefly feel a tug on your mind as he attempts to do… something to your mind. You’re not even sure if it was deliberate.
“And a strong one too,” the boy continues with a whistle. “You made the right choice coming here. After all who else can truly claim Rome if not the man responsible for starting it?”
He turns his attention to a raised pavilion 20 meters away and a man sitting atop a marble throne with gold armor and medium length black hair. Again you realize this man is not a man, but yet another Heroic Spirit and a very powerful one at that. This realization comes as you realize the very structure you stand in is this Servant’s Noble Phantasm.
BZZZT
Rome. 60 AD. Immortality.
Alaya’s voice, but vague again and for some reason painful. That wasn’t good, there were even more questions to ask here than in Fuyuki.
Then you get a message in your head you had never once seen before: Mi-Ka-El restricted
{How do you proceed?}
Usami
You wave goodbye to a girl you consider a daughter and begin to drift aw-
BZZZT,
You stand on a hill overlooking a sea filled with Triremes. As you turn to get your bearings you see a camp filled with Roman soldiers and centurions and see a corpulent man striding towards the beach with a retinue in tow.
No not a man, a Servant. What was going on? Alaya’s summons were always abrupt but you somehow know you were just in Fuyuki a moment ago…
BZZZT,
Rome. 60 AD. Immortality.
You clutch your head. Another vague message, this time accompanied with pain. The only way you could describe it was an if a person had shouted a message to you through a phone while in the middle of a concert.
The presence of Romans and the location, this was likely Corsica, an isle off the coast of Italy. Not a bad place to launch a Naval assault from, but where were these people assaulting and why?
Just then you notice another figure arrive on the shore. A familiar figure, LAN…
{How do you proceed?}
Seraphina
You are always aware of the time in-between your summons by Alaya. This is a fact you have known and lived with ever since you first became a Counter Guardian. So you’re also aware when it doesn’t happen.
Your last impression of Fuyuki is of seeing Cu, but with just one eye-
BZZZT,
Your first impression of your new location is a woman with green eyes and blonde hair.
“Hey, are you okay?” The woman asks, suddenly red-haired and blue-eyed. Wait suddenly? She’d always looked like this, why did you think otherwise?
You blink a few times to clear the confusion and realize you’re not standing, but lying on a field of grass. “Well you seem awake at least,” the woman reaches out a hand and pulls you to your feet. No, not a woman you realize, but a Heroic Spirit.
As you stand you see a camp full of people preparing for war. You’d seen it many times, though you were usually firing down into such groups. However this doesn’t hold your attention long as you are instead drawn to a slim white-haired woman walking towards you, though again this one wasn’t human. She gave off the feel of both a Heroic Spirit and a Divine Spirit at once and her power was immense.
“Another recruit?” The white-haired woman asked, “I welcome you. We are preparing for the defense of our good civilization and I would like your help, Guardian.”
{How do you respond?}
Welcome to Septem. Bit more of a mystery than Fuyuki so definitely put some extra thinking time in.
Character Sheets
Castelleus Character Sheet
Basic Servant Stats
Class: Lancer
Name: Lan Choi
Counterforce Alias: LAN
Gender: Male
Nationality: Chinese
Manifestation Age: 25
Alignment: Neutral Good
Element: Lightning
Origin: Towers & Anchors
Health: 324
Strength: D(25)
Dexterity: C(27)
Endurance: C(27)
Magecraft: B(29)
Luck: B(29)
NP:A(5 Burdens)
Future Prediction E: Once per day, you can evade one damaging attack that is not considered a Noble Phantasm.
Thanks to the fortunetelling potential inherent in the magic crest he had in life, LAN theoretically has the ability to evade attacks and anticipate weaknesses. However, LAN never used his magic for fortunetelling, so this skill is at a very low rank.
Projection (Structure) EX+: Twice per day, can make a choice between one of three spells.
- A “building drop” that does 3d8 damage and leaves behind rubble for 3d8 hours.
- A small wall or tower with 3d8 hit points that last until a full day elapses, or until destroyed. This counts as a building but not as a familiar.
- Summon up to 4 turrets until a full day elapses, or until they are targeted and destroyed. The turrets counts as both a “building” and a “familiar” for the purpose of game mechanics.
Turret
Health: 28
Strength: 0
Agility: 0
Endurance: 14
MP: 18
Luck: 0
On hit: 1d8+MP
Reinforcement (Structure) A: Applies a Bounded Field to a structure that negates up to 50 points of damage. If the Bounded Field is destroyed any overflow damage from the attack is ignored.
Casting time: 1 Active Action. Cannot be stacked but can be re-cast.
Duration: 1 day or until destroyed.
Digitized Will C: Increased threshold for status ailments by 3.
Noble Phantasms:
Ocean-Anchoring Divine Needle Primary weapon - Bow Staff(3d6+Agility). When activated as a Noble Phantasm, it increases your melee range by 10 meters and will negate one water-based attack within its radius.
Duration: 1 minute
Cost: 1 Burden
The primordial form of Wukong’s Golden Plated Staff, suspended in a state where it remains a “tower” rather than a “weapon”. As a projected fake, it retains the ability to somewhat extend its length and size, especially in settings near water where it can also negate tsunamis. However, it does not have the ability to be miniaturized and concealed.
Justice at World’s End: Choose one of the following Noble Phantasms to cast with reduced Parameters:
Ramesseum Tentyris
Deal 3d8+MP Light damage to a single target and pin them for 1 round. If the target does not possess Divinity or originate from the Age of Gods they cannot make a save. Otherwise on a successful competing MP check the target takes half damage and is not pinned.
Affliced area has the properties of the Age of Gods.
Rhongomyniad
[RESTRICTION: REQUIRES THE APPROVAL OF 7 AGENTS OF THE PLANET TO ACTIVATE!!!]
Deals 5d10+MP(2x) damage to a single enemy and 2d10+MP to all entities within 10 meters of the specified target. Damage cannot be negated or mitigated by any defense short of a Divine Noble Phantasm.
Afflicted area has the properties of the Age of Fairies.
System Kerunos
Deal 3d8+MP Electric damage to all entities in a 30 meter area. If enemies originates from the Age of Gods or Fairies they are automatically inflicted with Shock.
Afflicted area has the properties of the Age of Man.
Range: Variable. Dependent on Noble Phantasm chosen.
Duration: Variable. Dependent on Noble Phantasm chosen.
Cost: 3 Burdens
LAN’s true noble phantasm: A reality marble, which projects a pocket dimension that connects to the “end of the world”. In this pocket dimension, LAN has the ability to use divine anchors to pin concepts onto the “world”. Every time he casts this reality marble, he can “fake” one of the following noble phantasms: Ramesseum Tentyris, Rhongomyniad, or System Kerunos. They do not do nearly as much damage as their original incarnations, but the main effect of the spell is to forcefully “anchor” a different age onto a given territory, with potentially crippling effects on enemies that would otherwise be in their “home field.”
Basic Background
Were it not for him being in the right era on the right timeline, Lan Choi might have just been an ordinary magician. But what did happen, was probably fated anyhow. Lan was a witness to the onset of the Universal Technological Update, a point of no return that took the world out of the Age of Humans into the Age of Will. He was one of the first mages to witness the Update’s key moments, and was perhaps one of the last humans to die inside their physical bodies.
The intention of the Update was to make mortality obsolete by changing corporeal lives into “wills”. But the process of the Update was held in the hands of a powerful few. Physical resources used to sustain corporeal life were converted en mass into raw energy to power massive city-sized “Update centres”. The idea was that once the Update centres finish their tasks, physical death would no longer matter. However, during the update process, many people in deindustrialized areas could not be uploaded quickly, and simply died from a lack of food or extreme weather.
The world of mages was divided. Some mages supported the new age, others opposed it, some profited from both sides. Even on the same side, the motives of each mage would be completely different. Some saw the new age as a way to mainstream magecraft. Others, hearkening back to how the Age of Gods ended, equated obsolescence with godhood. Others still saw the new age as a threat to the foundations of mystery. Lan was part of the resistance, but he was neither an opportunist nor an idealist. He simply wanted the deaths and sacrifices to stop.
The mages weren’t the only ones divided. The humans were divided, and the newly-born Wills were also divided. Eventually, the pro-human Wills won out, but too many humans have already died without ever getting uploaded. At that time, Lan had already been captured and deleted, but his feats and philosophies survived, and were used to retroactively remake his personality.
To this day, the entity known as LAN is not entirely sure how he became a counter guardian. Did he make a contract with the Throne of Heroes as he was being deleted? Or did the Throne of Heroes record his reconstructed Will?
What he does know is how to fight, what he wants to fight for, and the irony of the part he has to play each time he is installed into the world. His role is to minimize death, but he sees only death. His task is to minimize sacrifice, but those that are made must come from his hand. He knows that the Root is the consciousness of beings, the will of beings to live. If life is justice, then surely he is fighting for justice. And yet, he can’t grasp this justice, not until he too, dies and returns to the throne. It is a justice that can only be seen when his world comes to an end.
He has become akin to the mortal workers at an Update centre, working to create a haven that will never trickle down to them in time. He couldn’t save those workers in life, so it is only fair that he cannot save himself now.
Childhood and Family Crest
Lan’s clan has served as the Clock Tower’s emissary to the Spiral Manor for many generations. His clan has a cancerous magic crest system, that necessitates multiple heirs to divide an ever-growing crest. His family crest is based on the sixty-four Taoist portents, which are commonly used for fortune-telling. A crest that matures to perfection is said to have “reached zero” and becomes inert, which is a state that clan members desperately try to avoid. A clanlord’s crest will have about fifty to sixty active portents, giving them a vast array of spells, but should all sixty-four portents activate, it results in the death of the mage and the loss of the crest.
Lan was the fourth of five heirs. He was a frail boy and a bully magnet, but he was also the clanlord’s favourite grandson. When his eldest sister turned eighteen and was ready to become the chief heir, Lan was only eight years old. According to clan rules, when the eldest turns eighteen, the clanlord will give up to five portents of the crest to each of the younger heirs, and the remaining parts will go to the eldest. Young Lan did not care for the power struggle, and simply asked for two portents. Worried that little Lan would become the runt of the litter, the clanlord gave him the two strongest portents: Heaven and Earth.
Combat Style
In theory, heaven and earth are the most basic portents, and are the building blocks of all other portents. As crests, these portents greatly boosted basic spells, such as projection and strengthening. In Lan’s case, being possessed by the karma of both heaven and earth results in the origin of “tower”, something that seeks to connect “earth” and “heaven”.
In practice, Lan has an uncanny ability to decipher the purpose and construction of “buildings”, especially “towers”. Lan can easily identify and strengthen the weakened parts of crumbling structures. With enough mana and preparation, he can even project buildings of enormous height. What is the most unsettling, even to mages who understand architecture, is the fact that Lan’s projected buildings are always constructed from the top downwards, starting with a roof in the sky that builds itself downwards towards the ground at breakneck speed. When asked by students or colleagues on how this is done, he would always say: “all buildings have two parts, a purpose and a grounding. It is a question of anchoring one to the other.”
DapperAndDandy Character Sheet
Name: Michael D’Angelo
Nationality: Italian
Element: Wind
Origin: Justice
Alignment: Lawful Good
Age: Appears to be in his mid 20s.
History:
Summary
“St. Michael, protector of the faith, bring back our son to us.”
Michael heard his parents pray this over and over again as they waited to hear back from the police. HIs little brother had been missing over three days now, vanishing when they were out in the city.
And then the call came. His parents wept and wept and wept. Michael could hear it even in his room in the night, pillow over his head to block out the sound and the rest of the world.
St. Michael… why didn’t you answer our prayer? Where were you?
The question haunted him long after he became an adult, long after he’d joined the Church as an Executor thanks to his magic circuits. He did his best as an Executor to slay the unholy things that walked the earth - human and otherwise - like the one that took his brother away from him. But the question still lingered, and the anger and longing for more than what he could do as a mere human.
Then, one day, he made a contract with the world itself.
Rumors spread of the appearance of the Archangel Michael himself in cities and on battlefields, saving innocents and slaying the wicked. And as it did, his spirit origin began to change…
Class: Saber
Health: 324
Strength: B(29)
Agility: C(27)
Endurance: C(27)
MP B(29)
Luck B(29)
NP EX(6 Burdens)
Weapon: Black Keys 3d4+Strength Wind damage. On a success of 7 or greater opponent is knocked back 20 meters. When fighting Spiritual Entities add your MP modifier as well.
Skills:
[Innocent Monster - Angelic]: In areas where his Noble Phantasm boosts his parameters, he receives additional changes to his physical form, such as a powerful radiance and even wings.
[Numeral of the Saint A]: As the legendary angel of the sun, when receiving a boost from his Noble Phantasm, Michael receives an additional boost when fighting in daylight. Once per day, he can augment rolls for one stat by +5 for one fight.
Revelation A: A skill to "hear the voice of heavens " and take optimum action; a Skill equivalent to Instinct. However, “Revelation” accommodates all matters related to the achievement of a goal (for instance, choosing the most suitable path while traveling). This allows him to gain advantage on non-combat Luck checks, as well as once per day, gain advantage on a single attack to add +4 to the roll.
Bravery A: The ability to resist mental interference such as pressure, confusion and fascination, as well as increase melee damage. He gains advantage against all mental effects and add a +4 to all rolls when at or below 25% of your maximum health.
Noble Phantasm:
Mi-Ka-El: Who is Like God?
His spirit origin has changed as a result of accumulating and synchronizing with myths of the Archangel Michael. When summoned into areas where his legend is strong and people are devout, he receives a +1 to all parameters. However, in areas of agnosticism or indifference, his parameters remain unchanged. In areas where strong myths other than his own exist, he receives a -1 in all parameters.
Deus Ex: Felling Blade of Revelation - Anti-Personnel NP
Can only be activated as long as his first Noble Phantasm is provided neutral or boosted parameters. When activated, his Black Key becomes engulfed in light and increases in length to twice his height, which he hurtles like a spear down on the target in a devastating burst of mana. Thanks to the legends of Michael slaying the Dragon in Revelations, the attack deals additional damage against those with the Dragon-trait or Evil-alignment. Michael deals 5d10+MP&Strength to all enemies within 3 meters of his target. Double the damage if the enemy is Draconic or Evil. Quadruple the damage if the enemy is both.
Range: 25 meters.
Cost: 3 Burdens(Cost reduced to 2 if “Mi-Ka-El: Who is Like God?” is active)
Emprisk Character Sheet
Name: Usami Haru
Race: ?
Nationality: Japanese
Element: Wind
Origin: Solving
Age: 17
Alignment: Lawful Weird Good
Specializations: Runes, Working out Mysteries and sewing
Class: Avenger
Health: 300
Strength: E(23)
Dexterity: C(27)
Endurance: D(25)
MP: A-(31)
Luck: D(25)
NP: B(4 Burdens)
Avenger B-: Reduce NP Cost by 1 when in combat with your grudge, but if you grudge misses by 3 or less your nearest ally takes the damage meant for you.
Inherent Insight A: Gain advantage when trying to discern the truth. Assign a +4 to this roll once per day.
Territory Creation A+: Designate a 50 meter area as territory. When inside your own territory add 1 to all your rolls.
Runecraft A-: Replaces your weaponry with the following Runes:
List of Runes
Bounded Field: Level 3 - Applies specific effects over a limited area, theoretically unlimited. Maximum of 7 effects.
Casting time: 5 minutes per effect.
Area: Up to 50 meters in diameter.
Duration: Indefinite unless destroyed.
Barkano: Level 3 - Allows tracking through use of a single inscribed item placed on the target. Rune has no magical presence and can only be spotted on close inspection of the item in question.
Casting time: 1 minute.
Range: 10 kilometers.
Duration: Until item is destroyed.
Gandr: Level 3 - Launch a projectile that deals 3d6+MP on hit.
Casting time: 1 Active Action.
Range: 20 meters.
Ath nGabla: Level 3 - Targets cannot hide or flee until one side is dead or both agree to leave. This does not apply to one target of your choosing.
Casting time: 1 minute. Can be prepared in advance.
Range: 10 meters.
Duration: 2 hours.
Kenaz: Level 2 - Enhance two senses for up to one minute. Enhances senses have advantage when used to perform a check.
Casting time: 1 Active Action.
Range: Touch.
Duration: 10 minutes.
Noble Phantasms:
Party of the Hero!: Gives allies advantage versus those Usami considers enemies for three rounds as well as a +2 on all rolls.
Range: All allies in sight
Cost: 1 Burden
Rank: B
“In the name of the Hero… Destroy evil!”
I will surpass your expectations!: Any attack or effect that would normally force Usami to commit self-harm has no effect and instead rebounds back onto the caster.
Range: Self
Duration: Always active
Cost: None
Rank: B
[REDACTED] hurt her one last time for her own good, but [REDACTED} gave her the strength to carry on.
Bio: Insane or scarily competent? Can’t it be both? Much like the girl herself, she has very odd ways of doing things. From drinking beverages like a bird to making her own costumes. But underneath it all is a girl who values two things above all else: her vengeance, and the only person who bothered to try and make friends with her as children. It’s not always clear which she values more but she doesn’t sweat the small stuff.
If you manage to tolerate her eccentrics and get through her metaphorical mask, there is not a more loyal and loving young woman in the world.
Alternate Class
Caster
HP: 276
Strength: E(23)
Agility: C(27)
Endurance: E(23)
MP: A+(31)
Luck: D(25)
NP: A(5 Burdens)
Skills:
Item Construction B-(Modern): Four times per day summon a modern constructs.
Modern Constructs
Computer
Cell phone
Walkie Talkie
Spotlight
Laser designator
(Items do not require power sources and will connect regardless of time period but have a function duration of 4 hours once created.)
Inherent Insight A: Gain advantage when trying to discern the truth. Assign a +4 to this roll once per day.
Territory Creation A+: Designate a 50 meter area as territory. When inside your own territory add 1 to all your rolls.
Runecraft A-: Replaces your weaponry with the following Runes:
List of Runes
Bounded Field: Level 3 - Applies specific effects over a limited area, theoretically unlimited. Maximum of 7 effects.
Casting time: 5 minutes per effect.
Area: Up to 50 meters in diameter.
Duration: Indefinite unless destroyed.
Barkano: Level 3 - Allows tracking through use of a single inscribed item placed on the target. Rune has no magical presence and can only be spotted on close inspection of the item in question.
Casting time: 1 minute.
Range: 10 kilometers.
Duration: Until item is destroyed.
Gandr: Level 3 - Launch a projectile that deals 3d6+MP on hit.
Casting time: 1 Active Action.
Range: 20 meters.
Ath nGabla: Level 3 - Targets cannot hide or flee until one side is dead or both agree to leave. This does not apply to one target of your choosing.
Casting time: 1 minute. Can be prepared in advance.
Range: 10 meters.
Duration: 2 hours.
Kenaz: Level 2 - Enhance two senses for up to one minute. Enhances senses have advantage when used to perform a check.
Casting time: 1 Active Action.
Range: Touch.
Duration: 10 minutes.
Noble Phantasms:
Party of the Hero!: Gives allies advantage versus those Usami considers enemies for three rounds as well as a +2 on all rolls.
Range: All allies in sight
Cost: 1 Burden
Rank: B
“In the name of the Hero… Destroy evil!”
I will surpass your expectations!: Any attack or effect that would normally force Usami to commit self-harm has no effect and instead rebounds back onto the caster.
Range: Self
Duration: Always active
Cost: None
Rank: B
[REDACTED] hurt her one last time for her own good, but [REDACTED} gave her the strength to carry on.
Mysty Character Sheet
Name: Seraphina
Race: Israelite
Nationality: Levite
Origin: Vigilance
Element: Fire
Age: 18
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Specialization: Sniper
Health: 324
Strength: B(29)
Agility: A(31)
Endurance: C(27)
MP: B(29)
Luck: D(25)
NP: C(3 Burdens)
Passives
Independent Action D: Replenish Burdens twice per day without Consulting Alaya.
Presence Concealment B: Automatically enter Stealth during combat 4 times per day. When attacking from Stealth gain advantage.
Divinity C: Once per day add +3 to any roll.
Holy Fire EX: Reduce threshold to Burn an enemy by 6.
Passover: Deduct 2 from damage rolls against all allies in sight 3 times. If Seraphina is in Seraph mode this upgrade to complete damage negation 3 times. Must be activated.
Primary Weapon: Bow of the Fiery Serpent(2d6+Agility fire damage)
Noble Phantasms
Purified Eye - You possess both normal and Infrared Vision
Range: Sight
Duration: Always active
Cost: None
Ebenezer - Determine the exact species and parameter or any creatures in range.
Range: 50 meters
Duration: 10 minutes
Cost: 1 Burden
Wrath of Elohim - Deal 8d6+Agility fire damage to a single target and Burn them. Double the damage if undetected.
Range: 50 meters
Duration: 1 Attack
Cost: 2 Burdens(Can be used so long as any Burdens remain.)
Historical setting:
While Israel reclaimed the land of Abraham’s inheritance, the tabernacle with the Arc was located at Shiloh. During the time of the young Prophet Samuel and the head priest Eli, there was a battle with the Philistines a day’s journey away ar Ebenezer (stone of help/divine aid). Isreal was fairing poorly so brought out the Arc for aid like in the battle of Jericho. Israel lost badly and the Philistines captured the Arc and kept it for 7 months before getting tired of the constant plagues that occurred in each city they tried to store it and returned it to Israel.
Bio:
Born Sarah of the tribe of Levi, she spent her time caring for her siblings while father officiated in the tabernacle, and sneaking out to practice archery with her secret boyfriend from the tribe of Zebulon.
Then the Philistines attacked, and were winning. Father was detailed to be a bearer bringing the holy Arc of the Covenant into battle, and her boyfriend was called up from reserve to join the honor guard. News came back of defeat and death. Didn’t want to believe it and snuck out to search for father and boyfriend herself. She found crows with a scrap of Levitical robes and tracked down the source. Cried out when she found bloody crow pecked bodies still clutching the broken pole of the Arc and a familiar bow. Her grief gave her away to philistinian scavengers nearby.
Outnumbered and without arrows, she called up to heaven for aid, and a Seraphim decended from heaven on fiery wings directly onto Sarah. In sudden fear she lashed out and fire engulfed her. When her vision cleared, the men were burnt to a crisp, as was the remains of the Israelite dead around her. then she realized she and the bow were on fire, but not getting burned.
She couldn’t return home and risk burning everyone, so fled to the wilderness with the bow. After a long time of practice, and burned out campsites, she began to control the power of the burning one. She no longer visibly burned, except for her right eye, which she kept covered. But she remained sensitive to heat and was able to sense when other sources of heat were near. With her right eye uncovered, she could determine who deserved the wrath of heaven. And with her new bow she could imbue it with her Heavenly fire and strike down her targets.
Reborn in fire, she changed her name to Seraphina, and took to stalking the Philistines who invaded her home and secretly struck down their commanders from the shadows and delighted when they screamed about how it was fire from Elohim himself.
Then counterforce recruited.
