Shadow Angelus

[Edsel]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Oh I certainly intend to keep Clades and Replicants in the game, and I believe that Clades should be much more prevalent than the purely human-looking Replicants. I like the logic about most Replicants being Clades since it makes them easily identifiable by those who cooked them up. It makes good sense that megacorps would use this sort of visual identifier.

 

Androids I am not sure about. If I want to use one in a game then I will. If I never get around to it, so be it. With AI being possible and the advanced level of cybernetics there is certainly no technical reason that androids can't exist. The human paranoia about AIs becoming too powerful is a more likely cause for their development to be curtailed.

[Eosin]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

It think we are all mixing up terms.

 

Clades: beings grown from DNA. Clones. Organic beings.

Cybergrafts/Cyborg: once organic beings who have had bio or mechanical cyberware added to for enhancement, recreation, or medical reasons. Some fraction of them remains organic.

Androids/Bioroids/Replicants/Megadyne: Biosynthetic beings. They may appear to be human or machine but they have no DNA.

 

Kiddy was a cyborg. Wire was an Android.

 

Android is the original term which is why I am using it. Data was an android, Cylons are androids, and Terminators are androids. Kiddy is NOT an android. In Appleseed the Bioroids are Androids but Briareos is a Cyborg.

 

So, to my understanding K5, Angelus, and Silent Mobius all have Androids - they just like to call them different names. They each have cyber-enhanced individuals that I will call cyborgs but other terms may be applicable such as cybergraft. I'll use android in my descriptions to keep unified terminology that is clear in meaning but in game Edsel may decide to call them "Pink Daffodils" for all I know.

 

I have not read Watson's outline of Angelus - just Edsels.

[Eosin]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Note that an Android could be made to look like a Clade. They could be made to look like a Rancor or Jabba the Hutt - that would depend on their mission. A military issue clade would look human for a multitude of reasons but mist specifically so that command and control doesn't just nuke the site from orbit when they hit the battlefield. You don't advertise officers for the same reason.

 

And Android built for pleasure would most likely look human unless it was being custom built for a specific customer who wanted something different.

 

Mission profile would determine appearance.

[Eosin]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

On the way back from the gym this morning I was thinking about conflict in the setting. Some very interesting thoughts (to me anyway).

 

BENELOVENT

Humanists: Those who look to mankind for answers [use science, knowledge, and adaptability to confront the enemy. Includes espers.]

Transcendents: Those who seek to become more than human [use technology and cyber to augment mankind. Includes cyborgs.]

Adherents: Those who look to outside forces [use magic and faith to battle the enemy. Includes wizards and crusaders]

 

SELFISH

Traditionalists: Gain power through traditional paths of greed and exploitation on the masses. Includes Corporations.

Machinists: Those who feel that the human condition is limiting and only through a total embrace of technology can we become more than human. Includes Cyborgs, Androids, and Computer freaks.

Zealots: Reject the earthly rewards to enforce religious doctrine.

Minions: Seek to bring forth the entities to gain power or to serve.

 

Other "evils" would include the addicted, psychopaths,etc... people who do evil to further a personal need rather than a philosophical goal.

 

Few people fall entirely into one category... A Minion may use Traditionalist means to place people under their power but the money and influence is a path to the goal not the actual goal.

[Edsel]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

I have not read Watson's outline of Angelus - just Edsels.

Most of the Angelus stuff I have put into the campaign document was cut and pasted from Susano's Shadows Angelus worldbook. I assume that most of this came from Watson. If that is the case then, more or less, you have read Watson's outline. The changes that I made were subtle.

[Susano]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

It think we are all mixing up terms.

 

Clades: beings grown from DNA. Clones. Organic beings.

Cybergrafts/Cyborg: once organic beings who have had bio or mechanical cyberware added to for enhancement, recreation, or medical reasons. Some fraction of them remains organic.

Androids/Bioroids/Replicants/Megadyne: Biosynthetic beings. They may appear to be human or machine but they have no DNA.

 

Kiddy was a cyborg. Wire was an Android.

 

Android is the original term which is why I am using it. Data was an android, Cylons are androids, and Terminators are androids. Kiddy is NOT an android. In Appleseed the Bioroids are Androids but Briareos is a Cyborg.

 

So, to my understanding K5, Angelus, and Silent Mobius all have Androids - they just like to call them different names. They each have cyber-enhanced individuals that I will call cyborgs but other terms may be applicable such as cybergraft. I'll use android in my descriptions to keep unified terminology that is clear in meaning but in game Edsel may decide to call them "Pink Daffodils" for all I know.

 

I have not read Watson's outline of Angelus - just Edsels.

 

I think the problems is we're using terms for technology that doesn't exist.

 

To clarify my position, here's the K5 take on it:

 

Clades: Don't exist. The term is "replicate," as in "replicated lifeform." Replicates are organic beings grown from a DNA pattern.

Cybergrafts/Cyborg: Short for "cybernetic organism." Generally assumed to mean a human with a cybergraft upgrade (i.e. 60% or more of the body is cybernetic.)

Androids/Bioroids/Replicants/Megadyne: Bioroids and replicants are the same as replicated humans (see "Clade"). Androids/Megadynes are purely mechanical beings and are called "cyberdroids." They are not self aware.

 

Angelus, in my experience, didn't have Androids. There were humans, cybernetically augmented humans, cyborgs, espers, and clades. You can also have supernatural beings, but now we're off-topic.

[Eosin]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Interesting.

 

I'd assumed that bioroids were artificial but with a quick bit of research they are grown from DNA stock. Replicants (as in Blade Runner) are not nearly so clear cut, probably because of the era of production when less was known about some of our tech advances. Currently a quick PRCA would give us DNA data but in 1982 those types of tests were unknown.

 

I'll go with it just to avoid being contrary.

 

Thanks for hanging with me and helping to clear it up.

 

That does leave some questions for Edsel. Namely, are there human form clades? I would suspect that they would be illegal but that corporations and governments would want human form for espionage and that there would be a lucrative market for pleasure models.

 

I'd suggest that we run them as Blade Runner with the following additions. 95% are tagged clades with inhuman appearance (mostly animal features but also some with unnatural hair or eyes). 4% are military/espionage models with human form. 1% are the highly lucrative and highly illegal human pleasure models. The general public does not know of the human form clades but high ranking military and espionage personnel do (this includes some corporate types).

 

There are several ways they could have engineered sterility. The cheapest would be minor surgery around birth. This would be reversible with another minor surgery (to get the high number of clades we need). Genetically engineering them to not have reproductive ability is also possible but would almost require hormone therapy for them to develop (ditto for no sex organs).

 

Yeap, that solves our issue else where.

[Susano]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Interesting.

 

I'd assumed that bioroids were artificial but with a quick bit of research they are grown from DNA stock. Replicants (as in Blade Runner) are not nearly so clear cut, probably because of the era of production when less was known about some of our tech advances. Currently a quick PRCA would give us DNA data but in 1982 those types of tests were unknown.

 

In K5 genetic upgrades and replicates have DF: Genetic Markers in DNA. This means that blood, hair, and skin fragments, once tested, will tell you what you're dealing with.

[Susano]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

That does leave some questions for Edsel. Namely, are there human form clades? I would suspect that they would be illegal but that corporations and governments would want human form for espionage and that there would be a lucrative market for pleasure models.

 

I'd suggest that we run them as Blade Runner with the following additions. 95% are tagged clades with inhuman appearance (mostly animal features but also some with unnatural hair or eyes). 4% are military/espionage models with human form. 1% are the highly lucrative and highly illegal human pleasure models. The general public does not know of the human form clades but high ranking military and espionage personnel do (this includes some corporate types).

 

In K5 I use the Blade Runner answer for dealing with replicates that look human -- they look too good. They have more grace and beauty than a regular human, so you can often pick them out -- if you know what to look for.

[Steve]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

I'd suggest that we run them as Blade Runner with the following additions. 95% are tagged clades with inhuman appearance (mostly animal features but also some with unnatural hair or eyes). 4% are military/espionage models with human form. 1% are the highly lucrative and highly illegal human pleasure models. The general public does not know of the human form clades but high ranking military and espionage personnel do (this includes some corporate types).

 

Taking your earlier numbers of 2 million Clades in SA, that would mean 20,000 are illegal human appearance models. That seems like an awful lot for a single city. Hunting all of them down would require a large police task force IMHO.

 

 

There are several ways they could have engineered sterility. The cheapest would be minor surgery around birth. This would be reversible with another minor surgery (to get the high number of clades we need). Genetically engineering them to not have reproductive ability is also possible but would almost require hormone therapy for them to develop (ditto for no sex organs).

 

Actually, they could just be naturally sterile due to the combinations of genetics in their makeup rendering them that way as a side effect, like mules are in real life. I believe mules are normal hormonally, but they are sterile. This could also be a rights issue, in that they could only have children through recombinant DNA techniques. Or maybe a small amount of all clades are fertile, somehow evading the mule effect, perhaps 1 in 10,000?

[Eosin]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Taking your earlier numbers of 2 million Clades in SA' date=' that would mean 20,000 are illegal human appearance models. That seems like an awful lot for a single city. Hunting all of them down would require a large police task force IMHO.[/quote']

 

Good call. I hadn't actually figured out the numbers. Figure 3-4 thousand in the vice trade and then double that number who are rogue for one reason or another. 10,000 to 12,000 illegal human form clades. A good portion of those might just be trying to lead normal lives but that is more than enough that Edsel can always pull one out of his hat.

[Eosin]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

We had a switch up at the last minute so it looks like my Gun Bunny concept will get scrapped for a full on wizard.

 

Background for Mirko Song

 

Mirko was used to strangers. His mother had to earn money for food somehow. It isn’t like he ever had a father to provide for him and his mom, so they lived off mom’s charms. Angelus is full of women who have it worse. It is full of young children who have it much worse. Mirko never resented his life. Well, he didn’t until Conrad started coming around. Conrad was a cruel man, cruel to Lily and cruel to Mirko. One night Lily fought back to protect her son and she paid the price.

 

Just before Conrad beat Lily to death he told her that she was never the interest. It had always been the boy. Lily screamed through broken teeth and blood for Mirko to hide. He had to run away and hide.

 

Even at seven Mirko could ghost the streets of Angelus like he owned them. He found food and shelter. He hid but he didn’t hide well enough. Eventually he was taken to a boys shelter. The next few years were spent with dreams of escape.

 

It was the monks of the Red Flower Temple in Beta Sector who coaxed him out of hiding within himself. The temple was just a few blocks from the Boys Home and Mirko watched them in the courtyard instead of attending school. He was fascinated by the grace and the peace he could see in the monks. Brother Gyatsu had a smile that reminded him of his mother, it revealed an inner fire that radiated far more than a normal soul should. In return for the food and shelter at the temple Mirko was expected to work and study. He didn’t get to study the cool stuff, instead the monks taught him to read a write. They taught him as well as any teachers and uncovered the bright young mind inside the dirty body. Mirko had missed many years of formal education but by his 18th birthday it would be very hard to tell.

 

Mirko planned to become a monk. He had started his study of Cantonese and Buddhism. His Sifu worked with him on several internal styles of martial arts and on meditation. Sifu Gyatsu knew that inside Mirko was the something both beautiful and ugly. The beauty and peace was to be kindled like a small flame while the scars were washed away with kindness and deeds. Mirko would have made a good monk. He would have been happy were it not for a “random” encounter with an entity.

 

No one knows what drew the Entity to the Red Flower Temple. They only know that it killed and was seemingly unkillable. Martial arts were no weapon against such an unholy creature. Tragen Kos, a wizard rumored to be among the most powerful in Angelus, sensed the demon and sought to stop it. The Temple was in chaos and flames. Mirko was trapped in the dormitory where the youngest discpels were quartered. The Entity inexorably advanced on his location. Mirko did what he could and saw to it that the children could jump from the window. They would not make it unless the beast was delayed so Mirko did the only thing that he could. He advanced on the creature intent on giving his life to buy time for the children to escape.

 

Tragen saw young Mirko make his stand against the Entity. Like Mirko, Tragen tried to save the young and the innocent – that is when things went horribly awry. Tragen told Mirko to run that he would destroy the creature but as he did he was caught unaware by another Entity. Tragen fought with power and skill but was critically wounded fighting the two creatures. He saved Mirko but it cost him his life. However, Tragen had one more magic to work before he crossed. He had no time to summon his students or his family. He had nothing but his magic - a tradition that stretched back longer than he cared to admit. The power could not die with him. He called Mirko closer.

 

“Will you grant a mans dying wish?” he asked the young monk.

 

Mirko felt the weight of the mans death fast approaching and knew that they had changed places, Mirko should be the one rattling as his body shut down. “Of course, Master. I will do whatever I can to ease your passage. What would you have of me?”

 

Tragen’s eyes closed and he whispered, “Take my hand.”

 

Mirko held the bloody hand of the wizard. It was limp and cool to the touch. Tragen began to chant in a whisper – a low sound that seemed to vibrate in Mirko’s bones. The sound rose as it continued until it seemed that it was the only noise in the world.

 

I stand with the angels. Raphael commands all before me. Gabriel, the watcher, guards behind me . Michael, the flaming sword stands to my right. Uriel, the vengeance of the holy waits on my right. The cardinal directions are closed and sealed. The five flames of the otherworld surround me.

I call upon the spirits that light the earth and heavens. I call upon the angels to witness my deeds. In the name of the spirits of the heavenly bodies and the emanations of the world spirit I relinquish my powers to this worthy vessel. Let my tasks become his tasks. Let my fate become his fate. Let my powers become his.

 

Tragen faded. A sudden cough deep in his chest and he was gone from this world.

 

Mirko was left in the flaming hall. He was left with the power of an arch-wizard but with very little of the knowledge. He sensed instinctively that were he to remain, the Red Flower Temple would suffer for his presence. Once more he looked to the streets of Angelus to provide for him but his stay was brief. Alice Cadbury found him and offered Mirko a new place one where his new powers could help others.

 

Mirko is unsure of himself and of his powers. Despite all his tragedy, his spirit is unbroken. He meditates and seeks to find focus but feels slightly adrift. He should be a monk – not a police officer who command vast arcane powers.

 

[Edsel]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

We are hoping to get this campaign started on May 16th. That's about a month later than I had hoped but it is amazing how things can conspire against the best laid plans.

[Susano]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

XSWAT Officer Jamadigni Renuka in dress uniform.

[Eosin]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Edsel pointed out that we were a group of orphans so I altered my background a little bit to include Mirko's family. I also changed the POV to Mirko in his interview with Director Cadbury.

 

Alice Cadbury crossed her legs as she appraised the young man in front of her. His pop star good looks would certainly help XSWAT with public relations.

 

Across the desk, Mirko Song felt the sweat trickling along his scalp. Who would have imagined him sitting here with one of the most powerful women in Angelus when less than a year ago he was training to become a monk.

 

“I’d like to hear your story candidate Song,” Alice said in a motherly tone that seemed at odds with her position and authority.

 

“Do you want the high points or all of the details Commissioner Cadbury?”

 

She checked her watch. There was a moment of indecision before she touched the badge on her shoulder, “Lini, hold all my calls unless they are urgent. And let me know when I have 15 minutes before my meeting with the City Councilor.”

 

Alice returned her gaze to the young man, “I’d like to hear the whole story. XSWAT is a family and we need to know what we are adopting if we take you on.”

 

Mirko smiled, it was an innocent smile but still dangerous. “I suppose the story doesn’t really start with me. Lidda Song, my Grandmother, was a witch and that seems like a good enough place to start. I mention her because my father has said that he and his brothers are the children of angels. The family legend holds that Grandma Lidda consoled the angel Uriel after the quake that killed so many.” Mirko shrugged. The story seemed far fetched even to him but something supernatural happened to his Grandmother, something that marked his family.

 

“I don’t think anyone actually means that Grandma and Uriel, umm, you know. I’ve thought about it quite a bit and I think that the angel was moved to tears at the loss of so many mortals. I think Grandma Lidda held him while one of God’s greatest servants wept. The tears of an angel are powerful and the tears of Uriel, the Fire of God and mankind’s guardian angel, are powerful indeed. He may have shed one tear, seven tears, or a number uncountable but Grandma Lidda had seven kids so I like to think that he shed seven tears – one for each of my uncles and another for my father.”

 

Mirko leaned back into the cushioned chair as he continued his tale. “No one misses the significance of a witch having seven sons. I still haven’t met all of my uncles and cousins yet but I’ve been told they are an interesting lot.”

 

Mirko wondered if he would ever meet all of his kin? He hadn't met his father until a year ago. Never met any family, except for mom. Heck, he didn't even know he had a family.

 

“I don’t know my mothers intentions. I suppose if we had more time together I would have found out, but she was killed when I was eight years old. Tobias, that’s my dad, said that mom seemed perfect until she disappeared but that Grandma Lidda never liked her much. I don’t know,” he said with a non-committal shrug. “Whatever else she might have been she was good ro me.”

 

Mirko took a long drink from the glass. He stared into the reflections of the water for a few seconds lost in the disconcerting thought that his mother was something more than what he ever imagined. She was his rock in this world and yet he had not known her except with the unquestioning love of a child.

 

“I never knew I had a father. I mean, I know someone had to be my dad but I didn’t know who that person was and mom didn’t talk about him. We had each other and that seemed more than enough. It wasn’t until Conrad started coming around that I ever longed for a father. Mom was afraid of him and I imagined that my father would walk through the door, standing seven foot tall and made of stone, to throw Conrad out. He never did, but I have no doubt after meeting dad that he would have given Conrad a good beating. Anyway, one night things got out of hand. Conrad was always asking me questions. Strange questions about what I saw when I dreamed or what I thought when I saw pictures of Entities. I always wondered why he would show me pictures of creatures sure to inspire nightmares? Heck, I wonder how he even knew what the Entities were much less how he got pictures of them? Anyway, one night he was forcing me to look at more pictures and their were bodies everywhere. I was crying and mother told him to stop. Conrad put the pictures away and told me to go to my room.”

 

“Mom stopped me in the hallway. She took off her ring.” Mirko held up his hand. Colorful tattoos laced across the tops but it was the silver ring with runes that drew Alice Cadbury’s attention. “This ring,” said Mirko.

 

“She whispered a few words. I didn’t know it at the time but she was enchanting the ring.” Mirko looked at the runes enameled into the scarlet face of the ring. “I don’t know much about what this ring is or what powers it may possess but the runes are a script that no one seems to understand. It is arcane, I know that much. Grandma thinks the script is angelic.”

 

“Anyway, back to mom. Conrad and mom began fighting. Then I heard screaming. I went to look, to protect mom, but she saw me and told me to run. She said ‘Hide Mirko. Hide and the ring will protect you. Run away and don’t come back.’”

 

Mirko slumped in the chair, the weight of running while his mother was killed still sat heavily on the young man. There were few sins that one could never forgive yourself for but leaving your mother at the hands of a monster was ranked in the top slot.

 

“I ran. I hid. I don’t like to think about the year I spent on the streets. I think it was a year but it could have been more or less – what did I know, I was eight years old. Eventually I got picked up by a police officer. That landed me in the Clearwater Boys Reformatory. I like to think of that place as my first, hopefully last, taste of hell. A boys home is not a place to send young boys.”

 

“Anyway, just down the street was the Red Flower Monastery. After school I would watch the monks practicing.” Mirko looked up, his golden eyes catching the gaze of Alice Cadbury, “Have you ever watched the monks,” he asked?

 

“No. That’s a shame. There is a serenity in them that other people don’t have. The temple takes after the tradition of the Young Forest Temple in China where Shaolin Kung-Fu and Buddhism were married into a seamless lifestyle. It is a perfect marriage. Focus of mind, body, and soul on harmony with all things. Western religion has it all wrong. If you don’t include all parts of what makes us human towards the comprehension of the divine than we are doomed to only understand a fraction of it. In the west, schools and seminaries stimulate the mind but leave the body fallow soil where sloth and negligence take root.” Mirko smiled as he blushed, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to lecture.”

 

“Anyway, from the first moment I saw the monks practicing in the courtyard I knew what I wanted. I wanted to be a monk. After a month of watching and hoping that someone would talk to me I finally received a visitor. Sifu Gyatsu came to the gate. I had seen them watching me so I knew they were aware of my spying. The Sifu invited me into the temple and performed a tea ceremony with me. We talked for awhile and I asked him if I could learn to fight. He laughed at me in that gradfatherly sort of way and told me that the monks learned to live not to fight or kill. He said if I wanted to learn to live that they would teach me but that it would be many years before I would learn to fight.”

 

“While the rest of the kids in Clearwater learned robbery and thuggery, I stole away time with the monks. They helped me come to terms with my past and to once more begin to look forward to the future. They became my family. I’d be there now, shaved head and all, if it weren’t for an attack on the monastery by an Entity.

 

“I’ve tried to figure it out. You know, why an Entity would attack the Red Flower Temple and it just doesn’t make much sense.”

 

Mirko played with the buttons on his coat, running his fingers along the edge of a seam.

 

“People always try to make things makes sense don’t they? They try to use logic to deduce why the bridge buckled when their children were on it or why the train derails with their wife on board. I think it might be easier for us to swallow if there were some kind of reason rather than simple dumb luck. Everyone wants to believe they are immune to the 'BAMB you're dead' lotto but it just ain’t so and stuff like this cracks the illusion that we are safe and in control of our world.”

 

“Anyway, some of the elder monks were fighting the Entity but martial arts is not much of a weapon against an intelligent, alien creature the size of an elephant. The creature seemed intent on reaching the dormitories where the children sleep. I could see that they were not going to make it to safety. There wasn’t enough time for them to make it out on to the escape and down the ladder.”

 

Mirko leaned forward buttons forgotten, “Director Cadbury have you ever known you were going to die. Wait, I don’t mean like the cognitive awareness that some day this Earth will be without your grace but that right here, right now – you are about to discover the afterlife in an up close and personal way? That’s how I felt. I shut the firedoor to the dorm and turned to face the Entity with a crowbar that I had found on the ground. I knew that this was futile but if it stopped for a minute then the others would have a chance to get away. I didn’t really think about it much or what that really meant for my long term prospects of becoming a monk. It just happened.”

 

“About that time Tragen Kos entered the picture. I think you know more about him than me. I am not even sure how he managed to arrive in time but somehow his mystical awareness warned him of the Entity attack. Who knows, maybe he was in the neighborhood taking a walk? Kos told me to run but I was trapped. I could not open the door and I could not sneak past the Entity so I stood my ground while Kos unleashed his wizardly powers.”

 

“That was the first time I ever saw magic in use. I know mom did magic and now I know that Grandma does magic but this was the magical full monte – fires, planetary emanations, bindings, and all that cool stuff like you see on video walls. It sang to me. I could feel it in my blood. I didn’t realize that others didn’t feel magic the way I did until much later.”

 

“Where was I? Yeah, the magical assault. Kos had the Entity whipped but there was a second Entity. It was human form and powerful. It got the drop on Kos cause I didn’t realize what it was in time to shout a warning. Suddenly Kos was hurt and this new Entity, the shadow man, was unleashing magic of his own. I got knocked down and dazed in one of the explosions and when I came to the creatures were gone. Kos was alive but barely. I don’t know how he was alive, most of his guts were simply gone. It was horrid. He kept waving me over like this.”

 

Mirko tried to imitate the wave for director Cadbury.

 

“Honestly, I hesitated for a moment thinking that he would just give up and die and then I wouldn’t have to watch him pass but he didn’t give up. So, I crawled over to him.”

 

“Will you grant a mans dying wish?” Tragen asked me.

 

“The man had died saving me, what the hell could I say? Of course, Master, if it is within my ability.”

 

“I remember that the wizard closed his eyes. I actually thought he was dead until I heard him whisper, 'Take my hand.' One hand was nearly gone so I took the other, the one he had waved me over with. I felt him press something hot into my palm but then he began to chant.”

 

Mirko leaned back into the chair. His eyes searching for the words used by the dying wizard.

“I stand with the angels. Raphael commands all before me. Gabriel, the watcher, guards behind me . Michael, the flaming sword stands to my right. Uriel, the vengeance of the holy waits on my right. The cardinal directions are closed and sealed. The five flames of the otherworld surround me.

 

I call upon the spirits that light the earth and heavens. I call upon the angels to witness my deeds. In the name of the spirits of the heavenly bodies and the emanations of the world spirit I relinquish my powers to this worthy vessel. Let my tasks become his tasks. Let my fate become his fate. Let my powers become his.”

 

“We were both wrapped in a green-gold light and then suddenly it and the wizard were gone. Kos let out a rattling noise from deep in his chest and I could tell that he was dead.”

 

Mirko’s hand touched the cold silver metal of the Eye of Horus Amulet, “I found this pressed into my hands and my senses were different. Kos had passed his arcane heritage to me rather than let them fade with him.”

 

“Dad showed up even before the battle was over. I knew who he was the moment I saw him. Grandma Lidda had felt me in the battle. She said she could feel the spark of angelic blood in me and knew that I was one of hers. I suppose mom never let on that she was pregnant. I know Grandma enough to know that nothing would have kept her from me if she had even a hint that there was a grandson out there. She is protective that way.”

 

“Dad and Uncle Cornelius made sure everyone was safe and then got me away from the Temple.”

 

“There isn’t much left to tell. I’ve begun study as a mage with Grandma but it has been slow going. At least it seems that way to me but Grandma says that I am unglodly powerful but ignorant as a duck’s footprint. She also says that our line does not produce wizards, only witches. Dad and his brothers have talents but that is about the extent of it.”

 

Mirko looked at Alice once more, “I don’t rightfully know what I am. I don’t know where all of the pieces fall together. I do know that I cannot be a monk. Not now. I’ll never be a spell for hire and that leaves me very few other paths. I suppose I could work with Grandma but she warns me to stay away from the Entities. Director Cadbury, they have plagued me all my life – and I am not that old. I’d like a spot on XSWAT. I’d like to make sure that my children know Entities only as fictional bogey men who have gone the way of the dinosaur.”

 

Mirko sat back just as the comm went off, “Director Cadbury, you have 15 minutes.”

 

Early the next morning Mirko smiled as he reported to the XSWAT Training facility.

[Susano]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Edsel pointed out that we were a group of orphans so I altered my background a little bit to include Mirko's family. I also changed the POV to Mirko in his interview with Director Cadbury.

 

Why would Jama's cat interview....

 

...

 

...

 

Never mind.

[watson]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Awesome!

[Edsel]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Randy, I assume that this is your finalized history? It looks good. I guess I need to get around to posting the history of the other 4 characters. Maybe I can do that during my lunch hour. I may have to attach Donn's as a file since its a Word document about 6 or 7 pages long.

[Eosin]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Yeap, this if my final answer.

 

Now I can see about getting back to work on some actual parts of Angelus. I've taken to reading about the genre (urban fantasy) and some of the future cities. Getting ideas on what might be cool.

 

List of Angelus ideas:

Mystic World

1. A few book stores dealing with exotics.

2. A "SUPERmarket" for purchasing supernat stuff like "breath of an angel" and "water from the Dead Sea" and "dust from a fairy mound."

3. A few restaurants that cater to the needs of wizards.

4. A neutral grounds where arcane combat is prohibited.

5. Zones that are controlled or protected by different wizardly factions.

6. A church or two devoted to arcane parishioners.

7. A few examples of arcane academies [Doashan Temple, The Avalon Building, The Orange Tree [voodoo], Crofton House for Girls]

Each of these might have both low tech and high tech versions for wizards with technological disruption fields.

 

Psychic World

1. Black market esper pharmacy.

2. Social Clubs [The Rogue, High Frequency, Lucidity]

3. Esper Tech Stores

4. Esper Agents [represent freelance and rogue Espers for mercenary work]

5. Esper Vice: telepathic or telekinetic slaves... psidrugs that induce a closed euphoria in psi's. Psidrugs that grant other Psitrips for a limited time.

6. Eudora Hall: School for girls... with psi powers.

7. Padua House: secret shelter for runaway espers.

 

Cybernetic World

1. Repairs and Upgrades

2. Black Market Repairs and Upgrades

3. Special Accommodations [Cyber Restaurants, Clubs, Motels, ect that are designed to take the special needs of cyborgs into account]

4. Cyber Agents [represent freelance and rogue cyborgs for mercenary work]

5. Cybergangs [organized crime groups and mercenaries that specialize in the use of cyborgs]

6. The Bowery Spa [a resort and spa for cyborgs]

7. Pacific Restorations [specialize in returning a human appearance to cyborgs who want to be normal again]

 

Eugenics World

1. Better Babies: front for black market super engineering of unborn children

2. AGE: Alliance for Genetic Equality: equal rights for clades organization

3. Atlantis Project: Underground railroad for clades.

4. The Golden Path: Clade movement to usurp man as the dominant species, to protect mankind from himself. Spoof off Dune.

5. Blueprint Inc: upgrade your house! Offer numerous treatments to enhance adult humans.

6. Praetorians: Human form warrior bred to serve as bodyguards to corporate and governmental elite.

7. Idaho Tap: A restaurant and bar that caters to Clade clients. Few normals are welcome on premises and powerful clade bouncers ensure that there is no trouble [near the Rho sector].

[Edsel]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

I decided to wait until the first game (this Saturday) before I post any of the other character back stories. A few of the players may want to have a "big reveal" at the game. In the meantime if any of them want to post they can and I'll post the remaining stories Saturday evening.

[Susano]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Edsel,

Are there finished histories, backstories, and setting details (as well as art) you can send me to put up on the SA III page? I'll have it up by Sunday.

[Edsel]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

I am emailing a package of stuff in a few minutes.

 

EDIT: I just sent it from my workplace so it'll be from a state.ok.gov domain.

[Edsel]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

I just emailed you a bunch of pictures (from my cox.net account) to go with the previous stuff.

[Eosin]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

Edsel - I have about another 100 images to send you but I don't want to explode the Yahoo account. I may just see if I can put them on my jump drive and bring it over Saturday.

[Eosin]

Re: Shadow Angelus

 

We had the first game tonight. Quite the surprise when the first thing we went "bump" with turned out to be a Class II entity. The characters are fun. There are likely to be some interpersonal issues with at least two of the PCs that will result in some friction (a good thing to me), And, there is a strong hook placed right at the outset.

 

Thumbs Up!