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Lord Saladin
12-17-08, 03:02 AM
Name: Savannah Matheson

Age: 20

Race: Human

Hair Colour: Brown

Eye Colour: Green

Height: 5 foot 5

Weight: 8 Stone (112 lbs)

Occupation: Serf, serving in Lord's small military force.

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual

Personality:

An intelligent woman, she thinks perhaps a little too much, and is often seen as a quiet sort of girl. As a soldier, she shows great prowess with the limited technology of her land - and can easily see the workings of siege engines etc.

Drawing heavily on logic, she has a rather noticeable intolerance for things she sees as illogical, and will express her opinion with a quiet poise and stark demonstration of her intelligence.

Her logic dictates that she is very utilitarian in nature - everything must have a purpose. As such, her preference lies in the minimalistic.

However, this all changes, rather dramatically, when around her brother, Sebastian, who incites within her a deep, passionate dislike, perhaps even bordering on hatred. Her quiet composure changes into a loud, brash arrogance and obvious irritation. The change is so dramatic, some would even go so far as to suggest that the girl has two beings living inside her.

Weapons:

A simple broadsword, the blade made of steel, hilt wrapped in cords of leather, similar to the leather than makes the scabbard.

Armour:

Arm braces: Made of a tanned, toughened leather, they cover her forearms, fastened with multiple cords of similar leather.

Leg braces: As the arm braces, covering only her shins, to perhaps an inch below the knee.

Other Equipment:

Boots: Unbecoming and brown, they are the boots of a low level soldier, scuffed and well worn, they are at least comfortable enough not to hinder movement.

Attire: Unkempt and of poor make, the basic soldier's uniform of her Lord's army is taken without colour or badge - a basic tunic and leggings.

Skills/Abilities:

Hand to hand combat: With a slightly higher than average skill in hand-to-hand combat, Savannah tends to apply more of a brawler style to her fighting - mixing something resembling boxing and wrestling.

Swordplay: An expert with a broadsword, she has been trained since childhood with a sword.

NB: The following abilities are currently latent, and will begin to manifest themselves during the tournament, if such are proven necessary.

Elemental abilities:

Savannah possesses the two Elements of Air and Earth. This perhaps represents in her personality, as attributes of the two elements are as follows:

AIR: Intellect, Logic, Technology and Design.

EARTH: Body, Shapes, Health and Physical Needs.

Now, for actual abilities:

Air Magic is the magic not only of wind and lightning, but of the intellect and its creations and manipulations of the physical world. Spells involving electricity, technology, and intelligence are all Air Magic, as are magics related to mind control, contact, and reading.

As such, the following abilities lie dormant in Savannah, in relation to the Air Element:

*Telekinesis: The ability to move objects with the mind, or seemingly so, it actually stems from shifting currents in the air surrounding the object in question. Savannah will be able to lift up to her own body weight in this manner.

*Lightning: The ability to make lightning strike from the air to a given target - the lightning isn't as strong as 'natural' lightning and will only cause a three second paralysis, but without any pain.

*Telepathy: Being able to communicate through the mind - This is mainly going to manifest itself through her brother. Other elements of telepathy include:
*Mind Control: Or rather, suggestion... Planting ideas into the heads of others, carrying more influence than just simply stating it, she will also need to speak the suggestion. Will only work on those with weak minds, or who are exhausted mentally. ((OOC Note: Players have the choice whether to succumb to the suggestions of Savannah.))
*Mind Reading: Again, will manifest ACTUAL mind reading in the form of communication with her brother, but will also display in the form of being able to read the movements of opponents in an attempt to guess their movements... This is something that requires training, so her success rate will be no more than 10% in accurately guessing future movements.

Earth Magic is the magic not only of soil and metal and rock, but also of the physical body, of plants, and of health and physical needs. Any attempt to reshape a body, directly alter health for good or ill, grow or kill plants, and so on is Earth Magic.

As such, the following abilities lie dormant in Savannah, in relation to the Earth Element:

*Manipulation of Environment: Changing surface structure, ie: Making rocks grow up from the ground, changing the consistency of rocks/earth/sand etc to make pools of quicksand, and all similar things. Being able to weaken areas of rock, traps can be laid that are no larger than three feet in diameter.

*Metal Adaptation: Any metal in the area can have its shape changed through the Earth Element; twisted, stretched, flattened, etc. Only metals rating from steel to Damascus can be affected by this ability.

*Life Manipulation: This ability is directly related to plant life. Making plants grow, changing the direction in which they grow, speeding up growth, and also killing plants. The effects of this magic take some time to finalise and take effect, getting slower the more she utilises it.

*Healing: The ability to heal minor injuries, or lessen more serious wounds. ((EDIT: Used only as justification for healing between rounds))

***PLEASE NOTE: All above mentioned Elemental abilities will be of minimal skill, and will take a severe physical and mental toll, tiring out Savannah quickly***

History:

The story of Savannah Matheson begins with her father, Arthur. Arthur Matheson was a Captain in the Royal Guard, protecting the palace of the King Arundel, serving for many years, he was a master of the blade, and a great tactician. Revered for his combat skill, Arthur was a well known soldier, and respected by both the civility and Royal guard equally, he was a loyal servant to the Royal family.

However, Arundel was without child, and upon the King's death, a civil war ensued, as various factions vied for position of ruler of the land. Some twenty five years on, the land is still in a state of civil war, though it is now more stagnant, and several Lords and Barons have dominion over sections of the land. Arthur, unfortunately, was victim to the Civil War, and threatened with the death of his lover, he swore fealty to some minor Lord, who put Arthur to work as a serf. Tending land and living on only the bare minimum required to live, in terms of food, water and shelter, he impregnated another serf three years after being held captive - his true love held in the Lord's house, as concubine.

His children, twins, Savannah and Sebastian, were also threatened when the Lord, a rather cruel man, found out, and Arthur was forced to become a soldier, though still under serf rules and living conditions. Bartering with the Lord, he managed to have his children enrolled in the army, as well receive an education.

So it was that Savannah received training in the sword from not long after she could walk. Along with her twin brother, Savannah learned how to fight and wage war. Though never truly being in battle, Savannah is known as a fantastic swordsman.

She has a particular dislike for her brother, something that has been in existence since she was little; his entire being offends her - the way he thinks, the way he acts, his mindset, and his sexual preferences.

It was at a young age Savannah realised she was more attracted to women than men, and her brother's own preference is entirely illogical to her. It grates against he conscience in a way that brings out a side of her personality that throws logic to the wind. This is, perhaps, also a part of her dislike, though she would never admit to such.

Always competing with her brother and the others in the army, she wants only to be the best. Logic stands to her that, if she is to rise to a position she deserves, becoming the best is the most pertinent method of achieving her goal.

A truly intelligent woman, she is one of only a few within the serfdom that is literate, this has given her an arrogant outlook, and it shows quite plainly in her manner and attitude.

It was during a sparring session with her much hated brother that the girl was caught within one of the many traps designed to bring fighters to Althanas for the Tournament. She knows not where she is, but will fight for the chance to prove herself.

Petoux
12-17-08, 05:35 AM
Love the character. If this is approved, want to team up with me?

My link to my character is in my sig. I'll post it in the main thread too.

Lord Saladin
12-17-08, 06:36 AM
Whilst I am deeply honoured that you like my character, Vegna, and want to team up with me, I have to inform you that I already have a team mate.

He will be playing Savannah's brother, Sebastian, but has yet post a profile. I suspect, though, he will do so by the end of today.

Ataraxis
12-17-08, 07:43 AM
First off, welcome to Althanas and the ToC, Saladin!

Second of all, Vegna: while I appreciate your enthusiasm, and while Saladin will no doubt take well to your compliment, it is a general courtesy (and rule (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=17821)) not to post in other people's profile, for the sake of keeping things in order. You're absolutely free to discuss this in the Waffle House by making a general 'ToC Character Appreciation' Thread, or by contacting Saladin.

Now, back to the profile: I will be taking care of it, so here's to working together!

*Telekinesis: - How much could she lift, using this? I would suggest no more than 120 pounds. If you also use this ability to create a telekinetic blast, it can cause, 1X to 2X the damage of an average man's punch.

*Lightning: - It can't be as strong as a real lightning bolt, since in many cases, the opponent would be KOed in one hit. Therefore, a person without adequate defenses would feel severe pain upon being struck by this bolt, and would be stunned for an average of five seconds. She has difficulty hitting moving targets.

*Mind Control: - As long as your opponent has the choice of being affected or not, it's fine. Of course, an opponent that consistently resists this without any realistic explanation would get points docked in the Judging Rubric's Action category.

*Mind Reading: - She can read surface thoughts, but her ability to eavesdrop on more complicated plans and tactics is low.

*Manipulation of Environment: - She cannot melt rocks, as that would require far too much heat, though greatly weakening them to make traps like pitfalls is okay. On top of the other things you listed, she could also grind rocks into sand over a certain amount of time, and as you said, it will take a great toll on her mind. I won't impose a size or weight limit of the things she can manipulate, but I trust you'll be reasonable.

*Metal Adaptation: - There's a high risk of abuse with this ability, as you could destroy any metallic weapon and armor, magical or not, without prejudice. Metals from common steel up to the equivalent of Damascus (http://www.althanas.com/world/showpost.php?p=108524&postcount=3) can be more easily affected by this skill, but anything above will become increasingly more difficult to affect (About +25% failure rate for each tier above Damascus, so a 75% failure rate for Titanium (or its equivalent), and 100% for Mythril (http://www.althanas.com/world/showpost.php?p=108524&postcount=3) and Prevalida (http://www.althanas.com/world/showpost.php?p=108524&postcount=3) (or their equivalent)). Enchanted (or highly advanced) items should be somewhat harder to affect, too.. These percentages are only to help you and your opponents see how likely it is for her to succeed.

*Life Manipulation: - It's fine as long as none of the effects are quite instantaneous. As such, she wouldn't make a vine grow into an entangling forest after one post. She could create two or three entangling vines in one post, though, or kill all natural plants in a set radius in a same time-span. Were she to face a plant-like opponent, though, she would require more time and energy for any of the effects to take place.

*Healing: - I'll allow her to also cure moderate wounds. As for the healing between rounds, the Organizers will provide that, should your character ask for it.

Make those changes and you're good to go, though I'm always willing to make compromises if you have good reasons!

Lord Saladin
12-17-08, 11:16 AM
Thank you Ataraxis, your feedback is greatly appreciated. I have made the changes you suggested, and perhaps limited them further than you said... I want to play this tournament out with as little power as possible.

I do, however, have one question... In terms of healing... When you say you allow Savannah to heal moderate wounds, do you mean in-match? I only put healing into the profile so that it is there for reference in terms of the character, and I saw in another thread that healing was justified by between rounds only.

I don't personally want healing in-match, to be honest... But I just want to clarify before I change anything.


There is, of course, only a small chance ANY of these abilities actual appear at all.

Ataraxis
12-17-08, 11:45 AM
Not a problem! With the edits you made, your character is rather weaker than a level 5 (or a level 4, for that matter), but there's nothing wrong with that. Makes it more interesting to see how she'll get out of trouble!

And yes, I meant in-match. I'm not aware of any ban on healing in battle, considering that such a thing would make any potential 'healer' character obsolete. I think you're referring to when Christoph said "only if you want your characters healed between rounds." So if you want character to start Round 2 fully-healed, you can claim that the tournament organizers healed her before it started.

But if you don't want to heal during a battle, it's also fine. I don't see any trouble with her having the ability to heal moderate wounds, as I've seen some level 5 characters with the skill to regenerate moderate wounds within a few posts, before.

In any case, since you said you'd rather not have it, then there are no further changes to make!

You are hereby approved!