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Styles
12-22-13, 02:03 PM
Name: Gattison Ahaen'Óre; The Virulent Heart
Age: Unrevealed
Race: Half-elf Berserker
Hair Color: Blackish-brown
Eye Color: Deep brown
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 296 lbs.
Occupation: Nomad


Personality:

Inconsistent in the acts of nobility, Gattison favors himself the diplomatic type to the eyes of anyone not from his home lands, often utilizing a politically inclined approach during confrontation and conversation alike. Despite his jaded approach though, he is a valuable attraction in the whims of courtesy, chivalry, and the higher echelon classes of privileged society, and very secure in his state of being, unrelenting in his assured behavior. Often cordial beyond the bounds of necessity, he is verbose, far from egotistical, and hosts a variant of enigmatic and nearly unintelligible ways of thought. He is, for all intents and purposes, an extrovert; quite friendly unto those whom he finds have the ability to accept an outsider without compromise, often trusting of his comrades to a near fault, and an intellectual to those who seek someone to privy themselves a delving conversation on most subjects. He is an intelligent half-man, though not as charismatic as most would assume at first glance, and relies mostly on his words these days as his weapon when engaging in the suspicious rather than the bloodied head of a war hammer. His calculating and precise persona represents but a fraction of his infinitely churning way of thinking...

Virulent, however, has been widely utilized in description to his rather breath taking affliction. His alternative is not exactly opposite his social persona, but harvests all of the dissenting attitude one may suspect of an acrimonious and virulent, vile, violent being. He becomes disturbingly forward, violent, brash, and on occasion even engages in small quips and taunts when allowing himself the pleasure of purposely delving into his hearts' curse. The waters of the Virulent Heart are very shallow and at a moments notice may be triggered, offering an extreme, yet sound-of-mind, creature of war feared widely and recognized as a state similar to that of a berserker.


Appearance:

Deeply bronzed features aiding in the appearance of a "rugged" outdoors type beget the half-elf, with a head topped by short, blackish-brown hair occasionally glistening with miniscule shades of silvery grey under direct moonlight. His similarly colored, stubbled facial hair blends almost perfectly to his stout facial features; Ears slightly elongated and come to a noticeable point, adding depth to his already strong jawline, and collecting his seemingly dark visage beneath heavy eyebrows. His general physique is deceptively lithe when considering how substantial his weight is. Overall his embodiment hosts a wiry yet solid figure; a frame conducting aesthetically pleasing musculature without holding a brutish, hulking form which placates well with his militaristic postures and movements. Looking closely, under the right lighting or a correct mood, one may take notice to the amber hued refractions which summon a scintillating effect within his eyes, one which could be hypnotic if such a passive mind were to exist.

He wears very simple, ordinary garb; often wearing no upper clothing save for a weathered leather strap meeting at cross sections across the right of his chest that serves as the holding for the satchel at his hip. Loose, flowing, breathing fatigues of unknown material and off-white in hue cover his lower body, hiding anything he may choose to conceal within them, and finally donning a pair of simple brown and worn boots, also of unknown material. Traditionally his kine wore ornate armor, yet he has chosen not to wear such things and considers himself well enough without them being "in his way".


Skills:

Practiced in multiple tongues of the elven language

Eidetic memory and supremely literate

Proficient strategist

Expertise in a multitude of offensive hand-to-hand forms of combat

Expertise in the field of grappling, wrestling, throws, and other pacifying martial skills

Highly proficient in the use of short ranged melee weaponry: feral knives, daggers, clubs, maces, axes, etc.

Moderate proficiency in ranged weaponry that do not include the use of a bow

Expert marksmanship with a bow and arrow

Expertise with two handed War Maul's

Extraordinary athleticism, predatory guile, cunning, and acrobatic agility

Naturally adept survival skills in numerous climates and conditions


Abilities:

1.) Temporary Berserker's Rage - Celerital Movement: Gattison, through practice, has learned to control his violent curse that is most commonly referred to as a Berserker on the battlefield by triggering it at will. He need merely taste a drop or two of his own blood, usually by biting down on his tongue, to trigger this state of being. This rage of the heart enables Gattison a level of accelerated movement and thought processing surpassing that of an ordinary human by at least double the average rate, while still able to retain his sentience.

At his current level, it takes the effort of serious threat coupled with already accumulating anger at possible defeat for him to purposely trigger this and utilize his accelerated state of being. His control over his movements at such increased levels are somewhat shaky at this point, and inertia often takes precedence when moving this quickly.

Each gain in level will grant him approximately a 1/4 increase in speed and agility, at a limit of eight times the average human rate without losing sentience, and gaining fuller control over his movements without being subject to atmospheric friction and inertia. Beyond that, he begins to reach his limit of retaining himself and losing to the rage of the Berserker within, increasing the chances of losing himself to the curse on his heart, in his blood, and falling victim to the unknown forces that drive the rage forth.


2.) Attunement to Earth - Hardened nature: Gattison has enabled himself the mystical properties of earth; he is able to tap into the core power of nature beneath him via raw and unrelenting power, granting him strength in times of duress, unshakeable stability, and endurance against physical attacks and natural elements.

At this level, so long as both feet remain touching the ground in some fashion without Gattison breaking contact, he would feel extraordinarily strong and all but immovable against a single foe at double his size trying to forcibly displace him from his current position through physical means. Metaphorically, it is as if he were rooted to the ground. Although disrupting the ground through mystical and/or magickal means may impede the effectiveness of this ability, it would require an upheaval of great magnitude for it to suffice, as this ability attunes Gattison to the earth, and opponents have to fight the nature of the element itself rather than Gattison's willpower.

Each gain in level would grant him one substantial increment of bodily strength and/or stability (whichever description is more befitting), starting at double that of a normal human. At higher levels, Gattison would be able to utilize this ability without so having to remain touching the ground, effectively becoming one with the earth and giving him a core stability even if he were airborne.


3.) Resilience through Regeneration - Passive Self-Healing: Gattison has a natural resilience to injury through the function of his Attunement to Earth ability; physical damage must usually be so extreme it would certainly cause death to a normal person before crippling the Virulent Heart. Even so, mystical weapons, blades of infinite sharpness, extreme climate conditions, lethal toxins and poisons, and other unnatural functions of destruction still pose a serious threat to the half-man. With this ability he retains an accelerated rate of self-healing that allows him quick recovery from most cuts and abrasions, concussive blows, some natural poisons and toxins, and extreme climate conditions (such as burns, freezing climates, etc).

At this level he is able to passively heal himself of what one would consider a normal injury on a regular human being at a rate of approximately half the normal time, and mend broken bones in days rather than weeks or months. Although he may focus on healing the injury solely, it comes at a cost.

At each level gain, the passive healing will improve the function of his regeneration by one level of intensity closer to instantaneous healing, halving itself with each increment to a maximum of instantaneous healing against physical attacks and natural conditions. The drawback to this in his vulnerability; Gattison remains vulnerable to other attacks should he sustain an injury that strips him of his natural earth-borne resilience, because the focus of his Attunement to Earth cannot also combine with his passive healing. Therefore he must make a conscious effort to avoid being attacked while allowing his injury to heal or allow the toxins to lose their effect, further risking mortal wounds if the injury is severe enough. If too many injuries are sustained, his healing may become pacified and he loses not only his capable regeneration, but also some of his natural resilience.

At it's highest levels, Gattison may actually steal the life essence of another being in order to heal himself, but can only do so if the injury sustained is so severe it would likely cause death within hours, or even minutes, if not allowed to heal passively for any given reason. Only at this level could Gattison withstand supernatural forces of specialized toxins and poisons, the most heinous climates and conditions, and everything but a complete beheading. It becomes a perfect vampire effect, and thus because the act of stealing the life essence to heal himself is what pulls the life essence, it is for that reason it cannot be tainted. It is at this level that immortality manifests itself through true regeneration, though losing a full limb would certainly require decades to regrow the lost appendage without the help of some supernatural healing process.


Equipment:

A two handed Iron War Maul strapped to his back by an open baldric.

A medium sized leather satchel


History:

To survive your curse is to be abandoned. Not through shame, but through concern. An excerpt from the Virulent Heart himself, abandoning his history for the sake of saving himself from total corruption. Gattison's past reaches a summation easily defined by a single word: Bloody. An outsider, a bastard, abandoned by his gutless father whom feared himself to become manifest through his own flesh and blood. To settle the score, the half-man has a few words to recollect his history into a singular goal. He has chosen exile in his age for the sake of his people.

"Father,

How you would be so ashamed of what has become...of what we are. If the chance came abound we would once be united, I fear your heart may sink into darkness at the despair of these thralls your son has sworn. Had there been better choices perhaps the lesser of all evils would have been wise. Instead....I have become like you. We are the same and with equal no others stand. We share so much more than blood and answers to questions we have yet to ask. So many questions...so much time...so little...

Do you feel it? Do you feel the flame in our hearts ready to pierce through the void they were once cast asunder? How they burn with the fear of never returning...I can still feel the beating of your heart. I may only hope the progeny of your lineage have not usurped the conditions of our fortitude. I have learned of this distinction in our blood. It appeals to us so immensely that it has often claimed dominance over my very consciousness.

...I know what we are. I know what we could always have been if not for the savagery of the Dark Half biding within. This abominable fiend will not keep us from you. That vile creature yearns to force his will upon our fate...to antagonize us eternally until we fall out of existence. I will find you, Father. His Duality will not keep us from uniting. For he will never face the acrimony, the essence of anyone, alive or dead, stronger than I.

I will stake my heart, my spirit, and my very soul on this, Father. I have become like you...only so much more. You, the Desert Beast, a Heartless Dark of a Nightmare in Chains, will never be forgiven this blasphemy beating within us. We are the same...and I will end your linear tyranny once we have united. You will not infect the world through this body, or regale generations to come with a legacy so strewn with hatred. This history is one marked by our blood, and not of our ancestors.

As blood we are one, Dear Father. Through blood I shall define our differences."

Hysteria
12-24-13, 07:00 AM
Hi, and welcome.

In your abilities you mention what will happen in subsequent levels. We repost characters at each level, with their new and upgraded abilities. I don't mind if you leave it in, but it won't necessarily be the case as you level up.

Other than that, it sound like your acrobatic skill might be an ability. What is an example of soothing he could do?

With the Attunement to Earth ability, there were a few terms used, strength, balance and toughness. I think that it sounds like toughness, where he is more able to withstand attacks as well as being harder to knock to the ground. Does he gain strength? Would he be able to lift or hit harder/more?

Styles
12-24-13, 12:12 PM
Hello, and thank you. :D

I did notice that on other profiles in regards to what will happen in subsequent levels at each gain. That was more for personal solidarity so I could remain consistent with the use of the abilities at their respective levels and avoid abusing them.

The acrobatic agility skill I believe is misinterpreted through my misrepresentation because I didn't know what else to describe it as. It is more of an ample, natural dexterity, which stems from the forms of combat styles he uses, to keep his center of gravity correct, consciously. Think of it as a cat-like balance achieved through the concept of sway, which is defined as the relationship through your center of gravity and your base of support. It would not be far fetched for him to do something like a cartwheel, a somersault, or to tuck and roll to dodge something suddenly and remain mostly balanced, still be able to react quickly to additional threats. What it doesn't mean, however, is doing something like a triple back flip with a half-twist, land on one hand, spring up, tuck forward, flip again, triple kick, and then stick the dismount, after evading an aerial flying kick combination from a Harpy Ninja or something, lol. I am open to suggestions on how better to describe this skill; it is a very real, true skill to have and in fact not as difficult to achieve as one may think.

In regards to Attunement to Earth; No, he does not gain more strength in terms of being able to hit harder, hit more, or otherwise produce a level of strength beyond what he couldn't achieve naturally. For instance, he couldn't utilize this ability to lift a two ton boulder off the ground, uproot a tree, flip over a fully loaded caravan, produce a heftier strike, etc. Toughness, I think, is sufficient in describing what I was going for there. It would only make him feel as if he were much stronger to someone else.

I was actually unsure if the natural resilience to physical injury would have been subsequent, stacked, or a separate ability altogether, or not an ability at all. I mentioned its combination effect in the Resilience through Regeneration and just want to be clear on whether or not it is okay to have that extra physical toughness against natural physical attacks because of the stability he gains with Attunement to Earth.

Hysteria
12-24-13, 05:13 PM
You can leave the description of acrobatics as it is, I was just checking how you were going to use it.

Attunement in itself as a stability ability is pretty limited. Having it as an ability that gives him resistance against physical attacks and stability as a second effect seems more suited. You will need to define the amount of damage he can withstand. At the first level it would normally be light damage, so flesh wounds and the like would be less effective. Repeated light attacks should still damage him.

A last note on the rage ability, having no limit on how often he can enter the rage state is fine because it is as strong as the equivalent continuous speed ability. However if you were to give him a constant speed increase at a later level you would need to add a use limit.

If you can add the description of the wounds he can take that will be it!

Styles
12-24-13, 06:04 PM
Excellent! Glad that everything thus far has met your approval.

Yes, light damage, at this level, he could withstand for the most part so flesh wounds and minor bone-fracturing blows would not be as effective against him. His bones would seem more dense and harder to break, and his skin would be more resilient to sharp objects. Sustained and repeated damage, even if light, would be able to break through his natural resilience and begin to effect him though, as you said. So for instance, someone holding a knife to his skin and moving it so as to cause a cut wouldn't break his skin and it would feel as if someone were trying to cut open a solid piece of wood. A quick movement of the same sort would cause a decent scratch, while a swipe, swing, or violent strike with solid contact would cause a cut rather than a laceration. Obviously something sinister like a great sword wielding Cave Troll would be something smarter to avoid rather than try to endure, lol. He can still lose limbs and appendages, and the softer tissues such as his eyes, area behind the ears, throat, and joints are more susceptible. Stabbing wounds would work in a similar fashion; slowly trying to stab him by placing the point of the object on his skin and pressing would be met with a seemingly impenetrable resistance, suddenly trying to stab him would create a mild puncture, and violently attempting to stab him would allow penetration, but not as potentially lethal as it could have been. Does that paint a better picture? If not I can try to come up with something more fitting.

In regards to the rage use limit; He only has a speed increase when he is utilizing the ability, otherwise he moves normally and no more quickly that he naturally would under a given circumstance, including at later levels. It's not meant to increase movement speed in total; He wouldn't be able to sustain the accelerated movement for a time period more than it would take for him to eliminate and/or escape the situation, for instance. So effectively it is a controlled Burst of speed rather than an overall increase in accelerated movement, and would remain so as a constant despite the gains level. The possible gains at higher levels just means he can move more rapidly within that Burst of speed, with fuller control.

Hysteria
12-24-13, 06:23 PM
Sounds good, I look forward to seeing him in action. Approved!