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WhereItSleeps
06-14-15, 06:07 PM
Name: Jazu of the Isle
Nickname/Alias: Number Four
Age: 19
Race: Witch Blood
Height: 5’7
Weight: 165
Occupation: Chef, Former Pirate, Contracted Mercenary/Emissary? -One or the other probably-

Personality: Jazu loves people. While he has no problem being alone and enjoys his quiet time very much, he finds a certain allure about every individual he encounters, be they human, beast, enemy or otherwise. He loves to connect with others, and his cooking is an extension of that. He also loves jokes and drinking when confused about a situation. Jazu prefers to think before taking action, and though he comes to decisions quickly and comes off headstrong, he has no problem hearing a person out if they seem to have something to say. To insult his cooking however is to unleash a different side of Jazu. While he might be more inclined to force an amazing dish upon the insulter, the bloodlust is quite literally suffocating. Though he has no real interest in religion, he developed a certain despair for the Thayne Jomil and her self-defeating nature. This was only after coming to the conclusion that the mushrooms said to trail behind her steps must possess a most phenomenal flavor.

Random Facts-

Has never witnessed an undead

Wonders what undeath tastes like

Has a love for animals that stretches beyond his palate

Irritable especially when sleep deprived or hungry

Secretly wishes he was a lady killer

Has a habit of talking to much when comfortable around someone

Becomes overly comfortable with everyone while intoxicated

Makes his own sound effects

History: Growing up on a ship of pirates Jazu developed an expectedly foul tongue, a peculiar desensitization to death and gore, the knowledge of various trade items value and application, and a taste for fine cuisine.

One of his first memories of the Captain was after the taking of a ship:

“If aye hav to ‘ake anotha bullet for ye I’mma throw ye to de ‘arks.”

And in the middle of combat, the Captain did just that. The result was a two day feast after the victory and a promise that son or not, the next bullet would be his own to catch.

Since he took his first steps, Jazu spent twelve years on that ship, laying waste with a crew of true devils at sea. He grew up on cruel jokes, stiff drinks, and ‘kindness’ meaning a quick death.

For his fourteenth birthday, Jazu was thrown overboard and bestowed the Captains final words:

“Swim on ‘ome brat. ‘joy dat der ‘ell.”

And so Jazu came to meet his mother. She was a witch belonging to an ancient line, who had traded an old pirate twelve years of fatherhood for a ship and crew that would terrorize the seas. She was not what Jazu expected from a witch nor a mother who would send their child to be a pirate fresh off the tit, but until then he had only known a crew that thought pissing on corpses was for luck, and decided not to dwell on the matter.

Zaquelle of the Isle proved as kind and nurturing as she was strict. She bestowed Jazu with much knowledge of the world and of their family’s craft. After three years of surviving that beautifully harsh place, she told him to visit when he could and to see what the world beyond the seas had to offer.

A year after his journey began, Jazu has found himself bound in contract with an entity calling itself The Ever Egg. It gave him the title of Number Four and issues out commands that Jazu has as of yet not chosen to refuse since they generally sound interesting and come with nice rewards. He considers ‘Eggy’ to be his first and currently only friend in the world and greatly enjoys their banter when he is lucky enough to receive an audience.

Appearance: Jazu wears his hair in dreadlocks, usually pulled back, but fall to the middle of his back when let down. A mix of reds, black, browns and grey pepper the thick coils that are longer in the front than they are in the rear. His dark skin contrasts with the dull glow of his grey eyes and adds an interesting spark to his boyish charm. He looks strong and has the muscle and physique to prove it, though the scars littered across his body speak volumes. On his tongue rests his witch’s mark, an intricate display of lines in dull red identical to the one his mother bears; proof of his lineage.

Skills:

Gastronomy- World class culinary genius, sovereign of the kitchen, the eternal lord of cuisine, Jazu might just acquire these titles one day and those who taste his dishes can believe it. He has a knack for things such as flavors and texture and can discern high quality recipes from observing raw ingredients, including the not yet dead kind. This includes: a very deep understanding of knives and how to properly cut, handle and prepare thousands of ingredients on the spot; a basic understanding of nutritional values necessary for the numerous races found in Althanas along with their anatomy; advanced cooking techniques; and an understanding of microorganisms in their relation to food prep, cooking and storage. Coupled with The Witches Sense, Jazu can serve dishes that reinvigorate both the body and soul.

Teachings of the Isle; A Witch Mother’s Blessing- For three years Zaquelle taught Jazu a portion of their family’s accumulated knowledge of the Craft. Jazu learned a very unique form of alchemy, how to read numerous ancient text that would seem foreign to others, and mastered the family trait of reading the flow of magical channels. However, while living with Zaquelle, Jazu did not enjoy a cozy life. He provided for himself and mostly protected himself from the many perils of the island that included traps, beasts and dangerous terrain. As a result Jazu is accustomed to surviving and hunting on his own under harsh conditions. Jazu is still however only a Witch Blood and has yet to elevate to the status of Witch.

A Pirates Life For Me- Spending most of his childhood on a pirate ship, Jazu has grown accustom to battle and slaughter. He has witnessed more than a handful of fighting styles and magic while at sea and has grown battle hardened because of it. He prefers to use his limbs but holds an understanding of the handling of most one-handed weapons, and spears. Slitting a throat is as calming a task for Jazu as gutting a fish. Also due to his time as a pirate, Jazu became well versed in trade goods and is usually pretty spot on when eying amounts in grams and pounds, and discerning value, in addition to possessing basic knowledge about the sea, fishing and is an experienced swimmer. Obviously, holds his alcohol damn well.

Abilities:

The Witches Sense- While not all Witch Blood can learn this ability, Jazu has the fortune of being born with it. Simply put, he can sense and control the flow of magic in a way that is quite unique. If he had to describe it, it is more like each of his senses is heightened to perceive magic rather than a sense in itself. He can see, hear, smell, taste and feel magic channels within things and around his immediate area to the point that he can tell what element a spell will be as it is being casted, and has the ability to control the flow of magic in non-living and non-magically controlled things upon contact. The ability to do this takes concentration, but he is able to sustain the flow in and around his own body while performing strenuous activities for two posts before needing to regain his composure. While he can perceive magic around him, he is unable to distinguish it outside of his other senses and cannot use it to locate or otherwise become aware of someone.

By directly channeling the flow of magic, Jazu can make one specific part of his body (hand, elbow, forearm, forehead, foot, knee, chest etc.) as strong as steel in terms of both offense and defense. As a result of magic being directed from other parts of the body, while used in this way Jazu will take 1.5x the amount of damage he would normally take from magical attacks that target the unenhanced areas.

A Living Blade- Jazu is adept at hand-to-hand combat to the point where his normal strikes are powerful and precise enough to cut into flesh with relative ease. While cleaving a man in two is beyond his ability, a well-placed piercing strike or chop can do as much damage as the average arrow or knife, respectively. As a result of this, Jazu can defend himself quite well against armed opponents while bare handed, due to his speed and strong battle sense.

Enhanced Agility- Those of Witch Blood are known to possess special traits, and in the case of Jazu his speed and reaction time is superior to that of the average human. When standing still, catching an arrow or two is a relatively simple task for Jazu though he is not as skilled when his concentration is divided. In combat, he is able to dodge, deflect, parry and counterattack with a swift efficiency especially while barehanded. His movements are quick, precise and never wasted.

Equipment/Weapons:

Contract- A link to The Ever Egg and proof of his employment (or so he has been told), this stone like “egg” holds a crudely painted black number four on it. Other than floating when the boss makes contact, Contract seems to be completely useless. Jazu can’t even crack it open no matter what he smashes it against. Jazu has been known to yell at Contract to get The Ever Egg’s attention, though this almost never works. Supposedly bound by Contract to perform tasks for ‘Eggy, Jazu’s general disposition to help something he considers a friend has left him worrying little about the complexity of their relationship. He simply doesn’t really care at this point.

Armor- A sleeveless black denim long coat lined in leather to balance defense and mobility. The hood does wonders for keeping his face hidden despite all the hair. Iron chain mail lines the inside, covering the shoulders, down the back to his waist, and the ribcage, with two small pockets lined on each side of his chest. Contract generally rests in one of these pockets.

Two Carapace Greaves- Looted off some rude jackass that ‘fell’ overboard about a year ago as Jazu came into port. They have proved quite useful and as such are slightly more worn down than when he first attained them.

Iron Cooking Pan- A small pan Jazu carries with him in its own canvas bag. Another reward found for completing a task for The Ever Egg, the cooking pan was once able to heat itself to high temperatures but has become defective due to being used as a shield and now only works as a regular, slightly dented pan.

Hysteria
06-29-15, 06:49 AM
Chain mail; can you add in it’s iron?

Enhanced Agility: catching an arrow is a bit too strong as you’ve described it, can you tone it down a bit?

A Living Blade: Blocking weapons with your bare skin, and being about to use them like daggers is too strong again. Strikes that are able to cut like an iron knife or block like iron three times (if contact is made) would be as strong as you can get for a starting character.

The Witches Sense: steel for two posts is fine, but you can’t have reduction to magic in as well because it counts as two abilities. To be honest, I doubt you’ll need a straight magic resistance in a small area like that.

I also have an issue with the Seasoning Belt. They are effectively mini-abilities, and bring you over the top by quite a bit. You'll have to quest for items like this and go through the normal spoil's process. Some character’s start with items that take the place of abilities, but still limiting it to three.

Cursed Prep Knife seems a bit over the top. Even if it is just a story-based instrument, it exceeds really anything else I’ve seen.

WhereItSleeps
06-30-15, 02:26 PM
The Witches Sense second ability effects everywhere except for the "small area" so I was using it as a weakness of the ability. I don't actually see how that could be used in any beneficial way since he would take more damage from magic at any point but the strengthened area?

With Enhanced Agility, it was meant to be taken as being completely aware of the arrows and standing still so a surprise attack or during a battle would not make this effective. I'm not sure how else to precisely gauge the level of skill but at peak concentration, but something like catching an arrow would only be possible say during a training exercise, or if a single enemy he were focused on had the arrow drawn and was aiming at him waiting to fire.

As for A Living Blade, I never stated that he could block with his bare skin, but that he can effectively defend himself bare handed, which was the point of the steel strength of The Witches Sense. If the ability as a whole poses an issue then I'll just be removing it along with the items.

Styrax
06-30-15, 04:34 PM
I'm not a moderator but I'll point out that the defensive aspect of "A Living Blade"

As a result of this, Jazu can defend himself quite well against armed opponents while bare handed, due to his speed and strong battle sense.

is redundant with the last lines of "Enhanced Agility"

In combat, he is able to dodge, deflect, parry and counterattack with a swift efficiency especially while barehanded.

- the effect of Living Blade seems to be that it makes unarmed strikes equal to iron weapons. The defensive description then could be removed to avoid confusion - I took the same meaning Hysteria did about it blocking weapons.

For the Witch's Sense, the wording is just confusing. Simplify it to something like "While strengthening the focal point of his body, Jazu is more vulnerable to magic everywhere else."

Hope that helps!

Hysteria
07-01-15, 03:37 AM
The Witches Sense second ability effects everywhere except for the "small area" so I was using it as a weakness of the ability. I don't actually see how that could be used in any beneficial way since he would take more damage from magic at any point but the strengthened area?

My bad, I mis-read that as being resistance.


With Enhanced Agility, it was meant to be taken as being completely aware of the arrows and standing still so a surprise attack or during a battle would not make this effective. I'm not sure how else to precisely gauge the level of skill but at peak concentration, but something like catching an arrow would only be possible say during a training exercise, or if a single enemy he were focused on had the arrow drawn and was aiming at him waiting to fire.

As for A Living Blade, I never stated that he could block with his bare skin, but that he can effectively defend himself bare handed, which was the point of the steel strength of The Witches Sense. If the ability as a whole poses an issue then I'll just be removing it along with the items.

Ok, we've clarified both of these so you're good to go ability wise. Can you add in the iron strength to the chainmail?

WhereItSleeps
07-03-15, 03:20 AM
Ok, Iron chain mail has been added.

Hysteria
07-03-15, 07:07 AM
Enjoy!

Approved.