Hephalaestron

I broke H out of the pack of Wersers to try to focus on him a bit, and get him completed.
==================================================================================

Hephalaestron is an educated, erudite gentleman of Grecian ancestry in the body of a Titan (hugely muscled, and well-controlled so much that Ahhnold would be envious, not at actual Greek Titan). He was banished to the event-horizon of a black hole for four thousand years. This was the only space that could actually imprison him which is why he was sent there in the first place by the Unnamed Verser, a Sorcerer of great power.

The Sorcerer Verser is left ambiguous. He could be 1)Another verser of great power. 2)Someone hiding themselves as a weakling verser who actually is very strong. 3)A future version of the player character. That is, the verser is meeting someone that the verser punished, but not yet in the verser's personal timeline. 4)It could be that the verser just looks kind of like the person that punishes Hephalaestron. 5)It could be that the verser might in the future botch, and send Hephalaestron to his prison by mistake. And in that case, it might have been all a big misunderstanding.

NOTE TO GM's: The Game Designer is disturbed a bit by the concept of telling a player 'you will do this in the future' because a GM cannot control a player. He is willing to go so far as to say 'this will happen to you' because he can directly control the actions of non-player characters who will cause the event to happen.

I will leave it up to the GM to decide whether this is an issue that bothers you or not.

In the bent time and crushing gravity, he could not Verse out but that he reappeared back in place, subject to crushing forces almost constantly.

He spent the first thousand years learning to regenerate his body, until he could heal faster than the gravity and radiation and vacuum could kill him. He spent the next thousand years learning how to move again, until he was able to walk around on the dense black matter condensing under his feet. He spent his third thousand years learning how to fight again, until he could move /quickly/ despite the environment. The fourth thousand years, he retired. He did little more than the minimum activity necessary to maintain his abilities, spending the rest of the time planning what he would do when he got out and composing epic poetry.

Finally he did get released, and he has vowed to spend the next four thousand years hunting and spam-killing the Verser sorcerer who banished him to that gods-forsaken pit in the first place.

He is very intelligent, and an accomplished fencer in a style that resembles Florentine. He is polite and civil to anyone who isn't threatening him or harboring his enemy. He has a taste for classy women and fine wine. He allows people to underestimate him, assuming he is the simple muscle-bound brute his body appears to be, then uses his incredible power in conjunction with a knowledge of tactics to make them regret it.

Strength 3@10
Animal Magnetism 2@3
Charisma 2@5
Persuasion 2@8
Density 3@10
Stamina 3@10
Flexibility 1@8
Resistance 2@5
Intellect 2@9
Intuition 2@4
Agility 2@1
Hand/Eye 2@5
Willpower 3@8
Education Level 2@9
TV 2@8
DV 3@3
RSV 2@5
MSV 2@10

He has never explained why he was imprisoned in the first place. He is aware that versers can change their looks so he strives to make sure that the verser he has sought out is not a shape-changed version of his enemy. Thus he will seek to meet with any verser in his current dimension, and subtly feel them out as to whether they are his enemy. All the while, he will be perfectly charming.

A number of versers think of him as a wonderful being, full of kindness, and wit, and wisdom. Also, a number of versers think of him as 'just a big brute, no brains.' To them he hasn't revealed his personality and wit. Perhaps a few actually know of his quest for vengeance.

Self-Healing is M 2@7 Unlimited Damage Repair with 3@10 SAL.

Perception P 3@0 with 2@5 SAL.

Epic Poetry M 0@0 Literature with 3@7 SAL.

Immunity to Gravity, Radiation, Vacuum as Damage

Florentine Style Fencing (A Martial Arts)

Conversation P 0@0 Language with a SAL 2@9.

Liberal Arts Knowledge is a M 0@X skill he has at 3@5 SAL. (He has a vast array of knowledge about histories on many worlds, speech, song, foreign languages, etc.. Effectively what one would attain if they were a Liberal Arts Doctorate with Honors at Multiversal University.)

Tactics is a variant of M 0@0 Socio-Political Economic Theory with a SAL of 2@5.

Hephalaestron has a B12@9 Invulnerability to Crushing at 3@10. With a 2@10 Bod BRA in a 13@ world that puts him at 94% (his bias is presumably 12@, so that's 40+30+24). The Sorcerer gives him +6 or better on his chance of success at resisting crushing, and he cannot not resist it, so he never actually dies from it. Of course, thats his earlier stats, later, he's even more invulnerable to the crushing effect as he builds his strength.

Between Hephalaestron's own ability to resist crushing and the magic that trapped him there, he was forced to live there for a very long time. The other part is, when he did manage to find a way to verse out, our Sorcerer used some sort of M15@10 Manipulate Scriff skill to create a scriff loop or bubble, so that this was the only place he could get that way until he could devise his own counter skill to manipulate scriff to get out of there. The trap would of course be intricately designed, with wards against gates and other magic being used to get him out, but we're assuming that Hephalaestron's sorcerous enemy is equally powerful and intelligent, or he wouldn't be much of an adversary for the titan, and thus that he would have thought of everything Hephalaestron would have tried in the first couple of centuries.

Created by John O'Sevens. Helped by Eric R. Ashley, M.J. Young, and William T. Wodium.

================================

OK--that is mostly it, except for the Florentine, and the question to MJ.

The Sorcerer Verser I want to leave ambiguous on purpose, so that referees can fill in the details as they need. Maybe MJ needs him to have been put there by Merlin, while Wodium needs him to have been put there by the Witching Prince Augustus CCVII, or something. So we leave that part out.

As for him being squished in the black hole, maybe he doesn't die and Verse back into place. Maybe part of the curse was that he should not know the release of death until he is otherwise freed first? Maybe he wasn't allowed to actually die, just suffer being endlessly squished for 4000 years.

That's fine.

Titan?

Eric

Oh... yeah he's just really big, but also well-controlled. Think somebody Ahhnold would be in awe of, along the lines of Beast from X-Men (only not played by the guy from Fraiser), not an actual honest-to-gods Greek Titan, although with a name like Hephalaestron you probably ought to be picturing him Greek.

In the bent time and crushing gravity, he could not Verse out but that he reappeared back in place, subject to crushing forces almost constantly.

====I'm assuming this is OK with MJ?? Its alright with me.

I hearken back to

This was the only space that could actually imprison him...he was sent there in the first place by the Unnamed Verser, a Sorcerer of great power.

I'm not certain off the top of my head how that would work, but probably Hephalaestron has a B12@9 Invulnerability to Crushing at 3@10 with a 2@10 Bod BRA in a 13@ world, which puts him at 94% (his bias is presumably 12@, so that's 40+30+24). The Sorcerer gives him +6 or better on his chance of success at resisting crushing, and he cannot not resist it, so he never actually dies from it. I'm figuring that between Hephalaestron's own ability to resist crushing and the magic that trapped him there, he was forced to live there for a very long time. The other part is, if he did manage to find a way to verse out, our Sorcerer used some sort of M15@10 Manipulate Scriff skill to create a scriff loop or bubble, so that this was the only place he could get that way until he could devise his own counter skill to manipulate scriff to get out of there. The trap would of course be intricately designed, with wards against gates and other magic being used to get him out, but we're assuming that Hephalaestron's sorcerous enemy is equally powerful and intelligent, or he wouldn't be much of an adversary for the titan, and thus that he would have thought of everything Hephalaestron would have tried in the first couple of centuries.

The Sorcerer Verser I want to leave ambiguous on purpose, so that referees can fill in the details as they need. Maybe MJ needs him to have been put there by Merlin, while Wodium needs him to have been put there by the Witching Prince Augustus CCVII, or something. So we leave that part out.

Well, we actually know quite a bit about him already, from the fact that he imprisoned the titan; and usually I would want to create the detail here. However, it opens a fascinating possibility. It is entirely possible that you are the sorcerer who imprisoned him--but that you've not done it yet. That puts Hephalaestron in the odd position that he probably cannot confirm it to have been you, but it's awfully suspicious.

--M. J. Young

I like MJ's suggestions, but its John7's character so I'll yield to him on this.

Florentine Style Fencing Martial Art
====================================
*For near-variants of this skill, we'll use the same skills.
*Some Non-Florentine fencing uses defensive weapons such as a Main-Gauche[a defensive dagger], buckler[small shield], and cloak-fighting techniques), but Florentines rely on the use of two weapons.

Style: Fast, Aggressive, Weapon Dependent (Rapier, Foil, Epee', Sabre.)
Style Multiplier: 2

The Sword is Part of the Arm: Martial Arts Weapon B 7@1 +5 SM. If you are allowed to limber up, then it is +15.

Cornering An Enemy So He Can't Move Freely: Tactical Movements B 7@2 Whether its forcing the opponent to back up a staircase where he can't see his feet because he's focused on your flashing blade, or just herding him into a corner of the room, it all helps to keep the weasel from darting about to get away. +10 SM, RS=Sit Mod.

Your Mind is Your Weapon, The Sword is Mere Metal: Improvised Martial Weapon B 7@6

Personal Space, Please!: Leveraged Attacks B 7@3 Whether sword blade against sword blade and a push to the dastard, or the gallant spins about a pole to slam a blackguard in the chest with both feet, what is achieved is space. +5 DR.

Parrying: Advanced Parrying B 7@5 +15 SM.

Study Your Opponent's Weaknesses: Defense Analysis B 7@7

Ambidexterity:

Two Weapon Style:

=======================================================

This is not completed, but I could use some advice on it.

Um... yeah me and my 0@0 Multiverser Game Mechanics are gonna go hide in the corner now. (edit: I suppose just the fact that I know to use that notation would give me 1@1...) I yield to MJ, Wodium, and you Tadeusz as far as making the mechanics work.

Maybe I can con somebody into giving me the Big Black Book for Yule...

Let me clarify my question: Is it okay if the Sorcerer Verser is a future version of you the verser? Perhaps after a couple thousand years of practise Archmage Jonius Sevenius, Master of the Mystic Words, Namer of the Unnameables will be desirous of duking it out with Hephalaestron? And this is not just 'you' you, but basically a random focus on any character the GM decides to launch this on. And then from then on in that game, thats the guy H is after.

So in one game, its Jonius, and in another totally separate game its AlNut the Mad Magician from Manzibar.... And these games would have to be separate...so over at 'Worldwalker' I could have one of my players be the focus of H's hate, and over here, MJ could have another be the focus....and since our games don't really cross that much, that'd be okay.

So in one game, its Jonius, and in another totally separate game its AlNut the Mad Magician from Manzibar.... And these games would have to be separate...so over at 'Worldwalker' I could have one of my players be the focus of H's hate, and over here, MJ could have another be the focus....and since our games don't really cross that much, that'd be okay.

And over in Arizona, in a game run by some guy who read this thread during his coffee break at work, Hephalaestron is after Jennifer Chang. That sounds great to me, but since you were asking O'Sevens . . .

Yes, absolutely - that's exactly what I figured MJ meant and of course that's perfectly cool. I left who the Sorcerer Verser was absent so the referee can make it whomever he pleases - including some bizarroverse or futureverse version of you-the-player.

Just to clarify, I did not actually mean that the referee would decide that Hephalaestron (goodness, I just spelled the name without checking it--did I get it right?) was after the player character in a future version, but that the referee would create the possibility that it might be the player character. It would be a wild and clever run indeed, if the referee could manipulate the situations sufficiently that the player character was ultimately induced to set up the prison for Hephalaestron, because for some reason Hephalaestron had become unstable and insisted that the verser, who had never wronged him in any way, was his long-time mortal enemy. However, I don't think that I, personally, would ever decide that this was something one of my player's characters was inevitably going to do--only that whoever it was who did it had a history sufficiently like the player character's present that it caused Hephalaestron to pursue the character and attempt to determine with certainty one way or the other.

I am willing to go so far as to say to a player character, "This is going to happen to you, but hasn't happened yet", because I have enough control over the non-player characters to make something like that happen in some future somewhere; I will not go so far as to tell the player character what it was he did in that future that he has not yet done, because I can't control that.

--M. J. Young

Well, earlier I wondered if it had been a botch.

In any case, I'd be willing to go with it. Note your objection, and move on as I keep saying.

I think you make a valid point, but not enough of a one to say no-no. Of course, as you point out, the verser could be innocent, and H could torture them,a nd then find they are innocent...irony abounds then.

I'll integrate this.

Right now, I'm struggling with MA's. I'll see if I can deduce some things from some examples.

Eric

MJ - got it in one, the spelling, I mean. I definitely see your point about not dictating the PC's future actions, but it certainly can be set up that way, especially if you're building towards a very long game, where the Player won't even remember Hephalaestron by the time it comes round that he imprisons him. Either way - whether the PC is innocent or not - it makes for a fun adventure.

(Considering I made this character up more or less on the spot in response to one line from the previous post, he sure has taken on a life of his own...)

H's BRA for Bod would be Stamina at 3@10 right?

-----I'm not certain off the top of my head how that would work, but probably Hephalaestron has a B12@9 Invulnerability to Crushing at 3@10 with a 2@10 Bod BRA in a 13@ world, which puts him at 94% (his bias is presumably 12@, so that's 40+30+24).----

It would be his 3@10 Strength, actually - nowadays. At the time, I imagine he was weaker. The same probably goes for his 3@8 Willpower. I think MJ is assuming that those attributes improved significantly while he imprisoned on the black hole.

The other part is, if he did manage to find a way to verse out, our Sorcerer used some sort of M15@10 Manipulate Scriff skill to create a scriff loop or bubble, so that this was the only place he could get that way until he could devise his own counter skill to manipulate scriff to get out of there.

In my game, two things would be true:
1) This skill has a very small area of effect (which is fine for the Sorcerer, because the actual matter of the black hole doesn't take up much space - which is part of what makes it a black hole), making it difficult to use on the un-imprisoned
2) All this happened in a flatlined psi world, so Hephaelestron couldn't simply fly away.

OK. I've added a sentence to reflect Wodium's interp of MJ's idea.

I'm not adding the psi bit because while its a good point, I don't see it as necessary to put in.

The psi bit would also help explain why Hephalaestron isn't simply deploying a 2@8 Know Character P11@5 to figure out if our hero is in fact the Sorcerer in disguise - Hephalaestron's psi skills are relatively underdeveloped because of the bias during his imprisonment.

You're right, though; it's not strictly necessary. There are conceivably other ways the Sorcerer could have prevented psi solutions, and all the other questions could be answered by a competent referee.