Armageddon: Rise of the Nephilim [Closed - Interested Alternates Possible]

[Mordane76]

Thomas Hobbes: That's cool. I did restrict the core rules in attempts to stay at least partially 'true' to my impressions of the source material -- some of the standard abilities in the core rules just don't fit into my impressions of powers that could be attributed to angels, demons, and their ilk.


Drakknyte32: Working from my notes so far, my musing on Immunity: Aging have been thus: the only Nephilim I've thus far considered to definitely have this Super Feat are the Æternitas, and they spend much of the time between wars in a sort of slumber, awaiting the next breach of the Gate. I had been considering using the Æternitas in a more... NPC role, however. I don't want to say no right away, though -- I'd say, if you're really interested in this concept, write up a brief background and history (don't stat it out, though) and I'll consider it.

The question on rote-flawed Sorcery and extras on powers used as Sorceries... Unless someone can point me to a better ruling, I'm going to rule it as thus:

• Resurrection can be 'purchased' as a Power Stunt of Sorcery, with the requirement that one must first have Healing as a Transformation spell. In usage, these would then be individual spells that you know.

As for the combat/RP mix... I hope that it will be closer to 50/50, but if it has to be heavier to one side, I'd rather that side be RP instead of combat, for several reasons. One, combat just eats up huge amounts of time on a PbP game, and I'd rather not spend days resolving combat after combat. Combat and struggle of this nature will be involved, but I don't want it to be the only thing involved. Considering the source material, most demons are portrayed as tempters and manipulators, but at their heart they are sadistic and 'lazy' -- I feel they would prefer to take the road involving the least amount of physical and mortal danger, but would have little compunctions about defending themselves if need be.


As for your quirk -- I see no problems with it as a weakness. I can say that there will be definite situations where your code could conflict or hamper "the mission," however, so do keep that in mind. RP-wise, however, having a pacifist in a holy warrior group is rife with great hooks.


Rybaer: It doesn't matter where you start -- Issue One will cover the gathering of the characters by the Æternitas. Age also isn't dreadfully important, save for two things --

• As stated before, Nephilim generally "grow into" their powers around or after puberty.
• The lion's share are NOT immortal.

As for having met someone else with powers, it is unlikely, but not impossible. The powers of the Nephilim only awaken in a generation when the Gate has been breached -- once the Nephilim of the previous millennium thwart the Adversary, no more Nephilim awaken until the next time the Gate is breached (usually once every ~1000 years). In this present generation, there have been at least two Awakenings, however, because somehow the Adversary was able to breach the Gate without awakening the Æternitas, so they did not gather the first Nephilim -- those Nephilim either fell to Lucifer's cause, were destroyed, or have not shown themselves yet as Nephilim.

The "power" runs in bloodlines -- people who awaken are somehow "directly" descended from an ancient group of families that had Nephilim in them. Thanks to a broad usage of literary license, that can be as many as necessary. There could be more than one person in a family that awakened -- there could even be a person who awakened in the first group of Nephilim, and then his son might have awakened in the second group; one could be good, while the other turned to the Adversary...

Most Nephilim, however, will feel very alone in their powers. Normal people do not react well to them; think of the Inquisition; many of the "demons" and "witches" burned at the stake were perhaps Nephilim fighting against the Adversary during that generation. In this day and age, people are just as fearful of anomolous "outsiders," but also more empowered themselves thanks to technology. Nephilim who make themselves obvious may find themselves under the intense scrutiny of governments and scientists...



As I keep thinking of things, I'll keep posting them, such as this:
Given the nature of the enemy, I want to state up front that this game MAY include mature themes, such as (but not limited to) sexual situations, nudity, allusions to or scenes containing various forms of deviant behavior, allusions to or scenes involving sadism or masochism, and allusions to or scenes containing torture. Demons are generally consider the embodiment of Evil, and many of their tendencies are abberant and sadistic. When such material is involved in a story, it will be handled in accordance to the standard rules of the forums, and graphic details will be kept to a minimum; most of such details will be described as parts of scenes in which they have already taken place -- the most I expect for this story to ever encounter in mature themes is the aftermath of such situations. However, I don't want anyone to be shocked and unprepared if/when such a scene occurs, so I want to say it up front.

 

[Drakknyte32]

You want a history, you got a history

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Jonathan Fyne has super powers. He is one of many creatures called Nephilim and they all had super powers. His were different from most Nephilim though, he had variety that most of them couldn't come close to matching. It was because of this variety that he had managed to survive not one, but two wars against the adversary. It was also because of this variety that he had managed to live for millenia. One of the aspects of his power was the ability to sustain himself and become immune to sickness. Another was the ability to heal even severe injuries. By using the two of them he was able to keep himself in perfect health despite the passing of years.

Jonathan Fyne has seen a lot of horrible things over the years. He has watched thousands of people kill each other for the mistaken belief that God wants them to. He has watched tens of thousands kill each other just for the ambition of a few men. He has watched people kill each other for greed or just because they want to. He has watched mankind destroy it's environment like a parasite and almost do the same to themselves.

Yet he had seen some good in the world too. He has seen mothers lovingly raise their children. He has seen men stand for peace in the face of unbelivable adversary. He has seen geniuses conquer countless diseases and improve the lot of the whole human race. He has seen avereage people risk their lives helping others just because they thought it was the right thing to do. Most importantly, he saw that the human race was improving.

It still has quite a ways to go but humanity has become closer to acting like God wished them in the last few years. There were still wars, but they were fewer and far fewer people died. They still destroyed the environment but many were working hard to save it. They still killed for greed and desire but they did so far more rarely and watched themselves to stop it from happening. Jonathan often thought that God put the fruit in the Garden of Eden because he knew that mankind would one day join him of their own will. It is that though that keeps Jonathan going through the years when he could lay down and die at any time. One day mankind will rise to heaven, and I want to be with them when they do.

Jonathan spent most of his years watching humans but not living among them. He often uses his powers to help people but when he does he is invisible or wrapped in illusion. He saw much of history but rarely contributed to it himself. He believes that humanity will go back to God by itself eventually and all he has to do is make sure they don't destroy themselves before that.

After the last war he has started to integrate himself back into humanity. Meeting with other Nephilims who had normal lives as well reminded him that he was still human, at least partially. He has rented an apartment and is starting to do normal human things again. He had a job but dropped it when he noticed that the adversary had returned again.

Before he was a Nephilim Jonathan was a simple farmers child. When he gained his powers he fought and killed just like every other nephilim but after the war, and after watching several other wars. Jonathan could no longer stand the thought of killing another person. For several years he used his powers to stop killing whenever he saw it. Eventually he stopped when he saw that was causing even more havoc then most wars. He has stopped interfering with wars now but has sworn that he will never harm another human himself.
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For the quirk. I'm pretty sure it will work fine for most missions. He'll have such useful powers as selective obscure, Possesion, and healing. He may not be able to hurt others but he could definately turn the tide of combat. He also doesn't mind if others fight (though he frowns on unneeded killings). He knows that sometimes people need to fight to protect themselves and others. He just can't fight himself.


Rybaer: I suppose it isn't really my place to tell you what character to make but I would recommend not making the magician. My character will have the obscure and illusion powers and those don't really need to be repeated. If you do choose the magician I guess I could drop them and add some other powers instead though.

 

[Rybaer]

Rybaer: I suppose it isn't really my place to tell you what character to make but I would recommend not making the magician. My character will have the obscure and illusion powers and those don't really need to be repeated. If you do choose the magician I guess I could drop them and add some other powers instead though.

Yeah, after thinking about the two concepts, I'd already started leaning away from the magician for a variety of reasons. Tentatively, I'm working on the ex-boxer concept some more. I may still ditch it and go another direction entirely, but only if I find something I like better. He's not so much a super-strong characer as a super-resiliant one. Good fighter. Not too many utility powers.

Mordane76 - Thanks for the follow up. I like the idea of a parent possibly having turned to the Adversary. Might turn into a good plot point to have my father involved in an organized crime group, which in turn ties into my former career as a boxer. Let me think some more on that...

 

[Mordane76]

I'm warming up to the idea of Jonathan, so I'm going to say you can run with it. Remember, though, that most other Nephilim either die as part of the war against the Adversary, or they die of old age not long after their war is won; your access to Nephilim acquaintences will be sort of Highlander-ish -- except you're the Highlander, and you've unfortunately had to watch others grow old and die.

The only exception would be the Æternitas, whom you will have met. Remember, though, they spend much of the time between wars in a slumber, awakening only when the Gate has been breached... or usually awakening when the Gate is breached, but somehow missed their cue this time...


Thus far we have as working concepts:

• Giant (Growth/Super Str) with good sensory abilities -- a friend of mine (will post soon).
• Sorcerer -- Drakknyte 32
• Ex-Boxer -- Rybaer
• Unsure -- another friend of mine (will post soon).
• Not filled!
• Not filled!

 

[Drakknyte32]

Alright then I'll start to stat out my character then.

Is it alright if I have a Grimoire (A bunch of extra spells with the device flaw)? I'm going to assume that is okay but if you have a problem with it just say so.

I'm going to need a lot of help from you to put together a more detailed background. I'll need to know some details about the previous wars and the other Nephilim.

 

[WizWrm]

I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring. I really like the concept, although I'm not particularly confident with the M&M rules.

Just to make sure I'm on the same page as everyone: the Æternitas are the angels, and the Nephilim are mortals who are descendents of those gifted in the early age by the angels, right?

I'm undecided on a character concept right now, but I'm considering either a fire-focused combat character, or one with telepathy and other such mental abilities, or maybe even both, depending on how the numbers work out. What areas need to be covered?

 

[Mordane76]

Is it alright if I have a Grimoire (A bunch of extra spells with the device flaw)? I'm going to assume that is okay but if you have a problem with it just say so.

I'm going to say this is okay. This would mean you can't cast those spells without the Grimoire at hand, though -- if it were stolen, you'd be bereft of them until it was retrieved. If it was destroyed... you'd have a group of free power points that would have to be written into a new Grimoire during downtime, or used during downtime to develop new rote spells as power stunts at that time, unless another situation presented itself to invest those points elsewhere.



WizWrm: You're ALMOST right. The Æternitas are also Nephilim. There is one Æternitas born each time the Adversary breaches the Gate; he joins the other Æternitas in finding this generation's Nephilim and coordinating their battle against the Adversary. When the Adversary is defeated, he joins the other Æternitas as they slumber, awaiting the next breach of the Gate.

The Æternitas have a specific suite of powers covering ESP, Postcognition, Precognition, Telepathy, and Teleportation. They are also immortal. Their primary purpose is to record, remember, and coordinate -- they are not the best combatants, but their abilities to see the past, the present, and the future, as well as contact the other Nephilim allow them a great position to coordinate the battle.

 

[Velmont]

I have taken a look and seems interesting. It make a chnage from the usual X-Men like game with M&M. Is there a slot left?

The concept I would like to try, it is a charismatic investigator and telepath, something like that.

 

[Drakknyte32]

NAME Jonathan Fyne
secret ID: Priest
HP: 4

gender: male
age: over 1,000
height: 5'9
weight: 150
size: M
hair: White
eyes: Pure Gold

~~~ABILITIES~~~
STR 8 -1
DEX 10 +0
CON 10 +0
INT 12 +1
WIS 16 +3
CHA 16 +3

~~~SAVES~~~
DMG +0
FORT +2
REF +0
WILL +5

~~~MOVEMENT~~~
INIT +0
SPD 30' // 40' Flight // 40' Teleport, 40,960' sprint

~~~COMBAT~~~
BASE DEFENSE 0
DEF 10
FLAT 10
MENTAL 14

BASE ATTACK 0
MELEE +0
RANGED +1
MENTAL +3

~~~SKILLS~~~
Skillname [mod/ranks]

Bluff [13/10]
Diplomacy [13/6]
Disguise [19/6] (with shapeshift)
Gather Information [13/6]
Knowledge: History [4/3]
Knowledge: Religion [4/3]
Sense Motive [8/5]
Spot [9/6]
Intimidate [10/5]
Language [4]

~~~FEATS~~~
Iron Will
Great Fortitude
Immunity (Aging)
Darkvision
See Invisibility
True Seeing
Penetration Vision (not through living creatures)

~~~POWERS~~~
-------------------------------------
Sorcery [+5 pp/rank+36, 86 total] 8 Ranks
- SOURCE: Mystical
- SPECIAL:
Jonathan is an incredibly versatile mage, He knows almost every
non-offensive spell in existence and has developed several of them
to be more powerful then usual. 1,000 years of practice can make a
big difference.
- Flaws: Excluded Group, Offensive // Rote
- Spells:
Telekinesis // Possesion // Immunity // Force Field (Mental
Shield, Subtle) // Telepathy // Comprehend // ESP //
Illusion (Area) // Obscure (Selective) // Invisibility // Create
Object (Shapeable) // Healing (Regrowth, Normal
Range) // Incorporeal // Shapeshift // Flight // Teleportation
(Extended)
- IMMUNITIES:
Disease, Exhaustion, Poison, Pressure, Starvation, Suffocation,
Heat, Cold

-------------------------------------

~~~WEAKNESSES (2 MAX)~~~
Quirk: Pacifist. Jonathan will not actively cause harm to others
for any reason.

~~~COST~~~
ABILITIES [14]
BASE ATT [0]
BASE DEF [0]
SKILLS [18]
FEATS [12]
POWERS [86]
WEAKNESS [-10]
TOTAL [120]
UNSPENT [0]

=====================
~~~BACKGROUND~~~

Well over 1,000 years ago Jonathan Fyne was born. He began life as
a simple farmers child. There was nothing noticably special about
him, he was not exceptionally strong or good looking, he was a
little smarter than most kids but not by much. He was normal except
for one little thing, his ancestry. He was a descendent of the
anchient Nephilimm and his bloodline granted him a special power
that would manifest at puberty. A power normal people called
sorcery. When he discovered his powers he hid them from others,
fearing that they would call him a warlock and kill him.

When the war against the Adversary started Jonathan joined the
battle just like every other Nephilim. He was still unfamiliar with
his powers at the time and they were far weaker than they are
today. The only reason Jonathan managed to survive was because he
was such a minor threat. His attacks were so pitiful even the
weaker demons weren't harmed by them and nothing he could do would
make much difference in the battle.

After the war Jonathan returned to normal life, although he never
stopped training with his powers. Over time his sorcery grew
stronger and stronger and he learned several new tricks, including
the ability to extend his lifetime.

Eventually Jonathan started traveling. You can only witness so many
miracles before people start wondering what is going on. And
staying in one place gets boring after a few decades. He travelled
all over the world and witnessed many amazing sites. And many
horrible ones.

If you read a history book you will notice that History is full of
wars, plagues, and other such horrors. But reading a book is
nothing compared to watching the slaughters first-hand. Jonathan
watched countless people die for countless reasons. Eventually he
couldn't stand it any more and started to use his powers actively,
stopping wars and healing the injured. If you want to know the
results of that read about the Inquisition and the Aztec ritual
sacrifices. He finally stopped after realizing that he was only
making things worse. He let people kill each other again but swore
that he would never harm anyone.

And so life continued for Jonathan. He travelled over the world
countless times over the centuries and refined his powers to
unbelivable levels. He also met many people and formed countless
friendships. Although almost everone he has ever met is dead now he
is not upset about it, he knows he will see them again when he
eventually makes it to heaven.

When the gate reopened Jonathan once again joined the forces of the
Nephilim. He kept his vow not to harm others but he was a force to
behold nonetheless. Using his powers he gave major advantages to
the forces of good, shaping the battlefield to his will, healing
his allies, controlling demons and forcing them to surrender. He
survived the war once again but this time because he was too strong
and too skilled to lose to the demons. Finally the war ended again
and he returned to his normal life, for a short time at least.

When the Adversary returned again one of the first people he sought
out was Jonathan, giving him an offer he can't refuse. Of course
Jonathan refused it, and easily escaped those sent to capture him.
He then searched the land for the sleeping Eternions, dodging the
Adversary's forces every step of the way. Finally he found them and
is ready to fight the war once again.

 

[Drakknyte32]

Well I guess I don't even need a Grimoire. I was able to afford everything I wanted at normal cost.

I changed his background from what I said in a previous post to make it sound better. If you want me to change something with it just say so.

If someone else wants to make a character that uses the same powers (Velmont, Wizwrm) just tell me what powers you are taking and I'll replace my copy with something else.