Character Creation and Setting Discussion

Ylza'Vokats

Description
Ylza is an athletic young woman who is still comfortably in her physical prime. As a Tel'nari, she bears a striking similarity to humanity; the primary difference being pale blue skin. In reverence to her order, her hair is bleached white and worn in an array of thin white braids that fall to the middle of her back. She also adorns herself with white face paint arranged in sharp, angular patterns, though the exact pattern is subject to change in accordance with some convoluted doctrine within her sect.

Unlike most Tel'nari, though, Ylza bears a number of combat prosthetics. Her eyes look like blank white orbs that don't show where she is looking. Her left arm is made of rugged MDC alloys, with stabilizing gas vents along the sides of the forearm and ports between the knuckles to extrude silver plated vibroblades. The palm of that cyberarm hides the barrel of what seems like a primative SMG, though when Ylza uses it those simple bullets become a burst of pyrokinetic lead. Ritual scars combine with surgical to create an artistic hint of further augmentation under the skin.

In combat, Ylza wears a modified suit of Wrangler body armor that trades out the heavy duster and cowboy hat for a hooded robe in shades of white and sandy tan. The armor undernieth is blue with white accents, but the full faceplate helps to hide her unearthly origin in less welcoming lands.

Aspects
High Concept: Momano Headhunter
It's a violent world, and there's plenty of call for a hired gun if you've the backbone for it. Problem is, it's a wierd and wild place out there, some things don't care when you shoot 'em. Where irresponsible amounts of force fail, a line of salt, some sharpened silver, and the right chant can see you through. Most folks don't think the Momano are much better than the creatures they hunt; when you study the supernatural your perspective tends to shift a bit outside of the norm. Still, coin for services rendered is something most communities can get their head around, so when the ghosts and the vampires and worse menace these frontier towns, they know to toss a coin to Big Mo.

Trouble: There Were No Good Men At Tolkeen
As a Wayist, Ylza was raised to conduct herself in a Principled manner. Good intentions saw her join the defense of Tolkeen, but war has a way of stripping the veneer of civility off of people. She soaked herself in blood, stood shoulder to shoulder with demons, and bore witness to the atrocities of Coalition camps. Five years later, and The Way helps keep her on the path of good -- but it's not as easy, as natural as it used to be, and the temptation to give up and just match a violent world with violence is omnipresent.

Aspect: Bionically Enhanced
The Siege of Tolkeen wasn't like the kind of brush wars that break out regularly across Rifts Earth. With their new trade partners, Triax, the Coalition was revealing one new super-advanced weapon after another on the field, even employing technologies they'd formerly avoided like Juicer augmentation to grab an edge. A homesteader with a laser rifle wouldn't have been much more than a speedbump on the front lines, so, Ylza took advantage of the talents of Dr. Merkenzer, a cyberdoc who'd been brought in to maintain and further enhance Tolkeen's army of 8,000 Brodkil. She has about as many combat implants as a person can have without impacting her psionic gifts.

Aspect: Major Psionic
The Tel'nari are not a particularly gifted species in terms of psionics, but The Way was developed to help foster the growth of Inner Strength among its people. Though hardly a master, Ylza displays talents across all three Psionic disciplines, and is thus considered a major talent in her own right. More critically to her, her psionic gifts can be used to power Techno-Wizard devices, though not as efficiently as a true mage. These weapons are frequently much more capable of handling the supernatural targets she prefers.

Aspect: Techno-Wizardry Arsenal
A laser sword that shines with true sunlight. A sniper rifle that concentrates a telekinetic bolt through the target, making no sound, no light, and leaving no trace aside from the damage. Implanted silver blades that shine with a touch of magic - just enough for them to rend ghosts and specters. Arrows tipped with Goblin Bombs, which might just explode, or glue a twenty foot spider-robot in place long enough for an artillery strike to zero-in on them. Hand grenades that belch steam made from holy water, a hell of a way to flush out a vampire nest if ever there was one. The world of TW Weaponry is vast, and Ylza goes out of her way to add new toys to her chest at every opportunity.

Approaches
Quick +3
Clever, Careful +2
Sneaky, Flashy +1
Forceful +0

Refresh: 4
Stress: [-1][-1][-1][-1][-1][-1][-1][-1]

Consequences
Mild Consequence (2)
Moderate Consequence (4)
Severe Consequence (6)

Stunts
Because I am a Supernatural Slayer, I gain +1 Tier Level in combat against Supernatural foes.

Because I am a Dual Wielder, I gain +2 to Quickly attack in melee against foes wielding a single weapon.

Because I've Seen Enough Bloodshed, I gain +2 to Quickly defend on behalf of another sapient.

Because I am a Wandering Exorcist, I gain +2 to Carefully overcome an obstacle when healing supernatural afflictions such as curses or possession.

Because I Follow the Way, I gain a +2 to Carefully defuse a violent situation with calm words.

Because I Know Where I'm Needed, once a game I may arrive in a scene I am not active in to protect someone.

A graduate of the Xanatoa monastery, with a good physique and thorough training in the appropriate disciplines, such as psionic sword and shield combat, telekinesis, extrasensory awareness, and bio-psionics (including healing).

The seers' preaching has been annoying, and thankfully it's over now, and I can make my own decisions about right and wrong without their dogmas. Though they do sometimes make sense, yet at other times they are needlessly stifling. Things are complicated.

Likely Compels may vary, representing a conflicted attitude towards the teachings of the seers: urges to follow the code (e.g. helping the weak, sparing an enemy) or rebel against it (e.g. acting greedy, indulging in luxury). On the plus side, this stubbornness can be Invoked positively to resist others' attempt to influence the graduate's course of action (e.g. intimidation, persuasion, mind control).

Despite not having spent long in the outer world, the graduate already managed to establish many odd friendships. This can be beneficial when calling onto help in the most unusual of situations (positive Invocations and Story Details), but help requests are a two-way street (Compels). On another note, this uncanny predisposition sometimes helps turning even former adversaries into allies.

It's not entirely clear whether it's a result of the seers' training, or an innate ability merely awakened by the monastery's influence, but the graduate occasionally experiences moments of establishing a deeper connection to the universe, becoming one with the flow. Usually this manifests in extrasensory insights (such as prophetic visions, detection of traps and dangers, or awareness of ulterior motives). Less commonly, it takes the form of 'fitting in' despite seemingly being a fish out of water (e.g. surviving in the wilderness, being overlooked in a crowd, pretending to be one of the new interns).

The graduate was never particularly witty nor a bookworm (and certainly doesn't look the type, being often mistaken for a simple thug), but the seers sure did a good job of dispensing a wide selection of knowledge - philosophy and logic, physiology and medicine, thaumatology and science, literature and arts. If there's a moment to take a deep breath and recall those teachings, they can come in handy.