Post by relentless on Jul 14, 2020 13:34:06 GMT -8
[V I K T O R]
|| [Viktor Menkenhof] || ‘Puppet Master’ ||
|| [Viktor Menkenhof] || ‘Puppet Master’ ||
||Appearance||
Physical Description:[Muscularity, scarring of muscle, colour of eyes, limb size, hair style, hair colour, facial hair colour, facial hair style, description of certain parts e.g. shape of nose, tone of skin etc)
-Eastern European genetics
- Slim face
- Bags under eyes
- 5'9
-Wirey frame
-Small Nose
-Scraggly hair
-Clean Shaven
Age:
[The characters biological age]
36
Sex:
[Gender = Male or Female]
Male
Attire:
[Normal clothing that's worn when in a non combat zone, e.g. The Hamlet.]
-Dark grey robe with strange runic linings across the edges, woven in a strange fabric. Runic plasterings can be seen faintly across the fabric, and in the dark, the markings seem to glow a vibrant gold.
-Frilled inner shirt, appearing old, haggard and ripped.
-Across his neck dangles the sawn off front face of a skull with a splattering of gold, speckled across, with the bone appearing otherwise ancient.
-On the neck of his coat, otherwise attached, a conical hood is apparent, black and stitched up.
- Below the hemp of the mans robe, he appears to wear hard sandals with partial raisins to prevent the robe from glazing with the ground.
-Across the waist, a sash is tightly bound to secure the robe in place, the fabric was patterned but otherwise old and ragged, having lost is genuine nature.
||Equipment||
Weapons:Ancient Cudgel - A Cudgel that utilises a solid, sculpted rock held by a skull on the back end, the shaft of the cudgel a hard oak with etched eldritch markings, wrapped in a silver silk that loops through Viktors robes. The skulls that holds the rounded hard stone in its jaws is also plastered with gold, and is seemingly shrunken.
Otherworldly string - Viktor is able to manipulate his strings into sharp wires that can be whipped toward opponents, and can be instructed to wrap around his enemies to squeeze them dry.
Book of the Marionette - Although not literal necromancy, this book saw more ridicule in the grand library of the German land, as its depictions of eldritch lunacy were based around puppetry. Such a book has seen potential in Viktor, and through ritual and sacrifice, an unnamed eldritch being, or energy, reached out to ‘bless’ him with the strings to command his own puppets.
Such a book can allow the strings to act on their own, to strangle and hang, to lacerate and maim. They can only be used to pierce the corpses of the dead and wrap around their bones to force them back into a fighting state.
Urn of the Ancient - This dusty urn that is carried upon the back of this man much like a pilgrimage ailment than anything else. Beneath the ash lies the chattering bones of the dead, waiting for the strings to inhabit them once more. Such bones can be possessed, provided the user has the strength to do it, and command the puppets to do their bidding, and rake their bony nails over anything that dares to harm the master.
Misc:
-Various rolled parchment written in dark ink, the language strange and otherwise runic in appearance.
-Spyglass
-Mortar and Pestle
-Various vials of herbs and other medicinal plants hang from the mans sash.
-Leather bound pack on the left hip of Viktor.
Armor:
[Defensive equipment that will negate/reduce damage]
There is little that stands in the way between cult fabric and flesh, however some of the strings that have the hardness of leather can be felt if struck by a dagger, and cushioning the blow of a blunt force.
||History||
Backstory Synopsis:
A forgotten scholar that had been plagued with a worsening health condition, along with being expelled due to manipulation of competing scholars, Viktor isolated himself in his own small home, delving deep into research of ages past. Years were spent researching into the matters of life and death, desperately trying to find a link between the occult and life. Eventually, after research upon research, the Scholar was able to source a forbidden book that would be sold by a private collector. The man gave everything he had in exchange for this book. In a homeless and nomadic state, the man delved deeper and deeper into this tome, knowledge that would otherwise be taboo, being exposed to him so salaciously. Eventually, through grueling research and ritual, a connection was formed. Not a demonic one through possession, but enlightenment through a higher power, an entity beyond mere supernatural creatures.
Garen was the only name that was spoken. And a gift was left, after one fateful ritual that left Viktor blacked out. An ancient urn, filled with bone dust and within that dust, the rattling bones of an undead that would not die. Tied around that urn, was the mask of Garen, a ramshackle skull mask, ancient and splattered with melted gold across its face. A testament to Viktors new form of study, a new area that would go beyond his scholar life, and to fulfill this, his pilgrimage would begin toward a place of greater mystery. Fearful. He ventured toward the Darkest Estate. Not forced, but inspired to advance his new found occult arts.
Full Backstory:
[The entirety of the full characters story]
Viktor Menkenhof was a migrant from the east that was brought around by a merchant family into the great land of Germany. At the time, things were hard, racial tensions were high due to the wars in the middle east, along with war crimes being performed on both sides of that war. As such, Viktor at a young age was penalised in his grading and socially outcast, but was otherwise able to make it to the highest university that Germany could offer, especially at the time where magic was just being discovered. Viktor would enlist onto a very specific and otherwise secretive course that this university would offer, a course that would focus on the nature of magic in itself, both religious… and occult. This course was funded directly by the royal government, and by the Kaiser, as a means to harness its astral elements to further civil and military sectors.
The same trend would follow with Viktor being socially outcast, and in the three years he spent completing his course, he was on his way to a PhD in the field, and in turn, to potentially be a leading professor. However… Viktor progressively became more strange, more isolationist as the months went on. His studies shifted more onto existential possibilities of human existence, the occult… the world, and the void. The rumours would begin to spread that the man was practicing in methods that would be of more danger to the course’s secrecy, and its wellbeing, despite his advances being in the top marks and clearly showing promise.
A fellow student, one that was rather ego-centric, pitiful and retained a god complex, would take advantage of this as to claim the position for himself. Behind Viktors back for months on end, this student of undeniable scrutiny would tell lies as black as a rats fur, on various activities that Viktor was partaking in, both in the occult, and the unseemly… Eventually. This would all come to a peak, when a letter was sent to Viktors apartment, noting a degradation in grading, and a strict barring on his progression through the university.
Flustered, and boiling with hate, Viktor on that day had stormed the University, barging into the office of his professor, and shaking him around. Insults flew, threats were insinuated, and it all came to a boiling point when another student attempted to stop him. In his sleeve, the Scholar was carrying a letter opener, which he then used to open that students throat, and then embedding that knife in the chin of the professor. Due to the sheer violence, and with the course being secret, the Scholar was removed from the University and banned under the guise of ‘horrific misconduct’ instead of putting him in chains.
His mind at that point had all but come to a crashing low. However, he still had his notes. He still had his research, and so over the years of being an outcast… the ex-scholar continued to research. Researching, eventually would turn into incoherent scribbling of bitter irritation, until of course, in a certain passage on a recent University account regarding a course, a certain collector had in possession, a certain book.
The ex-scholar withdrew all his funds at that point that were dedicated to his savings, food, and otherwise to purchase this book. And once bought, the scholar spent diligent hours analysing every passage, every ritual. When the final chapter was reached, there was little a phrasing, but an instruction
‘Provide me with the hand of a puppet, only then, will you dangle the strings…’
Such a simple phrase. Such a simple meaning. At first, the Scholar was confused, and looking back on previous notes, until he had an idea. Instead of a hand… why not, an entire puppet? Half a year at the age of 32 was spent planning this, and the man was able to pinpoint the housing of that one, pitiful student that had wronged him so…
A bottle of chloroform, the right lighting and the right time was all that was needed for Viktor to kidnap the student just outside his home, packing him into the back of a carriage, he wheeled him all the way back home for the ritual. The student was unconscious all but until the last moment, where he was bound to a circle of chalk and candles. His mouth bound, his ankles and wrists shackled, all he could do was stare wide eyed, begging for forgiveness. Viktor in this moment, chanted the following phrase.
‘Dancer of the strings, Garen of the hanging noose, I, Viktor Menkenhof, offer you this ‘puppet’ as a sign of my devotion. My only wish is to wield your strings, and to further my understanding of you, oh great puppet master…’
For a while, there was silence, and in the last minute, the student began to mockingly laugh behind their muffled mouthpiece. Viktor in that moment, waited in silence, his conical hat worn over their head, a smile poked out from underneath that hood in the last few moments. Suddenly, a choking could be heard, and the student would seem to be attempting to levitate, with the shackles binding him in place. Invisible wires would soon become visible, as tight as bound rope, and as hard as knotted steel, these wires had wrapped around the man's throat, much like a noose.
In that moment, the man's body would soon be hung, his spine clicking as the wire tightened, and for a full day, the wires would peel away the man to the bone after he had passed. Eventually, the process is complete. A puppet of Garen was created, a collection of bones, once normal, now marked with runes, tinted a cold, dark blue of something that had drowned, along with a pasting of splattered gold across the face of the skull. Like a newborn baby, Viktors puppet was born, and it chittered and shook around in its pile of offal. Along with this, the candle lights would flicker
In the next couple years after this, slowly, the mans worldly possessions would be sold to prolong the taxing on his living space, until he had next to nothing but a chair, a table, his notes and his cultist like apparel.
The same trend would follow with Viktor being socially outcast, and in the three years he spent completing his course, he was on his way to a PhD in the field, and in turn, to potentially be a leading professor. However… Viktor progressively became more strange, more isolationist as the months went on. His studies shifted more onto existential possibilities of human existence, the occult… the world, and the void. The rumours would begin to spread that the man was practicing in methods that would be of more danger to the course’s secrecy, and its wellbeing, despite his advances being in the top marks and clearly showing promise.
A fellow student, one that was rather ego-centric, pitiful and retained a god complex, would take advantage of this as to claim the position for himself. Behind Viktors back for months on end, this student of undeniable scrutiny would tell lies as black as a rats fur, on various activities that Viktor was partaking in, both in the occult, and the unseemly… Eventually. This would all come to a peak, when a letter was sent to Viktors apartment, noting a degradation in grading, and a strict barring on his progression through the university.
Flustered, and boiling with hate, Viktor on that day had stormed the University, barging into the office of his professor, and shaking him around. Insults flew, threats were insinuated, and it all came to a boiling point when another student attempted to stop him. In his sleeve, the Scholar was carrying a letter opener, which he then used to open that students throat, and then embedding that knife in the chin of the professor. Due to the sheer violence, and with the course being secret, the Scholar was removed from the University and banned under the guise of ‘horrific misconduct’ instead of putting him in chains.
His mind at that point had all but come to a crashing low. However, he still had his notes. He still had his research, and so over the years of being an outcast… the ex-scholar continued to research. Researching, eventually would turn into incoherent scribbling of bitter irritation, until of course, in a certain passage on a recent University account regarding a course, a certain collector had in possession, a certain book.
The ex-scholar withdrew all his funds at that point that were dedicated to his savings, food, and otherwise to purchase this book. And once bought, the scholar spent diligent hours analysing every passage, every ritual. When the final chapter was reached, there was little a phrasing, but an instruction
‘Provide me with the hand of a puppet, only then, will you dangle the strings…’
Such a simple phrase. Such a simple meaning. At first, the Scholar was confused, and looking back on previous notes, until he had an idea. Instead of a hand… why not, an entire puppet? Half a year at the age of 32 was spent planning this, and the man was able to pinpoint the housing of that one, pitiful student that had wronged him so…
A bottle of chloroform, the right lighting and the right time was all that was needed for Viktor to kidnap the student just outside his home, packing him into the back of a carriage, he wheeled him all the way back home for the ritual. The student was unconscious all but until the last moment, where he was bound to a circle of chalk and candles. His mouth bound, his ankles and wrists shackled, all he could do was stare wide eyed, begging for forgiveness. Viktor in this moment, chanted the following phrase.
‘Dancer of the strings, Garen of the hanging noose, I, Viktor Menkenhof, offer you this ‘puppet’ as a sign of my devotion. My only wish is to wield your strings, and to further my understanding of you, oh great puppet master…’
For a while, there was silence, and in the last minute, the student began to mockingly laugh behind their muffled mouthpiece. Viktor in that moment, waited in silence, his conical hat worn over their head, a smile poked out from underneath that hood in the last few moments. Suddenly, a choking could be heard, and the student would seem to be attempting to levitate, with the shackles binding him in place. Invisible wires would soon become visible, as tight as bound rope, and as hard as knotted steel, these wires had wrapped around the man's throat, much like a noose.
In that moment, the man's body would soon be hung, his spine clicking as the wire tightened, and for a full day, the wires would peel away the man to the bone after he had passed. Eventually, the process is complete. A puppet of Garen was created, a collection of bones, once normal, now marked with runes, tinted a cold, dark blue of something that had drowned, along with a pasting of splattered gold across the face of the skull. Like a newborn baby, Viktors puppet was born, and it chittered and shook around in its pile of offal. Along with this, the candle lights would flicker
In the next couple years after this, slowly, the mans worldly possessions would be sold to prolong the taxing on his living space, until he had next to nothing but a chair, a table, his notes and his cultist like apparel.
Misc. Notes:(Special items, notable scars, scents, how they walk, or talk, etc.)
Walks slow, with hands together, as if in prayer constantly.
Talks in a calm manner, however shows paranoia and distrust in his tone of voice when speaking to the religious.
||Qualities ||
Quirks:
+Photomania
+Clutch Hitter (+5% Crit if HP Below 50%)
-Anemic (-10% Bleed Resist)
-Soft (-5% max HP)
Magic:
[Details the magical abilities, its severity, usage of resources, effects, after effects and how it's performed]
Non-Applicable
Unique Traits -
Puppet Charge : A max of eight charges can be acquired through gathering the bones of the fallen. These bones can be acquired by utilising ‘String Binding’ on a corpse to acquire them, depositing them within the occultists ashen urn. Upon reaching the fifth charge, the Marionettist Abomination can be summoned, a large and ominous figure of knitted string and rune bones that glow with the various eldritch runes used to stabilise such a glorious summoning. This special summon acts as a temporary element, lasting for a minimum of three turns before returning to ash, utilising all the charges. Additional charges will apply a boost to the Marionettist Abomination fortitude, strength and overall binding to the mortal realm, where a max duration of 5 turns can be acquired. Again, like the standard puppet, the strings can be cut in correspondence to each limb to eliminate a specific limb of the summon.
These charges can also be applied to heal the puppets and allies through a specific spell, or to apply a buff (both are specific abilities.)
Marionettist Abomination - This creature is the result of four charges being utilised to summon it. A large bulky creature of hard knitted puppet string and thick bone, acting more like a beast than anything abnormal. The creature upon its visible bones within the bulk of strings are glowing runes of astral rumination. The creature appears to be a brute more than anything that could be classed as a focus, their only aim is to protect their master, and crush the opposition. Crude, they do not care or make attempts to dodge attacks, they simply aim to rip and tear anything that would oppose their occultist.
Four Charges is the minimum to summon the creature. Any additional charge boosts the damage and critical chance of the creature by 3 percent.
Uses all charges upon summoning. Lasts for 2 battles minimum, 3 battles if six charges are spent, 4 if 8 charges are spent.
Spells -
Batter - Viktor whacks the opponent with the Cudgel, dealing blunt damage and trauma.
Laceration - The Occult user lashes out with an invisible wire, capable of cutting through fabric and flesh (EFFECTIVE AGAINST FLESH, WEAK AGAINST ARMOUR)
Puppet Show - The Occult withdraws a marionette of knited bone from a forgotten age, which moves with strange movements, much like a puppet. The higher the Occult users experience with the arts of this specific occult magic, the more powerful this 'puppet' becomes, apparent from the runes etched onto its bones that would glow.
If the Occultist wishes for their puppet to be stronger, they must devote more of their attention to its 'summoning'. The occultist therefore cannot use their next turn, however, the Puppet that they summon becomes more lively, their movements more sporadic and inhuman, becoming a lot more versatile and useful. Uses one bone charge if summoning skeleton from urn. Lasts until death. Leaves a corpse, provides 0.5 of a charge back if replininished within one turn.
-- CAST ON CORPSE : The Occultist is able to utilise the dead for their own wishes, which could be used for a variety of things, many in combat, many in a passive scenario. This can also be applied to the corpses of allies. Utilising this on certain larger corpses will result in a stronger puppet, however this will require the Occultists full attention in order to maintain the strings (such as using the corpse of a Swinetaur as a puppet). Doesnt use a bone charge on normal sized targets ie 1 space. Uses 1.5 bone charge on 2 space enemy size. Normal sized puppets will last three turns. Two space size enemies will last two turns.
NOTE: If the strings that are bound to each individual limb and joint of the Puppet are subsequently cut, it will result in said limb being useless. For example, cutting the thread from the head will result in the puppet becoming 'blind', removing the thread from their hand will cause their attacks with that hand to become difficult.
String Binding - Invisible wires latch around the targets limbs, binding them in place and causing bleeding. If recast on the target, more strings are added, and thus the bleeding would stack. (UNEFFECTIVE ON THE UNDEAD) Provides one bone charge.
If the User wants to use Beckoning Projection or The Cliff Hanger, this ability must first be casted. String binding can hold an enemy for one turn, therefore there is only one opportunity to use it in your next turn.
--CAST ON CORPSE : If cast on a corpse, the strings will rip the flesh off the body to the bone in quick and sudden fashion. Grants an additional bone charge.
The Cliff Hanger - (UNAVAILABLE UNTIL STRING BINDING IS USED) Utilising this on a bound enemy, the strings will refasten on the users neck, tightening, applying a nasty bleed and stunning them for a turn. It has a turn cooldown of two turns. Uses one bone charge.
Beckoning Projection (UNAVAILABLE UNTIL STRING BINDING IS USED) - If a target is bound, and this spell is cast, if successful, the Occult user can force the enemy to perform an action against their own allies! Uses one bone charge.
Skeletal Applause - Two charges will be utilised to buff an ally or their puppet with the following attributes -
Increased Damage
Increased Speed
The audience applauds from a plane that cannot be perceived through mortal eyes, only through hearing, and demands greater entertainment. If the user fails to attack, a debuff will be applied, as the murmurs of disappointment begin to settle in, which will essentially decrease the effectiveness of the buff. Uses 0.5 of a bone charge.
String Kit - Two charges are applied to knit the wounds together, essentially acting as the Wyrd Reconstruction. If the occultist is put off during this, the strings may accidentally perform the ‘String Binding’ skill on the ally instead of healing them. More charges can be applied to increase the success and healing capability of this skill. Uses 0.5 of a bone charge.
FOCUSES (passive skills to buff the Puppet/Puppets) ((PUPPET FOCUSES UNLOCKED AT LEVEL TWO))
Puppet Focus - Tank : The Puppet through spell slot sacrifice grows a layer of what can only be described as muscle knitted from puppet string, the string in itself being hard and tightly knited, making it hard to crack.
The Puppet in this state is represented as a Tank, taunting opponents and keeping them off an ally or soaking up the heat. They are slower, and the nimbleness of the standard puppet is lost, however the Puppet keeps enemies distracted, keeps them occupied.
Puppet focus - Warrior : In exchange for a spell slot, the puppet now gains a buckler and what could only be described as an ancient gladius. Instead of being nimble and moving strange, this is sacrificed for greater fighting capability and technique, the puppet becoming a fully fledged dueler. This is more for an offensive emphasis.The warrior also sports some joint protection and a helmet from an era long lost to make targeting the strings more difficult, and the skeleton more hardy.
Puppet focus - Children of the Night : The puppet deforms, forming into ash, and being reformed again into three child-like skeletons of ravenous hatred. This is used to overwhelm targets, and not meant for survivability. Can be killed quite easily.
Fighting style:
[Details how the character tends to fight, and what it will try to avoid.]
-Viktor will play a supportive role that can mix between a support stance, a defensive stance and offensive stance with the use of his minions.
Strengths
Details the general strengths of this character.
+A Support that can alternate between a supportive, defensive and offensive playstyle
+Can overwhelm targets
+Many of his abilities combo
+Very calm
+Can manipulate opponents and utilise the dead for a variety of purposes
Weaknesses
Details the general weaknesses of this character.
-Becomes distressed when minions are killed
-No fighting prowess
-Abilities can be draining after extensive use
-Weak physically
-Distrusts and mocks the religious
