The City of Lost Dreams(Los Angeles) Starting with city and character creation

[Archmage_Cowl]

Okay so me and my group which consists of 7 people including myself(yeah i'm pretty sure its too big but... they all wanted to play, how could i say no? ) Sat down to start up our campaign yesterday. We talked about what we all wanted to see in the campaign and given that half of us have read the books and we all love the circle or black council if you will we decided they had to be a powerful entity. Also none of us wanted the war with the red court to be going on and since we love the wizards we said that the campaign would take place in the future(20 years to be exact) and the red courts have been driven to near extinction by the wizards, sort of similar to what happened to the black court centuries ago.

However the fighting between the white council and the red court caused alot of darker creatures to get a leg up if you will. So the black court vamps are powerful again and the city of lost dreams is the home of one of their biggest clans(centered around six flags magic mountain, i mean come on any place with ticket prices like that has to be run by some type of blood sucker ) Then we also decided the paranet is finally fully up and running and is part of the white council now(effectively allowing anyone who joins the paranet to become a member of the white council by way of association). They sort of function like a weaker but well loved section of the white council. They dont get to come to the meetings yet or anything though and many are treated with a sort of disdain by the older wizards but they are slowly growing closer to the white council and are becoming more highly thought of(while many of them dont have talents as diverse as wizards there are more of them than actual wizards so they still have great diversity overall).

On the black council(which is their "Official" name) front, they exist in the semi open now(they are known of but dont meet en masse or conduct any large scale operations). The benifits of joining the black council are quite great: the black council frequently hands out knowledge on dark magic and law breaker powers. They also will accept even the un-trained, like sorceres or even focused practioners. The black council also lets its most elite members become one of The Watchers, a group basicly like the evil wardens(complete with nifty magic tools as well). The black council is led by the strongest, evil-est members and they call themselves the circle(no one knows the identity of any of the members as they all always appear through ghostly illusions of themselves or possibly actual ghosts, and are always wearing non descript black robes). But ofcourse evilness on that scale comes at a cost. The black council forces its members to do jobs, unlike the white council were all membership requires is a set level of power and a following of the rules. These jobs might be as easy as obtaining an old book from your local library. Or potentially as difficult as assassinating a powerful warden quietly.

Phew that was alot! now on to the characters.
 One of my people is playing a Necromatic Priestess who is the daughter of one of The Watchers. She is not officially part of the black council but of course has law breaker. She belives that dark magic can be used for good if its used carefully.
 One of them is playing a Soulfull Black Court Vampire - a regular joe who was subjected to a powerful dark ritual that trapped his soul in the body of a black court vampire. He can draw on his vampiric power but it slowly destroys his soul.
 One of the players is playing a High Wizard the great great grandson of the Merlin(the original not Langtry) An arrogant and powerful young wizard who has somehow come up with soulfire.
 One is playing a Chosen of the Spirits- a native american shapeshifter who was brought back to life by his guardian spirits for a mysterious purpose.
 One is playing a Lance Wielding Amnesiac- a regular joe(or is he?) who woke up about two weeks before the story started with only the clothes on his back and a lance in his hand. He has no memory of his past but is constantly being chased by monsters for an unknown reason.
 One is playing a Wiseass Wizardess A wizardess of the white council contemplating going rouge.
 And Finally one is playing a Rebellious Knight of The Cross a knight of the cross who feels the way the church goes about things is wrong.

Okay we actually did alot more than that but my fingers hurt(lol) so im gonna wait till i can feel them again then i'll post some specific stats for each character and how the start of our first adventure went(which was pretty amazing) On a criticism note: i dont really have any criticism! none of us have ever even been to that side of america and city creation still went really smoothly. I love this system!

Edit: I should probably note that the big three we picked for our city are
The Theme: Supernatural Hotspot
The Theme: Lost Dreams
The Threat: Darkness Prevails

[The Werewolf]

i'm chosen by the spirits not brought back to life, that's my father. god wizard can't you get that right.

[luminos]

Well dang, that sounds really cool.  What refresh are you playing at?

[The Overseer]

-Hello there, Sir.-

I'm the necromancer.  =]
We are playing with 10 refresh.

[KnightFerrous]

Ummm not to put a crimp in a character but the High Wizard can't have soulfire. Evocation -3, Tham -3, the Sight -1, soulfire -5(-3 with discount) = NPC.

[Archmage_Cowl]

a house rule of mine is your allowed to go to 0 refresh and still be a player character(you'll just never have any fate points to throw around lol) negatives is still a no go though

[KnightFerrous]

Ah that explains it *salutes* carry on, nothing to see here.

[Archmage_Cowl]

Okay i can probably get a character or two in before sleep devours me.
Character: Lucien Rorfeld Merlin
Sex: Male, Age: 23, Template: Wizard
High Concept: High Wizard
Trouble: My Power Can Solve Everything-this fits the description of him perfectly almost. He truly belives his magic, his gift is the answer to all his troubles(sadly its the cause of most of them lol)
Other aspects:
High Born, Blessed Blood-This really fits his upbringing of being raised to think that all without the gift are worthless utterly and completely. He was raised by Arthur Langtry after his father(who rejected his gift) was killed in a car crash. His mother is still alive but as she is ungifted he doesnt think of her as the woman who gave birth to him.

Eyes That Show True Power- His coming into power shows that after he obtained the gift he felt that regular people were just below him. Literally he doesnt feel an compunction about their loss of life(though he would never want magic to be the cause). Also he strongly belives in soulgazeing most people he meets to take a measure of them(this is a large reason he feels mortal are beneath him as they usually faint after trying to take a measure of his soul and he is rarely even interested in a regular mortals soul).

Bad Influence- Guest starring: Serenity- He and her have been best friends since a young age when she was brought to Langtry's house to live. She and him constantly make trouble for the The Merlin as they both belive he is too strict.

Merlin's My Grandfather- This relates to the fact that he was largely raised by Arthur Langtry and shapes many of his action. Especially the glare.

Skills 35/35 points
Superb(+5)- Lore, Discipline
Great(+4)- Presence, Conviction
Good(+3)- Rapport, Intimidation
Fair(+2)-Altertness, Scholarship, Deciet
Average(+1)-Empathy, Craftsmanship, Athletics

Stunts 10 refesh modified to 0
-3 Evocation(Water, Fire, Spirit) spec Water power +1
-3 Thaumaturgy spec Hydromancy complexity +1
-1 The Sight
+0 Soulgaze
+0 Wizards Constitution
-3 Soulfire

Focus Item Slots:3
Wizards hat(water control offensive+defensive +1)
Staff(Hydromancy Complexity +1)
Enchanted Item Slots:2

A powerful wizard in his own right he often times has very little trouble keeping his power under his control. Ever since he was little he has been protected by a powerful water elemental named Deltver given to him by his father's death curse(yes he rejected his gift but embraced it in death to help protect his son) As such most of his attacks are based on Deltver such as Deltver's fist, Deltver's blade, and Deltver's Shield.

Deltver     High Concept: Water Elemental Paladin
Other aspects- bound to a wizard for life- he is bound to serve lucien by lucien's father's death curse but ironiclly has taken a liking to him and cares about his general well being.
Look I'm a tatoo!- takes the shape of a tattoo on lucien's back when he isnt being used.
Deltver is a hulking size water elemental with humaniod knight like features covered in icy armor. He wields a large blade made of ice and is quite sentient and very polite even addressing enemies with titles such as sir or madam.
I have his stats but not on hand at the moment. When i get ahold of them again i'll fill him in but for now just assume he represents a great or superb physical challenge, a fair social and average magical.

Well Thats my character. I'm also the gm so i dont get to play him as fully as i would like but thats just how it is i guess. I'll add the rest of the characters as i can find time.

Edit/ I know he should have another aspect but i'll give it to him after the first adventure is completed(which we havent yet).

[KaydenM]

Yo! Wiseass Wizardess here!
Hey write mine on here next! PRETTY PLEEEEEEEEASE!

[Mattastic]

I dig the water elemental tied to Lucien, really cool.

[Archmage_Cowl]

Thanks I thought is was a cool idea to have a guardian too. Alright now on to the sorceress as i have some free time today

Character: Serenity(Sin) Sterling
Sex: Female  Age: 22 Template: Wizard
High Concept: Wiseass Wizardess
Trouble: Untrusting- She lived on the streets as a child in a dog eat dog world. The only person who ever had her back mysteriously disappeared on her, leaving her untrusting of people and creatures as a whole.
Other Aspects
Bittersweet- Born in the slums she spent her first 6 years there until a man with swirly silver eyes caught her trying(rather poorly) to pick his pocket. Noticing her talent this mysterious man took her to the merlin and got her adopted. She knows it's likely her parents are dead but hopes they arent.

Promoted to Badassery- After running away from the merlin's home(again) she was caught up to by the wardens. Her first use of magic was then(it blinded them and she was able to sneak away) but as soon as she turned the corner after fleeing she saw the merlin there tapping his foot impatiently(she was ground for 3 months)

Pain In Merlins Ass-Never liking the way the merlin ran things she constantly antagonized him at every turn. Lucien wondering why she was still alive began to follow her example(and found it great fun) thus begining their friendship.

Wizards I Can Stand- There are very few of the members of the white council that she can stand but some of the more out there wizards(like Lucien) are the only reason she still stays attached to the white council.

Skills 35/35
Superb(+5) Lore, Athletics
Great(+4) Conviction, Discipline
Good(+3) Contacts, Endurance
Fair(+2) Preformance, Alertness, Fists
Average(+1) Scholarship, Deceit, Stealth, Empathy, Guns

Stunts 10 refresh modified to +3
-3 Evocation(Light, Shadow, Nature) spec light control +1
-3 Thaumaturgy spec shadowmancy complexity +1
-1 The sight
+0 Soulgaze
+0 Wizards Constitution
note: She uses an odd magic system her player found somewhere. It consists of light, shadow, nature, body, and spirit.

Focus Item slots: 2
Biker gloves +1 light offensive power
Sun glasses +1 light offensive control
Enchanted item slots: 4(unused)

Her rotes are:
Smite - a light based lightning attack. The heavens crackle and streams of light in the area form into bolts of lighting falling on the opponent of her choice.
Light Cage - a light based manuever to bind the opponent. Strands of light in the area coscolate into a cage over the opponent to prevent movement
Light whip - a full zone light based attack. Creates an extremely hot whip of light she strikes a whole zone with.
Irony - a shadow based block. Any attack that hits her is transerfed into her shadow causing her to take no damage(unless it breaks the block. then it was too big for the shadow to absorb)
Note: i only have the names and basic useage her player has the actual shifts and such of each.

A fairly powerful and knoweldgable wizardess Sin specializes in magic many mages have never actually seen in battle. She is a little odd, always flipant, and definately an interesting character. As the gm I'm curious to learn more about this silver eyed man lol. Well Thats her. I'll try and get another character or two put up today. Next up the Soulfull black court vampire.

[KaydenM]

Haha! Thank you, oh mighty GM. Yay! Even though I'm nothing like her she's badass on a level unknown! (*sigh* but not nearly as powerful as the all mighty High Wizard) However my badluck and mean streak lead for an interesting story.

[The Werewolf]

why do i feel that if my character goes bad that he'll died. God wizard stop with the op!

[KaydenM]

why do i feel that if my character goes bad that he'll died. God wizard stop with the op!

Because I will kill you. *snicker snicker*
Not to mention I'm getting my power suport here soon. >=)

[The Werewolf]

great so i'm going to be killed by a wiseass wizardess. that's just wonderful