Character:The Shining Lord of Gold and Ivory

Game: Once more, with feeling.

The Shining Lord of Gold and Ivory
Caste: Twilight Caste, Solar Exalted
Concept: Demon Summoner
Bond: Lilijana
Minister of the Ministry of Magical Arts

A young tanned man with eyes and hair shining like gold and perfect white teeth, a golden circle, top half filled in,is marked in his forehead permanently. He is dressed in a clean white robe adorned with gold buttons and patterns of threads.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg1/General_Hentai/a100861.png

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3985/shininglord.jpg

Motivation

• Destroying the Mask of Winters

Intimacies

• His Family (+)
• Mask of Winters (-)
• Fair Folk (-)
• Sorcery (+)

• Lilijana (+)

Anima

• A white and golden light surrounding him, at higher levels a shining pentagram pattern around his feet. At iconic levels a shackled horned and winged demon appears, seemingly defiantly but hopelessly struggling against the will of the sorcerer.

Attributes

Physical Attributes

• Strength 3
• Dexterity 4
• Stamina 3

Social Attributes

• Charisma 4
• Manipulation 4
• Appearance 4

Mental Attributes

• Perception 4
• Intelligence 5
• Wits 5

Abilities

Caste and Favored

• Investigation 1
  
• Craft
  • Craft (Fire) 2
  • Craft (Air) 2
  • Craft (Earth) 1
  • Craft (Magitech) 5
• Lore 5
• Occult 5 (Spellcraft +3) (Demonology +3)
• Medicine
• Martial Arts 5 (Staffs +2)
• Integrity 4
• Presence 5
• Lingustics 3
  • • Language (Riverspeak), Old Realm, High Realm, Forest-tounge
• Performance 4
• Resistance 3
• Dodge 5

Unfavored

• Larceny 1
• Stealth 1
• Ride 1
• Awareness 3
• Athletics 2

Backgrounds

Artifact 5: The Golden Tome

• This is a copy of the Book of Three Circles, but the Shining Lady in Gold and Ivory's personal variant. While it is not as complete as the original, as the Lady edited, modified or outright ignored certain spells, it weighs this up by containing a number of original spells by the Lady herself) and the Lady's easy instructions that allows a sorcerer to cast a spell without actually learning it.
  

Artifact 5: The Ivory Staff

• This is impressive staff is made of ivory and orichalium and brims with sorcerous power. The staff lets the sorcerer flurry his Shape Sorcery Action according to the Million Hand and Eye Virtue charm (Hundredfold Facets of Enlightenment p 45) without spending any wp, as well as a storage of essence. It also works most superbly as a fighting implement.
• Attunement: 10 motes
• Activation: 8 motes
• Storage: 70 motes

Artifact 2: Skin Mount Amulet

• When a heartstone is inserted the wearer regain one extra mote per hour. Also the wearer gains additional motes in his essence pool equal to twice the manse's level.

Artifact 2: Gloves of Convenience

These apparently simple thin gloves practically meld with the skin as they are donned. By reflexively spending one mote of essence the wearer can do simple tricks with the gloves, like cleaning his clothes or closing a door. All of its capapbilities are not known, but they can easily emulate anything that wouldn't require a roll and can enhance a stunt. A wearer who uses the gloves predominantly in a stunt also gets an additional stunt die.

Artifact 5: Crown of Sorcery

See Once_more_with_feeling/Custom_Artifacts#Crown_of_Sorcery

Manse 5: The Golden Cave

• The Golden cave was a hidden manse belonging to The Shining Lady in Gold and Ivory where she stored her most precious possessions. Hidden from sight it has remained undisturbed since the Usurpation until the Lord exalted. It's heartstone lets the attuned sorcerer store the sorcerous power of a type of spell, reducing the cost of casting it by 10m or half (whatever is lowest). Changing the attuned spell is done by casting the spell at dawn. (This price of this casting is not reduced).

Manse 5

• Jewel of the Forest Warriors
• Located in the Metasorcerous Phylactery

Manse 5

• Stone of Madness
• Located in the Crown Of Sorcery

Manse 5

• Gem of Brigid
• Located in the Crown of Sorcery

Manse 4: The Shining Library of Enlightenment

• See Custom Manses Page.
• Twice Lightning Prism as heartstone.
• Located in Skin-Mount Amulet.

"Demonic Retinue" 5

As a demonologist the Shining Lord of Gold and Ivory surrounds himself with a retinue of demons bound to him. These include:

• Tenglann, Creator of the Deadly
• Two Erymanthoi, Blood-Apes
• One Neomah, Maker of Flesh
• Three Perroneles, Living Armor
• One Sessejale, Stomach Bottle Bug

Command 4

A Wing of Erymanthoi, armed with perfect quality weapons created by Tenglann.

Resources 5

Various riches and spell materials the Lord has gathered in Denandsor.

Henchmen/Allies 3

Three Amalgams.

Charms

• Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
• Celestial Circle Sorcery
• Solar Circle Sorcery
• Integrity-Protecting Prana
• Destiny Manifesting Method
• Spirit-Detecting Glance
• Spirit Cutting Attack
• Ghost-Eating Technique
• All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight
• Sorcerer's Burning Chakra Charm
• Shadow Over Water
• Seven Shadow Evasion
• Essence Gathering Temper
• Willpower Enhancing Spirit
• Majestic Radiant Presence
• Terrifying Apparition of Glory
• Discerning Savant's Eye
• Emerald Essence Assimilation
• Sorcerer's Gilded Invocation
• Salinian Absorption
• Sorcerer's Infernal Army
• Immediate Call of the Infernal Servant
• Righteous Lion Defence (Sorcery)
• Shedding Infinite Radiance
• Crowd Commanding Spirit
• Sapphire Essence Understanding

Spells

Terrestial Circle

Demon of the First Circle

• Book & Page: Core, 252.
• Cost: 20m+
• Duration: Dusk until Midnight
• Effects: Summons a First Circle demon which to bind with contested roll of Willpower+Essence.
• Target: One First Circle Demon

Death of Ivory Shards

• Book & Page: Core, 252. (Death of Obsidian Butterflies
• Cost: 15m
• Duration: Instant
• Effects: Perception+Occult adding Essence successes as hand to hand attacks against all in area, dealing 8Lplus successes.
• Target: Area 30 yards wide, 100 yards deep, 10 yards high, starting at caster

Emerald Countermagic

• Book & Page: Core, 253.
• Cost: 10m or 20m
• Duration: Next Action or Instant
• Effects: Shatters Terrestial Circle Srocery
• Target: Self or Spell within 250 feet

Infallible Messenger

• Book & Page: Core, 254.
• Cost: 10m.
• Duration: Until delivered.
• Effects: Conjures up a messenger spirit to deliver a short message to anyone in Creation or Yu Shan.
• Target: Summoned Cherub.

Invulnerable Ivory Body

• Book & Page: Core, 254. (Invulnerable Skin of Bronze)
• Cost: 20m.
• Duration: Until the sun next crosses the horizon.
• Effects: Hardens the caster's skin into shining ivory, as supple and flexible as silk, but as hard and strong as bone.
• Target: Caster.

Ivory Tusk

• Book & Page: Core, 254.
• Cost: 10m
• Duration: Indefinite.
• Effects: Turns arms into sharp ivory weapons.
• Target: Self

Thunder Wolf's Howl

• Book & Page: White Treatsie, 66
• Cost: 10m
• Duration: Instant
• Effects: Loud howl damages beings in area.
• Target: Area 20 yards across, 1within 100 yards of caster.

Commanding Presence of Fire

• Book & Page: White Treatsie, 40.
• Cost: 10m
• Duration: One minute to one scene
• Effects: Summons a large copy of the caster in fire that amplifies voice.
• Target: Fiery Projection

Cirrus Skiff

• Book & Page: White Treatsie, 40.
• Cost 15m
• Duration: Concentration or one scene.
• Effects: Summons a small cloud on which to ride with passenger.
• Target: Small cloud.

Celestial Circle

Demon of the Second Circle

• Book & Page: Core, 255.
• Cost: 30m+
• Duration: Dusk until Midnight
• Effects: Summons a Second Circle demon which to bind with contested roll of Willpower+Essence.
• Target: One Second Circle Demon

Travel Without Distance

• Book & Page: Core, 256.
• Cost: 25m.
• Duration: Instant.
• Effects: Teleports the caster and possibly his companions to a location within a few miles.
• Target: Caster.

Cloud Trapeze

• Book & Page: White Treatsie, 70.
• Cost: 25m.
• Duration: Concentration.
• Effects: Summons a large cloud chariot to carry the Sorcerer and passengers.
• Target: One cloud chariot.

Hidden Judges of the Secret Flame

Book & Page: White Treatsie, 72.

• Cost: 30m.
• Duration: Instant.
• Effects: Summon one of the Seven Hidden Judges to reveal someone who has broken the Celestial Laws.
• Target: One of the Seven Judges.

Imbue Amalgam

Book & Page: White Treatsie, 74.

• Cost: 15m+.
• Duration: Indefinite.
• Effects: Enchants one mortal into a powerful being.
• Target: One mortal.

Sapphire Circle Banishment

Book & Page: White Treatsie, 80.

• Cost: 15m.
• Duration: Instant.
• Effects: Banishes demons back to Malfeas, a Second Circle Demon gets a resisted roll, a first circle demon is banished instantly.
• Target: One First or Second Circle Demon or a group of First Circle Demons.

Servant of the Infallible Location

Book & Page: White Treatsie, 80.

• Cost: 15m.
• Duration: Special.
• Effects: Summons a small bird that will track down an item or person.
• Target: One objectively definable item.

Whirlwind of Fate

Book & Page: White Treatsie, 86.

• Cost: 20m.
• Duration: Essence Hours.
• Effects: Every success on this spell gives two successes to a pool that may be used as bonus to further a goal stated at casting.
• Target: Caster.

Dolorous Reflection

• Book & Page: Core, 255.
• Cost: 20m.
• Duration: (Essence x2) long ticks (or hours) after movement or attack action is made.
• Effects: Reflects physical ranged attacks.
• Target: Caster or up to (Essence) Magnitude Mass Combat unit.

Glorious Golden Arsenal Transformation

• Book & Page: Core, 255 (Incomparable Body Arsenal).
• Cost: 30m.
• Duration: (Essence) Hours
• Effects: The caster is turned into a golden automaton and gains soak, hardness and weapons.
• Target: Caster

Solar Circle

Adamant Countermagic

• Book & Page: Core, 256.
• Cost: 20 or 25m.
• Duration: Instant.
• Effects: Shields the caster from, or directly attacks, an Adamant Circle Spell, shattering it. It will snuff an Emerald Circle Spell or Sapphire Circle Spell with no side effects.
• Target: Caster or one spell.

Light of Solar Cleansing

• Book & Page: White Treatise, 92.
• Cost: 30m
• Duration: Instant
• Effects: Anything unloved by the sun receives Essence x2 dice of Aggravated damage, no armor applies.
• Target: Area, Essence miles from Caster.

Total Annihilation

• Book & Page: White and Black Treatises, 97-8.
• Cost: 65m.
• Duration: (Essence x 5) Ticks
• Effects: This spell creates a fist-sized orb of emerald fire after the sorcerer whispers the lost, former name of Ligier, which the sorcerer can fling with their will toward any target within 200 yards. The sphere constitutes a perfect attack unless opposed by magic-enhanced dodges or parries. When the orb strikes, it explodes into a column of bright green light 50 yards wide and five miles high, dealing lethal damage to everything within the area, then sweeping outward to deal more.
• Target: Area

• Rune of Singular Hate
• Gaia's Rebuke
• Soul Seal
• Technique Mirror
• Wind of Confusion
• Chariot of the Blazing Sun
• Mystic Travel
• Mirage of Protective Shelter
• Demon of The Third Circle
• Evocation From the Mirror
• Essence Inversion
• Cleansing Solar Flames
• Wrath of the Five Elements
• Adamant Circle banishment

Essence

• Essence: 5
  • Peripheral: 72/83(72)m
  • Staff storage: 44/70m
  • Skin-Mount Amulet: 8m

• • Crown of Sorcery: 45m
• Committed:
  • 11

Willpower

• 10 of Ten

Virtues

• Compassion 4
• Conviction 2
• Temperance 2
• Valor 5

Limit

10/10 LIMIT BREAK!!!

Limit Break

• Sense of Superiority
• Shining fears no danger, as he is assured in his own power's superiority over everything. Who could dare face the most powerful sorcerer in Creation after all?
• Partial Control: He is not without sense, and may retreat if the odds are too overwhelming, however he cares not for personal risk and will lead any charge.
• Duration: One Day
• Trigger: Fighting against losing odds, being challenged to single combat or otherwise given opportunity to prove his superiority.

Secondary Attributes

• Dodge DV 7
• Parry DV 6

• Mental Doge DV 10
• Mental Parry DV 5

Merits and Flaws

Merits

• Past Lives (4)
• Sorcery Focus (4)

Flaws

• Beacon of Power (4)
• Derangement: Multiple Personalities (2) (No Social Penalty)
• Throwback (3)
• Enemy (3) (Demon or some Fair Folk Perhaps?)
• Permanent Caste Mark (2)

History

Shining Lord of Gold and Ivory was born as a young boy called Son of Honor and Bravery in a mid-sized nation in the Scavenger Lands. His father, a High Captain of the local king was a well known war hero who had once fought alongside and received praise from the terrestial exalted of Lookshy after he successfully led the charge of the god-blooded Iron Tyrant's rearguard, preventing his escape and ensuring his defeat at the Battle of Three Oaks. It was therefore not suprising that his sons and daughters were expected to become proficient fighters themselves, and his fourth child and first son would be no less.

However, while his sisters had proven themselves more than promising students in the martial field at a young age, their brother did not have the same aptitude for combat. He did however show a high level of quick and advanced thinking and would soon learn to beat even his oldest sister in the most advanced theoretical wargames. But this was not quite enough for the father, who disappointed started hiding away his son.

And in this way Shining Lord of Gold and Ivory could have ended, had it not been for the child's tenacious curiosity and thirst for more knowledge. He soon learned to evade his father and snuck out of his apartments in the castle for exploration. It did not take long before he found his way to the palace library, where he was received by the old lady taking care of the books. She too had come from a very demanding family, and it had taken many years for her to find her true calling in the written works. She taught the boy how to read and write and as much she could from the books. She soon noted, however, how her own skills and knowledge proved outmatched and simply kept an eye on him as he strolled around the library picking out and reading whatever struck his fancy.

It was there the boy's life would change one day when he met a person he had never seen before in the library. The man was odd, dressed like one of the many alchemists and thaumaturges that visited the castle, but there was something off... with him, an aura of power, a sign that this man was not a fake hedge-wizard, but a true sorceror. These exact words were ofcourse not what the boy would have said in the moment, but they give a realisation to what he thought. Furthemore what made the man special was that he talked to him, most "wise-men" simply ignored him, when they didn't complain about his presence or call him "brat". But this man went up to the boy, asked him who he were and what he was doing here. The boy, polite as he had been taught, answered and said he was here to learn things, as his father had become disappointed in his skills at arms. The man proceeded to ask who the father was and upon receiving the reply he nodded silently.

The two spent a couple of hours talking, the man finding out what the boy knew and testing his mind with games and experiments of thought. When the sun was falling down in the west the man told the boy to return to his home, his family was surely missing him. The boy paused for a second, unsure, not only if his family would be missing him, but his father was expecting an important guest this night and the boy had detected that his own presence was not expected. Upon seing the boy doubt, the man told him again to go home, firmer this time, and the boy did so.

He easily snuck back into his room, undetected, and if he had been missed there were no signs of it. As the time passed, no-one came to prepare him for the dinner, so he assumed he had been right in his judgment of his father. It was not until a while later, when the party had most definitely moved into the dining room, that a servant knocked on his door, saying that his presence was required at the table immediatly. Suprised the boy quickly dressed in whatever decent clothes were in arms reach and hurried along.

Once in the dining room apart from his parents and siblings there was the guest of the evening, who turned out to be the very same man he had met earlier in the day. It turned out that the man was a sorceror from the south, whom his father had gotten to know and respect deeply in a recent campaign. It was the man who had made his father call him out to the dinner and for once the son was allowed to sit with his family with guests. While the man had questioned the boy earlier in the day, this time it was the father's turn. The man asked the father of all possible things about the boy, and at the end the man proposed something the boy had never even dreamt of, that he would follow him back to Nexus and become his apprentice.

Two days later the boy packed some of the most interesting books he had not yet read in the library and what little he had in the ways of possessions, took farewell of his family and followed his new master to Nexus. This was the last time the boy saw them. The trip back could have been called uneventful, but hardly for the boy. The world was new and open to him and during the travel back to Nexus the boy felt his curiosity tenfold and the realisation dawn on him how little he knew.

For seven years the boy would study thaumaturgy and occult, preparing for one day learn to master the elements of sorcery. This proceeded and became a repetitous daily routine until one day his master asked him to go on a special mission. He would retrieve a number of leaves of a rare flower needed for a slightly more potent variant of Sweet Cordial that he was experimenting with. As the leaves had no value in itself and no-one but the master himself knew of their possible use, they were impossible to find in Nexus, and since the master did not trust anyone else, it became on the young apprentice to do the task. The boy left the city, heading for his destination, across the river and further north. Traveling alone and spartanly the boy walked along less traveled roads to avoid notice from his master's rivals.

It was thus that the boy came to be walking along a hillside in the evening as he heard a cry for help. Looking down he saw a young woman fleeing from a band of mounted bandits. Now the imperatives that his father had drilled into him kicked in and he felt unable to leave the woman for herself, his situation hopeless or not. At the same time he decided and took a step in the direction of the band and woman the sun broke through the clouds and burned a mark into his forehead. A burst of sudden realisation opened up his mind and his body was filled with light. Perplexed the bandits halted, looking up the hillside and a couple of seconds later they were no more.

When the boy retrieved himself from what had happened the young woman was nowhere to be seen. In fact, there was not a living soul in sight. Yet the boy was not alone, he could feel it. After spending a couple of minutes looking around he made camp, and decided to spend the night trying to sort everything in his head out. He knew now that he was a Solar Exalted, and who and what he had been before. He could feel unimaginable power at his fingertips and decided to return to his master the next day to see if he knew more about his situation.

When he shortly after arrived back in Nexus he found his master disappeared. Not only he himself, but also his workshop and home. And when he asked the townspeople, even his master's fiercest rival, no-one knew of him. After finding his possession in a "lost-and-found" box in the dinghy inn that was where his master's home had been he sat down to think and wonder. That was when the Shing Lady in Gold and Ivory introduced herself.

The Shining Lady in Gold and Ivory was the exaltation's past life right before the Ursupation. In a last desperate act to survive when the Sidereals and Dragon-Blooded had approached her Ivory Tower, she quickly put in practice a spell she hoped would preserve her conciousness and memories on her exaltation shard. She had not counted with the fact that the new body she would exalt in already had a conciousness, however. She had thus spent the last few days trying to make out who she was in and recovering strength so to manifest herself.

Following the advice of his new constant companion Lord of Gold and Ivory started making his way back to the Golden Cave, the Lady's second hideout which no-one but herself had known about. There he gathered the supplies that had been left there and studied as many of the works he could (with tips and instructions from his mental companion). As this time passed the differences between the two became more and more apparent. While both turned out to be rather rash and hot-headed, the Lady showed to be more concerned with direct results and acheiving the goal than the Lord, who rather felt the pain of the people and who was not as willing to sacrifice all for the sake of success.

Comments for the GM

The Lady

An own small section for the Shining Lady in Gold and Ivory. My view of her is that she is quite similar to the Lord, being a "bit" overconfident and rash, although as I said, more leaning towards Conviction than Compassion. This means that it is essentially that the past life that can take control from Throwback is the same as the aspect of his personality from Multiple Personalities. Some background about the Lady would be good to flesh out, I'll say what I've thought of so far.

The Shining Lady in Gold and Ivory was one of the late First Age's most respected and feared sorcerors. From her splendid Manse palace the Ivory Tower, located where the desert of the South met the sea of the West and the Wyld, she would study the fabric of creation and the possiblity of anchoring it further into reality and expanding into the Wyld. Towards the Usurpation she became more and more reclusive and did not participate in the great calibration feast and it thus gave her time to prepare before the Dragon Blooded and Sidereals came knocking on her door. In an unprecedented burst of sudden realisation that she would not be able to withstand their combined might she quickly designed a spell to graft herself to the Exaltation shard when she died, and would thus survive until the next exaltation.

Exp Awards

Starting: 174xp
Gameplay: 32xp
Story: 50xp
ST error: 1xp
Roleplay: 1xp
Rebuy Merit: 8xp

Exp Spending

30 Spells 80xp
Salinian Absorption 8xp
Emerald Essence Assimilation 8xp
Sorcerer's Gilded Invocation 8xp
Demonology Speciality x3 9xp
Manse 5

Manse 4 12xp
Command 4 12xp
Resources 5 15xp
Artifact 2 6xp
Martial Arts 5 7xp
MA Speciality 3xp
Henchmen or Allies 3 9xp
Downgrading Flaw (MPD) 3xp

Artifact 2 6xp

Artifact 5: Crown of sorcery 15xp
Artifact 4: Metasorcerous Phylactery 12xp
Manse 5 15xp
Manse 5 15xp

Righteous Lion Defense 8xp
Shedding Infinite Radiance 16xp 8xp
Crowd Commanding Spirit 16xp 8xp

Temptation-Resisting Stance 8xp
Elusive Dream Defense 8xp

Harmonious Academic Methodology 8xp
Legendary Scholar Curriculum 8xp

Reflex Sidestep Technique 8xp
Flow Like Blood 8xp
Dancing Shadows Evasion 8xp

354xp out of 417xp spent
Banked 63xp