Gunstar Li Xiaofei

A character in Gunstar Autochthonia: Raiton Wing

Li Xiaofei, the Ineffable Sage of Battle

Callsign: Swordsman
Caste: Dawn
Anima Banner: A golden, blazing phoenix
Rank: Lieutenant Commander

Biography

With his contemplative and often scholarly demeanor Li Xiaofei, host to the Dawn Caste Exaltation known to history as the Ineffable Sage of Battle, frequently puts others in mind of a member of the Twilight Caste, but beneath the unassuming facade lies a mind as sharp as any daiklave and just as dangerous.

(The glasses are an affectation. Following his Exaltation he no longer needs them to see, but he wears them to remind himself of where he came from. And because he likes they way they look...even the Bronze Tigers aren't immune to the whims of vanity.)

In Li's mortal life he was a workshift coordinator, managing and overseeing the tasks of an endless flow of workers, miners, and engineers within his hab-unit, and he might very well have remained so for the rest of his life had the forces of the Titanic Host not espied a crucial flaw in the Gunstar Defense Line during an assault against Autocthon and exploited it. Titanspawn and corrupted Terrestrials ran rampant throughout the city, causing death and destruction wherever they went, but in the chaos Li managed to rally a group of workers and civil defense personel and through a mixture of quick thinking, creative use of the environment, and improvised weaponry they were able to hold the enemy at bay until help arrived. At the last moment Li interposed himself between a member of the hab-unit's work crew and a rampaging corrupted Terrestrial about to strike her down. Armed with nothing more than a length of pipe all he hoped to do was buy her a few precious seconds before he died, but at that moment he was suddenly imbued with newfound power as Exaltation chose him, and when relief crews finally came to their aid they found him surrounded by the anima banner of the Ineffabale Sage of Battle.

Given the nature of his Exaltation and its illustrious history in battle, Li was quickly reassigned to the Steel Crucible of Dragons flight academy to begin training as a member of the Gunstar Defense Line. It was only six months into his training when he received word that his old hab-unit, still undergoing repairs and weakened by the damage it had suffered, had been destroyed during another surprise attack. Tucked safely away from the conflict within the confines of the academy he had been spared, but almost everyone else he knew had been killed.

Even with all of his newfound power Li had been unable to save his friends and family, and it was an experience that would remain with him as a reminder of his responsibilities as one of the Exalted as well as of everything that he and his fellow pilots fought to protect. He threw himself into his training in piloting, void-combat, and the use of weapons, but in a departure from his previous incarnations' proclivities he also devoured lessons on tactics and strategy, poring over treatises on the strategems of General Narikon and the daring gambits of Admiral Leviathan as well as engaging in countless simulations and wargames. The Ineffable Sage of Battle had long been a hero that sought glory in war, but coming to reside within a more humble host, it seemed, brought with it a newfound appreciation for the glory to be found not merely in personal combat but in working together with others harmoniously in order to overcome impossible odds and to defeat the many with the few. Every precisely timed attack run, every unassailable formation and well-executed strategem strikes the enemy down as surely as if it had been with his own blade, and in this way Li Xiaofei lays waste to the enemies of Autocthon.

Personality

Despite the many personal losses he's suffered Li remains warm and approachable, and he takes the time to familiarize himself with every other pilot he serves with. The people of Authocthon aren't merely some faceless teeming mass...each and every one of them is a person with hopes and dreams and fears, and he knows that to view them as anything less is to lose sight of what it is they fight for. As a result Li is fiercely protective of his wingmates and the strategies he devises and employs are always designed to maximize efficacy while minimizing risk (an especially difficult task given the dangers they face, but he doesn't shy away from the challenge), and he asks nothing of those who fight alongside him that he himself would be unwilling to do.

In truth, this has led to several instances of Li deliberately placing himself in greater danger than might otherwise be tactically sound in order to keep his squadmates from harm or rescue them from danger, but thusfar he's managed to return every time (though not always unbloodied). As compassionate as he is, however, Li demands excellence in all things, even from himself, and he dedicates as much time to honing his skills with a blade as he does drilling his squadrons to perfection.

Appearance

Young for an Exalt and standing just shy of six feet with a build that seems more suitable for a dancer than a warrior, Li is handsome in a quiet, unassuming sort of way. When off-duty he prefers clothing in the loose, flowing style of the Olgatory rather than more military patterns, and he continues to wear his glasses despite no longer needing them.

Character Sheet

Caste: Dawn

Spend 1E to step up the lowest die in any reaction roll you make against attacks for the rest of the scene.

*Virtues

Compassion: d10 (Compassionate Martyr)
Valor: d8
Conviction: d6
Temperance: d6
[suppress for d4 + 1E + 1 Limit]

*Distinctions

Immaculate Tactician (Dawn Caste)
You'll Have to Get Through Me First
Leave No One Behind
[d8 or d4+1E]

*Advantages

Skills

Sail d8, Gunnery d8, Melee d10, War d8, Presence d8, Athletics d6, Martial Arts d6

Backgrounds

Class d6, Contacts (Military) d6, Artifact d8

*Charms:

Excellencies

Melee d8, War d8

Techniques

Rout-Stemming Gesture: Spend 1E. You and all allies that can see or hear you step up the lowest die in any dice pool containing a Valor die until the end of the scene.
General of the All-Seeing Sun: You automatically know the position and status of all allied units and major landmarks within three miles. Add d6 to your pool and step up your effect die by one when creating a Battle Plan asset.
Strife-Drawing Tactic: Opponents making physical attacks against you from range step down the highest die in their pool by one.
Fire and Stones Strike: Spend 1E to step up the effect die by one when successfully causing physical stress with melee attacks.
Iron Whirlwind Attack: Targets multiple opponents. For every additional opponent, add d6 to your pool and keep +1 effect die.
Heavenly Guardian Defense: Spend 2E to ignore physical stress or trauma from one attack.

*Heaven's Edge, Voidfighter Power Set

Ship Sensors d6, Vector-thrust Reflexes d8, Essence Cannons d8, Speed d10

Nova Warhead: Spend two Essence. Step up Essence Cannons to d12 for one attack, and make it an Area attack: Add one d6 to the dice pool per ally or opponent in area and apply an additional effect die to each target in the area. Then shutdown Nova Warhead power until the next transitional scene.
Charged power: Shutdown the highest rated Voidfighter power and gain one Essence. Recover power by activating opportunity or during next transitional scene.
Omnipresent Guardian Directive: Extras and members of Mob units allied with you don't die when removed from a battle you are participating in
Limit: [Transform] Shut down the Gunstrider power set to activate the Voidfighter Power set. Also shutdown all charms, excellencies, and other panoplies whose use would be inapplicable

*Heaven's Edge, Gunstrider Power Set

Armored Durability d8, Colossal Strength d12, Manufactured Stamina d6

SFX: Collateral damage. Any successful physical attack or reaction effect may incidentally also affect a nearby mook or piece of scenery for free.
Omnipresent Guardian Directive: Extras and members of Mob units allied with you don't die when removed from a battle you are participating in
Charged power: Shutdown the highest rated Gunstrider power and gain one Essence. Recover power by activating opportunity or during next transitional scene.
Limit: [Transform] Shut down the Voidfighter power set to use the Gunstrider power set. Panopoly dice and effects may be used with the Gunfighter power set. (You are assumed to have a Warstrider sized versions of any artifacts purchased during character creation)

*Panoply

The Exercise of War (Reaper Daiklave) d8
Benefit: Any opponents engaged in physical combat against you while you wield The Exercise of War step down their Valor die by one. Spend 1E to add your War Excellency as well as your Melee Excellency to all rolls made using The Exercise of War until the end of the scene.
Drawback: Shutdown The Exercise of War and gain 1E. Take an action vs. the Doom Pool to recover it.

Milestones

Virtue Flaw

Red Rage of Compassion

1XP when you insist on taking the lead into danger ahead of your allies
3XP, +1 Limit when you tell your allies to pull back while you remain behind to ensure their safety or when the needs of war demand that you leave your friends in danger and you do so
10XP, +1 Limit when you dive heedlessly into the midst of deadly peril in order to cover your comrades' escape or when victory requires you to sacrifice an ally and you willingly pay the price

Other Milestone

Glory in Victory

1XP when a plan of yours leads to decisive victory with minimal losses
3XP when you pull off a risky gambit despite the odds or best an enemy strategist at their own game
10XP when a desperate plan against overwhelming opposition snatches victory from the jaws of defeat or prevents the destruction of Authochthon and its people no matter the cost