Runners of the Night OOC

[Alexander]

Welcome to the city of Goldwyn. The largest city ever to grace the surface of the world of Aerien. With size comes power, with power comes riches. But with power there are also those without it. Beggers, pan handlers, homeless. These are the scum that the rich avoid. But there is another scum that no one knows about. These are the people that you don't suspect. That bar keeper in your favorite tavern, the porter who works on Gold Way, that seamtress on Tailors Street, these are the people you'd never expect........to be thieves. They are the Runners of the Night. The people who work in the dark. Who run the Thieves Highway. In Goldwyn, the gaurd chief and the Mayor rule the day, but their power runs out when the sun goes down and the torches are lit. At night the thieves take over the city.

I am the guildmaster. That is what you shall call me. That is the name you shall know me by. And if you ever seek out my true identity, your search will end at the tip of my blade.

Now that the formalities are out of the way, let me explain why you are here... You are a stalker of shadows, with fingers both quick and light. You are aware of the softest sounds and move even softer. Your friends are none, your obligations are less. You tread with the scum of the earth. You are a thief, and it's a pleasure to meet you.
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Well in case you couldn't tell this RP is all about being a thief, a ninja or any of those other archetypes who spend their time in the shadows.

In this world, through training, people can learn how to leap great distances, blend into the shadows, carry great weights and run at super speeds. Sounds like DBZ right? Well think that if you want I sure as hell ain't gonna stop you. Thing is, this world is a Steampunk setting.

It's a fantasy world. Elves, dwarves and the rest but at the same time we got steam engines, steam-bots and low-grade trains racing around. Interested?
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Template:

Name: Age:
Type of Runner: (Thief, Ninja, Assassin, etc. You can have ninja mages so use your imagination)
Bio/History: (This RP has alot of room for character creation. Have fun.)
Abilities: (Born to dream? Make something up. I have final say though.)
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My Character:

Name: Ithalyn Nenzon
Age: 22
Type of Runner: Psionic Assassin
Bio/History: No one in Goldwyn knows much about Ithalyn, only that he arrived two years ago and has quickly became known as one of the best assassins around. No one knows of his abilities, only that he has never failed at a job. Many people have hired him for his talent in assassinations. He tends to go to the highest bidder.
Ithalyn is secretive and not jovial in the least. He takes himself seriously. He prides himself on being the best. He likes to take challenging jobs, but not stupid challenges. He would take a job to track down a long lost thief half a world away, but not to kill the leader of the most powerful guild around. He makes no attachments to anyone. He is well known around Goldwyn. Other than this not much is known.

Note: If at all possible, don't do what I did, have a background, I did it for a specific reason. If you're gonna do it, you need a good reason, and you need to tell me. Pm me.

Abilities:
-Physical Abilities-
Agility: Ithalyn is incredibly agile, moving and reacting at incredible speeds. He uses this to his full advantage as he fights, because sword play is, after all, all about finese.

Shadowmeld: Lots of thieves can do this. They know how to move, act like and just basically meld into the shadows and become one with them.

Lock and Trap knowledge: Ithalyn is very adept at setting, springing, finding, and disarming traps. This goes with locks, he is a master lock picker. He deals a lot with locks and traps as he is an assassin, and many of his victims try and protect themselves.

Psionic Abilities-
Ethereal Form: For a limited amount of time, Ithalyn can 'phase out' of the physical plane of existence, enabling him to move through walls, avoid physical damage, run away, anything he can think of. He can only do this about 2 times due to the incredible stress put on his mind to stay in that form. After that, he requires at least 8 hours of rest before he can safely attempt it again.

Mental Resistance: After years of training with his own abilities, and understanding how they work. Ithalyn has developed an incredible resistance to any tampering with his mind. He cannot be charmed or influenced, neither will any type of mental attack work on him, magic or otherwise. This also protects him from scrying, as he hides his presence from magical detection, distorting it. Anyone scrying him would come up with a blank image.

Mind Games: Ithalyn can do several minor things with his mental prowess. He can 'hurt' people by giving them pain in their brain, this is no more than a severe migraine, but it is enough to say...force a mage to lose concentration, or make a fighter lose focus in a battle. He can also pick up surface thoughts of those around him, however this takes concentration, and the victim can't know about the attempt, or it is easily foiled, as only surface thoughts can be read. However, he can't read the surface thoughts of those with disciplined minds.

Absorption: Ithalyn can take in the force of a physical attack, and release it back towards the attacker at about twice the power. However, this works somewhat like a spell, he has to have it prepared beforehand, and if he doesn't release it quickly enough it will simply exert itself onto him, more than likely killing him.

[Shadoweagle]

Name: Xathryll
Age: 34
Type of Runner: Darkshifter (Best described as a Spellcasting ninja/thief hybrid, I suppose)
Bio/History: In the northern wastes hundreds of miles from the city of Goldwynn, the town of Kharimar lies. A superstitious folk, the people of Kharimar abhor magic and do not allow those who are able to wield it to live in their town. Imagine their shock when thirty four years ago one of the locals gave birth to a child with a black, circular birthmark on their left wrist - the traditional sign of a magic user. The child was snatched from its mother at birth and given to the towns elder. given no family name and branded with the name Xathryll - meaning Despised in the old language - the child was put through the gruesome torture of having its tongue cut out so it could never utter the wicked arcane words which was a requirement of magic. Bieng a native born of Kharimar, the townsfolk 'graciously' allowed Xathryll to live there since he was no longer a threat. Naturally, the child grew up with nothing but hatred and scorn given to him from the entire town - and resentment grew like a cancer in the childs own heart. At the age of sixteen, Xathryll left Kharimar at night without word or notice. He travelled south several miles into the wilderness with the intention of living in the wild. Fate, though, had other plans - Some three miles from the town he hated so much, Xathryll felt the rocky ground beneath his feet give way and down he fell.

The pitfall dropped for what seemed like forever, but in actual fact was only ten meters or so - Xathryll's constant scrabbling against the crumbling walls slowed his descent enough that when he hit the bottom he broke nothing, but when he cleared his head and looked around, he saw that there was no hope of him climbing back up the rotted wall. Further inspection of his destination revealed that he had fallen in some sort of cave system.

Depression set in with Xathryll, and the child spent many months in there, surviving off the creepy crawlies and cave moss as he explored his new home, seeking a way out. After about a month in the pitch black, Xathryll grew to be able to see in the darkness almost as well as he could see in daylight. At about this time, the young man decided to take this opportunity to look within himself. Just as he explored new caves and tunnels in this enormous cave system, he also explored the previously unexplored areas of his mind, opening elusive talents and previously hidden skills. It seemed that even without his tongue, the child was still able to tap into an area of the arcane that even schooled magi had not known about.

Another three months passed in Xathrylls 'tomb' before finally he took the right turns and in the distance a faint glimmer of light shone. A smile appeared on the young mans pale face and he stepped out into the sunlight once again, took a deep breath of fresh air... and turned around and walked straight back in that cave to continue his self-instructed training.

For an entire twelve years Xathryll was never heard of or seen again. Taking up residence in his subterrainean home, he learned much of himself - confidence, power, stealth all came to him through time as he travelled through those vast caverns. Solitude became second nature to him but finally, he decided it was time to move on.

One morning, a lone traveller garbed entirely in black leather and a hood drawn over his face appeared on a steam train, sat next to a startled stranger and stared at the man.
Where is this train going...?
The voice echoed within the strangers mind, chilling him to the core. A stammered reply issued forth " uh... er... Goldwyn city... er, sir!"
A gargled laughter echoed from beneath the mans hood, and a smile appeared on his lips
Perfect...
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Abilities:

Magical Abilities
Shadow magic:

Blink: The caster is able to instantly phase out of existence and back into existence within three meters of where he once stood. Kind of a short-ranged 'teleport', but with much less magical energy required. Particularly dangerous if the caster isn't in view of his or her destination, as if he reappears where a different object is, he may become crushed by that object.

Midnight: The caster is able to create a haze of darkness, reducing visibility to near pitch black within a twenty meter radius of the caster for a short amount of time.

Light inversion: A mental attack cast on a single target, wherein light is inverted for their senses. Bright becomes dark, and vice versa. This is especially effective when either cast on a friend to increase their own sight in dark areas, or cast on an unsuspecting foe to sneak past people in bright areas, or to blind someone when pitch black immediately becomes intense brightness.

Voiceless speech: Allows the caster to communicate with others when speech is not possible. The voice is transmitted directly from one persons mind to anothers. The voice seems cold and emotionless. This voice does have a range limit of fifteen to twenty meters, but is only heard by who the caster wants it to be heard.

Nightmare: Can only be cast twice or so before the caster requires rest. This allows the victims mind to run wild. He will begin to hear scratching of claws just around the corner, or the growl of something inhuman just behind them. Perhaps they see a tail flicking just beyond their range of vision. This spell is aided dramatically by darkness, but is still effective even in daytime.

Dream: Can be used only once before the caster requires rest. This effect, passed on touch, will cause the victim to slumber for fifteen minutes or so, if the victim isn't aware of the casters presence. If the victim IS aware of the caster, it will still cause drowsiness to fall upon them.

Physical abilities

Shadowmeld: Lots of thieves can do this. They know how to move, act like and just basically meld into the shadows and become one with them.

Darksight: Is able to see in darkness extremely well. If the darkness is magical, his vision will be as blinded as much as anyone else, however.

Fearless: Does not fear the known or unknown - has a very high resistance to terror. This ties in with the Emotionless ability.

Emotionless: Is able to make decisions based completely on rational thought. Is not controlled in the slightest by his emotions.

[Ria Hawk]

Name: Killean
Age: 17
Type of Runner: Assassin, though will take other types of work on the side, if the pay is high enough and she feels like it.

Bio/History: Killean was born to poverty-stricken family in tiny slum of a village, about three weeks west of Goldwynn.  Her mother died in childbirth, and her elder sister was killed by their drunken, abusive father when Killean was two.  For the first ten years of Killean's life, her father beat her mercilessly, and told her she was good for nothing except begging on the streets and "being nice to the gentlemen."  If she brought in a little money begging, there would be some peace in the house, at least until he ran out of cheap wine.    What was a more common occurrence was her father selling her for an hour or two in the bedroom to every pedophile and debauched bored rich man that came through the town.  He didn't care what they did with her, as long as it didn't prevent her from "welcoming" the next customer, and if she complained, it would be the worse for her.

Just after Killean turned twelve, her father was confronted by a money lender he couldn't pay.  The money lender threatened prison and other unpleasant things if the debt wasn't paid, and Killean's father did not want to call his bluff.  So he sold Killean to a local guildmaster for the requiste cash.  As it happened, the man was the head of the assassin's guild, and saw much potential in the girl.  Her first task was to kill her father, which she did with relish.  She spent over a year training with the guild, and learning the ways of assassins: how to use the various weapons, where the vital and weak spots were, how to make poisons, how to get close to her target.  She was a hardened killer by the time she was fourteen.

Then one of the guild's lieutenants tried to take what he thought was his due, by virtue of his rank and larger size.  Killean was just starting to mature, and was very pretty.  She was also a mentally unbalanced trained killer.  Something snapped inside of her, and when the smoke cleared, the lieutenant was dead, as was anyone else that had gotten in her way.  The guildmaster didn't punish her, because the lieutenant had brought it upon himself, and the guild was better off without him.  Still, the guildmaster didn't want to chance having someone as unstable as Killean around, so he sent her away.

This might have been a problem, except that Killean had discovered that killing gave her a feeling of power that was unprecedented, and she was smart enough to realize that now, she was the one in charge of her life.  No one had power over her, and she meant to keep it that way.  She bounced around a little, finally winding up in Goldwynn, which she discovered was full of opportunities for someone like her.  She has learned more, too, honing her abilities.  Her childhood has left her with a few useful talents, a phenomenally damaged outlook on life, and a deep-seated need to be in control.  She is very ruthless, and can be quite cruel.  She is rather attractive, in an ice-queen sort of way, but she seldom takes advantage of her looks.
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Abilities -

"Don't Notice Me" - growing up with her father, Killean learned early that the best way to survive was to not come to his attention, so she developed a knack for fading into the background and away from the notice of someone.

Pain Tolerance - the abuse she suffered coupled with her early training as an assassin have left Killean with the capacity to take massive amounts of punishment.  Many of her nerves have been damaged beyond repair, deading her ability to feel pain, and most of her body is covered with thick scar tissue that protects her somewhat.

Double Standard - An early lesson Killean learned in the assassin's guild was that the appearance of weakness can be as effective as the appearance of strength, and she uses this to her advantage.

Agility - Killean isn't very large, and learned how to fight to compentsate for her size; thus, when forced into direct combat, she favors a style that emphasizes speed and finesse.

Poisoncraft - She is well-versed in the art of making and using poisons to good effect

Basic Anatomical Knowledge - She knows where to stick the pointy things to cause the most harm.

[Alexander]

Looks good both of you. Shadoweagle, a lot of your abilities seem like psionic ability, if they are that's fine, but I need to know whether they are or not.
Ria, having your character around is gonna make things interesting, I see a lot of potential for chaos with her.

Also, I need a 'reputation' rating on your characters, it'd be pretty low or you Shadoweagle as your just arriving. But it could be anything for you Ria. On a 1-20 scale, 20 being most of the underground society knows who you are and what you do and 1 being no one or very few people know of you. You can edit it in your profile or just repost here.

Ithalyn's Reputation would be 19: Most everybody who's somebody knows who Ithalyn is, and what his profession is.

Also, there's no physical description here, so make sure you mention it in one of your posts, so everybody else has something to go by if they meet up with your character. That's it for now, I'll wait a while to see if some others join, and I'll start it.

[Shadoweagle]

All of Xathryll's non-physical abilities are purely magic. They are the result of him learning to use magic without any verbal aid.
If you want to know the mechanics behind his seemingly 'psionic' abilities with his magic, it's simply that it is using magic to physically manipulate chemicals within the person to change how that person reacts, rather than tapping into their actual minds  er... if you understand my meaning.

Reputation: 3
 - Xathryll has been in the city of Goldwynn for a mere few days, and as such knows little about it. However, his uniqueness - from his unnerving disposition to the way he communicates with people - has already drawn a few curious eyes. He doesn't know a thing about the 'well known' thieves and scoundrels, but even if he did, he would not butter them up in praise or even show the slightest bit more interest in them. Xathryll lives by his own standards, not standards that others place on people.
Xathryll will not know who Ithalyn is, nor anyone else deemed 'important'. It will be up to others to fill him in.

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As for appearance - The first thing one would think when laying eyes upon Xathryll is 'Sinister'. The man always seems to be intensly aware of his surroundings and everyone in it.
He constantly wears a simple black strapped leather outfit, including gloves and a hooded cloak which is often drawn over his face. His skin is extremely pale from the lack of sunlight, and his eyes are black. Long white hair crests his head, drawn back in a neat ponytail which falls slightly lower than his shoulders - though this is usually hidden by previously said cloak. His stares are penetrating, and some would say he looks malnourished.

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Ah, and a final note - a couple other people were expressing interest in this thread a bit earlier, so give em a bit of time

[Ria Hawk]

Killean's reputation rating would probably be 11...  she hasn't been in the city that long, and her manner is rather off-putting.  But she is starting to make a name for herself, and has managed to achieve "aquaintance of an aquaintance of an aquaintance."  While a lot of people haven't heard of her, any given person will know someone who knows someone who knows what kind of work she does.

Appearance -
She's fairly small, a little less than average height and slightly thinner than she probably should be.  She has fair skin, brown eyes, and hair that's somewhere between brown and red.  Her hair is about shoulder length, but is usually kept braided and pinned up out of the way.  She dresses in dark colors, typically black pants, a long-sleeved dark gray shirt that's too big, and a belt with pockets and pouches of differing sizes filled with various useful bits.  She also usually has a bag or knapsack slung over one shoulder, where she keeps small weapons, bottles of various poisons, and other supplies.  She is moderately attractive, but usually is so cold and aloof that people leave her alone.

[Alexander]

Just waiting for more people to start...

[Dozus]

Name: Agrai

Age: 24

Type of Runner: Spectre (thief/rogue with speed-enhancing abilities)

Appearance: 5'8", lean build, ruddy skin.  Slicked back, jet-black hair.  Pale blue eyes set into a long face.  Wears a brown leather overshirt strapped by several belts, thin brown leather gloves, tapered black cloth pants, cloth shoes, a gray scarf, and a gray headband.  A dagger is visible at his waist.

Bio/History: Agrai was born to be a thief.  A street urchin from Goldwynn, he learned quickly the ways of the Runners.  His older sister Corra taught him all her trade, while his parents did the best they could to keep them fed.  Agrai excelled at thievery.  By the time he was 7, he and Corra were pulling in enough coin to actually purchase an inn room for the family to stay in.  Granted, it was a lousy room in the filthiest dive in Goldwynn, but it was shelter.  Agrai and Corra continued to work as a team to steal while their parents tried to eke out a legal living.

When Agrai was 20, Corra was apprehended by a Goldwynn guard.  Distraught and blaming himself, Agrai left the home he and Corra purchased for their parents and wandered the streets alone.  He took up drink at first to wash away the pain, but it only aggravated the wound.  A street preacher convinced him that ale was not the answer, and he swore never to touch booze again.  One thing the priest could not persuade him against, however, was thieving, and he immidiately took it back up.

The ache of his missing sister still haunting him, Agrai sought answers.  He questioned friends and relatives to no avail.  Finally, he looked to the underground running guilds.  Impressed by his abilities, the guilds took him in and sought to find Corra.  Agrai still looks for her while he works for the underground, ever watchful for his beloved sister.

Friends of Agrai know him to be cheerful and mischievious, always adding a touch of the whimsical to his work.  He is confident in his abilities and will take on whatever task needs to be done.  One thing that he does no joke about is his sister; any mention of her will bring either questioning or scorn.

Reputation: 7.  Agrai is still new to the underground, but his well-honed skills are making an impression.

Abilities:

Physical-

Acrobatics - Living on the streets requires quick reflexes and crafty manuevers.  What started as a childhood hobby proved to be a useful skill.  Agrai can tumble, twist, and roll with the best of them.  This makes him tough to follow while on the run.

Sneak - Agrai can follow someone very closely without being caught, whether in a large crowd or alone in Goldwynn's alleys.

Purse cutting - Though it looks simple, slitting a purse requires skill and practice.  Agrai is adept at liberating coinage from passerby without getting caught.

Size-up - Living on the streets, one must choose which battles to fight.  Agrai can judge whether someone is a skilled fighter or a posuer with some accuracy, allowing him better judgement in choosing to stand ground or turn tail.

Knife fighting - Though he dislikes combat, Agrai has learned to handle a dagger quite well.  He will not linger in a fight, going quickly to cut ligaments or tendons that will disable an opponent and allow him to escape.

Charm - Quick hands also require quick wits.  Agrai can talk himself into or out of most situations, depending on the gullibility of the mark and the seriousness of the situation.

Magical-

Swiftness - Agrai can increase his running speed for a brief time, allowing him to put distance between himself and pursuers.

Sleight of Hand - Using this ability, Agrai's hands move very fast, becoming a mere blur.  This can distract opponents in combat, or allow him to pick up something without anyone realizing he's moved.

Leap - A magic spell that allows Agrai to leap high into the air.  This is an excellent escape method, allowing Agrai to run across rooftops to escape attackers or sneak into otherwise off-limits locales.

[Alexander]

Looks good, I like the idea. Welcome Dozus. I think I'm gonna wait for one more, unless all of you think we should start.

[Dozus]

It doesn't look like anyone else is joining... We gonna do this thing or not?

[Ria Hawk]

I'm up for it.

[Alexander]

Ugh...sorry it's been a while, things have been crazy for me. But here goes!

[Alexander]

I am so sorry about this. Things have gone from bad to worse...but good news...I'm terribly sick. So I'll be able to post. Although, if it's okay with everybody, I'd like to proceed slowly, next week I'm going out of state, and I don't think I'll get a chance to post. It'll only be for that week though. Before and after that is all good. Again, I apologize for not posting or saying anything. It's a long miserable story...which I will save for a later time. *Goes to post*

[Dozus]

Sorry about your illness, Alex.  Post at your convienence and hope you feel better soon.

[Shadoweagle]

Xathryll has all the time in the world Take yer time.

[Alexander]

Just so you know...there is a story line with this, I just want you guys to have fun and make 'contacts' at first, so don't start some major sub-plot to try and move things along 

[Alexander]

Hey, sorry for the downtime, I'm back home now and I'll post sometime today and we can keep moving this along. Sorry about the wait.

[Shadoweagle]

Welcome Back, Xander!