Difference between revisions of "J.G. McCormack"

Latest revision as of 09:23, 28 April 2007

Background

Background Shell (to be filled in)

Born in Eurastia, full name James Gerald McCormack, Jr. Younger sister born 1286. Mother (Evelyn McCormack) died when he was fairly young (around the age of 4). He became a fairly antisocial child. He would likely have become a bit of a bully once he became older, if he hadn't gained an interest in his father's library. Though not very encompassing, it was enough to give him a curiosity in the field of knowledge. His father managed to talk friends into allowing him access to their libraries to read. Fire at the age of 12 burnt their house down, their library lost. They moved to Doma. At age 15, he was accepted to a nearby minor magic academy, where he graduated at age 20. He took a position as a caretaker at the National Library at age 21. He gained numerous accolades for his service, though his short temper occasionally grated on others. Upon Malachias' invasion, he and his family were forced to flee to Castle Hyral, though he returned to aid the fight. Upon the creation of the Retrieval Unit, he immediately applied and was easily accepted to its service.

Formation of the retrieval unit

Following the carnage of the Malachian War, a number of items possessed by the National Library of Doma were damaged beyond repair, if not utterly destroyed. Given this fact, as well as the overall general lack of donated volumes, the Doman government decided to duplicate the long-standing Retrieval Unit of the Doman National Museum; a department with a number of successes in expanding the collection of that institution. Working on a preliminary basis, with members drawn from the pre-existing staff of the Library, over the course of the months following the end of the war, dozens of volumes were gained; both through the tracking of items within the personal collections of Doman citizens, convincing them to donate or sell these volumes for the good of Doma, and the investigation of the number of ruins about the Doman countryside, recovering a number of ancient texts. J.G. McCormack was assigned as one of the two original envoys, along with his "partner", Elisia Stone.

Philsys Data

Spells and Techs

• [Flail=4]Cover Object (4 TP) - If McCormack succeeds in an Observation check to see that a person within striking distance is about to hit and damage a nearby object, intentionally or accidentally (with the check's difficulty based on the difficulty of noticing this fact), then McCormack may activate this check to make a PA roll to defend the object from the blow. If this tech is activated before he has made an action, he forfeits all other actions for that round. If he's already made an action, however, the PA check is made with a -4 penalty and McCormack's initiative drops by 2.
• [Cudgel=2] Sap (4 TP) - On a successful hit, the target must make a Sta check with a -(Damage done/10) penalty or be knocked out. This only functions on creatures that could logically be knocked out by the blow dealt.
• [Air=1]Dust (2 MP) - Creates a small gust of wind, enough to completely dust any one small object
• [Air=2]Humidor (10 MP) - Enchants an enclosed area up to (Rank*10)' square by 10' to take on a specific temperature and humidity for up to (Rank) hours.
  • This spell only works on an actual room (or smaller, should the caster wish to enchant a chest or some such); it cannot be cast on an area exposed to the outside.
  • The spell is limited to reasonable changes in temperature; adjusting it +/- 30 degrees Fahrenheit (+/- 17 degrees Celsius). Humidity can similarly be adjusted +/- 50% (not below 0% or above 100%).
• [Astral=1]Astral Jolt (10 MP) - Deals 12+rank*2+1d6 damage to a single target.
  • Astral attack spells often have very subtle physical and visual effects. An astral jolt produces a sound and vibration much like a low-intensity sonic boom as gas particles accelerated by excess energy sometimes break the sound barrier. Targets struck by an astral spell are often briefly illuminated by a shower of colorful pyrotechnic sparks or multicolored flashing lights, but there is little apparent physical damage. Astral spells cannot damage objects.
• [Astral=1]Study Object (5 MP) - Allows the caster, after a degree of examination of a given object possessing an aura, to gain an idea of the age of the object's aura; this almost always being the age of the object's enchantment, except in the unlikely situation of it possessing a natural aura. (+/- 10% of the true age on a successful check, more inaccurate as the degree of failure increases) It also allows the detection of general facts of major magical events and happenstances the object may have lived through, if any.
  • Each occurance the object may have lived through recieves a separate check from most recent to most ancient, with a single failure meaning no information about that event or any earlier ones can be gained and no further checks can be made. The degree of success for each determines how much information about each event is gained, by GM discretion. In order of difficulty from easiest to hardest, the spell reveals the following facts about the mentioned happenstances and events: Relative strength; Elements involved; Number of casters; Ability of caster(s)
  • This spell can be cast only once on any one object to determine facts about events, though it can be cast in a limited fashion to determine age while postponing deeper analysis for a later time (this still requires the same amount of MP for both castings).
  • If cast merely to determine age, this spell requires only 15 minutes of analysis to complete. A deeper examination with this spell requires between 1 and 8 hours, depending on the age of the most recent event by GM discretion.