Difference between revisions of "Eva Valerian"

Latest revision as of 13:39, 13 February 2007

Background

Dawn is an accomplished telepath, but has little talent for magic. She was born to Paul and Catherine Valerian, one of five children. In descending order, the legitimate members of the Valerian family are Donna, Daniel and Dmitri (the twins), Donny and Dawn. She also has a younger half-sister named Eva, daughter of Paul and the housekeeper. Dawn was the only member of the Valerian household who acknowledged Eva, but could never seem to decide whether Eva was her only friend or the lowest possible form of life. Once, when Dawn was eight and Eva was six, Dawn nearly drowned her younger sister. She used her powers on her, and could have forced her to drown herself. At the last instant, Dawn backpedaled and saved Eva.

Eva ran away from home at the age of twelve. Shortly thereafter Paul and Catherine Valerian killed each other in what was termed a marital dispute. When the matter of inheritance was raised, all of Paul and Catherine's children except their youngest fought one another for the money. Some said the pressure on the family was too much, others speculated that a strain of insanity ran through Catherine's side. Very few people knew why the children committed suicide one by one, leaving behind a suitably grief-stricken Dawn. Eva knew, but shen she heard that Dawn had the money she knew she was safe enough.

So, Eva Valerian gave up her name and travelled as Eve, hoping to escape her half-sister. Dawn didn't generally harm her, but now and again would contact her little sister telepathically just to stay caught up with family.

She spent the next several years on the run, and developed a peculiar anxiety about staying in one place for too long. Teleporting from one region to another, she struggled to have her own life away from her sister's machinations.

Her efforts were not entirely successful. Eve frequently made choices of which her sister disapproved, and Dawn's displeasure was always made evident. Eve's taste in men is the best example. Eve, due to issues with commitment and an inability to trust anyone, was given to flings and one-night stands. Dawn didn't like her sister hanging around with the sort of men who find such activities appealing.

From what may be a twisted desire to protect Eve, Dawn would warn Eve against these men. If warnings didn't work, Dawn would "show her" what these men were capable of by mentally-dominating them and driving them to all sorts of abuses, both verbal and physical. Paradoxically, Dawn never allowed Eve to be harmed. If Eve was truly in danger, it was often because her taste in men really had gotten her into trouble. In these cases, the man in question would generally be found dead, having sadly committed suicide.

This combination of Dawn's self-fulfilling prophecy and genuine concern for Eve gave little comfort to the young woman. It seemed that while she was by no means safe from her sister, Dawn would allow no one else to harm her.

As a result of all this, Eve has a lot of confusing feelings toward her sister. She also spent many years unable to tell with certainty whether a person she's speaking with is under Dawn's influence. To counteract this problem, Eve isn't generally friendly with people she doesn't know until they've at least had a drink and a cigarette with her. Dawn doesn't drink, so most of her followers don't either. Eve calls her a teetotaling bitch on some days, and misses her childhood friend on others. Very confused.

From the Ashes

The party picked up Eve and a new friend of hers by the name of Lyminali Eddress. She and Lym had gotten themselves imprisoned by a group of Yuan'ti while investigating their caves, and as a token of gratitude, Eve used her powers to offer them free transportation wherever they wanted to go.

She took them back to help them complete their mission, and found that they had encountered a woman named Dawn who was currently leading a cult full of brainwashed children. Eve was deeply shaken that her sister's schemes could still reach her even now. While she was still with the group, she was contacted telepathically by her sister. Dawn teased her for avoiding her all these years and then falling in with her enemies. She challenged Eve's notion that these people were any different from Dawn herself was, and Eve rebuffed her.

When they returned to Doma, they found the Jade Dragon in flames thanks to the efforts of Dawn and the children. When the party caught up with the kids in an alleyway, they found themselves face to face with Dawn, standing protectively between the party and her students.

What would the others do? If they knew who she was, that Dawn was her sister, she'd be lucky if they killed her. Judging the party by the same standards she used with her sister, Eve assumed that they would do whatever they needed to do once they realized she might have information about Dawn.

So, she did the only thing she could think to do. She panicked and ran.

The party persued her and when they finally caught her, they found they had to calm her down before she could even talk. Even then, what she had to offer was of dubious value. She told them that they didn't understand what Dawn could do, that she can make them see things, feel things, do things that have nothing to do with reality. Irritated by the combination of panic and condescension coming from the young woman, Stephan Hyral told her to snap out of it and slapped her across the face. She teleported away.

Lym contacted her to apologize for what Stephan had done, but Eve wouldn't hear it. Lym promised her that she didn't have to be involved in this, and Eve knew that it was already too late. She was already factored into Dawn's plans, and there was no way out.

She was met immediately afterward by her sister, who told her that this is what happens when she doesn't listen. That no one else understands how Eve feels except for her. If they really cared about her, if they really needed her, they would never have driven her off. Dawn needed her. Her family needed her.

She visited Dawn at her estate and met the cultists under her command. Dawn implored Eve to help with her plan. All she wanted was her master back. She couldn't live without being by his side, and she would not be kept from bringing him back. Eve knew that she was destined to be used as a means to an end by any side she chose. The only difference was that Dawn needed her, and the others plainly did not. She said she would consider it.

Dawn exacted her vengeance on the party for their treatment of Eve by forcing a commoner to serve as a mouthpiece and then commit suicide in front of them. She told them that she would pick up the pieces this time, but they had better learn some respect.

Distressed by that last statement, the party retrieved Eve. Torn between her loyalties, she stayed in contact with her sister even as she went along with the party's plan to meet with Dawn. They planned to ambush her after the discussion and kill her then and there.

She visited with Dawn once more, learning a great deal about Dawn's master. Dawn, interested in proving that she needed Eve more than the party and that her new friends would do anything to Eve just to get to Dawn, the two agreed that in their next battle Eve would allow herself to be affected by attacks against Dawn. If her friends really cared about her, Dawn told her with the aid of some mental coercion, then they would not continue to attack Dawn. Eve would be responsible for peace between opposing sides.

This plan was never tested, as when Eve returned Lyminali came to her with the knowledge of where she'd been. He promised not to tell the others, and Eve realized that Lyminali could return her feelings for him. Her loyalty swung back to the party once again.

The meeting with Dawn was interrupted by James Silvar, who informed her that Dawn's eventual plan for her was to use her and then sacrifice her to Reshtaha. It wasn't to be any ordinary sacrifice, either. First Dawn would wipe her sister's mind and replace it with her own, effectively erasing Eve from existence.

Betrayed by both sides, and used by everyone, Eve had nowhere to go except with the party. She had no direct evidence they would harm her, and at least that's better than being part of her sister's plan.

Eve continued to travel with the party. When they got to Dawn's base, Eve received another blow to her psyche. One of Dawn's lieutenants killed Lym in front of her, and the body was never retrieved. Loss number one. Then, she helped the "forces of good" defeat Dawn, and watched yet another loved one die. The fact that Dawn arguably deserved it... only made things worse, because there was no one to blame but Dawn herself. Eve helped her new friends kill her sister, and all because her sister fell for the wrong man for all the right reasons.

Becoming the Blackwells

After the events of From the Ashes, Eve went back to her home and put herself under for a while. She stayed out for nearly a year. She was awakened by a cloaked man with a sword breaking into the secluded cave she created, presumably with the same idea she'd had: staying out of sight.

She confronted him, and after a short conversation in which he demanded she leave "his house," he revealed his true identity: Selrahc Adanamod, recently escaped from the castle dungeon and hiding out from the authorities. Tired of watching people do terrible things for incomprehensible reasons, Eve upbraided him for his goals. Heedless of the risk to herself, she told this armed intruder that he had no reason for the things he was doing, and that being one of a hundred destined conquerors was nothing special.

She found out that before his last attempt on the Doman throne he had left behind a wife and a child. Shocked that he was trying to seek fulfillment in power instead of with a family that needed him, Eve told him to go raise his goddamned kid. She offered to let him stay the night, and since he seemed interested in getting his life back, she wouldn't tell the authorities about him.

That was the last she saw of him for a couple of weeks. Then there was a knock at her door. It was that guy again. He was covered in blood and he had a six-year-old nekojin in his arms. Somewhat at a loss, Eve offered to get Selrahc and his daughter Selena false identification, clothes, whatever they needed. So her two guests started new lives as Don and Selena Blackwell.

Time passed, and Eve helped Don raise his daughter. The three got comfortable together, and after one drunken evening, Don and Eve got a lot more comfortable. Things snowballed from there, and after Eve and Don had been living together, sleeping together, and raising a child together, Don proposed to her. She accepted, and the two married.

Their happiness wasn't meant to last, but it was more than either of them had had alone.

When Selena was in her teens and attending Gunnir Academy, Don fell ill. His time was running out, and at his behest, Eve retrieved Selena from school to say goodbye. He left to seek death at the hands of his former archenemy, and the next she saw him, he'd been brought home by Charles Domanada. He was dead.

After that, Eve concentrated on her stepdaughter. She was pretty well done with her own life, but as Selena went through Gunnir, Eve used her connections to make sure the girl had everything she needed. She didn't live in total seclusion, but the world held little interest for her. There were no goals, no quests, no allies, and no family but her stepdaughter.

RPs

• Chat: From the Ashes
• Board: From the Ashes

Philsys Necessaries

Spells

• [Innate]Psionics - Things noted on Eve's sheet as magic, such as MAG or MATK are actually psionic in nature. This is not intended to cause confusion. Her aura looks slightly different from a mage's, and her abilities are not precisely magical. However, for the sake of balance and consistency, terms used for magic will be applied on her sheet.
• [Dream Magic=1] Dreamwalk (0 MP)- The dream mage may attain full awareness while dreaming, and traverse the Plane of Dreams.
• [Dream Magic=1] Dream Sight (0MP) - This is Dream Magic equivalent of Adtral Sight. Using this, a Dream mage may peer into the Plane of Dreams, and vaguely observe what is going on. A user with Low MAG may only be able to detect that the next dreamscape isn't calm, while a higher Mag user may be able to determine what the terrain actually is. If there is a dreamwalker nearby, the Dream Mage will be able to detect her aura.
• [Dream Magic=1] Navigate (MP10/20/30/50) - This allows the dream mage to navigate through the Plane of Dreams and find a particular goal with a successful dream magic check. People or things she is intimate familiar with cost 10 MP and require a difficulty check of 20. Something fairly familar will require 20 MP and a 30 difficulty roll. Something she has only passing knowledge of will take 30 MP and a 35 difficulty. Something she is unfamiliar with will require 50 MP and a 45 difficulty roll. If what see seeks is outside the dimension she rests within in reality, MP costs are doubled, and +30 difficulty added. For each hour spent searching, the difficulty is reduced by 3 cumulatively. Entering the Plane of Dreams Physically confers a +5 bonus to Navigate's rolls.
• [Dream Magic=3]Gather (10MP) This allows the dream mage to call those who fall asleep near her to her location in the Plane of Dreams; be they near her body in reality or near the dreamer whose dreams she happens to be in. Alternately, she may use it to directly enter the dreams of one person whose sleeping form she finds physically; after going to sleep herself. She may gather (Dream Magic Rank) people per casting. A target of the spell may try to resist, being allowed an Mblock roll.
• [Dream Magic=4] Traveler (MP 20) This allows the dream mage to physically enter the Plane of Dreams and leave reality behind fully. It takes her three rounds of casting to do so. She may bring one person per dreamwalking rank with her, at an extra 10 MP per person. This spell is also used to leave the Plane. An unwilling target gets a +15 bonus to his resist roll.
• [Dream Magic=3 [k]Nature of Dreams=4] Repair (MP: Variable) Allows the dream mage to repair damaged Fabric in the Plane of Dreams. The amount of time and MP spent is variable, but in general she can repair (Dream Magic Rank/3) yards of damage per round for 5 MP. Whether or not this applies to other forms of dimensional damage is GM's discretion, as is the rate and the cost.
• [Dream Magic=6 [k]Nature of Dreams=3] Lesser Manipulation (15 MP) - This allows the Dream Mage to manipulate the fabric of the Plane of Dreams in very minor ways while within the plane. She may create short-lived objects of no more than (Dreamwalking Rank/2) kg mass, move objects of the selfsame mass, and so on. Creating specific objects, such as a key for a door, requires a skill check. Alternately, she may try to warp the fabric of the plane itself to do damage equal to a sword to foes at a distance. Finally, the dream mage may try to counter external effects upon herself; gaining (Dreamwalking Rank/3) bonus to resist rolls.
• [Psychoportation=4]Dimension door (10 MP) - Short-range teleport. Line of sight only, with a range of [rank] x 10 feet.
• [Psychoportation=4]Lateral Progression (20 MP) - The school's answer to wind magic's flight effects. The caster is able to propel himself horizontally at double his walking speed; the caster may also rise or fall at one fourth that rate. If this is not fast enough, the caster can willfully terminate the spell and fall at a much faster, albeit uncontrolled, rate. This effect confers upon the caster great agility and precision with his movements: one can turn at extraordinarily sharp angles, or utterly stop and start with negligible acceleration time from zero to proverbial sixty. This spell lasts [rank] x 2 rounds.
• [Psychoportation=6]Baleful Teleport (15 MP) - Eve displaces and destabilizes her target's body, dealing Deals 10+rank*4+2d6 damage. Unattended, nonmagical objects have a rank*4% chance of being disintegrated.
• [Psychoportation=8]Ranged teleport (30 MP) - Caster can teleport up to 2^(rank-8) miles (yes, that is an exponent), at a minimum of one mile at rank 8. To bring other humanoids, the caster must pay 2 TP per guest in addition to the MP cost of the spell.
• [Psychokinesis=1]Kinetic Bolt (4 MP) - The Psionicist projects a burst of mental force, which deals 6+rank+1d6 damage.
• [Psychokinesis=2]Empathic Shield (6MP) - Target receives a rank+2 bonus against all mind affecting spells/psionics (Berserk, Pacification, etc) for rank hours.
• [Telepathy=1]Telepathy (0 MP out of combat, 2 MP in combat) - Allows the user to speak telepathically "out loud." Anyone may hear this, unless it is directed at a target recipient.
• [Telepathy=2]Guarded Telepathy (0 MP out of combat, 2 MP in combat) - Forces any prying minds to overcome the user's abilities in order to listen in on a telepathic conversation. In order to listen in, the listener must make a Telepathy skill check roll vs. the Telepathy skill check roll of the original telepath.
• [Metabolism=1]Sustenance ( MP) - Go without food or water for rank/2 days.
• [Metabolism=1]Endurance (8 MP) - Eve can give herself a bonus of +rank for endurance checks such as swimming, running, or holding her breath.
• [Metabolism=1]Great Voice (4 MP) - Eve can be heard clearly and distinctly by everyone she can see, even at a great distance. Self only.
• [Metabolism=2]Deafen (3 MP) - Caster and anything she carries become immune to the effects of sound: Thunderclaps won't deafen her, sonic weapons won't harm her, sound cannot distract her, etc. Essentially, she's deaf for rank rounds unless she dismisses it early. Occasionally used to ignore people she dislikes. "Talk to the hand, because the face can't hear you anymore."
• [Metabolism=2]Oblivious (8 MP) - Eve can reduce her penalties for injury by rank/2 by making herself impervious to pain. However, this means she is unable to tell how extensively she has been injured. There is a chance of rank*5% that she will worsen her injuries to 1.5% of their previous state while under the effects of this spell.
• [Metabolism=3]Empathic transfer (8 MP) - Transfer a target's injuries to yourself for a period of rank rounds.
• [Metabolism=4]Thicken Skin (6 MP) - Gain +rank AC for rank rounds. Self only.
• [Metabolism=4]Mental disruption (8 MP) - Eve forces her thoughts to become unreasonable and disorganized, giving her a +rank to her COU and -rank to her WIS.
• [Metabolism=4]Just a Flesh Wound (9 MP) - Eve can heal herself of 8+rank*2+1d6 HP. Self only.
• [Metabolism=5]Sensitize (13 MP) - Eve intensifies the sensory experience of her target, and every sensation becomes uncomfortable. The touch of the wind is irritating, and even the slightest injury is a cause of intense agony. Subject takes a -2 AT/PA for rank rounds.
• [Metabolism=5]Sensory Focus (12 MP) - Eve can enhance the use of her sense organs, giving her a bonus of +rank to observation checks for rank rounds. Self only.
• [Metabolism=6]Suspend life (30 MP) - Eve can place herself into a trance so deep that her vital signs cease and magic can only detect her lifeforce if the caster makes an opposed MATK roll. She feels the passage of one year as if it were a day, and if she chooses to dispel this effect the trance ends rank*2 rounds later. Self only.

Techs

• [Spiked Chain=3]Razor's Bite (3 TP) - Eve can make a normal attack roll, but if she hits, roll a second attack versus the opponent's PA. If the second attack is successful, the opponent is knocked prone and cannot stand until their next turn. A prone target takes a -6/-6 to their AT/PA and a -6 to missile evasion.
• [Spiked Chain=4]Disarm (0 TP) - Eve makes a normal attack roll at +rank that deals no damage. If it hits, the opponent drops their weapon to the ground. Eve does not get this weapon, but they cannot pick the weapon up until their next turn. The act of picking up this weapon allows all combatants within melee range an immediate free attack action.