Difference between revisions of "Barghest"

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|Theme=Original
|Theme=Original
|Chartype=OC
|Chartype=OC
|Active=Approved
|Active=Shelved
|Occupation=Guardian (and under table worker)
|Occupation=Guardian (and under table worker)
|Citizenship=United States of America
|Citizenship=United States of America
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|Song=
|Song=
|Profile=Faith is dying, but its creations remain and adapt. Nevada is a man who's also part hellhound, of the 'breed' set to be guardians of dying souls and occasional guides for lost ones. Incredibly hard to kill, long of life, and elusive; these grim hounds heed the Callings of their unknown masters to attend to souls while trying to remain unknown by the mortal world at large and sometimes even hiding among them in the guise of man or beast. Nevada, however, is impure. Misshapen in body by his conflicting lineage, he struggles to perform his duties and find his place in the world.
|Profile=Faith is dying, but its creations remain and adapt. Nevada is a man who's also part hellhound, of the 'breed' set to be guardians of dying souls and occasional guides for lost ones. Incredibly hard to kill, long of life, and elusive; these grim hounds heed the Callings of their unknown masters to attend to souls while trying to remain unknown by the mortal world at large and sometimes even hiding among them in the guise of man or beast. Nevada, however, is impure. Misshapen in body by his conflicting lineage, he struggles to perform his duties and find his place in the world.
===Current Player Approved: June 21, 2020===
===Current Player Approved: Not Applicable===
|Description=
|Description=
<span style="color:#4040bf">'''Description:'''</span>
<span style="color:#4040bf">'''Description:'''</span>

Revision as of 13:44, 26 February 2021

Nevada (Scenesys ID: 9627)
V551RO2.jpg
Quote
Profile
Full Name: Nevada Armitage
Gender: Male
Species: Half-Demon
Theme: Original (OC)
Occupation: Guardian (and under table worker)
Citizenship: United States of America
Residence: Mobile
Education: Home Schooled/Graduated
Status: Shelved
Groups:
Other Information
Apparent Age: 18 Actual Age: 18
Date of Birth 14 February 2010 Actor: Zachary Gordon
Height: 188 cm (6'2") Weight: 77 kg (170 lb)
Hair Color: Black Eye Color: Brown
Theme Song:

Profile

Faith is dying, but its creations remain and adapt. Nevada is a man who's also part hellhound, of the 'breed' set to be guardians of dying souls and occasional guides for lost ones. Incredibly hard to kill, long of life, and elusive; these grim hounds heed the Callings of their unknown masters to attend to souls while trying to remain unknown by the mortal world at large and sometimes even hiding among them in the guise of man or beast. Nevada, however, is impure. Misshapen in body by his conflicting lineage, he struggles to perform his duties and find his place in the world.

Current Player Approved: Not Applicable

Sheet

Description

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Description:

HUMAN: This looks to be a young man in his twenties. He's tall and lean, bordering in that grey area between athletic and someone who just looks like he needs to eat some more. His skin tone is Caucasian but well tanned by time outdoors. Atop his head is a shock of unruly, sunbleached black hair that perpetually looks like it's three weeks past needing cut and used the wind instead of a comb to style it. Under strong brows are dark brown eyes that are set deep and pensive. His clothing is simple thrift store fare, favoring street wear like jeans, t-shirts, and occasional hoodies when the weather calls for it. The only attire that seems to have cost real money are hiking boots in black that look like they could stand up to a warzone. The most distinct aspect about him is his gait and posture. He looks to have suffered some sort of lower back or hip injury that left him with a bit of a slouch and widened stance with a stiff way of walking.

HOUND: Standing as tall as a full grown Shire horse, this beast resembles a dog or even some sort of wolf-jackal hybrid, but no normal beast known to man or science. Long-limbed, long bodied, and even long of face and ears, the proportions are exaggerated and lend the look of an animal designed for running. The dog is entirely black, coat shaggy and wild, with eyes a luminous and gleaming gold. At times, it doesn't even look solid, instead appearing like a ghostly shadow. Crammed into its maw are too many teeth than would seem to fit and feet end in long, wicked claws. The monster seems somehow injured or deformed. Its lower back hunches and its hips are too wide and sloping, and sprouting from the ends of its spine isn't just one tail but two that sit an awkward angles to one another.

DOG: This looks to be a pretty normal dog, some sort of Shepherd mix. He's long-legged and very lean, with narrow pricked ears and a long muzzle. The dog's coat is a sun-bleached black that's particularly shaggy around his ruff, back, and tail. The dog's eyes are a deep golden brown. It looks to either be ill-bred or perhaps hit by a car at some point, as the dog's lower back and hips look slightly twisted and slope down.

History

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History:

Like their mortal guises, hellhounds are demons that come in various shapes and sizes for the jobs their masters intend. They are all associated with death in some fashion. Some come to deliver it, others to herald it, others to drag the souls to their final resting place. Nevada comes from a line of the 'herding breed'. These canines served as messengers of death, to watch over those about to pass until their souls are collected and shuttled off north or south as appropriate and make sure said soul didn't wander off. That's how you get ghosts, and those are just a mess to deal with. So the lost soul at the crossroad. The lonely widow standing on a sea cliff's edge. The idiot running out in an electrical storm to shout at his god. A dog would be there. Spread far and wide across the globe, they mingled among humanity, hiding and waiting for their master's call.

One such young male took the lonely dunes of the Middle East as his new territory. There were plenty of places to hide far from modern life, but souls still to watch over. Many, given the unending nature of war. There, the dog encountered something new - a mutant. He'd come to the Calling of a prisoner of war, who was being interrogated by a female US soldier named Alicia Jackson. Interrogated, and then murdered with a psychic and formless garrote. He'd never seen a human deliver death without visible weapon or even a tool such as the magicians, and it fascinated him. Curious about these soldiers bringing so much death to his door, he lured one of their dogs out into the dunes and devoured it, taking on its appearance and infiltrating their ranks.

And so Thane, the 'war dog', found himself a US soldier. His handler was one of Alicia's teammates, and over weeks and then months he studied this unusual human. No one thought anything different of the good boy who followed them into battle, howled over the ones they lost, and sat around their fires sharing rations. In many ways, he came to see them as his pack. His family. It was a strange concept to him, but the world was a strange place anymore. During one such battle just days before the team was due to return home, things went poorly. Most of the team was killed, and he heard the Call come for Alicia. Only when death came for her, Thane defied it. To go against the very nature of what he was made to do, Thane used his power to restore her life, and in doing so it cost him everything.

His power was stripped from him. Rendered spiritually deaf and blinded, he was doomed to live the rest of his life as a mortal man. Thane and Alicia were close in the days after as they spoke of what they were and the stories of their lives. In his wardog guise, he returned home with her and came to live as the secretive family pet of her and her husband after he was retired from duty. PTSD, Alicia insisted, unfit for further duty. While he was content living a simpler life, he also continued to bond closer to the woman he saved. Too close, eventually.

About a year after returning home, Alicia gave birth to twins. A girl who inherited her mutant genes, and a boy whom Thane instantly recognized as having a spiritual mark heralding him as a hound. He was bewildered. He'd never heard of a hybrid like that, but then things like that weren't usually done and for good reason. The boy was twisted in body, his spine deformed, as if it hadn't been sure if it was meant to be boy or beast while he developed. Not knowing what would come of the boy as he aged, it was decided that the boy - whom his mother named Nevada - would be raised away with his father while she would raise his sister, Andrea, as if she was the child of herself and her husband. And so it went. Nevada was raised ignorant of the rest of his family for most of his life, his father doing his best to make a living when he didn't have any formal schooling and an illegal identity. From an early age, Nevada was not a stable child. He was called autistic, others said some personality disorder. The child would babble on wildly at times, at others he was eerily silent and transfixed. Other times, he would tell his teachers about voices or heard or music. He never went to daycare or any other school again. Homeschooled, Thane kept Nevada secluded until the boy was old enough to be taught about who and what he was and keep the secret safe. Around the age of eight, Nevada grew into his ability to change forms, and with it came the Calling.

While his father was now deaf to it, he did his best to guide his son to make better choices than he did. He also helped support Nevada in travel, as the youngster's crippled back made journeys difficult and painful. When he came into adulthood and graduated from his virtual school, Nevada decided it was time to see the world and maybe even find others like himself. He knew by then about his mother and his sister, but Thane had always forbidden him from seeking them out. Maybe Nevada would. Or not, maybe they wanted nothing to do with him. But with no other plans, he decided to sniff out the trail of his sister, with the path eventually leading him... here.

Personality

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Personality:

Nevada is a bit of a pessimist. He tends to see a lot of the worst in the world. Murder, abuse, trauma; his interactions with the dying, troubled souls of the world colors his perception of things. He tends to hide behind a gallows humor and does not trust readily or easily. He struggles to believe there's much good left in the world, but he's still human in some aspect, and does want to be proven wrong. Humans and canines are social animals, and as aloof and blaise he can seem, he still craves friendship and family.

At the end of the day, he's a creature who was intended as a guardian for the lost. He's attracted to those in trouble, to those who need a friend. While he may not jump into deep friendships, he will hone in on those in need and help them if he can. It's just his instinct to do so. Dogs are, after all, man's best friend. Even if this one can look pretty terrifying.

Children are his big soft spot. He will go out of his way to cheer up a down and out kid, and will protect them violently if he finds one being treated poorly.

Abilities

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Celestial Sense:
Given his deathly alignment, this sense specifically extends to those associated with angelic or demonic forces. He could pinpoint the individual and the general nature of their own alignment, unless they are actively hiding. Then he would have to have reason to suspect them and actively attempt to discern their nature. (This would be PCs or NPCs, as well as those who are actively hiding their identities. This isn't an always on ability, and he couldn't sniff a PC out without their permission.) Others could identify what he is with similar abilities. Outside of his physical form, Nevada does not have an active means to hide what he is.

Death Sense:
As his paternal race was created to do, Nevada is able to sense the presence of death. Already dead, one foot in the ground, or marked for an imminent demise; Nevada can know within an easy five mile radius, potentially more for those of truly powerful souls. Suffice to say, in a heavily populated area, this can be exhausting rapidly. It is largely geared towards sentient creatures like humans and may also work on similar alien species, with less awakened creatures such as animals being only a tiny blip like the realization a candle has gone out. He is also tuned to recognizing a Force of Death, so those with death-aligned abilities like reapers or mutants may be known to him if they cross paths. He can also see things such as realms of the dead that touch on the living world as well as see and communicate with ghosts. (OOC: PC involvement under this sense is consent based, as some may have the ability to hide themselves. Similar to Celestial Sense this isn't always on.)

Divine Guidance:
Some cosmic power of the universe directs them to souls who need watching before their death. God, Satan, both? The dogs don't particularly judge either way. Not every dying human warrants a call, and the exacts requirements are foggy, but it is generally believed among the barghest that souls are truly undecided as to where they belong and risk being trapped and prevented from crossing are likely candidates. The dog can observe the individual and are aware of the person's greatest moral achievements or failures. They can attempt to communicate with the dying to neutrally help them measure their own worth, but otherwise not interfere. They are forbidden from stopping the death of the one they are called to or revealing what is about to happen. They can give their power to someone to save them from death, but only ever once, and find themselves locked in the shape of a mortal, mundane human or dog ever after. They can change between the two forms and can still recognize another hound, but have no other powers and age as a normal human.

Longevity:
Hounds are long lived creatures, with the few elders hitting five centuries. As a halfbreed, Nevada is likely facing at least double a human lifespan, perhaps triple if he's rather lucky.

Senses:
In non-human forms, he has a canine's super acute smelling, vision, and hearing. Darkness poses little challenge, and he can smell something as minuscule as a few cancer cells in someone's body, or the faintest of whispers. As a man, he's constrained to normal human senses.

Shapeshifting:
While born looking human, he is also capable of taking on his beastial Hellhound form that appears as a shaggy black dog the with the shoulder height of a horse with exaggerated features. In his bhargest form, he's got the strength of a bull elephant and speed and stride enough to hit close to seventy miles per hour for five miles or so, depending on terrain. He can also appear as a mundane black Shepherd mix. In all forms, he is capable of human speech, but only in his true form do his full two tails show. His spinal deformity remains in all forms. He has the expected claws and fangs in his animalistic forms. As these changes are mystical in nature, clothing and objects on his person like jewelry will disappear or reshape themselves as suits his whim.

Sturdy:

It's hard to kill a supernatural creature, and he can heal from most injuries in minutes to hours, as skin rapidly knits and severed limbs rejoin their places. Arguably, even a decapitated head may wriggle back onto a neck or sprout anew. To properly kill him, one must use a Relic (see weakness).

Skills

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Language:
As creatures meant to interact with sentient creatures, you kinda need to get what someone is saying. A hound can instinctively know and speak any Terran language, even those considered extinct. If an Alien language is very similar to a Terran one, he may understand it with difficulty. Accents are always a nightmare to suss through.

Survivor:
Be it in the wild or on the streets, Nevada knows how to take care of himself. He knows how to hunt, how to fight, and how to steal. None of it may be with athleticism, but he's got an animal's sense of self preservation and wits to do.

Traveller:

As a being meant to travel, Nevada is well versed in not getting lost. Cartography, star positions, and just an uncanny knack to pick out the cardinal directions, it's very difficult for him to lose his way.

Resources

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Andrea:
Nevada has a twin-born sister, Andrea Jackson. She's rich, popular, and a mutant. He mooches off of her with some degree of guilt, and tends to masquerade as a pet dog/support animal when accompanying her in public. He may not be able to offer much, but he can at least protect her.

Kinda Poor:

Nevada largely fends for himself. Under the table jobs, thievery, or just roughing it out under the stars in a fur coat; he lives on a meager existence.

Weaknesses

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Crippled:
Nevada was born imperfect. At his lower back, his spine splits in two, resulting in an overwide pelvis and two tails. He is in a perpetual state of pain, and being a creature of magic, modern things like drugs and even surgery aren't real options. His body just heals right back to how it was born. Broken. If truly pushed, he could maybe make it a mile or two before he'd start experiencing actual injury. When he's being Called, it can be a downright agonizing experience that can leave him almost immobile at the end of it. Very inspiring, to have a dying man try to be reassured and comforted by a dog crawling on his belly like he was paralyzed.

Freak Factor:
It's likely that if he encountered other barghest, or even other 'pure' magical creatures, they'd scoff at a half-human freak. At best, it may be an uncomfortable meeting full of pity and awkwardness. At worst, they'd see him as an abomination needing removed.

Hunger:
Nevada is always hungry. With magic a resource that struggles in the modern world, even the act of existing can be exhausting. On his good days, he's feeling like he's gone half a day without eating. Low blood sugar, clammy, and probably tired and crabby. At worst, he's likely to try and chow down on anything that's questionable edible and eat to excess. Starting from peak condition, he could likely only go 3-4 days without food before perishing. Less if he's been injured or otherwise already exhausted, such as after a battle.

Relics:
Creatures considered supernatural have a long list of things reportedly meant to ward them off or kill them, and Nevada is no exception. They key is belief. If the individual holding the item doesn't truly believe in its spiritual power, it will do no more harm to Nevada than a mundane item. An Athiest, a Hindu with a Christian cross, a Christian trying to use a Muslim's prayer; these would not impact him. He can be bound in chains of iron. He can be slain with a sword or bullet of silver. A holy item may burst into white light and blind him, or cause his body to blister like an acid burn. He can be barred with a line of salt. He can be banished by prayer. The only time he cannot be banished or warded off is if he is being Called to that individual, but he'll still be pretty cranky and weirded out by the attempt. Healing from a wound takes as long as if he was a mortal healing the same injury, and limbs may permanently be severed. Something that is a Concept Incarnate (IE: The Infinity Stones, the Phoenix, magical weapons, attacks from magical beasts, etc) automatically qualifies as a relic due to their spiritual nature.

The Calling:

When a Calling comes, Nevada must answer it. It is a spiritual compulsion knitted into his very being. It doesn't matter if he's having some tea or in the middle of a fire fight, he must come when his Masters call and obey their word. Refusal, if he was ever willful enough to do so, risks his own destruction. By defying the very duty that barghest were created for, it would begin to undo him, rapidly causing severe physical trauma as he came apart at the spiritual seams. The exact nature of who can issue a Calling is unknown, but any being that humanity would consider a god with the power of life and death in their hands has the potential to command Nevada. Usually, these Callings are for the dog to guide a soul, but a malicious entity may very well find other uses for such loyalty. Nevada hates it a whole bunch, but so far even his human free will hasn't been able to break the connection.

Logs

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To Refresh Character's Log List Click Here. Then hit the resulting button to dump the old cached list.

Title Date Scene Summary
Into the Unknown May 16th, 2021 Andrea brings her twin to meet Lucifer while Phoebe inquires about recent possible super heroic events.
Karaoke at The Club May 16th, 2021 Kara, Owen, Andrea and Nevada enjoy a Karaoke number at club Evo
Midnight Mall Madness!! May 14th, 2021 A huge mall sale quickly turns deadly as a dubious figure turns a couple of scared mutant kids against shoppers.
It Starts With Pie... December 23rd, 2020 Tyler, Andrea and Nevada run into each other at a diner. Then they do some heroing.
One more present for the tree. December 12th, 2020 Megan visits Andrea and Nevada to drop off gifts and seeks advice on being a newbie superhero.
Preparing for popstar bootcamp November 30th, 2020 Andrea introduces Shannon to an opportunity and talks bootcamp
There can only be one Alpha in NYC October 21st, 2020 Andrea meets Bigby and square off to see who has the biggest teeth.
City Fall: Just Friendly Neighbors October 16th, 2020 Shannon, Andrea, and Nevada case out the Mutant Cultural Museum.
Mutant Squatters: Starlight To The Rescue October 11th, 2020 Shannon and Megan pay Andrea and Nevada a visit to see if Starlight can assist the mutant children and families from the incident in Bryant Park two nights prior. Plans are made, and gummies devoured.
OMG It's You October 2nd, 2020 Supergirl meets /the/ Andrea Jackson and Andrea's twin brother, Nevada. Selfies and autographs are shared!
How to rescue a fairy from certain death October 2nd, 2020 Nevada intercedes to help save Megan's mom from certain death.
Flowers and Faeries: Our Quest Begins September 29th, 2020 Nevada drops Megan some unpleasant news and they begin to formulate a plan to come to the rescue of one Mama Gwynn.
Just Another Quiet Night September 14th, 2020 A group of heroes swoop in to Hell's Kitchen to take down some gun-wielding bad guys.
Enjoying a warm night. September 10th, 2020 Andrea and Nevada spend some time at the club to burn the night away. Joan drops her phone in the sink. Megan and Sam make an appearance.
Just A Typical Lunch August 30th, 2020 A friendly lunch amongst friends is interrupted by would-be mutant-killers. Andrea and Nevada take care of business.
Was That Tonight August 28th, 2020 Jay and Nevada missed the big event! Andrea is not happy.
Blood Theft! August 23rd, 2020 Andrea and Nevada tangle with some footsoldiers.
Fri-Yay August 22nd, 2020 Jay and Nevada meet up for fries on a Friday. They tempt fate with the infamous question: What If?
Daughter to Father August 9th, 2020 Andrea meets her biological sire, Thane Armitage
Today is the day! Neon Dreams August 1st, 2020 Andrea springs big news and gets a not so amazing reaction.
Making Adam into a cool mutant. July 16th, 2020 Friends hit up Club Evolution for some hanging out and food.
Heaven Is A Place On Earth July 11th, 2020 Castiel runs into Nevada doing a hound's grim work, and the two ground-bound dudes decide on a mutual back watching agreement.
Mind the Gap July 9th, 2020 Megan begins teaching Nevada to dance. Lesson 1: It's a Rumba, not a Roomba.
Button Mashing July 1st, 2020 Friends meet up in the arcade to chat about soundtracks, back breaking combos, and linguistic cheat codes.
How to get Inspired.. June 24th, 2020 Megan meets a dog in the park...That turns out to be Andrea's brother!
At Da Club June 22nd, 2020 Friends gathering at Club Evolution for talks of fashion, music and a family bombshell. Shannon sang the blues, Andrea did some pop-rock, Nevada ate everyone's food.
Flipping the world upside down June 21st, 2020 Andrea and Jay receive a mysterious guest at their condo. World's are turned upside down. A great lie has been exposed.

Cutscenes

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To Refresh Character's Log List Click Here. Then hit the resulting button to dump the old cached list.

Title Date Scene Summary
No logs submitted yet.

Gallery

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