#xwod

[chikaramike]

The ExplosiveWOD seminar kicking off @ChikaraCrossFit @ExplosiveCoach #XWOD #CrossFIt #knowledge (at Chikara CrossFit)

[perchmountfit]

Attended The Explosive Clinic last night...learned some awesome tips from 'The Box Jumper,' Ryan Moody #XWOD #ExplosiveSeminar #TheBoxJumper #crossfit #ryanmoody #perchmountfit

[northstarfan]

XWOD: Jono Starsmore

Chamber's turn. I usually apologize for nothing in these, but especially so in this case, since this one's not even mine. ;)

Jono Starsmore Breed: Homid Auspice: Galliard Tribe: Ronin (formerly Shadow Lords) Age: 20 Attributes: Physical- Strength: 2 Dexterity: 3 Stamina: 3 Mental- Perception: 3 Intelligence: 2 Wits: 2 Social- Manipulation: 2 Charisma: 4 Appearance: 4 Abilities: Talents- Alertness: 2 Athletics: 2 Brawl: 1 Dodge: 2 Primal Urge: 4 Skills- Etiquette: 1 Gesture: 2 Melee: 2 Performance: 4 Stealth: 2 Knowledges: Occult: 1 Rituals: 2 Wyrm Lore: 2 Backgrounds: Pure Breed: 2 Resources: 1 Rites: 2 Totem: 3 Rites: Rite of Silence Rite of Talisman Dedication Merits: Concentration - You have trained yourself to focus your mind, shutting out any distractions. Metamorph - You find it extremely easy to shift forms and can do so even in your sleep. Flaws: Mute - Self explanatory. Notoriety - You have a bad reputation among your tribe; the reputation may be your own, or it may derive from your pack. Renown: N/A Gifts: Master of Fire - Once humans tamed fire to keep them warm and to drive off the wild beasts, they were on their way to civilization. Werewolves with this Gift invoke humanity's ancient pact with the spirits of fire. The spirits of flame agree to hold back their hunger when the werewolf touches them. An ancestor-spirit or a fire-spirit grants this Gift. Mindspeak - By invoking the power of waking dreams, the Garou can communicate silently with any character within line of sight. A Shimmering teaches this Gift. Whisper Catching - This Gift was developed to root out potential traitors against the Garou and has been open to...certain abuses ever since. The Shadow Lord may supernaturally eavesdrop on whispered conversations nearby, giving him an edge over those with something to hide. A crow spirit teaches this Gift. Rage: 5 Gnosis: 5 Willpower: 4 Languages: History: Jonothon Starsmore (Jono to his friends) had few enough worries as he approached his eighteenth birthday. He'd been in moderate rebellion against his conservative parents for as long as he could remember, resisting every effort to turn him into a productive member of society without taking the drastic step of actually leaving home: school was where he caught up on sleep, after school was for practice with the band, and gigs at whatever punk clubs would have them were what took up the night. The more his parents protested or tried to bring up university, the more he did his best to shut them out, losing himself in the music that was his brightest passion in life.  His last performance with his band was the pinnacle of that passion. The club was small, packed with writhing bodies and shrouded in several flavors of smoke. Jono couldn't have hit a sour note if he tried, and his bandmates were synched to his wavelength, playing as if their next breaths depended on it. Jono reached for a high note, but as he held it, he felt a heat sweep through his body, a new strength and altered perceptions that stole his breath. The night dissolved into screaming chaos, and his next clear memory was limping home in the early morning, heart pounding, confused and terrified (and, of course, clutching his guitar). His parents were waiting for him in the living room, pale and shaken. With them was an older gentleman who introduced himself as Jonothon's grandfather, Jack, and said that they had a great deal to discuss. They left that night over the protests of Jono's parents, though Jono himself was glad to get away, glad for some figure who could offer guidance in a world that had suddenly gone confusing. Jack was a high ranking Shadow Lord, and the next month was spent on educating Jono on the ways of the Garou in general, the Shadow Lords in particular, and Jack's own secretive camp, Clan Akkaba, they themselves a splinter group from the Lightbringers, a camp dedicated to bringing down the Wyrm by learning all its secrets...from within the very belly of the beast if need be. Jonothon underwent his Rite of Passage with two other Shadow Lord pups who had been nominated for inclusion into Akkaba, Shinobi and Manuel. The three earned their deed names by rousting a small creche of vampires and mauling them just enough that they could still be interrogated prior to their final death. This sat uneasily with Jono, but he put his concerns aside and tried to concentrate on the approval of his grandfather and packmates. As time went on, however, Jono's unease with Clan Akkaba's methods grew, particularly as he saw how their close interactions with Wyrm-tainted creatures and unpredictable mages unbalanced some members of the camp. He made the mistake of confiding these concerns to Manuel, and soon enough, they reached the ears of his grandfather. Jack took his grandson aside and confided to him the deeper purpose of their society: in times beyond memory, before their tribe even called themselves Shadow Lords, the first and greatest of all Garou, a warrior named En Sabbah Nur, ruled over a vast empire through nothing but his own lightning cunning and the thunder in his step. He was the very first of the Garou to cull the teeming herds of the humans, curbing them with an uncompromising hand that would have earned the approval of even the Red Talons. But he was betrayed by those too cowardly to risk their lives in a frontal assault, and sealed away in a deathless sleep by cowardly Fera, Garou traitors, or the magic of human Mages. Clan Akkaba's goal is to find the resting place of their ancient father and revive him by whatever means necessary. By this, they will give the fractured Garou a leader to rally behind, a leader with true ability instead of simply the faded tatters of birthright or the mewlings of compromise. And those who will not bow to a Garou of greater rank, those who would hasten the coming Apocalypse with their wavering...they shall be brought to bear by force. Jono was horrified and made no effort to hide it, telling his grandfather that couldn't stay and support what was, at best, madness. Those words sealed his fate. His grandfather had him brought before the elders of clan. He was forced him to shift to Glabro, and his packmates proved their loyalty to the Shadow Lords by burning out his voice with a silver brand fashioned in the shape of the tribal glyph. Voiceless and injured, Jono was declared Ronin and cast out of the Shadow Lords. Lacking any place else to turn, he went back to London and his parents for a short while, but couldn't ever relax knowing that he could be found too easily if his grandfather ever decided to finish the job. Less than a month after his return, Jono slung his guitar over his back, packed a duffel, and set out on his own. Jono Starsmore is a lanky, handsome young man, charismatic despite his silence. He keeps more or less to himself, and typically wears dark bandages around his neck to hide the ragged silver-scar at his throat. Between busking and furtive monthly deposits that his mother makes to his personal account, he manages to get by. OOC notes: ...and it's still not as much of a trainwreck as Jono's canon. Tribe, breed, and auspice were his player's choice, and I think they all fit well. Even the Clan Akkaba stuff almost makes sense. ;) Jono and JP are both built on more points than starting Cliath, but since it's a two-person pack, I figure the balance works better if they both have some experience as Garou rather than starting as green pups.

[northstarfan]

dorksidefiker replied to your post: More opinions, pls?

She strikes me as more Fianna, though I could certainly see the Bone Gnawer justifications, and for Auspice… I was gonna go for the cliche Galliard, but thinking about it, she strikes me (at least of late) as an Ahroun afraid of her own rage.

Well, there is character justification for Galliard aside from the Fianna cliche -- she had her little fairy tales that she was writing early on. But the game already has a couple of prominent Galliards anyway, so probably steer clear of going double down on the cliches. ;) The Ahroun does play into her ongoing conflict with her animal side, but I wonder how much that would already be present just with her being a Garou. She's so out of whack as one of Dani's little pack of lost cubs, I'm considering making her a severely unbalanced Philodox.

[northstarfan]

More opinions, pls?

I think I've got the breed/tribe/auspice mix down for all the XWoD first gen New Mutants except Rahne. She's a hard one to pin down, because I can think of a justification for just about every auspice save Theurge. I guess the Fianna are the obvious choice for tribe, but I'm also playing with Bone Gnawer.

Thoughts?

[northstarfan]

XWOD: Jean-Paul Martin

Northstar's turn! And yeah, the PC's get a little more detail in their write-ups than the others will...

Races the Stars Alone (aka Jean-Paul Martin) Breed: Homid Auspice: Ahroun Tribe: Silent Striders Age: 20 Attributes: Physical- Strength: 3 Dexterity: 4 Stamina: 4 Mental- Perception: 3 Intelligence: 2 Wits: 3 Social- Manipulation: 2 Charisma: 1 Appearance: 3 Abilities: Talents- Alertness: 2 Athletics: 2 Dodge: 3 Primal Urge: 3 Streetwise 2 Skills- Stealth: 3 Survival: 2 Knowledges: Linguistics: 2 Medicine: 2 Occult: 2 Rituals: 2 Backgrounds: Rituals: 2 Totem: 3 Totem: Northstar - When the banks of the Nile were the Silent Striders' greatest concern, the tribe had little use for the North Star and she cared as little for them. After the Striders were expelled from Egypt and scattered to the wind, their millennium of wandering under the North Star's light, reliant on her guidance to find their way, softened the brilliant, hard heart of the Incarna. She sent her spirit children to the Striders to share her gifts to aid travelers, and to watch over them as totem spirits. The North Star grants her packs two dice of Survival and Area Knowledge for any location in the Northern Hemisphere where the light of the stars is not overwhelmed by man-made light. Upon acquiring the North Star as a totem, members of the pack gain one point of temporary Honor. Ban: The North Star requires that her packs travel often, accepting all legitimate quests and message-carrying duties. Rites: Rite of Dedication Rite of the Questing Stone Merits: Noted Messenger - The Garou has a reputation as a reliable and incorruptible messenger. Long-Distance Runner - The Garou may double his moving speed for one hour per point of Stamina. Flaws: Enemy (Carl Kerridge) Sign of the Wolf Forced Transformation (shifts to Glabro under the influence of alcohol) Dark Secret Renown: 3 Glory, 1 Honor, 1 Wisdom Gifts: Persuasion - This Gift allows a homid to become more persuasive when dealing with others, in such a way that his statements and arguments are imbued with added meaning or credibility. Razor Claws - By raking his claws over stone or another hard surface, the Ahroun hones them to razor sharpness. Either a cat- or bear-spirit teaches this Gift. Speed of Thought - The Garou doubles his moving speed for one scene. Tireless Running - A Garou with this Gift may run from moonrise to moonrise subsisting on nothing more than spiritual energy, crossing almost four hundred miles in a single night, but as soon as the run is halted, he must eat and rest. This Gift can only be accessed when the Garou is in Lupus form. Rage: 5 Gnosis: 4 Willpower: 3 Languages: English, French, Strider Communications History: The Black Spiral Dancers are quick to seek out their own, even their very distant kin. Even the faintest streak of White Howler ancestry twined with a handful of other Kinfolk bloodlines was all it took to attract a Kin Fetch when the blood finally bred true. The pride and joy that Jean-Baptiste and Melisande Beaubier felt in their little family came to a horrific end along a dark road as the servants of the Wyrm came to claim what was theirs. Jean-Baptiste Beaubier fled from the smoking wreck of his family's vehicle with his infant daughter, Jeanne-Marie, only to be pulled down before he'd taken twelve steps. His child was wrenched from his arms; his last impression of his family before he was hauled away to the pain and madness of the Hive were her terrified screams echoing in his ears. Spirits, however, while useful, are not infallible and those badly treated even less so. When the wreck was discovered late the next day, the investigators were greeted by the hoarse cries of an infant -- Jeanne-Marie's twin brother, Jean-Paul, shielded from the wreck by their mother's body. The boy was adopted by the Martin family -- ironically, distant and unknown cousins on his mother's side. They too died under mysterious circumstances just before Jean-Paul's sixth birthday. The twice-orphaned youngster spent the next eight years being shuffled from foster home to foster home, growing wilder and more unruly with each upheaval in his young life. At age fourteen, he got into a blood-letting fight with his current foster father and ran away from home and spent almost a month on the streets of Quebec, stealing from vendors and picking pockets to survive. The ragged urchin eventually made the mistake of trying to pick the pocket a lean older gentleman who retaliated by immediately snagging the boy by the scruff of the neck and proclaiming loudly that he was going to the police. In reality, he hauled the cursing, struggling boy around the corner and into an alley, at which point Jean-Paul completely lost his head. He had only narrowly escaped attempts at molestation on the streets several times before, and he could see no other reason behind the man's deception. The adrenalin hit the panicking youth's system like a match to petrol; he could feel himself growing stronger as he increased his struggles, heat pounding behind his eyes as his body warped and grew to monstrous proportions. With the growth came the sudden rush of knowledge that he didn't have to be afraid of anyone. The fear abated in a rush of ferocious rage as he turned on the frail old man...who immediately changed shape and laid the cub out flat on his ass, then shifted back to human form and pleasantly announced himself as Baniti Whisper-Catcher and asked the astounded cub if he'd like something to eat while they discussed this new state of things. Several hours and half a dozen hamburgers later, Jean-Paul had been given the run-down of the Garou in general and the Silent Striders in particular. Given the solitary nature of the Striders, it fell to Banati alone to give the cub his education and Rite of Passage and make sure that he learned something of Garou society before the young spitfire met up with others of his kind who wouldn't be so forgiving of his smart mouth and suspicious outlook. Ultimately, Baniti decided that the boy's Rite of Passage would involve a trek into the Umbra to tackle the largest Bane he could find -- hopefully, just the thing to knock some of the cockiness out of the young Ahroun. The results were mixed at best -- greater respect for the enemy they faced, but also greater self-assurance in a youth whose confidence already seemed to border on arrogance. Baniti and Jean-Paul traveled together for almost another month afterward before the older Strider gave the boy a pat on the head and a kick in the pants to send him along his own path. Jean-Paul's path turned out to be that of the messenger. The youth was fleet of foot and quick of mind and memory, not to mention seemingly tireless. He had a talent for finding interesting tidbits of information and a reputation for bringing it to those who could make the best use of it. As his news is rarely the welcome sort, the youth could not be called the most popular of Garou, and his aloof manner and general lack of respect for rank helped that not at all. Still, there is no questioning that he was a warrior for Gaia and that, at least, tends to earn him a place at a sept's fire...however briefly. Jean-Paul's arrogance is a cover for a host of personal doubts and fears. He's never known a time when he was wanted or sincerely welcomed, and he puts ties up all of his self-worth in his accomplishments. At the same time, he holds himself to very high personal standards, and scorns anyone who can't meet those standards -- after all, if a street-brat like himself can manage, what excuse do these great warriors of Gaia have for falling short? What he fears even more than his own failures, however, are the nightmares that have plagued him his entire life: twisted, dark dreams of pain, degredation, and corruption that leave him waking in cold sweats and fearing for his sanity and spirit... Jean-Paul is a sharp-featured young man with dark hair and pale skin; he is lean, all sinewy muscle and built for speed. His ears are lightly pointed, even in homid form, and a pentagram appears on his palm during the full moon, his auspice. Quote: "I've torn my way through a half-dozen Wyrm spawn to deliver my message to this sept -- you wouldn't be much of a challenge. Stand down." OOC notes: Jean-Paul had to be a Strider -- aloof loners darting all over the map? Not even a question. XWoD!Jean-Paul really doesn't have any of the charm or charisma of his 616!counterpart because he's never been exposed to Raymonde's civilizing influence; he's still very much a conflicted, rough-edged stray with very limited social skills. His sexuality isn't much of an issue for him at the moment (though it is something he doesn't consider to be the business of anyone except himself and whoever he beds on the road) but, considering how big an emphasis Garou put on Kinfolk and reproducing, it's going to create additional problems for him down the line...

[northstarfan]

dorksidefiker replied to your post: Tumblr, I need opinions!

I vote for Ragabash. Too early in the morning for explaining WHY, but I have reasons.

*nod* My own reasons for considering Ragabash are Kurt's long-standing theme of "judge by character, not appearance" (fuck you, Chuck Austen), and the low Rage score -- Kurt's just not a berserker.

[northstarfan]

Tumblr, I need opinions!

Should XWoD Nightcrawler's auspice be Philodox or Ragabash? Or would something else make more sense in your mind (keeping in mind that Theurge is off the table for reasons)?

And yes, the fact that this is a horror setting is going to suck hard for Mr. Wagner.