Advocate of the Damned + other ramble.

'nother Abyssal char. She's actually based on a NPC I made for Wardragon 40k. (Advocate is one of the Abyssals after Archana, potentially.) This Advocate is different, though, since she was born in the Second Age, not the First. I was just lazy with names, I always liked "Advocate of the Damned" as a title. So I used it.

Wardragon Advocate is a Moonshadow, but this character is a Midnight. So she's more of a force of personality type than a socializing type. Her highest skills are Presence (went into the whole "hurt if you try to attack her" Charm branch) and Thrown (Crypt Bolt and Eyes Like Daggers Glance, mmm). Working on Performance (for orations, she's something of a preacher of the end of days) and Resistance (eventually want the Adamant Skin mirror, yay soak!)

I also gave her Martial Arts as favored, though she doesn't know a MA yet. And Linguistics, too, there's some fun charms in that Ability I hope to use.

Here's the kinda crappy background I wrote for her during an insomnic bout :P

Background: Advocate of the Damned was once known as Zaida Erythros of Whitewall. She was a trusted agent of the Syndics, serving as their spokesperson and advocating their good deeds to the people of the city. At the same time, though, she was also expected to spread fear, reminding the citizens constantly of the dangers outside the city from both undead and fae, and the folly of trusting strangers -- especially travelers.

The way the Syndics see it, it's easier to control a population that is insular and afraid, while encouraging the idea that their leaders' rules and laws have been created for their own good. Their form of governance has always been "the greater good over the individual," and thus decisions that may seem cruel on a personal level were seen as beneficial to the whole.

At the time, Zaida understood this. She was born and raised for her duty from a young age, and expected to adhere to even stricter rules than normal citizens were. She came to love and admire the cold, distant but eminently wise Syndics as something like her surrogate parents, and grew increasingly critical and paranoid of those who might speak ill or potentially harm them. Her speeches became more and more akin to sermons, praising the Syndics as the only true gods of and protectors of Whitewall and all Creation, hurling harsh, biting words at those who show even the smallest hint of doubting that 'truth'.

Unfortunately, despite her growing mental instability, Zaida was still a naturally charismatic leader. She succeeded in creating an underground extremist cult who worshiped the Syndics -- a group so devoted and so neurotically paranoid of outsiders that they devoted a large amount of their time to creating "black lists" of untrustworthy people within Whitewall, eventually leading to a rash of serial murders commited by their hands. Travelers and visitors were most often targeted, but eventually their zeal brought the Syndic Cult to accuse longtime citizens, even important figures within Whitewall in a city-wide witch hunt that both shocked and riveted the city for months.

In the end, it was the Syndics themselves who realized their foolishness in letting their servant -- their social experiment, in a way -- run rampant for too long. They arranged for the city police to conduct a thorough investigation, giving them Zaida's name, identity and residence along with all of the members they knew to be part of the Syndic Cult. Depending on their involvement, those involved were either imprisoned, executed or given the worst punishment of all: being shut out of the city walls as part of the annual sacrifice, left to be fed on freely by the Fair Folk and the restless dead that wandered the road to Whitewall every night.

Zaida was one of those unfortunate two dozen. The Syndics had turned a deaf ear to her pleas and cries for mercy, believing her beyond redemption. None of her years of illustrious service to their cause would save her now. She would die one of the wretched outsiders she spent her life condemning.

Or she would have, if the Deathlord did not come for her.

By some fluke or chance, it was the Mask of Winters that found her first, though the North is not normally his domain. He gave to her the choice: a dishonorable death, or the chance to continue her work under the servitude of a master that would more fully appreciate her talents. Unlike the Syndics, the Underworld would welcome her ruinous words, give focus to her zeal, and ensure her satisfaction that in the end, Oblivion will claim everyone that is wicked... including herself.

For this, she gave up her name and her last ties to mortal existence, reborn as the Advocate of the Damned.

Appearance: Advocate is tall, blonde and attractive, with pale skin and smoky grey eyes. She always wears a dark, wine-red form-fitting robe that compliments her shapely physique. Her smile can be at turns exceedingly trustworthy and uncompromisingly cruel, depending on the situation. She is very likely mad, but she hides it very well, slipping into ordinary society if need be with convincing words and presence.

In her service to the Mask of Winters she has both turned men and women to his service and led them happily to their deaths, calling forth from her fingertips the very energy of the Void. The dead rise for her and mindlessly place themselves in harms way, and she remains unaffected, uncaring of what she has done. For her driving purpose is to bring the word and will of Oblivion to the ignorant masses of Creation, and she will do whatever it takes -- subtly or by force -- to achieve it.

When walking Creation she takes on various aliases. Two she has used in the past are the Lady Sanguine of Thorns (particularly as a preacher of the end of days), and Venesca Idoni (in other social situations).

Normally she would've probably been a Deathknight of the Lover Clad or *shudder* the Bishop, but the STs wanted the Abyssals to serve Mask of Winters. And the game is another North game (or maybe Northeast?) so I chose a Northern origin for Advocate.

Mmm. My characters lately are so dark. I really, really like that. :D Gives me some sort of quiet satisfaction to churn out and RP characters who set themselves apart from normal rules of morality (whether they're lying to themselves or not). I suppose it's way better than turning my negative emotions on myself (which I often do, being ill as I am) or others.

Speaking of dark, though, I'm still playing Iria Kurogane and really really enjoying it. So far I've gotten to do psychic battle with the mind of a storm-lancer (some sort of shadow being with power over thunder) and I got to throw around and crush a bunch of little shadow creatures with Iria's shadow tentacles. Of course now I'm getting teased for making an Asian girl with tentacles, but so what. I got a Shadow Gift increase in both her psychic powers and her tentacle-generation (3 now). It's fun!

I even managed to get Jon into the game, which I'm happy about. I actually really like the system of this particular game (Shadows: The Nocturnal Wars), which is mostly freeform but with very simple conflict resolution (a straight d20 roll, 11+ is a success, with various modifiers by GM arbitration). It makes me wonder whether I could work out some similar kinds of rules for a Reborn Again game, actually. (Which I am thinking of very tentatively cause I think it may only be a private game for people who've actually read the original story. :O) I'm thinking right now of either modified World of Darkness or modified Scion, since I seem to actually mesh well with White Wolf rules, like it or not :P

Basically, the thing Nocturnal Wars does, along with the simple d20 rolls, are "Shadow Gifts" which are rated 1-5, similar to ...say, Vampire bloodline gifts (or are they called gifts? whatever they're called :P) or the Scion domains. The GM allows the players to choose 3 at start and determines which we can raise (or new gifts we get) depending on the RP we do. His is a more loose system and it works for his game and GMing style (I really like that I can RP to raise my abilities! I am going to try to raise Evil Eye next, which is Iria's 'I curse you and bad stuff happens to you' ability). Rating in Shadow Gifts lets us do broader things with the power, or helps our rolls, or possibly both.

A system like that for RA--well, say I used Scion for example. I'd take the domains and give specific ones to specific clans automatically. One could also increase domain access through items of power, or claiming worship of a specific god in the Reborn Again pantheon. Other than that, I'd probably keep stuff like the Scion knacks which are really quite nice, I think. And I'd add some other more RA-specific flavor things as necessary.

So anyway that's what I'm considering. I'm having so much fun RPing lately, and I'm also realizing my mood is improving a LOT ever since I went and did the college stuff. I've already gotten word from my therapist and two of my previous colleges that they've gotten my letters and are sending what I requested. I mean, right there is proof that I COULD do something, and help my situation, even if it's small. So I think some of my insanity is dying down. I'm feeling more like me again, more like I want to involve myself in life again, and enjoying all my favorite things more again.

Maybe I'm not in the best mood, but I'm in a better mood. So that's great!!