Wings Over the Pyre - March 21st, 2006

05:23 am - Carlotta's Dirty Secret

Well, we did the Stregazzi family and their current Don, Carlotta Stregazzi, yesterday. Today, we go into more depth on her late-but-not-gone husband.

John Lanier
Dead Man Walking

Abilities

• 2 Aura of Death (P)
• 1 Perfect Recall (P)
• 4 Drain Lifeforce (P)
• 3 Intangibility (P)

Styles

• 2 Pass Through Walls and Floors (P)
• 3 Paralyze the Living (P)
• 1 Knows Secrets (P)

Attitudes

• 2 Lost
• 5 Devoted
• 1 Unfocused
• 3 Dead
• 4 Damned

Drives

• 4 Obsession (Exemplar: Carlotta Stregazzi, Head of the Stregazzi Crime Syndicate)
• 1 Pride
• 1 Power
• 2 Despair
• 1 Fear

Description

Approximately 5'8, but seldom seen in contact with a supporting surface. Mid-30's European male, thinning hair, monochromatic blue-grey semi-translucent form. Naked. Head has a massive gaping gunshot exit wound at the front-left of the forehead, entry is at the rear right.

Background

At best a minor-lieutennant under the previous Don of the Stregazzi, his luck seemed to be changing when the Don's daughter expressed interest in him. When he fell entirely head over heels for her, she revealed the first steps of her plans to take the seat of power for herself. What could he do? The love of his life wanted to rule the Stregazzi, he'd make sure she ruled the Stregazzi without question.

Carlotta's affair with Marda Nova made Lanier very, very aware of his own mortality and replacability. Even so, his devotion knew no bounds, so that when he approached Carlotta with the plan that would allow her access to the perfect spy and assassin, and allow him to serve her and the family in-perpetuity, she knew immediately it was the only option he had. With the strega binding laid firmly on him, Lanier's final thoughts before his wife blew his brains out across the conference table was how much he would love seeing her forever.

The afterlife hasn't been as rosy as Lanier expected, however. With death came knowledge and with knowledge came the desire for ignorance and rest. Those options are definitely off the table now, however. Lanier knows the secrets of those he watches, and he can never, ever, forget them. It is only the threat of torment by the strega, who can reach across the boundaries between life and death, and obsessed devotion to his Carlotta that keeps him from using those secrets to find someone to release him from his unearthly chains.

Free Conflict

Carlotta Stregazzi

Goal: Lanier earns a sign of affection from Carlotta.

There's something very interesting I've noticed about doing villainous characters (and, frankly, heroic ones as well) in Capes: There's a significant advantage to working the Exemplar Character angle between groups who are notionally opposed or where there's some deep and abiding conflict. Which, I suppose, goes without saying -- after all, that's what its there for for -- but most of the time you don't think about the simply unresolvable conflicts between villain characters, even though in the source material its all over the place. As an example, consider Destro and Cobra Commander. Cobra Commander very easily fits the mold of Destro's Power Exemplar, with the Free Conflict being Goal: Destro usurps power over COBRA. Almost every time they're in the same scene, Destro attempts to take some part of the reins of COBRA, whether it be by simply overruling CC's (admittedly insane) orders or by undercutting him with one of his "trusted" lieutenants (the Baroness being the most oft targeted; wouldn't you go after the smoking hot busty brunette, too?). Conversely, CC would seem to have Destro as his Obsession Exemplar, as often as he seems to be dropping (and losing) Goal: Cobra Commander impresses Destro with his successes.

(Does anyone else think there's some kind of homoerotic sado-masochistic yaoi dynamic going on there? Try not to think overmuch on it.)

Creating more complex villains really leads to more complex heroes, as the latter can then play off the tensions which always surround various villainous characters. After all, how better to distract Destro from Goal: Destro forces the heroes to leave the base than to back CC's control being held in the face of Destro's subversion.

Current Mood: creative

06:00 am - The Twelve and the One

While we're talking This Present Darkness, let's talk about the only unabashedly heroic organization I've put in so far:

The Council of Apostles

Established in 1002 AD by Pope Sylvester II, the Council of Apostles was conceived and forged as an ecumenical meeting of religious minds. That is, it would be composed of more than just Catholics, any who professed a belief in God, in some form, and was devoted to the good of mankind would be admitted to its ranks. The Apostlic Council's purview would be the threats that the Church discovered in the course of discharging the duty of Christ, both to investigate and, if necessary, eliminate it. The number of seats on the Council was deliberately kept small, the better to keep their activities and knowledge secret. At its head would sit a prelate devoted soley to making sure the activities of the members were directed and managed in accordance with holy responsibility, and that role fell on the shoulders of one family: the Stregazzi.

Technically, the Council of the Apostles only has thirteen seats, twelve reserved for operatives and one for the prelate. If need is dire, the Council can call on other Tribunals within the body of Christ if more resources are necessary (and several have somewhat overlapping areas of concern if not methodology).

Appointments to the Council are for life. If a seat becomes vacant, the prelate is tasked with finding and recruiting a replacement.

We can't have a Council without at least one operative, of course.

Father Andre Di Meo
The Sword of God

Abilities

• 1 Invulnerability (P)
• 5 Regeneration (P)
• 2 Inhuman Stamina (P)
• 3 The Sword Kyria (P)
• 4 Priest (P)

Styles

• 4 Plodding Unstoppability (P)
• 1 Takeing Incredible Abuse (P)
• 3 Bleeding (P)
• 2 Being Sent Flying (P)

Abilities

• 3 Pious
• 1 Centered
• 2 Determined

Drives

• 3 Justice
• 1 Truth
• 1 Love
• 3 Hope
• 1 Duty

Description

5'2, blue eyes, brown hair, an average Italian man in almost every way. He wears his clerical vestments with familiar comfort. Its almost impossible to get a grip on how old he is; his face is unlined but his eyes are deep-set; he could be anywhere from 20 to 45.

Background

Father Andre Di Meo is a relatively new addition to the Council, transferred over from the Tribunal of the Holy Blood (devoted to the investigation of the vampire threat) within the last year. He's tight-lipped about his past, but has said that his amazing ability to survive any injury is wholly an act of God.

Note that Father Di Meo gathers narrative power almost wholly from describing how he's getting his ass beat down, then dusts himself off and keeps coming. I've been wanting to do a character design in Capes like this for a while, almost from the first day I read the text, in fact. There just aren't a lot of game systems in which such a thing is feasible.

And he has Bleeding as a Style. How cool is that?

Are you wondering where I picked up some of the inspiration for the good Father? You clearly never read Xombi.

(Yes, putting Nun of the Above and Catholic Girl on the Council is disgustingly tempting.)

Current Mood: creative

08:36 pm

I just love receiving these scams. I really do.

CHRIST EMBASSY
NUNGUA,ACCRA
GHANA.
www.christembassy.org

Dear In God.
I am Pastor Edward Mensa,(Deputy head pastor,Christ Embassy,Nungua Accra,Ghana Worship Centre).I know that this letter would come to you as a surprise
nevertheless,I pray you to treat the contents as urgent as you can once you receive this message.

My contact to you is a divine contact from the direction of of our Lord Jesus Christ, hope you will not let down this trust as I am quite sure that you are also a believer as well.

The late Mrs Jane Taifa was a member of this church because of the trust she had on me as her pastor, before her sudden death she revealed to me about $5.m
her late husband Dr.Alime Taifa deposited with a Security finance Company in Accra,Ghana here as a NON-RESIDENTS DEPOSITE.That"in case she did not
survive her sickness, I should make an arrangement with a foreigner in Abroad who will contact the Security Finance Comapany for the claim on behalf of her only daughter Miss. Joyce Taifa (19) who is presently at the refugees cam Buduburam Accra,Ghana.

Please, if this letter touches you and you are willing to manage this funds for this orphan with honesty and with the fear of God, please just get back to me
immediately so that I will give you more details about the funds,who to contact and
also advice you on what to do.

Feel very free to carry on with this transaction with me as I have gone to the finance company where the money was deposited as a consignment.everything ok,
there is no risk involved with this transaction.everything will go through,according to
the will of God and with hope our God will never let me down for directing me to you.

I am sending the divine glory of our Lord and peace to you and your family.

Pastor Edward Mensa.
(Deputy Head Pastor)

Phone:00233-277-496680.

You know, I'm always amused at the usage of Deity to try and leverage a departure of my money from me. Its as if the mere invocation of Christ (preferably while standing in a circle of salt lit by candles in the cardinal directions) is supposed to loosen the lips of my very atheistic and cruelly destructive Hello Kitty wallet. How little do they know me!

Current Mood: amused