app for rhodoslog

[somatosensory]

PLAYER INFORMATION
Name: mal
Age: 18+
Contact: resurrectionist
Timezone: sast (utc+2)
Other characters: none

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: aristaeus
Canon: original
Canon point: after mavis evades capture the first time, leaving him injured in a cave in the badlands.
Age: 93

History:

world snapshot: centuries ago, one of the tribes unearthed a sentient ai from among the ruins of a once-great civilization. the ai, who called itself “THEMIS” shuttled the people into a golden age of technological advancement. disease and hunger were quickly eradicated, with death by old age soon to follow.

however, the most curious of THEMIS' gifts wasn't the technology it offered but the tether. because the people were naturally sensitive to furor, a psychic energy force, THEMIS was able to draw them into a single, collective consciousness with each person psychically connected not only to each other but the ai itself.

through the use of this unified consciousness, THEMIS was able to exert a greater control over the people, guiding them toward the path of greatest societal good. as a result, the people developed a culture that would be considered philosophically collectivist and began to refer to themselves as the empire of kossos, with THEMIS being placed as their leader.

desiring to spread the bounty, the empire begins to expand its borders slowly. some would resist, while others would bend the knee. in time, however, all would fall under the empire's heel.

--

aristaeus: aristaeus is born in a breeding centre, in the heart of the imperial capital. like all kossian children, he grows up without knowledge or contact with his parents, and spend the first six years of his life in a group-home-like environment. there he is indoctrinated into the kossian cultural philosophy, while also being monitored by a team of technicians to ensure that he is placed on the correct training track.

during this time, he would struggle to reconcile himself with many of these societal ideals. a volatile child, he would particularly struggle with the idea of setting aside his own needs in favour of the whole. this dissatisfaction will gnaw at him in the coming years, eventually becoming an angry self-loathing.

nevertheless, he does come away from his early education with a strong sense of nationalistic pride that would only blossom as he began his priory training. the priory is the empire's military academy, responsible for the training of venators, a caste of soldiers-cum mercenaries responsible for the tracking and recruitment of high-affinity furor users. venators are held in high regard by the empire given their dangerous yet necessary function.

the training program is gruelling. with a high turnover rate, the likelihood of injury or burnout is high. this is deemed a necessary evil given the demands placed on the venators, themselves.

while a talented student, his behavioural issues persist. in an effort to bring him into line, aristaeus is placed under the direct supervision of one of the priory's senior instructors, pallas. over time, pallas is able to convince him of the merit of using his strength in service of the greater good. while he does not fully accept his mentor's paradigm, he becomes skilled at performing it as he enjoys the sense of fulfilment and praise, and doing so leads to further acclaim outside of their relationship. he is able to complete his training and graduate.

the graduation ceremony itself involves relatively little fanfare, with graduates being fitted with a spinal implant that augments their natural ability well past the point of what would ordinarily be considered safe. the surgery is excruciating but successful. once once recovered, he's placed in a three-person unit and sent out for his first rotation.

years pass. aristaeus distinguishes himself for his ability to track high-affinity marks over difficult terrains. he is known to be relentless. what was meant to be a routine assignment would see him sent into the badlands, one of the few truly unconquered territories still in existence. there, he and his team would meet with representatives of the kuruko clan, a roaming tribe that called the area home, and attempt to negotiate with them. negotiations quickly sour and a violent confrontation ensues, ending in the clan being purged. en-route back to the shuttle meeting point, aristaeus is distracted by signs of life and heads out to investigate.

he encounters mavis, the target. another confrontation ensues that ends in mavis incapacitated and aristaeus gravely injured. as he is unable to make it back to the shuttle in time, they take shelter in a nearby cave where he intends to use the time to recuperate. mavis comes round prematurely, injures him further and flees back into the desert, leaving him furious and reeling.

Suitability: aristaeus is a powerful psionic from a militant theocracy's warrior caste. his primary purpose is to hunt down and “recruit” high-affinity individuals for integration into the hivemind. this means that not only is he accustomed to violence, but he's also able to handle strange phenomena with no obvious explanations. he will also do whatever's necessary to ensure his own survival.

Is this a re-app? no

Inventory:

• one (1) hunting knife
• one (1) dampener cuff (non-functional)
• ration bars (as many as he's allowed)

Powers, abilities and/or inhuman traits:

hivemind: the psychic tether that ties him to the people and the ai, THEMIS. as the kossian hivemind operates on a moderate drone awareness, this means that individuals largely maintain their autonomy and sense of self but are monitored by THEMIS. in aristaeus' case, the hivemind allows him to pick up on the surface thoughts and emotions of any of the other tethered, provided they are near him.

implant: composed of a prissite alloy (a rare, high-value resource) this runs the length of his spinal column. it has a passive effect of amplifying his natural psychic ability. it is also highly sensitive to the touch.

psionics: as stated above, aristaeus is a powerful psionic, which means he can utilize a variety of psychic abilities.

this being said, a powers opt-in/out page will be employed once powers are regained (especially in the case of anything invasive) and will otherwise be using them more as a character/cr hook and emotional exploration over a silver-bullet since i'm just here to dig into the psychological character drama over trying to go buck wild on the setting.

⁍ telekinesis: aristaeus is able to manipulate or otherwise move objects with his mind.

▹level one: able to lift light objects and hold them suspended.

▹level two: able to lift a person and restrict their movement for upwards of a minute.

▹level three: able to lift a heavy object (am fine with nerfing this but thought nothing larger than a small car) and hold them suspended for upwards of two minutes.

⁍ biokinesis: aristaeus is able to manipulate the bodies of living things, with varying degrees of success, including his own. this ability is rooted in the primary telekinetic ability.

▹level one: able to temporarily increase his physical abilities, allowing for a short burst (no longer than 30 seconds) of increased speed, strength or durability. able to inflict light/heal minor injuries.

▹level two: able to temporarily increase his physical abilities, allowing for a short burst (no longer than a minute) of increased speed, strength or durability. able to inflict/heal moderate injuries.

▹level three: able to temporarily increase his physical abilities, allowing for a short burst (no longer than three minutes) of increased speed, strength or durability. able to inflict/heal major injuries.

▹level four: able to induce varying degrees of pain in a target for upwards of a minute. this is accomplished through neural manipulation.

⁍ regenerative healing factor: aristaeus is able to rapidly recover from injuries, provided his head remains attached and there are no foreign obstructions in the injury site. this being said, he is still vulnerable to starvation, suffocation and dismemberment regardless of the level of his ability. this ability is rooted in the secondary biokinetic power.

▹level one: wounds that would take weeks to heal naturally recover over a span of days. cuts, bruises and light burns will heal seamlessly but anything more severe will leave a scar. cannot recover from organ damage, lost limbs or moderate to heavy blood loss. still vulnerable to toxins and disease.

▹level two: minor to moderate wounds can take anything from minutes to hours to recover from depending on their severity. most wounds will heal seamlessly, without scars. small increase in resistance to disease and toxins.

▹level three: can heal from most injuries, including organ and nerve damage in the span of minutes. ordinarily this would include most traumatic brain injuries provided his head remains attached but will be nerfing this for the sake of the game.

⁍ extrasensory perception: aristaeus is able to acquire information by means independent of his known senses or previous experience.

▹level one: can detect life, read surface level thoughts and glean vague memory impressions from people or objects provided he is able to maintain physical contact with them.

▹level two: can hold mental conversations. also able to push beyond surface level thoughts and read deeper memories. this can be resisted relatively easily.

▹level three: can track a person or object if he were to concentrate on them. this requires prior physical contact in order for a maximum chance of success.

MANIFESTATION

Character flaws/traumas: aristaeus is the kind of nightmare overachiever that takes failure of any stripe personally. this is largely due to his upbringing, where his sense of value was tied inexorably to not only his power but his ability to obey without question—the former he has in spades, while the latter is something he's learned to perform effectively enough to be convincing. but it's just that, a performance.

as a result of this he can be headstrong and single-minded to the point of fixation. if he believes that he knows the most expedient route to a solution, he will take it regardless of the better alternatives he is presented with. this can lead him to seeming reckless, even impulsive in certain situations and can make it difficult for him to work with people that he does not respect.

finally, despite being a belligerent hedgehog he craves intimacy and connection—with no idea of how to go about achieving this. on a societal level, he is told that intimate personal relationships are detrimental to the overall communal good, as they lead to a deprioritizing of society's needs in favour of his needs and the needs of his partner. as a result of this, his innate desire for something more, particularly when it's something he's told he shouldn't be seeking, is a cause of deep conflict.

Manifestation name: the crying child
Character trait(s) the Manifestation reflects: alienated from an early age, aristaeus struggled to connect with his peers and eventually sublimated that unruly, volatile side of himself in order to receive the acceptance and validation he had been craving in a form deemed more societally acceptable. thus this manifestation could be seen as an externalization of that wounded, furious child version of himself. the vulnerable, needy parts that he tries to suppress.

Description: a six-year-old boy with close-cropped dark hair and pale, bruised-looking skin, particularly around the eyes. it's dressed in a grey hospital gown and, at a glance, appears to be weeping. however, upon closer investigation, the tear tracks appear to be blood.

Attacks and behavior: the crying child likes to lure its victims in close, usually by crying, before hitting them with a devastating sensory attack as a loud shout. while its victim is incapacitated, it will quickly move in for the kill. while small, it is vicious. it will bite and claw at whatever it can reach.

Path towards resolution: aristaeus will need to reconcile himself with the fact that he is human and therefore imperfect. this will be difficult for him, as so much of who he is has been shaped by the idea of being perfect.

SAMPLES
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