OOC Info Yes! I Do Want To RP Playing With Superpowers!

[Gossamer]

The Winter of 515 is going to expose Riverfall characters to some fantastical happenings. As part of the plotline known as The Powers of Winter, Riverfallians are going to be spontaneously manifesting powers of all sorts. These powers can be Psionic or Physical. They can be supernatural, preternatural, or anything in between. The sky is the limit. Though, truthfully, like everything on Mizahar, there will be limits. They are explained below.

Participation in this seasonal event is going to be OPTIONAL. If your pc does not want to manifest powers, then you automatically become one of the 'immune'. This will generate a plotline all unto itself.

But if you are willing, each and every one of you is going to develop a superpower of your choosing. Yes. We are going to dive into the world of superhuman and preternatural. Think original and unique. There will be rules. First and foremost, this power is only going to last for the duration of the season. The powers will be limited to things your PC can control. That means powers that MAKE others do things are not going to be considered for approval. For example, you can't 'read minds' because that means you'll have to inject thoughts as a player into other player's characters. Sure, you could PM them, find out what their PC was thinking, and play it that way. But we want to have smooth rp with no breaks, meaning, restricting these unusual powers to something only your PC can effect or the player running the pc can decide upon.

These can be mental or physical. Specific is better than general. And if you need help, feel free to google superpowers, pscionics, esp, etc.

All superpower mutations will have to be approved through me. I will approve them if these powers are something that can be rp'd in a fantasy realism setting that isn't going to violate the other rules and ToU of Mizahar. IE. You can't have something that causes you to GodRP. These will be a little like Konti gifts.

Now... there is a caveat. If you can write 50,000 words on your PC IC in the month of December, there's a better than 80% chance you can keep your superpower. That 20% chance of loosing it would be due to abuse, it causing problems in game, or other issues such as player complaints.

So... go ahead and freeform your request for a power below. Write an example if you want. The more detail you give me the more likely you'll get quickly approved. Make sure its easy to understand and easier to follow when you give me examples of how this power can be used. There is no word count requirement to requests. Please don't request with a 10K+ post though. That would make me uber sad.

Good Luck!


Testing one two three

[Lian Windrunner]

I would like to request an animal affinity for Lian. In the most general terms, it would allow him to understand the thoughts/emotions/body language/"speech" of any animal, and for the animal in question to understand him in return. He cannot summon animals, nor can he control them. But because of this affinity, animals tend to trust him instinctively, almost as if he is one of them. He can make requests of an animal he meets, and they are likely to obey if the request does not go against their natural instincts (a deer he is trying to hunt isn't simply going to lay down and let him kill them just because he tells them to).

There are several levels of this ability. The affinity he has with animals grows stronger the longer he works with an animal. A connection is formed between them that can grow into a bond if Lian works with an animal long enough.

Strange Animals: Animals that Lian have never worked with before fall into this category. Lian can understand their vocalizations, and surface emotions. He can read their aggression level (and know what is making them act aggressively (fear, hunger, etc.). He can sense if they are injured or sick in a general way, but unless there is an obvious wound, limp, etc. he may not know exactly what is wrong; he would feel their pain/illness as a dull ache. If an animal's emotions are strong enough, he will get an idea of what is causing them (ex. if he encounters a panicked wild horse, he might realize that a snake was what caused it to panic). Animals at this degree of familiarity wouldn't trust him necessarily, but they wouldn't be completely hostile towards him either. He can make requests of animals in this category, but they are unlikely to obey unless there is some benefit to them. A winter starved wolf wouldn't stop trying to eat him just because he asked, but a wolf that had other food sources readily available (ex. in the fall when hunting is good) might be persuaded to seek easier prey and leave him alone.

Acquaintances: These would be animals that Lian has worked with a few times, or spent some time with. Lian can understand their vocalizations, and surface emotions. And he can sense why they feel what they are feeling; if an animal is frightened, he will get an idea (in the form of seeing the animal's memories) of why they are afraid. As with strange animals, he can read their aggression level. At this level, though, he can begin to influence the animal's emotions, trying to calm them and such. But in order for this to work, he has to know enough about the animal to know what will calm them. He can sense if they are injured or sick in a general way, but unless there is an obvious wound, limp, etc. He may not know exactly what is wrong; he would feel their pain/illness as a dull ache in the area that the animal feels it (ex. old age would feel like a general ache, but if the animal was having trouble breathing, he'd feel the pain in his chest). Domesticated animals would be inclined to trust him at this level. Wild animals would be wary, but not necessarily hostile/frightened.

Friendly: These would be animals that Lian has worked with several times, or spent considerable time with. Lian can sense exactly what they are thinking/feeling, and gets more in the way of what caused their current emotional state. For example, he might sense that a horse that is frightened of dogs is frightened of them because it was attacked by wild dogs once rather than simply knowing that dogs are the source of its fear. He will have better luck influencing an animal's feelings at this level. Lian will also sense more about any illness/injury an animal has, such as how severe it is, and how long they've had it. Domesticated animals would be inclined to like him at this level. They would be likely to obey his requests out of a desire to please him, but they still won't obey any request that goes against their instincts. Wild animals would be inclined to trust him somewhat, but would still be spooked easily if he moved too hastily. If he makes a request that goes along with something they are likely to want to do anyway, they will obey readily.

Trusted: Animals in this category are ones he has worked with a great deal, or spent a great deal of time with (he would have to know/work with them consistently for at least a full season, or have saved them from something and nursed them back to health). A wild animal in this category wouldn't truly be wild anymore, though it would be unlikely to trust or obey anyone but him. A domesticated one would see him as one of them. It is at this level that domestic animals will start to obey requests that go against their instincts in some cases. For example, many horses fear putting their hooves where they can't see the ground. But Lian would be able to request that a horse he is riding cross a stream/river and expect that it will trust him enough to do it.

Bonded: If Lian has raised an animal from birth (or been around it and worked with it since it was born), or from a very young age, and has trained it, a bond of sorts will form between them due to his affinity with animals. It is not on the same level as a bond with a strider, or a sungold, but it isn't too far from it. Animals at this level of affinity will want to do things for him, and may do so even without being asked (ex. a hunting cat/dog he has trained may hunt for him even without being asked). But they are unlikely to obey other people unless Lian has introduced them to the animal and made it clear that they should. At this level, Lian can sense an animal's presence, health, mood and thoughts within a range of a few miles. If something happens to it, he will know it. The affinity he has will deepen enough to allow him to share the animal's senses. But with that added connection, comes a cost. At this level, an animal's feelings can affect his own. And while he is sharing their senses, he can be affected by their instincts. If the animal is smart enough, he can talk telepathically with it. Striders, and wolves are some examples of animals that would be smart enough.

Advantages: Lian would have an easier time training animals because he can understand what they need, and make them understand exactly what he wants from them - and why he wants it. When an animal is hurt, or sick, he will know it even if there is no physical evidence of injury or illness. If attacked by wild animals, he stands a better chance of surviving the attack, and convincing the animals to leave him alone than one without the affinity would.

Limitations: 1) Although training an animal might be easier for Lian, he still has to know how to train them properly. 2) Likewise, knowing an animal is hurt or sick doesn't mean he can heal them without the proper knowledge. 3) The affinity doesn't work on Kelvics, or monsters/creatures that are fully sentient. Nor will it work on striders or sungolds that have bonded to someone else at the higher levels of the ability; he might be able to train a bonded strider for someone more easily, but it isn't likely to obey any requests unless it feels like it, and it's human wouldn't mind.

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[Skyard Underwood]

I would like to request the ability of “Seismic Sense” For Skyard. The ability would allow him to pick up on even the slightest vibrations in the “earth” through physical contact with the ground. It would enable him to perceive his surroundings just as precisely as a person with normal sight would. He would be able to sense the structure and materials of solid substances, including the presence of caves and structural weaknesses. He would “See” the vibrations in a form of visible light if his eyes are closed.

Weaknesses: May cause sensory overload, due to constantly perceiving vibrations and can potentially force him to switch between one form of “Sight” and another. It would not be quite as useful as typical visual perception and he could very easily be eluded by anyone who knew of this ability. For example, a person wearing well-padded shoes would elude the ability; unless they stomped the ground as they walked. This is due to the fact that so many vibrations would be ongoing all at once that skyard wouldn’t be able to focus on a minute one and know that a person/thing would be nearby.

Strengths: Would allow him to detect hidden people, and possibly “Lie Detect” people by picking up on the vibrations of the heart. It could also be associated with the usage of echolocation, and would allow him to “see” even if he were somehow blinded. He would have enhanced awareness of opponents that were hiding from him, and he could very easily detect a weakness in a structure. Rather or not he could make use of the structures weakness would depend on what type of material it is. He could detect hidden objects through observing the interruptions and off-vibrations within the earth if it is beneath a surface.

Limitations: Anything not standing on a solid surface evades detection. Things such as loose matter like sand, clay, mud etc will distort perception. Skyard would likely have to be barefoot in order to have constant detection of everything around him (Skyard does not like to be barefoot either.)

How it works: Each and every object on any surface will emit vibrations unless the object is completely and totally stationary. Rather or not the vibration emission through the ground is on a major or minute scale would depend on how much force is being exerted on the ground. If there is indeed no force being exerted on the ground ( i.e an opponent hidden in a tree which would hide his vibrations within the trees own.) then he couldn’t possibly detect where a person was. He could detect caves through the vibrations it emits beneath the surface of the earth. Due to the fact that caves tend to be varied with elevation and produce vibrations based upon movement within the earths surface.

[Gossamer]

Lian - You are approved. Good job on explaining your new superpower for the season.

Skyard - Your approved. Also, excellent job on a unique and interesting superpower to develop for the season.

You both can use these in threads but please RP developing them and getting a sense for their limits and reaches as you go.

[Ayatah]

I would like to request the ability of Alternate Self Projection for Ayatah, please. This ability would result in a duplicate of Ayatah to 'step away' from her physical being, a little like astral project. This duplicate will be physically no different to Aya, but will embody her suppressed self and emotions. There are two broad 'types' of Ayatah's projected self: the Myrian and the Eypharian, to be explored further below. They cannot appear at the same time.

The Basics
This ability will stem from Aya's continued experience and feeling of being torn between her Myrian upbringing and her inherently Eypharian habits/heritage. This has typically resulted in Aya actively suppressing at least one of these, initially her Eypharian-esque desire for knowledge whilst she was being raised in the Taloban jungle, but more recently her Myrian-like desire for violence and combat. In short, she's an unbalanced young woman.

How it works
These alternate selves usually appear after a particularly lengthy or exhaustive session of Ayatah suppressing them. For example, if she was invited to a formal dinner and had been actively suppressing and hiding her Taloban upbringing, her Myrian-self will be bursting to come out and release itself.

To begin with, this ability will only manifest itself only when Ayatah is asleep. She will wake up in the morning with the vague memory of a dream. Unbeknownst to her, one of her duplicates will have been running through the streets of Riverfall, having finally been released from the earlier suppression. In the dinner-party scenario, this might include her Myrian-self running out for a late night hunt.

Over time, these dreams will become more vivid, and her other 'selves' will even start to leave notes to Ayatah to inform her of their existence... Cue confusion, self-loathing, etc etc. Eventually - not for at least two seasons should she be able to keep this ability and after many difficult lessons of self-acceptance - Aya will be able to summon one of these 'selves' on command, though they remain with her for only a bell or so.

If observed by a third party, this ability will appear as if a second Ayatah is literally stepping out of and away from the original. These alternate selves will look, feel, sound and smell like Ayatah, though to an aurist they would appear completely different.

The Selves
*The Myrian: This self is the perfect representation of Myri's people: bloodthirsty, aggressive, intimidating. This alternate Ayatah will desire physical combat, violence and other such things. She'll be hostile to others and pretty forceful to boot.

* The Eypharian: This self is far more aloof and distant than the 'real' Ayatah. She will be snobbish, as well, so expect bragging and general snootiness. When this self is out and about, Ayatah seems fixated with improving herself to the point of being obsessive.

Advantages
* Ultimately, Ayatah's ability will lead to her finally accepting her dual heritage. She will finally be able to balance her Myrian upbringing with her Eypharian-esque habits and interests.
* Should she finally become able to control this ability, Ayatah will be able to summon her alternate selves, which may help in terms of doing housework and other such tasks.

Disadvantages
* There's the social problems caused by having these other selves running around, which may implicate Ayatah in less than good ways. The Myrian self, for example, will be less than polite and the Eypharian a real stick-in-the-mud.
* For quite some time, Ayatah will have no control over what her alternate selves do. They will represent the extremes of her dual-heritage: the ideal Myrian and ideal Eypharian respectively. As such, they will act in ways quite different to Ayatah herself. Over time, however, she might be able to better control their actions.
* Identity crisis Club membership matures to platinum membership plan

Limitations
* The alternate selves are limited to the skills and lores Ayatah possesses at the time of their appearance.
* Though she may eventually remember what her other selves have been doing, skills from the duplicates cannot be shared with Ayatah. Her Eypharian self, for example, might take a sewing lesson but though Aya will remember the needles and cotton, she will be as useless at sewing as ever. ***I'm not sure where this leaves the issue of language. Though it would make sense if the two duplicates could ONLY speak the languages Ayatah can, I think it would work well if her 'Eypharian-self' could speak fluent Arumenic, even if Aya herself can't. So... I guess I'm leaving this up to your discretion as I don't mind either way, but I think this does need to be clarified.
* The duplicates cannot go further than two square miles away from Ayatah. If they push this distance, they begin to flicker in and out of existence (much like ghosts).
* The ‘real’ Ayatah will suffer any damage or injuries sustained by the duplicates. The same goes for tattoos and pregnancy.
* Any items that her other selves 'step out' with (for example, if Aya is armed with her dagger, her other selves will be too), these objects disappear with her 'other self'.
* The amount of control Ayatah possesses over this ability and her duplicates is inversely correlated to the amount of time they appear. More control = will appear for only a bell or so. No control = can manifest almost all night.

[Eldrid]

This is an experimental idea, so I'm very open to any suggestions or alterations.

The Power to manifest the written word. By reading writing on a parchment Eldrid can create a psionic manifestation of the writing. This manifestation is limited in size and cannot be larger than the page or book it is being read from, meaning if Eldrid reads about a person, the person will appear in miniature.

Psionic "Grammar":
Nouns are subjects and objects in grammar, and it is these which are actually manifested. Their size is as close to 1:1 as the size of the page/book allows. They retain properties of their real life counterparts, i.e. Fire burns, ice is cold, birds fly and water flows.

Abstract nouns do not have a physical form and thus, cannot be manifested unless a metaphor/simile is used in conjunction to give the abstract concept a form.

Adjectives describe nouns in writing and in Psionic "Grammar" they define a manifestation further. Without definition manifestations appear as ethereal grey constructs. Appearance adjectives will only alter the appearance of the manifestation if the adjective is specific. For example, reading "The pretty squirrel" will yield no affect different to simply reading "The Squirrel". However, "The squirrel's red fur coat echoed shades of autumn leaves and summer roses with a small white snowy cap on the tip of its tail." Can create an effective facsimile of a squirrel. Behavioural Adjectives can change the way a manifestation carries out a verb, but won't cause it to act on its own.

Verbs, doing words act as strings to control the manifestation. Manifestations carry out verb commands as they are written and to the detail of description. This can be tricky, for instance, "The squirrel runs" may simply cause the squirrel to sprint for the nearest tree. In these cases manifestations default to their intrinsic nature (as the reader sees it) which can be dangerous with aggressive manifestations which will gladly take a nip at the reader.
Verbs are never concrete and are subject to the manifestation, rocks cannot fly of their own accord, if the reader is aware of this, reading that a rock flies through the air unaided will not cause anything to happen. Similarly, reading that a squirrel killed your foe will hardly have any affect. If a creature requires greater size than the page allows to carry out the verb, it is acted out in miniature by the manifestation, but has no affect on the real world. For example,
"The giant gryphon alighted on the hapless Akalak assailant, crushing him" Will not cause a psionic gryphon to come crashing down on the suggested foe as a gryphon of sufficient size cannot be conjured unless one has unrealistically large parchment. Instead, a small Akalak will be manifested for your equally adorable gryphon to crush.

Generalisations:
Broad statements and identifiers can be dangerous to the reader and their allies as the manifestation will simply carry out the verb on the first matching subject. For example,
"The venomous snake sunk its fangs into the unsuspecting victim"
Would cause the manifested snake to bite the nearest "Unsuspecting victim" which would be the reader.

Reader's reality:
If a reader does not know the definition of a word, or the appearance of a noun, it will have no effect. Similarly, if the reader has the wrong idea about a word or noun, that wrong idea will define the manifestation.

Example:
If we look at a piece of real life poetry, (The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe)
If Eldrid read the line, "And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor." All on its own, a small collection of smoldering embers would appear before the page and fall to the floor, leaving scorched marks where they fell and died. It translates literally because there is no extended context. However, the segment about ghosts is given context by the presence of embers which then helps to define the action.

Some limitations:
Reading words incorrectly, i.e reading too fast, pronouncing incorrectly or stuttering will malform and possibly dispel the manifestation. What is read must be what is written to create the manifestation.
Words must be read aloud.

Duration:
Manifestations have about a second of lee-way between words meaning over extended pauses or lengthy breaths will cause them to dissipate, halting whatever action they were busy with. If a word is abruptly cut off, the manifestation dissipates.

[Kaie]

I am seeking to request danger intuition for Kaie this season. This form of danger intuition deals with the instinct to sense when one's person is in impending danger from a physical, linear attack or within range of someone who would seek to do them harm. A greater understanding of the ability may allow the danger intuition to be applied to those nearby Kaie cares greatly about. Kaie would have the ability to sense whether someone in the vicinity seeks to do that other person harm, and when they are in immediate threat of attack. In this event, Kaie's instinctive motivation would manifest itself in a way that would attempt to rescue the other person from the attack. While this ability may be perceived as broad, a fair playing field within the game is achieved through its plethora of limitations.

How It Works: Any ordinary person can walk into a room and quickly assess just from "feeling" whether or not it's a safe place to be. People often decide if there is something threatening or just "off" about a person based on how they look, their body language, their affiliations, how they interact with others, and their reputation. However, sometimes the most dangerous people are those who are skilled in concealing their true, malevolent intentions. Kaie would be able to detect a dangerous presence to her person and feel "hunted", but only when the threatening being has made a conscious decision to do her harm. A detected threatening presence would fill her with a feelings of unease about her surroundings and make her more inclined to leave the vicinity. An impending danger in the form of a direct attack on her person would involve an instinctual motivation to move off the center of that attack.

Limitations: Kaie's ability to detect danger can only be applied to direct threats upon her own being. In order for that ability to be expanded to include danger intuition for another person, she must be deeply connected with the other person, that person must be nearby, and she will have to completely develop the ability itself. In a room with multiple people, she will be unable to pin-point exactly who possesses the threatening presence but maybe a general direction. Likewise, in a situation where there are multiple combatants she may experience sensory overload or anxiety until she understands the ability. Any attempts to assess danger for another person in a mass attack situation regardless of proximity, relationship, and ability development will most likely be inhibited while she is in immediate danger. When it comes to danger intuition limitations for a physical attack, the attack must be linear in order for her ability to motivate her to move safely out of its path. The attack can only be detected if it is intended to do her perceived harm. Likewise, the attack must be made by a sentient being. In other words, Kaie would not instinctively sense a loose boulder rolling down a hill was about to squash her. If a sentient being gave the boulder a shove down the hill, however, she would sense it. Despite being able to detect an oncoming attack, Kaie will have no way of knowing what exactly the attack is unless it is visible to her. For example, she would feel the need to move if there was an arrow soaring for her back, but she wouldn't know it was an arrow. The instinctual motivation to move from a certain point is simply a feeling and she must still make the decision to act upon it. When she does act upon the instinctual motivation to move, the direction in which she is inclined to move so she is safe from the attack may not be safe in general. For example, stepping to the right might get her out of an arrow's path...and right over a cliff side. Whether she is successful in moving out of the way of a linear attack depends solely on her own ingenuity, skill, and logical reasoning.

[Gossamer]

Ayatah- Your gift is approved. I thought this was very cool. Almost like the book Sister Light Sister Dark which is one of my favorites to date.

Eldrid – Your gift is NOT approved. This is way to powerful even with the size limitation. For example you could manifest piles and piles of gold the size of the page and cash them in for Miza’s. So in order to have this approved you can have one of two things happen. Have the ‘manifestations’ last only a single chime before they vanish. OR have them be a transparent likeness of what you are reading with no form of substance to do damage or be cashed in for value. You can try for a completely different gift if you like or modify. Simply repost. I don't know your PC well enough to make additional comments about how well this gift fits, but it seems like something you as a player wouldn't abuse intentionally but as written the potential for abuse is absolutely there.

Kaie- Your gift is approved. This also fits your PC very very well. I was glad you came up with this one.

[Kavala]

I've thought long and hard about this. I've googled and read and considered and discarded and I think I finally settled on a super power by watching Finding Nemo.

The Dr. Dolittle Gift.

Kavala's very presence increases the sentience of animals, birds and fish around her so that they can manifest speech either physically or mentally that herself and others can hear. This 'speech' comes in the form of a language or mental projection that is in a language someone listening can understand. They won't get incredibly intelligent or anything, but their speech will come in the form of something on their level. As she gets a grip on the gift, Kavala will be able to 'tone it down' to silence the animals or simply make it a more 'private' channel. She can however expand it at will to all around the area hearing as well. Control comes with practice which will take time. Animals that are naturally intelligent might sound human as they speak while not so intelligent animals might have very basic language and communications in vocalizations.

For example, if Kavala is tossing bread to seagulls on the beach, herself and others might hear them squabbling over the snacks in the form of actual vocalized "Mine! Mine! Mines!" More intelligent animals - mammals etc - might be able to hold whole conversations with her or someone else within her presence.

I ran this gift by several moderators and they approved it based on the types and kinds of gifts already approved in this thread beings as Gossamer is biased.

[Tara re Ahnatep]

Because Tara is interested in comparative religion, but as an outsider wouldn't always have access to the inner circles of an order, I'd like her to be able to give the appearance of having any god's gnosis mark. (First level only? If she were to obtain an actual mark, the ability to disguise it if she chooses.)

This would only relate to appearances: she would seem to have the mark, but would lack the abilities usually conferred by the mark. For instance, if she chose to display the mark of Eyris, she wouldn't have any additional powers of insight. A casual observer might be puzzled at her lack of power. A more clever character might find a way to test her abilities, and conclude she was refusing to use them, or that she'd been weakened somehow.

She might also give herself away by her own errors. Gnosis marks wouldn't normally disappear, but hers might if she chose to stop displaying them. She might also make the mistake of showing marks from opposing gods like healer Rak'keli and poisoner Vayt.

She would have no particular connection to any god as a result of the power. The god who normally gives a mark wouldn't be alerted that she was posing as a follower, but might happen to see her and know that she hadn't really been marked. Neither could she gain any special favors from a god.