Campaign:Essence Inversion/Mara River-Chaser

Basics

• Name: Mara River-Chaser
• Concept: Ninja Chameleon Explorer
• Caste/Aspect: Full Moon Lunar
• Anima Banner: A chameleon hanging upside down from a waterfall pouring out of a tree.
• Tell: Independently tracking eyes.
• Motivation: See everything in Creation and map it.
• Intimacies: Exploration, fascination with Fair Folk, hatred of Linowan, Sagacious Hermit Opossum.
• Experience: 60/60

Background

Mara's Exaltation came after four days of being chased by the Linowan through the outer edges of Halta's forests. It was her 16th birthday, and the last day of her Trial of Survival when she stumbled into a Linowan camp, headfirst onto their huntmaster, in fact, after a week spent trekking through the remotest parts of her homeland she could find.

Mara has long been enamored of the secret places of the forest; the hidden glades and clearings, and took every chance she could to find them. Her greatest love was of the rivers, and the way they twisted and turned and slunk through her forests, bringing life and making music and carrying interesting things down them. Her parents called her 'River-Chaser' for her fondness of them. It has led her to mischief before, such as when she stumbled into a Wyld zone as a girl. She danced there for hours among the Fair Folk, placing flowers and vines in her hair and rolling around with the grass pixies until a very large and imposing man came and extricated her, then brought her home Since then, she's had a greenish tint to her skin and kept the flowers in her hair.

Mara escaped an unpleasant fate at the hands of lonely hunters mostly by main desperation, but also her talent for slipping unnoticed through the forests. She ran and hid for four days, sometimes posing as foliage, other times opting to simply go unseen. She had the advantage in that she knew some of the area in which she ran, but even that didn't keep them off of her heels.

Eventually, the girl came to the foot of a massive tree and scrambled up the trunk. The tree went on forever, and the Linowans seemed to always be no more than a couple branches behind her. Finally, she made it to the tree's crown. She stared in awe at the sight she was greeted with, mouth falling open and tears running down her cheeks at the beauty of the endless green treescape. Mountains rose nearby, pointing jagged peaks into the clouds. Melted runoff from the warming peaks flowed down into deep, powerful rivers that carved the landscape. And there was more on the horizon. She smiled as Luna painted the mark of the Full Moon on her brow. She knew that, someday, she'd be able to see it all.

While she was goggling in rapture at the view, the tree's original occupant was busy kicking the Linowan hunters out of his home. Sagacious Hermit Opossum, a surly elder Lunar, found the girl still standing at the top of his tree and threatened to kick her down with them, until he saw the mark of Luna on her forehead. He muttered irritably to himself, and decided he'd better teach the brat before she hurt someone.

Years later, Mara emerged from her teacher's home, armed and ready to explore. She made a promise to return to the lovable old coot, and send souvenirs from across the world to him. First, though, there's a world to see.

Appearance

Mara in both her human and beastman shapes wears a long leather breechcloth, a braided leather choker with colored glass beads, elbow-length black gloves and a huge mapcase slung across her back. . Also, in both forms, her hair has flowering vines and twined into them, which grow from her scalp and change with the seasons; vibrantly green in summer temperatures and brown (and kept tucked into the rest of her hair) in the wintry months.

Her human form is long-limbed and athletically toned from a life spent climbing through trees. Her skin is tanned a light brown with a greenish tint to it, and her hair's a deep, rich emerald. When she isn't wearing her trading vest, the silver tattoos of her breastplate can be seen flush against the skin. Her eyes are bright green, and can track independently of each other.

Her beastman form is taller and leaner than her human form. Her hair is longer, reaching down to her hips, and is framed by a short frill curling back from her forehead and ears. A tiny horn adorns the tip of her nose, and two more curve up off of her eyebrows. Her scales are any number of colors, depending on her mood or the surroundings. Her long tail, of which she is excessively proud, waggles and coils on its own, and enjoys wiggling into places it shouldn't.

Her spirit form is a large but cute chameleon with moonsilver tattoos banding its neck and upper body and a long, wiggly tail.

Attributes

• Physical: Strength (f) 3 - Dexterity (f) 5 - Stamina (f) 4
• Social: Charisma 4 - Manipulation 1 - Appearance 4
• Mental: Perception 2 - Intelligence 3 - Wits (f) 4

Abilities

 [ ]Archery:    	0   [ ]Integrity:    	1   [ ]Craft:		1
 [F]Martial Arts:	5   [ ]Performance:	0   [ ]Investigation:	1
 [ ]Melee:         	0   [ ]Presence:    	1   [ ]Lore:          	2
 [ ]Thrown:        	0   [ ]Resistance:	1   [ ]Medicine:	0
 [ ]War:           	0   [F]Survival:     	2   [ ]Occult:        	1

 [ ]Athletics:    	3   [ ]Bureacracy:	0
 [ ]Awareness:     	3   [ ]Linguistics:  	1
 [ ]Dodge:         	2   [ ]Ride:         	0
 [ ]Larceny:       	0   [ ]Sail:         	0
 [ ]Stealth:		4   [ ]Socialize:    	0

• Specialties: Stealth 2 (Ambushes), Martial Arts 2 (Razor Claws)
• Languages: Forest-tongue (Native), Riverspeak

Physical Combat

Join Battle: 7

Parry DV: 8

Dodge DV: 5

Soak: 6A/13L/13B (Hardness 2L/2B)

Health Levels: 0112222224IDDDDDD

Wounds: 0

Move: 5, Dash: 11, Jump: 6

Weapon                     Spd  Acc   Dam     PDV  Rate  Range  
Punchan                 -   5    10  +(3)B    2(2)  3      -  
Kickan                  -   5    10  +(6)B    2(2)  3      -
Third Hand  		 -   5     9  +(6)L    2(2)  4      -
Distant Grasp (Melee)	 -   5    18  +(8)L    4(4)  3      -
Distant Grasp (Ranged)	 -   5    8     8L     -(-)  1      15

• In War Form

Join Battle: 9

Parry DV: 9

Dodge DV: 6

Soak: 6A/16L/15B (Hardness 2L/2B)

Health Levels: 0112222224IDDDDDDD

Wounds: 0

Move: 6, Dash: 12, Jump: 7

Weapon                     Spd  Acc   Dam     PDV  Rate  Range  
Punchan                 -   5    11  +(0)B    2(2)  3      -  
Kickan                  -   5    11  +(3)B    2(2)  3      -
Third Hand  		 -   4    10  +(7)L    2(2)  4      -
Distant Grasp (Melee)	 -   5    19  +(9)L    4(4)  3      -
Distant Grasp (Ranged)	 -   5    9     8L     -(-)  1      15

Social Combat

Join Debate: 8

Presence Attack - Speed 4, Dice Pool 5, Rate 2

Investigation Attack - Speed 5, Dice Pool 5, Rate 2

Performance Attack - Speed 6, Dice Pool 4, Rate 1

Parry MDV: 3

Dodge MDV: 6

Essence

• Essence: 3
• Regeneration: 4/hr at ease, 8/hr sleeping
• Personal Essence Pool: 17/17
• Peripheral Essence Pool: 29/42
• Committed Essence: 8+2+1=13

Willpower

• Willpower: 7
• Temporary: 7

Virtues

Virtues:

• Compassion: 4
• Conviction: 3
• Temperance: 2
• Valor: 2
• Flawed Virtue: Compassion: Curse of the Clingy Kitten
• Limit Break: 0/10

It gets lonely out on the trail, enough to drive Mara to Limit Break sometimes. When filled with the lonely light of the moon, she finds the nearest person and latches onto them for up to a full day. During this time, she tries to insinuate herself into the poor victim's every action. She'll wrap herself around them, flop onto whatever they're doing, and generally make a nuisance of herself to the exclusion of all other activities. Even in combat, she'd sooner sleep coiled around her victim's feet than fight her enemies. Partial Control: Mara is able to (occasionally) listen to her victim's pleas to get off them, and can defend herself and her victim normally. She must stay within arm's reach, though.

Backgrounds

• Heartsblood 2 (Alligator Snapping Turtle, Panther, Chimpanzee, Giant Spider, Mospid, Hawk, River Dolphin, Housecat, Opossum)
• Mentor 2 (Sagacious Hermit Opossum)
• Artifact 1 (Third Hand)
• Artifact 3 (Distant Grasp)
• Artifact 3 (Amulet of Shadow Walking)
• Wood Adaptation Mutation (Double climbing speed, reduce difficulty of Athletics rolls for climbing by 1, immunity to Plant Toxins, reduce the difficulty of Survival and Resistance rolls to endure hunger or find food by 1 as long as she receives water and 8 hours of sunlight a day. Also, green skin and flowering hair.)

Charms and Combos

• Deadly Beastman Transformation (1m, Miscellaneous: Gain Prehensile Tail (third limb, -2 Str, -1 Dex), Chameleon (+2 Stealth, +1 Survival), Thick Scales (+2L/+2B Soak), and Enhanced Sight (+2 Awareness with Vision), and +1 dot to each Physical Ability score.)

• Ox-Body Technique- --m, Permanent: Gain 4 -2 Health Levels and 2 Dying Health Levels.
• 3rd Stamina Excellency - 4m, Reflexive, Instant: Mara doubles her Stamina against one attack, or may reroll one Stamina roll.
• Bruise-Relief Method - 1m+, Reflexive, Instant: Regain 1 Bashing level per mote spent, cannot recover more than (Stamina) levels in one action. May activate while unconscious. Mara may commit 2m while in War Form to reflexively regenerate one Bashing level per action. This does not stack with further activation of this Charm.
• Halting the Scarlet Flow - 2m+, Reflexive, Instant: Regain 1 Lethal level per 2m spent, cannot recover more than (Stamina) levels in one action. May activate while unconscious. Mara may commit 3m while in War Form to reflexively regenerate one Lethal level per action. This does not stack with further activation of this Charm.
• Armour-Forming Technique - 1m+, Reflexive, One Scene: Mara gains +1A/+3L/+3B soak which stacks with moonsilver armour for every mote spent on this charm, up to (Essence) motes. Mara may commit motes to this charm on activating War Form to gain its benefits for as long as she is in it.
• 1st Wits Excellency - 1m+, Reflexive, Instant: Add 1 die to a Wits roll for each mote spent on this charm. Mara may spend up to (Wits) motes.
• Spider's Trap Door - 4m, Supplemental, Instant: Supplements a Wits roll to conceal something, making it completely invisible to normal senses. Mara may commit the motes spent, which makes an unnatural mental attack on everyone who sees it, comparing successes on the roll + Mara's Essence against their MDVs. Those whose MDVs are lower than the number of successes cannot see the concealment even if they look straight at it.
• 2nd Dexterity Excellency - 2m+, Reflexive, Instant: Gain one automatic success on one Dexterity roll per 2m spent. May spend up to (Dexterity) motes.
• Golden Tiger Stance - 2m, Reflexive, Instant: Mara eliminates up to (Dexterity) points of penalties to her DVs against one attack. Fury-OK: Mara automatically eliminates (Dexterity/2) points of penalties to her DVs for the duration of Relentless Lunar Fury.
• Wind-Dancing Method - 3m, Reflexive, Instant: Mara activates this after defending against an attack. Whether it hits or not, she skips away from the enemy, flowing along the enemy's weapon or just leaping out of the way, and flies (Dexterity+Dodge) yards away, ending a flurry if the opponent doesn't have enough movement to keep up. This charm counts as a counter-attack.

• Dancing Leaf Defense (Golden Tiger Stance, Wind-Dancing Method, 2nd Dexterity Excellency)

Mara's constant bounding motions in battle lets her leap away from her enemies and dodge their worst blows. She eliminates up to (Dexterity) penalties to her DVs, and may end a flurry by leaping up to (Dexterity+Dodge) yards away from the attack. She may also buy automatic successes for 2m each.

Cost: 5m, 1 wp.

Inventory

• Tattooed Breastplate - Mara's tattoos incorporate a moonsilver breastplate into them, which appears as swirling loops over her breasts and neck connected by long, swooping curves.

Soak: +6L/+4B, Hardness: 2L/2B Mobility: -0, Fatigue: 0

• Distant Grasp - These are a set of stylish black fingerless gloves the extend up to her elbows. The knuckles are capped by moonsilver plates which extrude three wicked looking claws with a reflexive action, and attach to fine overlapping plates of moonsilver that end with the hem of the gloves. Mara may fire the middle claw of each glove up to fifteen yards away, which sticks hard enough to carry her full weight, and retract it reflexively, pulling her along with it or pulling the object to her. If she uses it to move, it counts as a Move action for her turn. Distant Grasp's claws also add two dice to all climbing rolls.

Speed: 5, Acc: +6, Damage: +5L, Def: +4, Rate: 3; M

Speed: 5, Acc: +3, Damage: 8L, Rate: 1, Range: 15; F, P

• Third Hand - Third Hand is a Haslanti Air-Marine Knife made of moonsilver given to her by her mentor, Sagacious Hermit Opossum, on the day she left to go see the world. It has any number of useful tools inside of it, from a simple awl punch to a skeleton key to a backscratcher and beyond. A truly useful tool it is.

Speed: 5, Acc: +4, Damage: +3L, Def: +2, Rate: 4; T

• Infinite Resplendence Amulet - This is Mara's braided leather choker, another gift to her from her mentor Sagacious Hermit Opossum. Among the benefits if gives her is the ability to manifest any sort of clothing she wants by touching the amulet and concentrating for a moment.

+2 to Stealth, +2 to Larceny to disguise. +5L/+5B Soak.

+1 Resistance and Survival to avoid environmental penalties/damage, toxins, and disease.

• Map Case - Mara carries a waterproofed mapcase slung over her shoulder where ever she goes as part of her goal of mapping all of Creation. Inside it are dozens of assorted maps and blank scrolls, as well as ink and pen in a separate compartment at the bottom. Many of the maps she's bought or stolen from someone, but she's also made quite a few of them herself. The case also has several pockets along the outside which hold all kinds of souvenirs, widgets, and food she's tucked away in them.

Advancement

Martial Arts 5 (2 BP)
Wood Adaptation Mutation (1 BP)
Stealth 4 (2 BP)
Specialties (3 BP)
Wits 3 (3 BP)
Dancing Leaf Defense (3 BP)
Tattoo Artifact (Moonsilver Breastplate) (1 BP)

Bruise-Relief Method (10 XP)
Halting the Scarlet Flow (10 XP)
2nd Dexterity Excellency (10 XP)
Essence 3 (18 XP)
Strength 3 (6 XP)
Valour 2 (3 XP)
Temperance 2 (3 XP)