Campaign:Forged In Fire/Gerrard Holmes

Basics

Name:Gerrard Holmes
Campaign: Forged In Fire
Concept:Super Sleuth/Ace detective
Caste:Eclipse
Motivation: Discover the location of the Scarlet Empress
Intimacies:His Family, Seeker
Anima Banner:A large stylized eye (akin to the mask of truth from Zelda OoT/MM)
Anima Effect:Diplomatic immunity with spirits, demons, and fair folk. May sanctify oaths.
Experience: 0/8

Background

Solving mysteries runs in the Holmes family line and Gerrard was but one of many successful Private Investigators in his family, which worked in the Imperial City where courtly intrigues offered many job opportunities. Gerrard enjoyed (and still enjoys) his work and was quite happy. Had history taken a different course, perhaps he would have lived out his life contently as no more than a heroic mortal, but things cannot always be so simple.

Gerrard received a case. An *important* case, one that would permanently change the course of his life. He did not know it at the time, but it was from a Gold Faction Sidereal and involved investigating possible links between House Mnemon and the Deathlord Mask of Winters (not that Gerrard was provided such candid detail about what his employer hoped to discover). Well, a true testament to his skill and his family's aptitude for investigation, Gerrard *did* find those links. He also found out his employer hadn't informed him nearly enough about just how dangerous the information he was tasked to find was. And thus Gerrard found himself on the run, hunted by demons summoned by house Mnemon.

It was on the first occasion where he was caught by the demons pursuing him that he exalted, as he made his desperate stand. To his credit, the trap he had hastily constructed worked pretty well, but by no means would have saved him on its own.

Now, The Sidereal who had given him the job was feeling pretty guilty about the hardship he had put Gerrard through at this point and had been following him up till now, both to actually retrieve the information he had tasked Gerrard to obtain and to protect him should it seem his situation became dire enough. Suffice to say the Sidereal was not actually all that surprised when Gerrard exalted, considering the circumstances, and promptly assisted him in dispatching the demons (an unarmed and unarmored exalt is still greatly at risk, after all).

After a lengthy discussion, Gerrard and the Sidereal, who was named Seeker (but at the time wore a Resplendent Destiny as a Dragonblooded named Tepet Quixote) hit it off and found they actually rather like each other. Thus was a friendship and a partnership forged. Seeker provided Gerrard with some basic equipment and a suggestion to keep on the move, lest he be found by the further pursuers that would no doubt be sent.

Now, Gerrard is a perceptive man and certainly suspects there is much more to Mr. Quixote than he is letting on, but Gerrard is not a paranoid man and trusts that his friend will reveal the full truth when he is ready to do so and means him no harm by withholding it.

Since this "fateful" meeting, Gerrard has kept constantly on the move, only stopping to take the occasional private investigator job to fund himself on his continuous travels. Sometimes Quixote will find him and request his assistance in some sort of (often quite difficult) task, which he assists with gladly, both enjoying the challenge and being a generally helpful person towards those he considers friends.

• As for his motivation, Gerrard has settled upon this as a case big enough that solving it would land him in the history books. It is subject to change if he gets a good lead on a case of equal magnitude.

Appearance

Gerrard was 30 years old when he exalted and still looks pretty much exactly like he did that day. He is of quite average appearance and poise, not particularly standing out in a crowd if not for his height (somewhere around a bit above 6 feet) and broad shoulders, which tends to make him stick out slightly if he doesn't make an active effort not to. (In other words, appearance-wise, think Gumshoe for Phoenix Wright, but competent!)

Attributes

Strength  ●●      Charisma      ●●●     Perception   ●●●●●
Dexterity ●●●●●   Manipulation  ●●      Intelligence ●●●
Stamina   ●●      Appearance    ●●      Wits         ●●●

Abilities

Archery            Integrity ●       Craft               Athletics ●      Bureaucracy 
Martial Arts ●     Performance       Investigation ●●●●● Awareness ●●●●●  Linguistics ●●●
Melee              Presence          Lore ●●●            Dodge ●●●●●      Ride        
Thrown ●●●●●       Resistance ●      Medicine            Larceny          Sail        
War                Survival          Occult ●            Stealth ●●       Socialize ●●●  

Specialties

Thrown(Sky Cutter) ●●

Linguistics

Low Realm
High Realm
Riverspeak
Old Realm

Backgrounds

Resources: ●●
Mentor (Seeker): ●●●
Artifact (Jade Sky Cutter): ●●
Artifact (Silk Armor): ●●
Artifact (Fivefold Harmonic Adapter): ●

Charms

Excellencies:

• Second Investigation Excellency: 2m/1 success, Reflexive (step 1 for attacker, Step 2 for Defender), Instant. Adds 1 success per 2 motes spent, may only spend up to (Attribute + Investigation) motes.
• Second Thrown Excellency: 2m/1 success, Reflexive (step 1 for attacker, Step 2 for Defender), Instant. Adds 1 success per 2 motes spent, may only spend up to (Attribute + Thrown) motes.
• Second Awareness Excellency: 2m/1 success, Reflexive (step 1 for attacker, Step 2 for Defender), Instant. Adds 1 success per 2 motes spent, may only spend up to (Attribute + Awareness) motes.

Thrown Charms:

• Triple-Distance Attack Technique: 3m, Supplemental, Instant. Triples the range of a Thrown attack. At essence 4+, also negates external penalties from environmental conditions.

Integrity Charms

• Integrity Protecting Prana: 5m+1wp, Reflexive(Step 2), One Day. Become immune to direct shaping effects for the duration.

Resistance Charms:

• Ox-body Technique: -, Permanent, Permanent. Adds one -1 health level and two -2 health levels.

Dodge Charms:

• Shadow Over Water: 1m, Reflexive(Step 2), Instant. Negate all penalties to DV against a single attack. Undodgeable attacks still reduce DV to 0, but no further penalties apply.
• Seven Shadow Evasion: 3m, Reflexive(step 2), Instant. Perfect Dodge Vs a single non-unexpected attack. Flaw is Temperance.

'Investigation Charms:

• Crafty Observation Method: 5m, Simple(DV -1), Instant. As Dramatic Investigation action but takes only a handful of seconds and does not require ransacking the scene.
• Judge's Ear Technique: 3m, Reflexive(Step 1), One Scene. Automatically discern between deliberate lies, truths, and half-truths (does not say which part is true). Will not detect an untrue statement as a lie if the subject believes it to be true. When opposed by a charm, add (Essence) successes to the (Perception + Investigation) roll to oppose it.

Awareness Charms:

Essence

Essence: ●●
Regeneration:4 (8 when resting)/hour
Personal Essence Pool: 10/12
Peripheral Essence Pool: 24/30
Committed Essence:6

Willpower

Willpower: ●●●●●●
Temporary: □□□□□□

Virtues

Virtues:

• Compassion ●●
  
• Conviction ●●●
  
• Temperance ●●
  
• Valor ●●●
  

Channels:

• Compassion □□
  
• Conviction □□□
  
• Temperance □□
  
• Valor □□□
  

Flawed Virtue:Conviction
Limit Break (Heart of Flint): □□□□□□□□□□

Inventory

Silk Armor: Artifact ●● (Soak 5L/3B, Hardness -, Mobility -1 (0 if attuned), Fatigue 0, Attune 2)
Jade Sky Cutter "Mela's Wing" (Speed 4, Accuracy +2, Damage +5L, Rate 2, Range 100, Attune 4, Tags -)

• Mela's Wing is, like most artifacts, dramatically named. However, it has humble origins as having been one of many weapons just like it mass-produced during the Second Age by the Dynastic Houses. It's name is engraved along the side of the over-sized boomerang in a flowery, elegant script.
  

Traveling Clothes: Resources ●

Manses and Heartstones

N/A

Combat

Dodge DV:6
Dodge MDV:4
Soak: B:5 L:6 A:5
Soak (Piercing): B:3 L:3 A:2
Hardness: B:0 L:0 A:0

Attacks

(example:)
Mela's Wing Strike (Speed 4, Accuracy 14, Damage 7L, Parry DV -, Rate 2, Range 100, Tags -)

• May return weapon to hand with a reflexive (Dexterity + Thrown) roll at difficulty 2, on failure remains where it struck.

Health

L -0
L□□ -1
□□□□ -2
□ -4
□ Incapacitated 1 day of rest towards recovering -1 lethal wound

Advancement

Bonus Point

2 spent on Artifact 0->2
1 spent on Artifact 0->1
2 spent on Investigation 3->5
2 spent on Awareness 3->5
2 spent on Thrown 3->5
2 spent on Dodge 3->5
3 spent on Valor 2->3
1 spent on Thrown Specialty(Sky Cutter) 0->2