Inspired by, with some bits taken wholesale from, Deus ex Parabola's Sword-Shepherd, Loch's Rotless and Shepherd, and my own brain :3
Modern science has demonstrated that the same four alchæmical fuels that form the basis of modern industry and machinery also play a vital role in the alchæmy of the human body, providing the motive force for the lungs, the heart, the brain and the soul. In a sense, this means a person is roughly homologous to a motorcar, puttering along and fouling the atmosphere.
You are more comparable to a souped-up grind-racer, with a big screaming engine and neon flame decals. You are faster, stronger, sharper, embodying impossible ability and an immaculate cool. Your ilk are born or made, but almost never inherited—much to the dismay of countless lineages of armigers who proved entirely unable to replicate their honored ancestor's fêted skills.
In the present day, those possessed of surpassing skill are labeled Paragons and treasured by the state.
Paragon
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| Source: Matthew de Witte |
Skills: 1) Gun Maintenance, 2) Calligraphy, 3) Wargames, 4) Parkour, 5) Birdwatching, 6) Sports Betting
Starting Equipment: A medium and light weapon of your choice, a scuffed ballistic breastplate, a rumpled business suit, a briefcase full of ammunition, a pack of (1. Ghoulstone Red, 2. Tracer, 3. Mirage Ultrafine, 4. Onager, 5. Black Bandit, 6. Regnal Reserve) cigarettes, a tense homoerotic relationship with your handler.
+1 Hit and Technique per Template.
A: Parry
Weapons leap from your hand to meet their brothers. Once per round, subtract [Hit] with a held weapon from incoming melee damage.
A: Guard
Once per round you can reduce incoming damage by 1d4, directing it onto a slot of armor, or 1d6 onto a shield. Any damage in excess of that number is still dealt and if the defensive implement blocks its maximum amount of damage it is destroyed.
If you are not carrying a shield or wearing armor, you can choose to take 1d6 damage from an attack instead of the real amount once per round. You can do this after you know you are going to be hit.
You cannot use Guard and Parry on the same attack, but you can use them both in the same round.
A: Cognoscente
Smoldering within you is the ability to perform martial miracles. Your Techniques are abilities, learned through hard practice, instinct, meditation, and the teaching of other, more experienced Paragons; via extraordinary utilization of the body’s natural energetic resources, these Techniques can defy plausibility. Your first Technique must be chosen or rolled from the Generic Techniques list, but subsequent Techniques can (and should) be invented in collaboration with your GM, and can get substantially wilder.
B: Thunder Voice
Your voice, when you wish it to can be heard clearly over gonnefire, explosions, and other noisy diversions. You are immune to stuttering, being interrupted, or losing your breath.
Your howling warcries rouse allies and terrify enemies: while you yell, your allies (you included) in earshot gain 2+[Templates] temporary HP, and your opponents must make a Will Save or suffer a -[Templates] penalty to all aggressive and bold action.
There is no limit to how often you can do this, but no individual can be affected by it more than once in a battle.
B: Fire Blood
Your blood is scalding-hot and pressurized, significantly increasing your body temperature. You are immune to fever, hypertension, and exposure to the elements.
Furthermore, your blood behaves like strong acid to people and things you hate. This does about 1 damage for 1 HP spilt, 1d4 damage for 2 HP spilt, 1d4+1 for 3, 2d4 for 4, and so forth. Anything that pieces your skin will result in a decent blood spray, thanks to the power of your circulatory system, and get on whatever drew blood from you unless they succeed a Save. Stabbing you is probably as good a reason as any to hate someone.
If you try to coat a weapon or ammunition in your blood you can probably cover it in about 2 HP worth of blood per slot it occupies. Your blood retains this power until it dries.
C: Tiger Eating Tiger
If you so choose, your eyes glow with nightshine, giving you perfect vision in full light, near-perfect vision in dim light, and decent vision in darkness. While active, if you can see someone’s eyes, you can determine their HD, and if someone can see your eyes, they can see your HD. Most people have 1 HD; most people will find anything more than 1 HD to be terribly intimidating.
If you are able to make eye contact with someone unaided, you are also able to charge to them as a maneuver, circumventing all obstacles through momentum or parkour and dealing an extra die of base damage on your first subsequent attack.
You count as a monster whenever it would be advantageous.
D: Radiant Soul
You, and anything you hold, can touch (and therefore injure) the intangible and supernal. This extends to bullets fired from guns you are carrying for esoteric reasons. You ignore all damage resistances, immunities, and other limitations on dealt damage.
You are immune to fear, energy drain, sepsis, and necrosis. You will leave a beautiful corpse.
D: Lightning Mind
You can take 3 HP damage to immediately take a full extra turn at any time, even during an enemy’s action. You can Parry missile attacks, and anything that allows a Reflex Save.
You are immune to charm, sleep, and any negative consequences of staying up too long (though you still need to sleep to obtain the benefits of it).
D: Blade Evolution
By meditating for a day and a night over your weapons, you can reveal a Quest for Power to Refine one of your Techniques. Negotiate how the Refined Technique differs from the regular one with your GM. Example Refinements are provided for the generic Techniques, but one Technique could have many possible Refinements—it is entirely possible for two Paragons to Refine the same Technique in different ways.
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| Source: De Witte again |
1d10 Generic Techniques (and Example Refinements)
- Ambush Predator - You deal an extra die of damage when attacking with the advantage of elevation or surprise.
- Refined: You deal maximum damage on a leaping attack.
- Cataphract- You can Guard with as many pieces of protective gear as you have worn each round, though you still cannot Guard more than once against the same attack.
- Refined: When Guarding, you can choose to sunder the defensive implement to automatically reduce by the maximum amount +2.
- Cleave - When you lay somebody low with a blow in hand-to-hand combat, make a free attack.
- Refined: You can now Cleave against anything you can see.
- Fast Hands - You can reload normal thunderarms without taking a maneuver, and thunderarms that would normally require a full round with a maneuver. If you have a gun to hand, you can declare and resolve one shot prior to rolling initiative.
- Refined: You can declare and resolve three shots prior to rolling initiative, with no more than two shots aimed at a single target.
- Gonne Kata - You take no penalties from using a thunderarm in hand-to-hand range, and can make a free unarmed attack upon missing a shot with a thunderarm.
- Refined: You get +4 Hit with thunderarms against a target you have hit with a hand-to-hand attack in the last round, and a +4 to hit in hand-to-hand against a target you have shot in the last round.
- Ground Game - Every round you have an opponent grappled, you may dislocate one of their limbs on a successful opposed STR check.
- Refined: Rip limb clean off, 1d10+4 damage. Ow.
- Hammer Fists - Your unarmed attacks are as light weapons and can splinter wood, shatter bricks, and even crack solid stone with repeated punching. You need no more than one inch of windup to make an unarmed attack.
- Refined: Your unarmed attacks are medium. You can hit a surprised foe with a nerve pinch for 1 Fatigue to make them Save vs. Paralysis, or a death touch for 3 Fatigue to make them Save vs. Death.
- Riposte - If your Parry reduces damage from an incoming attack to 0, you may Riposte against the attacker instantly. If you forego proactive attacks for a round you can Parry for 1d6+[Hit] instead.
- Refined: If you successfully Riposte, you can Parry again on the same round.
- Sharpshooter - For every round you spend aiming a missile weapon, take a +1 to your next shot and expand critical range by 1, up to a maximum of +10/10+.
- Refined: Your vision follows the paths of your bullets in slow-mo 360° cam. You always instinctively know whether a shot of yours killed, wounded, bloodied (50% HP or less), grazed, or bounced off a target on a hit, even if you can’t see it.
- Total Defense - You can Parry and Guard the same attack.
- Refined: If an enemy attacks you and does 0 or less damage, they are automatically Stunned for a round.
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| Source: Vampire the Masquerade, some book idk |
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