Welcome to the Fifth Holy Grail War. Oddly enough, the war is placed in Athens, Greece. Not Fuyuki or somewhere in Romania. In this Grail War, everything is going right; there are no stray Servants from previous wars, there's no corrupting influence in the Grail, nothing like that. It's all going as it should.
And that's the problem. Welcome to Fate/Nominal Condition.
You dream of steel and bloodshed. It's not an ordinary dream for you, nor does it represent your waking life. You can't find your breath; choking on thick dust and smoke, surrounded by nothing but allies and enemies, who you know nothing of. It's difficult to really convey pain in a dream; and indeed, it feels dulled to you, but nevertheless it is not pleasant. Regardless of circumstances, you have your duty, and you have your enemies. You-
Jolt awake, your dream already mostly faded from your mind. Your taxi driver, who picked you up from Athens International Airport, is tapping you on your shoulder.
"You awake?" You nod. "Good. This is your stop." In a stroke of great luck, you found a taxi driver that speaks your native tongue. You didn't have enough time to learn Greek, so that's a godsend. You step out of the car to find yourself on the side of a street. Greek surrounds you; you can't speak it, but that just gives it an air of mystique. Or it would, if it weren't for the boring, regular signs that the words take up.
A moment of searching takes you to where you were supposed to go. You find yourself in front of what you think to be a Mexican restaurant, which is odd, but you suppose you can ask when you get inside. If you care enough. The note you got on arrival (given by an airport guard who you think might've been hypnotized, or perhaps he was just a friend of the Church) said to meet someone here; apparently the moderator of the war. You wonder what kind of man he is, because the notes didn't give you much more than a job and a gender.
You scramble together a basic description of yourself, though under your tired haze it comes out messy:
[] Alina Maccoy, a Scottish rune user. Your Origin is Fiat and your Element is Ether. Your Circuits are good, and your Magic Crest is large and originates from 1500s Scotland, and all-in-all if your circuits were to fire all at once at full capacity you could put out around 4000 units of mana. You're an expert at your field, easily a first-rate magus, but you're only moderately fit and have effectively no combat experience. You're a magus, not an Enforcer. You're traditional and well-off, as evidenced by the nice clothes you're wearing, though you've shown to be kinder and less self-absorbed compared to most other magi.
[] George Hendrix, an English alchemist. Your Origins are Collapse and Burst, and your Elements are Earth and Fire. Your Magic Crest is relatively recent, coming from the late 1700s a few generations back. To make up for this, your non-Magic Crest circuits are actually exceptional, and put together you might pull up around 6000 units of mana, exceptional for a magus of your low stature and bloodline. Though you have potential, you're second-rate at best. You've come up with a few volatile solutions that are cheap and easy to make into grenades. You're more fit than the average magus. You're not very traditional, and your rebelliousness has gotten you into a few spots of trouble, but you cave when things start to get really bad.
[] Ethan Sharp, an American… nothing, really. Your Origin and Element are Fire. Your Magic Crest only spans one generation, your father, who was a third-rate magus, and your paltry Magic Crest only contains a few (admittedly good) formalcraft techniques. You've been starved for material since your father died, so you've bought some books from the Clock Tower after finding them and plan to go through them soon. Your natural magic circuits and Magic Crest put together might let you get something close to 800 units of mana. You were a part of your school's boxing club and still practice, with good combat skill and great fitness. You have a short temper and are very erratic.
[] Write-In. Those are only examples, and I won't keep you down. Do keep it on the level of the above examples. As a rule of thumb, you can trade in existing skill and a solid foundation for higher potential. You can be non-specific in creating this character. I only need three things; a name and gender, a general overview of their personality, and their skill in magecraft. If needed, I can take things from there. Feel free to go crazy, so long as they meet the above rules.
You find some humor in your jumbled thoughts. You pat your bag, and you are assured that your catalyst is safe. It better be, because it cost you a lot of money. You got it from:
[] Japan. This wooden handle, supposedly for a practice blade (or so the experts guessed) was confirmed to have come from the early 1600s, and is also oddly well made for such low quality wood, which begs the question of why it was made. They were able to tell that it was important, but the holders slowly forgot where it actually came from over the years, since they never bothered to pass down the story, and the children weren't curious.
[] France. This breastplate has been confirmed to be from the 1400s, and given the quality of both the craftsmanship and steel, along with analysis showing that it went through a lot of tough times, shows that it likely belonged to a military leader of some kind.
[] Scotland. This wheel is not only very ornate, but very well constructed too, showing remarkable craftsmanship for the era, which was guessed to be somewhere around the transition from BC to AD. The craftsmanship and time era lead you to believe that it's probably from someone important.
With that assured, you finally get ready to head in.
What do you do?
[] Head in and find your man; no point in wasting time.
-[] Ask questions.
--[] What kind of questions do you ask? Do you want to know about your allies in this war? Any questions about the Grail War itself? Why did he choose to meet you at a Mexican restaurant? Maybe you just want to know more about him.
[] Don't head in yet.
-[] Why not?
[] Other (Write-In)
Please be gentle, I've never posted a thread before and this is my first Quest. Criticism and suggestions are welcome, and I'm not too picky about who comes here. I'll ask a few things of the audience, though;
1. Don't let this turn into a Vs. Debate thread. I don't want anybody getting heated over stuff like that. Fortunately I probably won't have to worry, since this Quest will contain mostly original characters and Servants.
2. Please leave your notions and knowledge of FGO at the door. This universe takes mostly after Zero, Fate and Apocrypha. As such, most of the stuff that you see will be based off of it.
And with that, I'm off to do stuff and panic at the possibility of screwing up my first thread.
[X] Ethan Sharp, an American… nothing, really. Your Origin and Element are Fire. Your Magic Crest only spans one generation, your father, who was a third-rate magus, and your paltry Magic Crest only contains a few (admittedly good) formalcraft techniques. You've been starved for material since your father died, so you've bought some books from the Clock Tower after finding them and plan to go through them soon. Your natural magic circuits and Magic Crest put together might let you get something close to 800 units of mana. You were a part of your school's boxing club and still practice, with good combat skill and great fitness. You have a short temper and are very erratic.
[X] Scotland. This wheel is not only very ornate, but very well constructed too, showing remarkable craftsmanship for the era, which was guessed to be somewhere around the transition from BC to AD. The craftsmanship and time era lead you to believe that it's probably from someone important.
-[X] Head in and find your man; no point in wasting time.
--[X] Ask questions.
---[X] Why are you meeting at a Mexican restaurant instead of somewhere like a local church and is there anything he'd recommend from the menu?
---[X] Is there anything he can tell you about the war or any of the other participants.
You decide that you should probably head in already. No point in keeping the man waiting. The moment you step in, the smell of cooking taco meat reaches your nose. It's a nice smell, you think, though you've got to wonder what kind of halfwit would try to host a discussion about a Grail War in the middle of a Mexican restaurant.
You look around for your man and lock eyes with what you assume is the moderator. After all, he's wearing a cassock, and his 6'3 stature and brown mullet stand out like a sore thumb. He beckons you with a wave of his hand and gestures you to sit down. Now that you're in front of him, you're able to get a better look. Frankly, he's kind of intimidating; not just because he's tall, but because under his sleeves his muscles are very well defined, hidden mostly by his clothes. Of course, this is ruined by him scarfing down a taco that's stuffed to the brim with what you assume to be hot sauce. He takes a moment to wipe his mouth with a napkin, and he takes off the outer layer of his cassock to cool down.
"Ethan Sharp, I presume?" Not surprising that he knows your name. You assume that he's a part of the Eighth Sacrament, and if what little experience you have with the magical side of the world lets you know anything, it's that they're efficient.
"Yeah, that's me. First thing's first, who are you, and why are we in a Mexican restaurant? Not somewhere like, say, a church?" You notice that for a moment he eyes you up and finally settles on the blue markings on your hand. The man lets a smirk play across his face, likely in affirmation that you are who you say you are.
"I am Kotomine Kirei, and as I presume you already know, I am the moderator of this Holy Grail War. As for your second question, the church has had an unfortunate history of never being a safe place despite neutrality, due to being mostly unprotected. I have an associate ensuring that it's safe while we're here, and I believe that a place as normal as this would provide an air of normality."
You consider his words. A waiter comes by, but you can't speak Greek all that well. Kirei offers to translate for you; he recommends the chalupa with extra hot sauce, and you ask him to order one without the extra hot sauce. You've never tried a chalupa, but they look good.
"So, there's some questions I have. What are my allies like? Have you met them at all?"
"Ah, I suppose it would be practical to know that. I can safely say that I've met three of the four Masters of Blue so far, not including you. On the side of Blue, the three that I've met are the Einzbern representative who is the master of Lancer, a young man by the name of Shirou Fukui who is the master of Saber, and a young woman by the name of Abigail Cohen, who I believe is the master of Assassin. Caster has been summoned by someone named Ringo Blackmore, but I have not met them, and they seem uninterested in checking in." You don
"Anything more specific? I've heard of the Einzbern, but I've never heard of the Fukui or Cohen families."
"I did not meet them for long, but I suppose there are some worthwhile things you would want to know. For example, the Einzbern representative seemed glazed over, and her Servant seemed to do most of the talking for her. I assume that she was made for the sole purpose of supporting her Servant, and not much else. Fukui comes from an enforcer background, and I presume he is skilled in direct combat, as he carried a mystic code not unlike the Black Keys used by the Church. He seemed to be rather reasonable and shy. Cohen comes from a similar background, and supposedly practices Kabbalah, though what field is uncertain to me. She also regularly took sips from a hip flask and appeared to live in squalor. I don't know much about Blackmore, but supposedly he practices Elementalism."
"What happened to the other two candidates that should be here?"
"Brayden O'Malley, a master from Ireland, had a delay on his plane. Sean Seger, a candidate from England, supposedly lives in poverty and was unable to afford the ride over here. He's taken a boat to get here, but he should be arriving at the same time as Brayden O'Malley." This means you're short on bodies. It's already bad enough that Caster has apparently distanced herself from the team, but the two other candidates aren't going to be here for a day or two.
"Anything you can tell me about their Servants?"
"Other than a basic description, no. Saber looked to be Japanese, but wore no armor despite bearing a katana and a wakizashi. Lancer appeared to wear armor that I believe is Spartan, with a red cloak, minimal armor and brush helmet. I did not see his weapons. I have not seen Assassin, as one might expect.
Your chalupa arrives, and it's… dripping in hot sauce. You look to Kirei with anger in your face, and the asshole just smirks at you. You know what? You won't let it get to you. You begin stuffing it down your face, and it feels like your body has been shoved into an oven. About ten minutes later, you've finished your chalupa with sweat dripping down your face. Kirei almost looks impressed. He gives you a napkin, and you graciously take it to wipe yourself off.
"Once you're done with that, might I offer that you come to the church with me? The masters of Saber, Lancer and Assassin are there, and we have a summoning circle already drawn." Going with him might allow you to meet and plan with the other Masters. On the other hand, some minor degree of paranoia is clawing at you.
[] Do you take his offer?
-[] What do you do when you get there? Do you want to talk to the Masters, try to get information about their Servants, or other questions you want to ask? Of course, summoning your Servant is an obvious conclusion.
[] No, you'll go somewhere else.
-[] Why do you not take his offer? You have a hotel that you've booked for tonight, so you can perform the summoning there. Ultimately you'll be worse off, however.
[] Other (Write-In)
Character sheets coming soon. Sorry if my writing seems a little janky, I'm not good at working slight exposition into this.
Also, thanks to Theadier for breaking the deadlock. Ethan Sharp won by a single vote, and the Scottish wheel won by two votes.
An American with no specializations and a minor Magic Crest.
Total Mana: 800 units
Physical Skill: C
Skills:
- A proficient boxer, and is physically fit enough to compete in tournaments with a good chance of winning.
- He also has decent Formulacraft skills, and is very proficient with using Reinforcement. His skill with projection is lacking, and hypnosis is almost impossible for him.
- An Origin and Element of fire, though it is currently unused.
Items:
- A briefcase.
-- This briefcase contains mana batteries, and a mana reactor that burns flammable objects to make magical energy. You have 3 mana batteries that can store up to 100 units of mana each, but leak about 5 units an hour. The mana reactor is efficient, so with a some firewood you should be able to top off your mana batteries in about half an hour.
-- Your catalyst, an ornate Scottish Wheel.
-- About 300 Euros.
-- A few books to study Magecraft with.
Runes currently being learned:
None, as of now.
The Einzbern representative, who seems to be pretty out of it. Lancer seems to be guiding her around, leading you to believe that she's supposed to be little more than a battery.
Total Mana: ? (given what Kirei told you, it's assumed to be high)
Physical Skill: ? (given what Kirei told you, it's assumed to be low)
Skills:
- Supposedly she should have skill with Alchemy, but given that her mind was not given much attention during making, she might not have been taught to do that.
Items:
?
A Japanese man from a modest Enforcer family.
Total Mana: ? (Assumed to be decent)
Physical Skill: B
Skills:
- He has great skill with reinforcement and Elementalism.
- His Elements are Earth and Wind.
Items:
- Carries a modified Black Key.
- Recently, he's been using a baton in his left hand, due to inability to find a blade that he can hide in public and his new training in the Niten Ichi-Ryu style.
Skill Progress:
Niten Ichi-Ryu C (Progress completed)
No new skills are being learnt as of now.
The master of Assassin, a drunkard who lives in squalor and seriously needs to take a shower. She's already spent a Command Seal.
Total Mana: ?
Physical Skill: ?
Skills:
- She practices the Kabbalah, specifically the Notarikon, Gematria, and Temurah. She prefers to use simple mana bullet spells, as she doesn't trust her drunk self with complicated spells.
- She has an Element of Light.
Items:
?
The Master of Caster. If his actions so far are any indication, he's a lone-wolf type.
Total Mana: ?
Physical Skill: ?
Skills:
- Practices Elementalism.
Items:
?
Servants of Blue:
Bio: Founder of the Niten Ichi-Ryū school of dual-wielding and writer of the Book of Five Rings, it's obvious that Musashi is no slouch. Especially when you consider his feats; between his dozens of duels against supposed masters of his time and beating Sasaki Kojiro with a wood paddle using Sasaki's own style, Musashi is on the peak of what could be achieved during his era. His life finally ended after writing his final book, the Dokkōdō, due to thoracic cancer. Musashi follows the Dokkodo as closely as possible.
Strength: B
Endurance: B
Agility: B
Mana: C
Luck: B
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance B
Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals, it is difficult for them to be affected.
Riding C
One can flawlessly manage beasts and vehicles if they have received the proper training and adjustments. Most vehicles and animals can be handled with above average skill. However, cannot ride the likes of Phantasmal Species such as Monstrous Beasts.
Personal Skills:
Hero Creation C
A greatly skilled ability to teach. Allows Musashi to teach the skills granted by the Book of Rings to average people at a reduced level. Limited to one at a time, and he is currently teaching Shirou.
Valor B
A level of bravery that transcends into the physical world. Allows heavy resistance to mental interference, and provides a small increase to melee damage.
Noble Phantasms:
Book of Five Rings EX
Five separate Noble Phantasms consolidated into one. It is not EX ranked because it is powerful, but rather because it is a consolidation of five separate Noble Phantasms, which are themselves consolidations of multiple skills. It consists of the Book of Earth, Book of Water, Book of Fire, Book of Wind, and the Book of Void. They are not exclusive to one another, but it should be noted that each one used will add strain with possible damage to his Saint Graph if overdone and increase mana usage, as using each Book is like supporting an extra Servant.
Book of Earth
The idea that adaptation, preparation and proper timing are a necessary component in the battlefield. It also involves the idea that specific weapons are designed for specific types of battle. Grants Musashi the ability to summon many varieties of weapons. It is correlated with:
Tactics A
Marksmanship C
Golden Rule D
Guardian Knight B
Eternal Arms Mastery A
Book of Water
The idea that flexibility is amongst the greatest tools in the battlefield, and that seeking the most efficient and productive path, along with the idea that variance is the most important part of preventing your enemy from taking advantage of your fighting style. Grants Musashi the ability to swap to fighting styles that he knew or experienced in his lifetime. It is correlated with:
Protection From Arrows D
Instinct B
Man Slayer A
Knowledge of the Sowa A
Book of Fire
The idea that through understanding the skills and tactics of your enemy, it becomes possible to combat those who are far above one's own self through trickery, tactics and wisdom, and to deal with a situation in which there are no winning answers. Grants Musashi the ability to resist defensive magics. It is correlated with:
Eye of the Mind (True) A
Disengage B
Battle Continuation B
Berserk C
Subversive Activities A
Book of Wind
The idea that understanding the style of your opponent, you can find the faults in it and exploit them with incredible efficiency. Grants Musashi the ability to identify the weaknesses of those he fights. It is correlated with:
Human Observation A
Aesthetics of the Last Spurt B
Knight's Tactics A
Book of Void
The idea that one should perceive that which they should not understand, and without bias, enter a state of zen and self-awareness. Grants Musashi the ability to see through illusions and lies. It is correlated with:
Divine Sutra C
Vitrification A
Clairvoyance B
Wears Hoplite armor, is bulging with muscles, and reaches around 7 feet tall. Likely comes from a Greek City State. It's probable that he underwent a Fame Booster from being in his homeland.
[Sorry if my drawing skills aren't too great.]
Bio: Aife is the evil twin sister of Scathach, showing legendary martial skill able to beat even her twin sister. She's primarily known for taking on both Cu Chulainn and Scathach, and she would have come out victorious if Cu hadn't pulled the classic 'look behind you' trick. She's completely bent on fighting constantly and loves her horses to death, and is glad to be summoned as Rider. She's also very touchy and holds little care for the well-being of others, being completely willing to send her son to death on his own at the age of 7 just to spite Cu. A main weakness of hers is that she's completely gullible, though she at least has enough intelligence to learn to not fall for the same trick.
Strength: B
Endurance: B
Agility: A
Mana: B
Luck: E
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance B
Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals, it is difficult for them to be affected.
Riding A
All vehicles and all creatures but those of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast-rank can be used as mounts.
Personal Skills:
Celtic Martial Arts A
The degree of raw skill required for Aife to beat both Scathach and Cu Chulainn in succession, to the point where she would have won if it weren't for Cu Chulainn's trickery.
Lust For Battle A
A lust for battle that makes up Aife's core desires. When facing an opponent she considers equal, both mental speed and strength become immensely boosted, like a high-powered form of adrenaline.
Rune A
Unfortunately not the Primordial Runes that would be allowed to her as Caster, though still effective and helpful.
Noble Phantasms:
Beithíoch Agus Capall C
Anti-Unit
Two horses which are the descendents of Monstrous Beasts, Beithíoch and Capall. Although not even remotely as powerful as such legendary steeds like Pegasus or Grani, they still bear the ability to tread across water and possess great strength and speed. They also possess great resistance and grant increased Magic Resistance to the rider.
Sword Breaker C
Anti-Armament
Arising from Aífe's breaking of the young Cú Chulainn's sword during their battle, Sword Breaker is a technique capable of damaging or destroying enemy Noble Phantasms. All Noble Phantasms of rank D or lower are instantly destroyed, while those of higher rank sustain damage equal to their rank above D, with a bonus damage done to Noble Phantasms of Irish origin or those specifically "sword" in nature. It would ordinarily be much stronger in her Lancer incarnation, but being summoned as a Rider has reduced its strength somewhat.
Fáinne Connla - B
Anti-Unit
Named for the son she conceived with Cú Chulainn, this Noble Phantasm takes the form of the gold ring he gave to her after her defeat and subsequent humiliation. Though the ring prevents Aífe from ever coming into conflict with her sister, she can use its power to curse another, rendering them unable to come into conflict with her for as long as she supplies magical energy to the ring. Only one person can be cursed this way at a time.
Supposedly a lone-wolf type, if their actions are any indication.
Information Erasure ?
You're pretty sure they have something akin to this.
? (You can't even see their sheet, so you don't know how many Personal Skills they have.)
Noble Phantasms:
(You can't even see their sheet, so you don't know how many Noble Phantasms they have.)
Masters of Red:
You haven't gotten the chance to see or hear about them yet. Kirei apparently hasn't seen much of them either.
Servants of Red:
[I'm still working on the portrait, give me a bit.]
An absolutely titanic man, with lead-colored skin and bulging muscles. He reaches around 8 or so feet tall.
Bio: The hero of Greek legend, who completed the Twelve Labors, nigh-impossible tasks set by Hera. This was in part due to Zeus being the father of Heracles, causing Hera to attempt to kill him out of spite. This would prove to be hard, as Heracles proved to be both abnormally strong and clever on multiple occasions.
Strength: A+
Endurance: A
Agility: A
Mana: B
Luck: B
Class Skills:
Independent Action A
It is possible to take action even without a Master. However, to use Noble Phantasms of great magical energy consumption, backup from the Master is necessary. At Rank A, it is possible for a Servant to stay in the world for about a week without a Master.
Magic Resistance A
Cancel spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what High-Thaumaturgy it is. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi, so it would not be an exaggeration to title the Servant a "Magus Killer".
Divinity A
Being a mixed-race child of the King of Gods, Zeus, and a human, and becoming a god after death, Heracles naturally possessed the highest level of the Divinity Skill.
Personal Skills:
Eye of the Mind (False) A
Gained through many ordeals and adventures, he is capable of calm analysis of battle conditions, by which competent grasp of the status of the self and the opponent are obtainable even in the midst of danger; utilization of such to deduce the appropriate course of action that permits escape from a lethal predicament.
Pankration A+
The martial art developed by Heracles himself. Nullifies Mental Interference, and massively increases melee damage.
Battle Continuation A
Since he is no longer a Berserker, he has lost his high Battle Continuation ranking. He still has a high enough ranking to matter, though.
Noble Phantasms:
Nine Lives C~A
The most trusted of all of Heracles's Noble Phantasms, a combat technique devised at the end of a lengthy battle by Heracles. Allows Heracles to make hundreds of attacks in a short period of time. The power depends on the quality of weapon.
God Hand A
A blessing granted by the gods. It provides the three effects of resurrection up to 11 times, attack-nullification to attacks below a conceptual 'A rank', and triples the resistance to an attack after Heracles has lost a life to it or suffered immense damage from an attack.
Lernaea Veli A+
The Hydra blood arrows of Heracles. These arrows are coated in a poison that can render even immortals helpless in pain. They also require no True Name to be released. On the other hand, they share no supernatural properties outside of the Hydra's blood, and thus can be easily broken. He also only has a bundle of them, meaning that they must be used sparingly lest he lose them permanently.
Nemean Pelt B-
The pelt of the Nemean Lion, which imparts its properties unto Heracles while worn. As it rejects the weapons of mortals, a rank of Divinity is needed to harm it. It does have a weakness, as blunt force can pierce through it's hide to some degree.
External Characters:
A member of the Church. You believe that he probably comes from the Eighth Sacrament, though you can't confirm this.
Total Mana: ?
Physical Aptitude: ? (It is assumed to be high)
[X] Take his offer
-[x] make smalltalk with the other masters; try to learn as much about them and their servants as you can while revealing as little about yourself as you can
-[x] do your best to coordinate with the other masters, though; you will be acting a team for the foreseeable future
--[x] make preparations to summon your servant as soon as possible
"Once you're done with that, might I offer that you come to the church with me? The masters of Saber, Lancer and Assassin are there, and we have a summoning circle already drawn."
"You know what? Sure, I'll take you up on that." You shake hands, and he leads you to his car. The church isn't far away, so the car ride isn't long, and there isn't much to talk about, really. You soon arrive at the church, and at Kirei's guidance, enter.
Immediately upon entering, you and Kirei draw the eyes of five separate people; three normal ones, and two who immediately stand out as Servants. Two of the regular people are rather eye-catching; the one who you assume to be the Einzbern representative is wearing comfortable, loose white clothing that's only a bit away from robes in appearance. Her eyes, as described, do look disinterested and glazed over. The other is a woman wearing a white, dirty T-shirt and jeans. She does have a messenger bag, and a flask. She is also drinking out of that flask right now; you wonder how she can even afford alcohol. You do notice something about her; you can see her Command Seal on her right arm, and it looks like she's already used one. The last man is frankly just normal looking. Kind of underwhelming with the homeless lady and the living doll of a woman.
The two you assume to be Servants stick out like a sore thumb. One is practically a giant of a man; you estimate somewhere around seven feet, dressed in hoplite armor and bulging with muscles. You don't see his armaments, but you can easily tell that he is at least from one of the city-states of Greece. That doesn't give you a definitive answer; for all you know, he could be Hercules, though you doubt it.
The other Servant, who looks to be Japanese, actually approaches you with his Master.
"Good evening," he says. "I assume that you are to be the fifth Master in this Grail War?"
"Er, yes." There's not much you can say.
"Good. In honor of our future relations, I will now give you my name, Miyamoto Musashi." This catches you really off guard; what the hell is he thinking?
"Shouldn't you be protecting your name a bit more?" You manage to squeak out.
"If this were an ordinary Holy Grail War, yes. I am not above trickery. However, since I believe that you would eventually discover my True Name regardless, I have decided that it would be better for teamwork if I got this over with immediately." You really don't know what to say about that. You look over to the tall Greek man that is probably Lancer. He stares back at you.
"I am not so quick to give out my name, American. There is a chance that in the future, my abilities will be revealed to you; it is even likely, given how I stand out. But while there is still a chance that my name might be hidden, I will keep it from you." Disappointment splays across your face, but at least if nothing else you can understand where he's coming from. And besides, if what he says is true, then at least you'll probably find out eventually. Though, you have to hold yourself back from snapping back at him calling you an American as if it is an insult.
D20 - 5 (Fire Origin and Personality), with a Difficulty Score of 10 to keep from causing a scene. You got 15. Congratulations on winning your first dice roll.
"Can you at least give me your name?" You say as you turn yourself to his Master. She kind of gives a half hearted mumble to you, until Lancer nudges her slightly, to which she whispers out a small "Adelheid von Einzbern." You figure you probably won't get much out of her. You turn to the regular man and the homeless woman, who are standing in the same place.
"Agibail Cohen," she immediately responds in a slurred mumble. "And this hot hunk of junk is Sheero Fookey."
"Shirou Fukui, and you messed up your own name." the young man responds with a sigh, scratching the back of his head. "But aside from her, yes, I am Shirou Fukui. Following my Servant's example, I am an enforcer with skill and experience in combat. My Elements are Earth and Wind. My greatest tools are reinforcement and Elementalism, but I am proficient with a small collection of other spells. I wield a modified Black Key as a weapon. I will be in your care."
"Thanks for being straight with me. I hope you don't find it insulting that I won't do the same."
"No, it's fine. I figure that I'll probably find out later. You're going to summon your Servant soon, right?"
"Just after this last question. Abigail, can you tell me anything about yourself? And where's Assassin?"
"Ah, well, I practice… yeah, okay, I remember now. I practice the Temurah, Gematria, and Notarikon. But since it's really complicated and stuff, I don't trust myself to do more than maybe shoot some mana bullets when I'm drunk, so don't expect much out of me. My Element is Light, my Magic Crest is pretty old, and... as for Assassin, well, that's actually something I wanted to talk about. Y'see, don't display any affection for me next to Assassin."
Huh!? What does that have to do with anything?
"Nonono- I see that look on your face. I mean like, think of Assassin as like, a really obsessive lover. Like, retarded levels of obsessive. So, er, don't do anything that might make him jealous. That's why I had him wait outside. You know?"
"So while Assassin's around, I shouldn't be casual with you?"
"Yeah, you got it! Just keep it like that, and we'll be fine." That's concerning. You'll make note of that for the future.
"Are you done talking?" Ask Kirei.
"Yeah, I think I'm good for now." He points towards the magic circle; you can take a hint. Out of your briefcase, you take the wheel you obtained from Scotland, setting it in the middle of the circle.
"Oh; before that, I should tell you this. This church is your territory for the time being. Since it's on a leyline, and has since been abandoned, it has been lended to the Masters of Blue for a month's time." Good to know; at least you have a common place you can all stay at.
"Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.
Let blue be the color I pay tribute to."
The magic circle begins to glow lighty.
"Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.
Let the four cardinal gates close.
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."
The soft glow turns into a blinding red light.
"Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.
Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth."
Wind begins to gather around you as energy begins to form.
"An oath shall be sworn here.
I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven;
I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell."
It finally reaches a peak, and you can see your Servant formulate before your eyes.
"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,
come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"
The wind dies down, and your Servant has finally formed. It's a woman with brown hair, carrying a spear in her right hand and a shortsword in her left.
"I, Servant Rider, have responded to your calls. I ask of you; are you my Master?" All you can really do is nod; to which Rider gives out a tired sigh as her face settles into a frown.
"Alright, let's get to work."
As the woman says. What to do from here? Shirou and Abigail are staying here, but Kirei is heading out. You can call your hotel to cancel your reservation; and fortunately, this place does have a working bathroom with a shower, but it's kind of crap. At least it's clean.
[] Begin work fortifying the place; given Rider's knowledge of Runes and your expertise with Formalcraft, you can easily set up an expert bounded field on the leyline that runs through this church.
-[] Go out to get some supplies for your mana reactor. There's a chance that you'll run into an enemy Servant, and it'll cost you something close to 40-50 euros, but if you're quick you might head back in time without running into anything. This'll give you and the Blue Team an edge in combat.
-[] Start studying your books on Magecraft. This is exclusive with getting supplies for setting up your mana reactor.
-[] Head out to try and find enemy Servants. This is exclusive with other actions. Shirou and Adelheid will head with you, but Abigail says that she has to get Assassin, so she'll lag behind a bit.
-[] Anything else?
[] No, you think you'll head back to your hotel. You'll meet up later.
-[] Anything you want to do there? You essentially have the same options as before, but you'll be unable to work with the Blue team.
-------------------------------------------------------
Character Sheets updated! Please check Character Sheets under Informational to see more.
Seriously, you'll probably want to check that out. That's where your Servant's Character Sheet is, and where Musashi's character sheet is. On another note, you lot were worrying about a whole bunch of nothing, huh?
While we're at it, here's a list of Runes and what they do. You'll probably want this to use Aife fully.
Fehu:
-Low-key luck manipulation
-Hypnosis
-Conceptual bonus when used against animals
-Temporarily stave off thirst/hunger
Uruz:
-Stat-reduction debuffs
-Artificial Madness Enhancement
-Grant Bravery-like effect
-Rough metal manipulation; rune not perfectly designed for this
Ansuz:
-Mental reinforcement
-Plays a part in spells that recreate the feats of Divine
-Acts as an amplifier for other runes at the cost of casting time and increased cost
-Translation rune
-Sound magic
Raido:
-Speed increase
-Shit Happens charm (essentially the Dried Finger of Runes)
-Conceptual bonuses involving mounts
-Protection from weather
-Cures mental interference
Kaunnan:
-Insta-kill on those with low Luck or w/o at least a minor rank Magic Resistance or some Mystery, fickle and doesn't work even against small resistance, no matter how much it is empowered
-Causes sickness in effected
-Anti-child properties
-Cursed fire magic
Gebo/Gyfu:
-Mana sharing
-Telepathy
-Conceptual bonuses to team buffs; plays well with Wunjo, Berkannan, etc.
-Contract magic
Wunjo:
-Pleasing effect
-Willpower increase
-Stronger when in harmony with allies
-T****** rituals
Hagalaz:
-Bad luck sign
-Suffering in exchange for power; Like causing pain in exchange for a strength increase, meshes well with Uruz and Thurisaz for this purpose, relates to the 'bad luck' feature of Hagalaz
-Wide-area weather magic
-Enhances destructive power
Naudiz:
-Placing self-imposed restrictions in exchange for power like a geis; also like a geis, it enforces itself so that restrictions can't just be ignored without consequence
-Reduces versatility of other runes to boost effects
-Negative Mental Interference effects
-Sealing magic
Algiz:
-Defensive buff
-Retaliation effect
-Better at Bounded Fields than Eihwaz, not as good for personal effects if you're only looking for raw defensive increases, this is made up for by the retaliation aspect
-Poison effect
Tiwaz:
-Best over-all reinforcement effect, though not specialized; Something kind of like a self-applied version Sha Naqba Imuru
-Something like the Bravery skill
-Weapon reinforcement & creation
-Guiding effect in combat, again, similar to Sha Naqba Imuru
Ehwaz:
-Speed boost
-Used to strengthen allies
-Willpower booster
-Animal communication
Note: still distinct from Eihwaz.
Mannaz:
-Alteration magic
-Becomes stronger the more in-tune the user is with current allies, or at least if they have Mannaz applied to them as well
-Automation effect
-Mental reinforcement
-Stamina boost
Ingwaz:
-Earth magic
-Good luck symbol
-Hypnosis magic
-Mana storage
-Increased mana generation speed
-Viagra
Othala:
-Similar to Ansuz, best at enhancing recreating the feats of legends
-Enhances inherited abilities
-Defensive properties, works best as a bounded field
-Artificial magic crest
Dagaz:
-Light magic
-Mana Burst (Light) effect
-Holy aspects
-Has varied, if minor, buffs; I.E boosted willpower, physical buffs, minor Luck increase, so on
-Keeps allies at full strength for longer
[X] Begin work fortifying the place; given Rider's knowledge of Runes and your expertise with Formalcraft, you can easily set up an expert bounded field on the leyline that runs through this church.
-[X] Go out to get some supplies for your mana reactor. There's a chance that you'll run into an enemy Servant, and it'll cost you something close to 40-50 euros, but if you're quick you might head back in time without running into anything. This'll give you and the Blue Team an edge in combat.
--[X] While you're at it, maybe it would be a good idea for you to attempt some smallchat with Rider, if nothing else, it may help you know her character better?
"Alright, let's get to work."
"If we're going to get to work, we should get a bounded field set up, at least. Rider, do you know how to set up a bounded field?"
"Yes, I do."
"Do you know how to set up a mana reactor using disposable materials to provide a constant slow-burning mana generation that will last for a week or two?"
"Do not speak to me in that tone, ever again, battery, lest I am forced to remind you of your position. But no."
"Well, I guess that part is up to me. C'mon Rider, let's go."
"For now I will go, as it is in out common interests. But do not expect me to follow you like a lost puppy, master. Get the brownie and we shall go." You sigh, and look over to Shirou and Musashi.
"Why does everyone call me that? But yeah, I'm ready to go. Are you in, Saber?" Saber nods.
"How about you, Lancer? Abigail?"
"I am afraid not. I am much better on the defensive side of things, and I would still like to keep my parameters hidden for as long as possible." You nod back, and turn to Abigail.
"Eh, we'll catch up in a bit. We'll find you, somehow."
With that out of the way, you, Musashi and Shirou head down to the nearest… Lowes? Home Depot? Do they even have any home improvement stores in Athens? You decide that maybe it would be best to ask for directions. You quickly realize that you don't speak Greek. Fortunately Musashi and Aife can through the Grail, but you're having an oddly difficult time even finding anyone who knows where it is. Fortunately, you manage to get directions to a nearby home improvement store that you can find plenty of wood and metal construction materials at. As you begin to walk to the store, you try to strike up a conversation.
"So, er…" You shift your eyes towards Aife. She glares back with a stare that could melt steel.
"Master, I did not respond to your calls for idle chatter. If you wish to discuss anything, let it be of this war. Until then, you are simply a battery for me. Do you understand?" You nod your head slowly.
"Good. It seems that-"
"Hush," Musashi interrupts.
"You do not command me, you soy-faced-"
"HUSH!"
1d20 with a Difficulty Score of 15 to decide on if you run into an enemy Servant. You rolled a 1; fortunately, this roll doesn't have a critical fail condition. 1d4 to determine which Servant you fight. You rolled a 4.
Oh dear lord, you rolled a 4. Luck isn't on your side tonight.
The moment is still, for the moment. Suddenly out of nowhere, the air around you releases a shrieking sound, as Musashi steps in front of you all and deflects an arrow.
"Ah, a pity. I had hoped to simply get this over with quickly."
From a nearby rooftop a large figure jumps, landing in front of the group. The ground cracks in front of you, allowing you a better view of his features. He is incredibly large, easily 8 feet tall and bulging with muscles and lead-colored skin; he somehow manages to be larger than Lancer is.
He wields a large wooden club in his right hand, large enough that it is as if he simply picked up a tree and carved a handle into it, and his titanic wood bow, easily the size of his own body, vanishes from his left hand in a burst of light as it is dispelled. A lion's pelt adorns his head and back. He shifts into a combat stance and prepares to fight.
Character Sheets updated! Please check Character Sheets under Informational to see more.
Well, you got pretty damn unlucky; but fortunately, now's a good opportunity to tell you this; If you manage to correctly deduce someone's identity (with proper reasoning and not just random guessing) you'll get their True Name, and thus their full Character Sheet. Fortunately, even though he's super tough, this should be an easy opponent to guess the name of.
Sorry for the chapter being short despite taking so long; I figured you would probably want to plan this out first. If you make sense, Saber and Shirou will probably listen to your plans.
There's a moment where you tense up, but Aife and Musashi instantly burst into action. Aife is already fighting Heracles. Only a few blows into battle and her face already contorts into a pleasured mess, and as she breaks through Archer's club, the Tiwaz rune glows a soft red upon activation. Neither the club breaking or her strengthening via Tiwaz seem to have affected combat much, as even though she's taken the offensive and is moving far faster than Archer, her attacks have no effect; and it seems as though Archer is punching her, resulting in-
Contested Roll; Aife, D20 + 4 (Activated Lust for Battle A) + 5 (Celtic Martial Arts A) against Heracles, D20 + 6 (Pankration A+) + 2 (Luck B). Aife rolls 25, while Heracles 12. Critical Success. Damage has been made irrelevant by God Hand.
Nothing, as Aife manages to dodge every blow Heracles throws at her.
"Rider," you say in telepathy after putting the pieces together, "That's Heracles of Greek Myth! He has two separate Noble Phantasms that prevent you from harming him!"
"Then what do you suggest,Battery?" Rider looks halfway between killing you and giving up, before she is forced to pay attention to Heracles.
"I'll tell Musashi to make an escape route, since he has the Disengage skill. Is there a rune that can cover our escape?"
"Yes, but don't expect it to be foolproof, or otherwise I would use Runes more."
"Saber!" You call out, but it seems like he already picked up on the plan, and slinks back into the corners of the street. Archer attempts to pursue, but is cut off by Aife. While she still can't hurt him, she can definitely impede his forward progress, and that seems to be enough to let Musashi get out of sight. You're stuck with Shirou in that there's nowhere to go, so you both take cover behind a car, not like that will save either of you.
The battle rages on; through a series of dodges both lucky and skillful, Aife manages to be a nuisance. She never once attacks, you suppose from knowing the futility. The fight goes on for a minute; by the end, Aife looks rather haggard and at the end of her rope. The ground is cratered from the mighty steps of Heracles and the torrents of punches that landed on the ground, where they were intended to hit Aife.
Musashi de-astralizes next to you and ushers you into an alleyway. You see that he's marked lines into it to direct you.
"Go ahead and run," before releasing his Noble Phantasm with a "Book of Fire. Book of Earth."
He interrupts the battle between Aife and Heracles, gesturing for her to run.
"Don't worry, I'll find a way back out," he says. Aife doesn't seem to much
Aife takes the chance; while running, she grabs a rock and digs the perth rune into it. You run together with Shirou, and almost escape. Heracles runs at you, but is stopped by Musashi, who comes at him with a staff. Musashi rushes, face contorted in rage from the Berserk skill, and you expect him to at least get crushed but-
Musashi attack roll. D20 - 10 (God Hand, partially resisted through Book of Fire), -1 (Nemea Tomari, mostly resisted through Book of Fire and usage of a blunt of a blunt weapon), + 8 (too many things to count), with a difficulty score of 10. You rolled 10.
Musashi manages to actually bruise Heracles! Unfortunately that doesn't stop him, not even remotely; but Musashi actually proves to be a far harder brick wall than Aife, which you suppose is thanks to the Book of Earth and Book of Fire. You waste no time running, and with Aife using that rune, both any information and the trail of dirt Musashi left for you begins to settle such that it looks like you never passed through at all. It doesn't hide you from sight necessarily, but you do notice that the sound of you running becomes far fainter.
What follows is tedious; it's just a lot of running, and eventually after Aife makes sure that she's shaken off any pursuers, you head back into the church, where Musashi is standing, though Adelheid and Lancer are gone; though since there is actually some degree of housing in here, and given that it's 9:00, you presume that she's gone to sleep.
"Greetings. I managed to get Heracles off my back, thanks to Assassin." Assassin? That's odd.
"You mean Assassin of Blue, our Assassin? The one that belongs to the drunk lady?"
"That's the one."
"Wait, he was strong enough to fight Heracles, in spite of his class? Can you tell me anything about him?"
"My mind is fuzzy, but yes. I remembered that they actually did manage to consistently hurt Heracles somehow, though Assassin certainly wasn't winning. If they hadn't gotten out with me when I used my Disengage skill, they probably would have actually lost there. They also seemed to wait until they were hit before unleashing their stronger attacks. I can't remember too much about them, but with my Valor skill, I was able to retain my memories of the situation, to some degree."
Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to remember much more. Aife does eventually erect a bounded field off of the leyline, runes now marking the doorways of your current domicile, though they extend a bit out. Your house should be mostly protected unless a Servant comes barging in. Speaking of barging in, the Master of the Servant you were just talking about comes marching in passed out. She actually has Assassin in tow this time where you can get a good look at them, having her hung over 6̸̗̫́n̴̟̏͝y̴̺̓ shoulder, presumably to bring her back in. Their mostly ṟ̴̛͉̣̈͘͜͠f̶̧̢̣̝͔̘̬̱̓̓̃8̴̲͔̒͂ǰ̵̛̺͈̠̤̃̏̔͜ͅ appearance, 0̷̜̟̞̳͗̏n̶̥̂̂̅ͅz̷̥̬̤͉͍̹̐̔͠͝͝ḧ̶̰̝̕6̶̨̻͓̹͗̈̏̈́͜ ̷̟̬̂̉̓̾̉̔3̵̦̬̘̗́͌̎8̴̮͗̊f̵̛̗̲͊̋̽͐͘ḫ̵͖͔̻̰͝p̶̧̢̖̼̝̉͌̌͝ in skin, walks in a 6̵̢͔͕͙̲̟͖̘͚͕̋ḅ̸̮͌͗͗̈́9̴̬̠̦̣͓̗͑̈̓̆̇h̸̠̒̀͌́͠6̸̘͐̊̉̏̽̚̚͘j̷̢̢͎͚̫̠́̃̅̂͊̕4̵̧̣̩̦̦̗͙͍̩̇̾̆͘ manner. They wear what looks to be y̷̢͓̙̙̥̤̥̅͐̉͑̍̌̿̔͒͝6̵̡̹̗̪̲̪̲͈́̅̌̓̽̆͝j̴̡̜̼̤̤̫͔͔̐͑͋́̾͑j̷̢̰̠̪̮̿͌̋͒̏0̷̨̦͇͖͕̩̥̥̭̤͒͛͐͐́̚ ̸͙̖̉c̴̡̛͓͕̬̀̎̾̈͆́́̉͝ţ̷̙̖̜̣̘̼̳͂̾̃͋̆̌̆͠t̴͔͓̗͈́̎̎̓ͅͅ8̷̛̤͉̰̥̟̫̯͊̓͂̇̽͌͑̂ thrown around the left shoulder, and 3̴̟̰̘͛̃͗̃̂̀́͐̋͂f̵̗͐̆4̵̹̤̩͙̍̉8̴̠͓̲͆̽̑̃̌̂͂̕2̶̡͓̲͚̗̃̚͝ ̵̛̦͔͔͖͚̰̎̎ͅz̵̧̛͙̟̟̺̒̎͛̉͒̒̋͝n̷̪̞̟͙͗̓ͅj̴̡̛͖̺̦̖̮̮̬͗̀̓̎̀́̾̂4̷̰̟͔̫̣̟̼̳̒̈̆̐̏͆ with vine rope around the waste. Other than the clothing, they c̶͔̝͋͛̎j̷̯̳̤͇̟̞͇̻̆̓̀͑̑͝͠͠f̵̛̻̜̠̙̙͆͜w̴̩͕͚̝̣̓ ̸̨̢͙͗́̎̐̌̊͛̂̒̚9̴̫̿͊͗ţ̷̨͍̤̩̣̱̯͕̔̽̏̊̎̓̆͝ ̵̯̹̹̄̏̀̇͜͠ř̵̨̟̖̼͈̪̠̳̲̏̇͆́̂͗͘f̴̡̛̟͍́͂̉͛̓̏̒̓͝ÿ̵̪̻̦̬̋̇̍̀̈́̕p̴̞̯̫̤̝̝̯͐̅̽̎͘, so given what you've heard of the Hassans, Assassin doesn't seem to fit the description, despite their h̵̨̧͈͔͖̻͓͛̋̉͑͑̔͜͠6̸̰̭̯̥̜͓̫̦͛̂͠͝ͅf̷̬͍̦̞̓̈́͐̑́͋͘ẇ̷͔̖̉͐̂̌ẅ̶̡̧̤̬͓̫́̈́̎̈́̊͑̊̕̕͝j̶̞̇̀͆̈̾͠ͅ4̶̬̻̲͚̠̏͋̂̇͐̕͜ ̵̨͓̤̜́̍y̴̧͈͙̲̯̤̐͂̽̏̏̕͝p̶̨̰̰̠̣̘̔̎͌̽͝ņ̴̧̳̮̠̥̪̳̅̿̎̆̅͋̂̆̂͜͝ͅ9̷̩̪̻̺͔̱̞̻̾̐͠ͅ. They eventually leave after setting down Abigail in a comfortable spot.
You…
What just happened? You remember everything, but aside from a few stray thoughts, there's just a big blank hole where Assassin should be. Assassin's gone now, though. Supposedly, Musashi doesn't remember Assassin's physical features, Aife as well.
----
"Hey Ethan," Shirou says, grabbing your attention. "I'm going to train with Musashi, since I've recovered from over-extending myself during our fight with Heracles, and we can't afford to stop, since I've almost mastered the basics. We'll try not to make too much noise."
"Sure, go ahead."
Aife actually perks up from petting her horses- you almost forgot that Aife is a Rider- with a dangerous glint in her eye and walks up to you.
"Battery. What are they doing?"
"Er, training. Musashi's Hero Creation allows him to teach his skills as a Servant to a modern person, so he's making use of it." Aife smiles in response to your answer. It is not a cute smile, and it shows all the wrong shades of happiness.
"You are only proficient in Formalcraft, correct? For that is why I call you Battery." You nod.
"So tell me then, Battery. What is your Element, and what is your Origin?"
"Fire, for both of them," you respond.
Aife immediately grabs you by the neck and lifts you with a manic grin on her face.
"I may get some use out of you yet, Battery. I find myself unwilling to be outdone by a homeless Oriental, and you appear to be the key."
[] Accept Aife's rather forceful coercion, and study through the night. (-1 to some rolls the following day due to tiredness)
-[] What runes do you learn?
[] Deny her attempts at forcefully teaching you. (She'll give in eventually with enough pestering)
-[] Why?
[] Wake Abigail up and force her to take a shower, damn it.
------------------------------------------------------- Character sheets updated! Training sections have been added.
From the Book of Fire and Book of Earth, respectively. Bet you forgot about that, huh? Unfortunately it won't let Musashi null God Hand and Nemea Temari, but he can at least hurt him.
Aside from that, I'm tired. I will come back to fix this chapter's many failings at a later date, because right now, it's even worse than my usual shit writing.
I decided to put this in Informational so that it works faster. Thanks @SVS for creating a rune training system that I barely remember and am now scrapping ideas from.
Firstly, Shirou will learn separate from you and make his own decisions, so don't worry about that.
For your own learning, here's how it works.
You can train once per night, and per each night, you train a seperate with two Charges. Say you were learning some random rune, it would look something like this:
Example Rune (Rank)
- Function 1 E (0/1)
- Function 2 E (0/2)
See that counter, (0/1)? That's how many training charges it takes to train that rune to the next level. So with your two charges a night, you'd be able to bump up Function 1 to C rank if you pumped all of your stats into it. Here's your list of learnable runes and how fast they take to learn, as well as the Functions they have.
(I've excluded Runes that you just straight-up will not learn within the time-frame of this quest due to your Element and Origin. (Infeasible) also denotes Functions that follow the same immense time-frame for an aspect when put in parentheses.)
Uruz:
- Stat-reduction debuffs (0/10)
-Artificial Madness Enhancement (0/10)
-Grant Bravery-like effect (Infeasible)
-Rough metal manipulation; rune not perfectly designed for this (Infeasible
Ansuz:
-Mental reinforcement (Infeasible)
-Plays a part in spells that recreate the feats of Divine (0/1, at least when it comes to enhancing Runes related to Fire)
-Acts as an amplifier for other runes at the cost of casting time and increased mana consumption (0/1; As above, so below)
-Translation rune (Infeasible)
-Sound magic (Infeasible)
Kaunnan:
-Insta-kill on those with low Luck or w/o at least a minor rank Magic Resistance or some Mystery, fickle and doesn't work even against small resistance, no matter how much it is empowered (Infeasible)
-Causes sickness in effected (0/10)
-Anti-child properties (Infeasible)
-Cursed fire magic (0/2)
Gebo/Gyfu:
-Mana sharing (0/6)
-Telepathy (Infeasible)
-Conceptual bonuses to team buffs; plays well with Wunjo, Berkannan, etc. (Infeasible)
-Contract magic (Infeasible)
Hagalaz:
-Bad luck sign (Infeasible)
-Suffering in exchange for power; Like causing pain in exchange for a strength increase, meshes well with Uruz and Thurisaz for this purpose, relates to the 'bad luck' feature of Hagalaz (0/6)
-Wide-area weather magic (Infeasible)
-Enhances destructive power (0/10)
Naudiz:
-Placing self-imposed restrictions in exchange for power like a geis; also like a geis, it enforces itself so that restrictions can't just be ignored without consequence (0/10)
-Reduces versatility of other runes to boost effects (0/6)
-Negative Mental Interference effects (0/10)
-Sealing magic (Infeasible)
Like this title and my new signature says, this quest is dead as hell. I don't like my stiff writing, I've got no idea other than a few general ideas on where I want to take this, I never actually developed the characters before starting it, I've lost motivation due to some recent circumstances, and I want to get back to making the original quest that I was in the process of making before this.
If anyone wants to see the character sheets of the unrevealed characters, just ask, and I'll post them. Maybe someone can get some entertainment out of reading my character sheets. They're mostly what I'm good at, anyways.
Alright. I'm not posting Master Character Sheets unless somebody really wants to see them, because they're so stupidly undeveloped.
Note: Servants that we already have full sheets for aren't going to get anything, since it's not new information.
Musashi was going to be the first available Servant, with the Practice Handle being his catalyst. It was actually a piece of his wooden oar.
Strength: A
Endurance: A+
Agility: B+
Mana: C
Luck: E
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance A
Personal Skills:
Crossing Arcadia A
Valor A
The only person known to have greater valor than him was Achilles.
Eye of the Mind (True) B
Noble Phantasms:
Ankáthi Vounoú C
Anti-Army
The enormous spear used by Ajax. A conceptual weapon that takes the form of Ajax's large spear that he used to single-handedly hold off entire Trojan armies. When it's true name is called upon, it projects a large phantom blade that is large enough to crush through fortress walls.
Rhododendron Ajax B~A++
Barrier
Unlike an inferior version used by a certain Counter Guardian, Rhododendron Ajax is a conceptual weapon that takes the form of the genuine oxhide shield of legend. By unleashing its True Name, Ajax summons a 7-layer Bounded Field that rejects all ranged attacks, and even fairs very well against regular attacks. The shield itself defends spectacularly well against sharp weapons.
Jeanne was supposed to be the third available option for the PC to pick; she was the French breast-plate. I was going to play her a bit different then Apocrypha did.
Strength: B
Endurance: B
Agility: B
Mana: C
Luck: D
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance A+
Independent Action D
Personal Skills:
Saint A
A composite skill of Divinity and Magecraft given to Christian Saints. This provides Jeanne with a great healing effect, high quality Pure Eyes, and the ability to use Sacramental Magecraft, the foundation of most modern Magecraft, instinctually.
Tactics B
It should be noted that Jeanne was ultimately a tactician, not a frontline fighter. As a skilled and attentive learner of the arts of war, her skill with tactics is above the curve.
Marksmanship C
Noble Phantasm:
Artillerie Françaises: Cannons of Loire- A+
The Noble Phantasm of Jeanne D'arc. An artillery Noble Phantasm whose name recalls the campaign where the French army achieved victory over the British forces during the Hundred Years' War. The weapons of men are given the form of hope and relief, and turn to blinding light.
Crystallized from the legend surrounding the Heroic Spirit Jeanne D'Arc, this Noble Phantasm achieved sublimation through the massive aid her cannons gave to the French, and in combination with her nature has achieved a greater state. This Noble Phantasm appears as a massed artillery formation capable of punching through any defending barrier.
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: A
Mana: A+
Luck: A
Class Skills:
Territory Creation A++
As the child of the God of Boundaries and a protector of the household, Circe's Territory Creation is abnormally high.
Item Construction A+
Divinity A++
Being the daughter of Helios and Hecate, she is unimaginably close to being a Divine Spirit, closer than even Gilgamesh. Against all odds, she is ultimately not a Divine Spirit, and as such can be summoned as a Servant. However, due to her naturally exceptional Divinity and complete lack of non-divine blood, she retains small aspects of her parents that merge into her skills.
Personal Skills:
High Speed Divine Words A++
Being the child of Hecate and Helios, she has an exceptional connection to Divine Words, which are stronger and more efficient than almost everyone else who has ever used this method. They are most efficient at magic related to spirits or the sun.
Witchcraft A+
As the daughter of Hecate, a chthonic god of magic and spirits, her skill and talent in this is naturally above the curve. Naturally fantastic at Witchcraft involving spirits.
Blessing of the Dawn Goddess C
As thanks for allowing her to set foot on Circe's island, Eos, Circe's aunt, gave her this blessing. Strengthens Circe during the dawn.
Noble Phantasm:
Circe Katastreptikos B
The wand of Circe, as her symbol, naturally absorbed her legends of being a predatory witch who gave out curses with reckless abandon. Upon activation, it will release a wave of curses of abnormal strength. If one does not at least have a Magic Resistance of B or naturally high endurance, they will likely die on the spot. Without Natural Body or a Magic Resistance of A, anyone who survives will be severely weakened. Even then, it is unlikely they will come out unscathed.
Aeaea B
The island of Circe, which transposes itself over the surrounding land. It combines with Territory Creation to create a terrifyingly strong bounded field. When Circe is inside her island, her fame bonus and Blessing of the Dawn Goddess skill artificially increase.
After SVS let me know that the quest was going to be boring where I was taking it, I decided that I was going to have Circe try some bullshittery and reincarnate, and get some Masters and Servants on her side, which would have caused a breaking of team formations like in Apocrypha.
Strength: B
Endurance: B
Agility: A
Mana: C
Luck: C
Class Skills:
Presence Concealment A
Avenger A
As a conglomeration of many souls left to stew in their hatred for thousands of years, is it any wonder that Cain obtained such a high rank of Avenger? Strengthens Cain through hatred directed at him.
Oblivion Correction A
The desire of many for revenge. Strengthens Cain in retribution for attacks made against him.
Personal Skills:
Double Summon -
Subversive Activities A
Berserk A
Information Erasure A
Noble Phantasm:
Mark of Cain EX
Though Cain as told in the Bible never existed, his presence as a Servant still exists as a combination of many jealous murderers throughout time. EX ranked because of its inconsistent power, not because it has raw power. Can be resisted through Magic Resistance above D, and is nullified with A-rank Magic Resistance. It will empower the returned attacks so that the wounds will always be 7 times what was done to Cain, barring reductions from Magic Resistance.
Strength: A+++
Endurance: A++
Agility: A+
Mana: B
Luck: E
Class Skills:
Madness Enhancement -
Subsumed by the Riastrad.
Personal Skills:
Battle Continuation A+
A level of Battle Continuation strengthened by the Riastrad. Allows Cu to function even when his non-vital organs are destroyed, and for a time, he can even survive with his vital organs destroyed.
Protection from Arrows B
Divinity B
Noble Phantasm:
Riastrad A+
The Warp Spasm. Transforms Cu Chulainn into a monstrous beast, granting significant rank-ups in exchange for any semblance of sanity; effectively, it's Cu's Madness Enhancement given the power of a Noble Phantasm. It can cause his body to wear on itself by going beyond the limits of a human, but the effects are mostly mitigated through Battle Continuation. Unfortunately, it is always on.
Strength: A+
Endurance: A+
Agility: A
Mana: B
Luck: B
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance A
Riding C
Personal Skills:
Giant's Blood A
A composite skill of Berserk, Valor, Monstrous Strength, and Natural Body. Provides an immense resistance to poison, immunity degradation of any form, be it mental or physical, a massive resistance to body-altering magic, and the ability to temporarily increase Strength, Endurance and Agility by a large amount in a rage. It also increases close-range damage and provides a modest protection against mental interference.
Mana Burst (Ice) A
Charisma B
Galehaut was able to compete with the charisma of King Arthur, showing that he is amongst the greatest heroes in this regard.
Noble Phantasm:
The Uncrowned King C
So long as the current battle still continues, Galehaut's parameters will continue to slowly increase until the battle is over, where they will reset.
Strength: A
Endurance: A
Agility: A
Mana: B
Luck: B
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance B
Riding B
Personal Skills:
Saint A
A composite skill of Divinity and Magecraft given to Christian Saints. A somewhat minor saint boosted by popularity, allowing Saint George to produce Miracles. Though somewhat limited in scope, this provides Saint George a large healing effect, high quality Pure Eyes, and the ability to use Sacramental Magecraft, the foundation of most modern Magecraft, instinctually.
Instinct B
Charisma B
The level of charisma required to lead armies.
Noble Phantasms:
Ascalon A+
A dragon-slaying spear. Though only exceptional under normal circumstances, the anti-dragon aspect of this spear is immense, harming even legendary dragons like Fafnir with lazy swipes. And yes, as per Type-Moon standards, it does shoot lasers.
Aspect of George C
The flag of Saint George. A formation of his legends into a single flag. When raised aloft, it strengthens his allies. If he were to be summoned into England, it would become B+ ranked, amongst other things.
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: B
Mana: B
Luck: C
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance C
Riding B
Personal Skills:
Charisma B
Golden Rule C
Wisdom of the Son A
By his connection to the Sancta Sophia, Justinian can display many skills around B rank, so long as they could feasibly be learned and were present in his empire. Using multiple skills can place stress upon Justinian, and using too many for too long can cause immense detrimental effects upon mind and body.
Noble Phantasm:
Sancta Sophia EX
The Sancta Sophia, a grand temple built by order of Justinian with Holy Wisdom in mind. While inside it, Justinian's Wisdom of the Son significantly improves in power, and he is granted the Miracle skill. It is also guarded by many upon many Angels.
Strength: E
Endurance: E
Agility: C
Mana: A
Luck: C
Class Skills:
Item Creation A+
In addition to being a powerful creator of Mystic Codes, Paracelsus can sometimes get around expensive material costs via alchemical processes.
Territory Creation B
Allows for the creation of a quality workshop.
Personal Skills:
Magecraft A
A master in many pursuits of magecraft, though primarily gemcraft, alchemy, spiritualism, and medieval elementalism. Or in other words, the standard five elements in addition to Sulphur, Mercury and Salt.
Surgical Procedure A
Allows for the modification and healing of himself and others.
Noble Phantasm:
Philosopher's Stone A
A red, oval-like stone that stores magical energy and functions as a powerful amplifier. It also allows for high-class ritualistic magic to occur in moments, which allows for fast-pace alteration spells in order to manipulate the environment and alchemy usage without using materials beforehand. It's best not to ask what makes this; and he's not too keen on making another, though he can if need be.
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: A
Mana: C
Luck: B
Class Skills:
Presence Concealment A+
Personal Skills:
Instinct A
Clairvoyance C
A degree of far-sight that reaches 4 kilometers.
Self-Modification C
Noble Phantasm:
Zabaniya: Drumming Palpation C+
Allows Assassin to give his strikes a sympathetic property, synchronizing two different surfaces. Effectively, it allows him to strike at a distance and pierce defenses.
Strength: B [A]
Endurance: B [A]
Agility: A [A+]
Mana: D [C]
Luck: D [B
Class Skills:
Madness Enhancement D [B
Riding C [E]
Personal Skills:
Charisma B- [E-]
A charisma necessary to rally and lead a large army, but unfortunately lacking in the ability to discipline those with her.
Affections of the War Goddess A
Due to the constant prayers and gratitude towards the Icenic war goddess Andraste, Boudica has gained a blessing. Where before it would have been something similar to Beowulf's Berserk skill, her summoning into the Berserker class has caused Affections of the War Goddess to partially merge with Madness Enhancement, intensifying the skill by two ranks when active. In addition, it increases Boudica's luck more than Madness Enhancement would otherwise, due to the connections this blessing has with victory. Affections of the War Goddess blocks out Battle Fervor, due to the mindset caused by an increased Madness Enhancement.
Battle Fervor EX [-]
Upon matching the conditions she was in during her optimal battles, Boudica can gather strength in herself and her allies. Each condition increases the potency of Battle Fervor, allowing Boudica and her allies to gain increased physical stats. With two conditions it becomes noticeable but not great, and with three conditions met it becomes a large, though not truly massive increase to stats. Blocks out Affections of the War Goddess during use as Battle Fervor comes from a mindset exclusive with Madness Enhancement.
The wills of her allies must be unanimously unshaken
Her allies must be either suffering or under grievous harm
The enemy has a force equal to or greater than her own
Noble Phantasms:
Esuprastus B
Named after her husband, given to her by Andraste as a Sword of Selection, much like Gram and Caliburn.
Icenian Exemplar B
A renamed version of Boudica's Chariot. Sealed with the activation of Affections of the War Goddess, due to the forgoing of her Riding skill. When called upon, it actively shields all allies under Boudica's leadership. It's also as fast as Gordius Wheel, though it cannot fly like Gordius Wheel, meaning that it can be used offensively and for travel but has limited maneuverability.
Thrice-fold Victory A+
Anti-Self
A manifestation of Boudica's three major wins, followed by a pathetic defeat to an army only a tenth the size of her own. Upon each battle, a + parameter is applied to each of Boudica's stats, up to two applied on the third battle. Using However, this causes her to undergo severe rank-downs upon the fourth battle, after which Thrice-fold Victory will be reset.
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: B
Mana: A
Luck: A
Class Skills:
God's Resolution A+
Has a full 3 Command Seals for every Servant in the war.
True Name Discernment A
Magic Resistance EX
Personal Skills:
Miracle EX
Sacramental magecraft on another level. At this point, it's almost to the degree of an Authority. Some of the Miracles he uses are on par with low-grade Noble Phantasms, and the raw versatility it gives makes Moses a terrifying Servant.
Revelation A
Noble Phantasms:
Plagues of Egypt A
The various Plagues of Egypt, which the bear curses themselves. Though mostly ineffective against Servants, the real purpose of this is to be used against Masters, and serve as a way to keep Magi who desire to uphold secrecy in line. It also bears Anti-Divine properties, given their original purpose.
Ten Commandments B+
The Ten Commandments, bound to two slabs. When disobeyed in the presence of Moses, the rule breaker will be affected as if they broke a geis. Effects begin minor, but become exponentially more potent. Disobeying all is enough to kill most Servants. However, Moses will also be affected should he break these rules.
Nehushtan A+
The pole on which a bronze snake rested, and protected the Israelites from fiery serpents. Erects a Bounded Field that protects those inside, and has anti-fire and anti-dragon properties.
Moses was Kirei's Servant.
Thanks for the few people that stuck with this quest for it's short lifetime.
