A note on power.
Sep. 7th, 2009 08:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
white_flowersPerhaps I should have posted this when Blodwen first returned to the bar, but to be honest, I wasn't expecting to need all the details laid out for use in conflict immediately....
(Yeah. I know. Oops. Silly me, huh?)
Anyway. By now it's obvious that Blodwen's got a few new tricks up her sleeve, things which are noticeably different from the power of the Dark that she used to bear. This is because her new powers and abilities have their source in a gift from the figure that's been named as Corruption. (Reference here.)
Corruption itself is based on an amalgamation of several characteristics described in numerous mythological and fictional canons as being associated with deities of disease and decay.1 The powers it gifted Blodwen with are based on and derive from similar concepts - powers of of disease and death and rot and decay, perhaps especially where it comes to enhancing or twisting natural cycles.2
Specific abilities/spells that may show up in Blodwen's arsenal are as follows:
* Touch of Decay: As seen with Raven (link), Ace (link) and Mary's apple tree (link), among others. From the point of contact with her physical touch, she is able to spread corruption out through the physical body in a variety of forms -- enhanced/speeded aging effects, encouragement/flourishing of any existing underlying weakness (e.g. chronic disease, old injury, infection/gangrene in a current wound), etc. Seen mostly so far as coming from her hands, but technically possible from any focused point of contact -- a kiss, a kick, etc., as long as skin touches the surface to be affected.
* Corpse Breath: As seen with Puck (link). Akin to poison fog or toxic fumes. It's a slow-acting poison, not necessarily deadly, but problematic unless countered. As an example, think of being the target of a skunk's blast or trapped in a room filled with mold and the smell of something rotting. The stench clings to clothes, and absorbs into mucus membranes/vulnerable tissues, such as eyes, lungs, etc.
* Illusion/Form Shifting: Corruption comes in many shapes and forms designed to deceive. Hers will always be false, created of grave dust and where necessary other rotten things to fill out and sculpt the physical shape. The materials used are also likely to be at least as poisonous as consuming disease-ridden, rotten meat would be, and are likely much, much worse.
* Undead/Undying: Prometheus did this to her (er, somehow) in order for his revenge to be long-term, and Corruption has now shifted (corrupted) and confirmed it; Blodwen is immortal again -- or at least undying.3 Important Note: Immortal and undying are not exactly the same thing. If this is of particular interest to you or your character, you definitely want to check out footnote #3 below.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave them here, and I'll answer them all. Thanks!
Footnotes:
1) The reason for the amalgamation figure, by the way, is that I didn't feel comfortable shoving a crossover character fully into someone's canon or potential canon unasked.
2) And of course, the natural counter would be power of life and growth and healing, etc. Also powers related to/of fire, which is the simplest and easiest way to purify something.
3) This time around, Blodwen can be killed. Permanently so. It's not going to be easy, there's no current plan for it, but I'm willing to run the risk of having it happen. To that end, she does have a specific fatal weakness. It's an object (a phylactery, in D&D terms), it holds the essential spirit/animating force that keeps her in her current semi-immortal state, and if it's destroyed, she will die.
(And no, I'm not going to tell anyone straight out what it is or how to detect and destroy it. That'd be too easy! I will, however, leave clues in her threads and comments -- and I'll answer questions about them too, if you spot something you think might be related. Likewise, if you think your character might be sensitive to/able to detect such things even when hidden/shielded, ping me or leave a comment here, and we'll work it out.)
(Yeah. I know. Oops. Silly me, huh?)
Anyway. By now it's obvious that Blodwen's got a few new tricks up her sleeve, things which are noticeably different from the power of the Dark that she used to bear. This is because her new powers and abilities have their source in a gift from the figure that's been named as Corruption. (Reference here.)
Corruption itself is based on an amalgamation of several characteristics described in numerous mythological and fictional canons as being associated with deities of disease and decay.1 The powers it gifted Blodwen with are based on and derive from similar concepts - powers of of disease and death and rot and decay, perhaps especially where it comes to enhancing or twisting natural cycles.2
Specific abilities/spells that may show up in Blodwen's arsenal are as follows:
* Touch of Decay: As seen with Raven (link), Ace (link) and Mary's apple tree (link), among others. From the point of contact with her physical touch, she is able to spread corruption out through the physical body in a variety of forms -- enhanced/speeded aging effects, encouragement/flourishing of any existing underlying weakness (e.g. chronic disease, old injury, infection/gangrene in a current wound), etc. Seen mostly so far as coming from her hands, but technically possible from any focused point of contact -- a kiss, a kick, etc., as long as skin touches the surface to be affected.
* Corpse Breath: As seen with Puck (link). Akin to poison fog or toxic fumes. It's a slow-acting poison, not necessarily deadly, but problematic unless countered. As an example, think of being the target of a skunk's blast or trapped in a room filled with mold and the smell of something rotting. The stench clings to clothes, and absorbs into mucus membranes/vulnerable tissues, such as eyes, lungs, etc.
* Illusion/Form Shifting: Corruption comes in many shapes and forms designed to deceive. Hers will always be false, created of grave dust and where necessary other rotten things to fill out and sculpt the physical shape. The materials used are also likely to be at least as poisonous as consuming disease-ridden, rotten meat would be, and are likely much, much worse.
* Undead/Undying: Prometheus did this to her (er, somehow) in order for his revenge to be long-term, and Corruption has now shifted (corrupted) and confirmed it; Blodwen is immortal again -- or at least undying.3 Important Note: Immortal and undying are not exactly the same thing. If this is of particular interest to you or your character, you definitely want to check out footnote #3 below.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave them here, and I'll answer them all. Thanks!
Footnotes:
1) The reason for the amalgamation figure, by the way, is that I didn't feel comfortable shoving a crossover character fully into someone's canon or potential canon unasked.
2) And of course, the natural counter would be power of life and growth and healing, etc. Also powers related to/of fire, which is the simplest and easiest way to purify something.
3) This time around, Blodwen can be killed. Permanently so. It's not going to be easy, there's no current plan for it, but I'm willing to run the risk of having it happen. To that end, she does have a specific fatal weakness. It's an object (a phylactery, in D&D terms), it holds the essential spirit/animating force that keeps her in her current semi-immortal state, and if it's destroyed, she will die.
(And no, I'm not going to tell anyone straight out what it is or how to detect and destroy it. That'd be too easy! I will, however, leave clues in her threads and comments -- and I'll answer questions about them too, if you spot something you think might be related. Likewise, if you think your character might be sensitive to/able to detect such things even when hidden/shielded, ping me or leave a comment here, and we'll work it out.)
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 04:56 pm (UTC):D
Should we talk? I think we should talk.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 09:25 pm (UTC)And oh my goodness yes, I think we should indeed. :D
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 12:07 am (UTC)Just checking. No reason. ;)
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 12:09 am (UTC)Anyway, yes -- fire purifies and cleanses both decay and disease. It won't, say, reverse anything she's done, but it will stop it from spreading, and she is more vulnerable to fire than she is to certain other forms of magic/power!
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 03:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-14 04:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 03:28 pm (UTC)Also notable: dead sprites do not, as a rule, leave bodies behind—they kind of do the Jedi dissolve thing—so there's nothing to decay. On the other hand, data can most certainly be corrupted...
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 03:39 pm (UTC)(I did see at least some of the discussion between Bob and Enzo a while back, and am intrigued!)
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 03:46 pm (UTC)And considering how Dani was angsting over what happened to Danny last time and Enzo promising not to let anything happen to her, I think something is gonna have to come to pass at some point. Muahaha.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 03:51 pm (UTC)Kind of like a virus in the same family as a previous one -- still damage, but maybe the vulnerability is not quite as great as if something were laid open and totally unprotected.
As for things coming to pass, I am up for it if you are! I am planning to try to have her in again either this weekend or early next week.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 03:53 pm (UTC)Well, I don't know how soon things will come to pass. We'd need Dani in on it as well, for starters; I will consult.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 03:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-24 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-24 05:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-24 05:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-18 12:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-18 04:25 am (UTC)This has happened once so far since her return, and that's why Nick Carraway's note started flaking apart. :D ?
no subject
Date: 2009-09-24 09:33 pm (UTC)Quick query - if someone has had the touch of death thing and they don't have any underlying illness (I'm looking at Detta as an example here) what does it manifest as? Is it like poisoning, or a burn, or tissue necrosis or neither?
And if someone was trying to treat it with no knowledge of what it was, would it be cured by antibiotics or antivirals or a regenerative device (e.g. the infirmary's skin fuser, which grows skin back at an accellerated rate). Or failing that would a generic magic/poison cure such as a bezoar work?
no subject
Date: 2009-09-25 03:43 pm (UTC)As for manifestation, it depends a bit -- in Detta's case, since she bit Blodwen and even swallowed some of the, er, resulting matter (ew), she's poisoned. Further manifestations would be like, um, maybe necrotizing fascitis or gangrenous infection? But yes, poison would be the first line -- bleeding gums etc.
I think all/any surface damage would be easily treatable by antibiotics, antivirals, antiseptics and the skin repair device, definitely, but for the internally-taken poisoning, something will have to be done to counter that. Sort of like activated charcoal to stop drug overdose process?
A bezoar will work, absolutely. Some handwavy sort of antipoison something something will work as well, I'm sure! As will the apples, etc. I'm very flexible!
no subject
Date: 2009-09-26 12:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-12 05:29 pm (UTC)3) This time around, Blodwen can be killed. Permanently so.
We could not possibly lose our Blodwen forever and ever, right? Right? ;) I'm sure the bar in general would love this to happen, but she is my favourite villain and I would be sad. D:
no subject
Date: 2010-03-04 06:30 am (UTC)It is technically possible but seeming less and less likely by the moment? *amused*
But I have something in mind, should it come to pass.
And thank you for the compliment! :)