Difference between revisions of "Artemisia"
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Latest revision as of 07:58, 1 August 2024
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| Gun-Witch | |
|---|---|
| The Twice-Slain Hunter | |
| "Bless this buckshot, let it fly true." | |
| "She's The Witch of the Waste and she's got bad taste" | |
| "A Witch and her Thirst" | |
| [1] | |
| Metatype | Human(Infected) |
| Street Cred | 0 |
| Notoriety | 0 |
| Public Awareness | 0 |
| CDP | 54 |
| D.O.B. | 1/3/2045 |
| Age | 40 |
| Folder | [2] |
| Priority | Metatype - E Attributes - B Magic/Resonance - A Skills - B Resources - E |
| #Max IGs/Ascension | 12 |
Character Information
Summary
A tall, gangly vampire woman with pale skin and dark hair. A Mystic Adept and Manipulation Hedge Witch with a perpetual look of disdain and disgust on her face. She uses her hedge magic as well as her adept abilities to bring death and pain to the heretics who disavow the goddess. Or at least she did. After doing some learning and making some friends, she has abandoned that road. While she can still be found dressed in her habit and veil, she is no longer faithful to the Cult of the Goddess. The Witch of the Waste will make a name for herself on her own terms.
Old Goals
Find Josephine Demirah Salvitora
Restore the children of the Goddess to glory
Make everyone involved the cult's destruction BURN
Kill Juniper Riveras
New Goals
Find a way to pay back her friends who have guided her from a bloody path
Stop the coming of the Horned God and deal with Teldragon. For good.
Do some good in the world
Hunt the followers of the Elder Gods and kill Jekyll
Follow the Wildflowers.
Background
Artemisia Vladislava was born to a wealthy family whos wealth quickly diminished and diminished until they were a destitute estate. As her parents and siblings wasted away on the streets, Artmisia found herself a new home and new family in the form of an up-and-coming cult. The Children of the Goddess.
Common Wicca holds the belief of two deities. One is the Horned God and the other is the Great Mother goddess. The Children of the goddess held a different belief. They believed that when the time when magic came to the world was the time when the Horned God fell. There is only one deity now, the Goddess. She is earth and nature, she is magic, she is humanity.
The Children of the Goddess subscribed to this new view of Wicca and quickly gained new devotees. The cult was lead by a charismatic vampiress named Josephine Demirah Salvitora. Artemisia was smitten, both by Salvitora and the cult in general. She gladly pledged her life in service to the one Goddess and to Salvitora. The cult's power grew, with Artemisia spending more time learning her vampiric manipulation magic. She acted as an enforcer and assassin, silencing those who would rise against the children of the Goddess. One day, she took a clip of bullets to the gut before collapsing. Salvatora turned her, saving her from the cold beyond bringing her back so she may serve the goddess even longer.
The years pressed on and the Children of the Goddess's power grew. They remained in the Shadows, only 50 true devotees and Salvatora but with wealth and money and power. And enemies. One day, when Artemisia was returning from an out of Seattle "Correction" mission, she reutrned to the cult's head quarters to find it destroyed. 48 corpses. Traces of ash outside but that couldn't be Salvitora. No, she would never die like that. The attack seemed to originate from one of the secret entrances, sealing the members in and catching them un-prepared. A clean sweep except for one. They had been sold out. The only ones whos corpse was not present were Salvitora (Right??) and a member named Juniper Riveras. She was the one who sold them out. She would die.
Penniless and with only a filthy, heretical krime shotgun she found on the street (loaded with power ammo, disgusting) Artemisia would hunt down the ones who destroyed her home and put an end to them. If that means she has to put up with an obnoxious and heretical suit named "Ace Powers" then she will do what the Goddess wills.
The Horned God and Teldragon
After some time in shadows, gaining health and power as a mage, Artemisia was approached Teldragon, a guidance spirit who offered her the location of Juniper Riveras. During the events of Bodies Down the Riveras, she tracked down Juniper Riveras and killed her, before returning Teldragon a spirit formula of great power. Riveras's last word's were that she served 'The One Who Is Horned'. Dead Gods Stir.
After more time in the shadows, Artemisia was contacted by Teldragon again. Another piece of spirit formula and an offer she could not refuse. The location of Josephine Demirah Salvitorah. The job was done (Finding the Author) and although they hid the formula from Teldragon after realizing it was the formula to the dead Horned God, Artemisia was still given the location of Josephine. New Orleans.
After acquiring transportation (Smuggler's Strife), Artemisa, Cricket, Koschei, and Sweetie Sinful found their way to New Orleans, with Artemisia telling them it was crucial to the Dead God's Stir plot. Over the course of Bayou Bonanza, the fellow runners saw through Artemisia lies and questioned her about her true quest, which she divulged. They helped her track down a hospital in the Bayou that had been converted into spirit possession-experimentation-sight/Cult base. It was there, for the first time, Artemisia found herself face to face with Josephine. The cult leader offered her a place in the children of the Goddess. A home. Safety. A greater purpose. Artemisia though to what her friends had told her. She was not a weapon of the Goddess. She would not be bound. So she shot Josephine with a rocket launcher.
After returning to Seattle, she was under great amounts of mental stress. The sight of her completely platonic cult leader dying at her hands had rattled her to the core. Then she was offered a job. One Mikey Coin wanted her assistance helping his friend acquire ritual components. She assisted after her mentor spirit, Boudica, egged her on. She enlisted Cricket's help and the two acquired the components save for one, the heart of a great beast. As the two sat in a cafe, going over possible next steps, a troll was launched through the window as basilisks scrambled across the street. After the lizard were taken down, Riley (the troll) was just beginning to thank the two of them when he was hit by a truck. More basilisks swarmed out, as well as some sort of possessed goat-man and a woman that looked uncannily like Josephine stepped out. With a rocket launcher.
In the ensuring chaos, a great deal of lizards were slain, a goat man was exploded, Cricket almost died, a truck was hacked and at the end of it, Artemisia pumped 22 rounds of ammunition into the body of the Josephine look alike and fell to her knees sobbing. Seeking a change of scenery, she asked Cricket to let her stay at the Iceberg hotel. The oni hacker agreed.
After staying at the Iceberg for a few days and bonding with the leader of the Hellraisers (Barracuda) during the events of The Harker Gambit (almost dying will do that to you), she received yet another call. A basket of fruit and blood jam with a mysterious letter. After enlisting Barracuda's help, the two set off to the location listed within the letter, fully expecting an ambush. They found a path covered in riddles, the astral echo of King Beef and eventually came face to face with the Goddess herself (or at least a third of her) The two talked and the Goddess seemed to be making sense, even telling her that Josephine was still alive. Until she made a crucial mistake. She said that Artemisia's magic was her gift.
Barracuda called to her from the sidelines, telling her that her magic was not a gift. That little push of support was all she needed. She was sick and tired of others laying claim to her. So she told the Goddess. She told the Goddess that her hold on Artemisia had come to an end. That she didn't get to claim ownership of Artemisia's magic, of her blood. That through her own force of will, she made that power her own. That Goddess turned to a burlap scarecrow as her garden vanished and the 2 adepts escaped. As they made their way back, Barracuda offered her a place in the Hellraisers, which Artemisia politely declined. She would not be beholden to any organization any more. When they returned, the exhausted Artemisia began the process of turning her life around. The Witch of the Waste would live as she pleased.
The Death and the Hunt
Artemisia spend the next several months in the company of the Hellraisers and life was good. She felt important, needed. Everything shifted. During the events of Halluncination Nation 4: Newt Fucking Dies (This Time For Real), however. It changed. She encountered the nefarious plots of an Elder God worshipper, Dr. Jekyll. The runner, Newt, a friend of hers, died in front of her but before Newt died, she gave Arti her revolver and the location of her hideout. A hideout containing her writing, a full account of everything the cursed seer knew about the 4th world. Arti became obsessed, spending most of her time locked in her underground room studying the texts. Knowing her enemy.
During the events of The Anniversary when she shot the dragon Tyranthoth with a rocket launcher and fought alongside the Hellraisers. She had now seen the raw magical power that ancient magicians and blood magic could bring into the world, the horrible damage it could do.
Then the Iceberg hotel was set alight by Tyranthoth. Artemisia held her ground while the hellraisers made their escape. She was bathed in dragonfire, died fighting. A glorious death spent fighting, a death spent making sure her friends lived.
She was not granted the dignity of death. She awoke, wounded and near dead in the ruins. She crawled away, starving and almost dead. Her left eye and arm had been lost in dragonfire, she fed on the members of the Nuclear Warlocks of Salvation she could maim while she recovered. She decided there was a reason she had not, it was time for her to begin the hunt.
Her fruitless crusade lasted two years. She cut down foul magicians again and again and with each time she came closer and closer to her own death. She embraced this. She could not live as a weapon for the Goddess, failing her cult. She could not live as a normal metahuman, the blood and secrets called to her too strongly. So she will hunt and she will die and perhaps, in her death, she shall make right her existence.
Narrative Significant Qualities
Positive
Mentor Spirit (Fire-Bringer): Artemisia's mentor spirit is not a conventional one. As she began to dive further into her own magic, the mentor appeared and simply ... shadowed her. To her, it takes the form of Boudicca, clad in armor and carrying a spear but with a lethal wound in her neck. Boudica does not speak, simply shadows her, always watching, always present in the corner of her vision. Silently judging. Despite Arti's denouncement of the dead warrior queen, her presence is no doubt a good influence that pushes her to not only make the world a better place but to free herself from her own shackles as well. After abandoning her cult, their relationship has improved and Arti often actively asks the mentor for guidance, which is offered in that silent way.
Hedge Witch + Taboo Transformer: She learned a bizarre offshoot of pagan magic, focused on manipulation. She used to use blood and bone and entrails in her spells like a true pagan. Nowadays, she likes lavender and shards of onyx or smoothed-down broken glass.
Strive for Perfection + Sharpshooter + perceptive 2: A former cult assassin, she learned to make every shot count. Her gaze, especially astrally, is a piercing one.
Perfect Time + Shoot First: Perhaps due to her vampiric speed and reflexes or her years spent killing, time seems to slow down when the bloodshed begins.
Agile Defender + Ex-att agility: Ducking, twisting and weaving have become second nature. No longer an assassin, now a hunter of men.
Guts: She will do what she must, even at the expense of herself. No fear, no weakness.
Infected: Vampire, regeneration: A beast. A hunter. The blood sings to her and it is only through her force of will alone that she turns herself towards those deserving.
History is not as Certain as We Thought + Speed Reading: Her sire dabbled in those ancient magics. Once Newt died and passed her writings to Artemisia, the vampire has made it her mission to learn more about this monstrous threat, sacrificing anything and everything to prevent another scourge.
Negative
Vendetta: Josephine Demirah Salvitorah must die.
Simsense Vertigo: Technology strays from the path of the goddess.
Driven (Erase the Horned God): Led the elder deities fade entirely.
Spirit Bane (Guardian Spirit): Because of her vampirism and her madness, as well as her penchant for devouring blood mages and elder god cultists nigh exclusively, Artemisia is viewed as a threat to guardian spirits, one they would deign to annihilate with due prejudice.
A Terrible Fascination: The world wiped clean. The void that watches. Follow the wildflowers to Camelot, little girl. The countryside isn't safe for you, anymore.
Addiction (Psyche, mild): A hunter has her weaknesses.
Social Stress (Tall Women): It's a thing. She has a type.
Run History
Affiliations
Contacts
| Contact | Connection | Loyalty | Archetype | Profession | Aspects | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Powers | 6 | 1 | Fixer | Horizon Talent Agent | Musical Talent, Corporate Deals, Keep it Classy, Fake SINs, Insider Knowledge, Horizon Agent, Hired Muscle | Even |
| Teldragon | 6 | -2 | Custom(K,N,A,G) | Guiding Spirit | Diviner, Infobroker, Personal Domain, Spirit Lord, Great Form Guidance, Frogs in all the Right Places, I Know a Camera When I See One | -3 |
| Commander | 5 | 1 | Networking | Black Ops Veteran | JURY Protocol, Old-School Operative, Casevac, Tactical Insertion, Shady Knowledge, Military Intelligence, Safehouses, Shady Deals | 1 |
| Esteban González | 5 | 1 | Gear | Materiel Smuggler and Acquisitions Expert | Mil-Spec Materiel, Combat Gear, Just Point and Click, Lead Spitters, Rigging Amateur, Smuggler | Even |
| Chet Hughs | 2 | 2 | Generalist | Lonestar Officer | Evidence Locker, Lonestar Tatics, Knows the system | Even |
| Sanguine Lupe | 2 | 1 | Custom(G,K,A,N) | Boss of the Direnetics | Cybernetics Expert, Bootleg Surgeon, Seamless Integration | Even |
| Pelican | 2 | 2 | Service | Smuggler | Master of the Skies, Signature Drone, Smug Smuggler, Vehicular Vendetta, Close Air Support | Even |
| Cornelius Morton | 5 | 2 | Generalist | Cartel Head | No Chains, Only Contracts, NoLa Life, Drug Cartel, I've Got Friends on the Otherside, Big Family, Drugs aren't my only games, Hungry Ghouls, Infected Community, Undertaking as a Passion, Glancing into the otherside | Even |
| Esteban González | 5 | 3 | Gear | Materiel Smuggler and Acquisitions Expert | Mil-Spec Materiel, Combat Gear, Just Point and Click, Lead Spitters, Rigging Amateur, Smuggler | -1 |
| Repo Man | 1 | 4 | Custom(A,K,N,G) | Lonely Phantom | Underground Guide, Scythe Mentor, Chained Haunt, Psychometrist | Even |
| Bernie the Spider Boi | 3 | 3 | Generalist | Bug Hunter | Wounded in the line of duty, Drones, Drones, and More Drones, Bugs Spirits Expert, Cyberdecks and Commlinks, Foci | Even |
| Gord "Twitch" Rodney | 1 | 1 | Custom(A,G,K,N) | DIY Survivalist and Obnoxious Attic Gremlin | Abrasive Doesn't Begin To Cover It, Cruel And Unusual, One Errant Twitch, The Closest Thing To A Civil Engineer That Lives In Hell's Kitchen | Even |
| Sidewalk | 2 | 2 | Custom(A,K,N,G) | Free Spirit | Earth Spirits, Breaks stuff, Roads | Even |
Organizations
| Contact | Position | Connection | Faction Rep | Archetype | Health | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hellraisers | On-Site Magical Contractor | 1 | 12 | Street Gang | Maintaining | Seattle, Puyallup, Hell's Kitchen |
Allies
Cricket - The two were tossed into mess of dead gods beginning to rise. As such, they've worked together many times. Cricket has seen the darker parts of Artemisia and uh ... offered her zen? The bug-eyed oni hacker might not view Artemisia as anything other than "That Crazy Fraggin' Nun?" but Artemisia considers her one of her closest allies and friends.
Crane - As much as Crane would like to consider Crane a heretical tin man (yes, even after abandoning the Goddess) she does admit he is rather wise. While she hates his guts, she has often come to him for advice and has even offered him a dose of the Immortal Flower to assist his raid on Renraku.
Koschei - When Artemisia started in the shadows, she was essentially a dogmatic religious murderer. Despite this, Koschei made an effort to befriend the obvious vampire, offering her guidance and telling her to stop thinking of herself as a weapon. She accompanied Artemisia on her fateful trip to the Bayou and supported her throughout. They were sisters of the blood. Now, Koschei is merely something else Artemisia has left behind.
Barracuda - Despite being very clearly an unstable vampire who showed up to live in his gang's house, Barracuda was ... kind to Arti. He offered his own form of wisdom and the two swapped tales and perspectives on magic. That was before they were both almost slain by vampire hunters. With Artemisia's explosive tactics and counterspelling combined with Cuda's refusal to fucking die, each would probably have died if not for the assistance of the other. After Cuda's support during "Social Stress large woman", there is certainly trust there. He may consider her 'unstable, lost and prone to bloodlust', he also recognizes her skills.
Catharsis - Cathy helped her understand some of her deeprooted issues and accompanied her into Louisiana, fought with her in the matrix. They fought together again during The Anniversary and spoke several more times. Artemisia deeply respects the woman and considers her force of good in a progressively dark world, the type of good she has long since given up hope of for herself.
Enemies
Juniper Riveras (Eliminated) - The woman that brought down her cult. Perhaps she did not deserve to die. Perhaps she did.
The Horned God - A threat to the safety of the world. A mad god of destruction who cannot be let loose.
Josephine Demirah Salvitorah - For a long time, Artemisia thought she could escape Josephine's hold by simply leaving. She could heal with distance. Now, she sees her sires eyes dancing in every shadow, still clutches that woman's amulet to her chest. She wonders what of herself remains, between the influenced memories planted within her. Hiding is not enough, she must die for her hold to be broken.
Rose of Sharon Howlett - After almost dying as a result of the Rose's traps, Artemisia will not suffer such an experience lightly
Dr. Jekyll - Artemisia is not a fan of serial killers that seek to bring forth the Horrors from beyond.
The Followers of the Elder God - Artemisia has seen the dangers of those that would brazenly call upon the ancient powers of the time before. She has devoted herself to a life of bringing about their deaths, dooming herself to a never-ending hunt with no sunrise.
Blood Mages - During The Anniversary, a dragon attempted to use blood magic to resurrect Dunkelzahn. The resulting magical bloom nearly ended the world. After this, Artemisia sees all blood magic as catastrophe waiting to be unleashed. Especially the blood magic of a certain corporation.
In Character Information
Symbols and Signatures
Artemisia uses trinkets for her alchemical preparations, usually carved onto beach-glass or obsidian and then crushed. Other's are made of shattered pottery. She keeps a generally witchy vibe, using incense and potions and whatnot as well.
Her centering takes the form of chanting poetry, often Edgar Allen Poe's "The Conqueror Worm" put also Dickinson, Pope, Byron and even poems in strange languages, thought long dead.
Matrix Search Table
| Threshold | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Some online fliers mentioning a ‘Children of the Goddess’ |
| 3 | Cybereye footage of what appears to be a blur but could be a black habit with some creativity, escaping a building a few seconds after gunshots. Footage of a helicopters crash. |
| 6 | The Vladislava family records, along with their slow loss of wealth into debt and destitution. All of the family member’s SINs were burnt. |
Shadow Community Table
| Threshold | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | A runner by the name of Artemisia. Wears all black. Uses guns, magic and Alchemy. Fraggin' creepy |
| 3 | Has caught some heat for wiping out several squadrons of KE, including a helicopter. Has tried to get fellow runners to join some weird cult with varying success. |
| 5 | Crazy vampire lady who uses manipulation magic and guns. Former cult assassin. |
SINs
Launvillia Frenfenelle Racula (R5) -Mage -Firearms + Concealed Carry -Driver’s License -Private Investigator License
Appearance
Clothing
While she prefers to wear fine silks befitting of one chosen by the goddess, her financial situations have led to her current outfit being tattered and frayed. Wears a classic witch hat. A veil, similar to Victorian mourning garb, is worn to avoid the sun.
Even after her abandonment of the cult, she still finds comfort in such clothes.
Matrix Persona
The default persona
Character Plot Hooks
Here are characteristics of the character that GMs may take advantage of to add complications to runs, or to otherwise use when in use. If you want to use them in unrelated to runs, please ask first.
| Aspect | Information | Related Run(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect 1 | Mess me up, boss! | I am completely fine with long term consequences for my characters, as long as it doesn't feel unannounced or forced. Long term changes to a character make more opportunities for interesting roleplay, and so don't be afraid to give them out if they are deserved |
| Aspect 2 | The Secrets Beckon so Sweetly | Arti has fully immersed herself in those scraps of 4th world knowledge. She views the knowledge and anyone who has stumbled upon the knowledge as a danger to the world, including herself. She will stop at nothing to stamp out the secrets of the horrors. Her success in this endeavor is up to debate. |
| Aspect 3 | Teldragon and the Horned God | Teldragon is a powerful spirit with many acolytes across the globe. He seeks the revival of his predecessor, his 'father', the horned God. Supposedly, this is a way to restore balance to the world. Arti doesn't buy it, seeing it as a blatant bid for power, even divorced from her former cultish ways. Despite this, she owes the spirit a favor for his help (in the mechanical form of 6 chips) and he will not hesitate to bind her that. |
| Aspect 4 | An angel throng, bewinged, bedight, In veils, and drowned in tears, Sit in a theatre, to see A play of hopes and fears, | Arti is a vampire. She has been a vampire for a long time, spending her vampiric youth feeding on enemies of the church. Despite her current diet of elder God cultists, she has been made known to a number of Vampire hunters, including Rose of Sharon Howlett, hunters who are no doubt eager to add her teeth to their belts. Despite her occasional moral revelations, she will not hesitate to kill when backed into a corner and this fact does not assist her in the matter. The hunter is hunted in turn. |
| Aspect 5 | But see, amid the mimic rout, A crawling shape intrude! A blood-red thing that writhes from out The scenic solitude! | Arti used to belong to a cult to the Goddess. She was pulled off the street and worked as an assassin for them. When she almost died, the cult leader turned her, Josephine Demirah Salvitora turned her. She thought she loved that woman for a very long time. When Arti last saw her, she shot her with a rocket launcher. No doubt, the vampire is still out there, plotting. |