Sunday, November 29, 2020

Snow, like sugar, sparks the Dream into hidden life (Mutants and Masterminds 3e)

 As always, a horde of thanks slither their way from the my deepest crannies of my heart to my beloved patrons Keeper, Jaina Bee, Ferny, Casey, Dave, and Darius.  I never thought I would achieve even this much success doing what I love.  I owe you all big-time.


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Jawbrael

"I now make the only true statement you are to expect – that I am a liar. This confession is, I consider, a full defence against all imputations. My subject is, then, what I have neither seen, experienced, nor been told, what neither exists nor could conceivably do so. I humbly solicit my readers' incredulity.” 
—Lucian of Samosata, Storia uera

Lucian of Samosata sailed into the sky by accident in the 2nd century and witnessed thereby the end of the War Between the Sun and Moon, as he related in A True Story.  What he left out of that account is the giant rainbow-colored egg he brought back in the belly of his ship, a gift from Endymion, King of the Moon.  It sat, an inert and forgotten evidence that occasionally changed color, lugged around by his descendants for two and a half centuries.  When Lucian's descendants thought of it at all, they conceived of it as a lar, a family spirit that watched over them and ensured their prosperity.  The famed astrologer and Christian apologist Iulius Firmicus Maternus traveled to Athens in 334 CE for the purpose of studying it.  Perhaps his investigations were what fractured its shell and revealed a healthy 3-year-old epicene child.  There is certainly no way to now know, so many centuries later.

The child soon displayed a strength beyond their years, even as the gel that clung to their skin hardened into a pink candy-like shell.  They soon learned to hide her habit of biting into living animals.  The animals tasted sweet as their blood filtered through the epicene's fangs, but the humans around seemed unnerved by this instinctual practice.  Many years later, the egg-born child would discover that their species, hailing from far beyond the Oort cloud, had evolved these baleen-like, long, sharply pointed teeth to filter the blood sugar from others' veins, excreted the excess sugar through the skin to form that candy-like armor.  They were given as a name the single word Lucian ever wrote concerning them, a scrap of parchment that had traveled with the egg reading only "Jawbrael".

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, Is just to love and be loved in return"
—"Nature Boy", written by eden ahbez and performed by many artists (starting with Nat King Cole)

Haunted by an uncomfortable stew of feelings ~ frustration spiced with power ~ Jawbrael grew into a callous child eager to bully their peers.  They showed little empathy, and their pedagogues' and tutors' attempts to beat it into the child were simply shrugged off.  This wouldn't change until after a grown Jabrael had become a scribe, recording letters and court cases and pornography and laws and many other things besides, all the effluvia of a robust civilization.  It was while working that they met a person by the name of Mettius Mamo Palus, with whom they almost immediately fell into an everlasting love.  The two left the great city together, travelling to the uncivilized areas of Gallaecia on the Iberian Penninsula.  There, they set themselves up as new gods, powered by Jawbrael's abilities and those granted to Mamo by consuming the sugary excretions of the multicolored alien being.  

That was in 356, and these new deities lasted five decades in this remote paradise.  All things change, and the change in their lives came with the Vandals, Alans, and Suebi who swept invading through Gallaecia.  The fires before and behind them claimed Mamo and Jawbrael, their shell melting in syrupy rivulets, could not save the heart of their heart.  Jawbrael had to flee, and they kept fleeing for the next five centuries.  Faksheter, as they called themself in the hopes of leaving a painful past behind them, travelled the world before finally settling in the court of Eadwulf II of Jórvík.  There, they fell in love again, forming a superteam calling themselves "The Trinity" with the Dragon (who had collected various magical treasures of the Arthurian knights and was taught magic by the crystal-entrapped Merlin) and Othorix the Anti-Man (a monk who had the power to merge people together to increase their power).

"Then there is no true lover in the forest, else sighing every minute and groaning every hour would detect the lazy foot of time as well as a clock.” 
―Rosalind, As You Like It, William Shakespeare

All things come to an end.  After a few centuries of protecting the lands of Northumbria, the Trinity began to dream of a new utopia inhabited only by people like them, people with the power(s) to succeed where normal folk had failed.  Seeking a place to establish this new realm, they journeyed with the first of King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway's expeditions to Greenland in 1605 and fell in love with its icy remoteness.  Just a couple of years later, they made their own journey there on the deck of a small ship crewed entirely by powered individuals.  Upon landing on the southeastern shore, they founded a new shining city, a new nation they called "Rosalind" after the character they so enjoyed in Bill Shake-speare's play.  

As I said, everything ends, and the Trinity lasted only 213 years in Rosalind.  The end came simply, small, and with all the best intentions, as it usually does.  Jawbrael adopted two children, thinking that they could raise one with the Dragon and one with Othorix the Anti-Man and that this would provide Rosalind with longevity.  Gelower, the one gifted to the Dragon, was possessed of a super-intellect, which she turned to the production of clockwork marvels to rival the Dragon's magical accoutrements, in mimicry of deism's watch-maker god.  Her twin sister Pixeon cared more for the divinity of the body in motion; she spent as many hours practicing her war-like acrobatics and ability to shrink her body as she did with Othorix the Anti-Man and Jawbrael.  A new Cain and Abel, the two fought bitterly and without restraint as adults; a remorseful Gelower built a mechanical imitation of Pixeon, but it was not enough to fill the void left by the sister she killed.  The tensions built until the sexual mystic Cruus, main administrator of Rosalind, was granted permission from the Dragon and Jawbrael to kill Othorix the Anti-Man.  It was a decision that ultimately drove the Dragon to leave the sad reminder of Rosalind, leaving Jawbrael to rule Rosalind alone, which they do to this day. 

""The only thing more unthinkable than leaving was staying; the only thing more impossible than staying was leaving.
 ― Elizabeth Gilbert

Home Base:  Rosalind, some distance south of Ittoqqortoormiit and the Kangertittivaq fjord in Scoresby Sound, facing Ísafjörður in Iceland across the sea.
Gender:  Cis-epicene.
Sexuality:  Pansexual sadomasochistic.
Romantic Identity:  Polyfidelitous romantic.

""Were I laid on Greenland's Coast, And in my Arms embrac'd my Lass; Warm amidst eternal Frost, Too soon the Half Year's Night would pass."
John Gay

Recurrent Foes:
  • The White Worm:  The eldritch being named Rlim Shaikorth, he whose coming (in his own words) even the gods may not oppose, has traversed these freezing seas tucked beneath the world's snowy cap since the ancient and much-misunderstood days of the Hyperborean Age.  Atop the floating iceberg Yikilt, his heralding is foreshadowed by the creeping frost across plants and glass, and when he comes your sorcerers will be gone and everything else dead.  There is no reheating that which the White Worm hath frozen, for flame cannot touch this dream-like ice.  Rosalind has attracted its attention more than once, but Jawbrael has found a way to defeat the beast every time.  The holes it calls eyes have trained the coagulated orbs it calls eyes above the streaming blood upon some kind of vengeance, but it knows not yet what.  Vril Man would, of course, do anything to team up with a being that remembers what he has been told was an Aryan paradise; he will be ever so disappointed to find out that that was Nazi bullshit, should he ever manage to succeed at making friends with such an alien being.
    • Notable Powers:  STR -2=>18, STA 1=>21, INT -3 (more alien than unintelligent), AWE -3, Protection 5, Movement (slithering), Swallow Whole (Affliction 14 (resisted and overcome by Strength; impaired, immobilized, incapacitated; concentration, cumulative, grab-based) linked to reaction Damage 6 upon still having a condition from this Affliction, secondary effect), Movement (dimensional travel to the dream world), reaction Affliction (upon seeing the Worm; resisted and overcome by Will; entranced, compelled, controlled, progressive, limited to causing erratic or insane behavior), Ritualist, an array of magic spells, Blood Burns Like Ice (reaction Damage 6 upon dealing the Worm piercing or slashing damage or touching the Worm's blood (secondary effect)), Freeze (ranged dimensional incurable Weaken Toughness, increased range 5, linked to ranged dimensional incurable cold Damage with penetrating, increased range 5, feature: leaves ice that will not melt even when heated with fire), Installation (floating iceberg citadel under the Worm's mental control that has a constant dimensional Environment (extreme cold) 10 effect), permanent innate Growth 20, Summon Kidnapped Sorcerers (heroic, multiple minions 3, horde, mental link, variable, self-powered) (PL 20)
  • Lamia:  The mysterious, beautiful, and aloof Vandal named Mettius Mamo Palus never told Jawbrael much about their childhood, mostly just that their father was a mahteig in the Pannonian city of Vindobona (Vienna's direct ancestor city).  Falling in love with the hard-skinned and hard-hearted Technicolor scribe Jawbrael and discovering the quite useful results of ingesting their lover's sugary excretions, the two ruled a small region of Gallaecia for half a century before Mamo's past caught up with them.  The invasion of the Vandals, Alans, and Suebi wasn't about Mamo, of course, but the diversion of a particular subset toward their love-nest was.  Already resenting the existence of superpowered individuals, they had not taken the news that a young Mamo had been using their emotion-manipulating abilities on them.  These warriors had finally tracked down one of their prime targets, and they abandoned their war effort to take Mamo down.  In desperation, Mamo employed those very same powers in an attempt to force their lover Jawbrael to defend them.  Their love must have been true, because even this did not break it.  Nonetheless, furious with Mamo (more for showing them their cowardice and selfishness so clearly, rather than the actual loss of will), Jawbrael fled the burning settlement as soon as they had a chance.  As the flames trapped Mamo in an ever-shrinking circle, they wrote out their life story in some clay, including every detail of their history, knowledge, and newfound hatred of Jawbrael.  The invaders burst into her sanctum, only to watch as Mamo's blade squelched clean through their own chest.  Mamo's story was forgotten until 718, when Pelayo founded the desperate Christian nation of Asturias in the face of the Muslim conquest of Spain.  Eager for any edge over the invaders, they turned to ungodly allies and one, a diabolist who called himself Epefyl, found the tablets.  He summoned the demon Anoster and bargained for a working.  One of Anoster's servant succubi was shredded and welded to the disjointed and painful memories recorded in these scratched letters.  Epefyl's blood served as the glue; he really wasn't very good at negotiating with demons.  One of his assistants watched in horror and, in the coming months, wrote a poem about his experience under the metaphor of the Lamia from Greek mythology, causing him to become the vessel for this strange recurrence of Mamo, the first of several.  Existing as a sentient story, the newly renamed Lamia now manifests whenever someone uses their creativity to make them real.  As Rosalind became known to the world, whenever Lamia manifests, they have sought its overthrow and fought the lover that abandoned them when they still lived.  The most recent Lamia, a rare book dealer from New York by the name of Dean Corso, has an ally in the form of a servant of the Nothing called the Wine-Dark Wolf who resides within Rosalind's House of Lamps tenement house.  They also plot to free themselves from the control of Anoster, who has continued to act as the keeper of Mamo's story and to create a new Trinity, one of light and darkness and the shade in between, that will mirror the shining beacon of mortal faith and invert the world into Hell. 
    • Notable Powers:  Senses (acute analytic ranged detect moral weakness, darkvision), fear of the void below (perception ranged Affliction (resisted and overcome by Will; entranced, compelled, controlled, limited to fleeing or cowering in terror)), Psychomachia (Illusion, limited to apparitions of greatest fear or trauma only you can see), Immunity (fire effects), Ranged Fire Damage, Condemnation (Variable, limited to cursing someone), Awe (as Jawbrael), Dread Display (as Jawbrael), super-strength, Flight, Movement (dimension travel, AE: Remote Sensing (dimensional)), Scrying (Communication (dimensional)), 30-60 power points or so change between manifestations, based on the particular vessel's imagination of Lamia, perception ranged cumulative Affliction (entranced, compelled, controlled, resisted and overcome by Will, subtle, variable descriptor (emotions)) (PL 20)
  • Embryo:  The Dragon tried to remain by Jawbrael's side after the two authorized the murder of Othorix the Anti-Man, honest he did, but the betrayal of his beloved and the loss of the union between the three by Othorix the Anti-Man's power was too much for him to bear.  He left in 1864 to slake his grief with blood.  Returning to the land from which his panoply hailed, the Archbishop (as he now called himself) washed himself clean with the blood of Britain's villains (including rumbles with Dracula, Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, Dr. Moriarty, and others) while maintaining himself in impeccable Victorian style.  It took the turn of the century and a rather sizeable contingent of Metropolitan Police to take down this grim superhero.   He was the first inhabitant of Her Majesty's prison for powered individuals, and he remained within its walls until the Klyltling Knights broke him out in hopes that he could free his mentor, Merlin, from his crystal prison.  Well, "broke him out" is a strong way to put it; one of the Klytling Knights had to bond with the Archbishop to get around his reticence at the idea of leaving the prison.  The man that had been the Archbishop, that had been the Dragon, died in the Assault on the Crystal, but some amount of his memories and personality live on in the klyltling who had bonded with him.  The one who wore has become the thing worn.  The other Knights took the new Embryo back with them after their misadventure, and found a doctor by the name of Sascha to be its new host.  In 2015, Lamia burned Embryo off of Dr. Sascha, believing what continued on of the Dragon would be of a similar mind to the devil-worshiping memetic entity.  Lamia hopes to convince Embryo to give birth to itself, to forsake the binding process and stand on its own pseudopods, but sometimes the thirst for vengeance takes precedence.  Sometimes, Jawbrael's ex-lovers join forces.  Sometimes they even have what the Trinity lost so long ago, and they become one being.
    • Notable Powers:  Klyltling species template (I'ven't published that yet), Dr. Sascha (Enhanced Intellect 1, Enhanced Expertise: Science 1, Enhanced Technology 1, Enhanced Treatment 2, Enhanced Will 1), Klyltling Knight (Enhanced Fighting 2, Enhanced Stamina 1, Enhanced Dodge 2, Enhanced Parry 1, Enhanced Fortitude 2, Enhanced Will 1, Enhanced Athletics 1, Enhanced Deception 2, Enhanced Expertise: Magic 2, Enhanced Expertise: Soldier 1, Enhanced Insight 1, Enhanced Perception 1, Enhanced Persuasion 1, Enhanced Ranged Combat: Guns 1), the Dragon (Enhanced Fighting 1, Enhanced Awareness 2, Enhanced Presence 1, Enhanced Advantages (Ritualist, Trance), 6 points in an array of spells, Senses 2 (radius magical awareness), subtle 2 visual/auditory/mental Remote Sensing 1 that leaves physical body defenseless, Enhanced Expertise: Magic 2, Enhanced Insight 1, Enhanced Intimidation 1, Enhanced Perception 1, Enhanced Sleight of Hand 1, Enhanced Dodge 1, Enhanced Will 2, Enhanced Fortitude 1), Various Random Hosts (Enhanced Expertise: several kinds 5, Enhanced Expertise: Current Events 2, Enhanced Expertise: Pop Culture 3), Squirt (Shrinking 4, ranged Damage 2 with an alternate effect, Immunity 1, Flight 2, sustained impervious Protection 2, Enhanced Agility 2, Enhanced Fighting 2, Enhanced Dexterity 1, Enhanced Acrobatics 1, Enhanced Deception 2, Enhanced Ranged Combat: Energy Control 1, Enhanced Will 1, Enhanced Fortitude 1, Enhanced Advantage (Precise Attack (Ranged; Cover)), other host effects. (PL 18)
  • Censer:  Thanks to Jawbrael's powerful sugary excretions, the super-genius Gelower was able to live well past the standard human best-by date.  She was only felled as Rosalind got pulled into the North Atlantic weather war that consumed Greenland during World War II.  Throughout this stretched life, her remorse compelled her to tinker with and perfect the mechanical replacement she'd built for the twin sister she killed.  The first, named Absolution, sank in a U-boat attack on a merchant ship in the First World War, allowing Gelower to replace its steam-powered system with one that used diesel instead.  Vent, as she called this robot, was severely damaged by an undead alternate-universe Pixeon during the Pink Heart Sun Invasion in the 2000s.  It miraculously rebuilt itself from near-scrap in a Vatican vault, took the name Censer and broke out to show up in Rosalind's capitol building.  Haunted by Censer's face, in which Pixeon's could still be recognized, Jawbrael accepted the newly nuclear robot into their service as an aide and administrator.  Poetically, this means that it is doing much the same job Cruus did in the 19th century.
    • Notable Powers:  Immunity 48 (aging, critical hits, Fortitude effects, mental effects, Sensory Affliction effects), STA --, Comprehend Machines, rapid 3 Radio Communication, Eidetic Memory, Well-informed, Comprehend Languages, Quickness, Senses (darkvision, microscopic vision), Shrinking 4 (normal strength), Enhanced Insight (limited to detecting deception), radar (Senses 2 (accurate radio)), sonar (Senses 3 (accurate hearing, ultra-hearing), built-in Equipment, martial arts subroutines (boxing, fencing, and wrestling: Enhanced Skills: Acrobatics, Deception, and Sleight of Hand, and Enhanced Advantanges: Agile Feint, All-out Attack, Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Escape, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative 1, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Takedown, Taunt, Weapon Bind), cloud 2 area concentration Weaken Fortitude (subtle 1, insidious, olfactory-dependent, dynamic alternate effect: Weaken Will with the same modifiers) (PL 16)
  • Professor Eschaton:  Jawbrael is not the only member ~ or should I say "relic" ~ of their species to have come to Earth.  Whatever that people's name, they found that many planets proved difficult for even their powerful bodies to easily survive.  Their solution was to genetically engineer a species with highly adaptive DNA and powerful regenerative capabilities as a terraforming engine.  When they found a planet even they had difficulty dealing with, they would send a small party of these creatures to its surface, where they would begin to establish themselves and alter the environment.  Their regeneration would bring them back to life after their inevitable death at the hands of the hostile environment, no matter how small the surviving sample.  The DNA of these creations would have adapted to survive, if not terraform, that particular danger.  One bit of one such creature landed on Earth by means of a meteor in Eastern Europe in 2007, where it was rather quickly discovered by scientists.  One such, a voivode by the name of Vitenka Osandic, was examining the piece in its isolation chamber when a bomb placed by nationalists opposed to Romania’s entering the European Union exploded.  He woke to find the alien material embedded in his chest.  It transformed him from a beautiful man descended from Romanian nobility to a monster encrusted with jagged deposits of crystalline sugar.  Not the smooth, beautiful shell enjoyed by Jawbrael and her like, these were brutal spikes painfully growing from his inflamed skin.  Vitenka soon found that his massive genius combined with his new biology to allow him to overcome almost any challenge.  Both as superpowered individuals and the maneuverings of small nations, both the renamed Professor Eschaton and Jawbrael seek to learn more of their origins from the other.  A lack of trust between the two prevents them from believing each other that they don't have it.
    • Notable Powers:  INT 6, AWE 6, PRE 5, Expertise and Technology skills up the wazoo, Strength-based Damage 4 (penetrating 4), Immortality 5, Immunity 140 (Fortitude, Toughness, and Will effects, limited to effects experienced at least once, limited to half effect), Senses 1 (rapid vision), Senses 4 (postcognition, DC 12 Investigation check required), Quickness 3 (limited to mental tasks), Benefit 8 (status 3, wealth 5), Eidetic Memory, Inventor, Contacts, Well-informed, Enhanced Strength 2, Enhanced Strength 1 (limited to lifting) (PL 14)
  • Lord Licorice:  A class traitor in the Land of Sweets, Lord Licorice led a Maoist Communist revolution in the extra-planar Land of Sweets in 1949, deposing the Nutcracker King.  Said deposed monarch has not relinquished his desire to express his divine right and rule the Land of Sweets.  This pressure has left Lord Licorice on a constant back foot, unable to fully exercise his revolutionary agenda among the various candy-folk and sugar-elemental peasants.  If the Nutcracker King can benefit from the coerced aid of the superteam known as the Flurry, Lord Licorice reasoned, than perhaps the People could benefit just as equally from Earthly aid.  To that end, he has plagued Rosalind with his attempts to harness their forces to his cause, pursuing everything from constant diplomatic maneuvers to blanketing the streets in cellophane pamphlets espousing Licorice Thought (basically, Maoism adapted to the situation in the Land of Sweets) to an endless variety of villainous schemes intended to force the issue.  Most troublingly, however, is Lord Licorice's dangling over Jawbrael's head of the all-too-likely connection between their species and the Land of Sweets long ago.  If only Rosalind's ruler will bow to the will of Lord Licorice, all will be revealed.  According to Lord Licorice, anyway.  Jawbrael doesn't quite believe that all of their questions will be answered if they do so, and thus has resisted the blatant attempt to control them.  It's very tempting, though.
    • Notable Powers:  Sticky Licorice Transmutation (cloud area Affliction (resisted by Dodge, overcome by Strength; hindered and vulnerable, defenseless and immobilized), cumulative, extra condition, limited degree), AGI -1, AWE -1, Heart as Hard as Rock Candy (Immunity (emotional effects)), afraid of the dark, Sidekicks (giant spider, miniature crocodile, vulture, all from the Land of Sweets), Minions (red and black licorice bites, bitter chocolate bats), Weaken Strength (dynamic AE: Weaken Stamina, dynamic AE: cumulative Affliction (resisted and overcome by Fortitude, hindered, immobilized, paralyzed, dynamic AE: Weaken Agility linked to Weaken Fighting, dynamic AE: hypertension (cumulative Affliction (resisted and overcome by Fortitude; impaired and visually/aurally impaired, prone and visually/aurally disabled, asleep)), minor Healing (limited to diseases).  Power Enhancement from Power Profiles, limited to boosting Healing. (PL 14)
  • Vril Man:  There is a long and sadly sordid history of white supremacists identifying "Thule" as the Aryan homeland, and many of them have named Greenland as that "Thule."  In their minds, Rosalind's existence on Greenland's southeastern shore is merely proof that it is the home of power, even if that power is now held by pink and purple and blue people.  There is a much shorter history of white supremacists touting Neanderthal DNA as some sort of proof of genetic superiority.  The build-up to Trump's election in the USA laid the groundwork for more than just the resurrection of the HEART:ACHE team of homophobic super-villains; genetic testing became a trend, and a minor corporate player in that field, Golden Age Testing Enterprises (GATE), utilized new biotechnology to produce Vril Man.  While it claimed that this psychic neo-Neanderthal was merely an exercise in experimental reconstructive genetics, it was secretly a front for a lesser-known esoteric neo-Nazi group who created Vril Man as a propaganda piece and superpowered agent to further its racist cause.  They would love nothing than to reclaim Thule from the Inuit and strange superhumans that inhabit it, and have repeatedly sent Vril Man to achieve that goal.
    • Notable Powers:  Neanderthal template (STR +2, STA +2, AGI +1, INT -2, AWE +1, PRE -1, Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Great Endurance, Dodge +1, Fortitude +2), Communication (mental), Senses (mental awareness, ranged acute accurate detect minds), Mind Reading, Remote Sensing (all senses, limited to subjects of mental Communication or Mind Reading, sense-dependent), perception ranged cumulative Affliction (resisted and overcome by Will; fatigued, exhausted, asleep), Immunity (pain effects, activation, affects others), vril staff (easily removable: Ranged Damage (lightning), Healing (resurrection), Burrowing, Weaken Toughness (affects objects, secondary effect) linked to Damage (secondary effect), Environment (light), Feature (power electrical devices)) (PL 12)
"People are like M&Ms. They come in a variety of colors, they're hard on the outside, and full of obscene yumminess on the inside.” 
Michael Makai, Domination & Submission: The BDSM Relationship Handbook

Physical Appearance:  I can't draw, so I really like providing a few reference pictures and trusting in your imagination to build a good image of Jawbrael.  
Jawbrael looks like some combination of these three pictures:



"You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans.” 
―Ronald Reagan

Jawbrael (PC PL/Minion 19, NPC PL 13, Sidekick 57)
STR 2=>7 or 9=>15 or 17  AGI 0=>8  FGT 5  AWE 2
STA 5=>13  DEX 0=>8  INT 0  PRE 2
Powers
Addictive:  Cumulative Affliction 2 (resisted and overcome by Fortitude; compelled, transformed), increased duration 3 (resisted only once a season), reaction (Jawbrael's sugar entering their body), limited degree 1, limited to transformation into obsessively loving servant linked to persistent energizing restorative Healing 1, reaction (Jawbrael's sugar entering their body), resurrection, limited to others linked to Enhanced Agility 1, reaction (Jawbrael's sugar entering their body), affects others only linked to Immunity 2 (aging, need for sleep), affects others only, fades (Jawbrael's sugar) • 26 points
Alien Biology:  Immunity 5, reflect (cold damage); Immunity 7 (critical hits, aging, poison, pressure, suffocation) • 17 points
Auctoritas:  array (3 points) • 5 points
  • Observance of the Imposed Impulse:  Perception ranged Affliction 9 (resisted and overcome by Will; entranced, compelled, controlled), subtle 1, communication-dependent, instant recovery, limited to a single-word command, quirk 1 (doesn't work against more powerful members of her species), vision-dependent (eye contact) • 3 points
  • Delectability of the False Will:  Perception ranged Affliction 2 (resisted and overcome by Will; entranced, compelled, controlled), subtle 1, variable trigger, communication-dependent, limited to a single idea or command, quirk 1 (doesn't work against more powerful members of her species), vision-dependent (eye contact) • 1 point
  • Reveler's Memory:  Perception ranged Affliction 4 (resisted and overcome by Will; entranced, compelled, transformed), insidious, subtle 1, communication-dependent, limited to memories, quirk 1 (doesn't work against more powerful members of her species), vision-dependent (eye contact) • 1 point
Awe:  Perception (visual) area Affliction 8 (resisted and overcome by Will; entranced), insidious, subtle 2, limited degree 2, requires Presence check (DC 12) • 2 points
Candy Shell:  Immunity 6 (bullets, environmental heat), limited to half effect; impervious Protection 4, limited (not against magic), noticeable • 6 points
Create Sweet Tooth:  Perception ranged Affliction 2 (resisted and overcome by Will; transformed), increased duration 3 (resisted only once a year), insidious, subtle 2, limited degree 2, limited to transformation into devoted servant • 9 points 
Custom Blaster by Chanel:  Ranged Damage 5, easily removable (-4 points) • 6 points
Demiurgy:  dynamic array (10 points) • 14 points
  • Apparition:  Independent all-sense Illusion 2, fades (blood sugar) • 10 points
  • Friar's Lantern:  Tiring independent Illusion 9, variable descriptor 1 (2 non-visual sense types or visual), limited to unchanging/unmoving/static • 2 points
  • Dweomer:  Distracting tiring independent all-sense Illusion 3, limited to unchanging/unmoving/static • 2 points
Drain Blood Sugar:  Damage 2, grab-based linked to Weaken Agility 3 (resisted by Fortitude), grab-based, limited to one rank per round • 2 points
Dread Display:  Perception ranged cumulative Affliction 4 (resisted and overcome by Will; impaired, disabled, paralyzed), requires Intimidation check (DC 14) • 11 points
Elevated Glucose Levels:  array (15 points) • 16 points
  • All-Out Attack:  Multiattack 15 on Strength Damage • 15 points
  • Blink and You'll Miss Me:  Quickness 7; Visual Concealment 4, limited to while moving • 1 points
Feral Speech:  Comprehend 2 (animals) • 4 points
Heightened Senses:  Senses 4 (acute olfactory, aural danger sense, olfactory danger sense, visual danger sense) • 4 points
Inhuman Strength:  Enhanced Strength 5; Enhanced Strength 2 (limited to lifting; 12 tons to 32 kilotons) • 12 points
Kirlian Sight:  Senses 5 (mental detect mood, ranged; mental detect physical condition, ranged; mental psychic awareness) • 5 points
Psychometry:  Senses 4 (postcognition), limited to object being touched • 2 points
Re-Crystallize:  Regeneration 10, source (blood sugar) • 5 points 
Steal Secrets:  Mind Reading 2, subtle 2, quirk (can't be used against her own species) • 5 points
Sugar High:  dynamic array (8 points) • 14 points
  • Aerobic Boost:  Enhanced Stamina 8, fades (blood sugar) • 8 points
  • Anaerobic Boost:  Enhanced Strength 8, fades (blood sugar) • 2 points
  • Jittery:  Enhanced Dexterity 8, fades (blood sugar) • 2 points
  • Jumpy:  Enhanced Agility 8, fades (blood sugar) • 2 points
Summon:  Summon Acquainted Individual 10, broad type (anyone ever met), heroic, subtle 2, requires Persuasion check (DC 14), resistible by Will, self-powered • 37 points
A Walking Treat:  Summon Animals 2, broad type (animals), horde, multiple minions 4 (16 animals), self-powered, requires Presence check (DC 15) • 18 points 
Advantages
Attractive 1, Benefit 6 (status 3, wealth 3), Close Attack 3, Connected, Improved Critical 1 (unarmed), Languages 1, Leadership, Minion 6, Second Chance (Will save), Sidekick 4
  • Minions:  
    • 12 bystander minions (use statistics from Gamemaster's Guide)
    • Scientist minion (MR 1)
      STR 0 STA 0 AGL 0 DEX 0 FGT –1 INT 4 AWE 1 PRE 0
      Equipment: Camera, smartphone.
      Advantages: Equipment 1.
      Skills: Expertise: Science 6 (+10), Technology 6 (+10).
      Offense: Init +0, Unarmed –1 (Damage 0).
      Defense: Dodge 0, Parry –1, Fort 0, Tou 0, Will 1.
      Totals: Abilities 8 + Powers 0 + Advantages 1 + Skills 6 + Defenses 0 = Total 15 points. 
    • Bodyguard minion (MR 1)
      STR 1 STA 0 AGL 0 DEX 0 FGT 2 INT –2 AWE –1 PRE –1
      Equipment: Pistol (Ranged Damage 3).
      Advantages: Chokehold, Equipment 2, Interpose, Quick Draw.
      Skills: Close Combat: Unarmed 1 (+3), Intimidation 2 (+1), Perception 3 (+2), Ranged Combat: Guns 2 (+2).
      Offense: Init +0, Pistol +2 (Ranged, Damage 3), Unarmed +3 (Close, Damage 1).
      Defenses: Dodge 3, Parry 3, Fortitude 3, Toughness 0, Will 0.
      Totals: Abilities –2 + Powers 0 + Advantages 5 + Skills 4 + Defenses 8 = Total 15 points.
    • Sequssuna (Sidekick: 8 points)
      STR 0 STA 0 AGL 0=>1 DEX 0 FGT 0 INT 0 AWE 0 PRE 0
      Equipment: Dagger (Damage 1). 
      Powers:  Enhanced Agility 1 (fades: eating Jawbrael's sugar), Immunity 2 (aging, need for sleep), fades (Jawbrael's sugar)
      Advantages: Connected, Equipment. 
      Skills: Deception 3 (+3), Insight 2 (+2), Persuasion 3 (+3). 
      Offense: Init +0=>+1, Dagger +0 (Close, Damage 1), Unarmed +0 (Close, Damage 0). 
      Defenses: Dodge 0=>1, Parry 0, Fortitude 0, Toughness 0, Will 0. 
      Totals: Abilities 0 + Powers 2 + Advantages 2 + Skills 4 + Defenses 0 = Total 8 points.
    • Ungaaq (Sidekick: 6 points)
      STR 0 STA 0 AGL 0=>1 DEX 0 FGT 0 INT 0 AWE 0 PRE 0
      Equipment: Dagger (Damage 1). 
      Powers:  Enhanced Agility 1 (fades: eating Jawbrael's sugar), Immunity 2 (aging, need for sleep), fades (Jawbrael's sugar).
      Advantages:
       Equipment. 
      Skills: Close Combat: Dagger 1 (+1), Deception 1 (+1), Insight 1 (+1), Persuasion 1 (+1). 
      Offense: Init +0=>+1, Dagger +1 (Close, Damage 1), Unarmed +0 (Close, Damage 0). 
      Defenses: Dodge 1=>2, Parry 1, Fortitude 0, Toughness 0, Will 0. 
      Totals: Abilities 0 + Powers 1 + Advantages 1 + Skills 2 + Defenses 2 = Total 6 points.
    • Aputsiaq (Sidekick: 6 points)
      STR –1 STA 0 AGL 0=>1 DEX 0 FGT 0 INT –1 AWE 0 PRE 0
      Powers:  Enhanced Agility 1 (fades: eating Jawbrael's sugar).
      Advantages:
       Connected, Attractive. 
      Skills: Deception 4 (+4), Persuasion 4 (+4). 
      Offense: Init +0=>+1, Unarmed +0 (Close, Damage –1). 
      Defenses: Dodge 1=>2, Parry 0, Fortitude 2, Toughness 0, Will 0. 
      Totals: Abilities –4 + Powers 1 + Advantages 2 + Skills 4 + Defenses 3 = Total 6 points.
Skills
Close Combat (unarmed) 2 (+10), Deception 3 (+5), Expertise (magic) 2 (+2), Insight 2 (+4), Intimidation 3 (+5), Persuasion 2 (+4)
Offense
Initiative 0
Unarmed +10:  Close, Damage 7 to 15, critical 19-20, multiattack
Addictive:  Special range, Fortitude DC 12, filled with obsessive love for Jawbrael
Awe:  Can see Jawbrael, Will DC 18, entranced
Create Sweet Tooth:  Jawbrael can see, Will DC 12, become devoted servant
Custom blaster by gaai-Audanaz +0 to +8:  Ranged, Damage 5
Delectability of the False Will:  Communication and eye contact, Will DC 12, obey single command
Drain Blood Sugar, grab +8 to +16 followed by Strength or Dodge DC 17 to 25: Damage 2 plus Fortitude DC 13, Weaken Agility (one rank per round)
Dread Display:  Jawbrael can see, Will DC 14, struck with fear
Observance of the Imposed Impulse:  Communication and eye contact, Will DC 19, obey one word command
Reveler's Memory:  Communication and eye contact, Will DC 14, memories altered
Summon:  Anywhere, Will DC 20, must travel to Jawbrael
Defense 
Dodge  0 (+0 to +8)
Fortitude  0 (+5 to +13)
Parry  0 (+5 to +13)
Toughness  +9 to +17, impervious 4
Will  0 (+2)
Size rank ‒2 (5'11")
Ground speed rank 0 (2 mph)
Complications
 
Motivation ~ Doing Good:  Jawbrael remains devoted, after all these damaging centuries, to the idea that a polity of powered people can succeed where the unpowered have failed and create a utopia.  That seed, that one single shining city on the hill, would be enough to show all of humanity and beyond that the Dream need not be an impossible wonder, but achievable with just an example and some effort.
Disability ~ Numb:  Jawbrael, like all members of her species, lacks a sense of touch, as the sugar coating over her skin prevents any sensation from reaching her nerves.
Disability ~ Unhealing:  As is the case with all members of Jawbrael's species, she can heal only by use of her Re-Crystallize power or having the Healing effect used on her.  She has no ability to heal naturally over time.
Temper:  Certain hormones of Jawbrael's species are supercharged by their glucose-based systems, making them particularly susceptible to fits of frenzy or uncontrollable terror.  Most develop ironclad wills in order to keep control of their actions in the face of this lack of a middle ground when it comes to these emotions.
Weakness:  If the skin beneath the candy shell of a member of Jawbrael's species is impaled with the wood of an Earthling tree, they enter a catatonia-like state, easily led around and with their body easily manipulated, unable to speak or move themself.

Power Point Totals:  Abilities 32 + Powers 222 + Advantages 24 + Skills 7 + Defenses 0 = 285
 
Species Template
Attributes
STA +2
Powers
Addictive:  Cumulative Affliction 2 (resisted and overcome by Fortitude; compelled, transformed), increased duration 3 (resisted only once a season), reaction (Jawbrael's sugar entering their body), limited degree 1, limited to transformation into obsessively loving servant linked to persistent energizing restorative Healing 1, reaction (Jawbrael's sugar entering their body), resurrection, limited to others linked to Enhanced Agility 1, reaction (Jawbrael's sugar entering their body), affects others only linked to Immunity 2 (aging, need for sleep), affects others only, fades (Jawbrael's sugar)• 25 points
Alien Biology:  Immunity 5, reflect (cold damage); Immunity 7 (critical hits, aging, poison, pressure, suffocation) • 17 points
Candy Shell:  Immunity 6 (bullets, environmental heat), limited to half effect; impervious Protection 4, limited (not against magic), noticeable • 6 points
Drain Blood Sugar:  Damage 2, grab-based linked to Weaken Agility 3 (resisted by Fortitude), grab-based, limited to one rank per round • 2 points
Inhuman Strength:  Enhanced Strength 5; Enhanced Strength 2 (limited to lifting; 12 tons to 32 kilotons) • 12 points
Re-Crystallize:  Regeneration 10, source (blood sugar) • 5 points
Sugar High:  dynamic array (8 points) • 14 points
  • Aerobic Boost:  Enhanced Stamina 8, fades (blood sugar) • 8 points
  • Anaerobic Boost:  Enhanced Strength 8, fades (blood sugar) • 2 points
  • Jittery:  Enhanced Dexterity 8, fades (blood sugar) • 2 points
  • Jumpy:  Enhanced Agility 8, fades (blood sugar) • 2 points
Advantages
Second Chance (Will save)
Complications
Disability ~ Numb:  All members of Jawbrael's species lack a sense of touch, as the sugar coating over their skin prevents any sensation from reaching their nerves.
Disability ~ Unhealing:  All members of Jawbrael's species can heal only by use of their Re-Crystallize power or having the Healing effect used on them.  They have no ability to heal naturally over time.
Temper:  Certain hormones of Jawbrael's species are supercharged by their glucose-based systems, making them particularly susceptible to fits of frenzy or uncontrollable terror.  Most develop ironclad wills in order to keep control of their actions in the face of this lack of a middle ground when it comes to these emotions.
Weakness:  If the skin beneath the candy shell of a member of Jawbrael's species is impaled with the wood of an Earthling tree, they enter a catatonia-like state, easily led around and with their body easily manipulated, unable to speak or move themself.
 
Abilities 4 + Powers 77 + Advantages 1 = 87 points

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

A demon's girlfriend (In Nomine)

My patrons Keeper, Todd, Jaina Bee, Ferny, Casey, Dave, and Darius truly have my heart for all they do to help keep me writing.  Thank you so very much!


If you wanna join them (and maybe see my posts early!), you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/queermythopoeia


Pamela met Mama Peche at Pride five years ago, which makes her time serving the demon at least twice as long as any of Mama Peche’s previous submissives.  An instigator at heart, just shy of being a brat, something glinted in the human’s eye that day that the habbalah found irresistible.


The turning point in their relationship came when things had begun to grow stale.  Pamela demanded that Mama Peche open up, reveal her inner self, commit to the relationship.  She showed her own commitment to it by doggedly pestering the servitor of Gluttony with this demand.  No demon is truly noted for its patience, and Mama Peche is no different.  Her temper shredded, she sang the clanging harmonies of the Songs of Numinous Corpus and revealed her inner self to Pamela.


To Mama Peche’s utter shock, Pamela was into it.  The idea of surrendering to actual, literal, no-shit evil excited her; the betrayal of every virtue she holds so dear presented the ultimate arousal.


Gifted with the intense sadism of an EMT to match her submissiveness, Pamela isn’t a Soldier of Hell, though not for lack of trying on Mama Peche’s part.  Their scenes have been getting more and more intense, burying the pain play under layer upon layer of mind games.  Mama Peche hopes thereby to create that powerful moment when a human spontaneously grows an extra Force in response to stress.  This focus and effort has not gone unnoticed; Rebecca, in particular, grows more and more jealous of Pamela by the day.


Corporeal 1  //  Strength 2  Agility 2  //  2 Body Hits
Ethereal 2  //  Intelligence 4  Precision 4  //  8 Mind Hits
Celestial 2  //  Will 4  Perception 4  //  8 Soul Hits

Status:  3
Charisma:  1

Skills:  Area Knowledge (Atlanta/3), Chemistry/2, Computer Operation/3, Detect Lies/1, Dodge/1, Driving/2, Electronics/2, Knowledge (Emergency First Response/3, Nutrition/1), Medicine/3, Running/1, Swimming/1

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

The liberating alchemy of dice

I've seen it over and over again, probably because several of my communities include oodles and oodles of people with pretty intense anxiety.  


I, a deft role-player of some 24 years' experience, jump with relish into a scene where every utterance fair drips with both plot and emotional weight.  The PC upon whom the focus of the scene rests stares at me with eyes the size of platters, paralyzed with fear that anything they might say and everything they are not saying will set the party back or harm them in some way.  Maybe their social awkwardness will give the vampire prince the excuse he needs to announce a Blood Hunt on the coterie, or maybe they will pledge the elf kingdom's armies to the service of the evil lich-queen without realizing it.  They have no idea how to find success and avoid failure, and it leaves them with a blue screen instead of a brain.  Play grinds to a halt, momentum breaks, and everyone's fun drains out of the hole.


Many older role-players and adherents of the Old School Renaissance movement decry the development of social skills in RPGs (the Persuasion, Intimidation, and Deception skills in D&D, for example) and even moreso the advent of social combat rules like those in Exalted 2e (technicall,y Vampire 5e has them, if you'd like a more modern example).  They worry that all of their fun will disappear as juicy RP scenes get reduced to who can roll the most dice, because their fun is in the application of their intelligence in solving the problem and doing so in an artsy, performative way.


I am not surprised that many of those I see championing this idea are men (and probably/often also enjoy other forms of privilege, as well).


Every time I have seen the women, genderqueers, mentally ill, disabled, autistic, etc. players at my table look at me with that uncontrollable shaking of their head, I have hastened to remind them that it will be a roll of the dice that determines whether or not they succeed or make things worse for themselves and their friends.  That their performative choices carry no weight whatsoever, that no consequences can come from their ability to engineer social situations.


A sigh of relief meets my words, shoulders drop, and almost always the resultant scene is one of glorious role-play and surging fun.  The dice have transmuted a situation which is triggering and dangerous into one in which they can be free and silly.  More than once, I have seen my friends go on to gain some ease in social situations outside of play thereafter.


This is, I think, one of the most common problems with a GM, whether novice or anciently experienced.  Consequences create excitement, we think; it's not risk if there's no danger.  But we forget to make sure that the situation we engineer is safe for the players.  Without that, there can be no safety for the characters.

Thursday, November 12, 2020

The art of the splat

I've been writing an adventure for Steve Jackson Games's out-of-print angel & demon RPG In Nomine called Game of Stones: Everything is Peachy with my friend Traumermachen of the Liber Neglecta blog.  In Nomine is one of my favoritest RPGs ever; no other game has so perfectly and artfully designed its splats as In Nomine has.  Chronicles of Darkness has gotten close, but the z splat is a bit of a jury-rig t cover up some imperfections in how they did it, frankly, even if CofD did a lot of really awesome things with its z splats (Mage, I'm looking at your Legacies, qween).


If an In Nomine player tells you their character is a Seraph of Children or a Calab of Gluttony or what-have-you, you can immediately construct a fairly accurate idea of that character in your head.  However, that idea isn't confining at all; almost any concept can develop out of almost any combination of splats.  I have never seen any game manage to do both of those things so eloquently as In Nomine.


It also taught me that "balance" is mostly a bugaboo in a lot of role-playing games; it's almost entirely unimportant.  As the game mixes concepts as broad as Touched By an Angel, God Friended Me, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, The Omen, The Seventh Seal, Legion (the movie, not the series, obvi), Lucifer (both the comic and the series, honestly), Good Omens, and much more, the various powers and abilities given to characters can range as wildly as "people cannot refuse the food I cook" and "I always go first in combat" and they're all weighted equally.  Famously, the multi-person-possessing kuriotates are massively more powerful than any other type of angel or demon, and yet they seem to be one of the less commonly played splats, if anything.


In Nomine does this by configuring the stakes of any conflict very carefully.  Ultimately, the goals of the war are simple, with clear but permeable lines of opposition.  But they are also relatively esoteric/mysterious and numinous.  The fight over territory is just a piece of the war for human souls, and what gets an individual into heaven or hell can be VERY surprising (and famously minor and banal sometimes).  The warriors achieve something by fighting off the other side, but the more social/mental characters are the ones who are winning objectives.


And, of course, for many demons, "I got mine" or "I had fun" is a complete and sufficient goal. 

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Episode Three of Neurally Ambiguous: Geppetto Must Die airs THIS THURSDAY

 This Thursday, the world's only cyberpunk fantasy show inspired (in part) by Harlots airs its THIRD episode.  Come visit us at Show Us Your Crits while we play the Shadowrun campaign Neurally Ambiguous: Geppetto Must Die Thursday at 5pm PST / 8pm EST.


A blasted Chicago is finally healing from the nuclear bomb dropped on it by Ares Macrotechnology and the United Canadian and American States military in a failed attempt to exterminate a metaphysical infestation of insect spirits from beyond reality. 

The people of the city, including human music journalist Marko Lee, have been scraping their lives together among the rubble and the horror for two decades now.  Recently, Marko met the ork sex worker called "La Diablita" on the streets, who inspired him to write an article about the bunraku.  These sex workers are addicted to a digital drug that replaces their memories with whoever they're paid to be.


However, Marko made the mistake of telling La Diablita this.  Within the cybernetically enhanced hearing of the ganger named Drainpipe.  Now a fellow bunraku, the fallen elf popera star Pera Veneziano, has been charged by the Southside Devil's Playground to "recruit" Marko so that he doesn't reveal their existence to the megacorporations trying to clean up the city.  After some resistance on the part of La Diablita, the two managed to arrange an outcall party at Marko's place.  A little bit of Novacoke delivered by Metal Dave, a ganger who wears rival colors, pushed along a rather disastrous night.  We pick up as a distant, awkward Pera watches Metal Dave attempt to comfort a Diablita who'd been visited by the Virgin of Guadalupe in the wallpaper and Marko hastily dresses in the bathroom.  He plans to grab his gun and get out before anyone notices.


Will he succeed?  Will La Diablita sabotage Pera's efforts?  Come watch and find out at https://plexstorm.com/stream/showusyourcrits# .  And if we impress you with the episode, you can help us out with even a dollar a month (that's what, like, two coffees a year?) at https://www.patreon.com/grindhaus_media .  If you still have some money left in your budget after that, please consider helping me out, individually, too.  I'm the GM and developer of the campaign, as well as an RPG blogger and writer.  My Patreon is https://patreon.com/queermythopoeia

Sunday, November 8, 2020

For your comparison: A different D&D interpretation of Hello Kitty (Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition)

As always, thank you to my patrons Jaina Bee, Ferny, Casey, Dave, Keeper, and Darius.  They and my other patrons saw this post a week early ~ if you would like to support my writing and my streaming (and join them in seeing all of my blog posts before anyone else), you can do so on my Patreon ~ even $1/month helps a tremendous amount!


This is the second post in my series writing up Sanrio characters in two different systems ~ Pathfinder 1st edition and Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition ~ to explore the sometimes subtle and intangible differences between the stories, worlds, and characters that emerge from the two rulesets.


I was rather surprised as I wrote the Sanri Phaivii version of Khoushye Haroktii Howait.  On the less surprising side, D&D5 seems more inclined to the sort of innocent, children's fiction element I'd hoped to capture with her.  Of course, that may be because I found a third-party writeup specifically aimed at creating a Disney-style princess (well, one of the subclasses; the other two are aimed at recreating Xena and more traditional princesses) which is not something I've found for Pathfinder 1st.  Sanri Pyefwan, perhaps unshockingly, features a Khoushye who feels much pulpier, even more sinister with her mind control and queen-of-the hive buff abilities.  Phaivii's Horaktii feels like more of a blessing to those around her, focusing on healing and temporary hit points, while Pyefwan's feels like she offers much more of the semi-fascist transhumanist package.  "Follow me," Pyefwan's Horaktii seems to say with her abilities, "and you will be made Perfect."


However, the more surprising side of that is that Haroktii and the brief sketches of the other members of her adventuring party (Mimyi, Diadani, and Mai Merod) were significantly easier to differentiate and give their own metaphor.  On Sanri Pyefwan, I felt like I had to reach to give everyone an appropriate class while also not just making everyone a bard, basically.  There's a trend in game design this has really directed my eyes toward ~ you can see it in D&D itself, as well as in Vampire: the Masquerade, and in a larger sense if you compare systems like Palladium's to more modern designs ~ where the restriction of archetypal categories gets paired to easier ways to build upon that archetype.  Fewer classes (PF1's first-party products describe a whopping 38-43 classes; even my 3rd-party expanded list of 5e classes only has 14), more subclasses.  The promise of the 3.x family of systems was that the proliferation of options would allows you to build very individualized characters that felt different across the various arenae of play.  Modern game design succeeds at that goal much more successfully.


These stats changes also helped spur a couple of differences in Haroktii's story that will likely prove to diverge Sanri Phaivii from Sanri Pyefwan much more than would be readily apparent by the amount of copypasta'd text in this post.  Gnomes seem to have a rather different role in the two worlds (or at least different cultures), as does Mai Merod's home realm of Abyayala.  The shift in gnomic culture also allowed me to push Haroktii away from a mercantile background, which was something of a relief to me.  She is much more of an artist-queen on Sanri Phaivii than the trader-queen of Sanri Pyefwan.


I do think I'm more of a fan of Sanri Pyefwan's gijinkh than I am of Sanri Phaivii's.  The size shift means almost nothing in D&D5, whereas in PF1 it alone was enough to give the gijinkh a very different feel.  Other than the size, I only shifted the free proficiencies to more friendly choices, leaving the gijinkh still more combat-oriented on Sanri Phaivii than on Sanri Pyefwan.


What do y'all think about the comparison between the two Khoushyu?  What differences and surprising similarities do you see between the two characters and the two worlds?


Haroktii Howait zep Djodj tep Mari zep Anshni tep Magret
Birthday:  The First Day of the First Decan of the Third Month of Low Water
Place of Birth:  The capitol Chowa Ta ("Harmonious City")
Gender:  Female
Race:  Gijinkh tabaxi (stats below)
Residence:  Sanri Puro Ta ("World Palace City")
Height:  Five apples
Weight:  Three apples
Age:  46 years old
Quote:  "Mishru can never have too many friends!"
Siblings:  Mimyi Howait (twin sister; clan crafter* noble in a lineage of myth 12/Family cleric 8)
Spouses:  Diadani Sutaa (gijinkh tabaxi clan crafter* bard in the college of portraiture 11) and Mai Merod (quwi goblin outlander alchemist artificer 15/bard in the college of eloquence 5)
Companions:  Kath (quwi goblin), Djib (mippei vedalken), Fif (younikh satyr), Djodi (longtooth shifter), Djowi (little paw uplifted gutterkin), Djud (little paw uplifted gutterkin), Mori (scuttler uplifted gutterkin), Rori (little paw uplifted gutterkin), Tamas (khum goliath), Tim and Tami (grappling apendages and nimble climber simic hybrid; Tami is Haroktii's attendant), Tipi (khum goliath), Takhshii Djamu (batrikh kenku), Zesi (raikhma goblin)
Pets:  Djamii Khit (rat), Shugaa (hamster), Taini Djam (brown bear; animal companion)
Enemies:  Queen Inuhakh of Shyama Ta (shyama tabaxi), Hiku (longtooth shifter), Fankhur (shyama tabaxi)
Appearance (as always, I lack any sort of visual arts skill, so I put forth two pictures to blend together to envision Haroktii)
Bastet - Wikipedia

Haroktii Howait, a female gijinkh catfolk, wears the ancestral red bow known as Beru shen Hap-Ered ("Hair-Bow of the River-Child") on her left ear as the Koushye ("The Great House") who rules the land of Mishru.  A cute, bright, sweet, kind-hearted, tomboyishly beautiful girl who's very close with her twin sister Mimyi, Haroktii's rulership has spread the influence of Mishru throughout all the world, affecting the art, writing, cuisine, theatre, clothing, bodywork, and technology of many realms.  A small but widespread cult has even sprung up scattered amongst many countries, hailing her as a new goddess, the prophesied Ras Tefer.  Stylized versions of her likeness adorn the vehicles, purses, plumbing, ovens, hearths, pottery, and jewelry of these worshipers, and several plays about her are performed on stages frequented by them.  Dolls, icons, tableware, and furniture are common gifts even in far-foreign lands.


An avid collector of treasures of all kinds, Koushye Haroktii's love for her mother Magret's dhourra (a kind of rye galette stuffed with honey and apples) compelled her to learn many alchemical skills from her wife Mai Merod, blending the foreign chemistries with Mishrun cuisine to create many new things.  When she is not governing ~ or even sometimes when she is! ~ she practices music and paints beautifully.  The library at Sanri Puro Ta has grown to wondrous levels during her reign, as she loves to read the fiction and poetry of all the world; Mishru's other scattered libraries have enjoyed this patronage as well.  Haroktii is a devoted worshiper of Manekh Nekhor, a nonbinary tabaxi goddix represented with the antennae and shell of a snail and butterfly wings behind.


Twelve years before Haroktii's birth, her father Djodj wore the Beru shen Hap-Ered and busied himself with a traditional Mishrun practice of weaving sandals from flowers and strips of bark.  Haroktii and her twin sister were two of several children he sired with Magret.  She was born with a rare congenital defect which makes her mouth remarkably small, with thin lips that cause it to almost disappear when her mouth is shut.  Many have said that those in her presence find this unusual trait comforting, as they can be happy or sad together with the Koushye and always find their emotion reflected on her face.


Koushye Djodj negotiated a political marriage between Haroktii and the Abyayalan princess Mai Merod while visiting that distant land during her second year.  The rituals of their respective cultures were performed the next year, although any marriage between two three-year-olds is by need more ceremonial than anything. They do remain happily married 43 years later, however.  The marriage brought attention to the toddler Haroktii, though her first international fame faded within a couple of years and international gossip turned to her elder siblings and their new families.  Haroktii entered her first musical competition in the middle of this period of celebrity, at the age of four.  She didn't win, of course, but her skill with the dulcimer at such a young age nonetheless was the subject of much surprised gossip.  By the time she was 32, she'd expanded her musical studies to include the lyre as well as the dulcimer and her voice.


When Haroktii was a small child, Koushye Djodj didn't have strong opinions about her among his throng of heirs, but he warmed up to her as a youth when she found herself central to Koushye Djodj's foreign relations.  A gnome of the Kurpokhor Bes clan of gnomes by the name of Adalheidis struck up an intimate friendship with the young tabaxi as the gnomes made an embassy to Djodj's court.  Sadly, their respective peoples require duties of them that have pulled them apart in the years since.  While the friendship lasted, however, it provided a fertile soil for diplomacy between Mishru and the gnomes.  Haroktii spent months in the mountains learning the arts of painting from the diminutive recluses while her attendants forged ever-closer relations between the two polities.  This cemented Haroktii's status as Djodj's chosen heir.  By the time she was 28, Haroktii's fame had been eclipsed by that of the adventurer An Pamman.  It wouldn't be regained until she took the Beru shen Hap-Ered six years later.  However, as the chosen heir of the Koushye was fading into the background of her people's imaginations, famous heroes of foreign countries such as the changeling warlock who swore a pact of the talisman with the Perfect Chord Lady Agag and the aasimar bard in the college of glamour hai-Ramyerac began to champion her as an ideal of power and beauty.


Hai-Ramyerac had an airship built for Haroktii's 31st birthday in her favorite colors (there's lots of pink) with her image painted on its sails and a carving of her on its prow.  Lady Agag, on the other hand, hired the famous gnome jeweler Kimorali Snommis of the Benedetto Jasz clan to produce an entire collection of unique jewelry for the Mishrun princess that she still wears to this day.  Horaktii liked this gift so much that three years later, she hired Kimorali herself to add to it!


At 33 years of age, Haroktii's archrival since the age of 13, Queen Inuhakh of Shyama Ta, began forcing members of her army that committed a variety of transgressions to wear pink badges with her face on them in order to embarrass and shame them.  The next year, shortly before accepting the Beru shen Hap-Ered from her father, Haroktii spent half the year in Tabgach Washya and half in he-Ong Keang establishing Mishrun embassies in each country.  However, her first major act as Koushye was in response to a financial crisis that struck the country during this period as the Hap Kau, the main river whose silty banks fed the nation, refused its yearly flood.  In the midst of famine, Haroktii built on and expanded the functioning of the Mishrun granary system to create a complex, massive system of banks, storing deposits of wealth and making loans to citizens both domestic and foreign.  These banks operated in two forms of pseudo-currency ~ grain-money and cattle-money ~ and helped revitalize Mishru's marketplaces, leaving them bustling and crowded even in the midst of austerity.  In the process, the foreign practice of coinage made greater inroads into Mishrun culture, with pieces of ceramic, copper, steel, silver, and gold from all the world over making their way through the populace.


This influx of foreign money and foreign culture brought the idea of skating to Mishru.  Lacking any ice, Haroktii's inventive subjects simply replaced the blades of foreign ice-skates with wheels, and then the island peoples of Mishru had the brilliant idea of using this as a way to bring their tradition of surfing to the land, attaching similar lines of wheels to small boards and using those to get around.  This fad was especially popular among Mishrun women, who enjoyed the speed with which they could complete chores by land-surfing.  


Two years after taking on the Beru shen Hap-Ered, Haroktii brought prosperity back to the farmers of Mishru by subsidizing the wine industry and merchants who sold the wine in foreign countries.  In the 5th year of Haroktii's reign, having pulled her realm from starvation by building even more foreign connections, the Koushye ordered the opening of an embassy and marketplace in the southern country of Kiima Krengaa, the third such foreign embassy she had personally ordered and overseen.  To celebrate, she accompanied the Kiima Krengaan lungyeye goblin hero Sonikku za Hejjiyeye, an incredibly fast barbarian on the path of the juggernaut 5/monk on the way of the trickster, on a traditional adventure in which they recovered the magical urn that had been used by the pirate known as the Quedagh Kid to contain the Phantasmal Fog.  This monstrous mist made evil doubles of those creatures who walked through it.  As is the usual practice in that country, the story was memorialized through the creation of a special costume called an amyibo.  Because of the rank and fame of the two heroes involved, this specific amyibo was enchanted, and two years later it was ritually gifted to the halfling fighter Maryush Maryush to use in his own adventures with his fungus folk and grung companions against his rival Waryush Blutosh (who had stolen the Phantasmal Fog).


One vicious rumor often told about Koushye Haroktii claims that the Vlaaraltfloumi princess Mivvi used magic to create a mystical copy of herself and installed said copy on the throne of Mishru.


Haroktii Howait
(This writeup uses the noble class from here and the Chef feat, armor of tools infusion, and mind sharpener infusion from Unearthed Arcana)
Female gijinkh* tabaxi clan crafter** noble in a lineage of myth 14/alchemist artificer 6
Tiny humanoid (tabaxi), neutral good
Armor Class  18; attacks from creatures immune to or with advantage against charm have advantage; sanctuary effect from maidenshield
Hit Points 97 (14d6+6d8+26)
Speed 30 ft., climbing 20 ft.; feline agility
Strength 8 (-1) Dexterity 15 (+2) Constitution 12 (+1) Intelligence 20 (+5) Wisdom 10 (0) Charisma 20 (+5) 
Proficiencies alchemist's supplies (expertise) +12, Animal Handling +6, Antique Catfolk language, Arcana +11, Charisma saving throws +12, cook's utensils (expertise) +12, Deception (cannot roll lower than majesty score as long as that's 6+) +11, dulcimer (expertise) +12, Gnomic language, harp (expertise) +12, History +11, Insight +6, light armor, mace, medium armor, painter's supplies (expertise) +12, Performance +11, Persuasion (expertise; cannot roll lower than majesty score as long as that's 6+) +17, Religion +11, shields, thieves' tools (expertise) +12, tinker's tools (expertise) +12, Wisdom saving throws +7, Yukor language
Other Saving Throws Strength 0, Dexterity +3, Constitution +2, Intelligence +6
Feats Chef (Con)
Equipment mace, dulcimer, horse with chariot and bit and bridle, diplomat's pack, set of fine clothes, signet ring, cook's utensils, a maker's mark chisel used to mark your handiwork with the symbol of the Kurpokhor Bes clan of gnomes, a set of traveler's clothes, a pouch containing 5gp and a 10gp gem, 22,250 gp, Refukhu shen Afit-Affi ("Robe of the Sun-Rat," a blue and white coverall-style garment; treat as mantle of spell resistance), Shu Unkh ("Feather Shirt," a yellow shirt worn beneath the Refukhu shen Afit-Affi; treat as cloak of protection), Beru shen Hap-Ered ("Hair-Bow of the River-Child;" treat as helm of comprehending languages inlaid with a gem of seeing), driftglobe, carpet of flying
Senses Darkvision
Challenge 6 (4 defensive, 9 offensive, minimum 17 by proficiency bonus)
Respect of the Glint-Eyed Folk:   As well respected as clan crafters are among outsiders, no one esteems them quite so highly as gnomes do.  Haroktii always have free room and board in any place where gnomes dwell, and the individuals in such a settlement might vie among themselves to determine who can offer her (and possibly her compatriots) the finest accommodations and assistance.
Majesty Score When Haroktii finishes a short or long rest, roll 5d4+5. Use this result, applying bonuses or penalties based on the Majesty Score Table below, to formulate her majesty score.  No matter what she rolls, it cannot be less than 14. Any saving throw to resist a class feature using her majesty score is equal to 19.

  • +4:  Haroktii is in a region where your noble house or title is considered influential.
  • +2:  Haroktii is in a region where noble houses or aristocratic titles are considered influential.
  • +1:  Haroktii is travelling with individuals (other than her attendants) who consider your title or nobility as influential or worthy of respect.
  • -3:  Haroktii is in a region where noble houses or titles are not respected, valued, or honored.
  • -2:  Haroktii is travelling with individuals (other than her attendants) who consider your title or nobility as something that is not very influential or worthy of respect.
  • Attendant Haroktii is always accompanied by an attendant to take care of all tasks she desires them to take care of.  Her attendant is always with her, obeys her commands to the best of their ability, but will only put themselves at risk when it is directly related to Haroktii's well-being. Should her attendant ever die, Haroktii will receive another within one month's time from the palace, assuming you take to the proper channels to request, recruit, or demand one.  Attendants take their turn on Haroktii's initiative, though they don't take an action unless she commands them to. On her turn, she can verbally command them where to move (no action required by Haroktii).  She can use an action to verbally command them to take the attack, dash, disengage, dodge, or help actions.

    • Tami
    • Medium humanoid (grappling apendages and nimble climber simic hybrid), neutral good 
    • Armor Class 14 (leather) 
    • Hit Points 12 (2d8 + 2) 
    • Speed 30 ft. 
    • Str 10 (0) Dex 15 (+2) Con 12 (+1) Int 12 (+1) Wis 13 (+1) Cha 14 (+2)
    • Skills Perception +2 
    • Senses passive Perception 13 
    • Proficiencies dagger, light armor 
    • Languages Yukor and Antique Catfolk
    • Actions 
      • Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 5 (1d4 + 2)
    Animal Companion:   Haroktii's animal companion is the brown bear Taini Djam.  The beast obeys her commands as best as it can. It takes its turn on her initiative, though it doesn't take an action unless she commands it to. On her turn, she can verbally command the beast where to move (no action required by her).  Haroktii can use a bonus action to verbally command it to take the attack, dash, disengage, dodge, or help action.  If the beast dies, Haroktii can obtain another one by spending 8 hours bonding with another beast that isn't hostile to her, either the same type of beast as before or a different one.
    • Taini Djam, a brown bear
    • Large beast, unaligned
    • Armor Class 17 (natural armor, Haroktii's proficiency bonus) 
    • Hit Points 56 (4d10 + 12; superseded by 4 times Haroktii's noble level)
    • Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.
    • Str 19 (+4) Dex 10 (+0) Con 16 (+3) Int 2 (−4) Wis 13 (+1) Cha 7 (−2)
    • Skills Perception +9
    • Senses passive Perception 19
    • Languages
    • Challenge 1 (200 XP)
    • Keen Smell. The bear has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
    • Actions 
      • Multiattack. The bear makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.
      • Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (1d8 + 10) piercing damage.
      • Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d6 + 10) slashing damage.
    Mythic Woe (Princess Charming)  Whenever Haroktii performs any action that is a betrayal, goes against her conscience or moral code, leaves the innocent in danger, or goes against justice, truth, honesty, love, and charity, she incurs one point on the toll of goodness, which weighs against her conscience, affecting how she functions. All tolls are cumulative, thus if Haroktii has 4 toll points, she incurs 1, 2, 3, and 4 tolls. After a long rest or a significant gesture of goodwill, Haroktii loses 1 toll point.  She cannot lose more than 2 toll points within 24 hours of losing a point. If she has no toll points, Haroktii may call upon her family and kingdom for assistance in some way once per month.
    • 1 toll point:  Haroktii realizes that she has done something wrong and she awaits some form of punishment. After every long rest she has at least 1 toll point, her first saving throw is made with disadvantage. 
    • 2 toll points:  The weight of further bad deeds weighs on Haroktii's conscience.  She refuses to eat, feast, be merry, or enjoy the delights of the world. 
    • 3 toll points: At this point, Haroktii considers herself truly sinful and deserving of harsh punishment. For every day she retains at least 3 toll points, word gets back to her family of her deeds and her reputation suffers.  She loses 1 majesty point after rolling your majesty score. 
    • 4 toll points:  Haroktii's deeds have gained the attention of religious or noble individuals who wish to intervene in what is perceived to be "her fall of grace". 
    • 5 toll points:  Haroktii's deeds have gained the attention of evil religious, noble, and magical creatures who wish to take advantage of her state.  Her alignment is in danger of shifting away from good and she may be propositioned some scenario in which she trades something for wealth, knowledge, and/or power from a powerful creature.
    Hair of Gold:   Once per week, Haroktii may cut a piece of her hair without affecting its length that is worth 500 gp (equivalent to $100,000-$250,000).  Her hair also radiates magical energies that is desired by many. Each week Haroktii's hair is not cut, she continues to grow that amount in golden hair; thus, after four weeks, cutting all her hair to normal length is worth 2,000 gp (equivalent to $400,000-$1,000,000). After one month of not cutting her hair it is down to Haroktii's feet; her hair continues to grow beyond that but has no gold value past 2,000gp. When at least one month has fully grown, however, it acts as though Haroktii is wearing a shield she is proficient in.  She gains +2 Armor Class that stacks with her class ability to add her Charisma modifier to her Armor Class.
    Maidenshield:   So long as Haroktii has abstained from sex, alcohol, and general gluttony, she treats herself as constantly surrounded by a sanctuary spell. Should this effect ever be broken by targeting a creature with an attack or using an ability that affects a hostile creature that is not designed to simply calm or protect it, Haroktii is no longer protected by the sanctuary spell.  She may, as a bonus action, impart this effect on another creature within 30 feet of her that she believes to have also abstained, but she loses the effect on herself.  She may sustain this effect as a bonus action so long as she is within 30 feet of the chosen creature and they continue abstaining.  Haroktii must spend 1 minute in concentration to regain the effects of this ability on herself. Should she intentionally engage in an activity such as sex, drinking alcohol, eating beyond general sustenance, or harming another individual that is innocent, Haroktii must spend one full day in prayer or practice of atonement to regain this feature.
    Voice of Wonder:   So long as Haroktii has a 10 majesty score, she may cast geas once before she must take a long rest to do so again.
    Affecting Persona:   Haroktii may reduce her majesty score to affect others in a fashion similar to any of the following spells, except the effect is non-magical: calm emotions (1 point), command (1 point), and suggestion (2 points).  The only components required is a verbal component. Otherwise, treat the spell as normal except it is a non-magical effect and requiring no concentration.
    Spellcasting Haroktii can prepare any 9 spells from the artificer spell list, as well as casting the cantrips resistance and spare the dying.  She has 4 1st-level and 2 2nd-level spell slots with which to do so; her spell save DC is 19 and her spell attack modifier is +11.  She can cast spells with the ritual tag as rituals.  She usually has the following artificer spells prepared:  aidcure wounds, detect magic, enhance abilityfaerie fireflaming sphere (free from alchemist), healing word (free from alchemist), identify, lesser restorationMelf's acid arrow (free from alchemist), protection from poisonray of sickness (free from alchemist), skywrite.  Whenever Haroktii casts a spell using alchemist's supplies as the spellcasting focus, she gains a +5 bonus to one roll of the spell. That roll must restore hit points or be a damage roll that deals acid, fire, necrotic, or poison damage.
    Infuse Item After a long rest, Haroktii can touch a nonmagical object and imbue it with an artificer infusion, turning it into a magic item.  If the item requires attunement, Haroktii can attune herself to it the instant she infuses the item, or she can forgo attunement so that someone else can attune to the item.  The infusion remains in an item indefinitely, but vanishes 5 days after her death. The infusion also vanishes if Haroktii gives up her knowledge of the infusion for another one.  Haroktii can infuse up to 3 nonmagical objects at the end of a long rest.  She must touch each of the objects, and each of her infusions can be in only one object at a time. Moreover, no object can bear more than one of her infusions at a time. If Haroktii tries to exceed her maximum number of infusions, the oldest infusion immediately ends, and then the new infusion applies.  She knows these infusions: armor of tools, mind sharpener, replicate magic item (alchemy jug), replicate magic item (lantern of revealing), replicate magic item (sending stones), replicate magic item (wand of magic detection), and repulsion shield.
    The Right Tool for the Job With tinker's tools in hand, Haroktii can magically create one set of artisan's tools in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of her. This creation requires 1 hour of uninterrupted work, which can coincide with a short or long rest. Though the product of magic, the tools are nonmagical, and they vanish when she uses this feature again.
    Experimental Elixir Whenever Haroktii finishes a long rest, she can magically produce two experimental elixirs in an empty flask she touches; each requires its own flask. Roll on the Experimental Elixir table separately for each elixir's effect, which is triggered when someone drinks the elixir. As an action, a creature can drink the elixir or administer it to an incapacitated creature.  Creating an experimental elixir requires Haroktii to have alchemist supplies, and it lasts until it is drunk or until the end of her next long rest.  Haroktii can create additional experimental elixirs by expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher for each one. When she does so, she uses her action to create the elixir in an empty flask she touches, and she chooses the elixir's effect from the Experimental Elixir table.  Roll a d6:

    1. Healing. The drinker regains a number of hit points equal to 2d4 + your Intelligence Modifier
    2. Swiftness. The drinker's walking speed increases by 10 feet for 1 hour.
    3. Resilience. The drinker gains a +1 bonus to AC for 10 minutes.
    4. Boldness. The drinker can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to every attack roll and saving throw they make for the next minute.
    5. Flight. The drinker gains a flying speed of 10 feet for 10 minutes.
    6. Transformation. The drinker's body is transformed as if by the alter self spell. The drinker determines the transformation caused by the spell, the effects of which last for 10 minutes.

    Actions
    Cat’s Claws: Melee Weapon Attack: ? to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.  Hit:  2 (1d4-1) slashing damage.
    Encouraging Words with Voice of Wonder:   Haroktii has a pool of 70 hit points that she can use to impart temporary hit points to an ally. As an action, she encourage an ally within 5 feet of herself and instill a portion of the temporary hit points or all of it, at her choice.  She must be within 10 feet of an ally, due to the intimacy of these encouraging words.  She cannot give an ally temporary hit points in this way if they do not already have at least 1 hit point.  She cannot use your encouraging words on herself.  Her pool of hit points for encouraging words fully replenish after a long rest.  Haroktii may use her encouraging words to heal her allies, instead of instilling temporary hit points.  She can only do so when her majesty score equals 14 or greater.  She cannot heal a creature in this way unless they have at least 1 hit point.  If Haroktii chooses, affected creatures also gain 1d12 temporary hit points beyond those from the pool or the healing, so long as she sings. When she gives these additional temporary hit points, she cannot do so again until she finishes a long rest. 
    Sublime Majesty:   Haroktii may reassert her noble self if she feels her influence wavering. If her majesty score is below 20, she may use a bonus action to roll 1d4 to add to her majesty score. Haroktii may do so once before she must take a short or long rest to do so again.
    Allure:   Haroktii can use her action to force all eyes on her by unveiling herself or doing some dramatic action, such as singing, playing an instrument, or some other form of displaying herself. 3d6 creatures of her choice that can see her within 30 feet must make a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by her until the beginning of her next turn. While they are charmed, attacks against them have advantage and their attacks against others have disadvantage.  Haroktii must have a majesty score of at least 6 to use this feature and a use of this feature reduces her majesty score by 2.
    Magical Tinkering With tinker’s tools or other artisan’s tools in hand, Haroktii touches a Tiny nonmagical object and gives it one of the following magical properties of her choice:

    • The object sheds bright light in a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet.
    • Whenever tapped by a creature, the object emits a recorded message that can be heard up to 10 feet away. Haroktii utters the message when she bestows this property on the object, and the recording can be no more than 6 seconds long.
    • The object continuously emits Haroktii's choice of an odor or a nonverbal sound (wind, waves, chirping, or the like). The chosen phenomenon is perceivable up to 10 feet away.
    • A static visual effect appears on one of the object’s surfaces. This effect can be a picture, up to 25 words of text, lines and shapes, or a mixture of these elements, as Haroktii likes.

    The chosen property lasts indefinitely. As an action, Haroktii can touch the object and end the property early.  Haroktii can give the magic of this feature to as many as 5 objects, touching one object each time she uses the feature, and a single object can bear only one of the properties at a time. If she tries to exceed her maximum, the oldest property immediately ends, and then the new property applies.

    Reaction
    Uncanny Presence As a bonus action or reaction to being targeted by an attack, Haroktii may reduce her majesty score by 4 to have an Armor Class of 20+1d4. This Armor Class lasts until the end of her next turn. Creatures immune to or who have advantage to resisting the charmed condition roll attacks against this armor class with advantage.

    *  Gijinkh Tabaxi
    Ability Score Increase:
     Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
    Age: Gijinkh tabaxi have lifespans equivalent to humans.
    Alignment: Gijinkh tabaxi tend toward chaotic alignments, as they let impulse and fancy guide their decisions. They are rarely evil, with most of them driven by curiosity rather than greed or other dark impulses.
    Size: Gijinkh tabaxi are adorably miniature in size.  Your size is Tiny.
    Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
    Darkvision: You have a cat's keen senses, especially in the dark. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
    Cat’s Claws: Because of your claws, you have a climbing speed of 20 feet. In addition, your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
    Gijinkh Talent: You have proficiency in the Insight and Persuasion skills. 
    Feline Agility: Your reflexes and agility allow you to move with a burst of speed. When you move on your tum in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the tum. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns. 
    Languages: You can speak, read, and write the language of your homeland and Antique Catfolk.

    **  Clan Crafter
    This background has been modified to reflect the nature of Mishrun gnomes such as the Kurpokor Bes clan, replacing the skill proficiency in Insight with proficiency with Arcana, Dwarfin language with Gnomic, and the hospitality from Respect of the Stout Folk from dwarfs to gnomes (renamed Respect of the Glint-Eyed Folk).